Moon Landings To Marriage Lessons In One Unscripted Night

We decided to do something risky: hit record with no plan and trust the conversation to take us where it needs to go. What starts as a fun question about conspiracy theories quickly turns into something more honest about trust, power, and why our brains chase stories that feel hidden. We trade our favorite rabbit holes, laugh at how deep YouTube can pull you, and admit there are some topics you can’t touch without people assuming the worst.

From there, we get real about modern disagreement. We talk about social media, keyboard courage, and what it feels like to be misunderstood by strangers who don’t know you at all. We’re not asking everyone to agree. We’re asking for civil conversation, better questions, and friendships that can handle tension without turning into hate. If you’re tired of echo chambers, this one is for you.

Then we shift into the personal stuff we don’t always make space for: hobbies and the ways they keep us alive. Jess shares how painting became a grief outlet and a path toward healing. Michael talks about music, songwriting, and how picking up a guitar with no agenda can be therapy. We reflect on loss, memory, and the surprising power of a playlist made from grandparents’ favorite songs. We also circle back to why we keep doing Baggage Claim: marriage, blended family life, community, and leaving something our kids can hear one day.

If you like relationship podcasts, real talk conversations, and unscripted storytelling about grief, marriage, music, and community, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a table to land at, and leave a review so more people can find the conversation.

Transcript

Welcome And No Planned Topic

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hey guys, what's up? I'm Greg. I hope you guys are ready to unpack and get into some good conversations today.

SPEAKER_05 0:06

And I'm Jess, and this is our podcast, Baggage Plane. Thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Now we're recording for real.

SPEAKER_06 0:20

Is your phone gonna die? No. Did you look? No. Okay, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

I feel like we should just go.

SPEAKER_03 0:27

Welcome. So hold on. This is episode 54, 34.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

This is how we work because the exact episode that we recorded right before this, like two hours ago, we also did not know which episode that was. And we said this is episode 52 or 53, which we only say that for our own records.

SPEAKER_04 0:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

But honestly, none of us know which episode. No, because Miranda's not here. And Miranda is not here.

SPEAKER_03 0:54

Miranda's gone. So anyway, welcome to Baggage Claim. Welcome to Baggage Claim and up to the table. Yeah. So grab it grab a drink, your favorite drink, wherever you're at, whatever you're doing. If you're driving in the car, your favorite coffee, water, um, whatever it is. And just pull up to the table and with us, and we're gonna have some good conversation. Baggage Claim is a place for uh community and conversation. And today is completely different from anything we've done.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

We say things are different a lot.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

No, this is different.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

But the thing is, we do different a lot. And I I like that. I do. I like that. And can I also notice like massive balloons? Can I say, where did we get those balloons? Because that was from like four weeks ago.

SPEAKER_03 1:41

Ashley Minton and Michael Minton bought us.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

They're still like on the roof over there. Oh, balloons for our 50 death. Bro, we should totally pop one of those suckers open and use it for the rest of this episode. It's all squeaky voice.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

We should have squeaky helium voice.

SPEAKER_06 1:55

I tried to reference our 50th episode earlier this evening. We were talking about something. I said our 50th anniversary. 50th anniversary. I'm like, nope, that's not it.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

This is gonna be different in the sense that we're going completely off the cuff.

unknown 2:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

And so we may not actually have a topic. Well, we don't. We're just gonna go. We're just gonna go wide up.

SPEAKER_06 2:18

I hate it. I hate it.

SPEAKER_03 2:19

So wherever we're at, and this is maybe a chance for you guys to get to know us a little bit more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Like uh Well that's my hope is that we get to share opinions and ideas and things that we've worked through, right?

SPEAKER_06 2:31

Well, I will say when I'm in a conversation with Michael and Greg, you two tend to talk more.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

No.

SPEAKER_06 2:41

And so then I sit back and just kind of like, okay, y'all have at it. So for the rest of this episode, yes is gonna lead.

SPEAKER_03 2:49

Yeah, you're the lead girl.

SPEAKER_06 2:52

No.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

Lead us off.

SPEAKER_06 2:53

So if I be quiet, I'm not being sassy and county. I'm just saying this is real life, and this is what literally happens in real life. You're not wrong when the three of us are together. You forget that there's a girl.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

So let's do question time.

SPEAKER_06 3:09

Question time.

SPEAKER_03 3:11

I got a question. Oh what is your favorite conspiracy theory? Like, what would you look up? Like you're you're laying on the couch, it's 11 30 at night. I know this is not you, it had to be 6 30 in the afternoon.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

It would be more like 1 30 for me.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

Yeah, so like so like it's late at night. Yeah. Like you've watched all the shows you want to watch, or YouTube, and you're like, I'm gonna YouTube this conspiracy theory. What would be the one that you would Michael's exact question? You can have two. You can get I give you your top two conspiracy theories. Go.

SPEAKER_06 3:47

Two. Okay, number one the moon landing. Oh, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

That is a good one. That's so good, too. That's a rabbit hole that you just can't get out of.

SPEAKER_06 3:59

And then there was an Apple movie. It was called Fly Me to the Moon.

SPEAKER_03 4:02

Yes, great, great movie.

SPEAKER_06 4:04

It's solidified.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Fly me to the moon.

SPEAKER_03 4:09

Never heard the song. The movie was great.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

That's prank Sinatra, right? Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

Let me take you to the stone. Not a Sinatra fan, but I mean, nothing. I mean, I'm not, but he's got a couple really good ones.

SPEAKER_06 4:20

Dude can sing with Jupiter and Mars. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

That's a good song. Yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_06 4:24

Almost sang. Did you hear me? I almost sang.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

Okay, so what's your second one?

SPEAKER_06 4:33

Ooh, solidify second. Ooh.

SPEAKER_03 4:37

Oh, come on.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

See, this is going to be quite revealing. Like, especially with all that's going on in the current world right now.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

Like, come on. You do you have a second? If you don't have one, you don't have to. You can come back to the book.

SPEAKER_06 4:49

I want to say aliens.

SPEAKER_03 4:51

No, aliens are real. Obama just said they're real. I don't know if you heard that. Yeah, they released the podcast. He went on a random podcast, something like our podcast that everybody knows about.

SPEAKER_06 4:59

Obscure nobody. Yeah, like us. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

Obama's gonna be on there next week. Bro, shoot. If he would come, I would do that in a heartbeat. I wouldn't have to do that. Just talk to a president. I would. I would.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

I would love to talk to a president. I don't care who you can.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Just to be able to sit and talk to a president? It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

I don't care who you are. If you would say no to talking to a president, check yourself.

SPEAKER_06 5:22

I wouldn't say no.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

Yeah, check yourself.

SPEAKER_06 5:24

Okay. I mean, I'd have to do that.

SPEAKER_03 5:27

Hold on. Aliens and moon landing. That was it. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_03 5:31

Do you got one, Michael?

