What the heck is a Lupus Spiel

We visit with the most delightful Curler, Singer, Motivational Speaker, Philanthropist, Exercise influencer, Regan Birr about her organization that supports Lupus research. Remember when George Costanza thought he had Lupus? We address this on today's KC.

Transcript

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Welcome. Welcome to the Kindness Chronicles, where once again, we hope to inject the world. Please don't do that. Hope to inject the world with a dose of the Minnesota kindness that it desperately needs. We got Steve Brown in the studio. Hey. Hey, Jeff Hoffman. Hey, everyone. Intern and then we got KG on the line. Where are we calling you at today? Kg. I'm on the shores of. Murky Tuesday. Always good to get near the water and, uh, and join being a part of the show with you guys tonight. And we have a very special guest. A couple of weeks ago I was at the, Johnny Clueless, concert at the dugout, and, and a young man came up to me, not so young. He's about our age and. He, uh, tracked me down and said, Hey, I got an idea for a guest for you. And I'm like, okay, who the hell are you? And Steve? You know this man? Yes. His name is Troy Polis and he's been a, a fan of the band and I've, I've gotten to know him over the years. He's, he, he is a Johnny Lewis fan page on, uh, on Facebook. So he kinda runs that, but he Oh, he does. He's just a. He's just a great guy, good guy. He was telling me he, I know he is a listener'cause he started, he said, where's kg, where's John Schitz? I don't know how he knew who you were when he saw you. Probably'cause you had a suit on and, well, I have an aura. You walked in with a, you know, a, a power suit. Uh, but he wanted to meet KG and all that. And so. I think he just found you and I didn't even know that you guys were talking about it, but he's a, a great dude and he's introduced you to some great people and he mentioned that he's a big time curler. He loves curling. Yes, he does. And I said, your biceps don't look as big as I thought they would be for a curler. And he said, not that kind of curl, not that kind of curling dumb ass. But he said he has somebody that he would like for us to interview. And that person, Regan Burr, is with us tonight. Hello Regan. How are you? Hello. I'm awesome. And you guys sound amazing. It's so great to meet you. I've heard so much about the podcast. I'm so happy to be included. Thank you. Well, we are so pleased to have you. We have Kevin Gorg on with us, and Kevin is probably most acquainted with sporting activities that happen on ice. Yeah. But, uh, Kevin, do you have any questions for Regan, first and foremost regarding, uh, curling in general? Well, I've, I've tried it and I will tell you it's a lot harder than it looks. Um, yeah. And I, I get worried, uh, that I'm gonna pull something and I don't crouch down like I used to. I used to be a catcher, Regan as a kid, and a goalie. Goalie. But, uh, you know, I approach 60, um, not as easy to do. And I, I, there is an art to it, I guess, for people that are maybe listening to the podcast. You know, we've got curling clubs all over the Twin Cities here. I would urge to give it a try because when you watch it. That's easy. Well, it's, it's anything but easy and I just would love to know your, uh, perspective on injuries that might pop up that people would never see coming from curling. Oh, that's so funny. It's so true. We always say to people when we're teaching'em how to curl, you're gonna be sore in places tomorrow. You never knew you had. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I've been curling forever too, and I. Still, you know, you, you fight with yourself. Um, you wanna do better. It's one of those things that's kind of addicting. That's probably why Troy loves it. We love Troy. He does love it though. Troy's so awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's, I think it's the greatest sport in the world and I'm glad you tried it. If you guys wanna come back out, you know, anytime, come to Four Seasons Curling Club, we'll get you out there. Um, we'll make sure you don't feel sliding. It involves a lot of muscles. It involves patience as well. Uh, something I struggle with. But, um, it, it's, it's so rewarding and the people you meet are wonderful and talk about Minnesota nice. I mean, the greatest group of people in the world. It's curlers in my opinion. So, uh, we've been so blessed to be around such great people and, uh, it's one of the, one of the main, blessings in my life. I even met my husband curling, which is even the bigger blessing. So it Oh, that's really cool. Yeah. So I have a, a quick question before we get more into who you are. Um, is it possible to cheat in curling because I, you know, like I, when I golf I like to fluff