Remembering Mr. Eimer, World Cup Madness, and What Would Hank Do?

[00:00:02] What you want, when you want it, where you want it. This is The MESH. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 14, volume 10 of a sad but blessed session of Big Fan.

[00:00:25] Last week, a member of our Big Fan family and the patriarch of Hank's real family, Hank Imer, he passed away. Today we celebrate his life and remember him as a husband, a father, and a friend. Hank. Hey, man. I appreciate that. It's kind of funny because two weeks ago we talked about bringing hospice in and kind of talking about what that kind of looks like. Exactly. Yeah.

[00:00:51] And I'll tell you, when we brought them in, I celebrated what kind of organization they are because they deal with death every day and they're really good at it. But also, so when they brought the bed in, so what ended up happening is they came in, they kind of brought the bed in for my dad to stay in. And when my dad laid down on that bed, you know, 92 years old, tough old man, great man, great father, you could see him relax.

[00:01:17] And you could see kind of him relax and fall into kind of a, he was okay with what was going on. Got it. And every day that I'd go see him, I'd see him every day. Every day I'd go by and see him, it was, he was changing a little bit more, a little bit more. Now his mind has always been great up until the end, but you could tell that maybe he was comfortable in what was happening.

[00:01:41] And that's the way I like to think of it. It's like, you know, I think people of faith, my dad was not a traditional faith, you know, faith-based person, but very faithful man. And I think when you feel comfortable with what's coming next in your journey, then you, you know, you can have some comfort. And I feel like that's what he did. And luckily for us, everybody in my family was able to go by and see him, talk to him. The day before he passed away, I walked in there and I woke him up and I told him I loved him. He said he loved me.

[00:02:12] And then finally, I knew that there was a something, I needed to do something. And so I had to tell him what a great daddy was. I had to tell him, I'm going to, Jake and I are going to take care of mom. I had to tell, you know, I had to tell him all those things. And it was, you know, he was still able to have a conversation. And so it was, it was tough looking at him and telling him like, but I feel like all of us doing that, that was Friday. That was Monday night, Tuesday morning, he didn't wake up. So he passed away that night.

[00:02:43] So I feel like he felt comfortable and we were able to do those things. And he was not, I mean, you know, he was in pain, but I mean, he was, he was ready to go. Right. And I feel, I feel blessed to have had him that long. I mean, we talk about this, I think, oh no, we didn't talk about this, but you know, our friend group, there's not very many of us that have lost a parent. Not very many.

[00:03:12] Sure. Crazy. But I'll tell you, I hadn't told very many people this and I'm getting ready to tell a lot of people this. At least 12. At least 12 of them. Yeah. Yeah. I had kind of a tough moment. Like, you know, you're going to have tough, I, you know, it's, it's hard to watch your mom go through it. Sure. It's hard for you to go through it with your siblings. It's hard to tell your kids. Yeah.

[00:03:30] You know, cause it was hard hair, you know, cried and of course had, you know, we had a big hug and you know, all that, but you don't know how you're going to react to it because it's, it's not like you can prepare for it. And the first day we had a lot going on and, you know, we certainly had tears and, you know, everything. Next day I woke up and I had an exercise and it was like seven o'clock and I was like, I gotta go do something. Right.

[00:03:55] So I went out and I ran and I ran hard and I got back and I was right in front of my house and there was a good friend of ours, Steve Harlan, who's a doctor here in town. And he was walking down the street and he asked how I was doing. And I said, well, you know, actually my dad passed and we were right in front of my dad's house. And, uh, I started talking to him about, uh, a story that my other neighbor told me about Camelot years. And so, you know, your Camelot years are when you're, you're married, you're still in the honeymoon stage. Your kids are all grateful and love on you and jump on you. Right.

[00:04:24] All your friends are still married. Your career's climbing. Your parents are alive. You still have some grandparents. It's just these golden years where everything's good. But at some point that changes. And as I'm telling him the story, I realized that I'm coming out of my Camelot years. Right. And I started bawling. No kidding. In front of him. Oh wow. And I had to turn around and pull myself together. I was like, Steve, dude, I am so sorry about this man. He's like, nah, man, you know, get it out. He hugged me. And, um, but you know, I mean, it's not easy.

[00:04:53] You know, my mom, I, I, my mom's handled it amazingly well. Good. She's lucky to have my brother with her. Um, but everybody's, you know, been here, you know, father's day is going to be different for us this weekend. I was thinking about that today as a matter of fact. Yeah. Um, you know, we'll celebrate him and it'll be good, but I, I appreciate you. Let me sit out here because I mean, it is good to talk about. I mean, you know, it's, uh, it's gets a little bit easier every time.

[00:05:17] Sure. Um, I'm sure. Well, thank you for sharing it with me and our big fan audience, because, uh, everybody's been praying for you and your family. Appreciate it. And, uh, your father was a very good man. I tell you this quick story. I don't think I've ever told you this, but when I first started working at deluxe printing and this is 1997. Okay. Okay. Your daddy had this business that had labels. I want to say it was called enzymes. Yep. Is that right? Yep.

[00:05:43] So my second print job I ever got in my life was from your daddy. Okay. He called me, called into deluxe. And I think because I was the newbie, they said, Chad, and they knew that I knew you. They were like, go talk to Mr. Imer. So he gave me my second ever print job in my career. Oh, wow. So yes. So thank you, Mr. Imer for that. Yeah. It set me well. Look, look where I am now. Look at where you are now. Look what he did for me. I set you up for this. My family has set you up for this.

