Catch it . . ."THE EVERLASTING STREAM"

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I lucked out nicely today. I hustled down from doing some chores to catch the news on the tube and bumped into a video on WGBHD by accident. The video is about the “Good Old Guys” hunting and how things all came about through the years. It is a heartwarming story that I believe many here would enjoy. The video only comes on one other time (as far as I can tell) and that is on Sunday, Dec. 30, from 9 to 10 AM. I truly hope some of you can catch it, it’s a winner! I believe it was on in November too, I missed that one, perhaps some caught that show? (Is WGBH turning over a new twig?)

- Rabbit-Hunting in Barren County, Kentucky, Yields Life Lessons -​

THE EVERLASTING STREAM recalls Harrington's first hunting trip with his father-in-law, Alex, in Barren County, Kentucky. Harrington had never shot a rabbit. A high-profile Washington Post reporter with a taste for manicures and expensive suits, he felt silly in his borrowed hunting gear, not quite knowing how to hold the shotgun Alex had given him as a gift. And he worried about whether he would get along with Alex's hunting buddies, Bobby, Lewis and Carl - three rough-edged African-American country men who seemed to have nothing in common with the white city slicker. Little did he know that over the next two decades, these four "good ol' country guys" would change not only his opinions about hunting, but his feelings about the things that mattered most to him.

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When his son turned 12, Harrington began to take him hunting, too, believing his suburban boy would benefit from spending time in the forests and fields and seeing his grandfather with men whose idea of love and friendship always put actions before words.

Over Thanksgiving morning rabbit hunts and a steady stream of wisecracks (especially about the time he accidentally sprayed his father-in-law with shotgun pellets), Harrington came to appreciate the value of old-fashioned friendship and masculinity, the complexities of guilt and responsibility, and the enduring magic of a memorable moment.

But turns witty, revelatory and elegant, THE EVERLASTING STREAM, for which Harrington won a regional Emmy, reminds viewers of the small and not-so-small treasures in life.

Video clip ~ http://www.pbs.org/theeverlastingstream/​

 

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Perhaps the book might do . . .

Harrington, Walt. "The Everlasting Stream"; a true story of rabbits, guns, friendship, and family

Reflections on the world's oldest sport​

REVIEW BY REBECCA DENTON

When Walt Harrington first took to the woods with his father-in-law to hunt rabbits, it wasn't by choice. A Washington Post reporter at the time, Harrington was a city slicker with a taste for expensive wines, tailored suits and original art. Tramping through frosty fields at dawn in blood-stained overalls was not his idea of a good time, but he felt duty-bound to try out his new shotgun, a gift from his wife's father.

Harrington viewed hunting as an archaic pastime, if not downright barbaric. Why hunt animals, he thought, when hunting is no longer necessary for survival?

In his new book, The Everlasting Stream: A True Story of Rabbits, Guns, Friendship, and Family, Harrington tackles this question and others in an attempt to make sense of the age-old activity and life in general. He succeeds in writing a graceful, introspective memoir that takes a candid look at the ritual of modern-day hunting and the moral minefields that surround it. With well-researched points about hunting woven through stories of his childhood and career, Harrington debates the morality of killing animals for sport.

For more than a decade, Harrington has spent every Thanksgiving holiday in the fields of rural Kentucky with his father-in-law's tight-knit group of hunting buddies—blue-collar African-American men who grew up dirt poor. In time, the award-winning white journalist finds that he has a lot to learn from these rough-edged men, some of whom have been hunting together for half a century.

With a straightforward style and a practiced eye for detail, Harrington describes how hunting evolves into a life-affirming activity for him—a way to experience nature, companionship and "heightened acuity."
Everlasting Stream is sure to give even the most devout anti-hunting advocates—and workaholics—some compelling ideas to ponder. Part memoir, part essay, the book is more than a treatise on hunting. It's a moving tribute to four unassuming men and a stirring commentary on life.

Rebecca Denton is a copy editor and freelance writer in Nashville.