WEBVTT - The 50-Year Old Version

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody is Bill Courtney with an army, normal folks. Shop

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<v Speaker 1>Talk number fifty nine. Welcome into the shop.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, Alex, does anyone have any interesting numbers for fifty nine?

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<v Speaker 2>What do you mean, like any football players or remember

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<v Speaker 2>we talking about this trying to come up with numbers?

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<v Speaker 1>Heines, fifty seven, Yeah, fifty nine. I can't even think

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<v Speaker 1>of a famous fifty nine any player or anything else, So,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, not really a good lead in Alex. Thanks, yeah, sorry,

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<v Speaker 1>I got nothing, you know, It's just okay.

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<v Speaker 2>People can start suggesting, Oh, coming one's coming up. You

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<v Speaker 2>got sixty we'll say that.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll say that, we'll remind him at the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the episode. Wait, what what does the number sixty three, four, five,

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<v Speaker 1>six and seven? Maybe that's right, okay, everybody, Shop Talk

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<v Speaker 1>number fifty nine is a is a second part. If

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<v Speaker 1>you listen last week's Shop Talt number fifty eight. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the second week that we are featuring the writing

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<v Speaker 1>of an army member named Eric Blacksmith. Eric has a

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<v Speaker 1>substack titled some Assembly Required, and the second piece is

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<v Speaker 1>titled the fifty year Old Version not Virgin. Fifty year

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<v Speaker 1>Old Virgin was a funny movie. This is the fifty

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<v Speaker 1>year old version. Some assembly required.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a family appropriate show bill.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a PG movie that came out.

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<v Speaker 2>It was not a FIG movie thirteen or something. There's

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<v Speaker 2>some lines in there I remember that we cannot say

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<v Speaker 2>on the air that are hilarious.

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<v Speaker 1>What we can't know? Oh okay, So Eric has a

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<v Speaker 1>substack titled some assimily required. The second piece. Last week

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<v Speaker 1>we featured and Eric read for us, narrated for us,

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<v Speaker 1>for all the fifty year old men who This week

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<v Speaker 1>we're doing the fifty year old version. Eric recorded a

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<v Speaker 1>performance of this, and we'll hear it right after these

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<v Speaker 1>grief messages from our general sponsors. Everybody Shop Talk fifty nine,

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<v Speaker 1>we are back with Eric Loxmo and his narration from

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<v Speaker 1>his substacks Some assembly required, the fifty year old version.

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<v Speaker 1>And now here's Eric Boxmo performing the fifty year old version.

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<v Speaker 3>More than fifteen thousand people read a spontaneous essay I

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<v Speaker 3>wrote one afternoon. The title of it was for all

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<v Speaker 3>the fifty year old men who got dot done. It

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<v Speaker 3>was a letter, a kind of tribute, a collection of

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<v Speaker 3>thoughts for the boys like me who were told grow up,

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<v Speaker 3>be a man, get over it, stop crying. Stop daydreaming,

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<v Speaker 3>make mom proud, be the hero and fight back, and

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<v Speaker 3>above all, never show your true self. And what happened

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<v Speaker 3>next surprise me. The responses flooded in emails, texts, comments, stories.

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<v Speaker 3>I didn't expect, emotions I didn't see coming. It was

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<v Speaker 3>clear there's a deep hunger out there, a silent ache,

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<v Speaker 3>a longing to know. Am I the only man who

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<v Speaker 3>feels this way? And it got me thinking, what do

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<v Speaker 3>I wish someone had taught me when I was twenty,

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<v Speaker 3>or thirty or forty. Yes, I could have avoided some

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<v Speaker 3>hard falls, some broken relationships, some wasted energy, and a

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<v Speaker 3>whole lot of unnecessary striving. But here I am, at fifty,

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<v Speaker 3>a bit wrinkled, scarred, certainly grateful because along the way

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<v Speaker 3>I gained wisdom, deep friendships, and a deeper resolve to

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<v Speaker 3>live all in and all out until I crossed that

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<v Speaker 3>finish line. So I put together a bit of a

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<v Speaker 3>field guide. A map isn't comprehensive, but it's a start

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<v Speaker 3>some lessons and learnings for the version of me I'm

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<v Speaker 3>still learning to become, and maybe for the version of

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<v Speaker 3>you you're becoming two. This is the fifty year old version.

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<v Speaker 3>Here's a few to think about on the topics of

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<v Speaker 3>life and art and politics and purpose. Do not despise

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<v Speaker 3>as small. The sacred usually starts there. You're a steward,

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<v Speaker 3>not the star. Return things better than you found them.

