Jesse Lacroix

The Hardware Store Archer

Calmly slowing and timing my breathing, I pull back, feeling the tension rip through my arms and shoulders; I release. The arrow flies true, but my aim isn’t quite content with hitting the target. My arrow flies by, smashing into a rock in the hill behind my target. A hill so that I don’t accidentally maim a passing hiker or dog. My arrow is destroyed. Thankfully, I’ve taken to building my own arrows for target practice and hunting. It’s both meticulous and meditative; and given the number of arrows I break, I make a lot of them.