Season Kickoff: We're Not Ready

Winter’s barely over, half our gear is still buried, something definitely doesn’t fit anymore… and somehow the season is already here.

Yeah, we're not ready. 

In this episode, the guys crack open a few beers and dive headfirst into the upcoming reenacting season.

Plus, we catch up, talk about what we’ve been drinking, and bring on Wool Blanket to kick off the season with us.

Because let’s be honest, no matter how much prep we do…

we’re still not ready. And we’re going anyway. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:11

And welcome back to yet another episode of Blank's Beers and Bullshit. It's fucking been a minute. Man, it's been a hiatus. Um, we had some technical difficulties in the last one. Yeah. Uh life got life got in the way, yeah, and whatnot.

SPEAKER_02 0:28

I cannot say how happy I am right now.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

Yeah, it's this is a this is a breath of fresh air almost. Yeah. It feels good. It feels really good to be back. And uh we've it's probably been what since December? Yeah, the December's the last time we put out anything. We tried to we we recorded an episode, uh, we had some technical difficulties and it uh fell through. And yeah, life got in the way. Um we had the Merry Christmas little skit business with Sean and I. Life got in the way, it is what it is. Um, but we're back and we're gonna be in and uh back with a vengeance here. Um so we're gonna start off with what we're drinking today, Dalton. Actually, wait, time out. I'm gonna introduce our hosts here. We've got Mr. Sean Horn. Hello, Mr. Excuse me, Dalton Collins. I like crayons. Yours truly, Austin Collins, and we have another guest speaker in today as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

He's already been on it, dude.

SPEAKER_03 1:19

He's another guest speaker. It doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

He's been here before. It says again. Yeah, it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

He's been on again. We're another again guest speaker. Here we go. You can't figure it out. Yeah. Well, blank it's back in the studio today. Shabbat Shalom. We just happen to be doing a uh an IRA slash St. Patrick's Day celebration.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

And uh because up the IRA.

SPEAKER_03 1:39

Yeah, fucking up the IRA.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Remember, don't start your cars.

SPEAKER_03 1:44

So, Dalton, what are you drinking? Uh good old Unc would be proud, man. Uncle would be proud. Yeah, I'm drinking the good old highlight. That's right. Champagnes of beers. Blanket.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Lucas, I'm sorry. You're gonna be very disappointing. When we talked at the ridge, you said you wanted to hear Iron City being drank on this.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

He's gotta send us some first.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Well, he did send some home with me, but I drank it all because I didn't know when we're gonna be doing a podcast. And I didn't think it was gonna be anytime soon, so I drank it. So, Lucas, I apologize. But in the meantime, I'm drinking schletts as usual. Well, nice.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

Sean, what are you drinking? I am drinking my blue moonlight old man. I I I had a Guinness earlier. That's fine. I had some Magnus Irish cider. Now I'm on the blue moonlight.

SPEAKER_03 2:27

There is one thing I do want to get out of the way real quick. I myself am drinking nothing but the best. Schlitz. There is one thing I want to get over real quick before we start and get into this, and it's the um cider stamp. Oh. Oh, three, two, one. Sorry, Sam. There we go. All right, then that's good. What has everybody been up to since our last episode? Basically, because our last episode is featured blanket. Yeah. Um, what is everybody? What has everybody been up to?

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Uh I think Austin needs to go last. Yeah, we'll go last. That's fine. Yeah, we'll take that. Let's start with Dalton and work our way around. Um, I'm starting a new job.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

I was in uh six weeks of training to become a uh pipe insulator. Um freaking just cover and pipe in a union local 17. I bet you like that.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

He likes cover and pipe. Yeah, I do. Hell yeah, brother.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

It it's unfortunately it can't be wet. Oh, that's what I got all dry, dude. Yeah. So I guess I have to have like a whole night of drinking, so my mouth is just like really dry. Oh my god. Anything else? Anyway, I mean, not not necessarily, no. Uh good Christmas. You know, got to spend time with family. Bowling. Bowling, yeah. Uh bowling league. I'm in first place with Crystal, my girlfriend. Um we're in first place right now by like I think 10 points now. Nice. Um, so hopefully and oh, I won I won a tournament in bowling, I won singles tournament. Um, I won$252. Nice, nice. Yeah. You also took on another endeavor within the last say eight months, and it's uh with the Almighty. Oh yeah, yeah. Um converting to Catholicism. Wait, really? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Um, I've been going to church every Sunday for probably the last minus minus uh not being able to go to church. I mean Stan had church at um events, at events, you know. Um but yeah, I've been going to church probably since August. Something new. Yeah. That's that's what we're trying to introduce to the since August, yeah. Um I'm really enjoying it. Um you know, there's there's a lot to say, you know, crisis king. Um they God wills it. Yeah, got they who's fault. Yeah, God wills it, yeah. You know, freaking take back the fucking holy land. That's right, that's right. All right. So blanket, what's what's new with you? What's been going on? How you how's your last few months been?

SPEAKER_01 4:56

Really nothing. You look like a long-haired iffy. Didn't you get a new job? No, I started last summer.

