WEBVTT - Ep. 113: THIS COUNTRY LIFE - Where To Eat On the Road

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

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<v Speaker 1>from coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to stay a while as I share

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<v Speaker 1>my stories and the country skills that will help you

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<v Speaker 1>beat the system. This Country Life is proudly presented as

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<v Speaker 1>part of Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you the best

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

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<v Speaker 1>pull you up a chair or drop that tailgate. I

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<v Speaker 1>think I got a thing or two. The teacher. Where

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<v Speaker 1>to eat when you're on the road. Who's hungry? Hungry? Brent?

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<v Speaker 1>What do you mean who's hungry? What's hungry? You got

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<v Speaker 1>to do with it? If it's time to eat, let's eat.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's time and you're in the area you ain't

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<v Speaker 1>familiar with. So what you're gonna do? How you gonna

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<v Speaker 1>find a spot that's got the vitals you like without

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<v Speaker 1>eating the same old thing at the Clowns place or

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<v Speaker 1>at that other burger joint where the dude wears the

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<v Speaker 1>crown in the bredges like Shakespeare. Well, I'm gonna tell you.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna cover all of that and more. But first

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna tell you a story. There was an old

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<v Speaker 1>country store near New Edinburgh, Arkansas, located in the fork

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<v Speaker 1>where one graveled county road wide and became two. One

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<v Speaker 1>went toward our house and the other toward Crane Lake,

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<v Speaker 1>where it wasn't uncommon in the spring and summer to

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<v Speaker 1>find a boat full of reves boys drowning crickets one

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<v Speaker 1>blue gill brim at a time. Now, that story had

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<v Speaker 1>been there for as long as I can remember, and

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<v Speaker 1>mister Almas Marks owned and operated it and had sense

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<v Speaker 1>what seemed like before the Allies put the Germans in

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<v Speaker 1>checked the first time. But when mister Almos retired, some

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<v Speaker 1>folks took it over that were nice and friendly enough

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<v Speaker 1>and provided a service to the rest of us living

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<v Speaker 1>in the in the country by not having to drive

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<v Speaker 1>all the way to town for a few necessities. The

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<v Speaker 1>only issue was while they kept the store clean, their

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<v Speaker 1>personal hygiene habits were somewhat suspect. That's not true, they

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<v Speaker 1>weren't suspect at all. They were non existent. So we

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<v Speaker 1>didn't buy sandwiches that they made there, but we would

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<v Speaker 1>get lunch, meat, bread, and other packaged groceries. My Dad

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<v Speaker 1>and I were headed home one evening from the lake

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<v Speaker 1>and as we got inside of the store, Dad said,

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<v Speaker 1>how about we fry up some bologna for supper. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about fry blogonna for just a minute. It's

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<v Speaker 1>one of those things that if you know, you know

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<v Speaker 1>our bologne had a first name, and it wasn't Oscar

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<v Speaker 1>like that old Oscar Mayer jingle. Suggested it was pe

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<v Speaker 1>tit and stood for pettijen blogne that was and continues

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<v Speaker 1>to be made right here in the great state of Arkansas.

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<v Speaker 1>And when I say there's no comparison between how good

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<v Speaker 1>petty gen loney is frieda or otherwise, when compared to

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<v Speaker 1>every other factsemble of lunch meat called himself bloonna, you

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<v Speaker 1>better pay attention because I have just rendered unto you

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<v Speaker 1>indisputable facts from the Book of Brent for the people

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<v Speaker 1>of Brent. It is that good. But I digress, and

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<v Speaker 1>back to the story. We called them just before they

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<v Speaker 1>closed and went straight to the meat counter. The lady said, hey, buddy,

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<v Speaker 1>you and Brent catch any fish today? My dad said, yes, ma'am,

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<v Speaker 1>but we're too hungry to clean them and cook them tonight.

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<v Speaker 1>So we're just going to clean these fish and just

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<v Speaker 1>fry up some balogna for supper with a smile that

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<v Speaker 1>had teeth but resembled a fence around the haunted house.

