GROUNDED MEAT

Our parents went moose hunting last week. No kidding. A couple in their mid 70’s drove a total of 14 hours, all the way across the island and then way “Down” (North) to meet their friends Eric and Ann Cunard in snowy, Plum Point, Newfoundland.

Without any of us “boys” along, they planned to hunt smart, sticking close to the camp, walking and driving the woods roads that intertwine much of Newfoundland’s wilderness – Keeping a sharp eye for tracks in the light snow cover.

 

“… without any of her boys…”

 

They knocked down an animal on their second day, but as luck would have it, the large bull toppled over an embankment, scrambling into the thicket below. Dad and Eric managed to shinny their way down and had the animal paunched in no time, but how in the name of goodness were they going to retrieve it. What a snarl!

 

 

“… Over Fifty’s Club…”

 

While the boys kept busy cutting a path, the girls called to enlist friends from the community’s “Over Fifty Club’ who’d be along “the once!”

The moment they hung up the phone another vehicle stopped for a chat. This skipper was hunting as well, and more importantly a master at extracting animals. With 200 fathoms of rope in the pan of his truck he tied one end to his front bumper, looped the other around the ball hitch on Dad’s rig, before stringing the remaining length on a 90 degree angle, directly down the hill and right to the animal. Shove his “machine” in reverse and out comes the moose.

 

“… 200 fathoms of rope…”

 

In the meantime, a retired trapper pulled up on his quad, stopping long enough to offer a snow sledge that was stored at his nearby camp, returning the exact moment the crowd from town arrived to help “shore things up”. All hands finished their day at the butcher’s shop where the moose was skinned and stored before 2 in the afternoon. Just in time for “Tea”

 

“… just in time for tea…”

 

Despite all the news we hear about “our demographic disaster” and the “burden” the “aged” are placing on Canada’s medical system, all we see at McCarthy’s Party Tours is a healthy and resourceful crowd who truly understand the value in community. Keeping in mind, we’ve hosted a lot of “senior’s” over the last 38 years, so we have a unique perspective and some valuable insights to share about their resilience and strength of character.