Being a Guy, North or South
by James Glaser
December 18, 2009

Wanda took a business trip to Orlando this past week and left me home alone. It wasn't until I was almost to Tallahassee on Tuesday morning that I noticed I had put on my favorite shirt and had forgotten to shave. It wasn't like I went to the closet and thought, "I can wear that old soft sweatshirt that Wanda keeps asking if I'm going to throw out." I just reached in, and that is what I came up with.

I never even thought about shaving. I was just up and about, ready to head off to work and so I left—scruff and all. When I realized it, I couldn't figure out why I had reverted back to my bachelor days. What I realize now is that it's hunting season.

It doesn't matter if you are up North trailing a buck in the snow or down South trying to keep quiet as you walk through the woods filled with fallen leaves. Guys are hunters, and hunting season is about the only time of year that is left for them to be... a guy.

Guys really don't like crisp pressed clothes. They for sure don't like to shave, and to tell you the truth, most guys would like combs and hair brushes to be optional. Wednesday morning I stopped at the local gas station, and there were four guys in their wrinkled camo hunting clothes looking happy as all get out. Well, in truth, a couple of them looked a bit hung over, but happy anyway. For guys, hunting season is a happy time...hung over or not.

I still remember every November when my dad would head up to Uncle John's farm for a week of deer hunting with his brothers. He always came home with a week's start on a beard. Then mom would tell him hunting season was over, and he had to shave. I think Dad always had thoughts of being a mountain man, running around in the woods shooting meat for the family. I think the years he didn't get a deer convinced him he was better off with a clean shave and a pay check.

But every year, when there is a bit of a chill in the air, the leaves have changed color, and your buddies start sighting in their rifles, a man's blood starts to warm up. You know it is time to head to the woods and shoot things. Later on, the shooting is more often with a camera than a rifle, but the experience is almost the same.

Late fall is a time to hang out with the guys, and hunting season is the only time of the year we get to. It is in our blood. So, if you look down and you have that old favorite shirt on and your cheek feels rough, don't worry. It is just part, maybe the best part of being a guy.

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