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<v Speaker 3>Weird is a virtue. Peculiar things point to purpose. Finish

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<v Speaker 3>what you start. Starting is sexy. Finishing is sacred. You

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<v Speaker 3>don't need permission begin anyway. Joy is in the process.

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<v Speaker 3>Outcomes lie. The work doesn't walk in the un forced

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<v Speaker 3>rhythms of grace. As it's been said, smallness is greater

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<v Speaker 3>than bigness. Some of the greatest impact is unscalable. Contentment

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<v Speaker 3>is revolutionary. Want what you already have, and trust. Trust

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<v Speaker 3>is the bedrock for marriages, for media, for making. Without it,

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<v Speaker 3>everything cracks in politics, So politics is downstream. Culture makes

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<v Speaker 3>the weather principle of a party. Loyalty belongs to truth,

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<v Speaker 3>not tribes. The middle space is mission ground that no

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<v Speaker 3>fly zone is where change happens. Listen longer, talk slower.

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<v Speaker 3>Persuasion starts with curiosity. Surprise people, especially your opponents. Try

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<v Speaker 3>being more conservative than any conservative, and also more liberal

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<v Speaker 3>than any liberal. Transcend the labels. Create before you criticize.

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<v Speaker 3>We need more builders, not barkers. Proximity changes everything. Get

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<v Speaker 3>close to the mess. Movements are named in retrospect. Just

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<v Speaker 3>do the work, and humility is strength. I don't know

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<v Speaker 3>is a leadership superpower In entertainment, the artist leads, the

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<v Speaker 3>politician follows. Story shape hearts long before policies shape laws.

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<v Speaker 3>Art should haunt. Don't answer everything, leave room for mystery,

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<v Speaker 3>build soil, create environments where others flourish. Don't just entertain,

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<v Speaker 3>make them better, like handle, aim higher. Question Mark stories

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<v Speaker 3>are greater than period stories. Raise questions. Don't just preach.

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<v Speaker 3>Create for the future, not for the charts or the likes,

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<v Speaker 3>but for legacy. Don't chase the elites. Find your audience,

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<v Speaker 3>serve them well. Popular doesn't mean profound, but sometimes it

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<v Speaker 3>can be both. Hollywood isn't a town, it's a term.

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<v Speaker 3>Make great work anywhere, and if you're on the inside,

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<v Speaker 3>look with outside our eyes. Disrupt from within and on

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<v Speaker 3>faith and purpose. Remember to redeem the time, redeem the dream.

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<v Speaker 3>Don't waste the ache. You are a co creator. Make

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<v Speaker 3>all things new. By making new things, art is vocation.

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<v Speaker 3>Sweep your street like Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel. Faith

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<v Speaker 3>is found in the middle between the broken and the beautiful.

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<v Speaker 3>Pray for the world, but move toward it. Love a

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<v Speaker 3>yard from hell. Sacrifice is the strategy, always has been.

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<v Speaker 3>Do it for the five, not the five hundred. You

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<v Speaker 3>never know who's listening. Blessed are the outliers. They see

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<v Speaker 3>what others miss. Trust the source. The river of culture

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<v Speaker 3>still flows through God's land, and ponder knew what the

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<v Speaker 3>Almighty can do. This is the fifty year old version,

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<v Speaker 3>not the final word, just one voice, but maybe it's

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<v Speaker 3>why you needed to hear today.

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<v Speaker 1>So now on chop Talk for the second week, we

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<v Speaker 1>have heard Eric's voice with poignant thoughts and ideas and encouragements.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the one I loved the most, and again

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<v Speaker 1>I'm paraphrasing, is life's a mess, run to it or something?

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<v Speaker 1>Is that what he said? What was it?

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<v Speaker 2>Proximity changes everything. Get close to the messy stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, proximity changes everything. Get close to the messy stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that is actually how this podcast started. Really,

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<v Speaker 1>look at the mess, someone else going to do about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Get close to it and clean the mess.

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<v Speaker 2>Not just a mess, a mess you're afraid of. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>all right, you don't want your flat tire breaking down there.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. I mean, but people don't like messes typically. I

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<v Speaker 1>guess when I hear it, I'm thinking he titled.

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<v Speaker 2>Do it Here's something funny. Sorry, what I'm the mess?

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<v Speaker 2>If you will don't like it? Said? Do you know

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<v Speaker 2>Pat Conroy random thoup, But I don't think we've talked

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<v Speaker 2>about this on the podcast before. He's like a famous

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<v Speaker 2>Southern writer, okay, and he's got like a really messed

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<v Speaker 2>up family.

