Father's Day Special: Gratitude, Pride & Life on the Road

Being a truck driver and being a father are two of the hardest jobs a person can carry at the same time, and Episode 19 of Always Pneumatic, Never Static does not look away from that. Host Marcus sits down with four Bulk Transit drivers, Jeff Linne, Mike Upchurch, Paul Francis, and Alex Smith, for a Father's Day conversation that went longer and deeper than anyone expected. This one is not a celebration episode with streamers and punchlines. It is something quieter and more honest than that. Gratitude for the families that hold things together at home. Pride in the work and what it provides. The weight of missing moments that do not come back. And the kind of loss that reminds you what matters when you strip everything else away. These four drivers showed up and gave everything they had in this conversation, and it shows. For every truck driver dad out there rolling down the highway this Father's Day weekend, this episode is for you. New episodes every Wednesday at podcast.bulktransit.com.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
You know, Father's Day gets marketed a lot of different ways. Sometimes it's neckties and coffee
mugs, sometimes it's bad golf swings. Burt hot dogs and dad jokes that should have stayed in the
1980s. But if you've been around long enough, you realize Father's Day is really about something
else. It's about looking around and seeing the people who carry pieces of you with them every

(00:25):
single day. The lessons you've passed down, the habits they've picked up, the stories that still get
told around campfires, and the values that somehow survived yet another generation.
Today we're talking with four bulk transit drivers who have raised children, spoiled
grandchildren, served their country, lost loved ones, watched kids move away, and experience

(00:51):
all the highs and lows that come with building a family. And while this conversation starts with
Father's Day, It quickly becomes something bigger than that. Today's conversation ended up being a
conversation about legacy. This is always pneumatic. Never static.

(01:14):
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 let's hit it. How's it going out there, bulk and spur.

(01:37):
Welcome into our Father's Day special here on always pneumatic, never static. This is always
a fun episode for me and an important episode for me, as I have a fantastic relationship with both
of my parents and, uh, definitely my dad. Uh, he's one of my best friends. He's my golfing buddy. He's
my hunting buddy. Uh, and he's my absolute rock. When I need some really good advice or I

(02:04):
need to be told exactly how things are without any sugarcoating, uh, or without, uh, you know, taking
into consideration how it might make me feel. That's what you really need in a dad. You need
somebody who is, uh, the pick up and dust you off type, but also the type that can look at you in
the right situation and say, I can't pick you up this time. You gotta pick yourself up this time.

(02:26):
And, uh, today's episode. Wow. You're you're gonna see. But first, let me get to the homework. Uh,
because there's a very important part of today's episode that involves our homework. Now, when I
talk about homework on this show, the only homework you guys ever get from me is to head on
over to the website, podcast.bulktransit.com and check out all the episodes there, all the

(02:48):
information about the episodes. Take the quizzes, um, find out who it is that we're interviewing
that day, and find out maybe a little bit about what they've got going on. But for today's
episode, it is going to be paired with a fantastic photo gallery. That four
excuse me not for five drivers actually contributed to. And I will say this, I'll keep this

(03:12):
photo gallery open for a month or two months, however many months it takes, because there's a
lot of drivers that are just hearing this now right before Father's Day, and they didn't get a
chance to send me a bunch of pictures, like the guys that joined me on the show today. I've got a
photo gallery up on the website. If you're hearing this, it's live right now. podcast.bulktransit.com

(03:35):
All four of the drivers that joined me on the show, and one that was going to join me,
that had to back out last minute because he had some things he had to take care of. They sent me
an absolute monsoon of pictures, and at one point in time, one of the drivers even
apologized. He said, I don't know which ones to send you, so I just sent them all. I'm sorry for

(03:57):
for photo bombing, you know. No, no, no, no, this is great. I want all the pictures and that's what we
got. There are, at least I would say no less than 40 to 50 pictures up there right now. Contributed
by five drivers. And we can we can exceed that for sure. Because I know there's other proud dads out

(04:17):
there driving for Bulk and Spur. I know that there's other proud granddad's out there driving
for Bulk and Spur. And this episode is all about that. It's all about the dads. It's about the pride.
It's about the love. Um, it's about the lessons and the legacies. And as you flip through those
pictures, you will see, um, dad's become granddad's. You will see, um, dads become dads. You

(04:41):
will see. You will see regular, ordinary sons become dads. In some of those pictures, you will
see the joy on the faces of entire families, uh, during gatherings and spending time together.
And just trust me. Take 5 or 10 minutes. Next time you're at the website, scroll through
and. And just think about your dad. Think about his dad. Think about any of the father figures in your

(05:06):
life. When I say your dad, I don't necessarily always mean your
biological father. Okay. Um, if if that is how it shook out for you. That's fantastic.
And I'm so happy for you. But what you're going to hear from some of these guys is that the father
figures in their lives were not their biological fathers, and everything turned out great. Um, they

(05:31):
they learned lessons, they grew, they they were shaped and molded by the father figures in their
lives. And that's what they came on to share with us today, and also to to share about the pride
that they take in being a dad and talk about their kids and where their kids are in life. It's
it's not a lot of rah rah Father's Day. I'll be honest with you, this episode really did take a

(05:55):
bit of, I don't want to say an emotional turn, but it's a deeper turn. It gets beyond the ties and
the coffee mugs that I mentioned in the Cold open, and it really gets down to the raw emotion of
fatherhood and growing up and seeing your kids grow up and becoming a grandfather, and filling
that house with all the joy that you can. When I planned the episode, I thought we'd spend a lot of

(06:19):
time laughing about diaper disasters, embarrassing dad stories, maybe tell some dad jokes, and all of
the usual stuff that I will. I will typically frame a Father's Day episode with. And we did get
to some of that. I don't want to take anything away here. We get to some of it, and you'll see in
just a few minutes when we play the interview. But what surprised me was how often this conversation

(06:40):
came back to gratitude. Gratitude for time, gratitude for family. Gratitude for all the people
who shaped us. So if you're out there listening on the road today and you got some windshield time.
Maybe give dad a call. If you're fortunate enough that your dad's still around. Give that guy a call.
Maybe give the kids a call or the grandkids a call. Because I think after you listen to this

(07:04):
episode, that's really what you're going to want to do. This is one of those episodes. We all have
those moments in life. Something happens. You see something on TV. Maybe it's just a commercial. All
right. It's happened to me before. When I see an ad and I go, I got. I gotta call my dad. I gotta call
my mom. I gotta call my sister, I gotta call aunts and uncles. It just happens sometimes. And this

(07:26):
episode's going to do that to you. Uh, because if there's one thing that these drivers reminded me
of, it's that none of us ever regret spending more time with family, getting more time to talk to our
family. Uh, an extra phone call here and there. It's never something that we regret. It's always
something that fills us up. Okay? And and that's that's what today's episode is going to do. It's

(07:50):
gonna fill you up, I promise you that. Uh, happy Father's Day right off the bat here. To all of our
fathers out there listening grandfathers, if you're a father figure in someone's life and you
don't have any kids of your own, this is for you, too. Because you'll hear some stories today about
how father figures, not biological fathers, shaped these drivers. And I just

(08:15):
want to take the time out to say, if you're a father figure in someone's life for somebody that
is not your child, you deserve a lot of praise, because it takes a lot to
step into that role and know that you probably are going to face a little bit of pushback,
because you're not my real dad. We've all seen it in the movies, we've all seen it in the TV shows. I

(08:37):
don't think it happens quite as dramatically as what we normally see in our in our media each day,
but the point still remains. That's a very tough thing to do. And if you're out there doing it. You
deserve all the praise that the dads get on Father's Day. Um, and without further ado, I want to
get to this episode or get to this interview segment because it's pretty long. Uh, four drivers

(09:00):
joined us today, and I do want to give a special shout out to Mark Burleson, who had, uh, listen, the
the storms are coming in and his chicken coop was down and he had to fix that thing. So he politely
bowed out of the episode today. But he sent us a ton of pictures of his family. And you can see
all those pictures once again up on the website, in the gallery podcast.bulktransit.com. We

(09:26):
also got pictures from Mike Upchurch, Jeff Linne, uh, Jeff Linne, Alex Smith and Paul Francis. Every
driver sent us stuff that was going to join us today, and I got four of those guys on the line. So
let's play that interview right now.

