WEBVTT - Ep. 209: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - When it All Comes Together

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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 2>I want you to stay.

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<v Speaker 1>A while as I share my stories and the country

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<v Speaker 1>skills that will help you beat the system. This Country

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<v Speaker 1>Life is proudly presented as part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network,

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<v Speaker 1>bringing you the best outdoor podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>The airways have to offer.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, friends, pull you up a chair or drop

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<v Speaker 1>that tailgate. I think I got a thing or two

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<v Speaker 1>to teach you when it all comes together. Seldom to

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<v Speaker 1>things work out just the way you want them to,

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<v Speaker 1>and having them continue to stack up at every turn

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<v Speaker 1>is almost unheard of, at least in my case. Opening

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<v Speaker 1>a week at Turkey Season in Missouri twenty twenty four

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<v Speaker 1>would prove to be one of those rare occasions. I'm

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

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<v Speaker 1>going to tell you a story I asked, and boy

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<v Speaker 1>did y'all answer. My partner in crime, Mariva Hanson, who

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<v Speaker 1>edits and publishes this podcast every week, and I have

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<v Speaker 1>gotten a great response from folks telling their own stories

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<v Speaker 1>to be considered for sharing here. I'm going to tell

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<v Speaker 1>one today, just so y'all know I wasn't kidnaped about

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<v Speaker 1>doing it also before we get started. Congratulations to Mike

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<v Speaker 1>Davidson up there in Connersville, Indiana, who was getting a

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<v Speaker 1>case Mini Trapper pocket knife from my personal collection. Mike

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<v Speaker 1>was the first person to submit the Google Maps photo

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<v Speaker 1>of me and Tim in Kansas back in twenty fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>that I challenged folks to find in last week's podcast. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>Mike had just enough time to listen to it after

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<v Speaker 1>it was published, before he found the picture and sent

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<v Speaker 1>in the screenshot. When I had the idea and started

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<v Speaker 1>looking at myself, it took me forty five minutes to

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<v Speaker 1>find it.

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<v Speaker 2>Well.

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<v Speaker 1>I called Mike on the phone and I told him

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<v Speaker 1>he'd won, and I gave him the option to have

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<v Speaker 1>a brand new steal in the box case knife or

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<v Speaker 1>one that I toted. Mike surprised me when he laughed

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<v Speaker 1>and said, I've probably got one hundred case knives here

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<v Speaker 1>in my collection. I want one that you've carried. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>that's pretty cool. And what's even better, Mike's trading me

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<v Speaker 1>one of his that he's carried. I can tell you

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<v Speaker 1>one thing. The one that Mike sends me ain't going nowhere.

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<v Speaker 1>That's mine. Forever. What a blessing this job is.

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<v Speaker 2>Now. This story comes.

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<v Speaker 1>From Jake Miller up in north central Ohio. Thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>Jake for sending this in. In Jake's words and my

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<v Speaker 1>voice here it is. For as long as I can remember,

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<v Speaker 1>I have always had a need to be outdoors doing something, hunting, fishing, working.

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<v Speaker 1>I one hundred percent oh that to one man, my grandfather,

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<v Speaker 1>Richard S. Miller, also known as Shotgun. If you bring

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<v Speaker 1>that name up around my area in Ohio, most likely

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<v Speaker 1>someone will know who you're talking about. My grandpa was

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<v Speaker 1>an avid deer and turkey hunter. He also enjoyed hunting

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<v Speaker 1>morels in the spring and jensen in the fall. He

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<v Speaker 1>loved to fish too, and from the time I was

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<v Speaker 1>old enough and responsible enough to tope my own shotgun,

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<v Speaker 1>an old single barrel twenty gage at the age of nine,

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<v Speaker 1>he was right there with me. He was there with

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<v Speaker 1>me for my first deer, my first turkey, my first squirrel,

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<v Speaker 1>first morell, even when I caught my first fish.

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<v Speaker 2>He was there.

