Have you ever wondered if that expensive college degree was actually worth it? With the average bachelor's degree now costing over $255,000 when you include all expenses, student loan interest, and lost earnings, it's a question worth exploring. While skyrocketing tuition has outpaced inflation for decades, leaving graduates buried in the nation's second-largest debt category, the benefits extend far beyond simply earning potential.
Drawing from personal experience at Chico State, I share how college shaped me beyond academics. It wasn't just about the classes—though I can still explain what a cadmium layer is—but about developing critical thinking, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities that serve me daily. The uncomfortable situations, tight deadlines, and diverse perspectives fostered personal growth I wouldn't trade for anything. Most surprisingly, my entire broadcasting career stemmed from a chance encounter with a job posting while walking through campus—a serendipitous moment that would never have happened without being there.
Speaking of unexpected encounters, I dive into my brushes with fame—some triumphant, others cringe-worthy. From freezing up when Robert Plant walked within inches of me (a regret I still carry), to accidentally stumbling upon Dennis Rodman during his infamous NBA Finals disappearance, to literally bumping into a very tall, very high Bill Walton at a Grateful Dead concert. These organic celebrity moments, unlike planned interviews, reveal how fame intersects with everyday life in surprising ways. I close with a celebration of funk classics, highlighting Kool & The Gang's iconic hit performed by their roadie—proving sometimes the most unexpected voices create the most unforgettable moments.
Whether you're contemplating education choices or just enjoying tales from the road, this episode examines how our paths—planned and unplanned—shape who we become. What unexpected encounters have changed your life's direction?
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
wow, it's a friday.
How the heck are you?
It is patrick.
It's the pats peeps podcast.
Where are we at 291?
291?
Yeah, thank you, yeah, thankyou.
Thank you for listening.
You know how much I appreciateit this much and that's a lot.
(00:31):
All right, this much, whereveryou are.
Thank you.
Thank you for tuning into mypodcast and as I look out the
studio windows into thebeautiful foothills of Northern
California today, it is anexceptionally nice looking day,
a little bit of a breezesummer's here.
I don't know how hot it is.
I haven't spent too much timeout there today doing stuff
(00:53):
around the homestead so far.
I'll be out there shortly, butnot before I speak to you.
Thank you Listen.
We have an ever-growing audienceof our Pat's Peeps, both
businesses and you.
That's so important.
Thank you for that.
Thank you to.
You know, every night on myshow.
By the way, my name is PatWalsh.
I also host the Pat Walsh Showon KFPK Radio in Sacramento,
(01:17):
93.1 FM, 1530 AM, 7 to 10 PM,heard everywhere on your free
iHeart app.
And you know we get more andmore calls every night on the
podcast I mean on my showregarding my podcast.
So, man, that is huge.
Last night Greg called up and hesays you know, and this was
(01:38):
awesome Because you know I lovedoing my radio show we're coming
up on 12 years of doing the PatWall Show and I'm very proud of
that.
It's a pretty good run man.
That's pretty good forespecially nighttime local radio
.
But Greg called up last night.
He said I love your show.
(01:58):
We had two or three peopleseeing that and I'm, you know, I
have the nicest audience.
And I said, well, thank you,thank you, thank you, and he
goes.
But as much as I love your show, I think I may love your
podcast even more.
I mean, when you say stuff likethat on my show, that gets more
people intrigued, more peoplelistening, and I'm just so
(02:18):
grateful.
What he said was like you know,pat Walsh 2.0, because it's
unfiltered.
Now again, yeah, I'm still notgoing to curse.
I mean I let it slip a coupleof times and there was one time
I was probably exceptionallypeeved at something.
But generally I'm not going tobe cursing, but I can do things
(02:42):
like we do where that is part ofthe show, particularly
yesterday.
So, thank you, thank you forthose positive comments during
my radio show Now today on thepodcast and, please, I will
always plead with you.
If you are listening, if youwould.
Just we were adding, we justadded another business for the
(03:03):
Pats Peeps.
You're going to see that itmight be up already, but we're
going to tell you about that.
But if you are a business andyou want to be, because we are
about next month, we are allabout the businesses here or if
you're listening and you wantdiscounts on with any of these
(03:23):
wonderful businesses, you know,really, in a moment of I mean
very serious moment for me notvery serious I'm just saying you
know it would really help.
You know it would help.
Heck, I never ask for anythingother than you support these
local businesses.
And if you listen to thepodcast, that's kind of the idea
.
We're trying to connect thosedots.
(03:44):
You listen to the podcast, heck, you know.
And then you listen to thepodcast that's kind of the idea,
we're trying to connect thosedots.
You listen to the podcast, heck, you know.
And then you go to patspeepscomand it's all kinds of great
deals.
You know, one thing that's beenin the news for some reason
lately.
I think I don't know where itstarted.
I always think of BernieSanders when it comes to this
(04:06):
kind of stuff.
But one of the things I'venoticed that's been in the news
lately is there are these claimsthat somehow college is a waste
of time and this particularstatement obviously sparking
considerable debate.
You have people saying oh yeah,that's a valid point.
(04:29):
Is it really a valid point?
Did you go to college?
I might bring this up on myshow.
One thing about the show that Ilove is that you know we can
talk to you and get yourcomments.
But I just have this thoughtbefore I get put on the show
tonight maybe I don't know ifit'll be tonight, maybe next
week but I'm just wondering didyou go to college and are you
(04:54):
glad you went?
Was it valuable to you?
Was it important to you?
Did it help you in your career?
Did it help you in your life?
You, you know there's people whowould say you know that's too,
it costs too much.
And you're dang right, it does.
It's ridiculous.
The cost of college is it'soutlandish man, it's absolutely.
(05:16):
You know.
I mean when I went it wasridiculous, but not like now.
I graduated in the 90s, so thecost of college has skyrocketed.
It's a valid point.
It outpaces inflation and ithas for decades.
Very valid point Leads tosignificant student loan debt.
(05:38):
That's going to burden you andman Sally Mae gets there on you
At least they were back then,man Sally Mae, but I was always
paying, but Sally Mae, they madesure of it.
