Ep. 11 The Denver Omelet

In this episode I tell my tales of living in Denver in 2010-2011 and how that shaped me as the person I am today. This one goes a bit longer than normal because of some specific stories I wanted to share during this episode. I LOVE Denver and Colorado and miss them so much. I also talk about my love of riding fixed gear bikes and other crazy AND SCARY adventures. I hope you enjoy this one listeners!!

For more information on my practice or how to work with me 1:1 - Visit FieldsMindBody.com.

Transcript

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Hello there, everybody. Welcome to the Wizard of Wonder podcast. This is episode 11.

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Episode 11. Bow Bow Bow Bow.

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I said I wasn't gonna do that again, but there it was. Sorry. I hope I can't get in trouble for a noise. Anyway. And if so, maybe they should have me on their show to be like the official noise guy. I don't know. Welcome, guys. Welcome. So just to get real candid with you, real quick, I just recorded about five minutes and I realized I didn't have my microphone on. So that was lovely. I I was like having a yawning fit for quite a little while. So I was like, okay, let's just stop it and let's just, you know, take this yawn out and fix this. And then when I came back, I was like, well, let's let's hear hear how it was and let's edit, right? And I went back and I'm like, this this sounds like trash. So it was like recording through the through my laptop microphone rather than my microphone microphone. And yeah, we had to fix that real quick. So we're back, we're gonna start recording this episode over. So welcome. And I'm I'm excited to talk about this episode. So last night I meant to record this. It's Friday morning right now, 5 29, 26, right? Welcome to your day. And whatever you're listening to this, right? But so last night I was gonna totally do this podcast, right? I totally had a well-intention, but I was like, you know, you kind of want to go for a bike ride, Joel. So last night I went for a little bike ride. I've been biking more lately outside. I know I've spoken before about my my spin bike and loving to ride my spin bike right here in my my house in my basement. But last night I I want to go for a nice bike ride. There was no wind, which is kind of rare in this this area right now. Usually it's kind of windy. And so I was like, you know what? Let's just go for a nice, nice little evening ride, real quickly. So I did, totally forgot to record a podcast afterwards. Got home, got excited, started walking in my backyard. So I'm like, well, okay. So I woke up today and I'm like, you know what? Let's just get it done. So anyway, so I want to share with you guys why I like biking. Okay. And to get into biking, I've got to go back a little bit. So I decided that this is gonna be the Denver episode, okay? The Denver omelet, if you will. Okay. So I lived in Denver in 2010. Okay, I moved there on a complete whim. I I had 600 bucks in my pocket and I knew a couch that I could stay on, right? And I had just finished and completed my associate's degree in computer networking and business administration. So I was like, you know what? Let's just go out there, let's give it a shot and see what the heck happens, right? So how the story started was my my best friend Ozzie lived out there for some time prior, and he came back and was living in Ohio, and what while he was in Colorado, he made this awesome friend, his name was Ben. And very unfortunately, Ben got hit on his bicycle by a drunk driver and was unfortunately killed. And Ozzie and I went out for the funeral, and I was like, you know what? Let's go out, man, and I'll go with you and we'll we'll go to this funeral. And you know, and I have met Ben before, super nice, super amazing, funny guy. He loved adventures, he loved biking, he loved shenanigans, and he loved great music, right? And he also loved World of Warcraft, right? He was he's a big video game nerd, kind of like me and Ozzy and everybody else. So yeah, I was like, you know, he was your best friend, you're my best friend, let's go on out to this funeral, right? So we went out about two weeks later. I stayed out there and I came back and I was like, like, mom, I gotta move. I I have to move. Like, I feel totally welcomed. There's an awesome friend group out there for me. Like, I just I feel like I feel like I gotta go, right? So I went and I moved and it was good, you know, and and I lived out there for a year. It was the best year of my life. I was 23 and you know, just live in the world, right? Live in the world and experiencing life. It was good, so good. And that's how I got into biking. So when I went out there, I I knew I wanted to ride my bike and stuff, and I knew they all liked biking. So I took my mountain bike with me, right? And it's so funny now because I'm like, mountain bike, like like why does everybody in Ohio have a mountain bike? You know, there are no mountains, and mountain bikes are literally one of the hardest bikes to ride now that I know what riding a bike should feel like. So I I took this mountain bike out there, and and I was like so excited to show them all my friends and all my new friends, and I was like, look, guys, I got a bike. And they're like, that looks super heavy. And it was. So they ended up, you know, taking me to there's this really cool like co-op out there called at the time it was called Derailers. And what they did was they like on a Saturday morning, you can come in and you could build a free bike, and like they had all these bike parts there and stuff like that, and and you you could pay a donation if you wanted to, but it could be totally free. And I built this this weird bike, like kind