The Kindness Chronicles

Holiday Chatter

December 21, 2023 John Schwietz
The Kindness Chronicles
Holiday Chatter
Show Notes Transcript

A little Holiday Chatter from the KC Crew. Wishing you all Merry Christmas or whatever you may celebrate this time of year.

welcome to the Kindness Chronicles, where we hope to inject the world with a dose of the Minnesota Nice that it desperately needs It's that time of year. It's a holiday season. Yep for us Hill Murray boys. It's Christmas time For you know, there's some Kwanzaa going on some sure some I think today is the eighth day of Hanukkah I'm sure you've got your candles burning bright all kinds of that stuff. But Steve Brown is here Hello Steve. Hello, and we got Kevin Gorg Kevin Hello, guys, you're back in town, back in town after a quick road trip, quick road trip of the year. Yeah, it's kind of a Pittsburgh and Boston. You guys like either one of those cities. I've never been to either one of them. I've been to both and I've been to Pittsburgh more recently and it's a beautiful city. They redid it and I was there maybe maybe 15 years ago, but it was really beautiful. Pretty cool. I, what I thought was Pittsburgh was, uh, much more, uh, a nice surprise. It was a beautiful city. Couldn't agree more. It's a, it's a wonderful downtown area. Lots of cool restaurants. They've got the, of course, the bridges that connect you. There's a people bridge that, Takes you down by the ballpark. You got the football stadium right on the water. Really a, an outstanding downtown. Now, Boston's always going to be one of the best cities in America, but uh, Pittsburgh is an under the radar. If you haven't done it, put it on your list city for sure. And it's, I liked geographically how that's kind of surrounded by, you know, mountain or like, uh, Hills, right? It's kind of a valley city. Is it really kind of, yeah, there's the bluffs or whatever, all around. It's, it's really hilly more than you think. And aren't there three rivers there? There you go. See? That's Free River Stadium. This is your sports history lesson. And let's not forget, um, One of the all time under the radar football movies with Tom Cruise filmed in the great city of Pittsburgh. All the right moves. All the right moves. Oh yeah. Fabulous, fabulous old school 80s. And that was what my impression of Pittsburgh was going into my visit there and it was much more, uh, that was definitely a more industrial side. It's a really beautiful city. And I think Minnesota's very own Leah Thompson was in that movie. Yeah, you're right. She's the love interest. I didn't know she's from Minnesota, John. Oh, she is. Absolutely. We claim her. We also claim John Madden, and I think he was here for about four minutes after he was born in Austin, Minnesota, but you know, we like to reach your, you know, grab on to those people. We want them to be from here. My friend Tim, uh Uh, Tim Devins from St. Cloud State, one of my buddies there, always reminded me that Marianne Ross from Happy Days. She's from Albert Lea. She's from that area. She's from Albert Lea, Minnesota. Wakona or something. No, Albert Lea. No kidding. Where, so my wife and uh, Mrs. Cunningham, Mrs. C. Wow. Are both from Albert Lea. Isn't that something? We, we, we, yeah, we're dying to just claim everybody, aren't we? So KG, last night, uh, we had our annual, um, toy, uh, toy drive, uh, Salvation Army function that your, uh, special friend Chrissy organizes. And, uh, I have a Kindness Chronicles moment that I'd like to share with you. Yeah, let's hear it. I think it's Number 33 for the Minnesota Vikings. Brian Asimo, I think is how you say his name? Yeah. He's a linebacker. Um, he was a third round pick a couple years ago. He's in the second year of a four year contract. Um, he shows up by himself, no fanfare, no cameras, was there because he wanted to be useful. And couldn't have been a nicer guy. You know, uh, stayed late and took pictures with all of, you know, Becky and Chrissy and all those old birds that are, uh, you know, part of that crew and It was just, what a fun event. Really? So, is this, so, you've told, you guys have, have been to this before. It's been like 15 years we've been doing it. And you told us a story, uh, a couple years back, was that just two years ago? Are you off probation with this group? Oh, no, no, no. I was, uh, asked to leave, it was about 10 years ago. Okay, okay, that's good to know. Should I quick tell that story? Yeah, I think we need to remind the group. It's a great story. It's a great story. So, what's really fun is there are a couple of, uh, of young people that were there last night that remember this incident. It was, uh, it was about ten years ago. We're in Minneapolis at the, uh, Salvation Army thing, and for starters, these families that come in, it's just, it's so sweet, and it's kind of heartbreaking at the same time because they're obviously struggling, and Christmas is, it's an exciting time. But when you don't have access to some resources to buy