Runge Unraveled

When you run across someone who simply tells the truth it can be very entertaining. I don’t mean some lout who says you have an ugly coat or a stupid haircut and then begs off by saying he’s just being honest. I mean someone who tells the truth about himself and has fun doing it.

Almost everyone has heard of the “Chia Pet”. I never had one but I’m sure some of you have. Originally there were just two, a bull and a ram. The little clay figures were first imported fromMexico sometime in the seventies. But they did not become popular until the original importer was bought out by Joe Pedott, an advertising man from San Francisco. He put them on TV in the early eighties and the rest, as they say, is history.

The little animals are made from porous clay that readily accepts the little seeds which come with the package. The seeds are a type of sage called Chia. When the animal is filled with water it seeps out to nourish the little seeds which grow into a green “fur” in about two weeks. The original importer was a man named Walter Houston who was correct in assuming there was a market for them but did not have the flair for promotion as did his successor.

Today, Pedott calls the whole thing a “lucky accident”. By going down to Mexico he was able to eliminate the unscrupulous middleman and import them directly for a much lower cost. Then with his advertising experience he brought them to TV. Even the clever little jingle was an accident. In a staff meeting one of his employees stuttered the name just to be funny and it came out “Cha-cha-cha-chia”. Soon that little musical ditty would be torturing TV viewers across the land.

The nice part is that Pedott tells the truth about being just plain lucky with the item. When asked if he is surprised that people actually buy them, he’ll even admit that. “Absolutely”, he says.

Another one of my favorite advertising stories goes back to the fifties when an Australian Company named Toltoys came out with the first plastic Hula Hoop. The year was 1957 and they sold like crazy. This was soon noticed by the Wham-O toy company in theUnited States . They introduced the toy to the states in January of 1958 and shipped them as fast as they could. They retailed for an astounding $1.98 each which was a lot for a plastic toy in 1958. When they figured they had made one for just about every kid in theUnited States they started looking at daily sales. The first day it dropped, they ceased production of the item. An estimated 20 million were sold in the first four months and perhaps 100 million before the end of the year. Actual figures were never confirmed if even known but by October the fad was over. Wholesalers were left with warehouses full of Hula Hoops, the Wham-O company with almost none. By fall they were being sold for a dime apiece and even given away at store openings.

And finally there is the story of a utensil manufacturer that made a potato peeling knife. They also watched their sales charts closely and were surprised to see the knives kept selling even after the company had made one for every household inAmerica . Once again it was the fifties and in those days a company could afford to put salesmen in stores to interview housewives. They set up a booth offering a potato peeling knife special and then asked the customer if they had ever had a potato peeler before. It was determined that the housewives were accidentally wrapping the knives up with the potato peels and throwing the whole mess away. Upon learning that, the company started to produce the knife handles exactly the color of a potato peel. As far as I know, they’re still making them that way.

The wild economic crash which began late last summer did
have its effect on hunting license sales around the country. Hopefully this is
a one time occurrence as wildlife research and management programs are funded
by license and hunting equipment sales across the nation. But other interesting
dynamics are also at work in the sport of hunting.

The traditional way of recruiting new hunters has been
introduction to the sport by fathers to sons which, of course, still happens.
But there are many more distractions for the young people coming up over the
last twenty years or so. There are many more opportunities in organized sports
covering the whole calendar year. There are endless video games, malls to hang
out in and 150 channels on the TV. Fish and Game Departments in many states
have emphasized educational programs hoping to attract and hold young people’s
attention, but it’s an uphill battle.

Over the last few years
hunting license sales have fallen in about half the states and held their own
or slightly risen in about half. A recent survey done by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, shows that there was an 11% decline in the total number of
hunters nationwide from 1991 to 2006.

But one encouraging indicator is the general increase in
women entering the sport. The survey also shows that the number of female
hunters, about 10% of the nation’s 12.5 million hunters, has grown somewhat
since 1991, but it showed significant growth among the youngest female hunters.
According to the survey, 304,000 girls ages 6 to 15 hunted from 2001 through
2006, a 50% increase in the number of young girls hunting from the last survey
of 1991 through 1996.

Not long ago I had the chance to visit with David Olsen who
runs the Pheasant Phun hunting lodge near Hitchcock,
South Dakota. He is going to be hosting a
women’s hunting event this June which is a combination clinic, retreat, and
self empowerment meeting. The idea is to introduce new women to the sport of
hunting while also making them more confident and relaxed while facing the
challenges of day-to-day life.

