July 19, 2024 • 18 mins
The recent celebration of our nation’s Declaration of Independence got Brent thinking about heroes. Just what constitutes a hero? He’s gonna share his thoughts and give what he thinks is a prime example of one. If that’s not enough he’s sharing a heroic listener story and offering up suggestions to help baseball grow their audience and speed up the game. There’s a lot to unpack on this episode of MeatEater’s This Country Life podcast.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves
from cone hunting to trot lighting and just general country living.
I want you to stay a while as I share
my experiences and life lessons. This Country Life is presented
by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you
the best outdoor podcast the airwaves.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Haved off.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
All right, friends, grab a chair or drop that tailgate.
I've got some stories to share Heroes. This week is
a little different than our regular offerings here at This
Country Life. But after celebrating the anniversary of the Declaration
(00:49):
of Independence last week, I got to thinking about all
the folks that are referred to during that time as heroes.
That led me to thinking about the ones referred to
that now and.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Who really qualifies.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
I'm gonna give you my thoughts on it, but first
I'm gonna tell you a story. This story is right
on theme for this week's topic and comes from This
Country Life mailbag. Send in by Jesse Crawford down in
Laurel Hill, Florida. That's in Okaloosa County. Laurel Hill has
(01:27):
a distinction of being the northernmost incorporated city within the
Great State of Florida. If you had a slingshot that
could fling a rock fifty miles. You could stand on
the beach in Destin and hum a rock due north,
and have folks in Laurel Hill rubbed knots on their
heads and ducking for cover, all five hundred and eighty
(01:47):
four of them. I'd like to have me one of them.
But without further delay. In Jesse Crawford's words.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
In my voice, here we go.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
It all started when we had a day off from
school and decided to take my dad's jet ski to
the lake. We were young, but old enough to be
trusted to some degree, and we were taking turns running
around the lake and pulling each other on the tube.
It's normally a busy place for water sports, but today
(02:19):
it was just us and one other boat. After my
buddy and Night had enough, we swapped out and let
the other two fellas ride and just hung out on
the bank. It wasn't long before we see the jet
ski headed back at a high rate of speed, and
as they got closer, I realized that one of my
friends that left on the jet ski was replaced by
(02:41):
a frantic woman that was freaking out so bad you
couldn't understand what she was saying. My buddy yelled for
me to jump on and drive that he would explain
on the trip back out. Apparently the husband was pulling
his wife on a tube and she fell off. He
turned to pick her up and accidentally hammered the throttle
and threw himself self out, And since he didn't wear
(03:02):
his kill switch, the boat was running circles at full throt.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So we got to try and help the.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Husband, who was being helped to stay afloat by my
friend that was left when the wife that he picked
up was taking the shore. And that's when I realized
we had a big task because this was a very
large man. No matter how hard we tried, there was
just no way to get him on that jet ski.
(03:34):
It kept flipping the three seat jet ski no matter
how hard we tried to counterbalance it. Meanwhile, that boat,
it's still running wide open and making circles, and that's
when I realized what had to be done. We gave
the husband all our life jackets because he was struggling
to stay afloat. At this point, my friend jumps back
(03:56):
on the jet ski with me and we take off
after that boat. Now every two or three circles, that
boat would level out and run straight for a couple
hundred feet. We were terrified, but we timed it out
just right and ran up beside that boat when it
was going straight, and I bailed off into it. I
(04:17):
was so overwhelmed with relieved that I actually got in
the boat. I almost forgot the purpose of being there,
but I took control and I headed back to where
the man was still floating on.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Our life jackets.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Now, after managing to get him back in his boat,
we took it and him back to shore, where his
wife was being looked after by the mts that had
been alerted. They started taking care of him too, and
he tells us that he had just bought the boat
and it was his first time taking it out, and
it would probably be his last. The husband thanked us,
(04:51):
and he tried to give us a water cash he
had in his pocket, but we kept declining over and over.
