SoberNotMature - Episode 172 (Brothers In Defects)

00:00:01.66
Bill
Alright everyone, welcome once again to another episode of Sober Not Mature. like got three things to start out with, okay? You ready?

00:00:10.13
Mike
Not sure. Why not?

00:00:11.50
Bill
yeah Founders Day weekend. That's number one.

00:00:14.46
Mike
Right. Yes.

00:00:16.58
Bill
So yes, I'm in Cleveland right now. We're under the same roof. Yell again, Mike. See if it comes up and back. There's little bit of...

00:00:21.66
Mike
and

00:00:22.65
Bill
There you go. I heard it. He's behind me, but across the hall, literally, doors were open, spitting distance away from each other. So yeah, we're ah we're we're both in we're both in Cleveland right now.

00:00:31.07
Mike
Yes.

00:00:35.52
Bill
So when I turned off the box fan, because I thought i'd be a little loud.

00:00:36.26
Mike
We are.

00:00:40.08
Bill
I've got the ceiling fan on, but...

00:00:41.75
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:00:42.31
Bill
Um, it was just, I'm like, yeah ah you know, fuck everyone. I'll just leave the fan.

00:00:45.31
Mike
Right.

00:00:45.59
Bill
I'm like, I get, no, I left the window open, but,

00:00:45.75
Mike
I mean, you close the window, right? Yeah, okay. All right. See, I make sure I close the windows because, you know, i don't trust my neighbors.

00:00:54.32
Bill
ah you know what? That's a good point. Okay. So as we're doing this, so that's number one, founder's date. Number two, I got to close the window.

00:01:01.63
Mike
All right. Well, while Bill gets up and closes the window.

00:01:02.53
Bill
Well, I'm still connected.

00:01:05.54
Mike
ah ah yeah, that's right.

00:01:06.83
Bill
I'm still here.

00:01:07.82
Mike
You can walk around. You're all mobile.

00:01:09.14
Bill
I'm a, I'm a professional.

00:01:11.48
Mike
want to know about that.

00:01:13.23
Bill
yeah No, I just have, i got a long enough cord on my headset where I was able to to walk through this shit, not step on the plug and turn the power off and do all that other shit. So, but um yeah, so, so Founders Day weekend.

00:01:22.54
Mike
All right.

00:01:24.44
Bill
So we'll be at Founders Day tomorrow. And I, obviously after the reading,

00:01:27.86
Mike
Have we started yet?

00:01:29.30
Bill
Yes, I think we have. I think the window's shut.

00:01:30.20
Mike
ah Okay. Okay.

00:01:31.22
Bill
That was number two. That was number two.

00:01:32.53
Mike
okay

00:01:33.33
Bill
um But we could jump back into Founders Day. I'm sure we got, I i don't know. It's it's always fun to to talk about stuff. But I've got a little surprise for you about Founders Day too, which I'll bring up later. That's a tease.

00:01:44.53
Mike
Oh, well, shit, I'm going to have to stick around here for a minute then.

00:01:44.79
Bill
That's a tease for that one. um

00:01:49.13
Bill
yeah Yeah, I was going to say you don't have a choice, but of course you have a choice.

00:01:52.74
Mike
i have choices today.

00:01:52.97
Bill
it's like It's like drinking. Yeah, we it's like drinking. You know, when people say drinking is not an option, it's not a choice. It is always a choice. We just choose we just choose not to based on the things we want to do these days with our lives.

00:02:00.44
Mike
Always. Hmm. Well, right. we

00:02:04.62
Bill
so

00:02:05.14
Mike
We choose to do the things to make it not a choice today, but yeah, it's always a fucking choice.

00:02:10.69
Bill
Yeah, it is. It's always an option, always a choice. But thank God, not today. Okay. Um, technically one out and I blew my three. So we're going four things. Number three.

00:02:19.14
Mike
Wow.

00:02:20.39
Bill
Um, one.

00:02:20.34
Mike
you bo Lucky three.

00:02:22.47
Bill
yeah Okay. So ah forget.

00:02:23.99
Mike
You blew it.

00:02:25.75
Bill
Doesn't matter. It's a lucky four. It's like a four leaf clover.

00:02:27.46
Mike
yeah

00:02:28.64
Bill
Four leaf clovers are lucky ones.

00:02:29.10
Mike
Ah, sure.

00:02:29.72
Bill
So there we go. I just made that up. How's that? I'm the fly.

00:02:34.51
Mike
That was pretty good.

00:02:34.63
Bill
All right. So.

00:02:35.42
Mike
Well, it's because you're on the west side of Cleveland. There's a bunch of Irish Catholics around. Mm-hmm.

00:02:39.43
Bill
There we go. Yeah, I was ah I'm an alcoholic. i was raised raised down the west side of Cleveland. And I'm a yeah by Irish Catholic. yeah No shit. I had never been any of you guys before.

00:02:50.24
Mike
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

00:02:50.65
Bill
ah Hello, Cleveland. Hello, Cleveland. OK, number number three, technically one year of Zencaster as of as of this week.

00:02:58.55
Mike
yeah

00:02:59.96
Bill
And that that came up um came up on a memory on one of our our Facebook memory a couple of days ago. I think it was the second or the third, so Monday or Tuesday last year. Well, it would have been, no, it would have been like couple of days ago, whatever.

00:03:12.79
Bill
Either way, but um yeah, we did our test run. That's right, because we recorded on a Thursday. i was in Branson. That was the episode that we're, because I had to look back just to make sure. um it was smeared off free, but still yak it off.

00:03:24.88
Mike
Ah, yes.

00:03:25.57
Bill
Yeah.

00:03:26.39
Mike
Shmiernaf.

00:03:27.34
Bill
ah what of my favorite titles and a great picture of, ah you know, Mr. Yakov Shmirdov.

00:03:34.27
Mike
enough

00:03:35.55
Bill
But yeah, so we recorded on a Thursday night. And yeah, so one year as of this week that we've had Zencaster and we've only had literally one issue with it. That was a one of their service was down and I had trouble um loading up an episode one night, which again, we recorded on a Thursday, whenever that was throughout the year.

00:03:53.26
Mike
oh

00:03:53.50
Bill
So everything lined up for the next day and Only thing I had to, i actually had to spend $3 to buy more credits because I burned them up trying to load the, load the episodes in. That's it. In one year, that's all, that's, that's it.

00:04:05.66
Bill
That's the only problems we've had. So.

00:04:06.90
Mike
Ah, see, it was a grand conspiracy, man. They wanted that extra three bucks out of you, so they shut their server down just $3 out Right? Right? us

00:04:16.00
Bill
Yeah. Well, and here's the thing with the, with the 20 bucks we pay a month, we get a certain number of um credits, which translate into minutes, you know? And, and I looked at it and I'm like, I'm like, okay, we can do, you know, we do an hour and a half.

00:04:24.57
Mike
right

00:04:29.15
Bill
And at that point in time, we switched. So whatever it was, I think we had seven hours of time and we record about six, you know, or it's eight hours, whatever it is, plenty of time.

00:04:38.02
Mike
Right.

00:04:38.20
Bill
But the fact that i that I had to try to load the episode up three times, that took up an extra, theoretically, three hours, which credits, blah, blah, blah. But um yeah, so they yeah they fucked me on about three bucks. So thank thank you, Zencaster.

00:04:51.43
Bill
No, but seriously, they've been wonderful, so we appreciate it We will but we'll sing their praises into into year two, as far as I can tell.

00:04:53.07
Mike
yeah

00:04:58.14
Bill
So the the last thing, did you hear the thing that will rock the podcast world?

00:04:58.47
Mike
yes

00:05:07.07
Bill
The news.

00:05:07.11
Mike
ah Yes, I did. I was actually, yes. Yes, I did. And it means we're going to get lots of new listeners.

00:05:14.42
Bill
Well, go ahead and announce what what I heard and what we could we could touch on a little bit later. I got an article that I have a link to, but announce it.

00:05:18.45
Mike
Yeah, well. Right. mark Mark Maron is retiring from his podcast that he's been doing for 16 years.

00:05:27.82
Bill
Yeah. And I was, so here's how it came up and here's how I heard. I listened to the, again, the Milwaukee morning show. They do this. They started doing it as a joke years ago. They report on celebrities because celebrities are so fucking egotistical.

00:05:40.04
Bill
They started doing it as a joke, but they've had a segment now for probably literally 25 years.

00:05:42.00
Mike
Right?

00:05:45.43
Bill
They call showbiz news. They include politics because they insist that politics is showbiz. And I agree.

00:05:50.95
Mike
No business for ugly people.

00:05:52.12
Bill
Yeah. Yeah, right. So um and they're they're going through that. I'm listening and um i'm I'm like listening back and forth. And he says he pronounced it wrong.

00:06:04.20
Bill
He said Mark Marin or something like that.

00:06:05.14
Mike
Mmm.

00:06:06.76
Bill
And he says, you know, his WTF podcast.

00:06:07.14
Mike
Mmm.

00:06:09.43
Bill
And I'm literally I'm like, what the fuck? I'm like, oh I didn't mean to say that. But um but I'm like, wait, what?

00:06:12.95
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:06:14.50
Bill
So I look it up and there because as they're talking, I'm looking up like you got to be fucking kidding me.

00:06:17.19
Mike
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

00:06:18.65
Bill
Um, so yeah, like you said, 16 years, um, giving up in the fall there, I think his anniversary said there it'll be the anniversary. It'll be August or September. I think we'll hit 16, whatever the deal was.

00:06:28.77
Mike
ah Early September, yeah.

00:06:30.61
Bill
Yeah. And then, um, yeah, they're going to be done sometime, sometime this fall, but, um, we can, we can touch on it again after we get done with the readings.

00:06:34.52
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:06:37.58
Bill
so I get, I get a lot of thoughts on that, but I listened to his most recent episode with John Mulaney.

00:06:39.48
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:06:42.25
Bill
So he talked about it.

00:06:43.62
Mike
ah Second reason.

00:06:43.71
Bill
Um, but,

00:06:44.34
Mike
that pun um pen i I can't even fucking talk. Fuck it.

00:06:47.89
Bill
yeah

00:06:47.91
Mike
Okay. We're shutting this podcast down too. ah

00:06:51.58
Bill
yeah

00:06:51.63
Mike
Right. Actually, the because it's, yeah, he dropped a new one. It was Thursday yesterday. So that was the second to last one.

00:06:56.84
Bill
Yeah.

00:06:59.68
Bill
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:07:00.71
Mike
Yeah.

00:07:00.98
Bill
But um so, oh, did he?

00:07:01.75
Mike
Monday's episode. Yes. Right. And I meant to, I listened, I listened to the intro. I didn't listen to the whole thing. I listened to him talk about the retirement and then, uh, yeah, he dropped one today. And, um, I caught like a couple of seconds cause Spotify, when I'm connected to Bluetooth in the truck, occasionally Spotify will just start playing.

00:07:22.51
Mike
It pisses me off. Like I'm not even in it. I haven't opened it. It just, it'll start playing. Like if it, yeah, anyway, um So I caught like two seconds. I think he was talking a bit you know more today, but I didn't get a chance to listen to it.

00:07:35.38
Bill
Right.

00:07:37.63
Bill
Well, and remind me when we're done with this, I'll i'll show you how to how to stop that automatic play on Spotify. ah there's there's It's on an Android phone. I can show you what what does it, where you can stop where you can stop that. Or it should.

00:07:48.93
Bill
It should stop it, but...

00:07:49.27
Mike
It should. I've looked into it. It's been doing it for like a year, but all right.

00:07:53.59
Bill
Oh, really? Okay. But either way, we can we could check back on that.

00:07:54.11
Mike
Yes.

00:07:56.33
Bill
So, yeah, I was going to fuck around and say, yes, Mike and I have an announcement too.

00:07:57.11
Mike
Yes.

00:07:59.53
Bill
But no, we're not going anywhere because we don't have the we don't have the numbers, the longevity, or the money that Marc Maron has and him and Brandon have.

00:08:05.45
Mike
That's right.

00:08:05.95
Bill
so But, um yeah, I'd like to id like to check ah chat on that a little bit more later. But I was just like, God damn it. But then when I but i read the article and then listened to to your to your point, that that was that was Monday's episode.

00:08:18.54
Mike
Right.

00:08:18.63
Bill
um When I listened to him talking about that, they touched on it through the entire episode with with John Mulaney, which is good, too, because John Silver just got sober a handful of years ago.

00:08:23.40
Mike
Right.

00:08:27.04
Bill
So that was a good episode in general, but he just, he came across, I don't can talk about it.

00:08:27.03
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:08:33.79
Bill
Just, I was, I was impressed with how he was handling himself with it and um bummed out, but yeah, he said some other things that I think will be interesting.

00:08:34.29
Mike
ah

00:08:37.02
Mike
Right. Yeah.

00:08:41.23
Bill
So, so there, so yeah, those are right my shocking four things, including having to shut the fucking window.

00:08:42.07
Mike
All right.

00:08:46.60
Bill
You guys, you guys are, and I did it without even fucking anything up, including myself.

00:08:47.80
Mike
All right.

00:08:50.65
Bill
So I'm all good.

00:08:51.31
Mike
Nice.

00:08:51.87
Bill
Yeah.

00:08:52.52
Mike
Yes. And again, you know, it just means, you know, that we're going to get millions more listeners now because they need something to listen to.

00:08:58.63
Bill
yeah

00:08:59.70
Mike
And here we are.

00:09:01.54
Bill
Right, right, yeah. and I am going to, since we're going to talk about Mark Maron, I'm going to hashtag Mark Maron in the thing this week and try to pull some people in cause you know people are searching for Mark Maron.

00:09:11.88
Mike
Sure.

00:09:12.38
Bill
um So yeah, if you look at our if you look at our ah you know show notes, there should be a hashtag in there that says Mark Maron. And I do this on purpose every once in a while we talk about people because fuck it. I mean, all all it takes is just get grab some people in there.

00:09:23.13
Mike
Yeah.

00:09:25.36
Bill
That's where you get the impressions. I got an email on impressions impressions through Spotify last last month. It doesn't mean we got 6,000.

00:09:34.72
Mike
Was it from Rich Little?

00:09:37.74
Bill
No, it's just all it means is that ah all that and that an impression is is that it it got in front of somebody's face.

00:09:39.24
Mike
Ah,

00:09:43.78
Bill
Like when you're scrolling, if you happen to scroll suit through something, Sober Not Mature came in front of your face. You could be one of these 6,000 impressions. That's all that it is.

00:09:51.60
Mike
all right.

00:09:52.36
Bill
you know so um you know But still, I mean, that's a lot of things. But on Instagram, that's how you draw people in sometimes. It's just these hashtags because that's how so much of this shit is drawn. Yeah. And who knows? Maybe people will be like, oh, what's this shit? Why do they got Mark? Why are they talking about Mark Mayer? And so maybe who knows? so So if you happen to if you happen to join us accidentally, um thank you and gotcha.

00:10:08.46
Mike
Right.

00:10:12.83
Mike
Right.

00:10:13.26
Bill
So there you are.

00:10:13.57
Mike
Right.

00:10:14.28
Bill
Just listen long enough to write register to play for us.

00:10:16.20
Mike
ah Exactly.

00:10:16.48
Bill
That's all we need.

00:10:16.84
Mike
How you doing, what the fuckers?

00:10:19.04
Bill
Yeah. What the fuck? Yeah, and Marc Maron stole our fuck knuckle thing, so fuck him too.

00:10:24.39
Mike
Yeah.

00:10:24.99
Bill
What the fuck knuckles? He said that one time, and I'm like, um I'm driving to the car go, what the fuck did he just say?

00:10:26.55
Mike
That's right. Right.

00:10:30.77
Mike
he

00:10:30.93
Bill
That's ours, goddammit. Get all your shit over there. Keep our fuck knuckle thing away. That's my friend.

00:10:35.75
Mike
that's right

00:10:38.88
Bill
You can't have that, Marc Maron. Have we said Marc Maron enough to try to pick this up, Marc Maron?

00:10:40.93
Mike
right

00:10:44.91
Mike
Mark Maron.

00:10:46.76
Bill
ah I think we'll talk a little bit more about Marc Maron later. Hashtag Marc Maron.

00:10:52.52
Bill
All right, enough fucking around for now. Let's fuck around with the reading.

00:10:54.72
Mike
Right.

00:10:55.40
Bill
Let's fuck around with some good shit for a minute.

00:10:57.26
Mike
All right. Well, um okay. um This is from God grant me um since it is founder's day weekend. We may have done this one before. We may have even done it last year.

