Daddy Unscripted is a podcast about being a Dad. Each episode is a loose conversation with the host and his guest, talking about their history with their own Dad, how they approach being a Dad, and how they manage doing so within their walk of life.
Episode 101 is coming out as a celebration of my little girl becoming a not so little girl anymore. We have done the parental thing: we've blinked our eyes and this little human that was seriously just taking her first steps and just saying her first word is now turning 13 years old. How in the world does this happen? I don't even personally know Doc Brown, so how would I have borrowed his Delorean and accelerated it to 88 to get to where we are now?!So, the cliche is true. They all may be true: time flies. Your kids get older so quickly. Who are these wives and why are all of their tales so spot on?! This is a shorter than normal episode as I tell a little bit about how things were for me as a teenager as I celebrate the milestone birthday of my "baby girl". You can listen to this conversation by finding the Daddy Unscripted podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Tune In Radio, etc).As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you… or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioInstagram and Twitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comSpecial Outro music on this episode, "Love Train" was performed by multiple artists as part of a special performance to benefit Turnaround Arts http://turnaroundarts.kennedy-center.org and Playing For Change at http://playingforchange.com.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 100 of the podcast is here! Appropriately so, it's me talking about some corners I have turned in my life recently and my hope to inspire YOU to be able to do the same. This may need to be categorized as a TimTalk (is that a thing? Can I ™ that, or WHAT?!). Quickly, I didn't acknowledge one time that this is my 100th episode. Shame on me for that. I will properly cheer on the next episode as we work on the second set of 100 episodes, eh?As a human who happened to have been born as a white male in Southern California, I'm now pretty aware and cognizant of a lot of the 'things' that have been afforded to me. Privileges I've had. Which also entails my becoming more aware of the way I have taken any of these for granted, and/or looked the proverbial gift horse in the mouth at times. There are two major life changes that have occurred for me within the past few months. I dissect both of these fully in this episode. The first is my very cyclical and unpredictable return to one of the original passions of my life: writing. I wrote a book (that never went anywhere at all) when I was 12, almost 13. I spent an entire summer away from the beach and friends, holed up in my bedroom with a typewriter and very truly wrote a 200 - 300 page adventure book. I wish I could even remember the name of my main character, ala Indiana Jones. Over the next 6 years of my life, my writing would include song lyrics, poetry, short stories, a couple of novellas and two additional novels. I never made any attempts at publishing any of this... so don't get too excited.Around the age of 20 or so, I would turn my stylings toward the world of screenplays for film. I wrote (and did numerous re-writes) two full-length features that went as far as getting registered with the Writers Guild of America (WGA). There's more to both of those stories, but we shall leave it there. Cut to: a few months ago, after having not really done any creative writing for 20 or so years, I got hired as the writer for a show that airs on Twitch twice weekly: CelebriTee Showdown, a golf competition show between 2 celebrities airing on the Twitch Sports channel.This is major. I mean, in the scheme of the writing world, it may not be. I'm not writing for 'Atlanta' or 'This Is Us'. But this is so wildly unforeseen and such a fantastic new step for something previously extremely dormant, dare I say pretty much dead, in my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity and extremely hopeful for what may be next in this part of my life's journey.Never Too Late To Live.If you have something in your past that brought you joy, that brought you fulfillment... what is holding you back from tapping back into that? Especially if it brings good-ness to your heart, your spirit, your life? I encourage you to try and find the time and the ability to re-connect with whatever that may be for you; even if it is only time to read! The second thing I talk about is a big life change for my physical health. I have talked many times before about my place on the spectrum of autism. One of the really big challenges for me, from that, has always been food-related. From the time I was just a baby, though nobody knew what the reasoning was behind my needs (and my hatreds). A lot of that has always been heavily rooted in textures. Have you seen my Instragam specifically about my attempts to tackle this? Go check out @TimAteThat Not ironically, I was always a total string-bean as a kid. Even throughout and a little beyond high school. My very high level of activity paired with a pretty fantastic metabolism partnered to keep me around 115-125 lbs through my teen years. It continued in my 20s. I could (and would very often) eat at fast food joints and get multiple burgers or multiple burritos, what have you. Some of my friends were pretty fascinated by... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 99 features a glorious human being: Destini Ann. If you've seen her on Instagram or Twitter, you may recognize her more as ManifestDestini. If you're on TikTok, go find her as DestiniAnn. Oh, you're not on TikTok? Well, she's got over 1 million followers there now... so go see why so many other people love hearing from Destini! I'm thrilled that Destini is now the second guest of my newest series: "Who Tells Your Story?" She is so "on the verge" of blowing up even more right now that there isn't even a verge anymore. Verge? What verge?! This is why you'll hear me say that we should just lasso the comet ™ and enjoy soaking up Destini's insights. And that doesn't mean just on parenting, but on being better humans. Have you ever felt like you were talking with someone and in your mind, you could envision the two of you just constantly high-fiving each other after things you said? Well, I didn't ask Destini if her 'high five counter' had as high of a number as mine did after this. But, for me, talking with her felt just like when I'm devouring her content on social media. Smashing that Like button. Over and over and over again. (insert all of those cool old-school comic book sounds and graphics right here: Smash! Blammo! Wham! (That's just the sound 'Wham'... not Wham UK, like the band that brought us George Michael, mind you. (Wait.... how many parentheses deep am I in this thought right now? Let me close these up for you... )))Where is the text for this podcast episode going right now? Well, let me tell you. This is kind of the silly energy I felt right after talking with Destini. And, it's easily back as I just finished editing the audio and am typing this right now. That is the level of contagious awesomeness this woman has inside of her and she is just sharing it with all of us in so many ways! Believe me: part of me considered just typing these words for this post: "This episode is amazing... listen and follow Destini everywhere." and just having that be it. I also seriously considered just typing her name a couple hundred times and having it just say Destini Ann, over and over. So, let me try to harness some of this energy and tell you more about our conversation you may be listening to right now. And if this post is distracting you: well, just stop multi-tasking. Listen, then read. Or vice versa. But, don't miss out on the podcast episode and Destini's words there! Destini and I, even in conversation after this was recorded, have quite a bit in common, it seems. And I feel fairly certain, we have not fully scratched the surface on that yet. However, let me just say: I know I'm not alone with that feeling. I think that is one of the reasons she resonates with so many people. She is so incredibly relatable. And wise. I just caught myself trying to perfectly break down and describe Destini for you, and I don't think I want to do that. I seriously just typed about 4 different sentences and deleted them all. I'm not sure if it's because I want you to hear her story and decide for yourself, or if it's because I don't feel like I am saying what I'm thinking perfectly... or even if it may be that I don't want to even try to put even the semblance of a label on Destini. It may be that last one. Because, even with how edifying and inspirational Destini is, I feel incredibly confident saying that she is still evolving. And, since life and time work how they do, not only will Destini evolve and change, but her two wonderful daughters will, too. So, I am here for the long haul. I am here to not only keep learning from her but to keep laughing with her, to keep mentally high-fiving her and smashing the heck out of every frick-fracking-fire-cracking Like button you put in front of me. But, also... I definitely moved out of 'just being a fan' as we talked. So as a supporter and someone who offers her my friendship: I... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 98 is my annual Father's Day episode. Last year was the first year I didn't post one of these. Fittingly, as we sat today (on Father's Day) and tried to remember what our family actually did to celebrate Father's Day last year: we did nothing. So, it works out that I didn't record or post my normal episode that year, either. I recorded this episode the day before Father's Day this time 'round... which means that I recorded it on Juneteenth. I talked in this episode about some of those goals that continue to drive me with doing this podcast. At the end of the episode, in my own way of paying attention to Juneteenth, I reminded you all that a great way to honor Black people is to shop Black-Owned Businesses. There are so many ways to find great lists and recommendations from people for how you can do that for what you may be looking for. As for me, I pointed y'all at just one place in particular for the time being: to hopefully future guest of the podcast, Mahogany Mommies. This is a small business run by a marvelous and genuine, single Black Mom who never fails to impress me with her sincerity and her drive. So, go check her out on Instagram @MahoganyMommies or go to her website at www.MahoganyMommies.com to show Joi some much-deserved love! Thanks, everyone, for doing that! You can listen to this conversation by finding the Daddy Unscripted podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Tune In Radio, etc).As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. You can follow Dave on Twitter: @DaveAlmy or even check out his website at www.adcpartners.com to see what his "day job" is.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 97 is a bit of a rollercoaster episode with Dave Almy. A very honest and real conversation, that has a lot of laughs and an almost equal number of moments that cause to take great pause. This episode was recorded almost exactly 2 years ago. I continued to hold this for the right time and that time is now! It's finally ready to be out here for your consumption.I'm gonna give a quick shout-out to previous guest of the podcast: Bruce Mendelsohn, for connecting Dave and me for this conversation. Thanks Bruce!Dave, who lives in NorCal now, is from Boston and very early in the episode, he makes sure to check in on the usage of bad language on the podcast. I gave him the green flag (the green flag for the red "E" on this one) and I warned y'all early in the episode... so: if you read this first, be ready.Dave comes from an interesting family dynamic, himself. His parents divorced when he was very young and his Dad married his stepmom in the years following. It's really good to hear about how great his stepmom was and what a wonderful woman and parent she has been in his life. And, yes, I understand that I say that as someone who didn't have step-parents and may be kind of influenced by the cliché of the evil step mom or dad.With all of that said, Dave's description of his biological Mom is really something else. He talks about how massively entrepreneurial she is and of her constant reinvention of herself in the likely nevernding plight for constant mental stimulation. He admitted that this is definitely a trait that he got from his Mom.The story of cancer taking Dave's Dad was extremely similar to the story of my own Father. It really hit home for me and this particular part of maybe his final visit with his Dad in the hospital, where he recalls his Dad saying to him in a moment of clarity:"What was I doing chasing the almighty dollar when I should have been home with my family?"Those are the last words that Dave's Father spoke to him before he died. Read them again. As Dave said a bit after quoting that to me: "...going away from that and reflecting on it as my kids were born; that's been the phrase that has... it's just burrowed into me..."I really hope you all enjoy this episode, that you get a lot out of it, that you are inspired by it. I got all of that and more, myself.You can listen to this conversation by finding the Daddy Unscripted podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Tune In Radio, etc).As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be.You can follow Dave on Twitter: @DaveAlmy or even check out his website at www.adcpartners.com to see what his "day job" is.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 5 of "We're Here Alone Together" (W.H.A.T.) features Jess Rosado: blogger, photographer, designer, mom and creative extraordinaire. You should find her @OddBirdOut on Instagram really quick. Go go go. This is Episode 96 of the podcast. Jess and I have known each other since maybe 2005 or so, and we met via the world of Flickr. We talked a little about that early time, the social media platform we were on before the words "social media" were such a mainstay.Jess talked about how much more difficult Christmas in 2020 was for her, in comparison with previous years. Some of that was based on the pandemic... but she also talked about her kids being teens now completely changes the landscape of gift giving and celebration. We talked a bit about kids, allowances and chores. Being the youngest of 8 kids and growing up in the '70s and '80s, an "allowance" wasn't the same for me as it was for a lot of my friends. So, I was curious on Jess' take on it as a Mom of 2. I told a story about trying to trick/bribe (call it what you will) my 8 yr old into allowing us to listen to Prince on the 8-minute drive to his school every day for a month and how he wouldn't give in. Someone please help me with this struggle (sic).We bantered about expectations within the family relationship. I took a minor shot across the bow (sorry not sorry) toward the idea that a Father posting how he is "watching his kids while the Mom gets some 'me time' of her own" and people go out of their way to comment and tell the Dad what a great Dad he is being and how awesome that is. Don't do this. This wound up in us spending quite some time talking about homeschooling. Jess was homeschooled, herself, some time ago and obviously this has become a way more significant option with the pandemic. So, we really went through how that has changed a lot over the years and how it set Jess up for life and how she is handling it with her teens. How many of you with kids feel like they are way ahead of you in their understanding of technology? Yeah, we talked about that too. How timely this current world situation has been for just how tech-savvy younger people are. I have said this multiple times: if Covid had hit when previous generations were kids, I feel fairly comfortable saying that almost none of this schooling would have been possible. I know that a lot of people like to call the last school year a "lost year"... heck, Time magazine just had that as their cover story. I, for one, feel like that is a Bolshevik statement (can you say 'click bait'?) and a pretty harsh slap to the face of educators around the world, as well as to a lot of kids. I don't say that without an understanding and cushion statement that gets that a lot of kids didn't thrive; a lot of parents didn't do well. I know that everyone doesn't have great abilities to work through it (whether that is due to the infrastructure of wifi capabilities, or hardware issues, etc). As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. You can listen to this conversation by finding the Daddy Unscripted podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Tune In Radio, etc).Find and follow Jess and Odd Bird Out at the website for the blog at www.OddBirdOut.com Find and follow Jess on her Instagram at @OddBirdOutDaddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 95 features Icelandic visual artist Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir. Is there such a thing as "admiration at first sight" that is similar in its nature to the whole "love at first sight" thing? I have to assume there is... and that is what my relationship with Rebekka is rooted in. I'm excited that she becomes the first guest of my newest series: "Who Tells Your Story?"This is the second half of our long conversation. Did you listen to the 1st half? If you didn't... seriously, you need to go do that now. Even though this is kind of like my The Godfather I and The Godfather II, as good as this 2nd part is, you can't really take it in perfectly without taking in the 1st half. So, if you haven't done that, go do that now. Come back. This will still be here. Okay, now that we're all on the same page and ready for part 2, let's move ahead as one. "I actually spent one night in the hospital on suicide watch..." So, less than one minute into the 2nd half and we are really starting at a high level here because of where part 1 left off. Now you get why I said all of that just before, right? Right. A very good point to not miss out on here is that this 24-hour "lockdown" was brought about because of Rebekka's ability to be very honest and humble with a trusted friend about the place her mind was at right then. And that friend was caring and smart about the information given to them. These are key components and I am so relieved and happy and proud of Rebekka for setting that into motion so that (and I don't say this lightly, as dramatic as it may sound) she is even still alive to have had this conversation with me. With that said, Rebekka does say this was such a low point for her and that she felt "so pathetic" about it all. Totally understandable or acceptable as a later thought to what took place. But, you know what: I didn't ask her this, but I'm pretty sure she would say that 100 out of 100 times, she would take those feelings for the benefit of being alive today. I think that's a pretty fair assumption. Rebekka retells how she took the painful and necessary steps to finally fully uncover what was really going on with her longtime boyfriend and the relationship he had fully created 'on the side'. She found what she had been expecting to and describes her sons being so glad to see her "reclaim her self-worth and her self-respect."The day she moved out of that relationship was a crazy adventure including a brokedown car being towed by her parents' car. "I lost my income and I lost my home and I lost my car. But, what I had was my kids and my parents and... obviously friends -- " Sometimes, it's not easy to see how much we have. It's easy to say that, of course. But, really. I mean that for myself, as well. "That was obviously the biggest and most shocking and terrible thing that happened during that time..." This seems like a very apt description of Rebekka telling about how her sons' biological father took his own life in December of 2020. Rebekka walks us through how she met her kids' Dad and the story of their dating relationship. "I will say that I never planned on having kids... at any point. I'd never even thought about it." The relationship and love that Rebekka and her sons have for each other goes to show how life sometimes has other ideas for us than what we think is right for ourselves. When he fell in love with someone else and Rebekka had to move back into her parents' home. "It was just the most dreadfully depressing thing that you can imagine. There was no social media. I had not been in contact with any friends, because I didn't really have any friends before dating this guy. So I was completely isolated, back at home with my parents, with these two little kids..."She talks about how things got extremely unpleasant between her and her sons' Dad (who married the woman he had... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 94 features Icelandic visual artist Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir. Is there such a thing as "admiration at first sight" that is similar in its nature to the whole "love at first sight" thing? I have to assume there is... and that is what my relationship with Rebekka is rooted in. I'm excited that she becomes the first guest of my newest series: "Who Tells Your Story?"The year was 2005. I was dating my now wife. I was working at my old job that had me traveling around the world... quite a lot. I wish I could, but I can't recall what originally brought me to search up some type of photograph and led my internet search into a website called Flickr. To give perspective, this is 4 years before Instagram. Facebook was only available to college students at this time. Nobody was using the words "social media" in a meaningful way yet. As I wandered around photos on Flickr, something caught my eye and lassoed my imagination. It was what seemed to be a long exposure shot (one of a few she posted around that time) that made it look like there were two of her laying down. "... I don't even remember how I got the idea of tossing up this apple and catching it in midair..." That was how Rebekka described this photograph that ended up being one of the handful of catalysts for her photography getting noticed far and wide. When we talked about the older photos from her Flickr page, Rebekka talked about how exciting that time was for her. She said that she was taking photos every day and experimenting and having so much fun with this new art form for her. I reminded Rebekka about how I paid homage to her once or twice in my 365 project on Flickr. Here is an example of that from one of her popular multiplicity, or clone, images. "Iceland was basically in the 'Dark Ages' until around World War II, basically..." Rebekka really dug deep for her memories of family members in her past beyond her own parents. She briefly talked about how rough life would have been for her grandparents in old-world Iceland. I got a little schooling in some of the history of Iceland that I had totally not been aware of previously. "My Mom is just really bad-ass." What Rebekka shared about her Mom absolutely falls in line with that sentence. Rebekka touched a little bit on what the effect can be on a child when they are told "you are special," when it comes to scholastics and things of that nature. "As soon as I realized what I had when I was in Florida" as opposed to her life when she returned to Iceland as a pre-teen, gave Rebekka a significant shock to her psyche and moved her into depression at a young age. She really retreated during those school days.Having a sketchbook around her constantly and honing her craft of drawing is what Rebekka will point at having saved her from becoming the outcast that may have been made fun of by others. She says she may still have been considered "the weirdo", her work with art elevated her status a bit and gained some respect from her peers. She thinks it is what kept her going through times of being shy and miserable while in school. "I would sometimes go an entire day without opening my mouth". Rebekka talks about seeing a documentary on women with autism. The documentary, which translated into English is "Seeing The Unseen", can be seen in full on Vimeo and you can connect with them on Twitter @unseenautismAs Rebekka watched and listened to the women in the film discuss their lives, things really started to click into place for her. She remembered the many times she'd been asked: "Why can't you just be normal?" and the answer was and is: "Because I'm not. I'm just not."This all struck a tremendous chord with me. There was an unavoidable resounding bell ringing in my head the first time we started looking at things regarding autism and early... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 93 is the first of 2021 and a brief check-in for all of us on our mental well-being. Literally for all of us: myself very much included.The world has changed a ton for a lot of us since we turned the pages on calendars from 2020 to 2021. Or has it? That's an actual question I wanted to sit down with for this episode. 2020 was not the best year ever for so many of us. I feel pretty safe saying that. I mean, unless you're Jeff Bezos or one of the other billionaires that just got even more disgustingly wealthy during the past year. Emphasis on that word 'disgusting', by the way.The transition to a new year tends to bring that big energy of leaving things in the past and moving into the fresh, shiny newness with some level of optimism. 2021 feels like it was the polar opposite calendar page-turn of the year 2000, with all of the y2k fear. So, what happened? What changed? I sat with that for a minute or 5 and came away with the reality that, aside from the literal calendar change: nothing changed. We were all still in the middle of this pandemic. Our planet had shifted as much as it would any normal day, but that didn't "fix" things. We were less than 3 weeks away from a significant leadership change here in the U.S. For some of us, that represented an enormous light at the end of what had been a very long and dark tunnel. But, let's be real: for others, it didn't. I assume we are all familiar with how that goes for any presidential election.6 days into the new year, there was an insurrection at our nation's capitol. Something unlike anything our generation has ever witnessed. Not here. Not in these United (??) States of America.Insert an entire paragraph about the women there that day. Insert an entire post about the brilliance that the youngest Inaugural poet laureate Amanda Gorman brought to the day.And, here we all are. The pandemic is still a thing. Trumpism is still a thing. People are still trying to figure out how to live through massive tragedy and hardship right now.Change takes time. It takes hard work and a lot of it. As conscientious as I may be about the reality and obviousness of it, I have still had to remind myself there was never a magic wand. No instantaneous betterment was coming on January 1 or January 20.I've needed to come to terms with that fact more than once. This has driven me to work harder to focus (again) on my mental health. To get back into a steady routine of meditation. To find moments, as I need them, of quiet or of mindless distraction at other times. Reading a book, listening to music... even times of listening to the sound of the world outside: the wind in the trees... the rain falling.I know that not a lot of men are comfortable with the idea of discussing mental health. To some, it displays weakness or inferiority. To many, it may be something that could be so helpful, if they could open themselves up to the idea. So, I have been talking about this on my social media, but if you do something for your mental health: share it with us. Let's help each other and others learn and think of some new ways to help themselves.I've said it in this episode a lot, but share your stories with the hashtag of #MyMentalHealth to make it easy to find. You can listen to this conversation by finding the Daddy Unscripted podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Tune In Radio, etc).As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 92 is my 3rd Thanksgiving episode. Last year's episode was heavily inspired by the life of Mr. Rogers and featured an inspiring message and challenge based on the kindness represented by Mr. Rogers' legacy. This year's episode is painted more with the current landscape of our country and, really, our planet during the fall and winter months of 2020. With everything going on in the world right now, I decided to just take some of it on with this solo, guest-less episode. I think, in the end, it allows me to be more thankful and grateful if I'm not straight up trying to avoid or dance around the obvious. I started by sharing the relief I felt with the (apparent) election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the president and vice president elect. I analyzed some of the fear I have heard some people express about what that may mean for USA; I tried to talk through a little of my confusion with that mindset while coming to terms with how that may feel valid to people that don't share my same ideas.The second section of the episode was a bit more personal. If you've heard my prior episodes during this time of the year, you know that this is around the time that the anniversary of my Dad's death comes around. It's also the anniversary of my eldest sister's death. This year, my wife's Dad succumbed to cancer not too long ago. So, it's all just piling on. This of course, also coincides with my birthday (which happens to be the day that I'm releasing this episode, oddly enough). So, I spent a bit of time exploring how all of that impacts my life right now, and the dynamic of my family. With the state of the world in mind, it was impossible to not connect that with all of the loss that so many humans are experiencing right now. A lot of us are possibly getting used to the ridiculously high numbers of human loss occurring on a daily basis in so many parts of the world right now. Stopping to think about that for just a few minutes is incredibly saddening. The final part of what I called my Cornucopia episode focused on a challenge of inspiration to all of you (and to myself, too). When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone? I mean: wrote. With your hand and a pen? When was the last time you wrote one and mailed it to someone? Is it so crazy to think about writing a letter even to someone who lives in your home and still mailing it to your home for them? How about sending out voice texts of love to people you care about? It is a pretty simple challenge... and maybe that makes it better, because I know so many of you can easily find success with this. Oh, a little bit of news. I finally put to rest the idea that I may do a complete branding overhaul of Daddy Unscripted. That's not happening. Rather, with the additional section of the podcast that I created with the W.H.A.T. series ("We're Here Alone Together"), I announced I will have another side series called "Who Tells Your Story" that will involve me having an even more diverse set of guests on the podcast to do exactly what Daddy Unscripted has always strived to do: document the lives of all of you amazing people out there.You can listen to this conversation by finding the Daddy Unscripted podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Tune In Radio, etc).As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite:... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 91 features Chris Colbert, the CEO of DCP Entertainment, which just launched a new show titled "Say Their Name". We talk about that podcast a lot in this episode, let me first tell you about Chris. He began his career in audio production over a decade ago as an intern and consultant for Sirius Satellite Radio (now SiriusXM Radio). While simultaneously earning his degree from Seton Hall University, he helped create Oscar and Grammy award winner Jamie Foxx’s comedy and music channel “The Foxxhole.”Upon successful completion and tremendous success with “The Foxxhole,” Chris joined SiriusXM full time and helped create “Carlin’s Corner”, a 24/7 George Carlin comedy channel, and “Que Funny”, SiriusXM’s only bilingual Latino comedy channel. He also oversaw programming and operations for “Urban View” and “Blue Collar Radio” (now “Jeff & Larry’s Comedy Roundup”). In addition to SiriusXM’s permanent stations, Chris also worked on pop-up channels such as “Richard Pryor Radio”, “Star Wars Radio”, “Comic Con Radio”, and “E3 Radio.”As Director of Urban Talk and Comedy for SiriusXM, Chris worked on several audio documentaries. These documentaries provided his transition to the role of Vice President of Programming for Cadence13 (formerly DGital Media). While at Cadence13, he oversaw all documentary projects and produced top podcasts such as “Cover Up”, “Origins”, “What Really Happened”, and “Majority 54.”Having worked with names like Jamie Foxx, Touré, James Andrew Miller, Joy-Ann Reid, Zak Levitt, Andrew Jenks, Joe Madison, ESSENCE, PEOPLE, Crooked Media, Sports Illustrated, WME, and the United Negro College Fund, Chris specializes in media partnerships and content development.With a passion for connecting audiences with innovative and inspiring content, Chris founded DCP Entertainment; a place to bring together audio and visual storytelling that highlight underrepresented communities and conversations.We talked a lot about mental health in this episode. We covered DCP's new podcast "Say Their Name" as well, which was a significant part of my wanting to talk with Chris in the first place. Say Their Name talks with loved ones of the victims of either police brutality or senseless killing at the hands of other civilians. Chris talks about how he realized in 2018 that he wanted to do something that honored the lives that were being lost unnecessarily.DCP Entertainment is your destination for the underrepresented voice, sharing stories you won’t find anywhere else. Giving a platform to people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as highlighting stories around mental health, disability, and overcoming adversity, DCP presents stories that we can all relate to. With a focus on improving the world around us, DCP’s podcast and video series go beyond entertainment and provide perspectives and lessons that can create positive movements.DCP Entertainment's Podcasts include: “Democracy-ish,” “Make It Plain,” “Toure Show,” “Woke AF,” “Picked Last in Gym Class,” and “Inner Space.” For more information, visit www.dcpofficial.com and follow @DCPofficial on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be.You can listen to this conversation by finding the Daddy Unscripted podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 90 features David Gans, songwriter, musician, author, photographer, radio host of The Grateful Dead Hour... and, what did I miss? I've recently released a few episodes recorded pre-Covid. This is another of those and, again, I kind of like hearing these conversations during what was a simpler, much different time. This conversation took place near New Year's 2019, believe it or not. A number of reasons held this one back so long, including other podcasts in the Osiris Media family releasing their own convos with David and my not wanting to create a David Gans deluge (which, really, might not be such a bad thing, honestly). So, at long last, I'm very happy to finally bring this conversation to you all.Another thing that made this conversation unique: he was the second person I had on Daddy Unscripted even though they were not actually Dads. We chuckled about that at the beginning of this episode. I will stand firmly by the idea that I thought this conversation would still be warmly welcomed by my audience and an excellent addition to the Osiris canon, regardless. I mean, aside from that... I could always just say: it's my podcast and I'll do what I want (right?).David talks about his friend and writing partner Stephen Donnelly who had been trying to get him interested in the Grateful Dead for some time, trying to get him to go to a show. From looking at what this band was all about, he recalls looking at song titles for insights: "They had a song called 'New Speedway Boogie' and I didn't think boogie music was very interesting, that just seemed like mindless party music. And then they had a song called 'Cumberland Blues' and I wasn't that interested in the blues, either... imagine my surprise when I heard those songs..."In early 1972, the Grateful Dead really got David's interest. Once he got a handle on the improvisation (and conversation) that was taking place onstage between the band members, he states it clearly: "there was no turning back".The very first song that David ever played guitar, it was playing his very own compositions. He firmly believes that gave him a unique voice with his guitar, not starting out by learning the music of others and starting his playing based on a dependency of being able to play other people's music.We talked about Al & Janice Lucas' website called gratefuldeadtributebands.com that keeps track of all of the bands playing Grateful Dead music around the world. There are so many hundreds of these bands playing the music of the Grateful Dead globally. That really does say so much about the legacy of not only the music itself, but the writing and lyrics of the Grateful Dead's songbook.Working as a music journalist for various magazines (including but not isolated to Relix magazine, Rolling Stone magazine amongst others) in the '70s and '80s, David got to learn a lot about ways to make music and ways to put shows together. "I also got to watch the whole nature of the music business change over time from the era that I grew up in that was dominated by singers-songwriters... over time the whole nature of that business has changed and record sales are way down and everybody now, the best way to make a living is to go out and actually play live and sell T-shirts and stuff. You're not selling music into record stores; you're being heard on Spotify which doesn't pay enough to live on."We talked quite a bit about improvisation in music and bands that don't go that way at all, and the ones that do. "Brent Mydland told me once when he joined the Grateful Dead, Bob Weir told him: 'You can't really rehearse for the Grateful Dead. You just have to do it.'""One of the things that I tell people when describing this kind of music is: that everybody in the band has the authority to dominate the rap, and the good grace not to. Through the course of some short, medium, or long stretch of dialogue, they will migrate collectively toward that... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 5 of "We're Here Alone Together" (W.H.A.T.) features Billie Weiss, the Senior Manager of Photography for the Boston Red Sox. If you, like me, follow him on social media, you may actually think his name is BJ Weiss. That's merely his handle on most of social media, however... so go find him as @BJWeiss22 on both Instagram and Twitter. Okay... I assume you handled following him on social media now so you can better follow who this artiste is (that is not a typo... he absolutely is more than an 'artist'). Billie and I started the episode by just getting the "acquaintance" part out of the way. Even if you may think I was a little effusive in my excitement about talking with him and how complimentary I was of his work over the years: trust me. I held back. As a photographer and as a huge sports fan and as a ridiculous fan of the Red Sox, I really did restrain myself from what could have come off as way too much time of utter fanboy treatment. I cannot fully describe how passionate I am about Billie's photography coverage of the Red Sox, in games and off the field, as well.Very important note here: we had this conversation originally not all that long before the MLB actually started their season this year. The season that will have the ultimate asterisk for all-time (I'd think): the 60-game regular season of 2020, during a worldwide pandemic that, by the 3rd week of September had already claimed the lives of over 200,000 Americans. Billie takes us through his journey in the world of photography from the time of his schooling to where he sent a resume out to the Baltimore Orioles organization in an effort to land a photographer intern gig. And that was where he got his official start. He worked with the Orioles as an intern in 2009 and again in 2011 as an assistant. Late in 2011 is when he met the Red Sox team photographer during a series between the two teams. The two kept in touch, Billie graduated from college and he put his name into the running for an internship with the Red Sox in 2012 (which... spoiler alert: he got).Billie talked about how different the mentality is behind the photography of the Red Sox than what team photographers were doing some 10 or 20 years ago and why it has to be so different. Billie told me how during the first month or so of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was glued to his TV, watching the news, trying to determine when he would be able to go back to work. He described having to force himself to get out, start taking photographs again and think outside of what his "normal" was. The break from his usual day-to-day actually allowed him to finally launch his Youtube channel that he has on his back-burner for so long. Billie's fiancé is a nurse there on the east coast, so that has added a significant additional layer to all of this for the two of them. Though this is coming out a while after we had the original conversation, I think it's still interesting to hear our conversation about "how do you play sports during this pandemic"?We finished the conversation talking about photography. Having worked a lot within the concert photography world, I wanted to ask Billie about being the professional when you're working with such well-known stars with some big personalities and even larger personas. We then went into some of Billie's favorite photos over the years. Don't think we didn't discuss the magic of the 2018 Red Sox season and how big the photographs that came out of that season actually became. As I said before, you really should go find Billie to appreciate his brilliant work. You absolutely do not have to be a Red Sox or Boston sports fan to enjoy it all. So check out his website at www.BillieWeiss.com You can also get to know him a lot better through his new(ish) Youtube page ... then you definitely need to add him on Instagram and on Twitter... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 88 features Damon Miller, a CEO and longtime surfer from Oregon. This is another blast from the past episode, actually recorded in the summer of 2019. I started to feel the guilt while editing this recently of it taking me so long to get to... but I actually really enjoy the nostalgia of hearing these conversations that happen pre-Covid, if I'm being honest.Damon starts us off, going back to his great grandfather moving to the Miami area from Wisconsin back in the 1920's. His great grandfather started a business in Miami that ended up becoming kind of the family business and that is where his family roots dug in deep for generations to come. Damon was in that state until he moved out west in the middle of his college years.When we go back into the relationship between Damon and his parents, Damon tells how his parents divorced when he was only 6 years old. "It's not really a tragic story in any way..." Damon says of that time of his life. He had a stepdad that entered his hemisphere not too long after his parents divorced and he had strong relationships with both of his Dads.Damon's level of awareness that he describes at such a young age is beyond remarkable. He talks about recognizing how difficult it must have been for his Dad to put the effort into staying in his children's lives. He also talked about understanding that his parents were "just two human beings that it [marriage] just didn't work out for them".We talked a bit about the struggle for step-parents; as they work to not only create a bond and a relationship with their new significant other's children but that they are also navigating through whatever issues come with their relationship with that significant other, as well. I don't think we even got into what some step-parents have to deal with regarding estranged exes that exist. It's quite a lot, clearly.I think Damon was tickled when I asked him what kind of surfer he felt he more resembled back in the early '90s: Jeff Spicoli or Kelly Slater. Damon said he thought maybe he would have been a perfect mix between the two.We talked about his daughter who is a teenager and how mature and aware she is about some of the "drama things" that might trouble girls her age. Remember what I said earlier about Damon's very mature approach to his parents' divorce? Yeah... you don't have to wonder very hard about how his kids might have come by their mature process of thinking.This led back to "how did you cope so well as a youth?" and Damon talked about how beneficial his focus on surfing was for him. We talked about how important having a hobby, interest, or something that drives you can be for people of pretty much any age. I subscribe to this theory with all that I am.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at
Episode 4 of "We're Here Alone Together" (W.H.A.T.) features Ashley Girres, an author and Mom very well known on Twitter as @aFierceMind. Just pause right now and get onto Twitter and go follow her. I'll wait for you to take care of that.Good... you're back. Thanks for doing that. Actually: you're welcome for that. You'll thank me. Ashley has been making me LOL for quite some time now with her incredibly witty tweets. Not just that, but she is also immensely bold, honest, and real.I started telling people over a decade ago that "I feel like I have lived many lives already" (in my lifetime... not a reference to reincarnation). I recently read one of Ashley's tweets with that same sentiment and it was just another way I felt connected to her. When I listened to a recent podcast that had Ashley on as a guest, I was taken aback by how much I felt right in line with her in so many different ways.Ashley's Dad passed away when she was just 7 years old. She tells a little bit about that in our conversation because that led to her decision to write letters to her daughter when she was born a little over 7 years ago. Her drive to write couldn't be more exact with the reasons that Daddy Unscripted even exists. I almost felt dizzy when I heard all of this.Is it just me, or is it incredibly cool that I started writing a book 11 years ago for my daughter called "Dear Delilah" and Ashley has a book out titled "Dear Siena: Letters To Every Daughter"? I know that writing a book for your daughter may lead to the title being "Dear _____" whatever your daughter's name may be. But, come on. That is pretty remarkable!I enlightened Ashley on what the Disney movie Onward! is about and even as I was giving the tiniest synopsis, it struck me how deeply emotional that movie can be for adults like ourselves. Trust me. I watched it with my kids and we were ALL crying.Ashley's graphic design job has allowed her to work from home since just before her daughter was born. So, as she put it, she has been training for the whole "shelter in place" life for over 7 years now; "however, I have never trained with... we've got the 3 months thing down, but you may want to check in with me at the 4 months mark..." she said, jokingly.I spent a good amount of time working with Ashley to get her husband's social media accounts rolling. He teaches P.E. to 4th - 6th graders and I immediately worked on launching his ability to work that into also helping conquer Dad Bods around the world. We joked a lot about how great the @aFierceBody account would do, especially as Ashley directed her followers to that account. I will say, I did actually follow through with my work to her and you'll see there is actually a Twitter account with that name now.Ashley talked about how the school system in Oregon works, and how it breaks up the grades into different schools in a way I'm not used to here in So Cal. She talked about how it actually brought some peace-of-mind to her as her daughter grows up, knowing what Ashley experienced in her youth and what she remembers about how "boys can be". Ashley has three older brothers, so she had the benefit of some protectors in her life as a young girl.This all serves as a solid reminder to those of us raising boys: we do really need to put a lot of extra work and focus on raising young men that respect and treat young women properly. Read that sentence again, parents. And that does have a responsibility for us parents of girls, as well. Young women should have realistic, high expectations. I won't go too far down that road... but, this is just another big responsibility for parents that will help make the world a better place.Ashley started up on social media just two years ago. It's really cool how she has grown over 65,000 followers on Twitter in that short amount of time, organically. Did I already tell any of you on Twitter to... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Black Lives Matter. If you can't say that, or can't agree with it: this just may not be the episode for you. I paused while typing these show notes right after those 2 sentences there. Like I was standing at a 4-way intersection, deciding which path to take. Do I go for simplicity and a bereft approach (unlike the actual episode itself) and just leave those sentences as the entirety of the notes? That would feel "cool" to do... kind of like a big mic drop. But, not a smart SEO move, right? Also, it would feel like I'm saying very demonstratively: "I'm right. Period. If you disagree, go suck an egg!" Which, A: I could say. It's my podcast. And, B: I mean... if we're being real, I completely do not understand if you can't agree with this idea. That Black lives matter. If you're thrown off by my usage of the "Black Lives Matter" symbol and going to go down the road of theories behind the actual #BlackLivesMatter movement and what do they do with their finances and are they holding hands behind their own backs with this or that political side... whatever road you may go down just by seeing that phrase... don't get distracted. Don't get triggered. This is not about that. This episode and my conversation are not about that. This is about whether or not Black lives 'matter'. The answer should include no hesitation from any of us. It should be the easiest and unrelenting "YES". I know it's not that simple for some. Not that cut and dry. And, in ways, it isn't. Because of where we are as a nation, as humans... there is undeniably a lot more to that. But, if we can all just get to the place where we agree on that one point: that's the first step. It's completely asinine to me that we even have to talk about that first step. Mind-boggling, upsetting... there are a lot of words to describe that for me. But, again... here we are. So, this episode evolved from what started as a single tweet. After talking briefly with a friend/co-worker of mine about the documentary you can see on Netflix called 13th. This was written, produced, and directed by the great Ava DuVernay and it should absolutely be required viewing. Anyway, I was asked if I had seen it and that prompted me to literally have to pull over my car for a moment due to the emotions it stirred up for me. (Every single time I think or talk about this set of moments, my eyes start stinging with the onset of tears all over again.)I typed a tweet as I was pulled over and saved it in my drafts folder. Later that night, I decided I would make that one tweet a multiple tweet thread instead. I started typing it in Twitter directly and got to about 6 tweets before I copied and pasted it all into my Notes app on my iPhone to rethink my format. Early that next morning, around 2:30 am, I woke up and could not keep myself from immediately thinking about what I had begun to write. So, I sat up and typed with my two thumbs into my phone for the next nearly 2 hours. That became something I read in the middle of this podcast episode, and I will paste it below here in just a bit, as well. It included a lot of my minute-by-minute self-reflection and a lot of the things I had learned to that day on the issue of race and Black lives and racial equity. I took a very real look at myself in that writing, too. I talked about the acknowledgment of my white privilege and what that meant to me. Imagining my adult Black friends as kids, made me think back on my own childhood as a boy who was born white in the '70s and how that affected me (even in ways I never would have known at that time). Let me just put that dialogue for you in its entirety right here for you:A friend of mine just texted and asked me if I have watched 13th on Netflix yet? I told her my history of watching it, how much it affected me the first time I saw it and then I just started to cry. I fully recognize how emotional the subject of racism makes me, a lot of... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Ofosu of the Balance meditation app is my guest for Episode 85. Ofosu is also known in the music world as "Born I", and you can find his music basically everywhere (Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube). This is the 3rd of the "We're Here, Alone Together" episodes; meaning we don't really get into the whole fatherhood side of things. We recorded this episode on June 6, 2020, just 12 days after the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. I have been very outspoken about how much meditation via the Balance app has helped me from the onset of the new world we live in due to Covid-19. I reached out to Ofosu some time ago, after I saw that he's a Dad. I wanted to have him as part of the podcast to learn more about his own familial history and to, of course, thank him for his work with Balance. However, family history took a back seat when our country found itself in the middle of its own writing of history right now. With all of the protests and the surging battle for racial equality that we find ourselves in, I humbly asked Ofosu if he wouldn't mind turning the focus of our conversation on that. 5 years ago, he wrote a song called "I Can't Breathe" following the tragic deaths of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin and so many other unarmed Black men, women and children. Sadly, five years later, this song is still incredibly relevant.So, this is that conversation that is filled with a mutual hope. A white man in Southern California talking with a Black man in Maryland. A larger transcript from the episode is available on www.daddyunscripted.comMake sure you check out the Balance app on your devices. They do a lot of live meditations on Mondays on their Instagram account, so you should add @BalanceApp on Instagram and Twitter. Find Born I on Spotify, SoundCloud and Youtube. You can follow his music accounts on Instagram and Twitter as well by finding @bornimusic Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can use my Google Voice Number at 872.444.6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The 2nd Episode of my side series of the Daddy Unscripted podcast: We're Here Alone Together (W.H.A.T.) features my longtime friend Ana who is a doctor in Bucharest, Romania. When I started this side project of my podcast, I immediately thought of Ana and a conversation I had with her a little over a month ago about how things got out of control quickly with the spread of the Corona Virus. The stories she told were both fascinating and immensely troubling. Ana talked about a large number of Romanian citizens who were lying about their travels after returning to the country from Italy (where the virus had begun its massive rampage of the country). I'm not pulling in a fact-checker here, because I am not a news source. So, let's just be clear on that. But some of what she told me is just so sensational. A Senator who was infected that refused to go into quarantine who continued to speak in public and meet with people. A policeman who was infected that, amongst other things, went to a club with 200 or more people in attendance. These people who lied about their travels from Italy. One of them was because he had been in Italy with his mistress and didn't want to get caught in the lie by his wife.I've known Ana for close to 15 years now and when we started talking about how Romania was getting affected by Covid-19 when everything started happening, I became instantly concerned for her well-being. I, honestly and a bit selfishly was relieved when I learned that she wasn't being moved into any front line work at the hospital with Covid patients. However, as you hear in her own words, the changes put into place as to what Ana's job would now entail may have kept her slightly safer, but it also crushed her morale a bit: keeping her from doing what she has spent so much of her life working toward: helping others. Essentially, this has all left Ana feeling very useless. And hearing Ana verbalize that made me incredibly sad. We spent some time talking about how people all over are dealing with this same feeling of uselessness. The reality that this exists all over is important to recognize.As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can use my Google Voice Number at 872.444.6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 83: Matt Darwin, listener of the podcast, becomes an important guest! Matt was so real, honest, and open in this conversation about the path for him and his wife from having an only child to adding a 4th to their little family of 3.Matt normally would be making the commute to his law firm in Manhattan from his home in New Jersey on the daily. But, at the time we recorded this (April 8, 2020), shelter-in-place and quarantine life had been underway for close to a month. We spent some time talking about how things are on the east coast for him with the new world we find ourselves in currently.Matt reached out to me with the proposition of being a guest with a story that he had not yet heard on the podcast: parents toiling with the decision to add another child to their family or not. We agreed it would be a great discussion to have for multiple reasons. It took us some time to nail everything down to record and, by the time we got everything settled, Matt reached back out to me with some news.Life has its way, oftentimes, of making decisions for us. Matt's wife had recently told him that she was pregnant again. While our conversation was going to be more about "are we really going to do this?", it looked like we now were going to talk about "how are we going to do this?"Matt's wife works as a psychotherapist. Matt details that she dealt with some level of postpartum depression after their first child was born. So, the discussions they have had about preparing for what may occur down the road with their second child are incredibly important. Not just for them and their future family, but for some of us all to hear, as well. The self-awareness is real!I said it more than once in this episode: I am proud of the braveness and foresight that Matt and his wife have displayed and are still working through. I would give them both a huge award (if I had two of these) for doing the tough work of not only being real about who they are, but what they can to better that situation for themselves, their first-born and for their soon to be new-comer. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The Introductory episode to the Daddy Unscripted side subset of episodes called We're Here Alone Together aka W.H.A.T.As I was recording a Live Youtube video on April 11, a vague notion I had became a solid plan. I was talking about "how are we coping with this new world right now" with Aaron and Apple from the No Simple Road podcast and Mike Finoia from the Amigos podcast. You can watch that video on the Osiris Media youtube channel, by the way.I had already completed my 2-part episodes called "Love In The Time Of Covid". As an "essential worker", and one who manages a staff of 40+ other essential workers, this time has been very impactful for me. I have really had to take on the task of being very mindful of my own emotions and mindset. Not only am I also responsible for my wife and two kids, but I feel the weight of that responsibility for all of the people at my work, as well. I've talked with a lot of people during this time and I've heard a myriad of stories of how people's lives have changed and are being affected. I think it's important, now more than ever, for us to talk openly about things. Communication is so meaningful to us, as humans. And, now, that is being put to the test. Whether it's because we are in some semblance of quarantine or shelter-in-place in our homes... or because, when we are out in the world, for a lot of us, we are wearing masks. So, I decided to explore what's going on in people's lives right now. All kinds of people, from a myriad of backgrounds and locations. And, quite exciting for me: this is opening up the podcast to my talking to ANYONE. Yep... not just Dads, but Moms too. And not just parents, really, either. So, don't be surprised if I take this opportunity to record with a lot more women than men for this little podcast side-road. I hope you'll join all of us on this journey. I expect to learn a lot about the human spirit, new ways that some of us can cope and help our family members through this time as well as gaining some perspective on what some of us may be going through and locking arms with other lovely humans. As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can use my Google Voice Number at 872.444.6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The official First Episode of my side series of the Daddy Unscripted podcast: We're Here Alone Together (W.H.A.T.) is here. My guest is Jose Rosado, who was on Daddy Unscripted Episodes 7 and 10. If you remember, Jose was instrumental in helping Daddy Unscripted become a podcast. A big part of that is because Jose had his own podcast going strong back then: The Angry Millenial Podcast. Jose works in the Mental Health field and his family of four live in Maryland. His wife (Jess) and I have been friends for close to 15 years now. Jess is extremely talented and gifted in many ways and when the whole Corona Virus thing started sweeping through, she was one of the people who took it upon themselves to learn how to make masks. She quickly started working day in and out, making masks to donate to local hospitals and healthcare workers. She made quite a number of masks for the staff at the animal hospital I manage and you should check out all of her stuff at www.umecreative.com In this episode, Jose and I talk about how the quarantine situation and sheltering-in-place can definitely mess with a person's mental health. He made it very clear that if you do need to work with a therapist at any level, but never locked in with one before this all started, you can still make that happen! He suggested going to https://www.psychologytoday.com/us and using the site to find a therapist. I'm so glad we had this conversation just in time for the start of Mental Health Awareness Month, May of 2020. I mean: EVERY month in 2020 should absolutely continue to focus on our Mental Health. Right?As I say in each episode: for anyone who may need help during any difficult times: the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255. Also, I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can use my Google Voice Number at 872.444.6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 80 is another solo episode, sans guest, and the final half of my thoughts on the place we all find ourselves in currently: in the middle of this global pandemic of Covid-19 or the Corona Virus. I recorded this episode on Friday, April 3, 2020. I'm typing this on Sunday, April 5, and the current statistics are 1,266,614 cases, 69,169 deaths and 260,967 recoveries worldwide this afternoon. That means there were more than 200,000 new cases, 11,000 new deaths and 33,000 new recoveries over this weekend.In the first half of this, from last week, I spent a lot of time talking about my feelings regarding our responsibilities, not only for a lot of us as parents but for all of us as humans and mostly... as adults.With this episode, I still have an undercurrent of that just beneath the surface, but a lot of this episode is spent giving you more tangible and practical takeaways to your new everyday lives right now. Whatever that may be: I think nearly all of us are living in some form of a "new normal". One of the positives that I hope comes out of this pandemic is our newfound understanding and respect for people in many different professions. The low-hanging fruit is, of course, people on the front lines in the healthcare industry. Doctors, nurses... all of them. The risk they are putting themselves in right now is, at times, baffling how they can do it, day after day. Some of the other people I have really felt a need to recognize: people working at restaurants, people at grocery stores. Let's also talk about teachers. Come on. If you haven't raised a glass to the people who are teaching all of our kids at school over the course of a school year, please do so now. It's imperative that we do our best to consider how this all affects our children. Think about how upside-down their worlds have become. They have lost touch significantly (in some cases, they may have lost touch altogether) with their classmates. How many of you had one or more favorite teachers? Remember how great it was to see them every weekday and be in their class? Think about that giant hole in their lives now. With that loss of the normal school day, also comes the loss of what that schedule brings to them in regards to their health. They no longer have whatever spacing out of their food intake, which also may have included your input if you were packing lunches for those younger kids. So, how much and how often are they eating now? And what, exactly, are they eating... that maybe wasn't in their day-to-day previously? WHO and the CDC both recommend that children should perform at least 60 minutes' worth of moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity on a daily basis. Are you keeping that up for your kids right now? There are so many ways to accomplish this, even during whatever your community's current level of quarantine or shelter-in-place may be. There's a website and an app called Go Noodle that is a free resource for kids to visit to be active and stay healthy. My kids love using that site, actually and I've done a few of the dances with them, too. Cosmic Kids is another great place, that even has yoga for kids. You may not even know that the YMCA has something called YMCA360 (that they recently made free for people) that you can access for all of this, as well. It can be as simple, even, as looking things up on Youtube for your kids to do some activities at home. Stress eating is not just an adult deal, everyone. So, remember that your kids may be picking up on your stress or even have their own about this crazy time right now. So, it's important and not at all mean of you to keep track of what your kids are eating throughout the day. It's important that we don't just let everything go by the wayside just because of the state of the world right now. I'm tempted to say: if you want to, yourselves, that is fine...... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 79 is another solo episode, sans guest. As we find ourselves in the middle of this global pandemic, I felt compelled to speak a little in regards to how this affects all of us, whether it is us as parents, our children, our own parents. All humans are in some way having their lives changed by the existence of Covid-19 or the Corona Virus.If you've been following along with your Daddy Unscripted handbook for a while, you know that I manage an animal hospital as my 9-5 job. Managing the staff there during this time of crisis has really raised the bar for me. I have had to work harder than ever to dig deep within myself, to basically tap into every single one of the tools in my emotional utility belt to assist the 40+ people at our hospital to help them work through having to continue to work during this time. Not only that, but to also help a great many of them deal with what all of this does to exacerbate what may already be their daily anxiety level with "normal life". This also speaks to something I have definitely talked about numerous times: the example that we set for our children, as they soak up the things we do like sponges. Of course, the extreme on this is the people who drive me out of my mind. People who express unwarranted and unabashed anger and/or racism in front of their kids. I feel like the current climate in the world is allowing us another one of those moments in our lives to rise to the occasion. I feel it's important for us to recognize that, as parents, we are currently responsible for raising the adults of what will be this new world. Like it or not, the world is changing. At times, it almost feels like Earth is trying to slough off its old skin right now and become a fresh planet.To me, it feels like there is a lot of tightrope walking that we need to do right at this time. Walking on the edge of not losing sight of our responsibilities, while not allowing that to become a straightjacket that restricts us from being present for our kids.I feel silly and like "that guy" by sort of making a plea on this episode for people to take this seriously and do their part right now to help us flatten the curve. I also feel silly that I have to type that last sentence. How is it that people can be apathetic about the state of humankind right now? I alluded to the articles or the headlines I've seen more than once about statistics showing that men are either more susceptible to the Corona Virus or that their mortality rate is higher than women. I've yet to delve into that data, but, it's definitely solidified my already present desire to not get this! What it can break down to is: what does it hurt for all of us to be extra cautious right now? Why is it so difficult for us to just shelter in place, stay home, try to do everything to minimize our contact with others and do what we can for a while to try and help cease the spread. Slow it down. Acting responsibly and doing what appears to be the obvious and right thing right now is important. Also, as much as it may suck for your kids, I truly believe they will respect your decisions.I started to go down a path that I basically stopped myself from ending. Instead, in this typed out version, I will just say: thank you to all of the people who are tirelessly working in healthcare. The people who are trying their best in the conditions they are dealing with to try and not only help people who need help in any other "every-day way" in their hospitals, but also to have to deal with all of the people coming in that are at such a bad level with Covid-19. For me, personally, I want to thank people like Ana in Romania, Sarah in Las Vegas and even my niece Megan out here in So Cal. Thank you for doing all that you are doing right now. While we are in shout-out zone, I also put out a big one in this episode to all of the... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 78 is an incredibly open, honest, deep and real conversation with associate professor and author Matt Sienkiewicz. This episode was recorded a year ago, I hate to say. Due to some significant technical issues, it's just now finally seeing the light of day.I am not going to publicly flog myself too much for that. It is what it is at this point and I couldn't feel more guilty and apologetic about it to Matt. But, with that said: I didn't give up and it's here! Aged like a fine wine that just needed a little more time to go from "great" to "life-changing".The episode actually started the way I thought it might: with us talking about Matt's work surrounding comedy. I was struck originally by everything he does surrounding the study of comedy. It truly fascinates me and I wish I had that experience with the little bit of college I did way back when.We eventually did the norm and had Matt work his way back into his paternal history. And... goodness me. The game changed there. Whether he was talking about his Grandfather or his Dad, it was just ... not warm and fuzzy. I think that's safe to say.I get that everyone does not have the greatest and most loving relationship with their parents. I truly do understand that and don't live in a fairy tale world of thinking that just doesn't exist. I did have a great relationship with my Dad, but I know that isn't just the way for all men.That Matt was okay with openly discussing even the lows of his relationships really changed what I thought might be the course of our conversation. We really spent a lot of time on those relationships.I learned a lot from this discussion. I gained a ton of respect for Matt and, as I said in the episode: the fact that he is not allowing himself to keep the pattern alive that he was raised into of men who didn't really show much love or interest in their children is tremendous.You can follow Matt on Twitter: @mediastudied or even check out his website at www.mediastudied.com to see what he is up to and all of the books and projects he has worked on.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 77 is the second half of my conversation with fellow music fan, recovered alcoholic, remarkable stay-at-home Dad and future podcaster: Jason Ronk. We pick up the conversation right where Part 1 left off (if you didn't hear that yet, take the time to go back... great stuff in there and, you know, it's part 1 of 2. Would you watch The Godfather II without devouring the original first?)Jason takes us back into his mid-'90s history and what music really started to do for him at that time of his life. He traces directly back to a friend of his putting on Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album and remembers that really driving him further in his desire to be a musician. In 1994 and 1995, Jason was not only getting introduced to the Grateful Dead and Phish but his one and only time seeing Jerry Garcia on stage was the Grateful Dead's final official concert before Jerry's untimely and unfortunate death: the July 1995 show at Soldier Field in Chicago. "...I found my people... I had no clue what it was, but I knew that I fit..." That snippet of Jason's description of being around the community of Deadheads at Soldier Field, whether in the parking lot or in the actual show, I think resonates with a lot of us. It absolutely hit the mark for me... it all sounded incredibly familiar to my first time in a parking lot at a show back on New Year's Eve weekend in 1990. Drum circle, and all. Jason walked through the most difficult times of his life, talking about all of the craziness that his struggle with alcoholism put him through. One of my favorite things Jason said during our entire conversation came soon after that: "...my life really began on July 4, 2015... when I met my wife..." I mentioned this in my intro of the episode, but a big reason that we talked when we did for these episodes was that Jason was set to meet with Trey before one of his shows. His re-telling of that night and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding it gave me goosebumps. It's always refreshing when you hear about a celebrity or someone who spends some of their life "in the spotlight" and people talk about how humble or friendly or just overall cool that person is. Jason's meetup with Trey fell right in line with that. And this is the way it seems like all of the stories of people meeting Trey out and about are, of late. I won't spell out the whole experience here... it won't do it justice. Truly. If for no other reason, you should check out the actual episode to hear Jason tell about this awesome experience. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of Osiris Media! You can check out the Osiris Media website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 76 is the first half of my conversation with fellow music fan, recovered alcoholic, remarkable stay-at-home Dad and future podcaster: Jason Ronk.We started out the episode with some singing out the praises of the Moms out there. I did a little bit of the stay-at-home / work-from-home Dad situation with my first-born. Jason definitely is having a longer go at it than I did. Pretty much every SAHD I have talked about that job with has just gotten on their knees to bow in reverence to the work that Moms do.Jason talked a little about some of the surprising things he has noticed during trips to the park for his kids to play. Both the other kids and the other parents can really be interesting to observe; I've notice this a lot, myself. How do parents at the park interact, if at all, with their children while there? It's almost like a personality test on a live, visual scale. Do they plop down and get right on their phones and ignore their kids? Do they sit and talk with other parents there? Do they play with their kids if they're asked to? It can be quite fascinating, really.He talked a bit about what his older child's experience is like currently in school. We eventually got into talking about how much of a difference outdoor play can be for kids. This obviously isn't us being pioneers on the subject... this gets talked about a lot these days, with all of the electronics kids have access to and how easy that can be for us, as parents, to let them "do what they're going to do"... you know, the "electric babysitter".As a kid of the '70s, this all resonates with me dramatically. I spent a lot of my childhood outdoors. Having the incredibly good fortune of being raised in Southern Orange County, and being able to walk about a mile to get to the beach, I took advantage of that a lot in my youth. There was a time, however, that changed a little for me. I did love video games and reading and even writing (I wrote a "book" -- it never went anywhere, so don't ask -- during the summer between my 8th and 9th-grade school years). But, I definitely benefitted from what was our locale.Jason traces his move away from his childhood locale to the discovery of the Grateful Dead and that community of Deadheads in 1995. One of his first shows was actually the Grateful Dead's last show, in Chicago in the summer of '95, at the age of 19. (We get into this more in Part 2, by the way)We went back into the childhoods and lives of both his Dad and his Mom... who both were raised in old farm families. Jason's Dad was in a band that toured with Dolly Parton, played the Grand Ole Opry and had some actual hits! I played a segment of one of their songs in the episode, that you can click here to check out on Youtube. Dick Ronk and the Revenuers and their tune: Let Me Kill The Bottle Bartender.Jason is not afraid to talk openly and honestly about the battle he fought with drugs and alcohol. He also really said a lot of great things about passing on respect and understanding to our kids and helping them to become great men and women as adults.Again, this is just the first half of our conversation and you won't want to miss the second half and Jason's story about meeting up with Trey Anastasio and a lot of what he has learned in the work he has done over years on himself.