WEBVTT - Wax On, Wax Off

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<v Speaker 1>Wax On wax Off. It's one more thing I'm strong.

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<v Speaker 1>And that is an ancient reference to the Karate Kid

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<v Speaker 1>movies of the eighties.

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<v Speaker 2>I think the eighties. I think the first one is

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<v Speaker 2>in the eighties.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I want to say eighties.

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<v Speaker 2>Young Ralph Maccio and a young whatever. The old Asian

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<v Speaker 2>guy was Pat Marita.

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<v Speaker 1>He was Fat Marina from Happy after Arnold retired. It

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<v Speaker 1>was what was his character's name, doesn't matter? Uh, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just a fabulous, fabulous character actor, beloved American Institution,

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<v Speaker 1>Pat Merita. Anyway. Uh, the whole concept of wax On

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<v Speaker 1>wax Off, his character was the sense for the young

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<v Speaker 1>Ralph Maccio who wanted to beat down the blond haired kid.

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<v Speaker 1>It was cruel, bully senta. But the the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>the wax On wax Off was the sort of discipline

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<v Speaker 1>you need to develop to become a karate master. And

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<v Speaker 1>they did a lot of prune and the bonds, eye

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<v Speaker 1>trees and that sort of thing, right right, Yeah, it's

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<v Speaker 1>funny that popped into my head. We got this note

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<v Speaker 1>from a semi frequent correspondent, Alvin, who's been writing his

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<v Speaker 1>emails for years and years and years we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>doing chores and drudgery and that sort of thing. Now

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<v Speaker 1>you're at the following I think I've got a way

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<v Speaker 1>of dealing with chores as drudgering, making them acceptable like

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<v Speaker 1>it appears monks and monasteries do, and something you both

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<v Speaker 1>should relate to, since your musicians. When a person wants

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<v Speaker 1>to learn an instrument or to sing, practicing is what

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<v Speaker 1>you have to do to get proficient. Although I have

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<v Speaker 1>run into people like who as teenagers. The first time

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<v Speaker 1>they open their mouths, their voices were the sort of

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<v Speaker 1>voices that people wanted to hear, and other people may

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<v Speaker 1>don't have that anyway, m M. Practice what you do

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<v Speaker 1>so you keep doing it even though you don't sound

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<v Speaker 1>good and it's just hard, but you keep doing it,

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<v Speaker 1>doing it, doing it until you improve. And then he

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<v Speaker 1>mentions that back in the day he saw Otis Redding

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<v Speaker 1>and James Brown and others close up. I've got a

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<v Speaker 1>friend he's a little older than me. He grew up

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<v Speaker 1>in Augusta, Georgia, who talks about seeing James Brown working

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<v Speaker 1>nightclubs for years because he and his friends were they

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't stand country music. They're all about R and B

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<v Speaker 1>back in the day, and he says the shows were

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<v Speaker 1>just magnificent in a club. I can't even imagine anyway.

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<v Speaker 1>Alvin says, I've also had opera singers live nearby and

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<v Speaker 1>heard them do voice exercises every morning. I think the

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<v Speaker 1>idea is to translate that into washing dishes and cleaning

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<v Speaker 1>toilets and shoveling coalmanore into a trailer and then spreading

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<v Speaker 1>it in the field. He says, speaking for myself, I

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<v Speaker 1>was a farm boy that makes everything work. Is just

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<v Speaker 1>another thing like these proverbial monks do. It's talking about

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<v Speaker 1>how the monks all look at chore as an effort

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<v Speaker 1>to move toward perfection. That you look at washing the

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<v Speaker 1>dishes not as getting the dishes clean, but is taking

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<v Speaker 1>steps to becoming the perfect dishwasher. Wash them with as

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<v Speaker 1>much efficiency and care as you possibly can, till it's

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<v Speaker 1>practically an art form. I could believe that if, like

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<v Speaker 1>I'm painting a house, washing a dish, you got the

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<v Speaker 1>goof from the mac and cheese on there, You scrub

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<v Speaker 1>it for a second, and now it's off there.

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<v Speaker 2>Man, this is on here hard. I got to remind

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<v Speaker 2>of my kids, they got to rinseless stuff off before

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<v Speaker 2>they put in this thing.

