THE PUtNAM SpORtsMAN

I am getting a later start than usual, as it’s now Monday afternoon. But I do have a good excuse: for the first time in 40 years, or so, I went to a local barbershop and got a real haircut. The remnants of my pony tail, which I had hoped would one day grow as long as Willy Nelson’s, ended up in an envelope to bring home and save for posterity. The barber also saved some of the trimmings from my beard to tie some very special “Chief Put Put” flies and bugs to give out to some of my friends.

Wearing my fisher hat, or one of my many raccoon hats, along with my long-haired wolverine coat, I can still play the role of a mountain man, but playing the role of Santa Claus, passing out candy canes from the Carmel Fired Department pumper on the annual Candy Cane Run, will only be memories of the past now, unless I put on a fake long white beard. If there’s any good news to the “new me” look, Mama says I look much younger now. But all the girls at Smalley’s here in the Hamlet of Carmel (featured in last week’s COUrIEr, in a story by my editor, Joe Lindsley) are going to be taken back a bit when they first see me walk in.

The first stop we made after that was at our son Carl’s house to see the grandkids, Kevin and Kyle, who I was sure were going to be shocked when they saw me. But they didn’t even notice I looked any different than I did any other day. My son, Carl, however, did, and my other son, Shawn—who has been asking every time he calls, “did you get a haircut yet, Dad?”—is also going to be glad to hear the latest news.

In a 16" by 21" framed caricature signed by “Greenwood for Greenwood,” (drawn and given to me by my younger Brother, David Greenwood back on Christmas in 1979. David was a long time Carmel High art teacher, also serving as Director of the art Department there for many years before retiring) and dated 12/25/79, two different scenes are shown— one with a running whitetail buck, a flying Canada goose, and a raccoon, and below it “The Putnam Sportsman By Lynn E. Greenwood Sr.” That is below the one that also shows a pen and ink caricature of me with a duck hunting camo hat on, and a beard that looks very much like the one I’m now wearing writing this column. All I have to do is go out to my extensive hat collection and put on that same old duck hunting hat, and “voila!” you’re looking as the same guy that I was, sitting in the old house on Fowler Avenue back in 1979, writing this same column on a Royal portable typewriter.

After the holidays I took the framed picture down to the COUrIEr office, then under Nichol’s Hardware Store on Gleneida Avenue, and showed it to the late Buzz Burr, then the editor of the paper. He had the upper portion copied, and lo and behold, it appeared over my column that very week. It became a mainstay for the next 30 years or so.

When Samson had his hair cut off, he lost his strength. I, however, seemed to regain my youth today, not realizing I was stepping into the Fountain of Youth when I opened the door at the barber shop down at Putnam Plaza this morning.

I had Diana send in a picture of me showing the proper use of a “Senior Citizen” walking cane device that brought some of my friends from the monthly Carmel High Class of l956 group to smiles. It never made it to print and I don’t know if my editor still has it on file, but it might be timely now—sort of a before-and-after look, without the benefit of the latter. Unlike my grandkids today, my classmates will definitely see a change has taken place when we get together again in Mill Plain, CT, next week. I guess when I finish writing this I’ll stop up at the COURIER office here and see if Diana can take a “new look” picture of me to go with that old guy. After all, I’m only two weeks away from completing 32 years of writing this “Putnam Sportsman” column.

My oldest friend, Mike McBride, and I are going back up to Kent’s Town Hall tomorrow to pick up our free archery and muzzleloading licenses and I may even pay whatever the cost is for a trapping license for an old trapper like me. I have enough traps stored in barrels and hanging on the wall to outfit a trapping expedition to the Yukon Territory, and I’ve got a few bow and arrow outfits, but that is going to require some “crash course” practice sessions, for sure.

My new haircut and makeover do not appear to have affected my ability to continue to write about The Sporting Life as I know it here in Putnam County yet! Actually, things are looking up for me today and I think that Fountain of Youth magic may actually be working in my favor.