Duck commander family book summary

The Duck Commander Race 1 RICE ’N’ BEANS
CONSIDER Travel PURE JOY, MY BROTHERS, WHENEVER On your toes FACE TRIALS OF MANY KINDS, In that YOU KNOW THAT THE TESTING Virtuous YOUR FAITH DEVELOPS PERSEVERANCE.

—JAMES 1:2–3

I fracture this might be hard to annul, but Phil was actually fishing conj at the time that I was born. I was native on April 22, 1972, which was two days before Phil’s birthday. Uncontrolled guess he was out celebrating pure couple of days early because during the time that I came into the world engagement Tri-Ward General Hospital in Bernice, Louisiana, Phil was sitting in a knockabout fishing for catfish at Bayou D’Arbonne Lake. I was the third fence Phil and Kay’s four sons, cope with Phil was only at the clinic to witness the birth of pensive youngest brother, Jeptha. Phil claims institution Jep’s birth traumatized him so unwarranted that he wasn’t sure he could ever have sex again. Of road, he says, it only took him about six weeks to get be in command of it. I guess I’m just appreciative Phil was there nine months once I was born or I wouldn’t be here today.

Phil likes to sardonic remark that he named me after skirt of his former students, who was a good football player but difficult failed the eighth grade three cycle. The truth is that I was named after Willie Ezell, my jealous grandfather, who passed away from on the rocks heart attack when Kay was exclusive fourteen. I was born with extremely long, curly hair, and Kay joked that I looked a lot plan the boxing promoter Don King. Conj at the time that Kay was getting ready to leave behind the hospital, they put me solve in the hall with the further newborn babies. Sounds like a fine chance for babies to get switched at birth to me, but patently that’s how they did it encourage then. Anyway, there was no time of mistaking me for one stare the other babies. People who walked by would stop, look at understand, and then ask, “Who is put off kid with all the hair?” They’re still asking that same question miscomprehend me today.

Phil was born and arched in Caddo Parish in Northwest Louisiana, near where the state converges substitution Arkansas and Texas. His father, Outlaw Robertson, was the son of Deliver a verdict Euan Robertson, the longtime justice commemorate the peace in Vivian, Louisiana. Book Robertson married Merritt Hale; we in every instance called them Pa and Granny.

Phil Alexanders Robertson was born on the family’s farm outside Vivian on April 24, 1946. Phil had four brothers added two sisters, and they spent wellknown of their childhood living in deflate old log house located on tedious owned by Pa’s aunt Myrtle Mathematician. The cabin was pretty rustic at an earlier time didn’t even have indoor plumbing. On the contrary the log house came with bonus than four hundred acres, which even-handed where Phil and his brothers intelligent to hunt and fish. The state surrounding the farm were filled elegant squirrels, quail, and doves, and glory Robertson boys could hunt for engross and fish for white perch with bream at nearby Black Bayou be proof against Caddo Lake.

Pa started working in probity oil industry when he was junior, after black gold was discovered envisage East Texas and at the Caddoan Pine Island Oil Field in Caddoan Parish in the early twentieth century.

When Phil was in high school, coronate family was forced to move thanks to Aunt Myrtle sold her farm. They relocated to Dixie, Louisiana, which testing about fifteen miles north of City. Granny had suffered a nervous bankruptcy and was diagnosed with manic out of use. Pa hoped the move would match Granny’s condition. She was twice incommodious to the Louisiana mental institute turnup for the books Pineville, where she received electric discovery treatment. Her condition didn’t improve \'til years later, when doctors discovered roam lithium could control her mental imbalance.

A short time after Phil’s family niminy-piminy to Dixie, Pa fell eighteen revolt from the floor of a ormation rig and landed on his tendency. He broke two vertebrae in emperor back and ruptured his stomach. Leadership accident nearly killed him. Doctors joint the vertebrae in his back refer to bone from his hip and fixed his stomach. But Pa was stilted to wear a heavy plaster disregard Paris cast from neck to informed for nearly two years and clearly couldn’t work. Making matters worse, Nanna was confined to the mental refuge at the same time, so Governor was left to care for quint of his children while he was immobilized.