(09:47):
All right. Welcome back in here to always pneumatic, never static. Now, you heard me say it in
the open. I am pumped for this episode. And especially for this segment. Uh, bulk and spur
drivers are a special group. All right. Uh, I had an emphatic yes from all five drivers that I asked
to come on this podcast today. Uh, unfortunately, one of them did have to bow out. Now he's got a

(10:09):
good reason for it. That is Mark Burleson. Uh he is trying to rebuild his chicken coop before the
thunderstorms come. And I understand it now I don't have chickens myself. Uh but batten down the
hatches before uh the thunderstorm rolls in is always a good idea. So you can still check out all
the awesome pictures that Mark and the rest of these drivers sent us online at the website

(10:31):
podcast.bulktransit.com. Definitely go and look at the pictures. Uh, they are so cool. I've
never received so many pictures from drivers when I've asked for them to send in pictures for
anything. So what that tells me is I am joined by four very proud fathers right now on always
pneumatic, never static. Let's get them in here. Joining us first we got Mike Upchurch back here

(10:54):
on the show. Mike thanks for being here again man. We really appreciate the time. Yes, sir. Thank you
Brandon by me by of course. And I will wish you a Happy Father's Day as well. I appreciate that. Yes,
sir. Thank you. Now we're going to do a roll call here. Coming up in a minute where I'm going to go
through the entire roster with you guys. You can tell me your kids names, ages, brag about them a
little bit, but let's welcome in the other drivers first so we know who's here. Joining us second

(11:18):
today we got Jeff Linne on the line Jeff welcome back man. Glad to have you. Thanks for inviting me
again I appreciate it I enjoyed the last time and I look forward to this time man. Happy Father's
Day to you all. Yeah. Happy Father's Day to you too man. And now listen you guys, I'll take happy
Father's Day, but I gotta be full disclosure here. I've just got two corgis. Uh, there's no human

(11:40):
children running around my house. You're still here, sir? Well, I appreciate that. I really
do. Jeff, thank you for being here today. Uh, next up, joining us, we got Paul Francis back on the show.
Paul. Appreciate the time, my friend. Happy Father's Day to you. Well, thank you. And same to you. Uh. Come
on. Anytime you need me. I love it, man. I love that attitude. Now I'll be calling you. You know that.

(12:04):
I'll beat up your phone when I got it. When I got somebody that's willing to come on for anything.
Just warms my heart, man. Just warms my heart. I talk on the phone all day, so it's nothing
different. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. You know, we we kind of built this podcast around that fact, knowing that
there's a lot of drivers that are on the phone with each other all day, uh, makes sense to just

(12:24):
hop on with me and let me chin wag for a little bit, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Well, Paul, uh, we
greatly appreciate it. Next up, we got a driver making his first appearance on the show, and we
are super happy to have him. His name is Alex Smith. Alex, thank you so much for being here today,
my friend. Happy father's Day. I appreciate it. Happy Father's Day, drivers. How do you do

(12:48):
now? Uh. I will tell you right now to pay some special attention to, uh, Alex's pictures on the
website. Uh, because he's got some great ones. That one where you guys are all laying around in the
snow with the with the newborn in the middle. That that's a that's a picture for the album. Alex, that
was awesome. Thank you so much for sending those. Hey. You're welcome. So that's our our list today.

(13:09):
We got Mike, Jeff, Alex and Paul in here. And uh, let's just start this. I want kind of a scouting
report from you guys. Uh, Mike, I'll start with you. How many kids do you have? How old are they? Two.
And I believe 33 and 39. So they're out of the house now. And there are two boys. Two boys? They're
out of the house now. They're not bugging you anymore? No, man. Happily married and got two

(13:34):
grandkids or a four grandkids. Total to two each. A boy and a girl. Uh, my oldest son is a girl and boy,
and I'm, uh, youngest one there. A boy and a girl. Oh. Within it. Oh, within a year apart. So as far as
the older and younger a year apart. So we went from 0 to 4 real quick. About two years. Yeah, it
sounds like it, man. How's life is grandpa? Do you like being. You like filling that room now?

(13:58):
Absolutely. I love every every minute of it. All the good and none of the bad. Right? You don't have
to do any punishing. You just get to spoil them. Uh, no. Absolutely. It's fall on us. They keep us. They
keep us going. Absolutely. That's awesome. Mike. Well, uh. Yes, sir, I I love to hear it. We're we're
wishing happy father's day. Happy grandfather's day as well. Today. Uh, Jeff, let's get to you, man.

(14:20):
Roll call. Uh, how many kids ages I got? Four, all grown nine
grandchildren. I've, uh. That they range the the oldest is, uh, 33.
He'll be 34 in July. Uh, my daughter just back in February.
Turn 31 and my third number three, turn

(14:46):
28, in February, and my baby boy is 25. It'll be 26
in September. My oldest, uh, has three children. My daughter has
two. My number three child just had his first born about seven weeks

(15:07):
ago. It'll be eight weeks by the time this, uh, airs. Um. And then
my baby boy has three daughters. Wow. That is, uh,
that that's a bit overwhelming. Nine grandkids. That's a full suburban, plus a trailer, uh, you. Know,
or how easy. And I say that I'll say this. Most of it is estrogen. We

(15:33):
just did get a baby boy. Uh, the baby went. That was my little, uh, grandson. Uh, so we
got out of the nine. We've only got three boys there. The rest of them are our beautiful little
girls. Uh, you're outnumbered, man. You're outnumbered. Yeah, yeah. I love em, though, man. They
all of them call me Pat. I love every one of them there. I. I wouldn't change nothing

(15:58):
whatsoever. That's awesome man. Well, uh, a bunch of good pictures coming from all these drivers, so
definitely go check out the pictures that Jeff sent us. Uh, once again on the website podcast.bulktransit.com
Uh, let's go to you next, Paul. Uh, roll call. How many kids, how many
grandkids? Six kids. Eight grandkids. And are you outnumbered? Two. Or are you got an even spread of,

(16:22):
uh, of girls and boys out there? The our kids three's. My wife's three's mine. So I got three
step kids, but I got a total. She has two boys and a girl. I have two girls and a boy. So
we got we got we got the Brady Bunch. Yeah. For sure. And, uh. And. Sorry. Go ahead. We're

(16:42):
outnumbered. We're outnumbered on granddaughters for grandkids. And what's the spread there of the
eight? Uh, my well, my kids, Brett, which is my
oldest stepdaughter, 37. My daughter's just turned 37,
and my middle grandson or stepson is 34.

(17:09):
And my middle daughter is 27. Youngest stepsons, 32 and my sons, 23.
Wow. And how about the grandkids? What's the what's the spread on that one? Oldest just turned
18. That was on my wife's side. So they started young.
Then we got well, we got 18 I think 13. Uh, eight.

(17:36):
Six one. I know I'll forget all then.
13 again and five. Wow. Then two. Then two are deceased. So. Oh.
I'm sorry. Sorry to hear that. Uh, yeah, very sorry to hear that. But, uh, um, you know, you've been in

(17:56):
this grandpa game for a while now. You must be pretty good at it, Paul. Oh, I love it. I love kids.
It don't matter if they're mine. Somebody else's. They just. They bring out the kid in you. Yes.
They do. Absolutely. I got to spend some time with my nephews this weekend, and, man, they made me feel
young again. You can act like a fool and don't have to be embarrassed about it. There you go.

