ChristiTutionalist Politics | Christian Perspectives on Constitutional Issues
"ChristiTutionalist (TM) Politics" podcast (CTP). News/Opinion-cast from Christian U.S. Constitutional perspective w/ Author/Activist Joseph M. Lenard.
Intersection of Activism, American Values, Commentary, Community Engagement, Faith / Religion, Human Nature, News, Politics, Social Issues, and beyond
Exploring more of the world of fascinating Guests, Health, Human Nature, Music / Movies, Mysterious, Politics, Social Issues, and much more
- SUBSCRIBE to CTP: https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
- Joseph M Lenard - https://linktr.ee/jlenarddetroit
ChristiTutionalist Politics | Christian Perspectives on Constitutional Issues
CTP (S4EAugSpecial4) The Savage Path
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
"GIVE FEEDBACK (or reach out via: https://JosephMLenard.us/contact)"
CTP (S4EAugSpecial4) The Savage Path
We talk with author and backpacking guide David Savage about why the wilderness exposes who we really are and why modern life makes it easier to drift off course. We connect backpacking stories to faith, leadership, personal responsibility, and David’s book The Savage Path: A Memoir of Modern Masculinity.
• David’s background from Texas to a long career in specialty chemicals
• How Boy Scouts and Philmont shape discipline, competence, and character
• Why the outdoors feels like spiritual medicine and restores the soul
• Hunger and thirst as metaphors for deeper human longings
• The costs of screens, lost instincts, victimhood culture, and outsourced thinking
• Why David writes The Savage Path as a humorous, story-first memoir
• A runaway scout story about choice, not coercion
• Getting lost at altitude with executives and learning to backtrack to truth
• Where to find the book, the Wrestling With The Inner Man podcast, and www.thesavagepath.com
SEND US FEEDBACK: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2210487/fan_mail/new
https://tinyurl.com/SubscribeToCTP
CTP Audios: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBuzzsprout
CTP Videos: https://tinyurl.com/CTPonBITCHUTE
https://tinyurl.com/CTPgear
https://tinyurl.com/JLenardDetroitGear
AI images/videos/audio CTP uses: https://tinyurl.com/GalaxyMagicaAI
https://tinyurl.com/BookPromotionViaFiverr
- other services: https://fiverr.com/jlenarddetroit
A Short Story: A Lasting Legacy? book Trailer
Welcome And Guest Setup
SPEAKER_03Hello, welcome to another episode of Pristitutionalist Podcast. I am your host, Joseph M. Leonard. That's L-E-N-A-R-D. It looks French. It's not it's learned without an O. Thank you for tuning in. As Graham Newton used to say on his show. Let's get on with the show. Joining me today is David Savage. Uh, you all know I work with Pod Match, and we found each other on Pod Match, where it says about him. His book is based upon his experiences as a Philmont Ranger backpacking guide and another 25 years together with what we called the six pack. So we'll get into all that. Welcome to the show, David.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Thank you very much, Joseph.
SPEAKER_03I saw backpacking, and that was enough for me. Because my weekday specials with guests, I like to indeed be a variety of topics, and certainly heretofore never had anyone talking about backpacking. So hey, you know, exercise, healthy. I've had health episodes. So definitely let's talk that.
David’s Texas Roots And Career
SPEAKER_03But first, where were you born and raised? Significant places you've been in between, that sort of thing.
SPEAKER_00I was born in San Angelo, Texas. So I'm a native Texan, proud native Texan. Uh lived there for three years and then moved to Germany, Darmstadt, Germany, and my dad was a career Air Force, and we lived in uh Germany for four years, then back to San Angelo, and uh unusually because he taught the spy school, he did uh cryptology and linguistics. We kind of stayed in the same place, and I was able to go really first through twelfth grade, you know, in the same town, which is pretty unusual for an Air Force brat. And uh then I graduated and went to Texas AM University. I was a nuclear engineering major my first year, which was 1978, and then in 1979 was Three Mile Island, and I went to the counselor and said, I I'm claustrophobic, I can't do life on a Navy submarine, so I'm gonna need to change majors. And uh so then I uh I graduated with a degree in civil engineering and worked for uh four or five years uh in civil engineering for a consulting firm, and then I got my professional engineer license, and I wanted to get compensated a little bit more based on my performance because I felt like I was an above-average performer, but I was getting average pay, and so I uh was recruited into a technical sales position for a company that's a global leader in uh specialty chemicals, so Nalco Chemical Company, which then became purchased by Ecolab. Now is what you would know them as Ecolab names around. But I was in the energy division uh and refining of patriot chemicals and had a 31-year career with them and retired at the uh end of 2018, uh, you know, out of a global position. And you know, that I ended up uh my mom and my brother were in memory care facilities and they passed away in 2019. That was one of the big kind of triggers for why I pulled the parachute a little early on retirement, and then uh I decided I was gonna write this book because I got mad about what was happening uh with the Boy Scouts of America, which I had a tremendous, a tremendous uh experience. That's why it's all about backpacking. And I actually worked as a backpacking guide at Felmont Scout Ranch, if anybody's familiar with that, it's a terrific place, and then uh actually continued to backpack uh for 25 years with this group that you referenced the six pack because they revered me and my scouting credentials as I revered them as the executives of those companies, but they were all Old Eagle Scouts. They called me up and they said, Hey, we're looking for someone to go backpacking with us. And we heard you were Philmont Ranger. I called my boss and I said, Hey man, I got like these vice presidents, man, that want me to go backpacking with them. I said, I'm not gonna burn my personal vacation on this. And they go, Are you kidding? We can't even get an appointment for an hour with those guys. You could spend a week with them, and you're sleeping in a tent, doesn't even cost us anything except for the airline ticket. And uh then we did that for 25 years, and uh, I learned more around the campfire about the whole refining of petrochemical business than I ever would have uh, you know, lunches or on the golf course because we were in challenging situations.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I am familiar with Ecolab because I worked for Diverse Windat chemicals. Used to be Windot chemicals bought up by Diverse subsidiary of Molson out of Canada, uh became Diverse Windot. I don't know if they're even still operating or not. If Molson finally got tired of them losing money.