He tells us that if we weren't there, it would
have cost him a lot more than a little cash.
And he picked up a rock and he placed the
money under it and tells us somebody will find it
if y'all don't take it, and he left and he
(05:12):
left one thousand dollars under that rock, which seemed like
a million bucks to us kids. Anyway, that's my story, y'all,
Stay safe out there. Good night, Nurse Jesse. That's some
straight up mission impossible in James Bond caliber stunt work.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
My friend, y'all saw a need and you took action.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Nice job, man, and according to Jesse Crawford of Laurel Hill, Florida,
that's just how that happened. Heroes what constitutes or qualifies
(05:58):
someone as a hero? To Webster says, a hero is
a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements,
or noble qualities. On the other hand, it can also
mean a tasty sandwich.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I hear that term thrown around a lot these days,
noticeably to me more often than in times past, and
it got me to wondering if we've got more heroes
now than we used to, or do we just hear
that term because of the information that we get bombarded
with on social media.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Audie Murphy was a pint sized seventeen year old from
northeast Texas, and he attempted to enlist in the US
military after Japan attacked the United States in December of
nineteen forty one. The Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps,
all of them turned him down because he was undersized
and underaged. His older sister eventually provided a falsified affidavit
(06:57):
stating his birth date was a year earlier than it
actually was, and after that he was accepted by the
US Army on the thirtieth day of June in nineteen
forty two. Audie Murphy was five feet five and a
half inches tall and he weighed one hundred and twelve
pounds when he enlisted. The M one rifle that he
(07:21):
was issued upon graduating of basic and individual training weighed
nearly a tenth of his own weight at nine and
one half pounds. Murphy would fight the Germans in Europe,
and over the next two and a half years, would
come home as the most decorated soldier of World War II.
(07:42):
He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross,
two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars,
and three Purple Hearts, just to name a few. He
was a one man wrecking crew, stacking up our nation's
enemies like Cordwood to me, is the quintessential definition of
a hero, and the world would be hard pressed to
(08:04):
argue otherwise. But what if no one knew his story?
What if there had been no witnesses to his feats
of courage in the face of danger. After all, it
was his fellow soldiers who reported his actions to their superiors,
not Murphy. The acknowledgment of his actions doesn't qualify him
as a hero, only his actions. He saw a need
(08:27):
in a desperate situation, and he acted. But what about
the soldiers who were with him. They did a noble
and heroic thing just by being there. They all took
an oath to protect and defend our nation and added
up their services, including their own lives, should the task required.
Are they not heroes? Well, I believe they are, along
(08:50):
with anyone else who's before or since, who's taking that
same pledge. I think we can all agree that there
can be no greater measure of commitment than a person
who's willing to sacrifice their life for the common good.
(09:12):
But the definition, remember, isn't just for courage. It's also
an admiration for outstanding achievement. I asked my wife Alexis,
who her hero was and without hesitation, she said, oh
it's you, Brent.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
No, I'm kidding. She didn't say that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
She said, Oh, it's my parents, but especially my mama.
I told her to tell me why, and this was
her answer. She said, when she and dad got married,
she quit college. Then after having two kids, she went
back and finished so we could.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
All have a better life. Now.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I was in elementary school when she started back to school,
and it was hard on us for her being gone,
But it only lasted a little while in the grand
scheme of things, and I learned a valuable lesson from her.
As hard as college was when I went, I had
it easy compared to what she had to do being
(10:07):
married and raising me and my sister. She is an
example of determination and strength. She is my hero. Well,
I couldn't agree more. Alexis Fighting off hordes of enemy
soldiers single handedly is an outstanding achievement, So it was
(10:29):
going back to college while raising a family. Jumping a
five strand barboir fence and strategy is an outstanding achievement.
