WEBVTT - Ep. 197: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - The Black Bear Bonanza 0:00:05.160 --> 0:00:09.200 Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Rieves 0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:13.680 from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.040 I want you to stay a while as I share 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.479 my stories and the country skills that will help you 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:22.360 beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:25.880 part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:27.520 outdoor podcast. 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:28.480 The airways have to offer. 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:31.920 All right, friends, pull you up a chair or drop 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:34.199 that tailgate. I think I got a thing or two 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:41.800 and teach you the Black Bear Bonanza. I just got 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:45.519 home from the third annual Black Bear Bonanza, hosted by 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:50.120 the Arkansas Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. I had 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:53.000 the pleasure of visiting with old friends and making new ones. 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:54.920 I want to tell you. 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:57.240 All about it, but first I'm. 0:00:57.040 --> 0:00:58.880 Going to tell you a story. 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:07.520 The long and widened road that brought me in front 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:11.160 of this microphone was a couple decades old from my 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:15.480 old pal, Clay bow Nukman. I traveled to Saskatchewan in 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:17.119 twenty and seventeen. 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:18.679 He needed a. 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:21.240 Cameraman, and his luck would have it, I needed a 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:26.279 free trip to Canada. What a coincidence. That trip seven 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:28.640 years ago was one of the things that got a 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:32.360 lot of industry eyes looking at my old padna. Now, 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:36.600 that and his incredible foundation of work in printing broadcast media. 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.640 But a viral video never hurts unless you're robbing a 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:43.399 liquor store or filling fish full of trot line weights. 0:01:43.880 --> 0:01:46.760 But that video, you know, the video, the one where 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.360 the bear pokes his nose in our makeshift blind and 0:01:49.800 --> 0:01:53.800 his nose touches Clay's arrow. That one, if you hadn't 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:56.560 seen it, I applaud your ability to fly under the 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.040 radar because people send it to me all the time. 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:02.640 Apparently they think it's a pretty cool bit of footage 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:07.280 and are unaware I'm the guy that filmed it. Anyway, 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:10.520 there we sat, after riding in a boat for a 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.960 couple hours in the Canadian wilderness, waiting on a bear 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:16.400 that had been in and out of that area that 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:21.880 was described as being the bear. They said, that's the 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.400 bear you're looking for. They didn't have a picture to 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:26.519 show us, but they said you'll know it when he 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:31.880 see Okay, boys, if you say so. Ah Now, even 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:34.600 though it was an afternoon hunt, we were in no 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:37.200 hurry to get set up after we got there. The 0:02:37.280 --> 0:02:39.640 sun never sets up there that late in June, and 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:42.000 there was never a time that I couldn't have found 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:45.120 my way around outside without the aid of a light 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:48.280 at the darkest time of night, unless it was cloudy, 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:52.639 but even then that didn't last long. We settled into 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:55.920 blind that was made from small jackpine and limbs that 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:59.720 had been tied together by waist tie against a back 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:03.160 drop up was standing trees. There was just big enough 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.280 for us to get in with all my camera gear, 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:10.040 and we sat facing the bait barrel. I set the 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:13.240 camera up and we were finishing up shooting our introductory 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:16.720 video when the first bear of the afternoon walked into 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:21.040 the frame just as I was stopping recording. Now quickly 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.680 I started recording again, and you can see the brief 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:28.120 split in the final production. Now, normally I'd have kept 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:31.160 running footage once the interview stopped, to have plenty to 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:34.040 edit with later, but this was the first day of 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:36.640 a seven day hunt in the land of the Living Skies, 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.120 and I was hoarding digital space on my hard drives 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.320 like those folks on A and E stored newspapers and 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:47.520 dirty clothes. I didn't want to run out. Turned out 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:50.320 I wasn't gonna need near about all the space had 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:54.760 brought anyway, well after that initial bear came in, and 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.960 there was a steady stream of bears coming to the bait. 0:03:58.760 --> 0:03:59.640 One after another. 