You may remember from a previous post in November of last year...
...an elk showed up in Rogers City and instead of hanging with his herd, developed an affinity for the town.
He even made the local paper and garnered the nickname "Roger".
Much to the townspeople's surprise and delight, he returned this year and people have been eagerly taking pictures of him whenever they could.
And that's where the problem began.
According to the DNR they received some complaints about Roger getting too close to people, so to prevent injury or loss of life (to humans, anyway) they decided to "harvest” him.
(Their word, doubtless because "harvest” sounds so much nicer - not to mention more seasonally appropriate - than "slaughter".)
Perhaps anticipating some blowback from their actions, they hastened to assure everyone the meat would be donated to food pantries for those in need.
Opposing factions of PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals vs People Eat Tasty Animals] are still wrangling over an official response to that gesture.
A few windy days have our oak trees shedding leaves now:
Hate to say it, but it's going to happen fast...
...and by mid-November the trees will be bare and Nature's palette will eschew vibrant colors, leaning hard into muted shades of brown, grey and white.
In the unpleasant surprise department, we discovered this recently:
That's Ryan's tree with broken branches.
I know it's just a tree and we can plant another one, but still...
Moving into the political arena...
I know you're going to be very disappointed but there's no Hickory Golf Update this edition.
Please don't despair; in its place is something even better: remember this guy?
That's my grandson, "Shoeless Quinn", gutting out a X-country race earlier this year, proving he's got what it takes to overcome adversity and finish the job.
...and did very well. If he wants it, he has a bright future in this sport over the next few years.
When all the world is old, lad,
And all the trees are brown;
And all the sport is stale, lad,
And all the wheels run down;
Creep home, and take your place there,
The spent and maimed among;
God grant you find one face there,
You loved when all was young.
Ok, I've made a completely arbitrary, unilateral decision: I'm hereby renaming Parting Shots to 23 Skidoo, so henceforth…
...well, this is embarrassing; my secretary informs me I already did that a year ago.
I admit I don't have a dog in this hunt; not a past, current nor (Lord willing) future resident of that town.
But many of the townspeople are outraged, demanding answers as to why they had to kill this majestic animal instead of relocating him somewhere more appropriate / elk friendly.
A reasonable question, to which a quick rebuttal of "cost" was offered.
"GoFundMe" came the immediate retort, roundly applauded by the aggrieved citizenry, to no avail now, of course.
This is one of those situations where both sides have legitimate points:
* an elk is large wild animal, not a pet, and can injure or even kill people - but -
* relocating one that has done no harm seems like a reasonable alternative to destroying him.
Open communication would have gone a long way toward reaching a safe, mutually agreeable resolution.
Instead they now have a dead elk and a bunch of PO'd taxpayers.
As Ronald Reagan said, the most terrifying words in the English language are:
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
A few windy days have our oak trees shedding leaves now:
...and by mid-November the trees will be bare and Nature's palette will eschew vibrant colors, leaning hard into muted shades of brown, grey and white.
It's pretty while it lasts, it just doesn't last long.
In the unpleasant surprise department, we discovered this recently:
That's Ryan's tree with broken branches.
There were berries all over them, and we assume some fairly large animal tried climbing to the top and broke those branches.
Here's what it looked like in the spring:
I know it's just a tree and we can plant another one, but still...
Moving into the political arena...
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| a reminder you shouldn't be a donkey |
...for the first time in our lives Karen and I voted early, but NOT by mail -
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| Jimmy Carter and James Baker wrote a bipartisan report in 2005 that stated, "Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud," and it's far worse since covid. |
- we went to our polling place, stood in line for 45 minutes and voted in person, the only way I feel even half confident our votes will be counted correctly.
Don't want to risk any issues on November 5th of not being able to cast our votes, so we did our duty early.
I've always believed voting should be done in person on election day using paper ballots, so this tells you how little faith I have in our broken system.
I know you're going to be very disappointed but there's no Hickory Golf Update this edition.
Please don't despair; in its place is something even better: remember this guy?
That's my grandson, "Shoeless Quinn", gutting out a X-country race earlier this year, proving he's got what it takes to overcome adversity and finish the job.
A freshman, he ran in the Regionals this weekend...
 |
| racing for home...gotta love a sport that combines grit, determination, endurance and speed with the glorious beauty of God's creation |
...and did very well. If he wants it, he has a bright future in this sport over the next few years.
Watching him finish his race, exhausted from his efforts yet still the very picture of vigorous, energetic youth, put me in mind of Proverbs 20:29:
"The glory of young men is their strength..."
So true!
It also reminded me of a poem by a 19th century clergyman and author:
Young and Old
When all the world is young, lad,
And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen;
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,
And round the world away!
Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.
And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen;
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,
And round the world away!
Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.
When all the world is old, lad,
And all the trees are brown;
And all the sport is stale, lad,
And all the wheels run down;
Creep home, and take your place there,
The spent and maimed among;
God grant you find one face there,
You loved when all was young.
- Charles Kingley, (1819-1875)
Great job today, Quinn! Very proud of and happy for you.
Ok, I've made a completely arbitrary, unilateral decision: I'm hereby renaming Parting Shots to 23 Skidoo, so henceforth…
Wait, what?
Hold on a sec, please...
...well, this is embarrassing; my secretary informs me I already did that a year ago.
Dang, gotta stop watching reruns of Biden speeches I guess.
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| who ate my ice cream? |
23 Skidoo, to wit:
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| proud papa and his son |
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| Larry blew some leaves at his cottage, uncovered acorns, and guess who showed up for dinner? |
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| the after dinner view of the lake |
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| ditto |
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| beautiful autumn colors |
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| aaaannddd...another missed opportunity |
My dad maintained the problem with youth is it's wasted on the young, and I understand that sentiment.
For too many years I was the poster child for the ignorance and arrogance of youth.
Let’s face it, passionate exuberance squandered in juvenescence is so common it’s practically a proverb.
But that’s not the real issue, is it?
Rather, it's that we allow our boundless energy to be unfocused and untethered from God's will for our lives.
God has a plan for each of us, and He supplies all the energy and stamina needed, when needed, for as long as needed, if only we'll obey:
"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
- Ephesians 2:10
As Nancy Sinatra opined musically, “Are you ready boots? Start walkin’...”
later, mcm fans...