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Because like I'm not sure. This is revealing you're revealing yourself for you. Because when it comes to like uh conspiracy theories, it's like I'm still trying. I mean, they're they're called that, right? Conspiracy theories, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:46

Well, it was something that started a few years back to just the government started a conspiracy theory thing to throw off. Share yours. No, to throw off people that had ideas that were actually the conspiracy theories were actually real.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Yeah. They're not theories anymore. Right.

SPEAKER_06 6:02

Oh, I know my number two.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Do it.

SPEAKER_06 6:04

JFK assassination.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Who was behind it? Solid, solid government.

SPEAKER_03 6:09

That's easy.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

See, I would even go into the Charlie Kirk assassination.

SPEAKER_06 6:13

Oh my gosh, yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Are we going that S too soon? No, I would agree.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

That's why I'm saying that's why I'm saying like some of this. I mean, here's my thing. There is a comedian, and I don't remember who it was. I wish I remembered his name because it was really funny. But he was going off on like people who don't believe in conspiracy theories. And he was like, I mean, I understand not believing conspiracy theories, but not any of them? Yeah. Okay, come on. He was like, he's like, I got a five-year-old, and I don't tell that kid everything. Right. He's like, Do you think our government is telling us everything? That is true.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

That is true.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

But uh, oh gosh.

SPEAKER_03 6:53

Mine are very um Do you want Greg to go before you?

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Yeah, probably.

SPEAKER_03 6:58

I I might need to filter my thoughts before.

SPEAKER_06 7:00

I'm not filtering my thoughts.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

Don't talk to you.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Well, you go and then we'll see what's going on. This is what it is.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

I loved, I I literally loved Charlie Crown. Absolutely loved. I watched him. I still watch this stuff. I would watch his.

SPEAKER_06 7:13

We were fans before this was a thousand percent.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

I watched him for the time. When Thomas Simpson, I was I remember I was working on a home project.

SPEAKER_06 7:20

All four of our children will agree with us. We were fans way before.

SPEAKER_03 7:24

I was redoing a porch, and he sent me this and he goes, Have you seen this? And I was like, Oh, and I literally remember just sitting in my truck and I actually wept. I was like, that's a dude Charlie was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime guy. Insanely cool dude. Yeah. Like super smart. But anyway, my two biggest ones, and I'm not getting on that one. My biggest one of my top two that I will watch all day long, 9-11.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Yes, that was gonna be one of them.

SPEAKER_03 7:53

Uh 9-11 is my conspiracy, and the other one is one that no one ever talks about, and it's the Vegas shootings. Yes, it doesn't make sense. No, none of it makes sense. It's the it's the largest, I mean, it's it's it's the biggest shooting in in American history, and no one talks about it at all. It's so if you try to dig far, it's just it's weird. And it just those are my two, that my top two. The moon lightning falls right there close to it because I we get sucked into those and we just think they're they're fun. Yeah, uh and we we love watching the Wi-Fi's.

SPEAKER_06 8:27

We do. Oh my gosh, I love that guy. Can't remember his name.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

If you listen to our podcast, awesome. You should listen to the Wi-Fi's podcast too, because it's really, really good. It is uh we watch it on YouTube more than we listen to it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 8:41

Um I don't remember I I feel bad for not remembering his name, but Hecklefish is his sidekick.

SPEAKER_03 8:47

Yes, Hecklefish is so good.

SPEAKER_06 8:48

I can do without Hecklefish.

SPEAKER_03 8:50

I can do without Hecklefish, but Hecklefish is for him because he deals with anxiety and he had this thing that was about it's it's a cool if you haven't watched the Wildfiles, you can watch it. Super cool stuff.

SPEAKER_06 9:02

He's really good at digging into conspiracy theories like at a dangerous level.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

Yeah, well you'll like believe it. It's like you're all into it, and then at the end he goes, ah, this is all bull crap.

SPEAKER_06 9:13

But then other times it's like, no, it's real. It's like, why are you talking about this out loud? This is dangerous. Don't say that. Some of somebody talks about scary.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_06 9:22

What are your conspiracy theories?

SPEAKER_01 9:25

One I would probably have to preface with saying, I don't know that I have the highest trust in our government. No, me either. Me either. Um and so that that kind of opens up a lot of other doors when you don't have that. You know, I mean, I think they do want like general health, population to be safe, things like that. But uh I think there's a lot of things going on behind the scenes that Well, when you have that much money, that much power, there's always correct.

SPEAKER_03 9:50

Are you gonna ever share your thing?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

9-11, but I can't use it because you already used it. But I mean you can use it. This first one's gonna be out there because it's so out there that is ridiculous. Um I'm excited. In a sense that it's not like even that believable of a conspiracy theory. But uh, have you I don't know that this would connect, but do y'all ever like follow the gaming of Assassin's Creed stuff like that? Yes, I I am incredibly fascinated by that. So it it basically, if if you're not familiar and you're listening, Assassin's Creed is a video game, but it's very much based on history, and it's basically this idea of two orders that have existed from the beginning of time, fighting for good versus evil. You know, talking about the apple of from the Garden of Eden, right? That that can supposedly contains his power. And I'm not saying like that, that that specifically exists. But uh I think there very much could very be orders like that that have existed for thousands upon thousands of years. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:57

Um like I'm always I'm I'm fascinated with Freemasons. Yes. I'm fascinated with those. They're part of that. Yeah, well that even ties in to part of what you assassinate.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Yeah, so I'm fascinated with those things. So I'm actually playing through shadows right now. I'm a little bit behind because it came out quite a few years ago.

SPEAKER_06 11:12

You're such a nerd.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

I know. You're not kidding. I am.

SPEAKER_06 11:16

I love you.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Literally last night, you want to know what video I watched last night? I'm getting way off topic now, sorry. But um I watched a video on how to build a little quarter watt amp on a piece of block. So interesting. And I'm actually about to do it because it sounds killer good and it costs like ten bucks to build.

SPEAKER_06 11:33

Well, I sent Greg a TikTok the other day about being a quote unquote blue-collar wife. I'm not necessarily a blue-collar wife because close enough.

SPEAKER_03 11:42

I'm pretty blue-collar.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

He's pretty blue-collar.

SPEAKER_03 11:44

I am pretty blue collar.

SPEAKER_06 11:45

For the most part, yes, but no, you're not. But also it's like this lady was like, I have an insane amount of trust in my husband as a blue-collar wife. She was like, if the world shut down, I know that my man would find me a cabin somewhere in the woods and he would rebuild it for safety as well as rewire the electricity and then also give me running water and heating and air just so that we can be comfortable while the world ends around us. And I was like, yes, as a matter of fact, yes.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Do you know how good of a lifestyle that would be?

SPEAKER_06 12:21

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Oh. Like seriously, too. There's part of me that would love to live off grid. I would I would I could do that all day long.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

You could do that all day long.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

Earlier you were talking about just getting rid of your phone. Dude, if if it weren't for my love of like guitars, electric work, and like mixing, doing digital work, audio.

