Duck Call Room - Uncle Si Gets Real About Why 2025 Was ROUGH

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

Uncle Si preps for a new year by roasting 2025, teasing his very non-romantic midnight plans, and getting hopelessly confused about whether the Black Eyed Peas are food, music, or leftovers. John Luke steers the conversation toward reflection and hope, drawing out what Si wants to leave behind and what he’s carrying into 2026. Martin winces as his twins learn a painful bathroom lesson, and John-David gets completely lost but engaged in the flood of Spotify and YouTube Wrapped stats listeners are sending. - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the Duck Call Room, ladies and gentlemen, as we promised. Our holiday special guest is back with us and here for New Year's Eve. John Luke's back in the house, baby. John Luke, he just keeps showing up and I keep loving it. I like holidays. He's a holiday friend. Oh, man. This is going to be great if he's our holiday guy.

Sign me up. Yeah. He entertains me. He says funny things that I go and tell my life later. that barely beating the weirdo allegations i've been laughing about that for a week yeah that's a good man i may kate was like i can't believe you said that oh i i told everybody that's who we are that's that's the direction we're headed yeah yesterday was fully good one-liners wow what a life man here we are 2026 is upon us it is it is it is here thank god that is here

2025 can eat my butt cheeks yeah whatever what do you ever kiss my but get out of here. We're done with you, 2025. Yeah, you had the, your 20, was similar to my end of 20 and most of 21, so I get it. You run through those stages of life, man. Just move on from this one,

chalk it up and go for four. Yeah, can we see if we turn this page that everything will be all right? And it, hey, I will say it settles down. Yeah, sure. That's why I'm looking forward to it. For your sake, though, following that, I got, I figured out we were having twins.

I don't know that, I don't know that I want that for you, but if you do, I know a guy, That's right where you are. I'm leaving that to my namesake, John Lou. Say, what's your plans for the end of 2025? Right. Carry on. Carry on.

Are you going to ring in the new year? You're going to be up at midnight? No. Are you going to do it? I don't waste my time on junk like that. Are you going to like do the new year? It's called New Year's Eve junk? Yeah.

Why has it got to be junk? Well, hey, if it keeps me up, anything that keeps me up is junk. What about poker? Well, that ain't junk. It keeps you. you up that's money yeah but that's money involved in that that's money going out not always

just most of the time no it evens out does it yeah does it well when you it's wondering about what goes around comes back around yeah so we just give it to each other back and forth yeah just a circle yeah just a circle

well that's what all good friends should do right it's about it ain't about the money I told them, I said, if you ever make me mad and make it about the money, then you all be broke. There you go. I'll break you. New Year's Day, you eating you some black-eyed peas and cabbage? No, probably not.

Really? I probably eat ducking dressing. Oh, I do love black-eyed peas. The only person that ever figured out cabbage is the haba-batchi shit. Oh, no, well, that's good because, hey, then to give a good salad, and you got to have the pepper. Yeah, chow-chow, whatever you want to call it. pepper sauce.

There's a bunch of different things. I have greens. But I do enjoy black eyed peas. So that's, with a big, with a big pot of greens. Yeah. And then put pepper sauce on both of them.

Yeah. Delicious. Yeah, that way you start 2026 with a good clean out. That's right. You don't carry none of 2025 with you. You got to have a pollen cleanser, boys. You do it.

You get it on out of the way. That's right. And call it good. There's just other ways to do it besides black eyed peas. But they're good. Their music's not good. taste good. I'm all forms of black eyed peas. Yeah, they do.

You take that back. Black eyed peas are awesome. They are. You are the It is. He's right. They are awesome. I know John Luke's barely beating the weirdo allegations, but you, so, hold on. You're a black-eyed peas guy? Big furgelicious kind of fella.

Yes. Hey, that's a grandson of a farmer, so surely he likes black-eyed peas. But the band don't make any of all the things that Hunter is. Hey, uh, that's outcast.

No, that's the one you should be listening to. I do. Oh, so you're a big outcast fan, okay. When gardens come into being. Who?

Okay, gardens. We're talking about Will I am. Oh, yo. Tomatoes and cucumbers and all that stuff start growing. Yeah. Then, hey, all you cook

that way is, hey, your first meal is everything I the garden fresh there you go you hear that hunter squash cut you up some nice big i don't think can we call the black-eyed peas fresh anymore no they're they're kind of leftovers right at this point are they still make new music no what you mean left no they'll make new music there's a hold on hold on please are not left left we have to address this no no no do not i want to keep this going there's a reason i'm doing what I'm doing.

I want to see how long it takes to figure out we're talking about humans and not people. So there's a group of humans known as the black-eyed peas. Oh, you're talking about that crazy bunch.

Yeah. Oh, good creep. I thought you were talking about both. I know. I wanted to see how long we could keep divergent conversations going about it. That's what that was.

The dean and the Pee. Oh, you're talking about the band, the black-eyed. Which apparently hunters into, which doesn't really match his... He's into vintage black eyed piece.

Punk rock, movie-going... Christian metal. Yeah, eclectic self. Well, the black-eyed peas are kind of like a black crows. Are they? I don't think so. They both are black in there, right? Yeah, they are.

