Dial The Wild
Dial The Wild Podcast is an ongoing discussion with like-minded individuals who have a desire to engage the primal nature within themselves. Topics ranging from Music, Sports, Hunting, Archery, Jeeping, MMA, Comedy, Fishing, etc. what ever dials-in your wild!
Dial The Wild
Victor Lidaywa - The Unexpected Bridges That Carry Us Through Life
What does it take to transform an abandoned, raccoon-infested restaurant into a thriving physical therapy practice? For Victor, it's the same determination that helped him navigate the journey from running a small fish and chips stand in Kenya to building a successful life in America.
In this honest, wide-ranging conversation, Victor opens up about the power of male friendship circles that provide essential emotional support. Every Friday night, he connects virtually with college friends scattered across the country—a ritual that's become a lifeline through job losses, family challenges, and even the painful loss of his mother to cancer. "It's more like a therapeutic session for guys," Victor explains. "As men, we don't talk about our emotions...unless we're sitting down actively griping about it."
Victor's commitment to giving back shines through his work with the Gladys Organization, named after his mother. The foundation focuses on renovating a school in his mother's Kenyan village, replacing leaky roofs and broken windows to create better educational opportunities. His passion for this work reflects a deep connection to his roots, despite having lived in America longer than in Kenya.
The conversation takes humorous turns as Victor shares parenting adventures—from the extortionate tactics kids use when dad is distracted by friends to the frustration of teaching parents technology. "My kids give me a hard time about technology," he laughs, describing how his children's impatience contrasts with his desire to learn.
From struggling through Midwest winters without proper boots to becoming a naturalized citizen in 2007, Victor's story exemplifies the immigrant experience at its most inspiring. "I've put in my sweat and this country has been very good to me," he reflects, embodying the spirit of possibility that continues to drive his journey forward.
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Yeah, then I'm going to get another call when this is all over. Yeah, my buddies that I talk to every Friday, we have a group that we start.
Speaker 1:Oh, really yeah.
Speaker 2:Is it a group from Kenya? It's a group from here, from here, From the US, you know, went to school together, Okay, but everybody moved away. And then when COVID and you know you couldn't do much, so we just started that group. So we'll be more like a virtual bar, you know. So you hang out with your buddies, you talk, you drink a beer and this, so we just carried on with it, you know, oh, every Friday night and talk on, yeah, friday night on On Zoom or something.
Speaker 2:No, zoom On WhatsApp. Whatsapp. Okay, actually, that's on Messenger. Okay, so we just video call and everybody's there, it's awesome. Yeah, so that's good.
Speaker 1:Yep Finally made the move over here. This place looks awesome.
Speaker 2:It is In terms of square footage? I don't even know. It's written somewhere, but I can't even tell you. I'm not good with that.
Speaker 1:When I was a kid, it was a Golden Corral. It was a restaurant, yes, and it was a big buffet in here, yes, and there was a back banquet room yes.
Speaker 2:It was somewhere in there. We've made a lot of changes here. It took quite a lot of changes here. It took quite a lot of work, you know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember coming by, you'd have your bandana on your head and your shovel and gravel. I know right?
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, you know raccoons were living in this building. It was really bad.
Speaker 1:The raccoons were in here.
Speaker 2:All over the place. They had gone up on the Into the venting Into the venting and tore up stuff. Uh, it was by the body, if you see their paws and the on the stalls and the bathroom stalls there you know they had chewed stuff up. It smelled really bad, uh they.
Speaker 1:So it's safe to say you got a good deal on the place.
Speaker 2:I did yeah, and I didn't know I was. I contacted the guy who owned it first and he didn't say much about the building because he was showing me another building that he owns and I was like he showed me the Mississippi Blood Center, that one.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So I went there and I saw what he had, but it was already partitioned several rooms, it was going to be knocking down a lot of walls and I was like I don't know. You know my heart was just sold and trying to get this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you're literally a half block from where you were. Absolutely so you could move over with equipment you wanted to.
Speaker 2:Yes, Because I think last time we talked you were saying, yeah, you were going to move some stuff over, but you were going to buy new equipment for this facility. Absolutely, yeah, most of those on that line there. We added trailers and the recumbent bikes. Yeah, almost all that new. I've got. A few was, oh, some of the uh upper body equipment there. Those are new too, so and then we're slowly facing out those was the side, the white side. Bags are the older models, so we're gonna face those out and bring in new ones. You know, yeah, yeah, but we just brought in because you know we're like uh, too much money spent already, so more importantly, you got the big tv on the back wall.
Speaker 2:Yeah, currently watching the pga masters yeah, and I wanted to be bigger than that, but they only go till what is it? Well, 85?. Well, you need a projector then.
Speaker 1:Oh you know what. You could go somewhere between these middle two fans with. Pvc pipe put a little projector kind of like a crossing has across the street.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:All right, before you know it, the whole place is going to be like your man cave where you work.
Speaker 2:I haven't reclined. Actually I have a recliner. Actually, I took a nap when I came in because I like taking naps after my lunch I take naps. When I came and I was too exhausted, I put my bed thing on, you know, blanket on. I was out for you know, I used to do like 20 minutes or 30 minutes.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, yeah, so yeah, he didn't bother putting the mirrors up this time, so I don't have to look at myself when I'm working on my bum shoulder, I know, yeah.
Speaker 2:I've kind of tried but I'm like where would they fit? But I have some ideas, but you can notice the little sayings and quotes that we had, we haven't put it up. I had planned on doing it and I still plan on doing it, but I just haven't got to that.
Speaker 1:And you had Andy Semhauser over here doing some work too, didn't?
Speaker 2:you. Who's that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, andy the tall guy.
Speaker 2:Oh, have you seen him also, he's got great stories.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I like him. He's pretty good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he did the outside work. He was very reasonable and I wanted to do the inside work, but I think he became overwhelmed. He said it was going to be too much and he didn't think he was going to be able to pull it off.
Speaker 1:Is he 70 now? Yeah, he's close if he's not, he was in his mid-60s when I worked with him a few years ago, then he's probably thing down.
Speaker 2:So you know, uh, but that's what it's tragic to make extra back, you know.
Speaker 1:So eventually I was like did you get out of the other spot, though, or are you still trying to sell it? I wear that.
Speaker 2:I didn't even own that. Yeah, you just leased it. Uh, yeah, I just leased it for the time I was there. I can't believe I was there for like almost six years, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'd never even known about it. It was after I had my surgery done, yes, or before the surgery, yes, and I was supposed to have a consult and I can either go to like yes, I won't say their names because I know right there was some sketchy stuff going on during coven, and so I'm not yes, I know I could go there or I could go to, and I was reading who the hell is victor lead away.
Speaker 2:I was like I'm sorry this.
Speaker 1:They're like walk in. It's like a really nice facility and, yeah, really nice equipment. You knew your stuff. It's like a really nice facility and really nice equipment, you knew your stuff. It's like, well, this is going to be fine. Yeah, go and talk sports, talk about kids.
Speaker 2:I know, yeah, that was that was good. It was good Just vibing with folks, especially you, you know, you know you had a young family, you know family, not as young as yours, but a young family. You know family, you know. So you know it was good talking about.
Speaker 1:You know we're hunting and all that stuff. Yeah, the hunting. And then you had kids headed off to college or within a year or two of going to college and I worked in higher ed for a while, so it's like absolutely you know do this, but don't do that, because they'll get you here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how old are your kids, by the way, right now? Oh, you would ask. I know for men that's a hard one. You know, six and seven, and my oldest will be eight in may. Eight in may, okay, six, seven and eight. No, just six and seven. Six, seven, okay, six, seven, okay, oh, eight, okay, and, and yeah, daisy will be eight in may.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, that's uh, I have an eight. Hell, you man, you know. You know how we used to hear like all the folks say they grow so fast they're not lying, they're not lying. I was like.
