Charms, Talismans and Tokens
Sorting through things in the Cabin today before the afternoon hunt, I found some 30 year old maps of the area that I'd saved over the years. Seeing those maps with notes of covers long gone reminded me of the things we treasure as hunters. I have a collection of things -- good luck charms and tokens of people and times gone by -- that I carry on every hunt on a chain around my neck. Among these treasured items are a part of my Pop's wedding band that my mother gave me, a grouse band from the heyday of grouse hunting in Ohio, a St. Hubert's medal that a friend gave me one Christmas, and a key fob that belonged to a dear friend's father (who was an avid bird hunter back in the 1950's). Each of these items carries some part of people who have, either directly or indirectly, influenced my life as a hunter. I would no sooner leave them behind on a hunt than I would my dog or gun.
I'm curious what charms, talismans, or tokens you might have and the stories behind them.
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"Doubtless the good Lord could have made a better game bird than bobwhite, and better country to hunt him in...but equally doubtless, he never did." -- Guy de la Valdene (from A Handful of Feathers )
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
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