Paul Allen (PA)

KG (finally) got us a good one. Kidding, of course. We discover a really important part of  Paul Allen (KFAN's 9-Noon host/Voice of the Minnesota Vikings/ Canterbury Track Announcer). For those who know him well, his gift of calling a play, calling a race and just plain storytelling is second to none. For the Kindness Chronicles, his gift of hospitality (after experiencing countless technical difficulties on our end) was on  full display. WHAT. A. GUY. 

Transcript

0:00

welcome to the Kindness Chronicles, where we once again hope to inject the world with a dose of the Minnesota nice that it desperately needs. We have a very special guest that I'm going to let my pal KG introduce here in just a second, but Steve Brown, Steve Brown, former, are you still the lead singer of Johnny Clueless? I have not left my post, yes. You have a couple gigs coming up, don't you? I do, I do. Aren't you playing at Petey Pappy's, September 7th. So once upon a time you played in front of 70, 000 people and now you're playing at Petey Pappy's. You know have worked out well for you. You know it, that's how it works. Okay. You know what? You're still a good person. Hey, thank you. You still have the red pants. I do. I, I, I can't always guarantee I'm going to wear them every show. So I guess they still fit. Yeah, dude. Oh, no. Are they sweatpants now? No, they're not sweatpants. So how many times did you play the caboose? Uh, we played there. It became our home. So we, so we played every Wednesday to get our start there, um, in the summer of, of, in, of 94, something like that, 92, 93, I don't one of those years. And then our crowd graduated. They all got out of school and they moved to Minneapolis. And then we built from that point on in 1993, I think, uh, we, we played there. That was kind of our home base. We would travel on the country, come back and play there on weekends. And we had a thousand people there every time it was, it was kind of the heyday of the, of the original rock and roll. Pop music and Minneapolis. It ties into our guests because my dear friend, Paul Allen, who I've been close with for 25 years is a lover. And one of his loves is music. He's got incredible taste and incredible passion. For music and pa correct me if i'm wrong The caboose and bunkers were kind of your jam when you first moved to the twin cities 100 percent and uh, thanks for the honor of joining the kindness chronicles And uh given the the name of the podcast is the kindness chronicles. I find it very interesting that the first thing I hear Is somebody tearing somebody else down making it sound like they're playing a show to a middle school middle school lunchroom That's Like there a lot in life. So that, uh, it was funny. Uh, it was interesting. And, um, uh, with, uh, with the Cabos, uh, I'd say 97, you know, until greasy meals stop playing, I would go every Sunday night and, um, on Sundays or Mondays or both, sometimes, um, I frequently would go to. Bunkers of Washington, what was Dr. Mambo's combo? Then it became the legendary combo. And yeah, the, the Minneapolis music scene, you know, when I moved here full time in 98, you know, I just knew when I walked into the caboose for the first time on a Sunday night. All right. And being from Washington DC and that area growing up in predominantly black neighborhoods, you know, the, the music that, that I would hear was not Rush Led Zeppelin, uh, Geddy Lee, Aerosmith and stuff like that. I would hear Sly and the Family Stone, Tower of Power, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Brothers Johnson, and so on. And when I walked into the caboose on a nondescript Sunday night in 1997, And they were singing you caught me smiling again by flying the family stone, which is obscure and I love it I'm, like not only is this place my place but this state is my state if this is how it's going to be musically and Then uh the next year 98 moved there full time and never have looked back Can I just can we go back to my the opening? You challenged me on how I addressed my co host here, and we like to say that Kindness Chronicles is a do as I say not as I do sort of a program. Uh huh. So it's life for all of us. Exactly. Indeed. Indeed. KG, we're so pleased that you finally got us a guest. I know, you guys have carried me Now there's another shot on the Kindness Chronicle. Well deserved, well deserved. Okay, we'll turn up the kindness here now that we But, you know, at some point we're going to get Yogi Bear's granddaughter. I have that thing in the hopper, but truthfully Well no, we connected with her. PA, have you seen that documentary? No, but just the line of I promise I'm gonna kick Yogi Berra's granddaughter. I mean, uh, fill out the spot on the bingo card of things nobody in the world has ever said. Period. Ever. I mean, that was beautiful. Top shelf guests for wooden sticks, my hockey related podcast, which PA is going to be on, by the way, but I was never going to, I was never going to let them be on that one first. Cause that would have crushed you. So everybody knows PA, right? The voice of the Vikings, night and noon on the fan. Um, come to Canterbury. He's calling the races. I mean, this guy is getting tweeted at directly by LeBron James after some of his calls on, on Viking games. It's incredible, but I've known Paul at a whole different level and we've been best friends for a long time. In 2006 PA, we both were going through really traumatic times in our life. You had just lost your mother. I was going through a divorce. It was a horrible time for both of us. And. My first memories of us really, truly connecting are in that press box at Canterbury with James Blunt playing, candles burning, and the way we just kind of took care of each other, honestly, as two friends, getting through a horrific summer at the racetrack because of everything but Canterbury. Um, and it's just been a pleasure to be able to be a part of that. One of your best friends ever since. Uh, likewise. And the authentic nature of people is fleeting. And I'm certainly not saying that I'm the most authentic human being in the world. That's not for me to say. It's for people, you know, in my life to acknowledge that or not acknowledge it. Uh, but your authenticity is what always has drawn me to you. Um, you know, where if things ain't going well, you know. Well, I and we know it. If things are going well, I and we know it. And that is the, a rare fleeting quality, not only in people, but specifically men. Because, you know, like, like I did Chapel, um, for the Minnesota Vikings before the, uh, Cleveland Browns preseason game. We can talk more about that later. Yeah. Because I think it's going to tie into the Kindness Chronicles. And, you know, one thing, Well, one of many things that I shared with them during, uh, uh, the talk last, uh, what would be, I guess, Friday night, uh, was vulnerability in men is tough to get to, you know, it's because it's a form of submission and, and men are not big on