SPEAKER_00Now Diversy, so they did get rolled into uh, so I think they're actually part of you know Ecolab now.
SPEAKER_03Okay, yeah, I've fallen out of touch with folks from back then, so I didn't really know uh the the origin of the versi windat merger gobble up of windat by diversity was Molson said, Hey, if we need chemicals for our plants and whatnot, why not have our own operation? At any rate, what okay, we heard kind of the genesis and impetus to grow the backpacking into the book, but what was the origins of your first endeavor into the backpacking world?
Scouts As A School Of Character
SPEAKER_00Well, it was, you know, obviously through the Boy Scouts, and uh, you know, so I uh I had a a chief master sergeant of the NCO Academy at the Air Force Base who had a a crew cut, was super fit, smoked filterless camels, and was very tough. He was just a real kind of an inspirational figure in my life. You know, I was kind of a clever kid, but I wasn't a big yes sir or no, sir guy. And uh and we went to summer camp for the first time and he had this one-pound coffee can painted yellow with a number five on it. He asked me a question and I said, sure. You know, and he goes, Well, you're supposed to say yes, sir. So now you get to carry this one-pound empty coffee can, you know, painted with a baling wire handle everywhere around Scout Camp, you know, to the mess hall, swimming, everything, you know. And then I'll give you a chance to get rid of it. And if you answer properly, we get rid of it. If you don't, well then I'm gonna put a rock in it. So I tried a variety of ways, you know. The next time he came up and asked me, and I said, okay, or I nodded or something because I was just not going to be broken. And then sure enough, I had a uh a can full of rocks, you know, that I was carrying around, and then I eventually, you know, he broke me. And uh, you know, and I was a yes, sir, no, sir kid by the you know, the the second day at camp, and uh, and I just have a lot of respect for how he taught me and I needed it. I did a lot of backpacking, you know, actually on church retreats, and I just love being out in the wilderness. I uh I love the unpredictability of it and you know your reliance on nature to kind of if it's hailing, we might have to stay in the same spot, you know, a couple of days, and you have to just throw out, you know, your itinerary plan and say, you know, we only have so many clothes and we can't get wet, so we're just gonna have to hunker down here. And I just love being uh in God's creation, really. It's where I feel closest to God, and you know, I can sense it. There's uh a psalm, you know, that's uh Psalm 19.1. It says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. And that's true, you know, when you're out there under an open sky at night in a campfire and you can really see the stars because you're in the wilderness, uh you know, that really is like medicine for me. It really restores my soul.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, a couple things off topic, but since you mentioned all that out there, the Spielberg disclosure movie coming in the trailer. There's a supposedly Catholic nun when questioned, you know, oh, aliens are real, and she says, you know, implying, like I've always said alone, I'm not surprised. Why would God have created all that to leave it empty? So, but yeah, back to the scout and the point being the weakening, I hate to use the term, but the dumbing down, so to speak, of the whole program and lightning out as you later and now say discovered. He wasn't being mean, it was something he wanted to do to help mold you be a good person in society for your own good, and a lot of that is gone in what I refer to now as return, it seems uh return to the hippies 60s days, right? If it feels good, all about me, only me, but the good thing that came out of that and the resurgence we're seeing now, I call it the Jesus Revolution too.
SPEAKER_02Right, right.
