Lifes 3x5s

Liz and Tim spent a peaceful morning chatting with chai teas in hand and candy socks on feet. It's true. Liz is going to London and Tim is going to photograph a REO Speedwagon concert. It's all true.Recorded on June 5, 2025.

When we find nice people and good food we squat for a bit and do a show. Strap in for a huge array of topics and recorded inserts. From Paul Harvey and Gil Gross from 1983 to current songs from Tim Larson's pen. Liz takes us to Texas and we introduce our new website!Recorded at Ned's Diner (between Rockford and Belvidere on Business Route 20) May 15, 2025

Thank you to Katie's Cup in downtown Rockford, Illinois for hosting us. They are a wonderful non-profit coffee shop that serves our community in so many ways. It's nearly impossible to go there and not run into someone you know. Liz and Tim did some major catching up on this episode. They redefined the podcast slogan of "unpredictable conversation."Recorded April 16, 2025.

May Ann and Frank Savitski are celebrating their 35th year as owners of Panino's Italian restaurants in Rockford, Illinois. Liz and Tim chatted about everything under the sun after a wonderful lunch at the East State Street location. It's so great to see locals succeed on this level.Recorded on January 29, 2025.

Fourth generation owner Katrina Kegel joins Liz and Tim for a bit sharing the company's history since 1909. Your hosts have hundreds of motorcycle related stories from their lives, family and friends. Even if you're not a rider, you're sure to enjoy the banter.Recorded at Kegel Harley-Davidson dealership in Rockford, Illinois on January 23, 2025.

A beautiful Sunday morning finds us sitting on the bleachers at one of the many baseball diamonds at Rockford's Sports Core One. A special treat: The WROK/WZOK Wine Suck 2024 radio reunion aircheck plays at the end of this episode. Tim and Liz both worked for Nolte Communications in the 80's. Recorded September 15, 2024.

A beautiful noon hour spent over the Rock River and under the Jefferson Street Bridge in Rockford, Illinois. A light breeze, temps in the mid eighties, boats, geese and plenty of river stories.Recorded September 12, 2024.

Tim and Liz are in the middle of the busiest summers since they've known each other. We'll be back at making unpredictable conversation after Labor Day 2024. Stay tuned!

Season# 4 Episode # 11 - Sitting courtside of four basketball games was thrilling for Liz and Tim. They covered playing basketball since fifth grade, talking to strangers at the Bucks/Celtics game, hometown boy Fred Van Vleet, a lesson from the Harlem Globetrotters, the film Personal Foul was basketball themed, the baggers like Tim's rice pudding, JuJu stopped by to say hi, Liz did “color” commentary, what we believe, eclipse viewing and a powerful lesson from podcaster Mel Robbins. Visit Lifes3x5xs.com and Buy Us A Coffee. Thanks!

Season# 4 Episode # 10 - We're always willing to try something old…again. Racquetball was great! Topics include poetry through photos, blue balls, getting the shots, he's got an agent, getting into a friends group, breaking a record, bike week, “return your tray to its upright position”, duct tape, VIP tour among cars, protect your muzzle, you've lost it, gum in your hair, and the best candy ever. Visit Lifes3x5xs.com and Buy Us A Coffee. Thanks!

When Liz and Tim see people doing good things in northern Illinois, and they're a new business, it's an opportunity to help them out. Tom at Three Ravens Pottery fits that bill. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.Recorded in Rockford, Illinois on January 31, 2024.

When you're willing to talk about anything while wearing no pants and delicates. You needed to clean a mascot, Isba Snabash, traveling the lower forty eight, uniforms at Disney World, judging another's character, boycotting, small that, make it yourself, and everything goes in one load. Recorded at Rocford Washer Laundromat on North Main Street in Rockford, Illinois on January 17, 2024.

