Slim Randles' Home Country

A winter-time archery bear hunt

[January 23, 2016]  "'Bout time to hit the woods, boys, ya think?”

Steve, our tall cowboy-type on philosophical duty this morning at the world dilemma think tank, sipped and smiled.

“Yessir,” he said. “Nothing makes a day go by faster than a good bow hunt in the woods.”

Herb looked up at this. Herb is our veteran bowhunter and local champion archer. He can arch with the best of them.

“I didn’t know you were a bowhunter, Steve …” Herb said.

“Oh sure I am. You know how it is, Herb. Stalking silently along on winter trails, taking one slow step after another in search of prey. Man oh man! Nothing like it.”

It was Doc’s turn. “It’s winter, Steve. What do you hunt this time of year?”

“Bear.”

“Around here?”

“Absolutely. You see, the way I do it is simplicity itself, boys. I go stalking silently along the trails over by Miller Pond … you know the ones. Then I wait until a bear comes down the trail towards me and WHAM! Bear meat on the table.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” asked Loretta as she topped off our coffee mugs.

“Of course it is, Darlin’,” he said. “That’s what makes it fun.”

“But Steve … there hasn’t been a bear in these parts for a hundred years,” Doc said.

“You are right, yes you certainly are,” Steve said.

“And if we did have a bear season, it would be closed by now. Any bear left around here would go to ground.”

“Now that does make it more of a challenge, Doc. But you see, that’s why I enjoy bear hunting so much.”

We waited.

“Hunting for bear, around here, in winter means lots of hunting but no shooting. So that saves me having to skin the thing and saves me having to practice with the bow and lose arrows and all that stuff. In fact, I have it worked out so I didn’t even have to own a bow or arrows for my hunts.”

He grinned. “Just think of all the money and bother I saved by being a winter-time archery bear hunter.”

Cowboy logic is sometimes scary.

[Text from file received from Slim Randles]

Ol' Jimmy Dollar is Slim Randles' first children's book.  The book is for kids K-3rd grades and is even better when parents read it with children.  Ol' Jimmy Dollar makes for sweet dreams and if you have a dog even better.  Available now on Amazon.