00:11:09.95
Mike
Founder's day. I don't know, but it's always kind of a, Yeah, this is one I used to share in groups. And yeah, anyway, I'm just going to do it. It's June 24th.

00:11:20.79
Bill
Cool.

00:11:21.61
Mike
And it says, we recovered alcoholics are not so much brothers in virtue as we are brothers in our defects and in our common striving to overcome them.

00:11:33.69
Mike
Some guy named Bill Wilson said that. All right. Hashtag Bill Wilson. ah All right. Our primary purpose in recovery is to help each other and those who will come after us.

00:11:47.16
Mike
What an interesting task for self-centered people. By helping each other overcome defects of character, we forget about ourselves and the voice of our ego grows less intense. Okay.

00:11:59.35
Mike
The Fellowship of Recovery works to break down self-centeredness and to remind us that we cannot do it alone. We must never forget that it is in the we of the program that we find relief from the me of addiction.

00:12:14.66
Mike
It is in the we that we find the answers to the troubles and challenges life will give us. Loving relationships ask that we step outside of ourselves into a larger world.

00:12:26.70
Mike
do we believe that Do we believe more in the we of recovery or the me of ego Prayer for the day. Higher power. Help me overcome my defects of character by guiding me deeper into the we of recovery.

00:12:43.30
Mike
Today's action. oh man. Now we got to do something. Today, i will call my sponsor and talk with him or her about how I can be of better service to others.

00:12:54.67
Bill
Well, I don't know if we read that last year, but I remember it. ive I think we've talked about that. You said you did that in group, right?

00:13:01.97
Mike
Yeah, yeah. And I'd usually do it around Founders Day, even if, you know, whatever. Yeah, because, you know, the we of the program, it's that's kind of what this weekend is all about.

00:13:12.54
Bill
Right. And, um you know, obviously, it yeah, the... And, you know, we talk about we we use the word or the phrase that we have the program. um I mean, I know we talk about Marty always said, you know, ah we stay sober or um I get drunk.

00:13:26.85
Bill
We stay sober type of thing was the what he used to always say.

00:13:28.04
Mike
Right. Mm-hmm.

00:13:30.15
Bill
But, um you know, the the two things that said there, the we have the program or the me of addiction. And then, you know, it said ego and they're also the me of of our ego or whatever, however that was worded, which.

00:13:38.62
Mike
Right.

00:13:40.13
Bill
um You know, I don't i guess I don't I'm not saying I don't think about that as much, but, you know, I don't think we hear that statement as much talking about that. I don't know if that's the negative side. That's the opposite side, if nothing else.

00:13:52.29
Bill
You know, but um I like that. The me, you know, rather than thinking about the me of addiction, once again, you know, rather than being, you know, selfish and self-centered, that is the root of our troubles.

00:13:59.85
Mike
see

00:14:01.38
Bill
Right?

00:14:01.45
Mike
Right.

00:14:02.02
Bill
You say, you got the whole thing. What what is it again? Say, say come on Selfish and what?

00:14:05.57
Mike
What?

00:14:07.01
Bill
The selfish and self-centered is blah, blah, blah.

00:14:07.05
Mike
Self? Yeah.

00:14:09.13
Bill
Oh, yeah.

00:14:09.50
Mike
Yeah, yeah. the The quote from the book is selfishness and self-centeredness that we think is the root of our troubles.

00:14:16.36
Bill
There you go. That's the, and I, I mess up the words. I know the saying, but I mess up the words and I know, you know, the words exactly.

00:14:20.75
Mike
It is.

00:14:22.03
Bill
So that's one of your, that's one of your favorite go-tos. So, but, um,

00:14:24.96
Mike
It is. Yeah, well, I mean, you know, and and that means that all of our troubles, problems, whatever, stem the root. Everything stems, grows out of the selfishness and self-centeredness, including our addiction and, and you know, being an asshole and everything else.

00:14:38.57
Bill
right.

00:14:43.26
Mike
Yeah, it all comes from me, me, me, me.

00:14:46.64
Bill
Right. Yeah. And i'm I'm glad. I mean, it opened up, too, with the you know brothers in um you know brothers in our in our defects. And I like that. we And I know for a fact we've talked about that before. And there's a couple of things I i wrote down out of at least one or two readings that I can get to later. Yeah.

00:15:04.41
Bill
you know Obviously, the sixth month, the sixth step, it's a defect to characters and all those different things.

00:15:08.58
Mike
Mm

00:15:08.73
Bill
and um you know So that's another another thing. But um but yeah, i mean we it's a weird thing to think about. you know we We come together as a group you know ah for ah for a common good, you know for a common purpose of getting sober and staying sober.

00:15:20.54
Mike
hmm. Right.

00:15:23.45
Bill
But what what brought us here was... our common fucking problems. so

00:15:28.15
Mike
Yeah, exactly.

00:15:28.37
Bill
You know, I mean, the, the, the defects and brothers, the defects. I just think that is such a, it's such a clear, concise and, and visually, visually perfect way to come across with that.

00:15:41.55
Mike
yeah Yeah, that Bill Wilson motherfucker. He had a couple of good ideas.

00:15:45.63
Bill
ah i He should, he should have written a book.

00:15:48.30
Mike
He should have. There were even a couple of them.

00:15:49.81
Bill
yeah Yeah. Maybe a book, a story or two along the way.

00:15:54.38
Mike
Right, some articles for a magazine. Right.

00:15:57.21
Bill
yeah

00:15:57.71
Mike
Should

00:15:58.67
Bill
Yeah. Great find this great find that, you know, I don't know. Yeah. I guess should have done something with that. You know, kind of spread the word and tried, tried, tried to help the next guy for God's sakes.

00:16:05.15
Mike
have done something with his life.

00:16:09.64
Bill
What the hell's wrong with you?

00:16:10.07
Mike
Right.

00:16:11.06
Bill
if

00:16:11.20
Mike
Right.

00:16:12.00
Bill
You should have tried to give it away. Maybe he could have, oh, wait, wait, wait, which one?

00:16:14.88
Mike
well right

00:16:16.72
Bill
Bill who?

00:16:18.00
Mike
Exactly. Right. And I mean, and that's, you know, this whole Alcoholics Anonymous thing and the whole founders, they were going to celebrate 90 years ago down in Akron, Ohio, a failed stockbroker who fucked up yet another business deal, stone cold sober, um, met a butt doctor and, uh, they looked at each other and went, ah, shit, maybe we could do something about it.

00:16:39.41
Bill
hey

00:16:44.65
Mike
Um, Yeah, you know, and that that was it. You know, Bill was down in Akron and fucking shit up and staying in a hotel by himself. Can't imagine what that's like.

00:16:55.72
Mike
And right, looking at the bar going, hmm, and picked up that 4,000 pound phone and called the local hospital and said, Hey man, you know, any drunks I can talk to?

00:17:09.65
Bill
Right.

00:17:10.65
Mike
Yeah. And they went, Oh yeah, we know one.

00:17:15.79
Mike
Cause you know, where everybody's fooling everybody. Right.

00:17:18.66
Bill
Right.

00:17:18.67
Mike
And he, and Dr. Bob went to the Sebrings gatehouse. And if you don't know, the Sebrings were the Firestone people, Tyre, Akron, Ohio, all that good stuff, rubber city.

00:17:31.80
Mike
And um yeah, You know, but I actually I was reading a little bit last night. Um, And yeah, you know, Dr. Bob looked at his wife. He said, I'm giving this guy 15 minutes.

00:17:43.30
Mike
They sat there and talked for five hours. um

00:17:45.70
Bill
Right.

00:17:46.45
Mike
Yeah. You know, all well, you know, this guy, you know, Dr. Bob, full on, full blown alcoholic in the middle of it, um sat down with another drunk who wasn't drinking and went, God, this guy knows what the fuck he's talking about.

00:18:03.55
Mike
Of course he did because he was the same as Dr. Bob. Yeah. you know, a raging alcoholic.

00:18:07.41
Bill
right

00:18:09.73
Mike
um That's how this thing works. we We understand each other better than anyone else ever could. And therefore, we can get through to each other better than anyone else ever could.

00:18:21.75
Mike
Um, that's how it worked for me. You know, I mean, I, I've been, you know, I've talked plenty about, you know, the rehab I went to in California and stuff.

00:18:24.35
Bill
Right.

00:18:29.62
Mike
And I mean, you know, the main doctor there wasn't one of us. And I just, you know, he'd be talking to me and I'd be going, you're full of shit, dude. You don't know what you're talking about.

00:18:40.93
Mike
Um, because he didn't.

00:18:40.99
Bill
right

00:18:43.11
Mike
you know But I sit down with some other drunk who doesn't have any letters after his name and or before or whatever, you know guy from the gutter just like me, and I go, ah, shit, you found a way out? i guess I can too.

00:18:58.21
Bill
Right. and And I know I mentioned this before and probably when we were talking about this stuff, but, you know, I i couldn't have been more than it was in the first couple of months, maybe even the first 30 days. um We were over at, I think, Kathy was in town and we went over to John Gales and um John was at Uncle John was asking some questions.

00:19:14.71
Mike
Mm

00:19:17.32
Bill
And, you know, he was, you know, well, you know how he was, you know, he was just very, very, very.

00:19:17.97
Mike
hmm. Mm hmm.

00:19:21.39
Mike
Sure.

00:19:24.04
Bill
Correct. You know, with how he was asking questions, didn't want to offend, had dealt with plenty of it with his brother and, you all that stuff.

00:19:25.43
Mike
Mm hmm.

00:19:29.33
Mike
Sure.

00:19:30.15
Bill
But, you know, also just kind of tiptoeing around it. But he just asked me, he said, he said, if you don't mind me asking, he said, you don't answer to this, but he said, isn't it uncomfortable, um you know, being around a bunch of strangers and, in you know, opening up like that?

00:19:41.72
Mike
Mm hmm. Right.

00:19:43.47
Bill
And, you know, even at that timeframe, again, I couldn't have been more than it had to been within the first 30 days. I told him, and I'm like, you know, i said, no offense.

00:19:49.32
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:19:50.92
Bill
I said, it's, it's more uncomfortable talking to you guys right now than it is talking to them.

00:19:55.14
Mike
Right. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. right

00:19:57.81
Bill
And he kind of looked at me and he's like, he and I said, well, they've all been there, you know, or, you know, they, they can, they can, you know, relate. Cause they, it was like the same. He's like, Hey, he goes, wow. goes, I never thought about that, you know, but, um and that, that's exactly what it was now.

00:20:11.50
Bill
ah over the years, I mean, i'm I'm comfortable as long as somebody is supportive, I'll in in genuinely curious about, you know, the questions they're answering, they're asking.

00:20:15.69
Mike
see

00:20:21.44
Bill
um I'll talk with almost anybody about almost anything, you know, but um yeah, you can get in a room anywhere in the world with, I've been all over the world, but, you know, anywhere in the country, anywhere, wherever, just sit down,

00:20:31.07
Mike
Yeah.

00:20:33.39
Mike
Anywhere in the world.

00:20:34.79
Bill
Yeah, he just starts shooting, you know, shooting the shit with some dude, you know, or some lady, you know, that that's been around.

00:20:39.59
Mike
Yep.

00:20:40.06
Bill
And um you're just like, mean, you're on the same page, you know, and it's ah it's ah it's a comfortable.

00:20:40.87
Mike
Yeah.

00:20:43.08
Mike
Yeah.

00:20:45.81
Bill
We've got friends everywhere and people who will understand us and welcome us.

00:20:47.50
Mike
Yeah.

00:20:49.68
Bill
um There's a seat for us and in every church basement around the world.

00:20:52.72
Mike
Yep. Right.

00:20:53.85
Bill
Yeah.

00:20:57.11
Bill
Yeah, it's just, ah it's ah it's an unbelievable, and yeah, I mean, my God, on top of that, you know, too, 90 years. um

00:21:05.15
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:21:05.63
Bill
I mean, you know, that we could talk about that a little bit about the first year that we went there and stuff like that, but you figure that was 75, you know?

00:21:13.26
Mike
Yeah.

00:21:13.87
Bill
And I remember that was kind of a, that seemed like kind of a big deal, you know, just in general.

00:21:17.19
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:21:18.91
Bill
fuck it, 90 years. 90. Just...

00:21:21.66
Mike
Yeah. Yeah.

00:21:25.15
Bill
just Absolutely crazy. Just crazy.

00:21:27.65
Mike
Right. But then, you know, but I mean, really to put it perspective, okay, how about the thousands of years before that when, you know, I mean, people, people were getting loaded, you know, pretty much from the beginning of time, you know, car Carlin's got a great bit, you know, look at the sheep over there, frolicking, eating that bush.

00:21:41.33
Bill
Right.

00:21:46.82
Mike
Let's go over and try some, right?

00:21:49.07
Bill
Yeah. yeah yeah

00:21:51.52
Mike
You know, right. I mean, people been getting loaded. Oh, that fucking fruit juice went bad. Oh, well, it's making me feel good. Right. You know, right.

00:22:02.56
Mike
And I mean, you know, only 90 years ago did two guys sit down and go, hey, man, you know, let's help each other. Let's do this thing. And and and yes, here's some some guidelines and some suggestions for other alcoholics.

00:22:16.17
Bill
Right.

00:22:17.40
Mike
And um yeah, you know, our shit. Again, 75 years after that, these two alcoholics started taking those suggestions and here we fucking are.

00:22:29.29
Bill
yeah Yeah, that's that's that's for goddamn sure. and Same same thing. You know, when we take a look at like you were whatever you were doing, you know, the the numbers and, you know, how long it's been and whatever we're just talking about a few few months ago.

00:22:41.31
Bill
I mean, it's 90 years is 90 years. But I mean, you know, relatively speaking, you know, over over time, it's just it's it's crazy, you know.

00:22:44.86
Mike
Yeah. Yeah.

00:22:48.16
Bill
But yeah, the and that's a good point. You know, I mean, people have been getting loaded and trying things out and doing whatever. And it was problematic. And I mean, granted, the you know, I mean, AA was it seemed to be, you know more centered along the you know, you read the big book.

00:23:00.77
Bill
I mean, it seems more male centered and all the sort of things.

00:23:01.44
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:23:03.81
Bill
Um, and maybe it was, just, maybe it was, you know, society has changed over the years with the, you know, the male and the female dynamic.

00:23:07.83
Mike
Sure.

00:23:10.13
Bill
And, um, you know, just, uh, we, I tell what, anyone out there that's listening to that doesn't think that women are fucking super hardcore, you're really fucking wrong, man.

00:23:18.80
Mike
Yeah. Mm-hmm. yeah

00:23:20.92
Bill
Let's let us introduce you to even, even a handful of our friends.

00:23:24.25
Mike
oh

00:23:24.64
Bill
Listen to some of those goddamn stories. I'm like, I wish I went well. I'm like, maybe I don't wish I would have known you then.

00:23:29.21
Mike
No.

00:23:30.46
Bill
yeah Part of me is like, God damn, you would have been a lot of fucking fun, but I think you would have scared the shit out of me, you know?

00:23:33.83
Mike
Oh, yeah.

00:23:36.45
Mike
Yeah, well, I mean, there's a few of our friends that would have, you know, killed you and taken your wallet, so...

00:23:41.47
Bill
Oh, God, no doubt.

00:23:41.43
Mike
Oh, yeah.

00:23:42.81
Bill
No doubt. Yeah.

00:23:43.24
Mike
Yeah.

00:23:43.95
Bill
Yeah, some of these some of these very little and, you know, um ah seemingly, you know, I mean, delicate women, they would have fucked me up. I have no don't doubt.

00:23:50.97
Mike
oh yeah

00:23:52.17
Bill
No doubt. Both of us. Both of us did not even blink the goddamn eye. Yeah.

00:23:55.67
Mike
I mean, they might have yeah fucked me up a little bit, but they'd have killed you. Uh-huh.

00:24:00.82
Bill
Right. Well, you know what? to I mean, we're all, we're all, we're all special in certain ways, but maybe not special in that way.

00:24:05.96
Mike
Oh,

00:24:06.61
Bill
If you had exactly what they wanted, you put up a fight, you're dying too.

00:24:09.22
Mike
oh yeah. Right. Mm-hmm.

00:24:11.71
Bill
You're going to be on the ground let laying next to me going, I think look little different, but they got the same shit out of them.

00:24:17.38
Mike
so

00:24:17.55
Bill
But, um yeah, it's ah it's just, ah it it is, it's mind-blowing. But then, you know, seeing the, um I don't know, the the progression. And, you know, we've done, we've gone to, you know, i to Dr. Bob's house. And we've gone to the, you know, the history of the big book. And we ended up accidentally at the archive place.

