Podcasts about Freedom Hall

Kelly is joined by Ed Soares and Eddie Donaldson to preview LFA LOUISVILLE which is 6/13/2025 at Freedom Hall. Episode recorded 5/13/2025.

The Cincinnati Bearcats and Louisville Cardinals Men's Basketball Teams are finalizing a deal to meet in the next two seasons, with the Cats set to host the Cards at Heritage Bank in 2025 and the Cardinals to return the favor at Freedom Hall in 2026.   ERROR* Dillon Mitchell has committed to St John's, not Texas.   Chuck Walter reacts to the return of a great rivalry and discusses why Shon Abaev is key to this year's team.  Subscribe to our show on YouTube!

"There's something (special) about shedding blood with somebody inside the octagon...it's really like a game of chess...they're just looking for their opponent to make a mistake."Legacy Fighting Alliance founder Ed Soares details a full night of Mixed Martial Arts battles scheduled for June 13 at Freedom Hall.Mr. Soares is thrilled to return to Muhammad Ali's hometown to bring these highly skilled combat athletes to compete in the arena where the GOAT had his first professional fight.

Kelly is joined by Anthony McCormick to preview his upcoming fight for LFA at Freedom Hall in Louisville,KY Friday 6/13/2025. Episode recorded 4/30/2025.

Kelly is joined by Eric Beck who is planning on fighting for LFA Friday 6/13/2025 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY. Eric is originally from the Cincinnati area before he went on to become the all time leader in wins for Bellarmine University wrestling...

Kelly is joined by Ed Soares to preview LFA Louisville which will be Friday 6/13/2025 at Freedom Hall. Topics discussed include the history of LFA and the 8 fighters with Kentucky ties who will be fighting on the card. Episode recorded 4/3/2025.

Hour 1 of March 6, 2025 Jacob Townsend is live from Freedom Hall for the Big South Basketball Tournaments and is joined by High Point women's basketball coach Chelsea Banbury about her team's regular season championship and getting ready for the tournament. Then, Jacob talks about ETSU's SoCon awards.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacob Townsend is live from Freedom Hall for the Big South Basketball Tournaments and is joined by High Point women's basketball coach Chelsea Banbury about her team's regular season championship and getting ready for the tournament.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We got back from Freedom Hall in Louisville and we just begun the coverage but there will be way more to come next week

Jacob Townsend talks with Big South Senior Associate Commissioner James Holland ahead of the conference's basketball tournaments being played in Johnson City at Freedom Hall in early March. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 4 of February 19, 2025 Jacob Townsend asks what is the better option for the College Football Playoff, the current 12 team playoff, the proposed 14 team playoff with almost all automatic bids, or a playoff with no automatic bids at all? Then, his final thoughts on tonight's UNC Greensboro/ETSU matchup at Freedom Hall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's Open Mic guest is U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Less than 24 hours after being sworn in as the 33rd lead of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, Brooke Rollins found herself in Louisville, Kentucky being introduced in Freedom Hall at the Championship Tractor Pull. A native of the small town of Glen Rose, Texas, her career path led to the White House in President Trump's first term and now as a member of the Trump Cabinet. Speaking on the sidelines of her first event outside the Beltway as Secretary, Rollins shared thoughts on building her team at USDA, working with other cabinet members and how downsizing government may impact the work of the USDA. 

Hour 2 of February 7, 2025 Jacob Townsend talks with Big South Senior Associate Commissioner Mark Simpson about the upcoming conference basketball tournaments at Freedom Hall in early March. Then, Jacob compares what Kim Caldwell has already done in Knoxville to what Kellie Harper did in five years. Lastly, Jacob runs through the entire transfer portal class for ETSU football. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacob Townsend talks with Big South Senior Associate Commissioner Mark Simpson about the upcoming conference basketball tournaments at Freedom Hall in early March.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 4 of Thursday, January 16, 2025 Jacob Townsend and Bud talk with James Holland, Senior Associate Commissioner of the Big South, to talk about the conference's tournaments coming to Freedom Hall in Johnson City in March. Then, it's time for Birthdays.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacob Townsend and Bud talk with Big South Senior Associate Commissioner James Holland ahead of the conference's basketball tournaments being played in Johnson City at Freedom Hall in early March. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send us a textOn this episode of the CSZ Podcast, coming to you live from the Rally House Studios, Jeremy is joined in studio by only Joey to discuss Cardinal Athletics! (Everyone else called in)On this episode, the guys talk about tomorrows match-up vs uk in MBB, the Elite match-up vs Stanford at Freedom Hall, the latest Football rumors and much, much more. Of course, there's the usual shenanigans. Another can't miss episode!Follow us on Twitter:@Jeremy_CSZ@lvilleshawn@baseboy124@DPence_@joewahman526@WesB_42@WesKeyes_CSZ@IamthehiggyFollow our sponsors on Twitter:@RallyHouse@FitnessMarketKY@course_crew@FourPegsBeer@MossyOak@Shoot360Lou@CherryPickinGds#PlanetFitnessSupport the show

In this episode, the Lovelights join me again to discuss opening for The Doors as well as the interactions they had with them.

Join us for Access Louisville's next live recording: Sept. 9 at JA BizTown, sponsored by Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana. Tickets and details here.We switch into sports talk radio mode on this week's Access Louisville podcast with three big local sports business stories.Stephen P. Schmidt, who covers sports business at Business First, tells us about Bellarmine University moving its men's basketball program back to Knights Hall in the Highlands. For the last few years the program has been playing at Freedom Hall. Knights Hall is on campus and it provides a much more intimate setting for watching games. But it does make us wonder what's next for Freedom Hall now without that regular tenant. Fortunately, it's on the Kentucky State Fairgrounds, where a big renovation project is underway.Next, we talk about the rise of volleyball and how Louisville fits in. The KFC Yum Center is hosting the University of Louisville's women's volleyball team for several dates in the next few months and is the host for the championship later on in December.After that, we go over our takeaways from a joint appearance by UofL men's basketball coach Pat Kelsey and University of Kentucky men's basketball coach Mark Pope. The two coaches, both new to their respective jobs this year, were interviewed on stage this week at the Leadership Louisville Luncheon by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.(We also swerve into some college football talk later in the show — not much of a business story, just a thing that is happening.)After sports we go over some recent restaurant news, including: • The owners of local favorite Monnik Beer Co. have a new concept planned; • Chef Shaq's Kitchen, a Downtown restaurant, is teaming up with a new cigar lounge;• The former KFC 11 property in the Highlands has been sold;• Starbucks is getting a new Downtown location;• A bluegrass bar is moving into the former TimTam space; and• A south end favorite, Khalil's, is closing to make way for a new Clucker's location.Access Louisville is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. You can find it on popular services like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The Rupp To No Good crew gives their final TBT takes and tells their stories from inside Freedom Hall, gives their 2024 Football Season predictions, and comments on practice reports from the basketball team. They also draft a 5v5 flag football Kentucky Alumni squad and give their best ideas for additions to next year's La Familia squad.

LaFamilia did what they do. It was even sweeter since it was at Freedom Hall. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cats-talk-wednesday/support

John Fanta of Fox Sports joins the pod! He and Jack preview the TBT quarterfinal game between The Ville and La Familia at Freedom Hall, discuss Pat Kelsey's first offseason at UofL and can the Cards make the NCAA Tournament? Listen to the podcast:

The College Basketball Experience (@TCEonSGPN) of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network continues their Summer School Coaches Tour. On the show Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) breaks down the upcoming TBT games for Saturday, July 20th. Will the AfterShocks continue to be dominant at home in front of the home Wichita crowd? What will The Ville look like in Year 2 of this event playing at Freedom Hall? Can the Heartfire defend their Championship from last year? Will the Red Scare start fast coming off last year's humiliating loss? How will the Stars of Storrs look in their TBT debut? Can short handed Mass Streets survive & advance? Are we setup for a TBT Backyard Brawl between Best Virginia and the Zoo Crew? At the end, Mac gives out their favorite locks and dogs for tomorrow's games. Come join us all year long on the College Basketball Experience! ==================================================  JOIN the SGPN community #DegensOnlyExclusive Merch, Contests and Bonus Episodes ONLY on Patreon - https://sg.pn/patreonDiscuss with fellow degens on Discord - https://sg.pn/discordDownload The Free SGPN App - https://sgpn.appCheck out the Sports Gambling Podcast on YouTube - https://sg.pn/YouTubeCheck out our website - http://sportsgamblingpodcast.com SUPPORT us by supporting our partners Rithmm - Player Props and Picks - Free 7 day trial! https://rithmm.page.link/smartplayNYRA Racing code SGPN25 - $25 FREE BET and $200 Deposit Bonus Promo code SGPN25 - http://nyrabets.com/sgpn25Underdog Fantasy code SGPN - Up to $250 in BONUS CASH - https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-sgpnRoyal Retros code SGPN - 10% off - https://www.royalretros.com/Gametime code SGPN - Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code SGPN for $20 off your first purchase - https://gametime.co/Football Contest Proxy - Use promo code SGP to save $50 at - https://www.footballcontestproxy.com/ ADVERTISE with SGPNInterested in advertising? Contact sales@sgpn.io ================================================================ Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER CO, DC, IL, IN, LA, MD, MS, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA)21+ to wager. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800 BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI) ================================================================ WATCH The College Experience YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheCollegeExperienceFOLLOW The College Experience On Social Media Twitter - tceonsgpn Instagram - tceonsgpn TikTok - tceonsgpn Follow The Hosts On Social MediaNoah Bieniek - noahb77_Colby Dant - thecolbydRyan McIntyre - moneyline_macNC Nick - nc__nickPatty C - pattyc831 Come join us all year long on the College Basketball Experience! JOIN the SGPN community #DegensOnlyExclusive Merch, Contests and Bonus Episodes ONLY on Patreon - https://sg.pn/patreonDiscuss with fellow degens on Discord - https://sg.pn/discordDownload The Free SGPN App - https://sgpn.appCheck out the Sports Gambling Podcast on YouTube - https://sg.pn/YouTubeCheck out our website - http://sportsgamblingpodcast.com SUPPORT us by supporting our partners Rithmm - Player Props and Picks - Free 7 day trial! https://rithmm.page.link/smartplayNYRA Racing code SGPN25 - $25 FREE BET and $200 Deposit Bonus Promo code SGPN25 - http://nyrabets.com/sgpn25Underdog Fantasy code SGPN - Up to $250 in BONUS CASH - https://play.underdogfantasy.com/p-sgpnRoyal Retros code SGPN - 10% off - https://www.royalretros.com/Gametime code SGPN - Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code SGPN for $20 off your first purchase - https://gametime.co/Football Contest Proxy - Use promo code SGP to save $50 at - https://www.footballcontestproxy.com/ ADVERTISE with SGPNInterested in advertising? Contact sales@sgpn.io ================================================================ Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER CO, DC, IL, IN, LA, MD, MS, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA)21+ to wager. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800 BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI) ================================================================ WATCH The College Experience YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheCollegeExperienceFOLLOW The College Experience On Social Media Twitter - tceonsgpn Instagram - tceonsgpn TikTok - tceonsgpn Follow The Hosts On Social MediaNoah Bieniek - noahb77_Colby Dant - thecolbydRyan McIntyre - moneyline_macNC Nick - nc__nickPatty C - pattyc831

Somali immigrant speaking to opposition rally, recorded during "Louisville Movement Against Trump" rally to oppose visit by Trump to Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, Louisville, Kentucky, March 20, 2017. The rally was held along an access road a few hundred yards from the entrance to Freedom Hall, which is located near Louisville International Airport. Recorded by Aaron Rosenblum. Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world's first collection of the sounds of human migration.  For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration IMAGE: See page for author, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

This week's episode of The C.L. Brown Show features former Louisville guard Russ Smith, who is playing for The Villein The Basketball Tournament beginning this week at Freedom Hall. Smith explains what advice he'd give to the current Cardinals as they try to quickly bond under first-year head coach Pat Kelsey. Smith talks about his venture into his own bourbon brand, Mr. & Mrs. And why after a decade since former coach Rick Pitino coined the nickname "Russdiculous," it still lives on in the most unlikeliest of places.  

SBC Managing Director Andy McCarron steps in as host on today's episode of iGaming Daily, sponsored by Optimove, recording live from New York, New York.Andy is joined at Tribeca360 by SBC Americas Editor Jessica Welman and CasinoBeats Editor Joe Streeter at the Player Protection Symposium, on the eve of SBC Summit North America 2024. The three discuss the Symposium, as well as the previous day's inaugural Capital Markets Forum at the New York Stock Exchange in Freedom Hall.Host: Andy McCarronGuests: Jessica Welman, Joe StreeterProducer: Anaya McDonaldEditor: James RossRemember to check out our partners Optimove at https://hubs.la/Q02gLC5L0 or go to optimove.com/sbc to get your first month free when buying the industry's leading customer-loyalty service.

Today, Curtis begins the show with 77 WABC News Director, Noam Laden, to discuss Robert F. Kennedy Jr. family's plan to gather at Philadelphia's Freedom Hall, crime in NYC, and more. Curtis also speaks on the war conflict in Israel and has 77 WABC Host and colleague, Anthony Weiner join him to talk about the growth of the Left Vs. Right show and the war tension in Israel.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We contine to remember the 1974 tornado outbreak, this time with Henry Sadlo and Tim Meiners telling us about hiding in a ditch near Freedom Hall as the storm went through...

If there was a "Health Freedom Hall of Fame", Barbara Loe Fisher would be an inaugural inductee. Co-founder of the National Vaccine Information Center (1982) and co-author of "DPT: A Shot in the Dark" (1985) there are few that have worked as hard or long in this space as Fisher. And... in this podcast, the MVP of vaccine information shares her wisdom, knowledge, and decades of experience with us. https://www.nvic.org 

David Beck, the President and CEO of Kentucky Venues, talks the comings-and-goings in the convention business including a giant tree in Freedmon Hall, the rodeo, and some of the changes coming to the Fair and Expo Center...

Hector Rodriguez, known online as H3CZ, is the founder and CEO of OpTic Gaming, an organization that maintains some of the most competitive esports teams in the world. Through video games, Hector became part of an online community and built something unique — and is now living the American Dream.Hector joined host Andrew Kaufmann for a live conversation in the Bush Museum's Freedom Hall, where he discussed gaming, content creation, his journey as an entrepreneur, and even a few of his favorite eateries on this episode of The Strategerist, presented by the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

Bill L., an AA member with 53 years of sobriety, shares how he found "Freedom Hall" in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill describes how the first time he sincerely asked for help he went from rage to peace of mind. In a Listener Feedback segment, Rachel calls in on her 7th Anniversary. You can email us at podcast@aagrapevine.org. To record an Ask-It-Basket question or a recovery-related joke, call 212-870-3418 or email a voice recording to podcast@aagrapevine.orgWhile we provide the podcast at no charge, we do have expenses. Grapevine is the only AA entity that does not accept contributions, so to support the AA Grapevine Podcast, please subscribe to Grapevine Magazine in print or digital, provide a subscription to someone in need through our 'Carry the Message" program, or purchase books or other items at aagrapevine.org/store

All American & Louisville legend, Russ Smith was kind enough to join the show this week. We talk about his venture, Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon, which is growing by the minute. He keeps us updated on his professional career, while also talking us back down memory lane, discussing some of the best years in Louisville basketball history. We break down the TBT team, which is formed of UofL Alumni and playing at Freedom Hall in late July. He seemed very excited to reignite the Siva-Russdiculous backcourt. He also talks about the current state of our program and why he believes in Kenny Payne.  You can support Russ' Bourbon here: https://mrandmrsbourbon.com/ Thanks for listening! Support our sponsors! Race to Cure Sarcoma: https://p2p.onecause.com/louisville/lexie-browning BETMGM: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/betmgm-sportsbook/id1430875409 UNDER DOG FANTASY: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/underdog-fantasy/id1514665962 OSHEA'S IRISH PUB: https://shoposheas.com/ 

David Beck, the President and CEO of Kentucky Venues, talked about The Basketball Tournament coming to Freedom Hall and some of the other events coming to town as well...

David Beck, the President and CEO of Kentucky Venues, talks renovation ideas at the Kentucky Expo Center, the results found by the Client Advisory Committee, and upgrading Freedom Hall...

This is a fun episode looking back at one of the purely fun events of the past half century. It was the Bicentennial of Declaration of Independence, the celebration of our nation's founding. It was an event like no other in our history and Gerald Ford, a man who had not sought the Presidency at all,  got to enjoy presiding over it all. He gives all appearances of having enjoyed every moment of it too.So in this episode we simply hop on for the ride as we open up the Smithsonian's New Air and Space Museum, enjoy the tall ships as they sailed through New York Harbour, enjoyed a celebratory event at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on July 3rd, with two speeches on America, one given by President Gerald Ford and the other by a football All American,  Heisman Trophy Winner, and one of the NFL's leading all time rushers, former Buffalo Bills Running Back O.J. Simpson.  ( at that moment no one knew what the future would hold for him) Then we follow President Ford to the great city of Philadelphia, to hear a speech at Freedom Hall by the President to commemorate this historic moment on July 4, 1976. Then we head back to the nation's capital to welcome the most famous and perhaps most unlikely of guests who will stop over to help our nation celebrate its 200 years of freedom. A royal visit from none other than Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second of United Kingdom, the monarch of the very nation whose yolk we had thrown off exactly 200 years and two days before.....TAG: Talking About Guns“Talking About Guns” (TAG) is a podcast created to demystify a typically loaded and...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

BIG TIME EPISODE TODAY! Jimmer Fredette is on the show talking about his TBT experience and Jimmer Mania 2.0 in 2018 when he averaged 31PPG in TBT (0:00 - 19:26) and then Louisville LEGEND, Peyton Siva, joins the show to talk about the Louisville TBT team that will be hosting a regional for TBT 2023 at Freedom Hall (19:26 - 31:45)! Enjoy -

David Beck, the CEO of Kentucky Venues, discusses The Basketball Tournament coming to Freedom Hall, the return of the National Farm Machinery Show, and other events coming to town...

National champion and Cardinal Forver Peyton Siva came on the show to talk about The Ville coming to The TBT, hosting some games at Freedom Hall, hearing Coach P in his head, the reunion of the 2013 team at the Clemson game, and the advice that he has given to the current Cardinals...

