The Great 2008 Teal Hunt or How to Blow Up a Shotgun Without Even Trying!

Most duck hunters who reside in north central Texas or Oklahoma do not consider the opening of early teal season as anything more than an opportunity to make sure all the gear that will be required for the "real" opening of duck season is hunt-worthy and ready to go. It reminds me of the days when I was much younger and viewed the opening of archery deer season as an early tuneup for the "real" opening of deer season. Now that I am older, I understand that archery season has much to offer on its own merits! In the case of teal season, I have also realized that it offers much to appreciate for those willing to brave mosquitoes that are often larger than the birds themselves, snakes of all variety, temperatures that are often close to triple digits while wearing clothes that could keep a guy warm in sub-freezing December weather and lastly hurricane force rain and wind! Opening day of the 2008 teal season was one the I had looked forward to for several months. It was going to be the first time to take my son-in-law, Tim Williamson, on a duck hunt. Tim is the Weapons Officer on a US Navy submarine and was moving to a new duty station. He and my daughter and grandsons were spending a few weeks in Dallas attending his sister's wedding and equally important (sorry, Lindsy!) participating in what we call the Great 2008 Teal Season Opener!

We planned to hunt in Oklahoma, with a friend of Mark's named Luke Dunlap. Luke is a great hunting buddy...well, he is pretty much a great guy and the hunting part makes it even better. Now one of the things that none of us counted on was the fact that the women in our lives...my wife (and mother to Mark and mother-in-law to Tim), my daughter (and wife to Tim and sister to Mark) and Tim's mother would find anything amiss in the plan to hunt opening morning of teal season. Coincidentally, teal season corresponded with Tim's sister's wedding day! I assume most of you can see where we failed to appropriately plan here? Anyway, as we got closer to the actual day (teal season and Lindsy's wedding) the weather forecasters began to make evil prognostications about some minor storm in the Gulf of Mexico named Ike. The forecast was for gale force (45-50 knot winds) and heavy rains as far north as Oklahoma and Arkansas. Being the hale and hearty hunters we are, the weather did not frighten us at all. Therefore, 3 A. M. that morning found Tim and I driving to Oklahoma to meet up with Mark and Luke. We met and headed to the spot we had chosen for our opening day salvo. Arriving at the boat ramp, we loaded up and headed for the lower end of an old Red River oxbow lake. We had decided that Luke and Tim would hunt together on the lower end of the lake and Mark and I would hunt together on the upper end. After dropping Tim and Luke off at their blind, Mark and I set up on the upper end and got decoys arranged and got the boat hidden and settled down to wait for what we knew would be a morning filled with the duck world equivalent to World War II dive bombers...teal! The weather was muggy, foggy and hot, with no rain or wind! It took Mark and me about an hour or so to get our limit of teal. After that we sat and talked, waiting for Tim and Luke to finish up their limits. As we listened to the shooting from their end of the lake we realized that the shooting seemed much more sporadic than we expected. At about this time, Mark decided that he should take the boat and check on Tim and Luke. In the meantime, I would gather up our decoys. About 45 minutes later, as I finished gathering up decoys, I heard Mark pull up with the boat. He killed the motor and hopped out of the boat to come give me a hand. I noticed that neither Luke or Tim had much to say. Mark grinned and said, "Dad, I have good news and bad news!" I said, "Okay, give it to me." Mark laughed and replied, "Your son-in-law is alive, but your shotgun is dead!" After expressing my happiness that Tim was okay, about 5 0r 6 seconds, I asked what happened to my shotgun. At this point, Tim holds up a twisted piece of wood and metal that one time passed for a nice Spanish-made over and under! Now to this day, Luke and Tim have yet to confess completely what happened. I guess duck blinds are like Las Vegas...what happens there stays there! I suppose the other thing this all proves is that I apparently do love Tim like a son, because only Tim Williamson or Mark Miller could get away with destroying my shotgun and still hunt with me! Oh, about the wedding? Turns out we made it back in plenty of time for the wedding. And that nasty little storm in the Gulf? It dropped about 7 inches of rain on the wedding, but it turned out to be a great wedding and we all love Lindsy's husband!

It Will Be Your Favorite, Papaw!

There is a place that every child looks forward to visiting from the time they are old enough to understand about it. It is Disney World, aka "The Happiest Place on Earth!" Now, I am not sure that statement is somewhat hyperbolic, but there it is, nonetheless. This past weekend, our daughter and son-in-law took advantage of their proximity to Orlando, to visit Disney World with our grandsons. Mark Garrett was so excited that for at least a week, he could think of nothing else. In fact, I think he then got Luke hyped about the trip, even though neither of them had a clue as to what "Disney World was really all about!"



I believe they had an awesome time...at least according to Mark. He called me to tell me all about his trip and was he wound up! He explained to me that his favorite rides were the "parking lot tram", the monorail and the "Farmstormer (that is The Barnstormer, a kiddie version of a roller coaster for you uninitiated!) I think his mom and dad thought the parking lot tram was a bit of a waste, but as they say, "You can tell a three-year-old, you just can't tell him much!" Mark explained to me that, "The Farmstormer goes very, very, very, very, very fast, Papaw! It was my favorite! It will be your favorite too, Papaw!" I am sure it will be, Buddy, and I look forward to going to Disney World with you in the not too distant future. I love you and Luke!

