December 24, 2025 • 35 mins
If you’re craving a thoughtful, funny, and honest reset for the season—one that honors your roots while giving you permission to evolve—press play. Then tell us: which tradition are you keeping, and which are you reinventing this year? Subscribe, share with someone who needs a little light, and leave a review to help others find the show.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
Gentlemen, we are in the season.
Tiss the season.
Tiss the season.
And that season is Fallout.
Oh.
I thought it was the season of,you know, NFL players punching
fans.
I thought that was the season.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
Well, you gotta love those Pittsburgh Steelers, don't
you?
SPEAKER_00 (01:20):
Well, I know, except for DJ Metcalf.
You gotta love him.
SPEAKER_01 (01:23):
He's not really a Steeler.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
You know, he's he's gonna be paying out a few bucks.
Although today is supposed to behis appeal, so we'll see.
Oh my goodness.
Did you hear about this?
I did not.
SPEAKER_02 (01:33):
Tell me about it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:33):
So they played the Lions the other day, and this
guy has been trolling him.
By the way, he's been trollingthem for a while, and he he just
kind of got to him and he was onthe sideline.
The guy was up in the stands andhe had a little four-inch like
Pittsburgh Steeler jersey, andapparently he was calling him by
his government name, like hisreal name, like his birth
certificate name, which hedoesn't like to be called.
(01:54):
So he went over and the guy'skind of hanging over.
He's got this blue hair becausehe's a Lions fan.
He's hanging over, and the guygrab DJ Metcalf grabs him by the
shirt and he kind of pulls himdown and he's yapping at him and
whatever the guy's saying, andhe just smokes him, just gets
him a good walks away.
SPEAKER_02 (02:11):
So, how do you have an appeal on something that's on
video like that?
SPEAKER_00 (02:15):
Well, you know, of course, he said call him a
racial slur and all this otherstuff.
Sure.
Who knows?
And the other guy already got alawyer, and so I think it's a
little bit of a money grab.
I mean, I don't think that fansshould be able to say whatever
they want, right?
But you can't also have theplayers going and punching fans
in the face.
Yeah.
But he could lose even moremoney than just the two-game
suspension, which is the lasttwo games of the season.
(02:38):
There was something written inhis contract about different
things, and he could lose likeup to$45 million of guaranteed
money.
Wow.
Because of suspension.
So it would be costly.
SPEAKER_02 (02:48):
Didn't something like that happen in the NBA a
number of years ago where aplayer went up into Detroit.
SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
Malice at the Palace.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Don't mess with Detroit fans,man.
Yeah, I'll tell you what, youguys are brutal.
They're gonna go out, man.
That's the way it is.
But yeah, it's just the season.
It's Christmas time, and we uhwanted to put together a little
uh a little episode that talksabout By the way.
What?
SPEAKER_02 (03:10):
Merry Christmas.
I don't know if I've said thatto you guys yet or not.
SPEAKER_00 (03:13):
It's not Christmas yet.
SPEAKER_02 (03:14):
It is, it's like two days away.
Hey, it's still it's stillAdvent.
SPEAKER_00 (03:18):
You know, so we just kind of Advent.
We're still I mean you talkabout you talk about that's
funny that you said that becauseif we talk about Christmas
traditions, that was always theone of the things that growing
up, we never said MerryChristmas until it was Christmas
Day.
Really?
It was just kind of when did youput up your because it was
Advent.
Because it was that's what itwas.
We didn't really think about it,right?
SPEAKER_01 (03:39):
When did you put up your your decorations?
SPEAKER_00 (03:42):
We usually did the weekend of Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_01 (03:45):
Really?
SPEAKER_00 (03:46):
Usually, yeah.
That's kind of about when weusually at least started to.
SPEAKER_01 (03:59):
So I don't know if it was a city ordinance, but no
one's got turned on until thefirst week of December.
SPEAKER_02 (04:04):
I grew up in a non-religious family.
Uh-huh.
And I didn't even know whatAdvent was till I was well into
my twenties.
I had no clue.
So we said Merry Christmas allthe time.
SPEAKER_01 (04:17):
Yeah.
I say Merry Christmas.
Pretty routine.
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
I mean, I I still do too.
Yeah.
I think that, you know,traditions that I think that
traditions that you have they goalong with you for a while.
I think.
I mean, did you have Christmastraditions that you still do
now, like from when you were akid?
I mean, realize you're in adifferent part of your life now,
but you still have stuff thatcame along and went with you
(04:41):
now?
SPEAKER_02 (04:41):
I think we actually went today and prepared for a
Christmas tradition that myfamily has had ever since I was
probably 10.
And that is the prime rib.
My mom started making it.
And back then it was a I mean,it still is, but back then it
was a huge sacrifice.
And we always looked forward tostill is now to prime rib.
(05:05):
And and so, yeah, my mom wouldmake up the prime rib and she'd
do twice baked potatoes.
And so today, Jen and I went andgot our prime ribs for the
family.
We always do that as a gift toour family.
Yeah.
And yes, a chunk of change.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
Yes.
It's not cheap.
That's for sure.
I do, I do uh I do poor man'spoor man prime rib.
What is that?
Chuck roast.
Oh yeah.
But if you do it right, it'sit's pretty good.
Like when you do it right, I doit on the smoker and do it.
And do you slice it up?
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
So it works.
You kind of do the thing.
There's different ways to do it,but you you can do it in the
oven too, where you like put itin there for oh, I think it was
(05:43):
like 25 or 30 minutes at 500degrees in your oven.
Then you just turn the oven offand leave it in there.
SPEAKER_02 (05:49):
Yeah, I've I've done that before.
I've been smoking it the lastfew years, though.
SPEAKER_00 (05:53):
I mean, you can reverse sear, you can do a lot
of different stuff to make it.
But yeah.
What about you, John?
Traditions that either have orhave not been passed.
Continued on.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
The the thing that I think is more traditional in
growing up and has continued onfamily, friends, and food.
So my parents were big part ofthe community.
My dad was a teacher and wasmusic director at the church.
(06:25):
And every year, starting off inthe beginning of December, we
had people over.
That has continued.
We still have friends andfamily, and you know, friends
change.
Family hopefully doesn't, but uhwho comes maybe changes a little
(06:46):
bit, and and you get married andyou have different things go on.
But you know, the food maychange, but sounds like you've
had prime rib for a number ofyears.
We had that for a while.
We one of our big ones ishandballs.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:02):
Handballs is uh we have there was one year we said,
okay, we're not gonna do primerib, but we're gonna make we're
gonna we're gonna makeSpringfield, Missouri style
cashew chicken.
Oh, yeah.
It was a little bit of a walllet down, that's for sure.
That's what it was.
SPEAKER_00 (07:25):
Um I think ours the as far as food-wise was was on
Christmas Eve it was lasagna,which I made today.
I made the sauce today, the meatsauce today, made the cheese
mix.
So after we get done today, I'mmaking that for tomorrow.
And then Christmas Day was kindof always a little different
(07:46):
because people were in and out,you know, like same thing from
church and everything else.
My whole childhood revolved.
We've talked about this a littlebit.
Again, through Advent everyWednesday night, had things
going on, and then church,Christmas Eve was always since I
went to Lutheran school, you hadthe Christmas program, which was
(08:07):
always the most packed day, evenof Easter at our church.
So that was big because thewhole school, K through eight,
was in the program, so everybodywas there.
Then you'd go home.
We usually got to open onething, not like a main present,
but something, a littlesomething, on Christmas Eve, and
then you'd go back for theservice at later in the evening,
(08:30):
which we just lived across thestreet, so it wasn't too bad.
But that was it, and he camehome, went to bed.
You get up in the morning,church was at nine o'clock or
whatever, eight o'clock.
And you'd always have the what Iremember, and we have it in the
house too, is uh the poinsettia,you'd always have that.
They'd sell them at the church,and you'd bring it home
Christmas morning after that.
(08:51):
So that was always a big thing.
But my grandma always stayed thenight, which she usually didn't
do that from Detroit.
She always would come with andstay the night.
So, you know, some of thatstuff, I think, tradition-wise.
What's the earliest traditionyou remember?
Gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (09:06):
My folks were going to my grandma and grandpa's for
years, and we'd spend the dadwas a teacher, so we'd all have
that Christmas break off, andwe'd go out and we'd spend time
out at my mom at my grandma andgrandpa's farm and we'd stay out
there.
