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

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Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

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Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share

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Speaker 1: my stories and the country skills that will help you

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Speaker 1: beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as

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Speaker 1: part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best

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Speaker 1: outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends,

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Speaker 1: pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I

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Speaker 1: think I got a thing or two. The teacher the

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Speaker 1: gift of time. Time is a precious gift and one

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Speaker 1: that shouldn't be taken or given lightly. I've only got

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Speaker 1: so much of it. Time is a blessing and a thief,

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Speaker 1: and I'm going to talk about that today. I've got

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Speaker 1: a special announcement coming up at the end of this episode,

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Speaker 1: so be sure to hang around at the ends. First,

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Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you a story. Nine years, eleven months,

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Speaker 1: and five days ago, my brother Tim and I were

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Speaker 1: in Kansas turkey hunting at my friend Clayton Dick's place

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Speaker 1: up in northeast Kansas. Now, Clayton is a code hunter

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Speaker 1: and hunting with my dad here in Arkansas, along with

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Speaker 1: a lot of other folks, and Clayton had invited me

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Speaker 1: to come up and hunt on his land and said

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Speaker 1: it was covered up in turkeys. It was a heck

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Speaker 1: of a drive up there, and I didn't want to

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Speaker 1: drive it by myself. It took several attempts, but finally,

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Speaker 1: after buying his license and tagged, my brother Tim agreed

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Speaker 1: to go with me. Now, if you're a new listener

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Speaker 1: to this country life, Tim was my older brother. If

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Speaker 1: you're a regular listener to this country life, you should

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Speaker 1: know that among all the wonderful qualities my partner in buffoonery,

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Speaker 1: mentor and hero possesses, being away from home one of them.

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Speaker 1: He's a lot like our dad was. He likes to

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Speaker 1: go and do stuff, but at bedtime he prefers to

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Speaker 1: be at home, and bedtime for him is usually not

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Speaker 1: long after dark. He likes things the same way all

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Speaker 1: the time. No deviation is his policy. He goes to

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Speaker 1: bed early, He reads for a while before cutting out

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Speaker 1: the light and going to sleep, regardless of the outside

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Speaker 1: temperature or time of the year. He keeps a window.

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Speaker 1: He keeps a window cracked, a fan blowing, and both

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Speaker 1: of his feet sticking out the bottom of the covers.

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Speaker 1: For the rest of his sleeping habits. You can refer

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Speaker 1: back to episode one, nineteen of Duck Camp Etiquette of

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Speaker 1: This Country Life anyway. Fact, Tim doesn't like to travel.

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Speaker 1: He wants to be somewhere and do whatever he does there,

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Speaker 1: but then he wants to be home. Nothing wrong with that,

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Speaker 1: but for a cameraman trying to make his mark in

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Speaker 1: the outdoor business, I needed someone to film, and I

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Speaker 1: didn't want just anybody. I wanted Tim, so I bribed

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Speaker 1: him with his turkey tags and the romance of traveling

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Speaker 1: out of state to hunt a turkey. We were going

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Speaker 1: on safari all the way to Kansas. After almost twelve

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Speaker 1: hours of driving, of which Tim did zero, we finally

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Speaker 1: pulled into Clayton's house. He got us lined out for

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Speaker 1: the next morning's hunting. By daylight. The next morning we

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Speaker 1: were listening to turkeys blowing the bark off of trees

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Speaker 1: and watching them straight away in the distance with a

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Speaker 1: harem of hens. Set up. After setup had us on turkeys,

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Speaker 1: and we weren't lacking for finding them. They were everywhere.

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Speaker 1: Clayton was right, his property was covered up in them.

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Speaker 1: And those gobblers, man, they were covered up with hens.

