Duck, Duck Dynasty

"Da gator bit da pirogue!"*

I have a new favorite show:  "Duck Dynasty," a reality show that chronicles the eccentric back-swamp antics of a clan of odd but now wealthy duck-call manufacturers, aka Duck Commander, in West Monroe, Louisiana.

I'm not even sure how to describe it to you, except perhaps in the vignettes that build to make the show:  the men of the clan declaring war on beavers, whose lodge they attack with homemade Napalm manufactured by quirky Uncle Si and then flame throwers; the matriarch of the clan, Kay, wiggling a skinned cooked squirrel from her much-praised squirrels and dumplings and then eating the brains, declaring "squirrel brains make you smart;" the company employees led by owner Willie's brother Jase building a "redneck water park" in a local pond when they were supposed to be making duck calls; a turkey cook-off between men and women that started with a turkey hunt filled with advice about courting women; Willie pimping out a riding-lawn mower to race a local rival and then being too scared to go fast--but still winning when the other guy's mower breaks!

And of course there's that moment when Willie goes to fetch a boat at his parents' house only to find a gator in the shed, which sends him off squealing until he leads it away with a raw chicken on a string, all while his mom Kay is stirring a vat of jambalaya outside with a paddle.

Perhaps something gets lost in the translation.

(You can read a more thorough description at the NYTimes here.)

I can't put my finger on why I enjoy it.  It's not just because their world is both so foreign and familiar--foreign to both my suburban Houston childhood and current Connecticut life but also familiar because of the stories friends and relatives have told over the years--Dad's stories about experiences in East Texas, uncles and cousins on our porch at the bay spinning yarns not unlike Willie's.  And of course I did grow up with a dad and relatives who hunted, fished, and wore camo.  In fact, my dad's camouflaged boat has a much more sophisticated pattern than the Duck Commander's!  Let's say the Roberston clan of the show is only a few degrees of separation from people I know.  (Which I think is what bothered my folks on first watching; "too close to home," they said.)

But more than that, the show isn't mean or degrading.  The people are honest and loving, hard-working and good natured.  They don't demean each other or degrade themselves; and sometimes you just know they are so much more clever than they appear--I mean, they have a multi-million dollar business and a hit tv show.  It's like a modern day Waltons, with each episode ending around a long table, laden with food, as the patriarch Phil, the Duck Commander, says grace and Willie does a voiceover about neighbors or family or faults.  It's that kind of feel good show.

And if you want that recipe for squirrel stew, it's on their website.

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*Translation:  "The alligator bit the boat."