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 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trot lighting and just in general 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: country living. I want you to stay a while as 4 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: I share. 5 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 2: My experiences in life lessons. 6 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: This country Life is presented by Case Knives from the 7 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: store More Studio on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you 8 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: the best outdoor podcast that airways have to offer. All right, friends, 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some 10 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: stories to share. 11 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 2: The soundtrack of our lives. 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: Music has been a constant for me as far back 13 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,360 Speaker 1: as I can remember. I enjoy the details and the 14 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,840 Speaker 1: meanings behind the songs the folks who play them. Some 15 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: tunes are just filler and enjoyable noise, while others they 16 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: take on a whole different level of importance to the listener. 17 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about that today, so let's get 18 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: to it. Welcome to the grand old Opry. Let her go, boys. 19 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: I remember hearing that most Saturday nights with my dad 20 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: and I were down on the potlatch timber company roads 21 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 1: and clean river bottoms of rural Cleveland County, Arkansas. We'd 22 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: sat in the cab of the truck listening intently to 23 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: Porter Wagner, Roy Acuff, Bill Munroe, and hoping to hear 24 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: Charlie Pride or a story from Jerry Klower. We'd sing 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: along with the ones we knew and wait impatiently during 26 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: the square dancing segments to finish so we could hear 27 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: who was singing next. Sometimes during the dance and the 28 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: announcer would read a commercial for tobacco Martha White Flower, 29 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: and that would trigger a memory of a store from 30 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: my dad. He dialed back the volume on the AM 31 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: only radio in his truck a bit to tell it 32 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: to me. All through the story, I was hearing something 33 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: similar to what y'all hear every week on this show, 34 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: a soundtrack that subconsciously elevated the story I was listening to. 35 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: I didn't know it at the time, obviously, but I 36 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 1: can't tell you the amount of time since then that 37 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: I've sat here writing about a memory from those days 38 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: and not heard. 39 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 2: What I remember who had been playing at that moment. 40 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: The catalyst of that memory, most times having been triggered 41 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,040 Speaker 1: by a song. Then when the dog struck a track, 42 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: we pile out of the cab like it was on 43 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:52,239 Speaker 1: fire and listen to the music that the dog would playing. Now, 44 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 1: according to mister Webster, by definition, music is vocal or 45 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,959 Speaker 1: instrumental sounds or both come by in such a way 46 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: as to produce beauty of form, harmony, an expression of emotion. 47 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: It's the expression of emotion, and that definition that I identified with. 48 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: Without emotion, it couldn't trigger a memory. That's the connection 49 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: beyond the physicality of actually hearing it. It's associated with 50 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:23,799 Speaker 1: our emotions at the time we heard it, in either 51 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: what we were doing, who we were with, all of 52 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: it intertwined to the consistency of a bird nested fishing reel. 53 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: I can hear Willie Nelson singing me and Paul, and 54 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: as soon as I recognize the tune, which is within 55 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: the first two seconds of it starting, I'm sitting in 56 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: my dad's company truck listening to that song on an 57 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: eight track player. Some or most of you are going 58 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: to have to google that one. But I'm on the 59 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: passenger side of that truck making the final left hand 60 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: turn on a driveway that led from the huge metal 61 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: chicken houses to a farmer's home. They were expecting us, 62 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: had our dinner fixed and it was almost noon. 63 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:06,839 Speaker 2: Now. 64 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: It's not occasionally that I find myself there. When I 65 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: hear that song, it's every time I hear it, every 66 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,799 Speaker 1: single time, regardless of where I am or what I'm doing. 67 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,479 Speaker 1: Two seconds into the intro and I'm riding in that 68 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: truck and hearing the gravel crunch under the tires, I 69 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: can feel the air conditioning blowing on me, and I 70 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,919 Speaker 1: can smell a hent of my dad's after shave and 71 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: a chicken house full of everything that came out of 72 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,800 Speaker 1: the chicken except the eggs. That mile oder a cent 73 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: being a trigger for a whole different set of memories. 74 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:46,840 Speaker 1: But we're not talking about chicken stuff. We're talking about music. 