September 9, 2025 • 43 mins
This week on Premeditated Opinions:
Death by Southwest isn’t a true crime story (though it sure feels criminal when your flight’s been delayed for the 8th time). In this episode of Premeditated Opinions, we dive headfirst into the absurdity of modern air travel — from chaotic check-ins and lost luggage to the legendary Southwest meltdown that left travelers stranded, broke, and questioning their life choices.
Expect sass, sarcasm, and a healthy dose of “are we really paying this much money for seat 32B?” We’re breaking down airline culture, travel nightmares, and why flying in America feels more like survival of the fittest than a vacation starter.
If you’ve ever screamed internally at an airport gate, been stuck on the tarmac, or wondered how customer service could get this bad, this one’s for you.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
The chaos that earned this title: “Death by Southwest”
Travel horror stories (and why we can’t stop sharing them)
Airline customer service fails that feel like comedy sketches
The bigger picture: what airline chaos says about American culture
Premeditated Opinions is the podcast for people who are over it but still care — blending humor, cultural commentary, and millennial real talk.
Links Discussed:
Sorry, It's Your Problem Now: I'm Dead, Workbook - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRS8WBND?...
Southwest Airlines: https://www.southwest.com/
Dallas Love Field: https://www.dallas-lovefield.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
But I like the idea of a tree, especially a fruit
tree, because then you can enjoyme for years to come, you know.
UNKNOWN (00:12):
I'm juicy.
SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
You're going to be a peach tree?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
God, yes.
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02 (00:26):
You're listening to Premeditated Opinions, because
yes, we thought about it, andthen we said it anyway.
I'm Pamela.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
And I'm Josh, and we are just two people who somehow
share a brain and decided toweaponize our brains with
microphones.
SPEAKER_02 (00:40):
Each week, we unpack the chaos from politics and
religion to petty internetfights and existential dread,
like it's our unpaid job.
SPEAKER_01 (00:49):
We are not experts.
We are just way too confident.
So with all that being said,let's get started.
So now that our children haveresumed school, which thank God,
because mine were slowly killingeach other, which was ultimately
going to kill me.
But now that we have all thistime on our hands that our kids
(01:09):
are back in school, what aresome things you're doing to
consume that time?
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
Thinking about death.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
That's...
Perfect.
What is interesting to you aboutdeath in this moment?
SPEAKER_02 (01:25):
Wasn't there like a movie quote that was like that?
Oh, Barbie.
SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:34):
Did anyone else have thoughts of death?
Well, actually, yes.
Okay, so I was scrollingsomething.
I don't know.
I think it was Instagram.
Instagram.
And I came across this reallyclever ad, and I'm a sucker for
clever ads.
Like, if your ad is, like, oryour product is, like, funny or
(01:56):
clever or whatever, like, ninetimes out of ten, it will be in
my house.
So there was one, and it said–it was a journal, like a
workbook, and it said– Sorry,it's your problem now.
I'm dead.
(02:17):
And basically, it's a workbookof...
Like your end of life planning.
SPEAKER_01 (02:24):
Okay.
I don't hate it.
SPEAKER_02 (02:25):
Yeah.
And so I was like, you gothrough and you put your final
wishes, your investmentaccounts, your bank accounts,
your passwords, like all thisinformation.
So basically, you know.
So
SPEAKER_01 (02:39):
it could be somebody else's problem once you're dead.
SPEAKER_02 (02:41):
It's your demise.
Right.
UNKNOWN (02:44):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (02:44):
Someone knows what to do.
And so I got one for myself andmy husband.
Yeah.
I haven't received them yet, butI'm oddly excited.
Like, it's a package I'm waitingfor.
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
Right.
This is the most millennialestate planning ever.
Like, we can't afford to payattorneys to do it.
So we're just getting Amazonworkbooks.
Just
SPEAKER_02 (03:11):
writing stuff down.
Yeah.
Sure.
Yeah.
(03:37):
Do you have a living will?
Do you have a living will?
Like, no.
Yeah, I knocked on death's door,but no, I don't have a living
will.
And I still don't.
And we've talked about what wewant to do, but I'm still not
sure that Josh would fulfill mywishes the way that I want them
fulfilled.
(03:58):
I mean, granted, I reallyshouldn't care because I'm dead.
SPEAKER_01 (04:01):
You will be dead.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (04:03):
But
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
it's really hard to spread ashes on Mars.
I'm not sure that's a realthing.
reasonable expectation for youto have.
He should
SPEAKER_02 (04:10):
just know.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
Right.
I'm not sure that's a reasonableexpectation.
But also...
I get it.
I get like thinking throughthis.
So, you know, I have gonethrough seasons where I've
traveled a lot for work.
I've traveled internationallyfor work and I've traveled
internationally in places thatare not terribly safe.
(04:34):
And so.
But that's
SPEAKER_02 (04:35):
not where you're going to die.
You're going to die in somehorrible freak accident on a
random Tuesday.
And you're going to be like,well, that sucked.
SPEAKER_01 (04:45):
Right.
I do want a story.
I do too.
I would love for my demise to bejust a hell of a tale.
He was schlepping his camerasthrough the Brazilian Amazon
forest.
I want someone
SPEAKER_02 (04:58):
to write a podcast about my death.
SPEAKER_01 (05:00):
I want a documentary.
I want a good enough death for adocumentary.
Wait, are we?
SPEAKER_02 (05:05):
Let's not manifest a serial killer situation here or
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
a murder.
Not yet, anyway.
Give me another 30 years or so.
SPEAKER_02 (05:15):
Let me get through my kid's graduation.
SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
Yeah, minimum.
Having a grand could be cool.
SPEAKER_02 (05:20):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
Maybe, but at the same time, whatever.
I'm here for it.
No, I think that's brilliant.
And honestly, so, like...
Not to be actually a little bitmorbid about it, but my dad is
66.
He turned 67 in November.
He's a single man now.
And I actually very recently hada conversation with him where I
(05:42):
was like, hey, I don't want thisto happen.
He's in great health.
I have no reason to believethere's anything going on.
But I actually had aconversation with him recently
where I was like, I'm not askingyou for details.
I'm not asking you for anythingyou're not ready to divulge.
Would you tell me where to lookfor whatever I will need to
find?
SPEAKER_02 (06:02):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
Should the day come where you're not here anymore?
And he actually responded verypositively.
It turned into a greatconversation.
And, you know, he does have hisducks in a row, which doesn't
surprise me at all.
And, you know, at the same time,I've had other family members
pass in the fairly recent pastwhere– They didn't have anything
done, and I was like, oh, man,this is a mess.
(06:24):
I mean, it just leaves behindsuch a disaster.
So as much as we're poking funat it, it's kind of brilliant.
And I don't know all the estatelaw or anything like that, but I
know enough to know that mostthings like that will actually
hold water from a legalstandpoint if it's done in a
(06:47):
responsible way.
You don't have to actually have–Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
(07:08):
It's not like you have to gothrough an estate attorney for
all of this stuff.
So who knows?
Maybe Amazon is saving the day.
I think it's kind of brilliant.
So
SPEAKER_02 (07:18):
do
SPEAKER_01 (07:20):
you want your ashes spread somewhere weird?
Is that what you're worriedabout?
No.
SPEAKER_02 (07:28):
Okay.
UNKNOWN (07:29):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (07:29):
Listen, I'm a millennial, so of course I don't
want a traditional something orother.
Josh is pretty much like, justthrow me in the pizza oven and
be done.
And I'm like, okay.
I don't know.
I'm not super...
There's two things.
Well, actually, just one thing.
If I'm going to be buried...
(07:52):
Which I don't care if you burymy ashes or whatever.
There is a cemetery back homethat I am drawn to.
Oh, that sounds weird.
But it's always been a place.
Every time I've driven by, I'mlike, that's where I would want
to be.
SPEAKER_01 (08:09):
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (08:10):
But then there's also part of me that got really
into the, oh, I can't rememberwhat it's called now.
This is a great podcast becauseI can't actually really remember
anything I'm trying to talkabout are
SPEAKER_01 (08:23):
you talking about like the eco-friendly like the
SPEAKER_02 (08:26):
eco-friendly like so you you become a tree
SPEAKER_01 (08:28):
right yeah yeah yeah yeah and
SPEAKER_02 (08:30):
it's weird and gross and I was watching a show
there's this new show on Netflixcalled Leanne somebody was like
so you want to be you want tobecome a tree after you die and
they're like yeah like an appletree and you're like do you do
you want people to eat theapples off your tree like that
(08:52):
That's kind of weird.
I'm like, I don't have to be anapple tree.
But I just, I don't know, it'skind of like giving back.
SPEAKER_01 (08:57):
Yeah, no, there's some poetry in that.
Like, that's a cool approach.
I...
I could absolutely buy intosomething like that.
To be honest, I haven't given ita tremendous amount of thought
as to what happens with me.
I think about
SPEAKER_02 (09:12):
all the things that aren't important and none of the
things, I don't put any weightinto the things that actually
are important.
So yeah, like becoming a tree.
SPEAKER_01 (09:24):
Well, in some ways it's like a relief.
It's like, man, this is all bebetter when I'm a tree.
Yeah.
And I've thought
SPEAKER_02 (09:29):
about, I'm even onto the extreme of thinking like,
you know, I'm an only child.
