1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Rieves 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,680 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: my stories and the country skills that will help you 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as 6 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,960 Speaker 1: outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends, 8 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I 9 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: think I got a thing or two. The teacher, the 10 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: power of hello. I've said it before and I'll say 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: it again. Sharing the burden of a problem with a 12 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 1: friend lightens your load, just like sharing a joy magnifies it. 13 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: Friends can come from the most unexpected places and the 14 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: best ones. Man, sometimes they seem like to be honest 15 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: to goodness divine intervention. This week, I want to talk 16 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,760 Speaker 1: to you about some friends I've made just stumbling through 17 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: life out amongst nature, looking for something to catch and eat, 18 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: or just by being neighborly and just saying hello. It 19 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: can literally open doors. And the story I'm fixing to 20 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: tell you is a prime example. Sixty five years ago, 21 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: my aunt Norma Fay married a fellow by the name 22 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: of Tully McCoy. Uncle Tully was born in nineteen thirty 23 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: four and grew up in Pike County, Kentucky, which is 24 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: located on the Kentucky and West Virginia state line, separated 25 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: only by the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. 26 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: Does any of that sound familiar? Well? It or too. 27 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: That's where all the feuding took place between them and 28 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: the hat Fields. Uncle Tully's father, Jim McCoy, was nine 29 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: years old when that feud ended. He remembered it well, 30 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: but Uncle Tully said he never talked about it. I'm 31 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: happy to say that I talked to my uncle Tully 32 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: this morning. I was getting the details about one of 33 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: my favorite stories I've ever heard him tell, and it 34 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: all started with a hello. In late fifties, Uncle Tully 35 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: found himself married to my aunt Norma and living in 36 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,639 Speaker 1: a little rock selling insurance door to door. Now, folks 37 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:28,880 Speaker 1: didn't make any appointments back then. They just drive up, 38 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: knock on the door, and make their sales pitch. On 39 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: this day, he was outside of town visiting with folks 40 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: in the rural areas and drove up to a house 41 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,399 Speaker 1: that had no car in the driveway, but he could 42 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: tell that the front door was open and only the 43 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: screen door was closed. Now, that wasn't uncommon back in 44 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: that time for a family to have only one vehicle. 45 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: Not seeing a car and that the house didn't necessarily 46 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: mean that there wasn't anybody at home. It probably meant 47 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: that the man of the house was gone to work 48 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: and his wife was there taking care of the home. 49 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,400 Speaker 1: On the door and said hello and heard nothing. He 50 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: tried again, Hello. He heard a voice in the back 51 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,160 Speaker 1: of the house say hello. Uncle Tody said hello. The 52 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: voice answered him, come in, So he opened the screen 53 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,519 Speaker 1: door and stepped inside the living room. He said, my 54 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: name's Telling McCoy and the voice said hello, but no 55 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,079 Speaker 1: one came out to meet him. He said he was 56 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: just standing in the living room looking around for the 57 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: person that kept talking to him. So he said, what's 58 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: your name, and the voice answered back, Jim Hardy. Jim Hardy, 59 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: Jim Hardy. My uncle said he didn't know what was 60 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: going on, but something just didn't seem right. He said, 61 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,880 Speaker 1: I'm telling McCoy and I'm selling insurance. Would you be 62 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: interested in he said Immediately the voice cut him off, saying, 63 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: Jim Hardy four o'clock, Jim Hardy, four o'clock. My uncle 64 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: said he looked at his watch and thought, well, it 65 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: ain't nowhere near four o'clock. Then he heard a car 66 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: pulling up outside and watched from inside the house as 67 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: the family that obviously lived there got out of their 68 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: car and started walking up on the porch and inside 69 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: the house, just just looking at him. My uncle said 70 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: he didn't know what to do, but he knew he 71 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: was standing in some place he ought not to have, 72 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: and regardless of what Jim Hardy was saying, he wasn't 73 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: supposed to be there. As the man of the house 74 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: walked in, my uncle said he couldn't explain