submitting or being vulnerable or, you know, saying, I'm sorry, and then stuff like that. And that's not Kevin. Uh, he always, he's one of the most authentic people I've ever known. I couldn't agree more. Kevin is truly one of the, one of the There's good and bad in being authentic, let me tell you. I mean, PAs see me at my best and my worst. Listen, we grind out there all summer and I mentioned Paul's a lover and I mean this sincerely, Chrissy Bailey, uh, my significant other is maybe the best judge of character of anybody I know in my world. And from day one, she has just been incredibly blown away by how sweet a person this guy is. And it's because he treats everybody so well. Now on a typical day at Canterbury. Paul, you know this, we're running around, right? We're going up and down from the paddock to here, to there, to everywhere. People have you questioned, you know, about, you know, the Vikings quarterback situation, KOC, you know, you get questions on a myriad of topics and you do the best you can to facilitate the conversation. Take a picture. It's a privilege and, and this is what you and I talked about earlier this summer. There are days when you get beat, beat up and you don't have your, your best stuff for that person, but we are privileged to work in sports and it's, it's an honor to be that person that they want to have their picture taken with or if you want, you know, people want to get your autograph. I saw you sign one on, on Sunday when we got done doing the pre race show. This isn't always going to be the case, so I guess we have to enjoy it while we have it. Indeed, and, and I'm gonna make Kevin laugh here, I bet you he chuckles, alright? Uh, now, what, what Kevin said, very kind, perfect for the Kindness Chronicle. I know where you're going. You know, it, it, yes, I mean, God has presented me with a public life, and it has many tentacles to it. And the honors are, are things I do not take lightly. Now, here's where he's gonna laugh. Is, I'm constantly learning from other people in my life, including Kevin on this topic. Where I've witnessed Kevin, when he meets people, like hockey stick guy Sunday, And he says, So naturally good at interacting where I'm not saying I'm not, but I get preoccupied with things going on professionally in my life way too much. And so therefore to have even, you know, the most authentic 90 second conversation, uh, those are things on which I need to improve. Um, and, and, you know, I understand what, what Chrissy would say and then, and what Kevin has said and stuff like that. And that's beautiful. Amen. God bless you. And thank you for saying it. Uh, but like, I, I observed Kevin. You know, who, who can be America's best friend authentically and naturally. And I'm like, wow, you know what I mean? I just really got to do a better job with this. And I got to stay fair on the horizon. Well, I think people that listen to the show probably aren't the biggest horse racing fans. So I don't know how much they know about the intricacies of a racetrack and how it operates. But I want to start the conversation here and let you guys maybe pick Paul's brain. About the work that you've done on the back side, uh, the charitable work you've done because the back side is the back side, it's the backbone of the game. It's where all the horses live and all the people that that are back there take care of the horses, make sure the horses are ready to run on a particular race day. They're working 12 to 15 hour days. They're not making a ton of money. There are kids involved and PA has done an unbelievable job of building up two things, the chapel and the charity work on the backside around the chapel to raise money. And I'm talking thousands of dollars locally, um, to help these families out. And Paul leads them in a prayer service at that chapel on the backside. Each and every Monday night and they have a cookout and the whole thing. So let's start there. How did this become your thing? Because in the last probably decade paul it's ramped up every year. Uh, well, thank you for asking Uh, because that and that life is what matters more to me than anything else in my life Obviously, I have a couple of kids and I got a lot of obligations and stuff like that, but at the crux of what we're talking about, uh, it, it just means so much and, and God has a, a meaning, uh, a lot to me authentically where I pine for the opportunities on his schedule and not mine. So really just, just to go quickly through it. Um, it's, I've always believed in God and I always prayed the Lord's Prayer all my life. You know, I always was that person who would, would talk to God like, Thank you, Father. Thank you. Thank you for this beautiful day. Or Father, thank you for this wonderful friendship with Kevin. Okay. All my life for 52 years, uh, until five years ago. Uh, I had no idea, uh, the Bible teaches Jesus Christ, or God was man on earth, through Jesus Christ, okay? So I knew about the crucifixion, I knew about the resurrection, but I didn't really know everything that went into it. And when I learned God was man on earth, and then I started reading the Bible. Now, I went to a Baptist church five years ago, um, first time I've been to an evangelical church, uh, there was a preach, uh, by a man, Pastor West, who Kevin knows, and he's one of my very best friends. And, you know, all these passages are popping up, and I mean, I have no idea what's happening, but I knew I was loving it. And I knew driving to Canterbury to call races, I couldn't stop thinking about it. And I couldn't wait to get back, so then I went the next week, and I think it was called The Burden of Unforgiveness, or The Burden of Idolatry, and I had no idea what idolatry meant. Uh, but I knew that something was changing in my life, and, and, and God was changing me in ways that already were there, but they just had not been released, because as the Bible teaches, now that I know a fair amount about it, and it's, it's either listening to it, reading it, unpacking it, uh, Unpacking metaphor Symbolism imagery things like that, which are just fascinating and beautiful It's really all that I do and that I want to do so we start there Now three years after that, which would be two years ago from now, maybe three years ago I was praying with a jockey and in, in the paddock, the area where the horses walk around 15 minutes before the race. And then Kevin and Angela Herman, they, they handicap and do the pre race part there. Um, and, and the pastor at the chapel at that time, Ed Underwood, God rest his soul. He saw me praying with a rider. And then the next day he came up to the booth and then we started talking about it. And he's like, well, you know, the chapel is every Tuesday night. And, and, uh, would you like to come speak? Well, I didn't respond to him for a month. Because it was so daunting. Uh, just, just thinking about, wow, holy cow. Yeah. I've called 30, 000 races, done radio shows for a quarter century, called all these Vikings