Laid-Back Cycling And Host Banter

SPEAKER_00 0:47

This is the kind of adventure you only find when you're not in a hurry. This is Road Adventures of Cycling Men of Leisure. Stories from the open road where routes are questionable. The stops are intentional. And leisure isn't a reward, it's the plan. If you're looking for speed, well, you're lost. But if you're looking for laid-back adventure, good stories, and even better company, welcome home.

SPEAKER_04 1:13

Welcome to Road Adventures of Cycling Men of Leisure. I am excited again to be here with my good friend, all the way from Central Time, although I was just in Central Time, Mr. Michael Sharp.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Hey Adam, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_04 1:25

Good. Good, good. Uh I am happy to see you. I'm I'm hoping that something is good. Anything good in your life, sir?

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Uh it's rained here for the last five days. I've seen the sun for like 30 minutes yesterday out of five days.

SPEAKER_04 1:43

That's better than not seeing the sun at all. Thank you. I appreciate something good. Um on a serious note, your daughter was in a play last night, so that's good. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

Um it was a uh very fun musical. It had like all the traditional Dr. Seuss characters in it. It was pretty good.

Family Updates And Job Search Humor

Mobile Trip Setup And Transit Retreat

SPEAKER_04 2:02

That's cool. That's cool. And before recording, I asked you if she made any mistakes, and you said, not that I saw, so that's good. That's the important thing. The audience doesn't know, just keep going. Um still no luck on the J O B, but we're gonna keep positive thoughts, so I'm not even gonna ask you to insult you. That's just cruel. So I'm done asking you, but I'm just gonna give people who are curious. We just still have people writing us for sure. Um, I put a funny post when I'm traveling for work about where's Michael. I was back in Georgia. I said Michael's missing, and we got some really funny comments. I mean, um, you call him Mark, I call him Matt. Said look for someplace with a high concentration of hoses, which I I thought was I thought was really funny. Um our teammate and friend Ed uh said that the milk carton was missing a broken clavicle picture on the milk carton. So fair, fair. And I will not lie, I tried like AI is funny, like it'll come up with something so slick willy, but then like then you try to like dial it down what you really want, and then you just like start arguing with it. I'm like, no, I mean, I I wanted to have a de brim, and then it came back and said, uh, what is a de brim? And I'm like, it is a sun divisor, and it literally put this weird-looking garden hat on you. I'm like, no, no, no, that's no. I'm like, here, let me upload a picture of a de brim. So I upload a picture of a de brim, and it said, Oh, this looks very stylish. I'm like, that's what I say. And then of course I thought, okay, that's I'm the only one who says that. But um, and then I said, Exactly, it's very stylish. Now can you put it on him with the milk carton? And literally, it has you on the bicycle, and right next to you was a de brim. Not on you, not near you, just like right next to you. I'm like, forget it. This is more effort than it's worth for a silly, stupid joke on social media. But um it was kind of cool to see all of our friends. And uh Bill, who's got the chain gang team this year, he's like, Are you in town for long? I'm like, nope, like 45 minutes, so I'm changing planes. I was uh I was heading to Mobile, Alabama this time. Um gotta tell you, that was my first time in Alabama. Uh that was my first time definitely in Mobile, Alabama, hence the fact the first time in Alabama. Um boy, they have a booming, booming uh economy there. They're putting in a new uh stadium for concerts, new hockey team. I think it's a minor league hockey team, to be honest, but um we did some not a transit stuff as you would expect. Um it's different than a conference. A conference is definitely structured where breakout session, breakout session. The retreat is more of uh, you know, open conversation, open dialogue, and um got some good, good, good, uh, good ideas. Went to a really cool to talk about when it comes to transportation. There's a lot to talk about in transportation. Get on the bus, get off the bus. Funding, de-escalation, um working with the business. Get off the bus for de-escalation, just get off the bus. See, I just de-escalated, get off the bus. So we were in a room, and I've said this for years. I know you know I'm gonna, but I'm about to say you heard it before, but we were in a room, and they said, uh, how many of you used to be drivers? Because it was this was more for managed transit managers. Not all, not all, by the way, but uh mostly. And um, and I said, Oh, yeah, I raised my hand. He said, And how many of you had issues on your bus? And I one time, one time I had a situation where a guy was leaving court and probably had the worst day of his life. And so I was trying to be understanding, but he was just talking to me like I was dirt. And I thought, buddy, you can talk to me all this way. I I mean I'm I control the bus. Like I could, I can stop it right now. He'll never go anywhere. But then he stood up and I and he said, uh, and then the guy said, uh, well, how many, how'd you guys handle it? I raised my hand and I said, I just break checked him. And everyone laughed and said, No, no, no, what'd you really do? I'm like, I break checked him. And he said, Well, how'd that work out? I said, He definitely caught himself on a couple seats and said, What the hell's going on? I said, Oh, there was a pothole. And if you case, if you chased me any further, there's gonna be more potholes. And uh, I said, back in those days, our cameras didn't have audio, it just had cameras, and everyone just kind of looked at me. I was I didn't have a problem sharing the story. I thought, buddy, it's either me or him. Uh, he was gonna come forward, and then but it was a good de-escalation class. Like one of the ideas was you know, have the rules to ride the vehicle, and then as opposed to since the driver is a front front-facing employee, of course, there's always management behind the scenes, there's a dispatcher on the phone, yada yada yada. But the driver is the forward-facing employee. And of course, you don't want to put the driver in in in danger. So one of the ideas was pretty cool where you put the rules to ride, and then you put a QR code. It says, you know, this time you're violating, and if you want to ride again, I recommend you. It was kind of cool. So just some good ideas. Good. I understand you think it's getting on and off the bus. Um, I've offered you to drive the bus many times. When you start. I think we both know I'd last a day.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Get off the bus. Get off the bus. Buy yourself a car.

