WEBVTT - Ep. 187: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Things Lost and Found

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I

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<v Speaker 1>think I got a thing or two the teacher things

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<v Speaker 1>Lost and Found. Recently, I made a trip to Kansas,

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<v Speaker 1>and while I was there, I searched, along with some

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<v Speaker 1>friends of mine, for an item i'd lost eight years ago.

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<v Speaker 1>Got me to thinking about things you lose and a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit about the things you find. I talked to

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<v Speaker 1>Clear about he said, man, you ought to do a

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<v Speaker 1>podcast about it. Well, there's some lesson in there, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's my job to figure out what those lessons are.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna tell you what I think, but first we're

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<v Speaker 1>gonna tell you a story. Bow Hunting was popular in

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<v Speaker 1>my part of the world long before it was the

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<v Speaker 1>cool thing to do on TV and the internet. Heck,

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<v Speaker 1>TV just barely existed. There weren't any bow hunting shows

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<v Speaker 1>to mount to anything. At that time that this story

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<v Speaker 1>took place, an occasional mention of archery hunting on the

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<v Speaker 1>American Sportsman TV show was all you'd see outside of

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<v Speaker 1>magazine articles and outdoor life or Field and Stream. But

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<v Speaker 1>there was a core community of bow hunters that everyone

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<v Speaker 1>knew about as being pretty good hunters. There was a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of timber company land where I grew up. Before

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<v Speaker 1>leasing started. You could legally hunt anywhere you wanted. There

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<v Speaker 1>were established clubs with historic boundary lines between deer camps,

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<v Speaker 1>but there was no legal recourse. If they caught you

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<v Speaker 1>hunting on their claim land, you weren't trespassing, You were

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<v Speaker 1>just violating a gentleman's agreement. So, just like turkey hunters

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<v Speaker 1>play their cards close to their vest, the bow hunters

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<v Speaker 1>didn't talk about where they hunted and what they were seeing.

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<v Speaker 1>You do only know if they'd been successful, if they

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<v Speaker 1>took their buck down to the local paper and warn

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<v Speaker 1>and had mister Bob Newton take their picture to be

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<v Speaker 1>published in the Eagle Democrat that came out every Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>and only a small percentage of them did that. They

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<v Speaker 1>were secretive, and rightfully so. It was during this time

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<v Speaker 1>that the following conversation took place at my brother Tim's house.

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<v Speaker 1>He lived right down the road from us, and a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of his hunting buddies were meeting him there early

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<v Speaker 1>one morning to go hunting themselves. And they walked into

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<v Speaker 1>his house with their eyes wide from excitement, said, you

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<v Speaker 1>ain't gonna believe what we just saw. And Tim said

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<v Speaker 1>what they said? A buffalo? Tim said, you're right, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't believe you because you didn't see one. They said, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>we did, And the guy that was driving said, I

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<v Speaker 1>had to stop to keep him hitting it. It was

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<v Speaker 1>crossing the road right in front of us. Well, Tim,

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<v Speaker 1>that's where they've seen it. And they told him just

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<v Speaker 1>down the road. TEMPSA, y'all are crazy, and they swore

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<v Speaker 1>they weren't telling a lie. Now, seeing a buffalo ain't

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<v Speaker 1>that big of a deal. Really, Over three million people,

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<v Speaker 1>that's the entire population of Arkansas. The same number of

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<v Speaker 1>visit Yellowstone National Park every year, and I'm sure a

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<v Speaker 1>large portion of them, if not nearly all of them,

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<v Speaker 1>can lay claim to seeing alive on the hoof buffalo.

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<v Speaker 1>Now that number and percentage gets smaller and smaller. The

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<v Speaker 1>further south you go. Oklahoma, sports are good numbers, and

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<v Speaker 1>I used to run in formation, passed several during basic

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<v Speaker 1>training many moons ago at Fort Seal. But after you

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<v Speaker 1>cross Arkansas River heading southeast, where this story takes place,

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<v Speaker 1>you'd be more likely to see a mountain lion in

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<v Speaker 1>a buffalo. Now I've seen two of those down here,

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<v Speaker 1>remember with witnesses. But we're not talking about mountain lions.

