Grace on the Highway

This week, we talk with Nathan Howard, a California Highway Patrol officer (and CLC alum), about the realities of the job—what it demands, what it takes, and what it can cost. From everyday calls to high-stakes moments, this conversation gives a glimpse into a world most of us only see from the outside.

But more than that, it’s a conversation about presence. About showing up. About treating people with dignity in situations that are often anything but easy.

It’s honest. It’s thoughtful. And it’s a reminder that faith isn’t just something we talk about—it’s something we live, especially when it counts.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome, welcome to the Grace Period Podcast, where we gather for honest conversations about faith, everyday life, and the grace that carries us through it all. Think of this podcast like Fred sitting down over a cup of coffee, sharing stories, laughing at ourselves, and leaning into God's grace together. Expect honesty, humor, and a space to ask hard questions. No sermons here, just conversation. Grace Period, making room for grace in real life. This podcast is sponsored to you by Christ Lutheran Church here in Visalia, California. I'm Noel Thompson, and I'm here with my co-host Josh Nauman. And today we are continuing our vocation series where we explore how our daily callings, whether they feel ordinary or intense, can actually be spaces where God is active, present, and working through us. And maybe that shows up in places we don't expect. Most of us don't think of flashing lights on the side of the highway as a place where faith shows up, but maybe, maybe that's exactly where it does. I'm really excited about today's conversation, not just because of the topic, but because of the person. I'm joined by my good friend Nathan Howard, someone who grew up right here at Christ Lutheran Church. This community shaped who he is, and now he's living out his calling in a powerful, in a very real way as a California Highway Patrol officer. Nathan serves as a first responder, showing up in moments that require courage, clarity, and compassion, often when people are at their most vulnerable. And I think that makes this conversation so meaningful is that it helps us see vocation not just as a job, but as a way God works through us to care for others in the real world. So I'm really pumped today. And like I said, I have Josh here. Josh, how are you doing? So far so good. So far so good. And Nathan, Nate Dog, I call him when he's playing softball. Nathan, how are you doing today? I'm doing fantastic. It's Friday. Do you have any exciting Friday plans today? No, I've been here all day already. I have the worst Friday plan. I might, after this podcast, go to uh Costco. I just went. You just went? How was it?

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Was it busy? The lines were you know long as usual. I'm convinced weird for the end of the month. I'm convinced. Usually it calms down.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Yeah, I'm convinced like a Friday after work might be like the best time to go because it's like the last place people want to do. That's my mindset going into this.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

I could be wrong. I know the south side Costco is going to be the place I go when the north side one opens up.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Yeah, so you both live on the north side of Iselia. Is that thing opening up soon? Uh middle of May, I believe. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 2:30

May 21st, I think.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

I uh drove by there for the first time in a while. Let me tell you, those roads around the Costco. You know what we're gonna save that. Leslie Cavillia, the city manager of Iselia, has agreed to be on this podcast. I don't have a date yet.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

We should just have a list of questions.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Honestly, I thought about that. I thought about like kind of getting questions from listeners that way we can kind of ask her when she comes on ahead of time. I don't know if I'll tell her the questions. That might be fair. Yeah, probably don't want to blindside her. Don't want to blind us to me. Although if anybody could handle it, she could. She can. She does come to our confirmation class, our ninth grade confirmation class is where we talk about um faith in politics, and she does an amazing job. And there's an end of the there's an end of the the confirmation class where she does like an open mic. She goes, So any of you youth have any questions? And some of the questions they come up with are pretty actually some of them are really, really good, and some are like it's priceless, and some are very like just on point. Like, what's up with this, you know, car uh uh crosswalk or or you know how come we don't have a Chick-fil-A?

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Yeah, that's actually very, very popular. Wait, did I see Taler's gonna Chick-fil-A? Yeah, can we confirm that? Yeah, uh it's already being built. I drove by it the other day. Where is it? Where is it going now? Cartmill exit, I think. Yeah, cart mill.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

They've been working on that cart mill exit for a good minute.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Yeah, and uh okay, it's like got its in its own corner of that intersection. Is that where the they're gonna need?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Is that where the Arsenios is?

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Is that cart mill? Yeah, but it's on the other side, it's on the east side of the freeway from that.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Okay, that Arsenio's place has pretty good asada fries, yeah. Yeah, there's one in Hanford, and I think there's one in Fresno, Arsenio's. Oh our our our mutual friend, of course, Bobby Drew told me about that place. So, anywho, it's Friday. Hope you all are having a good weekend. I'm my brave Costco. We'll see. My son Elliot has an 8 a.m. soccer game tomorrow, so get the sleep in on a wonderful Saturday, but we'll see how that goes. But we are continuing on our national bit here. National days. Uh, shout out to Lori Warner. She sent me, I guess the other was it yesterday or the day before it was national kindergarten teacher day. And you didn't recognize it? I didn't recognize it. Yeah, appreciate all the kindergarten teachers. Shout out to all the kindergarten teachers out there. I missed that one. Do you remember your kindergarten teachers? Mrs. Jensen. Oh, hold on. That feels wrong, but it feels right. Oh, I got I got I gotta call my mom. I'm really, I'm really embarrassed. What was your kindergarten teacher's name? Mrs. Nyberg. Nyberg.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

Yeah, Menro King Elementary School. Shout out. What about you, Josh?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

I don't remember. I asked a question and I and I lost it. I know her name starts with a V, and I know she really wanted to put me on Ritalin. It's like those are the only things I remember from her.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Jensen Swanson. But I don't know, well, you two back in Minnesota, kindergarten was only half day. Yeah. So you you were either AM or PM, and I was AM. And then so eight o'clock to like 12.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Yeah, that's what at my at my elementary school, it was just mornings. I was out by 12, and I remember going to a friend's house after that.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

Okay. Well, you and Nate, do you remember? Yeah, we we were split day also.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

I wonder when that changed. That'd be obviously in our lifetime.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Yeah, when we when we started, I mean, Logan can be in school from 7:30 in the morning until 6 o'clock at night.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Yeah, it's yeah, yeah. But but today is April 24th. Um, National Brandon Day. So Nathan has a younger brother named Brandon. So make sure you give him a shout out. Shout out to Bihal. Beehaw, Brandon. Um, I have a cousin named Brandon. Maybe I should text him. Do you know a Brandon, Josh? I went to school with some Brandons. Well, text them. Yeah, get a hold of them. I wonder what he's doing now. Say today's your day. We got a Brandon here. We have a few Brandons here, yeah. We do. And then oh, I'm ready for my my I guess we're doing hot takes early. I'm ready for this next one. National Pigs in a blanket day. Where are you guys on the pigs in the blanket?

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Love them. Okay, well, yeah, I'm pro.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

I am so against national. What is wrong with the pigs and blankets?

SPEAKER_02 6:41

No. How about like a sausage and a pancake?

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Like, no, no, leave the two be. Why do we gotta combine stuff like that? I am not what about like which is weird because I love hot dogs.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

What about the corn dog? No, we're getting back into Jenny's around here. Yeah, no, it's a corn dog that has a sausage on the end of it, it's dipped in pancake batter. No, I used to sell so many of those in school. Yeah, not to me.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Bankrupt. I'm I'm not a I'm sorry, hot.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

My first hot take is so you don't like are you like just not a sweet and savory at the same time type of person?

SPEAKER_01 7:11

No, I guess not.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

So no chicken and waffles, no, I'm no, I'm not a pig's in a blanket. No dipping bacon into maple syrup. Nope. It's a little early in the show for these kind of takes.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

We're already flying, but that's okay. Um, this next one I included because I'm not gonna lie, I remember I distinctly remember I had a neighbor growing up. She was a little older than me. She was obsessed with this boy band, New Kids on the Block Day.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

My cousin was obsessed with them.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Till this day, I remember her name is Jessica. She had bed sheets and uh like pillowcases of New Kids on the Block. Oh, oh, oh.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

I actually said I bought two tickets for Nancy to see them when they came to Fresno, like I don't know, five, ten years ago. The stipulation was I don't go with her.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

I think they're the master of just like of staying alive, keeping longevity. Longevity. I think they're the ones that are kind of keeping other people like they're they're still touring.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Well, I don't think they come to Fresno like every eight months. I bought Nancy nosebleed tickets, and there were so few sold that they went around all those seats and said, Hey, come on down to the floor. Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 8:16

That's embarrassing. Yeah, maybe it's time to hang it up.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

I mean, well, the one is like a TV star now, Donnie Walburne.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Donnie, oh yeah, yeah. He's actually kind of made it. He was it Blue Bloods? Is that the show he's on? Yeah, he was in Band of Brothers. Yep. Um Dreamcatcher. Never heard of that, which is a great Stephen King movie. Um, all right, so hot question. What is ever what is your guys' favorite boy band?

SPEAKER_00 8:42

I I can't tell the difference. Come on, Nate.

SPEAKER_02 8:44

You gotta mine's Backstreet Boys. I was gonna say, I mean, growing up in sync backstreet boys. That was that was my generation. Um team backstreet boys.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Those those are the two, yeah, when I was growing up, also. But I if you played their songs, I wouldn't be able to tell which was which.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Oh, okay. Yeah. Although, yeah, I love the temptations, their original boy band. All right, that's another hot take. Uh April 25th, Josh, what's that? Someone's birthday tomorrow. Oh Eeyore. It's Eeyore's birthday. Uh, so for those of you who sell for those of you who love Winnie the Pooh. Fun fact, my wife will not go on the Winnie the Pooh ride um at Disneyland because I it took over a very like very like childhood favorite. Um which one was there before that? It was the something jamboree. Oh, that was where the country bears were country bear jamboree was at Winnie the Pooh. I agree.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

No, I won't go on it anymore.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

My wife will never ride the Winnie the Pooh ride at Disneyland.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

That ride is pretty weird.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

I think I got on it once.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

You and I, our body type is not meant for those carriages or whatever they are, yeah, and it's kind of a trip.