00:24:34.62
Mike
Right.

00:24:34.75
Bill
in, in Akron, you know, the one time where we thought we were taking the bus to Dr. Bob's, um, you know, again, random, but we ended up in a place where you saw all these, you know, old time, you know, things and stuff like that.

00:24:38.98
Mike
Yeah.

00:24:44.57
Mike
Yeah.

00:24:44.70
Bill
And, um, I, I don't know, it's just, uh, in, you know, still, and, you know, kind of going back to the, to the fact of, uh, just reminds me of, you know, yeah, granted, if you read the, you know, even the fourth edition, which has been, you know, it's been watered down a little bit over the years, you know, clearly, you know, how it works and and that sort of thing has changed.

00:25:00.73
Bill
And, um, You know, but, you know, people and in no offense to anyone out there that doesn't, you know, either follow or or understand or, you know, if AA doesn't work for you, that's fine.

00:25:12.90
Bill
There's plenty of other recovery opportunities out there.

00:25:12.86
Mike
Mm-hmm. Sure.

00:25:15.39
Bill
But, you know, my whole point with this, you know, what what we talked about before is don't don't change what we have. This is our thing, you know, and it works for us and it works for millions of people.

00:25:22.62
Mike
Right.

00:25:25.43
Bill
So should the big book come i come out in a, you know, should it be changed? No. if If somebody wants to have big book light, then do big book light, you know, or what big book ultra like Michelob Ultra, you know, only 96 insults in this one, you know, versus the 102 over here or whatever it is, you know, so have a different thing.

00:25:32.81
Mike
Mm-hmm. Right.

00:25:37.59
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:25:43.38
Mike
Right.

00:25:45.69
Bill
You know, there's there's a point, there's a point where there's different recovery groups. If you, if you want to, if you, and I mean, anyone out there wants to, you know, take this program,

00:25:49.25
Mike
it

00:25:55.16
Bill
and change it in the way that you want, then fine, you know, go ahead and change it. But, you know, it's just the, the, the campaigning to that, this has got to change and that's got to change and this is outdated and that's outdated.

00:25:59.08
Mike
Right.

00:26:07.13
Bill
I don't necessarily disagree that a lot of the things I read in 24 hour books specifically, um, very God centric.

00:26:12.30
Mike
Right.

00:26:13.93
Bill
A lot of things are outdated, um, understood, um, you know, all those things, but,

00:26:15.69
Mike
Mm-hmm. Right.

00:26:20.04
Bill
It works. I'm very comfortable with that. a lot of people, millions are comfortable with it.

00:26:23.70
Mike
Yeah, exactly.

00:26:24.48
Bill
Do your thing over there. Leave our shit alone.

00:26:26.40
Mike
Right. Yeah, exactly. I mean, you know, and and look, exactly. I mean, the 24-hour book is a great example. I mean, I read it every day, have for 15 plus years.

00:26:38.70
Mike
um Yes, it's very God-centric. Yes, it's very, lots of outdated stuff. But um guess what? I read it every day and I find something in it. I take i make the effort to find something in it every day.

00:26:52.88
Mike
debt that pertains to me, that I can use, that helps me, make me a better man, you know, whatever. You know, and sometimes it's sometimes it's, well, that's a whole lot of shit.

00:27:03.46
Mike
You know, I'm glad I'm not doing that. oh You know, it's fine. But again, i i don't i wouldn't want to change it.

00:27:12.85
Bill
right

00:27:12.81
Mike
Why would I? It is what it is, and it helps millions of people, and it helps me. You know, even if it's just to go, well, that's full of shit. and I'm sure I'm glad I don't think that way.

00:27:25.95
Bill
Well, and I just opened up the reading from this morning on my phone because the one thing that I appreciate that I try to answer this statement every day, first of all, and I just counted, there was 11 gods in paragraph.

00:27:30.22
Mike
Right.

00:27:35.15
Mike
Right.

00:27:38.22
Bill
No, 11, 10 in one paragraph.

00:27:38.87
Mike
Yeah.

00:27:39.72
Bill
so eleven ten and one 10 in one paragraph and then one in the final one.

00:27:42.22
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:27:44.54
Bill
So yeah, 11 in a three paragraph reading. But the opening is always the AA thought for the day.

00:27:46.77
Mike
Right.

00:27:49.15
Bill
It says blah, blah, blah, this, this, this. But then it'll ask, usually ask a question at the end. Like the one today was, did I drink to escape from myself? And, you know, like this morning I looked at, I'm like, ah did I?

00:27:56.99
Mike
Right.

00:28:00.50
Bill
I'm like, maybe, you know, even if I didn't do it consciously, but I make a point of answering, answering that question yesterday was, have I found a better way of living?

00:28:01.91
Mike
Well.

00:28:09.16
Bill
You know, after it goes through the the first part of the reading, you know, but.

00:28:11.65
Mike
right guy cat I right

00:28:13.19
Bill
You know, the rest of it is talking about this, that, that, that, God, God, God, God. You know, like you said, I'm fine with it. Like, I'll read a couple of gods and I'll just see another, I see four more coming up. I'm like, Jesus Christ.

00:28:26.17
Bill
And I'm like, good, good, good, good. And I'm like, it, him, them, they.

00:28:28.46
Mike
right right it

00:28:31.45
Bill
And I'll do fucking whatever I can. But, um but yeah, you know, and there is a, For me, there's a true comfort in, i love all the other readings we we do too. I keep it simple that God grant me and um you know I do Touchstones now, which I like, you know it's ah it's been good.

00:28:41.51
Mike
Mm hmm. Sure.

00:28:47.25
Bill
um But there is a there's a true comfort in the 24-hour book because of where we started reading it and and how and doing it as, again, get back to this we stuff, that we read it as a group and we all you know pitched in with a with our, excuse me, our opinions as a group.

00:28:54.84
Mike
Right.

00:28:59.89
Mike
Mm hmm.

00:29:06.36
Mike
Yes.

00:29:07.29
Bill
you know And it was it was nice. I mean, I didn't like it to begin with you know when we first started doing it.

00:29:11.19
Mike
But right.

00:29:13.41
Bill
but um i mean But I mean, to to get that was our first opportunity to really get... you know All of us were literally in the same boat. We were all within you know one day to 89 days, roughly, at the most.

00:29:23.91
Mike
Yep. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:29:25.55
Bill
Probably, well, when did we... yeah People started looking for work, usually, at that 90-day mark.

00:29:29.18
Mike
Yeah.

00:29:29.27
Bill
So...

00:29:29.71
Mike
Yeah.

00:29:30.21
Bill
At the most, it it was one day to day 89, roughly. um You know, so a small range of people, but wide for that time, you know, for that time in our recovery.

00:29:33.69
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:29:39.19
Mike
Right. Oh, hell yeah. what yeah what you When you've got three days and that guy's got 85. Yeah, it's fucking huge.

00:29:46.48
Bill
Yeah.

00:29:47.10
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:29:47.62
Bill
You're like, Jesus, 85. Oh, my God.

00:29:49.80
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:29:50.74
Bill
How did you get 85? Jesus Christ.

00:29:52.37
Mike
ah hu

00:29:53.48
Bill
But, um you know, so it was great hearing those opinions, you know, from from people um that that did. You know, they've been they've been doing this thing for even if it was only a couple of months to year, a couple of days. So um it is. It's it's comforting. But You know, the, once again, the, the, the big book and the whole program of Alcoholics Anonymous, I would be, I would be disgusted.

00:30:13.29
Bill
I wouldn't even be mad. I would be upset. disc skit I would be discouraged. and And I'd be disappointed if, if it really got changed where the people, where the, you know, whoever does the big book now, out the founder, foundation of blah, blah, blah.

00:30:18.28
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:30:21.51
Mike
Right.

00:30:24.08
Mike
Right.

00:30:29.38
Mike
Right.

00:30:29.77
Bill
They said, okay, we're bowing down. Yeah. We're changing the big book to this.

00:30:31.57
Mike
World services.

00:30:33.34
Bill
Yeah.

00:30:33.31
Mike
Yeah.

00:30:33.54
Bill
There you go.

00:30:35.87
Mike
Yeah.

00:30:37.25
Bill
But yeah, if they bowed down to that and literally changed it, they want to pull out a whole new edition, do that.

00:30:39.81
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:30:42.91
Bill
You know, do the, whatever it is.

00:30:43.43
Mike
Yeah, that's fine.

00:30:44.67
Bill
You know, here's here's the, again, that let's call it the blue div blue edition, and then we're going to do the green one over here. We'll do the yellow one, and then the red one.

00:30:52.41
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:30:53.21
Bill
I don't know, whatever, what do you want to do? Call whatever the fuck you want. But yeah, do that. don't don't change the Don't change the original.

00:30:58.50
Mike
Yeah, right. Well, you I've got my third edition downstairs and it's not going anywhere.

00:31:03.69
Bill
ha Yeah. And I mean, it's like, there's nothing wrong with that. And every year, you know, again, speaking of Founders Day and and how it works, they read the original, you know, transcript of of how it works.

00:31:11.47
Mike
The original. Yep.

00:31:13.74
Bill
And it's, it's not, it's not as soft.

00:31:14.20
Mike
Yep.

00:31:16.88
Mike
Uh-uh. No. Yeah, for those familiar, it starts with never have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.

00:31:23.44
Bill
hey Yeah. And, you know, the the real, not the real one, but one now says rarely, you know, and it starts off with, it's not even suggestions.

00:31:26.77
Mike
Right?

00:31:30.31
Mike
Right.

00:31:32.79
Bill
It talks about, you know, you have to do this and blah, blah, blah.

00:31:34.62
Mike
Yeah, right.

00:31:36.24
Bill
And, you know, and then it then it ends off with the statement somewhere along the lines of, if you know, if you don't agree with us, basically, throw the book out, throw the book away.

00:31:42.06
Mike
Yeah. Throw the book away. Yeah.

00:31:45.15
Bill
yeah Have a great life. See ya.

00:31:46.41
Mike
Yep. Good luck with all that.

00:31:48.65
Bill
Yeah, which again, i I'm glad they sopped that up a little bit, you know, but it's fine. It's one way or the other, even if it even if it was that way, I mean, I would have adapted to it.

00:31:54.86
Mike
yeah

00:31:59.13
Bill
I don't think it would have bothered me one way or the other. it's not It's not the words. It's the process. It's the action.

00:32:04.86
Mike
say

00:32:05.72
Bill
It's the things that we do. um You know, the the steps are are way more than steps.

00:32:07.40
Mike
Right.

00:32:10.23
Bill
it's They're way more than just the words of those steps, you know?

00:32:12.40
Mike
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. Words would be nothing. You know, I read them on walls for a long time before I started actually working them.

00:32:16.35
Bill
Right. Right.

00:32:23.25
Bill
Yeah, I and again, I say this, I say this all the time, but, um you know, my my dad was sober, you know, 29 years when he died and he died one month before I got sober. And um I knew just enough about this program to make me dangerous, you know, knew just enough about this program to make me delusional enough to think that I that I didn't have a problem, you know.

00:32:37.11
Mike
Yep.

00:32:41.13
Mike
Uh-huh. Yep.

00:32:43.46
Bill
um that i was uh that i was not that bad and that that again speaking of fucking revelations whatever whenever that was couple years ago when i came up with that revelation

00:32:47.01
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:32:54.04
Mike
Relevation.

00:32:54.95
Bill
yeah you know you know i mean revelation

00:32:56.54
Mike
Yes. Yes.

00:32:58.43
Bill
By the way, I'm a little stuffed up. I could tell i briefly tell that story a little bit too, but my head is my head is cloudy, speaking of cloudy heads.

00:33:05.75
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:33:07.70
Bill
But yeah, i mean it's just you know that happened on here, where I remembered looking in the mirror, and when I turned 36 is when my dad got sober and thinking, eh, you're not that bad.

00:33:10.90
Mike
Yeah.

00:33:15.02
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:33:16.31
Bill
so

00:33:16.62
Mike
Right.

00:33:17.32
Bill
And I didn't, I never realized that I did that until you and I were talking. i'm like, Jesus Christ, I guess I, I guess I did sort of, you know, know I had an issue.

00:33:26.42
Mike
Right.

00:33:27.88
Bill
Never did anything about it, but I sort of knew.

00:33:29.29
Mike
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:33:32.72
Bill
So.

00:33:32.74
Mike
So, yes.

00:33:32.98
Bill
Right.

00:33:34.33
Mike
So, right. So, the we of the program. So, tomorrow we're going to go down and be part of we with about 10,000 to 15,000 other we's.

00:33:38.87
Bill
Right.

00:33:45.79
Bill
Yep. You know, I wonder too, I mean, that's usually, know, 10 to 15,000 that are actually at the meeting. I wonder how many, how many tickets are actually sold. Well, yeah, the tickets, people could just come come and mill around throughout the day.

00:33:57.96
Bill
I'm wondering how many, how many people is there, you know, is there 20,000?

00:33:58.36
Mike
no sure

00:34:01.92
Bill
Is there 25,000? Is there, you know?

00:34:03.06
Mike
Right. Just like hang out. Yeah. Don't go to the big meeting.

00:34:05.21
Bill
Yeah.

00:34:06.07
Mike
Right.

00:34:06.78
Bill
Yeah. mean there's gotta be a certain percentage. I'm guessing another 5,000 people, maybe.

00:34:09.32
Mike
Oh, absolutely.

00:34:11.40
Bill
I mean, at least, you know,

00:34:11.76
Mike
Probably. Yeah.

00:34:14.37
Bill
But um yeah, look, God, look at at the weather and i yeah I pulled it, actually added um Cleveland and Akron to my weather app, I think last weekend. And I looked at like, motherfuckers, it's going to goddamn rain, you know, rain a little bit cooler.

00:34:22.15
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:34:26.08
Bill
And then now it looks like it's actually going to be nice and, you know, warm and it's going to be.

00:34:28.39
Mike
Yeah. It's going to be beautiful. 75 sunny.

00:34:30.53
Bill
Yeah. Yeah. And God, that one year that we were there when it was fucking 90 degrees and humid and we're just, that might, was that the first year that we went to the big book meeting where we went again because we're like, we got to get out and we got to get into some air conditioning.

00:34:34.66
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:34:44.77
Mike
Oh, yeah.

00:34:44.97
Bill
think that, yeah.

00:34:45.66
Mike
I mean, there's been a couple of years where it's been pretty fucking hot down there. Mm-hmm.

00:34:49.13
Bill
Yeah, I just, there was one that was just, it was, that was almost too fucking much, but it was nice though. And then a couple of you know years that we got, the media got stormed out and whatever the case was.

00:34:58.21
Mike
Yep.

00:34:58.93
Bill
But um yeah, so I mean, yeah, the, the, we have the program and yeah, we're going to head down there and um like you said, be, be part of with a, with a bunch of other people trying to do the same thing. And, Um, you know, one of the favorite parts, I think for both of us is always, you know, it's the, it's the count up, you know, and the, the original initial, the initial part, you know, from anyone that's got a year down to, down to one day, you know, when you get these people that are, know, only they're on their first fucking day.

00:35:14.14
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:35:19.54
Mike
Yep.

00:35:23.01
Bill
And, um, you know, it's, it's kind of emotional when you really think about it.

00:35:23.62
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:35:26.45
Bill
Cause I couldn't, I couldn't even, think you talk about that a minute.

00:35:26.66
Mike
Oh, absolutely.

00:35:30.30
Bill
I mean, I couldn't, but I didn't want to be there, you know, a month and a half or, you know, less than whatever it was, let alone first fucking debut.

00:35:33.57
Mike
Right. Mm-hmm.

00:35:36.28
Bill
Oh, yeah. I couldn't imagine. I just couldn't. Well, I was i wasn't even cognizant on my first day, quote unquote, sober.

00:35:46.00
Mike
Right.

00:35:47.24
Bill
So yeah, on April 18th of 2010, I was pretty much blacked out and drugged up when they were trying to get me down off all my shit. Not all my shit. My one friend, Lord Alcohol.

00:35:57.77
Mike
Yeah.

00:35:58.06
Bill
Yeah. lord alcohol

00:36:00.28
Mike
right

00:36:01.66
Bill
Which again, you know, just it almost killed me. Just did it. Did a little bit slower than, you know, some of these folks out there hitting the hard stuff all the time. So. All right. Anything else ah on the reading? I mean, i I love it.

00:36:12.32
Bill
I love that reading. I really, really do.

