Did a little coyote hunting in the pines this morning with a friend and we came across a very secluded and unusual memorial near the Sleeper Branch.
The first thing we noticed were two sealed photos of a young man attached to two different trees. The first is a pic of the person wading in muddy sneakers drinking a beer and holding a dip net. Above his picture carved deeply into the tree were the initials T A. The second photo on another tree was the young man holding a huge snake. The photo is faded but this thing looked like an Anaconda to me. It may be a huge pine snake but I know next to nothing about snakes.
At the base of the second tree there were two large turtle figurines. The first was a chainsaw carving of a snapper. It was very heavy and very realistic. The material looked like white cedar and the lack of decay supports that. The second turtle was made of a baked clay material and the head was broken off. Under the clay turtle was written "1980-2008". Next to the turtles were two unopened bottles of Yuengling laying on their side. I placed the bottles upright and took a few minutes to reflect on the apparent loss of this young person.
Who was this young man ?
Was this one of his favorite spots in the Pines ?
Do his family and friends still visit ?
How did he pass ?
Will someone do this for me someday ?
I hope so.
The first thing we noticed were two sealed photos of a young man attached to two different trees. The first is a pic of the person wading in muddy sneakers drinking a beer and holding a dip net. Above his picture carved deeply into the tree were the initials T A. The second photo on another tree was the young man holding a huge snake. The photo is faded but this thing looked like an Anaconda to me. It may be a huge pine snake but I know next to nothing about snakes.
At the base of the second tree there were two large turtle figurines. The first was a chainsaw carving of a snapper. It was very heavy and very realistic. The material looked like white cedar and the lack of decay supports that. The second turtle was made of a baked clay material and the head was broken off. Under the clay turtle was written "1980-2008". Next to the turtles were two unopened bottles of Yuengling laying on their side. I placed the bottles upright and took a few minutes to reflect on the apparent loss of this young person.
Who was this young man ?
Was this one of his favorite spots in the Pines ?
Do his family and friends still visit ?
How did he pass ?
Will someone do this for me someday ?
I hope so.
