Lying on its side, looking for all the world like it’s laying on my son’s bed is Suttree.  Our Suttree is named for the title character Cornelius Suttree in a novel by Cormac McCarthy which takes place in Tennessee along the Tennessee river. For my son, I see it and the name representing all that he loves about his family and home state of Kentucky.  Suttree is one of three mounted buck’s heads given to each of my sons from their paternal granddad.  Grandpa Bush has been a hunter for a long time, and although he doesn’t do it much anymore due to his diminishing eyesight, he wanted to share his love of the sport with his three grandsons with this gift.

Bringing these gifts home is a story in itself.  Doug and the boys have had to rearrange luggage in the back of the vehicle to accommodate these things.  I’m sure we got some funny looks as the deer laid sideways looking out of the window of the car from Kentucky to Nebraska.  The funniest story was when our youngest had to take his home from our place to his in his Smart car.  It wouldn’t fit in the back so it sat in his wife’s lap looking out the front window for its drive home.  She’s a good sport : )

These deer are beautifully mounted and extremely heavy, which is why our son’s is not mounted on the wall at the moment.  We thought about storing it, but the truth is, I think my son looks upon it as a kind of quiet companion, taking him to times growing up at his grandparents house.  It’s a little difficult explaining him (the deer, not my son), to the maintenance guy at the complex, but it did set up a funny conversation.  He said his wife would never let him put one in the house.  Funny he should say that as one of our other sons hasn’t put his up yet either for probably that same reason. The third son has created a “man cave” for himself at his house, and that’s where the deer head resides.

When we think of mounted animal heads, we think of hunting lodges, country estates or cabins in the woods, not suburban apartments.  Quite frankly, it’s difficult to get them to coordinate with the rest of the decor.  And for this city girl, I struggle with the fact that it was once a beautiful living thing now staring at me for all eternity in my apartment.  My in-laws have one mounted in the living room with a large mouth bass mounted right below it and for years, they had one in the guest bedroom which kinda creeped me out at night. My father-in-law however, although he takes pride in his skill, does not just kill for sport, as the animal is used for its meat and the boys have grown up loving various forms of venison.

It’s funny those things that bring peace and a feeling of home to our hearts.  For me it’s remembering my dad taking me to Winchell’s for sprinkle donuts (still one of my favorite things) and for my husband, it’s the “big hill” next to his boyhood home where he and his granddad took walks.  For my son, I believe Suttree is one of those things that brings out his love for the south, for grandma’s cooking and his granddad’s love of fishing and hunting.  Something that maybe he can share with his kids someday as he shares stories of their great-granddad and his gift of Suttree.