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Pope Francis was greeted by cheers on Saturday as he arrived at a meeting with roughly 2,500 South Sudanese refugees. The meeting with internally displaced persons (IDPs) took place at Freedom Hall in South Sudan's capital of Juba, where Pope Francis is undertaking a pilgrimage of peace from February 3-5. “You, from all your different ethnic groups, you who have suffered and are still suffering, you who do not want to respond to evil with more evil. You, who choose fraternity and forgiveness, are even now cultivating a better tomorrow,” he encouraged those present. South Sudan has the largest refugee crisis in Africa, with 2 million IDPs due to conflict, insecurity, and environmental challenges, the UN Refugee Agency reports. There are also more than 2 million South Sudanese refugees living in neighboring countries. On Sunday, Pope Francis urged Christians in the war-torn African country to make “a decisive contribution to changing history” by refusing to repay evil with evil. More than 100,000 people attended the papal Mass in Juba held on the grounds of a mausoleum commemorating John Garang, a liberation leader known as the “father of South Sudan,” though he died in a helicopter crash before the newest African country gained its independence in 2011 and plunged into a brutal civil war two years later. Pope Francis underlined that South Sudan's Christians are called to be “light that shines in the darkness” by living out the Beatitudes. In his homily, Pope Francis said that Christians are called to be “people capable of building good human relationships as a way of curbing the corruption of evil, the disease of division, the filth of fraudulent business dealings and the plague of injustice.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253556/pope-francis-meets-2500-refugees-in-south-sudan Congress will begin investigating what Republicans call the “weaponization” of the federal government against pro-life advocates and Christians next Thursday, according to announcements from leading House members. A primary focus of the investigation will be the Biden administration's targeting of pro-lifers through the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. In 2022 the Biden Justice Department prosecuted a record 26 pro-life advocates under the FACE Act. Meanwhile, last year saw nearly 100 attacks against pregnancy resource centers and churches that went largely unpunished. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253555/investigation-into-fbi-fed-agencies-targeting-of-pro-lifers-parents-to-begin-next-week Today, the Church celebrates the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki, a group of native Japanese Catholics and foreign missionaries who suffered death for their faith in the year 1597. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-paul-miki-and-companions-139

KSR's Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan are joined by Justin Edwards for episode 222 of the Sources Say Podcast to discuss the five-star wing's decision to sign with Kentucky and preview his matchup vs. Reed Sheppard in the Play-By-Play Matchup at Freedom Hall. Among the highlights: Why did he choose Kentucky over Tennessee? Forming a dream team in Lexington National championship dreams Playing Reed Sheppard in Louisville What is UK getting in the versatile wing? The KSR duo also breaks down Kentucky's win over Bellarmine and preview the team's trip to London to take on Michigan. The Sources Say Podcast is presented by our good friends at Justice Dental. You can make an appointment at one of two Lexington locations at Wellington Way or Blazer Parkway. Now is a great time to schedule your dental cleaning. Remember that regular dental appointments are important for your overall health. You can learn more and make an appointment at justicedental.com. Dr. Justice and Dr. Thompson look forward to seeing you soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

KSR's Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan are joined by Justin Edwards for episode 222 of the Sources Say Podcast to discuss the five-star wing's decision to sign with Kentucky and preview his matchup vs. Reed Sheppard in the Play-By-Play Matchup at Freedom Hall. Among the highlights: Why did he choose Kentucky over Tennessee? Forming a dream team in Lexington National championship dreams Playing Reed Sheppard in Louisville What is UK getting in the versatile wing? The KSR duo also breaks down Kentucky's win over Bellarmine and preview the team's trip to London to take on Michigan. The Sources Say Podcast is presented by our good friends at Justice Dental. You can make an appointment at one of two Lexington locations at Wellington Way or Blazer Parkway. Now is a great time to schedule your dental cleaning. Remember that regular dental appointments are important for your overall health. You can learn more and make an appointment at justicedental.com. Dr. Justice and Dr. Thompson look forward to seeing you soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian and Murdock pay tribute to Loretta Lynn by digging into one of the forgotten stories from Coal Miner's Daughter that illustrates the Country Queen's unflappable determination and straight-talking reputation. SHOW NOTES: Songs used in this episode: Loretta Lynn - "Coal Miner's Daughter," "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone," "Fist City"; Tom T. Hall - "Trip to Hyden" Coal Miner's Daughter: https://www.amazon.com/Coal-Miners-Daughter-Loretta-Lynn/dp/1538701715/ref=asc_df_1538701715/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Lynn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_a_Honky_Tonk_Girl https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wilburn_Brothers https://www.msha.gov/1969-%E2%80%93-federal-coal-mine-health-and-safety-act-passed https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lynn-sues-to-reclaim-copyrights-1427044/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Creek_mine_disaster https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2020/12/23/families-of-finley-hurricane-creek-mine-disaster-victims-still-hurting/3812001001/ https://www.theclio.com/tour/1098/1 George Vecsey's blog: https://www.georgevecsey.com/home/50th-anniversary-of-horror The George Vecsey Obit: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/05/arts/music/loretta-lynn-coal-miners-daughter.html Archived Billboard Magazine article from 1971: https://books.google.com/books?id=_QgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=Louisville+Hyden+KY+Benefit+Freedom+Hall+artist+lineup&source=bl&ots=MAijmqUbfk&sig=ACfU3U0su-SfDLhCHTJQS8UUcj1pbhcOCA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyjOT7wNb6AhX6kokEHXX0BBYQ6AF6BAgiEAM#v=onepage&q=Louisville%20Hyden%20KY%20Benefit%20Freedom%20Hall%20artist%20lineup&f=false

This week Coach Brendan Suhr is joined by Scott Davenport, Bellarmine head coach... Scott Davenport is a legend in coaching who has amassed multiple national coach of the year honors and also led the Bellarmine Knights to the 2011 NCAA Division II Tournament national championship. His career record of 398-130 (through the 2021-22 season) ranks him as Bellarmine's all-time winningest coach both in terms of total wins and winning percentage (.754). While Davenport built Bellarmine's program in a perennial national power at the Division II level, perhaps even more impressively, the Knights have continued to succeed in its recent transition to the NCAA Division I level. This past season (2021-22), Bellarmine posted a 20-win season in just its second year in Division I, finishing 20-13 while playing one of the nation's toughest schedules. In recognition of his team's success, Davenport was nominated for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award, which recognizes coaches from mid-major conferences. The Knights capped their 2021-22 season by winning the ASUN Conference Championship title, hosting the championship game in Freedom Hall in front of the second-biggest crowd in the history of the ASUN Tournament. The victory sparked a national debate on the NCAA rule mandating that schools must wait four years to be eligible for NCAA postseason play following their transition to Division I. (Had Bellarmine not still been in its four-year transition period, the ASUN Championship would have punched the Knights' ticket to the NCAA tournament.) In this episode, Coach Davenport takes you through the program's transition to Division 1, how the game of basketball has the power to bring everyone together, why he coaches, what he has learned from the coaches he worked under before becoming a head coach, why he believes in having a program instead of a culture, his reasons for scheduling the way he does in non-conference, and the ins and outs of his style of play. Enjoy hearing from Scott Davenport on Episode 250 of the Coaching U Podcast! COACHING U PLUS: The entire Coaching U video library is now at your fingertips. For years we have taken great pride in providing a tremendous learning experience through our annual clinics. Now, we are bringing the clinic to you! Coaching U+ is a must-have for coaches at all levels... Our expanding video library is equipped with strategies & concepts taught by some of the best coaches in the world, allowing you to continue to learn and grow as a coach on a year-round basis! Learn more by clicking here Special Offers! INSTAT BASKETBALL: For more details please visit the official website instatsport.com/basketball and use code “coachingulive” to try InStat free for 1-month! If you have any questions contact Eric Stang at eric.stang@instatsport.com FASTMODEL SPORTS: CLICK HERE to Save 15% on FastDraw or other FastModel Products with Promo Code "CoachingU15" DR. DISH: Visit www.drdishbasketball.com/ for more info and don't forget to mention Coaching U or the Podcast to receive $300 off your Dr. Dish.

Fortunately for us all, Dave Zanotti doesn't hold back or pull punches on what he believes in. He is a regular contributor on Mike's show, and in this episode, Mike and Dave discuss the short but significant speech by President Joe Biden, given from the steps of Freedom Hall in Philadelphia. And when you hear Dave's analysis, you too will be surprised - and concerned - after considering what he shared that night.

Freddy Farm Bureau will be at the entrance to Freedom Hall greeting visitors to the Kentucky State Fair.

Hello Ladies & Gentlemen, Welcome to the Undisputed Wrestling Podcast. It's time for another Throwback Thoughts special where we'll be reviewing Judgment Day 2000.  "The Undisputed Rev" James Peters is joined by "The Scottish Sensation" Ian Milne & "John Cena's Biggest Fan" Callum Hogan. The show took place at the Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The show featured matches such as Too Cool & Rikishi taking on Team ECK in a 6-man tag team match, Eddie Guerrero defending his European title against Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko in a triple threat match, Shane McMahon faced The Big Show in a Falls Count Anywhere match, Chris Benoit defends his IC title against Chris Jericho ina Submission match, D-Generation X (Road Dogg and X-Pac) take on The Dudley Boyz in a tag team tables match and the main event saw The Rock defending his WWF Championship against Triple H in a 60-minute Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.  Follow us on Twitter @TheUWPodcast and on Facebook @UWPodcast. Catch .James, Ian & Callum on Twitter @j007peters @Milney1989 @CallumH2000. Please subscribe and hit the download button. Thanks for listening.  

Bellarmine Men's Basketball Head Coach Scott Davenport talked about last night's ASUN Tournament championship, his team's love for each other, the real Freedom Hall environment, and the people that guided him to this spot in his life...

 Andy and James break into a Greg Gard discussion, a sad Dave Scull, Reed Shepherd/Kaleb Glenn, a plea from Streble, our guy Dan Cronin is in Freedom Hall, a discussion on TyTy becomes heated, and Paolo DelPiccilo joins the show.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bellarmine Men's Basketball Head Coach Scott Davenport relives Bellarmine's victory in the ASUN semifinals, the moment they found out they were coming home for a finals match-up, and the road the Knights have taken into Division 1 over the last few years. Coach also previews tomorrow's match-up with Jacksonville at Freedom Hall...

Bellarmine Men's Basketball Head Coach Scott Davenport talked about post-season tournament basketball returning to Freedom Hall. The Knights will be taking on Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday night in an ASUN Quarterfinal game. Find out how to get cheap tickets and be a part of a big game for the Bellarmine Knights, and what Coach had to say about the situation going on right now at the University of Louisville...

Bellarmine men's basketball seniors Juston Betz, Dylan Penn, CJ Fleming and Ethan Claycomb will all be honored at the upcoming Senior Night ceremony at Freedom Hall.

Segment 1 - A tight game at Freedom Hall saw the Bucs play the full 40 against Mercer and emerge with the win Segment 2 (21:45) - Previewing ETSU Women's Basketball's two home games against UNCG and Western Carolina Segment 3 (44:00) - Fail Downs of the football fan variety Segment 4 (1:01:30) - Bold Predictions

Louisville basketball legend, World traveler, Bourbon enthusiast, Coach. Seems that there is nothing that this man can't do. My old friend, and the host of The Players Perspective Uncensored Podcast takes a break from his podcast duties to come hang with me and Jess for a conversation. We pick Larry's brain about his time at Male, why playing at the Gardens was more of a rush than his two appearances at Rupp, What his mindset was before his Senior Day game vs Charlotte, you know, the game where he just went off in his final game in Freedom Hall, what he said to Darius Washington in that final game in Memphis for the Conference USA title, as well as his time playing overseas as he and James reminisce ( and make Jess jealous) of all the places we have been. Of course, Larry has to show off the bourbon collection. As always, thanks to Anchor for hosting this and Larry's podcast Follow the socials Podcast Instagram YouTube Larry Twitter Podcast Instagram Podcast Twitter James Instagram Twitter Queen City Muscle James' Dog Jess Instagram Twitter Jess' Dogs --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/offtherailsjamesandjess/support

Second hour of Middays with Marques Maybin.  The guys remember Sir Sidney Poitier, and wish Lamar a Happy Bday.  Maybin and Nicky V talk about a ridiculous Aaron Rodgers story.  They talk about who needs to show out against FSU.  We take calls, and SCOTTY D JOINS!!! Maybin chatts with his former coach about a great Bellarmine event this weekend at Freedom Hall. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As South Sudanese mark today eight years since conflict broke out in the capital Juba between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to his deputy Riek Machar, we hear from some relatives of the victims; South Sudan lawmakers will not be able to conduct business this week because Freedom Hall, the private building which parliament has been occupying, is hosting a Sudan trade exhibition; South Sudan Lakes State authorities say they released 175 prisoners Tuesday who had committed minor crimes to free up space in the state's congested prison cell; Human Rights Watch says a new wave of attacks on civilians in Sudan's Darfur since mid-November 2021 highlights the urgent need for the United Nations to increase its presence and improve human rights monitoring in the restive region

WWF presented Judgement Day 2000 at the Freedom Hall in Louisville Kentucky during the Monday Night War Stories on 05/21/00. The Rock defends his title against HHH in a 1 Hour Iron Man. Find out who returns at the very end of the PPV ! Find out what we thought of this PPV ! Listen Now !!!

Bellarmine Head Basketball Coach Scott Davenport discusses your opportunity to see some free hoops tomorrow night at Freedom Hall. Get details on that and a story about some of his players sneaking into The Hall to get shots up on their own...

Bellarmine Head Basketball Coach Scott Davenport discusses your opportunity to see some free hoops tomorrow night at Freedom Hall. Get details on that and a story about some of his players sneaking into The Hall to get shots up on their own...

The Bellarmine Knights Men's Basketball team was picked to finish last in their first season in the ASUN. On Saturday, they have a chance to win the conference at Freedom Hall. Listen to Head Coach Scott Davenport talk about how they got here, the excitement around the program, and how you can watch them on Saturday...

The Bellarmine Knights Men's Basketball team was picked to finish last in their first season in the ASUN. On Saturday, they have a chance to win the conference at Freedom Hall. Listen to Head Coach Scott Davenport talk about how they got here, the excitement around the program, and how you can watch them on Saturday...

Segment 1 - A look back to a tough trip to Charleston for ETSU Men's Basketball and a gaze ahead to Saturday's showdown at Freedom Hall between the Bucs and Wofford Terriers Segment 2 (30:00) - A brutal break for ETSU Women's Basketball who were forced back into quarantine this week Segment 3 (40:00) - Fail Downs runs the gamut from the NFL to Sandos' misdirected affection Segment 4 (54:30) - Bold Predictions

Marques and Brian talk about some Freedom Hall stories and tell you to get out and watch the Knights this weekend. The guys also celebrate the women getting back on track last night. The guys talk some football as well and they try to get a feel from the fanbase's perspective on Bryan Brown being promoted to Associate Head Coach. All that and much more right here.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marques and Brian talk about some Freedom Hall stories and tell you to get out and watch the Knights this weekend. The guys also celebrate the women getting back on track last night. The guys talk some football as well and they try to get a feel from the fanbase's perspective on Bryan Brown being promoted to Associate Head Coach. All that and much more right here.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Segment 1 - Detailed and descriptive deep dive into the Southern Conference Men's Basketball landscape with every team, schedule, roster and contributor broken down Segment 2 (1:03:30) - A quick look at ETSU Men's Basketball's matchup with Western Carolina to open the SoCon season Wednesday night at Freedom Hall

Bellarmine Men's Basketball Coach Scott Davenport called in to talk about his Knight's next big game against Middle Tennessee in Freedom Hall on Saturday...

Bellarmine Men's Basketball Coach Scott Davenport called in to talk about his Knight's next big game against Middle Tennessee in Freedom Hall on Saturday...