My husband's based an only childI wanted to have two kids he was
a one and done and I was like noI want two because when she gets
older and we're gone and shethis is her problem now
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
right
SPEAKER_02 (09:49):
yeah I don't want it to be her problem alone sure and
I'm not gonna rely on the factthat she's gonna have somebody
sure you know but I want her tohave a built in yeah somebody so
hence her brother right and AndJosh would always push back on
that a little bit because he'slike, well, that doesn't
guarantee that they're evengoing to like each other.
(10:10):
And I'm like, they will.
Like, I think we have to justcultivate that relationship.
But I just don't want her tohave to make those decisions and
kind of face that.
Because with us being onlychildren, that means our kids
have no aunts, uncles, cousins,like nobody.
SPEAKER_01 (10:29):
Well, and whether or not you– Whether or not you see
it this way, this kind of thing,this kind of silly notebook,
which is a bit tongue-in-cheekand a bit self-aware, and I love
all of that, but it's actually apiece of kindness.
Exactly.
You are doing your left-behindsa favor by saying, hey, here's a
(10:51):
blueprint for how I would wantthings to go moving on.
And in the day and age ofinvestment accounts all being
online, bank accounts all beingonline.
Unless someone knows exactlywhere to look and how to log in
to all the financial things thatwe are tied to, you're never
going to find it.
SPEAKER_02 (11:10):
You're never going to find it.
This was a nightmare for mymother's parents.
So when my grandmother passedaway, And I don't know, like a
decade later, my grandfatherpassed away and my mom ended up
being executor of the estate.
And like, it was a multi-yearnightmare for her because for
(11:35):
one, she didn't know what to doas executor.
Like she was learning all of,about all of these rules and
laws and, you know, having towait for creditors to, to, you
know, before any of this stuffcould be settled.
Right.
And it was, and she, same thing.
Like, she's finding passwordsand, like, finding out about all
(11:58):
these accounts and had no cluewhere all, like, money was just
stashed kind of everywhere.
Yeah.
And it was not fun for hertrying to piece all that
together in order to finallysettle everything.
It was several years.
SPEAKER_01 (12:13):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (12:14):
Until she could finally be done.
SPEAKER_01 (12:16):
Yeah.
I mean, that's pretty similar tomy dad's situation when his dad
my grandpa when he passed it wasa disaster of a situation and my
grandpa actually had some ducksin a row but he was in his
second marriage I'm sorry histhird marriage in his third
marriage he was um he had notkept his finances separate from
(12:38):
his third wife and they met muchlater in life.
Um, and she kind of took himthrough the ringer, but then
there were parts of his estatethat my dad and his twin brother
were sort of co-executors forand watching them navigate that
process and, um, have to justdeal with so many fine print
(13:01):
legalities and things like thatit really made an impression on
me of like we're really doingpeople a kindness when we leave
them a plan oh yeah you know itreally is that way and so we
actually i like to joke withkrista that um her fastest path
to being a really wealthy womanwould be like putting a hit out
on me like if i die she'd bevery wealthy um because the one
(13:23):
thing i do have is lifeinsurance um and i pay
handsomely for it every But Ireally wanted a situation where
if I'm out in the middle of somecrazy country and get abducted
by somebody and killed orwhatever, I wanted to make sure
that she was set up and the kidswere set up and all of that.
(13:44):
And so I have gone that far.
I don't really have anythingthat looks like a living will
yet, but I probably should.
Well, I definitely should.
But it's...
I do have a desire to kind of dothings the right way and follow
things by the book and, and, youknow, really prepare.
But I don't know.
(14:05):
I think I'm going to order oneof these.
We, okay.
So I'm going to order two.
Sorry, it's your problem now.
I'm dead workbooks.
And maybe, maybe we can fill outours live on the podcast, like
not give passwords, but, butlike, yeah.
So what's in your death book?
It's just strange.
(14:26):
and figure out, like, what do wewant to divulge?
That would be really funny.
SPEAKER_02 (14:33):
To my daughter, I give my Calvin and Hobbes
collection.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
And if she doesn't want it, I'll take it.
SPEAKER_02 (14:41):
Oh, I know.
Yeah.
I'll write you in there.
SPEAKER_01 (14:44):
It's fine.
Yeah.
It is fine.
Yeah.
I'm fascinated by that,actually.
And Krista, God love her.
Like, she's so brilliant at somany things, but she really does
not like even consumingconsidering the idea of
SPEAKER_02 (14:57):
death?
It's...
I mean, and she's not alone.
Yeah.
You know, I don't...
I think that's also one of thereasons why we haven't done
anything is because you just...
It's not something you want tothink about.
It's not comfortable.
You know, it's a veryuncomfortable topic.
It's not fun.
Yeah.
And...
You know, you were kind ofjoking earlier.
(15:17):
At one point, Josh wasdefinitely worth more to me dead
than alive.
But it had to be under a verycertain set of circumstances in
order for me to basically be amillionaire.
That's since changed, but thegood thing is I'm worthless to
him.
SPEAKER_01 (15:35):
Dead.
SPEAKER_02 (15:37):
Mainly because of my medical history, it is almost
impossible for me to get lifeinsurance.
The only way I can get it isthrough my...
Right.
And if I don't have an employer.
Right.
Um, and even then it's usuallylike, I think the most I can get
is like double my salary.
SPEAKER_01 (15:54):
Oh, that's not
SPEAKER_02 (15:56):
in
SPEAKER_01 (15:57):
the life insurance world.
SPEAKER_02 (15:58):
Yeah.
Like I want, ideally I wouldlike to leave enough, you know,
with having kids and things to,to pay off, you know, everything
basically, but the house, um,and even be able to pay down
that to where he can, focus ontaking care of them.
But even then it's like, butright now I've got nothing.
(16:22):
Um, and it's, I have gonethrough the process.
I mean, I've even like givenblood to try to get policies and
stuff and they just won't, theywon't approve it.
I'm too high.
I'm too close to death.
SPEAKER_01 (16:39):
Apparently.
I mean, of all of my friends,um, You are certainly one that
has kind of had some of theclosest calls.
But do you feel like any ofthose experiences have put you
in a situation where you becamemore comfortable thinking about
those things?
Or does it still feel taboo?
Does it still feel out of thebox?
SPEAKER_02 (17:01):
I think at this point, it's just...
the process of it is daunting tome.
Sure.
A lot of admin.
A
SPEAKER_01 (17:10):
lot of admin around death.
SPEAKER_02 (17:13):
I've got to find an attorney and I've got to make
the appointment and I've got totalk through the things.
To me, I'm just like, I don'teven want to do that for
anything else.
So that's why I got the book.
Yeah, it's kind oftongue-in-cheek and silly, but
at least we have stuff down onpaper that you know, heaven
(17:35):
forbid, something does happen.
I've got at least somewhat of apath or a map to what, what
needs to be handled and wherethings are and, and what their
essential wishes are.
SPEAKER_01 (17:48):
Yeah.
Well, and honestly, like if,when I die, If y'all aren't
throwing some kind of huge partywith great live music and good
drinks, then you don't know meat all.
A
SPEAKER_02 (18:02):
celebration of
SPEAKER_01 (18:03):
life.
If this isn't like...
Everyone has to Uber homebecause they had a little too
much and social media feeds areflooded with selfies from my
wake.
Selfies with
SPEAKER_02 (18:17):
the casket.
SPEAKER_01 (18:18):
Yes.
Oh my God, yes.
Please do that.
Dead me will think that's sofunny.
I will be on board with all ofthat.
I think that's hystericalbecause it's honest.
It's so much more what mypersonality is and And like,
(18:38):
sure, be sad and grieve and doall those things.
Like, I'm not trying to cheapenpeople's experiences.
But at the same time, I mean,come on.
I'm not interested in peoplesitting around wallowing and
whatever.
I want great music.
I want great food and drink.
There better be barbecue.
I want there to be some sort ofparty in my honor and then go
(19:04):
about your things.
SPEAKER_02 (19:06):
Shortly after we moved to Texas, I had an uncle
that unexpectedly passed.
He was a Oh, nice.
Oh, I
SPEAKER_01 (19:18):
like
SPEAKER_02 (19:19):
him already.
Yeah, and so his service, wewere encouraged to wear tie-dye
shirts, like Grateful Deadstuff, because that was just who
(19:39):
he was.
That was his personality, and itwas...
It was a lot of fun.
I mean, it definitely was atasteful service.
But then when we got back to thefuneral home, there were all
these pictures of his Bigfootsightings and all these things
(20:02):
that he just really enjoyed.
So it kind of did take a littlebit of the bite out of the
situation.
And it's, I think, absolutelywhat he would have...
appreciated so yeah i'm the sameway like party it up
SPEAKER_01 (20:17):
yeah and then make me a tree make yeah just party
hard and then i want to be atree now yeah yeah it seems like
an easy answer to all myproblems it's just becoming a
tree no i love that that
SPEAKER_02 (20:33):
knowing my luck i'd get dug up by raccoons or
something I don't even know howthat whole process works.
I looked it up like a long timeago, and it looked really weird,
but I was like, hmm.
SPEAKER_01 (20:45):
So, I mean, my aunt who passed a couple of years
ago, I'm sorry, last year, shepassed last year.
She wanted to be, and I'm surethere's a better term for it,
but she wanted to be composted,essentially.
And so she was essentiallyrecycling.
She's going
SPEAKER_02 (21:03):
to rot in your backyard in your compost pile?
SPEAKER_01 (21:07):
Well, it was a little more to it than that.
But like, honestly, I didn'tknow much about it.
And obviously I still don't.