SPEAKER_02 9:55

So I'm at the stage of life that's uh several times a trip right now, you know.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Your kids, yeah, keep it going, ride that ride four or five times. Thankfully, Logan's really not into Winnie the Pooh. I've tried a couple of times. I love Winnie the Pooh. Like, I've tried reading the books and watching, he's just not into the show or anything.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

This next one I'm gonna talk to Nate about it. It is license plate day.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

I have questions about license plates too.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Yeah, I mean, so Nathan, you're you drive around California Highway Patrol, like you make a living at looking at license plates. Absolutely. And so if I I'm gonna give you a hot take right now. What color is this year's registration? Uh this year's registration is red. It's red. What was last year's? Last year's was yellow. So when you see yellow, already you're you're thinking like good to go. But they could still be valid if it's like December.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Yeah, they could, yeah. You you still have to confirm it, make sure. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

But but if you say yellow, then you're immediately looking at that month.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Yes. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What's next year's? Is it is next next year's is like a teal, like a teal screen.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Yeah, because that that would already been that already been out. Is there a particular is there a particular light? California now, California's interesting. Back in Minnesota, they're now there's like 85 different license plates from Minnesota. They're just creating all different sorts of like designs?

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah, like backgrounds and stuff. Yeah, it's like a different sort of revenue. I mean, California is like five or six, don't we?

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Nevada has a bunch, also, too.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Is there a particular license plate that's like hard for you to read or easier? I guess that's my question.

SPEAKER_02 11:28

Um, no, not particularly. There's yeah, they're all fairly easy to read as long as they haven't been modified, which is another hot take.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

It's just another reason to get pulled over.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

How do you buy a buck?

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Modify that's that's where my question comes from. Why am I seeing all these people like grinding their license plates down so it's just bare metal and numbers?

SPEAKER_02 11:46

Yeah, so a lot of our license plate reader cameras, and then uh various cities have what are known as flock cameras in the city. Okay. So uh they can't read a license plate if it's not reflective as it was intended to be when it was manufactured. So um, yeah, so that's why they're grinding them down, or maybe they're putting a coating over the top of it that changes that reflectivity a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

I'll be honest, I don't know if I've ever seen I see it all over all the time.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Um maybe I'm just looking at licenses.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

This might not be safe, but I'm gonna start looking like crazy now as I'm driving.

SPEAKER_02 12:19

You're sports car fanatics, you know, they'll they got a black car, so they'll black out their license plate and they think it's totally legit. Really?

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Well, can't you? You can get a black license plate with orange numbers on it.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

The black and yellow, yeah, the 1960 legacy plate.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

There's like the whale tail plate, there's one for um national parks or something.

SPEAKER_02 12:39

National parks.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Yeah, yeah. It's funny because you know, they're trying to escape your cameras, but you you still have two eyes. I sure do. Well, one of the CDs all the time.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Like, why why wouldn't that's that seems like uh like, hey, look at me.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

Definitely grabs your attention, and especially certain license plates have certain sequences, so motorcycles are two numbers to start with.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Um that changes though, periodically, like over time, right? As you run out of numbers.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

Uh, it hasn't, no. So, like your older cars, um, the very first digit will be like a two or a three. Now we're up into like the nine, so we're getting there. Okay. But just the sequence you can tell too, like, well, that plate isn't supposed to be on the truck, or that plate isn't supposed to be on a car.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

What not?

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Anyway. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

When you it we can spend all day on this.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

Do you work tomorrow?

SPEAKER_02 13:32

I do not.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Oh, because I was gonna say when you pull people over, be like, hey, happy national license plate.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah, let the guys know. Yeah, we'll share it.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Uh oh, this next one is actually kind of a hobby I'm starting to get into. National Go Birding Day.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

This is a middle-aged, this is like a trigger when you get into the middle-aged personal crisis.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

I I'm kind of digging bird watching lately. Okay, I have this app, I showed it to Josh. I have it now too. Yeah, you you you it's like you were you put your microphone to your to your phone, you you hit like record, and your phone listens to all the bird calls around your house, and it tells you what bird it is.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

It's called Merlin Bird ID.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Merlin Bird ID. Okay, because there's like, and I found out because my backyard every morning is just hopping. It is like a party in my backyard, and I'm like curious because it all has all different sorts of sounds. Also, there's a particular bird at night that just goes crazy, like it's its own opera concert, and that is the Northern Mockingbird.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

I've been hearing those a lot lately.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

And so, yeah, um, I'm into birding, and one of the walks we go to in Morrow Bay, I've come to find find out is like a top 10 bird watching site in California. And it gets a little, it gets a little pot, it gets a little uh crowded there because a bunch of people have like legit cameras, you know, and and like but not just heard me roll my eyes, yeah. And they're like they're very annoyed sometimes by little kids going on walks, I'm like, okay. But um, yeah, I'm into bird watching. I don't know about you, Nate. You'll get there pretty soon. Definitely your midlife crisis. You're younger than yeah, it's better than buying a new car, I guess. Yeah, that's true. Um, but I'm I'm into so go bird watching. Uh the 25th is Ashell National Plumbers Day. Shout out to the plumbers. I tell you what, when you need them, they come in clutch because I don't know what I'm doing. And we've had a few plumbers plumbers rescue uh the Thompson family a few times. So give me a call. Yeah, I I'm not doing any of that. So but you guys are I say um my brother is dating a plumber. Oh wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

So that's a good that's a good person to have in the family. Yeah, plumbers, electricians, yeah, welders.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

Yeah, yeah. Do you guys know any plumbers?

SPEAKER_02 15:51

I don't.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Yeah, we know yeah, we gotta I've got I've got multiple in-laws that are all plumbers. Okay, it's a it's a really good trade to get into out of high school if you if you're thinking colleges for you. I mean, you make a lot of money real fast.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Yep. Yeah, and then uh the 25th is also national sense of smell day. So what is your guys' favorite smell?

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Jeez.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

Mine is orange. I like orange blossoms, even when I sneezed 85 times. Love the smell in the orange blossom trees.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Walking out of the back door of the office and smelling in and out.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Yeah, right there.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

Can't beat that.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

Yeah, that that's that's probably tough though. That in and out smells pretty great.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Um you have a favorite smell, Josh? It's that uh it has a very specific name, and I don't really know what it is, but it's that smell of like right before it starts raining.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

Yeah, like that wind thunderstorm.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Yeah, you can you can like smell it coming.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Yeah, that's a good smell. Is there any smells that you guys can't stand? Nate.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

I mean stuff that's like overly fragrant, you know, that just gives you a headache. Yeah, uh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

I shared this yesterday at the on the podcast yesterday, which was very random and not planned. I went to the Milan Institute for someone's graduation. Oh my gosh, we open a window in that place. The amount of hairspray and like nail polish remover, it was doesn't affect me anymore. Oh, it was overwhelming. I I had a headache after that.

SPEAKER_00 17:25

I have I have seven years of experience at Bath and Body Works, oh yeah, and then five more at World Market, so that kind of stuff just doesn't hit me at all.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Hmm. Yeah, so I mean, I'm glad for our sense of smell. There are it is fascinating. Obviously, there's studies about this and whatever, but you know how smell can like trigger trigger memories. Oh, yeah, andor people. Um, my grandma's house always smelled like sauerkraut and lord knows what else. Shout out to Marion Peterson, and the other day I had like that, like that smell again, wasn't the greatest smell, right? That's that's a fascinating thing. It wasn't like the best smell in the world, but I smelled it and I immediately like went back to like my grandma's house.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

And so, even like again, it doesn't always have to be great smells, but just certain smells just I think of like uh somebody uh an old smoker's car, huh? A car that somebody's been smoking in for like 20 or 30 years, okay, and it's kind of sweaty and smoky smelling. That's my dad.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

Okay, but yeah, that brings you back, right?

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Yeah, that's like one of the few memories I have of it.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

The smell of his car.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

When I smell uh diesel, I think of Thailand. Yeah, because like there's no uh uh they don't really believe in uh smog there.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Well, when when like 90% of the vehicles are diesel, yeah, that's what you're gonna smell at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

When I get that like dirty diesel smell, I'm like, ooh, bangok. Yeah, there it is. So ooh, hot take here. We'll see how this goes. I've not asked the boys this next question. We're gonna see. Uh Josh, what is that? The 26th, that is Sunday, right? Is that Sunday? The 26th? Has to be, right? Friday, Saturday. Yeah. Uh what's the what's Sunday? National Alien Day. Alien Day. Yeah. Yeah, they're real. Not really hot tech.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

There's there's there's a yeah, they're real. I'm sorry. I mean, haven't haven't they like declassified the documents that say they are? More or less.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

You'd be yeah, you'd be pretty naive to think we got all this out there. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

That I mean, aside from that fact, like the the vast the vastness of the universe, it's it would be extremely naive to think that we're the only sentient beings.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Yeah, yeah, there's a noel Thompson alien out there. I know there is. I just feel it. I feel it in my bones. There's life. Well, that's a thing, too. Is because like people draw a line there of aliens but life outside of Earth. Yeah, and I'm saying yes to both. Yeah, I think anything, yeah. Not yeah, anything foreign is an alien, you know. Absolutely, and then oh, I have another hot take. National pretzel day on Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

Hard or soft, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

Uh neither, not a pretzel guy.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

I know your wife is. I that's one thing I do know about Josh's wife. She is a pretzel fan.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Are you a pretzel fan, name? I know you like churro pretzels.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

But what is a churro pretzel? What's that brand you buy? I can't remember what that company is, but yeah, it's just a cinnamon sugar pretzel stick. It's nice phenomenal.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

It's a new pretzel brand that's very popular now. Their bags are oh the dots. Dots okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

I was picturing like a soft pretzel.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

I was at I was at Nate's house and he had the cinnamon sugar dots. Yeah, those are good. I mean, anything is sugar. I'm having yeah, you put that on eel, yeah. But no, I am not a pretzel guy. Pretzel guy, Nate.