fast enough 75 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: how he came to be standing in that man's living room. 76 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: When that fellow started laughing and said, someone told you 77 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: to come in, didn't they. My uncle said, yes, sir 78 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: Jim Hardy, but he won't come out where I can 79 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 1: see him. The man was doubling over and laughing and 80 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: grabbed my uncle by the arm and walked him into 81 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: another room where a big parrot was in a cage, saying, 82 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:49,239 Speaker 1: Jim Hardy, four o'clock, Jim Hardy, four o'clock, Jim Hardy 83 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: was a character on a Cowboy TV show called Tales 84 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: of Wells Fargo that ran from nineteen fifty seven to 85 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty two, and you guessed it, it came on 86 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: at four o'clock. Now, the end of this story would 87 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: have been a whole lot better if I could have said, 88 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: and the man bought a whole bunch of insurance. But 89 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: he didn't. But if the parrot hadn't said hello, my 90 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: uncle would have never had the opportunity to make his pitch. 91 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: All that we could ask for are the opportunities, and 92 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: the parrot gave him one. The rest, well, that's all 93 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 1: up to us, and that's just how that happened, all right. 94 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: I was talking to my brother this morning and I 95 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: told him about what I was going to be talking 96 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: about this week, and told him, you know how we 97 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,679 Speaker 1: used to know all our neighbors in just about every direction. 98 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:48,679 Speaker 1: Now that really didn't encompass a whole lot of folks, 99 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: Because if you drew a mile circle from the house 100 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: on the farm that we growed up on, you wouldn't 101 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: have had enough folks to fill the football team. But 102 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: we knew them all. You draw that circle half a 103 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: mile from where I live now, and you'd have close 104 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: to as many folks that were in the town where 105 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,280 Speaker 1: I went to school. We've lived in this house in 106 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: this neighborhood for twelve years, and in that time I've 107 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: known four different families, three of which represent folks that 108 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,840 Speaker 1: bought and sold the same house. I know there's been 109 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,919 Speaker 1: folks who've lived and died within my immediate area that 110 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: I ain't never met, and I'm ashamed to admit that 111 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: how many good folks have I missed making friends with 112 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: by not making an effort. There's a man that walks 113 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:33,040 Speaker 1: daily in our neighborhood, getting his exercise and told in 114 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,960 Speaker 1: a sack to pick up trash. I've seen him in 115 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: the folks yards, snatching up to every President, wal Mart, 116 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:42,000 Speaker 1: and daughter of General. Bags that travel around the landscape 117 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: like red neck tumbleweeds. I happened to be outside one 118 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: day and he came walking by and I spoke to him. 119 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: After years of just giving him a friendly smile or 120 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: a nod as he walked by, he stopped and we 121 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: visited for an hour about everything you could imagine. And 122 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: when he left, he was tolting some fro and bear 123 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: steaks and a jar bear grease. A week or so later, 124 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: he dropped off some homemade bread and some Greek to 125 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: zeki sauce he learned how to make when he was 126 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:12,119 Speaker 1: stationed in Greece in the Air Force. Good Night, nurse, 127 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: it was good. All of that was made possible by 128 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: just saying hello. Those two syllables with the correct voice 129 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: inflection are just like a master key that could unlock 130 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: a whole new world of possibilities. In this world that's 131 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: dominated by social media, flooded with some of the most 132 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: anti social behavior, I think it's time we redirected some 133 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: effort into socializing face to face instead of keyboard to keyboard. 134 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: There are a few detractors to in person conversations. One 135 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: I can think of is the type of person you 136 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: ask what time it is and they proceed to give 137 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: you the history on how the watch was made. Then 138 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: you've got the type that has to get right up 139 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: on you when they're telling you a story and their 140 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: breath is kicking your old factories. Like Bruce Lee with 141 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,240 Speaker 1: his legs set on autopilot. Those folks, they're good for 142 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: a text, y'all. Don't get me wrong now, I'm not 143 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 1: kicking social media down the road because I use it 144 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: in my job. I've also met people through social media 145 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: that have become like family, and if it hadn't been 146 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,239 Speaker 1: for it, our pass might not have ever crossed. Who knows. 