The Member Series: Mike Jorgenson

We’re launching a brand new series called Member Series — conversations focused on getting to know the incredible people who make up Christ Lutheran Church.

In this episode, I sit down with  CLC member Mike Jorgenson. Mike has spent decades in education. He’s also a Hall of Fame inducted coach, an All-American track & field athlete, and in 1982 had the 7th fastest time in the world in his event. Originally from Iowa, Mike shares stories from athletics, leadership, education, faith, and life along the way.

It’s a conversation full of wisdom, perspective, humor, and encouragement — and a reminder that every member of our church has an incredible story worth hearing.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:08

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 friends 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 a good old conversation. Grace period, making room for grace in real life. This podcast is brought to you by Christ Lutheran Church here in Visalia, California. This podcast would not exist if it wasn't for the support of Christ Lutheran Church here in Viselia, California. My name is Noel Thompson, and today I am here with Mr. Jorgensen. Mr. Jorgensen, how are you doing today?

SPEAKER_00 0:52

I'm doing good. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

I I realized real quick, like 10 minutes ago, that your first name is Michael.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Correct.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

And our last guest was Michael, and the guest, two guests before that was Michael. So maybe I should just call this podcast the Michael, the Michael podcast. So I'm gonna ask you real quick the same question I asked our last guest. Do you go by Michael? Do you go by Mike? Do you have a preference? Is there a way you don't want to be called here?

SPEAKER_00 1:18

I go by Mike. Uh Mike, usually the only time my mother ever used the term Michael, I was in trouble.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Okay, so Mike.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

All right.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Is that a family name by chance? Or no, no, no. There you go. Mike Jorgensen. All right, so there you go. I'm gonna start calling you Mike. And if you ever get in trouble on this podcast, I'll call you uh I'll call you Michael.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

That's a good indicator.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

It's a popular name, Mike.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Michael, did you have was that a popular name growing up for you, or were you kind of I I think during during my generation that was uh a very popular name, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Although it's interesting, I'm I don't know if I'm not trying to don't don't take this, you know, don't be offended by this, but you know, I have younger kids and I don't think they I don't think they have friends named Michael, so I'm kind of wondering, you know, if it's not as popular now, but just like all things, I'm sure in 20 years it'll come back around. That's kind of how things work, right? It's really popular, they're not popular, then kind of the circle of life. So uh Mike is here for kind of a new series. Uh honestly, like I'm really excited Mike is here because this is kind of the reason why I one of the main reasons why I started this podcast is we're gonna call this the CLC member series. Um, this this podcast is by the church for the church, if that makes sense. And I love that um anytime we can get CLC members to come in here and talk, and which we've had a few already, but this member series is I just want members of the church to hop on and kind of share their life story. I I know for a fact we have something to learn from you, Mike. We you know there's there's lessons here that I think people will learn from our conversation today, which is super exciting. And I gotta give credit to you, Mike, because I think you were one of the first CLC members to comment on the podcast. You you talked about it, you mentioned it, and I gotta give you credit too. You're one of the first that's like, hey, I want to be on it. And I'm like, that's awesome. Because for me, not that I need to pump up my ego here a little bit, but for me, that kind of validated the reason why we have this podcast a little bit was yeah, for the church or by the church, for the church, and so um, so yeah, so thank you for your willingness to come on. I think that's uh really great. Have you ever been on a podcast before?

SPEAKER_00 3:27

Uh, not necessarily a podcast, but uh in the capacity of work that I had, I was on several interviews on newscasts.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Yeah, we'll talk about that here later. So, so you're kind of used to the whole interview process and it's stuff like that. Okay, we are continuing our national day bit here. It's always a favorite, um, it's always interesting. Um, I don't know if I have any, I have a few hot takes today, but we'll actually this first one I have a hot take for. And because I don't know Mike that well, we're gonna see if there's anything we agree on or disagree on. So this should be fun. This should be fun. We are recording on uh yeah, today's Thursday, right? Yeah, Thursday. Kind of tells you the week I I've I've been having today's uh Thursday, May 14th. And uh Mike, we're gonna find uh we're gonna find something out about you here in a second because this first one I have a hot take. It is International Chihuahua Appreciation Day. Okay, so Mike, yeah, I don't know if you know we kind of don't know each other that well, but one thing about me is I am not a small dog guy. 100%. Okay. Oh, I like you already, Mike. I mean, I liked you before, but I really like you now. Um, you know, I've always had big dogs. Uh I have a German shepherd right now in the backyard. I am just not a small dog guy. This is kind of where I, you know, I wish Josh was here because he has a small dog, and I think he stands up for the small dogs. And so so you're not a small dog either, then I've always uh had big dogs.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Uh I always said if I if I wanted a rodent, I'd get a hamster.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

I like that. Is there a particular uh dog breed that that you that you like more or have you you've owned more?

SPEAKER_00 5:05

The current uh dog that we have is a uh shepherd mix, uh excellent dog. Uh I've had pretty good luck with labs and border colleagues.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Yep, yep. We're we've always been a lab or German Shepherd, and that's kind of always been our way of the Thompson's, and we have a German Shepherd now. So, all right. Well, for those of you who like Chihuahuas, today's your day. Um, you won't find Mike and I in that crowd. Uh today is also National Buttermilk Biscuit Day. And I'll tell you what, biscuits and gravy is a top breakfast. I know it's not a biscuit gravy day, but when I hear buttermilk biscuit day, I think of uh I think of biscuits and gravies. Um, where do you stand on the on the biscuit train here, Mike? Are you a fan?

SPEAKER_00 5:49

I'm kind of on the middle. You're in the middle. Okay. I'll I'll eat a biscuit here and there, but it's not something I crave.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Like I went to breakfast with uh my boys the other day, and you know, I ordered my meal, and they're like, you know, do you want an English muffin, toast, or biscuit? I'm always I always say biscuit. So where do you where you land on that then? Toast toast, wheat wheat toast in particular. Toast in particular. All right. May 15th. Uh, we got a couple here. It is bike to school day. Have you ever biked to school, Mike?

SPEAKER_00 6:21

We lived uh quite a bit out in the country where I grew up, and so it was a good 12-mile trip. Now I 12 miles. I I did one time snowmobile to school because uh the buses were not running, and that was the only way to get there.

SPEAKER_02 6:36

Well, I can't wait to talk about that later. That's fun. Um, we were about a two mile, I lived about two miles away from my school, and I remember to this day, this is a core memory, Mike. I remember and I lived in uh the town, it was a townhomes. There's a lot of town homes, so it was just a huge area with a bunch of kids. And I remember when my mom and dad let me and my friends bike to school once, and it was the best thing ever. I don't think I've ever been so excited to go to school in junior high that when my uh mom and dad let us bike to school, and so um, yeah, that that's that's that's great. So uh May 15th, shout out to the people who like this sport, NASCAR day.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

So I am not a motorsports fan, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

I I'm not a NASCAR person either. Shout out to the people who are. I do have a few friends that are into it. Now I will ask, have you ever been to a motorsport event?

