1. Hunting for Peace Daniel Micco

2. I know I don’t want to waste my whole break away doing nothing…but waking up at 6:30 in the morning to go hunting is rough. Especially with only 3 ½ hours of sleep… Maybe I can just…. No! I have to get up!

3. Ok… Rifle, check. Knife, check. Mags, vest, hat… check, check, and check. Alright, time to pack all this stuff up and get some food. Last thing I need is to be starving out in the woods.

4. Let’s see… leftover dinner rolls from Thanksgiving. That’s just…yeah, awesome. Whatever, food is food and I’m in a hurry. Might not be the breakfast of champions, but at least they haven’t gone stale yet.

5. How have they not cleared the roads yet?! I’m going to fishtail if I’m not careful! At least the game lands are only a few more miles up the road; just have to keep calm and pray that I don’t hit any black ice.

6. Yeah, this is just what I needed! Open fields and forest to look for squirrels, groundhogs, or whatever little mammal that wanders into my path. This dusting of snow is perfect to spot game running around.

7. That chirping sounds awfully familiar… a squirrel! C’mon, get down out of that tree, I need you on the ground for a safe shot. And… great, there’s too much brush on the ground to see where he went. So much for that. I’ll just have to find a spot that’s more clear.

8. I’ve been walking for hours… Wait, what was that? A squeak from that bush!...Oh, just a wren. I’m not going to shoot you little guy. See how I’m lowering my rifle so your little fuzzy head isn’t in my sights? I love birds, always have and always will… why did Mike force me to kill that one? Why…

9. No one should have do what I did…ever. He knew I loved song birds, it was one of the reasons I started working at that God forsaken feed store. Humane glue trap? There’s no such thing. Poor creature, just flopping back and forth, squeaking in a vain attempt to call for help. It was a mercy kill, but my God…it had already ripped a toe off trying to escape. Having to saw its head off…back and forth, back and forth! Why was that my job, why couldn’t he have taken care of it?! He hadn’t done a single thing all day besides hit on the cashier girl, now it’s also my responsibility to kill things I’ve loved since I was a little kid? I watched the life leave those helpless, beady little eyes... and he had the nerve to call me a “sick fuck”?

10. I did what I had to do to make sure it wouldn’t suffer any more in the most surefire way I could think of. No more pain, no more fear…just… God bless it’s soul.

11. That’s all behind me now. I did what had to be done. …Wow, it’s really beautiful up here. The sun reflecting off of the snow, the grasses swaying in that lazy breeze... This really is just what I needed. I wish I could stay, but I promised to be home by noon. I’ll be back once winter break rolls around. You owe me a squirrel or two.