SPEAKER_06 12:38

I was just thinking in my head, if it weren't for my love of books. If it wasn't even, you can take your books with you. I cannot. If I'm living off grid, I cannot order books to consume.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

No, you can't because you would have to be on a grid to get it delivered.

SPEAKER_06 12:55

This is what I'm saying. So you laughed at me when I said for my love. No, we need the new releases.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Greg will have to build two cabins.

SPEAKER_06 13:05

We need to use one for the books and one for We need the new releases. We need to keep them coming.

SPEAKER_03 13:10

There's just something about the simplicity of that.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

We used to literally work to live. Yeah. Like our our work and our living was simply to live. We grew crops so that we could eat. We built a house so that we could live in it. That's what we're doing.

SPEAKER_06 13:25

What is it called if you live off-grid also and you need all of the new book releases?

SPEAKER_01 13:33

I don't agree. That's living off-grid.

SPEAKER_06 13:35

If you need all the new book releases, both uh like grown-up books and children's books. My bro, I finally in Finland went to the military. Wait, because I was saying because I would hope that our granddaughter and her family would be off-grid with us. So I'm gonna need all the children's books. And books is just what I need. Right. Okay. Your off-grid Finland Finland. But you're not going to be able to do our second one, second.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

This one I'm still working through. Okay, because I I I can't say one way or the other. But in light of a lot of things that are going on, this is so recent, I feel I'm afraid ashamed to throw this out there because I've literally never told anyone this. Um you've heard of First Your Own Baggage Claim Podcast. Anyone is Israel the same nation of Israel that God speaks of in the Bible. Just because it's named Israel. I I I went down that rabbit hole. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 14:34

Yes. Because in the in the Bible of Israel. Like it lays out the Israel and it's the entire Middle East. Like, dude, I'm not don't hate me on the podcast. No, no, no, no, no. And that's why I'm saying like a lot of people. It's it's really intriguing to dig into. Like go down the rabbit hole.

SPEAKER_06 14:59

And I I know we just said we're not gonna talk about Charlie Kirk. But when you bring in pieces of his choices of his last few days on earth, what he knew was right in his heart versus what happened ours. What's weird to me assassinated?

SPEAKER_03 15:20

What's weird to me is how people assassinate other people with their words online on social media.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

Like people attack um Candace Owens, they attack Tucker Carlson, and they're just slamming them, saying all these things about them, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, okay, cool. I get it, you're frustrated. But then you're name calling as much as you're calling them names, saying like it's like, bro, they're just asking questions. Why not hold with the question?

SPEAKER_06 15:51

I don't agree with you.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Right.

SPEAKER_06 15:53

And that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

It's okay to disagree with it.

SPEAKER_06 15:55

And and people who are listening to the case.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Like you may hear this and think what I'm saying about Israel's like awful, ungodly, whatever. That's what I was about to say. But we should also, like, as Paul says, throw out scripture, work out your salvation if you're in trembling. Like, there's nothing wrong with questioning.

SPEAKER_06 16:09

And it's also there's nothing wrong with disagreeing with each other. No, no, no. Nobody ever said you can't disagree. But where when you disagree and it turns into violence and hatred and just ugly, just ugly. That's where it changes. Well, what's crazy I'm friends with people and I love people in my life that I don't agree with. And they know that I don't agree with. And but we still love one another.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

We were on a road trip together just two weekends ago. And it's great. And I love this about being able to have conversations with people you disagree with.

SPEAKER_06 16:44

Um that's the whole thing is about having conversations so that you can know where each other comes from. Yes, and then still arrive at the same point respectfully of like, I don't agree with you, but that's cool. I still like you.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

But chances are, realistically, even if you don't agree about a method in which something should be done, most of the time you have the same end goal of what you want to see. That's right. Yeah. Yeah, it's the end goal. You know what I mean? And so, like, at that point, and that's what was so great about our conversation. We talked, we had a two-hour drive, we were going up to Blairsville for a D now. And uh like it was great. We got to talk about so many things, and we don't always agree. And that's like we do agree on a lot of things, but we don't always agree.

SPEAKER_06 17:20

What's a D now for our friends that aren't listening?

SPEAKER_01 17:22

I it's called a discipleship now. So uh I listen to music who don't know leading worship and uh doing band I say band stuff as if that would just make sense. Um uh I was hired to go out and help lead worship uh put on production for an event out in Blairsville a couple weeks ago. So that's what we were both heading out there to do that. Um but no, it it's it's sad that I feel like a lot of our culture and a lot of a lot of our society does not allow us to have disagreeing conversations that are still civil and friendly.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

Right, because we can't we can't debate, we can't have conversation about if you and I disagree about something, it's either life. Yeah, you you pick your side, I pick my side, and that's it. It's like no no no. I want to know how you think, I want to know how you think.

SPEAKER_06 18:07

I can fully understand my own side and I can attempt to understand the other side, and we can disagree, but I can still love you.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 18:17

And I can still like you as a person, we can still do life together.

ocial Media Hate And Civil Disagreement

SPEAKER_01 18:21

Go have fun, yeah. But that's not so if if you haven't noticed yet, this is very different.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

So the thing is for me though, like, and this is this is so true for my life. If I have a bunch of people around me who believe like me, look like me, act like me, say the same things I do, that's a red flag for me. I'm like, ooh, wait a minute.

SPEAKER_06 18:42

I don't want that.

SPEAKER_03 18:43

Like I want people to be in an echo chamber. Yeah, I want people around me who are like, uh, why do you believe that way? Like, why do you think that way? What what what do you how'd you get there? Like, I want people to question and push and ask questions and me to ask questions back and have dialogue because I'm like I want to know.

SPEAKER_06 19:01

The exciting part uh uh uh on this side of it, of when they're asking and pushing, it's not a defense mechanism, it was like a no, I want to dig deeper into who I am and why I believe what I believe.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

Well, and what a way to get to know someone is to know why they believe differently than you. Yeah, like what's the motivation that drives them to think that way?

SPEAKER_06 19:24

But I want you to be able to fully articulate to me why you believe what you believe rather than you just don't agree with me, you this, that, you, you, you, you, you. Like, no, I really truly have one.

SPEAKER_03 19:37

We always go to hate because it's so easy. Yeah, it's easy just to say hate. Like, dude, as weird as it is, we did we're brand new, and we're trying to figure this out. Like in the podcast world. So we did some uh we did like a boost and we did some advertisement. We got some of those rudest, hatefulest, meanest comments about first off, uh, we were racist. We were uh we were supporting pedophiles. I don't know where the hell that came from. Oh yeah. Um but I'm like all we did was promote one of our episodes. That was our 50th episode. It was our fiftieth episode.

SPEAKER_06 20:14

Uh another R word that is really, really mean.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

You don't want to say it?

