WEBVTT - Ep. 133: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Minding Your Manners, Part 2 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:09.200 Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Rieves 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.720 from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.040 I want you to stay a while as I share 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.479 my stories and the country skills that will help you 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.360 beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.880 part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:30.000 outdoor podcast the airways have to offer. All right, friends, 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.040 pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I 0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:34.760 think I got a thing or two to teach you. 0:00:39.200 --> 0:00:43.479 Minding your Manners Part two. It's part two of Minding 0:00:43.479 --> 0:00:45.400 your Manners, and this week we're going to hit a 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:49.080 few specifics on having some good ones and the impressions 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:52.640 you give off when using them or not using them. 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.520 In today's world, where most folks communicate through texts, posting 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.600 videos on social media, our window of creating an accurate 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:04.400 representation of ourself has diminished into only a few seconds 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:08.800 or maybe even a single picture. The same thing applies 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.720 to the impression we give others. After all, when we're 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:15.800 downloading our first impression, someone new they're doing the same 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:19.880 thing with us. Funny how that works. Good stuff to 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:22.800 talk about today. But first I'm going to tell you 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:35.080 a story. Alexis and I were traveling last week and 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:37.840 got into a shuttle at the airport to take us 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:42.600 to our hotel. I was making casual conversation with the driver, 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.840 who was more or less my age, and responded yes, 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.080 sir to a question that he asked me. Now, he 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:51.320 told me I didn't have to say yes sir to him, 0:01:51.520 --> 0:01:54.000 and in the same breath he said, man, you have 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.880 a nice voice. You ought to do something in radio. 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:02.680 Alexis started and looked out of the window, and I said, well, 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.400 I kind of am in that business. I have a 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:09.000 podcast where I talk about different things each week. And 0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:11.800 he said, well, what was last week's show about? And 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.520 I told him manners being respectful, and that I had 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:20.280 specifically addressed the interaction that we had just had. I 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.840 told him that it was more related to his position 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:25.680 as the captain of that bus in a way of 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.760 me showing him respect as an adult, than it was 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.200 a statement about his age. We had a very interesting 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:36.720 conversation about the observations he made about people he encountered, 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:39.640 either in his daily life or through his job driving 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:45.040 that shuttle. His totally unsolicited opinion was that rural people, 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.720 adults and children alike seemed to be more mindful of 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.960 using manners than others. Now, he didn't say that folks 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.680 in the city were rude by any means, just that 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:58.640 there seemed to be a correlation between people from all 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.280 over the nation that lived close to the land in 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:04.640 the way that they talked to one another. Who better 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:07.280 to make that observation than a man who spends his 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:11.240 days talking to people from all over. Now, by the 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:13.720 time he got us to the hotel, he was on 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:17.800 my side about the advantages associated with good manners. He 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.200 even walked us in and told the lady behind the 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:23.320 desk to take good care of us because, and I quote, 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:27.119 these are good people. Now, I don't think there would 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:29.040 have been any difference in the way the folks at 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:31.760 the hotel treated us had he not gone in and 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.920 said that. But I'm convinced that the only reason he 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:37.440 did was because of the impression he got of us 0:03:37.480 --> 0:03:40.200 on the ride there. For all he knew we were 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:42.520 polite bank robbers on the lamb and hiding in the 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:46.040 mountains of Montana. But either way, having good manners work 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:50.360 to our advantage. While our manners had painted a picture 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:54.200 to our shuttle driver betraying us as good people. The 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:56.760 only other information he had to go was our outward 0:03:56.800 --> 0:04:00.440 appearance to back up his assumption about our character. It's 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:05.080 that old first impressions deal. First impressions happen when a 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:08.280 person first encounters another and they each form a mental 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:12.520 image of that person. The accuracy of that impression varies 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.000 depending on the observer, the person being observed, and the 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:18.599 setting in which they meet. And I'm sure the shuttle 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:21.200 driver's impression of me was held by having my wife 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:25.640 Alexis with me. That Gal spreads joy and happiness like confetti, 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.760 and her beautiful smile and friendly personality. But every one 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.000 of these now the same thing can be said when 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.799 you flip the coin. Let me give you an example. 