Maybe it was the same with you,you know.
So you're paying these thingsback, which impacts your ability
to save.
And, of course, college like wesaid, the tuition is ridiculous
(06:01):
Prevents your ability to investin the future, purchase homes.
Student loan debt now down.
It's now the second largestdebt category in the US.
After what Mortgages?
That's right, think about that.
The average bachelor's degreecan involve an initial
(06:23):
investment of $255,217,including tuition, indirect
costs, student loan interest andall of this.
I mean that's outrageous.
Now I don't know where they'regetting these numbers from.
I've always been a very bigadvocate of community college,
(06:47):
junior college, going to juniorcollege.
I don't want to get too farinto this, but going to junior
college, unless you already knowexactly what you want to do and
you're going for it even atthat junior college can help
because you can get Cal Grants,cal Grant A you can get.
You know there are a variety of.
You can do work, study, there'sPell Grants, things, grant A
you can get.
You know there are a variety of.
You can do work, study.
There's Pell Grants, thingslike that that can help.
(07:09):
But you know, then you transferlike you get your stuff that
you have to your requiredclasses out of the way.
Your science, your math, all ofthose required classes you can
do for much cheaper at acommunity college.
I don't understand why peopledon't do that.
It's so much cheaper.
Then you transfer to a college.
(07:31):
For me it was Chico State.
I could afford that and it wasright there.
I lived there.
I respect Chico State.
Go Wildcats.
I got a great education therein what I wanted to do.
But nowadays, but some of thesecolleges if I mean you name it,
(07:53):
if you're going to go to some ofthese colleges they're
outrageous.
I think you get the point.
So I mean it's a tough way tostart to go into debt like that.
It's almost like when you getmarried.
I've seen people who getmarried and instead of you know
inviting a bunch of friends tothis nice gathering and you know
(08:14):
you're doing something special,some people they go right into
debt.
Anyone know anyone like that.
Maybe you did it.
I didn't do that.
Of course, my marriage didn'tlast that long either.
So maybe it's a good.
Either way, it was a good thing.
But some people put out a lotof money just for the wedding
(08:35):
and now you begin your marriagein debt, which can lead to
problems.
But there's arguments forcollege as well Higher earning,
potential career opportunities.
College graduates generally earnmore.
They need to earn more to payoff the debt right.
They have access to a widerrange of job opportunities
(09:00):
compared to those who perhapsonly have a high school diploma.
Studies have shown that collegegraduates experience a
significant wage premium thatincreases over time.
Job security and lowerunemployment.
If you look at the numbers,college grads tend to have lower
unemployment rates.
Greater job security,particularly during economic
(09:24):
downturns.
Greater job security,particularly during economic
downturns.
Skill development, personalgrowth, which to me is the most
important.
That to me.
You know, when you're going tocollege, they have you jump
through all these hoops and Iused to think you know, why do I
have to do algebra?
I'm never going to do algebra.
People tell me sometimes well,you're doing it right now.
(09:45):
I'm like what?
Okay?
Well, maybe say that, but allright.
But but skill development?
You know you had to turn thingsin on time.
They put you in situationswhere maybe you weren't that
comfortable, made youuncomfortable, made you have to
work for something, put you insituations maybe you weren't
(10:06):
that interested in.
But you had to navigate a waythrough there and I really like
that to this day.
Critical thinking was a part ofit.
Learning communication man Istudied that big time how to
solve problems, leadershipskills, which are obviously
(10:32):
valuable in most any career.
It can expose you to diverseideas, different perspectives
and you can foster personalgrowth.
You become well-rounded.
That's exactly what happened tome in junior college and at
(10:53):
Chico State.
It happened that way for me.
You can network.
There are opportunities there.
They have the career center.
There's other ways to network.
The reason I'm in radio isbecause I was going to college.
Had I not walked past thisoffice while I was on my way to
the communication center tocheck out media equipment to
(11:17):
students at Chico State downthis little hallway, I would
have never saw the post-it noteon someone's computer.
The person was not in theiroffice.
The door was cracked, I wouldnot have seen that.
I snagged it off their computer.
I called it and the next thingyou knew.
Long story short, because I'vetold this before on a previous
podcast they hired me at KPAY.
(11:40):
I'm like what?
Gave me my own show.
If it hadn't have been forcollege, I wouldn't have not
have been in radio orbroadcasting.
I don't believe.
But the all around developmentman, that means so much to me.
Yeah, I had to go through theseclasses biology and you know
again, algebra, these thingsthat I'm like I'm probably never
(12:02):
going to use.
But I know what a cadmium layeris.
You know, I do.
I know what that is the xylemand the phloem Hi, good morning
everybody.
I'm xylem and I'm phloem.
Anyone knows xylem and phloemand cadmium layers and things
like that.
I mean, I've retained thesethings over the years.
(12:24):
Have I used it?
Nope, not until that moment.
I just said it, probably.
But I'm very grateful and Iwill also say this I love what
I'm doing as a job and I don't,you know, in radio or doing what
I'm doing.
I don't believe you need acollege degree Just because you
(12:51):
have a college degree.
You could have a master'sdegree, you could have your
doctorate in communication, butif you can't speak on the radio
and if you can't speak inbroadcasting, you're probably
not going to get a job.
It doesn't matter what yourdegree is.
I mean I could have no degree,no high school diploma, but you
(13:17):
walk into a radio station, in mycase, or a studio voiceover
work, whatever it is involvingyour voice, and you blow them
away with your talent.
They're not going to askwhether or not.
Well, now you sound great.
But let me ask you, this couldbe holding you back.
Do you have a degree?
No, so I didn't really need it,but, man, I can tell you I'm
(13:45):
glad I have it.
So whether college is a wasteof time, I guess depends on your
individual circumstances.
It depends on your career goals, your financial situation.
It's a significant investment,like we said, but it can really
(14:06):
pay off.
So maybe I ask that on my radioshow and get some of your
opinions.
There is a story today.
You know one thing I do listento people's thoughts about my
podcast and my radio show and Ido realize and I'm not going to
(14:28):
go deep into this Some peopledon't like sports.
So bear with me justmomentarily.
