WEBVTT 00:00:04.139 --> 00:00:09.039 Taylor Cook, husband, father of three, better 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:13.279 half to my guest from episode number 19, way 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:17.140 back on December 17th, Emily Haynes Cook. If 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:20.839 you missed that one, play it next. These two 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:24.859 episodes and these two people are perfect companion 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:29.730 pieces. Okay. DanTimePod at gmail .com. That's 00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:32.890 the email. If you'd like to reach me or to appear 00:00:32.890 --> 00:00:37.509 as a guest on the show, follow Dan Time on Instagram, 00:00:37.990 --> 00:00:42.670 Facebook X and YouTube at Dan Time Pod is the 00:00:42.670 --> 00:00:46.869 handle. This one is on YouTube. Head over there 00:00:46.869 --> 00:00:49.490 to the channel to, you know, really take it all 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:53.390 in to get the full Taylor Cook experience. He. 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:56.380 played hockey as a kid, played football, grew 00:00:56.380 --> 00:00:59.479 up in Birmingham, huge New York Rangers fan. 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:01.420 He tells a story about how he became a Rangers 00:01:01.420 --> 00:01:05.359 fan, Auburn football. We talked the usual dad 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:08.280 stuff, some sales stuff. He's in the silicone 00:01:08.280 --> 00:01:11.739 metal industry and how he and Emily fell in love. 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:15.939 And you'll hear again about his daughter, Danny 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:19.500 Liv. Taylor travels a lot and he likes the big 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:22.319 cities, but he also likes the small towns. Okay. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:25.760 Some quick Dan time news and notes, I guess. 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:29.500 Congratulations to Mystic Dan, the winner of 00:01:29.500 --> 00:01:33.579 the 150th Kentucky Derby. I'm always okay with 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:36.500 admitting when I was wrong and boy, did I miss 00:01:36.500 --> 00:01:38.840 this one. Not going to get into a lot of detail, 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:43.129 but I always wager on a few horses to win place 00:01:43.129 --> 00:01:47.290 show and sometimes a trifecta box but I felt 00:01:47.290 --> 00:01:51.609 like if I bet on Dan I would jinx him so I intentionally 00:01:51.609 --> 00:01:55.269 picked around him and in hindsight it made zero 00:01:55.269 --> 00:01:59.670 sense to pass it by and especially being a fellow 00:01:59.670 --> 00:02:03.730 Dan so there you have it big regret but I'm very 00:02:03.730 --> 00:02:08.620 happy for Mystic Dan and Brian Hernandez and 00:02:08.620 --> 00:02:13.400 the entire Mystic Dan team. Let's get to the 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:22.319 conversation now. It is Taylor Cook time. Welcome 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:26.460 once again, folks, to the Dan Time podcast. I'm 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:30.400 your host, Dan McArdle. It is always great to 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:33.300 have you here. Started the Dan Time podcast in 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:37.699 August of 23. The goal has always been to just 00:02:37.699 --> 00:02:40.639 make it to the year mark, produce weekly episodes 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.960 for 52 weeks and we'll see what happens next. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:46.680 But hope you're having fun with the show. That 00:02:46.680 --> 00:02:51.539 is the main point to just have some fun. If you're 00:02:51.539 --> 00:02:53.060 listening for the first time, you're like, hey, 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:55.259 this is Dan time and Dan, you got a guy named 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:57.580 Taylor on this show. What's happening here? It's 00:02:57.580 --> 00:02:59.680 supposed to be Dan talking to Dan. Well, I'm 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:03.860 glad you asked. So as you've seen, we have Dan's, 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:07.699 we have Danny's, with a Y at the end, with an 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:10.400 I at the end, the Daniels. There's a lot of interesting 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.319 names and many we haven't even gotten to, but 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:15.960 if your name is not Dan, you can always still 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.360 be a guest on the show. The ticket, and this 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.400 is really just loosely assembled or the rules 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:26.500 and whatever, but if you already know me or you've 00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:29.219 got a referral from a previous guest, there's 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:33.319 your ticket onto the train. I'm so happy today 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:36.460 because this is very unique. the first spouse 00:03:36.460 --> 00:03:41.939 of a Dan Time guest, Taylor Cook. I'm so, I mean 00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:44.560 this, I'm just so excited, been excited all day 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:47.659 for this show. How are you doing today, my friend? 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.740 Well, I'm doing great. I've been excited for 00:03:50.740 --> 00:03:53.439 weeks about doing this show. I'm glad we're getting 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:56.060 to it. And don't forget in your introduction, 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:58.860 connections to Dan, that I have a daughter named 00:03:58.860 --> 00:04:01.939 Danny, my middle child. That's right, that's 00:04:01.939 --> 00:04:05.139 right. I'm so tickled. I don't think a lot of 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:07.139 guys say that they're tickled about something, 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:10.819 but man, I am. I always love to hear that. Man, 00:04:10.860 --> 00:04:14.300 can't wait to talk about you being a dad and 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:17.040 your bond with your children and especially the 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:19.300 golden child there, Danny. I mean, let's not 00:04:19.300 --> 00:04:21.920 beat around the bush. That's the star child. 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:27.600 And anyway, so we're here today, Taylor Cook 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:31.149 on the show. I think we have... The crazy thing 00:04:31.149 --> 00:04:33.269 is folks and you know this you've got people 00:04:33.269 --> 00:04:36.230 in your network You didn't go to each other's 00:04:36.230 --> 00:04:38.329 weddings. You didn't send each other a Christmas 00:04:38.329 --> 00:04:42.529 card maybe but you've got like lots in common 00:04:42.529 --> 00:04:45.209 and Just the structure of the network doesn't 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:47.670 allow you to hang out be friends, but I think 00:04:47.670 --> 00:04:50.610 Taylor and I Probably are on the same wavelength 00:04:50.610 --> 00:04:53.569 on quite a few things and sports being just one 00:04:53.569 --> 00:04:57.069 of them That's one thing Emily said was he loves 00:04:57.069 --> 00:05:01.259 sports just like you do so um Anyway, we promote 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:05.000 friendship on this show and Taylor you know the 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:07.399 first the last time I saw you I think may have 00:05:07.399 --> 00:05:11.639 been the the baby shower for my oldest son which 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:16.839 is coming up on set seven years ago and Yeah, 00:05:17.459 --> 00:05:20.660 it's just wild just just wild and you've always 00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:22.759 been a guy that I wanted to get to know better 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:25.860 and here we are by by way of this podcast getting 00:05:25.860 --> 00:05:28.589 to have a conversation so I Once again, I did 00:05:28.589 --> 00:05:30.649 the intro, I rolled you out here, but I want 00:05:30.649 --> 00:05:33.170 to just say again that I'm excited to be talking 00:05:33.170 --> 00:05:35.670 to you today. No, I'm really happy to be here 00:05:35.670 --> 00:05:38.209 with you and I think we are on the same wavelength 00:05:38.209 --> 00:05:41.649 and I've always suspected that we'd be good friends. 00:05:43.269 --> 00:05:47.870 Now, you're a busy guy. This is a unique episode, 00:05:48.230 --> 00:05:50.910 folks. Those of you listening or you, the listener, 00:05:51.009 --> 00:05:53.350 I always like to talk to the individual. I have 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:57.009 no notes today. usually conduct a good bit of 00:05:57.009 --> 00:05:59.790 research. And, but from time to time, it's good 00:05:59.790 --> 00:06:01.230 to have an episode like this where we're just 00:06:01.230 --> 00:06:06.329 gonna, we're just spit balling here. That's right. 