Share The Struggle
Share The Struggle
Milestone Met, Spirit Intact
The kind of moment that keeps a dream alive doesn’t always arrive with a banner; sometimes it’s a quiet ping at the register and a lump in your throat. We finally crossed the sales number we set five years ago—through shutdowns, grief, a newborn, and more near-misses than we care to count—and it hit us with a wave of validation bigger than the math. The goal wasn’t about getting rich; it was about proving this American-made lifestyle brand could stand on its own legs and keep serving a community that’s carried us from day one.
Along the way, we open up about mental health and the heartbreaking story of Marshawn Nealon, reflecting on how fatherhood can rewire purpose and help us stay one more day. Then, at a Bangor Mall pop-up, we watched something rare: two women who had lost their jobs after blowing the whistle on abuse in a mental health facility nearly sold out their crafts. On day two, a local shop owner stopped to browse their partner’s Yu-Gi-Oh cards, paid sixteen hundred dollars, and then offered scrubs, toys, and a chance to bring the rest of the collection for a fair deal. Tears, hugs, stunned silence. Call it timing, call it grace—it felt like a Christmas miracle.
If you’re chasing a target that keeps slipping away, this story is for you. We talk candidly about setting realistic goals, the squeeze of cash flow during growth, and why showing up in real communities creates surface area for luck and kindness. We also share the laughs—yes, we said “Yogi cards” before getting corrected—and the gratitude that fuels us into the next season.
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On this week's episode of Share the Struggle Podcast, we break the news on a loud, proud American milestone achievement that has been five long years in the making. And I also share with you the first Christmas miracle of the season. All that and more on today's episode of Share the Struggle Podcast. Let me tell you something. Everybody struggles. The difference is some people choose to go through it and some choose to grow through it. The choice is completely yours. Which one you choose will have a very profound effect on the way you live your life. Good. Low Almighty, am I so excited to be back with you? Oh, it is true. It is damn true because I love you, Boo. Welcome to episode 280 of this year podcast. Perfectly precisely named Share the Struggle. Because everybody struggles. This podcast is brought to you by the fine folks over to Loud Proud American, home of that apparel brand that focuses on the American spirit, bringing back American manufacturing. There is no better gift to give in this gift-giving season than that of a gift proudly made in the USA. Support American manufacturing and this family right here. Head on over to loudproudamerican.shop. Get yourself something really nice. I'm going to be updating the website here shortly. We have a lot of major projects going on at the home front. I am eagerly awaiting and anticipating the announcement of some cool stuff going on at home here on the Ponderosa for the family, both business, personal, pleasure, what have you. All great things. It is the busy time of the season for us. Usually things slow down this time of year. We come out of Freiburg and I take a few months off. We position ourselves to be uh good to go through the holidays and through the season. Um, but that's not the case this year. If you've heard me talking over the past few weeks, I am continuing to stay as active as I possibly can. So we just wrapped up two back-to-back weekends at the Bangor Mall. I'm going to get into some details on that here shortly. But I'm just kind of giving you the little screenshot of things and how they're going here in the home front. Uh, we were looking into doing some more shows, but the vehicle situation is kind of holding us back. Our uh company vehicle is out of commission right now, so it's been kind of a juggling act between, you know, figuring out where to go, how to get there, versus the things that need to be done at home for the business and for the family. So um it's crunch time over here, and uh, we're going hard and fast as best as we possibly can, navigating all that we can. So that's really some of the stuff that's on tap for this week. I have an awesome announcement about the business, and uh I wanted to share a little heartwarming thing that uh I said heart warming. It sounded like I said worming. Nobody nobody wants heartworms, man. My dogs are laying in the living room right now being jackasses, and and I'm pretty certain one of them just woke up when I said heartworm. They were like, oh no, not me, big daddy. Heart warming. I'm having a hard time saying it now. Warm. I'm trying to emphasize the A, warming, but it ain't working because it sounds like wormin'. Heart, you know what I mean? Whatever. It makes you feel good, is what I should say. I only went far as far in life as my parents' taxpaying dollars would take me. I am publicly educated and over-regulated, so you know, just it is what it is, okay? Take it for what it's worth. But Share the Trucker Podcast. Let's