I just wanted to bring thisstory up because it's kind of a
breaking story and there's a lotof people in my area that claim
to be 49er fans and so and thisis gold country 49ers
cornerback Diamador Lenore wasarrested by the LAPD yesterday.
(14:55):
Last night he was booked on onecount of resisting a peace
officer, law enforcement sourcessaying that the incident began.
This is according to TMZ.
I never look at that, but thatpopped up just now.
I never look at that, but thatpopped up just now.
It began when officersapproached Lenore and another
(15:17):
individual, marcus Cunningham,after observing double parked
vehicles obstructing traffic.
Police suspected that there wassome possible criminal activity
and allegedly noticed a firearminside of Cunningham's vehicle
and during the interaction theywere told that Cunningham threw
(15:41):
Lenore his car keys and whenofficers asked the defensive
star to hand them over, he didnot and he was arrested on one
count of resisting a peaceofficer.
Maybe he's one of thosesovereign citizens we hear all
about Anyhow.
(16:02):
So bad, bad, bad.
You know.
One thing I also want to talkabout on my radio show is sort
of brush with greatness.
Anyone ever have a brush withgreatness or maybe a near miss
(16:23):
with greatness In my business?
It's kind of difficult for meto present that from my
perspective, for me to presentthat from my perspective, but in
a way I guess it's not now thatI think about it as I'm going
(16:46):
to write this down so I don'tforget In terms of brush with
greatness, I just thought of oneor a couple.
You got to write everythingdown.
I'll tell you what.
I'll tell you what I doeverything in cursive, all of
these podcasts that I do in myhome studio and at my radio show
, everything I do, well, at home, everything is done in cursive
(17:11):
writing On my radio show.
I take notes in cursive all thetime, all night long, on top of
the notes I did on my computerand I will say this my
penmanship, wow, I'm very proud.
So, in Brush With Greatness, Ihave a real regret on one of
(17:31):
these and it was my fault and ifI had it to do over God, I
would love to do it over.
I can't believe to this day.
I cannot believe I did this.
I told my buddy, dave I say Dave, the Bottle Rock Festival was
going on down in Napa and RobertPlant was going to be playing.
(17:53):
I remember that day, robert.
Robert Plant played, snoop Doggplayed and Chris Robinson,
chris Robinson's Brotherhood,played.
Chris Robinson's Brotherhood isChris Robinson from the Black
Crows, the vocalist, and he hadanother band when he was, when
the Crows were broken up and itwas very um, I don't know very
(18:15):
grateful, deadish, let's say andI love that band, chris
robinson's brotherhood.
If you're a dead fan, check himout.
And um.
So I called my buddy, dave, andI said you know, we should go to
this hotel.
I did a little research.
We should go to this hotel inNapa.
I just have the sneakingsuspicion, robert Plant we might
be able to meet Robert Plant ormaybe Chris Robinson, who are
(18:39):
two of my favorite rock singersof all time.
Dave says, yeah, what the heck,let's go.
I got nothing to do.
So we drive down there.
We're sitting at this hotel andthis is the honest truth.
I have a picture of this I'llpost and we sit at this little
table.
There's no one else hardly inthe little restaurant at this
(18:59):
time and we're having a beer andwe're literally talking about
wow.
Can you imagine if they comeout and we look up and I swear
to you, here comes Robert Plant.
He was walking down the hallway.
He walks right by us Likeyou're sitting there.
He almost brushes your kneeaccidentally with his dark red
(19:23):
corduroy bill bottoms and I'mlike, oh my God, it's Robert
Plant.
It's Robert Plant.
Here he comes.
I choked up.
I couldn't do it.
I couldn't do it.
I couldn't do it, I couldn't doit, dave didn't do it.
We let him walk by.
I get up Now I'm looking like astalker because I'm trying to
get up the nerve to go.
Excuse me, robert, can I say hi?
(19:46):
Can I shake your hand?
There's no one else.
The only people around him werelike it could have been his
wife and maybe some handlers,and I could not summon the
courage.
Isn't that ridiculous?
Now I would not have an issue,but at that moment I did.
(20:10):
It was unbelievable.
I regret that there was anothertime.
Here's another weird one.
If you think back during the1997-1998 NBA season, dennis
Rodman disappeared for a coupleof days during the NBA finals
(20:35):
Does anyone remember that?
And that prompted the ChicagoBulls to search for him.
I remember Michael Jordansaying something like well, you
know, that's just Dennis beingDennis, I'm thinking, wow, you
disappear on your team duringthe NBA finals.
Apparently, dennis took a48-hour vacation to Las Vegas in
(21:04):
the middle of the seriesagainst the Utah Jazz, requiring
Michael Jordan to personallyretrieve him.
This incident, by the way, isfamously depicted in the
documentary series the LastDance.
They highlighted an unusual,the unusual lengths that the
Bulls went to to accommodateDennis's you know eccentricities
(21:24):
.
While competing for achampionship, he was very
eccentric.
Well, he went to Vegas cool.
Well, he went to Vegas cool.
Well, I can tell you that mybrother, steve, and I went to a
(21:48):
concert during that time andwe're standing there.
I was trying to pull a sneakymove and this is in November.
This is in 1997, I should sayMaybe 1998.
(22:09):
1998.
I can't really.
Well, it was when Dennisdisappeared, 97, 98.
And we try to sneak in while alimo pulls up and suddenly smoke
rolls out of the limo and it'sweed smoke.
And who's in there, dennisRodman, with these other women,
(22:32):
and we're like, oh my God, Ican't believe that we know where
Dennis Rodman is.
Right now, everyone's lookingfor Dennis Rodman.
There.
He is Unbelievable.
Unbelievable Now, through time.
(22:52):
Whether my memory serves meexactly correct, I don't know.
You know, maybe it was duringthe time he was missing.
That's how my memory recalls it.
It's funny how memory works.
Maybe it was after that, rightafter that.
Maybe I was wrong, I don't know, but I remember him pulling up
(23:14):
and he's wearing a leopard skinhat and he's got all these
chicks and weed smoke coming outof that limo and I'm like, dang
, there's Dennis Rodman.