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<v Speaker 1>You gotta soak damn bitches. Yes, yes, are you buying

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<v Speaker 1>that picture? It vacuuming. I've gotten close to that. And oh, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I know one you can relate to mowing lawns.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I don't. I don't know if I'm the right person.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't have trouble with those kind of things you

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<v Speaker 2>just described. I've never had trouble with them. Paperwork is

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<v Speaker 2>the one, and I don't know if you can do

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<v Speaker 2>that with paperwork.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. Yeah, although I tell you, one thing we have

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<v Speaker 1>going that previous generations really didn't is we can entertain

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves while we're doing the drudgery. Right, you got to

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<v Speaker 1>You got a big screen TV over there, You got

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<v Speaker 1>earbuds in or whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's one of the reasons that doesn't bother me

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<v Speaker 2>to do laundry or stuff like that. I'm just listening

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<v Speaker 2>to a podcast while I'm doing it.

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<v Speaker 1>Anyway.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, considered exercise and getting information.

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<v Speaker 1>A couple of times through the years I've featured I've

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<v Speaker 1>praised Martin Luther King's famous street sweepers speech, which is

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<v Speaker 1>just it's inspirational and I wish more people heard it.

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<v Speaker 1>But it isn't convenient to the modern narrative. It's part

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<v Speaker 1>of King's legacy, and each side leaves behind parts of

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<v Speaker 1>Martin Luther King's legacy to serve their own purpose. I

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<v Speaker 1>get that. But he was talking talk about how if

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<v Speaker 1>you're going to be a street sweeper, be the best

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<v Speaker 1>street sweeper that's ever lived, take pride in that perfect it,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know everything you do, do it as well

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<v Speaker 1>as you possibly can.

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<v Speaker 2>I used to do that. I when I was driving

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<v Speaker 2>feed truck and feed lots. I liked being like really

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<v Speaker 2>good at it and faster to everybody else at it,

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<v Speaker 2>and that sort of thing, and a lot of people

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<v Speaker 2>just had no interest in doing anything other than getting

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<v Speaker 2>through the day.

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<v Speaker 1>How was that way when I bust tables?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, in vacuuming, you know, if you're on the

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<v Speaker 1>sort of rug where you can see where you've done,

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<v Speaker 1>because it leaves the you know, like grain changes. I've

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<v Speaker 1>sought to, like leave the perfect pattern behind. Is that

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<v Speaker 1>like a weird OCD thing or just amusing myself or

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<v Speaker 1>is that what the monks are talking about?

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<v Speaker 2>I guess what the monks are talking about. Definitely do

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<v Speaker 2>it with mull and lawns. I always did.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, yeah, I'd actually be annoyed if you got

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<v Speaker 1>to the end and you got like half a strip

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<v Speaker 1>and it's stood out from the full strips that you'd

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<v Speaker 1>carefully I'd be like, damn, it is that weird or

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<v Speaker 1>pride or one I don't know.

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<v Speaker 2>I remember when mulling your lawn diagonally became a thing

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<v Speaker 2>and people just wanted to look different, and that was harder.

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<v Speaker 1>Now. I used to when when Baxter, when we lived

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<v Speaker 1>in an old house and he'd poop in the backyard,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd go out and poop as opposed to us taking

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<v Speaker 1>him in a walk. Because our newer house has no fence.

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<v Speaker 1>I would certainly be as efficient as I could be

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<v Speaker 1>in picking up the poop. But I don't think that

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<v Speaker 1>was like imitating the monks monks. I think it was

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<v Speaker 1>a person who didn't want to pick up a dog's

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<v Speaker 1>extrement for a minute longer than was necessary, right, nor

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<v Speaker 1>to step in it having missed some.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want to spend any more time in the

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<v Speaker 2>hot sun picking up crap for free.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, So I was meticulous about making sure I missed none.

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<v Speaker 1>But again, that wasn't ride that was practicality. So then

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<v Speaker 1>picking up the crap was my crappiest chore. But I'd

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<v Speaker 1>rather do that all day long than do paperwork.

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<v Speaker 2>No doubt, no doubt, not even close. Am I gonna

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<v Speaker 2>have to log into a site that the password doesn't work. No,

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<v Speaker 2>I'll just stand out here and pick up the dog boot. Sorry,

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<v Speaker 2>there's already a count with that name. Oh, I gotta

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<v Speaker 2>get a gun. I'm gonna put it in my mouth.

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<v Speaker 2>There we go. Release.

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<v Speaker 1>You couldn't work any cubicle, could you? Jack? No, you

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<v Speaker 1>just you're just not made for it.

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<v Speaker 2>No, no, no, I would do some sort of manual labor,

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<v Speaker 2>which I'd be perfectly fine with.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'm thinking, I'm trying to picture it. I did well. No,

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<v Speaker 1>I had a desk, I had an office, a little office,

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<v Speaker 1>but ugh, so bad strokes for different folks. Clean those dishes,

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<v Speaker 1>get them shiny.

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<v Speaker 2>That dog boot show some pride, right, Well, I guess

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<v Speaker 2>that's it.