SPEAKER_00 7:31

I did go to drag racing a couple times.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

Okay, I got invited to a NASCAR up in the Bay Area, and it was free, and so it's one of those things where all my friends were going, right? And and so I went, I was shocked by a lot of things. Uh, and mostly was just how loud the event was. I mean, call me naive, I you will I probably should have known that how loud, how fast, and just the I'll just say the crowd. The NASCAR crowd was very interesting. So, shout out to NASCAR, shout out to the people who like watching cars uh go in a circle for two hours, 500 laps, whatever. Um this one is it's shades day, it's not sunglasses day, but shades day on May 15th. Um, when I moved here, Mike, I didn't own a pair of sunglasses, and then after about six months, I got my first pair of sunglasses, and now I can't survive without them. So maybe I'm a true Californian now.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

So never been a sunglasses guy. Really? No, I I wear ball caps.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Okay, so that helps a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Yeah, but no, I've I've never been comfortable wearing sunglasses.

SPEAKER_02 8:47

I don't know how you do it. Like the other day, where was I? I was somewhere the other day, and it was so bright out, and I was with someone who didn't have sunglasses, and I literally was like, How are you alive right now? How are you surviving? Wish I could remember the context, but it was just so it was so bright out, and I was like, How are you not have sunglasses out?

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Um, so of course I grew up 59 years, yeah, 59 years in Iowa, where yeah, when you saw the sun, you were happy.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Yeah, that is true. But a ball cap does help, though. It does help considerably. So shades day. It's also uh May 15th, National Chocolate Chip Day. So my question to you, Mike, is what is your favorite thing to eat that involves chocolate chips?

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Um, I I like the Dairy Queen, you have blizzards.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

They still do, yeah. So so something like that. I you're talking my language now, Mike.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Except for I am one of the very few people you probably ever gonna meet that are gonna say, I really don't care for chocolate.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Oh, I'm kind of with you. I I I don't mind chocolate things, but like pure chocolate, I'm not a big fan of. I my hot take, real quick, I think chocolate chip cookies are like number seven on the list of cookies, like they're not a top five cookie for me, chocolate chips.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

I always told my wife, go ahead and make the brownies because I won't be tempted to eat them.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

Yeah, okay. So you're not a big chocolate guy. Are you are you just chocolate or are you just not a big sweet tooth guy?

SPEAKER_00 10:24

No, there there are things like sugar cookies. Oh, okay, or cinnamon rolls are absolutely the best. Okay, but uh, but I'm just not uh much of a chocolate fan.

SPEAKER_02 10:33

Okay, yeah, that's my hot take. Is I I think a chocolate chip cookie is probably number seven, number eight on the list. Uh I don't know what else he put chocolate. I'm not a big chocolate chip guy in pancakes, not a big fan of that. Um I don't know. I I've I've known people to put chocolate chips in their banana bread. No. Uh I don't know what else, but so for those of you chocolate chips, there you go. And then May 16th is a big day. Um, it's my wife's birthday on May 16th. So uh shout out to Rachel. Uh her birthday is on Saturday, May 16th. It is national, so so outside of you know, it's national happy birthday, Rachel Day. Outside of that, it is National Barbecue Day. So, what is your favorite barbecue food, Mike?

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Ribs.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

Ribs.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

And I am a fan of barbecue.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

Okay, do you barbecue a lot personally?

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Yes, yeah, and we've got uh close to where I live, there's actually a uh a guy that does a lot of uh vending of barbecue ribs and that kind of stuff for shows, but he he does open up a little shop three days a week, and so I'll go in and and order a slab of ribs about every other week and really yeah, wow, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

This this is where I might I might get some flack here. I'm not a big I I don't I don't not like barbecue. This is not something I seek out. So if you know if there's ribs in front of me, I'm gonna eat them, right? I mean, I'm no Thompson after all. But I'm not a big I don't cook ribs, I don't really it's not my first thing I I I order, um, even brisket a little bit. Um and maybe that's because of Minnesota me. I don't know. But um I love the Harris Ranch, the the the little the little restaurant they have there and at the shell station. The youth know about that. Um, but um, but yeah, but National Barbecue. Do you do you have a special ribs recipe that you're not gonna share? And you are you one of those people? It's okay if you are, because I think most barbecue people are that type of people.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

I I really don't. Uh I'm uh you know, dry rub is good. Yeah, I I don't necessarily want it real sweet, okay, but I do like the hickory and uh a little bit of a spicy.

SPEAKER_02 12:43

Yeah, yeah. I'm with you there. Uh this was interesting. I I I'm curious to hear your answer on this. Uh May 16th is National Learn to Swim Day. So call it bad parenting, or I don't know, but I my parents just kind of threw me in the pool and said, figure it out. I did not have your your typical uh your your typical swim lessons. Um neither did my siblings. Uh so when someone asked me, you know, how did you learn how to swim or where, I just I just literally say I just jumped in and figured it out. What about you? Did you were you that type of childhood too, or did you have swim lessons?

SPEAKER_00 13:25

Swimming lessons uh actually have a particular place in my life because I uh uh had thought I was gonna be a business major, okay, but I had to have a PE credit, so I took a a class on how to teach swim lessons, which led to a summer job of teaching swim lessons and lifeguarding, which led to me all of a sudden saying, you know, I kind of enjoy working with kids. Maybe I ought to look at getting into education. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Okay, so that that class of teaching swim lessons kind of led into your vocation of of being a teacher. 100%. That is great. Yeah, awesome. But how did you learn how to swim? Did you have lessons, or did you just kind of jump in like me and figure it out?

SPEAKER_00 14:12

I had lessons, yeah, yeah. Very cold water, yeah. But uh yeah, first thing in the morning, mom would drag us to swim lessons, and yep. We also had a cabin on a lake, yeah, as I grew up in. So naturally I learned a lot about swimming too.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

Yeah, yep. That was kind of like us too, right? Minnesota lakes. We just you'd play on the lake and eventually you just kind of figure it out, you know, and there it is. Uh, these next two involve trees, and so if you are a tree fan, May 16th is your day. It is National Love a Tree Day on May 16th. So love a tree. You know what? I actually have a favorite tree, it's the coastal cypress, those cypress trees that you see in the coast that are because of the wind, they're just shaped all unique. I I do I love those trees. There is a tree. If you ever head to Cayucas, there's a road that kind of shortcuts to Cayucas, uh, Old Creek Road. There is a the most beautiful cypress tree in the world there. And uh yeah, I don't know, Mike. Do you do you have a particular love for a certain tree? Because I could talk all day about those coastal cypresses. I'm just not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

When when I grew up, we had a 10-acre wooded lot that I was responsible for mowing and taking care of. Yeah, well, trimming 200 trees is not not my so I at that point in time I didn't have much of an appreciation of it. As I've gotten older, and going back to your you know, sunglasses thing, yeah, I have learned to appreciate a nice shade tree to sit under.

