1. Reality?Copy !req
2. You mean
this is the real world?Copy !req
3. Huh?Copy !req
4. I never thought of that.Copy !req
5. My mother and I,
we had a house in Chicago.Copy !req
6. We figured, well...Copy !req
7. we'd get out of there, you know,
while the getting's good.Copy !req
8. And so then
when I got to Vernon...Copy !req
9. well, I called up
these real-estate people.Copy !req
10. They sent me
their phone number.Copy !req
11. So then I seen a picture.Copy !req
12. Well, the property was $2,200.
Of course...Copy !req
13. they claim it was too much.Copy !req
14. But, well, it wasn't too good.Copy !req
15. It wasn't a castle, you know.Copy !req
16. But it was a house, you know.
Five lots.Copy !req
17. So, okay, bought it.Copy !req
18. Had a mortgage for four years,
paid off...Copy !req
19. and so I don't have
to pay no rent, see?Copy !req
20. No taxes.Copy !req
21. Old age.Copy !req
22. No taxes.Copy !req
23. You got to like outdoor sports.Copy !req
24. And I've always loved it.Copy !req
25. Especially turkey hunting.Copy !req
26. I killed my first turkey
when I was 10 years old.Copy !req
27. I can't tell you
how many I've killed...Copy !req
28. but I've killed a lot of 'em.Copy !req
29. I run a business. I close the business
down if I have to to go turkey hunting.Copy !req
30. It's just something I like.
It's just in me.Copy !req
31. I can't tell you how I feel.Copy !req
32. It's just a hell of a sport,
that's all.Copy !req
33. Sometimes you can be
standing around...Copy !req
34. and hear one jar the ground.Copy !req
35. And you just look
at the roads, the fire trails...Copy !req
36. until you pick up fresh tracks,
and you know which way he's going.Copy !req
37. You just go to that area...Copy !req
38. stop, listen,
and hope that you hear one.Copy !req
39. Sometime they gobble
quite often early.Copy !req
40. And sometime
it's five, 10, 15 minutes.Copy !req
41. And later on in the morning,
sometime it's every 30 minutes.Copy !req
42. You just can't tell.Copy !req
43. They a smart bird.Copy !req
44. The smartest we got
in this country.Copy !req
45. See, we spend time like this
day in and day out...Copy !req
46. day in and day out,
not hearing nothing.Copy !req
47. But you know they're here.Copy !req
48. I sent 'em two checks.
One check for $12...Copy !req
49. a three-year membership -Copy !req
50. And three dollars' insurance.Copy !req
51. So I waited ab- I don't know,
I waited a month or longer...Copy !req
52. and I didn't get
no answer from 'em.Copy !req
53. So then I had this lady
copy the checks...Copy !req
54. you know, on a copier.Copy !req
55. So then I sent
the copies to them...Copy !req
56. and now they sent me
the jewel, see?Copy !req
57. I don't know if the jewel
is genuine or not. Take a look.Copy !req
58. I don't know
what I'm looking for.Copy !req
59. I don't know.
What does a jeweler look for?Copy !req
60. You know, those guys,
when you go into a jewelry store...Copy !req
61. and if you want something examined,
they look through a lens?Copy !req
62. And what are they looking for?Copy !req
63. If you ask 'em, they'd go -Copy !req
64. You ever seen a man's brains?Copy !req
65. I've seen 'em.
I've picked 'em up, scooped 'em up...Copy !req
66. and put 'em in -
do them up like brains -Copy !req
67. you're buying brains.Copy !req
68. But there's a bowl right here,
and there's a bowl here.Copy !req
69. There's a bowl here
and a bowl there.Copy !req
70. Now, they're connected
to the spine.Copy !req
71. The spine goes
down the backbone.Copy !req
72. And, uh, if all four...Copy !req
73. of these, uh...Copy !req
74. bowls or brains, if all four
of 'em is functioning, you can -Copy !req
75. You are not a one-track mind.
You're a four-track mind.Copy !req
76. And you can - You can -Copy !req
77. I've seen a lot of folks.
They could type...Copy !req
78. one letter -Copy !req
79. Write me a letter and you a letter
on a typing machine...Copy !req
80. and writing one way
with this hand -Copy !req
81. writing your letter with this hand
and my letter with that.Copy !req
82. And I can take a pencil
and sit down...Copy !req
83. and write "cat shit" with this hand...Copy !req
84. and "dog shit" with that one...Copy !req
85. at the same time.Copy !req
86. Two pencils.Copy !req
87. I've done that lots of times.Copy !req
88. These brains -Copy !req
89. Now, what I was -
what I was telling you -Copy !req
90. I can't stand up...Copy !req
91. I don't believe,
without propping against something.Copy !req
92. It gets me out of balance.Copy !req
93. I got to get something.Copy !req
94. You run one -
Now, if you ain't got that -Copy !req
95. and I've often,
all over this town...Copy !req
96. time and again, pointed it out,
see if anybody could do it.Copy !req
97. If you run that foot
in a circle this way...Copy !req
98. and then your hand
right the other way...Copy !req
99. then just pick up your pistol
and keep wiggling your arm...Copy !req
100. and singing a song.Copy !req
101. That's four -
in other words, that's five things.Copy !req
102. That's five things
I can do on this -Copy !req
103. on one,
with this old knot up here.Copy !req
104. Looks okay.Copy !req
105. - Looks pretty close.
