Bob Smallwood Part 5

Bob Smallwood Today on John Dash and Friends John sits down with one of his closest friends Bob Smallwood. A man whose music has touched lives across the mountains healing broken hearts and bringing hope to those who need it most. Together, they share a passion for reaching the lost and shining light in dark places. This is more than a conversation it’s a moment you won’t forget. We hope you enjoy this episode of *John Dash and Friends*. #JohnDashAndFriends #BobSmallwood #DashTv #DashTvNet #TalkShow #PodcastLife #InterviewSeries

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Different one I told you the last time. But anyway, I wanted to talk to the prosecuting attorney.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 0:05

And he wouldn't talk to me. He was a Mullins and I asked Barney, would you ask him if he had talked tell him who I am? And I'd like to talk to him. Because this man that y'all got for drugs at the red light, he's a friend of mine. And he's never been in trouble in his life. Nice a fellow as you ever seen. I'm sorry that that all that happened. But anyway, he he took me over and introduced me. And uh Mr. Mullins, he looked at me kind of funny. And then he said, No, I ain't gonna do it. I'm not gonna let him go. I said, Well, I understand. And I shook hands with him. And I got my halfway across the room and he hollered, he said, Bob, come back here. I'm gonna let him go. He said, God spoke to me. But because of Barney, I and and you know uh there was a fella at Wayne that was a prosecuting attorney down there, and and uh I went to him and he was such a wonderful prosecutor, but he also let somebody go who didn't need to be in jail.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

You know, I I got to talk for a lot of people, and a lot of my people got in trouble. Like you said, uh they're just country people and coal miners, right? And everybody uh you know one thing that you've done to come in here, uh uh me growing up, we never had uh Tennessee walking horses. Whoever heard of that? It's so beautiful, they look like a magnificent picture. I've seen a picture of you on Connie. Oh, and but but we never had nothing like that. All our horses were simple little racking horses, and that that was it. And we certainly never seen any. I just about flipped one to see one of those uh what do you call him, open pacing. Right. Woo. And uh and I uh you know I was working radio at WRC in Grundy, and this uh Jack Lester came and he said, Would you work a horse show for me at Swords Creek? I said, Well, I reckon so. I wouldn't make much money at the station, you know. And I said, I'll do it. And and here come these open pay songs.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

I tell you, I'll bet you. And and Jack was he was like you, he he liked the Tennessee Walkers. And boy, he looked good setting up there. Jack did have him a little hat on, you know. He did now. But a dear friend of mine, but I uh the horse shows were beautiful. Now I don't know anymore. I can't go. I I don't I I haven't been to a horse show in years, but when I did go, we met so many great people.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Truly great people. Yeah. And uh I remember uh Junior Bandy passed away, putting a paper to everybody dress up western style. Yeah. Wear your cowboy hat, a cowboy shirt or whatever. But uh sometimes I I don't remember like I want to, you know, some of the things. And I know I was eating at a restaurant there and and uh this young lady was there and and she she just hugged me and loved me to death. I didn't know her, and later on I thought I know who that was. That little girl used to ride those horses. Yeah. And I would give anything to see her again, but you know, uh opportunity knocks sometimes just once. That's why I like to come here when you let me be here, cuz there ain't everybody interested, no old man sitting around talking about memories.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