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Yeah, yeah, I'll eat hard pretzel, soft pretzel, yeah, dipped in cheese, whatever. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

The Mickey frozen at refreshment corner on Main Street. The Mick, the jalapeno cream cheese pretzel is actually not bad. I haven't had that one.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Isn't that just the regular pretzel with the jalapeno cheese dip?

SPEAKER_01 21:07

No, it's actually inside.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Uh yeah, it's like soaked.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Uh it's not even a pretzel, really.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Nancy's down there right now.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Yeah, I know I do know your wife is a huge pretzel. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

If I came back from that without her and without pretzels, I was in trouble.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Yeah. All right. Well, I'm not a pretzel guy. Uh, we're gonna gloss over this next one because Oh, are you a South Dakota guy? No, I'm not a South Dakota guy. National South Dakota Day is on Sunday. I know a bunch of people from North Dakota, don't know anybody from South Dakota, so we'll just glance over that. Monday is uh April 27th, Morse Code Day.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

I saw a really cool thing the other day. It's like this uh it was like the size of a business card or a credit card. And you could tap out Morse code on it, and it had a little light. And depending on how long you held the light down, it knew if you were doing like a short or a long, and it would I don't know how it did this, but like if you did the Three shorts, it would go, it would light up an S. Three longs, it would light up an O, and or whatever letter you were doing. It was really cool.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Yeah, because that's SOS, right? Three short, three long, three short.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

Yeah, that's the only thing. That's what, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

I mean, yeah, but uh shout out to Morse code. Um I imagine we still use it or teach it. I mean, when technology fails, yeah. I feel like Morse code's a pretty good that's up there with like ham radio operators, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:27

Yeah, so you know another good relative. The first responders know Morse code, absolutely not. Nope. All right, not taught that one.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

Taught a lot of things, but Morse code, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

Not that one.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Yeah, um, all right. Oh, I am full of hot takes today. National Prime Reb Day is Monday.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

Are all of your hot takes negative?

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Yeah, I think they are. That I honestly was not meant to do that. I'm not a big prime rib guy, me neither.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

It's not my go-to, but it's delicious.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

It is one of those meals where it's just like I feel like it has to be cooked right. And I in my experience, 80% of the time it's not cooked.

SPEAKER_00 23:09

Yeah, I don't get prime rib unless I'm at a place that it's known for.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

It's I think that's a good way of putting it. There actually is supposedly one of the best ones is in San Francisco, like the House of Prime Rib.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Well, it better be.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

If that's the name of the like they serve it table side and everything, they carve it up right there.

SPEAKER_02 23:25

Best one I ever had was the one my dad burned and then dropped on the ground. Best prime rib I've ever had.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Was that the last one you ever had?

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Um, quality meats over here has a new tri-tip season, they use their prime rib seasoning on their tri-tip. And I'm not gonna lie, it's actually pretty tasty. Okay, uh, it's I was confused because in the tri-tip area it said prime rib. I was like, huh? And they're like, oh no, we just used our prime rib seasoning for our tri-tip. And I was like, Oh, okay. It's actually not that bad. It's actually pretty good, but yeah, um, it's not my go-to, it's not even the top seven things I go to. Um, it is definitely one of those things where it's gotta be a professional cooking it. Um, and I'll be honest, I don't know really, I don't know how to cook it, so it's not so I mean I think it's really easy to screw up. It is. Um I'm hoping my mother-in-law doesn't listen to this particular podcast because we would have prime rib for many years on Easter.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

So not this year though, because I was like, I bet Becky's prime rib is delicious.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

It's okay. It's all right, but not my favorite, not my favorite. House of Prime Rib, though, San Francisco. Ooh, and then this uh 27th starts a week. I think my wife will celebrate. It's national stop snoring week. Rachel, I'm sorry. Uh yeah, I'm a snore. Stop leaving those windows open. I know. Are you snoring? Yes, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Not all the time. Yeah, well, I don't think I do all the time. Bailey might say otherwise, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

I guess one night I was snoring really bad, and like Rachel just like elbowed me, and I woke up and she was like, Noel, you're snoring. And I guess immediately I was like, No, you are and she literally just sat there, like, what do I say to that? She was so caught off guard by how quick I just was able to turn it around, you know, like, no, I'm not, you are.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

She was like, You were just yeah, so and I love how like them disturbing you is magically gonna fix it, right? I know you're gonna fall right back asleep, and guess what?

SPEAKER_00 25:28

I would I would rather I would rather Nancy wake me up and tell me to like go into another room than be pissed off the next day. That's true, that's fair, and be like, Hey, I didn't get any sleep last night because you were snoring. I was like, I don't have any control over that. Tell me up, tell me, and I'll go someplace.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

What do you want me to do? That's why yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Although the CPAP has been helping, has it? Yeah, except I have to shave with it and occasionally it waterboards me. But other than that, we're good.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Outside of just the yeah, uh on that, you're you're fine.

SPEAKER_00 26:00

If I have the humidity up a little too high, I'll wake up and it's just raining inside of the mask.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

Yeah, um, yeah. I I I I've I've snored here and there a few times, I've been told. But all right, that's the national days. Uh, gentlemen, is there a particular national day you're gonna celebrate more than the other?

SPEAKER_00 26:19

I kind of want some prime rib now. Yeah, prime rib. Kind of craving a pretzel. That sounds like craving. Honestly, those two together would be really good. Like dipping the pretzel and the au.

SPEAKER_01 26:28

I'm gonna go watch some birds. Um, maybe I'll listen to new kids on the block on the way home.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

I might have to do some plumbing at home.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

Got a few songs in my my Apple, uh, my Apple thing here. I think I am seeing my brother tonight, so maybe I'll have to have to share with him that it's National Brandon Day. His day.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Is that a family name, or is that just a name that your parents just like? Do you know?

SPEAKER_02 26:51

No, it's not a family name.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Yeah, just our middle names.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Okay, yeah, Brandon. They just like Brandon.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

I guess, yeah. Yeah. Behow. Haven't really dug into that one a whole lot. Is he younger brother? Younger brother, younger brother.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

Yep. So I mean, forever he will know that their first their favorite first name for a boy was Nathan.

SPEAKER_02 27:11

Well, his favorite boy in general.

SPEAKER_00 27:13

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

That's right. Oh, that's great. Well, we do have Nathan Howard here, and uh, for those of you that don't know, I do want to connect some dots for for listeners because believe it or not, we do have listeners all over the the CLC kind of congregation from young to old. Nathan's parents are Brad and Jeannie. Um, they sit, they sit on the fifth row from the front on the left side in the middle at eight o'clock, clockwork. Um, and then um your grandparents were longtime members here. Uh Dale and Joy Joyce. I said Joyce, Dale and Joy Merton. Correct. Yep. And they have some family members connected to this church too, here, right? Joe and Cleela. Joe and Cleela West. Yeah. And so, I mean, your family's kind of been OGs of this church. Yeah. Do we? I don't know if you know, and I'm sorry if you don't know this. I'm wondering who was like the very first person. Oh goodness. That's a good question to ask, maybe your mom or dad. Like, who was because I thought about that the other day. Like, who was the very first person that kind of paved the way for this multi-generations to come here?

SPEAKER_02 28:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:21

But I mean, I guess it would either be Dale or Joe, right?

SPEAKER_02 28:24

Or Joy? I would probably lean more toward my grandparents, yeah. Dale and Joy.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Yeah. And so, um, and then like I said, Nathan kind of grew up here a little bit and his his his uh family. So I guess we'll just start off. Nate, what are some of the earliest memories of you growing up here at CLC? When when I ask you that question, I gotta imagine there's one or two things that kind of that kind of pop out.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

Oh, yeah. One immediately hits me. Kids kids of the kingdom, kids of the kingdom. Yeah, take it way back.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

That was like a midweek thing, right? It was, it was when every Wednesday, every Wednesday, yeah, and that was a singing thing. Kids choir. Yeah, kids of the kingdom. You were you were singing it up? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:04

There are a lot of people that would like to bring that back to I'm I'm very serious. Yeah, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

Is there a song that you remember? I'm not gonna ask you to sing it, but is there like a particular like song or I mean there's several.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

I mean, Carolyn Johnson, shout out, yeah, still rocking it.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

Phenomenal.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

Oh, she was giving me stuff to do today, this morning.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah, telling me to paint things and yeah, okay, so kids of the kingdom. So and so you would come every Wednesday sing, and I think they would occasionally sing in the services too, right? Yeah, yeah. Oh, we gotta find that footage somewhere. I gotta find it. Well, yeah, I'm sure there's some somewhere. Some VHS tapes out there that have that. Yeah, um, and what do you like what you people don't obviously we're not on video yet, which we'll get the video, but you had a smile on your face, so that was a positive experience.

SPEAKER_02 29:51

Yeah, no, I loved it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Was that during like was that year-round or kind of just like during the school year?

SPEAKER_02 29:56

Uh that I don't know. Okay. It I mean, it felt like year-round to me. Yeah, maybe every Wednesday. Every Wednesday just come.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

That was just what you did Wednesday nights?

SPEAKER_01 30:06

That was just after school, yeah. What we did Wednesday nights. Yeah, and that was back when I'm not trying to, I guess I'll insert some bias in my opinion here, but that was back when like Wednesday nights were like saved for church.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

What years are we talking?

