We’re ‘Bama Bound: First the Game, then Hunt the Game

Tomorrow, instead of joining my family in ceremonial eating, I shall be airborne, heading to Birmingham Alabama.  I am going to spend the next five days in a dizzying display of manly arts—hunting f0r quail, hunting for whitetail deer, and taking in a museum full of thousands of motorcycles and watching racing cars on a track.  But the first thing is the game.    My hostess Edith told me that it was the biggest game in years, with Alabama having won the national championship and Auburn ranked number 2 in the country.

It will be great to have my shooter pal Paul Shoul along with me to get the best possible photos and video and have fun at the same time.  Before I left I published my story about York England, a fine destination and one of the country’s nicest places.

Girls alongside the River Ouse, York, England. photo by Max Hartshorne
Girls alongside the River Ouse, York, England.

I hear that this game is like the Superbowl in Alabama.  The intensity of the rivalry fascinates me, so I am here for research to get into the minds of rabid sports fans.

I’m also excited to walk around in the woods looking for quail too. When I was young I used to enjoy going out with my friend Chris Maest, who used to do a lot of hunting. Once when we were walking along I accidentally fired the shotgun over his head.  Fortunately my errant shot didn’t hit anybody but that was the last time I picked up a shotgun.

Guess I’m either going to have to learn or just let other people do the shooting, which is actually ok with me. I like the walking, and the attempting to stalk the elusive birds more than actually shooting them.