And the days dwindle down
Ithought about a quote from Longfellow the other day. This past Saturday was the first day of hunting season, if you choose to use your trusty old .30-06. Hunting season with the bow or the muzzleloader has been in for some time. But most of my friends who hunt consider the “real” first day of the season to be the first day of rifle season. And what does that have to do with Longfellow?
This past Saturday was the first day of regular deer season that I have missed in a long, long time. But I already have some venison in the freezer. I have made my jerky and bologna. And so, I thought I would give someone else a chance to get their deer. Did I miss it? Yeah, a bit. But not completely.
About 8:30 in the morning Linda called to me from the other room and said, “There’s a deer out here. And it’s a buck.” Not wanting to disappoint anyone, I picked up my rifle and snuck out the back door. Well, the buck was on his rut walk-about, and by the time I got out there, he was a bit too close to the neighbor’s house for me to shoot. I let him follow his nose along what was apparently a scrape line, and live another day.
The quote from Longfellow is this: “So nature deals with us, and takes away our playthings one by one, and by the hand leads us to rest so gently, that we go, scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay.”
I’m not sure if I am yet in complete agreement with Mr. Longfellow, or even if his words apply to me at this point in my life. But I can tell you this, I am getting close enough to that point that I remember those prophetic words and begin to wonder when they will ring completely true.
One final thought about the bike trail, if you don’t mind. The editor and owner of this little weekly paper that I love have been so good to me, to let me write and speak my mind. Now, sometimes they disagree with me, and that’s alright, as well. But I have to say that I am on the other side of the fence when it comes to the recent decisions made about the bike trail.
I firmly believe that the citizens of Rappahannock County were the clear winners in the recent vote to not accept the grant money. There have been at least two well attended meetings on the trail, and in both instances, the overwhelming majority of the people in attendance said rather emphatically that they didn’t want the bike trail. I was glad to see that after two such meetings a majority of the supervisors decided to go with the will of the people and kill the bike trail.
I still am left to wonder about the two supervisors who did not vote to kill it. Were they being paternalistic and telling their constituents that they know best and they will decide what is good for the county, despite what the people want. Or is there some other reason that they would vote to force this bad idea on the people of the county? I will not question their motives, and I certainly will not question their integrity, at least in this newspaper. But, don’t you think they owe some explanation to their constituents as to why they voted the way they did. If I were in their districts, I would want some answers. Perhaps they will be forthcoming. I hope so.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and friends and lots of good food. I hope you take the time to be thankful for all that we have in this county, in this state and in this country. I hope the recent elections came out to your satisfaction, and if they didn’t, just wait another year or two and you will have another chance to express your opinion through your vote. God bless us everyone.