Old Eva the Deerhunter... She came into the Circle K and was standing in line when I saw her, everyone calls her Aunt Eva, she is an older Indian woman who takes care of her mother and a few grandchildren, and those who seem to find a way to her door. Her hair is a little gray and as an Indian woman, she is quiet, sort of just gets by. She was standing in line with a group of deer hunters. Their rig was parked in front a Jeep Grand Cherokee, white it was, but it was hard to tell to look at it. There were four gas cans tied on the back, the sleeping bags, coolers, tents, lawn chairs, and mosquito netting were all tied on top. There was a trailer with a couple of four wheelers on their with a barbeque grill and some other odds and ends attached. These men had come to hunt, and they were decked out in camouflage green and boots, they stood out because of the bright orange vests and hats and they carried some 12 packs of beer to the counter. Old Eva looked small standing there against them, her braided hair with streaks of gray and a simple flowered shirt and pair of cotton pants. I think she had on some Nikes her grandkids gave her and she had a gallon of milk in her hand. She smiled at me and I said how are you doing. She said fine. I stood there for a minute and asked her what are you doing today?, just to make conversation. She turned and looked at me and said I am going hunting. The men in green turned to look at here when she said that and she looked really small against them. She just smiled and stood in line. Afterwards as I went to my car, I walked by her 84 Chev sedan, green it was with four doors. She was putting her milk in the trunk and I looked inside her car as I walked by. There on the back seat, on the plaid blanket she used as seat cover was a .22 rifle, a plain single shot sitting there all by itself. I could see the hunters loading their beer and talking about not having to shave, and how they would mount the deer antlers on the hood and top rack once they had their kill to show off to the folks in town when they came back through. It is how it is done, sort of matter of pride to let everyone know you were the good at the hunt. Old Eva got in her car and I asked her where are you going to go hunting. She said by the creek on the way home. Is that your rifle, she said yes. It layed there quietly in the back seat. I went home and then later to the bowling alley to pick up one of my sons and saw Jenny, Old Evas granddaughter outside there and I asked her. How is Old Eva, she looked at me and said, oh she is doing pretty good, she is home butchering her deer. Oh, I said, when did she get it. Jenny said, she got it this afternoon on the way home and we are gonna have ribs tonight. Oh, I thought. It was nothing, it was just Old Eva the deerhunter, getting some winter meat to feed her kids. I guess it has always been that way with Indian women preparing meals for their families. I can still those big men in green looking at her standing there with her gallon of milk and hearing her say she was going deer hunting, the look said, how could she do it, she is not like us. It was just another day in the life of Old Eva, the deerhunter...rustywire
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 10:34:26 +0000
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