- Huh?Copy !req
106. You're close. You're right on it.
Right between 'em.Copy !req
107. I don't know if this is where
the valve stem was yellow.Copy !req
108. That's a good tire.Copy !req
109. Vernon 30 to Control.Copy !req
110. Go ahead.Copy !req
111. Quincy, can you give me
the correct 10-36?Copy !req
112. By my watch,
it's heading to 17:31.Copy !req
113. That's a big 10-4.
Appreciate it.Copy !req
114. We don't have too much traffic
coming through now.Copy !req
115. Sit and watch 'em come shooting
off the end of that bridge a little bit.Copy !req
116. About the only thing I do
this time of day. I just...Copy !req
117. sit around and wait.Copy !req
118. You have to do this in a hurry...Copy !req
119. 'cause you gonna cover
several places at one time.Copy !req
120. Not at one time, but...Copy !req
121. as quick as you can,
'cause they gobble better...Copy !req
122. earlier part of the morning.Copy !req
123. The later in the morning it get,
the less they gobble.Copy !req
124. So you usually -
you usually kill by...Copy !req
125. oh, 6:00, 7:00 at the latest.Copy !req
126. There's been a lot killed
after that, but...Copy !req
127. that's the cream of the huntin' -Copy !req
128. from daylight to 6:00, 7:00.Copy !req
129. And he's looking
for a fresh track now.Copy !req
130. And if he finds a fresh track...Copy !req
131. he'll stop, listen,
and go in on it.Copy !req
132. That's what he's doing -
walking and listening right now.Copy !req
133. Looking for a fresh sign
that's crossed the graded road.Copy !req
134. Where there's smoke,
there's fire, you know.Copy !req
135. You find a fresh track,
you know there's a gobbler there...Copy !req
136. 'cause this is
a prime area for turkey.Copy !req
137. Look how that one's
bogged down there.Copy !req
138. Bogged an inch deep
there in that dirt.Copy !req
139. He weigh 18, 20 pounds.
Look at the size of the track.Copy !req
140. Look how he's bogging up
that hard dirt.Copy !req
141. He probably crossed there
late yesterday afternoon...Copy !req
142. and roosted right back down here
in these woods.Copy !req
143. And if he's got a hen with him,
it's very hard to call him away.Copy !req
144. You can believe that.Copy !req
145. Anybody that'll tell you they can
call a gobbler away...Copy !req
146. from a pack of hens,
just anytime -Copy !req
147. Did you hear that?Copy !req
148. Sounds almost like a turkey gobbling,
but it's not.Copy !req
149. It's one of them
big woodpeckers pecking.Copy !req
150. It'll fool you a lot of times.Copy !req
151. Occasionally
you'll call a big gobbler...Copy !req
152. away from some hen,
but very seldom.Copy !req
153. I... I...Copy !req
154. I'd rather not even try
to call one away.Copy !req
155. Well, you always try,
but you can't do it.Copy !req
156. I never have.Copy !req
157. Very, very, very seldom.Copy !req
158. I have different areas...Copy !req
159. I like to sit around and wait.Copy !req
160. I sit here a lot of times.Copy !req
161. Since this car
was sitting around so much...Copy !req
162. why, the people,
they don't know for sure...Copy !req
163. if we have a police officer
on duty here or not.Copy !req
164. So I can catch a lot of them
as they come across the bridge...Copy !req
165. or come down through town.Copy !req
166. Like this tanker.
He sounds like he's getting on it now.Copy !req
167. You try to hold 'em down.Copy !req
168. I hate to have to get out
and chase every one of 'em down...Copy !req
169. but I try to let 'em
see me sitting here.Copy !req
170. So then if I have
to write 'em up, why...Copy !req
171. it's their own fault,
because they can see me sitting here.Copy !req
172. I'm not trying to hide now.Copy !req
173. But there is a few places where I sit
around where you can't hardly see me.Copy !req
174. And that's why my radar gun,
when I have it-Copy !req
175. I don't have it with me today.Copy !req
176. I had to send it back in
and get it recertified.Copy !req
177. So I'm waiting for it
to get back here.Copy !req
178. It should be in
Friday or Saturday.Copy !req
179. Then I can sit out here
and catch a bunch of 'em.Copy !req
180. They said he was 65 years old.Copy !req
181. I don't know about' that', now
That's a long life for a mule.Copy !req
182. But he eventually died.Copy !req
183. They rooted him
over into that pond.Copy !req
184. That old skeleton lying there
with the hide all on him...Copy !req
185. just as tough
as anything you ever seen.Copy !req
186. And a big hole
in his throat here...Copy !req
187. where the buzzards
and things...Copy !req
188. had eaten every bit
that they could.Copy !req
189. They couldn't eat him all.Copy !req
190. I was a-fishing in there one day...Copy !req
191. and dropped my bait
down there at that hole.Copy !req
192. That old mule was laying in there,
you know, all puffed up.Copy !req
193. Yeah, all dried up
on the skeleton.Copy !req
194. And there was
a big warmouth perch...Copy !req
195. run out of him up here
and bit my hook.Copy !req
196. Took it in that old mule
right that quick, you know?Copy !req
197. And, uh, he got off of there.Copy !req
198. Got loose.
And I went to pull the hook out...Copy !req
199. and I must have hung it
on one of his ribs.Copy !req
200. I had to break it off,
but I put on another hook...Copy !req
201. and dropped it down there,
and I caught a big one, you know.Copy !req
202. The bones
had come out of his legs.Copy !req
203. The skin was laying there,
you know, and it was tough as a -Copy !req
204. just tough as a bear,
you know.Copy !req
205. And I got over -
it was about this deep in the water -Copy !req
206. and went down in there
and got a hold of them legs...Copy !req
207. and drug that old mule
out on the hill...Copy !req
208. and there was 114 warmouth in him,
warmouth perch.Copy !req
209. I could hear 'em a-flutterin'.
Just as I run out on the hill with him...Copy !req
210. the water run out of him...Copy !req
211. and I could hear 'em a-flutterin'