SPEAKER_03 5:02

Yep. So other than anything else, you know, you pick up anything new, nothing I mean, you know me, I'm always picking stuff up.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah, that's true. But nothing really too crazy, nothing really exciting. Well, I just I mean, I got I did get my couple deals of my Aerosaka that I'd rebuild.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

This stuff that we're trying to, what's new? What's ever been up yet?

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Yeah, I'm not I I I picked up a Namboo for dirt cheap. There you go. I rebuilt an Arasaka.

SPEAKER_03 5:29

How much was that Namboo?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

$490, all said and done. I hate you. It's uh it's uh February of 1940.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Okay, is it is it the Papa, the mama, or the kid?

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Uh it's it's regular type 14 wartime production. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:44

Well, there was there's three variants.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Well, yeah, the Papa, the mama, it's a mid-size and then the Papa, Namboo, baby Namboo, and then just the basic ass bitch that everybody else knows. Yeah. So I got the basic ass bitch that everybody else knows. But yeah, I got that, and that's that's gonna be the new whenever we do PTO memes, yeah, that's gonna take it's happening. That's gonna take it. And we're we're gonna divulge into that here in a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

Yeah, is that the new day daily carry? You know, the new EDC is the bamboo.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

You kill everybody around this vicinity because the thing might explode. Yeah, we can kill everyone. No, well, that's you know, the whole boomer myths of everything Japanese in the weekend is gonna explode on.

SPEAKER_03 6:29

You got anything else to add? No.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Uh tomorrow is Dudley's birthday. Yeah, Dudley.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Johnny says happy birthday. He'll give him his present when he sees him.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

And we all know what that is. That's an inside joke.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

That no.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

Don't talk to me.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Talk to my dog. I don't know. Is there anything else? That's it.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

All right.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

Sean, what have you been up to? Um gosh, we've been settling into the house. Uh, I got rid of my old place. Amanda sold her house. So yeah, we're down to we went from three places and living in one to the one place we live in, the new home.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

That's an amazing feat right there.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Oh, it's yeah, yeah, it's a headache. A lot of body stress off your shoulders. Yeah, 100%. So uh yeah, besides that, we just working and living. And uh I do want to say that you know it's it's been a little bit, but uh Austin's about to speak on what he's been up to, but before he does, I just want to say that we love this podcast. We love doing it. Absolutely. Uh it's one of our favorite things, but we also understand real life gets in the way of doing this.

SPEAKER_03 7:37

And uh and for those of you who have been missing out, don't worry, it'll still be here.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Yes, and we are yeah, we're getting back into it, but uh yeah. Huston, what have you been up to? Yeah, what have you been up to? Yeah, let's do our world.

SPEAKER_03 7:51

Life's been crazy. Um, right after Paleo, not Paleo, uh, Okinawa. Yeah. I lost my job, um, picked up another job quick, was just busy all the time, got into another job, and then now I'm changing jobs again. But minus all that bad news. The good news is I've uh introduced a new life to this world, which is the gonna be the life of me for sure. Yeah. Um it's gonna kick my ass, but I'm looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_02 8:21

Or you're gonna kick his ass. And it's not even it's not the good good news, that is the best. That is the best news. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

Uh Mr. Little Little Collins has come into this world um in August.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

So Or September.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

Or September. The wife wants to hold out. What's what's what's the what's what we're talking about earlier? She's like, I'm gonna hold my legs until September. Dry August for you. But uh that's the new that's the news, man. Um a lot of people have been like, you need to come out to events this year, and I'm just like, man, like it's not happening. I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah. There's there's so much going on now that I I can't uh can't do it. Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:58

Reenacting podcasts, it it's amazing, and reenacting is amazing, but life is a different thing. Yeah, there are things that are much more amazing. Absolutely. So congratulations, man.

SPEAKER_03 9:08

Congratulations. All I'm gonna say is I prayed a lot for this. Oh yeah, and we both were. And I was when you told me, it wasn't even I was just I was overwhelmed with joy just because of it. And it made me so happy. And I was like, holy smokes, right? All right, cool.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

So yeah, that kid is gonna have 30-something uncles. 62 million uncles, yeah, and and a million aunts, and yeah, yeah, he's gonna be well loved, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_03 9:33

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

He is gonna be spoiled, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Yeah, I don't know if he's gonna be able to do it. He can make it a fucking Namboo for free. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_02 9:39

Yeah, in about four years, we'll be having him on the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

So I don't know if he'll make a debut at any events uh in September or October. It's probably not likely, but uh he'll make a debut next year at you know one of the events or whatever. He'll make he'll show up and hang out and look there.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

Little lieutenant will be there.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

Hey little butter bar, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Figure out figure out patterns y'all want.

