1
00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:09,240
Speaker 1: Welcome to this country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves

2
00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,680
Speaker 1: from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

3
00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:15,640
Speaker 2: I want you to stay a while.

4
00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:18,200
Speaker 1: As I share my stories and the country skills.

5
00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:19,680
Speaker 2: That will help you beat the system.

6
00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,040
Speaker 1: This Country Life is proudly presented as part of Meat

7
00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:27,520
Speaker 1: Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best outdoor podcast.

8
00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:28,480
Speaker 2: The airways have to offer.

9
00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,920
Speaker 1: All right, friends, pull you up a chair or drop

10
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:32,720
Speaker 1: that tailgate.

11
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,720
Speaker 2: I think I got a thing or two to teach you.

12
00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:45,559
Speaker 1: The World Champion Squirrel Cookoff. I was honored to be

13
00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,800
Speaker 1: a judge at the twenty twenty three World Champion Squirrel

14
00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:55,080
Speaker 1: Cookoff in Springdale, Arkansas. Folks gathered from all over the

15
00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,200
Speaker 1: nation to share a day of family oriented fun in

16
00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,040
Speaker 1: the Ozark Mountains. Were there to compete, some were there

17
00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,120
Speaker 1: to eat. Some were there out of simple curiosity and

18
00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:10,520
Speaker 1: admittedly wanting to see the stereotypical barefooted hellbillies of the

19
00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:15,880
Speaker 1: South cooking and eating squirrels. Now, what they witnessed was

20
00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:20,679
Speaker 1: something quite different and surprising to some, including yours. Truly,

21
00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,119
Speaker 1: we're going to talk about all of that, but first I'm.

22
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:31,000
Speaker 2: Going to tell you a story.

23
00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:40,120
Speaker 1: Squirrel season many moons Ago opened on the first day

24
00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:44,319
Speaker 1: of October, and every year you'd find me, my brother,

25
00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,680
Speaker 1: and various others at our deer camp for the annual

26
00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:51,800
Speaker 1: opening day in early October. The hardwood trees that squirrels

27
00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,680
Speaker 1: feed in normally still hold the majority of their leaves.

28
00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,840
Speaker 1: This requires us to slip undetected as possible through the

29
00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,760
Speaker 1: woods into the tempest, bout the squirrel and take a

30
00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,840
Speaker 1: shot at him before he sees us. Most of the

31
00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,440
Speaker 1: time you can hear a squirrel jumping from limb to limb,

32
00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,840
Speaker 1: or chewing on acorns as they feed. Remarkably, you can

33
00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:15,120
Speaker 1: hear a squirrel cutting an acre or a hick or

34
00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,000
Speaker 1: nut for quite a long ways that the wind.

35
00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:18,720
Speaker 2: Ain't blown too hard.

36
00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:21,880
Speaker 1: Dogs aren't a lot of help this time of year

37
00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,120
Speaker 1: because the barkin makes the squirrel set still and they're

38
00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,640
Speaker 1: hard to find amongst all the leaves. My older brother

39
00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,240
Speaker 1: Tim is a very accomplished outdoorsman. He taught me a

40
00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,280
Speaker 1: lot about the outdoors, and more than a few of

41
00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,280
Speaker 1: my best memories are with him. This is one of them.

42
00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,839
Speaker 1: The first person out of the woods with their limb

43
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:46,200
Speaker 1: of squirrels always drew dragging rights. The contest was narrowed

44
00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,720
Speaker 1: further between Tim and I to see who the first

45
00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,200
Speaker 1: person would be to kill the first squirrel on opening day.

46
00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,760
Speaker 1: The first shot to break the stillness of a cool

47
00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,960
Speaker 1: morning and to hear the echo roll through the hardwood

48
00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,280
Speaker 1: bottoms was a badge of honor between he and I.