in there, you know.Copy !req
212. It was in planted pines...Copy !req
213. but he'd roosted in a branch,
other side of planted pines.Copy !req
214. And I eased in a row
of planted pines, you know.Copy !req
215. Planted pines -Copy !req
216. they're not exactly
in a straight row like that.Copy !req
217. They'll be, you know, offset.Copy !req
218. So you got a variation
of about two foot, maybe.Copy !req
219. I'd get in them planted pines,
and I'd walk across the rows...Copy !req
220. crossways to the rows, till I got right
even with where he was at in the swamp.Copy !req
221. And I knew.
I said, "Right yonder he's at".Copy !req
222. I'd walk crossways to the rows
till I got to that row.Copy !req
223. I knew he was at the end of it.
I was working my way in and out.Copy !req
224. And I slipped up there.Copy !req
225. I slipped up close enough to the branch.
I could see the turkey...Copy !req
226. in a pine tree.Copy !req
227. He was a-gobbling.Copy !req
228. And I got to that pine,
and I looked.Copy !req
229. It was about 30 foot
over there to that other pine...Copy !req
230. and it was about
25, 30 foot more to the turkey.Copy !req
231. I looked at that turkey,
and I looked at that open spot.Copy !req
232. I says, "There ain't no way
I can get no further".Copy !req
233. I just eased
that gun up real slow...Copy !req
234. behind them pines,
then eased down.Copy !req
235. And there he is, right there.Copy !req
236. I think he's got
about an 11-inch beard.Copy !req
237. He hit the ground.
It sounded like a ton of bricks.Copy !req
238. Now, this here is a gopher.Copy !req
239. He's not a turtle.Copy !req
240. He's harmless.
He won't bite you.Copy !req
241. I don't know just how come him
to be way down in here.Copy !req
242. He don't like
this kind of land here.Copy !req
243. He's, uh -Copy !req
244. High, dry,
sandy land for him...Copy !req
245. and he'll dig his den to be...Copy !req
246. as far as
20 feet deep sometimes.Copy !req
247. And he's good to eat too.Copy !req
248. I don't eat him,
but people do eat him.Copy !req
249. He's just a fine piece of meat
for the dining table.Copy !req
250. I believe he wants to walk now.Copy !req
251. His motor's slow-paced.Copy !req
252. I said, "Y'all just leave my gun here.
I got to use the bathroom.Copy !req
253. You got to come back
this same way. "Copy !req
254. They said, "Yeah".
All right.Copy !req
255. I 901 my gun.Copy !req
256. I didn't get to use
the bathroom, though.Copy !req
257. I was fixing to...Copy !req
258. but right out in them pines,
I heard one gobble.Copy !req
259. And they'd done left.Copy !req
260. And I said, "My God".Copy !req
261. Boy, that's the best diarrhea
medicine in the world.Copy !req
262. Mm-mm!
You hear a turkey gobblin'...Copy !req
263. you forget all about diarrhea
and everything.Copy !req
264. Headaches, anything.
That'd cure anything.Copy !req
265. I grabbed my gun,
and I tore out.Copy !req
266. Must have went a quarter mile.
Went through a bunch of pines...Copy !req
267. and he double-gobbled.Copy !req
268. I knew right then that I had
a pretty good chance of killing him.Copy !req
269. Man, it hadn't been 30 minutes
since one had been killed.Copy !req
270. Bless your heart.
The next time he gobbled...Copy !req
271. there he was, right out there...Copy !req
272. in that wiregrass
and broom sage.Copy !req
273. I just yelped real low to him.Copy !req
274. He gobbled.Copy !req
275. He was coming straight toward me.
He wasn't walking, he wasn't running.Copy !req
276. It was sort of a little fast trot.Copy !req
277. And I had a good blind in some palmettos,
sitting behind some palmettos.Copy !req
278. I done had my gun on him.Copy !req
279. When he got up there -
He was walking...Copy !req
280. a little too fast to shoot him,
'cause I wanted a sure shot.Copy !req
281. And what I done, I just whistled.Copy !req
282. And he stopped,
and he looked...Copy !req
283. and when he looked up,
that was the end of it. Pow.Copy !req
284. And that's him
right there in the middle...Copy !req
285. with about an 11-inch beard.Copy !req
286. Now, this possum -
I didn't catch him myself.Copy !req
287. But another feller did.
He was eating his chickens.Copy !req
288. And he caught him
and brought him down here to me.Copy !req
289. He said I was the only fellow...Copy !req
290. that knew what to do with a possum.Copy !req
291. I'm a-gonna keep him
for the Fun Day in Wausau...Copy !req
292. and sell him to -
sell him to the fellows.Copy !req
293. They auction 'em off over there
for $1,200 to $1,500.Copy !req
294. That's a great price for a possum,
don't you know.Copy !req
295. Uh, I'll put him -
put him back.Copy !req
296. You've got to be careful
with one of them things.Copy !req
297. They'll bite you.Copy !req
298. I've been bit by 'em.Copy !req
299. I've been bit by everything
there is in the country,Copy !req
300. wild game, you know -
except a rattlesnake.Copy !req
301. I was sure enough
watching for him.Copy !req
302. He just walked.Copy !req
303. No rain in it.
Got to looking...Copy !req
304. and his track
was in that track...Copy !req
305. that trailer track...Copy !req
306. which we'd just talked to the man
five minutes behind us.Copy !req
307. The trailer made a track.
We come out the same way he come in.Copy !req
308. And you know
that's got to be a red-hot track...Copy !req
309. 'cause it's on top
of that trailer track.Copy !req
310. You understand what I'm talkin' about?
That we'd just talked to back behind us.Copy !req
311. "Shh. " He's right out here.Copy !req
312. Stepped outside
and yelped one time...Copy !req
313. and he come right back, gobbling.Copy !req
314. Hot daggone!
We started grabbing guns...Copy !req
