Week 3 Blog-Halloween

With Halloween becoming closer and closer with everyday passing, I can’t help but worry about my friends and what they do this weekend. Everyone knows that college students dress up on Halloween in their favorite costumes and go out to parties and celebrate by drinking and “having a good time.” But there is a price to pay usually with these celebrations. After every weekend, I usually hear from my friends about what fights happened on that weekend, or who got busted and got an underage, and I just hope it wasn’t one of my close friends. Now some people may not care or think its not a big deal to be caught by the cops, but really it is. It can affect your in so many ways that you never thought possible. One example is that if you are trying to get a new job and the person who is hiring you sees you have a dinking record, it is more likely that they will not even waste their time hiring you. Another thing I worry about is one of my friends getting hurt or in fights because of stupid things and drinking. Don’t get me wrong, I like to celebrate Halloween too, but not necessarily in the way that puts me in such a high risk of being caught or injured. Halloween is supposed to be a time of spooky nights and candy, and not one of underage drinking tickets and pointless drunk fights. So I hope that while my friends may go out and party and make dumb decisions this weekend, I hope they still have fun and can return home safe and not in trouble.
-Jeff

Week 2 blog- Hunting

In the 2009 Wisconsin Deer Hunt, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) over estimated the number of deer in our state. You may think this isn’t too big of a deal, but to hunters like me, it is more than a big deal. It affects which hunts I am allowed to hunt in and how many deer I can shoot in those hunts. For example, in my hunting zone which is 74A, there was no T-Zone hunt this season. It was supposed to start on the 14^th of October and go through the 17^th but It was not allowed in the zone I hunt in because the WDNR over estimated the population of deer in our area. The T-Zone hunt is a hunt where u can only shoot does. Because of the WDNR over estimating the number of deer in our state, it has also affected me as a hunter in 74A during the regular deer hunting season because if I want to shoot a doe, I have to go and but a separate $12 doe tag. Never before in my hunting life have I had to go and buy separate tags for doe. Normally, when I buy my license, it comes with at least two doe tags, and it did this year, but they are no good and can’t be used. Which to me isn’t fair that I have to pay money for deer tags that I can’t use, to me that doesn’t make much sense. I guess I can do much about the whole situation but deal with it and continue to hunt as much as I can.
-Jeff Raasch

Revised Draft-Hunting

Jeff Raasch

Mrs. Allard

September 26, 2010

Throughout everyone’s life, different things happen that change them forever, and make them who they are today.  These events may be a death in the family, or even an experience they had with someone at some time that touched them in a way they never thought possible.  An event in my life that has changed me as a person and as a hunter is when I became part of my families hunting tradition.  It was a long and stressful process which took years to fully accomplish, but the start of it was an experience I would never forget.

It was a cold and snowy Saturday morning.  The time was 4:30a.m and my alarm was yelping in my ear, which meant one thing… hunting season was only hours from beginning.  I was finally 12 years old and ready to start my first year of hunting with my dad and two older brothers Bobby and Tommy.  My twin brother Jason was also 12 and old enough to hunt along me, my brothers and my dad.  I had already gotten all of my hunting close and belongings ready the night before so that I could get a head start in the morning, and be ready to go on time.  It was becoming close to leaving time so I double checked to make sure I had everything that I would need to go hunting.  As my family and I made our way out to our hunting land, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.  I was excited, pumped up, happy, and ready to start hunting, but most of all I was nervous and scared.  What made me so nervous was that this was the year that I would hopefully become one of the guys.  Which meant someone who was a man now.  To become a man and one of the guys, I would have to shoot my first deer, and preferably a buck.  But this was no easy task.  I would not only have to overcome what hunters call “buck fever”, but I would also have to steady my nerves and make a clean and deadly shot.  Buck fever is when a buck or doe comes walking through the woods towards you and you start shake uncontrollably.  You hear nothing but the sounds of the deer, inching its way towards you; and you wait for it to present a shot so that you can shoot it.

The challenge was set as I climbed into my tree stand.  As I sat down in my chair, which was placed on the wooden platform below me, I took a moment to recognize my surroundings and set my things down next to me.  I set my gun up against the tree, and my fanny-pack full of snacks and pop on the wooden platform below.  After everything was set down and in place, and I was comfortably sitting down in my chair, I took a moment to see what was around me.  I was surrounded by woods to my left and right, and an open hay field in front and behind me.  There was a fresh scent of cool, wet outdoors in the air.  It was almost as if there was no sound anywhere.  The wind was calm and cooling, and the temperature was near a shivering 20 degrees.  As I sat in my stand, patiently waiting for something to happen, I watched the sun peak out from behind the hills and start to slowly melt away the snow.  Then, all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something peeking its way out into the hay field in front of me.  My first thought was that I was only seeing things, and that it was nothing.  But to my excitement, it was a young doe and hopefully my first deer.  I quickly but quietly reached for my gun.  The nerves were starting to set in as at this point, and I knew this was my chance to shoot my first deer.  Next, I slowly raised my gun to take the shot.  I knew that I needed to hit the deer just behind its front shoulder in order to kill it quickly and easily.  I steadied my gun and aimed right where I needed to.  As the shot went off, and the smoke cleared, I saw the deer drop to the ground, and the rest is history.