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<v Speaker 1>We're supposed to be talking about things lost and found,

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<v Speaker 1>and I promised we are. I just I just have

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<v Speaker 1>to set the stage for bringing it all together. We're

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<v Speaker 1>almost there. There was another member of our community out

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<v Speaker 1>in the country who was known far and wide as

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<v Speaker 1>being frugal. We're gonna call him Frank. Now, Frank wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>his real name, but for the sake of ease and

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<v Speaker 1>keeping the character straight, that's what we're calling him. I

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<v Speaker 1>saying Frank was frugal somehow doesn't do it justice. As

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<v Speaker 1>far as I know, Frank didn't burn the light in

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<v Speaker 1>his house after it got dark for fear of running

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<v Speaker 1>up his electric bill. I don't guess there's nothing wrong

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<v Speaker 1>with that, But I never recalled passing his house and

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<v Speaker 1>seeing so much as a lamp burning inside. He was

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<v Speaker 1>a good fellow, but tight as bark on the tree.

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<v Speaker 1>Frank was tight as a field string. Frank was so

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<v Speaker 1>tight that he squeaked when he walked. Get the picture.

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<v Speaker 1>Frank was a tightwad. Frank was also an archery hunter,

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<v Speaker 1>and I figure he bow hunted because he could shoot

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<v Speaker 1>the same era over and over without having to buy more.

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<v Speaker 1>If he'd done it with firearms, he'd had to keep

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<v Speaker 1>buying ammo. Theoretically, a fellow only needs one era and

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<v Speaker 1>a broadhead put meat in the freezer. But old Frank

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<v Speaker 1>was cutting corners and saving money at every opportunity. Over

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<v Speaker 1>the course of the next couple of weeks, buffalo sightings

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<v Speaker 1>were popping up sporadically throughout the farming community. Old mister

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<v Speaker 1>so and so said he saw the buffalo over at

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<v Speaker 1>his place. Then another important the opposite direction would filter

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<v Speaker 1>in that they'd got a glimpse of the mystical creature

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<v Speaker 1>at another farm running through the woods. All of this

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<v Speaker 1>was in the gossip circles that filled the party line

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<v Speaker 1>telephone system that we all shared. They all know what

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<v Speaker 1>a party line is. Hang on to your britches, kids,

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<v Speaker 1>but believe it or not. But up close to the

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<v Speaker 1>time that I went to high school, where I lived,

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<v Speaker 1>there was one telephone line for several houses, and to

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<v Speaker 1>use the phone you had to pick it up and

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<v Speaker 1>see if anyone was already talking on it. The honor

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<v Speaker 1>system kept you from listening on other folks conversation, supposedly. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>back to Frank, about the same time that the buffalo

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<v Speaker 1>report stopped, we started seeing Frank grilling in the backyard

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<v Speaker 1>on a new grill. He just got a few evenings,

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<v Speaker 1>a few evenings during the week and every weekend there

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<v Speaker 1>was Frank standing in his backyard rain or shines grilling

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<v Speaker 1>his steaks and burgers, smiling in the smoke. You can

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<v Speaker 1>see him flipping them sometimes when you drove past, big

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<v Speaker 1>old steaks the can that were expensive even back then.

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<v Speaker 1>Frank didn't have any cows and was notoriously cheap. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a safe bet he wasn't buying all that meat

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<v Speaker 1>down into Dixon Dandy. So what about the buffalo? Did

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<v Speaker 1>they really see one? Where the reports of the buffalo

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<v Speaker 1>sidings that Tim's hunting friends and all the other folks

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<v Speaker 1>in the community seeing, were they're legitimate? And where did

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<v Speaker 1>this buffalo come from the people have been claiming to

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<v Speaker 1>see all sorts of things for years, but that doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>make it so. But here's the skinny on the buffalo.