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<v Speaker 1>To say that man was my best friend would be

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<v Speaker 1>an understatement. During the late winter of my sophomore year

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<v Speaker 1>of high school, he became very sick. Hospital stage the

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<v Speaker 1>whole nine yards, and I'd be lying if I said

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<v Speaker 1>I wasn't scared we were going to lose him. I'd

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<v Speaker 1>being in his eighties, it scared me. I spent as

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<v Speaker 1>much time with him as my grandma as I could,

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<v Speaker 1>and as winter turned into spring, he pulled.

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<v Speaker 2>Out of it. He was too tough to let that

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<v Speaker 2>take him. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I tell him he better be ready to go by

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<v Speaker 1>late April for the start of turkey season. He was

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<v Speaker 1>still unsure if he's being good enough help to get out.

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<v Speaker 1>Starting in early April, I took over his role of

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<v Speaker 1>scouting for turkeys. I'd go listen before school or on

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<v Speaker 1>the weekends. I'd give him a daily report on what

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<v Speaker 1>I'd heard and seen, and he would always ask me,

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<v Speaker 1>did you get a couple tied.

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<v Speaker 2>Up for us?

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<v Speaker 1>Were early spring rolled into late April start of the season.

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<v Speaker 1>I went down to their house to check on my grandpa,

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<v Speaker 1>see if Grandma needed anything done around the house, And

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<v Speaker 1>when I walked through the door, I saw him sitting

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<v Speaker 1>at the kitchen table getting this shotgun ready to go

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<v Speaker 1>for opening day. I can't begin to explain how happy

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<v Speaker 1>I was that he'd be going out after we'd been

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<v Speaker 1>so unsure that he was going to be up for it.

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<v Speaker 1>We e's got our different spots with plenty of time

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<v Speaker 1>left before daylight on opening day, and it was a

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<v Speaker 1>picture perfect spring morning in the woods, and before long

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<v Speaker 1>we had three gobblers fired off all around us. After

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<v Speaker 1>twenty minutes of goblin, like their lives depended on it,

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<v Speaker 1>I could tell that at least two tims had flown

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<v Speaker 1>down over by him. Fifteen minutes later, I heard the

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<v Speaker 1>sound of his old Baretta twelve gage boom. I jumped

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<v Speaker 1>up and ran as fast as I could, and there

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<v Speaker 1>he was, the man himself, standing on.

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<v Speaker 2>The head of one of those long bear.

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<v Speaker 1>From the smile he had that morning, I can tell

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<v Speaker 1>he was happy to be out there too, and I

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<v Speaker 1>hope I always remember that hunt. We got to hunt

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<v Speaker 1>a couple more seasons together after that spring morning. My

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<v Speaker 1>Grandpa passed away in July twenty twelve, and I missed

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<v Speaker 1>him every day. Spring turkey hunting and the Ohio gun

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<v Speaker 1>deer season still doesn't seem right without him. I wish

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<v Speaker 1>I had a little more time, Like you mentioned in

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<v Speaker 1>the episode two O seven, The Gift of Time. That

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<v Speaker 1>was just one of many stories I have of him.

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<v Speaker 2>And I together.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd have to say it's the one that I think

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<v Speaker 1>about around the opening day.

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<v Speaker 2>A turkey season every year.

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<v Speaker 1>He's sitting at the base of an old white oak

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<v Speaker 1>tree writing this. Now, I haven't heard a turkey gobbled

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<v Speaker 1>this morning, so I might as well go look for

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<v Speaker 1>some mushroom. Well north central ohioan Jack Miller, grandson of

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<v Speaker 1>mister Richard Shotgun Miller. I appreciate you sharing that wonderful

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<v Speaker 1>story with me and allowing me to share it everyone else.

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<v Speaker 1>We're going to do these from time to time, so

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<v Speaker 1>if you send one in, just hang on.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe we'll use yours when the time is right.

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<v Speaker 1>But according to Jake Miller, that's just how that happened,

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<v Speaker 1>when it all comes together. Just last week, I went

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<v Speaker 1>to my second favorite place to turkey hunt. They showed

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<v Speaker 1>me state of Missouri. Now my most favorite place to

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<v Speaker 1>chase him is in the saline river bottoms of my

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<v Speaker 1>ancestral home in Cleveland County, Arkansas, a county founded eight

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<v Speaker 1>years following the end of the War between the States.