gifts, it's just beautiful what the Salvation Army organizes, and they are so organized. Yeah. It's just incredible. And you're there with your heart open ready to give people stuff. Well, and what's fun for me is, um, I have decided that my favorite place to work is on the front end. When people come in, you check them in, you, you, one of the crazy things is they, they require That they have proof of all of these children. And to me, it's kind of embarrassing, you know, that you're asking these people to go through their wallets and pull out, uh, the, the insurance cards for, you know, some of these kids, some of these women that showed up have like eight, nine kids. It's insane. Um, but it's really nice. Each kid gets, uh, A big gift, two small gifts, the family gets a gift, they get a bundle of books for each kid. I mean, it's really, really well done. So, a few years ago in Minneapolis, um, I was working the back room and I heard Overheard this mom saying that her daughter really wanted one of these Barbie, um, convertible cars. Yeah. Hot stuff. She saw another kid with one, or another mom with one, and she thought her daughter would absolutely love one of those. Now her daughter's not there. Her daughter's not there. Okay, just a gift for her. Just the mom. Got it. But the mom was really disappointed that, that, that we were out of them. Well, there were pallets of these things in the back room. So, I said, hold on, I'll go back, I know where there's some. And I go back there and the chief elf, this mean curse of a woman. She must have been from the South Pole. She was from, she's a South Pole elf, exactly. Um, Kevin, did you witness this by the way? Were you watching this part? I can vouch for John that the lady that he's referring to had some sharp edges. She watches those rules. You know, and it's like, there's a time and a place. I understand that rules are there. Um, I will side with John on this one because, well, I would hope so at some point you have to understand that. What's the point? Like the kid, the kid wants something. The mom's trying to do the right thing, John's trying to do the right thing, and it turned into a whole ordeal. I'll let John finish the story. Yeah, so the, the, the She was cantankerous. The chief elf said, well, we're out of those for today. And I said, but there's pallets of them back here. And she says, well, those are for the families tomorrow. And I said, but there's a family here today that wants one, and the people tomorrow won't know that one of them is missing from tomorrow. Did the steam come out of her? She couldn't get her head wrapped around the idea. Um, and, and she said, well, you're not taking one. I said, you know what? I might take two. And I walked past her. I went and I grabbed a couple. I went out and I handed one to one woman. I handed one to another who was also suddenly interested. Oh boy. And I turned around and looked at the chief elf and she said, you are out of here. And I said, we'll see you next year. And I decided that, uh, I was on probation for, uh, for two or three years. Which I didn't have a problem with because I found something else to do on that night. But the chief elf, uh, from that South Pole elf is no longer part of the program. At least she wasn't at the location we were at. Pretty stringent with those rules. You know, she's doing her job, right? She's got to make sure the next day has, has people and, and you were doing your, you know. Sure, but I'm sure that they, you know, they probably circulated a little flyer that had my face. It said, you know, watch out for this rule breaker, man. Yeah, don't let him volunteer. Call nine one one. This guy is nothing but trouble. That's not Christmas spirit now. Hats off to Chrissy though, for organizing this, uh, this event. If you remember, uh, back in 19, 19, 21, 20, 21. Back in 2021, we had Brian Molahan, who was the executive director of the Salvation Army, on with us. Chris, he arranged for us to have him on, and he was a terrific guest. And he's apparently moved to, uh, as like a territorial manager, so he's kind of become a big deal. Cool. And you guys, you guys had fun last night doing it? It was great. Or was it last night? It was last night. Yep, from 3. 30 to 7. I went to the wrong location. I went to the place in St. Paul that I thought that it was at and there was nobody there. So I called my wife and she said You thought they were trying to keep you away. That was my first thought. I thought they don't want me here. So they've, you know, they've parked in the back or something. Yeah, it was bad. An anti surprise party. Yeah. KG, uh, um, what do you got planned for the, uh, the Christmas holiday? Big fun? Yeah, you know, it's exciting. My, uh, my oldest daughter, Katerina, lives now, uh, in the Orlando area in Florida. So we only get to see her a couple times a year. She's home now for the holiday break. Uh, she's home for 11 days. I got to have lunch with her today. Uh, I'm gonna obviously spend a lot of time with