up the ball. I like, you know, nobody's looking at, oh, kick. Everyone's watching though, John. People can see that. So is is, is, we call it the judge SCHs. Yeah. But I understand curling is sort of a, um. Forgive me for having my, uh, gender situation, but it's kind of a gentlemanly sport or a, yeah. Whatever the female version of gentlemanly is. What would that be? Yeah. I don't even know. Well, it's etiquette based. It's, uh, call your own fos. Be gracious towards your opponents. Yeah. You know, if you're running short on time and you notice their clock, you might say like, come on, let's go, or whatever. Oh, I wouldn't do that. Maybe I took it. The first round. I love it. That kind of sport. Yeah, it's cool. So we're gonna be talking about something called the lupus spiel. I wanted to say lupus spiel'cause it just sounds cool. But where are you from Regan? I, oh, you can probably hear my accent. Uh, I am from Northern Saskatchewan. I got curling probably 11 years old when I started, but yes. Uh, so it's the Minnesota accent mixed with Canada and beautiful. It's what? It's Oh, beautiful. Yes. Um, nobody has described it. Well, you're on the kind chronicles. This is how we operate. Yeah. Well, you're beautiful for saying that. It's very nice. Well, Chris is a love fast. Thank you. Oh boy. you had mentioned the Four Seasons Curling Club. Where is that? Yeah, so it's right um, on the corner basically of 10 and 65 in Fogerty Arena. Oh, wow. So you guys are familiar with Fogerty, right? Oh, absolutely. That's one of the more famous ice houses in the, uh, in the metro area. That's right. Nick donated a hockey stick to us a few years ago. Um, we, we get a lot of support from Fogerty Arena. We're very grateful that they have provided us as home to the lupus field and, um, the board of directors is fantastic, but yeah, my husband Todd is the director of curling there. And. So there's a great ice, lots of fun. Um, Todd is a world bronze medalist, actually himself. What? Whoa. Yeah. Yeah, he's really good. Which joint? He's really good. Yeah. When we curl, we curl together and, uh, he likes to remind me, don't embarrass me, so I, I try not to. Todd Burr an American, or is he one of them Canadians? Yes. He's one of us. You, however you wanna word it. The world is my home. I'm kidding. No, he was born and raised in Mankato. Oh. And his dad basically got him, uh, learning how to curl and make ice. And his family is a curling family. Did you two, all his siblings, did you two meet? Curling? That's what she said. Oh, that's okay. Sorry. Missed that part. You started, you started, you started at age 11. Regan, when did you meet your husband? Age. Um, so a, a long time after that, um, I was singing the, the Anthem and volunteering at, at an Olympic trials. And, uh, this is back in oh nine. Todd was playing. He ended up coming in third, made the playoffs, but that's how we initially met. And a couple years after that, we just started dating And, uh, things went pretty quickly. You know, when, you know, you know, and, and, uh. That, that, that's that. He moved me out to Minnesota and I've been so glad to be here ever since. It, it's been really unique living here. I, I love it. That's awesome. Uh, this is Jeff, the intern. I'm not supposed to do a lot of research. I, but I did a little bit of reading and did I read correctly that you and Todd compete as mixed doubles? Yeah. Was sweet. So my question is, what's it like competing as a married couple and how do you balance teamwork on and off the ice? Oh God. Did you write that? Did I read that somewhere? Good. Good question though. Good question. That is an excellent question and I look, we're, we're working on that answer every day, you know? Seriously though. Well, yeah. That's when you have, you know, a sports relationship with your spouse, basically. I. I learned so much curling with him. I wish I could repeat those two awesome seasons. Um, you know, we, we were lucky enough to make it to nationals twice, and then it was a challenge there. I, uh, you know, I, he's such a good curler and I struggled, especially the second time around, and he was patient with me and just some of the things you learned from. A high caliber curler like that and plus he's got a really calm demeanor. It was so worth the experience. But basically it's like don't make assumptions. Don't think you're gonna win or lose. Don't start hanging points on the board in your mind. Just focus on one thing at a time and he doesn't focus on making the shot. So I apply this in life as well. Smart. It's so good eye opening. He like I at the broom and I try to hit the B and right weight. Focus and visualization at a time. Sooner or later, whether you're working on a project or getting through a curling game, it reduces emotions