WEBVTT - Ep. 183: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Hunting Heritage

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Rieves

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<v Speaker 1>from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to stay a while as I share

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<v Speaker 1>my stories and the country skills that will help you

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<v Speaker 1>beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as

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<v Speaker 1>part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best

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<v Speaker 1>outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>pull you up a chair or drop that tail gate.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I got a thing or two and teaching

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<v Speaker 1>hunting heritage. I went coon hunting with some folks last week,

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<v Speaker 1>and just like every other coon hunt I go on,

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<v Speaker 1>I spend the next few days going over in my

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<v Speaker 1>head how my dog Whaling did and analyzing his performance

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<v Speaker 1>against my expectations the terrible weather looming in front of us.

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<v Speaker 1>What I expected was nothing short were terrible. What I

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<v Speaker 1>got was nothing less than spectacling. I'm going to tell

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<v Speaker 1>you all about it, but first I'm going to tell

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<v Speaker 1>you a story. Papa All builds me a boat. This

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<v Speaker 1>episode is about hunting heritage. This story recalls a time

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<v Speaker 1>and an event that was more related to fishing. The

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<v Speaker 1>heritage link is on the land in which it happened

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<v Speaker 1>and my maternal grandfather is the protagonist in this story,

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<v Speaker 1>a man who didn't hunt. The location and farm had

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<v Speaker 1>been in my mother's family since sometime either before or

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<v Speaker 1>just after the War between the States. That's how it

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<v Speaker 1>relates here. And with that said, here we go. When

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<v Speaker 1>I was in high school, my maternal grandparents, Finest and

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<v Speaker 1>Buless Life, were the only grandparents that I had that

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<v Speaker 1>were living. My grandfather on my dad's side had been

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<v Speaker 1>killed while working in a shipyard in California during World

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<v Speaker 1>War Two, and my grandmother on that side died in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty three. So my only set of living grandparents

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<v Speaker 1>were Mama Sly and Papa That's what we called them.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what everyone called them, even my friends. Mama Sly

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<v Speaker 1>liked to brimfish and liked to eat fish as well

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<v Speaker 1>as anyone. Every Friday night was automatic we were going

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere to eat fish. And I stayed with them a lot,

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<v Speaker 1>and we'd had to Monticella, Arkansas, all to a fish

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<v Speaker 1>place over there, or out to Ann's restaurant and warned

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<v Speaker 1>to eat. They had good fish at Ann's, but I'd

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<v Speaker 1>rob a bank this very second to have one of

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<v Speaker 1>their chicken fried steaks. I done got off track thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about victuals. Anyway, Mama sly liked fish. Papall worked on

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<v Speaker 1>the farm and didn't hunt or fish much at all.

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<v Speaker 1>Matter of fact, I don't ever remember him doing either

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<v Speaker 1>to amount to anything. He wasn't against it, he just

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<v Speaker 1>didn't have the patience for it. He liked farming and

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<v Speaker 1>everything that went with it. He was always fixing or

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<v Speaker 1>building something to make life easier on the farm. He

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<v Speaker 1>was a voracious reader. He read national geographics from cover

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<v Speaker 1>to cover, Western novels by Zane Gray and Louis Lamore,

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<v Speaker 1>and popular mechanics. He was highly intelligent and mostly self educated.

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<v Speaker 1>They bought their first VCR player that they or I

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<v Speaker 1>ever saw, and it looked as big as a bathtub.

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<v Speaker 1>You could load a tape in there and it sounded

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<v Speaker 1>like you were slamming a bank vault shut well. They

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<v Speaker 1>quit working one time and Papa took it apart and

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<v Speaker 1>fixed it. It looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer

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<v Speaker 1>to it. It was in a billion pieces on the

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<v Speaker 1>kitchen table. Tiny screws, gears and parts were laying everywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>No manual, no instructions, no Google, no YouTube, no help desk,

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<v Speaker 1>but last, and not least no training in VC or repair,

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<v Speaker 1>just brain power. I was grown and married, living on

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<v Speaker 1>my own and didn't have enough sense to set the

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<v Speaker 1>clock on one. It worked, but that flashing digital twelve

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<v Speaker 1>still haunts me. I done got off track again. Papall

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<v Speaker 1>read every night after supper and TV before he went

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<v Speaker 1>to bed. Now, one evening he read an article in

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<v Speaker 1>Popular Mechanics that described how to build a one man

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<v Speaker 1>fishing boat using rudimentary materials. He loved building stuff and

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<v Speaker 1>was assault after tablemaker and craftsmen. During his retired years.

