|
Tuesday, 18 September 2007 |
Military people and hunters understand the importance of camouflage in the field. It's the implementation of camouflage that sets these two groups far apart from each other.
I'm not naming names, but an avid goose hunter that I know often carried his 10 gauge shotgun in his car in case some spur of the moment hunting opportunity presented itself. In a bag in the trunk, he also had a supply of shells, the standard brown camo jumpsuit, as well as white pants and a white lab coat that he wore when the fields were covered in snow. If the weather was dry or snowy, this guy was prepared - or so he thought.
One day, he found himself driving north of Denver. It was bitter cold and the ground was covered with a thick blanket of snow for as far as the eye could see. Then he saw them. Hundreds of Canadian geese had landed in a field not far from the roadside. He heart raced with anticipation as he eased the car to a stop and slipped outside to retrieve his gear from the trunk.
He quickly dug through the bag and transformed himself to match the white terrain. As he finished dressing, a large lump formed in his throat as he realized that the white knit hat that should have been in the bag was missing. He couldn't go out there and hope to be successful when his thick mop of brown hair and the glint from his eyeglasses would be easily detected from the air. He searched the car in desperation for anything white that was large enough to use as a head covering. Finding nothing, he slumped in his seat and lamented about this opportunity gone wrong.
Then it hit him. There was one item in the car that would work perfectly in this situation. Quickly, he retrieved the item from where it had been neatly stowed away. Gathering his shotgun and some extra shells, he stealthily maneuvered through the barbed wire fence and began to make his way to a drainage ditch that would provide good cover. A truck approached on the road and came to a stop. The driver, appearing bewildered, pointed at the hunter, laughed and sped away.
After a few hours had passed, the hunter gathered his geese and began walking back to his car. By this time, there were more cars traveling on the road. Each would slow, gawk at the hunter and laugh before
driving away.
What they were seeing from the roadside was a goose hunter dressed like a mad scientist in his white lab coat. Complimenting the lab coat was a pair of white men's briefs covering his face and head. Nothing at all seemed odd to the hunter as he stared back at them through the leg holes of his underwear.
He smiled as he drove back to Denver. Compared to the time that he high-centered himself on a barbed wire fence, this had been an excellent day of goose hunting.
|
