Automatic episode summary
Anthony Carbone is seventy-six years old and still runs cattle at Whispering Pines Ranch outside Fort Myers, Florida. Keith Vance opens by explaining why he asked him to sit down: about a decade ago Vance framed a house for an owner-builder who turned out to be Carbone's daughter, on land Carbone had bought and then carved into blocks for his children. Vance later bought cows from him, then bought a hundred acres of his own in Clewiston, and says the idea of land passed down to family came from watching what Carbone had built.
The day Carbone describes starts early and alone. Coffee, a morning devotional, a verse of the day on his phone and a chapter of the Bible - he is in Revelation now, having read it through a few times. Then he gets his wife up and they often do a devotional together, and then the work: cattle to move or pen, horses to put up, dogs to feed, pens to clean, fence and gates and cow pens and troughs to build. He was raised to it. He was the oldest boy in a house with livestock, and the chores were finished before school, no excuses accepted. He credits his father, whom he calls old school and strict about work.
The hard parts come out plainly, without much decoration. Early in his ranching life a semi load of sixty-plus calves that had been bringing about $10,000 fell to roughly $2,000, and he had already bought a hundred-plus acres counting on the higher number. He held the calves and fed them instead of selling, went upside down, and started over. He says it knocked the wind out of him to go from the top to the bottom, and that he was never angry with God over it. In 1972, after about ten years of cancer, his mother died. His father sold the house, the garage and the junkyard and, as Carbone puts it, kind of forgot about everything and everybody. Carbone was in his early twenties, married with a child, and had been drafted and sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina rather than Vietnam. He took in his youngest brother and sister, then about nine and ten. His brother has been with him ever since. His widowed sister is back with him now.
He worked whatever paid: a machine shop, steel buildings, welding and fabricating, a power company, then close to twenty years for the city, where he retired as maintenance supervisor. He went after the pension because cowboying carries no benefits. He kept cattle the whole time. He talks at length about leases, which once ran a full section at about a dollar an acre and now come in twenty- and forty-acre pieces, bid out and priced by the animal unit, with conservation and water-management land taking ground off the tax roll without putting cattle back on it.
The heaviest part of the conversation is his son, who died at thirty-three. A brother called to say the young man was unconscious at the barn where they worked. He had taken a blow to the head, was hospitalized from about December to February, and never regained consciousness. The family never learned what happened, and the one person who might have known has since died. People Carbone grew up with hung back, he says, to see whether he would blame God. Why would I blame him, he asks - there is no promise of tomorrow. After his son was gone he built a cracker house on the boy's eleven acres, spent more on it than he meant to, and keeps it for family gatherings rather than for anyone to live in: to enjoy it and to remember him by.
Near the end his daughter Amber comes on mic, calls him interruptible and names that a Christ-like quality, and asks what he wants the ranch to be after him. He answers about better heifers, better bulls and a good hay year. The episode's title is his own rule for moving cattle: slower is faster.
Speakers
- Anthony Carbone guest
- Keith Vance host
- Crosstalk other
- Crosstalk other
- Crosstalk other
Chapters
- 4:01 Up before daylight, devotional first
Carbone walks through an ordinary day at seventy-six - coffee alone, a morning devotional, then cattle, horses, dogs and whatever is being built that day. He traces the habit back to a childhood where chores were finished before school.
- 10:01 When a load of calves crashed
A semi load of sixty-plus calves that brought about $10,000 fell to roughly $2,000, and he had already bought a hundred-plus acres against the higher price. He held and fed them, went upside down, and started over.
- 13:44 Good dogs and earned trust
A rancher told him to leave his dogs on the trailer, then watched them bunch the cattle and walk them straight to the pen. After that, every call came with an instruction to bring the dogs.
- 16:02 Slower is faster
Carbone explains the saying that gives the episode its name: stay behind the shoulder if you want the animal to go forward, work the left shoulder to send it right and the right to send it left. Pushing harder loses ground.
- 19:01 Born in East Fort Myers
Birth through the teen years - his father came to Buckingham during the war and met his mother there, the local schools he attended, the livestock he tended before class, and meeting his wife in middle school and marrying her when he was a senior.
- 24:12 Drafted, then his mother died
He was drafted during Vietnam but served at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and never went overseas. His mother died in 1972 after about ten years of cancer, his father let go of everything, and Carbone took in his youngest brother and sister.
- 30:27 Cowboy work, then a pension
A run through the jobs that paid the bills - machine shop, steel buildings, welding, a power company - and the move to a city maintenance job for close to twenty years, taken because a cowboy has no benefits.
- 31:50 Leases then and leases now
Carbone once ran cattle on sections at a time for about a dollar an acre; now a lease of forty acres is doing well, priced per animal unit and opened to bids. He describes what conservation and water-management holdings have done to grazing land.
- 42:33 Whispering Pines, carved for family
He bought the ranch in the early 2000s, cut a seventy-seven acre block into eleven-acre pieces for his children, and left them unfenced so cattle still run across them. Daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren live there now, with a half-acre family garden and Sunday dinner after church.
- 53:50 The son he lost, the house he built
The heart of the episode. Carbone's son died at thirty-three after a blow to the head that no one can account for, and the cracker house on the son's eleven acres was built afterward - not for anyone to live in, but for the family to gather and remember him.
- 1:08:17 Five surgeries, still building
Two years of repairs - both biceps, a shoulder reversal, neck and two back surgeries, a finger broken in a fall from a mule - and what he still does with his days: cabinets, a charging station, one project finished at a time.
- 1:16:31 What the ranch looks like after him
His daughter Amber comes on mic to ask what he wants the place to be when he is gone, and the producer asks where Florida cattle are headed in five to ten years. He answers with better heifers, better bulls, a good hay year, and more families raising their own meat.
Key takeaways
- 4:01 Carbone gets up earlier than he needs to so the first part of the day belongs to him: coffee, a morning devotional, then his wife up and often a devotional together before any work starts.
- 13:44 Reputation is built by results, not argument. Told to leave his dogs on the trailer, Carbone worked the day without them, then brought them out after dinner; they bunched the cattle and walked them to the pen with nobody breaking out of a walk. Every call after that asked for the dogs.
- 31:11 He took a city maintenance job for close to twenty years for one reason: a cowboy has no benefits and he wanted a retirement. Ranching stayed constant underneath every job he held, and became full time when he retired.
Pull quotes
Anthony Carbone: "I know He's always had my hand. He's had my back. I know that because I went through too many things... So I know if it wouldn't have been from Him, I'd have done been gone. And I still feel like that He's got something for me here."
Anthony Carbone on the saying that titles the episode: "You've got to know you can't get past the shoulder because he's going to turn and go back. You want to stay towards the back if you want him to go forward."
Anthony Carbone: "I don't know how to put words on it, but I love my place. I really do. I could work from dark to dark every day."
Anthony Carbone on grief: "You'll have grieving moments. There'll be something... We hunted together. We did everything together... And it's been a long time now, but you still will."
Anthony Carbone on the cracker house: "No, I built it in mind for us to enjoy it and to remember him by, really." He did not want anyone living in it.
Anthony Carbone on the pace that keeps him going at seventy-six: "I like to finish a project every day. You don't never get done in a place like I'm in. You just get to a stopping point."
His daughter Amber, brought on mic near the end, offers the word Keith Vance keeps returning to afterward: her father is "interruptible, which is a very Christ-like quality" - and says he underplays his health, joking that so many parts have been replaced he ought to speak another language.
Scripture & context
- 6:30 He reads a verse of the day on his phone and a chapter of the Bible daily, has read it through a few times, and says he is working through Revelation right now. He also mentions a daily devotional book he just ordered.
- 10:01 The market that nearly ended him: a semi load of sixty-plus calves went from about $10,000 to about $2,000. He had bought a hundred-plus acres against the old price, chose to hold and feed the calves rather than sell, went upside down and started over. He says he was never angry with God over it.
- 24:12 His mother died in 1972 after about ten years with cancer. In his early twenties, already married with a child, Carbone took in his youngest brother and sister - roughly nine and ten, about ten years his junior. His brother has worked alongside him ever since; his sister, now widowed, is back on the property.
- 54:18 What the transcript establishes about his son's death, and nothing more: he was thirty-three, and thirty-two at the time of the injury. A brother called to say he was unconscious at the barn - a garage where they worked. He had taken a blow to the head, came to briefly, then went unconscious as the swelling grew. He was hospitalized roughly December to February and never regained consciousness. The family never learned what happened.
- 1:00:22 People he grew up with hung back after his son died, he says, waiting to see whether he would blame God. His answer: "Why would I blame him, you know. There's no promise of tomorrow, you know, and we know that." The phrase echoes James 4:13-14, though he cites no chapter and verse.
Questions answered
- What does a seventy-six-year-old cattleman's day actually look like?
- Carbone wakes earlier than he needs to, which gives him time alone. He gets ready, drinks coffee and does a morning devotional, then wakes his wife and they often do one together. After that comes whatever the day holds - cattle to work or move, horses to put up, dogs to feed, pens to clean, and something to build: hay, fence, gates, cow pens, troughs. jump · 4:01
- What does "slower is faster" mean when you are working cattle?
- It is Carbone's own saying for handling animals under pressure. You cannot get past the shoulder or the animal turns and goes back; stay toward the rear if you want it to move forward. Work the left shoulder to send it right and the right shoulder to send it left. He says it takes patience, and that the reward is cattle with a good disposition that do not tear out fences. jump · 16:02
- What happened when the cattle market crashed on him as a young man?
- A straight-job semi load of sixty-plus calves had been bringing about $10,000. In the late sixties or early seventies the price fell to roughly $2,000 a load, and Carbone had already bought a hundred-plus acres counting on the old number. He decided to hold and feed the calves rather than sell, and says it did not take long before he was upside down and had to start over. He adds that he was never angry with God about it. jump · 10:01
- How did he end up raising his younger brother and sister?
- His mother died in 1972 after about ten years with cancer. His father, still living, sold the house, the garage and the junkyard and, in Carbone's words, kind of forgot about everything and everybody. Carbone, about ten years older than the two youngest, took them in while he was in his early twenties and already married with a child. His brother has stayed with him ever since, and his sister is back on the property now that her husband has died. jump · 24:12
- Why did a lifelong cowboy go to work for the city?
- He wanted retirement. Cowboying, as he puts it, comes with no benefits. He worked close to twenty years for the city and retired from there as a maintenance supervisor, after earlier stints in a machine shop, in steel buildings, welding and fabricating, and at two power companies. He kept cattle the whole time and went to ranching full time once he retired. jump · 31:11
- Has it gotten harder to lease land for cattle in Florida?
- Much harder, by his account. Leases used to run a full section, sometimes for about a dollar an acre, and landowners were glad to have the land mowed, cleared and fenced. Now he says you are doing well to get twenty or forty acres, priced per animal unit and opened to bids. He also describes conservation and water-management holdings - over a million acres, he estimates - where very little grazing is allowed. jump · 31:50
- How did he divide the ranch among his children?
- The first piece he bought was a seventy-seven acre block, and the first thing he did was cut it into seven eleven-acre blocks - eleven because ten is the minimum for the agricultural classification, leaving him an acre for a house and still keeping the exemption. He did not fence the individual blocks, so cattle still run across the whole thing. He says having his family on the property was the goal from the start. jump · 47:09
- What does he say about losing his son?
- His son was thirty-three. A brother called to say he was unconscious at the barn where they worked; he had taken a blow to the head, was hospitalized from about December to February, and never regained consciousness. The family never found out what happened, and Carbone says the one person who might have known has since died. He calls it the hardest thing you will ever go through, and says the grieving moments still come. jump · 54:18
- Why did he build the cracker house on his son's land?
- The eleven acres were his son's, and Carbone built the little cracker house on them after he passed - his son never saw it. He admits he was above his head on parts of it and spent more than he should have, and says maybe that was what he needed at the time, something that left no room to think about anything else. He deliberately did not want anyone living in it; the family uses it for Thanksgiving, Easter and other gatherings, and he says he built it for them to enjoy and to remember him by. jump · 53:50
- After five surgeries in two years, does he plan to slow down?
- He says he still feels good and still feels like he can do the work, though his wife would rather he stayed off the roof and he now gets help from a son-in-law and a granddaughter's fiance for jobs like that. His answer to aging is smaller finished work: a cabinet for his saws, a rack for screwdrivers, a charging station. He likes to finish a project every day, and notes that on a place like his you never get done - you just get to a stopping point. jump · 1:08:17
Helpful links
product
- Shop Still Strong The Still Strong hat and merchandise shop, named on air by Keith Vance during the introduction.
website
- Whispering Pines Ranch Anthony Carbone's cattle ranch and family property outside Fort Myers, Florida; no web address is given in the episode.
book
- A Minute with God A daily devotional Carbone says he just ordered; the title is indistinct in the audio and should be confirmed.
video
- Still Strong episode with Mike Jamerson The June episode with produce farmer Mike Jamerson, referenced from off mic when the future of Florida farming comes up.
Full transcript
Anthony Carbone: I learned the hard way, nothing's overnight, some days you lose, some days you survive.
Keith Vance: Still Strong, even moving slow, every step counts more than you know. I found gold in the everyday, showing up and staying brave. Anthony Carboni, welcome to the Still Strong Podcast. I'm glad to be here for you, buddy. I can tell you don't know why you're here. I've never done this before. So the reason why you are here is because about a year ago, I had the idea to start this brand called Still Strong, which is becoming my demographic and it's your demographic. It's people who are closer to the sun setting than the beginning, but we still have things to do every day. We still have people that need us. We still have things to accomplish and we have to choose to be Still Strong where we are in life. And so a part of that brand was God seemed to put together to have this platform where I can give people the opportunity to share their life story. Anthony, I literally went through my phone and just wrote down people who inspired me. So the reason why you're here and the reason why you inspired me was, I'm bad with dates, but about 10 to 12 years ago, I contracted with an owner builder, which happened to be your daughter. She was building a house. At that time, I didn't know it was on your property. She was building a house there. We framed her house. A few years later, I was looking for some cows and somebody said, Whispering Pines Ranch. I said, man, why does that sound familiar? It was where I framed your daughter's house. Come to find out that property was like a generational thing. Here you had, and we're going to get through the story, but here you had purchased the property and then you like carved off chunks for your family. And I'm thinking, man, that's a legacy. I got seven kids. I got some grandkids coming. And you kind of put that thought into my head about owning some property and passing it down to the family. And so over the years, I bought some cows from you. I ended up buying 100 acres out in Clewiston. You put the idea in my head. And every time I've come on your property or been involved with you, you're doing something, brother. I think you're 76 now? 76. Every time I come on your property, you're doing something. When I shake your hand, you can tell that that hand's done a lot of work. And I know a little bit about you, but I've never heard your whole story. And so I kind of want to hear it for the first time and give people an opportunity to hear your story. These old timers who have been through some things. You can't be 76 years old and life not slap you around a little bit or gone through some hardship. Right? So that's why you're here. Before we get going, don't take off your cowboy hat. It looks good on you. But we've got these Still Strong hats. My kids tell me they're the best. We have a website, shopstillstrong.com. You can buy these. But when you're out moving cattle and you need a little extra power, you can put that sucker on, bro. All right? So, Anthony, Whispering Pines Ranch, it's 100 and some odd acres. You live there. You're 76. Just tell me about today, where you're at now in life. What's your average day like? What's your average day like? What's your routine like? Family life? Work life? At 76 with what you do. Just give me a download.
Anthony Carbone: Well, I usually wake up a lot earlier than I need to get up. So that gives me some time to myself. I get up, of course, get myself ready and drink a little coffee. I do a morning devotional every morning. And after I'm up for an hour or so, I usually get my wife up. And a lot of times we do devotional together. And then I start my day. Yeah, usually either we've got cattle to work or some to move or we've got horses we put up, dogs to feed, pens to clean out, that sort of thing. Usually before you start whatever your day's project is. It could be we build hay. We build fence, gates, cow pens. troughs, whatever. You know, we're always something to build or do or something to do in that nature. I was brought up in a home that had livestock, and so I was the oldest boy, so I had to do that before I went to school. You know, you had to put up cows or move horses or milk a cow or something of that nature, and then you took a shower or bath, and then you went to school. And they never told me that I couldn't do sports or go somewhere or nothing like that, but it ain't like most kids today. When you was told to do something, there was no such thing as I forgot or I went over here or I didn't feel like it was done. You had to get it done, and that's just the way I was brought up. My daddy was pretty strict when it comes to chores and that sort of thing.
Keith Vance: I want to hear about the early time in life, but I got a couple questions for you where you're at in this time in life. How many years you've been married? You mentioned your wife. How 60-something. Oh, wow. Okay, 60-something years. You said that you get up early in the morning and have your own private devotional time. What are you reading nowadays?
Anthony Carbone: Well, I just ordered a book that says I'm on a minute with God, but I usually, my phone and my Bible, it's a verse of the day, and then I've read the Bible through a few times, so I'll read a chapter in the Bible every day and work my wife and Dennis' revelations. That's what I'm doing right now.
Keith Vance: I comprehend better when I'm listening. When I'm reading, my mind goes places and I find that I'll read a whole page and don't even know what I read. I do better at listening, so that's what I've been doing is I'll just listen through the whole Bible, and when I finish, I go right back to it and just digest a lot of it, but that's like my routine is I get up early before the rest of the house does. I pray for a good 30, 40 minutes, put my earbuds in, and just get His Word washed over me. At this stage of my life, I'm enjoying it because for a long time, that was stuff that I did because you're supposed to, so I would just do it real quick to say I did it, check the box, and I go do my job. This season of life I'm in now, it means more to me, and I'm dependent on it. So I'm just curious where you're at in life. Like at 70-something years old, when you pretty much have life figured out, the fact that you start the day out with that says a lot about dependency on God's Word and direction, all that.
