What it’s like…. With Bull & J-Roc
Haven't you ever seen a veteran and wondered about them and their past? Who they are as a person? What they have done and where they have been, to what they've been through that brings them to the nexus in life they are at? Two vets coming together talking about what it’s like to be a veteran and the struggles we deal with that aren’t commonly known. Also occasional interviews to reach out and get to know veterans from great stories to weird quirks or abilities. Hear veteran stories from their own mouth and in their own words unfiltered and with all the fun that comes with getting to know any veteran. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry, but its a journey we've taken and we welcome you along for the ride. And of course learn all the crazy jokes and lines we enjoy that give us direction in our lives.
What it’s like…. With Bull & J-Roc
Happy Birthday America & Our Own Patriotism
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AMERICA, MARKING 250 YEARS OF THE BEST COUNTRY ON EARTH!!!
If you would like to talk to us, good we would appreciate hearing from listeners as we grow and change. Contact us at bullandjroc@gmail.com
Welcome everybody. Welcome back to what it's like with Bull and J-Rock. Yes. Another episode. Today we're going to be discussing some cool personal sentimental things. Very sentimental. Yeah. Because it's great holidays coming up. Yes, the 4th of July. Yes. Independence Day. Correct. All you patriots and rednecks, be careful.
SPEAKER_02Hey, you gotta worry about Joy Reed, though. Joy Reed said black people don't celebrate Independence Day.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so I'm gonna be definitely targeted when I go out. I better stay home. I tell you that right now. Because I do not want to seem non-democratic and patriotic. I am patriotic.
SPEAKER_02I the it was the dumbest freaking comment, because dude, I know so many black people that are really patriotic. Yeah. And would inde you know, 4th of July would be important. So just to make that comment, she's unbelievably stupid.
SPEAKER_01Well, uh keep her in prayer, but she needs it. Amen. We all need it, buddy. Hey, but let me let me explain to our listeners if they're not aware and keen of what the day means. Alright. And so by issuing the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivation for seeking independence. Independence from tyranny. From tyranny. There's nothing wrong with that. God bless those who did that. The work of the Continental Congress and the subsequent creation of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 had a significant impact on Western history. It celebrated as a founding year of America. And the Fourth of July remains that. It definitely does. Wow. Thank you for the hard work, right? Those willing to get out of the colonies.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, it's connection to that. It's thank you for you know for all of them for believing in something that they didn't even know was actually gonna exist. I mean, dude, the colonies, it was I mean, America now and America then was totally different. You know? We were 13 colonies and we were going against the biggest, the, you know, largest military in the world at the time. You know? That's a major feat. So yeah. I'm very thankful that, you know, they kept the faith and you know, never gave up and really fought for it. That freedom was actually important. You know, not something like today, how so many people get so far with things and they're like, yeah, no, I'm busy, I got other stuff to do now. Well, it so much stuff in our culture these days is disposable. You know what do you mean? Well, I mean, look at everything that we do. Everything that happens, it's it can always be replaced with something else. You know, you go to the store, well, your store can be replaced with another store that's quote unquote better, you know, where you get your gas, it's same thing. You know, the vehicle that you buy can be replaced with a better vehicle from someone. So everything is always being replaced by something else that's better. And I understand how innovation happens, and so you know, as new things happen, you know, um people go with it and everything. But I mean, don't you remember how back in the day, like our parents used to have shit for like 20, 30 years? Dude, nobody has anything for like longer than 10 years anymore. I know.
SPEAKER_01I mean, the same.
SPEAKER_02Well, but that's what I mean. Things are disposable in our society, you know. It's like done on purpose. Well, I mean, whether it's done on purpose or whether it's the people's mentality, it's just that's how things are these days. And back then, it wasn't, you know, society didn't work that way. You know, everything was, you know, every little bit that you got was part of God's grace. And so it wasn't so much, you know, oh, I don't have enough. This isn't fair because of XYZ. You know, it was, you know what, I have what I need, I have my family, my family's safe, my family has what they need, I'm good. I don't need to have, you know, uh royalty and have a kingdom and all that wasn't necessary back then, you know. The colonists, they cared about their families and whether or not they could feed themselves, you know. That was like primary concern. And thing things would be a lot different if today, if people's first thought was A, family, and B, could I take care of my family?