People my brother and I, likepeople, don't know where he is
and here's Dennis.
So that was a weird littlebrush with fame.
These are ones that happengenerically, organically.
These aren't ones where I was,you know, a talk show host or
(23:37):
the sports guy and my job was togo interview them.
One time I was at a GratefulDead concert oh yeah, at Cal
Expo.
I loved going to Cal Expo tosee the dead.
Right, we go get a beer and mybrother and I and Tommy Lundahl
(24:03):
were walking through the crowdlistening to the dead, got that
red solo cup in our hand and Ilook up at the stage and the
next thing, you know, bam.
I hit into this guyaccidentally and I look at this
guy and he's like seven foot two.
He was huge and it was BillWalton.
(24:28):
It was so weird and I'm certainhe was stoned out of his mind.
He looked like it and here'sBill Walton and I told my
brother I go, man, did you seethat?
I just ran into Bill Walton.
He's like what?
And they look up and there'sBill Walton, so I'll be right
back.
Steve goes through the crowdpursuing Bill Walton, comes back
, he's got, he goes, give meyour ticket stubs.
(24:50):
And he got all three of theticket stubs signed somehow and
then Bill Walton went up thereand sat on the amplifier,
dangling his legs on anamplifier on the stage, on on
the side of the stage.
This is that show Cal Expo.
(25:15):
When I was a kid, there was ahamburger joint that opened up
in Sacramento, roy Rogers.
They used to have hamburgers.
My mom takes us on this rainy,cloudy day.
One day we pull up to thedrive-thru window.
You know it's one of the firstdrive-thru windows I ever
remember, actually and Iremember the guy at the window
was Roy Rogers and he handed usour hamburgers.
(25:39):
It was a little brush with fame, brush with greatness, roy
Rogers.
I got to meet Haas Dan Blockerat Southgate Shopping Center in
South Sacramento.
Remember Dan Blocker, haas fromBonanza.
(26:02):
That was a great honor.
I just I'll never forget.
Forget that because he died soyoung In 2010,.
Maybe I think it was 2010,.
I was at.
I should double check that, butI was at the All-Star game,
major League Baseball All-Stargame.
I'm going to make sure I getthat right 2010 or 2011.
(26:29):
And I get in the elevator.
Maybe I've told this storybefore.
It seems like I may have.
Get in the elevator when I getin the elevator, let's see 2010.
Yeah, 2010.
Angel Stadium, let's see 2010.
Yeah, 2010.
Angel Stadium.
I remember it was right whenGeorge Steinbrenner died and it
might have been that day or theday before, and anyhow, I'm at
(26:54):
there and I'm the sports guy Now.
I said I wouldn't talk aboutwhere I was actually having to
go interview.
Well, I wasn't really going tointerview someone that day.
I was, but not these people.
I get on the press elevator and,as the doors are just closing,
they reopen.
Someone puts their hand inthere and they reopen the door.
(27:14):
Yeah, that was 2010,.
I believe the day that GeorgeSteinbrenner died.
And in walks the great HankAaron hammering.
Hank Aaron who in 1975, 74, heclips Babe Ruth for the most
home runs all time.
He did it against Al Downing ofthe Dodgers.
(27:34):
I remember watching that game.
Frank Robinson walked in withhim.
Two hall of fame baseballplayers in the elevator.
That was a great brush withgreatness.
The elevator comes to thebottom floor, opens up.
I step out with them after Igot to shake their hands and
(27:55):
there's larry king.
Hi, larry king is my very youngwife.
That was a weird brush withcelebrity action right there.
I'll ask you tonight on my radioshow about yours as well.
Today on the record span.
I was so happy to pull this oneout from my shelf today,
(28:21):
especially on a Friday.
I'm in a good mood because thisis one of my all-time favorite
songs on AM radio.
Yeah, am.
I used to love AM top 40 when Iwas a kid, growing up listening
to it.
I had this 45.
I have it now.
That's why I have it in my hand.
Hold on right here.
I love it now.
(28:46):
That's why I have it in my hand.
I love the label.
It brings back great memories.
It is just a great song.
I love it, love it, love it.
If someone asked me what's oneof your favorite songs that was
a hit from the 1970s, this wouldbe right near the top.
The 1970s, this would be rightnear the top.
(29:12):
So this came out.
Uh, let's see, did it do?
This came out?
When did this come out?
I think 70, 73 or 74.
Hold, uh, oh, I'm sorry.
It came out in 73.
Great funk From the album Wildand Peaceful.
It reached number four as asingle, became very popular in
nightclubs.
(29:32):
Billboard ranked it as thenumber 12 single for 1974.
I'd say it has to go muchhigher, although 1974, to be
fair, was a really great yearfor music.
There was number 12 in 1974,despite as many as 36 number one
singles that year.
In 1994, this song wasrepopularized by the soundtrack
(30:00):
from Pulp Fiction.
It was also used in promopackages for wrestling
promotions extreme championshipwrestling in the mid-90s.
There's a spoken main vocalperformed by the band's roadie.
(30:22):
Don Boyce was the roadie andhe's the guy that does the vocal
in this.
That's so awesome.
There's an instrumental versionas well.
But this band came from JerseyCity, new Jersey, in 64.
Founding members includebrothers Robert Bell, who has a
(30:46):
nickname, I don't want to giveit away just yet, maybe you
already know Ronald Bell.
So Robert and Ronald Bell,dennis DD Thomas, robert Spike
Mickens, charles Smith, georgeBrown, woodrow or Woody Sparrow
(31:06):
and Ricky Westfield.
Over the years they'veundergone numerous changes in
personnel and in style.
By the way, I really preferredthis band when they were funky
before they switched over tovery more commercialized and pop
sound, at least in my opinion.
I love that.
It's on D-Lite Records blacklabel.
(31:28):
It's got the multicolored barsacross the D-Lite, d-e, slash,
l-i-t-e Records, d-lite.
I remember playing this thing onmy record player constantly.
Couldn't get enough of it.
So, without further ado, kool.
So if you went back, was thenickname going back to Robert
(31:56):
Kool Bell.
So Kool had a gang.
