WEBVTT - Ep. 246: This Country Life - Safety First, Always

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

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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 experiences in life lessons. This Country Life is presented

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<v Speaker 1>by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you

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<v Speaker 1>the best outdoor podcast the airways had off. All right, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>grab a chair or drop that tail gate. I've got

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<v Speaker 1>some stories to share. Safety first. Always. I didn't get

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<v Speaker 1>to cover all I wanted to last week, so we're

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<v Speaker 1>back again with some more safety concerns and a lesson

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<v Speaker 1>that I will never forget. If there's one thing you

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<v Speaker 1>take away from these weekly ramblings, I hope it's this one.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why I'm sharing it today. But first I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to tell you a story. It was beyond dark on

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<v Speaker 1>a moonless night. I was alone patrolling near where I'd

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<v Speaker 1>grown up in the north end of Bradley County. Working

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<v Speaker 1>for the Sheriff's office in rural counties will have deputies

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<v Speaker 1>working alone a lot. The only time two or more

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<v Speaker 1>of us were on duty at one time at night

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<v Speaker 1>was on the weekends when the call volumes increased. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>we lived by that old Texas Ranger creed of one

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<v Speaker 1>riot one ranger that wasn't not a bravado. It was

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<v Speaker 1>out of necessity. We were a small department covering a

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<v Speaker 1>big area with a budget. You couldn't operate a roadside

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<v Speaker 1>stand with three deputies for six hundred and forty nine

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<v Speaker 1>square miles. We worked alone a lot. It had been

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<v Speaker 1>a quiet night, with only the music radio keeping me company.

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<v Speaker 1>The dispatcher radio had been ominously quiet, and I was

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<v Speaker 1>heading to the house. This is usually a time when

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<v Speaker 1>everything goes berserko. That's when nine calls all at once

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<v Speaker 1>come in wrecks, fights, fevery, and other skullduggery type behavior

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<v Speaker 1>that requires the attention of the sheriff's department, and they

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<v Speaker 1>usually happen on the opposite end of the county that

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<v Speaker 1>you're patrolling. But not this night. Nothing was going on,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was driving down a desolate stretch of highway

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<v Speaker 1>with no ambient light from anywhere except for the headlights

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<v Speaker 1>on my patrol car. I was lost in thought, almost

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<v Speaker 1>hypnotized by the monotonous drone of the sound of sailing

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<v Speaker 1>down the road at the blistering pace of forty miles

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<v Speaker 1>an hour. I had the crew set at forty. That

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<v Speaker 1>gave me time with no traffic, to really look at

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<v Speaker 1>side roads and houses and churches that I passed along

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<v Speaker 1>the highway that might need a closer inspection. But on

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<v Speaker 1>this stretch there was none of those, just a straight

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<v Speaker 1>shot over a few rolling hills as I made my

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<v Speaker 1>way back toward the town, burning time off the clockets

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<v Speaker 1>I was getting. Towards the end of my shift, I

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<v Speaker 1>lost and thought I became cognizant of something in my

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<v Speaker 1>peripheral vision on the left side. It was like I

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<v Speaker 1>knew it was there, but in my car there were

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<v Speaker 1>colored lights and reflections everywhere. The dashlights, the lights from

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<v Speaker 1>multiple radios put off a glow inside the car that

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<v Speaker 1>reflected off of every shiny surface in there, including the windows,

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<v Speaker 1>like the driver's side door window. That's where what I

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<v Speaker 1>was seeing out of the corner of my eye was.

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<v Speaker 1>It was like it had been there all along, but

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<v Speaker 1>all at once I realized that it hadn't, and now

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<v Speaker 1>I knew there was something different. There wasn't a car

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<v Speaker 1>or a light anywhere to be seen. I looked to

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<v Speaker 1>my right in the passenger seat and the floorboard radio console,

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<v Speaker 1>and there was nothing new. No flashlight burned under a

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<v Speaker 1>hat or no interior light burning from a new source

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<v Speaker 1>that made up the reflection I was seeing on my

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<v Speaker 1>window on the driver's side door. By the time it

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<v Speaker 1>is taken to describe this so far as about as

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<v Speaker 1>long as it took for it to play out. So

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<v Speaker 1>with the last resort to actually look out the window

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<v Speaker 1>to see if there was something actually there, I did,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's when I saw a face looking back at me.