SPEAKER_06 20:19

I don't.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Basically, they called us retarded. Um that's not basically that's exactly what they called us. And Jess was like, Well, that's hateful, you don't even know us. And also, yes, to point out we don't even know any of these people.

SPEAKER_06 20:35

No, the people that said all those things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

But that's the thing, though. You see those things on social media, you see those things out in the world, and people can just say whatever they want. It's because I'm behind a keyboard. I can say whatever I want whenever I want to. But they the It's like that's not real. That's not real.

SPEAKER_06 20:52

The post that those folks were commenting those hateful things about had nothing to do with anything at all.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

It was just simply saying, hey, we have our fifth episode. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:08

Bro, we're not the church has nothing to do with this. No. They let us use their lobby and we're having it in their lobby. That's a literally.

SPEAKER_06 21:15

It was a way cool space. Nobody else is there.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

I was like, dude, what is but that just shows where people are in the world. It's like I'd rather it's easier for me to respond with hate and anger than to respond with something that's actually worthwhile. Yeah. And it's just it's just ridiculous. It's just sad. Yeah. Dude, question time devolved really quick away from there. Like question time to be like, hey, what's your conspiracy theory? But also we don't like it. Social media sucks.

SPEAKER_06 21:44

We don't we don't really have a goal of what we're talking about right now.

Weekend Hobbies And Personal Joy

SPEAKER_01 21:48

I have a goal. And I know we we didn't have a goal, but if if y'all would humor me and we lost timing. Okay. We are about eighteen minutes in. Okay. Um Thoughts and opinions on things we've gone through in life, be it marriages, blended families, um raising kids, things like that. But uh we don't get a lot to just simply talk about personal interests. So I I got questions for you two. If if y'all are good with entertaining that, I'll answer anything you said. Like just in a sense, like what is your go-to hobby? Like you've got a full weekend, let's say uh respect it for both of you. Okay, so like say, hey, you've got the full weekend or separate. One of y'all's gonna be gone for the weekend. So for Greg, Jess is gone for the weekend, Jess, Greg's gone for the weekend. You get the entire house to yourself. Money's not a question as far as like okay, I'm limited by funds, or like you just get to do what you want to do.

SPEAKER_06 22:47

Because though they're very different answers if we're together or if we are individually, we're individual.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

And then maybe I don't know, we'll see how it goes and how long if there's a together one. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_06 22:58

Together. It's separate? Okay. Me.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Yeah. At the same time.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

At the same time.

SPEAKER_06 23:04

One, two, three, go.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

You turn.

SPEAKER_06 23:06

Okay. You turn. You turn me turned.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

This is what happens when we record the second episode for the night.

SPEAKER_06 23:14

Uh if I'm by myself, no doubt about it. I'm gonna read. I will read till my head falls off.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

Fiction, nonfiction?

SPEAKER_06 23:22

Fiction.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Fiction.

SPEAKER_06 23:23

I do like the occasional historical fiction.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 23:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Okay. See, I'm like, if it's historical, give me historical. Don't be gone. Don't put it on.

SPEAKER_06 23:35

Okay. Number one historical fiction book ever for myself is The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah. Okay. It's a whole thing. And then Netflix did a you watched it with me. I did watch it with it.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

It was a great, great show.

Painting As Grief Recovery

SPEAKER_06 23:52

Historical fiction period forever. Keep going. But fiction is my thing. Yeah, fiction. Nice. Um before I met Greg, painting was a thing that I did. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:08

I'm trying to get Jess back into painting.

SPEAKER_06 24:10

You should.

SPEAKER_03 24:11

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I want to create a place for it to paint.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

Like some Bob Ross type stuff or like what what what kind of painting?

SPEAKER_03 24:18

The painting that's behind us. That was Jess's painting.

SPEAKER_06 24:22

Yeah, yeah. That was just from my brain. Um that the cross behind us, that was a class that I did. It started off with classes. Like some friends invited me to do like it was like a um what was it called? It was kind of like sipping paint or sip, whatever it was called. I didn't drink then, but so I would just go and they would just kind of step by step, I guess it might have been a Bob Ross vibe, but it wasn't that like detailed.

SPEAKER_03 24:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_06 24:57

But then me growing confidence there, that was an outlet when I was a single mom through my grief. It was just that was just an outlet. My grandmother would come over on Tuesdays and watch the kids while I would like we'd have dinner together and I'd go paint, and she would put the kids to bed, I would come home. Um, but then that kind of evolved to like I would see things on like Pinterest or just in the world or just whatever, and I would take a picture and I would just look at the picture and I would just paint it.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

Can I tell you something that I see incredibly cool about that? What my great-grandmother, um, her name was Gammy, is what we call her. Gammy. That's all Gammy. Um I remember uh and I was a lot younger when she passed away, but uh she painted.

SPEAKER_06 25:44

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

And all of my siblings have pictures of hers and she painted.

SPEAKER_03 25:48

See, I think that's what's cool.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

We have a whole and I cherish and love that.

SPEAKER_03 25:54

Um I told Jess, I was like, I want to take our entire our podcast studio and put nothing but Jess's paintings throughout the entire studio. I think it would be awesome because I was like, I would I would vibe in that.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Well, I mean that's what's so cool about like with paint. I mean, you look at that, you look at more modern art, like in my world music, recordings, podcasts, things like this that are published, things that are gonna be out there for a while. You are leaving a mark and a legacy of your mind and your soul, your heart.

SPEAKER_06 26:25

And I'll tell you too though, I never I never painted before TJ passed away. And so for me, the first class that I was invited to with some friends from work, they were just like, just get out of the house, get away from the kids, and just do something for you. And I was like, Okay, I really like this. And so I would I kept going every week and every week and every week, and it was just something was like I and I can see through the the several paintings I have, I can see how in the beginning it was very dark. And there's there's one specific one. I remember my first painting that I did. It was like you were we were supposed to imagine we were laying down in the woods and we were looking up at the sky, and it was supposed to be branches, and mine was very dark compared to my friends. And I was just like, okay, that's different. Like my my crazy how that works though.

SPEAKER_03 27:24

It was and that was your your subject. That was my perspective.

SPEAKER_06 27:27

That's where I was at. Yeah. Because I was laying down and the sky was dark, it would it felt it mean it felt like night. And I was looking at my friend April next to me, and I was like, okay, well, you've got the sunshine on your It was like, where'd those where'd the sunshine come from with your tree branches? Because that's not what my sky looks like right now. And then so absolutely you can see it progress through some of the paintings of like what my perspective was.

SPEAKER_03 27:55

Well, your healing perspective too. And it was very healing all the way through those two years of painting, and then you, Greg, would come with me. Which I absolutely loved. I love the sip part, not the paint part.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

I would do the sipping, not the painting. So you see Greg walking up with his own cooler. I didn't. I drank my cooler in there several times. I've set on my cooler.

SPEAKER_06 28:19

Behind me. And you can hear him in his cooler.

SPEAKER_03 28:24

Does anyone want to drink? No, no, okay, just be all right.