games. This is different. And, and I said, yes. And then after I did four that summer, you know, uh, and I had people help me put it together, Pastor Wes specifically, um, it was the most daunting microphone work I've ever done in my life. I think Kevin came to one of them, right? I did. I was blown away. It's, uh It's fascinating to see a whole different side of you, but yeah I mean, it's just daunting sharing the Word of God not making mistakes and not trying to think I'm Billy Graham or Martin Luther King Or you know, like some big time pastor walking around to be in that guy. So there's an internal battle there Alright, so now I'm in the chapel through Pastor Ed, um, and now I'm compelled to help and serve. And whatever gift of hospitality God has given me, whether it's preparing the water, making the tang, uh, making sure it's clean, and stuff like that, that began there. Well, sadly, Pastor Ed died, um, a couple of years ago, and I felt emboldened to take over the chapel, and he kind of set me up to take it over. Uh, it's a once a week. Basically, five months out of the year. And the ministry is for those who work and live on the backside, like Kevin said. They're known as grooms or backsiders, and they travel around the country. A lot of them are Hispanic. So like if you get 1, 000 for work, it's that stereotypical 500 goes back to the family in Mexico or Panama or the Dominican or wherever. And then they live off the rest. Okay, a racetrack is a place, you know, where alcohol is available. You're away from your family, you can bet, stuff like that. So the more I started to learn about that, and I've worked in horse racing more than three decades, so I know what backsides are like. I know what the life of a groom is. And I've also traveled around the country to call races. Only for five years, but I know what that transient, uh, that transient, vagabondish life is like, and it's hard. Okay, well, the, a lot of these people have done it for multiple decades, and for a lot less than they paid me to call races here, there, and everywhere. So, I had a high level of respect for that and appreciation. After Ed died, for the chapel and then we went through a season well, then a couple of people sally mixon Who's our chaplain now and justin reback who's a horse owner? He owns a rocket wrench stable Us three got together, and we met with the Rarity of America, based in Lexington, Kentucky. And with all due respect to, you know, an age old organization, as Christians, uh, basically strictly Bible predicated, and not of the religious, I can earn my way to heaven variety, we decided to become the first. in like at least 25 years to back out of the racetrack chaplaincy of America. And they weren't really happy about it. There was like 30 or 40 grand that they give to the ministry and the chaplain and stuff like that. And we're like, that's fine. We'll find it. We had our reasons. Um, and, and they don't need to be shared here, but they were based on authenticity. So then now we move forward the last year and, and the God grows the crowd. Okay. Exponentially, chapel by chapel, year by year. Like, like, you know, this Monday, this past Monday. Um, we probably had 100 people there, you know, whether it's the people that, that I've brought and others have brought in for sustainability and vibrancy, um, but that I have access to, uh, because of just who I know or what I do, but they're, they're very, very, they're very learned. Uh, they teach and they preach the singers, uh, to which I have access. Well, they're high end, too. So now, all of a sudden, we're putting on a really good presentation. Yeah. And, but the ministry is for the backsiders, okay? So, there are a lot of people there, but we were only getting, like, 10 to 15. So once earlier in the season, late last year, early this season, we have a translator. His name's Juan Chavarez. And, um, and we have, uh, contraptions that go in ears for those who don't speak English. And Juan translates the singing and the preach for the hour that we're together. Uh, so Juan and I basically got together and went around. And just as bluntly as I and we can be is, is I'm like, look, I know there are a lot of whites in there and it may be uncomfortable. And I know the preach is in English and you may not think you understand it. And then Juan's translating this, but do you know that we have these translators that go in your ear? And then we talked a little bit about the Bible and why we really, really would like you there. Well, so from there. It's grown to probably 35 to 50 backsiders every Monday, and with the breakfast that we put on, and the barbecues, and the um, so, so like I got with Shields, I walked into Shields last year, and Lauren Andrus, the marketing lady in Eden Prairie, is like, B. A., and I'm like, yep, I'm here, and here's what I'm doing with this ministry. Sally Mixon, the chaplain, was with me, and um, So we got down to the brass tacks of it. And I'm like, well, there are a lot of kids on the backside and they don't have much. So we would like 30 brand new bikes and we would like them donated. And she was like, ah, just 30. I'm like, yeah. Okay, cool. So it ended up being like 9, 500. They picked up half. Uh, Barry Butzo, who Kevin knows, who's really philanthropic, he picked up the other half and boom, now all the kids back there have bikes. This year, Shields came to me and like, and they're like, are you doing a big giveaway? Like, where you been? And I'm like, well, we hadn't exactly figured out what we were going to do, but wow, the fact that God brought you to me. Um, how about 62, 100 gift cards, um, to Shields? Because a lot of the people back there, they know Mall of America, but they don't know Shields. Okay, well they said, yes, we're in. So they picked up half. And then, you know, the, uh, the donations we get to the ministry picked up the other half. And then we do, we do like a big, uh, you know, some type of gathering with the kids and like we, we read stories and stuff like that. And then we gave them the cards. So that's kind of everything that goes into it. Um, but it, it's all in service of, of God, and it's not service out of obligation. It's service in that there are, it's really a beautiful thing when you come into this chapel and you see, Hey, sitting over there is our leading jockey, Luis Fuentes, who's 300 grand this summer. Oh, there's the announcer. He's the one that welcomes us in. Oh, there's the owner and president of the track. Randy Sampson sitting over there. There's one of the leading trainers, Tony Rengstorf, and there's one of the leading owners, Justin Reba. So now you look at the perceived status of everything I just laid out. And then you think about the groom and the backsider who may be a little intimidated, um, specifically with the jockeys, you know, with whom they work. And they know, well. Well, God has that growing so that this is a collaboration of, of cultures crossing and, and perceived levels of economy