get back on track here. Y'all know the routine. This is that show where we share whatever it is that we're going through that we're growing through, and we know if we have the the confidence and the vulnerability to share what it is that we're experiencing in life, then it will provide strength to others experiencing similar situations in life. That is the reason for this here's show. I still can't believe we are at 280 consecutive weeks over five years of this here beautiful podcast. We've got a lot of loyal day ones. And when I say day one, I'm acknowledging the folks in the room that have been here since day one. Get your ones up. I love you. I acknowledge you. But I also want to welcome to you a bunch of new listeners. Thank you to all of you that are listening for the first one. The first time. This is your day one. I welcome you. Don't forget you can go back and uh listen to all the years episodes. I think that uh a lot of people reach out and say they love binging the podcast, they enjoy doing that. Welcome back to Kevin Balanski from from New York, from out in the Syracuse area of New York. He is back on track with the podcast. Love you, big Kev. Wanted to say thanks for coming back. I got the message from you, but I'm saying these things about um some new listeners because I found this little stat that I think is pretty cool. I never noticed it in my podcasting app before, but it actually lists out um a few new locations. So I think this is kind of cool. I was um just getting ready for today's podcast, and I was trying to refresh my memory as to what episode today was. 280, okay. So I went on my um my uploading site to uh check what that number was, and then I also noticed this spot that says new locations. So let's just throw them out there. Uh for all the regular listeners. I think it's just kind of cool for you to hear different places that people are coming in and tuning in from. And for all of you that are that are new here, hopefully maybe I'm shouting you out, and if that's the case, then I welcome you, I appreciate you, and uh send on a little uh message, a little how do you do on over. That'd be great. But uh welcome to the new folks in the room from Jackson, Mississippi. I've actually always wanted to go to Jackson, Mississippi. So fun fact, I think um actually Jackson is the my favorite joining cash songs. Maybe that's where that comes from. Jackson, Mississippi. Also, welcome to the room. Madison, Wisconsin. I wonder if that's Maddie out in Wisconsin. We made some friends on the road in Wisconsin. So Madison, Wisconsin, welcome to the show. And uh I'm gonna have a hard time pronouncing this one, but uh uh it looks like Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, welcome. And this one I will definitely mess up, but welcome to the show, Helsinki Usama. The fine folks in Helsinki. Booyah, I love saying Helsinki, so that's kind of helped make this stick. But four new locations. Thought that was kind of cool. It only showed uh like four locations. I think that might be just kind of what it peeks out at when I open it up to kind of like a little news thing. Like, hey, here's four new spots for you. So probably changes every day, but very cool. Maybe I get in the habit of sharing that every time we we jump on. I thought that was kind of cool, kind of fun. Shows the outreach that we have started to build, and I owe that to each and every one of you. So thank you. I appreciate you, I acknowledge you, I love you, and I welcome you back, and I welcome you in, friends. Hope all y'all are doing well. I hope you're uh gearing up for the holiday season, you're starting to count some lessons, you're starting to feel awful thankful, and um, that's the way I hope all of us can be moving forward. I want to touch on something from last week. Last week's episode uh was a fun episode and a heartfelt, um, difficult episode at the same time. We got into some difficult conversations on mental health, and we talked about um being a better version of you so you can so you can help other people. And uh we were talking about Marshawn Nealon and that story of the young man at only age 24 who took his life second-round draft pick in uh defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, Marshawn Nealan. It took a little more sad turn um right after recording the episode. I learned that um they're expecting that Marshawn's girlfriend is pregnant with their first child, so um crazy to uh to think about. And I say that because I am uh a new father here, and um so I guess I'm ultra sensitive to all of those things, but it's already easy to see and to say that my greatest accomplishment on this earth is already having my daughter and um welcoming Paisley to the world. She's already meant so much to me and my family and been an amazing blessing and gift that um I can't help but think if Marshawn could have actually made it, like if he could have just stayed strong long enough for that little one to show up, that it might have changed his whole life. I know he was dealing with the death of his mother, and um, you know, for me here dealing with the death of my father, and very shortly