My freshman year roommate at UC Berkeley, Eric Greenspan— Greenie — became a celebrity chef. I became a writer. One day he calls: "Nat Geo wants me to host a food show. Need a sidekick."

He called the funniest person he knew. When that guy passed, he called me.

The pitch: Hunt, fish, and forage the Deep South, then cook our catch with local chefs. I said, "So Nat Geo's paying a million dollars to teach me to hunt?"

Bet your buckshot they were.

I showed up in blazer and skinny jeans, full Brooklyn foodie. We ATV'd after wild pigs (with pit bulls), stalked turkey, wrestled alligator gar, ran with buffalo. Two and a half months of controlled chaos. He left for his first baby. I rushed home for mine. In between, we birthed a show.

Season two was going global. Then our network champion got axed, new guy cleaned house, and poof.

Still got a freezer full of wild boar and a killer recipe for Alligator Gar Cheesecake Pie.

Don't ask. But do ask.