But I know that she went throughthis whole process.
process after she passed ofbeing prepared to where when she
was buried she was buried withorganic materials that were
going to naturally decompose andallow her body to decompose in a
way that would actually behelpful to the earth around it
(21:29):
because it turns out when webury a bunch of like wood
caskets full of plastics andthings like that we're actually
destroying a lot of the the landthat we're buried in and so she
um she really wanted this to bedone and so it was funny because
none of us really knew anythingabout it but i think Almost
everyone who attended herservice was kind of looking up
(21:52):
what this process is and how itall works and stuff.
It was really interesting.
I'm going
SPEAKER_02 (21:57):
to tell everybody, don't Google it.
Don't worry about it.
Just know that I'm giving back.
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
Right.
Yes.
That works.
Yeah.
But I like the idea of a tree,especially a fruit tree, because
then you can enjoy me for yearsto come.
Yeah.
I'm
SPEAKER_02 (22:18):
juicy.
You're going to be a peach tree?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (22:21):
God, yes.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
I
SPEAKER_02 (22:24):
think I just want to be a tree.
Listen, do not make me adogwood.
I will haunt the hell out ofyou.
I hate those trees, but make mesomething, I don't know,
SPEAKER_01 (22:37):
something nice.
Yeah.
Where do cottonwoods come from?
Is that like a tree all byitself?
Those little cottonwood fluffiesthat you see floating through
the air during the spring?
Do those come off a cottonwood?
I have no idea.
I don't either.
SPEAKER_02 (22:48):
I'm not an arborist.
SPEAKER_01 (22:49):
I don't know what arborist is, but those little
floaty things, I just know thatI'm in for a week of hell when I
start seeing those because forsome reason I'm really allergic
to those.
I don't think we
SPEAKER_02 (23:02):
have those in Kentucky.
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
Oh, we have them here.
You'll see them in the spring.
But anyway, I wasn't sure ifthat was a dogwood tree or
something.
Or maybe we caught somethingelse.
I don't know.
Yeah, but anyway.
SPEAKER_02 (23:10):
No, dogwood trees smell like ass when they bloom
in the spring.
spring and I mean ass ass likeit it's a very distinct smell
and it's gross
SPEAKER_01 (23:23):
interesting I didn't know that
SPEAKER_02 (23:26):
it's so bad and then yeah the pollen it's just it's a
miserable experience all the wayaround
SPEAKER_01 (23:32):
I have questions about why that needs to exist
like why does a tree that smellsbad that produces terrible
pollen why do
SPEAKER_02 (23:38):
wasps exist why do flying ants why do yeah like
SPEAKER_01 (23:43):
yeah I have many questions for the maker whenever
I meet whoever they are.
Probably
SPEAKER_02 (23:48):
because we're actually in hell.
SPEAKER_01 (23:51):
Right.
Right.
This is all just a simulation.
Yeah.
And we're trapped in the bowelsof hell.
SPEAKER_02 (23:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:57):
Cool.
SPEAKER_02 (23:58):
Particularly.
SPEAKER_01 (24:00):
God, especially Texas in August.
Yeah.
So we've both done some travelrecently and we have some more
travel coming up actually, whichI'm excited about.
But I was thinking, you know,your husband just got back from
a work trip and I travel somuch.
frequently.
You were just in Louisville,blah, blah, blah.
And because we live in Dallas,you mentioned Texas, made me
(24:20):
think of this.
Because we live in Dallas, weare blessed with having two
airlines that hub out of theNorth Texas area.
We have American and we haveSouthwest.
And I have been a Southwestfanboy for For a very long time.
And I think it's important toclarify, I've been a Love Field,
(24:41):
the airport that Southwest isbased out of.
I'm a Love Field fanboy morethan I'm a Southwest fanboy.
And they're starting to make allthese changes.
If I can
SPEAKER_02 (24:53):
be a fanboy, so am I.
SPEAKER_01 (24:54):
Yeah.
They're making all these changesand all this.
And I'm just wondering, like, Idon't.
I don't get it.
I don't understand why theyare...
I mean, other than the fact thata ton of private equity has been
pumped into that brand, whichthat is where all these problems
are coming from.
But...
(25:15):
Do you think that they're doinganything that is remotely going
to be helpful to them as abrand, given all the changes
they're making and stuff likethat?
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
I talked about this this week, actually, with some
people.
I was at a conference inLouisville, and we talked about
it.
And I don't know if...
I don't know.
I kind of go back and forth.
I don't know if I'm justresistant to change in this
particular arena.
It is an unknown that Southwesthas struggled financially for
(25:46):
several years.
And I think some of that isbecause they haven't changed.
Or they've changed very slowly.
They have their core offeringsand their core values, and maybe
that's not helping themfinancially.
So they did bring in thisprivate equity firm.
(26:12):
They're now basically turninginto every other airline, which
is frustrating for us loyalcustomers.
But here's my question.
How often do you actually useyour two free bags?
SPEAKER_01 (26:28):
Okay, so for me, I'm going to be an outlier in
answering this questionbecause...
SPEAKER_02 (26:34):
When you travel with your family, not for work.
SPEAKER_01 (26:37):
Well, again, when I travel with my family, I use the
free bags a lot because it justallows for a lot of flexibility.
I've got a 9-year-old and11-year-old and a spouse that...
She likes her shoes.
She's not a light packer.
Even though she's literally halfmy size, she takes up
(26:59):
three-fourths of the
SPEAKER_02 (26:59):
luggage.
You need a bag for boots.
SPEAKER_01 (27:01):
I don't disagree.
I'm not pushing back againstthis habit.
It is a reality of travelingwith this wonderful, fantastic
human being who I love verymuch.
Because you're listening to thisand I love you.
Please come home later.
I really really...
(27:23):
I get that we need someflexibility.
And so with Southwest allowingthat, we did use it mostly
because it was available for usto use.
SPEAKER_02 (27:31):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:33):
And then from a professional standpoint, I use
it all the time because Ifrequently am traveling with a
substantial amount of equipment.
And so we actually havespecialized bags that I can pack
that stuff in.
And I have media passes andthings like that that allow me
to check heavy bags.
So I am an outlier in that wehave used it.
But that being said, There'splenty of situations in which I
(27:57):
wouldn't if I didn't have itavailable to me.
SPEAKER_02 (27:59):
True.
SPEAKER_01 (28:00):
For me, the draw has always been Love Field more so
than Southwest because DFW issuch a colossal pain in the ass.
I mean, there's about to be sixterminals.
There's five now.
The sixth is under construction.
For starters, that place isalways under construction.
Every time I'm there.
And
SPEAKER_02 (28:17):
it's really bad right now because of the World
Cup coming
SPEAKER_01 (28:21):
here next year.
And so there's about to be sixindependent terminals.
And getting in and out of thoseis such a disaster.
I just...
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
Well, and your flight can change from one
terminal to the next.
SPEAKER_01 (28:35):
Oh, yeah.
And back.
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
And it changes constantly.
SPEAKER_01 (28:39):
At least at Love Field, when you have a gate
change, it's like, oh, I have afour minute walk to my new gate
and I'm not getting on a tramand I'm not doing whatever so I
SPEAKER_02 (28:48):
do I love Love Field as well because I have literally
parked in the parking garagewith 15 minutes to board and
made it before I got my groupgot called that makes me very
nervous But, you know, sometimesyou're just, I got to drive
across the city to get there.
(29:09):
And traffic in DFW is not alwayskind.
SPEAKER_01 (29:12):
No.
SPEAKER_02 (29:12):
So, but I love, that's, it feels weird to say I
love Love.
SPEAKER_00 (29:18):
Yeah.
I love
SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Love Field.
It sounds weird.
But I do because I get in andout quickly.
Yeah.
Except for the one time, whichwe will get into, that it turned
out to be a bigger pain and Iwasn't even going anywhere.
But...
Pre-check.
Quick and easy.
Yes.
I can get straight on...
(29:40):
Because there's only, what, 20gates?
SPEAKER_01 (29:42):
Yeah, 20 gates.
SPEAKER_02 (29:43):
Yeah, and two terminals.
And they're...
SPEAKER_01 (29:45):
Piece of cake.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (29:46):
Just a why.
Louisville's like that, too.
SPEAKER_01 (29:49):
Oh, really?
SPEAKER_02 (29:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:50):
I've flown in and out of Louisville only once.
The only
SPEAKER_02 (29:53):
problem with Louisville is that people are
just slow.
Like, everybody in Louisville isasleep.
SPEAKER_01 (29:59):
Yeah.
So...
You know, got nothing to do.
SPEAKER_02 (30:01):
Sleepy damn.
SPEAKER_01 (30:01):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (30:02):
But...
SPEAKER_01 (30:02):
I really feel like...
So...
To quote you, I'm not sure ifit's just me hating change or if
I really think that this amountof change is a bad idea, but...
I understand that.
(30:40):
But at the same time, if youhave some status or if you buy
early bird or whatever, you canget on the plane with ample
great seat options.
Well, my thing
SPEAKER_02 (30:50):
is every other airline does that.
So if that's what you want, thenfly American or fly Delta or fly
whatever.
To me, the appeal with Southwestwas that it was different.
SPEAKER_01 (31:02):
You
SPEAKER_02 (31:03):
did get the two free bags.
You do have open seating.
To me, it was just more familyfriendly.
SPEAKER_01 (31:07):
Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_02 (31:10):
Being able...
able to get on early with creditcards and perks.
To me, the changes didn't makesense.
And I think as someone whospecializes in change
management, it was not rolledout well.
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
No, it wasn't.
It
SPEAKER_02 (31:27):
did not roll out with the customer in mind.
