One of my grandsons got an archery set for Christmas and loves it. Around the same time my friend Kevin fisher shared the following story . . .

Boys are always more inventive . . .

Don’t know who wrote this but he has a way with words that make one visualize being right there beside him. Good read. Life as a child growing up in Oklahoma . . .

Around age 10 my dad got me one of those little compound bow beginner kits. Of course, the first month I went around our land sticking arrows in anything that could get stuck by an arrow. Did you know that a 1955 40 horse Farmall tractor tire will take 6 rounds before it goes down? That got boring, so being the 10-year-old Dukes of Hazard fan that I was, I quickly advanced to taking strips of cut up T-shirt doused in chainsaw gas tied around the end and was sending flaming arrows all over the place.

One summer afternoon, I was shooting flaming arrows into a large rotten oak stump in our backyard. I looked over under the carport and saw a shiny brand new can of staring fluid (Ether). The light bulb went off in my head. I grabbed the can and set it on the stump. I thought that it would probably just spray out in a disappointing manner. Let’s face it, to a 10-year-old mouthbreather like myself, (Ether), really doesn’t “sound” flammable.

So, I went back into the house and got a 1 pound can of pyrodex (black powder for muzzle loader rifles). At this point, I set the can of ether on the stump and opened up the can of black powder. My intentions were to sprinkle a little bit around the (Ether) can but it all sorta dumped out on me. No biggie, a 1 lb. pyrodex and 16 oz (Ether) should make a loud pop, kinda like a firecracker you know? You know what? Screw that; I’m going back in the house for the other can. Yes, I got a second can of pyrodex and dumped it too. Now we’re cookin’.

I stepped back about 15 ft and lit the 2-stroke arrow. I drew the nock to my cheek and took aim.

As I released, I heard a clunk as the arrow launched from my bow. In a slow-motion time frame, I turned to see my dad getting out of the truck . . . OH SHOOT!

He just got home from work. So help me, it took 10 minutes for that arrow to go from my bow to the can. My dad was walking towards me in slow motion with a “What” look in his eyes. I turned back towards my target just in time to see the arrow pierce the starting fluid can right at the bottom. Right through the main pile of pyrodex and into the can. Oh shoot.

When the shock wave hit it knocked me off my feet. I don’t know if it was the actual compression wave that threw me back or just reflex jerk back from 235 decibels of sound. I caught s half a millisecond glimpse of the violence during the initial explosion, and I will tell you there was dust, grass, and bugs all hovering 1 ft above the ground as far as I could see. It was like a little low to the ground layer of dust fog full of grasshoppers, spiders, and a worm or two.

The daylight turned purple. Let me repeat this . . . THE DAYLIGHT TURNED PURPLE and the windows on the north side of the house are blown out and there is a slow rolling mushroom cloud about 2000 ft over our backyard.

There is a Honda 185 3-wheeler on the other side of the yard and the fenders are drooped down and are now touching the tires. I wish I knew what I said to my dad at this moment. I don’t know-I know I said something. I couldn’t hear. I couldn’t hear inside my own head. I don’t think he heard me either . . . Not that it would really matter. I don’t remember much from this point on. I said something, felt a sharp pain, and then woke up later. I felt a sharp pain, blacked out, woke later . . . repeat this process for an hour or so and you get the idea. I remember at one point my mom had to give me CPR, and Dad screaming “Bring him back to life so I can kill him again”. Thanks Mom. One thing is for sure . . . I never had to mow around that stump again, Mom had been complaining about that thing for years and dad never did anything about it. I stepped up to the plate and handled business. Dad sold his muzzle loader a week or so later. I still have some sort of bone growth abnormality, either from the blast or the beating, or both. I guess what I’m trying to say is, get your kids into archery. It’s good discipline and will teach them skills they can use later on in life.

My favorite story of the week also came from Kevin . .

I was helping at the funeral home, getting the room ready for visiting hours. As I was placing the flowers in the room, there were two ladies who came into the funeral home wanting to see Mr. So and So. I explained to them the Mr. So and So died after a long illness and had lost a lot of weight. I went on to explain that he did not look like himself, so the family honored his long-standing request for direct cremation. I explained to the ladies that the cremains were placed in one of those rectangular shaped urns that remind you of a small casket. But if they wanted to come in, they could go into the room and see the urn. I asked them to also sign the guest book. They proceeded to go inside and look at the urn. I was still carrying flowers, and I happened to see the ladies looking at the urn. One of the ladies was speaking to the other, “Mr. So and So sure did lose a lot of weight.”

As we have now entered into another new year I thought the following would be a great guide to follow in the coming months.

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF HUMAN RELATIONS

1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.

2. Smile at people. It takes 72 muscles to frown, only four to smile.

3. Call people by name. the sweetest music to anyone’s ear is the sound of one’s own name.

4. Be friendly and helpful. If you would have friends, be friendly.

5. Be genuinely interested in people. You can like almost everybody, if you try.

6. Be generous with praise—cautious with criticism.

7. Be considerate with feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy; yours, the other person’s, and the right one.

8. Be alert to give service. What counts most in life is what we do for others.

9. Learn to trust people, for trust builds lasting relationships.

10. Add to this a good sense of humor, a big dose of patience, and a dash of humility and you will be rewarded many fold.

And last of all a friend recently shared the following about . . .

Debbie and Phil who were sitting in the living room watching the tube when he said to her, “Just so you know, I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.”

She got up, unplugged the TV, and threw his beer out the window!