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Late 90s, okay. Yeah, that was back when Wednesday nights were kind of saved for church activity. That's not the case anymore, unfortunately, because now a lot of other events are Wednesday nights, but even growing up for me, Wednesday night was a huge thing in my life.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

I mean, we're kind of bringing it back a little bit. A little bit night things, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:37

Um, what other memories do you have? Like, so that's like as a kid, let's talk of like adolescence, teenager. Like any memories kind of you know, growing up as far as maybe elementary, junior high, senior high that you that you have here for church.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

I mean, I did all the things first or first uh communion, um, confirmation, yep, all that stuff. I mean, we had a very we were very routine every Sunday, yeah, in my family. So it was church, breakfast, bowling. That was every Sunday. Really? Yeah, that's actually pretty great. So eight o'clock then. Eight o'clock was 8 a.m. service every week. Didn't stray from that ever. I would have loved to sometimes because it's a little early, but yeah, hey.

SPEAKER_00 31:21

I was I was gonna ask why why breakfast came after church, but that makes sense now. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:26

And then when I was younger, um Sunday school was right after church, so I think we I think we missed the breast the breakfast aspect of that, you know. I think it was more of like my parents and my grandparents would go kind of get their time and then come back and get us.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

So you're just sitting in Sunday school starving while your family's eating?

SPEAKER_02 31:44

Yeah, probably or at Black Bear. Did you guys go to a breakfast spot or is it did you get to we we've had a few over the years, so um Ryan's place was one for a long time before it closed down. That was good, and then I believe they're going to iHop now. That's okay. All right. I mean, there's not really Black Bear IHOP, yeah, Denny's.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

There's a few of the small ones, but they're always packed with local.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

Corner Corner Cafe is insane.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

Granny's out on granny's out on the other side of town is always really busy.

SPEAKER_01 32:15

Yeah. Uh looking back, what are like who are some people here at CLC that kind of made a an impact in in your in your life?

SPEAKER_02 32:24

Oh man, there's there's a whole bunch. I mean, every Sunday you showed up to church and you knew, especially the eight o'clock service, yeah. You knew who was gonna be there, right? You know, um well, no hit on it.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

You guys have a signed seating at that service, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:36

Pretty much. So you mentioned Carolyn already, yeah. Carolyn Johnson, I mean kids of the kingdom, yeah, she was huge. Um, I mean, Brian Mallison was my pastor my whole life growing up, so really enjoyed his sermons, especially. You know, I didn't think he's a very good speaker. Yep. Brian, if you're hearing this, great job. He's not, he's an Ireland. Well, maybe Tim or Chris.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

No, Brian has tuned in, but we'll be for a while. He's in Ireland right now. Oh, that's right. But yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:04

Um, Lim Forge, yeah, you know, when he was around, he was doing some children's ministry stuff, you know. So yeah, nobody like in particular, just a great group of people here throwing up the community, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

So, you know, obviously I lead the youth here. What was your youth group experience?

SPEAKER_02 33:23

Like the high school, junior high, not to bag on on my time, but I think you've definitely got something special here, you know. You've yeah, you've put your own touch into it, and it was great, it was fun, but I don't think it was near as active as what you have it going on now.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

Did you go to the national youth gathering like in 2010 or 11? I did not. Okay, no, because I thought your dad chaperoned that trip for some reason.

SPEAKER_02 33:48

He's chaperoned a few. Okay, I know he went to like Atlanta with my sisters and I think that one was I think that one was to New Orleans.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Yeah, because one of my earliest memories here, I don't think I was even on staff here. Uh David Lemon was a youth minister, and they needed drivers to drop them off at the the Van Nuys uh oh the park and fly, yeah. Park and fly. And I didn't know any youth there. I think I knew like maybe Austin Diaz. And so that's like my very first church involvement. It was like a volunteer. I just drove youth to the national youth gathering at the Van Nuys park and ride. And I I don't know. For some reason, I do remember your dad being there. I don't know if you were there, Nathan. So maybe that was your younger brother, maybe it was probably Brandon.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

Yeah, okay. If it was Austin's time, it was probably Brandon.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

Yeah, that makes a little bit more sense. So you're a California highway patrol officer, officer, right? Yes, sir. Did I say that correctly? Because you know, people either depth or your officer. And just for the sake of like again, context, your dad was a California highway patrol officer, retired. He was, yep. Yeah, retired. How did you become CHP? Um, so let's kind of do a little backstory. You graduate high school, talk about post-high school and kind of how it led you to where you are today. Give us a little bit of that.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

So, post-high school, I went to COS. Um, my first major there was, believe it or not, fire science. Wanted to be a firefighter.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Um, my first major. Yeah, I'm right there with you.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

I changed my major a lot. I just did twice. Or well, I changed it once. That's what COS is for. Yeah. It's a figure that you're gonna do. You don't know what you want to do, yeah. That's a great place to go.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

Yeah, that's a whole nother podcast, a pressure on these 18-year-olds to like figure out.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

Younger than that, you gotta it's insane. Anyway, yeah. Fortunately, it was always kind of like the backup plan, you know. And then when I realized, like, oh wow, this is adulting, like I should probably really settle down and figure it out. And that's when I kind of saw how my dad was able to provide for our family growing up. Yep. Um, with my mom being stay at home, she worked for my grandparents, but it was primarily my dad's income. So it was nice to see, hey, maybe if I do that too. That's a good example. Yeah, I can guy, yeah. I can provide for my family like they did, you know. So it didn't start out as like I want to go out and save the world, you know, like Superman, but it's a different calling, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

And then if I remember correctly, like you did you do a ride-along with your dad? And then that kind of like I did.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

I did like two ride-alongs in his last week. Okay, and oh yeah, that definitely lit a fire for sure.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

So that kind of was a pivotal moment too, where you're you obviously were in a kind of a well, you were older then, but then it started to click a little more because you got to kind of see it like in action.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

He knew he knew he hooked me. Did he? Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

And how old were you when they had a pursuit, you know?

SPEAKER_02 36:35

And I'm like, oh wow, this is fun. Let's go fast, you know.

SPEAKER_01 36:40

Um so how old were you when you went into the academy?

SPEAKER_02 36:45

I turned 24. 24. No, I'm sorry, 23. My first weekend at the academy.

SPEAKER_01 36:56

Talk to us about the academy experience. What is it means? Oh my goodness. Back I'm assuming it's changed a little bit, but what did that entail?

SPEAKER_02 37:03

Was it local? It is not. It's in West Sacramento. Okay, it is a live-in academy, so you live there Monday through Friday. Um and you are allowed to go home on the weekends if you'd like to. It's called Liberty. You also get Liberty Wednesday evenings. Um, so you could go out, get some supplies you might need, eat some food.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:24

How long is the academy there? It is six months.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Six months, Monday through Friday, six months.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

Yep, Monday through Friday, six months.

SPEAKER_01 37:31

So, what like how much of that is a classroom? I imagine a lot of that's classroom, kind of reading up on the laws and and all sorts of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 37:39

Your typical day will start at like 4 a.m. and then you'll get off around five or six in the evening.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

A lot of PT mixed in there too.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

Yeah, well, all your PT is in the morning. Um, and then you're not allowed to walk anywhere you go. So you go from one classroom to another, you're running. Okay. You go from your room to what we call the chow hall where you eat, you're running. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

Was there at any point you were second guessed? Every day. Every day, every day. Every day.

SPEAKER_02 38:13

As Bailey will tell you, I mean, she was my rock through it all. Yeah, it was not easy.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

You guys were dating at that time.

SPEAKER_02 38:19

You're you're we we actually I proposed to her in no I started the academy in August. Okay. I proposed to her in November. Okay. So there was a good chunk of it that we're halfway through it, yeah, and you're like, okay. That's a whole nother story trying to do all that while you're in an academy, you know. Imagine.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Yeah, but I mean that I imagine just that the academy just prepares you so much for for your job, right?

SPEAKER_00 38:42

I mean, and they're paying you while you're doing this, right? That's one of the perks, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:46

They're they're paying you, they're feeding you, they're housing you, so you have literally zero expenses, and no time to spend any money either. So and I'm young, so I didn't have a family. I mean, there are guys that go through with families, it makes it a little more difficult, but yeah, I so you grew up in Visalia.

SPEAKER_01 39:02

Obviously, you get out of the academy, and there's not much control on where they place you, right? The obviously this is a state agency. I imagine they're just openings all over. So talk about your first, I don't know if placement is the right word, but talk about because you didn't start here, you you now work in Hanford, but talk about you started in Southern California at first, correct?

SPEAKER_02 39:26

I did. My first office was Moor Park, okay, yeah, part of Ventura County. Um, so the jurisdictional boundary was Thousand Oaks, Moor Park, Simi Valley, umus. Okay. Um how long were you there for? I was there for two and a half years. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

So you in in those areas you're working a lot with like the Ventura County Sheriff, right? Too because that they have jurisdiction over a lot of that area too, right? Yeah, yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 39:55

And then was the plan always to kind of come back closer to home? I guess it was.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

That was always the plan. Yeah. And we got to a point where it's like we loved it down there. It was great, really expensive to live there. That was kind of the primary, and then starting a family, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:09

So, yeah, because you knew obviously you're gonna want to start a family soon, but then you want to be closer to family because Bailey's also local as as well as a support system, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:18

We didn't have anybody down there to yeah, help us out with any kids or anything, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:22

So then you just were kind of looking for openings, and I imagine Kings County, Hanford opened up and and uh you you took that spot. And um, how long have you been over there on the west of here?

SPEAKER_02 40:33

Yeah, I've been in Hanford since 2017.

SPEAKER_01 40:35

Okay, so almost 10 years.

SPEAKER_02 40:37

Yeah, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

So do they have the ability to move you now, or is it's up to you kind of now?

SPEAKER_02 40:42

Yeah, so they can't forcefully move me anymore. I could stay there till the end of my career 40 years from now. Uh but it's just that initial placement is kind of like, hey, this is where we need you.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

So this is where you're if you want to promote, would you have to move? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:57

Okay, you can't promote within you sometimes you can, but it's not ideal, yeah, far and few between. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:04

Yeah, it's weird because one day you're you're hanging out with your buddies, and then the next day you're yeah, I totally get that.

