How important is this to you when you go into
a store and you remember we worked at the the
drugstore Big B that was acquired by CVS, I think
Hold on. It was required by Revco first. Revco
and then CVS. Revco actually initiated a hostile
takeover. I remember this. It was really interesting,
you know, learning experience. The drugstore
wars of 97. Classic. But at that time, you know,
the store manager who was a big influence on
me as far as Customer service and just taking
pride in what you do and work ethic cabina. Yeah,
Ron cabina People of a certain age do remember
going into a store and the manager is very clearly
identified You know, the sleeves are rolled up.
There's a pencil behind the ear There's a clipboard
in one hand and there's a warm friendly smile
ready to greet you as you approach that aisle
as he's you know, taking inventory whatever he's
doing and Do you miss that Travis when you walk
into a store and you realize oh that there's
the guy Or there's the you don't need their help
or there's there's the woman who owns the store
and they're gonna say Can I help you find something?
No, I don't know I'll tell you why because I've
been in enough CBS is like I know where the where
the Q -tips are. I don't need help. I know where
the deodorant is. I'm pretty much know where
everything is because I've been in a CVS or one
of those drug stores. So I get the sentiment
to your question for the answer and I'm just
gonna be truthful. No, I don't miss that and
I don't need that. And I don't want it. Well,
I think that... I don't know if that was the
answer you were looking for. I'm sorry. I was
not looking for that answer. I was... But, you
know, I have to accept it. Will say down here
locally if you compare maybe Home Depot to ace
hardware if you go into an ace At least the one
I've never been in the ace in my life. What is
it like? I highly recommend it Not every ace
is the same but the one that's closest to our
house There are like at least three Employees
on guard ready. They're not gonna swarm you really
but if you go to the paint aisle you go to the
plumbing fixtures you go on any given aisle They
are ready. And if they see that you're a little
lost, they're going to walk up very neighborly
and say, connect, connect. I'm just incredible.
Would you say that ACE is the is the place for
the friendly hardware folks? Yeah, I like that.
Yeah, and they they walk the walk. So a big I
don't plug many companies on this show, but I'm
very happy to give ACE hardware a plug. I've
had a great experience. I like this stuff Travis.
I like things from another era. I like music
from another era. I enjoy running into an 87
year old person and having a brief fleeting conversation
with them. Let me ask you something else specific.
Yeah, let me ask you something else. All right,
let's just say that This is two parts. So the
first part is on a phone call and you've had
to call your insurance company, you've had to
call someone where you it's like a 20 minute
conversation and they're they're set they're
working something out for you and a little bit
of side talk a little bit of laughter and banter
and banter and connection and you're like man
i really like this person this is fun and they're
making this a good experience and you realize
that your your issue is close to being resolved
and that call is wrapping up do you ever Get
to the end of that phone call call and it dawns
on you. I'm never gonna speak to this person
ever ever again I'm a little sad about it, but
I've got to wait for the survey because I agreed
to Do a brief survey and then I'm not gonna speak
to them ever again Does that? ever happen Yes,
it does. It happens to me all the time. It's
something I've Thought about a lot I talked to
my therapist about it a little bit. She tells
me that, forget about it, there's eight billion
people in the world and you can't get hung up
on the person that's helping you cancel your
spectrum. And it's something I'm having to work
through daily, actually. I'm not passing people
on the street and it's like, oh, I'll never see
them ever again. And then Michael, my 12 year
old, was like, daddy, you know, this is insane
behavior to be exhibiting. Connecting on such
a deep. Yeah. Like you have to accept the reality
of what we live in that you cannot connect with
all 8 billion people. It's just not possible.
And I'll get there one day, but I just, I met
somebody just passed me a minute ago. And before
you even ask the question, I was like, Oh, I'll
never see them again. They live in my neighborhood.
Yes. Are you still on your walk? I am. This call
has been going on for close to an hour, but you
were walking Prior to the start of the call how?