SPEAKER_01And the other thing is not trying to invoke your way and power yourself over someone as if they're less worthy than you, um less powerful than you, like you bleed red, they bleed red. Very true, you know. Uh they put their pants on or clothes the same way we do, I hope, unless they do something different. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Well, actually, I think uh men's pants used to go on the other way because they used to be buttoned in the back at one point. So but they all did it.
SPEAKER_01So what I'm saying is we just need to learn not everything is about fighting for our man, and there's plenty to go around, and let's just enjoy it. There's some untrustworthy individuals in life, just like they were during that time in 1775, 76, right? And you're like, man, hey, these people are right, man. We gotta break free and we gotta handle and we're gonna get our independence, you know, or we're gonna make sure like they won't come back again. That's good. There's times in history where that is necessary and needed. I understand that. But now that when this world and the way it's moving, is it necessary for us to go that route when we have plenty enough and technology to go around and love and like plenty of consumerism to go around? Well, I mean, just think. What more do we need, dude? Why do we have to kill the city?
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, so we're at 250, okay? We've made it a long way, we've made it through some pretty crazy stuff, you know, ups and downs and everything.
SPEAKER_01And then people are trying to take the 250 away now, bro. By by by by voting in individuals that don't care about America in offices and areas and around our country, bro. Oh, you mean the new ones that they've just had? Oh man, just but you have individuals that are not Christian that don't care about America, that hate America, that are intentionally getting in office and make and saying things and making laws that are more conducive to their religion than they are towards the American values that we have Which are Christian, Christian, non-Judeo Christian. I cannot understand why we've allowed this, but it's a reason. God has his hand on things, bro. Like I I see that because the eyes are blind and people are letting things in that should not be let in. We cannot let our country be taken over, man. 250 years, thank God. But now it's 250 years. Oh well, let's just give it up now.
SPEAKER_02When it comes down to it, things are gonna get bad before people get to the point of going, you know what? That's so sad. We need to change this, it needs to be different, it we need to go back to this, we need to change this, it needs to be like this. You know what? You're crazy, and I don't care what you know, whatever new progressive idea you're bringing, it completely goes against what our original values and morals are. So, no, I'm good. You go ahead and keep whatever that progressive value is, that's fine. That's does not work with ours. And I don't understand why it's been so hard because when you're at home with your own family, you and your wife share the same morals and values. If you didn't, the marriage would have lasted for like six months. Well, that's very true, man. Wouldn't be here, you know. So it's gonna happen where people make the change and they're like, okay, we we screwed up. You know, we've done this wrong. We, you know, whether it's looking back and all the problems from letting cities burn down to, you know, money that was wasted, whatever it is, you know, but we're gonna look back and we're gonna be like, you know what? If we wouldn't have dealt with these things, if we wouldn't have done these things, we'd be in a lot better place right now. And so everything that we're complaining about actually wouldn't even matter because it wouldn't exist. And it's gonna take a little while longer for them to figure that out, but it's kind of almost, and I'm not saying it's on the same level, but it's kind of almost like this the same concept of like Sodom and Gomorrah, you know. It gets really bad. And until it gets extremely bad, it's not corrected. Isn't it? But I think it's gonna be, but I think we will be able to eventually look back and go, you know what? We're not following our values, these are not our morals, these are not American morals, you know, and we will we will kind of come back, kind of like how some people after a really long time are starting to go back to the church and stuff, you know.
SPEAKER_01Well, good. And if it draws people back to goodness, so remember when I was saying before on the other podcast, I was talking about um how your heart, it it's naturally your conscience in Romans is as it draws back to morality of man, right? Yeah, you just you just said that right now. Like it it's true how we are as people, and when we fight against it, man, this is the turmoil we deal with. The chaos and the confusion.