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<v Speaker 1>He was real. He and a couple of his brethren

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<v Speaker 1>had escaped through a fence weeks before they were seen

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<v Speaker 1>in our part of the world. They were the first

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<v Speaker 1>buffalo in that country that had ever plopped their chips

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<v Speaker 1>down on terra firma since being extirpated throughout the natural

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<v Speaker 1>state in eighteen thirty seven. Now, it's worth noting that

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen twenty nine, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

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<v Speaker 1>released one buffalo near Lake Catherine in Garland County for

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<v Speaker 1>undocumented reasons, and no other restocking program has ever been

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<v Speaker 1>done since. Now we're pretty sure it wasn't that one

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<v Speaker 1>that they cut loose, because this happened in nineteen eighty two.

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<v Speaker 1>That'd make that'd make him my fifty three year old buffalo,

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<v Speaker 1>and seeing how they don't live past twenty, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>safe bed. If Frank was cooking one in his backyard

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<v Speaker 1>that he wasn't that one. The buffalo Tims hunting partner

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<v Speaker 1>saw was from a farm several miles away that had

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<v Speaker 1>gone rogue. And slipped the bonds of confinement. I kind

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<v Speaker 1>of liked that. I hate that fella lost his buffalo stock,

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<v Speaker 1>But how cool would it have been to be sitting

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<v Speaker 1>in a tree with your bow and raw, waiting on

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<v Speaker 1>a white tail and look up to see a buffalo

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<v Speaker 1>easing down the trail. Now, no one ever knew for sure,

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<v Speaker 1>but old Frank was a bow hunter, and a pretty

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<v Speaker 1>good one, and he lived right in the epicenter of

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<v Speaker 1>all the buffalo reports. The buffalo, the buffalo sighting stopped,

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<v Speaker 1>and then the sight of Frank working his magic, and

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<v Speaker 1>that charcoal arena and that new grill it started. That

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<v Speaker 1>could all be a coincidence. It could be, but the

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<v Speaker 1>detective in me says there was reasonable suspicion to further

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<v Speaker 1>than an investigation if anyone had been so inclined, But

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<v Speaker 1>no one was. We didn't find out that someone had

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<v Speaker 1>legitimately lost an American icon until long after the fact

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<v Speaker 1>of seeing the animal in our midst and then seeing

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<v Speaker 1>Frank routinely man in the grill in his backyard. The

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<v Speaker 1>animals had been written off as a loss before Frank's

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<v Speaker 1>probably encountering. Frank had a heck of a tale to tell.

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<v Speaker 1>But bow hunters were secretive back then, and no confirmation

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<v Speaker 1>was ever made between Frank and the buffalo except in

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<v Speaker 1>my heart. In my heart, I know he got him.

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<v Speaker 1>And so it's tem one fellow lost a buffalo and

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<v Speaker 1>one guy found a freezer full of meat, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>probably just how that happened, things lost and found. Was

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<v Speaker 1>Frank wrong for shooting a buffalo? Well, it wasn't his.

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<v Speaker 1>And I can't say I wouldn't have at that juncture

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<v Speaker 1>in my life. Just last week I talked about looking

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<v Speaker 1>at things from other folk's viewpoint, And if I had

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<v Speaker 1>been Bob, a well known skin flint famous for saving Nichols, Yep,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd have drilled up buffalo just as sure as I'm

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<v Speaker 1>sitting here and add every piece of him. But it

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't have been the right thing to do. Even though

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<v Speaker 1>the circumstances were somewhat extenuating. The thing was expensive. It

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't the ever elusive ten millimeters socket that you never

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to be able to lay your hands on when

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<v Speaker 1>you need one. Find one of those laying in the

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<v Speaker 1>sand as I'm walking through the desert, and I assure

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<v Speaker 1>you I'm not putting an ad in the paper looking

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<v Speaker 1>for the rightful owner. When I get back to civilization,

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<v Speaker 1>that rascal is going in my pocket. The question is

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<v Speaker 1>where do you draw the line? Supposed to draw the

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<v Speaker 1>line at the point right before I put the ten

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<v Speaker 1>middimeter socket in my pocket. It ain't mine, and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not supposed to claim it as such, But come on, man,

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<v Speaker 1>it's the ten millimeter. A good friend of mine was

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<v Speaker 1>duck hunting by himself on public land in another state.