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<v Speaker 1>It was originally named Dorsey County after Stephen W. Dorsey,

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<v Speaker 1>a Vermont born carpetbag in United States senator that represented

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<v Speaker 1>Arkansas during the period of reconstruction. Now, Dorset was a

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<v Speaker 1>Mustang officer, having risen from the rank of private to

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<v Speaker 1>colonel during the tumultuous time of America's greatest struggle. Following

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<v Speaker 1>the war, he was a successful businessman, working for and

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<v Speaker 1>eventually becoming president of a tool manufacturing company in Ohio.

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<v Speaker 1>He was soon afterward dame president of the Arkansas Railway

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<v Speaker 1>Company and relocated to the natural state, taking up residents

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<v Speaker 1>in eastern Arkansas along the Mississippi River in Helena. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>in eighteen seventy three, he was elected to the United

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<v Speaker 1>States Senate, and shortly thereafter a county named in his

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<v Speaker 1>honor was formed. My family had been there for decades

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<v Speaker 1>prior to Dorsey's arrival. In as far as I know,

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<v Speaker 1>a joker never made a track in the county that

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<v Speaker 1>was named after him. So how did Dorsey County become

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<v Speaker 1>Cleveland County? Apparently? Senator Dorsey and some of his pals

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<v Speaker 1>were indicted and charged with defrauding the Post Office out

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<v Speaker 1>of four hundred and twelve thousand dollars, which is the

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<v Speaker 1>equivalent of over eleven million today.

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<v Speaker 2>Now.

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<v Speaker 1>He was eventually found not guilty, but the tarnish to

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<v Speaker 1>his reputation was more than the good folks of the

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<v Speaker 1>day could bear. So twelve years later they renamed the

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<v Speaker 1>county Cleveland in honor of the newly elected President Grover

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<v Speaker 1>Cleveland in eighteen eighty five. What's that little bit of

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<v Speaker 1>history of trivia got to do with turkey hunting in Missouri.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll tell you not one thing. I just thought it

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<v Speaker 1>was cool and wanted to share. The dude got canceled

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<v Speaker 1>before canceling was cool. Anyway, last week I was in

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<v Speaker 1>my old stomping grounds of central Missouri on the eve

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<v Speaker 1>of what would be my most successful two days of

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<v Speaker 1>turkey hunting anywhere, if we're measuring the totality of the

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<v Speaker 1>hunt like producing video content for you folks to see

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<v Speaker 1>later on and calling up turkeys for my friends. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm the first one to say, and have said it

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<v Speaker 1>here recently, that success is measured in a lot of ways,

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<v Speaker 1>and y'all know that already. But I'm trying to avoid

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<v Speaker 1>the Internet police who'd have me arrested for saying I

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<v Speaker 1>had two great days of hunting because I had three

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<v Speaker 1>hunts in a row where I watched the turkey get smashed.

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<v Speaker 1>It was already successful because of where I was, who

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<v Speaker 1>I was with, and what I was doing. That's the biscuit.

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<v Speaker 1>The turkeys were just the gravy. Now, with that said,

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<v Speaker 1>I was about to witness enough gravy to float a

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<v Speaker 1>john boat. I stood on my friend Toby's back porch

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<v Speaker 1>after suppering unsuccessfully tried to see or hear a turkey

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<v Speaker 1>going to roost. I've been coming up here for more

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<v Speaker 1>years than I care to remember. It didn't really matter

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<v Speaker 1>that I didn't see or hear anything. I knew where

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<v Speaker 1>I was going. The next morning, and thirty minutes before daylight,

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<v Speaker 1>I was standing where I had stood a jillion times before,

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<v Speaker 1>waiting on gobbling time and preparing myself to second guess

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<v Speaker 1>every move I was going to make over the next

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<v Speaker 1>couple of hours, just like always. I'll admit that I

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<v Speaker 1>do not lack self confidence. That has ever been a weakness.

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<v Speaker 1>But turkey hunting is such a dynamic activity at times

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<v Speaker 1>that the slightest air in one way or the other

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<v Speaker 1>can have you scratching your noggin on what you did

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<v Speaker 1>wrong this time to not kill a turkey again.