SPEAKER_02 15:50

So there was a there was a time there where you would have hacked out all the trees. That's how much you loved them, right? And then this is again, all these are random, but uh May 16th is plant a lemon tree day. So I have a neighbor that has a lemon tree, and that lemon tree is insane. That thing just grows so much lemons, and uh it's not even enough for our cul-de-sac. Um, so big fan of lemons. Do you have any uh citrus trees in your yard or anything?

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Yes, we have a lemon, we have peach, we have limes, and we have oranges. Okay, and you're right, the lemon tree never stops, never stops.

SPEAKER_02 16:29

I like lemons though. I love again, I I mostly use it for tea and stuff like that or water, you know, but I'm a big fan of lemons. So and then uh I think I did this in April. I know I did this in March, but I just kind of looked up some May stuff. The the flower of May, the official flower of May is Lily of the Valley, which symbolizes the return of happiness. The birthstone is emerald, and then the May colors are green and lilac. So shout out to May. Uh, obviously, May, you have Mother's Day, like I said, um, my wife's birthday is in May. My brother's birthday. Actually, my I always know Josh's wife, Nancy. Shout out to Nancy. I always know her birthday because it's the same day as my brother. So in my family, we for sure have two birthdays and Mother's Day. Is May a big month in your family at all?

SPEAKER_00 17:28

No, not really. I I learned to appreciate May as an educator because I was into the school year.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah. So let's talk about that, Mike. Uh, I want to talk a little bit about just kind of your passions and and your life a little bit. So you kind of mentioned it. Where were you born?

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Marshalltown, Iowa. Marshalltown, Iowa. Well, let me take that back. I was actually born in Waterloo. Well, I've been to Waterloo, but we uh moved to Marshalltown shortly after.

SPEAKER_02 17:56

How far is Marshalltown to Waterloo? About an hour, east, west, north. Trying to trying to place myself here.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Waterloo is an hour north of Marshalltown. Okay, okay, halfway between Waterloo and Des Moines is Marshalltown.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

Yep, yep. Were was your family Iowa State fans or Iowa fans?

SPEAKER_00 18:15

Uh my dad was a huge University of Iowa fan, which at the time I we actually had season tickets a couple years. Really? But at that time, Iowa was god-awful. And so my my father uh mother would drag me to University of Iowa games, and they would get beat 50 to nothing 11 times a season. Yeah, and I just didn't see the attraction. So I I did not obtain that University of Iowa fandom. Okay, I became a Drake bulldog.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Oh, yep, Drake. Yeah. So obviously, uh, you know, I'm from Minnesota, so I kind of have some familiarity, and I've gone to Iowa City a few times and Kennett Stadium. And and so um, real quick, uh, how many siblings do you have? Two sisters, two sisters, and where are you in order of the sisters?

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Number three. You're the baby. I've got the oldest sister lives uh in Houston. Okay, she's five years older than I am, and then my uh middle sister uh lives in Chico, California. Okay, and she's four years older than I am.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

So obviously, you and I are kind of transplants. I want I want to talk about that. You grew up in Iowa. Did you go to college in Iowa and everything? Drake University, Drake University. Um, and you mentioned to me how you were kind of a track, uh, a runner. Did that start in junior high? Did that start in high school? I guess let's talk about sports real quick. What were you always an athletic person? Did that start at an early age?

SPEAKER_00 19:40

I always wanted to be an athletic person. Um and starting uh sports and uh youth sports at that time started at seventh grade. Okay, and um I was not very big in seventh grade, and so I was cut from the basketball team. I I ran on the C team, track teams. Uh uh, I didn't ever play football. Okay. Uh, but I ran cross country. Uh and and I played a little bit of little league baseball, which I regret. I wish I had played more. Uh, but since we had the summer cabin, uh, we were gone most of the summer. So uh and and in Iowa, baseball and softball are summer sports, not spring sports. Right. Uh so anyway, uh, between my seventh and eighth grade year, I grew 10 inches, gained 50 pounds, and I was starting point guard in basketball uh that next year. So so I transitioned, but um I didn't really blossom as a track athlete until my uh ninth grade year, where all of a sudden I was breaking you know freshman records and and everything else, and uh ended up being uh state champion in the 400, the 200, and also ran on the state four by four state championship uh squad. And so um that led to uh a track scholarship uh uh at Drake University, which which uh you know once again, I know I know for people here, they probably don't know a lot about Drake University, but they they host what's called the Drake Relays, which is one of the major track events in in the country. And uh so track and field is a big thing at Drake University.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

So freshman year, you obviously said, Oh, I'm I'm pretty good at track, and you obviously committed yourself those the four years of high school to kind of excel and and the two and four hundred. So the four hundred is one lap around. Correct, and the two hundred is obviously half of that. So uh those were your kind of special events there.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Yes, I was I was a sprint. I was a good hundred meter runner too, but I I uh uh didn't ever run that at state. Uh I was also a good basketball player and played basketball over here. I I really wanted to be a great basketball player.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

But I was a great track runner, which I I don't regret, but uh Track was actually secondary to basketball for me.

SPEAKER_02 22:03

I'm curious because you know, Minnesota and Iowa, it's not necessarily track season year-round. It's not something you can just go outside and practice. So, how were you able? Did basketball kind of keep you in shape at least? Maybe the cardio just for the the the track? Because no offense, but I don't think they had facilities back then like they do now, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:22

And so cross country in the fall was was really my baseline for being in shape. And then of course, uh you know, basketball is a different kind of shape, but still I was just kept you kept you active. Yeah, and then you're you're right. Our our track season would start late March, and you know, state meet would be in May. Yeah, so uh it was it was a very short season. In fact, I I I tell people this a lot. When when I went to Drake as a freshman, you know, we started practice in October. Yeah. And man, come Thanksgiving, I was rolling. Well, I think by the time the season started in January, I I had burned out.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

And I I did not have a good freshman year and in track, I wasn't anywhere near the times I had ran in high school, and I couldn't figure out. Well, I think that's what it was. I wasn't used to an eight-month season. Yeah, I was used to a two-month season.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Different beast to college athletics, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

So so it took me a good year to adjust uh the collegiate level.

SPEAKER_02 23:25

Yeah. And then um, did you go to church in Iowa? Was that part of your your family life there in Iowa? Talk about that real quick.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

My my parents were were very avid Catholics. Okay. I went to parochial school uh through elementary.