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<v Speaker 1>She smiled and said, how much do y'all want? And

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<v Speaker 1>I was still young, and I was at eye level

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<v Speaker 1>on the customer side of the glass. She fired up

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<v Speaker 1>the meat slicer, and I watched her as she reached

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<v Speaker 1>into that lighted meat counter for that uncut five pounds

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<v Speaker 1>stick of pettig in balognea, with the filthiest hand and

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<v Speaker 1>fingernails I'd ever seen on a human bend. It looked

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<v Speaker 1>like she was wearing a pair of dirty brown new gloves.

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<v Speaker 1>My dad saw it too. I slowly looked up at

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<v Speaker 1>him and seeing a disgusted look of horror on his face,

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<v Speaker 1>and waited for his next move. It was then I

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<v Speaker 1>got a lesson in my mind. We had two options.

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<v Speaker 1>One just say we changed our mind and grabbed some

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<v Speaker 1>crackers and potted meat and hit the door. Or two,

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<v Speaker 1>try to build a sandwich from the best ballogney on

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<v Speaker 1>the planet that had been sliced in packaged by hands,

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<v Speaker 1>resembling a literal peatrie bucket of weapons grade nasty. There

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<v Speaker 1>was no amount of heat in that skillet that was

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<v Speaker 1>going to erase that image out of my head. However,

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<v Speaker 1>in one of the slickeest moves I've ever been blessed

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<v Speaker 1>to witness, my dad stammered a little at first, but

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<v Speaker 1>gained his composure and said, wait a minute, I'll just

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<v Speaker 1>take the whole stick and I'll come around and get

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<v Speaker 1>it out of there. And just like that, he had

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<v Speaker 1>chosen option three, which was take her completely out of

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<v Speaker 1>the equation. We had fried bologna for supper that night

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<v Speaker 1>instead of potted meating crackers or a staff infection. As

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<v Speaker 1>a matter of fact, we had fried.

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<v Speaker 2>Bling it for quite a while, and that's just how

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<v Speaker 2>that happened, all right to Mego, it's time to eat,

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<v Speaker 2>and we're rolling through a place we've never been or

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<v Speaker 2>in the area we're just not.

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<v Speaker 1>Familiar with, and it's time for some grub. You can

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<v Speaker 1>always grab that stuff that'll slowly kill you from the

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<v Speaker 1>side of the road. And I'm not talking about road kill.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking of roadkill, my brother Tim and I were headed

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<v Speaker 1>back to our camp, cruising along on top of the

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<v Speaker 1>Arkansas River levee with some duck hutting clients from New

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<v Speaker 1>Jersey after a successful hunt many years ago. All of

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<v Speaker 1>a sudden, a dough deer ran out in front of

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<v Speaker 1>us and wound up under my old bronco and our

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<v Speaker 1>boat and trailer, which doesn't farewell for the long every

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<v Speaker 1>day of a do deer. Tim called the game board

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<v Speaker 1>and he said we could have it, so we loaded

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<v Speaker 1>her up in the boat took off for the duck

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<v Speaker 1>Camp road kill. It's just like sweet milk, it does

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<v Speaker 1>a body good. But being fresh out of roadkill. Clayton

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<v Speaker 1>nukle When I found ourselves in this very situation only

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<v Speaker 1>a short time ago, coming home from a turkey hunt Missouri,

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<v Speaker 1>we ain't had aboute to eat all day and it

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<v Speaker 1>had done got over into the afternoon, so we started

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<v Speaker 1>looking for some groceries. Soon as we hit the city

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<v Speaker 1>limits of Lebanon, Missouri, population fifteen thousand and thirteen, in

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<v Speaker 1>the hometown of Harold Bell Wright Arthur of the novel

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<v Speaker 1>Shepherd of the Hills. I'm driving and Clays starts digging

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<v Speaker 1>around on Google looking for a good spot. Well, Google

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<v Speaker 1>won only take you so far, and you never really

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<v Speaker 1>know about those online reviews about the food. There's no

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<v Speaker 1>telling who wrote it. And there's folks out here running

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<v Speaker 1>around that'll eat anything, and if that wasn't true, Lewis

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<v Speaker 1>Grizzard would have never warned us years ago about how

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<v Speaker 1>you never ever eat at a place that says they

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<v Speaker 1>have food just like your mama's. I promise you they

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<v Speaker 1>do not. It's all a matter of taste or lack

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<v Speaker 1>of And I've been in different parts of this great

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<v Speaker 1>nation of ours and adds some great food, but there

