Roger's Ramblings

Howdy, everyone; I am so glad to be back again for more ramblings this week. I am beginning to feel Fall in the air, and I have already seen bunches of deer moving around everywhere this week. To all my rambling friends and neighbors, please become deer-cautious as you drive around the country. This past week, I almost hit a deer as it was crossing in front of me. I have seen some hunters practicing bow shooting-honing their skills for the opening day of bow

season. They love to talk about their past adventures and trophies. I have been out west during hunting season for elk, deer, and bear. Hundreds of the local residents out west depend on out-of-state sportsmen for their livelihoods. Their services include experienced guides to locate the game, horses, mules, food, and shelter during hunting season with a hefty fee. In addition, states charge hundreds for each out-of-state hunting license. The hunt during the day is only half of the adventure enjoyed as one hunts for that elusive trophy. When they return to camp, the fire is roaring at night, and the camp cook has homemade bread, delicious stew, and cherry cobbler prepared for hungry hunters to chow down upon. After everyone eats their fill - now is the time of day when everyone tells their story. Maybe about the big one that got away or how the mule went too close to the edge of the mountain, and you thought you would fall to your death. Sometimes a local legend is told about a bigfoot creature roaming the mountains that invades hunter's camps at night. Well folks, are we all ready for our adventure experience into the past for another urban legend rambling that you will never forget? OK, you know the drill if you have been reading for long. Let's do it–close your eyes briefly —and POW! We are now all huddled together in a secret cave deep in the Ozarks 100 years ago. Here we are. Let's begin! Our rambling this week is about a great hunter named Shudy Kalupper. Now our Shudy was not your everyday hunter. His specialty was exotic, dangerous, next-to-impossible hunts that would endanger his life many times on each hunting expedition. Polar bears on the Arctic Circle, huge 35-foot-long snakes of the Amazon forest, and man-eating lions of Africa. One day he received a telegram that the Worldwide Council of International Hunters had selected him to have the honor of receiving a hunting license to hunt in Uganda for prehistoric drill beak birds. Folks, you must realize the honor of being picked to hunt these birds is only once every 100 years to a hunter with a long reputation for exceptionally dangerous hunts. Shudy was so happy knowing he had been picked, and he fully realized this would be his life's most dangerous trip and hunt. Now rambling friends, our Shudy was gone for six months, and no one knew if he would ever return. To everyone's delight, one day, our great hunter came back thin, torn, and ragged-looking. After a couple of days of rest, our Shudy began to share the details of his hunt in front of the local trading post near Buzzard Wing, and we were all there listening and watching. Shudy begins by

thanking everyone for being present, and his story begins. The long trip started by boarding a train to the coast and then on an ocean steamer to Uganda. I finally arrived at the African continent, and they put me in a great bird called an ( airplane).--( I have never seen one before.) I was horrified! As we were flying, they gave me instructions on what to do. First, I was given a backpack with something called a parachute and a large chunk of meat. Why? I have no idea! After hours of flying the guide told me my time was up. Jump out and pull the rope. I said no way! The guide opened the door to the plane. First, you will be pushed out. Second, pull the rope. When landing in the Nile River below, you will encounter a crocodile. Throw him this large chunk of meat and hop on his back, and he will take you to the Natives waiting for you along the river. Then say to the native, (Shimma didda kubba!) That means I am a hunter for drill beak birds. They will then lead you to their village and await further instructions. I did

everything they told me to do. The natives led me to their village, a three-day march through the jungle. The natives gave me my hut, and I ate diced and sliced snake stew for supper and other food I did not want to know what it was. Finally, after two weeks, a herd of trained elephants came to us from another village, and the natives told me to go with them to go hunting. I did as they said, and we plunged through the jungle for five days before reaching an open prairie with tall trees and huge nuts the size of basketballs on the tops of each one of them. Everyone dis-mounted the elephants, and they said, (Kabba dappa kabba) meant to charge the trees and shake the drill beak birds out of the nut trees. They did so, and on the fourth one, suddenly, a huge bird flew straight up in the air. and when it reached its maximum height, its long beak, about three feet long, began to rotate, and when it made contact with the ground, it drilled a hole. They told me to go after it and pull it from the ground. I jumped in after it, and that bird spun me around many times before I finally pulled it out. By now, the natives were all laughing at me. Before the day ended, we caught six more drill beaks and gathered hundreds of pounds of nuts. I made it back the same way I got down there. (OK, rambling friends, that's his story. Legend has it Shudy was never seen again.} Thank you for letting me take you all back in time for another adventure! So this was the story of the Ozarks' greatest hunter ever! Wow!!!!! Let's get back now to 2023. Next week will be about a true story of two survivors of a German concentration camp who lived locally and tried to stay unnoticed.