WEBVTT - Ep. 223: This Country Life - Happy Father's Day!

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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 tailgate. I

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<v Speaker 1>think I got a thing or two the teacher Father's day.

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<v Speaker 1>Being a father is the best job I've ever had.

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<v Speaker 1>I started out as a cheer and tennis dad, none

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<v Speaker 1>of a football dad, and now I'm in my dance

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<v Speaker 1>dad era pretty simple. I drive, I clap, and I

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<v Speaker 1>pay for things. Also, I tell my kids in my

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<v Speaker 1>grand kids stories, some of which are true, and it

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<v Speaker 1>reminds me of listening to my dad tells stories when

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<v Speaker 1>I was their age. This is a special episode for me,

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<v Speaker 1>and I've got a pretty cool surprise for y'all as

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<v Speaker 1>we get further into the show. First, I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>tell you a story. This story comes from This Country

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<v Speaker 1>Life listener Ethan Powell down in the Great State Louisiana

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<v Speaker 1>and Ethan's words in my voice. Here it is Ethan,

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<v Speaker 1>writes Uncle Brian. If you're still taking hunting stories from

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<v Speaker 1>the public, I have won, along with photographic evidence to

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<v Speaker 1>back up my claim. No it's it's not Bigfoot. But

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<v Speaker 1>may I dare say this tale is equally as terrifying

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<v Speaker 1>as running into a sasquatch. Twenty fourteen, my best friend,

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<v Speaker 1>my best friend since grade school, Clay Ray, the man

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<v Speaker 1>with two first names, and I decided to venture north

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<v Speaker 1>for our first out of state turkey hunt. At the time,

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<v Speaker 1>we were both in our early twenties and finally making

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<v Speaker 1>a decent enough wage to try our hand hunting in

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<v Speaker 1>the other airs besides our stopping grounds in northwest Louisiana.

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<v Speaker 1>I haven't always been intrigued with the mountains. I suggested

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<v Speaker 1>to my compadre that we hunt the Washing Tall Mountains

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<v Speaker 1>in western Arkansas. I just happened to have a very

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<v Speaker 1>distant relatives in that area, and one of those relatives

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<v Speaker 1>was us a shoe box filled to the brim with

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<v Speaker 1>turkey beers. Armed with that knowledge, we made our plans

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<v Speaker 1>and we set out a great adventure. Now pulling up

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<v Speaker 1>in the yard of Joe Cogran, of Kirby, Arkansas. I

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<v Speaker 1>soon found myself swapping turkey tails and soak it up,

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<v Speaker 1>the hot tips being present to my friend and me

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<v Speaker 1>on how to go about killing one of these elusive

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<v Speaker 1>mountain birds. Now, after and evening a fellowship, we decided

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<v Speaker 1>to hit the hay. Laying there all night, I anticipated

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<v Speaker 1>the sound of rolling gobbles across the mountain side. The

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<v Speaker 1>next morning, my dream became a reality as I found

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<v Speaker 1>myself encased in a symphony of rolling thunderous gobbles picking

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<v Speaker 1>out a bird. We struck out in his direction, hoping

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<v Speaker 1>to close the deal. Well, fast forward to four hours later,

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<v Speaker 1>Clay and I found ourselves way back in the mountains,

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<v Speaker 1>no closer to getting to the bird than we had

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<v Speaker 1>been when we started that morning. After stopping on top

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<v Speaker 1>of the mountain ridge to take in the view, I

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<v Speaker 1>thought to myself, God, Lee, we have to be the

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<v Speaker 1>only souls for miles around. We haven't seen or heard

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<v Speaker 1>a person or a truck for hours. Soon enough, though,

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<v Speaker 1>I found out I was wrong. I was bad wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>I came up with the idea that maybe we should

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<v Speaker 1>just make our way back to the truck if we

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't have a turkey. Then a Turkey sandwich would have

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<v Speaker 1>to do. Claire greed, and we turned back down the trail,

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<v Speaker 1>when suddenly a flash to my left caught my attention,

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<v Speaker 1>and instinctively my right hand found the pistol grip of

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<v Speaker 1>my age seventy. As my brain was grappling with the

