Rules are made for a reason. I mentioned in a previous post that one of my rules is that I stop my photo roaming during deer (rifle) season. First, I don’t want to be one of those folks on the news who took a stray bullet through the door of my truck. Second, I don’t want to be out roaming section lines and gravel roads when there are plenty of idiots irritating landowners.

Let me clarify that previous comment: I don’t think hunters are idiots. Most of my friends hunt, and I did at one time, too. I can say with confidence that none of them are idiots. There are, however, a number of exceptional idiots whose foolishness and lack of consideration vastly outperform their number. It’s those who put landowners on edge, and the last thing they need is me poking around – even on the road – during the hunting season.

I did run into such a landowner recently. They told me I was on private property (something I work hard to avoid). I pointed out that no, I was on a section line, and was told “Well, if you keep going, you will end up on private property.” After assuring them that all I wanted to do was take a drone shot of an old farmstead, they were satisfied…but still quite leery of my presence. I took my photos and left the way I came, chastising myself for violating my rule.

Naturally I am sympathetic to Columbus’ position on the importance of rules in Zombieland. Since everything with me is a movie reference, song lyric, or meme, I pondered this on the drive back to town, thankful that I got the shot without getting shot.