Today is a sad day. Cookie Monster has retired. Cookie Monster is my bow (named her after my old dog, Cookie Monster). Cookie Monster is a 98 Jennings Airmaster that I bought new andI'd probably takenat least 20deer with between then and now. I dropped her out of a tree (25'+), I forgot about her on the roof of my car and bounced her down the road, I held the bottom cam against the rails of my treestand and smashed my cam last year. Heck, I even forgot her at home on opening day of archery season in 05. True (and embarrassing) story. Yikes. I left her in the woods over night, used her as a brushbeater, drowned her in rainstorms, dragged her over rocks, slopped her around in the muck andmud. We got skunked together, and we killed wallhangers together. She was showing her mileage.

Long story short, I had no intention of getting a new bow. I generally use things until they are beaten and battered into submission. But, I stumbled onto a random guy looking for a fly rod, and selling a bow. I had a really nice St. Croix flyrod gathering dust in the basement, so I offered a trade, which he accepted.

I met him after work last night and picked up a fully-set-up Bear TRX32 one-cam, (04 or 05?). Anyway, the bow looks like it's never been hunted before - totally cherry.

The bow itself is probably not a significant upgrade, b/c it will be a little slower, but it does have a better brace height. The biggest plus is that it's fresh. Cookie was really showing her war scars - huge scrapes and scratches all over everything, rusted bolts,mudground into every possible crevice, string badly frayed and begging for wax, peep tubing starting to dryrot, cams dented to hell and back, blood stains in the wrist sling, sights/rest rusted into place, stabilizer hole totally stripped out, cracked pinguard, etc... Cookie Monster was a warhorse.

So, in honor of Cookie Monster, the new bow will also be named "Cookie Monster."

I just like sitting in my treestand humming that stupid song "C is for Cookie, it's good enough for me,"and going down memory lane.