SPEAKER_03Eventually, a lot of those hippies, the ones not like Bernadine Dorns or Bill Ayers that went on to become terrorists, re you know, sound God and realize yeah, there has to be more to all this than just me, me, me, mine, mine, mine, give it to me yesterday.
SPEAKER_00Yes. I agree.
Wilderness Faith And Soul Longings
SPEAKER_00Um, in fact, uh, you know what the other thing about being outdoors is you know, we're creatures, you know, just like other creatures. Now, God gave us uh the ability to reason is what distinguishes us from all the other animals. But we tend to uh forget that we have instincts. And uh I think today, especially you know, with nothing but screens in front of our kids, you know, they've they've lost complete touch with any kind of an instinct they have, or they wouldn't recognize it if they felt it. And but there are two instincts that all of us have, and that's hunger and thirst. You know, if you're hungry, your body, your brain, it tells you I gotta eat something, you know, thirst the same way. And so the way I view life is that you know, this hunger and thirst, in the outdoors, it's easy to experience both of those. And uh, and I think that uh we have every human on the planet, doesn't matter what race, what age, what gender, or anything, have two soul longings. One is a thirst for love that cannot be diminished by performance. So, in other words, an unconditional love. We all thirst for that. And then the other is is the hunger for uh you know to make a difference in that world that can't be erased, you know, to leave some kind of a legacy, you know, what's our impact on the world? And you can try to fill those two holes in your heart, which are your soul cravings, with all kinds of other things, but nothing satisfies, nothing satiates that except for God. And so uh that's kind of my opening premise, if you will, for you know how my my foundation of all my other thought life and beliefs.
SPEAKER_03I have an episode with Leslie Hall in the back catalog about indeed our animal side. A lot of people try to deny it, but it's there. And also that we think we're so evolved with all these new gadgets and gimmicks and toys we've come up with. We've made life a little easier on the one hand, but it's still the same human nature inside, and people try to deny that and create and live a delusion rather than understand those realities. You mentioned food, the literal as well as some figurative lessons that have to come out of that. Oh, that looks good, that looks tasty, that should be okay for me to consume, but not necessarily so, yes.
SPEAKER_00Ask anybody that's eaten some poison berries or was experimenting with mushrooms and got the wrong ones.
SPEAKER_03Uh-huh. You know exactly what I was going for there. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Um those hippies. In fact, I was just in Georgia and we went to the uh the Allman Brothers band museum in Macon, and all of their uh, you know, their artwork and their album covers all had these mushrooms on it. I didn't I didn't realize, you know, back then how big they were into mushrooms for their uh creative inspiration.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, um today uh you see on TV now all kinds of ads for all the kind of mushroom-derived teas that can be good and healthy. One of those again, lessons you need to learn. There's good, there's bad in everything, and you've got to learn to make those distinctions. The uh Alman brothers, I and I'm 63, so I enjoyed them growing up. I was never a huge fan, and of course, Greg Marion Cher. I can separate the person from the art, and I loved her art too, don't like her at all, but but that he married her, I'm like, oh boy, I don't know what's really going on there. But anyway, again, you're not here to talk music, you're here to talk backpacking without spoiling the book. Obviously, we want to promote the book and people to read it outside of the things we talked about so far, the the healthy aspects of it, things you learn about life in the literal and figurative while out there. What other things are you trying to convey?
SPEAKER_00Well, so the reason why I chose uh backpacking is because, first of all, my experiences, many experiences, uh as I considered
Culture Drift Victimhood And AI
SPEAKER_00writing the try to use it as a metaphor or it is.
SPEAKER_03It is like I like to joke, though, I'm far too clever as an author for metaphors. I use metas, but I'm anyway. Continue.
SPEAKER_00Well, so when I was considering, you know, the the idea of the book. So first I got you know, I got righteously angry when the Supreme Court, you know, basically said that they had to allow homosexuals into Boy Scouts of America as scout leaders. And then, of course, that was followed by all the sexual assault cases, which is torn down. BSA is an institution, it's no longer got boy in the name, they've got girls getting Eagle Scout Awards.
