Whitetail Withdrawal

Man, my hands won't stop shaking. I may even be frothing at the mouth a bit. I feel like Albert in that Little House on the Prairie episode when Pa tied him to the bed to break his addiction to morphine . . . man I loved that show.

Anyway, I am now one week post-season. And, to be perfectly honest, I'm not handling it well. I struggle to get out of bed every morning. I can't sleep at night. Visions of heavy-horned giants dance through my mind every time I close my eyes. I find myself wearing LaCrosse boots around the house. I went to work today with a Realtree t-shirt under my obligatory button-down. The camo called to me all day long . . .

How am I ever going to live? How will I make it until next season? I have no idea. Really, no clue. It doesn't help, of course, that I've become addicted to Bill Winke's Midwest Whitetail videos. Every couple of days he's cranking out another segment that shows some lucky dudes working the woods with a bow or gun in hand. While I sit in my office and ponder what might have been. So cruel. I thought I'd escape my depression for a bit last night and watch a little TV. First channel I check is the Outdoor Channel. And there it was: The debut of Michael Waddell's Bone Collector. I watched it of course. Fantastic show. Cut me to the bone. So to speak.

I have decided to pass the time with wishful thinking and planning. Next fall will be different. I'll hunt more. I'll start in Nebraska, move on to Ohio, visit Kansas and maybe even North Dakota. And, of course, I'll hunt my Michigan herd hard. I'll pack so much hunting into one season that I'll be happy to see it end.

Yeah, right. The countdown continues.

Tony Hansen, Michigan Man