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<v Speaker 1>Sweet Jesus, that's a face. I looked back at the

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<v Speaker 1>highway out the windshield, and the speed of it says

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<v Speaker 1>I'm driving forty miles an hour. I mashed the foot

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<v Speaker 1>feed to the floor and in an instant I was

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<v Speaker 1>hitting sixty. I looked back out the window, knowing that

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't really see what I thought I saw in

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<v Speaker 1>the faces looking at me saying stop stop. But I

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<v Speaker 1>can't hear them, but I can see them mouthing the words.

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<v Speaker 1>I've got a death grip on the steering wheel, and

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<v Speaker 1>with all the force I can muster, I took my

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<v Speaker 1>foot off the gas and I crammed the brakes of

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<v Speaker 1>the pavement on that crown VIC and the face disappeared,

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<v Speaker 1>shooting out front of my car in the opposite lane

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<v Speaker 1>like a jet, except there wasn't a jet. It was

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<v Speaker 1>a motorcycle with no headlight. I threw the car and

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<v Speaker 1>park and stepped out onto the highway as the lightless

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<v Speaker 1>rider made a U turn and drove back to me,

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<v Speaker 1>A small, dim flashlight stuck between him and the gas

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<v Speaker 1>tank that was shining up under his chin, lighting him

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<v Speaker 1>up like a Halloween punkin. He scared the living daylights

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<v Speaker 1>out of me. But I knew him, and he didn't

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<v Speaker 1>live far from where we were, just a few miles

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<v Speaker 1>but a long way driving in the dark. Hey, Brent Man,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad to see you. I'm trying to make it home.

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<v Speaker 1>My lights went out. I don't even have a tail light.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you follow me home so don't get run over?

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<v Speaker 1>I can, but you're gonna have to give me a minute.

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<v Speaker 1>You scared me to death, he said. I think he

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<v Speaker 1>was ever going to see me. I thought I was

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<v Speaker 1>gonna have to knock on your window. Now now I

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<v Speaker 1>have no idea what would happen had he knocked on

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<v Speaker 1>my window, but me turning to see someone staring back

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<v Speaker 1>at me like Vincent Christ. It scares me to think

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<v Speaker 1>about it. I turned the spotlights on my bar light,

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<v Speaker 1>and I followed him all the way home until he

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<v Speaker 1>parked his motorcycle in his front yard. I went back

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<v Speaker 1>out on that dark portion of the highway, expecting nikobot

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<v Speaker 1>a crane to try to kill me at any time.

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<v Speaker 1>But I didn't waste any time getting home, not that time,

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<v Speaker 1>not that night. And that's just how that happened. It

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<v Speaker 1>only takes one Now, that statement applies to so many

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<v Speaker 1>things when gauging success and failure, spending a whole season

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<v Speaker 1>hunting a big deer and having him put the old

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<v Speaker 1>rastle dazzle on you every time you think you get

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<v Speaker 1>him figured out. Then you go home thinking that I

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<v Speaker 1>should have done this or I should have done that.

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<v Speaker 1>But then one day it all comes together. Now you

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<v Speaker 1>put in the time to effort, the heartbreak of almost

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<v Speaker 1>getting him but always coming up short, until the day

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<v Speaker 1>you don't, BINGO, you got him. The story of that

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<v Speaker 1>struggle will live forever, and so will that deer, because

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<v Speaker 1>something remembered and shared with like minded souls is immortal.

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<v Speaker 1>Now you flip the script and finally get the chance,

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<v Speaker 1>only to mess it up, and that story will seemingly

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<v Speaker 1>live longer. Same applies to not paying attention or simply

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<v Speaker 1>ignoring the clues that would normally have a prudent person

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<v Speaker 1>taking corrective, evasive, or some type of cautionary action. But

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<v Speaker 1>that describes a prudent person, not a fourteen year year

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<v Speaker 1>old hunter on opening the morning the rifle season. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>we built this stand as a temporary stand. Two years

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<v Speaker 1>before this one. We were going to put in a

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<v Speaker 1>bigger and better permit stand in that little clear where

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to hunt that morning, but we never did.

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<v Speaker 1>I told one brother, Tim and Joe Bryant at supper

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<v Speaker 1>the night before that I wanted to hunt there. Joe

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<v Speaker 1>was Tim's brother in law, but he was a brother

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<v Speaker 1>to us all. But this was back when we camped

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<v Speaker 1>in an old surplus canvas army ten. We heated it

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<v Speaker 1>with a propane heater like your grandparents had in the

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<v Speaker 1>house of the five foot propane tank, both of which

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<v Speaker 1>were positioned inside at the center of the tent hole.