315. and getting into position.Copy !req
316. And I told Snake,
I said, "Snake...Copy !req
317. that turkey's not coming back
across the road.Copy !req
318. There ain't no way
he's coming back across the road.Copy !req
319. He's going the other way. "Copy !req
320. We'd sit there and we'd yelp to him,
and he'd gobble.Copy !req
321. He'd go over this way,
and he'd gobble.Copy !req
322. Go back that a-way, and he'd gobble.
He's wanting us to come on.Copy !req
323. But we wasn't going on.
We was expecting him to backtrack.Copy !req
324. And I told Snake he wouldn't backtrack
and come back to us.Copy !req
325. This went on
for about half an hour.Copy !req
326. I told Snake, I said...Copy !req
327. "I'm tired of this.
I'm gonna kill that turkey. "Copy !req
328. And I yelped one time...Copy !req
329. and he double-gobbled.Copy !req
330. And that's all I yelped.Copy !req
331. And the next thing you know,
here he comes -Copy !req
332. just a-gobbling all the way.Copy !req
333. I shot him,
and he hit the ground.Copy !req
334. I mean, he was doing a da-do...Copy !req
335. bouncing around
about three, four foot high.Copy !req
336. I run down there to pick him up,
and he got up.Copy !req
337. He had a broke wing,
and I knocked him down.Copy !req
338. I said, "My God,
he's fixin' to get away".Copy !req
339. I just tried to shoot his head.Copy !req
340. I shot a big hole in the ground.
I missed his head...Copy !req
341. because if I'd shot the whole turkey,
I'd have tore him to pieces.Copy !req
342. And I missed him.
He was going down the pine run...Copy !req
343. and I said,
"Well, one more shot".Copy !req
344. And I shot him
and just rolled him over.Copy !req
345. And it was cloudy, like I said.Copy !req
346. And during all this time
and around in them pines...Copy !req
347. everything looks alike.Copy !req
348. To me it does. Anybody else
that's ever been in there -Copy !req
349. You can't - Excuse me.
You can't tell where you're at.Copy !req
350. I got in there...Copy !req
351. and when I killed the turkey,
I didn't know where I was at.Copy !req
352. I walked around and...Copy !req
353. I'd got lost.Copy !req
354. I was hollering for Snake.
I'd walk the direction I thought it was.Copy !req
355. I was going in the right direction,
but them pines, everything looks alike.Copy !req
356. And I started hollering "Snake!"
just as loud as I could.Copy !req
357. They knowed I was turned around.
They was settin' up there...Copy !req
358. just a-laughing like the devil at me.
They wouldn't answer me.Copy !req
359. But anyway, I drug that one out
the next morning...Copy !req
360. after them two
the morning before.Copy !req
361. And there his beard is.Copy !req
362. About the same length.
About an 11-inch beard.Copy !req
363. The one on the far right here.Copy !req
364. Thirty-five, 40 years ago...Copy !req
365. there wasn't no wigglers.Copy !req
366. There wasn't no wigglers.
These wigglers is a -Copy !req
367. is kind of a new thing
in this country.Copy !req
368. These wigglers
have been in here...Copy !req
369. about 20-something years there.Copy !req
370. These wigglers is a new -
a new thing come in here.Copy !req
371. I reckon they was here,
but, uh...Copy !req
372. I don't know
where they accumulated from.Copy !req
373. I got the seed of these
from south Florida...Copy !req
374. is where I got them.Copy !req
375. This is not a regular-Copy !req
376. regular wiggler
like everybody's got here.Copy !req
377. This here is what they call...Copy !req
378. an orchard-worm wiggler,
that I got here.Copy !req
379. That's the reason
people come here...Copy !req
380. and wants to beat me
out of 'em like they do.Copy !req
381. I don't know
where all this water comes from.Copy !req
382. They must have
a lot of ditches up there.Copy !req
383. Well, of course, if you're taking
a history of the, uh -Copy !req
384. of Vernon,
well, I can't tell you.Copy !req
385. All I can tell you
about the river is...Copy !req
386. somebody told me
boats used to come down here.Copy !req
387. And I says, "That river
must have been wider," you know.Copy !req
388. The creek, they call it.Copy !req
389. But they said no.Copy !req
390. So, I mean, freight boats
used to come down.Copy !req
391. Just like freight
on the Mississippi River.Copy !req
392. And, uh -Copy !req
393. But I don't know.Copy !req
394. I can't figure it out.Copy !req
395. Maybe they used big canoes.Copy !req
396. There's a big red wiggler...Copy !req
397. and there's a wiggler
that they call the eel worm...Copy !req
398. and this orchard-worm wiggler.Copy !req
399. And then they got
a big ringneck wiggler.Copy !req
400. Then they got one
they call the night crawler.Copy !req
401. He gets -
He weigh like that.Copy !req
402. I got some of 'em...Copy !req
403. from up in Joplin, Missouri,
and brought 'em down here.Copy !req
404. They up there.Copy !req
405. I brought 'em down here
and put 'em in a bed -Copy !req
406. little old bed I had yonder -
and they all left.Copy !req
407. They crawl at night.
You can't keep them in a place.Copy !req
408. They stay around
in the edge of the swamp.Copy !req
409. Out there
there's a lot of muddy water.Copy !req
410. That reminds me of the story
about the two sailors.Copy !req
411. They were looking at the water,
and one says...Copy !req
412. "It's a lot of water out there,"
and the other guy says...Copy !req
413. "Yeah, that's just the top of it. "Copy !req
414. Hey, those snakes out here,
they can swim.Copy !req
415. Be careful of that.Copy !req
416. Those snakes can crawl
over that water...Copy !req
417. just like they're crawling
over the ground.Copy !req
418. My! 1-Copy !req
419. And some people, they says,Copy !req
420. "You going swimming?"
