"The Deadwood Stage"

Got a couple a E-mails this morn'n that caught my attention. The first was frum me old blog mate "the Chief" frum out Illinois way and was about Deadwood So. Dakota and Stagecoaches and gold miners from that era.

The real "Calamity Jane" (Martha Jane Cannary Burke).





Hollywood's version of Calamity Jane and "The Deadwood Stage".



Historic photos of the actual "Deadwood Stagecoach", Gold minors, Deadwood So. Dakota itself, Indian fighters etc...






The town of Deadwood So. Dakota.




...and "Comanche", the ONLY survivor from Custers Last Stand.



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My good friend Susan Gertson from Eagle Lake, Texas, and also an avid deer hunter herself, sent me this video this morning entitled "Thanks for Waiting". When I watched the short 30 second video I had to immediately respond with an E-mail to her because of something extremely similar that happened to Cookie while deer hunt'n back about 25-30 years ago.



Now Sir, this is the E-mail I sent back to Susan.

"Susan, when I saw this I almost fell outta my chair laughing, tell ya why.

TRUE STORY!! Really. About 30 years or so ago, I was standing in my favorite tree stand down around Cuyler Hill, NY, next to an open field when a doe came out from the woods. I had a "Doe Permit" and was about to take her when she turned around and looked back into the trees. Being an experienced hunter, I knew that this generally indicated that there was a buck back in the trees who had "pushed" her out into the open first (smart old bucks would do this, that's why they managed to get old).

I waited and sure enough this good sized 9 point buck came out and looked around. As I raised my shotgun and took aim at the buck, he mounted her. Now, they were only about 70 yards away and had no idea I was there. Damn!! Being a guy I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger while he was "In Flagrante dilecto". I lowered my sights and decided I would wait until he was finished.

I guess I badly misjudged 1) how long it would take him, and 2) I musta thought that after he was finished he woulda sorta stuck around and had a cigarette or two and maybe woulda exchanged phone numbers or something with her. Before I knew it, he not only finished quickly but immediately high tailed it back into the safety of the trees. It was literally "Wham, Bam, Thank You Maam".

I began mentally kicking myself in the ass for have'n been such a nice guy, and I was so pissed off, that I immediately dispatched the doe to my dinner table. Honest to God, true story so when I saw this video it was like "Deja Vue all over again" (as Yogi Berra used to say).

Lessons learned, 1) regarding me, "Nice guys finish last", and 2), regarding the buck, "Some guys finish FAST" (no surprise to women)."
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...and "The Chief" commented; "I've been to Deadwood a few times; really do like it out there. The cemetery where Wild Bill Hickock & Calamity Jane lie is dug into a hillside. And, there's a guy named Potato Creek Johnny, who lies right by them. It's really neat. The old HBO tv series "Deadwood" tells the story very well; quite gritty."

Cookie; Unfortunately I missed the entire "Deadwood" series. Would have enjoyed watching that.