Coon Huntin'

As I moved back to Arizona after a summer spent in Wisconsin I brought a cherished item with me, something that has always brought back thoughts of good times. This item is an old raccoon hunting trophy. I know it sounds kind of silly to most people, but most people do not understand the joy that it represents.

My father was and avid coon hunter all throughout my childhood. He would go out at night just him and a good dog, totally at peace. We all have a hobby that lets us be ourselves and enjoy life to the fullest. For me it is a baseball game. To dad it was coon hunting. This excitement rubbed off on us kids as well, especially my sister, it was a bond that the two will always have, but to us all, we could see the joy that it brought to dad. This excitement grew even further when he was introduced to Emmy, a blue tick coon hound and eventually his best friend. From that moment the thrill of the hunt was fueled through Emmy's abilities to track and tree. Dad was truly happy in those days; he had it all, a great family, a great hobby, and an unbelievable great friend, in Emmy.

Dad and Emmy started going to coon hunting competitions. Emmy was good and so was dad. Some nights they would win trophies and some nights they would not, but coming from a son who thought the world of his father the excitement of the possibility was always thrilling.

One night dad was leaving for a competing and of course I was excited for dad and Emmy. So after dad left I decided to go out to the living room and wait for him to get home so I could greet them and see what prize and stories they collected during the night. Being a little boy about first or second grade I didn't make it too far into the night and I fell asleep on the couch. While sleeping dad entered and he had won first place with, what I thought at the time, was the biggest trophy I had ever seen. Dad seeing that I had fallen asleep in the process of greeting him he placed the award atop the entertainment stand directly across from where I was sleeping. When I awoke, it was one of the greatest things that I had ever seen. I rushed into my dad's room, woke him up, and wanted to know all of the stories that he had to offer. Dad woke and told me the stories.

Dad eventually grew his family and Emmy eventually grew old. Dad cried when Emmy passed because he lost his best friend. She was always there for him. When Mom left he could always share that hobby that he and Emmy both loved. When we kids were giving him a hard time he could always calm with the night and a howl. Whatever happened at work he new that Emmy would be at home excited as ever to see him arrive. She meant the world to the family, but I and no one else in the world will ever know the relationship that Dad and Emmy shared.

This summer I was home and dad was in the process of moving. He offered me the trophy; the trophy that I will always link to that memory, the trophy that will always remind me of Emmy, the trophy that represents dad and the love that he shares with everyone he knows, the trophy that will forever represent my family at its greatest moment. It is now on my mantle and will be with me for some time, because of the memory that it brings.


Thank you and I love you dad.