WEBVTT - Ep. 285: This Country Life - Superstitions

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

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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 experiences and life lessons. This country Life is presented

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<v Speaker 1>by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you

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

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<v Speaker 1>grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some

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<v Speaker 1>stories to share. Superstitions crossing your fingers, looking for four

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<v Speaker 1>leaf clovers and avoiding the number thirteen, or some common

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<v Speaker 1>superstitions that nearly everyone knows about. I'm going to tell

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<v Speaker 1>you about some of the ones I grew up around

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe still practice to some degree. I'm going to

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

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<v Speaker 1>tell you a story. Somewhere around nineteen eighty eight, we

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<v Speaker 1>were just driving down the road on the way to

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<v Speaker 1>the woods one day. Mister Leon was keeping the fire

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<v Speaker 1>stoked on a sale of Menthos cigarette and looking at

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<v Speaker 1>a copy of an ownership map that we were using

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<v Speaker 1>to locate some Georgia Pacific property lines we were going

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<v Speaker 1>to move some loggers onto in a few weeks. I

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<v Speaker 1>was a young man working for GP managing Timber. This

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<v Speaker 1>was before I was old enough to be a police

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<v Speaker 1>officer in Arkansas, and mister Leon Garlington was the crew boss.

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<v Speaker 1>He was a veteran of World War Two, having seen

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<v Speaker 1>some brutal fighting in the South Pacific. I respected him

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<v Speaker 1>and he tolerated me. He hated everybody, and most everything

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<v Speaker 1>made him mad. It all stemmed from the war, I'm sure.

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<v Speaker 1>But someone said he was contrary before he ever left

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<v Speaker 1>Arkansas for the other side of the earth. Regardless, I

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<v Speaker 1>looked up to him and I put a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>stock into what he said. And I've told the story

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<v Speaker 1>before about how mister Leon and I would drive out

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<v Speaker 1>to work one way and come back to town in a

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<v Speaker 1>different one. For those that haven't heard, I'll hit the

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<v Speaker 1>high points for you. No idea how long we'd been

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<v Speaker 1>working together managing Timber for GP, me driving and him

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<v Speaker 1>doing all the navigating, when after a million trips to

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<v Speaker 1>and from the woods, he adamantly refused to allow me,

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<v Speaker 1>the guy that was driving, to take the quickest way

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<v Speaker 1>home one afternoon because that was the way we had

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<v Speaker 1>driven out that morning. Mister Leon, I'm hot, I'm tired.

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<v Speaker 1>We can cut this trip back to the office in half.

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<v Speaker 1>If we would just go down the highway like we

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<v Speaker 1>came out this morning, No, we ain't going back that way?

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<v Speaker 1>Why not? That's when he took a drag off that

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<v Speaker 1>cigarette and slow blew it out the open window that

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<v Speaker 1>air conditionless truck and said, son, have you ever been ambushed? No, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>well I have. We ain't going back the same way

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<v Speaker 1>we came out. We never did ever in all the

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<v Speaker 1>years I worked with him. But this was another day,

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<v Speaker 1>and mister Leon was feeling pretty good that morning. He

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<v Speaker 1>hadn't wished anybody to be shot with a wooden bullet

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<v Speaker 1>so far that day. That was one of his favorite

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<v Speaker 1>dispersions to cast upon someone he didn't approve of. He

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<v Speaker 1>order to be shot with a wooden bullet was exactly

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<v Speaker 1>how he'd phrase it, and it was normally addressed toward

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<v Speaker 1>our co workers, whose work ethics he called into question

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<v Speaker 1>on a regular basis. Even though he hadn't spoken to

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<v Speaker 1>me yet, I was digging the vibe I was getting

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<v Speaker 1>from him, and I took a chance on getting a

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<v Speaker 1>wooden bullet wished in my direction. But anyway, I said,

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<v Speaker 1>mister Leon, I got a dang hoodol sitting on a

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<v Speaker 1>limb my window every night. I guess it's a hoodole.