and sooner or later you can get work done. Except for the times when Todd would get frustrated with me. You know, like sometimes he say Todd gets the, when he, I'm kidding. Yeah. And, uh, you know, I think people who know him think, you know, ice cubes are in his veins and they are, but he, he can get, uh, very invested in everything he does. So I, I learned about that too. Like, I, I, I'm like. You know, I got high energy. I'm always excited to meet people. It's hard to tell Curl well you guys, you guys have high energy. I love it. Well, but in curling you gotta rein it in, you know, and that's part of the secret of the game. Well, we have one guy in the studio that has high energy as well. He is, uh. A professional singer. Ah, and when the professional singer heard you mention that, you sang the, uh, the national anthem. Here we go. His eyes lit up. I just waited to ask that question. That's really fascinating. What a, what an interesting character you are. Exactly. Regan, tell us about, just a little bit about your singing, like you've been singing since you were young as well, and how, what level did you get to and what. Tell us about that. She sang at the thing. Oh, well, I know. What else? Well, thank you. And your singing, you don't. Yeah, our small town was only 1100 people, but that's how it started. And then I did WHL games for, uh, the Saskatoon Blades when I went to, uh, wow. Sweet school up there. Yeah. And then, you know, I, I've got one NHL game under my belt. What? And then otherwise, yeah, Harlem Globetrotters, major League Soccer, uh, the Denver Nuggets, um, over 200 stadium. Uh, John singing a singer. Re wait a second. So, so we can YouTube you. Yeah, there's a couple up there. That's a real thing. I just look, I just try to do a good job. You know, I, there's no vibrato to my voice, so it's just straight. I try to hit the notes. Love, love that. I love, want people to be happy and sing along. But how about you? Where, where do you sing? And, uh, here's the thing. I'm a rock and roll singer. I, I, I can barely remember my words. Yes. I'm a rhythm guitar player. I'm a lead. I'm a, I'm a goofball on stage. He's front man, man. I'm a, I'm a performer. I don't sing like you. Like, just, you guys understand? I learned You're awesome. Look, I haven't seen you live yet, but I, we should do it. We should have a date. Hang on now. Just like curling, you know? Yeah. G rated fun, family friendly. You guys come Curl and Todd and I and Troy will come out and watch you sing again. Okay. So perform this song, uh, the National Anthem is not something I would ever try to tackle because I'm not that kind of a singer. That's, I've heard. That's a tough one. That's really impressive that she's a different echelon. I know you guys all know I, I need to please let me get my question in here. Okay. I'm done. I'm done. Kg You've been to plenty of hockey games. Yeah. As much as I like the American National Anthem. The Canadian national anthem. Oh, Canada is way better. It's better greatest. It's beautiful. So I assume that's where you started was with Oh, Canada. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh, what a beautiful, both of them. I just love, it's a privilege. Um, occasionally I'll do it when I go back home, but, um, here it's been mostly the Americans, sometimes Canadian, Canada. Depends who's playing where. It should be both. Wow. Um, yeah. Yeah. That's amazing, Reagan. That's cool. Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's an honor. Well, playing out live, you know what that's like. I mean, that's kind of an honor of course every time as well. Not to a stadium full of people. That's a different, it's gotta be a little bit nerve wracking though, honestly. Oh yeah. How do you get your nerves like to a place of comfort in, in front of. 19,000, 20,000 people in arena. Yeah, dude, I don't, I don't, you know what, I'll, I'll ask myself every time I'm like, what am I doing? It's nerve wracking. Oh, I know. Just like curling sometimes too. You get nervous. But, uh, I just come to realize nerves are part of the game and accept it. And you know what, just. Technically, I think to myself, okay, the reverb is gonna hide any nervousness in my voice, so I'm just gonna sing it. Okay. And you sweat and you sing it and you get through it. But again, with my goal is so that the veterans in the crowd are happy. Yeah, man. Well, when I sang it that night, I just wanna do a good job, focus on them. It's good when I'm listening at a game or on TV or something. I, I feel for the person that that's doing that, oh God, please do good. I know. And when you see someone who delivers it from the heart, it's, it's, it shows. And I, I think that's where you're coming from. You're trying, you're not trying to be the greatest thing in the world. You're really trying to deliver that message. And, um, if you're doing it straight without a lot of vibrato and like, you're just, I, I'm so excited to hear you do that, because that's important. It's a, it's a very important song and do it wrong sometimes when they do it right, it's, it's heartfelt. Okay. Real quick, before we get to the lupus spiel. What's your favorite national anthem that you've ever witnessed? Of course, I'm gonna start'cause the, the Whitney Houston Super Bowl Anthem. Yep. There's only one anthem answer. There's only, yeah. Yeah. There's only one answer. Yeah, totally. Totally. Oh, and she, she, what a talent. Incredible, natural, powerful voice and. Just beautiful. And I love that one too. And, and hey, I stay in my lane, like I can't do the runs. I've tried it and it went off Okay. But it's like you do it once or twice and try to make it fancy. I gotta stay in my lane, stick it, stick to the notes. Yeah, do it. Do it where it comes from you. Yeah. That's, that's more important. Yeah. How about Chris Stapleton? But I do love that one too. Chris Stapleton was, that was the national anthem, right? Or did he do the, okay. He did. Uh. Didn't he do America the beautiful? I don't know, but I don't know. But he's fabulous. A hidden voice. That roughness to his voice. I love that too. That grit. It's awesome. Yes. Again, something I don't have, but you know what? Rock on those people. Do what you got. Yeah. Okay. Just for fun. The worst national anthem. How about Carl Lewis, Roseanne Barr, Rose Barr? Yeah. That's Carl Lewis. How about, uh, Fergie from the Black-Eyed Peas? Yes. Oh my God. That was, see that her, that embarrasses me. I can't watch it. It makes me feel so like Faith Hill many years back at the Super Bowl was bad. Her favorite? Yeah, she did a great job. Your favorite? My favorite? Well, we were just talking about worst ones and then you bring up Faith Hill. Oh, on man. I was say Faith. I thought you were, I thought we were still on favorites. Faith was good. What's your bad one, Jeff? Oh, um, did we already say Roseanne Barr? Yeah. Yeah, that was the one. Yeah. So let's talk about the lupus spiel. Yeah. The reason that we're talking to you is because your pal wanted us to, to learn about the lupus spiel. I understand it's coming up a couple weekends from now. Yeah, that's right. May 30th through June 1st. So what was the motivation for doing the lupus spiel and uh, tell us a little bit about how that all works. Thank you for asking. So I have lupus and when I was first diagnosed, you know, you when something like this happens to you, like whether you guys have had a diagnosis or your listeners, uh, can relate to somebody who has, or, or you've just been dealt with a pretty significant challenge that you know is gonna change your life. I didn't know then what I could do. You know, in, in general to help other people, to help myself to, to look into, well, is there a cure for this thing? Uh, so I, I searched for something like that, that we could do. It really wasn't, I, I had the idea to run a ProAm. Initially I thought I wanted to do ladies of curling for lupus. I still may wanna do that. I think it'd be really fun. But then eventually I thought, well, let's do. Open ProAm and I, I didn't know how to put together something like that or have the budget for it at the time. So it wasn't until Todd moved me to Minnesota that I said to him like, I, I wanna do this. Um, and he's like, okay. I can you help, you know, and with being his, uh, competitive career, which is so long, and, and he is met so many people, he helped connect me with a bunch of wonderful curlers here in Minnesota who wanted to be a part of it and wanted to help, help me run it. And how, how they wanted to help shape it and participate, which they have for all these years. So that's how it started. It was so successful that, um, shortly thereafter, we, we formed a foundation and the lupus spiel became our flagship event. Wow. And as I understand it, you have some pretty famous curlers that participate in this each year. Yeah. This year we're gonna have six Olympic medalist. And four of them are gold medals. Is that, so we have John Guy from up north. Is he part of this? John Schuster is wonderful. He is one of the people who helped me from music to telling me I could do this. Wow. Um, he can't make it this year, but he did come the first year and he won the thing. Oh, of course he did what? I took it, took it home. Yeah. But he always helps. He always donates. Um, and his teammate, Tyler George, who played third, which is Vice Skip, he's curling in it again this year and Tyler's curled in it multiple times and he's phenomenal. And actually, so is his sister, Courtney George. Courtney Benson, who's an Olympian herself. But