SPEAKER_03What a shock, all that happened.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And that watered down and diminished the significance of my Eagle Scout Award and all those before in the first hundred years of scouting that was, you know, because you got to remember the Scout Oath says, you know, we're to help other people at all times. You know, we have a duty to God and country to keep ourselves physically strong, mentally awake, morally straight. Well, good grief. Who could be against an organization like that that's trying to help boys, you know, who are selfish and blaming and immature, you know, grow into men like with a scoutmaster like I had. And so my really motivation of the book was to uh a defense of scout or well, there were things going on in the elections because look, you're called, you know, constitutionalists. This is about politics. And I've I've been deeply involved in politics for most of my life. I was a delegate to the National Convention for the Republican Party in 2008, and then again in 2024. So for 16 years in there, I was heavily, heavily engaged in politics, trying to effect positive change, you know, for our country and culturally and legislatively and everything else. But nothing uh more fruitless uh in my whole life than all the time, treasure, and talent I spent on that. So but so I said I'm gonna write a book. And uh this was during COVID, you know, and everybody's like, oh my god, you know what? I said I'm gonna do something, you know, productive. And then I I also realized that as I began to listen to people, you know, we watch uh jaywalking, you know, and he's out there on the street, and these people are excited about being on TV, proving how ignorant they are. You know, they couldn't name the vice president of the United States, and they're laughing about it. It's like I would not want to be on television showing what a fool I am, but nevertheless, so I began to think, you know, I don't know if there's 51% of the population that thinks it like I do that we can win elections anymore. Uh and so I believe like the Jews and the diaspora, you know, we got punished, you know, for being undisciplined and for falling away and everything. And so, you know, they're over in Babylon and they're weeping, you know, for their lost Israel. And but you know what? They wrote things down, and it's called the Bible. And so what I decided was look, all right, the Boy Scouts doesn't exist as I knew it anymore, but I'm gonna write something down that maybe 200 years from now they'll go, you know, they used to have this organization called BSA, and they used to put out a pretty good product in terms of a young man at the end of an Eagle Scout. And so I wanted to kind of capture it. I also wanted it to be a Christian book, and then I talked to uh Gary Thomas, who wrote the book Sacred Marriage, and he's uh he sold a million copies of it, and he was our writer in residence at our church, a big, big uh mega church here in Houston. And I went and I talked to him about being an author, and I said, Look, this is what I want to do. I want to write this book. And he said, Well, you know, I don't know if it should be a memoir because you know, no nobody knows who David Savage is. Why would anybody want to read your memoir?
SPEAKER_03I'm like, well, you know, I say that all the time to people who want to author a book, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right. So I said, but you know, men's ministry, you know, there's everybody is like finger wagging and you should do this and you should do that. And goes, but if you could put some humor in it, that would really be novel and unique. And so that's what I did. I it my my book is kind of a hybrid, it is a memoir because I had decided to self-publish. I didn't want uh you know a traditional publishing company to be able to edit out pieces of my life you know that I thought were important. And so, you know, originally, you know, I uh you know, I wanted it to be largely you know supportive of the scouting ideals, you know, and so and then I also uh have been very involved in an organization called Better Man, and they have a definition, uh a biblical definition of manhood that says, you know, a real man, a biblical man, rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and then lives his life for the greater reward, God's reward. And so that was the manhood definition of my house with my three sons. And so, you know, so there's kind of an amalgam of better man and BSA that really are of a thread throughout the whole book with a backpacking metaphor. Because, you know, as a Christian, and and this was from John Eldridge's book, uh Wild at Heart, he goes, Look, you know, every man needs three things a will to obey, should be God's will, in my opinion, a woman to love, and a work to do. And so, you know, so we begin. You know, our adult life is like this journey, this quest for authentic manhood, and it's like, all right, I'm starting on a backpacking trip, and I've got my map and I've got my point plotted, I'm at the trailhead, and this is where I plan to go. And if you stay on the trail, usually you can have a better experience, you know. But when you get lost in the wilderness and you're backpacking, there's some pretty serious negative consequences that can happen rather rapidly. And and you could be just uh 20 yards downhill from the trail, you know, and not even know it's up there, and be stepping over Deadfall and like, you know, just hopelessly lost. And and it happens all the time, you know.
SPEAKER_03Near a poisonous snake, uh, a grizzly around the corner, you might startle that then reacts to protect its cub and attack you. Yeah, you you said a couple things that I uh in my how to write a book and get it published, because I try to encourage authors who just don't know where to start. Yes, it can be your memoir. But write it fictionally speaking, because again, indeed, no one knows or cares who John Doe is, but the story of John Doe, fictionalized, still has a lot of value and is more palatable, more marketable, and going back further, it's what I call you said about the people on TV. Yeah, those segments all things. It's the esteem over substance dumbing down of America. Our indoctrination factors have become. They are so enthused about themselves. And willing, as you said, to show just how dumb they are. And they don't they they don't even view that segment again and still not get it. Coined the toxic masculinity, yes, and turned a bunch of people into soy boy, do nothing, build nothing, um, into toxic empathy. I forget the author of that book, and I did a show reviewing that book because indeed we've gone to toxic empathy. Uh bend over backwards, whatever, even if it's negative consequences, yeah, go ahead and do it anyway. That sad part of today.
SPEAKER_00It is indeed because you see, a lot of people want something for nothing. And if I'm a victim, if I'm a victim of some kind, you and I don't have much hair, maybe we should we're victims of uh the hair follicle challenge society or whatever. And it's like, so maybe I can get something for nothing just because I'm a victim. And and that unfortunately has been reinforced over and over and over. And so everybody's searching for new ways to be a victim, you know, so that I can get something for nothing. And uh, and then you've got this whole, you know, well, first it was ask Siri, and now ask Alexa, and now Chat GPT, and this basically a total loss of critical thinking and really knowledge because ignorance is always the enemy, and with all of the ability to know so much today, we have become so much more ignorant because of sloth, we're just lazy. And so, you know, why should I uh go research something or investigate or debate when I'm not sure about something? I'm gonna make this dramatic stand on what Siri told me or Alexa told me, and somebody else is writing that algorithm. So that's what's dangerous about it is that somebody's writing the program and it's not God, and there are agendas, and so uh this is a big danger of this craze and this waste to AI as fast as we can, you know, to eliminate jobs and you know, do everything.
SPEAKER_03So I've I've written pieces, I've done a couple shows. AI indeed is a furthering of the dumbing down of society, all this patting people on the back and encouragement. Yeah, be happy in the stupid you are. Don't don't put forth effort to pick yourself up. Indeed, the victimhood mentality, and you said it right, the right word there is sloth. Ignorance may feel like bliss to some at the time, but as you say, it's not it's not bliss, it's dangerous, it's unhealthy ultimately, and it's part of the reason why Jesus said the poor will always be among you, and it has nothing to do with economics or governance, although it ties into it to a degree that was shrug, more and more climbing in the cart, expecting to be pulled, and eventually there aren't enough people to be able to pull the cart by human nature, laziness, especially if someone will keep giving them things they don't have to work to earn.
SPEAKER_00Right. But we've deviated a little from backpacking.
SPEAKER_03Hey, my audience knows uh I don't I know I I read it. Yeah, I I don't strip shows, whatever rabbit holes open.
SPEAKER_00We dive down them, but well I hadn't I hadn't uh heard of the Certz candy in a long time when you said it's like the Certs commercial, two two two shows in one, and uh I used to carry a pocket full of those certs myself. I'm 65, so we're Piers. I'm I'm your elder by a couple of years.
SPEAKER_03But yeah, yeah, I've used that analogy metaphor for the show indeed. Two, two, two mints in one, two shows in one. For those listening on audio or viewing in the uh transcript, I'm doing a fishing reel it back in kind of motion on the screen. Let's reel it back into backpacking. Um what other life lessons do you want? Again, not wanting to give too many spoilers away. We want them read- Oh, what is the actual full official title of the book? We've not done that yet.
SPEAKER_00The title
Why He Wrote The Savage Path
SPEAKER_00is The Savage Path. My last name, my path, my life, and then the subtitle is A Memoir of Modern Masculinity. So it's just it is a memoir. It's my story, it's a true story. There's facts, there's even photos in my book uh that go along, and then chapter by chapter, uh I just give little lessons that highlight a certain uh quality. It's kind of like a fable, you know, where you got like a moral at the end of the chat. I don't really explicitly say it, but there's little nuggets in there for those who have ears to hear and you know are trying to find those. And so uh, you know, there's little lessons learned, and like there's this one good story. So I was I was uh you know, a ranger at Philmont, and I go backpacking there, and I my job as a ranger is to meet a Boy Scout troop, a crew. They all have to be 14, you know, as a minimum age requirement. Uh then I go through their health physicals and everything else, and then I kind of give them a shakedown on all the stuff they're carrying in the pack, and I size up the boy, and I, you know, he I gotta get his weight down to what he can carry, and and then I guide them for three days on a 10-day itinerary, and uh, and then I train the senior patrol leader, the boy leader, to lead that group for the next seven days, and then I hike back to the you know base camp for the backcountry by myself and go pick up another crew. So I had dropped off, you know, this one crew. I'm hiking back, you know, you know, several
Modern Masculinity As A Trail
SPEAKER_00miles. Sometimes you get a day off and you go get to mess around, visit your friends in the backcountry. But I'm hiking back toward uh the base camp and I see this uh kid and I could tell he was like a runaway, you know. So what happens sometimes is uh adults, well, meaning, you know, they come and they try to sneak their 13-year-old son, you know, on because they're the parent and they're going on. I said, you know, he can't go, he doesn't get to go with your crew, so he has to go to a scout camp for adults that are at the training center, and he's with boys he doesn't know and other kids. It's it's it's miserable for him. So this kid had had enough and had gone over the wall, as I say, you know. So he's he's walking toward me, you know, on this trail. He's got nothing, his boot laces are untied, his head's down, his face is red, he's hot, and you know, and I'm kind of size him up.