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:41.200 Robert Alvin Fry married my grandfather's sister, Arlie May Reeves 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:45.040 in nineteen thirty six, and for the next sixty four 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:48.400 years they would beat together until Uncle Bob passed away 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.960 in June and Aunt Arli May six months later in 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:56.599 December of two thousand. Uncle Bob had been a blacksmith, 0:04:56.839 --> 0:05:00.680 a farmer, and was a storyteller like no other. He 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.039 was a true Southern gentleman, and my recollection was that 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.640 he loved my Aunt arl of May like nothing else. 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:10.359 I remember him telling the following story of a church 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.200 homecoming to a group of friends and relatives who sat 0:05:13.720 --> 0:05:16.200 visiting in the shade while Uncle Bob and the others 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:30.000 told stories of days gone by. In the early nineteen seventies, 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:32.640 Uncle Bob and Aunt arl of May were taking a 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:35.560 trip on a commercial jet. He said it was the 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:38.279 first plane ride for each of them, and if to 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.520 find gravity and leaving the confines of the Earth wasn't 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:44.760 enough reason to make him nervous, it was also at 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:49.000 the height of the airline hijacking craze, and he wasn't kidding. 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:53.840 I checked. From nineteen sixty one to nineteen seventy three, 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:58.360 there were one hundred and fifty nine airliners hijacking. Over 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:02.120 half of them were diverted to Cuba. He said it 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:05.240 had gotten so commonplace about a plane being hijacked to 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:08.480 Cuba that it was on the news just about every day, 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:12.400 either the ongoing saga from one of the day before 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:15.920 or a new one that had just happened. He said 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:18.159 they were some of the first aboard and sat and 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:21.799 washed his others got on and found their seats. Uncle 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:25.200 Bob said he watched and I quote as a rough 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:28.919 looking fellow with shaggy hair, a beard, and dirty clothes 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.880 sat down in a seat across from where he and 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:36.560 ain't arli May were sitting. He said it made him 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:39.400 a little uneasy. They didn't see a lot of hippies 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:42.800 in New Edinburgh, Arkansas, and it wasn't like he wasn't 0:06:42.800 --> 0:06:46.039 nervous enough already, he said. The fellow leaned back and 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.320 went to sleep before they took off, and after they'd 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:51.240 gotten off the ground, he and ain't arli May had 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:53.800 begun to relax and get a little more at ease 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:57.839 with flying. About thirty minutes into the flight, he said, 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.480 the stewardess came walking down the aisle with the big 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:04.880 tray of little sandwiches. She'd stop at every row of 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.680 seats and off from up, and if the passengers wanted 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:10.760 something to eat, they'd reach and take one small sandwich 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:14.000 off the tray. He said that he done got hungry 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.240 because he was too nervous to eat the night before 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:20.880 the flight, and it skipped breakfast earlier that day. He said, 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:22.760 boy I was looking forward to getting one of them 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:25.120 sandwiches and could hardly wait for her to get to 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:29.040 where we were sitting. Finally, she got to Uncle Bob's 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:31.480 row and was looking at Uncle Bob and aunt Arli 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:35.280 May and asking if they'd like a sandwich. About that time, 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.320 he saw the hand of that rough looking fellow reach 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:42.200 over into that tray and grab every sandwich on it 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:45.360 and wreke all of them off into his lap and 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:49.160 start eating. He said. It startled the stewardess, and it 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:51.520 scared him so bad that he stood up and shouted, 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:59.640 oh lord, we're Cuba bound. The stewardess got him back 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:03.160 seated and went to get more sandwiches. The rough looking 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:06.320 fella apologized to Uncle Bob and and Ardebay and told 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:08.120 him that it had been a while since he had 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:12.040 anything to eat. He was a nice fella, he was 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:15.520 just a little bit down on his luck. They had 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:19.000 a good visit afterwards and got to the destination without 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:22.480 diverting to Cuba. But it was the first impression and 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:25.160 a lack of manners that had painted a different picture 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:29.080 and how their brief relationship would go. So while the 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:31.600 old saying of you never get a chance to make 0:08:31.640 --> 0:08:35.840 a first impression is correct, there's another one about judging 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:39.600 a book by its cover. That's just as accurate, and 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:51.320 that's just how that happened. Let's talk about hats, and 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:53.640 why would you take a hat off when you walk 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:57.079 in someone's house. Well, if it was our house, it 0:08:57.120 --> 0:08:59.079 would be to keep my mama from knocking it off 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.720 your head. You didn't wear a hat in the house. 