I saw my buddy Greg Hayes do that one night
when we thought a watermelon farmer was trying to kill us.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
If y'all.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Remember I only jumped four out of the five, and
the one I didn't make it over was the one
that was the most important. Greg left me in this
dust to fend for myself, but in his defense, it
was the first time either of us had been shot at,
and had I had the ability to jump like he did,
I'd have done the same. Besides, someone had to live
(11:04):
to go back and tell the story of what happened.
But what he did was an athletic achievement. What I
did was a demonstration of gravity. The real hero of
that scenario was the farmer who taught us both a
lesson that night, terrible shot heck of a watermelon grower,
(11:24):
not to mention a great fence builder too. Then there
are the folks like Clay Bow and I talked to
a couple of weeks ago, game wardens who go to
work every day to protect our wildlife. There's also other
officers and agents that I've worked with over the years
who eye witnessed putting themselves at risk to keep the
peace and protect lives and property. But I don't place
(11:46):
them above anyone else who sees an issue and addresses it.
It just takes one person to take action and set
the example that's missing from a lot of where we
find ourselves today. In my opinion, take any event historic, dramatic, traumatic,
or otherwise, and the majority of folks that stick around
to see what happens are video and someone else getting
(12:08):
involved with their telephones. Did the advent of the cell
phone turn most into observers? There's obviously still folks getting
involved in taking action, or there wouldn't be anyone to
fee them doing it. But are people really much different
now than back in the day. It seems like the
only folks that get involved in mass these days is
(12:31):
when two folks are fixing them mix it up on
the baseball field. Opposing players start squaring up, and it
looks like a stampede of players running in from every direction.
They're almost always holding the two aggressors back from each
other instead of just letting them duking it out and
getting it over with. You know, if they'd just let
that happen, maybe they wouldn't have had to put that
(12:53):
pitch clock in to speed up the game because fans
were getting bored and turning the channel. Now, if you
want to garner up some interest for your ballgame, let
folks think a fight could break out at any moment,
a real Donnybrook and let them use whatever they're holding
when it does. Folks these days will be tuning in
by the droves if they think they're going to get
(13:14):
to see some cat get drove in the ground like
a tit peg with a bat. If you really want
to speed the game up, give both bat boys a
taser and tell them they can zap anybody they think
it's taking too long. Start the game at four point
thirty and you'll still be able to make it home
in time for supper. Nine inn into baseball one hour,
eighteen minutes. I'm just kidding about all that. Well mostly anyway.
(13:40):
It seems like we've become a population of watchers instead
of doers. And I was as guilty as anyone. I
was digging around on my phone several months ago looking
for some show notes. I'd take it and I swiped
to a page I never paid any attention to, and
there was a graph on there that showed me how
much time I was spending looking at social media for
(14:02):
the love of humanity. That was an eye opener. I
tried to justify some of it in my mind because
social media is a part of my job, and also
I like to keep up with my family and my
friends on there too, But that amount of time shown
on there was ridiculous. At least in my mind. It
was we don't take our eyes off on's in our hands.
(14:23):
We're gonna miss what's going on all around us. If
we miss what's going on all around us, we're gonna
miss the opportunity to act when action is needed. It
doesn't have to be as dramatic as pulling people from
a burning building or saving a person who's falling through
the ice. It could be as simple as helping someone
through a door onto a curb, or just stopping to
(14:47):
say hello. But back to the definition the hero. Another
part of it was to be admired or idealized. Well,
that's pretty easy for me. That's my brother t He
and I have done some ridiculously dumb things together, but
he always does the right thing, and I'll say it
(15:09):
before any Well, so I'm probably the bad influence.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
But he'd rather be at home than anywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
He likes to hear about the places I go and all,
but fan's interest in actually going. If the place where
the activity is more than a day's drive away. But
any place he ever went that I wanted to go,
he'd let me, or he'd make sure he invited me.
