Tom, the deer slayer

I have a friend named Robert who has a two story cabin that he built on 40 acres of property. Last year he told Tom that he could go deer hunting there. I thought it was perfect because there is a bed upstairs with a window that overlooks a hillside and a clearing at the bottom...right where the deer cross a creek everyday. So I got Tom all set up with a chair by the window and a bag to rest his rifle and he was hunting! All he had to do was wake up before daylight, roll out of bed, open the window and wait.
Tom is a very good shot, so if I heard that rifle shot...I knew I was going down the hill and dragging the deer to the cabin to clean it. One morning I was making him some coffee and BOOM!! So I put on my coveralls and head down the hill.
Dad had dropped an 8 point buck...but when I arrived, much to my surprise..it was still alive and kicking! The buck couldn't stand up because his back legs were lame, but his horns and front legs were fully functional. When I got close he would make a horrific sounding groan and try to kick and gouge me. I didn't have anything to finish him off so I grabbed a broken limb and cracked him over the head attempting to knock it out cold. All that did was piss him off more. I positioned myself behind the buck and waited until he wasn't watching me and grabbed his horns! Then I realized that if I turn loose, this buck is gonna stab my legs with those horns. So I started dragging him up the hill toward camp. If you've never seen a deer, their neck muscles are way bigger than a man's leg..they are unbelievably strong! By the time I got him to the top of the hill, I had invented a new sport...Deer Wrestling!!

Reunion 2010 aftermath

Wow, what a great turn out. Thanks to Lester, Perry and Larry for coming all the way from west Texas! We had lots of people who came that I haven't seen for a long time...Mike Collier, Uncle Skip, Benny, Freda, Elaine, too many to mention them all! Everyone made this a very special reunion, I want to express my gratitude for each one who could be there. We missed some who couldn't attend...Rusty, Donna and Amanda...Aunt Barbara and Uncle Sonny..I hope for a speedy recovery to them. We had new additions to the family too, Jessica Reves who incidentally will be adding another around Christmas! I couldn't ask for a better family, I love each and every one of you.

Thanks to everyone for pitching in and making it all come together too. Did anybody else notice that Doris makes pretty good biscuits? The food was outstanding at every meal. Clean up and loading went smooth as well. Personally I appreciate all the effort that goes into making it a success every year.

I sincerely hope that all felt welcomed and enjoyed their time there. This reunion was wonderful! Best wishes to all.

Kirkland Family Reunion

Tom gets excited about a few things every year. Number one on his list is the family reunion. He tries so hard to get everyone together. He calls and calls everyone he can to make sure they know they are welcome at the reunion. It's very special to him and he starts preparing for it for months. He isn't in great health and he's quick to say "this may be my last reunion"....and this time he may be right. I've heard it before just like most of you. Unfortunately, he's had many more health issues this year and it gets scarier each time something happens. 

I sincerely hope that petty disagreements between family members don't hamper attendance this year. We're all family! I advise everyone to be forgiving and to be tolerant of others. We don't all have to agree about everything but we should be big enough to realize that none of us are perfect. 

We have relatives that live very far away and I've heard that some are coming all the way from west Texas. It's great when we can gather family that we rarely see. I hope that all of Wilburn's descendants can attend, also my Uncle Skip (Bill Herring) and all of his kids and grandchildren can be there too....We haven't seen some of them for a long time! This should be an event again and we NEED to keep this family together. Please attend if at all possible!