SPEAKER_06 28:27

But then still behind me, he would be like, he would just be like, Why did you choose to make the whatever this color? Because he'd be watching the teacher or the coach, I guess would be a better word for it, watching the coach be like, and now we're gonna have whatever this with this flower in this direction, and I would not do it that way. And he would ask me why. And like it was very I've never used the word cathartic, like just working through that. And then I I remember one of the last times I painted was like a couple years into our marriage, we were on a trip with some friends to the mountains with my parents, and I I haven't painted since then.

SPEAKER_03 29:10

I know, and I painting stuff just kind of went in the corner.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

I mean, I only know to say it like your heart, your subconscious like comes out in moments like that.

SPEAKER_03 29:22

Oh but I love Jess's art because I'm like, that's raw, real of who you are. And I was like, I would let you paint every day if you wanted to. Like that's just so crazy.

SPEAKER_06 29:33

Sorry, you go. Even the cross painting that's in our studio now, like I love that painting. We were in the studio doing that, and I got to choose my colors. I mean, and at that point you can tell where I was, my background is black.

SPEAKER_03 29:46

And but then your kit when we met, your kitchen cabinets were black.

SPEAKER_06 29:50

Everything in your kitchen was darn mantle, I painted. I mean, I I guess when looking back at it, it was a very much uh from my heart.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 30:02

But like if in the sanding portions, like the we sanded the paintings.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

It's awesome. It's like a very rustic.

SPEAKER_06 30:09

But we were led in that, but mine did not turn out like everybody else's. Mine was very much more very much sanded. A lot of color was gone. Like I mean, I haven't thought about it in a long time. I mean, you brought up like a month ago-ish, and you pulled you pulled out my painting bin. He was like, Greg said, Okay, go through these these boxes, this paint and see what's dry and what you can get.

SPEAKER_03 30:38

If you need an easel, I'll build you one. Whatever you need, I'll build it. Like I'm on the watch.

SPEAKER_06 30:47

It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:48

Well, I know for her, painting is like woodwork for me. Like what I don't want the shop. And I turn on music in the shop, it's like that's my space. Yeah. The smell of the wood. Oh, dude, isn't it good?

SPEAKER_06 31:02

Just so And for me, like the smell, the paint, acrylic paint doesn't always smell, but like getting it on me, getting it on my hands, getting on my whatever I'm wearing. Your smock. I don't have a smock.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

That's what it's called, right?

SPEAKER_06 31:16

It is then I had specific t-shirts, like oversized t-shirts I wear because I knew I could like wipe my paintbrushes on myself. Like it was a whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 31:26

Just beat the devil out of it, you know.

SPEAKER_06 31:27

Just beat the devil out of it, like Ross does.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

But that's the pain.

SPEAKER_06 31:34

Have you seen the conspiracy theory about Bob Ross's paintings that he's painting a murder scene?

SPEAKER_00 31:40

What no?

SPEAKER_06 31:41

Okay, that's a Bob Ross murder scene.

SPEAKER_01 31:43

Conspiracy for tonight. Okay, there's your YouTube for tonight, boys. You don't know what's YouTube tonight.

SPEAKER_03 31:49

There you go.

SPEAKER_06 31:50

Bob Ross murder scenes. All right, so the the reality of when- I can't believe it because Bob Ross was an angel on earth.

SPEAKER_03 31:57

But when I hear you say that, it makes me think that was your process of developing you. Yes, to become the healthiest version of you. You didn't know it at the time, but that was no idea. And that's so that's one of those things we could do.

SPEAKER_06 32:10

I don't know if Rebecca and April are listen at all, but thank you, Rebecca and April, for inviting me to that first class.

SPEAKER_03 32:20

Very cool. Yeah, very cool.

SPEAKER_06 32:22

Yeah, I didn't know that they were bringing out or I I at that point it was shutting off some things. Like shut off all these other worries. You've you've got nanny to keep the littles at home. Just shut off your brain and just listen to Krista do tell us what to paint. And and then that just led for me to go for more of Krista's classes when she opened up the studio and just like just turn your brain off and just paint. And it doesn't happen. Yeah, like she would lead us, but mine didn't always turn out what she was telling us to do.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

How about you? I want to hear you I want to hear the answer to your question for that.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

I have not done mine in a while. And it's sad. That is sad. Um matter of fact, it's probably been like two years since I've done this. No, I did it, I did it about a month ago. Um I just want to pick up my guitar with no agenda.

SPEAKER_06 33:21

Yeah. You used to write.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Yeah. Um actually about a month ago I wrote a another little doohickey thing. Did you? Doohickey thing. Yeah, it's not. I I do write, but I've I feel there's a lot of different ways to write music. Um, a lot of times you write music for others, or like as a worship leader, you write for the church, things like that. I feel like most of my writing is for me. It's not that I'm trying to, you know, record it or write it for the code.

SPEAKER_06 33:49

Greg, have you ever heard a song that Michael has written? Yes, I have. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Yeah, I was actually gonna say early talking about the whole dark thing. I remember about a month after my divorce was finally. Bible and I had spent a lot of time together.

SPEAKER_06 34:04

Have you ever heard anything you've written?

SPEAKER_01 34:06

Um, I can play something. I'm gonna play something after after this tonight. I'll play one. Um but I remember I recorded a song because before that I hadn't recorded it in a few years. Because I used to like it when I was younger, what I wanted to be, like if I chose what I wanted to be growing up, was a recording engineer. Meaning I would produce, mix, master, help write the musical parts, help, you know, produce songs, um, help finalize lyrics, things like that. Um, and so I remember I sat down and I I reproduced a song, uh, I rewrote a song, did a cover. Uh, but I did it in like this minor key or something because I thought it sounded so cool at the time. And all I remember is I sent it to Greg, and uh all I got back was, hey bro, are you okay?

SPEAKER_04 34:53

No way. It was very collaborative.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

So the song itself specifically, and it's such a especially in the south here, uh You are my sunshine.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

Yeah. You are my sunshine, my only son.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

If you look at the lyrics, they're incredibly sad.

SPEAKER_06 35:08

The song itself is sad.

SPEAKER_01 35:09

It's ridiculously sad. So I didn't know. It was written to be sad.

SPEAKER_06 35:14

It was written from a place of mournfulness.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

I did it, I did it really slow and I did it in a minor key. Very much like just acoustic guitar and singing, and that's it. Um and uh yeah, I've I've actually I can't find it. I tried to go find it. I don't know where it is. It's on a because I had a different computer at the time. I can't even find that recording. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_06 35:33

Um because it was not written to be a happy song. No, but all covers we know of is fun and happy, but it's not a fun and except for uh Morgan Stapleton, when she Chris Stapleton's wife, when she recorded it, it's it doesn't feel happy.