"Uh-uh. "Copy !req
421. You're swimming around,
and then you look up...Copy !req
422. and you see this snake
coming toward you?Copy !req
423. Oh, brother!Copy !req
424. See that jump?Copy !req
425. You know what kind of fish that was?
That could've been a garfish.Copy !req
426. Usually the garfish,
they feed on top...Copy !req
427. and if there's little minnows on the top,
they snap 'em up.Copy !req
428. You ever see a garfish?Copy !req
429. He's got a bill about like that -
you know, his nose.Copy !req
430. And when he -Copy !req
431. He usually catches
what he goes after, you know.Copy !req
432. I've never studied no book
on these wigglers.Copy !req
433. What I know about 'em
is just self-experience.Copy !req
434. They got books on 'em,
but them books is wrong.Copy !req
435. They don't teach you right.Copy !req
436. They don't teach you right
on 'em.Copy !req
437. Teach you what kind of feed
to feed 'em, and...Copy !req
438. how to do 'em and all that...Copy !req
439. and it's all wrong,
in my book.Copy !req
440. Why he wanted to take his shoe off
to pull the trigger, I don't know.Copy !req
441. The very next damn day
after we was workin'.Copy !req
442. And that day, he says...Copy !req
443. "That'll be the last thing I ever do,
is to shoot myself. "Copy !req
444. - Which it was.
- Well, they weren't none of his -Copy !req
445. weren't none of his brains
a-working, period.Copy !req
446. Yeah, he was -
I tell you, he had two shells...Copy !req
447. laying under the sill
of the house.Copy !req
448. He crawled under there
and got them.Copy !req
449. Come out and told his wife,
"I've got one for you and one for me.Copy !req
450. We're going. "Copy !req
451. She run him down and take
one of 'em away from him.Copy !req
452. He sat down in his old
homemade straight chair...Copy !req
453. and he taked his -
pulled his shoe off...Copy !req
454. and he set that gun barrel
right there...Copy !req
455. and pulled the trigger.Copy !req
456. He pulled his shoe off
to use his big toe to -Copy !req
457. Yeah, but hell, if I was gonna do that,
I'd just reach down with my finger.Copy !req
458. Well, it'd have moved his head
from the gun barrel.Copy !req
459. - No, it wouldn't.