[00:06:10] So anyway, that's really good. So I just want to share that story with you. Well, I mean, you know, the other thing is, is it's, it's really cool to watch your friend group kind of embrace you when stuff like this happens. And so I've, you know, I've got a ton of texts, ton of calls, ton of hugs, ton of, but you know, it's not always the easiest thing to do. You know, I mean, to, to do that, you know, my dad passed, I, my brother came over to my house cause I wouldn't answer my phone cause I was asleep, but he was banging on my door and I, he was like, you know,

[00:06:40] he told me and I walked over to my mom's house and so it was about six 15. I had to come back to my house and it was probably at eight o'clock. I get seven 45, I get back to my house. And one of our really good friends was at my door. No kidding. Had known. And you know, it just means a lot. Oh yeah. It's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. That's one good thing. How about the Hickory family and community?

[00:07:04] It, if some, one of our brothers or sisters is hurt or something happens, it seems that everybody's there to help in supporting them. For sure. And it's, you know, it's a fraternity that you don't want to be involved in, you know, but all of us are getting to that point. And, um, you know, so whenever anything ever happens to somebody else's parent, I'm certainly going to be standing in line to give them a hug and, you know, cause I know how it feels. Yeah. But I can sit here and say, you know, he was a great one. Yes.

[00:07:34] I miss him, but. Absolutely. You know. All right. Well, thanks for sharing, Hank. Appreciate it. And, uh, not changing the subject to any, but this is kind of funny talking about parents. So my mom, you know, the world traveler and always seems to get into some type of trouble everywhere she goes, leaves her iPad here or her ID or her passport, blah, blah, blah. Well, she went to the beach yesterday with my sister and my sister's family has this huge RV and they take it down. It can sleep 10, blah, blah, blah.

[00:08:01] And so there's this bad undertow, this current riptides today where they are. And my mom is Hawaiian. So she always wants to be in the water. Regardless if she goes to the beach, she is going in the water. Regardless of a riptide, she's not listening to anybody. So she goes. So Meredith, my sister was like, mom, she grabs her boogie board. She goes out there. She's like, my sister says, mom, it's not a good idea to go out there right now. There's a riptide. Yeah. And she was like, I'll, I'll be fine. I'm Hawaiian. Exactly. I'm Hawaiian. I'll swim through anything.

[00:08:31] Well, sure enough, like three or four minutes in, boom, you know, she can't get back to shore. But she got a boogie board. She got a boogie board. So she's safe. Yeah. But Bradley, Meredith's husband, has to go out there, fight the riptide and get Tutu back in. And granted, she's not far off. She's probably like four feet out there, but she just cannot get back. And so anyway, love you, mom. Love you, mom. But come on, let's don't fight a riptide. Let's not. When the lifeguards say, don't go in, let's just not go in. Yeah.

[00:09:00] But anyway, I just thought that was funny how parents do. Yeah. The darkest. And it's what helps her get through anything. So like when my dad broke his hip three years ago, the EMS was there. And when they were picking him up on the gurney, my mom looked outside and she was looking at other houses and she was like, I bet you that the neighbors are all paying attention here. Go get me a sheet. Let's put it on dad.

[00:09:29] Oh my gosh. Right. So there's been some funny, dark jokes that have come out of this that's helping her cope. And so I think it's funny how people do it. Yeah. Awesome. Well, Hank, the World Cup is going on as we speak. We're coming to you live on a Wednesday. Portugal and remind me who they were playing. Congo. Congo.

[00:09:57] Just left the pitch with a 1-1 tie. Ties. Tons of ties. Tons of ties. So this is interesting. Yesterday, maybe the day before, where there were four draws in a row the day Spain played. That was 7,700 to 1 that that would happen. Right? 770 to 1 odds. There'd be four draws. So one cat, you know, you lay down 10 bucks, you went nearly $8,000 on the opposite end of that. Have you heard about these new things?

[00:10:26] They're not really betting sites or sports gambling. They're like, it's called Caixa. Yeah, you can bet on anything. Anything. Yeah. And it's not really you're betting against the book. You're just saying this will happen. And then other people are saying it won't happen. Yeah. So one cat put a million dollars that Spain would win. Okay? The million dollars would only get 80 grand. But he put the million dollars up there. Oh! Spain did not win. They drew.

[00:10:55] He lost a million dollars to win 80 grand. On the opposite side of that, another dude bet. Who did Spain play, Moose? Colt. Is that Cape Verde or something? Cape Verde. Another cat bet Cape Verde that Spain would not win, meaning Cape Verde would win or draw and put, I think he put a hundred grand on it. And no, it was even less than that. But made $4.8 million. Wow.

[00:11:21] First of all, who the heck has all this money to bet on the first round of the soccer in the World Cup? My anxiety just went way up thinking of that. But it's happening. So before you got here, Moose and I were talking about the safest bet really in the early parts of the World Cup, as you said, are draws. I mean, that's what half of the games have been draws. Yeah. But it's been a lot of fun. Have you been keeping up with it? Not as much because the College World Series is going on. Yes. So, but I mean, I have been. I watched, I think it was Sweden that was playing yesterday.