SPEAKER_02 41:09

The boss of your buddies, which it happens, yeah, it's just whether or not there's a spot available, and in the Central Valley. I mean, we have more applicants that come from the Central Valley than anywhere else in the state. Really?

SPEAKER_01 41:18

Yeah, that's fascinating. I didn't know that either. Yeah. So what does a typical shift look like for you? Just talk about you know um what is it 12 hours, is it 10 hours? Um talk about yeah, just a typical shift if you don't mind.

SPEAKER_02 41:33

Uh shift is 12 and a half hours. So right now I work night shift. Um, so I start at 5 30 in the evening and work till six in the morning.

SPEAKER_00 41:41

So we woke you up for this.

SPEAKER_02 41:43

No, today's a day off.

SPEAKER_01 41:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:45

Today's a day off.

SPEAKER_01 41:46

So um, and then you know, as a beam as a first responder, Nate, when when you clock in, like what is your mindset when you clock in? Because you you're on a you have a job where you just have to be on, right? Like all your senses have to be locked in. You right, because you you you you do a job where anything not can happen, but anything kind of will happen. So if you don't mind, talk to us about your mindset as you drive that 20 minutes to to work. What is your thought process uh going into that shift?

SPEAKER_02 42:20

Yeah, so there's a lot of you gotta mentally and emotionally prepare for because like you said, you never know what you're gonna come into. Um, a lot of it too is just I mean, you got to make sure you stay alert. Yep, you can't being out there, you can't at any point in time, you know, turn that off. Um, but yeah, that's what I love too about my drive to Hanford. I live in Viselia. I could transfer to Viselia if I wanted to, but you get that nice 25 minutes at the beginning of your shift to kind of start thinking about stuff, and then also at the end of your shift to kind of decompress before you get homework. Good window period.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

Yeah, it's not too far, not too long. As a person of faith, like how does how do you kind of not like bring God into the mix, but how does God kind of factor into those drives to and from work? Is that a do you just kind of sit there and just kind of let the presence or you know what I mean? Like let the presence kind of minister to you, or or do you do you like I guess how does God kind of affect those drives as well?

SPEAKER_02 43:22

I just know like he's gonna be there. Yeah, you know, if I need him, he's gonna be there no matter what. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

I mean, there is that confidence, maybe that's the Lutheran in you too, where we just know, right? Like like we don't have to worry, like what if, or or you know, is he there? It's that's more like nope, he is, you know, and I think that's something that's like really uh oh it's a good Lutheran in you.

SPEAKER_00 43:47

It's comforting, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:49

Um do you ever see your you know, so this is like a vocation series, and so you know, we've had other people come on, and vocation is a it's a churchy word where we don't believe we're just Doing something for the paycheck, right? We're doing something because we feel like God has put us in a position to make a difference. And vocation is everything to a first responder to honestly a plumber, right? I mean, it's where you use the gifts God has given you to make a difference, not just with the people you're serving, but the also like your coworkers. And so I guess my question to you, Nate, is how have you kind of thought about your job as a way where God can use you? So um, we'll talk about just the people like you you come across on a daily shift. Like, have you had moments where you feel like I call them where God kind of taps your shoulder, like, hey, like this is this is a moment. Oh, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. Talk about that real quick.

SPEAKER_02 44:46

So all the time, I mean primarily in my job, it's a lot of traffic stops, right? So you stop people and you don't know what they're going through. Yeah, you know, they might be having, you know, they might be I've stopped fathers that are on their way to see, you know, welcome their brand new baby into the world. Yeah, that's exciting. They're at the top of their world right now. And I've had people that are literally driving to the hospital because their dad's dying. You know, so in those moments, you really, I mean, there's a part of my job that I have to do, yeah, but then you also have to have that compassion to understand what's going on. And I think that's kind of where God comes into play. Like, hey, maybe maybe take a little easy on this one, you know.

SPEAKER_01 45:24

So is that a hard dance for you to dance? Like, because you know, if they're going 30 over, but they're having a rough day, like you have a job to do. Like, that's just you do like you have a job to do. So, do you is that a hard dance where you gotta do your job but also be compassionate?

SPEAKER_00 45:41

And and figure out how to believe them or not? Yeah, well, and that's a big thing, too. Yeah, that's you don't know exactly. I mean, maybe it maybe I'm just being super skeptical and negative, but that those are a lot of buzzwords that I would hear from people saying, Hey, I just got out of ticket by saying this.

SPEAKER_01 45:56

Right.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

Well, there has been a few times I've followed people to the hospital and been like, Go ahead, go on in.

SPEAKER_02 46:00

Oh, really? Yeah, and then they like start walking toward the door and they're like, ah no, I just you know made that up. Okay, well, we'll deal with it now. But but no, yeah, it's all the time, yeah. You know, you're like, Man, how do I it's just something you do, you know, and it's kind of to how you deliver it. Like, hey, I understand this is going on in your life, and it's difficult or exciting or whatnot, but you you can't be doing this, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:27

And and part of your job too is not only traffic stops, so you're enforcing speed, which you're you're making the highway safer, like no doubt. But then you come across accidents and stuff like that. And so talk about a switch, right? Where you are enforcing, but now you're kind of saving where you're not enforcing, you're you're kind of being uh not a paramedic in a sense, but you're you're more responding, right? So and the shift could have all the uh all the above, right? So how do you how do you battle that where one minute you're you're pulling over a speeding car, but the next minute maybe there's a drunk driver accident or head-on collision somewhere. Like, how do you handle just that where that's that switch, that flip, where you go from enforcement to response?

SPEAKER_02 47:11

Uh there's my whole day is up and down, up and down, up and down, right? But um, I don't know, you just every situation's different, so you show up and just kind of see like what's going on. It might be uh yeah, you might get a call to respond to something that sounds pretty critical, pretty major, and you get there and you realize it's not right. So the whole way that you're there or the whole time you're driving there, you're way up, and then immediately when you get there, it's I don't know, my body just kind of naturally, I feel whereas some people don't experience many critical incidents in their life, right? So they may never go through that.

SPEAKER_00 47:43

But I feel like on a daily basis, mine's just constantly so have have you have you had to train yourself in order to like ride those waves of adrenaline constantly, or okay.

SPEAKER_01 47:53

Yeah, how was that when you first started? I I imagine now there's a little bit of you. I I don't want to speak for you. I would imagine that now you're a little bit numb to it. You're maybe you're I I I don't want to say the word you're used to it, but how was that when you first started? Like, because you know, you've told me stories off air where it's just horrible stuff, right? Horrible stuff. How was that when you first started, you know, in Moore Park where you you did come across uh a multi-acident, maybe due to fog or drunk driving, and you know, there there is a casualty. How was that when you first started? Did that like how'd you deal with that?

SPEAKER_02 48:28

Yeah, I mean, I had never seen or gone through any of that before, literally before day one. On I mean, you go through the academy and they show you stuff, but until you're actually there in the moment, it's totally different.

SPEAKER_00 48:41

It's like that video they showed us in driving school with like the red asphalt, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:45

Yeah, yeah, they just show that.

SPEAKER_00 48:47

They don't do that in Minnesota, no, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:49

So I think when you're new, you just kind of you're just always up there, yeah. You know, but then as you kind of get some time under your belt and you experience things, then it's just a constant, like, okay, this is no big deal, okay.

SPEAKER_01 49:00

This is serious, you know, you're constantly doing up and down, but it's hard because I imagine the numbness is a there's pros and cons to it, right? You you don't want to be completely like dead inside, you still want to have like you may the humanity in you, but also you don't want it to affect you where you can't do your job. How how do you kind of balance that where you keep your humanity, but you still are able to perform the duties that you are supposed to perform?

SPEAKER_02 49:28

It's hard, it really is. Um, I think if you talk to my wife, she would say, like the first few years in this profession, I was just dead inside, you know, because you just become jaded to everything, you know. Um but then having kids too, like I've got two kids now. Yeah, um that kind of pulls you out of it a little bit because then it draws the kid aspect into crashes and involvement and things.

SPEAKER_01 49:56

And I was gonna ask about that because you know, us three are fathers, and and no disrespect to our wives, like getting married's a big deal, it changes it changes you, no doubt. But when you have a kid, like it just something something switches, like something flips and how we view everything. Yeah, I wasn't really expecting that when I became a father. It's just like I'm watching commercials and I'm crying, you know, because like well, you know what I mean? Because yeah, because when you have a kid, it's just like, oh my gosh, like that's that's insane. So when you did become a father, uh how did that change your your work, right? Because I imagine, yeah, you were you still in War Park when that happened, or was that up here?

SPEAKER_02 50:34

So I was up here, but yeah, yeah, you just put yourself in those situations now, like losing a child in a crash. Like I could I couldn't imagine people through that.

SPEAKER_00 50:43

So you you are you are actively I imagine that being two different ways of looking at it. You're either kind of shutting that out in the moment to try and not let it affect your response or how you're responding, or you're not you're you're forcing yourself to think about that and put yourself in their in their position while you're responding. Yeah, and I imagine you have to balance both of those because you can't let one take over the other. Yeah, absolutely. That's really intense. That's why I sit at an office, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:13

But at the same time, I think too, you being a parent allows you to have a different perspective to maybe minister to people and talk to parents or talk to other people, right? Like you you're able to kind of see life through through like their eyes a little bit, and so um I think that's that that's really um really important. Um you were a kid of so your your parent was a law enforcement. How did that kind of help and shape you now being a father? So now instead of your dad coming home, you're coming home. So how has that helped you being a father and a husband when you yourself were kind of in your kids' shoes as well?