yeah, Tyler's got a gold Olympic medal, so that's pretty cool. Um, and then we have Eve Muirhead from Scotland. Uh, Kevin Martin from Canada, and Brad Jacobs from Canada. All of those folks have a gold. And then we have Shannon Cbr from Canada who has a bronze and Sean Rodsky from the Iron Range who has a bronze. So as I understand it, it's a pretty nice mix. No kidding. You, you, you connect, uh, uh, one of these pros with an amateur. Team. Is that how that works? Yeah. Like everybody has a, a ringer, so to speak on their team. Yeah. You you got it. I love that. Yeah, exactly. And uh, the ams, they can pay or bring sponsorship or fundraise to be able to bid on these celebrities gifts in the auction. Love that idea. Yeah, great idea. Can you tell us what is lupus? Sure. I just have to tell you that at some point during this, we are gonna have a Seinfeld reference. I don't mean for it to be, uh, ir, irreverent, or uh, whatever the word is I'm looking for, but every show we have a Seinfeld reference. And there's a really good one related to lupus, unfortunately. Tell us what lupus is. Sure, sure. Yeah, yeah. You can't offend me, you know, uh, like I said, Todd. Oh, I bet we could easygoing and you can't offend him. You can try. You can try. Um, well, I've been trying to give Lupus to Todd for many years to no avail. I'm kidding. That joke's not. Because we fund a person who, a genist and a researcher, also a rheumatologist. But anyway, you've this overactive immune system. You get a flare. And a flare could be joint pain or it could be like, what happened to me? It affects your organs. Oh, so in systemic lupus Yeah. It can affect, you know, your heart, lungs. For me, it was my kidneys. Oh boy. So yeah, the goal is to tackle the flares and or look at the genetic component and or look at treatment or preventative medication kg. Do you wanna use, tell us about lupus on Seinfeld, or do you want me to. I, I, I think it was jaundice on Seinfeld. No, no. Don't you remember that George had the thing on his face? Oh, and he was concerned what it's, and he says to the doctor, is it lupus? And what? Come on. That's right. That's ridiculous. So anyways, when I think about lupus and you talk about the, the, the joint pains and stuff like that, the idea to me when I watch curling, I have curled before me and too, and it is difficult. It's like you don't realize how uncoordinated. What was that word I just said? Uncoordinated. You wanted to say, I must be having a stroke here. Yeah, maybe. Do I have lupus? Maybe. No. Why would I say something? I don't know why you said that. No, but there we go. Oh God. Offended. Everyone's offended. This is the Offensive Chronicles. I apologize. Great, great. It's funny. If he can't laugh, he's a funny, yeah, no, he's a funny guy. He's, he's that guy. I like it. No, it's fun. I would think that, the joint pain, when I watch curling, I think, my God, those people must be stiff in the morning. Right? Honest to God. So, yeah, you get so low and Yeah, I know. And people curl like into their eighties, there's that. Mm-hmm. But then I thought, you know, maybe it helps from a therapeutic perspective, of course, because you're all stretching your tissues a little bit. I mean, I've done it and it's like kind of you get a good stretch when you go, you're stretching. I wondered Yep. About that. So, and it's cold. Well, there's ice. Yeah. Excellent. You know, we, I, I actually also work with people. Um, I have an exercise program that's low torque, low impact for people with chronic conditions, and we always say, do what you can, when you can. Motion is lotion. Any movement that you do counts. Yeah. And I think curling is perfect for that because you're sliding. So there's. Um, unless you run into somebody by accident, but, uh, no. And it's really great cardiovascular activity for when you're sleeping and you, you have to build up your muscle strength to be able to, well, hey, I remember when I had to work hard just to be able to stand for two hours. Yeah. In the house. But when you're throwing a stone, you know, have that muscle. Strength to be able to push off from the, and then hold your position, have good core strength and leg strength and arms for when you're sliding. It's a wonderful sport. I was at Shields the other day. And they, oh, cool. They're one of our sponsors. They sell curling stones. How much do those suckers weigh? They look very heavy. 