To all my faithful readers, I want to thank you for your love and prayers. I could feel them. I know God heard your prayers and I’m still here. Thank you.
I did not get hit by lightning, but I have joined Gary Busey’s out-of-this-world experience. I blacked out, went off the side of the road and traveled 55 feet down the side and hit a 4-foot-by-4-foot red square rock. I’ve been in limbo for two weeks.
Since recouping from an automobile accident and still in the hospital, I would like to share an article from another reader, which came in at the perfect time.
I’ll be back with you in a couple of weeks. I’ve got some funny articles bouncing around in head, but I’m not quite there to make sense of them.
So, I am sharing an article from Gary Metcalf, a reader of The SUN:
“HI Betty,
“I read your latest article in the Preview. It brought back fond memories of my love affair with ‘Winchester Pump.’
“I grew up on a small farm in Kansas. In those days farmers had habitat and food sources that bob white quail thrived on. Every farm had covey’s of quail. Unfortunately that is not true today. My Dad loved to hunt quail. At the age of 12 he allowed me to hunt with him, with a single shot 20 gauge shotgun, that had a few inches of the barrel sawed of to give a wider shot pattern.
“Where we lived, we didn’t have pheasant, so while in high school, Dad and I added a weekend in western Kansas hunting pheasant. Dad brought a Browning automatic and let me use his Model 97, Winchester pump gun. Some of my fondest hunting memories was bird hunting with my Dad. We didn’t talk much, but enjoyed each others company.
“In 1958, fall was in the air and thoughts of hunting were frequent. Two, newly wed, 19 year high school sweethearts, were in a store in Wichita, Kansas. I, being one of the two, was looking, as most hunters do, at the gun rack of the guns for sale. My new bride came by and asked what I was looking at. I said they have a Winchester, model 12, feather lite, 12 gauge, modified barrel shot gun, that is on sale for $67.50. She said ‘do you need one.’ I said no, but that gun would be perfect for hunting birds with, but I don’t think we can afford it. She said, why don’t you buy it. Neither of us could imagine that would start a life long, extramarital love affair with ‘Winchester Pump.’
“A brother-in-law joined our hunts and we shared several years of memory making hunts together. Dad and brother-in-law shot Browning automatics and I competed with ‘Winchester Pump.’ The Browning’s were heavy guns and my pump gun being ‘feather lite,’ I could get it to my shoulder quicker and I got to where I could pump shells into the chamber and compete with my brother-in-law and his automatic.
“Nothing stays the same forever and three children and career choices took us to California in 1972. Hunting in CA is different than hunting in KS, and ‘Winchester Pump’ was put away for a long rest. After several years, duck hunting brought back the desire to start hunting again, and ‘Winchester Pump’ was brought out of retirement.
“For many years,I had an unspoken, secret dream of living in the mountains, riding horses and hunting. Sometimes if life events and decisions are made that effect realistic dreams, and they become reality. In 1996 I sold my business, retired and discovered Pagosa.
“Rifle’s and bow replaced ‘Winchester Pump’ as weapons of choice and it was again retired, placed in gun safe, along with five other Winchester and Remington 12 gauge pump shot guns, that had been won at Ducks Unlimited banquets and had never been shot.
“A few years later, having a grandson that showed some interest in hunting, I wanted him to experience the joy and thrill of hunting pheasants. A pheasant hunt was booked in western Kansas and we were joined by my wife’s cousin Ed. ‘Winchester Pump’ was forced out of retirement and grandson was given one of the never shot pump guns from the gun safe. Ed had a foreign made $1,500+ Berrta shotgun. At the end of each hunt day, ‘Winchester Pump’ is the one that got the most birds.
“As you can tell, I share and understand Sweet Al’s love affair with J.C. Higgins. No words can define it. J.C. just ‘fit’ Al, as WP ‘fit’ me. Every hunt has a story and those guns made those stories, unforgettable memories that we can recall and enjoy in our advanced years.”
Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of The SUN.