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<v Speaker 1>He built all his grandson's gun cabinets, and we all

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<v Speaker 1>still have them. He made them out of oak and

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<v Speaker 1>they are tremendously heavy and built to last. He loved

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<v Speaker 1>building things for his grandkids, for babies, furniture, toys, whatever

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<v Speaker 1>he took a notion to make, he'd make it, and

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<v Speaker 1>not only would it work, but it would work well

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<v Speaker 1>and better than anything that was commercially available. Now, this

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<v Speaker 1>one man fishing boat he made for me. He surprised

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<v Speaker 1>me with it one day when he drove up to

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<v Speaker 1>the house. Come out here, son, I got something I

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<v Speaker 1>think you're gonna like. Well. Ibou took the doors off

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<v Speaker 1>the hinges getting outside to see what he'd made for me.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't have a clue what it could be, but

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<v Speaker 1>if Papa had made it for me, it was going

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<v Speaker 1>to be cool and one of a kind. We had

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<v Speaker 1>a two acre pond less than one hundred yards from

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<v Speaker 1>the house. It was full of fish, a big bass,

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<v Speaker 1>brim and catfish and crappie, also bull frogs and snakes.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a good place to fish, and I have

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<v Speaker 1>a ton of memories catching fish, snakes, and gigging frogs

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<v Speaker 1>there all year long. That pond was the focus of

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<v Speaker 1>some type of activity for me, my brothers, and my friends.

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<v Speaker 1>That day, however, it would be the launch pad from

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<v Speaker 1>my grandpa's latest feet of engineering and the first ship

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<v Speaker 1>in his fleet homemade boats. Y'all get you imaginary pencil

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<v Speaker 1>sharpened and draw this out on your brain while I

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<v Speaker 1>describe it to you. He had a big interview from

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<v Speaker 1>one of our tractor tires inflated and two tuberfoes laying

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<v Speaker 1>parallel to each other along the top. The boards were

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<v Speaker 1>wide enough apart to attach a square milk crate that

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<v Speaker 1>sat down in the doughnut hole of the inner two.

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<v Speaker 1>He had one eighth inch plywood as decon screwed in

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<v Speaker 1>place across the top of the tuberfores. The decon was

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<v Speaker 1>less than three feet wide and about five and a

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<v Speaker 1>half feet long. Now, inside that milk crate, he had

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<v Speaker 1>a car battery and it was wired to a troller

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<v Speaker 1>motor that he'd mounted to the front of the plywood deck.

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<v Speaker 1>Mean you following me? I hope you are, because the

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<v Speaker 1>best part is coming right now. Centered directly above that

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<v Speaker 1>hole in the enter tube that housed a milk crate

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<v Speaker 1>was a folding lawn chair. It was the old kind,

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<v Speaker 1>with a woven synthetic webon for seating, and the legs

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<v Speaker 1>were fashioned from U shaped pieces of aluminum stay women. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>the rear legs were held in place using electrical conduit

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<v Speaker 1>fasteners screwed to the decad. The front legs were free,

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<v Speaker 1>allowing the chair to be folded down when in transport. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>that's assuming that you'd want to take this little beauty

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<v Speaker 1>out on the road, and who wouldn't. I could already

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<v Speaker 1>see myself loading this unit into the back of my

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<v Speaker 1>truck and launching my one man battleship down at Crane's

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<v Speaker 1>Lake and getting back into places we couldn't get dads

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<v Speaker 1>or TEMs. Illuminum boat in I would be a brim

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<v Speaker 1>fishing ninja. A fly rod would be my semuraized sword,

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<v Speaker 1>and crickets would be my throwing stars. And this boat

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<v Speaker 1>my Papa built for me would be my trusty steed

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<v Speaker 1>on which I would ride into battle. Tim lived right

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<v Speaker 1>up the road and came down to watch the launch.

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<v Speaker 1>Mama had walked outside and stood by my mama's sly

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<v Speaker 1>and watched A Me and Papau unloaded it from his truck,

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<v Speaker 1>hooked the battery cables to the terminals, and sat the

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<v Speaker 1>whole contraption gingerly down on the surface of our pond.

