Bugle and Friendship

"Hunt Tales" & the CORNETA (Bugle) Knife

The first time that I met Eloir Mário Marcelino my daughter Maria Eduarda was a baby on her diapers. She is a senior at University of Michigan now. Another friend, Mr. Sandor Hauser and his wife, took my family and I to Eloir's business (www.recargamatic.com.br) in the picturesque city of Tietê (SP - Brasil), so I could buy a die to reload .38 Special ammunition. The next time was in Uruguay, in 2009, a week after my father's funeral.

Due to the fact that hunting is basically illegal in Brazil since the ill conceived and never regulated “Wildlife Protection Law” (Brazilian Federal Law No. 5.197 from 3^rd January 1967), Eloir came to Uruguay to spend his birthday hunting perdiz (Notura maculosa).

When he came into the lodge I recognized him immediately, and we started talking about common friends, firearms and hunting. Sometime during those few days in Uruguay I invited Eloir to come hunting in Michigan, and he did that the following November, spending both “Opening Day” of deer season and Thanksgiving with us. He tells about that trip in his book “Contos de Caçadas”.

Before his departure Eloir presented me with a CORNETA (Bugle) folding knife that belonged to his father. CORNETA (http://www.cutelariacorneta.com.br/) is a very traditional company that originated in Germany and was nationatilized during World War II. They make both cutlery and auto parts. I love knives in general and folding blade knives in particular, but it was hard for me to accept such a unique gift, especially considering the emotional value that it had for Eloir.

However, the greatest gift Eloir gave me is his friendship.