Return to the Jungle Pt.1 with George S. Midla

We explore time travel, the allure of history, and how past experiences shape our understanding of life today. Reflecting on themes of mortality, legacy, and striving for excellence, we dive into personal anecdotes and societal realities. 
• Discussing the concept of time travel 
• Infatuation with historical eras, particularly the Mayflower 
• Challenges faced by early settlers and modern parallels 
• Reflecting on mortality and the nature of death 
• The significance of family influence and legacies 
• Humor intertwined with heavier discussions 
• Pursuing excellence in life and the idea of "good enough"

The Rambling Gypsy podcast is a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of real Texans doing real sh*t. We're pulling back the curtains on our daily lives - and you're invited to laugh and learn along with us.

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/@TheRamblingGypsy
https://www.facebook.com/GypsyMammaTiff/
https://www.instagram.com/GypsyMammaTiff/
https://www.theramblinggypsypodcast.com/

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:01

I put a blessing on it to real. That's the metaphoric. We just put the I in iconic buzzin' like I'm electronic. Ah, yeah, I put a blessing on it. See me drippin' in it 24-7 on it. I'm just bein' honest. Ah, holy water drippin' drippin' from my neck to my creps. So I'm too steppin' on it like, yeah, we are oh, they're filming.

Speaker 2 0:16

Yeah we are. I didn. I'm Tiffany, oh my name's George. Yeah, thanks for having me back.

Speaker 3 0:24

We're on the Ramblin' Gypsy podcast and we are going to talk about some cool stuff, but I do want to talk about the Mayflower and I want to talk about going back in, because we've met previously, we've talked previously, but we are going to. This is going to be the first of a series that we are doing about your books and we're going to touch base on that, but I want to talk about um, where we were just going okay so in our previous conversation we talked about um, you asked me if I could live or how you.

Speaker 3 0:56

You asked the question you, uh, how long do you think you would live? Or something to that effect. And and I said, because the way that your brain works or whatever, I never even thought about going past 100 years. And then you brought up 300 or 500 and that was very intriguing to me because just the way that we're programmed, I would have never even thought about going past 100 years years.

Speaker 3 1:24

Really, yes, okay, and then you just asked me a question and I don't even know how we got on the subject about going back in time.

Speaker 2 1:32

Talked about time travel Either in the past or forward too, and there's the other option, not that anybody can time travel.

Speaker 3 1:41

Nobody can. It's impossible. I would go back, you'd go back you said you weren't sure that you would.

Speaker 2 1:44

I wasn't sure if I'd go forward or back, or I just stay right where I'm at. You know, I guess there's some comfort in knowing where you're at. I mean, I don't know, but you said you'd want to go back. I would definitely go back and be there when they built the Mayflower and then sell over on it. Yes, and that's interesting. Why do you say that? Why, at that time period?

Speaker 3 2:04

And that's interesting. Why do you say that? Why that time period? I have always been infatuated with not necessarily the Mayflower, so to speak, but the older, the olden days, the Western days, the old towns, the dirt roads, the saloons, the brothels, the every bit of that. Like I, I was definitely living off of the land. The forget the phones, forget the internet, forget all of that nonsense.

Speaker 2 2:32

I think I think Hollywood makes that very romantic that time period. But I think it was hard, it was really hard. It was hard and I read stories about the first settlers that came to New Braunfels and a lot of them thought, wow, look at all this pasture land and I'm going to bring animals in and graze them. And then of course there'd be a drought for two years. Plus the grass in this area when the animals eat it, from what I read, they pull the roots up also and it kills everything. So they got here and after a couple years they're like, oh, this isn't going to work and they left.

Speaker 3 3:12

So it was really hard to kind of hone out a living as a rancher in this area anyway, and I can imagine most of the west, everything is difficult yeah in today's world, and ranchers and farmers drought and drought is a real thing um animals that still pull the grass, that pull the roots out yeah one are miniature horses, or one of that's.

Speaker 2 3:33

One of their common traits is that they will destroy they get into it, they do, they want it all play, they want it all. They want it all roots and all they do and so that's a big thing.

