Pullin' Pranks

One weekend I went with Mr. Tommy to do some hog hunting in St. Francisville and pick up my deer mount from the taxidermist. I sat on a stand by a big creek where I saw nothing but a coon and decided to take him out. When Mr. Tommy came to my stand he asked if I "got em?" I showed him the big fat coon and he laughed. We put it in the back of the Mule (a side by side ATV) and went to meet up with his nephew Drew, and Drew's friend, Taylor. We had the coon hidden when they pulled up and Mr. Tommy had to mess with them a little bit, of course. I can't remember what he told them it was, but when he pulled the coon out, they jumped and we all got a good laugh. Mr. Tommy has this amazing, deep laugh that comes from his stomach, my words can't do it justice but it makes my day when I hear it and my dad still tries to imitate his laugh sometimes (unsuccessfully). Later we took the coon to a friend of his who cooks them and eats them. I also remember earlier in the day, Drew carrying my mount from the truck and pretending like he was going to drop it, to be funny. I used to make boys cry all the time, and if he would have dropped my deer I would have dropped him like a rock, but just to be funny. That night we ordered from "The Oxbow" --one of the best restaurants in south Louisiana, in my opinion. Sadly, it is no longer open. Mr. Tommy & I went to pick up the food and when we walked in, we were still in camo (I even had my headlight on still), meanwhile everyone else is all fancy lookin'. A lady in a fur coat approached us, "Did y'all get a deer?" Mr. Tommy answered, "No ma'am, it's not deer season." "Well what season is it?" she asked. "Why, it's mink season!" he smiled. The lady asked "Oh, how do you hunt mink?" Mr. Tommy told her "Well you turn on this soft, slow music, and they come dancing out of the woods and you shoot them." She had no idea that he was joking and asked "Did y'all have any luck today?" "Oh sure, we got one that looks just like your coat there!" Mr. Tommy winked at me. We laughed so hard when we left The Oxbow and each time we told the story after that.
The next day, Sunday, my parents were still at church when Mr. Tommy dropped me off. I took it upon myself to find a spot to hang my deer up, even though Mom said it had to go in my room. I took one of the pictures down off the living room wall and put my deer there, right above the couch. I went and sat at the end of the hallway with the video camera and waited until I heard the car pull up. I wish I could find that video!! If I do, I will add it to this post. My mom walked in, and had to take a second look, "AAHHHH! What is that on my wall!?" I fell over laughing, and Dad thought it was pretty good too. I ended up putting the picture back up, but Dad and I convinced her to let us keep it in the living room, for at least 30 days (which turned into a couple years before I moved it to my room). It is only fair that I could hang my deer where everyone could see it, I mean Mom has an entire wall covered in crosses so she could at least give up a section of "her walls."