woke up this morning. maybe an hour into the day i thought about how enjoyable it would be to get into the mountains this weekend with a bow and arrow.
you know like in the opening part of the film hanna, with her kill. she says "I missed your heart?" she is so tough in this film! ... oh boy.. have you seen it? i watched it last week, not my best idea thus far. great film. i ordered a bow and arrow the next morning and got out my hunting motif.
I am pretty sure, the bow and arrow chase and kill part of the opening of this film is related to me watching suffering. but on a postive note, i am going to love archery.
i can feel it in my inner guts. like, that bow and arrow should of been with me a lot longer, i have found out.
i actually just thought to myself, i wonder if i could catch a bear, like my father.
why do i think i could catch a bear?
i bet i could train for that. maybe I will take a ride up north and pratice running through the woods this weekend and put up some targets on trees to shoot at to get the feel.
i am pretty sure, i could do it with my new bow and arrow.
I was with my father when we encountered a bear. i also was at home, when he came in with his bear. I still remember on really cold nights, looking that BEAR that hung in the hunted section of the ski house~ in the eyes and knowing not only could my father take down a bear he could get us away from one if needed. there is a real solid assurance in the life of a child that comes from your father being the greatest and bravest and strongest man in the universe.
we had a family house at mad river glenn. if you are a skier you know this spot and you skied it if you can.
we used to go into the woods by the ski house get clay by the river. we made little cups and bowls for keep sakes...
by the mad river in the woods... next to my twin i heard these words from my father who bent down to our size... i don't even know if we were three yet, we started to ski at two so we were small...
"christina and joseph, there is a bear. do not move and talk to me so the bear knows you are little"
"should we climb a tree?" I ask. Joe answered. "no" he always answered. it's the best.
we were little.
But joe still knew what was best for his twin sister.
i like that.
when i saw the bear fake charge,they DO this. IT has just as serious implications as a REAL one. they are trying to see if you are a threat and they also are trying to say, Go AWAY, please in BEAR before i kill you. i just remember thinking, dad is not afraid. so i won't be.
it's a little foggy, we walked away slowly for a moment and then we ran, SO ran fast and the bear was on the other side of the river.i remember my dad picking me up at the collar at some places to lift me so we could pick up speed. i was never so excited in my entire life. the bear was protecting the cubs. the bear didn't want us. my father protected his cubs. i remember the facial hair, it was a symbol of a brave man, even then i knew, this was not your typical man.
we must of been two steps in and i was like, we saw a BEAR! i ran so fast, i was flying and bears are nice... especially mamma bears. there was no fear.
Look, I know my Dad was rattled, I am sure the charge of a momma bear was not exactly what he wanted to see with his young twins at his feet. he stayed as cool as a cucumber and showed no fear.
kids, can sense bravery in a father. they can also sense fear.
I remember him saying, we need to be careful right now. you need to listen carefully to me. that was the extent of anything remotely close to alarming.
to this day, there is a bit of a running conversation amongst me and the sibs and all the kids, because there are grandkids, that aren't typical grandkid age that he was influencial in their lives as well who are older than me...about the things my dad showed us so young and into our adulthood, that changed, forever the fabric of who we ARE, who we became and who we will forever be.
As my mom's most beloved put it, Maya Angelou "Courage is the most important of the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."
How glorious a virtue. How needed are fathers who teach their children courage.
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