{"id":228,"date":"2015-10-14T20:41:37","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T00:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/?p=228"},"modified":"2015-10-14T20:41:37","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T00:41:37","slug":"taking-a-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.fayegibbons.com\/?p=228","title":{"rendered":"TAKING A STAND"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

My latest book, HALLEY, awarded 2015 Jefferson Cup Honor for Historical Fiction. Awarded the Moonbeam Silver Medal for Young Adult Fiction. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Available at: NewSouth Books:\u00a0www.newsouthbooks.com\/halley and Amazon<\/p>\n

I read a while back about a hunter who fell out of his deer stand and
\nbroke his arm.\u00a0 The thought occurred to me that maybe it was no
\naccident.\u00a0 Probably he was already freezing his rear end, plus some
\nother valued body parts, before he even climbed that stand to crouch
\ndown in minus zero temps waiting, waiting, waiting for a deer stupid
\nenough to walk right in front of a box on stilts with a gun barrel
\nsticking out of it. The man\u2019s thinking probably went like this:\u00a0 Let\u2019s
\nsee, do I want to\u00a0 (A) freeze my buns off in one more attempt to prove
\nmy manhood by being able to strap a deer across the hood of my truck,
\nor would I rather (B) sit home by a nice warm fire with a remote in
\none hand and a beer in the other?<\/p>\n

Quickly figuring out the correct answer was B, Bozo (a fictitious name
\nto protect me from the hunters of my acquaintance) then puzzled out
\nhow to do this without appearing soft to his family and ridiculous to
\nhis hunting buddies.\u00a0 The easy way, of course, would be to hit a deer
\non the highway, and how hard would that be, since he had nearly
\ncrashed into eight this very morning.\u00a0 But the damage to his truck
\nmight undo his story.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey!\u201d he said, suddenly feeling brilliant.\u00a0 \u201cIf I \u2018accidentally\u2019 fall
\nand skin myself up a little, I could go home with my image intact.\u201d
\nSo he decided to fall from the fourth rung.\u00a0 Not far enough, he
\ncalculated, to actually cause serious injury, yet enough to leave
\nbruises to show to his wife.\u00a0 Laying down his rifle (Only a dummy
\nwould risk falling with a $1500 rifle that could blow away a platoon),
\nhe began climbing, only to jam his right thumb into a gigantic
\nsplinter on the first rung.<\/p>\n

\u201cDang!\u201d he exclaimed (Actually he exclaimed several other manly words
\nthat I won\u2019t repeat, in case any young people are reading).\u00a0 He rammed
\nthe thumb into his mouth for a moment, and then realized he was
\nwasting valuable blood.\u00a0 Pulling out his thumb, he squeezed it enough
\nto get the blood flowing and then smeared it on his padded vest, his
\nquilted pants, and his face.<\/p>\n

Avoiding the splinter this time, he resumed his climb.\u00a0 When his right
\nfoot reached the fourth rung, he looked down and wondered if he should
\nrisk one rung higher, just to be sure he\u00a0 would have impressive
\nbruises.\u00a0 Suddenly, there was a sound of splintering as the rung he
\nclutched disintegrated and he plunged, maybe I should say \u201crocketed\u201d
\nto the ground.\u00a0 A horrible pain shot through his left arm and the
\nworld spun. As he lay on the frozen dirt a deer wandered from the
\nwoods and sniffed him.\u00a0 He thought he heard snickering as it dashed
\naway.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet up!\u201d he ordered himself.\u00a0 \u201cGet up, or you\u2019ll die.\u201d\u00a0 He managed to
\nsit up, but was too shaky to stand.\u00a0 Pain was burning through his
\nshoulder. He tried to reach the ladder with his good arm, but
\ncouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 His rifle!\u00a0 That would fit the bill. If he lay back down,
\nhe might just be able to get it and use it to help him to his feet.
\nHe squeezed his eyes from the pain as he swung blindly and grabbed.<\/p>\n

BAM went the rifle. BAM! This was obviously a repeating rifle.<\/p>\n

The next scene takes place in an emergency room, where a doctor is
\nbandaging Bozo\u2019s arm and preparing to put it in a cast, while his
\nhunter buddies, Lester and Festus wait.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoc,\u201d says Festus, \u201cWhen we happened up on him, we couldn\u2019t believe
\nthat 18 point deer Bozo bagged. And him with a broke arm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lester nods.\u00a0 \u201cReckon he shot out the tire of his four wheeler just to
\ncelebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he\u2019s out of the woods \u2018til next season,\u201d says the doctor.<\/p>\n

Bozo is medicated against pain, but still, his brain is working.
\n\u201cMaybe this arm won\u2019t be well next season,\u201d he mumbles.\u00a0 \u201cI can hope,
\nanyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest of us can too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n