But I think it's not just memories, it's uh and it they're the history of it all. What a history we've got. What a history you've got. I mean, I I I I get to talking, I I was talking to a young lady this morning as I was walking, as I was at the Y and I was working out, and we was walking around talking about things and uh just look around and I think about the things of seen and and the stuff we've done. And and man, you know, I can remember just so much of that stuff. And and there there's some things I don't know, you know, w when we think about our children, okay, and uh I think sometimes we outsmart ourselves trying to make it too good for them, okay? Because when I think and my my parents was good to me. They took care of me and was good to me, and and anything I ever done, they wanted to be part of and helped. Any business I was in, dad and I, mom, we all worked together on anything that we did. And uh, but I I think about stuff sometimes, the uh the struggle makes you strong.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Okay, and good times usually make you lazy. Yeah, but the struggle will make you strong and make you push up against stuff and say, all right, I I know I've got to do this, I've got to make that. There's no alternative. You know what I mean? There's not something there I I'll laugh sometimes. We'll be working on something here at the station, and I'll tell Connie, I said, there's nobody we can call. We've got to fix it. We can't call somebody. Who are we gonna call that knows more about what we're doing than what we know? You know what I mean? And I had I had a situation the other day. I was on this, uh, I'm on another board, and I was talking to all of us talking about they had some problems with some computers and some things, and they said we've checked on it, it's gonna cost $80,000 to fix this and sixty-five thousand to fix that. And I thought to myself, if you'll let me loose with it, I can fix it. You know what I mean? Because I've already done that before, and I've been that way before. You know, not because but if I could have paid somebody, I would have paid somebody. But the Lord had me in such a position that I had to learn. I had to learn. I had to learn. And I think life in your life, when you think about the things you've lived, the things that you couldn't just turn over and say, hey, uh well, when you had the radio station here in Tazel, you couldn't just say, Well, I'm gonna I'm gonna hire me a high dollar manager, and I'm gonna stay at the house and cash my checks. You know what I mean? You had to come in. Yes, you had to sell the commercials, you had to cut the spots, you know what I mean? You had to put the music, you had to do all these kind of things. And but from that you learned.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

You know what? You probably don't remember this. But one of the sweetest calls I ever got, and I needed it right then because it seemed like everything had gone wrong that day. And you told me you liked the gospel music.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

I don't remember.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

I know you don't, but I do I did like it. You did call me. I did like it. You called me. And and I I just uh we were battling trouble. My wife had cancer, it was one thing or another happening, and and uh but all of a sudden it just it just and people don't know how much you can lift somebody up with just a kind word.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Just a kind word, Bob.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

It didn't I didn't ask you for no money, yeah. But I needed that kind word.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yeah. See, I believe that's so important too.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

It is.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

You know, I try to make sure I I had a a lady, young lady today, when I when I go to the Y, I do about as much talking as I do exercising. And uh, and she's just today she said, John, because I've been gone about a week where I've been out of town. She said, I'm so glad you're back. She said, I I I I really enjoy coming here when you're here. And that made me feel so good when she said that. I thought, well now that you because you don't know just and I always try to I try to ask. I'm I'm asked about the family because I'm interested. Do you know what I mean? Asked about her husband, asked about this one's what's going on in her family, how this is going on, and and because I am really interested, you know, and uh and I think that's important. We we just like you just say something to somebody, it don't hurt anything. Ask them how they're doing.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Boy, can you made a big difference in my life, and and I wasn't sure what I'm doing, what's right or wrong. I never knew nothing, you know. I was just raised like you, a poor boy, I don't know what what I'm doing. And God bless me, or I wouldn't have been able to do anything. Anything I've ever done. I I know when I when I battled cancer and the doctor said, well, I hate to tell you this, but on a level one to ten, it's a nine and it's terminal. It came with and I've still got it. It's still terminal, but it ain't kill me yet, but but someday it will.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

You know, Bob, I tell you what too, you don't know in the songs you've sung and the things you've done. The other day I stopped in and I just just I believe life is such a journey. I I took out a I took out a uh canister of propane to get it filled at a little new place here in Taswell where they do propane. And I said, I'm just gonna tell my wife, I said, I'm gonna, I got three or four of them propane things, and I tried to get them filled up for summer and get them all ready. So I said, I'm gonna take this propane out and get it filled at the new place. So I went out there and the real nice guy, man, just such nice people. And I was talking to him and and uh and he and filled my propane, and I was talking to him, and he said, What's your name? And I said, John Dash. He said, I'm gonna tell you something. He said, and it's this happened over over 20 years ago, 20, 25 years ago. He said, uh, you preached a funeral. He said, and I come because I knew the guy, and I wanted to see how anybody could preach his funeral. Okay? So I said, All right. And he said, uh, and I knew who it was when he said it. I knew. I I I so he said, uh, because the this guy had uh he'd molested some of his grandchildren and went to prison and got out.