When...
Southwest had that big debacle acouple years ago around the
holidays.
SPEAKER_01 (31:40):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (31:41):
Yeah, like their systems went down.
SPEAKER_01 (31:43):
I was out in it.
I was stranded
SPEAKER_02 (31:46):
out in it.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
And when the dust settled fromthat, the CEO came out with a
letter of, we're so sorry, thisis how we're going to fix this,
da-da-da-da-da-da.
it helped bring a little moretrust to the airline for people
(32:06):
who were definitely like loyal,like, okay, like you do care.
Like you didn't, yeah, weprobably, there were ways to
prevent this and X, Y, and Z,but at least they came out and
just said, we're sorry, we'regoing to do better.
Yeah.
With this rollout, it was prettymuch, it felt more like, we're
doing this and suck it up.
(32:27):
There was no love, heart to theannouncement.
And I think that did them adisservice.
I think them not coming...
If it were my way, I would haverolled it out in a way that
(32:47):
helped consumers understand whythese changes were being made
and what the changes looked likeand how to anticipate them.
It came out very cold of we'redoing this and you either
embrace it or go somewhere else.
It lost that culture toSouthwest that tells you we
(33:10):
care.
Yeah.
It felt very much like we don'tcare.
And I think that's because theyhad the VC firm come in and
basically make these changes.
And they were like, we need toturn this around financially.
We don't like the way you'redoing things.
(33:31):
We're going to do themdifferently.
It kind of felt like maybe theydidn't even have a say.
I don't know.
Obviously, if I'm wrong in anyof this, correct me.
But it felt very cold, and itdidn't feel like Southwest.
SPEAKER_01 (33:47):
Yeah.
Well, and for a brand that hasactively recruited people who
are friendly, people who careabout the customer experience,
people who are trying to justnot work for some job or some
airline, but they kind of boughtinto the culture of it all, I
(34:08):
could see that being some realwhiplash for a lot of internal
people who thought they werebuying into a particular culture
and now the rug of that cultureis pulled out from under them.
That's got to be pretty uncool.
I don't see...
I could see a lot of peopleplanning their exit because at
this point, if it's going to belike every other airline, then
(34:29):
cool, I'm going to go find thepaycheck of the best airline
that I can and sorry.
And so I could see a situationwhere they have exodus of a lot
of really great people that willonly further tank the overall
image of the brand because nowit's just reinforcing this idea
that we're just like everybodyelse.
And to your point, a huge partof the selling point for them
(34:50):
was they weren't like everybodyelse.
SPEAKER_02 (34:52):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (34:52):
The Open seating never bothered me.
SPEAKER_02 (34:55):
It
SPEAKER_01 (34:55):
never bothered me.
The two free bags I love.
SPEAKER_02 (34:59):
Especially like when we went to Disney.
SPEAKER_01 (35:02):
Oh yeah.
Because we
SPEAKER_02 (35:03):
would basically, we had bags that we didn't fill up
because we knew we were going tobe bringing things home.
So, you know, between the fourof us, we had, eight checked
bags plus carry-ons.
So we had all kinds of stuffthat we could take with us or
bring back.
So yeah, I hate that we don'thave that.
(35:28):
The option's not anywhere else.
And so I chose Southwest,regardless of if it was the
cheapest option, I had brandloyalty.
I had no problems with theseating, the two free bags.
SPEAKER_01 (35:43):
Well, family boarding, you mentioned that
earlier.
Yeah, family boarding.
Yeah, after Group A.
SPEAKER_02 (35:46):
Yeah, and you could earn points pretty quickly.
And they've just revamped all ofit.
It didn't roll out very well.
No.
And another thing that I thoughtabout, too, is if you've been to
business school, Southwest is intextbooks of how they do their
(36:08):
business.
I have had several classes wherewe have studied, done case
studies and used cases on theSouthwest model and they teach
the principles and values ofSouthwest in business schools,
or at least they used to, Idon't, I don't know if they do
anymore, but, um, that wasanother reason why I always
admired Southwest was becausethey did things differently and
(36:32):
now they've turned into everyother, or they're turning into
every other airline.
SPEAKER_01 (36:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (36:39):
Um, and I just, I hate that.
I hate that.
Like, we're just losing thatculture because there's no
other, no other airline has aculture like Southwest.
SPEAKER_01 (36:48):
They don't.
And I think that's– maybe that'sone of the reasons why people
feel almost personally offendedby some of these changes because
it's like– well, but you werelike one of the last beacons of
ethical, well-done businesspractices and– Their logo is a
(37:09):
heart.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
And I just– There is some levelof betrayal that you feel from
brands like that sometimes whenthey take such a pivot away from
things that have been a corepart of their culture for so
long.
And I think that's really at theroot of a lot of the negative
responses from the public islike, well, but you guys said
(37:30):
you were different.
You've spent decades telling ushow different you are and how
great it is and how you shouldtrust us with your loyalty and
your dollars and all that.
And now it just feels like, oh,okay, so that was true.
until there was big moneyinvolved.
SPEAKER_02 (37:46):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (37:47):
And it just feels yucky.
SPEAKER_02 (37:49):
Well, and if we, you know, kind of step back a little
bit and look at this from like a30,000 foot view.
SPEAKER_01 (37:58):
Your current cruising
SPEAKER_02 (37:59):
altitude?
No, no pun intended.
I think...
As millennials, we enjoynostalgia.
SPEAKER_00 (38:09):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (38:10):
We like nostalgia.
We like those things that wegrew up with to not change a
lot.
We do have things that have kindof gone away and they've come
back.
To us, especially in the climatethat we're in right now with
everything so uncertain, it'slike any little bit of joy we
have, we are clinging on to.
Absolutely.
(38:30):
And when that joy...
shifts or changes or goes in anegative direction, I feel like
we kind of bristle at thatbecause it feels like we're
losing another thing.
SPEAKER_01 (38:43):
Yeah, totally.
Oh, man, I completely agree.
And, you know, we hold on tothings pretty tightly that are
sort of anchors to points of ourlives that feel more simple and
cleaner in this way.
You know, I think that's whythere's still such a craze
around Harry Potter with ourgeneration because a lot of us
(39:06):
grew up basically at the sameage as those characters.
And so as those books arereleased, the first book came
out and Harry's 11 years old inthat book.
And I have friends who are 11years old when the book came
out.
And so they literally werereading these books into their
adult years and connecting withthose characters.
And it's largely because of thisheavy pull of nostalgia.
(39:28):
It just feels like a simplertime.
We have all these fond memoriesaround these things and going to
midnight book releases andsignings and things like that.
I think you're absolutely right.
Our generation, more so thanothers as far as I can tell, we
do hold on to those things.
For better or worse, we aretrying to reclaim some level of
(39:54):
I don't know, simplicity orcomfort or safety.
Maybe it's safety.
Safety feels like the right wordto me.
But I don't know.
When we see these brands makebig changes and bold decisions
and it feels, from the outsidelooking in, like a horribly
irresponsible practice, it'sjust– there's a disappointment
(40:18):
that comes with it.
That's kind of hard to explain.
SPEAKER_02 (40:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (40:20):
Um,
SPEAKER_02 (40:21):
and it's change, you know, like we as a generation
have been forced into adaptingchange.
We have to do it.
Like it's, it's survival at thispoint.
Um, and maybe every generationhas been like that.
I feel like we've just had a lotmore pressure to adapt.
And so when we have an anchorlike Southwest, like Nintendo,
SPEAKER_01 (40:45):
like,
SPEAKER_02 (40:46):
you know, any of these things and they make big,
bold, sweeping changes that wejust...
that just kind of rock that or,um, that really it's, it's a,
it's a value change.
SPEAKER_01 (41:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:03):
I think it does.
I think our quote unquotepsychological safety feels
threatened.
SPEAKER_01 (41:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:09):
Um, where it's kind of like, Oh God, if this is
changing, you know, it's onemore thing.
It's one more thing that'schanged.
It's one more thing.
I can't, I feel like I can'ttrust it.
What is this going to look like?
Is this going to fall apart?
Like, are we still going to haveSouthwest in 10 years?
Like, you know, it just, it justcompounds the, the stress and
the anxiety that we...
SPEAKER_01 (41:31):
that we carry anyway.
No, I think you're absolutelyright.
And I think that Southwest hasreally made some mistakes not
calling us before they rolledout some of these changes and
getting our specific.
SPEAKER_02 (41:44):
Yeah.
Well, you know what they couldhave and we just ignored it
because we don't answer thephone for numbers we don't
recognize.
So that could
SPEAKER_01 (41:52):
be it.
Oh, man.
How many opportunities have wemissed because we just don't
answer?
Oh, so
SPEAKER_02 (41:56):
many.
But you know what?
SPEAKER_01 (41:58):
I don't regret it.
SPEAKER_02 (41:59):
I don't.
And if it's important you'llleave a voicemail that I'll
read.
SPEAKER_01 (42:03):
Right.
Exactly.
Because I'm still not going tolisten to your actual voice.
Nope.
Yeah.
But I will read the transcriptof the voicemail you leave
because it's 2025.
And that's what we do.
Well, I appreciate you jumpingin with us, everyone, as we
dissect all of the businessfallacies of the second largest
airline in the United States.
Right.
And yeah, we hope to regale youwith even more business analysis
(42:28):
in future episodes.
