January 3, 2025 • 32 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's that time time time time walking loot. So Michael
Verie Show is.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
On the air.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
There was some friends last night and at the end
of the dinner.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
They are very healthy people and you know, small portions,
very healthy foods.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
They're not.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
They didn't grow up like I did. There's no fried
chicken here, right. We're not priding ourselves on how much
we eat, so I have to be on my best behavior.
Food was phenomenal. I had chicken. My wife had fish.
My wife would eat fish at every meal.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
She could not me, not me. If I'm eating fish,
it's going to be fried. Yep. And you know, where
was I the other day?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Where was I the other day? I could not get
fried catfish? And I could not believe they would not
They did not have fried No, it wasn't Dante's third
level of Hell. It was somewhere that I would have expected.
And they said, no, we have drum, but not catfish.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I don't want drum. Yeah, the drums one, lizit is
girlfriend's house. Uh what what where was that? Hold on?
Let me think about this. It was me and n
though and I decide I'm going to have Oh, I
can't remember anyway, did I.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Ever tell you my story about Charles Clark a brasserie
nineteen So a lot of restaurants, if you go in
and ask for catfish, which what I grew up on,
they will make comments like ew, I've been told by
a restaurant owner I will not name when I said,
how come I don't fried catfish? That catfish is a
(01:59):
trash food. Be that as it may. We can start listen.
Your wife's got a tattoo that's begun to sag.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Let's not kid it.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I don't know who said that to me, and I
don't know if that person that was. I shouldn't say that,
because whoever it was probably listening to the show, and
I'll be accused of insulting his wife when that's not
what I'm meant to do.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
But anyway, I have been.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Told before that catfish is a trash food, which I
think is ridiculous. Catfish is a delicious food. It's a
bottom feeder. Wait a second, what fish are you eating?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
And do they just did they just float on top
of the water.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Anything beneath the surface is beneath them. Literally, Ah, bottom feeder?
What does that even mean? When you're eating the flesh
of a fish.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
What are you?
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Yes, it's a bottom feeder. What do you think I'm
down there nibbling on the bottom of the lake. What
kind of stupid people have?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
What's it?
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
It's vegan. I mean, what do I care? Honestly, what
do I care?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
If you really want to get down into your food source,
whether meat based, fish based, or whatever else. And before
you tell me how nasty pigs are, let me fry
you some bacon and you have some of it, and
you tell me how.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Nasty that pig was.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Whoa.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Let me get you a delicious pork chop m and
let's talk about how honestly.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
But anyway, can I need to get back to my fish? Yeah,
plus some bacon. Oh yeah, I don't eat pork. Are
you Jewish? You're Jewish? I just don't dig on swine.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
And that's all I'm going there.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Hold on.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
The delivery of John Travolta in the way he says,
are you Jewish? Like half kind of jabbing at him,
but half kind of asking, knowing good and well he's not.
Travolta in this role is so good and it's so
different than the way he he's sort of off handis
are you Jewish.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Do they get puts some bacon? Oh man, I don't
eat pork? Are you Jewish? Iin' Jewish? I just don't
dig on swine, that's all. Why not bigs a filthy animals?
I don't eat filthy animals.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Yeah, my bacon tastes good, taste goody sword rat man
taste like punkin pine. But I never know, because I
wouldn't eat the filthiess big sleep and group, and that's
a filthy animal. I ain't need nothing, ain't got sense
enough to disregard his own ccs.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Having a dog dog eats his own feces.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I don't eat dog either, yea. But do you consider
a dog to be a filthy animal?
Speaker 5 (04:48):
I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy,
but they're definitely dirty. But the dogs got personality. Personality
goes the wrong line.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So by that rationale, if a pig get a better personality,
she ceased to be the animal.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Is that true?
Speaker 5 (05:01):
Well, we have to be talking about what he. I mean,
he had to be tenathmo Chiman in that armold on
green ankles.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Good dialogue, good writing is lost in most films great
films should have wonderful writing, and that's one of the
things that Tarantino does so well. If you haven't seen
the movie Vengeance, it's by bj what's his name, b
B Jay. I can't think his name. I can't think
(05:33):
of his name. Guy's from New York. But it's about Texas.
It's what's set in Texas. The BJ Novak you've seen it.
The dialogue in that there's some scenes. There's some discussions
of water burger that you better not drink anything while
you're watching that movie, or you will spew them out
of your mouth.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Like the Church It laid layout to sea.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
It will blow your mind how good the dialogue, and
then you will be There's an opening scene of bj
Novak and John Mayer, two buddies, and they go to
parties kind of like a wedding crasher type thing, and
they're telling stories about the their their conquest. Anyway, so
(06:15):
back to my story. So we have this meal and
then at the end of it, they put on this
plate these very beautiful hand painted pieces of art. Well,
I know that sometimes I can ask questions that make
people uncomfortable, So I don't know if you can eat
(06:37):
that art because it's honestly too pretty, but it might
be a chocolate.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And it was presented on a.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
T on a plate with on a plate with some macaroons.
So I said, oh man, these are gorgeous, thinking, you know,
trying to trying to flush out what exactly they were,
and I said, wow, these are these are really pretty.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
So I pick it up in hopes that by picking
it up.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I might you know, if it crumbles in my hands
or when I set it back down, if there's some
color on my finger, then that means.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
That it was a chocolate. And there's maybe six of.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Them on the plate, along with about four my karooms,
and you if you saw them, well, I'll explain it
in a minute if I side.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
With the judgment.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Michael Vary Show. So finally I kind of hemmed and
hauled around this thing. I've twisted it over in my hand.
I've held it for a while, and this couple are
very good friends of our. She says, it's the best
chocolates I've ever had, And I hope that my body
language did not reveal Oh, okay, it is a chocolate.
(07:56):
Now I say that to compliment the thing, because it
was truly a work of art. It was something you
might have bought at a museum. I mean it was
incredibly obviously hand painted and just it had it had
a like a gloss over it, like a like a
you know when they'll do classic cars or hot rod
(08:18):
cars and then they put I don't know what it is,
it's like a glaze over it. So it almost seems
like the color is an inch like yeah, like a
lacquer type deal.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Anyway, So it was that.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
So I bite into it. It looked like a ladybug.
It was half orange, half green. The coloring scheme one
the hump of a ladybug.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And I said, wow, what is that? And she said
carrot cake. Not only did it.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Look amazing, it tasted amazing. No, we didn't then kick
poor people.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I ate more.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And it was an awkward situation because I was the
only one eating them. There are four of us at
the table, and there were six of them that and
so I had my one, and in my mind I thought, okay,
if you have two, not everybody can have two. But
my wife every year takes a vow. She gives up
something every year. It's an Indian thing, and so this
(09:18):
year it's sweets. Oh, she went wrong one year. She
said for five years, I'm not eating meat or sweets.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I thought, well, what else? And you know she doesn't drink,
so what else is there? Oh, and she did it
for five years?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
She did it?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Anyway back to it.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
So I've already processed that if I have the second one,
not everybody can have two.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
So it's already kind of one of those moves.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
But I thought, well, noneth, that's not going to eat
any So technically there's three of us, so there's two each.
