It was Christmas eve and another arrow flew true, and once again we had sacred flesh down to earth.
Down-to-earth. Grounded.
Probably the two nicest compliments a person can receive. After all, down-to-earth and grounded both mean exactly what they say; remaining close to the good earth and in touch with all that is God’s miraculous creation.
In touch. Hands on. Aware. Reliable. Trustworthy. Honest. There when you need them. BloodBrothers.
And of course, which segment of our otherwise shattered, scattered, culture war society is more in touch with the good earth and these basic human attributes than the good people we find in hunting camps across the land.
As I dragged my hard-earned venison reward out of the riverine tangles, my big smile was not just about the pride and happiness of another well-planned and executed deerhunting ambush, but more about the perfection of the deerhunting lifestyle. The ultimate manifestation of which would be the sharing of this precious renewable protein with my fellow Americans in need of such perfect nutrition.
Though successful hunters have surely shared our venison with family, friends, neighbors and the needy for time immemorial, it was some 30 odd years ago that we made it official with the creation of various charities to maximize the distribution and benefits of such plentiful renewable sustenance.
Such charities have different titles, like Hunters for the Hungry, The Shared Harvest, Sportsmen Against Hunger, Hunters and Farmers Feeding the Hungry and others, but the premise is the same no matter where you find it — good people helping people in need of quality food.
Quite honestly, it is everywhere if you just stop and look for it.
Pretty much every sporting organization performs a variation of this important charity, and we should not only salute them and help them, but we hunters should aggressively promote and celebrate this otherwise secret goodwill tsunami that is never acknowledged in the mainstream media.
On many occasions I have brought up and raved about how American hunting families provide more than 250 MILLION hot meals of pure, organic, ultra-nutritious and delicious venison meals every year to soup kitchens and homeless shelters during interviews on the biggest media on earth, from Fox News, CNN, VH1, MTV, BBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Joe Pags, Mark Davis, Frank Beckman, Mitch Albom, Joe Rogan, Lars Larson, Howard Stern and pretty much every talk, news, rock and sports radio on planet earth.
On each and every occasion, the interviewer responded with shock and dismay that they had never heard of any such thing, sometimes literally disbelieving my claims.
I remember one New Year’s Eve in Detroit many years ago when I worked with the great men and women of Safari Club International, Michigan Bowhunters and other great sporting groups as we hauled, cooked and served delicious venison meals to homeless shelters across the city.
Some reporters and TV crews showed up to report on this glowing humanitarian effort and couldn’t believe such a program went unnoticed.
PR stands for public relations. In this crazy, illogical culture war raging every day, it is imperative that the hunting families of America optimize how we relate to the public, and shout it out from the mountain tops and roof tops that hunting families care, dig deep and work hard to help the most needy amongst us, and nothing says love like a hot, nutritious meal of venison at zero cost to the taxpayer.
So I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are preparing for the end of 2018 and the celebratory kickoff to 2019 to make it the best year of our lives.
Hunting seasons throttle on this time of year, and it is never too late to feel the deep joys and gratification that comes from spreading the good word and helping out our fellow man.
Find out which venison-sharing charity operates in your neck of the woods and get involved. Local butchers are doing God’s work by helping out and they usually know who needs venison.
We dropped off some more deer this week to Rob Fortson’s butcher and taxidermy in Waco, Texas, where Rob is in touch with families in need.
Stay grounded. Remain down-to-earth. Cherish and celebrate the miracle of eternal renewability and share the harvest. The more we share, the better we feel, and each hunt and kill means that much more.
The Christmas spirit of giving never really ends, and nothing makes you feel warm and good inside like a good, hot meal of venison, except maybe the giving of a good, hot meal of venison.
Multi-platinum guitar legend TED NUGENT announces a new full-length album THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT, due out Friday, November 9, on Round Hill Records. The album is available now for preorder everywhere, and the title track “The Music Made Me Do It” is available to download and stream wherever music is sold.
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With more than 40 million albums sold, rock legend Ted Nugent is equally well known as the nation’s most outspoken proponent of our 1st and 2nd Amendment rights, conducting thousands of pro-gun, pro-freedom, pro-American interviews in major media worldwide. Nugent is a New York Times best-selling author whose works include Ted, White & Blue —The Nugent Manifesto; God, Guns & Rock ‘n’ Roll and Kill It & Grill It.This year, his award-winning Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild TV show celebrates its 500th episode! For all things Nuge, visit www.tednugent.com