One of the main organizers is Jane Keller of Team Huntress who
says the retreat will offer instruction in archery, firearms safety, shooting,
outdoor gear, field care, ATVs, fishing, GPS use and more. The event will occur
June 12, 13 and 14. Those who would like more information can go to www.teamhuntress.com
or call 605-266-2848.

There have been quite a few women hunter organizations
founded over the last ten or fifteen years, many of them encouraged by state
conservation departments or national organizations like the NRA. Recently a
group of women duck hunters who call themselves the “Swamp Witches” made
national news when a reporter tagged along on one of their hunts in Mississippi.
They started out a few years ago as a horseback riding club and ended up wading
through swamp muck carrying shotguns because it was more fun.

Somehow ending up back at the cabin enjoying a nice glass of
wine seems a little too refined to this old hunter, but I’m glad they’re doing it. It’s my guess there will also be a glass of wine or two at the Team Huntress retreat. Sounds like fun.

It happens every year. Call it cabin fever or what ever you
want, but sooner rather than later there is a tendency to go fishing before
conditions really merit a trip. I’m not counting ice fishing, there’s still
plenty of time for that. What I am referring to is open water fishing; really
throwing the ‘ole lure around. Last weekend my grandson and I tried a little
below the dam walleye angling and had no success except for landing some snacks
and pop on the way home.

We did see several flocks of geese and my grandson asked the
age-old question, “Why do they fly in a V?” It’s a question that almost
everyone knows the answer to until they try to put it into words. First of all
you must resist saying, “Because it’s too hard to fly in a B.” Most people will
say something about the lead bird cutting the wind resistance and so on. For
young kids that response will do, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. We’ll
get to a more complete explanation but I must warn you there could be a real
problem if they ask the next logical question. More on that later.

When a “gaggle” of geese flies a distance, the birds will
soon form a V pattern in a deliberate and coordinated action which increases
the aerodynamics of the entire flock. Anything that flies through the air has
air resistance, be it a bumble bee or an airplane. In our case, once man
learned to fly there has been a continual evolution of design in airplanes all
related to air resistance and the lift it produces on a wing. For geese it all
came naturally.

The lead bird does most of the work in cutting through the
air. When that bird flaps his wing down it creates an updraft in the air
directly behind him. The next bird in line rides the updraft making it easier
for him to flap his wings. The updraft continues on down the line and each bird
in turn has an easier time cutting through the air because of the wingbeats of
those ahead. There may be old tales of the flock being lead on migration by a
wise old gander, but evidence shows that the lead bird will eventually tire and
drop back to take advantage of the updrafts created by the others. Over the
whole trip it is an advantage to the flock to share the labor of cutting
through the air.

Some studies have estimated that a flock of 24 birds in
formation can fly as much as 70% further than a solo bird using the same amount
of energy. Another advantage of the V formation was discovered by fighter
pilots. Flying in formation allows the birds to see each other better and makes
it easier to communicate. The V formation provides the birds with the good
visual contact necessary to keep the flock together. This provides some safety
to the geese during migration.

Now for the hard part. Imagine walking into this trap.

“Do other kinds of birds migrate?”

“Yes, lots of them.”

“Then why don’t they all fly in a V?”

Sometimes you can’t buy a break for anything. The Charleston
West Virginia Gazette reported that bow hunter Chris Parsons, 36, of South
Charleston, shot a nice buck on consecutive weekends
during West Virginia’s archery deer
season. That was the easy part. But getting them home was another matter. He
lost one to a pack of coyotes and the other to a trio of black bears.

The whole story is a little strange. Parsons hadn’t bow
hunted for perhaps ten years and really didn’t expect much when he went out. “I
had bought a new bow, and I wanted to try it out,” he told the Gazette.
“I got up early on opening day and went out to an area I’d scouted in
northern Kanawha County.”

He didn’t see any deer until it was nearly getting dark. At that time he spotted
a nice buck and made a perfect shot. The buck ran off but Parsons heard it fall
and decided to wait. “I was planning to wait a half hour to make sure it
was dead, but after 15 minutes went by I started hearing something yipping like
a dog. I snuck over to where the buck went down, about 75 yards away, and found
six coyotes chewing on the carcass. They were barking and growling at each
other – probably maintaining some sort of pecking order – and eating their
fill,” Parsons said.

Parsons did not have a gun and was afraid the coyotes would attack him, so
he left to find his hunting partner who was off hunting on his own. When they
got back, the carcass was pretty much chewed up but they were able to save the
10 point rack that would go about 140 points Pope and Young.