her on, uh, on the holiday weekend. We're going to be at my parents house on Christmas Eve, which is kind of our tradition. And then we're going to head down to Chippewa Falls to Chrissy's family, uh, on, uh, on the actual Christmas day. And, you know, I look forward to this. It's a great time of year. Right. And. Because she's home and all the girls are together and we get to connect with both my family and Chrissy's family, it's, uh, these are special times and three full days with no, uh, with no work is, uh, is a treat too. So we're looking forward to all of it. I imagine too for you, KG, just to be home is kind of nice and actually have more than, you know, a few days of being home. All the traveling, that's, that's, you've had a big year and how nice would it be to just to be back with your kids and have your daughter back home? That's great. Steve, you mentioned that you have a sleepover night. Yeah. So we, we, we celebrate a year, a day early than everyone else. Um, so my New Year's or Christmas Eve is actually the 23rd. Um, because Trent, my, my oldest, uh, him and his family go on to his, his dad's house and, and, uh, his stepmoms. Anyway, so we're going to have a sleepover on the 23rd and then, uh, we're going to do. Uh, hang on the 24th and then whole party with the rest of the Brown family on the 25th, uh, Christmas Day. Sounds like fun. Yeah, lots of, not far though, just all locally. Very nice. You got the Schweitz family here. How about you, John? Oh, it's, um, we spend, uh, that Saturday the 23rd, we go down to, uh, my in laws, my, uh, mother in law and Becky's family is down there. Christmas Eve we have here. I'm gonna air some dirty laundry. This is, this is life in my house. Wow. To Becky, what's the, what's the plan for, for food on Christmas Eve? Because, you know, food is kind of the centerpiece of everything that we do. Yeah, what's the plan this year? Well, and I, I always tend to like the idea of like a heavy hors d'oeuvre thing where people can just kind of come and pick things and go and find a place to sit. Um, you know, just kind of eat at their own pace. There you go. So I mentioned that and Becky said, well, you know, I really would like to, she's going to make these, uh, mini beef Wellingtons. Ooh. Um, she's making this, uh, this potato and sirloin soup thing. I mean, she's got, everything's a production. Nothing is ever easy. Um, I mean, it's really over the top and I mean, part of it is, I think she's just showing off a little bit. A little bit of showing off. She's an amazing cook. She is, she is. In fact, we decided last night, I just have to throw this in here, um, I was, uh, talking to some of the children of our friends and I was telling them how, uh, how spelt I was once upon a time, you know, I used to be able to take my shirt off in public and people wouldn't point and laugh. And, um, and they said, well, Becky's such a great cook. My guess is that she fattened you up because she didn't want people being finding you appealing. Yeah. So that's the new line. Oh yeah, that's that. The reason I, this is Becky's fault. I, I like that she force fed me all of that good food, but I told her, I said, it's her fault. Yeah. I like that plan. That's fair. I think I, you know, KG might be experiencing a little bit of the same over there. you know, she doesn't cook what she bakes. She's a baker. Those cookies. She is an amazing, amazing, uh, baker of a holiday treats. Nobody I've ever met better than Chrissy when it comes to baking. If Chrissy and Becky decide that, you know, the, uh, the fast paced world they're in now, or they're moving and shaking and doing this great business stuff, if they ever want to just get together and do a restaurant, Becky could be the head chef. Christy could be the head baker and they would crush it. Yeah, or they could decide just to put you and me in an early grave by, uh, fattening us up so much that we explode. I hope not. Yeah, it's, uh, it's, it's remarkable. But what we decided was that I'm not going to talk about, I'm not going to make any suggestions anymore. Oh. I'm just going to let her decide and tell me what to do, what I need to do, where I need to be to pick stuff up. Because I, I don't think I've ever It does sound like a good idea, but What she will miss is a bounce person so you you get she probably zeros in on it because she hears your idea So if you don't see anything, then she's not gonna I think that's a bad idea. Yeah, there's no bounce I mean go with it and see what happens. Yeah, there's there's no like bouncing off ideas. Like there's a lot of telling Of what? Right. Yeah. Yeah, but you guys plan a party. I've been to a party of yours. You guys, you know what you're doing. Yeah. You work together very well. What is Beef Wellington, guys? That's, uh, that's Gordon Ramsay's favorite meal, actually. It's, uh. Tenderloin, um, you know, with some ooey gooey goodness, uh, around it. And then it's wrapped in a, uh, puff pastry. Reading, yeah. Like a little Oh dear