Speaker 3 3:44

So that really, whether it was way back when or in today, and today it's all still a first world problem, a real problem, but it's yeah even with irrigation and all the tools that we have, they still, everybody still struggles.

Speaker 3 3:59

Yeah, we do on at our resort that I have on the guad um it. People come from all over to float the guad, the guadaloupe river, and if there's no water in the river we don't make any money. We're only open for three months out of the year and I have families and and people that work for us that we have to pay and support and it makes it almost impossible if there's no water in the river what do you call it when it's low like that?

Speaker 2 4:28

I've always known a river to be bony a fluctuation really, is that what you call it? I've always known it to be bony when it's low like that. It's bony when the rocks are showing and it's shallow y'all know it's true.

Speaker 3 4:41

I don't like it is. Is it's a real thing? Okay, yeah, that's a fluctuation.

Speaker 2 4:46

Is that what you guys call it? All right, yeah, I call it bony. I mean that's my gypsum area. All right, it's all right.

Speaker 3 4:51

But yeah, it's the drought and that's a real thing, but yeah, it causes a problem.

Speaker 2 5:06

But I would love to do that, do what Experience the past, the past, and specifically build a Mayflower and come over. I can't imagine and I said this before if my family came over at that time period and stayed and thrived, because you get kind of a leg up every generation and I think that's what America is all about your children have a better life than you do, and to be 16th generation in the United States, you know, and it'd be interesting and be able to. You know, my dad always told me I come from good peasant stock.

Speaker 3 5:35

Good peasant stock.

Speaker 2 5:37

Yeah, that was the family line.

Speaker 3 5:39

Let me think about that for a minute. Good peasant stock.

Speaker 1 5:42

Yeah.

Speaker 3 5:44

That's.

Speaker 2 5:46

You make me think a lot oh, really I I saw a photograph you just spun right. One of my, one of my aunties went back to the old country, back to europe, to attend a funeral. Yeah, and this is when I was still, you know, still young, you know pre-teen, and I remember seeing black and white photos. They took pictures of this funeral she went back for and ox cart, wooden wheels, solid wooden wheels, going through this mud road, just a heavy mud road, and all the women are dressed the same and the babushkas and the kerchiefs all just black cheap cloth, all sewn the same way and just a different time period, different thing. But yeah, it's my pop. So he said good, peasant stock, yeah that's interesting.

Speaker 2 6:31

Yeah, I got a very good. In fact, since we're gonna talk about this book, yes, the dead. There's a dedication in the front, there's two parts to it, one of its to my pops, and there's two things. I remember I kind of lived my life around and he told me when I was younger. He said, son, I don't care if you take up digging ditches for your life's work, right, you just be the best ditch digger there ever was. And that stuck with me.

Speaker 3 6:54

Yes, Solid advice.

Speaker 2 6:57

Solid and you can get somewhere in America with that attitude. Do the best you can, 100%. And then the other thing was my grandmother, when I was five years old, gave me a book and I'll never forget it, and it was, um, a book on quotes. I still love reading quotes, I write quotes my own, and um, maybe we'll talk about that later and um, it was. It was, uh, ben Franklin jr's almanac and it had, you know, one through 365 days, so it was a quote for every day of the year. And there was a quote in there read when I was five years old and it stuck with me and it's still.

Life Lessons and Naked Burials

Speaker 2 7:30

I still think about it on a regular basis and it was good enough is seldom good and never enough. I'm going to say it again Good enough is seldom good and never enough. So you don't do things good enough. You know you don't accept good enough, she's good enough, he's good enough, that's good enough. And you be the best at whatever you decide to do for your life's work. You be the best you can. I think with those two pieces of advice, if you tackle anything in this country anyway, you can go pretty far.

Speaker 3 8:02

It's kind of like help you, help me, help you.

Speaker 2 8:08

You lost me on that one. See, touche, really that wasn't that confusing, was it?

Speaker 3 8:15

I am a over thinker, I guess, am I, nick, an over thinker? Some things, some things, some things. I have to stop and I have to process. I have to, but then once I do. But that's one of those. It's kind of like the help me, help you, help me.

Speaker 2 8:38

Every time anyone uses the phrase anytime anyone uses the phrase. I'll put it this way anytime anyone uses the phrase around me, good enough. I get kind of this way Anytime anyone uses the phrase around me good enough.