49
00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:04,720
Speaker 1: For three or four years in a row, I had

50
00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,400
Speaker 1: been the first to open squirrel season in our group,

51
00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,720
Speaker 1: and I didn't care if I got my limit before Tim,

52
00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,799
Speaker 1: or even if I killed my limit. I just wanted

53
00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,960
Speaker 1: to be first, and so did Tim. The day would

54
00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,680
Speaker 1: start well before daylight. We would meet at Tim's house

55
00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,440
Speaker 1: for a breakfast of biscuits and gravy and coffee. TAM's

56
00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:27,520
Speaker 1: brother in law, Joe Bryant, who was just like our brother,

57
00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:31,160
Speaker 1: would be there. Tim's father in law, mister Billy Bryant,

58
00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,119
Speaker 1: our turkey hunting mentor, and few other close friends would

59
00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,080
Speaker 1: sometimes get the invite, but it was basically the Bryant

60
00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,280
Speaker 1: and Reeves deer camp crew. We would have our breakfast,

61
00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,360
Speaker 1: then drive across the pasture to the edge of the

62
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,960
Speaker 1: creek bottoms. From there we'd separate like a coved quail

63
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,120
Speaker 1: in the darkness, each going to his favorite hunting spot

64
00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,240
Speaker 1: to wait for daylight and the squirrels to start stirring.

65
00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,560
Speaker 1: It was the official kickoff to hunting season every year.

66
00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,600
Speaker 1: It had been our tradation for a long time. Meat

67
00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,240
Speaker 1: at Thams, eat breakfast and go hunt. And my brother

68
00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:10,080
Speaker 1: makes the best coffee in the world. I love coffee

69
00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,440
Speaker 1: on a good, cool morning. I love coffee on every morning,

70
00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,800
Speaker 1: but coffee it hates me every day of the year.

71
00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:22,119
Speaker 1: On this particular morning, the moon was large and full

72
00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,119
Speaker 1: and gave enough light to move through the woods without

73
00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:27,680
Speaker 1: the aid of a flashlight, and we each made our

74
00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:31,279
Speaker 1: way to our hunting spot, agreeing we would all meet

75
00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,440
Speaker 1: back up at the truck before dinner. For those keeping

76
00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,000
Speaker 1: score at home, dinner means noon.

77
00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:37,440
Speaker 2: Now.

78
00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:39,640
Speaker 1: I found my way to my spot and I sat

79
00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:42,600
Speaker 1: down under a large red oak tree to relax and

80
00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:45,839
Speaker 1: wait for the sun to come up. There hadn't even

81
00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,960
Speaker 1: been a hint of daylight back to the east, but

82
00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,200
Speaker 1: you could see surprisingly well in the bright moonlight, especially

83
00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:56,600
Speaker 1: after my eyes got completely acclimated to the dark. It

84
00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,200
Speaker 1: was such a cool, clear morning, there was no haze.

85
00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,720
Speaker 1: The star ours were nearly invisible because of how bright

86
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,840
Speaker 1: the moon was, and the moon was so clear that

87
00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,600
Speaker 1: you could easily see the craters and all the definitions

88
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,320
Speaker 1: of the different shades of gray. I could see my

89
00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:14,200
Speaker 1: breath when I exhaled against the moon.

90
00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:15,080
Speaker 2: It was perfect.

91
00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:19,000
Speaker 1: I was at peace and in one of my favorite

92
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,039
Speaker 1: places on Earth, and with the folks I wanted to

93
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,520
Speaker 1: be with. It just didn't get much better than this.

94
00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:31,040
Speaker 1: Why couldn't mess this up? Tim's world famous coffee?

95
00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:46,719
Speaker 2: That's what it began to stir in my belly.

96
00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,400
Speaker 1: The mixture of coffee, biscuits, and gravy was apparently at

97
00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:54,960
Speaker 1: odds with each other. The feeling of the feeling in

98
00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,280
Speaker 1: my stomach was a sharp jolt of pain that made

99
00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,920
Speaker 1: me sit straight up from my relaxed position against that

100
00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:00,640
Speaker 1: big red oak.

101
00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:06,680
Speaker 2: It quickly went away to nothing that was close. Thought

102
00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:07,560
Speaker 2: I was gonna have an.

103
00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,440
Speaker 1: Issue there for a minute, I went back to looking

104
00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:14,200
Speaker 1: at the moon. A few moments later, the next pain

105
00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,479
Speaker 1: felt like I'd been gut shot, and relief was only

106
00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,120
Speaker 1: going to come by letting nature run its course.

107
00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,279
Speaker 2: There was no question it was about to happen.

