The Lucky Thermos

I used to take a themos of coffee all the time. In fact it was a that small thermos that was , in part, responsible for my first deer. I'd run out of regular coffee that morning, and used some ultra-high test espresso stuff to brew up my thermos load. I hunted on the ground that morning, and after a couple of cups of that stuff, I had to go "pay the rent"

I walked over a few feet from my ground blind and I was just zipping up when I noticed there was a nice stump to sit on and the stump overlooked a different part of the creek bottom I'd not seen before. It was slow, so I thought I'd stay put for a while on that stump. I had this new-fangled thing called a grunt call. I blew it, and just then a herd of deer broke from a line of cedars just a few feet up hill and ran right at me.

The got so close that one set of hoof prints was between my boots. I got my first doe out that herd-- caught her running at a distance of less than 10 yards with a 30-06.

That thermos had been the one I carried from Kindergarten on. It fit inside my lunchbox. When I started deer hunting I dug it out of the back of Mom's cupboard and put some camo tape on it. It lasted 15 seasons until completely rusting away about 5 years ago. Nowadays, I carry a big stainless thermos I used to take to work if I'm going to be in the blind all day. It just ain't the same. I miss my lucky thermos.