Full Transcript for Memory Lane

or this a better opportunity may cause us to move, or or whatever it was. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:37.519 So we did a lot of moving when we when we were growing up, and change can be good, and it's that simple. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:43.199 I mean, moving from place to place sometimes, and I say place to place, I mean like still in cowpins. 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:44.240 We never left cowpins. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:49.920 We Spartanburg was the farthest we went, and that's where we are now, but it's literally in cowpens, in my opinion. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:54.319 Um and so change isn't always bad. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:56.079 Change can actually be a good thing. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:00.240 And moving was nothing new to me growing up, it was something we did. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:05.199 Um first house we had is behind Crawford's, the red barn right there in CowPens. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:14.560 Um it was a little house behind there, and my grandpa and grandma lived across the street from us, uh, Chocolate and Gail. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:16.319 They lived in a house across the street. 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:21.920 We lived in a house across from them, and it's I don't even know the name of the street right there. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:33.279 Um, honestly, but it's subway's there and subway is my grandfather owned the house behind Subway, and then we owned the house across the street behind Crawford's Redbound. 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:40.160 So we lived in that house, and you know, we've just I was young back then. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:07:03.199 Uh don't remember a whole lot about that house, just remembered that that we were close to to Gail and Pop and or were close to Balmall and Pop and um just got to go there to see them all the time and and they took care of us a whole lot because mama worked and daddy worked, and uh so I do remember a good bit of just spending time with them because of where our house was located. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:10.480 Then the next house we got was on EBN Drive, um, off of Beacon Light Road on EBN Drive. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:12.000 And it was up on a hill. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.000 My daddy and my grandpa built it by hand. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:17.040 It was a cedar house, very beautiful house, still there today. 00:07:17.279 --> 00:07:21.519 Had a huge driveway that went straight up a hill. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:25.360 Um I used to ride my bicycle up and down that thing, walk up and down that thing. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:32.639 It was a um not a fun hill to have to tackle, but we would constantly have to do it in vehicles and stuff like that. 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:42.079 And and that house, you know, we ended up losing to repossession, or I don't know if it got repossessed or if we sold it or what happened there, but we ended up getting rid of that house. 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:44.720 And um, I remember that house like it was yesterday. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:45.759 It was a beautiful house. 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:55.439 We had a full basement downstairs that all my toys were in, and me and Hope had our own rooms, and everything was was really neat in that house, and we loved being there. 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:57.839 And we ended up losing that house, so we had to move. 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:05.680 We moved to a trailer on um Beacon Light Road beside my grandpa Jordan, Jimmy, and and Patricia, my grandma, Pat. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:11.040 Um, and we lived in that double wide for a while. 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:14.160 Most of my middle school years, we were in the double wide. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:21.600 Um, and we stayed there and we lived there, and I I I don't even remember why we left there. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:30.959 I do know that the Jordan side of the family has always been, I don't want to use this term, but it's always been kind of toxic in a sense. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:09:00.399 Uh drug abuse, alcoholism, uh, addiction, just all kinds of different things, and just always some type of drama between the brothers or between uh grandma and grandpa, and then when when granddaddy died, just kind of we left before granddaddy passed away, but it was just just a mess a lot of times, and I do remember that growing up being a struggle. 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:12.559 Um, but then we bought a we got a trailer, I don't even remember the name of it, Browns Chapel Road or Brown Road or something off of be off of uh Old Packl Highway, and it's a little small single white. 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:17.360 And it was me and Daddy and Mama, and that was it. 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:18.879 Hope lived there for a while. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:22.159 She had her own room, but it was a tiny, tiny trailer. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:29.840 Um, and I lived there, you know, first couple of years of high school, maybe ninth grade, um, possibly tenth grade. 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:31.360 I really don't remember how long we were there. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.679 We weren't there very long, it was more like a more like a stop. 00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:41.360 Um it wasn't like we stayed there a long time, but we were there for a while. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:47.200 Um and you know, so I know how people feel. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:48.799 I mean, I've been moved around myself. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:51.759 I I luckily I was never yanked out of my community. 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:58.080 I was able to stay in my community, stay in my same schools and do those things, but we we moved around a good bit. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.759 Some of it was our fault, some of it was just because it had to be done. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:08.639 And then the final house we landed on, and the one we're gonna talk about today, is a house on River Drive. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:11.519 And that's in Spartanburg, South Carolina. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:22.159 And that's um where where my where I grew up, where I cut my teeth in high school, college. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.039

My kids cut their teeth as they've grown up. 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:28.799 It's where Autumn was raised, Daphne was there a good bit. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:33.039 Um just a this is where home is for me. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:36.320 That's the house that I think of as. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:43.200 We finally had security, we finally had stability, we finally had a place to call our own. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:47.279 And that's kind of the place that I recognize as where I grew up. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:48.720 Uh, and that was on River Road. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:56.000 It's an old mill house that had been transported because in Cow Pens or in Spartanburg, there's lots of mill villages there. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:11:07.279 You've got CowPens had a mill village, you've got Packlett had a mill village, you've got Converse One, which was a mill village, you had Converse 2, which is a mill village, you had Glendale Mill. 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:14.960 Um, so there's lots of different, you had Clifton Mill, lots of different mills in that area. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:20.320 Uh, and so the Clifton Mill is kind of where our house was brought from. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:27.919 They moved it, set it up, uh, and then whenever we got it, somebody, an older couple had been living in it for a long time. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:35.039 We ended up buying it, remodeled the inside, Daddy did, uh, grandpop did, and just kind of made it our own. 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:40.799 Put a bathroom in upstairs uh for me and hope to share, um, some stuff like that. 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:43.360 And that's what we remember as home. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:51.600 And it's still there today, and it's still, you know, it's not being used right now, and we'll talk more about that as we go on, but that is still home for us. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:55.200 But for us, these moves, they weren't bad. 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:01.600 They were new opportunities for us, they were a fresh start for us. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:06.799 Um and I learned early on that a house was just a shell. 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:08.720 That was it. 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:19.759 The house was a place that you laid your head down at night, a place that kept you warm and dry, but the home was the people in it. 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:46.799 And I've been blessed my entire life with the lessons and the examples that I've been shown from my parents, my grandparents, my family members, how important family is and how important the people that make up your family should be to you and your life because they they don't make family anymore. 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:49.440 What you got is what you got. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:54.320 You keep adding to it, you keep adding to it. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:58.480 And that's just kind of how it works. 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:01.120 But you're not getting a new family. 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:03.440 You get additions to your family. 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:11.759 And honestly, the way