SPEAKER_02 23:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

And uh uh yeah, my dad was very active uh in in the church in terms of you know distributing communion and and readings and everything else. Uh uh, and so uh yeah, I was I was uh pretty active in the Catholic Church.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Okay. Um did you do track all four years at at Drake?

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

And what were some of your accomplishments uh at at that uh time?

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Well, uh I won the Missouri Valley Conference 400 two years, my junior and senior year. Um I also uh finished sixth in the nation my senior year indoors, um, which got me all American status, which was pretty cool. Um, and and at the time there was there was a publication that was called Track and Field News, and I think they're they're still publishing. But anyway, they would do a world's list every year. And I actually took out the page and framed it. I've I've still got it. Absolutely. I would too. But I was uh uh rated seventh in the world as far as time, uh, my senior year, indoor 400, which was really uh quite satisfying.

SPEAKER_02 24:53

Yeah, I for sure. It's interesting because um I'm a I I think you know this. I'm a huge call college athletic guy, University of Minnesota. I follow almost everything gophers, and yeah, they still do like the track and field indoor and track and field outdoor, two different seasons, two different seasons. Um, can you explain to the listeners why is that? I mean, I I know why, but is it mostly weather related? Is it mostly just kind of the training?

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Um well uh uh as you're well aware of in the Midwest, you're not gonna have a track meet in January and February outdoors, right? There are sometimes in April and May you shouldn't have had track meetings outdoors, yeah. But uh so uh yeah, I actually was very surprised. I uh when I came out here, I I've done some track coaching for Golden West uh in Vasilia. So uh I was surprised there is no indoor season in California. Uh but uh in the Midwest, yeah, you know, every college and university has indoor tracks. They're generally 200 indoor tracks. And um uh, like I said, with the the indoor nationals is usually in March, and then your outdoor season will start in early April, and uh the uh nationals outdoors is usually in June. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Um I'm curious were your times different indoor outdoor for your your PRs in the 400?

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Yeah, uh usually your your outdoor time's a little faster than your indoor time simply because you don't have to run as many curves. Right. Uh curves don't help your time. So uh, you know, uh uh indoor 400 is two laps, where outdoor 400 is only one lap. And so uh usually your time's a little bit better, yeah, outdoor.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

Um, so obviously you were very accomplished, and that's awesome, Missouri Valley, which still exists today, still a great conference. Did you run after college? Like as far as any um your your athlete, your track career, kind of talk about that. What were your opportunities after college and how did that come about?

SPEAKER_00 27:03

That was the original intention. Um, I was offered uh an uh internship at Drake uh to work with the track team, and the idea was to uh also work out and and uh compete independently at the same time. Um, you know, there are a lot of meets that will actually pay athletes to come compete uh in certain events. Unfortunately, my my senior year outdoor, I uh had a very bad hamstring injury, and then also at the same time I was offered a full-time teaching job at my uh old hometown. Okay, and so I ended up uh giving up the internship and taking the teaching position, and you know, life goes on, you get married and everything else, and working out just doesn't uh uh happen for you like it like you would. And so uh I did compete periodically a couple years. Uh they had what's called the Iowa Games, where they you know have people in the various age divisions come in and run uh competition and and events, and and so uh I did that a few times, but uh for the most part, uh the hamstring injury, uh and then later on I had uh Achilles tear. Those those those kind of took care of uh any any running. I I still run, I I usually will run about four miles a day, five days a week. Uh right now, yes. Oh my gosh. Well, I uh Neil, I I or no, I I was uh I'm sorry, I I call you Nil, but my son-in-law's name is Neil, so I uh you're not the first, and you won't be the last, my friend. But anyway, um I was uh up to 240 pounds. Yeah. Um and uh I I went in, this was actually shortly after I retired in in 2015, and and they told me I was diabetic. And so I said, Well, what are my options? And they said, Well, you can go on medication or you can lose weight. Well, I went on a mission to I lost 65 pounds. And one of the ways I did that was getting back into running. And uh Virginia and I did a lot of 5K's and various running competitions.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

Way to go.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

And uh I haven't done any uh here for a couple years, but I'm still running. I my dog and I go out uh, like I said, five days a week, and and we run our four miles, and and I've been able to maintain uh my current weight uh for for about 10 years now.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

That is great. Good for you, Mike. That's really cool. You you you brought up something I want to I want to go back on, if you don't mind. Because I I I'm a big uh I obviously I played sports, you know, through college and stuff. When that hamstring came about, which is a tricky injury, especially for it's a tricky injury by itself, but I mean I can't imagine for runners, and then you kind of had that crossroads where maybe your athletic career is kind of I don't I don't want to say ending, but but then you have this crossroads of making that choice. How hard was that for you? Because I can't imagine, you know, I've kind of been in similar situations where I I remember when my athletic career, you know, finished, and it was hard because it's like, all right, I gotta do other stuff, right? Or or or whatever. I remember when my football career ended. Not me again, maybe not careers correct here, people, but I I do I again I remember those moments though where I was like, Yeah, I'm not gonna play football anymore, right? And I remember I'm gonna play hockey and this or that, and I just remember how tough that was for me. But also, too, you're you're different because you you did four years of college and you had aspirations to continue. I mean, seventh best time in the world. You probably thought of all these other opportunities, but then you know, injuries are part of life, and and then you kind of go to teaching. Do you mind talking about just how was that for your mental health and and kind of that that complete almost like 180, if you will?

SPEAKER_00 31:02

Um yeah, my my senior season outdoors was very frustrating, uh particularly after the success I had had indoors. Uh, it was actually the first meet afterwards that that I uh tore my hamstring, and and uh because I was anxious to try to compete, uh I kept coming back too quick and re-injuring it.

SPEAKER_02 31:24

And so very common for hamstring. I mean, that's the number one common.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Yeah, and so uh I I did not compete much my senior year, which uh outdoors, which which was very very disappointing. Uh I guess the the good aspect from from my perspective was 1982, which was my senior year, was was between Olympics, you know, the the Olympics were in '84. Okay. Uh if if I had been on a on that on an Olympic year where I had been really close to qualifying for the trials and that kind of stuff, that would have been really, really more difficult than it was. Uh, but even still, in the 84 Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles, uh, in the 400-meter finals, uh, I had competed against six of the finalists. Really? And had beaten four. So even then, it was like, wow, you know.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

What a what a statement that is. That's insane.

