I Don’t Need To!  #28

Peter Davies had it all, a great family, a good practice that he had built from time, and he was well known in the community. He volunteered to help with community events, owned and piloted his own boat and cruised up and down the coast on weekends with his wife. He enjoyed fishing while on the boat, pulling in prize fish that so often the sea would offer him. Yes, Peter had it all. But Peter also had another side that few people knew of or concerned themselves with. Peter thought that he knew it all. He didn’t need any help from others, because when push came to shove, he had gotten out of messes on his own all his life.

So, when his friend Joe told him that he was going to take a hunters safety course, just as a refresher, and asked if Peter would like to tag along, Peter remarked, why do I need that? I know all about the woods and gun safety. I have never been lost and I have never injured anyone with a gun. Joe told him that he was taking it to refresh his skills and to get more familiar with the compass and the map. But, Peter continued to resist and in the end told Joe that he knew all of that stuff and had no use for the course or the waste of time in attending.

Fall came, and Peter was invited to join some of his friends for a couple of days of bird hunting. He was excited and gathered all of his gear including his in preparation for his trip to the woods. The day came when Peter loaded the car and took off to meet the gang. He arrived at the camp late in the day tired from the trip north. He spent the afternoon and evening socializing with the guys and had far more to drink than he should have. That evening, he found his way to his bed in the camp and passed out quickly. In the morning, the guys woke Peter up and told him to get ready as they were heading out to hunt. Peter, still feeling the effects from the night before, got his gear together and loaded it in the truck of the guy he was riding with that day named Bill. As they cruised the dirt roads, Peter had a shell in his hand and the gun by his side ready to jump out when a bird showed up. Shortly into the ride, both he and Bill spotted a bird on the side of the road. Peter loaded his gun and then jumped out of the truck. He started to walk toward the bird so as to close the gap between the two of them. Bill walked alongside him with his gun loaded. Just as they got to within shooting range, the bird took flight. Peter wielded around with gun raised and the muzzle of the gun passed right in front of Bill’s head. Peter continued to swing the gun by Bills head and pulled the trigger, but missed the bird. Bill immediately let Peter know that he had just pointed a loaded gun at him and not only that, but the gun was loaded in a truck which was against the law. Peter replied that he had total control of the gun at all times and would never have placed Bill in any danger. Bill told him to be more careful and not to load his gun while in Bills truck again.

When Bill and Peter got back to the camp, Bill told everyone about his day and what had happened with Peter. Everyone remarked that they were concerned about it, but Peter was such a nice guy that they hated to make an issue of it.

The next day, Peter and Bill once again paired up and struck out to find birds. About half way through the day, they ran into a flock of six birds standing on the road. Both Bill and Peter jumped out of the truck, loaded their guns and began firing at the birds. They both got one, and the others flew into the woods. Bill walked down the road to pick up his bird and all of a sudden, he heard a shot and it felt like a noise went right by his head. Bill swung around to find that Peter had seen a bird in the grass right next to Bill and had fired. As he began to say something to Peter, he noticed that Peter was reloading his gun and was running into the woods yelling, I just saw another one. Bill stayed calm and watched as Peter went out of sight. Minutes went by and Bill heard nothing. Bill yelled to Peter to see if he saw anything, but got no answer. Bill wanted to go into the woods, but was afraid of being in the same area as Peter, so he waited as more time passed. Finally after fifteen minutes passed and he had no contact with Peter, Bill decided to go see if he was ok. Bill pulled out his GPS and marked a waypoint where his truck was. He put his compass around his neck and started into the woods calling for Peter, but got no answer. Bill noticed that as he got off the road, the woods thickened and were very dark and grown in from the softwood trees. For twenty minutes, Bill went deeper and deeper into the woods yelling for Peter. Finally, Peter answered him and said, I am not sure how to get out, can you please come help me. Bill plotted a course to Peter using his voice and told Peter to stay where he was and not move. Eventually Bill got to where Peter was all huddled up. He noticed that Peter was soaked from sweat. He then took his GPS and plotted a course back to his truck with Peter alongside him. Once in the truck, Peter told Bill that he had seen a bird by the road and followed it into the woods. He kept seeing it and kept going deeper and deeper into the woods until he realized that he did not know where he was nor did he know how to get out. He wandered around trying to find his way out, but nothing reminded him of the path he took when he came in.

Once back at the camp, Peter walked over to Bill and thanked him for all he had done for him. He told Bill that he really thought he knew it all, but the few days he had spent with him reminded him of the lack of knowledge and skill he had. He told Bill that as soon as there was a hunter’s safety course available, he was going to sign up, and he was going to find some reading material to help him understand not only compass and GPS reading, but what you do if you are lost in the woods. Peter pledged to be a different hunter if they invited him back next year.

Do you know the moral of this tale? Can you pick out the things that Peter did wrong? What would you do differently if you were Peter? What would you do if you were Bill?