The Legend of the Orange Jammies
Once upon a time, in the not too distant past, there lived a woman in the hills of southern Tennessee.
This was a strange woman. She befriended a family of deer, and took it upon herself to spend many
hours photographing their little group. They learned to endure her presence with only mild consternation, as she ran out every morning, camera in hand to once again take pictures.
Now, time being what it is, it passed. Soon, the coming deer season would roll around, and in her enthusiasm for her photos, the silly woman continued to show the deer family that there was nothing to fear when something was pointed at them by a human. The buck of the group was one of her favorite subjects. His 7 pointed rack and his majestic poses enticed her to ever bolder trips outside and closer to him.
Finally, the day arrived, first day of gun season. True to their much accustomed routine the little family came out into the open and began to browse. Panic struck the woman, when it suddenly occurred to her that she had indeed socialized these fine creatures to humans. In great fear for their lives, she flew out her door, no camera this time, just barefoot and in her jammies, she ran screaming and flailing her arms wildly over her head.
“GIT! SHOO!” she screamed as she ran. “Please,” she cried, ”You’ve got to run! GO! GET AWAY!” but the deer only took a few tentative steps and looked at her, wondering what on earth this demented woman was doing. In desperation, she ran back into the house, grabbed some bottle rockets, left from the 4th of
July, and ran back out. Tears streaming, she lit one, it flew out over the deer and popped…they ran a few steps and halted. Again she lit one and this time they fled, but were still in plain sight. This time she lit 3, one after another they popped over the deer’s heads until they, at last, fled into the nearby trees.
Never again would the little deer family trust her, and she knew this. But perhaps she had frightened them sufficiently to make them wary of humans. When she told of her folly on the web site she moderated, Modernsportsman, one of the members, Indiana Dan, warned that she might very well get shot, chasing off deer on opening day.
“I have disgraced myself,” she said. He laughingly told her she should at least get some Orange Jammies, so she would not be shot for her folly. Thus, the legend of the Orange Jammies was born.
