1 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Hey, everybody's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks. 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:10,719 Speaker 1: Welcome to the shop for shop Talk number eighty nine. 3 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 2: Do you know any eighty nines? 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: Bill, I gotta know some eighty nuns. Was Lynn Stalworth 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:23,119 Speaker 1: eighty nine? Eighty nine? I mean some receivers were eighty 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: nuns for sure. 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 2: Who'd win in a wrestling match? Dick or God? 8 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: Who trick? 9 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 2: Question? Dicka is God? Mike Dicka? 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 1: Mike Ditko is eighty nine? Kid? 11 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 2: Have you heard that joke before? 12 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: Yes, Ditka was eighty nine. That makes sense. For being 13 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 1: from Chicago, you would actually care about that one. 14 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 2: I was actually born in nineteen eighty nine. 15 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: Oh, got your puppy. I know, I graduated high school 16 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: three years before you're born. That is just disgusting. All right? 17 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: What else? Anybody else? No? 18 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:55,480 Speaker 2: Well, I mean you might know these people. 19 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: I don't. Let's see who are they? 20 00:00:58,040 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 3: Uh? 21 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:06,039 Speaker 1: Marchetti come on, great defensive end? Steve Smith? Yeah, that 22 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: he was awesome. Yeah. I think I think the big 23 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: one is Gino Marcedes, Gino Mercedes. Not my birthday, ad Man, 24 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: Oh and your birthday? So all right, everybody, for shop 25 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: Talk eighty nine, we're going to talk about winter Storm Fern, 26 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: which is something that just read tavoc on my business, 27 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: read tavoc on Memphis, reatavoc on a lot of places, 28 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:36,400 Speaker 1: but worse, absolutely smoked North Mississippi. And we're going to 29 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,080 Speaker 1: talk about the recovery efforts. Winnerstorm Fern is one for 30 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: the ages. Right after these brief messages from our general sponsors. 31 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: All right, everybody, welcome back to shop talking number eighty nine. Alex, 32 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: Welcome into the shop. 33 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 2: It's great to be here. 34 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: Bill, It's amazing you made it up here. 35 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 3: Well, we had to cancel an interview because the storm 36 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 3: that we're talking about, I know it's it's uh So 37 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 3: I'll just tell you the Memphis perspective of winter storm 38 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 3: firm real quickly. 39 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: Everybody needs to know. This is just the worst ice 40 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: storm in the history of the Southeast in the United States. 41 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: I spent three days up here shoveling well scooping with 42 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: motor graders, snow, and there's outside when you leave. 43 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:37,840 Speaker 2: I got one hundred and thirty employees for that. 44 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: Bill. They couldn't get here. 45 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 2: I know, I'm just messing. 46 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: I was here by myself and two other guys. 47 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 3: I saw a video of like Max going down the 48 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 3: highway with another guy on equipment. 49 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's insane, and we have I mean, I've 50 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: got I've still got thirteen fourteen fifteen foot tall massive piles, 51 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: pyramids of snow. Can we go sledding after this? You 52 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: don't want to slid on that. That's a basically a 53 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: rock at this point, you don't want to touch it. 54 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: But what's crazy is January will be our worst sales 55 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,080 Speaker 1: month we've had in eleven years. 56 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 2: Congratulations. 57 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: Thanks. You want know why we produced? I couldn't get 58 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: a truck here to pick any product up, so I 59 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: lost the entire week of shipments. The depots were closed, 60 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: so we couldn't get containers here, and all of the 61 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,919 Speaker 1: interstate south of here had trucks stuck on them for 62 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: four days, and so trucks couldn't even get here, so 63 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: I couldn't even load any product. 64 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 2: Thankfully, all those sales are all into February. 65 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,200 Speaker 1: So yeah, oh, I didn't lose the sales. Yeah, So 66 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: what we're going to have is probably the biggest February 67 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: we've ever had because all those sales are still good 68 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: and our trucks are run. Wow. 69 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,480 Speaker 2: Well, let's what you call lives Damn Liz and statistics. 