But one of the memories I I havecoming home, and it must have
(09:31):
been around the time when I wasmaybe third grade, fourth grade,
second grade, whatever, startingto question whether Santa was
real or not.
And we're out at grandma andgrandpa's, and we usually had
Christmas Eve out there, andthen we'd drive home Christmas
(09:51):
Eve and we'd get home lateChristmas Eve and get up in the
morning and and do Christmaspresents, and Santa would come
and all that.
As we were getting home, I don'tknow how my mom and dad did it.
They probably had a neighbor orsomebody that that came down,
but we get home and there's thisrunner sled on the porch, and it
(10:19):
made me think, well, Santa'sstill around.
Golly, this this is incredible.
Santa's still here.
That's fun.
And to this day, I still believein the magic of Santa.
I think there's a lot of peoplethat keep that magic alive.
So that was one of the earliestmemories I have about Christmas.
How about you, Luke?
SPEAKER_00 (10:42):
I can honestly tell you that Santa was never a topic
of discussion in my housegrowing up.
Never.
Like ever, really.
And about the only thing that Ireally remember about Santa
Claus was that my aunt, who atthe time lived down at Branson
with my uncle, he was a preacherdown there.
She would always send us, andwe'd a lot of times see them.
(11:04):
That was kind of a yearly.
We would go down there toBranson at Christmas time.
Sometimes we'd go down atEaster, sometimes they'd come to
us because he was busy everyweek, right?
So we couldn't really travel awhole lot.
But she would send ornaments,and I remember getting this
ornament, and I still have it,but it's kind of broken.
But it was Santa like coming outof a chimney.
(11:27):
And it was like a styrofoamornament, you know, with stuff
on it.
And I just remember like, who'sthat?
Like I didn't know who he was.
Like, we because you know, Iwent to Lutheran schools, we
were at the church, like thatjust wasn't a thing.
So it never really wasn't like Idon't have any pictures of me
like at the mall with Santa.
Like it just wasn't.
I mean, as I got older, I knewwho it was, but young memories,
(11:50):
I don't we never Santa It wasn'ta thing.
SPEAKER_02 (11:53):
It wasn't so was that an active thing on your
parents' part to I mean it mighthave been.
SPEAKER_00 (11:59):
I just don't think that I just don't think that
they pushed it.
I think they just kind of wewere in the church and this is
it was, you know, yeah, yeah.
Jesus was born and they we justnever really, you know, as far
as my memory goes, I don'tremember us ever talking about
Santa Claus, like ever once.
(12:19):
Like so, but I think when I thenbecame a parent, you know, I
tried to instill it with thekids, you know, and and do the
thing, but I don't think I evergrasped it real hard, yeah, just
because.
But the one thing that Iremember from a young age was I
told you my dad worked for Ford,so he was, you know, we
certainly weren't wealthy, butwe weren't really poor either.
(12:40):
We were just blue-collar.
But my dad moonlighted for theseguys, and they were the Ewing
brothers was their name, andthey ran a print shop.
So my dad would work for themduring different projects and do
stuff with them, and they wouldalways come over sometime around
Christmas and give our familysomething.
Like that was kind of like hegot paid, but they'd give him
(13:01):
like a bonus.
And it it was different stuff.
I mean, they'd bring whatever,but one year, I don't remember
what year it probably was.
It was probably it was in the70s, probably the late, maybe it
was like 78, maybe somethinglike that.
We got our first color TV, andthey brought it to us.
So wow.
(13:21):
It was, you know, not like thebig wooden console one, but a
big black thing, you know,whatever weighed a ton.
And I remember them bringingthat in the house, and we were
like, and it had a remote, whichI'd never seen that either.
So it was those guys were theones that brought a color TV
into our so that's what I kindof remember about that.
So if there was anything aboutSanta Claus, it was probably
them.
Their last name was Ewing.
So Chuck and Irv Ewing.
(13:43):
They that's what I a very earlymemory of Christmas that I have
was them coming over to give mydad something or to give the
family something because of allthe work my dad did for them.
So that's pretty neat.
SPEAKER_01 (13:53):
Color TV.
It was a colored color.
I love that.
Gotta love it.
It was pretty neat.
Have you ever played Santa?
Uh yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (14:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Becky said I looked like madSanta the other day when I took
a picture.
I'm like, I'm sweating in thisstuff.
It's killing me.
Killing me.
SPEAKER_01 (14:11):
Those those suits are very hot.
Yeah.
Very, very warm.
I've been to Santa.
Have you ever been to Santa?
SPEAKER_02 (14:17):
I've never been Santa.
Yeah.
Santa.
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
I parked parked many, many blocks away and
walked to the house that I wasSanta.
SPEAKER_02 (14:25):
Yeah.
I do have a memory.
We lived on a before my mommarried Bob Kaiser, who's my my
dad.
He adopted me.
We lived on a little street inLakeview, Ohio called South Oak
Street, 320 South Oak Street.
And I do have a memory of mybrother and I sharing a room, my
brother Paul.
(14:46):
We were sharing this room and wewere looking out the window.
And I could have only probablybeen maybe five or six.
But I remember looking out thewindow, looking to see if we
could see Santa Slay go by.
And I think we saw my brothersaw a shooting star, and we
thought it was the sleigh.
SPEAKER_01 (15:05):
So that reinstilled that every year in Stanton, the
veterans, I think, would getwould put Santa Slay on a
flatbed and take it around townto all the kids.
So you had to call before.
And it was like a week beforeChristmas, that that Saturday,
(15:29):
Santa would come and it'd beSanta's helper.
He'd bring you some toys or somekind of gift.
And so Santa was huge in ourhouse.
And I grew up Lutheran.
SPEAKER_00 (15:43):
Yeah, it just wasn't a thing.
I don't know.
Yeah.
And I think like that was kindof leading me to the next spot
was that is when did you noticethat your Christmas traditions
were changing?
When did that happen?
SPEAKER_02 (15:56):
So for me, I it I very much wanted some traditions
growing up, you know, for mykids.
As my kids were growing up, Iwanted some traditions.
And so we did a lot of differentthings.
We uh one of the very firstthings we did, we would go out
and pick out a Christmas tree,like go to a Christmas tree
farm.
Yeah, we did pick it out, yeah.
(16:17):
Have you know, I think one timeor there were a few times maybe
that where I actually had to cutit down.
SPEAKER_05 (16:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:23):
But later on, they started the the tree farm that
we went to started to cut itdown.
And so that was one thing thatwe started, and we've done it
for 30 years.
I think this was the first yearwhere we'd actually didn't go
out and buy a Christmas tree.
We bought a fake one, which mykids will probably be surprised
at that.
(16:43):
But and then I my kids are Wait,is it a real artificial tree?
SPEAKER_00 (16:47):
It's a real artificial tree.
Okay, just check it.
Those of you that don't knowwhat that was, check out the
episode before this one.
SPEAKER_01 (16:55):
Is it is it pre-lit?
SPEAKER_02 (16:57):
It is pre-lit.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:58):
Those are gonna buy an artificial one.
That's the way to go.
That's the only way to go.
SPEAKER_02 (17:01):
That's the only way to go.
But each of my kids kind ofstarted that tradition as well,
so that's that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
I think you were a real tree person for a long
time.
So I I grew up real tree.
Dad, mom would always go out andwe'd get a tree.
And we had a tree farm inStanton that we'd actually go to
and cut the tree down, bring ithome, and decorate it.
And then as they got older, theystarted doing artificial, and
(17:31):
I've never gotten a real treesince I've been married.
SPEAKER_02 (17:35):
So well, I bring up the tree because you you were
talking about how your Christmastraditions are changing.
As we are getting older, and mywife and I are getting older,
and our kids are developingtheir own Christmas traditions,
things just seem to be changingbecause we're not the same
family, right?
Yeah.
And so this year, because of thesnowstorm that we had and just
(17:57):
some other circumstances that wecouldn't line up schedules and
different things, we didn't havethat tradition of going out and
getting the so they they changekind of just because life
changes sometimes.
SPEAKER_00 (18:08):
And I think that I think that's kind of where the
question was heading is justthat it does change, and and our
times have changed.
And we always did when the boyswere growing up, I always did a
a real tree.