SPEAKER_01Because he didn't learn on the bunny trail, he might go right to the mountain slope. Yes.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he wanted to go be with his people and not, you know, be uh isolated in this other camp. And so I I knew I wasn't gonna talk him into anything, so I just said, Hey, you know, uh, what are you doing? He goes, I'm I'm running away, I'm not, I'm not staying at that place. I'm gonna go find my crew. And I was like, Well, that's great. You know, do you know where they are? And then he got to thinking about it a little bit. Well, not really. And I said, You got a map? No, you got a compass? No. And he's getting more worried, you know. And then I have any water? No. Would you like some? And I gave him some in my canteen, and then he's kind of like really starting to think his decision over a little bit. And I go, Do you have any food? And he goes, No. And so I gave him a couple of granola bars, and I'm saying, here you go, man. I'm sure you'll be all right. And then I just kept walking, you know, and he was in the other direction, and then he he made it about a hundred yards, and then he turned around, ran after me, and said, No, take me back, take me back.
SPEAKER_03And that's the point. It it has to be their decision. Exactly. Forcing a conversion to Christ by force doesn't save their soul. The yeah,
The Runaway Scout And Choice
SPEAKER_03so you Christian Bible thumpers, leave me alone. I'll pretend I'm a Christian, doesn't save their soul. They have to really truly want the conversion.
SPEAKER_00That's exactly right. And I knew because I was just like that boy. In fact, you know, that chapter that I talk about that was when I was uh, you know, graduating, was kind of considering my career professions, and you know, I'd gotten dumped by my girlfriend, and I was really, you know, heartsick about it. And I was, you know, you're like your first real love, you know, and then when you're just you know dumped and and you know, you're just crushed, you're like, I hate women, and and uh, you know, and so I was kind of running away from real life myself, uh, in a at a different level of maturity, and I and I recognize that in myself, and that's why I wrote about that, you know, in that chapter using that illustration, you know, a backpacking illustration, and many, many other times when you get lost, and it's like, okay, so I was out with the six-pack, and this was our very first trip. This guy is like the senior vice president of petrochemicals, the other guy's like vice president of refining, and you know, they're my customers like many levels up, and I'm 15 years younger than them, and they decide, hey, we're gonna go to uh Estes Park, Colorado, you know, we're gonna hike in the Waimanoosh Wilderness. And I was like, all right, great.
Executives Lost And The Cost
SPEAKER_00So we get off, you know, we come from Corpus Christi, which is sea level, you know, and then we start hiking the same day, which is already a bad idea. And then we didn't have a cap on elevation, and we knew we were gonna be going over this pass, like I think it was supposed to be the second day, but anyway, 13,000 feet elevation.
SPEAKER_03So from sea level to 13,000 feet, and then of course the air gets thinner, you dehike and all of that stuff, all that.
SPEAKER_00So we're you know, we're hiking along, and then you know, well, we have a USGS quad map 1954 photo revised, and there's all kinds of trails on the ground that aren't on the map, you know. And I'm like, wow, you know, this must be all these elk hunters around here, and we don't know which ones are trail, and these other ones aren't on the map, and so we're gonna have to look at the contour lines and the drainage and everything else. And man, I was sure I was right because I was better at the map reading, I was a better ranger and everything else. And so, but these executives are like they're type A personalities, man. They're used to being, you know, right, and uh, and I wasn't gonna piss them off because they're my customers, and it was just like I did with the boys, you know. I said, I'll just let them hike in the wrong direction. I'll just I can hike the miles until they figure it out.
SPEAKER_03Again they need to learn exactly themselves.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so we're at this fork in the trail, you know, and I'm saying, you know, topo, water, drainage, everything screams left to me. And they're like, No, I'm sure it's right. And so, okay, you know, and so we hike on maybe another hour and a half, and then we're up at a real high point, this real pretty lake, and then that guy he ate off was his name. He goes, Hey Dave, you know, let me see the map. I'm like, here it is, we're we're not even on it anymore. And and he he you know gave me this cross look, and then he sat there and really studied it for like 30 minutes and finally goes, Man, I think you're right. And then it was like, Okay, well, now we have to make a decision, and the right decision always is to go back the way you knew, you know, and get on the trail before where you left off.
SPEAKER_03But we decided, you know what, to save time, take your chance on another uncharted path.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we didn't even go on a path. We bushwhacked, we went through scrub willow snow shoots and everything else. And anyway, he ended up getting like acute mountain sickness, severe altitude sickness, near stroke blood pressure, and everything. I had to hike 18 miles and go down to that little uh narrow gauge railroad between Silverton and Durango, you know, and catch this train and get a uh EMT and a sheriff to four-wheel drive up there and rescue him out. And uh, you know, and so again, well, there's a lesson, you know. It was like we knew what we should have done, you know, we should have just hiked back, you know, and then but that's not what we did. And then he got dehydrated and he got, but he still, you know, the obstinance was amazing because I had my Philmont Ranger book, you know, and he goes, Dave.
