America's Big 250: Fourth of July with Bulk Transit Drivers

America turns 250 years old this Fourth of July, and three Bulk Transit drivers showed up ready to celebrate properly. In Episode 21 of Always Pneumantic, Never Static, host Marcus brings back Mark Burleson, Gary Cress, and Josh Hull for a conversation that rarely gets serious and is all the better for it. Fourth of July memories that went exactly as planned and a few that absolutely did not. Fireworks stories that get more dangerous as the episode goes on. The hot dog topping debate shows that every American has strong opinions about whether they admit it or not. And the question that every pro driver has a passionate answer to: which American-made truck do you trust most when the miles get long? This is the episode for every racing fan, every patriot, every driver who has ever lit something on fire on the Fourth and immediately regretted it. America's 250th anniversary only happens once. We celebrated it right. New episodes every Wednesday at podcast.bulktransit.com. Happy Fourth of July from everyone at Bulk and Spur Transit.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
How's it going out there? Bulk and Spur. Welcome in to the always pneumatic, Never Static podcast.
You know, I gotta tell you guys, I'll be honest with you. Sometimes I say welcome to always
pneumatic, never static. And other times I say welcome to the always pneumatic, Never Static
podcast. To me, they're interchangeable. But I should say it correctly because where you're

(00:22):
going to find it if you're not going to our website, which is podcast.bulktransit.com, you're
going to find it under just always pneumatic, never static. No, the no podcast. That's just a guy
that's done thousands of episodes of podcasts for podcasts that have the word podcast in their
title. And sometimes, uh, bad habits just kind of creep in. So apologies there. Welcome to

(00:46):
always pneumatic, never static. Now today is a very special episode because we are celebrating
America's 250th birthday. Happy 4th of July to all of you. We're
shooting off bottle rockets. We got eagle screeches. I even got Will Smith on here. Welcome
to Earth. And I don't know why. Maybe because one of my favorite movies is Independence Day. And

(01:09):
I've always said this. And maybe some of you have heard me say it before, when Will Smith slapped
Chris Rock at that award show, if he would have just looked directly into the camera and said.
Welcome to Earth. Everybody would have forgotten about it, because, look, it's Chris Rock. He's a
comedian, he's hilarious. But there's a thousand people that have wanted to slap him for running
his mouth. I know that intimately. I talk into a microphone for a living. It's I mean, there's a

(01:32):
reason I lock my front door. Um, but I digress. We are here talking about America's Big
250th birthday and what a year it is for us to celebrate such an iconic
birthday for this country. We're also hosting the World Cup right now. And for those of you that
aren't big football, excuse me, big soccer fans, how dare I? This is America. Uh,

(01:58):
I just feel like I should poke myself with a or snap myself with a rubber band or something for
calling it football. But I have been watching some of the World Cup, and what's been really fun is
seeing all these people from various countries all over the world come to America and say, you
guys have gotten a bad rap in the national media. Everything that we see is the cities are on fire.

(02:18):
The people hate each other. They're shooting each other. It's terrible over there. And then they
actually come over here and they realize we do it better than anyone else. Yeah, there's some pockets
in some of the bigger cities that maybe aren't places that you want to be, but name a city across
the country that doesn't have those pockets. Name a city across the world that doesn't have those
pockets. You won't find them, but what you will find when you come to the great United States of

(02:42):
America is the hospitality in spades, all the way across the country. I don't care if you're in
Seattle or LA, I don't care if you're out in Atlanta or in Kansas City. I don't care if you're
in New York or or Chicago. you're going to find people that want to welcome you to what we have
and want to share it with you, because once again, here in America, we do freedom better than anybody

(03:05):
else in the world. And it's not close. I would say America is number one on that. Right. If you're
going to rank where the freest people are, America's number one, followed by all 50 states
individually, and then somewhere in there, number 52 and beyond is the rest of the world. And I can
say that comfortably as, as a, as a red blooded American. Um, I, you know, this is the time of year

(03:29):
that I get real welled up with national pride. And I don't care if we're playing soccer or hockey or
basketball or baseball or football, if you put them in red, white and blue and you pit them
against the rest of the world, your boy here is going to be rooting them on. And so, uh, really cool
that America gets to host the World Cup, an international competition, um, on its

(03:52):
250th birthday. And that's what we're here to celebrate today. And I'll be honest with you guys,
if you've been listening to this podcast for all the 20 some episodes that we've put out this far,
this one's going to feel different to you because we, while we have an agenda and I have an outline
full of questions and prompts to talk to the drivers that are going to join me here very
shortly about, um, this is one of those episodes that really the company says, Marcus, take the

(04:18):
reins and we'll see how it works out. And I'll tell you right now, I've already recorded the
interview with the guys. It worked out pretty good. My jaw is sore because I was laughing so much. We
have a lot of fun, uh, in this next segment. And we just want to remind everybody before we get to
the next segment to be safe out there. Okay. Uh, look, Americans love to blow stuff up on the 4th

(04:39):
of July. We know that fireworks. It almost makes me wish in a dry state like Oregon, that we would
have picked maybe January for the 4th of July, but, hey, you can't you can't put a pin on when the war
is going to happen and when independence is going to be declared, so we'll take it in July. I'll be
honest, I love the weather this time of year. You can't find a better place in the United States

(05:01):
during the summer. The weather is phenomenal, but that also means that we can start fires very
easily. And as a guy that lives in a state that catches on fire ten, 15, 20 times a year. Uh, I will
just say, be careful out there. Bring a bucket of water, bring a fire extinguisher. Um, you know, have
have some water in the cooler that you can throw on something. Should a small brush fire break out.

(05:22):
We don't want to cause anybody to lose any life, limb or property or anything like that this, this
year. So if you're blowing stuff up, like most Americans will be, be safe out there if you're, uh,
enjoying an adult beverage or to do it responsibly, be safe. I say this because we talk to
truck drivers on this podcast, and the last thing we want to see somebody do is make a questionable

(05:44):
decision on America's two 50th and end up losing a CDL over it. End up losing a job or a great
opportunity like you've got here with Bulk and Spurs. So before we jump in and have fun today,
allow me to be the fun police and just say, be careful, be safe. Um, use the use the same
mindset that you use every day when you go to work for this great company. Safety first. We got

(06:07):
to get everybody home safe, and then we can say that we had a seriously successful, uh,
250th birthday here in these great United States of America. I got to clear the way here because
this conversation ran long because, hey, we got to tell in stories, we got to laugh in, and that's
what will happen. So without further ado, happy 250 America. Let's bring in our drivers and have some

(06:31):
fun. You are listening to
Always Pneumatic, Never Static, the Totally Pressurized podcast brought to you by Bulk
Transit, where we keep the lines clear, the tanks empty, and the conversation anything but dry.
Whether you're running powder pellets or anything in between. Pull up a seat, crack the windows, and

(06:54):
let's hit it. All right. Welcome back in here to always pneumatic, never
static. It's time to get our drivers in here. Let's welcome them with an eagle screech, huh? I actually
don't think that's an eagle. I think it's a hawk, but it sounds so cool that I put it in there.
Anyway, let's bring our drivers in right now. Joining us first. He's back on the podcast and