and status and all that meshing together. In just the most beautiful, vibrant, loving, acceptable thing, uh, really that I've ever been part of in my life. And it, it not only draws me back every single week, but I'm excited for these Mondays at six o'clock every single week. And there's a lot that goes into it with the scheduling, finding out people to donate food, like heart ministries of Shakopee did a big barbecue last night. Uh, my man, Mike from both Italy's if I'm stuck, you know, they'll bring a hundred sandwiches. Things like that. It's just the way God puts this together, um, out of nowhere. I, I, I haven't asked one person for a donation outside of what we call the worship of giving right into the third song, the final song. Buckets go around. If you want to make out a check, make it out to the leg up fund, uh, you know, chapel or whatever you want to do. And if you don't want to do anything, that's fine too, because it's all God's schedule, not ours. And I haven't asked a person, a single person, For a donation outside of those bikes, uh, in, in the first year, Sally, Justin, and I, uh, really, you know, not only started running this, but putting a lot of time into it. Council meetings. We have a chapel council, our treasurer, Nancy Lugi, who Kevin knows she's vital. Um, a joy Gora horse owner, she's vital and so on and so on. And I'd say over the last two years. God has provided this ministry with no less than 45, 000. Holy cow. And that's not only for the bikes, for the gift cards, but, you know, to pay people who help. Uh, there are just a lot of things that I or we never tell anybody. You know where if if somebody on the back side comes up to the chaplain me or anybody and they're like I'm going through all this and you know, I want money Well, i'm very hesitant to just give somebody money simply because they say this, you know But i'm also very hesitant to give them the feeling that I don't believe them Likewise for Sal, so then we'll get together and we'll vet it out a little bit and then we'll help people like, you know There's somebody that that you know We took a thousand dollars in their bills two weeks ago and just paid them because they were stuck and and I've been stuck I've had my face flat on the ground Multiple times in my life. I'm divorced. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy And Kevin knows what I'm talking about with his life or my life. So I to a certain extent know what that's like And I know that my mom god rest her soul And others were there for me at that time God had a support system that not everybody has, and I, it's very important to me for these grooms, jockeys, trainers, outriders, uh, gate crew, anybody who's working within this covenant. It's very important for me for them to know if they're stuck or if they're having any type of problem, that us three, Sally, Justin, and myself, we will be there for you. We will do so in the name of God. And we will glorify His Son, Jesus Christ, every step of the way, but we're here to help you. And I would imagine that the satisfaction that you personally get from Providing this community. it's probably community like these people don't experience really anywhere and the fact that Randy Samson is there and you've got, all of these people. I Have that I talked to these guys about the fact that I'm part of an organization the Freemasons the secret handshake guys And we have this concept of meeting on the level whether you're the track announcer the owner of the of the place or you're a groom You know, we all are just people and in God's eyes, we're God's children. And so the question I have for you though, you have a lot of responsibility when you're calling Vikings games and you've got a lot of responsibility to call those, those races, right? Tell me about the responsibility that you feel when you are speaking God's word and you're creating this community. I mean, it's, it's gotta be a whole different level. of responsibility that you feel. Well, yeah, I mean, it's a different level because for me and, and knowing now what I know about the Bible. And I believe it. And, and I mean, I've, I've gone on podcasts, I've chatted with people where God now has me prepared via what I've learned, what I've learned outside of the Bible from people who, who God has me respecting. That, I mean, when we're talking eyewitnesses on top of eyewitnesses and archeological finds over the last 1, 500 years that corroborate with exactly what was said here in the Bible, say about 5, Sodom and Gomorrah, and where it was located, and what they found six feet underneath the ground, that could only be, uh, heat generated by what we read here in the Bible, with Noah's Ark, okay, uh, you know, the, in the Book of Genesis. Well, I mean, there are agnostic or atheists or just scientists or archaeologists who go around the world to the Rocky Mountains, New Zealand, India, uh, certain parts of Canada, and they'll look at the rock form and they'll be like, well, I'm not going to say what you are seeing here in the Bible, in the book of Genesis about Noah's Ark and God wiping out the world. I'm not saying that this is exactly what I'm looking at, but I'm telling you. The only way these marks on these mountains can happen is if a massive amount of water came through at an unimaginable rate in a very short amount of time. Okay, now that right there, that, okay, that bites me because I'm reading Noah's Ark, and this is exactly what it says. So, you know, I, I've talked that out a million times. I believe it. If people don't believe it, God doesn't have them believe in it. And I'm all in on this and it's never going to stop. It's all I want to do the rest of my life. So off that, you know, off what your question is, one thing that I battle, because God has given me a public life, And I didn't go to college, I auditioned to become a play by play voice in the NFL, God had me win it, auditioned to become a 30 year racetrack announcer, God had me win it, never had done a word in radio, now we're 26, 27, intuitive, and, and, and, and so the only way I look at life, is God put me in those positions all those years ago, because as the Bible teaches, He knows what was, what is, and what will be. He knew what was coming in my life at age 52. And the confidence and the boldness and the eloquence in speaking and the following, well, that all needs to be there. To not only share the Word of God, but Christians and, and, and those of my variety, the Bible commands us to, to, to share through Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven. And there's a reason the Bible teaches markedly more about hell than it does heaven. Because Haiti, Sheol, hell, the lake, the fire, you don't want to be there. And, and that's a different conversation for what goes into getting there and not and stuff like that. But how much do I or we serve ourselves while serving in the name of God? So that, that's a very, very big edict in my life. Because God has given me a