And just so when I took my second, when I
was clear, I said, sweetheart, are you going to eat
any No, she wouldn't, but to tell them, I'm telegraphing
to them I can have this second one without overstepping
the bounds. And she said, no, you go ahead, all right,
(10:04):
So I hit number two. We started with six. Now
there's four left. I've had two. There's two of them. Well,
how do I convey Suddenly I'd like another one. So
everybody's sitting and we're talking, and I'm like a child,
just focused on those chocolates.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
And so I waited a little while and I kind
of reached out a little.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
And I finally I picked one that was different than
and I said, I'm sorry to touch this, but I
just have to see it, and the husband said, oh,
have it.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay, So I waited, awhile and waited a while.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We're thirty minutes into nobody else ha's eating one except
for me, and I finally just said, I feel like
it's appropriate if I have a fourth foot, and.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Before long there weren't any left, and I went home.
So before I said, where do you get these? And
she says it's called mostly.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Chocolate, and she gives me the lady's name and she
does catering, but really it's it's a chocolate thing. I said, okay,
So Ramon, let's see how much you know. If I
were to tell you that the maker of these chocolates
is from a place in the world that if you
go to a restaurant, I mean, if you go to
(11:18):
a shop anywhere in America and it's high end chocolates,
I mean three or four dollars per little tiny chocolate,
where would you guess she's from. There's two countries they're
most likely from. There's a number one that's the obvious number.
So okay, Switzerland, good guess, all right, I'll give you
cre there's three places they could be from. Not Belgium,
because the Belgians do chocolates, but they don't do them
(11:38):
like this. Let me let me tell you if a place,
if a place sells these, not necessarily makes although they
do make things. It's where they're always from. And there's
a lot of these in ustances, probably ten of them
like this in Uselans. No, it's where people are from
that will have high end chocolate shops. They will also uh,
it'll also be a coffee shop. Then they'll have like
(11:59):
a fresco dining. People will be sitting out and smoking
cigarettes in the middle afternoon, addressed to the nines. In
Italian clothing, the women will be beautiful. They'll all be
wearing shades. Uh. Italy is a good guess. It's it's
where you see a lot of these people vacationing. It's
not sweets, not sweets, not Italy. Focus on the chocolate.
(12:24):
It'll be chocolates. It'll be uh, what's the Greek thing?
I like baclava?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Chuck? Yeah, they do. Shut your filthy mouth. I'll love it.
Everybody loves bacla ba.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
See why don't you want We're on a positive training.
It'll always it'll be chocolates. It might even be some
real high end Italian, some gelato coffees.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Germans don't do that. Lebanese. They're always Lebanese. What are
you doing? Everybody would guess Lebanese.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Everybody that knows anything, You don't pay attention to anything.
The number one most likely place they would be from
and they would be is Lebanese, followed by Irani. I'm
I'm telling you anybody that knows knows. So I looked
this place up. It's called mostly Chocolate. Their website is
mostly HTx dot com. Joomp, Yeah, like most of it.
Now listen to this, I'm thinking, oh, now, these people
(13:15):
like chocolates right. The woman's name is Rena Kumkagi and
says Rina's passion for cooking began when she was just
a child.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Hey this music.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Growing up in Lebanon, Rena was taught by her mother
to create delectable Lebanese dishes and pastries. From working closely
with her mother, her love for cooking and food flourished.
As she got older, Rena realized her passion and natural
talent for cooking was more than just a hobby. When
she crafted a pistachio filled chocolate pastry. Let me to
read that again, a pistachio filled chocolate pastry to serve
(13:50):
over Thanksgiving. Her friends were astounded by the delicate texture
and full flavor of her pastry, and she was convinced
to replicate the pastry for a friend's wedding. Inspired to
share up in her craft, Rina completely specialty courses completed, Sorry,
completed specialty courses with local Houston chef and chocolatier on
a go Mess. So this one was a chef and
(14:11):
a chocolateier. We're about to talk about chocolate worse than
Somlie's do. This is like a PhD of chocolate along
with local Houston chef and chocolateer on a Gomez and
then went on to attend the Chocolate Academy in Saint
Hyacinth in Montreal, Quebec with world renowned choclateier Christophe Morel.
(14:32):
Y'all are getting way too serious about chocolate here, Okay,
So then it talks about her catering. Then here's her son.
Rena's son, Danny Komkagi, joined the team in twenty eleven.
His endless drive and passion blah blah blah blah. After
various internships studying under renowned master chocolatiers in New York
and Montreal, Danny became head chocolateer in twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Since then, he's gone on to win various.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Prestigious national and international awards, the three Dessert Brand Champion
Bucket Awards at the HLSR Houston Livestock Show Rodeo Best
Bites competition for the Goat Cheese Truffle, Bocan Pie Truffle,
and hazel Nut and Pop Rocks, a first place gold
finish in the International Chocolate Award America's competition, second place
silver finish in the internationals Chocolate Awards World. These people
(15:17):
are getting real serious about chocolate.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Michael Mary Show.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I got a call from my friend Buck Sexton of
Clay and Buck fame, and I've actually known Buck since
before the Clay and Buck days. Buck has a history
at the CIA and really just an interesting guy. And
Buck and I had share a passion for military history
(15:46):
and great stories of how much you loved your mom
and how much you loved your dad. I actually met
Buck's dad. Buck and I were having dinner in Miami
a couple of years a few years ago, and his
dad Mason was there. And his dad Mason little known fact.
I don't know if Bucks ever told the story. And
(16:06):
I don't get to listen to the show because I'm
doing my show while they're doing their show. But his
dad Mason was a driving force behind the movie about
Elliot Spitzer, who was the governor of New York. You
know love Potion number nine, the client number nine who
was brought down in the escort sting. But anyway, so
(16:27):
Bucks said, Hey, I know this guy Nathan Canastero, and
he's written a book called The Mighty Moo. Let me
send you some details on it. You might be interested,
And I was. It's one of those great stories that
needs to be told. So many books are written because
of ego or to capitalize on celebrity.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
You know some guys on TV.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
If you look at the best selling book list at
any given time today, this wasn't always the case. Most
of the guys on there and gals have shows, and
so it's more of a distribution outlet than it is.