70 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 2: You just did that to us. 71 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: No, But the point is, I've never been a situation 72 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: where we could not get a truck to our plant 73 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: and for a week, never in all the years of 74 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: the business. Never ever, And for a week we couldn't 75 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,800 Speaker 1: even get a truck here. And when I say it 76 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: was there were people on I fifty five and I 77 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: sixty nine running out of gas who were there for 78 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: three or four days. 79 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 2: Oh really, I didn't know that. 80 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: Oh it was horrible. They could not move. 81 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 2: I know it was like shut down, but I didn't 82 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 2: think there was stuck like that. 83 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: There were people there who ran out of fuel and 84 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: were stuck in their car and freezing temperatures for days. 85 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: It was insane. 86 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 3: Sadly, and I'm jumping ahead, but one person actually died 87 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 3: in Oxford from hypothermia. 88 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, this is not an ice small matter. 89 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: So in addition, my beloved Oxford, Mississippi home and University 90 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: of Mississippi, which is only an hour or so south 91 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: of Memphis, and probably as a crow flies, fifty or 92 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: sixty miles south of Memphis. The separation of the line 93 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: of snow and freezing rain and ice was right in 94 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 1: between Memphis and Oxford. So Memphis got eight nine inches 95 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: of snow and then about a half of inch of 96 00:04:55,920 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: ice on top of it. South of Memphis, Oxford included, 97 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,280 Speaker 1: and up to the north Mississippi Vane And while these 98 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:07,840 Speaker 1: trucks could move on the interstate, they got over an 99 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: inch of just ice. And really I think some places 100 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,280 Speaker 1: got two inches of ice. And it was insane. And 101 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: Alex was in Oxford and he's going to tell you 102 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: about it. 103 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 3: And the reason we're talking about this too is not 104 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 3: just because of Oxford and you and I caring about it, 105 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:25,240 Speaker 3: but there's actually have to think some interesting lessons for 106 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 3: the army here. 107 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, the real reason they were recovering it, I think 108 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: actually what the university's trying to do for students as well. 109 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 1: So let people know about it. 110 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 3: I don't know if you knew this, but I was 111 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,600 Speaker 3: in Salt Lake City last weekend for the chapter training 112 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 3: of Sleeping Heavenly Peace. Really, so I actually got to 113 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:42,760 Speaker 3: see our former guest, Luke Micholson. He was there. 114 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: He was there, Yes, he did. These are great. Yeah. 115 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 3: So they have three hundred eighty chapters and they've built 116 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 3: three hundred and sixty thousand beds for kids without them. 117 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:51,840 Speaker 1: Unbelievable so far, and. 118 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 3: In this one they probably had twenty new chapters from 119 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 3: across the country. 120 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:55,280 Speaker 1: See. 121 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,119 Speaker 3: The most powerful part is they had like a dinner 122 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:58,840 Speaker 3: where we each got up and talked about why we're 123 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 3: doing this, hearing everybody's stories and a lot of the cases, 124 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:02,720 Speaker 3: you know, people who went. 125 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 2: Out on the delivery. You met a family without. 126 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 3: A bed and I actually got to do that walls 127 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 3: out there too, so we actually did that delivery. I 128 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 3: mean it was powerful. I mean these two kids were 129 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 3: really quiet. So I mean I think some cases, like 130 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:19,479 Speaker 3: you know, the kids are overjoyed and they're jumping your arms. 131 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:23,160 Speaker 3: I think some kids like yeah, just from all their circumstances, Like. 132 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: It's those kids have likely suffered some trauma, so you 133 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:27,040 Speaker 1: never know what you're going to get. 134 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 3: No, Yeah, but like walking into a room where yeah, 135 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 3: there's no bed in there, there's nothing in there, like room, Yeah, 136 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 3: it's just a room. 137 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 2: So anyway, I was supposed to fly back on Sunday. 138 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, it all happening. 139 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, so I made the last minute decision to fly 140 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 3: to Florida to my parents and work there all week. 141 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 3: So I wasn't thankfully able to get back on Friday, 142 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 3: but I did get probably a couple thousand dollars worth 143 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 3: of damage to my porch. 