This morning my wife reminded me that as of last Monday the archery deer season had opened. She read the entry from the Sports section of our local newspaper (Yes, killing deer is considered a sport over here).

“And, yes, those camouflaged critters you’ve see entering and exiting the woods this week are indeed bowhunters coming and going from their stands. The archery deer season opened Monday and will close Nov. 21. The big bucks will start coming into the checking stations in two or three weeks, when they go into prime rut.”

Note the “you’ve see” in the above quote, which I did not correct, since it may be bowhunter talk, and I am not a bowhunter.

“Maybe I should go over to the hardware store,” I told my wife, “and buy a bow, and this afternoon I kill us some supper.”

“You need a license to do that,” she told me. “And you need to wear a camouflage suit.”

“Oh, my favorite color,” I grinned.

In my mind I saw myself, dressed in the mandatory olive green and black suit, going through the woods, bow in my hand, and my two year old son, also dressed in camouflage, by my side. What a joy it would be to teach him the virtue of killing deer with a bow. Then I asked myself what these virtues might be, and I couldn’t come up with any good reason.

Well, maybe we just read a good book. That’ll do.