0:03:59.680 --> 0:03:59.960 They came. 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:04.560 There was never a time when there was only one, 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:08.280 and never a time when there weren't multiple bears behind us. 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:13.160 And when I say behind us, I mean right behind us. 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.880 Like when you're driving and someone is tailgating you. They 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:20.400 are following too close the person riding with you in 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:23.680 the back seat. That's how close they were. And what 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:27.159 I mean when I say they were right behind us, 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:29.960 there was so much going on in front of us. 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:32.719 I never had a chance to turn around to film 0:04:32.760 --> 0:04:35.200 the back seat bear. You believe that was taking place 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:39.479 at our six o'clock They were standing behind us, within 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.640 arm's reach of where we sat, watching the bears in 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:46.039 front of us as the bait, jocking for position and 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:49.039 deciding on where everyone was going to get some child 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:52.560 without starting a hockey game or a fight. Now, Clay 0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:55.159 was there to shoot a bear, and I was there 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:58.359 to film him doing it. For me to do my job, 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.320 I have to operate the camera and watch the viewscreen 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:05.960 to keep everything framed up properly. I glanced behind us, 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:10.080 and I saw three bears close. Now, let's review. They 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:11.280 were right behind us. 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:14.239 Close. I could hear them breathing. 0:05:15.960 --> 0:05:18.080 I could hear him shuffling back and forth as they 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.440 looked through the back of our blind, which, if you'll recall, 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:25.640 was only a handful of standing jackpines. Now that could 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:27.479 have no more kept a bear out than it could 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:28.480 have kept out the wind. 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:30.760 And I wasn't watching them. 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:35.640 I whispered to Clay, there's some bears behind us. He 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.280 didn't seem too concerned, and understandably so. There were bears 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:42.080 all around us, but the ones behind us were closer 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:44.600 to us than the ones in front of us, and 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.200 the ones in front of us were from twenty five 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:52.040 to five yards away. I probably should mention about now 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:54.400 that the only thing we had for self defense was 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.880 clay stick bow that had a maximum killing range of 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:01.719 twenty five yards, some bear spray that's useful out to 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:04.840 about ten yards, and anything beyond that was about as 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:09.160 effective as talking about about the bear's mama. Now, I 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:11.719 glanced back and momentarily took my eyes off the view 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.400 finder to see that two of the three bears had 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:17.440 walked up to the very edge of where we were sitting. 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.440 They couldn't get any closer. 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.120 Without getting into blind with us. 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:25.400 It's no exaggeration to say, from where I was sitting 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:28.760 that I could have grabbed one of them by the ear. Also, 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.760 had they wanted to, they could have grabbed a hold 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:35.240 of mine. They appeared to pay no attention to us. 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:38.200 Their immense focus was on the bears at the bait, 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:42.160 and it made me feel even less significant. They were 0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:44.680 moving and bobbing their heads and looking around and over 0:06:44.760 --> 0:06:47.680 us at the at the other bears. I knew they 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.680 had no concern or fear for us, and if the 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:53.240 mood struck them that they just walk in and monkey 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:56.040 stomp us on the way to the bait barrel. It 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.440 was like being betwixt the biggest hog in the trough. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:04.400 When someone hollered, Suey, you didn't want to be there, Clay, 0:07:05.600 --> 0:07:07.560 the bears are right behind us. 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.920 He didn't respond. Clay. 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:17.000 He half turned around towards me and nodded without looking 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:21.720 back behind me, acknowledging what I was saying, but obviously unconcerned. 