November 21, 2025 • 8 mins
Getting ready for the holidays with the guy who is all about easy, Gary Sullivan.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Already eight ten on your Thursday morning, getting closer and
closer to the weekend where you can listen to our
good friend Gary Sullivan on our sister station, fifty five
KRC nine to noon Saturdays and Sundays, and he syndicated
across nearly three hundred radio stations across America.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You're a big league operator, Gary, Oh I try.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I try so well.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I mean, you are.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
A big league operator, big time man, you know, Gary.
I gotta tell you, there are very few things in
life that I can say I just despise. Okay, very few,
And I bet I'm gonna talk about it. You're going
to talk about what I'm today. Because when my bride
Polly says to me, Hey, you know what, let's take
(00:47):
Saturday and put up Christmas.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Lights, mean, oh my god, I lose my mind.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
You can't go hide.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I can't go hide. You can run, but you.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Put your little elf suit on.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
All right, but a lot of people love doing it,
and I'm gonna ultimately go do it. But look, there
is some safety to consider and newmero. You know, whether
it's Christmas lights, whether it's changing a white bulb, something
maybe in the ceiling.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Getting on a ladder.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Man, you have I know a fellow who died from
a fall I do out in Arizona, and you know
his wife told him he was a little bit older guy.
But it can happen to a young person too, right, sure.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well it kind of really starts with the type of ladder.
And I'm you know, like if you're hanging X to
your lights, every ladder has a weight limit on it,
and everybody buys the cheapest ladder, right, I mean I'll
buy the type on it's got a two hundred pounds
weight limit. You take a walk around, there's a lot
(01:53):
of people over two hundred pounds. Seriously, be careful. Second
thing is an extension ladder. If you're hanging lights on
a gutter not having a professionally decorated in there, there's
an idea for you. Tom a lot of that going
on now, don't give me any ideas. Don't get a
lot going on.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I just stop it. I mean, I like you.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
I don't want to go south on you, all right,
but some professional really does and don'ts about putting up
lights outside?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeah yeah, So make sure you use the ladder, make
sure it's steady, make sure it's got a good footing,
make sure somebody's there with you. Make sure it extends
three feet above where you're going to hang the lights,
like extends above the gutter. Just make sure it's solid,
make sure somebody's with you. And when you do the
you should always have three points of contact. You know,
(02:43):
you got two rails on the side for your hands,
you got your feet, that's four. Don't put one foot
down and you know, do a two point contact. That's unsafe.
So that's probably number one. Number two is where have
you stored your lights? A lot of people storm in
the attic, and that's the worse place in the world.
I mean that attic in the summertime can be one
hundred and forty hundred and fifty degrees. Those light cords
(03:06):
are very thin, they get very brittle. They're soy oil
and they get very brittle. They crack, and then if
you start putting the wrong bushes outside with rain and stuff,
that's certainly a big issue. I mean, that's a big issue.
So another thing you don't want to do. This is interesting,
and this happened to me when you're about ten years ago,
(03:27):
is letting light cords or extension cords sit on the ground.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Really.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
I went out one morning and my lights weren't on,
and I looked around the bush and I find this
extension cord and it looked like somebody with the diagonal
players cut the cord. And I'm like, who in the
world would come up through the through the driveway, through
the yard and cut my my Christmas lights? I mean,
(03:55):
what the heck?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:57):
And I got on the radio and I was just
kind of moaning that fact, and somebody called in and said,
what was that extension cord on the ground. Yeah, and
he goes, there's a rabbit.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
No kidding, I said.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
A rabbit And he goes, yeah. And he told me
the reason. He said, there's soy oil in those cords,
and rabbits and squirrels will cut them and it'll look
like an absolute perfect cut.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
And it did.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I would have bet my life that a diagonal plier
cut that thing. Extension cords and like cords, get those
off the ground.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Yeah, But Gary, I mean, you and I both know, okay,
And you and I both know. When you're going out
there and let's say you've got a row of bushes
and you're hanging some lights off of them, right, and
you plug it into an extension cord. How in the
world are you supposed to keep that thing off the
ground from where you're plugging it in, perhaps in an
outlet that sits outdoors.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, well you can get little steaks, okay, an inn
slaved staple. Put it right at the top where the
quard or extension cord is going to the next set
of bushes. Keep it off the ground. Okay, all right,
So that's how you do it. And the biggest protection
of all the lights, and I know you got a
big interview, so I want to run through this real quick.
The biggest protection and safety device is having them plugged
(05:12):
into a ground fault circuit interrupter. If there's a short,
if there's moisture in the connections, that will automatically just
shut the entire display down. And it's funny, it's a
protection device, but everybody always thinks when it shuts it down,
it's the protection device's fault.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
It's right, It's not that I have a moisture.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Problem or short. It's that device's fault. Of course it
could be, but rarely is. And what you want to do,
and a ground fault circuit interrupter is the one where
it's got the little red button and a little black
button in the middle of the outlet. Yeah, you can
reset it. Many of us have reset them many times
and they reset, right. I mean, you plug it in
and it resets. But if it doesn't reset, what's going on. Well,
(06:00):
maybe it is the ground fall circuit interrupter there, or
maybe there's water getting down behind the outlet itself. But
do check that. If it goes off once and it resets,
that's fine. There was a moisture issue. It worked, everybody's good.
