Elk Expo with the EX-in-laws, a neighbor, and Carl!

I guess about a week ago, my ex-brother-in-law sent me a text to see if Mr. Chad or I could show him and a couple of others around the area to scout out places to possibly elk hunt in December. Mr. Chad had to do something that day, so I became the tour guide.

Now, those of you that know me, know that I LOVE my ex-father-in-law. He was the first "real" father I ever had, other than a few uncles. I married his son at 18 and I was still a kid, so he had some influence on who I became. He is a great man. With that being said, here's the story of the day.

About 2pm, I met them at the Sportsplex, where they were enjoying the Elk Expo, to take them around "section 3" .( I think the hunting area is divided into multiple sections over several counties.) While driving, they proceed to tell me where they can and can't hunt and that they can not hunt on Consol (coun-cil) property. (Please remember, all four of these men live in or were raised in Wisconsin...accent, folks...accent.) I was like, "I don't even know what this is. How do you spell it?"...and then I burst out laughing after they did, because it turns out, they can't hunt on CONSOL's(con-sol) property. CONSOL (http://www.consolenergy.com/) is an energy(coal mining) company that probably owns ALL the property where the ELK roam...reclaimed mountaintops!

Anyway, I took them around the mountains of east KY, to show them my home. It was a wonderful time and I loved seeing my ex-FIL and my ex-BIL, but I loved meeting Carl! Carl is Shawn's father. Shawn is ex-BIL's neighbor/friend/hunting buddy/Wisconsin-ite! He was a nice guy, too...but all of those guys in the truck, combined, did not hold the enthusiasm of Carl. Carl had the gift of gab--like I do, but he was very genuine when asking questions about the locals...ie. education level, occupations, drug problems, rural living, etc. He was a wonderful participant in my tour talks.

At the end of the day, I took them back to the EXPO, where they were going to a "beast feast", I think, and said good-bye. However, Carl thanked me again and again, and I was really glad to have met him. I thought to myself, "I like this ol' guy too bad we can't stay in touch" when from out of left field Carl says, "hey, you got Facebook?" Why yes, Carl, I do.

Here's to a new friendship and how Facebook is not that bad!...LOL.

CBB

P.S. They didn't see any elk that day except on a sign...and that is a funny story for another day, too!