Monday, April 07, 2008

Alcoholism Strikes!

We just returned from a very nice trip to Casper. We went up for a retirement party for Dave Avey, West Casper Game Warden (with G&F since 1971). We shared an office while I was in Casper. He showed me several new "warden" tricks--including the sounds a bowling ball will make when tucked into the toolbox of your patrol pickup--and I poached a few "easy ones" (what he jokingly referred to violations HE didn't find) out of his district. Afterwards, we spent the rest of the weekend enjoying Erin & Alex's conversation, home, cooking, and fly tying instruction.

But I digress. The shocking part of the weekend reared its ugly head Sunday night. With the number of "drunks" I have taken off the water (and a few more off the land), I knew Wyomingites were prone to alcoholism. Certainly, with a particularly long, cold winter coming to an end, it is no surprise many have turned to alcohol as a crutch. Nevertheless, it is disappointing to have the disease appear in someone you've tried so hard to protect for so long. Despite the tiring hours spent protecting the deer from poachers, a certain number have obviously succumbed to their own vices.

As we drove through Medicine Bow, a fuzzy doe staggered across the highway to join her friends as Bill, the owner of the "Diplodocus" Bar, apparently grew tired of their drunken shenanigans and shut them off.

Of particular concern to me was the condition they were in--even before the sun had fully set! I guess they'd listened to a Jimmy Buffet and Alan Jackson sing about it being "5 O'clock Somewhere" a few too many times.Even more troubling was the lackadaisacal attitudes they were showing to the law! Despite the clearly posted sign on the drive-through window stating "no one under 21 years of age allowed", an obviously underage deer nonchalantly sought service as we watched AND PHOTOGRAPHED. As you can see, only a casual attempt at anonymity was displayed. For our own safety, we left before these delinquents chose to jump in their pickup and try to drive home!
As we headed out of town, Trey noticed how this one had the "tired" look and stringy hair so typical of methamphetamine addicts. Hopefully this one just had a long day.
Anyway, be careful when you go through Medicine Bow. You never know what will happen when the deer start hitting the bottle--or worse!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

OMG Now you have to contend with the deer population alcohol problem. I love the pictures. Must be nice to have a camera handy when these photo ops happen.