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<v Speaker 1>You regular listeners are starting to jump ahead right now,

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<v Speaker 1>aren't you. You're thinking of that idiot blew the tin

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<v Speaker 1>up or something. Well, I did it and needed to

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<v Speaker 1>anyone else. And all the years we camped in that

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<v Speaker 1>old ten before we built the camp. I don't remember

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<v Speaker 1>one instance or we nearly blew up anything accidentally. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm just giving you some background and context as to

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<v Speaker 1>how we hunted. If we could brave the cold and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes the heat that comes with the opening week of

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<v Speaker 1>gun deer season in Arkansas, along with cooking in a

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<v Speaker 1>separate visc queen wrapped cooking shack complete with a gas

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<v Speaker 1>stove and another gas bottle attached with only coal and

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<v Speaker 1>lanterns is light. And the bathroom we all used being

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<v Speaker 1>a designated direction from camp and not a structure. Then

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<v Speaker 1>a little wobbly homemade deer stand surely wouldn't stop us

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<v Speaker 1>from hunting. Well, it wouldn't me. Tim and Job both

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<v Speaker 1>told me they wouldn't sit in it. But what did

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<v Speaker 1>they know. I was fourteen. I knew everything I needed

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<v Speaker 1>to know at this point in my life. I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>sure why they was even sending me to school. I

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<v Speaker 1>should have been teaching it somewhere. Check that ladder and

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<v Speaker 1>if it's rotten or shows any signs of being rotten,

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<v Speaker 1>just sit under it. You can still see that opening

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<v Speaker 1>where the deer cross. That was the last thing Joe

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<v Speaker 1>said to me that morning before we all headed out

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<v Speaker 1>to our stands. I told him I would, but I

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<v Speaker 1>had no intentions of sitting on the ground. Deer hunters

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<v Speaker 1>shoot deer from deer stands. Felt more confident in a tree,

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<v Speaker 1>regardless of the fact that people have been killing deer

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<v Speaker 1>from the ground since they decided to add them to

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<v Speaker 1>the menu. And that was when the first folks set

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<v Speaker 1>foot here in this part of the world. Regardless of

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<v Speaker 1>how you believe they arrived. I was letting my desire

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<v Speaker 1>to do what I wanted to do cloud my judgment

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<v Speaker 1>on what I should do. I got to the stand

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<v Speaker 1>way before daylight and found it without much trouble. The

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<v Speaker 1>dim decealed flashlight burning just bright enough to keep me

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<v Speaker 1>from wandering off the fence line, and I was following

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<v Speaker 1>on my left side until I got to the out

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<v Speaker 1>and once I got there, I would hang a one

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<v Speaker 1>point eighty inside that fence and walk back less than

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<v Speaker 1>eighty yards to where the stand was. I walked up

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<v Speaker 1>to it, and I'm not sure what you've pictured in

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<v Speaker 1>your mind at this point as to what this thing

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<v Speaker 1>constructed of, so allowed me to elaborate. There were two

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<v Speaker 1>ten foot sweet gum poles cut that served as the

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<v Speaker 1>front legs. They were both identically on about the size

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<v Speaker 1>of my forearm. Four tube fours were nailed together in

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<v Speaker 1>a square shape three feet by three feet and covered

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<v Speaker 1>with plywood. Now this would be the floor of the stand.

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<v Speaker 1>It then sat on the ends of the gum poles,

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<v Speaker 1>and each of them nailed to the front two corners

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<v Speaker 1>of the stand that would face the clearing. The back

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<v Speaker 1>of the floor was leaned up against it nailed to

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<v Speaker 1>two standing trees on the fence line that would serve

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<v Speaker 1>as a backrest and help conceal my outline. It was

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<v Speaker 1>like an extra long legged night stand. The ladder was

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<v Speaker 1>gum poles cut to fit across the gap in the

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<v Speaker 1>two trees that served as the back legs, and they

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<v Speaker 1>were nailed about two feet apart. And I hope that

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<v Speaker 1>offers a good visual of the engineering marvel that I

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<v Speaker 1>was about to entrust my life to the one. Both

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<v Speaker 1>my older brothers just told me not to climb yet,

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<v Speaker 1>but I do better. I shined that light up the platform.

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<v Speaker 1>No washing nests underneath, that's good. The milk crate was

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<v Speaker 1>still there. That was served as my throne for the

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<v Speaker 1>morning's festivities. That's also good. I grabbed the left front

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<v Speaker 1>leg and I gave it a shake to test of sturdy,

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<v Speaker 1>and I says, I looked up into the darkness and

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<v Speaker 1>a big ball of leaves rolled off that platform and

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<v Speaker 1>into my face. I spat out while I didn't swallow,

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<v Speaker 1>and I shook it again. That seemed all right to me.