SPEAKER_02 51:52

Um I obviously love coming home to two kids screaming your name running as you're walking through the door, but um yeah, it's I don't know how to describe it. Like I always admired my dad when I was a kid, you know. Um you don't quite understand the severity of it when you're growing up, but I hope that my kids I I know my daughter wants to be a police officer right now, so that's fantastic, but I would hope to encourage her not to be one day. How old is she? She's six. Oh, okay. But uh I I love that she looks up to me and that that's you know, that I'm a positive role model in her life. Yep, and that she views law enforcement as something positive.

SPEAKER_00 52:36

Was there was there any effect that you saw about going into the academy as like a legacy? Absolutely. Was there was as I got closer to it? Were you treated a little differently up there?

SPEAKER_02 52:46

Or I so I wasn't, no. I uh I assumed I might get a little extra attention, yeah. But I think it's because my dad had retired a few years prior. He retired in 2010 and I went to the academy in 2014. Okay. So I imagine that had some play into it.

SPEAKER_00 53:02

He wasn't still active, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 53:04

So he wasn't as like his name wasn't as prominent as sure it would have been if he was probably still active, but yeah, no, it's I didn't really get that legacy.

SPEAKER_01 53:14

You mentioned to your your daughter that's something that stuck with me, how she views law enforcement as a positive thing. And I think that's really important. Um, one thing me and Rachel kind of taught our kids was first responders. We we used to call them helpers because I think first responders might be too much of a big word for four and five-year-olds, you know, but we but we called them like helpers, you know. How do you how do you deal with people who view law enforcement as the opposite, right? You you pull someone over and immediately they just have not the best attitude, and they just kind of have it out for you. How do you kind of handle that? Because in those moments, like I always tell the youth it's easy to love people we love. It's easy to be patient with people that we love, it's easy to show compassion to people who we like, it's easy to serve the people that we enjoy, but that's not the point of serving and compassion and loving, right? Like it it's it's hard to love people who we don't love. Huh? I'm not making anything new here, right? But like, how do you how do you handle that personally? Where again, you God has placed amazing gifts, you know, in you and and you have a job to do, and immediately there's just a negative atmosphere, a negative attitude. Like, how do you kind of handle it? Is it hard, you know, is it hard for you to kind of still be compassionate? Is it hard for you to kind of have a good attitude? Because again, immediately it's already tension.

SPEAKER_02 54:42

Uh how do you handle those moments? It's hard, but you know you have to stay calm because if you start feeding into them, it's just gonna spiral, right? Um, and neither it won't be productive at all because both of you will now be you know frustrated and upset. Um, but it's just yeah, talking calmly to them. Yeah, you still it is hard, but you still gotta be compassionate, you know.

SPEAKER_00 55:06

Um is it is it any comfort that you know that in a few minutes you're gonna be able to go back into your car and like say whatever you want and cut it off your chest, and yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 55:18

Yeah, and they're probably driving away with a piece of paper that they signed, you know. Yeah, so it's like it's not about like okay, who won here, you know, right? But it's like there's two ways to go about it, yeah. And I think on their side, it would be a lot easier for both of us. Yeah, I'll treat you with respect, you treat me with respect, and we'll both go about our day.

SPEAKER_01 55:42

Um you know, one thing I've always this is not possible. One of the most impactful things I've ever done in my life. I I I share this in the sermon. My youth pastor's husband was a police officer. My uh my youth pastor name was Mary. Her husband, Steve, was a former offensive lineman, six foot five. He was a police officer, and he would take us youth on ride-alongs. And to this day, I think one of the most impactful moments was my ride-alongs with Steve. And I and I get why, I really do. I get why now, right, because at one point in time, ride-along was something the public could do. I I do remember going to the Fridley City office and just like filling out this paper, and it was very easy for me to just get a ride-along. And I understand why now you know ride-alongs are not easily accessible due to officer safety. 100% I'm behind that. But I'm convinced though, that I just wish that the the public could also could do a ride-along. Because I'm I I'll tell you what, I've done a ride-along now with firefighters, California Higher Patrol, City Police, and California Wildlife Fishing Game. You gotta kind of experience what they experience, and I guarantee you your perspective on everything is is gonna change.

SPEAKER_00 56:52

You've been on more ride-alongs than anyone I've ever heard of before.

SPEAKER_01 56:55

Well, yeah, I've been in college.

SPEAKER_00 56:57

Is that where is that where it started back in Minnesota? Yeah. Being just having that access to it, and you're just thinking that was a normal thing that people have because I've never had that opportunity put in front of me.

SPEAKER_01 57:06

Really? Oh, I remember going to the city hall as like a 16-year-old, my mom. My mom had to sign off on it.

SPEAKER_00 57:12

Wow, and that was your choice, not them saying, like, hey, we journal straight right now.

SPEAKER_01 57:16

And I remember no, although it worked. Um, I do remember, I'm gonna make this number up. I think like the uh a citizen of Fridley could go on like one ride-along per year. It was something like that. Like you were interesting, there was like an allotment.

SPEAKER_02 57:31

Um, I don't know if I would feel comfortable with just uh you know random person.

SPEAKER_01 57:35

And there was like a background check and and and so forth, so on and so forth. But I I I just like I just think perspective is everything, and that's why you know I'll get I'll go on my rant here about youth ministry, but it's like that's why we don't go to camps, we go to on servant trips, we serve on the streets, we're gonna go to Skid Row, we're gonna feed people, we're gonna meet people where they are at. And I feel like if you don't meet people where they are at, it's truly hard to have a perspective and opinion on anything. And so for me, that's why, you know, um, I just feel like it's hard to have a perspective on what law enforcement does if you don't truly experience what law enforcement does. And so for those my whole point is here, those ride-alongs show me the humanity of the people who are driving the fire truck and in the police car, because those are humans too, those are fathers and and mothers too. And I think that's just so important. And I my worry about society now is that their only perspective is social media, and that just drives me absolutely insane. Just absolutely insane. And so um, I can't imagine what you're going through, Nathan, as a first responder, because I think it because we people can't get that perspective necessarily unless you are friends of the law enforcement, they don't really have that perspective. Does that might make sense here? Or am I just I was gonna touch on that the social media aspect, yeah. That was kind of my segue to social media, is now I feel like you know you're being recorded at all times. Like, how do you handle one just that social media social media affects all of our jobs, right? I mean, it doesn't really matter. Um, I'm sure it affects your Josh too at the county and and me here. Um, but how does social media kind of affect your job, Nathan? Because it wasn't as big 10 years ago, yeah. We're we're a weird generation. We can we because we actually have we have one we've lived a world without social media, but then like we have one foot in both places a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 59:30

We've been analog and digital, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:32

So how has that affected you, Nate? Well, going back to your whole like stopping somebody who's a little hostile, right? Yeah, um, with social media nowadays, like you mentioned, there's phones everywhere. Yeah, and there's also I'm I'm wearing a camera, my car has a camera, there's cameras everywhere you go, but the problem is is they're just seeing one part of it. Yeah, you know, something starts going on between a cop and a citizen, and then somebody pulls out their phone and decides to start recording. Well, they miss that entire first encounter of now why is this happening? Yeah, and so then it draws a lot of speculation and commenting on social media and whatnot, and it I think it just yeah, a lot of negative impact. They're only gonna record what they want to record or show what they want to show. Yeah, all these videos being posted, they might have recorded an entire hour-long bit, but now they're only gonna post five minutes because that's what matters.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:25

Does CHP have their own sort of like PR team that's trying to put out videos that show the whole perspective?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:30

Yeah, we do.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:32

I've seen that from other agencies.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

Yeah, uh, there's a lot because now we have body cameras too, so there's a lot more of us like, hey, no, this is what really happened, or hey no, this is what really goes on.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:43

So I see that as like reactionary. Is there like a proactive way of doing that?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:48

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, yeah. There's um like for instance, I was watching a video the other day put out by our headquarters unit, you know, and it's they'll put out videos of you know pursuits that we're in and you know coming to a termination, and yeah, the guy was you know got taken into custody. But here's what led to that. Yeah, here's yeah, here's what led to that.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:11

And also like those body cameras help protect you too, right? It's for both sides, absolutely. It's for both sides, and I mean it's like it's transparency, but you think at the end of the day, everybody wants in every profession. Like, transparent is never like really uh a bad thing, but I think that's interesting. How is how is like and I will say I do follow multiple CHP social medias, and you guys do a really good job proactively, like being like community notices or hey FYI, it's fog season, or please don't do this. Like it's it's very I feel like if you actually pay attention to the social media on the CHP end, you guys are doing a lot of proactive awareness, which is really important, especially when like the great vibe's closing, and like you know, they do a good but serious, it's good though. Operation Snowflake, operation snowflake that can go so many different ways. Uh a couple last questions. What's something about your job that would surprise people?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:06

Oh um, we're not triple A with a bash, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:13

You know, I was wondering if somebody was gonna say that today.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:16

It was on my bingo card.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:18

I I think kind of uh when they think of CHP, most people think of like they're just out stopping people writing tickets all day. Yeah, uh, yeah, that is a primary job of ours, but there's so much more to it. I mean, just in Hanford alone, we cover 500 square miles of jurisdiction. Um, every county road you're driving on, we handle all traffic responsibility. People might think, oh, with Kings County Sheriff's Department, they handle everything. No, they don't handle traffic once.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:46

All roads, all codes. That's right. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:49

All roads, all codes. Um, and then I can also ride a ticket anywhere in the state of California. Yeah, doesn't matter whether I'm downtown Viselia or you know, way out in the county somewhere, does not matter.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:04

Can you talk about one thing I know when I was on a ride along with you? Um, I noticed that there's a very positive relationship between you and Kings County. Can you talk about your relationship? Because your jurisdiction covers Hanford, so Hanford PD, L'Amour PD, Kings County, and then you have like the city fire departments and also like the county fire departments. You work with a lot of different first responders and then paramedics too, and then California Game Wardens. So talk about just like the importance of just having that that the relationship with the other agencies because you guys do support one another in all different ways.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:40