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 75 is the second half of my conversation with musician, podcaster, Youtuber, Dad and all-around awesome guy: Amar Sastry. You may know Amar from his Anatomy of a Jam series on Youtube or his tweets breaking down and playing portions of Phish songs on his acoustic guitar or his work on the Osiris Media podcast network's video version of The Drop (which is also done as a podcast). Amar is all over the map... in a very good way.If you didn't somehow catch the first part of our conversation, you really must. This episode picks up immediately where the previous episode ended: with Amar walking us through what he remembers of his family's move from rural India to New York when he was just 5 or 6 years old.His story is so refreshing. I know I don't speak for everyone, and I would never claim anything of the sort... but, hearing about what it's like for people to come from much humbler means to a new home with a far different situation and lifestyle. It's hard not to, but we really can so easily take so much for granted in our lives.I know that not everyone has the opportunity in their lives to travel to different countries. I feel extremely fortunate to have visited multiple foreign countries in my lifetime. As odd as it may sound, I truly relish the time I've spent in places where people do not have the extravagances that are easily attainable where I live. Every time I have returned home from a place like that, it's like my eyes are opened anew to the reality of the world that we live in, rather than just the microcosm of where I have spent the majority of my life.We leapfrogged rapidly to Amar's work that he does with regards to music... which is pretty widespread. We got right into how Amar decided to start creating videos for Youtube. I'll type some of my favorite quotes by Amar during this part of our conversation below:"I think music theory has completely ruined an entire generation of guitar players". "Music is the one place where we should feel free... where we shouldn't have rules."We talked about his work on his "Anatomy of a Jam" videos on Youtube and then I started to fanboy out and tell him how much I get out of the videos that he posts on Twitter, predominantly of him playing a section of a Phish song on his acoustic guitar. Near the beginning of this episode, I included a full version he shared with me of his take on "When The Circus Comes To Town", a Los Lobos tune that Phish covers.You can find more about Amar at his website: www.amarguitar.com or by watching his Youtube channel, also named amarguitar and you can follow his Twitter at username @brahmin_noodles.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 74 is the first half of my conversation with musician, podcaster, Youtuber, Dad and all-around awesome guy: Amar Sastry. You may know Amar from his Anatomy of a Jam series on Youtube or his tweets breaking down and playing portions of Phish songs on his acoustic guitar or his work on the Osiris Media podcast network's video version of The Drop (which is also done as a podcast). Amar is all over the map... in a very good way. We kicked off the episode talking about a lot of the "new parent stuff" that Amar and his wife are going through, being around a year and a half into the parental game with their little girl. For anyone near my age, I mentioned a blast from the past phrase: "kids having kids". Or was it "babies having babies"? Either way, that section of our discussion ended with a rousing cheer by me of: "You go, Geriatrics!" Eventually, we worked our way into the history of Amar through his father and his grandparents. It was very interesting to hear about some of their mindset and the ways that their surroundings shaped them, in many different ways than I'd reckon that happened for a lot of us. Our conversation turned to us talking about some of the things that hold a lot of us back from taking on things in life. It rolled into a solid discussion about fear and behaviors and changing our mindset and patterns in order to take control of our lives a little more and basically raging against some of the ways we are wired as humans.I was totally surprised when I told Amar about my time in India with a previous job that I was in the city of Bangalore, and that happens to be where Amar has spent a lot of his time, as well, since he has family there. I told Amar about the hilarity of my experience with the cultural phenomenon some may call the "Indian head wobble" or bobble. Don't believe me? Look it up. Part of Wikipedia's description will show you how confusing it can be... read this: "...a form of nonverbal communication, it may mean yes, good, maybe, ok, or I understand..." It makes me laugh a little that this is pretty much where this first portion of our conversation ended. But, it just fit well and didn't break into the next chunk of our discussion at all. Not only will you have to check out Part 2 with Amar for that... you'll want to hear that. Take my word for it.As I randomly decided to give kind of an advertisement/shout-out to this great product, I will remind you to check out www.WolfmanWhiskers.com for any of you men who need some fantastical beard balm and other products of that sort.You can find more about Amar at his website: www.amarguitar.com or by watching his Youtube channel, also named amarguitar and you can follow his Twitter at username @brahmin_noodles. Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 73 features half of the tandem that puts together the "Beyond The Pond" podcast, Dave Goldstein. This is the 2nd and final part of my conversation with Dave, whose podcast is another from our glorious Osiris Media podcast network.This episode picks up right where the 1st ended, with Dave starting to talk about him and his wife's decision to have a second child. His story starts off with the re-telling of the pregnancy that followed their oldest daughter. The very unfortunate and tragic direction that pregnancy took put Dave and his wife through something no parent should have to experience.Following that difficult spring of 2018, by the fall of that year, Dave's wife was pregnant again, restoring their hope of having a little brother or sister for their firstborn daughter.To their disbelief, during a routine ultrasound, yet again they were facing the news of another medical condition with the growing fetus. Doctors confirmed that their future child had ventricular septal defects, or a hole in the heart.Dave and his wife got a lot of time with specialists and pediatric cardiologists during the course of the remainder of the pregnancy. Echocardiograms continued to confirm the presence of the hole and the cardiologist even stated there might be multiple holes, but couldn't say for sure.Their second daughter was born in May of 2019, via scheduled c-section and all went well with the delivery. Her heart did, in fact, have multiple holes and the two holes they had been monitoring were actually larger than they had thought.We talked about Dave's very real and understandable fear of getting attached to their newborn. He recalls the cardiologist telling them: "...she is not in heart failure now, but it's not so much a matter of 'if', it's really a matter of 'when'". Let that just sink in for a moment, will you? Hearing that your newborn is going to need heart surgery for survival.In July, their daughter had a perfectly successful open-heart surgery. Following the surgery, she had a complete turn-around with a lot of the aspects of her daily life that are the things we all can take for granted as parents of a newborn.Dave told some other stories about the bond that has already started to take shape between his two little girls. It's heart-warming to me to imagine the two sisters way down the road, when they are both mature enough to thoughtfully think about how much of a miracle they both are, truly, but for them to fully grasp how awesome and truly amazing life is and that they have one another. Let's hope, right?One of the notable things during the entire conversation with Dave that gave me that smile of recognition was his pairing of days and events with either old concerts by bands he loves or with his beloved Mets baseball games. I admit, unfortunately, that part of my mind just does not store information the way that Dave does... but this still fully resonates with me.I'm still so touched by this conversation with Dave. It was a bit of an eye-opener, touched on so many large issues and became just another solid reminder at how truly miraculous life really is, how beautiful it can be and just how (don't yell at me for using this word) blessed we, as parents are with the true gifts that our children represent.The "Beyond the Pond" podcast can be found pretty much anywhere you find your podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, etc.Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 72 is another of my solo Thanksgiving episodes. This one is very unique and heavily inspired by my having just seen the new movie focusing on the life of Mr. Rogers starring Tom Hanks titled "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood". It was my birthday the night that I recorded this episode actually: Monday, November 25th. When my wife asked me the week before my birthday how I wanted to celebrate, I told her that beyond anything else, I wanted to go and see this new Mr. Rogers movie with her. Mr. Rogers was an enormous part of my childhood and immensely meaningful and inspirational to me. I have always maintained a very special place in my heart for Mr. Rogers, and I am all for and all about the continued spotlight on the man and his legacy. In this episode, I focused on two of the things that really seemed to be two of the biggest themes for my year: 1) opening up about my suicide attempt 25 years ago, and 2) re-acquainting myself with the life and the work of Mr. Rogers and the epiphany of how much so many of his theories and practices align with what I try to do with my life. During the course of this episode, I was talking about one of my personal pet peeves of the "I'm not going to smile at you but I will press my lips together instead and that is the 'smile' you'll get..." that I think a lot of us do, myself absolutely included. That evolved into my challenging myself (and any others of you) to make a point every single day for the rest of this year to give a big, genuine smile to 5 people I don't know during the course of each day. Maybe we can start some kind of chain of humankindness and love to others just by starting off with those smiles. Who's with me?! I am not sure if I need to say this after what you may have already read here, and after you listen to this actual episode... but I can not encourage you enough to go see "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood". Also: go see it in the theater. I would love for Hollywood to see success from this film and for that to possibly greenlight some similar projects that may just be good movies that help people, while entertaining. Daddy Unscripted can be found on: iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In Radio Twitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.com Daddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com. Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.com You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 71 features half of the tandem that puts together the "Beyond The Pond" podcast, Dave Goldstein. Dave adds to my list of guests that come from our glorious Osiris Media podcast network.I was thrilled when Dave reached out to me about being on the podcast. I had his partner from the BtP podcast, Brian Brinkman, on the podcast a little over a year ago for Episodes 50 & 51. They do such a great job with their podcast and, honestly, I have always dug Dave's voice from their episodes that I was happy to have a long conversation with him for Daddy Unscripted.And, a long conversation is exactly what we had. We talked and recorded for over 3 hours. I really toiled with the editing of this episode. For way too long. And then it dawned on me: two-parter!So, this is the first half of our conversation. We talk about his family history, stories about his Dad and how he and his Mom met. Did someone say "met"? We also go into how the New York Mets became a major part of his family history.We went through a bit of the story of how Dave became a Dad for the first time some 4 plus years ago. Just as we started to get into their journey to bring a second child into being, it seemed like the best place to split our conversation into two halves and post this section as Part 1.The "Beyond the Pond" podcast can be found pretty much anywhere you find your podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, etc.Beyond the Pond has a page on Medium at medium.com/beyond-the-pondDaddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com and you can always use my Google Voice number for comments, questions, etc.: (872) 444-6784. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 70 features singer-songwriter Griffin House. Griffin has been making music for over 15 years now and he is still working hard and remaining incredibly true to himself and who he wants to be as an artist.When Griffin's management contacted me about having him on the podcast, quite frankly, I had to rush to the internet to see who this guy was. I spent the next ten minutes or so reading various bios and snippets of interviews and album reviews and my interest was open to the idea. Then, I clicked play on a preview of his coming documentary "Rising Star" and I couldn't reply to the original email quickly and enthusiastically enough.We worked out some specifics and I went home that night and started picking my way through some of Griffin's older albums. Wow. Man, oh, man... I sure did want to talk with this guy! I truly did become an instant fan that first day.In our conversation, Griffin spins some great histories about his family, his youth and his intense connections with his paternal line, as well as to his Mother's Father. It was really cool to hear about strong the connection was (and still is) between the men in their families.Griffin details the path that led him to music back in High School. He talks about some of the crossroads of his life that he passed up or diverted from to see where music would take him instead. I'd say he made a pretty fantastic choice in doing that.It sometimes seems cliché to think about musicians dealing with or even battling addiction. So, I wasn't completely floored or taken aback when Griffin started to talk about his personal struggle with alcohol as a touring musician. But, how forthcoming he was and humble in talking about how it was something that affected others, including, at that time, his new wife, was really refreshing.I am so happy I got to have this conversation with Griffin. We really connected on a number of things and, with my last episode and some of the current suicide crisis that is affecting musicians and artists, it was really meaningful to hear him talk about, even briefly, how he had his own suicidal thoughts that he had to overcome.With that, I will remind you all how important it is that we ALL TALK. We talk about any struggles we may be having... we talk with those around us and offer ourselves up as safe people to our friends and family and loved ones; people that are capable of *just listening*, without the added pressure of feeling like we have to *fix* things for others.So... with *that* said, I will, again, give you all these two phone numbers: My Google Voice Number for *ANYONE* to use: (872) 444-6784. And the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255.You can find all things Griffin House by going to his website: https://griffinhousemusic.com/Daddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com. Osiris is partnered with JamBase and JamBase empowers music fans everywhere to go see live music. You should check them out at Jambase.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee. Check them out at www.Umphreys.comYou can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to
The "guest" in Episode 69 is actually me. It's me talking about suicide, including the story about the night I tried to kill myself a little over 25 years ago.I've touched on this topic with a few of my guests, at all different levels. Most significantly, perhaps, back in Episode 62 with Bill Protzmann, where he shares the story of the night music saved him from trying to take his own life some years ago. It's been something other guests have discussed: having suicidal thoughts at times of their lives.This is not a new problem for mankind. However, the numbers are increasing. The age range seems to also be expanding. It's astonishing. It's deeply troubling. It's nearly paralyzing.But, we cannot be paralyzed. We absolutely cannot allow ourselves to sit and do nothing. To back away and not deal with it. To be afraid of reaching out to help. That goes on both sides of this, I think. If you need help, you need to reach out... even if (or especially) you do so before your toes inch closer to that proverbial edge. And to everyone else, we need to talk to people. Talk to your friends, to your family, to your co-workers. The list goes on and on.I'll put this right here before I dig into the heart of the episode. I have a Google Voice Number for ANY of you to use: (872) 444-6784. Leave me a message there and I will get in touch with you... or you can even just use that as a safe place to vent or whatever it may be. And, the other number you need is the National Suicide Prevention hotline: (800) 273-8255.I have been thinking... maybe knowing this episode would eventually happen. When it struck me that this September is Suicide Prevention Month, I felt a giant push to just sit down and finally get this out. So, this is another "guest-less" episode of the podcast. Just me and a microphone.You can listen to the episode to hear the full story, but, as I mentioned before: at the age of 21, I felt like my life was going nowhere and I was hopeless. Hopeless of having an ability to make anything positive of my life, of ever being in a place to have a productive, adult life. Kind of what I have now, ironically. I'm really nutshelling this... but, I decided to end my life.I took well over 100 pills one night and eventually slipped into a coma for 3+ days. I know that I should have died. I shocked the doctors by coming out of my coma and living. They were beyond shocked that I didn't sustain massive organ damage, either. And yet, here I am. My life was not just saved: it was given back to me.I talked about how this seems to be a significant issue within the world of music, of late. This isn't the full list, but: Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington, David Berman, and most recently: Neal Casal. It's daunting to think about. And I don't claim to know their situations or their reasons. But, I do believe that they didn't seek help. Nobody has stepped forward telling us that they had a conversation with Robin Williams and they knew he was going to commit suicide. That just isn't a thing with so many of those who take their own lives.In this episode, I really run the gamut. Blame that on it being Daddy *Unscripted*, possibly. But, I talk about how devastating it is to me that we even are having conversations about kids attempting and committing suicide. Devastating. It's difficult for me to even fathom the reality of that discussion these days.This easily led to me talking about social media. I don't lay all of these things at its feet, but with social media and bullying and the time we spend on social media, not only being inundated and flooded with the pressures that can create for many people, but the time that it takes away from our relationships of those around us can be extremely hurtful and negatively impactful.I will always be very specific about the fact that my experience is *my* experience. I don't... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 68 features Chris Illuminati. Chris is an author, blogger, superstar on Instagram (that’s totally a thing), former stand-up comedian and a father of two. I was following Chris on his Instagram account (@messagewithabottle) for a while when one of our mutual friends reached out to me, dumbstruck that they had never suggested a collaboration between us for Daddy Unscripted. So, big shout-out to Jessica and Jose for paving the road for this to happen.Let’s start this post with where we started our conversation: his name. Yes. His last name really is Illuminati. We spent some time talking about peoples’ names and how that has changed over the years.We then jumped back into Chris’ family history. He has some really interesting stories about the age difference between his Dad and his brothers and the trickle-down effect of that from his Dad’s siblings and Chris as a child. Chris’ family came to the east coast originally, and he has spent nearly the entirety of his lifetime in New Jersey. He discussed the unique melding of New Jersey and how a lot of its influence comes from both Philadelphia and New York.This ended up becoming a very odd segue into us talking about my having seen Fast Times at Ridgemont High at the way-too-young age of 10. As the youngest of 8 kids in my family, I definitely got exposed to some things I never should have at the time I was. As parents now, Chris and I talked about some of the things that we cannot imagine our kids being involved in that we were during the ’70s and ’80s in our childhoods.Chris talks about how his Dad owning a bar during his youth ended up really working well to keep Chris from being interested in drinking when he was much younger. We talked about the lack of “romanticism” of alcohol that Chris extracted from that experience and how different that was from my own youth, seeing my siblings throwing keg parties at our house when my parents were on vacation.“…Being an only child never bothered me until I had kids. Then it bothered me because I see the dynamic between my son and daughter and I’m like, you know what? It probably would have been cool to have somebody around.” We talked a little bit about the feeling of having more than one kid for Chris, as an only child himself. This became a pretty interesting conversation about the thought process of parents who may have that deliberate decision-making to do regarding having one or more kids.I actually got into some new territory in this episode, opening up on topics I haven’t touched on in any of my previous 67 episodes. It’s interesting to me when things come out like that… just entering conversations naturally by whatever guest may be on the podcast at that time who shares whatever experience they may have had.Chris and I talked briefly after this episode and agreed that it kind of went in directions we really hadn’t been expecting at all. Not in bad ways, mind you. I think, due to his personality and the work he does paired with me on the other side of the mic, we assumed this might be a little more of a light-hearted conversation in its entirety. We did joke around a lot and there were definitely laughs. And part of me is not sure how I could have ever been surprised by this: but, we did get deep in this episode, as well.I’m so excited for all of you to hear this conversation with Chris Illuminati. He’s a great guy and I truly believe there may be another conversation between us. It did feel like a lot was possibly left on the table after we were done recording. So, make sure, either way, that you check out Chris’ work and his social media accounts, too.You can find Chris Illuminati in all of these places:Chris Illuminati on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/Chris-Illuminati/e/B0032IIFKYWebsite: https://www.chrisilluminati.com/Twitter: @ChrisIlluminatiFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisIlluminatiFanPage/Instagram: @MessageWithaBottleDaddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 67 features Aaron of one of the fellow Osiris Media network podcasts: No Simple Road. I'm so incredibly proud and honored and humbled to be a part of the Osiris Podcast family. I really am. I've met some great people through our other podcasts and I've had some great guests on from the podcasts, as well. Aaron is another in that continually growing list.Yes. I admit that the title of this episode is sort of hokey. Because, yeah... his podcast is called No Simple Road and all. But, come on. It just works so well. And, you'll hear in this episode, his life really hasn't been a simple road. And that doesn't mean it all hasn't been worth it. Or that where he is now isn't fantastic. But, he has lived a life (and then some). So, the path to where he is in his life now just was not a simple, smooth ride. And that's okay!Our conversation started with Aaron talking about the origin story of No Simple Road. Since I first started listening to No Simple Road, I've always loved the purity of their conversations and the very homogenous feeling it always provides. We talked about the journey that we have both taken from Day 1 of our own podcasts. Aaron, like me, is very grateful for the experiences his podcast has provided for him.The No Simple Road podcast is recorded on the porch of their home in Oregon. The "hosts" or maybe stars of the podcast are the communal residents of the home: Aaron, his 16-year-old son, his wife Mel, his nephew and his best friend of over 30 years.Aaron goes back into the history of his life and describes it as: "... if I step outside of myself and I take an honest look at where I came from and the people that I was around and what I did as a kid and my adolescence, nothing about my upbringing was normal." Having a Mom who was a trapeze artist and a Dad who was in "the biz" in Hollywood definitely helps you understand what he means by that.The first bucket of freezing cold ice water thrown in my face (figuratively, of course) type realization of how similar Aaron and I are was when he told me that he was out of his home at age 17 and living with his friend (Apple, who is a part of the No Simple Road podcast and a resident of the Oregon home). I didn't interrupt his story to tell him, but I moved out of my house at the same age and lived with a High School friend of mine and his family for some time.Aaron describes himself as a youth as "I was hell to deal with", but praises his Dad for always having his back and being extremely supportive. He talked about some of the great mix he acquired from his Mom and his Dad. From Mom: the belief that you can do anything you put your mind to. From Dad: he gave him his hustle.Aaron eventually migrated from being a punk rock-scene kid in Las Vegas to become a total Deadhead after he was introduced to the Grateful Dead at a young age. Aaron spoke with extreme honesty about what the drug culture of Las Vegas became for him as an individual. Some of the stories are just remarkable. He said: "If 'Now Me' went back and saw a kid that was like me then, I would've said that kid's gonna be dead by 25." Craziness.When Aaron says he was literally 'on the way out' when his wife Mel saved his life in Vegas, he means it. You can hear it in his voice if the words he uses aren't strong enough to get it across. The story he tells about their "chance meeting" when he was walking the street, feeling like he was standing with his toes off of life's edge, it is a breathtaking story.Eventually, Mel and Aaron took their friendship to a much deeper level and got married some 21 years ago. Yet, Aaron wasn't just instantly healed from his addictions and the things that kept him broken just by marrying Mel. He talks about how the birth of their son was the key to finally unshackling himself from some of the chains that were holding him down for so long; the realization that a new life was coming that would need him to be Dad.We talked for a while about the riches of money and possessions on earth vs. the wealth of... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 66 starts off with quite the game show loser sound from old Price is Right episodes. I really got my hat handed to me in like the first 30 seconds of my conversation with my friend Jeff. Very significant emphasis on the word "friend" there. For a very good reason. You'll have to listen to the episode to get the reasoning behind all of this because typed words really don't do justice to my falling on my face.I have known Jeff and his wife since some time in 2006. We met via Flickr. We reminisced a little and talked about how Flickr really was it back in the day. There was no Facebook yet... no Instagram... no real social media just yet. Flickr really was a place that photographers and hobbyists could scratch an itch that none of us yet really knew existed.I had never really taken a big interest in photography until the day I saw some of the experimental and unique work of Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir. You can hear me butcher her last name in the episode... that's just clean fun right there! I saw what Rebekka was doing and I had to try my hand at some of it. That led to a lot of stumbling through some bad self-portraits.Oh, yeah. It's worth saying that this was back before "selfies" were a thing... but I joined a group that was based around a challenge to take a self portrait every day for a full year called (get this...) the 365 project. Because I wanted to try doing some of the things that Rebekka had done, with my own twist (yet, sometimes, I did straight up copycat homages to her), I joined the group. This was where I met Jeff and his wife Trish.It wasn't too long after that when we were actually hanging out in their neck of the woods in Northern California. Trish even welcomed me to her workplace to hang out for a bit and see the premises. Sounds boring, right? Well... not if you work at Skywalker Ranch! That was pretty cool.The point here: I've known Jeff and his wife for a long time now, although we don't get to "hang out" all the time. But, following their adventures and watching their kids grow up over social media has been a treat. And, this is the way of the world today, right? We feel like we know people so well because of Facebook or Instagram.So, when Jeff recently had a major life shift due to a scary revelation of a health issue he was having, it made me really want to sit down and talk with him for a bit.Jeff was raised in a very loving family and he still is extremely close with his parents and his sister. It's a great story hearing about how Jeff's mindset has changed as he grew up outside of his house. We talk a little about how some of the "hot button topics" of current events can drive people apart, even within the same family. It was refreshing to hear Jeff talk about how he and his Dad are able to foster such a loving and caring relationship, still, while they may not see eye to eye on a lot of things.Please do check out and support Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir via her website at www.rebekkagudleifs.com and you can view her Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/rebbaDaddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 65 features Jon Bailey, half of the "2 Dads With Baggage" you may know from Instagram, Twitter or their website.As is par for the course of the podcast: Jon and I talked about the history of his family for a bit to start. We didn't dig into these things explicitly, but it was very interesting that he had family members that came to America on the Mayflower in the 1600's.Jon talked about the very loving family that he was raised in. It was his big brother and himself, with their Mom and Dad. We breezed through some of his education years, which included both Jon and his brother attending UC Berkeley in Northern California... in very distinct and different eras; Jon's brother, attending in the '70s as a "full-on hippie". And, Jon followed suit, but during the '80s.Jon took Journalism in college, which led to an eventual internship that, for the best, drove him away from journalism. Jon then went into Public Relations, which stuck for him. An internship in a PR firm evolved into a long-term career for the fresh graduate. A decade or so later, Jon found himself in Marketing, eventually finding a partner and creating his own firm.Jon loved writing. That was his creative outlet and that was how he found himself creating 2 Dads With Baggage.In a very tongue-in-cheek kind of way, I really played a lot at not divulging Jon's husband's name until the middle of the episode. It is kind of like that cliffhanger on a TV show that people come back the next week for and maybe (if you don't love his name as much as me, that is) throw their hands toward the television in disgust at the build-up. But, hey... all in good fun, right?We talked about the vast difference between familial backgrounds Jon and his husband come from. Jon's parents were happily married throughout their lifetimes. His husband, on the other hand, his parents were married 5 times each. Not to be outdone, his grandmother was actually married 8 times. We agreed that when I go down the road of Grandmothers Unscripted, that would be a great story.This led into us talking as well about the difference between Jon's husband's coming out as gay to his family compared with what ended up being Jon's experience. One of life's tragedies: Jon's Mom's "hang-up" when she found out he was gay was that she really wanted grandchildren. Very sadly, Jon's Mother passed away a week before Jon and his husband's first daughter was born.The story of how Jon and his husband met and started their relationship is straight out of a movie. It really should be a movie. If their movie was made in the '90s, I could see someone forcing it to be a straight couple and having Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan star in it. But, let's do this movie now...it's 2019! So... you can think about who you would cast in it when you're listening to this episode. But, tell me that their story and then how their story and lives progress into adopting their daughters go isn't something you could see yourself watching on the big or small screen.The stories of the two of them adopting their daughters are each dynamic and unique and incredibly heartwarming. The adoption process has evolved over the years. Having 6 adopted siblings myself, I have heard a lot about it. But, that's my parents, as standard home providers: a husband and a wife. I am not at all that blind to think it would be the same for two men providing a mother-less home.Let's face it: there are definitely things that are more difficult for people in the LGBT community. (I actually looked during this post and realized that this acronym now extends to be LGBTQQIAAP now. Did you know that?!) But, for two Dads to adopt a child, I'm sure there has been quite an evolution over time in that specific process. So, the stories of what they went through to adopt their two daughters are beyond remarkable.Jon then goes into the inspiring story about how their elder daughter wrote a letter to then President Barack Obama about their unique family dynamic. Jon took a photo of the letter and... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 64 is time for my annual Father's Day episode. Though I do this every year, it's not the same every year. Because of a few things going on with people around me and people I'm talking to, this episode kind of caught me by surprise with the direction it took.Unscripted. You got that part of the title of the podcast, right?I almost wrote out a script for this episode, believe it or not. I think if I had, and maybe even did that every day for a week, it would be quite different each time. So, this episode is almost like one of those really cool "long, single takes" that they talk about when you watch a Criterion Collection version of some film.So, unscripted, I went into this episode... and, sure, it shows. But, maybe the pure honesty of it is beneficial because of that? That's what I will tell myself anyway.I recorded this episode (just to document this here) the week that Big Papi (former major leaguer / future hall of famer David Ortiz) was shot in what was an alleged murder attempt. As I talked briefly about him, and how much this all affected me, it led me into a discussion about heroes. I quickly moved from "celebrity" type heroes to real life, (not-so-average) "average Joe" heroes.This had me reminiscing about some of my very recent guests (Rob Gorski from Ep. 61, Bill Protzmann from Ep. 62 and Jon Bailey who will be on Ep. 65). This also dove-tailed into my thinking of some of the other issues and people that have been on my mind a lot for quite some time now.Cancer has always been my "hot button disease", for a lack of a better way to say that. Obviously, I guess, since it took my Dad away from me nearly 29 years ago. But, for maybe two years or so now, I have really been puzzled by this disease I started hearing more and more about: ALS. I don't know anybody personally that has been stricken by this horrifically untethered disease. Yet. But, I have started to follow some of them on social media, and have started to feel more connected to people with ALS (or pALS) because of that. So, it has started to confuse and anger me all the more.So, as I was talking about heroes, I mentioned Pete Frates, the man who the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge was created because of. Remember that? I also mentioned Brian Wallach. Brian and his wife created iamals.org after Brian was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 37. I honestly cannot even tell you how I stumbled into Brian via Twitter some time ago, but it happened and I am so grateful that it did.In the past few months I have really started to educate myself more and more on ALS and made a point to do what I can to help spread the word and hopefully get even more people active in the fight. I hope that others will get inspired to do whatever they can to help in the fight and the search for treatment and an eventual cure for ALS.I went very kumbaya in this episode. I can't help it. When I start thinking about some of the things that ail this world and all of us living on it, I tend to go to this place. So, I talked about how easy it can be for us to be better. To be more kind. To be more loving. To make changes in the life of that guy over there... or that woman sitting there near you. Yes... that one. Oh, and that other one too. And, hey -- when you do something nice for that guy, guess what? The chances are he may do something nice for that other guy over there. And then both of those guys might be even extra cool while they are at work. And maybe they come into contact with anywhere from 5 to 105 people while they are working. So, all of those people might get an extra boost. Do you see where I'm going with this?I hope you like this little episode. I really do feel like it may contain a little something for everyone. So, in that vein: won't you share it around? I feel like it's the end of Ghostbusters 2 and we're all covered in that slime and we just need to lock arms and sing "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher" to make the world better. Or maybe the end of Scrooged when they sing "Put A... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 63 features Adam Scheinberg, who wears and has worn many hats in his life. Adam is the architect of Phish.net (as you know it today). He also did a lot of the masterminding of AllThings.Umphreys.com and does a major portion of the web work for them. If that somehow isn't enough for you (because it wasn't for Adam!), he is also the president of the Mockingbird Foundation.Adam was directed to me by Brando Rich of Cash or Trade (you may remember him from episode 54). Adam had helped with some of the initial frameworks for the CashorTrade site and their coding, so it was cool that Brando thought to recommend him for the podcast.Born and raised in Connecticut, Adam's family actually originated from the state of New York. Some of his family still resides in Connecticut, while he has actually moved down that coast a bit to reside in Florida. He starts off with some pretty astounding quick hits about his Grandfather and his life.Adam was set to follow in his own Father's footsteps: becoming a lawyer. He tells about the day that he was set to turn in his paperwork to apply for law school. He got some serious cold feet on what his previous plan for life had been and that became every bit the life-changing event that it sounds like.This path change ended up leading to Adam taking some time off to head out of the U.S., following Phish on their European tour in 1998 after he graduated college. Looking forward to "an adventure that had no direction", Adam packed his bags and headed off alone to travel to Europe.Following his amazing time in Europe, meeting some people who would re-enter his life later down the road, Adam entered the world of computer programming. His disdain for the setlist randomizer on Phish.net led to him reaching out to offer to fix it for them. This became, really, the catalyst for him eventually taking on a complete re-write of the Phish.net website.He originally started kind of toying with the site while Phish was on hiatus. Coincidentally, their decision to reunite came while Adam was working on re-tooling the site. The powers that be contacted Adam, essentially asking him how much longer it would take for him to have the site reconstructed and ready to go.Adam shares my respect for Umphrey's McGee and said "they are a band not afraid of taking technical risks". He talked a little bit about having written the tools to specifically help the band write their setlists. I have always been very real and forthcoming about how much I love what the band and their management does. They are imaginative, they are extremely thoughtful about their fans, they think way outside of the box and they love to keep it fresh.I loved hearing the stories that Adam told about the band and their dedication to their craft for what they play onstage at their shows, as well as for the product they deliver overall to the fans. I shared a story of my own from an LA show that I got to spend some time backstage with the band before the show and how a tease made its way into a song that night and how I got to see it all take shape. A special moment that I don't take for granted at all.After working our way further into his professional life, we made our way through his personal and family life as well. Adam talks about meeting his wife, their marriage and quickly starting their family. We evolved into talking about TV and movies with our kids and some of the things each of us have lucked out with our kids watching that isn't as painful as, say, Caillou (not really at all sorry, Caillou).It took us a while to get to it, but Adam talked about his move into the Mockingbird Foundation. He created some goals for the foundation and eventually made the tough decision to step down from Phish.net. I'm shortening this (that's what the episode is for, people!), but eventually this all just led to Adam becoming the President of the Mockingbird Foundation. Some of the stories he tells about grants that he has been able to be a part of with the Foundation are completely... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 62 features a semi-lengthy and fully beautiful conversation with Bill Protzmann, a man with a unique and fascinating life story. The common thread weaving through Bill's entire life is music. And it's music that literally saved his life, some nearly 12 years ago now.Bill and I started talking and I could quickly tell this was going to be another great discussion. I won't deny it, there have been times when I've second-guessed the idea of doing all of these "interviews" unscripted. So many of my guests, unknowingly, remind me why I don't plan any of these conversations out, though.Bill has been playing piano since he was 3 years old. His Mom was a teacher and he was actually her first student. As a self-proclaimed difficult child, Bill sees how much playing the piano helped give him some direction and force some of the engagement that assisted with his development.Though he didn't realize it at the time, Bill knows now that he was very depressed as a kid. This was something he worked through in different ways in his adult years, as he started to recognize it and gain some self-awareness.In his 30's, Bill discovered that his Father's Father had actually taken his own life. He became curious whether there was a trait that was passed down that perhaps led to Bill's own dealings with depression and suicide."It's [suicide] also a part of my family history. Maybe it's part of more family histories than we really know. It's not something that people talked about until recently. So, it's good we're talking about these things because it makes them less terrifying... less of a stigma."We talked a lot in this conversation about feelings and emotions. There is definitely a stigma or an idea of "bad" placed on so many of our natural human emotions: sadness, anger, etc. Bill and I agreed that experiencing the full spectrum of human emotions is absolutely healthy. It's what you do with them that is the important part.During this episode, we inserted two different sections of music. The first is an actual recording Bill made for this episode of playing "Till There Was You" on the piano. The song was originally in the musical "The Music Man" and was a part of a medley that Bill used to perform publicly. When he told of one such, very moving and meaningful, performance, it only became obvious that it would enrich the episode by including it.The other song you'll hear is the Etude-Tableau In A Minor, Op. 39, No. 2, written by the great Rachmaninoff. This is the piece of music that effectively saved Bill's life back in 2007. The story Bill tells of the fateful night that he was deciding to give up on life is as real as it gets. Episode spoiler alert: Bill LIVED! Is that a spoiler? Maybe not. But, I am absolutely delighted to say that he is still breathing.A bit of a surprise here: this is actually the first time I've talked about my own suicide attempt at all on the podcast. I'm actually maybe more surprised by that than any of you. I consider myself an extremely open book, so there's really no good reason that I haven't talked about it. So, I was actually all in for finally opening that part of my life on the podcast.A lot of the men in the Protzmann family served in some form of the military. Unfortunately, Bill's poor vision kept him from becoming a pilot like he had wanted to. However, late in the 2000's, Bill found another way to serve: by helping veterans.So, Bill decided to do with music for others what it had done for him. He chose to take the music they love to give them a way to find peace and inspiration. He has seen how music can change the landscape of physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual self care. He's gone beyond just making this a part of veterans' lives to also using it with homeless people.To learn more about Bill and his work, you can visit www.billprotzmann.com or visit his site to read and learn more about the work he does with others at www.musiccare.net. If you want to check out the scope of the music care work... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In episode 61, I had a life-altering conversation with Rob Gorski, creator of "The Autism Dad". Life-altering is an appropriate and not exaggerated description of our discussion. I, of course, am hopeful it has anywhere close to that effect and meaning for at least some of you.As I said in my intro: Rob is one of those people that, to me, are deserving of the title "hero". Truly. Rob's ability to overcome some of the challenges he and his family are faced with is the stuff heroes are made of. Their "normal" day-to-day is extremely unique. And, I'm sure Rob would scoff at me for saying that or maybe politely thank me for it. But, the things Rob does that seem so amazing to me, he would probably just shrug and tell me how it really is just his life. And... that's what makes it heroic to me.I truly feel very humbled after speaking with Rob. Hearing these stories about how much his family overcomes daily. How much they have overcome already. It also inspires me to know that I can do so much more, in so many ways. Not just in my own life... but for others, as well.Rob has three autistic children at home. His wife has Aspergers and is autistic as well. Their 19-year-old son also has childhood disintegrative disorder. This means, though he is 19 years of age, his cognitive level is about at that of a 6 or 5-year old, and it's regressing.This conversation with Rob opened the door to possibly the first time I have spoken at any length on the podcast about my daughter's autism. She does very well and is extremely high-functioning. But, that wasn't always the case. She definitely had a tough first section of her life, filled with lots of time with therapists in our home and outside of it.I brought up the story of Carly Fleischmann that I had seen years ago on a 20/20 special. My daughter was young and already into her therapies when the video about Carly came out. At that time, we really had no idea where things would go for our little girl, but it gave me hope, all the same.As we went back into Rob's history, he talked about his childhood, born in the late 70's and raised in Ohio as one of 6 kids. His parents were very religious and worked hard to send all of the kids to Catholic school, locally. As a kid who spent pretty much all of my years in private school, as well, we dug into private education a little.As our conversation meandered into this topic, Rob shared something from his past that was something else I could truly empathize with: abuse. Let's just say that the way the adults surrounding him responded to what he told them about what happened from someone involved in the local parish understandably put an indelible mark on Rob regarding the Catholic church and organized religion.You can't have a conversation about organized religion (or maybe, the Catholic church?) without touching on tolerance and acceptance, right? Our road led us there next and, I'd say a great deal of our episode really was steeped in that: Tolerance, Acceptance and Love.Rob told me that he has gotten some flack from people on social media for voicing his opinion on politics and other things. Rather than people seeing the big picture of what our current government is doing that has massive effects on people with autism or other disabilities, some are telling Rob to "stay in his lane" and stick to the autism advocacy. Which, Rob states very succinctly in this episode, very well means that he absolutely has things to say about other things that really do affect his family and those with autism."...I want to be standing on the right side of history. I want my kids to know that I was not okay with this. That I spoke up... and I stood up... and I did everything in my power, as one person, to counter this..." Rob said, in regards to everything going on with the current state of hate and lack of acceptance on a grand scale in society right now.I'd have to say, one of the funnier moments of the episode was when I tried to use an analogy that did not hit its mark with Rob... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In episode 60, Will Henson tells us all about the adventures of his life. These are not just his adventures, but those of his Dad and his Mom during his youth, as well.Will came to the podcast via Episode 56's guest Jon Loomis. So, a special thanks to Jon for leading such a great man to Daddy Unscripted.When Will first emailed me, I couldn't have been more surprised by some of the things he quickly mentioned about his childhood. His parents' research of bats and mentioning to me that he was catching bats in Jamaica had me extremely interested, to say the least.Spending much of his life on the east coast, Will tells some great stories of adventuring about from his childhood. He talks about being quite the nerd in High School, which I really associated with. It's not too hard to believe that a young Will decided to just up and move to Alaska.As someone who, at times, was not afraid to try very new things and places in life, I am so massively inspired by Will's fearless life. We talked a bit about what it's like to "settle down" a little later in life.Will's professional life is not exactly boring, either. He is a licensed psychologist who works a lot in the threat assessment space with schools in his locale. I'm sad that something like this has to exist at all, let alone, has as much involvement as it does these days. But, obviously the need is there and his role is very important.Will has not only helped create a website that helps train educators; he has also developed and designed a historical board game. As in his childhood, he now spends a significant amount of time taking his two daughters fishing with him. He provided me with some amazing photos, that I will share at the end of this post with you all.You can find more about Will's work by visiting www.321insight.comYou can also check out the board game he designed by visiting www.historicalboardgaming.comDaddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify| Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Another episode that Twitter gets a lot of the glory for bringing me yet another fantastic guest. I am not one to spend my time in just one arena. I think that goes for pretty much all aspects of my life. True, when I get into something I really get into that something. But, I throw my net pretty wide.For some years now, I have been extremely interested in the things that are not right in front of my face. That meant looking outside of mainstream media and network news. This opened my eyes to a lot of the things that are starting to get a little more light shed on them lately.I shake my head as I type this. How is it possible we are still talking about racism? And as I type that sentence, I feel like it makes me appear ignorant. I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel with this post. I'm not trying to write something to have it go viral. Now, that would be ignorant. But, a big part of me wants to scream out: "HOW IS RACISM STILL SO PREVALENT?!"As a person who happens to be white (I credit that phrase to Amanda Seales), it deeply saddens me that this is still an issue. In many ways, it really doesn't seem like we have gained that much ground since 'the old days'. Over the past couple of years alone, the racist acts that you can find pretty much daily... it's just astonishing. And in my whiteness, my maleness and my not getting any youngerness, it's all downright embarrassing and leaves me incredulous at times. And, yes, I'm aware I just put my own self into a category right there.During my personal search for more reality (good or bad), it has led me to a lot of people I respect in many ways. Benjamin Dixon is someone I stumbled upon via Twitter at some point in 2018. I very quickly recognized his fire for putting the spotlight on important issues. At the time, I wasn't aware of what Benjamin was working on in the background.We recorded this episode a couple of weeks before its initial launch, but on Valentine's Day, The North Star was officially (re)birthed into the world. A project of Benjamin and Shaun King's, the North Star was originally an abolitionist newspaper established in 1847 by Frederick Douglass.Taken from their website: "Started in 1847 by Frederick Douglass & Dr. Martin Delany as the leading abolitionist newspaper of its day, we have rebuilt and relaunched The North Star as a modern hub for liberation journalism. Every article, podcast, broadcast, and story that we tell will not just be told to change the news. The North Star is here to change the world."I reached out to Benjamin late last year and I'd almost be okay with describing myself as giddy that he was interested in recording for Daddy Unscripted with me. I felt like I knew a decent amount about Ben's life going into the recording but quickly learned I truly had no idea.As we talked, it really started unfolding how many similarities we had. From our youthful years with fathers that were pastors to many of our tales as Dads, we have a lot of common ground.You'll hear us get a little emotional in this episode as we talk about missing our Dads. Benjamin gives a solid history of his life before I nudge him into a history of his career. I'm so happy we were able to record this episode during such a busy time for Benjamin. Make sure you check out all of the things that keep Benjamin busy and the ways that he is working to make things better and clearer for others of us in the world.Go to Benjamin's Twitter to find links to pretty much everything, username @BenjaminPDixon. Also, make sure you check out The North Star at www.TheNorthStar.comDaddy Unscripted can be found on:iTunes | Spotify| Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy UnscriptedWebsite: www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In Episode 58, former major league baseball player David Newhan tells some remarkable stories. He fought through his minor league journey and when his shot for making a big league roster arrived, he made it impossible for them to put him back on the bench. When he had a horrific accident nearly 10 years ago, he fought, quite literally, for his life with that very same tenacity.In October of 2016, Episodes 19 & 20 of the podcast featured my conversations with hall of fame baseball writer Ross Newhan. Yes. You're making the right connection there: Ross is David's dad. When I sat with Ross, the hope was always that he and David would become a Father/Son package on Daddy Unscripted at some point. That time has finally arrived.David had unique access to professional baseball players from a young age. He was born into a home with two baseball-loving parents and his interest in baseball never wavered. While his dad was working over the long and grueling seasons, David was busy bettering himself as a young baseball player. And he did it well. So well that he went on to play in college.Following a season at Cypress College, David went on to play for Georgia Tech in 1993. His teammates there included Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek and Jay Payton. To complete his collegiate play, he spent the next two years back in California, putting up huge numbers at Pepperdine University. He was drafted in the amateur draft later that year by the Oakland A's organization.David spent 3 years in the A's minor league system before being traded to the Padres. His career then went the way of many minor league journeymen: he has played at the minor and major league level for 10 different baseball organizations. It was with the Orioles that David saw his most significant success. In 2004, during a call-up to the big league club, he took the baseball world by storm. He even had a 20-game hit streak.One of the moments a lot of baseball people may remember most would be a hit off of Pedro Martinez in Fenway Park. He drove the ball deep off of the center field wall, Johnny Damon fielded it and threw it toward the infield. Out of nowhere, and for completely unknown reasons, Manny Ramirez cut off the throw going to the cut-off man. In a true display of "Manny Being Manny", the oddball play allowed for Newhan to get an inside-the-park home run off of one of the best pitchers to play the game.His career hit some turbulence in the seasons to follow; some significant injuries did not help. In 2009, David was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as a player-coach for their Triple-A squad. That summer, while at his home in Oceanside, CA, everything would change.David's re-telling of the fateful day surfing in the ocean brought chills, even though I am no stranger to the story. Remarkable, amazing, astounding, unbelievable and miraculous: all of these words come to mind to describe what took place. As he dove unsuspectingly into a sandbar and fractured his C2 vertebrae. The injury is known by doctors as "the Hangman's fracture" -- it's the same injury that actor Christopher Reeve suffered that left him a quadriplegic.It is truly almost insane to think that David was not only somehow able to keep from drowning in the ocean, but he made it to shore and was able to walk home. If that's not enough to wow you, consider the fact that in 2011 David accepted an invitation to spring training with the San Diego Padres.After spending some time as the assistant hitting coach with the Detroit Tigers, David's path has brought him right back to California. He is about to start his third season as the Angels' minor league infield coordinator. I would be shocked if David isn't managing a big league team at some point in his career.I encourage anyone to complete the circle by listening to both of the Newhan generations' tales of life. It's very interesting to hear the connections between their stories. I know that sounds so obvious that I must be dumb for even pointing it out. But, with both of their... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 57 features Michael Shields, editor in chief of Across The Margin (in its written and Podcast format). Michael not only has his "Beyond The Margin" podcast on the Osiris Podcast Network; he also is a part of the Welcome To The Party, Pal podcast and the God, Ween, Evan podcast. Yeah... I thought I was busy, too. Michael finds time for all of this, somehow, as well as for being a Dad!Michael and I have wanted to sit down and do an episode for my podcast for a long time now. Somehow, I even ended up recording with someone he sent my way (Evan Kaufman) before I actually recorded with him! Finally, we made it work, and we probably could have talked all night.I can definitely sense a difference in these conversations when they are done with other people who talk with people on a podcast. I think that became instantly obvious with Michael and me, as we were kind of all over the place from the moment we started recording.To say Michael's stories were unique would be a massive understatement. The story he tells about when his Dad nearly died some years ago had me in complete disbelief. Talk about events with truly amazing timing. You will want to hear him tell that story. I don't want to spoil it here. Seriously. So, listen in. I will say: it was one of two experiences Michael has been through that has slapped him across the face with that truth of "life is fleeting".Let me throw a little info out to you about his podcast. Across the Margin's "Beyond The Margin" has had some fantastic guests, and I will throw out a few of them to you: Micah White who created Occupy Wall Street, Dr. Genevieve Guenther who runs End Climate Silence. org, Jack Bryan the documentarian behind Active Measures the famed Russia doc. I could go on...but he has had a great many other musicians, comedians, actors, writers, and more. So you really need to check out all forms of Across the Margin.I highly encourage you to seek out Michael's work on his website at www.acrossthemargin.com and check out all of the podcasts he is involved in!Daddy Unscripted can be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
