Let me tell you about slings and arrows:

Hank and I really enjoyed the independence and self sufficiency that we learned the summer we were eight years old. Over the next couple of years, we build bigger and better shelters in the woodlot on my family’s farm and also near Hank’s family cottage in Southampton, Ontario by Lake Huron. We also loved to explore new places and enjoyed tenting in other campgrounds with our families or at least with one or more responsible elder sister to supervise us. We had to cater to them, to appease, even though it meant that they got more independence too. That usually meant that they could spend time on the beaches chasing boys…

To pass the time, Hank and I kept busy with different outdoor activities. We played on beaches and swam in Rivers, lakes and streams. One of Hank’s sisters, Kelly, worked at a summer camp and became certified as a canoeing instructor. So, the summer we were ten, she taught us how to properly paddle a canoe and how to recover from an accidental (or intentional) roll-over: Canoe over canoe rescue and other things like that. By the time Hank and I were teenagers, we were experienced paddlers and got to go camping on our own.

Another thing we enjoy to do is target practice. Under parental supervision Hank and I could use an archery set and fire arrows for hours on end. We were a little competitive at first but our skills are so evenly matched that we gave up keeping score.

Aside from Hank’s dedication to academics, he actually has an athletic scholarship. He did really well in the World Archery Championships to qualify for the Canadian Olympic Team in 2012. Hank didn’t score any medals but is looking forward to 2016. He’s not too shabby with a Javelin and some other track and field events as well.

Unsupervised, we also threw knives, hatchets and pretty much anything else we could get our hands on at random targets. We even made spears and slingshots.

When the earthquakes hit and the world turned upside down all of the telecommunications failed and there was pandemonium in the streets. Our parents packed our families up and took us all out of the city to take refuge at my parent’s hobby farm.

We kept some chickens at the farm that were free range and mostly took care of themselves but there wasn’t anything else on the farm at that time. The surrounding farms mostly grow corn and have very limited livestock except the neighbouring farm just East of ours. The Smythe Farm had horses and my sister Lorraine was dating their eldest boy Hume.

That’s when our target practice became serious business. Although our dads had some long guns, there wasn’t much ammunition. It was important to conserve that ammunition for an emergency. We needed to supplement the food supply which meant foraging and hunting. In mid-winter the foraging was limited to some very scarce nuts and mostly tuberous roots. Sumac berries that perch on the tips of their branches all winter long were a treat.

Hank and I used our archery skills to hunt small game while our dads had heavier bows for large game. The chickens were off limits as long as they kept producing eggs.

As spring came, the hunting got better. Both our skills as hunters improved as well as the numbers of game. We learned to pick off game from the small flocks of Duck and Geese returning North using slingshots.