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<v Speaker 1>fight or flight reflex, I could see the white object

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<v Speaker 1>coming into view from the thick brush. It be a bear,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe it was a haul, or possibly a panther.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm afraid it was far worse. It was a man,

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<v Speaker 1>and not just any man. It was a butt naked

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<v Speaker 1>man running straight toward me. As I realized what was happening,

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<v Speaker 1>the man looked up in pure terror. From his cardio session,

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<v Speaker 1>he found himself staring at two armed men with nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to defend himself with but a small towel that he

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<v Speaker 1>wore around his shoulders. His eyes were big as saucers

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<v Speaker 1>as he hurriedly snatched that towel off his shoulder and

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<v Speaker 1>wrapped it around his waist. Now being a mere twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five yards apart, I found myself trying to understand the situation.

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<v Speaker 1>After a few seconds, the shock war off, I found

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<v Speaker 1>myself mumbling the question, what are you doing? And the

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<v Speaker 1>naked man nervously answered, I'm a newtist. I like to

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<v Speaker 1>jog naked. Looking at him riding my eyes, I said, well, sure,

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<v Speaker 1>seems like a good morning for it. Maybe a little

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<v Speaker 1>on the cool side, though, And with that the man

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<v Speaker 1>decided to breeze past us and move his way up.

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<v Speaker 1>The trip is when I fumbled from my phone and

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<v Speaker 1>I got a quick picture of the nudest and my

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<v Speaker 1>buddy grinted like apostle. The trip ended out a bird,

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<v Speaker 1>and we had a great time and learned a valuable

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<v Speaker 1>lesson and running in the nude always carry it out well.

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<v Speaker 1>Ethan Powell in northwest Louisiana. I'd say we all learned

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<v Speaker 1>something there, the most valuable being if you're if you're

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<v Speaker 1>lost and in the middle of nowhere, just stripped down

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<v Speaker 1>to your birthday soon and start running. Someone bound to

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<v Speaker 1>see you. And according to Ethan Powell, that's just how

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<v Speaker 1>that happened. Now here's a little extra. Ethan sent the

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<v Speaker 1>picture and I'm I'm gonna post it on my social media.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just like he said. A naked man wearing a towel.

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<v Speaker 1>Father's Day, a day set aside to honor our fathers

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<v Speaker 1>and celebrated by Dad getting up and grilling all day

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<v Speaker 1>to feed everyone else living in the house or has

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<v Speaker 1>lived there in the past. The letter will come back

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<v Speaker 1>and bring others with him. Deed, now his reward for

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<v Speaker 1>toiling over the flame is historically new socks, drawers, and

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<v Speaker 1>maybe an afternoon nap. Father's Day came as an afterthought

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<v Speaker 1>behind Mother's Day. Typical Mother's Day usually follows the same

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<v Speaker 1>ritual of Dad getting up and grilling for everyone, including

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<v Speaker 1>the freeloaders who left and came back with more folks

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<v Speaker 1>to feed. The only difference no new socks or drawers,

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<v Speaker 1>But that's okay. We like it that away. We like

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<v Speaker 1>to feed the masses and visit and talk of the

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<v Speaker 1>fathers who passed away, and welcome the new ones into

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<v Speaker 1>our club. Stories are what keep us bound together, just

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<v Speaker 1>as much as our love and respect for all of them.

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<v Speaker 1>The stories, the stories, and memories. I always say that

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<v Speaker 1>our memories are our own little movies that play in

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<v Speaker 1>our head whenever we want them to. Now we can

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<v Speaker 1>see and color the events and the people involved like

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<v Speaker 1>we can almost hear them. I do that a lot.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of this podcast is about my memories. Of

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<v Speaker 1>days spent with my father, who passed away at seventy

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<v Speaker 1>four on September seventh, twenty eleven, almost thirteen years ago.

