Jones Crazy
By Dave Sheedy
�Jones Crazy is a slight defense from it,
Jones Crazy is a place I call my own,
When I�m alone��
-Tabitha�s Secret, �Unkind�
Everyone has a favorite spot on there land, a spot that is different from all others. It can be the best area for deer, have the most beautiful scenery or be a good fishing hole. My favorite area is as out of the way as possible in my patch of woods. I call my area �Jones Crazy�, named after a place in one of my favorite songs. It is not the best place to see deer, there are no fish to be caught, the scenery is quite beautiful though but that is not important to me. When I grow tired of these crowded streets I go and sit at Jones Crazy to get away from the fast paced, complicated and often boring routine of daily life. Often times I sit for hours on end listening to the water rolling over the rocks and the various animals going about their lives. When I leave I thank God for providing such a place so close to my home. And when I walk out of the woods I am usually better than when I came.
Recently, my father, sister and I went for a walk on the same trails that my father had walked as a child. He showed me a place he called �Three Oaks� quite simply because there were three oak trees at this spot. He seemed happy that he could show this spot to us, and I could understand why, someday if all goes well I can show my spot to my own kids. I started thinking about the history behind my spot, how many others have sat on the same rock that I sit on and thought the same thoughts that I have? How many generations have come and gone before I �found� the spot? From that rock if I look closely I can see the property line separating the woods that I am sitting in and the woods owned by the logging company. I�ve walked the area that was logged, trees still stand, they didn�t log everything, but the land is scarred with the trails left by the huge machines. Now Jones Crazy is in danger of being lost also, the landowner is thinking about selling the land. I don�t want to imagine what it would be like to walk up to my waterfall one day to see a bulldozer plowing through all of my memories, and all of the history that is a part of the land. But even if that one area is lost, I will still have the memories forever.
I have attempted to show you a personal side to the conservation issue. If we do not take care of what God has given us now, we will lose it forever.
To anyone that has ever harvested a deer, heard a gobbler approaching, or just sat in the woods and thought for a little bit, think about how your life would be different if you never had those things. I know my life has changed for the better ever since I found out what the great outdoors has to offer. I know that my woods won�t be around forever, but I will try to keep them around for as long as possible for future generations to enjoy. Because Jones Crazy will always be a slight defense from whatever is bothering me, and if progress takes that away then I guess we haven�t progressed as far as we think�
