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Whatever else you do, don't give this guy your
car keys
By Bill Whitaker
Considering all that's gone before, it's amazing wildlife artist
and conservationist Jim Partee even continues visiting Abilene.
After all, Abilene is home to fellow hunter Norm Dozier - and,
considering the mishaps Norm has shared with Jim Partee, you'd
think the two might spend more time apart, not together.
Take, for instance, the time Jim and Norm, along with former
Detroit Lions lineman Doug English, movie producer Michael Maschio,
"Dallas" actor Steve Kanaly and Jones County banker
Mitchell Heidenheimer, agreed to travel to a celebrity pheasant
hunt in Broken Bow, Neb.
Because Broken Bow is "in the middle of nowhere,"
Jim told his pals the best way to get there was to fly to Denver
the evening before, jointly rent a van and then drive three or
so hours, arriving in Broken Bow in plenty of time to get a good
night's sleep before the next morning's big hunt.
Alas, once they got to Denver and set out in the van, they
discovered Broken Bow was not three hours' drive but <I>10.<I>
"It was pretty awful, everyone glaring at me," Jim
Partee said. "Norm kept saying, 'Jimmy P., this is absolutely
the last time I'll ever go anywhere with you!' And it took every
bit of 10 hours to drive from Denver to Broken Bow, too. We drove
all night.
"We got there 20 minutes before the hunt."
"Omaha was two hours away," Norm told me later. "It
would've been a lot easier driving in from there than Denver.
It was a pretty miserable drive across western Nebraska, drinking
all that coffee and taking turns screaming and hollering at each
other."
DUCKING THE SPOTLIGHT
Whatever Jim Partee's past misfires - and he good-naturedly
admits he's had his share - the artist's talent and personality
have endeared him to many outdoorsmen nationwide. He has been
a regular hunter at the Disability Resources Inc. Celebrity Quail
Hunt, thanks to Norm Dozier's insistence.
Come Wednesday, he'll be the special guest of this year's local
Ducks Unlimited banquet, at the behest of pals Cactus Schroeder
and Lou Paulsen. To date, the wildlife artist has done two original
paintings for the local chapter and is presently finishing a third
for this week's auction.
For the uninformed, Ducks Unlimited is made up of men and women
across the nation who enjoy the outdoors life and are anxious
to preserve the continent's threatened wetlands. To that end,
local chapters raise money to preserve and fortify them.
Jim, 48, says Ducks Unlimited and other conservation groups
are obviously having some impact. Estimates are that, between
this autumn and spring 1998, there will be "in excess of
95 million birds coming down the flyways" from Canada - reportedly
the largest number in a quarter of a century.
While Jim has been able to pursue a successful career as an
artist, he does his bit by donating works for nonprofit auctions
such as Ducks Unlimited across the country. Of course, he admits,
he also enjoys the chance to travel and see hunting friends on
these trips.
"A lot of folks have this idea that artists live in some
back room and are kind of weird and real reclusive and don't like
to get out among people, but I'm just the opposite," the
Atlanta-based artist said. "I enjoy getting out among the
people as much as I do painting."
BLOCKING TRAFFIC
Granted, Jim Partee's reputation and character might be more
intact if he stayed in some back room, restricting himself to
painting.
During a DRI Celebrity Quail Hunt excursion out into the area,
Jim developed blisters "the size of silver dollars,"
thanks to the highly dubious notion of wearing new cowboy boots
on the hunt. By noon he was complaining long and loud.
Finally, Norm Dozier, one of the DRI guiding lights, gave Jim
the keys to his own vehicle so that the wildlife artist could
return to civilization, nurse his wounds and don a pair of hunting
boots more appropriate for the hunt.
"That was a mistake," Norm confided later. "He
borrows the Suburban, goes to Embassy Suites to get his hunting
boots and locks the keys inside the Suburban right out front,
so that no one else can get around him or anything else."
Norm ultimately had to quit his own pursuits in the field, get
yet some other sucker to drive him into town to find yet another
set of keys, all to rescue Jim Partee.
"He means well," Norm quipped of his friend, "but
he's a little scatter-brained."
Jim Partee admits to having had other memorable outings, but
the episode in Broken Bow is what he's most anxious to live down.
It wasn't just the fact he promised his buddies it would take
only three hours to get from Denver to Broken Bow.
It's what he promised them at the end of the journey.
"I told 'em there was a three-room suite waiting for us
all in Broken Bow," Jim said. "Well, that three-room
suite turned out to be a motel room with three double beds - no
suite, no amenities and just one bathroom!"
I later asked Norm Dozier if all these stories were true.
"They're all true and more," Norm sighed.
If you dare, the Ducks Unlimited banquet featuring Jim Partee
as special guest is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the VFW outpost
on Vapor Trail, near Dyess Air Force Base. Tickets for the dinner
and auction are $30 each and can be obtained at the door.
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Copyright ©1996 or
1997, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps. Publications
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