it's been right now and the way things are going, you're losing family members quicker than you're gaining family members. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.799 And that's one of the things that I'm experiencing the older I get. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:19.919 I mean, my nieces are are popping out kids left and right, there's no doubt about that. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:25.279 But we're losing family members too. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.000 I mean, we don't have any grandparents still alive. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:33.120 Um uncles, except for Larry, are gone. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:34.879 My dad's passed already. 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:38.399 So our family is is is all we've got. 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:41.200 And we're gonna talk a little bit more about that. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:46.240 But in episode one, no, episode two, redemption is real. 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:49.039 If you haven't listened to it, go back and give it a listen. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:52.240 Uh I know the audio quality is a little a little weak on it. 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:56.240 We've gotten way better at our audio since that episode. 00:13:56.480 --> 00:13:59.279 But if you'll go back and listen to that, it talks about my dad. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:10.320 And a couple of things the home taught me was or are just a little bit about who was in the home. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:12.080 I guess is gonna be the best way to put this. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.080 So we're gonna talk about who was in the home. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:18.720 Well, my dad, and like I said, episode two, the redemption story, or redemption is real. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:20.480 That's an episode about my dad. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:28.159 My dad was a raging alcoholic, wasn't abusive, wasn't mean, never abused us. 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:34.879 He loved us, he cared about us, he spent time with us, he invested in us, but he loved alcohol. 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:36.960 He loved to drink, period. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:43.600 He loved prescription medication later on in life, and he got hooked on some pretty nasty prescription medication. 00:14:44.320 --> 00:15:01.519 And that episode talks about his whole story, and you need to go back and listen to it, like I said, but in my home was my dad, and I got to watch that transition and that transformation take place in the house that we're talking about. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:10.559 I got to watch a redemption story, a miracle, take place in that house. 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:16.399 And then you start talking about mom, and in episode three, it talks about a God-fearing star of the earth good woman. 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:18.799 And that's my mama to a T. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:26.720 And I got to watch her live out her testimony daily inside that home. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:30.559 I got to watch her be who she said she was. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:33.440 I got to watch her love other people. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:39.600 I got to watch her serve other people. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:46.480 I got to watch her cry when she got bad news about other people. 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:51.279 I got to see her get excited when good things happen to other people. 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:54.480 I got to witness all that in this house. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:16:07.600 I got to watch my sister, who went through a rough stage when she was right out of high school, made some bad choices, made some bad decisions. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.759 I got to watch her grow. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:18.080 I got to watch her turn into a better version of herself in that home. 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:19.840 I got to see it. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:23.679 I got to watch Autumn, who's my niece. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:35.440 And when when Autumn was little, my sister left her with my mom and my dad to raise because Hope was going through some tough times and she had to make some tough decisions. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:37.600 And nobody faults her for it. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:39.919 You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:47.519 But she has to live with that daily, even today, even though it happened a long time ago, and she's not that person anymore. 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:49.679 She's not that person at all. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:54.480 But Autumn was raised in that house like a little sister to me. 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:57.519 I treated her like my little sister. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.279 I loved Autumn to death. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:00.480 I still love her to death. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:02.159 I'm so thankful for her and Devin. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.000 I'm so thankful for the kids. 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:07.519 I'm so thankful for the relationships that we have. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:09.920 Uh Autumn's gone through a lot. 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:25.279 You know, she's had cancer and some other things like that that just shouldn't have to go through at her age, but she's had to deal with it and she's been resilient and she's pushed through, and Devin's been supportive, and she's got two beautiful kids that we truly love and care about. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:27.200 And I got to watch Autumn grow up. 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:30.480 I got to watch her go to high school and cheer. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:33.039 I got to watch her in rec league. 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.599 I got to watch her, you know, at church. 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:41.680 I got to see her grow up as a little sibling, not necessarily my niece. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:43.599 And the same thing with Daff. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.440 And the one thing you got to know about Daff is Daff is sassy. 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:48.960 Daff is sassy. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.119 She is rattlesnake sassy. 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:53.440 She ain't gonna put up with your junk. 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:58.319 But you get past that and you treat her like she deserves to be treated. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:03.519 She's one of the most kind-hearted people

that I've ever come across. 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:05.359 She loves people. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.799 She loves to give people stuff. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:11.279 She loves to buy people stuff. 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:13.039 She loves people. 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:16.960 And she always has. 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:23.359 But she's got that rattlesnake sass to her that if you cross her, you better watch it because she will light you up. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:25.519 But I got to watch Daphne. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:27.920 You know, I got to watch her in that house, huh? 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:28.720 I got to see that. 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.519 Daphne was raised by hope, not by mom. 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:33.920 So it's a different dynamic. 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:37.599 But I still got to see Daf grow up in that setting too. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:43.680 And, you know, you start talking about other people that was in that house that brings memories to me. 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:45.119 And you talk about Carl. 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:47.119 Crazy Carl is what I call him. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:49.200 And we got a barbecue sauce named after him. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:49.839 It's a Dr. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:50.880 Pepper-based sauce. 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:55.759 And the reason that we named that after him is because he used to carry a two-liter Dr. 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:56.720 Pepper or Dr. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:03.039 Thunder, depending on what his account looked like, money-wise, in between his, in between his fingers. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:06.240 And he'd walk up and down the road with that two-liter Dr. 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:06.799 Pepper. 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.839 I'd be coming home from school and I'd see him ahead of me with a two-liter Dr. 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:11.599 Pepper in his hand, walking up the road. 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:18.799 It could be 800 degrees outside or 10 degrees outside, and whatever temperature that was outside, what temperature that Dr. 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:19.519 Pepper was. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:23.359 And he'd drink it and he'd drink a ton of them, two liters at a time. 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:30.640 And he was one of the most very influential in my life. 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:34.880 And I know it's because Carl had his issues. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:37.039 Carl was mentally unstable. 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:43.200 Carl had, I want to say, schizophrenia, or I can't remember exactly what it was. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:51.599 Uh, but he was he was he had papers that proved that he was, you know, for lack of better term, crazy. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:59.519 And but Carl, I learned so much from Carl as a person. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.480 So much from Carl as a person. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:06.640 Um He was just eccentric. 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:12.799 He was he was Carl, and he was gonna be Carl, and he wasn't gonna be anybody else. 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:14.720 He messed with junk all the time.

00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.039 He's always ripping out, ripping copper wires. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:20.079 Daddy would bring all the old heat and air conditioning units. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:32.480 He was replacing the home, and Carl would break them apart, get all the scrap out of them, uh, get all the copper out of them, separate the motors from the copper, separate the wires. 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:33.599 I mean, that's what he did. 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:35.839 He was a scrap, he's l he loved to scrap. 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:41.759 And he had a squeeze box, which, you know, I don't know many people play them today, but he had a squeeze box he used to play. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:44.640 And I used to love listening to him play the squeeze box. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:50.559 Um, but Carl accepted me for who I was. 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:54.319 Carl loved me for who I was. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.720 I didn't have to be nobody special. 00:20:57.119 --> 00:20:59.359 I didn't have to do anything for Carl. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:03.920 But he loved me and accepted me and he involved me. 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:06.640 He let me go down and mess around the scrap with him. 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:10.960 He let me sit in his camper while he played the squeeze box. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:42.400 Just the impact he had on me as a person and the impact he had on me for understanding uh other people's disabilities and other people's um uh uh mental health issues and those kind of things, that changed me as a person because I got to witness firsthand what it does to people and if treated properly, how it can affect people and how it can make them semi-normal, if normal's even a thing, honestly. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:51.359 But it gave me such compassion for people being around Carl because Carl was a good person. 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:58.079 Carl had his issues, but he was a good person, and I love Carl, and I miss Carl a lot. 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:02.000 I've still got these little Geogram, or I don't even know what they're called, honestly. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:12.319 They're like a I talked about it on one of the other episodes, but it's like a painting or a marker art that the right side matches the left side. 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:12.880 It's identical. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:15.680 So if you fold them, it's the same on both sides. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:17.359 And and I've still got them. 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:22.240 I've got some out in the building right now that are framed that I that I got when he passed away. 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:25.119 And I still got them. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:26.000 They're not going anywhere. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:27.599 I'll never get rid of those things. 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:32.799 Um, and they're nothing fancy, they're made on printer paper, but it's something he enjoyed doing. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:38.799 He was a very eccentric, very artsy person. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:50.880 But what he taught me and the