You know, Dostoevsky having a story that he's got to tell,
or ain Rand who needs to share her message and
(17:12):
can't get it out broadly enough. The reason to tell
a story is because the story is so compelling that
it's bubbling out of you. And whether you ever make
a dime or get rich off of it, or achieve celebrity's,
that's the stories I want to hear. So Nathan Canastero
is the guy that Buck told me about. Originally at
Tennessee and from Knoxville, Tennessee, but he lives outside of
(17:36):
DC for the last twenty five years. A professional intelligence
officer with the federal government. He served in the Middle
East during the War on Terror, and he's now an
assignment to the National Intelligence Council. But really, Nathan's not
the star of this show. He's just the conductor for
a symphony. That is a little journey we're going to
take together, and I think you'll enjoy. He's written a
book called The Mighty Moo, and I know what it's about,
(17:59):
but you don't. Neck you don't yet, you're about to. Nathan,
tell us why you wrote this book and what this
book's about.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Please, Well, first, thanks for having me on. I really
appreciate the opportunity. This was kind of a It started
as a journey of discovery about my grandfather, and I think,
you know, my grandfather was a lot like many men
of his generation. He was a Pacific War veteran in
World War Two, served aboard an aircraft carrier in the
(18:27):
USS Cowpens, but he saw a lot of action, and
he didn't want to talk about the war, you know,
And like you, I'm I'm interested in military history, always
have been. You know, I grew up with band of
brothers and saving Private Rye, and you know, sort of
the big media public, you know, culture sort of shows
about the Second World War. So I was fascinated by
sort of trying to learn more about what my grandfather did,
(18:48):
and he just he wouldn't talk about it, and when
I tried to draw it out of him, it brought
him to tears. So you know, I felt terrible first off,
because I'd made my grandfather cry, and then also, you know,
I didn't I was afraid the story was going to
be lost. And so when Grandpa passed in twenty ten,
you know, I said, well, you know, I researched military
(19:09):
conflict for a living for the government. Why don't I
just see what I can find out on my own
about Grandpa's service, and see, you know, see if I
can discover what he wouldn't tell me. And you know, sadly,
most of my grandfather's story he took to the grave
with him. He was both an enlisted man and a reservist,
and you know, those were not really priorities for the
(19:31):
Navy in terms of its record keeping. You know, mostly
it was about the officers and you know, the big
the admirals and sort of important people. But in sort
of picking up the story and trying to follow my
grandfather's steps as he went across the Pacific, I found
this really amazing story about his ship. And I turned
(19:52):
to my girlfriend at the time, down my wife, and
I said, there's a book here. You know, I consider
myself fairly well informed about the war, and I just
never heard of this, and you know, essentially sort of
in a nutshell, you know, my grandfather was aboard the
ship that the Navy initially didn't even want. You know,
the captain had been scapegoaded for losing his last ship.
(20:12):
The pilots self trained in the planes they'd fly into battle,
but the crew had been in uniform, Me and my
grandfather barely longer than the ship had been afloat. I mean,
everybody was new to the navy, and when they got started,
they had this terrible jinx. They survived, you know, a
deadly typhoon. They earned a distinguished combat record, and at
war's end there was only one American aircraft carrier in
(20:33):
Tokyo Bay to witness the Japanese surrender, and that was
my grandfather's carrier of the USS Calbut I'm like, what,
how did how did I know this story?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
This is amazing, so that that is you know, Nathan,
I'm so glad you told this story. And the book
is called The Mighty Moo, and Nathan Canastero has written
it because I have a theory that I tell often
that if you asked the person in front of you,
what's your what's your grocery store of choice?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Where do you grocerrate?
Speaker 4 (21:02):
Oh, we've got a safeway right up the road.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
If you ask the person in front of you and
behind you in line at the safeway the right three questions,
you're standing next to a gold medalist, the guy who
was in front of the tank at Tenement Square, a
refugee from an African communist nation who's going to end
up winning a Nobel Prize.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
You just don't know right, and there are all these stories.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Marcus Latrell's a dear friend of mine and I say
all the time, Mark, and he's kept a.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Diary since he was eight years old. He still keeps
a diary every day. Marcus.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
The amazing thing is not your loan survivor's story. The
fact that the things that happened. The amazing thing is
that you reduced it to writing. Because if that doesn't happen,
I don't know Marcus Latroll. I don't know the name,
I don't know acts, I don't know deeds.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
I don't know those guys.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
And so you think about this, people will say to me,
you know, can you forward this to Marcus Latrell? Can
can he come and speak at our Evan? And Marcus
is this sort of god man because he's Marcus Latreull.
The fact of the matter is if he didn't write
the book and then Peter Berg doesn't.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Make the movie, you don't know about him.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
And he's just some big, burly guy with a bunch
of tattoos and a scowl on his face walking past
you in the store that you wonder if he has
a day job. You see what I'm saying, It's like,
if these stories are not reduced to writing, then then
they're lost to eternity. And that doesn't mean they didn't happen.
(22:35):
You know Ed Sable of NFL films. When he retired,
he went on the speaking circuit. And I don't know
if you're familiar with NFL films, but they tell these
amazing stories. You know, the wind blew through the blustery
and he tells he gives this line to businessmen. He says,
tell me a fact and I'll learn it. Tell me
(22:55):
the truth and I'll believe it. But tell me a
story and it will live in our hearts. What I
love here is you're telling a story that these men.
I mean, they're scared, right, they're scared, and they're young,
and they never expect to be the subject of lore.
And had you not written it, they wouldn't. And I
(23:17):
could read these stories forever. And it's also I find
it very inspiring, Nathan, because these were just common guys, right,
They graduated high school, they played football, they had a girlfriend,
they shaved their head and sent them off to war,
and look what they did. And what I love is
now we've recorded that, right lest we forget our guest
(23:39):
is Nathan Canastero. The book is The Mighty Move, and
we'll talk more about this amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Story had.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Michael Barry in the.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Nathan Canastero is our guest. The book is The Mighty Move.
I've done too much talking, he's done too little. Let's
talk about your grandfather, the tail gunner and an avenger,
torpedobomber and the USS calpins. And he never talked about
the war, which was common. I'm involved with a group
called Camp Hope, the PTSD Foundation of America, and people
come from all over the country.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
It's free to them.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
We raise the money who are suffering the wounds mental
wounds of war, and they stay there for six months.