Anthony Carbone: Well, I know He's always had my hand. He's had my back. I know that because I went through too many things. You can throw that on the floor if you want. I went through too many things. So I know if it wouldn't have been from Him, I'd have done been gone. And I still feel like that He's got something for me here or, you know, so that's the main reason I try to stay on that side.
Keith Vance: Before we jump back into your story, I love it because I love it that someone can make a living outside of what society says you're supposed to do. Like the fact that you're making a living off of cattle. I've made a living off construction. I never went to college. I was homeschooled. I was just taught how to work and my work ethic just kind of like I knew I was built for, right? So I like that when people come to my house and find out, I'm not going to say how much business we do a year, but when people find out that I do what we do and I'm working out of a barn and I live down a dirt road, I love that because I feel like I'm bucking the system. And I feel like you've bucked the system. Like you've made a good living for your family generationally, just selling some cows and moving some cows around. But I want to ask you about the cattle business.
Keith Vance: Tell me about the process of being in the cattle business. What do you love about it? What do you hate about it? What's the satisfaction that you get out of it? What are the hard parts about it? Markets? Let's just talk about the cattle business. Is this what you've done nearly? your whole life?
Anthony Carbone: The market is tough. It really is. It's probably like the stock market. I can tell you once upon a time I had a lot of cattle which sell straight job semi 60 plus calves. You didn't get $2,000 for the whole load. No, $10,000. I'm sorry. $10,000 for the whole load. And then in the late 60s, early 70s, it did jump down to about $2,000 for a load for a period there. And that killed everybody. I was starting out then. I was a young man. I done bought 100 plus acres and this, that, and the other. And I was counting on the $10,000 at that era. That was a lot of money in that era. And then when it fell down to $2,000, I thought I was smarter than that. So I would just hold them, you know, and feed them, okay, and start feeding that many calves. It didn't take long that I was upside down. So, and I had to start over again. And that'll knock the wind out of your cell when you just right at the top and go to the bottom and start over again, you know. But it worked out. And it's all for a reason. It has to be, you know. And I never was angry with God over it. But let me back up. I wasn't raised in church. My wife is a godly woman. And she didn't push me on it, but she would ask me every Sunday, you know, let's go to church. Well, of course, in that era, trying to raise a family, I first got married, I didn't make $40 a week. And so you needed everything you could do. You know, I built fence on the side, you know, work cattle. And we had brucellosis in that era. And a cowboy didn't make $15 a day in that era. And you might drive them here to Cliston, you know, and be there at 7 o'clock and start working cattle. So, it, and then the vets know you. So when they were going to a ranch, I didn't have enough hands, they would always call me, you know. And it was kind of interesting at times, because I had good horses and good dogs. And I know one big ranch there I went on. The first day I got there, I unloaded a horse. And the man said, don't unload your dogs. I said, that's fine. We got out there and we run and run and run like killer horses. It was out there off of L-28 Dike and that muck. And it was just killing them horses running and that stuff pulling on so hard. And so, uh, we come back up there after the first bunch. And I told him, I said, man, I should have brought another horse. And I said, that's what I feed them dogs for. He fed us dinner. So we got ready to go back. He said, uh, them dogs, I don't want to tear up the cows. I said, they won't if they do like they're supposed to. So, uh, anyway, I took the dogs back. It was that time. They bunched them up, drove them straight to the pen. Nobody got out of a walk. So it was funny, because after that, every time he'd call me, he said, you're going to bring them dogs now.
Keith Vance: The, uh, first group of cows I bought from you, you were using your dogs and, uh, just watching you work with them. Those dogs are trained. Um, they're doing what they're supposed to do. They were working and you could tell they enjoyed that work and you're using them just, just watching the interaction with the animals that you used. It was, um, it was, it was, it was fun to watch. And then, but I knew that, that, that took a lot of practice and work to do that. You have a good system set up over there. Um, the, what's the satisfaction that you get out of working cattle? Do you enjoy your work?
Anthony Carbone: I really, truly enjoy it. Um, I enjoy a good horse. I enjoy a good dog. And, uh, this past year, I, one man, I weaned 30, four head of cross-grammer cattle and they was, they was crazy. And he first brought them there. I'm thinking these things are going to tear up the whole world. And within about a week, I had them where they'd come up to me, but I'd put them dogs on them and the dogs would bunch them up. And then I would go around and around them and throw them and stuff. And They couldn't run off because the dogs wouldn't let them. And the second week, you would thought they were hand-raised, and that makes a lot of difference.
Keith Vance: The first group of cows we bought from you, my wife came with me, and we hopped on your side-by-side, and we rode around your property, and we were watching them. And something about a connection to nature is therapeutic. You could tell that you were proud of your operation. You could tell that you loved your property.
Keith Vance: And you seem to be a very patient person. And I think working animals, working cattle, you have to be patient because I've had some cows that they weren't doing what I want to, and it felt like the more impatient, the more I tried to push it, it did not go in my favor. So can you speak to some – is there anything there that I hit on There's a saying that goes with working cattle, slower is faster.
Anthony Carbone: Let's talk about patience. Well, like I say, slower is faster. You've got to know you can't get past the shoulder because he's going to turn and go back. You want to stay towards the back if you want him to go forward. You move up to whichever side. Left shoulder, you want him to go to right. Right shoulder, you want him to go left. And it does take a lot of patience because they're not the most intelligent animals on the face of the earth, really. But I really enjoy it. The one thing I enjoy is raising cattle that turn out nice, you know, a nice-looking cow that raises a nice calf with a good disposition, you know, that you ain't got to worry about tearing out the fence and running over somebody and that sort of thing, you know. Because she's probably got – I know she's got one video of one cow jumping over a gate and me too, you know. Oh, no. Yeah. And it happens.
Keith Vance: I always felt like – I've only bought cows from you, and I just felt like you were taking care of me. I felt like you weren't taking advantage of me not knowing what I was looking at. Like you were telling me what to look for. I felt like you were honest with me. Like I said, I just felt like you were very patient, very kind. I felt like you had a hard life and a story. And so I just wanted to start with there, like what your day is like and why you enjoy what you're doing. Can I ask you another question about cows before we get into it? Do cows have personalities? Can you tell cows differently?
Anthony Carbone: Yeah, I know they do. As a matter of fact, I got one there now that my sister has bottle raised. And she can just start talking, and that thing will come running and bellering and kicking. And if she walks in there, that thing will just start making circles around her like she can't even move, you know. That's pretty neat. Yeah, it is neat. And I know my dogs do. My dogs love me. You know, I know that.
Keith Vance: Yeah, it was amazing to watch your dogs work like that. All right. Amber and Michael. Michael, we did this last time. Once we get, we'll get rolling and then just make a little mental note. If there's some questions that I should have asked that I didn't, just I'll give you the mic. And towards the end, we can say, hey, Dad, what about this? Or Michael, if there's something that I don't want to miss anything with him. So if there's a question like, man, Keith, like, we'll give you a chance at the end. All right, you ready? I'm going to start from the beginning. You know, I done told everybody how strong of hands you are. If you got to make me open that for you, everybody won't think I'm a liar.
Anthony Carbone: I just want to make sure it didn't do something else.
Keith Vance: All right, so I'm going to walk you through this thing in hubs. Okay, where were you? Let's talk about your first birth to your teenage years, from birth to teenage years. Where were you born? What were the biggest influences on your life? What was life like for you as a child? So we're going to talk from, like, birth to, like, 18 years old. We'll talk there. All righty, where were you born? Were you born here in Florida? I was born right here in Fort Myers. Wow. East Fort Myers. Okay. What did your mom and daddy do for a living? What was life like? Siblings, just give us a, paint a picture for us. What was it like to be you?
Anthony Carbone: Well, my daddy came here during the war, Buckingham. It was the Army Air Force Base there at the time. And my mother went to work out there, and that's how they met. But... ... ... ... I went to Thai school before Orange River was built, when Orange River was built. I went there, oh, like 4th, 5th, and 6th. Lee Middle School was a new school. Went there 7th, 8th, and 9th, and then to Fort Myers Senior High. I never went to college. I got drafted. You got drafted to, what would that be, Vietnam? Yeah.
Keith Vance: Well, I don't want to get to Vietnam yet. I want to talk from birth to 18. So we already know in those early years, before you went to school, you had a bunch of chores to get done, and it wasn't optional. So we know about that. So let's talk about the things that shaped you in life.
Anthony Carbone: It was probably my daddy. He had a lot of morals. He was old school. He believed in working. In that era, of course, we didn't have the backhoes. Skid steers and stuff like that. You dug a hole. You dug a ditch. You watered fruit trees by hand with a bucket of water. We had livestock that I had to take care of before I went to school.
Anthony Carbone: I actually had a job, seems like my whole life at one point or another, mostly for my daddy until I got, I started driving. I did work for a little mom and pop grocery store cutting meat. And then I met my wife in middle school. We actually got married when I was a senior. We was married five years before we had any kids. How many siblings did you have? Two girls and a boy.
Keith Vance: What was, like, meal time like? Did you guys have meals together, like dinners together in the home?
Anthony Carbone: Yes. We always ate supper together. You know, of course, in the morning, I'd leave early.
Anthony Carbone: We always spent time together on the weekend. The family was close? I thought we was.
Anthony Carbone: We did stuff together. We'd take a vacation sometime through the summer when they were out of school.
Anthony Carbone: I've only moved for about three times in my life. Four at the most.
Keith Vance: Yeah, a lot of your story is my story. Yeah, a lot of your story is my story. My wife, Karen, Karen and I, we got married right out of high school. She got married right out of high school. I just grew up working the whole time. Even though I'm a different generation than you, I feel like I should have been raised in your generation. So a lot of that resonates with me. So you met your wife in middle school. When you guys met, did you know she was the one at the time?
Anthony Carbone: Well, at that very time, I don't think so. But, you know, it wasn't long. Who pursued who? Good question. I don't even know. I would say I pursued her. Did you?
Keith Vance: So the early life was a lot of hard work. You were here locally. A strong family unit, it sounds like. You had mother and father in the home. Siblings. Sounded like life was tight. Then you said you got drafted into Vietnam. Yeah. What did you do? How long were you in Vietnam? Oh, I didn't go to Vietnam. Oh, you were drafted in the service during Vietnam, but you never went. Yeah.
Anthony Carbone: I went in the service, but I only went to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Okay.
Anthony Carbone: And I was already married and already had kids at the time. And my mother passed away in 72. And that was about that same time. And I wound up raising my youngest brother and sister. Kids raising kids. Okay.
Keith Vance: So we got to stop there for a minute. You said your mom died and you ended up raising my youngest brother and sister.
Anthony Carbone: How old were you? We was married. I think Amber was born. So that had to be 72. 72.
Anthony Carbone: Angel. 1972.
Keith Vance: Oh, she said in 1982. Did you say 1982?
Anthony Carbone: 72.
Anthony Carbone: Yeah. Angel. My oldest girl. Got it.
Keith Vance: So, has your dad already passed at this time?
Anthony Carbone: No, but he went through a lot of stuff in that era. Like what kind of stuff? Women. Okay. My mother was sick for about 10 years. Okay. And after she passed, she sold everything, the house, the garage, the junkyard, everything.
Keith Vance: So, your mother got sick? Yeah, she had cancer for about 10 years. And your dad wasn't faithful to her during this time? Is that what you're saying? When she was sick?
Anthony Carbone: Oh, he was there for her. But when she passed, he just kind of forgot about everything and everybody.
Keith Vance: Okay. Got it. He was going through his own little crisis, it sounds like. Yeah. And so, you took on the responsibility for your siblings. Yeah. Okay. Which makes sense because I'm glad I didn't know this about you. I'm glad I'm learning about it for the first time because what I know about you now, that makes sense. Just looking at that property with all these people's families and stuff and you're the one that created that environment. So, how much older were you than your siblings when you were? 10 years. You're 10 years older. And they moved in with you and you treated them like? As family. Like your own children or siblings? How did you treat them in your home?
Anthony Carbone: My brother's always been with me. He got married. Well, my sister did too. Her husband passed. Well, she's back with me now. And my brother's going through some stuff now. So, he'll probably be with me in Fort Loeville.
Keith Vance: So, your brother, he moves cows with you, doesn't he? Yeah. Yeah. I remember him now. And then your sister, I've met her as well. Yeah. Real quiet. Yeah. Yeah. Kind, gentle person. Got it. She loves animals. Yeah. And so, they've been with you ever since they were kids. They moved in with you and been together the whole time. Pretty much, yeah.
Anthony Carbone: Got it. My father got married and, you know, but like I say, I guess Leo died about two years ago. Yeah. Who's Leo? That was her husband. Okay. Got it. We built a barn to meet him. She's got a house out there and the property. Got it.
Keith Vance: So, at the time you're starting your family with your children, you're also taking care of your siblings. I'm guessing it wasn't easy, but as the oldest son, someone who's responsible, someone who's used to work, you just figured it out. So, do you remember during that time frame, was there any stress as a man that you're feeling trying to take care of everyone? Did you ever? No.
Anthony Carbone: It was probably harder on my wife than it was me, you know, because she, that's an extra clothes, extra meal, extra. Understood. To me, like I say, my brother, he always just went with me and worked out, whatever we were doing, just like today, really. Got it.
Keith Vance: Hmm. Hmm. And how old were you during this time when they moved in with you?
Anthony Carbone: At the time they originally did? Yeah. I'd say 10 and 9 and 10, I think, something like that.
Keith Vance: So, you were in your early 20s. Got it. Yeah. You were in your early 20s. Hmm.
Keith Vance: Yeah, every generation has its challenges.
Keith Vance: But hearing you say that you were in your early 20s when this happened to you, it's hard for me to picture someone in their 20s now, in this generation, taking on that responsibility.
Anthony Carbone: That's the matter, I'm in their 20s still at home.
Keith Vance: Every generation has its challenges. It's hard for me not to be judgmental. But I, I respect that. about your generation that you figured it out, manned up and figured it out. And we can talk a lot about that as we go on. Let's fast forward a little bit. So that was you in your 20s. Anything else in your 20s you want to talk about? Any hardships? Any challenges? Any time you thought like, man, this is the hill I die on? Any?
Anthony Carbone: After the kids was born, I probably done more jobs, you know, as far as I run a machine shop for Superior. I put up steel buildings. I've done welding, fabricating. I actually worked for the city. I worked for FNL at one point for a couple of years, and then I went to work for another power company, Pike, for seven. And then I went to the city, I believe, after that.
Anthony Carbone: And that's where I retired from.
Keith Vance: I was a maintenance supervisor. Do you remember why you went to work for the city? Was it to get some stability? Was it to get a pension?
Anthony Carbone: Well, I wanted some retirement. You wanted some retirement. Got it. Cowboy and don't have no benefits. So how long did you work for the city for? Hmm. I don't know. I retired there.
Anthony Carbone: 20 years? 10 years? It was probably close to 20. It'd have to be if you retired from there.
Keith Vance: Were you doing the cow business, too, at the same time? Yeah, I've always been in the cow business. You've always done the cow business. Yeah. Got it.
Anthony Carbone: A lot of points in my life I had leases. You know, some of them was big. I know at one point I had, I don't know, a couple of sections down at Court Street with cattle down there. I had 1,550 acres right there on 41 at the county line. And I had 5,000 acres in Northport.
Keith Vance: At one time you did? Well, that's a good little transition. Let's talk about leases because, and I don't know, I don't know what the answer is to this, but I know there's a lot of growth in this area. Yeah. There's a lot of apartment complexes. Back here used to be a hay field, and there's a bunch of houses back here. So is it hard to get leases nowadays? Are the leases? I would say they are. Are the leases the same size they used to be back then? Has it changed at all?
Anthony Carbone: I think it'd really be tough getting the size they are. Where Six Mile is now, Harper Brothers owned a lot of that land in there, which I had a lot of leases with Harper Brothers. The 1,500 acres on 41 where the county line is was blown to them. A Six Mile, they owned a lot of that land in there. And I had one of their leases on Leaco, and I had one of their leases.
Anthony Carbone: Leaco, it was on Pebble, the name of the road, Briarcliff, where Briarcliff is. Oh, wow, that's a big. Yeah, Harper's owned a lot of that.
Anthony Carbone: And they own a lot of land at Leaco.
Keith Vance: What was the process to get a lease back then? Did you have to build a relationship with somebody?
Anthony Carbone: Well, back then, it wasn't hard to get at all because there was a lot of big pieces of land that people really wasn't doing a whole lot with. And with cattle on it, you kind of mowed a lot of it, cleared a lot of it, fenced a lot of it.
Keith Vance: So the landowner got some benefit from having it.
Anthony Carbone: Yeah, he got a lot of benefits out of it. Got it. And at that era, there was a lot of farms in Fort Myers, Florida, all through them places. So it was easy to get a farmer to come in and sub-lease 40 or 80 acres of it, and they would really clear that piece. And then, of course, you'd fence it. And in my lease, I always put it in the farmer. I had to build and maintain his own fence. So then I'd have a 40 or 80-acre block, you know, different places like that. But all of them leases, that worked out real well. Okay. I had a 1,000-acre block of Henry Sanders, which was...
Anthony Carbone: His brother's one that built the Edison Mall.
Keith Vance: It doesn't matter. Like, names don't matter. I'm just trying to get a picture painted. So the average size lease back then was? A section. A section. And what is it now?