00:36:13.94
Mike
yeah

00:36:14.04
Bill
But anything else?

00:36:15.59
Mike
Well, I think we've covered it pretty well.

00:36:19.00
Bill
Sliced it up, hu

00:36:20.08
Mike
Yep.

00:36:21.67
Bill
All right. So um you want my surprise about Founders Day first?

00:36:25.38
Mike
Sure.

00:36:26.73
Bill
All right, so I got an email from our friend Shirley handful of days ago.

00:36:31.55
Mike
Cool.

00:36:32.96
Bill
um She's going to be there.

00:36:34.33
Mike
Cool.

00:36:35.22
Bill
Yeah. Yeah. She said that she had emailed me, I think while I was still in, actually was while still in Arkansas. And she's like, she goes like, i don't know if going to be able to go. And she's because I can't, you know, try to find a friend to go with me.

00:36:47.29
Bill
And all the people have been way one once and it was enough and blah, bla blah, blah.

00:36:47.85
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:36:50.89
Bill
She's like any suggestions. And I'm like, you know, I said, here's the thing. I'm like, it's, it's been so easy, you know, for us because, um, yeah, i mean, I was here, you know, for the first few years and then you've always been here.

00:36:56.55
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:36:59.21
Mike
Right.

00:37:01.50
Bill
So we've never had to worry about,

00:37:01.53
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:37:03.55
Bill
who to go to or where to go or where to be like where to stay, you know?

00:37:05.46
Mike
Right. Mm-hmm. Right.

00:37:07.55
Bill
um But I said, you know, I, I said, I think it would be, you know, obviously look us up when you get there. If you went by yourself, I said, you can come down and drive back in the same day.

00:37:14.05
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:37:16.07
Bill
I mean, I'm not like, it can't be, can't,

00:37:16.72
Mike
Sure.

00:37:18.10
Bill
not like it can't be done.

00:37:19.53
Mike
Right.

00:37:19.67
Bill
um i think it'd be more enjoyable. I said, I don't know how hotels would be, blah, blah, blah. But I'm like, the idea would be, I said, drag one of your friends, find a place to stay. Even if it's outside of the area, if you had to drive an hour, you know, to go to a hotel or something like that, um you know, get down here and then, yeah, she messaged or emailed a few days later.

00:37:28.55
Mike
Mm hmm.

00:37:31.36
Mike
Right.

00:37:35.61
Bill
And I'm like, oh that's cool. I said, so make sure. I said, when you get down there, I said, just shoot me a text and we'll figure out where to meet up.

00:37:40.80
Mike
hmm.

00:37:41.57
Bill
So, so yeah, super, super fan, super fan.

00:37:42.14
Mike
Right.

00:37:44.75
Mike
Nice.

00:37:45.15
Bill
Shirley's going to be there. So yeah, I thought that'd be cool.

00:37:46.42
Mike
Cool.

00:37:46.87
Bill
So yeah. Yeah.

00:37:48.10
Mike
Very nice.

00:37:49.45
Bill
yep i was gonna I was about to message you the the other day. I'm like, that and ah no, no, no. this is gonna be ah This is a podcast one. I'm going to bring this up on the and up on the podcast.

00:37:56.80
Mike
Yeah.

00:37:58.71
Bill
so

00:37:59.54
Mike
Very cool.

00:37:59.80
Bill
um yeah so We get ah get an opportunity to to see her and hopefully hang out with her. and maybe yeah Obviously, since she hasn't been, you know we could actually, almost like being with a newbie, take some of these new guys, come with us to Dr.

00:38:08.23
Mike
Mm-hmm. Right.

00:38:13.04
Bill
Bob's house. couple we here Come Come look at this. This is really cool.

00:38:17.67
Mike
Yeah. Look, it's Dr. Bob's ashtray.

00:38:22.50
Bill
Right. And his typewriter yeah and go upstairs.

00:38:24.49
Mike
Yes.

00:38:26.16
Bill
This is where he, this is where he smuggled his drugs in

00:38:29.10
Mike
That's right.

00:38:31.94
Bill
But, um but yeah, so that was the, that was that little, I guess that little surprise, but yeah, so that, that should be, that should be a lot of fun.

00:38:35.87
Mike
Cool.

00:38:37.67
Bill
I, I didn't ask anything else as far as when she'd be down there or anything like that, but one, one way or the other, I'm sure, I'm sure obviously we'll hear from her.

00:38:37.99
Mike
sir

00:38:41.50
Mike
Right.

00:38:45.06
Bill
Um, so just Founders Day in general.

00:38:45.18
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:38:48.26
Bill
And I mean, I know we've told these stories before, but do you feel like, I mean, taking a little bit of ah a trip down that memory lane again, you know, the first year, what we've done over the years. And I don't even just a quick recap of just what I, maybe even what Founders Day means to us and why it's so important.

00:39:04.04
Bill
I mean, and we know, I think we know why it's important to the recovery community, but I don't know.

00:39:07.12
Mike
ah

00:39:07.64
Bill
It's just always an opportunity to, you know, just kind of reminisce a little bit.

00:39:11.44
Mike
Sure. Yeah. I mean, you know, I don't know, man. It's, it's, it's, for me, it's, um you know, just seeing people and hanging out and and being around that many of us um feels comfortable. And it's, it's kind of an amazing thing that,

00:39:30.42
Mike
you know, I mean, there are people there from all over the world, literally come to stupid Akron, Ohio, um, to, to celebrate this thing, you know, recovery and the, the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. And, and, um, you know, um, like you said, you know, yeah, the sobriety count up is, is just amazing. Um, you know, uh, what's, what is the record that we've seen there?

00:39:56.25
Mike
I mean, it's like,

00:39:57.29
Bill
Um, 60, was it 65, 63? It's

00:40:00.22
Mike
Yeah, I was going to say 64, so there you go.

00:40:04.56
Bill
but it's just, let's, you know, let's go with 64 because I danced around it.

00:40:08.32
Mike
right

00:40:09.15
Bill
Let's just put it, let's put a solid, solid dart on 64. Right.

00:40:13.26
Mike
Right. Yeah. You know, I mean, yeah, 64 years fucking sober. Um, you know, i mean, we've, you know, some of the people we've known around Cleveland, uh, generally they're not around anymore, but you know, guys like new sister Ignatia and stuff and you know, all that, um, you know, there's a couple of people that, uh,

00:40:24.34
Bill
right

00:40:31.83
Mike
Yeah, you know, geez, if were around that long, I mean, you know, there are people have met Bill Wilson. You know, he was around deep into the 70s.

00:40:37.16
Bill
Right.

00:40:39.97
Mike
I can't even remember when he died. um I want to say like the early 80s, maybe.

00:40:45.76
Bill
Well, as you're speaking, I'm going to use the Google machine.

00:40:47.35
Mike
Yes.

00:40:48.12
Bill
and

00:40:48.24
Mike
you look I was reaching for my phone. You, you go ahead.

00:40:51.69
Bill
When did Bill Wilson die? January 24th, 1971. Mm-hmm. ah january twenty fourth nineteen seventy one

00:40:58.56
Mike
70? Really? Wow.

00:40:59.50
Bill
yeah

00:40:59.59
Mike
I thought he was around later than that. All right. What the fuck do I know? See?

00:41:04.48
Bill
Yeah, well, yep january yeah, January Right.

00:41:06.05
Mike
i'm Still teachable. Yeah, right.

00:41:10.62
Mike
Right. Um, right. Yeah. You know, and, uh, I mean, the lady that does the, the, uh, history, the big book presentation, you know, she was Lois's Bill Wilson's wife's secretary assistant, whatever.

00:41:21.14
Bill
right

00:41:23.88
Mike
Um, yeah, you know, i mean, just, yeah, the history and it's, it's just cool being down there, you know? Um, the The Mayflower Hotel where Bill was staying when he was down there and made that faithful phone call is literally a few blocks away from the campus of University of Akron, which is where Founders Day takes place now.

00:41:46.77
Mike
And don't know. The whole fucking thing. I love it all.

00:41:53.16
Bill
So when, and I forget, who did you go with the first year? Because we, we've established that you wanted to go the first year and and literally the first year that we got sober.

00:41:57.42
Mike
Right. Mm-hmm.

00:42:02.71
Bill
So we, you know, again, we went in there, you know, April, middle, middle, yeah.

00:42:06.60
Mike
End of April, right?

00:42:07.62
Bill
Middle to the end of April, you know, we're, yeah. End of April, we're in the Keating center. And then you're, we're fucking founder's day first week of June, you know?

00:42:10.98
Mike
Right.

00:42:13.45
Bill
So yeah.

00:42:13.66
Mike
Yeah.

00:42:13.81
Bill
Month and month and what a week, you know, or so month and a half at the most.

00:42:15.79
Mike
Yeah, something, something, right? Exactly.

00:42:18.02
Bill
But so you wanted to go and then you went with who? I don't recall.

00:42:21.59
Mike
um um You know what? I think Vince was with us um and Drew and his brother and maybe one other guy.

00:42:29.99
Bill
Oh shit, okay. Right.

00:42:33.67
Mike
ah Yeah, you know, it was a long fucking time ago, man.

00:42:36.26
Bill
Right.

00:42:38.21
Mike
15 years. i don't remember.

00:42:40.00
Bill
Right.

00:42:40.00
Mike
oh Yeah, I'm pretty sure Vince was with us or we met up with him down there. um ah Yeah, um but I know Drew and his brother. Definitely. wrote down with.

00:42:51.09
Mike
um I don't remember his brother's name and I barely remember true. ah Yeah,

00:42:56.23
Bill
Yeah, as soon as as soon as you said that, I'm just like, oh, fuck, I forgot about that guy. And I just immediately get I get this.

00:43:00.53
Mike
right.

00:43:02.21
Bill
It's a fuzzy picture in my head, but I kind of I kind of remember what he what he looked like. But I thought I thought Vince was.

00:43:05.58
Mike
Sure.

00:43:07.26
Bill
But yeah, like you said, maybe you didn't meet Vince down there.

00:43:08.25
Mike
Yeah. Yeah. Right. But um yeah, that's, you know, yeah. Five, four or five of us went down there and hung out. ah Mm hmm.

00:43:19.42
Bill
Yeah. And, uh, you know, we were, I, I remember, you know, never fucking forget. And again, it's, I was, you know, clearly still in my fucking angry mode. I mean, it's only ah you know, it's a month and a weekend and I'm, you know, not happy at all.

00:43:28.29
Mike
Right.

00:43:30.69
Mike
Right.

00:43:33.27
Bill
And sitting outside with ah Joe, you know, we used to call Joe bag, Joe bag of donuts.

00:43:33.52
Mike
hu

00:43:37.91
Mike
Joey bag of donuts.

00:43:39.16
Bill
Yeah. Fucking big Italian dude. It was good guy. He was, he was all fucking Italian, just all fucking Italian.

00:43:42.31
Mike
Yeah.

00:43:44.60
Mike
<unk>

00:43:45.17
Bill
and Um, yeah, he and I are sitting outside fucking smoking and Marty comes walking around and he, you know, kind of just storms up to the table Marty would, when Marty storms, it's not really like storming, but it is, he walks with a purpose, you know?

00:43:56.85
Mike
yeah Yes, he does.

00:44:00.30
Bill
So he walked with a purpose up to the the table that we were sitting at and he's like, you're going to Founders Day with us, appointing Joe.

00:44:06.98
Mike
Right. Uh-huh.

00:44:07.49
Bill
And then Joe's like, wait, what?

00:44:07.66
Mike
Uh-huh.

00:44:08.81
Bill
And he's like, yeah, get ready. You're you're going to Founders Day with me and Bob and whatever.

00:44:13.45
Mike
right

00:44:13.85
Bill
And then he get then he walks away, and Joe's just like, oh, fuck. You know, and I'm like, in my head, I'm like, oh, I'm so fucking glad he didn't fucking point me out.

00:44:17.93
Mike
since

00:44:20.97
Mike
ah

00:44:22.79
Bill
And then again, minutes. Whether it was two minutes or 15 minutes later, it doesn't matter. He's like, and you're going too. like, fuck me.

00:44:29.35
Mike
yeah so sauce ah

00:44:31.37
Bill
But, you know, so here's the thing, though, is that I didn't want to go, obviously. i don't i don't know these people. I mean, I know Joe a little bit.

00:44:36.66
Mike
Right.

00:44:37.21
Bill
obviously know them.

00:44:37.75
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:44:38.05
Bill
Bob, you know, who was the – the guy, one of the guys kind of helped run the the center at the time. And it's not like I didn't know the people, but you know, not to like socially hang out with anyone at that point.

00:44:42.68
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:44:47.31
Mike
Right.

00:44:47.88
Bill
um But the, the weirdest thing was getting, getting down there. and We parked to the parking garage where we always do now and we're walking over there.

00:44:54.62
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:44:55.71
Bill
And then I'm just, you know, again, you you start to smell barbecues and you're hearing people and you heard a little bit of music and, you know, people are laughing and, and this and that. And I got really fucking uncomfortable, you know?

00:45:06.61
Mike
Yeah.

00:45:06.89
Bill
Um, because it, uh, I, I, I didn't, the, the key there is I don't, I don't remember wanting to drink and that wasn't the problem. I didn't have this urge or this desire to drink.

00:45:18.40
Bill
Uh, but I felt like I was in a, in a party drinking, a drinking atmosphere.

00:45:21.09
Mike
Yeah.

00:45:22.34
Bill
was in a party atmosphere because that's what it is.

00:45:22.61
Mike
Sure. Yeah. Right.

00:45:24.47
Bill
Um, in a, in a good way.

00:45:25.96
Mike
Yeah.

00:45:26.34
Bill
Um, but I felt really fucking uncomfortable.

00:45:27.87
Mike
Yeah. You weren't ready for it. You weren't ready to have any fun.

00:45:29.75
Bill
No, no, no. Oh God.

00:45:30.91
Mike
Right.

00:45:31.24
Bill
No, no, no, no, no.

00:45:31.73
Mike
Right.

00:45:32.96
Bill
at all And I didn't want to have fun, you know, in my head, but I didn't realize I wasn't ready to have fun.

00:45:35.49
Mike
right

00:45:37.93
Bill
But that's that's a great way to put it. i And that's the first time you said that. I'm glad I'm glad you put it that way. I really was not ready.

00:45:44.73
Mike
Yeah.

00:45:44.95
Bill
I wasn't ready for that at all.

00:45:46.49
Mike
Yeah, right.

00:45:46.91
Bill
um And I didn't know it. So the thing of it and Marty was smart with that, you know, he, we didn't go down early or anything like that. We got down, we parked, we went into the stadium right away. Whatever time we got down there, I just, I remember going right to the stadium and going in, you know, or relatively speaking quickly after that, you know, and that's when they had the whole stadium open.

00:46:01.94
Mike
Right.

00:46:04.36
Mike
Right.

00:46:07.00
Bill
We sat on the, on the opposite side that we normally do now. And I remember sitting there in the same thing.

00:46:10.39
Mike
ah

00:46:12.28
Bill
And in my head, I'm like, God, there's there's no way that if any anyone was flying overhead right now, that if if they could see this, there's no way they'd ever think. I couldn't i couldn't fathom that all these people in this stadium were sober.

00:46:22.89
Bill
That's number one.

00:46:23.35
Mike
Right.

00:46:24.02
Bill
Like, nobody up above is going to be thinking that if they're flying over this shit.

00:46:24.10
Mike
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

00:46:27.93
Bill
Um, but again, you know, when the serenity to prayer and at the end people say in the Lord's prayer in the, in the count up, um, I didn't, I didn't understand the count up. I was just standing up. I think for, i think I was standing up into the four month period or, or I stood up and I sat down and yeah I didn't know what the fuck I was doing.

00:46:42.73
Mike
Uh-huh. Right. Right.

00:46:45.58
Bill
Um, I didn't understand it, you know, but, um, I, maybe I was sitting down cause that's the thing.

00:46:47.76
Mike
right

00:46:50.52
Bill
Everyone's got to stand up for that. don't know, whatever it was. Um, but you know, all said and done, it's, I kind of walked away from going, huh? You know, it was like, Ooh, I didn't know what to think about it. But then from that point on, from 2011, all the way through, we missed two years from the pandemic.

00:47:06.81
Bill
And then the next year I was thinking 22, excuse me, hang on one second.

00:47:07.62
Mike
right

00:47:11.12
Bill
I got to pause. Yeah.

00:47:12.57
Mike
All right. While Bill clears his throat, he'll be right back with the rest of his story.