Episode 3:  Host, Jim Ray interviews Dr. Raymond and Carl Hafele on the state of the US economy and issues to consider as we move forward. Join us for a lively discussion about inflation, economic growth, tax policy, the Federal Reserve and more. Dr. Frank Raymond is a professor of economics at BU. Over the past 20 years, he's been the interim Dean and the associate Dean for the Rubel school of Business.  He focuses on international development, econometrics and macro-economics. Carl Hafele began teaching at BU 15 years ago.  He's an investment money manager.  He had an institutional firm responsible for managing over $20 Billion in assets.  He's now focused on personal investing and instructing as part of the Bellarmine MBA program. In 2009, the economy experienced the real estate bust and many banks were failing.  The Fed injected liquidity via mortgage-backed securities.  The banks sat on a large portion of the liquidity.  In Episode 2, Stock Yards Bank & Trust CEO Ja Hillebrand commented on the fact that today many of the companies have fairly healthy balance sheets, in spite of the pandemic. The economy of 2020 is, in Carl's words, a different animal compared to the 2009 crisis.  This is the “rainy day.”  The solution should involve a mix of fiscal and monetary policy.  Who Has the Responsibility? We began with a brief review of the Laffer Curve and taxes.  The question at large is “Are we at the inflection point where investors/entrepreneurs stop investing because of the tax on the margin dollar of the returns of that investment?”  Tax rates can actually serve as a disincentive.  So, where is the peak of the curve?  It's a balance of achieving maximum productivity, while generating maximum tax revenue for the government.  The private sector has a role.  Thinking of these policies at the household or company level can help to simplify the theory.  Do you want to work that extra overtime?  Is it worth the effort to start a side job?  Is this the proper time for a company to expand operations or sales teams?  The public sector also has a role.  There are parts of the economy in which the market doesn't function as efficiently.  The determination of which parts are best served by the public sector is an area of open debate. There are 4 Areas Where the Private Sector Doesn't Do as Well Lack of competition among firms. When there are information problems (i.e. asymmetric information). When an external party is receiving a benefit or harm, but isn't directly involved. Dealing with Public Goods (non-rival and non-excludable) Should We be Worried about Inflation? Carl discusses the velocity of money.  Simply put, “money times velocity equals GDP.”  A rising velocity is generally associated with a better economy.  For the majority of Carl's life, the velocity has been roughly 1.7 times.  It reached as high as 2.25, prior to 1995.  Prior to the pandemic, we were in the 1.3-1.4 range.  Once the pandemic set in, we settled at 1.0.  Based on this, Carl predicts that regardless of the amount of money the Fed prints, inflation shouldn't be a factor at these low-velocity levels. What Should the Government Do, Now? Frank suggests we should consider raising interest rates, once we recover from the COVID pandemic.  This is also absolutely not the time to consider raising taxes.  Either of those moves in the current scenario could slow or eliminate positive economic activity. The risk is that the economy could be in the midst of suffering a “death by 1,000 cuts.”  As the national debt grows, it could potentially prevent us from being able to generate tax revenue as a result of economic activity.  Growth rates could be negatively impacted due to the national debt service.  Interest rates have been extremely low.  How much lower could it go in an effort to spur economic activity?  The fact is monetary policy may not have as immediate of an impact in this effort. There are 3 Kinds of Inflation CPI – the cost for a basket of goods. Monetary inflation – based on the Fed's balance sheet. Inflation in Asset Prices – this can be a limiting factor for the economy and ROI. Simplify Tax Policy Over the years, our tax policy has become extremely complex. It's become both uncertain and inequitable.  It may be time to aggressively simplify.  This would include the elimination of loopholes.  Businesses want certainty.  The cumbersome tax policy, combined with politics, leads to a level of uncertainty and unpredictability. Today, our individual states independently set state and local taxes.  In recent years, there's been an accelerated move by businesses and individuals flocking to lower tax states.  As some states look at increasing taxes as a way to replenish lost economic activity-base revenues, they are risking a flight of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from their tax base. Parting Words It looks like 2-3 new vaccines may be hitting the market.  Even if it takes months to disperse them, this is a positive for the overall economy.  There's a risk that a new stimulus package could limit short-term growth if the incentives for the unemployed act as a disincentive to return to work.  We seem to be moving in the right directions to avoid a depression.  Now, we need to avoid actions by the government that don't actually have a lasting, positive impact.  Frank described the 4 ways to generate grow (primarily via the private sector):  land, labor, physical- and human-capital.  Government may decide to invest in certain areas, but it ultimately needs to be driven by the private sector. For additional insights, consider Carl's reading book The Great American Reset, Riding the Economic Rollercoaster of Capitalism (published 2014). Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed during the Bellarmine on Business podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Bellarmine University, its administration or the faculty at large.  The episodes are designed to be insightful, thought-provoking and entertaining.   THE MONTHLY FORECAST: Upcoming Events 12/15/20 – Accounting Department's Annual CPE Seminar (8.0 hours).  Click here for more information and to register. Bellarmine Bookstore – There's still time to stock up on Bellarmine swag for Christmas.  Click this link for more information, available items and to order online.  Tell them you heard about this on the Bellarmine on Business Podcast! Bellarmine Basket Ball Moving to Freedom Hall – As part of the transition to Division 1, the Bellarmine Knights are now playing in the iconic Freedom Hall.  Click here for more information about this exciting transition. On the next Bellarmine on Business Podcast Episode Episode 4 will launch on in early January.  Dr. Natasha Munshi returns to the podcast with a guest or two to update us on some of the Rubel School of Business initiatives she mentioned in Episode 1 of the Bellarmine on Business Podcast. Want to Listen to Additional Episodes? You can find additional episodes on the Rubel School of Business Podcast page of the Bellarmine website, various Bellarmine social media pages, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Libsyn, Podchaser and many other podcast directories.  We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast so you don't miss an episode. Interested in Developing a Podcast for Your Business or Organization? This podcast was produced by Jim Ray Consulting Services.  Jim Ray, host of the Bellarmine on Business podcast, can help you with the concept development, implementation, production and distribution of your own podcast.  For more information, visit:  https://jimrayconsultingservices.com/podcastproduction.  

Bellarmine Basketball Head Coach Scott Davenport talks about the delay of their season opener/Division I debut to December 4th in Cameron Indoor Stadium against the Duke Blue Devils. He also talked about prepping during COVID-19 and playing games in Freedom Hall...

Bellarmine Basketball Head Coach Scott Davenport talks about the delay of their season opener/Division I debut to December 4th in Cameron Indoor Stadium against the Duke Blue Devils. He also talked about prepping during COVID-19 and playing games in Freedom Hall...

The 16:9 PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY SCREENFEED - DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT In a technology landscape where even last year's big thing tends to get old quickly, it's pretty amazing that the lobby-filled LED installation at the Comcast tower in Philadelphia remains one of the best visual experience projects out there ... more than 12 years after it was first lit up. If the project is unfamiliar, imagine walking into a very large corporate office tower lobby, admiring the wood walls that line it, and then seeing those walls are active, and that there are little visual stories being told. The project went live when few people even in this industry knew all that much about direct view LED, doing a 4mm wall years ahead of when AV people started thinking and marketing in terms of pixel pitch. I spoke with David Niles, whose little company did the original job and continues to work on it, through a recent LED upgrade. We get into his long background, starting in architecture and early computer graphics, and evolving into pioneering work with HDTV, again years ahead of when people were using terms like 1080P. We also talk about some of the other work done by his team. I spoke with Niles last week as he puffed a morning cigar in his central Florida backyard. I was staring out at my Nova Scotia backyard, wondering when predicted snow flurries were going to blow in. Subscribe to this podcast: iTunes * Google Play * RSS   TRANSCRIPT David, we'll get into the Comcast experience, but that's not the only work you've done through the years. Can you tell me about your company and what you do?  David Niles: If I would start backward, what we do today is, I make large scale multimedia experiences. Mostly for, I guess you would call it public art spaces and buildings, sometimes residences, all over the world. And that's what I do today, where I started is, it's a long list and I'll try and go through it quickly. I really started out in architecture. As a kid, I was fascinated with building and really enamored with architecture. I thought it was extremely novel. I was 10-12 years old, reading all Franklin Wrights books and studying his plans. By the time I was 12 or 13, I taught myself how to be a draftsman and I could draft, and eventually went out in my early career, designing and building outdoor cafes, stores, interiors in New York City. But I was always frustrated with this idea that as novel as I thought architecture was, it was turning into this sort of commodity for run of the mill things and I believe that the future of dynamic art is really in that thing called television. So very early on, I was fascinated with the idea of television and the medium of video and in the early part of my career I was involved with video art, very early pioneers of video art and in New York City where we would run out in porter back and we would shoot all kinds of things that we thought were for art.  Parallel to that was involved with music and music recording and engineering, sort of altogether and theater to some extent, live theater, and that eventually melded into me getting more and more involved with the medium of video and television, summarily rejecting the idea of broadcast television. It was terrible, those television shows had terrible graphics, horrible lighting, and all this other stuff.  One day I was sitting in a loft with some friends of mine and we're looking at this video, art that we were making and other than the three or four people in this room, looking at some protracted very boring thing that we shot and realized that we really weren't doing anything and that maybe, being popular and television needed change, needed revolution. So I decided at that moment that it was more important to get involved with the idea of changing television and bringing art to the popular medium, rather than narrowcasting in this, three or four guys in a room, looking at video feedback on a monitor and thinking it’s wonderful. So I started to get more involved with the idea of taking what was then non-broadcast equipment and seeing if I could adapt this into making a more popular video with it and I was about 18 or 19 years old, I met up with an investor, who lived in France, who felt my ideas for creating a revolutionary mobile unit, that would permit us to go out and shoot and create on the spot more organically, without all of the baggage of what broadcast television was, at least in those days, if you wanted to go out and shoot outside, you were talking about a 50-foot trailer with 25 guys with screwdrivers, cameras that weigh 400 pounds. He put up the money to invest in making a video mobile unit that would permit us to do that and it was a long story, but eventually, that mobile unit ended up in France and he invited me over to shoot a jousting competition in Carcassonne and this mobile unit that I built, it's a one-man show. This is one guy that had one, two-inch machine and three IVC 300 cameras. These were semi-professional, well they were professional cameras, but they were not high-end RCA, Marconi cameras. This sort of almost looked like a bread truck, it was a small van that housed all of this stuff. And I basically went to France to shoot this jousting competition and ended up staying in France and convincing this investor to let me take it apart and rebuild it and make it better and this is years before there was any sort of private television or private videotape production in France. It only stayed on television and we pioneered the idea of creating broadcast facilities in France, to supply the French channels and eventually American and basically world channels for sporting events.  Years later, I was able to buy out the original investor, because business was very slow for the first five or six years and set up my first company in France, where we ended up building that first original mobile unit, but ended up building nine more and became the premier facility in Europe for HBO, ABC, CBS, French television, German television, English television, in high-end video production. That was France. Of course, pioneering, I was always pushing the envelope of never being satisfied with the state of the art of the existing equipment. It was too heavy. It was too complicated. It wasn't innovative enough. So I have an engineering side where I would go back and look at this hardware that existed at the time and modify it, adapt it, and create these sort of revolutionary for their time outside broadcast vehicles and studios, and somewhere in the early 80s, I had a reputation for being a hardware pioneer and Sony & RCA were constantly throwing new ideas at me and new products that they were developing. Sony came along and they said, “We have something we want to show you, David” and I said, “what would that be?”  “Something called high definition television,” and they took me into a room and they showed me the very first prototype for high-def TV and a transfer of this high-def TV that was made to the 35-millimeter film and I looked at it and it blew me away. “Holy mackerel!” Now, this was a frustration that we'd had in Europe for something that Americans wouldn't understand is that if you produced a 65-pallet television on videotape, the French channels would not accept it. They would not accept videotape. They would only accept 35-millimeter film. So everything that we produce, whether it be a TV commercial, or anything else, or even a commercial for the cinemas, because in France, they put commercials in cinema, we would have to convert our videotape to film, and the only way to do it in the 70s was to do an elaborate kinescope process that Technicolor had developed.  So we would have to produce absolutely perfect 65-pallet television and then take it through this kinescope process to create, well, 35-millimeter film that looked pretty good, but of course, it's limited in resolution and contrast ratio, but it looked pretty good, so we were constantly trying to get the best we could possibly get. So when I saw HDTV for the first time, looking at a video picture with a better than thousand line resolution and a contrast ratio that was amazing, I was blown away and I said, I've got to do that. So I spent several years negotiating with the NHK in Japan and Sony to allow me to buy the equipment to launch HDTV, which is what we did eventually. In France, we opened up the first studios in the world that actually produced HDTV, not necessarily for broadcast, but for transferring to 35-millimeter film, because we looked at it as either a new medium or a medium that would compete with 35 millimeter, which is the beginning of the HDTV revolution. Our studios in France were very successful and we produced the first commercials in HDTV, the first movies in HDTV behind and a lot of our customers were calling from America, New York. And I said, “Wow, I need to expand my company,” to open up a New York office, which is what we did in 1987. We opened up 1125 Productions in New York, which was a fully equipped HDTV studio and production facility in New York City. It was an enormous financial investment but parallel, if you look at the history of HDTV, HDTV in 1987 was a very disputed medium as the American broadcasters really didn't want to know about it. The cinema community, of course, said you're not going to replace anything, you're not going to replace this beautiful film with the electronic medium. So it was a very challenging, uphill battle.  It's a very long protracted story so I'll try and make it shorter. 1125 Productions was mostly a a very sophisticated post-production studio that we had on Fifth Avenue with mobile units. Eventually, I needed to start to produce HDTV programming on my own to start to fill the void as we needed a studio, and we eventually took over the Ed Sullivan Theater, where we built HDTV studios in New York and that's my television career.  There's a lot involved, though I'd say it's a long story after that, but you know my roots and storytelling, show-business, theater, music,etc. everything else lends itself to, again, going back to this idea of these enormous pictures and these enormous experiential things that we could do with HDTV, that we really couldn’t do with it any other video mediums.  So in the Sullivan theater, we built a 60-foot screen, and did perhaps through the photorealistic projection and we opened up a Broadway show called, “Dream Time” that ran for 145 performances and the big feature of the dream time, aside from being successful, was that it had fully integrated photo-realistic HDTV imagery that was projected with live actors, and you couldn't tell the difference between the live actors and the projection. It was actually a really cool show.  What year was that?  David Niles: That's 1992. And still, if you Google, “Dream time”, you'll see that there's even a Wikipedia page that some people put on, I had nothing to do with it, that talks about it.  We eventually then sold The Ed Sullivan theater to CBS to do the Letterman show. I opened up studios around the corner in the studio 54 building and continued doing HDTV and other stuff and then got involved with Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden, again, in the form of HDTV, but, more so with Radio City Music and their desire to expand the holiday show, which is the most important product that they're doing there, into bringing a LED screen at that time, one largest in the world that covered the whole back of the stage to be able to embellish the Radio City Music Christmas show, which we did.  We put the screen up and we created an entire animated and coordinated sync to the background for their holiday show with great success and that brings us to where Comcast came into all of this.  Yeah. I was going to say there's a lot of connective tissue here that I wasn't really aware of.  David Niles: Yeah, it was interesting. Comcast, the backstory for Comcast is Comcast, at that time, in 2000, was basically a lot of administrative offices spread, pretty much in separate office buildings all over Philadelphia and Comcast became the major tenant for a spec building that was being proposed by a company called Liberty Property Trust. Liberty Property Trust are real estate developers in the Philadelphia area and my original contact was with the real estate developer that came to me and, I guess it was 2000, 1999, and they had this idea to do this spec 53-story office building in Philadelphia, and they wanted to create a sales center to pitch either anchor tenants or many tenants for their revolutionary new thousand-foot tall building and they found me and they came in and they saw what we could do, and I came up with an idea for creating a sales floor with a lot of virtual things and a lot of features that were like this experience that as soon as you walked off the elevator and it was one long interesting almost theme park ride to sell you on the idea of moving into this building, and the main feature of this thing was a room you ended up in that I designed, it was in the shape of an oval and you would sit in this room and it looked like you were in this oval-shaped room and in front of you was a 16-foot wide by 10-foot tall granite wall and this Brent wall was actually one of the materials of the spec building that Stern had designed, that Liberty Property Trust wanted to build, and the lights would dim automatically and it would go into this 10 minutes show that we produced, that would start out making you believe this is going to be a sales pitch for a building - it's going to have 25 elevators and it's made of granite and it's got 4,000 off spaces, and all of a sudden, you're now going through this 10-minute thing about falling in love with Philadelphia with shots of Philadelphia and interviews with JL and other key people and the architect, about the wonderfulness of being in Philadelphia and why you needed to be in this building. It was a very compelling, absolutely beautiful film. And at the end of the film, it goes back to this granite wall and this granite wall slides away physically. And it reveals real windows that are actually looking out onto the site for which this building is going to be built and long story short, the lead tenant for this building became Comcast. Comcast decided at that moment, they wanted to unify all of their 5,000 workers into this new building and that this was going to be their new headquarters, and eventually, as they started to build the building, Brian Roberts, who's the CEO of Comcast had made frequent trips to Japan, he’s a very innovative guy, absolutely really smart.  He decided that this lobby, that Stern had designed, this huge lobby and all of these wood panels. He wanted something that was going to make his 5,000 employees inspired and feel good about moving into this new building. The developer that developed the building, wanted to at the same time, create an instant destination for this new tallest building in Philadelphia and basically, I had just finished doing Radio City and they'd heard about it and they. invited me to pitch them my ideas for what to do in there. And our pitch was that we wanted to do something that was unexpected and we created a whole bunch of animatics and things, and we said if you put screens up in the lobby, you can do time and temperature and because Comcast is basically a cable TV operation, we're going to put up thousand channels. Things that would be typical, but it looked fine and then I said, wait a minute, let's talk about the unexpected, what don't we expect to see? And we incorporate something that is ever-changing and inspiring without interfering with what I consider to be private time of the public.  Private time of the public means that, when you come through the front door of Comcast and you're walking towards the elevator, you can't do things that are too intrusive, that are screaming at you, not audio-wise, but screaming at you for your attention. For the Comcast side, it was doing something that would be more a gift to the city. Something that was more socially redeeming without being video art, video art in a negative sense and it had some meaning. For the Liberty Property Trust side, it was their subway station name, that's underneath the Comcast building and there were another 10,000 people that come through that lobby every day, so how can we create a meaningful destination for these people coming up the staircase that allows them to enjoy something and then not feel as though they're missing something if they walk away from?  So we created this idea of one doing the unexpected and two, using theatrical things because people relate to people, where we take ordinary people doing extraordinary things, that are like fun things to watch and from that, we created this whole plethora of things that could happen up there. And then Comcast came back and they said, “David, these ideas are great. This is wonderful. We love it. But how do you create hundreds of hours, thousands of hours of original programming, because we don't want to be constantly producing for this thing cause it's very expensive, and keep it fresh?”  So, I went back and designed what we called a content delivery system, which is the system for which we actually get this content up onto the screen that is ever-changing, that's able to create its own content, by connecting pieces of pre-recorded content together in a logical fashion, not random so that it stays fresh. And Brian Robert said, “Okay, David, you can do this, but you've got to guarantee me that I will have two years worth of content that's going to remain valid and appear to be new all the time, without creating hundreds of thousands of hours.”  Remember that basically scenarios in the Comcast center last about a minute, there's a minute and then it'll go back to being this wood wall, disappearing and then coming back. We rotated about 1200 pieces of content every day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. That's a quantity of content that's impossible. I mean broadcast stations don't even do this.  This was like in the mid to late 2000s and nobody was talking about direct-view LEDs other than people with jumbotrons. David Niles: Oh, that was the first challenge. In the mid two thousand, you were looking at LED screens that were 6 millimeters, 8 millimeter, 10 millimeter, jumbotron, so it was first because I needed this to be photorealistic, you had to believe that what you were looking at was actually real, that was part of the magic of it. So I had a longstanding relationship with Barco broadcast from my television days because they make a lot of broadcast products and Barco was doing LED, but LED in 6 millimeter and 8 millimeter. And I went back to Barco and with Barco engineers, we developed the idea of doing a 4 millimeter pixel pitch wall, which for 2006 was revolutionary. We did tests, we set up eight screens in studios in New York, did subjective tests, objective tests. Again, there were other competing companies that wanted to build this screen, Mitsubishi wanted to build this screen, Daktronics wanted to build this screen, and we eventually ended up developing this with Barco. Comcast eventually was convinced that Barco was the way to go, and we ended up doing the first NX4, a huge screen. It's 80 feet and it's up to almost 6 million pixels, 6,000 pixels wide. This was revolutionary for its time and then, of course, a content delivery system to be able to deliver to this. There were no servers that would do anything, no pipeline that would do anything larger than HDTV 1920x1080, and we're trying to feed something that's 2000 pixels wide by 10,000 pixels across. That's not going to happen.  So we ended up designing and building a content delivery system that was capable of doing that. But again, Brian Roberts and Comcast came back to me and they said, “Listen, this is the front face of our building. This is our image. This has to be mission-critical.” And of course, I go back to my days in television, where there's no such thing as something going wrong, you don't do a live downhill skiing event from Switzerland, it's feeding 20 million television sets. There's no such thing as “Oops, the camera doesn't work.” That doesn't happen. I mean it does, you just don't see it. So in designing the content delivery system, we designed several levels of redundancy, such that, in the event of any failure behind the scenes, it would automatically switch over and change so that the problem would remain invisible on the screen. And in the first eight years of operation, the screen was never turned off. It never ever went down. After eight years of operation, a couple of years ago, it was the end of life for the NX4s so we actually changed all of that, but basically, the new installation, the new content delivery system, and the new screen is based on the same original design. So what levels of redundancy we had built-in, you can't see the problem if there's a problem and eventually, it's a lot of hardware, things do go wrong, but you just can't see them.  How does Comcast know this is working? How do they measure that this is having the desired impact?  David Niles: That's a really great question, because Brian Roberts was constantly analyzing and he's very analytic, and even when we were proposing the ideas, we had the meetings in Comcast where he invited 50 people that worked in the building to come up and I made a miniature model of a lobby where we projected story worlds, started animatics and things and scenarios that we were developing and we actually had focus groups come in and vote on paper and tell us what they liked and didn't like, what they thought and even before we actually started shooting, we were having results in 97% off the Richter scale.  When it finally opened, one of the first things that began to show, other than people that loved the original Comcast experience, was the holiday show. Brian wanted desperately to have, aside from what the wall does every day, during the holiday seasons to run a special holiday show, and the first year that we did the holiday show, within several days of this thing opening, it went viral and the holiday show is a 15 minute or 18 minutes show that ran every hour, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, eight or nine times a day in the lobby of this office building. And within several days after opening, every show was jam-packed. You could not get into the lobby of the building. The lobby would hold on a couple of thousand people. It was an enormous success and you have to imagine, this is a building lobby, there are no chairs in it, there's no place to sit down. All you can do is stand on this couch on this granite floor and people from all over would come running in on the hour to see this spectacle, and now the holiday show is in its 12th year and because they eventually put in counters and analytics to see how many people came in when they come in, we've had millions, that's plural, millions of visitors. The hardest thing in the world in show business is a free attraction. That's the hardest thing to actually promote, ‘cause I've done, Broadway shows, et cetera. Once people have bought a ticket, they're bought halfway into something, but when you do something for nothing, when it's free, when it’s open to the public, it's the most discerning audience. It's the hardest audience and the success has been phenomenal. And even though it's part of the design of the wall, we don't do any advertising for Comcast on it. There's almost no branding whatsoever, but this idea of doing a gift to the city, the public relations response to this wall has been extraordinary. And people don't like cable companies, even if you go online and you look up Comcast, you'll see, blogs opened up a little bit of the, we hate Comcast, we don't like the bandwidth, it's screwed me out of this, but that thing that's in the lobby, it's genius.  Now I don't want to paint you as a one-trick pony because I know you've done other work. What are some of the other projects that your team has worked on lately?  David Niles: Another one also for Stern, who is the architect of Comcast, we, of course, did the George W. Bush library, which is an interesting 360-degree video experience. It's in the central part of the library complex called Freedom Hall, which is this very tall, huge square room where people gather, after they pass security to go into the library, they gather in this room before they're actually admitted into the library section and as they gather in this room, they're basically looking at what's a drawn level, which is doors and paneling and stuff. But, at about 12 feet high, it turns into what looks like a hand-painted mural that goes 360 degrees around them up to a skylight area. And as they're standing in there, this hand-painted mural, when enough people gather, all of a sudden it starts to come to life. Images of sand dunes and tumbleweeds and a desert landscape, Texas landscape looks hand-painted, and all of a sudden it starts to come to life. Tumbleweeds start to move around. Surround sound, original orchestra track begins to play and this goes into an eight-minute presentation about the office of the presidency, what the office of the presidency actually means. and it's about the fact that our presidents come from the people of the land, to become president and it's done in a way where we're looking at again, it's a very big challenge to shoot these time-lapse images of the American landscape, the textures of the American landscape in 360 degrees, photorealistic above your head and it's a very inspiring thing. People, all of a sudden start pointing, looking. The end of that experience is that the screen explodes into thousands of images, in what looks like, almost passport photos of all kinds of Americans, young, old Americans from a hundred years ago, colors, all races, all this and that. And it turns into this enormous mosaic of these pictures of Americans and some of these pictures are larger than others. And those pictures that are larger than others are actually what looked like passport photos of everybody that's standing in that audience and somebody will notice it and they start pointing and it's like popcorn going off in a popcorn pot. They all start and it's basically, they're incorporated basically thousands of pictures and the pictures begin to dissolve off leaving. Today it would be 40-44 pictures that are up there that are left up there that are 44 presidents, so it's a very inspiring thing. It's about the office of the presidency. It's not necessarily about a particular president.  But that's a big one. In Washington, DC, we have the Media Arch at the City Center, which is an Archway. There are no two of my installations that are identical. There are similarities to Comcast in so much as it's got rotating entertainment, it's ever-changing, it draws quite a large crowd.  Other installations we've done pretty much all over America and in Europe and in China, they're all different, but they're very large installations and also some very small ones. What we love to do is challenge ourselves. We constantly deal with clients that are saying, “This is what we want to accomplish. How do we accomplish it?” And what I mean by accomplish is, like in the Comcast experience, Brian Roberts wanted to have his employees feel connected to this building and inspired. At the same time, Liberty Property Trust wanted to create a destination. We love a challenge. The Bush library was another challenge. It was, not to make something specific that is, for Bush, the president, ‘cause that's where the library is here for, this was an overture to the idea of the office of the presidency. In California and in other places, it's people telling us specific goals that they have to see what we can come up with to create something that fills those particularly, sometimes commercial, sometimes not commercial and we love that idea of the challenge. And again, we've done dozens of tiny lobbies. We have one that we're about to install in New York City, which is a ceiling in a very important office building, but it's very small. The lobby is only 18 feet wide and it's about 80 feet long and we're putting a ceiling in there. The lobby's beautifully been re-redesigned, and here we're creating a virtual ceiling that is an experience that works from the front door you walk into, down this 60-foot lobby that has a reward to it being there without interfering with the architectural design of the lobby, it's complementary. It blends in, it doesn't look like, “Oh, let's put a screen up there and we'll put a lava lamp on it or something.  All right, David, this was terrific. We could talk for hours. I want to thank you for spending some time with me. It was really interesting.  David Niles: Thank you so much for the questions, they are really good.