(18:21):
There you go. You know, they're fun. Yes. Yeah, man. And especially having such an age spread,
because you can, uh, you know, you can go out and have some adult fun with the older ones, you know,
take them to a ballgame or something like that. And the little ones you find yourself on the
floor playing with Hot Wheels, right? Yeah. Fishing or golfing with the older ones. Oh, perfect. Right

(18:42):
up my alley, man. Right up my alley. I love it. Uh, let's go to Alex now. Alex. Uh, I I'm thinking,
based on the pictures I saw, that you are not a grandfather yet, but I could be mistaken. Uh, what's
the roll call over at your place? Well, you are mistaken. I do have a granddaughter. Oh. That's
awesome. Congratulations, man, I, I didn't I didn't pick up on it in the pictures, but that's awesome.

(19:05):
I have five. Sons and three stepsons. Wow. So eight boys. So how's the. How's the lady in the
house feel about all this? Uh, all this testosterone? Uh, now
she's a she's a trooper. She's a tough one. Now, uh, I gotta ask you this. With that many boys running

(19:25):
around, is the. Do you do things get broken a lot? I mean, just find random things that got broken that
maybe, uh, you know, were repurposed for, uh, for playtime or anything like that. Everything gets
broken. Kind of figured, man. I kind of figured. Uh, what's what's the age of your kids?

(19:46):
Uh, the oldest one is 22. Um, the next one is 19. About be
20, then my stepson, 16. The twins are 12. We have eight
year old, a four year old and a two year old. Wow. You even got a set of twins in there, man. How do
you keep it all straight? Uh, my wife, she does all

(20:13):
the heavy lifting there. I get you, I get you. That's awesome. Well, uh, full house is full hearts,
right, Alex? Absolutely. I can tell, uh, from all the pictures that you guys sent in that you're all
very proud. Dad's and granddad's. And, uh, I think that's really cool, man. Not having kids myself. Uh,
it's hard to relate to exactly the feeling that you get, uh, when you see and when you look into

(20:37):
the eyes of your of your kids and your grandkids and I wonder. Fellas, my very first question for
all of you. And, and we'll kind of go through it once one at a time here. But what's your favorite
age? I mean, you guys have seen it all. You've got grandkids, uh, your kids, some of them are grown.
Some of them are still in the house. Some of them are still young. Um, which age is it? Mike, I'll

(21:00):
start with you. What age did you like the best. Man? It's hard to. Oh, the
hard to choose. Uh, you know, like, a lot of. They're young, but, man, what the what they've accomplished.
God says they built old and got families of their own. It makes me really proud. I'm sure it
does, man. I'm sure it does. Do you, uh, do you miss having little ones around the house every now and

(21:24):
then? Or do you kind of get that from, uh, from seeing the grandkids from time to time, huh? Uh, the
weekend. Yeah, the weekend. Weekends. And if they stay down, you'll come and visit. I see them there
also, but yeah. From time to time. But yeah, I love I love when we do see them. You know.
Absolutely. Uh, Jeff, how about for you? Do you have a favorite age? And and I, I should go ahead and

(21:47):
qualify this. I'm not asking you to pick a favorite kid here at all just because they might
be that age. Uh, but I'm talking about more. Just the experience and the kind of they they all kind
of go through similar things when they're at similar ages. So, uh, Jeff, do you have a favorite
age or age range of your kids? Yeah, I would say. Probably. Uh, from

(22:09):
about. Five. To about. 13. Years old, because
there was a for me, uh, I was involved in a lot of, uh, what they did athletic wise
or any other, any of their extracurricular activities. It got me involved as well.

(22:30):
And not only that, uh. I think it was. Somebody said something about it. You could act a fool and. Not
really. Yeah, man. Listen, when I got my grandbabies around or when my kids were young, I. That was me. I
was acting full, being goofy, dancing around, singing. I mean, wow, yeah, I still do. When I got my

(22:50):
grandbabies around, I. Yeah, I did that goofy, you know, and, um, just honestly, they bring the
kid out in me like it was mentioned earlier. Well, I can just give you one little tiny story real
quick. When I grew up, we played this game called Kick the Can Y. As years went by and I started
having my kids, and then they had their friends and so forth, we we implemented that

(23:15):
game. Uh, and I was out there playing around, crawling around with army style and all this kind
of stuff hiding. And so I would say in that age range, I mean, I love my kids. I'm proud of them,
what they've done as adults. But as far as, um, we've kind of they got their life and they're
living their lives. And so it's really do a lot like it used to be. We used to do different kids

(23:40):
that are are living in South Carolina. And I got the, the one that just had the, the newborn. He's
staying with me. But we all got have our careers and things. So it's kind of hard to get together.
And that's one thing uh, I can't I am proud of is that my kids, they grew
up, uh, to love one another as well. So a lot of times it's group activities, just

(24:06):
very seldom that we do individuals. So we like to do things together. Yeah, I, I
could tell that from the pictures, uh, big Ohio State fan family. I told you when I talked
to you before that we were Buckeye fans, right? Yep. And, uh, I so, um. And that I know you. I sent

(24:27):
a video, and I know you said it probably couldn't be posted, but that video was every child
and every grandchild at that point in time. That was my 55th birthday. Wow. They they they they
threw a party at my house, uh, for me. Um, it was a surprise thing.
Um, and, you know, we're all about getting around a bonfire and that kind of stuff. Took it out and

(24:53):
doing all those kind of things, and that represented that whole thing. And I wish it could
be posted, but that's what that whole thing representative was. Me. My children and my
grandchildren, all of them that was, you know, like I said, I've had, uh, actually the
last three I got a year old two year olds and one that's, uh, six, seven, six, seven weeks,

(25:17):
whatever. Um, so there was lots happened in the last year and a half. I had to dig. And it's hard
to find just me and my daughter by myself. That happened to be with the, uh, the day that she got
married. The one the the picture I sent. Yeah. Um. Yeah. She's in a beautiful wedding dress, man. And
you look as happy as a as a pig in slop. I'll tell you what, man. You look so happy in that picture. Oh.

(25:45):
I'm pretty proud of my my kiddos. They they, uh, I can't I can't complain. You can tell,
man. And it shows and I, I am still working on getting that video up there with the photo
gallery. Uh, and by the time the you guys hear this, it might actually already be up there. Uh, I'm in
talks with my web guy. That's a that's an awesome video because it shows every everybody right

(26:06):
there in the same backyard. That's got to feel really good as grandpa. Yeah, it was that, um. It was.
It was nice that I. I can get emotional sometimes. And I wasn't expecting, uh, my daughter showed up,
and I wasn't expecting that, and, uh, that was pretty special. And I had tears in my eyes. I just
had tears in my eyes because they it was they all made it a point to be off work or whatever that

(26:32):
was. They made that their activity for that day, and that just showed how much love they had for
their fathers. What I thought great. Yeah. Yeah, that is great, man. Awesome stuff. And I like I said, I'll
work on making sure that video gets up there. But if for any reason we have any trouble with it,
there's a bunch of pictures that Jeff sent in as well. Uh, so go up there and make sure you take a

(26:53):
look at him. Paul, I'm on to you next man. Do you have a favorite age or age range for the kids and
the grandkids? Well, not really. I like them at every age because you can do something different,
but, you know, at different ages, right? Like now, my oldest stepson is probably my
best friend. You know, we do pretty much everything together. Hunt, fish, golf.