Anthony Carbone: Well, you'd be doing good, get 20 or 40 acres. Really? So that's a big change. Yeah.
Keith Vance: That's a big change.
Anthony Carbone: By then, you'd lease the land for maybe a dollar acre, you know. Okay. And then it got to a point there where people would pretty much let you get the lease for nothing to build a fence and clean it up. And then it got to the point now where they want you to pay so much to animal unit for anything with any size. And they opened it up to bids, water management, 2020,
Anthony Carbone: conservation land. So it's getting harder to get leases. Well, they're doing away with a lot of it. And that's putting a harder on the people because it's taken off the tax roll. And now they're not getting anything out of it. But then they're called their self-maintaining it. So they got people and tractors and equipment and building fence on them. And they're still not having cattle on it. They've got over a million acres in Florida. Who does? Water management and conservation. And you're not allowed to put cows on it? Very little. They do have pieces. I've had some of it. But you never know. They don't want you to herbicide none of the fences. And so they still grow up.
Keith Vance: So that 2020 land or that water management or conservation that's supposed to be for a good thing, in a way it's not.
Anthony Carbone: It's just possession. I got it.
Keith Vance: It's really bad. How many acres does a cow need to be healthy?
Anthony Carbone: It really depends on the land itself. A minimum of probably about three acres per cow.
Keith Vance: Depending on what the land is, right? Yeah. And you said the average lease now is you'd be lucky to get 40 acres. So that's hard for a guy trying to get in the cattle business if he's got a 20-acre lease, a 10-acre lease, all this stuff all around. It makes it hard to make money or even hard to manage, I would guess.
Anthony Carbone: Well, that's what happened. I had a lot of 2020 land at one point. And they break it up. Like this might be an 80-acre block. Right next to it might be a 20-acre block or a 40-acre block. And the next thing you know, they don't want you to use this 20-acre block in the middle this year for some reason. Okay, now you've got cows on both ends. Well, that causes you to have to have an extra bull. Oh. And if you've got a little bunch of cattle like that, and when that bull don't have nothing to do, he's going to get out. Yeah. And it takes, you know, about 20 head of cows to make a bull happy. Got it.
Keith Vance: What's the, I didn't, we'll get back onto your story. I didn't mean to get off here, but I'm glad we did. What do you think the future of the cattle business is in Florida right now? Is it looking good? Is it dying out? Is it going to be a thing of the past? Like, I always heard that.
Anthony Carbone: You're going to have people like the bigger ranches that's going to be here. Okay. But it's going to be hard on the little man. An average ranch in Florida anymore, other than, you know,
Anthony Carbone: Adams. I know one guy that's got probably five, six thousand head. And actually, Florida.
Anthony Carbone: I heard the omnish has got probably one of the biggest cattle ranchers in the United States, and they're in Florida.
Anthony Carbone: can't check out the name of it right now names don't matter but what they did they broke theirs up they bought like land up around North Florida Quincy up through there that was pulpwood you know pine they bought a lot of that land St. Joseph the Amish did you said yeah okay they bought a lot of that land and I've been on some of them ranches and what they What they do is they'll usually have, they'll break it up into like 800 head on this parcel here, and they'll have one man that oversees that. When he needs help, he gets from the other ranches. But as far as everyday putting out men on the rotating cattle, stuff like that, there's one man, and they usually build him a house and everything, and he lives there. And I know a couple, three of them that's like that, but they're the largest cattle producer in the United States right now. Not land. I think King Ranch is probably still the biggest land owner. But as far as cattle, I think they're the biggest one.
Keith Vance: I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard that Florida produces more cattle than Texas. Is that true? Yeah. So, that's a good thing, even in light of what you're talking about, how the demographic is changing with all this construction coming in and losing land for cattle. Sounds like we need to get it figured out, right?
Anthony Carbone: Well, a lot of, even like Wyoming, they have to count on the rainfall or snow with the mountain of the ice and the water running. If they don't, they're desert. They're in trouble. You know? Yeah. And their water wells is like digging a hole well. It could be deep. Yeah. Million dollar well. Yeah. I know people in Texas that's got ranches and stuff. And they graze maybe in the mountains and then for the snow flies, they got to bring them all down. Know whether they can keep them or not, you know. They can't never say, I'm going to have a thousand head year round. They can't do that. They might have a thousand now, but by the time they bring them back down, they might have to go back down to 500 head. Got it. Yeah.
Keith Vance: So, back on your personal story, you worked for the city and retired. Yeah. After you retired, what did you do?
Anthony Carbone: Just ranching full time. You started ranching full time. I was working a lot of cattle when I first quit. But as age goes on, you know, you have to slow down some.
Keith Vance: When did you, where you're at now, Whispering Pines Ranch, when did that come into the picture? In the early 2000s. You bought that place out there? A hundred and some odd acres?
Anthony Carbone: Yeah. It was a ranch to start with. I worked cattle on that ranch. Oh, wow. Okay. And the guy actually passed. He didn't own the land. And I got with the people that did own the land. And we purchased it from there. Was that scary? Was it what?
Keith Vance: To buy that size of land, was that a scary thing? Were you going back and forth on it? Was that scary to make a purchase like that?
Anthony Carbone: Not really. We bought it right. It was a fair price. You felt good about it. Yeah.
Keith Vance: And that was back in 2001? Early 2000s. Early 2000s.
Anthony Carbone: I think it was 2002, but I'm not positive.
Keith Vance: Okay. And then you're working cows there. And then paint a picture for me what life like is on your ranch. Because I know you have children live out there. So let's just paint a picture for what people who may not know what the ranch is like and what life is like. Who lives out there?
Anthony Carbone: My daughters, well, all but one of our grandkids live there also. And we got two, three great grandkids live out there now. That's cool. How's that feel to get up and smell? It's great.
Anthony Carbone: I think it's worked out very well as far as everybody giving everybody their space. I mean, sometimes I don't see some of them for a week, other than going in or out. We don't run to each other's house every day and stuff like that. We did start a family garden that's pretty neat. Did you? Yeah, it's coming along real nice. Who was in charge of that? That's a good question, too. We try to hit it every other Saturday or something. We'll get out there on Saturday morning. And some of us will get out there and weed and stuff like that.
Keith Vance: I'm into gardening. I did a little garden behind the house here. And then I got another one going over there and I kind of let it go. We got busy and let it go. But my daughter Emma is going to start gardening again. We were just talking about tonight. So she's picking out what she wants to do. She's going to plant some loofahs around the gate of the garden or around the fence of the garden. She's going to do some okra and stuff like that.
Anthony Carbone: We have some okra and cucumbers and tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes. We've got some sugar cane. We've got some, what are some of them trees? Avocado. Avocado tree. Pig, plum. Pig, plum, yeah. We've got some peas, peppers. How big is the garden? I don't know, half acre?
Keith Vance: That's big enough. Half acre is big enough. Yeah, half acre is big enough.
Anthony Carbone: We've built a lot of out of the ground things on it. And then we do have some beds that we put the trees on the beds. And most of the produce is in raised beds. I, um...
Keith Vance: My wife and I have seven kids. And, um... We're all close. You know, the son lives over there. Son lives over there. You've got grandkids. You've got another daughter who lives close by. Um...
Keith Vance: To have the family unit close and to be... Watch my grandkids and, like, to have that unit close, it's, um... I'm thankful for it. And, um... I don't know what we're going to do with that property out there in Clewiston. But I feel like... Oh, that's beautiful. I feel like we're going to be doing something like you did. You kind of gave me that vision. Um... You know, if they want to or whatever. But there's something to be said for... Did you have that vision to have all your kids on the property? Like, when you bought that property, was that the goal? Yeah, it really was. Can we talk about that for a little bit? Like, when you bought that property and started working cows...
Anthony Carbone: The first piece that we bought was a 77-acre block. And the first thing I did was cut it in 711-acre blocks. Charlotte County is a sticker. Once you do something like that, you cut one thing, they don't want you messing with that no more. You're done. I mean, it's a hassle. And so, uh... Right off the thing there, when we did that, we kind of laid it out. Jimmy, Amber, myself. And then I kept another block next to me, and I wound up letting my oldest girl have it. And then, uh... My son. And then, uh... Uh... My brother-in-law, which we've always had him, too. Joey, I don't know if you ever met him, but... We've always had him. He was actually adopted. Uh... But we've always had him. That's all right. We didn't adopt him. Uh... My wife's mom and daddy adopted him. Okay. Right out of the hospital. Wow. But both of them has passed, and we've always had him also. Wow. Yeah. And he's still with me. Wow. Uh... So, that's kind of where that went.
Keith Vance: So, you said you bought a 70-acre... 77. 70... And you automatically started breaking it off with the intention for... Yeah. ...for all the kids. Yes. And so, everybody has, what, like a 10-acre track right now? It's 11. Everybody has 11 acres.
