Beware the wolf who bites back

The Minnesota House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow wolf hunting and trapping in Minnesota. A state Senate bill also has been approved in its originating committee, apparently has widespread support and full Senate approval is expected. According to news reports, farmers and hunting groups favor the plan while animal rights and conservation groups oppose it. If the bill clears the legislative process, its final stop would be on the desk of Gov. Mark Dayton, who could either sign it into law or veto it. Now, look at the handsome fellow in the photograph. How do you think he would look with his leg -- broken and bloody -- in a trap, or with his head half blown off by a bullet from a high-powered rifle? The adorable fellow shown here smiling at you is cousin Arcady. He really is a sweet guy when you get to know him. Do you really want wolf hunting and absolutely barbaric trapping in Minnesota?

An interlude from the "ages of man"

My mind is not ready for Part 2 of 2 regarding the "ages of man," but my fingers cannot stay away from the keyboard. I often think everything I am resides within my fingers: They type, they hold pens and pencils, they pull triggers, they grip the hand of another or squeeze the body of another, they feed me .... well, you get the picture. Maybe. But, what I actually am saying is that my memory, my intelligence, reside in my fingers. They can spell words and know things my mind has forgotten. Anyway ....

My fingers always are ready. This is not the case with my mind. My mind, for a variety of reasons, is in some manner of time warp at the moment.

Mind/Manner/Moment .... hmmmm. There is a song there, or a poem .... Maybe-e-e-e.

We will add another "M" to the list, this one for Minnesota. The liberal, progressive governor of Minnesota probably will permit the renewal of hunting and trapping wolves in Minnesota. I thought liberals/progressives were supposed to be the environmentalists among us, and conservatives, like me, were the ones who wish to destroy the natural world for the sake of building another shopping mall and mega-parking lot.

Guess again, folks. These questions always revolve more around monetary greed and personal advantages than they do around political philosophies.

Apparently, the bill is sailing through the legislative process with widespread support. It appears to me most members of both political parties in Minnesota are witless fools. Well, I guess that really is no surprise. Anyway, I am "mad as hell" about this hunting/trapping plan, to borrow a line from a film, and I hope enough other people will be angry enough to contact the governor and tell him to kill the bill that would kill the wolves.

For the record, I once was a very prolific, avid, efficient hunter. I quit for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was that it became too easy. Why do anything that is easy? (If a human being is not bright enough to successfully hunt a poor, dumb deer or duck, then I hope he is not employed in any position which requires more intelligence and skill than is needed for digging ditches.) And, to be honest, killing anything when it is not necessary literally began to sicken me. It comes down to a matter of determining when necessary is necessary.

I am not quite anti-hunting yet or anti-meat eating yet, but it would not surprise me if I reach those points someday. I can tolerate hunting as long as the hunter eats what he shoots. I doubt many would be willing to eat roast wolf for their Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

By the way, hunting and gun ownership are two very separate issues for me. I might march in an anti-wolf hunting demonstration or in any anti-hunting demonstration, but I live with a belief in the philosophy of Thomas Jefferson regarding firearms: "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."

Glory for the Corps & the wolves cometh

As long as I brought up the subject, I thought I would continue it. Here presented, for your education, edification and enjoyment, is a small sample of T-shirts reflecting Marine Corps sentiment. As usual, the technical quality of the photograph is rather dismal but, if you pop it up to full size, most of the slogans should at least be readable. If they are not, let me know and we will hire an attorney and see if we cannot find three or four people to sue. I would think the T-shirt manufacturer alone would pay us a tidy sum just to have us get lost.

Two hunters exchange thoughts ....
Part two of two

The trail is ancient, while the day dawns new.
It skirts the shoreline of a deep, blue lake
which nips at sand and rocks 15 feet below.
There walks a wolf below, big, gray, prowling,
hunting, driving on a search for game
while I watch, admiring its stealth and grace.

While I watch, I am watched. I know it.
I sense it. I feel another presence, near.
I turn my head and see the hunter's mate,
behind me, six feet distant, no more.
Our eyes blend, lock, focus, one upon the other
in a penetrating stare, each the other to know.

His approach I had not heard, so silent was he,
as the pair hunt the lake shore, one high,
one low, he on the upper deer trail
while she stalks the shoreline below.
My eyes record his outer being, long legs,
thick fur, expressionless face but for his eyes.