00:06:06.689 --> 00:06:09.370 That's right. Taylor, tell me a little bit about 00:06:09.370 --> 00:06:12.769 growing up where you grew up. Are you still tied 00:06:12.769 --> 00:06:17.689 to the area? So I was born and raised in Birmingham, 00:06:17.709 --> 00:06:23.810 Alabama. I went to grade school here. I left 00:06:23.810 --> 00:06:27.089 and went to Texas a little for a little while 00:06:27.089 --> 00:06:29.730 I lived in Florida for a little while and then 00:06:29.730 --> 00:06:34.269 around 2012 I came back to Alabama Central, Alabama 00:06:34.269 --> 00:06:38.529 and Shortly after met my beautiful wife and I've 00:06:38.529 --> 00:06:40.250 been here ever since and I'm raising my family 00:06:40.250 --> 00:06:43.209 in the same community where I went to high school 00:06:43.209 --> 00:06:46.069 I Think back because now that my oldest and I 00:06:46.069 --> 00:06:48.589 think maybe your oldest child is around six or 00:06:48.589 --> 00:06:51.860 seven you start to see the things that interest 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:53.959 them, you know, the shows that they like to watch, 00:06:54.060 --> 00:06:58.480 if they're into math, counting, or if they're 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:02.160 into whatever. Do you see some similarities with 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:06.060 your children? Like, if one of them likes a particular 00:07:06.060 --> 00:07:08.079 sport or activity, and you're like, you know, 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:09.860 that was kind of what I was into when I was that 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:13.120 age. Yeah, you know, you see that all the time 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:14.819 in your children, and you see different parts 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:17.939 of you in each of them. My oldest is eight now. 00:07:18.180 --> 00:07:22.600 She'll be nine in the fall. And she's playing 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:26.100 softball right now. And she's just finished up 00:07:26.100 --> 00:07:27.899 the regular season. She's got one more game left 00:07:27.899 --> 00:07:30.279 on Sunday than a team party. She played soccer 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:33.660 when she was young. She did hockey as well. She 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:37.680 did dancing and ballet. She's done lots of things. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:39.779 She did piano for a long time. She got very good 00:07:39.779 --> 00:07:42.120 at it. But this is something that she really 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:44.139 loves. She loves her camaraderie. She's probably 00:07:44.139 --> 00:07:47.939 not the most natural athlete of my children, 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:52.899 okay? Like you said, she's got a lot of drama 00:07:52.899 --> 00:07:55.779 in her. She likes performing. She likes being 00:07:55.779 --> 00:07:57.779 on stage. She likes being creative. A lot of 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:02.220 these things she takes from her mom. And my two 00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:04.879 youngest children, at least athletically, are 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:08.000 much more like me. They want to be involved in 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.319 sports. They pick up a bat. They swing it. They 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:12.439 hit the ball. You know, my youngest son is three 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:15.060 years old, and he is ice skating very well. All 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:16.779 my children can skate very well. He's ice skating 00:08:16.779 --> 00:08:18.500 very well, rollerblades very well. He's a great 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:20.750 little hockey player. the three years old, he's 00:08:20.750 --> 00:08:24.110 an unbelievable little hockey player. And we 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:25.670 just have the best of times with each of them 00:08:25.670 --> 00:08:27.870 in their different ways. But yeah, you see similarities 00:08:27.870 --> 00:08:29.850 to yourself in different aspects. And my oldest, 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:32.210 he may not be like me athletically, we have a 00:08:32.210 --> 00:08:36.190 lot in common. Physically, just for starters, 00:08:36.370 --> 00:08:38.950 look at our faces are just alike. It's amazing. 00:08:39.129 --> 00:08:42.750 I look at her and I see my whole life right there 00:08:42.750 --> 00:08:51.629 in her eyes. Yeah, that's what we do here on 00:08:51.629 --> 00:08:54.629 Dan time and You know, I forgot to say folks 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:57.330 and you might hear sometimes I go back and do 00:08:57.330 --> 00:09:00.690 an intro But it is Taylor cook time today. I 00:09:00.690 --> 00:09:04.570 am trying to rein it in on the rambling Maybe 00:09:04.570 --> 00:09:07.990 some of my die -hard listeners love all the stream 00:09:07.990 --> 00:09:11.389 of consciousness Stuff that just comes out of 00:09:11.389 --> 00:09:14.179 my mouth. I don't know I get but I try to keep 00:09:14.179 --> 00:09:18.940 the focus on the guest. So anyway, growing up 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:21.639 and raising your family near where you grew up 00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:25.980 and seeing them grow in the community. My brother's 00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:28.860 having that same experience. Some circumstances 00:09:28.860 --> 00:09:33.259 in my life led me to split off, but I love hearing 00:09:33.259 --> 00:09:35.299 about what my nephews are doing. I was just talking 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:38.799 to my brother yesterday and I wish I could see 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:41.289 the ballgames. And just I hear about them and 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:43.409 I don't get to attend them and stuff like that. 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:47.129 But But anyway, so taylor like me your father 00:09:47.129 --> 00:09:52.049 of three Yes, I commend any dad right now in 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:54.850 2024 I think there's some very unique challenges 00:09:54.850 --> 00:09:58.610 that were not there for men in the If they're 00:09:58.610 --> 00:10:01.269 raising a baby in the 1970s or the night the 00:10:01.269 --> 00:10:04.970 early 90s or something like that It is such a 00:10:04.970 --> 00:10:09.110 supercharged tech world You got a lot on your 00:10:09.110 --> 00:10:12.690 shoulders Men and women but your career is calling 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:16.049 on you and maybe you're already the type of person 00:10:16.049 --> 00:10:18.009 that you choose to be in a high -performing role 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:22.710 but Having three kids and a career that you enjoy 00:10:22.710 --> 00:10:25.190 Are there things that you have to do routines 00:10:25.190 --> 00:10:28.230 that you got to like stick to? To make sure that 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:30.389 hey that you don't get burned out on either end 00:10:30.389 --> 00:10:35.809 Well, let me say this I believe strongly in taking 00:10:35.809 --> 00:10:39.250 good care of your body eating right Getting plenty 00:10:39.250 --> 00:10:41.830 of sunlight. I think these are critical things 00:10:41.830 --> 00:10:44.230 drinking water all the time good water all day 00:10:44.230 --> 00:10:46.389 long These are things that are very important 00:10:46.389 --> 00:10:50.549 to me. But as far as getting brown meter in I 00:10:50.549 --> 00:10:53.649 Have to travel a good bit for More than I'd like 00:10:53.649 --> 00:10:56.669 to I'm able to schedule things in a good way. 00:10:56.669 --> 00:10:59.649 Like, you know summer breaks coming up in Three 00:10:59.649 --> 00:11:01.730 weeks and my family's gonna go and go on a lot 00:11:01.730 --> 00:11:04.529 of road trips with me this summer But the rest 00:11:04.529 --> 00:11:05.610 of the year when they're in school, I have to 00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:09.259 be awake a bit so it It's negative in a lot of 00:11:09.259 --> 00:11:11.399 ways, but in a positive way, I never get burnt 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:14.740 out either way. I'm always happy to be home. 00:11:15.539 --> 00:11:18.200 I get burnt out a lot being on the road, but 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:20.960 I never get burnt out with the routine being 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.039 at home. I love being at home. I've got an office 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:24.720 in the back for when my kids are away, when my 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:27.080 kids are home. Before school and after school, 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:28.879 I'm inside eating breakfast with them, cooking 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:31.960 dinner. If I'm working with the computer, they've 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:33.580 got to understand that, that's a little difficult. 