It's a Christian based program and they get the healing
they need to learn to cope with PTSD. They're usually
extremely addicted. They've typically had multiple suicide attempts.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
There in a bad way.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
And one of the things I have come to learn
with these guys is that remembering is very important. We
talked about Marcus Atreil never forget. Telling stories like this
is how we honor these men and the men of
their generation. So I'm going to step back and let
you tell the story.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Yeah, So grandpa was twenty two when he went aboard
the Calcons. He's from upstate New Arkle called Courtland by
fret five minutes from Sircuse. You know, after you know,
he did his bit a boyd career and he came
home and you know, put it all behind him and
maybe he just bottled it up. He's like, that was
the phase of my life. It's over and I'm going
to you know, went on to have five kids and
(25:09):
be a carpenter for you know, for forty years. But
you know, you talked to I've talked a lot about
both the veterans when I talked to him there in
their early to have been nineties and now their families
and you know, PTSD wasn't really recognized at the time
that you know, they were just like battle fatigue and
things like that. But they don't really understand it, you know,
like we did tell it. You know, one uh, not
(25:30):
a very nice lady here in town whose dad actually
flew some of the airplanes that my grandfather was the
tailgunner on, and he said, you know, he always had
a drink in his hand, and she said, we didn't
think much of it at the time, but you know,
maybe maybe that was you know, now now that we're
you know, here we are in twenty twenty four, you know,
we know a lot about PTSD. Maybe that was an
indication that you know, there was some some scarring there
(25:50):
and that you know, he was self dedicating. He went
alcohol a sort of number. So I could certainly understand,
certainly understand what they needed. So but all these guys,
you know, it's sort of you say, I mean, they're
everyday Americans. The ship was mostly staffed by reservists, you know,
about fifteen hundred people. You know, with the basketball of
these guys, they weren't the Navy's elites. They were these
(26:11):
were folks that were going to go get out of
the Navy. They're going to do their bit, they're going
to go home. You know, they're the baby boomers, and
we know today and so consequently, you know that that
brought with it. You know, they had this huge sort
of range of you know, the ship's fighter pilots. You know,
there were there were bankers, there was a district attorney.
There was a more kissian, a soap salesman, uh, you know,
just a crazy but guys who worked for the power company.
(26:34):
You know, and then you get down into the you know,
the enlisted guys who made the ship go and you know,
you bet everybody and kept kept things working. And you know,
these were farm boys and big city kids from across
the country and a lot of them have just never
been outside of their home, you know, their home region.
You know, in the nineteen forties, how many people went
more and then you know, twenty miles from where they
grew up. Not many. So this was kind of like
the first real mixing for these people. You know that
(26:57):
some guy there's some guy from New England would meet
somebody from down south for the first time.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
It was exotic. You know, you hear this again.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
You're reminding me of things that I haven't thought about
in a while. But when a kid from Iowa meets
a kid from California and they're off to fight the
Germans and the Japanese and they're not thinking about bullets
flying there going you're from way out there where they
make those movies.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
I mean, it's just they're just kids. I've got a
seventeen and eighteen year old.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
They're just kids, right right, And anyone about twenty one
or twenty two, like the pilots. They were old men.
But you know what they all had in common. I
talked to I read a memoir written by a marine
and a guy by the name of George Terrell. He's
from New England, you know, and he went to boot
camp of Paris Island, and you know, he's meeting all
people from all these different parts of America for the
(27:44):
first time. He said, you know, I thought they were weird.
They thought I was weird. He said, you know what
we all had in common, He said, he knew we
were going.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
To win, all of us.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
He said, there's no doubt about it. And another guy
a pilot award. He said, you know, every generation has
its great tasks, and we just assumed that this was
ours and we're going to get on with it and
get and get it done. So that's they had the
sense of purpose after Pearl Harbor. That kind of motivated
them to, you know, put these divisions aside and push forward.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
It's incredible, you know, whether you call them the Greatest
generation or whatever else. I think one of the things
that you focused on here, you know, you talk about
the soap salesman and things like this, is when we
study history, and obviously you're a student of military history,
and as I am, and in all history. But we
studied the Genghis Khans and the Kubla Khans, and we
(28:32):
study these, you know, these great men and the great
things they did. It's important to understand these guys were
just average, everyday guys, just the way my kids are
and and and kids are today. And they went off
and changed the world and saved the world. And these
are I never tire of these stories. I find them beautiful.
And one of my grandfather was that generation of and
(28:55):
it's just it's glorious, it really is, and it's wonderful,
and somehow I find it inspirational for my own life, Like,
you know, maybe maybe I can do more, Maybe I
should do more.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
You can be common, It's okay.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
Yeah, It's it's all about what your God given talents
and also opportunity, and these guys were given a tremendous opportunity.
There was one man in particular, I'll mention his name
is Clement Craig, who was the ship's greatest fighter pilot.
He was he did advertising work and he was got
out of college essentially put His first job was doing
(29:27):
copywriting for advertising in the local newspaper, and you know,
he's not making any money. He comes from nothing, and
he's just he got when he realized how much money
his boss made, which wasn't very much, he's like, well,
I can't do this. So he ended up joining the Navy.
And he was a little older than a lot of
the other kids aboard. He was like twenty five or
twenty six, you know, still pretty young by our comparison,
(29:49):
but by the time he was the old man. And
he went on to be the ship's greatest fighter pilot,
just a tremendous, tremendous pilot, and not only did he
serve a World War Two, he went on and served
in Korea. You know, he did two Navy Crosses in
World War Two and then through thirty more missions in Korea,
ended the war with twenty two Air medals and the
two Navy Crosses Distinguished Flying Crosses. He just really a
(30:11):
tremendous guy. But there was nothing about him that said
Navy elites. You know, he didn't go to the Naval Academy.
His dad wasn't an admiral. You know, he just he
came out and did it. And his greatest engagement of
the war, it was him in seven other US Helcats,
which is the main fighter pilot the fighter aircraft at
the time, and they took on eighteen Japanese fighters and
(30:33):
came out on top, shot down all but one, and
Clem shot got five and which is pretty remarkable given
he's only got thirty seconds worth of firing, you know,
for his guns, and so they run on ammunition. So
he should step five aircraft in thirty seconds of firing.
That's you know, six seconds. The man was a tremendous shot,
so you know, he was. I had had a chance
to trade notes with his son, who's going to you know,
(30:57):
was trying to tell his dad story and I was like, okay,
let me help, will lunch you help? You provide me
his journals and diaries and uh and then he's you know,
prominently featured in the book. So but so many folks,
that's as a as a historian, I'm very lucky that,
you know, you go to a family member of some
of these vets and say, hey, I'm trying to learn
more about what your relative did. Can you help me?
(31:19):
And I only had one person who wasn't interested. Almost
everybody was like, yes, let me, you know, let's let's
tell that story. Let's get it out there. And folks
were so helpful in providing you know, letters and diaries
and journals and photos and you know stories that they're
data told the which you know, so really, you know
the book it's it's it's about the ship, but it's
(31:41):
told through the voices of the guys who were there
a lot. I think that's what.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Sorry, it's it's described as The Mighty Moo as a
biography of a World War Two aircraft carrier has told
through the voices of its fifty heroic crew, a band
of brothers at sea. I'm up against a break. Uh.
This is a beautiful, beautiful tribute to your grandfather. The
Mighty move by Nathan Canastero.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
A book about a ship.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
For more importantly, the men on the ship and that
great generation and the amazing things they did. There's a
festival that celebrates them annually because of the incredible things
of them.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Thank you, Nathan, Thanks you.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
Sorry, I really appreciate the effort.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Tore a little helps us. Good thank you, and good night.