And a lot of times I would cutit down in Michigan when I was
up hunting because the placethat we hunted back then, our
land backed up to a Christmastree farm, and the guy would
(18:28):
just let us know, just go grabone, you know.
They didn't he didn't reallycare.
So we'd go out there and cut onedown and I'd just bring it back.
But then like the boys would gowith and we'd go pick one out,
and I'd have my saw that's stillup there on the wall down and go
out there and lay down and cutit down and bring it back.
And then kind of as time went,and as the years went by, and I
(18:50):
haven't gotten a real treeprobably now for oh, 15 years,
maybe.
Yeah.
And I think again, it's probablythat.
Actually, I take that back.
There was one year that afterBecky and I got married, that
all the kids were here and wewent to the place out on Dappen?
No, it was on 75, like outtoward Fort Calhoun, Frosties.
Oh, yeah.
Up on the hill, we went there.
(19:11):
So that was fun.
We just did it once together,and then everybody was like,
okay, we're done with this.
So, because they had neverreally done that, that wasn't
their thing.
So we tried and it was fun forthat year just because we could
all get together that time.
But now, yeah, it's it's alittle different.
But even the fact of thedecorating part used to be like
everybody would come in and doit, and I granted I'm not a
(19:31):
whole lot of help by myselfsometimes doing it because it's
just not I don't know.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
Like, I Lynn's much better at it than I am.
SPEAKER_00 (19:40):
And Becky, a hundred percent, because I know that,
and this is not a shot at mywife at all, but I know that and
I always feel this like if I'mputting an ornament somewhere,
I'll I'll go back to get anotherone to come back, and I'll swear
that the ornament I put itthere, it was gone.
It's over here now.
And I'm like, I didn't put itthere.
I don't ask though.
It's not okay.
There's no those are there wasone that we used to do, which we
(20:03):
don't do it anymore, but it wasyou ever heard of the pickle
before?
Yep.
So the pickle is like a littleornament, a little glass
ornament, and then you hide thepickle in the tree somewhere.
And whoever the first one isthat gets finds the pickle gets
to open their gift first.
Yeah.
That that was a tradition thatkind of used to, but it's a
German tradition that that thatwas one.
(20:23):
But I think that everybody kindof changes their traditions once
they become parents, because Ithink you hit the nail on the
head where it's it's just likeanything else when you become a
parent.
There's things that went on whenyou were a kid that you want to
say, either, A, I don't want mykids to have to go through that,
or I'd really like them to gothrough this.
(20:43):
So it's either you know, kind ofone way or there, but there's
Christmas stuff that peoplelearn from others.
They go, Oh, that would be kindof fun to do.
SPEAKER_01 (20:49):
And I've you keep you keep some traditions and you
you say I'll have that one.
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
Let some others fade away.
SPEAKER_02 (20:58):
And there's nothing more stressful to a family, I
think, than you know.
Mama or daddy or grandma orgrandpa or whatever who insists
on this tradition's gottahappen.
Or we're not celebratingChristmas, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (21:11):
John?
Eddie.
Some of the things that change,I think, are people who maybe
pass on.
And you don't have those thattradition doesn't continue.
So here's an example.
Every year Lynn and I would gohome during Christmas break and
(21:36):
spend like four or five dayswith my mom and dad until
Christmas Eve.
And then we'd go like like I didwith my grandma.
And then we'd go home and andhave Christmas Day with her
family.
And so we don't do that anymore.
We don't do those kinds ofthings because life changes.
Sure.
And I think I think you'reright.
(21:57):
When you when you have kids,even when you get married and
you have to have two differentfamilies that you're dealing
with.
Which which one are you going toon Christmas Eve?
Which one do you go to onChristmas Day?
Is that what you do?
And though those kinds ofthings.
We we uh always went home.
(22:18):
Every Christmas Eve, we'd godowntown in Stanton, and my dad
would say, It's time forChristmas cheer.
So we'd go down to the gasstation downtown.
They would always make popcornon this old stove, and you'd
have hear it popping and smellit, and it was really it smelled
(22:39):
awesome.
And we'd have whiskey soursevery year.
Just sit around.
Old were you like 10?
No, I was a little bit olderthan that.
Okay, good.
It was when we was gonna sayJohn doesn't remember anything
about Christmas.
Who's hammered?
SPEAKER_00 (22:54):
Where do I let us think dad thing?
SPEAKER_01 (22:58):
The nice thing was dad would always fill our cars
up.
Now the gas is a little bitcheaper then, but but he'd
always fill our cars up, andwe'd go home.
SPEAKER_02 (23:08):
I think over the last couple years, one of the
traditions we started, and I'mthinking it's we'll probably do
it again this year, is we go toChristmas Eve service with you
know our church, and and myyoungest son, Cole, and his wife
Shy invite us over usually fordinner for Christmas Eve dinner.
We've done that the last coupleof years.
(23:28):
You know, maybe we'll do it thisyear.
SPEAKER_00 (23:31):
It's not always on Christmas Eve, but since Becky
and I have been married, she shehad done this before, so this
was this wasn't new to them, butit was certainly new to me.
Was driving around to look atChristmas lights.
Oh, we did that.
So it's not necessarily like onChristmas Eve, it's a couple
days before that, but there's aplace that we usually go, it's
(23:52):
kind of out near, it's like offa Dodge, like 130th, 144th, up
there somewhere.
There's a neighborhood of verywealthy houses that have a lot
of stuff.
There's people drive, it's likea traffic jam almost.
The kicker to that is is that,and I didn't realize this at the
time, was you have to wearpajamas, which I'm just not a
(24:15):
pajama person.
No, and apparently you had todrink hot chocolate, which
really not that person either.
But yeah, it's tradition, whynot?
Yeah.
So we we do it, and who's everaround?
It used to be, you know, all thekids were around and we did it.
The boys were always like, Whatare we doing?
We're looking at Christmaslights.
Oh, oh, okay.
All right, put your pajamas on.
(24:36):
Put your pajamas on.
Like, what?
You know, it's funny.
But it was cool.
Did you do that this year?
We haven't done it yet.
No, we're we're probably gonnago tonight.
Okay.
We talked about it a little bit,but the kids, this this year's a
little bit different.
The boys aren't coming untilafter Christmas, I think the
26th.
But Beth and Logan can't fromFlorida because they were just
here for a wedding a coupleweeks ago.
(24:57):
So it's it's gonna be a littledifferent, but Hannah and Rachel
be around everybody.
We'll we'll still make it work,but I just don't know what day
we're doing it yet.
SPEAKER_02 (25:03):
That's something I would think I would like to do
regularly with our grandkids.
We're actually going to go dothat whenever we leave here.
I'm gonna go pick up Jen andthen we're gonna go pick up our
two granddaughters, Rory andMurray.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
Are you gonna bring them lunch or are you gonna be
dinner time?
Oh, dinner, okay.
Yeah, okay.
What are you just gonna bringfour for yourself?
Check what happened.
Anyways, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02 (25:24):
Anyways, I'm gonna go pick up Jin and then um,
we're gonna go pick up Rory andMurray, and then then we're
gonna go look at some lights.
Yeah, nice.
And Rory is three and Murray'slike two in the game.
SPEAKER_01 (25:36):
Okay, speaking of lights.
SPEAKER_02 (25:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (25:39):
White.
How much stuff white?
Okay, I got it.
Yeah, I I don't know.
Not a colored lights guy.
So I didn't used to be.
Here's what I like.
White at night, but colored kindof shows during the day.
So we we keep our lights on allday, all night until we go to
(25:59):
bed.
When we get up in the morning,we turn them on when we get it
when we go to bed at night.
I have one tree that I keep withcolored lights during the day
and turn it to it's pre-lit.
Turn it to white lights at nightbecause it looks better with
white lights.
SPEAKER_02 (26:18):
That for me is something that has changed.
I think, and I think it'schanged because of the types of
lights that are out there.
The old colored lights, C9s, allthe LEDs, I did not like them.
C9s.
The big bulbs hated them.
Yeah, love them, hated them.
The colored ones, I hated.
So, but now with those littleLED colored lights, I think
(26:38):
those look great.
So I'm with the tree out backhas colored lights.
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
If I could, if I at some point I'm gonna switch.