Five miles now five I want to talk about walking
and you've been on some hikes and and this is
something that you're a few years into you really
enjoy Not just getting the steps in I mean that's
important, but it's it's more about I don't want
to take put words in your mouth, but just self
-exploration and what what self -exploration
i love it wow all right so what's the question
all right so so during the pandemic i got sent
home i was i was lucky enough to be able to work
from home my wife robin and she got sent home
she could work from home as well And she's sort
of taking our youngest ally out in the stroller.
I'd watch them go. Every single day they would
go, and they'd come back for 30, 45 minutes.
And then one day, it was probably May of 2020,
I was like, I'm going to join you, because I
still get a lunch break even though I'm working
from home. And I walked with them. I was like,
so we just moved to this neighborhood, and it's
very walkable. And I was like, that was actually
really cool. But it was kind of boring, you know?
And so I got some headphones, and I downloaded
a podcast. It was one I've recommended to you
before. I think you've listened to it, but it
was S -Town. And I'll never forget May of 2020.
Every day, I would put on this podcast S -Town,
which is still to the day the best podcast I've
ever listened to. It's not like a traditional
podcast. It's more of an auditory documentary.
But either way, I recognize at that moment, I
can exercise because I try to run. I got plantar
fasciitis. I tried to do the exercise bike. I
got bored. Try to do the stair stepper, and that
thing's a nightmare. I never want to do that
again. But I found what worked for me was just
getting 10 ,000 steps a day. Sometimes you get
more, but if you just put that goal at 10 ,000
and then put the headphones on, listen to a podcast,
listen to a book on tape, wherever it may be,
it was a way I could take a break from work,
get some exercise in, and also be entertained
at the same time. And for some people, they want
to do the rover, or they want to do They want
to run or what? It's like you have to figure
out what works for you and walking doesn't work
for everybody, but it works for me. And after
about once I really got serious about it, you
know, I ended up losing like a hilarious amount
of weight. It was like 40 or 50 pounds and it
was just insane. And then I've kept it, you know,
for four years now, I just walked 10 ,000 steps
a day and I watched what I eat. I'm good. Wow.
So that's my journey. Well, I really. I mean
this sincerely I commend you for For sticking
to it. This was not just a fleeting Exercise
For you this this was something that You're committed
to this is you'll be probably doing this the
rest of your life Oh, yeah forever without a
doubt and I have a treadmill at home that I use
when it's when it's you know dark or if it's
bad weather How much waving do you do? As a walker
to passersby Yeah, it's a struggle. I'm not gonna
lie. It's it's expected. It's awkward My way
to everybody, but I usually wear sunglasses.
I don't even look at and I just wave and assume
they wait back Just go through the motions, you
know Yeah, it's part of part of it's part of
the game man. I'm telling you you can be a walker
You got to be able to walk the life. There's
you know, cuz I'm Vivian I take her to a And
for some folks, I apologize, some of this may
be getting a bit, a bit dry, but, um, this is,
this is compelling. There are some faces and
some people that, that I know in this other neighborhood
where her caregiver lives and I see them every
morning or every afternoon. And we don't do the
waving anymore because I've been seeing them
for years. And talking to you, I just realized
they don't wave because They're seeing 30 or
40 of me, like all these different vehicles.
You can't just constantly be. If there's like
a line of three cars, I often wonder, is that
third car going to be like, are you just waving
at everybody? Because I'll like wave and stop
and wave and wave. But no, it's just exercise.
It's getting outside. And it really took the
pandemic for me to figure it out. I've been trying
for years to get something that would actually
work for me. And this is the only thing that
I can do consistently that I enjoy. Yeah, I get
to listen to podcasts. Like, I listen to more
podcasts than probably the normal person, but...
And I'm going to listen to this one now on an
infinite loop forever, because it's been me talking
to you and to myself, and it's hard to explain,
but I've kind of ruined podcasts for myself now.
But I've never been on a podcast. This is the
first time. It's exciting. You have international
listeners? Absolutely. Where's the farthest somebody's
listened? What country? I've got people on every
continent. I think there's not huge pockets.
Even Antarctica? I think there is one. What?
No, no, not that far, but... I said every continent.
I mean Australia, New Zealand, Eastern... You've
got some Australian gas too. Yeah. That's cool.
There's people everywhere and some folks I hear
from and I'm thinking, I'm glad this is interesting.
I don't always feel like I talk about topics
that are near and dear to everybody at every
corner of the globe, but We're doing something
right Can I tell you something into your listeners
who are gonna listen to this and hopefully I'll
be a certain number that only I know This is
one of the few podcasts. I'm not just saying
this because you're my brother But I listen to
a lot of podcasts and all the podcasts I listen
to are sports or their uh, you know politics,
but it's like famous people that have a million
Followers and they're interviewing other things
people or comedians or whatever or the sports
stars This is the first podcast I've ever listened
to where you talk to a tax assessor from Trusco,
Alabama and some people might scoff at that and
say that's boring but it's like a slice of life
that nobody is reaching out to and then you get
singer -songwriters you get comedians you get
friends you get family and it's just like getting
to It's like it's like an every Every person's
podcast where you can just learn something and
I don't have to like a certain genre of music
that the person Does but I can at least hear
their story and hear their experience and their
struggle and what they you know What kind of
goals they have and I just think it's fascinating
So I'm gonna go ahead you give a lot of praise
to your guests I'm gonna go ahead and turn the
praise back on you and say you're the best Wow,
I'm Speechless speechless aren't you? Yeah, of
course you are. I really appreciate that. That
is That's what I aim to do is you know, this
is a weekly podcast every Sunday Sometimes as
you folks have seen it's the wee hours of Monday
morning Depending on my schedule schedule as
we say here in the south Really any any man above
the age of 52 Uh, if you live in Alabama, Georgia,
Mississippi, Tennessee, you're going to hear
schedule. They just dropped the L E and just,
just hang on to you and let it ride out. And
I like it. I mean, we can go on about the Southern
dialect, which is so funny. We're from Alabama,
obviously born in Chicago, but raised in Alabama.
And I'm sure I'm going to listen to this or hear
parts of it and be like, I sound so country.
I don't feel like I do, but it's infectious.
This, that accent. It is. I'm, I'm really, you
know, we were born in Chicago, but I'm glad when
I was a kid, I was like, why do we have to move
from Chicago? I mean, I could go to the Cubs
games if, if that never happened, but it's a,
it's a different experience. I'm glad that we
grew up in, um, what's going on now. Are you
making a crack in the ice? Oh, I just got back
home. Yeah, I just got back home. I'm about to
start cooking here in a minute. We're going to
have steaks, uh, for Easter. It's an Easter tradition,
but I'm good to keep going. I hate to get six
more hours. I already told you. I've cleared
the schedule. It's like midnight. All right.
So whoever's listening to this and you're, you're
on your way to see your in -laws and it's another
five hours on the road. You are in luck. We're
going to carry it all the way there. No, I think
we should just start reading the dictionary at
some point. Like we got to like burn some time
somehow. Alright, I do have a question. This
is pretty important When you when you go through
your sock drawer And you've just got I'm having
I'm having a big problem with this right now.
I don't know how it started I don't know how
we got here, but I've got a variety of socks
of dress socks for the day and I am having an
impossible time pairing up two socks of You know
the style And the ones that I like, the ones
that I really like, I'm just thinking, where
is that other one? I've got the first one in
my hand, and I can't find that other green sock.
And I'm thinking, well, never mind. Let me move
on. And so I pick up the blue one. And I'm thinking,
OK, where is the other blue one? Where is it?
And I can't find it. So I'm moving on. And I
do this about six or seven times. And then I
think, what has happened? in my house and and
I just grab something a pair of socks that are
Horrible or not horrible, but just Way down the
line of what I prefer to wear Where do they go?
And is your side? You just asked me where the
socks go yeah, that took 20 minutes That was
the biggest setup for where do the socks go Well,
that's the question All right. I'll give you
a serious answer Big sock makes a variety pack
of six or twelve socks. Each sock is just a little
bit different, right? I'm sorry. You're always
gonna lose them You just say like like big ag
big agriculture big sock Yeah, it's a thing big
sock exists. I guarantee you publicly straighted.
I'm sorry publicly traded sock companies There's
got to be one They do this on purpose because
I know the more variations of socks that they
make the more likely you are to lose them So
if you were to go to Costco and, you know, buy
up a jumbo 48 pack of all blues, you're going
to be fine. Costco is going to make a little
bit of margin. But the real big sock, they do
make all these different variations where, like,
I'm in the same boat as you. I literally cannot
find a matching pair of socks to save my life.
Now, luckily, I work from home, but we do go
into the office, it's every second and fourth
Tuesday of the month. And so it's always, you
know, in the back of my mind, it's, you know,
my my daily struggle is what am I gonna do in
two weeks when the office is calling and I'm
gonna be there and I've got the blue stripe socks
and the black stripe socks but I don't have the
pair of blue or the pair of black. It's a real
thing that I have to deal with and it's bad.
When you've got a pair that you're especially
fond of, you know, you've had them since. You're
gonna edit all this out, right? Are you gonna
edit all this out? Moving along I feel like I
had a better question here It has been a it's
it's been What is happening What literally just
happened I was I was going in one direction.
I'm like, no, I don't think I want to go there.
Let me go somewhere else. All right How about
some of these uh, I was I have this list of albums
from 1999 some for some reason I'm kind of stuck
on that 25 year mark. You just asked about creed
and just moved on. Yeah, uh Christina aguilera
what a girl wants. What does this at the time?
What did it mean to you and 25 years later looking
reflecting back? What does it mean to you now?
I'm still trying to understand what a girl wants
or needs. Yeah, back then, I was so far removed.
I mean, I was aware of her and Britney Spears
and all the pop music that was coming out. But
I was so far into it. I was a senior in high
school listening to rock and metal. That just
did not move the needle at all for me. I saw
it. I'm looking at it the same way I did back
then. It was just... Pop music, you know in a
very catchy, but yeah, just not my thing We'll
get all the rest of the stuff sorted out in this
country, but what do you think? School track
be a fan school track Traffic knows dropping
off picking up. Oh, yeah, I don't get involved
in that Yeah, school traffic. Natalie usually
drops Warren off at first grade and I go pick
him up and I pick him up from after school care.
So I don't get into the three o 'clock line,
nor would I, if I ever was asked to do that.
Yeah, we have buses for the kids, but whenever
we miss the bus. You gotta get get all in that
it's terrible. I just yeah, I don't Why don't
we have to do that? Uh, well because you gotta
get your kids to school and you gotta pick them
up. It's pretty simple How come no there's not
been one school in the past 40 years who's figured
out how to circumvent this This snaky line of
of cars just parked in a little there's like
hugging that lane that kind of circles around
with their just idling and Is there another way
to get kids? Just get them back in your custody
Mmm, I mean beyond busing now No, there's not
the world has a lot of issues and what if you
hope what if a school strategically opened directly
across the street from a long dormant Winn -Dixie
parking lot and there was like Like just kind
of this Dead shopping center and so around three
o 'clock everyone just go park over there and
then the kids there's like a well -identified
Crosswalk and then they just walk over to the
parking lot and there's all these waving hands
of moms and dads say hey, honey I'm over here
and and they just get to the cars that way and
then it's just like leaving a ballgame like from
that point I Think you're onto something But
you need yeah, you just got to find Well, there's
a few issues. The schools are traditionally already
established and have been for decades. The chance
of them being directly located next door to a
empty, and I think you, Winn -Dixie, are probably
very low. So maybe you know you catch lightning
in a bottle once or twice But yeah, it's a I
guess you could build when Dixie's next to the
schools and hopes that they close down eventually
and then you'll get to that Utopia you're looking
for but you might want to revisit that what I
saw I'm saying it wasn't a bad idea. It's just
you know how like like every metro area of some
size has like that that shopping Plaza that was
bustling in like 1994 and it's just like nothing's
there except maybe a dollar general and a couple
things and it's like this sprawling asphalt that's
uh still has the big light post and well cracks
and and valleys here and there but otherwise
drivable and parkable isn't there there's one
of those kind of close to where you guys used
to live but it's just like hundreds and just
as far as the eye can see all these uh parking
spaces but not a real flagship store there anymore
Yeah, well you're talking about two hours Yeah,
so they actually is funny should say the piggly
wiggly that used to be across the street Left
and moved up into that shopping center and they
put a restaurant up there and now the piggly
wiggly shopping center is the one that's kind
of you know a little bit more empty I think they've
cleaned it up a little bit. But yeah it's a empty
shopping centers is a Big deal. I wish the You
know trump or hairs would would actually bring
this up at some point because it really it's
an important issue to a lot of people I think
it is the just repurposing of these once thriving
commerce hotspots Well, um We actually have all
my timer here. We've reached the two hour mark.
I don't know how close That we're going to come
to the john hunter episode, but wow, you're getting
really close I'm not, and we got to hang it up.
I don't know if we can really justify just creating
another topic. Cause I got to go. Yeah, I've
got got places to be. Well, this has been great.
And, uh, undoubtedly this will be split into
part one and part two for your listening enjoyment.
And so you get to hear all of it. I might even
carve this thing up into threes. So I got to
send you three pictures. I Might do it. I actually
might do part one part two part three the trilogy
Because you know you do see some stuff on YouTube
I get some Analytics I Put these episodes up.
This is another reason why I don't really focus
a lot of my attention on it the average view
time on an episode that's 47 minutes long, even
34 minutes or 50. Average view time is like a
couple minutes. Really? So I don't even know
how deep people are getting. And I think that
it's perfectly fine with that in mind to get
into some just obscene, silly season topics at
the depths here, because I don't know who's listening.
Nobody. Who am I trying to please? There's no
stakeholders. So you need to add something say
the first person to text me this wins a prize.
I don't know. Yeah. So there's a word I'm going
to say and it's bullfrog. And I'm going to put
that on the episode description and say, Hey,
whenever you hear the word bullfrog, message
me for a free $20 gift card to Papa John's and
send me your address. And you know what? I will
do it. You're hungry for pizza. You like Papa
John. If you say, Hey, look, I don't have one
of my hometown. but I love dominoes. Tell me
where you are. I'm sending the car to you. That's
the key word. There you have it. Thanks for listening
to the Tan Time podcast. Any final thoughts,
Travis? No. All right. I appreciate it. It's,
you know, killing two birds with one stone. We
get to catch up. You get to, I'll just give you
three episodes. But no, it's always fun catching
up. I know we're miles apart, but at this moment
I feel very close to you. It was fun catching
up and I enjoyed listening to all your episodes
and I look forward to doing it in exactly the
same amount of time it took for me to do it the
second time. Yes. On that note, we'll see you
next Sunday, folks. Thanks for listening to the
Dan Time Podcast. Tell your friends about it.
Tell everybody you know about it. Leave a review.
Whatever is the easiest thing for you to do.
I appreciate you as a listener. Have a great
week. Go out there and do something. Do something
you want to do this weekend or this week. It's
probably Monday that you're listening to this.
Go Cubs Go. Hopefully we're three games back.
It's all I ask for three games back on Monday
morning. We'll see you next Sunday. Cheers. Wanted
to know if you wanted me to pull up your pillow.
Oh my little dandy I have my So they'd be my
great -great -great -great -grandson here with
me Michael and Julia you want to say something
Michael? Thank you grandma for picking me up
That's a little fuzzy right now. It's the lineage
of me to you, but Joe Joe's you want to say hey
Let the boy see you in our house seriously, don't
call me tell me when you're kidding