Navigating Law and Life Lessons with Ed Spinks

Discover the inspiring journey of Ed Spinks, a board-certified elder law attorney and founder of Speaks Law Firm, as he shares his transition from the disciplined life of a US Marine to a passionate advocate for families in need. Ed opens up about how his military background has shaped his approach to law, bringing unique insights into the significance of board certification in elder law. His story is not just about professional success; it's a testament to the power of community and compassion in building a career dedicated to uplifting others.

Our conversation flows through Ed’s military experiences, revealing lessons of camaraderie and resilience that have informed his civilian life and legal practice. Listen as Ed recounts tales of teamwork and stress management from his diverse service in both the Army and the Marine Corps, illustrating how these experiences have carved his path in the legal realm. He also shares personal anecdotes about his cherished military coin collection and his active engagement in community programs that support children with special needs, painting a vivid picture of his multifaceted life.

Ed’s personal life is a tapestry of heartfelt stories, from his upbringing in a small Ohio town to his family-oriented adventures in Florida. He shares the serendipitous tale of meeting his wife, Tina, and the pivotal moments that have woven their lives together. The episode concludes with crucial insights into planning for the future, discussing essential topics like end-of-life planning and asset protection. Through Ed’s expertise, learn why proactive planning is paramount and how it can safeguard your future and that of your loved ones.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the let's Get Comfy podcast brought to you
by Comfort Measures Consulting,the official healthcare
edutainment station, empoweringlisteners with the resources and
insight to age comfortably.
We are your station forlaughter, peace and joy, but
most of all, comfort.

(00:20):
I am your host and soleproprietor, norman Harris, and
today we have an amazing guest,a wonderful surprise.
He is the founder of Speaks LawFirm, serving the greater Tampa
Bay area, and has beenpracticing in the area of elder
law, estate planning and specialneeds for over 20 years.

(00:41):
He is a board expert in elderlaw by the Florida Bar.
Ed is a graduate of theUniversity of South Florida
State University College of Law.
He is retired from the USMarine Corps after serving 25
years, including tours of dutyin Iraq, saudi Arabia, kuwait

(01:03):
and the Horn of Africa.
Ed is an active member of theVFW and the Military Affairs
Committee for the Florida Bar.
Ed lives in Tampa with his wife, tina, two wonderful children
Big Willie, big William 13, andLily.
He enjoys volunteering at theYMCA and coaching Buddy Baseball

(01:25):
, a league for children withdisability.
He is on the St Mark'sEpiscopal Church and recently
completed a four year term asthe president of Hillsborough
County Superintendent AdvisoryCommittee for Students with
Special Needs.
Students with special needs.
I present to you the only boardcertified male and elder law

(01:48):
attorney in Hillsborough County,mr Ed Spinks.
All right, welcome, ed.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Thank you.
Thank you for having me heretoday.
I really appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Yes, sir, ed, I had to highlight you being the only
male board certified attorney inelder law in Hillsborough
County.
It's a wonderful accomplishment.
I was able to come to yourcelebration for that.
I came at the end, right, sonobody probably remember seeing
me there, but I did want tosupport.
I came from Plant City.

(02:19):
I said, you know, invite me.
I need to meet Ed man.
We had a wonderful conversation,your first meeting, and you
were just so open and welcomeand transparent with me.
I need to meet Ed man.
We had a wonderful conversation, your first meeting, and you
were just so open and welcomeand transparent with me and you
took time to listen to me,listen to my vision.
You shared insight for me,actually introduced me to Mr
Steve Hopper right, yes, awonderful gentleman as well but

(02:41):
you also invited me to anetworking group as well.
So, just from our first initialmeeting and introduction, it's
like you just said you know what?
I see something in thisgentleman and you gave me an
opportunity.
And everybody don't do that,everybody don't open their arms
to you and say, hey, I see whatyou're trying to do, I want to

(03:01):
be a part of it and I supportyou, even if I only haven't
known you for two years.
You know even for 20 minutesyou give your heart.
I can see your heart there andit's exemplifies in the family
that you have, and Miss Tina aswell, your wonderful wife.
So just meeting her first andher introducing me to you, she
said you have to meet my husbandand I understand now why.

(03:27):
So I'm so happy to have you apart of the show Again.
I want to repeat this Mr EdSpinks is the only male board
certified elder law attorney inHillsborough County.
He's the third one in PascoCounty.
That's a big accomplishment.
Go males, go male.
So if you chime in here with me, man, just talk about why you

(03:48):
gave me a chance.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
I appreciate it and it was great to meet you and I
understood your mission rightaway, because we got a lot of
overlap in what we do.
Because what we do we helpfamilies, we help people and a
lot of times it's in a time ofneed.
They're down and they can'tfind the next thing to do is, or
they're depressed because ofsomething's happening in the
family and we can help rise themup.

(04:09):
You know we help those peopleup and we can help those
families and I see you have itin your heart, in your
background, is what you've doneand that's what we know we try
to do as well, and that's whereI find my motivation and my
purpose in the things that we do.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
Thank you, sir, Thank you so much.
So let's start with the thingthat I'm highlighting and I told
you and wife I definitely wantto place emphasis on is what
does it mean to be a boardcertified and elder law attorney
?

Speaker 2 (04:35):
What does that mean Sure.
And so in Florida, you know Ihave many attorneys in Florida.
I wish I had this statistichere.
I'd say the exact number, butthere's a lot of attorneys in
Florida.
And so to be board certified, itmeans you've practiced in one
particular area of the law, soyou have a focus on the area of
the law and you've also hadadditional training.

(04:57):
You've had a certain amount ofcontinuing legal education, so
you focused on the law for atleast five years in your area.
You've had a higher degree oftraining in that area than is
required by the Florida Bar.
You also have to be verified orbackground checked by your
peers in the Florida Barthemselves.
They take a certain number ofrecommendations and referrals

(05:19):
and then they check yourbackground to make sure that you
truly are practicing in thatarea and you got the expertise
necessary.
The third thing you have to dois take a written exam.
Now you would think, hey,somebody's practicing this area
of law for five years.
You know a written exam wouldbe a piece of cake, but the
statistic I was given before Itook the exam was only 25% of

(05:40):
the exam takers actually passthis exam.
Twenty-five percent the examtakers actually pass this exam
25%.
So it's a very low number, eventhough you got to be practicing
in that area and be verifiedbefore you even get to sit for
the exam.
So I was fortunate enough to bein that 25% and get board
certified in the area of elderlaw what we do and what we love

(06:00):
doing.
One other statistic that I dofind interesting is out of all
the attorneys in Florida doing.
One other statistic that I dofind interesting is out of all
the attorneys in Florida,there's only 7% of the attorneys
that are board certified in anycertain area.
Now there are othercertifications, be it personal
injury, real estate, aviation,elder law, different areas
consist of that, but onlyoverall 7% of attorneys.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
So you have to come up with some sort of slogan.
Ed 7%er.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
Yes, you're in the 7% of Ed.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
I get a little bad so if you would just describe your
services at Spinks Law, justyour different locations and
where the community members canlocate you Sure.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
We practice really in three areas estate planning,
elder law and special needs.
And so we break that down tokind of everybody understand.
We do all the pre-planning, thethings that everybody knows
they need to get put in placebut procrastinates to do so.
That consists of estateplanning with trusts and wills
and powers of attorney and thosethings that you're taking a

(06:59):
proactive approach for in yourestate.
And the elder law umbrellathat's normally helping families
when they got a loved one goingto assisted living, nursing
home or, you know, gettingelderly, hence the name.
So those services aftersomebody turns 65, deals with a
lot of medical qualifications,sometimes some Medicare benefits
as well.

(07:20):
And the third is near and dearto our hearts we separate it.
It's a special need planningBecause it really is an umbrella
of the two earlier thingsestate planning, elder law.
But it's for those childrenwith special needs and I say
children because that's normallywhat you're dealing with those
family raising children withspecial needs.
You didn't mention our son.
William has Down syndrome, sohe's personal to us, so you know

(07:40):
personal to us, and so we helpthem with a guardianship
planning, with special needs,trust, able, act, accounts,
doing those things that willhelp, you know, be successful
for the rest of their lives.

Speaker 1 (07:52):
All right, good.
So let's go back to the origins, right, the origins of Spinks
Law Firm.
How did you start the firm andif you would describe the
differences of when you firstlaunched right and then, how
you've grown now and where youare now.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, towards the end of my duty in the Marine Corps,
I was stationed here at McDill,locally, so it gave me the
opportunity to start my own firm, and so when I got to the point
of having about 21 years inservice, you can retire at 20
years.
So I knew I wanted to start myown firm and try to do my own

(08:34):
thing out there, based on theexperience that I previously had
.
I was fortunate enough that theMarine Corps needed additional
help during that time, and thisis probably about 08 or 09.
So we were pretty tied upoverseas when, when I say we,
I'm military in general theyneeded somebody on staff at
MacDill.
So I was able to transfer to bea reservist and then work at
MacDill as a reservist and thenalso be here in Tampa, not being

(08:59):
on deployment, and able to openthe law firm up.
So, like most people, I thinkwhen they start the law firm
it's going to do anything thatcomes in the door right.
I refer to it as door lock.
You know walks in the door,you'll represent them.
So I had done estate planningand litigation before in the
Marine Corps.
So those were the main twothings I focused on because I'd

(09:20):
already had experience in thatarea.
But anybody came in with thosetwo things, I would take them.

Speaker 1 (09:25):
So why the Marines?
I hear these stories about howhard the Marines is and just how
tough you have to be, andthat's why I just didn't go in
the military at all.
So why you chose the hardestone to try to go.
Or is it the Navy SEALs?
Which one do you think?

Speaker 2 (09:41):
Well, I won't talk bad about the Navy SEALs, but
I'll tell you the whole story,since we've got a few minutes
here.
Actually, it's true the Marinesare by far the toughest, based
on my experience.
But I didn't start out there.
So when I was 17, I graduatedfrom high school, I first went
in into the Army, so I was asmoke operations specialist in

(10:04):
the Army.
So it's an interesting jobwhere you make smoke screens
that cover the battlefield.
I don't think they have itanymore because the technology
is advanced so they don't needit.
But when I first went in, thatwas our main job in 1985.
This is great to smoke.
Our job was to make smoke withthese incredibly large
generators and we would burn55-gallon drums of oil through

(10:28):
this generator, but it made atremendous amount of smoke.
It would cover acres and acres.
Wow, you could make miles ofsmoke with these things.
And so I was in a smoke platoonand so we had probably 30 of
these generators or something.
Now, the downside of being asmoke generator operator there's
one place where you can makesmoke screens it's not sitting
in an air-conditioned officeit's out in the woods my first

(10:49):
story.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
I was at fort riley, kansas um out in the woods all
the time I think my uncle was,uh, stationed there too.
It's been around a long time.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
You Custer was there and they have General Custer's
house there and a museumpreserved to him and the cavalry
from back in the day.
So that place, fort Riley, hasbeen around a long time but they
made book screens at that place.
So what triggered me to makethe change is I got out of the
active duty army and was in thereserves, got recruited by the

(11:22):
Marine Corps recruiter and sothose recruiters, you got a way
of getting it.
Yeah, they got you.
And so I'm like, hey, how aboutstepping up a level now?
But it was good for me, becauseone desirable thing about the
Marine Corps at the time becauseI was going to school at USF
was that they said if you do getaccepted into law school,

(11:43):
they'll divert the contract soyou can be a Marine Corps lawyer
, if not, you'll be a MarineCorps ground officer.
So you kind of get to dowhatever you want to do based on
where you're at when I wasfinished with USF.
So it was the path that came tome, was the best path for me at
the time.

Speaker 1 (11:59):
So you were able to go to law school without any
debt.

Speaker 2 (12:02):
Well, unfortunately I was not, because they said they
would allow you to wait and goon active duty for the Marine
Corps Got it, but they put youin the reserves during law
school time.
So basically what you got to dois pay for law school on your
own, then, when you were done,then it'll put you on active
duty.
Got you Very smart Put you inthe reserves and I worked in

(12:25):
recruiting command during lawschool to help.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
Thanks, okay, three qualities you think you gained
from the US Marine Corps.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
Top three qualities yeah, really, the Marine Corps
presents a lot of challenges,but probably the number one
thing the Marine Corps does ishelp you focus and help you make
decisions in stressfulenvironments, because you can
imagine, you know anytime you'rein that combat environment or
going through operation.
They want you to be able tothink decisively and make

(12:52):
decisions when you're under alot of stress.
So that's one thing is focused,and that's one reason why the
training is so tough, because ifyou can't be under that amount
of stress and make a decision,you can't be a good leader
anywhere, not just in the MarineCorps but in the civilian world
as well.
Decision-making under stress isthe greatest challenge Probably

(13:12):
.
The other two things are justworking well within an
organization.
You've got to be part of a team.
The Marine Corps is built onteams, be it the fire team, the
squad, the platoon, the companylevel, the battalion,
everything's a team andeverything's focused on one
mission.
So everybody needs to know whatthe goal is and be working to
accomplish that goal or thatobjective of the team.
And then the third thing is youknow kind of ties into team.

(13:37):
But I just think it's thecamaraderie you get with your
fellow Marines or your fellowsoldiers, sailors out there,
that you're working in part ofthat cohesive unit and that's a
really strong bond you develop.
You know, I kind of add, aboutFort Riley and doing some of
that work out there.
But I still stay in touch withsome of those guys that I met,
you know, back in 1985 andthey've gone, you know,
throughout the country andthroughout the world.

(13:57):
But we still stay in touch.
We can kind of talk aboutthings we did out there.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
Good, good.
Thank you for sharing that.
So I need to hear stories.
I love military stories.

Speaker 2 (14:08):
So if you give me a triumph story and a tragic story
, Sure, sure, I was in 25 years,so I got to run the spectrum of
triumph and challenge stories.
You know, the most difficultstories are, of course, the one
stories because it's not onlythe fact that you're under

(14:31):
stress or have to go ondeployment to certain places,
you know, be away from yourfriends and family, but you do
make these bonds that I talkedabout with these.
You know members and you know,as we all know, during the
wartime people die and so you'vegot people that you have an
immediate bond with or you'vehad a long connection with who
end up passing as a result ofthe war.

(14:54):
So, you know, really take atoll on you.
It's probably the worst thingabout being in the military, and
I guess the worst thing aboutbeing in the military and I
guess the worst thing aboutanything is you know your
friends that you've made overthese years During the military.
Yes, during the military youknow the hardest things to
overcome, be it if you're in thesame unit or if you read it in
the paper or something down theroad.
It's just difficult to you know, process those emotions, or you

(15:16):
know that but, you also.
You know significant triumphs.
You know for me, you knoweverything.
You know everything in themilitary is built on being
successful and having a triumph.
You know military schools.
You know if you start bootcamp,you know that.
You know cycle and graduate.
You know across that field andyou know be whether it's in the

(15:37):
army.
You know Marine Corps and getyour Eagle Globe and anchor, and
so it's in the uh army.
You know marine corps and getyour eagle globe and anchor, and
, and so it goes on and on.
You know core uh ocs is similarto the um boot camp equivalent,
so they have drill instructorsthere.
It takes 12 weeks to getthrough, but at the end of that
you're commissioned as anofficer in the marine corps.
So you become a secondlieutenant at that time and get

(15:59):
the Eagle Globe and anchor,which is symbolic of the Marine
Corps.
You know when you're truly aMarine when you complete that
process and, as you can imagine,I mean I've been at you for 12
weeks.
Yeah, that's what.

Speaker 1 (16:09):
I do, I'm under stress.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
And then the next rule for all Marines is you have
to go to something they callthe basic tool, but everybody
goes to that, every Marine Corpsofficer and that's six months
where you learn all the Marinetactics you know, really
learning your ship to shoremovements and your strategy and
tactics for combat operations,particularly operating from the

(16:31):
ships and moving into the shore.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
Got it.
So when you first started, whendid they cut your hair off
Pretty much day one, day one,day one of any endeavor they cut
your hair off.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
How do you feel when they cut your hair off?
Pretty much day one, day one,pretty much day one of any
endeavor, they cut your hair off.
How did you feel when they cutyour hair?

Speaker 1 (16:42):
off.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
You know, the first one in 1985, my hair was long
too, so I mean it was probablylong down to like my collar you
know you had a sunshade.

Speaker 1 (16:49):
I had a time.

Speaker 2 (16:49):
When you like, comb it back like this and yeah,
straight down the middle thatthey were able to.
You know, spinning chair, whenyou're spinning around you have
about a quarter of it shaved off, oh man.
So that was a good time, butever since that day, because
just you know, you got to keepit short.

Speaker 1 (17:07):
So as you can see, I've just had to have it, so
that's the one time that they'veshaved it off.

Speaker 2 (17:11):
It's been off ever since.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
So I've grown it back .
So you started early on yearsago serving and you continue
that right uh through, just asyou've grown as an adult as well
.
But if you will just talk aboutwhat makes you, you know, are
and just your endeavors in civicengagement, because you're,
you're involved in the communityas well.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
So yeah, you'll be, you know, and I'm fortunate, you
know, and be engaged with mychildren because they're still
young williams 13, at leasteight and so it opens the door
because they both do athleticsat the YMCA, which I've been
involved in, you know, be itcoaching or supporting those
athletes.
I joined the coaching buddybaseball.
It's a baseball league forchildren with disabilities and

(17:52):
they pair them up with a childthat doesn't have any
disabilities and just help playa baseball game.
So games, because it's aboutthree innings bat around each
time, you know out there andhave a good time playing, you
know a great time in that season.
And the league is really growingtremendously as far as kids go.
So, and then, of course yeah,you mentioned that yeah, I'm a
vestry at St Mark's Church.

(18:13):
It's kind of like director forthe church and I've been on
there for I think two years nowand so we rotate though you can
only be on there three-yearterms and it comes off Okay.
Also had the ability to beelected president of the
Superintendent AdvisoryCommittee for Children with
Special Needs in HillsboroughCounty.
This is all really linked tothe kids.
I got to meet these people andI was working with that group,

(18:41):
so I attended as a member for awhile and then eventually was
able to move up and be president, which just ended last year.
So that was kind of a long termthing to be in four years, but
very enjoyable.
I learned a lot about how thecounty government operates and
particularly the school systemand the school board Good good
good.

Speaker 1 (18:55):
So, with that being stated, you have definitely
different endeavors, but Inoticed you indicated family is
very important to you because alot of your endeavors are
connected to you spending timewith your family.
But what would you say outsideof family right and your
business, your law firm, whatwould you say?

(19:15):
Your most cherished possessionis?

Speaker 2 (19:19):
It's tough.
Of course I've got to take theeasy answer.
I don't want to dodge that.
Of course, faith We've got tohave our faith in the Lord and
where Jesus puts us in our lifeand we truly believe that and I
think every family has to dealwith that.

Speaker 1 (19:30):
No, I don't want to answer that.
I want to know what's yourcherished possession In the
house.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
Here the house, tangible, which was your chairs
position that you're not gonna.
Let me get off on the easy.
No, this is what's gonna beimportant to me, but that is
important all right, no, god'sfamily so if I had to say
something that you, you hit anail on the head when you say
something.
What is in your house that thekids can't right?
And so, uh, I've got a prettylarge collection of military
coins and, uh, if you're notfamiliar, a lot of times
different units will have a coinmade.

(20:03):
It's either got a unit symbolor Marine Corps symbol on it.
And so, traveling to thesedifferent places, I've had the
opportunity to receive a lot ofcoins and give a lot of coins
from the units that I've been in.
And so the military coincollection, I would say, would
be the one because it's reallyirreplaceable as well.
These coins date back.
I got chemical ones from theArmy because of smoke operations

(20:25):
as part of the chemical corps,and then certainly more Marine
Corps ones from traveling around.
Be it, you know from placeswhere I was at, in Africa and
even Germany and Jordan, a lotof the Middle Eastern units that
had those coins selected.
So the coin collection would bethe big thing.

Speaker 1 (20:42):
It's interesting that you say that I just had the
opportunity to travel with mywife to a problem is pronouncing
the name Eglin, South Carolina,with her great aunt and the
first time I meet him.
But wonderful hospitality theyshowed us.
But you know, this was like ahistoric, I don't know tour you
took us on like our tour of hishome and he had the coins and

(21:04):
the different because he was inthe military as well.
So I understand that.
Now you know, being that youstated that right, absolutely so
going back to just learningabout how you grew up and and
the things that, uh, you woulddevelop.

Speaker 2 (21:17):
But if you just describe the neighborhood, how
you grew up, yeah, father wasfrom Ohio, so I was born in Ohio
and really raised in Ohio.
My mother's family's from PolkCounty, so we spent a lot of
time in Polk County, florida,which is kind of our connection
down here.
But I graduated from highschool in Ohio and that was a
small, small industrial town.
They had a lot of factories atone point when I was young, I'm

(21:40):
sorry Siblings, yes, I got three, and so we all grew up there in
varying points.
I'm the oldest, so my nextyoungest brother is a year and a
half younger than me.
But my youngest brother is 10years younger from me, so he
joined the military when I was17, so he was only 7.
So our overlap in life great atthat time.

Speaker 1 (22:00):
My younger brother is what?
Nine years younger than me.
So he is yeah.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
Unfortunately my father has passed, so I really
don't have any relatives upnorth anymore.
Everybody's down here inFlorida.

Speaker 1 (22:11):
Everybody's down here in Florida, ok, all right.
Who is, you would say, the mostinfluential person in your
early life?

Speaker 2 (22:20):
Yeah, influential person in your early life.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
Yeah, you know these things, your parents.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
Of course right, because the parents are there.
Your parents are raising you,you know, but you had a lot of.
You think about being from asmall town, you get a lot of
great friends.
You know I was really active inprobably the uh Boy Scouts at
the time.
So I think you know friends Ihad there.
You really had good uh bondsformed and you know friends and
their parents.
You're not going to at the timeyou think, hey, people are just

(22:42):
jerks or your parents don'twant to listen to you.
You're a teenager but you'renot going to.
Now that great advice.
You know my parents and theirparents as well, to help me in
some of my decision making.

Speaker 1 (22:53):
What kind of kid was you?
Were you hard-headed?
Did you listen?
Were you an example for youryounger siblings?
What did you say about yourself?

Speaker 2 (23:00):
Yeah, I was definitely not an example.
I was probably just an averagekid.
I was kind of lazy in highschool, so I didn't do a lot of
work, a lot of effort.
But now, on the other hand, myfather, at this time when I was
in high school, owned a pizzashop-restaurant combination.
Oh, wow and so.

Speaker 1 (23:21):
I worked in a pizza shop restaurant combination.
Oh wow, and so I worked in apizza shop.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
All the time you say you don't make good pizzas.
Now what's that?
You don't make good pizzas.
I can make good homemade pizzas.
I can make it from the crustall the way up, Like we did
everything handmade back in theday.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Yeah, right, it was an experience.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
But I put in a lot of work because I wanted to make
the money.
So I worked a lot in the pizzashop, a lot of pizza delivery.
So it was a fun job for me.
I enjoyed being out deliveringpizzas to people and meeting
everybody.

Speaker 1 (23:47):
I have one of your pizzas, man, one day.
We got to set that up.
We're going to do a little oneday.
But as you grew older, going tothe military, I have to connect
back to the individual in whichI saw you, which is your wife,
miss Tina.
Tina speaks, so I want to go to.
How do you all met and how youall formed this power couple

(24:10):
right?

Speaker 2 (24:11):
Yeah, you know she likes to downplay it, but to me
it was a complete miraclebecause I met her after I'd
already done a ton of travelingin the military.
I had even came back fromAfrica at the time.
So I'm back at MacDill, right,working.
We are in Clearwater orPinellas County, kind of

(24:31):
Northern Clearwater, and we'rethere at two separate events.
Right, she's there with somework event, I believe, and I'm
with some other people at thisrestaurant and we meet each
other just in their overlap ofpeople, because some people from
one event, some people werefrom the other.
We set up a date of court, alet's get together one-on-one.
You know change numbers and I'mjust getting over that.

Speaker 1 (24:51):
You holler down.
Yes, you holler yeah at theevent.
Yes, that's what you met.
You saw what intrigued youabout her to go over there and
introduce yourself, mr Spinks.
Well she's very beautiful.
You met her so naturally, herbeauty is the first thing.
I wasn't going to let you skateover there like this and ran
into her.
Y'all was like, oh, here you go.

Speaker 2 (25:10):
No, of course her natural beauty is the first
thing.
But then, as we talked on thephone, you had a background of
herself.
She had a master's degree inpublic health administration and
she's traveled all over thecountry as well.
She went to school in Texas andworked in New Mexico.
She's originally from Wisconsin, a graduate from the University

(25:30):
of Wisconsin.
She worked in Jacksonville andat the time lived in Clearwater.
So she had a great diversebackground and we really kind of
started off just being verysimilar, similar backgrounds and
she had a lot in common.
Yes, yeah, a lot in common.
And she works in that business,where she's working in the
healthcare fields, in variousagencies, and so you know a lot

(25:52):
of that overlap too, where youknow, like you and I were
attracted naturally.
I think there is someattraction to that.
People that are in these fieldswhere they help other people
are attracted to each other andso they kind of stand and they
have a natural connection thereand you think that's an
important connection that wedevelop.
You know people that work inour industry.
A lot of times people not inour industry don't understand

(26:14):
because they're not in thepeople helping business, you
know, really help people.
So, yeah, they started havingsome one-on-one conversations.
But I'll digress on this justshort story, if you allow me to,
because you know the militaryat the time, right Station at
MacDill.
Okay, I had just came back, andwhen I say just probably five
years ago, at that time I cameback from Hawaii and so they

(26:35):
said they needed somebody to goout and work in Hawaii.
Now, one thing we didn't talkabout I also did similar work in
Hawaii for the military, whereI did legal assistance,
providing estate planning andthat type of stuff for members
of the military and theirfamilies.
So doing that, I found itadvantageous to get admitted to
the Hawaii Bar.
So I took the Hawaii Bar examwhen I was out there and got

(27:00):
admitted to Hawaii.
So I'm admitted to both statesFlorida first and then Hawaii
second and so, being admitted toHawaii, I got contacted by the
Marines out in Hawaii and said,hey, we need somebody out here
to come back out, and so I toldhim.
I said, ok, you know, hey,great fit, I'm licensed in
Hawaii.
You know, I'm really wrappingup my time at MacDill this is
before I started the practice oranything and I'd be happy to

(27:22):
come back out there.
Who can't not go to Hawaii?
Right, it's a beautiful placeas well.
During this time is when I metTina, though, and so I told her.
I said, hey, I may have to moveto Hawaii, because I've already
basically told him I would.
And now one thing the way youmove in the military is you get
orders to someplace.
They send you a piece of paper.

(27:43):
It's called an order.
You're ordered to report inHawaii on such and such a date.
You know that means, hey, yougot to go and you got to be
there, but that's what reallydoes it.
I never got orders for Hawaii.
Never got them, you know, andbecause I met Tina, tina, I

(28:03):
didn't really like call and like, hey, where are my orders?
were more.
I was just like, okay, theydidn't send them, they must not
need me.
Yeah, I just stayed at MacDill.
But after I retired, you knowone thing I saw in my paperwork
when they were looking at myadministration file those orders
were in my paperwork, sittingin my paper.
I just never received them.
Wow, amazing, I mean it isamazing, that's fate man Meant
to be right there.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah, me too, Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
That's a good story.
Hey, I think Tina doesn'tbelieve that story to this day.
But if you go back and look atmy Marine Corps records, you'll
see orders to Hawaii that werenever given to me in whatever
year.
It was 2005 or before.
It must have been later thanthat.
It must have been like 07 whenI met Tina.

Speaker 1 (28:39):
Right, we were all at that same time.
I mean amazing, I meancongratulations to you both.
So what do you say is the bestgift you've given your wife
Other than yourself?
Besides the children maybe?
Yeah, aside from the children,what do you say is the best gift
you've given?

Speaker 2 (29:00):
Oh, you know, we've given each other a lot of gifts
over the years, but this, I'lltell you the gift that she loves
the most, yeah, so we, that'swhat matters.
We were married in in februaryand so our anniversary is every
february, but we, we try tofollow the traditional.
You know, you go online, youcan look there's like a
traditional gift, like the firstone might be paper, the second
year is wood or something right,and so one year was, uh, glass

(29:23):
I believe, and so it might havebeen year seven, year six in
that time frame.
So it's been a little whileright.
And so I, going online, I'mlike, hey, I'm gonna be creative
and I got this glass rose madewith this beautiful vase and
this base for it All glass,great idea.
So I thought, hey, I'm going toeven step it up and I'll get it

(29:44):
engraved Tina and Ed, you know,eighth wedding anniversary or
whatever it is and then put theyear down below it, you know
what I?

Speaker 1 (29:53):
got the year wrong.
Got the year wrong, that's notthe right year.
Yeah, and you know they'regoing to point out the one
negative.
Oh, this is beautiful.

Speaker 2 (30:04):
Nope, they're going to see instantly she still has
it up in our bedroom today.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
I said let me send it back.

Speaker 2 (30:12):
Let me send it.
She said no, no, no, I'm goingto keep that one because that
way we can tell the story.
Yeah, we still have this in ourbedroom today.

Speaker 1 (30:19):
Oh man hey my boy.

Speaker 2 (30:20):
that's the one that we talk about the most.
We talk about gifts to eachother.

Speaker 1 (30:24):
That's good, it's only off one year, mind you.
Right, they can't, you know,they need their time away.
I like that you just explainedto me because this is actually a
benefit as well to thecommunity to have a
family-oriented practice.
Right, that have thatconnection and dynamics of
someone of yourself that'sengaging your community, but

(30:45):
also place value on family aswell.
Right, you're not just allabout self and promoting
yourself, so just explain tolisteners just the working
dynamics of you.
Know how yourself and Tina, howyou all operate.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
Yeah, and we're really fortunate to be able to
work together because, like Isaid, tina's worked in a variety
of healthcare environments, beit a big hospital environment,
home healthcare, hospiceoutreach.
She's been in a wide range offields and, like I said, she's
got a great background in thatarea.

(31:20):
And really it was around theCOVID time.
It was unfortunate on one hand,but a blessing on the other,
that she needed a surgery and soshe was going to have to be off
work for six weeks for recoveryafter the surgery.
But I had talked to her beforeIt'd be great if we could work
together, and during that timewe made the decision, since she

(31:42):
was out of work and taking astep away.
Anyway, we're like, hey, whatabout doing something the
following year, putting the plantogether for real, and it works
out great.
I'm not saying that we couldn'tspend all our time in an office
together, 24 hours a day, withmy lovely wife but we all have
that.
Anybody you work with if you'rein close quarters all the time.

(32:02):
But what we really focus on isI focus more on the inner office
type stuff People that have theability to come in meet with me
face to face and get estateplanning done.
But there's so many of ourpeople that need help in
assisted living.
They're in nursing homes, theycan't get out of their home,
they're bed bound.
The Tina fills that gap andshe's able to go out there and

(32:24):
meet with them and bring backtheir needs and talk to me about
hey, this person needs thiskind of planning or that kind of
planning, and then I'm able todo the planning and make it work
for them.
And then she's able to fillthat gap of being out there
seeing them face to face intheir assisted living, in their
nursing home, in their home.
And she is phenomenal at seeingthat, being able to identify

(32:46):
their needs and help connectthem with resources.
If it's not us helping themconnect with that hospice, that
home care, there's otheragencies.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
That's going to lift them up good, thank you, that
definitely works.
That's a good piece there andsort of makes you all just
prepped for to being the go-tofor estate planning.
But let me ask you this so whyis it so important for
individuals to have estateplanning in place?

(33:15):
Why is there as a key and whatare the key components of that?

Speaker 2 (33:19):
Sure, and estate planning is essential in the
day-to-day lives because it'slike having a plan for
everything in your life.
If you don't have a plan, ifyou fail to plan, somebody else
is going to make that decision.
Tina loves to say everyone hasan estate plan.
If you do nothing, that's yourplan.
You're going to make thatdecision.
Tina loves to say everyone hasan estate plan.
If you do nothing, that's yourplan.

(33:39):
You're going to let the judgeor the state of Florida come in
and dictate how your life'sgoing to go.
They're going to dictate who'sgoing to make financial
decisions, healthcare decisionsand manage your assets for you.
Somebody's going to do that.
It's either going to be thejudge in a guardianship or
probate hearing or it's going tobe you, if you get out in front
of it and build a plan that'sin your best interest and in

(34:03):
your family's best interest.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
So everybody has a plan.

Speaker 2 (34:06):
It's just is it going to be your plan or is it going
to be the government's?

Speaker 1 (34:09):
plan.
So I'm in this process now.
Actually, I was speaking toTina about, even with my parents
, setting up an introductorycall, virtual call, with you all
as well.
So, with the trust, all right,how can trust be utilized in
estate planning and what?

Speaker 2 (34:25):
are their benefits and so when we talk about trust
in estate planning, we're takinga little bit more of a deep
dive into who would be gettingthat.
So somebody looking forlong-term planning what a trust
does?
It protects your assets in theevent that you're incapacitated
and also helps avoid probate forthose beneficiaries of your

(34:46):
trust.
So during your lifetime, youwould control the assets that
are held in trust for your ownbenefit, or for your spouse's
benefit if it's a joint trust,or for your spouse's benefit if
it's a joint truck.
Now, if you becomeincapacitated, you can name a
successor trustee, somebody tostep in and manage that, which
is a great idea, because youdon't want the government or
somebody third-party to plan forthat.
So it gives you theseadvantages as well as helps

(35:09):
avoid the probate process, whichyou can take anywhere typically
from six months to a year towrap up your estate.
It allows your loved ones tohave access to those assets that
they inherit much quicker thanit typically would.

Speaker 1 (35:22):
Is there any misconceptions around estate
planning at all?
Any stigmas?

Speaker 2 (35:28):
The biggest misconception I see right now in
estate planning is onlinedocumentation or non-attorney
planning.
Because there's a differencebetween estate planning and
having a will or having a powerof attorney.
Estate planning what we doencompasses everything.
We make the estate planspecific to you because your

(35:50):
needs are going to be differentthan my needs.
Your parents' needs are goingto be different than my parents'
needs.
Everybody needs individualized,but the advertising and things
you'll see on the Internet todaywill tend to believe hey,
download this will document,fill it in yourself.
You have a will in place.
While it's true, you may beable to do that, but the part of

(36:12):
the planning aspect is what'sthat going to do for you?
Why have that?
How is it going to help youreach your goal?
You know, how is it going toleave your legacy, and that's
what estate planning attorneyscan do for you that you don't
get from these documentautomation sources Got it.

Speaker 1 (36:29):
So, based on your experience and you've been in
the industry for quite some timenow are people prepared for
their most vulnerable state,Meaning when they're in that
state where they're no longerable, is there a challenge to
care for themselves and theyneed assistance from any health
care provider or a loved one, oreven placement in an assisted

(36:50):
living facility?
What do you say?
What's your opinion on that?

Speaker 2 (36:55):
I'll just tell you what the statistics are, because
you do research on this and thesenior care statistic right now
says that if over 65, 70% ofpeople are going to need some
level of long-term care be itrehabilitation, assisted living
or skilled living, nursing homecare and yet they say that less

(37:18):
than 70% of them have a plan inplace to document that.
And that's what I'm talkingabout getting that plan in place
early.
How are you going to pay forthese things during your life?
Who's going to be able to makethese decisions for you?
That's where these powers ofattorney come in.
Long-term care insurance isimportant component, life
insurance.
All these things work together.

(37:39):
We can do one aspect of it, butthere's many aspects that need
to be considered and those allthings overlap and work in
conjunction.

Speaker 1 (37:48):
So you're saying 70% of individuals over the age of
65?
.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
Do not have the proper plan.
So only 30% of the people over65 have the necessary planning
in place.

Speaker 1 (38:01):
Wow, and that's why we do what we do, bringing that
awareness to those things.
Because, one, I want to beprepared as I age as well, but I
look at generation fromexperience in my family
immediate family also of notbeing prepared as well.
So I want to change that.
But obviously I'm in that 70%too and my family is, but that's

(38:25):
why we're bringing awareness tothat as well.
So thank you for sharing that.

Speaker 2 (38:28):
That's one of the great statistics to share as
well, and that's one thing wetry to do.
We're constantly out thereeducating, and so, tina and I,
we try to do a large educationceremony or session once a month
to a mass group, but also beout there giving even short
talks on, hey, what is a powerof attorney?
I think we got one called thepower of attorney so letting

(38:51):
everybody know, hey, this iswhat a power of attorney is
designed to do.
This is a situation when youmay need it.
It's my opinion that everybodyshould have these powers of
attorney put in place.
This is a situation when youmay need it.
It's my opinion that everybodyshould have these powers of
attorney put in place.
But it's an educational piece.
You got to know why.
What difference does that make?
And so spreading thateducational venue is something
really important to us that wetry to do.

Speaker 1 (39:08):
Right.
So, with the statistic of being70% of people being unprepared,
does those individuals sort ofand I know every case is
different, but a lot of thosefamily members or individuals
have to find out about Medicaidplanning then Is that a result
of sometimes in some form of notbeing prepared?

Speaker 2 (39:28):
Yes, in Medicaid qualification we do a large
amount of it because it can bethe result of being not prepared
, or it can be the result ofbeing prepared and knowing that
that's a benefit available.
So many people I talk to have aloved one going into a
long-term nursing home and theydon't realize Medicare doesn't
just pay that 100%.
It starts out because it'ssecurity.

(39:49):
It starts out paying 100%, butthen it diminishes down to 80%,
and then, by the time you reach90 days, it's paying zero.
So you better have a way to pay, and that cost right now is
about $10,000 a month.
Yes, sir.
So we can help them a lot oftimes, though, and explain hey,
there's a supplemental programfor Medicaid that helps cover
that, so it can help them.
And if they don't have a planin place, fortunately that's a

(40:12):
stop gap, but you have to havesome minimum plan in place,
because you still got to applyand you got to qualify.
So that's where these otherthings come importance.
You got to have that stuff inplace, where you can't even
qualify.

Speaker 1 (40:24):
But even knowing those options and having those
conversations sooner, yes, rightIs the good thing, is the key
that we want to trigger inindividuals as they listen to us
just speaking on it.
Regarding now, yes, right, makethe phone call right the time
that you're laying in bed onyour phone on Facebook or

(40:45):
looking at talk on your lunchbreak.
Give a call to Sweeney's LawFirm.
Give a call just to the lawattorney.
Just say, hey, I'd like to setup just an info call right, just
to consult.
I have my mom.
She's 75 years old.
I just want to be able toprovide information to her.

Speaker 2 (41:01):
And that's why we always offer complimentary
consultations, because I feelthat's so important to get that
initial call in and just hearabout hey, what's the options
out there, so you're aware ofthem and we're spreading that
education to folks and theirfamilies.

Speaker 1 (41:15):
Yes, sir, education to folks and their families.
Yes, sir, so in regards tobeing prepared, how can
individuals or when you have afamily member coming into you
and see you, for instance, speakto about the conversation you
have with them about protectingtheir assets right for?

Speaker 2 (41:33):
long-term care costs, and so the first question I
always ask every family is whatis your goal?
Why are we here, what's thegoal?
Because 90% of the time, I canget them to the goal, but I need
to know what the goal is, andthey need to know what the goal
is.
Sometimes they don't reallyknow, they're not clear on what
the goal is, and so I thinkthat's a good place to start any

(41:54):
conversation when you'retalking about long-term planning
.
What is your goal?
Is it to take the stress offyour kids of going through
probate?
Is it to prevent fighting andmake it clearly defined who's
going to inherit?
What Is it to take care of thatchild with special needs and
make sure, when you're no longerthere to do it, there's a plan
in place to take care of him orher?
If we get to that goal firstand then work backwards, we can

(42:19):
create a great plan to reach thegoal.
So I think it's important toknow what your goal is, and then
we can develop a plan to getthere.

Speaker 1 (42:25):
So I do want to focus on a topic that, based on just
my history, where I come fromand the education that I had,
the one thing that I always usedto hear for some of my elder
adults or loved ones, familymembers, was well, I have a
living will.
So if you just tell, explain tolisteners what's an established

(42:47):
living will but what resultsfrom having the living will once
that loved one passes away.
And then they say I want you tobe the beneficiary of my assets
, what's that process like whenthey're trying to find out more
about that?
The probate process.

Speaker 2 (43:04):
And that's exactly it .
And we do probate a prettylarge share of our business as
well, and so it really takeshaving that conversation with
families.
You know probate to wrap up anestate is going to be six months
to a year.
The standard rates for probatein Florida now this is statutory
rates is $3,000 plus 3% of theassets.

(43:25):
So it can be very costly to gointo probate.

Speaker 1 (43:28):
I want to catch that point there.
So if I have a loved one, let'ssay they pass away and they say
I want to leave all of myproperty, assets, financial
funds to Norman, right, whatwould be Norman's process?
Because I'm in the living will,right?
That's the only thing they have.
They don't have a trustestablished anything, they just

(43:50):
have a will.

Speaker 2 (43:52):
Yes, and so one thing that, Norman, let's make sure
we clear up the language,because there's a misconception
in Florida particularly.
We got living wills and we gotlast will and testament Two
different things.
Fortunately they're verysimilar in names.
We often confuse those words.
The living will is limited toyour last wishes.
Do you want to be kept alive onlife support if you're in a

(44:14):
permanent vegetative state withno chance of recovery, or do you
want to be allowed to dienaturally?
That's usually the living rule.
The last will and testament isthat plan that says when I pass,
I want Norman to be in chargeof gathering all my assets and
distributing all my assets tohim, and so that last will and
testament can clearly say that.

(44:35):
But one misconception inFlorida is they don't realize
wills have to go through probatecourt.
So if there's a will and I wantto leave everything to you, I
can put that in there and I canmake you in charge.
But there's still the courtprocess.
You've got to file the originalwill in court and then you
normally need to hire anattorney because of the process
to get through that procedure toget the judge to sign off and

(44:59):
say you are the personalrepresentative and you may
distribute the assets, Of course, after you pay the attorneys
and the court and other peoplealong the way.
So that sometimes we're tryingto avoid that process and some
people are fine with it.
But it's getting that put inplace.
As long as their loved oneswill be taken care of, even if
there's some court involved,they don't have a problem with

(45:19):
it.
So it's individualized how theywant it to go Right right,
right.

Speaker 1 (45:23):
My next question to you is if you could explain how
families can navigate thecomplexity of end-of-life
planning and just including inliving wills and an advanced
directives process, just youradvice.
I know there's no perfectsituation, but if you were just

(45:45):
advising me, just normal, I'm 36now, just turned 36 years old
what would be if I come intoyour office?
What would you advise me?
One I know you have to knowwhat I want, right?
Obviously I want to have moneyand I want to be broke and I
want to be able to have carebeing provided to me.
Those are the two essentialthings, for sure.

Speaker 2 (46:03):
And that's a lot of times exactly it.
We talk about the goals and thenwe talk about different options
to get there and there's anumber of ways to do that.
Now most people like I talked tobefore we talk about a living
estate plan, and so it is atriangle to describe the living
estate plan and that's somebody,if you're incapacitated, to

(46:24):
make financial decisions,somebody to make medical
decisions and somebody tomaintain your life or have that
living will in place that saysunder the conditions you would
want to be allowed to dienaturally and not kept alive on
life support, because all thesethings impact you during your
life if you're incapacitatedduring a period of time.

(46:45):
Covid was a great examplebecause you got many individuals
who are younger but they wouldbe in the hospital on a
respirator could be 30, 60, 90days.
So they're going to live,they're going to make it, but
can you imagine not paying yourbills for 30, 60, or 90 days or
not taking care of the thingsthat you do every day for that
time period?
So having that loved onedesignated to be able to do that

(47:09):
on your behalf, so when you dorecover, you come right back to.
Your house isn't foreclosed on,your electricity is still on.
Everything's been going in theregular course of events because
you did this pre-planning, sothat living planning can be just
as important as the end-of-lifeplanning.

Speaker 1 (47:28):
That is true.
That's very good information.
What resources and tools do yourecommend for families
beginning the estate planning orelder law process, so they're
going through the process?
What resources and tools theyshould start reading or
following just to learn moreinformation about it?
Of course they can alwayscontact you all, but what are

(47:51):
some things before they can that, if they don't want to take
that step of setting up ameetings or something?
Exactly that's my number onething.

Speaker 2 (47:57):
Hey, call me, I think it happens.
No, just being familiar with theterms of art, understanding,
when we're talking about estateplanning, what that consists of.
Why is a trust different from awill?
At least in the big picture, Ithink those are things that are
very helpful for everybody toknow.
But one thing I want to shareis we've got a problem nowadays
with the internet Because law isvery state-specific, especially

(48:22):
when we're talking about elderlaw, very state-specific, and
particularly when we're talkingabout real estate.
Homestead laws in Florida areunique from any other state.
So, understanding how thehomestead Law applies because
it's normally everyone's largestasset I hear many, many times
that, well, I don't want to getMedicaid coverage for long-term

(48:44):
care because we don't want tolean on the House.
We don't want the government totake the House when the
claimant dies, but in Floridathat's not a problem.
Homestead's going to protectthat person.
But in New York, connecticut,some of these up north states
they will get a claim or a lienon their house, and so it makes
sense to be concerned about.
So, while they're looking atinformation, it's good to know,

(49:05):
I think, general areas ofinformation, but make sure you
talk to your attorney about howthat works for you in your
particular state, because that'sthe one thing I see
misinformation bleeding in frompeople who well-meaningly do
research, but they're getting itfrom other states.
It does not apply the same inFlorida.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
So if you were to say , just if you're in the elevator
and you were just speaking tosomeone and they found out what
you do, they say, oh, I can'thear about you, You're a law
attorney.
You would just say encouragethem, or to actually give you a
call.
What would you say to themright now?

Speaker 2 (49:40):
Yeah, and I always explain that as hey, we're in
the business of helping peoplewith three things right Estate
planning, elder law and specialneeds.
And, just like I said when wefirst came on, those are the
three things we do.
We do the estate planning, theearly on planning for people, be
it for their loved ones,involving wills, trust, anything
like that.
We do the elder law, whichtypically encompasses those over

(50:03):
65.
You know the same wills andtrust, but now we've got a
mindset of looking out forlong-term care needs as well.
And, of course, those kids withspecial needs are near and dear
to us.
We're talking aboutguardianship, special needs,
trust, able Act accounts, allthose things they need to help
them throughout their life.
Thank you, sir.

Speaker 1 (50:23):
So beautiful, Ed.
Now, before we wrap up, Ialways have to end each show
with a game, so let the gamesbegin.
All right, this game here, andI played this with every guest
that we're going to have on theshow.
It's called seven versions ofme and you get seven seconds to
provide your response.
All right, so first version itas a husband, good but not great

(50:48):
.

Speaker 2 (50:48):
You heard my story about the anniversary gift.
Yes, sir, okay.
As a father, also good, but notgreat.
No, I try to do the best I canfor the kids, but I love them.
And as a sibling, hey, probablynot even good.
There I'll apologize now to mybrothers.
Probably wasn't the nicestbrother in the world, but hey, I

(51:10):
made them a lot tougher, sothey got through that and as a
son, again, probably prettydecent, though, because I worked
hard at the restaurant,probably the hardest working guy
at the restaurant.

Speaker 1 (51:19):
I worked hard at the restaurant and as an
entrepreneur.

Speaker 2 (51:23):
Probably good, but not great.
I think we've really found theniche.
I know we didn't talk about toomuch how we went from just
helping anybody to focusing onthe elder law, but it's really
my passion, genuinely concernedabout helping people and giving
them the best quality of life,thank you.
And as a friend, he wants to bea good friend, right.
So we hope we can help ourfriends as much as we possibly

(51:44):
can, and I do the same.
I do keep in touch with guys.
I wish I could talk to themmore from the old days, early
military days, but I do stay intouch, stay busy and add impact
on his community.
And that's where one thing I dothe best that I can do, and
that's all I think anybody canask on impact in the community,
you know, in the civicorganizations, just in churches,

(52:07):
anything we can do, especiallywith the kids.
It's so easy.
Every place needs volunteers.
So I mean I think everybodyshould be out there as much as
they can or as much as theirtalents allow them to.

Speaker 1 (52:18):
Okay, Thank you for that.
So that's the complete, theseven versions of Ed.
So second game here is that'smy Answer, this game, particular
game.
You get five seconds to respond.
It's a little weird, just likethose questionnaires that I sent
you those questions there.
So what's your favorite genreof music?

Speaker 2 (52:38):
Oh's a tough one everything I'm gonna say.
How would you say like rock,okay, rockish type stuff, all
right.
Favorite song oh man, what havewe been listening to all the
time?
I listen to one song every day.
It's like a strange song youremember who it's?
By it's, by somebody who I wassurprised was still alive, even

(52:58):
it's like Conway Twitty orsomebody like that.
My son's been playing it everyday Honky.
Tonk Bar is what it's called.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
Okay, gotcha, he's been playing this thing all the
time it's kind of a crazy songwe normally wouldn't listen to.

Speaker 2 (53:08):
I don't even know how he found it.
He plays this thing over andover.

Speaker 1 (53:11):
It's kind of a funny song.
Chicken or seafood, all right,justin Timberlake or Usher.

Speaker 2 (53:18):
That's a tough one for me.

Speaker 1 (53:21):
Justin Timberlake Favorite football player.

Speaker 2 (53:24):
That's a tough one too, I'd have to say.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
Bradley, bradley.
Okay, the five shots of whiskey, or three Long Island.

Speaker 2 (53:35):
Ooh enough, one man.

Speaker 1 (53:36):
Good story.
If I have more than fiveseconds, I can tell you the
story about both of those things.
I would have to go with thewhiskey, though.
The whiskey all right.
Dancing or singing, that was atough one.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
It all depends on if it's before or after five shots
of whiskey.

Speaker 1 (53:49):
I wouldn't say dancing.
Who's the better actress,Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts?
No, Sandra.
Bullock?
Me too, I was going to say thattoo.
Alright, get offended here.
Now, who would you date?
Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock?

Speaker 2 (54:06):
That's a tough one too.
I'm going to go with SandraBullock again.

Speaker 1 (54:11):
What's the most hilarious movie that you
secretly love?
Hilarious movie that yousecretly love Hilarious movie
that you secretly love.

Speaker 2 (54:18):
Yes, I watch a lot of stupid movies, me too.
I'll help you out Mine is StepBrothers.

Speaker 1 (54:24):
Oh, that's a good one , that's a good movie.
Man, I love Step Brothers.

Speaker 2 (54:27):
That's a good one.
I'm trying to think of justwhat I've seen.
I did watch the Meg the otherday, which was kind of not
really.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
Oh, you know what I?

Speaker 2 (54:42):
like it's funny, I watch all the top central.

Speaker 1 (54:43):
It's got the rock in it and I've seen it.
I've seen that.

Speaker 2 (54:46):
All right one food or dish you would eat every day.
Kill that one.
Wow, okay, from the box, I willeat it at the restaurant.

Speaker 1 (54:55):
High-end Italian place, I will make my own.
Okay, you could snoop throughone person's private life.
Who would it be?

Speaker 2 (55:04):
Good question too.
They're dead Anybody.
Oh, you know, I found itinteresting Now this is kind of
like stoic, but NormanSchwarzkopf To see how the
development of the Gulf War wasthe first time that would be
like 91, how he developed inthat Because he was a key figure
in that war.

Speaker 1 (55:22):
Yeah, it's probably like.
I think three years ago I got acouple years on me All right,
greatest fear that you'reashamed of.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
Greatest fear that I'm ashamed of man.
I've got a lot of fears thatI'm ashamed of.

Speaker 1 (55:38):
I've got a lot of fears of Ashamedo.
I'm kidding, I've got a lot of.

Speaker 2 (55:42):
Yeah, it's probably just the greatest thing.
I don't know if you'd beashamed of it, but it's just the
fear of failure and not beingable to accomplish whatever that
objective is being able to dothat, or being there for your
kids, or something that youcan't do it for.

Speaker 1 (55:58):
So you're not scared like a giraffe, or what about?
Pretty good with giraffes?
Yeah, I said your apphippopotamus.
Is that you some?
Yes, apparently I'm just ascared the last one.

Speaker 2 (56:09):
This is a movie Saving Private.

Speaker 1 (56:18):
Ryan or Braveheart, it's all Saving Private Ryan.
Braveheart for me, mel Gibsonand Braveheart you gotta be
kidding me.

Speaker 2 (56:26):
I like them both, but we're no altruistic.
I get you, I get a little bitmore.

Speaker 1 (56:34):
Mr Spinks.
Sir, so happy you joined thelet's Get Comfort podcast
Comfort listeners.
I hope you enjoyed thiswonderful conversation with Mr
Ed Sping sharing his life storyfrom the military, his family
being a power couple, what heprovides to the community and
his dedication to servingserving for many years and it

(56:57):
didn't start just now.
It started back just as a youth.
So I'm glad that he gave me theopportunity to have the
conversation today, on a Sunday,here with my family.
So thank you for watching let'sget comfy podcast like coming
in.
Subscribe to the next episodePeace.