Music As Language And Therapy

SPEAKER_01 35:49

No. Is it because it's not so my fun, happy, whatever you want to call it, hobby or whatnot is either one just picking up my guitar without an agenda because music is what I do for a living. Every time I do music, it's tied around an event, a service, it's for something. And so I don't always get a chance to just sit back and enjoy the music. Because music, and we were talking about this before we started recording, we were listening to classical music. We were talking about the candlelight um shows that have been coming around Atlanta. Um classical music, beautiful music. Yeah, and how music itself can can evoke such an emotion. It's powerful. It is very powerful. Well, and you think about it, because we don't really think about music this way, like music is a language. Oh, it 100% is like by definition, music is a language. You can write it, you can read it, it conveys emotion, it can convey uh uh uh um urgency, it conveys chill vibes.

SPEAKER_06 36:49

As a teacher, just like a general education teacher, I do know that. And so that's one of the reasons why from start to finish of my little day, I teach first grade, um, there's classical music playing from start to finish of our day because it just awakens a different part of their brain.

SPEAKER_01 37:08

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_06 37:09

And even for my own self, I know that for my own self. Like we if the TV's not on, there's music playing in our house.

SPEAKER_03 37:18

We have a lot of music.

SPEAKER_06 37:19

Constantly.

SPEAKER_03 37:21

Literally, notes you sit under our table. There's music. There's always music.

SPEAKER_01 37:25

Like we finished recording the last episode and I was doing that, and I was like, turn it up. Come on. Yeah, we had music playing, just kind of chilling.

SPEAKER_03 37:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 37:32

And we've talked about too, you and I, Greg, about how we we need to be more mindful of playing like classical music and like not something so.

SPEAKER_00 37:40

Give them some ACDC, man. Yeah, some puzzles about there to be a good thing.

SPEAKER_06 37:45

That's what I'm saying. But we do play like our like fun music, but we we've talked about how we need to be more mindful about playing like classical music that doesn't have words that evokes more emotion and more thought-provoking. And I mean, I mean, I'm intentional about that in my classroom with my children. Like you can walk into other classrooms in my building and it's silent. And I'm just like, what I don't like silence like that. Well, what's the function? There's never a time for that in my classroom. It's like there number one, it's no fun. Also, the the I have to think about thinkers like me that need that stimulation just in the background. It's not loud, like it's just a just a little background, kind of like a like a hum, like a just it it's so important just for stimulation. But um okay.

When Loss Stacks Up Fast

SPEAKER_01 38:39

Well, and what else music for me, playing music is what is so therapeutic for me. Like when I'm going through a hard time, if all I do is just pick up my guitar and sit down for an hour to do whatever. I may play the same thing over and over again, I may do something different, I may play a song, I may not. I just play, you know, chords and actually one thing that oh man, this actually might get me uh a bit emotional. Um when I was walking through divorce, um I uh a lot went down in my life at that specific moment, like within two months, like everything fell apart.

SPEAKER_06 39:18

Well, professionally too.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

Yes, professionally and family-wise on multiple angles. Um so when uh my wife left, um like two days later, um to find out one of my best friends and mentors um also was going through stuff and basically up and moved away. Um and after that, um about it's quite comic well um I'll say this and then I'll say what's comical. Um about two weeks later, both of my grandparents passed away within 24 hours of each other. Um and about three weeks later, my brother's house burned down in the middle of the night while they were in it. And thankfully they all got out safe. Um and then about two weeks after that, I'm riding home after work, and I hit something in the road, and then half my car, I just see this big old blue mist. Yeah. Baby blue mist, bright baby blue. I do remember this. Yeah, I freaking ran over a can of spray paint in the middle of the road.

SPEAKER_06 40:19

You sure did.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

And I had a black BMW and half of my car immediately from the front of the hood to the back of the trunk was baby blue.

SPEAKER_06 40:32

So baby blue.

SPEAKER_01 40:33

And I the it felt like I all of this happened like within two and a half months, and I was a lot of things.

SPEAKER_06 40:39

I mean, because it did, it didn't feel like it, it literally did.

SPEAKER_01 40:42

But uh it was one of those things where, and I just remember because my brother, and this is I feel like gonna get dark quick. Like, I remember we were driving back from Gwinnette where my grandparents lived. We just met with my grandmother the night that she passed away, and uh, we were just riding in silence, talking, you know, with siblings reminiscing nostalgia, that kind of thing. And I just remember everyone in tears. And I was in so much hurt and pain I had no tears to give. And um I remember my brother asking me like how I was doing just because there was a lot more going on in my life, and I was like, man, I don't even have emotion left to even think about my grandparents' house. Like I just held my grandmother's hand as she breathed her last breath, and I didn't have an emotion left to give to care. Not not that I didn't care because I loved my grandparents dearly. Um but this is what gets me, because this is was such a great moment of closure for me. Um about six months before my grandparents passed away, I sat down and we just talked around a table for a few hours. And I don't know what spurred in me to do this, but I started asking them what their favorite songs were growing up. And so I made a playlist on Spotify based on every single song that they mentioned. And so uh so it was gosh, probably about a year and a half after the fact, I was sitting down in my room with my guitar, and I just pulled up that playlist and I just started reading through the songs and I just started playing them. And dude, like I'm gonna start crying out, like just tears in my eyes, just playing songs that my grandparents loved. Wow. And it and what's crazy is it wasn't until then that I had the tears. Right. It wasn't until then until I had the emotion to give.

SPEAKER_06 42:36

Tears are meaningful no matter when they happen.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 42:40

They truly are. And Nanny was my grandmother from obviously my whole life. Greg only got eleven years with her. And I think eleven good.

Blended Family Legacy And Why We Record

SPEAKER_03 43:02

We had eleven good years, though. I think that's that's the thing though. I think at the end, when it's all said and done, like we were talking about the podcast not long ago, and I was like we were just chatting. We were talking to I'm a I'm a numbers guy, I'm a I'm a business guy, so it was like we're in twenty-seven different countries, two hundred and thirty something cities. But you know what matters to me?

SPEAKER_06 44:00

That our kids one day we'll have something back on and listen.

SPEAKER_03 44:05

Can listen to our voices, sharing our lives, our thoughts, our our things on marriage. I was like, that means more to me than anything in the world.

SPEAKER_06 44:15

And I was like, and if I can help somebody else, and that we really tried really hard.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 44:23

So that's that's that's like yes, of course we want now on on this this public forum. Like, yeah, we want to help other people, but like we've got 14 years in of this of you and me. Like we're we've tried really, really hard. Like we we have honored where you have come from from your hurt, and where Callie and Cody have come from, and where me and and Thomas and Aaron Grace have come from, and what we have tried to smash together as a blended family. But we have tried so just so so hard. We have tried hard as parents and of as spouses.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 45:08

We've uh every single day.

SPEAKER_03 45:11

And we ain't gotten it right. We ain't gotten it perfect.