If it doesn't reset, you may have to replace that,
or you may have to investigate what's going on and
(06:21):
it's probably Again gets back to the electrical connections time
where the plugs, you know, plugging into the outlet and
don't wrap them with tape. Sometimes moisture gets trapped in
there and can't dry. Just a good tight saran wrap
around there is nice. And make sure the cords. The
outdoor lights are obviously outdoor lights, but the extension cords.
(06:44):
I've seen people use lamp extension cords. No, no, no, no,
it's got to be an outdoor of course to figure
that out. Yeah, but people still do it. You know
you want to get that job done because you love
to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Love it. Now.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
One thing I want to circle back to before I
let you go, And we do have Zach Taylor coming
up here in about the seven minutes. I don't know,
we're about to find out. We're about to find out,
and we're gonna ask him. I can promise you that
we might ask him three or four or five or
seven times.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
That's good for you. Okay, let me.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Ask you this show real quick, as I want to
circle back. You were talking about the ladder, okay. A
lot of times Gary, when you're hanging up stuff outside,
you're having to put that ladder on the ground right right, Okay,
So I mean ill, that's where I.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Always get a little scared and concern for sure.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Yeah, especially if it's on a slope. You've got to
make sure that it has very very good footing. And
you don't want that letter to be going straight up either.
You want that kicked out. There is a formula which
is not into my head right now, but on how
far out from from the wall it should be. But
it should be a nice not straight up and down.
It should be a nice gradual maybe like a forty
(07:55):
five degrees sixty degree slope. But you know, it's amazing.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend that that you know,
fell from a ladder, but it happens all the time.
It's like the number one emergency. Nobody thinks to have
somebody out there with them, not that they're going to
catch them. But I don't know about your spouse, but
mine would quickly tell me that ladder doesn't look solid.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Yeah, well mine, I don't know. Maybe she wants that
thing going. Well, you never know, you never know. You
very long enough, you never know.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
You never know.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
All right, my friend, Thanks for your time is always giving,
Happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Happy Thanksgiving. You and your family appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Thank you, buddy,
Already eight ten on your Thursday morning, getting closer and
closer to the weekend where you can listen to our
good friend Gary Sullivan on our sister station, fifty five
KRC nine to noon Saturdays and Sundays, and he syndicated
across nearly three hundred radio stations across America.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You're a big league operator, Gary, Oh I try.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I try so well.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I mean, you are.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
A big league operator, big time man, you know, Gary.
I gotta tell you, there are very few things in
life that I can say I just despise. Okay, very few,
And I bet I'm gonna talk about it. You're going
to talk about what I'm today. Because when my bride
Polly says to me, Hey, you know what, let's take
(00:47):
Saturday and put up Christmas.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Lights, mean, oh my god, I lose my mind.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
You can't go hide.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I can't go hide. You can run, but you.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Put your little elf suit on.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
All right, but a lot of people love doing it,
and I'm gonna ultimately go do it. But look, there
is some safety to consider and newmero. You know, whether
it's Christmas lights, whether it's changing a white bulb, something
maybe in the ceiling.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Getting on a ladder.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Man, you have I know a fellow who died from
a fall I do out in Arizona, and you know
his wife told him he was a little bit older guy.
But it can happen to a young person too, right, sure.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Well it kind of really starts with the type of ladder.
And I'm you know, like if you're hanging X to
your lights, every ladder has a weight limit on it,
and everybody buys the cheapest ladder, right, I mean I'll
buy the type on it's got a two hundred pounds
weight limit. You take a walk around, there's a lot
(01:53):
of people over two hundred pounds. Seriously, be careful. Second
thing is an extension ladder. If you're hanging lights on
a gutter not having a professionally decorated in there, there's
an idea for you. Tom a lot of that going
on now, don't give me any ideas. Don't get a
lot going on.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I just stop it. I mean, I like you.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
I don't want to go south on you, all right,
but some professional really does and don'ts about putting up
lights outside?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Yeah yeah, So make sure you use the ladder, make
sure it's steady, make sure it's got a good footing,
make sure somebody's there with you. Make sure it extends
three feet above where you're going to hang the lights,
like extends above the gutter. Just make sure it's solid,
make sure somebody's with you. And when you do the
you should always have three points of contact. You know,
(02:43):
you got two rails on the side for your hands,
you got your feet, that's four. Don't put one foot
down and you know, do a two point contact. That's unsafe.
So that's probably number one. Number two is where have
you stored your lights? A lot of people storm in
the attic, and that's the worse place in the world.