They decided they would call itappropriately enough get down,
(32:57):
get down.
I love the roadies voice.
Get it on, get it on.
It's so awesome, man.
I mean it just makes it for methat it's the roadie going shake
it around and he does the wholeend of the song, which is
(33:45):
awesome.
I love you.
No, I don't have the rights tothis song.
No, I'm just trying to.
You know, I have to say I'mtrying to educate, I'm trying to
have fun.
So I'm trying to do a critiqueand educate about the music.
Leave me alone.
Yeah, all right, I just got toplay it long enough for for this
(34:10):
part at the end where theroadie just goes off.
Man, so good, don Boyce, thankyou for listening to Pat's Peeps
(34:40):
, number 291.
Have a blessed Friday.
We'll see you on the own.
Get down, get up, y'all, getdown.
wow, it's a friday.
How the heck are you?
It is patrick.
It's the pats peeps podcast.
Where are we at 291?
291?
Yeah, thank you, yeah, thankyou.
Thank you for listening.
You know how much I appreciateit this much and that's a lot.
(00:31):
All right, this much, whereveryou are.
Thank you.
Thank you for tuning into mypodcast and as I look out the
studio windows into thebeautiful foothills of Northern
California today, it is anexceptionally nice looking day,
a little bit of a breezesummer's here.
I don't know how hot it is.
I haven't spent too much timeout there today doing stuff
(00:53):
around the homestead so far.
I'll be out there shortly, butnot before I speak to you.
Thank you Listen.
We have an ever-growing audienceof our Pat's Peeps, both
businesses and you.
That's so important.
Thank you for that.
Thank you to.
You know, every night on myshow.
By the way, my name is PatWalsh.
I also host the Pat Walsh Showon KFPK Radio in Sacramento,
(01:17):
93.1 FM, 1530 AM, 7 to 10 PM,heard everywhere on your free
iHeart app.
And you know we get more andmore calls every night on the
podcast I mean on my showregarding my podcast.
So, man, that is huge.
Last night Greg called up and hesays you know, and this was
(01:38):
awesome Because you know I lovedoing my radio show we're coming
up on 12 years of doing the PatWall Show and I'm very proud of
that.
It's a pretty good run man.
That's pretty good forespecially nighttime local radio
.
But Greg called up last night.
He said I love your show.
(01:58):
We had two or three peopleseeing that and I'm, you know, I
have the nicest audience.
And I said, well, thank you,thank you, thank you, and he
goes.
But as much as I love your show, I think I may love your
podcast even more.
I mean, when you say stuff likethat on my show, that gets more
people intrigued, more peoplelistening, and I'm just so
(02:18):
grateful.
What he said was like you know,pat Walsh 2.0, because it's
unfiltered.
Now again, yeah, I'm still notgoing to curse.
I mean I let it slip a coupleof times and there was one time
I was probably exceptionallypeeved at something.
But generally I'm not going tobe cursing, but I can do things
(02:42):
like we do where that is part ofthe show, particularly
yesterday.
So, thank you, thank you forthose positive comments during
my radio show Now today on thepodcast and, please, I will
always plead with you.
If you are listening, if youwould.
Just we were adding, we justadded another business for the
(03:03):
Pats Peeps.
You're going to see that itmight be up already, but we're
going to tell you about that.
But if you are a business andyou want to be, because we are
about next month, we are allabout the businesses here or if
you're listening and you wantdiscounts on with any of these
(03:23):
wonderful businesses, you know,really, in a moment of I mean
very serious moment for me notvery serious I'm just saying you
know it would really help.
You know it would help.
Heck, I never ask for anythingother than you support these
local businesses.
And if you listen to thepodcast, that's kind of the idea
.
We're trying to connect thosedots.
(03:44):
You listen to the podcast, heck, you know.
And then you listen to thepodcast that's kind of the idea,
we're trying to connect thosedots.
You listen to the podcast, heck, you know.
And then you go to patspeepscomand it's all kinds of great
deals.
You know, one thing that's beenin the news for some reason
lately.
I think I don't know where itstarted.
I always think of BernieSanders when it comes to this
(04:06):
kind of stuff.
But one of the things I'venoticed that's been in the news
lately is there are these claimsthat somehow college is a waste
of time and this particularstatement obviously sparking
considerable debate.
You have people saying oh yeah,that's a valid point.
(04:29):
Is it really a valid point?
Did you go to college?
I might bring this up on myshow.
One thing about the show that Ilove is that you know we can
talk to you and get yourcomments.
But I just have this thoughtbefore I get put on the show
tonight maybe I don't know ifit'll be tonight, maybe next
week but I'm just wondering didyou go to college and are you
(04:54):
glad you went?
Was it valuable to you?
Was it important to you?
Did it help you in your career?
Did it help you in your life?
You, you know there's people whowould say you know that's too,
it costs too much.
And you're dang right, it does.
It's ridiculous.
The cost of college is it'soutlandish man, it's absolutely.
(05:16):
You know.
I mean when I went it wasridiculous, but not like now.
I graduated in the 90s, so thecost of college has skyrocketed.
It's a valid point.
It outpaces inflation and ithas for decades.
Very valid point Leads tosignificant student loan debt.
(05:38):
That's going to burden you andman Sally Mae gets there on you
At least they were back then,man Sally Mae, but I was always
paying, but Sally Mae, they madesure of it.
Maybe it was the same with you,you know.
So you're paying these thingsback, which impacts your ability
to save.
And, of course, college like wesaid, the tuition is ridiculous
(06:01):
Prevents your ability to investin the future, purchase homes.
Student loan debt now down.
It's now the second largestdebt category in the US.
After what Mortgages?
That's right, think about that.
The average bachelor's degreecan involve an initial
(06:23):
investment of $255,217,including tuition, indirect
costs, student loan interest andall of this.
I mean that's outrageous.
Now I don't know where they'regetting these numbers from.
I've always been a very bigadvocate of community college,
(06:47):
junior college, going to juniorcollege.
I don't want to get too farinto this, but going to junior
college, unless you already knowexactly what you want to do and
you're going for it even atthat junior college can help
because you can get Cal Grants,cal Grant A you can get.