It's that time time time time walking loot. So Michael
Verie Show is.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
On the air.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
There was some friends last night and at the end
of the dinner.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
They are very healthy people and you know, small portions,
very healthy foods.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
They're not.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
They didn't grow up like I did. There's no fried
chicken here, right. We're not priding ourselves on how much
we eat, so I have to be on my best behavior.
Food was phenomenal. I had chicken. My wife had fish.
My wife would eat fish at every meal.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
She could not me, not me. If I'm eating fish,
it's going to be fried. Yep. And you know, where
was I the other day?
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Where was I the other day? I could not get
fried catfish? And I could not believe they would not
They did not have fried No, it wasn't Dante's third
level of Hell. It was somewhere that I would have expected.
And they said, no, we have drum, but not catfish.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
I don't want drum. Yeah, the drums one, lizit is
girlfriend's house. Uh what what where was that? Hold on?
Let me think about this. It was me and n
though and I decide I'm going to have Oh, I
can't remember anyway, did I.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Ever tell you my story about Charles Clark a brasserie
nineteen So a lot of restaurants, if you go in
and ask for catfish, which what I grew up on,
they will make comments like ew, I've been told by
a restaurant owner I will not name when I said,
how come I don't fried catfish? That catfish is a
(01:59):
trash food. Be that as it may. We can start listen.
Your wife's got a tattoo that's begun to sag.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Let's not kid it.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I don't know who said that to me, and I
don't know if that person that was. I shouldn't say that,
because whoever it was probably listening to the show, and
I'll be accused of insulting his wife when that's not
what I'm meant to do.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
But anyway, I have been.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Told before that catfish is a trash food, which I
think is ridiculous. Catfish is a delicious food. It's a
bottom feeder. Wait a second, what fish are you eating?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
And do they just did they just float on top
of the water.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Anything beneath the surface is beneath them. Literally, Ah, bottom feeder?
What does that even mean? When you're eating the flesh
of a fish.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
What are you?
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Yes, it's a bottom feeder. What do you think I'm
down there nibbling on the bottom of the lake. What
kind of stupid people have?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
What's it?
Speaker 4 (03:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
It's vegan. I mean, what do I care? Honestly, what
do I care?
Speaker 3 (03:11):
If you really want to get down into your food source,
whether meat based, fish based, or whatever else. And before
you tell me how nasty pigs are, let me fry
you some bacon and you have some of it, and
you tell me how.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Nasty that pig was.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Whoa.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Let me get you a delicious pork chop m and
let's talk about how honestly.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
But anyway, can I need to get back to my fish? Yeah,
plus some bacon. Oh yeah, I don't eat pork. Are
you Jewish? You're Jewish? I just don't dig on swine.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
And that's all I'm going there.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Hold on.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
The delivery of John Travolta in the way he says,
are you Jewish? Like half kind of jabbing at him,
but half kind of asking, knowing good and well he's not.
Travolta in this role is so good and it's so
different than the way he he's sort of off handis
are you Jewish.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Do they get puts some bacon? Oh man, I don't
eat pork? Are you Jewish? Iin' Jewish? I just don't
dig on swine, that's all. Why not bigs a filthy animals?
I don't eat filthy animals.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Yeah, my bacon tastes good, taste goody sword rat man
taste like punkin pine. But I never know, because I
wouldn't eat the filthiess big sleep and group, and that's
a filthy animal. I ain't need nothing, ain't got sense
enough to disregard his own ccs.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Having a dog dog eats his own feces.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I don't eat dog either, yea. But do you consider
a dog to be a filthy animal?
Speaker 5 (04:48):
I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy,
but they're definitely dirty. But the dogs got personality. Personality
goes the wrong line.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
So by that rationale, if a pig get a better personality,
she ceased to be the animal.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Is that true?
Speaker 5 (05:01):
Well, we have to be talking about what he. I mean,
he had to be tenathmo Chiman in that armold on
green ankles.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
You know what I'm saying?
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Good dialogue, good writing is lost in most films great
films should have wonderful writing, and that's one of the
things that Tarantino does so well. If you haven't seen
the movie Vengeance, it's by bj what's his name, b
B Jay. I can't think his name. I can't think
(05:33):
of his name. Guy's from New York. But it's about Texas.
It's what's set in Texas. The BJ Novak you've seen it.
The dialogue in that there's some scenes. There's some discussions
of water burger that you better not drink anything while
you're watching that movie, or you will spew them out
of your mouth.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Like the Church It laid layout to sea.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
It will blow your mind how good the dialogue, and
then you will be There's an opening scene of bj
Novak and John Mayer, two buddies, and they go to
parties kind of like a wedding crasher type thing, and
they're telling stories about the their their conquest. Anyway, so
(06:15):
back to my story. So we have this meal and
then at the end of it, they put on this
plate these very beautiful hand painted pieces of art. Well,
I know that sometimes I can ask questions that make
people uncomfortable, So I don't know if you can eat
(06:37):
that art because it's honestly too pretty, but it might
be a chocolate.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And it was presented on a.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
T on a plate with on a plate with some macaroons.
So I said, oh man, these are gorgeous, thinking, you know,
trying to trying to flush out what exactly they were,
and I said, wow, these are these are really pretty.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
So I pick it up in hopes that by picking
it up.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I might you know, if it crumbles in my hands
or when I set it back down, if there's some
color on my finger, then that means.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
That it was a chocolate. And there's maybe six of.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Them on the plate, along with about four my karooms,
and you if you saw them, well, I'll explain it
in a minute if I side.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
With the judgment.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Michael Vary Show. So finally I kind of hemmed and
hauled around this thing. I've twisted it over in my hand.
I've held it for a while, and this couple are
very good friends of our. She says, it's the best
chocolates I've ever had, And I hope that my body
language did not reveal Oh, okay, it is a chocolate.
(07:56):
Now I say that to compliment the thing, because it
was truly a work of art. It was something you
might have bought at a museum. I mean it was
incredibly obviously hand painted and just it had it had
a like a gloss over it, like a like a
you know when they'll do classic cars or hot rod
(08:18):
cars and then they put I don't know what it is,
it's like a glaze over it. So it almost seems
like the color is an inch like yeah, like a
lacquer type deal.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Anyway, So it was that.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
So I bite into it. It looked like a ladybug.
It was half orange, half green. The coloring scheme one
the hump of a ladybug.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And I said, wow, what is that? And she said
carrot cake. Not only did it.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Look amazing, it tasted amazing. No, we didn't then kick
poor people.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
I ate more.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And it was an awkward situation because I was the
only one eating them. There are four of us at
the table, and there were six of them that and
so I had my one, and in my mind I thought, okay,
if you have two, not everybody can have two. But
my wife every year takes a vow. She gives up
something every year. It's an Indian thing, and so this
(09:18):
year it's sweets. Oh, she went wrong one year. She
said for five years, I'm not eating meat or sweets.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I thought, well, what else? And you know she doesn't drink,
so what else is there? Oh, and she did it
for five years?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
She did it?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Anyway back to it.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
So I've already processed that if I have the second one,
not everybody can have two.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
So it's already kind of one of those moves.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
But I thought, well, noneth, that's not going to eat
any So technically there's three of us, so there's two each.