- He'd have had to stoop over.Copy !req
460. He pulled his shoe off
in order to use his big toe to -Copy !req
461. Everybody don't do things alike,
but that's the way he done it.Copy !req
462. Knowing that the Lord
had called me to preach...Copy !req
463. I had to pursue what the Lord
placed me on this world to do...Copy !req
464. so I started back
into the ministry.Copy !req
465. Sometimes in this line of work...Copy !req
466. you don't have the finances
you'd like to have.Copy !req
467. You see things
you'd like to have...Copy !req
468. and you sometimes wish
you were back in a secular position...Copy !req
469. making better money.Copy !req
470. But then I have a better situation
than most people realize.Copy !req
471. When I have a need,
I just pray for it.Copy !req
472. Just like the van
that I have now.Copy !req
473. I felt I had a need for it...Copy !req
474. and so I began to pray,
and then I began to go price vans.Copy !req
475. But I didn't feel like my prayers
and the prices I found on the vans...Copy !req
476. coincided exactly the way
they ought to...Copy !req
477. because they were
far out of my reach.Copy !req
478. But still, I felt like if the Lord
wanted me to have a van, I'd get one.Copy !req
479. So in the process, a couple of weeks
after I'd given up the idea...Copy !req
480. of finding one I could afford...Copy !req
481. I ran into a man,
and he had a van.Copy !req
482. I was looking at it,
and he gave me the price on it.Copy !req
483. I told him that was
out of my range.Copy !req
484. He said, "Well, I've got
a friend over in Marianna...Copy !req
485. that has a brand-new '79 van.Copy !req
486. It's been on his lot
for eight months...Copy !req
487. and he's priced it down to $5,000,
where it can be bought.Copy !req
488. I know it can be bought
for $5,000."Copy !req
489. I said, "That's the range
I was looking for".Copy !req
490. Sure enough, I called the man.
He brought it to me...Copy !req
491. and in three hours,
I owned the van.Copy !req
492. God made all things...Copy !req
493. that was made.Copy !req
494. All things that was made.Copy !req
495. And he looked on it
and pronounced it...Copy !req
496. good and very good!Copy !req
497. He made all these things
that we've got today.Copy !req
498. And he said it was good
and very good.Copy !req
499. But you could go
to the extreme on anything.Copy !req
500. You can go
to the extreme on anything...Copy !req
501. and make a hog of yourself.Copy !req
502. But as long as you let it go
like God intended it...Copy !req
503. you need never worry.Copy !req
504. He'll give you power
and strength and wit...Copy !req
505. to take care of the deal.Copy !req
506. There was a huge oak
right on the bank of the creek.Copy !req
507. I stood under the oak,
and I said...Copy !req
508. "Lord, I don't know if you want me
to have this lot or not.Copy !req
509. But if you do, then make it
possible for me to have it. "Copy !req
510. So I went along for over a year...Copy !req
511. and I didn't know
if the lot had sold or anything.Copy !req
512. But over a year later,
I had as much money...Copy !req
513. as the man was asking
for the lot.Copy !req
514. I went to him to find out
if he still had it...Copy !req
515. and sure enough, he did.Copy !req
516. He said,
"But it's really ironic.Copy !req
517. I've had this thing sold
three times...Copy !req
518. and every time I've had it sold,
something's come up...Copy !req
519. and the party going to buy it
didn't go through with the deal.Copy !req
520. I hope yours goes through. "Copy !req
521. I says, "It's gonna go through.
I know this is an answer to prayer".Copy !req
522. I was reading Romans
not too awfully long ago...Copy !req
523. and over and over,
this word "therefore" -Copy !req
524. which is the first word
in our scripture this morning -Copy !req
525. began to pop out at me.Copy !req
526. And I begin to think about it...Copy !req
527. because I remembered somewhere
back yonder when I was in school...Copy !req
528. that an English teacher
taught me something...Copy !req
529. about the meaning of words.Copy !req
530. And this word "therefore"
had a specific meaning.Copy !req
531. And I think, "Well, if Paul
is using this word so many times...Copy !req
532. there must be a reason for it. "Copy !req
533. So immediately,
I went to Webster's Dictionary...Copy !req
534. and I began to look up what the word
"therefore" was all about.Copy !req
535. And I found the word
to be a conjunction.Copy !req
536. Now, I had long forgotten
what a conjunction was.Copy !req
537. And so as soon as I realized
it was a conjunction...Copy !req
538. I thumbed back through the dictionary
to the word "conjunction"...Copy !req
539. to see what a conjunction was,
and Webster? Dictionary said...Copy !req
540. that a conjunction
is an indeclinable word...Copy !req
541. that connects
two thoughts together.Copy !req
542. And so I said, "Well, what does
this word 'indeclinable' mean?"Copy !req
543. So I looked up
the word "indeclinable"...Copy !req
544. and found out that it meant
that it was unchangeable.Copy !req
545. And so I found out
that "therefore" was a conjunction...Copy !req
546. that could not be changed...Copy !req
547. that connected
two thoughts together.Copy !req
548. And so therefore,
whenever I found this out...Copy !req
549. I looked at that word again
in the first verse of our scripture...Copy !req
550. and I said, "Well, certainly,
Paul must have said something...Copy !req
551. that this word is connecting together,
so let's see what it was. "Copy !req
552. And when I began to look back,
I found out that Paul...Copy !req
553. had used that word "therefore"...Copy !req
554. many times in Romans
before this...Copy !req
555. and many times
in Romans after this.Copy !req
556. And so I really got interested,
so I looked in my concordance...Copy !req
557. and I found out that Paul
used the word "therefore"...Copy !req
558. over 119 times...Copy !req
559. in his writings.Copy !req
560. And so I think,
"If he used the word 'therefore'...Copy !req
561. over 119 times, I need to find out
what the Greek says about it. "Copy !req
562. So I looked up
what the Greek meaning was...Copy !req
563. and the Greek word was "on"...Copy !req
564. which had a triple meaning.Copy !req
565. The first one was "accordingly"...Copy !req
566. the next one was "likewise then,"