42 and a half pounds. Oh, 42 approximately. Yeah. And are is, I hate to say this, but is there a, do, do we all push the same stone or is there a, a smaller version for children, for example, or women? Well, yeah. Why would I, God, what is wrong with me today? Just unkind, unkind, John. It's, it's, it's all the same for competition, but for kids who wanna learn. Some clubs do have little rocker stones that are are lighter. Those are a good way to learn. Um, cool. I, I learned with the heavier stones and it, it's, it's a lot when you're little, but there are techniques you can use. Uh, we also do curling clinics to help people with this, to get more power to come outta the hat. You know, I'm, I'm not a very tall person. Uh, so those things have really helped me. There's, there's ways you can. Help yourself help if you have a, a chronic condition as well. Um, and you can even curl with a stick from a position. You just walk out and you push thing kind of like, you know when people play shuffleboard? Shuffleboard. Yeah. Yeah, it's a very accessible sport. So, real quick, going back to your, your exercise program. Tell us about that. I heard low impact, low something, and I thought that sounds like something I might be interested in. Oh, that's good. Yeah. Well, low tor, so if you reduce your lever or your weight, you're reducing that, uh, bending moment on your joints. So we just teach people, you know, how to do a friendlier on the joint squat, shoulder press, and so on. You know, those important movements and then that can help'em functionally in life as well. But yeah, my program is still aggressive. You know, we're doing weights, cardio weights, cardio weights, cardio, finish with some abdominals. It's online and pretty soon, you know, it can help people regain strength or just build from and from where they are. Yeah. Regan, again, I'm not supposed to do research, but I did a little bit. Um, this is Jeff again and, uh, I really liked your mantra. Lotion. Lotion is lotion or, yeah. I think John would resonate with another one that I heard. Easy is effective or done is better than perfect. So cool. On, on the topic of kindness, um. One person can change a life. I heard you say again, very limited research. Mm-hmm. But is there a story there? Um, I heard a, a little video and you were talking about that, and it sounded like you were going through some difficulty. And is there a story of kindness that you can share in your journey with lupus that, uh, could inspire anyone else who might hear this? Oh, thank you. That's, that's, uh, oh, you're gonna make me cry. That's wonderful. Thank, it's gonna make us all cry. Good guy. What a good intern. Oh, it'll keep them, but truly, uh, yes. So, you know, I, I struggled for a couple years when I was diagnosed, even though the medication started to work for me and my blood work turned around, uh, clinically, I still felt awful. You know? Pain that would wake you up at night? Couldn't walk very far. Had to use a cane. Uh, very fatigued. Uh, my thinking wasn't great. You're just tired, you feel low, and my emotional health looking back was, was pretty low. And, uh, finally someone said to me, why don't you go get some help? So I, I did, I, I took that advice and I went to see a very kind counselor. And she said to me two things that absolutely changed my life. She said, number one, you're in denial and that's okay. And I love that because I wasn't in denial about having lupus, but I did not wanna accept the way other people were telling me that I should think about it. So she gave me power and made me think, okay, I can approach this however it makes sense to me. Kind of gave me some control back, some power. And then the other thing she said to me was, it's not your fault. And like a weight was released off of my shoulders that night. I walked in through the door and I realized in my apartment I'm happy. So in that one meeting with her. She changed everything. She empowered me and it's amazing and a constant reminder of how much we can all affect other people. If we take the time sit, bite lip, or whatever we have to do. Sometimes I have, listen to what they're saying, make the decision to listen. And then be encouraging for them realistically. And you never know who needs to hear it or if you need to hear it from someone else. But I will never forget that and always appreciate what she did for me. You should do motivational speaking. My She does. She's a keynote speaker. She's, yes. Oh, well she, Regan, what don't you do? Oh, makes that Holy, holy Cow. Kg. I have to ask you, when she said, uh, it's not your fault, did any movie pop into your mind? Oh yeah, absolutely. Oh, that's a good movie. Is that your favorite movie? Movie Hunting? It's, it's one of them. It's uh, it's number one, Goodwill Hunting, one of my favorites. That was, uh, the whole therapist thing. I'm sorry I had to do, it's quoted often on this podcasts. Yeah. That, that got. Some great lines. Yeah, it does. It's a great movie. Yeah. She was like him, you know, and, and it was the right person at the right time, except without the beard. So let's just, yes. So, so let's go through