End of a Friendship - by Tom Word
Posted 02/18/2022
Ben and Sam were sharing an end-of-week dram of The Macallan in Ben's library-conference room when the subject, end of friendships, came up. It was a too-frequent subject on their minds these days, with COVID-19, the fast-approaching presidential election, BLM protests and riots, frequent threatening hurricanes and other impending disasters. Almost everyone seemed out-of-sorts. But Ben and Sam had in eight decades lived through many difficult times, and so had in their old souls a certain confidence that this too would pass. Their shared motto, kept to themselves, was, "Don't take anything, especially yourself, too seriously. Eventually, the pendulum will swing and the country will right itself a bit."
Seeking a moment of levity in their reverie, Ben asked, "Remember when Ollie Green and Chess Rivers fell out?"
Sam chuckled. "Sure do. Chess committed the unpardonable crime."
"Here's to Ollie and Chess," Ben said, and lifted his plastic thermal mug. Sam reciprocated.
Ollie had been the curmudgeons' grouse guide in Minnesota years before when they had made annual trips there for a few days each mid-October. Ollie ran a guide service for out-of-state grouse hunters only and only in the month of October. He put customers up in rustic structures crafted from the remnants of his shut-down dairy farm. It helped that his wife was a gourmet cook and always-cheerful hostess. Ollie guided only for nonresidents to avoid the ultimate curse of grouse guides, back hunters.
Back hunters were customers who marked covert GPS coordinates and went back to hunt them without the guide. A totally dishonorable, despicable practice but an all-too-common one.
Chess was a Minnesota county deputy sheriff who on days off during Octobers worked for Ollie guiding. He was good at it and usually had a couple satisfactory setters he had trained himself. Ben and Sam had enjoyed some memorable outings with him, laughing at his humorous law enforcement stories of "jack pine savages" (Minnesota red-necks) in domestic disputes or breaking game laws or committing snow-mobile traffic or ice fishing offenses.
The falling-out between Ollie and Chess happened like this. Grouse guides spend many off-season hours searching for hunting territory, aspen and birch cuts on timber or paper company or county-owned land holding grouse, or woodcock in flight times. These special places change year by year as new acres fall to the saw and new growth ages. Guides keep a personal notebook with their marked county land map books. These are kept secret as U. S. Navy code books.
In the October of the Ollie-Chess break up, Ollie became suspicious that on days when Chess was not guiding for him he was hunting (or worse, guiding for his own account) on coverts found by Ollie. He recognized unique tire tread marks he had only seen made by Chess's ancient Toyota pickup and confronted Chess with the accusation. Chess firmly denied guilt. But as that October's short days ticked away Ollie again and again encountered the tell-tale tire marks pointing to Chess's presence in his most out-of-the-way coverts. Finally, on a day when Chess thought Ollie was guiding in another county, Ollie followed Chess unseen and caught him red handed, and to add insult to the injury Chess was guiding an old customer of Ollie whom Ollie had banned for tree-shooting a limit-finishing grouse.
"Don't ever come on my place again Chess Rivers, and if I find your truck parked in any of my coverts you will find four flat tires and they will not be pluggable," Ollie said, then added, steam coming from his ears, " How did you find my coverts?"
Chess walked to Ollie's truck and reached under the right front fender, removing a magnetized chip the size of a half-dollar coin.
"GPS activated, use it in my day job to track suspects," said Chess, then hustled with his customer and setters to his old Toyota truck and drove away. That was the end of the Ollie and Chess friendship and Chess's guiding job.
Seeking a moment of levity in their reverie, Ben asked, "Remember when Ollie Green and Chess Rivers fell out?"
Sam chuckled. "Sure do. Chess committed the unpardonable crime."
"Here's to Ollie and Chess," Ben said, and lifted his plastic thermal mug. Sam reciprocated.
Ollie had been the curmudgeons' grouse guide in Minnesota years before when they had made annual trips there for a few days each mid-October. Ollie ran a guide service for out-of-state grouse hunters only and only in the month of October. He put customers up in rustic structures crafted from the remnants of his shut-down dairy farm. It helped that his wife was a gourmet cook and always-cheerful hostess. Ollie guided only for nonresidents to avoid the ultimate curse of grouse guides, back hunters.
Back hunters were customers who marked covert GPS coordinates and went back to hunt them without the guide. A totally dishonorable, despicable practice but an all-too-common one.
Chess was a Minnesota county deputy sheriff who on days off during Octobers worked for Ollie guiding. He was good at it and usually had a couple satisfactory setters he had trained himself. Ben and Sam had enjoyed some memorable outings with him, laughing at his humorous law enforcement stories of "jack pine savages" (Minnesota red-necks) in domestic disputes or breaking game laws or committing snow-mobile traffic or ice fishing offenses.
The falling-out between Ollie and Chess happened like this. Grouse guides spend many off-season hours searching for hunting territory, aspen and birch cuts on timber or paper company or county-owned land holding grouse, or woodcock in flight times. These special places change year by year as new acres fall to the saw and new growth ages. Guides keep a personal notebook with their marked county land map books. These are kept secret as U. S. Navy code books.
In the October of the Ollie-Chess break up, Ollie became suspicious that on days when Chess was not guiding for him he was hunting (or worse, guiding for his own account) on coverts found by Ollie. He recognized unique tire tread marks he had only seen made by Chess's ancient Toyota pickup and confronted Chess with the accusation. Chess firmly denied guilt. But as that October's short days ticked away Ollie again and again encountered the tell-tale tire marks pointing to Chess's presence in his most out-of-the-way coverts. Finally, on a day when Chess thought Ollie was guiding in another county, Ollie followed Chess unseen and caught him red handed, and to add insult to the injury Chess was guiding an old customer of Ollie whom Ollie had banned for tree-shooting a limit-finishing grouse.
"Don't ever come on my place again Chess Rivers, and if I find your truck parked in any of my coverts you will find four flat tires and they will not be pluggable," Ollie said, then added, steam coming from his ears, " How did you find my coverts?"
Chess walked to Ollie's truck and reached under the right front fender, removing a magnetized chip the size of a half-dollar coin.
"GPS activated, use it in my day job to track suspects," said Chess, then hustled with his customer and setters to his old Toyota truck and drove away. That was the end of the Ollie and Chess friendship and Chess's guiding job.
About the Author : Tom Word
Visit authors website | View more articlesTom Word is a lawyer who represents individuals about managing their assets and for amusement writes fiction and non-fiction about bird dogs and humans obsessed with them.
About the Artist : Leah Brigham
Visit artist websiteAfter graduating from Millersville University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors of Science in Art Education, Leah began teaching Art to inner city Middle School students in Houston and later Dallas, TX. Leah has shared with her students her passion for art and nature. This passion has sustained her and continued throughout her life in the form of painting and drawing.
Leah was introduced to American Field Horseback Field Trails and has been able to experience the excitement of seeing her own dog, competing for the National Championship at Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, TN ...standing on point, head and tail held high. This has inspired her to create works of art depicting dogs and the wildlife associated with the sport and hunting.