[00:11:50] They're the ones with the big guy, right? Who's the big guy? That's Norway. Norway. That's that dude right there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I watched and he had a crazy goal yesterday. He was awesome. So I've been kind of spotting it, but also kind of paying attention to college baseball. Did you hear? So the people across the world that are gathering here in the United States have really come to, they're having a big time. Oh yeah. And so we read yesterday that the Scots who are in Boston, the Scottish, drank every bar

[00:12:19] in Boston downtown out of beer. And Boston's got a lot of drunks. I feel like that. That's impossible. You would think these bars would be prepared for, you know, anything because they're full of drunks. But the Scottish came in there and just drank every beer that there was in the place. So anyway, that's just the trip. Everybody seems to be having a big, big time here in the United States. We're putting on a good show for the world. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It probably will go down. And Moose, tell me if you think this is right too, because Moose is a big, big soccer guy.

[00:12:48] Moose, tell me about, actually you're a really big soccer guy. Didn't you? What'd you do? You played for Statesville. Yeah. I think you made the second round of the state playoffs maybe. Yeah, a few times. I played at LR. You played at LR. Oh, that's right. Yeah. So he is a big soccer guy. That's what brought me to Hickory, man. Oh, that's right. He was a really, really good keeper. But I think the World Cup might go down as one of the biggest sporting events that we've ever seen in our lifetime. You think so? The collaborative effort of all from the beginning to the end. Bigger than the Olympics. I'm telling you, I think it might be.

[00:13:18] I'm not arguing with you. We'll see. We'll just see. When it comes to, let's say, revenues and eyes on the television and all this stuff, I think it could be. Okay. So anyway, World Cup and we're in the middle of it right now. It's been a whole lot of fun. I, as you know, Hank, I'm a little bit of a gambler. No. Yeah, just a little bit of one. And so the World Cup has really just destroyed me. Haven't had a good start. But last week, a Hickory native by the name of J.T. Post and a golfer. Yep.

[00:13:48] The postman. The postman. He won the Memorial, which is a huge golf event. It's Jack Nicklaus's premier event, right? In Ohio. In Ohio. And so basically you have the four majors. You have TPC Sawgrass and the Memorial. I mean, that's the top six of all the golf tournaments that are played. It's got a huge purse, too. Wasn't it like? Four million dollars. The purse is? The winner. No, the winner. The purse is like 20. Oh, it's huge. Yeah, it's like 20. So J.T. won four million dollars. Congratulations, J.T.

[00:14:17] But the interesting story about this. So on a Wednesday, one of our buddies called me and they know that I like to place a shilling or two on a wager. And he said, I got a feeling that J.T. might make a run this weekend. And I was like, hey, that's a good idea. But J.T. hadn't had the best year. You know, he's been a little off year. And he said, you know what? What are the odds? I said, there are 100 to one that he wins. He said, OK, place $10 on that for me.

[00:14:46] So I said, OK, man, really? Are you sure? And he's like, it's just 10 bucks and it'll be fun to root for J.T. And I was like, well, you know, if you're laying 10, I might as well lay five. So get into the computer, drop a little 15 on him. And guess what happened, Hank? Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. You know what? This whole story I was kind of trying to figure out, why the heck didn't you call me? Right? I'm sitting back here. I mean, what the heck? I mean, come on. I know.

[00:15:15] But he had a feeling. It was just like, it was Wednesday night at 10 p.m. The tournament starts Thursday at 8. And so he was just like, I got a feeling. Drop it. And I did it. But sure enough, so we made a point to watch it together on Sunday. And J.T., you know, he's up. And then he's down. And then the last two holes, just clutch putts, clutch shots to get it done and brings it home. And we were hugging and jumping around like, you know, like we were kids. It was just, and it really wasn't even about the money.

[00:15:45] I mean, Hickory, everybody had J.T. post and watch parties. Yeah. At the club, at the swimming pool here, at the lake there, at people's houses. So everybody was there to celebrate his win. Such a good family. All of them. Wonderful. Wonderful. Happy for him. Absolutely. Because, I mean, you know, you think about the stress that that takes off, the exemptions that you're allowed. He's done well. Obviously, he's made plenty of money. But, I mean, just getting that done. Yeah. So there is a list. I don't know if you can bring it up, Moose, real quick.

[00:16:14] But what he's exempt from now, now he gets into all the majors for the next two years, I think. Every tournament he qualifies for. I think he gets in. Here we go. Let's see if it shows what he's doing. Anyway, he's got it made for two years. He does not have to worry about a thing. He's in it. Yeah. That's pretty sweet. It's huge. And, you know, winning stuff like this, because they were kind of talking about it. And, you know, I follow golf, but it's not like something I watch a lot of. But they were talking about how a win like this puts him in the conversation for maybe

[00:16:44] the Ryder Cup. You know what I mean? Like stuff like that. It starts to make him in the conversation. It's not that he would be. Right. But, you know, winning, you know, because he's got a couple wins under his belt. This is going to start putting him in the point of, you know, he's a really good putter. And he's, you know, can he go out there and win? Get his confidence up. He's moved to 37 in the world after that win. So, he's moving on up. Plays really good on hard golf courses. Yes, exactly. And speaking of hard golf courses, the U.S. Open is this weekend.

[00:17:11] This could be playing at Shinnecock, which they say is probably one of the hardest golf courses in the world. So, can JT do it again? Hope so. His odds are now 150 to 1. So, put a shilling on there? I think I might drop a shilling or two on there. So, you let me know if you want to get down. What's so funny is a good friend of ours is a member of another country club not too far from here. Okay. And he was playing one evening, Monday or Tuesday after Post and 1. Yeah.