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:36.000 But you're right, there are many challenges for 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:38.779 us right now as fathers. These have been a very 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:41.940 difficult last 10 years, you know It's getting 00:11:41.940 --> 00:11:44.679 more difficult it seems in all kinds of ways 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:47.139 even in education send your kids off to school 00:11:47.139 --> 00:11:52.019 But I feel particularly equipped to raise and 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:53.679 I think I'm doing a good job raising good children 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:56.259 I feel like you're probably raising good families 00:11:56.259 --> 00:12:00.179 as well. I Appreciate that. There's some sometimes 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:02.980 where I feel like it's controlled chaos to a 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:09.620 degree but my way around that Sometimes I look 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:13.919 at, I look at our family, the five of us, and 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.259 my wife and I, I don't know that we could be 00:12:16.259 --> 00:12:18.539 more different, but there's some things at the 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:23.320 core that we are quite similar. We grew up on 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:25.879 different ends of the country. I won't get into 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:27.799 all those details, but you just look at it sometimes 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:31.559 like, how do we do this? How do we like manage 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:34.759 this household week after week? How do you get 00:12:34.759 --> 00:12:37.860 through one night, you get all the kids bathed 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:41.200 and shampooed and You make sure they get fed 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:44.039 everything that that they need to eat and all 00:12:44.039 --> 00:12:46.879 that stuff But I got to hand it to single parents. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:49.740 I don't know how you know totally single parents 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:53.940 that don't have a Mom a dad helping out. I don't 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:58.059 know how it's done even with one child, but Anyway, 00:12:58.080 --> 00:12:59.919 oh, how about a silly question? I got to pop 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:03.399 this in here. So you mentioned working when the 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:06.529 kids are nearby I've been, you know, editing 00:13:06.529 --> 00:13:09.230 the podcast when the kids are close by, and I 00:13:09.230 --> 00:13:11.629 sometimes have to lock the door. I actually frequently 00:13:11.629 --> 00:13:15.230 have to do that. Have your kids ever closed a 00:13:15.230 --> 00:13:17.750 laptop on you when you're in the middle of a 00:13:17.750 --> 00:13:20.590 video call, or have they ever just started typing 00:13:20.590 --> 00:13:25.190 and messing around? Well, not only has it ever 00:13:25.190 --> 00:13:30.830 happened, but my son takes great pride in making 00:13:30.830 --> 00:13:35.240 this happen. All the kids like messing with me 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:37.539 when I'm on the computer Closing the computer 00:13:37.539 --> 00:13:41.139 on me if I walk away just to get a laugh Especially 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:49.100 my boy likes these kind of antics You know sometimes 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:53.080 I guess It said that your kids are just giving 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:55.399 it back to you Maybe you did some of these things 00:13:55.399 --> 00:13:57.899 and acted out in a similar way to your mom or 00:13:57.899 --> 00:14:05.970 your dad Well, hey and folks this is a an honest 00:14:05.970 --> 00:14:09.330 attempt on my end on a kind of a compact episode 00:14:09.330 --> 00:14:12.690 here You know 30 minutes is a reasonable length 00:14:12.690 --> 00:14:15.169 of time a lot of the episodes as you've seen 00:14:15.169 --> 00:14:19.909 go about 47 minutes 72 minutes sometimes at full 00:14:19.909 --> 00:14:22.730 hour and a half with that in mind We're really 00:14:22.730 --> 00:14:24.950 gonna try to shoot through here and get to some 00:14:24.950 --> 00:14:27.470 stuff that's of interest Taylor. We are both 00:14:27.470 --> 00:14:30.830 sports fans. I Gotta ask have there been any 00:14:30.830 --> 00:14:33.620 games Taylor? whether it's hockey, football, 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:38.740 baseball that you have you're hanging on the 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:41.659 the fourth quarter and you just because of something 00:14:41.659 --> 00:14:44.179 with the kids you got to turn it off you got 00:14:44.179 --> 00:14:47.480 to leave to go somewhere you've whatever i know 00:14:47.480 --> 00:14:49.620 sometimes you're on the road so you know you 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:53.299 can watch a whole game but are there times where 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:55.039 you've had a you've had a bail from a game and 00:14:55.039 --> 00:14:58.679 it's just eating you up Yeah, just last week, 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:01.240 second period of the, I'm a big New York Rangers 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:03.399 hockey fan. Second period, first round of the 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:06.700 playoffs. Rangers were playing on a Sunday afternoon. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:08.820 You know, I went to throw something on the grill 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:12.340 and crack open a couple of beer and, and, you 00:15:12.340 --> 00:15:14.940 know, I watched, actually I watched the first 00:15:14.940 --> 00:15:16.659 like 10 minutes of the game and I decided I'm 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:21.799 gonna turn it off now. And did the softball game, 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:24.940 made sure not to. Deck the phone which is a hard 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:26.759 thing to do, you know You just naturally pick 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:28.399 your phone out of your pocket and look sometimes 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.320 turn off all those notifications and try and 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.200 get back to it Yeah, so that happens all the 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:38.080 time Well, it's just a reality. Like I said, 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:40.500 it's different. There are just going to be interruptions 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:42.919 and you have to let it happen How about speaking 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:46.600 of of your favorite team there? What are some 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:48.559 maybe favorite moments? Why do you said the New 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:53.120 York Rangers? Yeah Yeah, do you have a particular? 00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:56.970 Championship season or a player or tell me about 00:15:56.970 --> 00:15:58.830 your fandom there with the Rangers how far it 00:15:58.830 --> 00:16:03.450 goes back Sure. Yeah, so I started playing hockey 00:16:03.450 --> 00:16:08.389 when I was probably I mean probably 1993 I was 00:16:08.389 --> 00:16:10.809 five years old my brother started playing and 00:16:10.809 --> 00:16:12.590 I just wanted to be just like my brother of course 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:16.710 and That was just around the time that the New 00:16:16.710 --> 00:16:19.570 York Rangers had a pretty good team My best friend 00:16:19.570 --> 00:16:21.730 when I started playing hockey. His name was Michael 00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:25.500 Doyle And the story that I always heard, or at 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:27.519 least the one that I remember, is that his dad 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:30.179 was a driver for the mafia in New York City. 00:16:30.820 --> 00:16:33.059 But anyways, they came down to Birmingham and 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:35.399 they were, you know, big New Yorkers with the 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:37.899 accents and the cussing and the, hey, stop smacking 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:40.440 your food. And they were big Randy's fans. They 00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:41.840 just so happened to be the year, they've only 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:44.620 won one championship, something a lot. One in 00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:47.500 like 70 years or so. But that just so happened 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:48.899 to be the year they won the championship. Me 00:16:48.899 --> 00:16:50.980 getting into hockey, having a best friend, being 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:52.600 around that family all the time just sort of 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:54.720 got me liking it. Okay, so I was a big Rangers 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.919 fan for maybe 10 years. Got away from playing 00:16:57.919 --> 00:17:00.039 hockey, got into high school. I've always been 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:02.639 a huge football fan too. Auburn was my life when 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:05.359 I was growing up. Got away from it for a while. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:07.339 When I moved back, but I always kind of kept 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:09.480 an eye on hockey. I always loved it. When I moved 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:12.920 back to Birmingham around 2012 and I met my wife 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:14.900 was around the time I started getting back into 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:17.289 it again. Started kind of... following hockey 00:17:17.289 --> 00:17:19.710 more in general than just the Rangers and then 00:17:19.710 --> 00:17:22.170 as I started getting into hockey and liking it 00:17:22.170 --> 00:17:23.970 more and more and realizing like this is the 00:17:23.970 --> 00:17:25.869 sport that I think I enjoy the most or at least 00:17:25.869 --> 00:17:27.630 the way it's trending right now because college 00:17:27.630 --> 00:17:31.029 football is changing so much. I said I need to 00:17:31.029 --> 00:17:33.309 get back into a team. I need to either pick the 00:17:33.309 --> 00:17:34.829 Rangers or pick one and go for it. I thought 00:17:34.829 --> 00:17:36.210 about Nashville because they're right down the 00:17:36.210 --> 00:17:38.289 road. But man I went back to the Rangers and 00:17:38.289 --> 00:17:40.309 I've gotten more and more involved in it. It's 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:42.230 provided me all kinds of benefits in my life. 00:17:42.390 --> 00:17:44.170 I swear I think I have my job right now because 00:17:44.170 --> 00:17:46.599 I was a Rangers fan. My boss was also a hockey 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:49.660 fan and thought, you know, this is going to be 00:17:49.660 --> 00:17:51.079 a good guy to get along with and have on the 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:53.740 road with me. So it really and, you know, just 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:55.980 really opened all these doors for me as far as 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:57.960 making friendships, having really work connections, 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:00.420 all kinds of things. But, you know, Auburn is 00:18:00.420 --> 00:18:03.400 still my first love in all kinds of ways. So 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:06.079 that's my deep connection to the New York Rangers 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:09.359 is probably very unique. And it's funny because 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:10.900 we've got all these kids in our neighborhood, 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:14.380 right? All these kids are my kids. A lot of them 00:18:14.380 --> 00:18:15.920 have sort of gotten into hockey because my kids 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:17.859 are out playing in the red all the time. They 00:18:17.859 --> 00:18:19.980 naturally had to find a team. And because my 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:21.420 kids are always mentioning the New York Rangers, 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:23.440 they picked up the Rangers. We've got this whole 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.880 street of kids in Birmingham, Alabama. They're 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:28.799 a New York Rangers fan. It's unbelievable. That 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.779 is so cool. I have very limited exposure. Well, 00:18:31.900 --> 00:18:34.920 not exposure to hockey, but I have not gotten 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:37.240 into the sport. I've not immersed myself. I've 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:39.759 gone to some games. We have the Pensacola Ice 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:42.440 Flyers. Minor league hockey team and down here. 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:45.099 I've been to a few games and it's exciting Yeah, 00:18:45.140 --> 00:18:48.619 and I but I respect and I I understand people 00:18:48.619 --> 00:18:52.720 that love the sport Yeah, I feel like my obstacle 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:55.900 which I can overcome is you go far enough along 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:57.859 and you're like I don't know a whole lot about 00:18:57.859 --> 00:19:01.339 this sport and Where do I start and I'm already? 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:04.819 44 years old, but that's no excuse. It's like 00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:07.470 you could get started anywhere Well, you know 00:19:07.470 --> 00:19:09.890 what? Sometimes I feel that way watching baseball. 00:19:09.890 --> 00:19:13.230 What's your favorite school baseball? The Cubs. 00:19:13.609 --> 00:19:17.069 Yeah. Yeah, I go to a Cubs game every summer 00:19:17.069 --> 00:19:19.750 Actually every year in September. We have a conference 00:19:19.750 --> 00:19:21.809 in Chicago and every year I take a customer we 00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:25.569 go see In fact, I went and saw the Cubs when 00:19:25.569 --> 00:19:28.369 I saw my first Cubs game was against the Rockies 00:19:28.369 --> 00:19:31.670 and it was at the time The largest comeback the 00:19:31.670 --> 00:19:33.789 Cubs had ever had I think maybe in Wrigley Field 00:19:33.789 --> 00:19:36.400 or maybe just ever I think they've had a bigger 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:38.319 one since, but it was a big deal when it happened. 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:41.759 I was going to ask you a little bit about what 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:44.319 you do for a living and as much as you want to 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:47.160 talk about, because we're both in sales. And 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.619 what are some places, some cities that you have 00:19:50.619 --> 00:19:54.299 been to maybe only a couple of times, but you'd 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:57.380 love to go back? Yeah, yeah. Awesome question. 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:01.279 So for starters, my job is I'm in sales. I sell 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.240 silicon metal and silicon -based ferro alloys. 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:06.640 These are raw materials that go into steel, aluminum, 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:08.779 they go into the chemical industry, they go into 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.980 the solar industry, solar panels, they go into 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:14.420 all your cars, electronics. They're finding out 00:20:14.420 --> 00:20:19.799 it has the ability to increase density, the capacity 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:21.720 for batteries, so they're starting to apply it 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:25.740 to battery. So it's kind of like a secret ingredient 00:20:25.740 --> 00:20:28.299 that's in all of our lives, makeup. Nobody knows 00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:31.039 about it, but it's a huge industry. But yeah, 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:32.960 so I do that. I'm based here in Birmingham our 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:36.480 company's global. We have three or four sites 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:38.900 active production sites here in the US right 00:20:38.900 --> 00:20:43.480 now and several in Europe and South Africa and 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:46.880 Man, I've been on the road. I guess for I guess 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.119 about seven years now I can mention all the big 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:51.259 cities, you know, I mean like, you know, Sedona 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:53.339 is fun Chicago is great up into New York I was 00:20:53.339 --> 00:20:55.960 in DC a couple weeks ago, but my favorite of 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:58.400 the small ones You know, Roanoke, Virginia is 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:00.319 not a small city, but it's small compared to 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:02.720 a lot of cities. And that's a great place to 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:06.400 go. I love this little town outside of, I guess 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:08.259 it's in between like Myrtle Beach and Virginia 00:21:08.259 --> 00:21:11.200 Beach. It's Edenton, North Carolina. You know, 00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:13.619 there's, it's just one little grip of all these 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:16.920 old, all these old businesses. It's on the water. 