WEBVTT - Ep. 177: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Making Do With What You Have

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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 tail gate.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I got a thing or two, and teach

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<v Speaker 1>you making do with what you have in the grand

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<v Speaker 1>scheme of things. Grand things are grand, newer, bigger, better

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<v Speaker 1>and more. Who has the most things wins? Right? Or

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<v Speaker 1>do they? That's my best dude from dateline imitation. But

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<v Speaker 1>my question is this is bigger and better always the best? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it depends on the situation. I'm going to talk about

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<v Speaker 1>it this week, but first I'm going to tell you

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<v Speaker 1>a story. This story was told to be by my dad,

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<v Speaker 1>Buddy Rings, and I've heard him tell it several times

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<v Speaker 1>that it made me laugh every time he did. He

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<v Speaker 1>would have been in elementary school at the time, and

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<v Speaker 1>I assume anywhere from six to ten years old. He

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<v Speaker 1>never was real clear about it, but he and a

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<v Speaker 1>group of neighboring kids were playing cops and robbers. And

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<v Speaker 1>when I say neighboring kids, I don't mean neighborhood kids.

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<v Speaker 1>They would have been neighboring farms. It was in the

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<v Speaker 1>summertime and they were all running around barefootede shirtless and

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<v Speaker 1>wearing their overalls. Now, my father grew up on the

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<v Speaker 1>same forty acres he was living on when he died,

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<v Speaker 1>except for being stationed at used to be called Hunter

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<v Speaker 1>Air Force Base in Savannah, Georgia for two years and

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<v Speaker 1>taking a job at one of the car plants in

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<v Speaker 1>Michigan after he mustered out of the service. He would

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<v Speaker 1>live there on that land all his life. Interesting side

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<v Speaker 1>note on how they all moved back to Arkansas. My

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<v Speaker 1>brother Tim, who is eight years older than me, went

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<v Speaker 1>to the first grade in Ipsilanti, Michigan. He went to

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<v Speaker 1>the second grade in Warren, Arkansas, the same school he

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<v Speaker 1>our middle brother, Chuck, and I all graduated from. Dad

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<v Speaker 1>said Tim came home from school one day while they

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<v Speaker 1>were still living in Michigan, and while talking to him,

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<v Speaker 1>Tim said dog instead of dog. I'm not sure they

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<v Speaker 1>even had suffer Before he packed them all up and

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<v Speaker 1>came home, and it was a good thing because I

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<v Speaker 1>would be born in the spring of his second grade year.

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<v Speaker 1>And I can't imagine saying good dog when whaling trees

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<v Speaker 1>are raccoon. Brent, what keep your hands on the wheel

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<v Speaker 1>up there? You're telling the story? Oh yeah, Cops and

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<v Speaker 1>robbers anyway, there was one fellow in particular that my

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<v Speaker 1>dad absolutely hated. He said he was mean to him

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<v Speaker 1>and there was nothing that could make him like that boy.

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<v Speaker 1>He was unbeaten in cops and robbers, regardless of which

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<v Speaker 1>side he played on. He was bigger, and he was

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<v Speaker 1>stronger than everyone else, and he bullied folks to get

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<v Speaker 1>his way. He said they'd all whittled themselves a pistol

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<v Speaker 1>out of wood, and had spent some considerable time doing it,

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<v Speaker 1>making them look just as real as they could. He

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<v Speaker 1>said that while they weren't works of art, there was

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<v Speaker 1>no mistake in what they were, and they took their

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<v Speaker 1>playing seriously and their props even more so. Dad said

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<v Speaker 1>he was playing the cop and had caught and jailed

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<v Speaker 1>every one except the main one. He was after, a

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<v Speaker 1>boy that he hated. He said he would catch a

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<v Speaker 1>glimpse of him occasionally, but he was never in the

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<v Speaker 1>open long enough for him to get a clear shot

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<v Speaker 1>at him. And all of them played by the honor system,

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<v Speaker 1>and you knew if you'd gotten away or you hadn't,

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<v Speaker 1>it was important to do so because the next time

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<v Speaker 1>it might be you whose life and liberty might be

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<v Speaker 1>at stake. He said. It was just about the only

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<v Speaker 1>rule that that boy followed. Now, through the woods behind

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<v Speaker 1>the barn, in the smokehouse, in the hayloft, he chased

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<v Speaker 1>and tracked his suspect. He said it went on for hours,

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<v Speaker 1>and finally, finally he caught a glimpse of him down

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<v Speaker 1>by the creek near the swimming hole they cleaned out.