And just so when I took my second, when I
was clear, I said, sweetheart, are you going to eat
any No, she wouldn't, but to tell them, I'm telegraphing
to them I can have this second one without overstepping
the bounds. And she said, no, you go ahead, all right,
(10:04):
So I hit number two. We started with six. Now
there's four left. I've had two. There's two of them. Well,
how do I convey Suddenly I'd like another one. So
everybody's sitting and we're talking, and I'm like a child,
just focused on those chocolates.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
And so I waited a little while and I kind
of reached out a little.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
And I finally I picked one that was different than
and I said, I'm sorry to touch this, but I
just have to see it, and the husband said, oh,
have it.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay, So I waited, awhile and waited a while.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
We're thirty minutes into nobody else ha's eating one except
for me, and I finally just said, I feel like
it's appropriate if I have a fourth foot, and.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Before long there weren't any left, and I went home.
So before I said, where do you get these? And
she says it's called mostly.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Chocolate, and she gives me the lady's name and she
does catering, but really it's it's a chocolate thing. I said, okay,
So Ramon, let's see how much you know. If I
were to tell you that the maker of these chocolates
is from a place in the world that if you
go to a restaurant, I mean, if you go to
(11:18):
a shop anywhere in America and it's high end chocolates,
I mean three or four dollars per little tiny chocolate,
where would you guess she's from. There's two countries they're
most likely from. There's a number one that's the obvious number.
So okay, Switzerland, good guess, all right, I'll give you
cre there's three places they could be from. Not Belgium,
because the Belgians do chocolates, but they don't do them
(11:38):
like this. Let me let me tell you if a place,
if a place sells these, not necessarily makes although they
do make things. It's where they're always from. And there's
a lot of these in ustances, probably ten of them
like this in Uselans. No, it's where people are from
that will have high end chocolate shops. They will also uh,
it'll also be a coffee shop. Then they'll have like
(11:59):
a fresco dining. People will be sitting out and smoking
cigarettes in the middle afternoon, addressed to the nines. In
Italian clothing, the women will be beautiful. They'll all be
wearing shades. Uh. Italy is a good guess. It's it's
where you see a lot of these people vacationing. It's
not sweets, not sweets, not Italy. Focus on the chocolate.
(12:24):
It'll be chocolates. It'll be uh, what's the Greek thing?
I like baclava?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Chuck? Yeah, they do. Shut your filthy mouth. I'll love it.
Everybody loves bacla ba.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
See why don't you want We're on a positive training.
It'll always it'll be chocolates. It might even be some
real high end Italian, some gelato coffees.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Germans don't do that. Lebanese. They're always Lebanese. What are
you doing? Everybody would guess Lebanese.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Everybody that knows anything, You don't pay attention to anything.
The number one most likely place they would be from
and they would be is Lebanese, followed by Irani. I'm
I'm telling you anybody that knows knows. So I looked
this place up. It's called mostly Chocolate. Their website is
mostly HTx dot com. Joomp, Yeah, like most of it.
Now listen to this, I'm thinking, oh, now, these people
(13:15):
like chocolates right. The woman's name is Rena Kumkagi and
says Rina's passion for cooking began when she was just
a child.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Hey this music.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
Growing up in Lebanon, Rena was taught by her mother
to create delectable Lebanese dishes and pastries. From working closely
with her mother, her love for cooking and food flourished.
As she got older, Rena realized her passion and natural
talent for cooking was more than just a hobby. When
she crafted a pistachio filled chocolate pastry. Let me to
read that again, a pistachio filled chocolate pastry to serve
(13:50):
over Thanksgiving. Her friends were astounded by the delicate texture
and full flavor of her pastry, and she was convinced
to replicate the pastry for a friend's wedding. Inspired to
share up in her craft, Rina completely specialty courses completed, Sorry,
completed specialty courses with local Houston chef and chocolatier on
a go Mess. So this one was a chef and
(14:11):
a chocolateier. We're about to talk about chocolate worse than
Somlie's do. This is like a PhD of chocolate along
with local Houston chef and chocolateer on a Gomez and
then went on to attend the Chocolate Academy in Saint
Hyacinth in Montreal, Quebec with world renowned choclateier Christophe Morel.
(14:32):
Y'all are getting way too serious about chocolate here, Okay,
So then it talks about her catering. Then here's her son.
Rena's son, Danny Komkagi, joined the team in twenty eleven.
His endless drive and passion blah blah blah blah. After
various internships studying under renowned master chocolatiers in New York
and Montreal, Danny became head chocolateer in twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Since then, he's gone on to win various.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Prestigious national and international awards, the three Dessert Brand Champion
Bucket Awards at the HLSR Houston Livestock Show Rodeo Best
Bites competition for the Goat Cheese Truffle, Bocan Pie Truffle,
and hazel Nut and Pop Rocks, a first place gold
finish in the International Chocolate Award America's competition, second place
silver finish in the internationals Chocolate Awards World. These people
(15:17):
are getting real serious about chocolate.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
Michael Mary Show.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I got a call from my friend Buck Sexton of
Clay and Buck fame, and I've actually known Buck since
before the Clay and Buck days. Buck has a history
at the CIA and really just an interesting guy. And
Buck and I had share a passion for military history
(15:46):
and great stories of how much you loved your mom
and how much you loved your dad. I actually met
Buck's dad. Buck and I were having dinner in Miami
a couple of years a few years ago, and his
dad Mason was there. And his dad Mason little known fact.
I don't know if Bucks ever told the story. And
(16:06):
I don't get to listen to the show because I'm
doing my show while they're doing their show. But his
dad Mason was a driving force behind the movie about
Elliot Spitzer, who was the governor of New York. You
know love Potion number nine, the client number nine who
was brought down in the escort sting. But anyway, so
(16:27):
Bucks said, Hey, I know this guy Nathan Canastero, and
he's written a book called The Mighty Moo. Let me
send you some details on it. You might be interested,
And I was. It's one of those great stories that
needs to be told. So many books are written because
of ego or to capitalize on celebrity.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
You know some guys on TV.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
If you look at the best selling book list at
any given time today, this wasn't always the case. Most
of the guys on there and gals have shows, and
so it's more of a distribution outlet than it is.
