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.
The Venables' Waterside Lane home has a pretty view of a cove of the Tennessee River.
The younger Frank Venable occupied himself grilling venison, quail and amberjack.
He also applied himself to introducing Sam to his favorite chardonnay -- Clos du Bois.
A very appropriate sentiment on a cute pillow.
I think Lisha and Jane Venable may have been in charge of the table settings.
The flowers just shouted, "It's spring!"
Here's Jane! She is president of the Symphony League.
The salad course was lovely.
Nobody left hungry, that's for sure!
Alan's favorite dessert: key lime pie.
Happy diners
More happy diners
We were in this fun room.
After dinner, we all moved to the living room and settled in for some tales and tunes. Here are Ed and Donie Green.
Ralph and Gloria Price shared a dinner table with us.
Alan Carmichael and Lisha Venable
Bo Carey opened with some battle tunes from the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 on his fiddle.
Bo between numbers
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.
First, there is the turkey call.
Then, the camo outfit. Ha.
And then another kind of turkey call.
Finally, something called “fanning.”
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 his wife, Mary Ann
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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