Anthony Carbone: You have to have 10 to get the grain belt. Okay. I got my acre to build their house on and still get the grain belt. But the way we cut it up, we didn't fence each 11-acre block, so we still run cattle on it. Right.
Keith Vance: Yeah. I'm kind of watching how you're doing it to kind of give me an idea how I want to do it out there. Because you kind of got, like, one shot at it, and I want to do it right. I like your setup.
Anthony Carbone: And then, uh... Well, the main driveway coming in there goes across the first three blocks. Yeah. Yeah. We didn't put it in. It was there. That road actually went through and come out on Perry Ranch Road. And then when you're at the end of the Perry Ranch Road, it used to turn and come back to Huffmaster. But as people bought it, you know, they kind of closed off pieces of it. But originally, when I first went out there, the guy that had cattle on it, he run them on that whole piece. So he had that road. And it actually goes across Daugher's Creek, goes through my place. Who built out there first? Who built the first house? Jimmy. Who's Jimmy? It's her husband's mom and daddy.
Anthony Carbone: You didn't build out there first? I lived out there first, but I had a barn a million before I built my house.
Keith Vance: And then how did it feel to see your kids start starting their lives on something that you kind of like, I don't want to say created, but I mean, without you having that vision, there wouldn't be that. Did it fill a sense of purpose when you started seeing your kids growing and starting their lives and building their own thing?
Anthony Carbone: Did it feel? I don't know how to put words on it, but I love my place. I really do. I could work from dark to dark every day. And the main reason I don't, my wife's calling me. When it starts getting about six o'clock, she wants me to get home because she's done getting hangry.
Keith Vance: I know you love your place because when my wife and I went out there to look at your cows, we went and we looked at them, but we didn't come back the same way. I don't know if you remember this. You took me down this long trail through some Cypress and stuff like that. And you're like taking me like this wrong path. And you just had this smile on your face. And you're like, I could tell you're showing off your property. It brought you joy. It brought you pleasure. And you're trying to share that with me. And I'm glad you did because I'm like, you know, if this guy can do that, he got his family and everything out here. Why can't I do that? Like I said, it put that, that dropped that seed in my head. And part of the reason why I'm having you here because communal living is becoming a thing. It's becoming a thing now. Like the family unit. Instead of like how it used to be before where a man's got to go leave and break off and prove himself. Now the family's coming together and they're building their barn dominiums. And the family has their space, like you said, hey, we're far enough. But the family comes together to be together, to be strengthened. And so really that communal living, it used to be a thing back in the day, back before we had tractors and equipment that you're talking about because you need a big family as a manpower to get stuff done. But it's coming back to that for some reason. And I think that's a good thing. You're living it. I'm trying to live it. Can you speak to that? Like having your family on the property, your adult children, like your grandchildren and coming together.
Anthony Carbone: Well, my wife likes to cook. So periodically, Sunday she'll cook a big dinner. And so everybody comes over after church. And we all go to different churches at different times. But it works out most of the time that we did that last Sunday. And I think she planned on doing that this Sunday. My wife has a jail ministry also. A jail ministry? Yeah. She's been doing that for 20-something years. She goes and ministers to the ladies at jail a couple times a month. And my daughters do too now. That's cool.
Keith Vance: Yeah. There's another story that I never heard the full part. And I don't know where that is in this story. But I bought a couple cows from you. And you went and showed me.
Keith Vance: It looked like a... It wasn't a house. It looked like a little...
Anthony Carbone: Oh, a cracker house. I got back there.
Keith Vance: It looked like a little cracker house that you had... I think you had built by hand. And you said it was for your son. Like your son... Yeah. Like everybody got their property. Except for your son. And so you built something for him. Like a little cracker house that you built for your own...
Anthony Carbone: Well, that 11 acres was his. And I built that on there. We have Thanksgiving or Easter. Different events we have there. But he never seen it. I built that after he passed. Yeah.
Keith Vance: So that's why I want to talk about your son that passed. How did he pass? What was life like? Tell me that story.
Anthony Carbone: If you can. Well, I can't tell you a whole lot about it. I come home one day. And one of my brothers called me and said that he was at a barn. Which it's really like a garage. We work in it. But he was unconscious. Something had actually... He took a blow in the head. But it wasn't there. He come to there. And I guess the swelling got big enough that he was unconscious. And we really don't know what happened to him. Something had hit him. How old was he? 42? 33. 33. Yeah. 33. 33. 32 in the injury. And... He never regained consciousness. He was in the hospital for a couple months.
Anthony Carbone: But we never found out what happened, really. Did he ever live on the property?
Keith Vance: Yeah, he lived there. He lived there. He lived. So he worked with you.
Anthony Carbone: Yeah, when we built our house, he moved into the barn. He always worked with me. When he was young, I run a parts store, and we had a garage. And he worked with me in the garage. And then whenever I went to the city, he worked in the garage at the city. He was a emergency vehicle mechanic. He could work on ambulances and fire trucks and that sort of thing. And he also had a certificate in Ford where he could work on the police cars and stuff.
Keith Vance: And so he had some type of an injury that you don't know what happened. He was in the hospital for, unconscious for a few years.
Anthony Carbone: From about December to February, wasn't it?
Anthony Carbone: They never gained consciousness that we don't know where he was at or what happened.
Keith Vance: I feel like there's something here. And I'm not trying to invoke emotion out of you, but I feel like there's something there. Because, like I said, I got two boys that I work with.
Anthony Carbone: That's the hardest thing you'll ever go through.
Keith Vance: Yeah, so you said it was the hardest thing you ever went through. Can you describe to me how it was the hardest thing you ever went through? Do you still think about them?
Anthony Carbone: You'll have grieving moments. There'll be something. We hunted together. We did everything together. And there'll be something come up or something happened that you did with him before or something. You know, I just call it grieving moments. You'll have grieving moments. And it's been a long time now, but you still will.
Keith Vance: When you're having those moments, do you allow yourself to have those moments? Do you try to push them down? Like, what do you do with it? Because life goes on, and life has to go on. But you also, that's your son. You want to respect him. You want to love him. You want to remember him. I would think that I would always want to remember my boy. Oh, yeah.
Anthony Carbone: You do.
Anthony Carbone: And there's times we'll just sit around and talk about him. Because he was a sport. Even from a baby on up, he was just one of a kind. He liked to cut up. He liked to have fun. He didn't take a whole lot serious. He didn't? Uh-uh. Did he work hard? He was a good worker, yes. Yeah. But he loved to hunt. And he had his own dogs, and they were very good dogs. But he hog hunted. His wasn't cow dogs. He was a hog hunter.
Anthony Carbone: He was one of a kind, that's for sure.
Keith Vance: I would just imagine at 70-something years old, you know, like, haven't lived that long.
Keith Vance: Um, life takes these turns, and these unexpected things happen. And you're just sitting here so calm and patient. Like, you can tell you've been through a lot of stuff. Um, but you seem to be a guy that just takes things in stride. And I guess if you've lost your son, like, you'd have to figure that out. And that'd be like, if you've lost your son, I feel like everything else would be like a cakewalk, I would imagine. And, like, so it makes sense that your patient, like, got your priorities right. Because, um, I don't know how you get over that one. You don't know how you get over that one. But you, in a way, you have no choice. Like, I'm just trying to put myself... Your shoes, I feel like if I lost my son, that would potentially...
Keith Vance: That could potentially cause me to spiral. Well, you know... But when you've got other people depending on you, you can't spiral because you've got to hold it together for everybody else. So, I'm just trying, like, there's something here that I don't want to get off of it too quick.
Anthony Carbone: Well, what really surprised me, looking back on it, I have people I grew up with, you know, and people know I went to church and this sort of thing. And they didn't say nothing for a while, and then they start saying, you know, they just kind of stood back and wanted to see how I was going to react, whether I was going to, I guess, blame God for it or something, you know. And that really surprised me because, you know, I'm thinking, why would I blame him, you know. There's no promise of tomorrow, you know, and we know that. And it's kind of weird the way it happened, you know. And I don't know why the reason was that I wasn't supposed to know because the one person that might have knew anything about it, they passed away.
Anthony Carbone: It wasn't meant for me to know what happened for some reason or another.
Keith Vance: And the fact that you're taking that in stride is, like, so hard for me. And, again, that's kind of why I'm sitting here because where I come from, the way I'm built, I've got to control everything. I've got to know everything. I've got to have everything figured out. And I can drive myself crazy when there's unknowns out there because I have to know. And so I think that's wise what you said that, hey, man, there's some things and, like, just too, it was meant to be. It meant, you hear people say, well, it was just meant to be. It's so easy to say, but it's hard to live. Oh, yeah. I'm trying to live that way, but that's a muscle that I haven't exercised yet. I've got to know everything. I've got to, like, and I feel like if that had happened to me, I feel like I would have at least spiraled for a minute but then got my bearings because people depend on me. So, anyway, while I got you here, I just wanted you to walk through those emotions because you always think your parents die. You never think that a child is going to die.