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:06.480 Removing your hat indoors dates back to medieval times when 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:09.240 knights would take their helmets off as a sign of 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:13.240 goodwill and friendship. I'm sure that's correct, but it may 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:16.040 have been a more of a functionality issue. I'd like 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:17.640 to see one of them try to eat some corn 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:20.600 on the cob while wearing one of them, be like 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:22.960 Spider Man trying to eat anything. That dude did not 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:24.959 think that suit out when he was sewing it up, 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:29.760 Not like I would have anyway. But taking your hat 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:32.640 off shows respect to the folks you're visiting, that you 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:35.400 value their time and you're not about to jump up 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:37.920 and leave now. If you're only going to be there 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:40.199 for a minute or two. You tell them that when 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:42.920 you get there that you can't stay, and you keep 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:44.640 your hat in your hand until it's time to go. 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.680 That's having manners and showing respect, whether they know it 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:52.000 or not. But when is it okay to where you 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:56.080 had inside? According to Miss Manners, any place that's considered 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:59.960 a public place is socially acceptable. But someone's home or 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:04.200 that ain't one of them. There's exceptions, like when part 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:08.199 of an official uniform like police officers, in some instances 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:11.640 when the military they not the military, they got their 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:14.160 own set of rules. But in general, wearing a hat 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:18.719 inside is no bueno. A restaurant, in a cafe their 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:21.440 public places. But you won't catch me wearing a hat 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.320 at any table, or any male member of my family 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:29.080 for that matter. Ladies, however, according to custom, get a 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:33.079 pass if it's part of their outfit. Now, my grandpa 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.720 didn't have a lot of time for watching NFL football, 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:38.480 but he had a lot of respect for the Dallas 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:43.040 Cowboys old coach Tom Landry. He'd heard coach Landry wouldn't 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:45.720 wear his hat when they played in a domed stadium. 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:49.840 He thought that showed class. Bear Bryant was the same way. 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:52.400 When I asked why he wasn't wearing his hat for 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:54.800 a game in a super dome, Coach Bryant would say, 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:58.800 because my mama told me to well, that's reason enough 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:02.880 for me too. The national anthem. For me, that's an 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:05.400 old brainer. I removed my cover and I hold it 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:08.120 over my heart. Removing my hat and stand the waile 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:11.320 it's played. Is my overt declaration of support for the 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:14.360 dream that this nation was founded on, in a way 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:18.400 to show my respect for those who've paid the ultimate sacrifice. 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:22.120 For all of us to have our own individual opinions 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:26.120 about everything left right or in the middle, that should 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:36.960 be something we could all agree on. What about opening 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.199 the door or waiting for someone to go through, or 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.320 holding the elevator, or letting the person with half as 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:45.600 many groceries as you have go in front of you? 0:11:46.640 --> 0:11:48.320 Are we in that big of a hurry not to 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:52.160 do these little things? I always hear that quote, this 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:55.440 fast paced world in which we live? Well, who made 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:57.880 the rule that it had to be fast? Are we 0:11:58.000 --> 0:11:59.959 not in charge of the pace in which we live? 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:04.319 I know I am, and probably much to the dismay 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:07.200 of those behind me. But I operate best at the 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:10.360 speed of happiness. And if it makes me happy and 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:13.120 doesn't hurt someone else, or even better yet, if it 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:16.360 makes me happy it makes someone else happy to then 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:20.800 that's the route I'm taking. Let's talk about food, which 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:24.520 is one of my favorite subjects. At any gathering for food, 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:27.680 it is taboo to fix your plate before you guess 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:30.880 do and if you don't have any guests, the kids 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.880 and the ladies get their plates fixed first, and the 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:37.679 head of the household he eats last. Now, y'all, don't 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:39.560 get your drawers in a wat over that head of 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:42.440 the household quote. I ain't the boss of my wife. 