SPEAKER_00 32:21

Yeah. But uh uh anyway, uh like I said, transitioning into a new job and and moving and uh got married that year and and everything else. There was there was plenty of distractions. Uh okay. And of course, at that, at that point, you you never think you're ever gonna turn old, you know.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

Yeah, yeah. Okay. And then kind of the whole teaching thing that was led off by the whole by was that a college class, you teaching uh swim lessons there at Drake led to your your passion uh for for teaching kids.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

Well, like I said, I I was uh uh technically I was a business major, right? Business management major because I was going to go into business with my dad. That was kind of my my plan. And then like I said, it was my my uh between my sophomore and junior year, um, I took uh a CSI life-saving course for swimming, and with the idea, hey, you know, this would be a good way to make income in the summer to to lifeguard and teach swim lessons. And and so I did, and I and I did that well. I was like, man, that was fun. Yeah, I really enjoyed you know working with those kids and stuff. And and so I went to my uh advisor and said, Hey, what would it take to add a uh a business um certification, business education certification along with my business? Uh, we looked it up. It wasn't you know a whole lot more courses. There's some education courses and stuff that I had to take. Well, then coming into my senior year, I had add coaching, and I said, Well, how much further is it to get like a physical education certification beyond the coaching? And so, you know, my my senior year, I was taking 18, 21 hour semesters to to finish it up, but I ended up with uh then a human resource business management major and then uh teaching certificates and business education and physical education.

SPEAKER_02 34:15

Good for you. Okay, so then you mentioned you got married not too long after, November of 82. Okay, so did to Virginia did Virginia go to the to Drake as well then?

SPEAKER_00 34:26

She did. That's that's where we met. She actually was on the women's track team. Oh, I always tell people we ran into each other.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

That's pretty good.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

But uh yeah, so she was uh a few years behind me. She was uh a freshman when I was a senior, okay, and then she continued on her sophomore year, but then she she uh uh left school uh after we got married and and uh started working in the banking business.

SPEAKER_02 34:51

Okay, so you you finish college and you go back to your hometown to teach. Uh I'm I'm I'm gonna assume you're teaching PE.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

No, I was actually teaching business. Business, okay. No, this will will date me. My first teaching assignment, I taught five sections of typing one on manual typewriters. Yeah, yeah. ASDF.

SPEAKER_02 35:17

And how long did you teach? I guess I'm I'm eventually gonna try and how did you get here? How long did you teach at your hometown at that particular school?

SPEAKER_00 35:28

I I taught for three years along with coaching for sports. Yep. And then an opportunity came up for me to become a head coach, head softball and assistant basketball varsity uh at another school uh that was about an hour and a half away. It was in Perry, Iowa. Perry is just outside of Des Moines, and so uh, and it was a still business uh position. It was it was a different type of business position because it was one where I worked with kids placing them on the job and then followed up and checked on their their uh work and how they were doing. Uh loved it, loved that that job. I did that that job for uh nine years.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

Okay, so three years in your hometown, and then go to Perry and you did that job where again you're still teaching business, softball, basketball. Right. You're there for nine years.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Yeah, eventually became the boys' basketball coach. Boys basketball coach, won won a state championship in 1988.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

And once again, my aspiration at that time was to become a division one basketball coach. Yep, because the basketball was still my my love.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

Um so so basketball was always kind of that in your heart there, in your passion, even though track was like you got the scholarship, it basketball was kind of that.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

I wanted to be a best basketball coach. That was one of the major things involved in my getting involved in education. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:53

So you're a parry for nine years. Nine years. And uh what's the next stop?

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Well, a position opened up uh in a in a state agency where I was gonna be responsible for implementing new government dollars. It was called school to work, tech prep. Uh with the uh the idea was to link schools with colleges, uh, the early formation of dual credits. Yep. And so really appealed to me. I I I I knew I was going to have to give up uh the coaching, but uh it really appealed to me. So I I went and out of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and uh worked for the state for three years.

SPEAKER_02 37:40

Was that hard? Because I imagine you're not you're not working directly with kids. So that is a little bit of a extreme change is you know, you're coaching, you're teaching, you're in the trenches with these with these young people, but then you kind of you go from that to I would I would imagine a lot of red tape and and and a lot of just kind of that. Was that was that a hard change for you?

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Or you know, I really enjoyed the job. Uh, I really missed the coaching. Yeah. Um, yeah, and and uh the interaction with kids is always, you know, and and I was on the road a lot. Yeah. Because I I had a uh part of the state where I was working with 33 different school districts. So every every day I was on the road to another school district working with them on implementing these programs. Like I said, I I really believed in what I was doing, really loved the job. Yep. Um but uh uh my uh supervisor there encouraged me to get an administrative degree uh because he thought this would be a good springboard into uh becoming an administrator.

SPEAKER_02 38:42

Okay, so that kind of that that government job kind of really showed you more to the administrative side of things, correct?

SPEAKER_00 38:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 38:50

And then so we did three years there. Yes, and then are we we're still in Iowa?

SPEAKER_00 38:54

We're still oh yeah, until I was 59 years old. We're still in Iowa. Yeah, uh next stop. So at that point, then uh after three years of that, uh a position opened up just south of Fort Dodge in a small, very small school district. Uh it's called Southeast Webster, Southeast Webster County.

SPEAKER_02 39:15

I haven't heard of that one, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:16

Well, it's it's it's uh graduating classes of about 50 kids. Okay, okay, very small, very small. Uh, and they were looking for a high school principal, athletic director. And so I put in my name for that, thinking, uh that might be a good you know launch pad for some for something for something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So got that job. No, all right. Well, after a year, this the superintendent I was working with, great guy. He he's still he's still around. He's he's up in Okoboji, Iowa. He's 95 years old now. But anyway, he said, uh, I'm gonna retire, and I think you ought to take my place. After one year, after one year. So I had not even taken any superintendent classes at that point, you know, and so I hadn't really even considered that. So I said, sure, you know, if the board wants me to become superintendent, I'll do it. And sure enough, they did, which you know is is a big pat on the back. Like I said, after a year that they had that kind of confidence in me or whatever. And so I became superintendent of schools at that point. So that would have been in 1997.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

How many schools were in that school district? Just three elementary, junior high, high school.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

There was actually two buildings at that point. There was an elementary and then uh a middle school high school. Okay. Um later on, we did add a third building through consolidation. Um but uh so you know, once again, uh took that position. Well, a year into a year into that uh position, the softball coach resigns. And the board president's daughter happened to be a pitcher, and she knew I had had quite a bit of success as a softball coach, and she said, Would you? And I said, If the board will let me, I'd love to do that. Right. So I became a superintendent softball coach. Wow. Well, take a few years after that, and the girls' basketball coach resigns. And once again, another board member who's got two daughters who are gonna be basketball players knew about my state championship and my success as a basketball coach. He said, Would you? Well, it also happened to be a time when my daughter Jennifer, who who's a member of the church here, uh was going to be a freshman, and uh I knew she was going to be pretty good, so I said, sure. I feel like only in small Midwest towns would never happen, would this never happen in California, would it would never happen in a bigger school district in Iowa. So, anyway, so I was superintendent, girls' basketball coach, girls' softball coach, and uh our softball team went to state four years, and the basketball team went to state two years, and now I took over a basketball team that had been one in 21. Yeah, and then in four years we we got to state twice. Um, daughter ended up miss Iowa basketball, and uh we had a lot of success. Wow, so so that was fun. I I what was gonna be a a launch pad ended up being a uh 13-year position. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