I mean, we're gonna have thatpre-lit tree that's white, but
at some point I'll go back toC9s on my side stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (26:51):
White lights.
I love I agree with that.
I like white lights.
Is it just the nostalgia of theC9s that you like?
They are pretty cool.
SPEAKER_00 (26:58):
I I like them.
I don't really there's there'splaces where I see like the LED
is that bright white, like thatreal, it's not the yellow white,
it's that bright white almostblue sometimes.
Eh, yeah, I mean, it's okay.
But I that LED thing sometimesis it'd be like me putting
fluorescent lights up.
(27:18):
Like it's not it's not likenatural lights.
So those like on the front of myhouse, you can't see them now,
but it's just white.
The normal, I mean they'resmall, they're not C9s, but
they're small, but I just likethe white.
And our tree is white, smalllights.
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
Okay, I got one more one more question for
decorations.
Okay.
Blow ups.
SPEAKER_00 (27:39):
Yeah, you see my yard.
Yeah, we know a guy that hasthem.
SPEAKER_01 (27:43):
We we have someone in our neighborhood.
Every square inch of the yard isused by a blow up.
SPEAKER_00 (27:53):
I'm telling you, there's all kinds of stuff.
All right, Christmas lightninground.
All right, you ready?
Yeah.
So we're just gonna go aroundthe thing and I'm just gonna hit
you.
I'm gonna hit you.
Don't think.
We need like two words.
Okay.
Okay, you ready?
Right.
First one worst Christmas giftyou ever received, Chuck.
Eggnog.
SPEAKER_01 (28:15):
John?
Tax shelter.
SPEAKER_00 (28:20):
I was just I was just gonna turn mine over a
summons, but we'll we won't godown that road.
SPEAKER_01 (28:25):
What the hell was that?
I you know, you get the gift andyou say, Oh, thank you very
much.
And then you turn to your friendand you say, What the hell was
that?
SPEAKER_00 (28:32):
I don't know what that is.
Most overrated Christmas food.
Eggnog.
Come on! Seriously.
Go ahead.
Ustakaka.
I'm going in with Christmascookies.
Oh, all right.
Real tree or fake tree?
Real tree.
Fake.
Both.
(28:53):
Christmas song you absolutelycannot stand.
SPEAKER_02 (28:55):
Santa Baby.
SPEAKER_01 (28:59):
The worst ever.
It is The Waitress' RappingChristmas.
I hate that song.
That's terrible.
Never heard it.
Glad I have it.
Look it up.
SPEAKER_00 (29:12):
Christmas song you can't stand.
Now I'm to me, and I didn't eventhink because that was isn't
there a song called Eggnog?
I'm surprised you didn't pickthat one.
Eggnog.
Uh, I don't even know.
SPEAKER_02 (29:20):
Hey, can I give you a close?
Can I give you a close second?
SPEAKER_00 (29:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (29:23):
This Christmas by George Michael.
Worst ever.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I go with that one.
Yeah, I don't like that.
All right.
SPEAKER_00 (29:28):
Christmas movie you'll fight for every time.
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
Home Alone.
SPEAKER_00 (29:32):
I diehard.
SPEAKER_01 (29:33):
Hey, yeah.
I like Die Hard.
My favorite, and it's a reallymore of a Christmas special, but
my favorite is A Year Without aSanta Claus.
SPEAKER_00 (29:42):
Okay.
You know, I threw that diehardout there because that's the
argument.
Is it really a Christmas?
It is.
I think it is.
But really, really, what I thinkmy favorite one is, is is it's a
wonderful life.
SPEAKER_02 (29:54):
That's that's my long one.
SPEAKER_00 (29:58):
What does Christmas mean to you now?
SPEAKER_02 (30:04):
You want to answer that one first, John?
SPEAKER_00 (30:07):
John was like, oh good, he's gonna give me some
time.
SPEAKER_01 (30:10):
Family, friends, and faith.
Okay.
That's what it means to me.
And and faith is probably first.
Yeah, that's what it means tome.
SPEAKER_02 (30:25):
Yeah, I I mean the big idea of Christmas for sure
is definitely about God becominghuman, seeing the brokenness of
mankind, uh becoming human.
And then it doesn't end atChristmas, right?
(30:46):
Actually, he lives a life thatwe couldn't live.
He dies a death that we weren'teven qualified to die, even if
we thought we might be.
And then he did something noother human beings has ever
done.
He rose from the dead, and weknow he's coming back again,
i.e.
the second advent.
So for me, that's that's whatChristmas means, and that's the
(31:09):
reason I celebrate Christmas.
SPEAKER_00 (31:13):
I think for me, as the years have gone by, I think
that I always probably even as aas a youth, was why why does our
attitude and our actions changeduring Christmas time?
I realize it's very celebratory,and there's obviously things on
(31:34):
a much grander level than ourlife can even imagine.
But I always think when I thinkof Christmas now, is I try to
try to harness some of what tome might be kindness that I show
or things and try to say, youknow what, this year I'm really
gonna spread it out more.
Like I need to do this all yearand not just be in this month or
(31:58):
this couple weeks or whatever itis, because I think our will can
use it.
And I think it's good to try tothink that way that we can still
have Christmas and it's stillimportant, and it's still
obviously joyous to have familyaround and to be able to share
with people this common thing,but we can also bring that joy
throughout the year to a lot ofpeople that really need it, you
(32:21):
know, not just at Christmastime, but all the time.
Yeah, you know, so I thinkthat's the way I look at it now
as I'm getting older.
It's it's kind of like spreadthe cheer, but kind of do it
year round as best I can.
I'm not real good at it, but Itry and I think about it like
it's a process, but we try, tryto grow from it.
SPEAKER_01 (32:38):
We'll try to help you be accountable for thanks.
SPEAKER_00 (32:40):
Thanks.
SPEAKER_01 (32:41):
One more F faith, oh, family, friends, food.
I love the food too, butforgiveness.
Oh, yeah.
I think we need to forgivepeople and forgive ourselves.
And and that's why Jesus cameforgiveness and the grace that
(33:02):
we give others and the gracethat we get from him.
And that's Christmas to me.
SPEAKER_02 (33:08):
Yeah, I think it's easy to get caught up in the the
commercialization of ofChristmas, and then like you
said, come January, you're backinto the doggy dog stuff, you
know.
But if you think about what reChristmas really is, the meaning
of Christmas, it is about grace,it is about forgiveness, it's
about mercy and love andkindness.
(33:30):
And so I think as we look atthis Christmas and and if we
could move into 2026, not onlylike not leaving those things
behind, but you know, showingthose those those attributes to
to others.
Because if you think about it,we've been like we've been
showing those things, haven'twe?
100%.
(33:51):
I mean, that's what our wholelife.
Yeah, our whole life.
Open open-mindedness, right?
SPEAKER_01 (33:56):
And that's what this podcast is about.
SPEAKER_02 (33:59):
And we show that we show those things to each other,
and I think we I know I do.
I'm not gonna speak for youguys, but I know I need to widen
my circle a little bit of who Ishow grace and mercy and
kindness and love to.
SPEAKER_00 (34:13):
So you know what, Chuck?
I forgive you for not bringingme lunch today.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (34:18):
And by the way, Luke, thank you.
Thank you for the fireplace.
Because it's yeah, there's afireplace behind my head.
It's pretty amazing.
Maybe we should maybe we shouldput this on YouTube and start
filming it.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (34:33):
Uh speaking of that, there will be this will be our
last one of 2025.
Yep.
Uh, but we will be starting out2026 with uh a little different
format.
We're gonna we're gonna buildsome different things in.
We've been talking to somepeople about a few projects of
things we want to do.
Uh, but looking forward to somechanges, uh our personalities
will still be here.
(34:53):
They're not gonna change.
Yeah, but the topics mightchange, format might change a
little, maybe even musicalchange.
You never know.
But um, what we really want isto make sure that everybody has
a great Christmas with yourfamily, friends, and whoever
else is there.
Watch a little football alongthe way, have some fun with
that.
Uh, but just enjoy the time.
But remember, whatever you'refeeling now, try to spread that
(35:14):
out through the whole year.
Make the world a better place.
SPEAKER_01 (35:17):
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
SPEAKER_00 (35:19):
Happy New Year to both of you guys.
We'll see you in 2026.
SPEAKER_01 (35:21):
Like a Merry Christmas, peace out.
