Hilda Fleming and skeet

Kevin's Friend
Hilda Fleming and skeet
Written by Marilyn Johnson
March 1, 2009

Hilda Flaming was our next door neighbor. She married Dr. Fleming after his wife died. She never had children but was a friend to my son Kevin. Kevin helped in her garden , cut lawns, and planted bushes. They talked a lot about hunting. Hilda was the coach and teacher at Harold's Club trap shooting range out in the mountains north of Reno. Hilda taught men and older boys to shoot skeet.

Kevin was invited once to go and see the range and my 13 year old son was so excited. I explained to Hilda that he loved hunting but didn’t own a gun and had never used one.
When they got to the range on a spring afternoon, she found a gun just his size and explained in great detail how to use it. Skeet is a form of trapshooting in which the shooter fires from eight different clay targets thrown from traps to simulate birds in flight. Hilda showed Kevin by her example how to shoot the clay birds as they came out of the skeet. Kevin placed his feet in an easy stance and slowly leaned into position to shoot as the decoys were ejected. Kevin shot down decoy number one on the first shot and kept shooting in rhythm and shot all ten in his first try. Hilda jumped up and down and clapped with joy as she hugged Kevin. You are a natural. I can’t wait until I tell the doctor and his friends. He only got to go a few more times with Hilda because we moved out of the Belford home in Reno when my husband and I were divorced.
* * *
Kevin wanted to go with his dad to Stillwater and shoot real birds. It was a year or so before he got to go to the Stillwater marsh with his dad. Meanwhile I was worried and often prayed about this hunting trip. His dad, had a drinking problem and there was a lot of drinking when the men went out hunting. I decided to teach my two sons how to drive, when they were only fourteen and fifteen. I told them why, and that they might have to drive if their father was inebriated when he took them places. They were eager to learn to drive. I took them to a quiet street by their grade school on a weekend. I taught them how to park a car, turn around and backup. I tried to teach them everything they might need to know. I never let them drive my car except when we were practicing.

Kevin went with his dad whenever he was invited. Bryan was not interested and had jobs 2 to earn money on weekends, like playing in a band for church dances. His goal was to save enough money to go on a two year mission for the L.D.S. Church. I was always nervous when Kevin went to Stillwater. with his dad.

One day it was getting dark when Kevin got home and I heard him yelling for me as he arrived. “Mom! Mom! it happened. I had to drive home all the way from Stillwater. Dad had one or two too many drinks. He got in the back seat and fell asleep. I had no choice. It was easy driving until I got to the freeway. I decided to get behind a big truck and then I began to relax. I got all the way to Reno before I had to turn. I was terrified since I had not driven in traffic before and turning corners was the hardest. There were at least three corners, before I got the car home.

"I kept praying I could do it.”
“Where is your dad now?”
“Oh! He woke up and drove home I guess.”

Kevin hugged me and said he was very tired and didn’t want to drive again until he took drivers ed in school when he was old enough.
I guess experience is a good teacher.