Matt, Ryan, Drew, and Shannon talk UK sports, Bellarmine basketball playing games at Freedom Hall, and profile Owsley County, KY.

James Madison - The United States Constitution

Judgment Day 2000 took place in Louisville, Kentucky at Freedom Hall. Some of the big matches included an 60-minute Iron Man Match for the WWF Title between The Rock and Triple H with Shawn Michaels as the special guest ref, Benoit v Jericho in a submission match for the IC Title, and 4 more matches. This PPV also marked the debut of "The American Badass". Find out my thoughts on that and each match from this Attitude Era PPV on my 3rd Retro PPV Review.

On this episode of Grilling JR, Jim and Conrad look back at Judgement Day 2000, which took place on May 21, 2000, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY. Our main event saw an Iron Man match for the WWF Championship between Triple H and The Rock with Commissioner Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. Plus, a Tables match between DX and The Dudley Boyz, a Submission match for the Intercontinental Championship between Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, and so much more! Save yourself some money, get a better interest rate, lower monthly payments and even skip your next two payments at www.SaveWithConrad.com Warmer weather is just around the corner, and you need to make sure you're ready for grilling season. Head over to www.JRsBBQ.com and grab yourself some great bbq sauce and order "Under The Black Har" JR's latest book too! Do you want to style and profile like good ol' JR? Well, stop by www.jimrossshirts.com and check out all our tees. We have new designs going up almost every week! Plus, JR's jumped into the Patreon game with a new and unique way to list to the podcast...ADFREESHOWS.com! Not only will you get Grilling JR ad free and early you'll also get all four of Conrad's other podcasts and a whole lot more! Head over and check out the available tiers and all they offer over at ADFREESHOWS.com Do you have a product or business you want JR & Conrad to talk about on the show? Let us know about it and fill out a FREE quick form over at www.AdvertiseWithConrad.com *NOTE: JR & Tony Schiavone will be LIVE in Rochester, NY has been MOVED to July 7th at Comedy At The Carlson for their traveling SUPER SHOW! Get your tickets now and don't miss this WILD & UNCENSORED event! www.SUPERSHOWLIVE.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Grilling JR, Jim and Conrad look back at Judgement Day 2000, which took place on May 21, 2000, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY. Our main event saw an Iron Man match for the WWF Championship between Triple H and The Rock with Commissioner Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. Plus, a Tables match between DX and The Dudley Boyz, a Submission match for the Intercontinental Championship between Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, and so much more! Save yourself some money, get a better interest rate, lower monthly payments and even skip your next two payments at www.SaveWithConrad.com Warmer weather is just around the corner, and you need to make sure you're ready for grilling season. Head over to www.JRsBBQ.com and grab yourself some great bbq sauce and order "Under The Black Har" JR's latest book too! Do you want to style and profile like good ol' JR? Well, stop by www.jimrossshirts.com and check out all our tees. We have new designs going up almost every week! Plus, JR's jumped into the Patreon game with a new and unique way to list to the podcast...ADFREESHOWS.com! Not only will you get Grilling JR ad free and early you'll also get all four of Conrad's other podcasts and a whole lot more! Head over and check out the available tiers and all they offer over at ADFREESHOWS.com Do you have a product or business you want JR & Conrad to talk about on the show? Let us know about it and fill out a FREE quick form over at www.AdvertiseWithConrad.com *NOTE: JR & Tony Schiavone will be LIVE in Rochester, NY has been MOVED to July 7th at Comedy At The Carlson for their traveling SUPER SHOW! Get your tickets now and don't miss this WILD & UNCENSORED event! www.SUPERSHOWLIVE.com

Mike and Dan honor the 10-year anniversary of the last game at Freedom Hall and look ahead to Saturday's huge game at Virginia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Segment 1 - A fairy tale Saturday at Freedom Hall sees ETSU Men's Basketball cut down the nets in their home gym Segment 2 (31:30) - ETSU Women's Basketball battles hard at The Roundhouse before coming up short against Chattanooga Segment 3 (53:00) - Is the Blue and Gold's greatest regular season win in program history the one they got Saturday versus Western? A Sandos & The Sidekick debate Segment 4 (1:25:00) - A very fruitful recap of Bold Predictions

Segment 1 - Previewing ETSU Men's Basketball v Citadel tonight at Freedom Hall with sound from head coach Steve Forbes Segment 2 (17:00) - ETSU Women's Basketball's return matchup with Wofford in Spartanburg Thursday Segment 3 (35:40) - ETSU Baseball Head Coach Joe Pennucci on his first two years leading the Bucs and the season ahead Segment 4 (52:00) - Complete breakdown of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25

In releasing his latest album, Two Lane Town, JD Shelburne feels he has recorded the album that could take him to a whole new level. “I’ve been working really hard on this album. I think it is my best collection of songs that I’ve released thus far,” he says of his fourth project. He says that he’s definitely learned a lot since he released his first disc that was self-titled, back in 2012. “It’s all about writing and recording great songs,” he says. “It all boils down to just a great lyric. I try to write/record songs that I can relate to, ones that are catchy and have a great melody that I feel my fans can relate.” Of the tracks from the new album, JD says there’s one in particular that has a special place in his heart. “I co-wrote a song on the record called ‘Born For This.’ It’s the first song on the record, and it talks about picking up guitar and adapting to a new venture in life while attending college and just running with it – I was nineteen when my grandmother passed away. My life turned around in an instant when I found that guitar after her death. I didn’t realize until early in college that music was my true passion in life. I had played three different sports growing up, and just led the simple small-town life. I picked up the guitar, and my life hasn’t been the same since. It’s kind of the title track of my life. When I was about to finish college, there was a point when I realized I was about to be an adult and wondered what I was going to do with my life.  Where I was going to go? I honestly felt like I was born to play music and entertain people. It was just something that I gravitated towards naturally. Nashville, Tennessee was my next destination and I haven’t looked back since.” J.D began that gravitation while growing up on a tobacco farm in Taylorsville, KY, a tiny town southeast of the Ohio River near Louisville KY. At age 19, he found a guitar after the death of his grandmother and began learning to play and sing on his own. By his sophomore year of college, he had found a few gigs at some local bars in the Louisville/Lexington, KY area and developed a fan-base that eventually landed him on some of the biggest stages in the business, opening for some of the nation’s hottest stars. Eventually, Shelburne was adding original songs into the set mix, in addition to producing songs of his own material. In 2002, Kentucky fell in love at first sight with Shelburne, then a college student and a small-town kid with a wide smile, natural singing voice and a love of faith, family and his hometown of Taylorsville, KY. But that small-town image is merely a fond memory now that he has moved on to Nashville down the path to music stardom. Now find him soaking up the music scene, touring cities, building a fan-base and celebrating a decade of success playing venues all across the southeast trying to get his big break. Today he’s among the most hardworking and relevant country singers in the business. They say Nashville doesn’t work that way anymore – that talented musicians with very few connections don’t stand a chance. But Shelburne proved that Music City’s engine still runs off of talent and persistent driven antics. Critics find him credible. Fans pack his shows. Venues strive to book him. There are very few new artists recording songs today about whom that can be said. During his whirlwind career explosion, he has performed with over 50 national acts ranging from stars such as Montgomery Gentry, Craig Morgan, Jamey Johnson, Kellie Pickler, Steve Wariner to Clay Walker and Johnny Lee, performed at some of the region’s most famous venues such as the Historic Ryman Auditorium, Rupp Arena, Murphy Center, KFC Yum Center, Freedom Hall, Churchill Downs and Old Cardinal Stadium which recently drew the Kentucky State Fair’s largest crowd of the concert series. JD performed “God Bless America” prior to the 2016 Quaker State 400 NASCAR race at Kentucky Speedway to over 100,000 attendees. In September 2017, JD made his NBC Network Television Debut performing the National Anthem at the NASCAR XS Myrtle Beach 300! He has also been featured in Country Weekly Magazine, Kentucky Alumni Magazine, Kentucky Monthly Magazine amongst many other national publications including the Huffington Post. His debut music video “Farmboy” gained him thousands of new fans by airing on the TNN Top Ten Countdown nationwide on Heartland TV network and ZUUS Country Network. In 2015, he made his Nationwide debut on GAC – Great American Country Network and also CMT.com in October with his second music video entitled “Hometown” written about the demise of his small town. On October 21, 2015, JD debuted as #1 trending artist on CMT.com edging out Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean! He has performed over 2,000 concerts all over the southeast as well as over 300 festivals. JD’s outfits have been featured on display at the Kentucky Derby Museum at Historic Churchill Downs from his appearances at the Kentucky Derby. In 2016, he was invited to perform in the Kentucky State Capitol for the State Senate as well as the House of Representatives where he performed his own rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home” for both parties. JD was named an Honorable Kentucky Colonel and was also presented the honor of “Admiral” by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Also, in 2016, the University of Kentucky’s College of Communication and Information named JD their 2016 Most Outstanding Alumnus! On September 18, 2018, he made his World Premiere on CMT! In June 2017, Shelburne launched his world premiere official music video for “Better Man” that was filmed in Midway/ Millville, KY. The music video made its Network Television Debut on Great American Country (GAC) on June 23, 2017, and is currently in Nationwide rotation. At the 2017 Kentucky Derby, Shelburne was a guest chef of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host Guy Fieri at his restaurant alongside Guy, Travis Tritt and NFL Legend Jerry Rice! Shelburne, most recently reached #29 on the Music Row chart with his debut single of “One Less Girl”. The single lead him to features on CMT and reaching over 120,000 views online! His follow-up single “She Keeps Me Up Nights” will impact radio this summer and has already reached #6 on the CMT 12-Pack Countdown! JD also has performed at several prestigious nationwide events: NBA Basketball Games, Guaranteed Rate Field for the Chicago White Sox, Suntrust Park for the Atlanta Braves, The Kentucky Derby, Unbridled Eve Derby Gala, Barnstable Brown Derby Gala, events for Jim Beam Brands and Four Roses Bourbon, NCAA Division I College Football/Basketball Games, The National FFA Organization National Convention, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Hotel Brands, NASCAR Racing Events, Minor League Baseball Games, Dollar General NASCAR Racing Team Event, CMA Music Festival, the NCAA Women’s Final Four, SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament and more! As you can imagine, the road is a place where he loves to be. “I rarely take days off. I performed 230 tour dates last year, and in 2016, I performed 246. I have always taken nearly every opportunity given to me that is within a reasonable distance. I have a relative in the family that was a Country artist back in the 1970s, and his name was Guy Shannon. He had a couple of charted singles and played the Opry several times. He told me before I moved to Nashville, ‘You’ll never get discovered in a basement. Anytime you can get a gig somewhere, take it and run with it. I have taken that advice and used it tremendously. I play shows just about everywhere. I’ve been in the business ten years, and I’m still hungry,” he says eagerly J.D. has high hopes and expectations for the new music. “I want to try to get on a national tour and spread my music and my name to places I’ve never played. I think I’ve got some great songs on this record, and I think so many fans will relate and be drawn to this new album. I still have a lot of ground to cover and I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.”