SPEAKER_06 45:14

Oh, but good grace. So we love so hard, yeah, and we try so hard, and we don't always get it right, but we try so hard. Both in our family and our mayors and our friends and people who are in our life, like we truly do. We try really hard to to just love everybody who who comes in our life and to be we just try to be real and we just want to.

SPEAKER_01 45:44

You know, when I I mean I've been a part of your lives how many what is it four or five years now? It feels like it feels like so much longer. All of it in a good way. Right, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 45:55

Um that's why I was saying it feels like forever.

SPEAKER_01 45:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 45:58

In a good way.

SPEAKER_01 45:59

Um, but y'all do that well. They're just the people y'all welcome into your life.

SPEAKER_06 46:03

At dinner earlier, was just talking about how you how Lucy, our granddaughter, loves you. Like she when she said I think I made Jess nervous last week.

SPEAKER_01 46:13

Um Lucy loves Michael, though. She loves Uncle Michael, and I was throwing her around everywhere, open over my shoulders, behind my back.

SPEAKER_06 46:23

Literally throwing her. And I was like, You're gonna throw her through the ceiling and she's gonna fall through the floor. Tackling a belly laugh. Just and every time she would pause, she would make eye contact with you, like, What are you gonna do? I know, right? I'm like, I'm about to die. But she just like, you are just a part of our life. You just truly are.

SPEAKER_03 46:45

It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_06 46:47

But and we love you because you're you and we just we want the best for you. And we wanna we wanna show you that we love you.

SPEAKER_03 46:58

And well, I think that's the I mean that's the thing of why we do baggage slam. We want the best for any marriage. Yeah. Like I want you to have the marriage.

SPEAKER_06 47:05

For the you that's listening right now.

SPEAKER_03 47:07

Yeah, I want you to have the best marriage. Like, that's why we literally it cost us several hundred dollars a month to put this on. Like, it's it that's out of our pocket that we put because we put it. Part of my blue collar. Baggage claim does not make money.

SPEAKER_01 47:23

No, it's not made a dime to this point. And we're still climbing down. I guess falling down, climbing, digging down, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 47:30

Whatever we're whatever we're doing.

SPEAKER_06 47:31

Buckling down.

SPEAKER_03 47:33

But we're we still do it because I want the best. I want somebody who can listen to this and go that and and get something out of it. That's what I was looking for. They just get something out of it. I'm like, perfect, cool. It's worth it all. Yeah, so it's worth it to us.

SPEAKER_01 47:48

So well, I didn't mean for my turn to take such a serious turn.

SPEAKER_06 47:51

That's okay.

Adventure Mode And Cold Plunge Stories

SPEAKER_01 47:52

Greg, how about you, man? Hobbies, what do you what do you do for you, man?

SPEAKER_03 47:55

Dude, I'm an adventure guy. I love adventure. Like, um, and I won't I won't be emotional, but like it's like Charles. I texted him, uh Charles and Callie, our daughter and son-in-law, were coming into town because they live in Pensacola. They're in Pensacola.

SPEAKER_06 48:14

So he's the oldest baby child that's 26 and her husband. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 48:19

And so I raised her a lot, like uh uh we were talking about this. I was like, bless her heart. She knows how to use power tools, she knows how to use a raised her like a dude. Yeah, she knows how to use a uh nail gun. She's highly capable of building things.

SPEAKER_06 48:37

Like I'm not like a girly girl, but I feel like I'm a combination.

SPEAKER_03 48:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 48:42

You're more girly than I'm more girly than what she was used to.

SPEAKER_03 48:46

Yeah. But that's okay. That's okay. And so um, needless to say, I take to Charles. She does. And Charles is coming to town. I was like, bro, let's grab coffee. I just want to hang out and just spend some time with you. And he called me and he goes, Hey bro, I got an idea. You in? And I didn't even hesitate. I was like, a thousand percent I'm in. He didn't give any details. If the right person asked me that, I'd be all in. Yeah, yeah. He's like, you don't even know what we're doing. I was like, I don't care, bro. If you want to go do it, I'm doing. I'm let's do this. And he's like, Okay, well, I want to go do a cold plunge at this blue hole falls. And I was like, Absolutely. Just say when. I'll come pick you up. Are you gonna be at the house? You want me to come pick you up?

SPEAKER_06 49:27

And and when Greg was telling me about it, I was like, Do I have to go?

SPEAKER_03 49:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 49:31

I was like, no, it's just me and Travis was like, yes, yeah. So I was like, I can stay home and read.

SPEAKER_03 49:37

So it was so fun. Like we spent the like we literally drove up to the mountains. We talked, hung out.

SPEAKER_06 49:43

It was most of the day.

SPEAKER_03 49:44

Yeah, and just hung out. We found this waterfall, showed me what we hiked around, showed waterfall, and then we did a cold plunge. We hopped in this cold waterfall. It was what, January or December? Like it was that's gonna be January. It was very January. It was cold. Yes, it was cold.

SPEAKER_06 50:00

It was January.

SPEAKER_03 50:01

Uh I remember getting in and I it was cold.

SPEAKER_06 50:04

Um but the fact I did it with him, I was at home and it was blanket reading.

SPEAKER_03 50:10

Yeah. So for me, it's like call me and say, hey, I want to go skydiving, bro. I'm in. I want to go do this, bro. I'm in. Like, let's go. Like, if you give me a weekend and I have to spend it by myself at home, that's the bit of miserable for me. Like, I want to be with people going and doing something that is just fine.

SPEAKER_06 50:30

What's your example of miserable?

SPEAKER_03 50:32

By myself.

SPEAKER_06 50:34

By myself.

SPEAKER_01 50:35

So you're an extrovert, extrovert. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 50:37

Like I I need I I gain energy from people.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

So I'm a learned extrovert. So I could stay at home by myself and do nothing all weekend and be content. And like be at peace. Yes. But I love going out and doing stuff.

SPEAKER_06 50:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:54

But it does drain me to go out.

SPEAKER_06 50:56

Okay, what you just said was a learned extrovert. I am at I am at peace in my home. Just being cocooned in my home, whether whatever it be that I'm doing, movies, laundry, reading. If you make me go do something out in the world, I will learn to have fun there. What is that called?

SPEAKER_01 51:20

I guess yeah, I'm a learned extroverted.

SPEAKER_06 51:22

That's a learned extrovert? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

So I mean a lot of part of like the ministry and just being when you do events like D now's things like that. Yeah. Like you've got to be the hype guy, right?

SPEAKER_00 51:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 51:33

But what if you're an introvert? How are you supposed to be the hype guy that sets the energy of the room when you're the introvert?

SPEAKER_06 51:40

Okay. So both times I've been the wife of the extrovert. So I'm like, I'm just gonna stay home and you're just hanging on for the ride. I'm gonna just stay home with the children. I'm just gonna be the mama.

SPEAKER_03 51:51

And see, now I just drag Jess to it. I was like, no, you're not staying home anymore. We're going to do this.