So do like and subscribe butthank you you all so much for
joining us and we'll be back inyour ear holes next
SPEAKER_02 (42:36):
week absolutely well that's it for premeditated
opinions where the thoughts werefully baked and only mildly
regrettable
SPEAKER_01 (42:42):
and if you enjoyed today's episode congrats on
having truly excellent taste inpodcasts and also opinions
SPEAKER_02 (42:48):
send this to someone who needs to feel seen dragged
or both we'll be back next weekwith more unsolicited insight
and emotionally responsiblespiraling
SPEAKER_01 (42:58):
and until then please stay hydrated and and
behave yourself in the comments.
SPEAKER_02 (43:03):
But if you don't share them with us.
But I like the idea of a tree, especially a fruit
tree, because then you can enjoyme for years to come, you know.
UNKNOWN (00:12):
I'm juicy.
SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
You're going to be a peach tree?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (00:15):
God, yes.
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02 (00:26):
You're listening to Premeditated Opinions, because
yes, we thought about it, andthen we said it anyway.
I'm Pamela.
SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
And I'm Josh, and we are just two people who somehow
share a brain and decided toweaponize our brains with
microphones.
SPEAKER_02 (00:40):
Each week, we unpack the chaos from politics and
religion to petty internetfights and existential dread,
like it's our unpaid job.
SPEAKER_01 (00:49):
We are not experts.
We are just way too confident.
So with all that being said,let's get started.
So now that our children haveresumed school, which thank God,
because mine were slowly killingeach other, which was ultimately
going to kill me.
But now that we have all thistime on our hands that our kids
(01:09):
are back in school, what aresome things you're doing to
consume that time?
SPEAKER_02 (01:15):
Thinking about death.
SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
That's...
Perfect.
What is interesting to you aboutdeath in this moment?
SPEAKER_02 (01:25):
Wasn't there like a movie quote that was like that?
Oh, Barbie.
SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:34):
Did anyone else have thoughts of death?
Well, actually, yes.
Okay, so I was scrollingsomething.
I don't know.
I think it was Instagram.
Instagram.
And I came across this reallyclever ad, and I'm a sucker for
clever ads.
Like, if your ad is, like, oryour product is, like, funny or
(01:56):
clever or whatever, like, ninetimes out of ten, it will be in
my house.
So there was one, and it said–it was a journal, like a
workbook, and it said– Sorry,it's your problem now.
I'm dead.
(02:17):
And basically, it's a workbookof...
Like your end of life planning.
SPEAKER_01 (02:24):
Okay.
I don't hate it.
SPEAKER_02 (02:25):
Yeah.
And so I was like, you gothrough and you put your final
wishes, your investmentaccounts, your bank accounts,
your passwords, like all thisinformation.
So basically, you know.
So
SPEAKER_01 (02:39):
it could be somebody else's problem once you're dead.
SPEAKER_02 (02:41):
It's your demise.
Right.
UNKNOWN (02:44):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (02:44):
Someone knows what to do.
And so I got one for myself andmy husband.
Yeah.
I haven't received them yet, butI'm oddly excited.
Like, it's a package I'm waitingfor.
SPEAKER_01 (02:57):
Right.
This is the most millennialestate planning ever.
Like, we can't afford to payattorneys to do it.
So we're just getting Amazonworkbooks.
Just
SPEAKER_02 (03:11):
writing stuff down.
Yeah.
Sure.
Yeah.
(03:37):
Do you have a living will?
Do you have a living will?
Like, no.
Yeah, I knocked on death's door,but no, I don't have a living
will.
And I still don't.
And we've talked about what wewant to do, but I'm still not
sure that Josh would fulfill mywishes the way that I want them
fulfilled.
(03:58):
I mean, granted, I reallyshouldn't care because I'm dead.
SPEAKER_01 (04:01):
You will be dead.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (04:03):
But
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
it's really hard to spread ashes on Mars.
I'm not sure that's a realthing.
reasonable expectation for youto have.
He should
SPEAKER_02 (04:10):
just know.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
Right.
I'm not sure that's a reasonableexpectation.
But also...
I get it.
I get like thinking throughthis.
So, you know, I have gonethrough seasons where I've
traveled a lot for work.
I've traveled internationallyfor work and I've traveled
internationally in places thatare not terribly safe.
(04:34):
And so.
But that's
SPEAKER_02 (04:35):
not where you're going to die.
You're going to die in somehorrible freak accident on a
random Tuesday.
And you're going to be like,well, that sucked.
SPEAKER_01 (04:45):
Right.
I do want a story.
I do too.
I would love for my demise to bejust a hell of a tale.
He was schlepping his camerasthrough the Brazilian Amazon
forest.
I want someone
SPEAKER_02 (04:58):
to write a podcast about my death.
SPEAKER_01 (05:00):
I want a documentary.
I want a good enough death for adocumentary.
Wait, are we?
SPEAKER_02 (05:05):
Let's not manifest a serial killer situation here or
SPEAKER_01 (05:12):
a murder.
Not yet, anyway.
Give me another 30 years or so.
SPEAKER_02 (05:15):
Let me get through my kid's graduation.
SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
Yeah, minimum.
Having a grand could be cool.
SPEAKER_02 (05:20):
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
Maybe, but at the same time, whatever.
I'm here for it.
No, I think that's brilliant.
And honestly, so, like...
Not to be actually a little bitmorbid about it, but my dad is
66.
He turned 67 in November.
He's a single man now.
And I actually very recently hada conversation with him where I
(05:42):
was like, hey, I don't want thisto happen.
He's in great health.
I have no reason to believethere's anything going on.
But I actually had aconversation with him recently
where I was like, I'm not askingyou for details.
I'm not asking you for anythingyou're not ready to divulge.
Would you tell me where to lookfor whatever I will need to
find?
SPEAKER_02 (06:02):
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
Should the day come where you're not here anymore?
And he actually responded verypositively.
It turned into a greatconversation.
And, you know, he does have hisducks in a row, which doesn't
surprise me at all.
And, you know, at the same time,I've had other family members
pass in the fairly recent pastwhere– They didn't have anything
done, and I was like, oh, man,this is a mess.
(06:24):
I mean, it just leaves behindsuch a disaster.
So as much as we're poking funat it, it's kind of brilliant.
And I don't know all the estatelaw or anything like that, but I
know enough to know that mostthings like that will actually
hold water from a legalstandpoint if it's done in a
(06:47):
responsible way.
You don't have to actually have–Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
(07:08):
It's not like you have to gothrough an estate attorney for
all of this stuff.
So who knows?
Maybe Amazon is saving the day.
I think it's kind of brilliant.
So
SPEAKER_02 (07:18):
do
SPEAKER_01 (07:20):
you want your ashes spread somewhere weird?
Is that what you're worriedabout?
No.
SPEAKER_02 (07:28):
Okay.
UNKNOWN (07:29):
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (07:29):
Listen, I'm a millennial, so of course I don't
want a traditional something orother.
Josh is pretty much like, justthrow me in the pizza oven and
be done.
And I'm like, okay.
I don't know.
I'm not super...
There's two things.
Well, actually, just one thing.
If I'm going to be buried...
(07:52):
Which I don't care if you burymy ashes or whatever.
There is a cemetery back homethat I am drawn to.
Oh, that sounds weird.
But it's always been a place.
Every time I've driven by, I'mlike, that's where I would want
to be.
SPEAKER_01 (08:09):
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (08:10):
But then there's also part of me that got really
into the, oh, I can't rememberwhat it's called now.
This is a great podcast becauseI can't actually really remember
anything I'm trying to talkabout are
SPEAKER_01 (08:23):
you talking about like the eco-friendly like the
SPEAKER_02 (08:26):
eco-friendly like so you you become a tree
SPEAKER_01 (08:28):
right yeah yeah yeah yeah and
SPEAKER_02 (08:30):
it's weird and gross and I was watching a show
there's this new show on Netflixcalled Leanne somebody was like
so you want to be you want tobecome a tree after you die and
they're like yeah like an appletree and you're like do you do
you want people to eat theapples off your tree like that
(08:52):
That's kind of weird.
I'm like, I don't have to be anapple tree.
But I just, I don't know, it'skind of like giving back.
SPEAKER_01 (08:57):
Yeah, no, there's some poetry in that.
Like, that's a cool approach.
I...
I could absolutely buy intosomething like that.
To be honest, I haven't given ita tremendous amount of thought
as to what happens with me.
I think about
SPEAKER_02 (09:12):
all the things that aren't important and none of the
things, I don't put any weightinto the things that actually
are important.
So yeah, like becoming a tree.
SPEAKER_01 (09:24):
Well, in some ways it's like a relief.
It's like, man, this is all bebetter when I'm a tree.
Yeah.
And I've thought
SPEAKER_02 (09:29):
about, I'm even onto the extreme of thinking like,
you know, I'm an only child.
My husband's based an only childI wanted to have two kids he was
a one and done and I was like noI want two because when she gets
older and we're gone and shethis is her problem now
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
right
SPEAKER_02 (09:49):
yeah I don't want it to be her problem alone sure and
I'm not gonna rely on the factthat she's gonna have somebody
sure you know but I want her tohave a built in yeah somebody so
hence her brother right and AndJosh would always push back on
that a little bit because he'slike, well, that doesn't
guarantee that they're evengoing to like each other.
(10:10):
And I'm like, they will.
Like, I think we have to justcultivate that relationship.
But I just don't want her tohave to make those decisions and
kind of face that.
Because with us being onlychildren, that means our kids
have no aunts, uncles, cousins,like nobody.
SPEAKER_01 (10:29):
Well, and whether or not you– Whether or not you see
it this way, this kind of thing,this kind of silly notebook,
which is a bit tongue-in-cheekand a bit self-aware, and I love
all of that, but it's actually apiece of kindness.
