November 22, 2024 • 20 mins
The phrase "country's come to town" has never been more true or descriptive of Brent's latest trip. The consummate country boy spent three days in the middle of New York City with his family. His expectations for discomfort were high but what he found was just the opposite, and even though he was far from Arkansas, it felt very close to home. Brent's in the Big Apple this week on MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast.
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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 coon hunting to trot lining 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 that Airways had off. All right, friends,
(00:28):
grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some
stories to share New York City. I, along with Alexis
and Bailey and her best pals and dance team members,
along with their parents who have become just like family,
(00:50):
traveled to New York City for three days and we
all made it back home alive, none the worse for wear.
There's so much to talk about that with the story
this week, it's going to be the whole show, everything
from start to finish and all the goodies in between.
Its Country comes to town, and I'm fixing to tell
(01:11):
you all about it. It was an easy decision six
months ago when my wife Alexis told me that she
and some of the other competition dance moms were kicking
around the idea of taking the girls to New York
City to see the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall,
(01:35):
stay two or three nights and come home. Well, even
I've heard of the Rocketts and Radio City Music Hall.
I've been watching them dance on my television on Thanksgiving
Day in front of the Macy's department store of my
whole life. I'm also not one to sit back and
miss an opportunity to watch one of my youngins experience
the biggest trip of her life so far without me.
(02:00):
They were going to New York City, and I wasn't
about to let them go without me, going for protection.
They planned for six months and broke the news to
me the day before we left that we weren't checking
any bags. Everything we'd be taking with us had to
fit into two carry ons. Now, the idea was good,
(02:20):
less luggage, less items to keep up with, and the
amount of stuff that Alexis and Bailey take with them
on a daily basis would be the less room they'd
have to bring stuff back with them. That's going to
save yours truly some money in the long run, and
I liked the idea. But with anything, there's give and take,
and giving up checked baggage came in a personal cost
(02:43):
for me. That meant for three days i'd be without
either of my pocket knives, and I can't tell you
how many times I patted my pockets on that trip
looking for the knives that weren't there. Just out of habit,
my brother Tim quit smoking, and I still see him
reach for the pack of smokes that hasn't been in
(03:03):
the bib pocket of his overalls for over twenty years.
I'm sure that seems silly to some or the majority
of you listening, but to me, giving up those pocket
knives was giving up a part of who I am. Also,
it samed like I needed an forty seven times before
we got back home, and when we walked through the
door last night at eight point thirty, I put them
(03:27):
both in my breeches before I took off my boots.
I am a toddler, and those case knives they are
my blanket. But before we left, I could see the
excitement building as we made our way to the airport
an hour before daylight and Bailey realizing that we were
(03:47):
actually going to go. We boarded the plane with eight
adults and nine kids, ranging in age from eighteen to eight,
plus an infant, and we brought the same number back.
The experience was unlike anything I could have ever imagined.
I've been jaded by the news, by reputation, and by
(04:07):
the stigma of what everyone else's opinion was about New
York City. Even the people I know from the state
of New York told me not to judge the rest
of the state by what I saw and experience there.
I prepared myself to be disappointed, mad, and uneasy for
the next three days, head on a swivel, ever, vigilant
(04:29):
and ready for anything, which is how I lived my
life regardless where I am, so transitioning from Arkansas to
New York was really only a matter of geography. After
a fog delay in Little Rock, we flew to Charlotte,
North Carolina, and caught our connecting flight with plenty of
time to spare, and stepped off the plane in New
(04:51):
York right on schedule. We'd arranged for two large passenger
vans to pick us up at LaGuardia Airport, and they
were their waiting on us when we walked outside. The
eight mile trip to the hotel took forty five minutes.
In that span of time, my life flashed before my
eyes a half a dozen times as our driver negotiated
(05:12):
through traffic that was bumper to bumper and filled with
a cacophony of blowing horns and motor noise. Now, I
can't remember the last time I used a horn on
my truck for anything other than to scare Alexis or
Bailey when they walk in front of me. Folks in
New York, they have mastered the art. Before I went
(05:32):
to bed that night, I could speak the language of
the New York City horn. Some are even like a
polite excuse me, I'm changing lands, or look out, I
need to back this truck up or go ahead. It's
your turn and the easily understandable. If you don't move,
I'm going to show you the FEND number on my
transmission as I run you over. I'm pretty sure I
(05:54):
heard that horn the most. But we made our way
into the city. We drove through a hundle under the
Hudson River. There were no leaks, Detective, trust me a look.