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<v Speaker 1>Over four thousand and six hundred days that he's been gone,

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<v Speaker 1>there hasn't been one of those days that I hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>thought about him, not one. I had him for forty

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<v Speaker 1>five years, five months, twenty three days. That's sixteen thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>six hundred and sixty two sunrises and sunsets. That seems

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<v Speaker 1>like a lot, but it really isn't. Time is always

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<v Speaker 1>relative to the subject matter. Now, that'd be a long

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<v Speaker 1>time to be in jail, but the blink of an

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<v Speaker 1>eye when losing your hero. I kicked myself repeatedly when

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<v Speaker 1>I think about the opportunity I missed by not setting

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<v Speaker 1>my father down and just letting him talk to my

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<v Speaker 1>camera and tell the stories of his life.

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<v Speaker 2>Now.

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<v Speaker 1>Unlike my older brother Tim, my dad, Lloyd Wilton Buddy

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<v Speaker 1>Reeves never met a camera he didn't like. He liked

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<v Speaker 1>having his picture took, and he had enjoyed being the

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<v Speaker 1>center of attention in the life of the party, regardless

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<v Speaker 1>of where he was now. He was the guy who

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<v Speaker 1>told me that you can have fun wherever you are.

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<v Speaker 1>If it ain't fun, you make it fun. I have

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<v Speaker 1>lived by that motto beyond the point of professionalism more

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<v Speaker 1>times than I care to remember. I was reminded of

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<v Speaker 1>such an occasion not too long ago by my oldest

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<v Speaker 1>daughter Amy. Dad. I'm cutting Dereck Reyntol's hair today, and

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<v Speaker 1>he was telling me about riding with you one time

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<v Speaker 1>when you were a patrol lieutenant at the sheriff's office

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<v Speaker 1>in the Eldorado. Now, for the rest of the planet,

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<v Speaker 1>that's Eldreda, Arkansas, or if you saw it on the map,

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<v Speaker 1>you'd probably refer to it as El Dorado, but you'd

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<v Speaker 1>be wrong. It's El Dorado. She continued her story about

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<v Speaker 1>me letting Derek ride with me that night, and Derek

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<v Speaker 1>was and he is a close family friend, and at

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<v Speaker 1>the time he was a senior in high school or

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<v Speaker 1>somewhere thereabouts. Anyway, she asked me if I remembered what happened,

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<v Speaker 1>and I didn't remember any details. I did remember him

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<v Speaker 1>coming up over, but just about all the details of

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<v Speaker 1>my law enforcement career are really a blur. I tried

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<v Speaker 1>to forget most of it as it happened, and I

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<v Speaker 1>only recall certain events when someone brings up something specific

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<v Speaker 1>or something triggers it. But she said, he was riding

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<v Speaker 1>with you, and you answered a call to somebody's house

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<v Speaker 1>and they were in a dispute with their neighbor about something.

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<v Speaker 1>And the woman went into a long tirade of how

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<v Speaker 1>she'd been wronged by her neighbor and was raising cane

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<v Speaker 1>on her front porch, while you just stood there and listened, quietly,

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<v Speaker 1>paying attention to every detail as she droned on and

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<v Speaker 1>on about the issue that, while insignificant in the grand

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<v Speaker 1>scheme of things, it was obviously very important to her. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>when she finished her speech of how it all went down,

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<v Speaker 1>starting right after creation and ending only moments before you

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<v Speaker 1>y'all arrived, you calmly said, okay, I have one question, ma'am.

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<v Speaker 1>Is your hair purple? Her hair was purple, and it

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<v Speaker 1>kind of caught her off guard, and she smiled. I

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<v Speaker 1>remember it now. I smiled too, and Derek laughed, and

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<v Speaker 1>she could see I wasn't making fun of her, and

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<v Speaker 1>I wasn't of just trying to lighten her mood. And

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<v Speaker 1>then I went about helping her find a resolution to

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<v Speaker 1>her issue, the domestic one, not her choice of hair. Color.

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<v Speaker 1>But that was a direct lesson from my dad in

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<v Speaker 1>bringing fun into a fun free zone. It works. Laughter

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<v Speaker 1>can be good medicine. It's not always the best medicine.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't care what readers died, just says broke Leg.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to the er, not the comedy club, but

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<v Speaker 1>the things I lament for the sound of my father's voice,

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<v Speaker 1>the stories as he told them over and over and

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<v Speaker 1>me laughing anticipating the punchline that I knew was coming.