SPEAKER_04 7:12

Oh, yeah. A true Democrat answer. No, just kidding. Buy yourself a car. Bulloney, a true Republican mostly, but um I I'll never forget um as a sidebar, you know, you you definitely have quick-witted humor. And I've always we we rib each other all the time, and I appreciate it. I had a congresswoman come to my office, and it was she was my guest for the day. And I was had done something innovative in my field, which was put together some a special project. I'm gonna kind of leave that out for a second, but um not just for a second, I'm gonna leave it out. And but she she came to the building and then she wrote me a letter and an official, you know, congresswoman, you know, uh memo, head letterhead, you know, the gold leaf and all that. And I showed you, and I said, hey, check this out, you know, it's pretty cool. And and that project never went anywhere, but but it was really cool that she was there and everything. But you go, of course, uh, she's a Democrat Congresswoman. Of course she would be there. Oh, God.

De‑Escalation On Buses And Driver Stories

SPEAKER_03 8:22

That's like that's awful. So well, it's just a statement of fact based upon political sides of the aisle. True. They tend to be more uh into that type of thing than the other side.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

So I uh I want to get in a listener's spotlight, but I've got some um I've got some funny stories from the road, and I I think that's you know that's our life. Usually when when things are normal, we're on the road together, but um and and uh in in replacing of that currently while you are uh searching, and I know you're going to classes and everything. You've mentioned it before, and hopefully those classes are going well. Um But uh I have some stories from the road, but uh let's why don't we get into uh why don't we get a listener spotlight first?

SPEAKER_02 9:11

Alright.

SPEAKER_04 9:12

Alright, so I'm gonna do my best here. I'm still in the basement, as you can see. I I have never been home. Uh although I did make some forward progress on the studio. I'll I told you I'd give you an update each week. So here we go. Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for Listener Spotlight.

SPEAKER_03 9:32

All right. Uh the clues for this listener spotlight are as follows. The city began as an agricultural area. Although it had an agriculture-based economy for decades, today it is driven by data. The story goes that Lightning helped name this town. A major airport spurred this town's development. And the town was in the country for decades, but it was the home to a lot of soul.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

I am looking here. Uh we did get a guess. So give me a second here. Littleton, Colorado? Littleton, Colorado.

SPEAKER_04 10:25

Um Kyle wrote us and said, hey guys, just got turned on to your show. I'm really enjoying the banter back and forth. My guest for this week's listener spotlight is Littleton, Colorado.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Hmm. Okay. Um you know that fits.

SPEAKER_04 10:45

Several of the uh of the uh clues here. Oh, don't tell me. I don't have my other board with the applause. Please tell me. Do I need the applause button? No. Oh, wait, hold on a second. In that case.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

Won't won. No, it is not Littleton, although Littleton would fit. I've it's Littleton is a suburb of Denver. I uh lived out there for many years. Um would fit some of these, but not all of them. Uh this week's listener spotlight is Ashburn, Virginia. Oh. That's right. It started as uh agricultural area. It was um called Farmwell. It was uh it formed part of the border of the plantation economy back in the day. Um it is driven by data. It has the highest concentration of data centers in the world. It's called Data Center Alley. Uh the story goes that Lightning helped name this town, supposedly named after a lightning strike, after a lightning strike on an ash tree that supposedly burned for days. Um major airport that spurred part of its development, uh Washington, Dallas. Kind of a big airport. And the town was in a in the country for decades, but it was the home to a lot of soul. Um Wilson Pickett lived in Ashburn uh at the end of his life. And in case you didn't know, he was a singer, songwriter, and major figure in the soul music world. That's pretty cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Huh.

Tornado Diversion And Airport Chaos

SPEAKER_04 12:28

Well uh we appreciate uh everyone guessing and listening and and uh but uh man, that's awesome. I I uh I remember when I guessed Soul Korea and you were like, yeah, no, stop Well, thank you. Thank you for our community for uh for for for listening to that. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Um all right, uh story from the road.

SPEAKER_04 12:59

I've traveled a lot, I think you know this, but um my dad was a pilot for for career and gone to many places. Um do you know first of all, that a tornado uh touchdown in Michigan yesterday. Pretty bad. Uh pretty ripped up on menards. Uh you will not be saving more money at that menards, certainly. Um but um I believe it was called Three Rivers um and southwestern part of Michigan. So we were coming in to DTW and um 100% fog. You can clouds, fog, you couldn't see anything. And I had the window, I was sitting by the window seat and coming around and uh, you know, ding. Ladies and gentlemen, we're now gonna start our descending to Detroit, which by the way, living in Detroit has got to be one of the most depressing things you hear. Like you never, like when you go to Orlando or Tampa or somewhere fun or Mexico, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mexico where the current time is two o'clock, and you're like, come on, margaritas and singuritas. But you never you never have that same experience when you go to Detroit. You don't go bing, welcome to Detroit, where the local time is four o'clock. You don't go, woohoo.

SPEAKER_03 14:17

So it's because nobody's going to Detroit for vacation.

SPEAKER_04 14:20

Uh, that's true. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 14:22

Nobody's like, hey, let's take the family vacation to Detroit. Exactly. No.