Gentlemen, we are in the season.
Tiss the season.
Tiss the season.
And that season is Fallout.
Oh.
I thought it was the season of,you know, NFL players punching
fans.
I thought that was the season.
SPEAKER_01 (01:17):
Well, you gotta love those Pittsburgh Steelers, don't
you?
SPEAKER_00 (01:20):
Well, I know, except for DJ Metcalf.
You gotta love him.
SPEAKER_01 (01:23):
He's not really a Steeler.
SPEAKER_00 (01:24):
You know, he's he's gonna be paying out a few bucks.
Although today is supposed to behis appeal, so we'll see.
Oh my goodness.
Did you hear about this?
I did not.
SPEAKER_02 (01:33):
Tell me about it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:33):
So they played the Lions the other day, and this
guy has been trolling him.
By the way, he's been trollingthem for a while, and he he just
kind of got to him and he was onthe sideline.
The guy was up in the stands andhe had a little four-inch like
Pittsburgh Steeler jersey, andapparently he was calling him by
his government name, like hisreal name, like his birth
certificate name, which hedoesn't like to be called.
(01:54):
So he went over and the guy'skind of hanging over.
He's got this blue hair becausehe's a Lions fan.
He's hanging over, and the guygrab DJ Metcalf grabs him by the
shirt and he kind of pulls himdown and he's yapping at him and
whatever the guy's saying, andhe just smokes him, just gets
him a good walks away.
SPEAKER_02 (02:11):
So, how do you have an appeal on something that's on
video like that?
SPEAKER_00 (02:15):
Well, you know, of course, he said call him a
racial slur and all this otherstuff.
Sure.
Who knows?
And the other guy already got alawyer, and so I think it's a
little bit of a money grab.
I mean, I don't think that fansshould be able to say whatever
they want, right?
But you can't also have theplayers going and punching fans
in the face.
Yeah.
But he could lose even moremoney than just the two-game
suspension, which is the lasttwo games of the season.
(02:38):
There was something written inhis contract about different
things, and he could lose likeup to$45 million of guaranteed
money.
Wow.
Because of suspension.
So it would be costly.
SPEAKER_02 (02:48):
Didn't something like that happen in the NBA a
number of years ago where aplayer went up into Detroit.
SPEAKER_00 (02:53):
Malice at the Palace.
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Don't mess with Detroit fans,man.
Yeah, I'll tell you what, youguys are brutal.
They're gonna go out, man.
That's the way it is.
But yeah, it's just the season.
It's Christmas time, and we uhwanted to put together a little
uh a little episode that talksabout By the way.
What?
SPEAKER_02 (03:10):
Merry Christmas.
I don't know if I've said thatto you guys yet or not.
SPEAKER_00 (03:13):
It's not Christmas yet.
SPEAKER_02 (03:14):
It is, it's like two days away.
Hey, it's still it's stillAdvent.
SPEAKER_00 (03:18):
You know, so we just kind of Advent.
We're still I mean you talkabout you talk about that's
funny that you said that becauseif we talk about Christmas
traditions, that was always theone of the things that growing
up, we never said MerryChristmas until it was Christmas
Day.
Really?
It was just kind of when did youput up your because it was
Advent.
Because it was that's what itwas.
We didn't really think about it,right?
SPEAKER_01 (03:39):
When did you put up your your decorations?
SPEAKER_00 (03:42):
We usually did the weekend of Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_01 (03:45):
Really?
SPEAKER_00 (03:46):
Usually, yeah.
That's kind of about when weusually at least started to.
SPEAKER_01 (03:59):
So I don't know if it was a city ordinance, but no
one's got turned on until thefirst week of December.
SPEAKER_02 (04:04):
I grew up in a non-religious family.
Uh-huh.
And I didn't even know whatAdvent was till I was well into
my twenties.
I had no clue.
So we said Merry Christmas allthe time.
SPEAKER_01 (04:17):
Yeah.
I say Merry Christmas.
Pretty routine.
SPEAKER_00 (04:19):
I mean, I I still do too.
Yeah.
I think that, you know,traditions that I think that
traditions that you have they goalong with you for a while.
I think.
I mean, did you have Christmastraditions that you still do
now, like from when you were akid?
I mean, realize you're in adifferent part of your life now,
but you still have stuff thatcame along and went with you
(04:41):
now?
SPEAKER_02 (04:41):
I think we actually went today and prepared for a
Christmas tradition that myfamily has had ever since I was
probably 10.
And that is the prime rib.
My mom started making it.
And back then it was a I mean,it still is, but back then it
was a huge sacrifice.
And we always looked forward tostill is now to prime rib.
(05:05):
And and so, yeah, my mom wouldmake up the prime rib and she'd
do twice baked potatoes.
And so today, Jen and I went andgot our prime ribs for the
family.
We always do that as a gift toour family.
Yeah.
And yes, a chunk of change.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
Yes.
It's not cheap.
That's for sure.
I do, I do uh I do poor man'spoor man prime rib.
What is that?
Chuck roast.
Oh yeah.
But if you do it right, it'sit's pretty good.
Like when you do it right, I doit on the smoker and do it.
And do you slice it up?
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
So it works.
You kind of do the thing.
There's different ways to do it,but you you can do it in the
oven too, where you like put itin there for oh, I think it was
(05:43):
like 25 or 30 minutes at 500degrees in your oven.
Then you just turn the oven offand leave it in there.
SPEAKER_02 (05:49):
Yeah, I've I've done that before.
I've been smoking it the lastfew years, though.
SPEAKER_00 (05:53):
I mean, you can reverse sear, you can do a lot
of different stuff to make it.
But yeah.
What about you, John?
Traditions that either have orhave not been passed.
Continued on.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
The the thing that I think is more traditional in
growing up and has continued onfamily, friends, and food.
So my parents were big part ofthe community.
My dad was a teacher and wasmusic director at the church.
(06:25):
And every year, starting off inthe beginning of December, we
had people over.
That has continued.
We still have friends andfamily, and you know, friends
change.
Family hopefully doesn't, but uhwho comes maybe changes a little
(06:46):
bit, and and you get married andyou have different things go on.
But you know, the food maychange, but sounds like you've
had prime rib for a number ofyears.
We had that for a while.
We one of our big ones ishandballs.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (07:02):
Handballs is uh we have there was one year we said,
okay, we're not gonna do primerib, but we're gonna make we're
gonna we're gonna makeSpringfield, Missouri style
cashew chicken.
Oh, yeah.
It was a little bit of a walllet down, that's for sure.
That's what it was.
SPEAKER_00 (07:25):
Um I think ours the as far as food-wise was was on
Christmas Eve it was lasagna,which I made today.
I made the sauce today, the meatsauce today, made the cheese
mix.
So after we get done today, I'mmaking that for tomorrow.
And then Christmas Day was kindof always a little different
(07:46):
because people were in and out,you know, like same thing from
church and everything else.
My whole childhood revolved.
We've talked about this a littlebit.
Again, through Advent everyWednesday night, had things
going on, and then church,Christmas Eve was always since I
went to Lutheran school, you hadthe Christmas program, which was
(08:07):
always the most packed day, evenof Easter at our church.
So that was big because thewhole school, K through eight,
was in the program, so everybodywas there.
Then you'd go home.
We usually got to open onething, not like a main present,
but something, a littlesomething, on Christmas Eve, and
then you'd go back for theservice at later in the evening,
(08:30):
which we just lived across thestreet, so it wasn't too bad.
But that was it, and he camehome, went to bed.
You get up in the morning,church was at nine o'clock or
whatever, eight o'clock.
And you'd always have the what Iremember, and we have it in the
house too, is uh the poinsettia,you'd always have that.
They'd sell them at the church,and you'd bring it home
Christmas morning after that.
(08:51):
So that was always a big thing.
But my grandma always stayed thenight, which she usually didn't
do that from Detroit.
She always would come with andstay the night.
So, you know, some of thatstuff, I think, tradition-wise.
What's the earliest traditionyou remember?
Gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (09:06):
My folks were going to my grandma and grandpa's for
years, and we'd spend the dadwas a teacher, so we'd all have
that Christmas break off, andwe'd go out and we'd spend time
out at my mom at my grandma andgrandpa's farm and we'd stay out
there.