public life. And there are a lot of wonderful things that go with it, a lot of blessings, and I, quite honestly, it's an honor, given the life I've lived, and, and not taking the traditional route to these jobs. It's unbelievable that he gave me these jobs, and I still have them, up to 30 years later. But, serving God, and eliminating self, completely, That's an every minute of every day walk when you live a public life. And I used to say it's exhausting because it can be, uh, but it, it's not, it's the greatest honor I've ever been given in my life because I recognize that God has me recognizing it. And it took 52 years to recognize it. So Serving, servitude is very important. It's very, it's always been very important to me before I knew the story of Christ. It's just been important to me all my life. But how much do we serve ourselves while serving in the name of God? That's very, very key. Um, so, That all goes into your question, is that the responsibility is supreme because I sin, and I sin every single day, and I repent of my sins in prayer every single day, but I'm not making it sound like that it's repent, rinse and repent, rinse and repent. It is like that, as the Bible teaches, but I don't want to live like that. You know, but, but I'm also not religious in that. I, I, I don't, the Bible does not teach that I need to do all these chapels and pray this amount of times during the course of a day and, and, uh, give X amount of dollars. That's my only way to heaven. No, that's not right either. Okay. The only way the Bible teaches, the only thing that keeps you out of heaven is if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, which means not believing in Christ. Okay. So it doesn't matter if you do one chapel or a thousand. If God wants you in heaven and opens the book of life and your name's in there, you're in. Think of the feet from the cross as the Bible teaches. You know, and that's a story maybe for another day, but just that story right there really, really indicates what it takes to get to heaven. The responsibility that goes with that being exemplary with it, knowing what I'm talking about, and most importantly, taking me out of the equation And the secular shine, so to speak, that God gave me, and having people recognize this is what matters most, getting to heaven. And just following that, and chatting with people about that, which doesn't happen frequently enough, it doesn't happen every single day, doesn't happen for long patches sometimes. But that's what matters most to me in my life, and yes, there's a great responsibility that goes with it. you had mentioned the Baptist church, and I just have a quick story to share with you, and I don't know if you guys are aware of this story, I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina back in the early 90s. And, uh, I ran a store. I was a store manager of, it was like a Target store. I had worked for Target. We moved, my wife and I moved down there. And I was working at a store that was, very close to where Michael Jordan grew up. And the store that I worked at was probably 90 percent African American people that worked at the store. And after working there for about a year and a half, uh, Becky and I decided that we wanted to move back to Minnesota. And one of my truck unloaders, a guy by the name of Ron Wilson, I'll never forget Ron. He asked if I could, uh, It would come to his church, not knowing that Ron was the pastor of this church, this guy on loaded trucks during the, during the week. And I, so they referred to me as boss man, which always made me super uncomfortable. And I told him not to, but there was, that was a respect that, that they had for the guy that was, you know, that was the boss man. So I went, I went to this guy, Ron Wilson's Baptist Church, and it was this teeny little church, and the place was filled with our employees. It was the coolest experience. And they asked if they could pray on me. Come on. And I had, I had this This out of body experience. You know, I'm a nice Catholic boy, but I never experienced anything like I experienced at that Baptist Church, and here was the best part. KG and I, more than Steve, we enjoy a good meal. So after this, after this church Function that that I went to that was a couple of hours long But I had I like passed out at one point I was so overwhelmed and you know that I was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was really this beautiful moment Wow, I've never heard this story We ate they invited us back to it was another guy that was friend of Ron's to his house for a meal afterwards. And I'm telling you, we ate for five hours. Yes. And there wasn't a drop of alcohol consumed. It was just all about the joy of each other. And I'm telling you, anybody that tells you that the Holy Spirit doesn't exist, Is nuts. Amen. Because I, I experie experienced, oh my God. I, I, I get goosebumps just thinking about that. I had a moment. And, uh, the epilogue to this story is Ron Wilson is now the pastor of one of the biggest churches, and I think in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's, he, he, he is the pastor of like the super church. And at the time he was like this 23-year-old guy. Who was unloading trucks for me. I got to tell you, just watch Paul when he comes down to the pet, cause he's up there. Well, Paul's a preacher that's disguised as a, as a radio personality. I got to tell you, one of the coolest things is the connection that PA has with our jockey colony. I don't think the average person realizes. What these men and women do as a profession. They ride a racehorse that's going 35 to 40 miles an hour, an ambulance follows them in the race, waiting for something bad to happen. Two or three jockeys in our country die every single year. And the connection that PA has with these men and women, when he comes down to the paddock a couple times, A race night just to see folks and the hugs and the passion and the love that he receives from that Jockey County and PA, you're the one that meets with them about an hour before the races. And I am fascinated with that conversation because none of us, I think, can relate to a job where you might not survive at the end of the night. And that's gotta be a very powerful conversation. Well, what Kevin's talking about is part of Pastor Ed Underwood's responsibilities as chaplain at Canterbury. One of it was going into the jockey's room about an hour before racing and yelling prayer time. And then jockeys would come into the room where the silks are and Ed would pray for them. And however he did it, he did it. Well, I, you know, I didn't, you know, Ed died and I just took it over three years ago. So it's most days, you know, certainly all the days I'm there, I'll go do the same thing. And, and a fair amount of jockeys come in each time. And so I use my seven to eight minutes where I will teach for three to four minutes, mostly about, and I've said this before to Kevin. You know, where I will say to these