Loon Moments - Scott Franz (small books to read txt) 📗

Table of Contents

Forward I – December 2006 5

Forward II – February 2009 7

Chapter 1 – From Altar Boy to Atheist to God Again 9

Chapter 2 – Bear Cubs 16

Chapter 3 – Clues From Our Creator 22

Chapter 4 – Save the Pigeons 27

Chapter 5 – Give God His Props 34

Chapter 6 – Campfires & Clouds 38

Chapter 7 – God Within Us (Buckshot’s First Hunt) 43

Chapter 8 – Gifts From Above 49

Chapter 9 – Memories of Burning Leaves 56

Chapter 10 – Evy the Wonder Dog 63

Chapter 11 – Teach Your Children Well 68

Chapter 12 – Your Children Listen 74

Chapter 13 – Thank God for Dads 81

Chapter 14 – The Dribble Gene 87

Chapter 15 – A Loon Moment Christmas 96


Forward I
December 2006

I first introduced the “Loon Moment” on my weekly radio show, “The Green Hour Show”, which formerly aired every Saturday morning on News Talk 560 radio in Chicago.

When I broadcast the first “Loon Moment”, I really didn’t intend for it to be a weekly feature on the show. It was supposed to be a one-time airing. I had some “loon calls” recorded and sent over to the station and I wanted them to be played in the background as I told a story about a recent fishing trip up to the “Great North Woods”. The response I received to the segment was phenomenal; calls, letters, e-mails from listeners, and the station’s management, every bit of it positive. The “Loon Moment” was born that day and I swore to do a “Loon Moment” every week during the show for as long as I was on the air.

You’ll hear me explain what the “Loon Moment” is about often as you read the many “Moments” in this book. Since many of them are the edited transcripts from live show segments, I often took the time to explain the “Loon Moment” for the benefit of new listeners. In some cases, I don’t, so I’ll take a moment now to explain.

I gave myself a lot of latitude in terms of what the “Loon Moment” could be about, but generally speaking it was about moments spent outdoors, either alone or with people I cared about. The settings occurred anywhere, from the most secluded wilderness to my own backyard. The activities that spawned any particular moment were varied as well, from a week of backpacking with family, to a sunset shared with my wife. But whatever the activity, or wherever the setting, in the end, a “Loon Moment” always, well mostly, brought me to some realization, something larger than the moment or the activity itself.

I’m a very conservative guy and WIND is a very conservative radio station, or at least it was in its infancy. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to any reader that many of the “Loon Moments” deal with a lot of similar and primarily conservative thoughts and themes. They dwell on the themes of God, family, country, friends, personal responsibility and character, all from my own conservative perspective. Some of them may seem a little preachy, but believe me, I’m not preaching, not by a long shot. Conservatives believe being judgmental is truly a necessary part of living. Not being personally perfect, or not always abiding by the standards you proclaim is no reason to discard those standards, throw out your ideals or stop making judgments about people’s behavior. We have to be judgmental. To not be is well, liberal, and we’ve all seen how well liberal ideals work out and contribute to societal well being.

As you read these stories, you’ll probably notice some pretty weird punctuation and grammar. When the “Loon Moment” aired on the radio there were pauses, exclamations and other types of verbal emphasis in the stories. I’ve tried to remove a lot of these during editing, but much of it remains as I tried to replicate the same emphasis in the printed word. The end result would make a bad English teacher cringe and a good one cry. Some have been left just as they aired on the radio.

“Loon Moments” comes from the heart, my heart, and they poured out of me easily and effortlessly. I’ve spent a lot of time in the outdoors, both by myself and with friends and family. During those times, I’ve come to understand myself better, I’ve come to appreciate friends and family more, I’ve learned to appreciate the power and the beauty of nature, and most importantly, I’ve found God in all His glory. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.

Scott Franz - December 2006


Forward II
Added February 2009

The original “Loon Moments”, published in early 2007 was rushed to print. It was littered with a mass of editing errors and was cheaply and unprofessionally printed. To put it mildly, it was truly a writer’s nightmare and I wasn’t at all happy with the final product.