You know, Dostoevsky having a story that he's got to tell,
or ain Rand who needs to share her message and
(17:12):
can't get it out broadly enough. The reason to tell
a story is because the story is so compelling that
it's bubbling out of you. And whether you ever make
a dime or get rich off of it, or achieve celebrity's,
that's the stories I want to hear. So Nathan Canastero
is the guy that Buck told me about. Originally at
Tennessee and from Knoxville, Tennessee, but he lives outside of
(17:36):
DC for the last twenty five years. A professional intelligence
officer with the federal government. He served in the Middle
East during the War on Terror, and he's now an
assignment to the National Intelligence Council. But really, Nathan's not
the star of this show. He's just the conductor for
a symphony. That is a little journey we're going to
take together, and I think you'll enjoy. He's written a
book called The Mighty Moo, and I know what it's about,
(17:59):
but you don't. Neck you don't yet, you're about to. Nathan,
tell us why you wrote this book and what this
book's about.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
Please, Well, first, thanks for having me on. I really
appreciate the opportunity. This was kind of a It started
as a journey of discovery about my grandfather, and I think,
you know, my grandfather was a lot like many men
of his generation. He was a Pacific War veteran in
World War Two, served aboard an aircraft carrier in the
(18:27):
USS Cowpens, but he saw a lot of action, and
he didn't want to talk about the war, you know,
And like you, I'm I'm interested in military history, always
have been. You know, I grew up with band of
brothers and saving Private Rye, and you know, sort of
the big media public, you know, culture sort of shows
about the Second World War. So I was fascinated by
sort of trying to learn more about what my grandfather did,
(18:48):
and he just he wouldn't talk about it, and when
I tried to draw it out of him, it brought
him to tears. So you know, I felt terrible first off,
because I'd made my grandfather cry, and then also, you know,
I didn't I was afraid the story was going to
be lost. And so when Grandpa passed in twenty ten,
you know, I said, well, you know, I researched military
(19:09):
conflict for a living for the government. Why don't I
just see what I can find out on my own
about Grandpa's service, and see, you know, see if I
can discover what he wouldn't tell me. And you know, sadly,
most of my grandfather's story he took to the grave
with him. He was both an enlisted man and a reservist,
and you know, those were not really priorities for the
(19:31):
Navy in terms of its record keeping. You know, mostly
it was about the officers and you know, the big
the admirals and sort of important people. But in sort
of picking up the story and trying to follow my
grandfather's steps as he went across the Pacific, I found
this really amazing story about his ship. And I turned
(19:52):
to my girlfriend at the time, down my wife, and
I said, there's a book here. You know, I consider
myself fairly well informed about the war, and I just
never heard of this, and you know, essentially sort of
in a nutshell, you know, my grandfather was aboard the
ship that the Navy initially didn't even want. You know,
the captain had been scapegoaded for losing his last ship.
(20:12):
The pilots self trained in the planes they'd fly into battle,
but the crew had been in uniform, Me and my
grandfather barely longer than the ship had been afloat. I mean,
everybody was new to the navy, and when they got started,
they had this terrible jinx. They survived, you know, a
deadly typhoon. They earned a distinguished combat record, and at
war's end there was only one American aircraft carrier in
(20:33):
Tokyo Bay to witness the Japanese surrender, and that was
my grandfather's carrier of the USS Calbut I'm like, what,
how did how did I know this story?
Speaker 3 (20:41):
This is amazing, so that that is you know, Nathan,
I'm so glad you told this story. And the book
is called The Mighty Moo, and Nathan Canastero has written
it because I have a theory that I tell often
that if you asked the person in front of you,
what's your what's your grocery store of choice?
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Where do you grocerrate?
Speaker 4 (21:02):
Oh, we've got a safeway right up the road.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
If you ask the person in front of you and
behind you in line at the safeway the right three questions,
you're standing next to a gold medalist, the guy who
was in front of the tank at Tenement Square, a
refugee from an African communist nation who's going to end
up winning a Nobel Prize.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
You just don't know right, and there are all these stories.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
Marcus Latrell's a dear friend of mine and I say
all the time, Mark, and he's kept a.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Diary since he was eight years old. He still keeps
a diary every day. Marcus.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
The amazing thing is not your loan survivor's story. The
fact that the things that happened. The amazing thing is
that you reduced it to writing. Because if that doesn't happen,
I don't know Marcus Latroll. I don't know the name,
I don't know acts, I don't know deeds.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
I don't know those guys.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
And so you think about this, people will say to me,
you know, can you forward this to Marcus Latrell? Can
can he come and speak at our Evan? And Marcus
is this sort of god man because he's Marcus Latreull.
The fact of the matter is if he didn't write
the book and then Peter Berg doesn't.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Make the movie, you don't know about him.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
And he's just some big, burly guy with a bunch
of tattoos and a scowl on his face walking past
you in the store that you wonder if he has
a day job. You see what I'm saying, It's like,
if these stories are not reduced to writing, then then
they're lost to eternity. And that doesn't mean they didn't happen.
(22:35):
You know Ed Sable of NFL films. When he retired,
he went on the speaking circuit. And I don't know
if you're familiar with NFL films, but they tell these
amazing stories. You know, the wind blew through the blustery
and he tells he gives this line to businessmen. He says,
tell me a fact and I'll learn it. Tell me
(22:55):
the truth and I'll believe it. But tell me a
story and it will live in our hearts. What I
love here is you're telling a story that these men.
I mean, they're scared, right, they're scared, and they're young,
and they never expect to be the subject of lore.
And had you not written it, they wouldn't. And I
(23:17):
could read these stories forever. And it's also I find
it very inspiring, Nathan, because these were just common guys, right,
They graduated high school, they played football, they had a girlfriend,
they shaved their head and sent them off to war,
and look what they did. And what I love is
now we've recorded that, right lest we forget our guest
(23:39):
is Nathan Canastero. The book is The Mighty Move, and
we'll talk more about this amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Story had.
Speaker 4 (23:53):
Michael Barry in the.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Nathan Canastero is our guest. The book is The Mighty Move.
I've done too much talking, he's done too little. Let's
talk about your grandfather, the tail gunner and an avenger,
torpedobomber and the USS calpins. And he never talked about
the war, which was common. I'm involved with a group
called Camp Hope, the PTSD Foundation of America, and people
come from all over the country.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
It's free to them.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
We raise the money who are suffering the wounds mental
wounds of war, and they stay there for six months.
It's a Christian based program and they get the healing
they need to learn to cope with PTSD. They're usually
extremely addicted. They've typically had multiple suicide attempts.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
There in a bad way.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
And one of the things I have come to learn
with these guys is that remembering is very important. We
talked about Marcus Atreil never forget. Telling stories like this
is how we honor these men and the men of
their generation. So I'm going to step back and let
you tell the story.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Yeah, So grandpa was twenty two when he went aboard
the Calcons. He's from upstate New Arkle called Courtland by
fret five minutes from Sircuse. You know, after you know,
he did his bit a boyd career and he came
home and you know, put it all behind him and
maybe he just bottled it up. He's like, that was
the phase of my life. It's over and I'm going
to you know, went on to have five kids and
(25:09):
be a carpenter for you know, for forty years. But
you know, you talked to I've talked a lot about
both the veterans when I talked to him there in
their early to have been nineties and now their families
and you know, PTSD wasn't really recognized at the time
that you know, they were just like battle fatigue and
things like that. But they don't really understand it, you know,
like we did tell it. You know, one uh, not
(25:30):
a very nice lady here in town whose dad actually
flew some of the airplanes that my grandfather was the
tailgunner on, and he said, you know, he always had
a drink in his hand, and she said, we didn't
think much of it at the time, but you know,
maybe maybe that was you know, now now that we're
you know, here we are in twenty twenty four, you know,
we know a lot about PTSD. Maybe that was an
indication that you know, there was some some scarring there
(25:50):
and that you know, he was self dedicating. He went
alcohol a sort of number. So I could certainly understand,
certainly understand what they needed. So but all these guys,
you know, it's sort of you say, I mean, they're
everyday Americans. The ship was mostly staffed by reservists, you know,
about fifteen hundred people. You know, with the basketball of
these guys, they weren't the Navy's elites. They were these
(26:11):
were folks that were going to go get out of
the Navy. They're going to do their bit, they're going
to go home. You know, they're the baby boomers, and
we know today and so consequently, you know that that
brought with it. You know, they had this huge sort
of range of you know, the ship's fighter pilots. You know,
there were there were bankers, there was a district attorney.
There was a more kissian, a soap salesman, uh, you know,
just a crazy but guys who worked for the power company.
(26:34):
You know, and then you get down into the you know,
the enlisted guys who made the ship go and you know,
you bet everybody and kept kept things working. And you know,
these were farm boys and big city kids from across
the country and a lot of them have just never
been outside of their home, you know, their home region.
You know, in the nineteen forties, how many people went
more and then you know, twenty miles from where they
grew up. Not many. So this was kind of like
the first real mixing for these people. You know that
(26:57):
some guy there's some guy from New England would meet
somebody from down south for the first time.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
It was exotic. You know, you hear this again.
Speaker 3 (27:05):
You're reminding me of things that I haven't thought about
in a while. But when a kid from Iowa meets
a kid from California and they're off to fight the
Germans and the Japanese and they're not thinking about bullets
flying there going you're from way out there where they
make those movies.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
I mean, it's just they're just kids. I've got a
seventeen and eighteen year old.
Speaker 4 (27:23):
They're just kids, right right, And anyone about twenty one
or twenty two, like the pilots. They were old men.
But you know what they all had in common. I
talked to I read a memoir written by a marine
and a guy by the name of George Terrell. He's
from New England, you know, and he went to boot
camp of Paris Island, and you know, he's meeting all
people from all these different parts of America for the
(27:44):
first time. He said, you know, I thought they were weird.
They thought I was weird. He said, you know what
we all had in common, He said, he knew we
were going.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
To win, all of us.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
He said, there's no doubt about it. And another guy
a pilot award. He said, you know, every generation has
its great tasks, and we just assumed that this was
ours and we're going to get on with it and
get and get it done. So that's they had the
sense of purpose after Pearl Harbor. That kind of motivated
them to, you know, put these divisions aside and push forward.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
It's incredible, you know, whether you call them the Greatest
generation or whatever else. I think one of the things
that you focused on here, you know, you talk about
the soap salesman and things like this, is when we
study history, and obviously you're a student of military history,
and as I am, and in all history. But we
studied the Genghis Khans and the Kubla Khans, and we
(28:32):
study these, you know, these great men and the great
things they did. It's important to understand these guys were
just average, everyday guys, just the way my kids are
and and and kids are today. And they went off
and changed the world and saved the world. And these
are I never tire of these stories. I find them beautiful.
And one of my grandfather was that generation of and
(28:55):
it's just it's glorious, it really is, and it's wonderful,
and somehow I find it inspirational for my own life, Like,
you know, maybe maybe I can do more, Maybe I
should do more.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
You can be common, It's okay.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
Yeah, It's it's all about what your God given talents
and also opportunity, and these guys were given a tremendous opportunity.
There was one man in particular, I'll mention his name
is Clement Craig, who was the ship's greatest fighter pilot.
He was he did advertising work and he was got
out of college essentially put His first job was doing
(29:27):
copywriting for advertising in the local newspaper, and you know,
he's not making any money. He comes from nothing, and
he's just he got when he realized how much money
his boss made, which wasn't very much, he's like, well,
I can't do this. So he ended up joining the Navy.
And he was a little older than a lot of
the other kids aboard. He was like twenty five or
twenty six, you know, still pretty young by our comparison,
(29:49):
but by the time he was the old man. And
he went on to be the ship's greatest fighter pilot,
just a tremendous, tremendous pilot, and not only did he
serve a World War Two, he went on and served
in Korea. You know, he did two Navy Crosses in
World War Two and then through thirty more missions in Korea,
ended the war with twenty two Air medals and the
two Navy Crosses Distinguished Flying Crosses. He just really a
(30:11):
tremendous guy. But there was nothing about him that said
Navy elites. You know, he didn't go to the Naval Academy.
His dad wasn't an admiral. You know, he just he
came out and did it. And his greatest engagement of
the war, it was him in seven other US Helcats,
which is the main fighter pilot the fighter aircraft at
the time, and they took on eighteen Japanese fighters and
(30:33):
came out on top, shot down all but one, and
Clem shot got five and which is pretty remarkable given
he's only got thirty seconds worth of firing, you know,
for his guns, and so they run on ammunition. So
he should step five aircraft in thirty seconds of firing.
That's you know, six seconds. The man was a tremendous shot,
so you know, he was. I had had a chance
to trade notes with his son, who's going to you know,
(30:57):
was trying to tell his dad story and I was like, okay,
let me help, will lunch you help? You provide me
his journals and diaries and uh and then he's you know,
prominently featured in the book. So but so many folks,
that's as a as a historian, I'm very lucky that,
you know, you go to a family member of some
of these vets and say, hey, I'm trying to learn
more about what your relative did. Can you help me?
(31:19):
And I only had one person who wasn't interested. Almost
everybody was like, yes, let me, you know, let's let's
tell that story. Let's get it out there. And folks
were so helpful in providing you know, letters and diaries
and journals and photos and you know stories that they're
data told the which you know, so really, you know
the book it's it's it's about the ship, but it's
(31:41):
told through the voices of the guys who were there
a lot. I think that's what.
Speaker 3 (31:45):
Sorry, it's it's described as The Mighty Moo as a
biography of a World War Two aircraft carrier has told
through the voices of its fifty heroic crew, a band
of brothers at sea. I'm up against a break. Uh.
This is a beautiful, beautiful tribute to your grandfather. The
Mighty move by Nathan Canastero.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
A book about a ship.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
For more importantly, the men on the ship and that
great generation and the amazing things they did. There's a
festival that celebrates them annually because of the incredible things
of them.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
Thank you, Nathan, Thanks you.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
Sorry, I really appreciate the effort.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
Tore a little helps us. Good thank you, and good night.
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