"What's Up, Doc?"........"Bugs for Dinner!!!"

Rabbit for dinner? It not only sounds good but it actually was quite a delicious meal as mom frequently cooked the meat during the fall hunting season in central Michigan. Dad and brother would spend a few hours on a brisk Sunday in the “back woods” taking pride in supplying food for the dinner table. A family of seven required a few of the fair game to fill the dinner plates.

Just as she prepared chicken, mom pan-cooked the skinned and gutted animals in a frying pan in a bit of water. The preparation without some type of oil may sound a little odd but once the meat was done the water was ready to be made into mouth pleasing gravy; the natural juices made the gravy exceptionally tasty.

With the typical mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables and browned crescent rolls it was a true home-cooked country meal. Now, as you picked the meat off the bones, you were aware and took heed to the fact that you had a fair chance of biting into a buckshot pellet.
The same went for pheasant, another creature of nature.

Since I was raised on these animals, I don’t remember them having a gamy taste. It was just plain good eatin’, unlike venison, which I could barely keep down. When mom said we were having “steak” for dinner, I learned not to make an assumption and had an immediate mood change when the aroma told me the truth of the meal.

As our Creator intended, sustaining life with the bounties of nature is man’s means to that end. Rabbit is fine, pheasant is too, but squirrel was another cherished item on an autumn menu. As to fattening these little creatures, just let them eat nuts.

The Right of Rae

"You Rae's are always right."

Those are the words that I have so often heard from friends. I guess they've accepted the fact and put the argument to rest because it does little good to do otherwise.

Yes, us Rae's can be a little testy when someone questions our rational interpretation of nearly every subject. It isn't that we have opinions, it's more like we know best and our statements are filled with assertion.

And yet we're willing to hear what others say and concede to the wiser, which further proves that we are once again always right by doing so! And how did we achieve this righteous attitude? For sure, Dad was stubborn but Mom had a full grip on what's right and wrong. It's a genetic inheritance, so it's actually the Noxon's who are always right.

You could also justly say that "The Kramer's are never wrong" as sister Sue merried into Mike's family. Very honorable, but watch out, the Noxon-Rae's dare anyone to challenge our righteousness.

The Noxon-Rae-Kramer combination puts my neice Heather above the rest of everybody else in our family! She and Phil are soon to become husband and wife on Valentines' Day 2009. They are too alike, complaining in unison about the same things! Good, well-educated young adults, no doubt set to have a life together in wholly matrimony.

And then there's the Noxon-Rae-Roach combination that just might give my neice Taylor an edge above everyone else! Sister Sally married and put up with Mr. Roach just long enough to give birth to quite a remarkable girl. As she is now 16 years old, she has grown out of her childhood shyness and now converses with exquisite charm and respect.

As the years pass and the family tree grows, just imagine that the Rae lineage shall inherit the Earth and dominate the far reaches of the planet!

And don't you tell dare me I'm wrong - I'm always right!
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