Exactly.
You are doing your left-behindsa favor by saying, hey, here's a
(10:51):
blueprint for how I would wantthings to go moving on.
And in the day and age ofinvestment accounts all being
online, bank accounts all beingonline.
Unless someone knows exactlywhere to look and how to log in
to all the financial things thatwe are tied to, you're never
going to find it.
SPEAKER_02 (11:10):
You're never going to find it.
This was a nightmare for mymother's parents.
So when my grandmother passedaway, And I don't know, like a
decade later, my grandfatherpassed away and my mom ended up
being executor of the estate.
And like, it was a multi-yearnightmare for her because for
(11:35):
one, she didn't know what to doas executor.
Like she was learning all of,about all of these rules and
laws and, you know, having towait for creditors to, to, you
know, before any of this stuffcould be settled.
Right.
And it was, and she, same thing.
Like, she's finding passwordsand, like, finding out about all
(11:58):
these accounts and had no cluewhere all, like, money was just
stashed kind of everywhere.
Yeah.
And it was not fun for hertrying to piece all that
together in order to finallysettle everything.
It was several years.
SPEAKER_01 (12:13):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (12:14):
Until she could finally be done.
SPEAKER_01 (12:16):
Yeah.
I mean, that's pretty similar tomy dad's situation when his dad
my grandpa when he passed it wasa disaster of a situation and my
grandpa actually had some ducksin a row but he was in his
second marriage I'm sorry histhird marriage in his third
marriage he was um he had notkept his finances separate from
(12:38):
his third wife and they met muchlater in life.
Um, and she kind of took himthrough the ringer, but then
there were parts of his estatethat my dad and his twin brother
were sort of co-executors forand watching them navigate that
process and, um, have to justdeal with so many fine print
(13:01):
legalities and things like thatit really made an impression on
me of like we're really doingpeople a kindness when we leave
them a plan oh yeah you know itreally is that way and so we
actually i like to joke withkrista that um her fastest path
to being a really wealthy womanwould be like putting a hit out
on me like if i die she'd bevery wealthy um because the one
(13:23):
thing i do have is lifeinsurance um and i pay
handsomely for it every But Ireally wanted a situation where
if I'm out in the middle of somecrazy country and get abducted
by somebody and killed orwhatever, I wanted to make sure
that she was set up and the kidswere set up and all of that.
(13:44):
And so I have gone that far.
I don't really have anythingthat looks like a living will
yet, but I probably should.
Well, I definitely should.
But it's...
I do have a desire to kind of dothings the right way and follow
things by the book and, and, youknow, really prepare.
But I don't know.
(14:05):
I think I'm going to order oneof these.
We, okay.
So I'm going to order two.
Sorry, it's your problem now.
I'm dead workbooks.
And maybe, maybe we can fill outours live on the podcast, like
not give passwords, but, butlike, yeah.
So what's in your death book?
It's just strange.
(14:26):
and figure out, like, what do wewant to divulge?
That would be really funny.
SPEAKER_02 (14:33):
To my daughter, I give my Calvin and Hobbes
collection.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (14:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:40):
And if she doesn't want it, I'll take it.
SPEAKER_02 (14:41):
Oh, I know.
Yeah.
I'll write you in there.
SPEAKER_01 (14:44):
It's fine.
Yeah.
It is fine.
Yeah.
I'm fascinated by that,actually.
And Krista, God love her.
Like, she's so brilliant at somany things, but she really does
not like even consumingconsidering the idea of
SPEAKER_02 (14:57):
death?
It's...
I mean, and she's not alone.
Yeah.
You know, I don't...
I think that's also one of thereasons why we haven't done
anything is because you just...
It's not something you want tothink about.
It's not comfortable.
You know, it's a veryuncomfortable topic.
It's not fun.
Yeah.
And...
You know, you were kind ofjoking earlier.
(15:17):
At one point, Josh wasdefinitely worth more to me dead
than alive.
But it had to be under a verycertain set of circumstances in
order for me to basically be amillionaire.
That's since changed, but thegood thing is I'm worthless to
him.
SPEAKER_01 (15:35):
Dead.
SPEAKER_02 (15:37):
Mainly because of my medical history, it is almost
impossible for me to get lifeinsurance.
The only way I can get it isthrough my...
Right.
And if I don't have an employer.
Right.
Um, and even then it's usuallylike, I think the most I can get
is like double my salary.
SPEAKER_01 (15:54):
Oh, that's not
SPEAKER_02 (15:56):
in
SPEAKER_01 (15:57):
the life insurance world.
SPEAKER_02 (15:58):
Yeah.
Like I want, ideally I wouldlike to leave enough, you know,
with having kids and things to,to pay off, you know, everything
basically, but the house, um,and even be able to pay down
that to where he can, focus ontaking care of them.
But even then it's like, butright now I've got nothing.
(16:22):
Um, and it's, I have gonethrough the process.
I mean, I've even like givenblood to try to get policies and
stuff and they just won't, theywon't approve it.
I'm too high.
I'm too close to death.
SPEAKER_01 (16:39):
Apparently.
I mean, of all of my friends,um, You are certainly one that
has kind of had some of theclosest calls.
But do you feel like any ofthose experiences have put you
in a situation where you becamemore comfortable thinking about
those things?
Or does it still feel taboo?
Does it still feel out of thebox?
SPEAKER_02 (17:01):
I think at this point, it's just...
the process of it is daunting tome.
Sure.
A lot of admin.
A
SPEAKER_01 (17:10):
lot of admin around death.
SPEAKER_02 (17:13):
I've got to find an attorney and I've got to make
the appointment and I've got totalk through the things.
To me, I'm just like, I don'teven want to do that for
anything else.
So that's why I got the book.
Yeah, it's kind oftongue-in-cheek and silly, but
at least we have stuff down onpaper that you know, heaven
(17:35):
forbid, something does happen.
I've got at least somewhat of apath or a map to what, what
needs to be handled and wherethings are and, and what their
essential wishes are.
SPEAKER_01 (17:48):
Yeah.
Well, and honestly, like if,when I die, If y'all aren't
throwing some kind of huge partywith great live music and good
drinks, then you don't know meat all.
A
SPEAKER_02 (18:02):
celebration of
SPEAKER_01 (18:03):
life.
If this isn't like...
Everyone has to Uber homebecause they had a little too
much and social media feeds areflooded with selfies from my
wake.
Selfies with
SPEAKER_02 (18:17):
the casket.
SPEAKER_01 (18:18):
Yes.
Oh my God, yes.
Please do that.
Dead me will think that's sofunny.
I will be on board with all ofthat.
I think that's hystericalbecause it's honest.
It's so much more what mypersonality is and And like,
(18:38):
sure, be sad and grieve and doall those things.
Like, I'm not trying to cheapenpeople's experiences.
But at the same time, I mean,come on.
I'm not interested in peoplesitting around wallowing and
whatever.
I want great music.
I want great food and drink.
There better be barbecue.
I want there to be some sort ofparty in my honor and then go
(19:04):
about your things.
SPEAKER_02 (19:06):
Shortly after we moved to Texas, I had an uncle
that unexpectedly passed.
He was a Oh, nice.
Oh, I
SPEAKER_01 (19:18):
like
SPEAKER_02 (19:19):
him already.
Yeah, and so his service, wewere encouraged to wear tie-dye
shirts, like Grateful Deadstuff, because that was just who
(19:39):
he was.
That was his personality, and itwas...
It was a lot of fun.
I mean, it definitely was atasteful service.
But then when we got back to thefuneral home, there were all
these pictures of his Bigfootsightings and all these things
(20:02):
that he just really enjoyed.
So it kind of did take a littlebit of the bite out of the
situation.
And it's, I think, absolutelywhat he would have...
appreciated so yeah i'm the sameway like party it up
SPEAKER_01 (20:17):
yeah and then make me a tree make yeah just party
hard and then i want to be atree now yeah yeah it seems like
an easy answer to all myproblems it's just becoming a
tree no i love that that
SPEAKER_02 (20:33):
knowing my luck i'd get dug up by raccoons or
something I don't even know howthat whole process works.
I looked it up like a long timeago, and it looked really weird,
but I was like, hmm.
SPEAKER_01 (20:45):
So, I mean, my aunt who passed a couple of years
ago, I'm sorry, last year, shepassed last year.
She wanted to be, and I'm surethere's a better term for it,
but she wanted to be composted,essentially.
And so she was essentiallyrecycling.
She's going
SPEAKER_02 (21:03):
to rot in your backyard in your compost pile?
SPEAKER_01 (21:07):
Well, it was a little more to it than that.
But like, honestly, I didn'tknow much about it.
And obviously I still don't.
But I know that she went throughthis whole process.
process after she passed ofbeing prepared to where when she
was buried she was buried withorganic materials that were
going to naturally decompose andallow her body to decompose in a
way that would actually behelpful to the earth around it
(21:29):
because it turns out when webury a bunch of like wood
caskets full of plastics andthings like that we're actually
destroying a lot of the the landthat we're buried in and so she
um she really wanted this to bedone and so it was funny because
none of us really knew anythingabout it but i think Almost
everyone who attended herservice was kind of looking up
(21:52):
what this process is and how itall works and stuff.
It was really interesting.
I'm going
SPEAKER_02 (21:57):
to tell everybody, don't Google it.
Don't worry about it.
Just know that I'm giving back.
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
Right.
Yes.
That works.
Yeah.