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:46.400 We have a partnership based on love and respect. But 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:50.760 I firmly believe it is absolutely my duty to protect 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:54.080 her in every other member of this home, whether they 0:12:54.240 --> 0:12:58.640 live here or just simply guessed, that's my responsibility as 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:02.520 a husband, a father, and a host. The tradition of 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.959 that person eating last, at least in our family was 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.880 started by my grandpa and was the exact opposite of 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:13.520 how it was when my grandpa was growing up. One 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.040 time I asked him why he always ate last, and 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.120 he told me that when he was a kid that 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:20.960 sometimes there might not be a lot for him to eat, 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:25.320 so the men that were working would eat first. They 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:28.319 needed the nourishment to keep working and keep putting food 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.680 on the table. The ladies followed up because their work 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:34.800 was just as important. They're at home, and the kids, well, 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:38.720 they got what was left, if there was anything. He 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:41.240 said he'd gone to bed hunger more than once as 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.120 a child, and vowed to never have one of his 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:49.880 kids or grandkids suffer the same fate. I can say 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:51.959 without a doubt that I never saw him fix a 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:55.560 plate until everyone else had theirs and was sitting down. 0:13:56.920 --> 0:14:00.680 How about the old last biscuit dilemma? Two or three 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.199 folks with some sopping left to do, and you look 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:07.440 up and there ain't but one biscuit left. Everybody wants it, 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:11.400 but who gets it? Well, in my house, if you 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.000 reach for it without asking if anyone else wanted it, 0:14:14.040 --> 0:14:16.920 you were automatically out of the running. My mama would 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:20.400 have throat punched you. She taught us to ask if 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:23.440 anyone else wanted it, and if they did, offer it 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:26.160 to them. If it was one of my brothers and 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:28.880 they took it without offering to share half with the 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:32.400 one asking, whamo, automatic throw punch from the lady that 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:36.600 baked them. My brother Tim once circumvented this by picking 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.640 up the last one, asking if anyone wanted it, And 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.280 when I said I did. He licked all over it 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:44.520 when my mama wasn't looking and tried to hand it 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:49.640 to me, and for that reason I was out anyway, 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:54.040 that clown, aside offering to share it, shows consideration for 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.880 the folks around you. And if you'll consider someone's feelings 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:01.760 over something as insignificant as it's a biscuit, and when 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:04.800 it comes to more important things, if there is something 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.080 more important than a homemade biscuit, you won't think twice 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:16.920 about doing it then either. And how about meeting folks 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:19.960 and having a conversation with him that was just as 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:22.560 important as my raisin. I remember I was eight or 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:24.560 nine years old and had gone to work with my 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:27.600 dad and we were at the regional office in Rising, 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:30.560 Arkansas to get whatever he needed before we set out 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:34.400 to work, visiting the area of chicken farms. He had 0:15:34.400 --> 0:15:36.320 a new boss, and when he walked in the room 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:38.960 where we were, he called his boss my name and said, 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.640 this is my baby boy brand. He introduced me to 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:45.720 folks that same way until he left this earth. Anyway, 0:15:46.080 --> 0:15:48.560 I was sitting in a chair and his boss walked 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:52.520 over to where I was to shake my hand. I 0:15:52.520 --> 0:15:54.960 stuck my hand out to shake his but made the 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:58.360 near fatal mistake of not standing up before his boss 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:01.440 had turned My hand loosened. My dad said, get your 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.080 butt up out of that chair. You don't shake a 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:07.480 man's hand sitting down. I stood up like that sea 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.000 was on fire, and it embarrassed me, but I never 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:16.760 forgot it. Lesson learned here's something else when shaking a 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.440 man's hand, look him dead in the eyes and use 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:23.160 a firm grip. There's nothing worse than trying to shake 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.160 a man's hand, and it winds up feeling like you 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:28.080 just holding hands with a fellow you don't know. With 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:32.000 the love of humanity. There ain't enough lava soap flowing 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:36.160 out of that volcano to wash that experience away. And 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:38.360 every time that happens, it sends a message to me 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.480 that this cat probably did not kill a turkey last year. 0:16:42.360 --> 0:16:44.720 I respect turkey hunters, and I never met one that 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:48.560 didn't have a firm handshake. I mentioned looking in a 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:50.880 person's eyes when he shake their hand. Let me tell 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:53.600 you about a fellow I used to work with. He 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.240 would never look you in the eyes when he talked 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.760 to you. It was the most distracting thing ever. The 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.840 whole the conversation with him. He is a great guy 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:05.880 and we have a lot of common interest. He could 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:07.879 have told me the secrets of the Pyramids, but I 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:11.879 wouldn't have heard him during any conversation we ever had. 