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Speaker 1: No big deal. With that much action going on, it

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Speaker 1: was only a matter of time before we accidentally sat

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Speaker 1: down in front of a bunch of turkeys that were

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Speaker 1: walking in our direction rather than away from it. We

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Speaker 1: were driving around glass and fields and prairie for groups

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Speaker 1: of turkeys and spotted a group of a dozen or

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Speaker 1: more a mile or more away that had several strutting

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Speaker 1: turkeys in it. We studied them the terrain that they

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Speaker 1: were moving across in the direction they were traveling with

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Speaker 1: my camera and a little known mapping app that had

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Speaker 1: just come out the year before called onex. That would

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Speaker 1: be the first time I would use it to get

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Speaker 1: in front of a turkey. We had to plan. Loaded

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Speaker 1: up in the truck and started easing that way down

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Speaker 1: Tumbleweed Road in the middle of Clawhammer, Kansas. I was

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Speaker 1: driving in the middle of this gravel road, taking my

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Speaker 1: time and looking at the map for the place we'd

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Speaker 1: planned to park to get after those turkeys, and we

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Speaker 1: met a couple of cars and moved over, and we

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Speaker 1: were getting close to where we were going to make

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Speaker 1: our play when Tim said there's a car coming up

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Speaker 1: behind us. I lasked in my rearview mirror and I

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Speaker 1: saw the weirdest contraption I'd ever seen. It was a

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Speaker 1: little car with a periscope looking deal mounted to the roof,

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Speaker 1: and as it got closer I saw it it was

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Speaker 1: a Google Maps car coming up behind us. I moved

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Speaker 1: over and Tim and I did our dead level best

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Speaker 1: to show the world through Google Maps that we're a

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Speaker 1: couple of clowns. We were waving our arms out the

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Speaker 1: windows like we were karate fighting swarm of yellow jackets.

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Speaker 1: The little car shot on past us. I told Tim

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Speaker 1: too bad that joker didn't come by thirty minutes from now,

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Speaker 1: and he asked me why. I said, because it could

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Speaker 1: take a picture of the turkey you were about to kill.

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Speaker 1: We laughed. Twenty eight minutes later, Tim pulled the trigger

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Speaker 1: on the first and only turkey he's ever taken out

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Speaker 1: of the state of Arkansas. Plus, we just had our

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Speaker 1: picture taken by the Google car and that's just how

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Speaker 1: that happened. But wait, there's more. You didn't think that's

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Speaker 1: how this story would end, did you, with some anti

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Speaker 1: climactic ending. Come on, man, y'all know me better than that.

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Speaker 1: I've given you every clue you need to win a

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Speaker 1: brand new case pocket knife that I will send to

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Speaker 1: you from my personal collection for the first person to

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Speaker 1: find mine and Tim's picture on the hunt I just

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Speaker 1: told you about, and send it to the email address

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Speaker 1: I'm going to give you at the end of this episode.

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Speaker 1: Don't send it to me, send it to the one

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Speaker 1: that I give you at the end of the show.

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Speaker 1: Screenshot it and send it in with your information. First

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Speaker 1: person that does it wins the knife. Trust me, it's there.

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Speaker 1: I just looked at it. The gift of time. Inviting

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Speaker 1: someone on an adventure can mean a lot of things

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Speaker 1: and encompass a whole lot of different opportunities. It can

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Speaker 1: be as little as offering a seat to tag along,

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Speaker 1: paying for a hunt or a fishing trip to go

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Speaker 1: with a guide, or maybe working on a strategy yourself

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Speaker 1: to set someone up for success running trail cameras or

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Speaker 1: baiting a bear, scouting online on foot, getting permission, planting

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Speaker 1: food plots, brushing blinds, hanging stands, whatever the case may

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Speaker 1: be that has you doing all the legwork, only to

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Speaker 1: hand it over to someone else to reap all the

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Speaker 1: benefits of your labor. Giving anyone anything shouldn't be done lightly,

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Speaker 1: and in return, the person receiving it shouldn't take it

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Speaker 1: for granted either. I know there's not a lot of

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Speaker 1: thought that goes into saying, hey, want to go fishing,

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Speaker 1: if fishing for you is walking out behind the barn

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Speaker 1: to the pond, and I'm not trying to make more

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Speaker 1: out of something that isn't there. I know my way

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Speaker 1: of thinking probably is at mainstream, and I may put

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Speaker 1: too much emphasis on the invitation, But consider this, vast

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Speaker 1: majority of the memories that I've related on this show

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Speaker 1: have culminated from an impromptu opportunity to share the wilderness

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Speaker 1: with someone. That got me to thinking about the importance

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Speaker 1: and the value of giving someone an outdoor experience and

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Speaker 1: how it's received. Now, these thoughts wouldn't have entered my

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Speaker 1: mind a few years ago, and I catch myself now

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Speaker 1: thinking back to times when I should have asked someone

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Speaker 1: to go with me. I always talk about the joy

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Speaker 1: of shared experiences being multiplied, and I firmly believe that's true.

