1 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:08,719 Speaker 1: Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves 2 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trot lighting and just general country living. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: I want you to stay a while as I share 4 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: my experiences in life lessons. This Country Life is presented 5 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: by Case Knives from the store More Studio on Meat 6 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best outdoor podcast that 7 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:31,319 Speaker 1: airways have to offer. All right, friends, grab a chair 8 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: or drop that tailgate. I've got some stores to share. 9 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 1: Going home, some folks say you can't go home again. 10 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:47,879 Speaker 1: I've never researched the implied meaning for that, but I 11 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: assume it means it's impossible to return to a place 12 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 1: from your past and have it to be exactly as 13 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: you remember it being. When fishing with my brother Tim 14 00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: the other day, and I thought a lot about how 15 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: that all played out. I'm going to share it with 16 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: you today, But first I'm going to tell you a story. 17 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: In the summer of two thousand and four, my dad, 18 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: my brother Tim, and my six year old son Hunter 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: and I lost a boat from the boat ramp in 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: Cleveland County, Arkansas. It's located eight and a half miles 21 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,960 Speaker 1: from New Edinburgh, a bustling metropolis of one hundred and 22 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,479 Speaker 1: thirty four inhabitants according to the twenty twenty census. That's 23 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: a five and a half percent growth from the one hundred 24 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: and twenty seven ar Kansas talented in a twenty ten accounty. 25 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: That boat ramp in two thousand and four was called 26 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: the Mount Elba East Saline River Access and had been 27 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: since Cleveland County officially took over the upkeep in nineteen 28 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: seventy four, since the Donald of Man. According to my father, 29 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: it had been known simply as Mount elby we Southerners, 30 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: taking liberties and pronunciation by removing the letter N from 31 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,920 Speaker 1: the word mount and elongating the a in Elba to 32 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: a more resonant sound that flows off the tongue, like 33 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: the Seleine River itself, effortlessly with a subconscious feeling of 34 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: familiarity with others who would immediately recognize anything different. As 35 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: a little boy the age of my son, who was 36 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: following me around as I did my father in that 37 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: same place, albeit thirty two years later, I couldn't have 38 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: imagined that place would be named after my father. A 39 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: decade later, and on September nineteenth, twenty fourteen, the Arkansas 40 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:48,519 Speaker 1: Game and Fish Commission and cooperation with Cleveland County officially 41 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: named that boat ramp as the Lloyd Wilton Buddy Reeves 42 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: Mount Elba access to the Sline River, but that day 43 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: it was still just Mount Elby and the four of 44 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: us were going fishing. It was all the fly rids, 45 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,200 Speaker 1: ultra lights, and tackle boxes loaded. We finished off with 46 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,240 Speaker 1: a fish cooker and all the ingredients needed to host 47 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,359 Speaker 1: a fish fry, a fish fry that depended on us 48 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 1: catching enough fish that day to feed ourselves. There wasn't 49 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,560 Speaker 1: a safer bed in Vegas than three generations of Reese 50 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: boys being able to scrap out enough bluegills to put 51 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: hunger in a headlock. As far as I knew, my 52 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: daddy invented brim fishing. We motored past the Big Tree 53 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: Top on the east side of the river, where a 54 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: local man fish with Dad and I one afternoon when 55 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: I was around Hunter's age. He'd been invited to go 56 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: that morning, but he didn't make the mustard, so we 57 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: went without him. After fishing, we took our midday nap 58 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: and vitals, breaking Uncle Dobb's cabin, a cabin that still 59 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: stands today and one that I talked about two years 60 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: ago in episode one thirty five entitled Swimming Holes. If 61 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 1: you hadn't heard that one, I highly encourage you to 62 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: do so. Anyway, as we were getting ready to go 63 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 1: fishing that afternoon, old mister late for the morning fishing 64 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 1: trip shows up. How he got there was a mystery. 