108
00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,400
Speaker 1: The only thing yet to be determined was if I

109
00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,240
Speaker 1: was gonna be able to get my overalls out of

110
00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:30,279
Speaker 1: the way in time to keep from having to walk

111
00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,479
Speaker 1: back to TAM's house necking, I assumed the position ingrained

112
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,120
Speaker 1: in man from his humble beginnings before the days of

113
00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,000
Speaker 1: toilets and squatty potties, and exercised Thames.

114
00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,000
Speaker 2: Coffee from my person.

115
00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,679
Speaker 1: Now that operation pretty well runs on all the pilot

116
00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,320
Speaker 1: and I had nothing else to do during this time,

117
00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,120
Speaker 1: so I found myself staring at the moon again that

118
00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:56,480
Speaker 1: was shining so brightly through the hardwood trees. Daylight was

119
00:06:56,520 --> 00:06:59,039
Speaker 1: still minutes from breaking the pre dawn darkness, and my

120
00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:02,280
Speaker 1: belly was feeling in a great sense of relief. And

121
00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:04,679
Speaker 1: that's when I saw a squirrel run out on a limb,

122
00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,640
Speaker 1: silhoueted against that big old moon. He had an acron

123
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,240
Speaker 1: in his paws, and he stopped and just sat there

124
00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,360
Speaker 1: having his breakfast. It looked like Norman Rockwell painted him

125
00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:22,440
Speaker 1: on that limb. My excitement sword what I'm fixing the

126
00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:27,240
Speaker 1: open squirrel season yet again, and this time I'm gonna

127
00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:32,120
Speaker 1: do it before daylight. Still resting in my baseball catcher's position,

128
00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,360
Speaker 1: I reached for my shotgun that was leaning against a

129
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,400
Speaker 1: tree beside me. I loaded one shell, I took careful

130
00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,800
Speaker 1: aim and deliberate aim, what mister Bryant always referred to

131
00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,120
Speaker 1: as starvation aim. And I knocked that squirrel out of

132
00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,520
Speaker 1: that tree. He hit the ground with a thud, and

133
00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,640
Speaker 1: the echo of that shotgun rolled down through them bottoms

134
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,680
Speaker 1: like that first clap of a big thunderstorm, bathing slowly

135
00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:02,800
Speaker 1: as it made its way cross the landscape. With my

136
00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:06,119
Speaker 1: overall still around my ankles, I was grinning from ear

137
00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:10,960
Speaker 1: to rear, already the victory in the first squirrel bagged competition.

138
00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,800
Speaker 1: That shotgun had announced to the world, but mainly to Tim,

139
00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,240
Speaker 1: the eye was the winner. No senner had the echo

140
00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:25,560
Speaker 1: died out. When I heard his response, it was faint,

141
00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:31,160
Speaker 1: but clearly distinct, just the same. He was nearly a

142
00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:34,280
Speaker 1: quarter of a mile from me, still waiting on daylight

143
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:41,200
Speaker 1: in his usual opening day spot. Two words, one syllable each,

144
00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,679
Speaker 1: both of them yelled as loud as he could yell them,

145
00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:51,160
Speaker 1: A colorful yet unrefined description of what is left of

146
00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:55,880
Speaker 1: grass after coursing through the digestive system of a male

147
00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,679
Speaker 1: bovine bull.

148
00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,560
Speaker 2: I'll spare you the rest. It was Tim's answer to

149
00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:06,600
Speaker 2: my victory shot.

150
00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,880
Speaker 1: I finished my coffee purge, collected my squirrel, when it

151
00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:12,880
Speaker 1: got light enough to find him and walked through the

152
00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,199
Speaker 1: woods until I met Tim to prove.

153
00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:20,520
Speaker 2: That I hadn't cheated. I had won again. And that's

154
00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:21,559
Speaker 2: just how that happened.

155
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,880
Speaker 1: The World Champion Squirrel Cookoff event was the brainchild of

156
00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:37,440
Speaker 1: my friend Joe Wilson. I don't believe in reincarnation, but

157
00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,480
Speaker 1: if I did, my money, all my money would be

158
00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,240
Speaker 1: on Joe Wilson being P. T. Barnum. You folks that

159
00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,839
Speaker 1: don't know who P. T. Barnum is, remember Google is

160
00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:49,400
Speaker 1: your friend.

161
00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:51,000
Speaker 2: Look it up.