(07:15):
we're glad to have him. We got Gary Cress on the line Gary thanks for being here my friend. How are
you all doing? Great to be back. Hey thanks for being here man. Happy big 250 to you. Uh, America's
250th birthday and the 4th of July. We're celebrating today. Uh, can't wait to talk to you
guys about how you're going to be celebrating. And, uh, we got even more drivers joining us here. Let's

(07:36):
also welcome back to the program. Mark Burleson. Mark, thanks so much for being here man. Cheerio
I like it. But that's what they say across the pond. And we left those idiots 250 years ago.
No one cares about them red coats anymore. Come on, Martin. That's how it's gonna be today. I hope

(07:58):
you guys are ready to laugh it up a little bit, because, uh, while we take things very seriously on
this podcast all the time, especially when we're talking about trucking, we are going to be
dripping with Americana today. I've got a lot of great stuff planned for you guys, and I'm also
very excited to welcome our third driver in here. He's joining the podcast for the very first time,
and we thank him greatly for that privilege. Please welcome to the show, Josh Hull. Josh, thank

(08:22):
you for being here, my friend. Well, we'll see how it goes. You may not ask me back.
You know, you're not the first guy to say that to me. And those are almost always the guys that I
asked to come back. So, uh, we'll see you here. But. I think we should, uh, give them a peek behind the
curtain on how I got in touch with you in the first place. Uh, Gary sent me a picture of you the

(08:45):
other day, and you're wearing a custom made by you. Always nomadic, never static hat. Uh, just
a clean looking hat, man. And, uh, you know what? I think that, uh, that's really cool, because for
podcasts like this, we depend on word of mouth. If we want people to listen, we gotta hope that the
people that are listening are out there telling their friends. And I don't know a better way to do

(09:06):
it than to wear that hat around. Josh. So that's really cool. Thanks for, uh, thanks for sewing that
patch on there, man. Looks good. I appreciate it. Now, are you the. Guy that do new Betty Homemaker
stuff every once in a while? That's what I was going to ask. Do you have, like a do you have, like,
a sleeveless jacket that's just full of patches? Like, you catch it like a metal concert or
something like that? No, I'm not really into the sleeveless thing too much because, you know, I

(09:30):
don't I don't want people to get jealous. I hear you, you can't have the guns out until the 4th of
July proper, right? Right, right. Awesome, man. Well, uh, thanks for being here. Josh. I
want to jump right in here with you guys. Um, and just see if you're off work, uh, how you're
spending your 4th of July or how you plan to spend it. Now, a little peek behind the curtain

(09:55):
here. Uh, this episode will air, I believe, on the 1st of July, and we're recording it a couple weeks
in advance. Uh, like we do for almost all of them. So, uh, if you guys don't know yet, I totally
understand, but, uh, Gary, we'll start with you, man. Do you have any plans for the big 250? At this
point in time. Just like every other red blooded American, I'm probably going to be drinking a few

(10:16):
adult beverages and blowing some stuff up. Hey, that's the way to do it right there, man, I like
that. Drinking some beverages responsibly and blowing some stuff up responsibly. I'm just gonna
add those words in there. All right? Sure. Yeah, we could say I'm doing it right here, buddy.
I love it. How about you, Mark? You got any big plans? You're gonna be off work. Are you gonna be

(10:38):
out there on the road? I'll be. I'll be at home blowing stuff up. You guys. Doing
drink adult beverages. Responsibly, right? That's I'm just adding that for
everybody's benefit here. We're trying not to get anything edited out. Today is going to be
responsibly. The fireworks might not because every year it kind of doesn't

(11:03):
build on fire. Perfect, perfect. Well, uh, keep those memories of the times that it went wrong, uh, fresh
in your head. Because I will be asking a question about that coming up soon. Um, but, hey, same thing.
Red blooded American. We're having some pops. We're blowing some stuff up, I love it. No better way to
celebrate America's big 250. How about you, Josh? What are you planning on doing? I'm, uh.

(11:29):
I'm going to actually have a few days off that I can actually spend with my wife. Perfect. And is
she going to light you on fire or try to blow you up or anything like that? Uh, well, I'm. I'm sure
she'll probably, uh, find some way to make me fix something very cool. Well, uh,
fellas, I love it. And I think maybe the first thing we should do since Markey kind of brought

(11:53):
it up sometimes it doesn't always go well. You know, I've got memories from my childhood. Uh, one
of them very vivid, uh, having a, uh, Roman candle fight, which do not try this at home. Let's go
ahead and just preface this whole segment by saying, do not try this at home. Uh, but we were
having Roman candle fights as kids will and I, you know, it sounds like this is right out of an Adam

(12:15):
McKay movie or a Will Ferrell movie or something like that. But I'm not kidding you when I say one
of those things fired right out the backside and caught me right in the jewels. And, um, you know, it
wasn't moving super fast, but I was wearing black shorts. And so for the rest of the night, uh, I had
just this white powder burn on my crotch, and it was really embarrassing. Uh, for more reasons than

(12:38):
one. But I feel like when you start to talk about the 4th of July and fireworks. These are the types
of stories that you start getting from people. Um, I've got more than one of them, but I'll save them
because I want to clear the time for you guys to tell your stories. And, Mark, I feel like I have to
start with you here because, uh, you said it doesn't always go. Well. I assume you got, like, a

(13:01):
five gallon bucket of water or a fire extinguisher out there or something. But what's
the funniest memory you've got from the 4th of July? Going back through the years, uh, when maybe
things didn't go as planned. I wish I had a five gallon bucket of water for one of
them, but I want to get to that one. The last. The last story I wanted to say, uh, I'll make a I'm

(13:23):
making quick rapid fire. Um, so that guy was like 13 years old and, you
know, firecrackers, and he fly them and throw him and throw him. You know, I saw him at my
sister and my my cousin. Well, I know you don't do this, but my dad was a smoker. Cigarette? And he

(13:43):
would give us cigarettes to light the firework that would hold out his cigarette. Let it burn.
Light it with the hot ashes. I'm a right hand thrower. Well, I threw the cigarette and my
sister's like. Why do you throw the cigarette? And why would she? Why was she saying that I still. I'm
looking right at it. I have a scar where it blew my, uh, my finger off. Oh, no way. It blew. So

(14:07):
it blew your finger off. Like, did you actually. Do you have less fingers than what? You should really
go get stitches. Okay. I was looking I was looking right at my own tip. Wow.
Okay. I was 13 years old. There's a couple of them on the. How far?
Uh, one year, I think a year. I think that's the same year we got

(14:32):
back. We were lighting mortars off at night, and my sister decided was like, yeah, can I
please light one on fire? Can I please like when I was like, oh, she lit it on fire and then kicked it
over and it blew up right for the house and our ears were ringing. Oh, no, that was fun. Why
did she. Was that just a moment of childhood? Uh, lapse of judgment. Her kicking it over. Was it an

(14:56):
accident? What happened? So she was facing the house. For some reason.
She walked up to it and was delighted when she turned around on the other side, she wanted to run
back to us, the house where were all sitting. But when she went back to it, you know, the the
the fight was in between us and she went to run, kicked it over with her foot on it. Oh no. They

(15:21):
said, we know. Oh, do you have any, uh, car alarms in the neighborhood go off after
that? Just hours. Just. We're out in the country, around the country,
surrounded by a Cornfield, which two years later got lit on fire on 4th of July. Because