65 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,600 Speaker 1: His conveyance wasn't a mystery. He drove his truck. How 66 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,560 Speaker 1: he got there without running out through the woods, that 67 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 1: was the mystery. This old fellow was known to imbibe 68 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: to excess on occasion, and it turned out the latest 69 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: such ucation had been the reason for his tardiness. He 70 00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: more or less bored himself out of that truck and 71 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:49,119 Speaker 1: told my dad, let's go fishing. Now. I have thought 72 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:51,880 Speaker 1: about that day many times since then. That can only 73 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,160 Speaker 1: conclude that my dad thought it's safer for him to 74 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: be in the boat with us rather than in his 75 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:02,799 Speaker 1: truck out on the road. Fishing that afternoon went without incident, 76 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: and we caught a lot of fish in spite of 77 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: all the racket that old man was making. But time 78 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: and the summer Arkansas sun allowed sobriety to take over, 79 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,559 Speaker 1: and that evening, when we pulled back on the bank, 80 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: he was safe to drive home. And he did. We 81 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,159 Speaker 1: found out a few days later that the missus didn't 82 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: allow him back in the house and he spent the 83 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: night in his truck out in the driveway. It sounds 84 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: like I went down a rabbit hole there, straying away 85 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: from the original story. But bear with me. There's there's 86 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: a method to my madness. But that day with the 87 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: old Man flashed in its entirety, and half the time 88 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:49,560 Speaker 1: it took me to tell you about it, it was 89 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: a scene played out like a whole movie in my 90 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: head as we drifted by that spot on the river, 91 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: me looking at that spot and seeing us in Dad's 92 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: old boat as we passed, like I was riding through 93 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:05,480 Speaker 1: a theme park of my life. I looked back in 94 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,159 Speaker 1: the boat and could see my son's eyes looking at everything. 95 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 1: As we rowed down the river. He soaked in every 96 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 1: twist and turned every overhanging tree, pointing at birds and turtles, 97 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,039 Speaker 1: and he was making his own home movies. As we 98 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: rounded the bend and passed through the swimming hole. That 99 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 1: place triggered a million memories, like the old tree top, 100 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:31,280 Speaker 1: those running in no particular sequence, just flashes of cinematic 101 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,840 Speaker 1: joy from the last forty something years of living and 102 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: being there in the water and on that sand, with 103 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: the people in the boat with me, some far away 104 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: living their own lives now, and others that I would 105 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: never see again, at least not in this life. We 106 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: went on through and we started fishing at the head 107 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: of the Stretch, a moderately straight portion of the river 108 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: that for about a mile was wider than most, with 109 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: sloping banks and deep Every species of fish that swam 110 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: in the river could find something they liked, and we 111 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: caught brim and bash and catfish and cropping, depending on 112 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: which species we were targeting right there, and by the 113 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: middle of the morning we had more than enough fish 114 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: to cook. One hundred prouds have participated in stalking the 115 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: ice chest and looking forward to what was coming next. 116 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: Dad moted us on down the river to Bug Island, 117 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: a gradual shallowing at the end of the stretch, where 118 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: for years and generations we would stop resting the shade 119 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: of sycamore wheeling cypress trees, clean our fish in the 120 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: shallow currant, and lay in the cool water as it 121 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: washed away the sweat and sand from our bodies. Countless 122 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: times I'd done this with my dad, and each time 123 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: we did, I heard a favorite story or a new 124 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: one I hadn't heard before, each one triggered by the 125 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: movies that played inside his head as we talked of 126 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: old times and old people, all the stories, in one 127 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: way or another, connected to that place, the river, and 128 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: everything that went with it. After we ate, having stuffed 129 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: ourselves with brim fried taters and onions, we gathered at 130 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,600 Speaker 1: the river cool The water was barely deep enough to 131 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: flow over our chests. As we lay facing skyward in 132 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: the shade, Toes pointed downstream, water was swift enough to 133 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: fill the tiniest of pebbles as they rolled along the 134 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: bottom and around us three adults lying still, while the 135 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: youngest crawled around, digging up rocks and mussels and asking 136 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: questions after question for any of us had time to 137 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:46,319 Speaker 1: completely answer the previous dozen. Then the three of us, 138 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: on the quiet suggestion of my father, rolled over on 139 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,040 Speaker 1: our bellies, and we started slowly crawling up streams side 140 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: by side, as Hunters sat in one spot with a 141 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: shallow water barely deep enough to cover the belt loop 142 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,599 Speaker 1: on his cutoff, Levi's it's back to us digging in 143 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: the gravel, oblivious to our retreat Eventually he realized we'd 144 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: slipped away, and when he turned his head, we'd