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| "The 30-Minute 1st Gobbler" |
April 2013 was a fun month for The Sheepdog. I got my first gobbler after many, many years of trying. It was a strange experience. I dubbed it "The 30-Minute 1st Gobbler". It was really a strange deal. I get out of the truck one morning, and while I'm getting geared up, I hear this turkey gobble. When I close the tailgate on the truck, he gobbles again, and this time he's much closer. I rush over into the woods, get setup, hit the mouth call a few times, and just 30 minutes from the time I closed the tailgate, I put the turkey down. You could describe the experience using the line from the GEICO commercials - "so easy a caveman could do it." Considering how long it had taken me to shoot a gobbler, it was the craziest thing I'd ever experienced. It seemed like the dude had a death wish.
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| Watching the 'Noles beat the Demon Deacons. |
While the spring was good to The Sheepdog, the fall wasn't. Those of you that have been reading my blog for awhile know that I absolutely love to hunt. In mid-October, just 2 weeks prior to fall turkey season opening and a month prior to muzzleloader deer season opening, I fractured a rib. Without going into all the details, let's just say it was a crazy, one-in-a-million, freak accident. Needless to say, my fall turkey and 2013 deer season were over before they got started. I went out a few times in late December, but the best deer hunting was already over. I found my self being even more thankful for the fact that 2012 was my best deer season ever, in which I shot 5 including my best buck ever.
While I was nursing the bum rib, I watched a lot, and I mean a lot of football. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my Seminoles did. Prior to the season, I really thought this would be more of a rebuilding year for them with so many guys going pro after the 2012 season. I thought the same about my Steelers. The Steelers proved me right, but I was thrilled that the 'Noles proved me wrong.
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| At the ACC Championship Game. |
In November, Mrs. Sheepdog and I went to Las Vegas for a few days. The main reason for going was for her to compete in the Las Vegas Rock 'N Roll Marathon. It was her first. She completed the marathon, and then we took some time to enjoy the lights of The Vegas Strip at night. If that's something you haven't done, you need to put it on your bucket list. You won't be disappointed. They're beautiful.
I've now started post-heart transplant year number 8. I don't know what the future holds. Will I have another year, or 2, or 3, or 20? Only the Lord knows. I do know, though, that thankful nor grateful truly express how I feel about the last 7 years I've been given. I know they have all been bonus years. I'm playing overtime, and that's a good thing.
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| Kent - my heart donor. |
One day, you might give someone a "second chance" like Kent did me and 3 others.
