Power Outage

When Annie finally sleeps, I slip down the transmission corridor. They're splitting the 230kV line into dual 115s. I'd lose my tree­ stand. At dawn, I climb the ladder one last time.

Figures are approaching . Furry, brown. Too tall, too upright for bear.

Sasquatch.

A female with cub. G-D nuisance animal if ever there was. I snuff my Camel and slip a shell into my old blued Rossi .454 lever action.

Can't ask for a better gun to take on these brutes.

As they near, the pup scoots on his knuckles, pulling radishes from my food plot. Mom sniffs the air. The wind's shifted. My menthols have done me in.

Our eyes meet.

I lower the shotgun. After yesterday's miscarriage and knowledge Annie and I couldn't have kids, I couldn't shoot these creatures, no matter how much they stank and chased off game. I smile and they amble on without urgency.