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_00It started raining on us, you know, everything's wet, it's heavier. He goes, Dave, if you could just carry my tent. And I, you know, so now my pack's like 90 pounds, and I said, Look, uh, if you want to die out here, that's okay, but I'm I'm not gonna die for you, so I'm not gonna carry your wet tent and everything else, and this is what we have to do. And by the way, I pulled out my first date book and I said, This is what it says under you know, altitude sickness, which then moves to acute mountain sickness, and it's like then you know, he got cold and wet, so he had hypothermia, and then it was like death, you know, was actually printed in the book as like the next thing, and I said, You're just one away, man. And until finally, you know, he was feeling bad enough that uh we uh we did that. So that that's those are two just little stories that are from the book that uh are pretty engaging. But it's you know, the the narrative of the whole book backpacking is when you get off the path and you get out of outside of God's will, you're gonna have a tougher time of it. And then you begin to experience these negative consequences, you know, and you get nicked up and you get you know scratched and you know, scared by snakes or bears or whatever, and then you're like, you know, I better get on the path because it's just easier walking. It's just it's how God made me to be, it's how I'm gifted with my talents, and and that's really the story, you know, for everybody. But again, it's just a suggestion. No one likes to be lectured to, everyone likes to hear a funny story. You know, it's like uh our pastor, he had this great quote. He goes, you know, everybody likes to learn, but no one likes to be taught something.
SPEAKER_03No, you're absolutely right. And uh we we repeat mistakes we could have easily learned through others' experience, but it goes back to again the esteem over substance. People feel really good about their lacking abilities and unable to learn from others to live within our capabilities and means. And your subtitle helps make it beyond the oh, David Savage. Why why would I read his memoir? Into knowing, yeah, there are life lessons that can relate to everybody here. So again, the full book title.
SPEAKER_00The Savage Path, and then the subtitle is a memoir of modern masculinity, and uh that there's got 4.7 stars out of five rating and 105 reviews. So uh, you know, that's not just people I could coerce into it.
SPEAKER_03So uh oh page spam. I'm joking, people. I'm joking. Uh so yeah, I have Amazon and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes, yes, it's it's on, it's on Amazon. Uh actually, I I think what I'd like to tell your audience, your listeners, if you're if you're curious about anything else, I I also have a podcast, and my podcast is called Wrestling with the Inner Man. And that is because the first fight we face
Book Podcast Website And Farewell
SPEAKER_00each and every day is what Joseph and I have been talking about. And that's the fight between our selfish, sinful nature and our Holy Spirit-inspired divine nature. So you wake up, you got that little devil on one shoulder and the little angel on the other, like an animal house, and you know, who do you listen to? And and so the podcast, all of my guests, you know, have been through some kind of a major dilemma, whether it's uh, you know, a life-threatening illness, uh, you know, financial, you know, bankruptcy, uh, being cheated out of something, you know, addictions, you you name it. I have about 133 episodes up, and uh, you know, I'm I'm quite proud of it. And uh so wrestling with the inner man and the book The Savage Path, a memoir of modern masculinity, you can find on one website, and the website is www.thesavagepath.com.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that was of course my next including question with every show. What's your website? You've already given it. But yes, uh the other inability of most people desire to self-reflect and be honest, they lie all day that others, including themselves, can't self-reflect and know one's own limitations and where need to improve and seek the improvement and seek help from above in doing that. The old Michael Jackson Man in the mirror song or Rick Springfield prayer. I send a prayer to heaven for the chance to be a better man than a man I see in my mirror. But most people won't do that in their mirror and ask and recognize, yeah, I'm less than perfect, and there's no such thing as perfect, but better is achievable, yes.
SPEAKER_00That's true. And if you don't attempt anything and you don't fail, then you don't have that opportunity to reflect and go, okay, you know, why did I fail? Unfortunately, you know, like I've been through a divorce, there's a chapter in the book about that, and uh, and so you know, I had to be honest and do a real assessment of like why did that marriage fail?
SPEAKER_02Oh, it's all her fault. Obviously.
SPEAKER_00Well, yeah, that's what you think initially initially, you know. But uh if you consider marrying again, you know, most men uh would repeat that mistake. They're called rebounders, right? And uh and so I didn't want to do that. You know, that's that's horrible because that's usually what happens, is then you history repeats itself and you make the same mistakes over and over because you haven't learned from them.
SPEAKER_03And uh so yeah, and for the benefit of the transcript, you won't hear when I said it's all her fault. Dave and I are laughing. We're laughing, it's a joke, it's a point, a lesson to learn. Remember the adage point of finger, three of your own are pointing right back at you. So, anyway, thank you, David Savage, for coming on. Appreciate having you here. It was a great discussion.
SPEAKER_00Thank you, Joseph. Appreciate it, and uh good luck with you know all your future episodes.
