Starting From Scratch To Build A Place Worth Belonging To

A farm can be just land, or it can become a magnet for connection. We sit down with Donnie, a former trucking-world colleague who’s now the force behind Kraby Farm Bog, a mud bogging weekend in Brook Park that has grown from a friends-only hangout into a full-blown community event with a stage, bands, camping, and hundreds of attendees. Donnie shares the real reason it works: the kind of people it attracts, the relationships that form over time, and the pride he takes in doing it in a way that respects the place and the crowd.

We also go personal. Donnie talks about raising four sons into independent adults and why that success can still feel bittersweet when you miss seeing them as much. From there, we dig into giving and service, including his efforts to help a friend recover from a housing deal gone wrong. The conversation turns to expectations, grudges, and why “expectations are a happiness killer” if you want more peace in your day-to-day life.

Then we get into health and habits. Donnie explains his experience with type 2 diabetes, what didn’t change for him on medication, and what he says changed quickly once he committed to a carnivore approach, including how he eats, how his energy feels, and why satiety matters for metabolic health. We close with a simple spiritual lens, plus a segment where we reflect back how the people closest to Donnie describe him, and what that reveals about building a life that brings others along.

If you like thoughtful conversations about community, personal growth, parenting, volunteering, and health mindset shifts, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What part of Donnie’s story stuck with you most?

0:00 Welcome And Guest Backstory

0:26 Karaoke Roots And Favorite Song

1:45 Krabby Farm Bog Starts Small

7:03 Raising Four Sons Into Adulthood

9:40 Giving That Cannot Be Repaid

12:15 Expectations As A Happiness Killer

15:31 Carnivore Diet And Diabetes Turnaround

24:05 Spiritual Beliefs And Feeling Awe

25:16 How Others See Donnie

28:18 What He Hopes Grandkids Learn

30:31 Emergency Response Work Today

31:44 Senior Living Fundraiser Announcement

32:27 Closing Thanks

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Backstory

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to Supernot, where we explore the inner and outer dimensions of the self. Today my guest is Donnie Krabby. Donnie and I used to work together in the trucking world. I dispatched him to I dispatched him to drive semis all over the country. He's a pretty big deal these days, though, with his annual mud bog, Krabby Farm Bog, which has 22,000 Facebook followers and it's quite the event. Can't wait to hear about that growing idea and so much more about his life.

Karaoke Roots And Favorite Song

SPEAKER_02 0:26

So I asked you to pick a song for us to listen to before we started. What song did you pick?

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Can't You See by Marshall Tucker Ban.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Why did you pick it?

SPEAKER_03 0:34

I just love that song, and uh I'm a karaoke junkie and I love to sing it.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

That's your number one karaoke song?

SPEAKER_03 0:41

That's that's my go-to.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

It's such a feel-good song. I love it so much. I listened to it like three times this morning.

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Yeah, I uh I've always liked it, and now that I sing it, I like it even more.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

How often do you do a karaoke?

SPEAKER_03 0:56

Oh, not as often as I'd like to.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Uh do you have a machine and I do set it up?

SPEAKER_03 1:00

And I have I actually have a PA system for the mud bog. I can do it for pretty good. Awesome. Yeah. Um last year, uh, the band, the Finn band, they come out and play annually, usually. They're gonna be here again this year. And they actually let me come up on stage and sing that song with them. I actually have some video of it if you want it.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

Yeah.

Krabby Farm Bog Starts Small

SPEAKER_02 1:45

So when is the mud by this year? What are the dates?

SPEAKER_03 1:48

This year is the August 14th, 15th, and 16th.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Um how many years have has it been now?

SPEAKER_03 1:56

So it's evolved over time. It really started off as just uh annual get-together of friends. We did we would do uh just a like a barn warming party, and we'd do a little mud bogging on the side, and it really changed around, I think, um 2017 or so. Um my friend Craig introduced me to this group of people from the area, uh, the Lowlanders mud bogging. They're just a group of guys that get together and bog. And so they came out and uh it kind of just was a like a light bulb going off. Uh I like the community. I like the hard, they're just hard-working people, honest. Um, they don't leave trash around the place, they take care of the, you know, they want the thing to keep going, so they they're into it for the longevity of it. I I really appreciate them. And uh I mean you have to be hardworking to uh put that much work into a machine that's purpose built just for that. And uh if you're lazy or don't have your life in control, you're not gonna do it. So it just kind of weeds out the people that naturally are are not uh as good a people, let's put it that way.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

So the land is in Brook Park?