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.360 He was focused on the bears in front too, rightfully, 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.600 so they were laying at the bait, they were walking 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:31.320 around off within twenty five yards of us, and one 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:34.160 of them came to within a few yards, none of 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:37.200 which were as close as the bears behind us, who 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.560 at that time were more or less sitting in the 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:46.160 same row as me watching the show Clay these bears. 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.640 He turned around, I guess, realizing that I needed his 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:55.000 attention finally, and his eyes got big. He didn't say 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:58.600 a word, and I didn't either. He paused for a second, 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:00.880 and he turned his head back around to the bears 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:04.040 out front. Now I didn't need him to say or 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:08.640 do anything. There wasn't anything to be said or done. 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:10.600 I just didn't want it to be a shock to him. 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:14.360 When the donnybrook broke out behind him, I focused back 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:17.440 on the view finder and I never looked back the 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:19.640 two that were so close I could see out of 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:21.640 the corner of my right eye the whole time they 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.760 stood there. They eventually walked on around to the right 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:27.560 of us and made their way toward the others. The 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:30.000 third bear I lost track of. I didn't know where 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:34.640 he went. Then the target bear appeared, and we knew 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:39.800 immediately that it was him. He was a biggot jet 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:42.719 black dark muzzle on a big old punkin head. It 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:47.360 was him, no doubt. He eventually moved around and Clay 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:53.000 took his shot and he missed. It was it was 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:56.800 a sad moment. He was sick and upset with himself 0:08:56.880 --> 0:08:59.520 for missing. I let him stew on it for about 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:01.520 twenty seve ack and said, I told him knock another 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.440 air and get back in the game. We were working 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:08.200 and it was time to get back to it. A 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:10.719 small boar and a young blond sal came in. We 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:14.040 watched them, as Clay so eloquently said in the film, 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:17.920 frolic around in front of us until their courtship was 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:21.760 rudely interrupted by a big color phase bear that no 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:25.360 one had ever seen before. He came in like a 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.400 boss and chased him away from the area out of sight. 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:31.439 Less than a minute later, he returned and sewed the 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.800 couple bears behind us. I just happened to look back 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:36.760 when he ran the happy couple off to see the 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.800 two bears within ten feet that had watched the whole 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:43.959 ordeal just as we had. I had no idea how 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.400 long they'd been there, and I'm still amazed at how 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.600 quiet they can be when they want to. My only 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:51.839 defense at this point in this whole struggle was trying 0:09:51.840 --> 0:09:53.880 to look like I didn't taste good, or at least 0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:57.880 not as good as Clay. They paid no attention to us. 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:01.640 The big board that erected the at party was making 0:10:01.679 --> 0:10:04.199 his way toward the bait now, and he paused to 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:06.800 stand on his hind legs and sniff up a tree. 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.520 It was then I fully realized how big he was. 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.520 He then continued his path, walking directly toward us, past 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:17.720 the bait, getting closer with each step and offering no 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:22.360 shot for Clay to take. I kept filming, he kept 0:10:22.360 --> 0:10:25.800 getting bigger. I knew what I was filming was good, 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.439 and I was determined to keep it rolling and framed 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:31.000 up well, if for nothing else, so the mountagers could 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:32.240 fill out the report. 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:33.520 On what had happened to us. 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:36.680 I could hear that bear breathing as he walked closer, 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:39.960 and I concentrated with all I had on what my 0:10:40.160 --> 0:10:42.880 job was, and that was to watch the viewfinder to 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:45.800 make sure I captured as good as possible what was happening. 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:51.280 Camera focus, framing, remaining calm, working to keep claying the 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.040 bear and the shot kept me from being distracted from 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.480 the fact that the bear was now as close as 0:10:56.520 --> 0:11:00.840 he could be without getting inside with us. Then the 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:03.320 bear half stood up and poked his head into blind, 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:07.280 touching the tip of Clay's arrow in the process. Now, 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.840 I'm not sure that little poke is in what stopped 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.360 him from coming on in and beating us both up. 