The Mountain Lion Saga

Gazing at a single track imprinted in the sand I tried to imagine the beast that made it.  My concentration was broken by the bark of a hound that worked the mountain side.  I stared past the dogs to an outcrop of rocks at the top of the mountain.  My eyes strained as I searched for him, but my efforts were useless.  A single thought raced through my mind “Could he see me?”

Thankful

Thankful

Whistling wings and a distant “quack” broke the silence as the first signs of light crested the horizon to the east.  Soon families would be waking up across the United States to prepare for Thanksgiving Dinner.  But the five of us hunkered down behind the little cover we could find in anticipation of the mornings hunt. Time would tell what kind of day it would be, and our hopes were high.

The Twelfth Hour

My mind did not immediately register what I had seen.  Looking to my hard left to investigate the sudden noise I expected to see a squirrel for the 500th time that day.  Quickly returning my eyes to the two does out in front of me I realized I had seen a buck creating a scrape less than 10 yards from the base of my tree.  Peering back over my shoulder I confirmed my eyes were not playing tricks on me as he started to move.  If I was going to capitalize on the opportunity unfolding during the last minutes of shooting light in the 12th hour of hunting I would need to act now…

Connected

Americans are disconnected from their food.  We live in a country where food is in abundance.  Restaurants line the streets in every city and grocery store aisles are filled with multiple options for almost any product.  For example, we designate an entire aisle to cereal!  The average person knows where they get their food, however they do not know where their food comes from.  They just walk into McDonalds, order some Chicken McNuggets, pay with their credit card, and go on about their day.  Completely oblivious to the fact that their order resulted in another chicken being put into the butcher line to be cut up and pressed into a nugget. 

Time

Imagine playing a crazy game of poker where there was only one hand. Everyone is dealt four cards to start.  Naturally some hands will be better than others.  However, the fifth card is wild.  No matter how poor of hand you had to start, if used correctly, the wild card will let you win.  Some players will waste it. Others will hesitate and never use it. The winner will figure out how to maximize the card immediately and as a result rise to greatness.