If ever there’s a
competition for the most bittersweet hunting season, Chris Parsons’ 2008
campaign should rank right up there.

Parsons, 36, of South Charleston,
bagged trophy bucks on consecutive weekends during West Virginia’s archery season.
But before the triumphant hunter could lay hands on the kills, he lost them -
one to a pack of coyotes and one to a trio of black bears!

Parsons’ four-word synopsis of those
two Saturdays in October is a masterpiece of understatement. “It was
pretty weird,” he said.

First off, Parsons hadn’t bowhunted
for nine or 10 years. Suffice it to say his expectations weren’t exactly high
headed into the season.

“I had bought a new bow, and I
wanted to try it out,” he said. “I got up early on opening day and
went out to an area I’d scouted in northern Kanawha County.”

He didn’t see much of anything until
about an hour before dark.

“All of a sudden, here was this
really nice buck, and it came in and gave me a picture-perfect 15-yard
shot,” he recalled.

Parsons’ arrow found its mark. The
buck sprinted out of sight, and seconds later Parsons heard it crash to the
forest floor.

“I was planning to wait a half
hour to make sure it was dead, but after 15 minutes went by I started hearing
something yipping like a dog. I snuck over to where the buck went down, about
75 yards away, and found six coyotes chewing on the carcass. They were barking
and growling at each other – probably maintaining some sort of pecking order -
and eating their fill,” Parsons said.

Hesitant to disturb the coyotes for
fear of risking an attack, Parsons slipped away and located hunting partner
Bill Ryan.

“We went back up there, but the
coyotes had already ruined the carcass,” Parsons said. “We didn’t get
the meat, but we did save the buck’s rack. It had 10 points and it green-scored
about 140 inches. It was the first Pope and Young Club buck I’d ever
taken.”

Parsons’ early success at finding
and shooting a big buck encouraged him to keep hunting. The following weekend,
he and Ryan headed back to the same area.

“We hung out at our camp during
the day and went out to hunt late that afternoon,” Parsons said. “I
went right back to the same tree stand and – sure enough – about a half hour
before dark another big buck came in and gave me an 18-yard shot.”

Again, Parsons’ arrow connected.
Again, the buck whirled and dashed out of sight. This time, however, Parsons
decided not to wait quite as long before trying to find the downed deer.

“I waited a few minutes and
went after it,” he said. “When I got there, I found a mama bear and
two cubs eating on the carcass. When she saw me, she picked that buck up and
took off with it.”

Once again, Parsons decided not to
contest the scavengers’ ownership. He went and found Ryan, and the two set off
in search of the purloined buck.

“We had a good idea of where
the bears were headed, so we went in a different way and found the kill,”
Parsons said. “The bears had dragged it about 350 yards, and had eaten a
good bit of it.”

For the second time in as many
weeks, Parsons came home with no venison and a nice set of antlers. “This
one was a 10 pointer, too, and it green-scored about 142,” he said.

Parsons would like to get the
antlers mounted, but he’s going to have to buy a pair of capes before he can
accomplish that goal.

“The coyotes and the bears
ruined both bucks’ hides. They got the meat, too. But they didn’t get the
antlers. Those are mine.”

He still didn’t have any venison so he decided to go again the next weekend.
According to the Gazette the story gets even weirder. “We hung out at our
camp during the day and went out to hunt late that afternoon,” Parsons
said. “I went right back to the same tree stand and – sure enough – about
a half hour before dark another big buck came in and gave me an 18-yard
shot.” Once again, Parsons shot the buck and it did the same thing as the
first by running away a short distance. “I waited a few minutes and went
after it,” he said. “When I got there, I found a mama bear and two
cubs eating on the carcass. When she saw me, she picked that buck up and took
off with it.”

He and his partner found the deer later but once again the meat was gone. “This
one was a 10 pointer, too, and it green-scored about 142. They didn’t get the
antlers. Those are mine,” he said

A Michigan man had a bad day
as well. The Cheboygan Daily Tribune told the story of a hunter who got lost in
the woods. A man named Howard
Keshick was recently the subject of a search and rescue mission when he became
disoriented while hunting in Inverness Township during a snowstorm. After endless
walking, he decided to use his cell phone to call for help. The good part about
the story is that local police and a Coast Guard helicopter were able to find
Keshick in the blowing snow. The bad part is that he had a black powder rifle
with him. As a convicted felon, he was in violation of the law and was promptly
arrested. He is awaiting sentencing on that charge as well as others he rang up
before he went for a nice afternoon hunt. Shucks, what a bad day.