Trout Republic: Lucky pants and shirt

Most of you who know Ol’ Dutch will agree that camo pants are the cornerstone of my wardrobe. And even Miss Trixie, after finding one of her deals of the century shopping extravaganza, will even don a camouflage jacket on occasion.


And as with about anything, a person does get an affinity for one certain item of clothing whether it be shirt, pants, jacket or hat and we tend to wear that a lot more than others we may have. This only becomes a problem when you wear them to the point of threadbare and Ol’’ Dutch often does just that.
Way back when I first met Miss Trixie, or as I call it, “her lucky day,” I had this pair of pants that I wore for hunting mostly. They had seen their better days and patches and massive stitching was about all that was holding them together, but they were lucky, and I didn’t want to part with them.


Lots of game had fallen to my arrows and guns wearing those pants. And, even though my backside was showing at times through threadbare materials plus I chain sawed off one of the legs, I didn’t want to have to break in a new pair and possibly go blank for the hunting season.


And along with those pants there is a long sleeve camo shirt that is just barely held together with threads. It is so thin that I think duct tape is probably next in order to keep me decent. Writing this now, it suddenly dawned on me that I had not worn my lucky shirt this year and yes, you guessed it, have drawn a blank so far hunting elk.


Miss Trixie, upon hearing this and being tired of my middle of the night rising has dug out that lucky shirt in hopes it will really work its magic in the woods. Even Bubs, my son, believes in the shirt and wants a small piece to attach to his backpack to bring the gods of the hunt to attention.


I think a lot of people have their favorite item to wear and this often is a jersey from their favorite team or a hat advertising John Deere or Dakota seed. The latter two are worn mainly as they were free at some point so probably do not count in the gist of this theory. And Ol’ Dutch is guilty as sin on that account as my State Farm agent provides me with great camo hats for hunting season and I wear them proudly, or at least cheaply.


Of late Ol’ Dutch has found some boxes of long saved clothing and am going to sort through those when I have time. You know the type. Size way too small blue jeans that you just know you will get into someday short of your grave, a shirt with Eat At Mom’s Diner which had some significance the day you bought it and old track shoes from your running days in the 9th grade. Yes, that’s right. Priceless items.


And while some things bring back wonderful memories of days gone by, some are probably best left in the boxes and thrown out in masse. Like the suit you got married in or the shoes you wore on your first date with a husband long passed down the line to someone less lucky. They were not so lucky for you after all I guess and need to find their way to the trash.


Someone suggested that Ol’ Dutch pass these on to the local Goodwill store but I believe it would be akin to the French traders who gave diseased blankets to the Indians. Why curse someone’s future.
So tomorrow with the aid of my lucky shirt I will go afield and try to fill our freezer with tasty venison. And for those of you who may want a piece of that good luck charm for your own endeavors, please send $9.99 and Miss Trixie will see that you get a piece of the luck.


Good luck to you this season if you are hunting and be sure and visit your insurance agent and request a free hat. If not, find a farmer, they have plenty to spare.

Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is [email protected]. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic