Ep. 9 - Sergeant Major Brody Bourgeois: United States Marine Corps | Leadership

Miracles in Meat Podcast | Ep. 9 – SgtMaj Brody Bourgeois: Military Service, Family Legacy & Butchery

Balancing the U.S. Marine Corps & a 134-Year-Old Family Butcher Shop

In this episode of Miracles in Meat, Shane Thibodaux sits down with Sergeant Major Brody J. Bourgeois, a Marine Corps veteran and fourth-generation butcher, to talk about his military career, family legacy, and the values that tie them together.

A native of Thibodaux, LA, Brody shares his earliest memories of Bourgeois Meat Market, the role models who shaped him, and how the lessons learned in the U.S. Marine Corps translate into the family business and everyday life. From combat deployments in Iraq to leadership roles across the country, Brody’s journey is one of discipline, resilience, and service.

Inside This Episode:

🇺🇸 From small-town Louisiana to the U.S. Marine Corps—Brody’s path to service
🔪 The balance between military duty and family traditions in the meat industry
🎖 Leadership lessons from the battlefield & the butcher shop
📍 The challenges & rewards of working in a multi-generational business

Why You Should Listen:

This episode offers incredible insight into military service, family business, and the lifelong impact of discipline and leadership. Whether you’re a veteran, entrepreneur, or someone who values tradition, Brody’s story is an inspiring example of commitment, perseverance, and legacy.

💥 Exclusive Offer

🛒 Use code: MIMPODCAST for 10% off your cart at checkout!

🔗 Connect with Us:

🌐 Website: www.bourgeoismeatmarket.com
📍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bourgeoismeatmarket
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bourgeoismeatmarket/
📩 Email: Shane@bourgeoismm@gmail.com

 

Transcript:

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Music.

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You're listening to the Miracles in Meat Podcast. I'm Shane Thibodeau,

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a fourth-generation butcher at one of the oldest meat markets in the world.

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My great-grandfather started this business by slaughtering one cow or pig at

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a time and selling the cuts door-to-door on horse and buggy.

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Today, our products are enjoyed across the globe. I will attempt to give you

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some insight as to how we got here and explore the challenges we've had along the way.

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At Bourgeois, our mission is to preserve our heritage generation after generation

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through legendary Cajun flavors and the development of relationships, not customers.

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Since 1891, Bourgeois has maintained age-old culinary traditions that fuel the

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South Louisiana lifestyle.

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Over the past 133 years, our Cajun products have gained global recognition,

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and for tens of thousands of

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folks around the world, the Bourgeois Cajun Lady logo is a symbol of home.

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Today, the fourth-generation butchers sit at the nine-foot maple block with

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loyal customers to discuss the adventures, skills, and passions that guide each of their legacies.

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These conversations will become priceless resources for future generations of any industry.

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This is our way of maintaining the spirit, purpose, and traditions of our lost

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arts in a world of change.

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133 years, four generations. We're just getting started.

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Music.

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I always cross a thin line Here we go, episode 9.

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With my cousin and mentor and United States Marine Corps, Sergeant Major Brody Bourgeois.

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Whether he likes it or not, Brody was one of the main reasons that I joined

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the Marine Corps back in 2008.

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And Brody and his two brothers, Nick and Jason, were huge role models for me.

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And I knew from a young age that when I got older, I just wanted to be like the boys.

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There's a saying that you're the combination of the five people you spend the

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majority of your time with.

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By the end of this episode, you'll understand why I'm very lucky to have Brody

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as one of my five. Here we go. Brody Bourgeois.

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Brody, what is your earliest memory of bourgeois?

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First memory. My earliest memory of bourgeois meat market is running over from

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across the street when we were at Popeye's.

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Well, let me back up. So my dad, when we were younger, my dad lived in Popeye's little house.

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Little rent house there which is where cousin amy

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lives right now and we love

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that house so me and my two older brothers when we

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were with him we would we obviously played

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with all the cousins and everything so my brothers

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and the cousins we'd all run across the street to the

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bourgeois meat market because back in those days they

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would have cows in the pen and we would poke at

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the cows house and he's always upsetting on slaughter day

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if we got there right after slaughter day because we

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missed our chance to poke at the cows and what you mean poke at

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the cows the long sticks pointed sticks and

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uh just poking at the cow they in a pen so they can't

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do nothing to you so that was before my time

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i do remember it i remember the slaughterhouse very vaguely

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like i may have one video in my mind of me

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walking walking over there and i remember mr

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cleave and that's probably it like

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i i think it was me and mr cleve back there and that's the only remember memory

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i have of seeing the pin and actually seeing a cow standing over here so for

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me it was a mystery after the pin so i remember the pin being filled with cows

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and i don't know why i feel like it was thursdays and we were usually at my

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dad's on the weekends which meant.

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You know it wasn't common that we'd be able to get there in time because if

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we got there on Friday was too late or whatever.

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And maybe I got my days wrong, but we come over, we see all the cows.

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And then I just knew from there, they slaughtered them and did what they did.

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And I didn't know much about it because I never came in to that part of the building.

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And so I was always jealous of my oldest brother, Nick, because he got to participate.

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He was older. So he got to participate in slaughtering a couple of times.

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And I remember him being so impressed with how they would do it and the guys

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that were good at it and things like that.

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And he described it to me, but to this day, I can't quite picture exactly what

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that looked like back there.

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Cause it's, you know, we don't slaughter anymore, but that was,

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that's my earliest memories is coming over here for that. I always thought that was fun.

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And shoot. I mean, I would imagine Bo probably ran over here with us.

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Benson, for those who don't know, is no longer with us. He's in Arkansas now.

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We lost him. Yeah, lost Benson. But, and then cousin Scott and then Shanna,

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you were a little younger, but I don't know.

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I would think obviously Bo probably has, you know, his, his memories are more involved.

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But, uh, for that, I remember coming over, that was a big deal.

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The other thing I remember is, is my dad, when we would come over here,

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it was almost always after hours.

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Uh, we'd come over with my dad if we had to get, you know, whatever supper and,

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uh, hopping over the counter, which I always thought was the coolest thing.

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Cause that was the only way to get into the, you know, that was how you got in.

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And, uh, so to this day, when I hop over that counter, I think of my dad and

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I think of when I was little, cause I just think that's a cool thing to do two

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hands on the counter jump jump up put your butt on the counter and then swivel

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your legs across together yes yeah same way yep,

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That's how I get a drink every now and then, across the, by the drink machine.

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Yep. Almost knock over the POS system every time.

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Yeah, so Nick worked, Nick, how much older is Nick than you?

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So Nick was three years, he was born in 81, I was born in 84.

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So he was three years older than me.

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So, yep, serious note, Nick is actually no longer with us. He passed away in 2010.

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Got in a car accident. And I'm sure we'll get into more of that later for sure.

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But he was, man, he must've worked here.

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And I'm just guessing, but I would imagine he was in his early teens,

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maybe probably early teens and mid teens.

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He worked here a little bit here and there.

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And then by, by mid to late teens, I think he had spent, he spent enough time

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here that, you know, he knew Karen, Kathy, Kathy real well, Jenny and all.

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And I think they all knew him pretty well.

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So, you know, I was still younger, but in my, in my mind, they all knew him

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well enough that he He must have worked here for a couple of years before he left for the military.

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Yeah. I don't have any time here with Nick. I don't remember any of that.

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I remember being here with Bo and Benson. That's really it as far as family goes.

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What was your, so I didn't like the beef jerky when I was a kid.

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I rather the beef steaks.

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Maybe just mouthfeel, chewability.

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What was your favorite as a kid? So first, you're the first.

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I didn't know that about you, that I'm the same way. I did not like beef jerky when I was younger.

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I didn't dislike it. I just didn't know what the fuss was all about and would

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always tell people, I was like, look, I promise you it's very good.

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I mean, I don't like it, but it's obviously really good.

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And now I'm older and I get it. It is very good and it's better than anything

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else I've had as far as jerky goes.

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But growing up, my favorite thing up until very, very recently,

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my favorite thing was always the garlic sausage.

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And it was take the garlic sausage, put it in, get a frying pan,

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fill it with water to just above the, you know, where the garlic sausage,

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like the thickness of the sausage, and then just boil it out,

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which was great for somebody like me because it, it meant that's my timer.

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That lets me know when it's ready.

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And when the water was all boiled out, you knew it was ready,

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but then, but then you, you kind of Brown the garlic sausage in the pan and

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man, that, that crust that it's just so, so good, just impossible to beat.

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Eat and and really until very recently

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that's that's always been my my favorite thing that we make here and

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it's still probably it's up

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there the only thing is i've now had our jalapeno cheddar smoked

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sausage and my wife also is obsessed

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with it so therefore that's that's my go-to but

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it's it's a special thing we don't we don't make it obviously regular that's a

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custom order so for anybody listening i'm always

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excited when that gets ordered because that means i get to make a

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a little extra for me yeah smoked sausage

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man you know we do have a smoked sausage to

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talk about yeah smoked sausage and

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on dewey the way i explain explain to people

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is we have the best smoked sausage

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you'll ever taste but we have the best on dewey that anyone will ever use that's

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how i feel about it yeah yeah i've never had an on dewey as good as ours i've

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had really great smoked sausages but our andouille is on a different planet

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yeah yeah i agree i and i haven't tried a ton.

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But the ones I've tried, I'm usually not, you know, I'm not crazy about or,

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or they're, you know, they're okay, but just think ours is so good.

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You know, until the last, probably until I started working here full time about,

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I guess just over, I guess over three years ago now, but before that I had never

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had boudin or hog head cheese from anywhere else.

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And so people would always ask if ours is good. I was like, well,

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I like it. I'm admittedly biased, but also I've never had anybody else's.

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And so now I travel quite a bit. and when I do, I always, if I can try somebody's

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boudin, I don't see hog head cheese much anywhere, but boudin I will try.

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I know Lafayette's got plenty of places.

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I will always, always, always get some and they do have some good ones,

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but I absolutely still very much think ours is my favorite and I just love it.

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Yeah. I'm not, I'm not crazy about boudin. I'm the same way.

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I'll try anything anywhere, but I'm not, I'm getting it to try.

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I'm not getting it to eat. Yeah. Yeah.

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I'm not going to go get a meal of three pounds of food.

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Yeah. So how about some family? You're one of how many siblings?

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All right. So I'm one of 16.

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All right. So here's the rundown. I was born in, so I'm, I've got two older

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brothers that are biological brothers.

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One's Nick, we've already talked about, and he passed away in 2010.

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My other brother, Jason, born in 82, and then I was born in 84.

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Our parents divorced when we were younger, and my mom remarried,

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and I don't know what year, but I know that some of my earliest memories,

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so whatever is the normal age a person has their earliest memories,

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that's about when she got married, because I do very vaguely remember the wedding.

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And when she got remarried she that introduced

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so my stepdad with his two daughters from his

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first marriage so that's nicole and monique and so

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i say that to say i grew up in my memory i always grew up with you know one

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of five it was me nick jason and then nicole monique and you know for them i

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imagine it was very different obviously they were older and that comes with

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some i'm sure even some challenges but for me it's just they've always been

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my brothers and sisters and that's is how it is.

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From there, they, my mom and stepdad had three children together.

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I think I was seven or eight when they had their first child together.

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So that was weird, but it was only weird.

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Cause you know, I'd never had a, I was always the youngest baby roadie was what they called me.

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And here comes a new baby in town.

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Yep. New baby. So Glenn, Natalie and Patrick.

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So they had three, three kids back to back. Uh, all are still,

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still here in town, live local.

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And then that was, you know, I don't know, I was probably nine,

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10, 11 by the time that I had by the time Patrick was born.

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And then about that same time, my dad remarried and my dad remarried someone

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who also had two children from a previous marriage.

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And so but they were also extremely young. So, you know, I've been around their

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whole life. I would say, you know, Jonathan and Olivia.

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I remember Olivia being born. So, you know, I've known her her whole life.

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Jonathan was a little bit older, like maybe two or three, I think.

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And I could be off on that, but, uh, you know, he might remember meeting me,

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but for the most part, I feel like I've been around his whole life too.

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So again, uh, these are all my brothers and sisters.

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And then my dad and my step-mom, Miss D had six children together.

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And that was starting in the year 2000. And I forget what year Ann was born,

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but just to give each other their names, that's Lillian, Rebecca,

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Adam, Catherine, Jeffrey, and Ann.

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And that's also to prove that they exist. I'm not making that up.

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And not to cut you off, but here's something you might not know.

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Your stepmom, Ms. D, her actual name is Carrie. Yeah. I didn't know if you knew that.

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I didn't know until I was about 30, 31.

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So her name came up, her nickname is D, which, so both, so my dad and stepmom

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both have nicknames that most people don't know their real names.

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I didn't know my dad's real name until I was.

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00:13:16,802 --> 00:13:20,142
I wasn't a teenager, but I was probably 11 or 12. So right before being a teenager.

208
00:13:20,362 --> 00:13:22,182
So everybody knows my dad as Biff.

209
00:13:22,482 --> 00:13:26,242
And one day it occurred to me, I knew Biff wasn't his real name,

210
00:13:26,302 --> 00:13:29,582
but one day I realized I don't actually know his real name. Oh, it's Biffy.

211
00:13:31,322 --> 00:13:37,542
It's Mr. Biff. Mr. Biff-ity. And so I asked and found out and come to find out my dad was Lester Jr.

212
00:13:37,882 --> 00:13:40,742
And so I go, okay, cool. And then,

213
00:13:40,862 --> 00:13:45,382
so that was not too long before he got married, remarried. And so Ms.

214
00:13:45,462 --> 00:13:49,322
D is Carrie Dawn. She was Carrie Dawn Grow.

215
00:13:50,022 --> 00:13:53,622
And I think they had another, maybe another Carrie in the family.

216
00:13:53,702 --> 00:13:55,502
And I could be wrong, but they called her Carrie D.

217
00:13:56,002 --> 00:14:01,042
And that was her nickname growing up. And one day her mom or somebody came home

218
00:14:01,042 --> 00:14:05,102
and it was, hey, what did, you know, how are y'all doing? What did you and Carrie D do today?

219
00:14:05,682 --> 00:14:10,322
And I guess they just tickled them D-Do. They just, something about that stuck.

220
00:14:10,422 --> 00:14:13,302
It was catchy. And so they called her D-Do. that became her

221
00:14:13,302 --> 00:14:16,182
new nickname and then obviously over the years i just got shortened

222
00:14:16,182 --> 00:14:19,442
to d and now you know she she taught it she's

223
00:14:19,442 --> 00:14:22,302
taught at several high schools so she is uh he

224
00:14:22,302 --> 00:14:28,222
is d and miss d to everybody that's so cool yep so that's her so anyway so yeah

225
00:14:28,222 --> 00:14:33,202
so they had six children together and so the way i always look at it is i say

226
00:14:33,202 --> 00:14:36,202
i always look at it i say this because it's probably it's self-glorifying here

227
00:14:36,202 --> 00:14:40,562
but i call me nick and jason the glue and uh so we got my mom's side of the family,

228
00:14:40,602 --> 00:14:43,262
my dad's side of the family, and I got all my siblings on each side.

229
00:14:43,782 --> 00:14:48,002
And, but me, Nick and Jason were all extremely close growing up.

230
00:14:48,022 --> 00:14:49,602
Everybody called us the three boys.

231
00:14:49,762 --> 00:14:52,502
I've always, I'm number three, Nick was number one, Jason was number two.

232
00:14:53,202 --> 00:14:55,742
And that's just who we've always been. And I take pride in that.

233
00:14:56,682 --> 00:14:59,882
I absolutely take pride in that as much as, uh, I view, you know,

234
00:14:59,902 --> 00:15:03,082
these all my brothers and sisters, and we're real close, obviously extremely

235
00:15:03,082 --> 00:15:04,342
close with Nick and Jason.

236
00:15:04,362 --> 00:15:07,282
And, and, and I was, that was great growing up.

237
00:15:07,282 --> 00:15:11,082
And, and we were, we were absolutely inseparable and and i think we're still

238
00:15:11,082 --> 00:15:14,102
you know jason and i are still really close obviously the loss of nick was was

239
00:15:14,102 --> 00:15:18,942
huge but jason and i feel like we're as close as we can be he's uh living in

240
00:15:18,942 --> 00:15:23,622
dallas now but uh he's got he's got kids and all and i know my kids are obsessed

241
00:15:23,622 --> 00:15:25,462
with his kids and i'm always excited when they come to town,

242
00:15:26,759 --> 00:15:31,159
The boys. That's what I knew y'all as. The boys. All of our cousins.

243
00:15:32,139 --> 00:15:36,879
Now, we're one of 40-something first cousins.

244
00:15:37,259 --> 00:15:42,439
Bo knows the exact number. It's like 45 first cousins in the bourgeois family.

245
00:15:42,859 --> 00:15:48,199
And we've always been close. All the cousins have always been close growing up.

246
00:15:48,319 --> 00:15:52,459
And we'd go to Papa's, watch Saints games, and just you name it,

247
00:15:52,479 --> 00:15:53,379
we were there on a Saturday.

248
00:15:53,379 --> 00:15:57,019
And a very common question

249
00:15:57,019 --> 00:15:59,819
out of my mouth was are the boys going to be there yeah and

250
00:15:59,819 --> 00:16:02,979
that meant nick brody and jason even though

251
00:16:02,979 --> 00:16:05,819
what 75 of us

252
00:16:05,819 --> 00:16:08,639
were boys yeah but the boys were nick brody and

253
00:16:08,639 --> 00:16:11,279
jason and they were the oldest they were the coolest they were

254
00:16:11,279 --> 00:16:14,239
the fastest they were the strongest and we all

255
00:16:14,239 --> 00:16:17,019
just tried to be like the boys and i

256
00:16:17,019 --> 00:16:20,019
remember so who lived on

257
00:16:20,019 --> 00:16:22,919
cartage right here was that uncle donald i think uncle donald

258
00:16:22,919 --> 00:16:25,559
and uncle brian and maybe even uncle john too might have lived

259
00:16:25,559 --> 00:16:32,179
so there was a camp out right here in the back of their house and y'all were

260
00:16:32,179 --> 00:16:36,639
there the boys were there it was probably just y'all me bo and benson maybe

261
00:16:36,639 --> 00:16:43,019
maybe even austin maybe freddie but and scott might have been there so i remember

262
00:16:43,019 --> 00:16:45,299
i don't remember much about.

263
00:16:45,479 --> 00:16:48,579
The night like hanging out i just remember

264
00:16:48,579 --> 00:16:52,039
being woken up in the tent because i

265
00:16:52,039 --> 00:16:55,179
think probably y'all maybe whoever was

266
00:16:55,179 --> 00:16:58,119
in the other tent like destroyed our tent

267
00:16:58,119 --> 00:17:01,379
in the middle of the night like flipped it upside down or like just crashed

268
00:17:01,379 --> 00:17:08,759
all the poles in and this was all a blur but here's what i remember nick pulled

269
00:17:08,759 --> 00:17:17,299
me out of the tent grabbed my arm and you know i'm i'm I'm probably seven or eight, probably eight,

270
00:17:17,419 --> 00:17:20,979
which would make Nick what? What year were you born? 90.

271
00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:26,959
So Nick would be nine years older than you. So he might've been 16, 17. Okay.

272
00:17:27,419 --> 00:17:31,859
So that's about right. So Nick grabs my arm and he goes, come on,

273
00:17:31,899 --> 00:17:36,079
we got to go to, we got to go to your dad's house was, was the apartment right

274
00:17:36,079 --> 00:17:40,299
here in front of Papa's, which is, I don't know, what's that? A 200 yard run.

275
00:17:40,539 --> 00:17:43,379
Yeah. Not very far. so he grabs my arm

276
00:17:43,379 --> 00:17:46,079
he goes we gotta go to we gotta go to

277
00:17:46,079 --> 00:17:49,119
my dad's house and we ran through the woods

278
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,179
and then the next like i don't know

279
00:17:52,179 --> 00:17:56,739
six or eight you know backyards we're just running through people's backyards

280
00:17:56,739 --> 00:18:03,719
and he was so fast he was the fastest person on the planet and i couldn't keep

281
00:18:03,719 --> 00:18:08,339
up with him and like every four of his steps one of my feet would touch the

282
00:18:08,339 --> 00:18:12,119
ground and I'd get like my next little boost. And I was just like flying like a kite behind him.

283
00:18:12,759 --> 00:18:14,579
And I remember there was a big scary dog,

284
00:18:15,975 --> 00:18:19,815
like threatening to murder us running after us and he did not care and we just

285
00:18:19,815 --> 00:18:25,255
outran the dog and it was it was pitch black it was the scariest moment of my entire life,

286
00:18:26,515 --> 00:18:30,095
and all but all i wanted to do was keep up and i knew i was good because i was

287
00:18:30,095 --> 00:18:37,215
because i was with nick that's fine so cool that i still remember that so nick

288
00:18:37,215 --> 00:18:42,675
he's five years older than you three three three older than you okay makes sense

289
00:18:42,675 --> 00:18:46,395
and he was the first to join the military Yep.

290
00:18:46,935 --> 00:18:55,215
So Nick joined and he graduated in 1999 and went straight to the Navy.

291
00:18:55,515 --> 00:19:00,135
And so I guess let me back up just one little thing about Nick.

292
00:19:00,275 --> 00:19:03,655
So Nick was always, you know, awesome older brother.

293
00:19:03,875 --> 00:19:06,535
We were, we were close, of course, like I said. head.

294
00:19:06,935 --> 00:19:11,335
But the thing about Nick is Nick was always, always family, you know,

295
00:19:11,335 --> 00:19:15,855
being close with family and emphasis on family was always a big thing for him.

296
00:19:16,475 --> 00:19:19,895
But it was for me too, the difference with Nick. And I would say the difference

297
00:19:19,895 --> 00:19:23,675
between Nick versus me and everyone else is that with Nick, he put it into action.

298
00:19:24,075 --> 00:19:27,475
And so just now, when you're telling that story about Nick grabbing you and

299
00:19:27,475 --> 00:19:31,735
running, you know, the first thing I think of is Nick probably was 16 or 17.

300
00:19:32,175 --> 00:19:36,235
And how many 16 or 17 year olds are camping out with eight and nine year olds.

301
00:19:36,775 --> 00:19:42,055
And, you know, maybe it's happening, but, uh, with Nick, that was his, that's what he did.

302
00:19:42,195 --> 00:19:46,715
Nick was always with always hanging out with the, you know, if it's family and

303
00:19:46,715 --> 00:19:48,175
it didn't matter about, about age.

304
00:19:48,255 --> 00:19:51,415
And, and I even remember for me, uh, there was times, you know,

305
00:19:51,435 --> 00:19:54,535
I'd get a little annoyed with, you know, maybe one of the younger cousins or

306
00:19:54,535 --> 00:19:56,175
maybe it was, you know, church kids or something.

307
00:19:56,255 --> 00:19:58,135
And it's like, you know, they're little kids, which whatever,

308
00:19:58,255 --> 00:20:01,175
but I was 14, 15, maybe I was being at a latitude.

309
00:20:01,295 --> 00:20:04,675
I don't know, but Nick didn't at all. And I remember asking him about that and

310
00:20:04,675 --> 00:20:09,195
man, how you, you know, how you, how you good at this, like how you, how you do that.

311
00:20:09,335 --> 00:20:13,815
And he just, and I don't remember what he said, except that it wasn't a,

312
00:20:13,835 --> 00:20:16,635
it wasn't a challenge for him. Like he actually enjoyed that.

313
00:20:16,695 --> 00:20:20,255
It wasn't, it didn't put him out at all. That's, you know, that was his friends.

314
00:20:20,315 --> 00:20:24,495
And it was, again, especially when it came to family, he always included the younger kids.

315
00:20:24,715 --> 00:20:28,855
Uh, you and I talked, I feel like in the last year or two about somebody we know that was similar.

316
00:20:29,355 --> 00:20:32,955
That was always including the younger kids. And it was an older kid that,

317
00:20:32,975 --> 00:20:37,635
you know, could have been cool and too cool to do that, but that was never a thing for Nick.

318
00:20:38,395 --> 00:20:41,675
And, you know, now, now I'm older and looking back, I think,

319
00:20:41,675 --> 00:20:43,175
you know, that's, that's not a minor thing.

320
00:20:43,275 --> 00:20:46,515
That was a big deal. I appreciate it then, but I really appreciate it now.

321
00:20:46,655 --> 00:20:50,015
It's a mentor, man. Kids don't have like, we had great mentors,

322
00:20:50,215 --> 00:20:56,035
you know, growing up and as long as they're excelling and as long as they're

323
00:20:56,035 --> 00:21:00,375
around and giving you the attention, and you want to be like them, you know?

324
00:21:00,455 --> 00:21:07,235
And if you can reach it, then you can attribute a lot of that success to them

325
00:21:07,235 --> 00:21:10,335
just from being around, you know, being there consistently.

326
00:21:12,131 --> 00:21:16,611
Yeah. A lot of people don't have that. A lot of people don't have a family of 41st cousins.

327
00:21:16,631 --> 00:21:22,671
So it has to come from somewhere else has to come from maybe a coach or a teacher or, you know?

328
00:21:22,991 --> 00:21:26,151
Yeah. So, uh, so anyway, yeah, I always, always looked up to Nick.

329
00:21:26,231 --> 00:21:31,191
He always, you know, obviously included you, he included me and he always included us.

330
00:21:31,271 --> 00:21:35,551
I always felt special around Nick even. So in high school, I went to,

331
00:21:35,551 --> 00:21:39,351
I went to home a Christian for eighth, ninth and 10th grade.

332
00:21:39,751 --> 00:21:43,671
Nick went to, so we all went to St. Francis until seventh grade.

333
00:21:44,551 --> 00:21:48,151
When Nick left St. Francis, he went to Vanderbilt for a year.

334
00:21:48,611 --> 00:21:51,471
Let me get this right. Let me tell you, I just don't know the order,

335
00:21:51,571 --> 00:21:54,451
but I can tell you this. He went to Homer Junior High, Terrebonne,

336
00:21:54,471 --> 00:21:55,891
Vanderbilt, and Homer Christian.

337
00:21:56,051 --> 00:21:58,431
He went to all four of those schools in, what is that?

338
00:21:59,451 --> 00:22:00,991
Eighth, ninth, tenth, so five years.

339
00:22:02,191 --> 00:22:06,251
I know he graduated from Homer Christian. So Vanderbilt may have been his eighth

340
00:22:06,251 --> 00:22:08,031
or eighth and ninth grade years.

341
00:22:08,171 --> 00:22:10,971
But, and that's just cause you know, we were, you know, our parents were sending

342
00:22:10,971 --> 00:22:14,291
us to different schools and ultimately we wound up going to home of Christian,

343
00:22:14,411 --> 00:22:16,711
but that's where he wound up graduating from.

344
00:22:17,131 --> 00:22:21,991
But when I get to home of Christian, it was my eighth, I went there for eighth, ninth and 10th grade.

345
00:22:22,351 --> 00:22:25,971
And so my eighth grade year, I want to say he was there.

346
00:22:26,631 --> 00:22:31,151
And I mean, you know, I'm just, my brother's just the coolest guy in the world

347
00:22:31,151 --> 00:22:35,551
and And he's a senior, you know, so, and I just couldn't have been more,

348
00:22:35,591 --> 00:22:39,091
more blessed to have him as my older brother and there at the,

349
00:22:39,111 --> 00:22:40,551
uh, and obviously Jason was there too.

350
00:22:40,871 --> 00:22:43,051
So I just, that was so cool to me and he had already been there.

351
00:22:43,131 --> 00:22:44,531
They had already been there. So everybody knew him.

352
00:22:44,771 --> 00:22:47,271
So that was, that was a blessing for me. I walk into a situation,

353
00:22:47,451 --> 00:22:50,811
new school. Like I, I went to St. Francis from, you know, pre-K.

354
00:22:51,411 --> 00:22:54,291
So I'm going to home with Christian where there's not a single person that I

355
00:22:54,291 --> 00:22:57,031
went to school with going home with Christian. So I'm not gonna know anybody.

356
00:22:57,611 --> 00:23:02,511
And so that was new for me. and and so showing up there and having my brothers

357
00:23:02,511 --> 00:23:07,091
there was was awesome and and so again there's nick always making sure to involve

358
00:23:07,091 --> 00:23:10,191
me i mean again what what senior is making sure the eighth grader gets to hang

359
00:23:10,191 --> 00:23:11,431
out with his his friends you know,

360
00:23:11,931 --> 00:23:17,111
and so that was great so so anyway nick forget exactly how it started but he

361
00:23:17,111 --> 00:23:22,651
wanted to be a navy seal for sure that's that was like hands down what he wanted to do and.

362
00:23:23,942 --> 00:23:27,222
Joined the Navy. I remember how he talked to the recruiter. He told me,

363
00:23:27,222 --> 00:23:29,702
he talked to the recruiters a certain way, like this is what he said.

364
00:23:29,802 --> 00:23:30,922
And he told me I should do the same thing.

365
00:23:31,262 --> 00:23:35,282
He went to each recruiter and said, so let's say he goes to the army recruiter.

366
00:23:35,562 --> 00:23:39,762
He goes, Hey, why should I join the army? And like, why shouldn't I join the Navy or whatever?

367
00:23:39,862 --> 00:23:42,182
You know, like each one, he had like a question that was specifically,

368
00:23:42,302 --> 00:23:43,982
why should I join you? And not this other one.

369
00:23:45,062 --> 00:23:48,442
And, and I, I think the Navy SEALs he might already known about,

370
00:23:48,502 --> 00:23:51,662
or maybe they told him about it, but bottom line is that is what he wanted to

371
00:23:51,662 --> 00:23:52,622
do. He wanted to be a Navy SEAL.

372
00:23:53,002 --> 00:23:59,842
And so So, so he joined the Navy and he, let's see, was to say 1999, joins the Navy.

373
00:24:00,882 --> 00:24:04,102
He takes the ASVAB and Nick was always a smart person.

374
00:24:04,262 --> 00:24:09,682
I mean, he's not an idiot, but he wasn't like, I don't think he was a straight

375
00:24:09,682 --> 00:24:12,242
A student getting a 36 on his AT, ACTs.

376
00:24:12,542 --> 00:24:16,582
But when he took the ASVAB, which is the test you take to get into the military,

377
00:24:16,782 --> 00:24:21,242
just to kind of for placement purposes, what job you'll have and things like that.

378
00:24:21,242 --> 00:24:24,022
He got a 98 and for those who don't

379
00:24:24,022 --> 00:24:26,702
know at least back then a 99 maybe it's still

380
00:24:26,702 --> 00:24:29,742
like that a 99 is the highest you can get what'd you get me

381
00:24:29,742 --> 00:24:34,402
i got a something in late uh 78 i got like a 68 yeah which is fine if i remember

382
00:24:34,402 --> 00:24:39,762
yeah that's normal that's average is 60s and 70s probably 80s is good i imagine

383
00:24:39,762 --> 00:24:45,122
90s i don't know i mean maybe i've met people now i just don't know but i don't

384
00:24:45,122 --> 00:24:47,482
know know anybody personally that I know right away that's what they got.

385
00:24:47,782 --> 00:24:52,122
So 98 was no small deal. Even he was like, yeah, I don't know how.

386
00:24:53,702 --> 00:24:59,922
And so they offered him, as a result, they offered him a pretty good job and a good benefits thing.

387
00:25:00,102 --> 00:25:06,522
So nuclear engineering was the job specialty he could choose and E3 out of bootcamp,

388
00:25:06,622 --> 00:25:09,942
which is, yeah, like you don't pass that up.

389
00:25:10,402 --> 00:25:13,222
So he didn't pass it up. It wasn't what he wanted to do at all.

390
00:25:13,342 --> 00:25:16,882
It was just, you know, Nick was always good at asking advice from people,

391
00:25:16,922 --> 00:25:20,182
taking counsel. So I'm sure he talked to probably our parents and everything.

392
00:25:20,622 --> 00:25:22,722
And ultimately I was like, look, I know you want to be a SEAL,

393
00:25:22,742 --> 00:25:25,602
but if you take this, you can still do the SEAL thing later.

394
00:25:25,742 --> 00:25:28,602
So that's what he did. Or that's what his plan was.

395
00:25:29,182 --> 00:25:34,162
So he joined the Navy to do that. And then he found out he can get out of that commitment by.

396
00:25:35,366 --> 00:25:38,426
Going to the Naval Academy, which is a next better deal than that.

397
00:25:38,546 --> 00:25:40,706
And he's like, oh, okay. So now I can do the Naval Academy.

398
00:25:41,166 --> 00:25:43,566
That's four years. Oh, it's a six-year contract. So instead of a six-year,

399
00:25:43,646 --> 00:25:47,026
I can do four-year contract, be an officer, and I'll just do SEAL as an officer,

400
00:25:47,146 --> 00:25:49,986
which is, if you know anything about the SEALs, it's a funny way to talk about,

401
00:25:50,106 --> 00:25:51,026
oh, I'll just do it this way.

402
00:25:51,806 --> 00:25:57,046
I'll just be a Navy SEAL commander. Yeah. And so anyway, fast forward,

403
00:25:57,226 --> 00:25:58,706
he gets accepted to the Academy.

404
00:25:59,166 --> 00:26:03,266
And for those who don't know, the way Nick used to say it is to get into of

405
00:26:03,266 --> 00:26:05,726
the Academy, you know, you gotta be pretty smart.

406
00:26:06,066 --> 00:26:09,466
You need to score really well on more than just the ASVAB and all this stuff,

407
00:26:09,626 --> 00:26:12,086
or it helps to have prior military.

408
00:26:12,246 --> 00:26:15,786
And the way Nick, you say it is he's got prior military and that's why I got accepted.

409
00:26:15,926 --> 00:26:18,346
And the reason he would say that is he wasn't one of these people who could

410
00:26:18,346 --> 00:26:20,526
just skate by on his grades. Cause he was super smart.

411
00:26:20,706 --> 00:26:23,946
He absolutely had the log. He had to log his hours. Cause he worked,

412
00:26:24,166 --> 00:26:26,266
I guess some of it was like stuff he couldn't take home.

413
00:26:26,426 --> 00:26:29,046
So he'd clock in and clock out or whatever this, the the library.

414
00:26:29,386 --> 00:26:33,306
And he was logging, I mean, 40, 60, maybe even more hours a week,

415
00:26:33,386 --> 00:26:36,866
just studying in addition to all this stuff, just to, just to get by.

416
00:26:37,146 --> 00:26:42,246
And he did well, obviously he graduated and everything, but while he was there,

417
00:26:42,346 --> 00:26:48,466
he met his, his future wife and he knew he didn't want to be a Navy SEAL and be married.

418
00:26:49,006 --> 00:26:51,706
So wasn't planning on getting married. He was planning on being a Navy SEAL.

419
00:26:51,866 --> 00:26:54,926
God had other plans and it meets his wife while he's there.

420
00:26:55,346 --> 00:26:57,846
His future wife knows he wants wants to marry her. And so he's like,

421
00:26:57,906 --> 00:27:00,226
okay, well, if I can't be a Navy SEAL, obviously I want to be a Marine.

422
00:27:00,746 --> 00:27:03,826
I'm going to be a Marine infantry officer. And so that's what he did.

423
00:27:03,886 --> 00:27:05,226
And that's ultimately what he wound up doing.

424
00:27:05,606 --> 00:27:11,386
Got out and he graduated in 2006 from the Naval Academy, went officer route,

425
00:27:11,466 --> 00:27:17,326
or sorry, went to infantry route in the Marines, married his wife the day of

426
00:27:17,326 --> 00:27:19,786
graduation, which was a pretty neat thing. I got to be part of that.

427
00:27:20,126 --> 00:27:24,466
And so at this point, so it's 2006 so at that point Jason had joined in 2000

428
00:27:24,466 --> 00:27:28,686
he joined the Marine Reserves and then I joined in 2003.

429
00:27:29,426 --> 00:27:34,606
The Marine active duty Marines and so by 2006 I was a,

430
00:27:35,106 --> 00:27:38,446
sergeant when he got married and so I got to go and be a sword bearer at his

431
00:27:38,446 --> 00:27:42,886
wedding which was pretty cool and uh and slap the bride on the on the behind

432
00:27:42,886 --> 00:27:48,166
I got to witness this yeah so neat and I remember the blue angel fly by in the

433
00:27:48,166 --> 00:27:54,526
stadium that's bone chilling if you ever If you're ever anywhere that has the Blue Angels flying, go.

434
00:27:55,066 --> 00:27:59,006
Definitely go and stay. Yep. Agreed. Man, that was cool. Yep.

435
00:28:00,746 --> 00:28:05,806
And so how much of Nick being in the Marines swayed your decision?

436
00:28:05,846 --> 00:28:08,706
Or I guess Nick and Jason joined the Marines.

437
00:28:09,026 --> 00:28:11,146
Yeah, that was a huge, huge reason to join.

438
00:28:11,506 --> 00:28:14,946
At first, I was shocked that they would want to join the military.

439
00:28:15,186 --> 00:28:17,626
I didn't know much about it.

440
00:28:18,820 --> 00:28:22,120
There was reasons I thought I didn't want to do it, but ultimately I wasn't

441
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:26,220
super interested or serious about it, but it was like, man, but Nick did,

442
00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,460
you know, like Nick does it. It's got to be something to that.

443
00:28:29,620 --> 00:28:31,460
And then obviously Jason followed on his heels.

444
00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:35,780
And so, so I gave it, I gave it some pretty serious thought,

445
00:28:35,900 --> 00:28:40,920
but not super, super serious at first, but in 11th and 12th grade,

446
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:45,100
I got, I started, I left home a Christian and went to be homeschooled.

447
00:28:45,340 --> 00:28:46,940
My dad and step-mom.

448
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,840
Uh, so my step, my dad, that's when they started having their kids.

449
00:28:49,940 --> 00:28:53,160
That's when my dad and step-mom started having their, their six children together

450
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:54,800
over the next, you know, seven years or whatever.

451
00:28:55,420 --> 00:28:59,420
So when that happened, Ms. D had to leave teaching in order to come home and,

452
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:01,880
you know, basically they're schooling their children now.

453
00:29:02,140 --> 00:29:05,780
And as a result, then I'm coming home too, which funny, funny thing about that

454
00:29:05,780 --> 00:29:08,120
is I guess somewhere along the way I was under the impression,

455
00:29:08,180 --> 00:29:11,420
you know, I had to make a decision on whether or not I was going to try to finish

456
00:29:11,420 --> 00:29:15,420
out at home a Christian or do I want to go home and do the homeschooling thing?

457
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:19,700
And I went back and forth on it for a while and ultimately decided,

458
00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:23,380
man, if I get homeschooled, I can get a job, which I really wanted. I wanted a job.

459
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,380
I wound up getting a job while I was homeschooled. And so that,

460
00:29:26,420 --> 00:29:29,940
that's the route I took. And it was, uh, I don't know if it was then or years later or whatever.

461
00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:32,820
I was telling that story to somebody and my dad's just laughing.

462
00:29:32,980 --> 00:29:35,760
He's like, that's, that's very funny to me that you thought you had a choice.

463
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,360
I don't know where I got it from because that certainly makes more sense.

464
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:48,180
It was not up to me. That's good. Yeah. So, yeah, homeschooled 11th, 12th grade.

465
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:54,380
And that was important because my American literature class or whatever subject was,

466
00:29:55,226 --> 00:29:58,086
Was probably the thing that pushed me over the edge of joining the military

467
00:29:58,086 --> 00:30:01,026
and without belaboring this too much.

468
00:30:01,106 --> 00:30:04,626
The bottom line is reading all these stories about, you know,

469
00:30:04,626 --> 00:30:08,726
the American Revolutionary War, you know, a lot of the 1800s stuff,

470
00:30:08,986 --> 00:30:12,426
maybe probably not World War I stuff too much.

471
00:30:12,466 --> 00:30:17,106
But, you know, you start to read and you realize there was a time and everybody's heard of this.

472
00:30:17,186 --> 00:30:20,326
You realize there was a time in this country when people would like lie about

473
00:30:20,326 --> 00:30:23,946
their age to to join the military, to go to fight.

474
00:30:23,946 --> 00:30:27,146
And that was that was very

475
00:30:27,146 --> 00:30:30,366
encouraging or inspiring to me

476
00:30:30,366 --> 00:30:33,046
but at the same time i was like man i feel

477
00:30:33,046 --> 00:30:36,486
like we're the opposite now you know we you know this was you

478
00:30:36,486 --> 00:30:41,426
know late like now it's early 2000s so i'm still in high school 2001 and 2 i

479
00:30:41,426 --> 00:30:45,186
guess is when i was you know homeschool so i was just it's like man that was

480
00:30:45,186 --> 00:30:49,906
right after right after 9-11 so so that's obviously fresh in my mind and i'm

481
00:30:49,906 --> 00:30:52,606
just thinking man what a different different time you know, and,

482
00:30:52,666 --> 00:30:54,726
and I couldn't help but think,

483
00:30:54,786 --> 00:30:58,006
should I, you know, should I be one of the people that goes,

484
00:30:58,066 --> 00:30:59,306
you know, should I, should I do that?

485
00:30:59,806 --> 00:31:03,086
And, uh, so I started, started thinking about a lot. I prayed about it.

486
00:31:03,126 --> 00:31:04,886
And that was Nick's thing right away.

487
00:31:05,006 --> 00:31:07,666
He's like, he gave me, I asked him, of course, I asked my dad,

488
00:31:07,766 --> 00:31:10,966
Nick gave me all the reasons that joining the military would be great.

489
00:31:11,026 --> 00:31:14,366
And it's a good thing to do and all, but that's something he absolutely told

490
00:31:14,366 --> 00:31:16,446
me was, but it doesn't matter what I say.

491
00:31:16,526 --> 00:31:19,166
You got to pray about that. You got to see what God has for you you're there.

492
00:31:19,666 --> 00:31:23,986
And if this is what you want to do, then you do it. And it's easy, easy decision.

493
00:31:24,086 --> 00:31:27,526
If he doesn't, well, then that's easy to do, you know, just pray about it and

494
00:31:27,526 --> 00:31:28,586
see what, see how you feel.

495
00:31:29,066 --> 00:31:32,446
And so, so I tried to do that, prayed about it.

496
00:31:32,486 --> 00:31:35,426
Didn't obviously, didn't feel like I didn't hear from God or anything like that,

497
00:31:35,466 --> 00:31:39,646
but started looking around at different stuff. I called, I don't know if I called

498
00:31:39,646 --> 00:31:42,346
colleges or how that worked, looked into going to different colleges.

499
00:31:42,886 --> 00:31:44,386
Uh, nothing really appealed to me.

500
00:31:45,729 --> 00:31:48,909
Talked to the recruiters and did the same thing Nick did.

501
00:31:48,969 --> 00:31:52,429
Went and talked to all the different recruiters. And I guess my take on that

502
00:31:52,429 --> 00:31:54,609
was I watched the Marines.

503
00:31:56,389 --> 00:32:00,209
They didn't seem like they were trying to make a quota. They were okay saying

504
00:32:00,209 --> 00:32:04,449
no or helping somebody to the next door to go talk to the Air Force,

505
00:32:04,569 --> 00:32:05,389
Army, Navy, or whatever.

506
00:32:05,769 --> 00:32:08,349
They were fine with that. That stood out to me. I thought that was cool.

507
00:32:08,609 --> 00:32:10,729
And I think we have a good area.

508
00:32:10,849 --> 00:32:13,969
The recruiters in this area don't have it as hard as maybe some other areas.

509
00:32:13,969 --> 00:32:15,969
Is, but, uh, that stood out to me.

510
00:32:16,009 --> 00:32:17,869
I didn't feel like they were trying to sell me or anything like that,

511
00:32:17,909 --> 00:32:21,829
but ultimately at the end of the day, and I got called out on this later at

512
00:32:21,829 --> 00:32:24,829
the end of the day, the Marine Corps was a no brainer because I couldn't imagine

513
00:32:24,829 --> 00:32:27,449
joining any other branch and always wondering,

514
00:32:27,569 --> 00:32:32,209
well, could I have been a Marine and not knowing, you know, we got the hardest

515
00:32:32,209 --> 00:32:37,109
bootcamp and years later, what I got called out on was, yeah,

516
00:32:37,189 --> 00:32:39,769
how many people joined the Marines for the first three months.

517
00:32:40,389 --> 00:32:45,289
I was like, yeah, that was, that was probably me, but you know,

518
00:32:45,309 --> 00:32:46,069
we're definitely different.

519
00:32:46,169 --> 00:32:50,109
There's more to it now I know about, but at the time, yeah, it was, it was about bootcamp.

520
00:32:50,209 --> 00:32:54,329
It was all about, I want to go through the most, the hardest bootcamp we have.

521
00:32:54,469 --> 00:32:57,849
And you know, that's, I don't know anybody trying to argue that maybe,

522
00:32:57,909 --> 00:33:00,329
maybe somebody would, but it was definitely the hardest.

523
00:33:00,349 --> 00:33:02,809
And from what I've been told. So I was like, all right, well,

524
00:33:02,889 --> 00:33:04,829
Marines is a no brainer if I joined the military.

525
00:33:05,089 --> 00:33:09,949
And, And, and so, uh, so that's what I wound up doing. I, one day I realized

526
00:33:09,949 --> 00:33:13,489
I was checking into colleges and I was like, what if I just stop checking into colleges?

527
00:33:13,649 --> 00:33:16,989
What if I just, I'm just going to do the military thing and just get that ball rolling.

528
00:33:17,289 --> 00:33:20,029
And I knew the ball just never stopped rolling basically. And,

529
00:33:20,089 --> 00:33:22,249
uh, and I'm happy I did. And, uh, it was great.

530
00:33:22,829 --> 00:33:27,049
Obviously just another chance to see Nick at times and both doing the same thing.

531
00:33:28,629 --> 00:33:35,289
Jason and I were in Iraq in 2000. So he left in February of 2005 from his seven-month deployment.

532
00:33:35,329 --> 00:33:37,769
I got there from my deployment in February 2005.

533
00:33:38,029 --> 00:33:40,089
We didn't get to see each other. We had just crossed paths.

534
00:33:40,469 --> 00:33:44,389
But I say that to say Nick and Jason did, if I remember correctly,

535
00:33:44,549 --> 00:33:45,909
got to see each other in country.

536
00:33:46,369 --> 00:33:49,549
No, I'm sorry. He saw one of Nick's friends in country or something like that.

537
00:33:50,428 --> 00:33:52,548
Or something like Nick's the one orchestrated it, of course.

538
00:33:52,588 --> 00:33:55,788
I don't know how. Back then, there was no cell phone. You weren't calling anybody in Iraq.

539
00:33:55,988 --> 00:34:00,168
It was probably a beef jerky drop-off. Yeah. I know Nick used to wholesale.

540
00:34:00,168 --> 00:34:02,548
He would peddle the jerky. Yeah. And Jason.

541
00:34:02,868 --> 00:34:06,348
Yeah, they absolutely wholesale the jerky and did very well.

542
00:34:06,448 --> 00:34:09,228
And many people in Iraq were very happy to have access to that.

543
00:34:09,348 --> 00:34:11,328
So get me straight on this.

544
00:34:11,488 --> 00:34:14,528
Who would send him some? Your dad?

545
00:34:15,428 --> 00:34:19,488
Nick? Or your mom? Who would send him like packs of jerky?

546
00:34:19,708 --> 00:34:23,388
I don't know. And I arranged it. Yeah. But anyway, he would get a shipment.

547
00:34:23,388 --> 00:34:26,508
My dad. My dad would do it. Your dad would send boxes of jerky and beef sticks.

548
00:34:26,848 --> 00:34:31,408
And then the stories I've heard is like, you know, all the guys on base know

549
00:34:31,408 --> 00:34:34,728
about it and then they've had it and will flock around him.

550
00:34:34,768 --> 00:34:40,088
And he was selling them for like 10 bucks a pack or like, you know,

551
00:34:40,088 --> 00:34:42,788
double and making them a little bit of cash. Yeah.

552
00:34:43,148 --> 00:34:45,788
So he, what's funny is he started that.

553
00:34:46,168 --> 00:34:49,088
I'll never forget. He started that when we were kids at gymnastics.

554
00:34:49,468 --> 00:34:53,348
We went to Tardo's gymnastics. I mean, when I say kids, we were kids,

555
00:34:53,388 --> 00:34:55,588
you know, you're a little older than me, but not that much.

556
00:34:55,928 --> 00:35:00,128
But what's so crazy is he would, I remember he charged, I think a quarter more

557
00:35:00,128 --> 00:35:05,108
20, when we were kids, he charged 25 cents more per pack, but he did it enough.

558
00:35:05,248 --> 00:35:06,628
And he was diligent enough.

559
00:35:06,948 --> 00:35:11,408
You know, he might've had 20, 30, which, which by the way, was a small fortune

560
00:35:11,408 --> 00:35:16,968
when you're 11 and 12 years old, 20, 30, 40 bucks that that he saved up over, you know, maybe a year.

561
00:35:17,068 --> 00:35:21,028
And I was like, never saw so much money in my life from selling beef jerky at

562
00:35:21,028 --> 00:35:23,368
a quarter cent, a quarter more per pack.

563
00:35:24,108 --> 00:35:27,268
And you know, he's saving them the trip. So he's probably still coming up on

564
00:35:27,268 --> 00:35:29,448
it. Long in the game by the time he got to Iraq.

565
00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:35,600
So, uh, yeah. So, all right. What was your MOS? Original MOS?

566
00:35:35,980 --> 00:35:40,700
Yeah. My original MOS was tank mechanic, which I joined my step.

567
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:42,880
So I went to my step-mom and asked, I wanted to be infantry.

568
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:47,500
That was what Marines do in my mind. Marines are grunts. And so I was going to do infantry thing.

569
00:35:47,820 --> 00:35:50,620
And my step-mom is D is the one who told me, well, you know,

570
00:35:50,620 --> 00:35:54,340
you might want to consider something that's, you know, in case you don't stay

571
00:35:54,340 --> 00:35:57,860
around in the Marine Corps forever, which was a weird thought to me at the time.

572
00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,440
Cause I was like, well, of course, in fact, real quick. So when the recruiter,

573
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,440
when I finally signed, the recruiters puts the contract in front of me.

574
00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:07,720
And when you join the military, most people, it's a four year contract.

575
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:11,540
If you do an active duty, and then there's a four year inactive reserve,

576
00:36:11,660 --> 00:36:13,840
they call it. So you do your four years and then you get out.

577
00:36:13,980 --> 00:36:16,880
And if you don't read the list, you get out and you have four years where you're

578
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:20,180
on the books, they can call you back up for probably oversimplified way of describing that.

579
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,480
But I'm looking at this thing and I'm having him describe to me what that means.

580
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:25,860
And he's, he's focusing on the four years. Cause he's thinking,

581
00:36:25,860 --> 00:36:27,180
I'm like, what's this eight year thing.

582
00:36:27,540 --> 00:36:33,460
But I was like, no, where's the, I was going to do 20. And he was like,

583
00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:34,780
yeah, it doesn't work like that.

584
00:36:35,300 --> 00:36:40,060
I absolutely thought I was signing up for a 20-year contract until I saw that thing.

585
00:36:40,340 --> 00:36:44,040
And so, you know, that made my stepmom's advice all the more like,

586
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:45,200
well, that's probably not going to be important.

587
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,020
And now her advice was, you know, something you can use on the outside.

588
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:53,980
And Infantries certainly has a great skill set and those guys can do just about

589
00:36:53,980 --> 00:36:55,980
anything, thing, but it doesn't always translate well in a resume.

590
00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:00,400
And so, so anyway, I took her advice. And so I chose combat vehicle repair,

591
00:37:00,620 --> 00:37:01,460
which is basically a mechanic.

592
00:37:02,140 --> 00:37:06,600
And I thought of my uncle, our uncle Brian, because I didn't know any,

593
00:37:06,660 --> 00:37:09,340
I had built houses at this point. I'd helped, helped build houses.

594
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:10,320
I'd done some carpentry.

595
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:14,400
I'd done landscaping, maybe a couple of little odds and ends here and there too.

596
00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:17,860
So I liked the idea of knowing a lot about, you know, jack of all trades and

597
00:37:17,860 --> 00:37:21,220
master and none. I was like, I like that. So, but I don't know anything thing about being a mechanic.

598
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:26,080
So combat vehicle repair was the equivalent to a mechanic in my mind in the

599
00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:27,480
military. So I chose that.

600
00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:33,520
Well, as it turns out, you can become an amphibious assault vehicle mechanic.

601
00:37:33,660 --> 00:37:38,480
You can become a light armored vehicle mechanic, or you can become a tank mechanic.

602
00:37:38,740 --> 00:37:40,840
I think those are the three things that were on the table for me.

603
00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:43,100
And I didn't realize it at the time. I just combat vehicle repair.

604
00:37:43,260 --> 00:37:44,380
Well, I got chosen for a tank mechanic.

605
00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:49,840
A tank mechanic or a tank is a turbine engine, which is what they use in airplanes as a jet engine.

606
00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:55,740
And so to this day, I still know absolutely nothing about zero carryover.

607
00:37:55,940 --> 00:37:58,020
Yeah. No carryover in the civilian side.

608
00:37:58,660 --> 00:38:02,560
And, and so that's what I chose. And, and, or I chose kind of vehicle repair.

609
00:38:02,620 --> 00:38:04,340
The Marine Corps decided to make me a tank mechanic.

610
00:38:05,804 --> 00:38:09,284
Yeah. So join. So let's see, I went to bootcamp in 2003.

611
00:38:10,444 --> 00:38:15,324
Oh, wait, question. So I don't know where Nick was and I don't know where Jason

612
00:38:15,324 --> 00:38:20,164
was, but when you signed or maybe when you made the decision, how'd you tell them?

613
00:38:21,004 --> 00:38:23,704
Uh, I don't remember how I told him. I'm sure it was a big deal though.

614
00:38:23,744 --> 00:38:25,064
I'm sure I called him and let him know.

615
00:38:25,664 --> 00:38:28,384
I do know when I left for bootcamp, we still, we have pictures.

616
00:38:28,464 --> 00:38:32,444
It's probably, it's, it's some of my, they're not good pictures, but it was a fond memory.

617
00:38:32,544 --> 00:38:38,024
Cause it's really one of maybe not even 10 times over the next 10 years that

618
00:38:38,024 --> 00:38:39,364
we were all three together like that.

619
00:38:39,664 --> 00:38:43,264
But the day I left for bootcamp and hindsight, I guess I don't know how it was

620
00:38:43,264 --> 00:38:44,564
middle of summer. Maybe they took leave.

621
00:38:44,964 --> 00:38:48,024
Well, Jason was reserved. So he was probably home for the, since he was,

622
00:38:48,024 --> 00:38:52,424
he wasn't deployed at the time, but Nick would not have been,

623
00:38:52,924 --> 00:38:54,124
he would have been at the Academy.

624
00:38:54,244 --> 00:38:57,284
So he must've found a way to get leave or I don't know how it works there,

625
00:38:57,684 --> 00:38:59,824
but he was there the day I left for bootcamp.

626
00:39:00,264 --> 00:39:05,944
We all went to Chili's in Houma. And I even remember our waitress's name,

627
00:39:06,044 --> 00:39:09,264
not because I remember what she looks like or anything, but her name was Sunshine.

628
00:39:09,684 --> 00:39:12,224
And I've since brought that up with Phil and he said he knows her.

629
00:39:12,344 --> 00:39:15,764
So listen to this. Cool. Hey, I remember you because you have a cool name.

630
00:39:16,524 --> 00:39:20,664
But yeah, that was Chili's and then I left for boot camp. But the three of us

631
00:39:20,664 --> 00:39:24,304
were together and we were acting stupid and took some pictures together and it took off.

632
00:39:25,655 --> 00:39:28,915
But that was obviously a big deal. Three brothers and the three of us,

633
00:39:28,915 --> 00:39:30,695
the three boys, all in the military now.

634
00:39:31,115 --> 00:39:33,835
And Nick didn't know he was going to go Marines yet at that point,

635
00:39:33,895 --> 00:39:36,375
but the three of us wound up being, all three being Marines.

636
00:39:36,595 --> 00:39:39,795
Looking back, if you did it again, would you choose the same MOS?

637
00:39:41,255 --> 00:39:45,555
Probably. I just don't know what else I would choose. Would you have stuck with,

638
00:39:45,635 --> 00:39:47,415
what about one of the other mechanics?

639
00:39:47,875 --> 00:39:50,155
So all my friends were AAV mechanics.

640
00:39:50,735 --> 00:39:54,895
Obviously tank mechanics too, but outside of that, that the people there's people

641
00:39:54,895 --> 00:39:57,155
i still keep in touch with to this day and they're all by,

642
00:39:57,735 --> 00:40:01,075
coincidence aav mechanics so that's the amphibious assault

643
00:40:01,075 --> 00:40:05,135
vehicle which for those who don't know the marine corps no longer has tanks

644
00:40:05,135 --> 00:40:12,175
and so we do have the aavs so that would be a reason to to have that but those

645
00:40:12,175 --> 00:40:15,435
were again that's not anything about the aav mechanics as much as i just happen

646
00:40:15,435 --> 00:40:20,475
to be really good friends with those guys and but no outside of that i guess i just

647
00:40:20,535 --> 00:40:23,815
would look at the big picture and I'm, I couldn't be more again,

648
00:40:23,875 --> 00:40:26,795
blessed with how my, my trajectory went in the Marine Corps and,

649
00:40:26,815 --> 00:40:29,615
and how that all played out. So I wouldn't want to change anything.

650
00:40:29,755 --> 00:40:32,335
I'm, I'm super pleased with where I am and how it's all worked out.

651
00:40:32,455 --> 00:40:37,735
You mentioned, uh, being in Afghanistan, maybe around the same time as, uh, Iraq. Yeah.

652
00:40:38,175 --> 00:40:44,555
And, uh, how did that come to be and how'd you find out when'd you get orders, stuff like that? Yeah.

653
00:40:44,675 --> 00:40:52,495
So found out in 2004, uh, probably, probably shortly after getting to, uh, to, to the fleet.

654
00:40:52,575 --> 00:40:58,255
So go to, go to bootcamp, go to Marine combat training, go to MOS school.

655
00:40:58,355 --> 00:40:59,495
And then I graduated that.

656
00:40:59,615 --> 00:41:06,515
So MOS being my job graduated as a tank mechanic in 2000, or I'm sorry, in March of 2004.

657
00:41:07,275 --> 00:41:10,355
And then straight to Camp Lejeune from there. That's where I got stationed along

658
00:41:10,355 --> 00:41:11,435
with a good friend of mine.

659
00:41:11,655 --> 00:41:15,015
He and I joined on the same day, but he went to, he went to bootcamp on the

660
00:41:15,015 --> 00:41:16,235
West coast. I went on the East coast.

661
00:41:16,355 --> 00:41:20,635
So we joined up at MOS school and then we wound up going to Camp Lejeune together.

662
00:41:21,635 --> 00:41:24,395
I've talked to him kind of recently too. We don't keep in touch quite as much,

663
00:41:24,435 --> 00:41:28,015
but a very good friend of mine, he actually retired recently from the Marines

664
00:41:28,015 --> 00:41:29,615
as a warrant officer, chief warrant officer.

665
00:41:31,425 --> 00:41:34,205
And probably within a couple months of getting there, we find out we're going

666
00:41:34,205 --> 00:41:36,825
to Iraq, which we kind of, kind of everybody knew, you know,

667
00:41:36,845 --> 00:41:39,045
that's how, that's how, that's what was going on back then.

668
00:41:39,665 --> 00:41:43,265
And, you know, it's funny, I didn't know what to expect. The Marine Corps,

669
00:41:43,405 --> 00:41:46,365
all the Marine Corps does is train to, to fight.

670
00:41:46,445 --> 00:41:48,945
Like that's, that is all we do. You know, every Marine a rifleman and,

671
00:41:48,985 --> 00:41:50,485
you know, there's a reason for that.

672
00:41:50,525 --> 00:41:54,745
And we, we absolutely train that way. And so when I, in high school,

673
00:41:54,765 --> 00:41:58,545
when I decided to join, I mean, part of the whole deciding to join was deciding

674
00:41:58,545 --> 00:42:01,245
to be somebody who would die in battle, right?

675
00:42:01,365 --> 00:42:06,465
Like it wasn't a glorified thing. It was, it was literally an objective thought

676
00:42:06,465 --> 00:42:09,485
that I had that, well, you know, I'll die. You know, if I go to Iraq, I'll, I'll die.

677
00:42:09,865 --> 00:42:14,965
And I absolutely thought I was going to die in Iraq, almost like a academic

678
00:42:14,965 --> 00:42:16,985
thing. Like it was like, this is going to happen.

679
00:42:17,145 --> 00:42:19,985
So make sure everything's in order. and not that I didn't care.

680
00:42:20,025 --> 00:42:24,365
It wasn't like I wasn't afraid, but I just, I don't know. It didn't occur to me. You go and come back.

681
00:42:24,445 --> 00:42:27,005
And so that's how naive I was is all.

682
00:42:27,305 --> 00:42:34,425
So I get there and we, we left in February of 2005 with the unit I was with,

683
00:42:34,525 --> 00:42:35,725
which was second maintenance battalion.

684
00:42:35,845 --> 00:42:39,385
We had a general support maintenance company. So we, you know,

685
00:42:39,425 --> 00:42:43,525
it was all the mechanics basically for the, for the different vehicles get there in February.

686
00:42:43,665 --> 00:42:46,925
And when I got there, I realized, oh, this is not at all what I expected.

687
00:42:47,105 --> 00:42:50,425
And so for some people, absolutely it is the way I just described,

688
00:42:50,725 --> 00:42:51,945
you know, and they didn't come back.

689
00:42:52,105 --> 00:42:56,525
But for me, I was inside, I was at TQ, Altacottam for the whole seven months.

690
00:42:56,725 --> 00:43:00,565
I never, I feel like I left the wire one time for one thing.

691
00:43:00,645 --> 00:43:03,225
I didn't even go on convoys and I don't even remember what the thing is that

692
00:43:03,225 --> 00:43:05,305
I left for, but obviously came right back.

693
00:43:05,605 --> 00:43:09,725
I mean, I was in the same two mile radius spot for the whole seven months.

694
00:43:10,105 --> 00:43:15,145
And so So working at this little compound, essentially, this bunker where all the mechanics worked.

695
00:43:15,905 --> 00:43:23,745
So I was safe. In fact, side note, that was 2005. So Hurricane Katrina happened in 2005. I was in Iraq.

696
00:43:24,773 --> 00:43:28,213
I would call home about once a week, I think pretty consistently once a week.

697
00:43:28,553 --> 00:43:33,693
I'd call home, try calling home, couldn't get in touch with anybody at home,

698
00:43:33,773 --> 00:43:35,713
and then find out about this hurricane.

699
00:43:35,893 --> 00:43:38,193
Did you hear about, you know, people ask me, you heard about the hurricane that

700
00:43:38,193 --> 00:43:41,753
hit? And I'm like, well, you know what? I didn't know anything about it.

701
00:43:41,753 --> 00:43:43,513
Well, at the child hall, they would have a TV.

702
00:43:43,873 --> 00:43:46,753
And so I guess at some point I started seeing things on the news there.

703
00:43:46,813 --> 00:43:50,813
And the news tends to sensationalize that stuff. So at first I didn't care.

704
00:43:51,033 --> 00:43:53,393
But once I couldn't get in touch with anybody for a couple of weeks,

705
00:43:53,413 --> 00:43:54,893
and I was getting really concerned.

706
00:43:55,453 --> 00:43:59,053
And so I wrote, and when I went to Nichols a couple of years later,

707
00:43:59,733 --> 00:44:03,493
one of my English classes, I wrote up, I forget why, what the essay was about

708
00:44:03,493 --> 00:44:05,833
or whatever, but I wrote it was called Safe in Iraq or something.

709
00:44:05,973 --> 00:44:08,153
Yeah, good thing you were in Iraq. Yeah, I was safe in Iraq.

710
00:44:08,993 --> 00:44:12,713
Not many people get to say that. Yeah, exactly. So, uh, so I missed Katrina

711
00:44:12,713 --> 00:44:16,333
cause I was over there, but yeah, that was, that was 2005.

712
00:44:16,493 --> 00:44:19,493
And that's the only, it's actually the only deployment I've done,

713
00:44:19,593 --> 00:44:22,793
which is, uh, puts me behind my peer group significantly.

714
00:44:22,933 --> 00:44:28,573
But, uh, I wonder, I'm thinking right now about how our drill instructors deferred because.

715
00:44:29,553 --> 00:44:33,613
My drill instructors, like all of them, all of my drill instructors and all

716
00:44:33,613 --> 00:44:38,813
of my MCT instructors and even schoolhouse, like those are the guys that just

717
00:44:38,813 --> 00:44:42,553
came back from Fallujah And like, oh, two, they were there, oh,

718
00:44:42,633 --> 00:44:43,753
two, oh, three and stuff.

719
00:44:44,013 --> 00:44:50,033
So like, I'm in oh eight. So now they're like, you know, sergeants and staff sergeants.

720
00:44:50,553 --> 00:44:54,893
And I wonder what, you know, there's gotta be a, there's gotta be a mindset

721
00:44:54,893 --> 00:44:58,733
shift just in the era of, of deployment, you know? Yeah.

722
00:44:59,073 --> 00:45:01,653
Yeah. Well, and you know how it is once you got, once you got a deployment under

723
00:45:01,653 --> 00:45:05,393
your belt, you're just, you're just the hottest thing, sliced bread, you know?

724
00:45:05,453 --> 00:45:08,433
Yeah. No matter who you are, what else you've done. Yeah.

725
00:45:09,919 --> 00:45:14,199
All right. So deployed to Iraq and then back to where?

726
00:45:14,379 --> 00:45:18,359
Yeah. So I got back from Iraq in September, went back to Camp Lejeune doing

727
00:45:18,359 --> 00:45:21,139
the same thing. There was no tanks where I was at in Iraq.

728
00:45:21,339 --> 00:45:27,959
So they used me for a collateral duty. So I was in the tool room, which was cool.

729
00:45:28,399 --> 00:45:34,039
I enjoyed it. It's not a very glorified job at all, but I liked it.

730
00:45:34,119 --> 00:45:37,719
I was able to kind of nerd out on organization and things like that because

731
00:45:37,719 --> 00:45:40,139
I was also in charge of some, what we call the pre-expended bins,

732
00:45:40,259 --> 00:45:42,359
all the parts they use to rebuild engines and everything.

733
00:45:42,779 --> 00:45:46,439
I mean, and it got to the point where, you know, they'd come to ask me for a connecting rod.

734
00:45:46,539 --> 00:45:48,819
Well, like I said, I don't know nothing about mechanics stuff.

735
00:45:48,879 --> 00:45:50,999
So to me, a connecting rod was, you know, part number seven,

736
00:45:51,079 --> 00:45:52,239
six, six, five, or whatever.

737
00:45:52,739 --> 00:45:55,679
And they're looking at me. I'm like, is that the seven, six,

738
00:45:55,719 --> 00:45:57,479
six, five or the this? And they're like, you're not serious.

739
00:45:58,619 --> 00:46:02,219
So anyway, that's what I did in Iraq. So when I got back from,

740
00:46:02,219 --> 00:46:05,659
from Iraq, I went straight to the tool room for a few months.

741
00:46:05,659 --> 00:46:09,139
I got promoted to sergeant. So I went as a corporal, got cut back,

742
00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:14,079
promoted the sergeant shortly after and became platoon sergeant for, for this platoon.

743
00:46:14,519 --> 00:46:17,419
And that's where I found kind of my, my wheelhouse, I guess.

744
00:46:17,459 --> 00:46:21,899
And I excelled. I felt like I excelled at that. That's what I enjoyed the tank mechanic stuff.

745
00:46:22,419 --> 00:46:25,399
You know, I didn't get to do much of it in Iraq, any of it in Iraq,

746
00:46:25,519 --> 00:46:29,459
even before that there wasn't a ton of work at second maintenance battalion,

747
00:46:29,519 --> 00:46:32,619
because that's, you know, that's if they couldn't fix it in the field and then

748
00:46:32,619 --> 00:46:34,819
they couldn't fix it at this their little bay,

749
00:46:34,979 --> 00:46:37,839
then they got to send it to 2nd Maine. Well, Marines aren't going to do that.

750
00:46:37,899 --> 00:46:39,639
They're going to fix it. They're going to find a way to make this thing work.

751
00:46:39,939 --> 00:46:41,659
So I did very little tank mechanic stuff.

752
00:46:42,139 --> 00:46:46,739
Once I was platoon sergeant, I realized, you know, I kind of inbred for that.

753
00:46:46,839 --> 00:46:51,079
And I thought I did well and certainly enjoyed it.

754
00:46:51,159 --> 00:46:55,719
And that's how I finished out my active duty years was as a platoon sergeant there at Camp Lejeune.

755
00:46:55,999 --> 00:46:57,999
That was like your first leadership position?

756
00:47:00,521 --> 00:47:05,341
Who was right over you? So right over me, there was a staff sergeant who was

757
00:47:05,341 --> 00:47:08,001
very uninvolved. And I don't mean that in a bad way at all.

758
00:47:08,081 --> 00:47:10,461
Like he was probably more operations side.

759
00:47:10,601 --> 00:47:14,461
So more often than not, who I would answer to from a leadership standpoint or

760
00:47:14,461 --> 00:47:17,961
personnel standpoint, let's put it that way, was a gunning. Gunnery sergeant, little.

761
00:47:18,721 --> 00:47:22,341
Sylvester Little. He goes by Sly. We call him Gunny, obviously.

762
00:47:23,021 --> 00:47:25,601
But he was a very, very large man.

763
00:47:26,761 --> 00:47:30,681
Not little at all. but I learned a ton from him.

764
00:47:30,761 --> 00:47:36,121
There are still things from him that I haven't forgotten that I have used and,

765
00:47:36,141 --> 00:47:38,661
and shared with other people that I think it's helped them too.

766
00:47:39,041 --> 00:47:41,701
He was great. So it was a gunny that I would answer to.

767
00:47:41,841 --> 00:47:47,701
And then his boss was the, our platoon commander and the platoon commander was

768
00:47:47,701 --> 00:47:51,501
also really good in Iraq. I didn't know him that well. He was with us in Iraq.

769
00:47:51,681 --> 00:47:54,461
I didn't know him well out there. Obviously I was just a corporal and he's,

770
00:47:54,461 --> 00:47:56,641
he's got bigger fish to fry type of thing.

771
00:47:56,741 --> 00:48:00,341
But, uh, once I was his platoon sergeant, essentially, obviously he and I spent

772
00:48:00,341 --> 00:48:04,441
more time together and I never once felt like he necessarily liked me or anything

773
00:48:04,441 --> 00:48:09,821
like that, but he, he always treated me extremely like I was just as mature

774
00:48:09,821 --> 00:48:10,941
and professional as they get.

775
00:48:11,061 --> 00:48:16,441
And, and, and just, I really owe a lot to him for, for giving me the opportunity

776
00:48:16,441 --> 00:48:20,601
to fail at times and everything, but he never once held me back.

777
00:48:20,681 --> 00:48:24,161
He let us do our thing and more or less us ran the show as long as things were

778
00:48:24,161 --> 00:48:26,601
going smooth and he let me do that and I appreciated that.

779
00:48:27,301 --> 00:48:32,041
So cool about military experiences, the people that you get to learn from and

780
00:48:32,041 --> 00:48:36,601
you're forced into a lot of those positions and you're also forced into leadership

781
00:48:36,601 --> 00:48:38,401
positions with people you don't necessarily.

782
00:48:40,077 --> 00:48:47,377
Desire leading but you gotta figure out a way to do that you know so before we get into what you

783
00:48:47,717 --> 00:48:55,057
do now with the marines give us like a give us like a rundown on i'm just gonna

784
00:48:55,057 --> 00:48:58,897
say some words that no one knows okay and then you explain how it all works

785
00:48:58,897 --> 00:49:01,877
and what it what it looks like company,

786
00:49:02,037 --> 00:49:04,497
brigade, unit,

787
00:49:04,757 --> 00:49:07,077
platoon, battalion.

788
00:49:07,077 --> 00:49:09,677
Fire team, squad. Tell us what that stuff means.

789
00:49:09,917 --> 00:49:15,857
Because even in my service, I never truly understood.

790
00:49:16,397 --> 00:49:20,737
Part of it is because I wasn't really on a typical Marine Corps base.

791
00:49:20,957 --> 00:49:25,597
Yeah. But I really did. I never understood it, how it really would have looked

792
00:49:25,597 --> 00:49:29,337
like from the top, just because I never studied it. But I know you're super

793
00:49:29,337 --> 00:49:30,757
familiar with that stuff right now.

794
00:49:30,897 --> 00:49:37,017
So let me preface this with this. So in 2018, I was promoted to first sergeant.

795
00:49:37,197 --> 00:49:38,877
That was my previous rank from this one.

796
00:49:39,277 --> 00:49:42,717
And that's when I got real, real serious into everything.

797
00:49:42,837 --> 00:49:47,417
Before that, I was, you know, I was not unserious about it as much as not as

798
00:49:47,417 --> 00:49:48,577
engaged as maybe I should have been.

799
00:49:48,697 --> 00:49:53,677
And I'll readily confess that to people now. And, you know, you were skating is what they call it.

800
00:49:55,457 --> 00:50:01,117
Yeah. Once I got promoted to first sergeant, that absolutely went out the window.

801
00:50:01,157 --> 00:50:06,817
It dug my heels in and we went all in. Well, that's when I started...

802
00:50:07,885 --> 00:50:12,225
You know eating and breathing and drinking marine corps stuff all the more let's put it that way,

803
00:50:12,765 --> 00:50:15,725
so i tried to a lot of this stuff comes up

804
00:50:15,725 --> 00:50:19,545
like the question you just asked has come up and with my wife because she wants

805
00:50:19,545 --> 00:50:22,925
to know as a first sergeant i was a company first sergeant well if i get promoted

806
00:50:22,925 --> 00:50:25,505
to sergeant major one day what does that mean i was like well i'd you know i'd

807
00:50:25,505 --> 00:50:27,965
be like a battalion sergeant major it's like what that you need to know the

808
00:50:27,965 --> 00:50:31,065
difference in a company of a time yeah or if they have to make any sense and

809
00:50:31,065 --> 00:50:35,705
so so i try to teach abby these things my wife and And bless her heart,

810
00:50:35,805 --> 00:50:40,365
she is super proud of me and she's so interested in everything,

811
00:50:40,525 --> 00:50:43,045
but nothing puts her to sleep quicker physically.

812
00:50:43,285 --> 00:50:46,725
She will literally physically, if we're sitting up, it doesn't matter.

813
00:50:46,865 --> 00:50:50,865
She will, you'll watch your eyes just start to glaze over and she will start

814
00:50:50,865 --> 00:50:52,465
falling asleep when I talk about this stuff.

815
00:50:52,825 --> 00:50:58,085
So I'll try to keep it brief. But the point, the main thing is,

816
00:50:58,105 --> 00:51:00,145
is the thing from the ground up.

817
00:51:00,225 --> 00:51:03,945
So you have an individual and I'll oversimplify it. So I'm sure some Marines

818
00:51:03,945 --> 00:51:04,845
will be mad at me about this.

819
00:51:04,925 --> 00:51:08,005
And there's actually been some changes recently, but so there's a,

820
00:51:08,005 --> 00:51:11,445
there's an individual Marine who's going to be part of a fire team,

821
00:51:11,585 --> 00:51:14,065
which is three used to be four people.

822
00:51:14,125 --> 00:51:19,485
And I don't think it's three or maybe that's still evolving for four people. That's a fire team.

823
00:51:20,085 --> 00:51:24,825
Three fire teams make up a squad and four squads make up a platoon.

824
00:51:25,185 --> 00:51:29,265
And if you do the math, you come out to somewhere around 60 people make up a

825
00:51:29,265 --> 00:51:32,785
platoon. Now, when I was a platoon sergeant, we had 80-something people.

826
00:51:32,905 --> 00:51:34,485
Some platoons have 20 people.

827
00:51:34,625 --> 00:51:38,805
So that's not hard and fast rule. Now, when it comes to the infantry side of

828
00:51:38,805 --> 00:51:42,425
the house, which is what everything is based off of, some of that is hard and fast rules.

829
00:51:42,485 --> 00:51:45,625
And you may still have gaps, but ultimately, that's what you're looking at.

830
00:51:45,625 --> 00:51:50,745
But outside the infantry, you're going to use the term fire team,

831
00:51:50,865 --> 00:51:54,765
but that's a corporal over his fire team because he has three,

832
00:51:54,785 --> 00:51:57,625
maybe three Lance corporals or maybe another corporal and two Lance corporals

833
00:51:57,625 --> 00:51:59,865
kind of under his charge, if you will.

834
00:52:00,265 --> 00:52:04,665
And so we call that a fire team, but there's not a machine gunner and rifle.

835
00:52:05,245 --> 00:52:08,485
It's just, it's used as an element, a size element.

836
00:52:08,845 --> 00:52:13,845
And so anyway, so the pride looking at the bigger stuff makes it easier.

837
00:52:13,985 --> 00:52:18,165
And that is again, a platoon of Marines is, you know, let's say 60 to 70 Marines

838
00:52:18,165 --> 00:52:23,265
who all are, you know, working toward a common goal of, you know,

839
00:52:23,265 --> 00:52:24,505
whatever that they work on.

840
00:52:24,645 --> 00:52:27,785
So if it's, if it's a right, a comm platoon, communications platoon,

841
00:52:27,905 --> 00:52:30,565
these are going to be all your radio operators, your radio technicians,

842
00:52:30,905 --> 00:52:32,945
your, you know, the list goes on there.

843
00:52:33,065 --> 00:52:36,785
There's all, there's different types of technicians, all that kind of stuff.

844
00:52:38,125 --> 00:52:43,185
These guys all have very similar jobs, MOSs, and that's their platoon.

845
00:52:44,325 --> 00:52:50,245
Well, you might have a food service platoon. Well, these are all your cooks and everything.

846
00:52:50,605 --> 00:52:53,625
You might have a motor T platoon. That's all your drivers. Well,

847
00:52:53,665 --> 00:52:57,705
maybe you have a mechanic platoon. That's all the guys who work on the trucks that the guys drive.

848
00:52:58,955 --> 00:53:03,435
Well, usually I guess I don't actually know what the hard, fast rule is,

849
00:53:03,455 --> 00:53:07,235
but if it's three or four platoons make up a company, but that's a company,

850
00:53:07,255 --> 00:53:10,455
a company is going to have, you know, from 100 to 200 Marines in it.

851
00:53:10,535 --> 00:53:11,535
Typically that's a company.

852
00:53:12,295 --> 00:53:17,175
And then a battalion is made up of X amount of companies.

853
00:53:17,435 --> 00:53:20,995
So I could tell you, I came from my last unit was infantry side.

854
00:53:21,155 --> 00:53:24,455
I was with one 23. So that's first battalion, 23rd Marine regiment.

855
00:53:24,755 --> 00:53:28,495
So it's the first battalion. So it's a battalion and it had five companies for

856
00:53:28,495 --> 00:53:32,555
what we call four line companies, uh, a weapons company, and then an alpha Bravo,

857
00:53:32,595 --> 00:53:34,455
Charlie company, and then the H and S company.

858
00:53:34,555 --> 00:53:36,575
So that's all your headquarters and service. So that's all your,

859
00:53:36,615 --> 00:53:38,435
that's where your comms going to be your motor T guys.

860
00:53:38,595 --> 00:53:42,015
All the other companies are, it's rifleman. It's just filled with riflemen.

861
00:53:42,075 --> 00:53:45,615
And they might have a, a small, small element of, of some motor T,

862
00:53:45,675 --> 00:53:49,795
some drivers and some radio guys, but ultimately that comes from the H and S company.

863
00:53:50,315 --> 00:53:54,315
So the battalion one 23, I think was 800 Marines or something like that.

864
00:53:54,375 --> 00:53:57,675
So that's, that's a, you know, I don't think that's a, I don't think that's

865
00:53:57,675 --> 00:54:00,375
a large battalion. I think battalion could have up to a thousand or so.

866
00:54:00,915 --> 00:54:05,255
Again, maybe I'm off on that, but, and then a regiment would be the next thing

867
00:54:05,255 --> 00:54:06,655
up from there is made up of, I

868
00:54:06,655 --> 00:54:09,715
think 23rd Marine regiments, probably three battalions if I had to guess.

869
00:54:10,135 --> 00:54:15,995
And then after the regiment, you get to the group level or in the,

870
00:54:16,015 --> 00:54:17,815
the infantry side, us the division.

871
00:54:18,335 --> 00:54:22,615
And so the, the fourth Marine division is made up of, you know,

872
00:54:22,615 --> 00:54:24,135
three regiments or two regiments.

873
00:54:24,275 --> 00:54:28,715
They're always, it's kind of a hybrid now because it's, they rolled this flag and unrolled this one.

874
00:54:28,795 --> 00:54:33,255
So some of that's kind of a hodgepodge now, but, but yeah, so all the way up

875
00:54:33,255 --> 00:54:37,995
to a division and, and I guess cap it off. So I'm in the reserve.

876
00:54:38,095 --> 00:54:43,695
So now that I'm in the reserves, there is Marine forces reserve is the top of the top.

877
00:54:43,795 --> 00:54:46,895
So that's a three-star general, commanding general.

878
00:54:47,195 --> 00:54:50,795
And he has fourth Marine division, which consists of the regiments.

879
00:54:50,795 --> 00:54:53,915
And each regiment has all the battalions. Each battalion has all those companies.

880
00:54:54,155 --> 00:54:56,415
Each company has all those platoons with individuals.

881
00:54:56,915 --> 00:55:00,235
Uh, but he has fourth Marine aircraft wing, which is what I'm part of now.

882
00:55:00,455 --> 00:55:03,235
And that's got, that's massive. That's going to be all your,

883
00:55:03,255 --> 00:55:07,255
all the planes, all the pilots and everything. And those are groups.

884
00:55:07,435 --> 00:55:10,655
So I'm part of Marine air group, which is like the equivalent to a regiment,

885
00:55:10,755 --> 00:55:12,275
but we use the word group on the wing side.

886
00:55:12,815 --> 00:55:18,515
And, uh, and the a group is made up of squadrons and I'm in a squadron,

887
00:55:18,575 --> 00:55:19,615
which is the equivalent of Italian.

888
00:55:19,915 --> 00:55:22,695
And again, it's just different words for the same, you know,

889
00:55:22,695 --> 00:55:24,075
different elements because of what it is.

890
00:55:24,815 --> 00:55:29,055
But anyway, I'll stop there because I don't think it gets more interesting than

891
00:55:29,055 --> 00:55:33,335
that, but that gives you an idea of the size and element of things and what

892
00:55:33,335 --> 00:55:35,755
it all kind of looks like and who, who, who's who in the zoo,

893
00:55:35,835 --> 00:55:38,695
I guess, as far as I guess. And your current billet is what?

894
00:55:38,815 --> 00:55:45,315
So I am the squadron sergeant major for MWSS 473. So that's Marine Wing Support Squadron 473.

895
00:55:46,695 --> 00:55:50,475
And that is a squadron in mag 41, mag 41.

896
00:55:50,815 --> 00:55:54,695
America's mag is massive. It's a, it's a pretty awesome thing.

897
00:55:55,135 --> 00:55:58,995
It's 12 squadrons or something. Maybe I think it's 12, 12 squadrons,

898
00:55:58,995 --> 00:56:00,475
mostly flying squadrons.

899
00:56:00,535 --> 00:56:06,655
So it's going to have your seat, C one thirties, your, your Huey's your F eighteens

900
00:56:06,655 --> 00:56:10,655
and all the, all the birds, all the, all the planes in the different squadrons.

901
00:56:10,655 --> 00:56:14,755
But there's two MWSSs and those are ground support.

902
00:56:15,055 --> 00:56:18,935
So what our squadron does is pretty fascinating to me because I didn't know

903
00:56:18,935 --> 00:56:21,055
it existed prior to getting to this unit a year ago.

904
00:56:21,335 --> 00:56:26,155
And that is they're in charge of, or we're basically involved in any kind of

905
00:56:26,155 --> 00:56:28,655
air support from the ground.

906
00:56:28,795 --> 00:56:32,175
So refueling, rearming, you name it.

907
00:56:32,195 --> 00:56:37,575
But that means also setting up a spot for helicopter to land,

908
00:56:37,735 --> 00:56:42,675
for a jet to land if necessary, which could mean going out, clearing trees,

909
00:56:43,135 --> 00:56:44,215
laying this matting down.

910
00:56:44,435 --> 00:56:48,055
We have engineers, we have surveyors, we got everything. They can go out literally

911
00:56:48,055 --> 00:56:50,915
in the middle of the woods if they had to clear out an area,

912
00:56:51,755 --> 00:56:55,955
make a landing strip out of matting, basically make a landing strip where there used to be nothing.

913
00:56:56,495 --> 00:57:00,735
They could, bird can land, we can refuel it and the bird can go, we can rearm it.

914
00:57:00,815 --> 00:57:04,635
Like that's very cool to me and it's just, it's really impressive and it's not

915
00:57:04,635 --> 00:57:07,055
something I even knew existed. before a year ago.

916
00:57:08,372 --> 00:57:14,512
That's awesome. How often do y'all get in these huge, maybe squadron size elements,

917
00:57:14,592 --> 00:57:20,732
like in a formation where everyone's out there and, and where are you in that formation? mission?

918
00:57:20,892 --> 00:57:25,632
So for in probably the reserves is I would imagine different.

919
00:57:25,712 --> 00:57:29,852
So I haven't been active duty in so long that I'm truly borderline ignorant

920
00:57:29,852 --> 00:57:33,052
on some of the differences as far as that goes.

921
00:57:33,352 --> 00:57:38,992
But I know for our squadron, we get together every year for our annual,

922
00:57:39,052 --> 00:57:40,152
we call it annual training.

923
00:57:40,272 --> 00:57:42,612
So two weeks, if you've ever hear, if you ever hear one week in a month,

924
00:57:42,632 --> 00:57:46,632
two weeks a year in the reserves, the two weeks a year is the annual training we do in the summer.

925
00:57:46,732 --> 00:57:49,212
So I just got home from that last month, uh, last week.

926
00:57:49,852 --> 00:57:53,172
And we had the whole squadron together out at camp Pendleton.

927
00:57:53,752 --> 00:57:58,552
Now there's, you know, we had a bunch of our Marines from one of our companies

928
00:57:58,552 --> 00:57:59,492
had done something else.

929
00:57:59,552 --> 00:58:02,252
So, you know, you're never going to have a hundred percent of everybody,

930
00:58:02,392 --> 00:58:06,992
unless you go on in country actual deploy, but, but we had, you know,

931
00:58:06,992 --> 00:58:08,152
that was a squadron exercise.

932
00:58:08,392 --> 00:58:11,972
We had everybody out there. Uh, we do that at least once a year,

933
00:58:12,072 --> 00:58:14,172
at least for the annual no training.

934
00:58:14,592 --> 00:58:18,092
But this past year we did it for a drill weekend, which was,

935
00:58:18,172 --> 00:58:21,752
I thought was really awesome because we, we have company, we have a company

936
00:58:21,752 --> 00:58:22,932
in Lemoore, California,

937
00:58:23,112 --> 00:58:26,832
which is, you know, it's a five or six hour drive North of San Diego,

938
00:58:26,972 --> 00:58:29,952
which is where the headquarters is, is that, which is where my office would be.

939
00:58:30,252 --> 00:58:33,572
And then we have a company in Fort Worth, Texas, which is, you know,

940
00:58:33,592 --> 00:58:35,392
that's not a drive that we've got to fly those guys out there.

941
00:58:35,472 --> 00:58:39,132
So to get the squadron together for a drill weekend is it's a huge lift,

942
00:58:39,212 --> 00:58:42,492
but we need to be able to do that. Like that's what we trained to do.

943
00:58:42,532 --> 00:58:47,332
Like we trained to be able to move personnel and equipment and gear to one location,

944
00:58:47,372 --> 00:58:50,812
aggregate and conduct training or exercise, whatever it may be.

945
00:58:50,892 --> 00:58:52,992
And we did that this past year. And I thought that was really cool.

946
00:58:53,712 --> 00:58:57,472
And obviously, you know, so where I'm at, I'm watching all of this.

947
00:58:57,592 --> 00:59:00,752
So when I say we, I'm not just being pseudo humble. I don't,

948
00:59:00,752 --> 00:59:03,632
I don't get to do, I don't get to do a lot of the cool stuff anymore.

949
00:59:04,812 --> 00:59:10,332
I am the commanding officers, you know, I'm his tool. I'm a tool in his toolbox

950
00:59:10,332 --> 00:59:12,192
is how I've always considered myself.

951
00:59:12,772 --> 00:59:15,452
Excuse me, the commanding officer of the squadron, you know,

952
00:59:15,452 --> 00:59:18,712
he's, he's the guy in charge. He's the boss. He runs the show.

953
00:59:18,972 --> 00:59:25,232
He is, you know, by Congress slated to, to be the commanding officer of this

954
00:59:25,232 --> 00:59:27,512
squadron. So it's a, it's a legal right.

955
00:59:27,612 --> 00:59:30,452
It's you name it. He's been appointed and he's He's the man.

956
00:59:30,952 --> 00:59:36,292
I am his, I'm an advisor to him and he can use me or not use me as much as he

957
00:59:36,292 --> 00:59:37,372
wants or as little as he wants.

958
00:59:37,952 --> 00:59:40,852
Right now, the community officer I work for is awesome. I've had,

959
00:59:40,932 --> 00:59:45,952
I've actually not had any bad experiences with that, if I'm being honest, like even before now.

960
00:59:46,532 --> 00:59:49,372
And I'm not just saying that. I have heard, obviously, there's times that you

961
00:59:49,372 --> 00:59:52,312
can butt heads with your boss and I'm sure it goes both ways.

962
00:59:52,712 --> 00:59:55,492
My boss right now is, he and I get along great.

963
00:59:55,592 --> 00:59:58,552
I think we think very, very similarly

964
00:59:58,552 --> 01:00:02,152
on a lot of subjects, which is great. What I try to do when I get.

965
01:00:02,809 --> 01:00:10,349
To a new unit now as a, in my position is, is just feel out what the commanding officer wants from me.

966
01:00:10,869 --> 01:00:15,529
If, if he wants to know every single thing that's going on, I'm going to tell

967
01:00:15,529 --> 01:00:17,649
him every, if that's really what he wants to know, I'm going to,

968
01:00:17,649 --> 01:00:19,289
I know every single thing that's going on.

969
01:00:19,369 --> 01:00:23,609
I am going to poke my head into everything and I'm going to find out as much

970
01:00:23,609 --> 01:00:24,469
as I can about everything.

971
01:00:24,749 --> 01:00:27,949
My job is to sift through it and give him what he needs.

972
01:00:28,109 --> 01:00:32,529
And most don't want nor need to know every single little thing that's going

973
01:00:32,529 --> 01:00:36,329
on, which is perfect because I get to know that, but I'm not,

974
01:00:36,349 --> 01:00:37,389
I don't have the burden of command.

975
01:00:37,749 --> 01:00:41,349
So I can feed him the information that helps him make decisions.

976
01:00:41,389 --> 01:00:43,929
It lets him know what he needs to know, what he wants to know.

977
01:00:44,429 --> 01:00:47,109
And, and that's essentially, that's how I view my job there.

978
01:00:47,469 --> 01:00:48,509
That's how I view what I do.

979
01:00:49,049 --> 01:00:52,829
And then I bring some unique things to the, to the table as far as the enlisted

980
01:00:52,829 --> 01:00:56,649
matters. So, you know, I've been an enlisted man for 21 years.

981
01:00:56,909 --> 01:01:03,049
He's never been an enlisted man, You know, and, and so he absolutely is, is always, always open.

982
01:01:03,089 --> 01:01:07,049
And usually they are open to what we had to say on, on enlisted matters.

983
01:01:07,109 --> 01:01:12,189
You know, if it's a personnel issue and, and most, most of the Marines are enlisted

984
01:01:12,189 --> 01:01:15,889
usually because the officers are the, they're the top leadership position.

985
01:01:16,069 --> 01:01:18,109
So by definition, you're not going to have as many of those.

986
01:01:18,469 --> 01:01:21,029
So your, your unit is made up of enlisted guys.

987
01:01:21,509 --> 01:01:24,669
And so that's where I come in with the experience

988
01:01:24,669 --> 01:01:27,429
and the time that I've I've been there that I

989
01:01:27,429 --> 01:01:30,049
can just I can help weigh in on a matter weigh in on a

990
01:01:30,049 --> 01:01:34,189
matter in a way that maybe he hadn't thought of or or whatever or I can listen

991
01:01:34,189 --> 01:01:37,809
to what he's thinking and and see well sorry maybe you didn't maybe consider

992
01:01:37,809 --> 01:01:42,129
this too but the reason I say we get along great and we think similarly is he's

993
01:01:42,129 --> 01:01:47,769
got he's got such a wide he's a very diverse background and so he's he'll he'll present

994
01:01:47,909 --> 01:01:50,349
something or propose something and kind of run it by me. And I'm like,

995
01:01:50,389 --> 01:01:51,069
yeah, man, it's perfect.

996
01:01:51,289 --> 01:01:56,429
Like feel, don't feel super useful to him yet, but he's a, it's cause he's just,

997
01:01:56,449 --> 01:01:57,849
he's very good and he's smart guy.

998
01:01:58,489 --> 01:02:00,529
And, but yeah, we get along good and he's still.

999
01:02:01,288 --> 01:02:05,668
We'll still go after it together. All right.

1000
01:02:05,688 --> 01:02:12,148
So after your active stint, what happened when you came back home?

1001
01:02:12,528 --> 01:02:16,148
All right. So I got off active duty in 2007.

1002
01:02:16,688 --> 01:02:22,948
The reason I got off active duty was because I wanted to get married to my wife, Abby Bourgeois.

1003
01:02:23,788 --> 01:02:28,668
Sorry, she was Abby Marlborough at the time. And I'm going to just try to tell this story.

1004
01:02:29,388 --> 01:02:33,788
So I got home from the, I got off active duty in 2007,

1005
01:02:34,208 --> 01:02:39,708
got home and I actually, Abby and I got married about a year and a half,

1006
01:02:39,928 --> 01:02:44,288
maybe a year and a few months after I got home, which was a year and a half

1007
01:02:44,288 --> 01:02:47,288
too long, according to her, which I appreciate, but she doesn't.

1008
01:02:47,628 --> 01:02:50,668
So, but I do want to tell that story because it's kind of cool.

1009
01:02:50,788 --> 01:02:55,548
So I proposed to her in, to Abby in October of 2008.

1010
01:02:56,488 --> 01:02:59,828
I proposed with her, her parents, my parents, all of us.

1011
01:03:00,108 --> 01:03:03,828
In fact, both my mom and dad, and obviously my stepmom's the dad.

1012
01:03:03,968 --> 01:03:09,068
So we had six, six couples there plus, plus Abby and I, and we had dinner at her mom's.

1013
01:03:09,328 --> 01:03:13,988
I proposed with a ring pop because Abby's super frugal. If you don't know her,

1014
01:03:13,988 --> 01:03:16,228
or if you, if you know her, that won't surprise you.

1015
01:03:16,328 --> 01:03:18,708
So I thought it'd be funny to get a ring pop and propose that way.

1016
01:03:19,128 --> 01:03:21,768
But I did also kind of weasel out and I had a real ring too,

1017
01:03:21,888 --> 01:03:24,228
but that was, that wasn't until later. She said yes with the ring pop.

1018
01:03:24,348 --> 01:03:30,108
So to her credit, the next thing that happened was we came up with a date in

1019
01:03:30,108 --> 01:03:31,988
February that we thought would work out.

1020
01:03:32,228 --> 01:03:36,248
One of the things that was really important to us was having my brother, Nick there.

1021
01:03:37,008 --> 01:03:40,508
And Abby was at that point, you know, she knew Nick well enough,

1022
01:03:40,508 --> 01:03:44,868
or at least knew my relationship with Nick well enough and, and with the family

1023
01:03:44,868 --> 01:03:47,868
and all that, you know, that was important to her too. And I always appreciated that.

1024
01:03:48,288 --> 01:03:54,268
And so we picked a date in February because Nick was supposed to deploy in March of 2009.

1025
01:03:54,908 --> 01:03:57,248
And so we wanted to get married. We didn't want to wait until he got back.

1026
01:03:57,388 --> 01:03:59,588
We didn't want to have a long engagement necessarily, but we didn't want to

1027
01:03:59,588 --> 01:04:02,648
take any chances of him not being able to be there. So we're like,

1028
01:04:02,668 --> 01:04:03,648
well, let's do February.

1029
01:04:04,268 --> 01:04:07,688
And I don't remember the exact date in February, but that gave us five,

1030
01:04:07,828 --> 01:04:11,628
just over five months, maybe right at five months to plan the wedding.

1031
01:04:11,728 --> 01:04:13,948
And we didn't want a big wedding, so that was easy.

1032
01:04:15,413 --> 01:04:21,533
Well, fast forward a month and a half, maybe two months. It was just before Christmas.

1033
01:04:22,033 --> 01:04:26,713
I don't know the exact day. So let's see. I can guess. I can guess it was December 17th or 18th.

1034
01:04:26,853 --> 01:04:31,273
I know that it was a Thursday and I'm at work and I find out,

1035
01:04:31,293 --> 01:04:34,273
oh, and we did nothing up to this point to prepare for the wedding at all.

1036
01:04:34,333 --> 01:04:38,633
We had like literally done nothing. I guess maybe Abby probably got her dress

1037
01:04:38,633 --> 01:04:40,653
started or maybe not even that. I don't know.

1038
01:04:41,073 --> 01:04:47,333
But again, wedding would be be a big wedding and we needed help anyway. So it's a Thursday.

1039
01:04:47,533 --> 01:04:52,593
The following week, Christmas was going to be on a, I guess a Thursday.

1040
01:04:52,753 --> 01:04:55,913
Yep. It was going to be on a Thursday. So it was a week before on a Thursday,

1041
01:04:55,993 --> 01:04:56,633
a week before Christmas.

1042
01:04:56,973 --> 01:05:03,093
I find out from my brother, Nick, that his deployment is very likely going to get moved to the left.

1043
01:05:03,133 --> 01:05:07,033
So he was going to be deploying in late February, maybe even sooner.

1044
01:05:07,473 --> 01:05:11,033
He wasn't sure, but he was telling me because he knew about the wedding situation.

1045
01:05:11,293 --> 01:05:13,733
And, you know, he wasn't really asking us to move it because,

1046
01:05:13,813 --> 01:05:16,133
you know, he didn't know his exact thing. He was just letting me know.

1047
01:05:16,693 --> 01:05:20,173
But I was in a bit of a panic because of the possibility of him not being able

1048
01:05:20,173 --> 01:05:24,633
to come to the wedding. He had already missed pretty much all the siblings' weddings.

1049
01:05:24,853 --> 01:05:27,153
And I know he felt bad about that, but it was always, you know,

1050
01:05:27,153 --> 01:05:30,453
it was a reason for all of it when like he wanted to be there and everybody

1051
01:05:30,453 --> 01:05:32,033
wanted him there, just never quite worked out.

1052
01:05:32,293 --> 01:05:34,713
So it was really important to me, really important to Abby.

1053
01:05:35,133 --> 01:05:37,533
So I was a bit of a of panic. I call Abby, let her know.

1054
01:05:38,033 --> 01:05:41,913
Long story short, we're back and forth on the phone. She's talking to her mom,

1055
01:05:42,293 --> 01:05:46,313
who's going to obviously be pivotal in arranging it because she has the restaurant

1056
01:05:46,313 --> 01:05:50,853
in Houma and whatever. I'm also at work.

1057
01:05:51,093 --> 01:05:54,373
I can remember where I was sitting in the truck. I was building houses at the

1058
01:05:54,373 --> 01:05:57,053
time with some guys I'm friends with.

1059
01:05:57,613 --> 01:06:01,513
At one point, back and forth on the phone, trying to figure out what's a better

1060
01:06:01,513 --> 01:06:04,813
date that still works for everybody. body, Abby kind of jokingly said,

1061
01:06:04,913 --> 01:06:08,373
well, why don't we just get married next Tuesday, which was two days before

1062
01:06:08,373 --> 01:06:09,453
Christmas, but whatever.

1063
01:06:10,453 --> 01:06:13,853
Tuesday felt like a random arbitrary thing to say in the, in the moment,

1064
01:06:13,933 --> 01:06:18,313
if you're just kind of messing around and the random arbitrary response to that

1065
01:06:18,313 --> 01:06:21,173
for a person with a sense of humor like me is sure.

1066
01:06:21,633 --> 01:06:24,833
And then we hung up and she had to, you know, do whatever she was doing and

1067
01:06:24,833 --> 01:06:25,633
I was doing whatever I was doing.

1068
01:06:26,413 --> 01:06:30,053
Well, maybe 10 minutes later, maybe a little longer. I don't know.

1069
01:06:30,253 --> 01:06:33,233
She said, she called me back and Hey, Tuesday works.

1070
01:06:33,713 --> 01:06:36,993
Everybody's going to be available for Tuesday. So come to find out at that moment,

1071
01:06:37,053 --> 01:06:39,113
she was serious when she brought brought up the Tuesday thing.

1072
01:06:39,533 --> 01:06:42,873
And also come to find out with her when I said, yes, I was just joking,

1073
01:06:42,973 --> 01:06:46,793
but I didn't actually, it's fine with me.

1074
01:06:46,853 --> 01:06:49,993
I'm the guy, you know, I don't care. I don't need a year and a half engagement.

1075
01:06:50,433 --> 01:06:51,393
I just want to get married.

1076
01:06:51,893 --> 01:06:56,813
So it was a Thursday and we were going to be getting married in five days instead of a few months.

1077
01:06:57,433 --> 01:07:00,153
And it's funny. I think one of the things she told her mom to kind of convince

1078
01:07:00,153 --> 01:07:03,873
her mom to be okay with it was mom, we can, we can kind of put this off and

1079
01:07:03,873 --> 01:07:08,013
stress about it over the next few months, or we can just stress about it over the next five days.

1080
01:07:08,113 --> 01:07:11,533
And at the end of it, Brody and I are still married. So something along those

1081
01:07:11,533 --> 01:07:14,013
lines, which I appreciate about my wife and my mother-in-law,

1082
01:07:14,033 --> 01:07:15,093
of course, that she agreed.

1083
01:07:15,793 --> 01:07:19,453
And so basically what happened was it was two days before Christmas. We got married.

1084
01:07:19,773 --> 01:07:22,873
We got married in a church that was completely decorated for Christmas.

1085
01:07:22,973 --> 01:07:24,873
So it looked great. We didn't have to do anything there.

1086
01:07:26,013 --> 01:07:29,733
We got married by a pastor that's been a friend of the family for a long time.

1087
01:07:30,553 --> 01:07:33,353
Literally every single one of our friends and family that we would have wanted

1088
01:07:33,353 --> 01:07:38,233
to invite was in town for Christmas for the week, you know, for the most part, it wasn't an issue.

1089
01:07:38,533 --> 01:07:42,033
There's literally only one person I know that I can think of that we absolutely,

1090
01:07:42,293 --> 01:07:46,453
you know, really close friend that we wanted to be there and he couldn't be there.

1091
01:07:46,513 --> 01:07:49,453
He was, he works offshore, worked offshore at the time and he wasn't available,

1092
01:07:49,573 --> 01:07:52,593
but that was it. It was, it was just the one guy and his family was still able

1093
01:07:52,593 --> 01:07:53,333
to come, which was great.

1094
01:07:54,353 --> 01:07:58,293
His daughter actually videoed it for us, which was awesome. We still have that.

1095
01:07:58,713 --> 01:08:02,813
And so, yeah, we have a wedding video. We got married in a nicely decorated church.

1096
01:08:03,473 --> 01:08:07,053
And then after had the reception, oh, and had all our friends and family there.

1097
01:08:07,333 --> 01:08:11,093
Oh, and my wife's bridesmaids, which was like her sister and close friends.

1098
01:08:11,553 --> 01:08:14,653
I don't even, I don't even know the full story to this day, but they all had

1099
01:08:14,653 --> 01:08:17,593
matching dresses somehow last minute.

1100
01:08:18,193 --> 01:08:23,733
And then we went to Abby's mom's restaurant, Cafe Dominique,

1101
01:08:23,733 --> 01:08:27,053
now Dominique's Bistro, which is run by our sister now, Dominique.

1102
01:08:27,053 --> 01:08:30,573
Steak, but yeah, which is obviously an amazing restaurant and still is.

1103
01:08:31,073 --> 01:08:34,133
And, you know, couldn't have asked for better. Everybody went over there.

1104
01:08:34,333 --> 01:08:37,153
It was everything about it seemed like a wedding that had been planned for,

1105
01:08:37,193 --> 01:08:41,233
you know, a year and I got put together in five days because people who knew

1106
01:08:41,233 --> 01:08:44,393
their, knew their skill and knew their job and could do it well.

1107
01:08:44,513 --> 01:08:48,733
And, and I had the easy part of just showing up and that part of my wife's not

1108
01:08:48,733 --> 01:08:51,033
too crazy about, cause I think she had a pretty stressful few days.

1109
01:08:51,453 --> 01:08:54,593
Certainly the day was pretty rough. I knew she had a lot going on and I had

1110
01:08:54,953 --> 01:08:55,833
absolutely nothing going on.

1111
01:08:55,893 --> 01:08:58,173
In fact, I had some friends in town and I went hang out with them on that day,

1112
01:08:58,813 --> 01:09:01,613
which I'm neither ashamed nor proud of, because I don't think there was anything

1113
01:09:01,613 --> 01:09:04,313
I could have helped with. I think she just doesn't like that it was so easy for me.

1114
01:09:06,078 --> 01:09:08,858
I always thought that was a pretty cool story. Testament to the kind of woman

1115
01:09:08,858 --> 01:09:11,498
that my wife is, which is cool. She's great. She still is.

1116
01:09:12,358 --> 01:09:17,258
One more little tidbit there is a couple months later, since we didn't have

1117
01:09:17,258 --> 01:09:20,118
like an engagement party, I guess, or whatever, couple shower,

1118
01:09:20,238 --> 01:09:21,478
I don't know the different terminology,

1119
01:09:21,698 --> 01:09:27,258
a close friend of the family on Abby's side had a, had like a,

1120
01:09:27,298 --> 01:09:30,638
basically like an engagement party, but we were married at that point at their house.

1121
01:09:30,778 --> 01:09:33,758
And it was just a few months later. And I remember the weather was real nice.

1122
01:09:33,758 --> 01:09:36,038
So I don't remember the exact month, but I want to say we had crawfish and all.

1123
01:09:36,138 --> 01:09:39,698
So it was probably crawfish season, but super, super nice.

1124
01:09:39,818 --> 01:09:43,538
I couldn't be more appreciative of them doing that for us. It was very nice.

1125
01:09:44,558 --> 01:09:48,018
And, you know, kind of weird for me because I'm not used to being that guy,

1126
01:09:48,118 --> 01:09:51,598
meaning, you know, the one the party's about type of thing.

1127
01:09:51,838 --> 01:09:54,958
Luckily, I was married though. So it was about us, which means it can be about

1128
01:09:54,958 --> 01:09:55,838
her and that's works perfect.

1129
01:09:57,038 --> 01:10:02,018
But what I found out later was while we were there, I had some of my good friends

1130
01:10:02,018 --> 01:10:05,098
from high school and grade school come to the thing.

1131
01:10:05,638 --> 01:10:09,338
And while there, they talked about, uh, one of, one of my buddies,

1132
01:10:09,498 --> 01:10:14,578
uh, Matt Labriere mentioned, or threw out the idea of, of us going on a trip,

1133
01:10:15,258 --> 01:10:17,298
once a year, all the guys getting together.

1134
01:10:17,418 --> 01:10:20,018
Cause at this point we were starting to move, you know, everybody's graduating

1135
01:10:20,018 --> 01:10:21,958
college and things like that and moving all over the country.

1136
01:10:22,278 --> 01:10:25,878
You know, what if once a year, the, the six or seven of us get together,

1137
01:10:25,998 --> 01:10:28,638
just the guys meet up somewhere I think at

1138
01:10:28,638 --> 01:10:32,318
the time we were going to Blue Ridge Mountains or maybe maybe the the Smoky

1139
01:10:32,318 --> 01:10:36,318
Mountains in Tennessee what if we get together once a year and you know just

1140
01:10:36,318 --> 01:10:40,578
make that a thing well I don't know if what we thought it would turn into or

1141
01:10:40,578 --> 01:10:47,198
what or what his idea was when he brought it up but he proposed that idea at that party in 2009.

1142
01:10:48,326 --> 01:10:52,906
Right after Abby and I got married. And we went that year was the first year we got together.

1143
01:10:53,146 --> 01:10:56,346
It was about six or seven of us that all went to grade school and or high school

1144
01:10:56,346 --> 01:10:57,906
together or grew up in the same neighborhood.

1145
01:10:58,426 --> 01:11:02,806
And that same group of guys gets together every year to this day since 2009.

1146
01:11:03,066 --> 01:11:06,386
So we actually just got back a couple of weeks ago, this time to Colorado.

1147
01:11:06,546 --> 01:11:08,806
And we've been all over the place. I've missed some here and there.

1148
01:11:09,026 --> 01:11:12,206
I probably missed more than anybody because of the, since I'm in the military

1149
01:11:12,206 --> 01:11:16,726
reserve still and a few other things, but, and maybe some of of the other guys

1150
01:11:16,726 --> 01:11:19,006
have missed one, one or two here and there, but for the most part,

1151
01:11:19,086 --> 01:11:20,726
everybody makes it every single year.

1152
01:11:21,266 --> 01:11:24,386
And, and that's pretty cool. Uh, we just got back. Colorado was a four day trip

1153
01:11:24,386 --> 01:11:27,286
and super nice up there. That was my first time in Colorado.

1154
01:11:27,486 --> 01:11:30,186
I've always wanted to go, but anyway, I thought that was pretty cool.

1155
01:11:30,286 --> 01:11:35,466
I don't even know if my wife knows that story that, that that was proposed at that, that party.

1156
01:11:35,586 --> 01:11:38,146
And that that's a trip that continues to happen to this day.

1157
01:11:38,386 --> 01:11:40,586
And as a little bit of a conversation every year when it comes,

1158
01:11:40,646 --> 01:11:42,106
cause obviously I'm I'm going a lot.

1159
01:11:42,186 --> 01:11:46,386
So for me to leave for a whole weekend for a personal reason is not the most,

1160
01:11:46,406 --> 01:11:49,266
always the most easily received thing.

1161
01:11:49,466 --> 01:11:54,946
But I knew I wanted to marry her and I didn't want to be, I didn't want to be

1162
01:11:54,946 --> 01:11:58,506
active duty married knowing I was going to be deploying every,

1163
01:11:58,606 --> 01:12:01,526
you know, every other year, maybe every three years.

1164
01:12:02,246 --> 01:12:05,186
The unit I was with when I got out was already deployed.

1165
01:12:05,306 --> 01:12:08,486
They left again. And the only reason I didn't go a second time is the timing.

1166
01:12:08,566 --> 01:12:12,746
You know, there's a cutoff date as far as when you in your contract and they

1167
01:12:12,746 --> 01:12:13,946
either will or won't take you.

1168
01:12:14,426 --> 01:12:19,146
And so I was, my cutoff date was such that I couldn't go to the second deployment.

1169
01:12:19,266 --> 01:12:22,666
So I didn't go and got off, but I never really wanted that.

1170
01:12:22,806 --> 01:12:26,786
I knew I wanted to raise a family and I wanted to raise a family where I was home.

1171
01:12:26,946 --> 01:12:30,766
And, and I, and again, I knew that's how Nick was and Nick was absolutely involved in that decision.

1172
01:12:30,946 --> 01:12:34,226
And he was like, yeah, I think, you know, I get it. And that was where he was.

1173
01:12:34,346 --> 01:12:39,006
And he was just, since his plans had kind of changed with going Marine route

1174
01:12:39,006 --> 01:12:41,746
and going to officer route, and now he's getting married and he's like,

1175
01:12:41,806 --> 01:12:44,526
well, you know, he's just kind of playing it by ear at that point.

1176
01:12:44,606 --> 01:12:47,346
I shouldn't say playing it by ear as much as like having, he had to call some

1177
01:12:47,346 --> 01:12:50,706
audibles on the way, but ultimately, you know, his, his goal was always as far

1178
01:12:50,706 --> 01:12:55,766
as I knew was, was to finish this obligation out basically. And, and then come home.

1179
01:12:56,306 --> 01:13:01,006
And so when I came home in 2007, I knew I wanted to get married to Abby.

1180
01:13:01,566 --> 01:13:06,006
So I proposed to her, A couple months after getting back, I was living in the

1181
01:13:06,006 --> 01:13:10,366
apartment I grew up in that we talked about earlier that my dad lived in, renting from Pawpaw.

1182
01:13:10,446 --> 01:13:12,886
Right here across the street. Yep. Yep. Right across the street.

1183
01:13:14,028 --> 01:13:19,528
And I would come over here. Oh, and I was going to, I don't think I was going to Nichols yet.

1184
01:13:19,628 --> 01:13:23,888
I started working for the, I started building houses with some friends of mine

1185
01:13:23,888 --> 01:13:28,028
that were building, they were contractors and I worked for them for a little while.

1186
01:13:28,128 --> 01:13:30,988
Then I worked for the same guy I worked for in high school building houses,

1187
01:13:31,168 --> 01:13:32,608
worked for him for a little while.

1188
01:13:33,068 --> 01:13:37,288
And then I also worked at Vita Paint in Houma, which is where my dad has worked

1189
01:13:37,288 --> 01:13:40,748
my entire life, which was just some of the best years of my life.

1190
01:13:40,748 --> 01:13:44,568
I'd never thoroughly enjoyed the work at the paint store.

1191
01:13:44,748 --> 01:13:47,968
It was, you know, nothing about the place that was the work that was great.

1192
01:13:48,028 --> 01:13:51,148
It was just obviously spending all that time with my dad each and every day

1193
01:13:51,148 --> 01:13:53,248
was absolute highlight of my life.

1194
01:13:53,348 --> 01:13:56,748
And, you know, there was a point at which I realized, you know, my dad's around a lot.

1195
01:13:56,808 --> 01:14:00,968
He's not, he doesn't travel or anything, but you know, he works a set,

1196
01:14:01,028 --> 01:14:03,988
he worked a seven to five. So he was, he was going a lot as far as that goes.

1197
01:14:04,208 --> 01:14:07,108
And so at one point I realized I was like, man, I'm around my dad more than

1198
01:14:07,108 --> 01:14:10,248
probably any of my brothers and sisters I've ever got to be around them our

1199
01:14:10,248 --> 01:14:12,168
whole lives. So that was such a treat.

1200
01:14:12,968 --> 01:14:16,748
And man, I still sometimes wonder, I was like, man, should I have just stayed there?

1201
01:14:16,868 --> 01:14:21,108
You know, and I enjoyed it and I don't now, like I guess I know I'm doing what

1202
01:14:21,108 --> 01:14:25,368
I think God wants me to do, but that was, those were very treasured years for sure.

1203
01:14:26,788 --> 01:14:31,228
And so I left there to go to Nichols.

1204
01:14:32,500 --> 01:14:35,220
No, I shouldn't say I left there. I didn't leave there, I guess,

1205
01:14:35,220 --> 01:14:36,960
until I got a job doing physical therapy.

1206
01:14:37,760 --> 01:14:41,800
I went to Nichols. The only reason I went to school was because I had the GI

1207
01:14:41,800 --> 01:14:45,420
bill. So once again, Ms. D enters- Got to get that paper. Yeah.

1208
01:14:46,240 --> 01:14:49,820
Ms. D enters the equation with her wisdom and it was wise.

1209
01:14:50,000 --> 01:14:54,320
And she's like, well, because I was like, I enjoy building houses and that's

1210
01:14:54,320 --> 01:14:55,420
kind of what I was thinking of doing.

1211
01:14:55,620 --> 01:14:58,220
I enjoyed, obviously, when I was at the paint store and I was like,

1212
01:14:58,220 --> 01:14:59,060
either one of those is fine.

1213
01:14:59,880 --> 01:15:03,780
And he's like, but you do have the GI bill available and you might,

1214
01:15:03,840 --> 01:15:07,680
it might be wise to, you know, I had some back problems, nothing too serious,

1215
01:15:07,700 --> 01:15:10,240
but you know, what if it gets really bad? Now, what are you going to do?

1216
01:15:10,600 --> 01:15:14,780
So maybe, maybe having something to fall back on is not a bad idea and you can go get a degree.

1217
01:15:15,380 --> 01:15:20,800
So I decided to do that. I went to, at first I wanted to go athletic training.

1218
01:15:21,500 --> 01:15:25,620
So because it, Oh, I just looked at, okay, what are the options? What can can I major in?

1219
01:15:25,700 --> 01:15:28,780
I just, it has to be something interesting because I don't want,

1220
01:15:28,820 --> 01:15:30,340
I don't need, I don't need it. I don't want it.

1221
01:15:30,880 --> 01:15:35,960
And, but science was always cool to me. Like biology and physiology is always neat. Kinesiology.

1222
01:15:36,520 --> 01:15:40,260
And so I saw athletic training was a lot of the prereqs were stuff like that.

1223
01:15:40,320 --> 01:15:46,300
So chose that and went to Nichols with athletic training degree in mind.

1224
01:15:46,920 --> 01:15:51,880
Excuse me. Well, by the end of my first year there, I got to talking to my brother-in-law.

1225
01:15:52,560 --> 01:15:55,880
He must've brought up with me that he's a physical therapist and he said,

1226
01:15:56,040 --> 01:15:57,680
he's like, well, you know, you could

1227
01:15:57,680 --> 01:16:01,400
consider going, becoming a physical therapist or even a PT assistant.

1228
01:16:01,640 --> 01:16:05,140
He said, he's like, because it's a lot of the same stuff that you're looking

1229
01:16:05,140 --> 01:16:08,700
at now, but you could, he's like, you could get a associate's degree in a PT

1230
01:16:08,700 --> 01:16:12,600
as a PT assistant and you could start work sooner as that.

1231
01:16:12,680 --> 01:16:15,780
And I think you'd enjoy it. And then by the way, if you want to own a clinic,

1232
01:16:15,920 --> 01:16:19,500
you could, you know, you would need a therapist to, to be the supervising therapist

1233
01:16:19,500 --> 01:16:21,900
of the care, but that's a, that has to do with patient care.

1234
01:16:22,100 --> 01:16:24,600
It's not, doesn't have to do with the, you know, you could, in other words,

1235
01:16:24,660 --> 01:16:25,780
like the sky's your limit, you know?

1236
01:16:26,260 --> 01:16:29,880
So I was like, well, that's, that sounds awesome. I wasn't crazy about some

1237
01:16:29,880 --> 01:16:31,380
of the athletic training stuff. So I was like, okay.

1238
01:16:32,293 --> 01:16:36,533
Pull the trigger and just shifted. All my prereqs went toward it. So it was an easy shift.

1239
01:16:36,813 --> 01:16:40,313
I might have done one or two classes more than I had to and missed one or two,

1240
01:16:40,373 --> 01:16:41,813
but I took care of that in a semester.

1241
01:16:42,413 --> 01:16:45,733
So wound up going, becoming a physical therapist assistant. So I went to Nichols

1242
01:16:45,733 --> 01:16:46,853
for a year, year and a half.

1243
01:16:47,273 --> 01:16:50,693
And then I went to Delgado for their PTA program, which at the time was,

1244
01:16:50,733 --> 01:16:55,813
excuse me, was a fall, spring, summer semester, three consecutive semesters.

1245
01:16:56,133 --> 01:16:58,133
So almost like right exactly a year.

1246
01:16:58,633 --> 01:17:00,793
As long as you had your prereqs done, you go to the PTA program,

1247
01:17:00,793 --> 01:17:04,393
you come out with an associate in applied sciences and a PTA.

1248
01:17:05,013 --> 01:17:09,733
So I did that. And while I was doing that, I can remember just to bring Nick

1249
01:17:09,733 --> 01:17:13,313
back up again and to bring up this market because it all comes full circle.

1250
01:17:13,833 --> 01:17:17,613
Nick and I had a conversation while I was living in the apartment across the street.

1251
01:17:18,053 --> 01:17:22,933
And it was about him getting out. When he gets out, he's coming to work at the market.

1252
01:17:23,113 --> 01:17:26,393
That's what he was coming to do. It was what everybody knew that's what Nick

1253
01:17:26,393 --> 01:17:29,533
was going to do. In fact, there was times we didn't know, you know,

1254
01:17:29,553 --> 01:17:31,573
we probably just didn't ask Bo, like, Bo, you're going to, you know,

1255
01:17:31,573 --> 01:17:33,373
what's the plan, you know, when your dad retires?

