jamesmoore
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Oct 2007
Location: Greenfield, Indiana
Posts: 120 |
The Coonhunter's Bond
I hope to have this published in the Bloodlines magazine. I wrote this for my friend Elmer Worley about a year ago:
The Coon Hunters Bond
Many people don’t believe in it, and our wives don’t understand it, but it exists. It’s a special connection I call, “The coon hunters bond.” It’s real, and to those who have experienced it, I know they will agree that there is something about coon hunters that automatically bonds us together as friends. Many of my coon hunting buddies became my friend for no other reason except the fact that we shared a love and passion of using dogs to chase raccoons. Maybe that’s the part my wife doesn’t understand. She rolls her eyes at me when my coon hunting buddies call and ask to go hunting yet again night after night. She doesn’t understand why we are willing to spend every night we can chasing those poor defenseless critters up trees with barking dogs. She’s gone before and it wasn’t a good experience for either of us. My wife and I share a special bond too and that relationship is very intimate and special; but coon hunters also share a bond and I believe it’s that bond that makes the sport of coon hunting so addicting.
It’s all about the Dog
It never fails when I go into a gas station to pay for gas before a hunting trip. The cashier asks, “What’s with the hat and light?” I say, “I’m going coon hunting.” She says with a confused expression, “Coon hunting. What do you do with the coon when you catch one?” I always respond by saying, “Well, for me it’s all about the dog.” I don’t always kill every coon I tree. For me, it’s not about the coon at all. I love treeing them and I don’t have as much fun if I don’t tree one, but I could care less whether I kill it or not. I’d rather see my dog who I trained to be the best do a good job and work hard treeing the coon. I love my dog and he and I share a special bond. Just ask any coon hunter and they’ll tell you they love their dog.
Every old veteran coon hunter has had that one special dog that touched their lives in a way that changed them forever. Ol’Fred, or Ol’High Bawl, or just plain Ol’Red. If you’ve spent time around coon hunters I know you’ve heard the stories about the dogs of old and the ones who had the cold nose and treed the most coons in one night. Every once in a while a coon hunter will get lucky and find a natural dog that suits them and they fall head over heels in love with that long eared mongrel. Why else would they spend more time in the woods than at home? Something has entrapped their hearts so much that they can’t help but be addicted to seeing their dog improve and get better every night they go to the woods. The sound of the dog’s voice is so impressive to us, that nowadays, we make its tree mouth a ringtone on our cell phone. If that ain’t whipped then I don’t know what is!
The Company we Keep
People say that if a man has one or two true friends in their lifetime they ought to consider themselves blessed. Through the sport of coon hunting I can honestly say I’ve had many true friends that I could count on for anything. I’m a pastor and ministers often have to move a lot. Once, when I left one church no one from the church showed up to help me move. All that came by were the guys I hunted with. They were the saddest to see me go and they were the ones helping me carry my possessions to the U-Haul truck. Even if they couldn’t carry heavy boxes they were there to shake my hand as I pulled out of their lives and onto the next ministry. For them I am thankful.
The Company we keep may not always be the most polished individuals. Some of them may have a little Skoal or Copenhagen dripping down their chin but you won’t find any better individuals than some of the coon hunting buddies I’ve had in the past 15 years. One was Elmer Worley. His funeral was sad and his family members were in tears and mourning. It was a privilege to officiate the service. It was my job to encourage them and make them laugh. I did this by telling them funny coon hunting stories about their dad. Most importantly, I shared with them how their dad made an impression on me that changed me forever. I learned the value of hard work, how to be honest, and not to give up when things were tough. The true coon hunters understand the life lessons that can be learned from a hard night in the woods with a good hound and good friends. I titled his eulogy, “The Coon hunters Bond.”
Written in Memory of Elmer Worley
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james moore
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03-31-2012 07:42 PM
~Casey Houtz~ 
