Coon Huntin!
It was starting to get dark when
Wes called his buddy Cobb and said "hey...lets go coon hunting tonight"
(which was the code for lets take the dog and go see what we can catch
and drink a few beers to high school boys). Cobb said "sure...be right
over"
A few minutes later Cobb showed up on Wes’s back porch ready to
go hunting, warm pants, boots and coat on with his flashlight in hand.
Wes grabbed his flashlight and smoke's and said.."lets go"
They grabbed the leash and hooked up the old
dog and headed for the truck, of course the beer was already stashed under
some hay in the back of the truck. Wes tied his dog(a golden lab/shepherd
cross who loved possum's and went out of his way to rough up skunks) in
the back of the truck and they headed for the back 80. They drove down
to the creek and put the beer in a hole to stay cool until they were done
hunting. Then they drove over to the back field and parked the truck.
By now it was good and dark and the coon's and
possums should be stirring to find something to eat. Wes lit up a cigarette
and opened a bottle of beer he had saved out of the case, of course Cobb
had saved one himself and proceeded to drink it.
Wes untied the old dog and said "go get em boy" and the mutt(who's
name was Laddie) took off like a shot, nose to the ground for about 15
feet then of course he had to find a bush! Then another bush, a good squat
and then scratch grass over it all , run in a circle and he was ready to
hunt.(All coon hunters know the first 15 minutes of a coon hunt are spent
waiting on the dog to do "his"thing)
We'll anyway...Laddie takes off like a
shot right out into the middle of the back field, nose to the ground looking
for a hot scent. Of course he finds a skunk first thing, seems him and
this skunk meet up in the middle of the back field every time Wes and Cobb
took him out hunting.
Well the dog goes nuts wolfing and growling, the skunk puts his
tail up and starts dancing , Wes and Cobb are hollering like idiots "get
um boy...haahhh get um". Well this goes on for about 5 minutes, the boys
hollering, the dog wolfing as he runs around the skunk trying to stay on
the end that don’t "spit"(smart dog huh) and the skunk keeps dancing in
circles trying to get a good shot at these three idiots!
Eventually the skunk gets tired of this dance and
changes the tune by running for the woods with Laddie, Wes and Cobb in
hot pursuit! The skunk and Laddie ran through the briar bushes while Wes
and Cobb went the long way around. Laddie finally ran the skunk into a
hollow log in the middle of the swamp, sounding like he was baying into
a barrel as Wes and Cobb finally showed up hollering "get um boy...whoooo
get um...sic um Laddie!"
Wes shined his light into the log and came face
to tail with the skunk...deciding this wasn’t to wise he switched ends
on the log to look again. Seeing the log was hollow all the way through
he proceeded to stomp on the solid feeling log, trying to get the skunk
to run out so they could chase him some more. The boys never let the dog
hurt a skunk...just run him nuts for awhile having fun and staying away
from the dangerous end or at least out of range. But the best laid plans
of boys and dogs or as they say in Vegas "play the odds but
the house always wins in the end!"
Well Wes and Cobb had been playing the
odds for quite awhile and tonight the worm turned on them...with a vengeance...hehehe.
Wes was continuing to stomp on the log trying to run the skunk out, Cobb
was hollering and jumping around like a rabbit with his tail on fire and
Laddie was so worked up he was chewing pieces off the ends of the log!
Everybody but the skunk was having a good time, but as good times go they
must come to an end. This seemingly solid log decided wes had stomped on
it enough and opened down the middle like a book opening, Wes's foot coming
down on this skunks tail. Of course the skunk didn’t think to much of this
on top of being chased, hollered at and then having someone stomping on
the log he was trying to hide in!(ever been in a barrel while someone beat
on it?...hehehe).
We'll when Wes’s foot came down
on the skunks tail this skunk decided it was time to do something about
these boys and their dog! As Wes’s foot brushed the skunks butt and came
down on his tail Wes uttered these fatal words..."OH SHIT!" The skunks
tail went immediately to full attack mode and he let fly! Wes was backpedaling
frantically muttering loudly "SHIT!..SHIT!..SHIT!" thinking all the while
"this is going to smell BAD!!" Cobb in the meantime was in the process
of turning to vacate the area post haste, and Laddie was trying to swap
ends as Mr. skunk prepared to fire! As Laddie, Wes and Cobb tried to take
off to three different directions of the compass, the skunk let fire! First
he got wes who was the closest, pelting him first with a short stream then
a fine foam covering mist! Next was a wide fan shot on Laddie as he tried
to turn and run, getting him with a good face shot and then strafing down
his side to the tip of his tail! Then it was Cob’s turn who had only had
time to half turn and was screaming like a 12 year old girl with a snake
in her lap! This shot was a little harder being a moving target but Mr.
skunk pulled it off with a fine stream changing to a good mist like you
get from a water hose! Mr. skunk proceeded to rotate like an out of control
fireworks spinner, spraying a fine mist over the retreating boys and dog,
the bushes and trees, and any squirrel or bird that stuck their head out
to see what had woke them up!