So 13 years just kind of having 25 hats on, yeah, and uh a lot of success. That's that's crazy. Yeah, like I said, I because I'm from the Midwest, I I believe it only because I've seen you know, I've been to these small towns and school districts, and I know people who still work in small dist school districts like that, where that's how these small, that's how these small towns kind of survive too a little bit. I mean, it's it takes a village, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:04

Well, and and and once again, no offense to superintendents out here. You know, I was in the classrooms every day. The kids saw me every day. My my office was in the building uh every day. Uh here, I don't know if if the superintendents even could tell you the names of the teachers. Um you know, we we had uh uh you know 50 kids graduating classes. I I knew all the kids. Yeah, you know, and and so um it was it was great for my my own two daughters, they thrived in in that environment. I thought the education was outstanding. You know, some people say uh it's too small. There's a lot to be said about personalizing education. So uh anyway, uh when when my oldest re uh finally graduated, or I'm sorry, my youngest finally graduated, um I had I knew I had about five years left. Okay, and so I wanted the challenge of of something. New. And so my last job then uh came in 2010 when I took uh the superintendent position in Washington, Iowa, which is just south of Iowa City.

SPEAKER_02 44:12

During this whole time, I I gotta ask, were you were you were you still Catholic? Like during this whole as you're kind of going from city to city, job to job. Um I feel like in Minnesota, every town has either a Catholic church or a Lutheran church, right? And so I guess my my question is as we talked about all these different stops on your journey, Mike, were you kind of attending the local Catholic parishes or the Lutheran church during that time, or were or was just that was that on the back burner, which is okay to say too.

SPEAKER_00 44:40

In in high school, there was a bit of a falling out be of with my parents and the Catholic Church.

SPEAKER_02 44:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 44:48

And I actually went uh probably until I got married. So I I probably went uh about six or seven years there where I really didn't attend church. Yeah. I I I was still very religious in my faith and then in my actions and my beliefs, but I actually didn't attend church until uh uh Virginia and I got together. Uh Virginia uh was was Lutheran. Uh her mother made it clear that uh if we got married, it was going to be in a Lutheran church, which which was fine. You know, I uh uh my my wife gets upset with me, but there's not a lot of variance between Catholics and Lutherans. You know, some but but not a lot, and so it was not a hard transition for me.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

I want to talk about how you left Iowa. Did you come was it Iowa to California? Talk about that transition. How did you come to the random central valley here of California?

SPEAKER_00 45:46

So I retired in 2015 and then in Iowa? In Iowa. Okay. Um I I went back and did a short interim position for for another year, but but uh basically, you know, full-time retired by 2018. And we were coming out uh because Jennifer ended up uh locating here in Vasilia.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

And what brought her out here? I think I I I I knew but I forgot.

SPEAKER_00 46:14

She was she was doing a grad assistantship at Illinois State and then was offered a position at Fresno State. Okay. And so she took the position at Fresno State. That's what brought her out here. Uh my my oldest daughter has been in Los Angeles since 2010. Okay. Uh she um majored as a screenwriter. Oh, and you know, there uh Fort Dodge, Iowa, you're not gonna have a lot of screenwriting opportunities. So she she's been out out here for a long time. So we were coming out uh for like months at a time vacation out here after I retired, and and I just really got tired of cold and snow and and and all that. And I said, you know what, maybe since everybody else is out here, my my my folks had long since moved. They had they had moved originally to Chico, California, and then to to Sun City, West Arizona. Uh both my sisters had moved. You know, I was the lone wolf uh on my side of the family. Um so uh in 2019 we came out and they were they were uh we were going from community to community looking at these housing developments and and we really liked the uh windmills uh uh community there in Tulare, and they were uh just building new houses, and so we we got our name on the list, got a house built, and moved here in in June of 2019.

SPEAKER_02 47:49

Okay, so you had one daughter in Los Angeles, another daughter in kind of Fresno, Fresno. She's actually here in Basil. Well, yeah, but you you kind of picked uh a spot where a little more affordable, obviously, Central Valley than maybe LA and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_00 48:03

And after after she worked at Fresno State for a year, then she was offered a position at Golden West at teaching and coaching, and so she's she's been doing that uh until just recently. Now she's taking the job with Readley College.

SPEAKER_02 48:16

Okay, so um obviously great reason to come out. I mean, you most of your family was out west and you want to escape the cold and and and whatnot. Um so you come into you coming to Tularie, right? You said Tulerie 2019. How did you kind of find Christ Lutheran church? How is kind of talk about the journey of finding this place here?

SPEAKER_00 48:35

Well, we we started out at uh uh the names escaping me, but there was a very small Lutheran church in Tularie, yeah, that that closed.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 48:48

Uh I I can't even think the name of it. I mean, it was like 15 people at uh at a service. And Jennifer actually had been coming to Christ Lutheran, and she encouraged us to come visit. Uh Pastor Brian was was uh here at the time, and so uh we came and kind of liked what we saw and and uh uh started coming regularly and probably after about a year became members.

SPEAKER_02 49:14

Okay, now it's around 2020, you think?

SPEAKER_00 49:16

I think that's about right. Yeah, it was right we were wearing masks, so it was during COVID.

SPEAKER_02 49:21

Yeah, yeah. I was gonna say, what a what a time to start visiting churches and and and entering churches. What as a fellow transplant, like um talk about just the the adjustment though of coming from an Iowa to California? I I the Midwest is hard to explain, I think, sometimes to people because it it's so different, and not in a good or bad way, but it's just so much more uh yeah, I think you know what I mean by without saying what I mean. So I am very curious to ask you, Mike, for you in Virginia. What was that transition like to come from the Midwest roots to to the Central Valley here?

SPEAKER_00 50:02

Well, one of the things about the Central Valley is it's very agricultural base, so so that in terms of similarities, uh no offense.

SPEAKER_02 50:12

That's a lot of Iowa.

SPEAKER_00 50:13

Yes, yeah, it's yes, yes. Um obviously California is is much more diverse uh than than the Midwest, so though Iowa's more and more uh becoming diverse. Uh California is definitely more blue, or Iowa's very red. So you know that was that was very different. Uh traffic out here is is certainly uh more intense. Uh the weather, nine months out of the year anyway, I think is much better than the summer. You know, in Iowa, you you leave Iowa in the winter to go somewhere where it's warm. In California, you go somewhere in the summer to find something cooler, yeah. Uh so that's a little different. But uh uh we have discovered though that uh the Monterey Peninsula is a wonderful place to spend time during the summer, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 51:08

Um you know, I'm just thinking about your story, and um I was actually thinking about our last guest, Michael, too. It's kind of the same way where it do you just look back at your life and just see how God was just opening these little doors and and kind of guiding you. And and I mean, I I I'm just so blown away by these opportunities that you've had, and it just I can't help but think like that's the grace of God just kind of showing you, but also too, I think Mike to give you credit, you were obedient, and I feel like you were took advantage of your opportunities too. But can you talk about that? Just kind of how God was gently guiding you, and and I'm sure you know, moving and all that stuff wasn't easy, right? But at the same time, did you always kind of feel like God was God's present with God's presence was around you and kind of always having your back?