00:47:19.28
Bill
But um the 22 was when Ali was born and I was I was babysitting for him in that founder's day.

00:47:22.56
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:47:24.97
Bill
And then I don't think that you went.

00:47:25.53
Mike
Right.

00:47:26.72
Bill
So I think we've out of this theoretically would be the 16th year since we got sober.

00:47:31.51
Mike
16th. Yeah. We got sober. Right.

00:47:35.01
Bill
um And I think we've gone. This will be the 13th that we've gone to. does that sound right?

00:47:38.65
Mike
Yeah. Sounds about right.

00:47:39.62
Bill
Okay. Okay.

00:47:40.09
Mike
Yeah.

00:47:40.87
Bill
Yeah. And, you know, pandemic, you can't help that. And, you know, the choice of, I remember my daughter, when she gave me the date to babysit, and I'm like, that might be Founders Day weekend. But she's like, oh, no, no, I'm like, this is why we get sober.

00:47:53.36
Mike
Exactly.

00:47:55.32
Bill
You know, the the reason that I'm able to go to Founders Day and the reason I go to Founders Day every year is so I can be here for these things, you know? So like, it's cool.

00:48:02.57
Mike
Yep.

00:48:03.67
Bill
you know, I get to, I get to hang with that, you know, at that point, you know, three month old baby or whatever he was and less than three months old, which was absolutely fucking wonderful, you know?

00:48:12.84
Mike
Right. Kind of like you were on the first Founders Day.

00:48:14.21
Bill
But, um,

00:48:15.84
Mike
Hehehehe.

00:48:18.02
Bill
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Just a little baby.

00:48:23.55
Bill
All right. So, um, well, you know, what, what do you think we can, we could dip back into the, into the founders day talk or other talk here in a second, Mike, but what do you think we take a little break here first? What do you think?

00:48:31.59
Mike
Well, you know what? I'm ready to take a short break and listen to some commercial messages from our sponsors.

00:48:46.91
Bill
All right, everyone, welcome back. And I just want to make sure everyone paid attention to this.

00:48:55.86
Bill
Oh, yeah. Now, I know you don't listen to the to the episodes, Mike, but did you listen to the promo?

00:49:02.29
Mike
Right. um Yeah. Wait, did Yes, did listen

00:49:07.94
Bill
Here, let me get you back in the mood.

00:49:09.82
Mike
it. Yes, I did. Yeah, it did.

00:49:10.73
Bill
Okay, so this is kind of how the promo went. Hey, Mike, got a question for you.

00:49:15.77
Mike
Mm-hmm. yes i did listen to it yes i did

00:49:19.61
Bill
I thought it turned out well.

00:49:21.07
Mike
yeah it did

00:49:21.46
Bill
Actually, it really did. And the the first thing I thought is like, God, i'm like, we could have brought the music up a little bit. But I'm like, no, no, no. It was just enough. you know It was the the difference between this music and what, um um whatever you call it, Anchor used to do.

00:49:35.57
Bill
is anchor would have it louder and then get get shallow and then come back up again at the end um and i tried i tried to buffer a little bit at the end you know and get a little bit more in there but i don't know it's i'm like it's good enough for us and i i was happy that i was able to find that you know that music bed to put in there but um yeah i was it and it didn't take me it didn't take that long to cut it up and and stuff like that it worked out it worked out perfectly but uh yeah i was just gonna tell you if you hadn't listened to it you should because i think it sounds decent so visit our websites

00:49:41.16
Mike
ah hu

00:49:58.50
Mike
listen

00:50:02.11
Mike
I did.

00:50:04.75
Mike
Right. Go buy some shit.

00:50:07.30
Bill
Go fucking could buy some shit.

00:50:09.43
Mike
Right.

00:50:09.76
Bill
All right. So, um, all right. So we talked about that. Obviously we'll have our friend Shirley. That's going to be nice. Hopefully I should have told her to wear her t-shirt, but, uh, either way, I think she'll figure it out.

00:50:17.13
Mike
Right.

00:50:18.98
Bill
Hopefully I try not to tell, I try not to tell women what to do.

00:50:19.55
Mike
yeah

00:50:22.61
Bill
I try not to tell anyone what to do this year or this lately, but certainly not.

00:50:22.90
Mike
he

00:50:26.81
Bill
I try not to tell women what to do. That's always gotten me in the trouble.

00:50:28.74
Mike
right

00:50:30.58
Bill
um So she'll do what she wants, but that'll be nice. And then, um yeah, obviously, you know, Kathy, Kathy ended up with a little, well, she had a little bit of scare with the dog this morning and stuff, but he's fine.

00:50:39.82
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:50:40.30
Bill
So she's able to come out, but um yeah, we just got to check with her and far as timing and whatever and blah, blah, blah.

00:50:41.00
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:50:45.95
Mike
Right.

00:50:46.62
Bill
So there, but um anything else, anything else about, you know, Founders Day a little bit, anything, anything at

00:50:46.88
Mike
Yeah.

00:50:50.32
Mike
Well, you know, yeah, I'm bringing a couple normies myself, so that'll be fun. ah you know Chris, who's been before, my girlfriend, and yeah, and my granddaughter's going to come too, so that's going to be cool.

00:50:54.79
Bill
all? Right.

00:50:57.62
Bill
Right.

00:51:01.65
Bill
Oh, she is. i'll See, I didn't know it.

00:51:02.53
Mike
Yeah.

00:51:03.21
Bill
That's awesome. Okay, good, good, good.

00:51:04.03
Mike
Yeah. My 17-year-old granddaughter.

00:51:09.90
Bill
Yes, I didn't realize that. that's ah well that's That's wonderful.

00:51:11.76
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:51:12.81
Bill
Well, I'm glad. I'm glad she's able to come, so...

00:51:13.56
Mike
Yeah, she's going to come hang out with us.

00:51:15.91
Bill
Well, good. Well, that'll be it that'll be a good time. And um I know Kathy had, I think Kathy had tried to text Carla to see if she was coming down. But I don't know. One way or the other, well we'll see that.

00:51:26.16
Mike
Right.

00:51:26.37
Bill
And maybe we'll get together with Cousin Johnny on Sunday, grab something to eat.

00:51:30.14
Mike
Right.

00:51:30.45
Bill
But yeah.

00:51:30.89
Mike
Yeah, figured. Right. Yeah. and Either way, we're going to run into some people we know.

00:51:35.97
Bill
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And it is, it's funny, you know, there'll be certain years we've been there. It's, you know, you walk in and I mean, you start tripping over everyone, you know, basically.

00:51:44.58
Mike
this

00:51:45.29
Bill
And then other years you're like, fuck, we haven't, we haven't like seen anyone. And then we get over to Dr. Bob's and then usually you see a couple of people hanging out there whatever.

00:51:50.11
Mike
Right.

00:51:52.62
Mike
Mm hmm.

00:51:52.83
Bill
But yeah, I don't know. It's, it's a good time. I mean, it's always nice when, especially when the weather's nice. So I'm glad that I'm glad that it's going to be, the weather's going to be cooperating.

00:51:58.68
Mike
Mm hmm.

00:52:02.83
Mike
Me too. And it's not going to be a thousand degrees, which is going to be wonderful.

00:52:03.55
Bill
So.

00:52:07.46
Bill
Right. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So, yep. So we will, we will report in next week and let you know how Founders Day went. Quick note.

00:52:15.28
Mike
We will.

00:52:15.68
Bill
So I know you got the golf outing for you is next Saturday. Are we recording next Friday still, or are we doing it?

00:52:19.33
Mike
Oh, yeah. um I hadn't even thought about it. Right.

00:52:24.55
Bill
The only reason, because we were going to have a guest, we have a guest on the following week. We have the the priest on the the following week, ah which is the 20th.

00:52:30.21
Mike
Right.

00:52:31.46
Bill
But, yeah, next week is the 13th. I don't care one way or the other. But um I just, when we were talking about timing and stuff like that, maybe you were just thinking if it was going to be too late or if we had to do it later with the with the guest or whatever.

00:52:39.25
Mike
Right.

00:52:43.66
Bill
But, I mean, I'm fine. I got nothing going on. Next weekend I'm going up to Wisconsin. But, you know, it's up to you.

00:52:49.23
Mike
All right. Yeah, we'll probably end up doing it on Thursday then. Yeah, because I got to get up crazy early to go do that golf hunting thing. So, yeah, that works.

00:52:56.31
Bill
Okay. All right. So Thursday.

00:52:58.60
Mike
Which you people don't care about.

00:53:02.38
Bill
But you know what? I mean, it's said the whole, the whole point is, is that this is the one. Once again, not that Mike and I do not talk, but these thoughts come up and I'm like, either I got to make a fucking note or I just talk about it.

00:53:12.80
Bill
It's just easier.

00:53:13.28
Mike
Right.

00:53:13.51
Bill
It's just fucking easier.

00:53:13.93
Mike
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

00:53:15.83
Bill
So. All right. um So back to the, the Mark Barron thing. So you listened to um the opening part of John Mulaney. You said that, that part of it.

00:53:24.30
Mike
Yeah, yeah, I did. Well, um yeah again yeah again, heard it on the radio, right? you know I heard it on Alan Cox here in Cleveland.

00:53:28.85
Bill
Right.

00:53:30.91
Mike
um Hashtag Alan Cox. ah But yeah, yeah that's where I first heard. He was like, yeah, Mark Maron, who he's had on the show several times and you know blah, blah, blah. Yeah.

00:53:43.20
Mike
Yeah, ah they they were talking about it, and I went, oh, shit, well, you know, and then I went and looked and, yeah, read a little article, and then I went, well, I want to listen to the opening of that show and see what he has to say from his own mouth, and it was basically what, you know, Alan talked about and what what the article said, you know, yeah, and it's like you said, you know, yeah, he's he's handling it, and, well, gee, you know, what's he got now, 27 years sober,

00:54:09.92
Mike
i think

00:54:10.19
Bill
he was um He actually just said in the the Mulaney episode, um he's coming up on when whatever it is soon.

00:54:14.50
Mike
Yeah.

00:54:18.06
Bill
It's 26.

00:54:19.20
Mike
Okay. Yeah, that was close.

00:54:21.00
Bill
Yeah, I mean, you were right on.

00:54:21.07
Mike
All right. I went i went out i went over, Bob. um

00:54:26.49
Mike
So I lose. oh Well, but anyway, right. So, you know, let's do that. would think that, you know, change and, uh, whatever, he's handling it a little better than he would have, uh, several years ago.

00:54:40.87
Bill
Right.

00:54:41.15
Mike
Um, right. Well, yeah, you know, and I get it. Yeah. He's been doing it for 16 years and, you know, he's getting older and, um, yeah. Who the fuck's he going to have on? I mean, you know,

00:54:53.02
Mike
He's had most people that he's wanted and I'm sure a few that he didn't want and, you know, had a you sitting U.S.

00:54:58.84
Bill
Right.

00:55:01.89
Mike
president in his garage. That's kind of cool.

00:55:04.91
Bill
Right.

00:55:05.20
Mike
um Yeah. So, you know, I get it, man. You know, he's done and he's doing other stuff and acting and still doing his stand up and, um You know, like he said you said, know, he's he's, he may do some stuff, something podcast wise. He's just not doing what he's been doing for 16 years anymore.

00:55:23.80
Mike
And that's cool. I get it.

00:55:24.93
Bill
Right.

00:55:25.79
Mike
Yeah.

00:55:26.79
Bill
Yeah, and the article that i that I pulled up, because they hit some stats or something like that. you know I know it's been it's more than 1,600 episodes we knew. Most 55 million listens every year. 55 million per year.

00:55:39.21
Mike
Right.

00:55:39.65
Bill
um One of the most streamed downloaded. I'm reading it out of the article.

00:55:43.85
Mike
Mm hmm.

00:55:44.02
Bill
But it was something, I heard something in the billions. I mean, well if it's if it's that many per year, I mean, granted, he's had obviously in the in the billions as far as you know downloads and streams.

00:55:49.60
Mike
Yeah.

00:55:52.64
Mike
Downloads, right?

00:55:53.67
Bill
um Which, I mean, that's the other thing, too. you know it's i've I've learned more about you know between you know the a play versus a download in a stream.

00:56:01.48
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:56:02.14
Bill
you know So Because that that just means partial partial listens or whatever the case is.

00:56:02.28
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:56:10.86
Mike
Right. Well, yeah.

00:56:15.02
Bill
um

00:56:15.01
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:56:16.07
Bill
But yeah, you know the the thing that is, and i so I read the article and it's like the the top part of the article is Mark, or the title, Mark Maron and Psychonauts. podcast after 16 years.

00:56:26.94
Bill
So it says ends, which it didn't end yet, but it said we're, we're burnt out.

00:56:29.18
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:56:30.37
Bill
And he said that in there, you know, he said, he goes, we're, we're burned out, you know, him and Brandon and and blah, blah, blah, and all those sorts of things that they've been together from, you know, from day one.

00:56:31.38
Mike
Yeah. Right.

00:56:38.57
Bill
And in the same thing that he said, he goes, he goes, I don't know.

00:56:38.63
Mike
Yep.

00:56:40.81
Bill
He goes, maybe I'll i'll do something like this. he goes, he goes, I don't want to do this without him though. He goes, he's the creative genius behind this.

00:56:44.98
Mike
Right.

00:56:46.82
Bill
He goes, I can sit here and I could talk and can do whatever. um

00:56:49.87
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:56:50.67
Bill
But he said, sometimes he goes, he goes i didn't you he goes ah but I don't really know what I shouldn't say.

00:56:56.22
Mike
Right.

00:56:56.69
Bill
you know And he says, I'll say this stuff. And then you know sometimes he goes, you'll even hear it on the episodes. He's like, ah you know probably you're probably going to take this out. But... um he says he realizes what's going to stir up some shit or what's going to cause issues when I don't mean it that way.

00:57:10.26
Mike
ah sir

00:57:11.52
Bill
So, um and then Mulaney was ah commenting.

00:57:11.99
Mike
Right.

00:57:14.97
Bill
He goes, he does an excellent job editing because he said, you'll know, you'd never know in his opening, his monologue, quote unquote, that any of that's ever edited, but it is, you know,

00:57:22.50
Mike
Right. Yeah.

00:57:25.72
Bill
um in I mean, grant granted there, because that's one of the reasons that to begin with, it was just fucking laziness for us not to edit.

00:57:32.35
Mike
Mm hmm.

00:57:32.57
Bill
And then all said and done, I started listening to these other podcasts. And even once we've got Zencaster has it right now, I believe. I know Riverside did. Worst case scenario, we could take out all of the ah dead air and and that sort of thing, any of the spaces and and any of those.

00:57:46.35
Mike
Mm-hmm. Right? Mm-hmm.

00:57:48.60
Bill
We could tell it to look for ums and have it take out those sort of things. But you can hear that, you know, in I can hear that in other podcasts and I can hear where they cut shit out, where somebody is, you know, talking about a story.

00:57:53.74
Mike
Yeah.

00:57:56.24
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:58:00.69
Bill
And then now it would go on to like like in that, like it was it would be cut off and it'd go off into something else.

00:58:00.76
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:58:05.23
Mike
Right.

00:58:06.07
Bill
You know, and i mean, yeah, you and I ramble back and forth, but a lot of times it's like, here's the story going down the roadway.

00:58:08.86
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:58:12.45
Bill
And we're like, hey, squirrel, we talk about this. And then we hit back on the lane and then we finish the story.

00:58:17.89
Mike
Right.

00:58:18.07
Bill
So are are you going to edit out that chunk? Maybe, but I don't know. don't know. But um just the the main thing that that Mark said, which I really appreciated, is um he said that he goes, we started this thing on our terms.

00:58:32.84
Bill
And he said, we're ending it on our terms.

00:58:34.86
Mike
Right.

00:58:35.18
Bill
And he said um he said, I'm proud of what we did. We did good work here. And he goes, um You know, i'm um however he put it, there is nothing for them to be ashamed of is the way I took it.

00:58:44.85
Mike
z

00:58:44.97
Bill
Only things for them to be proud of.

00:58:46.86
Mike
right

00:58:47.04
Bill
um But I just really like the way that he said that because you and I talked about that. You know, we we say it jokingly, you know, have anybody fucking telling us what to do, you know.

00:58:51.76
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:58:55.84
Mike
Exactly.

00:58:56.91
Bill
if we want to record this, we're going to record this. We don't want to fucking record this. We're not just going to stop. We would announce, you know, but don't worry.

00:59:03.22
Mike
Right.