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<v Speaker 1>Those are the things I wish I could I could

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<v Speaker 1>hear outside the confines of my imagination. And thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>my cousin Valerie fry Stone, I can. Valerie wrote a

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<v Speaker 1>book titled Preserving Family Recipes, How to save and celebrate

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<v Speaker 1>your food traditions. During her research in two thousand and seven,

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<v Speaker 1>she traveled from out of state back home to Southeast

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<v Speaker 1>Arkansas and interviewed several members of our family, including my dad.

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<v Speaker 1>They talked about recipes mostly, but my dad, being my dad,

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<v Speaker 1>when he had the floor, he seized the opportunity to

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<v Speaker 1>cover several topics about rural life and his childhood. The

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<v Speaker 1>best part is Vallee recorded all the audio and she

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<v Speaker 1>sent me the recordings on a CD not long after

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<v Speaker 1>my father passed away in twenty eleven, and I stuck

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<v Speaker 1>that package and unlabeled CD in a drawer and I

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<v Speaker 1>forgot about it. Recently, I was looking for some archived

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<v Speaker 1>Hurricane Katrina pictures to post on social media in support

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<v Speaker 1>of episode two fifteen Messing with Critters, and I found

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<v Speaker 1>the disc, thinking that it was one of the disc

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<v Speaker 1>full of photos. I had to go buy a disc

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<v Speaker 1>reader to see what was on there. Computers don't come

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<v Speaker 1>standard with them anymore, apparently, but I hooked it up,

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<v Speaker 1>I installed the software, I pushed play in instead of photos.

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<v Speaker 1>I heard my dad talking to me for the first

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<v Speaker 1>time in nearly thirteen years, So what better way to

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<v Speaker 1>share his stories than to let him tell them. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of stories involving my dad and someone's hat

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<v Speaker 1>getting shot while squirrel hunting in the river bottoms. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>both stories had the hats being shot on purpose, and

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<v Speaker 1>neither of the folks who got their hat shot were

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<v Speaker 1>wearing them at the time. Now, one of them happened

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<v Speaker 1>to be after my dad was an adult, and the

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<v Speaker 1>one you're about to hear now him tell was when

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<v Speaker 1>he was a teenager. The other team in the story

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<v Speaker 1>is Wayne Fry. Now Wayne was Valerie's father and one

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<v Speaker 1>of my dad's favorite cousins. They were squirrel hunting with shotguns.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll give a little context here and there, but from

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<v Speaker 1>now on the fame the squirrel dog training, cayu, chasing,

0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:40.040
<v Speaker 1>brim catching buckskin, horse loving, hog gutting pistolero. The storyteller

0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:46.080
<v Speaker 1>of all storytellers. Here he is my dad, Buddy Reeves,

0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:50.480
<v Speaker 1>me and him.

0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:54.200
<v Speaker 2>And Uncle EVI and Uncle Ball had been done, bought

0:15:54.280 --> 0:16:00.600
<v Speaker 2>him squirrel off and been over behind the lake. We

0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.560
<v Speaker 2>had a good sport, all go, Bob, but that you

0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:06.160
<v Speaker 2>would get after deer and you run him for about

0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:11.200
<v Speaker 2>fifteen minutes enough to get we off somewhere, and I

0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:15.360
<v Speaker 2>guess he would tod he died, But uh, we done

0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.160
<v Speaker 2>got down to the lake, and we crossed the lake

0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:21.000
<v Speaker 2>on the drift more logs and stuff out there, and

0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:25.640
<v Speaker 2>we done got across him. Oh, Bob had run a

0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:28.000
<v Speaker 2>deer off, but he had stopped and treated the squirrel.

0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:32.880
<v Speaker 2>We back up that lake, across the lake. I didn't

0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.720
<v Speaker 2>want to go back up that uncle an. Uncle Bob

0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:38.520
<v Speaker 2>went to get h So we were gonna play that

0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:44.560
<v Speaker 2>way on and I told, and Wayne had just bought

0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:50.480
<v Speaker 2>him one and he good back hats. And I told Wayne,

0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:53.960
<v Speaker 2>I said, off my hat up, and then you shoot

0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:55.800
<v Speaker 2>it if you throw years of him and he SHO

0:16:55.920 --> 0:16:59.440
<v Speaker 2>did it? He said, okay, so I throw the man up.