147 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: I can say for certain that those relationships one hundred 148 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,200 Speaker 1: percent did happen because of social media. We just need 149 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: to balance it more. And really my idea of a 150 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: correct balance would be heavy on the social and less 151 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: on the media. I'd rather talk to someone a text them. 152 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: A text thread is like a baseball game. It's got 153 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: no time limit and could theoretically go on forever. A 154 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: phone call that's just one audios my friend from being over. 155 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: And I keep going back to the old school social 156 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: media men holding court and cafes and feed stores over 157 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: cups of coffee. The same thing was the fashion when 158 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: I'd had to go with my grandma to the beauty 159 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: parlor and sit and listen to them jawing about all 160 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: the old men that were at the cafe. In the 161 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: feed stores, they were talking about all the old ladies 162 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: at the beauty parlor. The family and friend gatherings are irreplaceable. 163 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:13,559 Speaker 1: Folks were more respectful to one another back in the 164 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 1: day when saying something ugly in arms reach if somebody 165 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,720 Speaker 1: can make your nose bleed, and they may not have 166 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,320 Speaker 1: respected you, but at least they were a little more careful. Now, 167 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: I'm as bad as anybody. These days, you see more 168 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: than one person sitting together, and nine times out of 169 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: ten they're all staring at their phone. My wife and 170 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: I sit in the living room watching TV and our phones, 171 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: sending funny things back and forth and never say in 172 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: the world, how in the world did we get here? 173 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 1: And where are we going? It's a double edged sword, 174 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: but it's more than probable that I wouldn't be here 175 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 1: now talking to you if it were for social media. 176 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: I saw a post on the Hunting for Them about 177 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: a guy I had never heard of auctioning off hunts 178 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: in Arkansas to promote an organization that I now ever 179 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,079 Speaker 1: heard of, and hunting an animal in Arkansas I had 180 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: never seen in the wild. That was my old buddy 181 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:10,200 Speaker 1: Clay and his Arkansas Black Bear Association. I contacted him, 182 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: thinking it would be a good promotion for his cause 183 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,599 Speaker 1: and good experience for me, being a new outdoor videographer 184 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: and who wouldn't want to see a bear in the woods. 185 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:21,679 Speaker 1: After talking on the phone, a couple of times. It 186 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:24,120 Speaker 1: only took him a year to take de bait. Our 187 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: first hunt together was in the sweltering heat wave in 188 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: southeast Oklahoma. We became friends, and now he's like my 189 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: little sister. I'm just kidding, he's like my big sister. 190 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,559 Speaker 1: Stop it, Brent. Really, he and his whole family are 191 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: my family. Not only me, but my family too. Now 192 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 1: I know that ain't some kind of anomaly. That's how 193 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: folks become friends. They meet, enjoy each other's coming, and 194 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,559 Speaker 1: decide to keep spending time together. It's just the medium 195 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: of how those encounters initiate. It's different these days. I've 196 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: got numerous friends that I've met through hunting and fishing, 197 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: which I think is the base for any relation ship. 198 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: You have to share a common interest, and once that's established, 199 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: then you learn how that person sees the comedy denominator 200 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: that brought you together. If you're willing to see their 201 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,840 Speaker 1: version of your interest, you might learn that their perspective 202 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 1: is better than yours. You just never know because of 203 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,079 Speaker 1: that initial contact of an offer to help and seeking 204 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:25,720 Speaker 1: help in return. From back in twenty twelve, Let's fast 205 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 1: forward an incredible journey filled with focused hard work, determination 206 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 1: and adventure. To April of twenty twenty three, Clayton Newclem 207 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 1: and I were sitting in Bozman, Montowna, in the Meat 208 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:42,679 Speaker 1: Eater studio fixing to record a podcast with Steve Vanella 209 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: and all the other hosts of all the Meat Eater podcasts. 