Appalachian Man interview-Rice 

He is an awesome dude.

Amazing man I love his outlook on life And his beliefs I could sit and listen to his wisdom all day. Folks like this man are too far and few between in this day and age.

@@MrBoxer1200 THANK YOU 🙏

@@tonywilson2530 THANK YOU. I’LL SHOW HIM ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS....✨

You’re fortunate to have such a man as your father. And it was a great interview.

Common Sense VS Educated. Big difference. This guy has the better called.. Common Sense.

That's very true!!!

Lots of dummies with degrees these days

Intelligence is measured in more ways than on a piece of paper. I used to own my own business- And interviewed dozens and dozens of college graduates, That could not pass a simple aptitude test needed for basic calculations, mostly consisting of 6th grade mathematics & simple analytics, The same test- I had a few high school dropouts ace it easily.

Joan Miller..... you are so correct, my cousins fiance is a college lecturer and is super brainy yet he didn't know the top of the kettle comes off to fill it, for years he struggled to fill it by the spout he's thick as shite when it comes to common sense😂

Yeah, he really warmed up toward the end of the interview. I really like this one.

19:35 like right here for instance. Knowing that you don’t understand or know, everything is a level of awareness that many people don’t have. It’s what keeps you trying to learn.

@@FacesintheStonewe all in the learning school call life ….. we will never I said never graduate.. the book of proverbs saint iron sharpens iron and enlighten your friend countenance 🙌

Yes, that’s a real man. Our young boys can actually look up to this man. This was absolutely beautiful

Celebs are chained by the fact they have to say what their audience wants to hear. Same with the corporate world

This man is honest and that is a rare thing these days.

i could care less about what any so called celebrity or sports star has to say since i see how many of us are struggling and they donate to charities that just use $ to get richer. until i start seeing them actually helping actual people im done with all of them...

Without a doubt

Why are people constantly comparing everything to celebrities if we hate them so much?

This.

I loved his fox story.

I totally agree

@Kimisu many times, i care more for animals than i do other humans

@Kimisu Agreed! Sounds like a great dude. Yep, you need to love and care for people.

It's a very hard task in a different setting.

amen

Couldn't have said it better

You are right. I grew up in a place like that. For everything there is a season..Beautiful.

Like a postcard

I live in the river woodlands in Southwest Virginia. Its beautiful every day in every season. I'm fortunate. I'm not rich but I'm rich in nature's beauty.

Rice is my uncle and my mom, his sister, lives right across from him. Rice is a good, hard-working man and like many around here, a true Appalachian ❤️

Lots of folks thought it was a background because almost all of Soft White Underbelly's interviews are done in front of backdrops. Heck, I almost thought it was, till I finally saw the breeze in the trees. I'm moving to Clay County in January. I'm finally getting out of the big city and back to woods and rural life. I was raised in the forest mostly, the had to go to the desert for 2 years, then been stuck in cities. I've missed rural life so much and at 64 years old, I finally get to retire there. I have to say the city gave me opportunities I never would have had. I'm a musician, so I got to work and I got to travel to places I never would have gotten to. Retired now, thanks to CoViD, so it's back to the woods for me!

Ya its fall " lol

I laughed even before he responded, seeing the color on the trees and he's asking about planting...

So did I, it was brutal lol

Yessss! Thought the exact same thing 💕💕💕💕 🦊 👼

Appalachian Socrates! Brilliant!

Well said!

you nailed it

he even looks the part

I was thinking Epictetus haha you beat me to it

Yep 🤣😂

They know not what they say!(the interviewer has no clue)!🤦‍♀️

Loved it

Me too! Absolutely howling- it scared the dogs. 😂🤣

Yep. This man is just living in the natural rhythm of life...dang, Mark.

It's my first time watching, but I reckon I'll be the same

I wrote a reply yesterday, saying I would be the same...I'm already back

Very well said!

I am mired in the darkness.

I come here to see and hear COMMON SENSE and DECENCY! Like the GREAT DOLLY PARTON says in one of her classic songs, "one is only poor ONLY if they choose to be".Give me a simple life ANY day....No PRETENSE, just good ole living without a lot of bullshit that you don't need anyway. The ONLY thing that would scare the shit outta me is the BEARS and SNAKES!! Lol

Uncle Buck your choice look for the light its there

Lovely man.

Amen! I love this man and would love to move myself family up that way. I just wanna get my kids out of the city so bad

@@ross5307 no time like the present. Make the move, I’m sure we’d love to have you. These mountains & people are the most welcoming you’ll find. It’s a simpler life, a safer life. We still leave our doors unlocked at night.

We do, Santa Claus

🌹🌿

Yes I was thinking the same! I very much appreciated his outlook and morale.

Don't worry, I'm sure he does :)

Thats all of us east ky folks. We are the richest people in the world, without a dime to our name.

It all boils down to family and discipline. Spare the rod spoil the child. I was born in 80 and my first movie theatre experience was titanic at 14 or so. I moved to lexington for 10 years, got tons of money and hated life. I gave it all up and came back to the hills and im happy again, lol. This old hills carry our ancestors and love Thu neighbor is strong. What a life man. Its a dream life.

@@jeremywall7206 what kind of work were you able to get when you came back??

Amen. The mountains always call you home , no matter where you roam if your from Appalachia

You Ma'am, are another person I'd love to meet. I am moving there shortly. You could say, I'm going home via my grandmother. She was Kentucky born and raised. Loved her stories of growing up as a kid. My favorite was how her and her sister rode a horse, one sitting forward and one sitting backwards holding a basket of eggs to sell in 'town'. One day the first ever car came down the road, backfired, scared the horse making him buck, and sister and eggs went flying. The car owner had to pay them the value of the eggs!

@@jazzcatt I hope your move to Kentucky rekindles the same spirit of the mountains in you that your grandmother possessed. Your egg story reminds me of my own egg story. We lived 30 miles from town and the closest “ store” was a small general store within walking distance of my grandparents’ home. When we visited my grandparents, they would give each grandchild an egg or two and we would secure the eggs in a “poke” ( paper bag) . We would walk to the store which entailed walking across the creek on a log that had been placed over the creek to get to the road on the other side. The log was narrow, had no handrails and required us to really maintain our balance as we crossed. The eggs were our money and the most skilled log walker carried the eggs ( No!, I never carried the eggs across the log.). Our walk was an adventure...everything from skipping rocks across the creek to catching crawdads in the creek to picking berries in the summertime. Once at the store, we traded our eggs for a small bottle of Coca-Cola or Grapette Grape Soda and if we were lucky enough to have 2 eggs , we either got a Hershey Chocalate Bar or a small bag of “penny” candy. We would sit on the edge of the store’s porch and slowly devour our treats and listen to the stories the old men from the hollers (usually relatives) sitting in the chairs or on bags of feed would tell. On the way home, we would chew our pieces of Double Bubble bubblegum that Aunt Zee ( the storeowner) would give each of us. The bubble blowing contest that followed usually resulted in one of us getting an unexpected haircut. We never knew how rich we really were.

@@appalachianqueen8369 I LOVE your stories, and I love your writing skills! You bring a moving picture into my mind with your words! I grew up in the mountains as well. My mountains and way of life differed from yours. I lived in the steep, high, pine forested mountains in Southern California. The area was more of a resort area, with the cabins around me mostly being used on weekends and vacation times when the rich flat-landers came up to get away from city life. The rest of the time they were quiet and abandoned. When you talked about the log across the creek you instantly took me back to my own childhood! I crossed many a log over streams and creeks. Some were huge and oh so easy to skip right across and others were to skinny to maintain balance while trying to use them as a bridge. Many a time I remember them being thin or barkless and too slippery to walk upon so I would straddle the log like a horse, and scoot across. Many had branches I had to break off to be able to keep going. If I couldn't get them broken off flush, I'd have to lift myself over, and if I missed, OUCH! Torn jeans and a bloody butt or thigh would be the consequence! That never stopped me though! We didn't have hollers, we had steep ravines so a lot of those log crossings I made were 10 to 40 feet up from the ground below. I had no brothers or sisters so my 'family' were our household dogs and cats. I was always alone on my adventures through the hills, unless I took one of the dogs with me. There were no kids my age living near me, so I had no friends (or enemies), except in school. Even when my parents had extra money, there wasn't enough for me to get to frivolously spend. Town, and the only local store was too far away for me to hike to till I hit my preteens and at that time we were really cash poor. We couldn't raise chickens or have a garden there, so I never got to learn that aspect of life. I only learned about soda pop, Double Bubble and other yummies when I was in the city living with my father and his wife, or visiting my grandmother in Los Angeles. One thing I wish was in the Appalachias is the Bracken Ferns that came up in Spring. As a kid I loved being able to hide in them. I never knew they were cautiously edible until much later in life. I guess the point is, for me, that I am going to be so happy going back to a rural life, similar to what I grew up with.....but different. Gee, here I thought you could write a book easily! (would love to meet you someday!)