Anthony Carbone: I know. That's why I say that was, you know, it's hard when you lose your parents. It is. But there again, you know there's going to be a time that that's going to happen. But I really don't think your children are supposed to die before you. You know, that's my mindset, you know. But it happens. Yeah, it happens. And there's really nothing we can do about it. I think when your time's up, I went through some stuff. I can remember even back when my mother was alive, I went airborne when I got drafted. And she didn't like that. She said, and same thing, I told her, you know, well, it was your time, you know, you're going. But you could push the envelope, you know. Yeah. That kind of thing. And I lived pretty hard growing up. I really did. I raced cars and all the stuff that kids do, you know.
Keith Vance: As a kid, the reason I like, I'm glad you're here with me, and I'm just letting you tell your stories, because I think we can all testify to this, is when we were all little, and you're getting around your grandparents, or grandparents and their friends, those older people in their 70s, and they're talking just to sit in on those conversations, like there's a lot of wisdom there you glean that you didn't even realize you were gleaning. And I just wanted to glean some wisdom from you, you know, from a guy who's lived life, lived a hard life, lost his son, created a community for his family, doing, in my mind, doing everything for the right reasons. I mean, we do everything as men for our families, and then we die, and that thing gets passed on. It's just like a legacy. See, like you're doing, that's why I got you here, you're doing what I want to do. You're doing what I want to do. So that, yeah, I mean, when I go, there's little things that I worked on, these little landmarks around the property that my kids and grandkids remember me, you know what I mean? So that's, you're doing what I want to do, brother. I think one thing that was therapeutic for you was when your son died. Can we talk about the little shack that you built? I think that was good therapy. You had to put your mind, I think that was a positive place. to put your grief. Can we talk about that building process? What put that into your mind? How did you build it? Can we talk about that? What emotions did you have while you're building that? For one, it was cool. You did a good job, brother. Like, I'm a builder. You did a good job. You took your time. You did a good job.
Anthony Carbone: I was above my head on a lot of it. And I spent a lot of money on it. Way more than I should have. No, no, no. But, you know, it's like the barn doors on it. You didn't see them at that era when I built that thing. You know, not in a house. You know, you've seen them on a barn. And just things like the porches and steps. I'd never built no steps before, you know. And that ceiling, it was crazy, you know. After I got going on that thing, it's like, what have I done? But it was really, maybe that's what I needed at that era, you know. Something you just totally, you couldn't be thinking about nothing else, you know.
Anthony Carbone: And my wife would still say that I spent a lot of money on it. If I just had a lot of money, I would have went on and built another that big on the back of it with like a little bathroom. Well, it's got a bathroom. But a little bedroom and a kitchenette. And then another little porch on the back with a little walkway going to the bathroom, you know. That sort of thing. But I really didn't want nobody to live in it, you know. And so I wanted it like it is. I didn't want, you know.
Keith Vance: It's almost like a shrine to him, right? Yeah. And you have little gatherings there, little family gatherings there. Again, when you're building it, while you're building it, were you trying to make it just perfect for him? Were you thinking about him? Like, walk me through some of those thoughts.
Anthony Carbone: I can't even tell you now. Were you trying to think? There was times it was just kind of overwhelming for me. Because like I say, I built barns and stuff like that. But nothing that had that. Were you trying to think what he would like?
Keith Vance: Were you trying to think, oh, he would like this? Or like, were you designing it for him? Like with an eye that he had?
Anthony Carbone: I don't think so. I had a, I did have a sign on it one time. It said Ashley's Lodge or something, didn't it? Ashley's Cracker Shack. Ashley's Cracker Shack.
Anthony Carbone: No, I built it in mind for us to enjoy it and to remember him by, really.
Keith Vance: Oh, good. Well, in my mind, we've almost come full circle. Was there any questions that you wish I would have asked you that I didn't? Was there any stories we missed that you wish we would have talked about?
Anthony Carbone: I don't know of it.
Keith Vance: Are you enjoying life right now? I am. You got some health issues. You got some health issues. You're not wearing your brace. Last few times I saw you, you're wearing this brace thing and you're going to the doctor. So let's talk about that. Let's talk about how it sucks getting old.
Anthony Carbone: Last two years, I went through five surgeries. I pulled toward this bicep muscle. They repaired it. Then this bicep muscle and they repaired it. They did a reversal on the shoulder. I think what happens is, you know, when you, it's like anybody else, you're going to hurt your arm or something. So then you do twice as much with this one. Uh-huh. Until you mess, you wreck it. Because you're going to pick up something too heavy. You're going to do this, do that. And I threw myself out of a mule.
Anthony Carbone: And broke his bone five places. Your finger? This finger.
Keith Vance: We got something in common. I broke this one here. It's twisted sideways. Well, that.
Anthony Carbone: Well, neither one of them. I broke that one beforehand. And now this one.
Anthony Carbone: What else? Oh, a neck. I had neck surgery. I had two back surgeries.
Keith Vance: So when I saw you wearing the brace a while ago, is that, are you fixed? Is that good? Did that go away? I'm good. You're good now. I'm good. So you had five surgeries in two years. So basically, it sucks getting old. So what do you got to do? You just got to like warm up the engine a little bit more in the morning before you get going? You got to go a little slower. Well, like what's the answer? Because I don't think you're going to stop. What do you do to slow down a little bit?
Anthony Carbone: I still, I feel good.
Keith Vance: Do you think you'll ever retire or are you just going to keep doing what you're doing?
Anthony Carbone: Well, my wife talks to me. About that a lot. When I get up, why do you get up so early? I don't know why I get up so early. I wake up early. I try not to get up quite so early, because I'm not going to wake up at 4 o'clock. And I don't want to get up at 4 o'clock. It don't get daylight until 6.30. Right. So, I just enjoy what I'm doing. Now, I've been in the process of just kind of doing a facelift in some of my barns, uplifting like one area there just for wood. I built a cabinet that I got my table saw in, my miter saw, and I built one table for it.
Keith Vance: I think that's important. I think men need tasks to do every day. We need something to put our mind to, and to get it done, and be like, okay, that's done today. And I don't think that ever stops. It might slow down a little bit, and the tasks might get lighter as we age, but I think that's what keeps us mentally healthy, physically strong, is like, okay, I'm going to fix the fence today. And to have a piece of property where you have these things, where you can do these tasks, I think that keeps us, keeps the machine oiled.
Anthony Carbone: I feel like I got to do, I like to finish a project every day. You don't never get done in a place like I'm in. You just get to a stopping point. And then tomorrow I might have another project that I got to do. So then if you ain't careful, you'll get too many projects out there. So I go back and try to finish some of them. You know, it's always something.
Keith Vance: Okay. So with my work, and maybe I'm on the verge of getting old. In my work, whatever I start, brother, I better get done, and nobody's happy until it's done. Like, I'm mad until it gets done, and then when it's done, I can relax. But that's not sustainable. That's not sustainable. You can't do that. Because there's so much stuff that needs to be done around here, and now it's stacking up on me. And now what I'm doing that's supposed to be therapeutic and fun, now it's like something else I got to do. So I'm learning to whatever that is, to, you know, God created us to work, to enjoy our work, to work hard and put everything we got into it. But you know what? It doesn't have to be done right now.
Anthony Carbone: Well, that's about where I'm at now. I used to be the same way. It made me crazy. But now, well, I could be working on something, and somebody goes, well, I need a doctorate cow. I need, you know, I have people call me. And I'm not a vet, but I still get a lot of requests, I'd say. Or I got something on the cow, you know. I think it's warts. So you get over there, and it's really ringworms, you know. Well, how do you treat it, you know? That sort of thing. But like today, I didn't work on the cabinet, but I made a little thing to hang up screwdrivers. Or I made a little charging station for batteries. Everything's battery now. I know. You got to have a charging station. I know. The one I had it on. It only worked when the switch was on. Okay. Well, the lights and the fans on, when the switch was on. So I had to run another receptacle and another thing over. I did that yesterday. So then I built another charging station this morning. Before the guy got there with the cows, to work the cows.
Keith Vance: Are you still doing a lot of this work yourself, or do you find yourself asking for help?
Anthony Carbone: Well, if it's, I redid the roof on the bathroom in the horse barn, and I got my son-in-law and my granddaughter's fiance, they helped me with that. Yeah. On the roof, stuff like that. My wife don't want me on the roof somewhere.
Keith Vance: Do you remember the first time you really had to ask for help and didn't want to ask for help? Do you remember? Because I feel like those years are just a little bit ahead of me. I'm 50, you know. I think mid-60s is when your brain says, hey, I can do this, and the body's like, eh, I might not be up on that roof. Do you remember? Well. Do you remember feeling that at a certain stage in life where, hey, I used to do this all the time, but it might not be wise to do this. Maybe I need to get help.
Anthony Carbone: Well, I feel like I can still do it. That's good. That makes me feel good. No, thank you. Good. My wife really, I really like that.