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<v Speaker 1>is some drastic differences in what folks call good food.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of it is a struggle to call food. And

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure there's plenty of people who think I'm crazy

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<v Speaker 1>for loving squirrels like I do. My wife is one

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<v Speaker 1>of them, but what she know, Her judgment is obviously

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<v Speaker 1>suspect from the company she keeps. And my dad, who

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<v Speaker 1>killed more squirrels than any person I know on this

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<v Speaker 1>orbiting rock we call Earth, wouldn't that one if he

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<v Speaker 1>was starving to death. That's the true story. But that's

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<v Speaker 1>fine more from me, and they ain't got to share,

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<v Speaker 1>so we actually Elevanon in Minu clay Bows Hunger Pangs.

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<v Speaker 1>He mentioned something about a Messican place he was reading about,

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<v Speaker 1>and I like Messican food. My wife Alexis, who is

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<v Speaker 1>from Texas, could eat it for breakfast, but I could

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<v Speaker 1>kind of burned out on it after a while, so

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<v Speaker 1>I told them to look for something a little more

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<v Speaker 1>north of the border. About that time, he said, there's

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<v Speaker 1>a barbecue and a fish place right up the road

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<v Speaker 1>according to Google. Ah fish. I know it's going to

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<v Speaker 1>be catfish, and I could eat fish every day. And

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<v Speaker 1>if they've got barbecue, my kind of barbecue. Then it

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<v Speaker 1>went on in instead of move prior to its arrival

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<v Speaker 1>to the restaurant. As we got closer, I could see

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<v Speaker 1>the sign and the vehicles in the parking lot about

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<v Speaker 1>as many cars as the trucks, and a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>big rigs that were parked there too. Now there's our

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<v Speaker 1>clues about the food right here, right out in the

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<v Speaker 1>bald open truckers can sniff out of place to eat,

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<v Speaker 1>but you can't always go by where you see their trucks.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes they have to eat where they can get the

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<v Speaker 1>trucks parked off the road. So it could be a

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<v Speaker 1>place of convenient parking more so than the quality of

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<v Speaker 1>the food. Also, you got to figure in the time

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<v Speaker 1>of day. If it's in the early afternoon, between dinner

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<v Speaker 1>and supper, you know, the noon and the evening meal

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<v Speaker 1>and the parking is at a premium and resembles a

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<v Speaker 1>slow day at the used car lot, you're probably in

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<v Speaker 1>for some good victuals. On the other hand, if it's

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<v Speaker 1>getting close to the time when people normally eat and

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<v Speaker 1>parking lot is empty, well that's a sign that they're

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<v Speaker 1>either closed or they should be. Now. Most kids would

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<v Speaker 1>eat chicken out of a mailbox. Don't matter where you

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<v Speaker 1>are or what you're doing. It could be the finest

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<v Speaker 1>Italian Chinese or famous steakhouse restaurant, or any food specific

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<v Speaker 1>oriented place and they'll holler, I want some chicken strips,

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<v Speaker 1>and I have to admit I like them too. But

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<v Speaker 1>you need to be careful about the food you order

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<v Speaker 1>from places not necessarily themed in that direction. Trout almondine,

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<v Speaker 1>which I love from a nice place in Little Rock

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<v Speaker 1>that alexis and not go to on occasion, is not

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<v Speaker 1>something I'd order if I sew it on the menu

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<v Speaker 1>or at a at a cafe or a diner where

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<v Speaker 1>you can see in the kitchen and the waitress caused you, honey.

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<v Speaker 1>They might be fine, but a safer bet is the

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<v Speaker 1>chicken fried steak. That's my default at any place I'm

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<v Speaker 1>unfamiliar with and don't receive any vibes from the menu

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<v Speaker 1>or plates of those eating around me. It's hard to

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<v Speaker 1>screw up a chicken fried steak, Nate can be done,

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<v Speaker 1>but come on, it ain't that hard to fix a

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<v Speaker 1>decent one. I was scrolling through Instagram the other day

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<v Speaker 1>and saw old chef Kevin Gillespie sharing his grandma's family

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<v Speaker 1>recipe for a chicken fried steak that had me hankering

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<v Speaker 1>for one, the one that he was cooking before the

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<v Speaker 1>video ended. I'll tell you one thing for sure, the