Especially when I was young, in more of a hindrance
(15:34):
than an asset, I always had a spot. He showed
interest in me, he made time for me, and he
gave me a mark to shoot for and being a
good person. He's one of the best people I know,
and he treats every one the same. That's something to
be admired and emulated. The big question when I started
(15:56):
way back before I mentioned Audie Murphy or had the
idea yet the issue weapons to bat Boys was what
constitutes a hero? Well, the answer in my mind is
heroes don't have to wear uniforms of any kind or
do anything amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
They just have to show.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Up when the opportunity arises for someone to take action
for good, regardless of the situation or the consequences. If
anyone is around to notice, it could be monumental and
get attention worldwide, or as seemingly insignificant, it's showing compassion
(16:34):
and being kind. Your definition may be different than mine,
and you may not agree with how I look at it,
and that's cool too. Society uses the term hero a lot,
maybe too much these days, I don't know, But that
doesn't mean it doesn't apply. That's for each person to
side on their own and in their own time. Just
(16:55):
don't take too long. You never know where one of
those bat boys with a taser might be. I still
think that's a good idea. It would aangxier speed the
lottery ticket line up at the old convenience store. I
know you want to be a millionaire and not have
worked for it, But all I'm trying to do is
pay for these peanut and m and ms and get
on down the road. Hey have you all checked out
(17:21):
the new Meat Eater podcast network YouTube channel yet?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Well, if you haven't, you ought to.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That reminds me of an old saying that my maternal
grandpa would say whenever he heard someone say you ought
to do something. Here's an example, Finus. My grandpa's name
was Finus. Finus, you ought to move them cows to
the back pastor before the rain. His reply would be
an otter's butt that's slicker than a beaver's. No idea
(17:49):
what that means, but if anyone does, let me know.
But if anybody said he ought to do something regardless
of what it was. That was his response, it's good.
I like it. Also, if you have the time, leave
us a review and share mine and Clay Bow Show
with other folks you think that might like them. It's
a good way to support us. Also, y'all have been
(18:12):
sending in some great stories. We're reading them all in
archiving them for the when the time is right, and
for another project that we're working on. So y'all keep
them coming. Funny stories, poignant stories, stories about the outdoors, mishaps,
close calls.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
They're really good. Y'all keep sending them.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
That's gonna do it for me this week. Try to
stay cool until next week. This is Brent Reeves signing off.
Y'all be careful.
Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves
from cone hunting to trot lighting and just general country living.
I want you to stay a while as I share
my experiences and life lessons. This Country Life is presented
by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you
the best outdoor podcast the airwaves.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Haved off.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
All right, friends, grab a chair or drop that tailgate.
I've got some stories to share Heroes. This week is
a little different than our regular offerings here at This
Country Life. But after celebrating the anniversary of the Declaration
(00:49):
of Independence last week, I got to thinking about all
the folks that are referred to during that time as heroes.
That led me to thinking about the ones referred to
that now and.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Who really qualifies.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
I'm gonna give you my thoughts on it, but first
I'm gonna tell you a story. This story is right
on theme for this week's topic and comes from This
Country Life mailbag. Send in by Jesse Crawford down in
Laurel Hill, Florida. That's in Okaloosa County. Laurel Hill has
(01:27):
a distinction of being the northernmost incorporated city within the
Great State of Florida. If you had a slingshot that
could fling a rock fifty miles. You could stand on
the beach in Destin and hum a rock due north,
and have folks in Laurel Hill rubbed knots on their
heads and ducking for cover, all five hundred and eighty
(01:47):
four of them. I'd like to have me one of them.
But without further delay. In Jesse Crawford's words.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
In my voice, here we go.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
It all started when we had a day off from
school and decided to take my dad's jet ski to
the lake. We were young, but old enough to be
trusted to some degree, and we were taking turns running
around the lake and pulling each other on the tube.