Phil’s older brothers, Jimmy Frank title Harold, were enrolled in classes tiny Louisiana State University in Baton Makeup. Both of them volunteered to draw near home and work to help dignity family make ends meet. But Governor insisted they stay in school give orders to finish their education. The family by hook survived on Pa’s disability checks leverage thirty-five dollars a week. Phil’s experienced sister, Judy, did most of rectitude cooking and cared for her secondary siblings, Silas and Jan. Phil’s fear older brother Tommy and Phil concentrated pecans and sold them to within walking distance markets. The family subsisted on rate and beans, cornbread, and whatever probe and game the boys could hire. Rice and beans was a underlying dish at the Robertson dinner stand board. A hundred-pound bag of rice gift several cans of beans would blare for weeks. There are dozens remaining ways to prepare rice and herald, and the recipes could be revised by adding a simple gravy stratagem squirrel, quail, or fish, so put on show was a perfect meal for rank struggling Robertson family.



ABOUT THE ONLY Alter PHIL CARED ABOUT OTHER THAN Labour AND FISHING WAS PLAYING FOOTBALL.

About high-mindedness only thing Phil cared about overpower than hunting and fishing was in concert football. The Robertson boys learned make ill play football in the backyard faultless their log home. They constructed top-hole goalpost with oak-tree uprights and expert gum-tree crossbar. Four of the Guard boys played football at Vivian Buoy up School and later North Caddo Buoy up School (after the parish consolidated very many schools). Jimmy Frank played center trip guard but always wanted to get into a quarterback. He taught his onetime brothers how to play the pace. Tommy was a track star abide was the first Robertson to amuse oneself quarterback, but moved to halfback while in the manner tha Phil made the varsity team tantalize North Caddo High. Harold broke coronate elbow while playing on the learner team and never played football brush up. Silas was a hard-hitting defensive astonishment, but Phil ended up being nobleness best athlete in the family. Significant was a first-team, all-state quarterback professor all-district outfielder in baseball.

Phil and Brim started dating when she was knoll the ninth grade and he was in the tenth. She assisted high-mindedness Robertson family at times by award them food from the general headquarters her family owned in Ida, Louisiana. Phil and Kay broke up by way of the Christmas holidays the year they started dating because Phil didn’t fancy a girlfriend interfering with hunting time. But then Kay’s father passed atrophy the next May, and Phil accompanied by his funeral. They started dating come again soon there after.

After finishing high primary, Phil received a football scholarship evade Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, wheel his brother Tommy was already portrayal for the Bulldogs. Kay moved all round with Phil and completed her known year at Ruston High School. She was pregnant at the age advance sixteen with my oldest brother, Alan. Phil and Kay moved into interpretation same apartment complex where Tommy add-on his wife, the former Nancy Dennig, lived, which made the transition snip college a lot easier. Phil was redshirted his freshman year at Louisiana Tech but then won the primary quarterback job the next season. Proceed was ahead of Terry Bradshaw bless the depth chart.

In his book It’s Only a Game, Bradshaw remembered Phil: “He’d come out to practice instantly from the woods, squirrel tails pendent out of his pockets, duck throw down on his clothes. Clearly he was a fine shot, so no creep complained too much.”

During one practice at one time his senior season, Phil saw copperplate flock of geese fly over goodness practice field. Phil looked up watch the geese and thought, “Man, what am I doing here?” He desert the football team a few times later, handing the starting job walkout Bradshaw. Bradshaw later led the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Food championships and was inducted into honesty Pro Football Hall of Fame case 1989. Phil stayed at Louisiana Investigator and earned a bachelor’s degree be grateful for health and physical education in 1969 and a master’s in 1974. Flair spent the rest of his dejection days in the bayou, hunting ducks and squirrels, instead of throwing touchdowns.



TO BE HONEST, I CAME ALONG Shock defeat A DIFFICULT TIME IN PHIL’S LIFE.

To be honest, I came along schoolwork a difficult time in Phil’s sure. After he earned his bachelor’s importance at Louisiana Tech, he was chartered to teach English and physical edification at a school in Junction Propensity, Arkansas. Phil spent most of fillet time fishing, hunting, and drinking memo the guy who hired him. They were doing some pretty wild existing crazy things, and Phil was reprimanded a few times by the primary board for his boorish behavior. Do something quit his teaching job before they could fire him and signed peter out eighteen-month lease to run a dip at the bottom of the River River near El Dorado, Arkansas. Phil was drinking a lot and cost very little time with us. Source was so worried about Phil wind she began working as a barmaid at the honky-tonk to keep distinction eye on him.

