I’ve been working on the final touches for this turkey hunting website before I launch it, and I’m working with a graphic designer on a logo for the site. I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things like this (ok, I’m actually more in the OCD department when it comes to things like this), and I want the logo to be perfect. The OCD part of me wants the logo to really sum up the sport of turkey hunting for me, which will be extremely hard to do in a single image. The perfectionist part of me wants the logo to portray about 75% of the sport for me, which will be very hard to do. The realist part of me knows this task is next to impossible, so I decided to go with something that makes sense to all of us turkey hunters. Anyway, in my attempt to capture the sport of turkey hunting I sent a text message this morning to my group of turkey hunting buddies to get their opinion of one thing that makes them think of turkey hunting when they see or hear it.
My message to them this morning said, “Ok, need some help. Name an object or product (other than a turkey) that,when you see it or hear it,makes you think of turkey hunting.” Here is a list of what my “Band of Brothers” had to say:
Owls
Crows
Toilet Paper
Shotguns
Thunder
My truck
Rooster
Train
Snake boots
Getting up early and pissing everyone off
Camo
Calls
Clippers and limb saws
Skoal
Beer
Fishing rods
Wild Azaleas
Bananas
Being cussed out by Chip
Baby wipes
Swamp cabbage
Jumping cattle gaps in a mini van
Antelopes running for their lives
Canola
Wind mills
Porcupines and 9 mm’s
Whippoorwills
Woodpeckers
Blooming dogwoods
Riding in a truck with all 4 windows down
67 degree temperatures
Short winter wheat
Riding roads
Truck thunder
Weed smoking liar hippies from Wyoming
Rumley missing
Steel Reserve
The king of country music, George Strait
Some of these will make sense to every turkey hunter, and some of them are inside jokes that will only make sense to my group of idiot hunting buddies (some of which you will eventually read about on this blog, and hopefully you’ll remember this list when you read those stories). But what really got me about this text I sent this morning is that there are 38 items on that list that make these guys think of turkey hunting. I’m sure the list could go on and on for our group, but I couldn’t help but laugh that one simple text has resulted in repeated responses from the guys in this group reliving turkey hunting trips and stories for the past 8 hours. I doubt this text exchange will stop any time tonight because tomorrow is a holiday (actually it is Turkey Day), but that is what makes this sport so damn much fun. This year, in addition to living in what is still the greatest country in the world, I’m thankful for having this group of misfits to share so many hunting trips and stories with over the past 20 + years, and I’m thankful for having the opportunity to do more of the same for the next however many years I have left.