(15:41):
my cousin, uh, decided to wrap, uh, 50 sparklers up in electric tape
and light them on fire. Yeah, that's a bomb. And, uh, yeah, he he decided to take that thing, light it on
fire. And when it got too big, he field goal pumped that thing in the field and lit the whole field
on fire. Fire department. Everything was. Out. How much corn did you guys lose? All of. It. All of

(16:07):
it? No. Oh, no. We we tried. Getting. The
combine out there to turn the dirt over, but it was so high and jump. It was bad. I got, like, second
degree burns. I was like 15. I got second degree burns trying with the shovel. Dad's out there

(16:27):
with the combine, trying to kill it over. It was not. Yeah, it wasn't nothing. Now I my first
question here is how are you? The first guy that tells me you're going to be blowing stuff up on
4th of July? When you have a history like this with second degree burns and a blown off finger, I
would be miles away from anything explosive on the fourth if I were you. Oh, no, that's

(16:51):
what I'm going to have the fire department right next to me. Well, they know you. You're on a first
name basis now, right? Yup. Man, I, I will tell you, uh,
back when I was a kid, uh, a couple of the more higher achieving, like, athletes and academic
students, uh, burnt down a whole field messing around with fireworks when I was a kid. And then I

(17:15):
had other. I won't call these guys friends. They were acquaintances, but they were out in the
wildlands, and they shot a propane tank and started a whole forest fire. Um, so it's not really.
I mean, you got to be careful with this stuff. Guys, I know that we're going to laugh and tell some
fun stories, but to think of these as cautionary tales, We don't want this stuff to happen. That

(17:36):
corn probably was good corn. I assume that you guys burnt to the ground that year. Yeah.
Yeah. I got one more story, though. I kind of because you brought a Roman candle that just
popped in my head just now. Roman candle. Okay, I was at a Koa, and this is like

(17:56):
11:00 at night, and I decided, you know, why the Roman candle off at night, not knowing anything
right away lit that thing and, like, wait a minute. We're in a Koa and we're surrounded
by campers. I don't know where to point the stick, so I just pointed it towards the

(18:16):
road for some of the reason. The exact moment that the freaking ball of fire came out of that Roman
candle, uh, 11 year old around there was riding his bike and I been trying to head. I'm asking.
God, was he okay? Yeah. His parents came over and

(18:36):
everything, and he was my dad. And his parents kind of had it out and for each other, I was.
Yeah. Well. Kids being kids. I mean,
I, I gotta be honest with you, that's quite the collection of stories. We're definitely bringing
you back next year to see if you have any more after this year, because this is a significant one.

(18:59):
This is America's 250th birthday. So, uh, you know, we gotta we gotta blow it out a little bit. But
again, be careful. Bring it. Bring a bucket of water, maybe a fire extinguisher. It's never going to be
a bad idea. Uh, thank you for telling those stories, by the way. Uh, Gary, I'm going to you next, man. It's
going to be hard to top, Mark blowing fingers off and burning down full fields of corn. But, uh, you

(19:21):
got any memories like that that are similar or, uh, maybe stuff didn't go exactly as planned from
your 4th of July celebrations past. All right, so before I tell this story, I want to clarify.
I was sober at the time of this one. Okay. I had not had an adult beverage at that point. Okay. I'm
just clumsy. So I'm I'm up with some friends in Michigan. Uh,

(19:47):
literally right on the the town we were in was right along the, uh,
Saint Clair River, which is the river that divides Michigan from Canada. Okay. Right there in the
right there in the thumb of Michigan. And, uh, over at some friends house and

(20:08):
we by we we had about $3,000 worth of consumer grade fireworks. Wow. And
I, uh, I go to put one in the we launched off the mortars,
and I was using the mortar tube to launch the normal bottle rocket. Well,

(20:29):
I lit the fuze on the bottle. Rocket tripped over my own two feet, knocks it, knocked the mortar tube
over when I hit the ground, the rocket launch and hit me right in the posterior. Oh, no. Yeah.
Luckily it did not go off at the time it hit me. It bounced off me and shot off a different

(20:51):
direction. Exploded, but that it came at me with some force. I had a nice bruise there on my left
butt cheek for for a good week. You know, based on the stories we've already gotten, might I
suggest a piece of rebar hammered into the dirt so that these mortar tubes don't fall over?
Because that seems to be the biggest issue we have right now, at least on this show.

(21:16):
Yeah, I've got a pipe in my back. I've got a pipe at the house for lots of bottle rockets off now,
so that won't happen again. Hopefully. Good, good. Well, I'm glad to hear that you're human like the
rest of us, and you don't have to be six beers in to trip over your own feet. Happens to me all the
time, and I'm never drinking when it does, so I can I can relate to that one, but, uh, I, I've never been

(21:39):
kicked in the ass by a bottle rocket before, so I can't relate to that. I'm glad that you came out
okay, though. That could have been a lot worse. Yeah, I'm. I'm glad. I'm glad it bounced off and
blew up somewhere else because, uh, my my one buddy is like, man, I should have recorded that
and sent it into America's Funniest Home Videos. Yep. We could have won $10,000. Yep, yep. Would have

(22:03):
taken home $10,000 along with your butt bruise there. That would have been a good one, man. Uh, yeah.
Any any other ones that you've got for us before we go to Josh? That's a kid. I almost I almost blew
some fingers off trying to launch a trying to hold a bottle rocket until it took off, and I
didn't let go in time. Yeah, it went off right in front of my face. That was. That might be one of

(22:28):
the many reasons why I might have some tonight. If every once in a while. I imagine so, man, I imagine
so again. I think it's important to say that we're, we're we're recounting these stories is
cautionary tales so that everybody takes a little bit more care this year. Uh, while these are fun to
laugh at, in retrospect, we really don't want any truck drivers blowing off their fingers. You guys

(22:51):
need those? Uh, so. So do be careful out there as we go to Josh next. Josh, uh, this being your first
podcast appearance, I know you probably weren't planning on recounting some of these types of
stories from days gone, but, uh, now's your chance. If you'd like to tell any of them that you have,
uh, we're here for it. Hey. So I was sitting there listening to you guys

(23:14):
and working with a trainee, and so my mind's a little distracted, but, uh, I, you know, I'll
be honest, my life's boring compared to those two. I. Apparently, I played
in the safe zone. Okay. That's all right, man. Yeah. I grew up in Alabama, but we had,

(23:35):
uh, we kind of with fireball rockets and and fireworks. And then we were
just having 4th of July party throughout the year. We'd have ball rocket wars with the kids up the
street that we didn't like each other. So we, you know, uh, we made the ball rocket guns and had them
were a little slit in the front. So you light it there and dropped down the tube and you could aim

(23:57):
it. And we we didn't nail each other in the foreheads a little bit, but, uh, other than that,
didn't catch the house on fire, field on fire, didn't get shot, you know, Gill bruising the butt.
But, uh, you know, other than that, I had a pretty, uh, safe and, uh, sheltered life, I
guess. Yeah. As safe and sheltered as firing bottle rockets at each other can be, right? Well, yeah.

(24:22):
I mean, what else are you gonna do when your parents aren't home? There you go. There you go. And
that's something that I think we need to again. Just hammer home again. This is ill advised
childhood behavior for a lot of these stories. And even if you were an adult when it happened, uh,
Gary, um, you know, it was not one of those things that, uh, that we expect or want to happen. So,

(24:46):
uh, just be careful out there. I'm glad that we got to talk about these. You know, uh, where I'm from,
fellas, out here in Oregon, um, the whole state likes to catch on fire and burn down this time of
year. So, um, there was an old over 100 year old baseball stadium here in Eugene. That was an
awesome place. Uh, a couple of eighth graders burned it down with, like, ground bloom flowers, uh,

(25:08):
not very long ago, and it's completely gone. I mean, we lost the entire historic relic from a couple
of junior high kids screwing around. Um, we've had giant forest fires. Started here in this state
with, uh, with fireworks. And so you guys talking about all these bottle rockets and mortars and
things, it's really exciting for me because I have to live vicariously through you. It is illegal to

(25:31):
possess any of that stuff in the state of Oregon. You can go up to Washington or go over to Idaho
and get it, but you're taking your life in your hands because, uh, they will sit there and watch
the skies and they will try to locate you from where they think these things are firing off at.
And if they show up at your house and you're standing there with a tall, cool one and a
suspicious mortar tube, you're going to get fined. And it's not cheap. Um, but, you know, it's it's hard

(25:56):
to say that I don't understand it. I love the beauty of this state. I love all the forest land.
I'd really, really like to go a full summer without watching significant portions of it burn
into carbon. Um, but I will tell you that that doesn't mean that, uh, I haven't gotten my hands on
things that I wasn't supposed to as a kid. And, you know, as you guys are talking about your stories, I

(26:17):
do remember one, uh, we used to take, you know what ground bloom flowers are, you guys you guys are
familiar with those little pink kind of cigar shaped things that spin around on the ground and
light up? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they they spin really fast. They kind of make a little zipping sound.
Well, we were young at the. We used to go to a fireworks show up at the lake that I grew up

(26:39):
close to. And, uh, there's big beach down there and everybody will light off. You know, the the, the
real safe ones, the ones that just kind of sparkle and and it's on the sand and the gravel, so
everything's safe. Uh, but me and my friends were lighting ground bloom flowers, and we were
throwing them into the water because they'll spin on top of the water. Looks really cool. Well, I got
brave, and I decided that I was going to hold on to mine for a long time. And right about the time

(27:04):
the fuze was was burnt out, I threw it as hard as I could and I'm talking maybe five yards off the
end of my hand. This thing spun up and it spun straight up into the air and straight back behind
us, where everybody was sitting to watch the fireworks and. No joke. You guys, this thing landed
right in the middle of one of those old, um, like, wicker kind of nylon lawn chairs. You know, the

(27:27):
woven ones landed right in the middle of this lady's lawn chair and spun a hole and melted it
and dropped right down on the ground. And it it, of course, burn out. And she walks over to this lawn
chair, this lady, and she looks down and she looks back at us and we're, you know, five seventh grade
age boys just completely red in the face, thinking, this is it. We're probably going to lose our

(27:48):
privileges forever. This lady's going to take us in, we're going to juvie, and there's just smoke
coming up through the hole. And I'm not joking you. She sat down in that lawn chair, reached into her
cooler and grabbed a beer and cracked it open. Never said a word to us, just acted like it was
something that was bound to happen that day. Um, I got away with one, fellas. If that had landed in

(28:09):
her lap. I think we're we're having a different conversation right now. I'll be honest with you. Oh,
that's that definitely. That sounds like she's throwing up. Kids will be kids and let it go, man.
Thank God. Thank God man I'll tell you because, uh. And I'm really glad nobody got hurt,
obviously, except with the exception of Mark's stories, nobody got hurt in any of these stories.

(28:30):
So we're, uh, you know, we're, uh, we're glad to say that. Oregon can't light fireworks off.
And they were saying. I was saying do like I did, like a couple of years ago and, uh, tie down some,
uh, mortar shells in the back of a F150 and drive around and light em on a back road. Yeah.

(28:51):
You know, we did that like 5 or 6 years ago. You'll burn our whole state down doing that, Mark. And I
gotta tell you, you gotta learn how to pronounce it. If we're going to talk about it, say it again,
but say it. Oregon. Oregon. There you go. We got it. That's where the ball.
Oregon. Oregon. In fact, uh, there's a there's a funny little joke here. I only say that

(29:15):
because for a long time, the University of Oregon produced sweatshirts that spelled it out
ORYUN because a lot of people from the Midwest and out East say, uh,
Oregon and, uh, yeah, we're we're kind of particular about it over here. We don't have too many things
to worry about. So that's one that we got to get sweaty about. Mark. I hope you understand. Oh, yeah.

(29:39):
Well, you you haven't been to Michigan. Go up north to Michigan. You would say the same thing. We got
so many, like, native words. And yeah, I'm. A little frustrated. I get that man.
Michigan, Wisconsin. There's some there's some crazy town names and stuff up there. Uh, in the
northern part of that, uh, that part of the United States and, uh, yeah, it, uh, you got to take pride in

(30:02):
something, right? And even if it's just saying stuff. Right. So I digress, though, Gary, uh, you were
about to jump in and say something there when I, when I was scolding Mark for, uh, for saying Oregon
wrong. Uh, sorry to interrupt you there. Oh, no. You're fine. I was just going to say I didn't have
any injuries, but I did have a bit of a hurt ego. Yeah, well, when I took that, when I took that

(30:22):
rocket to the. But I'm sure you were the, uh, quite literally the butt of the joke for the rest of
that weekend. Oh, probably I yeah, pretty much. Yeah. Pretty
much. Pretty much. Well, fellas, uh, on to the next one here. I want to take this moment to introduce
a new term into your vocabulary. And it might be controversial for some people, but I don't

(30:47):
care. I fell in love with this term, and I'm bringing it into the vocabulary of every podcast
that I'm on from here until the day that I hang up the headphones in the microphone. We do no
longer refer to them as hot dogs on this podcast from today, from today, henceforth.
And you know, Glizzy is one of those ones that I look. It's funny, but I feel like it got overplayed

(31:11):
immediately, and so I am putting my foot down and I'm calling them pig missiles from
here on out. Hot dog is now a pig missile. Uh, what do you guys think? Do you think you're gonna carry
that one spreading like wildfire? Uh, I'm on the. I can't say I'm going to.

(31:32):
That's, uh. I will try. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. Well, I have to ask this
question in honor of our great holiday. Um, first of all, I'll ask you guys, do you have any
idea how many pig missiles Americans will consume on the 4th of July? And I kind of want you to take

(31:52):
a guess here. Um, because this number, when I saw it, I'll be honest with you, it's a bit eye popping,
but, Mark, how many pig missiles do you think the Americans will consume on the 4th of July?
I want to say zero, but I wanted to tell you the lucky guess. And say 5 billion. 5

(32:12):
billion. Okay. We're aiming for. We're shooting for the stars here. Uh, I will tell you, that would be
an accomplishment if you could do 5 billion in the States on one day. Well, you gotta think of
like, how many like like you gotta think about. There's a lot of people, and probably some people.
Don't you like 2 or 3? So there's a lot like per person. There's like a billion people. So I'm

(32:34):
thinking people have like at least two, three, four hot dogs. A person just doing
headcount math. Uh, I mean, that's a that's a solid headcount. I will I will correct you just slightly.
There's only about 350 million people in the United States. So we might need to up that. To what
I'm saying about the world. Oh, about the world. Okay, well, hey, that's that's all right. That's, you

(32:56):
know, maybe we'll get to 5 billion. I don't know if they're eating pig missiles across the pond like
they should be. Um, I know they like their sausages over there, but, I mean, we're talking Oscar Mayer.
Nathan's here. Right? Ballpark. The true American pig missiles, but I like that guess, because you
know what? That's what we're all about here on this podcast. We're we're being optimistic. We love

(33:18):
the United States. We love a pig missile. 5 billion is a good guess. Gary, I'm going to. You any idea
how many hot dogs Americans will eat on the fourth? It depends. How many. How
many is Joey Chestnut going to eat on the fourth? Because that plays a factor into it. Yeah, I think
you could count him for like 80. I think he can do a solid 80 or so now in his, in his allotted time.