SPEAKER_02One of the things that's starting to happen is the people that have been quiet for a long time and just let it go and go, okay, you know what? You do your religion, I'll do mine. You don't like Christians, I get it. I nothing says you have to like us, you do you. A lot of those people are just getting tired of it. And they're like, all right, you know what? I'm done with you stepping all over me. It's not happening that way no more. Okay. And it's not so much that they're gonna like go out for vengeance or whatever, but they're gonna be like, uh-uh. We're gonna even these scales. And what happens? You start seeing these people taking, you know, companies to court and stuff like that, and they're getting caught on problems where they chose sides, you know? And you can't be a society, you know, uh the society that we are and pick sides. Everybody gets a voice, not some people, and the those are the people that you choose, you know? And so all the people that have been, I guess, silenced or whatever, through not wanting to get involved are just done with it. You know, it's kind of like that whole um Spencer Pratt thing in LA. You know, people just they're just they get tired, tired of it. They're just done. You know? I mean, come on. They're they complained about the UFC at the White House, but yet the same people that complained about that were the same people that were totally okay with um trans people showing their breasts on the White House lawn. So now if you're gonna compare the two, I mean if you allow one, you can't really bitch about the other. So if you are gonna complain about something, you should have complained about it in the in the beginning and you didn't. So guess what? Yeah, you don't have say on that.
SPEAKER_01So they wanted they wanted desecration, they wanted um things that were um putrid, like uh that's not natural, that's just disgusting.
SPEAKER_02A man with with surgic surgical implants and now having bread like that is not no, that's not natural. But they were okay with having that on the White House.
SPEAKER_01Well, I understand. So they're somewhere along the line, the mind of and decisions have been distorted, and they're not how they should be with these. So I I I hope the best for that, but I I know that it won't prevail. And it's it's it's history, man. You know, these things have been written even back in the day. People have done this, and and empires have fallen.
SPEAKER_02I mean, it's just like how you were talking about the moral part of it. For some of these people, you know, like Joy Reed, for instance, who says she speaks for black people and black people don't do the Fourth of July, you know. But what does she you have to elaborate on that? What what does she mean? She was doing a podcast and she was talking about how the Fourth of July celebrates um the slaveholders because it was them breaking away from um colonies? New England or not New England, uh breaking away from England back in the day. So she was saying that it was about slavery, not about the fact that a country got its independence. Does that make sense? And she was saying that it wasn't a holiday for black people because it was about slavery. All right, she's yeah, she's nuts.
SPEAKER_01So this this is where I look at it. So when I was a kid, I remember did a lot of studies and African studies, and there was a moment when I was a small teenager before I did my gangbanging days. I literally, you know, immersed myself into the black movement, um, Republic Enemy, you know, the police brutalities. I was there as a kid in '91 on LA riots. I remember still a California resident. I remember how it just much of an impact because I remember as a kid, police would harass me. I I I understand um the slavery aspect. I I do. I understand that people were mistreated horribly. Families murdered, people raped. I understand there's been numerous horrific things done to people. And and then on the other side of the world are there's still things going on to this day that way. Yep. And it's a different race of people. And my heart goes out to them. God bless them, and I pray they're covered and protected, and they are rescued. It's not okay. So the slavery thing, I understand, but we have to we have to move forward now and saying how many that did happen, that was not right, but how many liberties and how many opportunities have African Americans thus far have moved on and have, and how many accomplishments have they been awarded to? Let's talk about oh, Iron Mike, man, Marine uh you know, general uh major that got a medal of honor, you know, 60 years later. But man, he was the one who inducted the first Marine reconnaissance like uh special operations during Vietnam, African American, got shot up 19 times, broken legs, saved his platoon, and called in for fire and rescued people broken up and bleeding. He survived, man. And did a lot of different heroic things for our country. And there are many men like that that are mentioned throughout time. So, what what are we what are we saying? You know, there there is a moment of when that shit happened. There's a moment where there needs to be reconciliation. I understand there's slavery, I understand that there's black people who are still upset about it, and I'm African American myself, but I'm an American. And I'm mixed with the blood that I can't help, man. I have European and African blood in me. And a few other things, right? But I can't help that. Yeah, I do, man. Like Native American or Mexican and Spanish stuff. Anyhow, I'm grateful. I'm God made me who I am, all right? But what I'm what I'm trying to get at is um when you do things like that, and she says things like that, you make a point, but now you're speaking hate. Now now black now black folks are looked at a certain way because media really believes some of the stuff that goes down. I I get treated a certain way at times when I go certain places, man. People don't even know who I am or my background and my character. And yet they have they look and they're like, damn, and I literally get treated a certain way because of social media.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, it's a trip, man. It's her entitlement, you know. Oh, I speak for black people. If you don't speak for black people, I find one person on earth that speaks for an entire race. That one is amazing.
