Shows
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaClosingThank you, old friend, for indulging me. I appreciate that it may have taken longer than you’d planed for. Overly sentimental and loosely accurate at best, but isn’t that the way? Whether accepted or not, we remember things not necessarily as they were, but as they surely must have been.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldMusic: Untroubled Mind by Benjamin Bostick
2024-05-0103 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 15 – Comforted by the Cahaba“I smiled as I considered the strange collision of humanity that marked this brief moment in my life. A moment that left me feeling a bit emptier—the kind of empty I doubt will ever really be filled. The kind that isn’t meant to be. But now, I think I’m okay with that.”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapters 32 and 33 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground music: Central Valley by Benjamin BostickAmbiance: Holding On (cinematic underscore) by Keith Antho...2024-05-0126 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 14 – Side by SideA painful October culminates under a Hunter’s Moon as Billy’s most harrowing parasomnia yet finds him face-to-face with Shellycoat. And again, he will have to face it all alone, or, does he?
“And I knew in that moment—this was a fight for my life.”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapters 30 and 31 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground music: Central Valley by Benjamin BostickExit Music: Untroubled Mind by Benjamin Bostick
2024-05-0143 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 13 – Sunday NightAunt Lucille shares some devastating news that makes it all-too-clear: it’s time for Billy to take back the creek. Uncle John’s creek. But to do it, he’ll have to face the difficult truth, alone. It’s Sunday night, he knows exactly where to look.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapters 28 and 29 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro and exit music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground music: Grassy Knolls of Home by LynneMusicBackground music: On the Road by Adrian BerenguerAmbiance: Escaping Forever b...2024-05-0127 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 12 – The River’s SourceJulie finally comes clean about her past, revealing that there is far more to Jessie’s story than even Billy expected. And with all this weighing on his troubled mind, Billy’s parasomnia episodes are becoming more frequent and progressively more disturbing.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 26 and 27 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickAmbiance: The Heartbeat of Halloween by Bobby Cole and Escaping Forever by Michael VignolaBackground music: Paper Footballs by Benjamin BostickExit music: Independence Day Eve b...2024-05-0143 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 11 – A Shameful LieA day in the dove field with Uncle John and his friends finds Billy too distracted to fully enjoy himself. Plagued by doubt, he is more committed than ever to uncover the truth about Jessie’s death.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 24 and 25 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground music: If I Were In A Novel and Central Valley (instrumental) by Benjamin BostickBackground music: Grassy Knolls of Home by LynneMusicAmbiance: Escaping Forever by Michael Vignola and Ree...2024-05-0130 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 10 – La Belle Dame Sans MerciThere’s nothing quite like Friday nights in the fall. Billy, attends the high-school football game with Lee and Jay, hopeful that he’ll find Julie there. But when he does, the encounter is far from what he had expected.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 22 and 23 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground music: Central Valley (instrumental) and Wait For Me by Benjamin BostickTransition and exit music: If I Were In A Novel by Benjamin Bostick
2024-05-0122 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 9 – Between Us and HimUncle John and Billy find themselves in an awkward situation atop Cedar Mountain, face to face with a legend of the land. And unexpected encounters with Fredrick, the Mayor, and Julie leave Billy questioning everything he thought he knew.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 19, 20, and 21 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground and transition music: Central Valley (instrumental) by Benjamin BostickAmbiance: Escaping Forever by Michael VignolaAmbiance: Patience (Full Track) by Keith Anthony Holden
2024-04-3035 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 9 – Between Us and HimUncle John and Billy find themselves in an awkward situation atop Cedar Mountain, face to face with a legend of the land. And unexpected encounters with Fredrick, the Mayor, and Julie leave Billy questioning everything he thought he knew.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 19, 20, and 21 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground and transition music: Central Valley (instrumental) by Benjamin BostickAmbiance: Escaping Forever by Michael VignolaAmbiance: Patience (Full Track) by Keith Anthony Holden
2020-10-1535 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 8 – Crossing the JabbokAn unsuspecting Uncle John leads Pops, Peters, and Billy on a march across Chinquapin Mountain in search of the elusive lake James had learned about from Jessie. What they find, however, is far more dangerous.