(33:41):
So that's a good point. So you said we're about 350 million to date.
I'm going to say on average probably 3 to 4 per person.
So we'll say we'll say about 900 million hot dogs 900.

(34:05):
I might have oversold it to you guys. I'm just gonna spoiler alert I might have oversold the
stat a little bit, but I love where your hearts are. I really do. Uh, let's check in with
Josh here. See if he's got any, uh, any progress on that air leak. Josh, can you hear us out there,
buddy? I can, you can. And, uh, I always have an air leak

(34:28):
somewhere. Okay. Yeah. You know, uh, people that listen to this podcast would tell you I've got a
real bad one right in the bottom of my face. Uh, to be honest with you. Um, but. That's
a good one. Uh, Josh, you want to take a guess real quick on how many pig missiles the
Americans will consume on the 4th of July. Uh. Raw or cooked? Uh, it doesn't matter. I think they both.

(34:54):
I think you can go both ways on that. Just total hot dogs. Uh. Turkey or beef?
Are you going to ask me whether it's a wheat bun or a white bun next. I mean, I don't know, I haven't
done this homework. African or American. Follows.

(35:15):
Grilled or boiled? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No.
I like boiled nuts and raw hot dogs. Okay, well, I, uh, I won't comment on that. I'll just ask you how
many hot dogs you think? Oh, let's see. There's there's

(35:35):
what, 2000 people in the United States? Something like. That. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I don't I really I
couldn't, I couldn't even get, uh, 2 million. 2 million. Hey, that's a that's a good guess. I don't
know. Well, I'm not I don't do real good at math, and that's okay. I'm not good at math either. Um, I

(35:55):
don't think any of us are, to be honest with you. I think the people that are good at math get paid
to do math. And what a boring job that would be. So, uh, I'll go ahead and say it there. Either I kind
of oversold it to you guys. 150 million hot dogs will be eaten on the 4th of July. Now, that's
when there's only 350 some odd million Americans. I think that's a pretty good number. But you guys

(36:18):
would lead me to believe that maybe we could step our game up a little bit. Yeah, I think so. You're
telling me I was closest. No, I think that, uh, I think that, uh, Gary was the closest.
You said 5 billion. Gary said 900 million. So I think he wins on this one. Uh, although if we're
going by. Press, he probably eats more than we do. Well, I'll tell you this. I'll tell you this, fellas,

(36:43):
if we're playing prices right rules. Everybody's a loser today. That's that's the truth. So. Uh.
But that's okay. If we're playing White Wolf. Josh when he said 2000. Yeah. That's true. Josh does win
closest to without going over. And he's the big winner I award you with. I've got, uh. Yeah.

(37:04):
15,000 points. But those don't mean anything today. So sorry, but, uh, thanks for playing.
Um, man. So now that we're on the subject of pig missiles, uh, I have to ask you guys,
because you're you're well traveled, you're well traveled as truck drivers and, uh, you know, out
there in the Midwest, kind of close to where you guys are at is, uh, Chicago who takes their Chicago

(37:29):
dogs very seriously. And, uh, you know, you'll get exiled from that city if you even decide to ask
for ketchup for your hot dogs. So, uh, I always wonder. And truck drivers are a good group to ask.
Where's the best hotdog you've ever had? The best pig missile that you've ever tasted. Where did you
come across it? Was it in Chicago? Were you out in Seattle where they're putting cream cheese on

(37:51):
them? Well, in all honesty, like, every, every, every area has their own
specialty. Hot dog, like, Chicago's got the Chicago dog and Say you got small dogs, you got
chili dog, you got you got all these different specialty dogs. And honestly, I can't decide
because everything has their own different flavor. That's good in its own way. That's a good answer.

(38:14):
That means no hot dog left behind is what I just heard. Absolutely. If it's one of those that's like,
okay, that's pretty good. I'll I'll continue to eat it, but I just can't pick a favorite. I will tell
you one thing about the Chicago dog that gives me pause, and it's how bright green that relish is. I,
because you buy relish at the store, doesn't look like that. And I've always wondered how they got

(38:37):
it so bright, fluorescent green. Like, what's in that? Uh, but then again, I also don't really care
because it's delicious. Absolutely. How about for you, Mark? Favorite pig missile you've ever
found? Oh, man, there's a place in the country. Oh, man. What is it
called? It's a dog house. That's what it's called. The dog house. And to come see, like

(39:02):
ten minutes where I live. And they got like all different types of hot dogs that you can get, you
know, your sauerkraut, they got fries, you put fries on it. They got like all different weird
mixtures. I'm not a hot dog fan, but. I'll go there and

(39:22):
get like a sauerkraut dog. I think that's the best topping for a hot dog right there in the come.
See, I got him a little shout out while I'm saying it, you know, but. I'm sure they appreciate it. I
mean, it's a pretty good commercial for them. Sounds like you can get pretty much whatever you
want there. I should get paid for being a, you know, like a little where's the for, though? We'll call

(39:45):
you the pig missile promoter. Oh, that's the dog. Hell. Where's the dog house? At
it. Come see in Michigan. Gotcha. Oh, Tecumseh. It's actual Tecumseh. But,
like, you know how we say Oregon?

(40:06):
Well, is sure to come suck. But everyone pronounces the company, you know, foreigners. And
I will tell you, Mark, you should. I'll repeat it. Oregon or Oregon or. My bad. You need to take this
episode into the doghouse and tell them that you need to be their new pig missile promoter, because
you really are selling it right now. Josh, we'll go to you now. Man, if you're available, I know you're

(40:30):
you're working with a trainer right now, but, uh, uh, or a trainee. Sorry, but, uh, you got a favorite hot
dog that sticks out in your mind. And maybe it's just a roller dog from the loves that's been on
there since 1970. What is. It? You. Apparently you do not remember the podcast. We had
about the roller dogs? Yeah, I do, I remember it well. Yeah,

(40:53):
I, I did not get no roller dogs. You made. Truck drivers. Hit them. Bathrooms up and don't. Wash them.
With their own little hot dog hands. Yep. Absolutely. Josh, you're your favorite hot dog
you've ever had. Man, are you with us still? Yeah, I'm still here. Uh, yeah, I'm. I'm kind of the same
way. I'm not like, a huge hot dog fan, but I like one every once in a while. Uh, mine was more more