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Speaker 1: But in the early stages of my outdoor life, the

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Speaker 1: outcome of that trip was what I based my success around.

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Speaker 1: I actually had to wait until it was over to

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Speaker 1: know whether I'd enjoyed myself. My value was placed on

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Speaker 1: the contents of my game bag or the fishing crib.

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Speaker 1: I think back now on times when I was a

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Speaker 1: kid and even a young adult hunt with my dad,

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Speaker 1: family and friends, and nine times out of ten, the

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Speaker 1: harvest is a little foggy, but the interaction with them

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Speaker 1: or what is crystal clear. A couple of weeks ago,

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Speaker 1: I was in Mississippi turkey hunting with my friend Jordan Blissed.

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Speaker 1: Jordan and I had been burning gas and boot leather

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Speaker 1: looking for turkeys that had a chronic case of the lockjaw.

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Speaker 1: We couldn't find a golden turkey with a search warrant.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes it be that way, but it certainly wasn't for

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Speaker 1: a lack of trying. And we found a little comfort

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Speaker 1: in that no one else was here in turkeys either

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Speaker 1: where we were. Misery loves company, and there were seven

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Speaker 1: of us in camp. We were all suffering together. And

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Speaker 1: then Keith Pope called Jordan and said, I heard three

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Speaker 1: this morning. You and Brent, come on, man. He didn't

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Speaker 1: have to tell us twice. After two and a half

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Speaker 1: days of listening, walking, calling, driving, and peating it over

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Speaker 1: and over again, Keith had thrown us a rope before

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Speaker 1: we drowned. In a sea of despair and disappointment. We

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Speaker 1: met Keith at the appointed rally point after some highly

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Speaker 1: original navigation by Jordan. We were six minutes late. That

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Speaker 1: has nothing to do with the story. Just thought i'd

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Speaker 1: throw that in there for Jordane's benefit. Anyway, I jumped

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Speaker 1: in the truck with Keith and away we went, Jordan

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Speaker 1: falling close behind. Soon we were all standing together. After

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Speaker 1: slipping behind Keith to a point of an old ridge

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Speaker 1: facing north and waiting for gobling time, they commenced to hooton,

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Speaker 1: and soon enough we heard a turkey. I dang there,

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Speaker 1: gobbled myself listening to their high pitched squill and low

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Speaker 1: end oul hoots. I can make a turkey gobble with

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Speaker 1: my rendition of a barred out, but that high note

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Speaker 1: they and others I know ughs, absolutely eludes my vocal range.

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Speaker 1: Those boys are flirting with falsettos that would make the

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Speaker 1: bee gi'es jealous. Anyway, the goblin was music to our

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Speaker 1: ears in a way we went. We sat up in

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Speaker 1: our first location and had a gobbler answer. Several times.

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Speaker 1: We heard a hen up and back at us, and

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Speaker 1: we knew we were probably in for a long hunt,

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Speaker 1: which was not what we counted on. Jordan and Keith

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Speaker 1: both had businesses to attend to later in the morning,

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Speaker 1: so if it was going to happen, it needed to

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Speaker 1: happen quick. A gobbler with hens hunt isn't usually very

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Speaker 1: fast or successful, but it was the only game in

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Speaker 1: town and we were in it. Then we realized we

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Speaker 1: were here in a second turkey moving in from the west,

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Speaker 1: and the gobbler we'd initially sat down on wasn't getting

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Speaker 1: any closer, and we could hear drumming. And while that

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Speaker 1: sound is suddenly subdued, you can hear it a long

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Speaker 1: way if you know what you're listening for and the

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Speaker 1: conditions are right. Keith knows that property inside and out,