162
00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,800
Speaker 1: He has been considered the greatest showman and producer of

163
00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,559
Speaker 1: entertainment in history, and that's where the similarity is in.

164
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,520
Speaker 1: Unlike Phineas Taylor Barnum, Joe Wilson doesn't do these things

165
00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:06,880
Speaker 1: to lie in his pockets with cash. He does these

166
00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:09,800
Speaker 1: things and has been doing them for what seems like forever,

167
00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:14,880
Speaker 1: with no other goal than to spread joy, friendship, and

168
00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:18,040
Speaker 1: a shared appreciation for those that serve by serving them.

169
00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,840
Speaker 1: He pays for it himself out of his own pockets.

170
00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,160
Speaker 1: He's never asked for one bit of help, and that

171
00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,400
Speaker 1: needs to change. He does events for law enforcement and

172
00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,520
Speaker 1: other first responders, and that's a whole other animal and

173
00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,480
Speaker 1: it's a whole other show that we'll talk about another day.

174
00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,200
Speaker 1: But Joe Wilson started this thing off with a lie.

175
00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,199
Speaker 1: We've talked about it before in detail more than once

176
00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,559
Speaker 1: on the Bear Grease Render. If there's someone listening and

177
00:10:47,559 --> 00:10:49,600
Speaker 1: that doesn't know the story, I'll give you a brief

178
00:10:49,679 --> 00:10:54,000
Speaker 1: history lesson. Joe was contacted by a production company from

179
00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,439
Speaker 1: California through a series of handoffs that had had him

180
00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,600
Speaker 1: on the phone with the lady saying they were filming

181
00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:02,360
Speaker 1: a show in the area and wanted to do something

182
00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:07,040
Speaker 1: on folks eating bear meat and squirrels. Well, Joe thought

183
00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,000
Speaker 1: this was a great idea and a great way to

184
00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:14,520
Speaker 1: introduce Arkansas to a bigger audience, and long story short,

185
00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:18,520
Speaker 1: Joe reached out to everyone's favorite bear hunter, my buddy

186
00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,679
Speaker 1: Clay bold Nukem, and told the lady that the squirrel

187
00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:24,880
Speaker 1: eating wouldn't be a problem either, because Arkansas just happened

188
00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:30,040
Speaker 1: to be home to the World Championship Squirrel Cookoff. The

189
00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:32,720
Speaker 1: lady was excited and wanted to know where when the

190
00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,800
Speaker 1: event was, and Joe asked her, said, well, when are

191
00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:37,480
Speaker 1: y'all planning to be in the area and when she

192
00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:40,679
Speaker 1: told him. He said, well, well that's a coincidence. Well that's

193
00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,040
Speaker 1: right when the event is Joe had to scramble to

194
00:11:44,040 --> 00:11:46,600
Speaker 1: make that thing happen. And for the full story on

195
00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,640
Speaker 1: how that all came to be, check out episode one

196
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,760
Speaker 1: sixteen of Bear Grease. To hear Joe tell it himself,

197
00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,600
Speaker 1: it's quite good. It was on that episode that Joe

198
00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,440
Speaker 1: invited me to be a judge, and I gladly accepted,

199
00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,679
Speaker 1: not knowing what to expect, but figuring it'd be a

200
00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:06,439
Speaker 1: fun time. I mean, folks are cooking and feeding me squirrels.

201
00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,800
Speaker 1: How could that not be good? That'll explain how I

202
00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,880
Speaker 1: got Springdale, but gave no hint about what would happen

203
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,480
Speaker 1: once I got there. Eating some of the best squirrel

204
00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,920
Speaker 1: I ever eaten in my life was way down the

205
00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:23,120
Speaker 1: list on what happened on that recent Saturday in September.

206
00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,720
Speaker 1: I figured Joe was busy with final preparation, so on

207
00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:29,679
Speaker 1: the way up there, I had Alexis text him on

208
00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:33,960
Speaker 1: my phone Friday as we drove to the hotel, what

209
00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:38,160
Speaker 1: time do I need to be there tomorrow? Immediate response

210
00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:43,040
Speaker 1: from Joe as early as possible, As early as possible,

211
00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,320
Speaker 1: What does that mean. I was like, Alexis tell that fool.