[00:17:39] And he heard two guys that were kind of on the – they were on the driving range. And he was on there. And he said that he overheard their conversation. They were talking about JT and how amazing you played, blah, blah, blah. And they said, you know, he grew up playing on just this nine-hole Muni course in Hickory. No respect. No respect for Lake Hickory. He grew up on our nine-hole Lake Hickory Country Glove golf course. Yes. They just said some – He's legendary. Some Muni course out there.

[00:18:09] I think he's got the – doesn't he have a course record? I know at the Springs and probably at the Town course too. I'm sure. Yeah, I'm sure he owns that. I'm sure. But anyway, good luck, JT. This is a cool story. So we had our member member this past weekend. And I had early tea time and late tea time. And it just happened to be Ty, JT's daddy, had the same time. So he wasn't in our group. But we started off at the same time and we finished at the same time. So after you finish, you know, you go have a beer at the clubhouse. Right. We sit outside. And it just happened to be my partner, Ty Dadel and I.

[00:18:39] And Ty, we're just sitting out there. And, you know, we're like, man, what a weekend you had last weekend. Yeah. And then he started, and he's a great storyteller. Fantastic one. I mean, this dude is awesome. Yeah. And so he tells us the story where he went to Augusta with JT. And he went here and all the adventures that the game of golf and his son has led him. Yeah. Amazing. Amazing. So we asked if he's going to Shinnecock this week. And he said, here's the deal. Not going to put any pressure on JT and let him do his thing.

[00:19:08] He said, but if he's in the mix, he makes the cut. Yep. He said, I'll be there on Saturday. Okay. So I hope it happens for him. I hope it does too. Because like, you know, when they showed him after he won, it was his wife and his daughter and then his mom was there, which is really cool. So, you know, to be able to kind of share it with him is pretty cool. But I think it's talking to Ty. I know Ty real well. He's one of our Chili Catillion hosts. You know, talking to him, you know, a lot of parents can't do it the way he's done it. It's stay out of his way. Sure.

[00:19:38] You know, and he has stayed out of his way and he's let him do his own thing. And it's awesome to watch. Yeah. And last thing, before we get off the JT thing, did you see the little YouTube clip or clip or whatever of JT's grandmother that helped? Yes. Unbelievable. Yeah, so cute. Big fan listeners. If you haven't seen it yet, just Google JT post and grandma follows. And it talks about how she and his grandfather really, he always wanted to be on the golf

[00:20:07] course and they would stay out there with him. Yeah. You know, until it was dark, you can't even see only by the light of the moon. And he'd still want to be out there hitting balls. Yeah. And the grandpa would stay out there. Granddad was a big part of this. Huge part. And he'll tell you that and his dad and everybody will tell you that JT's grandparents were a big part of his success. It's amazing. It's just four or five minutes tops. You got to check it out if you haven't seen it. It'll give you goosebumps immediately. I think he called her nanny or nana or something like that. But it was really, really special. Check it out. So good luck, JT.

[00:20:36] Hope you bring it home. Bring it home a major this weekend. Barbecue summer is here. Whether you're at home or going to the beach, lake, mountains, or city, be sure to support your local barbecue businesses. From the butcher shops to the pitmasters in food trucks, pop-ups, and neighborhood joints for dine-in or catering, Carolina Barbecue Festival reminds you to visit your locally owned businesses for barbecue summer.

[00:21:06] Visit carolinabbqfest.org for a list of local pitmasters that'll get you started. And while you're at carolinabbqfest.org, be sure to sign up and stay connected. You'll get all the latest details on upcoming events and coming soon, official dates for the 2027 Carolina Barbecue Festival. Until then, be sure to enjoy barbecue summer with your locally owned barbecue businesses.

[00:21:34] Hank, New York Knicks NBA champs, right? What a run. What a run. Unbelievable. The other great thing, Jalen Brunson, when he came to the Knicks, everybody said he's too small. What a waste of money. Blah, blah, blah. He'll never get it done. And you know, he's proven. He shut the critics up, basically. Winner. Exactly. He's stone cold killer and a born winner. He won his high school championship. He won two years at Villanova. He was the MVP both years.

[00:22:02] Now he's got a world championship and an MVP in the NBA. So this is, I'll bring this up just because it's interesting to me because this is happened this year. So you know, I went on my New York trip. Yeah. And I went to this bar my buddy Frankie owns called Schaefer's. I bet they cleaned house. You can't even imagine what was going on. He said it was absolute bonkers. But the craziest thing is, do you know who Scott Van Pelt is, obviously? Scott, yes. And Stanford Steve. Yes. Right?

[00:22:27] So when the finals started, Stanford Steve was on TV at 11 o'clock after a game or whatever with Scott Van Pelt and he had his jacket on and underneath it, he had a shirt that said Schaefer's. Well, that's Frankie's bar. Oh, wow. And so all of us saw it and we were like, Frankie, he's got Schaefer's shirt on. And Frankie was like, yeah, he comes up here to have a drink. A lot of the professional athletes come up. There it is right there. Come up and have drinks. And I was like, that is so cool. Blah, blah, blah.

[00:22:55] Well, after a game, do you remember the comeback? Not when they were down 29. No, when they were down 29. And they came back and won. And that was in Madison Square Garden. Stanford Steve and Scott Van Pelt are talking on the phone. And Scott Van Pelt said, so we're in the city. New York just won. What are we going to do now, Stanford Steve? And he said, party at Schaefer's. Oh, my God. Party at Schaefer's. He said that on TV. He said that on ESPN. Oh, my gosh. After that game.