210 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: It was a pretty surreal moment, and I looked at 211 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: my friends sitting across the table from me, and I said, 212 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: this is a long way from that old bear bait 213 00:11:54,040 --> 00:12:04,839 Speaker 1: in Oklahoma. Ain't at Claybowm, but it sure was. Last 214 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: thing I want to tell you truly demonstrates the power 215 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: of a chance meeting. And it happened six years ago. 216 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 1: I made the decision, after fifty one trips around the Sun, 217 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: that I was a fly fisherman. It was as conscious 218 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: a decision as I've ever made. Growing up on a 219 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: farm in South Arkansas and catching a trout on a 220 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: fly rod with a hand tied fly seemed foreign and 221 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: far away. I was intrigued, and that fire smoldered for years. 222 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: Outdoor magazines and books were my obsession, and from big 223 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:40,080 Speaker 1: game hunting in North America and Africa to fly fishing 224 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: out West, I dreamt of one day doing these things 225 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: that I only read about now at fifty one, and 226 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,079 Speaker 1: not knowing a soul that flyfished. I was going to 227 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: make that a reality. I just didn't know how now. 228 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:55,800 Speaker 1: I fished with a fly rod in my whole life. 229 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 1: The basic concept of how to use one was taught 230 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: to me at an early It was my father's weapon 231 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 1: of choice for catching brim where we lived, and he 232 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: could roll cast a hook cricket into the narest of 233 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: spots between cypress knees and limbs and pull out a 234 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: bluegill after bluegill. He was a dang Jedi with a 235 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:17,680 Speaker 1: fly rod, and I tried to be just like him. 236 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 1: Bluegill were one thing, but catching a trout with a 237 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 1: fly rod, man, that was a whole of the creature. 238 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 1: My occupation kept me in the southern half of Arkansas 239 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,960 Speaker 1: until I excepted the position in Little Rock and made 240 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: my home. A few miles away and nearly halfway across 241 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: the state from where I grew up, less than an 242 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: hour north was the Little Red River. It's a tail 243 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: water stream out of Grier's Ferry Lake where the Fish 244 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: and Wildlife Service have managed a trout hatchery beginning coincidentally 245 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:53,319 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty six, the same year I saw the 246 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: light of day. Here they raise and released rainbow and 247 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 1: book trout into public waters to be enjoyed by everyone, 248 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: and a resource with boundless opportunities of which I had 249 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: never taken advantage of. That was fixing the change. One day, 250 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,120 Speaker 1: like a bolt of lightning from a cloudless sky, I 251 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,559 Speaker 1: announced to Alexis that, unbeknownst to her, she'd married a 252 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: fly fisherman, and that he'd been trapped inside my body 253 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: this whole time. I don't remember her looking surprised, or 254 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: even looking up from what she was doing, but I 255 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: do remember her calmly asking if you got enough room 256 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: for him with all those other idiots in there. I 257 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:34,200 Speaker 1: just let that go. I was mission focused and operating 258 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 1: at full speed. I knew not one soul the flyfish 259 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: for trout, So I did what we all do when 260 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: we want to know something and don't have anyone to ask. 261 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: I got on the internet how to fish for trout 262 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: with a fly rod? Got me sixteen million, eight hundred 263 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 1: thousand answers in less than half a second. I don't 264 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: know that I didn't watch them all. I spent hours 265 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: and hours watching him. I ordered books. I bent the 266 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,560 Speaker 1: ears of men who worked at a local fly shop 267 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 1: Little Rock, trying to absorb everything I could to do 268 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,920 Speaker 1: it by myself, all before I ever left my house 269 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: to go fishing. A week into my new found purpose 270 00:15:12,880 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: in life, I bought a new fly rod, a few flies, 271 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 1: and some wagers. I had a fly rod at home, 272 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: but that one I'd bought many years ago, and the 273 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: last person I'd used it with was the man that 274 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: had taught me to fish in the first place, and 275 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 1: now he was gone and had been for quite a 276 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: few years. It had hung there in the garage, beside 277 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:33,320 Speaker 1: the last one he owned, and it was a reminder 278 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 1: of a million memories with him. Man, it was hard. 279 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,800 Speaker 1: It was just hard to fish with That one. Made 280 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: me miss my dad to the point that I didn't 281 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,560 Speaker 1: even brim fish for quite a while after he died. 282 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: The next day I planned to drive the Little Rock 283 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: with a new one, tie on a fly that the 284 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: fly shop man had sold me, and bring this all 285 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: full circle. New rod, new hobby, old dream. How hard 286 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: could it be? There was one vehicle in the parking 287 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: lot when I got there. No crowds meant less pressure 288 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: on the fish and less likely i'd be pulling someone's 289 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: ear off while I beat the air into submission with 290 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: my new fly rod. There was one guy standing beside 291 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 1: a small point fishing in a narrow part of the 292 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: river below the dam. I wasn't sure of the proper 293 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 1: etiquette when approaching a fisherman stand in midstream, so I 294 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: quickly calculated the amount of fly line he had stretched 295 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:28,840 Speaker 1: out before him and tried to add a little cushions 296 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: to that distance behind him, and I walked past him downstream. 297 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 1: After all, I didn't want him tearing one of my 298 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: ears off either. He never turned around, and I waded 299 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 1: out into the Little Red River for the first time, 300 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: sixty or more yards below him, and washed him catch 301 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 1: a fish. WHOA fly fishing is easy, It's gonna be fun. 302 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,200 Speaker 1: My first cast landed somewhere in the vicinity where I 303 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: was aiming, but most importantly, that fly was in the 304 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: river and I was fishing the current pool. My line 305 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: down streamed every so slowly, switching it back and forth 306 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:06,360 Speaker 1: as the different floes pulled and pushed my fly through 307 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: that cold water. A fish rose up river to feed 308 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: on a bug, and I saw that guy catch another fish. 309 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,879 Speaker 1: Man I was excited. The fish were biting, and this 310 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,479 Speaker 1: other guy and I were the only two folks around 311 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: my day advanced like this cast watched the line float by, 312 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: waiting for a bite. See that guy catch a fish, 313 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: Change flies, See that guy catch a fish. Cast again 314 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: with no results, And this went on for an hour. 315 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: After a while, he said, hey, won't you come up 316 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,879 Speaker 1: here with me. There's room up here, and they're stacked 317 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: in here. Pretty good. He caught another fish while he 318 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: was telling me that. Well, going back to my raising 319 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: of not wanting to be a bother, I said, man, 320 00:17:46,359 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: I'm good. Thanks. Though, Now not only did this dude 321 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,360 Speaker 1: catch fish like an otter, he was also a gentleman. 322 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 1: I hated him immediately. I made cast after cast without 323 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: a bite, all the while that guy seemed to catch 324 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:03,639 Speaker 1: one every other cast or so. I changed flies. He 325 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,120 Speaker 1: caught a fish while I manufactured not in my line, 326 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 1: false casting like I was in a sword fight with 327 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: invisible man. That joker caught a fish. I dropped my 328 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: sunglasses in the river. I watched them sink like a 329 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,719 Speaker 1: fallen leaf, just out of reaching into the frigid depths 330 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: of the water. He caught a fish. Oh yeah, fly fishing. Oh, 331 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 1: it's easy catching fish while fly fishing. That was something 332 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: of a different sword, at least for me. I needed 333 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: my dad to tell me how to do this, and 334 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,360 Speaker 1: even if I could have talked to him, he never 335 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,440 Speaker 1: fly fished either. Mercifully. The warning blew with the dam, 336 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: and that means they're fixing it, turn some water loose, 337 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 1: and we had to get off the river and to 338 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,920 Speaker 1: higher ground quick and in a hurry. The river can 339 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: go from waist deep and hardly any current at all 340 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,120 Speaker 1: to ten feet and running faster than grass goes through 341 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 1: a goose in short order. But I just went on 342 00:18:57,240 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: my first fly fishing trip. And while I had my 343 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 1: hat and had it to me by the trout gods 344 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: and that guy fishing upstream giving me lessons, I was 345 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,119 Speaker 1: still inspired to do it. I thought about it a 346 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 1: lot that first few hours. I stood in that cold water, 347 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,199 Speaker 1: watching drift after drifting the same with no fish, not 348 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: even a bite, but with no thoughts of disappointment, anger, 349 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,919 Speaker 1: or really even discouragement. I wanted to learn how to 350 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: do what I'd watched that guy above me do all afternoon, 351 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: and when I