of put it together. So I there's a put-together frame, and you can kind of add your wheels and add your handlebars and you know, add on to it. It's kind of fun. So I really learned how to work with bikes back then and repair them and different things. It was it was so cool. And you know, if if you had a flat or if you had something going on with your brakes or whatever, you know, you had to repair it yourself. So I got really good at that. And I that's that's really where I developed my love of of cycling. And I ended up getting a while I was out there, I found a I think it was on Facebook Marketplace, to be honest. I found a a Puggio, a blue frame, and I it was in really good condition. It was like 75 bucks. I got it from this guy that his dad wrote it or something, and he was like, it was just in my shed, and it had a bunch of parts on it and stuff like that. So I took I stripped that guy down, took all the derailers and all this, all the the gears and all the stuff off of it, and it's a it's a nice road bike, right? Is what it is. So I I stripped that down and and made it super nice and kind of cleaned it up, fixed it up as much as I could. And two of my really good friends, Ozzie and Christian, went together and they got me this wheel set, right? And I still have this wheel set and I still love it. It's an orange wheel set, it's like a thick deep V wheel set, so it's it's got like a thicker rim to it. Love it. And I still rock that beast today, so it's it's going strong. So thanks guys, big shout out to you if you ever listen to this episode. So, but anyway, so I I got my bike and I was riding, and yeah, I I I don't know. I I I love loved riding, right? So, so I ride a fixed gear bicycle, and fixed gear is a little different, right? So when you are pedaling, the the back wheel is constantly moving, right? With with the pedals. So with the pedals are moving, the wheels moving, when the wheel's moving, the pedals are moving. It's a fixed loop, okay? So there's no coasting, in other words, you you don't coast, you're constantly moving, which you might think, like, man, that that kind of sucks. It's actually really nice because you have a lot more control on the bike, and I feel like I'm one with the bike when I'm riding my bike. You know what I mean? I feel like I'm a complete low closed loop as well. And it's it's amazing. It it's like like riding with pure precision, right? And as a holistic wizard, you know, it's a good thing to have like a broomstick, you know what I mean? And I think that riding on a bike is like the closest thing that I have to riding on a broomstick. And it's so funny because like when I'm here in in Paulding and I'm riding around in my my town, right? I can zoom because it's so flat. But out there, I remember, you know, it took up a lot of well, first of all, the oxygen is a little more denser because it's a mile high, right? So it's a little trickier out there. And when I was out there, so when I lived in Denver, this is like I said, it's gonna be the Denver episode, and I might just go on for a little while longer than than normal. Who knows? But when I was in Denver, I remember one of my biggest accomplishments, right? So we lived we lived in this this area. It's it's like federal in Colfax, okay. For those of you who may be familiar with the area, so I lived about five blocks from where the Denver Broncos stadium is, okay. So in order, so it's up on federal and it's like higher up, right? Higher than the city, okay. So it's just outside the city, super close. So I was up up high. So in order for you to get from where we were up high, I think it's like part of the highlands, a little bit, just now getting to the highlands, but so we're up high, but in order to get downtown, you had to ride around the Invesco Stadium at the time as Invesco Field. So you had to go around, okay. So we would always ride in front of the in front of the Bronco Stadium, like right in front, like right by the steps, okay, right where everybody's like walking up into the stadium. It was really cool. And you it so you you would go up or down, right? So it would it'd be like an incline-decline, right? Anyway, so I I when I had this mountain bike, I remember how hard it was just to like ride up this thing, right? But towards the end of my time there, I remember riding my my fixed gear at the time that I had, and it it was just so much easier, so much easier riding up this hill. But I remember by the end of it, like, and I I was a lot heavier back then as well. So it was really hard for me to like move around. But I remember by the end of it, I got up to the up to the very top of Invesco Field, like without without stopping, without taking a break, without getting out of my pedals or anything. And I remember just feeling like super accomplished by that. So that's a fun little story. But anyway, it was a long time ago. But the around that same area, I will also tell you about my worst biking accident that I've ever had so far, right? I'm knocking on wood. But the uh there was a time where, like I said, it's up high, right? So so I was going off Federal and I was heading down towards Invesco Field, and this this was on this is before I got my fixed gear bike with like a decent brake, right? I was riding this this single speed bike where you could coast, okay. So the dynamics is a little differently, it's not as uh like easy to stop, okay. And the brakes went out because when you ride with fixed gear, sometimes you don't really need brakes because you can you can pedal backwards and stop really quickly if you need to. You just apply a little bit of muscle, right? But on this single speed, you can't pedal backwards to stop yourself. So I was on the speed single speed, and my my roommate Christian at the time worked with these brakes, and I went flying and like I couldn't stop, right? And I was going downhill and I was freaking out. So I was like, oh my god, like I'm on a wreck. So I looked both ways because I had a stop sign. The other cars going left and right in front of me did not. So I was like, okay, good. No cars, okay, okay, right? These are like split seconds, okay. No cars, okay. And so, but I forgot that I had to go a little bit to the to the right to get up onto the sidewalk from the berm from the road, right? And I forgot about that. So I hit it, and they had these these concrete barriers, so you couldn't drive cars up into the stadium, right? On that sidewalk. So I hit one of those concrete barriers on my right leg and it knocked me off my bike. It knocked my bike forward. Like I remember it like kind of almost landed like upside down, and like the wheels were spinning, and my my hat was way in front of me, and my bag was way in front of me, and my my jeans were like ripped like most of the way down like the side of my leg, and like my shirt was all ripped, and it was brutal. And I I remember thinking how grateful I was at that time that I smoked cigarettes, and I had a pack of camel filters in my pocket, right? Wait, right where I hit that post, and I I pulled them filters out of my pocket, them cam bams, and I swear, I kid you not, I think that that pack of cigarettes saved my life. It was a full pack of cigarettes, right? I might have had one or two out, but that whole thing was like smashed, right? Like, like you could see like the corner of where I hit that thing smashed into that pack, and it was like like a like a deep V, right? This pack of cigarettes. I kid you not. It was crazy. I had this big old bruise on my leg, it was super gnarly. And that like I got up and I like looked around, I was like, oh, thank God, nobody saw me do that. You know, that was that was crazy, but I'm so glad and thankful that nothing broke because I really believe that if I didn't have that pack of cigarettes in my in my pants, like that would have just directly been like a big old hematoma right to my my leg, right? A real bad one. And yeah, I mean it could have taken out my leg. Who knows? Who knows? But like I, you know, I don't know. I just I hit that thing like like crazy, and that was my worst biking accident. There's only been a few times that I've actually fallen off my bike, and usually when I do fall off my bike, I'm with somebody else who does something kind of silly, like maybe like they ride in front of me or whatever. I'm like, anyway, you know, if if that's ever happened to you guys. But getting back to Denver. So I I lived in Denver and I had a lot of really cool jobs. So I had when I live when I first moved out in Denver and I was still living on the couch, I worked at a place called Independent Records. That was awesome. I loved it. It was kind of like a dream come true. We're working in a record store. I mean, we sold, we sold all kinds of stuff. We sold like like, you know, it was Denver, so it was really cool. So we sold like paraphernalia, we had, you know, DVDs and stuff like that. It was like a full-on, cool shop, right? An awesome like record store shop. We sold like tapestries, we sold all kinds of different stuff. It was super cool. And I didn't work there that long. I I don't know, they they ended up letting me go pretty quickly because like they're I don't know, I think this is kind of a nonsense excuse, but they're basically saying that they didn't think that I was interested because when they were showing me around the store, I kept like looking around, right? Taking in my surroundings, probably my ADHD. Who knows? I don't know. I really think that the owner's daughter had a problem with me because of my my taste in music. I don't know. I I remember having a pretty heated discussion with her once that that Christian hardcore music is like the best, right? So I don't know. Maybe, maybe, maybe that's something else. Who knows? But uh yeah, Christian hardcore music is super good. Take Underoath, for example, their only chasing safety album. Fire. But anyway, I worked there and I worked at a Subway. Subway is weird. I'm gonna tell you this guy, this story really quickly. So when I worked at Subway, it was a very busy subway. It was it was cool. I actually liked it a lot. But I worked with some unusual characters. So when I when I first started this is so funny, when I first started working there, maybe that first day, right? The manager came up to me, he's this real big guy, his name's Kevin, and he was like, Hey, do you know what the family is? And I was like, What? What do you mean? And he's like, Well, we're we're part of the the family, the the dark carnival. And I was like, Okay, what do you mean? He's like, Well, have you ever heard of Insane Clown Posse? And I was like, Well, yeah. And I I, you know, side side quest here. I actually kind of like Insane Clown Posse, right? I know they're they're weird, they're raw, they're gritty, but my goodness, if you listen to their music, they're extremely clever, extremely clever, right? I I know anyway, side side quest. So I was like, Yeah, I like I like ICP, sure, I'll get down to the clown, you know. But I didn't realize how much down to the clown they got. So everybody there, everybody at the subway, right, turned out to be friends. And I was like, okay, kind of weird, right? But I get it, you know. I I I used to work at a place, I used to work at Chief Supermarket, and at that time, a couple of the cashiers and all the carry ons and I were all good friends, right? So I understood. I was like, oh yeah, cool, that's great. You know, who wouldn't want to go to work with your buds? You know, get a get a goal accomplished together, and then you know, make some subs. Who knows? Anyway, so he was like, Yeah, we're