We probe each other's eyes, even beyond.
A minute it lasts, maybe two before
the wolf seems to shrug his shoulder,
lower his gaze from me to the trail ahead,
step forward, all this in a single motion
does the wolf move past me, continuing
his march along the ancient deer trail.

He passes so closely I can reach my hand
to touch, but do not, for he merely
is offering passage, not a welcome
to his woodland, to his home, to his path.
It is his trail, not mine; it is his mate below
on the lakeshore, not mine; I am his guest.

We might be brothers should we hunt alone,
but he is wary and protects his mate,
who patrols the sandy, rocky shoreline below.
There are times when brothers do not trust
even brothers, and this we both have learned.
I watch them until they disappear, together.

Incidentals ….

I do have a few other elements I want to toss into the wolf mix, part 2, but this is where I am right now and I feel lazy -- like I am on vacation or something like it. Besides that, I woke up today with a bit of a head cold, and it has been catching up to me more and more as the day progresses.

On a more positive note, I learned last night that I can separate the work of artists from the political viewpoints of the artists. That sort of snuck up on me without warning. Small victory, but major good feeling.

The Marine Corps enters my mind every January as I approach my anniversary date. It usually has been washed from my system a few days after the date (January 24) has passed, but this year it keeps coming back. Something must be stirring the blood. I wonder what.

Maybe I will add to this later, maybe I will write an email or two, maybe I will watch a movie, maybe I will pour a brandy and sit outside a while .... it is my time, at least for the moment.

Music Note: Listening to Def Leppard ....
Specifically, "Pyromania" ....
Some lines from: "Foolin':"

Is anybody out there, anybody there
Does anybody wonder, anybody care
Oh, I just gotta know

If you're really there and you really care
Cause baby

I'm not F-f-f-foolin, ah f-f-foolin
F-f-f-foolin, ah f-f-foolin

Wolves in the wild, Ambrose Bierce & other obscurities ....

Super Bowl. When?

Two weeks between the last playoff games in professional football and the Super Bowl is too long to wait. I've already lost interest. It's the same for me every year. Get on with it, while I'm still a little bit excited. I've already forgotten who's playing in the Super Bowl this year. Two weeks is too, too, too long.

Time to join the Republicans?

Little more than a week into the presidency of Barack Obama, I am moving away from being politically independent toward becoming a card-carrying Republican. (Well, maybe not card carrying.) Obama is not the only reason. In fact, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are just as much the cause. I believe their spending plans, if approved, will bankrupt the nation. I wonder how many first-time voters in 2008 who danced in the streets upon Obama's election will still be dancing a year or two from now. Living in the streets is a more likely possibility.

Ambrose Bierce & San Francisco

One of my favorite writers, Ambrose Bierce, spent much of his life living and working in San Francisco. I do not think there has been another like "Bitter Bierce," before or since, and do think it would be fascinating if he were alive today and issuing his edicts. Having been a Civil War veteran, having seen severe combat, having been seriously wounded and having produced some of the finest short stories written about "The War," I wonder how he would react to the anti-military climate present in today's San Francisco. It puzzles me how some people fail to distinguish that there is a distinct difference between being anti-war and being anti-military.

Wolves in the wild, a true story ....

While wandering these endless blogs, I paused to read a "young lady's" list of "likes and dislikes." One of her listed "likes" was, "Wolves in the wild." My often dazed mind recalled that I have encountered wolves in the wild on two occasions. The first took place while I was bear hunting. I do not believe he ever saw me, but almost certainly he sensed my presence, and eventually trotted off his own way. The distance between us was a measured 17 yards. The second time was while I was hiking on a deer trail along a high bank skirting a lake shore. I saw a wolf prowling the shoreline, about 12-15 feet below me. As I watched the wolf hunt, on this occasion, I was the one who sensed still another presence. I turned to look behind me. Not more than six feet away stood yet another wolf. His eyes were fixed upon my own. I had not heard his approach. Contrary to common sense, I kept continual eye contact with him. We looked at each other, probably for a minute, maybe, two. Then, with what almost seemed to be a shrug, the wolf dropped his gaze, moved past me and continued his march along the trail. He passed so closely I could have touched him with my hand. Draw a moral from that, if you would ....

Today is No. 10

Today, I file my tenth consecutive post on this blog. I am still not certain why I do it, or why anyone does it.

Music Note: Currently listening to Heart ....
I think I’m in love all over again ....