Hunt2Prove
On the Hunt for a Better Version of Ourselves, the Forests We Steward, & the Wildlife we Love!
The DMV, Life, & Hunting
Just about everything in my life is in some way, shape, or form connected to hunting and creating the best possible habitat I can for deer and turkey. Last week I was blessed with an opportunity to head down to the local DMV office to acquire tags for our new gooseneck trailer – a trailer we needed to haul our tractor to and from the various lands we are fortunate to work on for the betterment of all things timber and wildlife. I wasn’t really surprised to find a line backed up to the door. After all, it was after 3pm on a Friday afternoon. And, even though I was lucky enough to be standing behind the man who wears too much cologne, I was handling this endeavor pretty well. Over the next hour people of all sizes, shapes, races, and walks of life were processed ahead of me. Finally it was my turn. I handed the man my paperwork – happy to finally be 10 minutes away from heading home with my weighted, multi-year tags and one step closer to actually using the trailer for the first time. Fortunately, it didn’t quite go as I’d hoped. When the clerk started running his fingers meticulously over every inch of the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin I got the feeling something was awry. I was right. The notary at the trailer manufacturer in Kentucky had forgotten to stamp the MCO – a measure required here in NC. Immediately my steam meter flew off of the charts. I called Gatormade a very angry and unhappy individual. Thankfully, the lady on the other end stood up to my near-tantrum and snuffed out my fuse. My attitude and sense of understanding was poor, my “I dare you forget to stamp MY MCO” type thinking just completely off-base.
Now, sitting here listening to the woods go to sleep hoping to roost a wild turkey for my dear wife, I see things much more clearly. In today’s world we have just about everything we want at the click of a button. If we want to rent a movie we type in our prime passcode and boom the movie plays with the click of a button. If we “need” a new turkey vest we add it to the Amazon cart and boom it’s there in two days, on credit I might add. Used to, it didn’t matter how early you got to the movie store on release day, there was a good chance you were going to have to wait a few more days to watch that new movie you’d already waited months to watch – someone had already beat you to one of the two copies Choice Video, the brick and mortar, had. There was no on-demand, no Amazon, only a bit more patience and understanding, like it or not.
I was reminded of something very important last Friday. We’re all human. We make mistakes each and every day, especially me. I had gotten near-about out of line because a woman had forgotten to stamp her seal on a piece of paper I needed. I took it personally. I let it rile me up and it shouldn’t have. What was waiting a couple more days going to hurt? I didn’t have some big, ten thousand dollar job to do where I needed the trailer right then, and I still don’t. I just wanted it done when I wanted it done because that’s what I’m accustomed to nowadays – instant gratification, my way or the highway.
In the end, shame on me for not being more understanding, especially when I look to others to understand my own shortcomings. Shame on me for being so self-absorbed that I forgot what it means to be kind and forgiving. Shame on me, I’ll do better. I’ll find that version of myself I’m hunting for – that version where I think less and less about what I think I need and more about what I already have right in front of me.
One Comment on “The DMV, Life, & Hunting”
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Photos from the Wilder side of Life!
Very enlightening circumstance to have to deal with. Life is full of opportunities to learn from, to hone our reactions. When confronted with unforeseen negative encounters, it brings to the surface what really resides in the container. If compassion and understanding or bitterness and contempt, What resides within will come to the surface. Fortunately, if one revives the genuine love within, it will defuse an otherwise destructive situation. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Thank you for sharing this real life encounter, it is something we all deal with and can learn from in a positive way.