all part of the dark carnival, and and we really get down with insane clown posse. And I was like, Cool, cool, Kevin. Big old sweaty, stinky Kevin. And it was what it was. So I worked there for a while. One day I came in and all these new people were there. I'm like, what's going on? And I recognize one of the guys who's like the district guy, whatever. And he's like, Joel, he's like, we have to have a conversation. I was like, okay. So he takes me over to a table, we sit down, and he's like, How long have you worked here? And I was like, Well, like two, two months, maybe, right? And two, three months, maybe. And he's like, Well, he's like, I'm so sorry to say this. So he's like, we have to let you go. And I was like, Okay, what what did I do? You know? And he's like, Well, we have to let everybody go. He's like, it's not just you, you didn't do anything, you're you're new, you're kind of just caught up in this. I was like, Well, what do you mean? So he's like, Well, come to find out for the last seven years, this Kevin Sweaty Kevin guy has been embezzling money from our store. And we know a lot of his friends work here, and everybody's pretty much involved. We don't know who's been stealing money, we don't know to the extent of it, so we have to clear the store. And I was like, Okay, cool. So I got fired from Subway for for just being there, and that sucked. And you know, I didn't hang out with them, I had no idea any of that was going on. I just went there just to have a job, right? And I don't know, it just was what it was, but that was my subway experience, and very odd. And then also why I while I worked there, uh, my favorite job was while I worked there, actually. And I worked for a Hyatt hotel, and I was contracted, and I worked for this company called Visual AIDS Electronics, VAE, and it was awesome. My favorite job. And I hooked up audiovisual equipment for like conference rooms and big, big, beautiful ball gowns, right? Ball gowns, ballrooms, and uh just the most amazing, immaculate ballrooms that you can think of. I worked on the 38th and 37th floor of this building and the 12th floor of another building. And so people would come in, they would have like these meetings and stuff. I remember sitting in for a very crazy meeting, and it was like the World Gold Exchange, right? And it was just in this swanky, swanky room, and I mean, like big glass chandeliers. I mean, you you think about it for a minute. So, like on the the top two floors of this root this building in downtown Denver was like where oil tycoons hung out, and it was just the fanciest, snazzy place back in the 70s, and it was still very snazzy when I worked there. So, like one of these guys, these these world gold people, whatever. I remember sitting in there, and I was just like this this crazy wild, like you know, stoner hippie kid, whatever. And so listening to these guys, they were talking about like putting a car in NASCAR, and I was like, this is kind of crazy. But there would be all kinds of different groups there, and I I did a lot of audiovisual hookups for weddings and ceremonies, and I mean, you name it, all kinds of stuff. I I even got to meet Ted Turner when I worked there. He was kind of mean a little bit. I I was handing him a microphone and he was like, I know how it works. So I was like, Oh, yeah, I I guess you would, sir. Silly me. But anyway, that was that was a cool, cool session, a cool, cool, really cool job, and I loved it. But I I got fired from that job. This is so funny. I got fired from that job, and I'm I'm pretty sure this is why I'm so silly, but I got caught by like a kitchen manager in hotel rooms, big fancy hotel rooms, you know, they always have like different food items and stuff like that. And and if people don't eat the food, they throw it away. Well, I was in a room and I was tearing down this room. This is so funny. I was in this room, I was tearing down this room, and there is this big plate of cannolis. And I have never had a cannoli before. So I looked at these things and I knew what it was, and I'm like, you know, I hear they're good. And I thought, you know, I'm gonna have one. So I had a cannoli. And holy moly, that cannoli was really good. Really good. So I had another cannoli. And I I was working, I went back to work and I was working, and you know, take taking all these cables and all this uh like pipe and drape down and like, you know, projectors and all this stuff, right? And I was putting all this stuff away and I was like, you know, I'm gonna have another cannoli. So I had another cannoli, I had a third cannoli, right? And by the time that I went over and I had a fourth cannoli, that kitchen manager walked in and saw me half cannoli in my mouth. She looked at me, I looked at her, and I knew I was toast. And then very well the next morning, after having breakfast and sitting down to the office, my manager Mike came over and was like, Joel, I'm so sorry, but we have to terminate your contract. But they were like, you know, it's it's just not busy season, we don't need you now. But I really, to this day, believe it was that cannoli. That kitchen manager didn't like me. I don't know what it was. I was just trying to work and enjoy a delicious delicacy that I have never had before. And well, four four cannolis is way too much. We found out that day. So, but I worked there for, I don't know, nine months or so. Well, six six months or so. I really liked it. I liked it a lot. I worked with a really cool team and I did some really cool stuff. Yeah, I I like audio visual stuff. It's it's kind of something that intrigues me. So it was really cool. But yeah, so let's see, independent records. I worked at the subway, I worked at Visual Aids Electronics that Hayat. That was so cool. Gosh, I I missed that job. I made 15 bucks an