riders, because I don't care if you're making 30, 000 or 300, 000, keeping that weight off, riding a 1200 pound animal in and amongst horses at, um, uh, as, as a speed of 30 miles per hour ish. Well, that's, that's, that's a tough life. And they're always traveling around the country too, you know, to, to execute their toil. And, and where I have the most reverence for them is I will say to them, no, look, You, you, you can take the microphone from Kevin in the paddock and you can handicap a race on camera, or you can come up to the announcer's booth and you can call a race anytime. I mean, you guys, because you've never done it, you might not be very good at it to start, but you can do it. I can never get in those boots and jump on that horse. I can never, ever wear those boots as a licensed rider and live your life. And walk your walk. So therefore my level of respect for what you do, as unique as it is, and what you have to go through to keep your weight where it is and, and, and battle everything else that's in life, which includes prosperity and handling that the right way. That's the starting point for our relationship is the guy, uh, symbolically up top. They all hear, and they all see, whether you're a groom, an outrider, or a jockey, I want you to know, just as I believe it was John, earlier said. That there is zero difference, as the Bible teaches, in the eyes of God between the groom and me. You know, in fact, we could go down the road of what it teaches about the last go first, and what it takes truly, as the Bible teaches, none of this is my opinion, it's all from the Bible, to what it takes to get to the right hand of God. And I'm telling you right there, A, I'm going to heaven, but B, I'm not going to be, as the Bible teaches, initially at the right hand of God. And a lot of these people to whom we minister will. It's about facing certain facets of life that some would deem as turmoil, some would deem as less desirable. But you never stop believing in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. And you always keep them first and foremost, no matter how good or bad things are. And you know, that's just a facet of the Bible, that a lot of people, believe it or not, shortchange. But there are so many things with the Bible that people just have wrong. Where it's like, you know, I see the Ten Commandments, and I see it says this here, and it says that there. Okay, well. Jesus became the new Adam. Jesus became the new Moses. He became the new Ten Commandments. He became the new Sabbath. He became the new law. Okay, that, that's why he died on the cross. For sins that have been, sins that are taking place now and will take place. So once you fully absorb that and you recognize you're going to heaven, then It's you submit like you're you're the story you told about the baptist church is so beautiful the position the holy spirit puts you in Because you were vulnerable You were rendered It's in a submissive state. And it's, it's, once we recognize or once people understand, like in the book of Romans written by the Apostle Paul, and it teaches this in other places, but God chooses us. We don't choose him. Okay. We can never love to the level God loves us. Never. So therefore, like I said, it doesn't matter how many kindness chronicles we do or how many prayers a day we have or chapels we lead or money we give or Bible studies we attend. That's not it. It's how much He loves us. And He and the Holy Spirit then guides us to what He wants us to do, not what we feel like we're obligated to do. And that can be a constant battle. Like I said, it's the separation between how much do we serve ourselves for whatever the reason while serving in the name of God. And that's, that's, that's something with which you have to become very comfortable and God will make it authentic in you. And I'm just happy to be a part of that covenant. Well, and I think that there's something to be said about the fact that, God has found a vessel in the form of Paul Allen, who is a guy who, is pretty good at sharing, at telling a story, whatever that story might be, and seriously, how important that is. And I understand, are you doing something similar with the Vikings now, too? Um, yeah, that, um, that honor popped up last year where, you know, like, like people on the surface, if I were to ask Kevin Gore, okay, here are the 18 gifts the Bible lays out, okay, that, that God has given people. Now, there are some of those gifts that As my teaching goes through the likes of Billy Graham, I'm not, I'm 58. I'm not going to seminary. Okay. Now, I didn't, you know, and, and then people will be like, well, you know, Paul didn't go to seminary and all this kind of stuff, you know, so why, why should we listen to him speak? Okay. Well, Paul also didn't go to college and God has had him hold all these jobs for 30 years. Right. So, I mean, we, we can, we can continue to connect the dots here as much as you want. The bottom line is I'm here and so are you. And God put us here. with those gifts, okay? Like, you know, uh, speaking in tongues and stuff like that, okay? There's just certain things that, that I don't believe are done in this day and age the way I've seen it, that are of the Bible. And speaking in tongues would be one. So, like, there are some gifts that I just, that I just eliminate. But there are a lot of others. So like, if I talk to Kevin, like, Hey, you know, if God were to, were to share with you right now, like what obvious gift do you believe he gave me? Kevin and most people would say, looking at those gifts, they would say, okay, well, the gift of, uh, the gift of speaking, okay, at which would be sharing the word of God for other people. Well, that, that. The gift of hospitality, as I've been told, I'm not one that likes to, I don't identify my own gifts. And when people do, it bugs me because other people should tell you what your gifts are. You shouldn't have to tell people. Well, I've constantly been told now for two years, I have the gift of hospitality with the way I set up the chapel and some other things, stuff like that. Okay, cool. Well, that's, that may be my, my number one gift. I have the rest of my life. But most people would think it's speaking, and it's not necessarily the case when it, when it comes to what we're talking about. So, um, when it comes to the football team, last year, Uh, God put me in the honorable position before the final game of the season at our team hotel in Dearborn, Michigan, before the Lions game of doing chapel for the, uh, players. Um, uh, everybody associated with the team who comes to chapel, it's usually between 30 and 70. And I always go to Rowe Chapel, you know, so I'm always the one who's gone to it over the last four years. Well, I was asked to do it. And then I did it, and the hugs that I got from, from Bradbury and Cousins, the texts I got from Cousins, it was just, like, one of the most beautiful, God given moments that, that I've experienced over the last five