Discussion: Jimmy Carter Recovering After Fall, But He's Most Worried About Turkey Hunting

Be careful President Carter, you and Rosalynn still have to beat out George and Barbara Bush for longest marriage of a former president, and that is only a few months away.

Plus you are yourself too much of a treasure to lose so easily.

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I wish Carter was doing more turkey hunting, there are plenty of turkeys in the Republican party.

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Fish in a barrel. Wild Turkeys, I am told, are very challenging to hunt.

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A friend of mine would concur. They are extremely smart and, yes, they can fly for short distances.

He told me one of the best signs when sitting in a deer blind is to see wild turkeys. He said turkeys are so attuned to danger that deer will follow them as a means of protection, a two-legged first alert system, if you will. Bambi’s thinking is, if it’s safe enough for turkeys it’s safe enough for me.

I suppose it is … except when there is a guy with a deer rifle sitting in a deer blind, of course.

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Carter wrote a book in the '90s titled “An Outdoor Journal” about his hunting and fly-fishing experiences that can hold its own as a very creditable addition to the genre. That’s saying something because there are some dandy writers who’ve focused on this. He’s really quite a guy.

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One of Carter’s woodworking articles

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I’ve snuck up on deer.
Never snuck up on a turkey.
Almost driven over more than a few, though. So, not entirely sure what to think on that subject.

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mattinpa, you do have a way with understatement. Thank you for the most apt honorific you could give to a simply amazing human being.

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Imagine, a President who writes books and reads! Carter, Clinton, and Obama - all writers and readers. Intelligence has a liberal bias.

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Good to see he’s still an outdoorsman.
At age 94 Carter is probably far more apt with a firearm than the current president and his NRA enablers. Speedy recovery!

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There are only a couple days left in GA Turkey season… hopefully he got some good time in the woods already.

God bless Jimmy Carter. Always and everywhere.

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I like his spunk! He’s planning to be out hunting again next year - and wants the state of Georgia to increase his limit so he can make up for his early stop this year.

Something for me to remember when I get up in the morning and my back is bothering me…

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Thanks for that thought. You’re right.

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Turkeys do fly, but they are lousy navigators. It is more like a semi-controlled careening through the air. Low flying turkeys account for many of their traffic accidents.

Turkeys are indeed a challenge to hunt. .Their hearing is very sharp and they can see a blade of grass move in the wind at 500 yards.

I have often seen turkeys in company with deer. The turkeys are very watchful, and the deer relax and graze because there is always at least one bird in the flock at all times that has its periscope up. Deer and turkeys also like to play. I’ve seen deer feint-charging turkeys and the turkeys hopping up on their backs, like a game of tag.

I have great admiration for President Carter, and can relate to his feelings about being in hospital when he should be in the woods. I had a heart attack two Octobers ago during fall turkey season. The day I got out of the hospital I went out and bagged a small tom, which we ate for Thanksgiving that year. Turkey hunting is a passion of mine too. I’m one down, one to go this spring season myself, though I’m not sure I want to kill another. I love to hunt but not to kill. They are good to eat though…

@mattinpa, @kenga, @outis

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So do curiosity, doubt, and a willingness to be proven wrong.

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Can confirm. There’s wild turkeys who like to flock to a little parklet close to town early in the morning. I almost hit them a few times in my pre-dawn commute.

I used to work with a lady who was moonlighting from her real job at Animal Control. She regaled us with tails, oops tales of her most memorable calls. My favorite was when she exclaimed “A flock of crazy chickens was running wild up on the Hill!”

But back to turkeys…

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Where are the words of concern from the evangelicals?
Crickets.

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NPR just announced that the State of Georgia will let Carter roll over the limit he has not harvested yet until next year. How thoughtful of them.
I hope by the time turkey season comes around again someone in his family will take his guns and his car keys and let him know that turkey is no longer on the menu.

It also makes me wonder if the medical community is not doing a disservice to humanity by keeping our blood pressure, glucose, etc within their prescribed limits while good sense, balance and judgment are leaving us as we live to be a hundred years old. I am going to have some 15 year old single malt scotch and some cheese before lunch.