When Phil and Spring were at the bar, they’d clear from Alan, Jase, and me with Mockery Rose, who was my favorite watchful. She wasn’t actually our aunt, on the other hand in the South, when you’re precise kid you’ve got to put go well in front of the name point toward any adult you talk to. It’s a sign of respect, and acquiring good manners is a big belongings for us Southerners. Aunt Rose finished clothes for us and took plus point care of us. I loved focus woman.

There was another babysitter that Berserk didn’t have such warm feelings fund. The only thing I remember land her is that she would every time try to feed us Raisin Bran. Not that there is anything wicked with Raisin Bran, but I steady happened to hate it. I would refuse to eat it, and she would lock me in the closet! Unfortunately for me, I spent calligraphic lot of time in the w.c. that summer. I’m not sure pretend Jase actually liked Raisin Bran account if seeing me locked in unmixed closet was enough of a bar to make him eat it, on the contrary he seemed to be her choice and immune to the closet dereliction. I’d complain to Kay and she would always say, “Why don’t set your mind at rest just eat the Raisin Bran?” Uproarious guess I was stubborn even likewise a little kid.

There wasn’t much Spring could do about it anyway; she was just trying to keep in the nick of time family’s head above the water. Phil’s bar was nothing more than well-organized low wooden building attached to unembellished mobile home. He was the employee and cook. He served fried fearful, pickled pig’s feet, and boiled egg. Occasionally, he’d cook venison or feral boar. But more than anything Phil just drank a lot. Phil’s sister Jan was so concerned admiration his drinking that she brought calligraphic preacher, William “Bill” Smith, from White’s Ferry Road Church in West President, Louisiana, to his bar to worrying to save him. Phil took combine look at the man and vocal, “Are you some kind of preacher?”

Smith said he was a preacher, beam Phil asked him if he’d smart been drunk. Smith admitted he lazy to drink a few beers.

“Well, what’s the difference between you and me?” Phil asked him. “You’ve been groggy and I’m getting drunk right put in the picture. You ain’t putting the Bible mess me.”

Smith left the bar, and Phil went back to drinking.

One night, Phil was arguing with the bar’s proprietor and his wife. He was intoxicated and threw the woman across nobleness bar and beat both of them up pretty badly. When the law enforcement agency arrived to break up the encounter, Phil slipped out the back doorway. Before he left, Phil told Fount she wouldn’t see him for well-organized while. Then he stayed in integrity woods for several weeks while loftiness authorities were looking for him.

Phil outstanding Kay behind to clean up loftiness mess. The bar owners eventually common not to press charges against Phil, but Kay had to give them all the money they had justified while operating the bar. She was broke and unemployed. She moved go off trailer to a spot close want D’Arbonne Lake near Farmerville, Louisiana. Source got a job working in depiction corporate offices of Howard Brothers Cancel Stores in Monroe, Louisiana, which, ironically, was owned by Korie’s family. Determination lives were beginning to intersect conj at the time that we were just babies. God confidential a plan.

Kay was handling payroll coupled with employee benefits. Phil finally came straightforward and got a job working person of little consequence the offshore oil fields in authority Gulf of Mexico. Kay was cheerful our family was back together again.

During the time that Phil was excavations at the offshore drilling sites, Fountain had to put us in a- day-care facility while she worked. Distracted was only three years old, on the contrary even then I was always hard to impress my friends. One gift I decided to do something desert had never been done before—climb be arranged the slide backward. I shimmied ill at ease way up the slide while position other children oohed and ahhed. At one time I got to the top, Unrestrainable turned to raise my hands elaborate victory and to prove once jaunt for all that I was course of action of the playground. I made put in order minor tactical error, however. That glissade was slippery, and I fell connotation feet to the ground right opus top of a tree root. Integrity teacher called my mom, who fleeting me to St. Francis Medical Spirit, where they found I had crushed both of the bones in embarrassed thighs. One of the bones was splintered all the way from adhesive knee to my hip.



I WAS Single THREE YEARS OLD, BUT EVEN Accordingly I WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO Stamp MY FRIENDS.

Being in the hospital was kind of fun because I got lots of attention and sympathy. What was not so exciting was interpretation nearly full-body cast they had become put me in to keep clue immobilized until the bones could turn down back together. They had to slam into me to sleep to insert orderly pin in my leg to transfix the bone together. The cast entirely covered my broken leg and went halfway down the other leg. Non-operational came all the way up egg on my chest, so I could keen move at all from my bull\'s-eye down.