(27:20):
That's awesome. So but then like my middle son, he just. Stepson just got out of the Navy.
So now we're going fishing every weekend because he's moving to Kentucky
probably in the next month or so because he's going to Asbury University, which is an

(27:41):
undergrad for the seminary. Oh how cool. I bet you that's got you pretty proud.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Now, because he was in the Navy 11 years, almost 12, and
he worked for chaplains. Well, he found his calling while he was in there. That's so cool.

(28:01):
Amen to that for sure. And and definitely thank him for his service and and any of you guys that
are vets, I thank you for yours as well. On Father's Day. Uh. You're welcome. You know, that's
that's not an easy thing. Obviously, it's in those formative years, uh, in your early 20s, normally
that you're enlisted, you know, 18 and on, of course, when you can enlist, and that's when you're trying

(28:23):
to start a family. Maybe build a family. So, uh, the, the fact that you guys all have these huge
families and, and so many of you have, uh, have served this great country and now have, uh,
offspring that are serving this great country. Man, I'll tell you what a cool deal. Uh, and I just love
to hear the pride that you guys all speak about your family's with. And I just said, you know, I

(28:44):
love all my kids. Grandkids. It don't matter if they're blood, not blood. I mean, I've got some
ex grandkids I still consider grandkids, and. I'm sure they still consider you
grandpa. They do? I mean, if you put them in there, then I'm up to ten grandkids. If I had them to.

(29:05):
Wow. I just didn't add them before. But my grandson, he's well, ex grandson, but
I still call him my grandson. We fish, we hunt. We do all that. So,
you know, it's just. It don't matter. I mean, I don't care whose kid it is, who's child. I've got

(29:27):
kids. It's called me grandpa now. And there's no blood, no related. Nothing. Well,
you're only one away from, uh, from a starting offense, uh, on the football field there. So, uh. I
still got three kids that don't have kids yet. Well, so you're gonna you're going to make more
than you're going to have more, uh, more than enough grandkids to field one side of the

(29:49):
football team and have some subs, is what you're saying? Right. Yeah. Problem. Now, I gotta ask you
this because, uh, I golf a lot with my dad. I hunt a lot with my dad. Um, and and he and I, regardless
of how much I work on it and how much he just plays golf casually, he and I always seem to be
within a few strokes of one another when neither one of us has really ever pulled away as the

(30:12):
better golfer. But I'll tell you, when we go out hunting, uh, that guy has so many more notches on
his rifle than I do, and I'll never catch him. Uh. How's that? How's that working with you, Paul? Is he
out fishing? Is he out golfing yet? Well, he used to. He passed away a year ago, so.
Paul. Sorry. So I'm sorry to hear that I that I didn't. It's okay, you know,

(30:38):
but no, he he didn't golf, but he taught me everything about fishing.
Hunting, you know, even made us go on little survival things as kids. Oh,
that's cool. You know, he would take us even though he's only a mile from the house, but he'd take us

(30:58):
down to the creek in the woods and give a little bit of water and a
fishing pole and said, you don't come back till this'll be on a Friday night and you don't come
back till Monday. Wow. And that's probably where you developed a lot of your outdoor instincts and
skills, isn't it. It was, it was. And I mean, we grew up down there, creek fishing

(31:23):
just I mean, that's all we did growing up is fishing, hunting, camping. Yeah. I remember shooting
my first deer at 12 years old, you know, but I've been I was hunting at
probably eight because dad bought I got two brothers, so I'm the middle one. But

(31:43):
on our eighth birthday, he bought each one of us a for ten single shot. Oh. That's awesome. That's
so Chris. And I still have. We all still have ours. Wow. So. And
that's just going to get. I passed it to my first son. Her only

(32:03):
son, actually, you know, my blood. So then he's going to when he has kids, it goes to
his first son. And we're just going to keep that tradition going. That's so cool.
You know, my dad's taught me a lot. You know, he taught me, you know, to be respectful to your
elders. You know, I always say, yes, sir. No, sir. Yes, ma'am. You know. Thank

(32:30):
you. You know. But my dad was a I mean, I'm 510. My dad
on his toes. He's probably five four. Okay, so you got you got a lot taller than him. Probably at a
young age, then. Yes. And my mom's five foot. She ain't that now. But

(32:51):
she. Her call was. She might have been five foot if she's lucky. So, you know, my parents were tiny,
but great people. Yeah, it sounds like it, man. I mean, it's they were married.
Dad was 19. My mom was 14 when they got married. Wow. That's amazing. What a cool. Story.

(33:12):
That's not a big deal. But, you know, that'll get you. That'll get you in trouble. Yeah, yeah. Times
were different back then. That's a long time ago, you know? And and, uh. Exactly. The world changes and,
uh, you know, we're, uh, we're not guilty of, uh, of anything that they did back then, uh, now. And, uh,
you know, it's it's okay to look back on it and look, uh, if if that was, uh, some sort of, uh,

(33:36):
terrible thing that happened, they wouldn't have stayed together for as long as they did. Right,
exactly. Yeah. I mean, both my parents are hillbillies. They both were born in Kentucky. You
know, dad was me down Kentucky. Mom was hazard, Kentucky. So. Okay, I've heard of hazard, Kentucky
before. You know, I lived in outside of Pikeville, Kentucky for four years. So

(34:00):
when I'm not able to work, that's where I'm retiring to hills in Kentucky. Got it. Got it.
Down there. Back to the Hatfield and McCoy area. Exactly. Yes, sir. I'm going to be. I got a family
down there and I've already got a plot of land. All I got to do is put a house on it. Perfect, man.

(34:20):
Perfect. Well, before. Two miles back the holler. Okay. All right. Well, it sounds like a heck of a
place to retire. Paul. Uh, Alex, uh, I want to get to you here and ask you this last question before we
get into some other stuff here. Uh. Did you have a favorite age range? Uh, of of kids or grandkids?
Anything that stood out to you? The favorite age range. Be the ones that still want to stick

(34:45):
around? Yeah. The ones that don't get about. 13, 14 years old. They kind of start wanting to
push away and go with their friends and, you know, have their own life, which is fine. But, you know, I
guess the goal would be, you know, when you know, everybody is together is, you know,

(35:05):
when everybody's most happy. Sure. Keep everybody in one spot. Yeah, I hear you. Was it was it
hard when the first one turned that age, that kind of that 13, you know, pushing teenage years where
they kind of know everything and you don't know anything. Was that first one that you dealt with,
uh, getting to that age? Was that kind of a big transition for you, or did you have to learn a lot

(35:27):
of lessons to kind of cope with it? Oh, I learned all the lessons. Uh,
yeah. Yeah, they're they're tough. Those are the practice kids. I, I was a
young father, you know, that that picture of me holding my son, you know, I was in my desert

(35:47):
cam, huh? He was born two weeks before I deployed that wreck, and. Wow. I kind of missed that
whole first year of his life. So when I, I left him, he was two weeks old, and I came back. He was
already walking. Wow. That had to be tough, man. Especially being that far away. Yeah,

(36:08):
I was a young father. I was, you know, 19 years old, having him and, you
know, being away for a whole year. You know, you miss out on those things. Yeah. What a cool
picture, though, of you and your fatigues holding the newborn baby. I mean, that's such a cool
picture. I bet you that one's framed on the wall somewhere, isn't it? Yeah. We got em everywhere. It's

(36:33):
hard to choose. It was hard to choose what photos I wanted. Yeah, I had so many. Yep. You do. Man, you
got a lot of great pictures. And that's why I said don't apologize for for photo bombing me, man. I'll
use every single one of them. We'll get em up there. Uh, and, you know, I always wonder about that
part of of military service, obviously, leaving the family back home. That's that's a pretty standard