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<v Speaker 1>It's making some kind of spooky racket. But every time

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<v Speaker 1>I go out to see it with a light, it

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<v Speaker 1>ain't there. It sounds like woo ooh. Now, to my surprise,

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't ignore me. He had done that in the

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<v Speaker 1>past a lot. How many nights has it been out there?

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<v Speaker 1>I said, I don't know, maybe two or three, and

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<v Speaker 1>it wakes me up in the middle of the night.

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<v Speaker 1>What does it sound like again? I did it again.

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<v Speaker 1>That ain't no whodol Son. That's a haint. Do what now?

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<v Speaker 1>That's a haint. You got something spooking you. How many

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<v Speaker 1>times have you gone up to an isle at night

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<v Speaker 1>and did not fly? That's a haint. And there ain't

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<v Speaker 1>but one way to cure it. You got to turn

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<v Speaker 1>your shoes upside down under the edge of the bed

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<v Speaker 1>when you lay down at night. And I kept waiting

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<v Speaker 1>for him to start laughing, But all he did was

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<v Speaker 1>keep the fire burning on the end of that cigarette

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<v Speaker 1>and never took his eyes off the map. He didn't

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<v Speaker 1>do a lot of joking. And I readily admit, coon

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<v Speaker 1>hunter or not, I ain't a big fan of the

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<v Speaker 1>dark not that I think there's spooks knocking about in it,

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<v Speaker 1>but something was, and someone I had looked up to

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<v Speaker 1>and put a lot of stock in what he said

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<v Speaker 1>had just given me a cure for what was really

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<v Speaker 1>starting to worry me. We didn't talk about it none

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<v Speaker 1>of the rest of the day, and I went to

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<v Speaker 1>bed that night to silence. No racket at all. My

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<v Speaker 1>work boots sitting by the door were I took them

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<v Speaker 1>off every day when I came home. Sometime in the

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<v Speaker 1>middle of the night, I woke up to that noise again.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't get out of bed. I knew I wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>going to see anything if I went out there. Never had.

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<v Speaker 1>I just laid there waiting on that haink to get

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<v Speaker 1>me wishing. I still thought it was just a hootile

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<v Speaker 1>and then I'd put my shoes under the bed, just

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<v Speaker 1>like mister Lehan had told me to do. Now about

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of the morning. It worked. The next day,

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<v Speaker 1>he asked me, put them shoes under your bed last night? No, sir,

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<v Speaker 1>did the spook come back? Yes, sir. He just shook

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<v Speaker 1>his head disappointedly and fired up another men. Though he

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<v Speaker 1>didn't mention anything about it. The rest of the day.

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<v Speaker 1>Well that night, after suppering, before cutting out the light,

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<v Speaker 1>the last thing I did was turned my boots and

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<v Speaker 1>every pair of shoes I owned upside down under the

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<v Speaker 1>edge of the bed. I never heard that noise again,

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<v Speaker 1>not once. I have no idea to this very day

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<v Speaker 1>what it was, and I have never heard that sound

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<v Speaker 1>again in any recordings of any speed seeds an owl

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<v Speaker 1>that inhabits North America. I've looked trying to replicate what

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<v Speaker 1>I heard and identify what it actually was. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>But the next day at work, I walked into the

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<v Speaker 1>coffee room. Mister Lenarm was sitting in his usual chair,

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<v Speaker 1>reading the newspaper, stained white cup of coffee steaming beside

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<v Speaker 1>the ash tray that was keeping that Mentha all ready

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<v Speaker 1>for him. He looked up at me when I walked in,

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<v Speaker 1>and I hopped up on the edge of the counter

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<v Speaker 1>where I normally sat, waiting on him, just to give

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<v Speaker 1>the sign it was time for us to head to

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<v Speaker 1>the truck and go to work. Until that time, he

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<v Speaker 1>ignored everything and everyone. He just sat there and read

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<v Speaker 1>the paper, oblivious to the rest of the world. He

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<v Speaker 1>picked up a cigarette and glanced up from the paper,

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<v Speaker 1>looking at me over his top of his glasses, and

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<v Speaker 1>he said, I just sleep last night. Now, it was

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<v Speaker 1>such an unusual happening that everyone else stopped talking and

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<v Speaker 1>turned to see if he'd actually he initiated a conversation

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<v Speaker 1>with someone. I smiled big at him, happy that he

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<v Speaker 1>was even talking to me. He never talked to anybody

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<v Speaker 1>up there, and only talked to me once we left.