We entered the business district and passed a man who
was talking to himself while peeing in a planter on
the sidewalk from the front of a store. People walked
past him while he wasn't even there, and he continued
(06:15):
his business as if they weren't either. That was interesting.
Before the trail was over, I'd find out how that
cat got in that predicament. You don't just walk in
a store and ask to use a bathroom, and being
a customer won't automatically qualify you for the outhouse privileges either.
(06:35):
Some of the fast food and mom and pop places
had codes on the receipts to a combination lock on
the bathroom doors, and some folks wouldn't let you use
the bathroom for any reason. That was new new to
me anyway, But I get it. You don't want your
business turned into a sanctuary for bathroom breaks. But here's
(06:56):
a New York City life hack for you. Find a
Starbucks and you'll find a bathroom you can use without
making a purchase. New York City Life Hacked Number two.
Make sure your tetanus shot is up to date before
you go in any public bathroom. M M. That evening,
after checking in, we left the Inner Continental Hotel and
(07:18):
walked over to Times Square, which, by the way, ain't square.
I'd always assumed it was, and like most things you assume,
I'd always been wrong. It wasn't as big as I
thought it'd be, and there was way more going on
there than I could have ever imagined. Alexis had been
there with her parents for the New Year's Eve celebration
(07:40):
back when she was in high school. She told me
stories about what she saw there, and I knew in
my heart she was trying to prepare me for what
I was about to see, and she did a pretty
good job. The sites were a little overwhelming, but not bad.
But what I wasn't ready for was the noise. It
was relentless and unending, not in a terrible way. I mean,
(08:01):
I wasn't laying down on the sidewalk rolling around and
holding my ears, mainly because I didn't want to get
stepped on by the massive folks walking around just like
me looking up at the tall buildings instead of where
they were stepping. Also, I wasn't sure where the mad
peer was going to strike next. Sounds were under ending
(08:22):
and they lasted twenty four to seven. The smells are
pretty unique, like a combination of exhaust fumes and street
vendor food and whatever was steaming up from those manhole
covers out in the street, just like you see on
the TV. Rockefeller Center was our next stop after walking
through Times Square, and everyone except for a couple of
(08:43):
us strapped on a pair of ice skates and started
making lamps. I abstained and chose to remain ambulatory, while
those who didn't risk injury and ridicule. I confess it
looked like fun for those in our group who had
moved about on the ice the majority of the I'm
on their skates. But for someone whose grace has been
described as being like Ray Charles trying to walk through
(09:05):
a punkin Patch, I believe I chose wisely by remaining
in the gallery. After a while, I walked in a
fancy store next to the skating rink. There were shoes
and purses and jewelry and clothes spaced out in there,
and the lady welcomed me with a big smile and saying,
(09:28):
welcome to New York. How does she know? I wasn't
from there. She was nice, and we visited for quite
a while, and she had a real customer come up,
and I stepped aside and eventually back out the door.
That night, for supper, we dined on authentic New York
pizza at a place called John's pizzeriha of Times Square.
(09:51):
It was recommended to me, but my good friend colleague
and showed enough, born, bred, and highly decorated veteran of
all things New York's city, Krin Snyder. Krin's bona fides
read like a laundry list of requirements to even apply
for the title of native New Yorker. That food was good,
(10:12):
and if you order a small pizza, to be prepared
to tote some home, because that joker is as big
as a wagon wheel. Thank you. Karen. Well laid down
that night on the tenth floor of the hotel and
watched out the window as all the lights and the
cars and the sirens and the racket continued NonStop. It
(10:32):
wasn't it wasn't loud, you know, by any means. It
was just a constant music bed, if you will. For
the live episode, we were all starting in as visitors
to that strange world. I asked Alexis to pull the
curtains before before we cut the light out. She said,
we are to leave them, leave them open to be
able to see the skylighting all the pretty lights. Negative
(10:55):
there might be a sniper out there. She rolled her
eyes at me. She said, you're crazy. There no sniper
right there, And I said, oh yeah, you know who?