It's normally a busy place for water sports, but today
(02:19):
it was just us and one other boat. After my
buddy and Night had enough, we swapped out and let
the other two fellas ride and just hung out on
the bank. It wasn't long before we see the jet
ski headed back at a high rate of speed, and
as they got closer, I realized that one of my
friends that left on the jet ski was replaced by
(02:41):
a frantic woman that was freaking out so bad you
couldn't understand what she was saying. My buddy yelled for
me to jump on and drive that he would explain
on the trip back out. Apparently the husband was pulling
his wife on a tube and she fell off. He
turned to pick her up and accidentally hammered the throttle
and threw himself self out, And since he didn't wear
(03:02):
his kill switch, the boat was running circles at full throt.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
So we got to try and help the.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Husband, who was being helped to stay afloat by my
friend that was left when the wife that he picked
up was taking the shore. And that's when I realized
we had a big task because this was a very
large man. No matter how hard we tried, there was
just no way to get him on that jet ski.
(03:34):
It kept flipping the three seat jet ski no matter
how hard we tried to counterbalance it. Meanwhile, that boat,
it's still running wide open and making circles, and that's
when I realized what had to be done. We gave
the husband all our life jackets because he was struggling
to stay afloat. At this point, my friend jumps back
(03:56):
on the jet ski with me and we take off
after that boat. Now every two or three circles, that
boat would level out and run straight for a couple
hundred feet. We were terrified, but we timed it out
just right and ran up beside that boat when it
was going straight, and I bailed off into it. I
(04:17):
was so overwhelmed with relieved that I actually got in
the boat. I almost forgot the purpose of being there,
but I took control and I headed back to where
the man was still floating on.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Our life jackets.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Now, after managing to get him back in his boat,
we took it and him back to shore, where his
wife was being looked after by the mts that had
been alerted. They started taking care of him too, and
he tells us that he had just bought the boat
and it was his first time taking it out, and
it would probably be his last. The husband thanked us,
(04:51):
and he tried to give us a water cash he
had in his pocket, but we kept declining over and over.
He tells us that if we weren't there, it would
have cost him a lot more than a little cash.
And he picked up a rock and he placed the
money under it and tells us somebody will find it
if y'all don't take it, and he left and he
(05:12):
left one thousand dollars under that rock, which seemed like
a million bucks to us kids. Anyway, that's my story, y'all,
Stay safe out there. Good night, Nurse Jesse. That's some
straight up mission impossible in James Bond caliber stunt work.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
My friend, y'all saw a need and you took action.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
Nice job, man, and according to Jesse Crawford of Laurel Hill, Florida,
that's just how that happened. Heroes what constitutes or qualifies
(05:58):
someone as a hero? To Webster says, a hero is
a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements,
or noble qualities. On the other hand, it can also
mean a tasty sandwich.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I hear that term thrown around a lot these days,
noticeably to me more often than in times past, and
it got me to wondering if we've got more heroes
now than we used to, or do we just hear
that term because of the information that we get bombarded
with on social media.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Now.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Audie Murphy was a pint sized seventeen year old from
northeast Texas, and he attempted to enlist in the US
military after Japan attacked the United States in December of
nineteen forty one. The Army, the Navy, and the Marine Corps,
all of them turned him down because he was undersized
and underaged. His older sister eventually provided a falsified affidavit
(06:57):
stating his birth date was a year earlier than it
actually was, and after that he was accepted by the
US Army on the thirtieth day of June in nineteen
forty two. Audie Murphy was five feet five and a
half inches tall and he weighed one hundred and twelve
pounds when he enlisted. The M one rifle that he
(07:21):
was issued upon graduating of basic and individual training weighed
nearly a tenth of his own weight at nine and
one half pounds. Murphy would fight the Germans in Europe,
and over the next two and a half years, would
come home as the most decorated soldier of World War II.
(07:42):
He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross,
two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars,
and three Purple Hearts, just to name a few. He
was a one man wrecking crew, stacking up our nation's
enemies like Cordwood to me, is the quintessential definition of
a hero, and the world would be hard pressed to
(08:04):
argue otherwise. But what if no one knew his story?
