Calling a cease-fire on hunting

When Brad came home from work yesterday, he was beaming from ear to ear.

"Guess what?" he asked.

"You won the lottery," I replied.

"Nope. Guess again."

"We're going to see Shane in California," I said.

"Nope. Guess again."

"You got a job that pays $100,000 a year," I speculated.

"Nope," he replied. "It's going to freeze this weekend."

I searched my mind, trying to come up with the reason why a fall freeze would bring such happiness to my other half.

Of course there's the obvious reasons -- no more mowing the lawn or weeding the flower garden and a wonderful excuse to go shopping for new clothes -- but I wasn't quite sure why that had made him so happy.

I had to ask. "So what's so great about a fall freeze?"

He gave me a look of exasperation. "It's a signal. It means it's getting closer to hunting season."

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy hunting with Brad -- as long as I can sit in the warmth of the pickup and don't have to spend more than five minutes traipsing through the wet fields looking for game.

There aren't a lot of things Brad and I disagree about, any more. Through the years, my temper has evened out a little bit and it never did do much good to fight with him anyway -- he always kept his opinion to himself.

But one thing we do have an occasional problem with is our weekly hunting trips.

Brad thinks we need to stay out until we hit our limit for whatever we happen to be hunting.

I, on the other hand, would much rather spend a couple of hours in the field, come home, do important things (like taking a nap), and go out again towards evening.

Often it comes down to a threat. Something along the lines of "take me home or I'm getting out and walking."

When you think about it, that kind of threat is self-defeating. Brad would probably like nothing more than to stop the pickup and open the door, but he knows he'd spend the rest of his life trying to make up for giving me exactly what I wanted.

This year, I've promised to be more patient with Brad on his hunting expeditions, as long as he promises to give me at least a two-hour break every day.

Hopefully, with that understanding, we will make it through one more hunting season without any serious harm coming to either of us.

"The concept of two people living together for 25 years without a serious dispute suggests a lack of spirit only to be admired in sheep." -- A.P. Herbert