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<v Speaker 1>one he was cooking would have been a safe bet

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<v Speaker 1>anywhere and any time, which brings me back to picking

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<v Speaker 1>out a place to eat and ordering food from a

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<v Speaker 1>place you really don't feel as soon as to be

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<v Speaker 1>serving it. Would I eat spaghetti from Basking Robbins? What

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<v Speaker 1>about fried rabbit from an Army mess Hog? Yes? Would

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<v Speaker 1>I regret it? Definitely. In September of nineteen eighty seven,

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<v Speaker 1>I found myself in the company of several hundred other

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<v Speaker 1>freshly peeled headed America loving volunteer Army recruits at Fort Sell, Oklahoma.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've never been there, you should go. It's quite

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<v Speaker 1>an anomaly. The wind blows in every direction at once

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<v Speaker 1>all the time, and everywhere you need to march or

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<v Speaker 1>run to next is always uphill, and all the folks

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<v Speaker 1>you see are mad and hollering at you for you

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<v Speaker 1>to hurry up now. That post was built back in

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen sixty nine and has been occupied by the United

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<v Speaker 1>States Army ever since. It was a stepping off point

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<v Speaker 1>for a lot of western expansion back in the day

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<v Speaker 1>when the government's idea of getting into the realty business

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<v Speaker 1>was showing up at someone's door with a cannon and

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<v Speaker 1>asking them if they'd ever thought about selling out and

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<v Speaker 1>moving away. It's also the barrel place of G's your Automo,

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<v Speaker 1>and we used to run past his grave every morning

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<v Speaker 1>during pt. It was the only section of ground where

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<v Speaker 1>we were silent when we passed out of respect. We

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<v Speaker 1>were training to be warriors, and our drill sergeants demanded

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<v Speaker 1>we honor a real one. Unfortunately, that same level of

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<v Speaker 1>respect was not shown to whoever was in charge of

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<v Speaker 1>buying meat for the mess sergeant to cook for his troops.

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<v Speaker 1>More on that in a minute. It was Friday evening

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<v Speaker 1>we were standing in formation outside the mess hall. About

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<v Speaker 1>a month in the basic training Army breakfast at that

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<v Speaker 1>time was as good as you could get in any cafe.

0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:43.480
<v Speaker 1>Eggs to order, grits, pancakes, sausage, bacon, toast, biscuits, gravy. Sos.

0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.000
<v Speaker 1>Don't know what sos is, Ask your grandpa when your grandma.

0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:50.480
<v Speaker 1>Are you listening? He'll tell you. But I enjoyed breakfast.

0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:52.920
<v Speaker 1>It's still my favorite meal of the day, and we'll

0:12:52.920 --> 0:12:55.960
<v Speaker 1>have it for supper sometimes now, but back at forth

0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:58.480
<v Speaker 1>sil Once you got to the next two meals of

0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:00.880
<v Speaker 1>the day, it was a craps you as to what

0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.000
<v Speaker 1>the menu held, especially for a country boy from Arkansas.

0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:10.320
<v Speaker 1>Lots of hamburgers, spaghetti, baked pork chops and ham, things

0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:14.040
<v Speaker 1>like that that were edible, but they just tasted bland

0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:17.240
<v Speaker 1>to me. Now I also realized that they were feeding

0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.920
<v Speaker 1>the multitude of troops and only keeping us healthy enough

0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.960
<v Speaker 1>to brutalize on a daily basis. That was the real

0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.560
<v Speaker 1>reason they were letting us eat anyway. They didn't fix

0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:29.560
<v Speaker 1>food like I'd grown up eating, Like that corn bread

0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:31.600
<v Speaker 1>I was eating every day that was so sweet, I

0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:34.240
<v Speaker 1>thought it was cake. I remember a buddy of mine

0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.560
<v Speaker 1>from Boston said, boy, you country boys really like that

0:13:37.679 --> 0:13:40.600
<v Speaker 1>corn bread. Huh, you eat it like dessert every day,

0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.480
<v Speaker 1>and I'm sure that they ain't really like it how

0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:47.560
<v Speaker 1>he talks, But that's why I remember it. But anyway,

0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:49.640
<v Speaker 1>I answered, man, I ain't had no corn bread since

0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.400
<v Speaker 1>I left home. I've been seeing it posted on the

0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:55.360
<v Speaker 1>menu just about every day. But by the time we

0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:58.800
<v Speaker 1>get here, all they got left is this cake. As

0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.760
<v Speaker 1>disappointed as I was in the Army's version of cornbread,

0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:05.079
<v Speaker 1>I don't know why I was so excited to see

0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.120
<v Speaker 1>fried rabbit posted on the mess hall menu one evening.