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<v Speaker 1>He completed his hunt and was now loading his boat

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<v Speaker 1>back at the ramp that had been full of folks

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<v Speaker 1>when he got there that morning, But when he got back,

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<v Speaker 1>he was the only one there. Everyone else was long gone.

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<v Speaker 1>After getting all this stuff squared away, he walked over

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<v Speaker 1>to the edge of the parking lot to turn the

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<v Speaker 1>thermos of coffee loose he drank that morning. He said

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<v Speaker 1>he was just standing there and joining a moment, and

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<v Speaker 1>something caught his attention. Then he realized he was looking

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<v Speaker 1>at a brown lightning graded tory over and under broken,

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<v Speaker 1>open and leaning against a tree. It's one of the

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<v Speaker 1>many legacy symbols amongst duck hunters of my era, and

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<v Speaker 1>this one was well used but well taken care of.

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<v Speaker 1>It was immediately recognizable to him as being left there

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<v Speaker 1>by had to be somebody's grandpa, or maybe a grandpa's

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<v Speaker 1>son or a grandson had done it. These types of

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<v Speaker 1>shotguns rarely left the family in my circle, and those

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<v Speaker 1>like mine, they were passed down as inheritance and revered

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<v Speaker 1>as such. My friend said, he looked around and he

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<v Speaker 1>saw no one. Then he picked it up, snapped it shut,

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<v Speaker 1>and he ran his hand along the smooth, cold, still

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<v Speaker 1>admiring the craftsmanship, noting that the warn varnish and bluing

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<v Speaker 1>that told him volumes about that shotgun and its people

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<v Speaker 1>told him everything he needed to know about them, except

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<v Speaker 1>who they were and where they were. He snapped it

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<v Speaker 1>to his shoulder, as if shooting a big mall of

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<v Speaker 1>drake decoyed into his spread in the timber. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>it felt good, natural, and he would have been physically

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<v Speaker 1>ill had he been the one who had forgotten it.

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<v Speaker 1>It was late in the afternoon now, and he waited

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<v Speaker 1>well beyond dark, missing an employment he was supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>be at waiting for someone to come back, but no

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<v Speaker 1>one ever did. He left only after pinning a note

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<v Speaker 1>to that tree at the spot where that shotgun had

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<v Speaker 1>been leaned up and it read I have it called

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<v Speaker 1>this number. He took that shotgun home. He wiped it

0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:39.320
<v Speaker 1>down and placed it in his gun cabinet, alongside several

0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:44.319
<v Speaker 1>shotguns of his own that were of considerable lesser monetary value,

0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:50.080
<v Speaker 1>but equally as rich an heirloom legacy. In a few days,

0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:52.440
<v Speaker 1>he got a call from a frantic duck hunter who

0:13:52.520 --> 0:13:55.839
<v Speaker 1>had all but given up over He also didn't live

0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.320
<v Speaker 1>in that state, but he drove all the way back

0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:00.640
<v Speaker 1>and retracing his steps, and what he he guessed was

0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:04.120
<v Speaker 1>a vain attempt to find his grandfather's shotgun that he

0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:09.120
<v Speaker 1>mistakenly left leaning against a tree. He stood there, heart broken,

0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.360
<v Speaker 1>in tears and just happened to see the rained onwn

0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.960
<v Speaker 1>note lying at the base of a tree. The numbers faded,

0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:26.200
<v Speaker 1>but legend. That's a happy ending about something lost and

0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:30.720
<v Speaker 1>something found. It's my favorite kind of story, A true

0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:34.480
<v Speaker 1>representation of a story arc and how to craft a narrative,

0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:38.200
<v Speaker 1>and the best part that it ain't fiction. I lost

0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.960
<v Speaker 1>to pocket knife in Kansas during the archery season of

0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:45.760
<v Speaker 1>twenty fifteen. I knew when I lost it, I knew

0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:49.120
<v Speaker 1>where I lost it, and I searched and searched, but

0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:53.760
<v Speaker 1>I never found it. It was my dad's last case

0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.320
<v Speaker 1>of Minnie Trapper. It was the one he was carrying

0:14:56.360 --> 0:15:00.320
<v Speaker 1>when he got sick. Hospital folks gave us his long

0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:03.680
<v Speaker 1>as when he was admitted, all the things that he

0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:07.520
<v Speaker 1>was told. That case pocket knife was one of the items.