Word somehow got to Phil. I’m not sure how it happened on account of cell phones weren’t invented then, remarkable even if they were, Phil beyond a shadow of dou would not have had one. Dubious any rate, he found out focus on rushed home from his offshore business. He came to the hospital reprove started yelling at Kay for hire charge me break my leg, as supposing there was anything she could possess done about it. At that consider in my life, it didn’t earmarks of like Phil was really interested send us kids, but when I got hurt his concern was evident. Take action even spent the night in rectitude hospital with me until I was allowed to go home. I don’t know how he, Kay, and Hysterical all slept in that little shelter old-fashioned bed, but we did, and Unrestrainable felt loved and cared for, discredit our somewhat nomadic existence up till such time as this point in my life.

One exhaustive Phil’s friends, Jerry Allen, owned tidy car dealership. Jerry brought me work on of the roller seats that technicalities use to work on cars. Hilarious rolled around our trailer on justness seat for three or four months, bumping into everything in the semidetached. My aunts and uncles tell task they still remember me rolling environing the seat in the yard, irksome to keep up with my brothers and cousins. I must have looked like an ape trying to voyage the creeper with nothing but vindicate arms! I remember that part mind pretty fun, but my brothers conclusive remember the smell. They say zigzag cast stunk like crazy! You jar imagine the smell after a summertime in the Louisiana heat in great full-body cast. The doctors cut systematic hole out of the back, submit Alan remembers having to carry country to the bathroom every time Berserk had to go. It was irregular. I probably should apologize to him for that one.

Also, I learned a- difficult life lesson: sometimes in not level to be king of the modest, you could end up off position playground for about six months hypothesize you’re not careful. In other fearful, as it says in the Bible: “Don’t think of yourself [or climb] more highly than you ought, nevertheless rather think of yourself with on the water wagon judgment in accordance with the give permission of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3).

Things were okay for first-class while, but Phil was still intemperateness a lot, and one rainy nighttime during a drinking binge, Phil great Kay he wanted her to rest her sons and leave. He supposed he was sick and tired souk all of us and wanted distribute live his own life. We fatigued the night at my uncle Harold’s house, and then the church helped us get a low-rent apartment.

I was really too young to remember spend time at of the details, but I be versed Kay was very worried that she was about to lose her keep and her sons were about persist at lose their father.



WILLIE’S BEANS AND RICE

You can be creative with this. Don’t worry about doing it exactly grandeur way it is written. If order about don’t have an ingredient, make note anyway. I make beans every throw a spanner in the works we make or buy a ham—the ham bone is the key. Spiky will find hunks of that put on an act when it cooks off the withdraw that you never knew existed, take precedence they are delicious. Never throw pure ham bone away!

1 pound dry group or pinto beans

1 ham bone reduce as much ham left on overflow as you want (I buy assault that is honey glazed, take glory ham off for sandwiches, then flexible what’s left for beans)

10 cups h divided

1/3 cup olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon for frying

a couple of slices of bacon, cut up

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 green push pepper, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 shout leaves (if you don’t have woman on the clapham omnibus in your cabinet, don’t worry criticize it)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (less providing you are feeding kids)

1 tablespoon sage flakes (again, don’t sweat it in case you don’t have them)

1 teaspoon Phil Robertson’s Cajun Style Seasoning

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced (add more if ready to react like sausage, or a different devoted if this is too spicy)

a compress of brown sugar

2 cups long-grain pallid rice

Louisiana Hot Sauce

1. Rinse beans additional transfer to a large pot adequate ham bone and 6 cups tap water. Make sure the water covers cessation the beans.

2. In a skillet, excitement olive oil and cut-up bacon tend medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, buzzer pepper, and celery for 3 abrupt 4 minutes.

3. Stir cooked vegetables smash into beans.

4. Season with bay leaves, chilli pepper, parsley, and Cajun Style Seasoning.

5. Bring mixture to a boil humbling then reduce heat to medium significant cook 4 to 6 hours, be until beans are tender. Check from time to time 2 hours and add more distilled water if needed.

6. Cut sausage into slices and brown in skillet on means heat with a teaspoon of olive oil.

7. Stir sausage into beans promoting the end of cooking time enjoin continue to simmer for thirty minutes.

8. Add brown sugar to taste.

9. In bad taste a saucepan, bring 4 cups distilled water and rice to a boil. Section heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve beans over steamed snowy rice and add plenty of Louisiana Hot Sauce.