Segment 1: Looking back to an ultra-impressive Saturday win at Freedom Hall for ETSU Men's Basketball Segment 2 (25:30): ETSU Women's Basketball pulse pounding triple overtime contest against rival Chattanooga Segment 3 (39:45): Jay Knows The English Language Segment 4 (51:30): Bold Predictions recap and Super Bowl talk

Segment 1 - A recap of a thrilling night at Freedom Hall between ETSU Women's Basketball and the Tennessee Lady Vols Segment 2 (17:45) - Head coach Brittney Ezell postgame sound from the contest Segment 3 (35:00) - Western Carolina play-by-play man Daniel Hooker on the Bucs and Catamounts Saturday football meeting Segment 4 (52:15) - Bold Predictions recap with The Sidekick pulling off a rare feat

SANDOS AND THE SIDEKICK TURNS 100!!!! Intro: The ETSU Men's Basketball team heads on the road to Lexington, Va. tonight to take on VMI in a return matchup of a tight contest at Freedom Hall earlier this year Segment 2 (17:20): Regular season games don't get much bigger than tonight's matchup between ETSU Women's Basketball and league-undefeated Mercer Segment 3 (34:50): Crazy Coach Thursday begs the question - should coaches quiet their own fans over the PA? Segment 4 (56:15): A visit with the man that provided as much coverage of FCS recruiting as humanly possible leading up to National Signing Day, as Brian McLaughlin of Hero Sports joins to talk national, SoCon, and ETSU Football classes

Intro: The guys take a step back to look at the macro picture of the Southern Conference Men's and Women's Basketball postseason Segment 2 (25:15): Recapping ETSU Men's Basketball's tight win over Citadel at Freedom Hall last night and ETSU Women's Basketball's hard fought comeback against Wofford Segment 3 (41:15): A preview of the ETSU men and Mercer, as well as the ETSU women who conclude their two-game road swing against a Furman team coming off a big win against Chattanooga that saw them take second-place from the Mocs Segment 4 (57:20): Bold Predictions with a heel turn on Tennessee featured from The Sidekick

The TL;DR version of the Multi-Divisional National Duals preview I released for the NWCA. The full text is available at the bottom of the show notes. If you'd like to SUPPORT THE SHOW and all the on-demand audio offerings, free newsletters and historical research AND you want to get some of that cool Compound gear, you can support this program by making a small monthly contribution to the network at patreon.com/mattalkonline. The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly supported by Compound Clothing. And if you haven't already, leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts. SUBSCRIBE TO SHORT TIME Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | Google Play Music | Spotify | iOS App | Android App | RSS GET DAILY WRESTLING NEWS! You like wrestling news, right? Of course you do. Did you know you can sign up for FREE to subscribe to the Mat Talk Online DAILY WRESTLING NEWS e-mail newsletter that's published EVERY morning with the previous day's top news stories from outlets all around the globe. It's free and it's a great way to start your wrestling day. Louisville, Kentucky – With nearly 320 wrestlers from 84 teams converging this weekend on the Kentucky Expo Center and Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, the name Mat Mayhem remains an adequate descriptor of what’s to come on January 4-5 as NUWAY hosts the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals presented by the United States Marine Corps and Defense Soap. Five different collegiate wrestling divisions will come to Louisville for the first time in a dual meet advancement format to crown a national dual meet champion as the draws were also released on Wednesday. This year’s field features 65 ranked teams, with the three of the five divisions competing in 16-team brackets. Division III will stage a 24-team bracket, while the women’s teams, which compete in the Olympic freestyle style, compete in a 12-team bracket. Brackets & Event Links Division II (PDF | Web) – Division III (PDF | Web) – NAIA (PDF | Web) NJCAA (PDF | Web) – Women (PDF | Web) WHAT: NUWAY hosts the 2019 NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals presented by the Marines and Defense Soap WHEN: January 4-5, 2019 WHERE: Freedom Hall & Exhibition Hall – Kentucky Expo Center, Louisville, Kentucky TICKETS: All-Session Adult ($45), All-Session Student ($25); Single Day Adult ($25), Single Day Student ($17). WATCH: Trackwrestling.com (PPV) / Fox College Sports (Tape Delay) INFO: bit.ly/MatMayhem2019 SOCIAL: #MatMayhem COMPETING TEAMS: Division II (16): Central Oklahoma, Fort Hays State, Gannon, Indianapolis, Limestone, Lindenwood, McKendree, Nebraska-Kearney, Notre Dame College, Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill, St. Cloud State, Upper Iowa, UW-Parkside, West Liberty, Wheeling Jesuit Division III (24): Augsburg, Augustana (Ill.), Baldwin Wallace, Centenary, Chicago, Coe, Greensboro, Heidelberg, Ithaca, Johns Hopkins, Johnson & Wales, Luther, Millikin, Mount Union, Olivet, Roger Williams, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Whitewater, Wabash, Wartburg, Westminster, WPI, York (Pa.) NAIA (16): Baker, Bethany (Kan.), Campbellsville, Grand View, Indiana Tech, Life, Lindsey Wilson, Marian, Midland, Missouri Valley, Providence (Mont.), Southeastern, Southern Oregon, U. of the Cumberlands, Williams Baptist, York (Neb.). NJCAA (16): Barton, Cowley, Harper, Itasca, Jamestown (N.Y.), Joliet, Labette, Muskegon, Nassau CC, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Northwest Kansas Tech, Rochester (Minn.), Southwestern Oregon, Spartanburg Methodist, Triton, Western Wyoming Women (12): Campbellsville, Emmanuel, Gannon, King, Life, Lyon, McKendree, Missouri Valley, Nassau CC, Southern Oregon, U of the Cumberlands, Wayland Baptist Here is a breakdown of what to look for in each respective division. Division II Top Bracket St. Cloud State is looking to win its third straight National Duals crown and a fifth overall. Currently riding a Division II-best 35-match win streak, the Huskies will be the top seed and open with Seton Hill in a rematch of last year’s final which St. Cloud State won 41-0. The Huskies (7-0) also bring a Division II-best eight nationally ranked wrestlers to Louisville, led by top-ranked 125-pounder and 2016 NCAA Division II champion Brett Velasquez and top-ranked 197-pounder Vince Dietz, a Division II runner-up a year ago. The winner of the dual will face the winner of the Upper Iowa-West Liberty dual in the quarterfinals. Upper Iowa, seeded eighth, has four nationally ranked wrestlers to contend with, led by Justin Foley at 133 and Dalton Hahn at 184 pounds. The pair comes in ranked seventh. There’s one matchup between ranked foes that could take place and that’s at 197 pounds where West Liberty’s Logan Kemp is ranked seventh and Upper Iowa returning All-American Nick Baumler is ranked No. 12. Despite its amazing wrestling tradition, the Mountain Cats of Pitt-Johnstown have never finished higher than third at the National Duals. That third-place finish came back in 2016 and longtime coach Pat Pecora’s squad will come to Louisville with five ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked returning Division II national champion Chris Eddins at 149 pounds. The Mountain Cats open with Fort Hays State, which has placed in the top eight just once in school history. Coach Chas Thompson’s team finished fifth back in 2014. The key matchup is a possible national final at 133 pounds as 2017 All-American Brandon Ball is ranked second for Fort Hays State, while UPJ counters with third-ranked Joey Alessandro. The winner of this dual will advance to the quarterfinals to face either Indianapolis or No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney. While Nebraska-Kearney is ranked No. 1 in Division II, that ranking is based on a tournament point projection by how teams’ individual wrestlers are slotted in the rankings. The Division II Coaches Association seeded the National Duals based on dual strength as each region had a representative submit their votes for the top eight seeds. The Lopers will face a UIndy team that could make things interesting as the Greyhounds have three ranked wrestlers in the mix. The Lopers boast a pair of top-ranked wrestlers – Matt Malcolm at 157 and Calvin Ochs at 165. The top matchup comes at heavyweight as UIndy’s Dylan Faulkenberg comes in ranked third, ahead of returning All-American and fifth-ranked Jarrod Hinrichs. Bottom Bracket Third-seeded Notre Dame College is loaded again as the Falcons have five ranked wrestlers and return All-Americans Kelan McKenna (133), Tony Vezzetti (184) and Kameron Teacher (285). They’ll face UW-Parkside, which returns All-Americans Airk Furseth (133) and James Lehman, who was an All-American at 197 last season, but has competed at 184 this year. The winner will advance to face either No. 6 Lindenwood or Wheeling Jesuit. While Seton Hill was the unseeded team making a run to the finals last year, the year prior, it was Wheeling Jesuit that crashed the party. The Cardinals again find themselves unseeded, opening up with No. 6 Lindenwood. With 11 wrestlers ranked between the two teams and three matches head-to-head involving ranked wrestlers, the key for advancing in this tight dual will be bonus points. Third-ranked Carlos Jacquez of Lindenwood has been on fire recently, winning the Midwest Classic. He’ll face fifth-ranked Cole Laya. Danny Swan was a solid fifth at the Midwest Classic and he’ll match-up with returning All-American Tyler Warner of Wheeling Jesuit at 133. The dual could come down to a pair of ranked heavyweights as Wheeling Jesuit has a strong presence with returning national champion Terrance Fanning. Lindenwood can counter with 11th-ranked Courvosier Morrow. The rest of that quarter bracket involves seventh-seeded Central Oklahoma squaring off with Gannon and second-seeded McKendree drawing Limestone to open the round. UCO has placed in the top eight 15 times and was a 2002 winner of the event. The Bronchos (yes, with an h) have three ranked individuals, while Gannon’s top individual is fifth-ranked George McGuire at 157 pounds. McKendree is a solid No. 2 seed and the Bearcats are looking to set a new program record for highest men’s finish. The team finished fifth in 2017, while the school’s women’s program has two National Duals runner-up finishes to its credit. McKendree has been bolstered by the availability of Michael Pixley, a past NAIA national champion who transferred from Grand View and had previously been an NAIA finalist at Lindsey Wilson. With no ranked wrestlers, Limestone will have a monumental task ahead of itself should the Saints want to be this season’s Cinderella. Division II Ranked Wrestlers/Matchups #1 St. Cloud State vs. Seton Hill 125: #1 Brett Velasquez (SCSU) 133: #11 Garrett Vos (SCSU) 141: #9 Travis Swanson (SCSU) 149: #2 James Pleski (SCSU) 157: #7 Jake Barzowski (SCSU) 165: #4 Devin Fitzpatrick (SCSU) 174: #3 Kolton Eischens (SCSU) 197: #1 Vince Dietz (SCSU) #8 Upper Iowa vs. West Liberty 125: #10 Maleek Williams (UIU) 133: #7 Justin Foley (UIU) 184: #7 Dalton Hahn (UIU) 197: #12 Nick Baumler (UIU) vs. #7 Logan Kemp (WLU) #5 Pitt-Johnstown vs. Fort Hays State 141: #3 Joey Alessandro (UPJ) vs. #2 Brandon Ball (FHSU) 149: #1 Chris Eddins (UPJ) 157: #4 Efe Osaghae (FHSU) 165: #9 Devin Austin (UPJ) 174: #7 Brock Biddle (UPJ) 197: #6 Levi Niebauer (UPJ) #4 Nebraska-Kearney vs. Indianapolis 125: #2 Josh Portillo (UNK) 141: #4 Jon Killingsworth (UNK) 149: #7 Jacob Wasser (UNK) vs. #9 Kyle Barkovich (UIndy) 157: #1 Matt Malcolm (UNK) 165: #1 Calvin Ochs (UNK) 184: #5 Zach Stodden (UNK) vs. #8 Brody Connor (UIndy) 285: #3 Dylan Faulkenberg (UIndy) vs. #5 Jarrod Hinrichs (UNK) #3 Notre Dame College vs. UW-Parkside 125: #11 Joe Arroyo (UWP) 133: #2 Kelan McKenna (NDC) vs. #10 Airk Furseth (UWP) 141: #8 Jose Rodriguez (NDC) 174: #6 Cornell Beachem (NDC) 184: #2 Tony Vezzetti (NDC) vs. #11 James Lehman (UWP) 285: #1 Kameron Teacher (NDC) #6 Lindenwood vs. Wheeling Jesuit 125: #3 Carlos Jacquez (LU) vs. #5 Cole Laya (WJU) 133: #3 Tyler Warner (WJU

Intro: A look back at ETSU Men's Basketball's home opener at Freedom Hall, a 109-44 win over Hiwassee to improve to 1-1 on the season ahead of a big contest v. Creighton Segments 2 & 3 (13:30) - ETSU Football redshirt seniors Austin Herink and Matt Thompson discuss their journey with the Bucs, their long history, and where the program is headed Segment 4 (55:15) - Bold Predictions in which The Sidekick is furious at Jalen Rose about the lack of respect, and completely biased takes, on Zion Williamson and the Fab 5 (respectively)

This month we explore Sewoon Sangga, the concrete megastructure that has survived half a century of change in Seoul and is now the subject of a revitalization effort like no other. Originally commissioned by Seoul mayor Kim Hyon-ok (nicknamed "The Bulldozer") and designed by famed architect Kim Swoo-Geun (known for works like the Olympic Stadium, the SPACE Building, and the Freedom Hall), Sewoon Sangga opened in 1968 as Korea's first large development mixing both commercial and residential space. Now, with the eight original buildings reduced to seven and much of the business for its electronics shops lost to other parts of the city — but plenty of activity still going on in its labyrinthine interior and on it wraparound public decks — the Dashi Seun (or "built again") project is rethinking, remodeling, and augmenting Sewoon Sangga for the 21st century in an effort to bring together the expertise of the older generation already there with the enthusiasm of the younger generation of "makers" only just discovering the place.

UK great Dan Issel dropped by the studio to talk about the NBA 2 Louisville movement. He discussed investors, possible NBA expansion, support from the Mayor’s office, working with the University of Louisville, Freedom Hall, and more.

Bellarmine takes on Cincy TONIGHT! Freedom Hall memories with WDRB's Eric Crawford . World Series talks with Greg Galiette from the Louisville Bats. Jim Boeheim disgusted with the firing of Pitino and Jurich. New UofL basketball asst coach Greg Paulus.

More boxing comes to Freedom Hall! Bellarmine Coach Scotty Davenport announces basketball game against Cincinnati at Freedom Hall! WDRB's Eric Crawford previews Clemson game. Dan Karrell from LouCity FC talks soccer.