made 145 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: it about ten yards still army, crawling away from where 146 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:19,720 Speaker 1: he sat, he hollered, hey, and as we'd all turned 147 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: to laugh, and how we tricked him, he said, pow. 148 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: He grabbed his chest if he'd been sniped by an 149 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: unseen enemy. Without hesitation, he started slowly crawling towards us, 150 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: his six year old frame brown as a biscuit and 151 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,439 Speaker 1: dripping with the water as he crawled while feigning a 152 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:42,839 Speaker 1: mortal wound. Weakly, he said, I'm not gonna make it. 153 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:50,559 Speaker 1: Save yourselves, go on without me. I don't know. I 154 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: don't know if I've ever seen my dad laugh any 155 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: harder than he did at that moment. Ever, laughing was 156 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: and is a constant in my family. And we've been 157 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,839 Speaker 1: accused of being too loud, irreverent, boisterous, juvenile, and a 158 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: laundry list of other adjectives that infer attitudes and activities 159 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: of a less than serious way of looking at life. 160 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:22,559 Speaker 1: And those opinions they ain't without merit. We just like 161 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: to have fun. That's just how that happened. Going home, 162 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:39,439 Speaker 1: Are we going fishing? Or what that was? The question 163 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:43,120 Speaker 1: posed to me by my brother Tim. This whole summer, 164 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: we've been plagued by high water in my schedule that 165 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:51,959 Speaker 1: has given us zero opportunities to go fishing. We're commercial fishermen, 166 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: for goodness sake, We're supposed to be fishing. But the 167 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: Arkansas River has been high for quite a while, and 168 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: since we're actually commercial fish fisherman in name and license only, 169 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: we haven't been braving the high water to set our nets. 170 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 1: Real commercial fishermen, the ones who depend on fishing to 171 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: earn a living. Now, they've been fishing. Tim and I 172 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: not so much, not any Actually, when he asked me 173 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: that question, kind of rudely, I might add, I started 174 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: telling him about my schedule again and how we'd only 175 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:27,319 Speaker 1: be able to let the nets soak for a short 176 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: period before we had to go pull them. He said, no, 177 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: dummy bream fishing. Oh, Friday, I can go Friday. So 178 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 1: at five thirty am when the alarm went off, I'd 179 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: already had my stuff loaded in the truck. It was 180 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:45,800 Speaker 1: pouring my first cup of coffee iron. Forty five minutes later, 181 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: I met Tim at his house and we rode together 182 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 1: on the twelve mile journey from his home through the country. 183 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: We talked about what was currently going on with our lives, 184 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 1: passing the time, cracking jokes, generally solving all the world problems. 185 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,720 Speaker 1: But with every twist and turned down that gravel road, 186 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: I was semi consciously noting the timeline of my lifetime 187 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,559 Speaker 1: on a road that I used to live on. Right there, 188 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: across that field is where I caught my first gray fox. 189 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: Right there on the side of the road is where 190 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,079 Speaker 1: that big flint airhead came from. As we drove on 191 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,599 Speaker 1: other places, spoke to me just past the curve in 192 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: the road where the creek crosses, where I saw that 193 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: big gobbler cross in front of me. The memories of 194 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 1: instances from my past playing now with each passing moment. 195 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 1: I can't help but ask myself why those seemingly insignificant 196 00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:44,560 Speaker 1: moments are so key to my core memories. Why would 197 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 1: I remember a turkey crossing the road at a very 198 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: specific place forty years ago. I didn't kill that turkey. 199 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: He wasn't on land I had permission to be on, 200 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: so I didn't even hunt him. Yet I can see 201 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: him vividly as he crossed the road in front of me. 202 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:04,959 Speaker 1: According to a little research I did on why we 203 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: remember insignificant things. Most of the professionals agree that memory 204 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 1: isn't usually prioritized by importance. Things that you remember are 205 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: most often based on some sort of emotional attachment. I've 206 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: got boxes full of turkey beards, and if I was 207 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:27,319 Speaker 1: held a gunpoint and told to tell an individual hunting story, 208 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,079 Speaker 1: for the number of bears represented, I might get a 209 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: third of them. Maybe, so, I guess I answered my 210 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: own question. More or less. I probably remember that turkey 211 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,199 Speaker 1: because I couldn't hunt him. He was one of the 212 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,199 Speaker 1: many that got away. And as soon as I say that, 213 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: I can now see him and many others getting gone 214 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: in the roll of decks of