What if there had been no witnesses to his feats
of courage in the face of danger. After all, it
was his fellow soldiers who reported his actions to their superiors,
not Murphy. The acknowledgment of his actions doesn't qualify him
as a hero, only his actions. He saw a need
(08:27):
in a desperate situation, and he acted. But what about
the soldiers who were with him. They did a noble
and heroic thing just by being there. They all took
an oath to protect and defend our nation and added
up their services, including their own lives, should the task required.
Are they not heroes? Well, I believe they are, along
(08:50):
with anyone else who's before or since, who's taking that
same pledge. I think we can all agree that there
can be no greater measure of commitment than a person
who's willing to sacrifice their life for the common good.
(09:12):
But the definition, remember, isn't just for courage. It's also
an admiration for outstanding achievement. I asked my wife Alexis,
who her hero was and without hesitation, she said, oh
it's you, Brent.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
No, I'm kidding. She didn't say that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
She said, Oh, it's my parents, but especially my mama.
I told her to tell me why, and this was
her answer. She said, when she and dad got married,
she quit college. Then after having two kids, she went
back and finished so we could.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
All have a better life. Now.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
I was in elementary school when she started back to school,
and it was hard on us for her being gone,
But it only lasted a little while in the grand
scheme of things, and I learned a valuable lesson from her.
As hard as college was when I went, I had
it easy compared to what she had to do being
(10:07):
married and raising me and my sister. She is an
example of determination and strength. She is my hero. Well,
I couldn't agree more. Alexis Fighting off hordes of enemy
soldiers single handedly is an outstanding achievement, So it was
(10:29):
going back to college while raising a family. Jumping a
five strand barboir fence and strategy is an outstanding achievement.
I saw my buddy Greg Hayes do that one night
when we thought a watermelon farmer was trying to kill us.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
If y'all.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Remember I only jumped four out of the five, and
the one I didn't make it over was the one
that was the most important. Greg left me in this
dust to fend for myself, but in his defense, it
was the first time either of us had been shot at,
and had I had the ability to jump like he did,
I'd have done the same. Besides, someone had to live
(11:04):
to go back and tell the story of what happened.
But what he did was an athletic achievement. What I
did was a demonstration of gravity. The real hero of
that scenario was the farmer who taught us both a
lesson that night, terrible shot heck of a watermelon grower,
(11:24):
not to mention a great fence builder too. Then there
are the folks like Clay Bow and I talked to
a couple of weeks ago, game wardens who go to
work every day to protect our wildlife. There's also other
officers and agents that I've worked with over the years
who eye witnessed putting themselves at risk to keep the
peace and protect lives and property. But I don't place
(11:46):
them above anyone else who sees an issue and addresses it.
It just takes one person to take action and set
the example that's missing from a lot of where we
find ourselves today. In my opinion, take any event historic, dramatic, traumatic,
or otherwise, and the majority of folks that stick around
to see what happens are video and someone else getting
(12:08):
involved with their telephones. Did the advent of the cell
phone turn most into observers? There's obviously still folks getting
involved in taking action, or there wouldn't be anyone to
fee them doing it. But are people really much different
now than back in the day. It seems like the
only folks that get involved in mass these days is
(12:31):
when two folks are fixing them mix it up on
the baseball field. Opposing players start squaring up, and it
looks like a stampede of players running in from every direction.
They're almost always holding the two aggressors back from each
other instead of just letting them duking it out and
getting it over with. You know, if they'd just let
that happen, maybe they wouldn't have had to put that
(12:53):
pitch clock in to speed up the game because fans
were getting bored and turning the channel. Now, if you
want to garner up some interest for your ballgame, let
folks think a fight could break out at any moment,
a real Donnybrook and let them use whatever they're holding
when it does. Folks these days will be tuning in
by the droves if they think they're going to get
(13:14):
to see some cat get drove in the ground like
a tit peg with a bat. If you really want
to speed the game up, give both bat boys a
taser and tell them they can zap anybody they think
it's taking too long. Start the game at four point
thirty and you'll still be able to make it home
in time for supper. Nine inn into baseball one hour,
eighteen minutes. I'm just kidding about all that. Well mostly anyway.
