WEBVTT - Ep. 159: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Three Stories That Just Didn’t Fit

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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.

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<v Speaker 2>That will help you beat the system.

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<v Speaker 1>This Country Life is proudly presented as part of Meat

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<v Speaker 1>Eaters Podcast Network, 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. Three stories that just hiddent fit. This

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<v Speaker 1>whole podcast is based on stories and experiences from my life,

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<v Speaker 1>and they usually follow a theme or a common topic.

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<v Speaker 1>But there's a few I've collected over the years that

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<v Speaker 1>seem to just be in a category.

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<v Speaker 2>All their own.

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<v Speaker 1>I've struggled on how they them for quite a while,

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<v Speaker 1>and it would be a stretch to build any relevant

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<v Speaker 1>lesson or episode with any of these individually. So I thought,

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<v Speaker 1>what better way to include them than to just let

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<v Speaker 1>the stories speak for themselves. I think they're pretty good,

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<v Speaker 1>So that's what we're doing. Three stories this week whose

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<v Speaker 1>only common denominator is yours true. Gather around, kids, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to tell you some stories hunter, possums, and church

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<v Speaker 1>Let's get to it. I hate rats. Hate is such

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<v Speaker 1>a strong word, and yet in the context of rats,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't seem to really capture my overly strong aversion

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<v Speaker 1>to rodents or anything that resembles them. Living in the

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<v Speaker 1>country on a farm, you going to sea rats and mice.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's something else that I never really understood. Why

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<v Speaker 1>are there separate names for rats and mice? In a

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<v Speaker 1>mouse just a little rat in this category of creepy things,

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<v Speaker 1>size doesn't matter. In my opinion, A mouse is just

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<v Speaker 1>a rat in training, kind of like a minor league

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<v Speaker 1>rat waiting to get his shot in the big leagues

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<v Speaker 1>of creepiness. Now, my brothers and I used to wage

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<v Speaker 1>war against rats on our farm. We had two chicken

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<v Speaker 1>houses where my family raised seventy thousand chickens for egg production.

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<v Speaker 1>We owned our own egg processing business, and my grandfather

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<v Speaker 1>sold eggs wholesale to different stores in Arkansas. Tons of

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<v Speaker 1>chicken feed is what attracts them, and the rats caught

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<v Speaker 1>the devil from us. We chase them in an old

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<v Speaker 1>chicken house that now housed farm equipment. There was irrigation

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<v Speaker 1>pipes in there and piles of tomatoes sticks that were

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<v Speaker 1>kept in there waiting for spring when we'd start planting

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<v Speaker 1>and staking tomatoes in the fields. Now, the rats would

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<v Speaker 1>almost always make a run for the irrigation pipes that

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<v Speaker 1>were stacked along the wall, so that worked our benefit.

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<v Speaker 1>One of us would bang on the end of the

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<v Speaker 1>pipes that the rat just entered, and the other two

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<v Speaker 1>would stand on the other end of the pipe, and

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<v Speaker 1>that rat would poke his sinister little head out of

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<v Speaker 1>the opposite end of the pipe, and one of the

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<v Speaker 1>Reeves boys would strike him soundly about his cranium with

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<v Speaker 1>a rat stick. This was great sport and one that

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<v Speaker 1>required some pretty good handed eye coordination. It's not the

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<v Speaker 1>easiest thing to do. Apparently, the rats took great exception

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<v Speaker 1>to being rat sticked, and would sometimes after a near miss,

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<v Speaker 1>turn around in the pipe and with tremendous speed and dexterity,

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<v Speaker 1>shoot out the other end at a blistering pace and escape.

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<v Speaker 1>It was during one of these occasions that I think

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<v Speaker 1>my loathing of rats developed. I was the little brother,

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<v Speaker 1>and I rarely got to participate on the rat sticking

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the pipe. I was always stuck in

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<v Speaker 1>the position of banging on the pipe waiting for my

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<v Speaker 1>brothers to give them a good smashing on the other end.

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<v Speaker 1>More than once I remember one or both of my

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<v Speaker 1>older brothers missing the rat with their sticks, only to

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<v Speaker 1>have the rat jump on me as it retreated from

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<v Speaker 1>the pipe to safety. Gives me the shivers just now

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about it. Possums are marsupials.

