Morning Brew Mayhem: Brain Thumpers, Tax Deductions, and Flying Tortoises

Chris and the Morning Brew team welcome back regular caller Paul who's been absent due to a "brain thumper" migraine, then dive into Tax Day celebrations with unusual deduction games and McDonald's trivia. We explore heartwarming good news stories including Japanese elders becoming trading cards and a tortoise that survived being swept away by a tornado.

• Paul returns after absence suffering from a painful migraine he calls a "brain thumper"
• "Deduct It or Ditch It" game reveals surprising legitimate tax write-offs including bodybuilder's oil and cat food for pest control
• "Are You Smarter Than a Redneck" McDonald's trivia reveals the chain began as a barbecue restaurant in 1940
• Janine warns of dropping weekend temperatures that threaten spring blooms
• Japanese community connects generations by turning local elders into collectible trading cards
• Pet tortoise named Myrtle survives being swept away in Mississippi tornado, found injured but alive two weeks later
• Virgil the Cowboy checks in to request a patriotic song for his veteran ranch hands

Transcript

Paul's Brain Thumper Returns

Speaker 1 0:00

From the Horn Auto Center Studios Chris Bennett and the Morning Brew .

Speaker 2 0:05

Woo , that's my blood Cause . Paul Boma said so .

Speaker 1 0:10

We have not heard from Paul in a couple days , so we are gonna call him this morning . Here we go , yee , yee , yee , yee . Holy moly , where you been . We haven't heard from you Friday , we didn't hear from you yesterday , and I had to reach out to you this morning . What's going on ?

Speaker 2 0:28

Man , I got a brain thumper going on right now .

Speaker 1 0:31

A brain thumper . What's a brain thumper ?

Speaker 2 0:33

It's one of the migraines that get your eyeballs hurt and it makes you dizzy and sick to the stomach .

Speaker 1 0:38

Oh no , so you didn't go to work today .

Speaker 2 0:48

Nuh day . No , is your brain thumper feeling better .

Speaker 1 0:49

It's feeling better . I mean I can open my eyeballs now . Oh man , that stinks . Well , I'm sorry . Buddy , do you feel up to having a little fun with us this morning ?

Speaker 2 0:53

Sure .

Speaker 1 0:54

It is tax day . Did you get your taxes done ?

Speaker 2 0:56

Oh yeah , they've been done .

Speaker 1 0:58

Oh heck , yeah , there you go . Well , I thought we would play a game called deduct it or ditch it . You have to figure out if it was a real write-off or a write-off . Someone submitted and the IRS rejected it . You ready ? Yeah , let's do it All right . A couple once tried to deduct their entire wedding as a business expense because some guests were clients . Do you think the IRS bought it ? Uh whoo .

Speaker 2 1:22

The clients were there , didn't you ? Yeah , because there was entertainment . Uh whoo , the clients were there , didn't yet , because there was entertainment .

Speaker 1 1:27

Nope , nope . The IRS said nope , Too personal . Unless they serve W-2s with the

Deduct It or Ditch It Tax Game

Speaker 1 1:33

hors d'oeuvres , that ain't going to fly All right . What about this ? A bodybuilder tried to write off his body oil as a business expense . Is that legit ? I ?

Speaker 2 1:43

say yeah , because they always like , always leave up , right .

Speaker 1 1:45

Yep , yep , it's necessary for competition , so it is a real deduction . What about this ? A man wrote off cat food claiming it was used to attract stray cats to keep rats away from his junkyard .

Speaker 2 1:58

That could be a business expense , but I'd say no .

Speaker 1 2:01

No , you are wrong . It is a business expense . Irs allowed it , calling it pest control . What about a woman trying to deduct the cost of her psychic because she said it helped guide ? Her business decisions , no Last one . A dairy farmer deducted the cost of a clarinet because it helped his son's overbite , making it easier for him to drink from a bottle . Say no , no , the IRS said yes , they allowed him to deduct it . It was allowed as a medical expense .

Speaker 2 2:37

Man , I was freaked out . I was trying to deduct my musical stuff , my musical gear , and I was like , no , I don't want to throw no red flags .

Speaker 1 2:47

That was deducted or not on Q Country 92.5 . We're going to be right back with Are you Smarter Than a Redneck ? Coming up next it is McDonald's Day , so I thought we would do some McDonald's trivia . You ever eat at McDonald's ? Yeah yeah , I love McDonald's . All right , first question what year was McDonald's founded ? Was it 1950 , 1930 , 1940 , or 1960 ? 1950 . Paul Paul , 1950 . I'm going to say 60 .

Speaker 2 3:18

No .

Speaker 1 3:18

Correct answer 1940 . Mcdonald's began as what type of restaurant ? Was it Chinese hot dogs , seafood or barbecue ? Paul , Hot dogs , Hot dog . I'm going to say barbecue , Not hot dog . Yes , barbecue . In 1948

Are You Smarter Than a Redneck?

Speaker 1 3:33

it was reorganized as a hamburger stand . Alright , last question McRib , McRib . Okay , Last question Pick a number between three and four .

Speaker 2 3:46

Three and four .

Speaker 1 3:50

Which one you want . I guess three , all right . Who was the original McDonald's mascot ? Was it the Hamburglar Mayor , mccheese , ronald McDonald or Speedy Chris ? I'm going to say Ronald McDonald .

Speaker 3 4:01

No , it is not Ronald McDonald .

Speaker 1 4:03

What do you say , paul Speedy ? Is it Speedy ? Holy moly , a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger-shaped head . Speedy was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald . You are smarter than a handsome radio DJ . I hope your brain thumper gets better , buddy .

Speaker 2 4:20

Oh , me too , buddy , me too . Talk to you later . All right , yeah , have a great day . Bye-bye .

Speaker 1 4:25

Let's check in with our best friend , janine Ford at our sister stations Magic 1017 and Italk 1067 . Janine , are you over there , of course ? Of course , always waiting for you , chris . Oh , thank you . Happy Talk About Something Good Tuesday . Is there any news on the mountain ? We should be aware of Any weather updates . What's going

Weather Updates and Tax Day Talk

Speaker 1 4:44

on ?

Speaker 3 4:44

Well , nothing really giant except , well , today's tax day , of course . Then of course Sunday is Easter , that's the big one . But you may want to be paying attention , pay close attention to that forecast yesterday . You notice those little clouds moving in and we have something moving in Friday , Saturday we're going to have like overnight , and the thing that's hard about this , if you want to cover those fruit trees and some of those things that are blooming , yeah , you're probably going to have to do that Friday night into Saturday , I believe . But just look at the forecast it's dropping down pretty low again .

Speaker 1 5:13

Man , winter is acting like the X . That just doesn't get the hint . Exactly , exactly , yeah , and it is tax day . Did you get all your taxes done ?

Speaker 3 5:28

Do you know what ? What Not yet . I mean I'm hoping it's all done today . I mean it's all to our great accountant , jen . I mean our tax gal . She's awesome and we're hoping . We're hoping that she's going to get us in under the wire or what she'll do is file a little short extension , but I'm hoping she has everything .

Speaker 1 5:41

Oh nice . Hey , you want to play a game on this tax day . You have to guess whether it's a real tax deduction or fake . Yes , okay , some of these are real , some of these are fake . A guard dog for your business , do you think ?

Speaker 3 5:54

that's real . That's a tax write-off .

Speaker 1 5:56

Yeah , if it protects inventory or commercial property . Inventory or commercial property yes , okay , what ?

Speaker 3 6:06

about claiming your ex is a dependent because they never moved out . I don't know . No , no , you're not allowed to do that .

Speaker 1 6:10

Dependency without qualifying criteria . Someone has tried to do that before . What about ?

Speaker 3 6:18

haircuts for job interviews ? I don't think so , because you have to get a haircut anyway , I'm guessing .

Speaker 1 6:22

That's right . Grooming expenses aren't deductible , even for job seekers . Last one A swimming pool built on doctor's advice for arthritis therapy .

Speaker 3 6:32

Oh , and a doctor advised it . Yeah , real or fake . Oh , I'm lost on this one . I don't know . I can't picture the IRS would want to pay for that . I'm going to say

Good News Tuesday Stories

Speaker 3 6:40

not a write-off .

Speaker 1 6:41

No , it is a real one If medically necessary and prescribed , it can qualify .

Speaker 1 6:47

Wow , wow , wow , crazy . Yeah , make sure you get those taxes done today and , janine , when we come back . How about we share some good news stories on this ? Good News Tuesday Perfect , all right , we'll be right back , all righty . All right , janine , it's time for some good news stories on this . Talk About Something Good Tuesday . You ready for my first story ? Yes , all right , this is a story straight out of a Pixar movie , but it's real life .

