If you’re traveling in Texas’ Golden Triangle, the area surrounding the cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange, you’ll undoubtedly see a muddy pickup truck or two on a cold weekend morning. There could be hunters in that truck from Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, or Austin, all looking to celebrate the sunrise and shoot a few ducks.

If you visit this quiet area during certain times of year, the silence can be broken by the sound of gunfire – lots of gunfire – as Texas duck hunters try to max out their limit during the season, as permitted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

If you grew up in this area, you know that duck hunting is a big part of our outdoor heritage But there are certainly those who only learned about our state’s love of ducks, hunting and general nonsense between 2012 and 2017, when the popular Louisiana-based reality show “Duck Dynasty” was all the rage.

How big was Duck Dynasty? I remember an outdoor show in Lafayette, Louisiana, where people lined up for over eight hours just to get a photo with “Uncle” Si Robertson. And kudos to Uncle Si, he was there for every person and every photo. But making people feel wanted, needed and valued is just part of the Robertson family credo.

As for the original productions, the show didn’t air, but the Robertson’s still have an online podcast. It’s called the Duck Call Room. In a recent episode of this podcast we received an update on Phil Roberston’s condition. The family patriarch was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. On the podcast, Phil’s son Jase commented that his father was “not doing well.”

I know you will join us in praying and sharing good thoughts for Phil and the Robertson family as they face this illness and other health complications. Clearly, the elder Robertson is dealing with more than just an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. You can hear more of Jase’s comments about his father here.

The other surprising news to come out of the Monroe, Louisiana area regarding Duck Dynasty was the news that John Godwin, a master decoy technician and duck call maker for 25 years, has decided to call it a career. On the Duck Call Room podcast, Godwin suggested he was “ready to go fishing.”

Lisa Roberston honored the longtime family friend and celebrated the news of his retirement with this post on her Instagram account.

The post continued to wish John and his bride Paula a happy retirement and suggested that “Miss Paula” may have a long list of tasks for John to do around the house now that he suddenly has a little more time on his hands.

I know you will join us in wishing John and Paula all the best in their new life after retirement. Thank you for your quality work, your commitment to perfection, and your laughter over the years.