75 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,599 Speaker 1: In August twenty eleven, I was standing at my post 76 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: to the entrance of the Arkansas State Capital. The legislature 77 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: was out of session, so the building was occupied only 78 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: with daily employees and a few summer visitors. Anyone could 79 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: visit the building on any given day, but they had 80 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: to pass through a metal detector in a bag search 81 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: at the visitors entrance. All other access to the building 82 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: was by employee key cards. The entrance location was my 83 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: third two hour post of the shift and my turn. 84 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,160 Speaker 2: To be the Walmart greeter of swords. 85 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: My job was addressing folks as they entered the building, 86 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:30,039 Speaker 1: directing them through the security protocols, answering any questions, and 87 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: pointing them towards the bathrooms, that being the majority of 88 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: the requests. 89 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 2: Since there were no committee meetings or hearing's. 90 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 1: Taking place in the absence of all the lawmakers. 91 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 2: Now August, it's hot in Arkansas. 92 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:44,400 Speaker 1: Most of the folks that walked around looking at the 93 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:46,839 Speaker 1: few exhibits on display were there more for the air 94 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: conditioning than a history lesson. In my career as a 95 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,280 Speaker 1: law enforcement officer, the years that I spent at the 96 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: state Capitol were some of my most memorable, and for 97 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: the present I just believe it at that. But on 98 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: this hot day and the last third of a blister 99 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: in Arkansas summer, I saw a man walk in the door, 100 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: being escorted by a former member of the legislature. He 101 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: wore a faded, pearl snapped long sleeved denim shirt, Levi's 102 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: cowboy boots and an easy recognizable brown felt hat that 103 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: he removed from his head with his left hand and 104 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: revealed a head of thin and gray hair that he 105 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: combed as best he could with the fingers of his 106 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 1: right hand. The ones that were still there anyway, He 107 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 1: was short of the normal tally of five by a 108 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:41,720 Speaker 1: saw mital accident when he was young. His long hair 109 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: passed the collar of his shirt in the back and 110 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:49,120 Speaker 1: framed his tan face in familiar smile. I was surprised 111 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: to see him standing in front of me, his hat 112 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 1: in his hand, waiting for me to usher him in, 113 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: and even more surprised to see the confusion on his 114 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:02,960 Speaker 1: face when I said, mister Billy Joe Shaver, welcome to 115 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: the state Capitol. He stuck his hand out, the one 116 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: with the missing digits, and he shook my hand and said, astonishingly, 117 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: you you know who I am. Yes, sir, I absolutely do. Now, 118 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: I'm sure some of you may have never heard of 119 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: Billy Joe Shaver, but I bet most of you have 120 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 1: heard his songs, and you should look him up. He 121 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: wrote a ton of music that was recorded by a 122 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: ton of folks, most notably Whaling Jennings. Now Old Whaling 123 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: was one of my dad's favorites, and my numero uno 124 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: above and beyond anyone else, always has been. His music 125 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: was playing in the background of many hours of driving 126 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: from farm to farm, or from home to trips, hunting 127 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: and fishing with my dad and that old eight track 128 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 1: player he had mounted under the dash of his truck, 129 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: and now standing in front of me was the man 130 00:07:56,480 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: who'd written a large portion of those songs. We visited 131 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: for a minute, and I thanked him for his talent, 132 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: his contribution to the soundtrack of my life, and shook 133 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 1: his hand one last time before allowing him to go 134 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: on his way. What a random meeting that was. The 135 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: odds that I'd be standing in that post during an 136 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: eight hour shift were one and four. The odds that 137 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: I'd be there the moment Billy Joe Shaver walked in 138 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: was considerably less. What a crazy set of random circumstances 139 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: over a literal lifetime that allowed me to shake the 140 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 1: hand of someone who'd helped decorate the memories of by 141 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: life from my childhood to the present. It was a 142 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: surreal moment, for sure, and one no number of odds 143 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: making calculations could muster into a possibility even remotely. So 144 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: that's what is so cool about the universe. It makes 145 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: its own gravy and answers to no one. If everything 146 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: was predictable, life wouldn't be nearly as interesting. We'd just 147 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: wake up and jump into the ruts that we'd made 148 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 1: the day before, and trudge along until we fell over 149 