and then "therefore".Copy !req
567. Paul says,
"Therefore you receive the peace".Copy !req
568. So if you're here this morning,
you're Christian...Copy !req
569. and you don't have that peace,
I'll tell you what's happened:Copy !req
570. You have taken back over...Copy !req
571. the controls of your life...Copy !req
572. and you're holding on to that...Copy !req
573. which you ought to leave
in God's hands.Copy !req
574. As a result, you've lost
the peace of your salvation...Copy !req
575. and you won't gain it back
until you have...Copy !req
576. another "therefore" experience.Copy !req
577. I thank God this morning
for the "therefores"...Copy !req
578. of Paul here in Romans.Copy !req
579. Perhaps there's someone here
this morning who's never received Christ.Copy !req
580. They've never let him come
into their hearts by faith.Copy !req
581. They've never said, "Lord, I want you
to have your way in my heart".Copy !req
582. You know what God's way
in your heart is?Copy !req
583. God wants to come and cleanse you
from your unrighteousness...Copy !req
584. and make something beautiful
out of your life.Copy !req
585. He wants to forgive you
of your sins.Copy !req
586. And God says, "You come on.Copy !req
587. Just believe, and I'll forgive you. "Copy !req
588. The most important thing
about turkey hunting...Copy !req
589. is knowing your woods.Copy !req
590. You can snatch me or Snake up...Copy !req
591. and carry us off to a place
that we're not familiar with...Copy !req
592. we don't know the woods,
the country.Copy !req
593. Hey, man, you're lost.Copy !req
594. You're lost.Copy !req
595. Be just like taking me out of Vernon
and sending me to New York City.Copy !req
596. I mean, you just can't
do nothing with 'em.Copy !req
597. Knowing the woods.
Knowing which way they travel.Copy !req
598. So in fact,
just knowing the woods...Copy !req
599. is one of the -Copy !req
600. Know the terrain, man.Copy !req
601. And just knowing the range.Copy !req
602. And when you go
to a new part of the country...Copy !req
603. hey, man, you're lost -
or I am.Copy !req
604. Any turkey hunter's lost.Copy !req
605. I don't, uh...Copy !req
606. really know of any crimes
that's going on here.Copy !req
607. Just like any town,
anywhere you go...Copy !req
608. you're gonna have
little incidents...Copy !req
609. of, you know,
things popping up.Copy !req
610. Like someone will walk in
one of the stores...Copy !req
611. and they might
pick up an apple...Copy !req
612. or a package of clothespins
or bobby pins...Copy !req
613. or razor blades
or something like this.Copy !req
614. But this goes on in all towns.Copy !req
615. And, uh - Nothing really
more serious than that.Copy !req
616. Not at this time, that I know of.Copy !req
617. I traveled along the road with a fella -
in a car, of course -Copy !req
618. and I was looking,
and I said...Copy !req
619. "Hey, Barney,
you see that water over there?"Copy !req
620. And he says, "Yeah".Copy !req
621. So then we come right up to it,
and there was no water there.Copy !req
622. That was just a mirage.Copy !req
623. In other words, uh -Copy !req
624. Well, to be, uh...Copy !req
625. scientific about it, uh -Copy !req
626. the lights -
you know, the rays or the -Copy !req
627. the light bends, you know.Copy !req
628. And, uh - So I mean...Copy !req
629. if you get a different reflection,
say, for instance...Copy !req
630. maybe a diamond
don't even shine.Copy !req
631. Maybe it's just the way it's cut...Copy !req
632. and the way the light hits it.Copy !req
633. It's just like some day
after the rain.Copy !req
634. You take a picture
of those drops on the trees...Copy !req
635. and you can see 'em.Copy !req
636. It's almost more beautiful
than the diamond.Copy !req
637. I was out here
in these woods one night...Copy !req
638. and I just had a feeling
that someone was out there...Copy !req
639. and I heard that someone had fired
a couple shots out there.Copy !req
640. It kind of had me worried...Copy !req
641. that someone was out there.Copy !req
642. I didn't know whether my walkie-talkie
was working right or not.Copy !req
643. But one time
I was kind of worried...Copy !req
644. or scared,
whatever you might want to call it.Copy !req
645. But this'll happen
to the best of 'em.Copy !req
646. Sometimes you just have
that feeling that there's someone...Copy !req
647. up close to you
or trying to get to you...Copy !req
648. when you're out
like that by yourself.Copy !req
649. I had the camera,
and I was lucky.Copy !req
650. And I held the opera glasses...Copy !req
651. against the lens of the camera
and snapped it.Copy !req
652. Of course,
I just about judged...Copy !req
653. you know, where the -Copy !req
654. I couldn't line it up
any other way because...Copy !req
655. when you had the opera glass
on the lens, you couldn't see nothing.Copy !req
656. And I held it up,
and it turned out.Copy !req
657. I don't know
if this is the moon or not.Copy !req
658. It looks like some clouds.Copy !req
659. I don't know
if this is a star or what.Copy !req
660. Well, no, it couldn't be that...Copy !req
661. because, uh -Copy !req
662. Well, that's a picture of the star.
I just took the camera...Copy !req
663. and pointed it up there -
I didn't even sight it -Copy !req
664. and then took
the picture that way.Copy !req
665. Of course, as you can see,
that picture ain't too good.Copy !req
666. It's a cheap camera.
You get a cheap picture.Copy !req
667. Luck. Luck, you know.Copy !req
668. When something turns out,
you say, "Gee, I'm lucky".Copy !req
669. Right?Copy !req
670. Of course, you see,
when you have a camera -Copy !req
671. you have a camera,
and you point it at a certain -Copy !req
672. Just like if you had a gun.
You don't shoot, do you?Copy !req
673. If you had a gun
and pointed it at something...Copy !req
674. you're liable to hit
what you're pointing at...Copy !req
675. and then again
you might not, see?Copy !req
676. The bullet came in...Copy !req
677. at just about this angle...Copy !req
678. and went into my seat here.Copy !req
679. You can see
I haven't had that repaired yet.Copy !req
680. Small hole there.
It went in there...Copy !req
681. and lodged in the back
of the seat.Copy !req
682. The county sheriff's office
came out to investigate...Copy !req
683. and they had to dig it
out of the backseat -Copy !req
684. out of the back part of the seat.Copy !req
685. It came in at an angle
from the road.Copy !req
686. I still don't know why they did it.
Probably just to frighten me a little bit.Copy !req
687. But I'm not one that's gonna
frighten easy about things.Copy !req
688. It don't bug you too much...Copy !req
689. but the closer you get on him -Copy !req
690. You want to make
the kill so bad.Copy !req
691. It's in your blood,
or you wouldn't be out here huntin'.Copy !req
692. And believe me, it's in mine,
and Snake's too.Copy !req
693. And the closer it gets...Copy !req
694. it's just like you're gonna
be electrocuted.Copy !req
695. Each day, it comes closer -Copy !req
696. - The tension goes on -
- Tension builds up.Copy !req