0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:01.520
<v Speaker 2>He shot it.

0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:05.280
<v Speaker 3>He never touched her fut when he threw it up.

0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:09.720
<v Speaker 3>I wish now I hadn't he mischief, But I didn't.

0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:13.240
<v Speaker 3>I mean not to all the pieces.

0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:16.760
<v Speaker 2>And I'm playing like a bob. I heard them shots.

0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:22.720
<v Speaker 2>Oh I got back down there, Bob. Should y'all shooting that?

0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:26.080
<v Speaker 2>And what happened in your hat?

0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:34.600
<v Speaker 1>If I could only see a picture of Wayne wearing

0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.200
<v Speaker 1>that hat that was shot, all the pieces of my

0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:42.000
<v Speaker 1>dad on that on that squirrel hunting drill, I swear

0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:47.639
<v Speaker 1>that would be the best thing ever. But in the

0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:50.440
<v Speaker 1>last tw week's episode, I talked about hogs and how

0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:53.280
<v Speaker 1>my family and others in the area had hogs running

0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:55.960
<v Speaker 1>loose at the river bottoms. My father talks about that

0:17:56.280 --> 0:17:59.919
<v Speaker 1>and what my great grandfather did to survive and provide

0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:03.840
<v Speaker 1>for his family. Now his dad, my grandfather, had been

0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:07.440
<v Speaker 1>killed during World War Two in an industrial accident in

0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:12.240
<v Speaker 1>a shipyard out in California. My father lived with several

0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:15.720
<v Speaker 1>family members growing up, and mostly he stayed with my

0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:20.200
<v Speaker 1>great grandfather, whom everyone called Grandpa. He talks about going

0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:22.560
<v Speaker 1>to my great uncle Henry's home place that was down

0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.600
<v Speaker 1>in the Saline River bottoms where our hall claim was.

0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:30.280
<v Speaker 1>Years later with my uncle Jimmy Ray, now my dad's

0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:33.360
<v Speaker 1>younger brother, who's listened to this from ground zero right

0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.760
<v Speaker 1>now at our family's home place in Cleveland County, Arkansas.

0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:42.000
<v Speaker 1>And I'll bet you anything, he's wearing overalls and a

0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:47.960
<v Speaker 1>white T shirt. Hey, uncle jim Ray. Anyway, here's the

0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:52.080
<v Speaker 1>sweet voice of my cousin Valerie asking my dad about

0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:56.080
<v Speaker 1>farming and a glimpse into how my family lived.

0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:02.520
<v Speaker 4>He farmed most of the time, right, so he was

0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:05.720
<v Speaker 4>there most of the time. How many acres did they have,

0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:12.520
<v Speaker 4>you know, mm hmm, cotton or just mostly like subsistence farming.

0:19:13.280 --> 0:19:16.240
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, he didn't, right, I don't ever remember. And raised

0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:18.320
<v Speaker 2>in cotton they had. He had a hole in the

0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.800
<v Speaker 2>wood off Henry tram On. I draw my own brother

0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:27.040
<v Speaker 2>on the place down there in the bottle. He lived

0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:30.240
<v Speaker 2>down there and he kept he raised holes.

0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:30.800
<v Speaker 4>In the woods, you know.

0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:37.000
<v Speaker 2>Camp I right, a good big corn patching la little garden.

0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:47.000
<v Speaker 2>You cow of the morning, I don't never remember. There's

0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:52.560
<v Speaker 2>no cotton and the county uh log you know, with

0:19:52.640 --> 0:19:55.879
<v Speaker 2>the team like in the summer times. His little money

0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:56.800
<v Speaker 2>out of history.

0:19:58.200 --> 0:19:58.520
<v Speaker 1>Lived on.

0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:03.680
<v Speaker 2>And when he when on any dive, I'm all of

0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:07.880
<v Speaker 2>them got older being here, everything down on, walking old,

0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:15.600
<v Speaker 2>all of I'm all others then on that I guess

0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:18.280
<v Speaker 2>I'm even had an eighty eight boy dig came.