SPEAKER_00 51:59

You know, you you led right into I I used to go around and do talks, various faculties and that kind of stuff, and and actually uh sermons at churches a couple times. And one of my my favorite ones is talking about you know, when the door opens, going through it and and taking advantage of it. And and as I I said, you know, nothing turned out the way I thought it was gonna turn out. You know, I was gonna be in business, and then all of a sudden, hey, you know, maybe education will be all right. Right. And then uh I was gonna be a principal, then all of a sudden the door opens and I'm a superintendent. You know, none of that was in the the the cards for me, but you know, yeah, I I certainly give faith a lot of credit to that. And and and what I tell people though is when those doors open, you can't be afraid to not go through there. You know, I uh I've talked to a lot of different people that I said, well, you know, gee, you know, I I could have done that. And it's like, yeah, you know, uh you could, I was nothing special. Um but when those opportunities come open, you've got to you've got to walk through that door and and take that chance. And and uh, you know, yeah, I thank God that that he opened the door and and and let me in and and was able to take those chances. And I I had a great career. I uh I enjoy being retired, but but I miss you know a lot of what I did. I I certainly miss the people that I worked with.

SPEAKER_02 53:28

Yeah. Do you still keep in contact with a lot of uh people along your journey here?

SPEAKER_00 53:32

A lot of them. Uh you know, and once again, when you when you live in in Dayton, Iowa, which is uh town of 700 people, uh you have no choice but become friends with your your teachers, you know, even though you're you know you're supposed to have that separation or whatever. Well, I still have uh four teacher friends that I meet up in Las Vegas once a year uh in November, uh, where we we just reminiscent in this and have a great time and go out and go gambling or whatever. And and uh yeah, I I have uh you know, some probably my best friends are people that I worked with and and uh in a lot of cases were we're supervisor of uh back in in my professional days.

SPEAKER_02 54:15

Do you still dabble in coaching at all? Um we have some cross country runners here and track runners here. Do you is that like something you've you've dabbled in? I know you mentioned Golden West, but do you do any like private trainings or anything like that?

SPEAKER_00 54:28

Uh I did teach some private swim lessons a year ago. Uh the first time I'd done that in a while. Uh I I did uh Ridgeview Girls Cross Country was kind of my first entry into coaching here. Uh that was fun. That was a great group of kids. Uh the fact that they were really talented helped.

SPEAKER_02 54:47

Uh, it usually does help, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 54:49

And then I did uh uh assistant track over at Golden West. Uh my daughter was the head coach, and then uh I've done assistant cross-country two years for Golden West, including this last year. Once again, just amazing kids. Yeah. Uh but you know, you mentioned that the like the Judsons. Um even though he competed uh with the tall one at Adam. Adam, yeah. Uh even though he competed at Redwood, uh I I uh would would help at the track meets and help with the long jump, and he always did the long jump. And and so I actually kind of got to know him a little bit, and I'd talk to him about you know his his competing while he was at church and stuff. So uh once again, I I'm I'm I all I was a little hesitant, you know. Midwest kids are kind of known for their dedication and and and being pretty good kids. And I he I'd heard you know bad things, your negative things about California kids. I gotta tell you, the the kids I've had the pleasure of working with at Golden West have been the most pleasant, respectful. Uh the respect that they show is just amazing.

SPEAKER_02 55:58

You know what? Adam reminds me of you a little bit. Um, Adam had nothing to do his senior his uh spring of his senior year, so he decided to go off a track.

SPEAKER_00 56:07

Oh, is that right?

SPEAKER_02 56:08

That was his first year doing track.

SPEAKER_00 56:09

Oh, well, he was good. He was pretty he was pretty good. Yeah, and I saw him recently, and uh he said something about doing swimming.

SPEAKER_02 56:18

I I tell you what, I gotta get Adam on this podcast because I've never met a person really who's like just has this open attitude, a young person at least, where yeah, then he goes to COS, he goes, you know what? I'm gonna try to swim. Yeah, and then you surprise, surprise, he excelled at that, but that's because it was hard work and and ethic, you know, hard work ethic and dedication. So yeah, he's he's oh that that kid is so funny. Um last question. So you come to church a lot wearing Cincinnati stuff. I I I gotta, I gotta, I I've been I've been waiting to kind of see a natural kind of connection. Now I'm not sorry, maybe this is the Minnesota to me, because we're rivals, right? Minnesota, Iowa. Iowa does not have any professional sports teams, so I I think a lot of times you guys are kind of free to choose whoever and whomever you want, right? But uh a lot of times, for those of you who maybe don't know Mike, he's always eight o'clock service and usually a Cincinnati Reds fan. What is the is it because there's no pro pro sports teams there? What's the connection to you and the Cincinnati Reds?

SPEAKER_00 57:26

Well, back in my day, you would have four TV channels to choose from. And Major League Baseball would come in on Saturdays or Monday nights. Those were the only two nights uh until until WGN and the Atlanta Braves came around.

SPEAKER_01 57:46

Right.

SPEAKER_00 57:46

So anyway, I grew up, uh I I became a baseball fan in the very early 70s. And at that point in time, there was a team called the Big Red Machine that you know Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bence, Tony Perez, Legends, Davy Concepcion. Well, anyway, because they were so good, they were always on the game of the week, yeah, on uh the sports channel. So I got to watch the Reds play a lot, and they almost always won. And so I just fell in love with Johnny Bench and just became a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan because that's who I got to see play most of the time.

SPEAKER_02 58:30

The exposure, just simply just because you were exposed to it so much and so consistently.

SPEAKER_00 58:35

My my dad was a uh Stam Usual fan. Okay, but we had never gone to ball games or anything. In fact, first time I ever went to a major league ball game was a double header at the old Mets Stadium in Minnesota, and I saw them play the Oakland A's uh in a double header. Reggie Jackson, Vi de Blue, Harman Killerbrew, Tony Oliva.

SPEAKER_02 58:59

Harmon Killerbrew.

SPEAKER_00 59:00

Uh but anyway, that was the first time I ever went to a major league game. Um I've been to 26 uh 27 of the 30 major league parks.

SPEAKER_02 59:10

Which ones do you have left to go to?

SPEAKER_00 59:12

The newest Minnesota Target Field. I've been to the Baggy Dome and been to the Met Stadium, but I've not been the newest.

SPEAKER_02 59:19

It's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 59:20

And then and then I've got the two in Florida. Okay. So I've only got three stadiums.

SPEAKER_02 59:25

Do you have any plans on going to any of those soon?

SPEAKER_00 59:27

Well, I was going to do the two in Florida a year ago, and then the hurricane hit Tropicana Field. And so that kind of ruined those plans. Um, I had kind of talked about flying into Minneapolis this year and meeting up with my brother-in-law, but it just uh timing uh we we had some uh funeral things that we had to do and stuff, so I uh it didn't happen, but uh yeah, I uh I I don't have any immediate plans, but I I I do want to get to all 30 before Las Vegas opens up when I uh add another one.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:00

Well, if you go to the twins this year, you it'll be cheap to get in. So they're they are absolutely horrible. I'm boycotting Major League Baseball.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:08

Byron Buxton's on my fantasy team, and he's pretty darn good.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:11

I'm boycotting the twins this year. I I it's uh people laugh at that, but it's actually being serious. So well, this is a different we need to do a sports podcast because I could talk at length about my boycott. I truly am. I've I've it's it I'm not gonna say I'm proud of myself, but I have because of the ownership of the twins, I'm I'm not giving them any of my energy.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:32

And um and yeah, I I love Major League Baseball and I love my Cincinnati Reds, even though they they don't love me back sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:40

Do you have a basketball team you cheer for? I'm a Boston Celtics fan. Okay, I always again because I I have I I do have some Iowa friends that kind of like yeah, they just like different things because they're kind of no offense, but they're they're free to you know, a lot of them are either I most of my Iowa fans are usually Chicago or Minnesota just because of the vicinity, you know. Um okay, so basketball is Boston. What about NFL?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:04

Uh Rams and and that goes uh to uh um the name's escaping me, but the quarterback from Iowa, uh University of Northern Iowa, that uh so Kurt Warner? Kurt Warner, Kurt Warner, that's you and I, yeah, and and they were at St. Louis, of course, most of the time when he was there, but but uh I really enjoyed watching him play and his story is uh when you once again you talk about faith and the religion and everything. Yep, that that guy, uh and so yeah, I became a Rans fan there, and I I love Stafford now too.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:37

So and then um basketball, are you hockey?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:42

I don't watch hockey. Oh see, that's where we're and then do you have a call?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:46

Are you still a Drake kind of a collegiate? Do you Drake still?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:50

Yeah, the the NIL and you know you talk about boycotting. I boycotted basketball this year because because because Drake had some good years, Drake had two great back-to-back seasons both seasons. The they raided the coach and took all the players. Yeah, uh this last one, they they all went to the University of Iowa, and I said, that's enough. You know, and so I boycotted the NCAA basketball this year because of that.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:14

Well, there you go. So Boston, Cincinnati, Rams, no hockey. All right, there you go. Is there particular what's your favorite? Oh, here we go. What's your favorite uh stadium here in California? Baseball stadium.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:31

They all have their uniqueness. Uh I I like as far as the setting, I like Los Angeles, I like where that sits. Uh Giants Stadium is very unique there by the bay, but in terms of excitement, San Diego's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:47

I think you, yeah. I think Petco is underrated.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:50

Almost. I I I think because the Giants stadium is where it is and the backdrop, and that's a great stadium, don't get me wrong. But I think I think Petco doesn't get that get as much love as it should.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:02

The excitement there. Uh I that's a great stadium. The the the energy. Uh I I thought that was pretty neat. Although they're all three cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:10

Although I I I am a sucker for the old Coliseum, though. When I lived in San Francisco, they had a deal. $20 for a BART ticket and Ace ticket. I went to so many Ace games that what a pit. Well, you walk but listen though, you never worried about crowds, you never worried about parking, you just walked in. I mean, you want to talk about just a leisure experience, like that's ideal, right? I mean, some of these stadiums get so packed. Um, I I I would disagree with you with Dodgers, only in the sense of um sometimes it takes you longer to get out of the stadium than the game itself.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:45

Traffic is a mess.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:47

And I went to a playoff game, was it last year? And literally we were in the parking lot for two hours.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:51

Yeah, yeah, I can believe that.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:53

And it got to a point where I'm like, this is not even worth it.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:57

And that's not saying I like the team. No, no, no. I I agree with you.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:00

I it's a great stadium as far as the setting on top of the hill there, but golly, can we just work on that? The there's like no attendance after the game. And so we my friend was wise, he brought a cooler and we had some uh you know, we had some Gatorades, we brought snacks because he just knew at the end of the game we would be hungry, and we just kind of just sat there and let you know, because either you wait in your car or you wait outside, and so last last year I went up to Sacramento and and saw the Reds and the A's play that's gonna be I haven't been to the Sacramento, you know that it's small, but it it's got its its uh features to it. So speaking of baseball, um I gotta share the story. Me and my friend Michael Siloff, who was on not too long ago, we knew the Coliseum was done. I think they had a year left, and so the twins came to the to Coliseum, and we got like we found behind home play tickets for $250. And so I was like, what are like like actually I think it was less than that. I think it was about $175. And so I got them. And we were on TV the whole time because we're literally behind home, and it was unlimited eating, unlimited everything. And to this day, that's one of my favorite kind of sports memories. Because I'm like, you know, these tickets anywhere else are thousands, right? Gosh, can you imagine how much that is by at Dodger Stadium? Oh I mean thousands. Yeah, we got in for about $200. Wow, it included like VIP parking. We got ushered into the ushered into the the seats, and we shared a this is how bad a Coliseum is, people. We shared the the tunnel with the away team. Oh wow. So as I'm walking down, the twins are walking up.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:41

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:41

So I got to meet the manager who's not there anymore, but Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa, like literally, I was like, this place is a dump. The whole the the opposing team has to share a tunnel with the fans. So I love the Coliseum. Bring it back. Uh no, we won't, but uh so my my California team is the A's, just because when I lived in San Francisco, I would go to A's games. I think I've been to A's games more than any other any other team. So um I have my California teams. I don't know if you're like that. I kind of I'm Minnesota, but I have my specific California team. So for baseball, it's the A's, hockey is the Sharks, um, basketball, the Warriors, just because of the Bay Area. I lived in the Bay Area for a while. And football, I really don't um more Vikings, but yeah, I don't know if you've kind of been more attracted to certain California teams just because you live out here, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:06:34

I mean, my my wife, when we initially came out here, kind of became a Kings fan for a while. Okay, primarily because of uh uh Keegan Murray, yep, uh and and his writs, but she's kind of cooled on that because they haven't been very good. No, they have not.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:53

So well right, 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, or if you want to come on to the podcast. Until next time, keep asking questions, stay curious, and enjoy the little moments that make life meaningful. Hope you all have a wonderful day and goodbye from the Grace Period Podcast.