[00:23:22] And so we all heard it, Texan Frankie like, get ready. You get ready to have a bunch more people. And he said, I can't take any more people with this place. It's book solid. But anyway, I just thought that was amazing. That's the bar that I stayed at until 5 in the morning. That is the bar. That's the one. Amazing. Well, I know he had a good night. Yes. He had a good couple nights. And you know some of the social media with the people? Did you see the robot that they had walking around?

[00:23:51] A guy had a robot and they had a jersey on. No, I didn't see that. The robot just kept yelling. It was during the Hawks, when they were playing the Hawks. Yeah. He was just yelling, F Trey Young around the city. The robot was. Trey Young didn't even play for the Hawks anymore either. I know. He was doing that. That's hilarious. I mean, that city, when it comes to their sports, is ridiculous. That's so great. Congratulations to the Knicks. Summer vacations, Hank, they started.

[00:24:21] Lucy Rose went on her first trip. She gone. She left today. I dropped her off this morning. They're on their way to Cherry Grove, I think, for a little bit. And then she's gone there for nine days. They have a couple days of fun. Then they transition into the Nationals. That's where the Dance Nationals are. Did she go with another family and Jennifer's going down there? You got it. So she went with another family. And a couple other mamas are going down there tomorrow. Jennifer's going down Friday. Anyway, they're going to have a big time. And so I just got this great feeling watching her. So the last two nights, she's been packing. Packing the dance bag. Boom.

[00:24:51] Get that out of the way. And then last night, packing her real bad with her bathing suits and her flip flops and her purses. Sunglasses. Sunglasses. And I just would peek in there. I was like, can I get you anything? Can I do anything for you? She just turned around. This smile. Huge grin. Ear to ear. Just like, I am ready to go on this trip. I am ready to start summer vacation. So I'm so happy for her. Lucy Rose, I know you don't listen. But maybe someone in the group will. Have a big time and be careful. Yes. Have a great, great time. And I'm sure they will. So your summer vacation plans.

[00:25:21] It consists solely of going to, we're going to summer in Atlanta this summer. That's what we're summering. So I mean, we were just at Coastal Carolina. We played there this past weekend. Harris played great. We got a week off this week off. Then we go to, next Wednesday we go to Atlanta for six days. Yeah. Home for four days. Back to Atlanta for seven days. Whoa. Then we, the next weekend we go to East Carolina.

[00:25:51] Come back. The next two days later we're at Wake Forest. The next weekend we're in Charlotte. My gosh. It's a, and then we'll get August where we'll probably go to the beach and do some stuff. But the June, July is, it's hot too, Hank. Golly. Hey, Coastal Carolina, you know, you get 30 minutes off the beach. It was like a cesspool. I had mosquitoes put in there. They were like, birds were blowing on worms before they ate them. That's great. So you got the setup there.

[00:26:20] I remember you telling me last time you and Reagan got the tents. I think you got some cooling devices. Fans. Fans. You got it all. We got it all. Do, so you're a pros at this now. Yes. I got a barbecue towel, you know, for sweat. Of course. So what is it like all day out in the sun is what basically how it works? So usually, you know, when they're little, you play in a tournament and you play like two games. And so you're out there all day. Now, when you're in Atlanta, which is kind of crap because they make you play one game a day.

[00:26:47] And so you may play at nine, but then you got to go eat, entertain yourself. You know, you can't just go sit in a hotel room. So, you know, you're always out doing something, but you know, you go down to Atlanta and you got the two 30 game in Cartersville and you're sitting on a concrete, you know, uh, bleach, you know, bleachers or whatever. It sucks. But, um, you know, it's fun. I got a year and a half of it, you know, two years of it left and I'm going to enjoy it. Enjoy every minute of it.

[00:27:14] So I was telling you last time we were in here shooting the bull that, uh, Olivia and Lucy Rose won this. I put this in, uh, quotations, one, a trip to the Bahamas, right? I'll tell you this, they won a trip to the Bahamas. They filled out a form at the mall at the last dance convention and they, you put your name in the hat and put your phone number on there. And all of a sudden, can you believe it? They call Lucy Rose. Winner, winner. Congratulations. You won a trip to the Bahamas. Come to this website. We'll give you a phone number and it will tell you all about it.

[00:27:43] So Lucy and Olivia, they were together. They were both excited. Hey dad, we won a trip to the Bahamas. Blah, blah, blah. Let's call them and see what the deal is. And I can't remember exactly where I was, but I was feeling very generous and I was in a very good mood. Chipper mood. Yeah. I was in a very chipper mood. So we're traveling somewhere. Jennifer's driving and I said, okay, I'll call them. So I call them and they're like, congratulations, Lucy Rose. I was like, this isn't Lucy Rose. This is Lucy Rose's dad. They tell me that she has won a trip to the Bahamas.

[00:28:12] She and her sister who are under like one is 17 and one is 20. I need to hear about this trip because obviously they're not going to be the ones going. We go as a family. And they were like, of course, Mr. Reese. Big winner. Congratulations. And they were telling me about all these resorts we can go to in the Bahamas or Mexico or Puerto Rico, blah, blah, blah. And they're like, it only takes three easy payments of $89 a payment.