1256
01:17:33,893 --> 01:17:37,373
And Nick was like, well, if nobody else wants it, he's like, I'll have it.

1257
01:17:37,413 --> 01:17:40,113
But Nick was also like, I don't care who owns it. Nick's like,

1258
01:17:40,233 --> 01:17:42,573
I want to work it. I'm working at the market. And that's what he was going to do.

1259
01:17:43,013 --> 01:17:45,773
And I was like, well, you work at the market. I'm working at the market,

1260
01:17:45,893 --> 01:17:47,633
period. Like that's happening.

1261
01:17:48,133 --> 01:17:50,193
We'll find an owner later. Well, yeah.

1262
01:17:52,173 --> 01:17:56,413
I just remember thinking, all right, I guess I'm working at the market one day.

1263
01:17:56,893 --> 01:18:00,253
And that was another reason to like get the degree, get all that done.

1264
01:18:00,473 --> 01:18:03,893
Cause eventually Nick's coming home and no matter how good a job I have at the

1265
01:18:03,893 --> 01:18:08,113
time, which I went on to have a very good, you know, physical therapy was an awesome job.

1266
01:18:08,213 --> 01:18:11,433
Like I, and I still love it, but I remember thinking like, okay,

1267
01:18:11,493 --> 01:18:12,753
I guess I'm gonna work at the market one day.

1268
01:18:13,793 --> 01:18:18,453
And cause I mean, as much as I enjoyed working with my dad, the big thing,

1269
01:18:18,493 --> 01:18:19,613
and that was probably what we talked about.

1270
01:18:19,653 --> 01:18:21,673
I was like, well, look, if you and I are working at the market,

1271
01:18:21,793 --> 01:18:24,193
obviously daddy's got to come work at the market.

1272
01:18:25,713 --> 01:18:28,693
Because we want to get daddy back in the market. And so, you know,

1273
01:18:28,713 --> 01:18:30,173
we're just scheming, plotting basically.

1274
01:18:30,973 --> 01:18:34,373
And so that was, that was probably one of our last conversations.

1275
01:18:34,513 --> 01:18:38,013
I don't know for sure that that was the last conversation, but sometimes I wonder,

1276
01:18:38,073 --> 01:18:41,053
because I remember where I was at and I don't know that we talked again after

1277
01:18:41,053 --> 01:18:43,333
that. Cause I was, you know, maybe not quite a month before he died.

1278
01:18:43,693 --> 01:18:48,213
So I was living in the apartment still going to, I must've been,

1279
01:18:48,253 --> 01:18:49,873
I guess I was not at Nichols at the time.

1280
01:18:49,913 --> 01:18:52,693
I must've been going to Delgado at that point because I was finishing,

1281
01:18:52,733 --> 01:18:54,953
I knew I was going to do physical therapy at that point.

1282
01:18:56,773 --> 01:19:00,693
And so that's what it did. And Nick at the time, so this was probably,

1283
01:19:00,773 --> 01:19:04,333
this must've been 2010. And I think he was going to be getting out in 2012.

1284
01:19:05,093 --> 01:19:08,373
So I remember thinking that'll be enough time for me to get into the therapy

1285
01:19:08,373 --> 01:19:09,613
thing, figure it all out.

1286
01:19:09,693 --> 01:19:13,313
And then he comes and I don't have to leave right away. Let him figure this

1287
01:19:13,313 --> 01:19:15,893
out. So even if that's a year or two, I'm married at this point.

1288
01:19:15,953 --> 01:19:17,113
Abby and I got married in 2008.

1289
01:19:18,484 --> 01:19:24,164
And so I knew, you know, I had, I had some time, but I was like, I'm doing it.

1290
01:19:24,224 --> 01:19:26,304
Like, and I was, you know, I knew I'd be happy to do it. Obviously,

1291
01:19:26,364 --> 01:19:28,844
uh, just the thought of Nick coming home was, had me pumped.

1292
01:19:29,784 --> 01:19:34,384
And so, yeah, that was always the plan. And then 2010, Nick gets in a car accident.

1293
01:19:34,464 --> 01:19:39,224
So he was leaving, he was leaving Virginia, driving across country in a,

1294
01:19:39,224 --> 01:19:43,884
in a big moving truck and he had a blowout and it flipped over and it,

1295
01:19:43,924 --> 01:19:47,124
and it was a, it was a terrible crash. It was a five, I think I heard,

1296
01:19:47,144 --> 01:19:48,924
I think it was five people died in that accident.

1297
01:19:49,004 --> 01:19:53,944
It was somewhere in Arizona, you know, super sad, you know, it's been 14 years

1298
01:19:53,944 --> 01:19:56,084
now, so I can talk about it. It was devastating.

1299
01:19:56,284 --> 01:20:00,084
I was, I will readily admit I was, I was absolutely devastated.

1300
01:20:00,604 --> 01:20:03,844
I had never experienced death like that before. So that was a new experience

1301
01:20:03,844 --> 01:20:06,784
and I'll never want to experience it again, but I know it's,

1302
01:20:06,784 --> 01:20:09,204
I know it's part of, part of being here.

1303
01:20:09,344 --> 01:20:11,664
And so that was an eye-opening experience.

1304
01:20:13,104 --> 01:20:16,824
But, you know, Nick and I were super close. We had only gotten closer over the

1305
01:20:16,824 --> 01:20:19,184
years because we didn't get to see each other as much.

1306
01:20:19,264 --> 01:20:22,044
So, you know, that works. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

1307
01:20:22,664 --> 01:20:26,544
Nick had written letters to me and Jason on multiple occasions because Nick

1308
01:20:26,544 --> 01:20:27,824
would write a lot of letters.

1309
01:20:28,104 --> 01:20:31,564
But I mean, there was even times where he would just take time to write a very

1310
01:20:31,564 --> 01:20:35,224
serious and pretty intimate letter to each of us.

1311
01:20:35,404 --> 01:20:39,424
I mean, just Sue, always such a thoughtful guy, always sacrificed so much of his time.

1312
01:20:39,824 --> 01:20:42,984
And so when that happened, it was just like, man, I can't believe it.

1313
01:20:43,364 --> 01:20:47,544
And so I was living in that apartment across the street.

1314
01:20:48,104 --> 01:20:52,624
His wife moved down here and she, uh, with her two kids, cause she knew Nick

1315
01:20:52,624 --> 01:20:53,984
wanted to raise the boys in Shrever.

1316
01:20:54,704 --> 01:21:00,224
And, and so that's why she moved down here. I'm Abby and I moved to Homa at

1317
01:21:00,224 --> 01:21:02,844
a house we had just bought from her mom that we were going to fix up.

1318
01:21:02,924 --> 01:21:05,444
Like, I think we might've been planning to live there, but ultimately it was

1319
01:21:05,444 --> 01:21:07,284
like, I I want to fix, I like fixing up stuff. So I was like,

1320
01:21:07,324 --> 01:21:09,544
let's fix it up and sell it or whatever.

1321
01:21:09,924 --> 01:21:13,284
Well, we had just bought it, still needed to be fixed up. And now we needed

1322
01:21:13,284 --> 01:21:15,584
to get out of it quick. So Miranda would have a place to live.

1323
01:21:16,044 --> 01:21:18,624
And so, so that was the plan or that's what we did.

1324
01:21:19,144 --> 01:21:24,384
And yeah, when we moved into that house in Houma, we didn't have a shower.

1325
01:21:24,964 --> 01:21:27,444
We didn't have anything. It was, it was an office building before.

1326
01:21:28,264 --> 01:21:31,244
And I knew I was handy, but it was a lot of stuff.

1327
01:21:35,264 --> 01:21:39,544
I five years just getting that house into a state where it wasn't like under

1328
01:21:39,544 --> 01:21:42,264
construction. And then we moved out as soon as I was done with that.

1329
01:21:43,644 --> 01:21:45,804
Same thing you're going to do with this house. Same thing I'm doing now,

1330
01:21:45,904 --> 01:21:47,984
which we definitely don't have time for.

1331
01:21:48,084 --> 01:21:52,504
Well, we might, but yeah. So that's a thing of mine. That's what I do.

1332
01:21:52,844 --> 01:21:56,224
But yeah, so we moved out of that house in 2015.

1333
01:21:56,864 --> 01:21:59,564
But anyway, I'm kind of fast forwarding there. So,

1334
01:22:00,930 --> 01:22:06,310
Yeah. So I went to, finished up, finished up at Delgado. Abby and I are married at this point.

1335
01:22:07,830 --> 01:22:10,670
And she is a nurse. She was working at Ochsner in New Orleans.

1336
01:22:10,870 --> 01:22:12,270
She loved, loved what she did.

1337
01:22:12,490 --> 01:22:15,010
I loved physical therapy. It was a lot, it was a lot of fun.

1338
01:22:15,150 --> 01:22:17,190
I was working at Chabert and it was great.

1339
01:22:17,870 --> 01:22:22,850
When, I don't remember what year, maybe like 2011, maybe 12,

1340
01:22:23,090 --> 01:22:24,330
but I think it was before that.

1341
01:22:24,410 --> 01:22:27,010
Abby started working at Chabert too. So that was just awesome.

1342
01:22:27,130 --> 01:22:29,970
She worked at the, in the recovery, the post-surgery recovery area.

1343
01:22:30,370 --> 01:22:33,610
And I worked in the rehab department. So I mean, yeah, my wife being the,

1344
01:22:33,650 --> 01:22:35,930
at the same hospital I worked at, I was like, this is awesome.

1345
01:22:36,030 --> 01:22:37,530
You know, it was just, just couldn't ask for better.

1346
01:22:38,070 --> 01:22:42,750
And you know, it was, it was, I enjoyed the work itself. My boss there was great,

1347
01:22:42,910 --> 01:22:45,550
but I always wanted to do home health therapy.

1348
01:22:46,070 --> 01:22:49,970
And so after I was there for a year, I knew I was eligible to do home health.

1349
01:22:50,050 --> 01:22:53,390
And I guess I was there for two years before I took the plunge into home health

1350
01:22:53,390 --> 01:22:56,290
and home health's great because it was all the the same stuff as I was doing.

1351
01:22:56,330 --> 01:22:58,630
It's still, still therapy, but the scheduling was flexible.

1352
01:22:59,110 --> 01:23:03,230
And, and that was, that was what I did for the next 10, 10 years,

1353
01:23:03,310 --> 01:23:05,250
I think right at 10 years before I came to talk to you guys.

1354
01:23:05,810 --> 01:23:10,630
But yeah. And you're still, you're still at, you're still active.

1355
01:23:10,750 --> 01:23:12,850
You still have a license. Yeah. You can practice.

1356
01:23:13,030 --> 01:23:16,810
Yep. Yeah. I keep my license up. So, and I'll work for, I worked as funny.

1357
01:23:16,830 --> 01:23:19,310
I worked for two hospitals and two home health companies.

1358
01:23:19,710 --> 01:23:23,010
So, and I was in the reserves. So I always joke saying I had five jobs,

1359
01:23:23,070 --> 01:23:25,810
which I'll, you know, So it was five places that I worked for,

1360
01:23:25,910 --> 01:23:28,870
I guess, but still sounds better to say five jobs.

1361
01:23:30,050 --> 01:23:35,930
But also there was times where I know you and certainly Benson would wonder like, what do you do?

1362
01:23:36,090 --> 01:23:40,230
Cause I was always available at the job of a hat.

1363
01:23:40,410 --> 01:23:44,930
I was seldom, not seldom working, I shouldn't say that, but I could,

1364
01:23:44,950 --> 01:23:47,430
you know, I could shape my own schedule essentially. So it was nice.

1365
01:23:47,610 --> 01:23:51,390
And you know, there's different kinds of people in this world when it comes to work.

1366
01:23:52,675 --> 01:23:55,575
I like working. I think I have a good work ethic and all that,

1367
01:23:55,615 --> 01:23:58,455
but I love my family too. I want to spend time with my family.

1368
01:23:58,495 --> 01:23:59,915
I want to be able to be around my kids.

1369
01:24:01,415 --> 01:24:06,435
And if I can work 50, 60 hours a week and make a bunch of money,

1370
01:24:06,515 --> 01:24:11,915
or I can work 30 hours a week and make just what we need, there's benefit to having that money.

1371
01:24:12,015 --> 01:24:14,315
And maybe there's been times where I should have done that and didn't.

1372
01:24:14,415 --> 01:24:15,855
So I'm not saying that's the way to go.

1373
01:24:15,955 --> 01:24:20,235
But for me, by and large, I've worked what we need to get by so that I can be

1374
01:24:20,235 --> 01:24:24,355
at home and helping where know, raise the kids. We started having kids in 2012.

1375
01:24:24,715 --> 01:24:29,035
So that was, uh, right when I started home health. And that's when Abby shortly

1376
01:24:29,035 --> 01:24:32,255
after she stopped working at shop air and she stayed home with kids.

1377
01:24:32,555 --> 01:24:36,175
And so that's always been how I am. And obviously I get that from Nick,

1378
01:24:36,215 --> 01:24:40,335
you know, that was something I learned from Nick and, and my own parents,

1379
01:24:40,535 --> 01:24:46,115
of course, but it's been, you know, home health and physical therapy and the

1380
01:24:46,115 --> 01:24:49,995
Marine Corps, all this stuff has, has made it possible for me to be that way.

1381
01:24:50,115 --> 01:24:51,975
And I'm super thankful for that.

1382
01:24:52,115 --> 01:24:54,475
And that's why I say, I certainly wouldn't change any of it.

1383
01:24:54,575 --> 01:25:00,195
So you started having kids in 2012 and you had four in four years?

1384
01:25:00,475 --> 01:25:02,755
Yeah, five, 2016.

1385
01:25:03,195 --> 01:25:08,115
Yeah, I guess four years. So they're not each only a year apart though, but they are close.

1386
01:25:08,295 --> 01:25:11,995
So they're each a year to a year and a half apart.

1387
01:25:14,398 --> 01:25:23,898
Yeah. They're a handful. So we got our daughter first and she absolutely did

1388
01:25:23,898 --> 01:25:28,218
not prepare us for the boys specifically. She was too good.

1389
01:25:28,998 --> 01:25:32,478
Yeah. She was like, I say it and I don't know if people think I'm just,

1390
01:25:32,498 --> 01:25:34,598
if I'm lying or I think I'm exaggerating, I'm not.

1391
01:25:34,918 --> 01:25:38,978
She was health. She wasn't just not hard as a child, like a baby.

1392
01:25:39,198 --> 01:25:42,678
She was helpful as early as year old.

1393
01:25:43,078 --> 01:25:47,258
So I should say 14 months old, because that's when Charles came around,

1394
01:25:47,358 --> 01:25:50,258
our boy, our first boy. So it's our second child.

1395
01:25:50,598 --> 01:25:54,758
And anybody who has kids knows that, you know, it's like the fog of war,

1396
01:25:54,838 --> 01:25:58,398
the friction of war, the simple things are hard and hard things are seemingly impossible.

1397
01:25:58,938 --> 01:26:03,078
And so just changing a diaper is kind of like, can be a challenge when you have,

1398
01:26:03,138 --> 01:26:04,718
you know, two very young kids.

1399
01:26:04,998 --> 01:26:09,258
Well, when one of those is a 14 month old who will walk and go grab the diaper

1400
01:26:09,258 --> 01:26:10,578
and the wipes for you, That's amazing.

1401
01:26:11,238 --> 01:26:15,678
Like you cherish that. And it's like, man, thank you so much.

1402
01:26:16,098 --> 01:26:18,958
So that was, that's Isabel. That's how she's always been.

1403
01:26:19,298 --> 01:26:22,638
And, and she's great. And she's still awesome. She's just turned 12 the other

1404
01:26:22,638 --> 01:26:26,418
couple of days ago, but you know, the boys are great, but they're not like that.

1405
01:26:26,518 --> 01:26:28,918
I make no qualms about it. They're not that helpful.

1406
01:26:29,518 --> 01:26:32,778
So they're certainly awesome and getting better.

1407
01:26:32,938 --> 01:26:36,358
And that's always a goal of ours to teach them how to work. But yeah,

1408
01:26:36,498 --> 01:26:38,478
that was, that was how I was introducing the parenting.

1409
01:26:38,618 --> 01:26:41,178
And then, and then Charles came around and he was just the typical,

1410
01:26:41,218 --> 01:26:43,618
constantly suicidal child, right? Full speed.

1411
01:26:43,918 --> 01:26:45,678
You had to keep your eye on. Yeah.

1412
01:26:46,778 --> 01:26:50,298
Yeah, I remember going to your house one time for maybe Christmas or Thanksgiving,

1413
01:26:50,378 --> 01:26:54,218
and, you know, the kids are like, look up in the tree.

1414
01:26:54,698 --> 01:27:01,558
And I look up in the tree, and like 40 feet up in the tree is one of your kids. And I'm like, holy crap.

1415
01:27:02,078 --> 01:27:04,838
Like a young kid, you know. Yeah, he was probably very young.

1416
01:27:04,858 --> 01:27:09,598
It was probably four. But it wasn't Charles. It was another one. Oh, goodness. Yeah.

1417
01:27:10,788 --> 01:27:18,028
I'm like, that's too high. And then I look up again, higher than him, at like 80 feet.

1418
01:27:18,448 --> 01:27:21,988
And Charles is like the very tip-top branch.

1419
01:27:22,588 --> 01:27:24,068
The tip branch.

1420
01:27:26,548 --> 01:27:29,628
But stuff like that has never surprised me.

1421
01:27:31,268 --> 01:27:35,728
Anywhere around y'all or at your dad's house, I know it's always going to be

1422
01:27:35,728 --> 01:27:38,728
some shenanigans and it's always going to be something fun or an injury.

1423
01:27:38,728 --> 01:27:41,648
I remember growing up, Meemaw.

1424
01:27:41,768 --> 01:27:45,588
So, Pawpaw's wife, Rita. Maumau. Maumau. Yep.

1425
01:27:46,508 --> 01:27:50,708
I don't know where that... We call her Maumau. We called her Meemaw.

1426
01:27:51,088 --> 01:27:54,288
We're the only ones, me and my two brothers. Yeah, y'all probably started that.

1427
01:27:54,448 --> 01:27:57,788
But anyway, I remember anytime something like that was going on,

1428
01:27:57,908 --> 01:28:01,228
where they had to do some work high in a tree, anytime something dangerous was

1429
01:28:01,228 --> 01:28:06,168
going on with Pawpaw and her boys, our uncles, she right away, going inside.

1430
01:28:06,388 --> 01:28:08,908
She threw her hands up. I'm going inside. She didn't want to see it.

1431
01:28:09,288 --> 01:28:12,088
And I always thought, you know, that's, that's women, you know,

1432
01:28:12,088 --> 01:28:16,868
and here I am now it's like, there's times where I want to watch what this boy is doing.

1433
01:28:16,928 --> 01:28:19,888
I don't want to stop it, but I don't want to stop what he's doing.

1434
01:28:19,948 --> 01:28:23,268
Like that's, that would be wrong, but I do not want to see this.

1435
01:28:23,808 --> 01:28:27,688
And yeah, he's had times. He's had times where I forget if he was balancing

1436
01:28:27,688 --> 01:28:32,248
on top of a big medicine ball or what, and just boom, hits his head so hard when he was,

1437
01:28:32,348 --> 01:28:35,468
you know, maybe two or three years old crying and abby's

1438
01:28:35,468 --> 01:28:38,188
consoling them and just trying to make them feel better and like you know you

1439
01:28:38,188 --> 01:28:40,988
should be careful and he's like he finally gets over i'm gonna try again

1440
01:28:40,988 --> 01:28:47,448
and he runs back to her she's like no so yeah that's them all right let's get

1441
01:28:47,448 --> 01:28:55,488
into the transition from or to to this place you had had some i don't know something

1442
01:28:55,488 --> 01:28:59,208
in you was was saying that you needed to work here at at some point in your

1443
01:28:59,208 --> 01:29:00,788
life and now you're here.

1444
01:29:01,228 --> 01:29:05,948
And so do you remember any of that stuff before it happened?

1445
01:29:06,408 --> 01:29:13,008
Yeah, I do. So it was after COVID, which probably played a part.

1446
01:29:13,668 --> 01:29:16,488
So like I said, I was working for two hospitals and two home health companies

1447
01:29:16,488 --> 01:29:17,328
doing physical therapy.

1448
01:29:18,341 --> 01:29:22,661
And loved it. Loved those jobs. It gave me the, and that's why I was able to be flexible.

1449
01:29:22,741 --> 01:29:25,641
So number one, home health is flexible, but number two, I'm not a full-time

1450
01:29:25,641 --> 01:29:26,681
employee with any of those people.

1451
01:29:26,781 --> 01:29:30,181
So if I need to take off to go, so I'm in the reserve.

1452
01:29:30,341 --> 01:29:33,621
So if I need to take off for two weeks, which these companies all would work

1453
01:29:33,621 --> 01:29:36,761
with me and they were, obviously that was not an issue, but I would still feel

1454
01:29:36,761 --> 01:29:38,521
bad. Somebody has to pick up my patient load when I'm out.

1455
01:29:39,541 --> 01:29:43,501
So when I went home health and when I went working for all these different companies,

1456
01:29:43,561 --> 01:29:45,121
I decided to be part-time with all of them.

1457
01:29:45,401 --> 01:29:49,001
That means if I take off for two weeks, each place has to pick up a little bit

1458
01:29:49,001 --> 01:29:51,941
of patient load, but not a bunch. So it's really easy on them.

1459
01:29:52,301 --> 01:29:55,301
But when I'm there, I can pick up as much as I want.

1460
01:29:55,381 --> 01:29:58,141
So I could literally have more than I could handle if I wanted,

1461
01:29:58,221 --> 01:30:00,741
or I could have nothing. I could literally just, we can go vacation.

1462
01:30:01,241 --> 01:30:03,201
So that was really, really nice.

1463
01:30:03,741 --> 01:30:07,821
The downside, which is maybe a small downside in hindsight, but always had in

1464
01:30:07,821 --> 01:30:09,861
the back of my mind, the conversation with Nick. And that is,

1465
01:30:09,901 --> 01:30:11,161
you know, Nick always wanted to work here.

1466
01:30:11,221 --> 01:30:15,661
I had worked here a little bit growing up, like temporarily for a week or two

1467
01:30:15,661 --> 01:30:18,001
here and there and never really got to get my foot in the door.

1468
01:30:18,141 --> 01:30:21,641
And so I was like, I did always, it always had an appeal. I wanted to work at the family business.

1469
01:30:22,261 --> 01:30:27,241
And so work started getting slow, real slow after COVID obviously.

1470
01:30:27,861 --> 01:30:31,701
And it was picking up a little bit. I want to say it was, it must've been,

1471
01:30:31,721 --> 01:30:35,261
it was February. So it was years, just almost a year after COVID had started.

1472
01:30:36,121 --> 01:30:41,001
And it had started picking up a little bit, but not, it was not enough that

1473
01:30:41,001 --> 01:30:42,001
I didn't have to worry about anything.

1474
01:30:42,161 --> 01:30:44,521
So I was like, ah, maybe, maybe I should start looking looking around for something.

1475
01:30:44,601 --> 01:30:47,841
And I was, I was going to look around at different therapy jobs,

1476
01:30:48,221 --> 01:30:51,101
but that's when I was like, maybe I should come talk to y'all.

1477
01:30:51,341 --> 01:30:54,561
Maybe y'all could use me. Maybe now's the time, a good excuse to come here.

1478
01:30:55,061 --> 01:31:00,061
And so the big plus to working here, aside from just the appeal and that I already

1479
01:31:00,061 --> 01:31:04,081
mentioned, as far as being part of the family business is my children, my children,

1480
01:31:04,221 --> 01:31:07,681
and not only my children, my wife, I could have my wife come to work with me

1481
01:31:07,681 --> 01:31:10,541
again one day, you know, and the kids were still, you know, three years ago,

1482
01:31:10,621 --> 01:31:12,781
they're, they're young now, but they were even younger three years ago.

1483
01:31:13,421 --> 01:31:18,841
And, but in five years, they can't really come with me to see a patient,

1484
01:31:18,961 --> 01:31:21,681
you know, and there's ways to incorporate them a little bit.

1485
01:31:21,741 --> 01:31:24,781
And ultimately, if I'm home more sure, but here I was like, man,

1486
01:31:24,801 --> 01:31:29,401
I could work a normal seven to five here, but my kids could be here one day.

1487
01:31:29,421 --> 01:31:31,901
My wife could be here and I don't need to go home at all.

1488
01:31:31,941 --> 01:31:34,721
If that's the case, you know, not that I don't want to go home,

1489
01:31:34,761 --> 01:31:36,941
but I'm going home to be with family. Like that's why I'm there.

1490
01:31:37,101 --> 01:31:42,601
And so that was, that was really the justification behind, let me come see.

1491
01:31:42,701 --> 01:31:46,361
Cause I also knew we'd be open in a second location in the coming,

1492
01:31:46,381 --> 01:31:48,861
you know, year or two or three.

1493
01:31:50,681 --> 01:31:56,121
And so I was like, now might be the best time to try to get my foot in the door.

1494
01:31:56,521 --> 01:32:00,061
Because if I wait till after the split, nobody knows what that's going to look

1495
01:32:00,061 --> 01:32:04,861
like. And so I came to talk to you and Bo and you guys were,

1496
01:32:04,961 --> 01:32:07,941
you had just had a position open on the table, the butcher table.

1497
01:32:08,853 --> 01:32:11,913
And I remember when y'all talked to me about different things,

1498
01:32:12,013 --> 01:32:13,053
I didn't know what I wanted to do.

1499
01:32:13,113 --> 01:32:15,393
I didn't, I didn't know enough about who does what, you know,

1500
01:32:15,393 --> 01:32:19,733
in my, in my childhood, like everybody did everything, but now things have gotten

1501
01:32:19,733 --> 01:32:22,153
a little more like, well, back house, front house, and that's fine.

1502
01:32:22,233 --> 01:32:24,093
But I didn't know that I didn't fully understand all this.

1503
01:32:24,333 --> 01:32:27,573
I was just coming to say, you know, could y'all use an extra hand type of thing?

1504
01:32:27,933 --> 01:32:32,213
And I'll never forget y'all were thinking of, y'all were thinking of some different

1505
01:32:32,213 --> 01:32:33,833
things for me that I might've been a good fit for.

1506
01:32:33,893 --> 01:32:36,373
And that y'all thought would be, would probably be best for me too.

1507
01:32:36,973 --> 01:32:40,793
And maybe even paid, you know, better pay in position or whatever, better hours.

1508
01:32:41,473 --> 01:32:45,113
And I remember you said something about the table and, and it wasn't the,

1509
01:32:45,113 --> 01:32:48,533
the best sounding position, you know, throughout there, the best sounding thing,

1510
01:32:48,573 --> 01:32:49,733
but also I didn't know what it was.

1511
01:32:49,813 --> 01:32:51,733
So I was like, what, like what table, maybe he's talking about it.

1512
01:32:51,773 --> 01:32:54,293
Are they, are we going to have like the new place? Is there gonna be a place

1513
01:32:54,293 --> 01:32:57,273
for people to sit down and eat? Like what's, what's the table? You know, waiter.

1514
01:32:57,693 --> 01:33:02,713
And I just, I just let you, you know, y'all talking, y'all said your thing. And I almost didn't ask.

1515
01:33:02,793 --> 01:33:07,973
And I was like, once I had a chance to ask, I was like, what is the table?

1516
01:33:08,113 --> 01:33:10,213
Like, what are you talking about? And you said, well, the butcher table.

1517
01:33:10,333 --> 01:33:13,433
And I was like, oh, we don't need to talk about anything else.

1518
01:33:13,653 --> 01:33:17,373
That's exactly what I want to do. That's, you know, I want to do something I

1519
01:33:17,373 --> 01:33:19,713
like. So why, why the butcher table? What was the appeal?

1520
01:33:20,493 --> 01:33:26,633
So I don't know, other than, I mean, other than even now, I think butcher table is fun.

1521
01:33:26,953 --> 01:33:30,313
I like what we do on the table. There was some more stuff brought up after I

1522
01:33:30,313 --> 01:33:32,313
said that, that I found out, oh, well, it's even cooler than I thought.

1523
01:33:32,413 --> 01:33:36,513
And I'll say that in a second. But growing up, when I would help out here, it was vacuum packing.

1524
01:33:37,381 --> 01:33:41,801
Or maybe clean up something in the back. But there was once or twice,

1525
01:33:41,801 --> 01:33:44,601
maybe three times, where they needed me to bring something up to the front.

1526
01:33:45,301 --> 01:33:50,001
Carry something heavy. Throwing a quarter on my shoulder or even just a big

1527
01:33:50,001 --> 01:33:53,501
gooseneck and bringing that up front, throwing that on the table.

1528
01:33:53,841 --> 01:33:58,241
And just seeing it up there, this is where it's at. This is where they're cutting

1529
01:33:58,241 --> 01:34:00,061
up. They're always cutting up. Not get back to the back. Exactly.

1530
01:34:00,201 --> 01:34:00,961
They're always goofing off.

1531
01:34:01,341 --> 01:34:04,501
One time I got to cut up some fat, which you would think you can't do wrong.

1532
01:34:04,661 --> 01:34:07,981
I did it wrong. Jenny let me know. and, uh, just show the right way.

1533
01:34:08,541 --> 01:34:11,941
And, but yeah, being up here was, was always, it was always neat.

1534
01:34:12,481 --> 01:34:16,841
Obviously this is where I got to watch pawpaw, you know, thrive essentially

1535
01:34:16,841 --> 01:34:19,141
with customers and, and all.

1536
01:34:19,601 --> 01:34:23,881
So yeah, I just always thought if I was going to be here, that would be probably

1537
01:34:23,881 --> 01:34:29,301
very enjoyable and, and it, and it has been. So that's what I'll, that's what I clung to.

1538
01:34:29,421 --> 01:34:32,301
And, and then, you know, you made the comment too, that look,

1539
01:34:32,381 --> 01:34:36,521
nothing, nothing leaves that door. That's not been on that butcher table.

1540
01:34:36,761 --> 01:34:41,701
Like anything we make here is like, it starts here, there on that table.

1541
01:34:41,781 --> 01:34:42,921
And that was a cool concept to me.

1542
01:34:43,321 --> 01:34:46,841
And then, you know, every now and then you you'll cook something up here and

1543
01:34:46,841 --> 01:34:49,701
you brought that up and you said, and look, the guys in the back don't always

1544
01:34:49,701 --> 01:34:50,721
get to taste what we cook.

1545
01:34:51,561 --> 01:34:56,521
People in the front get first dibs. And, uh, and so I've spent three years trying

1546
01:34:56,521 --> 01:35:00,341
to make sure they do not get the taste we make up here cooking for ourselves.

1547
01:35:00,601 --> 01:35:03,041
Should y'all doing something right now. Yeah, y'all got work to do back there.

1548
01:35:04,921 --> 01:35:07,621
The butcher table is different, man.

1549
01:35:08,441 --> 01:35:12,161
It's its own business. It is. I'll never forget loading up.

1550
01:35:12,301 --> 01:35:18,101
So back then we were doing 14, 12 to 14 and sometimes 16 cases of shoulders

1551
01:35:18,101 --> 01:35:23,901
to make a big old huge pot of boudin and the amount of shoulders that is on that table.

1552
01:35:24,321 --> 01:35:28,581
I thought, I mean, because Bo's a funny guy. I was like, is he just messing?

1553
01:35:28,661 --> 01:35:33,101
Like, is he messing with me? Like, this is what they do? And just load it up.

1554
01:35:33,901 --> 01:35:36,261
And yeah, it's just another day.

1555
01:35:38,264 --> 01:35:42,944
What was, what was hard about the change or once it's, once it started,

1556
01:35:43,144 --> 01:35:44,264
what was, what was challenging?

1557
01:35:44,444 --> 01:35:48,944
So this, this schedule, the schedule was the hard thing going from make them

1558
01:35:48,944 --> 01:35:51,004
own schedule to, Hey, we're open for seven to five.

1559
01:35:51,024 --> 01:35:53,904
And we rely on you at this time.

1560
01:35:54,004 --> 01:35:59,104
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So one of the things that, uh, was so cool about therapy,

1561
01:35:59,144 --> 01:36:02,844
even more than just flexible scheduling is growing up.

1562
01:36:02,864 --> 01:36:05,164
I never had breakfast with my family.

1563
01:36:05,204 --> 01:36:08,144
Like we, we, we ate together, we had dinner together and all, but breakfast.

1564
01:36:08,264 --> 01:36:11,844
Was, you know, mornings are you wake up, you go to school or whatever you were doing.

1565
01:36:12,304 --> 01:36:15,004
And I'll never forget my brother-in-law, the one who talked to me about therapy

1566
01:36:15,004 --> 01:36:18,484
visiting, he, they live in Florida and I visited them and they were,

1567
01:36:18,484 --> 01:36:21,124
and I was, I was on vacation, but you know, that's where they live.

1568
01:36:21,224 --> 01:36:22,764
So he's just, he's just getting up and going to work.

1569
01:36:23,084 --> 01:36:26,864
And I'll never forget his job. He was maybe doing home health at the time or

1570
01:36:26,864 --> 01:36:30,684
whatever, but you know, he didn't have to leave super early and they had breakfast

1571
01:36:30,684 --> 01:36:33,024
together as a family. And I was like, dude, this is so cool.

1572
01:36:33,344 --> 01:36:36,524
Next level. Yeah. And this is before I was married or maybe not before I was married,

1573
01:36:36,524 --> 01:36:39,724
before we had kids and so being able

1574
01:36:39,724 --> 01:36:43,284
to have breakfast together every morning was that was

1575
01:36:43,284 --> 01:36:46,024
awesome as doing therapy so coming here i was like well

1576
01:36:46,024 --> 01:36:49,324
we get not only get started at seven like we open at seven but like on the table

1577
01:36:49,324 --> 01:36:53,184
we're we're hanging sausage we're making sausage making ground meat and you

1578
01:36:53,184 --> 01:36:56,004
know now fast forward three years the amount of people i've had to tell who

1579
01:36:56,004 --> 01:37:01,584
if we wanted to hire somebody's like look just don't be late because you could

1580
01:37:01,584 --> 01:37:04,224
leave at lunch why don't you not come back? And I'd be upset with you,

1581
01:37:04,244 --> 01:37:05,384
but you wouldn't have ruined the day.

1582
01:37:05,724 --> 01:37:10,764
But if you, if you show up at seven 38 o'clock, you've missed what I hired you for or whatever.

1583
01:37:11,384 --> 01:37:14,584
That's when we get our, that's where the bread and butter is made here is a

1584
01:37:14,584 --> 01:37:19,344
first thing in the morning. And so, so that was just, that was a learning curve for sure. And, and.

1585
01:37:19,999 --> 01:37:23,459
But, you know, now the kid, you know, it's been a couple of years now and the

1586
01:37:23,459 --> 01:37:25,539
kids are, like I said, they're so young, but you know, you'll,

1587
01:37:25,539 --> 01:37:30,079
you'll see them in here now, especially on Saturdays. I have the kids come with me.

1588
01:37:30,139 --> 01:37:32,699
They are absolutely elated to come.

1589
01:37:32,979 --> 01:37:36,839
They love it. And I know that may not last forever, but I'm going to milk it

1590
01:37:36,839 --> 01:37:40,339
as long as I can and do the best I can to have them continue to enjoy.

1591
01:37:40,619 --> 01:37:44,179
What will they remember? You know, what are they going to remember?

1592
01:37:44,259 --> 01:37:45,779
Like when they're 30? Yeah.

1593
01:37:46,299 --> 01:37:48,959
Right now, the big thing is the tips they get. they're so

1594
01:37:48,959 --> 01:37:52,019
appreciative of tips you gotta remember the tips and they absolutely bragged

1595
01:37:52,019 --> 01:37:54,799
to each other about you got tips as a kid i don't

1596
01:37:54,799 --> 01:37:58,679
remember getting tips i remember i remember a little while i would stand right

1597
01:37:58,679 --> 01:38:02,999
there by where the hot box is or that didn't exist but i'd stand right by the

1598
01:38:02,999 --> 01:38:07,939
door and i would wait for those old ladies that had a big brown bag and i would

1599
01:38:07,939 --> 01:38:12,619
just grab it for him and walk it to the car and sometimes i got a got a bill

1600
01:38:12,619 --> 01:38:14,719
out which which is awesome so So Charles,

1601
01:38:14,939 --> 01:38:18,359
as rambunctious as he is, he did that a couple, I guess it's been a couple months

1602
01:38:18,359 --> 01:38:19,999
ago now. It was a rainy day.

1603
01:38:20,659 --> 01:38:23,519
And the kids do help bag, which is a help.

1604
01:38:23,639 --> 01:38:26,159
They're a small help, but they're a help. And more and more,

1605
01:38:26,219 --> 01:38:29,899
what they can do here is cool. It's like, wow, that's pretty helpful.

1606
01:38:31,039 --> 01:38:34,539
But this one particular day, and the people tip because they're being nice.

1607
01:38:34,619 --> 01:38:37,079
And we appreciate that. But the kids do too.

1608
01:38:37,399 --> 01:38:38,619
But this one day, Charles took

1609
01:38:38,619 --> 01:38:41,059
it on himself to do kind of what you just said. It was a little rainy.

1610
01:38:41,299 --> 01:38:43,899
No one told him to do it. No, I never told him that. Yeah, that's cool.

1611
01:38:44,039 --> 01:38:47,739
And I was so proud of that. And of course he raked it in that day and,

1612
01:38:47,759 --> 01:38:48,999
you know, he earned it. Absolutely.

1613
01:38:49,239 --> 01:38:51,719
So I thought that was cool. All right. So, so,

1614
01:38:52,668 --> 01:38:57,768
You kind of broached the topic of the transition and getting back here and the butcher table.

1615
01:38:58,868 --> 01:39:02,008
Talk a little bit more about that. Like, what did you remember?

1616
01:39:02,508 --> 01:39:06,068
How was it different than you expected? Say whenever, you know,

1617
01:39:06,068 --> 01:39:07,208
your first couple of days loading

1618
01:39:07,208 --> 01:39:12,648
up the smoker for smoked sausage and actually the operations of it.

1619
01:39:13,488 --> 01:39:16,948
That's a good question. So I guess some of the things that stood out,

1620
01:39:16,968 --> 01:39:20,668
stand out the most when I think of just unexpected expected challenges were

1621
01:39:20,668 --> 01:39:24,728
mostly, you know, personal coming from doing what I was doing for so long,

1622
01:39:24,848 --> 01:39:28,888
doing home health, physical therapy, and as, as a PT assistant and,

1623
01:39:28,908 --> 01:39:34,448
and all was coming to work at a place that had a, you know, had store hours

1624
01:39:34,448 --> 01:39:38,188
also being low man on the totem pole. That was, that was weird.

1625
01:39:38,568 --> 01:39:42,108
Not that I'm, I was high man, you know, I wasn't, I wasn't in a position of

1626
01:39:42,108 --> 01:39:44,948
leadership or anything in therapy, but I'd been there for years.

1627
01:39:45,928 --> 01:39:49,128
And then just like that, I show up somewhere and I'm definitely,

1628
01:39:49,308 --> 01:39:51,308
you know, I don't know much at all.

1629
01:39:51,808 --> 01:39:55,888
So that was, that was a new experience that obviously everybody experiences,

1630
01:39:55,948 --> 01:39:57,088
but it'd been a long time for me.

1631
01:39:57,308 --> 01:40:01,888
I was shoot. That was, you know, I was 36, I guess, 37 something.

1632
01:40:01,968 --> 01:40:03,688
So that's not, you know, just a couple, two years ago.

1633
01:40:04,068 --> 01:40:07,448
It's not young. That's not an age. I think most people are starting new jobs

1634
01:40:07,448 --> 01:40:11,168
or maybe that's, maybe that's more common than I think, but it had been a long

1635
01:40:11,168 --> 01:40:13,008
time since I had started something brand new like that.

1636
01:40:13,468 --> 01:40:17,848
And so that was, that was a challenge just because I didn't know,

1637
01:40:17,868 --> 01:40:20,028
you know, how to be or how to act or anything.

1638
01:40:20,268 --> 01:40:23,708
And, you know, even with that, I was, I'm family. So I had obviously you and

1639
01:40:23,708 --> 01:40:28,368
Bo, which was, you know, I wouldn't have dreamed of wanting to work here if it wasn't for y'all.

