April 07, 2006 - 05:42 AM
Ron Thistlethwaite -
Another mental
picture as clear to me as the day it happened is a pheasant drive one
afternoon in Scotland. Erma Jean and Tom were ahead of me and unlike
most drives we were not designated a stand, but we were supposed to
advance slowly up the valley as the birds were driven towards us from
the bluffs on either side. It was late in the afternoon
with fading light
and a mist was starting to lift from the ground.
Fifty yards in
front of me Erma Jean and Tom dressed in their long shooting jackets and
wide brimmed hats reminded me of the Erp brothers advancing on the OK
corral. With a flurry the birds started to flush towards us and with
Erma Jean on the left and Tom on the right they started one of the most
amazing demonstrations of marksmanship I have ever seen. Bird after bird
fell, and working as a perfect team they refused to allow a single
pheasant to break through their designated zone. After about ten minutes the drive was over and I walked up to congratulate both of them and complement them on their shooting.
I don't think Tom or Erma Jean
thought they had done anything out of the ordinary, but I will never
forget the picture forever implanted in my mind of the two of them in
silhouette shooting to left and right as the mist rose to partially
obscure them as they strolled down the valley.
I always considered Tom
my friend and I know he included me in his vast array of friends. Vicki
and I will miss him very much but he will always be with us in a
variety
of great memories.
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