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:15.920 I wasn't scared, and I didn't think I was about 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:18.240 to die, But I'll be honest with you, I didn't 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:20.079 know that we weren't going to get chewed on a 0:11:20.120 --> 0:11:24.240 little bit. The bear turned to walk away, and Clay 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:26.400 drilled him with a lethal hit. That was a fatal 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:29.560 wound as you could ask for. That shot might as 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:32.080 well have been a hand grenade, because that bear stopped 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:34.959 at twenty five yards to fall over. Then Clay made 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:37.480 the best shot I have ever seen with a stick 0:11:37.559 --> 0:11:41.199 boat and twelve ring that bear, who jumped out of 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.200 the frame and died right out of sight, right then 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:50.559 and right there. I looked away from the camera long 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:54.240 enough to see the bears behind us had gone. Satisfied 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.640 we were both going to live through this, I went 0:11:57.679 --> 0:12:00.280 back to work filming my brother have his come up part. 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:04.000 While reflecting on what had happened, neither one of us 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:07.680 fully understanding the gravity of what each of us had 0:12:07.760 --> 0:12:11.960 just done. We released that film on the Bear Hunting 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.440 Magazine YouTube channel and survived the death threats to us 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:17.840 and our families from the commenters who said the bear 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:21.880 spared us, so we should have spared him. I guess 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:26.160 they overlooked the fact that we were there legally, ethically 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:29.920 and the primary goal to shoot a bear, all of 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:35.960 which we did. Anyway, that fourteen minutes and eight seconds 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:39.280 of footage bolstered clays bona fides and helped him on 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:41.199 his way to where he is now. And I'll tell 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:45.920 you this, it didn't hurt my resume either. It's easy 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:49.160 to forget sometimes that all the stuff you're seeing folks 0:12:49.200 --> 0:12:51.480 do on the screen and hear it on your speakers, 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.840 that there's another person there seeing it from the other 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:59.120 side of the lens with a microphone. Clay's fond of 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:03.640 saying a right and tide raises all ships. I'd say, 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:07.000 I am proof of that. And that's just how that happened. 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:19.840 Last Saturday, me and over a thousand of my closest 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:25.760 friends gathered in Bentonville, Arkansas, to celebrate Ursus americanas the 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:26.800 American Black Bear. 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:29.920 I absolutely love these curious creatures. 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:32.640 I love how they hunt, how they live, how they 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:36.280 spend the winters, and how they taste. I was there 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.720 for the third annual Black Bear Bananza, hosted by my 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:43.280 friends in the Arkansas chapter of the back Country Hunters 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:45.960 and Anglers. Now I've been to every one of them, 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:47.920 good Lord will, and I'll be at a bunch before 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:51.719 my tenures over. The event grew out of ideas from 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.760 a group of black minded souls who wanted to celebrate 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:59.040 the resurgence of the black bear in the ozarks of Arkansas, 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:04.800 Missouri in Oklahoma back around twenty nineteen. Now, those initial 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:08.120 ideas got the ball rolling and it hasn't slowed down. 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:12.080 The first was scheduled from March or twenty twenty. I 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:14.160 was scheduled to tell a story at that one, but 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:18.200 it was canceled due to the pandemic. Then in twenty 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:21.600 twenty two we had the first one, and for the 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:25.280 last three years the black Bear Bonanza has been growing 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:29.680 every year. They moved to a bigger location this year, 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.680 and it's a good thing. We couldn't have gotten all 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.840 those folks at the old place. But don't let that 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:39.080 keep you from planning to come visit next March. The 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.440 crowd was big, but the feeling was as much of 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:45.680 a small town as you could get. The BHA volunteer 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:49.240 gals and guys put untold numbers of volunteer hours to 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:53.240 put this event on and never get enough credit or recognition. 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.520 Now some had their family members they're helping out as well. 