1640
01:40:28,448 --> 01:40:32,048
I mean, y'all were, that was, you know, I say I wanted to be here for, for family.

1641
01:40:32,148 --> 01:40:35,108
Cause I'm thinking of my wife and kid, but clearly you and Bo were,

1642
01:40:35,128 --> 01:40:37,488
were almost equal parts of that. Y'all are family.

1643
01:40:37,548 --> 01:40:41,028
And, you know, I didn't get to see and hang out with y'all that much,

1644
01:40:41,028 --> 01:40:43,288
but just like I got to hang out with my dad when I worked there.

1645
01:40:43,388 --> 01:40:45,468
And now it's like, well, this is cool. I get to hang out with my cousins.

1646
01:40:46,528 --> 01:40:50,868
You know, that's, that's truly how I view being at work. Work is, I do enjoy work.

1647
01:40:51,008 --> 01:40:53,248
I'm sure there's work I don't enjoy and I don't work those places.

1648
01:40:53,348 --> 01:40:56,628
And so it's, it's nice to work somewhere you enjoy.

1649
01:40:57,128 --> 01:40:59,868
And, uh, and maybe not everybody has that luxury, but I do always,

1650
01:40:59,928 --> 01:41:01,908
I encourage people to look for it.

1651
01:41:01,948 --> 01:41:05,528
And if you can't find it, the main problems you maybe, maybe you just need to

1652
01:41:05,528 --> 01:41:07,868
learn to enjoy the thing you're doing, you know?

1653
01:41:08,348 --> 01:41:12,288
And I feel like I can do that. Yeah. I know you're You're very detail oriented,

1654
01:41:12,528 --> 01:41:17,028
obviously, maybe because you're a Marine or maybe because you were just built like that.

1655
01:41:18,423 --> 01:41:25,923
The butcher table does offer a wide variety of depth on anything that happens on it.

1656
01:41:26,383 --> 01:41:33,743
And we see that as super important going forward in the ways that we train new

1657
01:41:33,743 --> 01:41:36,663
hires, whether it's your brother, Jeff,

1658
01:41:36,823 --> 01:41:41,683
who's on the table right now, or the guy that's coming Thursday that you just interviewed. dude.

1659
01:41:42,223 --> 01:41:49,823
So how do you take someone who maybe isn't detail oriented and get them on the same page as you?

1660
01:41:50,643 --> 01:41:56,463
Well, that's still a struggle of mine because I don't know, but I think I'm,

1661
01:41:56,463 --> 01:42:00,023
you know, that's a natural thing for me. So I enjoy those things.

1662
01:42:00,383 --> 01:42:04,663
So I guess the challenge is trying to find the thing that motivates that person

1663
01:42:04,663 --> 01:42:07,423
or inspires them or whatever.

1664
01:42:07,583 --> 01:42:09,983
And I'm not the type of person to inspire anyone.

1665
01:42:10,163 --> 01:42:16,103
So even that word I use loosely, but for me, it could be something like trying

1666
01:42:16,103 --> 01:42:23,443
to do this quicker than the last time, or trying to do this with less guidance than the last time.

1667
01:42:23,903 --> 01:42:27,703
And so I just try to throw those ideas out there when I'm teaching somebody

1668
01:42:27,703 --> 01:42:30,963
something that like, Hey, these are some, you know, I'll tell them all the things

1669
01:42:30,963 --> 01:42:34,463
I guess that they can be thinking about, you know, I'm about to tell you,

1670
01:42:34,483 --> 01:42:35,903
you know, a bunch of stuff.

1671
01:42:35,943 --> 01:42:38,623
You're not going to remember much of it, but you know, maybe you can remember

1672
01:42:38,623 --> 01:42:41,023
one thing next time and try to have that.

1673
01:42:41,483 --> 01:42:44,783
So I guess, I guess what I'm trying to do is give them little small victories

1674
01:42:44,783 --> 01:42:49,683
to kind of get them feeling engaged and some buy-in and not feeling so,

1675
01:42:49,743 --> 01:42:51,623
so out of place or whatever.

1676
01:42:52,003 --> 01:42:56,023
And that's just when it's somebody new, ultimately you'll get to learn somebody

1677
01:42:56,023 --> 01:42:58,543
and, and you can find those things.

1678
01:42:58,643 --> 01:43:02,503
Maybe you find little things that motivate them, or you can tell they like,

1679
01:43:02,503 --> 01:43:05,643
like, or they have little niche thing that they're really good at.

1680
01:43:05,723 --> 01:43:08,543
And then obviously I'll try to capitalize that on as best as possible.

1681
01:43:10,060 --> 01:43:13,320
You know, maybe, maybe versatility is the thing they like.

1682
01:43:13,400 --> 01:43:15,540
And it's like, look, you don't have to worry about getting perfect at this today.

1683
01:43:15,600 --> 01:43:19,140
I just want you to, you know, just think this is something else to add to your

1684
01:43:19,140 --> 01:43:22,600
list, find something you like, and we'll, we'll focus more on that or whatever.

1685
01:43:22,720 --> 01:43:26,680
Again, not, not in a strong suit of mind is just trying to find that thing for people.

1686
01:43:27,400 --> 01:43:30,260
There's so many things on the table that are a good fit for me.

1687
01:43:30,660 --> 01:43:32,800
Like you said, there's, there's all kinds of details.

1688
01:43:33,420 --> 01:43:36,980
There's all kinds of goals you can be working towards. So one of the things

1689
01:43:36,980 --> 01:43:41,580
about the butcher table that's so cool to me that I wish more people were like

1690
01:43:41,580 --> 01:43:47,880
this just because it's cool to me is it's like the infinite game concept that

1691
01:43:47,880 --> 01:43:49,760
I can always be improving on something.

1692
01:43:49,860 --> 01:43:54,220
So I'll never, you know, if I want to bone out a cow, you know,

1693
01:43:54,220 --> 01:43:58,440
a piece of cow or a quarter of a cow, I can do that a couple of different ways.

1694
01:43:58,480 --> 01:44:01,280
I can do it a certain way that I want to do it every single time.

1695
01:44:01,280 --> 01:44:05,540
I can find what I think is the perfect way, but ultimately there's going to

1696
01:44:05,540 --> 01:44:07,820
be something else I can try next time. That's a little different way.

1697
01:44:07,960 --> 01:44:10,700
And that's just one aspect. Well, what about how fast can I do it?

1698
01:44:10,740 --> 01:44:12,840
Well, there's another thing I can go toward and there's no end there.

1699
01:44:13,020 --> 01:44:16,420
You know, that's a game I can always be playing against myself.

1700
01:44:17,000 --> 01:44:22,140
And what's the most efficient way of, you know, making sausage for two people

1701
01:44:22,140 --> 01:44:26,900
that again, there's just always ways of trying to do better than the last time.

1702
01:44:26,920 --> 01:44:28,180
And you'll never run out of those.

1703
01:44:28,480 --> 01:44:33,220
And I thrive in that. As soon is there something you can arrive at then i'm

1704
01:44:33,220 --> 01:44:36,860
kind of i'll get bored with it pretty quick and move on to the next thing whereas

1705
01:44:36,860 --> 01:44:39,080
on the table as on the butcher table there's just,

1706
01:44:39,560 --> 01:44:43,940
very few things you know even cutting green onions there's there's ways you

1707
01:44:43,940 --> 01:44:47,660
can show okay how quick can i do this or whatever how can i set this up to be more efficient.

1708
01:44:48,897 --> 01:44:51,957
I like that kind of stuff. But where does it come from? I have the same,

1709
01:44:51,977 --> 01:44:55,757
I have the same mentality and I did since I was younger.

1710
01:44:56,297 --> 01:45:02,017
And I remember I just looked at the guys ahead of me and I just wanted to be like them.

1711
01:45:02,357 --> 01:45:05,897
Like I wanted to be able to do what they were doing as well as they can do it.

1712
01:45:06,457 --> 01:45:09,517
And I wanted, I don't know, I wanted them to know that. I want,

1713
01:45:09,517 --> 01:45:11,357
I want it to be the one doing it. Yeah. Right.

1714
01:45:11,757 --> 01:45:18,957
But God, it's hard to find that same thing that it is X factor in people.

1715
01:45:19,297 --> 01:45:22,417
And sometimes you get tricked into thinking is there and it's just not.

1716
01:45:22,957 --> 01:45:28,177
So you mentioned we had talked about role models briefly. And I think there's more to dive into there.

1717
01:45:28,317 --> 01:45:32,517
But I think maybe that's where I got it from. And you got it from because we

1718
01:45:32,517 --> 01:45:34,657
come from a line of people who were like that.

1719
01:45:34,777 --> 01:45:40,057
But those people were also role models to us. We, we respected them and respect

1720
01:45:40,057 --> 01:45:42,217
them and we like them in general.

1721
01:45:42,337 --> 01:45:47,997
We want to be like them and we want them to, to be proud of who we are.

1722
01:45:48,057 --> 01:45:51,177
And, and that's certainly not something everybody has.

1723
01:45:51,537 --> 01:45:55,197
So I guess, you know, that's another thing that I've thought of and it's been

1724
01:45:55,197 --> 01:45:59,017
hard to apply, but to just remind myself, Hey, if I could just be a role model

1725
01:45:59,017 --> 01:46:02,977
for this person, you know, that I may be giving them something they've never had before.

1726
01:46:03,417 --> 01:46:07,737
And, you know, that's starting at something that I was given since I was a baby

1727
01:46:07,737 --> 01:46:11,217
that they're starting at 20 something like, Hey, they're not,

1728
01:46:11,257 --> 01:46:15,057
they're not going to be exactly where I'm at, but, uh, but I'd be,

1729
01:46:15,077 --> 01:46:17,457
I'd love to be a role model or somebody if they'd never had that,

1730
01:46:17,477 --> 01:46:18,137
you know, that'd be great.

1731
01:46:18,777 --> 01:46:22,177
You want to be able to walk out and say, okay.

1732
01:46:23,150 --> 01:46:27,270
To a guy that's on his first day and just say, just watch me.

1733
01:46:27,670 --> 01:46:29,290
Yeah. Just watch everything I do.

1734
01:46:29,850 --> 01:46:33,290
And then right after I do it, now you do it. You do what I just did.

1735
01:46:33,670 --> 01:46:39,370
But I don't know what's happening when people are in the same room and they're

1736
01:46:39,370 --> 01:46:41,470
unaware of what's going on in the room.

1737
01:46:41,550 --> 01:46:46,670
I don't know what's stopping them from wanting to beat me.

1738
01:46:47,250 --> 01:46:51,170
Like want to be better than me. Take my job.

1739
01:46:51,410 --> 01:46:55,430
Yeah. Like, yeah, I don't know what's stopping people from feeling like that. Yeah.

1740
01:46:55,970 --> 01:46:58,290
No, that's definitely something that you hear in the Marine,

1741
01:46:58,330 --> 01:47:01,470
the Marine Corps all the time is, you know, work for the, you want to take the

1742
01:47:01,470 --> 01:47:04,570
job of the next guy and it's not because you actually want his job.

1743
01:47:04,610 --> 01:47:06,650
He should be getting the next job too, you know, over him.

1744
01:47:06,730 --> 01:47:10,570
It's, I don't know, but even that is, there's a sense of autonomy or,

1745
01:47:10,590 --> 01:47:12,510
or there's something about autonomy.

1746
01:47:12,630 --> 01:47:16,110
That's a very appealing, you know, I don't want somebody hanging over my shoulder

1747
01:47:16,110 --> 01:47:20,010
if they don't need to be there. And I'm not, I'm certainly okay asking for help.

1748
01:47:20,150 --> 01:47:23,410
It's not that I don't want to ask for help. I'm all, I'm for that. I'm okay with that.

1749
01:47:23,850 --> 01:47:27,870
You know, when I first started working here, Bo always had a list and I still do this.

1750
01:47:28,570 --> 01:47:32,270
Bo would make a list in the morning, grab a Sharpie, butcher paper and write

1751
01:47:32,270 --> 01:47:33,370
out the things for the day.

1752
01:47:33,690 --> 01:47:36,570
And after a couple of weeks of that, I was like, started wondering,

1753
01:47:36,710 --> 01:47:40,570
like, does he think I don't know to do this? Like, it was kind of weird to me.

1754
01:47:41,730 --> 01:47:45,430
And so what I started doing was I was like, I don't know, maybe he just likes

1755
01:47:45,430 --> 01:47:48,490
to make that list because let's say after a couple of months of that,

1756
01:47:48,570 --> 01:47:51,390
I was like, well, I surely know every Every single one of these things has had

1757
01:47:51,390 --> 01:47:52,830
to get done today. So why is he doing this?

1758
01:47:54,361 --> 01:47:57,361
And I don't know, maybe he's doing it for himself. Maybe it has nothing to do with what I'm thinking.

1759
01:47:57,421 --> 01:48:00,541
But for me, what I started doing was making my own list on the side before I

1760
01:48:00,541 --> 01:48:03,981
looked at his list to see. And eventually I was like, okay, I'm doing all the same things.

1761
01:48:04,341 --> 01:48:07,681
And after a couple weeks of that, then I would just start leaving my list out

1762
01:48:07,681 --> 01:48:12,041
before he made his list. But what makes people do that?

1763
01:48:12,341 --> 01:48:14,561
And why isn't everyone like that?

1764
01:48:15,141 --> 01:48:22,561
Why don't people want to prove themselves and say, here's proof that I can do

1765
01:48:22,561 --> 01:48:24,321
more. I can do more than you're letting me do.

1766
01:48:24,701 --> 01:48:27,621
Yeah. So give it like, give me more.

1767
01:48:28,641 --> 01:48:33,161
Yeah. I really don't know. I don't know. Cause I'm, I'm miserable if I'm not being that way.

1768
01:48:33,321 --> 01:48:36,521
Yeah. And Hey, you hear a lot about how people are miserable.

1769
01:48:36,661 --> 01:48:42,361
So maybe they just don't know that it's a lot of fun to just be always trying

1770
01:48:42,361 --> 01:48:46,821
to improve yourself and get, or, you know, even just beat yourself type of thing.

1771
01:48:46,941 --> 01:48:50,221
Nevermind improving yourself. That's a, that can be generic and vague,

1772
01:48:50,401 --> 01:48:53,501
but just be better at this thing today than you were yesterday.

1773
01:48:53,661 --> 01:48:57,901
And here's the great part. You may not always succeed, but you get to try again.

1774
01:48:58,081 --> 01:49:01,761
What else are you doing? You know, if you're doing the same thing over and over again.

1775
01:49:02,241 --> 01:49:05,521
So I don't know, maybe, maybe people don't know that. Like, and that sounds

1776
01:49:05,521 --> 01:49:13,261
silly, but, uh, Hey, yeah, if you've, if you're a turn us into a one-on-one

1777
01:49:13,261 --> 01:49:16,261
with Brody, but, uh, Hey, if you're a miserable person,

1778
01:49:16,401 --> 01:49:21,481
maybe you need a, maybe start trying to improve certain areas and nevermind

1779
01:49:21,481 --> 01:49:23,621
the deep stuff. Just start on the easy stuff.

1780
01:49:24,821 --> 01:49:27,661
Just have something you're working toward, I guess, have goals.

1781
01:49:27,701 --> 01:49:29,341
And that maybe that's what it is.

1782
01:49:29,441 --> 01:49:32,861
Maybe it's something therapeutic about having a goal you're working towards

1783
01:49:32,861 --> 01:49:35,681
and then, and then achieving, you know, something to a certain extent.

1784
01:49:35,941 --> 01:49:39,721
And then you just shift your goal again. So your goals can change.

1785
01:49:40,061 --> 01:49:43,181
That's what I think. A lot of people, they, they make a goal.

1786
01:49:43,221 --> 01:49:47,521
It's unreachable. They don't, they don't do it. They don't do the research that they needed to.

1787
01:49:48,081 --> 01:49:54,321
In order to get them there and they bail on it and it's you know disheartening and,

1788
01:49:55,081 --> 01:49:57,941
never see it again or they are that comes up again in five

1789
01:49:57,941 --> 01:50:02,881
ten years instead of they would have just kind of pivoted a little just change

1790
01:50:02,881 --> 01:50:08,241
it a little bit so that you can still meet it and maybe you'll never need to

1791
01:50:08,241 --> 01:50:17,141
stop doing that you know yeah so and so you came here and you started on the butcher table,

1792
01:50:17,241 --> 01:50:20,461
you started learning more about the meat stuffs, which.

1793
01:50:21,764 --> 01:50:28,024
So remind me what your skills were in the building, say, like high school time around that area.

1794
01:50:28,484 --> 01:50:31,344
Yeah. Really just help, just cleaning help. Yeah, it really,

1795
01:50:31,424 --> 01:50:34,784
it could be anything that they just need to help with. It wouldn't be anything

1796
01:50:34,784 --> 01:50:36,164
you need to teach somebody how to do.

1797
01:50:36,264 --> 01:50:39,984
So vacuum packing is, you know, you can teach somebody how to do that in a minute.

1798
01:50:40,544 --> 01:50:45,464
And then cutting pork fat or something for the sausage, did that,

1799
01:50:45,504 --> 01:50:46,904
I think, maybe once, maybe twice.

1800
01:50:48,044 --> 01:50:52,364
But something that you can just literally watch somebody else do for a minute

1801
01:50:52,364 --> 01:50:55,284
and you now can be doing it. So nothing super involved.

1802
01:50:55,384 --> 01:50:59,544
I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have known. I might've helped hang sausage for smoke for the smokehouse.

1803
01:50:59,644 --> 01:51:02,704
Cause again, you can watch that and figure it out, but definitely never did

1804
01:51:02,704 --> 01:51:06,924
anything with the smokehouse and never made, you know, or understood what we

1805
01:51:06,924 --> 01:51:11,084
were doing. We were making sausage if I was throwing stuff in the pot, but that's what I did.

1806
01:51:11,144 --> 01:51:13,944
Just roused about just helping here and there.

1807
01:51:14,044 --> 01:51:17,464
And, and that was maybe for a couple of weeks during christmas

1808
01:51:17,464 --> 01:51:20,484
i think i feel like there was something during the summer once

1809
01:51:20,484 --> 01:51:23,804
but i know that's such a slow time so i don't know why it would have been something like

1810
01:51:23,804 --> 01:51:26,604
that but there was there was times where

1811
01:51:26,604 --> 01:51:29,384
it was a couple weeks or more than a couple weeks and i was like all right

1812
01:51:29,384 --> 01:51:32,404
my foot's in the door type of thing but it just got slow after

1813
01:51:32,404 --> 01:51:35,644
christmas and i was like all right well thanks for your help all right

1814
01:51:35,644 --> 01:51:39,424
so man

1815
01:51:39,424 --> 01:51:42,524
my favorite part my favorite part

1816
01:51:42,524 --> 01:51:45,864
about the butcher table is the camaraderie

1817
01:51:45,864 --> 01:51:48,724
I guess like especially if you got two or three guys

1818
01:51:48,724 --> 01:51:51,544
you know maybe deer season I think is is maybe some of

1819
01:51:51,544 --> 01:51:54,384
the funnest times if you got like three butchers on the

1820
01:51:54,384 --> 01:51:57,484
on the table really in sync

1821
01:51:57,484 --> 01:52:00,464
and you don't need to talk about you can talk but

1822
01:52:00,464 --> 01:52:04,104
doesn't need to be about what you're doing you just be for fun that

1823
01:52:04,104 --> 01:52:07,964
and then being the like

1824
01:52:07,964 --> 01:52:11,264
subject matter expert to the customer like

1825
01:52:11,264 --> 01:52:14,064
they look they look at you differently if you're behind the

1826
01:52:14,064 --> 01:52:17,764
table they just assume you know more yeah and

1827
01:52:17,764 --> 01:52:20,544
i just i've always tried to i tried to not let

1828
01:52:20,544 --> 01:52:25,564
them down at least you know even if that means even if that means hearing a

1829
01:52:25,564 --> 01:52:30,904
customer ask one of the girls for something and before before the question gets

1830
01:52:30,904 --> 01:52:35,344
to me i'll run back here and jump on the computer and google it real quick so

1831
01:52:35,344 --> 01:52:39,164
that i do still look like the subject matter expert and there's nothing There's

1832
01:52:39,164 --> 01:52:39,764
nothing wrong with that.

1833
01:52:39,844 --> 01:52:42,544
That's thinking ahead. I intercepted that correctly.

1834
01:52:43,224 --> 01:52:47,824
That's funny. But I think that's what it takes. That pushes me,

1835
01:52:47,884 --> 01:52:52,544
you know, that improved me and I didn't let it, I didn't let it blindside me.

1836
01:52:52,604 --> 01:52:54,984
I didn't let it make me look stupid in the moment.

1837
01:52:55,924 --> 01:52:59,104
And I'm not embarrassed to do that. And I wish everyone would have the same,

1838
01:52:59,704 --> 01:53:04,664
like all the answers to everything are there. We can find them.

1839
01:53:04,824 --> 01:53:07,004
Yeah. Be creative on how you get it.

1840
01:53:08,801 --> 01:53:14,881
So that and playing with fire. Yeah. Those are my favorite things.

1841
01:53:15,021 --> 01:53:21,981
So being the butcher on the table, you get to load up the smoke house with smoke

1842
01:53:21,981 --> 01:53:25,861
sausage and and light you a nice little fire,

1843
01:53:26,041 --> 01:53:31,881
which I'm sure you grew up doing the same, maybe even more dangerous things. Yeah.

1844
01:53:32,321 --> 01:53:37,641
But let's talk about that. Let's talk about what, what that part of it is that

1845
01:53:37,641 --> 01:53:39,521
some people will never get.

1846
01:53:39,621 --> 01:53:44,721
They don't, they don't get that. And that's not maybe a fun thing or like,

1847
01:53:44,721 --> 01:53:47,101
I don't know, like a therapeutic for me.

1848
01:53:47,141 --> 01:53:50,881
It is for me. It's like a therapeutic, like get my fire tight.

1849
01:53:51,001 --> 01:53:53,681
You know, like I have what I want it to look like.

1850
01:53:53,881 --> 01:53:57,541
I'm going to make it look like that. Yeah. So I've thought of this a lot.

1851
01:53:57,601 --> 01:54:01,581
So I use it as an example for people when it comes to teaching how to do something.

1852
01:54:01,581 --> 01:54:06,341
So when it, when it comes to teaching how to do the fire, there's going to be a way that you teach.

1853
01:54:06,361 --> 01:54:08,841
And then there's going to be a way that I teach and everything here.

1854
01:54:08,961 --> 01:54:11,601
We were pretty insistent on, look, we do things.

1855
01:54:12,061 --> 01:54:13,881
You're going to do things the way we do it, period.

1856
01:54:14,461 --> 01:54:17,781
And there's not, there's no wiggle room. And my, my go-to now is,

1857
01:54:17,801 --> 01:54:21,261
is look, maybe there's a better way, but first you need to learn my way.

1858
01:54:21,581 --> 01:54:25,301
Then you need to learn how to teach my way. Then you're free to try to find

1859
01:54:25,301 --> 01:54:27,461
some other way. As long as it's not interfering with whatever.

1860
01:54:27,941 --> 01:54:31,381
And if you can prove it's better than sure. But when it comes to the fire,

1861
01:54:31,621 --> 01:54:35,341
I compare it to holding a flashlight for somebody in the dark.

1862
01:54:35,681 --> 01:54:38,441
Like two people walking together. One of them's got the flashlight.

1863
01:54:38,601 --> 01:54:43,401
The other person is miserable because that's the most anxiety producing thing. That's so good.

1864
01:54:43,681 --> 01:54:45,961
And so. I hate someone else's fire.

1865
01:54:46,281 --> 01:54:51,081
Yeah. I wouldn't, you will never like someone else's fire because you just want

1866
01:54:51,081 --> 01:54:55,061
something a little, you just want to move that log a little bit for why?

1867
01:54:55,061 --> 01:54:57,561
Why? Because that's where it needs to be in your mind.

1868
01:54:57,961 --> 01:55:01,321
Certainly doesn't mean it's wrong where it's at, but it's wrong to you and that's

1869
01:55:01,321 --> 01:55:04,501
okay. It can be wrong to you. That's also why it needs to be somebody else's fire.

1870
01:55:05,201 --> 01:55:09,821
And so that's something fun for a fire. It's a personal thing.

1871
01:55:10,721 --> 01:55:15,001
It's a customizable thing all day long. Each piece of wood, for me,

1872
01:55:15,021 --> 01:55:18,601
I don't nerd out as much as maybe I should on the weight of each piece,

1873
01:55:18,721 --> 01:55:20,261
but I absolutely nerd out on the shape.

1874
01:55:20,561 --> 01:55:24,141
The shape of that wood tells you everything about how it's going to sit on top of the other pieces.

1875
01:55:24,561 --> 01:55:28,481
If you're making the fire in the morning. It tells you which ones are going

1876
01:55:28,481 --> 01:55:30,441
to go on the bottom because that's going to be sitting on a flat surface.

1877
01:55:31,121 --> 01:55:35,241
And yeah, I nerd out on that big time. Obviously, the size matters.

1878
01:55:36,231 --> 01:55:39,871
And if, if somebody else just watches me or just watches you,

1879
01:55:39,911 --> 01:55:44,371
you're going to make decisions and make little tweaks and choose to split some

1880
01:55:44,371 --> 01:55:48,351
pieces that really, and truly, if they ask you, okay, wait, if they want to

1881
01:55:48,351 --> 01:55:50,131
understand what you're doing, you can't explain that.

1882
01:55:50,191 --> 01:55:52,851
You forget it. And yet I will try.

1883
01:55:53,571 --> 01:55:57,571
Like I just confuse people. No, it's not on purpose. It's just, I don't know.

1884
01:55:57,651 --> 01:56:00,551
I was just feeling this thing with the fire and that's, that's what I did.

1885
01:56:00,571 --> 01:56:03,171
That's between me and the fire. This is personal.

1886
01:56:03,611 --> 01:56:08,271
Yeah. And, and, you know, there is a goal though. It's not just a fire for fire's

1887
01:56:08,271 --> 01:56:10,451
sake. And it's not just trying to smoke the sausage.

1888
01:56:10,631 --> 01:56:13,671
I'm, I'm also, I want that fire to be able to sit.

1889
01:56:13,731 --> 01:56:18,351
I do want it to be untouched if necessary for as long as possible or whatever,

1890
01:56:18,431 --> 01:56:22,231
you know, I want it to sit at this temperature for this long or,

1891
01:56:22,291 --> 01:56:23,311
you know, whatever the case may be.

1892
01:56:23,971 --> 01:56:26,791
I've gone days where I counted how many pieces of wood I use.

1893
01:56:26,811 --> 01:56:30,731
And I want to say, okay, if I can do this with with seven pieces of wood the whole day.

1894
01:56:31,111 --> 01:56:34,611
Well, then other days I can't, and that bothers me because I'm like, well, why?

1895
01:56:34,911 --> 01:56:39,431
Well, there's a lot of factors and maybe I can be too insistent on trying to

1896
01:56:39,431 --> 01:56:42,871
be consistent there, but you know, weather plays a factor, all kinds of things play a factor.

1897
01:56:42,971 --> 01:56:47,091
And so, but I know it can be done with just this amount of wood on a good dry

1898
01:56:47,091 --> 01:56:48,671
day. And I want to do that again.

1899
01:56:49,431 --> 01:56:52,531
Anyway, it's just an ongoing thing. That's, it is a lot of fun,

1900
01:56:52,631 --> 01:56:56,471
but it's absolutely a personal thing and everybody's going to be a little different.

1901
01:56:58,242 --> 01:57:01,042
I don't know if maybe, maybe not everybody gets nerds out on it like I do,

1902
01:57:01,102 --> 01:57:08,802
or we do, but your kids, so your oldest child is 12 and I know that all your kids can light a fire.

1903
01:57:10,162 --> 01:57:13,182
Yeah, I would think so. Pretty much. Yeah. Jacob's the youngest.

1904
01:57:13,222 --> 01:57:18,102
I'm not sure I could say I've seen him do it, but yeah, maybe I need to revisit that.

1905
01:57:18,202 --> 01:57:22,082
But man, with, with lighting a fire comes so many lessons. Yeah.

1906
01:57:22,502 --> 01:57:26,942
Like you said, decision-making, there's so many decisions to make or that you

1907
01:57:26,942 --> 01:57:31,022
can make or can't or you don't need to but something's going to happen whether

1908
01:57:31,022 --> 01:57:33,662
you do or don't yeah hey you got to be patient if you're building a fire from

1909
01:57:33,662 --> 01:57:37,242
scratch uh you know here we got the easy button with the gas line in the mornings

1910
01:57:37,242 --> 01:57:40,082
but at home building a fire even in the fireplace,

1911
01:57:40,742 --> 01:57:44,322
you got to be patient because you can't just go grab whatever and light it you

1912
01:57:44,322 --> 01:57:47,902
can grab the best logs in the world but you got to get those logs lit what about

1913
01:57:47,902 --> 01:57:52,222
the next butcher in training what if you just don't tell them we had the gas

1914
01:57:52,222 --> 01:57:56,382
line for the first month or so well i got two guys is coming soon.

1915
01:57:56,462 --> 01:57:59,142
That'd be interesting to try. I'm for it.

1916
01:57:59,782 --> 01:58:02,742
I'm all for it. Yeah. If you're lighting the fire, uh, you need to show up about

1917
01:58:02,742 --> 01:58:04,862
an hour early on those days. I want to get here at four.

1918
01:58:06,402 --> 01:58:10,522
Everything you need is right here. Just point to the yard. Give them that bellow.

1919
01:58:11,302 --> 01:58:15,802
Yeah. Hey, so that, that fire bellow, I got to give a shout out to my, my niece.

1920
01:58:16,702 --> 01:58:19,822
I'll put that on my Christmas wishlist one year for my dad's side,

1921
01:58:19,902 --> 01:58:21,342
little family get together.

1922
01:58:21,842 --> 01:58:24,742
And she got me this little fire bellow and it's it was

1923
01:58:24,742 --> 01:58:27,622
awesome it was the coolest thing it really is handy loved that thing

1924
01:58:27,622 --> 01:58:30,682
and and i've replaced it twice since because it we use

1925
01:58:30,682 --> 01:58:36,342
it we use the heck out of that thing and and yeah love it it's it's such a man

1926
01:58:36,342 --> 01:58:41,682
they it's like they knew what they were making it for you know yeah all right

1927
01:58:41,682 --> 01:58:48,622
so enough about the butcher stuff shortly after you started your job,

1928
01:58:48,642 --> 01:58:56,022
I'd say quickly developed and expanded and went in depth and width and maybe

1929
01:58:56,022 --> 01:58:57,802
just going all over the place.

1930
01:58:59,206 --> 01:59:03,826
Which I think that's what you wanted. Yeah. I think, I think you were,

1931
01:59:03,926 --> 01:59:09,846
I think you're ready to kind of get your hands into everything and you have, what are some of those,

1932
01:59:10,046 --> 01:59:16,986
I guess, what, what, what did you feel that you needed to do when you looked

1933
01:59:16,986 --> 01:59:21,226
around and you say, here's what I can do around here. I need to start doing it.

1934
01:59:21,346 --> 01:59:25,206
Yeah. So, so I didn't say this at first, but this is a good point to mention

1935
01:59:25,206 --> 01:59:28,546
it. So the other challenge of being here, when I first, first started here,

1936
01:59:28,626 --> 01:59:34,686
the first challenge was the leadership side of things, because what I felt I had to contribute.

1937
01:59:34,966 --> 01:59:40,966
And some of that I think was necessary humility I needed to grab along the way.

1938
01:59:41,226 --> 01:59:45,106
And Hey, some of it is similar to the fire. We just talked about some of the

1939
01:59:45,106 --> 01:59:48,046
things that I would have wanted to do different or felt were being done wrong.

1940
01:59:48,106 --> 01:59:51,526
Well, they weren't, they just weren't the way I would do it. and

1941
01:59:51,526 --> 01:59:54,986
and some of that was a huge struggle constant biting

1942
01:59:54,986 --> 01:59:57,826
the tongue frustrated over something that well

1943
01:59:57,826 --> 02:00:01,206
you know thinking to myself well if i you know if they'd have done it this way

1944
02:00:01,206 --> 02:00:05,506
this would have turned out better and so that was that was a huge struggle but

1945
02:00:05,506 --> 02:00:09,286
i truly even in the moment even when it was hard i knew i was like this is this

1946
02:00:09,286 --> 02:00:13,306
is good because at that point at that point in the marines which is where i

1947
02:00:13,306 --> 02:00:16,926
was you know able to really exercise my leadership if you will skills deals.

1948
02:00:17,226 --> 02:00:21,886
I was a first sergeant at that point and I had learned a lot,

1949
02:00:21,946 --> 02:00:25,546
but maybe had lost a little bit of the humility that comes with that.

1950
02:00:25,606 --> 02:00:27,326
And so, and I mean that, and that was good.

1951
02:00:27,466 --> 02:00:31,066
But the other side of it is also, you know, what do I know? I've been here for

1952
02:00:31,066 --> 02:00:32,526
a year or two at this point.

1953
02:00:32,586 --> 02:00:37,666
And like I just said, I mean, I knew next to nothing about exactly how the market was being ran.

1954
02:00:38,306 --> 02:00:43,446
One thing Phil had talked about a lot that I was starting to realize was,

1955
02:00:43,506 --> 02:00:46,166
yeah, I didn't think it was a challenge for me at first, but he mentioned it.

1956
02:00:46,206 --> 02:00:50,666
And that is for Phil coming from the kind of the more corporate jobs he came from.

1957
02:00:50,686 --> 02:00:54,346
And he comes here and it's like, okay, where's your, how had he's like,

1958
02:00:54,426 --> 02:00:58,046
where's your SOP binders? And everybody looked at him like he's crazy.

1959
02:00:58,986 --> 02:01:00,986
And then, you know, his thing was, well, you know, just the,

1960
02:01:01,026 --> 02:01:04,166
how you make sausage, you know, where, where's the, where's the binder that

1961
02:01:04,166 --> 02:01:06,746
tells me how to do that and still crazy looks.

1962
02:01:07,186 --> 02:01:10,106
And so, and at first I thought that was funny. Cause I'm like,

1963
02:01:10,146 --> 02:01:13,346
yeah, you don't need to do all that, you know, but, but I, after,

1964
02:01:13,446 --> 02:01:16,706
after being here for a while, I was like, yeah, I want those two.

1965
02:01:16,886 --> 02:01:18,686
I really want those things.

1966
02:01:19,066 --> 02:01:21,786
And so, uh, because that's what we do in the Marine Corps, you know,

1967
02:01:21,806 --> 02:01:26,946
we have, we call them turnover binders and every, everything has a step-by-step process.

1968
02:01:27,006 --> 02:01:32,546
And ultimately the best way to understand it is everything is possible with you not around.

1969
02:01:32,746 --> 02:01:37,066
I could literally, literally die. And somebody else is ready to step into that

1970
02:01:37,066 --> 02:01:41,326
position. position and just, it's as though I, you know, didn't miss, we didn't miss a beat.

1971
02:01:41,826 --> 02:01:44,866
And, uh, and there's huge value to that, of course, but yeah.

1972
02:01:45,630 --> 02:01:50,690
This is not a big corporate run. It's a mom and pop meat market. And we want it to be that.

1973
02:01:51,030 --> 02:01:55,010
And, and sure, there's been some things that we've been able to do better in

1974
02:01:55,010 --> 02:01:58,010
that area that it has been useful, but other things that it would not be useful.

1975
02:01:58,110 --> 02:02:01,430
It isn't, it isn't necessarily a good thing. We need to be able to have the

1976
02:02:01,430 --> 02:02:05,250
flexibility to shift and change or, or what have you.

1977
02:02:05,290 --> 02:02:07,950
And, and look, some of that I'm still learning where we are,

1978
02:02:07,990 --> 02:02:12,450
you know, on certain things is what would be better to have a SOP for what wouldn't

1979
02:02:12,450 --> 02:02:13,290
or whatever the case may be.

1980
02:02:13,930 --> 02:02:17,350
So, so So anyway, that was, so just for the leadership side of things,

1981
02:02:17,490 --> 02:02:19,030
that was a, that was a challenge for me.

1982
02:02:19,190 --> 02:02:25,970
And, but with the split, you know, I stayed here at the original location and

1983
02:02:25,970 --> 02:02:30,830
right away was, was like, okay, well, was kind of put into a position to be

1984
02:02:30,830 --> 02:02:32,330
able to, on the butcher table, for instance.

1985
02:02:32,390 --> 02:02:36,390
So, you know, me and Terrell, which I didn't mention him as part of one of my

1986
02:02:36,390 --> 02:02:40,370
16 siblings, but I probably should have, uh, he's, he's, he's the 17th.

1987
02:02:40,470 --> 02:02:43,850
If anybody's ever seen Terrell and I work together on a table,

1988
02:02:43,910 --> 02:02:44,950
you know, we're, we're brothers.

1989
02:02:45,030 --> 02:02:48,890
We just don't have the same parents and, and had a blast with him.

1990
02:02:49,230 --> 02:02:51,790
But once he was going, well, now it's like, well, shoot, it's on me.

1991
02:02:52,250 --> 02:02:56,150
And, and when I say that, I mean, not only just how we do what we do each day,

1992
02:02:56,230 --> 02:03:00,310
but if we get a new hire, somebody's got to train that person.

1993
02:03:00,390 --> 02:03:04,910
And the thing about Terrell is that I am not, you know, I kind of alluded to it a minute ago.

1994
02:03:04,950 --> 02:03:09,150
I'm not real good at training people, not the best when it comes to teaching and coaching.

1995
02:03:14,390 --> 02:03:19,150
That's good. And, and he would probably disagree, but I've watched him teach people.

1996
02:03:19,250 --> 02:03:23,290
He taught me a lot of what I, what I've learned here, uh, specifically on the

1997
02:03:23,290 --> 02:03:24,550
table. He taught me himself.

1998
02:03:24,770 --> 02:03:27,510
I think he's very good at that. So when he was going, I was like, Oh shoot.

1999
02:03:28,010 --> 02:03:33,150
So called him a lot early on, uh, frankly called him over here a lot to,

2000
02:03:33,210 --> 02:03:36,190
Hey, can you come teach this person how to bone out a shoulder?

2001
02:03:36,430 --> 02:03:41,870
Cause I'm telling them to do it this way. And I don't even know why they're

2002
02:03:41,870 --> 02:03:43,150
They're holding their knife the way they're holding it.

2003
02:03:44,992 --> 02:03:46,832
And it's like, they don't see the way I'm holding it, I guess.

2004
02:03:46,832 --> 02:03:48,812
They keep putting their knife inside of their body.

2005
02:03:50,612 --> 02:03:57,772
Oh man. So anyway, yeah. So a little more, you know, a little less help here

2006
02:03:57,772 --> 02:04:01,852
was a challenge, but also, okay, well, here's your chance.

2007
02:04:01,972 --> 02:04:04,692
Did you learn the humility you needed? Because here, here we go.

2008
02:04:05,352 --> 02:04:08,612
And, and some of that was, was great. Some of it I loved and some of it was, was hard.

2009
02:04:08,692 --> 02:04:11,792
Some of it was a challenge, but just back to earlier, you know,

2010
02:04:11,792 --> 02:04:14,352
I want to do better to tomorrow than I did today.

2011
02:04:14,532 --> 02:04:16,792
And so that was still my mindset.

2012
02:04:17,052 --> 02:04:19,392
That's still where I was, where I was going with things.

2013
02:04:19,732 --> 02:04:25,132
And I just wanted to make sure whatever I did here was contributing to the success of the meat market.

2014
02:04:25,912 --> 02:04:30,052
Something I've heard Bo say, and he might've even said it on,

2015
02:04:30,112 --> 02:04:34,952
when, when you guys talked on here, but you know, he's, he's just watching over

2016
02:04:34,952 --> 02:04:37,312
things until the next generation comes around.

2017
02:04:37,472 --> 02:04:42,652
And I've always, I appreciate that mindset and, and, and I respect that a lot in bow.

2018
02:04:43,192 --> 02:04:47,772
And so for me, I just have a small, I have a part in that is how I look at it.

2019
02:04:47,812 --> 02:04:50,652
If that's how he views it, we'll shoot that. That better be how I view it too.

2020
02:04:51,312 --> 02:04:55,192
And so I want to make sure I'm always doing that, I guess.

2021
02:04:55,972 --> 02:04:58,792
So yeah, that's, that's how I approach everything I've done here.