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<v Speaker 1>But I looked at him, I said, I slept like

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<v Speaker 1>a baby, mister Leon. He winked at me, and he

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<v Speaker 1>went back to his paper. And that's just how that happened. Superstitions,

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<v Speaker 1>the world is full of them. Some of them are

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<v Speaker 1>very well known. As a Pennsylvania paper mogul Michael Scott

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<v Speaker 1>once said, I'm not superstitious. I am a little stitious.

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<v Speaker 1>The same goes for yours, truly. Then my wife and

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<v Speaker 1>kids might have a different opinion about that, as they

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<v Speaker 1>take great joy in poking fun of me about my

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<v Speaker 1>beliefs and habits. And I can't point to any reason

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<v Speaker 1>or reference for it other than I was raised that way,

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<v Speaker 1>or better yet, exposed to it as a child. No

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<v Speaker 1>one ever sat me down and said, Brent, do this

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<v Speaker 1>or don't do that, or you will die well, except

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<v Speaker 1>from my maternal grandmother, beautlessly, the same one that drug

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<v Speaker 1>me to the beauty parlor when misfortune befell me and

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<v Speaker 1>I got caught in her possession while in town. Mom

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<v Speaker 1>sly told me, as I mentioned on her before, that

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<v Speaker 1>if I drank milk and ate fish, I would die,

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<v Speaker 1>simple and quick, to the point it made a lasting

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<v Speaker 1>impression on me. I remember it like it was this morning.

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<v Speaker 1>We sat down to eat a big mess of fish

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<v Speaker 1>she just fried up, and she has Brent, what do

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<v Speaker 1>you want to drink? I want some sweet milk. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't remember how old I was, but I was still

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<v Speaker 1>in elementary school when she responded, and I quote, you

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<v Speaker 1>can't have milk and fish. It'll kill you, ma'am, It'll

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<v Speaker 1>kill you. I can't do that. She's some tea that

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't going to end well. And before I go any further,

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<v Speaker 1>let me say that my grandmother could sit on her behind, blindfolded,

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<v Speaker 1>with her right arm tied behind her back, and out

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<v Speaker 1>cooked Julia Chiles and Justin Wilson and out Clean, Mister Clean,

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<v Speaker 1>and the tidy bowl Man all at the same time.

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<v Speaker 1>But everyone has a weakness to Superman. It was kryptonite

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<v Speaker 1>to Achilles. It was his heel to my mama's life.

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<v Speaker 1>It was her sweet tea. I call it sweet tea

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<v Speaker 1>only because that's what he's supposed to be. She didn't

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<v Speaker 1>put sugar in it, she didn't like it. It wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>drink it, so I'm not sure she even knew what

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<v Speaker 1>it was supposed to taste like. She was born in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen twelve and raised on a farm seven and a

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<v Speaker 1>half miles north of Warren, Arkansas, picking cotton, milk and

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<v Speaker 1>cows and feeding chickens. You'd think with that resume, she'd

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<v Speaker 1>have been the queen of sweet tea, but you'd be wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>My mama liked sweet tea. My dad likes sweet tea.

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<v Speaker 1>My grandfather find A Sly. Her husband liked sweet tea,

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<v Speaker 1>but bless his heart, he didn't get to drink it.

