Ten years ago today was a day that changed all of us forever; it was our generation’s JFK moment – a moment we’ll never forget.

It was a Tuesday morning, my day off at the time, and I had just walked into my parents’ house in order to grab Jeff, and head out to finalize some treestand setups before season.   As he lay on the couch asleep, I noticed that one of the World Trade Center towers was burning, and then watched live as the second plane slammed into the tower.

I was……..

I honestly can’t explain the emotions I felt at the time.  I was concerned, angry, horrified, bewildered, and it took several days for me to process the events that had unfolded.  I contemplated joining an armed service, and thanked God for my family and friends that were safe and sound.

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I’ve never really thought of myself as a bug wuss.  We have plenty of the little buggers running and flying around our neck of the woods, but they’ve never seemed to bother me.  Even when a nasty spider makes his way anywhere close to me, I just handle the situation – no whining, screaming or crying needed.  And though I hate mosquitoes – despise them, actually – since I discovered the ThermaCELL, my hunting, fishing and camping excursions have been much more enjoyable.  I’ve lived in a world of bug bliss, I guess.

But it was a different story in the U.P.

The mosquitoes were a different breed up there; they would blow right through the ThermaCELL barrier, and bite the crap out of you.  And while I still have full confidence in the ThermaCELL’s ability, these particular mosquitoes were convinced that they were going to eat all of us ALIVE; it didn’t matter how well the ThermaCELL barrier was or wasn’t working.

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I just spent a week in Michigan’s gorgeous Upper Peninsula, and – now that I’m back home – I’m suffering from a little vacation hangover.

As the week progresses though, I promise to share more about our experiences up there.

Trust me, we had a blast!

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First off, I want to say happy Fourth of July to everyone who’s reading this. We here at Simplyoutdoors hope you have a great holiday.  We will be celebrating our Fourth of July in true Michigan style (more on that later), and we hope you enjoy yours as well.

Also, this week, in order to take a little break from the blogging world and enjoy some time with family and friends, we’ll be featuring two popular posts from the last year – a “best of” Simplyoutdoors 2010 if you will.

You don’t want to miss those, so make sure you check back a couple times this week.

Happy Fourth everyone.

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Smart phones are systematically ruining our society.

While I work with technology every day, and actually do enjoy technology most of the time, I think the constant need to be “connected” – at the dinner table, at family gatherings, in a deer blind, while riding in a car, etc. – is really putting a damper on our abilities to connect with each other; it’s putting a damper on our willingness to engage in a real conversation.

It’s kind of sad, actually.

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