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Speaker 1: and he showed me his own ax map of how

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Speaker 1: the property laid out. And it may sense that while

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Speaker 1: we could hear that turkey drumming, it was obvious he

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Speaker 1: was in a small opening at the edge of the property,

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Speaker 1: just strutting back and forth and gathering up hens for

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Speaker 1: the daily spring singles. Make sure he was hosting for

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Speaker 1: the hens we could hear, and the additional gobbler that

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Speaker 1: was easing away. It seemed like the place to be

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Speaker 1: So we got up and we moved closer. Keith took

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Speaker 1: us on a round about course that got us within

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Speaker 1: one hundred and twenty five yards of the dance party.

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Speaker 1: Now we may have been a football field away from

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Speaker 1: the band, but we were on the dance floor for sure.

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Speaker 1: In addition to that, there was a small wood road

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Speaker 1: that wound from where we stood to where that gobbler

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Speaker 1: was dropping them sick Beach. From behind the DJ booth,

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Speaker 1: Jordan and I grabbed a tree on the east side

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Speaker 1: of that little road, in the edge of a pine thicket.

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Speaker 1: Keith picked one a few yards south of us. To

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Speaker 1: our immediate west and north was hardwoods. And the extra

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Speaker 1: turkey that was gobbling his way closer to the ship

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Speaker 1: dig been hosted in front of us. We called him. Bowl.

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Speaker 1: Turkeys answered, first turkey still in his spot, and the

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Speaker 1: other turkey getting a little closer to him. We weren't

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Speaker 1: battling turkeys. Now, I felt good about what lay before.

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Speaker 1: These turkeys had had very little hunting pressure on them.

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Speaker 1: They weren't call shy, they didn't get any outside influence

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Speaker 1: in this place that Keith had developed into a little

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Speaker 1: turkey sanctuary. I felt good, great even about my chances

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Speaker 1: of killing the turkey. The turkeys weren't the issue. Time

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Speaker 1: was normally faced with a scenario like this, time is

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Speaker 1: on my side. I just sit and wait for the

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Speaker 1: hens to slip off, and the turkey I first started

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Speaker 1: messing with comes in like he owns the place, strutting

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Speaker 1: and gobbling. When he gets close enough, I send a

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Speaker 1: dip of lead shot for him to put between his

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Speaker 1: cheek and gum or old sneaky pete that was occasionally

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Speaker 1: goblet from the west. He'll shut his pie hole and

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Speaker 1: slips in in stealth mode, looking to a lope with

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Speaker 1: the calls he's been hearing. That sounds like a hen turkey,

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Speaker 1: It looks a whole lot like me with a shotgun.

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Speaker 1: Now this day, time was not on my side. I

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Speaker 1: was hunt with a couple of fellows that look at

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Speaker 1: life responsibly and take their work seriously and not gonna

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Speaker 1: miss appointments. How I got hooked up with them, I

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Speaker 1: have no idea, but the sand in the eyeglass was

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Speaker 1: running out, and when it did, regardless of what was

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Speaker 1: taking place in the hunt, they both had to go.

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Speaker 1: And I understood, After all, I was the guest. The

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Speaker 1: goblin had gone silent for a couple of minutes while

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Speaker 1: we waited to see what would happen next. Now, in

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Speaker 1: my mind I had already played it out about a

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Speaker 1: hundred times. The pine ticket to the east wasn't too

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Speaker 1: thick for that turkey to approach from, but he would

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Speaker 1: have had to work a lot harder to get there

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Speaker 1: if he chose to come that way. When he got

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Speaker 1: close enough to realize that but he'd been tricked. He

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Speaker 1: had been close enough for me to reach out and

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Speaker 1: grab him and take him hostage. If he came down

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Speaker 1: the road from the north or through the oaks from

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Speaker 1: the west, he was doomed. A kevlar vest, combat helmet

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Speaker 1: and whaling's vet Dr. Bradshaw couldn't have saved him. I

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Speaker 1: was excited and and nervous with anticipation about what I

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Speaker 1: felt was about to happen. I glanced at my watch.