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.040 It truly is a community run operation, and the some 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:03.160 people who attend there are as much of that community 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:07.080 as those working. Clayton Newcomb and I rolled up a 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.720 little after nine that morning and there was a line 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:12.840 of folks waiting to get in. I talked to so 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:16.360 many people that like meat eater, that listened to bear 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:20.160 grease in this country life and sharing affinity for bears 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.400 and all the other outdoor pursuits that were represented. There 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.400 so many activities for kids to participate in, and there 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:31.960 were whole families represented with kids from infants, teens to 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:36.920 adults with their parents. James Brandenburg is the Arkansas BHA 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.200 Chapter president and is quick to give the credit of 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:44.000 the success of the whole event to all the volunteers 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.040 and the folks working behind the scenes. Now, I was 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.520 talking to James this morning and I asked him how 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.960 it all went on his end, man, let me tell 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.760 you that Cat was fired up about how it all 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.920 came together. And while they don't have the specific numbers 0:15:57.960 --> 0:16:01.120 talied up yet, he said he could testified that there 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:05.320 was well over a thousand people in attendance and hundreds 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:09.160 more kids than last year's. It's free admission for twelve 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:12.640 and under, and it was an absolute wonderful sight seeing 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:16.840 all the kids that were there. A young man named 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:20.400 Gunner drew and colored me a picture after listening to 0:16:20.440 --> 0:16:23.600 a recent podcast I did, and I have it hanging 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:26.640 in my office now. It's besides the one that Owen 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:29.440 drew me last November when I got sneak attacked by 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:33.520 that kidney stone. The bonanza was where I met Owen. 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:37.440 Last year, Owen returned with his dad John and messed 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:40.640 around and won the title of the Black Bear Bonanza 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:47.120 al Hooton Junior Championship of the Civilized World. I saw 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:49.400 him visited with a man that I met at the 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.800 first Black Bear Bonanza. I met him and his wife, 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.720 and I remembered him because he was wearing a stetson 0:16:55.800 --> 0:17:00.480 hat like the one President Johnson made famous. Well from 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:04.480 Dallas I also saw their toddler playing and pushing a 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:06.840 buggy around that they pushed her around in when she 0:17:06.920 --> 0:17:08.960 was an infant the first. 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:10.119 Time I met him. 0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:14.480 I have literally seen that child grow up in the 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:19.280 Black Bear neighborhood. I met new folks from Michigan that 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:21.960 gave me a recipe for biscuits and making butter that 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:26.440 I can't wait to try. The Tucker family, the Ramsays, 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:28.919 the Walkers. I could go on and own about the 0:17:28.960 --> 0:17:32.480 people that were there and how that singular event but 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:36.800 so many different people from different points of the compass 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:40.879 in one spot to celebrate more than just Black Bears. 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.000 I met a fellow from Ontario. 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:49.520 That drove down that's overseas in Canada for goodness sakes, California, Florida, 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.000 New York, and I'm pretty sure half of the population 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.159 of Oklahoma. Probably be easier to list the states that 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:58.160 weren't represented there than it was to list the ones 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:02.119 that were. I looked forward to seeing the little folks 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:03.080 more than anything. 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:03.680 Every year. 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.920 Like James said, this year there was way more than 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:12.320 any year before. It was fantastic. My brothers in Blue 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:16.600 always show up. Thanks for the coins. Don I talked 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.360 to several folks that were in the military, but there 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.879 was one fellow that stood out to me and I 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.280 met him backstage right before the al Hooton Contest started. 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:28.640 He was talking with some of the other volunteers who 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.080 were keeping the event wheels greased and rolling smooth, and 0:18:32.320 --> 0:18:36.480 I first assumed Will was one of the Arkansas BHA volunteers. 