SPEAKER_03 3:23

Yes, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:24

How long have you had this land for?

SPEAKER_03 3:26

Uh I bought it in March 1st of 2013.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

Okay, so what does the land mean to you besides just land? Like what does it represent?

SPEAKER_03 3:38

Well, um, it always makes me think of my mother because uh my mother's passing um the money from after she passed helped for the down payment to buy the place, so it's always to me tied to my mother. Um it's home. I've never really felt like I was home ever until I got the farm. So yeah, I enjoy it. We have a few cows, just enough to stay out of trouble. And uh the mudbogging event has really developed into something pretty special. I I really enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

So it wasn't like this planned out thing, it was like these people just kind of came into your life and you're like, let's do this.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

Absolutely. It started off, we were just have get togethers, you know, a couple times a year.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Just doing what you love, and then it evolved more.

SPEAKER_03 4:33

Yeah, and then it just kind of evolved into I've I watched what other people were doing with uh having events and stuff like that, and just slowly worked into it. Uh, you know, when we first started doing it, we would just drive through my driveway out into the pasture and do it, and eventually I put in another approach so that uh we could set the hayfield up as a campground and put a stage up and did all that kind of stuff. So it's a lot of it's a lot of fun. I like it.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Now you have food chucks and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:03

We uh definitely the we feed the people, we have you know the porta potties of you gotta have the infrastructure for it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:12

I know with fairboard events sometimes, like I get really overwhelmed and I'm like, oh, I'm not gonna do this again next year, but then something magical happens or whatever. Yeah. Or I can see like why I want to do it again another year. Do you get overwhelmed like that?

SPEAKER_03 5:26

Uh I used to get more overwhelmed when we first started making it an official event, but now I've just come to accept that I can only do what I can do, and whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. And I try to learn from it and we'll try to mitigate it for next year. That's all I can do.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Awesome. Um, so yeah, and like bringing people together like that is my favorite thing in the world. Is that like part of it for you?

SPEAKER_03 5:54

Absolutely. I look forward to seeing these people every year, and you know, you start to get uh to know people over time and you develop relationships. It's good. I always say uh, I know people, I know trucks, and I know uh their Facebook account, but trying to put all three of them together sometimes is tough because it's so many people at one time, you know.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Yeah. Do you have any numbers for how many there were last year?

SPEAKER_03 6:20

Um I mean, it's not a huge one, but I think we were around 750 people last year.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yeah, that's crazy. It's a good size.

SPEAKER_03 6:27

I mean, it's it's I like that size. I would I would say probably the max I would want to have is about a thousand people. That's enough for me.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

I hope I can stop out this year. Every year I want to, but you know how summers are. It's been, it was probably 2018, 17 when I did stop out.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you'll enjoy it. Saturday is the big day. You know, if you're just gonna come out and check it out a little bit. Saturday is the you get out there Saturday about 10 o'clock and spend a few hours out there and you'll you'll really enjoy yourself. It's it's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 7:00

Just anything outside I love.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

Yeah.

Raising Four Sons Into Adulthood

SPEAKER_02 7:03

So you have four boys, Jake, Josh, Justin, and Joey.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:07

Do you parent them all the same way?

SPEAKER_03 7:10

Um, I don't feel like I really parent them anymore. You know, they're they're adults, they have their own lives. Um I love them, cherish them, I appreciate them. And uh I'm proud of them. I they're did pretty darn good. I mean, four boys that are all good, good young adults. I'm proud of them.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

Yeah. Um do you think there's any secret to that that you did?

SPEAKER_03 7:43

Well, their mother is wonderful. Give her all the credit. But uh, you know, I mean, what you want is to raise children that are independent and uh can take care of themselves and and I'm I'm really happy with that, you know. Sometimes I think, oh, I wish they were a little needed me a little more because they'd be around a little more, but that's selfish, you know. Really what you want is uh good kids that are independent and can take care of themselves. So the trade-off is I don't get to see them as much as I selfishly would like to. But I enjoy my time with them.

SPEAKER_02 8:23

Yeah, my son James, another Jay. Um, when he moved out, I was like, I know that this means that he's you know being responsible, but yeah, selfishly, I was like, What's where? Why are you going like why do you want to grow up so fast?

SPEAKER_03 8:36

I absolutely feel yeah, that's exactly. And now I have grandkids, so that makes it a little easier, you know. Get to the next generation and enjoy them. Just uh found out about a month ago that my youngest, who just got married last September, Joey, they're gonna have a baby in November. I'm excited about that. That'll be my fourth grandchild. That is so exciting. Yeah, we're gonna find out over the fourth. They're gonna do a reveal and find out if it's a boy or a girl.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

Do you have girl granddaughters?

