I want to tell you about two particular hunters, Claytie and Claude, specifically how their deer hunting proficiency waned as they aged. In their youth, each aggressively pursued deer, and with dead-eye reliability, each harvested plenty. Through mid-life, growing more conscious and prudent, each still downed their share of deer. But strangely, advancing into their 60s and 70s, where I am now, they began losing steam.
I will tell you about Claytie first.
Claytie fought in WWII and stood toe-totoe with everything war implies; a man who put everything on the line. When he returned home from war he relished the America he had fought for and vowed he would do it again and again.
As per hunting, Claytie, a sharpshooter, accumulated an ensemble of stories encompassing decades and he…