But one of the memories I I havecoming home, and it must have
(09:31):
been around the time when I wasmaybe third grade, fourth grade,
second grade, whatever, startingto question whether Santa was
real or not.
And we're out at grandma andgrandpa's, and we usually had
Christmas Eve out there, andthen we'd drive home Christmas
(09:51):
Eve and we'd get home lateChristmas Eve and get up in the
morning and and do Christmaspresents, and Santa would come
and all that.
As we were getting home, I don'tknow how my mom and dad did it.
They probably had a neighbor orsomebody that that came down,
but we get home and there's thisrunner sled on the porch, and it
(10:19):
made me think, well, Santa'sstill around.
Golly, this this is incredible.
Santa's still here.
That's fun.
And to this day, I still believein the magic of Santa.
I think there's a lot of peoplethat keep that magic alive.
So that was one of the earliestmemories I have about Christmas.
How about you, Luke?
SPEAKER_00 (10:42):
I can honestly tell you that Santa was never a topic
of discussion in my housegrowing up.
Never.
Like ever, really.
And about the only thing that Ireally remember about Santa
Claus was that my aunt, who atthe time lived down at Branson
with my uncle, he was a preacherdown there.
She would always send us, andwe'd a lot of times see them.
(11:04):
That was kind of a yearly.
We would go down there toBranson at Christmas time.
Sometimes we'd go down atEaster, sometimes they'd come to
us because he was busy everyweek, right?
So we couldn't really travel awhole lot.
But she would send ornaments,and I remember getting this
ornament, and I still have it,but it's kind of broken.
But it was Santa like coming outof a chimney.
(11:27):
And it was like a styrofoamornament, you know, with stuff
on it.
And I just remember like, who'sthat?
Like I didn't know who he was.
Like, we because you know, Iwent to Lutheran schools, we
were at the church, like thatjust wasn't a thing.
So it never really wasn't like Idon't have any pictures of me
like at the mall with Santa.
Like it just wasn't.
I mean, as I got older, I knewwho it was, but young memories,
(11:50):
I don't we never Santa It wasn'ta thing.
SPEAKER_02 (11:53):
It wasn't so was that an active thing on your
parents' part to I mean it mighthave been.
SPEAKER_00 (11:59):
I just don't think that I just don't think that
they pushed it.
I think they just kind of wewere in the church and this is
it was, you know, yeah, yeah.
Jesus was born and they we justnever really, you know, as far
as my memory goes, I don'tremember us ever talking about
Santa Claus, like ever once.
(12:19):
Like so, but I think when I thenbecame a parent, you know, I
tried to instill it with thekids, you know, and and do the
thing, but I don't think I evergrasped it real hard, yeah, just
because.
But the one thing that Iremember from a young age was I
told you my dad worked for Ford,so he was, you know, we
certainly weren't wealthy, butwe weren't really poor either.
(12:40):
We were just blue-collar.
But my dad moonlighted for theseguys, and they were the Ewing
brothers was their name, andthey ran a print shop.
So my dad would work for themduring different projects and do
stuff with them, and they wouldalways come over sometime around
Christmas and give our familysomething.
Like that was kind of like hegot paid, but they'd give him
(13:01):
like a bonus.
And it it was different stuff.
I mean, they'd bring whatever,but one year, I don't remember
what year it probably was.
It was probably it was in the70s, probably the late, maybe it
was like 78, maybe somethinglike that.
We got our first color TV, andthey brought it to us.
So wow.
(13:21):
It was, you know, not like thebig wooden console one, but a
big black thing, you know,whatever weighed a ton.
And I remember them bringingthat in the house, and we were
like, and it had a remote, whichI'd never seen that either.
So it was those guys were theones that brought a color TV
into our so that's what I kindof remember about that.
So if there was anything aboutSanta Claus, it was probably
them.
Their last name was Ewing.
So Chuck and Irv Ewing.
(13:43):
They that's what I a very earlymemory of Christmas that I have
was them coming over to give mydad something or to give the
family something because of allthe work my dad did for them.
So that's pretty neat.
SPEAKER_01 (13:53):
Color TV.
It was a colored color.
I love that.
Gotta love it.
It was pretty neat.
Have you ever played Santa?
Uh yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (14:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Becky said I looked like madSanta the other day when I took
a picture.
I'm like, I'm sweating in thisstuff.
It's killing me.
Killing me.
SPEAKER_01 (14:11):
Those those suits are very hot.
Yeah.
Very, very warm.
I've been to Santa.
Have you ever been to Santa?
SPEAKER_02 (14:17):
I've never been Santa.
Yeah.
Santa.
SPEAKER_01 (14:20):
I parked parked many, many blocks away and
walked to the house that I wasSanta.
SPEAKER_02 (14:25):
Yeah.
I do have a memory.
We lived on a before my mommarried Bob Kaiser, who's my my
dad.
He adopted me.
We lived on a little street inLakeview, Ohio called South Oak
Street, 320 South Oak Street.
And I do have a memory of mybrother and I sharing a room, my
brother Paul.
(14:46):
We were sharing this room and wewere looking out the window.
And I could have only probablybeen maybe five or six.
But I remember looking out thewindow, looking to see if we
could see Santa Slay go by.
And I think we saw my brothersaw a shooting star, and we
thought it was the sleigh.
SPEAKER_01 (15:05):
So that reinstilled that every year in Stanton, the
veterans, I think, would getwould put Santa Slay on a
flatbed and take it around townto all the kids.
So you had to call before.
And it was like a week beforeChristmas, that that Saturday,
(15:29):
Santa would come and it'd beSanta's helper.
He'd bring you some toys or somekind of gift.
And so Santa was huge in ourhouse.
And I grew up Lutheran.
SPEAKER_00 (15:43):
Yeah, it just wasn't a thing.
I don't know.
Yeah.
And I think like that was kindof leading me to the next spot
was that is when did you noticethat your Christmas traditions
were changing?
When did that happen?
SPEAKER_02 (15:56):
So for me, I it I very much wanted some traditions
growing up, you know, for mykids.
As my kids were growing up, Iwanted some traditions.
And so we did a lot of differentthings.
We uh one of the very firstthings we did, we would go out
and pick out a Christmas tree,like go to a Christmas tree
farm.
Yeah, we did pick it out, yeah.
(16:17):
Have you know, I think one timeor there were a few times maybe
that where I actually had to cutit down.
SPEAKER_05 (16:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:23):
But later on, they started the the tree farm that
we went to started to cut itdown.
And so that was one thing thatwe started, and we've done it
for 30 years.
I think this was the first yearwhere we'd actually didn't go
out and buy a Christmas tree.
We bought a fake one, which mykids will probably be surprised
at that.
(16:43):
But and then I my kids are Wait,is it a real artificial tree?
SPEAKER_00 (16:47):
It's a real artificial tree.
Okay, just check it.
Those of you that don't knowwhat that was, check out the
episode before this one.
SPEAKER_01 (16:55):
Is it is it pre-lit?
SPEAKER_02 (16:57):
It is pre-lit.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:58):
Those are gonna buy an artificial one.
That's the way to go.
That's the only way to go.
SPEAKER_02 (17:01):
That's the only way to go.
But each of my kids kind ofstarted that tradition as well,
so that's that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
I think you were a real tree person for a long
time.
So I I grew up real tree.
Dad, mom would always go out andwe'd get a tree.
And we had a tree farm inStanton that we'd actually go to
and cut the tree down, bring ithome, and decorate it.
And then as they got older, theystarted doing artificial, and
(17:31):
I've never gotten a real treesince I've been married.
SPEAKER_02 (17:35):
So well, I bring up the tree because you you were
talking about how your Christmastraditions are changing.
As we are getting older, and mywife and I are getting older,
and our kids are developingtheir own Christmas traditions,
things just seem to be changingbecause we're not the same
family, right?
Yeah.
And so this year, because of thesnowstorm that we had and just
(17:57):
some other circumstances that wecouldn't line up schedules and
different things, we didn't havethat tradition of going out and
getting the so they they changekind of just because life
changes sometimes.
SPEAKER_00 (18:08):
And I think that I think that's kind of where the
question was heading is justthat it does change, and and our
times have changed.
And we always did when the boyswere growing up, I always did a
a real tree.