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<v Speaker 2>Then there are hunts like this one.

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<v Speaker 1>My good friend and workmate Isaac Neil was with me

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<v Speaker 1>filming this hunt. It wasn't even close to gobling time,

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<v Speaker 1>or so I thought, as I stood there, drinking my

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<v Speaker 1>gas station coffee in the dark and whispering to Isaac

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<v Speaker 1>that I thought we'd hear the first gobble of the

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<v Speaker 1>season in this direction. While I was talking, I saw

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<v Speaker 1>the whites of Isaac's eyes grow big. At the same time,

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<v Speaker 1>I heard what I thought was a dog in the distance.

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<v Speaker 1>I said, was that a turkey? Isaac said yes, it was.

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<v Speaker 1>I asked him if he was sure, and he told

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<v Speaker 1>me yep. And it was right in the direction of

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<v Speaker 1>where I expected to hear one, but not nearly that early.

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<v Speaker 1>I figured it wouldn't be for a few more minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>For confirmation, I owed bound two turkeys gone, one right

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<v Speaker 1>where Isaac had pointed, and another one to the left,

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<v Speaker 1>but a lot closer. Now he had a juvenile sound,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was confident that one was a jake. We

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<v Speaker 1>opted for the grown turkey, but held fast to our

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<v Speaker 1>listening spot. I knew where both of those turkeys were

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<v Speaker 1>from hunting that ground for so many years. I had

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<v Speaker 1>the advantage of the knowledge of the terrain and how

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<v Speaker 1>the turkeys in that place used the landscape, but that's

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<v Speaker 1>only an advantage that goes so far roosted ain't roasted,

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<v Speaker 1>And knowing where a turkey is in relation to shooting

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<v Speaker 1>him is about as easy as knowing where the moon

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<v Speaker 1>is the flying up there to walking around on it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's better than not hearing one, but it really only

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<v Speaker 1>confirms his existence. Time would tell on how it all

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<v Speaker 1>played out, Leo Toldstoy. The Russian novelists who penned Warren

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<v Speaker 1>Peace wrote the two greatest warriors are patience in time.

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<v Speaker 1>The context in which he used it was referencing how

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<v Speaker 1>to maneuver your army against that of your enemy, or

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<v Speaker 1>so the experts say. I think that dude was a

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<v Speaker 1>turkey hunter because of all the items a hunter has

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<v Speaker 1>at his disposal, those two things will kill one before

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<v Speaker 1>cat can look it's behind. I knew the lay of

0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.360
<v Speaker 1>the land, I knew exactly where those turkeys were, and

0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:36.920
<v Speaker 1>I didn't get in any hurry. I wasn't going to

0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:38.760
<v Speaker 1>set up on that jake, so I acted like he

0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:41.400
<v Speaker 1>wasn't even there as I slipped past where he was roosted,

0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.840
<v Speaker 1>and formulating my plan in my head how I was

0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:48.040
<v Speaker 1>going to get set up on that our turkey as

0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.120
<v Speaker 1>we slipped slowly toward the edge of the field. I

0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:53.680
<v Speaker 1>was going to use to make getting to him faster,

0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:59.120
<v Speaker 1>quieter and going through the woods. Here's where I knowing

0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.800
<v Speaker 1>the ground and not getting in a hurry paid off.

0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.080
<v Speaker 1>I know the turkeys sometimes roosed around the edge or

0:15:05.120 --> 0:15:07.920
<v Speaker 1>close to the edge of that field, so before I

0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:11.000
<v Speaker 1>ran any of them off by jumping the gun heading

0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:17.840
<v Speaker 1>toward that initial turkey we heard, I ailed again. Now

0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:23.560
<v Speaker 1>bam bam too gabbled in the east, which was right

0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:25.880
<v Speaker 1>down the right side of that field we were fixing

0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.640
<v Speaker 1>the step into. They were less than two hundred yards.

0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:33.160
<v Speaker 1>The initial turkey we heard that morning was twice that

0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:37.760
<v Speaker 1>far to the west. We had chosen wisely by not

0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.400
<v Speaker 1>rushing toward the first one, and back in the day

0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.520
<v Speaker 1>when I heard one, it was make a bee line

0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.800
<v Speaker 1>straight to him as quick as you could and get

0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.800
<v Speaker 1>set up before he had time to fly down or

0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.400
<v Speaker 1>someone else had time to get set up on it.