“Why are you always lookin’ for things you don’t wanna find?”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 16, 17, and 18 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro and exit music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground music: Dusk by LynneMusicTransition music: Grey Shadow by Adrian BerenguerBackground music: Central Valley (instrumen...2020-10-1535 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 7 – Ol’ Shellycoat
An unsettling encounter with something along the creek bank leaves Lee on edge as a shadowy camp-out invites the hazy figure of Billy’s parasomnia episodes into their lives. Billy and Lee confront the Mayor together but find they are still drifting apart. Aunt Mary finally reveals the story of Shellycoat.
“Listen, Billy, life’s a complicated thing. And Shilo’s Beat is a complicated place. It always has been.”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 13, 14, and 15 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin Bo...2020-10-0738 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 6 – How Sweet The Unexpected
A fortuitous turn of events brings the mysterious girl from the creek back into Billy’s life while Lee and Jay simultaneously slip further away.
“I closed my eyes and imagined the steady flow of those shallow waters crisscrossing the ever-changing landscape of my life, connecting all the people and places that had shaped me. Maybe these parasomnia episodes were the Cahaba’s way of reaching out. I just needed to understand what she was trying to tell me.”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 11 and 12 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the Cahab...2020-10-0727 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 5 – He Came by it Honest
His search for answers leads Billy to Uncle John’s house, where he learns that all-too-often we still have a lot to learn, even about those who are closest to us.
“Worry was seasoned into her soul like oil into her cornbread skillet.”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 8, 9, and 10 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaIntro music: Independence Day Eve by Benjamin BostickBackground music: Central Valley (instrumental) by Benjamin BostickTransition music: If I Were in a Novel (instrumental) by Benjamin BostickTransition music: Indepen...2020-09-2938 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 4 – The Preacher
Billy and his friends, Lee and Jay, grapple with recent events – what had Jessie gotten himself into? Was it the eccentric man that the people of Shilo’s Beat call “the Mayor”? Or had he crossed the wrong guy, Fredrick? Billy tries to untangle the truth while his parasomnia worsens, bringing him face-to-face once again with the cryptic and unsettling message this old land is trying to show him.
“All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.”
Written & Narrated by...2020-09-2442 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 3 – Beneath the Surface
Billy learns what the mysterious girl had found, just beneath the surface of the Cahaba. He turns to his Aunt Mary for comfort but learns that this isn’t the first time the creek had claimed a soul.
“I could see the clearing from here, about fifty feet upstream, and I eagerly watched the girl. I couldn’t hear over the sounds of the woods and the creek, but she pointed out into the water with one hand while clutching the hair atop her head with the other.”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading...2020-09-2433 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 2 – Manhood by the Bale
Billy and his Uncle John spend the morning in the hayfield with Pops and Peters until they are interrupted by a police car passing by on its way to an unsettling scene and the mysterious girl who discovered it.
“Suddenly, a shrill sound began to overpower the steady chorus of nature. I turned back to the road to see a Jefferson County Sheriff cruiser speeding by and disappearing beyond the tree line towards the creek, a fire truck right behind.”
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading: Chapter 2 from The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the C...2020-09-2430 min
The Preacher, the Fisherman, and the CahabaEpisode 1 – The Ragged Fringe
“My forehead leaned against the damp windowpane, beaded with condensation from the cool, early-October night pressing up against it like a heavy conscience.”
Sure, you’d think something like that would be hard to forget, but damn, it all fades so fast. You see, I need to remember. I need to write it down. I need to record it. Just in case. And maybe, just maybe, in the telling, and the asking; the reliving of the pain of that Fall, I’ll remember what keeps me up nights.
Written & Narrated by L.R. McDonaldReading...2020-09-2312 min