Today is November 15, 2024.
On this day in past years, I've reminisced about my years spent hunting for Michigan's white-tailed deer. I've done it in several ways, but generally by showing lots of old pictures, and sometimes by publishing an essay I've written. This year, I'm going to post only one thing, my Ballad of Fred, the Great.
Fred is my brother-in-law and we shared a lot of hunts over the years. I don't think I need to describe him more than that because the poem does that for me. I hope you enjoy it.
The Ballad of Fred, the Great.
Minnesota was the home of hunter, Fred the Great,
And many were the travels that he took beyond that state.
He went in search of Cervidae of every sort to shoot,
And while hunting them, he wore blaze orange, his favorite hunting suit.
But hunting had to wait sometimes, a job had to be done,
And though his arms grew weary, and his eyes red from the sun,
Fred had to work, as most men do, to make his ends all meet.
He also worked to earn the points that made his life so sweet.
Fred picked up cars and trucks and such, that fate had just struck down,
He'd load them up, two at a time, and haul them back to town.
All heads would turn when Fred pulled in, to see what he had brought,
He might just have that perfect truck or ATV they sought.
His lovely wife, had a gift, for humorous oratory,
But her exploits are not told here, they're in another story.
She didn't choose to share his hunts, she preferred to set him loose,
All that she asked: that he be kind to her stuffed friend, the Moose.
When leaves began to turn and fall, Fred's blood would start to boil,
He'd start again to plan his hunt, this time to Gourley soil.
He knew a Packer fan up there, with hunting land so green,
It grew the finest white-tailed deer that Fred had ever seen.
Tall cedars fell to build Fred's blind, the Butcher Shop its name.
Fred sat among the tree tops there, on patient watch for game.
Lesser men would hesitate to shoot the gun Fred shot,
Their bodies would be black and blue, but hunter Fred's was not.
A deer Fred shot, dropped like a rock. Fred's aim: extraordinary.
He shot just three or four a day, no more than he could carry.
He shared his game with all his friends, and at least on one occasion,
He shared his blind and gun to boot, with nephew, rookie Jason.
Fred continues to this day, to roam those hunting lands,
He guards the acres that he hikes from drunken, poaching bands.
He stops now and again to rest, to drink a barley brew,
And to talk to lesser hunters, as all the great ones do.
If you're up north of Packer Land, where mighty white-tails roam,
You may hear legends told of Fred, by those who call it home.
They'll tell their stories quietly, with words of wit and awe,
About the hunting skill he showed, of wonders that they saw.
You may even catch a glimpse of Fred, he's fond of steak and beer,
As he heads to town for such a meal, at Jill's, not far from here.
He'll have his lady on his arm, you'll spot her, she's first rate,
And friends and family near him, this Hunter, Fred the Great.