hour back in 2010, and you know, that was that was really cool back then. And I would ride my bike into work at like 5 a.m. And I had to be there. I think I had to be there at like 7. So I think I would get up at 5 and then ride in, and then I would have breakfast with like the crew, you know, the staff of the hotel. They had like this awesome, I mean it was beautiful, but they had like this huge like cafeteria underneath the hotel for all the staff. So we could come in, we could have whatever we want, you know, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then go about our day. So I went in, I would have breakfast in the morning, and then I would work for like you know, 10, 12 hours a day, and I loved it. And all I would do is just go to room to room and either tear down or put up audio and visual equipment, you know, whatever they needed. So much fun. I love that job. And if I could have another job, that's probably what I would do, other than the holistic rounding job that I did for Parkview. I loved that as well. And one day I'll talk more about that as well. But I think today's just a Denver episode. So, gosh, there's so much to talk about with Denver. That sucks that it's we know we're about 25 minutes in, and and all I did was talk about like my jobs and stuff. But when I lived in Denver, it was it was a really an eye-opening experience. I got to, you know, live in a city. You know, I lived downtown on Capitol Hill for a while, and you know, it was it was incredible because I I was extremely broke when I lived in Denver. You know, a lot of the times I didn't have a job, you know, and when I I didn't have a job, you know, I I was living on two dollar Taco Bell meal deals, you know, back in the day when like Taco Bell was kind of cool. We'd have these meal deals, and it was like a five-layer BV burrito, right? So funny. And like a drink and I think chips or something like that, right? So for two bucks. And I would just like scrounge like change, you know, I would find change or something, or I would like do something for somebody, and then they would pay me a little bit or whatever. But I I literally lived on that stuff for I don't know, maybe about a month. And times weren't too tough. But the cool thing was that when even though I was super broke when I lived out there, and I I would always find something to do. There would always be something to do somewhere for free, right? So you could just get up and be like, you know what, I'm just gonna like walk as much as I can today, wherever I can, and do whatever I do, you know, and things were always happening. But I was very thankful to have a really nice bike out there, and I was able to just kind of travel around and hang out with my friends and go to breweries and all kinds of stuff. And and we would go to this bar called this the Shag Lounge, and I I liked it. So I I guess back in the 70s, this this or 70s, 80s, 90s, maybe even who knows? Who knows the real history? But this this bar called the Shag Lounge would show like 70s porn or whatever, like like that's kind of where it got its thing, and just kind of a weird thing, sure. But when I was there, it turned more into like this hipster bar, and they would show like like biking videos or something, like like guys, like like the tour de France or something like that, you know what I mean? And they would show stuff like that, but it was like this hipster biker bar. Like when I say bikers, I don't say like vroom vroom biker bar, I say like like road bikes. So they would have like races and stuff like that, and like all kinds of different stuff, but it was like this big hipster bar, it was so cool. I loved it, and it was right next to this cafe that I would always frequently visit called Lila's Cafe, European Cafe, which is sadly no longer in Denver, now that I know. And but that was a really good time. So you could go there and you can get coffee, you it was a bar, you could play games. It was just a really nice place to go and like hang out with friends for a long time if you didn't actually want to be in the bar, you know, next which was next door. And but it was really cool, it was really, it was it was awesome, and I I really loved though that time, and it it just seems you know, it it's it's been some time now looking back at it, but you know, it's like man, that was like some of the best times of my life, and it was crazy, okay. It was absolutely crazy. I'm gonna talk real quickly here another story. I know we're definitely going over, but but the Denver saga to me was was quite influential. And so when I lived in Denver and I was dead broke, there was a a time where this is a story. So there was a time where my my two roommates, Ozzy and Christian and I were sitting downtown at like this park, and it was by the Platte River. And if you're familiar at all with downtown Denver, like they're really big on their parks, and they have beautiful parks and they have beautiful trails and stuff all over. So we rode our bikes down there. We were sitting down by the river, and we were sharing a a 40 40 ounce of beer, right? A King Cobra, to be exact. And we're that's how broke we were, right? Three guys sharing one beer. So we were just sitting there drinking this beer, and I happened to look behind me, and I saw a backpack, okay? Just chilling, and by itself, nobody was around. Okay, the sun was kind of going down, and I'm like, oh, somebody lost their backpack. I I should go find that, see if there's identification, call, you know, get get this taken care of. Somebody obviously left their backpack, you know. So being the the nice Midwestern that I am, Midwesterner that I am, I walked towards it. Right? As I was maybe about four feet away from it, this guy jumped out of nowhere and it was like, you're trying to steal my shit, man.