SPEAKER_04 14:27

No. I mean, there's some good stuff to see here. Just to be clear, Henry Ford, uh, beautiful museum, Greenfield Village. I mean, there's wonderful stuff to see in this city and this. That's one. Okay. A lot of distilleries. We've been to a lot of distilleries. Yeah, yeah. There's two. I'm just kidding. Um, actually, downtown Detroit, they've sent uh mega millions on. And uh downtown is really nice, but you gotta kind of put blinders on to get there. But so, anyways, uh we're making our descended Detroit. All of a sudden we're going down, going down, going down, and all of a sudden it feels like a rocket launch. And our pilot gives it everything, or at least I think he gives it everything, gives it a bunch, and we rise up. And uh and right away he comes on. Ladies and gentlemen, there was a safety concern, nothing to fear. Um, just want to communicate with you, we're gonna go, we're gonna go back around again. Okay, well, that's happened to me before, no big deal. And then we circle, you know, you go out five miles, five miles, five miles, five miles, or whatever. I don't know where they go out. I'd I'd be lying. I'm sure I could ask my dad, but I have no idea. And we come back around again, and we're coming down, and he says, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to uh reject landing or whatever, whatever word he used. And I couldn't hear it 100%, but once again, like a rocket launcher, we go back up, and I'm like, okay, now I'm getting a little bit uneasy. I'm like, what is going on here? I'm like, dude, I'm if you're not comfortable, I am not comfortable. I mean, uh that that's I mean, buddy, you take as many times as you need. I don't care. Make sure you get it right. Yeah, I don't care how many times you take. This keep you don't even have to tell me about it. Just keep coming around, just do whatever you gotta do. So come back down, and then they announce, ladies and gentlemen, in the southwestern part of Michigan, um well, seems to be a tornado on the ground. Um, it is causing some disturbance. We're gonna go back around one more time. And I was just like, dude, you don't have to keep telling me that. And I don't know if I want to know that there's a tornado on the ground. And then we get to the ground, and then you know, you land in Detroit, and of course it's depressing, and you can't see anything, and the rain is is coming down. And the pilot stands in the front of the plane, and he literally like blocks almost every passenger from getting off, and he apologizes. Like, I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry. I mean, I I guess it's better. Maybe it's better that way than people like going to their computers since everyone's such a busybody on their phone, you know, in the airport. Send a send an email to Delta. This is ridiculous, you know. So, but yeah, he would stop you and he'd be like, I just want to personally apologize. You shook everyone's hand, so which you know, good and bad, you know, but yeah, good customer service.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

But um now the story is So you'd rather be in the sky when a tornado is around than on the ground.

SPEAKER_04 17:23

I would say I would say that would be a good place to be because if you can go rise up, rise higher, then you can be above it.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

So um, but what's really sad is five miles from an airport, you're not gonna be above it.

Sprinting Through Atlanta Connections

SPEAKER_04 17:35

That's probably true. But what's sad is I I've talked to a few people now and told them the story because my my neighbor needed something, so I went and helped him last night. And he's like, Could you see it? I'm like, Did you remember the beginning of the story when I told you I opened the window and I couldn't see anything? I wish I could have seen like you know how they have those pictures of like hurricanes, like the eye of the storm, they look down that would have been kind of cool just to be able to see it. But not cool for the the aftermath stories that I'm seeing on the news this morning, and I I really feel bad for those people, and I'll keep my positive thoughts for them. Um your favorite airport. Um, I know it's your favorite. You tell me all the time. Um we would look we would look for Mike before he retired. Uh Mike and Vic, uh, we met in Georgia, and Mike was doing some first aid in the airport. We'd always look for him when we would change planes there until one day. By bike. By bike, yeah, he was doing it by bicycle. That's right, yeah, that's right. Oh, yeah, this is a cycling podcast. I forgot. Um but uh a leisure podcast. But um transportation. But it is currently. I mean, we're not talking about business and architect. I I wish we were. I mean, that would be a good conversation. I'm not talking about anything. But we would look for Mike on his bike to be not providing first aid, but be trained to be to provide first aid. So um, I'm at your favorite airport coming out of mobile into Atlanta. I had 37 minutes between planes. I don't know why Delta does that. That's so crazy to me. Um so I was already, you know, me. I mean, if anyone's ever met me, you already know my anxiety was a little bit like, okay, I need this plane to take off on time for mobile. Then it's the time change. Um, and then okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

What does the time change have to do with anything?

SPEAKER_04 19:29

Just my mind, just to know what time I'm gonna land, what time the next plane goes, what time I have to be, you know. But it says it on your ticket or on your phone. Yeah, but I mean I mean, I was sitting in my seat and then I was just kind of like processing everything, you know. And so um and the plane lands early and it lands. We need to get you some medication, buddy.

unknown 19:48

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

I gotta figure in the time zone. Time zone's already figured in on the things. It's like this is what time I land, this is what time I take off. I got 35 minutes. There's no figuring in the time zone, that'll just jack you up.

SPEAKER_04 20:01

But I was looking at my watch, and my watch was still on central time, and so then I was like, okay, it's gonna change to 11, and then I gotta go to, you know, whatever.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

So you still have 35 minutes, whether regardless of the time zones or anything. You get 35 minutes.

SPEAKER_04 20:16

We gotta get you a job. You're you're just you're just bitter.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Well, I'm just like, I gotta worry about the time zone. It's like, no, you don't.

SPEAKER_04 20:24

You got to somebody give this man a job. I've offered him a job, he won't take it. Then again, I wouldn't move to Michigan either. I mean, that would be depressing to move for, especially since you probably had beautiful weather. So um, although it is 68 degrees here today, so um but um so anyways, um land early, right? Yeah, okay, fine. Don't I the time change is already done for me on the ticket? Sure, great. A point mate. Got it. Clear. Mic dropped. Land early. And I'm like, great. I I I don't know what I was worried about. I shouldn't have been worried. Why why was I so worried? We get to the gate, everyone stands up as as as they do.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

And the flight attendant looks at me and says, um we're not going anywhere. I guess, excuse me?