SPEAKER_03 9:08

I have my oldest is a granddaughter, and then two grandsons.

unknown 9:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

I know finally getting some girls in the mix.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, Callie's uh, she's beautiful, tall, blonde, looks nothing like me. But uh, she's wonderful, yeah. Yeah, and then uh there's uh AJ Austin Austin Ashton, um, and then uh Cooper, the youngest.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

So

Giving That Cannot Be Repaid

SPEAKER_02 9:40

you had said that giving is its own reward. Will you tell me about that?

SPEAKER_03 9:45

Yeah. Um it's just from listening to other people really uh um if you're not if you're giving to expect something in return, you're uh that's an exchange. It's not really giving. The best form of giving is to somebody that you cannot possibly be repaid from. But to me, that's that's the essence of giving. Yeah. Um I try to volunteer where I can help with stuff. I do have a good friend of mine, Bill Perkins, that uh got involved in a house deal that didn't go well. Um he traded this uh real estate investor his home for building a smaller home on a property. Bill doesn't have any legs, he's handicapped, so he needed a house more suited for him. So the trade-off was he th they were gonna get his house that was paid off for in Cambridge and and build him a small house in Henriette. Well I don't know exactly what happened, but the money all disappeared. And for some reason they still get the house. I don't understand how that works, but um I decided to help out and kind of try to help General the get volunteers together. He got some of the money back, so just trying to get volunteers for the labor and and uh get that finished for him. We got the structure up, got it watertight before winter last year, and then uh this year we're just waiting on money. Once we get that money to come in, then we're gonna try to finish it up for him and get him into that house. I'm excited about that.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

Yeah. Do you see a difference between giving and serving?

SPEAKER_03 11:42

No, I would say that's the same kind of idea. You know, serving is real giving. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

I was gonna ask, can you think of something mean meaningful that you've done that hasn't had anything to do with money? This definitely seems like this. It's like your time.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Definitely. I uh yeah, just small, small things to try to help out where you can. It makes me feel good.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Selfishly, it feels so good to help people.

SPEAKER_03 12:11

It is kind of selfish, yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Expectations As A Happiness Killer

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Um, okay, so and I love this. You said a topic could be uh trying not to have expectations of others.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Oh yeah, expectations. Yeah, they are a happiness killer. Yeah. Well, like uh like we were talking about my kids, uh uh expecting them to to spend all their time with me would be uh just make me unhappy. Yeah. That kind of selfish, yeah. Yeah, I'm happy for I'm happy that they're good kids and productive and busy and have lives. Have lives, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:50

For sure.

SPEAKER_03 12:51

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

So do you think um that you learned that hard lesson about expectations from disappointment or from wisdom?

SPEAKER_03 13:04

All of the above, yeah. All of the above. I I mean uh yeah, everything in life is just figuring out as you go. And I I don't pretend to have it figured out now, just it just evolves over time, you know.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

What does it feel like in your body when you let go of an expectation?

SPEAKER_03 13:23

It is just very calming because uh yeah, it just it's hard to explain now that I think about it.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

But do you think you're pretty good at it now though? Like, or do you still catch yourself having expectations of people and then it's a constant battle, yeah?

SPEAKER_03 13:44

Absolutely. No, uh, there's there's no way to be perfect at that, I don't think.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

But it's like every time you catch yourself and you're like, okay, this is my expectation. And then like, what's the difference between standards and expectations? It's a fine line, you know.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

Yes, yeah. I mean, you uh I mean here's the thing about expectations. You can you can have standards, but I mean if the standards aren't met, then then you go a different direction over time. But expecting that to have that, I don't know. I'm not very good at explaining it.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

Yeah, I know what you mean though. And like just people in our lives when we see their potential, so we expect them to act a certain way, and it's like, okay, but it's their life.

SPEAKER_03 14:32

Or just because I would do something for somebody, I ex can't expect them to do that for me. It's it's just not how it works.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Yeah, sometimes it might I mean I've had different times in my life where I've been upset with somebody for a long period of time until I finally understood, you know, their perspective and um their gifts are different than mine. So of course they're gonna just do things a different way, and I can't expect them to do it how I see, you know. Yeah. Like being open to seeing the the different perspectives lets go of the expectations and leads to more content contentment.

SPEAKER_03 15:12

I try not hard not to hold grudges very often either, you know. That's it just hurts me. Doesn't do any good to let them live rent-free in my head.

SPEAKER_02 15:23

Yeah, it's like drinking poison but expecting them to get sick.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's a good analogy.

Carnivore Diet And Diabetes Turnaround

SPEAKER_02 15:31

Okay, and so you uh reversed diabetes?

SPEAKER_03 15:34

Oh yeah, that uh I definitely can get a little preachy about that, ask my friends, because uh I just feel like uh I've found Jesus. I mean, really, that's what it feels like because it has worked so well for me. I've always struggled with my health, metabolic issues, you know. Um I was on a thousand milligrams of metformin twice a day and another one, and I was on Ozempic, and Ozempic did help me lose a little weight, but as far as my diabetes, my numbers didn't change a bit. And even losing the weight didn't change it. But uh once I went over to carnivore, it changed immediately. I mean, within a few weeks.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

Oh my gosh, okay. What do you eat in a day? What's like what's today gonna be like?

SPEAKER_03 16:30

Well, this morning I had uh before I came here, I had a piece of leftover steak from yesterday and four fried eggs fried in a bunch of butter. It's delicious.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 16:42

And I never worry about how much I eat. I eat until I'm full, satisfied. And before when I when my insulin level was high all the time, I could almost not eat anything and I wouldn't lose any weight. It's just when you're in fat storage with high insulin, your body just won't allow you to lose weight.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

So what are you gonna eat the rest of the day?

SPEAKER_03 17:10

Oh, I'll probably have uh maybe a hamburger or two and just a hamburger patty in the afternoon.

SPEAKER_02 17:18

Do you put anything on it?

SPEAKER_03 17:19

Uh sometimes it might be a little cheese.

SPEAKER_02 17:24

But like no vegetables, no fruit.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

I am I don't eat any fruit. Um too much sugar. Being a diabetic, yeah. I mean, fruit is a problem. Um I will eat some low-carb veggies sometimes, you know. Like yesterday I had a little peas and carrots with my steak. I'm not afraid to have a little.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

But uh lots of lots of beef.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

Yeah, uh beef, bacon, butter, and eggs. That's when I first started off, that's all I would eat.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

How long has it been that you've been doing carnivore?

SPEAKER_03 17:58

I started um seriously on it March of last year.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

Okay. So it's about 14, 15 months now, and your numbers were good within weeks.

SPEAKER_03 18:13

Yeah, I mean, I went from uh I went from uh even being on Oceampic, my uh my blood sugars was right around 200. And uh yesterday afternoon I checked mine and it was 97.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Wow. With no medications, and you're fulfilled because you get to eat as much as you want.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

It's very satiating. Yeah you know, you stay full longer. Also, when you're on that carb, if you're if you have blood sugar problems, when you're on that carb cycle, it's like every two to three hours you're hungry. I just wanted to eat all the time. And now I'm satisfied. I just don't it takes a while to convert over, you know. I mean, it's not easy in the beginning, but yeah, to take a couple months? I would a couple weeks and I was pretty, pretty well, you know. But I mean the longer you go, the easier it is. Um you feel full, satisfied, it's very satiating.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

And uh are you sleeping longer, more energy?

SPEAKER_03 19:17

I definitely sleep better. My energy is amazing. I mean, I was just I was sick. I was sick all the time. I didn't feel good, you know. I was I was having uh issues with my, you know, bad cholesterol, my triglycerides were almost 500. I went in uh let's see, I got my blood work done in October, and my triglycerides were at 54. It's just amazing. Amazing. All my numbers are amazingly good.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

And I think that's not gonna work for every single person, right? I think a huge majority it will, but our our body chemistry is so different. But like I think everybody should try it and see if it works for them.

SPEAKER_03 20:04

Well, I mean if if you're having uh type 2 diabetes issues, metabolic syndrome, I guarantee you it'll work for everybody. They may not be able to do it. Yeah, but as far as the physiology goes, it will work for them.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

I know when I did keto the first time and I got into ketosis, I was like depressed for a month after that. My body, my brain like literally needs some carbs to be happy. I can tell, like, if I'm sad, I'll be like, oh, I haven't had bread for a couple days and I need it, but I have a weird brain. Like be vitamin B12s make me depressed, so it's really weird what I have to, you know. So that's why I'm just saying everybody's a little different.

SPEAKER_03 20:55

You know, I mean, I don't know if you can do it, but yeah, yeah. As far as uh as far as if you have diabetes, you can absolutely 100% reverse it with this diet, period.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

That's all great.

