Random Sightings, Adventures and Humor

This past Saturday I went north to do some deer hunting.  The day came and went without a single deer sighting, much less an opportunity to get a shot off on one.  But nonetheless it was a great day filled with fun, humor and random sightings.

On Friday night I drove up to Marion, IN which is near the location I was going to hunt on Saturday.  I got a hotel room there and got everything prepared so I could make a quick and early exit to get to the stand before the sun started to come up.  I really didn't think much about carrying a shotgun case into a hotel while in my pj's with wet hair and no makeup until I was halfway through the lobby and there were people looking at me from multiple directions.  What are ya gonna do?

When I got back to the room, I changed the barrel on my shotgun.  I haven't used my rifled barrel or scope this year so I wanted to get reacquainted with it.  I was reviewing the settings on my scope by looking through it at the order confirmation board at the Taco Bell down the street.  I then realized if anyone drove by and happened to notice me up in the window I probably looked like a sniper.  I have my moments.  I'll tell you what though... I had a great shot at that confirmation screen.  I was feeling confident.  After that I closed the curtains and practiced some shooting positions.

Fun Fact:  My shotgun has a name.  It's Dolly.

On Saturday, after the morning hunt, there was a breakfast/ lunch break.  Driving into town I passed a house and saw a man, dressed as an elf, driving a gator.  I wish I'd of gotten a picture.

When I arrived at the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Wabash, IN, I opened the menu and found an item that was a done deal based on the name.  It was called The Cannonball.  Get it?  The Wasbash Cannonball?  If you don't get it, Wabash Cannonball is a very old song that's been recorded by many many artists.  I put the Johnny Cash version below in case you're interested.

The breakfast version of the Wabash Cannonball.  3 eggs, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy and toast. And I ate every last bit of it!

Can I pause for a moment from the weird sighting stories and tell you about something I witnessed during breakfast that absolutely warmed my heart?  I don't know if I can paint the picture well enough to make you understand how beautiful this was, but I'll try.  There was a table a few feet away with a dad and his two kids.  The daughter was likely around 10 and the son perhaps 4.  Before their food came, the dad went down to the bathroom and left the kids at the table (keep in mind it's a tiny town so this is ok).  While he was away, the waitress brought the food to the table.  As she sat it down, she asked the little boy if he wanted her to cut up his pancakes for him so he could start eating.  You should've seen how happy that little boy was.  She got everything cut up and asked if he wanted syrup on them too.  He did.  She poured the syrup all over them until he finally told her it was enough.  I don't know if it's just me, but there was something so touching about watching this simple act of kindness.  It warmed my heart.

I found the little diner's blog/ website.  If you're ever in Wabash, check out Joe's Diner!

Following breakfast, I was leaving the parking lot of the restaurant and saw something you don't see much anymore.  A payphone!  I couldn't resist taking a picture with it.  The best part was, when I picked it up, there was a dial tone!  I'm not used to hearing that sound.

I stopped off at a cute little country store that I enjoy browsing when I'm up that way and had one final random sighting during the lunch break.  As I got back in the truck, I looked to my right and saw a blue van next to me that appeared to be driven by a dalmatian!

The last story from the hunting trip comes from the drive home in the evening.  Dinner was at a Subway in a gas station somewhere near Marion.  There were four tables to eat at.  As we were eating, my friend informs me there is a mouse running around under the soda machine behind me.  I look and giggle a bit and continue eating.  Soon, a teenage boy and his girlfriend walk in and decide to get sodas.  They then stand in front of the soda machine texting for a couple of minutes.  At that point my friend says to me, "watch this," and I know what's coming.  He tells this teenage girl there is a mouse right by her hip and we laughed hysterically as she jumped out of her skin.

What a great day for random humorous sightings.  I'm so happy for the opportunity to share them with you too.

Thoughts From a Tree Stand

Written Saturday, December 1, 2012:

Hello friends! I'm writing to you from 20ft above the ground in a tree stand. This is the last weekend of shotgun season for deer here in Indiana and the first opportunity I've had to give it a shot this year.

There is something so peaceful about being camouflaged up in a tree. I think it is one of the closest and most intimate encounters you can have with the great outdoors and the critters all around you. When everything is silent and the critters don't know you're there it's like the National Geographic channel, but it is live in front of your face.

It's a little after 10:00 am now and I've been in a tree since 7:00 am. No deer sightings yet. Lots of squirrels, birds and a raccoon have graced the area this morning though. It's a warm day. Especially for the first of December. At 7:00 am it was nearly 40 degrees and it is warming up toward 50 degrees now.

Are you thinking I'm just plain nuts yet? Well, I wouldn't argue the point with you. But a lot of people ask me how I got in to hunting or what caused me to take an interest in it. Most figure I grew up in the country and/or my family was big into the sport. Wrong on both accounts.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. To leave my neighborhood you had to get on a very busy highway. It was far from rural. The neighbors weren't rednecks walking around in camouflage with a spit cup and a mullet (not that I am judging any of those things).  As far as my family goes, the only relative I have that ever took an interest in hunting is an uncle I only saw once a year while growing up.  I'm guessing that wasn't the influence.

There was never even a firearm in the house I grew up in.  The closest we ever came was when I begged and pleaded and finally won the battle to get a pellet gun in my early teens.

As far as I can figure, I must simply have been born with an outdoorsy gene.  If the TV was on in my room when I was growing up, it was more than likely tuned to TNN (The Nashville Network). There was always either country music videos, fishing or hunting on that channel.  I loved all of them.

I remember the first time I heard Jeff Foxworthy talk about fishing shows being hypnotizing and thinking how right on it was.  Here's a little excerpt I love from that bit:

There is somethin about a fishin show, if yer channel surfing and ya come to one 
it will hypnotize you. Cuz ya always end up watchin it for a few minutes and it's the same 
thing every week. "Hey there friends, We're fishin on ol' lake Witchahatchee and Today 
We're fishin with our old buddy Jerry Reed. Course lotuvya might remember 
Ol' Jerry caught the biggest bass ever caught on our show, and like all our guests, 
Ol' Jerry let 'im go. We had ta whack 'is ass with a boat paddle, but ol' Jerry let 'im go. 
Well, today they're not bitin too good, That's why Jerry and I were gonna try some 
of these deep-runnin lures and We're gonna spray 'em with some of this P-U-Stink bait... 

Well friends, long story short, I have no friggin' idea why I like hunting.  I just do!  That's me.  And that's all for now.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for reading!

Dream More

Dolly Parton is someone I admire in a BIG way.  In fact, she is the only person on my bucket list that I want to meet.  (Garth Brooks used to be on that list, but I got to meet him earlier this year)  In fact, I dream about meeting Dolly fairly often.  Usually in my dreams we are just having coffee or hanging out somewhere and chatting.

I love how open she is and her adorable sense of humor.  You never hear anything mean or judgmental from her.  She really is what she is.  She is unique in a great many ways and that's what makes her wonderful.

This morning I saw a tweet from the Grand Ole Opry that she released a new book today entitled, Dream More.  A more perfect book could not have been released in my opinion.  This is going straight to the top of my reading list.  The second I can get my hands on it, you'll surely be hearing about it!

You Asked For It

Charlie's Bunion in the Smoky Mountains.  A short side hike off the Appalachian Trail.

One day, while listening to my grampa talk about his life and share some of his incredible wisdom with me, he began to speak about dreams.  It was a lesson that will stick with me for the rest of my life.  In short, he told me stories of many of the great things that happened in his life and all the accomplishments he'd had.  Each one related back to a dream.  He would get an idea, an inspiration, a little thought that would become a driving force toward a new adventure.  Something he calls a dream.  I find myself relating to the spirit of a dreamer each and every day.  I have dreams.  Some are big, some small, most a little crazy, and some of them I'm living out right now, but all share one common thread - I have a relentless drive to embark on the adventures to make those dreams come true.

Let's take a step back and look at why you're reading this now...

It's not uncommon for someone to tell me they are amused by my posts to social media.  More than a few people have told me they usually scroll through their news feeds without reading too much, but if they see I've posted they will always stop and read what I have to say.  Others have said they wish there was a reality TV show of my life or at least a blog to elaborate on the events they find amusing.

Today, at the completion of a networking event, I was chatting with a friend who reiterated what many others have said for a long time... I should have a blog.  So in order to indulge the interest of my friends and followers the "Adventures of a Relentless Dreamer" blog has been born.

I don't know if my life is really that interesting or if I'm just more willing to be open about the craziness that exists on a day to day basis, but I'm glad you've decided to join  me on this journey.  I don't make any promises about how interesting or inspirational it will be,  but I hope you will find some amusement in it.