actually on my father's birthday, his first heavenly birthday, finding out I was going to be a dad, it changed everything for me. And I was certainly scared shitless, and I'm sure he was too, and that might have factored into it. And I'm guessing when you're battling with mental health, maybe you're thinking you're not adequate enough to be a father, and those are all things that I think all men deal with and battle with, but I can't help but think if he would have just made it to that to that little baby's birth that his life would have changed, and um, you know, it just it's really sad because I spent the weekend. Obviously, I spend every day with my daughter, but I spent the weekend at the Bangor Mall and and um watching her interact and talk to people and play with people and um just how special it is and how so many people just gravitate to her already. And um, we actually spent the past two weekends at my cousin's house, um, something that I've we we haven't hung out since we were children, and um just all of these things just kind of connecting us together, and it just you know, you think about people missing out on that, and it was a special week for us here because last week, well, first off, little Paisley's a crawling champion and she's getting close to walking, and she can walk and hold on to things, but she hasn't really been walking on her own. And last week with the wife working from home and me working from home, my mom had um little Paisley and she sent us a video that said it's happening, and she was upstairs just walking. And you know, we've been up there with her, and now you know, we ran up there with her, I should say, and watched her walk and play, and now she's kind of a walking machine. So she's off and running, she's often walking, and uh life comes at you fast, things come at you fast, but I'm feeling awful blessed and awful fulfilled over here, and um, it's just really sad, it adds another sad element to that whole story. So I just wanted to drop that that recap on last week, kind of connecting the dots a little bit. I didn't want to um you know make everybody sad, but I guess I'm saying it in case there's some people out there that are struggling that do have some um, you know, mental health battles right now, and maybe you find yourself in a similar situation as Marshawn, where maybe you have a little one on the way, and I just want to empower you to stay. I just want you to know that if you can make it a few more weeks, a few more months, when that little one comes, it's gonna change your entire life. Uh, if you're like me and you're like Marshawn, you're you're hurting from losing a parent, there's nothing like um the the void in your heart that gets filled when you have when you have a child. So hopefully that reaches some people out there, and that's kind of why I'm I'm putting it out there. But I want to remove ourselves from last week. Let's get into this week. You know, we've been talking about our two weekends back to back at the Bangor Mall and the real inspiring feeling for us as a brand to have a storefront, to have a brick and mortar. It's been tremendous to be able to go into a store and experience that Christmas hustle and bustle, the holiday season. It's been tremendous. This past weekend, we did not do uh nearly as good as we did the first weekend, but it was a great weekend. Uh, so much so that on our Saturday this year, we actually passed um the two-day combo of last year. So last year we did it for one weekend, a Saturday and Sunday. And on Saturday, this past weekend, it was uh a bigger day than both Saturday and Sunday of last year. And uh Sunday was another pretty decent day for us when you package them all up together. Um I actually had a great uh four-day, two-weekend event. And if you guys have been listening and you know me, you know that I put some goals on the table, some hopeful goals, some realistic goals, and some lofty goals that are within reason. And I hit the lofty goal that I thought was within reason. So uh a major success for us this weekend. And and I just want to say thank you to each and every one of you that might be listening, that came out, that participated, that that um that showed up, that showed out. It took a village for us to get there, and the village showed up for us to have a tremendous weekend. So I just wanted to say a thank you, I appreciate you, and um, I'm counting you as an absolute blessing this year. I got to spend time with some of my cousins, Hannah, Amanda, Bree. I get to see and spend time with some new extended family, the entire Tracy family showing up and showing out and supporting us back-to-back weekends. And if you guys have been listening throughout the year, you know that um I met a young fella that has been um a really special addition to the family, somebody that I foresee us always having a relationship with. I was at the Scowhegan Fair, uh suffering through a very slow fair, and I met a really special young man named Isaiah, and he spent a week with us, and we've stayed in touch, and he made the trip from uh from his home to the fair to the mall, I should say, and spent the day with us on