On the road with Charlie - Fenn Interview Quotes

[Deleted]

Not sure when the interview was conducted, but the podcast was on 5/8/2017.

UPDATE: The Fenn Interview took place 4/27/2017.  He just added the date right now.

www.ontheroadwithcharlie.org/podcast/2017/5/8/the-thrill-of-the-chase

Some interesting quotes (I did not want to take Rolltide's post off topic). 

NOTE:  Some of these we alaready knew, BUT look close and he added more detail! I tried to bold what I think is new or important.  I will not comment on them here, but I might in a reply.  If you have an important quote, tell me the timestamp and the exact quote, I will add it.  Only quotes from this interview!

Oh yeah, these are exactly as said. For example he did say "what is that word really mean" when he probably meant "what does that word really mean", but I did not want to change anything or assume anything!!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TIMESTAMP: Quote

9:05: "Nickels were magic when I was a kid. f"                  
Thanks Heidini!

13:00: "Last time I was up there [West Yellowstone] was in 1950. f"

19:10: "[cancer donations] I was thinking mostly about kids [long pause] and to categorize it further Indian kids who have almost nothing. f"

24:00: "I know that [long pause] people have been within 200 feet, because they tell me exactly where they are [said previously]. I don't know that anyone was been closer than 200 feet and I don't think they have, but of course I don't know so many people don't tell me where they're searching but ah but the treasure's still out there. f"
Thanks  Resa!

24:50: "But if you're gonna find the treasure, you've got to solve the riddle that's in my poem, the 9 clues that are in my poem. Nobody is going to happen on that treasure chest. f"

30:30: "Every word is placed in there strategically, and you can't ignore any of the nouns in that poem. f"

31:00: "But what puzzles people is that I've written ten books and in each one of my books I've made up words and I corrupt words. For instance in my Thrill of the Chase book I talk about courting my wife and I said, "Everybody knew she was too good for me, but tenacity was never one of my shortcomings." I mean its a terrible corruption on that word, but my point is if everybody knows exactly what you're saying..what you mean then who cares what the word is? And so that thought permeates... manifests itself in the poem. What is he... is he joke... what is that word really mean? Does it mean what he says it means? And so that puts a little desert on top of the cake. f"

32:00: "There's nothing in that poem that I... that would make you think that I am trying to fool you. I have never discouraged anybody from looking any place or lead them toward it, and I never will. There's no tomfoolery in that poem, it's straight forward. f"

NOTE: Keep that quote in mind when reading the previous one! Yes, I know the straight forward comment is old, but its here because he said it again, but its important given the context of the previous quote!

32:45: "You know to an ant a mud puddle can be an ocean, so you have to keep things in context. f"

33:20: "How long is eventually? Yeah, somebody's going to find it. I'm confident of that, and I've said before that the person....(talks about the reaction to opening the chest for the first time"
Thanks Resa!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some general notes:
Lots of talk about pine trees. Sitting under them, dying under them, becoming fertalizer for them, ants climbing them, and turning over logs.

[heidini]

9:05 Nickels… Nickels were magic when I was a kid.

[rahrah]

I just finished listening myself and I'll add:



I thought this interview confirmed a few things I've thought for a while - one is that Fenn did NOT do this to leave a legacy; lots of folks think he does this as some kind of legacy, but after reading the book, that is not how I saw his motivation....rather, I think he did it because he could and that it was breaking the rules of how we're taught to keep wealth, not squander it; he gave the example of the nickle in the jukebox for a song when a nickle could get a bag of fritios or other foods - necessities that he later talks about with regard to the ants having the same problems as humans - food, hailstorms and winter.

I laughed when he said he's realized that 7% of Americans are certifiably crazy from what people have written in their emails to him - their ideas are so far out there.

Things he's repeatedly hit on in many other places:

1. Second floor slide in Spanish class, slid down it and stained his pants
2. Brick house = wealth (his family lived in a wood house)
3. Edges - how do you know where the edge is if you don't go out and look?
4. Rules = a guide
5. Nuclear weapon in his responsibility @ just 28 years old and he was uneducated
6. Lost 22 pounds in Vietnam
7. Santa Fe was the place where the world could let him stop and get off (because he was emotionally and physically tired from Vietnam)
8. Who says I can't take it with me?
9. Bad grades in school, prayed for D's, a C in high school exceeded expectations
10. Who he wants to find it?  The unemployed Texan with a pick-up and bedroll
11. No one has found it because they have not discovered where it is [SECRET WHERE]
12. Not following others rules, 'who says you have to follow everybody else's rules?' - that was paramount in his mind
13. His father died on his own terms
14. Traditional burial leaves you in a coffin, 6' underground, where it is cold, dark and you cannot see out - he wanted to be left under a big pine tree; every other animal does that except human beings
15. Two trips from car, on return trip "Forrest Fenn, did you really do that?" and he laughed out loud
16. Ants
17. Make up words, corrupt words
18. Poem is straight forward....new words used to express this with 'not trying to fool you' and 'no tomfoolery'
19. How long is a string?  (previously was 'how deep is a hole?')
20. Cake (previously about ingredients and recipe, now 'puts dessert on top of cake')
21. Nickles

[Deleted]

My first questions would be:

+ Which stanza is the riddle? My thought: Stanza One.