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You're trying to steal my shit.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

And I was like, no, sir. You know, I you know, me being trying to be logical was like, no, sir. I was I was just looking for identification. Oh, that's bullshit. You're trying to steal my shit, you know. And I was like, whoa, okay, this this guy's clearly not making any sense or understanding any sense that I'm trying to make to him. So apparently this guy was like swinging at me, but I never got hit. I don't know. And so Ozzy ran over real quick and he's like, Hey, hey, hey, what's what's going on here? Like, you know, and this guy, oh, this guy's trying to steal my shit. And like, we're like, no, dude, you know, it was a misunderstanding. If it's yours, good, go away. You know, we don't want any part of whatever you're doing. So, anyway, we finally got this guy to like kind of go away. He's like, Don't you turn your back on me? Like, real, real weird. Okay. So we're sitting there, all of a sudden, we hear dude talking again. Okay. After he kind of went away, dude comes back, right? And then he's got two other people with him, okay. And I look over and there's this kind of tough guy. I don't know how old he is, maybe like late 40s, maybe 50s. I don't know, right? I I was I was like I said, 23, 24 at the time, 23. And looking back, I was like, okay, who's this guy, right? And this guy came up running. You know, he he's like, he's kind of like a short, tough guy, but he's got bald head, he's got a white t-shirt on, scruffy looking pants, right? He he just looks kind of tough and like he looks like a grumpy little bulldog, you know what I mean? Somebody uh kind of like a Michael Chickless in a way, if you will, back in the day when he was more tough looking, right?

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But anyway, he came up to me, he's like, I want to talk to you, big man, right? I was a chunky dude back then, so I was like, okay. What? He's like, I had to come from under a bridge. I was just fucking a whore over there, and I gotta come deal with you because you're trying to steal my son's bag.

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And I was like, How do I how do I explain this to this guy, right? Who's who's clearly a little agitated that he had to leave his whore under the bridge to come beat my ass? I was like, sir, you know, I don't know. I tried talking to him, he wasn't having it either. Clearly, he was under the influence of something. So thankfully, you know, when when you're in a circumstance in a situation where it requires a little bit of a nonsense, you know, I'm thankful that my friend Ozzie was there because Ozzie can talk nonsense just like anybody else. And I'm trying to be like rational, be like, no, sir, I'm so sorry, sir. Misunderstanding, sir. And Ozzie was like, you know, meeting meeting him where he was, right? Which is really cool. So I'm very thankful for Ozzie being there. So Ozzie took this big guy and they were talking, and crazy guy was talking to my friend Christian, and then the other crazy guy, who is really sketch, came over and talked to me, and we had a little discussion. And he was like telling me that that he's from California and he's got a knife in his pocket, and then he kills people. He doesn't mind killing people. Okay, so I'm like, all right, this guy is a little serious, and he looked really sketch. I could probably have taken him, he was probably the littlest guy. But either way, you know, if he had a knife and he liked killing people, I probably would didn't have a good chance because I was a little chunky and about a third of the way drunk on A40, right? And so anyway, it was a very, very strange and very odd exchange of events. Apparently, the big guy had a gun in his pocket, he showed Ozzie the gun. I I don't know. It was very weird, but at some point during the time when they were all talking to us, we all came back collectively together, and they found out that we like metal music, right? Music saved the day. Music saved the day. Because this big guy was like, he's like, Yeah, I don't mind killing you guys. He's like, We'll throw you in the Platte River and they can find you tomorrow. And we're like, Okay, gosh, this is elevating pretty quickly. And but but yeah, we found out that they liked metal music, and this guy, he was probably totally full of shit, and he was like, Yeah, I'm the guitarist of slayer. We're like, okay, why are you under a bridge fucking some whore if you're the guitarist of slayer, right? Why why aren't you just like, you know, in a hotel, right? Anyway, so basically what had happened was we we had calmed them down because we listened to metal music, right? So there was common ground, thankfully, and he was telling us basically his plan. So they were a part of this, they were part of Hell's Angels, okay, right? This is crazy, crazy. They're part of Hell's Angels, and they had come up from Texas because they had given drugs to to juggalos, right? And these juggalos spent their money, spent their spent their drugs, did their drugs, spent their money, and these guys came up from Texas to to beat these juggalos up, right? So it's it's kind of funny that I I earlier told a story about juggalos, but it's so funny. Like juggalos are actually a problem in Denver. They're seen as