Thanks for letting me come hunt in Kentucky

You're probably not going to hear this all that often, but I just wanted to thank all you Kentucky folks for letting me come deer hunt in your state. I am a born and bred Buckeye. I have hunted deer since the early 80's and I have to say that your choice of seasons and firearms, and your overall management of your herds make it a great experience, much superior to my own state.

I got to thinking about this all on last Monday morning, when I rode into work in pouring rain. It was the Ohio Opener, and although a bunch of guys I knew were off work and braving the rain, I was warm and dry and done for the season with a full freezer. About mid-week, guys started filtering back in, having given up. They had not seen a single stinking deer.

Then Saturday came. I was down at camp in Bracken County clearing out and locking up and putting anti-freeze in the traps. My only concern was that I get home before the rain hit on Sunday. We were back home, safe and warm and had fixed two meals of venison before the first kickoff on Sunday afternoon. Last night, I slipped on the last coat of oil and put all the deer rifles back into the safe at Dad's house.

Now here it is, Monday morning again, and I'm looking at the weather forecast for the week and trying to remember why I ever ventured out deer hunting with a shotgun in Ohio.

Initially, I responded to invites back in the late 80's from friends in Kentucky for me to come down and hunt. I found out that:

1) Sure, you could hunt on Sundays
2) Rifle? No problem. Just don't shoot the skylit ones.
3) Back in those days, couldn't you bag 2 bucks???

Wow, what a concept!

Ohio finally got that Sunday thing figured out, but it wasn't before I'd given up and gotten 200 acres in Bracken County that is just for my sons and myself. Heck, I liked the state so much, I even went back in a holler down in McCreary County and found me a good second wife-- traded a crazy old mountain woman a microwave for her best daughter. She loves me and doesn't mind my hunting and even comes down to camp and cooks for me, As long as I come home sober on a regular basis, she's happy as a clam.

She's also done her best over the past ten years to help me fit in little better. I traded my Buick for a Chevy Truck that always has a dog or two riding in the back. I lost all the LL Bean stuff and laid in some Carharts and Walmart quilted shirts, and one of these days I promise that I'll learn to conjugate "fight" properly. Fight, fit, have fitted,. . . er. . . I'll get it right I promise.

What's not to like about Kentucky???

Anyhow, I just wanted to say thank you to all you kind folks in Kentucky for letting me come hunt.

Just one thing: You might want to ease up on the complaining about it being too warm for Opening Day. It really honks those Buckeyes off something fierce, and I wouldn't want there to be trouble.