SPEAKER_03 10:05

I can do a little navy outfit for sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:07

I say I can I can I can whip up some little uniforms or them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:13

But yeah, that's that's the news, man. That's that's the uh recap. Yeah. And uh our our sense of leave of absence is we've just all been busy as shit. Yeah. I mean real life got in the way, but we have not forgotten about the podcast.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

And yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

No, we've always been stirring ideas. Yeah. It's always been back and forth. Like, hey, when well, one, when is our next episode? Yeah, now and then two is like, what are we gonna do? Yeah. And there's some shit that we've definitely talked about that there's there's some there's some good topics coming. Yeah, some very good topics. Obviously, we didn't want to start off with the the one that's man, that'd be a wrench in the system. Yeah, a lot of people would get overthrown with that one. We're just silent for two months. Well, and we get you're the dark underbelly brain. Yeah, the dark underbelly of reenacting.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

That is coming, folks. Yeah, for sure. But we'll explain later. The good, the bad, and the ugly, yeah, but more the bad and the ugly. Yeah. But uh we'll explain. And Clinton Eastwood's not in it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

Damn it.

SPEAKER_02 11:09

But just coming down here.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

We're all gonna be in a western.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

Just coming down here. Yeah, just yeah, just like it feels right. Yeah, yeah. I literally just was like giddy. Like, yeah, we're recording it. We're doing this. This is happening. It's like the first time we're virgins again.

SPEAKER_03 11:27

Uh so we're gonna get into a little bit of anybody cleaned any of their shit? Okay, what kind of so the last time minus the rifles? Oh, obviously, that's a that's a good idea. I clean my rifle rifle. I clean my rifle.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

It took me a while to finally clean that. Rifles. Well, I still gotta clean. I haven't cleaned my M14 since anything. Oof duh.

SPEAKER_04 11:51

Oof.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Everything else is clean.

SPEAKER_04 11:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

But she kind of likes a dirty. It's an M14. She can handle it. Yeah, you know it.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

Sorry, Stan. Sorry, Stan. I I did pull out all the uh the chaplain specific items I had and wipe them down and buff them up and get them ready.

SPEAKER_03 12:11

Very nice. Very nice. I I uh most I cleaned all my stuff right before February. Um I basically after after Ogi everything went away. Yeah. Pulled it all out before February and cleaned everything out.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

You don't have to raise your hand, just fucking say it.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

Just speak.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

I didn't remember how many months ago the ridge was? Yeah. I finally Oh, that's I forgot.

SPEAKER_03 12:33

I did we did go to the ridge.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

The ridge, New Year's weekend. I I finally unpacked it all. Well well all the main stuff got packed away, but all like the extra shit just got left in the garage straight from the bed of the truck to the garage, and it's been sitting sitting there since then until yesterday. I finally took it back to the storage.

SPEAKER_03 12:51

I forgot about the ridge. I let me rephrase that. Everything's a little plug for Gabe over here. Yeah, everything uh everything just got thrown into its place, and then before the ridge happened, I cleaned everything, got everything ready, got the Jeep ready, got the uniform, every good shit ready. Um we didn't speak upon we we talked about going to the ridge. It was kind of it was mid or what? What the ridge? Wait.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

Oh no, speaking of it, like we barely talked about it. Right.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

Like we we at the time it was mid, like we didn't know if we were gonna go. Oh, that's what you're doing. And then we went to the event. Blanket myself, uh and Magic and Caden and Drake. Drake Nick Nick uh we all went. It was a fantastic. I had a good time. I had a blast. I thought it was sick. Everybody else hated it. I had a miserable time. I was sick, I was sick the whole time. Um he was hacking hacking lung the whole time.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

It was you should have well, I was about ready to shoot him in the bunker because he kept hacking up lungs.

SPEAKER_03 13:56

Did I maybe 10 minutes of silence and then hop, hop, just bad.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

And that doesn't help with the smoke didn't help out either.

SPEAKER_03 14:03

Yeah, it was like haggana all over again.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

And nothing could top hack.

SPEAKER_03 14:11

But uh the ridge was great. Blanket can attest.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Um it was it was a it was a brand old time. We we had fun at least.

SPEAKER_03 14:19

The people on the line, not so much.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Guys on the line, yeah. They were bitches, they were miserable the whole time because they were in foxholes wearing just whatever the fuck they had on them.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

Think of Sean Breckinridge. Okay, I'm there. Colder.

SPEAKER_01 14:35

Really? It was in the teens. Colder at night. How how quote unquote warm did it get during the day?

SPEAKER_03 14:43

During the day it was like high 20s, but at night it was colder than Breckenridge.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

It was down in the teens.

SPEAKER_03 14:50

Wow, yeah, it was colder than Breckinridge. I would have better had so much sissy. Oh, lot of sys. That sounds miserable, but also sounds so funny at the same time. And like I was fine. I was okay, even with like on a bunker, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Because we were moving the bunker, you guys had heater.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

We were still doing enough outside of the bunker that it was like we still would be able to get cold if we if we just was anybody pulling firewatch in the bunker? No. You fuck pussies.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

No. Hey, you would not have been pulling fire watch either if you were playing with us. Be real.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

You know he would have. He was a marine.

SPEAKER_03 15:26

Were you a marine? Wait, was I? Shit. I can't remember. But the ridge was great. Uh I bet I had to a lot of people ended up wanting to call it early, which was okay.

SPEAKER_01 15:37

A lot of people did call it early.

SPEAKER_03 15:38

I had to leave early. Uh white uh husbandly duties. That's the weekend I technically found out. That's yeah, it was the weekend.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

You left because you found out you were having a kid? Yeah. Let's see. Well, she was sorry, Stan.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

You got well, you guys didn't find out until like a week later. Yeah, like a week later.