(41:19):
along the lines. It's got to have the right texture. It doesn't really matter where it comes
from. Okay. But, uh, like all beef. Uh, not real big on the turkey or the or
the everything mixed in. Right. Uh, you know, uh, the the lips,
the. But I don't care for that lesson, but, uh, if I'm trying to keep a low

(41:43):
level clean here, but, uh. So, uh, but, yeah, it's more of a texture thing, but I'd
say probably the last time I've been into a hot dog. That sounds really bad, but, uh.
And it was probably there was a there was a place in Dayton that started out as a food truck,

(42:03):
and then they had a brick and mortar, and it was like a zombie dog is what it was, just a marketing
thing. It was kind of cool. They had a little unique twist and it was really good ingredients,
but I don't even know if they exist anymore. So. So for the texture for you, you said you said you
like them grilled though. So a little bit of char on it is what you're looking for. Yeah, I'd say
that. And nothing that resembles the texture of a Vienna sausage. I got you nothing. Boiled

(42:30):
peanuts, boiled or. Okay, but not beef. Hot dogs, right? Well, actually, the beef hot dogs are fine.
It's just the texture of Vienna sausage. It's like eating, like, I don't know, paté that's been
putting the into something that. Yeah. Yeah, I just can't do it. It's kind of like nasty. What I would
expect. Like spam right out of the can to taste like if you were to just dig in with a spoon, like

(42:53):
that kind of texture. Yeah, Yeah. Just. No. I got. No. No, I got you. Well. I like the. I like
the grilled part. Of it on the stand now. Well, hey, look, spam, it has its applications. But if you're
going to crack the top of it and dig in like it's a can of peaches, I got a few words for you. That's
all I'm gonna say. Um, you know, I, I just you cook it. That's all I want you to do. Put it in the pan,

(43:16):
fry it up a little bit. Little spam musubi. Never hurt anybody's feelings. But, uh, those people that
eat it raw. I just gotta know what went on in their childhood, you know, as it was, the gas turned
off. Yeah. You know, so, uh, but, you know, I did have a driver the other day tell me the best hot dog
he's ever had is every free hot dog he's ever had. And, uh, that is one I will say that because, look,

(43:40):
I'm a I'm a season ticket holder for the Oregon Ducks. And every now and then during a football
game, nothing feels like it will hit as good as a hot dog. But then you go and pay eight bucks for a
hot dog, and it doesn't feel as good anymore when you pay eight bucks for it, that's $1.50 at most.
Um, and so a free one is always fun to get. And I'm with Josh or anybody that'll say it. Um, I came up

(44:03):
with a new saying the other day because I want my dogs grilled. I want them done, maybe even a little
overdone. If they. If that case ain't splitting, then that dog ain't hittin. That's what I'm saying
right now. I need to have a little bit of char, a little bit of overdone this. So maybe if you guys
aren't as fond as of the of the term pig missile as I am, you can just go with my saying if the

(44:24):
case ain't splitting, that dog ain't hitting. What do you think? I like it, I like it, I like it
perfect. Perfect. Yeah. How would you change in the eight? You mentioned the $8 hot dogs. So a little
off topic here. 2002 national title season for Ohio State. I went to every

(44:45):
home game and sold hot dogs in the stands. Oh, man, I bet you made a killing. Oh, it was for. It was for
my, high school band boosters, so that's awesome. Were you one of those guys that like to have a
little fun with it? I've seen some videos on on the social media platforms of some of the most
entertaining hot dog vendors, and I mean, were you firing them out of a tuba or anything fun like

(45:09):
that? I was not looking back on it. That would have been cool. Texas to launch them at people
out of like a trumpet or something like that. But no, I mean, I was I was having fun with it. I was
having fun with it, walking around the stands with all these college students and hollering, I'm
going, get your winner, get your winner! Put it in your mouth.

(45:33):
Oh, man. The the younger days, the things that you could get away with. If a 40 year old man is
yelling that in the stands. People have questions. But if you're a high schooler, more power to you.
Man, that kid's just having fun, right? Oh, absolutely. And it was actually a good sales
tactic for me because I was actually able to sell out several times. Had to go back and get more.

(45:53):
Like, okay, he's being funny. I gotta I gotta buy a hot dog from him. Absolutely, absolutely. Man, I, I
love it, I love it. Uh, not off topic at all. That's. I mean, what's more American than a hot dog at a
football game? I mean, that's that's right up the alley here. So I like that digression. Uh, I've got
a couple of I kind of off the wall questions for you guys, which, hey, some of these have already

(46:17):
been off the wall, so nothing's going to surprise you more. But I got to thinking about American
things here, and I thought, what better question to ask a bunch of truck drivers than what kind of
trucks they like? And, uh, we're going to stay in America here. So, Gary, I'm coming to you first.
Ford, Chevy or Ram? Real Americans wear bow

(46:41):
ties. There you go. That's my guy. I'm giving him a bald eagle for that. I am a Chevy guy myself. Got a
Silverado sitting out in the driveway right now. Paint's falling off of it. But who asked? Uh, love
that truck. Um, Mark Ford. Chevy. Ram. Oh, Lord,
I, uh, I'm hard. That's hard. I'm a Ford guy at heart, but

(47:06):
stands on wait a year, man. Cause, you know, I'm a real car enthusiast, and I love trucks, but,
like, you take a 90s or pre F-150. Uh, mid 2070 or
the new dodges. Is that the way it goes if you really enjoy trucks? Ford went

(47:27):
to niche in the mid like late 90s and 2000 and they were coming back. They looked better
there, a lot better. Chevy is still up in the game, but it kind of fell down. Sorry bow tie guys.
Um, they just can't. Uh, they don't have the torque as a Ford Ranger. Um.

(47:49):
And Dodge is just all around work. Trust. Depends on what you're using. Dodge work. Trust Ford for
durability, especially inline sixes to 300. Amazing. That's like my dream truck right there. I'm sad
that I had to get rid of mine, but I'm a Ford guy. Okay, well, you know, uh, you just you didn't
go quite back far enough there in the history because I think back in the, uh, especially the

(48:14):
early 70s, in very late 60s. I gotta tell you right now, there's no better looking truck that came off
the line than a C10 Cheyenne or a C10, uh, step side. You know, those ones back the the the 72 is
my favorite because I had one in high school. I had a 1972 step side, uh, beautiful truck built
for the built for the drag track. Actually had a huge engine in it. Way too big for me. Blew it up.

