Spending a lazy afternoon with Mantracker, Terry Grant
Long after the adrenaline of a chase subsides, Terry Grant, former star of Outdoor Life Network’s television series Mantracker, switches his trademark black cowboy hat and Wranglers for carpentry tools in his workshop outside High River. Just as enthusiasts thought they had begun to understand the man behind the tracker, Grant’s hobby and side-business as a carpenter and cabinetmaker has both surprised and intrigued fans of the popular show.
Grant, who was born in Collingwood, Ont., said it’s hard for anyone to pinpoint a person’s career based on how he or she looks.
“There’s nobody walking down the street and you can look at and say, ‘he’s an accountant or he’s a carpenter,’ ” he said. “We all have lives that nobody knows about and this is mine.”
Grant, 52, who has been woodworking his entire life, helped build his first house at age 13. For him, the best aspects of carpentry are starting with a piece of plywood and constructing something out of nothing. When it comes down to the show, Grant said the person seen on reality television is the same as himself in ‘real life.’ He explained that when he was on the chase, he was not there to have fun and he is very intense.
“When I’m not on the show, I do have some fun,” he said. “I do actually laugh once in a while. The ‘prey’ meet me after the show and I tell jokes and I laugh with everybody else. They’re just amazed. This is who I am.”
Click to read the rest of my interview with Terry Grant
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Mistaken for Spiderman in Twin Butte, Alberta
While waiting for a late night Peigan Cowboys hockey game to start, I decided to take the long, windy road to the Twin Butte General Store for some of the best Mexican food around these parts. Certainly muy bueno for a place that if you blink, you miss it.
Alas, the night I set out for some good old fashioned chimichangas was indeed a blustery one. Wind howled bout my car, whirling dervishes of white dancing in the frigid air outside. Little did I know, but I would soon be mistaken for the web crawling wonder himself. Huh!
I parked at the restaurant and sat at the bar, ordered my mexican food. Beside me, a man starts talking past me to his friend sitting on the other side of me. Kind of made it awkward to eat my Mexican food.
Then, the man, referred to himself as Jimmy the Cowboy, sits down beside me and starts waving at me; let’s just say this man had too much of the stuff that heals all.
He said, ‘Hey you, Hey…Hey, you..” Looking up, I knew that was my queue. He asked me what I did and I told him I worked for the paper. At this moment, he looked confused. Looking me up and down he suddenly came to a realization, much to do with my glasses and occupation of choice.
“You must be Peter Parker,” he said. “Yes, you’re Spiderman.”
Click to read the rest of the story.
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