SPEAKER_03 15:55

But she was she was so sick and so down. And then like a week later, that was when it was official, yeah. Um but uh we had a surprise guest.

SPEAKER_04 16:07

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:08

You knew about it. I didn't I didn't, I knew about it too. Mr. Stan showed up. Oh yeah, I knew about it.

SPEAKER_01 16:13

Stan, I had I had Stan, uh like I told you at the ridge, I had a feeling that's because we were in Indiana. Yeah, why wouldn't it happen? I'm like Stanford. I'm like, we're in Indiana. Stan lives like maybe an hour from here. He's gonna show up. And I knew I should have brought his flag, and that would have been its debut event, and I didn't pack it in my truck.

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Does he have his flag? Does he know about his flag yet? Or did you just tell him right now?

SPEAKER_01 16:39

No, he knows about it.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Okay, I told I told him about it at and that was uh seeing Stan was a blessing on the day.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Oh and that I and uh as as per usual, Mr.

SPEAKER_03 16:52

Stan got a Jeep ride. Yeah, he's as always he he used Fritz sits front seat of the Jeep, and uh we we loaded up the HQ in the Jeep.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Should we talk about the incident in the Jeep?

SPEAKER_03 17:03

Oh, we're going to because it's it's it's funny and it's realistic as shit, and it would have fucking happened, so it's gonna be talked about. So um we stan showed up for our our service, we HQ, all of HQ was there. We loaded up in the Jeep, and it was uh myself driving Stan in the passenger seat, and I had three or four guys in the back seat, I had Mr. Wool Blanket in the front on the bumper or on the hood slash bumper, and then I had Mike Magie sitting on the passenger side uh hood, and this terrain is like beautiful for a Jeep drive. It's beautiful, it's rough, it's perfect, and up and down hills. And I went, I had to use four-wheel drive, all that good shit, because it you know I had so much weight. And uh I go up this hill, and it's a little jawn to the left.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Let's say a little turn, and and Mr.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

Mike Magie just went sliding off, just went sliding off, and it and like I stopped immediately. Everybody was like, and everybody was like, holy shit. And Maggie was just like he was like, I'm good, got his helmet back, gone, jumped out. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Magie, yeah, sliding off. Everybody was freaking out, like, oh my god, dude, are you okay? Yep. Magie, because he used to ride dirt bikes for years, way but many years ago.

SPEAKER_03 18:20

Before he turned 40. Yeah. Old man.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

He got up and he was like, he before he even got up, he's like, Don't worry, guys, I'm okay. I've been through way worse.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

Yep. But otherwise, that was the highlight for me. You see in Stan and then throwing Magia off the boat off the Jeep. This this service that Stan did was amazing. So we're gonna do a uh we're gonna we're gonna jump forward now. Any new impressions anybody's looking forward to?

SPEAKER_02 18:49

Um for me, I am this is the year that I do Vietnam. Okay. So that's that's it for me. That'll be interesting.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

Dalton? I'm gonna try to build up my uh Civil War um rev kit.

SPEAKER_02 19:03

I I was actually just gonna say I'm I'm out with Civil War.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

That's fine. You're not doing it?

SPEAKER_02 19:08

No.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Oh, you changed your mind.

SPEAKER_02 19:10

I did. I've yeah, I've read uh yeah. There's some shit I read online that I'm not interested in doing it anymore.

SPEAKER_03 19:16

That's totally fair. Blanket? Any new impressions? Can I have your pork pie? New episode again. Fuck yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Uh new impressions. Oh, there's the talk of the town, I guess, that we're doing 77s.

SPEAKER_04 19:29

Yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Kind of just one of my autist ideas, like, hey, this would be a cool impression. Let's do it. And then everybody was like, fuck yeah, let's do it.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

Yeah, it's the ultimate boomer impression. Because we HBTs, double buckles, fuck you.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

H okey, Okinawa, HBTs, double buckles, we're already old as fuck. We could be grumpy.

SPEAKER_03 19:48

Yeah. Yeah. What else is long hair? You can have long fucking hair. What else is new?

SPEAKER_01 19:53

No, actually, not a lot of the footage.

SPEAKER_03 19:54

They all not like super long, but like longer. Like combat ish. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

No, actually, all the footage that I've watched, they actually have their stuff like fairly interesting.

SPEAKER_03 20:05

Fairly tied up.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Yeah, it's not, it's not like it's like we look at uh stuff that's in the ETO, how they still have like some length on the sides and whatnot, and it's nice and parted. But you gotta think though, in the Pacific, how hot it gets. That's true. You've been the Okinawa, you've been out in the you know how hot it gets out there.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

So is anybody not ready for the season?

SPEAKER_01 20:28

I guess I kinda nobody ever is ever ready for the season for the season to start up.

SPEAKER_03 20:35

Well, I mean that first event is such a cluster fun. I guess I guess except for Dylan Williams, because he posted a picture of his schedule. His schedule. Not of his personal schedule, but of events. Of event schedules, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

And I'm like a lot of you know, a lot of them are what he's going to.