(48:38):
Had to sell it. Um, but I will tell you right now, I think. That's. The Chevy. I think it's the best. One
of the best looking trucks ever made. I don't know, Gary. If you agree with me that vintage is Chevy.
Uh, but, uh, man, those are good looking trucks. I would have to say for that benefit, the Chevy. I'd
say give me a, uh, K10 Scottsdale. Okay, that's another good one. Just the bigger it. Just the

(48:59):
bigger size, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I agree a little bit. I'm more of
a Ford guy, I don't know. Oh that's okay. The old some the Ford. They just they look a lot more.
Look a lot more meaner I guess. And then Ford kind of 90s kind of died out our

(49:20):
the way it looks. Chevy's took me over a little bit. I'm looking over the whole dynamic. Yep. And
look, I give Chevy looks. Yeah, amazingly. I agree with you there. For somebody in the 70s on the
Chevy trucks. I'm just I had my, I had I had a 78. I'm just

(49:41):
too many head gaskets. Yeah. Ford motor. Yeah. That's true man. Uh, had to replace the rear main seal on
mine, I believe, at least once, but I had a buddy that had a 72 as well and never could keep a rear
main seal in that thing. I mean, it's just constantly dripping a little bit of oil. Um, but
I'll tell you, man. Fun trucks. Fun trucks all around. You know, my my grandfather had a I believe

(50:04):
it was a 52 or a 53 Ford. I can't remember correctly, but, I mean, he had a wall
of trophies from car shows from that truck. And, uh, what a beautiful machine. Uh, look, there have all.
They've all had their moment in the sun. I will say this in that early 2000 vintage of the Dodge
truck. If the guys could stop putting, like, ten inch exhaust tips on the diesels, I would be okay

(50:28):
with it. I don't mind a good rough sounding truck, but good God, do we need like the an exhaust pipe
that's as big around as a 20 inch wheel? I feel like that's too much. Yeah, yeah.
Okay, maybe just for me, I might have offended some people right then, and I totally understand. Uh, hey,
Josh, we're coming back to you, man. And, uh, really appreciate you being patient with us. And I know

(50:53):
you're working while you're taking this call, but, uh, Ford, Chevy, your Ram for you. Well,
let's see, I'm kind of a. Yeah. Ford. Ford. Yeah. Uh, my
grandpa, that's what he drove. Both. Both my grandparents did. My uncle drove his Chevrolet, but,
uh, and and I now I gotta go back into the 80s. Okay, 80s and 90s

(51:18):
and, uh. So, yeah, I'm still a Ford guy. And my my philosophy or what I experienced
was if if you want a good riding truck, buy a Chevrolet. If you want one, they can pull a stuff
out of the ground, get a Dodge, you know, Dodge, Ram, whatever they want. Call em these days. And

(51:38):
and if you want one that's going to work and be dependable, you get a afford. So you can't have it
all. You can't have your cake and eat it too. With the truck. You got to make a decision, is what
you're saying? Yeah. I don't think you can. Now, of course, you know, these days they're all pretty. I
would say they're all pretty much, uh, right along the same level these days. They're all high wing

(51:58):
queens. Yeah, unless you do something else to the suspension to them, they design them for the road.
So, yeah, I hear you. Well, I'm still a Ford guy. And that doesn't surprise me that we got two Fords in
a Chevy here. Out of the three of you, Ford is the best selling truck in American history. The F-150.
That's the guy right there. Uh, nobody has sold more than that truck has. And for good reason. You

(52:21):
know, my dad had an old, uh, lariat. Diesel. I think it was an early 90s vintage, if I'm not mistaken.
Um, but I wouldn't have been surprised if that truck was still running today. Of course, he sold
it a long time ago, but, uh, I remember one vapor lock, uh, in that truck, and that's about it. Besides
that, that thing was an absolute workhorse. Uh, towed everything that we ever had. It was our

(52:44):
hunting truck, and, uh, it really did last, man. And those those more square bodies from the 90s. They
look so good. There's an Chevy, too. I mean, they all looked good back then, before they kind of went to
this rounded edge esthetic that they've got now. Um, now, I still like the rounded edge. I'm not
gonna lie to you. I mean, like I said, I got a Silverado sitting 30ft from me, so, um, but I. Look,

(53:07):
you guys know this about me. I'm not a I'm not a truck driver. I'm a podcaster. So I've got the soft
hands, which it kind of makes sense that I pick the Chevy. I like the way it looks. I don't need it
to do a lot of work. So, um, you know, you guys knew that about me, though there was no question in
anybody's mind why I picked the Chevy. Right. Mark? Mhm. Wait

(53:29):
wait wait, wait a second. All right. That's all you have to say.
I did, you know, I did team up I was I was expecting more shots fired there, but. Uh, uh, all I
got was he must have used his words up on the last question. I don't know,

(53:49):
I I'm just picking on you, man. In my words. Um, if y'all ever watched
Escanaba in the moonlight, I'm sure we shook a shit. You know? Yeah.
Just about. I'll give a shot across the bow of the four guys real quick. There's the reason why they
cut. Why Ford says are the number one thing in the country. Uh, because they're always having to

(54:13):
replace us guys. They don't have to replace their trucks. Well. It's true, you know, I've
heard, uh, Gary, one of the things I love when people start talking about Ford is saying, uh,
that's an acronym for Found on Road Dead. If you ever need to fix it,
just look on the grill. The problem circle with the high line of blues. Wow. That's

(54:38):
actually funny, Gary. Yeah. It is. That's funny. Man. That's good. Yeah. Yeah. Well, listen. I think I'm
laughing at you that hard. Well, fellas, this is exactly what I wanted to get out of the 4th of
July conversation. Just a little bit of red, white and blue pride. Uh, how we celebrate as Americans.
Why we do it better in this country than anybody else does. I think that's the freedom of choice

(55:02):
that we get over here. You want to celebrate by having a tall, cool one and blowing up some
mortars. You get to do that if you want to kick back in your lawn chair, catch a couple of fish.
You can do that too. Or if you're so inclined, like Mr. Chestnut himself, you can pack back 80 pig
missiles today, and nobody's gonna say a word to you about it. That's as American as it gets right

(55:23):
there in my mind. Uh, and I want to thank you guys for coming on here and having some fun with me
today. As I told you, all this is kind of an off the wall episode. Uh, it's a lot different than
what we normally do. And, uh, I just really appreciate your guys's time today. Uh, want to get
to some final thoughts here? Uh, our Final thoughts segment. Josh, uh, you've never joined us before, so

(55:43):
I'll go through kind of what we do on final thoughts. It really is designed for you to take
the floor and say whatever you want. If you want to give a shout out, if you want to wish America
happy 250. Uh, if you want to say hi and I love you to some of your family members or friends that
might be listening. The point is, the floor is yours and you get to say whatever you want here
in this final segment, within reason. I gotta put that caveat in there, because today we've been

(56:08):
bouncing off the walls a bit. But, uh, let's start with Gary here. Gary, Chris joining us again. Always
appreciate the time. Uh, you were the one that hooked us up with Josh and, uh, told us about that
awesome hat that he made. So thank you so much for joining us today on our 4th of July special. Gary,
final thoughts from you before we let you go today. All right, so before I before I go into any

(56:32):
other final thoughts, because I was I had to be prompted last time I was gone. Uh, what a big give.
A big shout out to my wife. She really does a good job holding the household down when I'm out here
on the road. My guy. You. You learned something on the last podcast? That's what that means, right?
Exactly. But, uh, uh, huge shout out to our armed forces, our first responders.

(56:55):
Um, this if you are going to enjoy some adult beverages and blow stuff up this weekend, uh, do it.
Do it in a manner where you're not meeting a first responder. There you go. That's my that's my,
uh, my, uh, quick free advice. Yeah. Sage. Sage. Quick free advice there, Gary.
Yeah, yeah. Uh, don't don't. Uh, for those who haven't met me, don't need me that way, because I'm pretty.