Speaker 3 8:47

Yes, I get kind of agitated. Yeah, I feel that.

Speaker 2 8:48

Because good enough sucks.

Speaker 3 8:49

Yeah, what is good enough?

Speaker 2 8:51

Good enough sucks. If that's the way you live your life, then your life's going to suck too. I agree, yeah, anyway.

Speaker 3 8:57

I agree.

Speaker 2 8:58

Right on.

Speaker 3 9:00

Yeah. So going back to why we're here in my she shed and going back to the past and what I would do, yeah. I would definitely be. I've always been infatuated with the saloons and the brothels.

Speaker 1 9:13

Okay.

Speaker 2 9:18

Yes, yes, yes, you pointed out last time, did I? Yes, you did, I'm so proud of that.

Speaker 3 9:22

Don't ask me why.

Speaker 2 9:22

I'll study it before I leave tonight.

Speaker 3 9:24

I bet you will, I will. Because, you're a studier, See, I'm one of those that has to sit down and process things, and half the time not even half the time, a quarter of the time, an eighth of the time or whatever it'll register, and then the rest of the time I'm like, yeah, I'll move on.

Speaker 2 9:39

Okay, but it's never, never good enough.

Speaker 3 9:47

Good enough is seldom good and never enough.

Speaker 2 9:47

That's going to make my wheels turn. It did me when. I was five years old. It did me when I was five years old, In fact it stuck to you at five years old.

Speaker 3 9:56

Five years old, I was running around half naked in my backyard tying up my dogs, trying to pretend that they were horses. My bird dogs pretended they were horses. We bird dogs pretended they were horses.

Speaker 2 10:05

Well, we all did that too. We all did that too. But, like I said, I used to try to read one of those quotes every day and I remember reading that, and it just stuck.

Speaker 3 10:15

At the age of five.

Speaker 2 10:16

Yeah.

Speaker 3 10:17

I had tapeworms and I was not reciting quotes.

Speaker 2 10:24

Oh, please, you probably had pink ribbons. You had pink ribbons in your hair.

Speaker 3 10:29

I was filthy, I was dirty, I was naked. All the time. I would scream when my parents or my mom tried to do anything with my hair.

Speaker 2 10:36

You could sell it. Yeah, try selling it. I don't believe it, but you could sell it. Go ahead and sell it.

Speaker 3 10:41

I haven't changed much Now. I just get in trouble when I run around naked.

Speaker 2 10:46

Yeah, I don't like clothes too much either.

Speaker 3 10:48

I try to stay as undressed as I can yeah, I walked outside this morning and there was some guys that were hanging lights on my house and I and the guy that has the company is super cool dude and there was three, three guys out there. They had missed a little section or whatever anyone out and you went out naked well, no, not necessarily.

Speaker 3 11:11

But first thing, Nick said well, kind of, I've got a dog that has no eyes and she is absolutely um, has taught me more patience and more things about life and um, then then anything I've learned so much from this, from this dog. She's just an amazing, amazing species, but she, you know, as I walked outside and with my dog, cause that's where she goes piddle in the morning, and she knows you would never know that she has no eyes and um, and then my goat followed her with her diaper on, and outsider, three Hispanic gentlemen and they were getting their ladders out and what have you? And and they, I mean it's not really common for people just have a goat that wanders out their front yard in a subdivision that's gated, and that you're not supposed to have those kind of things. But I don't listen, I don't, I kind of make my own rules as I go.

Speaker 3 12:03

And that's the first thing she said to me was did you walk out there like that? And I said well, yep, I did, but I did, I was not naked.

Speaker 2 12:12

Okay, you weren't naked, no, okay not no okay I had pants on well, speaking of naked, I want to be buried naked. I thought about it. Well, you know I was. I came into this world clotheless right, so I want to be. I want to be given back the same way, so I want to be buried naked.

Speaker 3 12:34

What made you think about that?

Speaker 2 12:37

Because we're talking about being naked and not wearing clothes.

Speaker 3 12:40

What made you think that? You know what I think when I die, I want to be naked. Not about the naked conversation. I didn't even know when were you at one day when you said hey bro, when you die, are you going naked or are you wearing a nice suit? You're wearing some velvet drawers.

Thoughts on Death and Legacy

Speaker 2 12:54

You're wearing bell bottoms hey, come on. No, because I've thought about death probably more than most people, but not in a bad way. You know what I mean. I mean I think you live your life a certain way. Everybody I know, like you said before, I never thought past living past 100. Everybody I know thinks they're going to live to be 100. I've been around enough people that have died that I know that life is very fragile and that we don't live to be 100. Most people don't. Life expectancy is like in the 70s and actually, out of all the developed nations, america has the lowest life expectancy because of suicide. Believe it or not, we have a very high rate of suicide in America, more than other developed nations, and I am very close to it and I wish I never was Everybody has right, because it's America Right.

Speaker 2 13:44

So I thought about it, but not in a bad way, I don't obsess with it, but I know it's going to happen. So I, you know, I mean, I think about my demise, but I'm going to, you know, I say now, I'm going to embrace it. You know, when the time comes up, like, all right, you know, the struggle's over, the struggle's over. But I, you know, maybe I'll be like everyone else and I'll be hanging onto the headboard, going, please, I don't want to go, let me stay another day, you know. But uh, I think I'll accept it, you know, gladly, I won't hang on to the headboard I think I'll accept it gladly.

Speaker 2 14:15

you know it. Just it'll be over, you know what I mean, and then we'll see what happens next. Yeah, and I have my whole idea what death is going to be like too.

Speaker 3 14:21

so Tell me about that.

Speaker 2 14:23

Really, yes, wow, this is. This is really turning dark. I actually wrote one of the stories in that we're going to discuss.

Speaker 3 14:30

Okay, so first of all, you're an author of three books now and we are going to talk about those as we go through our series on the podcast, but this one is the very first book and this is not white bread, and so, um, we did touch base on our previous conversations on all kinds of random things the first book, the second book, the third book but today we're going to talk.

Speaker 3 14:55

We really want to focus on just this guy right here, not white bread, and so, um, this is the one that you said was dark.

Speaker 2 15:06

It. Uh, I think the the second book I wrote is not so testosterone-y. That is the San Francisco treat.

Speaker 3 15:15

Drop that down. Today, our word of the day is testosterone-y. It's like a ravioli with balls.

Speaker 2 15:25

It's like rice-a-roni. Where was I now Testosterone-y? What can I say about this book? There's four sections in it. The first section is rather short. It's a story about me as a child, and then it gets into my relationship with my father.

Speaker 3 15:51

Some stories and then his death at the very end, which is really short, and let me back up. Yeah, I want to back up because I want to go back to our conversation on the dark part, on the death part, because you said you would possibly hang on the headboard. I said I absolutely will not hang on the headboard, okay, and then you said this is going kind of dark.

Speaker 2 16:05

What's going to be like, what death is going to be like, and you said yes, I have an idea what it's going to be like.

Speaker 3 16:09

Tell me about it.

Speaker 2 16:15

Wow, and I think it's in. Maybe it's in the second book, anyway, but this is my opinion and I think it's. I picture myself in this place where it's black, jet black. I mean, you can't see anything and you can't move, and it's okay because you can't see anything and, of course, your nose doesn't get itchy too, so you don't have to worry about that, that's one of my biggest fears and it's okay because you can't see anything and, of course, your nose doesn't get itchy too, so you don't have to worry about that.

Speaker 2 16:37

That's one of my biggest fears. And you just float around in the dark by yourself, in your own thoughts, and you know, you fall asleep and then you come out, but you get to reflect and think about your life and people and everything. I guess if you don't like yourself, then that's a really bad place to be and maybe that is purgatory for some. Yeah, but I know that's my kind of, that's my vision, you know. I guess it's not like a white cloud and you know, and an open bar all night, but uh, it's uh, it's just a dark place and you, just you, just you just float in your thoughts and you get to think about things how long does that last?

Speaker 2 17:11

for eternity. Really, yeah sucks, yeah Sucks being us, huh Wow.

Speaker 3 17:20

What do you think it's going to be like?

Speaker 2 17:21

Oh, not that, not just lost in yourself.