144 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:53,719 Speaker 2: A tree fell on my porch. 145 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: Yikes. I will tell you this will. My son was 146 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: in Memphis for the weekend and he tried to get 147 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: out for two days and he finally made it back 148 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 1: on Tuesday. But he sent me a picture in the 149 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:11,720 Speaker 1: Memphis International Airport and he said there were thousands of 150 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: kids sleeping in the airport on air mattresses, all from Ole, 151 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: miss who were trying because they didn't have any power. 152 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: They were trying to get home and they couldn't even 153 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 1: get out. So I mean, it was it was a 154 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: real thing. At least they got in the airport with power, 155 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: that's true. That's where they were. They had heat. 156 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 2: I'm about to hit this. 157 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 3: The storm started on Friday, February twenty third, and by 158 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 3: three am on Sunday, the twenty fifth most of Oxford 159 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 3: in Malfaya County was dark. So Northeastssissippi Power out of 160 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 3: thirty thousand members, they had almost twenty five thousand without power. 161 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: And it was the weight of the ice snapping branches 162 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: and then breaking tearing down power leans right, correct. 163 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 3: Ye know, I was actually at my Bible study with 164 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 3: a friend this morning and he said that his house 165 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,920 Speaker 3: got to thirty degrees. He's actually still with all inside, yes, 166 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 3: inside grief, and he's still without electricity. So thankfully, most 167 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 3: of Oxford's back up, but the county in like Lafaya County, 168 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 3: I mean a lot of those places are still down. 169 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 2: It maybe like two weeks to get power back. 170 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 3: So the city actually put a shelter in place order 171 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 3: where people couldn't you know, move for a couple of 172 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 3: days there. So I mentioned two people have died from 173 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 3: storm related deaths, but I really want to focus on 174 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 3: the recovery stuff. This is kind of the fun army 175 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 3: of normal folks in action live in Oxford. So the 176 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 3: employees of Baptist Hospital decided to stay there, sleep overnight, 177 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 3: and work there so that people. 178 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: Needed the head generators. Yeah, got it. 179 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 3: On this dining hall workers left their homes and stayed 180 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,560 Speaker 3: on campus to feed the students during it. You're kidding, 181 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:39,680 Speaker 3: And I saw actually I pulled it out of the prep. 182 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 3: But it was something like just one particular day there. 183 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 3: I think they did like two to three thousand meals there. Yeah, 184 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 3: I mean just normal workers, their commitment to staying over linemen. 185 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 2: Especially. 186 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 3: Everybody's praising the lineman right now. So I guess Northeast 187 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 3: Ssissippi Power has a crew about fifty, but we ended 188 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 3: up getting a three hundred and fifty additional people from 189 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,440 Speaker 3: throughout the region. Actually, I was helped with some of 190 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 3: the recovery efforts on Saturday, and I saw a crew 191 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 3: from Opalaika, Alabama, you know out there too. It's literally 192 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 3: just these linemen from across the region. They have come 193 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 3: to Oxford and they're just working all day and night 194 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 3: to get everybody back up. 195 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: Wow. 196 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 3: And the town has really rallied around them with free 197 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 3: food and all that. People need to realize. And I 198 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 3: know not such time stamped this, but this is February second. 199 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's still going on, and it's still going on, 200 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: and this happened January twenty third, and there are people 201 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: down there still without power, and people need to understand that. 202 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: Even though the Stowe and I stopped the next night, 203 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,079 Speaker 1: it got down to six degrees, so people literally just 204 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: freezing their butts off. 205 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 3: I was gonna mention this later, but now they're on 206 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 3: this topic. I actually have a stranger sleeping in my 207 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 3: house right now. We really doesn't have power. 