Let's bring this one back to life.
No, being to Africa didn't Africanize me. I will always be a unique individual and a culinary challenged widower/empty nester. I can make a mean pot of soup ... if it comes out of a can. Most wild game goes to the processor to become sausage or jerky. I confess to never taking a shine to biltong. Wish I could have brought back a boatload of gemsbuck meat. Even an idiot like me can't screw up cooking that stuff.
My house is only 800 sq ft with finished basement (that's half taxidermy shop). The few trophies on the walls are a nice mixture of North American and South African. No tourist guano (spears, masks, etc.). The theme is ubiquitous and ambiguous. Only a couple of shoulder mounts, mostly my taxi daughter's show stuff (e.g. full body cougar). I've never been big on fur and glass eyes. Right now I have sixteen African euro skulls on display with eleven more about to leave RSA. I will be opening up the living room ceiling this summer for those (three are management culls - I wanted the horns for crafts but the taxidermist there would only process them as euros). Three moose cap mounts are in the attic of garage with a couple of whitetail caps. Should bring one of those moose caps in and remount it for customer sample. But where to put it? Two elk racks and the cougar use up most of the wallspace in the taxidermy showroom next to living room. I have four good tanned capes for her to shoulder/pedestal mount when the space is available: kudu, nyala, sable, and black wildebeest. My best buffalo is euro hanging in the kitchen entrance (did I mention I'm a bachelor?). Two kudu euros up now and a third on the way. Wait ... did I say Africa doesn't dominate the scenery in my home? Pfft. Well, it didn't anyway. Guess I should look for some jungle leaves wallpaper.
I don't wear shorts. Ever. My legs look like a relief map of the Missouri Breaks. Xtreme very gross veins. I usually wear a camo ball cap with my lodge's logo, but only because it fits my head ... and I'm going bald.
I'm in the process of building a 404 Jeff on a standard Mauser 98, mostly for the challenge and a piece of history. Loaded down it can also be a respectable stalking gun for North American big game. But I'm sure I'll have to shoot at least one more buff with it. Gad, I love hunting them. And kudu.
Like it or not, I guess Africa got in my blood. ... And yes, I like it. A lot.
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