0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:54.480
<v Speaker 1>In the days before least and where I grew up,

0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:57.400
<v Speaker 1>Timber Company Land might as well have been public wildlife

0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:01.560
<v Speaker 1>management area. Ground hunting was really the only thing that

0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:04.360
<v Speaker 1>folks had DIBs on turkey is, for the most part

0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:07.640
<v Speaker 1>where anybody's game. But this wasn't back in the day.

0:16:08.480 --> 0:16:12.160
<v Speaker 1>This was right now, and right now. I'd waited and

0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.360
<v Speaker 1>been patient, and instead of hurriedly trying to cover three

0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:19.200
<v Speaker 1>hundred yards crossing the creek and finding a spot to

0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:21.840
<v Speaker 1>get myself and Isaac set up on turkey number one,

0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:25.560
<v Speaker 1>we tiptoed twenty five yards and sat down under a

0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:28.360
<v Speaker 1>big cedar tree that I had sat under and killed

0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.760
<v Speaker 1>a turkey a few years ago, and listen to Turkey's

0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:35.880
<v Speaker 1>number three and four. My first thought was to go

0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.720
<v Speaker 1>a little further east, just a little further to the right,

0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.800
<v Speaker 1>down the edge of that field. It was getting light

0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:44.120
<v Speaker 1>enough to see now, and I was eyeball on a

0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.520
<v Speaker 1>gum tree about thirty more yards closer to the corner

0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:50.200
<v Speaker 1>of that field where I'd seen turkeys walk into that

0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:54.640
<v Speaker 1>into that field many times before. Something told me I'd

0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:57.960
<v Speaker 1>gone far enough, so the old killing cedar tree would

0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:02.240
<v Speaker 1>have to do alan before walking into that field was

0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:06.919
<v Speaker 1>correct decision numero uno. Sitting down under that seater and

0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:10.360
<v Speaker 1>not going any further would be solidified as correct decision

0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.760
<v Speaker 1>number two. When multiple hens started yeping directly behind that

0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:18.679
<v Speaker 1>gum tree that almost moved down to before deciding that

0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:22.200
<v Speaker 1>I'd gone far enough. I have no doubt I would

0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:23.959
<v Speaker 1>have scared him off the rooster, and who knows what

0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:26.880
<v Speaker 1>would have happened had that been the case. It may

0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:30.280
<v Speaker 1>have had no effect on the gobblers, but it could have. Regardless,

0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:34.280
<v Speaker 1>we didn't go too far and they didn't spook. The

0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:37.159
<v Speaker 1>gobblers answered my tree yups just like they did the

0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:41.200
<v Speaker 1>actual hens. And the only decision I'd made that day

0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.439
<v Speaker 1>up to that point that was suspect was not bringing

0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:47.880
<v Speaker 1>my jake decoy. I brought only the hen, and had

0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.399
<v Speaker 1>I not brought the hen, I may not have gotten

0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:53.840
<v Speaker 1>the opportunity that I was about to get now. I

0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.760
<v Speaker 1>set her up twenty five yards north of us, which

0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:01.160
<v Speaker 1>was straight out in front of me to the northeast

0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.080
<v Speaker 1>to my right. Isaac took up the spot over my

0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:08.680
<v Speaker 1>left shoulder. We were hid good. Fly down time came

0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:11.480
<v Speaker 1>and five or six hens sailed into that field and

0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:16.080
<v Speaker 1>started feeding our way. They were fifty yards away and

0:18:16.160 --> 0:18:19.960
<v Speaker 1>slowly moving the northwest. The gobblers were on the ground

0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:23.119
<v Speaker 1>now and hadn't entered the field, but with every gobble

0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:27.159
<v Speaker 1>they were getting closer and closer. I yeped on a

0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:29.639
<v Speaker 1>glass pot call, and they both answered me from the

0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:33.760
<v Speaker 1>edge of the field. We were tucked inside the edge

0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.000
<v Speaker 1>of the woods, so neither of us could see the

0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.280
<v Speaker 1>gobblers when they entered, but I knew they were getting

0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.560
<v Speaker 1>closer by the sound of the drumming that was getting louder.