SPEAKER_03 21:10

I have zero doubts.

SPEAKER_02 21:12

Yeah, that's so exciting. I'm so glad you figured that out.

SPEAKER_03 21:14

Yeah, it's it's changed my life. I was on the I was on the path. I was about to start doing insulin and go downhill. I mean, I probably had 10 years left, you know. And now I feel like I could live to be an old man. I already have an old man. I could be an older man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:33

See great grandkids.

SPEAKER_03 21:35

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

Okay, so um, was it big changes, little changes? Like you just did you kind of ease into it, or did you just jump in like, okay, I'm doing this?

SPEAKER_03 21:50

Well, I've tried a many different th things over the years. Um I the first big thing. I tried was the whole food plant-based diet. I really wanted that to be successful, but with the diabetes, it didn't work very well for me at all. Um and as far as when I actually started doing carnivore, yeah, I just did it hardcore. My biggest thing in my head was to eat as much as I wanted. Or actually I ate more than I wanted because I didn't ever want to feel hungry, because when I feel hungry, that's when I feel like I just can cheat.

SPEAKER_02 22:33

Or just unsatisfied where you're like, hey, no, I need something else to satisfy me. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, amazing. So yeah, if we can reverse diabetes, what else is possible that people say aren't?

SPEAKER_03 22:46

There's a lot of. I mean, a lot of the issues with the standard Western diet is just from the high carbohydrate and sugars, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

And it's like, oh, maybe they want us to be sick and unhealthy.

SPEAKER_03 23:03

Yeah, I don't think it's as sinister as that. I just think um it works better for certain things if the people are sick, you know, if you're selling drugs, it just happens to work better. Not that that not that there not there's a necessity, a intent, but it just kind of works out that way. Yeah. It's there's a lot of money in it.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

But that's why I've been like pro Ozempek and everything, because I think our government um not only allows um but pushes bad eating.

SPEAKER_03 23:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

You know, I mean, and look at every sports stadium that is um pushing beer and bad food.

SPEAKER_03 23:51

Yeah, and I have nothing against Ozambic. It it did help me lose some weight. I was very uh sick all the time from it nauseous a lot. That part I didn't like, but it worked. It worked amazing.

Spiritual Beliefs And Feeling Awe

SPEAKER_02 24:05

So, Donnie, what do you believe in spiritually?

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Um spiritually. I'm I'm basically the belief in a higher power, but I'm you know, I don't know what it is. I feel like there has to be something that uh a reason for all this. You know. I have a hard time putting it with God or anything in particular, but you know, the whole universe and space and all that, it just to me it's hard to believe that it's all just happenstance, you know.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

When do you feel that the most that there's something bigger than you?

SPEAKER_03 24:54

Um just the symbiotic relationship of everything, you know, how everything kind of lives within everything else.

SPEAKER_02 25:04

And when you see like flows and patterns and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:09

Like everything seems to have a purpose.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Love that.

How Others See Donnie

SPEAKER_02 25:16

Okay. Well, now we're on to the segment where I reveal to you how people see you. So I asked you to give me the names and numbers of people I could reach out to that know you well, and I had them describe you, and I put all of their words into themes because I think we're just really bad at seeing ourselves how others see us.

SPEAKER_03 25:33

Yeah, that's what I'm probably most nervous about that. And I tried to pick a good swath of people from different parts of my lives and different areas.

SPEAKER_02 25:41

So was it hard to pick, like narrow it down? No. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

Well, I I was pretty confident in a way back, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

Okay, well, your first word is gracious because you are described as loving, kind, compassionate, big-hearted, selfless, giving, generous, helpful, thoughtful, complimentary, accepting, and three said caring. And your second word is built because you're fearless, resilient, focused, determined, tenacious, confident, and dominant. Third word is solid, because you're honest, responsible, righteous, dependable, and two said loyal. Fourth word is sharp, two said intelligent, witty, knowledgeable, problem solver, planner, and mechanic. And five is light, because you're funny, silly, hilarious, jovial, sarcastic, friendly, carefree, and smiley. So the uh, well, and some people wrote some other things. Um, one person said he is number one my closest friend, actually closer, being a brother. He and I hit it off almost immediately when we worked together. I will never ever say anything bad about him, other than the fact that he's a Vikings fan.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

I've always had this figure that would give it away.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

Yeah, that's funny.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

And then Bill said, Personally, he's my hero. I'll let you tell, I'll let him tell you why. And so is that the bill we were talking about earlier?