00:59:03.53
Bill
We're not, if anyone actually gives a fuck, don't worry. We're not, we're not talking about that, but we, we realize the responsibility that we have, whether it's considered real or not. Um, we would feel responsible, you know, to, to those of you who do listen, whether it's three or, you know, 3 billion, like he has, whatever the fuck it is.

00:59:12.56
Mike
Right.

00:59:20.34
Mike
Right.

00:59:21.10
Bill
Um, To let people know and not just fucking cut it off, but on our own terms. And that's just a wonderful, it's a wonderful thing.

00:59:26.39
Mike
Mm-hmm.

00:59:28.66
Bill
You know, it just really is.

00:59:28.93
Mike
Absolutely. Yeah. And I mean, I like the way he was talking about, you know, we don't want to just keep, you know, putting it out there just to put it it out there and not have our hearts in it. And, you know, and yeah, right.

00:59:39.84
Mike
You know, put out a ah shoddy product, you know, like you said, he's proud of what they do and and he doesn't want it to just, you know, limp to some sort of imaginary finish line.

00:59:42.09
Bill
Right.

00:59:49.69
Mike
It's like, yeah, you know, we've done what we want to do and we're still doing good work.

00:59:49.87
Bill
right

00:59:53.29
Mike
And then, yeah, we're going to stop.

00:59:56.59
Bill
Right. Well, and yeah, he was he was alluding to the fact that he's like he goes out with the way I am. He goes, I just I he goes, I don't think I would know on my own when when enough is enough, when it's when it's when it's a good time to stop.

01:00:07.19
Mike
Mm-hmm. Yeah, he's one of us. Uh-huh.

01:00:10.07
Bill
Yeah, I know. And that's exactly what I thought about. But but but, you know, I thought about that, too, with um but like relationships and stuff like that. I mean. i've I've ended relationships in in sobriety based on circumstances, you know, or ended, you know, these things, whatever these situations that I've had, I've i've ended them, you know, but in in my past life, I would probably, and I wasn't trying to do it, but I basically, I blow something up rather than walk away from it, you know, um in these things, the the things that happen to these relationships, my marriages and in whatever the case is,

01:00:23.55
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:00:36.73
Mike
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

01:00:43.37
Bill
They had to happen the way that they did because, you know, for for the sake of the women that were involved because I wasn't going to go anywhere, you know.

01:00:50.32
Mike
Right.

01:00:51.38
Bill
I mean, I didn't have the and did have the balls or the wherewithal or the knowledge or anything like that.

01:00:55.53
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:00:56.85
Bill
I'm just like, a fuck it, man.

01:00:57.53
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:00:57.81
Bill
i'm just I'm here, you know, and what else am I going to do, you know?

01:00:59.40
Mike
Yeah. Right. Right.

01:01:03.81
Bill
I would have got sober if it wouldn't have happened the way that it did. I wasn't going to just skip into a, you know, fucking AA meeting.

01:01:09.70
Mike
Right. I'm not going to instigate any sort of change ever.

01:01:14.95
Bill
ah Right. You know, like, you know, just ah and just one day I'd wake up and just, ooh, ooh, where's an AA meeting? Hi there.

01:01:20.62
Mike
Yeah.

01:01:21.86
Bill
Can I come in? I know I can, but, you know, you mind? Eh? Eh?

01:01:24.53
Mike
ah

01:01:25.84
Bill
Yeah, that wasn't going fucking happen. But no, it just, ah um again, to to begin with, i was I was bummed out. But after listening um to the episode, not even so much, you know, I breezed the article. I'm like, ah, fuck.

01:01:36.29
Bill
But then i and I saw the episode. Like you said, it was, yeah, it was Mondays when but that was.

01:01:39.96
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:01:40.26
Bill
And I'm like, God, I wonder if he talked about it. That's a part i didn't see what episode he brought it up on.

01:01:45.57
Mike
Right.

01:01:46.38
Bill
um But I popped into it. I'm like, I was so happy I listened to it. Between um yesterday and Yeah, today. Yeah, when I was driving out here, listened to the rest of it. And um yeah, he just, he bounced back and forth through the whole thing. And, um you know, and then Mulaney just, ah actually Mulaney congratulated him.

01:02:04.83
Bill
And Mark's like, he goes, thank you.

01:02:05.26
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:02:07.29
Bill
goes, thank you very much.

01:02:08.02
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:02:08.17
Bill
he goes He goes, I haven't looked at it that that way yet. But he goes, thank you.

01:02:11.20
Mike
Uh-huh.

01:02:11.60
Bill
I appreciate that. But he yeah, Mulaney congratulated him when he said he was you basically, you know, retiring, like you said, retiring the podcast.

01:02:18.57
Mike
Mm-hmm. Right.

01:02:19.72
Bill
And I thought, yeah, that's it. Congratulations. You know, look at what the fuck you did, you know?

01:02:22.20
Mike
Right. Yeah, exactly.

01:02:25.77
Bill
Well, and, you know, I don't know if ah if we have, we have some younger folks that listen to us. And I know everyone knows who, you know, Jerry Seinfeld is, but I don't know that everyone remembers or knows how that show ended.

01:02:33.72
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:02:38.10
Bill
um

01:02:38.14
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:02:38.65
Bill
They were still number one on top, huge ratings,

01:02:41.45
Mike
Right.

01:02:42.67
Bill
They were going to pay them stupid, stupid money um for at least one more season.

01:02:47.19
Mike
Right.

01:02:48.96
Bill
And they all said, no, Jerry's like, no, we're done.

01:02:51.67
Mike
Yeah.

01:02:52.52
Bill
We're going out.

01:02:52.55
Mike
Yeah.

01:02:53.43
Bill
We're going out on top. It was the same mindset.

01:02:54.82
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:02:56.03
Bill
He goes, no, we are done. We've done enough, you know, and maybe plus he had, he had a fucking gold mine of a deal, you know, set up with, you know, which those deals don't get made anymore.

01:02:58.06
Mike
Right.

01:03:04.56
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:03:07.63
Bill
The kind of money that he and Larry David negotiated for the,

01:03:10.50
Mike
Right.

01:03:10.98
Bill
whatever the syndication payouts or blah, blah, whatever they got.

01:03:12.08
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:03:13.14
Bill
But, um but yeah, they, they went out on top. That was unheard of. You know, nobody did.

01:03:16.29
Mike
Right.

01:03:16.53
Bill
Nobody did that ever.

01:03:16.61
Mike
Mm-hmm. Right.

01:03:18.65
Bill
So,

01:03:18.90
Mike
Yeah. You ride it till the wheels come off.

01:03:21.44
Bill
Yeah, I mean, it just, it it does. it That's why after after listening to to Mark through that whole episode, it's i i've always I have respect for him to begin with, but I have even more respect for the way that he that he did that.

01:03:31.85
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:03:33.54
Bill
But you can tell through the episode, he's like, he goes, the thing it is, though, he goes, this is this kind of, he goes, i'm I'm a little worried, though. he This is kind of my social life.

01:03:41.63
Mike
Right.

01:03:42.38
Bill
And he said, he goes, well, for instance, he goes, John, you wouldn't be here if I weren't doing this. He's like, what do you mean? He goes, he goes, what? I'm just going to call you and say, I want to just talk about some random stuff for an hour. Come on over.

01:03:53.01
Bill
He's like, I don't know.

01:03:53.06
Mike
Right.

01:03:53.57
Bill
He goes, I might.

01:03:54.88
Mike
No, he wouldn't.

01:03:56.94
Bill
it's Exactly. Exactly.

01:03:57.57
Mike
Because I know I fucking wouldn't.

01:03:59.57
Bill
Right. Yeah. Nobody's just going to come over and like sit in his fucking garage, you know? um But, but yeah, he's like, I don't know. He goes, I'll do stand up and this and that. But that new show, and I'm sure you've heard about the new show that he did with Owen Wilson.

01:04:11.33
Mike
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

01:04:13.04
Bill
um It's, it premiered or dropped as the kids say, years.

01:04:17.59
Mike
Ah. Okay.

01:04:19.45
Bill
Two days ago. Yeah, the fourth. So they had three episodes were available right away. And then it's going to be every Wednesday. It's on Apple TV, which I get free now through T-Mobile. um So even though I was bitching a few minutes ago before we started about T-Mobile, I get some shit from it, which I can explain that in a minute if you wanted me to.

01:04:28.67
Mike
Mm.

01:04:31.63
Mike
Uh-huh. Next. ahha

01:04:35.73
Bill
But anyhow, um so I get Apple TV.

01:04:36.27
Mike
yeah

01:04:37.94
Bill
It's free. And there's a lot of shit I've watched on there, but that's where that is. So first episode is 45 minutes and then two 30 minute or 30 some minute episodes.

01:04:42.14
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:04:46.77
Bill
um It's enjoyable. It's really, really good.

01:04:49.70
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:04:51.53
Bill
And it's ah it's a golf thing. You know, Owen Wilson was the pro.

01:04:53.34
Mike
Right.

01:04:54.17
Bill
They find this kid. um Mark Maron was his caddy for years, blah, blah, blah. And he is himself.

01:05:01.69
Mike
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

01:05:02.55
Bill
He is the just grumpy old ah cruded crotchety old man, blah, blah, blah.

01:05:08.99
Mike
Hehehehehe.

01:05:09.72
Bill
Doesn't want to go anywhere, doesn't want to do anything, all those sort of things.

01:05:11.85
Mike
Uh-huh.

01:05:12.68
Bill
But it's it's so fucking funny. But he questioned himself through these episodes over the last however long it's been, a year maybe.

01:05:20.03
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:05:20.10
Bill
um You know, saying he goes, I think I did good work but because I just don't know. So he was really hard on himself. And I've watched other things. I watched some Glow. watched some of some other movies that he was in where he had the southern accent.

01:05:27.56
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:05:30.16
Bill
It was that came out during the pandemic, I think. um He's done decent, I think, as an actor. um But in this one, um I'm really impressed.

01:05:36.06
Mike
yeah

01:05:38.39
Bill
If I if i didn't know that this wasn't his thing, I wouldn't know that this wasn't his thing. you know that he wasn't That he wasn't just, you know this is this what I do all the time. I'm not just a podcaster and a comedian that happened to act.

01:05:48.61
Mike
Right.

01:05:50.97
Bill
He does a good job.

01:05:50.95
Mike
Right. Uh-huh.

01:05:53.05
Bill
Funniest part, though, he owns an RV, and that's where they're going to take out on the road. So that you know him and Owen Wilson hop in the RV. They're parked in front of this kid's house. Owen Wilson's waiting to get the kid out, blah, blah, blah.

01:06:04.31
Bill
So Mark Maron's standing out the front of like the tree lawn um in front of the ah RV. Some guy comes walking up, you know carrying in like his little mini dog. He's like, oh, that's a blah, blah, blah, whatever type of RV.

01:06:15.51
Bill
He goes this and that and ask him questions. And Mark looks at him and his character looks at the guy and he's like, he goes, you know what? He goes, I'm not one of these chit-chatty guys. So you could just keep on keep on walking.

01:06:26.26
Mike
Uh-huh.

01:06:26.82
Bill
Just go. Save yourself. Just keep walking. i I couldn't stop laughing. And the guy looks at me. He's like, you are rude. And he's like, yes, I am. I was like, it was so fucking wonderful.

01:06:39.35
Bill
It's a good show though. So, but anyhow, yeah, Apple TV.

01:06:40.42
Mike
Cool.

01:06:42.18
Bill
Now I just plugged the Mark Barron's new show too. But um last thing on that, I thought it was kind of funny what he said, that like you just said, you know, he's lot of people he's had on and maybe some people he, you know, he's had on that he didn't want to.

01:06:44.56
Mike
All right.

01:06:53.60
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:06:53.86
Bill
Um, what he said, what he goes, you know, goes, you never know. He goes, maybe he goes, we still got a few months. We're not done yet.

01:06:59.97
Mike
Right.

01:07:00.36
Bill
He goes, maybe some of these people that we've always wanted to get on, you know, because maybe they'll either him or John brought that up. He goes, maybe those people will kind of hop on now. Cause they know, you know, they know you're, it's our last chance.

01:07:09.61
Mike
Right.

01:07:11.00
Bill
And, i know Adam Sandler's one that he's wanted forever. Um, I can't think of the, there's a couple other ones that, uh, that people have just blown them off.

01:07:19.07
Mike
Right.

01:07:19.22
Bill
that he hasn't been able to talk to you. But I don't know. I think these these next couple of months i or a few months, i think'll be think he should have some interesting people on there, hopefully. so

01:07:27.41
Mike
Yeah. Yeah. Maybe I'll listen to a few.

01:07:31.41
Bill
So anyhow, congratulations. I think that's John Mulaney hit it right. Congratulations, Marin.

01:07:36.54
Mike
this

01:07:37.97
Bill
All right. So that's our that's our podcast news for the evening.

01:07:43.37
Bill
So you know what? i and I posted this the other day. Did you see what I posted that the review that we got from three years ago?

01:07:50.48
Mike
I did. i think I shared it actually.

01:07:52.97
Bill
Oh, yeah yeah, yeah, you did. Actually, I forgot about that.

01:07:55.38
Mike
mrs

01:07:55.78
Bill
Okay, so um for anyone that's not on Instagram or Facebook and and didn't didn't see this one, I want to read this again because, well, I'll tell you why in a minute. So this was a review from June 2nd 2022.

01:08:04.32
Mike
yeah

01:08:08.90
Bill
So literally months into, four months into doing this thing. Less than that.

01:08:14.03
Mike
Mm-hmm. hey,

01:08:14.34
Bill
Yeah, three months. A person gave us a review. conventional or kind i'm sorry Conversational and Calm was the title. How do I describe this podcast? It's like listening vicariously by eavesdropping on two guys talking about how they're doing with staying sober through aa It's not preachy, strident, nor nor does it have a bit of desperation like some sober podcasts.

01:08:37.85
Mike
a

01:08:38.82
Bill
And the person puts in quotes, you better stop or else. Nope, just two guys, unpolished, talking. I hope it stays that way. Okay? So um we mentioned this a couple of weeks ago. This came up. You and I, when when we were talking, this came up in conversation. I couldn't remember when we got this review.

01:08:56.64
Bill
I didn't realize it was so early in the in the whole podcast thing.

01:08:58.89
Mike
Right.

01:09:00.99
Bill
um But the reason I reposted it, so, you know, you want to talk about, I don't know, something to be proud of. I think we've, without knowing, without trying, um that yeah just in literally just being um who we are, I think I could say, i think we can say, well, I know I could say, but I think we can say that we're proud of the fact that we line up with that review from three years ago, right?

01:09:09.82
Mike
Without trying. well No effort whatsoever.

01:09:28.82
Mike
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. This is it.

01:09:36.22
Bill
And you know what, when I, again, ah it popped up on a memory on Facebook and I just sit there, I was just kind of like, it was literally almost one of those, Oh, that's so nice yeah because yeah.

01:09:44.34
Mike
Right? Motherfucker.

01:09:48.00
Bill
But you know what? It's how many times, even in, um in sobriety, do you look back at something? You're like, I'm glad I felt that way at that time, but I'm also glad I grew, you know, or this was a really good intention.

01:09:56.02
Mike
listen Right.

01:09:59.69
Bill
Not that I've taken a bad direction, but I'm not that person anymore, you know?

01:10:01.97
Mike
Sure. Mm hmm.

01:10:04.32
Bill
yeah, the the The thing that we we tried to do that without trying to do that, what the what that review was.

01:10:10.64
Mike
Right.

01:10:11.99
Bill
And I think that review, um you know, it was the first time that somebody really put words on what we were doing.

01:10:12.16
Mike
Mm hmm.

01:10:18.96
Mike
Right.

01:10:19.73
Bill
Because we hadn't even...

01:10:21.45
Mike
Well, yeah, that would require thought and effort.

01:10:21.79
Bill
mean, yeah yeah we... We put words out onto a recording, um but we had not put a I don't want to...

01:10:29.74
Mike
Yes.

01:10:32.67
Bill
A mission statement's the wrong way to put it.

01:10:34.26
Mike
Yeah.

01:10:34.49
Bill
We hadn't even really defined what we wanted to do, um or we...

01:10:37.81
Mike
Yet.

01:10:38.80
Bill
will yeah Still... yeah um We didn't define what we wanted to do. We didn't define what we wanted to accomplish. um And this individual and I, again, for life we can, I think we knew who did it at the time or somebody, they came forth at time, remember who it was.

01:10:46.32
Mike
Yeah.

01:10:53.98
Bill
um But that person put into words what but we were trying to do without knowing were trying to do it.