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: dead on our appointed date and time. I want to 150 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: get another dose of randemonium. I hope you said yes, 151 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 1: because here it comes. Thirty years or so ago, I 152 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: introduced my nephew, Matthew, my brother Tim's oldest son, to 153 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:34,199 Speaker 1: the music of John Pride. Matthew was still in high 154 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 1: school at the time, and the style of John's music 155 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,120 Speaker 1: wasn't what the average high school kid was listening to 156 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: in the nineteen nineties. What I was listening to in 157 00:09:42,679 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: the early eighties was a bit out of the norm 158 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:48,280 Speaker 1: as well. I've already clued you in on what that was. 159 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: But our love for good music was something Matthew and 160 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,320 Speaker 1: I love to share between us. He was mature beyond 161 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,320 Speaker 1: his years and like me, listen to the lyrics and 162 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: tried to interpret what the song was saying in comparison 163 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: to how it made him feel. Before Google gave you 164 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,199 Speaker 1: the answers it wanted you to have, music interpretation was 165 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 1: up to whoever was wearing the ears when the song 166 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 1: was playing. We enjoyed listening to music and having conversations 167 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 1: about different songs that we liked and what we got 168 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:23,439 Speaker 1: out of it besides the allure of a catchy tune. Now, 169 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: nearly twenty years later, as I thank you, Matthew called 170 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,559 Speaker 1: me one day and said, I want you to come 171 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 1: to my house and stay a couple of nights. I've 172 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: got us tickets to see John Prime in Houston, Texas 173 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: on May the fifteenth, twenty fifteen. We sat down in 174 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:43,719 Speaker 1: our seats, about six rows back from the front of 175 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: the stage and watched one of the best concerts I'd 176 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: ever seen. And what made it so good was our 177 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: history with the music that went all the way back 178 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: to when he was just a young man in high 179 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: school listening to a man his crazy uncle thought was cool. 180 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: Music is one thing outside of the outdoors that we share, 181 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: just me and him. I held on to my musical 182 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 1: past and what I enjoyed listening to, pretty much shunning 183 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,520 Speaker 1: anything that came along during the nineties and afterwards, with 184 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: a few exceptions. Then, almost a decade ago, Matthew sent 185 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: me a link to a song. Now, when we first 186 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 1: started this musical partnership, we had to buy a CD 187 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,680 Speaker 1: or a record, or catch it on the radio or say, hey, 188 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: listen for this song. While you're driving around. The link 189 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:38,679 Speaker 1: he sent me was from a band I'd never heard of. 190 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: And several days later, when I remember that he sent 191 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: me a song, I listened, and I like that one 192 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: so much. I searched up all their music and listened 193 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: to them, one after the other, one in particular, several 194 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 1: times in a row. Did that guy just really reference 195 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: a Belgium made browning in that song? A few songs 196 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 1: later he did it again with the line my old 197 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 1: auto five I've sat on here before that my family 198 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: has an affinity for case pocket knives and brown and shotguns. 199 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: That's not an accurate description in all the reality. It 200 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,199 Speaker 1: bypasses collected and steps over the line toward a concerted 201 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: effort best described as hoarding. We believe one man can 202 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: never have enough of either. If one is good, two 203 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,079 Speaker 1: is better, And there ain't an adjective they can describe 204 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: the right number to possess. Like music, these two inanimate 205 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 1: objects carry historical legacy within my family. My great grandfather 206 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,680 Speaker 1: Loved Reeves, the man who started the case knife what's 207 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 1: the word obsession, Well, he had the same feelings about 208 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:57,080 Speaker 1: brown and shotguns. My father, Buddy Reeves, extended that love 209 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: for them to Tim and I children see and carry 210 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: on the feelings of value, connection and kinship with the 211 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:08,439 Speaker 1: genius that was John Moses Browning and his meddling woodworks 212 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: of art. I'd been listening to the Turnpike Troubadors for 213 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,320 Speaker 1: less than an hour, and in that brief span of time, 214 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: I texted Tim and Matthew, listen to this one, Listen 215 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: to this one. Whoever wrote these songs is one of us. 216 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:28,240 Speaker 1: That was almost ten years ago. December of twenty twenty three, 217 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: I was the guest of Immediate Live Tour, stopping Kansas City, Missouri. 