Monday, February 6, 2017

The Old Gray Mare( or stud/gelding)

As many of you know , this was the year that I chose to completely retire from Riverview. I told Cader IV that I would still come down to speak to my old friends, and, of course, take advantage of free meals from the best cooks in the world. However, I felt like it was time to completely get out of his way, and only be available for any advice or ideas that he might want to run by me. I have Martha to look after due to her cancer, and serve on five boards; so it's not like I'm letting my mind go completely to pasture. I also knew that these 16 hour days, seven days a week during hunting season were beginning to tell on this "mature" body that I try to keep in shape. I couldn't hold my hair, but I am determined to stay in shape with regular exercise, and have managed to do that.


Well, as they say," The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray", This past Monday night, Cader IV called me to inform me that both he and Greg had come down with the flu, and were both running 103+ temps even though we all took the flu shots here. He asked if I could step in for a few days to keep things going. Without any hesitation at all, I agreed to do so. I firmly believe that I could have handled either job with no problems, but performing both of their jobs created quite a challenge. Thankfully, Jerry was not sick, and he was able to help me a good bit, for which I am eternally grateful !

As I was sitting on the sofa in the lounge on Thursday night after working three 16 hour days, I was reminded of that famous line in the movie, Topgun, when Tom Cruise's instructor told him, " Son, your mouth is writing checks that your body can't cash". Maybe I should have thought a bit more before diving into the deep end of the pool so quickly. At any rate, we survived the week, and I believe everything ran as smoothly as silk, but I was so tired on Friday morning when Cader made it back to work that my butt was wiping out my shoe prints in the sand.


I did notice a few things in the process. It once was so easy for me to remember 30 names three times a week with no problem at all. I did not find that to be the case now. Why is it that I can remember every word to a song from 1966, but I can't recall where I placed my sunglasses ten minutes ago, or where I last had the hunting license book? I spent five minutes looking for my cell phone only to realize that I was talking on it the entire time. I'm going to chalk that one up to exhaustion because I don't think that I'm quite ready for the guys with the butterfly nets to come get me just yet.

I also recognized that I still enjoy the people business, and that the finest folks in the world come through our doors at Riverview. We only have about seven more weeks remaining in the 2016-2017 hunting season, and we have precious few open dates remaining. The hunting, woods cover, dog work, and guides are still in great shape. If you are contemplating a visit or maybe adding one more hunting trip to this season, I would encourage you to give Cader IV a call soon. In the meantime, I'm about to kick back and relax for a bit!

1 comment:

  1. We enjoyed your post. When you retire you could hopefully write books about your experiences? You have a good sense of humor.

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