For starters, since a lot of the stories were actual transcripts of broadcasts I aired on the radio, there were the always present time constraints imposed on each story by the very medium of radio itself. While the station’s management never once placed any limits on me or censored anything, there were some self- imposed constraints in addition to those imposed by time. There’s just something about not knowing exactly who might be listening which seemed to temper my speech, not much, but a little. I can easily live with the knowledge I offend some people, especially liberals, but the possibility that children might be listening and perhaps misunderstand some of my rants and ravings, made me at least try to be somewhat cautious of the words and language I blasted out over the airwaves. I feel no such restraints in the written word. In any case, the sense of several ”Moments” being incomplete or needing something more was overwhelming for me, and it nagged me from almost the very moment it first went to print. It finally nagged me into making this revision.

Procrastination rarely pays off for anyone, and in my case, up until now at least; I can say categorically, it’s never paid off for me. But by a strange turn of chance, this time it did; at least from the point of view of a commentator. The current events of our day are truly momentous and transforming. The failure and collapse of our financial system and the resulting political events unfolding almost daily, threaten to obliterate the inspired vision our forefathers had for our country. Quite possibly, they threaten the very existence of our nation itself, at least as we’ve come to know it these past couple of centuries. If you think I’m exaggerating, I’d counter you’re not paying attention, and don’t recognize the truly earth shattering ramifications of these events for what they are. In any case, looking through the lens of today’s events, it becomes even more important our country hold on very tightly to our basic principles, those which have made this country so very different from all the other nations of the earth.

In the end, if we’re to save our country, I believe we’ll need to resurrect and re-embrace those principles and values; the values dealing directly with God, Family and Country, those which bind us together as a people and provide us with a solid anchorage in this stormy, turbulent world. Many of the “Loon Moments” you’ll read in this book speak to those very principles; and I’m glad for the opportunity to re-emphasize their relevance in these troubling and tumultuous times.

Scott Franz – February 2009


Chapter Four
“Save the Pigeons”

It’s once again time for what has affectionately come to be known as “The Loon Moment”. I know I often explain what the “Loon Moment” is all about, but that’s for the benefit of new listeners who may be joining us for the first time.

The “Loon Moment” is a time in the show where I share with you and, I also welcome you to share with me, some of the many experiences we’ve all had in the outdoors and in experiencing nature. The “Loon Moment” can be just about anything. It can be about a fishing experience, or a quiet tranquil moment you’ve had in the outdoors; it can be about time spent with pals around a campfire, or a sunset shared with a wife, or child or another loved one. But in the end, the one thing in common all “Loon Moments” share is either a greater appreciation for the beauty of nature and the outdoors, or it presents a larger life lesson learned from those outdoor experiences.

I’ve got to tell you that there are some exceptions to this rule, because, well, because it’s actually more of a guideline than a rule. And today’s “Loon Moment” is one of those exceptions.

This story goes back to my days when I was working as a city forester. Although my title was “City Forester”, you’ve got to remember that as a city employee, I was very often asked to perform duties which went, WAY, WAY beyond that of caring for the city’s trees. And this story is about one of those cases.
Before I get started, I think you need to know that I’m a big animal lover. I qualify that by saying I’m not a PETA styled animal lover, not a “We’re just like all other animals and we’re all equal” type of animal lover, but a normal animal lover. I think you all know what I’m talking about, because by now you should know that I love to hunt and fish and, you’re probably aware as well that I believe we humans, have dominion over the other creatures of the earth; meaning, in layman’s terms, we get to harvest and eat them if we so desire.

I want to continue to reinforce the notion I’m a huge animal lover before I get into the meat of this story. As you know, I’ve owned dogs all of my adult life and you’ve heard me tell stories of my dog “Buckshot”. To tell you the truth, next to humans, and they’re really only running a close second at that, dogs are my favorite animal on the planet earth. I mean who can’t love dogs. They’re always there for you, no matter what kind of mood you’re in; they’re always happy to see you. I mean they are just great creatures all the way around.

So one more time I want to preface this story by making sure that you know I’m an animal lover, and because I don’t want you to ever think that I could take any joy or pleasure in the pointless killing of any animal. I can’t stand to see injured animals or animals suffering and I genuinely like most animals.

Now with all that being said and cleared up, you’ve