208 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:44,840 Speaker 1: Wow. 209 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 3: And honestly that's not to brag about me, it's I'm 210 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 3: honestly more convicted by all of our guests who've done this. 211 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 3: It's like even just the Charlot Dance one the other day. 212 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 3: You remember her parents have had fifty people in their 213 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 3: home throughout the years, and strangers feel like this person 214 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,840 Speaker 3: that's sleeping in your house. There's a whole recovery effort. 215 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 3: So Betsy Chapman is the head of the Farmer's Market 216 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 3: in Oxford, and she and my friend William Tire and 217 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 3: some other people have organized what they call Oxford Second Responders. 218 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 3: It's obviously you got first responders far so we are 219 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 3: the second responders here. Let me see the number, all right. 220 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 3: So they have one hundred and eighty three people in 221 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 3: this group me. So it's basically like this massive you know, 222 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 3: text message thread with one hundred and eighty three normal 223 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 3: citizens and they're basically organizing, you know, all the needs 224 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 3: and responses and so people can submit a form about 225 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 3: what they need and then they have these hundred and 226 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 3: eighty three people ready to respond. So they've actually like 227 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 3: set up seven collection sites around the city to collect 228 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 3: goods and stuff for people. Because think about this too, 229 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 3: Like with it being down for so long, a lot 230 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 3: of people couldn't get to work with a shelter and order. 231 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 3: So like if you're already barely making it on the margins, 232 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 3: and you probably heard this number before that something like 233 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:55,560 Speaker 3: forty percent of Americans couldn't meet a five hundred dollars 234 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 3: emergency bill, right, so you have a like a week 235 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 3: or like this happened, Like a lot of people are truly, 236 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,839 Speaker 3: you know, struggling. So they stood have seven collection sites 237 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,600 Speaker 3: at schools and churches, including what's funny at our church. 238 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 3: So Sierra Cannon, who you've met before, they actually she 239 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 3: actually volunteered the use of our church without even running 240 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 3: it by our priest first. 241 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 2: She said, hey, we're going to do this. 242 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: I'm sure he said it was fine. 243 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, And to give him credit to he's been awesome. 244 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 3: So he's actually been driving generators to people, and he 245 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 3: was talking about it when I was actually helping them 246 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 3: a little bit on Saturday, and he's like, just the 247 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 3: blessing of people strangers welcome me in their home. And 248 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 3: it reminded me two of Isaiah one seventeen house. Yeah, 249 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 3: when she said, I think I've repeated this line of 250 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 3: the podcast that day too, like people don't want to 251 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 3: like come to your church social like with ice cream, 252 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 3: and like these white people dressed up all nights and 253 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 3: they got all their lives act together. Like if you 254 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 3: want to grow the church, you need to go to 255 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 3: people in their need. That's where you need to show up. 256 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,719 Speaker 3: So like, yeah, a priest showing up bringing generators to 257 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,200 Speaker 3: people's houses and setting them up, Like that's what the 258 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 3: country needs, that's what we meet. Anyway, through this Oxford 259 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 3: second responder, as they said, somebody's without you know, electricity, Yeah, 260 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 3: and so I offered it. 261 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:11,280 Speaker 1: And so there's also a fund that the university set 262 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: up that you can donate to to help students who 263 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,520 Speaker 1: don't have the money then to get out of town. 264 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,079 Speaker 3: Right, correct. Yeah, So there's all kinds of funds up there. 265 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 3: So my friend Wayne Andrews is running a fund through 266 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,359 Speaker 3: his nonprofit. So it's called the Long Term Recovery Committee. 267 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 3: And for example, they were able to get seventy seven 268 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:33,360 Speaker 3: heaters for people without power. So if you'd be interested 269 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:35,319 Speaker 3: in contributing to that, you can go to give butter 270 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 3: dot com slash lafayat cares Lafayette is la faye tte 271 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:47,439 Speaker 3: cares All right, who else we want to celebrate here? Actually, 272 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 3: our friend Marshall Ramsey had a great thing too. Have 273 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 3: you ever heard his line that one of our superpowers 274 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 3: in Mississippi is that when a natural disaster strikes, and 275 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 3: before you can crawl out of the rubble, there will 276 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 3: be a churchman in your front yard full of people 277 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,080 Speaker 3: with chainsaws and cast roles. 