But I like the idea of a tree,especially a fruit tree, because
then you can enjoy me for yearsto come.
Yeah.
I'm
SPEAKER_02 (22:18):
juicy.
You're going to be a peach tree?
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (22:21):
God, yes.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
I
SPEAKER_02 (22:24):
think I just want to be a tree.
Listen, do not make me adogwood.
I will haunt the hell out ofyou.
I hate those trees, but make mesomething, I don't know,
SPEAKER_01 (22:37):
something nice.
Yeah.
Where do cottonwoods come from?
Is that like a tree all byitself?
Those little cottonwood fluffiesthat you see floating through
the air during the spring?
Do those come off a cottonwood?
I have no idea.
I don't either.
SPEAKER_02 (22:48):
I'm not an arborist.
SPEAKER_01 (22:49):
I don't know what arborist is, but those little
floaty things, I just know thatI'm in for a week of hell when I
start seeing those because forsome reason I'm really allergic
to those.
I don't think we
SPEAKER_02 (23:02):
have those in Kentucky.
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
Oh, we have them here.
You'll see them in the spring.
But anyway, I wasn't sure ifthat was a dogwood tree or
something.
Or maybe we caught somethingelse.
I don't know.
Yeah, but anyway.
SPEAKER_02 (23:10):
No, dogwood trees smell like ass when they bloom
in the spring.
spring and I mean ass ass likeit it's a very distinct smell
and it's gross
SPEAKER_01 (23:23):
interesting I didn't know that
SPEAKER_02 (23:26):
it's so bad and then yeah the pollen it's just it's a
miserable experience all the wayaround
SPEAKER_01 (23:32):
I have questions about why that needs to exist
like why does a tree that smellsbad that produces terrible
pollen why do
SPEAKER_02 (23:38):
wasps exist why do flying ants why do yeah like
SPEAKER_01 (23:43):
yeah I have many questions for the maker whenever
I meet whoever they are.
Probably
SPEAKER_02 (23:48):
because we're actually in hell.
SPEAKER_01 (23:51):
Right.
Right.
This is all just a simulation.
Yeah.
And we're trapped in the bowelsof hell.
SPEAKER_02 (23:56):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (23:57):
Cool.
SPEAKER_02 (23:58):
Particularly.
SPEAKER_01 (24:00):
God, especially Texas in August.
Yeah.
So we've both done some travelrecently and we have some more
travel coming up actually, whichI'm excited about.
But I was thinking, you know,your husband just got back from
a work trip and I travel somuch.
frequently.
You were just in Louisville,blah, blah, blah.
And because we live in Dallas,you mentioned Texas, made me
(24:20):
think of this.
Because we live in Dallas, weare blessed with having two
airlines that hub out of theNorth Texas area.
We have American and we haveSouthwest.
And I have been a Southwestfanboy for For a very long time.
And I think it's important toclarify, I've been a Love Field,
(24:41):
the airport that Southwest isbased out of.
I'm a Love Field fanboy morethan I'm a Southwest fanboy.
And they're starting to make allthese changes.
If I can
SPEAKER_02 (24:53):
be a fanboy, so am I.
SPEAKER_01 (24:54):
Yeah.
They're making all these changesand all this.
And I'm just wondering, like, Idon't.
I don't get it.
I don't understand why theyare...
I mean, other than the fact thata ton of private equity has been
pumped into that brand, whichthat is where all these problems
are coming from.
But...
(25:15):
Do you think that they're doinganything that is remotely going
to be helpful to them as abrand, given all the changes
they're making and stuff likethat?
SPEAKER_02 (25:23):
I talked about this this week, actually, with some
people.
I was at a conference inLouisville, and we talked about
it.
And I don't know if...
I don't know.
I kind of go back and forth.
I don't know if I'm justresistant to change in this
particular arena.
It is an unknown that Southwesthas struggled financially for
(25:46):
several years.
And I think some of that isbecause they haven't changed.
Or they've changed very slowly.
They have their core offeringsand their core values, and maybe
that's not helping themfinancially.
So they did bring in thisprivate equity firm.
(26:12):
They're now basically turninginto every other airline, which
is frustrating for us loyalcustomers.
But here's my question.
How often do you actually useyour two free bags?
SPEAKER_01 (26:28):
Okay, so for me, I'm going to be an outlier in
answering this questionbecause...
SPEAKER_02 (26:34):
When you travel with your family, not for work.
SPEAKER_01 (26:37):
Well, again, when I travel with my family, I use the
free bags a lot because it justallows for a lot of flexibility.
I've got a 9-year-old and11-year-old and a spouse that...
She likes her shoes.
She's not a light packer.
Even though she's literally halfmy size, she takes up
(26:59):
three-fourths of the
SPEAKER_02 (26:59):
luggage.
You need a bag for boots.
SPEAKER_01 (27:01):
I don't disagree.
I'm not pushing back againstthis habit.
It is a reality of travelingwith this wonderful, fantastic
human being who I love verymuch.
Because you're listening to thisand I love you.
Please come home later.
I really really...
(27:23):
I get that we need someflexibility.
And so with Southwest allowingthat, we did use it mostly
because it was available for usto use.
SPEAKER_02 (27:31):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (27:33):
And then from a professional standpoint, I use
it all the time because Ifrequently am traveling with a
substantial amount of equipment.
And so we actually havespecialized bags that I can pack
that stuff in.
And I have media passes andthings like that that allow me
to check heavy bags.
So I am an outlier in that wehave used it.
But that being said, There'splenty of situations in which I
(27:57):
wouldn't if I didn't have itavailable to me.
SPEAKER_02 (27:59):
True.
SPEAKER_01 (28:00):
For me, the draw has always been Love Field more so
than Southwest because DFW issuch a colossal pain in the ass.
I mean, there's about to be sixterminals.
There's five now.
The sixth is under construction.
For starters, that place isalways under construction.
Every time I'm there.
And
SPEAKER_02 (28:17):
it's really bad right now because of the World
Cup coming
SPEAKER_01 (28:21):
here next year.
And so there's about to be sixindependent terminals.
And getting in and out of thoseis such a disaster.
I just...
SPEAKER_02 (28:32):
Well, and your flight can change from one
terminal to the next.
SPEAKER_01 (28:35):
Oh, yeah.
And back.
SPEAKER_02 (28:36):
And it changes constantly.
SPEAKER_01 (28:39):
At least at Love Field, when you have a gate
change, it's like, oh, I have afour minute walk to my new gate
and I'm not getting on a tramand I'm not doing whatever so I
SPEAKER_02 (28:48):
do I love Love Field as well because I have literally
parked in the parking garagewith 15 minutes to board and
made it before I got my groupgot called that makes me very
nervous But, you know, sometimesyou're just, I got to drive
across the city to get there.
(29:09):
And traffic in DFW is not alwayskind.
SPEAKER_01 (29:12):
No.
SPEAKER_02 (29:12):
So, but I love, that's, it feels weird to say I
love Love.
SPEAKER_00 (29:18):
Yeah.
I love
SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Love Field.
It sounds weird.
But I do because I get in andout quickly.
Yeah.
Except for the one time, whichwe will get into, that it turned
out to be a bigger pain and Iwasn't even going anywhere.
But...
Pre-check.
Quick and easy.
Yes.
I can get straight on...
(29:40):
Because there's only, what, 20gates?
SPEAKER_01 (29:42):
Yeah, 20 gates.
SPEAKER_02 (29:43):
Yeah, and two terminals.
And they're...
SPEAKER_01 (29:45):
Piece of cake.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (29:46):
Just a why.
Louisville's like that, too.
SPEAKER_01 (29:49):
Oh, really?
SPEAKER_02 (29:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (29:50):
I've flown in and out of Louisville only once.
The only
SPEAKER_02 (29:53):
problem with Louisville is that people are
just slow.
Like, everybody in Louisville isasleep.
SPEAKER_01 (29:59):
Yeah.
So...
You know, got nothing to do.
SPEAKER_02 (30:01):
Sleepy damn.
SPEAKER_01 (30:01):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (30:02):
But...
SPEAKER_01 (30:02):
I really feel like...
So...
To quote you, I'm not sure ifit's just me hating change or if
I really think that this amountof change is a bad idea, but...
I understand that.
(30:40):
But at the same time, if youhave some status or if you buy
early bird or whatever, you canget on the plane with ample
great seat options.
Well, my thing
SPEAKER_02 (30:50):
is every other airline does that.
So if that's what you want, thenfly American or fly Delta or fly
whatever.
To me, the appeal with Southwestwas that it was different.
SPEAKER_01 (31:02):
You
SPEAKER_02 (31:03):
did get the two free bags.
You do have open seating.
To me, it was just more familyfriendly.
SPEAKER_01 (31:07):
Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_02 (31:10):
Being able...
able to get on early with creditcards and perks.
To me, the changes didn't makesense.
And I think as someone whospecializes in change
management, it was not rolledout well.
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
No, it wasn't.
It
SPEAKER_02 (31:27):
did not roll out with the customer in mind.
When...
Southwest had that big debacle acouple years ago around the
holidays.
SPEAKER_01 (31:40):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (31:41):
Yeah, like their systems went down.
SPEAKER_01 (31:43):
I was out in it.
I was stranded
SPEAKER_02 (31:46):
out in it.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
And when the dust settled fromthat, the CEO came out with a
letter of, we're so sorry, thisis how we're going to fix this,
da-da-da-da-da-da.
it helped bring a little moretrust to the airline for people
(32:06):
who were definitely like loyal,like, okay, like you do care.