You know there are a variety of.
You can do work, study, there'sPell Grants, things, grant A
you can get.
You know there are a variety of.
You can do work, study.
There's Pell Grants, thingslike that that can help.
(07:09):
But you know, then you transferlike you get your stuff that
you have to your requiredclasses out of the way.
Your science, your math, all ofthose required classes you can
do for much cheaper at acommunity college.
I don't understand why peopledon't do that.
It's so much cheaper.
Then you transfer to a college.
(07:31):
For me it was Chico State.
I could afford that and it wasright there.
I lived there.
I respect Chico State.
Go Wildcats.
I got a great education therein what I wanted to do.
But nowadays, but some of thesecolleges if I mean you name it,
(07:53):
if you're going to go to some ofthese colleges they're
outrageous.
I think you get the point.
So I mean it's a tough way tostart to go into debt like that.
It's almost like when you getmarried.
I've seen people who getmarried and instead of you know
inviting a bunch of friends tothis nice gathering and you know
(08:14):
you're doing something special,some people they go right into
debt.
Anyone know anyone like that.
Maybe you did it.
I didn't do that.
Of course, my marriage didn'tlast that long either.
So maybe it's a good.
Either way, it was a good thing.
But some people put out a lotof money just for the wedding
(08:35):
and now you begin your marriagein debt, which can lead to
problems.
But there's arguments forcollege as well Higher earning,
potential career opportunities.
College graduates generally earnmore.
They need to earn more to payoff the debt right.
They have access to a widerrange of job opportunities
(09:00):
compared to those who perhapsonly have a high school diploma.
Studies have shown that collegegraduates experience a
significant wage premium thatincreases over time.
Job security and lowerunemployment.
If you look at the numbers,college grads tend to have lower
unemployment rates.
Greater job security,particularly during economic
(09:24):
downturns.
Greater job security,particularly during economic
downturns.
Skill development, personalgrowth, which to me is the most
important.
That to me.
You know, when you're going tocollege, they have you jump
through all these hoops and Iused to think you know, why do I
have to do algebra?
I'm never going to do algebra.
People tell me sometimes well,you're doing it right now.
(09:45):
I'm like what?
Okay?
Well, maybe say that, but allright.
But but skill development?
You know you had to turn thingsin on time.
They put you in situationswhere maybe you weren't that
comfortable, made youuncomfortable, made you have to
work for something, put you insituations maybe you weren't
(10:06):
that interested in.
But you had to navigate a waythrough there and I really like
that to this day.
Critical thinking was a part ofit.
Learning communication man Istudied that big time how to
solve problems, leadershipskills, which are obviously
(10:32):
valuable in most any career.
It can expose you to diverseideas, different perspectives
and you can foster personalgrowth.
You become well-rounded.
That's exactly what happened tome in junior college and at
(10:53):
Chico State.
It happened that way for me.
You can network.
There are opportunities there.
They have the career center.
There's other ways to network.
The reason I'm in radio isbecause I was going to college.
Had I not walked past thisoffice while I was on my way to
the communication center tocheck out media equipment to
(11:17):
students at Chico State downthis little hallway, I would
have never saw the post-it noteon someone's computer.
The person was not in theiroffice.
The door was cracked, I wouldnot have seen that.
I snagged it off their computer.
I called it and the next thingyou knew.
Long story short, because I'vetold this before on a previous
podcast they hired me at KPAY.
(11:40):
I'm like what?
Gave me my own show.
If it hadn't have been forcollege, I wouldn't have not
have been in radio orbroadcasting.
I don't believe.
But the all around developmentman, that means so much to me.
Yeah, I had to go through theseclasses biology and you know
again, algebra, these thingsthat I'm like I'm probably never
(12:02):
going to use.
But I know what a cadmium layeris.
You know, I do.
I know what that is the xylemand the phloem Hi, good morning
everybody.
I'm xylem and I'm phloem.
Anyone knows xylem and phloemand cadmium layers and things
like that.
I mean, I've retained thesethings over the years.
(12:24):
Have I used it?
Nope, not until that moment.
I just said it, probably.
But I'm very grateful and Iwill also say this I love what
I'm doing as a job and I don't,you know, in radio or doing what
I'm doing.
I don't believe you need acollege degree Just because you
(12:51):
have a college degree.
You could have a master'sdegree, you could have your
doctorate in communication, butif you can't speak on the radio
and if you can't speak inbroadcasting, you're probably
not going to get a job.
It doesn't matter what yourdegree is.
I mean I could have no degree,no high school diploma, but you
(13:17):
walk into a radio station, in mycase, or a studio voiceover
work, whatever it is involvingyour voice, and you blow them
away with your talent.
They're not going to askwhether or not.
Well, now you sound great.
But let me ask you, this couldbe holding you back.
Do you have a degree?
No, so I didn't really need it,but, man, I can tell you I'm
(13:45):
glad I have it.
So whether college is a wasteof time, I guess depends on your
individual circumstances.
It depends on your career goals, your financial situation.
It's a significant investment,like we said, but it can really
(14:06):
pay off.
So maybe I ask that on my radioshow and get some of your
opinions.
There is a story today.
You know one thing I do listento people's thoughts about my
podcast and my radio show and Ido realize and I'm not going to
(14:28):
go deep into this Some peopledon't like sports.
So bear with me justmomentarily.
I just wanted to bring thisstory up because it's kind of a
breaking story and there's a lotof people in my area that claim
to be 49er fans and so and thisis gold country 49ers
cornerback Diamador Lenore wasarrested by the LAPD yesterday.
(14:55):
Last night he was booked on onecount of resisting a peace
officer, law enforcement sourcessaying that the incident began.
This is according to TMZ.
I never look at that, but thatpopped up just now.
I never look at that, but thatpopped up just now.
It began when officersapproached Lenore and another
(15:17):
individual, marcus Cunningham,after observing double parked
vehicles obstructing traffic.
Police suspected that there wassome possible criminal activity
and allegedly noticed a firearminside of Cunningham's vehicle
and during the interaction theywere told that Cunningham threw
(15:41):
Lenore his car keys and whenofficers asked the defensive
star to hand them over, he didnot and he was arrested on one
count of resisting a peaceofficer.