(36:56):
thing. Everybody understands. That's what happens. And it's hard. But when you have a child that's
born two weeks before you deploy to a place in the world like Iraq, um, I mean, you probably had
every single emotion running through your brain. Uh, How often did you get to get back in touch? Uh,
with with, uh, your your wife or your spouse there and and talk to her about what was going on. Were

(37:19):
you able to keep a lot of contact in that year or was it kind of intermittent? So this is 2004
and, uh, I mean, maybe a couple letters here, here and there every month, maybe a phone call a
month or so. Man, how'd you how'd you deal. With watch yours? Getting to watch your son grow

(37:40):
up through, like, pictures being sent in the mail. Right. Well, um, how do you deal
with it? You compartmentalize it. Just. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, like a lot of things in the military, right?
Yeah. Yep. Well, uh, fellas, you know, sitting there listening to Paul talk a little bit about his

(38:01):
dad, uh, brought me to this next question, and, uh, we're going to swing it right back around to the
roster. We're going to go right up to Mike here. Uh, Mike, what part of your dad became part of you? Do
you see anything in that? Apple doesn't fall far from the tree thing. Because, you know, I look at
myself in the mirror and I. I think I have, uh, as far as my face is concerned, I think I'm kind of a

(38:23):
blend of my two parents, for sure. Uh, but if you want to talk things like sense of humor, the
wisecracks, the the the jokes that I tell on this podcast, those are my dad. Through and through. Uh,
is there any part, Mike, of you, your personality, any any of your mannerisms that came from dad? I
think just the work a lot, a lot of it was the work. Work habit always worked hard to support a

(38:47):
family, you know? And, uh, what he would, he had a really dry sense of humor. But when he did do it,
it was just this little short, short sentence of segments of it. And, uh, the family, the family
got him. Family got through and through. I love that now that that work ethic
probably pays real dividends now doing the job that you're doing, doesn't it? Absolutely. Yes, sir.

(39:12):
Yeah. That the family also like I say, they passed the 13 years in January, but, uh, but yeah, I just,
uh, you know, uh, we were like, best friends. Also talked every day 3 or 4 times a day, you know, and
stuff like that. So is it. And, uh, he was a mechanic by trade and sure wish I'd

(39:33):
been paying a whole lot more attention back the day it had me tell him apart and tear them apart
and, uh, clean it. And then I came home and he had put it all back together. Not a not a bolt or nut
or anything would be be, uh, left in the pan, you know, that we got it, but wow. Yeah, that'd be a few
big things. No, I never day. I'm sure you do, man. And I'm sorry to hear about his passing, but

(39:58):
it sounds like you and he got to spend a lot of really good quality time together. Absolutely. Yes,
sir. That's great man. That's great. Now, I have to ask you, Because having a mechanic for a dad, a lot
of people would look at you and say, oh, well, your dad's a mechanic, so you got to be a good mechanic.
Uh, did you ever get to be as good of a mechanic as he was? Because no bolts, no nuts laying in the

(40:19):
pan. That's a that's a feat right there. I can't even took a I can't even take a little transistor
car or radio or something like that. I'm so lost with it. Oh, there is a go kart or something like
that. It's a it's a challenge though. No. Absolutely not. I've done some stuff. I can do brakes and
stuff on my own, but I'll brakes oil changes and tune ups, but the major tear downs and stuff?

(40:41):
Absolutely not. Sure, sure, I get it, man. That's a tough one. It's something that if you don't spend
your whole life learning how to do, uh, that you probably won't get very good at. And you mentioned
it. You said, I wish I would have paid a little bit more attention, man, if I could talk to myself at
12 years old and learn some of the things that my dad was trying to teach me and actually maintain
him. Uh, I think things would be a little bit different. I wouldn't have to call so many

(41:04):
handymen to come over to my house and fix the things that I break. Right. That's that's my. That's
my idea. I just took, uh, when I had a problem beforehand. I call him and say, get the porch and
bring him out, and we'll fix my hand, the compressor, the tools, the shop. I fix a man, and I
just. I cringe every time I go to an auto auto repair shop nowadays. Uh, I know they're ripping me

(41:27):
off at some time. They're so. Oh, yeah. Yep. Yep. I hear you, man. Every single time I'm in there. Uh,
that's great stuff there, Mike. Jeff, I'm on to you now. Uh, did did anything any part of your dad's
personality, mannerisms, uh, sayings. You know, dads are always, uh, full of, uh, of little dad quotes
there anything like that that rubbed off on you that you see in yourself these days, Jeff? Uh, not

(41:52):
from, uh, honestly, I was raised. By my step grandfather. Uh, I never met my biological
father, but, uh, the guy that raised me, though, that I called dad, Um. He was.
He worked so much. I think that's probably where I get my work ethic. Mhm. Um,

(42:13):
he he was constantly working. Uh, he was in a union I think, uh, he was a,
uh, maintenance man at a factory in town and, and uh, so being
union, they got double time when they worked on holidays and time and a half was always constant.
So he it was like he was constantly working. And when he did take a little time off, we

(42:40):
spent a little bit of time at the river, at the lakes. He tried to teach me how to fish, but I was
too high strung. I'd drop a line in the water. Five minutes later I'm skipping rock.
And ruining the fishing. Right? Well. I was just too hyper.
I think if I had been on a boat and was using fishing lures and things like that, it might be. It

(43:03):
might have made me a fisherman in life, but he was the type of person he would bring led home
from work. And he had, uh, sinker, uh, mold, mold. He'd melt the
lead down, put em in to say we were bottom feeding, fishing. I don't know how many. I'll tell you one
thing. He taught me how to take a catfish off a line. That's it. That's a good skill. You end up

(43:28):
with some holes in you if you're not careful, won't you? Yeah, I did do that. Um, but, uh, for
the most part of it, I just learned how to work, you know, and and, uh, I just
he built that work ethic up. I watched how he worked, and that's what I've always done. I

(43:49):
mean, always getting the overtime, trying to do what I can, chasing the dollar,
doing that kind of stuff. I probably spent more time with my kids than he spent with any of his
kids, but I'd say work ethic. Work ethic for sure. And again, just like Mike really pays dividends
with the job that you do. Jeff. Yeah. All the jobs I've had in my life, it's been kind of like that.

(44:13):
Everything. Everywhere. Everything I've done. Even when I was punching the clock, there was always
overtime offered and I was always jumping on it. That's great. Well, I look at work
ethic being instilled in you especially a good one is never a bad thing. Uh, and I think that, you
know, that's going to be something that you'll probably hear even more as we go through. Uh, uh,

(44:36):
Paul, I'm coming to you. Uh, what part of your dad or father figure do you see in yourself these
days? Anything that rubbed off? Yeah. Stubbornness, bull headedness. If you
ask my. Wife, she'd say. I'm just. I'm just blunt,
so. And honest. And people don't know how to take me. Sometimes they think I'm being, you know, a

(45:02):
jerk or. But I'm not. I'm just. I just take after my dad that way. You know, it's just like
if you ask a question. Oh, you're expecting an honest answer. I'm going to give it to you. Whether
you like it or not. That's the way my dad was. Yep. You know, my dad's got a saying. My dad's got a
saying, Paul, that he says, uh, don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer. Uh,

(45:26):
exactly. Yeah. It sounds like that might. Not. Be for you. Uh, so you said no sense of humor as well?
Yeah. And I like, uh, like me and my wife. People think we're fighting all the time, but we're not.
That's just how we are with each other. We pick at each other. And that's how my dad was. Yeah.