That night back at the house, my family and I sat down talked about the day of hunting.  I couldn’t explain the feeling that I had at that moment, knowing that I had finally taken the first step in becoming a man and part of my families hunting tradition.  The only thing left to make me officially part of the tradition was to shoot a buck.  That task would be completed a few years later.  I hope to one day have a few kids of my own, and I hope that I can teach them how to hunt so they can know the feeling of becoming part of a long and fun hunting tradition.  My experience in becoming part of my families hunting tradition was a fun and exciting part of my life, but also a stressful and nervous experience.  I continue to hunt every year, and become more and more involved with our family’s ways of doing things, and to me, it never gets old.  Hunting is a part of me and my life, and without it, I truly believe that I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

Hunting-My First Draft

Jeff Raasch

Mrs. Allard

September 26, 2010

Throughout everyone’s life, different things happen that change them forever, and make them who they are today.  These events may be a death in the family, or even an experience they had with someone at some time that touched them in a way they never thought possible.  An event in my life that has changed me as a person and as a hunter is when I became part of my families hunting tradition.  It was a long and stressful process which took years to fully accomplish, but the start of it was an experience I would never forget.

It was a cold and snowy Saturday morning.  The time was 4:30a.m and my alarm was yelping in my ear, which meant one thing… hunting season was only hours from beginning.  I was finally 12 years old and ready to start my first year of hunting with my dad and two older brothers Bobby and Tommy.  My twin brother Jason was also 12 and old enough to hunt along me, my brothers and my dad.  I had already gotten all of my hunting close and belongings ready the night before so that I could get a head start in the morning, so I would be ready to go.  It was becoming close to leaving time so I double checked to make sure I had everything that I would need to go hunting.  As my family and I made our way out to our hunting land, I couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions.  I was excited, pumped up, happy, and ready to starts hunting, but most of all I was nervous and scared.  What made me so nervous was that this was the year that I would become one of the guys, someone who was a man now.  To become a man and one of the guys, I would have to shoot my first deer, and preferably a buck.  But this was no easy task.  I would have to overcome what hunters call “buck fever.”  This is when a buck or doe comes walking through the woods towards you and you start shake uncontrollably.  You hear nothing but the sounds of the deer, inching its way towards you; and you wait for it to present a shot so that you can shoot it.

The challenge was set as I climbed into my tree stand.  As I sat down in my chair, which was places on the wooden platform below me, I took a moment to recognize my surroundings and set my things down next to me.  I set my gun up against the tree, and my fanny-pack full of snacks and pop on the wooden platform below.  After everything was set down and in place, and I was comfortably sitting down in my chair, I took a moment to see what was around me.  I was surrounded by woods to my left and right, and an open hay field in front and behind me.  There was a fresh scent of cool, wet outdoors in the air.  It was almost as if there was no sound anywhere.  The wind was calm and cooling, and the temperature was near a shivering 20 degrees.  As I sat in my stand, patiently waiting for something to happen, I watched the sun peak out from behind the hills and start to slowly melt away the snow.  Then, all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something peeking its way out into the hay field in front of me.  My first thought was that I was only seeing things, and that it was nothing.  But to my excitement, it was a young doe and hopefully my first deer.  I quickly reached for my gun.  The nerves were starting to set in as at this point, and I knew this was my chance to shoot my first deer.  Next, I slowly raised my gun to take the shot.  I knew that I needed to hit the deer just behind its front shoulder in order to kill it quickly and easily.  I steadied my gun and aimed right where I needed to.  As the shot went off, and the smoke cleared, I saw the deer drop to the ground, and the rest is history.

That night back at the house, my family and I sat down talked about the day of hunting.  I couldn’t explain the feeling that I had at that moment, knowing that I had finally taken the first step in becoming a man and part of my families hunting tradition.  The only thing left to make me officially part of the tradition was to shoot a buck.  That task would be completed a few years later.  I hope to one day have a few kids of my own, and I hope that I can teach them how to hunt so they can know the feeling of becoming part of a long and fun hunting tradition.  My experience in becoming part of my families hunting tradition was a fun and exciting part of my life.  I continue to hunt every year, and become more and more involved with our family’s ways of doing things, and to me, it never gets old.

Jeff Raasch

Brett Favre Allegations

According to fanhouse.com and the NFL, Brett Favre has recently been under an investigation into his recent scandal on the "fast track," according to multiple outlets. Favre allegedly sent inappropriate messages and pictures -- including a reported set of nude photos -- to former Jets employee Jenn Sterger while Favre was playing in New York. On Sunday, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that, in addition to Sterger, the NFL wants to possibly interview a pair of massage therapists who are contracted by the Jets and allegedly received explicit text messages from Favre.  These recent allegations against Favre make his already cloudy image even worse.  I’m not saying what Favre is being accused of really happened or is true at all, but it makes me wonder how this rumor could just start up?  I am a huge Favre fan.  And even though he has tarnished his reputation by coming in and out of retirement, I still love the guy and believe he is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.  Even though I have a lot of respect for Brett, I can’t help but wonder why he did what he is being blamed for?  Why risk what he has left of his reputation on something that could potentially ruin his career, life, and marriage?  Is it because he feels he has the right to do anything because of his career and job?  Or does he feel that he can get away with anything because he has the money to buy his way out of problems?  I guess I will never know what he was thinking when he was doing all these things, but I hope it all turns out to be just a rumor and nothing else.  Hearing about this story has made me think about how another sports celebrity did a similar thing.  We all know him as Tiger Woods.  Woods ended up losing his marriage and tons of fan support.  He also lost major sponsors and worst of all, he lost the respect of many people all over the world.  I don’t believe that he intended for  any of those things to happen, but when the wrong people find out about these things, nothing but bad news and publicity come from these situations.  If Brett Favre really did do what he is being investigated for, then I will have lost even more respect for him.  I will continue to watch him play and I will still hope he does well in football, but I will never agree with what he chose to do to his wife, fans, and self. 

Jeff Raasch