Deer Hunting in a Rural Community

Living in a rural community that has many sections of woods, corn fields, and deer make it is easy to see why deer hunting is important to many of our students and our community. It also underscores why we have traditionally had no school on opening day. I know that this is a safety issue in our district. With so many hunters and guns out, it is not a good idea to have kids waiting on a country road for a bus to pick them up. It is also an attendance issue because we have so many students who would miss school to go out opening day. Some students and teachers don't care about hunting but love having a day off in the fall. I know people who use this time to "hunt for sales". Actually, my wife, Kristi, and I have traditionally taken the day to kick off our Christmas shopping. This year we didn't have this extra day off because opening day fell on a Saturday. I suppose some feel like they were robbed of a day. I am not a huge outdoors man, but I have hunted. I went as a high school student, but due to many factors, I really got out of it for a long time. I went out again last year for the first time in about 18 years. I didn't get anything. But, this year I went out opening day and did have some success. To my surprise, I got an 8-point buck. I know that some of you may not like this kind of thing, but I truly care about deer starvation and vehicle/motorist safety when it comes to the deer population. We will process the deer and use as much as we can, just like the old days. I actually was able to get a doe in addition to the buck so we will have a good supply of meat. I hope that those of you who hunt were successful. I always feel a little sense of guilt about shooting the deer because they are beautiful animals, but I also know from the DNR that overpopulation hurts the deer as well.

Social Networking

I don't know about you, but I am one of the "hold-outs" when it comes to Facebook or My Space. I know a lot of people who really enjoy this "social networking" and staying in contact with people. My wife is one of those people. Maybe some day I will finally give in to these applications, but for now, it seems like I don't have time to do the things that I need to do - let alone keep up with all of the social networking stuff. The only experience I have had with My Space is being named by students when there are student conflicts being discussed. I think it would be best not to repeat what it said, however! I try to use technology that helps me with my job. Even the blog that I do has work-related themes. I am sure this will come as a great surprise, but I am really a shy person so social networking isn't a natural priority. My shyness is something that I have worked on forever. When I was younger, I was so shy that I would never even talk to a waitress in a restaurant. Finally at 17, my mom told me she wouldn't tell the waitress my order any more - just kidding, but it did take me a long time. I wish interacting with people came more naturally to me. It is a wonder I ever married. When I was first hired at Shepherd, my wife Kristi stopped to introduce herself to me. I know she probably will tell a different story, but the way I remember it is that she stopped to introduce herself to me. I guess that gave me enough courage to begin communication with her, and the rest, as they say, is history. I don't want people to misunderstand. It is not that I don't want to see people and find out what people are doing, but social interaction on a non-professional level is hard for me. I enjoy finding out what others are doing and finding out what direction life has taken them, but I don't seek this information out - unlike Kristi who could probably run an effective presidential campaign with all of her social networking connections. I am still holding out. I have to work on my social disorders slowly. I don't want to shock my system. For now, the phone, email, voicemail, and even a little chat is about as far as I can go. I know some of you are well past that, but I am sure there have to be some other folks out there like me!