I mean that attic in the summertime can be one
hundred and forty hundred and fifty degrees. Those light cords
(03:06):
are very thin, they get very brittle. They're soy oil
and they get very brittle. They crack, and then if
you start putting the wrong bushes outside with rain and stuff,
that's certainly a big issue. I mean, that's a big issue.
So another thing you don't want to do. This is interesting,
and this happened to me when you're about ten years ago,
(03:27):
is letting light cords or extension cords sit on the ground.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Really.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
I went out one morning and my lights weren't on,
and I looked around the bush and I find this
extension cord and it looked like somebody with the diagonal
players cut the cord. And I'm like, who in the
world would come up through the through the driveway, through
the yard and cut my my Christmas lights? I mean,
(03:55):
what the heck?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:57):
And I got on the radio and I was just
kind of moaning that fact, and somebody called in and said,
what was that extension cord on the ground. Yeah, and
he goes, there's a rabbit.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
No kidding, I said.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
A rabbit And he goes, yeah. And he told me
the reason. He said, there's soy oil in those cords,
and rabbits and squirrels will cut them and it'll look
like an absolute perfect cut.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
And it did.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I would have bet my life that a diagonal plier
cut that thing. Extension cords and like cords, get those
off the ground.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Yeah, But Gary, I mean, you and I both know, okay,
And you and I both know. When you're going out
there and let's say you've got a row of bushes
and you're hanging some lights off of them, right, and
you plug it into an extension cord. How in the
world are you supposed to keep that thing off the
ground from where you're plugging it in, perhaps in an
outlet that sits outdoors.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, well you can get little steaks, okay, an inn
slaved staple. Put it right at the top where the
quard or extension cord is going to the next set
of bushes. Keep it off the ground. Okay, all right,
So that's how you do it. And the biggest protection
of all the lights, and I know you got a
big interview, so I want to run through this real quick.
The biggest protection and safety device is having them plugged
(05:12):
into a ground fault circuit interrupter. If there's a short,
if there's moisture in the connections, that will automatically just
shut the entire display down. And it's funny, it's a
protection device, but everybody always thinks when it shuts it down,
it's the protection device's fault.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
It's right, It's not that I have a moisture.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Problem or short. It's that device's fault. Of course it
could be, but rarely is. And what you want to do,
and a ground fault circuit interrupter is the one where
it's got the little red button and a little black
button in the middle of the outlet. Yeah, you can
reset it. Many of us have reset them many times
and they reset, right. I mean, you plug it in
and it resets. But if it doesn't reset, what's going on. Well,
(06:00):
maybe it is the ground fall circuit interrupter there, or
maybe there's water getting down behind the outlet itself. But
do check that. If it goes off once and it resets,
that's fine. There was a moisture issue. It worked, everybody's good.
If it doesn't reset, you may have to replace that,
or you may have to investigate what's going on and
(06:21):
it's probably Again gets back to the electrical connections time
where the plugs, you know, plugging into the outlet and
don't wrap them with tape. Sometimes moisture gets trapped in
there and can't dry. Just a good tight saran wrap
around there is nice. And make sure the cords. The
outdoor lights are obviously outdoor lights, but the extension cords.
(06:44):
I've seen people use lamp extension cords. No, no, no, no,
it's got to be an outdoor of course to figure
that out. Yeah, but people still do it. You know
you want to get that job done because you love
to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Love it. Now.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
One thing I want to circle back to before I
let you go, And we do have Zach Taylor coming
up here in about the seven minutes. I don't know,
we're about to find out. We're about to find out,
and we're gonna ask him. I can promise you that
we might ask him three or four or five or
seven times.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
That's good for you. Okay, let me.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Ask you this show real quick, as I want to
circle back. You were talking about the ladder, okay. A
lot of times Gary, when you're hanging up stuff outside,
you're having to put that ladder on the ground right right, Okay,
So I mean ill, that's where I.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Always get a little scared and concern for sure.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Yeah, especially if it's on a slope. You've got to
make sure that it has very very good footing. And
you don't want that letter to be going straight up either.
You want that kicked out. There is a formula which
is not into my head right now, but on how
far out from from the wall it should be. But
it should be a nice not straight up and down.
It should be a nice gradual maybe like a forty
(07:55):
five degrees sixty degree slope. But you know, it's amazing.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend that that you know,
fell from a ladder, but it happens all the time.
It's like the number one emergency. Nobody thinks to have
somebody out there with them, not that they're going to
catch them. But I don't know about your spouse, but
mine would quickly tell me that ladder doesn't look solid.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Yeah, well mine, I don't know. Maybe she wants that
thing going. Well, you never know, you never know. You
very long enough, you never know.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
You never know.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
All right, my friend, Thanks for your time is always giving,
Happy Thanksgiving.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Happy Thanksgiving. You and your family appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Thank you, buddy,
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