lessons I learned from him and how I how I deal with people today have a lot to do with him because I got to see it at an early age. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.160 I got to see that your disability don't have to define you. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:23:01.200 I got to see that you can be who you want to be because that disability doesn't define who you are. 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:17.279 And so when I see people with these disabilities, or I see people with mental health issues, or I see people with, you know, whatever, I have I have sympathy for them, and I can see them for who they are, not for what they have or what not their disability. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:21.440 And now I owe that to Carl, and that was all learned inside that house. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:25.519 And then you start talking about me personally. 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:29.680 I mean, I was raised there, went through high school there. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:35.519 Um some of the stuff that happened there I can't talk about because mama don't know about some of it. 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:37.440 So I'm gonna leave that alone. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:40.079 But lots of first in that house. 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:42.400 Lots of first in that house. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:49.519 Um and just it was a huge part of my life. 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:55.200 It was a huge part of what defined me, what happened in between those walls. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:01.200 And you look, and you know, I ended up proposing to Christy there. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:04.079 Um, Christy's my ex-wife. 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:07.039 Um and that's Ellie's mom. 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:11.359 So I ended up proposing to her on Christmas morning one one year inside that house. 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:13.440 And that's a great memory. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:15.920 Um, you know, me and Christy are still really close. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.000 We're really good friends, we co-parent. 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:26.000 Um we believe in, you know, our differences shouldn't affect our daughter. 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:28.720 And our differences don't affect our friendship either. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:29.519 We're good friends. 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:33.599 I mean, she knows that I'm here if she ever needs anything, and I know the same. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:36.240 That if I ever need anything from her or Chris, they're right here. 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:40.160 And if I they ever need anything from me, they know me and Laurie will do whatever we can to help them. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:41.680 It's always going to be the case. 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:47.039 Then I looked to Ellie, and when I went through my divorce, that was an escape for me and Ellie. 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:51.200 That was an escape because me and Christy split Ellie right down the middle. 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:56.000 And I got to spend a ton of time with Ellie growing up. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:58.160 Um I was blessed. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:02.880 You know, Christy was me and Christy had a cordial divorce. 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:08.400 We split, and our main focus was Ellie. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:09.920 We didn't care about anything else. 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:11.599 So I had Ellie a lot. 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:22.160 So we would go to cow pens a good bit on the weekends, just so my mom and dad could see her, but it was a place that I was able to help raise Ellie that there. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:27.440 So Ellie grew up there, she cut her teeth there, she spent a lot of time there. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:29.839 Me and her both. 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:41.519 And it was an escape for me to get away from everyday life here with the divorce and you know being by yourself and the loneliness and all that kind of stuff. 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:50.319 It was an escape for me to get to go back home, but it was also an opportunity to let Ellie experience what I experienced and the house that I experienced it. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:53.359 And it was such a great, great time. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:55.759 I mean, family get togethers. 00:25:55.920 --> 00:26:00.960 Every Christmas we would do brunch or lunch or breakfast or dinner. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:02.960 Thanksgiving, we're always eaten. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:14.000 Now, as as we've gotten older and everybody's got their own families and everybody's got their own kids, that's changed drastically for us as a family because now Thanksgiving may not be on Thanksgiving. 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:15.759 It may be the Sunday after for us. 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.000 Or Christmas may not be on Christmas Day. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:21.440 It may be the day before, it may be the day after. 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:29.759 So we just have to kind of figure out how we're gonna how how we how we're gonna approach that, and we just have to make it work as a family. 00:26:29.839 --> 00:26:32.160 Now we get together for every holiday. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:34.240 My side of the family does. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:38.319 But it just may not be on the on the exact holiday like it used to be. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:41.359 When I was growing up, we had breakfast every Christmas morning. 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:43.680 Started at my grandfather's house. 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:46.559 Um at Pop's house, we would have breakfast. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:59.519 He'd get up, him and Donna would cook eggs, bacon, sausage, everybody would come, Sonia, Rodney, uh, all the kids from Donna's side, and then our whole family would be there. 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:04.160 And it was just a big old Christmas morning breakfast, and we all had a blast. 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:09.920 And then once Pop and Donna stopped doing it, we kind of took it into our house and it came just to be our thing. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:19.920 So we would all come over and mom would cook breakfast and we would have whatever, whatever she decided to cook, and and we did a lot of that there. 00:27:20.160 -->

00:27:21.039 Thanksgiving. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:23.440 Always gonna always celebrated Thanksgiving. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:26.319 Birthdays, most birthday parties were held in the house. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:28.880 Just everybody got together, had a good time. 00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:34.160 And then the one thing that I used to love the most is the kids playing in the yard. 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:41.440 It just brought back so many memories of me as a kid watching all these kids play on the swing set. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:43.920 If you know our family, we got a bunch of young kids. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:47.359 I mean, I've got three, four counting Jordan. 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:48.480 Jordan's older. 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:50.960 He's 26, 27 now. 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:57.200 So, and then I've got my three that are young, under 16, 16 below. 00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:02.319 Uh Autumn and Devin have two that are KK's eight at eight or nine. 00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:03.519 I think she's eight. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:07.920 Um, so you got eight, and you got Trey, who's around Lawson's age, around four. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:11.119 And then you've got Daphne, she has three. 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:14.640 Silas, who's eight or nine, him and KK are the same age. 00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:17.920 Um, and then you have Riker, who's a little bit younger. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:22.160 He's probably three, two or three, right in between two and three. 00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:24.480 And then you got Riley, who's right around one or two. 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:26.079 I shouldn't know their ages, but I don't. 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:27.599 I'm terrible with that kind of stuff. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:36.480 But um, but all those kids just playing, running through the house, and PP's like, we don't run in the house constantly. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:37.759 That's what she does. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:45.599 So um, but their kids, it was fun to watch them, watch them grow up in the house, watch them get older. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:51.519 Uh, you know, some of them are young, young, so we had they didn't have the opportunity to grow up in that house like some of the other ones have. 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:59.200 And you start thinking about Trey, you start talking about KK, Silas, Riker, Riley, Lawson, Hadley, Ellie, Jordan. 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:04.480 All of those kids are a piece of that home. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:07.759 That was started in that house. 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:14.640 And it just takes me back to that's that's the people that were there. 00:29:14.880 --> 00:29:18.880 That's why the home is a home. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:20.640 It's not the house that you're living in. 00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:24.880 Not because of the people that's inside there. 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:29.119 And those are the people that help build that home. 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:32.400 The house can stay there forever. 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:37.200 The house, the house can get torn down tomorrow, and it's not gonna affect our home. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:39.519 It's not gonna affect our home. 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.720 Because home is the people that were in that house. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:50.400 And it don't matter if we're 100 miles from each other, 600 miles from each other, the home's never gonna change. 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:52.480 The house will. 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:54.799 But the home will not. 00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:56.559 The home will not. 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:03.599 Now, looking at lessons and some of the lessons I learned, the first lesson I learned was toughness. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:05.039 Toughness. 00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:08.240 My daddy taught us early on that you gotta be tough. 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:14.160 You gotta defend yourself, you gotta stand up for what's right, you don't let anybody push you around. 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:18.000 And if anybody throws the first punch, you better finish it. 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:20.640 Never taught us violence. 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:23.039 He taught us to protect ourselves. 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:28.000 And if you threw the first punch, you're gonna get your butt tore up. 00:30:28.160 --> 00:30:29.519 It's that simple. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:38.000 He did not believe in violence, he did not believe in aggression towards other people, but he believed in defending yourself. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:50.880 And he taught us at an early age that we earn respect, we deserve respect, and that when we got disrespected, you handled your business. 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:54.319 Like I said, if you threw the first punch, it was on. 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:57.440 That was a green light. 00:30:57.599 --> 00:30:58.960 You punch me, it was on. 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:00.319 Green light, go. 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:01.920 And that's how it worked. 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:11.200 But now, if I threw the first punch when I got home, I was gonna take a way worse beating than I gave to that person I punched first, I can tell you. 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:14.960 Yeah, my daddy was tough on that, but he taught us to be tough. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:22.000 He taught us that there's a difference between an injury or being hurt and having an injury. 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:27.599 You know, he taught us that sometimes you gotta keep going even when you don't want to. 00:31:28.240 --> 00:31:31.119 You know, you gotta he he taught us all that type of stuff. 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:34.000 He taught us that it's okay to not be okay. 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:44.960 Or they did, mama did, because of her biblical belief and her religion, her her religion, and her trust in God and her example of loving people. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:50.880 We were taught that it's okay to not be okay, that broken people are still people. 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:57.440 And the way you fix broken people is through the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:05.920 The way you fix broken people is you pray for

