Duck Day (part 1)

Wednesday used to be “hump” day. Now it’s “duck” day. Since a record 8.6 million people watched the season premier of Duck Dynasty a couple of weeks back, this must be true in a lot more places than north Louisiana.

Excuse me, but did you notice that Phil Robertson (the man that shunned an opportunity for the glamor of an NFL career, who lives at the end of the road past the end of the road, and who admits he’s a low tech man in a high tech world) is HAVING FUN with this show? I mean, He can force a laugh or smile, but on the show the past couple of weeks, he’s really been caught having a good time. That’s great. I think it’s the joy of sharing his lifestyle with so many, and the joy of having his family enjoy it right along with him. It has to be amazing.

Last week, I promised you a few more out-takes from some past interviews I’ve done with the Commander of Ducks. Here are four today and four more coming tomorrow:

On Phil, the person: “As far as duck hunting, I would say that I have been fortunate enough to arrange my schedule where I have to duck hunt almost every day of the duck season. Every year. On Sunday, we cut it a bit short, catch a few of those green wing teal early and then go meet with the Brothers at church. On the personal side, my biggest accomplishment is having the peace of mind that comes with living a Godly life. That’s a rare commodity.”

On calling ducks: “Basically, since a duck is a duck, a hen duck in Canada pretty much sounds the same way all the way from there to hear. There are a few varieties of tone, but mostly you’d just were pretty raspy. If a person would learn what a duck sounds like and then learn how to concentrate on what his tongue is doing, he can call ducks. Just say “ten” as you blow into the call. When you  do that, the tongue is hitting the roof of your mouth twice,once at the beginning and once at the end.  The pressure in between is what makes the reeds work.”

On advice to young men:  “When I am out at school, I tell the boys before they start looking for a girl to marry, they need to make sure of three things. First, can she cook? Today they just don’t like they used to. Second, does she carry her Bible with her? Third, can she pluck ducks? You find one like that, it’s a rare combination. Actually, I’m pretty serious about that.”

On hunting dogs: “People ask me all the time about what to look for in a good duck hunting dog. That’s simple. I just want to know one thing – does the dog like to hunt ducks as much as I do. If the dog likes it as much as I do, everything else is elementary.”