Speaker 1:You know what it's true, luckily I listened when and that was a first for me, but luckily I listened early on and when people are just like enjoy them when they're young or when they're little Cause, yes, and so I've just tried to. There are days where I'm like, can you just please grow up so I don't have to, you know, pay for your daycare. But then there are days where it's like I am so happy You're small and daycare is care is another monster.
Speaker 2:It's a monster in itself.
Speaker 1:I tell you, man, buddy, monster, it's a monster in itself. I tell you, man, buddy of mine, he's been on a couple podcasts, marcus kelly, um, he's got a little baby at home a few months old, and I was asking him about golfing, he goes. Yeah, you know, if I have, yeah, we had some extra money and I was like paying them daycare bills, aren't you? He goes this stuff is expensive man, it is expensive I remember.
Speaker 2:I think we had talked about this because I had three in daycare at the same time.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, we did talk about that.
Speaker 2:And I'm like my goodness, You're working for free and he goes. It was like, oh, it's $500 every week. And you're like, my goodness, that's a lot of money for just a young farmer. Just try, you know, just try to make it. You know I'm like, oh wow, yeah, it was, we go behind quite a lot of times you know we were pretty blessed.
Speaker 1:You know we would find a friend of a family who was willing to watch them or had a small operation that always seemed to work out pretty well. We never kind of went the, I guess. The better term for it, I guess, is a commercial daycare where they've got 100 kids on that building.
Speaker 2:You're so lucky because it's like you're going to take them to commercial and you're going to go to work and it costs a lot. And then you fall behind and then you haven't paid for a week, sometimes two weeks and you take your kid there and then you see like they're looking at you, like why are you bringing your kids? You haven't paid for a week, sometimes two weeks, and you take your kid there. Then you see like they're looking at you like why you bring your kids? You haven't paid. It's a bad feeling. You know they're like, oh boy, but I gotta do this. But you know, but god is great man, because yeah, yeah, you made, we made it through that. And you're like how?
Speaker 1:I yeah. So there are days I was like we were trying to decide which bill we wanted to pay, rather than Right, I know.
Speaker 2:And these are real struggles for a lot of families. You know, oh, yeah, yeah, it's right now. Most of the younger population don't even have kids. You know, they don't even think about that?
Speaker 1:No, it's. It's really different demographic, different demographic. There was a time where having kids out of wedlock or you know, or or not having getting married at a young age or something, kids aren't getting married till they're mid to late 20s. Oh yeah, you know, if they have a kid that's three or four years old at that point, nobody really says anything about it. I guess it's a good and a not so good thing at times. Yeah, I know, depends on how you look at it and how you approach it.
Speaker 2:I know how I approach it because my oldest is 21. And I was like he hangs out with his friends and there's a good group of kids.
Speaker 2:They all played sports together. They were just all these well-connected kids and I'm like like only one or two are like seriously dead in that group. The other ones are like I'm like, hey, why don't you have a girlfriend? He's like dad, I don't feel like it, man. It's. It's not like I I can, but I just want to save my money, or try to make money. Right now, hanging over me, I'm like did you feel like you just would?
Speaker 1:he's like I know I mean, and credit to him, because my whole thought pattern always yes, I want to go make a memory, I want to have an experience. I know right, you know, if I don't have money tomorrow, at least I can say I really enjoyed. I know that's right, that's, that's the mindset for that generation?
Speaker 2:yeah, the same thing, the generation I grew up with. I, I think, phones maybe, uh, the technology has to do a lot with this, I think yeah I don't know, you know, because, uh, I'm a generation x, you know. So, growing up, we, you know, we, we have cell phones, you know.
Speaker 1:So you, played in the dirt.
Speaker 2:You build things out of junk, I know you have to have to go talk to people, meet people.
Speaker 1:A phone, just having a phone in your house Having a phone in your hand. You've got every movie that's ever existed. You've got games. You've got whatever it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's right there, it's right there. And when you go together with your friends back in the generation, you are talking, you're you know you play fighting, you're you know just this? I see my kids, uh, their friends come to see them, you know, and they're all on their phones.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm like, oh, you invented all your friends, you guys want to hang out tonight, and they're all in the same room staring at their phones.
Speaker 2:I'm like, I'm like, oh, my goodness. I'm like you could each be at your own house so different, you know. But it's a generational thing, I guess. Yeah, but where we all settled in here, it's uh, I don't know whether you're studying a podcast or not, you know, so just hanging out, yeah all right talking.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know we. We went into the the upbringing on the last podcast and what it was like. One of my favorite stories is you coming from chicago to western to become on a train, not knowing what subway was, not really understanding the currency at the time. It's just a great story. It is.
Speaker 2:And looking back and I'm like, oh my goodness, how did I ever survive that?
Speaker 1:I think I told you your brother cooking the meat With the paper.
Speaker 2:With the little paper still on it.
Speaker 1:I know All these flotties, I'm like, yeah, this is special soup I want to see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I used to. I walked, man. I don't know how we did this. You know, I think in that podcast I mentioned about walking from. We lived where International Sandwich Shop is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and then you'd go clear out the Zeta or something. Yeah, I went to Zeta.
Speaker 2:I used to go to Zeta or something. Yeah, I went to Zeta. I used to go to Zeta and I had it's winter I don't have boots, you know and snow was something else back then, you know.
Speaker 1:Just seeing snow had to be like, because it doesn't happen.
Speaker 2:It doesn't happen. I would ride my bike in the snow, like folks are like you, serious, what are you doing, dude? And I'm going to work? Because I didn't have a car. And this, this girl felt sorry for me and she asked her dad to get to borrow that. She borrowed the dad's truck just to give me a ride every day. Really, yeah, that's nice. Sometimes she'd pick me up, drop me a wagon, then she'd, uh, drop me back home, you know, yeah I was like Did they have any co-workers or anybody that'd give you a ride?
Speaker 1:No, you know.
Speaker 2:And I'm just. You know, it's the folks who worked there. It was a different kind of type of demographic, you know. That's fair. Yeah, they were good people. You know a lot of good people, but none offered me a ride. I don't know. But there was one person. They were good people. I mean, it's not like you know, maybe they just thought I just liked to walk, or whatever, you know, but I didn't mind, you know. And then one time we also walked with my buddy who's right now. He got his PhD from Kansas State University.
Speaker 1:Okay, Is he part of the Friday night group?
Speaker 2:Yes, Nice yeah so he's a statistician, whatever you call that word. So he's a professor in statistics. He works for a big company in the East Coast. I was talking to you. I'm like do you remember we left that Ben's we used to call it Ben's apartment and walked in the middle of a snowstorm all the way to Aldi's to get a bottle of salsa so we can cook our African food.
Speaker 2:And you know, snow all over piled up everywhere. And here are these two guys going to Aldi, and then we had to walk back home. We get home, our feet are frozen in our hands. I don't even know how we didn't get snow, you know. Oh, that was bad.
Speaker 1:What's the coldest it gets in Kenya? It gets to.
Speaker 2:I'd say 50.
Speaker 1:50 is as cold as it gets there.
Speaker 2:50 is as cold as it gets, but the higher elevation it'll drop. Below that you know. The higher elevation it drop to, you know you get snow too, yeah, but it's way higher elevation. Sometimes snow gets to the lower elevation around the higher elevated area. So we've had a few, you know.
Speaker 1:Flurries or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, flurries or something like that you know so, but you know it goes away.
Speaker 1:Is it more precipitation at that point? Yeah, more precipitation at that point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just wet snow at that point Wet snow, but it's time the sun sets out by 11, so it's just gone.
Speaker 1:When was the last time you went back?
Speaker 2:Actually, right now I try to go twice a year. I try to go twice a year, you go twice a year, Mm-hmm. This time I may go three times because I'm planning on a visit coming up in June, end of June, and then I'll be there in September. September is when we run the big, my mom's the gym run.
Speaker 1:So this is a- Okay, yeah, because you got a foundation and her name, yeah.
Speaker 2:my name, yeah, and what's that called again, it's called the Gladys Arena Organization. And her name yeah, and what's that called again? It's called the Gladys Area Organization. And actually we're starting our fundraising in a couple weeks. Okay, the next week. Yeah, we have a board meeting, I think this Sunday.
Speaker 1:And what's the fundraising geared towards. So I think we talked a little bit about it last time, but it's a good cause.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a good cause, yes, a good cause. Our organization deals with empowerment of women and children, especially those living in impoverished areas. Sure Kenya you know it's a third world country, you know there's a lot of poverty.
Speaker 1:You went into great detail on the last podcast just how hard it is to come up through that system. Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And we've focused the past three years that we've been around, we've focused on this school, that we've actually made an impactful change in the school. We only have like six classrooms to finish because we're planning on putting new rooms in these classrooms. Last time I was there, I was there in let's see, january yeah, january I took a visit to the school and there's some classes that are abandoned because the roof.
Speaker 2:You know they have holes, they're leaky, so students got to use that class, so they just locked them up. And there's several students, they're like five of them. I'm going to just lock them up and forget about them. Yeah, they don't have enough tables, you know, or desks, just, you know. Supplies, resources, you know. All the windows are busted up, you know.
Speaker 1:And I'm like, wow, is this where you attended, or is this other?
Speaker 2:So this is in the village? Yeah, this is in the village. It's actually my. That's where my mother came from, so you can say that's like my ancestral home, okay, where my tribal folks came from. Yeah, so there's my mom's village, where she was born, she was raised, she went to that school. That's why we focus on that school, okay, and there's a high school next to it. The high school is well-funded, so it doesn't have some of the issues that the primary or, you know, the lower level school has. So this year our mission is to complete the roof, put in a new roof on those eight classrooms and then, hopefully, the next time we go there, we're going to just finish with their windows and then the paint, and that's about it, you know.
Speaker 1:That's cool. You're trying to give back, you know, to where you came from. Absolutely, I think you like it here. I do. It's nice to go back. You know and figure out. You know what you can do to help out here or there. Yes, you know, back into homeland.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and you know Sorry. I just remembered when I was getting therapy a couple of years ago, you had a motorized scooter and could not figure out how to get this damn thing to Kenya.
Speaker 1:Oh man, we were thinking of everything outside the box.
Speaker 2:I know I remember that it's like how do?
Speaker 1:you get this through customs. I know I was like I don't know, it's like well, I got this free scooter and so, and this through customs, like I don't know, it's like well, I got this free scooter, and so and so needs it. Yeah, somebody needs it. Better off just to sell it. Give them the money.
Speaker 2:Let them buy a scooter, like they don't have them there yeah, the lady was appreciative of getting the scooter because she has I think she has MS and yeah, uh, she uses it a lot. And I mean I I felt like I had to take the owners and be the one in charge, you know cause people are talking about it, and I threw it up there. We got all the money in, we bought a scooter.
Speaker 1:Now it's just customs and paperwork and logistics and it was heavy dude.
Speaker 2:I went to Southern Illinois with my brother. We were like, yeah, I think we just picked this thing up, two of us, I don't think it's going to be that heavy. So we drive five hours to Southern Illinois and the ladies who sold the scooter to us, you know, their dad used it and he died of, I think, lou Gehrig's or something similar to what this lady had, you know, or MS. So they told us, oh, it's right here in the storage area, you just go there. And he's like, do you have help? I'm like, yeah, I have help. I didn't think that thing was heavy, didn't think that, through, holy moly, yeah, we could not lift that thing.
Speaker 1:It took us forever. We did a similar thing with my grandmother. She had this scooter, but it folded up in her trunk. Yes, so we're just like it's in your trunk, we'll just pull it out. It needed some tires or something on it. We underestimated how heavy and stupid the scooter was it was stupid. By the time we found these specialized tires to put on, the damn thing it was. I wish we'd just bought something else. I know, it was so miserable.
Speaker 1:But yeah it's crazy how that equipment kind of comes and goes. You know, yeah, we struggled.
Speaker 2:We were there, we thought it was going to just be like oh yeah, I'm just going to be there, you know, 20 minutes loaded up, strap it up and back. It took us about almost two and a half hours just trying to load that thing, because every time we tried we just we couldn't lift it.
Speaker 2:But you, got it there and we got it there. We couldn't find anybody to help us too, because the storage unit was like way back in who knows where you know, like in the woods, wherever you know. And those ladies, they waited for us because you go, they are late and they're like where you guys are like, oh sorry, we gotta go, we're busy, whatever. So they had already left by the time we got there, but they told us where it was. Oh, we struggle, but we got it on, yeah. And then shipment was another issue, but we finally made arrangements and you know it was gone.
Speaker 1:So you have to probably have a power converter or something for that.
Speaker 2:once it got that it does.
Speaker 1:yeah, Because it was probably built for our power grid here.
Speaker 2:Yes, and it's got to go by cargo planes or cargo transportation. You cannot just put it in a regular plane, you know, because the batteries, I just remembered it was like a, because I was coming in like twice a week at that time.
Speaker 1:And it was just a saga Like I just had to know what's going on with the scooter man. He was like, oh the scooter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh yeah, it was a pain, you know. You know, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it there and I saw the lady using it. I'm like this thing really got there, man. I'm like, wow, Just sit back and enjoy it. How can you explain something coming from rural Illinois in the middle of it, like southern Illinois, almost in the middle of nowhere, makes it all the way to Nairobi, Kenya, and somebody's using it. I think that's a remarkable story.
Speaker 1:Well, I work at a company nowadays where we have to get oversized loads down the road and just the permitting and the logistics and the logistics and it just depends on what state you live in or what county you're driving through or what. You have to have approved routes for certain sizes. You got to have flag cars or police escorts for certain states, depending on the size of things it's absolutely insane what it takes to move things from A to B.
Speaker 1:I know it's money, it's all it takes. Oh yeah, there's a lot of tape in there to B.
Speaker 2:I know it's money, it's money, it's all it takes, but it's there's a lot of tape in there too. I know, yeah, red tape, of course. And then you know it's like you're gonna pay every little step. You know, you find out like I'll get another one today if you don't mind, mm-hmm let you use your eclectic, my yeah, bottle opening method.
Speaker 2:I think my brother's the one who showed me these like it's, like, that's cool. Yeah, I think there's a way you can just hold these two over together and yeah, it's good learned like a true western student, I know right, yeah that's a leatherneck moment right there. I know, yeah, I remember back in the day, because Macomb County was a dry county. You know it's going on Western oh Sundays, Sundays, yeah.
Speaker 1:Sundays were dry. Sundays were dry, you know.
Speaker 2:And, of course, as you know, all the college students. When Western was, you know, close to 15,000 or 15,000. Yeah, back in the heyday, yeah, back in the heyday, and we used to have these big parties, you know we'd go either to Adair or Carthage, I know, yeah, carthage, yeah, carthage. Or some folks would go all the way to Monmouth, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, your wife's from the.
Speaker 2:Carthage, but when?
Speaker 1:Augusta area. Right, yeah, yeah. So so you got to experience the party the party circuit of Macomb, and then you'd go hit the honky tonks. Yeah, yeah, honky tonks.
Speaker 2:And sometimes just go fetch beer, especially Temple Grove, just so we spend a lot of money there. You know like you see all these just cars and sandals just going. See all these colleges just grabbing all the Keystone Light and all the Rolling. Rock.
Speaker 1:Keystone.
Speaker 2:Yes, I know.
Speaker 1:I think Keystone was kept open solely by Western there for several years. Oh yes, oh yes.
Speaker 2:And I think Western sold the most. I can't remember what that would be, I don't know whether it's Keystone or Rolling Rock. In the whole United States West PS sold the most.
Speaker 1:McCollum Illinois. Mccollum Illinois, western Illinois University. I know I'm like what. They had to be known for something.
Speaker 2:Yes, I think I see those when my friend's calling me. That's about that time. Let's go WIU, yeah, wiu, macomb alumni, nice, they call around this time, but I'll touch base with them a little later. This one goes on. My wife knows, when they start like you're really going to be there for five hours, I'm like, yeah, it's Friday night, what are you?
Speaker 1:going to do Same thing your kids are doing. You just don't have like a video game controller.
Speaker 2:I know right, and our topics range from a lot of things you know. You know they go from politics to women, to sports, to whatever you know, disasters or whatever is happening, to personal issues too. It's more like a therapeutic session for guys, absolutely. It is, you know, and I think a lot of men need that you know, because we, as men, we don't talk about our emotions, we don't talk about it, we don't, we don't, we don't.
Speaker 1:Unless we're sitting down and actively griping about it.
Speaker 2:I know which. Everybody needs a little bit.
Speaker 1:Nobody wants to be that guy. That's like griping to everybody. Yes, yes, I guess there are people that want that, that want that. Yeah, most people want to be able to talk about their problems without burdening other people, without burdening other people.
Speaker 2:There you go, thank you Without abiding other people Without abiding other people. There you go, Thank you, Yep. Yeah, true, and but I found this group to be very therapeutic because we know the struggles that we've gone through and most of these folks, all of them, actually went to school with here at West Indian, you know, and then everybody just spread out and everybody has their career in different areas. You know, Sure, but you know we also have issues in our lives. You know whether it's with our spouses or whether it's just health or kids or whatever you know work or work you know.
Speaker 2:But you never know within that group of friends who's been through that before.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and this worked for us, so it might work for you, absolutely.
Speaker 2:And that kind of accountability helps.
Speaker 2:That kind of accountability. I remember years ago there was one of our buddies, roar he's. He had just been laid off from work, you know, he had moved to Kansas City. He had a good job laid off and you know, uh, so he was, it was the middle of summer, you know, and his air had just quit on him. It was bad for him. He got laid off, his air conditioning quit and he was told he was going to need like almost two and a half grand to fix that air conditioning in or get a new one. And he's like god, they don't have this money. So he's just, you know, told us, hey, uh, you know, if you guys can help me, everyone like, yeah, sure, right, no problem, you know and so many other ones.
Speaker 2:So my mom passed away. You know this group was there for me. They, they call me, they put in money. They, you know they, this group was there for me. They called me, they put in money, you know.
Speaker 1:When I was spending time up here, she was still living with you guys in your home.
Speaker 2:Oh yes, she was. And I tell you, man, that cancer man, that's, it was nasty stuff. It's nasty stuff, man. When I hear that word cancer man, I just shiver man.
Speaker 1:Well, everybody's affected by it somehow some way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I saw my mom shrink from. She was. She had a good body on her and man, she became this tiny little thing. I was like, oh, my goodness, you know. And when she passed away I think I mentioned this in the other video it was like a 24 hour thing, cause I, she and we took her back there?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was the cool part was she got to go back to Kenya, which was one of her final wishes?
Speaker 2:Oh, yes, and then we had to make a turnaround because she passed away. I just go home. And then we had to turn around and go back. I'm like, oh mother, why did you do that? Yeah, but I guess that was our way of telling us. Okay, you're going to have to come back for me, you know? Yeah, yeah, but the foundation he's doing pretty well. We have a very good group. It's a group made up of folks from different regions. Actually, we have folks from Canada, the US, Kenya, Australia.
Speaker 1:Which foundation the Gladys?
Speaker 2:Erudite Organization.
Speaker 1:Okay, my mom's.
Speaker 2:Yeah, from my mom Gotcha, australia, which foundation, the Gladys organization, okay, so we have all these folks, you know, who come with different experiences. Some of them have been different organizations, you know. So we blend in. Well, you know, we have some who've come out and then just the period ends and they're like okay, somebody else comes in, so and then we have those who just stay much better cause than a metal show, and we've learned a lot of things along the way too.
Speaker 2:it's, it's kind of and you know it's it's very hard because, uh, like you, if you're kenya, especially for somebody who's not, who does have the ethnicity of that area, yeah, so if you go there, people will just they're going to figure it out. But they also think you have a lot of money, it doesn't matter. They're like oh, you are white, you got money, you got money. They don't care whether you live in a. They're like yeah, brother's white, he got money, he got money, he's white, he's got Brother's white.
Speaker 1:He got money, I got your money. White is your money.
Speaker 2:That's it. It's white, Looks like money there, you know, oh man. And then when they figure us we're from America, it's the same thing. So they expect us. You know, Everybody comes. It's like you cannot satisfy everybody's problem.
Speaker 1:You cannot just choose and pick who to hire, because otherwise, man, you won't have anything.
Speaker 1:You know, yeah, I'm part of park board there in my hometown and fundraising is needed and essential, but in my mind, like it's right up there with cold tail, cold all cells, oh yes, oh yes, it's like the worst feeling is to walk into a place and beg them for money. I know is to walk into a place and beg them for money. I know it's necessary and needed for us to have programs for our kids and be able to do the things. Yes, yes, you know, and you learn to get past it, but I just would rather be slapped in the face with a dead fish than go into some of these places, especially. You know you've got your local jfl football program or you've got, uh, the pool or you've got there's so many different things going on in one community and you're asking a business to shell out more money for your company. Yeah, I know right, and it's like you're beating up the same people non-stop and it's just, it's, it's, it's very hard, you know you have to do this, but it's.
Speaker 2:it takes a certain yes, cause the meeting I had actually today was in regard to, uh that, you know, uh it was. Uh I went to meet the Spoon River, a director of what is it called Like funding or whatever Foundation. Director of foundation Foundations, over you said Spin River College.
Speaker 1:Yes, we will call it Okay.
Speaker 2:Dustin Berg and the conversation I had, because he was telling me there are students who are here or spouses for students who are already here. You know, they're here legally, I mean, but even students, you know, they're trying to get scholarships but they cannot get scholarships. So he was asking me if I know some place these students can get scholarships, and I told him I did not know anybody around who does that, you know, and even it's. It's a big a problem that we're facing, even like in kenya, because a lot of kids rely on our assistance to, you know, help and further the education, you know. But we can only hand pick who we're doing that for. You know. Help and further the education, you know.
Speaker 2:But we can only pick who we're doing that for, you know, because we can't help because there's so many, you know Everybody will tell they need, you know, tuition, they need this, they need, you know, and we can't help all of them, you know. So I told him I don't know anybody. The money that we raise, we raise from the generosity of people who put in money and then we'll pick a few students who we think need the most and then we'll just go with those, you know. But his point was trying to figure out if there are companies that would, you know, fund these students and then have them go back and work for them. I know there are companies that do that. Most of them are, you know, are based under the United Nations umbrella, but I don't know how they operate, so I showed him I'll just look into it and just get back with him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so Kind of like get the scooter to kind of I know right, I know like, oh, there's a way to do it, but it's not going to be fun, it's not going to be fun.
Speaker 2:I'm like I'm going to find this out again. I'm like I'm like I'll just, I'll probably just find somebody. I'll find somebody. Here's a grant writer.
Speaker 1:Leave me alone. I know, yeah, god, you do that.
Speaker 2:I don't want to deal with these.
Speaker 1:I'm like I didn't want to bit different approach to my fundraising for the dial, the wild productions and shows and podcasts and stuff. It's like I I could be banging on the door of pella or walmart or somebody just so they can cut a check you know and and help out what I'm trying to do. But I I would rather go and help you. I want to see your business, business Like. I'm cheering for you.
Speaker 1:I want to see you win it's just like when I would go to you know, Jackson street pub, Carol. I tell her there's a cause, Boom, Boom.
Speaker 2:She's like how much?
Speaker 1:what do you need? What?
Speaker 2:can I?
Speaker 1:do for you, you know, and it's the same thing with uh, you know in the past I've had Michael Field over in the at the jujitsu gym.
Speaker 2:I've had Corby Foxall over at MacTown.
Speaker 1:you know, and it's you know, I'm I'm not trying to haunt these people for money. I'm just like hey, I want to support your cause, you want to help me support my cause, and then we all just kind of work together and I would it's's. It's a much for me, it's a much more organic way of everybody trying to help each other out, and that's the way it should be.
Speaker 2:I agree it should be.
Speaker 1:I agree everybody's got a cause. Everybody's got something. Yes, they need. Yeah, it's like let's find a healthy, constructive way to help each other out, rather than just banging on as many doors as you can to get as much money as you can can you imagine the changes we've had since we did the first podcast, just sitting in the office there, and now this huge room is stretched out out there. Well, the TV was a lot closer in the other room. That's why you said we need a bigger one.
Speaker 2:We need actually a bigger one.
Speaker 1:You need the projector.
Speaker 2:I told one of my boys, hey, can you find me a bigger TV? He said no, it only goes up to 85. I'm like I don't even know what 85, you know yeah.
Speaker 1:So, but I think a projector will be a big one.
Speaker 2:You know how you fix that you tell him that, like you find the right projector and you tell me, play video games, and before you know it you got a new projector hooked up to an xbox. I do love that because I have this one kid the middle kid is very technologically savvy, you know he's. He's the one who, like he, likes the technology stuff. He's the one who does all this stuff. He's the one who bought a car. You know, I told you about that story. Yeah, yeah he's. But he's always been inclined and he's taking, like, piloting classes right now, not pilot. Yeah, he wants to be a pilot.
Speaker 1:A pilot, so he's taking flying classes. I thought you said parenting classes Pilot. Yeah, Good luck with that.
Speaker 2:You're like oh, we are too young for that, he's 16, so let's hope not. Yeah, he young for that.
Speaker 1:He's 16, so let's hope not. Yeah, he wasn't I know? No, we don't want that. I tell everybody the same thing. I've got two daughters and one goal. I have to defeat teenage pregnancy and I win. All I gotta do is defeat teenage pregnancy, that's all my kids.
Speaker 2:I am not gonna be ready to be a grandparent, you know, okay, I am am now.
Speaker 1:My parents were 19 and 21 when they had me, and I saw the struggles that they went through. That's probably why I waited until I was about 30 years old before I had kids.
Speaker 2:I was 31 when I had kids Really.
Speaker 1:I was 36 when I got married and I was 30 when I had kids.
Speaker 2:Yes, and that 30 was even my mom pushing, because if my mom wasn't pushing I could have. I could have waited no longer.
Speaker 1:Oh, the I want to be a grandparent before I. Yeah, the guilt trips, yeah, From the wife was almost as bad. It was just if I heard my biological time block is ticking one more time. No, I, we heard my biological time clock is ticking one more time. No, we made sure we thoroughly enjoyed our 20s.
Speaker 2:I know right that's, that's what it was. I was just doing fine and then my mom comes and say oh, you know what victor you are the oldest. You know why. You know, my friends have children already and they almost have the guilt trip.
Speaker 1:You know you need to get married. I need to see my grandkids.
Speaker 2:I'm getting old. I'm like, oh mother, seriously, you know, yeah, he was just constant, just you know nagging.
Speaker 1:I'm like okay whatever, I was on my honey. I was on my honeymoon after we got married and we're down at some little B and B in Southern Illinois doing the wine trail yeah, and a great time, great place. But I went out and I did my run. Obviously I haven't done that in a while, but I got up and I did my run and stuff. And I got back and I think I put something on Facebook like hey, you know, got up, did my run, had my breakfast, going to be another good day on a honeymoon, blah, blah, blah. I think my mom messaged back something like why are you running? Think grandkids? Like mom, you can't put that on Facebook. Like you know, everybody can see that it's called social media for a reason.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I was just blasting you out there.
Speaker 1:I know she was so ready for grandbabies way before I was ready to have them.
Speaker 2:I know, that's the same thing with my mom. And then, because I had the first, you know, one of the first grandchild, you know, and then my brothers were like it was like go bang, go bang, go bang, go bang. And then they're like, oh, there's too many grandkids taking my way, I don't want to oh, yeah, yeah, no, I've been pretty blessed.
Speaker 1:I got my parents about 15 minutes away and I got my wife's parents another 10, 15 minutes away. Oh, wow, that's pretty good, it works out nicely, and there are times where it's like, no, we don't want your children here, but it's not very often. It's not very often, yeah, but I don't blame them.
Speaker 2:It's very good to do it, because you know you can get time out with your wife, or you know, or? Use your time to go do your stuff. You know, you know it's significant how that you know works out nicely. When you live close to family like that and my kids know their grandparents, I know right they learn a lot of cool stuff from them. Very important.
Speaker 2:Some good stuff, some not so bad and I've had grandparents say you know, you have to have kids for a little bit, spoil them and send them away with their mom and dad, oh yeah, fill them full of chocolate and send them home. Yeah, and I hear stories because you know with the population that we see here, you know, we see, actually were you in the military. Yeah, yeah, so, yeah, thanks for your time. So we see a lot of military folks here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the most amazing folks. The military wasn't the easiest thing on a person's body.
Speaker 2:No, yes, and they're the most amazing people. They just tell it the way it is. I'm like, oh my goodness, I see a lot of military folks here and we have one of our staff. She just started, she's also. She just retired from the military. She's been there for 20 something years. Really, yeah, nice lady, nice, nice lady.
Speaker 1:I don't see a lot of people doing 20 years anymore.
Speaker 2:She's a she's a very nice lady. She's she's taking a master's at Western, you know, and yeah, so she's, she's doing this because she loves to do this and she's just going to physical education. So I'm like, yeah, it would be nice to have you. So this is more or less coming in and then she's going to do her internship here with us. We've had a lot of very good interns here, actually, by the way, travis, very good.
Speaker 1:Well, you don't always necessarily base your decision for interns and employees on their resume. Like you will hire somebody for a week or two to see if they have the right mentality for what you're trying to do, because you have a certain vibe We'll call it here where it's relaxed, it's laid back. You want everybody to be comfortable, absolutely Personable, have a good time and like if you're extremely good at therapy, like physically, know everything, every muscle, every joint, yeah but you're not a people person, you're not gonna last year yeah, you may have that and it just you know it.
Speaker 2:It's the relationship that you don't really have to you don't need to go to school to learn about. You know, right, it's the interconnectivity that you have with people. You know. Yes, I tell my employees, you know. You know, just, people like to be talked to. Everybody comes in just talking to somebody because they come here. You know they have issues and all that. You know, just, how are you? How are you doing? How was your day? You know, we'll try to help you. We'll do the best we can. You know, and some of these folks, they don't have that.
Speaker 1:Well, for example, when, after the surgery, I came to you and we had done the thing before the surgery for several weeks and then I had the surgery, then I came in and, and you know, for lack of a better term, I'm on pain meds. I'm not sleeping well I'm very very cranky you're asking me to do all these you know, okay, can you move your arm here or there it's like no victor I can't move my damn arm, you know but you're asking me to do do.
Speaker 1:But each time I come in I'm like this is gonna suck. I hate this, but then after a while, you're just like how's the kid yeah things going absolutely, you know how you know, well is I did this at western and it's like, well, I'm going. Well, oh really, you went to western and before you know it, then it's just we're sitting here drinking corona's doing a podcast?
Speaker 2:absolutely yeah, you, you gotta connect that. Then it's just we're sitting here drinking Corona's doing a podcast. Absolutely yeah, you got to connect that because it's just not a patient coming in or crying and just okay, just do this, and then you go and you know, you got to relate that, make them feel that people miss that.
Speaker 1:You know, because that's part of the social media and that's probably why you do so well with your silver seniors and stuff too. Is is like they want to come in, you know, if their family it was something that I was taught early on in pest control is like if I have a bi-monthly or a quarterly account at somebody's house that's elderly, like I could see them as a pest control technician more than their own family.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, so you become family, oh yeah, technician more than their own family.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, so you become family. Oh yeah, so if you know so and so, comes in and they're needing to use the bike for a little bit, you might be their only social interaction all right for the week for the week, yeah, yeah, and some of these, and we've, we've created a good cycle it's a fun community.
Speaker 2:It's a fun because we got different folks who come. So you see, like in the morning when you come you know, know the alley risers who come here, their own community. They know who's here in the morning. They are high-fiving, they're talking and then they leave. They're the quiet group, you know. So they leave. And then the 9 o'clock the loud group comes in 9, 10, you come here it's like loud.
Speaker 1:And if somebody's not there and they didn't say something, they're like wondering why? Yeah, why is he here? Why is he here? I'm going to call now. We better call and check on him, oh yes, absolutely so.
Speaker 2:it's a big discrepancy between the early morning crew, because they're more tapered down, just chill and just quiet, and then the 9, 10, I don't know, because they slept too much. They're really talking to you why.
Speaker 1:And then you get Ready for their coffee and their recumbent bike.
Speaker 2:I know, right, you get the early afternoon group. They're also kind of talkative, but notice the 9, 10, 11 group. That's a wild one, you know. And then the mid-afternoon, the early afternoon group. Yeah, they're a little talkative. And then you get to the evening so you get the younger crowds. You know they're working class, you know they are good kids, people getting done with work, yeah, the school, you know. So you see that group, you know, so it's. It's. It's very interesting to see that change, you know, and how, you know folks come in, you know. So, yeah, but but you know, I want to say I'm from coming in america and coming to the point that I am here, you know, I, I count my blessings a lot, you know. Yeah, I've been blessed, you know it's God's hands, you know. I mean, you cannot pull some of these things without you know there's something that's going on.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of work on your end, but every once in a while it's nice to get a break.
Speaker 2:Whether it comes from God's hands or a nice stranger or something. Yeah, and the person that picks break.
Speaker 1:Whether it comes from God's hands or a nice stranger or something. Absolutely yeah, and the person that picks you up in the pickup truck takes you to work.
Speaker 2:I know, right right, what is happening. There's something, something out there. I remember. You know, you've gone through life sometimes and you're like God, I don't know how this week is going to go. And then, out of nowhere, something happens that you did not expect. Like what the heck man? I had no idea. Or you look back at some places that you've come from. You're like, how did I manage to get through that? You're like, ha, there's something out there that sometimes just pulls us to, lifts us up. Absolutely, yes, absolutely, and I've always counted on that. Whether you call that god or divine intervention or whatever you call it, you can call it a different name it is what it is, you know.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, yeah. So I and I love that, you know I, I love that. Uh, I think I told you I had a before I came here at a fish and chips business in kenya.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'll tell you that I don't know if we discussed that or not. Yeah, it was just you were. You were working for a vacation spot or something.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I was like you were telling me about that and that's what kind of prepped you to make it over I didn't hear about the fish and chips, so the fish and chips came before so, so the fish and chips was right after high school. So here I am I've graduated high school, you know? Yeah, I'm happy then that, yeah, we're gonna walk away out of this you know, one more, one more for each.
Speaker 1:So I know, right as well, let's go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll get that bottle and open this one up. Yeah, empty bottle and put this one up here. Yeah, so.
Speaker 1:I should be taping. That's why I should.
Speaker 2:I know it's awesome yeah, so there you go.
Speaker 1:Were you a bartender in a different life.
Speaker 2:No, I wasn't. I don't even know how to mix drinks or anything like that. You know, tom Cruise talk, yeah, stop going over here. So yeah, it was right. After high school, you know. So I'm this young kid, you know, I've just graduated high school. What are you graduating? You're 18, or whatever 17, 18.
Speaker 2:I think I was, yeah, 17, 18, there, you know, and I'm like, oh, I just graduated high school, I'm waiting to go to college. You know, right, you know I passed my, you know exams, I'm waiting to go to college. But college was always delayed because of the political climate in that country, in Kenya, you know, because there was only a one-party system. You know, like it was just a one party, like you can imagine that in America, just having one party, either Republican or Democrat or independent, whatever it is, you know, yeah, and that was it. You know the way China is right now one party system. That's how Kenya was. You know, you had to be a member of that party. There's no other party. If you are any other party, you are arrested, you're put in jail. You arrested, you put in jail, oh, wow so.
Speaker 2:But college, college students back then were the voice of, uh, the public. So they would go and protest, and you know, and cause havoc when they disagree with the government, and the government will shut down all colleges. There were only like four then. You know, oh, wow, so what that does, you know, indefinitely so. So if you were supposed to graduate in three months and you shut down indefinitely. It's pushed back, you know. So it just kept getting pushed back and students who are graduating were not starting on time because you had to wait a year, sometimes two years, before you started.
Speaker 1:Before you get in.
Speaker 2:So we were in that weird vacuum and I'm like, oh shoot, I'm just going to start a fishing chain for me. So we're in that weird vacuum and I'm like, oh shoot, I'm just going to start a fish and chips business. So I made a shark, you know, out of wood and all this, you know. I'm like, you know, my brothers were like, yeah, you know, they helped me do it, you know a shark. And you know I started with, you know, frying, you know, got some potatoes and just start frying them in a pan and oil, you know, and selling them, you know. And and then people, people just started coming and we made a little money. We bought, uh, we bought an electric, uh, potato boiler, whatever you call it. Fryer, uh, fryer, yeah, fryer. And then we bought the warmer to put the fries in, you know. And then, um, so this is good, I I mean, I haven't even gone to college, you know.
Speaker 1:And then, after, that I was I more out of boredom or necessity.
Speaker 2:It was like cause, you know, like unemployment rate back then I think it was like 40 something percent unemployed unemployment rate, you know. So it was boredom and you want to look for, you want to get money, cause you're young, you need money. Yeah, you need to buy some clothes, you're trying to have the cuties look at you different because you want the, the nikes, you're the good shoes. What are you seeing on mtv? Or yeah, there you go. You know, because we had a lot of american influence back there. Tvs are showing a lot of american shows, you know, with this fresh prince of bel-air or whatever, you know. Yeah, uh, so we, so you try to get to that level, you know. So that's why we did you know. So we tried to get to that level, you know. So that's why we did this, you know.
Speaker 2:But it grew and constructed a more permanent place and then the opportunity came for me to come to the US. I came and my brother ran it. Is it still there? No, it was done. When my brothers came over, nobody could ride it. Our two younger brothers because we have six boys in our family I'm the oldest, the other three after me are here and then we have two back in Kenya, but they all came here for school, right? Yeah, four of us are in school. The two are still in Kenya, but they are my half-brothers actually. But there's a gap between us and them. There's like a I'd say, maybe a eight, close to 10 year gap between four of us and them. You know, because they were young, you know so. They were young to do stuff like that, you know so. So it was just shut down and sold this stuff. That's crazy. Yeah, so it was. We know, we called it Café Bel-Air man. It was from.
Speaker 1:Fresh Free Zone. That's awesome.
Speaker 2:It was Café Bel-Air man From Fresh.
Speaker 1:Free Zone.
Speaker 2:Bel-Air, come get your fish and chips. Come get your fish and chips. And it was popular with the younger crowd. They loved it, man, because we would play music from. You know those cassette tapes, you know, oh, yeah, yeah, just put it in. You know, you know we play all the nice music and you know american music, of course. You know, yeah, everything, whatever they played, you know you know it's awesome, it was, it was, it was nice living. You know we had american haircut. You know we had. I mean, it was just you're living a thought of, but you kind of almost like trying to live that american life because you watch a lot of american doing the old uh two live crew and a two life crew mc hammer mc hammer that's so cool.
Speaker 2:It was, uh, it was, it was, and I remember. And then I had a girlfriend there. Mary Ann was my first girlfriend Serious girlfriend, you know Like serious. That's when I was like, oh my goodness, I mean love, Love.
Speaker 1:I'm going to be married.
Speaker 2:I feel something you know, I'm young, I don't know what it is, and my mom didn't like her.
Speaker 1:That's usually the first red flag, oh no, my mom doesn't care about Marianne.
Speaker 2:I've been loving Marianne and you know I'm hanging out with Marianne, you know. And you know when I left I came to the US and it was hard for me because when I came I really missed her and I missed my friends. So the first three months were really hard for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I her, and I miss my friends. So the first three months were really hard for me. I wanted to go back, man, I was like. I called my mom it's cold. I don't know how to use the current. I don't know what it is. They got this weird food called Subway.
Speaker 2:I don't have maria in here, you know. I just want to calm my mind Like hell. No dude, just take that. She made the right choice. She made the right choice.
Speaker 1:Oh, because you came here, found a country girl and yes, I know, yeah, and she's.
Speaker 2:She's been a blessing in my life. She's pretty nice lady. She's she's counsel She'd have to be to deal with. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 2:She's, the more type of more calm, more chill, more you know. Very smart lady, very smart. I have a lot of respect for my wife. Is she still at Western? Yeah, she's still at Western. She's in the purchasing department. She's the director of purchasing at Western she's been there.
Speaker 1:I didn't remember if she had retired yet or not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's been there for 20. Long time, 25 years. Right now she can actually retire if she she wants. You know, I think, west, where do you retire western? Is it 25 or 30, something like I don't know? I think that's a state thing, I don't know. Yeah, so, but she's been there, she's, she's been a blessing. Uh, she's, she's the quiet part. I'm the loud, obnoxious, like you know the brains of the outfit, yeah we talked about that on the last podcast.
Speaker 1:Yes, she was here taking care of the kids and stuff. You were going back and forth from Michigan State yeah, from, Michigan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and she hated it. When I came back because, you know, I messed up our routine, you know, and she was like, yeah, she was like thank God you're gone because you just come here and you're all disrespectful to my schedule. I got the kids sleeping at a certain time.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, daddy's home.
Speaker 2:Daddy's home. I'm not going to go sleep.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I understand that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when we make our women go through man, I tell you that's no joke. It's kind of I feel like as dads, you know, sometimes I feel like we don't put it as okay. We do a lot for our kids, you know, Right, but the mothers are there all the time with them, but the kids see us different, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, don't Like. Mothers are women a lot of times, and women are details, details, details, details. Yeah, and we're just like I didn't throw some clothes on, get your ass to school and then I'll. I'll get told it's like why did you send her to school looking?
Speaker 2:like that, she's, she's fine she's fine, she's just fine. She dressed herself she looks nice yeah it's cool, but sheets the old eye.
Speaker 1:Roll in the side and let it go, you know.
Speaker 2:But it's true, you know, we've had those. Like seriously, I can't believe you did that. I'm like why it's fine. Yeah, they're having fun, they're just having fun.
Speaker 1:It's good, it looks good, they're covered in mud. Give these evil mud build up to you. I think dads are more like a free spirit.
Speaker 2:You know Even worse when they're with your friends, because and my kids know when they want something from me, yeah, if I'm talking to my friends, that's the time they know they'll approach me and get whatever they want.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like hey dad, I want to yeah, just get out, just leave me alone.
Speaker 2:I'm talking, I want my you know, my uh virtual thing, you know? Yeah, just get out. And they do that on vacation too.
Speaker 2:They play us, you know, but they know like they're not dumb they know, oh, our uncles or dads are there, they're having a beer, they're just enjoying, they're talking. They know. They surely know we hate them messing up our conversation, because they'll know like they will just say whatever just to get to get them out of where you are. So it'll be like, and then the next day you're like who ordered this on Amazon?
Speaker 1:why are you sleeping in my house? You said you could stay the night.
Speaker 2:I know, oh, I did oh, I did, mmhmm sheesh, I've had things like bought on Amazon, like cause I agree, like hey, just go back, leave me alone. Talk to your mom if she says right, just go, yes, yes. So the cousin are conspiring.
Speaker 1:They're like oh, the kids, you know, and they're the worst is when the wife calls in and she goes did you say that so-and-so could do this? No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:That was a good idea, yeah I know right, and they've got a smart. My kids are real smart right now. They record it too. Yeah, they come recording like hey dad, hey Uncle Sly, hey Uncle Max, hey Uncle Felix, we just wanted to get this and this. Can we do that?
Speaker 1:Because you know, like, just get the heck out of here. If you're going to be that smart and play me like that, you better be a damn lawyer or something at some point. Better take care of me when I'm old, I know right.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, that's good science. It's funny how families are just similar. Yeah, because you go through the same experience. Yes, and even families in the US and families like in developing countries it's different. I mean, there's poverty there, but generation is a generation. The younger kids see the older generation as being out of touch with a lot of things. My kids right now. They give me a hard time about technology. I can find, like you know, the patience about technology. Like, if you give me a cell phone, I can go at my own pace. I can have a cell phone. I can go at my own pace. You know I can have a cell phone but I'll take me time. You know I'll figure it out. But if I have my phone and I have my daughter there or my son, hey, can you try to get me to? I need to do this. You know they just get in and scroll in like real quick. I'm like slow it down.
Speaker 2:I want to see how you're doing so I don't have to call you here again to help me but that's the tact. I'm like why? I'm like, okay, just do it, just do it. And then you know, I'm like I can do it. I just I don't want to spend a full hour trying to figure this thing out, but we can do it in a few seconds, you know? Yeah, but I want you to go through it slow so I can see what you're doing. So next time around to call and the impatience.
Speaker 1:They lose patience. Yeah, your dad, just let me do it.
Speaker 2:No, just let me do it, let me do it, I just do it. Yeah, you know, like I was trying to link my phone, I have another phone that I use just for music and all that To link it on the big screen at home to watch music videos, you know.
Speaker 1:Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Yeah, I know right.
Speaker 2:So, and I'm struggling, I'm just trying to do that thing on YouTube that connects automatically. You know, I'm not pulling out my TV, I'm like, but I used to. I know I've watched it there on the cell phone. It used to be there. So I'm struggling with it. And then my son comes in. You know, like, hey, bryson, can you come help me out here? Ah, you come help me out here. He's like, he's already, he's giving the ah, what I'm like just can you hook this tv up, because I'm trying, I can't find it. It's there. You know, oh god, I don't know, just like, but I want to show me.
Speaker 2:He gets really upset. You know it's like this why don't you figure this out? I know I've been there for like one hour trying to figure this out and I'm like okay, I don't have the patience, I don't want to go to YouTube. But he figured it out within two seconds. He was like pep, pep, pep, pep. I'm like he's there. I'm like how'd you do that? Don't worry about it, I got it, that's all. I don't want to have to explain this to you.
Speaker 1:Would you believe it? We've been doing this for an hour. Oh you kidding me? No, it goes by pretty quick once you get going, oh my goodness, that's good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been awesome.
Speaker 1:This is fun. Yeah, I enjoy coming to town and getting to catch up with you from time to time.
Speaker 2:I'll see you at Western Games and stuff. I know Right games, I don't write right right and I like this vibe, you know. You know what, next time I'm gonna invite my brother around, so that'd be a good time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I actually tried to get neil armstrong to come up and shoot up neil armstrong is a pretty good guy dude. He's such a great dude, but that just means he's doing something all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah he's uh, we, we are kind of rivals when it comes to soccer, because he watched a lot of soccer, you know he's a big Arsenal fan, I know. Arsenal and I'm a Chelsea fan, so I'll just go back and forth. You know, yeah, yeah, If we can bring him next time next year, and then I'll bring my brother, we'll figure something out. We'll figure something out, that'll be good. Hopefully all my brothers will be here. You know That'll be good.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I can handle more than one picture. We'll definitely give it a shot.
Speaker 2:Oh, then we'll give you some stories. Man, these guys, man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we didn't talk about the fish and chips last podcast. That was hilarious Bel-Air fish and chips.
Speaker 2:Yeah, bel-air, yes, bel-air. Fresh fish, yeah, we just Bel-Air, you know. And then I have these. Do you have pictures of that somewhere?
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I do. You need to send me those. I will, I will send you, I will post those Like that's awesome, I will send you.
Speaker 2:I will, I have some. Yeah, I'll find, I have them.
Speaker 1:I do have it. I want pictures of you, yeah.
Speaker 2:I'll send you that, the wooden structure that we had, you know, like a shack, and then I sent in the one that was done too Nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You know, there is that little shack there across from West Pierce Liquors. Give me a deal, bring back the dream. I mean you're established here but nothing saying you can't get your fish and chips going again. I know right.
Speaker 2:That was, yeah, I had fun, you know it was. I was young, you know, and I was making money that, you know, was a lot of money for a young kid who was in the teens, you know yeah. And then I had a girlfriend who knew how to spend the money, how it goes, I know right, I didn't even question it, you know like oh yeah, love's a funny thing, love's a fool fools.
Speaker 2:They say yeah, fools, full full soccer around you know, yeah, so, but uh, my, my, my experience, america is the best. I, I love, I love living here. It's it's, it's home, like I've lived here longer than I lived in kenya yeah, yeah, and you've made the most of your opportunities here. Yes, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:That's the big thing. Yeah, we don't have to go super political with it, but like there's so many people that want to be here, when they get here, I know Like, take advantage of every opportunity that you can.
Speaker 2:I know, absolutely. I've loved it and I've put in my sweat and this country has been very good to me and I've put in my sweat and this country has been very good to me and I love it and I always do. My kids are born here and my wife's from here and I'm from here now you know, I got my citizenship.
Speaker 2:I got naturalized in 2007,. You know, and that was a big day for me. Actually it was in Gettysburg. I went to Gettysburg to get my naturalization. I didn't even know what to do, Swearing in so much for naturalization. I was like Gettysburg yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, but I mean, you're an example of you know, come over, you do it the right way and Absolutely. Learn how to how to build on what you have here. It was it was and just you can just sit back and drink a beer and look what you've built. I know it's cool as hell.
Speaker 2:It is. It's hard to fathom. You know, like when you build a house and look at it, you look at your house like, oh my goodness, have you gone home? Like a man sometimes in this street. Oh, my goodness, I'm the man of this house. These kids look up to me. My wife looks up to me. I'm like a man sometimes in this street. Oh, my goodness, I'm the man of this house. Yeah, these kids look up to me. Yeah, my wife looks up to me. I'm the protector. Yeah, this house, I'm the initiator.
Speaker 1:I'm the man. I'm the man. I figured this out, you know. And then the next minute, like something's exploding, the kids are freaking out about something. Yeah, something's broken. It's like I'm not the man anymore.
Speaker 2:I know, right, because you know it's weird. You know we're just men to be men of the house. Yeah, your wife, if something happens in your house right now, she'll call you. Yeah, travis, we got some garbage disposal here working. Oh, we got water in the basement. Oh, we got. You know, you got to figure that out. Yeah.
Speaker 1:She just explained my last like two months.
Speaker 2:Just so you know. You know you got to spend sleepless nights figuring that shit out. She's going to be in bed sleeping.
Speaker 1:I got a buddy that's been staying with us. He's in the basement and I'm just so glad that none of that water or drywall made it onto his bed, you know.
Speaker 2:It's amazing, you know it's always. The kids look at your wife and the kids look at your daddy's going to handle it. Once your wife has told you the problem, she expects you to fix it, She'll go to bed and sleep. You are not going to go to sleep. You just came from work. You're tired Now. You just came from work, you're tired Now.
Speaker 1:I've got to deal with some water leak. I don't know what's worse. It's just like the house being wrecked or that look you get sometimes when it's just like I know right, figure it out.
Speaker 2:I know, figure it out. You know, and you look at your wife she's out there sleeping, she's just out. You know, and you try to figure out oh shoot, how do I get this? How?
Speaker 1:you know, let's figure it out.
Speaker 2:That's why men die early. You always, you just figure it out. Let's, uh, let's. They say men die early because you always, you know, relied upon, you, always called upon to. You know you the stress falls on you. Yeah, if it does fall on you, you know it's supposed to. Yeah, it's just how it is. It's just that's does fall on you, you know it's supposed to. Yeah, it's just how it is, that's what it is you know, and you're you know.
Speaker 1:Not only are you expected to be the protector and the fixer of things, but when she's having a bad day or when the kids are having a bad day, you've got to tap into that side too.
Speaker 2:You've got to tap into that side. Very true, you're going to show the softer side of being a dad.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I just want to fix something instead of trying to figure out why you're so upset about sea turtles or something I don't understand. You're six years old.
Speaker 2:You're not supposed to understand, you're not supposed to understand, just be a kid, yeah, so yeah, that's pretty good. I've enjoyed talking to you, man, yeah.
Speaker 1:This is fun yes. We'll do this more often, we'll find more people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we'll find more people. If we're doing it here, we'll do it here. You know, and I hope, if I get a projector, I'm going to tell Neil I'm going to try to get a projector. There you go, when you have like maybe a wild cup or a big tournament, we can just have it. I mean, I may just watch some soccer.
Speaker 1:We actually had a big podcast on the World Cup last time they had it.
Speaker 2:You did- I'm not a big soccer guy.
Speaker 1:Yes we're going to get you to be a soccer guy. Cole Johnson who's.
Speaker 2:Coach Johnson's son, I know.
Speaker 1:Cole and he's just like well, this is what happens. I'm like just come on podcast Tell me how World Cup works. And we broke it all down. He showed me how it all goes.
Speaker 2:It was a good podcast. What are you going to do, travis?
Speaker 1:Pick a team, you're not going to like me. No, no.
Speaker 2:Just Google English Premier League. Oh yeah, choose one team. It's an Arsenal, tottenham, whatever you choose, it doesn't matter, you know. Yeah, there's an American dude there with a team right now, you know.
Speaker 1:So just pick a team and just start following it and then, like I like how they do, their tier base, your tier base, you can drop a league.
Speaker 2:You can drop completely out of soccer.
Speaker 1:You can drop longer exist by just sucking Relegation. I really wish that we did that with American football, american football basketball. They should do that. Yeah, if you suck you're going down?
Speaker 2:Yeah, because these teams, they'll be there for a while. They know they're going to be there next season. It doesn't matter how sucky they are. Relegation, you're fighting for something.
Speaker 1:You're like holy molyly you watched the 30 for 30 on what was it leads. Yes, they have like. How many times over the years I know I saw that I'm like oh man, let's go again like a bad petty man.
Speaker 2:It won't go away it's bad because you know you lose money, you cannot recruit, you know, then you drop to the second tier. You know, and yeah, it should be like that everywhere. You know, I agree it should be. Yeah, there's no need of these teams. You know like the Bears should have been relegated. I'm a Bears fan.
Speaker 1:Bears should be playing D3 football right now in college.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they should have dropped to D3 and then find their way back up. You know, then maybe that would have given some incentive for the owner to be like fair argument. I know I'm like yeah, so thank you so much my brother.
Speaker 1:No, thank you, man. We appreciate your support. I appreciate everything I appreciate coming.
Speaker 2:Yes, that was great. I'm out you.