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:18.980 There's a great history. There's one little restaurant 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:22.000 at the end of the grip. It's called Waterfront 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.079 Grill or something. And everybody in town goes 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:27.339 there every night. They all, you know, everybody 00:21:27.339 --> 00:21:29.519 who goes out meets up there. And every time I 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:31.240 go there, I've been there probably 10 times. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:33.460 I go to the same spot in the bar. There's only 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:36.579 like six bar seats. I get there before the rush, 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:38.920 before everybody gets there and, uh, you know, 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:41.680 have some oysters. And then the whole crowd from 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:43.700 the town comes in and I swear I make 30 friends 00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:45.779 every time I'm in, it's just the greatest place. 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:48.019 There's lots of little towns like this that I 00:21:48.019 --> 00:21:51.039 like and those are my favorite spots. It seems 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.220 like that you enjoy meeting people by chance. 00:21:54.789 --> 00:21:57.609 having a conversation with somebody like you 00:21:57.609 --> 00:21:59.849 said that just happens to be sitting next to 00:21:59.849 --> 00:22:03.210 you at a bar or restaurant and May not get to 00:22:03.210 --> 00:22:05.150 hang with them again may not swap numbers Maybe 00:22:05.150 --> 00:22:08.329 you do but you seem like you probably gravitated 00:22:08.329 --> 00:22:11.630 to this career field and maybe that was part 00:22:11.630 --> 00:22:15.369 of it is You're interested in other people what 00:22:15.369 --> 00:22:18.009 folks on one side of the country or or maybe 00:22:18.009 --> 00:22:20.589 internationally? What they're doing what's important 00:22:20.589 --> 00:22:25.220 to them? Yeah, I do. And I've had some really 00:22:25.220 --> 00:22:26.839 great experiences, so many great experiences 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:29.019 with this exact kind of thing. The random people 00:22:29.019 --> 00:22:31.700 from random places that just by chance I came 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:34.920 across on my travels that I think all the time 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:38.980 about writing them down or in some way recognizing 00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:41.220 them. I mean, I just have so many great stories 00:22:41.220 --> 00:22:45.779 of meeting very unique and kind people. And you 00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:48.880 don't always meet kind people, but it might be 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.140 more common than you think if you get out there 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:54.670 and are around. people in friendly places. I'm 00:22:54.670 --> 00:22:56.309 glad you mentioned that part as well because 00:22:56.309 --> 00:22:59.470 in my line of work, I do encounter people that 00:22:59.470 --> 00:23:02.869 are maybe not so interested in talking to me 00:23:02.869 --> 00:23:05.670 or seeing me and maybe it takes them a minute. 00:23:06.049 --> 00:23:09.630 How do you handle those encounters with folks 00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:12.289 that are, I won't say they're hostile to you, 00:23:12.349 --> 00:23:16.109 but they're pretty icy. Yeah, I get a lot of 00:23:16.109 --> 00:23:18.089 that too. For starters, I bring donuts pretty 00:23:18.089 --> 00:23:25.539 much everywhere. And then, you know, I don't 00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:27.140 know. I mean, everybody, you react differently 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:28.759 every time. Sometimes it catches you off guard 00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:30.519 and I may have a really terrible response to 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:34.180 it, but when I'm at my best, I'm able to let 00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:37.380 my guard down a little bit more, loosen up, and 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:40.339 find ways to kind of poke at them, poke at the 00:23:40.339 --> 00:23:42.440 situation. That's not how I handle it every time, 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:45.400 but when it works, it's nice. And I've found 00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:47.700 ways to do that. I deal with a lot of old... 00:23:47.849 --> 00:23:50.789 People that have been doing it for 40 years, 00:23:50.910 --> 00:23:52.950 that have been working in the plant. They're 00:23:52.950 --> 00:23:55.890 covered in coal and dust and dirt. They don't 00:23:55.890 --> 00:23:58.289 want to have conversations with anybody, especially 00:23:58.289 --> 00:24:01.230 not somebody who's 30 something with my pink 00:24:01.230 --> 00:24:07.329 polo on the way. But you got to get creative. 00:24:07.430 --> 00:24:09.509 I'm sure you have to get creative. And you have 00:24:09.509 --> 00:24:12.569 to humble yourself. You have to be able to take 00:24:12.569 --> 00:24:15.769 no, but you have to be able to roll with it and 00:24:15.769 --> 00:24:18.279 make fun of it. If anybody's taking it so seriously 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:20.759 that they're telling you to get out or they're 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:23.359 upset that you're laughing with them or having 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:25.660 a good time, then, you know, maybe you don't 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:31.180 need that business anyways. Gosh, I want to keep 00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:33.859 talking on this topic a little bit, but I did 00:24:33.859 --> 00:24:36.000 want to ask you just some, just some Dan time 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:39.319 favorite type questions. Favorite sport. Is it 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:42.980 hockey? Yeah. And then Auburn football. Yeah. 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.119 And I love football. I love pro football. I love 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:47.880 college football. I played football growing up 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:51.259 too. I played in high school with Hoover. Football's 00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:53.819 always in my heart too. I love sports. I love 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:55.700 the competition. I love the wins, the losses, 00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:58.819 the highs and lows. It's great. Do you have a, 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:00.980 and it's okay if one doesn't come to mind right 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:03.460 away, but an on the field moment that you were 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:07.119 a part of in high school that you still remember, 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:10.079 you know, the fourth quarter, the last few plays 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:15.019 or something, a big game. In high school, I played 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:18.819 football and I remember, maybe it was my freshman 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:20.859 or junior year, we had a very good team, a team 00:25:20.859 --> 00:25:23.799 that was up for national championship team of 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:26.440 the year. We'd go on the feed for a few years 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:28.859 in a row. We went on to go on the feed a few 00:25:28.859 --> 00:25:30.500 more years after that, or at least one or two 00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:34.599 losses over a large time frame. And ESPN came 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:38.319 to watch us play Evangel Christian. And that 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.099 was a huge deal at the time. They'd play a lot 00:25:40.099 --> 00:25:41.720 of high school games on ESPN now, but they did 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:45.019 not back then. And we had four or five guys that 00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:47.059 were really good players that wanted to play 00:25:47.059 --> 00:25:49.839 at Alabama and Florida and some smaller schools 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:51.819 as well. But a lot of guys went on scholarship 00:25:51.819 --> 00:25:55.359 from that team that were very good. And yeah, 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:57.559 that was a very memorable experience being in 00:25:57.559 --> 00:25:59.819 high school, having an EDSP in there and feeling 00:25:59.819 --> 00:26:01.319 like you were at the center of the universe. 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:05.599 And it came, and this team was, had won the national 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:07.319 championship and was like number one in the country. 00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:08.960 They were from Louisiana and were just the best 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:10.779 of the best and had all kinds of guys on their 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:13.559 team too. came down to the last minute, our best 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:15.400 player, made a great play on defense, made the 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:17.819 most incredible interception I've ever seen, 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:20.819 and we ended up winning the game and continued 00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:24.920 on with a bunch of years of success. But again, 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:27.019 I think my favorite memories and one I was best 00:26:27.019 --> 00:26:30.099 at and one I feel the warmest about were my hockey 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:31.819 memories when I was even younger, when I was 00:26:31.819 --> 00:26:34.700 a young child. I wasn't very big or fast, so 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:41.299 I wasn't very successful at football. the uniform 00:26:41.299 --> 00:26:44.640 off for the last time that night that I mean 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:46.940 did you know okay this is it and I'm okay with 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:50.380 this or man I wish I could still play I think 00:26:50.380 --> 00:26:52.700 I was okay with it Tom I've been getting beat 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:56.180 up on by the older bigger guys that were going 00:26:56.180 --> 00:26:59.500 to play college football for a while and I was 00:26:59.500 --> 00:27:02.339 ready to do something different got into playing 00:27:02.339 --> 00:27:05.819 guitar and you know trying to figure out what 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:08.119 I wanted to do with my life got you know had 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:11.809 a million jobs that were incredibly valuable 00:27:11.809 --> 00:27:13.470 to me. Every single one of them. Every boss I 00:27:13.470 --> 00:27:17.109 had. Every pizza I burnt or drink I spilled or 00:27:17.109 --> 00:27:19.910 whatever I was doing at the time. I was a plumber. 00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:21.930 I was a painter. I detailed boats. I did all 00:27:21.930 --> 00:27:25.329 that in between stopping playing sports, finishing 00:27:25.329 --> 00:27:28.349 school and now and that was all incredible for 00:27:28.349 --> 00:27:34.609 me. Okay, a couple more questions. Favorite sports 00:27:34.609 --> 00:27:37.430 movie? Either a sports movie or do you have a 00:27:37.430 --> 00:27:40.720 favorite all -time movie? Man, my favorite all 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:47.279 -time movie is Jaws. I love it. There's something 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:49.460 really romantic about being out on the water 00:27:49.460 --> 00:27:52.759 and all those fantastic scenes. I just love every 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:56.619 minute of it. And I'm a movie guy. But favorite 00:27:56.619 --> 00:27:59.839 sports movie, there are so many good ones. Of 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:02.200 course, I like a lot of the hockey ones, but 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:04.990 the best movies are baseball movies, right? Field 00:28:04.990 --> 00:28:07.269 of Dreams is incredible. Bull Durham, too. Kevin 00:28:07.269 --> 00:28:09.950 Costner is a baseball movie king. You know, Miracle 00:28:09.950 --> 00:28:14.210 was a great movie. The hockey movie about the 00:28:14.210 --> 00:28:17.690 Olympic hockey team. Oh, yeah. How about Rudy? 00:28:18.470 --> 00:28:20.309 Rudy's good. I liked Rudy a lot when I was younger. 00:28:20.650 --> 00:28:23.529 Yeah, but I haven't seen Rudy in maybe 15, 20 00:28:23.529 --> 00:28:26.910 years. Man, where's some other great baseball 00:28:26.910 --> 00:28:30.569 movies? Field of Dreams, Bull Durham. Yeah, I 00:28:30.569 --> 00:28:33.289 like The Rookie. Then there's, of course, Major 00:28:33.289 --> 00:28:37.279 League. Major League? Sandlot? Come on, man. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:41.240 Yeah. My kids are really, my kids really like 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:43.720 Rookie of the Year right now. They just got a 00:28:43.720 --> 00:28:45.779 big, but they love that. They watched the movie 00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:51.779 just for that scene. The best. Yeah. Taylor, 00:28:52.660 --> 00:28:54.839 you and Emily have been together going on, what, 00:28:54.900 --> 00:28:58.759 12 years? Yeah, 12 years. Do you remember how 00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:00.640 you guys, I'm sure you remember how you met, 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:04.539 but take me back to that first... Spring or summer 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:06.960 or whatever the season was and you meet and you're 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:10.359 like, okay, we were clicking here. This is I'm 00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:13.599 done shopping around What was that like of when 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:16.240 you guys met each other? How how that happened? 00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:20.839 Well, we met I think maybe a year before she 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:22.859 was out with some friends and I happened to know 00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:24.579 one of them and we ended up sitting at a table 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:26.380 together and we were all talking through the 00:29:26.380 --> 00:29:28.579 night but we didn't really get to know each other 00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:31.099 really really didn't even meet officially we 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:33.230 were just kind of amongst each other until about 00:29:33.230 --> 00:29:36.589 a year later. Now I had gone to a wedding the 00:29:36.589 --> 00:29:38.650 same day that I believe she had gone to a wedding 00:29:38.650 --> 00:29:41.390 or maybe like a reunion or something similar. 00:29:41.930 --> 00:29:45.269 And we were both at the late night bar of Birmingham 00:29:45.269 --> 00:29:47.410 where you only go after you finished up everywhere 00:29:47.410 --> 00:29:49.170 else and you got nowhere else to go. But we were 00:29:49.170 --> 00:29:51.930 there early in the afternoon. Very unique experience. 00:29:52.509 --> 00:29:55.029 Not many people in there early in the evening. 00:29:55.289 --> 00:29:57.250 I was walking by, going to the bathroom. I'll 00:29:57.250 --> 00:29:59.049 never forget this. I was walking by going to 00:29:59.049 --> 00:30:01.430 the bathroom and I thought I saw a friend of 00:30:01.430 --> 00:30:03.460 mine on the corner of my eye. I turned and I 00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:06.240 saw Emily, looked her right in the eyes. Man, 00:30:06.519 --> 00:30:08.480 you know, I was like, I'm going to the bathroom, 00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:10.220 I'm coming right back, I'm gonna go talk to her. 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:13.180 And I did, I went to the bathroom, came back, 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:15.819 went and talked to her, we stood by each other 00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:19.279 and talked all night long. The next morning, 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:22.440 I was going to a black church here in Birmingham, 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.039 because I was working at a place called Workplay 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:25.960 at the time, and this guy who I was good friends 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:29.819 with was in the band at this great old school 00:30:29.819 --> 00:30:31.759 downtown black church in Birmingham. And I've 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:33.940 never been to an experience like that. I said, 00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:36.740 I'd really like to come with you. And he said, 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:38.160 that would be great. I'd love to have you. And 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:39.700 so I asked Emily to come with me. I think she 00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:41.460 really liked this idea and wanted to come with 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:44.279 me. But she bailed on me. She said she was coming 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:47.940 with me, and she bailed on me. And so I ended 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:49.940 up going by myself. And it's a funny story. I'll 00:30:49.940 --> 00:30:52.720 add to that real quick. I actually went two hours 00:30:52.720 --> 00:30:55.700 early. I thought that it was supposed to start 00:30:55.700 --> 00:30:58.259 at. 8 o 'clock. It didn't start till 10 o 'clock. 