When I decided to create Papa's corner, I pondered on what to say about such a great man. The hunting part was easy, but what could I elaborate on to demonstrate what an intelligent redneck this man truly was? How could I demonstrate to the world how important he and men like him were in a time when the modern technology had not been invented? As I let my mind wander back in time to a simpler life, I remembered the hours of playing the checkers game with Papa. At the time I did not know how old the checkers game was or how it got started. Little did I know at that time it was thousands of years old, in fact the original game was invented before Christ had been born. The configuration and rules were a bit different, but it was the checkers game still the same.
When Papa first let me play the checkers game with him I was a young boy. We would set in the living room of the old five room home and play the checkers game for hours it seemed. The end results would always be the same, Papa would have several checkers left when all mine were gone. It was as if Papa had no compassion for me and would not let me win a game. He was much older then me but at no time would he let up and just let me win. I am sure in today's feel good world Papa would be criticized for not letting me win a game now and then. I am also sure that his methods would have been criticized, but they were effective. I can remember as if it were yesterday, Papa would tell me each time "son one day you will win a game, concentrate". I did and after playing what seemed like thousands of games, I was able to play Papa to a draw. I can not remember ever beating Papa at checkers, but was content to end a game with both of us only having one checker left. Unknown to me this uneducated man was training me to use logic and strategy by playing a simple game. It was building my mind and forcing me to think for myself. Was it luck he used such a simple game to build my mind and make me think for myself or was it intelligence? All I know is it did make me think! I owe so much to this all American redneck and was fortunate to have him in my life.
I am not attempting to criticize the way children are taught today. There are books stacked on top of each other that will try that. It is my intention to demonstrate and dispel the myths about the men that helped form our great nation, the all American Redneck.
I am sure by now most of you are wondering, "What the heck does this have to do with nature"? I will admit not a lot, but it was a simpler time back then and two people could set for hours playing a simple checkers game. A game that not only built the mind but brought people closer together, without the modern technology. There were no computers, cell phones (in our case no phone at all), cable TV or video games. At Wilderness Calls we will not attempt to make you smarter, but we will give you the opportunity to play a checkers game or just set and relax without interruption, a true step back in time to a simpler life.
