 Ole's Fallout Shelter Big Buck Contest '99 The Deerslayers of '99  Now that Deer Camp '99 has come and gone, it's time to take a look back and reflect upon the good time we had. It sure was fun. We all missed Bob 'Tiny' Webb not being there, or "Bitch" as we affectionately called him. :) He'll always be missed. It won't ever be the same without him. Bob, here's to you. We all miss you, man. This year, it was Larry, Bob, Jason, Donny and Charley that stayed the whole week. Tom left Tuesday, and Jamie left Wednesday.  We had a lot of good food and drink. We used to go out to eat every night, every year, but you really can't beat cooking at the shack, which we've been trying to do a lot more of. It sure is a lot of work, but worth it. Everyone brought up lots of good stuff. We had burgers, we had roasts, we had shrimp, we had mule deer and we even roasted a turkey! A lot of the food was compliments of Jamie, who did a lot of cooking with the smoker. Schmidt, Busch Light, EJ Brandy and Captain Morgan were enjoyed by all. Always after the hunt of course. Deer camp just gets better every year. Ahhhh. The night before opener. Once again, Dottie Lou was playing loud and long on the stereo. A part of Ray that will live on forever at the ol' shack. I think I'm going to have to have a CD burned of that tape, because the damn thing is wearing out by being played a couple hundred times a season. You may be familiar with some of her songs, like One More Memory, Little Arrows, Drinking Champagne, Someone Up There Still Loves Me, Ride Ride Ride, and There Must Be A Way. She's not the only thing we play, but when we do, watch out!  The cards were flying fast and furious again at the shack. Smear just never seems to get old. An addictive game that sometimes keeps us up late into the night. Sometimes a little too late. Out of all the guys, Tom walked away with the lightest wallet. Man, he really took a hit. The Monday after opening weekend, he wanted to win some jing back, but continued to lose game after game. It was Tom, Jason and myself that stayed at the table, doing the magic shuffle. Tom was getting frustrated and said he wasn't going to bed until he won a game. I would win some, but then even out by losing some. The real winner was Jason. We kept on playing until, gulp, 6 in the morning. Yikes! I told you the game is addicting, but that was wayyy past our usual quitting time. Tom finally gave up and went to bed, thank God. He overheard me telling one of the guys that morning about how he said he wasn't quitting until he went to bed as I was explaining why we stayed up so late. He thought I was making fun of him and got up and chewed my ass, big time. All I could do was sit there dumbfounded. I guess that's the effect the crazy game of smear can have on a guy.  Before the season, Larry, Jamie and me did some work on the shack. We replaced some insulation that the squirrels tore up, put down some new tile and put in a new king sized toilet. Now we're flying in style. There's still a lot more work to be done. Replacing the porch/deck will probably be the next project. After getting out of the woods at dark, we would find our way over to Ole's Fallout Shelter, where another fine bunch of guys set up their deer camp every year. You really can't beat the kind of camaraderie the two parties enjoy together. A big reason we look forward to deer season so much. They're always generous when you're sporting that thirsty look. Now if we could just get them over to our shack and halfway return the favor. They're a hell of a group.   |