[00:28:37] And I was like, so you're telling me we can have a seven day all inclusive trip to these resorts and I pay you less than $300. And she was like, that's exactly what I'm telling you, Mr. Reese. Here's the website. Go see it. See our resorts. Read about it. And then tell me what you call me back. Tell me what you think. So I said, we did exactly that. Read about it again. I'm feeling a very happy mood. I think I'd been somewhere. You know, we're traveling to our next destination.

[00:29:06] I've already been somewhere just having a time. I'm sure. So we look at it. I was like, girls, this is it. I mean, let's do it. Oh, wow. Let's do it. And Jennifer was like, Chad, this is a bad idea. And I was like, you know. Smartest one in the family. Of course. And I was like, you know, you only get an opportunity to do this. It might be a dump. It might be terrible. But at least we'll be together. It'll be a good story. And you don't have to go for seven days. You can make it a quick trip for three. It's just the airfare down there and everything. What you get there, it's free.

[00:29:36] It's all inclusive. So that leads me to the next part of the story. You're in an adobe hut, aren't you? Close to it. So Jennifer and Lucy Rose, they're going to Portugal in July. And so it's just me and Olivia. Olivia was going to be in Colombia. And I was like, Olivia, you know what? Let's take advantage of the Bombers trip. Let's run it by Lucy Rose. Make sure it's all right if we go. Because it's free. We got to use it by August, basically. And we talked to Lucy. She was like, yeah, y'all go. We'll be in Portugal.

[00:30:04] And Jennifer was like, I wasn't going anyway. So go ahead. You know? So call, book the trip. Got the resort. Boom, boom, boom. Called the lady. Said, man, we're ready. Air flights are ready. I just got to book the trip first. And then we're flying down there. Then I'll book the airline. And she was like, I was like, we want to stay at blah, blah, blah in the Bahamas. We'll be down. We're going to go down for five days. We're going to take Mebin with us. Yeah. Mebin was going to come.

[00:30:36] We needed 60 days prior. And then we could go anywhere we want to. And she was like, yeah, but this is a very popular spot. And she was like, let me look at the other resort. What about Mexico? And I was like, nah, I really don't want to go to Mexico. But look and see if there's any availability. Mr. Ease, I'm sorry. It looks like that one's booked up. We went through every single resort, zero availability in August. So I was like, this is a scam. I mean, how can every resort, you have 12 of them all be booked and I can't book a time?

[00:31:05] So anyway, it really, I kind of got upset with them. And she was like, well, I can put your name down here and customer service can call you. Maybe you guys can go next August. I'm like, whatever. I want to go now. We're planning the trip now. So that fell through. I felt terrible. And so we booked another little trip now that is not free. It's not free? That I actually have to pay for. Where are you going? We're going to Florida in between Sarasota and somewhere to the beach.

[00:31:32] And so Livia, Mebane and I, we're going to be jumping into the old camper or family truckster. And we're heading down there for, it's going to be fun. We'll stop at Rosemary Beach, that area? Kind of. A little bit more north of that. And we're going to stay in Savannah the first night, crash, sleep there, get a good night's sleep, wake up. And then we have three more hours after we get to Savannah. And then we'll have that beach and we'll spend some quality time together. Nice. It'll be fun.

[00:32:00] Because you think about it, this is Olivia's last real summer of not being in the real world. Yeah. I mean, she'll be a senior. Yeah. Next summer, it's game time. I mean, it's either going back to school masters or getting a job and jumping into the real world. So anyway, I want to try to do as much stuff as we can. Sure. This will be it. Yeah. So anyway, here we come. Here we come. It'll be fun. So that's our vacation plans. And then we're going to Oak Island.

[00:32:30] And after that trip, really the next week with our whole family. That's a boiled peanut. That's the boiled peanut place. And Todd and Julie, hopefully you're going to be there with their family for a night or two so we can spend some time with them. So it'll be fun. Good summer plans. Yeah. Can't wait. Can't wait. So Hank, over the last couple of weeks, I know I've mentioned this to you and I don't know if you really believe me and Moose can tell us yes or no, but so many people have really been saying, holy cow, I listen to y'all. Y'all are funny. This is a great show.

[00:32:58] I've been telling this and that people about it. And so I really feel like we're getting some more traction. We're getting some more traction. I knew you were going to use that word. Yes, exactly. I love that word. So in a couple of the people, one of them I know pretty good, a couple of the things I'm going to read you. I don't know these people very well, but they said, and this is no bull. They said, would you ask Hank these questions? And I said, okay. So I'm going to call this segment, What Would Hank Do? I'm not lying to you. I'm not lying. I'll start the first one here. Why?

[00:33:27] What Would Hank Do? Okay. Do you not think that you should give me these questions before? No. It makes it more fun this way. We'll say this guy's name is A-Train from Albemarle. Okay. Okay. So you probably know what I'm talking about here. All right. So this is the first question. This is the new segment. What Would Hank Do? Okay. I'm bringing up his text. Bear with me. Bear with me, if you will. Processing. Just talk amongst yourself as I find Hank. Processing.

[00:33:58] Okay. Here we go. All right. He says, can I suggest a segment for Big Fan? A segment that is called Judge Hank or What Would Hank Do? This is real. This is no bull. You present a case to Hank and allow him to give rulings on what is fair. It is perfect for fantasy football trades, betting situations, or even relationship questions. Okay? Okay. May I suggest your first case regarding someone very close to you? I'm not giving any names over the air. Okay?