How's that? I would call those on severe opposite ends of the... They're not on the same... No. ...odify playlist anywhere. Well, they're both weird. The black crows are awesome There is a world where

Where is the Love and She Talks to Angels would be on the same playlist And it would be on my phone Because no, not Where's the Love I have a playlist In that both of those are on it That's all the boys Remember those allegations you thought you were beating?

Uh-huh I'm so confused by Hunter's Love for the Black Eyed Peas It's like it offended him Uh Is that like a top 10 musical group? for you, sir? I started listening to them while I was editing this like a few months ago. And they're amazing to edit to. Right. Wait, time. How do you listen to something while you're editing? So I already know what you guys said and I wrote down notes. Yeah. So if I'm just looking at my

notes and I already know what you guys are saying, I don't have to pay it. I'm just looking for camera cuts and cutting out weird noises. How many channels do you have going? on in that frazzar little brain of yours. So that means that every episode of Duck Car Room in the last few weeks has been influenced. By the black-eyed peas.

Yeah, by the black-eyed peas. Subconsciously, you've been Fergalicious. Editing this podcast to the Black-Eyed Peas. Last week, it was a newer, but 90s-style rap. You told me that. What is that? Hold on, huh. I'm interested in whatever this

The album was called Punk Tactics. Let me see who does it. I'm telling y'all, I know that we have a podcast, but Hunter deserves his own. And just so people can ask him questions and then be confused by him. Joey Valence and Bray. Don't know what that means. Sorry, I'm not trying to steal the show. No, you're fine.

No, we want you to someday, son. Yeah, this is interesting. I just didn't know a kid with anime shirts listening to Black Eyed Peas. Never saw it coming. I will say he is a coat of many colors over there. An onion. Yeah, lots of layers. Give Scott a raise, is all I got to say.

I do have one question, though, for you, Hunter. You didn't buy a ring for Christmas, did you? No. Okay. What about New Year's? No. What about Valentine's? Not yet.

No. What about St. Patrick's Day? No. What about my birthday? Maybe. Maybe. Oh, all right. Okay, so we made it to May.

May is a maybe. I should have went with April Fool's Day. I couldn't think of any major days after St. Patrick's Day. Easter? Wow. That's a big one. That's on me. Could have put it in an egg.

But don't hear me telling you how to do your job. Hey, remember when this thing first started? We were part of some proposals. We were. People asked us how, no, I hadn't got that. Oh, I was hoping we had a new one. No, no. People hadn't asked that.

Apparently they didn't like our suggestions on how to propose. But I think I think I don't. Our track record was good. It was. I mean, I think it... We even had somebody proposing this chair. In here, right? Yeah.

I had... Yeah. We got the picture somewhere of somebody on a knee in here. If Philip McMillan was here, he could pull him up in three seconds or less, but... Yeah, Philip keeps a very strong catalog of all those things, but... Yes, he does. I don't know what is... What is coming in 2020?

In 20206, like, the revival's back, right? Revival season two. Yeah. Do we know when that is yet? They're saying March right now. March. March of 2020. So we got new Duck Dynasty coming for everybody.

Yeah. I know of a certain episode that I will enjoy, but I'm not going to tell people about it. You'll have to tune in to find out. I enjoyed all the episodes. Season two is really funny. Season two, I was on one particular one with your children. Oh.

Still have nightmares from it. Yeah. They went shopping. Shopping. Yeah. Yeah, I was trying to, I, we did them all so back to back and so fast. I don't even remember which one was season one and which one was season two.

I'm trying to figure out. I was going to figure out. I was trying to figure out because we were shooting pickups for ones that were about to air and like I just got it. It's all. It's all up in there.

All scrambled up in there. Yeah, that's a... That'll be good. That's 2026. Oh, but the first one of season two is really fun, right? That was the competition stuff. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I don't want...

Yeah, that one's a cool one. Yeah, that one was fun. that one was a lot of fun to be a part of. So you'll have to wait and see. You have to wait and see. I know. I don't want to like give it too much away. Yeah, but that one's top tier.

That one, that one's good. That is pure torture what we just did to people. I know, but you got to get excited about. Hey, it's coming in March. Here's you a teaser.

It's great. Yeah. Wait. It is. That first one was solid. That's a long time to wait though. No, they'll be fine.

Well, some people are, some people will be listening to this the last week of February. Like, not everybody listens to us all in one shots. All right, look, springtime is here. It's warming up.

You know what that means. That means more outside cooking. And y'all know we love to eat beef around here. And that's what because of our friends over at Tritels beef makes such a good product, ain't it good? It's so good. Our friend, Sao Robertson would say, buy on the grill. Look, before we got Tritels, getting ready for a cookout, man, somebody had to run the grocery

store, do all the things, grab whatever was left in case you were late in the day. and you never really know where that beef comes from. But with Triedales beef, we skip the grocery store and do it a different way. Triedales comes from a family ranch out in Texas. They're a fifth generation American ranch. So they've been at it for a while. Now, look, the beef comes straight from their ranch and other ranchers they work with who raise cattle the same way.

Their steaks are properly aged and shipped straight from the ranch to your door. We threw a couple of ribbys on the grill. Look, salt, pepper, garlic, hot fire, that's all you need. Look, because I tell you what, when the beef comes from people who raise cattle for a living, you can taste the difference. The tenderness and the flavor are fantastic. So if you're stocking the freezer for grilling season, go check out Tritails Beef. I know in size case, Christine loves it, which is just a, she doesn't eat meat.

She and a big meat easier, folks. Yeah. Just go to trybeef.com slash. That's trybeef.com slash support ranch families and eat some dang good steak. We do have some people this year that have tuned in, and I appreciate them very much. But they're like, hey, just found the duck call room. Listen to every one of them. Yeah, by the way, thank you all for sending all your Spotify rap list.

Got to give it up to my Irishman. Yeah, he's still what, top point zero, zero, zero, zero. Oh, he's still number one. You ain't catching that. That guy's not. We're not catching Andrew Quigley. Andrew is, some guy sent it in and thought he was going to be number one and got doubled by Andrew. So, Andrew, you're the man if you're out there.

I do have something from Christmas, though, left over. What's that? I got a note from Ashley. And I got to apologize to Ashley because I probably should have had this earlier. But I got a lot of packages at work and I one slip through it. But she asked on Instagram if I wanted any Christmas tree cake earrings. Yeah. And I sent it to Brittany and Allison.

And Brittany said, oh, heck, yeah. Oh, yeah. So Ashley, thank you for the Christmas tree cake earrings. I might wear them myself. and she sent us these little duck snowman. But also, I'm just going to give her a shout out because she sent on, what are these called? A letter.

A letter. That was weird. A handwritten letter. Yeah, handwritten letter threw me all off. But she basically was saying, she listens to us on tough days. She has had a son with three brain surgeries in the first four months of his life.

But now he's doing great, but some days are tougher than others. and I just wanted to tell her, keep, keep trudging. Holy cow. Yeah. That's incredible. Yeah. That is incredible.

Well, here's the hoping and praying that 2026 continues to trend well for you. Yeah, it's trending well. But Ashley, and all that she's got going on said, I want to make Allison and Brittany, and there's a second pair that Lottie's getting because you ain't got no girls. I was like, what a nice person. So thank you, Ashley. I don't know what I'm going to do. I come home, Brittany wearing Christmas tree cakes on her ears.

We don't want to hear about it. This is a kids podcast, man. Children are listening. Is this a kid's podcast? A lot of kids listen. Yeah, a lot of kids listen. Shout out to Big Mac. He'll know.

I got to bring Big Mac in here, by the way. Oh, man. He's the world's biggest Duck Dynasty fan, and he's in Benz's class at school, and he asked me questions about Duck Dynasty that I can't possibly remember. And then the other day, we were playing baseball against Gus,

and Jeff was there. Big Mac kind of got distracted on the on-deck, circle because Jeff was in the crowd. He's like, hey, Mr. Jeff. Well, Jeff and Jessica have a new, I saw they have a new show or something. I just saw that was announced. Yeah. You never know what Jeff and Jessica are doing across the board.

I really don't know. I really. Oh, they got to do something going on? According to the interwebs they do. Okay. So go check that out. Yeah, check that out. Whatever it is.

Whatever it is. I'm trying to think of the right way. It's about Texas, about their Texas stuff. So about their Texas. Jeff and Jess beyond the bayou. There you go. Eight part series. There you go.

Nice. I'll watch it. Yeah. I'll watch it. Jeff's the nicest one of all of us. That's true. Is he? Name a nicer.

Yeah, Jeff doesn't get many crosswords. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. He's the nicest one of all of us. That comes from, I think, an intense case of apathy. Is that the right word? Yeah, where you don't care. Like there ain't a lot that stirs Jep up. About life in general, I'm saying.

Like, as long as he's breathing, he's cool. Like, if we were to do a tournament of the nicest of anybody ever associated with Duck Commander, Duck Dynasty. Yeah. And it was like, well, you're going to put Jep and Stone in a competition? Jeep wins. Mm-hmm. Jepp and Jason a competition? Jeff wins.

Yeah. He's a nice guy. Him and Saigon duke it out. Who's nicer? Unless an angry Christmas sigh comes out. You are Jeff? You are? Are you nicer?

or are you more joyful? No, I'm nicer. And joyful. And more joyful. Yeah, I will say you exude joy. I'll give you that part of it. Exudes joy. Every once I go.

But every now and then, you watch the news and come in here angry. So that's what. Yeah, don't get me started on that. We will not. We will do our best not to. The only news I know. You're talking about years here. 2025 is the end of it's coming.

Yeah. And the new year, 26 is coming. Amen. You know, and my hope for, you know, the human race is, hey, I sure hope we have a better year in 2026 than we had in 2025. Yeah, that should always be the whole goal, right? Yeah. Every year gets a little better instead of...

Instead of going the other way? Instead of going the other way, yeah. Yeah. Well, when are we going to learn to try God's way? Love him first and foremost. And then, hey, go horizontal and love your neighbor. There you go.

Pretty easy, right? Yeah. At least you could try. At least you could try. Giving it my best attempt. I actually like my neighbors. It's jealous. Yeah.

He's nicest guy now. But me and Jeff has got a lot of times. You got an easy neighbor. Because we really don't give a flip. Yeah. They're in a whole lot to get you boys. The only thing that gets you stirred up is stupid. I will say stupidity gets you

Yeah, but that don't get you stirred up Why? Anymore? I always got a pregnant women in, boys. That's what makes life joyful. I heard it too. What? Pregnant?

Yeah. I know, I was like sometimes. But I think he said bring the. Yeah. Bring the. He's always got to bring the women in. Hey. What's your goals?

Do you, you don't set goals for the new year, do you? No. I bet John Luke's a word guy. Are you a I got a word of the year guy? Oh, for sure. Definitely. Have you picked the one for 26 yet? Yeah, I've been thinking about it.

Twins? Twins. Everything I'm going to do in 26th. Double it, baby. I'm going to double it. Double it. I like it. I think that's what's got you into this situation.

Say what? You may want to consider backing down. No, no. What's? Hey, double it. Double it. Double it. I've never been able to do that.

do the word for the year thing. Too many words are in my head. Yeah, how do you pick just one? Allison's good at it. It's like her favorite thing. Really? She's going to have a word for the year. Yeah. Really? You're going to take that to her classroom, you think? Uh, maybe. My word for last year, let's hear it.

For 25 was learn. You? Yes. Learned. Learned. Yeah, you got, 2025. I like it. There's always more stuff to learn. But you read more than anyone I know.

Double it, Jack. I know, and I wanted to learn more stuff. Because whenever I think of, that's funny, because whenever I think of you, I think of like, whatever he gets into, he's going to know everything there is to know about it, forwards and backwards. I got my YouTube wrapped.

They did that thing. Oh, yeah. And I had listened to a thousand and 68 different YouTube channels. in the past year. Different YouTube channels. Is there that many? I didn't even know I could listen to that. I don't even know how I listened to that many different ones.

But my... Here come them allegations again. Yeah. What was number one? Oh, wait. I actually want to explore the man that is John Luke right now. Okay, here we go. Because you're a learned man.

I'm going to have to go look at my YouTube. Mine are going to be all like... Miss Rachel. A bunch of... No, but I'm saying like the variety is going to be on fixing stuff. because like I YouTube a lot of like, you know, how to put your belt back on your lawnmower. And, you know, I'll watch two or three different people do it or something like that. And then you go and like stuff I don't know how to do that I'm like, I'm not paying somebody to do this.

Like I possess the ability to do said things. That was my number one. Number one in top interest was DIY home projects. There it is. Number two is leather working tutorials. Is that a new hobby of yours? That's a new hobby. That's a good one.

I haven't actually made any of these. yet. I was fixed. That isn't going, though. Hold on. The thing you spent the second most time on in the entire year. You haven't even tried it yet? Haven't tried it.

He just learned about it. That's my word for next year. Make. Execute. Execute. Action. 2025 was learned. 2026 is execution.

I can only do one thing at a time, one thing a year. Oh, that's amazing. That's good. He said leather working. I was like, what have you made? Nothing. Not a thing. But I've watched a lot of videos now.

We got to learn. Process begins with learning. Then you got to execute. My number three was fantasy book reviews. That makes sense. And I have read, I think I'm at like 56 books for this year. Okay. So book keep, most of those being fantasy.

Number four is beekeeping basics. Okay. And number five was 3D printing guides. You may need to go holler, Jep. 3D printing notes. I think three of the five he's pretty into. That all makes a lot of sense for you. Except the leather one.

I didn't see that coming. Everything else I saw coming. Yeah. Well, what was weird was my top guy, though, was ancient history. So that was my other thing. Ancient history. And fantasy. And fantasy.

Big Lord of the Rings guy. Big Lord of the Rings guy. I watched a three-minute video this morning where they inserted Ace Ventura into the Lord of the Rings and had a great time. But I'm not as smart as John Luke. I'm more of the low-hanging fruit of the internet kind of fellow. It was hilarious. I see Hunter over there furiously looking at his YouTube rap. Hunter?

Hunter? Do you want a picture of it? I don't want a picture. I just want to know. don't want to say it's hard to explain, but it left out all the editing tutorials I watch and just said I watch a lot of gaming content. Where do you find this, by the way? It just, it should like show up on the top. On the top. On YouTube? What's your YouTube rap? Oh, here we go. My recap. Oh, I don't want to give mine, but I feel like

y'all are going to. I mean, mine's going to be a lot of duck on. Hold on. Did we get to all of hunters? Competitive gaming, superhero. movies and funny game moments? You just watching other people play video games, sir? Number one, construction vehicles in action. That's Waylon and Jackson. That's excavators and road graders and

Earthmovers. All the fun things. Hey, my number one channel was Mark Daniels Jr. Oh, shout out, Mark. Then Wheeler. Yeah, all my buddy. I watch all my buddy stuff, trying to support my buddies by watching their content.

This is embarrassing. You showed many different sides of you. Oh, they described me as resourceful. Home repair, DIY. I got that one too. Yeah. Outdoorsy, you don't say. Tech savvy, that is a lie.

Well, yeah, if you were looking up stuff, you wouldn't be tech savvy. Night vision scopes. I didn't look up night vision scopes, did I? Tech product reviews. I have done that. I do look up new. You match nicely with one personality, Okay.

The adventurer. You're drawn to content that takes you on an exciting journey. All right, folks, hello at duckcallroom.com. I want to know. You want to know what other people are watching? Yeah, well, I want to know like the one word things, like the resourceful. Yeah, that's your word of the year. Yeah, like.

I'll go through them. I'm embarrassed, by the way. Oh, that's a big one. I'm surprised that's not one that's more. Yeah. I watch an uncomfortable amount of. of live storm chases when it's tornado season. That's weird.

I do. I love watching somebody who's brave enough to drive their vehicle into a tornado. I am certainly not. So I find that stuff fascinating. Most likely to fix anything with a wrench and a smile. I'm not getting any of those nice things said about me. What are yours then, friend? Well, sadly number four is duck call room.

And I don't even watch it. Ah, you slide in a live chat like I do. every once a while, but I don't watch a lot of YouTube. Ryan Trahan, he took over the number one spot from this summer. And then it's all how to do Disney World correctly, so you don't get beat by the nerds that don't know how to do it. Pretty much all I did on YouTube. Well, you had a big Disney trip, so that makes sense.

You probably spent a lot of time researching. Is your word Disney adult? No, not a Disney adult, but I'm the greatest dad in the world when we get there. Because them other dads don't know what's going on. I'm like running this day. When the boys get old enough, we're all going together. I'm just going to tell them to follow you. I got you.

I almost hurt my in-laws this year. I made them walk too much. There you go. You're like, we did too much. I said, no, we didn't. We didn't do enough. You know where we can add? I'm not trying to sit down.

Yeah, we've prepaid for 95% of this. We're about to get our money's worth. And then Mark Rober. My kids take over my YouTube pretty much. Yeah, that's same. I'm a little worried that the duck call room was number four because Carter was just watching himself over and over again. Oh, now that checks up.

You got to up those numbers, though. He watched the other night when he was on, and he made a joke on there. And he goes, oh, man, that was good. I said, don't say that. He's giving himself props. When you got it, you got it. Yeah. I am not surprised that number one was construction vehicles, though.

My Spotify wrapped was the weird one. Spotify. Oh, I only had. Music I listened to. My top artist was Matthew West because I cannot get in my truck with my kids without listening to unashamed. So we listen to him a lot. You're welcome if that made you any money, Matthew.

I don't know if it does or not, but my kids, they love the song Unashamed. And still do. I haven't grown weary of that one yet and haven't found a new one. I think I wanted to read off my top five genres because I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in America that had Christian hip hop. Yeah. Worship music. Somehow country snuck in there. Oh.

And then musicals. Musical. Oh, Lion King. Yeah. I was the only person that got those five. Yeah. Hunter? Oh, we don't even want to know.

I do want to know what genres they put Hunter into. Punk rock. Yeah. Yeah, no, it was embarrassing. It was like punk rock alternative hardcore. And then at the very bottom, it said rap, which I didn't even think I listened to that much rap. Well, you did just say you've listened to. Well, where do you put blackout peas?

Yeah. I thought it was hip-hop. Oh, I don't know. That's pop. Is it? Yeah, that's like, no. So I would have. your Spotify or YouTube rap look like?

Zize lost. We've lost Sire game. No, in music. Yeah, he's really close to taking a second map ever on here. Wide burst in music. Yeah, he'll listen. I like it off. But he'll look mostly 70s and 80s country or funk.

Hey, but I will say, you know how those people send it in and they're like in the top 0.1% of the duck call room? Yeah. I was that. For Indie Tribe. And then they literally. put it out there. I listened to more than only 255 people got me beat. No big deal if you're listening

and I doubt it. You're welcome. And let me know if you're ever in town. What is Indy Tribe? Christian hip hopped. Oh, okay. Yeah. I didn't know. Bring out your Bible. Hop in the pit and start a revival. It's good jump rober music, man. Is that like the little kids? Yeah, I was here a jump rope playlist. Oh, it's all Christian hip-hop. Andy Minio, La Cray. Indy Tribe, no big deal, all of them. We need to show a side of that kid.

I sent you on Instagram. Who did you send me on Instagram? The little young Christian hip hop guy who? Nope. I just remember that. No, we don't have to show side of that. And we even show him that? I don't know.

We can show him in a break. We may not can show him on. Yeah. Okay, wait, I said my word for the year. I don't have a word. I've never done this. Okay. One year my friend of mine had the best New Year's resolution ever.

What? And I copied it. No new vices. Yeah, just stick with your old ones. Yeah, just stick with the old ones. Don't pick up anything that you haven't started yet. Yeah. No new bad habits.

Uh-huh. Yeah. So keep the bad habits all in line. Yeah, just keep them under, keep the ones you got under control. Drinking too many coax, don't add something else to that. Yeah. Yeah. I don't really have any.

I haven't thought about it. I've been kind of. I don't know what I'm going to try and do in 2026. Okay, here's some other things I think I do to think about this. Yeah. Because I do all of it. Yeah. Word resolutions.

You probably write them down and everything. I got like a notebook. I got like a calendar. I got like its own calendar in there. Yeah. Like all the things. So here's the, you think about,

here's a question I ask myself. It's a birthday question, but I'll give it to y'all. for New Year's. What is something that you are going to leave behind in 25 and what's something that you're going to take with you? So like what's something that you were doing or something about something, it could be like your personality or about, you know, something physical that you're going to leave. And then what's something you learned this past year that you're like, I'm going to focus on that in the next year. Implement that. Implement that. And then that, you can

to take that to like be your word. John Luke is officially the deepest member of the duck call room right then. The deepest question we ever talk about to be fair, we're a pretty shallow pool. Yeah, I mean, I am going to make a healthy attempt to leave Copenhagen in 2025. You're going to do it. I'm going to make a healthy attempt as I am doing right now with these little pouches in my mouth, which I must say are not as fulfilling when you've been doing this for, let's call it 25 years.

Let's call it 25 years. That math doesn't check out to the legality standard, sir. Yeah, we're in West Monroe. You know, we're... Well, Sa, did you quit smoking? Was that a New Year's resolution or was that a... No, that was an interest in living. Yeah, I was medical.

Yeah, that was post-bypass. John looked like me in a lot of ways. he's always thinking about like what I'm going to leave behind is I want to get better at being a human being and especially when I'm with someone else that I've just met. Yeah. Try to improve me first try to improve myself and then when I go out and meet somebody, try to help him improve himself or herself. Yeah.

That's good. You know, because I was, you know, here lately I've been told me on a podcast about life. Okay, because our Constitution says, I've got to give them a right for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Well, that, you know, that's just three words, but that's, that's a lot. It's profound when you get, really get into it. You know, and especially if you're, you're unselfish and looking at others about how can I, how can I help them, have a better life. So your word might be mentor.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's just one of the things that, like you said, you know, that would be a good goal. What part of your life that you would call trash, you want to leave behind. And then looking forward, what do you want to pick up and put in your life,

okay that is helpful for not only you put those around you that you come and contact you it's a really it's a really good goal yeah yeah to shoot for you know because everybody you know I said it y'all laugh when I said but life is rough and sucks a lot amen oh it does and there's periods there definitely there are definitely periods that yeah yeah worse than others for sure. Well, I would say cycles. Yeah. Yeah.

It's very. It's always, it's always circling back. Yeah. The peaks and the valley. You get out of a rut and then next day you know, you back in the stupid thing. Yeah. And you're saying, wait a minute. How did I get here?

Yeah. This sucks and I don't like it. And I don't know. I really don't understand how I went from this to back in the stupid rut again. Yeah. And that was one of them. my goals like for this hunting season was to make duck hunting fun again like because we've done it for a job for so long that you forget to have fun while you're doing it yeah you forget to have fun

there's no joy in what you're doing anymore and anymore like even this year i've made it a point like for the first 20 30 40 minutes of the morning to not even worry about my shotgun like to just sit there and watch and just take it all in and watch ducks be dogs and and who cares if you're if we get them on camera or not. Like, you know, just have fun doing it again. That's what most people don't understand. You can go through life. That's like, that's like, okay, when you ask, are you a Christian?

Well, I consider myself one, but are you really a Christian? You know, not only do you talk to talk, but do you walk to walk? You know, because I know people that's once a church all their life. And they hadn't got a relationship with Jesus. They don't even know him. Y'all, and when you look at that and you say, wait a minute, what did you just say? Well, I was like that in my own life. I mean, we was always there whenever the doors were open.

But I didn't really have a close relationship with Jesus until I got older. You know, I was there, but I wasn't in. involved. So just because you say, okay, well, I show up all the time, that don't mean nothing. When you show up, are you involved in the process of what is going on? Yeah. And that's what people, if hunting, if all it was to hunting was pulling the trigger, I would sell every gun I got at the house.

And folks, I got a bunch of them. Okay. And would never go again. it's not about the hunt it's about who you're with when you're hunting absolutely yeah that's what's made it fun again too i've had like five people already this year shoot their first one and it's been like because here's there you know here's a news flash for you to alert the most important thing that will happen with you is hey who do you have a relationship with because hey that That goes from mom and dad to neighbors to brothers, all that.

The most important thing in your life is, is a relationship. How many do you have and who are they with? And what importance do you place on that? Every time I think we're not talented, we just went from the black-eyed piece to this. Hey. You know, we got it, man. We got some. We got something.

We got something. Hey, well, we got something. Hey, life is too short, number one. Yeah. Okay. And if you don't pay attention, you won't be involved with it and you won't be enjoying it. Yeah. Amen.

No, you get caught up in it and you worry about the. Yeah. You let the world. Yeah. You're like a stupid, uh, one of them things that the wind blows. A windmill. Uh, uh, uh, They actually grow, but then when they die.

Dandelion? Huh? Dandelion? No, I don't know. It's like a weed, a giant bush. Like a tumbleweed? Yeah, a tumbleweed. You're like a tumbleweed.

You're just here and being blown from here to there, back, whatever. And you ain't got no... Roots. No direction or no goal in your life. You're just being tossed to and fro like a tumbleweed. Yeah. Like a tumbleweed. You're not involved in your life, okay, with trying to say, okay,

I need to go a different direction. Now, most people don't understand about religion. Religion is one thing. Hey, you're going one direction and it sucks. Well, hey, wake up, tummy. Turn around. Stop and turn these directions. Go another way.

I believe Peter said repent. Yeah, try something different. I mean the same thing. I love it. That is interesting. You know, life is not, you know, it's, you know, it's profound in so many ways, but it's so simple in so many other ways, you know. So, hey, my challenge to you is, hey, got to take the easy way, you know,

instead of fighting. Yeah, be like water. Yeah. Take the path of resistance. Change direction. Stop what you're doing. don't like it, it sucks, change direction for crying out loud. Change what you're doing.

No, insanity, the definition of insanity is you keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. Ain't going to happen. Yeah. You've got to stop what you're doing and change and go another direction. Go get the new teeth. Go get some new teeth at 77 years ago. Yeah, heck yeah, man.

Do all that stuff. I need to brush my teeth more in 2026. My dentist told me that. Hey, that's a big step up. You go to the dentist. You told me that three years ago. I'll give you an example. I'll give you an example.

I got a fan letter in the mail. And this kid asked me a bunch of questions. One of them was, okay, how do you get wisdom? Is it a gift? Do you earn it? do you learn it? No. Do you learn it?

Do you YouTube it? And here's what I wrote down. I hadn't mailed it yet. I said, well, I said, you get wisdom by what you experience in life as you go along. And then at the bottom of it, I said, okay, so that means you actually, okay, it can be a gift, considered a gift.

But I said, if you learn it through experience, experience, then you earn it. Because you actually had to go through that to learn what you picked up. It's very interesting. So it's both ways. God gives you some things, okay, but some things you have to earn it. And I, everybody says it, and it's a phrase, experience is the best teacher. I'm tired of experiencing things, though.

Okay, because, hey, you had to give up something, or you had to gain something to actually get that, or you had to go through something to actually receive that. So in a way, you know, life's the best teacher. There you go. 2026. Because you actually. Wisdom.

Wisdom. Because you actually. Wisdom. You actually went through it. Because really when you think about what makes John Luke, the one we know, your experiences in life, they make you stronger, they make you better, because next time, okay, I've went through that.

So, hey, I know how to handle it. And I know how to avoid all the pitfalls in it. I would say wisdom, though, is the searching for that knowledge or learning from those experiences because some people experience the things

but they don't learn anything. They don't learn. Don't learn. Oh no, and don't learn, boy. And don't learn. Yeah. And that's sad. Yeah, that's sad.

Yeah, I get to watch that in a couple of three-year-olds every day. They don't learn much. Yeah, they're just, they just keep doing the same thing. I'm like, well, yeah. Every time you hit your head right there, it hurts, buddy. That's the parent thing.

Oh, hey, don't touch that. Well, you didn't tell them. Why? You just say don't touch it. Well, they didn't listen. Yeah, we had a fun one other night. I told Waylon on slam that toilet seat down. He did it.

You can imagine at a three-year-old what may be at that level when you. Hand? Nope. Yep. Oh, no. No, no. No, no.

The best one on it is. He ain't going to do that again. The best one I've got is my grandsons, Wyatt. Oh, boy. Here we go. Okay. He's climbing up and throwing Christine's treasures and bussing him. Well, I go in there, grab him, pull him down, whoop his butt, tell him no.

Okay. Well, hey, he does it three more times. And I grab him, pull him down, whip his butt again. Well, finally, my arm is. had enough. She comes in and says, Wyatt. She said, you know that hard head you got? That's your grandfather. That's

what that came from. You're not going to win with him. Give up now. Yeah, give up now because, hey, every time you do that, he's fixed to come in there yank you down and tear your butt up. Surrender. Yeah, surrender and give

up now and ask one of them deals. Hey, stop what you're doing. And change the record. It is only going to be you pain. It is fun. A new year is always fun, man. It offers you. Well, hey, and on that, hey, have a good Christmas.

Well, we've already had that. And then we're looking forward to having an even better new year. So, Merry Christmas Day, one, and happy new year. All things good. John Luke's going to come up with a word. for all of us. John, look, can you just give me a word? I'm not going to be able to pick one.

I can't just give it to you. You got to give it to me. Yeah. This would be fun. I think it'd be fun. Just the first word that comes to mind when you see him. Yeah, but start with Martin in case you're mean. I don't mind.

Actually, do Hunter first. Yeah, you should just ask Jeff for a word. It'll give a nicer one. Jeff'd be like, just chill, man. Yeah, yeah. Relax. I like it. I'm worried for 2026. Relax. Relax. Oh, man. Yeah, I don't know.

I haven't even thought about the New Year. Well, I'm just trying to get out of 2020. I'm kind of circling the wagons and resetting everything in 2026. That's good. That's your word. Reset. Yeah, reset. John Luke's good at this. Yeah. I like, you've done this before. Every time I'm sitting there like, I don't have a good word. John Luke votes. That legitimately might be it. Because I had a lot of good ideas in 2025 that the good Lord vetoed. Yeah. And also I don't want to be a pallbearer this year.

So if we're anywhere near close, don't you go dying on me. It's another goal of mine for 2026. Keep everybody. Yeah. I want to stay on this life kick that size on. Yeah. Keep everybody. Everybody in the club, man.

Yeah, 2026. Who knows? It's going to be fun, man. It'll be the Honeyhole's year. It's going to be fun. Oh, it's all our year, just, you know, what is the year going to be? Because, I mean, in essence, it feels good to turn the page on the calendar, but that doesn't change a dead gum thing.

But, you know, I mean, it just, it doesn't. You know. I got to tell you something real fast. You know, if you turn the page on the calendar, it just ends, right? You got a new one. Oh, and not if you got one of digital ones. You just go over and swipe it. Yeah.

Which is what we had to do. Hunter laughed entirely too hard at that terrible joke, and that's why I love you. Yeah. Because I thought that was a good joke. Okay, thank you. Well, a lot of times that back page shows 2026 in the small print. Yeah.

On your phone? No. You know I don't have a calendar anymore? Really? For five years. Hey, there's new little. The day Willie stopped texting me about what he had to do like four months after I stopped working for him, I said, I'm not looking at a calendar again.

Yeah. Why don't need that? We back to traveling a tonne, so I have to keep up with all that mess for child care. I actually had a phone call meeting the other day. didn't know it until it was 15 minutes too late. It's like, my bad, guys. I don't really have a calendar. They usually text you.

You're ready for that call? Yeah. Are you going to call up? We're on that when you're ready. My favorite, you know, you're like, do you want me to call you or are you calling me? Oh, yeah, about that. Absolutely, yeah, you call me. Whoops, yeah.

Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, yeah, I'm calling you. Yeah. Yeah, it didn't come through. I kept going straight to voicemail. Oh, well. Well, that's five, ma'am.

I am going to, oh, wait, I got another thing in 2025 I can share. What? You know how I'm the 10,000 steps a day kind of time? Mm-hmm. Did you do it? No. You missed one? Missed one.

And I haven't shared that. Oh. Guess what day. I guess there's one day in the last two years I didn't get 10,000 steps. Even if I was like ill, I went and trudged around. Guess what day I missed it, Cy? Or Thanksgiving. No.

Oh. the day Sal was in the hospital my grandmother wasn't doing good either and I went home thought I had it, sat down and just sat there and pondered life for a couple hours walked got in bed, woke up the next morning

I was at 9,735 so now I can't stop worrying about it man that's crazy that was that day I was like because it felt like 10,000 from where they make you park at St. Francis now that was the next day we didn't go see him

We just found out he's in the hospital. I was all sad. I was like, 2020, he's got to stop. Yeah, because it feels like the walk at that hospital now, get you to get you to halfway before it even,

before it even matters. I mean, but we're continuing the streak in 2026. There you go. That's just a minor thing. Start it back over. Well, I'm still.

Yeah, reset that. Somebody joined me. I'm like on 70-something days now, but it was in like 500 something. Yeah, that's cool. And I lost it. I've still three years with no soda.

That's good. I'm worried that one day that's going to break. I don't know what's going to happen to me. If I, Coke Zero's the nectar of Father above. I think when we get to heaven, there'll be a Coke Zero machine. It's so good. Have you had a Dr. Pepper Zero? That's your thing, isn't it?

Yeah, no. You got to try. I don't want to open. That feels like a gateway drug. That feels like a path to me. I think avoidance is just the only way to do it. All right. I just got my goal for the meeting.

You don't have any of it. What is to get me to drink? It's me and you hammering Dr. Pepper. Oh. It's going to be a bad inflow. Your word is, yeah. I could feel, I mean, I... Temptation.

Yeah, temptation. I'm not going to do that to you, Bart. Well, give us a verse for 2026. What have we got? You know what? I think... Or to end 2025. Either way, I'm good with it.

Either to start one or end one. I actually got a weird one because sigh for the past... Yeah. A few episodes have been on a kick. Life, baby. Life. Abundity. It ain't going great.

He keeps saying the word turn around. Every now and then I get it. Not quite like that, but in Acts 2.37 through 39, Peter's talking. And it says, when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brother, what shall we do? So if you've been hearing Sai say, hey, if it's not going right, I got a plan for you. size said in his way this is how peter said it in verse 38 peter replied repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ

for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the holy spirit the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom love for all whom the lord our god will call yeah so pretend you had a bad 2025 pretend you had a great 2025 pretend you want to lose weight pretend you want to get steps pretend you want to do whatever you want to do. Only one thing matters. And if you're not right with Jesus Christ, repent and be baptized.

There you go. Stop. Amen. And that will be the greatest New Year's resolution you could ever make because then you will have years that you can't even count for eternity in heaven. Wash it away. And I'll be there too. And if you get to heaven and you don't find me there.

Whoops. You've gone to hell. Where are you? Whoops. That's another. in the tribe reference. Now the question that needs to be answered.

Where are you? Whoops. All right. Well, we'll see y'all next time in the duck car room. We're out. That was our couple.