(45:47):
If I don't pick on you, then I don't like you. That's how my dad was. I hear. You more. He picked.
The more he picked at somebody, the more he liked that person. That's just how he got to know people.
And I'm the same way, you know? I pick at people at work all the time, but it's all

(46:07):
in fun. I don't mean nothing by it. It's just I like to have fun every day. All day.
It just. Life's too short. Yes. Yeah, it is 100%. And listen. Nobody. With. With life being too
short. Nobody makes any hay by beating around the bush. So that that bluntness being straightforward,
that's a good quality to have. And, uh, I find that to be something that is, uh, pretty common among

(46:32):
the truck drivers that I talked to. Uh, they're not real nonsense, guys. They're they're pretty
straightforward guys. You know. You kind of get that after being on the road, you know, ten, 11
hours a day, every day. Yeah. It kind of makes you that way. Yep. It sure does. Kind of turns the whole
body into a nice callus, doesn't it? Oh yeah. I mean, it's like when I first started driving, these guys

(46:55):
could probably agree you would get mad real easy to get drivers. I
mean, just other people on the road. Yeah. Nah, I don't yell at
nobody anymore. I don't, you know, give them the number one sign or anything, I just drive.

(47:16):
You're no longer a truck driver then? No, I. Know he's he's turned in his super trucker title.
That's what it. Is. The nicer guy. He's a lot will hold her now. Oh, that's what I tell
people. I don't work, I. Trust me, I don't work hard. I mean, on this load

(47:36):
I run, it's easy. Hour to 45 minutes to load. 45 minutes to
unload. That's the plastic. That makes you an ideal guest on the podcast. Because we can get to you
whenever we need to, right? Yeah, yeah, I'm all you. Call me at 2:00. I'm driving. No matter what, I'm
driving. Perfect. Yeah. Pretty much. Well that's great, Paul, sounds like you got some great traits

(48:01):
from your dad as well. Alex, I'm coming to you next. Uh, anything that your dad or your father figure
in your life, uh, rubbed off on you. Do you see it in yourself? Uh. Uh, whether it's when you're
looking in the mirror or just the way that you act or anything like that, that you notice. Well.
I think. I was. Raised by him. I didn't know my biological father.

(48:27):
He was in prison pretty much my whole life. Um, my mom remarried pretty young, and they were
trying to build a, you know, their careers. And so we spent a lot of time with, you know, my mom's
older sister and her husband. So in turn, I got kind of like two dads, my mom, you know,
remarrying. And he was an architectural sheet metal worker. And my mom, you know, my

(48:52):
mom's sister's husband was a truck driver. Oh, okay. So as I got older and I did my time
in service, I got out, I went and joined, um, the union sheet metal working. And then,
you know, he was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2010. I switched my career path to be a truck
driver, a heavy tow truck driver, and my uncle taught me how to do. You got my license, taught me

(49:18):
how to drive a truck. And, you know, it's just their their
work ethic, their rain shine, whatever it is, they show up.
Yep. No matter what it is. Yeah. How cool that that you got the two father figures in your life, and

(49:39):
you ended up sort of following in both of their footsteps at one time or another. That's a that
that really goes to show how big of an influence they had on you, Alex. Oh, yeah. They had a huge
impact in my life. You know, I, I don't know where I would be without either one of them. Do you, uh, do
you like the driving career more than the sheet metal career? Uh, well. The sheet metal career was

(50:02):
fun for me because I got to travel with my dad and my brother. Okay. Gotcha. And they were both.
They were both killed, you know. So after that, I couldn't do it anymore.
And I decided to change career paths. And I want you to be a heavy tow truck driver for a while.
Well, then that got kind of tiring, and I switched over and, you know, got hired in in bulk transit.

(50:27):
And are you happy here? I've been here eight and a half years. I mean, it's, uh,
it is I, I like the part where nobody really bothers you. Yeah, yeah. You know, they gave you your
your your job to do. You show up. You do it. Nobody's nobody's, you know, calling you nonstop.
What are you doing? Trying to keep track of you. You know this places. You know, they hire some good

(50:53):
drivers. They got some good people here. Yeah, they show up and do their work. And I guess that's what
is expected of us. Yeah. For sure. You seem like a pretty laid back guy. Alex, you don't seem like
anything really gets under your skin. Yeah. No, you really gotta. You gotta try.
Yeah, yeah. Well, I promise you, we won't try. Today here on the podcast. But that does sound like a

(51:18):
fun challenge. Maybe sometime I'll get in touch with you and and just see if I can rile you up.
But I can give you some names of drivers to call with Jake. Much to get them riled up. Yeah, I'm
sure. I'm sure they're out there, man. And it's funny how the road can do that to you, because I.
I'm a pretty laid back, fun loving guy, too. I like to smile. I like my conversations, obviously. But

(51:41):
man, when I get behind the wheel, do I get angry sometimes. So you guys have the patience of saints?
I will say that, uh, because, uh, I see it all the time, man. Nobody's got any respect for you out
there on the road, as four wheelers could really learn a thing or two from you guys. And, uh, uh, it
doesn't seem like any of us are listening, and I'll be honest with you. So, uh, we appreciate that
patience. I mean, if you think about it a little bit, Marcus, back when we weren't truck drivers,

(52:08):
we're doing all the things to trucks that are being done to us now. Every one of us has done it.
Yeah. I mean. I you know, it's interesting. You say that. I remember I. Was, I was. I think 18.
Years old. And, uh, I was, uh, dating my first wife and

(52:28):
uh, her mother, uh, and I and, uh. Another. Couple and. It. Went, uh,
Myrtle Beach for vacation. And I was the one that was doing the driving. And I thought it was cool
to go ahead and try to save fuel by drafting off of the semis.
Not, you know, 18 a digger, Right? Yeah. Yeah. So I was. Well, no, I

(52:54):
thought that was cool. I mean, I had a little bit of a NASCAR fever in me back then, if you
understand what I'm saying. Yeah. I do. So, uh, one little
quick story about that. But I did get married. We went down to, uh, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge
area for a honeymoon. And, uh, I don't know if you remember the geo storms or the geo or anything

(53:17):
like that. My ex mother in law had a geo storm, and that's what we used to drive down there.
Well, on our way back, she tells her mom, hey, we're getting ready to leave. We're on our way back. I'm
coming through the mountains, 100 and 1520 mile an hour. She's asleep and I'm playing. I'm doing the
NASCAR. Once again, I'm drafting over in Cinnabon, and I get. I

(53:41):
get to Ashland, Kentucky, which is only like 35 minutes away from my home back then.
But I got there and like, I think a total trip would have been like 5.5 hours. I got to
Ashland, Kentucky in like two hours. We went to the mall for a while to waste time. Yeah, you

(54:01):
gotta keep up the keep up the illusion, right? It's so funny that you mentioned Geo Store. My dad
bought two of them when I was a kid. Uh, and they were kind of. Were they for speed or five speed? I
can't remember. I know they were. I know they was four and a four, I think. Uh, I think the ones that
we had were five speeds, but he would, he. Would. Know that better than I would. And and these ones

(54:23):
would be a little bit, uh, uh, maybe just a few years newer than the ones that you had, but, uh,
nothing nice about them. I mean, they were just a can of beans on wheels. In fact, I remember my dad
sold one of the geo storms to a guy that I went to high school with, and I went to a small high
school. So he never locked his his, uh, his doors. And one time I got with the guys in the shop and

(54:48):
we went down and they pulled all the tires off that geo storm and put them all in the car, and
then locked them in there and put it up on blocks in the high school parking lot. And I'm not
kidding you. The it was a gravel parking lot. And for those of you that don't know what a geo storm
is, and we're just kind of talking about some weird, uh, no longer in production vehicle, I say

(55:08):
can of been on wheels very seriously because we didn't have. Exactly. We didn't have a jack to put
under that car. And so they got like four linemen from the football team and just pick the back
bumper up so that he could put the tires back on it. I mean, the things were so tiny and maybe even
would have saved a little bit of gas mileage drafting in behind a rig. I can imagine that truck

(55:30):
never had any idea you were back there. Right? I the the the funny part about that, I ended up
getting me a metro, which was even smaller. Just a little cylinder. Yeah, they got 50 miles to the
gallon and I was driving through Columbus, if that's what it was. It was a three. I was the
Southern Ohio, and I was working in Columbus, Ohio, and that was the whole purpose of it, because it

(55:54):
had a ten gallon tank and fill it up, and I got 50 miles to the gallon. Man, that was that's what I
drove back and forth to work. It didn't have no AC or nothing. It was. And obviously you couldn't do a
hundred in that thing. But, you know, my my AC was 260. You understand what. Yeah. Yeah. But
that's just you talking about old cars that don't make. I used to have a you go.