[00:34:27] Here's the situation. I am in a World Cup betting pool. Okay. Me and several Hickory people. Each person gets 12 teams in a snake draft. Okay? Okay. We are at the end of the draft selecting Team 11 and 12. As I see it, they are basically throwaway picks on teams that really won't make it out of the group stage. So, I understand what he's saying, but that's not necessarily true. In the World Cup, just as we talk, there's a lot of parity. Right. There is no throwaway picks. But anyway.

[00:34:56] The draft order is, I'm just going to make up names. John, Jay, Jonathan, and A-Train. Okay. Okay. For pick 11 of 12, Jonathan selects Panama. I told him, shoot, I was hoping to get Panama because I will be in Panama during the World Cup, and I was hoping to pull for them while in country.

[00:35:19] Furthermore, my wife is from Panama, and my kids are Panamanian, and they have their Panamanian passports. I'm going to deliver my marriage certificate to the Panamanian government this trip so I can also get my citizenship there. My kids are fluent in Spanish, and I'm getting there. We have been traveling there for over 20 years. My ties are strong to the country of Panama as yours are to Hawaii. That's where we are. Okay. Okay. Jonathan says, no worries.

[00:35:49] I'll select another team. So, he decides not to pick Panama. Picks another team. Okay. He says, you know where this is going. Jeremy. Let's say his name is Jeremy. I'm not saying, you know, let's just say his name is Jeremy. Jeremy picks up Panama directly the pick before I can select him. He then tries to get me to trade Panama for Senegal, a team I picked up four rounds earlier. Yes.

[00:36:18] He finally agrees to give them for me for Australia, a team I selected three rounds earlier. I am curious to hear what Judge Hank has to say about this D-head move. I would douchebag move. I would flatten all of his tires. I mean, like, come on. Like, first of all, let's talk about what are we winning out of this pool? Okay. What are we winning out of this? I think the entry is 20 bucks. Okay. So what are we winning out of this whole thing?

[00:36:46] I mean, just the intro on his connection to Panama alone. I mean, if he would have said, hey, I've got to have Germany or somebody like, I'd be like, dude, that's fine. Like, what are we doing here? Right. But if Jeremy wants to be a complete douche about it, I would, there would, if I'm the judge, I'm going to say there needs to be some secret medicine served to Jeremy. Fair enough. Well, it is done.

[00:37:14] I mean, so now, Judge Hank, I mean, you will rule in favor of A-Train, let's say. Absolutely. And so you would suggest if they do need to give Jeremy some secret medicine or slash his tires or burn his house down, it would be all fair and love and war. It's warranted. It's warranted. But you know, the other thing is, is that I don't know this Jeremy fellow. Okay.

[00:37:37] I don't know Jeremy, but I would like to think that that behavior, it kind of flushes out certain things. And so he's going to get his. Okay. Okay. So even if A-Train, you know, A-Train's the example of what a human should be like. Yes. Jeremy probably is going to get his regardless. So A-Train, keep your head up. Yeah. Right? He'll get his. He'll get his. He'll get his in the end. Yes. And if I run into this Jeremy ever, I'll give it to him. Wonderful. Wonderful. Okay. Awesome.

[00:38:06] Next on Judge Hank. Doom, doom. Textless from Taylorsville. Okay. Okay. I'm going to do a synopsis of this text because I didn't have it in my phone. I had it in my phone and I just wrote down the notes. Dear Hank, I have a friend that will not respond to any of my text messages. Literally, if I send 40, he might respond to one.

[00:38:33] On the other hand, if I miss a call from him, he will immediately become very angry. He says, how dare you not answer my phone? Why don't you answer your phone? Sometimes this gentleman who is the texter, right? Who likes to text. Sometimes will specifically not answer the phone just because the other guy will never respond to a text. Ever.

[00:39:04] When the anger hits a crescendo. Yeah. And both are angry because they, this one likes to communicate through text. One likes to communicate through phone. Yes. Please find a happy meeting for these two brothers. Okay. First of all, this feels like middle school girl stuff. It really does. Right? That's exactly what this feels like. But I will weigh in on this because somebody has to give judgment here. Okay? So first of all, you've established the thing.

[00:39:34] One of them hates texting and one of them hates calling. Right? Or doesn't want to talk on the phone. So one is you've established how to correct this. And it is through communication. It is to tell your brother, hey, do you know what ticks me off? Is when you don't respond to my text. And if we continue to do this, I'm never picking up your phone call. Right? Because I know that ticks you off. What if that has been done though?

[00:39:58] What if the expression of, dude, if I text you, I at least expect, I mean, you don't have to write a soliloquy. Give me a thumbs up. Or a yes. Or no. Not just complete silence. Cricket. And if that happens a couple of times, that's no biggie. No big deal. We all get busy and cricket it. But 40 in a row? Yeah. I mean, come on. You can, it's not that hard. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I feel like you're involved in this. Wait a minute. I feel like you're on the one. No, it's not me. I'm not talking about me.

[00:40:26] I'm talking about, I'm talking about, I'm talking about text lists and Taylor's. Text lists and Taylor's. This is their issue. So I would say, first off, boys, let's figure out how we can communicate with one another. Let's have a conversation. Okay? Let's have a conversation. Let's have a conversation. Realize what you don't like and you do like. And then if it doesn't work anymore, don't talk to each other ever again. Just quit being friends. Just quit being friends. That's fair. Just say from here on out, if we're going to communicate, it's got to be face to face. Fair. Because we're both babies. Fair enough. Yeah. We're both junior high kids. Yes. All right.