Else said that, and she said who. I told her,
everyone that's ever left the curtains open and gotten shot
by a sniper, that's who. The next morning, I was
on the street early and we slipped over to a
place and had some breakfast. Not a lot of folks
(11:16):
on the street early in the morning, that was something
I wasn't expecting. Traffic was light, and the noise was
still there, but just at lesser decibels. The big signs
on Times Square still lit up, but there was only
a few people talking at her. This was the day
that we'd come for, the day that the big show
at Radio City Music Hall, the day we would get
(11:39):
a behind the scenes tour and our young dancers would
meet a real dancer from the Rockets. We toured through
the back halls and stairways with a guy who went
into intricate details about the building and its history that
I found very interesting, and our girls saw as just
one more hurdle to get to the whole point of
the trip to meet a real rocket. Then the appointed
(12:05):
time arrived, We waited in a small room with a
decorated wall that would serve as the backdrop when picture
taking time arrived. The girls were all giggling, watching the
door that had a big gold star hanging on it,
and the tour guide asked the girls if they were ready,
and I said, yes, ma'am at the same time most
of them did. She knocked on the door, and a
(12:29):
painstakingly few seconds later, outwalked a real live rocket. She
asked the girls, who stared at her, grinning like Jackie lanterns,
if they had any questions, and I thought, here it
is the moment. I figured they'd all start at once,
just machine gun and questions faster than she could hear
much less answer, and not one child uttered the sound.
(12:54):
They just stood there looking at her and smiling. It
was worth every penny and every moment of that trip
to just see them seeing her. We got the pictures,
took said our goodbyes, and eventually found our seats where
we'd watch The Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockets,
(13:15):
a show that has segments performed the same way since
it opened on December twenty first, nineteen to thirty three.
Now I'm not sure who enjoyed it more the kids
are the adults, But I'd go tonight and I'd watch
it all again. We saw a lot of things, and
we did a lot of things while we were there.
(13:37):
We rode a subway, and I can check that off
the list. It was my least enjoyable experience of the
entire trip, and the patience of those folks that do
that every day is beyond my comprehension. I kept expecting
people to be rude and obnoxious and act act like
the way they're portrayed in the old black and white
movies that Alexis now watch all the time. I didn't
(14:00):
find that to be the case at all. If I'd
been them and had some joker that talked like me,
who was oblivious to every protocol known to them as
being second nature, I couldn't say I wouldn't have behaved
like the old movies, but they didn't. The last morning
we were there, I got up early and I went
out by myself. The girls were still sound asleep and
(14:22):
there was no agenda for the group, and I picked
a diner for coffee from Google and I headed down
the street just me. In the early Tuesday morning in
New York, I turned west away from Times Square and
walked a half a block away, turned the corner, and
a man welcomed me to the West Wade Diner. A
(14:44):
lady with a beautiful accent named Bianca showed me to
a table and brought me some coffee. There weren't many
people in there yet. Folks were walking past the big
front window that had a Thanksgiving turcy paated on it
like they were on a mission. Most of them dressed
for work, kids dressed for school. Two blocks away from
(15:04):
Times Square was a different world that seemed far removed
from the hustle and bustle of the endless sea of people.
Sitting across from me was a young man and his
grandmother two tables away. She was tiny and surprised. She
watched him with pride while he told her about his
latest adventures. It made me miss my grandmother and the
(15:25):
way she looked at me when I told her a
story about something I'd done playing football, or a deer
or a turkey that i'd killed, and she'd just brag
on me to me, telling me how good I'd done,
while actually understanding the fraction of what I was telling her,
but you'd never known it. That was the look that
(15:45):
she gave him, that looked that I had seen from
my own grandmother. And I took their picture without them
sining I didn't really have to. I don't think I'll
ever forget that moment. While I sat there alone and
joined my breakfast and a cup of coffee in the city,
I never dreamed that visit and watching what could have
taken place in my grandmother's house, or at any grandmother's
(16:07):
house anywhere in the world. That's what I learned from
this trip, and something that I preached constantly, how in
spite of all our differences, we really are a whole
lot more alike, and we think and certainly more than
I thought. The nine one one Nomore was something every
(16:28):
American should see and experience. It was a very humbling
and moving place, and the events and the sacrifices of
that day should never be forgotten, softened by time, or
relegated as a footnote in history. It was the only
place in the city where I didn't hear the noises
I heard everywhere else, At least I didn't notice them.