278 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 2: Which is really what has happened. 279 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 3: He nicely cited us, he said, but there was a 280 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 3: lot of people stepping up to meet that need. My 281 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 3: friend Bill Courtney talks about an army and normal folks, 282 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,559 Speaker 3: and I were basically seeing that out there. Crewe is 283 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 3: another cool example of this. So the campus crusade for 284 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 3: Christ we have all the students. They posted this hilarious 285 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,280 Speaker 3: Instagram video of them like clearing a bunch of debris, 286 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 3: like dozens of you know, these old mythstudents and they 287 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:31,719 Speaker 3: put on there. When you're known as one of the 288 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 3: biggest party schools in the country, but you are. 289 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:34,599 Speaker 2: So much more than that. 290 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: All these up doing it. 291 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, Walmart's actually doing a ton with another charity offering 292 00:13:41,120 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 3: free showers there. 293 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,520 Speaker 2: This Operation Barbecue Relief is set up there. 294 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 3: I don't know if you heard of these guys, but 295 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 3: they started during the Joplin tornadoes and they've show up 296 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 3: at the disaster sites like this, and they've served more 297 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 3: than fourteen million years across forty three states, wow, over 298 00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,120 Speaker 3: their years. And they're in Oxford for like two weeks. 299 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 3: Eight Days of Hope a former Army member and past guests. 300 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,040 Speaker 3: They're deploying eighty people right now in the town over 301 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,559 Speaker 3: two weeks. They're staying at the North Oxford Baptist Church 302 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 3: and have their base out of there. 303 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 2: I'm planning on helping them on Saturday. 304 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: How much the city has power now. 305 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 2: I think the city's pretty much universe. 306 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 3: I mean there's maybe like one hundred I think I 307 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,280 Speaker 3: saw like one hundred residents without power in the city. 308 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 2: But the county county is the problem still. 309 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 3: It's like, yeah, my friend of my Bible studies in 310 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 3: the county still doesn't have power. 311 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 1: Unbelievable. 312 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, Samaritan's purse is down there too. Actually, I was 313 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 3: gonna say about eight Days of Hope too. If you 314 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 3: if you're interested in getting involved, they're going to be 315 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 3: there through February fourteenth, So if you google eight Days 316 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 3: of Hope, Mississippi, you'll see that. And with all their 317 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 3: efforts over the years, they've helped with twenty disasters, sixty 318 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 3: thousand volunteers, and they rebuilt seven thousand homes. Samaritan's Purse 319 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 3: is down there. The YMCA is offering free showers. In 320 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 3: one personal story with a friend too, they so we 321 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 3: were helping at our church with the collection site on Saturday, 322 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 3: and these people then are still without power. They're in 323 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,640 Speaker 3: the county and yet they're at the church and they're 324 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 3: cooking gumbo for all the volunteers helping get the church. 325 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 3: I mean, they made a meal for probably like fifty 326 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,680 Speaker 3: of us, even though they don't have power themselves, even 327 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 3: though they have a tree on their house. So Madame 328 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 3: Michelle's range just to give them a shout out. But anyway, 329 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 3: these are just a couple of highlights of how the 330 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 3: community has really come together here in Oxford. It is 331 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 3: a great example of an army in normal folks showing out. 332 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: Is there tree stuffed down just everywhere everywhere? Is it 333 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 1: going to change the look of the city. 334 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 2: I'm sure, Well, I'm not enough of an expert, But. 335 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: That's a shame. 