218 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: This Country Life was only a few months old, and 219 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: it was my first experience with the live tour. It 220 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: was incredibly good to meet the folks who listen and 221 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: watch the content, but I had no idea how all 222 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,959 Speaker 1: of that would tie into anything involving me and those 223 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:52,480 Speaker 1: songs that I so strongly identified with. Two years later, 224 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: fast forward to December of twenty twenty five, and the 225 00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: frontman and bird Hunter himself, Evan Felker, was a surprise 226 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:05,319 Speaker 1: guest at our show in Fable, Arkansas. I had met 227 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,079 Speaker 1: Evan and his wife Stacy briefly at a previous event 228 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: in Bozeman a year ago, but there were a lot 229 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: of folks there, so we never really had the opportunity 230 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:16,960 Speaker 1: to visit much beyond the Howdy does and I really 231 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:21,240 Speaker 1: enjoy your music talk. Here we had the opportunity to 232 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: sit down and relax and talk about kids and dogs 233 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: and hunting and shotguns. One thing led to another, and 234 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: before the show was over, a two way invitation for 235 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: a duck hunt had been extended. Now I live in Arkansas, 236 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: so obviously I'd have ducks before he would in Oklahoma. Nurp, 237 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: think again, Brinley. He started sending me videos every few 238 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: days of ducks working a spot of water on his land. 239 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 1: A plan was put in motion, and shortly after Christmas, 240 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: I made the trek to the Felkers Place for supper 241 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: and a duck hunt in a state I'd only spent 242 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: one duck season in before, and that was in nineteen 243 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:01,920 Speaker 1: eighty eighty eight waterfowl season. 244 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 2: I spent a little further west at Fort Seal. 245 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: I was wearing camo every day I was there, but 246 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: there was zero time for duck hunting, even though I 247 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: saw lakes and ponds holding all manner of ducks as 248 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: I marched a rand in formation past them all winter long. 249 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: Thirty seven years later I had returned, and this time, 250 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: instead of totaing M sixteen in a rucksack, I brought 251 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: some decoys in a twelve gage. This trip was gonna 252 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: be a lot better, whether I killed a duck or not, 253 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,080 Speaker 1: except for that night I got to Evans was a 254 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 1: joint effort from him, Stacy, and their nubbing of a daughter. 255 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: She was a big help with a bigger personality, and 256 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: when I met her and shook her little hand, she 257 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: looked at me with her big old brown eyes like 258 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: I was Santa Claus. 259 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 2: We made friends. 260 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: Evans was frying duck parks, Stacey was whooping up Aposta salad, 261 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: and my newest best friend slapped me with the gauntlet 262 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: of challenge after leaving the kitchen and reappearing with a 263 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,800 Speaker 1: game box labeled Candy Lad. 264 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 2: I'm a highly decorated vetter than of Candy Land. 265 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,480 Speaker 1: Having played a semi continuously started with my oldest daughter 266 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: I A'my around nineteen ninety four. My son Hunter was next, 267 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: beginning around two thousand and two, and the last session 268 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,000 Speaker 1: beginning with Bailey. About the time I discovered the guy's 269 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:30,200 Speaker 1: music that was cooking my suffer. Little bed explained the 270 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,600 Speaker 1: rules to me at the kitchen counter. I told her 271 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: I wasn't no rookie of candy Land, and she should 272 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 1: be prepared to cry herself to sleep after the beatdown 273 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: she was about to receive. 274 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 2: I ain't letting no younger win. 275 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: Life is hard and they need to learn early. She 276 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: did not seem intimidated. Youngest goes first, she told me. 277 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: I said, well, I think that's you. She looked at 278 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 1: me like I look at breakfast when I'm hungry, and 279 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: it scared me a little. I had calls for concern 280 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: because the next twenty minutes of my life were a 281 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: blur of rule changes and extenuating circumstances. I was learning 282 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: at a much slower pace than we were playing. I'd 283 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: lost twice before Sunshine, their bobtailed cat could lick his behind. 284 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 2: It happened quickly. 285 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 1: I had driven several hours from home to get beat 286 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:22,880 Speaker 1: up by a precare in a game I'd been playing, 287 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: apparently incorrectly, for three decades. 