Season #4 Episode #7 - The Victory Pickleball Center in Rockford/ Loves Park, Illinois is a newly renovated 54,00 square feet. Owner Tim Ancona is our guest. Buckle up boys and girls, because this is the longest episode thus far. The segments are one week apart and with good reason. Hula hooping, Scottish trivia, giving babies away, sleigh bells, Air Force One, wheelchair softball, jobs we can't do, bold face lies, sexy sunglasses, drinks on flights, Norman Lear, meteors, apps, throwing famous musicians under the bus, Fireside dinner theater, medicals records are overrated and…”What do the inside of our heads look like?”Recorded December 4 & 12, 2023.

Tim Larson donated to the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Illinois during their 40 Experiences at 40 Years fundraiser in April of 2023. He won the bid to co-host John Landecker's show on WGN Radio. John immediately loved the idea of our 3x5s and wanted to play a couple of rounds. Recorded September 20, 2023 in Studio A at WGN in downtown Chicago during the 7pm hour.

Season# 4 Episode # 5 - Davis Park is in downtown Rockford, Illinois. We chose this location to celebrate 815 Day (Rockford's original area code). Here are some of the topics we tossed around. Autumn, clothing layering, birthdays, going shopping together, celebrity deaths, game shows, attitude, Rewound Radio, “trust me”, Polaroids, Angry by The Rolling Stones, our listeners around the world, Muskie fishing, Liz's blog, no Twitter for Tim, being annoying, Fred VanVleet, items into space, Sunshine on My shoulders, weather at Sturgis, Coronado Theater, Rockford Symphony Orchestra, and On-The-Waterfront festival.

Season# 4 Episode # 4 - Lucha Cantina at Edgebrook Shopping Center is the fastest growing Mexican restaurant in Rockford, Illinois. Josh Binning served us great food and drink for us to share with you. Just a few topics from this episode…Tim can't even buy food correctly, Mariachi stamps, Tim raves about Liz's buns, red-tailed hawk, epic dessert, painting murals, inside a diaper, gameshows, food trucks, going to Louisville, The ARC, the need for big hair, spending stupid money, radio in Mexico, speaking pig Latin, writing in code, non-exisiting office machines, and The Mouse Trap restaurant.

The Rockford Speedway is waving the white flag during the 2023 season after 76 years. The memories are really revved up during their final season of stock car racing in northern Illinois. Just a few topics from this episode… custom sock monkey statue, why counter clockwise, Mr. Ford riding shotgun, the sheriff says “I know you!”, NASCAR in Chicago, demolition derby, Rick Nielsen's puce jacket, first meeting Danica Patrick, seventy six years of pictures and videos of the speedway, Was that a fart?”, he spent the weekend with David Letterman and Paul Newman, Googling Gone Wrong, and racing wearing flippers.

Season# 4 Episode # 2 - Just a few topics from this episode… First time picnic ideas, walking barefoot in the grass, food that's bad for dogs, car meets deer, move before the ice melts, cooking outdoors when it's ninety degrees, cooler thieves, hummingbirds vs. turkey vultures, hammocks, dumpster diving, you made my day, hey Larry and Fabio, Tim googles an old girlfriend, artificial intelligence, speeding tickets and warning the police that you have to pee.

Season# 4 Episode # 1 - Just a few topics from this episode… Pouring custom candles, gift giving rules, senior class pranks, 90th birthday, “that's your porn name”, when Tim runs for office, slowest & fastest talkers, cold throw, the rich & the homeless, Disney ties and the Coronation party. Bars have TIP JARS and so does Lifes3x5s podcast! Find it on our website and Buy Us A Coffee.

Season# 3 Episode # 15 - Just a few topics from this episode… Old Fashion slushes, Billy Williams, baseball themed movies, triple party day coming up, superstitions, the Jeep wave, sports communities, big league announcers, John O'Leary & Jack Buck, fish slime or dog slobber and our new pets. Bars have TIP JARS and so does Lifes3x5s podcast! Find it on our website and Buy Us A Coffee.