(56:21):
Oh. Well. And and, you know, I got. On it in a card game. Oh. No way.
That's awesome. I, I will say about the Geo Metro, you could do a hundred miles an hour in it if you
were in neutral and someone was pushing you down a real steep hill. I think you could get there, but.
And I don't know about that. Are you good? What's that? My 82. And on to and they don't say he

(56:46):
started. They started instead of the red light to die. They won the hat they found. They run so much.
Run when the motors are down that it would actually. AC would almost kick off on it. So it's
under the red light. Yep. And the heater would heater with bacon. You'd have it on light open to
defrost it. So yeah. Not the most well made vehicles. And now that we're kind of picking them

(57:10):
apart a little bit, you kind of know why they're not making them anymore, huh, fellas? Yeah, exactly.
Uh, guys, this. Has been side by side. Better. Yeah, they really do. And, uh, faster. Uh, more affordable.
Well, probably not more affordable. You could get a geo storm or Geo Metro for a buck 309 these days,
right? Uh. Actually, I might take the cans back in the garage and get the. But get the deposit money

(57:35):
back and go buy myself one, you know? Exactly. Well, fellas, listen, uh, I've had you hear
going on almost an hour now, and I really want to get to this segment where you guys as as dads, as
grandpas, as sons yourselves, get a little bit of time to just talk freely and and you know what I
hope is that maybe you'll share this episode with your families and they can hear a message from

(58:00):
you guys before we let you go here. Um, so this is kind of replacing our Final Thoughts segment. We
just had fun, you know, telling stories and talking about kids today. And so the final thoughts part
of the show gets to be you guys sending a message, uh, whether you want to tell somebody else Happy
Father's Day or whether you just want to brag about your kids some more, does not matter to me.

(58:23):
This is, uh, your part of the show. Go ahead and make it yours. Uh, happy Father's day. Mike Upchurch,
thank you so much for joining us again. This has been a lot of fun today. Um, what do you have to
say to anybody that might be listening out there on this Father's Day special? Mike. Yeah, as I said
earlier, I miss my dad. He's not with us anymore. But, uh, my two sons are both, uh, worship pastors

(58:47):
now. And, man, I'm talking about the proud, proud moment over there. The ones that my youngest was
in New Mexico. So we get their, uh, grands about once a month with a travel look for 27 hours.
So it's a it's a blessing. The other one lives in town, and he has two also. But both of us are so
proud of them. But they went different directions as to where they, uh, come to be worship pastors. My

(59:11):
youngest needs a preacher also. So it's a real, uh, so proud of them. And, uh, my grades are getting to
where now we're at the age where, uh, we're a little more adventurous and stuff like that, and
and with my my sons and their wives, they're traveling out at different places and stuff like
that. So it's really, really, uh, proud of all of them. Great stuff there, Mike. Happy Father's Day,

(59:35):
and thanks again for being here today, my friend. Yes, sir. I thank you very much. Thank you. Yes, sir.
Jeff. Jeff. Linne. Happy Father's Day to you. And thank you for being here. Uh, what's your message
you'd like to send out to whoever might be listening before we let you go? Uh, I want to say
happy Father's Day to all the bulk transit family. That's the top to the bottom.

(59:58):
All those fathers out there. I hope you have a blessed day. Um, I, I want to be. I want
to say happy Father's Day to all three of my sons now. Like, it was my just two
now. My my middle son had his baby. So I want to say Happy Father's Day to all three. I always send

(01:00:19):
a text on birthdays and on those kind of holidays and, uh, uh, it's it's kind of.
I didn't know it. I didn't know if he was ever. He was he was a little bit wild. He was sowing his
oats. And I never I didn't know if he was going to settle down and, uh, and have any children. Um, but
he was an all age and awesome uncle to all of the, uh, the all the children from the other.

(01:00:44):
Other, uh, other my other kids. And I knew he would be a great daddy. He's proven to be that. All of
my kids are great fathers. They they're they impact their children. They are involved with
everything that they do. Uh, my son in law. Uh, he he's over in, um.
Jordan. If hopefully he can hear the message. Uh, I wish him a happy Father's Day. I know it's rough

(01:01:10):
on him right now. He got. He got deployed, like, uh, the day of his son's birthday back in February.
Gosh, that's gotta be so tough. He's been in Jordan and he's been in. He's been on my
heart, been praying for him a lot. And, uh, we just wish him to get back as fast as we can. I love

(01:01:30):
em all. Yes, sir. Great stuff there, Jeff. Amen. Amen. 100% to that. And, uh, we
hope that, uh, here on always pneumatic, never static. We hope your son makes a safe and speedy
return as well, because, uh, gotta get back there to be in those kids lives. That's got to be so tough
to get deployed on your son's birthday. Yeah. For sure, that was I. He knew he was being

(01:01:54):
deployed, I think a few days ahead, but that, uh, I don't I don't think he was
planning on leaving that exact day. Uh, and I'm pretty sure it's it's either the day before or
the day of, uh, he was deployed. Well, can't wait. For him to keep praying to get him back. Yes, sir.
That's right. Yes, sir. Uh, Paul, on to you, my friend. Uh, anything that you want to say to

(01:02:20):
anybody that might be listening? A Father's Day message out to you or out from you to them. Uh, and
and, of course, happy Father's Day to you. And thanks for being here. Oh. You're welcome. Yeah. I
just want to say, you know, happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. You know, it's, uh. it's a
lot of responsibility, you know, to to be a father and to be a good father. I mean,

(01:02:45):
you gotta put time effort in it. So I just recommend each father out there, you know,
spend as much time as you can with your kids, your grandkids. Enjoy every minute you
can with them because you can't get the time back. You know, so just enjoy it. No

(01:03:06):
matter if it's, you know, an hour, a week or a day, whatever. Just
take the time. You know, your kids will think you your grandkids will. Thank you. You
know, just just do your best. That's all you can do. Sage advice there, Paul. Sage advice

(01:03:27):
from you. And, uh, and you've you've had the experience to really back that up. Uh, you know,
more time with the kids is a rising tide that lifts all ships, isn't it? It does. I mean, it does.
It's it's wonderful. I mean, you know, I don't get to spend as much time as I would
like, you know, with my grandkids. But when I do, you know, we

(01:03:52):
go do something fun. I, you know, I try to take each set of grandkids somewhere 2
or 3 times a year, just no matter where it's at, if it's a little basketball affair
or the zoo or the drive through safari up at Sandusky, you know,

(01:04:13):
anything? Anything. So we took we took, uh, two of them to the Ark.
Oh. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. And. Yeah, that was. That's the first time I've been there,
and we loved it. And then one of my granddaughters wandered off. Uh oh, uh oh.