looked up, he was standing on the 352 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,560 Speaker 1: bank near the trail leading back to the parking lot, 353 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: waiting on me as a guy closer, I could see 354 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 1: this guy was a fly fisherman, not that I needed 355 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: to get any closer to see that, because I spent 356 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:42,560 Speaker 1: the better part of the day watching him demonstrate that 357 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: while trying not to let him catch me looking. But 358 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: he knew, though, he knew, like every home run here 359 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,359 Speaker 1: that ever live knows that when you're in the zone 360 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: and smashing fastballs to the parking lot, everybody's watching. It 361 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,440 Speaker 1: wasn't the crack of a bat that kept me looking 362 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: up ever that day. It was the of his flylne 363 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: being pulled up out of the water tight as a 364 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: fiddle string, over and over with a trout on the 365 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: other end. I tell you that cat was purpose driven 366 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,680 Speaker 1: to catch every trout within his loop, and I'd argue 367 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,480 Speaker 1: that if he didn't. A joker came offully close. When 368 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 1: I got up to him, he stuck out his hand 369 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:23,199 Speaker 1: and he said, howdie, my name's Terry. I shook his 370 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: hand and fought the urge to salute him, and raised 371 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: his arm like he just won the fly fishing championship 372 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:31,120 Speaker 1: of the civilized world. So I did what I always 373 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: do I said something stupid. Hi, Terry, my name's Brent, 374 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,160 Speaker 1: and you're a lot prettier than I thought you were. 375 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: Terry and I talked for thirty minutes, just like we 376 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:45,480 Speaker 1: were old friends. I didn't have to tell him that 377 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,680 Speaker 1: I didn't know what I was doing, but to make 378 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 1: sure he knew, I said, Terry, I don't know what 379 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: I'm doing. I just know I want to do it. 380 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,920 Speaker 1: And then he asked me, can you come back tomorrow? 381 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: That was twenty and seventeen. He taught me more than 382 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,199 Speaker 1: I could have ever learned on my own. How to 383 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,800 Speaker 1: read the water, how to match the hatch, how to 384 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,159 Speaker 1: tie flies, window fish, where to fish, patience, persistence, and 385 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 1: above all bed a good steward and a protector of 386 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 1: the resource, the same lessons I'd have been taught before 387 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 1: when I was a little boy, by a man that 388 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: i'd watched catch fish after fish, just like I'd watched 389 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:31,119 Speaker 1: Terry do. The first day we met, a couple of 390 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: years ago, my wife and I were on our way 391 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: back from Texas, and after a long period of silence 392 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,440 Speaker 1: and just riding, I began to tell her how random 393 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: I thought it was that Terry and I had met 394 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,720 Speaker 1: that day. Now, I could have gone anywhere. I had 395 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:48,960 Speaker 1: never been fly fishing before, and there were closer places 396 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,600 Speaker 1: to my house, and miles and miles of trout water 397 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 1: in Arkansas on different rivers. But I went there to 398 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 1: that spot where he was, and it was just the 399 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: two of us. After a minute or two, she looked 400 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,560 Speaker 1: at me and said, you don't see it. Do you 401 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: see what the connection with you and Terry? It's your dad. 402 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,399 Speaker 1: It's got nothing to do with fly fishing, Bran, and 403 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,680 Speaker 1: all to do with him helping you. He wasn't teaching 404 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 1: you how to fish. He was teaching you how to 405 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,199 Speaker 1: miss your dad and be happy by doing something that 406 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: all three of you love to do, catch fish with 407 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: a fly rod. And there it was, staring me right 408 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,439 Speaker 1: in the face. I believe in my heart that my 409 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: journey to that spot on the Little Red River started 410 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: the day my father left this earth. And I got 411 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: there exactly what I was supposed to, and it all 412 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,919 Speaker 1: started with Terry Garner's hello. Oh yeah, he ain't from Arkansas. 413 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: He just happened to be there fishing that day. She's 414 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: a smart gal, that galimane. There's power and sometimes opportunity 415 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: in saying hello. Whether it's from a random fly fisherman 416 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 1: or even a fair heart. I really enjoyed this week's visit. 417 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 1: You can find me on the old Instagram at Brent 418 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: Underscore Reeves. Remember Reeves is correctly spelled R E A 419 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: v ees. This is Brent Reeves. Sign it off, y'all 420 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: be careful.