Saturday. And it's really cool. Like, you know how sometimes things just fit, right? Sometimes people in your life just fit, and I guess there's no better judge of character than that, to that, than your 14-month-old daughter, because she instantly starts to um like play hide and seek and interact and socialize with Isaiah. She's not really big on strangers picking her up and stuff, and uh she was basically asking him to pick her up. So within a very short amount of time, he's holding her and walking around with her, and they're interacting and and playing, and and uh they were just having a really good time. So the that was really fulfilling for us to um to have. So I met Isaiah this year. I'm certainly counting him as a blessing this year, uh, meeting this young man that gave me hope and inspired uh the thought process in me that maybe this future generation is gonna be okay, right? And uh he's just a really tremendous hardworking individual, 18-year-old kid out on his own, um, putting in 80 hours of work at the farm, uh, followed by a 60-hour work week at the farm, followed by uh hanging out for five, six hours at the mall with the family. So um very cool. It was a great weekend and a great blessing. And I will say that I started today's show mentioning a milestone moment and achievement for the business that has been five long hard years in the making, and I'm excited to share that with you. I can't get into exact details on it, but what I can say, and to all of you that have been listening all along the way, you've heard me say this many, many times. When I started this business, my first year in business, I forecasted this number. I said, Hey, if I can sell, if I can net, if my net sales are this number right here, I think the business is working, I think it's providing, I think we can make a living, and I don't think it'll hold us back. This is the number that I need to be at. Now, I will say over the years I've realized there's a lot more to that number that I didn't realize. There's a lot more things that come out of that net profit that don't really um correlate to me making that amount of money. So it's still not really a comfort level for me, but I don't want to overshadow or or shy away from or not appreciate and celebrate this particular story here because this number that I set for this business, I've been chasing for five seasons for five years. Actually, we're approaching our sixth year in business. The first year we didn't come anywhere as close to that number. We suffered through uh COVID, through the pandemic, through all the shutdowns. The second year we experienced tremendous growth. We almost doubled, maybe even did double our number from the previous year. Um, every year since then, we've we've grown, we've gained. Um, that following year after that, my father passed, and we were having we were on pace to have our best every year. And um my father passed, and our business and our lives basically shut down for months. And um it certainly put us out of business for the whole holiday season, and uh we missed out. And then last year we, you know, battled and battled and tried to overcome a lot of things. And and little Paisley arrived in September, and we took a lot of things off of our schedule because you know we were we were anticipating her birth and then having the birth and then coming out of Freiburg and not being able to travel very much because we have a newborn and all those things. Um, we gained a little bit of ground and we came oh so close. We came within thousands of dollars, a few thousand dollars shy of attaining that number that I set for myself. So I'm saying this to tell you that every year for five years I've fallen short on this goal. I am yet to hit the goal that I thought we would attain in our first year in business. I thought first year you're gonna hit this number, and then we're gonna start growing from there. If you can hit this number on year one, then you know there's growth for you, that you know there's gains for you, you know there's profit in dollars and a life for you. There's hope for this dream to come true for you. But the truth is, folks, I've never hit that number. Not in year one, not in year two, not in year three, not in year four, not in year five. As we're closing in, wrapping up what will be or the coming to the end of year six, I'm really bad at math. Is that is this becoming obvious? How many times do the wheels on the bus go round and round? My daughter's depending on me to count America. I guess I'm rambling and I'm and I'm uh confusing myself because I'm excited to share with you that Loud Proud American finally attained that number. Not only did we hit that number, we passed that number. That number, that goal, that lofty goal that I set for myself on day one that began to feel impossible, it came true. I even remember the exact transaction when we passed that number. Because it was a close family friend. Um I think that made it even more special. If you guys have been listening, you know my story about going to Florida, and uh one of my best friends, Brian, and his boy Zach, putting their life on hold to help me achieve a dream and heading to Daytona and um selling there at Daytona at Bike Week. And um Brian and his wife Christy were the first actual people that I ever trusted to run my business for me, to cash people out, to represent the business and the brand. And um it was very fitting the fact that Brian's wife Christy and her girlfriends were on a girls' trip and they came up to see us, and her and her friends made the final transactions to push Loud Proud American into the number that I've been hoping for, praying for, and working oh so hard for. It feels oh so good to finally hit that number. I don't know what it is. The number doesn't provide the life I expected it to provide, but it validates the journey, it validates the fight and the struggle, it validates that there is more growth here. That Proud American, if you're doing the math on this, folks, this means right now, in November, the middle of November, we have already achieved the greatest net sales year in the history of our business. We have a month and a half to go, and we have attained the greatest net sales of our history. We currently are up 14% in net sales for 2025 over 2024. You guys know how difficult it is to make money this year. Y'all should know how difficult it is to afford anything this year, and here we are this year achieving our greatest success. 14% net sales growth this year with more time to go. I will say the ironic thing here, folks, is I feel broker than we ever have as a business, but I do know there's a lot of growing pains of the business. We're trying to expand, we're struggling with some of those hurdles, and we've broken a lot of things this year with this business. But I'm encouraged by this business, I'm rejuvenated by this business, and I'm hopeful for this business. This is our greatest year ever. I can't believe it. Thank you to each and every single one of you. Whether you have made a purchase, whether you've, you know, liked, commented, shared our business, invited other people to follow our business, support our business, help grow our business. It means everything to us. We love you. Gotcha. Lau Proud American is a lifestyle brand dedicated and determined to represent the American spirit with an unrelenting commitment to provide made and the USA products. If you would like to join the two percent of Americans that buy American and support American, head on over to www.looproudamerican.shop. Together, we can bring back American manufacturing. Alright, alright, alright. Well, folks, in between all the celebrations, in between all the motivations, motivating myself to take the brand to bigger new levels, imagining ourselves with brick and mortars and storefronts and all those things, in between counting blessings and being grateful and all the hustle and all the bustle. I also mentioned a Christmas miracle. And it was pretty damn cool this weekend being at the Bangor Mall and being on the sidelines watching a Christmas miracle. Let me try to explain this to you folks as best I possibly can. We set up inside the storefront. So I think I gave you a little uh painted little picture the past couple of weeks about this, but malls all throughout the country, they are um beginning to be abandoned, right? So many stores are empty and vacated, and um all the kiosk in the middle, and most of them are pretty much gone. So what happens in Bangor, Maine, is that um crafters and small business owners, entrepreneurs take over the mall for two weekends in a row. So all through the center aisle of the mall, there's all these pop-up shops, kiosks, folding tables, pop-up tents, whatever. Just the sea of crafters, and then other ones will take over storefront spaces. And in the store I was in, there's let's say um one, two, three. This weekend there was four different businesses in there. The previous weekend there were six. And um we are able to set up and then sell for two days, lock the doors, come back a week later and sell for two days more. Well, this weekend, when we arrived, two of the businesses that we shared space with the previous week had vacated, and a new one had entered. And I will say, originally when I came in, I was like kind of getting a strange vibe by the two new ladies that were in there working together. Uh they just weren't really talking to anybody yet, and um, they were setting up, so maybe it's the you know, the the last minute hustle of setting up while the rest of us are just showing up because we've already set up a week ago, you know. So they're getting set up and they have a whole mixture of crafts, and some of it is um, you know, like wood stuff. Um I don't know, man. There's all these different like wood figurine type things between dolls and necklaces and jewelries and crocheted and knitted and uh I mean it's a wide array of stuff. We're talking from from gnomes to resin necklaces, okay? All over the place. Well, while I'm there, I'm sitting there, um, and Allie took Paisley to the bathroom or uh to kind of cruise about them all. And I was sitting there and um I heard one of the ladies, the younger one, talking to a friend that came in, she hadn't seen in quite some time, and gives her a big hug, and it turns into this conversation that probably shouldn't be happening on the floor of a store, especially when you're the only two people talking. You ever been around those? Have you been around those conversations where you're like, man, I don't think I could have that conversation in public? And if I did, I probably wouldn't be yelling it, right? Like I hadn't even turned music on yet. It's it's quiet. And she starts basically coming out and saying, Did you hear? I got my kids back. And uh that turns into I have, and I don't, I don't, don't quote me, I don't remember the scenario, but it's like I know I have a six-year-old, a 12-year-old, a nine-year-old, I don't know, a newer one with the still has the new car scent. I don't know. She's got a few kids, right? And she got them all back, and to the point where I think this person didn't even realize she had that many kids. So I don't know the situation, I don't know the history, but I do find this odd to have this conversation um take place, right? Well, um, this happens very beginning of day one, and um, they're right next to us, so it's not like I'm spying in or anything. There's this downtime where you're sitting around and you're hearing things and you're seeing things. So some of these conversations just continue to kind of um happen throughout the day. And there's these two these two ladies that are running this booth, and um the lady that um expressed she just got her kids back, uh, her husband shows up. I sounds to me like a new husband scenario. And um basically what I'm learning is these two women are splitting this vendor spot and they're splitting the bill. And um, the woman that just got her kids back and her new husband's there, the other lady grants him the opportunity of putting a folding table into their display and selling some of his stuff. So in the midst of the you know, the um montage of collectibles that they're selling, he breaks out some collectibles of his own, and these aren't crafts, these are collectibles, and they're like yogi cards of some sort. Now, I'm not an expert here because I only know two yogis. I know yogi bear and I know yogi bear, okay? Yogi bear, one of them being the cartoon, hey boo-boo, and the other one being Hall of Fame, New York Yankee, and World Champion, Yogi Bear. So, those are the only yogis I know, okay? But they have these um bunch of different yogi collectibles on this small fold out card table. Um, and they basically have like uh binders of cards and stuff, right? Small table. Some things over there, nothing in my interest. I pay it no attention. Shortly thereafter, the other woman's husband shows up and he's made a um wooden gun safe American flag that you can open with a digital card, basically. So um what I'm gathering is we now have four people selling out of one location, trying to make whatever they can for cash. Which, if you know me and you know our story, as a child, that's how I paid for Christmas. I would make crafts, go to things like this, sell them. I would set up outside in parking lots, I would set up anywhere and sell crafts and gifts. I learned to become a salesman because at a very, very young age, like maybe five or so, I was making Christmas ornaments out of pipe cleaners and beads, and I was selling them in front of Dunkin' Donuts all through the winter while my parents were sitting there drinking coffee. I was peddling bucks to gain enough money to buy Christmas presents for my family. I graduated into making wreaths, scavenging the woods, finding ferns, making Christmas wreaths, to cutting down birch trees, making decorated candles, going everywhere selling my crafts to fund my holidays. I did this all growing up. It helped me to become a salesperson, it helped me get over the fear of talking to people. These are some of the things that we're doing with Paisley already. I was raised this way. She will be too. When I um left my career to chase this dream, when I left um the Harlow Davidson world that first winter, uh, the family, my wife and my mother, my father, we started going back to our history of making crafts, and we supported our family's Christmas doing the same things all over again. So I'm very familiar with this scenario. But as I was sitting there, I heard them um just getting excited with every sale that they made. So at the end of day one, we all go our separate ways, and and um I returned in the morning on on day two, and um the ladies are very excited about the day they had, and they're also way more comfortable and willing to talk to us, to talk to Paisley, like, oh my god, she's so beautiful, she's so friendly. I can't believe she's been so good. They're coming over doing fist bumps and interacting and having conversations and and kind of um you know molding and melting into the rest of the room, right? And their their their cupboards, their cabinets, their shelves, their tables are rather bare. They sold almost everything they had on day one. So here are uh four individuals that clearly um are trying to make ends meet. And on day one, they just about sell out of everything, and they're so excited, and they're telling us, man, we sold so much stuff yesterday, we're spreading things out to make it look busy, we're um making things while we're here to try to have more things on the shelf. Uh, one lady was so excited to tell me I made$400 yesterday doing this, and I I can't even tell you how badly I needed it. I am um I'm so so fortunate right now. And um shortly thereafter, this fella comes in, and I'd seen him around the mall, and uh come to find out he actually owns a storefront in the mall, and the storefront that we are in, he used to own. But he's on his hands and knees basically, and he's looking over these uh yogi collectibles, not bear, not bearer. He's looking them over, and um he's asking lady number two about these cards, but lady number one, who's the cards belong to her husband, she um hasn't checked in yet. So she's kind of entertaining him and they're going through things, and I'm opening up and you know, just getting on with my business. And then lady number one shows back up and she starts talking with this fella, and now lady one and two plus this fella are going over everything, and they're writing down the prices on each card that her husband listed, and they're going over ballparks on this and that, and they're just hemming and hollering and going back and forth. And I'm just going about my business, and every once in a while, when I sit back or sit down, I look over, and they're still going over these things, and um long to short of it, they um make an offer and they kind of go back and forth, and I see the agreement being made, and then this fella takes out um a wad of cash and he hands it to her and says, Well, that should be most of it. And I'm I'm not sitting very far from them, so it's not like I'm spying on this, I just hear this. So I see her take the money out and she starts counting it out, and she puts it in piles and she counts out one thousand dollars, and he says, I'm just gonna go across to my store and um I will uh I'll get you the rest of the money. I owe you another six hundred dollars. And I'm thinking, sixteen hundred dollars on some fucking yogi bear? Good lord, man. He walks across the way, and lady number one just starts crying. And um, she says to lady number two, like, I I can't thank you so much for for talking to him and keeping him here. I have to call my husband. And she calls her husband and she says, like, you're not gonna believe this, you're not gonna believe this. I just sold everything, I just sold everything you had, everything you brought here. We just made sixteen hundred dollars, and she's bawling her eyes out. And um during this time, this fellow walks back in and he sees this whole interaction and her bawling, and he just doesn't know what to do, and he's thinking, like, I mean, are they upset that they did the wrong thing selling these things? And she just gives him a hug and says, I can't tell you how much I needed this, and then I hear the story, and she said, Um, me and my friend here, we work um in the mental health field, and we work with adults with mental disabilities, and um, we work with these adults at a facility, and I was a manager, and she worked here with me, and we witnessed these people not being treated fairly. We witnessed malpractice and we witnessed abuse, and we tried to stop it, and we complained about it, and we continued to complain about it, and they wouldn't change, and um, we had to file complaints with the state, and they called us whistleblowers and they took our jobs away. We were wrongfully fired for standing up for these adults with mental disabilities. They couldn't stand up for themselves, so we stood up for them, and it cost us our job. So we're both out of work. Neither one of us have jobs, neither one of us can pay our bills, and um, this is what we're doing to try to make ends meet through the holidays. And I can't tell you how much this makes a difference for me, the sixteen hundred dollars. And they're both crying, and he looks at him and was like, I'm so happy I was able to help. I'm not very good with emotion, you know. And he gave her a hug and and he said, This for me is a passion. I love these things, I collect these things. This used to be my storefront. I have several different um businesses that I'm involved in, and one of them is right across the hall, and across the hall from us, I believe it's called Liquidate Me N-E, as in Maine, and everything in there is five dollars. And my wife found brand new boots for Paisley, and um she found uh sandals for um my mom and her for Christmas, all these brand new things for five dollars a piece, like a whole mess of stuff from Pendleton, a really good name. And um, every time, every year that we're there, we go in there and find stuff because you never know what you're gonna find. And it's all five dollars. And so he's talking to these ladies and and and they're like, he's like, you know, what are you doing now? Are you working? And she's like, Well, I just took like a part-time job back in the medical field taking care of some people, but you know, it's just trying to make ends meet, and and um, you know, she's just kind of going over things and and you know, and she's talking about how much she's struggling, and um, and that she's getting back into the medical field, and that you know, she's talking about like having the money just even to buy scrubs and stuff, and her friend was saying, like, there are scrubs don't even fit. She's got them held on by you know clothespins or whatever, and you can see this fella start to get emotional, and he says, I'll tell you what, um, I'm happy I was able to help, but I also want to tell you that right across the way, that's my business, that's my store, that's one of my businesses. And I have a whole rack in there of medical scrubs, a whole rack. You can consider it part of the deal. You go over there and grab as many as you need. They're nothing fancy, they're just basic, but you can grab as many as you need. And you walk around that store, and you guys can grab whatever you need, and on the back of that store, there's even toys to help with Christmas. You are more than welcome to go over there and take whatever you want. It's on me, it's part of this deal. And I just watched these two women break down, and I couldn't help but sit on the sidelines and get emotional, and I started smiling and seeing seeing God's work right firsthand, God's work, just seeing all this happen. And I can say God's work because I've even heard these two ladies talking about um fellowship and talking about um embracing God and having those conversations, and then this happening. Understand this, folks. There's so many crafters, there's so much competition in this place. These ladies are telling me that on day one they sold nearly everything they had on their table. And people could have bought anywhere else, very similar things. They're buying from them. Then to put out these yogi cards and have every single thing bought for sixteen hundred dollars, and then he says, Whatever you have, you can bring it in. I'll order lunch, and we can sit down, tell stories, and go through the whole collection, and I'll make you an offer on everything you have. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that is a Christmas miracle. That is God's work. I am incredibly blessed to have been on the sidelines and witnessed God's work. It was incredible, it was heartwarming. There it is again. Heartwarming. I can't even begin to explain the chills I had just sitting there. And then when they when when when he left, lady number one calls her husband and he starts tell she starts telling him and she's crying, and then she takes from the money and she grabs a you know I don't know how much money it is, if it's a hundred dollars, if it's two hundred dollars, whatever it is. And she gives it to lady number two, and she said, My husband wants you to have this. And she's like, No, I'm not taking that. She said, No, he wants you to have this. You kept him here, you talked to him, you helped make this work. If I if you weren't here, this might not have happened. He wants you to have this. You also split this booth with him, he wants you to have it. And she started crying. The generosity, the opportunity, the timing, all incredibly unbelievable. All God's timing, all a real good life Christmas miracle. I hope that right there inspires you today to maybe maybe be open to your own Christmas miracle, and maybe be open to providing the next Christmas miracle. Let this be the inspiration that even a small gesture can make a difference. Let this be the inspiration that God's timing is perfect. And whatever you're going through, whatever you're growing through, whatever you're struggling through, this too shall pass. Opportunity comes, and timing certainly does happen. I pray each and every one of you are truly, truly blessed. Thank you for supporting our American dream. Now go wash your fucking hands. Oh my god! Wow! I just shit my pants. This is the problem with your wife working from home. God, even my nipples are hard. That was painful. They're Yu-Gi-Oh cards, not Yogi cards, you get on. Tell the people what they are. Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Hey, boo-boo! No! Yu-Gi-Oh! Yogi cards. Yu-Gi-Oh! I'm convinced they're a Yankees Yogi Barra cards. Either way, well, um, I clearly yelled on the recording. I turded my pants, and um I was waiting for the right time. I was standing on the stairs. How long have you been there?
unknown:Long enough.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. Okay. On that note, I have some explaining to do. Just kidding. I gotta go. Love y'all. Appreciate you. Until next week. I'm being shot at by That's it, and that's all, Biggie Smalls. If you're a Loud Proud American and you find yourself just wanting more, find me on YouTube and Facebook at Loud Proud American on the Facebook. If you're a fan of the Grand Cracking, you wanna find me on Instagram for all the kids, a tickety talking on the TikTok, you can find me on both of those at Loud underscore Proud underscore American. Big old thank you to the voice of the gun truckers for the background beats on the podcast. If you are enjoying what you're hearing, track down the gun truckers on Facebook Just Truckers. Now go wash your fucking hands, you filthy savage.