God. And it's baked, you know, and, uh, you know, served medium, medium rare. And delectable delight. And of course it's a huge production. Yeah, it's more than just making some steaks. Like you have to cook it and then put it in a pastry and then bake the pastry. So why don't we get chicken fingers from Cain's? Um, how many, I was going to ask you, like, um, how many, uh, beef wellingtons will you have to make? Well, there's 19 people coming over, so Yeah, that's a lot. Oh my heaven. We got to figure out, and they're minis, so we're probably going to have to do two of the beef wellingtons per, so probably 40. It's gonna take a bit. I'd hate to be that, uh, the guy paying the grocery bill. Well, you know what else I'd hate to be? The guy that has to clean all the dishes when it's all done because I'll tell you what, that woman can blow up a kitchen. I'm not sure if she can get after it. It's gonna be here? If this is the Kindness Chronicles or the Krabby Ass Chronicles. The Christmas Krabby Chronicles. Nah, I love it. Um, another, uh, thing that I would like to discuss is, you know, this is probably We'll probably do one more show next week, but, uh, it's been quite a year for the Kindness Chronicles. We've, uh, we've now surpassed, uh, 75, uh, episodes. We've been doing about one a week. We didn't mention that. We're over 75 episodes now. Over 75 episodes, um, are, uh, the people, those of you that are listening, uh, seem to be continuing to listen. So that's wonderful. That's good. Um. Thank you. But it's been quite a year, and I would just like to take a moment and kind of talk about some of what I would consider highlights. Um. The episodes that have gotten the most downloads, um, tend to be our random chatter episodes. Really? Well, the episode that got the most downloads of any of them was the one, Steve, when you and I had our friends from Hillmurray on. Really? Because I think that they sent them out to their friends. Oh, true. And, you know, all you gotta do is listen for five minutes or so and it, it, it registers, so people that didn't want to hear about that. We still got credit for those calls. Um, but the, um, you know, we've, we've done some, uh, you know, the, when we had the random chatter where we talked about Ted Lasso and that TV show Jury Duty, that one got a great reaction from people. There are all kinds of people that happen to watch that people like it. That's, that's cool. Um, and you know, I think part of it has to do with the fact that people, you know, like talking about TV shows and, you know, the, the episode that we did on Um, the, the, the, our favorite food places. Remember that one? Oh yeah. Where we mentioned the burgers and all that stuff. Uh, what do we call that? Random restaurant chatter. We did that one back in June. The random chatters are the, are the episodes that people are listening to. Well, I mean, they're listening to all of them, but these are ones that Of course, but they appreciate more of the free flowing, which is good. Um, and I think before we're done today, being that we're ahead of the holiday. Put this in the back of your mind. We should, um, go over one, whether it's super old or just maybe just fairly recent holiday movie that you have to watch every single year when this, you know, when Christmas comes along. I've got one on my mind. I actually saw it in the theater. Um, a couple weeks ago, so just keep that in the back of your mind for later on this show. Let's, yeah, let's, since we're there, let's not forget about that. What is the answer to your, your, the question that you posed? Well, I just went, um, it was like a week ago. It's the, uh, I can't believe it's the 20th anniversary of this movie. So obviously 2003 is when it was in the theaters for the first time. Well, actually, um, it's the one I have to watch. Every single year when December comes around and it's, you know, for me, it's got a little bit of everything, the plot twist, the way it's all kind of interwoven together, the narration by Hugh Grant at the start and the finish about how love is all around us and how he's at the airport and, you know, how, Instead of the world being this horrible place where people are out there so divided, this actually is not the case when you really look at, um, what matters in the world. There's tons of love out there. You just have to look for it. And it's got some great humor. I mean, it's just got some unbelievably funny, funny parts to it. So for me, if you haven't seen it, watch it. If it's been a while, if you want to download it, it's super easy to find. But love actually is. The one I have to watch. I, I agree with you. It's been a while. I haven't watched it in a while. I, I do always enjoy that movie. That's the, the British sense of humor. The British sense of movie storytelling. I, in that, in that era, I love it. I love those movies. I have to admit. If you're a guy, I mean, Keira Knightley's in this movie. Oh my. I mean, I'll tell you right now. I mean, she is, she's something. She's out there and she's spectacular. Were you about to say you haven't seen it? I've never seen the movie. 90s dude. Well, I've been busy. It's really, really good. I urge you maybe, maybe tonight when we wrap up the pod, you could honestly knowing you like John, I've known you for. Three decades plus you have to watch this. Is it gonna make me weep? There'll be parts where you're weeping, but there'll be parts like Seinfeld where you can't stop laughing. Yeah, it's funny Like I mean, it's the the old guy Bill Nighly that plays the aging pop star That's if the movie starts and they're doing this reboot of one of his classic songs But they're making it into a Christmas song and he's frustrated as hell that he's having to do this to still continue to make a living And this person, he reminds me a little bit of you. He's got a little shenanigans to him. Bill Knightley? He's funny and entertaining, but he's got a little of you in him like that. Twinkle in his eyes. Oh, he's great. Honestly, I can't believe you haven't seen him before. He sounds like a great guy. He's an awesome guy. One of my favorite lines in the movie is he's on one of those reality music shows and he gets done performing this corny Christmas song and these young guys that got the microphone on him and he's getting interviewed and he says something raunchy and the co stars are just appalled and like That's not appropriate for our audience. You need to make that up by saying something nice. And he pauses, he stares into the camera, and he's like, Now kids, do not go out there and buy drugs. Become a pop star like me. They'll give them to you for free! Yeah, so that's a must. That's Bill Nye. N I G H Y. And Bill Nye. Okay. Well, I didn't realize I thought it was Knightley or Nyley. It's Nye. Yeah, Nye. Okay. Um Liam Neeson's in it? Laura Linney? Yes! It's a huge cast. Alan Rickman? Yeah. Oh. Seriously. Emily Thompson's in this movie. What? Yeah. He plays the American president, right? Rowan Atkinson? I mean, this is Where have you been, Judd? 2003 that came out. I just saw it in the theater last week, and I'm not kidding. I've been running around doing Christmas shopping all day this I was looking so forward to just hitting the pause button and doing the show with you guys, but now That I'm talking about this. I've got to wrap all my stuff and put it all together. I'm going to put the movie on tonight. I hope that Johnny, I hope that you watch it and you text me later and tell me what you think of it. I will find it. We have every one of those streaming services. I'm sure it's on one of them. It's on all of them. You'll love it, John. You'll love it. Okay. It'll make your holiday season. Okay. It'll start it right. Quit bullying me! Just watch it! Okay. Now you guys both have to give us the movie that you have to watch up till now. I mean, I have several. We have gone over this, but Well, we went over it when he was out of town. Oh, that's right. When we had our friends from Hill Murray on. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Um, but, you know, I love Elf. I love, uh Who doesn't? You know, I'm a big fan of, uh, The Christmas Story. I haven't seen the, the The Christmas Story Revisited, you know, the, where Peter Billingsley Yeah, it's not the same. I saw Bits and Pieces. Okay. Well, you know, you know a good movie. Um I do. Yeah, you went and saw The Abyss the other day, didn't you? I saw that in Vancouver a couple weeks ago. And? It was good. Yeah, did you find what I remember Kevin is I love that movie and then the end let me down Did the end let you down? It gets a little corny at the end. Yeah, but If you if you put that aside and just look at the actual meat and potatoes in the movie I didn't understand where they were going. Like I'm like, what is this thing in the water? Right? Like what is this? And it ends up being, I don't want to spoil it, but it ends up being something. Yeah, I, I won't spoil it. Just spoil it, I don't want to watch it. It sounds terrible. It's James Cameron, you know. Yeah, it's an, you know, it's a, it's some type of ET thing. And it's living in the water. ET was in the water? Not ET, but an alien. Well, it's not ET, it's, it's just a different version of ET. Oh, okay. And it's under, it's hard to explain, but. The movie itself is so much not about that. It's much more about the drama of what they're going through. Yeah, it was great. I know. It's, it's an excellent, excellent picture. It's a great holiday movie. That's love actually. Wait a minute. We're getting really confused here. Okay. I also am a big fan of Christmas Vacation, of course. Oh yeah. You know, there's so many. Send over, I'll show you one of the other, another one of those classic lines in a movie. Yes. It, uh, he says that to Elaine, doesn't he? Yeah. To Elaine Bendis? Yeah, remember Elaine and her pompous, uh, rich and fancy boy husband live next door. Part of the, part of the subplot to the movie. Yes. He may have had a ponytail. I think he had one of those guy that's Christopher guest's brother. That is Christopher guest's brother. No kidding. Cause every time I watch it, it looks like Christopher guests. And I read it and I was like, Oh, I looked it up. Cause it was. Yeah, you know what? We're really we're we're diverging where we are diverging. How about you Steve? I I I love having elf on during cooking and all that stuff as well as vacation. Yeah, but when I sit down I watch Wonderful life. It's all yeah, I love it. Yeah, I'll actually Settle in, take a little nap while that's on, and I'll end up waking up loving it, watching it. Jimmy Stewart. Yeah, he's fantastic. Well, well, well, Mary! Mary! Well, oh! You want the moon? Let me! I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll get you the moon! God, you sound like him. You know, I got talent. Yeah, oh, Mary! Remember he did the, hey, he did those Campbell's? John, do the Campbell's Soup thing. He did those commercials forever. Why don't you try some soup? Why don't you try some soup? Um, yeah, someday I'll do my, uh, Catherine Hepburn. for you. That's terrible. I'm going to edit that out. That was terrible. But you should have been a stand up comedian that did impersonations. Yeah, I just, and look at where I'm at. I'm with you clowns in my basement. Well, you're doing great, but I'm just saying it would have been a pretty cool parallel universe to see you out there. It's never too late. That's what I say. Yeah, it's never too late. Let's, um, talk about, Our goals for next year. Do we have any goals? I have a couple of podcast guests in mind. So one of the things that KG and I have bonded over recently and you're going to watch this like we, like I'm gonna watch Love Actually. There is a Yogi Berra documentary on Netflix called It Ain't Over. And it, honestly, it might be the finest documentary I've ever watched. I laughed, I cried. It, it, it just, I saw the trailer and I, I've always appreciated what he's about. I have, and I, I saw the whole thing about, um, the, the buildup to it. So yes, I definitely will be watching that. And kg it's beautiful. Tell us about your, uh, your brush with, uh, fame sort of through this. What's your connection to this movie? Well, I'm a self-proclaimed movie guru, and you know, I, again, I, I, everybody's an expert because it's, it's all in your own interpretation. So I, I don't know more than anybody else. But when I see something I like, and I see, you know, I've known For being a movie guy, because I go to way too many movies. I go to two or three a week, everybody knows. Really? It's kind of my thing. I didn't know that. That's cool. And how many boxes of Raisinettes get, uh, hammered two or, I do love a, maybe it's not Chrissy's baking. It's, well, it might be the popcorn of the Raitt. So Kevin gives it like three Raisinettes for what? Three or four? Three to five. I, I can do Rait boxes up to 10. Yeah. And this one would get a 10. I don't give my pens very often. Okay. Rait box. It might be the best movie I saw all year, and I saw a bunch of really good movies, but this one, to John's point, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you appreciate this unbelievable human being. So I send out this long review, I've got the picture of the movie poster in my tweet, and I just sent it out there saying, hey, I bumped into this just on a whim. It was like a Wednesday afternoon, I'm looking at the AMC Eden Prairie, and I'm like, What the hell is this? Yogi Berra? Like, this is interesting. Oh, it was in the theater? It was in the theaters this summer, legitimately. And so I, I wander over to the Eden Prairie Mall and see the movie and I'm blown away. Like, I'm just like, oh my God, this is incredible. And so I send out this tweet and I, I rave about the movie and the production and just the, the storytelling. And I get a note from his granddaughter, who's one of the producers on the documentary thanking me. For the review, which I thought was pretty incredible. I would say so. John and I now have the idea of sliding back into her DMS and having her come on and talk about, yeah, let's do it. Yeah. I think it's definitely a goal to have, uh, someone like that on and, and make that connection. And then really. I think spread the love like, you know, if we're the kindest Chronicles, when you finish watching this documentary, your heart is full like that's what I love about it. It's a genuine true story about a great human being and the family is involved in this and it's just It's a remarkable show. Hey, he's a one of a kind guy. Well, and what's interesting, I, I asked Becky, you know, one night she's like, let's watch something before we go to bed, and I'm like, you gotta watch this documentary. She's like, a Yogi Berra documentary? Are you serious? I don't think my wife would be up for it either. I'm telling you, she was wiping tears away. She's like, that might be the best thing. I mean, it's so, and it's so well done. And we gotta have her on. Yeah, let's do it. I'd love to. We do. Um, so if you could go ahead and figure that out for us, that'd be great. I'll figure it out. We'll get it done in early January. We have to do it. So a couple of other people that I've talked to about being on the program, um, John Harrington, who used to be the police chief of the city of St. Paul and was, More recently, the, uh, Commissioner of Public Safety for the state of Minnesota. Uh huh. Uh, John Harrington, um, I ran into him at an event a couple of weeks ago. Um, asked him if he would, uh, would join us and he said he would gladly do that. Uh, the neat thing about John, um, John is a really sharp, brilliant guy. Um, I believe he went to Princeton. Why would he talk to us then? Because he, he really demonstrated when he was the chief of police in St. Paul. I see what you did there. That was really clever. Yeah. That was pretty clever actually. It was very clever. I thought, what did he just say? Um, but you know, because of the Hmong population in St. Paul, Um, I guess he became somewhat fluent in speaking Hmong. Like he learned the language of the people that he was serving. That's not easy, man. That's not easy. No, I'm not kidding. And I've just heard so many wonderful things about this guy. He also happens to be a member of the same secret handshake organization that I'm a member of. So, he knows some of the same secrets, so we won't share them. He also can't say no to you either. Well, that's true. Is that one of the rules? Well, you know, I'm kind of a big deal. You know. Yeah, you are. That guy sounds, that sounds good. Yeah, he's very good. We got, um, Tom Mischke, who is a, a, a local, uh, celebrity of the Is that Sue Ann's brother? Not Sue Ann Mischke. Was she the, uh, heiress to the There it is, Seinfeld! Heiress to the O. Henry fortune? She was the, uh Sue Ann Mischke, Sue Ann Mischke. Sue Ann Mischke, she's the one that was, uh, the brawlest wonder. Yeah! Yeah, she was, and I'll tell you what, she was a looker. I can't believe that that was able to be on TV. The way she was That was impressive. Well, she was, it was aggressive. She's walking down the street and she's swinging those things around. That's Larry David. He, he pushes elements and pushes limits. Yeah, she was quite chesty if I remember. For an eight o'clock program on a Thursday night, that was not family television. Okay. I mean, it was for my family. My favorite episode is the Merv Griffin show, and a part of that one is They're drugging a woman, basically, to play with her toys. And like, the darkness of that whole, like, you can't get away with that. They're horrible people, all of them. They're terrible human beings, all of them. That's what's great about it. It's so funny, we couldn't Look away, but that was, uh, I thought pretty aggressive. Mischke. Yeah, Tom Mischke. Tom Mischke. So he's, uh, he's written a couple of books. I love Tom Mischke. He's, tell me what you know about Tom. Well, I've, I've listened to him when he was on the radio back in the day. So let me ask you this. Have you heard his episode? It's kind of a recent episode. He's got a podcast. Yes. It's a road road kind of show. It's called the Road Show. I love it. The Mischke Road Show. Yeah. And he had a guy on that was abducted. Yes. Did you hear that? I asked if you watched, listened to because it just came out. So yes, I heard it before you. I was like, you got to listen to it. It was so, Oh, it's, it's very interesting. It's great. Cause he's, he's so perfect for those interviews. Cause he's not, he's not saying. He's not like a reporter say, he's just like, this is what someone said. Check it out. He's just playing what people said. He's not trying to angle it. He's just like, that's pretty weird. Right. That's weird. Absolutely. Kevin and I, Kevin and I last Friday went to a, uh, Concert in a Barn, Carrie Noble doing her Christmas songs. Oh yeah, I saw the photo from that. That's cool. It was fantastic. It was a really, she's very talented. She's, uh, puts on a great show. Yeah. And there was a couple sitting in front of us that KG and I engaged in conversation. And, uh, they are big, um, advocates of the Pine Tree Apple Orchard Classic. which is a tennis event that raises money for, uh, uh, pediatric cancer. Okay. So that's gonna be an interesting guest. Um, Okay. I also, uh, have spoken to Casey O'Brien. Casey O'Brien, you might recall, is the young man who was the, uh, the holder for the Minnesota Gopher football team who's been battling a variety of different cancers at the Masonic Children's Hospital. Boy. And, um, the young man who spoke last year. at the, uh, the, the Masonic Children's Hospital Gala. His name was Walt. Uh, he was a basketball player for, uh, UW Madison. succumbed to his cancer just a couple of days ago. And, uh, he was very good friends with Casey and I want to, uh, to learn more about Walt and you know, the impact that he had, um, I will say that he was probably responsible for raising north of a million dollars at the, uh, the wine fest event that he spoke at. He was so articulate and just. told such a beautiful story about the care that he received. He was realistic about what his chances were because he had a cancer that was just very aggressive. But you know, he, he got a lot more accomplished in 24 years than many people do. And you know, uh, an 80 year lifespan. So, uh, talk to Casey last week and, and we're going to get him on as well. Cool. Well, it sounds like you've got a nice batch of people coming up and I've kind of always had my ear to the ground for people. And I, I think, uh, So I want to say you and I sat down, um, after doing this kind of hit or miss for the last couple of years, we really made a decision right around this year, last year, this time last year, almost this day. And, uh, it was like, let's be more. Uh, professional be more into that, have more of a point or let's be more push a little harder. And we have been really consistent. I'm really proud of it. And I still love doing this. I'm so glad that we get to do this and people are listening. And I think we've talked to a lot of great people. Um, the one thing I want to do, I'm going to obviously keep looking for good people, but I would like to bring back, uh, Mr. Dempsey, Jack Dempsey. Oh yeah. Um, Michael Dempsey, Michael Dempsey, Jack Dempsey, um, have him back. Um, maybe as we go here, just a check in with, we call it a check in with Dempsey. We'll see how we're doing, according to his, his world. Yeah, so I'm wondering how many boxes of Raisinets he'll give us. Exactly. So, um, yeah, easy Kevin. Yes. Easy. Big fellow. All right. It is, uh, it's about that time. I just want to thank you guys. I've really enjoyed, uh, this past year. It's really fun seeing you more often, Steve. I know it's great. Um, KG, we've got to get you in here and more when you're, when it works. So many assignments. It's been a, it's been a great time. A great year. And like I said, days like this, I really look forward to connecting with you guys and having the show and appreciate everybody that listens and tunes in. I'll bump into people, um, all around and they'll say, Hey, you know, I, I heard this, like, as an example, uh, Tim Flynn, a guy that we've talked about and referenced. And obviously we, uh, we had that special show where we. Kind of shared memories of, uh, his brother and, um, you know, he, he's a guy that him and his pals have bumped into the show a couple of times and enjoy it. It makes you feel good. Right. And, um, so let's grow it, let's keep it going and, and, uh, let's appreciate what we've got. Well, we appreciate the fact that, uh, those of you that are listening are listening. And, uh, if you have any ideas of guests, please let us know. Um, shoot us a note on our Facebook, uh, our Facebook page. Or, what did you say? Something into your DMs? I don't even know what that means, but it sounds cool. Sliding to someone's DMs, John. What does that even mean? All kidding aside, what is that? I don't even know what it means. It sounds very I don't either. You know what a write off is? I don't, but they do. And they're the ones that are writing it off. He goes, Do you? No, I don't. No, I don't. I, I have no idea what it means, but I just know that somebody once slid into your DMs. It sounds very, it sounds a little dirty and I apologize here. Well, the way you guys say it, I think is why it's sliding into your DMS. That did sound dirty. Steve, you've got a, a quote that you'd like to, uh, to share with us or a little, uh, well, yeah, I sent us to you guys because I think That I, I don't know how I came across this, but I, I found a, some, a message from a guy named Howard Zinn, who is a playwright and a thinker, an American thinker. So KG and I would have no connection. Yeah, you guys wouldn't, you wouldn't run across this guy. No, I, I've, I've heard of him, but I didn't really know anything about him. But I think, I feel like what, what this says. It sums up very closely to what our kind of mission is, what we're kind of thinking about. We obviously don't do it every show, but this is overall what we're getting together to try to do. But is this a long story? No, it's not a story. It's just a little thing To be hopeful in bad times is based on the fact that human history is not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, and kindness. If we see only the worst of it, it destroys our capacity to do, to do something. If we remember those times and places where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act. And if we do act in however small a way, We don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is in the infinite succession of presence. And, to live now, as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, it itself is a marvelous victory. Now you break that down, and really think about what that says. It couldn't be more timely. Right. Because that says a lot in a very short amount of time. Yeah. So give that a thought. Merry Christmas everyone. Merry Christmas. And off we go Thank you.