Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Journal 4: Holding On relflections







After reading the book Holding On, the two profiles that meant the most to me were pretty similar. The profile on Hinkel Schillings and Shade Pate on page 117 was about the two fox hunters and the profile on Amos Powers on page 200 which is the Tour Guide of Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard. These two profiles meant the most to me simply because I have a connection with their stories. My grandfather was an avid hunter and shared many characteristics with these men.
As for Hinkel Schillings and Shade Pate; these two men have made a life out of running their Fox Hounds weekly for nearly 60 years and never got tired of it. They did this their entire life and the only thing they got from it were good stories and many good memories. The two found what they were good at and were lifelong friends just keeping each other company. Shade said,” You forget about all the worries and the turmoils that’s taking place, and, well, you just feel closer to God.” These two men are 90 and 77 and have nothing but happiness in life. They feel life is wonderful and this is the lesson we find, do what makes you happy and life was well spent.
Amos Powers on the other hand has a somewhat emotional life. He runs a cemetery for Coon Hounds and carries on their story and has somewhat of a shrine for them. Any hunter would know that a good dog is hard to find and once you find a good dog, it brings your connection to the great outdoors even closer. “A good coon dog,” Amos Powers explains softly, “is like one of the family.” Amos carries on the legacy of dogs that could have belonged to someone like Hinkel and Shade which they based their life on their dogs. This shows the connection with how simple things in life can mean so much and they potentially lived the American Dream.

1 comment:

  1. The story about Amos Powers was very touching. You could tell just by the way they talked how much they loved these dogs and want to respect them with a memorial graveyard.

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