Jesse's First Hunt

My parents separated when I was 6. My dad hooked up with Vicki when I was 8, and my brother and I moved in with them and her son Jesse. Jesse was an only child, and really was, AN ONLY CHILD! In fact when I met him he was the only grandchild. He is two years younger than me, only 8 months younger than Kev. Dad really did his bit to give the whole blended family thing the old college try. We were encouraged to call Vicki, 'Mom' and Jesse called Dad, 'Dad'. We really bought into it. I had 2 brothers. I had 2 moms...Mom' in Saskatchewan' and 'Mom in BC'. Jesse even called my mom 'Mom' and spent half our summer holidays in Sask with us at her farm.

We weren't what you would call a "functional" family. Life was pretty volatile. Kev was not an easy child, to say the least, and Vicki struggled. Jesse took the brunt of a lot of it. Kev was being punished pretty much everyday, and it all got too much, and Kev moved back with my mom 4 years later. I think that it was good for a little while, but I was going through puberty, and was an UBER bitch. Jesse took the brunt of that one. I can remember not speaking to him for a full 2 weeks. I also remember teaching him to dance, and how to dress, helping with school stuff, but I do have some guilt for how I treated him. I have even more guilt for leaving him though. Two years after Kev moved to Sask with mom, I followed suit. Things weren't great for me socially, nor at home. Kev had got into trouble with drugs and the law, and I felt like I could help him by being there. My dad did not take it so well, and though I am sure that he would deny it, I know that he resented Jesse. Jesse was a bit of a dreamer. He was not quick and funny like Kevin and I are, and he was there while we were not. Things were pretty rough for my dear sweet boy after I left.

Fast forward nearly 20 years....Dad and Vicki have been separated for 15 years, and you realize the difference between real family and forced. Kev and Jess both have had battles with drugs and alcohol. Both have had a rough time with relationships. Jess is at the tail end of a failed marriage with, from my understanding, psycho controlling bitch from hell (no bias here!!). Kev and Jess have had sporadic contact over the years and recently Jess headed out to Sask to go on his first hunting trip with Kev. Kev made this video. The song is one of the many campfire songs that we sang growing up. Now altough this video initially overwhelmed my emotions, I couldn't help but wonder "How is it that I am related to these people?" I am a flippin vegeterian....Then the second part of the video plays out, and I see that at least we have sense of humour in common!! Sodomy with a shotgun is just plain frickin funny!!!