Perseverance

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.”  – Marie Curie

It’s been six years since my friend Christine got her first deer. She was with her father in my blind located at the west end of the 24 acre tract that comprises the south part of the property. She was sixteen at the time and studying for her driver’s education test when a small doe wandered into range. At her father’s urging, Christine took the shot and the deer dropped – a clean, humane shot.

Since that time, Christine has become very enthusiastic about deer hunting and has pursued time afield while balancing the end of high school and her college career. Five AM wakeup calls, cold mornings, rain, mud, snow – none have broken her spirit. What was eroding her confidence, however, was a number of missed shots through the years – often well within her proven range.

No longer a teen, this young woman became determined to change the trajectory of her hunting performance. A few weeks ago, Christine, her father and mother and I set up a range behind the south pond on the property and Christine shot round after round until she could effectively set a round within a five inch circle sixty feet hence.

Her work earned her some better shooting habits (stay calm, take a deep breath, squeeze, not jerk, the trigger, and stabilize the gun) that paid off last night during Michigan’s special “antler-less deer” weekend. Christine was in the “Boathouse” blind (so named because it is a former children’s play structure now seated in a wooded glen on the farm – and we left the plastic steering wheel and pirate spyglass attached) for the afternoon hunt. Her father, another friend, and I were also posted for the hunt and her mother joined us later.

Within an hour of being afield, Christine shot. We all became more alert as there is always a chance that a missed deer would run toward our position or other deer would become active. Indeed, three small deer darted past our position and two of us shooting didn’t have any success. We figured those were the deer in Christine’s sights and, unfortunately, another miss.

Evening crept in quickly and we soon were packing up the six-wheeler with our gear and headed toward Christine’s stand to collect her. She said she thought she might have hit the deer and described a shot at about 75 yards. We recounted seeing deer run past us and convinced her that she likely didn’t score a hit.

This morning, Christine, her father and I were out around 6:30 AM – she taking the Boathouse again and her father in a tree, me in the “Blue Heron” blind (for a description of this blind, see: First Light).

After a mostly quiet morning – discounting her father’s missed attempt, ahem – we thought driving the corn (walking abreast, 20 yards apart) might yield some action. About forty yards into the drive, Christine announces, “Blood!” Without getting too graphic, generally when tracking a deer, one looks for a blood trail – this was a significant one. This one also began close to where she reported shooting the deer the evening prior.

Yes, the short trail ended at a very nice sized deer that had been shot optimally. To her credit, Christine limited herself to a single “I told you so” for each of us. I’m very proud of her!

One more little story. My cousin, Sean Lee, plays for the Dallas Cowboys as a linebacker and he quickly became a leader on the defensive side of the ball. He was just featured in an article that has his father describing his and his brother’s athletic development:

It was Sean’s older brother Conor, a future kicker at the University of Pittsburgh, who was the family’s best athlete.

“But Sean was always more tenacious,” his father said. “You’d tell him to shoot 100 free throws a day, and he’d shoot 200.”

When Craig Lee first asked Sean’s AAU basketball coach to not play him so much in games, the request was denied.

“He plays so hard, the other kids know they have to play that way to stay in the game,” the coach responded. “I can’t take him out.”

The rest of the feature can be found here: Cousin Sean

I admire both Christine – my adopted niece – and my cousin Sean. There might be something to this whole perseverance thing after all.




Curie quote from:  http://www.brainyquote.com/

Get me to the estate on time!

Once again, providence has smiled on this humble scribe. I had the good fortune to be a guest at the nuptial celebration of two fine young individuals – Brynne and Shawn – at a glorious venue surrounded by friends and family of the couple.

Sunshine and gusty winds welcomed about 150 of us to the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Michigan. We got a good chuckle when the wind nearly whipped the bride’s veil off her head while her father was giving her away and the impossibility of lighting the unity candle during the outdoor ceremony. The celebrant assured the newlyweds that “wind” like “love” is a force that can’t be seen but definitely can be felt. Knowing these two fine newlyweds, I see no omens in the unlit candle.

If you’ve never been on the grounds of this historic estate in the greater Detroit area, you are missing beautiful architecture, superb customer service, and a tale of personal success contributing to the broader welfare of society. From their website (http://www.meadowbrookhall.org/explore/history/meadowbrookhall):

Meadow Brook Hall is the historic home of one the automotive aristocracy's most remarkable women, Matilda Dodge Wilson, her second husband Alfred Wilson, a lumber broker and their four children, Frances and Danny Dodge, and Richard and Barbara Wilson. It exists as an indirect product of the achievements and good fortune of her first husband, automotive pioneer John F. Dodge, co-founder of Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company who quickly prospered in the burgeoning auto industry before his tragic death in 1920, leaving Matilda one of the world's wealthiest women. This fortune not only built one of America's finest residences and country estates, it also supported numerous Detroit charities and organizations, and made possible the founding of Oakland University.

Meadow Brook Hall was built during the country place era, a time when wealthy American industrialists pursued rural life in settings of great beauty. It represents one of the finest examples of Tudor-revival architecture in America and is especially renowned for it superb craftsmanship, architectural detailing and grand scale of 88,000 square feet. Inspired by the country manor homes in England, it was designed and built by the Detroit architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls between 1926 and1929, at a cost of nearly $4 million.