@@jazzcatt Thank you for sharing your childhood memories. Since my idyllic childhood and young adulthood, I have traveled both within and outside the US. I have met people from every nook and cranny of the world. Those who grew up in rural areas and are contemporaries in age have shared similar stories. Much water has flowed under that “walk log” since then. Like many who grew up in the coal communities of Appalachia, I no longer live in eastern Kentucky. I grew up in Pike County near the borders of West Virginia and Virginia. I still live in the Appalachian Mountains in a nearby state. I travel frequently to my hometown to get my batteries recharged and stay connected to the few family members who still live there. Fortunately, my immediate family lives in my current community so we can carry on some of our family traditions with the newer generations. If you can, research your and your grandmother’s Appalachian roots via genealogy and a general cultural history of the region. I would recommend the Appalshop in Whitesburg (Letcher County), Ky for their collections on the region. If you haven’t already done so, check out the FoxFire book series. This series began as an oral history project assignment in Rabun County, Georgia in 1966 . Eliot Wiggington, the English teacher and his students eventually turned the assignment into a series of books that document the cultural history and way of life in the central Appalachians. I think my family passed the first books around until they literally disintegrated. The series continues today. Don’t forget your rural California upbringing and its rich parallels. Enjoy your new home in southeastern Kentucky. Welcome Home. I hope you find peace and joy.

He's incredibly zen.

you are beautiful Dominique

@@Eidelmania yes he is!!!

@@wildbill7081 thank you so much 💜

@@dominiqueprioleau4684 your very welcome

Not in Appalachia, there’s a wealth of these folks. Come visit, maybe stay 🤷‍♂️

Take his wisdom and pass it down to your kids teach them respect and they will end up doing the same.

@@brandonspencer3840 where can I stay.?

Thank you so much for the compliment. We have been migrating from there over the last 30 years for school and work. We miss it a lot.

My favorite episode so far!!! I wish this guy had a TV show! :D What a wonderful dude! \m/

Honestly and it doesn’t even happen again 🥺🥺🖤

Once something like that happened to me with my poisoned cat. When he finally stopped breathing, it started to rain. Nice to know others experienced something similar

Wow, had to go back to see that. 11:47. What a neat catch. Thanks for sharing that observation.

@@Thesunshinesinvain so sorry for that painful experience.

I teared up and smiled at the same time when I saw that.

Definitely! 👌🏾

Amen to that! I am proud to say I am a Southerner! It’s time we get back to the basics of life!

You mean something a parent should be doing?

Interviews like this, with "salt of the earth" people like Rice, should be required viewing in today's humanities classes, or even at home. I think there are some very important life lessons to be shared here that are not taught these days or have been forgotten about.

Visit and listen to your grandparents. That’s my answer to almost everything.

Salt of the Earth folks

🌹🌿

Same. Its beautiful

And the leaves falling were beautiful.

Like one of those 1000 piece puzzles 🧩 from the 90s 🤣💯

Looks magical I was looking for bigfoot

Yesss... absolutely Beautiful! Especially when the leaves started to fall... SO very Beautiful 🌿🍁🍃

Some old timer i know told me that before “I’m not rich in money but I’m Rich with kids and money can’t buy them so yes I’m a rich man”

Wealth is not of the pocket and wallet, but of the mind and heart

He's country rich.

Yeah, so far I've only seen three interviews with Appalachians where the interviewee isn't a druggie, and their lives aren't all effed up from it.

@@jazzcatt with jobs and life drying up there, the younger generations didn't stand a chance

@@BloodyVamp6669 Unfortunately, young people STILL don't have a chance! I'm moving there soon and it pains me to know that I will be surrounded by people who HAVE to leave just for a small chance at getting a job of ANY kind. Where I live now, I'm considered 'poor', not starving, but 'poor'. When I move there I'll be considered 'rich' by most people, just because of the amazing home I was able to buy for a mere fraction of what I'd pay here. Had I not owned half of a house that sits in an overpriced area, (that I was able to sell) I'd be stuck here and eventually become homeless due to the cost of living rising so much.

No one has multiple back/neck surgeries without prescription pain meds. I think there is some bias about chronic pain patients. I’m happy you 84 people don’t see pain management patients as drug addicts.

@@resilience4lyfe331 I have a broken neck (c5) and a broken back (c4). I took pain meds for a couple decades, just to tolerate the pain so I could work. I was a self employed house mover. I stopped two years ago because I did not want to report to the feds. What prescription drugs were currently in my medicine cabinet. Now I am retired and just live carefully with the pain....great world world we live in eh ?

I feel the same way. People like this dude have understood something that most people can't even see.

Indeed

All you gathered from this interview is that it was sad the fox died in his lap.

@@DCLCRayP Whst a cynical way of looking at a very importantly matter. How a human treats an animal is the true measure of humanity. You may disagree But for me that is important

@@michelekurlan2580 gave me chills when that happened

As the leaves began to fall after he said that...

Absolutely why his potatoes are more important..

Yeah you can tell his connection with God and nature is genuine and full of love.

Very poetic.

@@smassey6848 as if the trees felt my pain, if only for a moment, shared sorrows...

Made me so emotional😭❤

I have no doubt he would give you the shirt off his back and go without himself! It’s obvious he’s happy! If you’re happy, you’re healthy!

@@aliseegenuine6414 Did my comment offend you? I meant it in the kindest way. If you were offended, please accept my sincere apology.

@@lindaplumley4060 no ma’am! I was agreeing with you! I was trying to ensure others understand what I thought you were implying. Was my perception of your words wrong? He stated his body’s structural damage as not being repairable, but he is happy, none the less. Therefore, mentally healthy! Nothing wrong with his mind! My perception of this video? A sort of a boxing match. The interviewer would take a swing, Rice easily & politely deflected all of his attempts and made his own contact. Rice’s laughter was not of himself or his lifestyle. He was laughing at that interviewer. Did you notice any quick changes in the view of the video? I did. I wonder why?🤷‍♀️🤨☺️

@@aliseegenuine6414 Thank you for replying! I must have read it in a different way than you intended. Lol I thought he was the sweetest guy and was wishing him well. Thanks!

@@lindaplumley4060 Thank You for taking your time to ensure we are on the same page! I’m sorry if I was responsible for the confusion. Have a great day!

@Apples McGillicuddy , I’m not saying money doesn’t make life easier, but it can’t fix everything.

People that are miserable without money are usually miserable with money. The focus of their misery just shifts elsewhere.

@Apples McGillicuddy I’m not going to banter back and forth with you when you are being so ridiculous I never said money was not necessary or helpful. Also, I have 6 children, 2 of which are adopted to keep them from being placed into foster care, so I know all about hungry children. Have a good day. 😊

@Apples McGillicuddy There’s just a distinction to be made between the ability of money to solve temporary problems alleviating a discomfort and the greater peace and contentment in life that comes from knowing your true self and the higher power. The Dalai Lama said, “We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” We acknowledge you have to have enough money for groceries to reach a little “peace” but once that’s done, you can reach for the bigger, deeper Peace to fulfill your life. Same word, different meaning.

@Apples McGillicuddy You are making up I’m being magical & groceries was an example for brevity here. No one is denying there is a hierarchy of needs. Obviously, someone does not have the luxury of pursuing a greater peace in life if they are hungry or not comfortable in some way. However, some of the poorest people in, for example, in India still manage to pursue a spiritual life. Don’t think poverty is a badge of honor; it should be eliminated.

Looks like the hair near a dogs eyes after they cried

His beard is absolutely beautiful

I am a beard girl-his is awesome!

Awesome beard!

He’s a mans man. Plenty of those hear in these Kentucky hills.

My ears perked up when he said that jewel. He then followed up with, "...I have a whole experience millions of people with never have." Bit of envy was felt frfr lol

@@thedrewmancometh6693 💚💚💚

Amen. God bless you.

I noticed too. He’s so similar to my dad it’s crazy.

Like my soulmate, Ron. We're from CT and he's such a hard worker and the most loving man I've ever met in my life! ❤❤

What you said is 100% true. My father made me work hard while my friends were out having fun. He taught me to be a stone mason and I hated every second of until I got older. I'm 60 years old now and still doing masonry work. I can go from east coast to west coast and a lot of places in between and still see the work that I've done. Some say hard work wears you down but I've experienced the opposite. People who don't know me guess I'm in my forties. Every young man should have deep inside him what you described.

And doing hard work in the woods is magical… spiritual even. Good for the soul. I used to cut mountain biking trails in the northeast. Some of my fondest memories!

I understand, I've lost 3 senior dogs in the last few years, two I had had since 6 month old puppies. ❤ It sounds like she died in a place she was familiar with and comfortable, surrounded by scents of the people she loved. She probably just drifted off to sleep and didn't wake up. Your comment tells me she was raised with love and had to have known how much you loved her. (Forgive me if your pup was male, not female)

most are in many ways...peace of mind, clear thinking,sound mind etc.

Very much so, he has such a full and rich life however celebs are just.. rich in terms of money, money definitely isn't everything

Such an exquisite representation

Aww bless you dear. What a kind comment.

Thank you 😊 for the well wishes, needed that today😟

What a thoughtful, lovely piece of writing. Your Mom had a wonderful, true outlook on life...and you are a kind person...which matters most. Thank you Jen, wishing you the same.