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.120 Turns out I was only half right. He was a volunteer, 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:43.639 but he'd driven down the day before from Idaho, and 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:46.120 since he was a day early and with nothing else 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.960 to do, he decided to do a little recon. Will 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.360 drove to the fairgrounds and walked in the building where 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:55.080 all the volunteers were busy as cats in a sandbox. 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.560 Will asked if they needed any help. They put that 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:01.360 joker to work, and he jumped round in working alongside 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:06.320 everyone else. Now I've hosted the Al Hooton Contest for 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:09.399 the last two years, and between the rounds, the event 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.320 gives away a ton of door prizes that are donated 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:17.520 by area businesses and corporations. I snatched up an FHF 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:21.000 gear chest pack from the Meat Eater South headquarters before 0:19:21.040 --> 0:19:24.280 we left Clay's house that morning and decided I'd give 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:26.520 it away to whomever had driven the farthest. 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:27.920 Well. 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:32.439 After some lively debate, Will from Idaho won with eighteen 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:36.960 hundred plus miles driven. It was close, but everyone agreed 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.199 that he was the winner. I brought him on stage. 0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:42.800 I gave him his prize that I'd robbed from Clay's house, 0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:46.960 and James Brandenburgh thanked him for volunteering, and then I 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:50.400 asked him what he did for a living. Will said 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:54.280 he'd just retired after twenty one years in the military, 0:19:54.359 --> 0:20:00.640 and that place went crazy, erupted with cheering. That's why 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:03.560 I know there's more than just hope for this country. 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:08.040 There's promise to It. Moved me a lot, it does 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:11.960 still just thinking about it. I handed him a case 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:14.320 knife from my pocket and I thanked him first service 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:17.600 to our nation, and I shook his hand. He went 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:20.679 on his way and we continued the contest and Cameron 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:25.000 Tidwell took home the Grown Folks Division championship of Alhudrie. 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:26.520 Now. 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:30.560 Later on, as the event was closing down around five o'clock, 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:33.600 I was standing in the back visited with some friends. 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:38.000 When I saw Will walking up. I assumed he was 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:40.920 going to say goodbye. He said, I got something for you, 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:44.560 and he handed me a bench made tactical knife that 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:47.679 he carried on five combat deployments. 0:20:48.680 --> 0:20:49.560 Ooh, man. 0:20:51.400 --> 0:20:55.840 I didn't know what to say, but I understood the gift. 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:01.199 It wasn't just a gift. It wasn't just a knife. 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:03.840 He was entrusted me with something I know that was 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:07.280 special to him, just like the one that I'd given 0:21:07.359 --> 0:21:11.320 him was special to me, along with my family's legacy 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.720 with case. That knife I gave him was a Christmas 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:18.680 present of last December from Alexis and Bailey, a replacement 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:21.320 knife for the one I donated to the mide Eater 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:24.919 auction last fall. Now that auction was for a great cause, 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.639 but I whined so much about it being gone that 0:21:27.720 --> 0:21:30.440 they bought me another one just like it, so i'd 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:34.080 shut up. I say all of that to say this. 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:37.680 I can't think of a better thing to single out 0:21:38.080 --> 0:21:41.200 and pay homage to you than people from all over 0:21:41.320 --> 0:21:46.640 this continent gathering under one roof, singularly focused on one thing. 0:21:47.640 --> 0:21:51.080 And I don't think it was black bears. I wouldn't 0:21:51.160 --> 0:21:53.560 risk losing a dollar bet that there was more than 0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:56.119 one percent of the crowd there that had ever bear hunted. 0:21:57.880 --> 0:22:01.040 It was a celebration of bears, true enough. But of 0:22:01.200 --> 0:22:04.720 all the literal hundreds of conversations I had with people, 0:22:05.520 --> 0:22:07.879 not one of them that I can remember was about 0:22:07.960 --> 0:22:08.560 bear hunting. 0:22:09.600 --> 0:22:10.840 There's good folks. 0:22:10.520 --> 0:22:13.879 Out there everywhere, and if you set a date and 0:22:14.000 --> 0:22:18.119 a time and invite them over, they'll come. Some of 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:21.720 them will bring their youngest too, and you'll always find 0:22:21.760 --> 0:22:25.000 something to talk about, some common ground if you just 0:22:25.119 --> 0:22:34.840 listen and take turns. Don't forget the dates and times 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:37.479 are set for the Meat Eater Live tour that's heading west. 0:22:38.040 --> 0:22:40.400 Tickets are available now and you can find out all 0:22:40.440 --> 0:22:44.280 the info at meadeater dot com. I did one last 0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:46.840 December in Kansas City, A man, it was a lot 0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:50.440