2022
02:04:59,052 --> 02:05:02,692
And obviously I'll, you know, I know I fall short at times, but I've been,

2023
02:05:02,692 --> 02:05:06,312
been blessed with the ability to see that I think when it's necessary.

2024
02:05:06,412 --> 02:05:10,772
And again, the humility to own it and and try to do better.

2025
02:05:11,232 --> 02:05:13,372
And so, yeah, that's what I'm doing.

2026
02:05:14,052 --> 02:05:18,492
So Bo and I sort of came in the same way.

2027
02:05:18,532 --> 02:05:23,072
Bo had much more time than I had, but we both kind of came in the same route,

2028
02:05:23,192 --> 02:05:29,492
which would be like the way I look at it is like the Mustang route in the Marine Corps.

2029
02:05:29,612 --> 02:05:32,652
Like I would consider us Mustangs.

2030
02:05:32,832 --> 02:05:36,652
Explain what that is in the Marine Corps. So a Mustang in the Marine Corps,

2031
02:05:36,692 --> 02:05:44,332
or maybe all branches call it that is when an enlisted Marine decides to become commissioned officer.

2032
02:05:45,092 --> 02:05:48,812
So, you know, to become an officer, you need a degree, but, you know,

2033
02:05:48,812 --> 02:05:53,432
again, the officers are the, the, the leaders in an organization, the commissioned,

2034
02:05:53,672 --> 02:05:57,532
you know, again, presidentially recognized, you know, it's like the commission

2035
02:05:57,532 --> 02:06:00,352
is from the president of the United States. So an officer in the military.

2036
02:06:01,152 --> 02:06:05,252
So to go from enlisted officer is a, is a pretty big jump, but a Mustang would

2037
02:06:05,252 --> 02:06:08,852
be one who was enlisted first and then went the officer route after.

2038
02:06:09,032 --> 02:06:14,272
Which it helps, that's that me and Bo started in the back, you know,

2039
02:06:14,272 --> 02:06:17,872
at a young age, just doing the help, cleaning and vacuum packing.

2040
02:06:18,312 --> 02:06:22,672
But even like once I came back from the Marines, I started in the back and had

2041
02:06:22,672 --> 02:06:25,752
to relearn, you know, or really learn for the first time a bunch of stuff,

2042
02:06:26,652 --> 02:06:30,292
stuffing sausage and making Buddha and actually making the products in the back.

2043
02:06:31,759 --> 02:06:35,979
Smoking the jerky and then, and then moved up to the front and learned to butcher

2044
02:06:35,979 --> 02:06:37,339
table. All that came second.

2045
02:06:37,759 --> 02:06:42,519
And then started, you know, once, once all the products and all the sales stuff

2046
02:06:42,519 --> 02:06:48,519
was done, then I started learning more of Bo's job and trying to prove to Bo that he can leave here.

2047
02:06:48,599 --> 02:06:53,279
Like he can get out of the building and I got it, which was a different route

2048
02:06:53,279 --> 02:06:56,439
than say, like you and Phil would be good examples.

2049
02:06:56,499 --> 02:07:01,559
Like, you're kind of both coming into leadership positions and you didn't get

2050
02:07:01,559 --> 02:07:03,639
to spend a bunch of time in the back.

2051
02:07:03,759 --> 02:07:09,239
And Phil talked about it when, when me and him spoke and he explained how much

2052
02:07:09,239 --> 02:07:13,979
of a challenge that was like, you know, cause you do have a different perspective.

2053
02:07:14,099 --> 02:07:18,599
A lot of times it is, it is a better perspective, maybe even a bigger picture

2054
02:07:18,599 --> 02:07:23,999
perspective, but you need the, you still need the buy-in from the guy who has

2055
02:07:23,999 --> 02:07:26,359
been doing it for 10 years every day.

2056
02:07:26,499 --> 02:07:32,419
Yes. And you got to, you, you have to figure out a way to personally earn that respect from them.

2057
02:07:32,779 --> 02:07:36,699
And everyone's different. You might get it like this from one guy and it might

2058
02:07:36,699 --> 02:07:40,099
take you seven years to get that respect from someone else. Yeah.

2059
02:07:40,479 --> 02:07:43,159
How, how'd you kind of navigate those things?

2060
02:07:43,899 --> 02:07:48,239
Some of those are still navigating for sure. I have tried desperately to go

2061
02:07:48,239 --> 02:07:50,799
learn stuff in the back at this point, I've given up.

2062
02:07:51,679 --> 02:07:55,039
I've I'll I'm learning here and there. And I kind of I know the gist of some

2063
02:07:55,039 --> 02:07:58,659
of the stuff, but there, and the reason it never really came to fruition is

2064
02:07:58,659 --> 02:08:00,679
it was just, I was always kind of needed in the front.

2065
02:08:00,879 --> 02:08:04,039
And, and then a few times it was like, oh, this will be good.

2066
02:08:04,099 --> 02:08:06,139
I'll take a few months and just go work in the back. And then,

2067
02:08:06,159 --> 02:08:07,419
you know, maybe something will come up.

2068
02:08:07,499 --> 02:08:10,839
It's like, oh, well so much for that. And it's not needed. It's not, it's not mandatory.

2069
02:08:11,399 --> 02:08:14,179
It would just be nice. Hey, again, that was something Terrell,

2070
02:08:14,299 --> 02:08:17,859
same thing, like Terrell knows, you know, I was always jealous of Terrell knowing

2071
02:08:17,859 --> 02:08:19,839
everything from front to back.

2072
02:08:20,159 --> 02:08:24,319
And I think that made him more well-rounded and and again still Highly look

2073
02:08:24,319 --> 02:08:26,179
up to him because of that so.

2074
02:08:27,303 --> 02:08:31,403
I think part of me was just spent a lot of time trying to just learn the stuff

2075
02:08:31,403 --> 02:08:32,603
in the back because I knew that'd be helpful.

2076
02:08:32,983 --> 02:08:35,583
But then the other part of me, other part of me is now is just,

2077
02:08:35,603 --> 02:08:41,243
is just transitioning more into the, hey, there is some benefit actually to, to not know it. Yeah.

2078
02:08:41,303 --> 02:08:45,223
Making a decision, even though I don't know, or, you know, I'm going to include

2079
02:08:45,223 --> 02:08:49,243
the guys in the back, back of house or what, you know, whatever this area may

2080
02:08:49,243 --> 02:08:50,223
be, not just back of house.

2081
02:08:50,643 --> 02:08:53,143
Because there's, there's things in the front that I've maybe never done.

2082
02:08:53,143 --> 02:08:57,623
And so there's, there's benefit to that because I can take a step back and man

2083
02:08:57,623 --> 02:08:58,983
working on the butcher table.

2084
02:08:59,123 --> 02:09:02,303
I do, I truly, and I've said this, you know, to you outside of here,

2085
02:09:02,363 --> 02:09:07,763
but I feel that is an ideal position for, for what I'm doing here at this market

2086
02:09:07,763 --> 02:09:09,883
now and what I, what I think my place is.

2087
02:09:09,983 --> 02:09:13,423
And that is at the butcher table, able to see just about everything.

2088
02:09:13,683 --> 02:09:15,523
When it leaves the table, it goes to the back.

2089
02:09:15,863 --> 02:09:19,383
Certain things come back from the back and I'm, I'm able to see it as it comes in.

2090
02:09:19,543 --> 02:09:21,763
I'm seeing it when it's leaving the door, I'm watching the interactions.

2091
02:09:21,763 --> 02:09:27,223
I can, but I also, I'm not, I'm not so focused on one customer say that now

2092
02:09:27,223 --> 02:09:28,423
I'm missing a bunch of stuff going on.

2093
02:09:28,903 --> 02:09:35,463
That is, that's huge. And, and I think I can apply that to everything that happens here.

2094
02:09:35,563 --> 02:09:37,983
I mean, I know exactly how it's happening, but I have the vantage point.

2095
02:09:38,083 --> 02:09:39,423
I think that's, that is useful.

2096
02:09:39,923 --> 02:09:44,083
Um, and Hey, it, it certainly doesn't hurt that the people who are the experts

2097
02:09:44,083 --> 02:09:47,703
in their individual fields here have been doing it for 10 years.

2098
02:09:48,103 --> 02:09:51,203
So, you know, Now, if I didn't have that, yeah, we, we would drown.

2099
02:09:51,363 --> 02:09:53,683
I mean, that, I don't know how we would do it. I mean, sure.

2100
02:09:54,283 --> 02:09:58,823
We wouldn't drown because we refuse to fail. I get it, but we would be in a really bad spot.

2101
02:09:59,183 --> 02:10:03,243
And so we're forever thankful and I'm forever thankful for the people we have

2102
02:10:03,243 --> 02:10:04,303
where they, where we have them.

2103
02:10:05,263 --> 02:10:08,603
And we, you know, the goal remains, my goal remains. Okay. But how can we do

2104
02:10:08,603 --> 02:10:11,523
better? How can we do it better? And so that's cool.

2105
02:10:12,043 --> 02:10:15,743
I like, I like looking at that butcher position, you know, that head butcher

2106
02:10:15,743 --> 02:10:17,583
position as like a linebacker.

2107
02:10:17,923 --> 02:10:22,183
Yeah. Like you get to see the whole field. You can run to the back if you need,

2108
02:10:22,363 --> 02:10:27,143
you can run to the front, you can involve yourself with the customers and then

2109
02:10:27,143 --> 02:10:31,223
back out once you're ready for someone else to step up.

2110
02:10:31,223 --> 02:10:35,223
And you know, when you see the moment where it's like, okay,

2111
02:10:35,223 --> 02:10:40,383
even if you're a new hire, you know this, like you know the answer to that question,

2112
02:10:40,523 --> 02:10:42,443
you step in, I'm backing out, you know?

2113
02:10:43,123 --> 02:10:46,363
And it can be done correctly or incorrectly for sure.

2114
02:10:47,928 --> 02:10:52,788
Yeah, I think maybe a kind of equivalent thing in the Marines that I think is

2115
02:10:52,788 --> 02:10:56,948
unique to the military and it's very cool and it's a good thing is,

2116
02:10:57,048 --> 02:10:59,208
so my position in the Marines now as a Sergeant Major,

2117
02:10:59,668 --> 02:11:02,528
the right-hand man, if you will,

2118
02:11:02,668 --> 02:11:10,208
of the commanding officer of the squadron, but I'm not working for his job,

2119
02:11:10,348 --> 02:11:15,828
meaning I'm not trying to, there's no path up for me that I'm not going to become

2120
02:11:15,828 --> 02:11:16,608
a commissioned officer.

2121
02:11:16,608 --> 02:11:20,248
I mean, sure, that's an option, but that's not ultimately our relationship is

2122
02:11:20,248 --> 02:11:22,668
not one where I'm going to hopefully get his job one day.

2123
02:11:22,708 --> 02:11:26,108
Like that's not a desire of mine and vice versa. And we're not equals.

2124
02:11:26,248 --> 02:11:29,348
I don't mean that we're equals. He's he's a commanding officer of the unit.

2125
02:11:29,628 --> 02:11:35,048
But that allows me to just really focus in on what I can do best to help the

2126
02:11:35,048 --> 02:11:37,588
organization with no ulterior motives.

2127
02:11:38,948 --> 02:11:42,868
And in the more he is successful or the more the squadron successful,

2128
02:11:43,328 --> 02:11:45,088
the more I feel like I'm being successful.

2129
02:11:45,088 --> 02:11:50,508
And so the same thing here, if the more the market is successful and by definition,

2130
02:11:50,528 --> 02:11:54,168
the people in those experts, the experts in their little individual areas,

2131
02:11:54,288 --> 02:11:57,668
they're excelling too, and they're succeeding and vice versa.

2132
02:11:57,708 --> 02:12:01,648
If I can get, you know, the perfect amount of product made and,

2133
02:12:01,688 --> 02:12:04,888
you know, the most efficient way, well, everybody benefits from that.

2134
02:12:04,888 --> 02:12:09,828
And I'm to the point now and not only in my career in the Marines and here just

2135
02:12:09,828 --> 02:12:15,148
in life that is it's not cliche I truly if other people are succeeding I take

2136
02:12:15,148 --> 02:12:19,308
that as a huge I take a lot of pride in that and that just makes me very happy

2137
02:12:19,308 --> 02:12:21,448
and I feel great if I can help other people Do well,

2138
02:12:22,068 --> 02:12:24,108
Yeah Cuz what else?

2139
02:12:25,215 --> 02:12:30,215
What else is there? You know? Yeah. Like, yeah. Yeah.

2140
02:12:31,775 --> 02:12:34,755
Your pictures on the wall. I don't know. What's the best?

2141
02:12:35,315 --> 02:12:40,655
Yeah. The accolades are super temporary. You know, I, I like to plug a thing.

2142
02:12:40,795 --> 02:12:45,775
I heard a YouTube video and it's like a five or six minute video, maybe a little longer.

2143
02:12:45,855 --> 02:12:51,455
And it's, I think it's called the 16th second or something like that.

2144
02:12:51,535 --> 02:12:54,935
But anyway, sorry, I can't tell you exactly where it's at. So now if anybody's

2145
02:12:54,935 --> 02:12:55,955
interested, they may not be able to find it.

2146
02:12:55,995 --> 02:13:00,495
But what it is, is a high school graduation or college graduation,

2147
02:13:00,695 --> 02:13:06,835
but it's the valedictorian gives a speech and it's really good because he's

2148
02:13:06,835 --> 02:13:08,475
a young guy who acknowledges that,

2149
02:13:08,575 --> 02:13:12,995
yeah, he got valedictorian because two years before he decided he wanted to

2150
02:13:12,995 --> 02:13:17,455
be valedictorian and he knew he could do it and wasn't being cocky.

2151
02:13:17,515 --> 02:13:19,775
He's like, no, I can do this. And it wasn't easy.

2152
02:13:19,935 --> 02:13:23,415
It came at a great cost and he outlined some of those costs.

2153
02:13:23,575 --> 02:13:27,755
But the point is now he, then he finds out he got it and it felt awesome.

2154
02:13:27,875 --> 02:13:31,495
It was everything he wanted it to be for 15 seconds. Then what?

2155
02:13:32,495 --> 02:13:35,155
And, uh, anyway, I thought it was pretty deep and it's, it's really good.

2156
02:13:35,295 --> 02:13:38,495
And, and that's super important because if, you know, what relationships were

2157
02:13:38,495 --> 02:13:40,875
sacrificed along the way and, and all that other stuff.

2158
02:13:40,915 --> 02:13:44,115
And when, you know, he could have given up on that dream and instead focused

2159
02:13:44,115 --> 02:13:48,255
on relationships and focus on making himself better and making others better.

2160
02:13:48,255 --> 02:13:50,895
And I mean, those are, those are of eternal importance.

2161
02:13:51,495 --> 02:13:56,295
What are some influences that you've had along the way that I don't know about?

2162
02:13:56,395 --> 02:14:00,375
I know your dad was a huge influence, your brothers. Yeah. I'm sure Papa.

2163
02:14:00,755 --> 02:14:05,615
But what about like maybe some military leaders you've had along the way or

2164
02:14:05,615 --> 02:14:11,375
experiences you've had that you think really, truly carried over to, to who you are now?

2165
02:14:11,575 --> 02:14:17,635
Yeah. Yeah, so I want to talk about first my mom, because you mentioned my dad,

2166
02:14:17,795 --> 02:14:22,655
and this is something that I learned, if I learned it, and I think it's a theory

2167
02:14:22,655 --> 02:14:23,555
of mine, but I think it's true.

2168
02:14:25,152 --> 02:14:29,492
Up on it way later in life. And it was once I already had kids or maybe right

2169
02:14:29,492 --> 02:14:31,192
before my wife and I started having kids.

2170
02:14:31,752 --> 02:14:36,992
And that is, I've been asked many times by many people from all walks of life,

2171
02:14:37,132 --> 02:14:42,152
what did your dad do that made y'all's relationship so good?

2172
02:14:42,312 --> 02:14:45,372
Because I love my dad to death. I don't just like him though.

2173
02:14:45,672 --> 02:14:49,132
He's the wisest person I know. I

2174
02:14:49,132 --> 02:14:52,612
think he's got great wisdom great patience and he's just you know i like i love

2175
02:14:52,612 --> 02:14:56,612
my dad like everybody knows me and my brothers like we we thought the world

2176
02:14:56,612 --> 02:15:01,192
of my dad always have and so over the years especially as we got older that

2177
02:15:01,192 --> 02:15:03,792
started to be a unique thing because not everybody has a great relationship

2178
02:15:03,792 --> 02:15:08,472
with their dad and so people who cared who were going to be having kids themselves soon or had,

2179
02:15:09,072 --> 02:15:12,632
started keying in on that and would ask inevitably you know what what is it

2180
02:15:12,632 --> 02:15:16,312
about your dad what did he do you know what do you think and uh and i would

2181
02:15:16,312 --> 02:15:20,352
have some things to point to because my dad is a, you know, it's all those things I just said.

2182
02:15:20,472 --> 02:15:23,132
I'm not, it's not just my opinion. My dad is great.

2183
02:15:23,992 --> 02:15:27,252
But I realized for years, I didn't give proper credit to my mom.

2184
02:15:27,392 --> 02:15:29,652
And that's not just because she deserves credit.

2185
02:15:30,752 --> 02:15:33,692
If I could back up and talk about something a little uncomfortable,

2186
02:15:33,872 --> 02:15:35,252
but it needs to be talked about.

2187
02:15:36,279 --> 02:15:40,959
To properly realize how great my mom is. And that is that, like I said,

2188
02:15:40,999 --> 02:15:45,099
my parents divorced when I was very young. My mom remarried when I was very young.

2189
02:15:45,519 --> 02:15:51,159
Well, growing up, I didn't know this, but a lot of times when parents get divorced,

2190
02:15:51,419 --> 02:15:52,699
they don't get along too well.

2191
02:15:53,339 --> 02:15:59,199
I did not know this growing up. I have never once in my entire life ever heard

2192
02:15:59,199 --> 02:16:01,099
my mom say an unkind word about my dad.

2193
02:16:01,699 --> 02:16:06,699
And obviously there was some friction at some point.

2194
02:16:07,479 --> 02:16:11,679
So, you know, that's not want to downplay it, but at the same time,

2195
02:16:11,739 --> 02:16:16,499
you know, both of them have, have essentially, you know, they've been awesome

2196
02:16:16,499 --> 02:16:19,019
examples to me since then, you know, neither one of them's proud of that.

2197
02:16:19,079 --> 02:16:20,919
That's not something they probably won't be talking about too much,

2198
02:16:20,959 --> 02:16:25,899
but I say it because I think it's important to acknowledge that my mom understood

2199
02:16:25,899 --> 02:16:30,879
the importance of having a role model maybe, or whatever. That's my dad.

2200
02:16:31,319 --> 02:16:36,859
And so there was many times my mom probably could have been upset or whatever,

2201
02:16:36,959 --> 02:16:39,159
but she just never said an unkind word about my dad.

2202
02:16:39,279 --> 02:16:42,079
Uh, and the same thing with my stepdad, her, her husband.

2203
02:16:42,119 --> 02:16:45,699
Now, uh, I have never seen my mom say an unkind word, probably about anybody,

2204
02:16:45,779 --> 02:16:51,599
if I'm being honest, but looking back, I think, yeah, my dad was always,

2205
02:16:51,659 --> 02:16:53,379
she didn't just not say an unkind word.

2206
02:16:53,479 --> 02:16:57,179
My dad was on a pedestal and remained there my whole life.

2207
02:16:57,299 --> 02:17:00,799
And I, I think My dad didn't put himself on a pedestal, so who did?

2208
02:17:01,279 --> 02:17:04,779
Sure, in a young son's mind, some of that's going on naturally,

2209
02:17:04,939 --> 02:17:08,599
but really looking back, I think my mom had a huge part in that,

2210
02:17:08,719 --> 02:17:10,719
and I'm forever grateful for that.

2211
02:17:12,179 --> 02:17:15,519
I've taken that very seriously. That's been a huge influence on me when I think

2212
02:17:15,519 --> 02:17:20,379
of how I treat other people, which is not always obvious because I don't do

2213
02:17:20,379 --> 02:17:25,479
as well as my mom, but I think one thing I've been been able to do is recognize it.

2214
02:17:25,519 --> 02:17:28,939
And I'm usually pretty good at saying, I'm sorry, which doesn't undo things,

2215
02:17:28,979 --> 02:17:33,219
but I'll, I'll acknowledge that the mistake was made because I think that's important.

2216
02:17:33,339 --> 02:17:36,859
And I think we can really mess up somebody's opinion or views of somebody by

2217
02:17:36,859 --> 02:17:38,079
not being careful in that area.

2218
02:17:39,412 --> 02:17:43,052
So, so that was important to me. And I think that needs to be said.

2219
02:17:43,132 --> 02:17:45,912
I think that needs to be recognized when we're dealing with people.

2220
02:17:45,972 --> 02:17:48,812
And when we're, maybe when we're frustrated with someone is watch out who's

2221
02:17:48,812 --> 02:17:51,352
listening to what's, what's being said and all that.

2222
02:17:52,492 --> 02:17:58,072
So fast forward to the military and in the Marines, you know,

2223
02:17:58,072 --> 02:18:03,372
if, when you get promoted to corporal, that's your first, that's your first,

2224
02:18:03,372 --> 02:18:06,792
first real, what I would say is that's, you know, you're a leader now, period.

2225
02:18:06,792 --> 02:18:09,352
And we know we say even Lance Corp was leader, but yeah, sure.

2226
02:18:09,852 --> 02:18:13,752
But a corporal, a corporal has Lance Corp in his fire team and he's going to

2227
02:18:13,752 --> 02:18:18,852
have Lance Corp that he is responsible for providing counselings for sitting

2228
02:18:18,852 --> 02:18:20,612
down with every month in the reserves.

2229
02:18:20,692 --> 02:18:25,112
It's quarterly, but sit down knee cap to knee cap, a blouse off if needed,

2230
02:18:25,232 --> 02:18:28,692
you know, no rank if needed to just have an honest heart to heart conversation

2231
02:18:28,692 --> 02:18:29,772
if that's what needs to happen.

2232
02:18:30,252 --> 02:18:32,332
But then there's other times where it's not going to be heart to heart.

2233
02:18:32,372 --> 02:18:35,652
It's going to be laying down the law, some knife hands or whatever the case

2234
02:18:35,652 --> 02:18:37,872
may be, but a corporal has that responsibility.

2235
02:18:38,772 --> 02:18:43,232
And once you're a corporal, you need to understand that you don't talk about

2236
02:18:43,232 --> 02:18:46,732
other corporals, just like, you know, my mom, I talked to my mom saying,

2237
02:18:46,792 --> 02:18:51,432
go, a corporal shouldn't talk about another corporal negatively in front of a lower ranking person.

2238
02:18:51,672 --> 02:18:55,032
You know, that's just universal understood concept.

2239
02:18:55,612 --> 02:18:59,472
And you, you might complain about higher ups, but you don't complain about higher

2240
02:18:59,472 --> 02:19:01,472
ups in front of lower ranking people.

2241
02:19:01,892 --> 02:19:05,192
And I remember that was just, that's just the way it was. And I don't ever remember

2242
02:19:05,192 --> 02:19:09,972
being taught that is absolutely how it was. And I like to think that's how it still is.

2243
02:19:10,412 --> 02:19:13,652
And so I thought that was, I think that's really important. And,

2244
02:19:13,672 --> 02:19:15,532
and I would hope we're not losing that.

2245
02:19:15,552 --> 02:19:18,472
And I would hope I'm not losing touch with that or losing sight of that.

2246
02:19:19,452 --> 02:19:22,752
My wife and I have talked about that plenty and, uh, and she's, she's great.

2247
02:19:22,832 --> 02:19:26,092
And, you know, she has every reason in the world to, to have to,

2248
02:19:26,112 --> 02:19:28,932
to, to mess up there, but she doesn't, I don't make it easy.

2249
02:19:29,532 --> 02:19:34,372
So, so that's has been great. So in the Marines, as a corporal,

2250
02:19:34,372 --> 02:19:39,752
I had a really, even as a Lance corporal. So before I got promoted to corporal,

2251
02:19:39,752 --> 02:19:43,052
there was a staff sergeant that was in charge of our section.

2252
02:19:43,352 --> 02:19:46,412
His name was Staff Sergeant Moyado, Victor Moyado.

2253
02:19:46,852 --> 02:19:50,752
And I don't know where he's at anymore. Last time I talked to him was probably

2254
02:19:50,752 --> 02:19:52,532
15 years ago on the phone.

2255
02:19:52,772 --> 02:19:55,632
And I just don't know how to get in touch with him, but he was,

2256
02:19:55,772 --> 02:20:00,952
I owe my Marine Corps career essentially to him.

2257
02:20:01,532 --> 02:20:04,892
There's been some others, you know, of course, and I even mentioned one already,

2258
02:20:05,012 --> 02:20:13,152
but he was the first one and also the most just vested the most interest in me. It was crazy.

2259
02:20:15,026 --> 02:20:17,606
And for years, I was like, what did he see? You know, why did he,

2260
02:20:17,646 --> 02:20:20,466
why me? And, and maybe there was something, but over the years I've come to

2261
02:20:20,466 --> 02:20:22,186
the realization that, Hey, maybe it was nothing.

2262
02:20:22,346 --> 02:20:27,106
Maybe he just picked somebody that he was going to take under his wing and teach everything.

2263
02:20:27,906 --> 02:20:32,186
And he was also a very funny guy, which has certainly made it fun for me.

2264
02:20:32,926 --> 02:20:37,646
But anything I fell short in any, any like general military knowledge question,

2265
02:20:37,726 --> 02:20:42,086
I didn't know he would make sure I knew I should be embarrassed that I wouldn't

2266
02:20:42,086 --> 02:20:47,646
know the answer or to some random, you know, trivia question about the Marine Corps or whatever.

2267
02:20:47,786 --> 02:20:50,526
And, you know, he was a role model to me. So I wanted to be,

2268
02:20:50,646 --> 02:20:53,426
I wanted to impress him or I wanted to make him proud or whatever.

2269
02:20:54,026 --> 02:20:56,746
So I would always make sure my uniform was perfect. You know,

2270
02:20:56,746 --> 02:20:58,426
tight sleeves, tight sleeves.

2271
02:20:58,546 --> 02:21:03,446
Like I didn't want to give him anything to pick, to pick out because it wasn't

2272
02:21:03,446 --> 02:21:05,566
just that he would pick it out. I would feel like I was disappointed.

2273
02:21:05,626 --> 02:21:11,186
He would look at me and be like, hands up. Like how, how could you? Yeah. How could you?

2274
02:21:11,206 --> 02:21:14,786
Exactly. Exactly, that's exactly how it was. And he absolutely- You of all people.

2275
02:21:15,446 --> 02:21:19,746
I expect this from so-and-so, not from you. And that would just cut me to the quick.

2276
02:21:19,906 --> 02:21:24,006
So that was a staff sergeant who went on to be promoted to gunny.

2277
02:21:24,006 --> 02:21:28,406
And I think he retired as a gunner sergeant. He went on to the drill field.

2278
02:21:30,140 --> 02:21:33,080
You know, I think I was, I think I owe my first promotion to,

2279
02:21:33,100 --> 02:21:36,640
or my promotion to corporal to him. I think he set me up for that as a success.

2280
02:21:36,840 --> 02:21:41,040
And, and then same thing for the next promotion was a lot of things I got from him.

2281
02:21:41,140 --> 02:21:46,280
So the reason that's important to me to bring up now is not just to give the accolades to him.

2282
02:21:46,360 --> 02:21:47,760
Although obviously I would love

2283
02:21:47,760 --> 02:21:51,260
to, you know, love for him to know that I still appreciate what he did.

2284
02:21:52,300 --> 02:21:59,820
It's when I, years later, now I'm a huge reader, try to be, I read, what's the outliers?

2285
02:22:00,140 --> 02:22:01,820
By Malcolm Gladwell.

2286
02:22:02,540 --> 02:22:06,140
And that book, I want to say it's the first part of that book,

2287
02:22:06,220 --> 02:22:09,360
but it talks about, I won't get into what it talks about because it's super

2288
02:22:09,360 --> 02:22:11,540
involved and I'll sure I'll mess something up.

2289
02:22:11,600 --> 02:22:14,580
But what I learned from it and what I grabbed from the book was opportunities,

2290
02:22:14,900 --> 02:22:15,940
giving people opportunities.

2291
02:22:16,640 --> 02:22:21,240
And I feel like that's what that staff sergeant did for me. He rolled out the

2292
02:22:21,240 --> 02:22:22,960
red carpet when it came to opportunities.

2293
02:22:23,220 --> 02:22:28,260
I had every opportunity to succeed or fail, but nothing was withheld from me

2294
02:22:28,260 --> 02:22:29,280
as far as an opportunity goes.

2295
02:22:29,520 --> 02:22:35,060
And, and I feel like that was essentially what I gleaned from the first third of that book, I guess.

2296
02:22:35,380 --> 02:22:39,940
And that was the importance of giving people opportunities because some people

2297
02:22:39,940 --> 02:22:43,540
may not ever excel because they just didn't quite have the opportunities we've had.

2298
02:22:44,140 --> 02:22:47,620
And, and I think that's true. And that could be something as simple as in the

2299
02:22:47,620 --> 02:22:48,640
way the book outlines it.

2300
02:22:48,680 --> 02:22:53,480
It could be, you know, people born in this particular month wound up,

2301
02:22:53,480 --> 02:22:57,200
you know, not making the cut for this particular recreational team or whatever.

2302
02:22:57,680 --> 02:23:01,580
And it seems like not a big deal, but you can look statistically and see how,

2303
02:23:01,680 --> 02:23:03,280
well, no, it actually, it plays out.

2304
02:23:03,340 --> 02:23:06,060
And these are people who just happen to be born a certain month, you know?

2305
02:23:06,460 --> 02:23:10,180
And so for me, that means, well, let's give people all the opportunities we can.

2306
02:23:10,740 --> 02:23:15,760
And so I try to apply that to this day and just give people opportunities to succeed.

2307
02:23:16,040 --> 02:23:19,260
And if they're coachable, great, because then even if they mess up,

2308
02:23:19,340 --> 02:23:20,940
we can, and we can fix it along the way.

2309
02:23:21,040 --> 02:23:25,500
And so that was a huge influence for me and something that stuck with me.

2310
02:23:27,043 --> 02:23:30,923
Any other books on your mind? I know you're reading Infinite Game right now.

2311
02:23:30,923 --> 02:23:33,203
You just finished it? I just finished Infinite Game.

2312
02:23:34,143 --> 02:23:38,743
That book's really good. It really applies to our way of doing things and our

2313
02:23:38,743 --> 02:23:40,583
purpose and our mission and everything.

2314
02:23:41,123 --> 02:23:45,163
Yeah. So I just finished that, and I just finished Warrior Poet Way by John

2315
02:23:45,163 --> 02:23:47,543
Lovell, which is really good.

2316
02:23:47,643 --> 02:23:50,603
That had some stuff in it. At first, I thought it would be stuff that I'm like,

2317
02:23:50,683 --> 02:23:54,023
I don't need to hear. I'm above it as much as like, yeah, my mind's kind of already there.

2318
02:23:54,383 --> 02:23:57,023
But no, it wound up being some stuff I definitely needed to hear.

2319
02:23:57,043 --> 02:24:00,803
Year and it was really helpful, but I mentioned it here because those two books

2320
02:24:00,803 --> 02:24:03,263
together, I think I happen to be, you know, one I did on audio,

2321
02:24:03,383 --> 02:24:05,383
one I did the hard, hard copy.

2322
02:24:05,903 --> 02:24:10,103
And, and that was just a good timing for me to be doing both of those books at the same time.

2323
02:24:10,723 --> 02:24:14,563
Yeah. I've, I had this conversation recently with someone as far as books I

2324
02:24:14,563 --> 02:24:18,543
recommend leadership wise, and it's whichever one I've read most recently.

2325
02:24:18,623 --> 02:24:21,023
That's my answer. Yeah. It's not a bad one. Yeah.

2326
02:24:21,783 --> 02:24:24,863
I've thought more more about, you know, what's the one book.

2327
02:24:24,903 --> 02:24:28,903
And, you know, I think I haven't hit it, hit the fact yet. I'm a Christian.

2328
02:24:29,143 --> 02:24:32,543
And so the Bible has been hugely influential, obviously for me,

2329
02:24:32,603 --> 02:24:36,663
which is probably an understatement, but I thought as it applies to leadership,

2330
02:24:36,863 --> 02:24:39,003
the book of Proverbs is going to be hard to beat.

2331
02:24:39,823 --> 02:24:44,703
Filled with little nuggets and tidbits of wisdom, Proverbs obviously gives that away.

2332
02:24:45,223 --> 02:24:48,763
But there's a verse that says, when the righteous are in authority,

2333
02:24:48,903 --> 02:24:51,763
the people rejoice or sorry when the

2334
02:24:51,763 --> 02:24:54,483
wicked when the wicked are in authority the people groan when the righteous are in

2335
02:24:54,483 --> 02:24:57,983
authority the people rejoice so sorry if I'm getting that backwards but

2336
02:24:57,983 --> 02:25:00,983
the point being you know when when the wicked

2337
02:25:00,983 --> 02:25:03,803
are in authority and when they're in positions of leadership that's bad news

2338
02:25:03,803 --> 02:25:07,803
for everybody and I don't think that's hidden I think that's pretty obvious

2339
02:25:07,803 --> 02:25:14,123
and many people have experience with that so therefore if you're not a wise

2340
02:25:14,123 --> 02:25:19,683
person and who's upright and has a higher calling or feels like you have a higher

2341
02:25:19,683 --> 02:25:20,923
calling than just serving self,

2342
02:25:21,403 --> 02:25:24,523
if you don't have those things, you're probably not going to be a very good leader.

2343
02:25:24,643 --> 02:25:28,303
And that's usually where we hear about toxic leadership and a lot of the problems

2344
02:25:28,303 --> 02:25:31,783
you hear in leadership ultimately come down to, you know, there's some kind

2345
02:25:31,783 --> 02:25:34,263
of selfish motive or whatever, what have you.

2346
02:25:34,563 --> 02:25:37,403
And so I think we can glean a lot from the Bible, obviously,

2347
02:25:37,423 --> 02:25:40,163
in general, but the book of Proverbs is going to be hard to beat as far as just,

2348
02:25:40,263 --> 02:25:43,483
hey, apply those principles in your life and I think you'll be a person that people want to follow.

2349
02:25:44,403 --> 02:25:47,323
And if that's all you can be as a person people want to follow,

2350
02:25:47,443 --> 02:25:48,703
then you're a role model now.

2351
02:25:48,823 --> 02:25:52,403
And as long as you're not, as long as you're living a life worthy of following,

2352
02:25:52,543 --> 02:25:55,083
you can do a lot. And I think people can glean a lot from that.

2353
02:25:56,112 --> 02:26:01,772
How do you go about reading the Bible? So I've gone through it a lot of different

2354
02:26:01,772 --> 02:26:06,292
ways now, but I got real serious about reading the Bible in 2010,

2355
02:26:06,572 --> 02:26:07,852
shortly after Nick died.

2356
02:26:09,292 --> 02:26:13,972
And right away, I was just, I would just open and I just picked a book and would read it.

2357
02:26:14,492 --> 02:26:16,732
Over the years, I've gotten a little more methodical about it.

2358
02:26:17,212 --> 02:26:18,232
There's so many different,

2359
02:26:18,352 --> 02:26:22,772
you know, Bible in a year things people have put out that all those are cool

2360
02:26:22,772 --> 02:26:24,232
because if you can get through the Bible in a year,

2361
02:26:24,312 --> 02:26:28,932
that's, it kind of force you to stay organized so i've done that i've done that

2362
02:26:28,932 --> 02:26:32,272
different ways one of them that i have liked but i didn't like the jumping around

2363
02:26:32,272 --> 02:26:36,452
too much is so every sunday you read through.

2364
02:26:37,172 --> 02:26:42,632
Poetry which is the book of proverbs psalms song of solomon and i might be missing

2365
02:26:42,632 --> 02:26:47,832
one in there every monday is history so you're going to be reading about the

2366
02:26:47,832 --> 02:26:49,612
israelite history every tuesday,

2367
02:26:50,132 --> 02:26:53,692
you're reading through the first five books of the Bible, which is,

2368
02:26:53,732 --> 02:26:55,232
you know, Genesis, you know, the

2369
02:26:55,232 --> 02:27:00,692
first five, every Wednesday you'll read through the Psalms or whatever.

2370
02:27:00,812 --> 02:27:03,352
And so, and, and I'll stop there. Oh, the prophets or whatever.

2371
02:27:03,452 --> 02:27:05,032
So every day of the week has a different thing.

2372
02:27:05,072 --> 02:27:08,812
And it's, it's still chronological, but every day you wind up in a different spot.

2373
02:27:09,192 --> 02:27:12,392
So I did that one year, another year I did the same exact thing,

2374
02:27:12,412 --> 02:27:14,912
but I just, I went vertical instead of horizontal.

2375
02:27:14,972 --> 02:27:19,472
So So instead of every Sunday, I just, I went through all history and then I

2376
02:27:19,472 --> 02:27:23,872
moved on to all the Psalms. I went through from there, I went to all the prophets or whatever.

2377
02:27:24,412 --> 02:27:27,492
So I've done that. I've done the Bible in a year at this point,

2378
02:27:27,532 --> 02:27:29,332
I've done the Bible in two years.

2379
02:27:29,432 --> 02:27:33,552
So it forces me to slow down, to read it much slower than one year.

2380
02:27:33,612 --> 02:27:36,712
I was like, let me do the Bible. And you find there's benefit in that.

2381
02:27:37,372 --> 02:27:41,392
Yeah. Slowing down. Yeah. So you just, it forces you to kind of,

2382
02:27:41,432 --> 02:27:45,012
you know, if I'm, if I sit there and read for 20, 30 minutes in the morning, I'm,

2383
02:27:45,679 --> 02:27:49,459
then I'm accustomed to reading for that long. Now, instead of just having just

2384
02:27:49,459 --> 02:27:51,819
enough time to kind of get through five chapters or whatever it is,

2385
02:27:51,879 --> 02:27:54,699
now I've got maybe two chapters, but I've got the time.

2386
02:27:54,979 --> 02:27:58,559
So, okay, let me look at this. What did I miss last time? And in my experience,

2387
02:27:59,139 --> 02:28:01,499
it's very seldom I'll not have missed something.

2388
02:28:02,819 --> 02:28:05,779
There's usually something I'll see that I didn't see before.

2389
02:28:06,519 --> 02:28:14,099
And the Bible is its best commentator. And so the Bible speaks on itself all over the Bible.

2390
02:28:14,179 --> 02:28:19,119
So it's been, that's been a huge, you know, that's, that's a huge part of my life.

2391
02:28:19,159 --> 02:28:23,959
That's, that's very necessary for me to, to see what, what I think is the right way to go.

2392
02:28:24,359 --> 02:28:29,099
And obviously I'm not doing it perfect, but you know, short of that,

2393
02:28:29,179 --> 02:28:31,059
I don't know how I would know the right way to go.

2394
02:28:31,499 --> 02:28:38,239
And so that's my, my plug to everyone is, is every, everyone can,

2395
02:28:38,299 --> 02:28:41,119
there's, there's some two, two things mentioned in the Bible that I think we

2396
02:28:41,119 --> 02:28:41,779
should be on guard against.

2397
02:28:42,059 --> 02:28:44,279
And number one is that every man would do what's right in his own eyes.

2398
02:28:44,619 --> 02:28:47,139
We see that constantly in the history of the Israelites.

2399
02:28:47,679 --> 02:28:51,719
And then the other thing we see in the New Testament, where it talks about being

2400
02:28:51,719 --> 02:28:54,159
carried about by every wind of doctrine.