Season# 3 Episode # 14 - Bars have TIP JARS and so does Lifes3x5s podcast! Find it on our website and Buy Us A Coffee. Just some of the topics in this episode – humping Liz's leg, muscle cars, trains, cereal boxes, difficult names for specific collectors, coyotes, going through Liz's purse, Tim's new puppy, Airheads and “shoplifting.” And, many stories connected to what we saw and what we have at home. March 16, 2023 at Best of Beloit Vintage Mall 1019 Gardner Street in South Beloit, Illinois.

Tim Larson mentions some of the highlights from Lifes3x5s podcast's first 42 episodes. It may be time for you to catch up on missed shows, listen again, or jot down a location suggestion and submit it to Lifes3x5xs.com on the Contact tap. Please consider supporting our project for as little as $5 and Buy Me A Coffee through our Tip Jar tab.

Season# 3 Episode # 12 - Bars have TIP JARS and so does Lifes3x5s podcast! Find it on our website and Buy Us A Coffee. A full blown two hour conversation with our lifelong radio friend Don Kronberg of Nitelite Promotions. We mentally and verbally rubbed shoulders with hundreds of rock stars and comedians spanning his 33 years. Drinking wine in the morning, love for comedians, nervous on stage, B.B. King's Lucille guitar, showing off the lobby of the Rialto Theater in Joliet, Illinois, a banjo on the wall, The Walking Dead, they cuffed her, Mr. Warmth, they met backstage and are still married, and the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66.

Season# 3 Episode # 11 - Bars have TIP JARS and so does Lifes3x5s podcast! Find it on our website and Buy Us A Coffee. Whiskey Acres provided a great backdrop for many stories today…bourbon slushes, drunk stories from the 70's, betting on Gatorade, the best bar slogan ever, “it tastes like booger”, “Who puked on me?”, the party backwash looked like it was drinkable, shipping corn to Kentucky, running moonshine, farm-crafted and approachable, Tim's drinking ploy, bungholes galore, bourbon balls, the evilness of sisters, fishing trip vomit, if it could only be easier, if WD40 and Duct Tape had a baby, Foster Brooks, drink recipes, and wine on an overseas shipwreck.

Season# 3 Episode # 10 - Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple! Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Buy Us A Coffee Tip Jar. Here's a some of the topics from this episode. The National Snow Sculpting Competition, dueling toasts, ice maze, sand sculpting, lending your home to charities, banana peels for your plants, city versus country, creative team names, Tim's new dog is coming, “Here eat this”, snow ice cream, the Snow Weasels, Braille Playboy magazine, Groundhog Day film celebration, and chocolate covered meat.

Season# 3 Episode # 9 - Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple! Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Buy Us A Coffee Tip Jar. Here are some of the topics from this episode. The Rockford Photo Club shoot, turkey feathers on Tim's dashboard, eagles right over our heads, turkey vultures within reach, see freeze frames when they put a chip in our heads, bird banding, lorikeets, I hit a goose with my van, some bird migrations have been disrupted, eagles in the Bible, deep sea fishing, a cat frozen to a tree, foxes near us, what makes us smile, writing a note at three in the morning, talking to animals, making people out of acorns, and juicer samples.

Season# 3 Episode # 8 - It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Several talented figure skaters practiced their programs for us. Our first episode of January 2023 was also Lifes3x5s podcast first year anniversary! We celebrated by chatting about Mittens versus Gloves, Tim is NOT a trendsetter, childhood skating, Tim's grandfather's advice, Olympic skater Janet Lynn, “Google that!”, fake skating, think like a criminal, our favorite toys, dog breeds and naming a pet, hidden hobbies, and a vivid middle school memory. Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple! Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Season# 3 Episode # 7 - It was a really fun day at Park Lanes Bowling in Loves Park, Illinois. Here are some of the topics we covered after our three games wearing those fancy colored shoes. Dumb asses on two lanes, Tim's early birthday gifts, Christine McVie died and how Mick Fleetwood entered the room, thirty-two weeks with three four year old kids, not lasting until midnight on New Year's Eve, betting on bowling, Death Pool, the last time you've written a letter to someone, your socially unacceptable plan, Alan Alda's meaningful question, as an “extra” without a speaking part, there's something wrong with my baseball bat, scars versus wounds, and Black Guys versus Black Ice. Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple! Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Season #3 Episode #6 - Tim and Liz are within a documented haunted house. This episode's stories are like no other. “Someone” moved our wine glasses and my towel in that hotel, it was as cold as a fridge in mid-July, an orb appeared in Liz's photos, ghosts at the White House, WYBR radio in the CherryVale Mall, and true stories from Tim's relatives. “Did you hear that buzz?” Our stones went through those two pale white bulldogs, Tim's phone rings while on silent mode, the little boy in the basement of the mansion, “Ghosts” on CBS television, the dust is gone on just one piano key, and the chair that moved to avoid the sun.