SPEAKER_01What I want is a document with signatures that are from black folk, certified legitimate signatures from black folks that you have spoken with that said, we do not like, celebrate, we want to change, we do not like Fourth of July. I want to see that in display, period. Yeah, dude, that's never gonna happen.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's never gonna happen. Right. I mean, because when it comes down to it, I don't think patriotism has anything to do with your race. Well, it shouldn't. You know, it just has to do with whether or not you're proud of, and I don't mean this like racially, but where your country, if you're proud of where you're from, you know, if you are proud of being an American, proud of being a Canadian, proud of being a you know, uh um German, Irish, whatever it is, if you if you're proud of your country, that's what's determining your patriotism. It it's not determined by your race.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so it should not be, nor is it, nor, nor you're absolutely right. So I know there's been struggles in a lot of races in the military and certain parts of America and corporate ladders of life, right? I know there's been intentional neglect, as you want to call it, all right? Or passovers of promotions because of the good old boy system, malfeasance, uh, all that. I understand that there's people that have their own favoritisms and their own hangups in life. I understand there's centuries and generations of don't trust a blackie type stuff. And I understand, and social media can just blow it out and and agree with it with them and make it even more of ammo against us that are good black folk.
SPEAKER_02But if you keep just saying the same things over and over and over, you never get past it. Yeah, you can if you're ever gonna get past someone, it's you know, okay, so like you were saying, you know, don't trust or I wasn't trusted or whatever. But um, if you're ever gonna get past something like that, you can't stay in that same hateful, vengeant, vengeful break through that and show them differently.
SPEAKER_01That's my point. So when people do that to me, bro, I'm sitting there like, okay, let me come out with some other stuff now. And then when they see that I'm articulate, they and then they see, oh, he served his country. Oh wow, you know, they see these things. Unfortunately, sometimes I gotta pull that card, but yeah, they see that. They see the way I carry myself, they see the way that I conduct myself. They're like, Oh, he's way different. Yeah, I'm way I'm way different, correct. But I am who I am, and I'm an American, my skin is his color, so what? We can't put it all in a cat in a category of life. Like, you know, there are bad people in every race. I've seen it, every race of bad people at every race. But I've seen some bad people, right? White, black, Hispanic, Asian, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Every every race has racists, every race has bad people. It no one has a monopoly on that.
SPEAKER_01And I love it. I love you all, those listening. I do. And guess what? When I was in the Marine Corps, it taught me that it all that everybody is a bigot. Like we he don't he don't like nobody. You're you're either green or dark green. Light green, dark green. There's no race, there, there's no race. You know, we just get a job done and we do it together, and we share the same pain together. And that is why I'm glad that we we served. Like, this is a moment for that, as we're talking about the 4th of July and other things we're we're discussing. This is a moment of like, well, how much does a country mean to you? And what were you willing to do? And what were you doing? And what were would you do more of? But guess what? Did you serve or not? That's a true question. That's a real question. Did you did you serve this country or not?
SPEAKER_02Well, for some people, they you know different people s serve their country in different ways, you know. But I do, I I personally think that everyone, especially if you're gonna be you're gonna do any type of government service or anything like that, and by meaning that like a politician, that you need to have had oh yeah, background, whether you're uh in the military, you were uh EM. You need to be in those first line positions. You're in a first responder or get the you get the you get the first hand knowledge of those people. You see what these situations are like and you get to experience them.
SPEAKER_01Maybe they need to incre and maybe they need to you know incorporate that into their doctrine of certification and you know.
SPEAKER_02Well, if I believe so, it was a really long time ago. You had to be a like if you were gonna be a senator or whatever, you had to have been in the military or be a police officer. John F. Kennedy looked at Robert at one point.
SPEAKER_01Look at all the majority of the people that served and some that were presidents, MacArthur, like listen, they were military. And Trump wasn't, but they were military.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I thought you were talking about ones that weren't in the military. No, the ones that were. No, but yeah, we've had quite a few, you know, but we've also had ones that weren't, you know. And I I don't necessarily, like I said, I don't think it is uh a fix to all. I don't think it's gonna means that you're gonna be a perfect politician, but I think that you're gonna have a better understanding of the people that you're speaking for.