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Speaker 1: We were looking at about twenty more minutes before we

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Speaker 1: had to scadaddle. Keith called from behind me, and that

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Speaker 1: turkey that hadn't gobbled him close to three minutes cut

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Speaker 1: him off with a gobble. Here we go, I thought.

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Speaker 1: Twenty sixons later, boom, someone across the property line put

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Speaker 1: an end to the whole party, and a hush fell

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Speaker 1: over the crowd. I knew what had happened immediately, but

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Speaker 1: it was the one thing I hadn't counted on happening.

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Speaker 1: It took me a few seconds to do all the

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Speaker 1: math in my head, remembering how close we were to

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Speaker 1: the property line in the corner from the map that

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Speaker 1: Keith had showed me, and estimating where the shot had

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Speaker 1: come from. It seemed that that guy was about the

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Speaker 1: same distance from the turkey that we were. He just

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Speaker 1: happened to be where that rascal wanted to go. The

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Speaker 1: fact that Jordan and Keith were jumping up and charging

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Speaker 1: in the direction of where that turkey just got smashed

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Speaker 1: validated my assumption that nobody was trespassing. That turkey died

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Speaker 1: across the property line. I started laughing. I turned and

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Speaker 1: looked at Jordan's He was laughing too. Keith eased up

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Speaker 1: to where we were sitting, and he was laughing. What else?

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Speaker 1: What else could we have done? What would getting upset accomplished? Now?

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Speaker 1: I'll admit, in my younger days, I probably wouldn't have

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Speaker 1: taken that roller coaster swing of emotion and such good stried.

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Speaker 1: But those younger days have gone, and there's there's validity

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Speaker 1: to the tired old adage of hunting it and about killing.

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Speaker 1: I've said it, I've read it, and it's the easy

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Speaker 1: phrase to utter when you're unsuccessful or trying to explain

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Speaker 1: to a non hunter or even an anti hunter, why

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Speaker 1: we do what we do. I didn't get up ours

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Speaker 1: before dawn to go out there that morning, toting a

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Speaker 1: seven pound shot gun, enough calls to stock a small

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Speaker 1: sporting goods store, and risking the West Nile virus, malari

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Speaker 1: and heartworms to listen to someone not in my hunting

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Speaker 1: party shoot the turkey that I'd been frying in my

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Speaker 1: head for the past fifteen minutes. So why was I laughing?

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Speaker 1: It's because the gift had already been given to me

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Speaker 1: that morning. I've said it before, and I never tire

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Speaker 1: of saying it. If it's not incoming gunfire, it ain't

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Speaker 1: that big a deal. Along with my dad's mantra of

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Speaker 1: saying if you ain't having fun, it's your own fault.

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Speaker 1: Now you stir that up and you got yourself a

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Speaker 1: recipe for laughing when your turkey dies at the hands

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Speaker 1: of some nameless individual. Cross the fence line. Keith whipped

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Speaker 1: out his phone and sent a text to his friend

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Speaker 1: who hunted property next door. A minute later, and Keith

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Speaker 1: gets a picture of a rubber boot on the neck

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Speaker 1: of my Mississippi longbeard or was it. I thank Keith

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Speaker 1: for the inviting Jordan for hosting me while I was there,

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Speaker 1: and they tried to apologize for how that hunt unfolded.

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Speaker 1: Now they already knew because they were turkey hunters just

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Speaker 1: like me. But I told them it didn't matter, because

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Speaker 1: it really didn't matter. I've killed way over one hundred

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Speaker 1: turkeys in my life and watched at least the same

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Speaker 1: number get thumped by folks I was calling for filming,

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Speaker 1: and that one getting hauled out by someone else wasn't

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Speaker 1: going to hurt me one bit either way. I told

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Speaker 1: Keith that I appreciated him and Jordan for inviting me

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Speaker 1: there and giving me the opportunity to experience the beauty

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Speaker 1: and the drama that is spring turkey hunting. That's the gift.