SPEAKER_03Take care, God bless.
SPEAKER_00All right, God bless you too.
SPEAKER_10Does God still speak today? He is in everything, in every way, in the growing of the trees, in
Music Interlude God Still Speaks
SPEAKER_10every bird that chirps, do drops listening, whispering in every breeze. Those are his words.
SPEAKER_07Real question is Are you listening?
SPEAKER_10Does God still speak today? I hear it in the trees, in every bird that chirps, in the things you let me see, do drops glistening on the leaves at dawn, those are his works to me all day long when I look at you are never happy. Is in everything in the growing trees, in the line of the sky, in the tiny sparrow cutting through the light. What I thought was small turns and speak so loud. You are here around me now. You are here right now. When I look and listen, you are never fair.
SPEAKER_07Every little living thing says who you are. He is in everything. He is in everything. He is in every way. In every breeze that moves, in every heart that awaits, he is in everything. He is in everything. Oh my eyes again. Teach my soul to see the holy and the symbol. The wonder in the leaf. Oh ask you where you answer with the birds in the work of your hands. In the whole wind, he is in everything. He is in every way.
SPEAKER_04Sometimes it may be in metaphors as riddles in mind. He is speaking, but we still listen.
SPEAKER_07You still call my name. Handshaking heart on steady. You don't look away, you stand in the middle of it all. Closer than my fear. I was lost in the crowd. Then you drew me near, and every wall falls down. When you step into the room, every light goes quiet. When I hear you move, my soul leaves in, my knees give way. I know who you are. I know what stays. God among us. God among us, you are here. You are here. You touch the bending roost. The morning finds the ashes and they bloom for you. You hold the names I can't say. You carry what I hide when I'm too weak. Stand up, you keep me alive, and every wall falls down when you step into the room, every lie goes quiet when I hear you, my soul leans in, my knees give way. I know who you are, I know us stays God among us, God among us, you are here, you are here, you are here among us, God among us, oh comes the light right here, you are here, Savior in the shadows, King with nails, scarred hands, you don't run from my ruins, you rebuild the land here in the aid, here in the blaze. I lift my voice and I keep saying God among us, God among us, you are here, you are here, you are here God among us, so God among us, hope comes alive right here.
unknownYou are here, you are here.
SPEAKER_08Move over and let me show ya how it goes.
SPEAKER_09I'm far too clever for those whatever.
SPEAKER_08Clean and quick. Don't hand at apples when I just mean a brick. I like my language, sharp as chisels, words like razors, words that sizzle, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_07I use metal fixes to turn my tricks my senses.
SPEAKER_09Flip my fixes, oh, oh, oh, say straight till the line of whistles, metal fixes, metal fixes.
SPEAKER_05Take one thought, split it in six, taste, touch, sights, and smell the six. Run it through rhythm till logic clicks. That's how I show for my little mind tricks.
SPEAKER_09Hey, don't pay a cloud when I mean the rain. I count each drop little mind fix it.
SPEAKER_08Oh, oh, the line of twist Metal Sixes Metal Sixes, and we're gonna be able to do that.
SPEAKER_07You made me cry, you try to spare my feelings, claimed it was you know, me, send me realing. I felt inadequate, holding my breath, hoping you'd change your mind and come back. Then it hit me slow, right on the skin. All the things you said did not add up within. I kept looking back for a softer sight, but the truth stood there in black and white Moment of clarity, it cut right through me. Moment of clarity. Now I can see you lie to a void Say in my name, I failed a snot of you. That's the whole game. Reading every pause like it might decide If you take it back, if you call me home, but you kept that truth buried alone. I wore the blame like a heavy coat, Till the mirror spoke, can I finally walk? Then it hit me slow, right under the skin All the things you said did not add a whiven. I kept looking back for a softer sign, but the truth stood there in black and white Moment of clarity. It cut right through me, moment of clarity. Now I can see you like to avoid saying my name, I felt a snot of you. That's the whole game I still fell love, even through the stink, but love ain't a steal from the way you leave. I won't chase your shadow, I won't beg for proof. I was hurt, yes I was, but I was a fool. Only foolin' myself It cut right through me. Oh Now I can see you that you would say in my name, I felt that's not you That's the whole game You say goodbye, you may call You try to spell my feelings Claim to what you love me I felt inadequate Hope you change your mind and come back eventually The moment of clarity came You like to avoid saying my name Cause it's actually true Fairest night Like and subscribe to Christitutionalist Politics Podcast and share episodes.
SPEAKER_03We need your help. Thank you for having tuned into another Christitutionalist podcast show. I really appreciate that you stop by. Again, please like, share, subscribe.
Like Share Subscribe Closing
SPEAKER_03We need you to help spread the Christitutionalist movement. Thank you again. Take care. God bless. Love you all.