SPEAKER_01 51:56

I don't have to stay home with children anymore. At church, they they asked me to host our uh uh we call it KidCon, which is basically like a VBS. And uh I tell you what, just getting up there and just not this is gonna sound bad yelling at, but with a bunch of like fifth graders. You have to and they're just like, I'm like, what's up, bad reporting? And they're just like, yeah, because they'll just match whatever internet you give them. You know, and so you just go out there crazy and they'll match your crazy, and it's awesome. Yeah, it's awesome. That is fun. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

That is fun, and then I crash afterwards because see, I gain I gain energy from that. Like that's my and that's probably the hardest part for me because I do real estate and then I spend a lot of time by myself.

SPEAKER_06 52:38

And like everybody just shh give me six five-year-olds and we'll we'll just talk to you.

SPEAKER_03 52:45

I'm like, shh, I want I want around people. Like, I just want to go, like I told Jess, I was like, I want to get a little sign that's made that says, baggage claim, let's talk about relationships. Yeah. And just go to the coffee store and just sit like coffee shop and just sit on the table and see if you might come talk to me.

SPEAKER_06 53:02

And I'm like, I would rather not.

SPEAKER_03 53:03

And I was like, I was. Yeah, like just kind of like come talk to me. Let's talk about your own.

SPEAKER_06 53:08

I would rather put a sign on a table that was like, let me teach your five-year-old how to read. Woo!

SPEAKER_03 53:16

I'm just intrigued by I'm intrigued by people. I'm intrigued by adventure. Uh people very much intrigue me, though. So I love if I'm doing it with other people.

SPEAKER_06 53:26

This is why your degree is in sociology.

SPEAKER_03 53:28

I love that. So I don't I don't I don't like life alone. I think off-grid living would be fun if I was with someone. I would love it. If I was by myself.

SPEAKER_06 53:38

Well, that's the difference between off-grid living versus with someone.

SPEAKER_03 53:42

Well, because I follow the dude that's uh Well, you can be off-grid with others. Well, I follow a dude who's off-grid who's um in Finland.

SPEAKER_01 53:50

You follow a dude who's off-grid. Do you realize how like uh Yes, we do realize that.

SPEAKER_06 53:55

But yes, it's what's the word I'm looking for?

SPEAKER_01 53:58

Um obscure? No, that's not.

SPEAKER_06 54:00

It's uh what's the word for opposite?

SPEAKER_03 54:03

Is that right? Yes. Anyway, he's in a cabin by himself in Canada and he has a dog.

SPEAKER_06 54:08

He has a girlfriend too.

SPEAKER_03 54:09

No. Does he have a girlfriend? Yes. No, no, not the Finland guy, the guy in Canada. Yeah, do follow two. I thought of it. And they're buddies though. Like they're buddies, they've hung out together. Oh, really? Yes, actually, it's just kind of good. They found each other through YouTube. Um but it's just like I could I couldn't do that by myself. Like, I just I know I've I knew.

SPEAKER_06 54:33

Also, if I was there, you would get bored of me. I don't think so. 100%. No. Yes, you would.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

No, you just tempt yourself with a beer or something like that.

SPEAKER_06 54:41

You would come home with a bear.

SPEAKER_01 54:42

You would name like come home riding a bear on a thing. He would. That's exactly I would not surprise me if you're gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_06 54:47

And the bear's name would be producer Michael.

Community Encouragement And Sign Off

SPEAKER_03 54:50

I did have a pet cow that I rode one time when I was a kid growing up. So anyway, um, like 52 minutes on the city. Oh my gosh. So it's a lot of us rambling. Oh my gosh. Uh this is us.

SPEAKER_01 55:02

Well, and we also hope you just get to know us in a different way.

SPEAKER_06 55:04

I do go to school in the morning.

SPEAKER_03 55:06

You do. It's okay. Boys. Um, so you've listened to us ramble.

SPEAKER_01 55:10

This is just a if you're still here, thank you. Yeah, I can't believe you're still here. I would call you friend if you are still listening to this. I'll buy you a drink.

SPEAKER_03 55:18

If we ever meet you out somewhere, I'll cheer your drink.

SPEAKER_06 55:20

Cheers to whoever's still here.

SPEAKER_03 55:22

Yes, thank you. We're just choosing our drinks we have. Um, I'll buy you a drink if you're out somewhere and you'd be like, bro, I'm a baggage claim fan. Done. I'll buy you a drink. Um if you ever come up in public and tell me you listen to baggage claim, I will buy you a drink. Um no matter where we are. Yeah, that's that's easy. So um, thank you guys for listening. Thank you for being a part of our ridiculousness, our life, and just allowing us just to share. Here's the thing for you I would say, man, find a community that you can be real, you can be honest, you can be open.

SPEAKER_01 55:58

Um it makes such a difference, man. The health in your own personal life. Like, gosh, to be able to have that is insane.

SPEAKER_03 56:06

Yeah, what we have here is is is really cool. It's really fun. Be the best you you can be. Yep. So true.

SPEAKER_06 56:13

Yeah, and we want you to be a part of it.

SPEAKER_03 56:15

Yeah. Beautiful. Anything else to add? Go dogs. Go dogs.

SPEAKER_01 56:20

Man, it's getting close. I love it. Spring game. The spring game is a few weeks away. This weekend, I wanted so badly to get some wings and watch a bulldog game. Oh, God. It was a great game.

SPEAKER_06 56:31

I mean, we have a few recorded.

SPEAKER_03 56:32

Yeah, we could watch an all-I mean too.

SPEAKER_01 56:34

Well, why don't we just do that all summer anyways? Just watch reruns.

SPEAKER_03 56:37

I mean, the one thing we have coming up. The one thing we have coming up, we have uh the Masters coming up. That is true. We're gonna do that. We'll do a Masters get together, which is really fun.

SPEAKER_06 56:47

It is fun.

SPEAKER_03 56:48

Um, and a blast, and then that's kind of the lead off to like spring games. Who?

SPEAKER_06 56:57

Bubba.

SPEAKER_03 56:58

Oh, no, not at Masters.

SPEAKER_06 57:00

I know, that's why I said we can't say go dogs during the Masters anymore because Bubba's watching. We can say good dogs whenever we want.

SPEAKER_01 57:06

Thanks for a Siggum shirt right now. What are you talking about? This is Dog Nation.

SPEAKER_03 57:11

Dog Nation Daily. Right now. Oh, that's actually a thing, isn't it? It's a different thing. It's a different thing. Yes, it is a podcast. This is baggage claim. This is baggage claim. That's a different thing, yes. All right, so love you guys. Thanks for joining us. Uh please, Lord, don't let this tank your idea of baggage claim. Uh, we love you guys. Um something different, man. Yeah, thanks for joining in. We're just figuring it out.

SPEAKER_06 57:37

Okay, and as always, guys. Go dogs.

SPEAKER_01 57:42

Oh, we're doing the map. Go dogs.

SPEAKER_06 57:45

Gosh.