Maybe he's one of thosesovereign citizens we hear all
about Anyhow.
(16:02):
So bad, bad, bad.
You know.
One thing I also want to talkabout on my radio show is sort
of brush with greatness.
Anyone ever have a brush withgreatness or maybe a near miss
(16:23):
with greatness In my business?
It's kind of difficult for meto present that from my
perspective, for me to presentthat from my perspective, but in
a way I guess it's not now thatI think about it as I'm going
(16:46):
to write this down so I don'tforget In terms of brush with
greatness, I just thought of oneor a couple.
You got to write everythingdown.
I'll tell you what.
I'll tell you what I doeverything in cursive, all of
these podcasts that I do in myhome studio and at my radio show
, everything I do, well, at home, everything is done in cursive
(17:11):
writing On my radio show.
I take notes in cursive all thetime, all night long, on top of
the notes I did on my computerand I will say this my
penmanship, wow, I'm very proud.
So, in Brush With Greatness, Ihave a real regret on one of
(17:31):
these and it was my fault and ifI had it to do over God, I
would love to do it over.
I can't believe to this day.
I cannot believe I did this.
I told my buddy, dave I say Dave, the Bottle Rock Festival was
going on down in Napa and RobertPlant was going to be playing.
(17:53):
I remember that day, robert.
Robert Plant played, snoop Doggplayed and Chris Robinson,
chris Robinson's Brotherhood,played.
Chris Robinson's Brotherhood isChris Robinson from the Black
Crows, the vocalist, and he hadanother band when he was, when
the Crows were broken up and itwas very um, I don't know very
(18:15):
grateful, deadish, let's say andI love that band, chris
robinson's brotherhood.
If you're a dead fan, check himout.
And um.
So I called my buddy, dave, andI said you know, we should go to
this hotel.
I did a little research.
We should go to this hotel inNapa.
I just have the sneakingsuspicion, robert Plant we might
be able to meet Robert Plant ormaybe Chris Robinson, who are
(18:39):
two of my favorite rock singersof all time.
Dave says, yeah, what the heck,let's go.
I got nothing to do.
So we drive down there.
We're sitting at this hotel andthis is the honest truth.
I have a picture of this I'llpost and we sit at this little
table.
There's no one else hardly inthe little restaurant at this
(18:59):
time and we're having a beer andwe're literally talking about
wow.
Can you imagine if they comeout and we look up and I swear
to you, here comes Robert Plant.
He was walking down the hallway.
He walks right by us Likeyou're sitting there.
He almost brushes your kneeaccidentally with his dark red
(19:23):
corduroy bill bottoms and I'mlike, oh my God, it's Robert
Plant.
It's Robert Plant.
Here he comes.
I choked up.
I couldn't do it.
I couldn't do it.
I couldn't do it, I couldn't doit, dave didn't do it.
We let him walk by.
I get up Now I'm looking like astalker because I'm trying to
get up the nerve to go.
Excuse me, robert, can I say hi?
(19:46):
Can I shake your hand?
There's no one else.
The only people around him werelike it could have been his
wife and maybe some handlers,and I could not summon the
courage.
Isn't that ridiculous?
Now I would not have an issue,but at that moment I did.
(20:10):
It was unbelievable.
I regret that there was anothertime.
Here's another weird one.
If you think back during the1997-1998 NBA season, dennis
Rodman disappeared for a coupleof days during the NBA finals
(20:35):
Does anyone remember that?
And that prompted the ChicagoBulls to search for him.
I remember Michael Jordansaying something like well, you
know, that's just Dennis beingDennis, I'm thinking, wow, you
disappear on your team duringthe NBA finals.
Apparently, dennis took a48-hour vacation to Las Vegas in
(21:04):
the middle of the seriesagainst the Utah Jazz, requiring
Michael Jordan to personallyretrieve him.
This incident, by the way, isfamously depicted in the
documentary series the LastDance.
They highlighted an unusual,the unusual lengths that the
Bulls went to to accommodateDennis's you know eccentricities
(21:24):
.
While competing for achampionship, he was very
eccentric.
Well, he went to Vegas cool.
Well, he went to Vegas cool.
Well, I can tell you that mybrother, steve, and I went to a
(21:48):
concert during that time andwe're standing there.
I was trying to pull a sneakymove and this is in November.
This is in 1997, I should sayMaybe 1998.
(22:09):
1998.
I can't really.
Well, it was when Dennisdisappeared, 97, 98.
And we try to sneak in while alimo pulls up and suddenly smoke
rolls out of the limo and it'sweed smoke.
And who's in there, dennisRodman, with these other women,
(22:32):
and we're like, oh my God, Ican't believe that we know where
Dennis Rodman is.
Right now, everyone's lookingfor Dennis Rodman.
There.
He is Unbelievable.
Unbelievable Now, through time.
(22:52):
Whether my memory serves meexactly correct, I don't know.
You know, maybe it was duringthe time he was missing.
That's how my memory recalls it.
It's funny how memory works.
Maybe it was after that, rightafter that.
Maybe I was wrong, I don't know, but I remember him pulling up
(23:14):
and he's wearing a leopard skinhat and he's got all these
chicks and weed smoke coming outof that limo and I'm like, dang
, there's Dennis Rodman.
People my brother and I, likepeople, don't know where he is
and here's Dennis.
So that was a weird littlebrush with fame.
These are ones that happengenerically, organically.
These aren't ones where I was,you know, a talk show host or
(23:37):
the sports guy and my job was togo interview them.
One time I was at a GratefulDead concert oh yeah, at Cal
Expo.
I loved going to Cal Expo tosee the dead.
Right, we go get a beer and mybrother and I and Tommy Lundahl
(24:03):
were walking through the crowdlistening to the dead, got that
red solo cup in our hand and Ilook up at the stage and the
next thing, you know, bam.
I hit into this guyaccidentally and I look at this
guy and he's like seven foot two.
He was huge and it was BillWalton.
(24:28):
It was so weird and I'm certainhe was stoned out of his mind.