212
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,840
Speaker 1: I can be there at daylight if I need to be,

213
00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,040
Speaker 1: but just tell me a time. She texted him on

214
00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:56,560
Speaker 1: my phone. Joe, this is Brent's wife. He's driving. What

215
00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:59,840
Speaker 1: time would you like him to be there? Immediate response,

216
00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:03,000
Speaker 1: As early as you can, and ma'am, I could use

217
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:08,000
Speaker 1: your help with an iguana, she read. She read it

218
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,599
Speaker 1: out loud and slowly looked at me and said, is

219
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,000
Speaker 1: he serious? I told her more than likely, and I

220
00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:14,760
Speaker 1: just dropped it.

221
00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:16,000
Speaker 2: Now.

222
00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,760
Speaker 1: We looked up the schedule and saw that it started

223
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,240
Speaker 1: at nine, and I figured any time around nine would

224
00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:23,960
Speaker 1: be good. I kept thinking in the back of my

225
00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:31,080
Speaker 1: mind what Joe had said, as early as possible. The

226
00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,560
Speaker 1: next morning, we had a light breakfast and headed out

227
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,640
Speaker 1: to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission JB and John L.

228
00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:43,480
Speaker 1: Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center. The name is impressive,

229
00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:49,079
Speaker 1: but the nature center is unreal. Holy cow. If you're

230
00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:51,960
Speaker 1: a resident of Arkansas and anywhere within a day's drive

231
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,600
Speaker 1: of this place, you should load the youngins up and

232
00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:58,560
Speaker 1: head that way. It's really nice, very educational, and a

233
00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,880
Speaker 1: great spot for any of it, but one like this man.

234
00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:06,240
Speaker 1: It was Taylor made. As we drove closer to the

235
00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:08,720
Speaker 1: nature center, I could see why Joe kept saying as

236
00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:14,240
Speaker 1: early as possible. The crowd at nine fifteen, fifteen minutes

237
00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:18,400
Speaker 1: after it started, was all ready big and getting bigger

238
00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,520
Speaker 1: by the minute. They had an organized parking system, with

239
00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,440
Speaker 1: buses coordinated bringing folks from parking areas and dropping them

240
00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:29,000
Speaker 1: off at the front door. I heard a few grumbles

241
00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:33,280
Speaker 1: about parking from people after the fact on Sunday, but nothing,

242
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:37,600
Speaker 1: nothing but happy smiling faces.

243
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:38,080
Speaker 2: All day long.

244
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,520
Speaker 1: On Saturday, some folks told me that they skipped the

245
00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:44,680
Speaker 1: bus ride all together and just walk with their family

246
00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:49,160
Speaker 1: soaking in an Arkansas Saturday morning in the Ozarks. Now,

247
00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,640
Speaker 1: I'm all about appreciating where you are and taking advantage

248
00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,800
Speaker 1: of an opportunity to be one with nature, even better

249
00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:59,240
Speaker 1: when I can share it with my family. I'm also

250
00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:01,880
Speaker 1: a flat land so if I hadn't found one of

251
00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,240
Speaker 1: the two last parking spots close to the building, I'd

252
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,200
Speaker 1: bet on that bus. Appreciating a diesel motor and a

253
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:12,800
Speaker 1: padded bench seat. I met so many great people, a

254
00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,360
Speaker 1: lot of them there were from the Bear Grease in

255
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,640
Speaker 1: this country life circle of folks, and none of them

256
00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,240
Speaker 1: were the same. It wasn't a copy and paste event.

257
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:23,400
Speaker 1: There were a few people there that I talked to

258
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,760
Speaker 1: that had never eaten a squirrel in their life and

259
00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,560
Speaker 1: didn't plan on eating any during that event. Some of

260
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,320
Speaker 1: them had never eaten it before, and that day would

261
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,960
Speaker 1: be their first attempt. I didn't talk to one person

262
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,360
Speaker 1: that said they wish they hadn't came. Every one of

263
00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,200
Speaker 1: them that I talked to that tried it told me

264
00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,400
Speaker 1: that they had a better appreciation for how good it

265
00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,840
Speaker 1: was and if they'd eat it again. A few even

266
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:51,840
Speaker 1: told me that they were going to start hunting on

267
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,320
Speaker 1: their own and learning how to cook them, and they

268
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:58,000
Speaker 1: were going to include their kids and their grandkids. Good Night, nurse,

269
00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,840
Speaker 1: What more could you want now? I don't know how

270
00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,520
Speaker 1: many people I talked to, but from the time we

271
00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,280
Speaker 1: got there a little after nine until we left around

272
00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:11,360
Speaker 1: four or so, it was one glorious conversation after another.