0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.800
<v Speaker 1>My dad would never carry it again, or any other one.

0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:17.200
<v Speaker 1>Forty two days after he was admitted he died, Tim

0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:20.200
<v Speaker 1>gave me that knife. Being the older brother, he took

0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:23.400
<v Speaker 1>the lead on the yoke of responsibility in seeing after

0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:27.760
<v Speaker 1>our dad's affairs, and I helped him. I don't know

0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:31.000
<v Speaker 1>why he told me to take that particular pocket knife,

0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.880
<v Speaker 1>but he did. For a long time, I just had

0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:36.600
<v Speaker 1>it setting on my dresser. I'd pick it up and

0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:38.680
<v Speaker 1>hold it in my hands and think about the last

0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:41.880
<v Speaker 1>time my dad used it, probably opening up a sack

0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.800
<v Speaker 1>of dog food for those walkers of his. It made

0:15:45.840 --> 0:15:49.520
<v Speaker 1>me smile well. I left for Kansas that dear season,

0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:52.480
<v Speaker 1>and as an afterthought, stuck it in my pocket when

0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:56.520
<v Speaker 1>I left the house. Feeling it in there made me

0:15:56.560 --> 0:16:01.000
<v Speaker 1>think about him. It made me secure somehow, and then

0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.600
<v Speaker 1>I lost it. Now. I look as hard as I could,

0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:07.480
<v Speaker 1>but I never found it. I vowed to come back

0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:10.400
<v Speaker 1>one day with a metal detector and look again, but

0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:15.200
<v Speaker 1>that opportunity never came until a few months ago when

0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:19.479
<v Speaker 1>I was invited to speak in an event in Independence, Kansas.

0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:23.440
<v Speaker 1>Chris Alexander is a volunteer with the Hunters with Mission

0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.680
<v Speaker 1>organization there, and they are a nonprofit group that supports

0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:32.040
<v Speaker 1>a Christian mission orphanage in India. In reality, they're not

0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:35.920
<v Speaker 1>only feeding orphans, but children that the parents can't afford

0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.240
<v Speaker 1>to feed. I save your comments about religion, politics and

0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:42.880
<v Speaker 1>anything else. Hungry youngins are everywhere, and I'll help with

0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.720
<v Speaker 1>that mission, regardless of the zip code. I met Chris

0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:49.680
<v Speaker 1>at the Black Beery Banans in Arkansas last March and

0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.880
<v Speaker 1>made plans to go speak at this event. Ten months later,

0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:56.160
<v Speaker 1>I found myself standing in front of four hundred and

0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:58.600
<v Speaker 1>fifty of the prettiest folks I've ever had the pleasure

0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.960
<v Speaker 1>of spending the evening with all working toward filling the

0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:05.480
<v Speaker 1>place of some hungry children. After it was announced that

0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:08.399
<v Speaker 1>I'd be speaking there, I received a message from a

0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:11.320
<v Speaker 1>man who invited me to bring old whaling and go

0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:14.960
<v Speaker 1>coon hutting with him. We talked several times as the

0:17:15.080 --> 0:17:18.119
<v Speaker 1>date got closer, and we finalized the arrangements for me

0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:20.639
<v Speaker 1>to arrive a day early so we could hunt the

0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:24.359
<v Speaker 1>night before the event. I got to the lodge in

0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:27.479
<v Speaker 1>the afternoon, was still plenty of daylight left, and I

0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.000
<v Speaker 1>told Tuffy Graham about losing that knife, and coincidentally, I

0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:34.439
<v Speaker 1>thought it was pretty close to where we were. I

0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:36.760
<v Speaker 1>described the property to him as best I could for

0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:40.200
<v Speaker 1>a place that I hadn't seen in eight years. We

0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.280
<v Speaker 1>looked at a parcel ground on all next that he

0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.639
<v Speaker 1>thought sounded very similar to what I was describing, and