[00:40:55] Last but not least in the new series, Judge Hank. Kung Kung. Ozempic Anger from Olympia, Washington. Okay? Okay. Dear Hank, I have a coworker who's lost 60 pounds. Congratulations. Very proud of this person for doing that. However, he brags all the time on how he's in the gym. He's watching what he eats. Everything to help lose this weight.

[00:41:25] Which is great. But I know that he's not. And I know that he's taking medicine to help him. Which is perfectly fine. But I just want him to be honest. Why won't he be honest with me? And what should I do? Should I leave it alone and let him brag to our other coworkers that he's in the gym two hours and watching his nutrition? Or what should I do? That is Ozempic Anger from Olympia, Washington.

[00:41:53] You should just be a good friend. Yes. And you should celebrate his weight loss because he's getting healthier. He'll be here longer. Absolutely. Right? So you celebrate that with him. And you don't call him out on it. And you don't push him in a direction. Now, what I will say is if that sum of gun starts getting on your weight and starts telling you, hey, maybe you need to hit the gym. Bingo. Maybe you need to. So if that's the case and he wants to pull that out on it, then you start saying, well, how about we go together?

[00:42:23] And we see what your routine is. Let's see what your nutrition looks like. And we'll see if it can do what, you know, you've got history now. So that's exactly what I do. But if it's not, if he's not getting on you and he's not making anybody feel uncomfortable, he's just proud of his weight loss, be a friend. Let him be. Be a friend. Yeah, just, yes. I love that. I love that. Case closed. How about that? Well, can we add that to all these after the new judge? Is this a new segment every week? Well, maybe not every week.

[00:42:51] But when we get some of these texts in, I mean, those are three, you know, granted, I added a couple little things to it. But those were questions that people really asked about that we talk about on the big fan. OK. I'm glad I could address this. Thank you, Judge Hank. That's a job. Well, well done. Thank you. Yes, absolutely. I'm very proud of you. So tonight, Hank, tennis match, tri-level. Going up against a very, very strong Lake Hickory team because I'm actually playing for, they call it, there's three teams. They mix all the city, Hickory.

[00:43:21] You couldn't make our team? No. You couldn't make our team. What happened is there was a draft and I think I went as the number one selection. Yeah. You couldn't make our team. It's fine. The city of Hickory drafted me number one. So anyway, match tonight. Not too hot out there. It's kind of hot. No, it feels good. It's going to be good. So we're at home. We're at the city park. So we'll be there at 630. So wish me great luck. I hear you didn't make any team. No, I was asked to play on multiple teams. Is that true? Baseball has prevented me from doing it. Baseball has prevented me from doing it.

[00:43:53] But I really wish you could have played on our team, the Lake Hickory team. I got asked and I couldn't do it. But I wish. Maybe next year. Okay. Maybe next year. Okay. And then I'll leave you with this too. So with Lucy Rose gone, Jennifer is leaving on Friday. Olivia is at the beach with her friends for another week, a week and a half. You know, CJ, our good friend said, Chad, what does that leave you? And I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do, Hank. Didn't he invite you for a sleepover? He did. And then he canceled on me.

[00:44:23] Did you hear about this? Did you hear about this? No, I didn't. So we had a plan that we were going to go down there, several of us, if we could go down there for a sleepover. And then I get a picture of a green that had just been punched and full of sand. And he said, maybe not this weekend, Chad. Yeah. Yeah. Just break. He told me he didn't want you. I mean, that course was in disarray. So I thought that was funny too. So I looked at other pictures that were just like Google images and I found the exact same picture that I think he might've just found.

[00:44:52] And it said to me like, sorry, Chad, it's not going to work out. They just punched our greens. That was Shinnecock. Is that what it was? Shinnecock. Exactly. But anyway, CJ, maybe one day we'll get to spend some time together. I hope so anyway, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He started sending me pictures. Maggie, his daughter, is wildly funny. Yeah. She's super funny. Awesome. He started sending me pictures randomly around the house. She's into American dolls, right? Yeah. And so she is placing them in different spots in the house and they look like it's like devil worship. Oh my gosh.

[00:45:22] Like he walked into his bathroom the other day and one was standing on the counter. Oh man. I could imagine if you stayed down there, you'd wake up with an American doll beside you in bed. So funny. And congratulations to Maggie too as well. CJ mentioned that she is a gold medal winner. To go along with the national champion. Unbelievable. Way to go, Maggie. Very proud of you. Very proud of you. I saw the video. Really? I saw the cheer video. It's amazing. That's awesome. Good for her. All right, guy.

[00:45:51] Well, buddy, enjoy your weekend. Enjoy the rest of your week. Moose, good talking to you. Enjoy the English, England game that's getting ready to kick, or it may have already kicked. I think it kicks at four today. They're playing Croatia. And yeah, and to the rest of our big fan listeners, enjoy the World Cup. Enjoy your summer. This one's to get dedicated to Mr. Eimer. Well, I appreciate that. He's a good one. I hope he's listening to this and being proud of what we do.

[00:46:21] He's a great example of a man and a dad and a friend. And, you know, we'll miss him. Well said. All right. Till next time. Peace. You've been listening to The Mesh, an online media network of shows and programs ranging from business to arts, sports to entertainment, music to community.

[00:46:50] All programs are available on the website as well as through iTunes and YouTube. Check us out online at themesh.tv. Discover other network shows and give us feedback on what you just heard. Thanks for watching super forward. The Educational Society, a year of support. Is these a company?