00:30:58.460 --> 00:31:00.599 And so I ended up going through two hours worth 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:03.900 of Sunday school services with all kinds of people, 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:07.279 but mostly people over 70 years old, holding 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:09.500 my hand, walking me through everything, getting 00:31:09.500 --> 00:31:11.680 me lemonade. It was the greatest experience and 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:14.059 the church experience is wonderful. And then 00:31:14.059 --> 00:31:17.559 I met Emily for lunch with a friend of hers that 00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:21.359 afternoon. And of course, we haven't been separated 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:23.000 since, but I have to mention this. I think I 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:25.960 started asking her to marry me after maybe a 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:28.140 month, maybe two months. And I probably asked 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:32.660 her 10 ,000 times to marry me between the time 00:31:32.660 --> 00:31:37.019 that I started and the time she actually said 00:31:37.019 --> 00:31:41.900 yes. But since that night, we've had only maybe 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:44.339 one month of not spending time together. We've 00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:47.779 been together ever since. What a wonderful story. 00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:52.660 You're ready to close the deal. You had her in 00:31:52.660 --> 00:31:56.730 your CRM and You'd already had the first appointment 00:31:56.730 --> 00:32:00.349 and the follow -up and you're ready to close. 00:32:02.150 --> 00:32:04.390 Obviously she's beautiful. Now I'm going to go 00:32:04.390 --> 00:32:06.250 on about my whole life trying to get some points. 00:32:07.569 --> 00:32:11.430 Of course she's beautiful, but we've always laughed 00:32:11.430 --> 00:32:15.069 a lot together. So it was a no -brainer for me. 00:32:16.269 --> 00:32:19.250 Yeah, and it's been said a million times, folks. 00:32:19.250 --> 00:32:21.210 You don't have to hear it from me, but you know, 00:32:21.569 --> 00:32:25.349 laughter is... man, it's the key to any marriage, 00:32:25.450 --> 00:32:30.009 any successful partnership. It's key to friendships. 00:32:30.349 --> 00:32:32.710 Think about your, the friends that you've had 00:32:32.710 --> 00:32:35.150 the longest. What's the key ingredient? You're 00:32:35.150 --> 00:32:37.769 probably, that person has a great sense of humor, 00:32:38.690 --> 00:32:40.910 or the great thing about friendships, speaking 00:32:40.910 --> 00:32:43.049 of that, and Taylor, I wish you and I went back 00:32:43.049 --> 00:32:44.809 a lot further, but I think you know what I mean 00:32:44.809 --> 00:32:48.609 here. When you've got an inside joke with a friend 00:32:48.609 --> 00:32:52.549 that goes back to like 2007, and you can just, 00:32:53.089 --> 00:32:56.009 bring it, whip it out of the bag, out of nowhere, 00:32:56.069 --> 00:32:59.950 and they laugh. There's nothing like that. Yeah, 00:33:01.509 --> 00:33:04.869 you're right. Laughter is the key to having a 00:33:04.869 --> 00:33:09.569 happy life, as far as a partnership, laughter, 00:33:09.750 --> 00:33:11.869 but also the values. I gotta mention the values 00:33:11.869 --> 00:33:13.569 if you're talking about how to build a successful 00:33:13.569 --> 00:33:15.250 foundation, relationship, and build a family. 00:33:16.750 --> 00:33:19.609 You may not agree on everything, you may not 00:33:19.609 --> 00:33:21.799 agree on most things, but... You have to agree 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:25.099 on what you see as right and all to be able to 00:33:25.099 --> 00:33:28.940 cooperate That's right I got if you got time. 00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:31.660 I got a couple silly questions here Yeah, bring 00:33:31.660 --> 00:33:34.279 them on just for Dan time since you're a traveling 00:33:34.279 --> 00:33:37.180 man I've asked my friend jim powell this question. 00:33:37.180 --> 00:33:39.220 I don't know if i've dusted it off in a while, 00:33:39.220 --> 00:33:43.579 but how do you feel? You're on the road. So like 00:33:43.579 --> 00:33:47.630 me You got to run into these racetrack and circle 00:33:47.630 --> 00:33:50.410 K and maybe you got your your particular restrooms 00:33:50.410 --> 00:33:53.130 that you're like, okay I trust this place. This 00:33:53.130 --> 00:33:55.069 is gonna be okay. It's gonna be reasonably clean 00:33:55.069 --> 00:33:58.390 How do you like the accelerator? Are you a fan 00:33:58.390 --> 00:34:00.670 or if you see the accelerator and the paper towels? 00:34:00.730 --> 00:34:02.849 Which one are you going for when you're washing 00:34:02.849 --> 00:34:12.280 washing up? If I ever go through it, if I never 00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:13.480 go through it, I'll be self -checking out and 00:34:13.480 --> 00:34:15.659 getting my life. I'll be a happy man. Let me 00:34:15.659 --> 00:34:18.219 give you a pro tip today, Vance. Don't stop at 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:20.440 the gas stations anymore unless you need a snack. 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:24.639 Stop at a Hampton Inn. Or go inside much cleaner 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:26.659 bathrooms, snag one of those cookies on the way 00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:30.119 out, or a nice glass of lemon water. You don't 00:34:30.119 --> 00:34:32.019 have to go in those dirty bathrooms anymore. 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:35.820 I'll tell you that. That's what, oh, you got 00:34:35.820 --> 00:34:38.099 to talk to Jim because I think that's his advice. 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:40.900 He's like, Dan, cut it out. We're going into 00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:44.199 that that chevron off the east of boga exit just 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:51.059 stop it Hampton ends But yeah, and he doesn't 00:34:51.059 --> 00:34:55.199 he doesn't like the accelerator my son warren 00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:58.440 is Is frightened by it when we go when I have 00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:00.460 to take him in there. He's it's too loud. It 00:35:00.460 --> 00:35:11.489 is loud, but Do you use one of these stand up 00:35:11.489 --> 00:35:13.349 stalls for going to the bathroom? I mean one 00:35:13.349 --> 00:35:15.250 of these stand up stalls, what do they call them? 00:35:15.469 --> 00:35:18.349 Like the trough that goes top to bottom. All 00:35:18.349 --> 00:35:21.269 the way to the floor? I'll never do one of these 00:35:21.269 --> 00:35:24.130 again. The ones that go all the way to the floor, 00:35:24.949 --> 00:35:28.489 I can't do it. I have found that, can't believe 00:35:28.489 --> 00:35:30.630 we're talking, well I can't believe that we're 00:35:30.630 --> 00:35:32.949 talking about it because I brought it up, but 00:35:32.949 --> 00:35:36.789 I gotta put in a plug here for Target. Target? 00:35:37.309 --> 00:35:39.170 You're not going to hear this folks on any other 00:35:39.170 --> 00:35:41.590 podcast, but when it comes to urinals, and this 00:35:41.590 --> 00:35:45.130 is important to men, I have not found a better 00:35:45.130 --> 00:35:48.510 urinal than the ones at the Target men's room. 00:35:49.849 --> 00:35:53.469 It's clean. Uh, that's all I'll say. It's just, 00:35:53.610 --> 00:35:56.769 it's a clean experience. I'm not, that matters, 00:35:56.989 --> 00:36:00.710 but, uh, I'm not ashamed to say it. I, I, I really 00:36:00.710 --> 00:36:03.429 value a good bathroom experience. Now that could 00:36:03.429 --> 00:36:05.550 be good or bad, right? I mean, you've been moving 00:36:05.550 --> 00:36:09.599 to like a, uh, dingy, rock and roll bar bathroom 00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:12.300 that's like, you know, dirty, you don't touch 00:36:12.300 --> 00:36:13.940 anything, but it's cool. You know, there's stuff 00:36:13.940 --> 00:36:16.539 plastered all over the wall and old stuff written 00:36:16.539 --> 00:36:20.420 on the wall from 1983. I value a good bathroom 00:36:20.420 --> 00:36:22.639 experience. That probably came out wrong when 00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:25.460 I first said it. Oh, no, I'm right there with 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:28.699 you. How about, um, I guess quickly, this isn't 00:36:28.699 --> 00:36:31.519 silly, but concerts, do you, do you and Emily 00:36:31.519 --> 00:36:33.940 or even you, when you get a chance and you're 00:36:33.940 --> 00:36:35.960 traveling somewhere, do you, do you like music 00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:39.139 venues? Oh man, I love music. Music's a huge 00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:41.019 part of my life and I've seen a million shows. 00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:44.460 We could talk for another hour about all the 00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:46.579 shows I've seen in my lifetime. I'd love to sometime. 00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:49.719 We don't see many now. We're home bodies now. 00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:52.599 When I'm on the road, I may see something local. 00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:55.719 When I'm on the road, I definitely, if I'm out 00:36:55.719 --> 00:36:57.320 and about, which usually I am because the hotel 00:36:57.320 --> 00:36:59.880 rooms are pretty lonely, I try and find some 00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:02.469 live music, but it's just, yeah. playing some 00:37:02.469 --> 00:37:04.989 tunes down the road or whatever. We don't see 00:37:04.989 --> 00:37:06.769 many shows. I went with my brother and we saw 00:37:06.769 --> 00:37:10.590 Charlie Crawford last fall. He's an up -and -coming, 00:37:10.690 --> 00:37:14.110 kind of newer country music artist. It was a 00:37:14.110 --> 00:37:17.190 great show. Emily and I went and saw the Red 00:37:17.190 --> 00:37:19.190 Hot Chili Peppers and the Strokes last summer. 00:37:19.210 --> 00:37:20.829 That was like a big deal. It was probably the 00:37:20.829 --> 00:37:23.550 only big concert we've been together. We've been 00:37:23.550 --> 00:37:25.769 two together since we were together. That was 00:37:25.769 --> 00:37:27.429 a fantastic show, one of the best we've been 00:37:27.429 --> 00:37:30.760 to, but we don't do a lot of it these days. Okay. 00:37:30.760 --> 00:37:32.800 I know we're short on time. I have got to ask 00:37:32.800 --> 00:37:34.480 you, I was going to ask a, you know, favorite 00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:38.099 Dan athlete or musician, but I really don't want 00:37:38.099 --> 00:37:40.840 to run out of time here before we mentioned your 00:37:40.840 --> 00:37:43.880 daughter, Danny. And tell me something about 00:37:43.880 --> 00:37:47.039 Danny that it's hard to say was something that 00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:49.179 you love because you probably love everything, 00:37:49.179 --> 00:37:53.420 but tell me about your special child, Danny, 00:37:53.739 --> 00:37:55.940 who's when she grows up and this podcast is still 00:37:55.940 --> 00:37:59.000 a thing in 20 years or 14 years, she can be a 00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:02.449 guest, but. He's a special child with some unique 00:38:02.449 --> 00:38:05.309 advantages in this life for students. First of 00:38:05.309 --> 00:38:07.489 all, she knows exactly what she wants, which 00:38:07.489 --> 00:38:09.610 is a big part of it, right? Figuring out what 00:38:09.610 --> 00:38:11.469 you want and who you want to be. She knows exactly 00:38:11.469 --> 00:38:14.190 what you want. Even down to anytime we go to 00:38:14.190 --> 00:38:16.829 a candy store or a toy store. She walks in, she 00:38:16.829 --> 00:38:19.170 walks right up to it. That's what I want. That's 00:38:19.170 --> 00:38:21.130 it. There's no second thought. There's no, ooh, 00:38:21.130 --> 00:38:23.309 maybe I want that. She may look around for another 00:38:23.309 --> 00:38:26.829 hour. Still, same thing. My other daughter, my 00:38:26.829 --> 00:38:28.789 oldest daughter, Lenny, is the exact opposite. 00:38:28.989 --> 00:38:31.150 We'll be there for an hour and we'll have to 00:38:31.150 --> 00:38:33.690 pry her out and make her choose something. She'll 00:38:33.690 --> 00:38:36.190 get in the car and realize she hates it and start 00:38:36.190 --> 00:38:39.929 crying pretty much every time. Okay, but Danny 00:38:39.929 --> 00:38:44.289 Liv is special. She is gorgeous. She's beautiful. 00:38:44.710 --> 00:38:47.190 See the whole world in her face all the time, 00:38:47.250 --> 00:38:50.530 bright and sunny all the time. Incredible athlete. 00:38:51.489 --> 00:38:56.829 And she wants to be a farmer. She wants to be 00:38:56.829 --> 00:39:00.730 with her family. Knows the boy that she wants 00:39:00.730 --> 00:39:02.670 to marry. She's already kind of accepted that 00:39:02.670 --> 00:39:04.989 this is the boy who's gonna be best for living 00:39:04.989 --> 00:39:08.889 on a phone with Yeah, she's just very She's got 00:39:08.889 --> 00:39:15.170 a very Wonderful mind that's very stable especially 00:39:15.170 --> 00:39:18.210 for a five -year -old That's great stuff Taylor. 00:39:18.210 --> 00:39:21.849 I just I love I love how weeks we get excited 00:39:21.849 --> 00:39:24.989 about our children Everybody does and if you're 00:39:24.989 --> 00:39:26.610 listening to the show and you're not You don't 00:39:26.610 --> 00:39:28.510 have children yet. You're maybe not planning 00:39:28.510 --> 00:39:30.570 on it. That's okay, too Hopefully this is still 00:39:30.570 --> 00:39:33.329 enjoyable because you may have a niece or nephew 00:39:33.329 --> 00:39:37.030 but great stuff taylor We've got to go ahead 00:39:37.030 --> 00:39:38.690 and commit to a second episode because I want 00:39:38.690 --> 00:39:42.349 to talk about your guitar playing and we need 00:39:42.349 --> 00:39:45.949 to I need two hours with everybody, but You've 00:39:45.949 --> 00:39:50.349 been so gracious You've been awesome with your 00:39:50.349 --> 00:39:54.079 time in this Short conversation. I can see why 00:39:54.079 --> 00:39:56.519 you're successful in what you do day to day. 00:39:56.780 --> 00:39:58.599 I appreciate you being here and being a part 00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:00.719 of the show and folks, if you're listening, there's 00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:03.940 not always, not every episode has a video component, 00:40:03.940 --> 00:40:07.139 but head over to the Dan time YouTube channel, 00:40:07.300 --> 00:40:11.199 uh, for the video portion of this episode. And, 00:40:11.880 --> 00:40:14.659 um, Taylor cook. Awesome to connect with you 00:40:14.659 --> 00:40:16.880 today and make up for all the years that we haven't 00:40:16.880 --> 00:40:19.840 been hanging out or texting about ballgames or 00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:23.920 whatever. The pleasure is all mine. I feel like 00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:26.900 we're on the right path towards significant long 00:40:26.900 --> 00:40:29.500 -term friendship, my friend. Can't wait for our 00:40:29.500 --> 00:40:33.239 kids to meet each other. Yeah, we need to do 00:40:33.239 --> 00:40:35.760 that soon. Maybe this summer. Come down by the 00:40:35.760 --> 00:40:38.380 coast and play by the water some day. That'd 00:40:38.380 --> 00:40:42.059 be wonderful. Yeah. All right. Well, anything 00:40:42.059 --> 00:40:46.119 that you'd like to plug before we wrap it up? 00:40:46.139 --> 00:40:49.360 Wow, and pretty good time. Well, yes, and she 00:40:49.360 --> 00:40:51.099 give me an opportunity to plug something I'll 00:40:51.099 --> 00:40:54.179 plug blue spring water, which I switched to recently 00:40:54.179 --> 00:40:56.860 It's about 45 minutes north of Birmingham, Alabama. 00:40:56.860 --> 00:40:59.840 It's the silkiest smoothest most Clean delicious 00:40:59.840 --> 00:41:01.940 water you can drink and as you know, this is 00:41:01.940 --> 00:41:04.639 very important to me. It should be there I tell 00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:06.460 you what being on the road a lot and when you 00:41:06.460 --> 00:41:10.400 hit the the Alabama or Gulf Coast summertime 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:14.280 You don't want just any bottle of water a couple 00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:17.500 you you want something cool crisp and you can 00:41:17.210 --> 00:41:22.590 You can taste the difference. Yes, you can. Say 00:41:22.590 --> 00:41:27.250 the name again. Blue Spring Water. Blue Spring 00:41:27.250 --> 00:41:31.289 Water, folks. Check it out. It comes recommended 00:41:31.289 --> 00:41:33.409 by Taylor and that's good enough for me. Should 00:41:33.409 --> 00:41:36.150 be good enough for you too. All right. Well, 00:41:36.150 --> 00:41:38.170 that's it for this episode. Hope you enjoyed 00:41:38.170 --> 00:41:41.130 it and we'll see you next week on the Dan Time 00:41:41.130 --> 00:41:44.929 podcast. Take care of yourself first and then 00:41:44.929 --> 00:41:47.599 you can be your best. out there in the world 00:41:47.599 --> 00:41:52.039 and for your friends and your partners and husbands 00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:56.079 and wives and whatever else. That's me not wanting 00:41:56.079 --> 00:41:58.199 to let go of the episode. I got to ramble at 00:41:58.199 --> 00:42:00.780 the end, but all good things got to come to an 00:42:00.780 --> 00:42:03.800 end. Taylor, have a great week and we'll talk 00:42:03.800 --> 00:42:11.300 soon. Thanks for listening, folks. Hey, if you 00:42:11.300 --> 00:42:14.579 love that episode, be sure to add a star rating. 00:42:14.809 --> 00:42:18.329 If you're on, say, Apple podcasts, I'm not sure 00:42:18.329 --> 00:42:21.230 that it could be any easier. I would compare 00:42:21.230 --> 00:42:24.889 it to the self checkout at Walmart or at the 00:42:24.889 --> 00:42:28.429 end of a Microsoft Teams call when they ask you 00:42:28.429 --> 00:42:31.769 about the audio quality. Also, tell a friend 00:42:31.769 --> 00:42:34.750 about this show. Tell that guy, Dan, that you 00:42:34.750 --> 00:42:39.489 work with. Tell your Danielle friends and your 00:42:39.489 --> 00:42:44.429 friend D 'Angelo and your cousin Danny. Everybody's 00:42:44.429 --> 00:42:47.869 welcome and I appreciate you my friend for listening. 00:42:48.550 --> 00:42:50.949 Thanks and have a wonderful week. We'll see you 00:42:50.949 --> 00:42:51.409 next Sunday.