If It Is A Contest, I Won!

My son and his fiance' closed on the house that will be their first home after they are married this summer. It is a nice house and with some work, it will be a great first home for them. As seems to be the norm in our family, I am helping Mark and Meghan with things like building shelves, removing vinyl flooring, putting down tile, landscape renovation, removing wallpaper, and painting. Today, as we were working, I got a phone call from my daughter Alicia. About five years ago, I spent almost a month helping her remodel the first home that she and my son-in-law, Tim purchased. The question she asked me today was this, "Whose house required more work, hers or Mark's and Meghan's?" I immediately said that it was her first house. I was thinking about all the painting, flooring and hard wood floor refinishing that we did. We worked at least 10 hours a day and usually went to bed exhausted! However, after some more thought, I realized that it has been a blessing to help both of my children and their spouses (or soon-to-be spouses) with the work needed on their first homes. In fact, it has been a greater blessing than they can know. First, I have been blessed to have been taught how to do basic remodeling and construction by my Papaw, my dad and my father-in-law. The time I have spent during my life, with these three men has been something that has shaped me into the person I am. Second, I have been blessed to learn that hard work is a good thing! God's Word tells us this, but sometimes we ignore that truth. Lastly, I have been blessed to be able to work alongside my daughter and her husband and my son and his fiance'. And in case you wonder, my wife, Anita, was right there working away as well! So, if it really was a contest, then I will let them all in on a secret...I was the winner!

What's In A Name?

Dear Mark and Luke,

Last night, as I was reading a book about the history of Scotland, I began to think about names of people and places. As I did I began to think about the meaning of your names. You see every name has a meaning behind it and when your mommy and daddy named you, they thought about the names they gave you.

Mark Garrett, you know that you were named for your Uncle Mark and the name Garrett came from both your daddy's family and from your mommy's grandfather's family. However, both of those names have special meaning. The name Mark means valiant warrior and was the name of one of the early church leaders, a man named John Mark. He is the one who wrote the Gospel of Mark. It is amazing to me that when he was young, John Mark went on a mission trip with Paul and later turned back and went home. That doesn't sound much like a valiant warrior to me, but then the Lord gave him renewed strength and courage and we later read about him boldly preaching the Gospel and even writing one of the Gospels! God can do amazing things when we let Him. Your middle name is Garrett and this means "he rules with a bold spear." Do you realize, Mark Garrett, that your whole name means "valiant warrior who rules with a bold spear?" It is my prayer for your life that you always be a valiant warrior for the Lord, with a bold spear that is the Truth of His Word! Remember your name little one!

Luke Patton, your name is very special too. Your name comes from your daddy's side of the family and also has a special meaning in the Bible. The name Luke comes from a man named Luke, who was a doctor and a leader in the early church. Luke wrote one of the Gospel accounts and the book of Acts. Luke's account of Jesus' life and the history of the early church are two of the most detailed, accurate and powerful accounts of those days that are in existence. They form much of the foundation of what we know and believe about the early history of Christianity. Luke travelled with the apostle Paul and was with him when he wrote many of the letters found in the New Testament. In fact, between Paul and Luke, the two of them wrote more than half the New Testament! The name Luke means "light." I believe that is an appropriate name for him and I pray for you. The name Patton is also very special and means "from the town of warriors." Your whole name means "light from the town of warriors." Luke, it is my prayer that you will always be a light that brings the true Light of the World to others as boldly as if you came from a town of warriors!

So when anyone asks, "What's in a name?", you can tell them what's in your name!

I love you,

Papaw

Take Care Of Mimi

Dear Mark and Luke,
I know you two guys are really excited because your Mimi came to visit yesterday. She was very excited to be able to come and see you too! I am always a little sad when Mimi leaves to go somewhere to visit because it means that she is not here with me. You see when you have been married to someone as long as I have to Mimi, almost 33 years, then you really miss them when they are gone. The first day or two she is gone are always the hardest. I often walk around and start to say something to her and then remember that she is not here. I usually don't eat as well as I should or take care of myself as well as I should when she is gone.

There are a few things you should always remember about your Mimi. First, she loves you no matter what. She loves you when you are good and when you are bad (although she prefers it when you are good!) Did you know that there is nothing you can do to make her love you more than she does right now and there is nothing you can do to make her love you less either? You see, God is the same way. He loves you no matter what and He always will and because of that love, we love Him and want to obey Him. Mimi understands that love is patient and kind and that love is faithful and that describes your Mimi to a "T."

Second, Mimi is the wisest and most godly woman I have ever met. Probably the only silly thing she has ever done was to marry me and I am really glad she did! If you listen to your Mimi, you will always get good advice about life and about how to live life.

Third, did you know that Mimi prays for each of you everyday? She does! In fact, Mimi and I pray for you both to grow up healthy and strong, but most of all we pray for you to follow the Lord your whole life long, as your "night-nights music" says. We have prayed for you even before you were born...that's how much Mimi loves you!

Fourth, Mimi loves dessert! She loves red Sour Patch Kids and Gummi Bears. She loves strawberries and milk. In fact, I can't think of anything with sugar that she doesn't like! And she will always share with you two!

So you guys help take care of Mimi while she is there visiting you and give her lots of love and kisses. I miss Mimi and you two very much!

Papaw