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<v Speaker 1>Not good sweet tea at least I was. Mama Sly

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<v Speaker 1>made it. She had a gray stoneware a picture that

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<v Speaker 1>had two blue stripes on it that she put the

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<v Speaker 1>tea in when she made it. Could be sitting on

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<v Speaker 1>the table. When I sat down and saw it there,

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<v Speaker 1>I knew I was in for some tough swallowing ahead

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<v Speaker 1>of me if I drank it, so I always opted

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<v Speaker 1>for milk, except on Friday nights, when we always ate

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<v Speaker 1>fish like any self respected Southerner does. If we didn't

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<v Speaker 1>fix it at home, we loaded up and went out

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<v Speaker 1>to eat it. But on the occasion to which I'm referring,

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<v Speaker 1>I was sitting in my appointed chair on the east

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<v Speaker 1>side of the table, the chair I always set in

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<v Speaker 1>when I stayed there. My grandfather was at the head

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<v Speaker 1>on the south end, and directly across from me was

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<v Speaker 1>my sainted Mama. Slo poured me up a glass of

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<v Speaker 1>tea that was so stout you could have floated a

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<v Speaker 1>steel wedge in it. It was so dark you could

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<v Speaker 1>stand ankle deep in it and not see your feet.

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<v Speaker 1>I watched my Papall dump enough lemon juice and sugar

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<v Speaker 1>in it to make it somewhat palatable. I don't think

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<v Speaker 1>he really liked it. I think he drank it because

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<v Speaker 1>he loved my Mama's lye, and I loved her too.

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<v Speaker 1>So when I took a drink of it and I said,

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<v Speaker 1>this tea don't taste like Mama's, Papall cut his eyes

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<v Speaker 1>at me, and I don't know if he was thinking

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<v Speaker 1>that this fifth born grandson had been sent here as

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<v Speaker 1>his own personal Moses to deliver him from the bondage

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<v Speaker 1>of Mama slies Tea, or if he thought that statement,

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<v Speaker 1>I just spontaneously uttered after choking down the most bitter

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<v Speaker 1>solution this side of purified green per simmons had been

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<v Speaker 1>more dangerous than mixing milk and fish. We never found

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<v Speaker 1>out because my mama's slie said rather sternly, will I'll

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<v Speaker 1>fix you some water? Papaull kept eating and I didn't die.

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<v Speaker 1>I looked it up, and the myth of milk and

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<v Speaker 1>fish goes back a long way, and at its origins,

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<v Speaker 1>it's believed to have caused skin problems somewhere along the way.

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<v Speaker 1>When it reached that little farm seven and a half

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<v Speaker 1>miles north of Warren, Arkansas, possible skin problems had turned

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<v Speaker 1>into imminent death. Another superstition that I can attribute to

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<v Speaker 1>my mama's life was whenever we were walking side by

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<v Speaker 1>side and a pole or a parking meter, or a fence

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<v Speaker 1>post or any type of object came between us, she'd

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<v Speaker 1>say bread and butter. Now I never thought much about it,

0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:42.959
<v Speaker 1>For all I knew she was going over a grocery

0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:47.440
<v Speaker 1>list and I'm easily distracted. But the origins of the

0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.760
<v Speaker 1>saying go back a long time ago. Like most old

0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.120
<v Speaker 1>sayings like that, it's supposed to ward off any future

0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:58.600
<v Speaker 1>happenings that would separate the relationship. Something come between you

0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.600
<v Speaker 1>is that when butter is spread on bread, that you

0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.680
<v Speaker 1>can't take it off. I say it now, and I

0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:07.840
<v Speaker 1>have said it ever since I noticed her saying it

0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:10.640
<v Speaker 1>when I was just a kid. It was one of

0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:14.600
<v Speaker 1>a myriad of sayings, phrases, and observations that Alexis found

0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:18.559
<v Speaker 1>herself having to learn. When we got together. She struggled

0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.600
<v Speaker 1>with me saying dinner and meaning what she would call lunch,

0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:23.400
<v Speaker 1>to the point that I heard her in the kitchen

0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:27.280
<v Speaker 1>in her apartment one day saying, over and over breakfast dinner,

0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:31.720
<v Speaker 1>so breakfast dinner, so breakfast dinner. So I said, what

0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.560
<v Speaker 1>are you doing, to which she said, I'm trying to

0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:39.360
<v Speaker 1>learn a new language. That It came as no surprise

0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:41.400
<v Speaker 1>when we were walking to a restaurant one evening not

0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:44.120
<v Speaker 1>long after that, and a parking meter came in between

0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:47.680
<v Speaker 1>us and she said, peanut butter and jelly. I said

0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:52.680
<v Speaker 1>what she said, peanut butter and jelly. No biscuits and gravy.