USS Alabama Tour And War History

SPEAKER_04 21:24

And she said, they still haven't replied to our request. The jet bridge is way over there, and I looked out the window, the little bitty window, it's big as a tin can, and I said, Oh. And she said, You might as well sit down, it's gonna be at least 10 minutes. So now, if you're doing the math at home, 37 minus 10 is now 27 minutes. I was in gate B and I had to go to D. And so I thought, nope, no problem. If I if the plane train is there when I go down the escalator, I'll jump on it. If it's not there, I'll I'll make a mad dash on the moving walkways and I'll just walk. And so, okay, so that's great. So um now I'm waiting 10 minutes. Now it goes 20 minutes. Now if you're playing at home, that means I had 17 minutes. Now it's twenty five minutes. Now I have twelve minutes to get off one plane to get to the next plane. And she says, They know you're here. And I thought she was trying to put me at ease and I go, Oh I go, Will they wait? She goes, No. It was like one of those things where Like, I don't know, it was like false hope. I'm like, oh, no. And so she goes, No, they know you know where you are. I mean, there's a controller up in a tower. She said, You see those mini towers? And I said, Oh, yeah. She said, The mini towers control all the people. The tower, the big tower controls all the ground, and all the big tower controls all the planes. So finally you hear the bell, you know, the ringing where the the international sign of the jetway is coming towards the plane. You know, it rolls forward. And they make an announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, for those of you who are trying to make connections, we'll let you get off first. We're sorry for the problem, blah, blah, blah. Um, but uh the rest of you, if you don't have a connection, if Alana happens to be home, which most people are probably not at home, I get that. I understand. That's let's let's be realistic here. And um of course everybody stands up. Oh yeah. And and I'm just like, are you people serious? So now the door opens and I get off the plane, I look down on my watch in Eastern time that had already made the change. That yes, I understand the computer did it for me. I had 10 minutes to get from the jetway to the other plane. So I go downstairs and the doors for the plane train are closed. There's no plane train around, boom, I go. And I'm kind of running with my my backpack and uh two laptops and all kinds of work BS, and I'm like, okay. And then I go, I I get to see, and no plane train, the doors are closed. Of course, as soon as I start running, I hear the doors open, but I'm like, whatever. And I come up the escalator and I'm looking for D18. And uh, luckily it was like right there. And I turn the corner, and uh there's like a mob of people out there, and I go, All right, I'm good. And I look up at the site and it says delayed 45 minutes. But my app the whole time never said that. It said on time. I kept looking at my app as I was doing this ridiculous jog in the airport. But I get there and it says 45 minutes. It says we're waiting for a cleaning crew and a flight attendant. And I was like, oh well, cool, I made it. And now I'm starting to calm down a little bit, you know. Then the sign goes from delay to on time. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to announce the plane's been clean and we're now gonna board. All those need to pre-board. I'm like, I'm like, just get me home. This is this is crazy. So I figured I would share some of those, some of those crazy traveling stories. But I thought of you while on my trip, and I have, for those of you on YouTube, you can see I have some oops, backwards. I have document here. You have always educated me on history, a lot of history things. You've you know, you've uh taught me things. Sometimes I think you make them up, but that's okay because I won't know the difference. Yeah, I'll never know the difference anyway. We went to the USS Alabama, um, and it's uh a warship. Um that was part of one of our um networking things. We went there and we had a shrimp boil uh in the hangar, because it's not just the USS Alabama that's at the museum. They have like a SR71 Blackbird, they have a submarine, they've got all kinds of stuff. So um now I took the tour, and I must tell you that those uh men who fought must have been um tough SOBs, I'll tell you that. Um cramped, it had to be loud. Um I could only imagine um there were five guys to a room that was the size of your walk-in closet. They would stack them, the gentleman up high. Uh there was a ship store, there was I mean, it was just absolutely amazing. Uh, but I got some facts, but I wanted to tell you that um we got to climb all around the ship. It's a hundred percent open. I shouldn't say a hundred percent, that's a lie. There's a few things that were sealed off, but I'll say 95% open. Uh wide uh explorable. Uh got to climb up in the guns, which oh my gosh. I mean, uh armor-piercing bullets that that are uh I will get into that. I got I got some uh 2,700 pound bullets, 2,700 pound big. They had a sample of what they would have looked like. Um they were probably as big as um your neighbor's mailbox. Uh I mean it just it's just absolutely amazing. Um but I was surprised that they only used it for five years. Um but um I have some facts here. I wanted to tell you about it. Since you're the since you're the history guy, I I said, oh, I have to take some notes. So I took some pictures of some blacks, I took some pictures that it's that it's um uh uh memorial, national memorial. Uh hold on a second. I'm gonna blow the word. But I did take a picture because I knew I was gonna forget. Um it is a National Historic Landmark. As of 1986, it became a National Park Service, United States Department of Interior. Um but uh USS Alabama was called the BB60, and it was a South Dakota class fellowship of the United States. Um she was commissioned in 1942. You remember that, right? 1942. Good year. A lot of jobs in 1942. In the middle of the World War II. Um she was nicknamed the Lucky A. Now, because of history, instead of me just yammering on some facts, do you know why it was called the Lucky A? No, I didn't. She had a strong wartime record and relatively low casualties compared to the many other battleships. Um now you told me this before I even got there, um, which I was pretty impressed. I'm like, he either has the black picture just like me, or he knew. Uh what wars uh did it did it uh go to?

SPEAKER_03 28:58

You mean what battles? What battles, sorry, yes. Uh the battles that it was most known for were the ones in the South Pacific, and one of the biggest ones would have been, I believe, Marshall Islands. This is correct.

Submarines, Claustrophobia, And Grit

SPEAKER_04 29:09

So the USS Alabama served in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters uh during World War II, early in the war. She helped protect Allied uh convoys in the North Atlantic, including operations involving uh Britain and the Soviet supply routes. Later, she was sent to the Pacific, where she became part of the powerful U.S. fast battleship force. Um the she supported attacks in places like Gilbert's Marshalls, Philippines, Okinawa, and Formosa. Is that how you say that? Formosa? I believe so. Okay. Uh the battleship earned nine battle stars uh for her World War II service. Um she's 680 feet long. It was one of the longest uh at the time, uh, it was one of the longest battleships. Um she weighed 45,000 tons, making her one of the most uh warship uh formidable warships in the era. Um she had nine 16-inch guns mounted on three triple turrets. It was really cool. I mean, I I got uh a bunch of pictures, I should send you some pictures, but um uh it was it was just kind of I was surprised I had a wood deck almost like um almost like cruise ships did. I was kind of surprised about that. I would I would have guessed different, but um weight, weight, the weight, yeah. Gotcha. Um uh the 16-inch guns could fire shells weighing in around 2700 pounds. In addition to the main guns, she had 20 five-inch guns for defense against aircraft and smaller surface targets. Um she was also packed with an anti-aircraft weapon. Uh buddy, stop. That's my cat. Sorry. Uh anti-aircraft weapons. Um despite being a battleship, guess how fast it could go.

SPEAKER_03 31:05

Uh it could go 35 knots.