(16:52):
The area where the tower stood was smaller than I imagined
it would be. I'd walked away from our group, lost
in thought, and I talked talked with a young man
who worked there, and he just out of the blue
asked me if I was a policeman, and I said, yes,
I used to be, and he smiled and he said
thank you, and he caught me off guard for the
(17:16):
first time since I got there. I wasn't expecting that.
I shook his hand, and I suddenly found it very
hard to talk. It's hard for me to tell the
story now, but I just nodded to him and I
had to walk away. I'm sitting here today, less than
twenty four hours from getting back home, thinking about all
(17:38):
I did there, and the silence is deafening, and my
ears are still either ringing from the din of the
city or the sound of silence is a real thing.
I ran into Caleb Hubbard on the streets of New
York City, who was traveling with his wife from southern
California on vacation. Caleb listens to this country life. He
(18:00):
got my attention by saying, Brent, is that you Yep,
that's me. We had a good visit, and I appreciated
him saying something to me. The reach of the show
is beyond anything I could have ever imagined, and all
the credit goes to y'all who listen and share it
with your friends and family and anyone you think would
(18:22):
enjoy it. Now, if that wasn't enough, While waiting on
our flight home, I see a meat eater logo T
shirt walking toward me in the Laquardia Airport. Randy Ballard
is a native of Peaster, Texas and of this country
life listener himself. We had a good conversation, and believe
(18:42):
it or not, a lady in our group, Miss Cassie Burns,
graduated from the same high school that Randy did in
Northeast Texas. Get off that phone and look around you.
We're missing no telling how many opportunities a day to
make a connection with someone. Well, Randy sent me a
message today and said his palace didn't believe him when
(19:05):
he told him that he ran into me at the airport. Well,
Randy's friends, if Randy tells you a rooster dip snuff,
you don't have to wait until he spits to believe
what he says. You know that grandmother and their grandson,
and Caleb and Randy and there are all examples of
how folks from different parts of this great country of
(19:27):
ours all have common interest and things that should bring
us closer together rather than push us further apart. We're
really not that different. Some of y'all just talked that way.
Thank y'all so much for listening to me and Claybow
here on the Bear Grease Channel. And until next week,
this is Brent Reeves sign it off. Y'all be careful
(20:00):
in
Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves.
From coon hunting to trot lining 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 that Airways had off. All right, friends,
(00:28):
grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some
stories to share New York City. I, along with Alexis
and Bailey and her best pals and dance team members,
along with their parents who have become just like family,
(00:50):
traveled to New York City for three days and we
all made it back home alive, none the worse for wear.
There's so much to talk about that with the story
this week, it's going to be the whole show, everything
from start to finish and all the goodies in between.
Its Country comes to town, and I'm fixing to tell
(01:11):
you all about it. It was an easy decision six
months ago when my wife Alexis told me that she
and some of the other competition dance moms were kicking
around the idea of taking the girls to New York
City to see the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall,
(01:35):
stay two or three nights and come home. Well, even
I've heard of the Rocketts and Radio City Music Hall.
I've been watching them dance on my television on Thanksgiving
Day in front of the Macy's department store of my
whole life. I'm also not one to sit back and
miss an opportunity to watch one of my youngins experience
the biggest trip of her life so far without me.
(02:00):
They were going to New York City, and I wasn't
about to let them go without me, going for protection.
They planned for six months and broke the news to
me the day before we left that we weren't checking
any bags. Everything we'd be taking with us had to
fit into two carry ons. Now, the idea was good,
(02:20):
less luggage, less items to keep up with, and the
amount of stuff that Alexis and Bailey take with them
on a daily basis would be the less room they'd
have to bring stuff back with them. That's going to
save yours truly some money in the long run, and
I liked the idea. But with anything, there's give and take,
and giving up checked baggage came in a personal cost
(02:43):
for me. That meant for three days i'd be without
either of my pocket knives, and I can't tell you
how many times I patted my pockets on that trip
looking for the knives that weren't there. Just out of habit,
my brother Tim quit smoking, and I still see him
reach for the pack of smokes that hasn't been in
(03:03):
the bib pocket of his overalls for over twenty years.
