How do you Field Dress a Moose?

  
Unless you are an avid and adventurous hunter/provider that is a question you will probably never ask. That is just as well since the answer is nearly as unavailable as the question is unusual. Why? Because this is not an area in which one gathers expertise on a regular basis. Does that make it bad? No, it just doesn’t happen to be an activity of necessity for most people.

In some circles, having such lore at one’s fingertips is thought to be amusing—provincial—rustic—rude—or at best, unsophisticated. Among the elites in our society the thought of dismembering a wild beast for food is so far removed from the norm as to be ridiculed. The reality of its production is something to be shunned and beneath consideration for a civilized person.

One snowy -30º December morning near Craig, Colorado, my neighbor John Plummer and I took a mid-size mule deer buck on a high ridge. After struggling to reach the kill and drag it down, we then argued, as good friends do, over who would gut the carcass. I prevailed and enjoyed the still-warm interior of the rib cage on my freezing hands. This is not a tale often recounted in an academic lounge or a congressional cloak room. Even the circumstance is not easily understood by those whose principal natural excitement is a neighborhood squirrel. They have, no doubt, missed the chance to turn their kitchen into a butcher shop, cut and package animal parts, wrap them and put them into the freezer. Trust me on this: it’s a mess.

Sarah Palin would no doubt chuckle and add, “You shouldn’t have trouble with a moose; it’s just bigger.” It would be common knowledge to her and therefore, no big deal. As much of the commonplace in today’s world is described with four-bit words and complex grammatical constructions, I would trust her to reduce it to its ultimate simplicity. This economy of language is, in reality, the biggest complaint against Sarah. She has neither the time nor the inclination to “put lipstick on every pig.”

She knows who she is. She really doesn’t need to prove her capabilities. She has an accomplished CV despite the way her critics tend to downplay her history. Most important, she drives the left and the elites absolutely nuts. They are offended by her very existence. I also believe she scares them to extreme over-reaction.

With the existing presence of so many Ivy-Leaguers in congress and heads of various federal departments, driving the country to abject ruin, one might think it normal for the citizens to respond positively to a common-sense, happily married mother of five. They do. On the contrary, the elites sit in their plush leather chairs and grumble, “Harrumph!” I see little to recommend the former and everything to promote the “can-do” spirit of the lady from Alaska. And, she is a lady. She is someone others of her sex in government might wish to look to for a role model.

At this juncture one might ask if I am promoting her as the next president. That is a more difficult question to answer. If the question was, “do you think she would be a good one?” my answer would be an unequivocal—yes! If you asked, “can she be elected?” I would have some reservations. Her talent for “cleaning out the stables” of government regardless of party has been sufficiently demonstrated, thus warranting the first response. The existing influence of those who have caused the problem and those who have an ex-officio affect (the media) are now and will remain a powerful deterrent. As we continue the plunge into the socialist morass, things will change which may work to her benefit. The 2010 elections will hold the key to that possibility. Much will depend upon how reactive the voters are to the obvious corruption and shenanigans in government. I know she will work tirelessly to achieve the best result for the country. She has already made many favorable changes in the way the voters look at politics.

The only real certainty is that Sarah Palin indeed does know how to field dress a moose.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon