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00:00What you're about to see may be dangerous, illegal, unethical, petty, misguided, immoral, and most definitely stupid.
00:08But it's also all true. Sort of.
00:16We didn't really follow a proper procedure, so we had a whole gator head stuffed in a backpack.
00:22I felt like I was being hunted.
00:34All I wanted was to pick up some moonshot.
00:37And now I'm in the middle of nowhere with 100 pounds of gator meat on my back.
00:46Go, Boo.
00:51Bunch.
00:52All around us.
00:59I was scared to death.
01:00This is the kind of thing you only see in movies.
01:32You're supposed to be all bundled up.
01:34That's not natural.
01:37Out here, you could be getting your feet dirty and digging in the soil and being in the sun and swimming in springs.
01:43There's something about that, being a true Floridian.
01:47You still feel free.
01:48At the time this story took place, I was hanging out at this bar down the road.
01:54I woke up this morning.
01:56It's your typical hole-in-the-wall style bar.
01:58Sleeping on.
01:59Pool tables, dartboards, smoke-filled room.
02:02The old woman bartender that knew everybody's name and talked shit to all the guys.
02:07These were the type of guys that maybe has dentures, maybe has no teeth.
02:11Tattoos, fight at the drop of a dime, and we drank moonshine together.
02:16But they ran out of moonshine.
02:39Their supplier...
02:40He died.
02:42Our supplier's dead.
02:43So I said you're going to need more moonshine.
02:45Yep.
02:46And you're probably going to pay pretty good money for it.
02:48Yep.
02:51So I got to thinking.
02:53And I came up with the idea to go talk to Uncle Matt.
02:58Over here, we don't call it moonshine.
03:00We call it juice.
03:01I got a couple of friends that make it, and I don't know what they call it.
03:05I call it juice.
03:06I'm Matt, and I'm Shane's uncle.
03:08I've been in Florida my whole life.
03:09Look right here.
03:11There's shrimp in there.
03:12There's stone crabs.
03:13There's speckled perch, deer meat, wild turkey.
03:15Well, there's soft-shell turtles, gator meat.
03:18How long can you live off just the contents of that freezer?
03:21Well, I'll refill it.
03:22I'll go back to the woods.
03:23These younger generations, they put apple, pineapple, and all that other bullshit in it.
03:29But the only way you drink through moonshine is straight moonshine.
03:34All them flavors are for these city fellas.
03:36Making moonshine is illegal unless you have a license to make liquor.
03:41Then you're making liquor.
03:42You ain't making moonshine anymore.
03:43Moonshine's made in the dang woods by the moonlight.
03:45My name's Josh Owens, and I love making some moonshine.
03:50It runs deep in my veins.
03:52White liquor, corn liquor, skull cracker, a rot gut.
03:59It's just a mystique of it, the mysteriousness.
04:03With liquor, you can go in a liquor store and you can buy it.
04:06No big deal.
04:06But if you can go somewhere and buy some illegal liquor that you're not supposed to have,
04:11that might give you some kind of buzz you've never had before,
04:15I think that's what the draw is.
04:17Back then, I lived for that rush.
04:19So I told the guys that I had a connection through my Uncle Matt.
04:22Got a connection through my Uncle Matt.
04:28And through Uncle Matt, we'd get as much as they wanted.
04:32Damn right.
04:33I'll get them as much as they wanted.
04:34Mm-hmm.
04:36Next thing I know, I'm driving out to the middle of nowhere with my Uncle Matt.
04:42Oh, God damn it.
04:43To pick up a bunch of gallons of moonshine.
04:46And we're coming down the dirt road and pull up.
04:49I see this dirty, run-down old shack.
04:53Yeah.
04:57Now, I gotta warn you.
05:00He's a cookie motherfucker.
05:02The property's a pretty sketchy place.
05:05The little yard's littered with equipment.
05:08All kinds of trash and old furniture.
05:10Random lawnmower that doesn't work.
05:13And there he is, standing on the porch.
05:22Hey, Timmy.
05:22The tweaker, Timmy.
05:24Is he dangerous?
05:26Oh, yeah.
05:27Well, that was their first mistake.
05:29Getting involved with a meth head.
05:31A meth head that bruises on moonshine.
05:34You know what that sounds like to me?
05:35A lot of moonshine.
05:37Because he ain't got nothing else to do.
05:39You got meth, lack of sleep, and moonshine,
05:42there ain't no telling what might go down.
05:49Well, shit.
05:50What's wrong, whistle dicks?
05:57Glad y'all can make it.
06:02Come on.
06:03Whoa.
06:04Timmy's got this building.
06:05He's locked up like Fort Knox.
06:09All right, cheers where the magic happens.
06:10When you go on inside of it,
06:16he can very well up to 25 gallons at a time.
06:20It was damn near a moonshine factory.
06:23Wow.
06:24Wow.
06:25Wow.
06:26Oh, yeah.
06:27Give it a try.
06:30Yeah, I brewed that one with diesel fuel and cat urine.
06:33Give her your punch in the old pickle smear.
06:37Dangerous!
06:38That could explode.
06:39One of the biggest dangers about making moonshine
06:42is you've got to worry about the steel blowing up.
06:44You've got a boiler.
06:46And if anything stops that up, that boiler's going to blow.
06:48That also could explode.
06:51And this?
06:52Pretty sure that?
06:54Definitely that.
06:54Plus, you've got all that high-proof whiskey in there
06:57and it blows the cap off.
06:58She's probably going to blow.
06:59And what you're holding?
07:01My buddy Kenny blew a house up,
07:04and it blew the whole house up.
07:05It blew bricks out in the yard.
07:06What you're saying to me is damn near everything
07:11in this room could blow up.
07:12Oh, hell yeah, at any time.
07:14We could be blown right up.
07:15Hell, I don't know.
07:16It could happen any time.
07:17Bang!
07:20Jimmy, you're a crazy son of a bitch,
07:22and that's why I like you.
07:25Don't you like him, James?
07:27Huh?
07:27Don't you like him, James?
07:31We picked up 10 gallons of moonshine
07:34and milk jugs.
07:35Cheers!
07:36We were standing there talking,
07:38and he was like,
07:39hey, I've been tracking this bull gator
07:41behind the house,
07:42so y'all want to go get him?
07:43You gonna go get him?
07:44I'm thinking I came here for moonshine,
07:46not gator,
07:47but what the hell?
07:48Let's keep this party going.
07:50We're like, hell yeah, we do.
07:51Hell yeah, we do.
07:52So we head out into the swamp
07:55to where Timmy saw this thing lax.
07:58We probably panoed about a mile,
08:00a mile and a half in,
08:01and then we got out
08:02and walked about a mile,
08:03a mile and a half.
08:04Nowhere in sight, cell phone signal.
08:06It's just you, the trees,
08:08and the animals, and water.
08:10It's right around here.
08:12Hook it.
08:13I see him.
08:14Told you.
08:14I see him.
08:15Shit, there he goes.
08:16Come on.
08:17Oh, shit.
08:17What you do is look for holes,
08:19and there'll be water in it.
08:20A lot of times,
08:21if you sneak up right right,
08:22you'll see a gator go in it.
08:23But if you can't,
08:24when you get close to it,
08:25you'll see the water go up and down.
08:26If the water goes up and down,
08:27you know there's a gator in there.
08:30Here we are.
08:35That son of a bitch is down there,
08:37all right.
08:39Once you get to the gator burrow,
08:41here's where the primitive hunting skills come in.
08:44Timmy has this big bag
08:46with all this primitive-style gator hunting tools in it.
08:49You got a hammer,
08:50you got nails.
08:51Duct tape.
08:53Binding rope.
08:54A handsaw.
08:54Handsaw.
08:55Ziploc bags.
08:56Ziploc bags.
08:58And toilet paper.
09:00Toilet paper.
09:01You gotta take a poop.
09:01You don't want to wipe your butt with poison ivy.
09:03But also,
09:04if you ever get yourself in a pinch,
09:06and the man shows up...
09:08Hey!
09:09What are you doing back there?
09:10All you gotta do is pull your pants down.
09:11Like, what are you doing here?
09:12I'm pooping.
09:13I'm pooping!
09:14Oh, okay.
09:15Sorry.
09:16Have a great day.
09:17That's your little get-out-of-jail-free card.
09:20Hey!
09:24Once you find them,
09:26then you gotta pull him out there.
09:28I'm gonna get you.
09:29Those rednecks can figure out,
09:31one way or another,
09:32how to get him out there,
09:33or her out there.
09:34We know how to do it.
09:35Come on.
09:36Matt's pulling the gator out.
09:48Tim had the beating club.
09:50You run it down there,
09:51as soon as you fill him,
09:52you snatch up.
09:53Then you gotta pull him out of that hole.
09:54And when they hit the surface,
09:56they go crazy.
09:56You think you can roll on me,
09:58you son of a bitch?
09:59I'll roll your scale ass
10:01like a gas station hot dog!
10:02It's twisting and pulling and hissing.
10:05It's game on.
10:05Uh-oh!
10:06Don't wanna do it!
10:07Ah!
10:08Stuck on here!
10:10Ah!
10:10Ah!
10:11Ah!
10:12Woo!
10:13Ah!
10:15We didn't take the time
10:17to do the proper procedures.
10:19So we had all this gator meat
10:21stuffed into book bags.
10:24That size gator will last
10:25for a few months in the freezer.
10:29Once we're traveling back,
10:30we realize that we're not going
10:31the same way we came in.
10:33This way's more fun.
10:35Okay?
10:36He is a loopy son of a bitch,
10:37but he knows he's wood.
10:41Probably about two or three miles
10:42back in,
10:43we come across something
10:44we didn't expect to see.
10:48Marijuana plants.
10:50What looked like hundreds of them.
10:52Just out there
10:53in the middle of the swamp.
10:54When you see something like that,
11:04the smartest thing you can do,
11:05especially if you're in Florida,
11:06with these rednecks,
11:07you stay away from that shit
11:08because they go,
11:09you'll go get blowed up
11:10or shot or something.
11:11As we were walking out,
11:12Matt turned around
11:13and looked at me
11:13and said,
11:14If someone comes,
11:15you run.
11:17You don't know anybody else.
11:18And you run
11:19until you can't run no more.
11:21Then you just run
11:22until you can't run anymore.
11:28It's about like any other
11:29kind of illegal activity,
11:31you know,
11:31you're a little bit on edge
11:32because, you know,
11:34your ass is on the line.
11:39You're talking about a meth head.
11:40Like anything can happen.
11:42Like literally anything.
11:45We're walking along
11:46and then Matt stops me.
11:47Freak!
11:50I turn to look
11:51and right there at my foot
11:52is a trip wire.
11:56And it's not just one.
11:58They're all around us.
12:01They were rigged
12:02to detonate
12:03if you got too close to them.
12:06We all just froze.
12:07We didn't know what to do.
12:10You could have heard
12:10a pin drop
12:11all the way through the woods.
12:13I was scared to death.
12:16It's tremendously dangerous
12:18to walk into a grow field.
12:20My name is Billy Lane.
12:21I am a retired police detective.
12:23Worked undercover narcotics.
12:24Worked in Central Florida
12:25for 20 years.
12:27If you go in
12:27an illegal grow patch,
12:28those areas are well known
12:31for booby traps,
12:32they're well known
12:33for trip lines,
12:35explosives.
12:36They believe
12:36if you walk on their property,
12:38they own you.
12:39And you're going to get
12:40a shotgun
12:40or AR-15
12:42stuck in your face.
12:43All these scenarios
12:44ran through my head.
12:45Like if cops show up
12:47out there
12:47and find us doing
12:48something illegal,
12:50hey, what are y'all
12:50doing back there?
12:51We're just pooping!
12:52There's still ways
12:53we can get out of it.
12:54Oh, okay.
12:56I've had it.
12:58But what if someone's
13:00hunting us?
13:00What if I get shot?
13:06Or I just explode?
13:10But you can't get
13:11stuck in your head.
13:12You still have
13:12a mission to complete.
13:14Like you still
13:15got to get back
13:16to where you came from.
13:17And Tim was leading
13:18the way.
13:19He knew where
13:19we were going.
13:20Make like a snake.
13:22Make like a snake.
13:33When you're
13:34in that situation,
13:35you just have
13:35to stay focused.
13:36Come on, now.
13:51At one point,
13:52we were all arguing
13:53with one another.
13:54I did not come out here
13:55to get blowed up.
13:56You're not yelling at me.
13:57I yell at you.
13:58I'm yelling at him.
13:59God, I'm hungry.
14:00We're all hungry,
14:01thirsty.
14:02It's 100 degrees outside.
14:05I'm stuck.
14:06I'm a foot.
14:07Over.
14:08Over.
14:11Don't drag me
14:12from my neck, boy.
14:13All of the emotions
14:15that come along
14:15that you see
14:16on those TV shows,
14:17those are all true.
14:19You go through
14:19every single one of them.
14:22Last time I'm
14:22ever come out of here.
14:24We finally make it
14:25to the edge
14:25of the minefield.
14:27Timmy and I
14:28get through
14:28the last of the wires.
14:32Like, all of a sudden.
14:35Fell down
14:35out of the bog hole.
14:36And when I did,
14:37I went up to my hips
14:37in mud
14:38and I couldn't move.
14:39Oh, Lord!
14:40Heavens, I'm caught
14:41in the bog.
14:41Son of my bed!
14:42What are you doing?
14:44Oh, Lord!
14:45I just caught the bog.
14:47Oh, Lord!
14:49I want to help him,
14:50but I'm scared
14:50to help him
14:51because you don't
14:52want to get close
14:52and then both
14:53of you cave in.
14:54Oh, Lord!
14:55I left your arms!
14:56It's kind of like
14:57a weird reach gimmick
14:59to where you're trying
14:59to pull him up
15:00out of the water.
15:01And he hadn't
15:02got past
15:02the last tripwire.
15:04So I got myself
15:04in a situation.
15:08Oh!
15:09Good boy.
15:12I got caught
15:12in that bog.
15:14I just stepped
15:14right into a bog.
15:15I hope there
15:16ain't no getting
15:16in there.
15:17So I pull him out
15:18and he's all pissed off.
15:19Son of a bitch!
15:20Because he's covered
15:20in a swamp
15:21and I don't know
15:22if you're ever stepping
15:23in something like that,
15:24but it stinks.
15:24It smells terrible.
15:25Damn it!
15:26It's all over me!
15:28Come on!
15:28It's in my damn shoes!
15:30It's in my damn mouth!
15:32So he stinks,
15:33you know,
15:33and he's mad about that.
15:34Yeah, well,
15:35it'll piss you off
15:36of you in a hole.
15:37You know what I'm saying?
15:39We walk back
15:40to the canoe
15:41and Tim turns around
15:43and he's like,
15:44like panicked,
15:45like, like.
15:46Eyes all bugged out.
15:48He's twitching,
15:48making strange noises.
15:52He's rocking
15:52and I was like,
15:54holy shit,
15:55what just happened?
15:56They can see us.
15:57They can see everything.
15:59He was like,
15:59we gotta go several ways.
16:00They're gonna see us.
16:01I'm not taking you
16:02back to my house.
16:03I ain't taking you
16:04yahoos back to my house,
16:05okay?
16:05You can't leave without us.
16:07Timmy!
16:08Bye-bye!
16:09Good luck!
16:11Timmy!
16:11Did you go
16:12and turn crazy on us?
16:13The two of us
16:14could have very easily
16:14overpowered him
16:15and took the canoe.
16:16You know we can
16:17easily overpower you!
16:18No.
16:19We can overpower him!
16:20Au revoir!
16:20I've taken him before.
16:21You could take it.
16:22It's not worth it.
16:23It's not worth it.
16:24We were just like,
16:25to hell with it.
16:26We'll walk back.
16:35No!
16:36No!
16:36We're on the side
16:37of a highway
16:37walking with
16:38bags of
16:39150 pounds
16:40of gator meat.
16:41It was like
16:41110 degrees outside.
16:43We were dying.
16:44We walked for moms.
16:48We got back there.
16:49We were soaking wet.
16:50Our whole bodies
16:51were just freaking,
16:52we were drained.
16:53We had spent the whole
16:54day fighting in the swamp
16:55and then we got to walk back.
16:59So everything in the cooler
17:01and we get in his truck
17:02and we drove off.
17:03I finally got to the bar.
17:09Came in the back door
17:10like I was a Budweiser
17:12semi-truck
17:13and I was dropping off
17:14my own crates
17:15of moonshot.
17:18Yeah!
17:19We're all sitting around
17:20the bar
17:21and I'm wanting to tell
17:22everybody that I met
17:23my day
17:24and I just can't
17:24stop talking about it.
17:36And they kind of
17:37just rubbed it off.
17:38Yeah.
17:39That same thing
17:39happened at Stretch
17:40last week too.
17:41And I didn't care.
17:42I had a successful day
17:44so I felt good about it.
17:47And they paid me
17:48pretty good money too.
17:50My man.
17:51Woo!
17:52On some of the things
17:53when I think about
17:54what I was doing
17:55I cringe.
17:56I'm like holy shit dude.
17:57What?
17:58I think the people
17:59that really get involved
18:00in high adrenaline situations
18:02the ones that live through it
18:04they appreciate
18:05the little things better.
18:08So like
18:09I appreciate
18:10sitting on my front porch
18:11looking at my children play.
18:13This is my happiness now.
18:18We had quite a few cookouts
18:19with that Gator meat.
18:20You can stir fry it
18:24you can fry it
18:25you can do tacos
18:26whatever
18:27you can do a breakfast
18:28sandwich
18:28I mean you can do
18:29a gator and egg
18:31for breakfast
18:31if you want to
18:32I mean that shit.
18:35First thing we ate
18:36was the Gator testicles.
18:39That's good.
18:41You could boil the testicles
18:42and make like Rocky Mountain
18:43oyster style
18:44but with Gators
18:45how do you cook it?
18:46Fry it
18:47boil it
18:48blow all the semen out
18:49and then fry it.
18:51So you boil it first?
18:52Yeah.
18:53Drinking that moonshine
18:55sweet and slow
18:56burns in my chest
18:58but it warms me so
18:59troubles fade away
19:00when the bottle's mine
19:02I'm living forever
19:03with a moonshine
19:04on my mind
19:06Yeah, I'll die
19:08with a smile
19:09and a jug
19:10in my hand
19:10moonshine
19:11running through
19:12this old
19:12outlaw man
19:14Drinking that moonshine
19:18sweet and slow
19:20burns in my chest
19:21but it warms me so
19:22troubles fade away
19:24when the bottle's mine
19:25I'm living and laughing
19:27with a moonshine
19:28on my mind
19:29You know, I'm runnin'
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