SPEAKER_04 31:09

Close. You are very close. It was 27 knots, uh, which um I did the math before our show. It's about 31 miles an hour. Um, being all steel with all weighed down and everything. I mean, that's that's pretty quick. So um it had 2,500 officers and enlisted sailors on it. And when you think about that, as I was walking around, I was trying to think to myself, where would 2,500 people go? Um, but it was kind of interesting. Um it was it was 12-hour shifts, from what I understand from the tour guide. And and of course I wasn't there, I have no facts, I'm just listening to the tour guide. But basically, you would have you know men who would arm the guns all day long, and then they would get the 12-hour shift off and 12-hour ship go back and forth. So uh life on board was cramped, hot, loud, and highly structured, especially in combat zones. Sailors on battleships lived among giant guns, machinery spaces, sleeping bunk stacked tight together, and constant drills. Uh she's a museum in Mobile, Alabama. Actually, it opened up in 1965. Uh so it's um yeah, besides that, these are just facts you can look up online. But I wanted to tell you that I I've I've I uh I was thinking about you and all the history of things that you've taught me along the way. So very interesting um thing to do. Uh where that was transportation, I'm not sure. I'm just getting but uh get off the boat. Exactly, exactly. So and then yeah, we went to a hangar and there was uh uh shrimp oil, and this northerner who is sitting across from you, and digitally sitting across from you, had never been to an actual shrimp oil. What? Yeah, never have.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

I have them in my house once or twice a year.

SPEAKER_04 33:06

Do you really?

SPEAKER_03 33:07

Yeah. Sorry for my.

Moon Pies And Mobile Mardi Gras Lore

SPEAKER_04 33:22

Um, yes, this was uh, I think, I mean, from what I understand, an authentic. They had corn, potatoes, some sausage, and the shrimp. They had these containers that may have been 30 to 50 gallons. I I was speculating. I have no real no real facts on that, but as you walk by, they they had them boiling and they had a big old stir stick. And then they put um these wooden almost like two by four split in half. And then they clamped them down to each side of the table, and they put this plastic down on the table, and sure enough, they just took the pot and dumped it all on and just went boom. And then you just came by and like jambalaya, you know.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

Typically in traditional, they would put newspapers down on the table, and they would just pour them out on the newspapers in the middle of the table. Okay. Okay. I'm sure that that this company has to follow some, you know, health regulations and stuff. But no, that's how we serve it here. Uh newspapers aren't easy to find, but I get like brown paper put down the middle of the table, and then I'll just, after you drain off the water, just lay it all out there and you just dig in.

Mobile’s Growth, Trains, And Cruises

SPEAKER_04 34:33

You know, and I what I'm about to sorry about that. Uh what I'm about to say is not offensive. I just want you to know factual data from me listening. It was really interesting to listen to the people who live in Mobile about stuff they put in their um shrimp. Yeah. I mean, it was it was really interesting, like, oh yeah, we put rice in ours, or uh, oh, you know, have you tried broccoli? And and one guy would go, broccoli? What are you doing? Uh, you why are you ruining a good shrimp? So it was interesting to hear that the the uh different things they put in the shrimp oil um and listening, and then like some guys say that cocktail sauce is off limits because that's not real. Cocktail sauce is not you're taking away from the flavor and the occasion flavor, and some guys are like, no, don't don't listen to that. He's like, that's just like barbecue sauce. Of course, we had some fun, and I said, Wasn't barbecue sauce invented to help you choke down food that tastes like crap? He's like, exactly. So um, but yeah, that was my first time, and um, you know, there was a lot of uh lot of work because some of the I think I think the shrimp might have been overcooked. I didn't want to say anything because I was a guest, but it was really hard to get out of the shells, and I think usually that's in my I mean I've been around the block a lot. If you overcook a shrimp, normally it's hard to get out of the shell. But um but I'm sure they probably also had to, because they were serving for 150 people, they probably had to make sure it got to a certain temperature for safety and all that good jazz. But yeah, that was right in the hangar where uh George Bush's uh helicopter was. And um, yeah, I mean, uh, you know, SR 71 is my father who grew I grew up with my father and being in the Air Force, and um it was interesting because it talked about how much fuel it leaked before it even got to the runway. For those of you don't know, you can look that up on YouTube and or if you're interested in that. But yes, literally because of the way the supersonic worked, the plane was actually leaking fuel on its way to the runway, which is crazy. But um, because then of course with expansion, then it would seal off once it got in the air. But check it out. Um, this is not an SR71 show, but please please check that out if you're curious. It's absolutely amazing. But one of the pieces they had there was a submarine. Um and and I have newfound respect for anyone. Yes, a battleship was probably miserable. Those the gentlemen who were on there, um, you know, I understand that they're all passed by now, I'm sure, but um or maybe not, maybe one or two, but I'm sure most of them are. But um and I'm sure that those gentlemen who were on that battleship are all deaf and and hearing loss and and all that. But I must tell you, the the the submarine was really, really interesting. And talk about tight quarters. I have a newfound respect for anyone who did that. I I I would have went nuts. I mean, um I knew that the boat was sitting on land, and I knew that there was a special dock, uh that like not not dock, but a a wooden stairway to get up to get down into the submarine. And and then we got to go through the whole the whole sub. And then but oh my gosh, you want to talk about like tight quarters and it's just a tube. Oh man. I mean tube is all it is. The beds there would there was a torpedo room. There was two torpedo rooms actually, front and back. And the beds um were five beds, and I'm not kidding you, literally right on top of the torpedo. So you slept with a torpedo below you, and you took shifts. Um five guys would be back there, and not burgers and fries, uh, five five soldiers would be back, and then they would be monitoring, um, and then they would get relieved of the ship. Ship, you know, their shifts, excuse me, sorry. Um the eating, the like the captain had a pretty nice table. I'm not gonna lie, in the center of the center of the uh I'm sure it was still nerve-wracking, but the the curvature of the wall of the submarine, the beds would be there. So you I mean there was no stretching out like on a cot. I mean, you probably rolled up to I'm sure it was cold. I'm sure it was miserable. I mean, uh I can't I mean, it was crazy, but um and and I was crawling halfway through, and I was like, I'm uh I I have a little bit of like claustrophobia right now. I and I know it's on on the ground, and I know that the the top was sealed, I mean welded open, I'm sorry. Um it had a they had it where if you ever go there, they have it where you can go down in the front and you crawl, not crawl, but you climb through the back and then you come up, and those two things were welded, and I saw that, but my mind was still like it was just kind of claustrophobic. But I just wanted to share those things with you because I thought about you a lot when you know your history and things that you know, and um if you find yourself in Mobile, Alabama, sir, with the family, because I know you guys like to take road trips and and drive, which you may have something there after this last trip, but um just wanted to tell you about that.