Like you didn't, yeah, weprobably, there were ways to
prevent this and X, Y, and Z,but at least they came out and
just said, we're sorry, we'regoing to do better.
Yeah.
With this rollout, it was prettymuch, it felt more like, we're
doing this and suck it up.
(32:27):
There was no love, heart to theannouncement.
And I think that did them adisservice.
I think them not coming...
If it were my way, I would haverolled it out in a way that
(32:47):
helped consumers understand whythese changes were being made
and what the changes looked likeand how to anticipate them.
It came out very cold of we'redoing this and you either
embrace it or go somewhere else.
It lost that culture toSouthwest that tells you we
(33:10):
care.
Yeah.
It felt very much like we don'tcare.
And I think that's because theyhad the VC firm come in and
basically make these changes.
And they were like, we need toturn this around financially.
We don't like the way you'redoing things.
(33:31):
We're going to do themdifferently.
It kind of felt like maybe theydidn't even have a say.
I don't know.
Obviously, if I'm wrong in anyof this, correct me.
But it felt very cold, and itdidn't feel like Southwest.
SPEAKER_01 (33:47):
Yeah.
Well, and for a brand that hasactively recruited people who
are friendly, people who careabout the customer experience,
people who are trying to justnot work for some job or some
airline, but they kind of boughtinto the culture of it all, I
(34:08):
could see that being some realwhiplash for a lot of internal
people who thought they werebuying into a particular culture
and now the rug of that cultureis pulled out from under them.
That's got to be pretty uncool.
I don't see...
I could see a lot of peopleplanning their exit because at
this point, if it's going to belike every other airline, then
(34:29):
cool, I'm going to go find thepaycheck of the best airline
that I can and sorry.
And so I could see a situationwhere they have exodus of a lot
of really great people that willonly further tank the overall
image of the brand because nowit's just reinforcing this idea
that we're just like everybodyelse.
And to your point, a huge partof the selling point for them
(34:50):
was they weren't like everybodyelse.
SPEAKER_02 (34:52):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (34:52):
The Open seating never bothered me.
SPEAKER_02 (34:55):
It
SPEAKER_01 (34:55):
never bothered me.
The two free bags I love.
SPEAKER_02 (34:59):
Especially like when we went to Disney.
SPEAKER_01 (35:02):
Oh yeah.
Because we
SPEAKER_02 (35:03):
would basically, we had bags that we didn't fill up
because we knew we were going tobe bringing things home.
So, you know, between the fourof us, we had, eight checked
bags plus carry-ons.
So we had all kinds of stuffthat we could take with us or
bring back.
So yeah, I hate that we don'thave that.
(35:28):
The option's not anywhere else.
And so I chose Southwest,regardless of if it was the
cheapest option, I had brandloyalty.
I had no problems with theseating, the two free bags.
SPEAKER_01 (35:43):
Well, family boarding, you mentioned that
earlier.
Yeah, family boarding.
Yeah, after Group A.
SPEAKER_02 (35:46):
Yeah, and you could earn points pretty quickly.
And they've just revamped all ofit.
It didn't roll out very well.
No.
And another thing that I thoughtabout, too, is if you've been to
business school, Southwest is intextbooks of how they do their
(36:08):
business.
I have had several classes wherewe have studied, done case
studies and used cases on theSouthwest model and they teach
the principles and values ofSouthwest in business schools,
or at least they used to, Idon't, I don't know if they do
anymore, but, um, that wasanother reason why I always
admired Southwest was becausethey did things differently and
(36:32):
now they've turned into everyother, or they're turning into
every other airline.
SPEAKER_01 (36:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (36:39):
Um, and I just, I hate that.
I hate that.
Like, we're just losing thatculture because there's no
other, no other airline has aculture like Southwest.
SPEAKER_01 (36:48):
They don't.
And I think that's– maybe that'sone of the reasons why people
feel almost personally offendedby some of these changes because
it's like– well, but you werelike one of the last beacons of
ethical, well-done businesspractices and– Their logo is a
(37:09):
heart.
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
And I just– There is some levelof betrayal that you feel from
brands like that sometimes whenthey take such a pivot away from
things that have been a corepart of their culture for so
long.
And I think that's really at theroot of a lot of the negative
responses from the public islike, well, but you guys said
(37:30):
you were different.
You've spent decades telling ushow different you are and how
great it is and how you shouldtrust us with your loyalty and
your dollars and all that.
And now it just feels like, oh,okay, so that was true.
until there was big moneyinvolved.
SPEAKER_02 (37:46):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (37:47):
And it just feels yucky.
SPEAKER_02 (37:49):
Well, and if we, you know, kind of step back a little
bit and look at this from like a30,000 foot view.
SPEAKER_01 (37:58):
Your current cruising
SPEAKER_02 (37:59):
altitude?
No, no pun intended.
I think...
As millennials, we enjoynostalgia.
SPEAKER_00 (38:09):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (38:10):
We like nostalgia.
We like those things that wegrew up with to not change a
lot.
We do have things that have kindof gone away and they've come
back.
To us, especially in the climatethat we're in right now with
everything so uncertain, it'slike any little bit of joy we
have, we are clinging on to.
Absolutely.
(38:30):
And when that joy...
shifts or changes or goes in anegative direction, I feel like
we kind of bristle at thatbecause it feels like we're
losing another thing.
SPEAKER_01 (38:43):
Yeah, totally.
Oh, man, I completely agree.
And, you know, we hold on tothings pretty tightly that are
sort of anchors to points of ourlives that feel more simple and
cleaner in this way.
You know, I think that's whythere's still such a craze
around Harry Potter with ourgeneration because a lot of us
(39:06):
grew up basically at the sameage as those characters.
And so as those books arereleased, the first book came
out and Harry's 11 years old inthat book.
And I have friends who are 11years old when the book came
out.
And so they literally werereading these books into their
adult years and connecting withthose characters.
And it's largely because of thisheavy pull of nostalgia.
(39:28):
It just feels like a simplertime.
We have all these fond memoriesaround these things and going to
midnight book releases andsignings and things like that.
I think you're absolutely right.
Our generation, more so thanothers as far as I can tell, we
do hold on to those things.
For better or worse, we aretrying to reclaim some level of
(39:54):
I don't know, simplicity orcomfort or safety.
Maybe it's safety.
Safety feels like the right wordto me.
But I don't know.
When we see these brands makebig changes and bold decisions
and it feels, from the outsidelooking in, like a horribly
irresponsible practice, it'sjust– there's a disappointment
(40:18):
that comes with it.
That's kind of hard to explain.
SPEAKER_02 (40:20):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (40:20):
Um,
SPEAKER_02 (40:21):
and it's change, you know, like we as a generation
have been forced into adaptingchange.
We have to do it.
Like it's, it's survival at thispoint.
Um, and maybe every generationhas been like that.
I feel like we've just had a lotmore pressure to adapt.
And so when we have an anchorlike Southwest, like Nintendo,
SPEAKER_01 (40:45):
like,
SPEAKER_02 (40:46):
you know, any of these things and they make big,
bold, sweeping changes that wejust...
that just kind of rock that or,um, that really it's, it's a,
it's a value change.
SPEAKER_01 (41:02):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:03):
I think it does.
I think our quote unquotepsychological safety feels
threatened.
SPEAKER_01 (41:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (41:09):
Um, where it's kind of like, Oh God, if this is
changing, you know, it's onemore thing.
It's one more thing that'schanged.
It's one more thing.
I can't, I feel like I can'ttrust it.
What is this going to look like?
Is this going to fall apart?
Like, are we still going to haveSouthwest in 10 years?
Like, you know, it just, it justcompounds the, the stress and
the anxiety that we...
SPEAKER_01 (41:31):
that we carry anyway.
No, I think you're absolutelyright.
And I think that Southwest hasreally made some mistakes not
calling us before they rolledout some of these changes and
getting our specific.
SPEAKER_02 (41:44):
Yeah.
Well, you know what they couldhave and we just ignored it
because we don't answer thephone for numbers we don't
recognize.
So that could
SPEAKER_01 (41:52):
be it.
Oh, man.
How many opportunities have wemissed because we just don't
answer?
Oh, so
SPEAKER_02 (41:56):
many.
But you know what?
SPEAKER_01 (41:58):
I don't regret it.
SPEAKER_02 (41:59):
I don't.
And if it's important you'llleave a voicemail that I'll
read.
SPEAKER_01 (42:03):
Right.
Exactly.
Because I'm still not going tolisten to your actual voice.
Nope.
Yeah.
But I will read the transcriptof the voicemail you leave
because it's 2025.
And that's what we do.
Well, I appreciate you jumpingin with us, everyone, as we
dissect all of the businessfallacies of the second largest
airline in the United States.
Right.
And yeah, we hope to regale youwith even more business analysis
(42:28):
in future episodes.
So do like and subscribe butthank you you all so much for
joining us and we'll be back inyour ear holes next
SPEAKER_02 (42:36):
week absolutely well that's it for premeditated
opinions where the thoughts werefully baked and only mildly
regrettable
SPEAKER_01 (42:42):
and if you enjoyed today's episode congrats on
having truly excellent taste inpodcasts and also opinions
SPEAKER_02 (42:48):
send this to someone who needs to feel seen dragged
or both we'll be back next weekwith more unsolicited insight
and emotionally responsiblespiraling
SPEAKER_01 (42:58):
and until then please stay hydrated and and
behave yourself in the comments.
SPEAKER_02 (43:03):
But if you don't share them with us.
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