Speaker 3 17:26

Oh, I'll be lost in myself.

Speaker 2 17:27

Just in the black, just thinking.

Speaker 3 17:30

No.

Speaker 2 17:31

What's it going?

Speaker 3 17:32

to be. I feel like I do that now?

Speaker 2 17:35

No, you don't, oh, feel like, I do that now?

Speaker 3 17:36

no, you don't, oh, yes, I do you know, because your nose gets itchy. Well, that is and that is a huge fear of mine is getting stuck in somewhere. And you know, and I have challenged myself and this, this may be fucking weird, but it is what it is, because I have thought about, like the little girl that was in the hole, and then there's the guy that gets stuck in the snow mountain and you can't, and I have literally thought that is what if you can't scratch that itch? That's horrible.

Speaker 2 18:07

What.

Speaker 3 18:08

So I literally have challenged myself in a normal day in a random activity, walking down, doing whatever it is, and thought what if I'm actually in that hole and I and I can't scratch that itch? So I'm going to see how long it takes me to not scratch this actual itch.

Speaker 2 18:21

Really yes, wow, yeah, wow.

Speaker 3 18:24

And I do it all the time.

Speaker 2 18:25

Wow, because that is a fear of mine.

Speaker 3 18:28

They say that scratching trapped in a situation where I can't scratch.

Speaker 2 18:30

I read somewhere that somebody said that scratching in a situation where you can't scratch your ass. I read somewhere that somebody said that scratching an itch is like the closest thing to sex, Like gratification, physical gratification. I don't believe it. No, I don't believe it at all.

Speaker 3 18:44

Sometimes that itch is fucking real. I mean, have you ever just tried to get that spot on your back and you can't reach it? And you ask someone to do that and you're just like. And then you're like oh, that was so good, thank you so much.

Speaker 2 18:59

I read that somewhere that it was like the closest thing to sexual gratification is having an itch that you know real good, itch scratch scratched, that's. That's a good analogy all right yeah we can put that one up.

Speaker 3 19:15

Well, yeah, at least that wasn't dark no, no, it's kind of that was good that wasn't dark it's always good to have your itch scratched right on you know. But no, I am. I. Mine is definitely not a dark box. I'm going to be up there just having a grand old time Dancing and playing, and I'm going to be down here.

Speaker 2 19:40

Oh really, so that really.

Speaker 3 19:42

I'm going to be talking to people and doing the goofy things and they're going to be like huh yeah, that was absolutely her. She's the only one that I know that would do something that stupid.

Speaker 2 19:52

So you think that's how it's going to be? Huh Well, you're typical, probably, of a lot of people. Yeah, yeah, sure, open bar all night, yeah.

Speaker 3 20:01

Yeah, I'm going to fuck with some people.

Speaker 2 20:05

It's going to be fun that are still alive. Yeah, oh, really what are you going to do yeah.

Speaker 3 20:09

You're going to mess with them how?

Speaker 2 20:14

are you going to mess with them after you're gone? The living.

Speaker 3 20:18

I mean, I want to be the one that moves the paper. Have you seen the movie Matilda? No, yeah, no, yes, okay, yeah, I'm going to be the one that yeah, all right, makes random things happen and funny things and stupid shit. That they remembered me from when I was actually here with them and they were like that was absolutely hurt okay yeah that's nice.

Speaker 2 20:41

Don't come visit me. I'm sure I'll be in the ground before you, though that was dark it's okay, though, like I said, I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about it.

Speaker 3 20:52

I'm not worried about it I talk about it all the time with kids.

Speaker 2 20:55

I just lost my father really I do I'm really sorry to hear that, yeah it was passed away yeah, it was really tough.

Speaker 3 21:00

It was a very um. It wasn't not supposed to go the way that it did yeah but it did and, um, my dad had a huge fear of dying, horrible fear of dying, really.

Speaker 1 21:13

Yes, very, very, very very scared of dying.

Speaker 3 21:14

Horrible fear of dying Really, yes, very, very, very, very scared of dying why? I've never seen my dad ever scared of anything in my entire life.

Speaker 2 21:21

Oh, he knew it was coming. No, he knew the end was there? No, but just in general he's like wow I don't want to die. Just in general, he was a hanging on the headboard guy.

Speaker 3 21:29

Yep on the headboard guy. Yep, absolutely.

Speaker 2 21:31

Yeah, why?

Speaker 3 21:31

Because he felt he had a lot to do, or I think he felt and this is my thought and my dad. I'm very much a daddy's girl. We had a rocky relationship, a good relationship though, but, um, my dad was very hardcore, but at the same and I and nick will be one to tell you he was like the meanest, sweetest teddy bear you've ever met in your life. If he was not pissed or mad, he was crying so he was on an emotional roller coaster. Always, since I was a kid.

Speaker 3 22:13

Since I was a kid Very loud, we're very there was a lot of abuse in our family, a lot of Don't talk about dark, but that's a whole other deal and so I think that was a big part of his fear of dying. Do you go to heaven or do you go to hell?

Speaker 2 22:38

so what he was worried about? Going to heaven or hell that's a good question heard the party's in hell of course it is.

Speaker 3 22:49

Yeah, my horn's coming out. Watch them suckers, they'll pop a hat right off they're not coming out they will.

Speaker 2 22:57

No, it's still early in our relationship pops is doing good, hopefully, hopefully wound up where he wanted to go.

Life Reflections and Cultural Experiences

Speaker 3 23:03

He did, hopefully I know he did um, and here's why I have in the house that I live in right now I? I've been there for a little over 10 years and, ironically, the land that this subdivision is on was my family's land.

Speaker 2 23:19

Really.

Speaker 3 23:20

Yes.

Speaker 1 23:20

Wow.

Speaker 3 23:21

And the guy that I know, the builder of the homes in that subdivision and the guy that actually was the first homeowner in the house that I live in was a guy that I grew up with. We went to high school together, so we were kids Very, very good friends and, ironically enough, when I moved in that house and I was thinking, you know, this is Like everything was all kind of coming to me Like I've been here before and this and blah, blah, blah, and when I've never seen a red bird ever, ever in this house, and was it? Sundays are very hard for me. I love to cook. My dad did competition cook-offs and was a huge cook.

Speaker 2 24:12

Oh, so you're a good cook.

Speaker 3 24:13

I love to cook.

Speaker 2 24:14

Really I love to cook. So in Virginia, West Virginia, you would be called a looker and a cooker.

Speaker 3 24:20

Really, yeah, huh, interesting. I wonder what they call me in Texas Besides a hot fucking mess. But I do love to cook and so Sundays are really hard for me, because that was my day, even if I wasn't around my dad or whatever. That was our days of us catching up, because he would stay on me in the last couple years and and call all the time and then he was just bored. He was retired and and electrician by trade his entire life and and um. But. So Sundays are tough and it was the first Sunday after he passed. I was outside and I was taking my dog that doesn't have any eyes to la out to go piddle and I was standing out front and, ironically enough, there there was the red bird and he sat out there and set up cardinal and set up there and set up there, and that's the very first time and so, okay, I know he's all right.

Speaker 1 25:12

And it was good for me.

Speaker 3 25:12

It was good I sat out there and bawled like he did.

Speaker 1 25:16

Really yeah.

Speaker 3 25:17

Boogers coming out my nose and big old crocodile tears. It was a very dramatic thing but I know he's all right. He's fine, he's fine, we've got a good angel, super yeah, let's talk about. Let's talk about.

Speaker 2 25:29

Not white bread.

Speaker 3 25:31

Right.

Speaker 2 25:31

Okay, what do you want to talk about?

Speaker 3 25:33

Not white bread.

Speaker 2 25:34

Okay, what do you want me to say? You want me to start.

Speaker 3 25:36

I do you want me to start. Wow we're going to talk about wheat. We're going to talk about white.

Speaker 2 25:40

So the book. I started and stopped writing it several times.

Speaker 3 25:44

Why.

Speaker 2 25:46

Just couldn't find the words. I guess you know I would come up with an outline. I'd start writing some short stories and they're all short stories. Same thing with the second book. And each story I tried to pass on some knowledge, you know, like a life lesson right.

Speaker 2 26:03

Reflect on something that happened in my life and say, wow, maybe you know you should think about this too, because I think that's important when you read something, to kind of get something out of it too, not waste everybody's time. So yeah, the beginning of the it's in four sections. At the beginning of the book I have a short, just a story from my childhood, and then again we started this to it's some stories about myself and my father, right, whom I was very close to, right, stories about myself and my father, whom I was very close to. And then, just as the reader and short stories, even though they could stand alone, there has to be a flow to it in the book. There really has to be a flow and they have to be connected. So you kind of get introduced to my father and you kind of get to know him and then I kill him while he dies.

Speaker 2 26:50

It's just kind of a short piece when I found out he passed away. Away. And then the third section it gets rather dark and, um, I think we mentioned it before. You know, I mean me being younger and as young men do, we don't think about things and um, we have regrets sometimes I shouldn't say regrets, but it's a morality thing and you know, bowling with human skulls I talk about.

Speaker 3 27:16

Is that mentioned in this book? Yes, it is.

Speaker 2 27:18

I talk about a public execution. I attended in Saudi Arabia An amputation. I cut some girl's leg off in Afghanistan, but some dark. And then the last section, the fourth section. I bring the reader kind of out of it, you know, so it's not as you know, not as in the basement, and kind of bring them out of it a little bit also too.

Speaker 2 27:44

And I've always liked short stories because, um, you have a busy life and it's hard, you know, to be wedded to a long Right. I remember trying to read Shogun one time and that book is like 3,000 pages I'm how many pages is? And I started that book like three or four times and dropped it. I mean it the first like thousand pages are introducing characters. But it's just, it's hard, you know, and I've always liked short stories because you can kind of get in and get out, get in and get. You know you'd fit it into your schedule.

Speaker 2 28:15

When I was, uh, really busy, the only time I the only thing I had time to read was poetry. So I used to read a lot of poetry and, um, books on quotes, you know, short quotes I mentioned before and uh, so, um, I, because you know it's like, okay, I've read a bunch of poetry, so I'm going to write some poetry. I've read a bunch of here's, some quotes from it. So, and it's hard to do a book on poetry. People aren't interested in it anymore. They used to be years ago, 100 years ago, but so, and both books also, I either have some.

Speaker 2 28:47

If a poem fit a story, I have it in the front. Or a quote fit a story, I have it in the front. Or a quote fit a story, I have it in the front. There's a few short essays more in the second book. If they fit as kind of a lead into the next story, I put that in there too. So there's some of that sprinkled in there also. And again, the fourth section. I try to bring the reader out of it so they don't feel like they've been kicked in the crotch.

Speaker 2 29:13

You know the whole time and some people like it. No, some people like that you know and it's a time well it's.

Speaker 2 29:19

I'm talking about mentally, not physically, and it's a time to reflect. You reflect on things you know. Yeah, you know I talked about, you know, attending a public execution in saudi arabia. I mean, that's eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, that's old testament stuff. You, you know what I mean. There's something to reflect on that. You describe it. It was done so sloppy at the time. It took them three whacks and the head still wasn't off yet. What are we doing? I'm just saying it was done very sloppy, but then in reflection hang on.

Speaker 2 29:51

I'm sorry, no, you're fine. Then you reflect back and you go. Well, maybe they were making a point, maybe they made it like that to keep people in line, because when you see it done and the way it was conducted, then it's like, well, not for me. Cross it the green, not in between Reduce, reuse, recycle, every day is you kind of? It keeps you in line.

Speaker 3 30:17

you know it keeps you in line and uh so that hit you immediately when you saw that I'll be honest with you.

Speaker 2 30:23

I uh, you know you get there and I was. You know when you when. I was younger right. And again, young men are different than older men, you know Are they.

Speaker 2 30:34

Yes, big time. Yeah, without a doubt. You know, especially the type of people I was around at that time were very to go back to another word were very testosterone-y. So I think, and you know I mean, you're experiencing culture like you've never experienced it before. And you know I mean you're experiencing culture like you've never experienced it before. But I don't know, you know, once it was over and I wasn't writing back then, but I felt like I had to go ahead and jot some notes down and I did.

Speaker 3 31:05

You did.

Speaker 2 31:07

Yeah, without a doubt, and a lot of this book and you know there's dialogue, but a lot of it is narrative, because it's from my point of view.

Speaker 3 31:14

Right.

Speaker 2 31:15

If you understand. So it's a lot of my thoughts and my ideas and stuff. But yes, when it was over I actually went back and that night I was jotting down notes, because it was that you know.

Speaker 3 31:26

Intense.

Speaker 2 31:28

Well, it was different, you know. I mean a lot of things can be intense, you know. You can get really liquored up. That's intense, you know you can almost scratch that you can get in a car accident and that's intense or almost in a car accident, I mean every. It's really subjective, I guess. But yeah, I was moved enough to jot some notes down, so but, um, yeah, so did you at that moment feel like I?

Speaker 3 31:47

mean the third. Did you at that moment feel like I mean the third? Why didn't this happen?

Speaker 2 31:59

Why did it take three times?

Speaker 3 32:00

to no, it wasn't until reflecting later on that I'm like wow, it was probably done that you analyzed the entire situation.

Speaker 2 32:02

Like you know, the sword could have been a little bit sharper there, you know, and it was just done sloppily. I mean sloppy, but I mean you know. But then you think and it's like, well, it was probably. I mean there's nothing clean about a public execution. I mean we used to hang people right. So I mean, you know, now we do lethal injection. Um, so you could, you know, boil that down to something that's more. But you know, but you, you know it's. And what happened is somebody killed somebody and they asked his son they go thumbs up or thumbs down, and the son of the murdered victim, the oldest son, went. So it was his choice Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

Speaker 3 32:45

Old Testament Right.

Speaker 2 32:47

And and again they friggin. You know, they butchered him.

Speaker 3 32:52

Just took a couple times.

Speaker 2 32:54

Three times and the head still wasn't off yet. And then a doctor came out to pronounce him dead, as if that needed it, and then load him in an ambulance, sirens blaring, going through town, you know.

Speaker 3 33:06

But, that's.

Speaker 2 33:07

It's another culture you look at odd, but I mean it happens there all the time and they do it right outside the main mosque, outside the it. Odd, but I mean it happens there all the time and they do right outside the main mosque, outside the capital of riyadh, I mean right there, the main, right downtown, you know, and everybody stays for it because it's right after service on friday. Wow, yeah, not wow, just different culture, it's different culture, that's different culture. Well, I was over there. I had a um, this is a side story, it's not in any of the books. I had a interpreter that was assigned to me. His name was mamoon and he was from africa, spoke several languages and mamoon, mamoon spoke several languages and I mean and the guy was a really good dessert he was great.

Speaker 2 33:49

Well, name went after it, I guess yeah but and he was great, I remember one time it was another american on his other side and he was translating him english to english because the guy was saying something and he would turn to me and repeat it and I was like my moon, I understand anyway. So I had this fella assigned to me and then one morning, you know, he just disappeared and um, and then I found out that the police were looking for him because somebody was murdered around where he lived and he was the number one suspect. So he got on a plane and he went back to Africa again, took off and he used to tell me stories about hunting big game elephant and stuff.

Speaker 3 34:28

Yeah.

Speaker 2 34:28

As a guy and he spoke several languages. But yeah, he tipped off, went back down back to Africa after that and disappeared. Anyway, side story Mamun, mamun Now, him I won't forget. Because, the way he left, just disappeared. Jumped on a plane, then two days later they're looking for him for murder.

Speaker 3 34:56

And he would have ended up the same way I'm sure do you, were you able to stay in contact with any. I mean, is there?

Speaker 2 35:02

you know, I've been horrible that way and I'll be the first to admit, and I, if I have regrets and I don't have regrets, but if I would have done things differently, because I don't like having regrets Life is the way life is. But, um, there are, there are a lot of people I've met over the decades and, um, good people, interesting people and, uh, you know, it's easier now, you know, with social media and such and cell phones and everything else. But I still haven't adopted I don't, I don't do social media and my phone is mostly at home or it's. You know, I don't carry it with me, I'm not walking around with it in my hand all the time. I'm terrible that way, but if I could have, it would have been nice to have kept in contact with a few people.

Speaker 2 35:46

I think, and found out where they wound up.