SPEAKER_03 39:53

So yeah, I've been on one. I think it's called Seawolf Park, it's in Galveston. Um they've got a uh I don't remember which submarine it is, but yeah, it's just a literally it is a tube. Yeah. And the guys ate, slept, and drank right in that little tube, and it is just it's yeah, claustrophobic. Absolutely. But um another interesting point about military is you know, every ship has a uh name plaque. They're generally uh bronze, and they're generally like right on the, you know, when you're coming up the the walkway to board the ship, it's generally like right there, and it will say like the uh the name of the ship and then the DDG number. It's it's uh you know, classification number. I actually own one of those from the USS Chandler. Really? I bought it at an auction, and uh I'll have to do a picture of it. It's hanging on my wall here just to uh just to my right here. And uh yeah, it's got the USS Chandler, it's got their their special insignia, and it was DDG 996. And it was originally made for uh the Iranian Navy, and then the Iranian up uprising occurred, and then the United States government took it over, ran it for a few years, and then we sold it off to the Chinese. But um Yeah, it's kind of cool. I'll have to take a picture and put it on the website, but um it's just kind of neat.

SPEAKER_04 41:26

That's cool, yeah. You know, it just um one of the things that here you had a bunch of guys who uh and ladies, by the way, there was transit ladies there as well. But um um, you know, we were going to the the social gathering, both nights at a social, one was at a a brewery and with food trucks, and then this was uh shrimp oil with the with the history. And most people are like, oh, because you've been in you've been listening to thing all, you know, conferences and retreats and whatever. I mean, breakout sessions all day. And so you're like, ah, we can unwind now. You know, you you went upstairs and you got out of your monkey suit. But normally you go to these things and people are like, and you got drinks in your hand. It was everyone was just like somber. It was just like it was like one of these things where people were just walking around like you didn't know how to act or react because it was, you know, you know that it was in World War II, and you know that you know the the men who fought on there, I'm sure, you know, miserable life. And so it was kind of like one of those until they put the shrimp oil out, and then of course everyone went back to the ho ho ho or just food and drinks.

SPEAKER_03 42:33

So uh maybe it had something to do with they've been sitting around listening to de-escalating transit issues all day.

SPEAKER_04 42:39

God, I need you know what, I may just reinstall my sensor button down here.

SPEAKER_03 42:43

I'm just saying, it's like after two hours of l listening about transit stuff, it's like okay, I'm over. It's a loss. You drive at point A to point B. We're good. Let's go eat.

Listener Spotlight Game And Teasers

SPEAKER_04 42:58

Well, anyways, so um if you do find yourself in Mobile, I recommend the Oyster City Brewery. Uh really cool place, really, really neat brewery. So um a lot of you know, outdoor picnic tables, um, but inside and then uh really cool, really neat. Um that that was pretty cool. So it's right downtown, which um really neat. It was I also learned being ignorant that that was the birthplace of Mardi Gras. And uh here's a little trivia for you, sir. I love the trivia.

SPEAKER_02 43:38

Do you know what they throw on Fat Tuesday in Mobile, Alabama for their parade? Or like a gift.

SPEAKER_03 43:49

Uh they throw those little plastic babies that you find in king cakes. Uh no.

SPEAKER_04 43:56

Uh moon pies. Moon pie, and listen to this. What uh I'm serious. And the reason why I throw the moon pie, I had to learn this.

SPEAKER_03 44:07

I mean This is not historical, obviously, but that's okay.

SPEAKER_04 44:10

No, no, but they they recently, I guess, you know. Okay. Um and then there's a bank that has a moon pie sign that they like, you know how you drop the ball every year, and and every year they drop the moon pie sign um lowered or whatever, uh on New Year's Eve. And so um, but yes. Um why why moon pies?

SPEAKER_03 44:31

You know, um I remember right, moon pies came from like Chattanooga, Tennessee.

SPEAKER_04 44:36

Well, here's the thing you're not wrong. About um about the moon pie. I had to do some research on like moon pie was originally invented for and if you don't know what we're talking about, a moon pie is a marshmallow treat. They make them in vanilla, banana, chocolate. If there's more than that, I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 44:53

It's marshmallows, like it's round, it's marshmallow in the middle, and then I think there's like two gram round graham crackers, and then it's covered in traditionally chocolate or vanilla chocolate.

unknown 45:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:05

So the the moon pie originated in 1917. Um traveling salesman uh for coal miners, and that's what we learned. That was everywhere. Everywhere we went to is how the moon pie was actually uh made for coal miners, and because they needed a snack, it's a large graham cracker sandwich filled with marshmallow dipped in chocolate. Uh, and the name is moon pie. Uh, two round graham crackers, marshmallow affiliate and chocolate coating. Also, now they have banana coating, and yes, vanilla coating. Um uh the original moon pie cost about five cents. Um, it says a moon pie. Uh yeah, I mean it says drink it with an RC Cola.

SPEAKER_03 45:44

That was the big, the big promotion back in that day.

SPEAKER_04 45:47

Yep. Um now you just lost everybody because most people don't know what an RC Cola is. But I do. IGALMSA.

SPEAKER_03 45:55

Royal Crown Cola. It's an old, old uh cola brand.

SPEAKER_04 46:00

So, anyways, I was kind of like I I looked up at the bank because I there I was doing my workout and then uh looking up at the bank and I saw the moon pie sign. I'm like, I'm like, wow, is that like the headquarters of moon pie? Well, no, it was a bank. And so um so I had to ask, and the lady said, Oh, yeah, we're pretty known for our moon pies. She goes, You won't you can't go anywhere without finding a moon pie. Sure enough, the hotel had moon pies in the lobby, the lounge upstairs in the Marriott had uh had moon pies, the uh everywhere we went, the whole thing.