I'm sure that seems silly to some or the majority
of you listening, but to me, giving up those pocket
knives was giving up a part of who I am. Also,
it samed like I needed an forty seven times before
we got back home, and when we walked through the
door last night at eight point thirty, I put them
(03:27):
both in my breeches before I took off my boots.
I am a toddler, and those case knives they are
my blanket. But before we left, I could see the
excitement building as we made our way to the airport
an hour before daylight and Bailey realizing that we were
(03:47):
actually going to go. We boarded the plane with eight
adults and nine kids, ranging in age from eighteen to eight,
plus an infant, and we brought the same number back.
The experience was unlike anything I could have ever imagined.
I've been jaded by the news, by reputation, and by
(04:07):
the stigma of what everyone else's opinion was about New
York City. Even the people I know from the state
of New York told me not to judge the rest
of the state by what I saw and experience there.
I prepared myself to be disappointed, mad, and uneasy for
the next three days, head on a swivel, ever, vigilant
(04:29):
and ready for anything, which is how I lived my
life regardless where I am, so transitioning from Arkansas to
New York was really only a matter of geography. After
a fog delay in Little Rock, we flew to Charlotte,
North Carolina, and caught our connecting flight with plenty of
time to spare, and stepped off the plane in New
(04:51):
York right on schedule. We'd arranged for two large passenger
vans to pick us up at LaGuardia Airport, and they
were their waiting on us when we walked outside. The
eight mile trip to the hotel took forty five minutes.
In that span of time, my life flashed before my
eyes a half a dozen times as our driver negotiated
(05:12):
through traffic that was bumper to bumper and filled with
a cacophony of blowing horns and motor noise. Now, I
can't remember the last time I used a horn on
my truck for anything other than to scare Alexis or
Bailey when they walk in front of me. Folks in
New York, they have mastered the art. Before I went
(05:32):
to bed that night, I could speak the language of
the New York City horn. Some are even like a
polite excuse me, I'm changing lands, or look out, I
need to back this truck up or go ahead. It's
your turn and the easily understandable. If you don't move,
I'm going to show you the FEND number on my
transmission as I run you over. I'm pretty sure I
(05:54):
heard that horn the most. But we made our way
into the city. We drove through a hundle under the
Hudson River. There were no leaks, Detective, trust me a look.
We entered the business district and passed a man who
was talking to himself while peeing in a planter on
the sidewalk from the front of a store. People walked
past him while he wasn't even there, and he continued
(06:15):
his business as if they weren't either. That was interesting.
Before the trail was over, I'd find out how that
cat got in that predicament. You don't just walk in
a store and ask to use a bathroom, and being
a customer won't automatically qualify you for the outhouse privileges either.
(06:35):
Some of the fast food and mom and pop places
had codes on the receipts to a combination lock on
the bathroom doors, and some folks wouldn't let you use
the bathroom for any reason. That was new new to
me anyway, But I get it. You don't want your
business turned into a sanctuary for bathroom breaks. But here's
(06:56):
a New York City life hack for you. Find a
Starbucks and you'll find a bathroom you can use without
making a purchase. New York City Life Hacked Number two.
Make sure your tetanus shot is up to date before
you go in any public bathroom. M M. That evening,
after checking in, we left the Inner Continental Hotel and
(07:18):
walked over to Times Square, which, by the way, ain't square.
I'd always assumed it was, and like most things you assume,
I'd always been wrong. It wasn't as big as I
thought it'd be, and there was way more going on
there than I could have ever imagined. Alexis had been
there with her parents for the New Year's Eve celebration
(07:40):
back when she was in high school. She told me
stories about what she saw there, and I knew in
my heart she was trying to prepare me for what
I was about to see, and she did a pretty
good job. The sites were a little overwhelming, but not bad.