0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:49.240
<v Speaker 1>I could hear it plain as day. Eventually I caught

0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:52.080
<v Speaker 1>a glimpse of them through the BlackBerry briars on the

0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:54.440
<v Speaker 1>edge of the field. As they they made their way

0:18:54.440 --> 0:18:56.880
<v Speaker 1>towards where we sat. One of them was in full

0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.320
<v Speaker 1>strut and the other one was a half step behind,

0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.400
<v Speaker 1>trying to trying to look like he didn't care what

0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:05.720
<v Speaker 1>was going on. The second one tried to go into

0:19:05.760 --> 0:19:08.120
<v Speaker 1>strut a couple of times, but it looked like you.

0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:08.919
<v Speaker 2>Thought better of it.

0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.120
<v Speaker 1>I assumed they had already worked it out between them

0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:16.760
<v Speaker 1>as to which one was running the show. The live

0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:18.800
<v Speaker 1>hens were directly in front of me now in the

0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:21.560
<v Speaker 1>middle of the field, about eighty yards away, and the gobblers,

0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:25.639
<v Speaker 1>while still moving painfully slow, had begun to veer off

0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:29.640
<v Speaker 1>to the north, just kind of splitting the difference between

0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:32.800
<v Speaker 1>our decoy that Dave Swift had worked so hard on

0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:35.800
<v Speaker 1>to make look real, and the live hens that were

0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:39.760
<v Speaker 1>paying zero attention to a couple eligible bachelors that had

0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:43.440
<v Speaker 1>rolled into the mix. Now here's where I second guessed

0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.280
<v Speaker 1>my decision not to bring the jake decoy, and the

0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:50.520
<v Speaker 1>reason I immediately thought it was a mistake. The jake I

0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:53.640
<v Speaker 1>heard that was the second turkey that morning hadn't made

0:19:53.680 --> 0:19:56.600
<v Speaker 1>a peep since the two birds of the East started

0:19:56.640 --> 0:19:59.640
<v Speaker 1>telling folks how the cows at the cabbage. Now there

0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:01.800
<v Speaker 1>wasn't a jake among any of the hens out in

0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:04.399
<v Speaker 1>front of me. And while turkeys probably don't have the

0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:06.920
<v Speaker 1>power of reason, they do know that there is safety

0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:10.639
<v Speaker 1>in numbers. A half a dozen walking, talking, feeding girl

0:20:10.720 --> 0:20:14.639
<v Speaker 1>turkeys are more enticing than one lone hen decoy.

0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:16.040
<v Speaker 2>Regardless of how good she looks.

0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:19.080
<v Speaker 1>Now, had I brought my jake decoy and placed him

0:20:19.119 --> 0:20:22.480
<v Speaker 1>near that hen, I felt confident that Strutter would have

0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:25.080
<v Speaker 1>come in hot looking to issue that youngster a headache

0:20:25.560 --> 0:20:28.360
<v Speaker 1>while adding one more hen to his beavy of beauties.

0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:31.840
<v Speaker 1>So when I could see that they had started getting

0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:36.280
<v Speaker 1>further away with each baby step they took, I yelped

0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:38.719
<v Speaker 1>with my mouth call, causing that Strutter to run his

0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:40.960
<v Speaker 1>head out in Gobble, and before he got to the

0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:44.440
<v Speaker 1>letter Ean Gobble, I sent him a jaw full and

0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:49.199
<v Speaker 1>that was the end of that. Now I know that

0:20:49.320 --> 0:20:52.600
<v Speaker 1>second gobbler, who was well out of my shotgun pattern,

0:20:53.000 --> 0:20:56.840
<v Speaker 1>had to be wondering what had just happened. Isaac, and

0:20:56.880 --> 0:20:59.920
<v Speaker 1>I didn't move a muscle. I didn't want to spook

0:21:00.240 --> 0:21:02.040
<v Speaker 1>or any the other turkeys out of that field. But

0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:06.040
<v Speaker 1>I got to laughing to myself watching that gobbler. I

0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:09.000
<v Speaker 1>imagine him looking at that dead turkey, thinking about the

0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:12.600
<v Speaker 1>month of butt woven's he'd been getting from him. Now

0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:16.240
<v Speaker 1>they'd come into this target rich environment, and he wasn't

0:21:16.280 --> 0:21:18.480
<v Speaker 1>letting him show off for any of the women folk,

0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:22.879
<v Speaker 1>making him walk a step behind and making him be quiet.