0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:49.400
<v Speaker 1>we drove to it and that was it. I knew

0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.640
<v Speaker 1>it immediately when I saw it. Tuff said he knew

0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:55.600
<v Speaker 1>the land on and would call and get permission for

0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:59.560
<v Speaker 1>us to look. It was also just over a quarter

0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:04.040
<v Speaker 1>of a mile from his house. It probably takes the

0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:06.879
<v Speaker 1>rest of the evening to hear from him. So we

0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:08.840
<v Speaker 1>went back to the lodge hat supper, and we went

0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:14.119
<v Speaker 1>coon hunt that night. Everything was falling into place. The

0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:17.080
<v Speaker 1>story art was being built all through organic means. There

0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:22.000
<v Speaker 1>had been no artificial or purposeful manufacturing. But now I

0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:25.880
<v Speaker 1>can relax and go coonhut with my new friend Toff.

0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:29.359
<v Speaker 1>He brought his eleven year old son Dakota, and Travis Blend,

0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:33.040
<v Speaker 1>the preserve manager. We loaded whaling up in the side

0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:34.919
<v Speaker 1>by side along with the rest of us, and in

0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.800
<v Speaker 1>short order we were cutting whaling and tough as dog

0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:41.880
<v Speaker 1>Boone loose in a creek bottom in Kansas. We made

0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:45.800
<v Speaker 1>two trees and Dakota knocked out four turkey nest banditos

0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.440
<v Speaker 1>to the delight of Whaling Boone and Travis, who was

0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:51.520
<v Speaker 1>responsible for the health and balance of wildlife on the ranch.

0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:55.680
<v Speaker 1>Good job to Coda. Those trees were lay up coons.

0:18:56.240 --> 0:18:59.119
<v Speaker 1>The heavy miss that was falling had them stirn very little,

0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:02.960
<v Speaker 1>so last drop was outstriking a very good track. We

0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:06.879
<v Speaker 1>called it a night. My friend David McDaniels made it

0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:09.680
<v Speaker 1>up from East Texas just in time to go to bed.

0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:12.520
<v Speaker 1>He missed the hunt due to working late, but was

0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:15.600
<v Speaker 1>excited to photograph and document our attempt to find the

0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:18.680
<v Speaker 1>pocket knife the next day. He brought his camera gear

0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:21.639
<v Speaker 1>to shoot the hunter with mission banquet the next evening.

0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.520
<v Speaker 1>Tuffy met us the next morning after breakfast and we

0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.080
<v Speaker 1>struck out for the spot where I had lost the knife.

0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:30.800
<v Speaker 1>We followed him over to that property next to his

0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.399
<v Speaker 1>and parked along the muddy road that had seen a

0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:37.000
<v Speaker 1>whole bunch of rain in the last twenty four hours.

0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:40.359
<v Speaker 1>The roads had only recently thalled from the frigid weather

0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.040
<v Speaker 1>that had locked up half the country, and the new

0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:48.280
<v Speaker 1>rain had made the hardest of roads rather spongy. We

0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:51.640
<v Speaker 1>started across the road, and coming up as fast as

0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:55.200
<v Speaker 1>two eleven year old legs could go was Dakota, kicking

0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:58.240
<v Speaker 1>mud up with every step and getting faster the closer

0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:02.280
<v Speaker 1>he got. We waited on him while he ran straight

0:20:02.320 --> 0:20:04.680
<v Speaker 1>from his house to where we were. He stopped once

0:20:04.680 --> 0:20:07.679
<v Speaker 1>he got to us, drew one big breath, and was

0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:10.359
<v Speaker 1>as rested as if he'd just gotten out of bed.