And a lot of times I would cutit down in Michigan when I was
up hunting because the placethat we hunted back then, our
land backed up to a Christmastree farm, and the guy would
(18:28):
just let us know, just go grabone, you know.
They didn't he didn't reallycare.
So we'd go out there and cut onedown and I'd just bring it back.
But then like the boys would gowith and we'd go pick one out,
and I'd have my saw that's stillup there on the wall down and go
out there and lay down and cutit down and bring it back.
And then kind of as time went,and as the years went by, and I
(18:50):
haven't gotten a real treeprobably now for oh, 15 years,
maybe.
Yeah.
And I think again, it's probablythat.
Actually, I take that back.
There was one year that afterBecky and I got married, that
all the kids were here and wewent to the place out on Dappen?
No, it was on 75, like outtoward Fort Calhoun, Frosties.
Oh, yeah.
Up on the hill, we went there.
(19:11):
So that was fun.
We just did it once together,and then everybody was like,
okay, we're done with this.
So, because they had neverreally done that, that wasn't
their thing.
So we tried and it was fun forthat year just because we could
all get together that time.
But now, yeah, it's it's alittle different.
But even the fact of thedecorating part used to be like
everybody would come in and doit, and I granted I'm not a
(19:31):
whole lot of help by myselfsometimes doing it because it's
just not I don't know.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
Like, I Lynn's much better at it than I am.
SPEAKER_00 (19:40):
And Becky, a hundred percent, because I know that,
and this is not a shot at mywife at all, but I know that and
I always feel this like if I'mputting an ornament somewhere,
I'll I'll go back to get anotherone to come back, and I'll swear
that the ornament I put itthere, it was gone.
It's over here now.
And I'm like, I didn't put itthere.
I don't ask though.
It's not okay.
There's no those are there wasone that we used to do, which we
(20:03):
don't do it anymore, but it wasyou ever heard of the pickle
before?
Yep.
So the pickle is like a littleornament, a little glass
ornament, and then you hide thepickle in the tree somewhere.
And whoever the first one isthat gets finds the pickle gets
to open their gift first.
Yeah.
That that was a tradition thatkind of used to, but it's a
German tradition that that thatwas one.
(20:23):
But I think that everybody kindof changes their traditions once
they become parents, because Ithink you hit the nail on the
head where it's it's just likeanything else when you become a
parent.
There's things that went on whenyou were a kid that you want to
say, either, A, I don't want mykids to have to go through that,
or I'd really like them to gothrough this.
(20:43):
So it's either you know, kind ofone way or there, but there's
Christmas stuff that peoplelearn from others.
They go, Oh, that would be kindof fun to do.
SPEAKER_01 (20:49):
And I've you keep you keep some traditions and you
you say I'll have that one.
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
Let some others fade away.
SPEAKER_02 (20:58):
And there's nothing more stressful to a family, I
think, than you know.
Mama or daddy or grandma orgrandpa or whatever who insists
on this tradition's gottahappen.
Or we're not celebratingChristmas, you know.
SPEAKER_01 (21:11):
John?
Eddie.
Some of the things that change,I think, are people who maybe
pass on.
And you don't have those thattradition doesn't continue.
So here's an example.
Every year Lynn and I would gohome during Christmas break and
(21:36):
spend like four or five dayswith my mom and dad until
Christmas Eve.
And then we'd go like like I didwith my grandma.
And then we'd go home and andhave Christmas Day with her
family.
And so we don't do that anymore.
We don't do those kinds ofthings because life changes.
Sure.
And I think I think you'reright.
(21:57):
When you when you have kids,even when you get married and
you have to have two differentfamilies that you're dealing
with.
Which which one are you going toon Christmas Eve?
Which one do you go to onChristmas Day?
Is that what you do?
And though those kinds ofthings.
We we uh always went home.
(22:18):
Every Christmas Eve, we'd godowntown in Stanton, and my dad
would say, It's time forChristmas cheer.
So we'd go down to the gasstation downtown.
They would always make popcornon this old stove, and you'd
have hear it popping and smellit, and it was really it smelled
(22:39):
awesome.
And we'd have whiskey soursevery year.
Just sit around.
Old were you like 10?
No, I was a little bit olderthan that.
Okay, good.
It was when we was gonna sayJohn doesn't remember anything
about Christmas.
Who's hammered?
SPEAKER_00 (22:54):
Where do I let us think dad thing?
SPEAKER_01 (22:58):
The nice thing was dad would always fill our cars
up.
Now the gas is a little bitcheaper then, but but he'd
always fill our cars up, andwe'd go home.
SPEAKER_02 (23:08):
I think over the last couple years, one of the
traditions we started, and I'mthinking it's we'll probably do
it again this year, is we go toChristmas Eve service with you
know our church, and and myyoungest son, Cole, and his wife
Shy invite us over usually fordinner for Christmas Eve dinner.
We've done that the last coupleof years.
(23:28):
You know, maybe we'll do it thisyear.
SPEAKER_00 (23:31):
It's not always on Christmas Eve, but since Becky
and I have been married, she shehad done this before, so this
was this wasn't new to them, butit was certainly new to me.
Was driving around to look atChristmas lights.
Oh, we did that.
So it's not necessarily like onChristmas Eve, it's a couple
days before that, but there's aplace that we usually go, it's
(23:52):
kind of out near, it's like offa Dodge, like 130th, 144th, up
there somewhere.
There's a neighborhood of verywealthy houses that have a lot
of stuff.
There's people drive, it's likea traffic jam almost.
The kicker to that is is that,and I didn't realize this at the
time, was you have to wearpajamas, which I'm just not a
(24:15):
pajama person.
No, and apparently you had todrink hot chocolate, which
really not that person either.
But yeah, it's tradition, whynot?
Yeah.
So we we do it, and who's everaround?
It used to be, you know, all thekids were around and we did it.
The boys were always like, Whatare we doing?
We're looking at Christmaslights.
Oh, oh, okay.
All right, put your pajamas on.
(24:36):
Put your pajamas on.
Like, what?
You know, it's funny.
But it was cool.
Did you do that this year?
We haven't done it yet.
No, we're we're probably gonnago tonight.
Okay.
We talked about it a little bit,but the kids, this this year's a
little bit different.
The boys aren't coming untilafter Christmas, I think the
26th.
But Beth and Logan can't fromFlorida because they were just
here for a wedding a coupleweeks ago.
(24:57):
So it's it's gonna be a littledifferent, but Hannah and Rachel
be around everybody.
We'll we'll still make it work,but I just don't know what day
we're doing it yet.
SPEAKER_02 (25:03):
That's something I would think I would like to do
regularly with our grandkids.
We're actually going to go dothat whenever we leave here.
I'm gonna go pick up Jen andthen we're gonna go pick up our
two granddaughters, Rory andMurray.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
Are you gonna bring them lunch or are you gonna be
dinner time?
Oh, dinner, okay.
Yeah, okay.
What are you just gonna bringfour for yourself?
Check what happened.
Anyways, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02 (25:24):
Anyways, I'm gonna go pick up Jin and then um,
we're gonna go pick up Rory andMurray, and then then we're
gonna go look at some lights.
Yeah, nice.
And Rory is three and Murray'slike two in the game.
SPEAKER_01 (25:36):
Okay, speaking of lights.
SPEAKER_02 (25:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (25:39):
White.
How much stuff white?
Okay, I got it.
Yeah, I I don't know.
Not a colored lights guy.
So I didn't used to be.
Here's what I like.
White at night, but colored kindof shows during the day.
So we we keep our lights on allday, all night until we go to
(25:59):
bed.
When we get up in the morning,we turn them on when we get it
when we go to bed at night.
I have one tree that I keep withcolored lights during the day
and turn it to it's pre-lit.
Turn it to white lights at nightbecause it looks better with
white lights.
SPEAKER_02 (26:18):
That for me is something that has changed.
I think, and I think it'schanged because of the types of
lights that are out there.
The old colored lights, C9s, allthe LEDs, I did not like them.
C9s.
The big bulbs hated them.
Yeah, love them, hated them.
The colored ones, I hated.
So, but now with those littleLED colored lights, I think
(26:38):
those look great.
So I'm with the tree out backhas colored lights.
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
If I could, if I at some point I'm gonna switch.
I mean, we're gonna have thatpre-lit tree that's white, but
at some point I'll go back toC9s on my side stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (26:51):
White lights.