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<v Speaker 1>I walked around to the backside and all the rungs

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<v Speaker 1>were still attached. That's another good sign. Knowing full well

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<v Speaker 1>there wasn't a round chamber in that thirty thirty attames

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<v Speaker 1>I was shooting, I checked it anyway, just to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure safety first. Remember usually I stepped on the bottom

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<v Speaker 1>rung and it didn't even make a sound when it

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<v Speaker 1>broke in. Two hm. That's not good. The last thing

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to do was what Joe had told me

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<v Speaker 1>after supper the night before, just hunt on the ground. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I was fixing to get in that stand if it

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<v Speaker 1>was the last thing I did, and it almost was.

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<v Speaker 1>I held on to that tree that was serving as

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<v Speaker 1>the left rear leg and stepped on to where the

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<v Speaker 1>nails held that sweet gum rung in place. The bark

0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.480
<v Speaker 1>in the wood of the cross pieces compressing under each

0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:44.000
<v Speaker 1>as I climbed higher to the top, pulling myself up

0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:47.839
<v Speaker 1>with my left hand while holding the rifle of my right,

0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:51.480
<v Speaker 1>my feet placed on the ends of the nails that

0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:55.600
<v Speaker 1>were poking out of the trees. Finally, at the top,

0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:57.480
<v Speaker 1>I laid the rifle down in front of the milk

0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.520
<v Speaker 1>crate and I grabbed the other tree on my right

0:13:59.559 --> 0:14:03.800
<v Speaker 1>side and swung my legs off the nails and onto

0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:07.560
<v Speaker 1>the platform as gently as I could, slowly adding my

0:14:07.679 --> 0:14:10.640
<v Speaker 1>weight to the structure. And the final test for stability

0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:15.200
<v Speaker 1>solid as a rock, MOI bo ain't know? All is good.

0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:17.960
<v Speaker 1>I aised down on the mill crate. I put that

0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.840
<v Speaker 1>rifle on my lap and I leaned back against one

0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:23.200
<v Speaker 1>of the trees. I just used to get in the

0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:25.480
<v Speaker 1>stand and sweat walls left of the leaves off the

0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:28.200
<v Speaker 1>floor with my foot, and when I kicked them off,

0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:30.680
<v Speaker 1>I felt the stand shake back and forth a little bit.

0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:33.960
<v Speaker 1>I made that sweeping motion again, just to make sure

0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.240
<v Speaker 1>I wasn't imagining it, and the old pucker factor jumped

0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:40.960
<v Speaker 1>up to about seven. Hey Brent, don't do that anymore,

0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.960
<v Speaker 1>that was what my innerself said. Not Hey Brent, you

0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:48.960
<v Speaker 1>should get down while you can still walk without crutches. Unfortunately,

0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:51.840
<v Speaker 1>it would take my inner self just about as long

0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:55.040
<v Speaker 1>to wise up about life as it did my outer self,

0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.600
<v Speaker 1>and according to my track record, that was still almost

0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:02.360
<v Speaker 1>a score and a half away from happening. Daylight came

0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:06.120
<v Speaker 1>and I sat motionless, moving only my head slightly as

0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.240
<v Speaker 1>I scanned a little clearing where I knew something was

0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:13.880
<v Speaker 1>going to happen. Birds were singing, Squirrels were knocking acrons

0:15:13.880 --> 0:15:16.600
<v Speaker 1>out of the trees, and the woods were awake. And

0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:19.600
<v Speaker 1>I was dozing off from having to sit so still.

0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.400
<v Speaker 1>A door in the yearland walked out across the opening

0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.920
<v Speaker 1>on the right side of my standing. That was the

0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:30.600
<v Speaker 1>last thing I remember as I dozed off. I don't

0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:33.400
<v Speaker 1>know how long I slept, but I woke up just

0:15:33.400 --> 0:15:35.720
<v Speaker 1>in time to see the ground rushing up towards me

0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.520
<v Speaker 1>at the speed of light. While my brain was swimming

0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:42.000
<v Speaker 1>in my glasses trying to solve the equation of what

0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.440
<v Speaker 1>was going on. Impact with the earth gave me the

0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:51.640
<v Speaker 1>answer I was so desperately trying to figure out, ah gravity,

0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:59.120
<v Speaker 1>That's what was happening. Gravity and carelessness, two forces, when combined,

0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:04.880
<v Speaker 1>can potential create catastrophic results. Now I didn't have the

0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:07.040
<v Speaker 1>wind knocked out of me and it didn't even hurt.