0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.920
<v Speaker 1>Biscuits and gravy. That's it, I said, No, dear, it's

0:14:56.000 --> 0:15:02.280
<v Speaker 1>bread and butter. I appreciate you trying. One that really

0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:04.440
<v Speaker 1>got her one day when we were still dating, was

0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:07.400
<v Speaker 1>when I was driving us somewhere and a cat ran

0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:10.720
<v Speaker 1>across the road in front of us. This was back

0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:13.480
<v Speaker 1>when she still stayed away long enough to have a conversation,

0:15:13.600 --> 0:15:16.600
<v Speaker 1>instead of like now, when she builds herself a blanket

0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:19.880
<v Speaker 1>cocoon to hibernate in until we reach our destination that

0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:23.080
<v Speaker 1>could be as far away as another state or as

0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:28.320
<v Speaker 1>close as the grocery store. Anyway, the cat crossed the road,

0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:30.840
<v Speaker 1>and in mid conversation, I made an X with my

0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.720
<v Speaker 1>right index finger in the top left hand corner of

0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.000
<v Speaker 1>the windshield, turned my head and made a spitting noise

0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:41.840
<v Speaker 1>over my left shoulder, and continued on with whatever I

0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:45.640
<v Speaker 1>was saying, as if nothing had happened. When she didn't respond,

0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:47.760
<v Speaker 1>I looked over at her, and she was staring at me.

0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:52.160
<v Speaker 1>Her eyes were big, her mouth was partially open, and

0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:55.760
<v Speaker 1>her little bump of a nose snarled upwards in utter disgust.

0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:58.960
<v Speaker 1>I asked her, what's wrong? She said, are you spitting

0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:02.520
<v Speaker 1>in the car, because if you are and don't stop immediately,

0:16:03.080 --> 0:16:08.360
<v Speaker 1>this is a deal breaker. No, I didn't really spill,

0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:11.160
<v Speaker 1>I just made that racket. A cat crossed the road

0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:14.760
<v Speaker 1>in front of us. Now, I assume she didn't see

0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:16.520
<v Speaker 1>it as if that was going to make what I

0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:20.680
<v Speaker 1>had just done easier for her to understand. I've always

0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:23.240
<v Speaker 1>taken it for granted that everyone grew up like me

0:16:23.400 --> 0:16:26.960
<v Speaker 1>and what I did was just a social norm. Other folks,

0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:33.000
<v Speaker 1>my wife included, refer to them as social abnormalities. I

0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:35.040
<v Speaker 1>saw my dad do it a million times, and when

0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:36.720
<v Speaker 1>I asked you why, he said it was the ward

0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.720
<v Speaker 1>off bad luck. And it wasn't just limited to black cats.

0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:42.440
<v Speaker 1>It was any and every cat that ever crossed the

0:16:42.520 --> 0:16:46.120
<v Speaker 1>road in front of us. It was learned behavior from

0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.280
<v Speaker 1>him to me, and I have no idea where he

0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:51.680
<v Speaker 1>got it from. My son Hunter does it as well

0:16:51.720 --> 0:16:54.120
<v Speaker 1>as my oldest daughter Amy, but the baby girl Cub

0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:59.520
<v Speaker 1>doesn't not yet. Anyway, something I was told I wasn't

0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:02.120
<v Speaker 1>supposed to to do as well was talk about a

0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:06.760
<v Speaker 1>dream I'd have before eating breakfast. I can't remember where

0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:09.439
<v Speaker 1>I heard that one from, but it was always just

0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.800
<v Speaker 1>been a part of my knowledge or lack of however

0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:15.639
<v Speaker 1>you want to look at it. The real was you

0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:18.679
<v Speaker 1>didn't talk about a dream before breakfast unless you wanted

0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:21.920
<v Speaker 1>it to come true. And most of my dreams over

0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.240
<v Speaker 1>ten years had me duking it out with someone, and

0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:28.000
<v Speaker 1>during the fight, my arms would only move in slow motion.