I love I agree with that.
I like white lights.
Is it just the nostalgia of theC9s that you like?
They are pretty cool.
SPEAKER_00 (26:58):
I I like them.
I don't really there's there'splaces where I see like the LED
is that bright white, like thatreal, it's not the yellow white,
it's that bright white almostblue sometimes.
Eh, yeah, I mean, it's okay.
But I that LED thing sometimesis it'd be like me putting
fluorescent lights up.
(27:18):
Like it's not it's not likenatural lights.
So those like on the front of myhouse, you can't see them now,
but it's just white.
The normal, I mean they'resmall, they're not C9s, but
they're small, but I just likethe white.
And our tree is white, smalllights.
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
Okay, I got one more one more question for
decorations.
Okay.
Blow ups.
SPEAKER_00 (27:39):
Yeah, you see my yard.
Yeah, we know a guy that hasthem.
SPEAKER_01 (27:43):
We we have someone in our neighborhood.
Every square inch of the yard isused by a blow up.
SPEAKER_00 (27:53):
I'm telling you, there's all kinds of stuff.
All right, Christmas lightninground.
All right, you ready?
Yeah.
So we're just gonna go aroundthe thing and I'm just gonna hit
you.
I'm gonna hit you.
Don't think.
We need like two words.
Okay.
Okay, you ready?
Right.
First one worst Christmas giftyou ever received, Chuck.
Eggnog.
SPEAKER_01 (28:15):
John?
Tax shelter.
SPEAKER_00 (28:20):
I was just I was just gonna turn mine over a
summons, but we'll we won't godown that road.
SPEAKER_01 (28:25):
What the hell was that?
I you know, you get the gift andyou say, Oh, thank you very
much.
And then you turn to your friendand you say, What the hell was
that?
SPEAKER_00 (28:32):
I don't know what that is.
Most overrated Christmas food.
Eggnog.
Come on! Seriously.
Go ahead.
Ustakaka.
I'm going in with Christmascookies.
Oh, all right.
Real tree or fake tree?
Real tree.
Fake.
Both.
(28:53):
Christmas song you absolutelycannot stand.
SPEAKER_02 (28:55):
Santa Baby.
SPEAKER_01 (28:59):
The worst ever.
It is The Waitress' RappingChristmas.
I hate that song.
That's terrible.
Never heard it.
Glad I have it.
Look it up.
SPEAKER_00 (29:12):
Christmas song you can't stand.
Now I'm to me, and I didn't eventhink because that was isn't
there a song called Eggnog?
I'm surprised you didn't pickthat one.
Eggnog.
Uh, I don't even know.
SPEAKER_02 (29:20):
Hey, can I give you a close?
Can I give you a close second?
SPEAKER_00 (29:22):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (29:23):
This Christmas by George Michael.
Worst ever.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I go with that one.
Yeah, I don't like that.
All right.
SPEAKER_00 (29:28):
Christmas movie you'll fight for every time.
SPEAKER_01 (29:31):
Home Alone.
SPEAKER_00 (29:32):
I diehard.
SPEAKER_01 (29:33):
Hey, yeah.
I like Die Hard.
My favorite, and it's a reallymore of a Christmas special, but
my favorite is A Year Without aSanta Claus.
SPEAKER_00 (29:42):
Okay.
You know, I threw that diehardout there because that's the
argument.
Is it really a Christmas?
It is.
I think it is.
But really, really, what I thinkmy favorite one is, is is it's a
wonderful life.
SPEAKER_02 (29:54):
That's that's my long one.
SPEAKER_00 (29:58):
What does Christmas mean to you now?
SPEAKER_02 (30:04):
You want to answer that one first, John?
SPEAKER_00 (30:07):
John was like, oh good, he's gonna give me some
time.
SPEAKER_01 (30:10):
Family, friends, and faith.
Okay.
That's what it means to me.
And and faith is probably first.
Yeah, that's what it means tome.
SPEAKER_02 (30:25):
Yeah, I I mean the big idea of Christmas for sure
is definitely about God becominghuman, seeing the brokenness of
mankind, uh becoming human.
And then it doesn't end atChristmas, right?
(30:46):
Actually, he lives a life thatwe couldn't live.
He dies a death that we weren'teven qualified to die, even if
we thought we might be.
And then he did something noother human beings has ever
done.
He rose from the dead, and weknow he's coming back again,
i.e.
the second advent.
So for me, that's that's whatChristmas means, and that's the
(31:09):
reason I celebrate Christmas.
SPEAKER_00 (31:13):
I think for me, as the years have gone by, I think
that I always probably even as aas a youth, was why why does our
attitude and our actions changeduring Christmas time?
I realize it's very celebratory,and there's obviously things on
(31:34):
a much grander level than ourlife can even imagine.
But I always think when I thinkof Christmas now, is I try to
try to harness some of what tome might be kindness that I show
or things and try to say, youknow what, this year I'm really
gonna spread it out more.
Like I need to do this all yearand not just be in this month or
(31:58):
this couple weeks or whatever itis, because I think our will can
use it.
And I think it's good to try tothink that way that we can still
have Christmas and it's stillimportant, and it's still
obviously joyous to have familyaround and to be able to share
with people this common thing,but we can also bring that joy
throughout the year to a lot ofpeople that really need it, you
(32:21):
know, not just at Christmastime, but all the time.
Yeah, you know, so I thinkthat's the way I look at it now
as I'm getting older.
It's it's kind of like spreadthe cheer, but kind of do it
year round as best I can.
I'm not real good at it, but Itry and I think about it like
it's a process, but we try, tryto grow from it.
SPEAKER_01 (32:38):
We'll try to help you be accountable for thanks.
SPEAKER_00 (32:40):
Thanks.
SPEAKER_01 (32:41):
One more F faith, oh, family, friends, food.
I love the food too, butforgiveness.
Oh, yeah.
I think we need to forgivepeople and forgive ourselves.
And and that's why Jesus cameforgiveness and the grace that
(33:02):
we give others and the gracethat we get from him.
And that's Christmas to me.
SPEAKER_02 (33:08):
Yeah, I think it's easy to get caught up in the the
commercialization of ofChristmas, and then like you
said, come January, you're backinto the doggy dog stuff, you
know.
But if you think about what reChristmas really is, the meaning
of Christmas, it is about grace,it is about forgiveness, it's
about mercy and love andkindness.
(33:30):
And so I think as we look atthis Christmas and and if we
could move into 2026, not onlylike not leaving those things
behind, but you know, showingthose those those attributes to
to others.
Because if you think about it,we've been like we've been
showing those things, haven'twe?
100%.
(33:51):
I mean, that's what our wholelife.
Yeah, our whole life.
Open open-mindedness, right?
SPEAKER_01 (33:56):
And that's what this podcast is about.
SPEAKER_02 (33:59):
And we show that we show those things to each other,
and I think we I know I do.
I'm not gonna speak for youguys, but I know I need to widen
my circle a little bit of who Ishow grace and mercy and
kindness and love to.
SPEAKER_00 (34:13):
So you know what, Chuck?
I forgive you for not bringingme lunch today.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (34:18):
And by the way, Luke, thank you.
Thank you for the fireplace.
Because it's yeah, there's afireplace behind my head.
It's pretty amazing.
Maybe we should maybe we shouldput this on YouTube and start
filming it.
I don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (34:33):
Uh speaking of that, there will be this will be our
last one of 2025.
Yep.
Uh, but we will be starting out2026 with uh a little different
format.
We're gonna we're gonna buildsome different things in.
We've been talking to somepeople about a few projects of
things we want to do.
Uh, but looking forward to somechanges, uh our personalities
will still be here.
(34:53):
They're not gonna change.
Yeah, but the topics mightchange, format might change a
little, maybe even musicalchange.
You never know.
But um, what we really want isto make sure that everybody has
a great Christmas with yourfamily, friends, and whoever
else is there.
Watch a little football alongthe way, have some fun with
that.
Uh, but just enjoy the time.
But remember, whatever you'refeeling now, try to spread that
(35:14):
out through the whole year.
Make the world a better place.
SPEAKER_01 (35:17):
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
SPEAKER_00 (35:19):
Happy New Year to both of you guys.
We'll see you in 2026.
SPEAKER_01 (35:21):
Like a Merry Christmas, peace out.
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