SPEAKER_01I believe, well, yes. I say I think that. I remember uh as an officer, as a cadet man, going through just training, and they I would train with, you know, I was infantry, right? 11 Bravo, 11 Alpha, 11 Bravo, but listen, so you had others that weren't, but any kind of training that the army did that I remember, the individuals that weren't that MOS got to experience what grunt life is like just for a short period of time, I'd say maybe a week, but they got to experience the sleeplessness, the the movement, the shooting at and getting shot at, you know, stuff, you know, and and hunger, right? And just everything you could think of, stress. They got to experience so they had a better understanding. So when they got out on the field and they got to minister or, you know, serve the other soldiers in their nursing career in the battlefield, they knew what they were going through and they could relate together.
SPEAKER_02Well, when it comes to that same situation, what was it that brought you to the military and why did you choose to serve?
SPEAKER_01I was uh my father that raised me, he was a corpsman in the Navy. I remember one day as a kid, I saw his uniform and it sparked an interest. I saw all these ribbons and rank, and then I opened up this old ammo box, and there was a bunch of ribbons and medals from World War II. I would see pictures and collages of his family members because he was born in 1931. His brothers fought during the war. One of his brothers was fought in a bomber as a bomber, other one was a Marine who stormed the beaches in uh Ilo Jima and uh survived that whole campaign. Oops, because he survived that whole uh Pacific campaign. Uh I heard a lot of stories, the friends that we were surrounded by, retired colonels, people that flew. I knew a man that flew World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, different planes, fighter pilot, awesome man. I I just remember their way and their inspirations. I remember going to air shows as a kid. I remember that feeling in my heart of like, I want to do something greater, you know. I felt that tugging. I was always surrounded by people. I had a neighbor when I was a kid, he was a teenager, he was going in to become a Navy SEAL. I would go to his house and pool, and he would show me his pool apps and underwater, and he would do stuff. And he said, I'm going to be a SEAL. I was like, wow, man. He said, I'm leaving for that, you know, for buds. And I'm like, that's pretty cool. You know, and I was that was a kid, you know, I didn't really get to understand it, but it started to I started to immerse myself. And then the Marine Corps just it just drew me. It was because my uncle for sure and his war stories, but also it just drew me. There was something mystique about it that I was like, I want to be a part of this, you know, I want to know something more.
SPEAKER_02And how did you feel the day when you like graduated, when you've officially became a Marine, your training was done over. Well, for the army or the Marine. Just how did you feel how did that make you feel?
SPEAKER_01Um, if it was uh exhilarating, it was I was I was very awestruck, um, in shock for a little bit, due to the fact that I I stayed extra. I got hurt a week before graduation, and I was there already for 12 weeks. So last week I got hurt, and therefore, you know, I got dropped and I had to rehabilitate, train up again, and then graduate. But I ended up getting dropped back and having to redo stuff and do the crucible. I had to do that. I did a lot of new things and and had to redo things, which made me better. See, I I thought it was gonna make me worse, but or make me upset, but it actually made me better. I was lonely, it was rough, but it was worth it. And I met so many great people through it. But yeah, once I walked across that parade deck, and I I was the best shape of my life, the best feeling of my life. My spirit was clean, nothing was tainted, outside world I had no contact or idea about. I I just I was just me and God, and it was clean, man. I loved it. And it was a gloomy day. They even had the cannons, you know, like the artillery cannons, 155s on a prey deck. When a when a general or a guest comes, we had a general come and visit. So he was our commanding officer or a relief officer when we were going and went marching to be re uh to be released and uh from the Marine Corps boot camp. Um ceremony was awesome.
SPEAKER_02How did you feel the first time you you got you were right there when when the cannon went off?
SPEAKER_01Boom. I was like, I did it. And I felt a tear. Like it felt so exhilarating. I can remember the smells, the sound, the people, those I love, I wanted to be around with. I wanted to see, I saw them in the in the stands, in the bleachers. I just remember empowerment. I felt so strong. And almost like you were a superhero. I felt so new. New and I wish I would have just stayed that way. It was so it was so like mind-changing, body-changing, spirit changing. That's why a lot of people, I guess, uh when they listen or listen to our podcast here, they were as veterans. I don't think they really understand the totality of this, like the totality of the the the feeling you get, man, when you have accomplished something that very few people can do and say they did. Very few. And even in the army, like when you're going through things and in all the training you guys had to do, like very few, man. And not everybody's doing it. And then what I'm doing, I'm like, oh my goodness, very few, small number. And I I just I couldn't believe, but God drug me through it. He allowed me to go, like to he allowed me to go and become better. And that that's what I that's what I see. Like, you know, like we got these struggles, but at the end of the day, you end up becoming better.