0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:13.959
<v Speaker 1>Did I see that right? Fried rabbit? Oh lord, y'all,

0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:17.040
<v Speaker 1>please don't wake me up. Let me finish this beautiful

0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:20.120
<v Speaker 1>dream I'm having about eating a mess of fried cottontails.

0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:23.600
<v Speaker 1>It was October and rabbit season back home, and I

0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:28.600
<v Speaker 1>love fried cottontail rabbit. And though I was only away

0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.680
<v Speaker 1>in a neighboring state, I might as well be on

0:14:30.720 --> 0:14:32.600
<v Speaker 1>the moon. When it comes time to eat and supper.

0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:36.240
<v Speaker 1>Every day, nothing was the same, and yet there it was,

0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.800
<v Speaker 1>right there on the menu, fried rabbit. I was about

0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:43.480
<v Speaker 1>to be rudely awakened from that dream by the time

0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:45.440
<v Speaker 1>it took to move the forty or so troops in

0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:47.040
<v Speaker 1>front of me out of the way so I could

0:14:47.040 --> 0:14:49.720
<v Speaker 1>get some groceries. I was about to have a fit.

0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.400
<v Speaker 1>I could smell the familiar aroma of fried food about

0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:55.400
<v Speaker 1>a minute before I got the first glimpse of what

0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:58.680
<v Speaker 1>the army called fried rabbit. There was a huge pile

0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:01.600
<v Speaker 1>of them there behind the glass, and they all looked

0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:05.800
<v Speaker 1>like hind legs, hind legs off a shellling pony. I

0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.400
<v Speaker 1>never seen such a sight, and I couldn't imagine how

0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:10.760
<v Speaker 1>big the rabbit was. They'd cut them legs off of

0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:13.920
<v Speaker 1>My immediate thought is I wish they'd left foot on

0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:17.240
<v Speaker 1>there so I know exactly what creditor that running gear

0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.600
<v Speaker 1>had come from. That I was about to eat, But

0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.520
<v Speaker 1>they said it was rabbit, and I was excited to

0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:25.320
<v Speaker 1>eat it. The mess all PFC looked up at me

0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:27.600
<v Speaker 1>and said one or two. No, wait a minute, they

0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:30.440
<v Speaker 1>gonna let me have two of them. I'm in I answered,

0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.760
<v Speaker 1>too private, and he dropped two of them magnet rabbit

0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:37.320
<v Speaker 1>hams on my tray, blowing mash taters and English peas

0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:39.720
<v Speaker 1>off into the floor and on me like that rabbit's

0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:42.400
<v Speaker 1>last act of defiance before getting it. It was giving

0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:45.600
<v Speaker 1>the boys on KP something to mop up after we'd left.

0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:48.440
<v Speaker 1>Then rabbit legs took up so much space on my

0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:50.320
<v Speaker 1>tray that I had to toe my corn bread cake

0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.040
<v Speaker 1>in the cargo pocket and my bead he use. There's

0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:57.560
<v Speaker 1>rules for everything in basic training. Everything. Your drill sergeant

0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:00.400
<v Speaker 1>is there to encourage you to follow them. He's there

0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.080
<v Speaker 1>to tell you when to eat, how long you can eat,

0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:05.960
<v Speaker 1>when to stop eating, and when to get up and

0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.000
<v Speaker 1>get out of the messhow so you can run uphill

0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.680
<v Speaker 1>some more. He's also there to make sure you clean

0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.720
<v Speaker 1>your plate of all the food the army prepared for

0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:18.080
<v Speaker 1>you every bite. They'll feed you a lot, but you

0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:21.400
<v Speaker 1>better eat it or there would be repercussions. That had

0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.040
<v Speaker 1>slipped my mind when the opportunity of getting two rabbit

0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:27.160
<v Speaker 1>legs came about two's better than one, right, Well, that's

0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:29.880
<v Speaker 1>what I thought. Now. When our drill sergeant finally said

0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:32.600
<v Speaker 1>we had five minutes to eat, I grabbed that first,

0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:35.840
<v Speaker 1>humongous rabbit leg, did a bicep curl to get it

0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.360
<v Speaker 1>up to my mouth, and took a bite. The amount

0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:40.160
<v Speaker 1>of grease that ran out of the corners of my

0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:42.600
<v Speaker 1>mouth was enough to have had a small fish fry.

