“And the angel said to me, "Write this:
Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the
Lamb." Revelation 19:9
In the home where I grew up back in Maryland , one of the
most important days of the year was the first day of deer season, the Saturday
after Thanksgiving. And in our house, it
always began with a feast. My
grandmother began it before I can remember, hot breakfast around the kitchen
table at 5:30 in the morning: eggs and pancakes, fried potatoes and bacon and
sausage. My mother has continued it,
with the rather less enthusiastic assistance of her daughters-in-law. Fifteen or twenty men usually crowd around
the table, extended with all the leaves that can be found, and a card table or
two besides.
The theory is that if you want to
stay warm on a bitter November day, you need something good in your belly. Of course, the theory doesn’t give so much
help with the other big challenge of deer hunting, which is staying awake on a
bitter November day, and all those cups of coffee tend to create their own
problems.