2401
02:28:54,639 --> 02:28:59,279
And in 2024, if those two sayings don't ring a bell and feel like,

2402
02:28:59,279 --> 02:29:03,419
man, I feel like that kind of describes the state of things in this country sometimes,

2403
02:29:03,679 --> 02:29:06,899
then you might have your head in the sand because that's essentially what

2404
02:29:06,899 --> 02:29:10,499
i'm seeing and so i think we could use some some regrounding

2405
02:29:10,499 --> 02:29:13,779
and uh and look i'm a big reader and i

2406
02:29:13,779 --> 02:29:16,739
would i would say anybody who hasn't who who

2407
02:29:16,739 --> 02:29:20,399
is a big reader and hasn't read the bible that that

2408
02:29:20,399 --> 02:29:24,399
is odd to me because that is clearly the most unique book that's ever existed

2409
02:29:24,399 --> 02:29:29,559
so never mind faith never mind any number of spiritual things we could talk

2410
02:29:29,559 --> 02:29:34,139
about when it comes to the bible the bottom line is that book has stood the

2411
02:29:34,139 --> 02:29:38,319
test of time more than any other book my dad put together something years ago

2412
02:29:38,319 --> 02:29:40,259
that man I talked about it all the time.

2413
02:29:41,358 --> 02:29:46,218
That's really good. And it's like, it's written by 40 different authors over the span of 1500 years.

2414
02:29:46,558 --> 02:29:49,118
And the list goes on, but all the things that make it unique,

2415
02:29:49,138 --> 02:29:52,578
uh, and yet it has perfect harmony among all the topics and,

2416
02:29:52,658 --> 02:29:56,898
you know, try getting 10 people in a room to talk about one thing,

2417
02:29:56,998 --> 02:30:00,058
something they all agree on, but really dive into it.

2418
02:30:00,118 --> 02:30:03,458
And you're going to find a lot of trouble getting everybody to agree on something

2419
02:30:03,458 --> 02:30:04,978
as well as the Bible agrees on itself.

2420
02:30:05,518 --> 02:30:08,498
So, uh, so yeah, there's certainly something special about the book,

2421
02:30:08,498 --> 02:30:11,718
even before we start talking about faith and spiritual matters.

2422
02:30:11,858 --> 02:30:16,778
So, yep, I'm a huge proponent for the Word of God, and I wish more people were.

2423
02:30:18,098 --> 02:30:24,358
So I know that kind of carried, you know, I'm going to say it carried you, but you relied on that.

2424
02:30:24,478 --> 02:30:30,058
You relied on praying a lot to make the next decision, and that's how you do things.

2425
02:30:31,458 --> 02:30:35,618
What's, I don't know, let's call it career progression or skill progression,

2426
02:30:35,618 --> 02:30:42,398
or how does someone who is not doing that, who's not reading the Bible or they're

2427
02:30:42,398 --> 02:30:45,598
not praying about it, what are they missing?

2428
02:30:45,638 --> 02:30:53,438
If they're not progressing or they might be missing those opportunities or what

2429
02:30:53,438 --> 02:30:59,298
happens to someone who just stops, just stops going forward or stops wanting to go forward?

2430
02:31:00,358 --> 02:31:04,598
Well, typically, you know, we hear people don't stagnate. So you are moving in a direction.

2431
02:31:05,838 --> 02:31:09,318
If you're not moving in a good direction, that would mean you're moving in a bad direction.

2432
02:31:10,718 --> 02:31:14,818
So that would be something to be concerned about. The big, my big concern for

2433
02:31:14,818 --> 02:31:17,378
somebody who's my big concern for anybody.

2434
02:31:17,818 --> 02:31:20,198
And I'm really concerned about people who don't have this is,

2435
02:31:20,198 --> 02:31:23,098
is maybe I'm hitting the role model thing too much, but again,

2436
02:31:23,178 --> 02:31:26,878
is what is your, you know, what's your, why, you know, that's,

2437
02:31:26,878 --> 02:31:28,078
that's a big topic nowadays.

2438
02:31:28,958 --> 02:31:32,998
What is your higher calling. Cause if there's not, if, if, if self is the only

2439
02:31:32,998 --> 02:31:35,518
thing, I mean, we are amazingly fickle people.

2440
02:31:36,550 --> 02:31:41,770
There's a number of books, man, read, read thinking fast and slow by Kahneman.

2441
02:31:41,830 --> 02:31:42,910
I think it's Daniel Kahneman.

2442
02:31:43,010 --> 02:31:46,450
And I forget the other guy and there's many books just like it.

2443
02:31:46,470 --> 02:31:49,750
And that's just the one that comes to mind just now, but it's amazing how,

2444
02:31:49,810 --> 02:31:55,690
how not just fickle our minds are, but how easily swayed we are in one direction or the other.

2445
02:31:55,830 --> 02:32:01,490
Read a book on marketing and see how, you know, on, on what is influence that

2446
02:32:01,490 --> 02:32:04,990
book by Calcedini or whatever the name is, you know, that's just a marketing

2447
02:32:04,990 --> 02:32:10,770
book and, and it's amazing how, how easily we can be swayed one way or another.

2448
02:32:11,270 --> 02:32:13,370
And so we really need to be grounded.

2449
02:32:13,990 --> 02:32:17,830
Something I've heard you mentioned before that I think is important is having

2450
02:32:17,830 --> 02:32:21,730
somebody who's better than you in an area, having somebody who's maybe you're

2451
02:32:21,730 --> 02:32:23,790
better than them and then having somebody who's equal to you.

2452
02:32:24,270 --> 02:32:27,890
And, uh, and I've, I've heard that other places and I think that's important.

2453
02:32:28,350 --> 02:32:33,210
And I don't know how often we, we seek the person who's, who we look up to,

2454
02:32:33,310 --> 02:32:36,170
you know, not just a role model, maybe just somebody who is,

2455
02:32:36,190 --> 02:32:37,870
you know, they're better than you at this thing.

2456
02:32:38,170 --> 02:32:42,310
If you don't have that, then again, you're not going anywhere.

2457
02:32:42,430 --> 02:32:47,370
And that can absolutely, that can feel futile and depressing or,

2458
02:32:47,410 --> 02:32:49,530
you know, any number of things we hear nowadays.

2459
02:32:50,150 --> 02:32:55,950
I would assume it's a lack of hunger for maybe skill or new skill.

2460
02:32:56,090 --> 02:32:59,730
You know, for me, the easiest way to find

2461
02:32:59,730 --> 02:33:02,590
someone who's who's better than you you have to try something

2462
02:33:02,590 --> 02:33:06,210
new it's not going to be at your current 12 you

2463
02:33:06,210 --> 02:33:09,070
know 15 year career it that may

2464
02:33:09,070 --> 02:33:12,370
not necessarily be your your boss or your supervisor maybe

2465
02:33:12,370 --> 02:33:15,110
you don't you might not be doing anything you want

2466
02:33:15,110 --> 02:33:17,870
to make you want to be doing you might just want his job you might

2467
02:33:17,870 --> 02:33:21,650
just want to be getting paid what he's getting paid then

2468
02:33:21,650 --> 02:33:24,510
then search for a skill outside of there you know like

2469
02:33:24,510 --> 02:33:27,350
we we have jujitsu i just got into to

2470
02:33:27,350 --> 02:33:31,110
diving and spearfishing and dude the

2471
02:33:31,110 --> 02:33:34,130
guys i met instantly it's it's the

2472
02:33:34,130 --> 02:33:38,110
same thing i'm like i want that skill who

2473
02:33:38,110 --> 02:33:41,290
is the best like who is the best guy

2474
02:33:41,290 --> 02:33:45,670
around here doing it it put me in a boat with him like i'll do anything to get

2475
02:33:45,670 --> 02:33:51,210
in a boat with that guy you know but who else is doing that outside of you know

2476
02:33:51,210 --> 02:33:55,550
i don't know these are we do jiu-jitsu we're constantly looking for those guys

2477
02:33:55,550 --> 02:33:59,450
that are better than us that can show us the magic.

2478
02:33:59,730 --> 02:34:04,130
We just want to be near it. But I don't know, maybe you just have to find some

2479
02:34:04,130 --> 02:34:09,590
kind of extracurricular, some, I don't know what else is out there. Jiu-jitsu is great.

2480
02:34:09,810 --> 02:34:12,690
Excuse me, it's great for what you just mentioned because you'll never get on

2481
02:34:12,690 --> 02:34:14,770
the mat and be the best guy on the mat. Mm-hmm.

2482
02:34:15,855 --> 02:34:19,535
So, you know, that's probably why I'm in jujitsu.

2483
02:34:19,555 --> 02:34:24,655
There's some, there's certainly some, some concepts there of wanting to be able

2484
02:34:24,655 --> 02:34:30,555
to protect my, my family and myself and, you know, physically be able to protect us.

2485
02:34:30,895 --> 02:34:35,475
But there's an element of humility and getting outside the comfort zone that

2486
02:34:35,475 --> 02:34:39,475
I feel like makes jujitsu just the perfect fit for me.

2487
02:34:39,955 --> 02:34:43,755
And, you know, I would, I would argue that anybody's like, yeah,

2488
02:34:43,815 --> 02:34:47,695
but that's your thing. I was, I would argue not really. That's what I'm talking. It's uncomfortable.

2489
02:34:48,015 --> 02:34:52,475
I don't like it all the time. You know, sure. I, I enjoy aspects of it,

2490
02:34:52,495 --> 02:34:59,055
but, uh, but I do not enjoy, you know, being submitted 10 times an hour,

2491
02:34:59,215 --> 02:35:05,935
you know, I would, I would love to be able to, you know, take on anybody, but, but I can't.

2492
02:35:05,995 --> 02:35:11,095
And so it's a constant reminder that, Hey, you're not, you're not the best one in the room.

2493
02:35:11,115 --> 02:35:14,235
You're not the strongest in the room and you have a lot of room for improvement.

2494
02:35:14,675 --> 02:35:18,735
And so, yeah, I would, I would, I would argue anybody who doesn't have something

2495
02:35:18,735 --> 02:35:21,535
like that in their life, go try that. You might enjoy it.

2496
02:35:21,955 --> 02:35:25,595
You know, there's an adrenaline rush with it that I'm sure I physically enjoy.

2497
02:35:26,555 --> 02:35:29,495
Yeah. But anybody who hadn't tried it yet, I would, I would say,

2498
02:35:29,555 --> 02:35:30,435
Hey, maybe you'll enjoy it too.

2499
02:35:30,995 --> 02:35:35,835
It's, I think it's cool. It's a good, it's a, it's a drug maybe, but, uh, it's useful.

2500
02:35:35,835 --> 02:35:38,855
It's also another it's just another room to

2501
02:35:38,855 --> 02:35:41,835
be in right it's another room with with other

2502
02:35:41,835 --> 02:35:45,535
influences and just because this

2503
02:35:45,535 --> 02:35:50,755
guy is better than you in jiu-jitsu doesn't mean he's better than you in parenting

2504
02:35:50,755 --> 02:35:58,235
or finances or health or you know so it's one more room to find more people

2505
02:35:58,235 --> 02:36:04,075
you don't have to look up to the guy just because he's jiu-jitsu black belt yeah maybe he's a really

2506
02:36:04,195 --> 02:36:10,075
good parent or you admire his, his relationship he has with his wife and the,

2507
02:36:10,095 --> 02:36:13,655
and that's why you can be drawn to that guy, you know?

2508
02:36:13,675 --> 02:36:20,315
So chances are, if you have a room of, you know, 15 guys, you might be able to seriously, uh.

2509
02:36:21,004 --> 02:36:26,484
Put half of them on some pedestal that you can chase you can improve you can

2510
02:36:26,484 --> 02:36:31,304
you can chase their success in all these different areas you know and maybe

2511
02:36:31,304 --> 02:36:34,244
people don't do that enough you can do it,

2512
02:36:34,924 --> 02:36:38,504
here you know you can you can do it at work you can

2513
02:36:38,504 --> 02:36:41,504
learn from everyone it's important important it's important

2514
02:36:41,504 --> 02:36:49,604
to try yeah leadership styles like coming from from the marine corps i think

2515
02:36:49,604 --> 02:36:57,664
you know I know how most view Marine Corps leadership is pretty blunt and get

2516
02:36:57,664 --> 02:36:59,624
it done now, get it done quick.

2517
02:37:00,484 --> 02:37:05,644
But now that you've gone through the ranks, maybe that's only everyone's perception

2518
02:37:05,644 --> 02:37:08,684
because most people get out at Corporal or Sergeant.

2519
02:37:08,844 --> 02:37:13,884
But now that you've gone through the ranks, what is your view on the big picture

2520
02:37:13,884 --> 02:37:18,824
of like, no, seriously, what does it create at Sergeant Major level?

2521
02:37:18,824 --> 02:37:25,004
Or, you know, you're working hand in hand with, with colonels and generals.

2522
02:37:25,164 --> 02:37:29,624
And what is it at that level? You know, like, what is the, what is the,

2523
02:37:29,624 --> 02:37:35,044
the true big picture of Marine Corps leadership? So the only answer I can give

2524
02:37:35,044 --> 02:37:38,504
to that specific question would be General Mattis's book, Call Sign Chaos.

2525
02:37:38,764 --> 02:37:43,984
He addresses literally that exact thing, starting at the three major levels of leadership.

2526
02:37:44,064 --> 02:37:48,024
And I forget the terminology now, but executive and operational and strategic

2527
02:37:48,024 --> 02:37:54,004
maybe, or tactical, strategic, and executive. But he talks about that and it's good.

2528
02:37:54,164 --> 02:38:00,764
It's unbeatable. He's certainly worth the time of reading into what he has to say.

2529
02:38:01,144 --> 02:38:07,984
But for me, when it comes to leadership style, I want to address that first

2530
02:38:07,984 --> 02:38:11,864
because that was my first big lesson in leadership was this idea of style.

2531
02:38:12,124 --> 02:38:15,344
To this day, you'll hear people say, everybody's got different styles.

2532
02:38:19,604 --> 02:38:24,584
Everybody's don't. Maybe just me. I'll use that as an excuse at times for maybe

2533
02:38:24,584 --> 02:38:26,924
you don't like how I'm leading. Well, that's my leadership style.

2534
02:38:27,124 --> 02:38:31,824
And that can be, and look, you can get away with that. And maybe that works for you.

2535
02:38:32,184 --> 02:38:33,964
For me, I have found it much more

2536
02:38:33,964 --> 02:38:39,684
effective if instead of viewing it that way, I flip the table and say,

2537
02:38:39,844 --> 02:38:44,764
okay, I may project a certain leadership style that is more comfortable to me,

2538
02:38:44,844 --> 02:38:49,584
but maybe the person being led has a style that they receive better.

2539
02:38:50,244 --> 02:38:55,164
So if I can flex to what they receive better, then wouldn't that be more effective

2540
02:38:55,164 --> 02:38:57,604
for getting the job done, whatever the job is I want done.

2541
02:38:58,284 --> 02:39:03,204
And, and the answer that I think is yes, sure. It'd be great if everybody would

2542
02:39:03,204 --> 02:39:05,844
just learn to deal with the leader they have.

2543
02:39:06,564 --> 02:39:10,484
That's true. I agree with that, but I don't have a say over that person's decision

2544
02:39:10,484 --> 02:39:14,144
to do that or not, but I do have a say over how I lead. And so,

2545
02:39:15,226 --> 02:39:20,646
as a corporal in Iraq, I had a Lance corporal who was, he's one of these Marines

2546
02:39:20,646 --> 02:39:22,106
who was really good at his job.

2547
02:39:22,426 --> 02:39:26,186
And when you hear somebody say that about a Marine, that's the same as saying,

2548
02:39:27,026 --> 02:39:29,486
somebody, when you get set somebody up on a blind date and they go,

2549
02:39:29,526 --> 02:39:32,246
he's got a really good personality. Okay. That means he's ugly.

2550
02:39:33,366 --> 02:39:37,806
And so when somebody, when somebody says like, what kind of Marine is he?

2551
02:39:37,866 --> 02:39:39,966
Oh, he's really good at his job. I'm like, okay.

2552
02:39:40,046 --> 02:39:42,486
So he's not good at being a Marine. He's just a good mechanic.

2553
02:39:42,786 --> 02:39:45,946
And that was the case with this guy. Nice guy. Everybody liked him.

2554
02:39:45,986 --> 02:39:47,706
He was likable. He was a very good mechanic.

2555
02:39:47,906 --> 02:39:52,346
But when it came to basic Marine Corps, keeping your uniform tight and respectful,

2556
02:39:53,166 --> 02:39:58,446
very loose sleeves and would laugh at anybody who would dare bother having tight sleeves.

2557
02:39:58,786 --> 02:40:03,206
Not super respectful, not necessarily disrespectful, but at the same time,

2558
02:40:03,206 --> 02:40:04,526
ready to be if he had to be.

2559
02:40:05,746 --> 02:40:09,386
So he was one of my Marines. I was a corporal. He was a Lance Corporal.

2560
02:40:09,606 --> 02:40:13,166
And I don't remember exactly what happened, but something happened where I had

2561
02:40:13,166 --> 02:40:17,646
to kind of, I blew up on him and, you know, dressed him down,

2562
02:40:17,766 --> 02:40:19,586
if you will. And I was decent at that.

2563
02:40:19,966 --> 02:40:24,966
And he couldn't have cared less total attitude, did not care, whatever.

2564
02:40:25,546 --> 02:40:29,306
Well, one of his friends who was a decent Marine, like was a,

2565
02:40:29,306 --> 02:40:30,286
was a, one of the better Marines.

2566
02:40:30,366 --> 02:40:34,426
He was another Lance Corporal approached me and to his credit,

2567
02:40:34,446 --> 02:40:37,486
he was very respectful. and he told me, he's like, you know,

2568
02:40:37,526 --> 02:40:40,206
you know, Lance Cobble, so-and-so, I know what he did was wrong.

2569
02:40:40,326 --> 02:40:43,486
And I know his attitude was, was wrong. Everything about the situation was wrong.

2570
02:40:43,546 --> 02:40:44,686
And I'm not trying to defend him at all.

2571
02:40:45,026 --> 02:40:48,086
He's like, I just wanted to tell you because I know him really well.

2572
02:40:48,186 --> 02:40:50,266
Like we're, we're friends and I knew him before we joined.

2573
02:40:50,926 --> 02:40:53,746
He's the kind of person that if you were to talk to him different,

2574
02:40:53,866 --> 02:40:58,306
like if you were to just talk to him like a man, like treat him like a man,

2575
02:40:58,406 --> 02:41:02,826
instead of just dressing him down, he would respond. He would be putty in your hands.

2576
02:41:03,366 --> 02:41:06,446
And, and I thought, first of all, like, there's no way. Cause I knew this guy,

2577
02:41:06,526 --> 02:41:12,806
but, but also I'm like, yeah, there's a novel concept. I'm treating somebody like an adult.

2578
02:41:14,406 --> 02:41:19,346
So I'm like, all right, thanks. And he was just, he was just telling me,

2579
02:41:19,366 --> 02:41:20,266
he's like, you do what you want.

2580
02:41:20,366 --> 02:41:22,886
I'm not telling you he wasn't being disrespectful. So I appreciated that.

2581
02:41:23,486 --> 02:41:26,526
And so anyway, I kind of swallowed my pride and a little later went talk to

2582
02:41:26,526 --> 02:41:30,646
the Lance Corporal that had the attitude and just, I think I might've apologized.

2583
02:41:30,766 --> 02:41:34,446
I might've said, Hey, look, Sarah blew up like I did. And I should say like,

2584
02:41:34,486 --> 02:41:39,726
I've never, never apologized for blowing up on somebody and I will apologize,

2585
02:41:39,806 --> 02:41:41,366
but there was nothing wrong.

2586
02:41:41,406 --> 02:41:44,566
And at least in my mind at the time, I did nothing worthy of apologizing.

2587
02:41:44,726 --> 02:41:48,146
I stood all that. So there was a lot of like pride that had to get figured out

2588
02:41:48,146 --> 02:41:52,166
there because ultimately I was like, okay, I got to approach this guy, try this technique.

2589
02:41:52,486 --> 02:41:55,406
But first I might need to just, the only way to do that is to say,

2590
02:41:55,446 --> 02:41:56,886
Hey, maybe I shouldn't have done what I did.

2591
02:41:57,346 --> 02:42:00,406
So, so that's what I did. I just told him, like, Hey, look, maybe I'm sorry.

2592
02:42:00,486 --> 02:42:03,386
I shouldn't have blown up like I did. Here's why I did.

2593
02:42:04,626 --> 02:42:07,746
But here's why the thing is important. And I just totally, here's why the thing that we're.

2594
02:42:11,337 --> 02:42:14,997
Really helpful, very helpful. If you would fix this area, whatever,

2595
02:42:15,137 --> 02:42:17,317
like still, he still did wrong, whatever it was.

2596
02:42:17,357 --> 02:42:21,157
And I made sure that was clear, but I said it in a respectful way, treated him like a man.

2597
02:42:21,417 --> 02:42:24,937
And, uh, and that man had tears in his eyes before we were done.

2598
02:42:25,057 --> 02:42:27,617
And he was apologizing profusely for the thing he did wrong.

2599
02:42:27,777 --> 02:42:31,977
It was just two of us. And I was like, what is this magic?

2600
02:42:32,657 --> 02:42:37,697
And, uh, so I will never forget that obviously. And, and that has stuck with me.

2601
02:42:37,797 --> 02:42:42,697
And so So when I think leadership style, I literally think back on that incident right away.

2602
02:42:43,437 --> 02:42:45,917
And I've tried very hard over the years to try to learn people.

2603
02:42:46,237 --> 02:42:50,217
And in the absence of learning people, because you can't always learn people, do what works for you.

2604
02:42:51,037 --> 02:42:54,877
And the beauty of the Marine Corps, if I'm being honest, is that by and large,

2605
02:42:55,077 --> 02:42:58,617
the way I treated him the first time works great in the Marine Corps.

2606
02:42:58,997 --> 02:43:03,397
By and large, people respond to that and it's fine. And as the rank gap increases,

2607
02:43:03,737 --> 02:43:06,717
all the more. You know, I could talk that way.

2608
02:43:06,757 --> 02:43:09,837
And, you know, that same Lance corporal, if I was two or three ranks above him,

2609
02:43:09,857 --> 02:43:13,497
would not have had an attitude with me and probably would have still been effective,

2610
02:43:13,617 --> 02:43:18,037
but it doesn't hurt to also have him now wanting to please me,

2611
02:43:18,097 --> 02:43:22,097
wanting to do right by me and wanting me to be proud of whatever he was going

2612
02:43:22,097 --> 02:43:24,437
to do next. So I thought that was real helpful.

2613
02:43:26,197 --> 02:43:29,857
Now, fast forward many, many years. And so that was in 2005.

2614
02:43:30,157 --> 02:43:31,577
So here we are 19 years later.

2615
02:43:33,186 --> 02:43:37,306
I have very few people that I'm dealing with on a personal level like that,

2616
02:43:37,326 --> 02:43:40,826
but the people that I am dealing with a personal level like that are first sergeants

2617
02:43:40,826 --> 02:43:43,006
and gunnery sergeants and staff sergeants.

2618
02:43:43,026 --> 02:43:47,046
So Marines who didn't just join, who are not kids, you know,

2619
02:43:47,046 --> 02:43:50,466
not that a 19 year old is a kid, but we do tend to talk like that.

2620
02:43:51,246 --> 02:43:55,166
So now I'm dealing with, you know, professionals in their own right,

2621
02:43:55,246 --> 02:43:59,446
leaders in their own right, who have also been through a lot of learning situations

2622
02:43:59,446 --> 02:44:04,806
themselves. and right up front, I'll say by and large, they don't need a lot from me.

2623
02:44:04,866 --> 02:44:08,826
They they're good leaders who, who don't need a lot of what I feel I have to offer.

2624
02:44:09,286 --> 02:44:13,426
So what I do offer is I try to just always put myself out there as like,

2625
02:44:13,506 --> 02:44:17,706
Hey, if there's something, you know, if they need a story like that,

2626
02:44:17,786 --> 02:44:20,266
then I'm, I'm there to share it like in a heartbeat.

2627
02:44:20,406 --> 02:44:24,966
And if there, if there's correction needed or whatever the case may be typically,

2628
02:44:24,986 --> 02:44:28,266
typically going to address them the way I I addressed that Lance Coppola the

2629
02:44:28,266 --> 02:44:30,866
second time because, you know, they don't need to be yelled at.

2630
02:44:31,046 --> 02:44:36,446
Nobody, nobody probably needs that. But so now because of the nature of my position,

2631
02:44:36,626 --> 02:44:40,526
I'm, I'm dealing with, with, you know, again, mature professionals in the Marines

2632
02:44:40,526 --> 02:44:44,966
who, who kind of know the right way anyway, they know if they messed up or whatever.

2633
02:44:45,606 --> 02:44:50,406
The biggest frustration now for me might be something with laziness or something like that.

2634
02:44:50,906 --> 02:44:54,986
Frankly, the way I deal with that is I just try to emulate good work ethic constantly.

2635
02:44:55,406 --> 02:45:00,546
I am pretty outspoken about my willingness and desire to just work.

2636
02:45:00,666 --> 02:45:05,286
You know, we work, I forget where I got that quote from, but some coach somewhere

2637
02:45:05,286 --> 02:45:06,826
is like, we do two things around here.

2638
02:45:06,906 --> 02:45:10,006
We work hard and we win and we win because we work hard.

2639
02:45:10,086 --> 02:45:13,546
So really we only do one thing around here and I'll never forget that.

2640
02:45:13,786 --> 02:45:17,126
And so, uh, so yeah, I'm all about working hard. And so I try to demonstrate

2641
02:45:17,126 --> 02:45:19,406
that. I try to set people up for success.

2642
02:45:19,946 --> 02:45:25,226
So, you know, you kind of learn when talking to people while talking to them,

2643
02:45:25,246 --> 02:45:27,246
you kind of start to learn some of the looks in the eye that it's like,

2644
02:45:27,346 --> 02:45:30,186
okay, they're, they're overwhelmed right now with this task or whatever.

2645
02:45:30,566 --> 02:45:33,246
Well, it's a task I've done before done maybe a bunch of times.

2646
02:45:33,266 --> 02:45:36,626
So I'll start and then I'll just go right into how to get started.

2647
02:45:36,746 --> 02:45:39,406
Now I'm going to give them the first couple answers on how to get started.

2648
02:45:40,046 --> 02:45:44,246
But yeah, I mean, if I want to keep going from there, uh, something else that

2649
02:45:44,246 --> 02:45:48,446
was a big, huge help for me more recently, like on a grander scale that I'll

2650
02:45:48,446 --> 02:45:50,606
never forget that, you know, is who's got the monkey.

2651
02:45:51,106 --> 02:45:56,006
And that is my new leadership style. And that is very applicable for everyone.

2652
02:45:56,126 --> 02:45:59,726
So I highly recommend it. It's called, it's a little five page article called

2653
02:45:59,726 --> 02:46:04,406
who's got the monkey and it revolutionized the way I deal with other leaders.

2654
02:46:04,546 --> 02:46:07,806
Let's put it that way. Because you know, when you're dealing with,

2655
02:46:07,866 --> 02:46:11,626
when you're down, down in the weeds, everybody needs to pull the weeds.

2656
02:46:12,186 --> 02:46:16,686
But when you step back a little bit now, it might be no, you're talking to the

2657
02:46:16,686 --> 02:46:18,946
people who need to get the people pulling the weeds or whatever.

2658
02:46:20,206 --> 02:46:25,586
So what I've noticed is there's a tendency to, at my level, there's a tendency

2659
02:46:25,586 --> 02:46:29,966
to take on all the responsibilities because I can do it, I've done it.

2660
02:46:31,017 --> 02:46:34,197
I am the subject matter expert in this area or that area. And so I'm like,

2661
02:46:34,237 --> 02:46:38,937
and I'm very good at it. Or I spent many sleepless nights learning this thing.

2662
02:46:39,017 --> 02:46:42,417
Like, trust me, I know this 10 times better than you, even though you're supposed

2663
02:46:42,417 --> 02:46:43,877
to be the expert. I know, I know it better.

2664
02:46:44,217 --> 02:46:48,337
So there's a tendency to take it all on. And what the who's got the monkey article

2665
02:46:48,337 --> 02:46:52,637
is all about, excuse me, is essentially, you know, not taking all that stuff on.

2666
02:46:52,737 --> 02:46:57,497
Let the people who are supposed to do that specific thing, let them do that specific thing.

2667
02:46:58,257 --> 02:47:01,417
And there's, you know, the opposite of that, frankly, is micromanaging.

2668
02:47:01,697 --> 02:47:06,937
That's probably the opposite. And a couple of years ago, I read somewhere that

2669
02:47:06,937 --> 02:47:10,097
something I'd heard a hundred times that this won't be a shock to anybody that

2670
02:47:10,097 --> 02:47:14,137
when you micromanage, what that means is you don't trust the people that are,

2671
02:47:14,157 --> 02:47:16,397
should be, you know, to do the thing they need to be doing.

2672
02:47:16,737 --> 02:47:18,797
I've heard that a hundred times, but it never meant anything to me.

2673
02:47:18,837 --> 02:47:23,077
Well, this particular time I was like, I took it serious and I realized, yeah, absolutely.

2674
02:47:23,237 --> 02:47:27,157
That is what's happening. I absolutely do not trust them to do it the way I want it done.

2675
02:47:27,797 --> 02:47:33,857
And so that, that caused me to take a step back and say, you know what, you know, let them do it.

2676
02:47:34,657 --> 02:47:37,537
Yes. They're not going to do it exactly like I want done some.

2677
02:47:37,657 --> 02:47:39,317
First of all, sometimes that's okay.

2678
02:47:39,857 --> 02:47:43,477
And that was a, that was hard for me. Sometimes that's simply okay.

2679
02:47:43,837 --> 02:47:47,037
But the other side of that is, well, maybe it's not okay. Maybe it needs to

2680
02:47:47,037 --> 02:47:50,617
be done exactly the way I want it done, but it doesn't mean I have to do it.

2681
02:47:51,037 --> 02:47:53,697
Let them do it. And when it's not exactly how you want done,

2682
02:47:53,857 --> 02:47:57,117
help them get there so that the next time it is done the way you want.

2683
02:47:57,237 --> 02:48:00,357
So in other words, teach, coach, expect more of them.

2684
02:48:01,197 --> 02:48:04,717
You know, something Gunners aren't little, who I mentioned before,

2685
02:48:04,937 --> 02:48:07,557
I remember sticking up for one of my peers.

2686
02:48:07,757 --> 02:48:10,737
I was a sergeant at the time. I was sticking up for one of my peers who was

2687
02:48:10,737 --> 02:48:13,777
a good guy. I liked him, but he kept falling short in a certain area.

2688
02:48:14,097 --> 02:48:17,837
And he told me, he called, he's like, why sergeant so-and-so this again?

2689
02:48:17,957 --> 02:48:20,337
You know? And I was like, ah, you know, I make excuses for him.

2690
02:48:20,837 --> 02:48:23,757
And, uh, and they were legitimate ish excuses for the most part.

2691
02:48:23,837 --> 02:48:27,497
I wasn't just blowing smoke, but one day he just said, why are you always?

2692
02:48:27,577 --> 02:48:30,737
And he didn't dislike the sergeant. So this question really took me back.

2693
02:48:30,937 --> 02:48:32,557
He said, why are you always sticking up for him?

2694
02:48:33,037 --> 02:48:34,997
And I was like, I didn't think of it as sticking up for him.

2695
02:48:35,017 --> 02:48:37,277
I was like, I was giving real answers to, to the situation.

2696
02:48:37,917 --> 02:48:40,317
And I was just like, stare down for a minute. He goes, and I was like,

2697
02:48:40,337 --> 02:48:42,657
I'm not, I'm not sticking up for him. It's, you know, it's legit.

2698
02:48:42,977 --> 02:48:45,457
And he's like, he's like, he called me out. Right. You know, BS.

2699
02:48:45,997 --> 02:48:48,677
He said, you're sticking up for him. He's like, and the reason you're doing

2700
02:48:48,677 --> 02:48:51,877
it is because And that's how he called me out on it. He goes,

2701
02:48:51,977 --> 02:48:53,297
would you have done that?

2702
02:48:53,477 --> 02:48:55,817
You know, whatever the case, whatever the thing was, would you have done it?

2703
02:48:55,897 --> 02:48:58,677
Would you be, would I be asking anybody why you, whatever?

2704
02:48:58,737 --> 02:49:03,117
And I was like, like right away, like not a chance. Like, and I knew, like no way.

2705
02:49:03,657 --> 02:49:06,257
And it was something minor. It could be tight sleeves. It wasn't tight sleeves,

2706
02:49:06,377 --> 02:49:07,717
but it could be as minor as tight sleeves.

2707
02:49:08,977 --> 02:49:11,957
And I was like, there's no way. Like, because my sleeves are going to be tight.

2708
02:49:12,037 --> 02:49:14,937
You will never fit two fingers in there. And so. Not a chance.

2709
02:49:15,517 --> 02:49:18,997
You can get lost. loss. And he knew, he knew that would trigger me.

2710
02:49:19,037 --> 02:49:20,637
Cause I was like, I would never confess to that.

2711
02:49:21,037 --> 02:49:26,477
And so anyway, his takeaway was, wasn't to rag on the other guy. He's like, don't ever,

2712
02:49:27,560 --> 02:49:30,180
don't hold other people to a lower standard than you hold yourself.

2713
02:49:30,880 --> 02:49:32,660
And I'm like, man, I was deep, you know?

2714
02:49:32,680 --> 02:49:35,500
And, and there's, there's a lot of levels you can go with that.

2715
02:49:35,520 --> 02:49:38,900
That's not just about holding people to being hard on them.

2716
02:49:38,960 --> 02:49:43,060
It's no help them, like hold them to a higher standard because that's what they'll rise to.

2717
02:49:43,620 --> 02:49:46,620
Or if not, well, then you need to know that. And that's how you need to cut

2718
02:49:46,620 --> 02:49:49,280
them loose. So, so anyway, that stuck with me. I thought that was good.

2719
02:49:49,520 --> 02:49:51,680
I had a staff sergeant on MSG.

2720
02:49:51,940 --> 02:49:56,880
I remember just being in there in post one and I don't know what happened,

2721
02:49:56,960 --> 02:49:59,980
but we were, it was a couple of us. It was like four or five of us.

2722
02:50:00,300 --> 02:50:02,440
I was probably a sergeant at the time.

2723
02:50:03,220 --> 02:50:07,540
And this is kind of the first time he, first time he really blew up.

2724
02:50:07,860 --> 02:50:10,940
You know, I don't think anyone's ever made him mad until this day.

2725
02:50:11,000 --> 02:50:13,040
And I'd been there for like six months probably.

2726
02:50:13,480 --> 02:50:19,000
But what he said, I never forgot. He said, don't hold, don't hate me for holding

2727
02:50:19,000 --> 02:50:22,040
you to a standard you chose to be a part of. Nice.

2728
02:50:22,240 --> 02:50:29,320
And I never forgot it and I've applied I've applied it in thought several times since. That's good.

2729
02:50:29,500 --> 02:50:33,060
And it's funny how you don't forget some of those things.

2730
02:50:33,300 --> 02:50:38,060
And maybe nothing else you said was influential ever, but that one thing.

2731
02:50:38,200 --> 02:50:40,520
I was like, that's it. That's all. That's it.

2732
02:50:41,180 --> 02:50:47,300
As a leader. That's really good. Yeah. Any other, what about the guys you're working with now?

2733
02:50:47,380 --> 02:50:53,760
Any quotes keep popping up or any isms that they like to use?

2734
02:50:53,760 --> 02:50:57,800
No, I have a, um, so, so like I said, I'm at the squadron level.

2735
02:50:57,860 --> 02:51:00,820
So it was my first, first, you know, just got promoted to sergeant major a year ago.

2736
02:51:01,340 --> 02:51:04,580
The next, the next level, if you will, is, uh, the mag.

2737
02:51:04,780 --> 02:51:10,620
So the Marine air group 41, the group sergeant major, he's a, he's really good.

2738
02:51:10,740 --> 02:51:13,920
I like him a lot. There's an active and reservist there and both of them are great.

2739
02:51:14,100 --> 02:51:17,760
But the, uh, the active duty guy actually recently was cracking me up because

2740
02:51:17,760 --> 02:51:20,200
he was dealing with, he's a guy who's got plenty.

2741
02:51:20,560 --> 02:51:23,340
He's got, it just rolls off the tongue. He's got plenty many things to say,

2742
02:51:23,380 --> 02:51:25,180
I should have a book and just write them down while you're talking.

2743
02:51:25,720 --> 02:51:30,220
But the one that I thought of it just now, when you're saying what your staff's

2744
02:51:30,220 --> 02:51:35,860
going to say, was an issue with, you know, sometimes we deal with married Marines

2745
02:51:35,860 --> 02:51:40,340
and the wives calling to fuss at something their husband, you know, doing or whatever.

2746
02:51:40,540 --> 02:51:44,280
And sometimes it's absolutely inappropriate and outside our purview,

2747
02:51:44,360 --> 02:51:45,440
has nothing to do with us.

2748
02:51:45,900 --> 02:51:50,740
And he told, he had to say, he was like, he said, excuse me,

2749
02:51:50,780 --> 02:51:56,800
when you two were in love and just met, holding hands, kissing each other,

2750
02:51:56,940 --> 02:51:58,860
and I bet y'all were just so excited to be around each other,

2751
02:51:58,900 --> 02:51:59,800
y'all decided to get married.

2752
02:51:59,940 --> 02:52:03,400
At any point during all of that, did y'all think about the office of the Sergeant Major?

2753
02:52:06,920 --> 02:52:11,040
Because now when things aren't going so smooth anymore and marriage is tough,

2754
02:52:11,380 --> 02:52:14,720
now all of a sudden the Sergeant Major needs to get involved and I'm the most

2755
02:52:14,720 --> 02:52:17,900
important person. and he's like, y'all didn't include me in that decision.

2756
02:52:18,040 --> 02:52:19,220
I'd have told y'all not to do it.

2757
02:52:20,480 --> 02:52:23,980
But that was good. Oh, that's smooth. Yep, but that wasn't good. That's so smooth.

2758
02:52:26,120 --> 02:52:33,360
So leadership versus management. You just talked about the who's got the monkey and the micromanaging.

2759
02:52:33,380 --> 02:52:36,740
And all I thought about when you were saying those things was the fire.

2760
02:52:37,280 --> 02:52:44,520
All I was thinking about was standing there watching someone new build a fire for the first time.

2761
02:52:44,640 --> 02:52:47,220
Let them feed it. And just have your skin crawl. Yep.

2762
02:52:47,720 --> 02:52:50,540
And it'll crawl. You got to let them do it.

2763
02:52:50,920 --> 02:52:55,100
So, yeah. So the who's got the monkey is interesting. because when it comes

2764
02:52:55,100 --> 02:52:57,900
to leadership versus management, I would say those are very,

2765
02:52:57,980 --> 02:52:59,160
very, very different things.

2766
02:52:59,840 --> 02:53:04,840
And real quick, my definition there for that would be, I don't know how to define

2767
02:53:04,840 --> 02:53:09,360
leadership as much as to say it's a lot of intangible things and qualities and

2768
02:53:09,360 --> 02:53:12,180
concepts that are a lot of what we've been talking about here.

2769
02:53:12,880 --> 02:53:16,040
Management is much more black and white, checking the block,

2770
02:53:16,300 --> 02:53:18,320
you know, managing a thing.

2771
02:53:18,400 --> 02:53:22,780
It's more finite is that there's an end goal in mind or whatever.

2772
02:53:22,920 --> 02:53:25,540
So I don't know how else to say it other than that. I feel like that's kind

2773
02:53:25,540 --> 02:53:27,220
of helpful to differentiate the two.

2774
02:53:27,660 --> 02:53:30,680
So when it comes to who's got the monkey though, that's applicable for both

2775
02:53:30,680 --> 02:53:35,120
because there's some leadership things going on when you allow somebody else to feed the monkey.

2776
02:53:35,320 --> 02:53:40,220
But when it comes to just managing, and frankly, I view my position here as I'm a manager here.

2777
02:53:40,360 --> 02:53:44,640
If I can be influential in some way for good, great. That's awesome.

2778
02:53:44,860 --> 02:53:48,500
But by and large, I am managing some finite things around here.

2779
02:53:48,860 --> 02:53:52,920
And I apply the who's got the monkey all the time because inevitably people

2780
02:53:52,920 --> 02:54:00,620
aren't trying to, but I'll give the gist of the article is the idea of somebody

2781
02:54:00,620 --> 02:54:01,860
comes to you with a problem.

2782
02:54:02,260 --> 02:54:06,860
And when you're having that conversation with them, at some point,

2783
02:54:06,880 --> 02:54:08,780
that conversation is gonna be over and the person is gonna walk away.

2784
02:54:09,100 --> 02:54:13,100
Is there something now on your plate that needs to be done?