like a group that's like banned. So if there's like back in the day, I don't know how things are now, right? But back then, you know, if if there's a group of juggalos hanging around like 5th 15th Street Mall, like downtown, where there's like this open mall, it's really cool. But they get broken up because they're seen as a is like a gang, right? So these these hells angels were up from Texas to beat up these juggalos over like heroin or cracker or whatever money, right? So they basically told us this story. We became friends, and by the end of it, we were like riding away, like making grunting metal noises at each other. It was it was the craziest thing. It's like it's like we were, you know, a misunderstanding turned into a nightmare, turned it into possible death, turned it into friends, and then we were like grunting at each other, like some kind of you know, ritualistic like you know, understanding of like just being men. I don't know what it was. It was the weirdest thing to to this day. I'm like, oh my gosh, you know, I you know, if if I didn't have Ozzy there with his unlogical mind, like trying to explain things to this guy who was also unlogical, I we we'd probably be toast, you know, because I would have still tried tried to keep explaining while I was like, you know, sending bubbles in at the bottom of the Platt River. I don't know, but it was a really cool event. And then we were thinking, you know, as we were riding away, it's like, you know, I think that that backpack was full of drug money or drugs, one of the two, and maybe it was there for like a like a pickup or a drop-off or something. Who knows? Wrong place, wrong time. Weird story. And that was like that was the highlight of Denver, you know, for me. So I was like, okay, I've lived and it was cool. But yeah, so that was that was that was a big big thing out there, you know. I mean, obviously that was just one night, but it was a weird thing. But when I lived there, you know, I I met some amazing people, I ate amazing food, I got to really enjoy green chili, you know, uh green chili on breakfast burritos. Holy moly! And those people really know how to breakfast burrito out there. I would go to this awesome restaurant called Barracudas in the morning with my my friend Chad, who I lived with for a moment. It was his couch that he offered up. And and Chad used to be like a downstairs neighbor to Ozzy and another friend Connor when he used to live there. So it was really cool. And anyway, Chad, Chad was this crazy alcoholic, and we would go out to breakfast, right? And Chad would order this is so funny. He would order a PBR, a shot of vodka, and a breakfast burrito, right? And he would do the shot, drink the PBR, and eat the breakfast burrito. And I just went and I I had it like a breakfast burrito and coffee, right? Like a normal person. But Chad Chad was he was another animal, like I don't know, it was it was cool. But yeah, like that was that was a little bit of my Denver time, and I I really loved it. I I met some amazing friends out there. I had some went to amazing parties, and it it was just it's uh it opened my mind up to a totally different type of lifestyle where people are more accepting of one another, where people are more, you know, I you know what I mean, you know, probably a lot of people maybe maybe some people listen to this, right? Like there's not a lot of diversity here in Northwest Ohio. And when I lived there, I really got to appreciate different types of people with different types of cultures, with different types of viewpoints, and I loved it, right? And that's when I really started understand that I I really belong in kind of a city environment, you know. And in 2011, basically the reason I came back home was because I would I would talk to my grandpa on the phone, and he he didn't sound like he was doing so well. So one of the times I talked to him, it kind of sounded like he he couldn't hear me, he wasn't doing really well, it didn't sound like his health was that good, and and I I had a really good relationship with my grandfather, and I I decided to ultimately come home to spend more time with him, and so that's one reason, and yeah, I I I just I I you know there are some other reasons that were going on that I don't really want to talk about, but basically I I kind of got myself into a little bit of a tricky situation, and I I needed to get away from that. So coming back home was a really good option and an opportunity, and I I I came back in 2011 in April of 2011. My my parents actually came out and it was so super sweet of them. They came out and they brought my grandpa's truck, and we filled it to the brim of all my stuff, and I had all my stuff filled out there. I uh when I lived out there, I drove a Pontianic vibe. So I filled my car and I filled this truck full of all my stuff, and I moved back home. And it was it was sad. I had to leave a bunch of cool stuff. I had a really cool desk and I had a bed out there, and uh, you know, all kinds of cool stuff. Well, did I bring my bed? I might have brought my bed back. It might have been my bed that I brought out there. No, no, it wasn't. It wasn't my bed, it wasn't anything anyway. When I moved out there, I moved out there with very little stuff. I moved out there with the only things that that could fit into my Pontiac vibe at the time. So I really didn't move