Who's Your Buddy?

[Outdoor Talk Network by Jim Slinsky]
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Who's Your Buddy? ©

By Jim Slinsky
03/15/08

We are all actors upon a stage. That’s all life really is. We are characters acting out our parts. Some of us have bit parts, others have leading roles. No one has handed us a script. We ad lib on a daily basis, but nonetheless the show must and will go on. The curtain is about to be pulled back in Harrisburg. The actors will enter from the wings. We are uncertain if we are about to witness a tragedy, a comedy or a riveting rendition of man against man in the struggle for survival and dominance. I am sitting on the edge of my chair.

Unless you have been in Guatemala for the sailfish bite over the last eight years, you should realize that the patient is scheduled for surgery. After twelve years of State Rep Bruce Smith blocking all forms of curative legislation, the home boys across this state are in severe pain. The sleeping giant is awake and he is not in the best of mood. We are uncertain if the operation will be a success or if our hunting tradition is about to die on the operating table.

The opening act will be House Bill 1214. This one limits the term of a PGC Commissioner to four years with a second four-year term possible only after reconfirmation by the Senate. The benefits of this legislation are obvious with the bad actors getting the hook after four years. Plus, we will attract better actors with the shorter, four-year contract. It passed the House unanimously. It cleared the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee unanimously. It is about to walk on center stage of the full Senate. The curtain will roll back, the lights will go dim and the senators will gather round. We shall see which senator brings to the operating table life support and which senator brings an axe.

The out-of-state independent audit of the PGC’s deer management program is scheduled as the second act. After a number of auditions and screen tests the producers and directors have decided on the script. The House Resolution granting permission for the operation is headed for a vote. Upon approval, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee will write the operating procedure. They will call in doctors from across the country to act out their roles upon the stage. This time the legislators will stand in the wings with us, waiting for the prognosis of the patient. The Game Commission will be sitting on the edge of their chair. When this act is concluded some actors within the PGC may find themselves transferred to another acting company, out-of-state. What started out as a tragedy may have a happy ending. We all smile at a happy ending.

None of this “rock and the hard place” screenplay would be possible if it wasn’t for the Emmy Award winning director Dr. N. Charles Bolgiano, Legislative Liaison for the Unified Sportsmen of PA. This play has been so successful Unified has been selling tickets and memberships across the Commonwealth with the money rolling in to keep the play running. Of course, like any successful director Dr. Bolgiano has surrounded himself with good people. We have all seen supporting actors turn in performances that can make or break the picture. Unified is the only game in town running a show that has received rave reviews.

While this show is going on, new legislation is coming together behind the scenes. New legislators are emerging with interesting plots seeking their moment on the stage. We have no shortage of actors or plots. Surgery must go on and hopefully the patient, our grand hunting tradition, will soon be removed from intense care to standing on its own two feet. It may even find a place on the stage to act out its own destiny.

It was fun to write this column and inject a little levity into our pathetic situation. However, there is nothing humorous about our grand hunting tradition fighting for its life upon a stage for all to criticize. Our future now lies in the hands of our legislators. You need to watch this final act carefully. The curtain will be pulled back and the actors are about to walk on center stage.

You are about to find out who’s your buddy and who is not.

Jim Slinsky is the host and producer of the “Outdoor Talk Network”, a nationally syndicated, outdoor-talk radio program. For a station near you or to contact Jim, visit his website at www.outdoortalknetwork.com.

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