turkey, sadness that haunts 215 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: me still. And as we got closer to the river, 216 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 1: I saw a bunch of other places and people's houses 217 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: that trigger conversations about times past and present. And finally 218 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:11,679 Speaker 1: we made it to the river, our river, a place 219 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: as familiar and welcoming as your grandparents' home, a place 220 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 1: that ten years could pass in between visits, but you 221 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 1: could easily find your way around in in the dark. 222 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: Pull the truck in here and swing to this side, 223 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: because the boat ramp runs out at an angle away 224 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: from where you park and get the boat straps undone 225 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,720 Speaker 1: and make sure the plug is in. None of this 226 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: was out loud. It didn't have to be. It was 227 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: second nature to both of us and just part of 228 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: the routine that we'd done forever, having both been taught 229 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,680 Speaker 1: by the man whose name adorned the sign that kept 230 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:55,520 Speaker 1: watch over that ramp. We headed off downstream, tim in 231 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:58,160 Speaker 1: the front of the boat, pointing at underwater obstacles that 232 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: lay in wait for those une with how the channel laid. 233 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 1: We zigged and zagged down the narrow river, talking about 234 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,360 Speaker 1: this spot and that spot, while each of us remembered 235 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: other things in occurrences that we didn't bring up. Nothing bad, 236 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: just moments shared with others and ourselves that were better 237 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: musings than subjects of conversations, Like the spot where that 238 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:25,920 Speaker 1: big tree top was located just below the boat ramp 239 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: that I talked about Hunter seeing when he was a 240 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:32,680 Speaker 1: kid in the opening story. That happened twenty years ago, 241 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:36,360 Speaker 1: and that day reminded me of fishing there with my 242 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 1: dad and the fellow who wasn't safe to drive twenty 243 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: years before that. It's not just one particular incident that 244 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: I recall and we live when I go back there. 245 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: It's a catalog of emotions for people in a time 246 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: when my world didn't extend far beyond what we could see. 247 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: The river felt the same hot boat seat burned my 248 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: hands like always, and dropping a blue gill brim into 249 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: the ice chest was as satisfying as it had ever been. 250 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: And when we had enough fro mess weedzed on down 251 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: the Bug Island. We pulled the boat up on the 252 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,680 Speaker 1: bank and we sat down in the river to cool off, 253 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 1: clean our ketch twenty four bluegill and red belly brim later, 254 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: and we walked up in the shade to take in 255 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 1: the breeze that was blowing just enough down the river 256 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:31,840 Speaker 1: to make it comfortable and relaxing. We shared a cantalope 257 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: I brought from home, cutting it open with the same 258 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: case knives that we'd cleaned the fish with. Not to worry, though, 259 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: we washed them off in the river before we ate. 260 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: We sat there in the shade, on that small piece 261 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: of earth where generations of our family had stood before us, camping, cooking, 262 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: and fellowshipping. It was as comfortable as a favorite pair 263 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: of old boots. It was a natural extension of ourselves 264 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:03,360 Speaker 1: and our homes, regardless of our different zip codes. On 265 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,639 Speaker 1: the drive back home, I thought about how it felt 266 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:09,440 Speaker 1: to be there, and about that old saying of you 267 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: can't go home. In a way, I guess that's true. 268 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 1: The big old timber has all been cut in the bottoms, 269 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 1: and pine plantations and thickets have replaced the hardwood flats 270 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 1: of my father's youth and mine. But even after all 271 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: the change to that beautiful scenery, feelings remain the same. 272 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: I could focus and brood over what's not there anymore, 273 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: or except that with time, change is inevitable. While change 274 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: is the last thing you wanted, something that's perfect, it 275 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,120 Speaker 1: can't change the way it makes me feel to be there, 276 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: and when I'm there it feels like home. So yes, 277 00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: Thomas Wolfe, I beg to differ, sir. You can go 278 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:11,199 Speaker 1: home again, And I did it last Friday. Y'all keep 279 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: sending those stories in I want to hear about farming 280 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 1: and Grandma's house and hunting and fishing and just sitting 281 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: on the porch. I appreciate y'all so much for listening 282 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,119 Speaker 1: to me. Lake and Clay here on the Bear Grease Channel, 283 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: we really really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Until 284 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 1: next week, This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all be careful.