336 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 3: Oxford trees grow back, don't they Bill, They do grow back, 337 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 3: matter of fact, and I think we've done a think 338 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 3: of that. 339 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: But it's it's a shame because I bet on you know, 340 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,000 Speaker 1: campus keeps their trees trimmed up well and so there's 341 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: not as much deadfall and wait, but most people don't 342 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 1: do that. And we had an ice storm and we 343 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: called it ice Storm Elvis in Memphis, I don't know, 344 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:02,600 Speaker 1: fifteen years ago. It was similar and man, you could 345 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: hear it sounded like gunfire. You could hear tree branches 346 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: cracking and breaking constantly. 347 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 3: It was just snap, snap, snap all night long. Wasn't 348 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 3: like that, That's what everybody. I was gone during it, 349 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 3: but that's exactly what everybody said. It was the eeriest thing, 350 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 3: just hearing that all night long. 351 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, all night long. Just in the middle of the night, 352 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: it'd be quiet, and then you'd just hear crack, crack, crack, 353 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: and you just knew there's another branch fall into somebody's house. Yeah. 354 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 3: So, so an army of normal folks showing out the thing. 355 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 3: I also wanted to say, I want to be careful 356 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 3: how I say this but obviously things like this or 357 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 3: nine to eleven is a good example too. They can 358 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 3: really bring people together. But it is also so easy 359 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 3: to go back in our slumber after this, like why 360 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 3: weren't we this convicted before this? With all the social 361 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 3: ills in our country? You know, I think thirty to 362 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 3: forty percent of kids in Oxford are not a grade level, 363 00:16:54,280 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 3: So it's like, why don't we have the same sense 364 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 3: of urgency about that, or the fact that the reason 365 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 3: we're starting to sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter in Oxford too, 366 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 3: there's you know, been eighty kids in our community who've 367 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,399 Speaker 3: asked for a bed even though there's not a Sleeping 368 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 3: Heavenly Peace chapter yet. I mean, these parents are literally 369 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 3: so desperate they're googling for something like this and found it. 370 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:13,960 Speaker 3: Or in the surrounding area there's like five hundred people 371 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 3: you know without a bed. So it's you know, we 372 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 3: need to have this same level of conviction once this 373 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,200 Speaker 3: particular you know event goes away. So hopefully that's something 374 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 3: worth all of us reflecting on. And it's true for 375 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:27,359 Speaker 3: our listeners across the country too, Right, that's not just 376 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 3: about Oxford, that's every community where these things like this 377 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 3: can bring us together, and what if we just kept 378 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:33,359 Speaker 3: that up year round. 379 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: Well, hopefully the Army and Normal Folks Club and what 380 00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:40,919 Speaker 1: do we call it a service club Service Club in Oxford, 381 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 1: Mississippi will continue to have the same urgency of this 382 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: effort after the ice storm was gone. 383 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 3: So we are having our kickoff meeting on February twenty second, 384 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 3: five to six pm at Circle and. 385 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:55,359 Speaker 2: Square Brewery in Oxford. 386 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: Perfect place. 387 00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:58,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know if you've been there, but it's 388 00:17:58,160 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 2: pretty cool. 389 00:17:58,800 --> 00:17:59,680 Speaker 1: I've heard it's very cool. 390 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, But March first, run our Memphis one, March eighth, 391 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,320 Speaker 3: or Heaven or Atlanta one. Sorry, guys, I'm blinking on 392 00:18:05,359 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 3: the rest of them, which it's always February twenty sixth, 393 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 3: But if you're listening to any of those communities, go 394 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:10,479 Speaker 3: to our website. 395 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:11,760 Speaker 2: You can get plugged in with all of them. 396 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: That's it, all right, everybody shop Talk eighty nine making 397 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 1: the best of Winter Storm Fern in Oxford, Mississippi, and 398 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: really good examples of how an Army and Normal Folks 399 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,400 Speaker 1: really does make a difference. And Alex's point, I think 400 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: it's true. We shouldn't have a disaster to have a 401 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 1: sense of urgency of joining the ranks of the army 402 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,760 Speaker 1: and normal folks making differences in our community. It's a 403 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 1: reminder of the power that we have, but it's also 404 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,119 Speaker 1: a call to use that power every day, not just 405 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,479 Speaker 1: in the cases of emergencies. Shop Talk eighty nine, screw 406 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: winter Storm Firm. That's it. We'll see you guys next week.