Yeah, I think it's super important. Um, I'm very close to a lot of deputies and a lot of firefighters out there. Um and it's just good to know, you know, they've got your back. Yep. Um, and to know them personally, you know, I think that takes it to a whole new level. I know a lot of their wives and kids, and you know, um, but yeah, it's it's I I feel it's super important to know who you work with or who's gonna who's gonna come you know help you when you need help.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:08

So if there is I I I do have one, if there is a a youth, a high schooler or a young adult who's interested in maybe being a first responder or particularly doing a uh being a California higher patrol, what what advice would you give them uh as they prepare or or what things would you say to them to kind of you know um as as they think about it, what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:29

For somebody that wants to join the highway patrol or somebody who just doesn't know yes, yes, well I mean someone who wants, but maybe someone who's considering it.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:39

Yeah, sure, right? Those are two kind of different things.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:41

I think going back to your whole ride along, I think that'd be a great, you know, if you could set up a ride along with your local police department or sheriff's department or highway patrol, great. I think that would give you a great side of things. Um, but also look look where you want to see yourself, you know, in 10, 20, 30 years from now. Yeah, you know, it's hard because a lot of kids that graduate are stuck in the now. Yeah. Like, what do I need to do right now? Right. But that's kind of where I looked, you know, like what is gonna help my family down the road? You know, that's what I would tell them.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:15

What about these? Like, um, is it like the PAL program, that kind of stuff? Like for explore to explore, yeah. That's another one.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:22

Yeah, so Vicelia has the PAL program. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:24

Um I I was pretty sure I didn't make that up. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:27

Vicelia PD. And then uh like uh California High Patrol, we have an explore program. So 15 and a half to 21, you can participate in that. Um, that's great if you need some structure in your life. Yeah, um, if you if you are gonna go into law enforcement or even yeah, or even military. Say you want to go into the military, it's it's also great for that too.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:48

I imagine no matter what, that's just a great resume thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:51

Absolutely to be like an explorer. Yeah, because it's all volunteer too. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:56

Um can I ask you some very like just random questions? What is the fastest you put over? You pulled someone over for speeding on the record?

SPEAKER_02 1:06:06

Like actually stopped for me. Uh 187 miles an hour.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:11

No way.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:12

Yeah. I've actually had two.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:14

Is it a motorcycle?

SPEAKER_02 1:06:15

It was a motorcycle.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:16

I was gonna say. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:18

Did they stop for you? He did.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:21

The Porsche 911 twin turbo did not.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:24

He eluded you, huh? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:25

He's out there. The white whale. He's out there. 187. 187 miles an hour. And if you didn't know, that's fast.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:37

I'm gonna be naive here. I didn't. I mean, I knew motorcycles were fast. I didn't know they were that fast.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:42

Yeah. That's crazy. When your radar's going like 120, 140, 160, when you're like, oh were you driving at that time or were you stationary? I was driving. And they just flew past you. Yeah, he was just a navy guy who was showing off for his his wife was behind him. And so he just got on it for a little bit to show off. Backpack behind him or no, like in their personal clothes.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:04

Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh. That's just a bigger smear.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:10

I don't like. Oh, I have so many comments on that. I mean, none of these roads. Alright, sorry, state and vicalia, but none of these roads are the smoothest around here. No. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:20

So you're one pothole away from the room.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:23

I'm on the 99. My truck, I feel like is breaking apart.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:26

I mean, when I was commuting to Hanford, I saw people fly by me and I would I would glance over, and more often than not, it was somebody late to get onto the Navy Yard. Yeah. And I was like, okay, I whatever.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:38

187. That's that's a little so what did you say? What do you say to a person who's going on? I mean, okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:47

Thanks for stopping.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:48

Yeah. I would be speechless. I'd be like, did it? What is going on?

SPEAKER_00 1:07:55

Well, and being a navy person, they're they're gonna have a real bad day for a real long time. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:02

Um, what is a small moment on the job that has stuck with you? Let's say small moment of joy. Let's be positive here.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:08

Uh well, it actually just came full circle for me last week. Okay. Yeah, so if I could tell a short story real quick.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:13

No, by all means, here.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:15

Uh, it's been a couple of years ago now. Got a call of a pretty significant crash car wrapped around a tree. Um, showed up to the crash. Solo male involved, he was uh young, he was like 17. Come to find out, his dad is the fire captain who's on scene. So um so the fire captain's on scene. The fire captain is on scene. He was the first one to get there to find his son wrapped around a tree. Wow. So they're obviously cutting the car apart to get him out, and dad is just on the hood of the car just praying, praying as hard as he can. Everybody's praying at this point, obviously, right? They get him out lifeless. No way this guy makes it. You know, I'm at now fast forward a couple years. I'm at Adventist Medical Center in Hanford doing some follow-up over there, and I see this young man that looks very familiar, and he's a paramedic. Oh, and I look and I see his last name on his shirt, and it's him. Wow, wow, so he made a full recovery, he's doing great. Um, that was one that I came home and that was hard. Yeah, you know, I had just I think I had just had my son, and so that was like putting my like I said, going back, putting myself in that situation, yeah, of like, man, what if this was my kid 17 years from now? Like I couldn't imagine. So that to me is that you know, more immediate because it just recently came full circle, like I said, but that little piece of of joy that hit me, man. When I saw him, I was just like, Oh my goodness, like I'm for all you knew that guy was dead. Yeah, because last I checked on him, he was he was like every bone in his body was broken and he was in bad shape.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:03

I mean the fact that he made a physical recovery is is a miracle, but how cool is it that he's now like a first responder to and he's yeah, he's gonna hopefully help somebody like they helped him.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:14

Yeah, yeah, it was it was incredible to see him and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:18

You brought up something I actually meant to ask. How do you unwind? You know, I think it's a question for all of us. You know, we've all have had bad days and stressful days and days that catch us off guard. How do you how do you Nate, how do you unwind? Because I think that's so important um in life is for us to unwind health in healthy ways. Yeah, I think we all unwind unhealthy ways, like um like when I'm I always say when I'm stressed, I either go to Chipotle or I go to the gym. Like, you know what I mean? Like one's not really healthy, one is. And so what are some things that you unwind um to make sure that kind of you're not bringing it home because you do have a wonderful family and stuff like that? What are what are what are some actual like things you do to unwind?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:02

Sure, and I'm not perfect. I mean, I don't unwind in the healthiest ways either all the time, but I think it's important to just when you close your locker at the end of that day, um, you can't take it home with you. Yeah, so when you get home, I love to play with my kids, whether it be outside swimming or you know, shooting hoop or riding bikes. That to me, I mean, just coming home and seeing them is just a little bit of my sense of unwinding, just seeing them, you know, like um right now when you're coming home, are you come you're that's when they're getting up to go to school, right? Yeah, so then I get to I guess I should call it a privilege, the more to spend the hour, yeah. Yeah, kind of um sure my wife is fantastic, she gets them up, she gets them going, but then I can kind of help where I need to where I she needs me to help. So whether it be packing lunches or making breakfast or whatever, you know, so it's kind of nice that I get that morning with them, but what a great way for them to start their day too, yeah, you know, then hang out with you. Sorry, go ahead. Absolutely, and so yeah, I think some of the mindless unwinding too that you don't realize, you know, you're just kind of you're going about your routine, your day. Um, and not every one of my days is super significant, you know. So I might come home and it's just it's easy peasy, yeah, you know, but there are some days you come home and it's back there just a little bit more, right? You know, because you had a difficult day, but yeah, just hanging out with my family, just doing stuff with them, take your mind off of things, hanging out with my friends, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:31

That's a great thing about kids is uh they kind of don't care about your day, yeah. Like you know, really don't kids remind you, hey, it's not about you, look over here, you know. And but there is a pro to that because they do require like all of our attention both in every way, so it kind of is like a good way of being like, okay, you know, but uh yeah, kids have a way of doing that to us, yeah. Be like, hey, look over here, please. Pay attention to me, you know. Uh but that's yeah. Um, one thing I remember I did a ride along with you, and this is very helpful for to me. And I honestly, I was never really taught this. And so I kind of wanted to ask you this if you get pulled over, what what what should a person do? Because I I always tell my youth actually, what you taught me, I told my youth because I some I don't my dad never taught me. When my dad got pulled over, he I've I've I've I now know he did some things he shouldn't have done. Um, we don't give attitude and whatever, like oh that's another podcast. That's a podcast that we will record, but we will post. Um but I'm just you know, like public give us a little public awareness, give us some education here. Um, you get pulled over. What are what are some things uh a person uh some good steps for transparency that that that keeps them safe but also keeps you safe?

SPEAKER_02 1:13:51

Sure. First off, it helps if you uh roll down your windows. A lot of people have tinted windows nowadays. Um doesn't mean it's illegal, right? You know, but roll them down so we can clearly see in the car. Um maybe just keep your hands where we can see them, don't make any furtive movements, just nice and slow. We'll communicate with you, you communicate with us. So if you need to reach for something, just relate that. Um, no big deal. Um but like I stopped a guy the other day, had a CCW. No problem with that. You keep yours where yours is, and I'll keep mine where mine is, and we'll go about our day, you know. Um so yeah, just stay calm. It'll be over in a minute, and we'll both go about our day.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:34

Yeah, and you I know I've you know you always tell them what you what you pull them over for too because a lot of people just required now, yeah. Is it it's a law here? It's a law. So that's one of the very first things you have to say is you introduce yourself and you have to say what absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:50

Is that a is that a product of social media? Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:53

Yeah, well, I don't know. I'm not trying to cause an argument here, but I think a lot of people they just want to know, so let's get that out of the way.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:02

But I mean it's been that way for how many years I know, but yeah, but a lot of people get hung up.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:07

What are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:08

What did I do? I imagine it my dad was like that. That's all that argument real fast. Yeah, which is it, I mean, that's probably positive for both or it starts a new one, sure. Yeah, but I mean it clears up, it clears up the the why pretty fast right there, anyway.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:23

So um, if you weren't doing this, what do you think you'd be doing? Firefighter. You were prepared for that question.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:31

No, I yeah, I there's fire science major over here. I I love what I do, don't get me wrong, but there are still some days when I go to the fire station, have dinner with the boys, and I'm like, this is what I could be doing. This is sitting in a recliner waiting for a call, you know. And they do have recliners, just like vouchers, they're just slightly reactive, you know. There's no there's no proactive there, right? Pretty much, yeah. But yeah, that's that's what I would do. Yeah, I've always wanted to something in public service. That's fall back on that fire science degree someday. If I had it, I changed my major too soon. Instead, I have a uh like I got two classes in undergrad from fire science, administration of justice degree. That'll take me a long way. Yeah, oh yeah, absolutely like akin to poly sci, right? Yeah, communications, one of those types.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:21

That was my minor.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:23

Uh that's you said firefighters so quick, I was not prepared for that. Eating dinner in their recliners. It's true. I uh I did a ride along with Derek Frickey on like his last week of work. Uh, shout out to Derek Frickey, former battalion chief of Visalia.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:41

Yeah, and uh he's been showing up more on Sundays at school.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:44

Yeah, yeah. So I don't know why, but we had nothing, it was just uh it was a slow night, which it's a good thing. But uh because it was a slow night, him and I literally went to every fire station in Visalia. He's like saying goodbye. Yep, a lot of recliners, a lot of lazy boys on those fire stations.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:03

And his son Isaac now, Isaac's a king. Kings County firefighters say him all the time. He's an engineer, right? He's uh acting captain right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:10

Oh my gosh, I married him. He's too short to be a captain. I tell you what though, uh, shout out to the Frickies. I anytime I mention Derek Frickey to any firefighter, like the Raves, like I mean, I've I've never seen someone who whose reputation is so solid as uh as Derek. So but um but you but you enjoy Kings County, you enjoy Hanford?

SPEAKER_02 1:17:35

I do, yeah. Yeah, no plans to go anywhere as of right now.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:38

So uh in case anybody's listening.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:42

Yeah. I mean, real quick, how my last question here, because you brought up right now you work graveyards. Like, how does that like does that how does that like how is that? Because I I I'll be honest, I've had a lot of different jobs in my life. I don't know about you, Josh. I've never done a graveyard job. I I've never had to like deal with that. I imagine there's pros and cons of having a graveyard being a father. Talk us through that because I I'm trying to I don't have that.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:10

Yeah, it's hard on your body for sure. I've done it for almost 12 years now. Oh, you've stuck to that. Okay, stuck to it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:17

So that's probably easier than switching it around.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:20

Yeah, I have the ability to work day shift if I wanted to, but with kids, um graveyards is just so much easier because you could do anything you want to, you just have to sacrifice sleep. That's that's it, right? If the kids have something going on on at 8 a.m. on a work day, I can be there. Yeah, just have to sacrifice sleep. But if I'm working, I can't.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:38

So are you like four days on, three days off type of thing?

SPEAKER_02 1:18:41

Yeah, so I work um yeah, three days one week, four days the next week. Three on, four off, four on, three off. Yeah. That's something we went back to a few years ago. Yeah, yeah, they took it away from us for a while.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:53

And now that you've worked there long enough, like you said, you have the seniority to kind of pick your schedule, but do you foresee yourself doing graves kind of for the foreseeable future?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:02

Yeah, probably at least until the kids are in school. Yeah, you know, because right now I pick up my son, he goes, shout out Christ Kids Preschool. Yeah, so it makes it easy to pick him up and then kind of transition when I go to work. My wife gets home and hi bye and off we go.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:18

How's that? How's the how's your wife train uh like working with that for you?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:24

If I haven't said it enough, she is an absolute sweetheart, by the way. She's a rock star, she is awesome, but um she does great with it. I mean, yeah, she's basically a single mom at night, she does bedtime, bathtime routine when I'm not there, you know, and it's it's not easy. Um but I think she enjoys the graveyard shift too, because I have dabbled in day shift a little bit here and there, and it's it's not our favorite. But uh, what are you doing here? Yeah, even my daughter has started to recognize though, like, are you off tonight, Daddy? Yeah, and she's just like, Praise God, you know, thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:58

Yeah, that that's a whole nother, like, I feel like the other podcast is bringing in like almost our significant others and how they deal with like us three, you know what I mean? Because like that's a whole nother like thing too, but like it's just the beautiful thing of partnership, and you know, is it does take a village and and a team, and I know you guys have a village with your parents and and her family too. And and Josh, I know like your your mom comes up too and is a rock star, and I have my mother-in-law, but that's the thing about parenting too, is that uh I don't know what I would do if it wasn't for our little village of of support, and uh it does take a village sometimes to just raise these little ones, and I think when you're younger, you almost don't realize it. Um you know, you mentioned um your grandpa at his service about how much he played a role, and now I look now that I'm older, I realize just how much of a village it takes. Oh, yeah, and I'm thinking, oh, I had a I had a village too when I was yeah, when I was younger behind the scenes, behind the scenes. So awesome, man. Well, thank you so much for coming on. I'm gonna get your brother in here too, because I feel like that'd be a riot. Your beehaw. National Brandon Day, yeah. You'd be how on here, and and uh and also uh your dad too. I imagine he um I would imagine okay, here's my last question. How much of like I would imagine so much has changed, but also hasn't, but so much has changed in the CHP now than when your dad your dad worked. Are there times where you talk about stuff and he's kind of like, wait, what? Like I think it's just on the technology point, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:21:33

Like there believe it or not, there's been a lot that has changed since he has left. I mean, he left 16 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:38

Yeah, they weren't going 187 when he was doing it, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:21:41

No, they were still they didn't have the technology to clock that high.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:44

Yeah, they were still using whips on the rears of the horses, you know. But no, he uh yeah, sometimes I explain things to him, and I think it's just kind of like, oh my goodness, like what is to him? It's like what does this department come to? Yeah. A little bit, you know? The old it's I mean, it's a great department, but it's got flaws like anywhere, right? Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:03

Back in my day, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:05

I think it's just kind of like what is going on.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:07

I remember he told me like he was professionally trained to like count speed without a like like he was he knew how people how fast they were going by like eyesight. Am I correct in that or am I imagining or did it stopwatch? Yeah, like yeah, he was able, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:23

Oh, two fixed points on a railway.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:24

I didn't know if he was pulling that yeah, I didn't know if he was pulling my chain, but I believed him.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:28

That's how our air unit I was gonna say that's how airplanes do it. Yeah, yeah, that's what those big solid white lines on the shoulder. Driving by those lines. Oh, that's what I was taught growing up, exactly a mile apart.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:38

Which, all right, I got a complaint for the highway patrol. Every time I see a patrol by aircraft, I immediately look up, and that's distracting driving. I remember seriously, I remember moving here. Those don't exist in Minnesota, by the way. I remember moving here, and I obviously I don't know what highway it was or street it was, and I remember seeing like yeah, was it patrol by aircraft? Is that the patrol by aircraft? Yeah, I remember seeing that. I immediately took my eyes off the road and I just like rode down to all the my head. I was like ace ventura. My head was outside the door looking up because I'm like, what? And I'll be honest, that's distracting driving. So when I become governor or president, they'll sign up.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:21

You know what's distracting about Minnesota? If I'm gonna defend California highways, we don't have minimum speeds like Minnesota does. Well, minimum driving. I mean, posted, yes, true, posted minimum driving speeds.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:35

Well, because in the winter people go five.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:37

So that's probably in Minnesota. You guys have a maximum and minimum like minimum sign? Minimum 50 or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:43

Yeah, we do max and minimum. I think a lot of that's because the winter, because of like snow and like ice.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:48

It's like hey, so if you can't drive that speed, you shouldn't be on the honestly. Yeah, there is a little bit of I get it, it makes sense. Yeah, but that was distracting when I was over there. I wasn't even driving. I was like, What?

SPEAKER_01 1:23:57

Yeah, well, I tell you what, even to this day, I see a patrol by aircraft and I'm looking straight up. I'm like, is this the day? Because a part of me also just wants to like see it.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:08

You're like, pull up that flight radar 24 app. Oh, I do, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:11

No, but part of me wants to like see it. How often does that?

SPEAKER_02 1:24:15

I've never worked one in my 12 years. I've heard it on the radio. I was gonna say, call it in. Yeah, I've heard it like three times. Okay, well, I'm still looking.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:24

I imagine the conditions have to be pretty perfect for them to actually even do this.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:26

I mean, buy a lottery ticket if you get it for a CHB airplane to be in the sky.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:30

There can't be a cloud anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:32

Yeah, yeah, oh, really? Yeah, uh, but no, I always look up. I'm like, where are you at? Usually it's like a little cess note, isn't it? It's nothing too crazy.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:42

Uh yeah, I don't know exactly what it is, but it's it's a little bit bigger than it used to be. We actually have a King Air.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:47

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:49

But fancy. It's another topic, another conversation.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:53

Uh-huh. The Telera County uh airplane was above my house the other day and gave a little wave. Yeah. Hey, buddy, why are you dead? Sure he saw you. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, hey, thank you so much for tuning in today. We hope this conversation gave you something new to think about, whether it's an idea, a story, or just a fresh perspective on everyday life. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss future episodes, and share this podcast with friends or family who might enjoy it too. We love hearing from our listeners, so connect with us online and let us know what topics you'd like for us to explore. Until next time, keep asking questions, stay curious, and enjoy the little moments that make life meaningful. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and goodbye here from the Grace Period podcast.