I met Merle once in an old knife store somewhere south of Fairbanks in 1984(ish).
He pulled out $1,000 cash for a custom hand made moose horn hunting knife.
Just as humble as he could be. I think he had had a few. I didn't buy anything. The knife maker and I both had big smiles as Merle went back to his pickup. I have a friend that used to ride around in an old pickup the backroads of Bakersfield drinking scotch and whiskey with Merle, Buck, and Johnny. Sometimes all in the same truck.