SPEAKER_03 20:50

Yeah, and I'm just like, holy shit, like that dude's got like 20 events. Wow. Like 20 events that he posted that like he was going to make an attempt to show up to. And I'm just like, man, like that's a lot.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

That's that's why I want to get to him.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

Like, I uh being the old man in the group, because being old and sedentary during winter, I I put on uh another 10 pounds that I'm trying to get rid of right now to get back to where I was last year. To fight and wait. You're fighting weight.

SPEAKER_03 21:17

I don't I don't I man, I I feel like I'm ready, but I'm not. I've already had two events this year, quote unquote. Like we did the ridge, that was beginning of the year, new year.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Oh that you guys didn't know.

SPEAKER_03 21:29

And then I did the Ardennes event, which I felt like I was prepared enough for. I felt like I was pretty pretty physical fit. I wish you guys showed up because you guys actually probably would have enjoyed it. We got fucked every single time.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

We got Rome.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

But we got Rome to do it at the same place, right? Yeah, it's at the same place. It's gonna be fucking legit with what we're doing. So we're gonna get into that here shortly.

SPEAKER_02 21:50

I w I wanted to be there and uh it was like I think the couple days before Dev said that he was coming up from Texas with a baby. Yeah. So my granddaughter Was was born. I don't know if I've mentioned that, but you have, yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, so yeah, my he my son came up with his wife and his gr and my granddaughter, so I had to back out of that. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

I mean, uh, like we just mentioned Rome and the Ardens. It's held in uh Franklin Grove, Illinois. There's actually a uh this brings we're gonna have to share about this on the Instagram page, but this brings uh a lot of heart and soul to me. Because I actually got to meet a 28th Infantry Division vet. Oh, that's right. Yeah. And uh he lives in Franklin Grove, and he will most likely be attending this event again. Oh yes. I hope so. And the boy's still driving. We're not doing 28th or we're doing 34th.

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:46

Uh I still know which regiment. Uh 100 and something, whatever the fuck it is. Uh heavy weapons. Yeah, it's a heavy weapons company, but most likely this vet will still be there sick. He'll come by, see everything. Let's um let's pray that he fucking does because it's still a couple months away. Awesome. My boy's 101 years old. That's amazing. He's 101. I cried like a little bitch. Hey, there's there is no shame in that game. But there is at the time, I I have only ever talked to one 28th infantry division bet being Bob. Yeah, my grand. And when I met him and he said 28th Infantry Division, I lost it. I that at that point I was like, Yeah, like even though he was in the 103rd Engineers, still 28th, still 28th. And man, I we're gonna we're gonna I'll we'll I'll send you information, I'll type something up, yeah, make a post about it. For sure. Um cool stories the guy has. Um he'll he'll mostly be there. Um that was a Darren Dennis event. They're doing a Liberation of Rome event. Yes, which we're all going to. We're pretty much all going to. Uh we're gonna have a great showing. Yes. Oh god. And and all of us will be there. Yeah, and I get to be platoon daddy from that.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Wait, hold up. Who here you have rank, you have rank, somehow I have rank. Do you have rank? I just got new.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

I just got to add it to the text.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Yeah, I just added it.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Are you on the ros?

SPEAKER_03 24:13

No, no, no, but he's about to be.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

Mr.

SPEAKER_02 24:15

Robert Purdy add Dalton to our roster. We'll text him.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

Time now. He can be a leader.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Rob Rob will probably make you some kind of ring too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

Yeah. Um, but we're doing a heavy weapons company of 81 mortars. That's that's gonna be hot. And uh, dude, we're gonna have four. That's gonna be hot. We're gonna have four sections of guns. It's gonna be fucking tits. It's gonna be hot. It's gonna be tits. And we're gonna look so fucking good. And we're gonna probably be I I personally I don't think there's ever been no section of 81s in the States. No, probably not. And and I can't fucking wait for that. That's gonna that's gonna be that's gonna be awesome. And when pictures come out, like we're obviously gonna do our own pictures and all that shit like that. Like it's gonna look tits. Yeah. Um but it's gonna be a good time for sure. So we got our upcoming events, is that one operation um the first one yeah, we'll have Operation Homecoming, which is which is after um or before.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Uh it's the first weekend in May. Me and Stan are heading to Ohio to Wasan. Um, it's I believe the second year, um, but they reached out to the Midwest chaplains uh and asked if we would attend. So Stan and I are going. Uh, we're we're very excited. Uh it sounds like it's gonna be a great event. Um, and we're definitely looking forward to being able to check it out, you know, yeah, come back and let you guys know how it is. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

So which weekend is that again?

SPEAKER_02 25:47

Uh it's the first weekend of May.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Okay. First week.

SPEAKER_03 25:50

It's not the Auglaz Village. I was saying because Lucas was he's trying to do the IPW stuff at Auglaz. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

Okay, because Lucas was trying to get us out to an event in in Ohio. And but that's that's in eight, that's the last second. April. Last weekend of April. Or the weekend. I no, it's the weekend before, I think. Something like that.

SPEAKER_02 26:07

Yeah, this is first weekend of May. Okay. But the the person that I've been talking to that that's been it, they're amazingly welcoming to, you know, like just basically like, hey, this is you know, this is what we're looking for. What can you guys do? And this, you know, us, this is what we can do. And just like, yeah, awesome, man.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

And so so I I have a question. Are are you in Stan sharing a tent, or does Stan have his own tent?

SPEAKER_02 26:32

We are sharing this small wall.

SPEAKER_03 26:34

Oh no.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

Thank thank you, Stan.

SPEAKER_03 26:35

Thank you, Mr.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

Owen.

SPEAKER_03 26:37

Stan, bring some earplugs.

SPEAKER_02 26:39

No, no, no, I'm good because I've been using my CPAP.

SPEAKER_03 26:41

Oh, God, you're such an old man.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

But so we we have found out with the CPAP, it I'm good for like two, three nights. Oh, good. Remember at uh um D-Day last year? Oh yeah. I didn't really snore.

SPEAKER_03 26:56

And you slept them with uh with us in the big one of the big times, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:59

And I even slept away because I was like, I don't want to bother anyone, but I I even in the morning I'd wake up and be like, hey, did I snore? And then I didn't hear shit.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

Yeah, except for at Breckenridge, I was like, God dang, this guy fucking shit. Well you say most of the time at Kanyat, like we all went to bed pretty well lit liquored. Not neither. No, no, you didn't really snore. I I didn't. I was fine. I did a low-key kind of did. I didn't know that. I know one night you did for sure. I didn't. Um, but our our normal are you got operational incoming coming up? Yeah, I we're very excited. And then it's liberation of Rome. Yes. And then we have uh well before that we got World War One days.

SPEAKER_01 27:40

I got Rockford of World War I, which I'm I might be I might be doing French for that. I might shoot you because the French are wrong. I just I just want to come check it out.

SPEAKER_03 27:49

Did you bring a World War I uh a World War I uh White flag white flag?

SPEAKER_01 27:55

When is that?

SPEAKER_03 27:55

It's April 12th and 11th or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

It's the weekend after uh Easter.

SPEAKER_03 28:00

Yeah. So if you want to go, we can meet Dalton might be participating. I'm I'm not sure yet. If he's participating, me and you will go up. What we normally do is like we'll just show up, we'll pay the entrance fee. Yeah, and just hang out. And we'll bring beer in for everybody and shit like that.

SPEAKER_01 28:15

Yeah, sure. We'll I'll be there with it'll be um John John Strahl, for those who know him, Draven, Matt Remick, Maggie should be there, me, and then I don't know. I think that's all we have. And then Mr. Robert Paris is the handsomest man alive.

SPEAKER_03 28:32

Well, that's Tim Ut.

SPEAKER_02 28:36

Tim, don't you Robert is the second handsomest Spencer in reenactment. Second handsomest WAP. Yeah. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 28:43

He's the first WAP. And and second overall. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So Rob Rob would be there with with Those are two handsome men. With with his um signal men. And then I'll be there with because somehow I got I got broped into going again. Well, no, I some I I actually well no, I got I actually want to go because I haven't been to Rock through World War One in a couple of years.

SPEAKER_03 29:06

It's been whatever two years. No two or three years.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

No it was before Marissa and I started dating. Yeah, two, three years. Yeah, you're gonna forget something.

SPEAKER_03 29:14

Don't worry about it. Two, three years.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

I don't know. It's been three or four years. Regardless, um, we'll be there. Yeah, I'm pretty excited for that because I haven't done Doughboy in a while. Yeah. And Doughboy is it's such a vibe. It is.

SPEAKER_03 29:26

Um so our future events of this year are uh Operation Homecoming. Operation Homecoming for Sean and Mr. Stan, and then it's Liberation of Rome. Rome is the big one for us for all of us, Old Falls, and then Old Falls, Lockport, and Rockford. Yeah, my attendance at Lockport is due pending. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but in general, it uh Rockford will definitely I'll be at um Blackport. I might show up for the day, hang out, do my shit. I might be there Friday night into Saturday and then leave Saturday. Um, but just it's pending. Everybody knows now why. Yeah. Um killing the Jeep again. Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, I mean you can fuck it.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

And I just drive the thing down there.

SPEAKER_03 30:08

I want to see this. It's already a fucking hour to get there from our house.

SPEAKER_01 30:13

Why not make it more?

SPEAKER_03 30:14

Just leave earlier. Yeah. Because I gotta go to work still. So I mean PTO by then. And and there's no PTO in the union.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

Well, that sucks for you.

SPEAKER_03 30:23

Yeah. Hell yeah, brother. No work, no work, no pay, but the the pay is what brother brothers pushes that.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

Brother Brother, brother, brother. But yes, so those are the events we'll be at. And if you see us in this event, five. We're forgetting one event. We're forgetting one event.

SPEAKER_01 30:39

I was gonna say there's a November.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

There's a oh yeah. Best years of our lives. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

How can we forget about last year of our novel?

SPEAKER_03 30:46

So okay, so that's what I was about to say. Um that was something that I was gonna talk to you two guys about. Was would you obviously you want to go for sure. Well, obviously. I know their dynamic has changed this year.