SPEAKER_03 46:31

But what's the connection between moon pies and Alabama? Because I'm gonna say Immobile, certainly there is no coal mines in Mobile, Alabama. Unless you're doing it with scuba gear.

SPEAKER_04 46:42

I believe it's because during uh Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday, that's uh somehow it came synopsis of throwing those because you could throw them without getting hurt. So I'm gonna I'm I'm searching right now because of your question.

Sign‑Off And Find Your Leisure

SPEAKER_03 46:57

Throw them without getting Okay. I mean, you could throw a lot of things without getting hurt. I don't think moon pies would have been my first choice, but I mean they're good. They're a little dry.

SPEAKER_04 47:08

Alright, here we go. You ready? Yep. Mobile has the most unique tradition in American festivals, throwing moon pies during Mardi Gras Parades. How it started. In nineteen forty to nineteen fifty, somewhere in there, Mardi Gras Parade riders needed an inexpensive item to toss to crowds. Originally they threw Cracker Jack boxes and peanuts, but these could hurt spectators when tossed from floats. Parade organizers began looking for something soft, affordable, and easy to throw. Enter the moon pie. The soft marshmallow snack made by a Chattanooga bakery was perfect. It was cheap, individually wrapped, lightweight, and soft if it hit someone. By 1950s, the moon pie became the original parade throw. A Mardi Gras staple. Today, millions of moon pie snacks are thrown every year during their Mardi Gras parades in Mobile. The city's New Year's Eve celebration even drops a giant electric moon pie instead of a ball. Fun podcast ready facts. Mobile claims to have the oldest Mardi Gras celebration in the United States, dating back to 1703. Thousands of moon pies were floated. Banana moon pies became especially popular in Mobile because of its locals loved the banana flavor. Um, this is interesting. I did not know this until I just sat here and read it right now. If you catch a moon pile moon pie during Mardi Gras, it's considered a badge of honor. Because they throw so many of them that you can't catch them, it looks like it sounds like.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

No one cares.

SPEAKER_04 48:52

Off the bus. Anyways, uh there you go. There's your Moon Pie Mobile, Alabama. But let me tell you something, they got a new airport going in there because the one I was at was 40 minutes away from the hotel, which was crazy. But then they're building a brand new one. They had the visitor center. The guy was a keynote speaker for the second day, and he's like, I want to thank you all for coming to Mobile. And the next time you come, our new airport is just a mile down the road. Well, that's great, because the one I'm at is 40 minutes.

SPEAKER_03 49:21

Well, Mobile is going, as I understand it, is going through a big renaissance, I guess, so to speak. Um tourism has always been big there, but I think they've really hit a a high on their tourism. Um, they are a lot cheaper to go as far as when you want to go to the Gulf Coast than a lot of places, like say, down in Florida and Destin or certainly New Orleans or things like that. So it's a a more economical place to go. And I think they've really keyed in on that and started getting a lot more tourism.

SPEAKER_04 49:52

They uh Amtrak was there, and they're, I guess I didn't know this. I I mean I should have, but we don't actually do any business with Amtrak. So um, but they are calling themselves the new era of train uh mobile transportation. Um they're they're trying to rebrand themselves with new trains, new brakes. They're talking, they uh one of the biggest things they kept talking about was the brakes, which I was like, do you expect to need them a lot? I'm just kidding. But um um why don't they just make their trains run on time?

SPEAKER_03 50:22

That's the biggest problem.

SPEAKER_04 50:23

That would be good because every time you take an Amtrak train, we have a Wolverine that goes from Ann Arbor and September. Never on time. Never on time. You can go to Chicago, and many times the track is busted up between here and there, and you have to get off and and switch to a bus. It's it's a pain. I I wish I was lying. I I wish I was lying.

SPEAKER_03 50:42

That's because bus transportation people go tear up the track so they can keep their jobs. Yeah, we'll show those train people.

SPEAKER_04 50:49

You know, I never thought of that, but I wasn't in transportation the last time I did that. So uh at least not in management. But um but what I learned about was an interesting thing. They they recently started uh how recent I can't promise you, but um, they recently started this this Amtrak train from Mobile to New Orleans. Um and that's where it goes. It goes and that's where it stops. The train literally stopped at the convention center and it sits there. Um and uh they expect 75,000 passengers, but because they now have cruises going out of Mobile, they got 150,000 uh passengers because people just didn't want to drive their cars or whatever, they could take the train and then the cruise from New Orleans. New Orleans, yep. Why don't they just leave from the New Orleans cruise tour? Because sometimes you get a lot more options and things. True, but sometimes you go on a boat and it says, Oh, you know, it's like, oh, this this ship is gonna go out of Galveston or whatever. But yes, Mobile is definitely pushing themselves. Uh I know you're trying to be obstinate today, and that's okay. I'm not trying to be obstinate today.

SPEAKER_03 51:49

I'm just like uh I got nothing to do all day but just like sit around and bang my head against a wall.

SPEAKER_04 51:56

So okay. Well, what I'll tell you is is they have got two cruises now that are gonna be going out of mobile shortly. Um, and um so yeah, they're and then you know they're really pushing everything. So it's kind of interesting. That's why the transit retreat was there, because they do have transportation there, but of course it's like how do we make it bigger, better, better? And so um really interesting. I mean, but um good trip. Good trip. But I just the the history of the mobile and the moon pie and all that is really what I wanted to do.

SPEAKER_03 52:28

Yeah, it's it's different than what was the other one. Um the one where they dropped a lettuce. Oh yeah, Yuma. Yuma dropping the head of lettuce. I like the moon pie idea better. Little a little more, you know, yeah, easier to clean up afterwards.

SPEAKER_04 52:44

So you mentioned Yuma on the uh last show. And I was fueling a vehicle at work, um and a guy came, he says, I'm going to Arizona next week. And I said, Oh yeah, where are you going? He goes, Yuma, my son's moving there. And I was like, What we just talked about Yuma.