Season #3    Episode #5 -  Tim and Liz were pleasantly surprised to be offered to do this episode in the Paul and Angel Harvey Studio at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, Illinois.  So many radio stories were shared within the former WGN Showcase Studio once on Michigan Avenue.  It was donated to the museum in 2012. Midwest temperatures unexpectedly plunged into the upper thirties the week of October 20, 2022 therefore we kept our coats on during the show and held back their chattering teeth and sniffles.

Season #3    Episode #4 -  Not often, but the weather can pounce on any one of our remote locations.  This would be one of those times.   Pouring rain at the Rock River Valley Mustang Car Show.  Never the  less, our show went on.  We chatted about our personal memories of September 11, 2021, an old girlfriend married the officer who busted us, Bravehearts, duct taping a microphone to her head, the sports cars we've owned, “I want to buy a BRIGHT convertible”, learning to drive a manual transmission at the age of ten, hitting animals, and “MY car was on fire!”  An easy way to contribute to our podcast is to Buy Me a Coffee through our Tip Jar tab. Thanks in advance.

Season #3    Episode #2  -  Surrounded by thousands of pumpkins, gourds and squash, we chatted at a picnic table on a beautiful September day.  Our podcast, as usual, covered many unpredictable topics – choking on apples, a wet ghost story, “What's on your lip?”, the wise words of Rod Kramer, pumpkin spice is in bed with everything, Foley sound effects, pie versus cake, “How's your dog's poop?”, Dr. Doolizzle, Queen Elizabeth II dies, team sports, 120 mph, and a VW Bug full of Squash.   An easy way to contribute to our podcast is to Buy Me a Coffee through our Tip Jar tab. Thanks in advance.

Season #3    Episode #2  -  Admiring the new city murals, bird seed, color blind artist, Jim Carey, free t-shirts, senior discounts, crying over a book, pet rock, “It's good for you!”, nickels, Tim's painting, not reading labels, latest dumbass moves, raking river rocks and filthy rich.  An easy way to contribute to our podcast is to Buy Me a Coffee through our Tip Jar tab. Thanks in advance.

Season #3    Episode #1 - This is the first episode of our third season.  What a free-for-all of topics!  Mt. Rushmore, dinner with former WLS radio folks, bison, rescuing wildlife, time-waster, horrible joke telling, fading fads, not shopping together, people our age, regifting, bourbon cookies, plastic surgery, going to Prince's Paisley Park, moonshine shots, Foster Brooks idea and swimming with Liz's dog.  An easy way to contribute to our podcast is to Buy Me a Coffee through our Tip Jar tab. Thanks in advance.

Season #2    Episode #15 - This is the last episode of our second season. Thanks you for joining us at thirty very different locations.  Today we're at the Boy Scouts and Blackhawk Area Council's Canyon Camp just outside Stockton, Illinois.  Conversations about National Park ranger training, the Merlin Bird app, glamping, “a spider crawled across my lips", and winter camping tips. Eagle projects, cooking over a fire, great movie soundtracks, the hardest lesson learned, and berry picking on a hike. Using the EDGE method, when floods hit the canyon, and unique memories and fun conversations with Directors Seth Kannarr and Lee Binkley.   An easy way to contribute to our podcast is to Buy Me a Coffee through our Tip Jar tab. Thanks in advance.