SPEAKER_01 30:59

I well, I don't we don't I we can't really say too much because the info hasn't been released.

SPEAKER_03 31:05

Let's just say it's possibly changed a little bit. That that's really we can't release anything. We can't confirm nor deny. Right. We can't release right. I like that statement. Would you would you go to best years this year? Um Amanda and I have been dying to go to Best Years. Veterans Day weekend.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Uh usually rather not spending Lucas said it depending because Veterans Day falls, I think it's in the middle of the week. So it could be either before or after pre- or post.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

Regardless, it's even if it is veterans, it's you're going outside rather spend the weekend with.

SPEAKER_03 31:36

Okay. All right. So that is the goal. Again, I will do I'm gonna do my best to attend that. Bring the kid with. My wife. Well, and that's something that I would actually uh like consider doing is like making a trip out of it. Crystal would love that if Crystal came with. Making a trip out of it, you know, making it to where we can get like, hey, yep, all right, it's the baby's three months at that point.

SPEAKER_01 31:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:59

You know, we can do something of that sort's. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:01

So well and the nice thing too is the goal about Amherst is that um the it's local. The well that the house that we slept in at the event, like they're all four. Like we're in an we're in like we can use it the whole weekend. Yeah. So like even if if even if you guys brought a baby crib.

SPEAKER_03 32:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

No, yeah. Let's say just pop one up upstairs. A ram or something. Let's say just a little something.

SPEAKER_03 32:24

Um all right. So we're gonna do a quick little favorite event of this past year. Uh Sean, what's it with you first?

SPEAKER_02 32:32

Uh honestly, uh, and it's it's our big event. Uh Rockford. Rockford's always my favorite. Uh it's the one time of year I know I'm gonna see Stan, be in Stan, get to hang out. Oh, yeah. Um, and then piggybacking off that, uh, we get to hang out with you guys. And uh yeah, rock. I mean, it's whatever people may think about Rockford, yeah. Um, I love it.

SPEAKER_03 32:55

And and it's our I think I think every we have we've talked about this topic before. An event is how you make it, yeah. Right. It goes before any any event. And and I feel like as a group, we do we do pretty well. Yeah, right. We we make it our own thing.

SPEAKER_02 33:10

Yeah, like Rockford will always have a special place in my heart because it is where our unit was founded. 100%.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

You know what I mean? And and three of the original when the unit became a thing. Dalton Sadley was not here. Fuck you. I was a co I was a founder of the thing. You were a founder, but you were not here when physically he wasn't there, yeah, but but he was there on on paper.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

This well, you eat shit. Even on paper, this this happened years. Yeah, years before you became a thing. This was yeah, this was when I was still in the army.

SPEAKER_03 33:42

Yeah, this was back in the 2017, 2018.

SPEAKER_02 33:46

Yes, yeah, it was that Leonard Wave, so it was still 2017. Yeah, yeah, but yeah, so rock for me, Rockford. Um, yeah, Rockford always has good memories, and obviously Rockford was my favorite event because that's where I got engaged. That is, yeah, that's uh absolutely yes. And now we're getting married two weekends after Rockford this year. Oh yeah. My favorite event? Oakie.

SPEAKER_03 34:09

Thank you. Of course, wait, wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

Why?

SPEAKER_03 34:13

Well, you marine. Uh I mean there's there's so much to be said about those guys that run that event. Yeah, right. There's so much, there's so much to be said. All those guys that run it, that coordinate it, um, you know, Gunny Canal, ma'am, uh, first sergeant Christopher uh Christopher. Uh you you're you're you're you're you're talking and you're talking all this stuff, and I know they're doing that Normandy event yeah, that same weekend of Rockford. Yeah, and I'm just like I was.

SPEAKER_02 34:44

I thought it was the weekend before Rockford. It was the year before Rock.

SPEAKER_03 34:48

Yeah, it's the weekend before because I signed up for that. But it's still one of those things it's like fuck. Yeah. Like we we personally, us would be doing a an event each weekend in September, basically.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

And it's just like fuck. But yeah, that's a lot. Like for me, it would be if I did that, it would be doing that event, then doing Rockford and I'm it would no, it would be it would be Lockport, um Rockford uh two weeks.

SPEAKER_03 35:16

John's hopefully John's wedding. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:18

Well, and yeah, and then your wedding. So for me, it would be um Lockport, uh, Normandy, uh officiating a wedding at Rockford. Yep, yeah. Uh going to a really good friend of mine and Amanda's wedding, and then our wedding.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

Yeah. So it's a big time.

SPEAKER_01 35:36

Back to back.

SPEAKER_03 35:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:37

So that takes a lot.

SPEAKER_03 35:38

There's a lot, there's a lot going on this year. There's a lot happening. Um, there's a lot of moving parts um with family-wise and just event-wise. I think everybody is gonna be prepared in their own in their own way. Yeah. Um for sure. You know, I think I think this year's gonna be a good year for everybody. Yes, you know, there's there's a lot of great events, whether if if we make them or not, I think everybody's gonna have a great time. Um, some events are gonna be, you know, might be shitty, meaning weather dependent, not um you know, everything is how you make it, but like the weather is kind of messed up. Yeah. Um I honestly, you know speaker's truth. No, let's see. You and I is our favorite event.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

We kind of skipped over there. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 36:22

Oh, yeah. Well, yeah, I'm sorry. So what's what was your favorite event? Yeah, Wooly, what was your favorite event? God dang.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

Fuck us then, right?