01:10:59.75
Mike
Right.

01:11:01.71
Bill
if If that makes any sense whatsoever.

01:11:03.71
Mike
Well, makes perfect sense to me.

01:11:07.27
Bill
So, no, it's it just, I was, I was really, um, like I said, very happy to, to read that and just, uh, just realize that, um, that, yeah, I mean, we've, we've kept true to what people, um, at least what one individual wanted from us, you know, and I think what, what, ah what others do too. And, um,

01:11:24.80
Bill
You know, I don't know, maybe we maybe it's even gotten worse.

01:11:28.24
Mike
Right.

01:11:28.48
Bill
Because because i think from a structure standpoint, mean, shit, we we talk about what we're trying to do next week on the recording, of for God's sakes, you know?

01:11:31.89
Mike
right

01:11:35.81
Mike
um since Exactly. all Yeah. you know ah Okay. I'm going to say this, though. um Yes, i yeah I'm not particularly proud of any of this, but I am proud it.

01:11:50.21
Mike
okay of the consistency, you know, um again, that's kind of my life at this point. It's like, you know, I'm not really particularly proud of any of this, you know, but if if nothing else, I'm consistent today and I am proud of that.

01:12:08.23
Bill
Right. So you're not you're not even proud of your own life, let alone the podcast.

01:12:09.87
Mike
Yeah.

01:12:12.14
Mike
no not No, not really. I'm just um ah you know maintaining, and that's that's pretty fucking awesome for a junkie like me.

01:12:16.08
Bill
Right.

01:12:18.80
Mike
Yeah.

01:12:19.47
Bill
Yeah, that's a that's a good, no, that's that's a good point.

01:12:19.58
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:12:22.03
Bill
That's a that's a really good point.

01:12:22.48
Mike
yeah

01:12:24.07
Bill
um And yeah, I mean, it's just that every once in a while we get these, you get those reviews, not very many. We don't get a lot of emails, reviews, or comments, and it's fine because when we do, and I said it, you know, probably a hundred times now, you know, that when when we get kind words, there they they mean something and they're they're really kind. They're not just off the cuff.

01:12:42.60
Mike
Right.

01:12:42.76
Bill
You know, they're they're really kind and really specifically kind words, you know.

01:12:46.09
Mike
Yeah. Thoughtful.

01:12:47.52
Bill
Yeah. Yeah.

01:12:48.10
Mike
The definition of thoughtful.

01:12:48.25
Bill
Somebody actually, yeah. Somebody actually took, again, the things that we don't do. They took the time and the effort yeah and put the work into, yeah.

01:12:53.94
Mike
Yes. Right. I admire that in others.

01:12:59.22
Bill
yeah We're, we're proud of, we're proud of the fact that people do that. Right.

01:13:02.81
Mike
Yes, exactly. It's it's amazing. Yeah.

01:13:05.53
Bill
Right. But no, I mean, it just, it was, it, uh, seriously, when I, when I read it, I was, I was like, God damn, you know we've, uh, again, inadvertently, which I think is the best part of it. Um, you know, in the years, it

01:13:15.10
Mike
Yeah.

01:13:17.14
Bill
Exactly what you just said, the consistency and the maintenance of everything.

01:13:18.57
Mike
Yeah.

01:13:20.71
Bill
Um, I mean, I know, yeah, I mean, I, I know I have to do my, just as an example, I know I have to do my readings every morning, but, um, I don't think of it that way.

01:13:20.76
Mike
Yeah. Byproduct.

01:13:29.80
Bill
You know, I get to read these things every day.

01:13:30.40
Mike
Right.

01:13:32.00
Bill
I know that, and we don't, again, we don't have to do this, but this is a, this has become part of our sobriety and part of our recovery program.

01:13:32.06
Mike
Yeah.

01:13:37.91
Mike
Exactly.

01:13:38.49
Bill
Um, I know I need to be a decent person. I know the things that I need to do every single day. Um, you know, and it, but I don't have to, I don't have to every morning when I wake up, I'm, I don't have to remind myself and go, well, well shit, got to do these things. Got to stay sober today. God damn it.

01:13:53.47
Mike
Right. Mm-hmm.

01:13:54.38
Bill
I mean, hey sometimes like, oh fuck, man, I got to go to work again today. You know, got to pay the fucking bills. I mean, I get that, but, um,

01:14:00.33
Mike
Yeah.

01:14:01.59
Bill
Yeah, it's just ah the fact that it just happens. I don't know what we do here happens naturally. Yes, I write down a lot of shit. But so, so far, I mean, we're an hour and 14 minutes into this recording.

01:14:14.45
Bill
um We've talked about nothing, nothing yet, as far as anything that that I had on the list.

01:14:14.50
Mike
Uh-huh.

01:14:18.20
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:14:20.41
Bill
We've talked about, I'm still on my first page. The other pages are untouched.

01:14:24.75
Mike
huh

01:14:25.62
Bill
So we haven't talked about anything, but, but we've talked about a lot of shit, you know, it's it's all, it's also, this is probably more sobriety shit since we talked about founder's day than we normally do, you know, for, for God's sakes.

01:14:29.02
Mike
Yeah.

01:14:34.74
Mike
Right.

01:14:37.21
Bill
All right. So anyhow, I'm, it's just that that review makes, it makes, it makes me feel good. It's, it was a fee, it's a feel good.

01:14:42.15
Mike
It does.

01:14:43.04
Bill
It's a feel good kind of review if nothing else.

01:14:44.78
Mike
it does.

01:14:44.98
Bill
Right.

01:14:45.43
Mike
So thank you. Yep.

01:14:46.67
Bill
Yes. Thank you. I life me. Can't remember who said it, but if you're still a listener, appreciate it.

01:14:51.66
Mike
ye

01:14:52.98
Bill
Okay. So real quickly, just two things on the Henry Winkler book that I'm listening to still enjoy the fuck out of it.

01:14:57.06
Mike
ah

01:14:58.17
Bill
Don't know how far I am. I am into it, but, um, so he's one of his, uh, his things that it's kind of a theme with him, which is kind of funny as he, um, and his wife, I guess, uh, Stacy's her name. And she, he has her narrate a couple of parts in here, have her own parts in here, which is very interesting.

01:15:14.37
Bill
um So she's kind of fun. um And he's late 70s, by the way. Late fucking 70s, which is, again, mind-blowing.

01:15:17.99
Mike
Right. Yeah.

01:15:20.82
Bill
But anyhow, so um one of the things he talks about is the fact that he

01:15:20.90
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:15:25.35
Bill
If he gets excited about something or certainly anxious, then he, he just over talks things, just talk, talk, talking about talk, and sometimes just fucks things up that way. So apparently I think they were in him and his wife were in New York.

01:15:37.20
Bill
I'm pretty sure he's walking down the street and he sees Paul McCartney and had never met him before.

01:15:41.52
Mike
ah

01:15:43.31
Bill
And whatever this was 20, this had to have been 20, gosh, it might've been 30 years ago. Happy days was still on. When did happy days go off the air? 30 years ago.

01:15:51.06
Mike
Longer than 40.

01:15:53.66
Bill
Oh, okay. Maybe it was, maybe it was, we let's, let's just go with.

01:15:55.04
Mike
Yeah. yeah Remember, remember ah the mid eighty s were 40 years ago.

01:16:00.14
Bill
Fuck you and your, fuck you and your bath. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. but So yeah, back when happy days was on. So 40 plus years ago, I think this is what it was now that you mentioned it.

01:16:06.83
Mike
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

01:16:09.35
Bill
um But so he's walking along and sees Paul McCartney. He's like, tell, I think he told his wife, he's got to go up at least say hi. So he walks up and, you know, either taps him on the shoulder, whatever. And I guess Paul but McCartney turns around and, you know, right away. And he's like, ah he goes, up he goes, i'm I'm so happy to, so glad to meet you. Or maybe tapped him on the shoulder, didn't say anything. And Paul McCartney just says, oh, it's the Fonz.

01:16:32.13
Mike
he

01:16:33.40
Bill
So, so he fucking knew who he was, you know, which I know, but that just blew Henry Winkler away.

01:16:35.38
Mike
Right, of course.

01:16:38.89
Bill
So that the modesty that he has, and i mean, it's just, it's, he understood it, but it it still blew his mind, you know? Um, so as he's going on and on and on and on literally as he put it, just fanning out on, on Paul McCartney and, uh, Paul McCartney gave him a phone number.

01:16:50.50
Mike
Sure. Mm-hmm.

01:16:52.80
Bill
He's like, call, call, whatever, you know, we'll get together, blah, blah. So he gave this phone number. And so Henry Winkler said, uh, whatever it was, he goes, maybe he waited a week, maybe it was couple of days. He's called lines busy.

01:17:02.37
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:17:03.31
Bill
Waits a little later, calls line busy, waits later, calls line busy. He tried, you know, like over a three or four week period.

01:17:09.47
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:17:09.87
Bill
Every time he tried to call, fucking phone number's busy. So Paul McCartney fucking ghosted him 40 years ago.

01:17:16.01
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:17:17.36
Bill
And he said, haven't talked to him since.

01:17:21.77
Bill
And he goes, he goes, I know what he did. He goes, hey I think he admitted He said, I think I fucking fanned out on him. um

01:17:27.57
Mike
the

01:17:27.68
Bill
So that kind of cracked me up. I mean, know, because Paul McCartney clearly was just like, holy shit, it's the fucking Fonz.

01:17:32.50
Mike
You're right.

01:17:32.85
Bill
that And then he fucking blew it. And then, of course, he was talking about Robin Williams, which I thought was, that was fun. you know i wasn't even Again, you don't think about the Mork and Mindy stuff and the fact that ah Robin Williams came on as Mork in the episode and Happy Days and um can all these different things.

01:17:45.57
Mike
Yeah, right.

01:17:48.05
Bill
it's very It's very nostalgic listening to this because, I mean, i mean shit, you we live these things.

01:17:51.69
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:17:53.33
Bill
you know i mean

01:17:53.85
Mike
Right.

01:17:54.08
Bill
Fucking Happy Days. that was That was us when we were we were watching this shit when we were kids. you know

01:17:58.19
Mike
Yep.

01:17:58.38
Bill
um But it was just – he was just talking about nothing nothing specific but just realizing what a what an absolute genius Robin Williams was and all that sort of stuff.

01:18:06.92
Mike
see

01:18:07.35
Bill
But I don't know. it just It's just – it's a fun book. But the fucking – Paul McCartney ghosted him before ghosting was even thing. How did you even do that back then in those days?

01:18:19.87
Bill
mean you just have a phone number that you just – well, I suppose he's –

01:18:20.00
Mike
yeah You probably did. Yeah.

01:18:24.00
Bill
Hey, I was going to say, is Paul McCartney you probably had like four lines in his house and somebody was fucking, it was like, yeah, call me.

01:18:28.18
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:18:29.69
Bill
And that phone is always off the hook.

01:18:31.30
Mike
Yup.

01:18:34.65
Bill
It just, it just really, it really fucking cracked me up that Paul McCartney ghosted himself. All right. Um, I think I have at least one, think I have one article. Um, God, there's other couple of things here. What time is that shit? We've been, we've been yipping the apple.

01:18:49.27
Bill
You talk a lot.

01:18:49.60
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:18:49.87
Bill
You know that? You fucking talk a lot.

01:18:50.62
Mike
Yeah, I know.

01:18:51.29
Bill
What's,

01:18:52.09
Mike
I'll try to shut up.

01:18:53.92
Bill
Right now we we did. we We talked a lot about Founders Day and stuff like that. I think I only have. um OK, so, yeah, I do. I only have I only have one article is one other thing I wanted to I wanted to bring up. So this was from um this was from Keep It Simple. OK, the one thing I wanted to wanted to bring up on on here.

01:19:11.37
Bill
um So Keep It Simple was talking about sobriety, being fun and doing things that we've always wanted to do. OK.

01:19:17.46
Mike
Uh-huh.

01:19:17.96
Bill
And they posted or they posed the question, what have you always wanted to do, but haven't done yet? So my question to you, is there, is there a thing that you want to do a place you wanted to go, <unk> cetera?

01:19:25.08
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:19:30.70
Bill
I don't remember if I've asked you this before, but it's possible, you know, maybe even shit, maybe even a year ago when it came up with the reading.

01:19:33.30
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:19:37.37
Bill
um But I just, I liked, I liked the reading, you know, again, just the, the freedom is how it made me feel.

01:19:37.44
Mike
Right.

01:19:42.94
Bill
The freedom to go do things and in stuff that we can do or want to do.

01:19:43.75
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:19:45.86
Bill
So anything right off the top of your head that,

01:19:46.28
Mike
Right. I mean, the only thing I've, you know, done a fucking lot, you know, and at this point, ah rest is always ah to top of the list.

01:19:52.12
Bill
Right.

01:19:57.06
Bill
Right.

01:19:58.45
Mike
um No, but the only thing that really comes to mind, and it's, um you know, I've been a lot of places, done a lot of things, but ah the UK is the one thing I haven't done that I want to do.

01:20:13.25
Mike
um You know, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. um

01:20:17.43
Bill
right

01:20:17.82
Mike
Yeah. Yeah. um and I mean, not just, you know, go take a one week tour whatever. I mean, I want to go and like spend like a couple of months there.

01:20:28.84
Bill
Right.

01:20:29.41
Mike
Um, well, you know, it may happen. It may not. Um, I, you know, I do kind of have, you know, when it's getting to be, when it's looking like, um, okay, I don't have a ton of time left and, uh, you know, but before I i get too sick, um, in old and decrepit, um, yeah, fucking sell everything, cash everything out and go over there. And, uh, yeah.

01:20:56.28
Mike
Just do it. You know, like basically live there for whatever.

01:20:57.44
Bill
right

01:21:00.91
Mike
Yeah, that's that's the end plan. um We'll see if it happens or not.

01:21:03.47
Bill
Right.

01:21:05.06
Mike
I don't know. But yeah, that's that's kind of the one thing. Yeah.

01:21:09.83
Bill
Yeah, and you know, the um i I would still, and I was thinking about that when when Kathy and you know Kylie and and Johnny just did that whole you know Italy trip and in all that stuff.

01:21:16.25
Mike
Mm hmm.

01:21:18.77
Mike
Sure.

01:21:19.30
Bill
And I mean, again, looking at the pictures, I'm like, God, all this stuff is so beautiful. But then I also, and no offense to the to the way they did it because they packed in a lot of really, really cool stuff in a relatively short amount of time.

01:21:28.91
Mike
Sure.

01:21:31.53
Bill
um

01:21:31.53
Mike
Yeah.

01:21:32.63
Bill
But I don't want to do that. you know

01:21:34.52
Mike
Right.

01:21:35.27
Bill
It's not that I don't want to see those things, but Um, they just the, that, that makes me, it made me tired watching and listening to all the stuff they did in such a short amount of time.

01:21:46.26
Mike
Right.

01:21:46.35
Bill
Like when Kathy went out to Utah, she did that, uh, that whole roundabout thing in seven days. Like that's a fucking lot, you know?

01:21:50.78
Mike
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

01:21:52.20
Bill
Um, I mean, I, again, the, the things that she saw, I want to go to the same areas that she, that she did just not on that pace, you know?

01:21:57.62
Mike
Mm-hmm. Right.

01:21:59.58
Bill
Um, but then, then again, overseas travel and this and that, then how, what's, what's the cost, anything, all these different things. But yeah, to your point, I mean, that again, rather than doing it for for a vacation, um i don't know.

01:22:05.73
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:22:10.65
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:22:11.49
Bill
You know, and I mean, right now I'm fine with, you know, the U.S. travel and stuff like that. I like what i like what I'm doing, um you know, and I like the the pace that I'm doing it at.

01:22:18.54
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:22:22.19
Bill
But it sometimes means that I don't want to go see other things. But if I wouldn't have any, my my point is maybe for me at this point, I don't think I would have any regrets if I never made it overseas, you know.

01:22:34.46
Bill
It's not that thing, although I think about you know Australia would be fucking cool.

01:22:37.78
Mike
see

01:22:38.14
Bill
Anywhere, like you just said, Ireland, I've seen some of the pictures there and every I heard stories. you know and i mean Ireland just in and of itself is fucking gorgeous. you know i think it would just I think it would literally blow my mind.

01:22:47.07
Mike
Right.

01:22:49.93
Bill
I would probably just sit there on one of those goddamn cliffs and be like, wow, look what... what What more is there in life? I'm just going to sit here forever.

01:22:56.45
Mike
Right. Uh-huh.