out there with a lot of stuff. I ended up obtaining a lot of that stuff while I was out there, and it was it was cool, but I I really miss it. And I remember the day that I moved back, I was going to go to a when I lived out there, I I, you know, Red Rocks, right? It's one of the coolest natural-formed concert venues, right? Probably in the world. And I I've I've been to Red Rocks a couple times, but never for a concert. And it was a real big kicker. The day that I came back, I was going to go to an Eskimo. Eskimo E-S-K-M-O is like one of my favorite electronic music composers, right? Com producers, and for back then, and he was playing at Red Rocks that night, and I was so upset that I couldn't go as I was moving back home. But it is what it was, right? We just kind of live and learn. But one time when I was out there, I'll share this real quickly as I'm kind of trying to wrap up here. But as I was there, one time I was out walking, and this was the first time that I met the first time that I visited Denver, I went out with this is when my buddy Ozzie lived out there, and I went with another friend Jared, and we we drove out there. That was the first time I went to Denver, and that was it, it was really cool. But we went to Red Rocks when I went there, and Red Rocks is a big, big park, right? You anybody can go there when it's open and just kind of like walk around the whole property. It's cool. And we went there, and I remember hearing Gwen Stefani of No Doubt. It was like two in the afternoon, and she was doing warm-up vocals for that set that she was gonna do that night, right? At Red Rocks, and I remember hearing Gwen Stefani's vocals like going over the the mountains, and it was the coolest thing. And I was like, that's no doubt, like speaking from the mountains, it's really cool. But yeah, I don't know. Denver, Denver is just like from what I've come to understand, it's it's changed a lot. Like downtown is not the same, Cap Hill is not the same, there's a lot of homeless people there. It's kind of causing some problems, and a lot of them in encroach on you now, like like they used to just do their thing and kind of hang out, but but now I from what I've come to understand from some friends out there that like they get a little hostile and and they come up and they they can't kind of seem a little bit more menacing, so that's no good. And I hear traffic's insane because of the cannabis boom and all the good stuff that's going on out there. When I lived out there, cannabis was not recreationally legal, it was only medically legal. So we would you'd have to have a buddy that would go to a dispensary that would hook you up with all the good stuff. Shout out to my favorite dispensary from back then called Good Chemistry. That was a really cool place that that I would send a buddy to to go get some really good stuff. I don't know if they're still there on Capill or uh on Colfax or not, but it was a really cool, really cool place, really cool time. I absolutely love Denver. I would love to go back some time and just see how it's changed, see how downtown has changed, see what the skyline looks like. Yeah. Anyway, I think that's gonna be it, guys. This has been a 42-minute episode. You know, the last time I went about this long, I was ranting about religious stuff. So I guess there was a lot to talk about within the realm of Denver and just share with you guys on that. I think it was really important to share that part of my story, that piece, because a lot of my life today is is kind of like, you know, it's been opened up since I had that experience. Like I feel like when I lived on my own, you know, during that time, it was like the the coming of age moment for me where I had to figure out my bills, I had to figure out lifestyle. You know, I I didn't have help from anybody around, like no family and anything like that that could like of be of service and support. It was just my friends, right? And I I I love my friends, right? My my friends are like some of the biggest support structures that I have. And back then it was just really cool to kind of like live on my own and like you know, really explore life, you know. And when you're 23, like that's the the coolest thing you could really do for yourself, you know. So anyway, this this is the Denver the Denver episode, right? We're gonna call it the Denver Omelette, right? We had the Mediterranean skillet, now we have the Denver Omelet. So there we are. I don't know. I hope you guys enjoy that, and I hope, you know, like I said, you know, season season one is gonna be it's it's a lot on just telling my story and like giving a little bit of a backstory, and then maybe in season two we're gonna start getting into some real stuff. But if you guys enjoy this, you know, like, share, follow, do whatever you do, rate the show, say hey Joel, I like it, you know. I don't know. This has been a long episode, so we're gonna end it here. But I hope you guys have a swell rest of your day. Take care of yourselves, drink some water, get some sunshine, and maybe hop on a bike if you want, you know. You never see somebody being sad riding on a bicycle, you know, unless the tires popped. But yeah, so yeah, check it, check it out, do whatever you guys do, have some good times and be good to one another, right? That's what I'll leave you with. Anyway, take care and have a great day.