In this episode you're going to see just how dark things can get as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. You will see my life as a young person growing up, into adulthood, and into my married life. This is a very personal episode and although it will get dark, you will see where the light came from in a very unexpected way that helped us to eventually exit the cult. Resources Mentioned: Driven To Distraction - Edward Hallowell and James Ratey Direct Download Here [expand title="Click Here To Show Transcript"]   [00:01:51] So after the last two episodes you should have a good idea of the influences that were put upon me. And of course other Jehovah's Witnesses though obviously when you're young and you're in your formative years these things weigh heavily on your mind and heart. I myself was also always kind of the kid that took things very seriously. It's just the way I'm wired and I pay attention to words and words have always had a lot of meaning to me. For example when I was really little my grandpa told me that he was going to take me to the circus.   [00:02:24] He said we're going to have a ball. Well when he showed up without a ball I was crushed. I didn't know what the circus would be like but I thought that he was going to bring a ball and whether it was a baseball or basketball. When those rubber bouncy balls whatever that was always my favorite toy. So he said we'd have a ball. And then he didn't produce one. So as a tiny child I had no frame of reference for this phrase that he used and he had to buy me a ball before we could go to the circus.   [00:02:58] So you know take that child. And I guess you know I don't know maybe it was just me. Maybe it's most children that you tell something like that. When reading this propaganda that Jehovah's Witnesses produce. When I was at meetings and it was being fed to me from the platform I took it all in and took it very seriously. After all I was told that this meant my life and my happiness. I've already spoken as to how my life changed when I was eight or nine and my parents became witnesses and things changed at home and at school. And now I've laid out the fog and what I was living in as far as the teachings and the structure of what was expected of us goes. But now I'm going to kind of chart my course as a young Jehovah's Witness growing up into adulthood so that you can see the progression of things. And as promised I'm going to get to an event in 2008 something that just came out of absolutely nowhere that set my life on a different course a much healthier one. I had no clue that that was going to be the beginning of the end for a lot of things for me at that time. As a kid in the creation I took my first steps as a young Jehovah's Witness by going out in the field ministry with my parents at first just accompanying them to the doors and then later I would get a knock on the doors myself and give presentations.   [00:04:24] Kids are awesome little weapons for witnesses to use at the door because let's face it who's going to turn away a cute little kid in a suit or a dress that is offering some sort of well at the time it was cheap and now it's free literature. So when you look at it kind of like cements to this child that this door to door ministry thing is actually pretty cool and easy.   [00:04:46] People like you and they appreciate you coming to their door when you're cute and you're well-dressed you know they'll look at you and say oh you know look at how well-behaved he is and things like that. You place magazines with them and you feel good.   [00:05:05] So then I became an unbaptized publisher. This is where the organization started to get more of a grip on me because you start being able to turn in field service reports of your time and literature placements even though you aren't yet an official baptized Witness. You kind of almost feel like you're cheating. It's like a cheat code. You start feeling like you're the real deal. You meet with two elders in a back room and they ask you a few questions to make sure that you're a morally upright person and that you're you can represent the organization publicly. I'm pretty sure honestly most of the questions probably don't even apply to a little kid. But you know it's a big deal it makes you feel like you're doing something. My parents were still studying with me. I was going to all the meetings developing as a young minister going out publicly declaring the truth. And then I started feeling pressured to get baptized. Now in order to get baptized it's called actually dedication and baptism. So first you're expected to dedicate yourself to God Jehovah in prayer water immersion or baptism is the public symbol that a person has dedicated their life to Jehovah or more accurately Jehovah's Witnesses in prayer. The funny thing is they act like that's between you and God. But in order to get baptized even though you prayed and dedicated yourself to God you first have to go over these baptism questions with three elders in the congregation. They would determine if you are ready for baptism not some prayer between you and God.   [00:06:45] So there's a book and in the back of our questions for baptism you pore over these questions reading cited material and scriptures. You have to meet with three elders one for each section to show that you have a working knowledge of the truth and what they want you to have a working knowledge of. Most Jehovah's Witnesses remember who those three brothers were. It's a very personal thing. I remember the three who met with me. However one thing that I remember is that even as a child I realized that I was smarter than some of them and it made me wonder about some things. For instance a good sign that any Jaida of making the truth their own which is another Jehovah's Witness time making the truth your own. Or as I like to call it dub speak for brainwashing and that it's working if you could answer these questions in your own words not from reading from one of their publication that shows that you have made the truth your own well there's one elder in particular that would ask me questions and what I would answer them in my own words he would tell me that I was wrong and then give a simplified version of my answer.   [00:08:00] Word for word out of some publication like he didn't get it when I put it in my own words. It was a little disconcerting even as a kid. Here I was basically going for extra credit and it was over his head and he was an elder. I thought I was going to fail and not be able to get baptized because he wasn't the brightest person ultimately though those three brothers got together after going over the questions with me they discussed my worthiness even though I'd already dedicated myself to God in prayer and then they decided what was between me and God was cool with them and approved me in his absence. So   [00:08:37] I was able to go get baptized on July 4th 1990 to 14 years old. I was officially baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses at the district convention that summer at Freedom Hall in Louisville Kentucky. It was in front of probably 10 to 12000 people. Scientologists like to talk about their billion year contract or whatever but I just locked in a forever contract between me and Jehovah's witnesses they're going to have a billion years. I call it infinity on it. Things started to change after that. As a baptized brother I was now expected to pray publicly at the meetings to either open or close them as they say a prayer before and after every meeting. So I did that at times. I started getting more talks at the meetings instead of just the bible readings for five minutes. Sometimes I would be given a subject and develop a talk around that subject and give that for five minutes. I forgot to mention this before but after each person gave their talk they were actually graded on it publicly from the platform. By that the Kraddick Ministry School conductor you were always given something to work on like hallways or gestures logical and coherent development and so on. If you didn't do well you would be told to work on it again. Or if you did you'd be given something else to work on. There is always something you could be doing better.   [00:10:02] I was given responsibilities in the congregation like handing out magazines that people would order taking orders from people keeping him in story. I'd help my dad count the money that was donated after the meetings to sign off on it before he took it to the bank. I cut the grass at the Keenum hall every few weeks when it was our turn. I clean the Kingdom Hall after field service on Saturdays when it was our turn. When there was a convention we would volunteer to do something at it. Maybe it was cleaning or do some Once we did security at night and kind of like stayed overnight. We never really took vacations. But once or twice I do remember us taking a long weekend to go to unassigned territory to help some congregation out. For those who are unfamiliar with the term that means that some congregations often in rural areas couldn't cover the large area that they had to cover. Maybe they had an entire county or maybe there wasn't even a congregation nearby so groups would form from different congregations and they would go down to these areas that were never hit with our message and we can go on an all out blitz and spread the truth in that area. I guess that was our idea of a vacation. So in addition to meetings three times a week for five hours spending back then probably 10 to 20 hours a month or more knocking on doors and going to school. There were all these other things that I just mentioned that I had to prepare for and do as a young Jehovah's Witness.   [00:11:31] Oh and it's so hard to capture all the things that I actually forgot to mention the most important day of the year for Jehovah's Witnesses. It is the memorial of Christ death the one observance that Jehovah's Witnesses have once a year they get together after sundown on the day that corresponded with his Last Supper and his death and they will do the whole bread and wine thing. Only they don't partake of any of it. We just literally sit there and pass it around to each other in you know the wine goblets. Or on a little plate for the unleavened bread according to Jehovah's Witnesses there are two groups of people that are going to live forever. One the vast majority will live on a paradise earth. Remember they kind of believe it's going to go back to the Garden of Eden that that was God's original purpose and he's going to fulfill that. And then the other group will be one hundred and forty four thousand anointed ones that will rule as kings and priests in heaven with Jesus over that paradise earth.   [00:12:33] Now how do you know if you're one of that anointed heavenly class you just know they say I think that God's Spirit speaks with yours and if you are you and you alone can partake of those emblems at the memorial. Now most corrugations don't actually have any anointed ones that will partake. This was our one ceremony that we did a Jehovah's Witnesses and we passed around the bread and we passed around the wine and we just sat there appreciating all that had been given for us to have the hope of salvation. I know that's not exactly on topic but I mean I'd feel bad if I'd left that out it was. There was one thing that we did each year that was special to us. It was I guess it is kind of like our one holiday or whatever you want to call it.   [00:13:24] It was a it was a solemn occasion it was to be taken very seriously now but there was joy because this was what gave us our hope. The death of Jesus Christ and this thing that he instituted there was actually also a large public outreach to the community.   [00:13:44] When that comes every year in the spring you'll see Jehovah's Witnesses going door to door just leaving these little invitations for everybody to come to the memorial service. All right. Now back to my story. You know once I turn 16 Things started changing even more. I was actually given a car to another brother at the Kingdom Hall. It didn't run but I got it to run. It was a rusted out beater but it was my first car and I loved it. I hated being at home because of my dad and I knew that a car was my gateway to freedom so I got a job working part time at a Wendy's near my house that I could walk to save up money fix the car got my license and with that came some measure of sanity and distance from my family. Obviously I didn't have a ton of time with you know all that being a witness entailed but at least I could you know drive to meetings by myself or go out in the service by myself or even you know do so with my friends. I didn't have to be at home or honestly be around my dad for the most part and I would do just about anything not to have to. Actually I even still walk to work because it took longer than driving.   [00:14:59] So it would save me time for having to be there with that car I was now able to auxilary pioneer in the summer months when we were off school. So I signed up to spin basically 60 hours a month and I signed up for June July and August to go knock on doors. I wanted to be a good Jehovah's witness and was told that I was setting a great example for other young people in the congregation. I liked that praise it was about all I got so it was a feeling that I was doing something right. I started being asked to read from the platform at the meetings and in the private homes that we went to for book studies. So I would sit up there with the conductor and I would read all of the paragraphs of whatever book or whatever lesson from the Watchtower we were being indoctrinated with that day.   [00:15:51] It's funny because you know although things were changing even throughout my childhood life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses is kind of like that movie Groundhog Day where every day is the same. I have to say at that point I was fully and truly brainwashed. I was 100 percent in and I was 100 percent certain that we had the truth.   [00:16:18] I had a lot going on but I also started to develop some good friends. Once I got my car I was able to go out and actually get my friends and do things I was kind of one of the first to have a car. We usually just you know went out and played sports. I loved basketball and football. I would play those all day if I could. Honestly I'll never forget that time.   [00:16:42] It was one of the best of my life. Not necessarily the the Jaida stuff that was going along with it but I had friends and we were we were pretty tight.   [00:16:52] We go to movies we went fishing we just hanging out playing video games. Just it was it was an awesome time.   [00:17:03] I kind of felt like at that point I felt like I really belong. It was great it was a great feeling. Now I've already mentioned that I graduated high school and turned down college to regular pioneer but I haven't mentioned yet is that Jehovah's Witnesses even pressure you to have a certain type of car. All the ex witnesses now will shake their heads. You had to have a good service car. You see you want to have a Ford or a car or.   [00:17:32] I mean if you're really spiritual You might even have a minivan so that you can use it to drive everyone around out in field service Well it was a good thing that the car I was given had four doors because that's what I needed for this period of my life and I was a regular pioneer. The only problem is that I always drove and nobody ever chipped in for gas or where tire anything. Eventually my car died. I was working several part time jobs going out knocking on doors for 90 hours a month still doing all the Jadot stuff. I was then appointed as a ministerial servant in the corrugation one step up from where I was as a regular publisher a regular brother in the congregation but also one step under being an elder. I guess you could say I was I was on my way. I conducted various parts at the meetings. I gave talks I ran the literature department I ran the magazines I helped with the sound department.   [00:18:34] Oh yeah.   [00:18:35] And I was also pioneering doing all the regular JTA stuff and working three part time jobs each month as a ministerial servant I would have shepherding calls to go on a shepherding call is a term for essentially the elders in each congregation are supposed to call on ones that need help each month. That's why you know so I like look through your field service reports and say oh this brother here didn't go out last month. We need to go encourage him and have a shepherding call or you know I heard Sister so-and-so is depressed and you know we should go see her what I kind of realized was that a lot of times these calls didn't actually happen when they did it seemed like we only ever saw the same people. Lots of people never even get such a call. Some people feel intimidated by these calls and think that like the elders are coming to you know get them in some sort of trouble which is kind of funny and know just hit me while I'm talking about it. And this shows that the control of the authoritarian regime of sorts in a congregation where even the shepherding calls that were supposed to be of encouragement. They were supposed to be just coming to tell you what a great person you are and give you some something of building from the Scriptures. And most people were terrified of having these shepherding calls.   [00:20:04] So it really kind of shows you know the attitude and the device and the division between the elders in the congregation and the rest of their supposed flock that they're basically afraid of the elders eventually you know through working all these jobs and doing all this stuff I burned out I stopped pioneering. I was out of money. Car was broken. I was going into debt trying to get another car. A little cheap car to drive around. I kept praying to Jehovah for help. I mean here I am supposedly doing all the right things and everything is going wrong. Of course that's not a lack of Jehovah's help that's Satan bringing me down. So you know here I was trying to do all the right things and Satan was just putting up all these obstacles in my path.   [00:21:01] I ended up stepping down as a ministerial servant too. I just I burned out so hard. I needed to go back to square one to start again. Of course when when you step down from any of these positions they even announce that from the platform.   [00:21:17] And so you know just like if you were disfellowshipped they'd say brother so-and-so is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses if you're no longer an elder or a pioneer or a ministerial servant they will go up on stage and let everyone know brother so-and-so is no longer serving as an elder or in my case a ministerial servant and a pioneer in the creation which I honestly like whenever something like that is said it kind of cast a pall over you. Like people start looking at you different. It's not it's not that you're just burned out. There must be something wrong with you. Anyway this is a big deal for me. It was you know one of the first issues of cognitive dissonance I had already always heard these stories these virtual miracles that were performed when people prayed to do the right thing and how Joe would swoop in and make it work out somehow but it wasn't happening for me. You know here I was doing all the right things. I was praying intently to Jehovah and nothing was happening for me. For me it just meant me working more and more hours you know doing something pioneering or whatever that I was absolutely miserable in.   [00:22:28] And I gave up so much to do this. Where was God. Where was my help from hell. I would push it down in China to think about it or think that you know maybe it just wasn't part of his plan for me. But I tried so hard I just couldn't make it work. And I wasn't getting help from anyone and certainly not God. At 19 or 20 I just went ahead. I had the money. I moved out of one side of a duplex. Things were starting to change though as I got older and time passed. Friends started leaving the organization and so I was you know starting to miss some of the people that I had been friends with.   [00:23:11] People would just grow apart or you know get busy. I mean this happens with everybody you know as you get older. People grow apart they get busy they get jobs they have families whatever. You know we weren't kids anymore. We had responsibilities. And so in the end I ended up with more time alone and to be honest I didn't like it all that much. Looking back now I can see that I probably didn't really like myself very much. I was bullied relentlessly in school not just because I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses and was different in that way. But I was also a super skinny kid with terrible clothes from thrift stores. I wore glasses. I made good grades so you know then I was the nerd and I didn't really have any friends.   [00:23:59] So the cult identity was really all I had. Even though I was a very independent thinker in other aspects of life I don't remember a lot but I do remember that that feeling that I was pretty lonely another aspect of this is when you're doing all the right things in the congregation when you're that young pioneer that is a ministerial servant too. Everyone thinks you're awesome and likes you. But when you aren't any more you are nothing to them. It's like you have fallen off your pedestal. I remember watching my dad during the period where he was no longer an elder. And I mean he was always super depressed anyway. But I guess he was even more super depressed because all that he had was that role where people admired him in the congregation. That's all he ever really seemed to care about. Again he was a different person there.   [00:24:59] And it was taken away from him.   [00:25:02] I mean he wasn't happy at the meetings anymore which he used to be. But of course later he was reappointed an elder for whatever reason and things went back. He was happy at the meetings again and playing that role. But it was something that I noticed even back then that that changed that that would occur in people for me I decided that I needed a fresh start. I prayed about things and said that I would try out congregations across the river in Indiana and if I found one that I liked I'd go there. I ended up trying and liking the Charlestown congregation. It was a good distance from where I grew up controversial as far as some of that territory went. So it was different and I like that idea a total change. People were friendly to me. Of course I didn't realize at that time that there is a term used for Colts called love bombing. It's something they tend to do when a new person comes in everyone loves them they love bomb them and they overwhelm you with how happy they are that you're going to be a part of their group and that lasts for a little while and goes away. And then oftentimes they go on to somebody else. Now I always knew a lot of people but I always struggled to make real friends or maybe I just always had a distorted view of friendship. But it's always been hard for me to fit in or I don't know maybe I did fit in but just didn't feel it. Anyway I got to know a new group of young people.   [00:26:43] I remember getting invited to go camping once with this group. We went out with a big group. There was a mix of young people and older ones. Some were even elders in the corrugations it was people from several local congregations that all got together. People were drinking. And although I've never been one to drink at all because I've been told that alcoholism runs in my family.   [00:27:08] I don't care if other people drink if they drink and enjoy themselves more power to them. But I was watching people drink some getting maybe a little tipsy which really at least in the call. You're not supposed to do. And then all of a sudden a bunch of these young people ran out into the woods. I thought I don't know. I didn't understand why. I thought maybe they were playing a game or something. But what happened is a ranger showed up and he was checking people's IDs to make sure they were old enough to drink. Here I was camping with elders that brought booze and we're giving it to young people who were under age. And I guess everybody knew this was going to go down. And it's something that they did all the time and they just ran off because they didn't want to get caught. You see the higher I climbed on any ladder in the organization or the more I got to go out with people to see who they really were the more I realize that the man behind the curtain wasn't what he claimed to be they looked one way but weren't necessarily that way it was just an appearance.   [00:28:13] I knew that some things were like you know my dad giving talks about happy family lives while being a miserable family man. But I didn't know the extent of other things that were going on.   [00:28:26] There was a get together one time at a well-known farm that I went to I played basketball I had a great time. But while I was playing basketball I would noticed that young people were kind of pairing off and going into the woods together. I might see two young ladies walk off and two young guys and so on. Well it wasn't long after that an announcement started to be made at the. You know that this person was reproved or this person was disfellowshipped or whatever. So I started realizing that things were what they were made out to be. Now I was a true Jehovah's Witness through and through and I did know plenty who were. But there was always this like seedy underbelly of things going on. Most of the time I'm sure I had no clue about around this time. I actually started dating. Now let me take a minute here to explain Jadot dating to you first you must always have a chaperone and they must be a reasoning age. In other words you can't just go take a little kid with you on your date and send them off to go play while you two are alone. No. I don't care if you are 20 years old or 50 years old.   [00:29:46] You must have a chaperon at all times. There are many more sisters than there are brothers so brothers have more to choose from. That sounds gross to say it that way but that's kind of how how it was depending on who you were. Especially dating is to only be undertaken with a view to marriage even engagement engagement is a vow. And what you vow you must pay. So breaking off an engagement is scandalous.   [00:30:21] Personally I was super shy. And if you remember brothers and sisters in my congregation didn't really associate. I had no clue how to talk to a girl much less approach one. I would have never even had the courage to ask anyone out.   [00:30:37] With all the bullying that I had endured my self-esteem was my self-esteem was pretty much in the toilet.   [00:30:45] Well one day somebody at my Kingdom Hall told me that there was a girl up in Seymour that I needed to meet. I had had this happen to me previously twice and neither time did it go well but I figured what the heck. I had nothing to lose so I went up to meet her. Of course we met where many Jaida meet at Hurricane Hall because everything revolves around being a witness.   [00:31:10] I stay the day with her and her family and that kind of started things off. Her parents were nice to me.   [00:31:16] I worked pressure washing jobs in a winter and it would get so slow that I could sometimes stay up and see more with her and her family.   [00:31:25] I would sleep on their couch and we would get to spend time together don't worry. There was always a chaperone. She had four younger sisters. Her mom and her dad all in a two bedroom house so there wasn't anything going on there. There was hardly a moment to breathe without a small child jumping on you.   [00:31:46] There wasn't much to do. Her parents wouldn't let us go out much so all we really did was talk and get to know each other. It wasn't ideal but it really forced us to discuss life and how we saw things. And look I mean I was 22. She was 19 so it's not like we had a lot of depth.   [00:32:05] I had at least lived on my own but she was super sheltered.   [00:32:10] She was even home schooled in high school so as not to have to deal with worldly kids. So basically all she knew was that little environment in her home. Her parents although nice to me didn't seem to like me or maybe they just didn't want her to grow up and leave. Which was something they made pretty clear in different ways. At one point they had my parents. My parents went up there and thought they were just going to hang out and really they were trying to get my parents to go along with them in breaking us up. I don't know if they thought we were stupid or if their house wasn't big and we could hear them talking in the kitchen. I mean they were right there. My mom later told me anyway what they had said and discussed. My parents saw me as an adult and had no say in whatever I did hers on the other hand were extremely controlling and she had to live there.   [00:33:02] So such was our dating life. We met in November of 1999 in January of 2000. We were talking one day about marriage and that's again what this was all for.   [00:33:17] We decided that we wanted to get married so I went out one day and bought her a ring. Now I know this is crazy romantic. Actually it wasn't. There was no allowance for any of that in this situation. Her oldest sister got the kids out of the living room for a couple of minutes and I proposed. We were now engaged that that's all we had we wanted to go out and eat dinner to celebrate but her father had slaved over a pot of hamburger gravy and threw a fit like a petulant child that we wanted to go out and not eat what he had worked so hard for. So we ended up eating his stupid hamburger gravy. He didn't want her and would not let her leave the house that night. I do envy those that have great stories about their dating and their engagement. But that was not us. I have a story. We have a story but it's not a very great one. I'm the kind of person who loves putting together surprises for people and would have probably come up with something elaborate I love doing that stuff. But there was just no opportunity with the situation we had to deal with anyway. In   [00:34:31] March of 2000 we were married in the Charlestown Kingdom Hall so there wasn't very long in between. It was a simple ceremony there were maybe 100 or so in attendance and afterward there was no reception. We went to a restaurant though and did eat with some family and a few close friends. Yes. If you noticed we were married roughly four months after meeting. It's been over 17 years now.   [00:34:58] We knew what we wanted. We didn't see a reason then waiting. And I'm like a lot of Jehovah's witnesses especially those that get married young. We didn't just get married to have sex. We watched so many do that and get divorced in a few years. We were both the type of people who sat back and watched other people's misery and try to not repeat it. For us the attitude of being willing to work together at life and to enjoy it. That was more important than anything. We were so poor when we first got married. Actually thinking back I think that first year I pay taxes on like I don't know something ridiculous under the poverty level. It's like $10000 or something. I have worked a job reading meters and getting chased by dogs all day. Actually the money at that wasn't bad. But she would stay home and clean the house over and over with nothing else to do. We had like no clue how to how to do life together. I came home one day and asked her if I could quit my job. I was absolutely traumatized from being chased by a pit bulls and rottweilers all day and just could not take it anymore. She was fine with it but I had never quit a job without having another one lined up before so I wasn't really fine with it but I just couldn't take it anymore. The day that I quit there was one woman meter reader that works with us and she had gotten mauled in the chest and required reconstructive surgery. That was it for me.   [00:36:39] Almost everyone there had been bitten at least one time but me.   [00:36:43] I knew it was inevitable and I just could not mentally handle it anymore. My wife's side of things.   [00:36:51] She had been home schooled for high school and her.   [00:36:59] Her mom actually used her being home.   [00:37:05] My wife ended up watching her youngest sister a lot. In fact she was at one time referred to as little mommy by her sisters and her mom really kind of discouraged her from doing her school work. Would rather her sit and listen to her stories or go hang out with her at Wal-Mart or something like that so.   [00:37:30] So on my wife's side of things she didn't even have a full high school education. My goal was to help my wife get at least her GED so I told her you know we would need to at least get this for you because you know if you were ever if there was something happened to me and you needed to get a job you've got to at least have a high school equivalency. So I helped my wife get her GED. I we sat down and really I mean she knew everything she needed to know just needed a refresher on a few things. Except for the except for in math. So I helped her there I helped her with her math and so she was able to actually go and she took her GED. She passed it got a great grade on it and was super proud of that. She even went to her there called her parents and told them that she got her GED. They didn't really seem to care. But she was proud of that. So that was a good thing.   [00:38:39] So that it would give her more opportunities in the world. And you know everybody should should be able to accomplish that and feel good about it.   [00:38:49] There was a sister in an older congregation that needed some cleaners to clean banks and car dealerships that night. So we signed on for her and subcontracted and did that for a while.   [00:39:01] Eventually she lost her contracts. So we started our own cleaning business.   [00:39:05] We liked working together. We hated working nights. That was terrible. So we talked about it and decided that you know maybe we could clean apartments because apartments could be cleaned during the day and if you could get an apartment complex it's not like you're not like getting a house where you clean one house when you get an apartment complex you're cleaning all of their turnovers each month so you might get you know many depending on the size of the apartment complex. So we had about $500 in the bank. We prayed about it of course because what you do about everything. We bought a few supplies bought some business cards. I had previously there was a point in my life about two or three years where I was a telemarketer and then I managed a marketing large marketing department for a company. And so I just sat down got the phone and started cold calling apartment complexes.   [00:40:04] I called five numbers got three appointments with the property managers and we landed two deals out of that. We've been cleaning professionally now for about 17 years together. Now we clean people's individual private homes. Now that was good but it wasn't all good.   [00:40:21] You see I had no clue how to handle money. Growing up poor you actually got a dollar you spent it because you never knew when you get another. I had a scarcity mindset for sure. Through and through my wife on the other hand had an abundance mindset. She had a very sheltered life. Never even had a television. But her dad actually made decent money. So she just knew that things got taken care of and she had no clue what the real world was like. She never had to handle money. She knew she needed something. It's not like she asked for a lot. Did you have a TV didn't know what like and didn't go to school so she didn't know what was in the real world. But if she needed something you know her parents had the money to get it for. So she kind of had a lot of growing up to do. I did too. I didn't know how to handle money and she did not care about money whatsoever.   [00:41:16] So I handled the finances and honestly I did a terrible job. I did our own taxes for the business and I messed up badly the first couple of years. I did not realize that we had to file self-employment tax which is a huge percentage. The majority of tax that you pay when you own your own self-employed business. The IRS did eventually catch it several years later and sent me a massive bill business was good though. At one point I had the largest property management firm locked down in little and my dad and one of my brothers worked for us. Then one day we showed up to find out that they had sold off all of their local properties to different companies and we lost about 60 percent of our business in one day. I had to let my brother go. I had to let my dad go and my wife and I had to scramble to put the business back together again. Actually I started a mobile auto detailing business out of thin air with no knowledge and no experience whatsoever. And it got us through the summer while we transition to cleaning residential homes and built the clientele.   [00:42:23] I also took some contract work performing inspections of properties for commercial mortgage doors while my wife was out cleaning houses. So we did what we needed to do. We cobbled enough things together to make the transition and hustle.   [00:42:40] So while all that's going on something else is about to happen. That was huge. I mean this is a monumental event in my life and I know one that was obviously such from my brother my I was the oldest in my family but my oldest younger brother had moved out of my parents house. And long story short he was this Fellowship's when he moved. I didn't know where he lived. And this is before he was his fellowship but I didn't know where he had lived but I found out where he moved to. I knew something was up but I didn't know what. So I found out the street that he lived on. So what I do I went knocking on doors. That's what I was good at right. And so I found him. I was concerned about him because we had been close. I mean those years where I felt lonely living on my own in that duplex. It was he and I we would often go out fishing and we'd have fun together. And now he just kind of like disappeared. So I found him we hung out a few times but I could tell something wasn't right.   [00:43:47] I was trying to encourage him but I could just tell that he just wanted to be left alone. As far as the whole Jaida thing is he was he was kind of choosing another path.   [00:43:59] Well one night at a meeting at the Kingdom Hall in the auditorium a particularly abrasive elder that I don't like a lot came up to me and said that he knew that I knew where my brother lived and that he wanted the address.   [00:44:14] I asked why. And then he said well you know the elders were concerned and they wanted to help them. I could tell that was not at all. I was upset and told them Well you know if you're wanted to help him that time to have done so was to show that you care like a long time ago.   [00:44:34] Not now. Like now it's too late. He clearly wants to do something else and now you care. To me it seemed like this wasn't so much caring about a person as it was wanting to punish a person. Well he got mad and demanded the address. So I gave him the illustration that they like to use a lot from the platform from the Bible about a shepherd that leaves his 99 sheep to go find that one lost sheep and told him to go find his sheep like I did if he cares so much and wants to help. I mean I found them. So you go find them. Well things got pretty nasty and heated and we were practically shouting at each other in the auditorium. And another elder kind of jumped in to intervene. Well they eventually found him. They waited outside his job if I remember correctly and served him with a letter to come to a judicial meeting a certain time and day. The kicker is if you don't show up to one of these meetings where you're requested you are disfellowshipped by default.   [00:45:42] My brother didn't want to have to deal with any of them. He just wanted to be left alone and go his own way. He was disfellowshipped instead. I can't imagine how horrible that was for him.   [00:45:56] So at that time I was forced into a position to have to shun the person that was probably my best friend even though at that point in particular we hadn't really we kind of gotten away from each other a little bit.   [00:46:10] We kind of gone our separate ways. I had moved away. On the other side of the river but it was really hard on me. I left notes on his car a few times I found out where he worked and I go leave a note on his car. But it was to no avail. In one I told him that since I had moved away from the arrogation that we grew up in I knew something was wrong with that one that we grew up in. Of course later in my life I find out it wasn't just that one. But anyway at that time I thought I knew the secret. You know there was just something messed up in his congregation I was trying to save him. I was grasping at straws to encourage him to come back.   [00:46:49] Eventually I heard though that he moved to New York and that was that he was gone. I was pretty devastated. My wife was pretty broken up over it.   [00:46:58] I was super depressed as I said before I was bad with money and I started feeling rich now that I was making you know anything about minimum wage. It didn't take much to make me feel wealthy when I came from nothing. Basically the way it worked out. I just wasn't saving for taxes. I just really had not figured that aspect out at all. And we already owed more money than I'd ever seen in my hand at the time. So I just kind of buried my head in the sand. I was overwhelmed. I didn't see any way out. So I self-medicated my depression and everything else by buying things and eating. When we got married I was six feet tall and 125 pounds soaking wet. I had tried everything to gain weight.   [00:47:46] I lifted weights I took weight gain a plenty and nothing works. Well the magic to gaining weight for me was depression and eating out constantly while working lots and at my heaviest I got to about 250. Well OK I got to 250 on the scale and then I stopped looking. So it wasn't just a tax that was ballooning so was my waistline. Oh and our marriage was terrible for a few years too. You see I was a narcissist trained by the best. My parents and the Colts I had been taught my whole life that other people were supposed to be just like me and my wife was nothing like me.   [00:48:28] She had grown up in a home where her dad would come home from work frustrated and look for excuses to hit her. He would get mad. Some kid had to do something wrong so that he could go take them back and spank them hit and then afterward he would feel bad and want to play. Now I die. I never hit her. Not that person but I'm sure that the person that I was triggered her we were two very unhappy people for at least a few years. It's hard to say now but honestly there were talks about going our separate ways. At one point we have a basement so we basically even lives in the house on separate levels. We just really were not getting along very well and honestly I mean I'll take that upon myself.   [00:49:18] It took both of us but I was certainly the aggressor in the situation I was certainly the one I was the narcissist.   [00:49:26] I was the one trying to make things a certain way and I just wasn't clicking in retrospect the reality was that when we got married we both were looking for something.   [00:49:43] And I was looking for a person that I could help. I've always liked helping other people in various ways unfortunately. Help can quickly become I'm the fixer and I am that that's who I am. I'm the fixer. Which is not always a good thing. And sometimes it goes too far. And my wife too when she was actually asked what she liked about me and one of the things that she liked was that I was very decisive.   [00:50:17] My wife didn't like to make decisions.   [00:50:21] So you can see right there that on some level we were kind of both getting what we asked for. She on one hand wanted someone to basically direct her life and I wanted someone whose life I could help guide. My goal was never to direct you know in every single way.   [00:50:44] The fact that I used to you know we had many discussions about this I wasn't I guess I wasn't a true true blue eyed narcissist. I just had some narcissistic tendencies because I realized that this was healthy. And it ended up the situation was that I needed to learn to step back and she needed to learn. You know if I did step back she needed to learn to step up. And so at that time we were too and matched and it really just wasn't a healthy situation. In fact at one point out of frustration I punched our refrigerator. It won sure I then add the freezer but I got a boxer's fracture out of it. I never broken anything in my life but I knew immediately that something was wrong. I had to go get that taken care of at a local immediate care center.   [00:51:38] I'm telling you these things because this is this is the reality. This is this is how things went. You know so let's just discuss it openly. I'm not proud of that. I'm not proud of that person that I was.   [00:51:53] But this is who I was this is who I became through not only my family of origin but the Colts. And I think that it was a very strong influence on all of this and my wife you know wasn't exactly proud of the ER isn't exactly proud in retrospect of the person you know she was at that time as well. She   [00:52:18] had her own issues that she brought from her own family of origin. I've already mentioned just a small example of what went on in their home. And so she she brought her own brand of dysfunction which of course is what we all do to any kind of a relationship. So but I'm just trying to speak more to my own responsibility here than anything.   [00:52:45] I know this is my story so I'm trying to speak more to that side. So at the time I was doing inspections which was lucky because I could do those with a cast on my hand if I was cleaning it would would've been a lot tougher.   [00:53:00] But if you know me I would have done it one way or the other. At some point we decided to take up our carpet in the house because we realized that we had hardwood under it. We checked the different corners it looked beautiful. Well when we took up our carpet we realized that the floors were eaten up in areas by termites and in other areas and have been urinated on so frequently by a dog or cat that someone owned before us that the wood was ruined.   [00:53:29] And my desperation to fix our financial state I decided to start selling things that boose and local pedlar's malls. We set up the booths and sold the peddler's mall then sold the things for us and we made a chunk of money well eventually we stopped because it just wasn't enough anymore. And now our house became flooded with unsold goods and large display cases like you may see at a jewelry store like I'm talking like large display cases the big glass ones where you might go to a department store and they have watches and jewelry in them. You had some of those. So let me paint the picture for you. Our house was now basically hoarded was stuff the floors were a disaster but you couldn't see them anymore from all the stuff that was piled on top of them. We took the living together in the basement to run away from it all tax debt was mounting. We were probably over 30000 at that point. Money that we didn't have and had no way to obtain. We weren't getting along in our marriage. Neither of us really had any friends to do anything with business had been a mess. We were starting to get back together. The one bright point we were still busy doing all the data things. Life was pretty ugly and not working out at all.   [00:54:51] In fact during this time I actually went to the elders in the current geisha that we attended. I asked for a meeting with them because I knew that our life was a disaster. And again I thought that everybody else had theirs together. So I went to the elders and I asked them sincerely at the time I had a few little things in the congregation that I was doing I was running the sound department and things. And I told them I said I just don't think I can run the sound department anymore.   [00:55:29] I don't think that I measure up to what it is that one of Jehovah's Witnesses should be in order to have a privilege like this and the creation of my life is a mess.   [00:55:41] I asked these elders I said look you know what is it like. I wish that that I could go live other people's lives or you know go be a fly on the wall of these other people's lives so that I could see what they were doing differently because my life was a disaster and I couldn't keep up with all of the quote spiritual things that I was supposed to do.   [00:56:05] I was having a hard time making all of the meetings much less handling all the responsibilities at the Kingdom Hall.   [00:56:11] I I couldn't do the personal study that I was supposed to do where was I going to find time for that or emotional energy so I asked these brothers you know what is it like what is the key and I'll never forget what they said because it was a pretty big moment for me.   [00:56:36] It really set me down a spiraling path that was even uglier than I was already on.   [00:56:44] And I'll explain here in a minute how dark it got. But one of the elders looked at me he said well basically it just comes down to you know what we do shows what we care about.   [00:57:02] So clearly he was basically telling me you don't care enough about this. He was telling me that the fault was mine.   [00:57:10] He made me feel even worse than I already felt you know here you had a chance to help me in some way and he did what Jehovah's Witnesses always do which is to moralize everything. Basically I was just a bad person. I didn't care enough. You know clearly I didn't know I was feeling terrible and actually coming to them and asking for help which should have shown that obviously I clearly cared. I was trying everything I could but to them I just didn't care enough. To make matters worse I had always had suicidal ideations since I was a kid.   [00:57:51] I will say that they started at some point after we became Jehovah's Witnesses which is something I've heard from others but I couldn't tell you for sure. Basically if I was walking down a street or walking down the sidewalk next to a street and this street was super busy I would like visualize myself walking out in front of a car just wondering what that would be like. And it's almost like there was something pushing me to do so. I don't know what it was. I hate my home life. I was bullied at school constantly and really all I had in the world was this cold where I fit in as a kid because I was a good kid and I did what I was told well by 2008.   [00:58:29] Those little voices in my head were screaming at me as hard as I was on my wife as a narcissist. I was even harder on myself. I was a raging perfectionist. There were standards to be met and by God you had better meet. And I had better meet them too. And those standards that I set from ourselves were impossibly high. I hated myself so much. I can't really express how deep it was. I would literally yell at myself to get it together. I would call myself names. I would cuss at myself. I would punish myself for not getting things done right. After all everyone else around me it seemed like at the Keenum all had it all together right.   [00:59:20] I mean that image of all these perfect lives. Contrast that mind that was just socking it just fueled me to keep reaching for perfection. It seemed like the harder I pushed the worse things got.   [00:59:34] It was a good thing that my wife and I worked together because it ultimately kept me from doing what I wanted to do and might have done if left alone. Now I never had a weapon in the house. I've never had a gun I've never shot a gun and it's probably a good thing because if I did I can almost guarantee you I would have put a bullet in my head. I can't tell you how many times when I was driving.   [01:00:01] I once had to run headfirst into a concrete wall or pillar or just off a bridge. I mean like these were little rage filled moments internally of complete self-loathing where I just wanted to punish myself for being a worthless piece of crap and for not being able to control my life while everyone else seemed to have theirs together. I saw no way out other than that it was super super dark.   [01:00:30] I hated myself no one else seemed to like me. I didn't get me neither did anyone else. The one person in life that I thought I fit in with my wife seemed to not get me. We were on totally opposite sides of the world. What was the point. I mean I was tormented every day. It seemed like if I ended it. It's not like I wanted to die but if I ended it somehow violently and in an act of hatred to myself I'm sure it just seemed like a fitting way to go out. It would just make it stop and ultimately that's what I wanted. Anything to make it stop well. I told you something happened that changed things for me. One little moments that lit the kindling of a fire that would burn bright for the next seven years.   [01:01:27] And so I burned my whole life down as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.   [01:01:33] I was on the computer as I often was escaping into online forums where I could fit in if just a moment. Sometimes it was just talking to other fans of the local college sports teams. Sometimes it was business subjects. I bounced all over the place. Well one day I was on a forum about small business as per usual. I was talking in circles about all my ideas and my frustrations because I couldn't execute on all of them some random guy on the forum posted on the forum that he'd like to send me a private message and asked if he could do so I said sure. That he did the contents of that private message would send me on a different course one that I never expected. Now here's where I thought about leaving you hanging until next week but I can't do that. I hate to be continued episodes of anything. I won't be able to detail this whole next chapter of my life in this episode it would take too long and we will get through it obviously but I can tell you what this guy said to me and now I also couldn't this is dark as it was it it turns out that this guy was a retired ADHD specialist and he saw something in me that led him to believe that I had ADHD.   [01:02:52] I'll admit that I personally thought that ADHD was a made up disease and excuse for bad parents to medicate their children so that they didn't have to control them themselves. But what did I have to lose by listening to this guy. I mean what was the alternative. Going out in a blaze of self-hatred. So he recommended that I read a book called Driven to Distraction from Dr. Edward Hallowell.   [01:03:17] That's known as kind of like the ADHD Bible it's of many Well I did it read I still don't read books like A lot of people with ADHD. I don't have the focus to read my mind wanders. Well audio books though right up my alley. So listening to them I can listen to an audio book while doing something else especially something physical that helps me to focus.   [01:03:43] So I bought the book in audio format one Saturday morning my wife and I were out detailing the car for a client and my wife and I cued up the book on our devices at the same time and we listened separately on our headphones while detailing the car her on the inside of it. She always detailed the inside. And I would detail the outside.   [01:04:04] I will never forget listening to this book for the first time in my life somebody understood me and the way my brain works when it was over when the book was over.   [01:04:16] I cried because I didn't want it to end. I mean this this was magical for me. It was finally feeling understood and finally being able to understand myself on some level. Since we started listening at the same time there were so many times where my wife would get out of the car and just look at me with her eyes wide and shake her head in amazement and I mean I was doing the same thing to her. It explains so much of my adult life. And if I think back I think were recluse when I was younger too. I think it might explain some things then unlike a lot of people with ADHD I excelled academically. But like anything it's on a spectrum and where I would have flunked out of high school if I had to read books if I'd been given books and I had to like just read those and like go do the assignments by myself.   [01:05:12] I would have failed but I was very good at listening in class. Remember I learned very good with something as auditory and so I just listened in class. I paid attention and my brain worked super fast. So I mean it just all came in and stuck. I believe what I have is called ADHD overfocused. So first let's understand and establish that ADHD isn't necessarily an attention deficit. It can be somewhere more inattentive but for some of us it is that we actually pay attention to literally everything around us and we get distracted easily.   [01:05:58] But it's not for lack of attention it's actually for a lack of focus. I notice everything when driving I know where every car around me is I've never been in a wreck and I have narrowly avoided some really close calls where people almost hit me because I caught something out of the corner of my eye or I knew where they were and I was able to move really fast. It's like this weird super. Unfortunately a side of being overly focused could be near obsession almost OCD like tendencies which perfectionism is one combine that with a cult that is pushing perfectionistic messages constantly and it is a perfect storm for self-hatred. Heck the cult of Jehovah's Witnesses. As I said earlier leaves most people with the prevailing theme of feeling like they're never good enough.   [01:06:54] So I had kind of a double whammy here. When I look back at that past years while I was listening to the book while I look back at that adult life that I had honestly it's like this book woke me up from some sort of deep sleep some sort of autopilot. I don't know what I was doing over those years. I mean I was doing the best that I could. I was hustling. I was trying really hard. I was pushin the heck out of things. And I know that it was hard and painful and horrible. But I think that on some level maybe it was just the depression but I was just checked out. I mean I was there. I was grasping at straws but it's almost like it was at me like looking back I kind of had no clue what I had really been doing even. But now I had a new direction. I was I was woke. As they say on some new level and I didn't know it but that was about to take me down an amazing road that unfortunately though this road would take me through hell. But it was a productive hell. And then there would be some heartbreak.   [01:08:13] But on the other side of that was a freedom that I'm experiencing now that is unlike anything that I ever had in my entire life. So I'm going to go ahead and stop here. But next week I'm going to go through those next seven years. And what I learned these things that I learned are just things that I needed to hear. They're things that so many people need to hear. I   [01:08:36] hope that the next episode is inspiring to others. I hope that it will give other people something to look into to help them with their own problems in life whatever they may be. I learn so many beautiful things and my life was completely changed. We're going to see in this next episode. I don't know. We'll see if it it's one or two episodes we'll see how long it ends up being and how it breaks down. I also have some research I may have to do and some of the titles of books I'm going to give some specifics because I want to help other people give them something that might help them in their life. That being you know you the listener. So we'll see if I can get that one out on time. I'm going to try. But it's going to be worth it whenever it comes out so hopefully it'll come out next weekend. Oftentimes on Sunday. But if it doesn't it will come out soon I promise. And it will be worth it.   [01:09:39] So I really do appreciate you listening. If you like this or think that it might help somebody else please subscribe so that you can get each episode as they come out and tell others about this. I'm putting this out into the world to be of help and it's not going to help anybody obviously people don't spread the word. I don't have a big podcast network behind me. I don't have the cache of a Leah Remini. That allowed her to do a series on Scientology. I'm just a guy that lived a certain life that wants to expose what literally millions of other people around the world have gone through. There are over eight million Jehovah's Witnesses and scores of ex Jehovah's Witnesses out there. There are millions more that have family or friends that are Jehovah's Witnesses that they might be concerned about take this to them so that they can see what it's like. And if nothing else maybe it just helps somebody to feel less alone. Visit my site at. W w w this J.W. life dot com if you want to discuss this further. There will be a place to comment below each episode that I put out so there can be a discussion. Ask questions give suggestions or if you want just say hi I might answer them on another podcast or maybe have fun you know. Of course I'll engage in the discussion there but maybe there's something that can help me to even change this has to make it better. Remember that others are fighting things that you might not realize and give them the benefit of the doubt.   [01:11:03] Love others do no harm and go be happy. [/expand]