01:22:59.08
Bill
But um yeah, I mean, that sounds good. Yeah, let's. Oh, yeah. Okay. Well, side note or back backtrack to last week or whatever it was. We were talking about burning your house down. We can't do that then.

01:23:08.09
Mike
Oh, okay. Yeah, right. Yeah, I know. I got sell it.

01:23:11.18
Bill
Well, okay. Wait, wait. We probably shouldn't say this on recording, but you have decent insurance?

01:23:14.63
Mike
do it Insurance. Yeah, I do, actually.

01:23:16.30
Bill
Okay.

01:23:17.49
Mike
Yeah, I've got that. Yeah, the insurance is about twice what it's worth. So, uh, hmm.

01:23:22.60
Bill
Okay. Well, if we don't if we know somebody that can somebody they can make it look like it was an arson, that's what we got to do.

01:23:23.92
Mike
Hmm. Ah.

01:23:30.52
Bill
It's got to be be a professional thing.

01:23:33.21
Mike
Wow.

01:23:33.37
Bill
Can't look like a couple...

01:23:33.56
Mike
I'm sure. You know what? i We'll probably find somebody tomorrow.

01:23:38.05
Bill
Yeah, um'm sure and sure we I'm sure we know somebody's like, oh, fuck yeah, i know how to do that. Of course you do.

01:23:42.61
Mike
Yep.

01:23:43.43
Bill
why Why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you know how to do that?

01:23:46.73
Mike
Exactly.

01:23:46.93
Bill
um But yeah, you know, and that's the, the I think that when we when we had talked about this, um and I think it was last year at this time is when I just started doing this traveling. And, you know, that was kind of my thing.

01:23:56.20
Mike
Right.

01:23:57.61
Bill
That was what what i what I wanted to do. But, um I mean, ideally, i would I would love to be able to, I would like to have, you know, just a little bit more freedom with my, as far as things I want to do, I want to do something with my work that has meaning to it.

01:24:14.82
Bill
And I don't mean that what I'm doing is not meaningful because as much as, and I'm not trying to convince people that, you know, bill collectors have a place in the, in the economy or in the world, but they do.

01:24:25.07
Mike
Right. Mm-hmm. ah

01:24:26.37
Bill
And whether people want to believe it or not, It's a fact that if you looked at the at the numbers, it would it would blow your fucking mind. So see, like these, um you know, for for instance, this a real real life example right now.

01:24:33.37
Mike
right

01:24:38.25
Bill
So these these tariffs, all these that are different things that are gone going down, this trickle down effect that we're all feeling, um that's because there's higher costs than other ends. It's pretty pretty simple, right? I mean, i'm I'm not explaining anything to anyone that anyone doesn't know.

01:24:48.83
Mike
Right.

01:24:51.69
Bill
Same thing, you know? So for instance, the I mean, we collect from... business owners that own insurance companies money. And even if it was just a straight up business line insurance, what would happen is, is that, um you know, you're all your, you know, local propries proprietors around here from your, your contractors, the guy to cut your lawn to all these different people.

01:24:58.98
Mike
Right.

01:25:11.88
Bill
um If, if these insurance companies weren't collecting all these unpaid bills, then that's going to go up and guess what? All these people are going to charge you more. And that happens with medical bills and credit cards and all that sort of shit.

01:25:24.71
Bill
But the thing with it, is so it has meaning and I get that. I've done it for 35 years, you know, probably 35, a lot. Fucking long time. But you know what? I just, I i don't know. i'd I'd rather do something.

01:25:37.37
Bill
So that's my number one. I'd like to have something that, A job that that felt better to me that I was actually making an impact in in the world. I guess I'm to that point in my life where I, you know, like we do, you know, I know that at least a little bit of what we do here, I think hopefully the end result is we're making our corner of the world a better place.

01:25:46.70
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:25:54.65
Mike
right

01:25:54.82
Bill
I don't necessarily feel like I'm doing that with my job, if that makes sense.

01:25:54.95
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:25:58.17
Bill
Maybe that's an easier way to put it. um but I'd like to have just a little bit more freedom. I don't mind punching a clock and and doing the stringent schedule that I have, but you know, then there's part of me and I try not to, I, the reason I squash this down, it's because I don't want to, I don't want to feel egotistical, but every once in a while I'm like,

01:26:17.48
Bill
I'm too old for this shit. You know, if I mean, I can't, I don't, I don't want to be a minute late, but if I was, you know, or I don't want to have to be questioned about these, but if I am, you know what I mean?

01:26:18.92
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:26:27.10
Bill
That sort of thing.

01:26:27.78
Mike
Right.

01:26:28.53
Bill
um

01:26:28.60
Mike
Yeah.

01:26:29.89
Bill
I just, I feel like I've, I've earned my keep in a lot of ways where um i don't know, I, my, my past and, you know, sort of things and how I, Tain myself should, should say something for it, but anyhow.

01:26:41.59
Bill
Um, but I mean, I, and I want to keep doing the the traveling stuff that I do.

01:26:41.67
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:26:44.67
Bill
I mean, that's, uh, it's nothing, nothing out of the ordinary. I'm thankfully, um, and I'm grateful, you know, that I've been able to, um, you know, slide into this, this whole thing that I'm doing.

01:26:55.34
Bill
But, you know, at this point, I mean, I, I need, um, I need to watch myself over the next couple of months because, I, you know, spent a lot of money and my, my income hasn't been rising like it should, you know, so I, I need to, I, there's nothing else I could do.

01:27:01.56
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:27:05.60
Mike
Right.

01:27:08.56
Bill
I can't even out my bills anymore. I've, I've done enough shuffling, no more shuffling that I can do. I just need to make a little bit more money, you know, so I can continue to do what I do.

01:27:15.30
Mike
Yeah.

01:27:16.40
Bill
So I don't know, but I think it's, uh, the, the one thing is that, um, you know, what do we want to do?

01:27:17.13
Mike
Right.

01:27:22.07
Bill
We, we can do anything we want, because we have clear heads now and, um, you know, it's, uh, it's a, it's a beautiful, beautiful freedom that we have now.

01:27:24.29
Mike
Mm-hmm.

01:27:30.82
Bill
Right.

01:27:31.23
Mike
It Mm-hmm.

01:27:32.99
Bill
All right. So um last thing, let me get this article. Oh, yeah. Speaking of clear heads, if I don't know if it can anyone hear the fact that I have a cold so that the short story is whatever happened a couple of days ago is all fucked up. Couldn't read this and that.

01:27:44.00
Bill
I bought some medicine. I was telling Mike before I bought I bought cough drops and kind of joking. and I'm like, I bought them for the prescribed purpose. But. But yeah, so does anyone, everyone realize that cough drops can actually, yeah they're used for, you know, kind of like a cough, help with scratchy throat, you know, not just to cover up booze.

01:27:59.79
Bill
That's what I used them for for years. But, but it was, I, I felt really, this is so stupid, but I felt weird buying cough drops.

01:28:01.00
Mike
hmm all right mm-hmm

01:28:09.74
Mike
hmm

01:28:09.81
Bill
you know, because ah I don't think I've, I don't think I've used cough drops maybe once since I've been sober. um

01:28:15.85
Mike
right

01:28:16.28
Bill
But I mean, I bought, used to buy them all the time. And that was the, that was the telltale sign that I was drinking. um So I felt, I actually felt uncomfortable buying them. um You know, they were, they're like, they're Metamucil ones. So they're medicated stuff. And I did that on purpose, figuring that.

01:28:30.16
Bill
Yeah, kind of sore throat, this, that, whatever. But um it was, it was just, you know, figuring a couple of days ago when I bought them this far into this whole sober thing, um I felt uncomfortable buying cough drops because it just reminded me, it was almost a shame type of thing.

01:28:42.65
Bill
A shame, but almost not even a shame. It was just, I don't know, this was the sign, you know, when I was but i was drinking, using some cough drops, you know.

01:28:47.37
Mike
Sure. Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly.

01:28:51.26
Bill
But I'm not. i just, I have a bad, I got a fucking cold or allergies or whatever the fuck it is. And I, I'm on the goddamn phone all day. I need to be able to talk. So, all right. So the one article in this one I thought was kind of funny because both you and I are a little bit particular about these people or about this people who let dirty dishes pile up rather than washing them immediately display these seven behaviors.

01:29:06.78
Mike
Hmm.

01:29:13.79
Mike
<unk>

01:29:16.50
Bill
Okay.

01:29:16.84
Mike
All right, lay them on me.

01:29:18.59
Bill
yeah I knew you'd like it. I did not read these. I've been trying not to.

01:29:23.56
Mike
Okay.

01:29:24.84
Bill
Okay. They value time more than tidiness. yeah

01:29:31.44
Mike
Do they though?

01:29:33.05
Bill
I think that's it's such a bullshit.

01:29:36.39
Mike
Yeah, that's some co I ain't cosigning that bullshit.

01:29:42.04
Bill
Oh my God. That's codependency.

01:29:45.92
Mike
Yeah, 101.

01:29:46.06
Bill
Oh.

01:29:47.52
Mike
Jesus Christ.

01:29:47.74
Bill
oh

01:29:50.24
Mike
Value time. Shut the fuck up. You're lazy.

01:29:55.51
Bill
um Oh, Jesus. Number two, they're not easily stressed by clutter.

01:30:00.31
Mike
Okay, so they're slobs. They're lazy and they're slobs.

01:30:03.10
Bill
ah

01:30:04.35
Mike
All right.

01:30:05.77
Bill
Okay. So here's the number. God, I'm so glad I didn't read these before.

01:30:08.97
Mike
Hehehehehehe.

01:30:09.05
Bill
This is fucking wonderful. Number three, they, they are risk takers.

01:30:16.56
Mike
They don't mind living among filth.

01:30:19.34
Bill
So this is the opening paragraph. It says, did you know that willingness to take risks correlates with a higher tolerance for disorder?

01:30:27.22
Mike
Ah, and mold and mildew and fungus and disease.

01:30:27.50
Bill
I'm like, what?

01:30:29.94
Bill
Yeah, I mean.

01:30:33.09
Bill
Yeah, if it's ah it's a stretch to say the least. um

01:30:36.15
Mike
Ha

01:30:36.61
Bill
Okay, yeah, here we go. They're comfortable with imperfection. Fuck you.

01:30:40.55
Mike
ha ha ha ha.

01:30:42.82
Bill
just Just fuck you. Who's the dick? Oh, wait, a little gold we'll go to the end. Oh, here we go. This is a good one. They're often creative thinkers. I need to see why he says this.

01:30:53.54
Bill
I think it's a he. We'll see at the end.

01:30:54.88
Mike
What? Yeah.

01:30:55.70
Bill
I've always considered myself a bit of a creative soul. And interestingly enough, I've noticed that my best ideas often come to be in the midst of a slightly messy kitchen. What the f...

01:31:05.87
Mike
what

01:31:08.17
Bill
This person's high.

01:31:09.88
Mike
yeah

01:31:10.04
Bill
yeah um This is so fucking stupid. ah They value experiences over aesthetics.

01:31:23.34
Bill
ah then The next one I'm just going to read these. They know how to prioritize.

01:31:28.49
Mike
But clearly not.

01:31:28.60
Bill
At the heart... At the heart of it all, people who let dishes pile up are often experts in prioritization. They understand that life is full of tasks and not all tasks hold equal importance.

01:31:41.50
Bill
Okay, so ah let's I got to read the final thoughts here.

01:31:43.63
Mike
Uh.

01:31:44.43
Bill
Final thoughts. The beauty of human behavior is that it's wonderfully complex and varied. What might seem like a simple art of leaving dishes in the sink can actually offer unique glimpse into an individual's personality priorities.

01:31:56.69
Bill
Well, yeah, they're fucking, like you said, pigs and slobs.

01:31:59.20
Mike
yeah

01:31:59.81
Bill
um Who is this? I want to read this person's name. If I can get this name, I want everyone to hear who this fuck knob is. Oh, it's not a guy. Sorry. Okay. Olivia Reed. And this is from global English editing.

01:32:14.82
Bill
Olivia Reed. You are a fucking idiot.

01:32:19.56
Mike
Right.

01:32:20.06
Bill
Yeah.

01:32:20.73
Mike
and I'm sure as fuck not coming and hanging out at your house.

01:32:23.96
Bill
Yeah, it's, I mean, literally taking, you could take anything. um Okay, so but let's put other words in here. People who shit in other people's front yards immediately usually display these seven behaviors.

01:32:38.66
Bill
They value time more than tidiness.

01:32:39.08
Mike
Yes. That's right.

01:32:40.87
Bill
yeah They're not easily stressed by clutter. yeah Shit in somebody else's yard.

01:32:44.08
Mike
Right. Piles of shit.

01:32:45.68
Bill
They're Their risk taker said, there you go. Took the risk of shitting in somebody else's yard. comfortable Comfortable with imperfection.

01:32:51.42
Mike
Right.

01:32:52.88
Bill
and It wasn't perfect shit.

01:32:53.53
Mike
Yeah. Well, yeah. Right. It's kind of bleeding on its side.

01:32:58.94
Bill
Olivia Reed. R-E-I-D. r e i d Olivia Reed.

01:33:03.72
Mike
Hmm.

01:33:04.27
Bill
Fuck you and your thoughts. No, actually, yeah thank you, Olivia.

01:33:06.44
Mike
Yes.

01:33:08.33
Bill
You you brought me ah you brought brought us some humor.

01:33:09.09
Mike
And your filthy fucking kitchen. what's your bathroom look like, Olivia?

01:33:17.77
Bill
I was going to say something something else looks like, but on that note, on that note, if you, if you don't wash your dirty dishes, what the fuck's going on down

01:33:21.15
Mike
Ah, it's a goddamn mess down there.

01:33:29.36
Mike
What else aren't you watching?

01:33:33.68
Bill
there?

01:33:35.63
Mike
Let's bring it all back to Marty. Wash your ass.

01:33:39.44
Bill
All right. Wash your front end, your back. Wash why your stuff, Olivia.

01:33:45.28
Mike
Please.

01:33:46.96
Bill
if Okay, i can't I can't anymore. Are you good? Alright, your turn.

01:33:50.30
Mike
Uh-huh. Oh, yes.

01:33:53.70
Mike
All right. Well, thank you, everyone, for listening to another episode of Sober Not Mature. All you Marc Maron fans out there, come join us. All right.

01:34:04.14
Mike
As always, be kind to each other. be good to each other. go out there and do something nice for somebody else this week. and Don't tell why anybody you did it, especially Olivia. And now, from the bottom of my heart to the depths of my soul, from the beginning of time till the ends of the earth, always and eternally, fuck you.

01:34:26.60
Mike
And now it's time, kids. It's time for you to fuck off. Then keep fucking off. Keep fucking off till you get to a gate with a sign on it saying, you cannot fuck off past here.

01:34:37.44
Mike
Climb over that gate. Dream the impossible dream. And keep fucking off for forever.

01:34:46.24
Bill
made me think about uh did you see uh black sheep with chris farley and uh david spade it's like the the bat yeah the bat you touch it am gonna touch it you touch it it's like two guys looking at olivia's lower quarters i'm not gonna touch it you touch it yeah go wash yourself olivia all right man so uh we're gonna we're gonna

01:34:51.67
Mike
Long time ago. Please.

01:34:59.27
Mike
for

01:35:06.20
Mike
please

01:35:09.01
Mike
That's doing something nice for somebody else this week.

01:35:11.79
Bill
yeah Suggesting Olivia Walsh's shit. He got to put the dishes out of the way first.

01:35:21.02
Mike
Yes.

01:35:22.32
Bill
Okay. All right. What was going to say is we're going to...

01:35:24.38
Mike
Yeah, do the dishes first before you reach down there.

01:35:27.52
Bill
ah Oh, Jesus Christ.

01:35:29.07
Mike
ha ha ha ha. Ha ha

01:35:30.97
Bill
yeah yeah well Wash your shit in the sink on top of your dirty dishes and let all that shit sit there.

01:35:34.39
Mike
ha ha. Ha ha ha.

01:35:36.03
Bill
Okay. Well, that's what I was going to say. We're going to go to Founders Day tomorrow. So um we'll do the wrap up on that.

01:35:41.50
Mike
Well, they are.

01:35:43.33
Bill
And yeah, you know what? That's it. I love you, brother.

01:35:46.36
Mike
I love you too.

01:35:48.16
Bill
And I'll see you about 45 seconds. Bye.

01:35:50.44
Mike
Yes, you will.

01:35:52.31
Bill
bye

01:35:53.09
Mike
Bye.