HAPPY THANKSFAKAH

  Once every 75,000 years Chanukah falls on the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Tomorrow is the day. Who cares? What happened to the rut? All that buck -chasing- doe excitement that I had under my stand in mid-October, has turned to distant memories. I haven't seen a legal shooter all gun season, let alone either of the two big ones I know are out there. There's no action. Day after drizzily, windy, freezing, fucking cold day, I hit the woods. I'm concentrating on two spots. If I want to get a home cooked meal and some rut activity of mine own, I add WSS. I promised not to shoot any of Shewho's lawn does, but Chuck can't resist leaving me a phone message: "I know you are busy, but there's a big buck under the apple tree. See you Thanksnukah."
    I love this time of year. Even without the rut, hunting every day is a gift (that I'll pay for later). I know I should be working. Or at least disappointed that I don't have a job or a a career. But I can't bring myself to even sweat it. I got enough money to make it through the holidays. Don't expect much under the tree this year. After that who knows. What I want to know is how that buck is getting up and down that mountain? I found a large splayed track in the snow on the back side of GNJohn's mountain and the cracked tree at Majestic was broken completely off sometime within the past week. Both these giants are still very much alive. Now all I have to do is put myself within 100 yards of either, without the scope fogging up, the wind shifting, my knees shaking, or any infinite numbers of things going wrong. In the meantime- I had a dream:

   The congregation is gathered in the parking lot at the shul. I hear a loud roar and turn to see a jetliner nose diving into Zucker's dried up pond, with a giant explosion. A door flies off and spins through the air. It says something that I can't remember. All I think of is to run into the shul to get my camera to photograph the door. But before i do I see a giant erector set structure, like a high tension wire tower, spin through the air towards us. I'm ready for it to land on us all, and shred us to bits, when it stops spinning and lands gently before us. Among the strange creatures to descend the gangplank, of this obviously alien spaceship, is a furry animal called a llony (a cross between a llama and a pony). He gets up on his back legs and asked to see my feet. I'm wearing 3 pairs of socks. When it finally spies my glistening toe nails, it announces "He's the one." The llony then hands me the most comfortable pair of socks i've ever known...... and a cribbage board. Then the alarm goes off. It snowed last night. Think I'll hunt the hut, on the edge of the bushy field.

HAPPY THANKSNUKAH ONE AND ALL.