0:21:22.880 --> 0:21:26.240
<v Speaker 1>I imagine he was thinking, I wish this strutton bully

0:21:26.240 --> 0:21:27.080
<v Speaker 1>would drop dead.

0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:29.320
<v Speaker 2>Then boom he did.

0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:32.639
<v Speaker 1>What an empiring moment it must have been for it.

0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:38.720
<v Speaker 1>I'm sick of Frank. I wish he'd died. Thank Frank's dead.

0:21:39.000 --> 0:21:41.359
<v Speaker 1>I bet he was like that gum. I gotta be

0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:42.160
<v Speaker 1>careful with this.

0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:44.120
<v Speaker 2>Anyway.

0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:47.840
<v Speaker 1>They all eventually walked off, except for Frank. Of course,

0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:51.320
<v Speaker 1>none of them any wiser as to what had happened.

0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:54.720
<v Speaker 1>Now we'd see that dude again in less than twenty

0:21:54.760 --> 0:21:58.800
<v Speaker 1>four hours. But like I sometimes say, that's a story

0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:04.280
<v Speaker 1>for another day, like next week, next Friday, I'm going

0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:07.159
<v Speaker 1>to tell you about the rest of that day and

0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:10.640
<v Speaker 1>the morning of the next one. It was an awesome

0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:16.280
<v Speaker 1>twenty four hours with some really good folks. I'm finishing

0:22:16.359 --> 0:22:19.520
<v Speaker 1>up part one at a hotel in South Haven, and Mississippi.

0:22:20.080 --> 0:22:23.679
<v Speaker 1>My daughter Bailey and her competition dance team from Priscilla's

0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:26.800
<v Speaker 1>School of Dance are cutting a rug over in West Memphis.

0:22:27.359 --> 0:22:30.199
<v Speaker 1>We got to get ready for the final struggle this afternoon.

0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:34.520
<v Speaker 1>My granddaughter Piper had a great showing today at her

0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:37.600
<v Speaker 1>four age cooking contest, and we'll be heading to the

0:22:37.680 --> 0:22:41.640
<v Speaker 1>district event next Looks like lots of my folks had

0:22:41.680 --> 0:22:44.240
<v Speaker 1>it all coming together for him this week. I hope

0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:46.679
<v Speaker 1>y'all did too. I know I've seen a lot of

0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:50.359
<v Speaker 1>grinning faces with turkeys from all over the country. I

0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:53.399
<v Speaker 1>will have already rolled back north towards Missouri in an

0:22:53.480 --> 0:22:56.960
<v Speaker 1>attempt to fill my other turkey tag. And who knows,

0:22:58.160 --> 0:23:01.000
<v Speaker 1>maybe by the time you hear this, I'll have another

0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:05.600
<v Speaker 1>paragraph or two to add the next week's offering. Man

0:23:05.640 --> 0:23:09.199
<v Speaker 1>it's good when it all comes together. Now, don't forget.

0:23:09.640 --> 0:23:12.359
<v Speaker 1>You can submit a story for me to tell on here,

0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:16.400
<v Speaker 1>and if you do, be sure to include the who, what, when,

0:23:16.640 --> 0:23:20.720
<v Speaker 1>where and why and send it to my TCL story

0:23:20.960 --> 0:23:23.960
<v Speaker 1>at the medeater dot com. Now, thank you so much

0:23:24.000 --> 0:23:27.000
<v Speaker 1>for listening and until next week. This is Brent Reeves

0:23:27.040 --> 0:23:27.720
<v Speaker 1>signing off.

0:23:28.960 --> 0:23:29.719
<v Speaker 2>Y'all be careful,