(13:40):
It seems like we've become a population of watchers instead
of doers. And I was as guilty as anyone. I
was digging around on my phone several months ago looking
for some show notes. I'd take it and I swiped
to a page I never paid any attention to, and
there was a graph on there that showed me how
much time I was spending looking at social media for
(14:02):
the love of humanity. That was an eye opener. I
tried to justify some of it in my mind because
social media is a part of my job, and also
I like to keep up with my family and my
friends on there too, But that amount of time shown
on there was ridiculous. At least in my mind. It
was we don't take our eyes off on's in our hands.
(14:23):
We're gonna miss what's going on all around us. If
we miss what's going on all around us, we're gonna
miss the opportunity to act when action is needed. It
doesn't have to be as dramatic as pulling people from
a burning building or saving a person who's falling through
the ice. It could be as simple as helping someone
through a door onto a curb, or just stopping to
(14:47):
say hello. But back to the definition the hero. Another
part of it was to be admired or idealized. Well,
that's pretty easy for me. That's my brother t He
and I have done some ridiculously dumb things together, but
he always does the right thing, and I'll say it
(15:09):
before any Well, so I'm probably the bad influence.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
But he'd rather be at home than anywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
He likes to hear about the places I go and all,
but fan's interest in actually going. If the place where
the activity is more than a day's drive away. But
any place he ever went that I wanted to go,
he'd let me, or he'd make sure he invited me.
Especially when I was young, in more of a hindrance
(15:34):
than an asset, I always had a spot. He showed
interest in me, he made time for me, and he
gave me a mark to shoot for and being a
good person. He's one of the best people I know,
and he treats every one the same. That's something to
be admired and emulated. The big question when I started
(15:56):
way back before I mentioned Audie Murphy or had the
idea yet the issue weapons to bat Boys was what
constitutes a hero? Well, the answer in my mind is
heroes don't have to wear uniforms of any kind or
do anything amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
They just have to show.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Up when the opportunity arises for someone to take action
for good, regardless of the situation or the consequences. If
anyone is around to notice, it could be monumental and
get attention worldwide, or as seemingly insignificant, it's showing compassion
(16:34):
and being kind. Your definition may be different than mine,
and you may not agree with how I look at it,
and that's cool too. Society uses the term hero a lot,
maybe too much these days, I don't know, But that
doesn't mean it doesn't apply. That's for each person to
side on their own and in their own time. Just
(16:55):
don't take too long. You never know where one of
those bat boys with a taser might be. I still
think that's a good idea. It would aangxier speed the
lottery ticket line up at the old convenience store. I
know you want to be a millionaire and not have
worked for it, But all I'm trying to do is
pay for these peanut and m and ms and get
on down the road. Hey have you all checked out
(17:21):
the new Meat Eater podcast network YouTube channel yet?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Well, if you haven't, you ought to.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That reminds me of an old saying that my maternal
grandpa would say whenever he heard someone say you ought
to do something. Here's an example, Finus. My grandpa's name
was Finus. Finus, you ought to move them cows to
the back pastor before the rain. His reply would be
an otter's butt that's slicker than a beaver's. No idea
(17:49):
what that means, but if anyone does, let me know.
But if anybody said he ought to do something regardless
of what it was. That was his response, it's good.
I like it. Also, if you have the time, leave
us a review and share mine and Clay Bow Show
with other folks you think that might like them. It's
a good way to support us. Also, y'all have been
(18:12):
sending in some great stories. We're reading them all in
archiving them for the when the time is right, and
for another project that we're working on. So y'all keep
them coming. Funny stories, poignant stories, stories about the outdoors, mishaps,
close calls.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
They're really good. Y'all keep sending them.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
That's gonna do it for me this week. Try to
stay cool until next week. This is Brent Reeves signing off.
Y'all be careful.
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