Season# 2  Episode # 14  - We hoisted our equipment up into a hay loft and began to chat.  Why is there a kitten in the Tupperware?  Animal Stories on WLS radio in Chicago. Parting gifts from the farm, Going down the rabbit hole, seeing UFOs, Think about it and IT will happen, watermelon seeds and Tom Sawyer & Becky Thatcher weekend. What's your weakness? Reassembling a barn, close up photos at the fair, bull scrotum for sale, hot air balloons, and Princess was a nice horse. Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple!  Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Season #2    Episode #13   -  While sitting on the tarmac of the airport's cargo terminal at high noon!  We chat about flying first class, the UPS plane that spun and swept everything off our table, and answer the question, “Are your nuts still warm?”    Shipping false teeth, getting packages from Dick Clark and George Lucas, football cards and training dogs.  The unpredictability of this podcast is exciting.  Enjoy. Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple!  Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Season# 2   Episode #  12 - The world renowned Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps played the Sinnissippi Park Music Shell in Rockford, Illinois.  Illinois is truly in the middle of everything!  Listen as our conversation drifts into favorite flowers, a lightning round of Family Feud, who can keep a secret, Utter Tuggers baseball, and the guy who Beat Bobby Flay.   A moving performance of Taps by Brandon Colmark.  And how Tim's cousins got 350+ people cross country so the Dobyns-Bennett High School band could play in the Rose Parade.  Visit http://www.regiment.org/ (www.regiment.org) and also see them compete July 9, 2022 in the Tour of Champions at Northern Illinois University and July 15, 2022 in The Show of Shows at Boylan Central Catholic High School.  Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple!  Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Season# 2   Episode #  11 - Toad Hall is a vintage music and book store.  You name it they have it…somewhere in the building.  Tim has been going there since high school.  Somehow Liz and Tim covered these topics.  Thousands of albums, hauling equipment to dances, epic quotes about music, clothes that will make Liz vomit, and someone gets means when SHE drinks.  And, let's not forget, “Tim is not anyone's secretary!”  Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple!  Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Diners are the very best places for genuine conversation.  Tim and Liz talked about their individual trips to Disney World, a reason to get up in the morning, K-mart cassettes, and wise men sitting at the counter.   They think they are due for an aircheck session, old weird apartments, lightning rods, disrobing in a diner and major shit about birthdays.  Don't just ask yourself about how Liz and Tim ended up on all of these topics.  Join them for more unpredictable conversation! Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple!  Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

A beautiful day in the Windy City. They arrived early for this episode before recording yet another show for their side project The Storytellers Studio at Newsradio 780 WBBM just a block away. It felt to be a stone's throw from Cloud Gate in Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. Tim and Liz met folks from El Paso, Texas; Turkey; Austria; Naperville, Illinois and England. They became impromptu tour agents and chatted about unexpected items in the mail, a haunted house tour, being grateful, a cartoon book with pigeons on the cover and Tim's (not Liz's) favorite relative. They became part of a high school video project inspired by the book Humans. Also, would you rather write for Hallmark cards or fortune cookies? Remember to tell your friends and review rate us on Apple!

Season#2 Episode #8 - Tim and Liz spent an amazing day at WGN Radio in Chicago with our longtime colleague Lisa Dent. They met Bob Sirott, John Williams and Steve Bertrand.  Their unpredictable conversation covered Ken Burns' Benjamin Franklin documentary, Grammy winners Emily Bear and Abigale Barlow, “her father fixed my middle finger”, transistor radios in a horse pasture, and many personal memories from WGN radio's 100 year history.  On the day prior, they meet the #200 mark co-authoring the upcoming book “Behind the Mic But Never On-The-Air.”  At one point, Liz and Tim both looked at each other and said, “They are watching us aren't they?”  At the very end of our conversation, we rewind to an aircheck of Bob Collins and Company for the Dave Hammes letter bit. Please tell a friend, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts.  Thank you!