SPEAKER_03 53:04

So I've honored they they drop lettuce on me.

SPEAKER_04 53:09

Well, I know that you've got an interesting story, and then we can uh we can bookend this thing.

SPEAKER_03 53:15

I think I'll just hold that story till till next time. Okay. Yes, sir. Uh it's it's a uh it's a cycling story, kind of inspirational. Um I think we'll hold it for next. I think it'll be a good thing for next week or next episode.

SPEAKER_04 53:31

All right. Well, in that case, should I give you my famous uh right here? Do it. Uh ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for listener spotlight.

SPEAKER_03 53:48

All right. The clues for this episode's listener spotlight, or next episode's listener spotlight, are as follows. This town was created as a Key River port. It uh was created by the unification or through the unification of two separate towns. It is named for a military hero of the Revolutionary War. It holds a specific historical cavalry fact from the Civil War. And the town knows a little something about special operations.

SPEAKER_04 54:26

Man, I want to say St. Louis.

SPEAKER_03 54:31

Tell me about the historical cavalry history of St. Louis. Anyways. When General Faulkner took his uh, you know, Union Cavalry and charged uh into uh St. Louis to take it over.

SPEAKER_04 54:53

You see this guy here for those on YouTube right here, what he's doing? He's sleeping. Uh that's what I must be doing because he he doesn't buy into my crap either. So um the whole uh Faulkner thing, so that's not real.

SPEAKER_03 55:07

But anyway, Shiloh?

SPEAKER_04 55:09

Well, I was thinking like I when I was uh Shiloh's not a town, but it is a battlefield. Yeah, I went to Shiloh, and we actually I don't want to say hike because that sounds really horrible, but we walked around, yes. So um we walked around and then they actually had us go to a field and they let us search for it's not a bullet, right? It's a ball ball, thank you. Uh none of us found them, but they were all in the gift shop if you wanted to buy one some.

SPEAKER_03 55:36

Well, yeah, that's just to get you excited. Because the guy that uh normally goes out there and seeds the field with uh fake m Civil War mini balls uh didn't make it in that morning, so you guys were out of luck.

SPEAKER_04 55:48

Yeah, yeah. Well, listen, it was uh it was uh it was a good good time. But um also I don't think I ever told you this, but you want to bring in scouting, we'll bookend it with this. We actually hiked the 21 miles in one day, sir. In one day, believe it or not, was the route that President Abraham Lincoln took to get to the library. And so that was actually we were able to hike. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 56:20

Any particular library or just a library? I believe it was a library where he taught himself uh the question is why didn't he just take the bus?

SPEAKER_04 56:29

The whole point was is to is to find out uh what it took, and I mean you're supposed to think about President. I doubt he he didn't do that every day. I'm sure not. No, because we were as a matter of fact, we were we had we had of course, you know, Scoutmaster had his training and we would go out and do one weekend we did five, and the next weekend we did seven, next weekend we did ten, and I mean it didn't just make us do 21 miles in one day, like here, go for it. Yeah. Uh but you know it was it was kind of neat, and then you got a medal, you know, and I was able to wear that on my scout uniform, so that was kind of cool.

SPEAKER_03 57:05

Is it is this the uh the uh the guy that I met?

SPEAKER_04 57:09

Yeah, yep, yep, the one who should never be driving again, Uncle Jim. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been in Yeah, I love him, but uh Yeah, sometimes people should use public transportation.

SPEAKER_03 57:20

So if you say so. But uh, you know, I don't believe necessarily that he walked 20. You know, there's so many historical historical facts, I guess, are what we take as facts that aren't really facts. It's like do some research. You wanna you wanna some uh do some research on uh the cabin that uh Abraham Lincoln was born in. You can be a little disappointed, especially considering when you see the pictures, it's like this is a cabin that the president was born in. Was it really the cabin the president was born in? I'll just leave it at that.

SPEAKER_04 57:50

The famous story about Abraham Lincoln describes how he once walked 21 miles to return a borrowed book.

SPEAKER_03 57:56

Oh, once walk, okay.

SPEAKER_04 57:58

Just like George Washington once chopped down a cherry tree.

SPEAKER_03 58:01

Did he really, you know?

SPEAKER_04 58:04

As a young man living near New Salem in 1980. In 1830s, Lincoln borrowed a biography of George Washington called The Life on Washington from a neighborhood named Josiah Crawford. One night, Rain linked into Lincoln's cabin and damaged the book. Feeling responsible, he walked nearly 21 miles to the Crawford farm to return it and apologized. Crawford reportedly told Lincoln he could work off the cost of the book. Lincoln spent several days doing farm labor. This is not what I remember at all. Now that makes him honest age, and you walked 21 miles to return a book. But I guess my scoutmaster was like, we're gonna do it. He was a big Lincoln fan. He had a big picture of uh uh uh not a picture, but uh sketchographic sketch of Abraham Lincoln. I must tell you, it was really neat.

SPEAKER_03 58:51

It was very detailed, so um but uh it's just like the things you it's like you know, it's it's now if you do research, uh you realize that Abraham Lincoln was uh could have. There's a lot of evidence showing that he could have, in fact, been a uh illegal distiller, and that he was in fact um serving illegally distilled products out of his, I guess, out of the what the drug store, the store that he worked at.

SPEAKER_04 59:19

Are you telling me that a politician was crooked? I didn't say he was crooked.

SPEAKER_03 59:24

I just said there is a lot of evidence, and he did live in Kentucky, that uh he was distilling illegal hooch.

SPEAKER_04 59:34

You know, he gave the theater a bad review.

SPEAKER_02 59:37

That was pretty bad.

SPEAKER_04 59:38

Well I think on that note we will Wow. Uh yeah. I think on that note we'll say, believe it or not, here in Michigan would have been a great day for a bike ride.

SPEAKER_00 59:55

Thank you for riding along with Road Adventures of Cycling Men of Leisure. However, you travel, find the leisure your way. See you next time.