2785
02:54:13,740 --> 02:54:17,860
Another way I've heard it put is like the people at the circus spinning the

2786
02:54:17,860 --> 02:54:19,880
plates on on the top of those sticks or whatever.

2787
02:54:21,160 --> 02:54:24,040
And, you know, they can hold one in each hand and they got one balancing on

2788
02:54:24,040 --> 02:54:26,180
their toe and then they'll balance another one on their chin.

2789
02:54:26,800 --> 02:54:31,920
That's management, balancing a bunch of spinning plates or feeding a bunch of monkeys all day long.

2790
02:54:32,220 --> 02:54:35,500
Well, when people come to you, when your subordinates come to you.

2791
02:54:36,500 --> 02:54:40,480
Do they walk away and they just left another monkey for you to feed or another

2792
02:54:40,480 --> 02:54:42,040
plate for you to balance somewhere?

2793
02:54:42,480 --> 02:54:46,620
Or are they leaving with the same monkey they came with? And that's the the

2794
02:54:46,620 --> 02:54:49,780
gist of it. And the reason it's important in the article is, is worth reading.

2795
02:54:49,980 --> 02:54:53,000
It's very short, but it gets into, there's certain things you don't have a say over.

2796
02:54:53,080 --> 02:54:57,360
So a boss imposed time, for instance, you know, your boss is going to impose

2797
02:54:57,360 --> 02:54:59,740
tasks on you that you don't get a say in, you got to do those things.

2798
02:55:00,000 --> 02:55:01,420
Uh, and those are going to fill your plate.

2799
02:55:01,940 --> 02:55:05,580
Well, you can't have everybody fill in your plate all the time,

2800
02:55:05,580 --> 02:55:08,540
or you're going to be drowning. And so you're,

2801
02:55:09,016 --> 02:55:13,596
When it comes to managing things and even people, even staffing management decisions.

2802
02:55:14,196 --> 02:55:19,576
To me, a lot of that stuff is, I try to view it as black and white.

2803
02:55:19,716 --> 02:55:23,956
And if somebody comes to me that should be their problem or their monkey to

2804
02:55:23,956 --> 02:55:26,956
feed, I make sure before they leave, the monkey is on their back.

2805
02:55:27,096 --> 02:55:31,316
And I didn't used to do that. I absolutely used to take every monkey I could

2806
02:55:31,316 --> 02:55:34,136
and try to feed them all and it will burn you out.

2807
02:55:34,396 --> 02:55:38,496
And maybe you can do that for years and good on you, but that's not helping other people.

2808
02:55:39,016 --> 02:55:41,616
And, uh, and that's where those two things kind of bleed over into each other.

2809
02:55:41,696 --> 02:55:47,376
So, I mean, that's just managing items, but, but again, you got to manage yourself.

2810
02:55:47,876 --> 02:55:51,436
And again, you are the leadership aspect. There is, you are also hurting other

2811
02:55:51,436 --> 02:55:53,276
people by doing that because you're not helping them grow.

2812
02:55:53,716 --> 02:55:58,836
And so, so yeah, it's, it's become a bit of a game for me for sure to the point

2813
02:55:58,836 --> 02:56:02,716
that it's comical and it's especially comical because I've had times where I

2814
02:56:02,716 --> 02:56:05,016
don't know that this guy read who's got the monkey,

2815
02:56:05,116 --> 02:56:09,976
but I felt he knew he was trying to leave that monkey on my back and uh and

2816
02:56:09,976 --> 02:56:13,276
it wasn't here it was this was in the marines and the look on his face with

2817
02:56:13,276 --> 02:56:19,116
my one sentence response to him each time he tried to leave the monkey on me and his face was like.

2818
02:56:19,796 --> 02:56:24,756
Shoot like he read it that monkey yeah exactly crap he's like man i really feel

2819
02:56:24,756 --> 02:56:28,036
like that monkey still on my back and uh i could just see in his face he was

2820
02:56:28,036 --> 02:56:31,996
shocked and and he would try another sentence or two to get it back with me

2821
02:56:31,996 --> 02:56:34,416
and it's like okay you had a problem and then i would just I just say the one

2822
02:56:34,416 --> 02:56:35,556
sentence that it went to.

2823
02:56:35,876 --> 02:56:38,576
Anyway, it was just funny. You just see the monkey jumping back and forth.

2824
02:56:38,896 --> 02:56:41,636
And I was like, this conversation is not ending with that monkey on my back.

2825
02:56:41,636 --> 02:56:44,236
It's kind of like the, it's kind of like the, you owe me one game.

2826
02:56:44,696 --> 02:56:46,456
I used to play that one on my Marines.

2827
02:56:47,036 --> 02:56:50,996
That's right. We would always just one up each other and do each other favors

2828
02:56:50,996 --> 02:56:55,056
with the notion of, no problem, you owe me one, you know?

2829
02:56:57,056 --> 02:56:58,916
But we would push the limits to it.

2830
02:56:59,708 --> 02:57:03,888
So that, when you sent me that, it did help me as well because I did the same stuff.

2831
02:57:04,148 --> 02:57:09,248
And what you didn't mention happens a lot of times. It's not only when people come to you.

2832
02:57:09,588 --> 02:57:13,088
A lot of times it's you go to them to collect the monkeys.

2833
02:57:13,488 --> 02:57:16,828
And that is what you cannot do. You cannot do.

2834
02:57:16,968 --> 02:57:21,628
And a lot of it, like you said, as you're going and you're collecting monkeys

2835
02:57:21,628 --> 02:57:26,468
and you're feeling like you're doing something, you feel like you're doing a

2836
02:57:26,468 --> 02:57:29,788
good thing and you're helping. a lot of times you're hurting.

2837
02:57:30,028 --> 02:57:33,568
A lot of times you're, you're negating all the training you've been doing.

2838
02:57:33,588 --> 02:57:36,628
You're not giving them the chance to, here is the chance for them to do the

2839
02:57:36,628 --> 02:57:37,848
things you've been training them to do.

2840
02:57:37,988 --> 02:57:42,608
Now you're stealing it back from them or someone they need to be training.

2841
02:57:43,048 --> 02:57:47,408
You're taking, you're taking opportunity away and it's real.

2842
02:57:47,488 --> 02:57:51,328
It happens and you can make the decision not to.

2843
02:57:51,448 --> 02:57:55,568
So, and here's the, here's the huge plug for having that kind mindset.

2844
02:57:56,068 --> 02:57:59,448
For me, I learned that as a first sergeant in the Marines, and that's where

2845
02:57:59,448 --> 02:58:01,628
I was most applying this.

2846
02:58:01,868 --> 02:58:05,568
In fact, I wasn't even working here yet. My job in home health physical therapy

2847
02:58:05,568 --> 02:58:08,448
was, I didn't feel like there was much leadership stuff there.

2848
02:58:08,548 --> 02:58:10,548
I was doing physical therapy with people.

2849
02:58:12,188 --> 02:58:16,908
As a first sergeant, I was working. I'm in the reserves.

2850
02:58:17,848 --> 02:58:22,788
You hear one week in a month, two weeks a year. I was easily putting in 30 to 40 hours.

2851
02:58:23,048 --> 02:58:27,008
Well, easily putting in 20 to 30. a week doing reserve things,

2852
02:58:27,208 --> 02:58:28,448
nevermind my full-time job.

2853
02:58:29,068 --> 02:58:32,248
And the fact that I have a wife and four children who, you know,

2854
02:58:32,248 --> 02:58:35,308
I've made it clear are important to me and I need my time.

2855
02:58:36,724 --> 02:58:40,944
And so while I felt I was very good at it, I was definitely burning myself out

2856
02:58:40,944 --> 02:58:43,004
and I was not enjoying it.

2857
02:58:43,344 --> 02:58:47,104
Not much anyway, certain aspects of it. I was, but by and large,

2858
02:58:47,124 --> 02:58:49,924
I was not enjoying it and I was okay. I didn't need to enjoy it.

2859
02:58:50,144 --> 02:58:55,064
Well, what I found out with the, who's got the monkey was once I finally figured

2860
02:58:55,064 --> 02:59:00,184
that out, I was able to start, you know, delegating better and stop micromanaging things.

2861
02:59:00,424 --> 02:59:04,084
And so, yeah, maybe things weren't getting done exactly the way I wanted to,

2862
02:59:04,144 --> 02:59:06,404
but I was I was able to teach those people that needed to be taught.

2863
02:59:06,544 --> 02:59:09,544
Other things were getting done in a different way that was okay.

2864
02:59:10,004 --> 02:59:14,384
And that freed me up to do what is the real job of a company first sergeant.

2865
02:59:14,384 --> 02:59:17,344
And ultimately what is now my job as a, as a sergeant major,

2866
02:59:17,424 --> 02:59:20,764
I feel, and that is, you know, to handle enlisted matters, to get out among

2867
02:59:20,764 --> 02:59:24,424
the troops and talk to the Marines and, and,

2868
02:59:24,524 --> 02:59:30,544
and insert myself where I could be most influential or most useful at that time,

2869
02:59:30,664 --> 02:59:32,124
pull myself out if needed,

2870
02:59:32,244 --> 02:59:34,344
whatever the case may be. I was free to do that.

2871
02:59:34,524 --> 02:59:41,004
And I loved it. And I really felt like my last six months as a first sergeant were so enjoyable.

2872
02:59:41,684 --> 02:59:45,644
And it was, I felt like I finally really capitalized on a lot of this and go

2873
02:59:45,644 --> 02:59:47,204
figure, you know, I'm out of that.

2874
02:59:47,264 --> 02:59:49,964
And I'm now I'm learning how to be a sergeant major, kind of like the house

2875
02:59:49,964 --> 02:59:52,304
that I finally perfected in time to move out.

2876
02:59:53,664 --> 02:59:59,044
And so, so yeah, it's hugely rewarding because you can kind of take that step

2877
02:59:59,044 --> 03:00:01,544
back and let people thrive.

2878
03:00:01,544 --> 03:00:05,224
And again, you can start to insert yourself in ways that are much more impactful

2879
03:00:05,224 --> 03:00:08,684
and more maybe suited to where you will best fit.

2880
03:00:08,844 --> 03:00:12,524
And otherwise, you can't do that because you're too busy trying to feed all the monkeys.

2881
03:00:14,404 --> 03:00:19,964
And how do we pass that down? How do we keep that ball rolling?

2882
03:00:20,424 --> 03:00:26,064
Or do we need to start doing that now? Or do we need to just keep perfecting?

2883
03:00:26,324 --> 03:00:30,444
But I'm also afraid to just keep perfecting without getting started now.

2884
03:00:30,444 --> 03:00:32,024
Yeah, no, that's a good question.

2885
03:00:33,184 --> 03:00:37,784
I don't know. I think I've never thought about this particular conversation

2886
03:00:37,784 --> 03:00:39,744
with regard to teaching these things in my kids.

2887
03:00:40,404 --> 03:00:44,444
I never thought of that before until right now. But, um, one thing I have done,

2888
03:00:44,444 --> 03:00:47,544
and we don't need to go down a rabbit hole with this is I have started journaling

2889
03:00:47,544 --> 03:00:50,924
and I would, I would recommend anybody do that.

2890
03:00:51,124 --> 03:00:56,384
But, uh, the reason I bring it up now is, is these kinds of things do make it

2891
03:00:56,384 --> 03:00:59,724
into my journal. And I started journaling so that my children could have a journal

2892
03:00:59,724 --> 03:01:02,484
of mine to read one day. Like that was my why behind doing that.

2893
03:01:04,147 --> 03:01:07,007
So, you know, hopefully they, hopefully they read these types of things.

2894
03:01:07,067 --> 03:01:09,947
Cause I do mention this kind of stuff as they've come to me over the years and,

2895
03:01:09,967 --> 03:01:13,887
and hopefully they can apply it in their own lives as, as needed.

2896
03:01:14,327 --> 03:01:17,187
Other than that, there's certainly ways to teach that generation,

2897
03:01:17,327 --> 03:01:20,227
these specific things, but I never actually thought about other than putting

2898
03:01:20,227 --> 03:01:22,167
them in positions of leadership in some kind of way.

2899
03:01:23,827 --> 03:01:27,947
Here's an interesting question. Do you play the, who's got the monkey game with Abby?

2900
03:01:31,287 --> 03:01:34,527
Oh man. um probably

2901
03:01:34,527 --> 03:01:39,487
yes you heard that no but seriously

2902
03:01:39,487 --> 03:01:42,467
my i wrote it down earlier because you're talking about

2903
03:01:42,467 --> 03:01:46,747
you said kneecap to kneecap conversations with your you know you learn to do

2904
03:01:46,747 --> 03:01:52,207
that when you're a corporal how did that prepare you for marriage and raising

2905
03:01:52,207 --> 03:01:57,967
kids like is that is that this kind of style you use like hey me and you i need

2906
03:01:57,967 --> 03:02:00,607
to tell you what's happening so we're sitting down.

2907
03:02:01,067 --> 03:02:05,167
Yeah. Here's what you specifically have been doing lately.

2908
03:02:05,367 --> 03:02:10,287
Yeah. You know? Okay. So I think that's a huge, so there's a skill here that

2909
03:02:10,287 --> 03:02:13,247
is very important that I do happen to think is my strong suit.

2910
03:02:13,327 --> 03:02:15,707
So yeah, I'm kind of toot my own horn, but I do think it's important.

2911
03:02:15,847 --> 03:02:18,507
And even if you're not good at it, you should be able to do it or try it.

2912
03:02:18,747 --> 03:02:22,647
And that is the ability to reprimand and to lift someone up.

2913
03:02:22,927 --> 03:02:25,487
You know, maybe I shouldn't say tear them down and build them up.

2914
03:02:25,527 --> 03:02:28,127
Sometimes people need to be torn down, but you might need to be able to do that,

2915
03:02:28,167 --> 03:02:31,267
but you need You need to be able to lift, not just lift people up,

2916
03:02:31,347 --> 03:02:32,627
lift that same person up.

2917
03:02:33,710 --> 03:02:36,710
Some people are real easy to tear down and maybe even fun to tear down,

2918
03:02:36,830 --> 03:02:38,430
but that's not a good thing.

2919
03:02:38,990 --> 03:02:41,970
You need to be able to lift that person right back up. And so,

2920
03:02:41,970 --> 03:02:46,950
yes, as a corporal doing, you know, this idea of sitting down and doing quarterly

2921
03:02:46,950 --> 03:02:50,650
or doing monthly counseling, we call it in the Marines.

2922
03:02:51,370 --> 03:02:55,490
What I learned there is that I can talk to a Marine.

2923
03:02:56,070 --> 03:03:00,930
I can talk to somebody like an adult because that session is always supposed

2924
03:03:00,930 --> 03:03:05,210
to be professional and mature and like adults and all that.

2925
03:03:05,610 --> 03:03:12,570
And so even if it's somebody who really rubs you the wrong way or is always messing up,

2926
03:03:12,730 --> 03:03:19,010
that person absolutely still deserves your time one-on-one and doors closed

2927
03:03:19,010 --> 03:03:22,470
and they can speak their mind if they need to. And frankly, you speak your mind.

2928
03:03:22,530 --> 03:03:27,330
It doesn't have to be, nobody's raising their voice, nobody's emotional in a bad that way.

2929
03:03:27,850 --> 03:03:31,070
It's just an opportunity for that person to have a voice.

2930
03:03:31,370 --> 03:03:34,010
Ultimately it's for that person to have a voice all month long.

2931
03:03:34,190 --> 03:03:36,910
I have a voice. I'm the boss, you know, or whatever.

2932
03:03:37,050 --> 03:03:40,830
I'm the manager. I'm the, this, I already have a voice, but does that person.

2933
03:03:41,210 --> 03:03:46,050
And so for anyone who has forgotten or maybe never was in that position,

2934
03:03:46,190 --> 03:03:50,270
Hey, it's pretty frustrating day in and day out to feel like you never have a voice.

2935
03:03:50,510 --> 03:03:53,830
And so it's real. I think it's very important for people to know they have a

2936
03:03:53,830 --> 03:03:58,090
voice and that's not built into our industrial model.

2937
03:03:58,630 --> 03:04:02,330
And so, so I think that's important, letting people know they have a voice.

2938
03:04:02,550 --> 03:04:06,970
But what that did for me is it allowed me to be able to talk to people,

2939
03:04:07,090 --> 03:04:10,850
you know, literally in one, in one sentence, like, you know,

2940
03:04:10,850 --> 03:04:12,630
I'll use the Marines in one sentence.

2941
03:04:12,670 --> 03:04:16,530
I may be sitting down with somebody having a very formal reprimand with them

2942
03:04:16,530 --> 03:04:18,370
that maybe even have some paperwork behind it.

2943
03:04:18,410 --> 03:04:21,810
Like, Hey, you're getting kicked out of the Marine Corps, maybe for this severe

2944
03:04:21,810 --> 03:04:24,590
thing, or maybe not kicked out.

2945
03:04:24,630 --> 03:04:28,270
Let's say, you know, you probably with this on your record, I don't know how

2946
03:04:28,270 --> 03:04:31,630
you, you know, it's going to be hard to get promoted because you did this thing.

2947
03:04:31,670 --> 03:04:34,950
It was so stupid, blah, blah, blah sign here. But in the next breath.

2948
03:04:36,113 --> 03:04:38,333
All right, how are we going to, how are we going to get you,

2949
03:04:38,373 --> 03:04:40,973
how are we going to help you out now? Because this ain't good.

2950
03:04:41,233 --> 03:04:42,793
Let's fix this. How are we going to fix it?

2951
03:04:43,593 --> 03:04:46,973
And that's, you know, some people get taken aback by that and you realize right

2952
03:04:46,973 --> 03:04:49,953
then and there, they've probably never had somebody who was willing to do both.

2953
03:04:50,513 --> 03:04:54,713
Yeah. So you're being, you're, you're, you're actually being vulnerable.

2954
03:04:54,813 --> 03:04:58,213
You're saying, yeah, I usually, I just tell you what to do.

2955
03:04:58,373 --> 03:05:01,213
I don't know what to tell you right now. Can you help me? Yeah.

2956
03:05:01,253 --> 03:05:06,473
Like you're showing weakness, you know? So for my kids, I feel like that's,

2957
03:05:06,473 --> 03:05:13,293
again, if I say I have a strength of mine, I have absolutely no hesitation apologizing when I've messed up.

2958
03:05:14,093 --> 03:05:17,853
I have no problem confessing when I've messed up. Sometimes maybe they don't

2959
03:05:17,853 --> 03:05:19,493
even know that I did something wrong or whatever.

2960
03:05:20,233 --> 03:05:24,193
That's not something I struggle with, and I'm thankful for that because I mess up a lot.

2961
03:05:24,773 --> 03:05:29,113
And so sadly, they'll have seen me mess up plenty. money, but the good news

2962
03:05:29,113 --> 03:05:30,633
is they will have seen a man who

2963
03:05:30,633 --> 03:05:34,793
was willing to admit when he's wrong and apologize for it if necessary.

2964
03:05:35,413 --> 03:05:40,493
And, and so that I think comes from just that, that willingness to be vulnerable

2965
03:05:40,493 --> 03:05:43,953
and, and all that, and just acknowledging, you know, our own shortcomings.

2966
03:05:44,133 --> 03:05:47,693
And so I'm very, very open with my children when it comes to,

2967
03:05:47,733 --> 03:05:50,473
and their own reprimand too. Like I don't shy away from reprimanding them.

2968
03:05:50,673 --> 03:05:54,433
I don't shy away from, from lifting them up if I can, because again,

2969
03:05:54,473 --> 03:05:55,793
the reprimand's easy to find.

2970
03:05:56,053 --> 03:06:00,913
How do you feel about, you have four, how do you feel about doing it in front of the others?

2971
03:06:01,453 --> 03:06:04,873
We kind of, I kind of struggle with that, like not knowing if it's right or

2972
03:06:04,873 --> 03:06:06,773
when it's right or when to not do that.

2973
03:06:07,864 --> 03:06:10,964
I can tell you what I think is the right answer, and it's not something I get

2974
03:06:10,964 --> 03:06:13,644
right all the time. I do try to be conscious of it.

2975
03:06:14,004 --> 03:06:17,504
I think the right answer there is it depends on if it's reprimand,

2976
03:06:17,664 --> 03:06:22,904
if they say reprimand in private, scold in private, and praise in public or whatever.

2977
03:06:23,404 --> 03:06:27,544
Well, sure, but there are certain sins that are public sins that maybe need

2978
03:06:27,544 --> 03:06:28,544
to be reprimanded publicly.

2979
03:06:29,384 --> 03:06:35,264
That's my going in argument there. If they've done something that was public, that was wrong.

2980
03:06:35,364 --> 03:06:38,464
It needs to be publicly confessed and acknowledged.

2981
03:06:39,484 --> 03:06:46,104
If it was private and it didn't necessarily affect anybody else or whatever, then I'll handle that.

2982
03:06:46,604 --> 03:06:51,224
When it comes to praise, by and large, you almost can't do wrong if you do that

2983
03:06:51,224 --> 03:06:52,924
publicly, but that could be a problem.

2984
03:06:52,984 --> 03:06:56,824
If you praise too much in front of people, there could be some big headedness or whatever.

2985
03:06:57,324 --> 03:07:00,604
Do you have to keep a, I'm sure you have a spreadsheet.

2986
03:07:00,964 --> 03:07:06,684
Do you have to keep a spreadsheet with the count of how much public praise. Yeah.

2987
03:07:07,184 --> 03:07:10,504
So-and-so is getting pretty stacked. I need to psych off for a while.

2988
03:07:10,624 --> 03:07:14,444
Yeah. Cause it's just, it runs so rampant. I probably should start getting more organized.

2989
03:07:15,264 --> 03:07:17,944
I think this calls for a spreadsheet.

2990
03:07:21,024 --> 03:07:25,104
Well, good. What do you think? Let's talk a little bit about Papa.

2991
03:07:25,784 --> 03:07:29,904
What's some things that, that you think truly were passed passed down to you

2992
03:07:29,904 --> 03:07:34,684
from papa not from your dad not from anyone else but papa,

2993
03:07:37,304 --> 03:07:40,244
so or maybe just a memory you just can't forget you

2994
03:07:40,244 --> 03:07:44,144
know so so papa the first thing i thought of basically is just a picture you

2995
03:07:44,144 --> 03:07:47,624
know again a picture i'm here with the with customers and you just how did uh

2996
03:07:47,624 --> 03:07:51,764
was it mr cleave how did he say it man can make friends with a rattlesnake so

2997
03:07:51,764 --> 03:07:57,064
that you know just his personality stands out but the thing about papa that

2998
03:07:57,064 --> 03:07:58,844
is just the coolest thing in the world to me.

2999
03:07:59,444 --> 03:08:03,484
And I wish I had a video of it because everybody needs to see it.

3000
03:08:04,255 --> 03:08:08,835
When that man would come home from anything, if he just went to the store,

3001
03:08:08,975 --> 03:08:10,715
if he walked over here to the market, it didn't matter.

3002
03:08:11,155 --> 03:08:14,535
And it did not matter how many people were in his house. It could have been

3003
03:08:14,535 --> 03:08:18,195
me visiting, just sitting there and he walks in and I was visiting with mama,

3004
03:08:18,315 --> 03:08:22,155
or it could have been, I got it right that time. I already know what you're going to say.

3005
03:08:22,415 --> 03:08:26,015
Or it could have been, it could have been a Christmas thing where the whole

3006
03:08:26,015 --> 03:08:28,555
family was there, but Papa was out doing whatever.

3007
03:08:28,755 --> 03:08:32,155
When Papa walked in the door, he made a beeline for his wife.

3008
03:08:32,155 --> 03:08:34,935
Wife he did not turn his head to the right of the left

3009
03:08:34,935 --> 03:08:37,875
he barely said hi to anybody he looked his wife

3010
03:08:37,875 --> 03:08:41,035
right in the eyes he walked right up to her he grabbed her on both cheeks and

3011
03:08:41,035 --> 03:08:44,255
he kissed her on the forehead and they would even say i love you

3012
03:08:44,255 --> 03:08:47,095
so much anyway and they do like

3013
03:08:47,095 --> 03:08:49,835
that and maybe for a second but that was the first thing he

3014
03:08:49,835 --> 03:08:52,675
did when he came home and so you do it too i do

3015
03:08:52,675 --> 03:08:55,795
it too yeah i do it too yeah i do the same thing i

3016
03:08:55,795 --> 03:08:58,815
even the the memory burned into me is he

3017
03:08:58,815 --> 03:09:01,835
would he would like crawl to her chair yeah yeah and

3018
03:09:01,835 --> 03:09:05,175
i do it too and i think i do think about them yeah

3019
03:09:05,175 --> 03:09:09,015
it's so awesome i thought that was awesome too i think

3020
03:09:09,015 --> 03:09:14,375
we're doing i don't know i want to say i think we're doing a good job i think

3021
03:09:14,375 --> 03:09:19,115
there's plenty we can we can get better at but i don't know how to get better

3022
03:09:19,115 --> 03:09:26,035
at it necessarily but i don't know how do you think we go about passing this i don't know know,

3023
03:09:26,035 --> 03:09:29,315
if you call it a mindset or this thing that,

3024
03:09:29,335 --> 03:09:31,895
that we have because of the influences

3025
03:09:31,895 --> 03:09:37,255
we've had along the way and the mentors we've had, I don't know.

3026
03:09:37,275 --> 03:09:40,935
I hope we can be those mentors and I hope we've, we've started,

3027
03:09:41,155 --> 03:09:44,815
you know, that's all we can hope for is that we've at least started. Yeah.

3028
03:09:45,195 --> 03:09:49,835
So I think when I think of that question about how we're going to pass it on

3029
03:09:49,835 --> 03:09:53,095
and make sure the next generation is kind of, you know, sitting around talking

3030
03:09:53,095 --> 03:09:57,475
like we are, I do first wonder, okay, well, do we need to be talking about it?

3031
03:09:57,555 --> 03:10:00,135
And I only ask that because I want to be purposeful and make sure we're not

3032
03:10:00,135 --> 03:10:01,395
just doing something because we think it's right.

3033
03:10:01,735 --> 03:10:03,875
I want to, you know, question everything type of thing.

3034
03:10:04,835 --> 03:10:09,935
And so I think of, I think of uncle Donald and my dad and uncle John and all

3035
03:10:09,935 --> 03:10:11,715
the aunts and uncles, really, I think of pop ball.

3036
03:10:12,195 --> 03:10:15,995
And I don't know that they sat around talking about this kind of stuff.

3037
03:10:16,415 --> 03:10:18,075
And I don't know that they were trying.

3038
03:10:18,795 --> 03:10:22,135
I don't know that they were being intentional about, I think they were being

3039
03:10:22,135 --> 03:10:24,275
intentional in in a lot of good ways, but I don't know that they were being

3040
03:10:24,275 --> 03:10:28,575
intentional about trying to make sure they passed something on as far as a way to be yet.

3041
03:10:29,515 --> 03:10:30,815
They did pass it on.

3042
03:10:31,855 --> 03:10:36,975
I can argue. I can argue that they absolutely knew what they were doing. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe.

3043
03:10:37,215 --> 03:10:40,195
Good point, Matt. I never thought it like that, but you're, you're right.

3044
03:10:40,275 --> 03:10:43,835
I mean, if you do anything interesting enough, people are going to look and

3045
03:10:43,835 --> 03:10:46,295
if you do it for long enough, they're going to remember it. Yeah.

3046
03:10:46,415 --> 03:10:47,855
Right. And that's a good point. Yeah.

3047
03:10:48,575 --> 03:10:55,715
So, yeah. So for me, I think, I think stay the course be the role model, be the mentor.

3048
03:10:55,815 --> 03:11:01,215
In other words, have a character and an uprightness about you that's worthy of emulation.

3049
03:11:02,599 --> 03:11:06,819
That's an important thing, taking that seriously. Again, Bo's mentality on,

3050
03:11:06,859 --> 03:11:09,639
look, just watching over things until the next generation, I think that's not

3051
03:11:09,639 --> 03:11:11,639
just a good, humble attitude to have.

3052
03:11:11,959 --> 03:11:17,419
It's the right mindset because it makes you a good steward of the thing that you're watching over.

3053
03:11:18,279 --> 03:11:23,199
If you think about it for yourself, it's not just that it's selfish, it's that you change.

3054
03:11:23,619 --> 03:11:26,619
But if you think about it for the next generation, you're going to take care

3055
03:11:26,619 --> 03:11:28,019
of it like it belongs to someone else.

3056
03:11:28,119 --> 03:11:31,799
And we all take care of something a little different when it's for someone else. and

3057
03:11:31,799 --> 03:11:34,539
so just that little small thing i think makes a

3058
03:11:34,539 --> 03:11:38,739
big difference i think i think as long as we're thinking about it like that

3059
03:11:38,739 --> 03:11:43,959
that's really that's that's maybe doing a lot that maybe does more than we realize

3060
03:11:43,959 --> 03:11:47,279
it's not going to feel you know won't feel like fireworks going off and we're

3061
03:11:47,279 --> 03:11:52,719
doing world-changing things but just that small thing recognizing that it's for the next generation,

3062
03:11:53,779 --> 03:11:57,939
what i what i call that multi-generational faithfulness i think that's a big

3063
03:11:57,939 --> 03:12:01,999
deal and And that's the Simon Sinek's book, Infinite Game. And that's essentially what it's about.

3064
03:12:04,199 --> 03:12:09,259
So what if something can last for 30 years and you retire and fat and happy on it?

3065
03:12:09,519 --> 03:12:12,639
And that's fine if that's your goal. But that's not our goal.

3066
03:12:12,719 --> 03:12:16,219
Our goal is that the next generation can, like you said, can pick up the torch

3067
03:12:16,219 --> 03:12:17,219
and continue to carry it.

3068
03:12:18,259 --> 03:12:23,579
That seems daunting when you start thinking about multi-generational 200, 300 years from now.

3069
03:12:23,719 --> 03:12:26,859
But if you just think, well, no, just the next generation. generation

3070
03:12:26,859 --> 03:12:29,599
and i would argue think about the next one after

3071
03:12:29,599 --> 03:12:33,799
that too but think of those two generations because again

3072
03:12:33,799 --> 03:12:40,719
do things our way first learn how to teach things our way and then you can maybe

3073
03:12:40,719 --> 03:12:44,299
deviate well that's how i think of that's how i think of the next two generations

3074
03:12:44,299 --> 03:12:47,559
i think the next generation needs to know how we do it and they need to know

3075
03:12:47,559 --> 03:12:49,759
how to teach how we do it because they're going to have to teach the next generation

3076
03:12:49,759 --> 03:12:53,439
then they can start deviating and see if they know a better way.

3077
03:12:54,439 --> 03:12:57,899
So I just think, uh, just have the right mindset that it's not about us.

3078
03:12:57,939 --> 03:13:00,019
It's about the next generation. It helps.

3079
03:13:01,339 --> 03:13:04,779
All right. Got anything else? This was awesome.

3080
03:13:05,819 --> 03:13:09,519
Yeah, this was fun. It's really good. No, nothing comes to mind.

3081
03:13:09,559 --> 03:13:11,459
I'm sure I'll think of a hundred things tonight. We'll do another.

3082
03:13:12,199 --> 03:13:14,899
We'll just do another. Cool. All right. Thanks, Brody. All right.

3083
03:13:16,599 --> 03:13:20,719
Well, I asked for the opportunity to provide some closing remarks on something

3084
03:13:20,719 --> 03:13:25,879
that I'm very passionate about, and Shane graciously agreed to allow it. So there I go.

3085
03:13:26,459 --> 03:13:30,019
We talked about a lot of things, and frankly, it felt all over the place.

3086
03:13:30,219 --> 03:13:34,479
But when the subject of the Bible came up, I felt I missed an opportunity there.

3087
03:13:34,959 --> 03:13:38,539
I have my hands in a lot of fire, so to speak, but when it comes to God and

3088
03:13:38,539 --> 03:13:42,139
his word, this is an area of my life that I have devoted more of my time,

3089
03:13:42,199 --> 03:13:45,019
energy, and emotions to than any other area by far.

3090
03:13:45,579 --> 03:13:48,559
This includes even the relationship I have with my own wife,

3091
03:13:48,679 --> 03:13:50,379
and that's one of the things she likes about me.

3092
03:13:51,724 --> 03:13:55,164
I'd be remiss not to encourage everyone to read the Bible. Know for yourself what it says.

3093
03:13:56,484 --> 03:14:01,184
Anyway, I don't say that to imply I'm an expert on what God has to say in every circumstance of life.

3094
03:14:01,824 --> 03:14:05,504
But other things I have sought to understand in this life, this is certainly at the top for me.

3095
03:14:05,924 --> 03:14:10,204
For sure more than leadership or being a butcher or therapist, handyman, etc.

3096
03:14:10,984 --> 03:14:13,764
And I would be a fool not to at least attempt to encourage others that have

3097
03:14:13,764 --> 03:14:17,984
never read the Bible to simply sit down, start today. take the time to see what

3098
03:14:17,984 --> 03:14:22,164
God has to say on the many issues that I promise are relevant to you and everyone around you.

3099
03:14:22,624 --> 03:14:27,024
The Bible has been around for almost 1500 years, written by over 40 authors

3100
03:14:27,024 --> 03:14:31,424
and over a period of 40 generations in three different languages and deals with

3101
03:14:31,424 --> 03:14:34,404
the most controversial topics yet with complete harmony and agreement.

3102
03:14:34,984 --> 03:14:38,544
It's had the largest circulation of any book in history, read by more people

3103
03:14:38,544 --> 03:14:39,324
than any book in history.

3104
03:14:39,584 --> 03:14:42,804
It's the first book ever to be translated from its original language and has

3105
03:14:42,804 --> 03:14:45,384
been translated into more languages than any other book in history.

3106
03:14:46,104 --> 03:14:49,604
No other book has been banned, burned, and outlawed like the Bible has,

3107
03:14:49,724 --> 03:14:53,084
and yet it is still around as much as it ever has been or more.

3108
03:14:53,604 --> 03:14:56,744
There is no natural explanation as to why the Bible still exists,

3109
03:14:56,944 --> 03:15:00,784
and all that is to mention nothing of the actual information to be found in

3110
03:15:00,784 --> 03:15:03,444
it and why it exists. So check it out.

3111
03:15:04,104 --> 03:15:07,324
None of this proves it's true or even relevant, but it does prove that it is

3112
03:15:07,324 --> 03:15:10,264
unique, standing out from all others, one of a kind, having no equal.

3113
03:15:11,204 --> 03:15:15,364
I've heard what I think is every reason under the sun from people for why they

3114
03:15:15,364 --> 03:15:19,184
don't read or have not read the Bible Most of whom I hear criticize it will

3115
03:15:19,184 --> 03:15:20,824
openly admit to having never read it in

3116
03:15:20,824 --> 03:15:24,184
the first place Nor considered its qualifications compared to other books,

3117
03:15:24,644 --> 03:15:27,724
There was a time when you had to earn the right to critic criticize something,

3118
03:15:28,304 --> 03:15:32,284
But sadly it is also not all that rare to hear of someone who claims to believe

3119
03:15:32,284 --> 03:15:35,204
in God and his written word and That has also never read it.

3120
03:15:35,384 --> 03:15:39,804
I'm not sure which is the bigger travesty In 2004, General Mattis responded

3121
03:15:39,804 --> 03:15:43,464
to a question in an email with regard to the importance of reading and officers

3122
03:15:43,464 --> 03:15:45,664
who found themselves too busy to read.

3123
03:15:46,204 --> 03:15:48,084
I want to read the opening lines of that email.

3124
03:15:49,259 --> 03:15:52,719
The problem with being too busy to read is that you learn by experience,

3125
03:15:52,959 --> 03:15:55,479
or by your men's experience, i.e. the hard way.

3126
03:15:55,899 --> 03:15:58,639
By reading, you learn through others' experiences.

3127
03:15:59,119 --> 03:16:01,979
Generally a better way to do business, especially in our line of work,

3128
03:16:02,079 --> 03:16:04,739
where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.

3129
03:16:05,379 --> 03:16:08,299
Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation,

3130
03:16:08,599 --> 03:16:12,899
never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed, successfully or unsuccessfully before.

3131
03:16:13,519 --> 03:16:16,939
It doesn't give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead. head.

3132
03:16:17,519 --> 03:16:21,399
For all the fourth generation of war intellectuals running around today saying

3133
03:16:21,399 --> 03:16:26,099
that the nature of war has fundamentally changed, the tactics are wholly new, etc.

3134
03:16:26,479 --> 03:16:28,739
I must respectfully say, not really.

3135
03:16:29,379 --> 03:16:33,799
Alex the Great would not be in the least bit perplexed by the enemy that we face right now in Iraq.

3136
03:16:34,299 --> 03:16:38,299
And our leaders going into this fight do their troops a disservice by not studying,

3137
03:16:38,899 --> 03:16:43,119
studying by just reading the men who have gone before us. So end quote.

3138
03:16:43,699 --> 03:16:48,199
So that's General Mattis. I share that because of its relevance to reading the Bible.

3139
03:16:48,379 --> 03:16:51,319
General Mattis was referring to the importance of reading history and reading

3140
03:16:51,319 --> 03:16:54,839
in general, but I can say in my experience, it is very applicable to all of

3141
03:16:54,839 --> 03:16:56,439
life and the reading of God's word.

3142
03:16:56,979 --> 03:17:01,339
Shane and I didn't even get into my wife's cancer diagnosis in 2019 and how

3143
03:17:01,339 --> 03:17:05,199
we had to navigate that, or the fact that in 2021, I was faced with a moral

3144
03:17:05,199 --> 03:17:08,099
decision that was all but sure to have me kicked out of the Marine Corps and

3145
03:17:08,099 --> 03:17:09,339
how that ultimately played out.

3146
03:17:09,739 --> 03:17:12,679
Those were very hard times for my wife and I, and we learned a ton,

3147
03:17:12,819 --> 03:17:16,879
but it wasn't some mystical, unexplained, or illogical, quote,

3148
03:17:16,939 --> 03:17:18,259
faith that carried us through.

3149
03:17:18,759 --> 03:17:23,239
It was an objective, tangible understanding of so many scriptures that laid

3150
03:17:23,239 --> 03:17:26,659
the path out so clearly for us that I can hardly justify having ever doubted

3151
03:17:26,659 --> 03:17:28,639
the right path. And I'm thankful for that.

3152
03:17:29,239 --> 03:17:32,259
We, of course, don't have it all figured out and never will on this side of

3153
03:17:32,259 --> 03:17:33,519
eternity. And that's okay too.

3154
03:17:33,999 --> 03:17:38,059
We can trust in someone who does and just see what he says, what he has to say

3155
03:17:38,059 --> 03:17:41,919
about it all. If you try that and you don't like it, well, at least you can say you tried.

3156
03:17:39,440 --> 03:17:52,400
Music.

3157
03:17:42,939 --> 03:17:45,599
And that's all I got to say about that thanks,

3158
03:17:53,019 --> 03:17:56,799
alright that's it for this episode of the Miracles in Me podcast we ask that

3159
03:17:56,799 --> 03:18:00,459
you share it with at least one person in your life that you think needs to hear

3160
03:18:00,459 --> 03:18:04,339
it you know if you got a little something from it you got some little goose

3161
03:18:04,339 --> 03:18:06,399
pimples or it just gave you some feel goods,

3162
03:18:07,199 --> 03:18:10,119
you know send it to someone else let them feel that

3163
03:18:10,119 --> 03:18:12,819
too and if you loved it please leave us a

3164
03:18:12,819 --> 03:18:15,899
five star review that'll really help out and if

3165
03:18:15,899 --> 03:18:18,779
you only loved it like four stars or so please

3166
03:18:18,779 --> 03:18:21,779
do not leave a review same thing with the one through

3167
03:18:21,779 --> 03:18:26,559
three not interested in any of those only five stars if you have any personal

3168
03:18:26,559 --> 03:18:31,319
questions or comments about the episode shoot them over to bourgeois meat market

3169
03:18:31,319 --> 03:18:36,699
on facebook or instagram and we'll reach back out And if you have any ideas

3170
03:18:36,699 --> 03:18:40,719
for any cool future guests, please shoot those over too.

3171
03:18:40,779 --> 03:18:45,359
We're all always interested in hearing Who else is out there and what kind of

3172
03:18:45,359 --> 03:18:47,319
cool stories we might be able to bring into this place.

3173
03:18:47,760 --> 03:19:22,383
Music.