Chapter 42

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."R. Frost

Week 1 Day 6 – Saturday

I didn't wake up at 6 today. I slept in until oh, must have been 6:20. I managed to get up without waking anyone. Used the bathroom, SS&S – shit, shower, and shave. Got dressed in casual clothes today and went down to the kitchen. Lisa, Maria and Billy were already up. The girls came over and both kissed me. Lisa grabbed my family jewels and rubbed. They were teasing me big time. But then they went back over to Billy and lavished him with kisses and titty rubs. Billy endured the attention and continued to work on his breakfast steak, hash browns, biscuits, gravy and grits. I mentioned that it looked good and in 2 seconds Maria placed a plate before me with the exact same thing, but with scrambled eggs and bacon added. She plopped the Pace Picante sause down on the table in front of me and told me to enjoy. Lisa brought over some toast buttered and already covered with strawberry jam. This happens to be my most favorite breakfast in the world. It was cooked to perfection and I did use just a dab of Heinz 57 sauce with the steak. Maria swatted the back of my head when she saw me do that saying something about ruining a perfectly good steak with that junk. So I'm sorry, I happen to like the flavor of the 57 sauce with my steaks.

I was about half way through when an angel came into the kitchen and sat down in the chair next to me. Lisa sprang up and went to the cupboard, getting out a bowl and spoon from the drawer. She poured a big serving of Capt'n Crunch, slathered milk all over it and placed the bowl in front of Shira. She looked up at Lisa with a questioning look.

"Try it, sweetie. I love it and Daddy eats it all the time!" Lisa said as she placed the spoon in Shira's little hand. Shira tentative scooped a serving onto the spoon. She took it to her mouth and hesitantly popped it in. You could see the change in her countenance as she tasted the sweetness of the cereal.

"Mmmm, this is good daddy. I like it." She said with a mouthful of cereal. We watched her as she devoured the breakfast food. Lisa refilled her bowl half way and Shira finished it all.

"Come on baby, lets see what's on Nick. Maybe it'll be Dora the Explorer, or Blues Clues."

Lisa took Shira by the hand and led her into the great room to the big screen. By this time I'd finished the breakfast that Maria cooked and helped clear the table. Billy and I headed outside to check out the archery stuff that had arrived. We opened the bow cases first since I didn't think I needed to check the shafts and such. The compound bows were packed five to a case. They were beautiful. The laminations of the wood were only covered with a clear coating like polyurethane. Each was labeled with the pull strength. They were anywhere from 25 lb to 85 lb. I didn't have any trouble with the 85 pounder. They all had nice counter balances and I could tell they would be great in use. I looked at a very long box, wondering what it was. Opening it carefully I found a note.

I unwrapped the bow reverently. It was wrapped in gray English or Irish Linen. It's lines were smooth and sleek. The bowstring was wrapped around the grip. The grip itself was a fine leather with a pattern of gilt figures around the top. I just had to string it, if I could. I surprised myself as I slipped the top loop of the bowstring into the notch. I had always heard that the English Yew Longbow was the hardest weapon to use. I tried to draw the bow into firing position. There was a little strain in doing that, but I still managed to draw it fully back. Easing back to neutral, I pointed to a long narrow box about 5 feet long. I was right, it was the arrows for this marvel. I took out the first of the 3 foot long shafts. It was a marvel of the fletcher's art. It had a removable head and it currently had a target point on it. I nocked the arrow. The fit was perfect. I got an armband and finger guard from the supply we'd opened and stepped off the porch. Doing my best imitation of Robin Hood, I drew back the bow, aiming across the yard past the big barn at a 45 degree angle. I loosed the bowstring and watched in amazement as the arrow gracefully arced across the sky towards its imaginary target. Billy just stood there, his mouth open in awe.

"Close your mouth, man, you're drawing flies" I said to him as I started pacing off the distance. My stride is such that 2 steps equals five feet in normal walking mode. After 366 steps I stopped to pull the arrow out of the dirt. 305 yards. I looked closer at the bow. There was a number burnt into the wood at the arrow nock. 150# is what it said. When we got back there was a one page leaflet in the box I'd overlooked. This six foot bow had a draw of 150 pounds. It said these bows usually ran between 100 and 185 pound pull. I was impressed.

We continued to check in the equipment and found the crossbows. They all had built in cocking levers, so these would be good for the women to use. We would have to start weapon's training when we got back. I was not going to introduce the firearms to the downtimers for awhile. We'd start slow with the bow and arrow first. Only Billy and my family would be afforded the privilege of firearms.