i don't shoot anything that i'm not going to eat. PERIOD. i've been called crazy for not shooting bobcats, as they eat turkey hatchlings. but aren't they supposed to?
besides, i don't eat bobcat.
i don't shoot birds. they have crow hunting-you should have seen the look i got when i asked if people eat them. apparently they don't--so why is there a season? i didn't get a good answer to that either.

but hopefully, at least someone, or two, will read all this mess and maybe realize we don't all go around in dented pickups with a crazed look, shooting deer by the hundreds and leaving them to rot....

and that was a funny bowling story. didn't know that sport could be so lethal.

I do agree that a lot of folks like to group people together unfairly...I haven't done that. I lived a number of years in WVa and married my first wife there...I've met some of the most intelligent folks I've known in those mountains. Just because a young woman doesn't know who Moby Dick was is no reason to view her as "inferior", just because she may not be "beautiful" in the eyes of one person doesn't doom her to a life without meaning. In an attempt to be sarcastic in another thread I stated that I think it's disgusting that folks look at me questioningly when I speak of "making Godot look punctual"....

How many times you been married? You're like Liz Taylor?

No, I stop at twice....first lasted 16 years, this last one 22 years...I guess at least I can say I'm getting better.

Still going at 22 years strong. Is she a PETA nut also..Just kidding Somer.:p

my gran is from west virginia. a rather unpleasant person btw....

that's true tho-there are many types of intelligence. i read a lot, and have a brain stuffed with generally useless trivia-my husband is not a reader by any means. my children made the mistake once of informing me that i was a lot smarter then my husband. well, they quickly learned that not much sets me off quicker than an attack on my husband-only thing comparable would be an attack on one of my children. i informed them that i know things he does not, but he knows plenty i do not-and that they were doing him an injustice and selling him quite short. of course they're older now, and understand much better and appreciate him a lot.
guy i work with can't spell worth a damn-but he can fix anything and everything, and i have said more than once i enny his knowledge and i have much respect for him.

altho some might disagree, i think this was a pretty good discussion, all things considering.

you're a good person somer, rigid, but i appreciate that-i've been accused of the same thing!

you better marry again, going by your average, you're guaranteed another 20 years on the planet.

tony and i will hit 21 in march.

There are stupid people in every state. I don't think its fair to generalize....Surround yourself with the right ones and hope the other ones don't have kids.

Congrats!

thanks!! he's a great guy, i'm very lucky.

my sis works for walmart, a district mgr. they offered her a position in the home office-batesville ark. of course i live in arkansas...she turned them down. when my other sis asked her why, she said move to arkansas? i can't do that to MY kids....

hehe
she's a charmer

LOL...if I meet the right person I'd surely try again... lets see, progression theory...16, 22...that means the next may last 28 years, yeah...I'd take that!
Randall...no, she was (is) a fundamentalist christian, she doesn't like hunting but not a PETA member.

I've lived in :
NY
WVa
NJ
PA
VA
and briefly in:
DC
ILL
Del
Ohio
Out of all those, I enjoyed WVa the most! I was in most of the Southern states during my time in the Civil Rights movement and met a lot of wonderful folks...sure a lot of angry ones too but that was expected. Attempting to discredit folks because of where they live is nothing more than ignorance...good and bad exist everywhere!

And second was Jersey no doubt. Where did you live in NJ?

No, I spent over a year in NJ while at Fort Dix....Browns Mills and Boyertown (sp?)...didn't really like it but then, I really didn't like the Army so hard to be fair!

lived in md, missouri, florida, california and here. we like it here the best i guess.
but truly, home is where the heart is. i could move tomorrow, and would no doubt like where i ended up.

Danzig,
I don't shoot crows either, though there seem to be plenty around.
Heck, I even caught a sea gull once while I was blue fishing.
Released unharmed, though it tried like crazy to take off my fingers...such an ingrate!
I do hunt birds...ruffed grouse (partridge in these parts), woodcock, and pheasants. Never over my limit, and all eaten.
Wild turkey is pretty good too, especially after a maple brine and hickory smoke in the smoker.
Basically, I don't waste any of the harvest.
It's not the blood, the kill, or the pulling of the trigger that makes it important to me. That's such a small part of it, and frankly, it gives me no joy.
The truth of it is that there's something about hunting and fishing that connects me with something far bigger than me. Not many folks will understand that. Nor do I want to try to convince them.
All I ask is for tolerance.
And yes, I've been involved in chickens, pigs, lambs, veal, and most of the other meats that come so neatly wrapped in the refrigerator case in the supermarket. To be honest, we always gave the critters the best food, care, and life possible. It's as real as my stringbeans and tomatoes.
All part of the "garden" called abundance. Gosh, I love it all.
Thanks for tolerating my rant.

Well Fort Dix isn't NJ. Any military base doesn't give you a feel for the state. Plus southern Jersey is more like Maryland than NYC area. Come up from the sticks. Great place.

Oops, I missed Maryland...don't know how I did that...lived in Salisbury and Hagerstown.