![sam Columnist Sam Venable was just getting warmed up when this picture was taken.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sam.jpg)
Columnist Sam Venable was just getting warmed up when this picture was taken.
What do turkey hunting and classical music have in common?
The Venables and their friends!
It was more than a sellout at the lakefront home of Frank and Lisha Venable a few weeks ago when News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable joined his buddy Bo Carey and other members of the Venable clan for an event billed as “Music, Tales and Yarns.” It was part of the Knoxville Symphony League‘s “Elegant Dining” series of fundraising meals. And all I can say about this one is, “Thank goodness one of the menu items was fish!” Because I don’t eat quail or venison — and those were the other entree options.
It actually was a fun and relaxing time on a Sunday afternoon. Bo played fiddle and guitar and cracked us up with his parody of the Tennessee Waltz. And Sam regaled us with tales of his turkey hunting adventures, many of which cannot be repeated here. What did the younger Frank Venable do? He manned the grill while his wife, father and mother helped with host duties.
![backyard-with-view The Venables' Waterside Lane home has a pretty view of a cove of the Tennessee River.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/backyard-with-view.jpg)
The Venables' Waterside Lane home has a pretty view of a cove of the Tennessee River.
![cooking The younger Frank Venable occupied himself grilling venison, quail and amberjack.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/cooking.jpg)
The younger Frank Venable occupied himself grilling venison, quail and amberjack.
![venables He also applied himself to introducing Sam to his favorite chardonnay -- Clois du Bois.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/venables.jpg)
He also applied himself to introducing Sam to his favorite chardonnay -- Clos du Bois.
![gone-fishing A very appropriate sentiment on a cute pillow.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/gone-fishing.jpg)
A very appropriate sentiment on a cute pillow.
![pretty-table I think Lisha and Jane Venable may have been in charge of the table settings.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/pretty-table.jpg)
I think Lisha and Jane Venable may have been in charge of the table settings.
![spring-flowers The flowers just shouted, "It's spring!"](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/spring-flowers.jpg)
The flowers just shouted, "It's spring!"
![jane Here's Jane!](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/jane.jpg)
Here's Jane! She is president of the Symphony League.
![salad The salad course was lovely.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/salad.jpg)
The salad course was lovely.
![full-plate Nobody left hungry, that's for sure!](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/full-plate.jpg)
Nobody left hungry, that's for sure!
![key-lime-pie Alan's favorite dessert: key lime pie.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/key-lime-pie.jpg)
Alan's favorite dessert: key lime pie.
![diners Happy diners](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/diners.jpg)
Happy diners
![more-diners More happy diners](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/more-diners.jpg)
More happy diners
![even-more-diners We were in this fun room.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/even-more-diners.jpg)
We were in this fun room.
![ed-and-donie After dinner, we all moved to the living room and settled in for some tales and tunes. Here are Ed and Donie Green.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ed-and-donie.jpg)
After dinner, we all moved to the living room and settled in for some tales and tunes. Here are Ed and Donie Green.
![couple1 Ralph and Gloria Xxxxxx](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/couple1.jpg)
Ralph and Gloria Price shared a dinner table with us.
![alan-and-friend Alan Carmichael and Lisha Venable](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/alan-and-friend.jpg)
Alan Carmichael and Lisha Venable
![carey Bo Carey opened with some battle tunes from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 on his fiddle.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/carey.jpg)
Bo Carey opened with some battle tunes from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 on his fiddle.
![carey-two Bo between numbers](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/carey-two.jpg)
Bo between numbers
![carey-three He was quite good.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/carey-three.jpg)
He was quite good.
But then is was Sam’s turn. “Turkey hunting in East Tennessee is a cult,” he asserted. “It transcends anything Jim Jones has ever done.” And then he proceeded to prove it with his self-deprecating tales that included sinking his pickup truck in a lake full of liquid cow manure. (I’m glad this talk was AFTER dinner!) You’ll have to ask him about that one.
“In the spring,” Venable said, “male turkeys haven’t had any loving in a year.” So Venable and other hunters have to make themselves appear to the male turkeys to be female turkeys.
![turkey-call First, there is the turkey call.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/turkey-call.jpg)
First, there is the turkey call.
![camo Then, the camo outfit. Ha.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/camo.jpg)
Then, the camo outfit. Ha.
![lord-a-grown-man And then another kind of turkey call.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/lord-a-grown-man.jpg)
And then another kind of turkey call.
Finally, something called “fanning.”
![omg Holy cow! Guys really do this?](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/omg.jpg)
Holy cow! Guys really do this?
“When a turkey sees that, he gets excited. And that’s a dead turkey,” Venable related. He added that a turkey’s head turns red when he gets excited. I guess that attracts the female turkeys. Heck, I don’t know. Hopefully, I’ll never need to know.
But Venob is obsessed with it. Why? “A turkey gobbler is the finest food you’ll ever eat.”
Thank goodness that is true because it sure makes for some good stories. And, at least in this case, that means money for the Knoxville Symphony. And a whole lot of laughs.
![sam-and-mary-ann Sam and his wife, Mary Ann](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sam-and-mary-ann.jpg)
Sam and his wife, Mary Ann
![3-venables From left, Frank Venable Jr., Sam Venable and Frank Venable Sr.](https://bluestreakprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/3-venables.jpg)
From left, Frank Venable III, Sam Venable and Frank Venable Jr.
The last “Elegant Dining” event of the season is this Thursday. Click here for a link to info about it.
Click here for a great story by the News Sentinel’s outdoor editor, Bob Hodge, about Sam bagging a huge turkey just the other day.
The table was beautiful.
Yes, Monique. Hopefully, to turkeys, so was Venable!
If I were an organization looking for an entertaining speaker, I would recommend Sam Venable first and foremost. I haven’t laughed this hard in many moons. The reason Sam is so funny is that he really, really enjoys telling these stories. And they are no doubt true because sometimes the turkeys win.
I like it best when the turkeys win!
Jane and I were childhood friends. Best of Friends. I think we both turned out pretty good, don’t you, Jane?
Would have loved seeing Sam in the camo outfit! Of course, he probably looked right at home! Thanks for sharing this dinner — food looked great; home did too!
Mickey and Rusha: You both would love some of these Elegant Dining events! Come with us next year!
Thanks to ALL of the Venables for their hard work and support of the Knoxville Symphony. I am proud to call them kinfolk!
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