The skunk took off again heading
for a hollow stump that was nearby, probably thinking he had seen the last
of these smelly fools for awhile. Laddie not knowing any better took off
after him again, and the boys thinking they couldn’t possibly smell any
worse took of after him to.
When the skunk run into the hollow stump Laddie went nuts again
as Wes started to kick the stump, trying to run him out for Laddie to terrify.
Cobb starts mumbling "do you really think you ought to be kicking that
hollow stump Wes?" About this time Wes’s foot goes through the side of
the stump and a chunk the size of a dinner plate falls off, Wes looks at
Cobb and says "Nope...think its time to go!" The boys proceeded to leave
Laddie to his own madness and left at a run. Wes told Cobb "I think it's
time for a beer.....maybe it will wash this skunky taste out of our mouths!"
Cobb wholeheartedly agreed!
Laddie had decided it was
the better part of valor to leave with the boys, the skunk being terrorized
enough for tonight. They all hopped in the truck and went back to the creek
to retrieve the beer, Laddie deciding he needed a bath in the creek as
they got there. Wes stopped the truck and Cobb hopped out to get the beer
leaving the door open. Laddie being all tuckered out from the chase decided
he wanted to ride up front with Wes and Cobb, he proceeded to jump into
the seat and roll over on Wes! We'll Wes didn’t think to much of a wet
skunky smelling dog laying on top of him, let alone in the close confines
of the truck cab! He proceeded to scream, yell and push Laddie towards
the open door, about this time Cobb decided to get back in the truck wondering
what was going on. Having a wet skunky smelling dog pushed into his lap
all at once he figured it out real quick and left the truck again. Finally
getting Laddie out and Cobb back in, the truck cab smelling like wet skunk
the boys decided to just call it a night...the first beers tasted kind
of skunky anyway!
Getting home Wes said.."see you tomorrow
at school Cobb", Cobb waved and headed for his house across the road. Wes
stripped of his clothes and slipped into the house, his parents sleeping
in their room. He showered and showered until he couldn’t smell himself
anymore then tried out some of his moms perfume as well. Going into his
room he closed the door, opened his window halfway(this is in November
mind you)sprayed some air freshener around and went to bed.
About 15 minutes later his mom comes to his door and says.."Wes...do
you smell skunk outside?"
Wes replied.."I cant smell anything!"(which was the truth by now).
His mom said..(Did you boys get into a skunk tonight?" Wes replied.."Yeah
we treed one and he kinda sprayed a little". Wes's mom knowing her boy
didn’t bother to stick her head into his room, the smell was loud enough
as it was!
All was well...or so Wes thought!
You see Wes and Cobb had used Wes’s dads truck to go hunting in, and Wes’s
dad used it to drive to work. Needless to say when Wes’s dad opened the
door the next morning to drive to work, tears immediately came to his eyes
and they weren’t from grief!
Wes found all this out when his father stormed in asking "What
in the #$@%&# did you get into last night?" Wes figured it was kind
of obvious but proceeded to tell his father about the nights proceedings,
leaving out the beer! Wes's dad took the car to work this morning!
Wes wasn’t real popular at school either,
about the only one who wanted within two feet of him was Cobb and he had
had an eventful homecoming to! Cobb told Wes his mom had smelled him coming
into the basement and met him at the top of the stairs proclaiming .."Boy...you
stink!"
She made Cobb strip and put his clothes outside and then brought
out a couple of cans of tomato juice and told him to wash with that...never
getting within 6 feet of him this whole time!
After he washed with the tomato juice she told him he could sleep
in the basement, "He sure wasn’t coming upstairs!" Cobb opened a couple
of windows a crack and resigned himself to sleeping in the basement for
the next few nights. Thankfully he only had two more days of school before
the weekend, so he shouldn’t have to put up with to much from his school
friends.
The next day sitting in their fourth
hour class next to each other in the back of the room next to an open window,
with an obvious row of chairs empty around them Wes looked at Cobb and
said..."Want to go Coon hunting again Friday night?" Cobb looked at Wes
and said.."Sure..we can drink the rest of the beer!" Boys!...Do they ever
learn?
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