273
00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:12,400
Speaker 2: I loved it.

274
00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,440
Speaker 1: Folks showed me their bear pictures, their kids catfishing. I

275
00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,600
Speaker 1: looked at pictures of coon dogs and squirrel dogs, some

276
00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,400
Speaker 1: that were just getting started and others that had passed

277
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:27,920
Speaker 1: on but were kept alive by talking about them. To

278
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,000
Speaker 1: someone that can see the value that these dogs, places

279
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,600
Speaker 1: and events had in their lives and the meaning that

280
00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:35,720
Speaker 1: they held in their hearts.

281
00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:45,520
Speaker 2: Man, it's good.

282
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:53,000
Speaker 1: There was one break that started at twelve and for

283
00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,520
Speaker 1: nearly two hours, all the judges were sequestioned in a

284
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,600
Speaker 1: big room. There were twelve of us, divided into two

285
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:03,200
Speaker 1: judges teams of six. The plan was to take the

286
00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,520
Speaker 1: thirty five entries into the contest and number them one

287
00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:10,920
Speaker 1: through thirty five. One table would judge even numbered dishes

288
00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,560
Speaker 1: and the other table would handle the odd numbers. The

289
00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:18,359
Speaker 1: other five at my table included a professional chef, a

290
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:23,320
Speaker 1: high end kitchen knife maker, another podcaster, a marketing guy

291
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:28,399
Speaker 1: for an air rifle company, and an orthopedic surgeon. Now,

292
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,159
Speaker 1: I thought to myself, this ought to be interesting. I

293
00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:32,840
Speaker 1: don't know if you could have come up with a

294
00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,480
Speaker 1: more random table of people. It was kind of like

295
00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,440
Speaker 1: joining the service. One day, everyone's doing their own thing

296
00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,200
Speaker 1: in their own place, and the next you're sitting around

297
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,920
Speaker 1: in a mess hall with no hair, eating food you've

298
00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,439
Speaker 1: never seen before and wondering how you got there. And

299
00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:51,800
Speaker 1: yet here we all set across from one another, six

300
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:57,560
Speaker 1: complete strangers, voluntarily waiting to share seventeen dishes made from

301
00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,960
Speaker 1: squirrels by seventeen teams of peace people we didn't know,

302
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,600
Speaker 1: some from right down the road and others all the

303
00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:09,159
Speaker 1: way from Alaska. Now I've been to Alaska. Those folks

304
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,480
Speaker 1: put in some effort just to get there. Promptly at

305
00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:16,040
Speaker 1: twelve o'clock they started bringing in the groceries. I ain't

306
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,480
Speaker 1: never seen squirrel fixed, all the different ways they were

307
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:23,639
Speaker 1: making it. Lots of Messican flavored dishes, some Asian influence,

308
00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:26,719
Speaker 1: and other places from around the world, but none of

309
00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,280
Speaker 1: what I was expecting. I figured I'd be eating fried

310
00:18:30,359 --> 00:18:33,680
Speaker 1: squirrel with biscuits and gravy about nineteen times that day,

311
00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:38,040
Speaker 1: which is my favorite, or squirreling dumplings, or squirrel mulligan,

312
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,399
Speaker 1: maybe a squirrel taco or two. I wasn't even close

313
00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:45,399
Speaker 1: to what we had to eat. I can say this

314
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:50,120
Speaker 1: most assuredly, though, but it was all good. I would

315
00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:54,320
Speaker 1: eat every dish I sampled again. There wasn't a dud

316
00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,520
Speaker 1: and a bunch, But just like most things, some were

317
00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,560
Speaker 1: just better than others. The best thing of it was

318
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,280
Speaker 1: the dishes. They weren't judged against each other. Each dish

319
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:09,920
Speaker 1: was competing against themselves. By presentation, use of the required ingredients,

320
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,560
Speaker 1: overall score, and of course the taste. But there was

321
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,200
Speaker 1: also a side dish that had to be scored down

322
00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,359
Speaker 1: to a decimal point, which serves as a tiebreaker in

323
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:25,800
Speaker 1: the unlikely event that that should happen. Unlikely event that

324
00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,880
Speaker 1: always makes me think about those flight attendants demonstrating those

325
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,080
Speaker 1: oxygen masks that are supposed to fall from the overhead

326
00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:38,320
Speaker 1: compartment if the airplane should suddenly lose cabin pressure. Those

327
00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:40,680
Speaker 1: things like they were made by Fisher Price. Come on,

328
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,919
Speaker 1: oxygen is flowing, even if the bag ain't inflated.