0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.680
<v Speaker 1>It was terrible. It was tough as woodpecker lips, chewed

0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:48.960
<v Speaker 1>like a tennis ball, and I had two of them

0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.160
<v Speaker 1>to eat. That was thirty six years ago, and I

0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.960
<v Speaker 1>ain't had a bite of fried rabbit sins, not even

0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.680
<v Speaker 1>a nibble. Michael Roseman has some good rabbit dogs, and

0:16:58.720 --> 0:17:00.760
<v Speaker 1>I love hunting them, so I think I'll try them

0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.040
<v Speaker 1>again this winter, and I'll let y' all know how

0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:11.560
<v Speaker 1>that goes. Growing up in the South, and I can

0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:13.680
<v Speaker 1>only guess it's the same way in most points of

0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.919
<v Speaker 1>the Compass. But here folks look for an occasion to

0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:21.840
<v Speaker 1>gather and eat. Someone died, someone had a baby, somebody

0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:27.120
<v Speaker 1>got married, somebody had an anniversary, somebody got parrolled. Whatever,

0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:32.600
<v Speaker 1>it's all cook, eat fellowship, and enjoy everyone's company. That's

0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:35.560
<v Speaker 1>why the food been so good. As important you're out

0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:37.440
<v Speaker 1>there on a long trip, it'll help those long ones

0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:40.200
<v Speaker 1>seem a little shorter. It'll add joy to the good

0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:43.159
<v Speaker 1>times and comfort to the hard ones. But let the

0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:47.040
<v Speaker 1>food be bad, and woe is me, it'll only compound

0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.560
<v Speaker 1>the pain. I give you a prime example of bad

0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:54.359
<v Speaker 1>food making a bad situation worse. Many moons ago and

0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:56.640
<v Speaker 1>before I had the sense equal to what God gave

0:17:56.680 --> 0:18:00.440
<v Speaker 1>a goose and before I corrected myself and she had

0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.960
<v Speaker 1>a salt upon my liver and senses. I stumbled home

0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:07.679
<v Speaker 1>in the early morning darkness on a Sunday morning, after

0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:12.040
<v Speaker 1>making a long night of bad decisions. I'd made so

0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.879
<v Speaker 1>many bad decisions that night that one would think I

0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:17.320
<v Speaker 1>didn't have any left to make between Mama's front door

0:18:17.359 --> 0:18:21.200
<v Speaker 1>and my bedroom. But I did. I had one more

0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:23.879
<v Speaker 1>left in me, and boy, it was a good one.

0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.800
<v Speaker 1>A fellow that has restricted his diet to adult beverages

0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:31.040
<v Speaker 1>for several hours will eventually get hungry. And since I

0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:33.520
<v Speaker 1>was walking through the kitchen at the time, I realized

0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.720
<v Speaker 1>I hadn't eat anything all day. What better place to

0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:40.119
<v Speaker 1>stop and fix myself a snack. There were no leftovers

0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:41.800
<v Speaker 1>in the ice box, so I looked up in the

0:18:41.800 --> 0:18:45.560
<v Speaker 1>freezer and I found a bag of frozen breaded chicken strips.

0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:48.680
<v Speaker 1>They looked fantastic on the picture on the bag. Why

0:18:48.760 --> 0:18:51.000
<v Speaker 1>not throw a handful of these rascals in the microwave

0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:54.679
<v Speaker 1>and have myself a snack before hitting the hate. Remember

0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:58.320
<v Speaker 1>what I said about kids eating chicken out of the mailbox, Well,

0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:00.840
<v Speaker 1>folks that pour a thief in their mouth all night

0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:04.040
<v Speaker 1>to steal the brains, will eat warmed up raw chicken

0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:09.760
<v Speaker 1>strips from the microwave and get salmonella poisoning. I'll spare

0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.600
<v Speaker 1>you any more details about what happened a few hours later.