288 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 2: We'll meet again, little one. 289 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:33,959 Speaker 1: The next morning, Evan and I loaded his side beside 290 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:35,679 Speaker 1: and we made our way in the dark to the 291 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:38,480 Speaker 1: duck blind he constructed on the edge of a small lake. 292 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,520 Speaker 1: Round haybales would be the backdrop, and four arm sized 293 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:46,280 Speaker 1: trees were driven into the ground like fence post the 294 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: same servant as the frame. All the brush was zip 295 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: tied to. Evan said, now, don't be afraid to knock 296 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: some of that out of your way so you can 297 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: shoot easier. I made it a little too tall. The 298 00:17:57,920 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: kids helped me, and I'm not sure we didn't be 299 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:05,919 Speaker 1: fort instead of a duck blind imagining, imagining in the 300 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: construction process that was most likely resembling a squirrel round 301 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,959 Speaker 1: up made me think about projects I'd done with my kids, 302 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: one of which was a birdhouse Bailey and I built 303 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: during the COVID lockdown that I absolutely cherish. She painted purple, 304 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: and over the past six years it has served the 305 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 1: bluebird community very well. I found my spot and we 306 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: enjoyed a little coffee in conversation. After we chunked all 307 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: the decoys out. As daylight started painting the blackness of 308 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: the eastern Oakie sky into an orange hue, I noticed 309 00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 1: something at my feet. It was toy pink made out 310 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,360 Speaker 1: of foam and resembled a Varmit of some kind by 311 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,760 Speaker 1: the size of my thumb left there, most likely by 312 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:55,719 Speaker 1: the defending Candy Lamb World champion. I picked it up 313 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: and placed it out of harm's way on a post 314 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: between us for luck. Shortly afterwards, Duck started coming in 315 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: from every direction. We enjoyed the show, and when shooting 316 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 1: hours arrived, we started working on him. Evan's dog, Slick, 317 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 1: made some good retrieves, and that was my first experience 318 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,120 Speaker 1: for the dog Like Slick, you're not familiar with them. 319 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:20,879 Speaker 1: To me, they resemble a German wire haired pointer, but 320 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: if you're not careful, pronouncing their name could give you shingles. 321 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:32,840 Speaker 2: D R A t A R drethar sounds like some 322 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 2: kind of voodoo. Now'm a side hurts. 323 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 1: It was a good looking dog, for sure, But beyond 324 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: his non typical duck dog his child designed duck blind 325 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,879 Speaker 1: fortress on the bank of Lake Turnpike, what I found Evan. 326 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,680 Speaker 2: And his family to be was a family not unlike 327 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:50,200 Speaker 2: my own. 328 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: The guy responsible for a large portion of the soundtrack 329 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: of my life for nearly ten years feels the same 330 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,879 Speaker 1: way I do about family and nostalgia and shotguns, and 331 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: believe it in not case pocketknives. During my nearly thirty 332 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: years of guiding duck hunters, I'd found that the blind 333 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:13,679 Speaker 1: to be a great place of commonality. I watched hunters 334 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,600 Speaker 1: on different ends of the socioeconomic scale have conversations that 335 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,919 Speaker 1: are relaxed, revealing and truthful. And when you're standing in 336 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,359 Speaker 1: flooded timbers sitting in a blind, all things are equal 337 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: among those who truly appreciate what they're witnessing, with creations 338 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: standing head and shoulders above the rest. 339 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:34,919 Speaker 2: As far as. 340 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: How someone says in verse what we were seeing that morning, 341 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,879 Speaker 1: that's a mystery to me. And it's easy to see 342 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: the love on a man's face when he looks at 343 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,440 Speaker 1: his wife and children where they don't see him looking, 344 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,359 Speaker 1: hearing it is for us when he talks about it, 345 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: and that's something that's good and pure. We talked about 346 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: a lot of things while I was there, our families, 347 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: our childhood, our kids, the perfection of birds on the wing, 348 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: and the joy of a good hunting dog. That's why 349 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 1: his relatable music has been a fundamental part of the 350 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 1: soundtrack of mine for ten years. Putting those feelings, emotions, 351 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:17,200 Speaker 1: and subconscious observations in music, now, that's a god given talent. 352 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:20,919 Speaker 1: Thatf you possessed, But my friend Evan, he excels at it. 353 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,239 Speaker 1: When I listen to some of them and I go 354 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: back to a place reminds me of people I remember 355 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: and miss, and for those three minutes, I'm in their 356 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: company again. I know why the guy in the song 357 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 1: risk it all for a photograph and his grandfather's browning 358 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: while the house was burning down around him. 359 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 2: And you do too. 360 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: Thank y'all so much for listening to Late Clay and 361 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:50,960 Speaker 1: myself here on the bear grease feeding. 362 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 2: The next week, this is Brent Reeves, Sign it Off. Y'all, 363 00:21:54,600 --> 00:22:00,720 Speaker 2: be careful the