But what I wasn't ready for was the noise. It
was relentless and unending, not in a terrible way. I mean,
(08:01):
I wasn't laying down on the sidewalk rolling around and
holding my ears, mainly because I didn't want to get
stepped on by the massive folks walking around just like
me looking up at the tall buildings instead of where
they were stepping. Also, I wasn't sure where the mad
peer was going to strike next. Sounds were under ending
(08:22):
and they lasted twenty four to seven. The smells are
pretty unique, like a combination of exhaust fumes and street
vendor food and whatever was steaming up from those manhole
covers out in the street, just like you see on
the TV. Rockefeller Center was our next stop after walking
through Times Square, and everyone except for a couple of
(08:43):
us strapped on a pair of ice skates and started
making lamps. I abstained and chose to remain ambulatory, while
those who didn't risk injury and ridicule. I confess it
looked like fun for those in our group who had
moved about on the ice the majority of the I'm
on their skates. But for someone whose grace has been
described as being like Ray Charles trying to walk through
(09:05):
a punkin Patch, I believe I chose wisely by remaining
in the gallery. After a while, I walked in a
fancy store next to the skating rink. There were shoes
and purses and jewelry and clothes spaced out in there,
and the lady welcomed me with a big smile and saying,
(09:28):
welcome to New York. How does she know? I wasn't
from there. She was nice, and we visited for quite
a while, and she had a real customer come up,
and I stepped aside and eventually back out the door.
That night, for supper, we dined on authentic New York
pizza at a place called John's pizzeriha of Times Square.
(09:51):
It was recommended to me, but my good friend colleague
and showed enough, born, bred, and highly decorated veteran of
all things New York's city, Krin Snyder. Krin's bona fides
read like a laundry list of requirements to even apply
for the title of native New Yorker. That food was good,
(10:12):
and if you order a small pizza, to be prepared
to tote some home, because that joker is as big
as a wagon wheel. Thank you. Karen. Well laid down
that night on the tenth floor of the hotel and
watched out the window as all the lights and the
cars and the sirens and the racket continued NonStop. It
(10:32):
wasn't it wasn't loud, you know, by any means. It
was just a constant music bed, if you will. For
the live episode, we were all starting in as visitors
to that strange world. I asked Alexis to pull the
curtains before before we cut the light out. She said,
we are to leave them, leave them open to be
able to see the skylighting all the pretty lights. Negative
(10:55):
there might be a sniper out there. She rolled her
eyes at me. She said, you're crazy. There no sniper
right there, And I said, oh yeah, you know who?
Else said that, and she said who. I told her,
everyone that's ever left the curtains open and gotten shot
by a sniper, that's who. The next morning, I was
on the street early and we slipped over to a
place and had some breakfast. Not a lot of folks
(11:16):
on the street early in the morning, that was something
I wasn't expecting. Traffic was light, and the noise was
still there, but just at lesser decibels. The big signs
on Times Square still lit up, but there was only
a few people talking at her. This was the day
that we'd come for, the day that the big show
at Radio City Music Hall, the day we would get
(11:39):
a behind the scenes tour and our young dancers would
meet a real dancer from the Rockets. We toured through
the back halls and stairways with a guy who went
into intricate details about the building and its history that
I found very interesting, and our girls saw as just
one more hurdle to get to the whole point of
the trip to meet a real rocket. Then the appointed
(12:05):
time arrived, We waited in a small room with a
decorated wall that would serve as the backdrop when picture
taking time arrived. The girls were all giggling, watching the
door that had a big gold star hanging on it,
and the tour guide asked the girls if they were ready,
and I said, yes, ma'am at the same time most
of them did. She knocked on the door, and a
(12:29):
painstakingly few seconds later, outwalked a real live rocket. She
asked the girls, who stared at her, grinning like Jackie lanterns,
if they had any questions, and I thought, here it
is the moment. I figured they'd all start at once,
just machine gun and questions faster than she could hear
much less answer, and not one child uttered the sound.
(12:54):
They just stood there looking at her and smiling. It
was worth every penny and every moment of that trip
to just see them seeing her. We got the pictures,
took said our goodbyes, and eventually found our seats where
we'd watch The Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockets,
(13:15):
a show that has segments performed the same way since
it opened on December twenty first, nineteen to thirty three.
Now I'm not sure who enjoyed it more the kids
are the adults, But I'd go tonight and I'd watch
it all again. We saw a lot of things, and
we did a lot of things while we were there.