(57:21):
I'm. I'm pretty sure that I'm probably going to have to go to some sort of firework related call,
because it happens every year. Someone gets a little carried away and
next thing you know, they got a burn and missing a finger or something's on fire. And you're you're a
volunteer firefighter. Is that correct? Yep yep yep. We talked last last podcast. We did talk about

(57:45):
that. Yeah we did talk about that for sure. Well, I want to take the opportunity to say thank you
again, Gary, for that service because, uh, volunteer is the operative word there. And a lot of guys
like you will do that exact same thing this weekend while celebrating the 4th of July with
their family. They will put that family on the back burner and go help somebody that needs it.

(58:06):
And, uh, again, I don't know if there's a more American thing out there than that, my friend.
And then, uh, to, uh, all of my fellow drivers out there be safe out on the road
and, uh, hope you all have a great holiday. Great stuff. Gary, we greatly appreciate you joining

(58:26):
us. And and that's a very poignant piece of advice as well. Be safe out there. Um, this is this is one
of the craziest holidays. And you got to add to the fact that it's the 250th birthday. That's a
big deal. The World Cup is going on. We've got people from every corner of every place in the
world, uh, kind of descending upon the United States right now. The traffic is going to be bad,

(58:49):
crazy people are going to be out there driving their four wheelers and RVs that they don't know
how to drive. So, uh, once again, just be safe out there. I think that's really good advice. Gary,
thanks so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me again. Of course, Mark, we're on to you
next for final thoughts, my friend. Um, any safety related final thoughts from you before we get

(59:10):
moving into your your actual thoughts. Safety things? Uh, keep a five gallon bucket of water.
Oh, no. Uh, just make sure you don't feel whatever. You're sweating the fireworks
and hold the fireworks in your hand, and, uh. Stay safe out there. Stay safe out there.

(59:34):
Indeed. Great safety stuff, Mark. Uh, any other final thoughts for you before we let you get back to it,
my friend? Final thoughts? Um, I have been on the podcast. The last time I was on a podcast was
before it happened. But, uh, I also just want to say thank you to the woman. And she's at home
right now at the painting, uh, the chicken coop. And thank you for all the stuff that she's been

(59:59):
helping me out with it and at home, but, uh, I'm expecting another,
uh, chitlin. No way. Hang on a second. I got a button for that. That's worth a party horn
and a round of applause. Congratulations, man. Yeah, my birthday was just a few weeks ago. A two week,

(01:00:19):
2 or 3 weeks ago. Right there. And she dropped the bomb on my birthday and was like, hey, guess what?
I'm like, what? She's like, I'll be back and doing that. Man, I was like, Look. Look at this. And I was
like, oh, hey. So that's awesome, man. Now how many is that going to make for you once this one
arrives? Uh. Two. And I was telling her I was hoping it was when.

(01:00:43):
You want to. Up into three. Huh? The ultrasound? Yeah, the ultrasound said it was only one. Uh, well, uh,
one's just as good. Man, congratulations. Can't wait to hear about that little, uh, little chitlin when
it arrives. Um, and, uh, keep us updated, all right? We want to make sure that mom and baby are both
staying healthy. Oh, yeah. Well, thanks for joining us, Mark. Really appreciate it. Glad you got your

(01:01:06):
chicken coop built. And, uh, if you want to take a look at some of the awesome pictures that Mark
sent us when he wasn't able to join us on the Father's Day episode. They are still
online at podcast.bulktransit.com. Mark, you hit me with a ton of pictures and uh, what a great family you have, man.
It's so cool that you're going to be adding to it. Thank you for sharing that news with us here on

(01:01:27):
the show. Oh, yeah. Thank you, thank you. No problem. Be safe out there. Finally, we'll go to Josh making
his first appearance on the show while out there working hard. Man. We really appreciate the time
today. Uh, final thoughts from you before we let you get back to it. Get back to
it. I can multitask. Just ask my wife. If you

(01:01:53):
ask her. I'm really. I'm very thankful that my wife is not going to listen to this. Why is that?
You haven't said anything incriminating. Oh, no. But she thinks I'm all right. I'm already a goofball.
So this is going to just seal the deal? Yeah. I've been hiding stuff from her for ten years, so. Well,
it's safe to say I didn't help you out at all on this one. With that. Well, I am who I am. So

(01:02:19):
if if she hadn't figured that out by now, then, well, she's, uh, she's out of luck. But, uh, no.
I am very appreciative of my wife. She does tolerate me, and she tolerates this job.
So because I've only been doing this, I'm almost 52 years old, and I just started, uh, when I was I
got my CDL when I was 50. So I've really only been doing this about. I write out a year and a half. Uh,

(01:02:45):
this is my first job. I'm very appreciative that both transit actually had an opportunity that was,
uh, local, and I was able to take me in and, uh, allow me to continue to put a roof over
my head and food on the table. Uh, even if they aren't big muscles, you know?

(01:03:06):
Well, Josh, man, uh, once again, thank you for the time today. And thank you for supporting that
awesome hat that you made. Uh, you're doing the Lord's work out there for us, man. Yeah, I like to
make. I'm kind of a craft guy. I like to, if I can fix it, I try to fix it. Uh, if,
uh, you give me a pack, I might sew it on something. I love it, I love it. Well, if you see him out there

(01:03:31):
rocking the best looking, always pneumatic, never static hat. Uh, say hi to him and ask him how to
come on the podcast. He'll let you know. Just give him my number. Josh. All right. We'll do. Thanks,
Marcus. Thanks, fellas. Be safe out there. Happy big 250 to all of you. And, uh, we'll get you all back
on here soon. We'll be right back with more. Always pneumatic, never static. Right after this.

(01:04:01):
Man, I'll tell you. Uh, pig missiles and freedom. That's what that conversation was all about. Uh,
and a few other things, obviously, um, minor injuries and, uh, burned down cornfields. But again,
that's why we told you off the jump. You got to be safe this year. Americans are gonna party. We do
that better than anybody else to freedom. We do it better than anybody else. Pig missile's better

(01:04:23):
than anybody else. Uh, low grade, consumer grade explosives. Better than anybody else. And, uh, it's
all meant in in the vein of freedom. Right. But do be careful out there because, uh, obviously, when we
were kids, you bounce a little bit better, you bounce back from things like, uh, you know, blown
off fingers. That stuff doesn't happen once you're an adult, and you need those hands to do the job

(01:04:46):
that you do. So just one more time, I want to nail home the the safety message because I think it's
very important. Um, and, uh, just say go out there and have a very happy 4th of July and
enjoy celebrating America's 250th birthday. This country, regardless of what you might hear if you
turn on the news, is the best country in the world. And I have no qualms about saying that on a

(01:05:11):
microphone to a thing that is accessible to anybody that wants to listen to it. That's where I
stand. That's a hill I'll die on. Call that hill Mount Rushmore. Okay. Love this country. Love to
hear all the national pride that gets welled up around this time of year, and just want everybody
to have a safe, fun and happy 4th of July and happy birthday to America. The

(01:05:35):
big 250. I think it's only right that we play it out with a little bit of patriotic music. Be safe
out there, Bulk and Spur. We will see you next week for another hour of content here on always
pneumatic, never static. I'm your host, Marcus. I'm gonna go get myself some sparklers because, you
know, we can't have anything exciting here in Oregon. We'll see you guys next week.

(01:06:59):
And that's all she blows for today's episode of Always Pneumatic, Never Static. Your number one and
probably only Pneumatic Trucking podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us
today. Till next time, stay safe. Keep those lines clear and keep it pumping.