Give me a few minutes to tell yall something I personally needed to experience today and some of you may just need to hear. First, this isnt a hunting story, though it starts out as such. Just keep on reading. Second, I am one of those people who believe things happen for reasons we dont always understand and I love to marvel at the sequence of events that have to happen at precise times to allow for significant life experiences to evolve. I took a vacation day to hunt one last time before the season ends. For some reason, I decided from the second I knew was going that I was only hunting until 11:00 am. I was anxious to go this morning due to rain we had yesterday. I just knew the deer were going to be running everywhere. Just 3 days ago I had the pleasure of seeing 15 deer within 40 yards or less from my stand. Unfortunately, in all my excitement I forgot to set my clock and woke up 20 minutes late. I rushed like a mad man to get ready, head out the door and drive the 40 mins to the property I hunt. Though frustrated, I was only about 10 minutes off schedule and enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise at 6:55 am. I had a peaceful 4 1/2 hours of sitting in the middle of the woods listening to the breeze come across the ridges and watching all sorts of birds forage for food, while the sun kept me so comfortable, I could have stayed there all day. But, not a single deer. Go figure. I kept my word and climbed down at 11:00 am. This is where it starts getting good. I made it to my truck only to find my front, passenger side tire was completely flat. Now what, with no spare and no cell service, I spent a few minutes talking to myself in a very disrespectful manner. What an idiot!!! Then my mind went into recovery mode and I started to plan on how I was going to get home, fix or buy a tire, get someone to drive me back up to my truck and replace the tire all before dark. Not to mention I was dressed in all cammo and had a rifle that I wasnt about to leave in that truck for the taking. I decided to remove the flat tire and roll it to the nearest highway. From there I attempted to thumb my way to the rural gas station a couple of miles up the road, where I could call Selena to help me figure out phase 2 of my plan. I watched driver after driver pass by as they briefly made eye contact with me, only to immediately turn their eyes back to the windshield to avoid having to see my my disappointment at their decision to not stop and help. I finally decided I would walk the 2 miles, while rolling the tire. Maybe that old station would have an air compressor. As my boots hit the pavement, I heard another vehicle coming around the curve. It was a shiny black 1979 Firebird Trans Am (gold firebird painted on the hood). The old man driving stopped and said, looks like youre having a bad day.To which I responded, this car is incredible. Do you know someone close who can put some air in this tire so I can make it home. He said, Yep, me. I introduced myself and he said his name was William. We drove to his house about 3 miles away where we soon assessed the problem was a tiny puncture. He then proceeded to plug the tire for me and filled it with air. Throughout this, I made sure to tell him countless times how much I appreciate his kindness, time and effort. He would reply each time with, This is what were suppose to do. I told him how I was about to give up hope on anyone stopping and had started to walk when I saw him coming around the curve. He said he had seen my truck parked back in that field each hunting season and noticed I did not hunt the first two weeks of blackpowder. I told him I really didnt think I was going to hunt at all this year. I just couldnt get motivated and explained that my dad passed away almost a year ago. (here it comes) He said, Losing your dad is rough. I lost mine a lil over 15 years ago. And 15 years ago to the day, just a month after losing my dad, I lost my son. Thats his car (pointing to the Firebird). I dont like to drive it, but its not good for a car that old to sit in a garage all the time. So, I get it out on his birthday and this day every year and drive on these back roads. Thats how come me to drive pass you today. Now remember, the first words he said to me were, Looks like youre having a bad day. I offered him money for his time and effort but he refused. We spent the next 30 minutes or so talking about deer hunting, the weather and that Firebird. I realized i needed to experience selfless kindness today and William seemed to need a reason to be helpful to someone having a bad day. Funny how things turn out. I hope this reminds ya to be kind and be thankful this week.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 21:07:19 +0000
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