(13:37):
We rode a subway, and I can check that off
the list. It was my least enjoyable experience of the
entire trip, and the patience of those folks that do
that every day is beyond my comprehension. I kept expecting
people to be rude and obnoxious and act act like
the way they're portrayed in the old black and white
movies that Alexis now watch all the time. I didn't
(14:00):
find that to be the case at all. If I'd
been them and had some joker that talked like me,
who was oblivious to every protocol known to them as
being second nature, I couldn't say I wouldn't have behaved
like the old movies, but they didn't. The last morning
we were there, I got up early and I went
out by myself. The girls were still sound asleep and
(14:22):
there was no agenda for the group, and I picked
a diner for coffee from Google and I headed down
the street just me. In the early Tuesday morning in
New York, I turned west away from Times Square and
walked a half a block away, turned the corner, and
a man welcomed me to the West Wade Diner. A
(14:44):
lady with a beautiful accent named Bianca showed me to
a table and brought me some coffee. There weren't many
people in there yet. Folks were walking past the big
front window that had a Thanksgiving turcy paated on it
like they were on a mission. Most of them dressed
for work, kids dressed for school. Two blocks away from
(15:04):
Times Square was a different world that seemed far removed
from the hustle and bustle of the endless sea of people.
Sitting across from me was a young man and his
grandmother two tables away. She was tiny and surprised. She
watched him with pride while he told her about his
latest adventures. It made me miss my grandmother and the
(15:25):
way she looked at me when I told her a
story about something I'd done playing football, or a deer
or a turkey that i'd killed, and she'd just brag
on me to me, telling me how good I'd done,
while actually understanding the fraction of what I was telling her,
but you'd never known it. That was the look that
(15:45):
she gave him, that looked that I had seen from
my own grandmother. And I took their picture without them
sining I didn't really have to. I don't think I'll
ever forget that moment. While I sat there alone and
joined my breakfast and a cup of coffee in the city,
I never dreamed that visit and watching what could have
taken place in my grandmother's house, or at any grandmother's
(16:07):
house anywhere in the world. That's what I learned from
this trip, and something that I preached constantly, how in
spite of all our differences, we really are a whole
lot more alike, and we think and certainly more than
I thought. The nine one one Nomore was something every
(16:28):
American should see and experience. It was a very humbling
and moving place, and the events and the sacrifices of
that day should never be forgotten, softened by time, or
relegated as a footnote in history. It was the only
place in the city where I didn't hear the noises
I heard everywhere else, At least I didn't notice them.
(16:52):
The area where the tower stood was smaller than I imagined
it would be. I'd walked away from our group, lost
in thought, and I talked talked with a young man
who worked there, and he just out of the blue
asked me if I was a policeman, and I said, yes,
I used to be, and he smiled and he said
thank you, and he caught me off guard for the
(17:16):
first time since I got there. I wasn't expecting that.
I shook his hand, and I suddenly found it very
hard to talk. It's hard for me to tell the
story now, but I just nodded to him and I
had to walk away. I'm sitting here today, less than
twenty four hours from getting back home, thinking about all
(17:38):
I did there, and the silence is deafening, and my
ears are still either ringing from the din of the
city or the sound of silence is a real thing.
I ran into Caleb Hubbard on the streets of New
York City, who was traveling with his wife from southern
California on vacation. Caleb listens to this country life. He
(18:00):
got my attention by saying, Brent, is that you Yep,
that's me. We had a good visit, and I appreciated
him saying something to me. The reach of the show
is beyond anything I could have ever imagined, and all
the credit goes to y'all who listen and share it
with your friends and family and anyone you think would
(18:22):
enjoy it. Now, if that wasn't enough, While waiting on
our flight home, I see a meat eater logo T
shirt walking toward me in the Laquardia Airport. Randy Ballard
is a native of Peaster, Texas and of this country
life listener himself. We had a good conversation, and believe
(18:42):
it or not, a lady in our group, Miss Cassie Burns,
graduated from the same high school that Randy did in
Northeast Texas. Get off that phone and look around you.
We're missing no telling how many opportunities a day to
make a connection with someone. Well, Randy sent me a
message today and said his palace didn't believe him when
(19:05):
he told him that he ran into me at the airport. Well,
Randy's friends, if Randy tells you a rooster dip snuff,
you don't have to wait until he spits to believe
what he says. You know that grandmother and their grandson,
and Caleb and Randy and there are all examples of
how folks from different parts of this great country of
(19:27):
ours all have common interest and things that should bring
us closer together rather than push us further apart. We're
really not that different. Some of y'all just talked that way.
Thank y'all so much for listening to me and Claybow
here on the Bear Grease Channel. And until next week,
this is Brent Reeves sign it off. Y'all be careful
(20:00):
in
Host
Clay Newcomb
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