0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.720
<v Speaker 1>That continued for a couple of days. But if you're

0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:19.119
<v Speaker 1>curious as to whether I lived through that literal biblical

0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.600
<v Speaker 1>flood of sickness, I can't tell you because I'm still

0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:26.160
<v Speaker 1>not sure. I told my dad about that years later,

0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:28.760
<v Speaker 1>and he told me that that wasn't uncommon for young

0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:31.040
<v Speaker 1>men to lose their sense of good judgment in a

0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:34.040
<v Speaker 1>iur of weakness, that it had happened to him as well.

0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:37.920
<v Speaker 1>He said he remembered drinking moonshine all night in his youth,

0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:42.239
<v Speaker 1>and he'd eating one peanut. Next day he woke up,

0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:44.960
<v Speaker 1>he felt about. He swore he'd never eat peanuts again.

0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:53.240
<v Speaker 1>So let's bring this home. Where are we going to eat?

0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.520
<v Speaker 1>When we're out on the road. You can easily find

0:19:56.640 --> 0:20:00.280
<v Speaker 1>all the franchise places that were all familiar with, But

0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:02.520
<v Speaker 1>I like to look for the places where the folks

0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.159
<v Speaker 1>that are cooking are dependent on feeding enough people to

0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:09.720
<v Speaker 1>pay their light bills and make the car payments. These

0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:12.840
<v Speaker 1>folks are taking pride in what they're preparing and hoping

0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:15.440
<v Speaker 1>you'll like it as well. They want you to like

0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:19.399
<v Speaker 1>it well enough to come back. Places like Cheryl's Diner

0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:23.800
<v Speaker 1>cab at Arkansas, where you can eat a platter of

0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:28.919
<v Speaker 1>groceries called a gobbly goop. It's every breakfast item you

0:20:28.960 --> 0:20:33.080
<v Speaker 1>can think of, except pancakes piled on two cathead biscuits

0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:36.320
<v Speaker 1>and covered in gravy. I can hear my left ventricl

0:20:36.320 --> 0:20:38.960
<v Speaker 1>slim and shut just thinking about it. Boy, it's good.

0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:42.800
<v Speaker 1>How about Big Zach's Place in the Logan's Port, Louisiana

0:20:42.920 --> 0:20:47.040
<v Speaker 1>for fish steaks and crawfish, or some vitals from Stanley's

0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:50.760
<v Speaker 1>famous pitt Barbecue in Tyler, Texas. I've even got it

0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:55.440
<v Speaker 1>on good authority that Spanky's Diner in Newfoundland, PA makes

0:20:55.480 --> 0:21:00.920
<v Speaker 1>the world's greatest cream chip beef over toast breakfast. Any

0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:03.800
<v Speaker 1>Pennsylvanian or any other human being would be fortunate enough

0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:07.159
<v Speaker 1>to poke fork in. There's goodness and supporting our neighbors.

0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:09.879
<v Speaker 1>And I'm not saying the folks that are slinging fries

0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:12.600
<v Speaker 1>and burgers out of the drive through or running the

0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.920
<v Speaker 1>franchises ain't our neighbors, because our neighbors are working there.

0:21:16.800 --> 0:21:19.119
<v Speaker 1>I'm saying, let's not forget about the places off the

0:21:19.119 --> 0:21:22.560
<v Speaker 1>beaten path. I like to look for them first. Make

0:21:22.600 --> 0:21:25.520
<v Speaker 1>sure that late night chickens cooked thoroughly. And if you

0:21:25.520 --> 0:21:28.760
<v Speaker 1>ever find yourself in Lebanon, Missouri and have a hanker

0:21:28.880 --> 0:21:33.080
<v Speaker 1>for some catfish, Down's Catfish House and Barbecue about a

0:21:33.119 --> 0:21:36.440
<v Speaker 1>half mile off of Interstate forty four is a safe bed.

0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:39.480
<v Speaker 1>You can tell them me and old Clay Bow. Since

0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:43.680
<v Speaker 1>it this is Brent Reeves signing off, y'all be careful.

0:22:04.520 --> 0:22:04.560
<v Speaker 2>H