0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.880
<v Speaker 1>I could feel myself swinging as hard and fast as

0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.679
<v Speaker 1>I could, only to look like I was swimming in

0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:38.640
<v Speaker 1>my glasses now. The first time I sprung that one

0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:41.560
<v Speaker 1>on the lexus was at her parents' house. We'd all

0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.280
<v Speaker 1>gathered for breakfast, and she started, let me tell you

0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:47.320
<v Speaker 1>about this dream I had last night. WHOA Was it

0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:51.640
<v Speaker 1>a good dream? No, it was scary. You can't talk

0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:56.080
<v Speaker 1>about it until you eat something. What you can't talk

0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:58.240
<v Speaker 1>about it until you eat something or to come true?

0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:02.399
<v Speaker 1>She stared at me from across the table. Everyone else,

0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:04.800
<v Speaker 1>her parents, sister, and her grandmother's eyes are kind of

0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:07.359
<v Speaker 1>darting back and forth to each other. As I told

0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:09.639
<v Speaker 1>her to at least take a bite or something before

0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.959
<v Speaker 1>she talked about it, I could see her reevaluating her

0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.240
<v Speaker 1>life choices up to that moment as she looked at me,

0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:17.680
<v Speaker 1>contemplating how the rest of her life would play out

0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:23.280
<v Speaker 1>being married to me, and she slowly deliberately took a

0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:25.879
<v Speaker 1>bite from that fork as she had hovered in the

0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:30.360
<v Speaker 1>air above her plate. There I took a bite. Now

0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.360
<v Speaker 1>we don't have to worry about the flying monkeys from

0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.800
<v Speaker 1>the Wizard of Oz stealing the riding lawnmower and running

0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:40.359
<v Speaker 1>over our mailbox. Now we all laughed and laughed, and

0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:45.440
<v Speaker 1>it was funny. She's funny, But our mailbox has remained undamaged,

0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:49.560
<v Speaker 1>and that happened before Bathing was born, So who's laughing now?

0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.160
<v Speaker 1>Superstitions are a funny thing for me. They're more out

0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:58.200
<v Speaker 1>of a habit than a belief. And I don't think

0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:01.040
<v Speaker 1>milk and fish will kill you. I also don't think

0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:03.920
<v Speaker 1>knocking on wood would ward off any evil spirits or

0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:06.560
<v Speaker 1>spitting over your shoulder. We keep a cat from bringing

0:19:06.600 --> 0:19:09.679
<v Speaker 1>you harm, just like walking under a ladder ain't going

0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:14.879
<v Speaker 1>to hurt a thing. But why take a chance a

0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:17.280
<v Speaker 1>stilly tradition that connects me to the past and the

0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:19.359
<v Speaker 1>people that I think about when I do them or

0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.200
<v Speaker 1>talk about them to others. Explaining them to Lexis would

0:19:23.240 --> 0:19:25.960
<v Speaker 1>be the starting point to many conversations that would begin

0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:28.720
<v Speaker 1>with me telling her about Mama's lies, saying bread and butter,

0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:32.440
<v Speaker 1>and end up with us having spent time together, laughing

0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:35.639
<v Speaker 1>and talking and learning about each other's families. And we

0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:39.639
<v Speaker 1>still do that. If you're talking and laughing and learning

0:19:39.640 --> 0:19:43.560
<v Speaker 1>with the folks you love, man, that's about as lucky

0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:47.080
<v Speaker 1>as you can get. Thank y'all so much for listening

0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:49.720
<v Speaker 1>to us here on the Old Bear Grease Channel. I

0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:52.719
<v Speaker 1>hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's celebration,

0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:55.680
<v Speaker 1>and I look forward to talking to y'all again next week.

0:19:56.320 --> 0:20:06.160
<v Speaker 1>Until then, this is Brent Reeds signing off. I think