Dings

They've started hunting bison outside Yellowstone National Park. This evokes a lot of images for me - chief among them are the engravings of railroad passengers in the 1800's shooting out of the windows of a moving train.
Then there's this one: Two cowboys come over a rise and look down into a valley where they spy a couple of bison. One of the cowboys says to the other, "Have you ever seen a more mangy, flea-bitten, ugly, foul-smellin' creature in all your born days?" Down in the valley, one buffalo turns to the other and says, "Now there's a discouragin' word."
I grew up appreciating the totem of the bison (sometimes referred to as "buffalo"). The University of Colorado has one of the best mascots in all of organized sports: a real-life, full-grown female buffalo. I can remember days when Ralphie (the name each bison was given upon assuming the mantle of mascot) would start her charge down the sideline, and before the big turn to head back to her trailer, she would be dragging at least one of her handlers behind, while the rest held on for dear life. I can remember an Oklahoma Sooner team (nice mascot there - a little wagon, right?) that decided to show their moxie by running out onto the field just as Ralphie was making that big turn. Let's just say that some of those young men were having to wipe the moxie out of their drawers after they saw the business end of a buffalo heading their way.
Finally, the one that stays with me is "Bless the Beasts and the Children." Released in 1971, it tells the tale of a group of misfits - kids who were bounced out of their cabins at summer camp who band together to form a support group for one another. Their counselor, "Wheaties," barely tolerates their insecurities and decides to show them a slice of manhood up-close and personal. He takes them out to a range where buffalo are being "hunted." The very docile beasts are lead into a pen where they are shot down in their tracks. The rest of the film details the boys' attempt to free the beasts from the next impending slaughter. "Wheaties" called the kids in his cabin "Dings - just like those buffalo. You don't belong." My nine year old brain made the easy symbolic connection and I felt for the kids just like I felt for the bison. I remember crying at the end.
Now there are apparently enough buffalo to get back to the slaughter. One perspective hunter summed up his feelings this way: "To be able to hunt something that was almost extinct, what a great honor and a thrill. Just THINK about it," he said, as he waited to buy his hunting license.
Yeah. Just THINK about it.