329
00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,520
Speaker 2: Whatever. With a tally.

330
00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,320
Speaker 1: Finally, in some folks from the great state of Kentucky

331
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,760
Speaker 1: walked away with first place, But I tell you everybody

332
00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:59,040
Speaker 1: there was the real winner. On a random Saturday in September,

333
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:03,840
Speaker 1: literally thousands of people from all walks of life gathered

334
00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:08,000
Speaker 1: in one spot to celebrate cooking a squirrel. I never

335
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:12,920
Speaker 1: heard a harsh word, an argument, or the first political statement.

336
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,879
Speaker 1: It was just people being adventurous, some being nostalgic, some

337
00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:23,320
Speaker 1: being inquisitive, all of us being respectful. I wish you'd

338
00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:25,960
Speaker 1: been there for those of you that weren't. I hope

339
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,040
Speaker 1: you'll make plans to be there next year. For those

340
00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,840
Speaker 1: that were, I'm gonna be watching for you. You better

341
00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:40,640
Speaker 1: come on back. Now here's something else you probably don't

342
00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,960
Speaker 1: know about Old Joe Wilson. He started this thing by

343
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,120
Speaker 1: taking advantage of an opportunity that presented itself to showcase

344
00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:53,080
Speaker 1: not only Arkansas, but his way of life, A way

345
00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:56,240
Speaker 1: of life that represents people gathering together over a meal

346
00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,359
Speaker 1: of any kind to fellowship and share stories about the

347
00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,439
Speaker 1: things that are dear to them. Now that ain't just

348
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,439
Speaker 1: in Arkansas. That's in every state of this nation. And

349
00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,320
Speaker 1: it's time we all got together and supported one another.

350
00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:14,640
Speaker 1: Whether it's squirrels in the Ozarks, or the Muskrat Festival

351
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:20,120
Speaker 1: in Maryland or the Walleye Festival in Ohio, invite someone

352
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,359
Speaker 1: to share that experience with you, preferably someone that most

353
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,320
Speaker 1: likely would not do it on their own. We got

354
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,520
Speaker 1: room for them, and we need all the folks we

355
00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:34,480
Speaker 1: can get on our side. I get some great invitations

356
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,280
Speaker 1: to go hunt places all over this wonderful country. I

357
00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:40,360
Speaker 1: get so many that I could never go to all

358
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,840
Speaker 1: of them in five hunting seasons, much less one. So

359
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,280
Speaker 1: that's your challenge this week. If you was going to

360
00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,720
Speaker 1: ask me to go on a cool hunting or a

361
00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:54,000
Speaker 1: fishing trip. Ask someone to go in my place that's

362
00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:57,359
Speaker 1: never been and send me the pictures of what I missed.

363
00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:01,119
Speaker 1: You're going to make a new friend and we're going

364
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:05,480
Speaker 1: to get another person on our side except bo hunting ELK.

365
00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,520
Speaker 2: Don't ask the other guy, ask me. I'm going on

366
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,040
Speaker 2: that one. Now.

367
00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,520
Speaker 1: I'm doing all this on my own, and Joe's gonna

368
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,240
Speaker 1: hear about it right when y'all do. But if there's

369
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,040
Speaker 1: a business that's interested in helping sponsor next year's world

370
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:24,720
Speaker 1: champion Squirreld cookoff, my faithful sidekick, editor and sound engineer

371
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,280
Speaker 1: Rever Hanson is going to post Joe's email in the

372
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:29,040
Speaker 1: show description.

373
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,760
Speaker 2: I thank y'all so much for listening. My bellies full

374
00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,000
Speaker 2: of squirrel. I got a big smile on my face.

375
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:37,879
Speaker 1: This is Brent Reeves signing off.

376
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:39,840
Speaker 2: Y'all be careful