Carefully preserved with original family furnishings and art, the 110-room mansion is elaborately detailed with carved wood and stone, ornate plaster ceilings, Tiffany stained glass, custom made hardware, and filled with fine and decorative art. Although the interiors reflect various historic styles, the house is equipped with every "modern" amenity appropriate to the active lifestyle of the Wilson's and their children.

Meadow Brook Hall was built on the 320-acre farm estate John and Matilda Dodge had purchased years earlier as weekend country retreat. The Wilson's expanded the estate to include 1,500 acres and several residences. For the Dodge and Wilson families, the farm estate provided a splendid setting for recreational activities and pastimes such as equestrian sports, motoring, and gardening and developed into one of the finest agricultural complexes, producing the finest lines of pedigree livestock.

After the ceremony, we mingled on a patio overlooking a beautifully groomed golf course while white-gloved attendants brought a tasty mix of hors d oeuvres and snappy mixologists poured celebratory libations. A multi-toned alert called us to a rich and beautifully appointed tent where we gathered, applauded toasts (and roasts!) to the happy couple, and dined on spectacular grub. Everyone was happy.

Through the course of the evening, a miscellany of music fought for attention with forks clinked on glassware demanding the happy couple revel in public displays of attention. Our table laughed and recounted our ties to the couple. Each table had a booklet into which we could offer thoughts and good wishes to be read by the couple on various anniversaries. As we were table four, the plan is that they will read our comments on that anniversary.

The bride’s parents spent some time with us and I loved seeing their eyes glisten with happy tears as we recounted the beauty of the day. And then I received one of the greatest compliments ever. The mother of the bride, Paulette – a truly special person in my life – said that no one in attendance was on the margins. That is to say, everyone invited was unanimously chosen by the bride, groom and immediate family.

I’m smiling recounting the many splendid details of the evening and feeling humbled by “making the list.” All happiness and good wishes to Brynne and Shawn!

Photo from:

http://www.oakgov.com/historic/assets/images/photogallery/lg_meadowbrook_hall.jpg

Bugs

Back from vacation . . . didn’t really go anywhere, but took a break from the blog while getting a few things in order. Thanks for your patience.

Rains finally came after a prolonged drought ravaged local crops. It hasn’t been a happy year for agriculture with early fruit blossoms being decimated by late frosts (it’s estimated that between 85 and 90% of Michigan’s apple crop was lost), and weeks without rain severely stunted the corn in my little corner of the world.

Families would probably be well advised to buy a side or quarter beef now and wrap it well for the freezer – food prices will be skyrocketing next year. If you are a hunter, get a second tag for some additional venison or stockpile some ducks, pheasant and geese. It may even to time to think about scoping out where to plant next year’s garden. I’m going to learn how to can foods and triple the size of next year’s garden.

By the way, sorry if I’m sounding less than rosy – but I truly believe that hurricanes and cartels pushing up gas prices, the drought pushing up food prices, and likely a tepid economic recovery for the next 24 months (regardless of who is elected) calls for preparation.

Oh, I’m not advocating going to the mattresses or wrapping your head with tin foil, but just think we, as a culture, are far too focused on the present. For many, “live for the moment” is the mantra. Recently, I mentioned to a friend that I wouldn’t take a vacation unless I could do it without leaving any traces of it on a credit card. Her response was “but what if you couldn’t prepay for something and it was a great opportunity?” Her slack-jaw response when I said that I wouldn’t go told me we had different values.

I just realized that my points were far more eloquently expressed around 600 BC by a fellow called Aesop in his fable about a grasshopper and an ant. A retelling of the original is available here: http://www.umass.edu/aesop/content.php?n=0&i=1.

I’ve discovered that this tale has been reengineered over the years by various authors including Jean de La Fontaine (1621 – 1695). La Fontaine was a widely read French fabulist in the 17th century and a recognized man of letters in the day. In his version, the basics are the same, but there is a suggestion that the ant is a cruel character for not sharing his larder with the unprepared grasshopper. For the original French version and a translation, see:
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=5699.

Around 1800, French fabulist Jean-Jacques Boisard (1743–1831) brings a cricket into the mix who chides the ant: “Hoarding is folly, enjoyment is wise” since we all die in the end. As an aside, Boisard lost his job and pension due to the French Revolution.

A number of other responses have depicted the ant in different ways – one where the grasshopper was invited from the cold and told to play his fiddle as payment (picked up in the Disney version) and discovering the need to work hard. A second depicts the ant losing his stores and rebuked by a bee for not previously helping the grasshopper. Recurring iterations chide the ant for a lack of pity or Christian charity.

I see some real parallels to the current social and political debate in this fable. To characterize the grasshoppers as deserving to die in the cold is inhuman; similarly, to conclude that the ants are greedy or lacking compassion is grossly unfair. Hoping ants get some comeuppance for working hard and anticipating the winter is mean-spirited – as is choosing not to share voluntarily with those in need.

We hope that the grasshoppers in our lives start to anticipate the future and act accordingly. We also hope that the ants in our lives choose to do what they can to help others. I am opposed, however, to forcing the grasshoppers at gunpoint to be responsible and am loath to force the ants at gunpoint to be generous.

A whole bunch to consider.


Some history found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ant_and_the_Grasshopper

Illustration by Milo Winter (1886-1956)