Speaker 1 7:11

In Japan , in this small town in Kawara , a community center has found a creative way to connect the kids with their elders by turning them into trading cards . That's right . Two trading cards , that's right . Instead of Pokemon or superheroes , these cards feature real-life local legends Soba , noodle Masters , retired firefighters , even a former prison guard . And , yes , they come with shiny additions and special abilities , like 200 fire damage from the Fire Chief . Don't know what that means Must be a Pokemon reference . But what started as a simple collectible has turned into a viral card game and the results have been amazing . Kids are lining up for autographs from all the elders in the community and now the elders are feeling like hometown celebrities and youth participation at the community center has doubled . It's proof that sometimes , janine , the greatest heroes aren't on TV . They're just down the street .

Speaker 3 8:04

Oh , I love that one . What a great idea . Yeah , we should do that up here . You know what Good idea that should be done up here .

Speaker 1 8:11

I really love that one so awesome , smart idea Bring the youth in with the old .

Speaker 3 8:16

I love it , yeah yeah , all righty , you ready for my good news story ? Give it to me , all right , I kind of love this one . You know we've watched the tornadoes and some of the devastation across the country that we've had recently . Well , now there is a pet tortoise that went missing in a tornado , a huge storm in Mississippi on March 15th . He's been gone forever , went flying , I guess . Okay , his name is Myrtle . Even though he's a boy , his name is Myrtle . Yeah , poor Myrtle went airborne and he disappeared after the storm on March 15th . His owners didn't know where he went , what happened and guess what ? They finally found him two weeks later , quite a ways away . He was injured so they had to go to one of those specialty vets , but he's going to be okay . So you just picture a tortoise going flying , you know . But I guess if they get flying cows in a tornado , you know .

Speaker 1 9:05

Yeah , maybe that's how the tortoise ended up beating the hare . Yeah , there you go . And that turtle has the coolest name Myrtle the .

Speaker 3 9:14

Turtle . I know , I know it's perfect . So just a sweet little story there . He was found . He's back home , yay .

Speaker 1 9:21

Yeah , awesome . Well , thanks so much for sharing some good news with us today , janine , I hope you have a great rest of your day . You , too , love you , chris , love you .

Speaker 3 9:28

Okay , bye-bye .

Speaker 1 9:30

Hi there , I'm Daryl of Daryl's Discount Tax Shack , arizona's only tax service run out of my mom's she shed . Tax day is here and you might be stressed and I can help . Am I a CPA ? No , do I own a calculator ? Also no , but I've watched three YouTube videos and one of them was definitely about taxes . So are you tired of confusing deductions , missing receipts and thinking too hard ? Bring me your shoe box full of W-2s and I'll eyeball it . Got a pet ferret . We'll call it a dependent . I think you can do that . Look , I may not be good with numbers , but I'm better than you doing it yourself . Okay , daryl's Discount Tax Shack , we get you a refund , maybe , and it's probably going to get flagged because I'm not a real accountant . I'm not a real accountant . I don't know if I've said that yet . Daryl's Tax Shack , where the IRS don't know . Jack Not responsible for audits , penalties or jail time . Daryl is not a licensed tax professional or fully literate . Good morning , it's the Morning Brew

Virgil the Cowboy's Morning Check-in

Speaker 1 10:32

with Chris . Who's this ?

Speaker 2 10:33

Hey , good morning , my friend .

Speaker 1 10:34

Heck yeah , it's Virgil the Cowboy . Are the cowgirls out in the range already ?

Speaker 2 10:40

No , the boys beat them .

Speaker 1 10:42

Heck , yeah , way to go , boys . What are the girls doing this morning ? Oh , they're cooking . Oh nice , what are you doing this morning ?

Speaker 2 10:49

I am bossing everybody around .

Speaker 1 10:51

Heck , yeah , that's what's nice about being the boss , right ? Yes , virgil , today is tax day . Did you get your taxes done ? Do cowboys have to do taxes ? Yeah , we have to tax the cows . What does that mean ? To tax the cows ?

Speaker 2 11:07

Oh , I know , yeah , we got it done . Sweet , all right . They wanted to hear a song by Billy Ray Sowers , because most of these guys that work for me they're veterans , even the girls I got four girls that are .

Speaker 1 11:23

Army . Oh my gosh , Thank you so much for all of your services . How about we make this today's patriotic song request of the day ?

Speaker 2 11:32

Oh yeah , that sounds good .