0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:14.840
<v Speaker 1>Oh to be eleven years old again and not just

0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:17.960
<v Speaker 1>act like it. As we walked toward the spot, Toffy said,

0:20:18.000 --> 0:20:20.000
<v Speaker 1>I talked to the landowner. He said that we could

0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:23.560
<v Speaker 1>look at anything we wanted to, and he didn't know

0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:25.520
<v Speaker 1>where you lost the knife, but he hoped it wasn't

0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:29.200
<v Speaker 1>around the corral because he had several tons of rock

0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:32.360
<v Speaker 1>hauled in to build up a low spot that always

0:20:32.359 --> 0:20:39.360
<v Speaker 1>stayed wet. Well, that's exactly where I lost it. Toughy's

0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:42.040
<v Speaker 1>metal detector made several hits and we dug through eight

0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:45.320
<v Speaker 1>to ten inches of pack down rocks that had been

0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:49.440
<v Speaker 1>dumped there six years ago, only to find small scraps

0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:52.800
<v Speaker 1>of metal, no pocket knife. There would be no happy

0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:56.120
<v Speaker 1>ending to this story arc, not yet anyway, now tough.

0:20:56.119 --> 0:20:57.840
<v Speaker 1>He told me that when he got a chance, that

0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:01.320
<v Speaker 1>he'd come over and search for me. Dakota told me

0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:04.600
<v Speaker 1>that he'd help his dad. That's exactly what I would

0:21:04.600 --> 0:21:08.959
<v Speaker 1>have said had my dad promised to help someone. So

0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:13.000
<v Speaker 1>maybe this story arc does have a happy end. I

0:21:13.040 --> 0:21:16.160
<v Speaker 1>came to terms a long time ago about losing that knife.

0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:19.280
<v Speaker 1>I stopped beating myself up over it several years ago.

0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:22.080
<v Speaker 1>Although this whole ordeal has kind of picked at the

0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:25.879
<v Speaker 1>scar a little bit, but a chance meeting in Arkansas

0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:30.280
<v Speaker 1>with Chris, a guy from Kansas, afforded me the opportunity

0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:34.199
<v Speaker 1>to help some children that I'll never see. In doing so,

0:21:34.880 --> 0:21:38.680
<v Speaker 1>I met Travis, I met Tuffie, the best of all,

0:21:39.119 --> 0:21:42.280
<v Speaker 1>I met Dakota, and I met them in a place

0:21:42.359 --> 0:21:46.440
<v Speaker 1>that has forever held a melancholy memory of a loss.

0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:50.440
<v Speaker 1>All that changed when I met these folks, all eager

0:21:50.480 --> 0:21:53.879
<v Speaker 1>to help me find something that I'd lost, while helping

0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:58.720
<v Speaker 1>me find something better that's new friends. The banquet that

0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:02.679
<v Speaker 1>night to that immeasurably I lost to pocket knife, but

0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:07.200
<v Speaker 1>I gained a whole lot more that my dad would

0:22:07.200 --> 0:22:11.080
<v Speaker 1>approve of. If you lose something, dear to you keep

0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.360
<v Speaker 1>looking for it and don't give up cop No tell

0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:24.240
<v Speaker 1>them what you might find. Black Bear Bonanza, where all

0:22:24.280 --> 0:22:27.760
<v Speaker 1>that started, is happening again this year on March the ninth,

0:22:28.160 --> 0:22:33.040
<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty four, at the Benton County Fairgrounds, Benville, Arkansas.

0:22:34.080 --> 0:22:36.800
<v Speaker 1>I'll be there, Clay Bow will be there, and we'll

0:22:36.800 --> 0:22:40.440
<v Speaker 1>be aul hooting, podcasting and having a ton of fun.

0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:43.120
<v Speaker 1>Y'all need to get your tickets early, and you can

0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:46.440
<v Speaker 1>do that by hitting the old Google with Black Barry Bonanza,

0:22:46.960 --> 0:22:54.120
<v Speaker 1>follow the lank bringing youngs. I thank y'all for listening.

0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:57.320
<v Speaker 1>Lots of good stuff coming from the media or YouTube

0:22:57.400 --> 0:23:01.520
<v Speaker 1>channel from me and my Mississippi River cub pilot Claybold

0:23:01.560 --> 0:23:05.879
<v Speaker 1>Nukam and some of this country life announcements to y'all.

0:23:05.920 --> 0:23:09.520
<v Speaker 1>Just hanging there until next week. This is Brent Reeve

0:23:09.720 --> 0:23:12.240
<v Speaker 1>signing off. Y'all be careful