HUNTING WITH HANK

For years while I was growing up the fall was a busy time around my house.  
My dad was a hunter and hunting season was a big deal.  The same group of men went hunting every year.   

 The team was: 

Hank Werner 

Dick Jacquemard 

John Peer 

Bob Ozello 

Barney Keogh 

Bob Kocheva 

Dave Maestas 

The hunting trip took months of planning.  Hank's nick-name was "Mable" because they said he was a woman, concerned about all the details of the trip.  The trucks were packed, the footlockers full of food, adult beverages, playing cards, guns and ammo, and any conceivable needed items packed.  It was a yearly event that took more planning than the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.  

Today Hank told a story I had never heard.  

The men created a latrine for hunting camp.  They found took a long log and placed it on the side of a ravine.  Then they dug a trench for "waste products" to go.  You would sit on the log, do your business then toss some dirt on your items as they would go down the trench.    After an evening meal, later into the night several of guys started getting upset stomachs.  With an unlucky strike of timing four men needed to head to the "log" at the same time, battling severe diarrhea.  All four of the men decided that relieving themselves was much more important than privacy.  So they hurriedly gathered on the log.    The men were beginning to feel a little better after several minutes on the log, when, someone moved causing the log to  roll.  All four men lost their balance, tumbling over backward down the ravine finding themselves covered in.......um......well.... you get the picture.  

Dad said the other men (he was included in this group) inside the tent refused to let the other guys back into the tent until they cleaned up and changed clothes.  So there were the four men, undressing, and taking cold water baths to clean up in the dark.  There was no way "Mable" was going to let that "crap" in the tent.  

He said they finally let the guys back into the tent,  and they had a good laugh about it. (Well, Some of them had a good laugh about it!)

Just another moment of the life and times of Hank!

 

 

Every minute counts

For the past year or two, I have been bugging my dad that it might be time for him to give up life in small town Wyoming, and come down to Colorado to live with me.  While my dad is still pretty spry for an old guy,  I still wanted him closer.   I worry about him being so far away from a doctor.  I worry about him navigating icy roads in his Toyota truck.  I worry about him eating only Dinty Moore Beef Stew out of a can.  Finally, this fall, I won.  (as I had done many times as a teenager!)  Hank gave in, packed up his little green truck and moved in with me.   During this time, I have learned some pretty interesting things about my dad.  He is full of stories I have never heard before. This blog is for me, my children, and those who love their dads.  Hopefully this will be the place that happy memories are shared.  That history is kept and that many many years from now, the life and times of Hank will be alive and well!

I start with my parent's engagement photo.  He was a young American and she was a bright German girl working for the Army Chaplin.  The first time he saw her in the office, he looked her square in the eyes and said, "I am going to marry you someday!"
 To which my mom replied, "Stupid Americans!" 
 I share that story for two reasons:  One, so that you know my propensity for sarcasm is genetic, and that you be inspired to look for the joy along the way, as you may find happiness in the most random of places.  Hank and Dottie taught me that. 

I won't be traveling in an organized, neat, year by year manner- rather taking little stops along the way where my dad takes me.  Sometimes a TV show, a meal, a song, or the time of year sparks a memory for him.  Come take the journey with me, the one that has lasted for 83 years so far- The story of one Henry Travis Werner.  A short kid from Highland New York who lives an amazing life.