SPEAKER_02That's one of the things that I've always loved about the military. Yeah I've never met a person that said that that didn't come back and say it didn't make them a better person.
SPEAKER_01Man, so that's what I mean. Everybody should serve, man. They need to conscription. They need that here to be. Oh wow. Oh wow. J. Rob's over here talking about conscrip conscription. They need that because I'm telling y'all, y'all need to it changes your life. Oh man. I don't know though, because I got boys now. I want them to make a choice. I do, but I want them to be I want them to serve a you know, a country, man. Like, like with you. Like what we we knew what America was about and what it was to be. That's what I wanted to serve, man. And like tell me about you. Like, there's a reason why you served, dude.
SPEAKER_02You know, well, I mean for me, you know, I had you know, I had my time got getting into trouble and stuff, you know. I was a kid, high school, so but um, I actually joined the service when I was 17. No, I actually needed my mom's permission. Nice she had to sign for it. She was willing to do that. Uh oh, she was doubtful. She she doubted it for a while. Uh, we had many, many conversations. I had to convince her. Um, but I had seen um, you know, not just what was going on like on the news and everything like that, and you know, had people that I had gone to school with that had come back and you know told stories and things like that. But one of the things that everybody talked about was, you know, needing, you know, whether it was needing more equipment, needing more help, or you know, we're short staffed on this, and you know, it was like that on a lot of stuff, you know. And that's when I got the realization where I was like, so really the only way that they get to leave is if somebody, you know, switches out. And that was before I had even talked to a recruiter about really leaving, leaving. I was still, you know, talking with my mom about it and stuff. And at that point, I was like, all right, well, this is something that I need to do because, you know, we're at 250, you know, and 250 years ago, they were, you know, not just dying, but they were, you know, freezing in the snow with bloodied feet, no shoes on, or anything like that, and still fighting, and we're still pushing.
SPEAKER_01Like a faith purpose.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and it yeah, and it was a faith. It was a I believe it'll be there. Yes, you know, they never knew. Some of them never even got got to see the day when it happened because they died beforehand. You know, and I see it as what I can give back to them. You know, they made that sacrifice for me to take that leap of faith to give me what I have now. I can make the sacrifice to do my part and actually join to repay them for that. Because, like I said, some of them never got to see it. You know, they missed out on it.
SPEAKER_01It's gratitude, man.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So I want to be able to repay the people that did that, and I want to be able to not just say, Oh, yeah, you know, First Amendment, but I want to earn my freedoms, you know. I want to be able to look and look at the constitution and you know, all the amendments and everything, be like, I've earned all those.
SPEAKER_00I've earned it, buddy.
SPEAKER_02Well, because there's there's a difference between it's just the way it is, and you've gone through the process of being in the military. And in the military, you don't get, you know, First Amendment. You know, you the rules are different.
SPEAKER_01No, you earn your first amendment, you will not listen and talk at the same time.
SPEAKER_02No, it's because in the military, you everything that you do, you have to earn your way. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01You don't get it if you don't earn it. Hey, listen, I had to pay for my uniforms in boot camp, bro. And my toiletries. And they gave you, and it's not your choice. You they give you a bag and say, here, this is yours. Count it, take it out. Or, you know, you know, you're like, okay, and then you organize it, you're like, all right, cool, inventory. What do you got? Got it. And then I didn't realize, you know, at the end of boot camp, man, I got a whole banking, did all that, and then they gave me receipts, and they're like, Yeah, you paid for your items. Here's your item receipts. I'm like, what?
SPEAKER_00Like, this is just the military, bro? Like, are they they have money? Like, don't they pay for your stuff? You're like, wait, they were they charge my stuff. They bought I don't get a choice. I don't get a haircut, and the haircuts they gave me were garbage, and I got to pay for that. $12.
SPEAKER_01What? You had to pay for your haircut? I sure did. Wow. Mandatory haircut, get your haircut, and you get your haircut mandatory, high tight. Everybody high tight. And then you get in your mind, okay, high tight. You know, it's just it's a weird, it's a weird process, bro. How we get brainwashed. I'm telling you. I don't know, you know, it's amazing how they do it. Remember, I told you I have a friend, man, that's a drill instructor, and I'm like, his brain is very interesting. I should say the least. Like, I want to say he's really cool, cool dude, man. Um, but he's just like, if you see old pictures of him, man, he just looks hard, you know, like his brain. Like, I hate recruits, you know, and I was like, just break him down, man. But he just waves just crazy.
SPEAKER_02Okay, I had a drill sergeant that when he was a little kid, he was on the front of a friend's bike and they wrecked going forward, and so he slammed face first into the asphalt and busted up his jaw. So he had uh his jaw was permanently wired, partially shut. That's uh so when he talked to you, that's it was you know, his mouth didn't die. So he'd be like, get over here, I said, get over here, like and but it was only because his mouth opened, and so it made it so much more frightening, though.
SPEAKER_01Because it made it seem like he was like really bad at you like when your mom had daddy.
SPEAKER_02But in reality, he was just yelling the loudest he could. Oh man. You know, but he was actually a really cool guy. But it was the funny thing with him was he he was he was relaxed, but he expected a lot of you. Okay, when it came down to it, whatever job you he gave you, you got done.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02When you were done though, and you he checked on it and everything, if you looked like crap, he he considered the whole job crap. Whatever you did, it for for him, for what he said, whatever you do doesn't mean shit to me if you look like shit when you're done. Well, and so it was always keeping, you know, you were always had to be on point. Your uniform was perfect. Yep. You know, you just went through garbage and this and that. Oh cool, your uniform is perfect when you report back. Yep. You know, and that was a lesson to learn. Yeah, you know, and it was a pain in the beginning. It was like, dude, this sucks. But in the long term, it gets noticed, and they go, Okay, you're taking this for like you're 100% for real with this. You're you know, all in. I get it, you know, and it makes a difference, and you can tell that difference in those people, you know, and it's very weird. He was probably like a six foot six black man that was like black as night, black man, black as night. And well, and when it comes down to it, you're you're looking at me that's like five's six. So he was probably a good foot taller than me. And in a most awkward way to say, he's probably the closest thing I'll ever I've ever had to a dad.
SPEAKER_01Wow. Well, they mean they they take people under the wing, man, and and do special things and and turn them into something that ends up becoming hopefully society, right? If you think about it, if you if right, if you think if you have enough people that join the military and get this learning and understanding through it, and then they go out to the civilian world, and then those numbers increase in society, you have a really nice society.
SPEAKER_02Part of it that would probably help would be if if civilians would just get it out of their head that being in the military means you're fighting someone. Because being in the military, there's so many jobs out there, it's not even funny.
SPEAKER_01It's just stepping stones, man. Yeah. And some my buddy, again, uh, my old boss, man, he's done well. I've gotten to meet up with him. That's another thing. We're gonna hopefully continue our relationship and along with my boy Big Sid, uh, my roommate, and what I went to school with and uh trained with. And it's crazy, like we didn't stay in contact, and it was kind of like I left. And I don't want to leave on bad notes with him, man. But it was kind of like we were always at each other's throats because we worked together, trained together, lived together. Like it was just, you know, we got each other's nerves, but he was a good dude, man, and I'm I'm glad to see him again and to have him hopefully, you know, stay in my life in our life. I haven't seen these guys in over 25 years, maybe, right? Almost 30 years. And uh it was really cool seeing him. I I um I don't know, man. I'm not I'm I'm I am who I am because of it, and I'm I'm grateful for it. People need to know that it is a good thing. You make really good.
SPEAKER_02It makes you a better person. It totally does. It makes you better at whatever you whatever path you choose in life after the military, it makes you better at it.
SPEAKER_01Well, why do you think the you know why? You know, this is my opinion. I asked that question, I know, but I'm gonna answer it for me. This is what I think, dude. Honestly, it's because of hardships. You're in your forced hardships. Because you could say no, and you already know how your life's gonna end up if you do. So you have no other choice but to put forth the effort. You have no place to go. Where are you gonna go? And it and you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_02Like it's like kind of like what makes the greatest generation so great during World War II. They didn't have a choice, they just had to do it and figure it out. That's what I was doing. Even if they didn't want to, oh well, this is a situation.
