13Apr/0912
My Redneck Childhood – Laugh at Me Please
Redneck Daniel (me - left) and Mitch (right)
Here's a good laugh for your monday: a redneck child (me) in Hooks, Texas. Yes - we ate them squirrels.
While I somehow managed to escape true redneckdom, I still have very strong "country boy" roots. Mitch still remains fairly redneck. Sorry bro, you know it's true (though he has outgrown some of it in the past few years).
I find this funny because you can clearly see my more animal-friendly biologist tendencies already on display in the manner in which I hold the squirrel.
Here's a challenge - how many hilarious details can YOU spot in this image? There are quite a few.
All that's missing is the rat-tail that only came a few years later...
April 13th, 2009 - 22:14
Will there be a follow-up photo with said rattail?
April 14th, 2009 - 13:04
not likely. I just stumbled upon this photo at my mom’s a while back. Big laughs were had by all…
April 13th, 2009 - 23:55
Man where to begin!!
Hook, what county is that in? For me it was Del Rio, San Angelo and Fredericksburg. My folks are still in F’burg now. Get back there almost every year.
The value pack, the rifle across the chair… with kids cups under it LOL!
April 14th, 2009 - 13:03
Hooks is in Bowie County. It’s a teeny tiny town outside Texarkana (but well on the Texas side).
We lived in pine woods in east Texas for most of the time. I had acres of forest to run around in by myself and with my bro and sis.
It was great.
April 14th, 2009 - 13:49
I would envy you those acres of forest, but then I had acres of scrub and friends ranches (sheep) in west Texas. Great places and times.
April 14th, 2009 - 07:52
The rifle laying negligently across the chair takes the (squirrel) cake.
April 14th, 2009 - 12:36
Tiny Daniel cradling his dead squirrel is pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I love how you are both in your pajamas (and your brother has no pants) – was it a breakfast squirrel fry?
April 14th, 2009 - 13:12
breakfast? probably. Chances are good my dad had gone out deer hunting early in the morning, saw no deer, so he killed the squirrels instead. We subsisted off of game, using venison and such for every meal requiring beef (Damn how I miss deer jerky!).
My dad also bow hunted alot. One of my strongest early memories is him coming home with a big smile, saying “Check this out,” and pulling a single arrow from the back of his pickup truck with a squirrel impaled upon it. He had become frustrated at no deer so he shot the squirrel (which would be an insanely difficult shot with a bow!).
A much crazier story involved him taking a trip to south Texas to hunt mule deer and instead coming back with a giant burlap sack with a 6 foot long diamondback rattlesnake in it. It was about as thick as my neck. He threw it in our deep freeze. Later as it sat in his pickup and thawed (he was showing it off to people I think – as I remember a small crowd of neighbors around), it began to move.
That’s right…the snake was not dead, even after being deep frozen. I am NOT making this up. I saw it with my own eyes. People freaked the frak out I promise you!
April 14th, 2009 - 13:53
Squirrel on a bow! That’s a damn good shot.
My family still uses almost exclusively deer and antelope for our “red meat”. We buy maybe 2-3 pounds of beef a year besides the hot dogs. Of course it’s a bit of a pain getting it back from Texas. But worth it.
April 15th, 2009 - 16:03
The John Fogerty-esque haircut, the fact that you are both wearing your pajamas well into daytime hours. The casually discarded rifle, Mitch is eveidently wearing a) his underwear or b) a diaper or c) early 1980′s short shorts. The value pack of diapers. The satisfied look on both of your faces that says less “Neat, pa got a squirrel!” and more “Yay, lunch!” This photo may be the redneck equivalent of some kind of rare planetary alignment. Perfect.
May 14th, 2009 - 11:04
What a damn good lookn kid I was…If you’re going to put pics of me on you site, I wish you could find one a little more recent!!! Ah, good times.-Mitch
May 14th, 2009 - 11:05
Maybe a link dedicated to your favorite brother would be adequate.