this. So you're a, a keynote speaker, motivational speaker. You're this curling person. You have a. Uh, a nonprofit that I just saw you raised over a million dollars for lupus research. Mm-hmm. Over the years. Singer, singer. And a workout program. Workout program. What else is there? Come on. Do you have time for anything else? That's it. No, I mean, hey, it, you, everybody is busy. I, uh, you know, I, we're all busy, but it's fun to have stuff in your life that all relates to a goal. And, and, you know, I'm blessed. It, it was many years before I had a clue as to how we could do anything to help people, uh, with this disease. And we don't wanna see another person suffer like I did with, with the heavy duty meds I was on. So this is a blessing and, and to be able to work on a lot of things, most of them tie to what our goals are. It, it's really a blessing. And the people here in Minnesota, I mean, the first spiel that we ran. Um, Carrie Benton made a quilt for us and Minnesotans, we love quilts. They're beautiful. Yes, we do. Yeah. And they take a long time to make, and somebody has to put the thought into figuring out, well, what colors would work for this. Mm-hmm. And she did that. And she does that for every spiel. And I mean, that, that's what the most donation of all those. For that Quil because beautiful quil. But the effort to put in into that is, is to me, that's what the is. And Minnesota and Minnesotans have made that possible. That's awesome. Um, I have a quick question before we wrap up with you. I bet it won't be quick. We don't wanna stop talking'cause we just, we love talking to you. You're an inspiration. Um, how's Troy at, uh, curling? Is he any good? You can tell us. Yes. Nobody's listen. Troy's awesome. We love him. Uh, so Troy hasn't been curling a long time. He's new, he's new to it, to it. Yeah, he, he, oh my gosh. He has just taken to it and he's helping us, like he's been a supporter of the lupus field in our clinics and of me and Todd, and he helps with junior curling. So he has been an absolute inspiration carrying on his love of the game to, to kids who, like curling, has so many lessons. It's so good for, for all of us lessons. And he embodying all of that. That's good to hear. He gem have, um. He has been hammering me with text messages, not as many as Jeff, but, uh, hammering me with text messages about Have you got her on? And I'm like, I keep texting her and she's not responding. So I looked and I got the last digit in your phone number wrong. Oh, I tried to do it, please. Classic mistake. Well, so there's. Somebody out there that's, that's two digits off of yours that sing thinking, what is this weirdo trying to get me on? I don't know about what the hell's a lupus spiel. Yeah. So I, I may uh, send that person a final text message. Yeah. Sorry about that. Said, we really enjoyed having you on the podcast. Um, yep. But I gotta tell you, uh, that's good. This, Regan, this has been a delight to have you on with us. Yeah. To learn about the Lu Lu spiel. To know somebody that's that, I mean, you're an actual singer. I'm like, she's amazing. Yeah. I can tell already. I can't wait to hear and the energy and I, you've got YouTube videos and you know, it makes me almost, she's wanna get off the couch and do something. Yes. Almost inspirational. Motion is lotion. Yeah, motion is lotion. I'm just gonna go straight to the lotion. I love it. Yeah, we're, Hey, if we're doing something like this, you gotta be creative with everything you're doing with the podcast that counts. Everything we do counts. So, there you go, John. I think you guys are winners, champions. Oh my. Yeah. Well, I got one last thing, John, before we go, I, I travel for work to all kinds of great cities throughout North America, but I will tell you, the people north of the border, I, I've said this before on the, on the podcast, Canadians are different. They are so out of their way. Nice. They're so incredibly sweet to talk to, and when you're up there, they're so happy you are with them, even though they know you're from the states. And I love going to Vancouver because when you walk in the arena, when the wild, they're playing the Canucks, there's this giant, giant banner behind one of the nets and above it, it says, we are all Canucks. And to have you all today, I feel like because it's the Chronicles and you're some of Canadian kindness to our show today, at least for one time. We're all, I got goosebumps. I'm so much Thank you. One kg, one last thing. However, they didn't seem too enthusiastic about being the 51st state. No, they did not. You know, let's blame. That's our guys fault. That's our guys fault. We'll excuse ourselves there. So let's not go down that road. Whoa, whoa, whoa. No politics on this show. And with that, off we go.