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Speaker 1: That's the gift that wouldn't be taken lightly or received

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Speaker 1: as such for the folks like the three of us

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Speaker 1: that were there that morning, four counting the dude to

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Speaker 1: cross the fence. The interaction with the goblin turkey during

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Speaker 1: the spring ritual is second to nothing, but only to

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Speaker 1: those who value it as we do. It may be

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Speaker 1: bream fishing to the next person, or deer hunting or

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Speaker 1: frog gigging. It could be anything. That's why when I

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Speaker 1: see an expensive paint described as a work of art

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Speaker 1: that to me looks like a monkey with a box

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Speaker 1: of colors did it in the dark? I have to

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Speaker 1: let it go. Beauty and value truly are in the

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Speaker 1: eye of the beholder. Whether it's a big boss gober

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Speaker 1: strutting in the gun range, a trout rising to a

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Speaker 1: perfectly cast dry fly, or a piece of art that

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Speaker 1: looks like a primate did it in the dark. Who

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Speaker 1: are we to tell them they're wrong? They certainly can't

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Speaker 1: tell us we are. We should appreciate even the smallest

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Speaker 1: of gestures and gifts from our friends, because if you

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Speaker 1: really look at it and see what the true gift

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Speaker 1: is in each event, it's not a frazer full of

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Speaker 1: help meat or a live well full of fish. It's

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Speaker 1: their time, their time, and your time, and there's only

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Speaker 1: so much of it to go around. That's why it's

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Speaker 1: important and that's why I value the outdoors so much,

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Speaker 1: at least in my case, is to share that time

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Speaker 1: with someone I value experiencing an event. I value time.

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Speaker 1: That's the most precious gift we can give. Thank you

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Speaker 1: for giving me your time each week. Now pay it forward,

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Speaker 1: Grab up a pal and go hunting, fishing, or shopping

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Speaker 1: for monkey art. Just spending some time with someone you value,

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Speaker 1: and the rest take care of itself. We were almost

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Speaker 1: all the way back to the truck when Keith got

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Speaker 1: a second text from that cat that shot my turkey.

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Speaker 1: Here's what it said, y'all's turkey is still there. The

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Speaker 1: turkey I killed came in from the west and fought

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Speaker 1: the one y'all were working for about two minutes, biggest

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Speaker 1: fight I've ever seen. I called to him when it

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Speaker 1: was over, and he came running to me and I

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Speaker 1: shot him. Well, dad gone. I had forgot all about

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Speaker 1: the second turkey time. There was a time when I

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Speaker 1: would have turned around and went back after that joker,

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Speaker 1: But this time our time had run out. There was

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Speaker 1: no more time. And that's how it happens. What seemed

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Speaker 1: like a cut and dried moment turned into something different.

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Speaker 1: It went from fixing to kill a turkey, thinking that

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Speaker 1: turkey was dead, to learning that there'd be another time.

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Speaker 1: Keith invited me back in the hope and promise of

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Speaker 1: another time. Well, that ain't a bad gift either. All right,

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Speaker 1: y'all listen up. Here's the announcement. Now. I'm known for

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Speaker 1: telling stories, mostly true ones, and through the feedback from

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Speaker 1: my podcast listeners and meeting some wonderful people since this

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Speaker 1: endeavor started, I've heard some great stories from them too.

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Speaker 1: Some are too good not to tell, and I think

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Speaker 1: y'all will agree. So here's what I want you to do.

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Speaker 1: If you have a story that you'd like me to share,

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Speaker 1: send it to my tcl story at the meat eater

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Speaker 1: dot com. We're going to give them a good once

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Speaker 1: over and select a few occasionally for me to read.

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Speaker 1: Not all of them, I can't do them all, but

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Speaker 1: the good ones we absolutely gonna put out there. I

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Speaker 1: think it's a great way for us to interact, for

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Speaker 1: me to get to know y'all while we're at it.

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Speaker 1: Write out your stories as clearly as possible. There's no

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Speaker 1: such thing as too much detail. Y'all just have to

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Speaker 1: trust me to wheedle them down to fit and I'll

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Speaker 1: tell them. Send your story. I don't forget that picture

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Speaker 1: of me and Tim. If you want that case pocket

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Speaker 1: knife to my TCL story at the meat eater dot

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Speaker 1: com until next week. This is Brent Reeves signing off.

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Speaker 1: Y'all we careful