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<v Speaker 2>I know this.

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<v Speaker 1>Rats are rodents, I know this as well. I also

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<v Speaker 1>know that possums closely resemble rodents, and Brent's Guide to

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<v Speaker 1>Wildlife possums are known as really big rats. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>like them. My son Hunter, who was almost three when

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<v Speaker 1>this all happened, and we were watching television one night

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<v Speaker 1>and heard something on the back porch. Our lab had

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<v Speaker 1>a habit of knocking over the garbage can where I

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<v Speaker 1>kept her dog food, and she would gorgeousself eating until

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<v Speaker 1>the food was gone or she exploded. I'm not sure

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<v Speaker 1>what the holding capacity of a labrador is, but I

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<v Speaker 1>must say that a sixty five pound dog with ten

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<v Speaker 1>pounds of dog food sitting in her belly is neither

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<v Speaker 1>attractive nor safe for kids walking barefoot in the yard.

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<v Speaker 1>For several days. When I heard something on the back porch,

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<v Speaker 1>I knew that lab had gotten into the feet again.

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<v Speaker 1>I was rushing to catch her so I could scold

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<v Speaker 1>her and maybe circumvent the labrador land mines that would

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<v Speaker 1>be accumulating in strategic places around the yard. The hunter

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<v Speaker 1>was right on my heels. He knew the plight of

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<v Speaker 1>the labrador land mines all too well, and was anxious

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<v Speaker 1>for me to correct this bad behavior. I snatched the

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<v Speaker 1>back door open, turned on the porch light, and at

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<v Speaker 1>the same time expecting to catch my retriever face first

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<v Speaker 1>in the dog food. But much to my astonishment, apossum

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<v Speaker 1>jumped from a can onto my leg, ran down across

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<v Speaker 1>my foot, and made tracks for the backyard. The contents

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<v Speaker 1>of the profanity that fell from my lips at that

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<v Speaker 1>moment would have made a sailor blush. To say the

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<v Speaker 1>possums scared me would be like saying Einstein was pretty

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<v Speaker 1>good at math. I slammed the door shut and retrieved

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<v Speaker 1>a pistol from the gun cabinet, catching my nemesis at

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<v Speaker 1>the edge of the yard, I sent him to really

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<v Speaker 1>big rat heaven. Now back in the house and still

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<v Speaker 1>somewhat shaken from the whole experience, I made the statement

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<v Speaker 1>I hate possums, a quote I was to find out

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<v Speaker 1>later that was not lost on select members of the household.

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<v Speaker 1>The following Sunday, we sat in church. In our small town.

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<v Speaker 1>The local radio station would broadcast a church service from

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<v Speaker 1>the local churches, alternating each week from church to church.

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<v Speaker 1>This was our Sunday to be on the radio, and

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<v Speaker 1>at the beginning of each Sunday service, the children were

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<v Speaker 1>all He asked to come down front and Brother Bill Leslie,

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<v Speaker 1>which sat with him on the floor in front of

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<v Speaker 1>the pulpit, and delivered a short message. During the message,

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<v Speaker 1>it was not uncommon for the kids to just spontaneously

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<v Speaker 1>tell things and to him and to the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the congregation about recent events that had occurred in their lives.

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<v Speaker 1>It was pretty entertaining. Hunter was no exception to this,

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<v Speaker 1>and people anxiously awaited each Sunday for him to recite

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<v Speaker 1>some folly that he had witnessed his father participate in.

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<v Speaker 1>Brother Bill told me the Hunter probably did more to

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<v Speaker 1>raise the attendance in church than he did. But on

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<v Speaker 1>this Sunday, Hunter was sitting in Brother Bill's lap. He

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<v Speaker 1>was so handsome, sitting there in his little suit, looking

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<v Speaker 1>like a little angel. The height of his head, put

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<v Speaker 1>his mouth in direct line with Brother Bill's lapel Mike,

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<v Speaker 1>this would prove to be my undoing. Everything was going smoothly.

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<v Speaker 1>Brother Bill had delivered his children's sermon, and all the

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<v Speaker 1>children were attentive and quiet. Hunter looked like he might

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<v Speaker 1>even be nearly fallen asleep, when all of a sudden,

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<v Speaker 1>he sat straight up in Brother Bill's laugh and said,

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<v Speaker 1>me and my daddy hate possums. The whole sanctuary roared

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<v Speaker 1>with laughter. Brother Bill was fighting to regain his composure

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<v Speaker 1>and laughing hysterically at the same time. It's a moment

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<v Speaker 1>that I'll never forget. I couldn't if I wanted to,

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<v Speaker 1>for every little blue haired old lady would remind me

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<v Speaker 1>of it each Sunday for years to come. By the way,

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<v Speaker 1>we had a record attendance the following Sunday.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's just how that happened, all right.

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<v Speaker 1>This next story is entitled the Day my friend shot Jesus.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I've been blessed. I've been blessed with friends. Not

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<v Speaker 1>the people you know and see at work, are the

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<v Speaker 1>ones you've known all your life. But I'm talking about

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<v Speaker 1>real friends. My grandpa used to say that a man

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<v Speaker 1>can live a long life and have many acquaintances. But

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<v Speaker 1>if he can go to his grave saying he had

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<v Speaker 1>just one friend, he can say he was blessed. One

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<v Speaker 1>of my good friends fancied being a policeman. He discovered

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<v Speaker 1>this ambition after tolding that the local saw mill for

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<v Speaker 1>several years and was hired by the city Police Department,

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<v Speaker 1>where I was working as a dispatcher at night and

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<v Speaker 1>on the weekends while I occasionally attended college. We had

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<v Speaker 1>been friends a long time. He was actually closer in

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<v Speaker 1>age to my two older brothers, but our families had

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<v Speaker 1>known each other since before I was born, and he

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<v Speaker 1>and I had developed a close friendship after I had

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<v Speaker 1>graduated high school. Now he is everything someone wanting a friend.

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<v Speaker 1>He's low, honest, has a wonderful sense of humor, and

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<v Speaker 1>is my idea of what the father and a husband

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<v Speaker 1>should be. I respect him, and his relationship with his

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<v Speaker 1>family and his wife is a model for anyone to follow.

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<v Speaker 2>Now.

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<v Speaker 1>One day I stopped by his house to visit before

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<v Speaker 1>he went back to work on the evening shift at

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<v Speaker 1>the police department. I walked up to the front door

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<v Speaker 1>and I found it open, and I could see him

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<v Speaker 1>sitting in a chair in his living room. He was

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<v Speaker 1>in full uniform, staring at his pistol that he held

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<v Speaker 1>in his hand, and he was alone in the house.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I knew his children were at the babysitter and

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<v Speaker 1>his wife was at work. But he had a strange

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<v Speaker 1>look on his face. And I immediately said something was wrong. Hey, Bud,

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<v Speaker 1>I said, and I opened up the glass door, trying

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<v Speaker 1>not start him. He said, come on in. He never

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<v Speaker 1>looked up from that weapon. I had never seen him

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<v Speaker 1>like this. I was very concerned. I didn't know what

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<v Speaker 1>to do or what to say. You okay, I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to hell, he said. He never looked up. I couldn't

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<v Speaker 1>believe what I just heard. My mind was racing what

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<v Speaker 1>to do next.

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<v Speaker 2>You're what?

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<v Speaker 1>I asked it as calmly as I could, and he

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<v Speaker 1>just said, in the same low, monotone voice again, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to hell. I thought he'd lost his mind. I

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<v Speaker 1>wish I had asked a question from outside the door

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<v Speaker 1>before I came inside, because if he had gone around

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<v Speaker 1>the bend, at least I would have had somewhere to

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<v Speaker 1>run on the outside of the house. Inside with what

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<v Speaker 1>I thought now to be a crazy man, I felt

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<v Speaker 1>that I was pretty well in line to go somewhere,

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<v Speaker 1>with the hospital being my first choice and the funeral

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<v Speaker 1>home being the last. But he sat there in the

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<v Speaker 1>chair and and not moving, not blinking, and just staring

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<v Speaker 1>at his pistol. I called his name, I said, put

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<v Speaker 1>that gun up and tell me what you're talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>All of a sudden, it was like he was awake.

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<v Speaker 1>He placed his revolver in his hostry and looked up

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<v Speaker 1>and he looked at me right in the eyes, and

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<v Speaker 1>he said, I shot Jesus.

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<v Speaker 2>Well.

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<v Speaker 1>I just looked at him, and I said, Jesus Christ.

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to make exactly sure who we were talking about.

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<v Speaker 1>He said yes, and he said it not unlike a

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<v Speaker 1>small child. This had gone from bad to worse. I

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<v Speaker 1>could see the evening news with his and my picture

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<v Speaker 1>on it. Anchorman would say, Brent got killed today by

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<v Speaker 1>his buddy, a raven lunatic who also busted a cap

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<v Speaker 1>in Jesus just before ending it all. Now, my situational awareness,

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<v Speaker 1>it's at an all time high right now. I was

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<v Speaker 1>tuned into every sound, every breath, every movement that he made.

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<v Speaker 1>I heard an old clock slowly ticking from the mantle,

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<v Speaker 1>as if announcing the countdown to my own demise. The

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<v Speaker 1>silence was deafening, and the a tension so thick everything

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to be in slow motion. I could feel my

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<v Speaker 1>heart racing, and my mind leaped from one cent to

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<v Speaker 1>another as I lived over and over all the bad

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<v Speaker 1>things I had done and not made amends for. I

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<v Speaker 1>was going to die in my friend's living room. He

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<v Speaker 1>was going to kill me, and I've only lived eighteen years.

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted my mama. I mustered up all my strength

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<v Speaker 1>and I said, well, did you kill him? He said no,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't kill him. Do you think I'm crazy? I

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<v Speaker 1>said yes, I do think you crazy. No, tell me

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on. I don't understand any of this. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>follow me, and he got up and he started walking

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<v Speaker 1>towards the back of the house. At this point I

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<v Speaker 1>thought about running out of the front door and calling

0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:49.880
<v Speaker 1>the chief of police, but I followed the confessed killer

0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.120
<v Speaker 1>of the Son of God to his bedroom, where he

0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.200
<v Speaker 1>pointed to a picture his wife had hanging on the

0:13:55.240 --> 0:14:00.200
<v Speaker 1>wall beside their bed. And the picture stood Jesus Can

0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:03.480
<v Speaker 1>on a cloud with a three fifty seven magnum hole

0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:06.280
<v Speaker 1>right through the center of his chest. The smell of

0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:11.520
<v Speaker 1>gunpowder still hanging ominously in the air. I was practicing

0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.480
<v Speaker 1>my quick draw. I thought my gun wasn't loaded, and bang,

0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:19.000
<v Speaker 1>I shot. Jesus, Now I'm going to Hell. I fell

0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:24.440
<v Speaker 1>on the floor laughing. I was relieved that he hadn't

0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:27.120
<v Speaker 1>gone crazy and that he would more than likely not

0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:30.960
<v Speaker 1>take my life that day. Dude, you ain't going to hell,

0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:33.760
<v Speaker 1>but it's going to be something when your wife sees

0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:39.480
<v Speaker 1>that picture. He didn't last long as a policeman. It

0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.080
<v Speaker 1>just ain't for everybody. He went back to work at

0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:45.840
<v Speaker 1>the saw mill a few months later. I asked him

0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.000
<v Speaker 1>about I asked him about this from time to time

0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:51.360
<v Speaker 1>when I seen him, but I always make sure he's

0:14:51.440 --> 0:15:12.440
<v Speaker 1>unarmed when I do. Fall River, Kansas. I was reminded

0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.920
<v Speaker 1>of this last story when a picture popped up on

0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.360
<v Speaker 1>my Facebook memories the other day. It remains one of

0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:21.680
<v Speaker 1>my favorite moments from my travels around this great nation

0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:25.520
<v Speaker 1>of ours. It also reminded me that you can find things,

0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:28.760
<v Speaker 1>good things, if you look just a little harder than

0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:32.760
<v Speaker 1>the effort it takes to scroll on your phone. There's

0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:36.880
<v Speaker 1>good everywhere, and it's not hard to find. Six years ago,

0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:41.200
<v Speaker 1>last week, I was filming a hunt near Fall River, Kansas.

0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:46.200
<v Speaker 1>Fall River is in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing there.

0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:50.280
<v Speaker 1>It was like a Western movie set. Businesses faced each

0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:54.080
<v Speaker 1>other down seventy yards of main street and at the

0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:57.400
<v Speaker 1>end of the street there was nothing, nothing on either

0:15:57.440 --> 0:15:58.320
<v Speaker 1>side past it.

0:15:58.640 --> 0:15:59.240
<v Speaker 2>That was it.

0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:04.920
<v Speaker 1>There was nothing else, or so I thought. But this

0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:09.760
<v Speaker 1>was Fall River, Kansas. It was way after dark when

0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.400
<v Speaker 1>we pulled into town to find some type of festival,

0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:14.600
<v Speaker 1>with the street blocked off by a crowd of people,

0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:19.640
<v Speaker 1>lawn chairs and picnic tables. They were laughing, talking, and

0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.160
<v Speaker 1>children were running and playing. A band was playing from

0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:27.000
<v Speaker 1>the sidewalk. A few children and one older couple was

0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.440
<v Speaker 1>dancing to Luke and Box Texas, says my friend and

0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.240
<v Speaker 1>I asked a kid walking beside the street where we

0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.080
<v Speaker 1>could find something to eat. He pointed and said, the

0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:39.920
<v Speaker 1>fire station has barbecue. Well, we just pulled off the

0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:43.640
<v Speaker 1>road and made our way along the sidewalk, smiling and nodding,

0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.840
<v Speaker 1>and returned to the greetings that we received from everyone

0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.000
<v Speaker 1>who turned to watch us as we walked toward the

0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.440
<v Speaker 1>fire trucks. The man we spoke to you, he said, man,

0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.640
<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry, we're not serving anymore. We're out of food.

0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:59.120
<v Speaker 1>I thanked him and started to walk away when he

0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:03.120
<v Speaker 1>yelled for Dan. Now Dan approached us, and the man

0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:07.520
<v Speaker 1>explained that we were hungry. We introduced ourselves, explaining that

0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:10.120
<v Speaker 1>we were from Arkansas, had been hunting, and that we

0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:13.119
<v Speaker 1>were about to die of starvation. Well, Dan said to

0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:16.159
<v Speaker 1>follow him, and we did. Man, it turned out to

0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:20.359
<v Speaker 1>be the best thing that we did all day. He

0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.480
<v Speaker 1>opened up a huge cooking trailer and was yelling over

0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:26.159
<v Speaker 1>the music for people to do this and get that,

0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.240
<v Speaker 1>and warm of food that had already been packed away

0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:34.600
<v Speaker 1>and put away to feed his friends from Arkansas. We said, no, man,

0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:36.480
<v Speaker 1>we don't want you to go in any trouble. But

0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:39.880
<v Speaker 1>Dan wasn't going to hear anything of it, and neither

0:17:39.920 --> 0:17:42.240
<v Speaker 1>were the folks that were working at a feverish pace

0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.879
<v Speaker 1>preparing our food, all the while laughing and talking and

0:17:45.920 --> 0:17:48.720
<v Speaker 1>asking us about where we were from and about our

0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:52.840
<v Speaker 1>families back home. Dan told us that we had stumbled

0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:58.120
<v Speaker 1>upon the fifty first annual free Fall River Barbecue, an

0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:00.960
<v Speaker 1>event held the third week concept wan Eyver and sponsored

0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:04.280
<v Speaker 1>by the local merchants and farmers and ranchers and one

0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:08.640
<v Speaker 1>or two corporations. It was free for anyone and everyone

0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:13.360
<v Speaker 1>from the communities for miles around were invited. Fall River

0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:16.160
<v Speaker 1>boasted a population of around one hundred and sixty folks.

0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:20.600
<v Speaker 1>According to Dan, there were easily twice that number there,

0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:23.960
<v Speaker 1>including the two deer hunters from Arkansas, whose lives Dan

0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:28.160
<v Speaker 1>had saved by stoking the fire back up on his grill.

0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:28.720
<v Speaker 2>He said.

0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:32.400
<v Speaker 1>Four merchants remained where there once was over twenty, he said.

0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:34.000
<v Speaker 1>And they can't really make a living.

0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:34.800
<v Speaker 2>He said.

0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.800
<v Speaker 1>What they give because they appreciate what a little business

0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:41.160
<v Speaker 1>they get, and they want to give back to Fall River.

0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:42.640
<v Speaker 2>Well.

0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:44.679
<v Speaker 1>I looked around at the people who were there, and

0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:50.040
<v Speaker 1>there were mostly old folks and very young. The obvious

0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.600
<v Speaker 1>missing demographic were the folks in their early twenties to

0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.639
<v Speaker 1>late forties, the ones that had to stay on the

0:18:56.680 --> 0:19:00.880
<v Speaker 1>farm or to leave to make a living. It appeared

0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:03.199
<v Speaker 1>that a lot of them had left. A kind of

0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:07.040
<v Speaker 1>made me a little sad. I knew that I was

0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:09.199
<v Speaker 1>looking at more than a festival, though. This was a

0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:14.000
<v Speaker 1>gathering of families, whether by blood, friendship, lifestyle, community, or

0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:17.600
<v Speaker 1>the common bond and love of days gone by that

0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:20.760
<v Speaker 1>are now more of an exception rather than the rule.

0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:25.199
<v Speaker 1>It was one big family, and they had invited me

0:19:25.320 --> 0:19:29.600
<v Speaker 1>and my friend to join them as members. Dan and

0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.280
<v Speaker 1>the good people of Fall River fed my appetite with

0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:35.600
<v Speaker 1>some of the best food I have ever eaten, and

0:19:35.720 --> 0:19:38.119
<v Speaker 1>my soul with a hope that maybe things aren't as

0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:41.359
<v Speaker 1>bad as they're made out to be. If I could

0:19:41.359 --> 0:19:44.680
<v Speaker 1>find something as incredible as this by accident, what could

0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:49.200
<v Speaker 1>I find if I really tried? And we thanked Dan

0:19:49.280 --> 0:19:51.239
<v Speaker 1>and his wife and all the people that stopped their

0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:53.360
<v Speaker 1>celebration to go back to work.

0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:53.720
<v Speaker 2>To feed us.

0:19:53.760 --> 0:19:57.600
<v Speaker 1>And we were tired. We were running on very little sleep,

0:19:57.920 --> 0:20:00.720
<v Speaker 1>and we still had several miles ago before we could rest.

0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:04.520
<v Speaker 1>We were anxious to get back to camp, and Dan said, oh,

0:20:04.600 --> 0:20:09.280
<v Speaker 1>you can't leave yet. Why not, He said, you'll miss

0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:13.160
<v Speaker 1>the fireworks. Well, I'll tell you I wouldn't have missed

0:20:13.240 --> 0:20:13.960
<v Speaker 1>them for all.

0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:27.040
<v Speaker 2>The deer in Kansas. Well there.

0:20:27.080 --> 0:20:30.439
<v Speaker 1>It is an episode of misfit stories that I just

0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:33.800
<v Speaker 1>couldn't figure out how to tell any other way than

0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:35.639
<v Speaker 1>to just dump them all out in the middle of

0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:37.520
<v Speaker 1>the floor and let you all wait around in them

0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:38.480
<v Speaker 1>and see what you thought.

0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:39.880
<v Speaker 2>I hope you enjoyed them.

0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:43.439
<v Speaker 1>I sure enjoyed telling them. They are the stories that

0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:45.760
<v Speaker 1>I've told folks for years because I like to hear

0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:49.360
<v Speaker 1>them too. I thank you so much for listening. Let

0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:52.520
<v Speaker 1>us know what you think. Be kind to one another.

0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:57.320
<v Speaker 1>This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful

0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:03.159
<v Speaker 2>The