years. So sharing there was awesome. Well, they asked me to do it again before the, uh, the Cleveland preseason game. So that's just last Friday. And I put together something called think before we speak. And it's, you know, you, you started with like, uh, have you ever been told to think before you speak? Maybe it's a boss, maybe it's a spouse, honey, you should think before you speak. Then it gets into prayer and the Lord's prayer being the prototype, the model. The template for prayer. It's the only place in the Bible God extensively teaches us how to pray. So I say the Lord's Prayer every night with my final prayer, but if you don't, okay, but these words are, this is the only place in the Bible prayer is extensively taught how to do it. The, the Apostle Peter asked Rabbi, teacher, Jesus, teach us how to pray. And that's what he did. So therefore, the words here, thy not I, think about when, when it's, it's not to be ritualistic either. Alright Coley, alright Derek, alright whomever, our father art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. It's not to be that either. we need to have a respect and at least get our hearts as close as we can to what life was like two and three thousand years ago. And it wasn't great. In a lot of different ways. Okay. So in that prayer, when that, when, when Jesus teaches, give us this day our daily bread in that prayer. Think about it. 2, 000 years ago, they didn't have any food, okay? Food was hard to get, and the only preservative was salt. And if the salt got mixed up in the sand, guess what happens? The food perishes. And what happens after that? People die. And I'm not talking about the 70 in the chapel this evening. I'm talking about thousands of people died because they didn't have food. So the next time we're teaching or praying, give us this day our daily bread, recognize 2, 000 years ago, they were wailing it. They were crying. They were begging. They were pleading in prayer to God. Give us this day our daily bread. So that's the road I went down in Cleveland, and the response after was great. The Holy Spirit put the room on a big one. It's a community rooted in Christ, as I told them, if only for 25 minutes. But guess what? When we leave this community rooted in Christ, because there ain't no evil in here right now. The devil is not in this room. But when we open those doors and we get up to our hotel rooms and we get on our computers or we get out on the streets or whatever. Guess who's going to come swinging again? The bad guy. So let's appreciate this community rooted in Christ that we have, if only for 25 minutes. So, so that's what I do when I do things like that. And and again, I, I serve in God's name, eliminating myself and my jobs and what he's given me from the equation. And the Holy Spirit guides me in those conversations. And I'm just a conduit. I'm just the conduit sharing the word, where God, through the Holy Spirit, takes it after that is completely up to them. I'm just reward and honored that I'm put in this position to pray for the writers, to speak before people about the Word of God, and to let them know it's how much He loves us, not how much we love Him. And we can't earn our way to Heaven, as the Bible teaches. So, let's pray. Praying and talking to God's incredibly important and it's massive in my life, like when I head into K Fan every single day. And it's the only job I do it at for whatever the reason. I'll get out of my car and I'll say, Father, please provide me with patience. Please provide me with an ability to love in a way I've never loved and listen in a way I've never listened. But most importantly, permit me, Teach me and guide me to lay back and let others experience that secular shine that you've given me. Uh, in the name of your son, Jesus, I love you, Father. Amen. So that, you know, that, that is all part of unlocking this whole equation. And it's just, it's amazing to be part of it. I gotta tell ya, we'll close with this, P. A. Well, I have one last question. Okay, well, this is the second to last. That's fair. Thank you. So, I don't, I don't even know if Brian Flores is part of that covenant that comes to that prayer service in Cleveland and, and beyond. But, social media can be so divisive, especially right now with all the politics. And, what blew up on social media in the last 48 hours, Is the two of thing to a tool was the quarterback in Miami when Brian Flores was the head coach down there. And in a, on a podcast, his former quarterback torched him. And so today was the day that Brian Flores was supposed to meet with the media. And this could have been a real big deal. And I got to tell you, PA, I was so impressed. You know, sometimes you see the high road. And it's just coach speak and it's just stick with two of his defensive players standing behind him, which I thought was pretty cool as well. At the podium, you know what I'm talking about? PA, this guy not only took the high road, sang the praises of his former quarterback for him, it was the most impressive, eloquent, heartfelt. And I got to tell you, you know, the Lord works in mysterious ways, but I was like. Blown away, you know knowing I was coming here tonight. You were going to be on the kindness chronicles. I gotta tell you I don't know if he's there or he's not there. None of my business. I don't care, but that was impressive stuff It is so amazing that the gift of discernment god has given you took you down that road Uh because my relationship with brian flores Even though I don't say it on the radio, and I don't even tell people like you, and I love you, and you're one of my best friends, I just don't talk like this, because the public life God has given me, I, I just, I'm cognizant of being careful, of, of not being the guy where it's like, anybody's like, oh, okay, so you get to have all these cool jobs, and call the football games, and you get to be Billy Graham, okay, so I don't, I don't want people to have that perception of me. So the, I always, I feel I've been humble a majority of my life, but learning humility was a different thing. So I don't talk about a lot of things like this and I, I don't ever talk for the team or people on the team, but I'm going to now, Brian and I are very close. And it started last year when I pray for the player, whatever players walked up looking for prayer. And I've done that. God put me in that position about four seasons ago, where CJ Hamm walked up, we prayed, and then the next week, two people walked up. I just stand there on the sideline, and people know this is a place of comfort. So, it happens frequently. Brian and I prayed together, and we started talking a little bit about the details of life, and you know, I don't want to, I don't want you to feel like I'm unloading on you here, Brian, but you know, how about this, and this with me, and this with you, and my relationship with Brian Flores is absolutely fantastic. He's a devoted Christian, and what he said today, paraphrasing the one part