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<v Speaker 1>Interestingly enough, this was the same swimming hole that my

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<v Speaker 1>dad said this boy nearly drowned in once. Apparently he

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't swim, and after jumping in the creek on a

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<v Speaker 1>dare during the spring overflow, he was swept away and

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<v Speaker 1>was calling out for my dad to help him. I

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<v Speaker 1>asked my dad if he jumped in to save him.

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<v Speaker 1>He said no. I watched him disappear down the creek,

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<v Speaker 1>thinking to myself, if you can't swim, you are not

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<v Speaker 1>going swimming now. He never told that story that he

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<v Speaker 1>didn't say how grateful he was that that boy didn't drown.

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<v Speaker 1>But I also never heard him say there was anyone

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<v Speaker 1>else with him when it happened, which makes me wonder

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<v Speaker 1>who dared him to jump in in the first place.

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<v Speaker 1>Back to the story, Dad said he'd tracked him down

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<v Speaker 1>to the swimming hole, and he had slipped up behind

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<v Speaker 1>him without him knowing, and he hopped off the bank

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<v Speaker 1>holler and stick him up. As his bare feet settled

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<v Speaker 1>into the sand bar where his suspect had been eluding capture,

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<v Speaker 1>he got the drip on him. He was caught. Dad said,

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<v Speaker 1>his pistol sticking out of his rear pocket, and he

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<v Speaker 1>reached over and snatched it out of its holster, And

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<v Speaker 1>now he had him a double gunpoint. He haulered for

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<v Speaker 1>the other boys to come witness how he captured him.

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<v Speaker 1>After all this time, the unbeatable had been beaten, the

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<v Speaker 1>uncatchable had been caught. He said. They were knocking leaves

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<v Speaker 1>off the trees, running to the swimming hole to watch

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<v Speaker 1>the process. That said, there was a log that lay

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<v Speaker 1>on the ground that ran out into the creek, and

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<v Speaker 1>he told his prisoner to have a seat on it

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<v Speaker 1>while they waited on everyone to get there, and after

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<v Speaker 1>they did, Dad said, I told him that for all

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<v Speaker 1>his crimes, that they weren't even going to bother with

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<v Speaker 1>a hanging, that he was just gonna shoot him and

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<v Speaker 1>get it over with. That's my dad, the tightwad, saving

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<v Speaker 1>money by taking out the middleman. Anyway, he said, I

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<v Speaker 1>asked that joker if he had anything to say before

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<v Speaker 1>I shot him. The boy looked up at him and said,

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<v Speaker 1>do you mind if I smoke? Now? The first time

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<v Speaker 1>he told me this story, I said, smoke, he said.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad said, yeah, smoke. Most all of us chewed

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<v Speaker 1>or tobacco or dip snuff or smoked. And I told him, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you can smoke, and I'll have one too. So, being

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<v Speaker 1>the Southern gentleman and honoring the last requests of the doom,

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<v Speaker 1>along with wanting a cigarette himself, my dad allowed his

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<v Speaker 1>captive to reach inside the bib of his overalls and

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<v Speaker 1>take out his Tobacca sack of papers. He wrote them

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<v Speaker 1>each a cigarette, stuck one in my Dad's mouth, and

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<v Speaker 1>reached back in the bill of his overalls and whipped

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<v Speaker 1>out a little gun he'd whittled that my dad didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know about him. He pointed at my dad and said, paw,

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<v Speaker 1>he got away again, and that's just how that happened.

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<v Speaker 1>Make him do with what you have, my dad, and

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<v Speaker 1>all his power was, including a non swimming undisputed Cops

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<v Speaker 1>and Robbers champion that he hated for making do with

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<v Speaker 1>what they had. They didn't have toy guns, so they

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<v Speaker 1>made themselves some. He told me that he would run

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<v Speaker 1>around pushing the metal ring with a Prince Albercan nailed

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<v Speaker 1>to a stick, and I couldn't figure out what in

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<v Speaker 1>the world he was talking about. So when I was

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<v Speaker 1>a kid, he made me one. He took a one

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<v Speaker 1>inch by one inch to made a stick, and then

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<v Speaker 1>he centered and nailed a flattened tin Prince Albercan to

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<v Speaker 1>one end of the stick. He then bent each side

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<v Speaker 1>up that hung over the edge upwards, so that when

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<v Speaker 1>you rolled that metal ring, the wings for lack of

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<v Speaker 1>a better word, on that Prince Albercan would steer the

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<v Speaker 1>ring in any direction you wanted. All you had to

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<v Speaker 1>do was run along behind it, guiding it around in

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<v Speaker 1>the dirt. And he was right. It was fun. And

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<v Speaker 1>I made a bunch of those things after he made

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<v Speaker 1>me the first one when I was little a young

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<v Speaker 1>and can put a lot, a lot of miles behind

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<v Speaker 1>one of those things. It burned up lots of energy.

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<v Speaker 1>They grew up making do with what they could find,

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<v Speaker 1>and they passed that lesson on to us. My uncle

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<v Speaker 1>Jim Ray, Dad's little brother, told me about one of

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<v Speaker 1>the boys that he played with that made what they

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<v Speaker 1>called a tractor, and they made it out of sticks,

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<v Speaker 1>a washer, an empty wooden spool, and a rubber band.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I had never heard of such, so after he

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<v Speaker 1>had told me about it, I did one Internet search

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<v Speaker 1>and there it was d iy wouldn't spool race car?

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<v Speaker 1>If you search that up what I just said, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>see the video I saw and how to make one.

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<v Speaker 1>In the video, they used tape and plastic spools in

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<v Speaker 1>a paper clip, but the end result was the same.

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<v Speaker 1>My uncle Jim Ray said they cut little notches in

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<v Speaker 1>the edge of the spool so theirs could get some

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<v Speaker 1>traction to move around in the dirt that they were

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<v Speaker 1>playing in. Making do with what you have and really

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<v Speaker 1>making something fun. I watched that video and I thought,

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<v Speaker 1>I gotta make one that's about as country as it gets.

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<v Speaker 1>But you and I both know that that stuff's not

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<v Speaker 1>limited to country living. People everywhere do the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just the examples that I have to relate to.

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<v Speaker 1>You all come from country living. It's the only place

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<v Speaker 1>I've ever lived. Now, y'all may have been doing the

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<v Speaker 1>same thing in the middle of Chicago, which I must

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<v Speaker 1>admit was a far away land compared to South Arkansas,

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<v Speaker 1>and a lot of folks down here thought that apparently,

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<v Speaker 1>which reminds me of another story that I was told

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<v Speaker 1>by an old time policeman during the early years of

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<v Speaker 1>my career. He was showing me the ropes and telling

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<v Speaker 1>me old war stories about his life on the job

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<v Speaker 1>and when he was a rookie back in the late sixties,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd been assigned to work with an old veteran police

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<v Speaker 1>officer who was near and rich Reim. While on patrol,

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<v Speaker 1>they stopped an out of state vehicle for speeding. The

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<v Speaker 1>old veteran said, stay here, junior, and let me show

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<v Speaker 1>you how we do this. He told me he stood

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<v Speaker 1>at the right front fender of the patrol car and watched.

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<v Speaker 1>His old veteran walked up to the window and spoke

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<v Speaker 1>with the driver, obtained his driver's license, and upon returning,

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<v Speaker 1>he motioned for him to get back in the patrol car.

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<v Speaker 1>As he walked back to get his ticket book, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>the old policeman told him, now, you keep a good

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<v Speaker 1>eye on this man. He's up to something. I was

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<v Speaker 1>going to give him a warning for the speeding, but

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<v Speaker 1>after he lied to me, I decided not to. My

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<v Speaker 1>friend asked him what he lied about, and the old

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<v Speaker 1>man told him. Well. I asked him where he was

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<v Speaker 1>coming from, and he told me Chicago. My friend asked him, why,

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<v Speaker 1>how do you know he's lying about that. The old

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<v Speaker 1>veteran slowly turned over and looked at him and said,

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<v Speaker 1>you got to be paying attention, junior. You got to

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<v Speaker 1>look for clues, and so you have some idea of

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<v Speaker 1>what you're dealing with. If he's telling me he's from Chicago,

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<v Speaker 1>why does the license plate on his car say Illinois? Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>While on the subject of places up north, like the

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<v Speaker 1>state of Chicago, I think about wintertime scenes from stories

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<v Speaker 1>and television with kids riding sleds down hills. And we

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<v Speaker 1>didn't frequently have snow when I was growing up, and

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<v Speaker 1>if we did it, it didn't wasn't a lot and

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<v Speaker 1>it didn't last long. But we sure didn't have any

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<v Speaker 1>sleds around. But I remember one winter when a big

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<v Speaker 1>ice snowstorm came and knocked out all the power. Now

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<v Speaker 1>we didn't have electricity for over two weeks, and there

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<v Speaker 1>was no roads open and no place to go. But

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<v Speaker 1>we couldn't leave anyway because someone had to look after

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<v Speaker 1>all the livestock. Now, we had a big buck stove

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<v Speaker 1>insert in the fireplace that my mama cooked on and

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<v Speaker 1>we all slept in the living room that had joined

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<v Speaker 1>to catch and I don't ever remember being cold during

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<v Speaker 1>the day. We'd play outside after the chores were done,

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<v Speaker 1>and my brother Tim said we were all going sledding

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<v Speaker 1>down goat House Hill. That hill was located across the

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<v Speaker 1>county road from our house, and it was more of

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<v Speaker 1>a bluff bottom than a hill. The lad just dropped

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<v Speaker 1>off into a creek bottom there, and there was a

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<v Speaker 1>tractor trail that went right down to the steep gray

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<v Speaker 1>that was covered in ice and snow about eight inches thick. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>we had the location in the right conditions, but like

0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:37.080
<v Speaker 1>I said, we didn't have any sleds, and you couldn't

0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.600
<v Speaker 1>have found a sled in Bradley or Cleveland County that

0:13:39.720 --> 0:13:43.480
<v Speaker 1>was designed for snow. But What we did have was

0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:49.280
<v Speaker 1>tomato boxes, stacks of waxed cardboard tomato boxes that were

0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:53.240
<v Speaker 1>bundled and stacked flat in the barn, waiting to be

0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:57.240
<v Speaker 1>folded into the shape of a box of tomatoes. Next summer,

0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.760
<v Speaker 1>when we packed them full and took them to market,

0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:03.840
<v Speaker 1>Tim was the first to try. He sat down on

0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.640
<v Speaker 1>the carboard on top of that hill, pushed off and

0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:09.480
<v Speaker 1>vanished from sight. It was like he had shot out

0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.360
<v Speaker 1>of a cannon down that hill. It was about a

0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.360
<v Speaker 1>forty yard ride, counting the coasting at the bottom and

0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:17.840
<v Speaker 1>the terrace road that shot you into space if you

0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:22.120
<v Speaker 1>were lucky enough to maintain enough speed to make it there. Now.

0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:24.360
<v Speaker 1>We spent a couple of days there, up and down,

0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:26.920
<v Speaker 1>over and over until we beat all the snow in

0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:30.440
<v Speaker 1>the ice away. But we were making do and it

0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:34.680
<v Speaker 1>was fun. The other night, I was feeling a bit

0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:38.280
<v Speaker 1>nostalgic and decided to go coon hunting using an old

0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:42.000
<v Speaker 1>carbyde light I bought off eBay that was just like

0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:44.960
<v Speaker 1>my first hunting light. And what I paid for this one,

0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.560
<v Speaker 1>I could have outfitted a squad of coon hunters back

0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:51.080
<v Speaker 1>in the day, but they sold them at Johnson's Hardware

0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:54.800
<v Speaker 1>and warned, and for about twenty dollars, coach Bobby Johnson

0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:57.080
<v Speaker 1>could have you seeing in the dark with a light

0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:01.480
<v Speaker 1>and a can of carbide. I found source for some carbide,

0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.000
<v Speaker 1>and about a week of waiting on the mailman, I

0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:08.200
<v Speaker 1>was in business. It was a couple of nights before Christmas,

0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.840
<v Speaker 1>when the girls were all taken care of and no

0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.600
<v Speaker 1>pending Santa El's chores to knock off the list, and

0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:17.560
<v Speaker 1>me and old Whalen we hit the woods. I fastened

0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.680
<v Speaker 1>my light to a cap and off we went like

0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.640
<v Speaker 1>a heard of turtles to some public hunting ground not

0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:26.040
<v Speaker 1>far from my home. I posted the video of my

0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.320
<v Speaker 1>carbide light hunt over on my Instagram page, and I

0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:32.200
<v Speaker 1>got a message from a guy saying, you ain't that old.

0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:35.640
<v Speaker 1>There were all kinds of battery operated lights when you

0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:39.440
<v Speaker 1>were a kid, and he was right, there were a lot.

0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:44.440
<v Speaker 1>They also made cadillacs then, too, and I couldn't afford

0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.960
<v Speaker 1>one of them either. I was making do with what

0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.160
<v Speaker 1>I could afford anyway. The plan was to cut wait

0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:54.160
<v Speaker 1>and loose, wait for him the tree, walk to him,

0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:58.760
<v Speaker 1>and find that coon using nothing other than my carbide light,

0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:02.080
<v Speaker 1>just like I used when I was a kid, and

0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:06.960
<v Speaker 1>guess what. That's just what happened. Whaling struck a track,

0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:10.920
<v Speaker 1>told it at a piece, and then he tried. Within

0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.560
<v Speaker 1>fifteen minutes of getting that hand out of the box,

0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:16.160
<v Speaker 1>I was looking at the glowing eyes of a mass

0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:20.800
<v Speaker 1>bandido and listening to Whaling tell the world, at least

0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:25.240
<v Speaker 1>anyone who was listening where that coon was. In less

0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:27.360
<v Speaker 1>than forty five minutes, we were back at the truck,

0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.200
<v Speaker 1>having accomplished what I'd set out to do. And I

0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:32.840
<v Speaker 1>do have a confession to make that I that I

0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.840
<v Speaker 1>didn't talk about in the Instagram video. I had one

0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:40.440
<v Speaker 1>of my I had one of Michael Rosevean's Ben oakheadlamps

0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.160
<v Speaker 1>in my vest pocket as a safety valve, but just

0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.360
<v Speaker 1>like the video showed, I never used it. It was

0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:50.080
<v Speaker 1>a coon hunt from my youth, from start to finish.

0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:53.600
<v Speaker 1>And I'm going coon hunt tonight. But I'm not going

0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.080
<v Speaker 1>to use that old carboy light. I'll be supporting a

0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.480
<v Speaker 1>new sun Spot Copperhead. I don't have to make do anymore,

0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:04.280
<v Speaker 1>not not for coon uting the lights, but making do.

0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:08.639
<v Speaker 1>It's good for you. It teaches your resilience, It gives

0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.680
<v Speaker 1>you the drive to work harder for the things you

0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:14.679
<v Speaker 1>want or need to make your life easier or better.

0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:17.919
<v Speaker 1>Like the question I ask at the beginning of this

0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:23.840
<v Speaker 1>whole episode, is newer, bigger, and better always the best? Well,

0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:27.000
<v Speaker 1>of course, it ain't a ten year old truckle get

0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:28.800
<v Speaker 1>me to where I want to go as good as

0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:31.040
<v Speaker 1>a new one. And that old carbide light I used

0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:33.520
<v Speaker 1>the other night let me see a coon in a tree.

0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.960
<v Speaker 1>I just think being nostalgic and going back and doing

0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:40.679
<v Speaker 1>the things you did back when you were making do

0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.560
<v Speaker 1>with what you had certainly make you appreciate where you

0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:58.200
<v Speaker 1>are even more. I know it has for me. That's

0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:00.880
<v Speaker 1>what I want you to think about this week. Think

0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:04.160
<v Speaker 1>about what you had to make do with, and if possible,

0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.560
<v Speaker 1>put yourself in that spot again like I did with

0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:11.040
<v Speaker 1>that old light, and see what you think. I bet

0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:13.560
<v Speaker 1>it'll be good for you, and it'll surely be a

0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:17.400
<v Speaker 1>good teaching point for the little folks. I thank y'all

0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:19.840
<v Speaker 1>for listening, and I hope you'll share this with other

0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:23.640
<v Speaker 1>folks you think that might like it. iTunes reviews really

0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:26.440
<v Speaker 1>help get our show out to others as well. If

0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:28.720
<v Speaker 1>you have time to do one. Don't ask me how

0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:30.879
<v Speaker 1>it works, but all the computer nerds tell me to

0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:35.960
<v Speaker 1>do it anyway until next week. This is Brent Reed

0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:38.480
<v Speaker 1>signing off. Y'all be calling