Where the Red Fern Grows is a novel that has touched the hearts of many people, including myself. It is the timeless story of a boy who like so many other boys has a desire for adventure, and that desire drives him to do many things. The boy, Billy lives on a farm in the Ozark mountains and his family doesn’t have the money he needs in order to buy something he wants more than anything: coonhounds. Billy eventually gets his hounds by saving for them his self, and that makes him love them even more. I can still remember sitting in my bed reading this book, seeing everything from the eyes of Billy, the close calls, the triumphs, the sadness and heartache: all of it mine. I breathed the air of those chilly nights, felt branches whip my face as I chased after those dogs, and the bounty they followed. This experience of feeling like I was living a life so full of adventure left me always wanting more, wishing that I actually could be there. These urges for having such a desire to experience the raw hazards and trills of nature, led to a desire to have these experiences myself. I read books on hunting and fishing, went on any possible outdoor excursion available to me, but I never got all of what I desired. There was still a lack of something, an essential ingredient left out of the mixture, and the only way I could obtain it was to stumble upon it.
This went on for a period of roughly 5 years on and off, with the urges ebbing and flowing depending on how occupied my time was, the people that I spent time with, and the time I would spend outdoors. Then one day in November in 2012 a spark was lit. My family was going up to a small town in Iowa to visit a great uncle, and I was not over thrilled by the idea, however I still was required to go. We arrived and just as we arrived, my uncle arrived. He had just gotten home from checking his traps that morning, and we were allowed to see the catch, that was held in the bed of his truck. Waiting for us were 2 raccoons, 3 muskrats, and a air of excitement and adventure. My uncle then told us more about trapping, and my ears were wide open. The more he talked, the more I thought I had finally found the thing I was missing, the absent ingredient in this adventurous recipe. My new found secret ingredient was not quite ready to be added to my recipe, but when it is the result will be absolutely delicious.
outdorrsguy 