Anthony Carbone: My wife, really, the reason that I tried to... You got to pee them some. Uh-huh. Next boo-boo I have, well, if you would have done this.
Keith Vance: Uh-huh. Especially having five surgeries in two years, you got to get her off your back a little bit. Yeah, you got to lay low. You got to lay low a little bit. Get her off her back. Send her to go get her nails done, then do the roof while she's gone. So, hey, man, thank you for spending this time. Again, I've been wanting to have you on here for a long time. I enjoy being around you. I wanted to hear your story. I've never seen you lose your patience. I know you have because we're human beings, but whatever... Whatever God is working out of you, that process, He's working that in me. And to see somebody that's further down the road and someone that can be long-suffering, kind, patient. God's trying to help me be patient, man. It's so hard for me to be patient. Just to have you here and hear a little bit of your story has been good for me. Michael, as we were talking, was there anything that resonated with you that you wish I would have asked?
Crosstalk: Amber, did you have any input or questions before I ask mine? If you wanted to, you can come up and use this mic. Oh, you want to? Yeah. Yeah, if you have anything that...
Keith Vance: Amber, was there any inside stories I should have asked them? Oh, that's a good one.
Keith Vance: So Amber's off camera. Amber is... Anthony's one of Anthony's daughters. She has a gift. And not only is this a moment for me to have, but this is a family moment, right? So what are your observations of your daddy?
Crosstalk: Well, observation is one thing. He's very... You're talking about his patients. And I would say that he is interruptible, which is a very Christ-like quality. It makes me feel like I'm going to cry. But honestly, as busy as he is, and he belittles these... He's only talking about five surgeries, almost every joint and every muscle. And I mean, everything's been replaced at this point from head to toe. He's just joshing you, just acting like he's, you know... But we joke that some of his parts are foreign, so he should speak another language. Um, but, uh, I, I think that, um, uh, I would like to know what it is you see the, the ranch beyond you. What, what would that look like to you if you had a choice to say? I mean, did you want us to keep cattle? Um, do you want us just to ride horses? Did you want us to buy something bigger? Like, what does beyond you look like? For your daughters mainly, because we'll lead our families. You know what I mean? But for Angel and I. And it could be different for me and her. Or it could be the same vision.
Anthony Carbone: Well, the past two years, I've turned my thoughts around on cattle to raising a better cow. Uh, and I've gotten some really nice heifers, which are first calf this year. Um, and I went, and went to some lot better bulls. And it, I didn't really buy these to really market. I just think this is going to be a lot better to market the calves, of course, but not to sell the parents. I think this group of cattle right now is going to be the best I've ever had.
Crosstalk: So, if I continue doing the purebred that you're doing, and you're in heaven looking down on the ranch, and there is still cattle on the ranch, and still living that lifestyle, that's what your heart would want?
Anthony Carbone: Yeah, I think so. I think it's at the point now that I've got a really good hay seal, and it yield very well this year. And between that and the cattle I got there now, I think it'll sustain it very well financially.
Keith Vance: Amber, what's it like from your perspective being on the property that your daddy kind of started that vision?
Crosstalk: I mean, it's a dream. It really is a dream. I grew up with a friend who had a similar experience, but it was only both sets of grandparents and an aunt. It wasn't quite as, the property wasn't as big. It was house by house. It wasn't acreage, but it was a dream. dream getting to spend the weekend over there. And my daddy knew her parents. And so we were around that little bit of seed being planted in our family thinking, wow, that would be the dream one day. There's not a person that comes on our property that doesn't say, A, wow, the peace that I feel out here is unlike anything else. And then B, you know, how did you do this? How did you start this? And so I thank God for dad's obedience and his eyes to see and his words to be able to con mom into buying it because she swore she'd never buy off a dirt road again. She told him after they bought off a dirt road when they were young. But it all came together and happened the way God wanted. And for my part and my generation, I mean, we've felt led by the Lord to open it up in community because, you know, creating these spaces, if the world never has a place to go into experience it, then how will they ever know? So I have markets and I have events and we share a big barn. And that's what I feel like the Lord has called us to do so that they can see and feel and experience something beyond what the world offers.
Keith Vance: I'm glad I asked her to ask some questions because a couple of things that she said, like, uh, one that you are interruptible. I'm not interruptible. When I'm in the middle of doing something, I'm focused on the task and the task is the most important thing to stop what I'm doing, to be interrupted. Um, it's something that I need worked out of me. So I'm going to work on that. The other thing is, you know, we bought that property out there. We got a barn out there and like our family likes going out there. I'm afraid because of the way I am. I'm afraid that, um, I got to go slow with that vision because if I make people feel like I'm not interruptible, or there's all that the tasks are more important than the family, like that place is supposed to be like you just described rest peace. But the family vibes off of me. And if, when they go out there, they got a knot in the stomach because how's dad doing the day, they're not going to want to go out there. So that's why I'm going slow. That, that place will always be home, calm. Now that should be whatever room I'm in, that should be not just out there, the property, but that should be wherever I'm at. So God is like these conversations again, however many views this thing gets, it doesn't matter. This has been providential for me. Not only the vision that you did is where I want to be, but interruptible. I need to, I need to meditate on that for a while. The task isn't so like your kids should want to be around you and the tone should be like that. So thank you. I'm glad I asked you that question. You good girl? Anything else? You good? Michael.
Crosstalk: The only question I had, we had back in June, Mike Jamerson on the podcast. He's a produce farmer. We asked him at the end, what his outlook on like produce farming in Florida going into the future, if it was like a positive like view or a negative view. How do you think the cattle farming in Florida is going to look in five to 10 years? Is it going to be good, bad?
Anthony Carbone: Well, anybody that's got, I'd say 10 acres, I think you're going to see them with some type of livestock, whether it be goats, hogs, chicken, something, because of where it's going in the markets and what you're seeing.
Anthony Carbone: They're opening the market, the trade back with these foreign countries, and they know they've always had a problem with their beef or whatever. So they're not allowing them to bring the beef in, but they're still going to allow them to bring the box meat in. It's the same beef. And you're going to see more and more people try to raise something, their self. And there is people that's raising some and then selling, say you want a quarter or half or 10 pounds of hamburger, 20 pounds of hamburger, stuff like that. You're going to see more people doing that also.
Keith Vance: It's funny you say that because I'm already seeing more and more of that. There's more and more of that flow to this communal, this communal type living and getting a cow from your neighbor. You know where you got it from. Splitting it with a neighbor, it's kind of going that way.
Anthony Carbone: Well, that's really the way I grew up. There was a lot of barter when I was little. We had cows, chickens, and all that sort of thing. And on the weekend, me and my daddy, we'd go slaughter for people, you know, process it, I should say. And it could be a hog. Back in that era, they scalded them. Now people skin them. But in that era, they used everything. They used the hide. They would cut the grease out of it, the tallow. And they used that for cooking. And they used the skin for crackling bread. They used it for pork rind, whatever you want to do with it. And they ate everything. Pickled fig feet, hog brine. I mean, they used it all. And I remember my grandparents, he was a barber. And people would bring him a bag of a couple heads of lettuce or some tomatoes or a dozen eggs or whatever. He'd cut their hair.
Keith Vance: From someone who's in their mid to late 70s, when you look at the future of, when you look at your children who are adults and the grandchildren and even beyond, do you have optimistic thoughts, pessimistic thoughts? Do you think we're going to figure it out? When you look towards the future, you're not going to be around, but the future of your grandkids. You get nervous? You hopeful? What do you think?
Anthony Carbone: Well, I feel real good about, I've got one grandson's a pharmacist. I got one granddaughter's a nurse, an RN. I feel pretty good about my kids and grandkids. The one granddaughter, she runs a, she's actually a manager over a construction or roofing company. You know, so they've got business heads. And it's kind of funny because every one of them has worked for me in the summer because their parents worked or whatever. And about all of them has worked for me through the summer. And the one's a pharmacist. And he's actually a very polite, very hard worker. But he got, when he got grown, he told me flat out, he said, I'm going to pay, I'm going to get me an inside job. I don't want to work outside. But to this day, I could call him right now and he'd weed eat my yard or whatever I ask him. Oh, good for you. And he's a big boy. Good for you.
Keith Vance: Well, brother, I appreciate your being here. I appreciate your friendship, your mentorship. Every time I'm around you, I feel like, man, I've got work to do. But I think that's just the work of grace in a man's life, bringing him along, putting him through hardship and learning these things, and then working ourselves. That's what I keep coming back to. Working ourselves out of ourselves. And then, like, prioritizing what truly is important. The work will always be there. Your kids are going to grow up. And be patient, kind, loving, like all that good stuff. So that's what I always walk away from with you. And I'm just glad you were here, brother. That's all day.
Anthony Carbone: Still Strong. Watch me rise my way. Slow growth turns into real change.
Keith Vance: I found joy in the simple days. In honest work and faith. Still Strong. No rush, no race. I see pride.