+ Which nouns in the poem are likely to be important?

+ Which words in the poem manifest themselves as potentially being corrupted in the same way he corrupted the use of tenacity.
Tenacity (noun) means: Extremely persistent in adhering to or doing something; stubborn or relentless; The quality or state of being stubbornly unyielding.
Shortcoming (noun) means: A fault or failure to meet a certain standard, typically in a person's character, a plan, or a system.

Those two words do not make sense when used together in that context, agree?

So since he says "There's no tomfoolery in the poem", we assume that the words should be understood as not misleading us. However, a minute ago he says that word misuse IS in the poem, does that mean we are looking for an antonym, perhaps?

Days like these I wish I was an English guru.

[rahrah]

No one has found it because they have not discovered where it is

"Secret where" (first stanza) OR "IT"....where "IT" is, as in "IT" in the poem in the second stanza....or both?

[Deleted]

May 10, 2017 13:18:58 GMT -5 rahrah said:

I just finished listening myself and I'll add:



I thought this interview confirmed a few things I've thought for a while - one is that Fenn did NOT do this to leave a legacy; lots of folks think he does this as some kind of legacy, but after reading the book, that is not how I saw his motivation....rather, I think he did it because he could and that it was breaking the rules of how we're taught to keep wealth, not squander it; he gave the example of the nickle in the jukebox for a song when a nickle could get a bag of fritios or other foods - necessities that he later talks about with regard to the ants having the same problems as humans - food, hailstorms and winter.

I laughed when he said he's realized that 7% of Americans are certifiably crazy from what people have written in their emails to him - their ideas are so far out there.

Things he's repeatedly hit on in many other places:

1. Second floor slide in Spanish class, slid down it and stained his pants
2. Brick house = wealth (his family lived in a wood house)
3. Edges - how do you know where the edge is if you don't go out and look?
4. Rules = a guide
5. Nuclear weapon in his responsibility @ just 28 years old and he was uneducated
6. Lost 22 pounds in Vietnam
7. Santa Fe was the place where the world could let him stop and get off (because he was emotionally and physically tired from Vietnam)
8. Who says I can't take it with me?
9. Bad grades in school, prayed for D's, a C in high school exceeded expectations
10. Who he wants to find it?  The unemployed Texan with a pick-up and bedroll
11. No one has found it because they have not discovered where it is [SECRET WHERE]
12. Not following others rules, 'who says you have to follow everybody else's rules?' - that was paramount in his mind
13. His father died on his own terms
14. Traditional burial leaves you in a coffin, 6' underground, where it is cold, dark and you cannot see out - he wanted to be left under a big pine tree; every other animal does that except human beings
15. Two trips from car, on return trip "Forrest Fenn, did you really do that?" and he laughed out loud
16. Ants
17. Make up words, corrupt words
18. Poem is straight forward....new words used to express this with 'not trying to fool you' and 'no tomfoolery'
19. How long is a string?  (previously was 'how deep is a hole?')
20. Cake (previously about ingredients and recipe, now 'puts dessert on top of cake')
21. Nickles

I tried not to add anything he has already said.  I made one exception to point out a contradiction (no tomfoolery but yet  he admits that in the poem at least one word is used inproperly).  I probably should remove the ant comment I made because its not new. Thats why i didn't add the iron rail, brown pants, bad grades, edges, atom bomb, 22 pounds, cant take it with, the rules comment, fathers suicide, two trips, laughing out loud.

Not saying they arent important, I just don't want to make a list of all quotes, just ones that seem different or stand out.

The following ones seem unique, do you know the exact text and time stamps? If so I will add them.

7. Santa Fe was the place where the world could let him stop and get off.
14. Traditional burial leaves you in a coffin, 6' underground, where it is cold, dark and you cannot see out - he wanted to be left under a big pine tree; every other animal does that except human beings
19. How long is a string? (previously was 'how deep is a hole?')
20. Cake (previously about ingredients and recipe, now 'puts dessert on top of cake')

I added Nickles.