0:20:19.320 --> 0:20:21.760
<v Speaker 4>He was right down there in the river bottom, ye see,

0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:23.399
<v Speaker 4>the one that had a spring down there. And he

0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:25.080
<v Speaker 4>always kept a dipper down.

0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:28.040
<v Speaker 2>There, a well down there he kept a gold dipper.

0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:33.720
<v Speaker 2>And and then I just whim, I just walking five

0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:34.680
<v Speaker 2>foot of that well.

0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:38.919
<v Speaker 3>Get in there, now, you can get in there.

0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.480
<v Speaker 2>I remember out in here front yard he had a

0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:54.240
<v Speaker 2>three big old postal troop. Uh he had a some

0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:56.520
<v Speaker 2>kind of thing grow in. There was a ring on

0:20:56.640 --> 0:21:00.720
<v Speaker 2>the way to tie your horse, and that tree fell

0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:07.360
<v Speaker 2>me generally was down and that years later, I told

0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:10.239
<v Speaker 2>you myself, I'm gonna come down and he can get

0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:13.480
<v Speaker 2>that so and so that out of there. But I

0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:17.960
<v Speaker 2>never kid I like that.

0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:24.159
<v Speaker 1>Man. I wish he'd had gotten that ring out of

0:21:24.240 --> 0:21:27.520
<v Speaker 1>that tree too. But more than anything, I'd like to

0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:29.800
<v Speaker 1>have a drink out of that spring, fed well with

0:21:29.920 --> 0:21:34.320
<v Speaker 1>that gored dipper on a hot summer day. My dad

0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:36.840
<v Speaker 1>and I would get watermelons in the summertime when we'd

0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:38.520
<v Speaker 1>go to the river fishing and lay them in the

0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:41.680
<v Speaker 1>spring that was walled out big enough for two good

0:21:41.800 --> 0:21:45.840
<v Speaker 1>sized melons layd. We fished just about all day, but

0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:48.040
<v Speaker 1>before we went back up the river to the camp,

0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:50.440
<v Speaker 1>we'd pull up on the bank and go cut those

0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.160
<v Speaker 1>watermelons and eat both of them right there. They were

0:21:54.480 --> 0:21:57.120
<v Speaker 1>so cold coming out of that spring water that they'd

0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:00.440
<v Speaker 1>hurt your teeth when you bit into them. We leave

0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:02.359
<v Speaker 1>the rinds laying on the edge of the river for

0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:05.040
<v Speaker 1>the coons now on after dark when they started making

0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:08.400
<v Speaker 1>their rounds. But then we'd waddle down to the boat

0:22:08.480 --> 0:22:11.119
<v Speaker 1>with our bellies poking out tight as fiddle strings from

0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.640
<v Speaker 1>eating all that cold watermelon. Man, I can taste it now.

0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:21.120
<v Speaker 1>This last story is a favorite of mine, And any

0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:24.359
<v Speaker 1>time I get to feeling sad about only having my

0:22:24.520 --> 0:22:28.200
<v Speaker 1>dad for forty five years, I think about him only

0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:33.320
<v Speaker 1>having his a little over six. Here's my daddy talking

0:22:33.359 --> 0:22:39.120
<v Speaker 1>about his daddy. Do you remember him?

0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:48.160
<v Speaker 2>It is ombo he wear overall we show back down,

0:22:48.440 --> 0:22:49.560
<v Speaker 2>he'll going to the house.

0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:51.400
<v Speaker 1>I'd be standing up.

0:22:51.560 --> 0:22:54.399
<v Speaker 2>Time on foot each one of his back pockets and

0:22:54.520 --> 0:22:59.399
<v Speaker 2>holding on to his gallases. He'd be saying, you can

0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:04.440
<v Speaker 2>hear him, old god boy, he sing, and I that

0:23:04.600 --> 0:23:09.960
<v Speaker 2>where you get out on the road. A flying squirrel

0:23:10.520 --> 0:23:12.359
<v Speaker 2>say a lot of something to fall away over the

0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:18.480
<v Speaker 2>way up a little dead Yeah, pine tree snag went

0:23:18.600 --> 0:23:22.119
<v Speaker 2>in that hole and they said you want to squirrel?