For Episode 56, Jon Loomis, one of the founders of Baseballism, talks about his Dad, his childhood, his early relationship with his wife, being a Dad and what led to the creation of Baseballism as we know it today.For you fans and regulars of the podcast: you know about my love for baseball. I haven't been as direct, however, about my tremendous respect for well-run and unique companies/brands. So, diving into the people behind Baseballism to inquire about good guests for the podcasts wasn't a reach. I'm always impressed and grateful when things come together like this from my "cold calls" for guests.Jon couldn't have been a better find for the podcast. His childhood history was really interesting and unique. I mentioned this at the end of the episode: his life could have gone a completely different way so easily. While his Dad was a JAG in the military (yes, just like that tv show you may remember), Jon spent his early youth in Naples, Italy. At about the age of 6, his parents moved them back to America, landing in Oregon.This father-son story is a little different from a lot of former guests; Jon and his Dad didn't have a lot of shared interests. I enjoyed having that reminder since I've become so accustomed to hearing the opposite: there is a very solid bond, as it is, between family members. Regardless of any outside interests or passions that may connect two people in a bigger way, when it comes down to it, there is a least common denominator: they are family.Jon played a lot of baseball during the course of his life: starting as a kid, playing through high school and into his college years. So, baseball was a pretty consistent part of his life. The group of guys he played baseball with during college became lifelong friends. Within that group is where the seeds of Baseballism would eventually grow from.Similar to his own parents' love story, Jon met his wife in high school and they married before they were 25 years old. Jon spent a good amount of his professional life in the world of finance. It was 2012 when Jon's friend Travis sat with others about what his plan was for the potential evolution of "Baseballism", which had been a baseball camp for kids prior to that.I love the mindset behind Baseballism's products. I love the success story of what they have created. I love the incredibly intelligent path they have taken with their business model and how they plotted their course. And I loved having this opportunity to learn so much about Jon Loomis along the way.You can and should absolutely go and find Baseballism on their website at www.baseballism.com or find them by name on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.Daddy Unscripted can be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscripted Facebook: Daddy Unscripted www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 55, the final episode of 2018, features Ryan Dempster as my guest. I am not going to be presumptuous about your knowledge of who that is. So, here's some details before we get too far.Ryan is a former MLB pitcher. He came up through the Florida Marlins organization and eventually went on to play for the Red, Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox. His longest stint was that of 8 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and he finished his career with the Boston Red Sox.Not just because of my ridiculous passion for the Red Sox, but let me tell you a little more about his grand finale as a major leaguer. His final season was in 2013. That's the year of the Boston Marathon Bombings.We covered a lot of ground in this episode. Ryan told about his Dad and Mom's history, how they met and what kind of man his Dad was before Ryan and his brothers entered the world. His respect for the hard work his Dad put in to provide for their family was clear and obvious, and it sounded well-deserved. Currently, a retired fire chief, his Dad is the Executive Director of the Dempster Family Foundation of Canada.The foundation was founded about a year after Ryan's daughter Riley was born with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome during the 2009 baseball season. The genetic disease is the second most common genetic disorder in the world. The foundation has grown and evolved over the years and has now transferred over to the 22q Family Foundation.If you're no stranger to the podcast, you've heard me use the word "kindness" a lot. Even as part of bigger terms like human kindness or gentle kindness. Ryan and I really dove into this, heartily agreeing about how much people in this world could benefit from being nicer to one another. I mentioned in an email later to Ryan that, in relation to what we talked about, I should trademark "Outbreak of Kindness".Ryan's career path, like any other baseball player, is quite the journey. As we walked down memory lane, we paused for a bit to talk about his special final season as part of the 2013 World Champion Red Sox team. He talked about how much that championship meant for the city of Boston, so much more so than for even the players who won it. With everything that city went through in the month of April that year, even if you weren't watching baseball at that time, or rooting for the Red Sox, you can easily recognize what that meant to the people who adopted the moniker Boston Strong.The last pitch Ryan made in the major leagues was in that World Series. As a matter of fact, his final pitch was the final pitch of a strikeout that sealed the Game 1 win for the Red Sox. As remarkable as that is; as meaningful and important... Ryan looks back on how amazing his time was with the Cubs as the years that meant maybe the most to him.Now, aside from work for the 22q Family Foundation, Ryan spends time working for the MLB Network as an analyst, works as a special assistant to Theo Epstein with the Cubs and holds something called "Off The Mound", similar to a late night talk show, where he sits and talks on a stage with other athletes. He is also very happily busy being a Dad... all the more so with the very recent birth of another daughter.You can find more about the 22q Family Foundation on the web at https://22qfamilyfoundation.org/. On Twitter, you can follow Ryan at: @Dempster46. You can also check out Off the Mound on Twitter at: @OffTheMound.Daddy Unscripted can be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscripted Facebook: Daddy Unscripted www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 54 is my conversation with Brando Rich, co-founder of "Cash or Trade". If you enjoy going to concerts, you should definitely check Cash or Trade out (either via their website or their app on your smartphone).Brando and I took a long walk down his life's road before we got to where he is today. He told a lot of stories about his childhood in the Northeast. I really enjoyed the tales that went beyond teenage mischief about himself and his brother. As teenagers, their love for music and concerts whisked them away on some pretty wild adventures. Oh, by the way, his brother Dusty is the other co-founder of Cash or Trade. Brando told the story of their aha moment that led to the creation of Cash or Trade. It's remarkable to me that a couple of guys who got the shaft trying to get tickets to a big Phish show were driven to create something as radical as Cash or Trade: an idea based around creating a community of people committed to selling and buying tickets at face value. And those people are you and me. Brando's stories about life with his brother really resonated with me. I'm no stranger to having a brother that is basically your best friend. I have been blessed by one of my brothers and the relationship we have had since I can remember. And, much like Brando and Dusty, we love music and the experience of concerts. So, it was pretty neat to hear someone else talking about things that felt so much like some parts of my life that I wouldn't trade for anything. You can find Cash Or Trade on the web at www.cashortrade.org. You can also download their app on your smartphone. On Twitter, they are at: @CashOrTrade. You can also visit them on their Facebook page.Daddy Unscripted can be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscripted Facebook: Daddy Unscripted www.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
In Episode 53, you'll get to meet the hilarious Evan Kaufman. Evan is another fellow plate-spinner, like me, tackling numerous projects all at once and laughing in the face of fear of new(ish) parenthood whilst doing so. You might even say he guffaws at it. People may look at you funny if you do. But, go ahead. Try it anyway.We really tackled a lot of different topics in this conversation. We kicked right in with a discussion about the early phases of a baby and the common difficulty of the bond with dad during those early times because of the "blank slate" that young baby can represent.We joked a little about the difference between us and our wives with what we choose to binge watch or even watch in bed before bedtime. Evan and I, similarly, watch dark stuff and things that dig into our souls a little. I won't speak for his wife, but my wife would much rather re-watch a light sitcom for the 20th time than delve into something that may prove to be a little heavy or suspenseful. My wife is still trying to erase her memory of our journey with the show Lost.Evan talks a bit about his grandparents and their deep roots in Wisconsin and how his Dad created the beginning of change by moving out of Wisconsin. Evan's Dad lost his Dad when he was under 25 years old. So, for those who have followed the podcast to this point or have heard me talk about my circumstances, I can absolutely empathize with what that can look like. We even get into how, given[ his Dad's technique at wooing his Mom, there was a possibility Evan could not have even come to exist.Our discussion about Evan and his wife walked us down the road of the collaborative effort that "adulting" can be with partners in parenting. We praised our wives and that praise then got heaped onto women in general. Just a little reminder that this podcast isn't just for men or only about men. Without woman: there is no man. And, certainly (and obviously), without woman: there is no Dad.Evan praises his Dad for how great he was with managing time and being creative with doing things with his kids. We got a little into the battle between wanting to share experiences that we loved as children with our kids and wanting to give them experiences that we maybe missed out on. The story Evan tells about being a teenager and bailing out on his Dad to hang with friends is that gut-punch that we all fear as parents... dreading that moment when our kids no longer have the same level of interest in us.We had a discussion about how important it is for people, not just men, to advocate for themselves. Evan primarily brought this up in relation to his feeling like his Dad maybe didn't excel at that... and didn't maybe chase things that he would have liked to do in life. The things that get left on peoples' live's proverbial shelf to gather dust for maybe no great reason is kind of saddening. Especially things that people can do within the realm of everything else going on in their life. Evan's observance of that in his Dad's life really struck a chord and I appreciated him bringing it up so my audience can think about that, in case they are leaving things un-done or not really attempted in their own lives.Did you all read that last part? Go back and read that. Make some plans to do some things you've set aside. Now we can move along in this further after you've done that.I used to work in the cubicle world. Oh, boy... did I ever. I worked for a big beverage company (I won't name-drop here...) for a little over 5 years about 12 years ago. I eventually worked my way into their Accounting department before leaving that company for another cubicle job. At that large company, I worked for 13 plus years, working internationally, traveling a ton and basically doing a cubicle-type, semi-monotonous and severely unrewarding job. So, when I talked with Evan about how I know that feeling of being unfulfilled by the thing that you are spending the majority of your waking hours doing, I really meant it.Life can really be a cycle in that way.... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 52 is my conversation with Chris Plowman. Have you gotten tired of hearing me say how I met my guest on Twitter? If so, hold on tight... because I met Chris on Twitter. Shocking, right?I am definitely not unique in the fact that a lot of my childhood involved collecting and trading baseball cards. I have immensely fond memories of riding the public bus with my brother for sometimes close to an hour to get to a (somewhat) local card shop to flip through old cards for any wanted gems of favorite players. We would usually leave with at least as many individual cards or "wax packs" of cards that our minimal allowance would yield us.My son was born in 2012. Around the time of his 1st birthday in 2013, I decided to start collecting cards again. I thought it might be neat to get a full set of Topps baseball cards for every year of his life and present them to him when he is maybe 12 years old or so. It just so happens that my beloved Red Sox won the World Series that year. So that really helped push me along and even start collecting Red Sox only cards on the side of this new project for my own enjoyment.When I was little, we used to walk around with a folder of our most prized cards, or ones we thought we may want to try and trade with other people. Your trading efforts didn't easily expand beyond friends at school or in your own neighborhood. Well, once I got a little more into it all recently, I discovered another use for social media. Wow. What a difference it all makes. So, there were all these other people online who were collecting and trading. Adults... like me! It did actually surprise me a little.After some time, I stumbled into Kidority Kards, a group that formed to give away cards and all kinds of cool things for kids who are collectors. I was not only impressed by this idea, but I knew I wanted to know more about it.This all leads to my conversation with Chris Plowman here. Chris is heavily involved with Kidority Kards, a fellow collector and sports fan and, of course, a Dad!Chris has a truly unique story to tell not only about his own upbringing but also of his life as a Dad. His stories are pretty real and raw, just the way we like it here on Daddy Unscripted. Chris is a really nice guy and I was excited to get the time to talk with him here.You can find all of the different links Chris mentioned on Twitter at: @BuckCityBreaks or @KIDorityKards or you can look either up on Facebook. You can also go here to visit The Hobby Lounge on Facebook.Daddy Unscripted can be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Episode 51 is the second half of my conversation with fellow podcaster, fellow Dad, fellow music and sports fanatic: Brian Brinkman. Brian makes up one half of the team that brings you the Beyond the Pond podcast. If you haven't heard checked out that podcast yet and you love music, you should make sure to make your way over to them.Beyond the Pond is a partner podcast with Daddy Unscripted in the Osiris Podcast network. Shortly after the Osiris network officially launched, Brian and I started the conversation about our desire to connect for these episodes. I can't believe it took us this long... but I couldn't be more emphatic in telling you that this was absolutely worth the wait.Brian is yet another guest that shares my intense passion for both sports and for music. This episode taps into a lot of that. We talk about how important both of those are to many people and the why and how of both of them tapping into something deeper between humans. Between strangers, even. I am not shy about talking about how many friendships I have that revolve around one or both of those common interests I share with that person. I think even my wife gets embarrassed when we are out and either my music-related clothing or Red Sox attire I may have on allow me to strike up, what may seem to her like an un-ending conversation with a total stranger.Brian is one of "those guys". Yes, I just put that in quotes because I am about to put him into a category. Sorry, Brian. But, he is immensely intelligent and has a Venus Flytrap of a brain when it comes to information. I envy people like this, I gotta admit. But you'll get to hear Brian rattle off a lot of his favorite Phish shows at the end of this episode that will have you grabbing your collection or looking up setlists to find some new (possibly, to you) shows to listen to. You'll also hear some of his "Island Albums" that aren't by Phish. Always a fun bit of info to get from someone who loves music as much as Brian does.Like I said in the notes from our previous episode: Brian is one of those incredibly genuine great guys and I do believe that comes through very clearly to you as you listen to either halves of our conversation.The "Beyond the Pond" podcast can be found pretty much anywhere you find your podcasts: iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, etc.Daddy Unscripted can be found at:iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | Tune-In RadioTwitter: @DaddyUnscriptedFacebook: Daddy Unscriptedwww.daddyunscripted.comDaddy Unscripted is proud to be a part of the Osiris Podcast Network! You can check out the Osiris Pod website to see what other great podcasts are part of the network by going to OsirisPod.com.Intro and Outro music proudly provided with a partnership by Umphrey's McGee.You can send questions and suggestions for future guests to us via email to daddyunscripted@gmail.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/daddyunscripted. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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