0:16:08.080 --> 0:16:11.520
<v Speaker 1>I was lucky because it could have It could have

0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.520
<v Speaker 1>killed me, But a funny story came out of that.

0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:20.000
<v Speaker 1>That wasn't the case with a friend of mine on

0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.120
<v Speaker 1>the East Coast. He was a good friend who helped

0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.560
<v Speaker 1>me get my started outdoor filming. I and a couple

0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:29.920
<v Speaker 1>others in him traveled out west on big private film

0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.480
<v Speaker 1>project a couple of years in a row, and he

0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.640
<v Speaker 1>taught me a lot about running a camera and how

0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.760
<v Speaker 1>to film a hunt. He was always a phone call

0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:42.480
<v Speaker 1>away to answer questions and give advice. Now he spent

0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.440
<v Speaker 1>more time in the tree than most squirrels and produced

0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.960
<v Speaker 1>some of the best outdoor hunts that a lot of

0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:51.360
<v Speaker 1>you grew up watching, just like I did. But he

0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:56.320
<v Speaker 1>hated safety and harnesses and he rarely wore them. The

0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.000
<v Speaker 1>last time we filmed together was a September el khunt

0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:01.240
<v Speaker 1>in the Rocky Mountains, and he told me to film

0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:04.320
<v Speaker 1>a hunter at a water hole that we'd actually hung

0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:07.960
<v Speaker 1>two stands in. He hunted there the day before. When

0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:10.680
<v Speaker 1>I asked him if he'd left his safety strap of

0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:12.640
<v Speaker 1>the tree, he said, you know, I didn't even bring

0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.119
<v Speaker 1>one with me, you use one if you want. I

0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:18.840
<v Speaker 1>was shocked, and I asked him if he ever warm me.

0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:22.359
<v Speaker 1>He said no, not if I can help it. That

0:17:22.520 --> 0:17:25.479
<v Speaker 1>bothered me, but it didn't influence my desire to not

0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:30.320
<v Speaker 1>wear one. Two years and a month later, I got

0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:32.399
<v Speaker 1>the call that he'd fallen out of a tree stand

0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:37.879
<v Speaker 1>and he was dead. And I miss him, and I'm

0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:41.600
<v Speaker 1>still sad about it. And I never climbed a tree

0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:45.440
<v Speaker 1>that I don't think about him never. He died ten

0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:49.600
<v Speaker 1>years ago. When my son Hunter was a teenager, the

0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.960
<v Speaker 1>hard and fast rules to always have your safety equipment.

0:17:53.320 --> 0:17:56.119
<v Speaker 1>If you don't have it, you don't climb the tree. Now.

0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:58.679
<v Speaker 1>He learned that the hard way one day when he

0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:03.720
<v Speaker 1>forgot his. We turned around and went back home. The

0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:07.239
<v Speaker 1>trail camera pictures from that morning driving home all that

0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:09.760
<v Speaker 1>we'd missed by him not being prepared when we got

0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:14.120
<v Speaker 1>there that afternoon. But we lived to hunt another day.

0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:20.200
<v Speaker 1>It only takes one. I was lucky with my one.

0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:24.480
<v Speaker 1>My friend wasn't. Now is the time of year when

0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:26.760
<v Speaker 1>we're all getting ready to chase those white tells them.

0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.840
<v Speaker 1>From the bottom of my heart, I'm asking you to

0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:34.600
<v Speaker 1>please where your safety artists. If not for you for

0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.360
<v Speaker 1>the folks that love you. It's just that simple. It's easy,

0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:41.520
<v Speaker 1>it only takes a minute, and it's up to us

0:18:41.600 --> 0:18:44.200
<v Speaker 1>to set the example for the little folks to follow.

0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:50.359
<v Speaker 1>Let's make sure we set a good one. Safety first always.

0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:54.440
<v Speaker 1>That's how we're going to close this one. Thank you

0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:57.280
<v Speaker 1>so much for listening. Y'all, look out for one another,

0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:01.080
<v Speaker 1>help folks when you can, and be safe getting around

0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:06.440
<v Speaker 1>out there. This one's for you, Mike. This is Brent Reeves.

0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:09.400
<v Speaker 1>Sign it off. Y'all be careful,