0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:27.359
<v Speaker 2>I said, yeah, he's sitting me down out there. Ut

0:23:27.720 --> 0:23:30.359
<v Speaker 2>push a little snag or coup to girl.

0:23:30.480 --> 0:23:31.280
<v Speaker 4>Flying squirrel.

0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:33.120
<v Speaker 2>Now I have he call him that mort.

0:23:36.240 --> 0:23:36.480
<v Speaker 1>Did you?

0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:38.720
<v Speaker 4>Did you take him home? Take the squirrel home?

0:23:44.600 --> 0:23:47.080
<v Speaker 1>Now that's a story that I can see from his

0:23:47.280 --> 0:23:49.679
<v Speaker 1>point of view. I can see it and I can

0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:53.200
<v Speaker 1>feel it because he used to carry me the same

0:23:53.320 --> 0:23:58.280
<v Speaker 1>way on that same road, right where this happened. My

0:23:58.440 --> 0:24:01.560
<v Speaker 1>connection to those people in that place has many facets,

0:24:01.600 --> 0:24:06.280
<v Speaker 1>and that's why they're both so special to me. My

0:24:06.400 --> 0:24:08.760
<v Speaker 1>family worked hard to scratch out and living in that

0:24:08.960 --> 0:24:13.359
<v Speaker 1>far away corner of rural America. Most times they didn't

0:24:13.440 --> 0:24:17.080
<v Speaker 1>have extra, but they always seem to have enough. And

0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:21.399
<v Speaker 1>enough is in abundance when there are those with less.

0:24:22.760 --> 0:24:26.200
<v Speaker 1>My dad never met a stranger. He loved life, and

0:24:26.320 --> 0:24:30.200
<v Speaker 1>he loved having fun. He made folks laugh, and that

0:24:30.400 --> 0:24:33.440
<v Speaker 1>is funeral. A man walked up to me and said, son,

0:24:34.160 --> 0:24:37.120
<v Speaker 1>you don't know me, and you probably don't know half

0:24:37.200 --> 0:24:39.919
<v Speaker 1>of the four hundred people that are at this service.

0:24:40.840 --> 0:24:44.680
<v Speaker 1>But I promise you two things. Number one is that

0:24:44.800 --> 0:24:48.920
<v Speaker 1>as long as folks hunt with dogs, your daddy will

0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:54.399
<v Speaker 1>never die. They'll talk about him until judgment day. And

0:24:54.600 --> 0:24:59.359
<v Speaker 1>number two, you see all these people here. I looked

0:24:59.359 --> 0:25:02.920
<v Speaker 1>around and I said, yes, sir. He smiled and said,

0:25:03.080 --> 0:25:06.919
<v Speaker 1>every one of them thinks to they were his best friend,

0:25:07.440 --> 0:25:14.360
<v Speaker 1>because that's how he treated all of them. He took

0:25:14.440 --> 0:25:17.720
<v Speaker 1>hold of my shoulders and he looked me dead in

0:25:17.800 --> 0:25:30.879
<v Speaker 1>the eyes and he said, you be that way. Happy

0:25:31.000 --> 0:25:34.280
<v Speaker 1>Father's Day to all the dads out there, and cherish

0:25:34.320 --> 0:25:37.200
<v Speaker 1>your time with them. We only get them for so long.

0:25:38.680 --> 0:25:41.840
<v Speaker 1>I appreciate all of you so much for listening, and

0:25:42.000 --> 0:25:45.800
<v Speaker 1>hope you've enjoyed hearing my dad tell his stories as

0:25:45.920 --> 0:25:48.680
<v Speaker 1>much as I have. I've got a few more that

0:25:49.080 --> 0:25:50.960
<v Speaker 1>we may share in the future if it fits what

0:25:51.080 --> 0:25:55.080
<v Speaker 1>we're doing. That's all from now and until next week.

0:25:55.200 --> 0:25:59.080
<v Speaker 1>This is Brent Reeves signing off, y'all be careful.

0:26:00.640 --> 0:26:05.000
<v Speaker 2>I don