In my opening episode I explain what life was like up until the age of 8 or 9 when my parents became Jehovah's Witnesses.  In order to understand how much life changed, it can help to understand where I came from. Direct Download Here [expand title="Click Here To Show Transcript"] [00:00:01] There are over eight million Jehovah's Witnesses Jay Dub's or J-ws worldwide. I wasn't born one was introduced to it around the age of eight or 9 and would spend the next three decades trying to process what I had unwittingly become involved in ultimately leaving and costing me dearly. This J.W. life is my response to the encouragement I've received to write a book about my life. In my story you're going to learn about this called and why refer to it as such rather than as a religion. You're going to see how I went from suicidal an incredibly anxious to free and happy. Why I put on 50 pounds and how I took it off while my wife and I owed the IRS fifty five thousand dollars and how we paid that off in 18 months. And while that wasn't even the biggest win to come from that time there are lessons to be learned here whether you're in a cult or you're just your average person living life for the SJ doves out there. I hope you find comfort in knowing that you're not alone and maybe this helps you process your own pain for those who have family that are Jehovah's Witnesses. I hope this gives you a glimpse into what they're both involved in and up against. For those that have no ties I hope this broaden your horizons maybe sheds light on the human experience a little. And if there are any current Jehovah's Witnesses that listen I hope this gives you something you need for wherever you are now in your journey. But in the end I hope you find happiness and peace.   [00:01:24] You've been through a lot and you deserve it. I'm not a professional producer. I'm a professional housecleaner. You'll find out why that is. And as well as how it is possible even to save my life later I'm recording this as a podcast as a fitting way of telling my story as it was podcasts and audio books that helped me awaken to the realities of the life I was given as a child and that I tried to live up to for decades including as an adult.   [00:01:54] So today we're going to talk about my childhood before my family became Jehovah's Witnesses up until I was around the age of eight. I'll give you a warning up front this part of my life is a collection of somewhat disconnected memories and this feels a little bit choppy in places. That's why it's kind of hard to remember that far back. And at this point in my life it's not like I have family to to help build a story around. So it will hopefully become more conversational as we get into more solid memories. But this first part is important. It shows what life was like for me in the beginning of my life. Maybe some of you will find a throwback in here for something you remember as a kid. In the end you can't appreciate the change in my life without first knowing what it started out to be. So you know as a kid started out normally. I was a little boy. I like Spiderman. I like the Incredible Hulk. I remember watching Dukes of Hazzard and playing with my GI Joes. I had a few friends that I remember going to their house and playing with some kids probably from school. I can remember going over their houses and playing although I love toys all I actually ever needed in my life was a ball to give me a ball so it against something. I'll roll it though to myself I could play all day. That's all I ever needed. And sports were a huge thing to me.   [00:03:17] We lived in the same neighborhood as my grandparents probably maybe two three blocks away. So there were. We were a pretty close family. We could just walk over there at any time if we wanted. I remember holidays I remember going trick or treating in my neighborhood. I have no idea. Cannot tell you what I dressed like. But whatever it was it was fun. I remember getting buckets full of candy and who doesn't like that Thanksgiving was another holiday that I remember being a lot of fun. We would go to my uncle and aunts house on my dad's side. And you know obviously the family would come. I even had a grandma who lived in Georgia. We called her granny and we'd eat and watch football play outside with my cousins. It was a good time. For Christmas we go to my grandparents house on my mom's side. I remember they give us catalogs when we were little and we were supposed to go through them and you know look at toys and circle whatever it was. I guess I don't know if I believed in Santa. I guess I did. So whatever we want to Santa to bring I guess he shopped at Service Merchandise. So we'd circle those and you know see what he would get.   [00:04:33] I remember that when we went over to their house there was lots of good food and cookies and sweets always had a sweet tea. Those who know me know that.   [00:04:44] So we would go over there. My aunt and uncle on that side of the family would be there and their kids and they would come all the way down from Michigan and it was just it was just fun to have family. I think there were some other people who would show up maybe some first cousins or something at different times of my life. I can't remember but that's I never really had I guess much of a connection before. We were kind of kind of left our families behind a little bit. Anyway I remember Saturday morning cartoons I remember getting up watching cartoons without a care in the world. Saturday morning cartoons were awesome. I remember coming home from school and there were cartoons I remember. I think there were those after school specials. I probably watched those as well. At the house that we lived in we had a creek behind it. Go back there and play a lot of times like any kids you know. I always wonder what was in the holes around the creek and I'm sure I stuck sticks in there and who knows what I bothered doing. I remember that I had a sandbox the sandbox was awesome. What kid doesn't love that. I remember one time obviously I was playing with the ball in the backyard it rolled next to a tree and there was a garter snake wrapped around the tree and of course I reached down for the ball saw the snake and thought I was going to die.   [00:06:11] Who does it. It's a snake.   [00:06:14] We had a dog named is a collie. For some reason we gave him away. All I remember is that he he liked to eat the backyard. And so our grass soon became a bit. Life was awesome. The only thing that that really created a change in our life was my dad and his job prospects. He never was the kind of person who could really go out and get a job. He always struggled with that. Someone found him a job he would do it. He loved he would go work. He was a hard worker and an honest guy but he wasn't exactly what one would define as a go getter. So he worked at Brown and Williamson here in Louisville Kentucky had apparently that was a really good place to work when the company moved to Georgia. His mom worked there. So I don't know. I'm assuming that had some influence in how he got the job in the first place given his track record in the future. But anyway so the company moved. He chose not to move with it. I think he married my mom at that time and stayed here and so what started as a good job to kind of change because when that company left. All I know is that he bounced around a little bit. He worked at U.P.S. for a while worked at General Electric which was a pretty good job but they laid him off. And so ultimately being laid off from these jobs. There was a time at which we had to. We had to make a change.   [00:07:54] The finances just won't allow us to continue living there. So we moved in the middle of the school year. I was about seven years old. So that would have been the second grade. I remember when we moved to the new school I remember a teacher leading me down the what seemed like cavernous court or two to my new class.   [00:08:19] I had to be taken in front of the class and introduced everybody and I just wanted to disappear and die. I've always I've not I'm not a person who likes to be in front of a lot of people. I am not an extrovert by any means. So actually me just doing this is kind of out of the ordinary for me. I'm trying to push myself to do something new here despite you know you know the second great change you know that was nothing compared to what was about to happen in my life. For one thing I remember our new house had some issues I think unbeknownst to my parents our new house was infested with roaches. We had a neighbor who on one side of us who don't know his backyard was kind of horny. There were a lot of TV parts and appliances and things back there and it wasn't the greatest. I don't know if that helped lead to the infestations that probably went through our whole neighborhood or if it was just the fact that we had old houses. But regardless I remember the roaches I remember laying there at night watching roaches crawl on the wall and hoping that they wouldn't come visit me on my bed. I remember my mom would go and get this. I don't know some sort of Wiccan chemical stuff to try to deal with. I remember the term German roaches being thrown around. So maybe that's what we had.   [00:09:48] But I know that once the chemical is put down we had mutated disgusting terrifying roaches that kind of kind of upped the ante and raised it to the next level. Ultimately that problem was that pest was eradicated and we moved on. Apparently I've been told by my parents that there was a story where I kept telling them there was something in my bed and I'm sure they thought it was a monster like you know all kids have little little dreams about those kinds of things or nightmares. But once they found the mouse droppings they realized there was actually a problem. So that that was another problem how sad. And then her problem also had cave crickets. And if you don't know what they are they also think they're called camelback crickets. They're disgusting huge crickets with giant back legs that look like spiders. And I don't like spiders either but we didn't have a problem with those. We just had the cave crickets. So those kind of things were kind of scarring to me as a kid. There was a lot changing you know we've gone from house in a nicer neighborhood to now a house and not so great a neighborhood. And you know a new school there was all that going on. But as I was reflecting on this. I kind of came to realize that. So in the third grade I almost failed. I had all my work done. I found it at the end of the here in my school desk clearly wasn't an organized kid. I don't know you know I had always made decent grades before then so maybe it was just to change it moving and everything. But I also realized that it was around that time.   [00:11:38] That's my mom I think of course again I can't go back and ask I'm trying to develop a time line now here in retrospect but I believe this was around the time that my mom started studying the Bible.   [00:11:55] Well they say studying the Bible but it's really studying one of Jehovah's Witnesses publications a book that they've produced. They are the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York. So they they were a publishing company and one of the books they published at the time was used to study the Bible as they had picked verses to study to fit their narrative of course. So anyway my mom started studying with the lady next door because yes as if the rest of the stuff wasn't bad enough. We moved in next to Jehovah's Witnesses and so there was a family next door. The mom next door and my mom became fast friends. They would talk about life or whatever my mom always had lots of Bible questions. She had a brother has a brother that is a Baptist minister I believe went through the seminary and I don't think he could ever quite answer her questions. And Jehovah's Witnesses or at least not to her satisfaction Jehovah's Witnesses though have an answer for everything.   [00:13:08] Now the answer just having an answer doesn't necessarily mean it's a correct answer. But they have an answer for just about anything you can ask. They have some way to make it fit into their narrative so it would have been likely around that time. Things are really changing. It would just been me and I have one younger brother at the time he was three and a half four years younger than I. So I was around you know between eight and nine.   [00:13:40] And when my mom probably started studying and you know I don't I think in retrospect I don't believe it was just a coincidence that my grades suffered so bad that year because you know it's not like not only were we in this new situation and my mom was studying but that means she was also taking us to meetings as a Jehovah's Witness at least at that time you would go to meetings Tuesday night for an hour Thursday night for two hours and then Sunday for two hours in the morning. So you know there was a time commitment right off the bat and that that time commitment would grow. I'll get into that later in later years. But you know that's that's a lot for a kid.   [00:14:25] And and along with that there would have been other changes so I don't know exactly when but at some point my mom was no longer wanting to do the holidays. So you know because if you know Jehovah's Witnesses one thing most people know about them is you're not going to see them celebrating Christmas or birthdays or anything. They just they don't celebrate anything day. They see it all as pagan and therefore they believe it's not what God would want for them. At first my dad was not interested in that life. My mom would go to the meetings. I'm pretty sure she would take us. I don't know if she took us to some or all but it took my dad about a year to kind of come around and start wondering what it is that my mom was involved in.   [00:15:22] Again I believe I can't confirm but I think that the first thing my dad ever went to was a district convention of Jehovah's Witnesses where my mom was baptized. So just to explain that a little bit when you study with one of Jehovah's Witnesses and they have a book that you're going to study through at the end of that book you should have enough knowledge to essentially become one of Jehovah's Witnesses. They want to make sure that you have brought your life into correspondence with their values you need to. You can't be living whatever they would deem an immoral life. So if you're living an upright life as they see it and if you have the head knowledge from these books you can go through another book with a series of three elders. The elders are the group of men who lead each individual congregation and three of those will sit sit down with you at different times and kind of ask you questions you'll answer them. They're kind of evaluating where you are in life if they feel that you're ready they will allow you to become baptizes one of Jehovah's Witnesses those baptisms are held at the assemblies or conventions of Jehovah's Witnesses. And as far as that goes there are two assemblies a year one in the spring one in the fall typically there's a special day a one day in the spring and a two day circuit assembly in the fall. Then during the summer is when they typically have their district conventions. So these are the district is a is a huge group of an area a region as they call it today. Regional conventions.   [00:17:10] And so you know back back in the day the reasons were much bigger and you go to. Well we would go to a Freedom Hall in Louisville Kentucky and there'd be how.   [00:17:22] I'm thinking 12000 but I may be mistaken. Maybe I'm more like eight. I'm thinking it was about 12000 people. And so the first thing that my dad went to was a big deal from my mom to get baptized. This is a big step that she was taking to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses officially. And I think my dad saw that as a time where you know this is this is getting real and I want to jump in there and find out what this is.   [00:17:49] So he did that. It wasn't too long after that there was a very nice charismatic brother in the congregation who kind of took my dad under his wing. He studied with my dad.   [00:18:01] And I think the next year my dad got baptized so so it didn't take too long. You know we're talking maybe a year or two if memory serves. For my parents to become a full fledged Jehovah's Witnesses and at that point there were definitely be no more holidays.   [00:18:24] I can still remember my last Christmas I remember my mom sitting me down and telling me you know we weren't going to do this anymore.   [00:18:32] I can't remember exactly but I'm sure I wasn't too pleased with that. That prospect that it was I was told what all Jehovah's Witness kids are told.   [00:18:43] There's a theme that is that is often used and that is that as a child of Jehovah's witnesses you know we don't need those those holidays to celebrate or to give gifts.   [00:18:58] You know essentially those holidays people just have to give gifts. It's not real. Nobody   [00:19:03] really likes it. We can give you gifts all the time and from the heart. Oh give you. I'll let you place a wager on how much celebration and gift giving there is in the average Jehovah's Witness family compared to you know the celebrations that are set out that everyone participates in in the world in general. I don't know I can't speak for all families but I didn't have a lot of friends as a kid. As one of Jehovah's Witnesses who were receiving a whole lot of gifts or celebrating much of anything. So anyway life changed a lot.   [00:19:48] That's kind of the I guess the nexus of the beginning of my life. How it started it started out like I would assume any other kids. And then you know all it took was a chance move by parents you know had a financial reversal as far as I could tell. And the next thing you know we're moving and we just happen to out of all the human beings on this earth move in next door to one of Jehovah's Witnesses and things started to change.   [00:20:21] So in the next episode I'm going to talk about how my life changed. Aside from you know a few little things I've mentioned already what it's like for a young child growing up in this cult. What it's like for them when they go to school. What it's like at home.   [00:20:40] This is this is not just a religion that you put on when you go to church. This is a life and it encompasses everything you do. It encompasses the way you think the way you feel the way you act. It is everything.   [00:20:58] So I really do appreciate you listening. If you like this or think that it might help somebody else please subscribe so that you can get each episode as they come out and tell others about this. I'm putting this out into the world to be of help and it's not going to help anybody obviously. People don't spread the word. I don't have a big podcast network behind me. I don't have the cache of Leah Remini. That allowed her to do a series on Scientology. I'm just a guy that lived a certain life that wants to expose what literally millions of other people around the world have gone through. There are over eight million Jehovah's Witnesses and scores of ex Jehovah's Witnesses out there. There are millions more that have family or friends that are Jehovah's Witnesses that they might be concerned about. Take this to them so that they can see what it's like. And if nothing else maybe it just helps somebody to feel less alone. Visit my site at w w dot this J-ws life dot com if you want to discuss this further. I'll even post some pics and other information there that will add to the story if you like. If you look now you'll find some of my childhood before things changed. Some pictures from that there will be a place to comment below each episode that I put out so there can be a discussion. Ask questions give suggestions or if you want just say hi I might answer them on another podcast or maybe have fun you know.   [00:22:20] Of course I'll engage in the discussion there but maybe there's something that can help me to even change this podcast to make it better. Remember that others are fighting things that you might not realize and give them the benefit of the doubt. Love others do no harm and go be happy. [/expand]

03-20-2017 - President Trump Rally Louisville, Kentucky audio English President Trump holds a rally at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky