Humans of Downey - James

"My next big adventure is going out to Texas next November to go hunting. We'll be after whitetail deer. I try to go hunting about once a year. Last year I went to Houston and did a hog hunt. I got a 504-pound hog. This year, though, I'll be going just north of Dallas. Once we get our deer, we have it processed and I'll bring home the steaks, tenderloins, and other cuts.

"I usually go with my cousin, plus we take along people who have never hunted before and don't know the basics. It's our way of teaching good hunting fundamentals. I grew up in Oklahoma where my uncle Wayne taught me how to hunt. We hunted mostly deer, but we did some turkey hunting. Turkeys can be tough to hunt because they are pretty smart. You have to shoot them in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun. Anywhere else and you ruin the meat. For a deer, I use a 30.06 rifle. You need to hit them in the vital area, around the heart and lungs so it's a quick kill.

"I was going to propose to Pauline on New Year's Eve just before midnight. Her family knew, because I asked her parents' blessing. Her sister found out and she told Pauline. Well, that kind of ruined the surprise. Later, I kind of lied to her telling her that when I asked her parents for their blessing, they said 'no.' They said I couldn't ask her. At that point she said, 'That's OK, we weren't ready anyway.' Which kind of scared me since I was going to propose three hours later. But she did say 'yes' later that night."
~ James