them, you serve them, you show them God's love so that they want to experience in themselves. 00:32:06.799 --> 00:32:11.119 That's one of the things we learned to be tough. 00:32:11.359 --> 00:32:13.279 It's okay to not be okay. 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:15.039 Loyalty. 00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:18.079 Love your family, loyalty. 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:19.440 Family matters. 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:20.720 You stick together. 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:23.039 Those are things that we were taught. 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:26.799 We were taught that kindness, we were taught to be kind to people. 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:36.400 I speak to almost everybody I pass in a grocery store, uh, Walmart, at the golf course, I speak to pretty much everybody because I was taught to be kind. 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:39.920 I was taught to be approachable. 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:46.319 I was taught that I'm not better than anybody, that I'm a broken person. 00:32:50.079 --> 00:32:54.559 And that the only reason I have the stuff I have is because the good Lord chose to give it to me. 00:32:57.920 --> 00:32:59.200 Work ethic. 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:08.160 I was taught you work, you go to work every day, you be the best version of yourself you can possibly be. 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:12.480 You work your tail off, you provide for your family, you do all those things. 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:13.839 And it started early. 00:33:13.920 --> 00:33:17.519 Because I I mean I had 13 years of perfect attendance in school. 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:19.920 13 years of perfect attendance. 00:33:20.559 --> 00:33:23.039 My mama instilled that in me early. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:26.640 That you show up and you do your job. 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:29.359 And for 13 years, my job was to get an education. 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:30.559 Was I good at it? 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:31.119 No. 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:34.480 I was not good at school. 00:33:34.720 --> 00:33:36.480 I was terrible at school. 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:38.480 Like, I wasn't a terrible kid. 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:40.799 I didn't misbehave and act up. 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:43.920 But I was terrible at school itself. 00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:45.839 Just not a good student. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:47.200 I wasn't very smart. 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:49.200 I had to work for everything I got. 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:52.559 And but my mom made me go. 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:53.680 She made me show up. 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:58.559 And the difference it made with me and the relationship with my teachers was amazing. 00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:02.480 They were willing to help me because they knew I was going to be there giving them my best effort. 00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:07.119 Some of my greatest memories are in school as a kid. 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:12.639 Pam Cook, my sixth grade teacher, meanest lady I've ever met in my life. 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:18.000 She cornered me one day in her office and she let me have it because I was being a little smart at it.

00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:21.679 She changed my life that day in sixth grade. 00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:23.679 Changed my life. 00:34:25.599 --> 00:34:29.280 She made me realize that I could be more than what I was being. 00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:33.199 She made me realize that I could be better than what I was. 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:38.320 And she made me realize that people like her believed in me. 00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:42.480 And that says a lot. 00:34:43.360 --> 00:34:48.480 But if I'd have missed that day of school, I never would have got that. 00:34:49.039 --> 00:35:01.519 If my mama wasn't persistent in making sure I was there every day because she wanted me to have good work ethics, she wanted me to show up, she wanted me to know the importance of priorities, and she wanted me to know that stuff. 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:08.320 If I'd have missed that day of school, I'd have missed an opportunity for Pam Cook to change my life. 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:17.039 And every day I'm so thankful for what Pam Cook said to me that day. 00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:20.079 I'm so thankful for everything she did for me. 00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:24.400 She made learning fun. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:28.719 And not just fun, but she made it real. 00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:31.760 Like she involved us in real stuff. 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:35.920 Cans on experiences. 00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:42.880 And she took kids like me that weren't good students and took turned us into kids that love school. 00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:47.119 I don't read, but I read for her because she taught me a love for books. 00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:51.360 Because she went out and found books that I would enjoy. 00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:54.960 Gary Pulse and the River, best book I've ever read. 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:58.719 Gary Puls and The Hatchet, loved it because that was on my level. 00:35:58.800 --> 00:35:59.760 That was me. 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:03.039 That was the life I wanted to live. 00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:05.119 And I'm so thankful for that. 00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:18.400 But if I'd have missed it, if my parents wouldn't have instilled work ethic in me, if they wouldn't have instilled how important it is to show up, how attendance matters, I could have missed that day of school, and I'd be a knucklehead. 00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:20.639 So thankful. 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:22.159 So thankful for that. 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:23.360 Sympathy. 00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:25.760 You know, my family was sympathetic. 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:29.840 My mama loved people, cared for people. 00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:31.440 I don't believe in empathy. 00:36:31.519 --> 00:36:32.400 And I say this all the time. 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:33.679 People look at me kind of funny. 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:35.360 I don't believe in empathy. 00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:37.920 And I told Trey this yesterday over the telephone. 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:39.920 We had a good conversation yesterday. 00:36:40.159 --> 00:36:47.920 And um he's like, man, I feel so bad that I didn't realize how hard it was to lose a parent. 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:50.960 I wish I would have been there more for you when you lost your dad. 00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:52.480 And I'm like, Trey, man. 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:53.920 I said, that's I said, no, no, no. 00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:55.119 I said, no, no, no. 00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:58.000 I said, you did everything you were supposed to do. 00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:00.000 You were there if I needed you. 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:02.159 And I didn't reach out to you. 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:06.400 I said, so you did what you were supposed to do. 00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:08.880 And I told him, I said, I don't believe in this sympathy thing. 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:10.320 I mean, this empathy thing. 00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:11.679 I don't believe in empathy. 00:37:11.760 --> 00:37:12.719 I just don't. 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:22.239 Because me losing my dad, the feelings that I had aren't the same, that same feelings that Trey and Cassidy are feeling when losing their mom. 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:27.360 And they're not going to be the same feelings they have when they're losing that when they lose their dad. 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:30.320 They may feel totally different than I do. 00:37:30.400 --> 00:37:35.920 So I don't have empathy for them because I don't know what they're going through. 00:37:36.480 --> 00:37:38.239 Do I feel sorry for them? 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:39.679 Do I love them? 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:41.360 Do I appreciate them? 00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:43.599 Do I want them to know that I'm here for them? 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:46.320 Do I want them to know that I care about them and their family? 00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:47.599 Do I want all that? 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:48.480 Yes. 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:54.960 But what I don't want is for them to think that I know how they feel because I don't. 00:37:55.679 --> 00:38:03.199 And sometimes when people say they know how I feel, I think it's, I honestly don't like it because you don't. 00:38:03.440 --> 00:38:05.039 You don't know how I feel. 00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:07.280 I don't know how they feel. 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:15.679 And to even insinuate that sometimes is almost like a smack in the face because you don't know how I feel. 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:21.199 You might have been in a similar situation, but it doesn't mean you know how I feel. 00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:24.320 And that's what I told Trey. 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:26.719 And I'm like, dude, I'm here for you. 00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:27.840 I love you. 00:38:28.079 --> 00:38:29.360 I care about you. 00:38:29.519 --> 00:38:38.480 Whatever you need, you, Cassie, Rand, any of the kids, whatever you need, I'm here. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:40.719 I'm here. 00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:42.400 And I'm gonna support you. 00:38:43.840 --> 00:38:46.880 And that was instilled in me. 00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:49.280 Sympathy was instilled in me. 00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:51.920 That you care

about people. 00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:54.239 You care about their feelings. 00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:57.360 You help them when they need help. 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:01.119 But empathy for me is not not real, it's non-existent. 00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:04.320 And that's just my thought. 00:39:04.400 --> 00:39:06.400 And a lot of people are gonna disagree with that. 00:39:06.559 --> 00:39:09.199 A lot of people are probably gonna be unhappy about that. 00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:10.639 But it is what it is. 00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:15.519 I'm not worried about it because that's how I feel personally. 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:17.440 That's how I feel. 00:39:18.239 --> 00:39:20.400 And then we talk about friendships. 00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:28.320 And my parents did a phenomenal job of demonstrating friendships. 00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:31.679 People that they surrounded themselves with. 00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:39.519 And I talked about Tonda Bailey earlier and her passing away yesterday. 00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:43.119 And I talked about Les and Cassie Les and Cassie, who are married now. 00:39:43.360 --> 00:39:48.559 And I talked about Trey and Cassie, who were two of my best friends growing up from the time I was a little little. 00:39:48.639 --> 00:39:51.280 Like I don't remember a time without them, honestly. 00:39:51.519 --> 00:39:55.519 And well, I do remember a time without Trey, but I don't remember a time without Cassie. 00:39:55.679 --> 00:39:58.320 Me and Cassie were peasing a pod our whole life. 00:39:58.639 --> 00:39:59.679 All the way through high school. 00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:02.000 We were just dick as thieves. 00:40:02.320 --> 00:40:12.400 And um, and I think about those relationships because Tonda was one of my mom's best friends, like very close friends. 00:40:12.559 --> 00:40:15.920 And they spent a lot of time together, and we grew up together. 00:40:16.159 --> 00:40:18.079 And I got to witness that friendship. 00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:20.800 And then you talk about like Gay and John Mathis. 00:40:20.960 --> 00:40:23.280 That's mom, one of mama's best friends. 00:40:23.440 --> 00:40:25.119 Um, Holly Hartell. 00:40:25.360 --> 00:40:32.320 I got to see those relationships that my mom had, and I got to see how friendships are supposed to work. 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:35.840 It's a give-take, it's not a take, take, take, it's a give take. 00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:37.760 And I got to watch them interact. 00:40:37.840 --> 00:40:40.239 I got to see that those friendships together. 00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:47.840 Ken Bolin and my dad, Gon Hopper and my dad, um, or Gon Hopper and my whole family. 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:53.920 Just I got to see what real friendships and real relationships look like. 00:40:54.159 --> 00:41:00.800 If you're in a friendship and all you do is give, give, give, give, give, then that's not a friendship. 00:41:01.599 --> 00:41:02.639 It's not a friendship. 00:41:02.800 --> 00:41:04.400 Friendships are give-take. 00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:08.400 You give when you gotta give, and you take when you got to take. 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:15.440 And you invest in each other and you make each other better, and you're there for each other all the time. 00:41:15.599 --> 00:41:17.519 And I got to witness that. 00:41:17.840 --> 00:41:20.639 I got to witness how important friendships were. 00:41:20.800 --> 00:41:29.679 And that's why I still have relationships with the people I grew up with because friendships matter. 00:41:31.280 --> 00:41:35.280 Dusty Evans, my best friend's growing up, we still talk to this day. 00:41:35.599 --> 00:41:46.239 We spent, I don't know if there was a day, a weekend we weren't together from the time we hit high school until we graduated. 00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:47.519 And even college. 00:41:47.679 --> 00:41:50.960 I mean, I'd go see him at school, he'd come home, we'd hang out. 00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:54.880 I don't even know if there was a a weekend that we didn't spend time together. 00:41:54.960 --> 00:41:55.599 We were that close. 00:41:55.760 --> 00:42:00.320 Bo Eastler, just a great friend of mine. 00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:02.960 Somebody I have so much respect for. 00:42:03.280 --> 00:42:09.199 Somebody that, like I said, I just, I mean, I still I still talk to him this day. 00:42:09.360 --> 00:42:10.320 We still keep in touch. 00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:12.079 We still check in on each other. 00:42:12.320 --> 00:42:14.639 He's got a son now playing baseball at Broom. 00:42:14.719 --> 00:42:16.960 He's a good athlete, probably better than his daddy was. 00:42:17.199 --> 00:42:19.199 His daddy was a dang good athlete. 00:42:19.440 --> 00:42:22.000 Um, and then I had like Ben Pettit. 00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:26.000 You know, Ben Pettit moved off, and when he graduated college, we still stayed in touch. 00:42:26.079 --> 00:42:27.280 We still talked constantly. 00:42:27.440 --> 00:42:30.239 Not constantly, but we we talked a couple of times a year. 00:42:30.400 --> 00:42:32.639 He's finally back in cow pens now. 00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:37.119 And I got the opportunity to talk to him yesterday for a little while. 00:42:37.440 --> 00:42:42.880 And Thomas Volker, um, friends from college. 00:42:42.960 --> 00:42:44.639 Like we got a podcast coming up. 00:42:44.880 --> 00:42:50.239 Episode 13 is gonna be um about our experience in North Greenville. 00:42:50.400 --> 00:42:54.159 That's Andy Vaughn, Scott Altre, Nate Luke, Travis Plowden. 00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:56.000 Travis Plowden's on the next podcast. 00:42:56.159 --> 00:42:56.960 Episode 12. 00:42:57.119 --> 00:43:00.079 We did the history of South Carolina called Battle Tested. 00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:05.679 These are guys that my parents emulated friendship so that I knew how to have those. 00:43:05.920 --> 00:43:14.079 And I learned so much about friendship inside those walls that it carried itself with me. 00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:16.559 And I'm so thankful for that. 00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:23.039 And then the one

thing that I learned, the most important thing I learned was love. 00:43:24.880 --> 00:43:29.039 That they didn't love me because of what I what I offered them. 00:43:29.679 --> 00:43:32.400 They didn't love me for what I could do for them. 00:43:32.639 --> 00:43:36.639 They didn't love me just because I mean when I behaved like I was supposed to. 00:43:36.880 --> 00:43:39.440 They loved me unconditionally all the time. 00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:42.719 If I screwed up, they still loved me. 00:43:43.199 --> 00:43:46.159 If I made a mess, they still love me. 00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:52.800 If I did something I wasn't supposed to, not one time did I ever doubt my parents weren't gonna love me. 00:43:53.280 --> 00:43:55.920 My sister, we talked about it, she had a hard time. 00:43:56.079 --> 00:43:57.519 She made some bad decisions. 00:43:57.760 --> 00:43:59.760 If you know her today, it's hard probably to it's probably. 00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:02.239 Hard to believe that because she's such a good person. 00:44:02.559 --> 00:44:03.760 Now she's a little fiery. 00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:05.360 She ain't gonna put up with your junk. 00:44:05.599 --> 00:44:11.199 She will definitely um come at you if she has to come at you. 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:15.280 But she's not who she used to be. 00:44:16.400 --> 00:44:24.400 And even when she was going through her rough stages and she was doing some stuff she wasn't supposed to do, my parents loved her anyway. 00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:27.360 My parents prayed for her constantly. 00:44:27.599 --> 00:44:30.239 My mama did, my daddy prayed too. 00:44:31.199 --> 00:44:37.199 But love in our family was not based on merit or based on who you were or based on what you could do for the family. 00:44:37.440 --> 00:44:40.000 Love was there because they chose to love. 00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:42.159 And that's how I operate here. 00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:43.920 Lawson is a knucklehead. 00:44:44.159 --> 00:44:49.360 And if I base my love for him off of how he acted, he wouldn't have much love. 00:44:49.679 --> 00:44:50.800 But I don't. 00:44:51.039 --> 00:44:54.000 Because I love him unconditionally no matter what he does. 00:44:54.159 --> 00:44:57.519 I will always love him, no matter what decisions he makes. 00:44:57.760 --> 00:45:01.760 Same thing with Hadley, same thing with Ellie, same thing with Jordan. 00:45:02.480 --> 00:45:06.159 My love is not based on what you can do for me. 00:45:06.400 --> 00:45:14.400 My love is based on the fact that I'm choosing to love you all the time and I always will. 00:45:15.199 --> 00:45:16.559 And my kids know that. 00:45:16.800 --> 00:45:18.719 My kids know their daddy loves him. 00:45:19.280 --> 00:45:27.679 Because I make sure I tell them it gets on their nerves all the time, but there's not a day that goes by that I'm not gonna let my kids know I care and love about them. 00:45:27.840 --> 00:45:28.239 Period. 00:45:28.320 --> 00:45:29.920 It's not gonna happen. 00:45:30.960 --> 00:45:33.119 And

so I was taught how to love unconditionally. 00:45:33.199 --> 00:45:36.960 I was taught that love isn't based on your merit. 00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:41.199 It's not based on what you provide, it's not based on how you act. 00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:42.400 Love is love. 00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:48.559 And no matter what, because I've watched it, my mama loved my daddy through, you don't even know. 00:45:48.800 --> 00:45:53.039 My daddy, when he was an alcoholic, did some stupid crazy stuff. 00:45:53.199 --> 00:45:55.599 And my mama loved him anyway. 00:45:56.559 --> 00:46:01.679 Me and Trey were talking yesterday about his mom and the passing of his mom, and it's all fresh. 00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:19.199 And you know, I know he's having a hard time, and I appreciate him giving me time to talk to him for a little while, and and just the conversation, and we were like, it's that you it's Penny and Jeff, it's Rand and Tonda, it's Les and Sandra, it's Donnie and Pam. 00:46:19.519 --> 00:46:27.119 It's I mean, those were just staples in our life. 00:46:28.880 --> 00:46:30.880 Those were staples in our life. 00:46:31.199 --> 00:46:35.920 And you don't remember a day there wasn't a Tonda and Rand. 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:39.039 You don't remember a day there wasn't a Jeff and Penny. 00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:48.079 You don't remember a day when there wasn't a Sandra and Les Duggins or a Donnie and Pam Evans or a Pat and Mark Volcker. 00:46:48.400 --> 00:46:52.000 You don't remember days when that wasn't what it was. 00:46:55.760 --> 00:47:00.480 And it just Love. 00:47:01.679 --> 00:47:05.199 You have to love through every circumstance. 00:47:06.000 --> 00:47:09.199 You can't base your love off of somebody else's value. 00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:15.760 And these people have done that forever, and we talked about that on the phone with Trey yesterday. 00:47:15.920 --> 00:47:20.320 Just how much you know, he's like, I just wanted to say goodbye. 00:47:20.480 --> 00:47:22.559 I get it, I get it. 00:47:25.280 --> 00:47:31.039 But your mama knew she loved her, your mama knew you loved her unconditionally. 00:47:35.440 --> 00:47:40.639 And that's what was taught in my home as well as those other homes that we're talking about. 00:47:42.239 --> 00:47:43.920 That's what real love looks like. 00:47:44.239 --> 00:47:46.320 You want to see a real you want to see real love? 00:47:46.719 --> 00:47:49.199 Because I know Donnie Evans is a knucklehead sometimes. 00:47:49.360 --> 00:47:51.199 Donnie Evans, I love him to death. 00:47:51.440 --> 00:47:54.800 But he's a knucklehead sometimes, so Pam had to put up with some junk. 00:47:57.360 --> 00:47:58.239 But you know what? 00:47:58.400 --> 00:48:01.360 She loves him, and she's loved him through it all. 00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:05.920 Loved him through it all. 00:48:06.079 --> 00:48:07.199 That's what love looks like. 00:48:07.360 --> 00:48:08.719 Sandra and Les Duggins. 00:48:08.880 --> 00:48:11.360 Les Duggins, one of the kindest people I ever met. 00:48:12.639 --> 00:48:13.440 That's love. 00:48:13.599 --> 00:48:14.719 Sandra and Les Duggins. 00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:15.760 Ran and Tonda. 00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:17.199 Rand is hilarious. 00:48:17.440 --> 00:48:19.280 He's one of the funniest people I know. 00:48:19.840 --> 00:48:20.800 But that's love. 00:48:20.960 --> 00:48:22.559 Ran and Tonda were love. 00:48:23.519 --> 00:48:25.840 And they probably had their ups and downs. 00:48:26.239 --> 00:48:28.079 They probably went through whatever. 00:48:28.320 --> 00:48:29.360 But you know what? 00:48:29.599 --> 00:48:30.320 That was love. 00:48:30.400 --> 00:48:31.360 They stuck together. 00:48:31.599 --> 00:48:34.559 My mom and daddy, they went through their ups and downs like crazy. 00:48:34.800 --> 00:48:37.039 More downs than ups, probably sometimes. 00:48:37.280 --> 00:48:39.119 But my mama loved him unconditionally. 00:48:39.199 --> 00:48:43.280 My daddy loved her unconditionally and pushed through it. 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:46.960 And I got to witness that inside those walls. 00:48:47.280 --> 00:48:48.559 Inside those walls. 00:48:48.719 --> 00:48:52.719 Because those people that I just talked about were fixtures in our home. 00:48:53.760 --> 00:48:56.079 We were fixtures in their home. 00:48:58.159 --> 00:49:00.719 Because we were friends, and friendship mattered. 00:49:00.960 --> 00:49:02.400 Love mattered. 00:49:03.199 --> 00:49:08.079 And now we're going to get to the point where I've kind of talked to you about the people that was in the home. 00:49:08.239 --> 00:49:11.599 I've talked to you about the lessons that I learned from the home. 00:49:11.920 --> 00:49:14.400 And hopefully some of those lessons mean something to you too. 00:49:14.480 --> 00:49:16.719 I'm sure there's things that your family instilled in you. 00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:23.119 But now we're going to talk about the circumstances that leading up to us getting rid of our home. 00:49:23.440 --> 00:49:25.679 And those circumstances are pretty simple. 00:49:26.559 --> 00:49:27.760 My mom and dad were married. 00:49:27.840 --> 00:49:28.719 We moved to that house. 00:49:28.800 --> 00:49:30.480 My dad got sick. 00:49:31.039 --> 00:49:32.079 He had mouth cancer. 00:49:32.159 --> 00:49:34.800 They did, or he actually had a stroke a long time ago. 00:49:36.079 --> 00:49:37.679 And he was handicapped. 00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:41.519 So mama was a caregiver while working full-time. 00:49:42.159 --> 00:49:46.559 Daddy would then later be diagnosed with some mouth cancer and some lung cancer. 00:49:46.880 --> 00:49:48.800 He had surgery on his mouth. 00:49:52.639 --> 00:49:55.199 Got him back reconstructive mouth surgery and that kind of stuff. 00:49:55.280 --> 00:50:01.519 And then we found out later that he had he had lung cancer. 00:50:01.840 --> 00:50:05.760 And he was to the point at that time that he's like, you know what? 00:50:05.920 --> 00:50:07.519 I'm just going to live my life. 00:50:07.679 -->

00:50:09.760 I'm not going to not gonna worry about it. 00:50:09.920 --> 00:50:11.360 Whatever happens, happens. 00:50:11.599 --> 00:50:16.639 And so he chose to not have any, to not do chemo or anything. 00:50:16.719 --> 00:50:23.280 And honestly, I don't know if he could have, in honest opinion, chemo would have probably killed him before the cancer did. 00:50:23.440 --> 00:50:31.440 And that's just me being honest because he was after the stroke and the the mouth surgery, and he just wasn't as strong as he used to be. 00:50:31.519 --> 00:50:34.320 He wasn't as active as he used to be. 00:50:34.480 --> 00:50:34.960 Just couldn't be. 00:50:35.039 --> 00:50:35.920 He wasn't his self. 00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:42.000 So the chemo and and those kind of radiology probably would have got him before the cancer got him. 00:50:42.320 --> 00:50:45.199 So they decided that Daddy just, Daddy was like, no, I'm just done with it. 00:50:45.440 --> 00:50:48.480 So you know, I'll never forget. 00:50:48.639 --> 00:50:49.840 I was getting up. 00:50:49.920 --> 00:50:53.119 We were going to Westminster to sell that morning on a Saturday morning. 00:50:53.360 --> 00:51:00.960 Um we were going to Westminster to sell and got a phone call from my sister. 00:51:01.599 --> 00:51:02.800 She's like, Daddy's not doing good. 00:51:02.880 --> 00:51:04.400 You need to get home, you need to get home. 00:51:04.719 --> 00:51:10.800 So I put on Facebook events canceled, got in the shower, got my clothes on before I could even get out the door. 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:16.159 My sister called me again and said daddy had passed away before I could even get back home. 00:51:16.880 --> 00:51:18.880 Um it was unexpected. 00:51:18.960 --> 00:51:20.480 We didn't know that he was gonna die. 00:51:20.639 --> 00:51:25.360 We knew he had cancer, but we didn't but he wasn't like in a downward spiral or anything like that. 00:51:25.599 --> 00:51:33.599 So um so he just kind of ended up passing away at home. 00:51:33.920 --> 00:51:39.840 Um I went over as quick as I could, spent some time with my mom, my sister, and my family. 00:51:40.079 --> 00:51:43.760 And and at that point, dad was gone. 00:51:44.880 --> 00:51:49.760 And now you're talking about somebody who's been with my my mom had been with my dad her whole life. 00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:55.280 My dad my mom was with my dad longer than she wasn't, if that makes sense. 00:51:55.519 --> 00:52:00.639 And that's crazy to think about, especially today, because marriages don't last that long these days. 00:52:00.800 --> 00:52:02.960 People get divorced over stupid stuff a lot of times. 00:52:03.199 --> 00:52:04.239 And I'm guilty of that. 00:52:04.320 --> 00:52:08.960 Me and Christy, we divorced, so I'm not throwing stones because I am a part of that statistic. 00:52:09.280 --> 00:52:15.599 Um, but now mama's at a point where she's been a caregiver and a wife her whole life. 00:52:15.920 --> 00:52:24.159 And there's a drastic change in my mom, her demeanor, the way she carries herself, the way she acts. 00:52:24.320 --> 00:52:31.920 There's a big change, like very short, very, just you can tell she's missing a huge part of herself. 00:52:32.559 --> 00:52:35.199 And she was struggling with how to find it again. 00:52:35.679 --> 00:52:41.519 And so, you know, she's always been strong in her faith, but she went through a rough spell. 00:52:41.679 --> 00:52:45.199 And she she'll she I don't know if she'd admit it or not, but she went through a rough spell. 00:52:45.360 --> 00:52:47.039 And it took a toll on our family. 00:52:47.280 --> 00:52:53.039 A lot of division in our family, not her causing the division, but stuff around it. 00:52:53.280 --> 00:52:56.480 A lot of division in our family between our nieces and stuff like that. 00:52:56.639 --> 00:53:04.159 And um, church was a big issue at that time, so that weighed on her because she's she loves Calpin's first Baptist, she loves that church. 00:53:04.320 --> 00:53:23.599 Uh, just a lot of stuff around her, along with losing my dead, not being a caregiver anymore, being by herself, all these things kind of just loaded on top of her. 00:53:24.239 --> 00:53:26.639 And she did start to change. 00:53:28.159 --> 00:53:32.400 Uh you know, she did get more irritable, stuff like that. 00:53:32.559 --> 00:53:33.920 But I mean, what do you expect? 00:53:34.159 --> 00:53:36.639 Life changed drastically for her in a hurry. 00:53:37.280 --> 00:53:46.159 And luckily, Guyne Hopper, who's now my stepdad, um, they've been friends their whole life. 00:53:46.320 --> 00:53:52.000 And we had a birthday party for mom, and I called Guy and I said, Hey man, I'd love for you to come to this thing. 00:53:52.239 --> 00:53:57.519 Uh, I know mama loves you and cares about you as a friend, and I know she'd be happy to see you. 00:53:57.920 --> 00:54:03.599 And they had been talking a little bit, we think we don't know all the details, and I don't really care. 00:54:04.079 --> 00:54:19.360 Uh, but this is post-dead, and you know, so I invite Guy into this thing, and then all of a sudden this thing starts to take off, and her and mom, him and mama start spending time together, they start eating supper together, they start hanging out a little bit. 00:54:19.599 --> 00:54:25.280 She starts going to the shop and saying hey, and he starts coming over at night to hang out and watch TV. 00:54:25.440 --> 00:54:28.639 And Guy's going through a lot too at that time. 00:54:28.800 --> 00:54:30.000 Uh just different stuff. 00:54:30.079 --> 00:54:31.760 I'm not going into any details on that. 00:54:31.840 --> 00:54:37.920 So both of them are in a spot where they need something in somebody. 00:54:38.639 --> 00:54:42.480 And it couldn't have been a better situation because we love Guy. 00:54:42.719 --> 00:54:44.239 We've always loved Guine. 00:54:44.800 --> 00:54:47.519 He's always been a part of our family from a long time ago. 00:54:47.679 --> 00:54:49.039 He was one of Daddy's best

friends. 00:54:49.119 --> 00:54:53.760 I mean, I remember when I was a kid going hunting and fishing with him and Daddy for weeks at a time. 00:54:54.719 --> 00:54:57.039 So he's always been a staple in our life. 00:54:57.280 --> 00:55:00.159 So it couldn't have worked out any better for us because we were familiar with him. 00:55:00.239 --> 00:55:01.360 We knew his heart. 00:55:01.519 --> 00:55:06.480 We knew how he how he cared about people, we knew his background, we knew his family. 00:55:06.639 --> 00:55:09.840 So it all just kind of worked out perfectly for us. 00:55:10.159 --> 00:55:17.840 And so it was kind of like the knight in shining armor, guy and hopper comes rolling up on his horse and just kind of sweeps my mama off her feet. 00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:23.280 And I couldn't be more happy, just to be honest with you. 00:55:24.079 --> 00:55:25.840 I'm ecstatic about it. 00:55:26.159 --> 00:55:28.480 Because he's such a good person. 00:55:29.039 --> 00:55:30.719 He's so good for her. 00:55:31.199 --> 00:55:35.920 She needs that companionship, she needs that relationship element. 00:55:36.719 --> 00:55:43.840 And they got to each other in a perfect time for both of them, to where they both needed something, and they found each other. 00:55:44.239 --> 00:55:46.719 And so that kind of moves us to where we are now. 00:55:46.800 --> 00:55:49.199 They ended up getting married not too long ago. 00:55:49.920 --> 00:55:55.760 Um, got married at Gines Church, and then we did the reception at Calpins First Baptist. 00:55:55.920 --> 00:56:02.400 Guine's at the Methodist Church, I think, across the street from, I think it's a Methodist church, right across the street from Hardy's and Calpins. 00:56:02.639 --> 00:56:05.039 So they got married in that beautiful sanctuary. 00:56:05.280 --> 00:56:09.360 If you've never been in there, it's outdated and rustic, but it is beautiful. 00:56:09.519 --> 00:56:11.039 That is a beautiful church. 00:56:11.280 --> 00:56:13.840 Um, I'd never been there before in my life. 00:56:13.920 --> 00:56:16.800 And then we did the wedding there, and it is, it is absolutely beautiful. 00:56:16.960 --> 00:56:19.920 Stunning, stunning, stunning, stunning sanctuary. 00:56:20.159 --> 00:56:22.639 Um, and then they got married. 00:56:22.800 --> 00:56:25.039 And then, you know, when you get married, things change. 00:56:25.199 --> 00:56:26.079 You got to move. 00:56:26.320 --> 00:56:34.480 Well, mama moved in with Guyne because Guine's got a bigger house, better house, more land, all that kind of good stuff, just to being honest with you. 00:56:34.639 --> 00:56:36.400 So mama moved in with Guyne. 00:56:36.480 --> 00:56:39.119 And then that left mama's house just sitting there. 00:56:39.679 --> 00:56:46.639 So for the past couple of weeks for the past couple of months, we've been trying to figure out what we're gonna do because the house don't need to just sit there vacant. 00:56:46.800 --> 00:56:59.519 There's too much rip raff in the

area, there's too much stuff in there, that people could just the way squatters work these days, just we felt like something needed to be done. 00:56:59.760 --> 00:57:02.239 And so we decided we were gonna try to sell the house. 00:57:02.320 --> 00:57:04.320 So we've getting the we're in the process of doing that. 00:57:04.480 --> 00:57:05.599 She's already got a buyer. 00:57:05.760 --> 00:57:12.480 We're just they're giving us time to get all of our stuff out, and then they're gonna find a lot of details and do some remodeling and get themselves in there and all. 00:57:12.639 --> 00:57:16.559 But it just came to a point where we have to sell that, we need to sell the house. 00:57:16.800 --> 00:57:21.199 Like we could have kept it, and my family could have stayed there when we came over, but why? 00:57:21.440 --> 00:57:27.599 There's no need to keep a house for five people that comes over three or four times a year and spends the night. 00:57:27.760 --> 00:57:28.880 There's no need to do that. 00:57:29.119 --> 00:57:33.519 And you could have leased it, but then you gotta worry about all the stuff that goes along with leasing a house. 00:57:33.760 --> 00:57:35.360 Something tears up, you're responsible for it. 00:57:35.519 --> 00:57:37.519 Air conditioning breaks, you're responsible for it. 00:57:37.679 --> 00:57:38.639 It's an older house. 00:57:38.800 --> 00:57:40.880 So things are going to go wrong. 00:57:41.440 --> 00:57:43.440 And you're gonna be responsible for having to fix that. 00:57:43.519 --> 00:57:47.440 And mama don't need that stress, and it's not Guy's responsibility. 00:57:47.599 --> 00:57:49.519 I live an hour and a half away. 00:57:49.760 --> 00:57:51.360 I can't manage it. 00:57:51.679 --> 00:57:55.199 So we just thought that selling was gonna be the best option. 00:57:55.519 --> 00:57:58.880 But when you get into the selling process, you just don't know. 00:58:00.159 --> 00:58:02.639 Like I had no clue how much junk we had. 00:58:02.800 --> 00:58:04.079 I mean, we were going through stuff. 00:58:04.159 --> 00:58:07.280 I've got a bag in my trailer right now that I moved home. 00:58:07.440 --> 00:58:08.559 It's got my old G.I. 00:58:08.639 --> 00:58:09.760 Joe stuff in it. 00:58:09.920 --> 00:58:17.920 I've got a box that's got all my old um um shoot micro machines in it. 00:58:18.079 --> 00:58:19.519 From when I was a kid. 00:58:19.760 --> 00:58:23.599 We found those things when we were moving, still in really good shape. 00:58:24.000 --> 00:58:27.199 I can't wait to get them out, clean them up, and let Lawson play with them. 00:58:27.360 --> 00:58:30.480 I think it's gonna be awesome when we get the opportunity to do that. 00:58:30.639 --> 00:58:33.679 And I've just got to go through some stuff, but it that's that's coming. 00:58:34.000 --> 00:58:46.719 And just the stuff we found, the pictures, the pots and pans, the stories behind different jars, the just listening to mama talk about stuff. 00:58:46.880 --> 00:58:55.280 And

it was just I haven't been there enough to help like I should have been, and I feel guilty about that. 00:58:57.599 --> 00:58:59.920 But also, mama don't ask for help. 00:59:00.239 --> 00:59:03.039 So sometimes we don't know that she needs us to help. 00:59:03.360 --> 00:59:08.880 We're just supposed to we're supposed to just know, and we don't because she's independent. 00:59:09.199 --> 00:59:10.559 She always has been. 00:59:11.039 --> 00:59:13.760 She don't need me and she don't need a man. 00:59:14.719 --> 00:59:17.039 She's independent, she can do it on her own. 00:59:18.000 --> 00:59:30.559 So sometimes she'll just forget to ask us or forget to tell us what's going on, and then we find out about it later when she tells us she's been there doing this for how many hours a day, and you feel bad, but you didn't know. 00:59:30.719 --> 00:59:40.239 Um, so so I'm going by Monday, we're gonna finish cleaning out the buildings, um, and then deal with whatever whatever else we have to deal with in cow pens. 00:59:40.559 --> 00:59:48.400 And then, you know, last thing I want to talk about is just the gratitude that I have for that, for that shell, for that house. 00:59:48.960 --> 01:00:03.039 The memories I have there, the lessons I learned, the relationships I built, the family that I've seen grow there, the lessons that I learned that turned me into who I am today. 01:00:04.000 --> 01:00:08.239 I am beyond grateful for those experiences. 01:00:09.119 --> 01:00:12.000 Beyond grateful for those experiences. 01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:22.079 I cannot thank my family, my friends, or that house enough for everything they invested in me and they instilled in me. 01:00:25.199 --> 01:00:35.599 That house will always have a place in our hearts, it'll always have a place in our memories, it'll always have a place in our story. 01:00:37.039 --> 01:00:42.880 But the great thing is that house was not home. 01:00:44.480 --> 01:00:50.880 Home is the people, the memories, and the relationships that were built there. 01:00:51.280 --> 01:00:58.559 And those will continue long after the house itself is gone. 01:01:00.079 --> 01:01:09.440 Standing out in the driveway one last time, turning the key and the ignition, and looking back in the rearview mirror, it's heavy. 01:01:09.679 --> 01:01:11.440 I'm not gonna pretend it isn't. 01:01:11.760 --> 01:01:23.599 You look at a place that held every Christmas morning, every porch conversation, every scraped knee, and every lesson that made you who you are today. 01:01:23.840 --> 01:01:25.599 And it's hard to pull away. 01:01:26.000 --> 01:01:31.280 But as I pulled off down the river drive, the weight lifted a little bit. 01:01:32.000 --> 01:01:35.199 Because I realized something clear as day. 01:01:35.440 --> 01:01:38.559 We didn't leave a single bit of our home back in that house. 01:01:38.800 --> 01:01:46.639 The walls didn't make glove, the roof didn't teach us how to stand tall when things got tough, the people inside did. 01:01:47.599 --> 01:01:49.199 My family did. 01:01:50.159 --> 01:02:02.480 And everywhere we go, every table we gather around, every fire we light, every story we pass down to our own youngins, the home lives home. 01:02:04.079 --> 01:02:12.480 If you're blessed enough to still have your family around, or if you've got an old home place you need to revisit, don't wait for a milestone to appreciate. 01:02:12.960 --> 01:02:20.559 Call your people, tell them you love them, thank the ones who poured into you, and built the foundation beneath your feet. 01:02:20.800 --> 01:02:22.480 I want to hear from y'all today. 01:02:22.719 --> 01:02:32.559 What's that one spot, that one room, or that one memory from growing up that still stays with you no matter how many miles you put between then and now? 01:02:32.960 --> 01:02:39.599 Drop a comment, shoot us a message, or share this episode with somebody who shared that childhood home with you. 01:02:39.760 --> 01:02:43.440 If this message hit home for you today, hit the subscribe button. 01:02:43.599 --> 01:02:45.280 Leave us a five-star review. 01:02:45.519 --> 01:02:49.360 I like those five stars and help spread the word. 01:02:49.599 --> 01:02:56.960 Until next time, keep the fire burning, hold your family close, and remember what truly lasts. 01:02:57.199 --> 01:02:58.960 This is Jeff Chop Jordan. 01:02:59.360 --> 01:03:00.400 Sign off. 01:03:01.039 --> 01:03:02.559 You just listen to me. 01:03:03.280 --> 01:03:04.800 Come get that smoke.