My Dad's Gun

My host dads gun would definitely be right at home in an antique show. I thought it was some leftover artifact from a hunting expedition or World War. He loads black powder, rocks, bearings, or b.b.s and ignites it with a blasting cap that sets on top of the gun. I just learned that the gun is actually not a relic or hand me own, but rather hand made in a town north of the river. My dad just spent two days travelling there to get some parts replaced. He uses his gun on nights when the fish arent in season to still bring some protein to meals. While everyone else is eating dinner and getting ready to settle in, he is loading up and getting ready to go to the bush. He hunts for a grouse, or guinea fowl which is called a bush chicken or locally a wuolo. On a good night he brings home four or five, and they replace fish with our millet and peanut sauce the next day at lunch. He's always tired when I greet him on those mornings when he brings the birds out to show. He doesn't come home until the moon comes up and blows his cover. Then he eats dinner alone while the rest of us are getting to sleep.

My dad making bullets by placing his machete on a long metal rod, then hammering the machete to slice off a piece the size of a b.b.