SPEAKER_02 36:29

I guess you're asexual. You should go fuck yourself.

SPEAKER_01 36:32

I I it's hard to use that one because you always use it. Um, I'm sorry, dude.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

Man, I uh what is your first event blanket? Your favorite. Your favorite, yeah. Cav. Yeah. I think Cav was one of my actually tops for sure.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

Christmas with the Cav. Yeah. Dude, like it goes calv, it goes Cav for me, Okie. And then Kanye. Like you said about Oki. Those guys at Unk.

SPEAKER_04 36:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:58

Man. And all the other guys that that put it that put in the work. Yeah. That I've been wanting to do an event with those guys, a Vietnam event with those guys for the longest time. Yeah. And that it's yeah, it's a great they're though they make it a great event. And you have to be I I wasn't physically ready for it, but I surely some. It's a great, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:20

It'll test you. It'll test you 100%.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Once once we stepped out in the bush, it literally like it just fucking clicked. Like I was back in the army. Oh, yeah. And just you just keep pushing, you just go, and it was fun. Oh, that was, dude, I had so much. There's and there's so many guys that were struggling. Oh, yeah. That were younger than us. We're like, wow.

SPEAKER_03 37:40

So we got we got Sean's favorite. We got Wooly's favorite. We got mine. What was your dude? I have 100%. Yeah. Like technically, I was still a grunt. Shout out, shout out, shout out Colin DeFor and Unk. Gold Cub. I was still a grunt in the bush. Well, you were you're a Mr.

SPEAKER_01 37:57

FO that barely did FO stuff. You fucking.

SPEAKER_03 38:01

I'm a dumbass. We're good. Anyway, but Kev. We're good. We're good. We're good. You like Kev. Yeah. And it was a good time, in my opinion. Um do it again, but I can't go again this year.

SPEAKER_01 38:16

Let's say this year, because they're doing whatever marine thing. They're doing marine corps shit this year. They're doing a marine corps event this year. It's just a matter of seeing what's going on by then for us.

SPEAKER_03 38:26

Um we want to well thank everybody for uh sticking around. Yeah, sticking around and uh being with us at uh Blink Spears and Bullshit. Uh please, if you have enjoyed the show, make sure hit subscribe, give us a like, and don't forget to leave a review. It really helps us out in the long run. Absolutely. Um we appreciate everybody's feedback. Um hopefully you guys can come up with top topics that we eventually can talk about.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

Uh I just sorry, I want to interrupt and I want to say something too. Uh also uh for us, speaking as the podcast, we have uh upcoming like during the season. Uh so we have uh people who know Doug Trong, yes, who is a phenomenal reenactor. Um not just in World War II, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:10

He's World War I'm gonna do uh medieval. He does he's done civil war, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:15

Like he's he's done it all pretty much. Yeah, so we have uh we have him lined up as a guest. We have uh Mr. Tab Cook. Tab Cook lined up. I'd like to get Kyle Hibner here. Oh uh Tab Tab Tab is if you don't know Tab, he runs a field kitchen that is spot on. It's the tits, yeah. Just I mean, there's no other thing. Plain and simple, yeah. Yeah. Uh we have Kyle Hibner, we have uh Jake Durbin. Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

Uh eventually, eventually if you'll ever make the trip down, if Jake gets on the podcast, what a bum. The podcast will be over.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

Yeah. Uh and then uh we also have Mr. Stan Cook. Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_03 39:55

That will and our next most recent episode, we are going to have ladies of reenacting. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:02

We will have uh Chloe Hale and yeah, and and her outfit with us. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yep. So yeah, there's there's plenty of guests, and if there's someone you want to hear or an a topic that you wanna you think would be good for us to discuss, let us know. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm I'm sorry, I'm done. So come on.

SPEAKER_03 40:21

You can uh you could you you can keep up with all of us on the crew here um at Facebook at uh blanks, comma beers, comma at bullshit. Uh the S is a money sign. Um Instagram is at blanks underscore beers underscore BS. Austin is Midwest underscore reenactor 19. Myself, Dalton is Midwest underscore USM C R represent original. And then Sean is uh MWCC underscore chaps, uh, midwest chap underscore. And then for Wooly, uh you can find him at Dudley.

SPEAKER_01 40:58

That's actually my dog's Instagram.

SPEAKER_03 41:00

Yeah, Dudley dot the dot reenacting dot corgi. Um I mean, we're out of beers. We're not we're not really out of beers. Uh but we're out of blanks. We're out of blanks. We're out of blanks. Uh I ain't shooting blanks. No, no, you're not definitely not your way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:16

We're still full of bullshit.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Oh, wait. There's more to come. But wait, but wait, hold on. What's beer? Or St. Paddy's Day weekend. Are we out of car bombs? No, no. Done with the done with the British.

SPEAKER_00 41:29

Come out, she black and tats. Come on. Show your wife. All right.