where he was like, You know, I, in looking back, I probably would do some things differently. Okay. That that's a vulnerability and a submissive nature where he's kind of conceding, yeah, you know, I probably could have done some things better. So. Brian and I never talk about football. All we talk about is the Bible. He's at every chapel. He was the first one to hug me after the first chapel, um, before Detroit and the second one before Cleveland. I love the man. Um, I recognize he has a lot going on in his personal life now that everybody knows about with the NFL. And then now there's two a thing. Uh, but he, he is a beautiful, beautiful man. And, um, I love him. And I'm really glad the way he handled that today. I'm really, really glad, God, Ed, you bring that up. That, that's phenomenal. Awesome. Uh, fun story, uh, Jack's fiancé, my son's fiancé, uh, was, uh, one of Brian's, uh, kindergarten teachers last year. And she said some Brian guy who's new to the Vikings Wait, so one of his kids goes to her Went to, to, to her, uh, school. She was the kindergarten teacher. Erica is a wonderful human being. She is. The question that I have for you, Paul, and I hope that you'll be willing to answer this. Um, we often like to ask people, in your travels, and you've had the, the, I would say the privilege of, of being around some pretty, uh, impressive people. Who would you put on your Mount Rushmore of, uh, of kindness? You know, the, in all of your years, who are the people, and you can't say KG because he's already on there. He's George Washington. No, I'm not. But, you know, I know it's hard to narrow things down, but if, you know, if you were to throw out a few names, you mentioned Bradbury. And, um, Bradbury, and O'Neal, and C. J. Hammond, they're a group of those guys that were, uh, at the wine fest for the, uh, Masonic Children's Hospital. And Kyle Rudolph, uh, is a huge supporter of the Masonic Children's Hospital, and I have the privilege of, uh, of playing a role at the Masonic Children's Hospital. And just, you couldn't ask for nicer gentlemen than those guys. People are clomping on them and, they could not be more gracious. So are these people that I had to have met or known? Uh, or just people in general? I would say people that you've It's a difficult question off the top. But like, you know, it's again, I'm 58. I'm not going to seminary. So heavenly father. How am I going to learn? You have the pedal to the metal with me. How am I going to learn quickly? So therefore I can play catch up. All right. So it's interesting how he laid my teachers out. We have pastor West. When I lived in private Hill apartments outside of Washington, DC with my late mom, Shirley. Oh, that's Billy Graham. Well, now I'm listening to him every day. For pretty much the last five years, not every day, but I was doing a lot. And then now, the pandemic hits, now I'm on YouTube watching reaction videos, and like, you know, watching things like that, where I never watch anything on YouTube. Well, now, whether it's pastors like Paul Washer, Bodie Bauckham, John MacArthur, the late Tim Keller, the late Michael Heiser, and people like that, that's all I listen to every single day. Every single day on every drive to every job and I learn and it's not just that I'm doing it because I feel like I, I'm, I, I'm obligated to, I enjoy it. I love it. I'll take little notes in case I get a chance to speak again in the near future. So. With all. With all that said, there are a lot. There are just a lot. So I'll just kind of mesh it with, you know, like if it's the Minnesota Vikings CJ Ham. Absolutely. Uh, is part, is part of that. Um, he's salt of the earth. And when I say unpacking the Bible and the metaphor of it, salt of the earth is a biblical term. It's from the gospel of Matthew five 13. Jesus is preaching, you're salt of the earth. Well, the way I've been taught to look at that. is you are salt of the earth. You, Christians, are, not should be, are salt preserving what's good of the earth. Our world is in decay. So, that's how I look at the Bible. And that, that, that is C. J. Hamm. So he's first and foremost. Um, uh, Pastor West, uh, would absolutely be part of that. Billy Graham's part of it, there are just so many, uh, of kindness that the kindness comes out of nowhere. Like when we're trying to put these ideas together to serve these kids on the backside, we were stuck with an idea. And then all of a sudden, Sally and her cohort, Megan, with, uh, uh, a group called Abijah's, they came up with this unbelievable gift card idea that is tied to building a gazebo on the backside. And it starts with, hey, kids, did you know Jesus was a carpenter? Okay, so you get to do something Jesus did. Now we come into the chapel. And then now Sally and I will chat with these, these kids from the backside. That, okay, Jesus was a carpenter, but he built other things too. And then we would, we will explain. What he builds outside of what is obvious so like, you know, Sally's part of that kindness and coming up with so it's an impossible question to answer But CJ Hamm was the first one that came to mind. I would agree with that my Encounter it was short as it was I couldn't have been more impressed with that guy. That's awesome. Just a good dude Well, this has been a great show. It's been wonderful. I would say it was probably the easiest Conversation that we've ever had far And I'm telling you more guests, I guess, you know, maybe you would help if you, uh, instead of always having them for wooden sticks for years here, PA, I can't thank you enough. Honestly, I told these guys we were going to go along the night and I meant that in a good way. Um, you armed our hearts and, and this has just been. An uplifting conversation. I really appreciate you, man. Yeah, it's well, a, you know, just in closing, I want to leave with this because, you know, I will say this frequently when I'm speaking after, you know, sharing a lot of, of these wonderful, glorious, beautiful servitude related things and positions God has put me in. All right, but you know, I'll lay a lot of things out. When I speak and I do a lot of church speaking church fundraisers private christian schools things like that Then we have the praying with the players and jockeys and the chapel and everything kevin laid out Is i'm, I i'm very very quick to point out. You don't see me in my house And I don't see you in yours, so we'll just leave it at that. That there was only one who was perfect, and it ain't me. And all of these honors are just that. They're honors. And I do the very best I can, not to earn my way to heaven, but to serve what I believe is righteous, true, pure, and right. But you know what? I make a lot of mistakes. You don't see me in my house, and I don't see you in yours. So you don't judge me, and I don't judge you. There's only one who can judge, and it's not us. That was an honor being with you guys. Thank you. Mission accomplished, sir. Thank you much. And, uh, off we go.