Thank you

@Apples McGillicuddy i think they might have been referring to his disposition and fortitude. Even he didn't view himself as "impoverished." That seems to be more of other people's perspective.

@Apples McGillicuddy I hear you. When i read the original comment it made me think of the saying about being rich (wealthy) in spirit and not monetarily. So I understood that they meant wealthy (rich) with all the things that truly mattered on this realm. Even after watching the video i spoke with my Husband about growing up poor here in ohio. Each of us agreed that we both found out that we were "poor" from other people in our lives. We never seen our lot in life as impoverished or poor until we were told such things or when we got older and compared our life to others be it on tv, school or whatnot. So again I think the gentleman in the video was touching on poor/impoverished being a state of mind...especially if your basic needs are met. Ill also include a scripture just for more clarification on what im trying to express. Phillipians 4 11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

@Apples McGillicuddy Welp, all i can say about that is i thought we were speaking about this specific gentleman life/interview. He looks content with the things he has or doesn't have so im inclined to believe him. But when you dive into the true cornerstone and building blocks of the Americas, it has always been a slave class at the bottom. A group of people who starved, struggled, and were the epitome of impoverished and poor. Its great now that more people are repulsed at the idea of anyone going through those kind of things. We need more people like you who care enough to want to change this paradigm.

@Apples McGillicuddy i feel like we're having two different conversations. Im also confused by your reference to "learned helplessness" that "poverty" creates. That group of people i was speaking of in my last comment were under a systematic oppression, one that was government endorsed that spun on its own axis for generations...but i digress. Seems like you're speaking more in general and not necessarily about the gentleman being interviewed. Years ago an older woman said something that stuck with me like an earworm in the morning. She said "people can't make me happy, and people can't make me sad. Now i know that didn't mean in all things but it was the power of it that blew my mind. The word people can be interchangeable with the word money (or lack thereof) as well. I try not to be too concerned with the people who have it all, and just focus on who I can help.

@Apples McGillicuddy whoa...i don't think I've heard of that condition before but it makes complete sense. The only thing (I feel) it's missing is the perpetrators and puppet masters who are the authors of those traumatic events. Nonetheless I learned something new today, and i appreciate that. Lastly I believe most people don't know that there is a war going on. A war on the middle class, basic freedoms, and inalienable rights that are being stripped from them daily by those very same elitist families you speak of. When they awaken to this beast system, it will be too late for many. The only use money will have in that day will be for toilet paper. It is written that all these things must come to pass. There are people like this gentleman interviewed who will have the wherewithal, disposition and fortitude to survive, and to many...he will be rich. Rich with knowledge and wisdom to operate with less. I pray we have the endurance to endure like him.

Looked like his eyes glassed up from not wanting to cry on camera.

Too many people are never happy with what they have. They see movie stars and musicians and think they need and want everything that they have. There is nothing wrong with striving for more but don’t always compare yourself to what others have.

I don't think the world could have enough people like this man...

they exist, they just don't associate with you & your world.

@@elonmust7470 no we dont, we keep to ourselves and dont want to be bothered by city people. i live not very far from Rice in the mountains of Tn so i can relate to everything he's said

A squirrel in the tree

You can hear it bark lol

Hell Yeah! \m/

Peace be still God will provide

Couldn't you just say how easily his speech flows? had me asking google to define "extemporaneously" Sheesh!

Balance is everything

You tube just recommended that to me.

Ol’ boy said it right too...😏

My grandma used to say that they never knew they were poor, as everyone else was in the same boat. She grew up in the depression, but always joked, “we were poor before the depression, so nothing changed!” Then she would laugh!

My grandpa used to say that. Everybody lived the same, so it was normal life to grow your own food and make do with what you had. It was a lot like this man describes, only in the Ozarks instead of Appalachia. Pretty much the same people and the same way of life.

the interviewer couldnt be any farther from condescending

He stereotypes a lot and brings in a bias at times..."if your sexually abused it opens door to be sex worker" or "lots of drugs here and no jobs" Rice "there is work its just if you are willing to work". You could tell by grunt back the interviewer made he did not agree. You have to take people case by case. He tends to stereotype areas, people and experiences. That said do like him over all.

@@hard-truthsbetter-than-swe6543 Maybe that interviewer is plain jealous! Rice let him know that he wasn’t ignorant at all when he stated school was easy, he could make straight A’s if he wanted.

@@dreamcatcher7939 oh yeah! Didn’t miss it! Rice never missed a beat, he handled that interviewer!

And did it with grace and finesse.