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<v Speaker 1>That's it. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>So if he's given this book talk, it might have

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<v Speaker 2>been for his book great Santini. I'm not a Pat

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<v Speaker 2>Conter expert, but I've heard this story. And someone comes

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<v Speaker 2>up to him after his talk and says, man, your

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<v Speaker 2>family is messed up, And he says, how far do

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<v Speaker 2>we got to go down your family tree to find

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<v Speaker 2>I find I? So it's it all?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, none of us.

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<v Speaker 2>We all got mess Oh.

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<v Speaker 1>It's life is messy. It is the other thing I

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<v Speaker 1>think I find interesting listening to it is as I

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<v Speaker 1>hear him well, as you read it hard copy, and

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<v Speaker 1>then as you hear him narrate it and put his

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<v Speaker 1>voice to the words he wrote. The title the fifty

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<v Speaker 1>year old version is interesting because what is the perspective

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<v Speaker 1>of all of those things from a thirty year old version,

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<v Speaker 1>you know. And the point is, I think, one, we

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<v Speaker 1>continue to gain wisdom, but two we continue to gain scars.

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<v Speaker 1>We simultaneously gain wisdom, oftentimes through many of the mistakes

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<v Speaker 1>we made are the things that have beaten us up.

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<v Speaker 1>So the fifty year old version is an appropriate and

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<v Speaker 1>interesting title. And I think somewhere in there he you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he's talking party before party before politic or something like that, but.

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<v Speaker 2>Basically, principal over party.

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<v Speaker 1>Principal over party, and don't be something conservative and don't

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<v Speaker 1>be something liberal. What was that?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, be more conservative than conservatives and more liberal than liberals.

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<v Speaker 2>Transcend labels, Transcend labels. That was the bottom line, the

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<v Speaker 2>transcend labels. And I think for an army of normal

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<v Speaker 2>folks to be a successful movement, we will have all

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<v Speaker 2>of us have got to transcend labels and dive into

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<v Speaker 2>the mess. And I think that's what I got the

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<v Speaker 2>most out of his words from what about You? That

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<v Speaker 2>was all good. I don't have anything specific to say

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<v Speaker 2>besides head of just a random thought of people want

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<v Speaker 2>to do this too. Maybe some of the listeners want

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<v Speaker 2>to reflect on their lives. That's interesting to hear, but

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<v Speaker 2>then their wisdom that they can share with us and

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<v Speaker 2>maybe we can feature too.

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<v Speaker 1>Absolutely love to hear about it. So once again, shop

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<v Speaker 1>Talk number fifty nine is Eric Loxmo's the fifty year

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<v Speaker 1>old version from his substack caddled substack, titled some as

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<v Speaker 1>Simply Required. Eric, really appreciate you taking the time to

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<v Speaker 1>narrate that for us so that we could share it

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<v Speaker 1>on shop Talk. Guys, if you enjoyed this episode, please

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<v Speaker 1>rate review it. Join the army at normal Folks dot us.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have ideas for shop talks, email me at

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<v Speaker 1>Bill at normal Folks dot us or Alex at army

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<v Speaker 1>at Normal Folks. What army it? Normal Folks got us

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<v Speaker 1>and normal Folks to us. One other thing that is

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<v Speaker 1>shop Talk number fifty nine, meaning we'll be picking up sixty.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, I looked up fifty nine. Well, it's really

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<v Speaker 2>not much. I looked at the Internet while you're doing

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<v Speaker 2>that officially, it's just yeah. The only thing really could

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<v Speaker 2>come up with is there's some song called the fifty

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<v Speaker 2>nine Street Bridge. It might have been Simon Garfocal or something.

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<v Speaker 2>I put my computer down, but it did remind me

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<v Speaker 2>of fifty ninth Street the beginning of Central Park.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I guess so that's the most the most.

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<v Speaker 2>Like kind of thing I can think of, is I

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<v Speaker 2>love the entrance of Central Park there on fifty nine Street.

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<v Speaker 1>So y'all, Alex has really hung up on the numbers

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<v Speaker 1>of shop Talk, having an interesting little side note about

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<v Speaker 1>the number. So please email me something to do with

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<v Speaker 1>sixty nine through seventy so I can say it. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>shop Talk, so our producer here.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not talking up on it. I don't even believe

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<v Speaker 2>in horoscopes or any of that weird stuff. I just

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<v Speaker 2>thought this could be fun.

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<v Speaker 1>Just say it is fun. Yeah, it's fun. So y'all,

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<v Speaker 1>y'all said it? Okay, Bill, Courtney, Army and normal folks.

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<v Speaker 1>That's shop Talk funder fifty nine. We asked you to

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<v Speaker 1>do all the stuff you're supposed to do, So I

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<v Speaker 1>guess that's it, isn't it.

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<v Speaker 2>Until next time, do it can.

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<v Speaker 1>Until next time, do what you can. We'll see you

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<v Speaker 1>next week.