NOTE: He also discussed corruption in the past, but this is the first time I ever seen him say it is also IN THE POEM.  Previously it was only the books.  He has said in the past every word was placed as if he was an architect, but never used the word "nouns" in that context.  He never said there was a riddle in the poem before. Thats why I did duplicate some of what he previously said.

To be honest I should not have my general comments in that OP.  I was trying to keep all my opinions out of it and only leave the facts typed exactly as spoken by FF and let people draw conclusions in the replies.  Sorry about that! LOL

[Deleted]

May 10, 2017 13:31:16 GMT -5 rahrah said:

No one has found it because they have not discovered where it is

"Secret where" (first stanza) OR "IT"....where "IT" is, as in "IT" in the poem in the second stanza....or both?

I think the riddle is supposed to tell us what IT is.  Since he used IT in stanza two, it implies (as you already know hehe) that it is previously known.  Well the only previous text in the poem is stanza one.

Could be a hint for sure.

TBH I think that the real reason it wasn't found is because BOTG is required at some point and he will never say it because if 100,000 are searching, he will drop from 100,000 to a few hundred or maybe 1000 who live within range.  LOL
Lets face it, out of 100,000 searchers, I doubt that even 500 left the house.  If the number is higher, its only because more locals are looking as they learn about it. But there is just no way the majority looked, everyone seems convinced that they are going to find the exact spot from the living room, I thought so too, but IMO it won't happen.  This is the same reason why the 1984-1989 Golden Horse hunt failed and was called off when it expired, very few armchair warriors left the house except those who lived in the state of TN which was the most popular (and wrong) conclusion.  Same will happen with BT&B which honestly I don't even want to promote because IMO that guy is a jerk.

[heidini]

I really liked the "how long is a string." That was refreshing after so many times I have heard "how deep as a hole."

[Deleted]

24:00 "I know that [long pause] people have been within 200 feet, because they tell me exactly where they are [said previously]. I don't know that anyone was been closer than 200 feet and I don't think they have, but of course I don't know so many people don't tell me where they're searching but ah but the treasure's still out there".

33:20 "How long is eventually? Yeah, somebody's going to find it. I'm confident of that, and I've said before that the person....(talks about the reaction to opening the chest for the first time"

So, he's confident someone will find it...eventually. However long eventually is.

[heidini]

So was this interview from this month? Or was it released this month. It wasn't clear to me.

[Deleted]

By the way, I don't remember the timestamp, but he said something like "I worked on that [the poem] for a few years [few is not 15]".

The he does say it took 15 years to complete enverything on and off, but clearly it did not take 15 years for the poem itself. This is not the first time he said that either, so I am not sure why people incorrectly state the poem took 15 years when it only took a few.

few: consisting of or amounting to only a small number

Then of course he repeated the (paraphrased) "Leave my bones alone just take the chest and go in peace, or something like that. I had to change it because I survived." well known quote. I am pretty sure he used the phrase "bones alone" though, I remember laughing.

[Deleted]

May 10, 2017 14:41:57 GMT -5 heidini said:

So was this interview from this month? Or was it released this month. It wasn't clear to me.

I don't know, it doesn't say.  I did email  Forrest to ask him.  Hopefully he replies, all I asked was "Can you please tell me the date or at least the year when this interveiw with you took place?".  I named the interview and sent a link.  I did not put anything else in the email that would give him a reason to not reply, for example  I mentioned nothing about the books, solutions, or anything.

Who knows, but I can't see why this would be secret info because the guy who made the podcast knows when he did the interview, for some strange reason he does not say when.  I think he should say when (the guy who made it) just to keep the field level in knowing how recent these comments are).

Maybe Jenny can inquire?

[rahrah]

The thing that is most interesting - at least to me - is that all the things that he repeatedly says, and in some ways forces into a conversation (ie. the regrets question wasn't answered, he used that to again talk about the two trips from the car and the 20.2 - exact weight - of the gold, and his laughing) to get across a particular set of words that are -- yes, are -- useful if we pay attention!

Off the top of my head, in this interview, he managed to get into it: spectrum, crazy, rules, guide, edge, wimpy, string, slide, stained, brick house, wealthy, hope, asterisk, far out, ideas, geography, discovered, hidden, difficult, impossible, paramount, human, log, under, Florida, grass, puddle, ant, nickle, fool.....there are more, but those are what I can remember off the top of my head. Rolltide has been pounding away at noting many of the consistency of synonyms in posts here and elsewhere.

What is Fenn telling us, again and again?

[Deleted]

"I built it, every time I look at that I just shake my head" what does that tell you?

[Deleted]

"I built it, every time I look at that I just shake my head" what does that tell you?