Season#2  Episode #7  -  We were inspired by the interstate traffic under our feet.  We talked about family car vacations, motorcycle trips, outrunning a tornado, kid car games, the epic sneeze, a true back-and-forth, state-by-state ping pong match of trip stories, and cruises.  Today's conversation once again proved it's not always the giant vacations that have the most lasting memories. Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, the Contact tab to offer ideas to our shows and contribute to our Tip Jar.

Season#2 Episode #6 - A thorough explanation of our new project aimed at capturing audio history from former and current employees of WROK radio in Rockford, Illinois. The station's 100th anniversary is in 2023!  Also, unpredictable conversations about favorite albums, comic books, a root beer taste off, a bath in mashed potatoes and gravy, “here it's good for you”, a recap of the Beloit International Film Festival, mending burns, comedian Foster Brooks and the compelling question, “Why are Tim and Liz drawn to be behind the microphone?”     

This very same kick off reception to the Beloit International Film Festival in 2020 is where Tim and Liz reconnected and was where the very first domino fell for their many projects.  Learn their story, famous lines from films, being a critic, an international creative mentor, details of the 2022 festival, the exciting behind-the-scenes stories, Tim saw a tear drop during the film Ghost, and the magical feelings created in the movies.

The phrase “once in a lifetime” often gets tossed around haphazardly, but today it's rock solid.  Twosday, February 22, 2022 at 2:22 pm! Liz celebrates and Tim learns its significance.  Also…glaciers, angel numbers, conversation starters, Swedish meatballs, Paczki, palindromes, being derailed, birthdays, divine intervention, and everyone got overheated.

We bundled up and headed down the hills on frigid tubes. Crazy winter fun in the Midwest. Once we warmed up by the fire with our hot chocolate, the conversation shot out of the gates again. From our underwear and childhood cartoons to ziplines and the Kubb lawn game. From surfing hawks and voicing a cartoon to tossing trash and drawing Goofy over twenty thousand times. We filled up a bag with Americana and alerted the media.  Please remember to support our podcast through our Tip Jar.

It was time for us to step out of our comfort zones and do some abstract painting. As usual the conversation “leaped off of the brush” into mistaken suspects, stick a fork in the grave, taboo on display, Babe Ruth's bathtub, your QR Code when you're dead, two parking tickets, our ties to the Olympics, board game competition, dressed to the nines and Tim is not a good Googler.   

Season #2 Episode #1 – SPECIAL NOTE: A sampling of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra's show from February 12, 2022 can be heard immediately following our exit music. This is likely going to be one of our most unique shows. In the background, you will progressively hear the individual rehearsals begin for the Rockford Symphony Orchestra. The Coronado Theater has a rich history and provided conversation about John F. Kennedy, music cheat sheets, Liberace, the color of lies, tunnel vision, woodwinds, acts of every kind, a fortune cookie the size of a volleyball and the reason Liz and Tim began taking off their clothes the minute they stepped into the auditorium. Don't miss each episode's photo gallery at lifes3x5s.com, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Episode #14 - Frigid temperatures and huge blocks of snow result in amazing works of art in three days. Liz and Tim have set up a makeshift studio in a minivan to bring you the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition for this show.  From tools of the trade and NFL football twins to cars sinking in the lake and sculpting the impossible.  Dirty snow and sand sculpting to “I can't feel my thighs” and the Kilted Snow Weasels.  Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.

Episode #15 – SPECIAL NOTE: Several bonus audio segments mentioned in this show follow the exit music. Tim and Liz were surrounded by vintage audio equipment of every kind and brand at Sounds Classic in Rockford, Illinois. From renting to Hollywood and old radio airchecks to giant speakers in dorm rooms and outstanding concerts memories.  From smelling musty socks and albums with an extra hole to Beatles trivia and “pants on fire.” Visit lifes3x5s.com for each episode's photo gallery, a way to contribute ideas to our podcast and the Tip Jar.