697. And tension builds up.
It builds up in me.Copy !req
698. I don't realize it...Copy !req
699. but it's always a-building up.Copy !req
700. Building up, building up,
building up.Copy !req
701. And the closer it gets,
the worser it gets.Copy !req
702. And after a while,
it comes to a point...Copy !req
703. that you forget about it
when it gets right there on you.Copy !req
704. You go blank.
You're concentrating on making the kill.Copy !req
705. And once you make the kill...Copy !req
706. you shoot, run, get the turkey...Copy !req
707. or run him down or miss him.Copy !req
708. Then all that tension...Copy !req
709. that's built up in you, I mean...Copy !req
710. it-it makes me sick.Copy !req
711. You get the dry heaves,
like you got up on a morning...Copy !req
712. after a Saturday night...Copy !req
713. with the dry heaves
from a drunk?Copy !req
714. Gag and puke.
Just gag, you know.Copy !req
715. It's nothing but your nerves built up
that's dying down.Copy !req
716. That's all it is.Copy !req
717. In four, five minutes,
I'm all right.Copy !req
718. Every star you see up there,
maybe it is a world.Copy !req
719. I mean, it was made
for some purpose.Copy !req
720. It's just up there, see,
and then maybe...Copy !req
721. in the future
maybe there'll be one Irish world...Copy !req
722. one German world,
one Russian world...Copy !req
723. and one colored world,
you know.Copy !req
724. I mean, each party has
their own world, you know.Copy !req
725. But who knows?Copy !req
726. You don't know God's plan.Copy !req
727. Even Jesus Christ didn't know,
you know.Copy !req
728. It says right in the Bible
that no man knows that -Copy !req
729. can find out
the answer to that -Copy !req
730. when the end of the world is.Copy !req
731. Well, not the end of the world,
but the end of our -Copy !req
732. our world, you know -
I mean our-Copy !req
733. our scheme of things -
politicians, you know.Copy !req
734. In a little town
when you talk to somebody...Copy !req
735. and you tell them about...Copy !req
736. the lights on the road,
they're not blinking...Copy !req
737. well, they don't want to take
no responsibility.Copy !req
738. I says, "Who do you call?
D.O.T. or -"Copy !req
739. Well, they didn't know, see?Copy !req
740. They don't care.Copy !req
741. They should run 'em
out of town on a rail.Copy !req
742. Tar and feathers.Copy !req
743. Yeah, I like that.Copy !req
744. That tar and feathers, boy.Copy !req
745. Wouldn't you like that?
To see some old -Copy !req
746. some guy or some kid
that did something wrong...Copy !req
747. and they'd tar and feather him?Copy !req
748. He'd have something
to think about, wouldn't he?Copy !req
749. "The next time, we'll give you
the hot seat, buddy. "Copy !req
750. I never saw anything
more perfect in my life...Copy !req
751. than to see
the perfection of God himself.Copy !req
752. "That thing just happened".Copy !req
753. "That just happened. "Copy !req
754. "That just happened. "Copy !req
755. Folks thinks that way
all the time.Copy !req
756. "That just happened. "Copy !req
757. There was an old feller talking to me
in that house up yonder.Copy !req
758. He said,
"There ain't no such thing as a god".Copy !req
759. Well, I said, "Mr. Day... "Copy !req
760. I said, "You believe you're here,
don't you?"Copy !req
761. "Yeah, I believe I'm here. "Copy !req
762. I said, "Do you believe
any man on earth made you?"Copy !req
763. "No, I didn't make me. "Copy !req
764. I said, "Do you believe any man
on earth made Adam and Eve?"Copy !req
765. He said,
"No, I don't believe it".Copy !req
766. I said, "What made 'em?
How come I'm here?"Copy !req
767. He said,
"That just happened".Copy !req
768. I said, "You saying 'just happened,'
let's call that God.Copy !req
769. Let's give it another name...Copy !req
770. and say, 'that just happened,'
'just happened".'Copy !req
771. Whenever I got through
with work, I -Copy !req
772. - You had a vacation coming in.
- had a vacation coming in.Copy !req
773. The boss man give me a bonus.Copy !req
774. So I come in home, and we left
that evening and went to - started out.Copy !req
775. We drove all night and all day.
We didn't stop.Copy !req
776. 1,413 miles out there.Copy !req
777. White Sand Missile Base, out there.Copy !req
778. That's where the first atomic bomb
was ever dropped.Copy !req
779. Sand dunes, you know.
There are sand dunes in there.Copy !req
780. And that sand, it crawls,
and it crawls over the roads.Copy !req
781. They're sweeping it
with a sweeper all the time...Copy !req
782. to keep it
from covering up the roads.Copy !req
783. It's growing sand.Copy !req
784. That sand grows until -Copy !req
785. The desert runs out
an average of 14 feet a year.Copy !req
786. They got graders.
They keep it graded off the road.Copy !req
787. It get bigger by 14 feet a year.Copy !req
788. There's graders out there all the time
grading that sand off the road.Copy !req
789. Pushing the sand back off of the roads
where you get in there.Copy !req
790. Build new roads every day.Copy !req
791. Wind come.
You know, that dry sand...Copy !req
792. and it wraps up so deep
with sand overnight.Copy !req
793. I reckon it' run
as high as a telephone pole.Copy !req
794. Paid and went in there...Copy !req
795. and got in there
where the white sand's at...Copy !req
796. and, uh...Copy !req
797. we got us some white sand.Copy !req
798. I got a jar here
where it grows in it.Copy !req
799. See, I had just
a little bit of this in this jar...Copy !req
800. whenever I brought it out.Copy !req
801. And now, you see,
my jar is nearly full.Copy !req
802. It grows. It grows. It crawls.Copy !req
803. It crawls up the side
of the jar, you see?Copy !req
804. I reckon it gonna fill up the jar.Copy !req
805. In two more years
it will fill up this jar.Copy !req
806. They say it grow 14 feet a year...Copy !req
807. out towards the town
where Billy the Kid got killed.Copy !req
808. They say it'll cover that town
in a year to come.Copy !req
809. This century, they say.Copy !req
810. Less than a hundred years...Copy !req
811. - Cover that town.
- that desert will eat it up.Copy !req
812. Would you look at that tree?
There's one, two, three, four...Copy !req
813. five, six...Copy !req
814. seven, eight...Copy !req
815. nine,10,11, 12,13...Copy !req
816. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18...Copy !req
817. 19, 20, 21, 22...Copy !req
818. 23, 24, 25...Copy !req
819. 26, 27, 28...Copy !req
820. 29...Copy !req
821. 30, 31, 32, 33...Copy !req
822. 34, 35.Copy !req
823. Thirty-fifth one flew.Copy !req
824. Thirty-five on one cypress top.Copy !req
825. Listen to that sound, that -Copy !req
826. Hear that sound?Copy !req
827. Getting in and out of trees?Copy !req
828. That "flop-flop" sound?Copy !req
829. Mm, that sound will sure
mistake you for turkeys.Copy !req
830. Listen.Copy !req
831. Hear that "flop-flop"?
Limbs breaking.Copy !req
832. Hear that good flop then?Copy !req
833. Listening to that
gives me the turkey fever.Copy !req
834. Mm-mm!Copy !req
835. I wish there were as many turkeys
as there are buzzards.Copy !req