“Bert and I was down at the dock getting ready to go haddock fishing aboard the Bluebird II one morning when we spied an exceptionally large lady hollering at us from the dock. Bert said, There's another one ...”

“A Ride on the Bluebird II … with Bert and I,” is the first of the 22 stories on Rev. Robert Bryan (of Bert and I fame with the late Marshall Dodge) and Tim Sample's new CD, “Bert and I … Rebooted.”

Bryan, now 82, and Sample have been performing together for over 30 years and this is their second recording together. The first, “How To Talk Yankee” was released in 1983.

Just as the Bluebird II was the first tale on Dodge and Bryan's original 1958 recording, “Bert and I,” the sequel to that bit is the first story on this new CD, written by Sample.

When Sample dropped by the Boothbay Register office October 3 with a copy of the final mastered version, he was jazzed; his excitement about the recording evident in his animated demeanor.

Oh, wait. That's just Sample being Sample.

The new CD is a “rebooting,” or a “reimagination,” of the early recordings of Dodge and Bryan.

Two stories, however, are versions of the original stories. “Silver Foxes,” on the new CD appeared in two other versions found on Bert and I recordings. Another, “A Hard Bargain,” was recorded by the iconic duo, but was never selected for one of their records. The rest were written by Sample and Bryan for this new release.

The integrity of the original “Bert and I” has been preserved through Sample and Bryan's conscience attempt to maintain its format, the phrasing and pacing. Bert and I fans will be happy to know that Bryan recreates the sound effects of the Bluebird II on the1958 on this 2013 release.

Sample, who became acquainted with the now iconic duo of Dodge and Bryan's stories as a young boy, says he had the “incredible luck” to perform and record with both men.

“It was like playing with the Beatles,” Sample said.

Sample came up with the idea of a recording a new CD after an August 2012 benefit for the Quebec Labrador Foundation (founded by Bryan) performance in Canada where Bryan lives. And around that time, a new company had bought the licensing for Bert and I recordings.

Sample called Bryan and asked why they shouldn’t do another record. Bryan said he couldn't think of anything he'd rather do more.

So, in October 2012 after an appearance at Hebron Academy, of which both are alumni, Sample drove upta camp — way up to camp — to Bryan's salmon camp in New Brunswick.

“It was kinda nostalgic, kinda not,” Sample said. “Bob is legendary, a wonderful human being, and a mentor to me for years. We had the best time laughing and cracking each other up that weekend and recorded all the stories.”

The major recording for this new release happened six months later in April of this year at a studio in Portland. Subsequent recordings were done “in the field.” Sample would drive to Bryan's in Quebec where he has been a reverend for 50 years, or to his boathouse in Ipswich, Mass., to re-record a line or a track.

To put their new masterpiece to the test, they sent copies of it, with its original 32-33 stories, to some family and friends for feedback. Everyone liked a different piece, which Sample said, was a very good sign.

“Just like with a music album, if everyone likes the same song ... it can be a problem,” Sample said with a laugh.

The Boothbay region is the setting for a coupla stories on the CD. No doubt locals will recognize number 9 on the CD, entitled, “Southport Island,” the story originally told by Eliot Winslow some 20 odd years ago.

Sample has been telling this one for years during his performances and refers to it as a classic “you can't get there from here” story. That phrase, made iconic by Dodge and Bryan in the used in a bit about getting to Millinocket, Maine.

The old Lobstermen's Co-Op (now Boothbay Lobster Wharf) is the setting for number 21, “Lobster Prices.”

Sample believes that one of the reasons the Bert and I recording has sold 1 million copies and has stood the test of time is because good material isn't topical, it's about human nature.

Bert and I are as synonymous with Maine as lobster and new generations are discovering the recordings.

“It's not just the dialect or colloquialisms, it's about the Maine perspective — which is dry as a bone. It's a way at looking at life; it's the way I grew up,” Sample said.

By the age of 9 or 10, Sample got the idea that he could make a record. Why? Because his Uncle Steve Graham was one of the storytellers on the third Bert and I album, “A Maine Pot Hellion” in the early 1960s. To this day he still recalls his uncle as being a great storyteller who made several records. Guess this art form is in the genes.

Sample, like Dodge and Bryan, shares the commonality of the human experience, the exact opposite of the polarization seen socially and politically today.

“Humor is powerful, and it’s healing,” Sample said. “If you can just lighten up enough to see the absurdity of the human condition, and see yourself in the picture, it's so therapeutic and so necessary. And that was the beauty of the Bert and I recordings.”

“Bert and I … Rebooted” is expected to be available locally in the very near future. Right now it can be purchased on the website, www.bertandi.me. And, of course, Sample will have copies at all of his upcoming performances.

Will “Bert and I … Rebooted” sell 1 million copies? Time will tell. Ayuh.