He looked like it and here'sBill Walton and I told my
brother I go, man, did you seethat?
I just ran into Bill Walton.
He's like what?
And they look up and there'sBill Walton, so I'll be right
back.
Steve goes through the crowdpursuing Bill Walton, comes back
, he's got, he goes, give meyour ticket stubs.
(24:50):
And he got all three of theticket stubs signed somehow and
then Bill Walton went up thereand sat on the amplifier,
dangling his legs on anamplifier on the stage, on on
the side of the stage.
This is that show Cal Expo.
(25:15):
When I was a kid, there was ahamburger joint that opened up
in Sacramento, roy Rogers.
They used to have hamburgers.
My mom takes us on this rainy,cloudy day.
One day we pull up to thedrive-thru window.
You know it's one of the firstdrive-thru windows I ever
remember, actually and Iremember the guy at the window
was Roy Rogers and he handed usour hamburgers.
(25:39):
It was a little brush with fame, brush with greatness, roy
Rogers.
I got to meet Haas Dan Blockerat Southgate Shopping Center in
South Sacramento.
Remember Dan Blocker, haas fromBonanza.
(26:02):
That was a great honor.
I just I'll never forget.
Forget that because he died soyoung In 2010,.
Maybe I think it was 2010,.
I was at.
I should double check that, butI was at the All-Star game,
major League Baseball All-Stargame.
I'm going to make sure I getthat right 2010 or 2011.
(26:29):
And I get in the elevator.
Maybe I've told this storybefore.
It seems like I may have.
Get in the elevator when I getin the elevator, let's see 2010.
Yeah, 2010.
Angel Stadium, let's see 2010.
Yeah, 2010.
Angel Stadium.
I remember it was right whenGeorge Steinbrenner died and it
might have been that day or theday before, and anyhow, I'm at
(26:54):
there and I'm the sports guy Now.
I said I wouldn't talk aboutwhere I was actually having to
go interview.
Well, I wasn't really going tointerview someone that day.
I was, but not these people.
I get on the press elevator and,as the doors are just closing,
they reopen.
Someone puts their hand inthere and they reopen the door.
(27:14):
Yeah, that was 2010,.
I believe the day that GeorgeSteinbrenner died.
And in walks the great HankAaron hammering.
Hank Aaron who in 1975, 74, heclips Babe Ruth for the most
home runs all time.
He did it against Al Downing ofthe Dodgers.
(27:34):
I remember watching that game.
Frank Robinson walked in withhim.
Two hall of fame baseballplayers in the elevator.
That was a great brush withgreatness.
The elevator comes to thebottom floor, opens up.
I step out with them after Igot to shake their hands and
(27:55):
there's larry king.
Hi, larry king is my very youngwife.
That was a weird brush withcelebrity action right there.
I'll ask you tonight on my radioshow about yours as well.
Today on the record span.
I was so happy to pull this oneout from my shelf today,
(28:21):
especially on a Friday.
I'm in a good mood because thisis one of my all-time favorite
songs on AM radio.
Yeah, am.
I used to love AM top 40 when Iwas a kid, growing up listening
to it.
I had this 45.
I have it now.
That's why I have it in my hand.
Hold on right here.
I love it now.
(28:46):
That's why I have it in my hand.
I love the label.
It brings back great memories.
It is just a great song.
I love it, love it, love it.
If someone asked me what's oneof your favorite songs that was
a hit from the 1970s, this wouldbe right near the top.
The 1970s, this would be rightnear the top.
(29:12):
So this came out.
Uh, let's see, did it do?
This came out?
When did this come out?
I think 70, 73 or 74.
Hold, uh, oh, I'm sorry.
It came out in 73.
Great funk From the album Wildand Peaceful.
It reached number four as asingle, became very popular in
nightclubs.
(29:32):
Billboard ranked it as thenumber 12 single for 1974.
I'd say it has to go muchhigher, although 1974, to be
fair, was a really great yearfor music.
There was number 12 in 1974,despite as many as 36 number one
singles that year.
In 1994, this song wasrepopularized by the soundtrack
(30:00):
from Pulp Fiction.
It was also used in promopackages for wrestling
promotions extreme championshipwrestling in the mid-90s.
There's a spoken main vocalperformed by the band's roadie.
(30:22):
Don Boyce was the roadie andhe's the guy that does the vocal
in this.
That's so awesome.
There's an instrumental versionas well.
But this band came from JerseyCity, new Jersey, in 64.
Founding members includebrothers Robert Bell, who has a
(30:46):
nickname, I don't want to giveit away just yet, maybe you
already know Ronald Bell.
So Robert and Ronald Bell,dennis DD Thomas, robert Spike
Mickens, charles Smith, georgeBrown, woodrow or Woody Sparrow
(31:06):
and Ricky Westfield.
Over the years they'veundergone numerous changes in
personnel and in style.
By the way, I really preferredthis band when they were funky
before they switched over tovery more commercialized and pop
sound, at least in my opinion.
I love that.
It's on D-Lite Records blacklabel.
(31:28):
It's got the multicolored barsacross the D-Lite, d-e, slash,
l-i-t-e Records, d-lite.
I remember playing this thing onmy record player constantly.
Couldn't get enough of it.
So, without further ado, kool.
So if you went back, was thenickname going back to Robert
(31:56):
Kool Bell.
So Kool had a gang.
They decided they would call itappropriately enough get down,
(32:57):
get down.
I love the roadies voice.
Get it on, get it on.
It's so awesome, man.
I mean it just makes it for methat it's the roadie going shake
it around and he does the wholeend of the song, which is
(33:45):
awesome.
I love you.
No, I don't have the rights tothis song.
No, I'm just trying to.
You know, I have to say I'mtrying to educate, I'm trying to
have fun.
So I'm trying to do a critiqueand educate about the music.
Leave me alone.
Yeah, all right, I just got toplay it long enough for for this
(34:10):
part at the end where theroadie just goes off.
Man, so good, don Boyce, thankyou for listening to Pat's Peeps
(34:40):
, number 291.
Have a blessed Friday.
We'll see you on the own.
Get down, get up, y'all, getdown.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.