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<v Speaker 1>I unfolded the lawn chair, dropped the trolling motor into

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<v Speaker 1>the water, and climbed aboard my ship. I knew what

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<v Speaker 1>Neil Armstrong must have felt like when he climbed into

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<v Speaker 1>the Apollo spacecraft flight of the Moon. I knew what

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<v Speaker 1>Columbus must have felt like when he set out on

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<v Speaker 1>his voice to the New World. I knew what Captain

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<v Speaker 1>they Have must have felt like when that big white

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<v Speaker 1>Well did a tomahawk chop to the middle of the peak.

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<v Speaker 1>Wuad because only seconds after settling into the captain's chair

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<v Speaker 1>of the USS. Papa, I was upside down in the pond,

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<v Speaker 1>looking up at the surface of the water and on

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<v Speaker 1>the bank. I could see my mama and my mama,

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<v Speaker 1>my brother Tim, and my Papa all looking for me,

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<v Speaker 1>like I just disappeared in a magic show. Why did

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<v Speaker 1>Tim have to be here? I would never hear the

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<v Speaker 1>end of this. Weighing my options a ridicule against just

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<v Speaker 1>staying on the bottom of the pond. I let the

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<v Speaker 1>lack of auxyens down there make my decision for me,

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<v Speaker 1>and I surf as much to the delight of everyone.

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<v Speaker 1>My boat floating aimlessly upside down, just off the bank

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<v Speaker 1>with the troller motor buzzing like I saw with the

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<v Speaker 1>lumber man. Papa waited out to get me, But like

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of the onlookers, he was laughing so hearty

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<v Speaker 1>he hardly catch his breath. Son, he said, between laughing

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<v Speaker 1>and trying to breathe, our center of gravity was off.

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<v Speaker 1>I know how to fix it, no, sir, not for me.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna swim out there and get this thing back

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<v Speaker 1>for you, and I'm gonna help you load it up.

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<v Speaker 1>But I have sat in the last in or two

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<v Speaker 1>boat I will ever sit in That was forty years

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<v Speaker 1>ago and I still haven't. And that's just how that happened.

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<v Speaker 1>Hunting Heritage. You know, I can make this whole podcast

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<v Speaker 1>about hunting heritage, and maybe in a way I already

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<v Speaker 1>have to a certain extent, But this week it really

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<v Speaker 1>came home to me in a special way. You hear

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<v Speaker 1>me talking each week about stories and events that evolved

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<v Speaker 1>me and my family and friends, and this week will

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<v Speaker 1>be no different for you. But it was for me,

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<v Speaker 1>and at the time I didn't even realize it. My

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<v Speaker 1>friend Brad Clark called me. He lives in Mississippi, and

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<v Speaker 1>you heard me talk about him when I was doing

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<v Speaker 1>my duck hunting episodes. You also heard me talk about

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<v Speaker 1>his lifelong friend, Randall Widmore, who you didn't hear me

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<v Speaker 1>mention was Randall's younger brother, Wade. Now Randall and Wade

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<v Speaker 1>are the sons of the late Dick Widmore, all from Tennessee,

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<v Speaker 1>but Wade now lives in Texas. Their father, Dick Widmore,

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<v Speaker 1>is a legend in places where folks put importance on

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<v Speaker 1>good dogs and more so revere good men, and mister

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<v Speaker 1>Widmore was placed highly in both categories by those who

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<v Speaker 1>knew him. Now back to the phone call from Brad.

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<v Speaker 1>He wanted to know if my fellow coon hunting added

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<v Speaker 1>coonhound trainer, CEO Sunspot Hunting Lights and part time spiritual

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<v Speaker 1>advisor Michael Roseman could take Brad, Randall and Wade coon

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<v Speaker 1>hunting on Michael's lease when Wade came up for a

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<v Speaker 1>duck hunt. What make a plan and commit ourselves to

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<v Speaker 1>go on coon hunting? You bet we can. They didn't

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<v Speaker 1>actually need me for any of it. Michael's got one

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<v Speaker 1>of the best dogs around and it's his lease. Pretty

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<v Speaker 1>sure they keep me around in case they need to

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<v Speaker 1>blame something on somebody or comic relief. Regardless, I was

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<v Speaker 1>happy to be in the mix and was looking forward

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<v Speaker 1>to going coon hunting with the boys. Randall and Brad

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<v Speaker 1>are partners on a coon hound and they can hunt anywhere.

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<v Speaker 1>But where Michael hunts now was for years mister Whidmore's

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<v Speaker 1>coon hunting lees. All three of those guys grew up

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<v Speaker 1>hunting with mister Whitmore, and it's a great place to

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<v Speaker 1>train young dogs because of all the coons that are there.

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<v Speaker 1>I know I've talked about it before on here and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure I will in the future. But that's what

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<v Speaker 1>I'm talking about this week, Hunting heritage. That's the binder

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<v Speaker 1>and the thread that keeps the tapestry going is we

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<v Speaker 1>knit out, living our lives and sharing our experiences. Every

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<v Speaker 1>person adds a thread of experience or a memory to

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<v Speaker 1>the never ending project that tells the story of that

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<v Speaker 1>place and those people. Michael and I hunt a lot

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<v Speaker 1>by ourselves on that property. Normally it's just me and

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<v Speaker 1>Michael and our dogs wailing and Heck, yes, this dog's

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<v Speaker 1>name is Heck. It's a long story anyway, regardless of

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<v Speaker 1>who's there or who isn't, and it's just me and Michael.

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<v Speaker 1>He'll tell a story of another time when he was

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<v Speaker 1>hunting there with other people or even mister Widmore. Some

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<v Speaker 1>of them I've heard before, but I always enjoy hearing again.

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<v Speaker 1>Some are new to me, but they all make me

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<v Speaker 1>feel closer to that land and closer to the people

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<v Speaker 1>he's talking about by hearing the stories from someone who

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<v Speaker 1>was there. Here's a case in point from my family.

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<v Speaker 1>My great grandfather on my father's side died in nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty four, that's two years before I was born, but

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<v Speaker 1>my dad told the story that my brother Tim reminded

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<v Speaker 1>me of today when we were visiting on the phone.

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<v Speaker 1>In October. Every year when all the crops were in, Grandpa,

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<v Speaker 1>Uncle Ev, Uncle Dob, and Uncle Bob and I'm sure

0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:49.080
<v Speaker 1>a laundry list of others at different times would go

0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:52.559
<v Speaker 1>down to the Saline River and have squirrel camp. So

0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:55.320
<v Speaker 1>they didn't have a tent, so they fashioned a camp

0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:58.240
<v Speaker 1>out of tar paper and they'd stay for several days.

0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.560
<v Speaker 1>Dad's first recollection of being involved was when he was

0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:05.079
<v Speaker 1>ten or eleven years old, and they wouldn't allow him

0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.360
<v Speaker 1>to go because he was in school. But what he

0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:10.720
<v Speaker 1>did have to do was to hitch a waggon up

0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.560
<v Speaker 1>to the mule and ride it several miles down where

0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:16.240
<v Speaker 1>they were camped to pick up the squirrels and all

0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:18.240
<v Speaker 1>the other game that they killed and skin out to

0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.200
<v Speaker 1>be taken back home to put in the family freezer.

0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:23.960
<v Speaker 1>He said he had to make that trip three or

0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.400
<v Speaker 1>four times during the week, depending on how long they

0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:28.440
<v Speaker 1>were staying down there and how good the hunt was.

0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:31.720
<v Speaker 1>Now I know where that spot is where they camp.

0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:36.000
<v Speaker 1>My brother knows where that spot is. I will never

0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.200
<v Speaker 1>go by there or talk about that place without seeing

0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.240
<v Speaker 1>my dad as a little kid driving a mule drawn

0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:45.880
<v Speaker 1>wagging down the dirt road by himself, going to see

0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:49.560
<v Speaker 1>what the men folks had got on their hunt, then

0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.040
<v Speaker 1>making that sad trip back home with all the game

0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:54.080
<v Speaker 1>because he had to go to school the next day.

0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:58.560
<v Speaker 1>And in my mind, I could see my great grandpa

0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:02.000
<v Speaker 1>standing beside that tarpa for camp and his coat and overalls,

0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:05.920
<v Speaker 1>a fire crackling in the background, watching my dad drive

0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.360
<v Speaker 1>away while checking his pocket watch and figuring the time

0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.920
<v Speaker 1>in his head when that boy ought to be getting home. Now,

0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:15.920
<v Speaker 1>I don't know if that happened, but I know that

0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:17.680
<v Speaker 1>that's what I'd have been doing if i'd have been

0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.560
<v Speaker 1>to him. Heck, if i'd have been him, i'd probably

0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:22.400
<v Speaker 1>let him lay out of school. I used to take

0:15:22.440 --> 0:15:24.560
<v Speaker 1>my son hunter with me for a week every year

0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.920
<v Speaker 1>in Missouri to turkey hunt. He'd do his lessons every

0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:30.440
<v Speaker 1>day in the afternoon once we came in from hunting.

0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.240
<v Speaker 1>Then the school put an end to that, wouldn't excuse

0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:37.960
<v Speaker 1>him anymore for missing school. But I never go there

0:15:38.000 --> 0:15:40.520
<v Speaker 1>that I don't think about something that he said or

0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:43.320
<v Speaker 1>did when we were there together. And I've been going

0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:46.280
<v Speaker 1>every year for over twenty years or better, and hunter

0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:50.320
<v Speaker 1>hadn't been back in ten. But just like that place

0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.560
<v Speaker 1>in the Saline River Bottoms and in Missouri, I'm connected

0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:56.360
<v Speaker 1>to that place and that heritage by the first hand

0:15:56.400 --> 0:16:01.320
<v Speaker 1>experience and the stories of the places I've seen. And

0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:04.160
<v Speaker 1>I say all of that because a heritage of hunting

0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:08.440
<v Speaker 1>is connected to the land and to its people, my ancestors,

0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:11.600
<v Speaker 1>and the Saline River Bottoms, my son, and my friends

0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:16.880
<v Speaker 1>in Missouri, Michael, mister Whitmore, Brad, Randa Wade, and a

0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:20.040
<v Speaker 1>coon hunting who's who of others have hunted that property

0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:22.280
<v Speaker 1>along the White River that we were hunting that night.

0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.280
<v Speaker 1>Michael's nephew r Jay was riding with us the other

0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:29.080
<v Speaker 1>night when we met Brad and Wade at the legendary

0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:32.640
<v Speaker 1>Dick Whitmore camp on the Cash Bio near Augusta, Arkansas.

0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:36.600
<v Speaker 1>The best part of that recent coon hunt was the

0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:42.200
<v Speaker 1>addition to Cooper Wade's six year old son No. Coop

0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.480
<v Speaker 1>had been on a coon hunt recently with his daddy,

0:16:44.560 --> 0:16:47.920
<v Speaker 1>Brad and Randall, but he'd never been on that property

0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:51.400
<v Speaker 1>where his grandfather had hosted so many people for so

0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:54.360
<v Speaker 1>many years and hunted some of the best dogs in

0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:58.960
<v Speaker 1>the country. It's pretty cold that night, and if we

0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:01.280
<v Speaker 1>hadn't already had the hunt set up to take Wade

0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.320
<v Speaker 1>on his visit up from Texas, we may not even win.

0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:08.040
<v Speaker 1>They say the worst day fishing beats the best day working,

0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.280
<v Speaker 1>and I can't argue with that. But the worst night

0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:14.440
<v Speaker 1>hunting in bitter cold will never beat a good night's

0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:19.120
<v Speaker 1>sleep in a warm bed. Luckily for us, this wasn't

0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:23.639
<v Speaker 1>going to be the worst night hunting. I told Michael

0:17:23.680 --> 0:17:26.000
<v Speaker 1>when we popped up on the levee, and it's side

0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.560
<v Speaker 1>beside with RJ in the middle and the dogs in

0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:31.560
<v Speaker 1>the box and Brad, Wade and Coop falling behind us.

0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:34.520
<v Speaker 1>And there's that if we could see one coon tonight

0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:39.119
<v Speaker 1>on the outside of a tree, we'd be successful. Coons

0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.960
<v Speaker 1>down here don't stir around much when the high temps

0:17:42.200 --> 0:17:46.000
<v Speaker 1>dipped below freezing. Our frigid weather doesn't usually last more

0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.680
<v Speaker 1>than a few days, and the coons pretty well lay

0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:51.320
<v Speaker 1>up in the dens and waited out. Now they'll come

0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:53.639
<v Speaker 1>out to eat a little or get a drink, but

0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.880
<v Speaker 1>they don't ramble far from the den trees, So that's

0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.600
<v Speaker 1>where we normally tree when it gets real cold. Is

0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.400
<v Speaker 1>in a den. If you can't see all the way

0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.440
<v Speaker 1>up in the hole, then you can't see the coon.

0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:07.720
<v Speaker 1>And seeing the coon is what we're that's what we're

0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.640
<v Speaker 1>out here for. So, like a lot of my efforts

0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:13.800
<v Speaker 1>over the last fifty seven years, I expected the whole

0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:17.840
<v Speaker 1>hunt to be mostly an exercise in freezing futility with

0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:23.680
<v Speaker 1>occasional bouts of despair. But I also like to have fun,

0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:27.600
<v Speaker 1>and being outside is fun to me. Being with my

0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:31.200
<v Speaker 1>friends is even better. Throw in a pack of coon

0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:34.160
<v Speaker 1>hounds and a kid, and that'll make even the worst

0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:37.520
<v Speaker 1>of times good. I still live by the motto my

0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:39.760
<v Speaker 1>dad told me when I was a kid, if you're

0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.280
<v Speaker 1>doing something that ain't fun, you make it fun. So,

0:18:43.760 --> 0:18:47.040
<v Speaker 1>in spite of everything that was working against us weather wise,

0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.960
<v Speaker 1>I was determined to have a good time, which, if

0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.920
<v Speaker 1>you know me, is what I'm always trying to do.

0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:57.840
<v Speaker 1>We treat a couple den trees and Whaling bade one

0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:00.879
<v Speaker 1>in a hole. Then Whaling and Heck we both treed

0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:02.960
<v Speaker 1>one each on the outside of the trees where we could

0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:06.000
<v Speaker 1>see him, and Hex's coon was in a good spot.

0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:08.600
<v Speaker 1>It was easy to see and to shoot out and

0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:12.000
<v Speaker 1>to bring home, so we waited for Brad, Wade and

0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:16.240
<v Speaker 1>Cooper to get there before we did, and I watched

0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:19.320
<v Speaker 1>as we all shined our lights and Wade showed his

0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:24.480
<v Speaker 1>son Cooper the coon that was fueling Hext's excitement. RJ

0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:26.639
<v Speaker 1>knocked that coon out of the tree with a brand

0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:30.120
<v Speaker 1>new twenty two rifle that Michael had given him for Christmas.

0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:32.240
<v Speaker 1>He made a good shot and we were all proud

0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.439
<v Speaker 1>of him for it. Then we all walked over and

0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:37.919
<v Speaker 1>Wade picked up that coon and he showed it to Cooper.

0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:41.760
<v Speaker 1>It wasn't the first coon that Coop had ever seen,

0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:43.719
<v Speaker 1>but it was the first one he'd seen in that

0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:48.280
<v Speaker 1>place where his grandfather had hunted. And this hunt was

0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:50.760
<v Speaker 1>the first time Wade had been back on that property

0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:54.760
<v Speaker 1>since mister Whidmore passed away a little over six years ago,

0:19:55.720 --> 0:20:02.359
<v Speaker 1>which coincidentally is just how old Cooper is. There's a

0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:06.359
<v Speaker 1>lot there in that story, and heritage is just part

0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:22.480
<v Speaker 1>of it. Thank y'all so much for listening and being

0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:25.800
<v Speaker 1>a part of this country life family. And it is

0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:31.800
<v Speaker 1>a family. Someone called me everyone's favorite uncle the other day.

0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:35.479
<v Speaker 1>I like that and it made me smile. Hold on

0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:38.520
<v Speaker 1>to your memories and the folks and the places they're

0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:42.400
<v Speaker 1>made from. That's the fabric of life's quilt that we're

0:20:42.520 --> 0:20:46.280
<v Speaker 1>constantly sewing. The more folks you let add to it,

0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:52.359
<v Speaker 1>warmer it gets. That's where the heritage lives until next week.

0:20:52.400 --> 0:21:01.440
<v Speaker 1>This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful to

0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:06.320
<v Speaker 1>be done anything enter