Time Warp Tuesday --- The Shot

Back when I was a teenager, I would go hunting with my dad and his friends every year. We would always start out as a big group (about 15-20 of us), but as was tradition several people would get in a fight about something every year, and our group would dwindle as hunting season went on.

On this particular year, I shot a buck out of my tree stand early in the morning and my dad had gotten one during archery season so we were pretty much done for the day as far as shooting deer. But we would put on "drives" for the other hunters in our group to give them a better chance at getting a deer as well. Basically in a "drive", those who had not gotten a deer would stand on one side of the woods, while those who had gotten a deer would line up on the opposite end and walk toward them making noise trying to get the deer to move toward the hunters on the other end ready to shoot.

On one of our drives that day, there were about 7 hunters on one end, and 7 drivers (including my dad and I) on the other. The drivers stand about 75 yards apart (just barely close enough that we could see the person on our left and on our right). Some of the drivers hadn't gotten a deer yet, so they were carrying guns too as they walked. As we walked through the woods trying to push the deer to the hunters on the other end, someone shot. A few seconds later, they shot again. At the end of the drive we all gathered by the vehicles, and nobody had a deer.

People started asking who shot their gun. Everyone denied it. My dad and I sat back and listened since we weren't even carrying guns. Before long, as happens every year, people started arguing and accusing people of lying and people got mad and left since someone was obviously not telling the truth.

As my dad and I headed home in the truck he said, "Do you know who was doing all that shooting?"...I had my theories, but said I didn't know for sure. He said, "Well, I do". Then he pulled out a handful of M-80 (very powerful!) firecrackers from his pocket. It was my dad setting these off to get people all riled up (as he loves to do).

So that ends my 3-week Tuesday series on fireworks in honor of the 4th of July. Next year, I'll be sure to tell you what happens when you "accidentally" light a firework in the house (don't worry mom, it wasn't ours), and what happens when you take the powder out of 500 firecrackers, roll it in paper towels and light it all as once. I have to believe that's what Francis Scott Key did as he wrote in the Star Spangled Banner, "And the rockets red glare"...