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Yeah, yeah. That's my my friend of uh he uh what is it, rheumatoid arthritis? I think he ended up or some kind of aggressive arthritis. I'd have to ask him again, I forget the name of it. But anyways, he lost his legs over that.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

And then the synopsis I wrote for you is some people collect things, you collect people. You don't just own land, you turn it into a place worth belonging to. You didn't wait for life to hand you meaning. You planted it yourself, and you didn't just talk about a life well lived. You built one and brought everyone with you. So please remember you are not these words, you are not your thoughts, you are the space between the words, the space between the thoughts. You are the one who knows you have thoughts. Observe them, reflect on them, but no, you are not them.

What He Hopes Grandkids Learn

SPEAKER_02 28:18

So, what do you do right now in life that you hope your grandkids do when they are your age?

SPEAKER_03 28:27

Uh just try to be productive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:32

And what do you do right now that you hope they don't do?

SPEAKER_03 28:37

Hmm. That's a tough one. Maybe uh work too many hours.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

So be productive, but with purpose and you know, not not overwork yourself.

SPEAKER_03 28:54

Not just spinning your wheels constantly. Yeah. Yeah, I'm always busy doing something.

SPEAKER_02 29:00

So yeah, you want them to have a balance.

SPEAKER_03 29:02

Exactly. Yeah. I want me to have a balance.

SPEAKER_02 29:05

Well, start working on it so you can show them what a balanced life looks like, right?

SPEAKER_03 29:10

You're right.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

So you're busy day to day right now getting ready for the mud bog?

SPEAKER_03 29:15

No, no, I won't start that for a while. Uh okay. It it's once I uh once I take the hay off of the field, then I can start getting stuff ready until then I stay out of there.

SPEAKER_02 29:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 29:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

All right. Well, remind us of the dates again. August.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

August 14th, 15th, and 16th this year. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I believe those are the days. I hope I didn't get it wrong. And I have a question for you.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:46

What made you think of me coming on your podcast? I'm curious.

SPEAKER_02 29:51

Um, you had made a comment on a Facebook post and uh then I just jumped at it. I was like, well, do you want to come on?

SPEAKER_03 29:58

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 29:59

Yeah. I just thought um it'd be nice to hear your perspectives on things and talk about the mugbog.

SPEAKER_03 30:07

I am flattered that you would think that I'd be interesting enough to be on a podcast. So on your podcast, I appreciate it. I wanted to say that uh I really enjoyed working with you. You were a pleasure. I think we got along well in that in that dispatcher driver relationship. I enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_02 30:28

Yeah, that was a life a life a time ago

Emergency Response Work Today

SPEAKER_02 30:31

for me. And do you still drive truck?

SPEAKER_03 30:33

Um I am still a truck driver. I what I do now is more purpose than that, but uh I work for an emergency response company basically. Uh actually, right here. Iron Eagle Industrial Services. Um, we do things like uh train derailments, truck accidents, stuff like that, you know, spill cleanup, hazardous spill cleanup. Right now we're working on a uh asphalt tank in St. Paul cleaning that. We had to cut a hole in the side of this giant tank, and we're using excavator and skid steer to scoop everything out. And then at the end, we'll hydroblast the rest and get it all clean and put the door back in. And it's interesting work. I like it. Pays good and something different every day. That's what I like.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

Yeah, that does make it fun.

SPEAKER_03 31:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:27

Well, anything else that you were hoping we would talk about today?

SPEAKER_03 31:32

Oh, not that I can think of off the top of my head. Uh I didn't, like I said, I didn't have any expectations. Just come in here and talk to you, and whatever happens, happens. I'm happy.

SPEAKER_02 31:42

Yeah, perfect. Perfect.

Senior Living Fundraiser Announcement

SPEAKER_02 31:44

I did want to do uh one shout out um off-subject, but somebody asked me this week to um talk about how the Eastwood Senior Living is doing a walk and event fundraiser for the memory unit on February, June 19th, 11 to 4. There will be carnival games, a big barbecue, dunk tank, cotton candy. All proceeds go to the activities for the Alzheimer's department. And apparently Kennabet County has a larger than average population of Alzheimer's. So just wanted to throw that out there for everybody. June 19th, I'll put a picture of the flyer on the podcast. Um but yeah, all right.

Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_02 32:27

Well, thank you so much for coming, Donnie.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

Thanks for having me in here. I appreciate it. It's good to see you.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

You too.