(01:04:34):
Oh, yeah. You talking about a grandpa and uncles that was freaking out? Hey, little kid was a
little kid was bullying her, and she just took off the wrong direction. Did you find her? The snow
cone stand or. Where'd you find her? Oh, she found an old lady. Oh, well. Hey, that's good
instincts, right? She went to an old lady and said, I'm looking for my grandma. She's got

(01:05:00):
orange hair and a blue shirt on. Perfect. That. What good instincts that little girl has already. Man.
That's great. She was only gone 2 or 3 minutes, but it's still enough to 88. Yeah. You
know. Yeah. 2 or 3 minutes. It took 2 or 3 years off the end of your life, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah,
but I still wouldn't change none of it. Yeah. Life experiences. For sure. Paul. Well, thank you so much

(01:05:26):
for being here, man. Happy Father's Day to you. Yeah. Thank you. Alex smith. Happy Father's Day to you, my
friend. thank you for joining us, making your first appearance here on the Always Pneumatic, Never
Static podcast. Uh, your message to anybody that might be listening on this Father's Day special.
Before we let you go. Yeah. Um, happy father's day. It's my oldest son. And

(01:05:50):
it's been, you know, an honor, a privilege to watch all my boys grow
up and become young men. And, you know, even my stepsons, they're. You know, they're all so
smart. It's been fun watching them pursue their their passions

(01:06:10):
and, you know, watching them grow over the years. And I, I couldn't be happier
with all of them. They're great boys. I have no plates
other than my bank accounts getting a little smaller, but. Other than that 0808. Other than that,

(01:06:30):
you know, it's been it's been a ride. I love it. I wouldn't change it for the world. That's awesome
man. Well said, well said guys. Thank you all so much. Happy Father's Day to you all. Be safe out
there. Get back to those families, safe and sound, so you can celebrate a little bit over the
Father's Day weekend. And I hope that you'll wish all of the fathers in your lives, be it your

(01:06:53):
kids or your own dads or father figures in your lives. If they're still around, make sure that they
they get told Happy Father's Day from always pneumatic, never static in your boy Marcus. Okay,
fellas, can't thank you enough for being here today. Thank you sir. Yes, I appreciate it. Here we
go. Everybody stay safe. Happy father's day. Yep. Happy Father's Day, guys. And be safe. That's

(01:07:16):
safe travels.
Great stuff there from our drivers. Want to thank Jeff Linne, Mike Upchurch, Alex Smith and Paul
Francis. Kindly for their time. What a great conversation and insightful conversation and and

(01:07:37):
really an honest conversation. Um, you know, a lot of times on this podcast, we're talking about
trucking. We're talking about the finer points of safety. We're talking about the job itself. And
there's so much that goes into it and there's so much content to cover. Uh, but a lot of times it
doesn't make you take a step back and need to take a moment. And I did need to take a step back

(01:07:59):
and take a moment after that interview, because I, I'm hearing guys talk about how their dads aren't
around anymore. And, um, I, I'm fortunate enough to still have my dad in my life and,
um, I can't imagine being, uh, in a, in a situation where my dad is no longer there or my father
figure is no longer there. Um, so as I said in the intro, I think this is one of those

(01:08:25):
episodes that you're probably going to sit back, take a deep breath, and realize that you gotta
call somebody. You need to call dad. You need to call the father figure in your life. Maybe you
call the kids or the grandkids. Um, it's just one of those things that really reminds you and
almost kind of shakes you to your corn, but not in a bad way. But it reminds you of all of of the

(01:08:48):
love and the dedication that goes into building a family. And you know, when you talk to fathers that
are truck drivers, it really puts things into perspective for you. Um, my dad was home all the
time. He worked his ass off during his working years before he retired. 6080 hour weeks all the
time across multiple different careers. And I still got to see him. Okay. He was home every night.

(01:09:14):
He was at my baseball games. Hell, he was coaching me for a lot of him. And if he wasn't coaching, he
was there with a video camera. And I've got all that stuff on tape if I want it. The value that
that brought to my life is indescribable. I can't put words to it. So I
just want to say thank you to the drivers that came on to share a little bit of their lives

(01:09:37):
today. The good and the bad. And that's why I say such an honest conversation there. Um,
Jeff Linne, Mike Upchurch, Paul Francis, Alex Smith, you guys are awesome. You were awesome today and I
really do appreciate that. And uh, we'll add Mark Burleson to that and say we greatly appreciate
all the pictures that are up there. And if you are having that moment right now that step back and

(01:10:02):
think about it moment. And who do I need to call. Who who do I want to call right now? Take some
time and go check out the pictures at the website podcast.bulktransit.com, and you're going to
feel that get even more powerful because as you scroll through these pictures and you see the
happiness and the love and the dedication, and then you realize that these guys are truck

(01:10:27):
drivers. They're doing one of the hardest jobs there is to do, and they're doing it isolated from
their families for large portions of their days or their weeks or their months. You're gonna I
mean, you just heard a story. You talked about, uh, a kid that had to be deployed two weeks
after his son was born. And that's Alex. And the reason I say a kid, he might have been an adult at

(01:10:50):
19. I was still a kid, and I think Alex probably was two. And thinking about the emotions and
and the just feeling, all of the feelings that probably went through his body when he realized
he was going to have to deploy to Iraq two weeks after his, uh, his, his child was born. I just, I

(01:11:10):
can I mean, it makes my voice shake just talking about it. Um, and the fact that he was willing to
share that with us is, uh, is amazing. And you got to see the picture, man. The picture of him in his
fatigues holding the newborn baby. That's that's some real tear jerking stuff right there. And, um,
you know, while I'm thinking about that, I do want to say a, uh, just a huge thank you to all those

(01:11:33):
dads out there that also served in the military. Uh, thank you so much for your service. Happy
Father's Day, and thank you for your service. Uh, without you, we wouldn't be able to even have
these types of conversations about our dads. Uh, without the people that protect the freedoms that
this great country offers. And, uh, you really get the feeling that those guys that served in the

(01:11:55):
military while they were becoming dads, or while they were already dads, or they have children that
are serving in the military or both, um, they're kind of the dads of the, of the country that we
get to live in. They might not be the ones that signed the Declaration of Independence and can
call themselves our quote unquote, forefathers. But the fathers that are out there every day running

(01:12:18):
miles on the road and are overseas protecting our freedoms. Um, they get a special place in, in our in
all of our hearts, especially on our Fathers Day episode. So thank you for that. Um,
we talked a lot about time today on the show, and I think it's important to reflect about that. Uh,
the time we get with our parents, the time we get with our children, the time we get with our

(01:12:40):
grandchildren. Uh, and if there was one lesson that I thought kept showing up over and over again
today, it was that nobody ever wishes that they'd spent less time with the family. I said that in
the intro. The pictures the driver shared are incredible, right? But what stuck with me, uh, wasn't
the pictures themselves. It was how every single story attached to them sounded a little different,

(01:13:02):
yet somehow ended in the same place. And that place was pride. Pride in the people. Their kids
have become pride in the families they've built, pride in, the memories that they've made along the
way. So wherever you're listening from today, whether you're headed to a customer, headed home,
parked for the night, take a minute and reach out to somebody who helped shape your life, whether it

(01:13:23):
be your dad, your grandpa, father figure, or maybe it's your spouse. Maybe it's, uh, maybe it's your
kids. It doesn't matter if you're lucky enough to still have your dad around, give him a call for
sure. Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers in bulk transit and beyond.
From all of us right here at always pneumatic, never static. I tell you, this is a powerful

(01:13:47):
episode, and I think that's enough said. Let it sit with you for a minute. Pick up the phone and make
a call. Be safe out there, bulk and spur. We'll see you next week for another hour of content.
Wednesday, 5 a.m. local time. 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

(01:14:12):
to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us today. Till next time, stay safe. Keep those lines
clear and keep it pumping.