SPEAKER_01This is it, do it, do or die, and uh, that's how it needs to be. That's what I was taught that. That's what taught me that. Grit. That's grit, dude. You know, that's America, and that's when you see the army, the marine corps, you see even Air Force at times, man. You see the American experience, you see what what America is about, like what America wants to be about, what it should be. Their life. The you know what I mean? You go on base, you know their way, the structure, the way things are. Like that's like that's America, bro. That's how it should be. And you will get in trouble legally if you end up having sex with this dude's wife when he's on deployment, bro. Oh you get caught, your life is over. So I would suggest you don't do it. I suggest you don't steal, I suggest you don't get a DUI. This is a whole nother world in itself. Don't mess around, you know? It's a perfect, it's like perfect, almost too perfect. That's why people gotta mess it up and do crazy stuff and get in trouble.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, everything it's okay, everything has a purpose, and there's nothing that you do for like I don't want to say dumb reasons because we do do a lot of dumb shit, but um, there's nothing that we do for a reason that's not going to better us or further us. Everything we do makes whatever situation we're in somehow better or makes things easier for us. You know, everything is like centralized around that. You know? So it it really teaches you how to it's not really a guide, but it's almost like a manual in a sense of how to deal with all the shit that life throws at you all the time, you know, because it throws it's gonna throw all these curveballs at you. And some of the times getting through it is just surviving until the next day, you know, or just making it until that day comes. One day at a time, yeah. Yeah. So the survival isn't isn't always about money, and it's not always about you know how strong you are, how old you are, or whatever. It's just, you know, that that toughness, mental toughness, that toughness of your soul to just be able to get through it, figure it out, and move on. That's right, man. And it helps. Yeah, you know, and that's why I said it makes us better people.
SPEAKER_01And that's why we bring this homage and and respect and understanding to the 4th of July. What that means, how it has affected us in our life as Americans, because we did not ask to be born here, we were. That means something. And I do pray and hope my prayers go out to all the other countries out there that are suffering right now, dealing with their you know, disasters and earthquakes, and my goodness, I uh my heart goes out to all of you and your families. And I here at the studio will definitely be saying a prayer for you, and hopefully we get big enough to where we can start uh making our own donations and our name on it and sending it out to places that will have relief. We have like a relief bag thing we can get to you guys at times of need. I hope uh our prayers are for you. Keep your head up because God loves you for sure.
SPEAKER_02But with the same, you know, thing that you were saying, I d I want to remind people that we have our blanket donation going on. And that's going until December, that's to Mana House. We're helping out all the guys there at Mana House. Manna House. So yeah, they they love it. So, you know, any blankets or anything, or if you want to donate ten dollars, you know, uh get back to us at uh bull and jrock at gmail.com and that's R-O-C Nok. And uh yeah, just get back to us and uh we'll figure out how to, you know, figure that out and get things managed. Other than that, though, I think it's time for us to start going because we got our own Fourth of July celebrations to plan.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And that means I'll be staying in the house. What you mean tell me you're not gonna be chasing kids? Bro, I'm not gonna be dealing with the fireworks because that is just another nuance that I can't stand. I don't like always explosions and my dog doesn't like it either, but everybody in the neighborhood seems to buy it. Yeah, but don't you live pretty far out of town? They still buy it. They still isn't that weird. Let me tell you something real quick before we close. I I live in an area where there is BLM land where you can shoot. There is a berm, there is a back drops of mountains, no bush of fire to start. They fire. Yet they close that down. But a couple miles from my house, you can buy fireworks at a stand that causes fires. Which do you know what I'm saying? What sense does that make?
SPEAKER_02Hey, dude, hey, hey, one time I had the next door neighbor back here in the backyard firing off Roman candles at the back wall. And you know what's right above him at the back wall? What? The electrical wires.
SPEAKER_01See? See what I mean? People do not need to have listen, you don't need to have fireworks that are out there, you know. Come on. Be safe, everybody, please. Those listening, be wise and smart and don't be foolish. It's very dangerous.
SPEAKER_02Yes, be very responsible too when it comes to fireworks. And watch the kiddos, man. Yeah, watch your kids. And you know, when it comes down to it, drink responsibly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, don't be foolish because your kids need you, they love you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and even and even if you don't have kids, you know, you got parents, they're gonna miss you. You got friends that are like you, also be responsible and just make sure that you take care of yourself. And any situation that you're not sure of, I would say probably best to take yourself out of that situation, then if you're unsure.
SPEAKER_01Correct. But some good advice from Father Bull.
SPEAKER_02Father Bull, thank you, sir. But until next week, we hope you guys stay safe, be good to each other, and have a bomb ass 4th of July.