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:14.600 I was bobbing and weaving like I was in the ring, 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:18.080 dodging jabs from Mike Tyson, just to meet his gaze. 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:21.160 I've known him for fifteen years and I couldn't swear 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:24.720 in court. The man has pupils. If you want someone 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:27.159 to pay attention to you, or show them that you 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.280 respect them enough to listen to him, look them in 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.040 the eyes when you're talking. Get a friend to look 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:34.879 at you, but not in your eyes while you're talking 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:38.560 to him, and tell me that ain't weird. Ps. If 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:40.840 you're talking to someone you don't know and they don't 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.440 look you in the eyes while you're talking, they probably 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:48.480 didn't kill a turkey last year either. Back in October 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:52.359 of twenty nineteen, we went to Disney World. Spent a 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:57.359 whole month there one week. Don't get me wrong, I 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:01.240 had fun riding the teacups, seeing Bailey dressed up like Cinderella, 0:18:01.320 --> 0:18:04.600 and having my picture maybe winning the Pooh. I'd hunted 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:08.719 hard the whole first week of Arkansas's September bear season, 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:10.720 but I had to fly to Florida to have my 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:15.240 picture made with a bear. Anyway, my biggest issue was 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.280 riding that bus back and forth from the hotel. There 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:20.280 was only so many seats, and I think in a 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:22.239 week's worth of trips that I got to sit in 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:25.720 one two or three times. I usually had one when 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:29.080 we got on the bus, but then some lady or 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.439 someone's grandma would wind up having to stand up, and 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.320 I couldn't in good conscience keep my seat while they stood. 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:37.399 I wasn't the only one giving up my seats like that, 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:40.040 but there was a lot more men who didn't, and 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:43.119 I've often wondered why, because it seemed so commonplace and 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.880 respectful to do it, how long for the day when 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.840 doing that would bring more attention than not doing it. 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.480 We all see these viral videos of events that happened, 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:58.400 good or bad, and whatever the incident is. If it's 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:01.719 in a large crowd, you can see multiple people filming 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:04.560 it with their phones when sometimes they should be in 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:08.600 there helping the folks involved. It's second nature now to 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:14.400 be observers and not participants. Not participating usually completely removes 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:19.000 you from legal responsibility. Should whatever your witness and go sideways. 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.119 But what about social responsibility? As inhabitants of this spinning 0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:29.480 rock we find ourselves on, am I my brother's keeper? Yep? Sure, 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:33.280 whe am. If we all started looking out for one another, 0:19:33.440 --> 0:19:36.360 just a little more than just looking at one another, 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:40.600 it might make a difference for someone. I know I've 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:43.359 told this before, but it bears repeating. When I was 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:47.000 the commander of a shift of uniform deputies, at the 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:50.000 end of each shift briefing before we all hit the 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:52.920 road to patrol our areas, the last thing I always 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:56.439 told them was to be safe. Try to make a 0:19:56.480 --> 0:20:01.520 difference in someone's life that day. That's pretty and it's 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:04.760 your challenge this week. If you see something you feel 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:08.479 compelled to respond to on social media, do it as 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:11.720 if that person was standing in front of Be nice 0:20:11.760 --> 0:20:19.800 if that called on it started trending. Anyway. I hope 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:23.159 you're staying cool and eating plenty of watermelons. This summer 0:20:23.200 --> 0:20:25.680 has been blistering down here in the old heat Dome, 0:20:26.240 --> 0:20:29.359 and watermelon time is just about over. And even though 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:32.400 I know there's bands of folks out there, my great 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.960 uncle Bob and I would describe as rough fellas sprinkling 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:40.000 salt on watermelons like a crop duster. Well, I hope 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:43.359 y'all get plenty too without having to make an unscheduled 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:49.000 stop in Cuba. This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all 0:20:49.000 --> 0:21:06.400 be careful.