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Before long it got colder and he informed me that coon hunting season would open. Being a city girl, I didn't know there was a racoon season, the only animal hunting season I knew about was deer season. He explained to me that he would kill the coon , then sell the fur to the fur buyer. WHAT!!, I thought, coon are so little they don't have much fur, and, besides how would he get the fur off?? Once again,I quizzed him about all the details of coon hunting season, and he said, you'll just have to go with me and find out. I said I would soon, someday.
I was back at my house, and my friend came over to visit. "Where have you been?", she asked. "I have been by several times, and called you. You sure are spending alot of time with that 'dog guy'". I smiled and said, "yeaaaa, he's pretty cool. I have learned stuff about hunting that I had no idea even existed. I mean did you know around here there are fur buyers for raccoon fur?" She rolled her eyes, and said,"duh. Maybe he'll catch enough coon to make you a raccoon coat".
"You don't catch coon, you shoot them, dingo. By the way, we are going coon hunting together soon", I said.
"WHAT??", she exclaimed, "You are gonna go into the woods with a guy you've not known THAT long, and he will be carrying a gun? What if he is some wierdo, and shoots YOU?".
"Well I suppose if he did shoot me, at least my last days were good times", and smiled teasingly.
She looked at me, and realized I was sincere , and confident in this 'dog guy'.
"Well, tell me more about what you been up to", she said, as to change the subject.
I began to talk. All I could talk about was all the stuff I learned about hunting, how embarrassed I was of my 'dog phobia', and how I jumped back into the truck like a scared chicken, and so on. Then, I said, "you know, I have not seen anyone so passionate about something for a very long time. I find myself excited just to find out how his hunt went? I don't understand it, maybe it's just him I wanna hear from?!"
"Ha ha ha. A coonhunter. What about movies, dancing and playing cards with friends. What else does the 'dog guy' do in life?", she said sarcastically.
"Well, he likes to eat out. We went on a day road trip to take his dog to get bred", I said.
She looked at me as if I was crazy, "You did what? Took a dog to get bred? Did you guys watch?or did you go out to eat while the dog got bred?"
"Oh brother, let's talk about something else", I said
We laughed, and soon my phone rang. It was HIM. He reminded me that I would need some warm, tough boots, and warm clothes (maybe long johns) for when we'd go hunting soon.
I realized that I had neglected a lot of things during this dating period. The seasons were passing so quickly, and I was still wearing out of season clothes. No wonder he called to make sure I would wear something more appropriate for hunting.
During the next few weeks before the hunting season began, we spent a lot of time together. It just so happened to be at his place. He was encouraging me to go pet one of the dogs. He promised to stay by my side. Understand- when we would leave his place, I would stand right next to the closed door until he could walk me to the door of the vehicle- because I was still afraid of those dogs. Finally, one bright evening I told him I was ready to try and pet one of the dogs. We walked side by side very slowly right up to the point the dog could not cross the line, as far as his chain allowed him. And, even though I would occasioinally toss a piece of pizza or something to them, when we would leave, we had made no bound so far. And, now this close I tried to touch one, and she put her mouth on my hand "eeiighhh, she tried to bite me", I said, and turned towards the truck. He laughed, and said,"she thought you were gonna give her food, that's why she went towards your hand silly". We slowly made it a bit more personal, each time I would try to pet the dog she would not jump on me (cause he yelled at her), and I would give her space and she would act friendly while waiting for her treat. We had plans to go hunting next week. He knew I would not go into the woods, unless I felt a little more comfortable with his dog. But, what he didn't know is that just because I was making friends with the dog (because she was chained up), did not make the idea of hunting any easier.
(to be continued...)
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