School’s Almost Out, Prom Memories & Sports Traditions We Should Never Touch

[00:00:02] What You Want, When You Want It, Where You Want It. This is The MESH. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 10, volume 9 of a special Schools Almost Out for Summer edition of Big Fan.

[00:00:28] Hank, summer's in the air. We're almost to May. That means school's almost out for summer. It's almost out for summer. You got to stay locked in though. That's the thing about school right now is you got to stay locked in because you only got two more weeks.

[00:00:41] If you're resting AB right here, BC, U, DE, you got to stay locked in right now so that you can just cruise through summer and not worry about anything. Like having to go to summer school or to make up any classes that you failed? Yeah, or just unsatisfied with your GPA. Kids think about that way more than we ever did.

[00:01:07] Yeah, that never even crossed my mind to be honest, but it is two weeks. Olivia actually has her final exam in college today, her final exam. For her junior year. For her junior year. So she's a wrap after today, which is exciting for her. You know, a couple great things when we talk about the end of school, you know, I'm sure you and I, we could both share a story about our favorite last day of school kind of thing. We'll save it for two weeks when school's officially out. Okay. But two weeks prior, normally it's prom time. You know, it's prom time is in the air. It is prom time.

[00:01:36] You know, and we just experienced prom time last weekend. This past weekend. Yeah, so Lucy Rose got all dolled up. I saw pictures. She looked amazing. Oh, she looked gorgeous. Manuel looked so handsome. What a beautiful, fine couple they were. We got to meet a lot of their friends at the church for pictures. Then they went to the restaurant, to the club to eat in a big group. And anyway, besides the rain, you know, it hadn't rained in three weeks in Hickory and it decided to rain on picture day for picture hour.

[00:02:02] But besides that, I've just had this sense of joy and pride and nostalgia watching all those beautiful kids go to their prom and, you know, just anticipating dancing and being with their friends and all that stuff. The one interesting thing I did ask them, so how long will you stay at prom? Six minutes. Eight tops. Eight minutes tops. I think Lucy and them stayed for maybe an hour to hour and a half because they said the DJ was good. So they wanted to dance, but lots of them just go and leave after half an hour.

[00:02:32] Yeah, but I think the school tries to do a job of they try to like delay the king and queen. Okay. As long as they can. So people will stay there just as long enough to get them there. Yes. But yeah, it's kind of cool to watch all like I get to see on social media. Harris is a sophomore. I didn't, you know, he didn't go. Right. And so it is kind of cool on social media to see people putting their kids out there and how mature and how dressed up and how like great they all look. And, you know, it's kind of cool that all of them are together.

[00:03:01] Like you see them since they were little and how these groups who, you know, you see them together one and two, but how they're there's 10, 20, 30 of them together and how much they enjoy being together. So it is kind of cool. Very exciting. And so the one thing I can take away from 2026 prom Hickory High School was not only did they look beautiful and they're so mature. I was having like conversations with majority.

[00:03:28] It felt like I was talking to one of my peers, not a kid, you know. And also at prom, you know, Hickory is famous for after prom parties, which I'm sure there were. I'm sure there were. I'm sure there were. And when we were there, you know, the most important thing was not really prom. It was the after prom parties. You know, that was what we look forward to. Yep. So there were a couple when Lucy Rose had this huge dance event on Sunday that they were going to be there all day, all night until they got home at 145 in the morning Sunday.

[00:03:56] So when I left Lucy Rose, I was like, what are you doing after the prom? And she was like, I'm just going to come home. I need my rest. I got to be able to perform the next day. Would I have said that in a million years? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. It would not have mattered. I was going to the party, but she was like, I got it. So she came home before we got home. Yeah. We went to Stevens to hang out while everybody was at prom. We came home. She might've been actually there five minutes after we go and straight to bed. Got a rest. Boom. They're out in the morning doing their thing for her. I was proud of her.

[00:04:24] But it seems like a lot of those kids make the mature decisions. More and more. Let's not say all. Okay. Not all of them. More and more are making the mature decisions. Way more than what we did. If we could talk about one memory that you had from prom, what would it be? Like that we can talk about on this. That's funny. Do you want me to go ahead? Do you want me to go ahead? Yeah. Yeah. So I went, I think my saw, uh, I maybe went myself when we were at the junior or maybe it was my junior year with senior. Yeah.

[00:04:52] And my mom said that she would drive us to dinner. Nobody was 16 yet. Okay. I guess, or maybe I don't remember what, but my mom said she would drive us. She'd drive us to dinner. She'd drive us to the dance. She'd pick them up. Us, us from the dance, you know, whatever we want to do. So later I found out that the day of my mom's station wagon is over at a friend's house before we get there for, you know, she, she was there.

[00:05:20] And so we pull in and I'm wearing a tux and, you know, girls look nice and everything else. My mom isn't there. Okay. Yeah. She has given Huff, a good friend of ours from the center. Wow. Our car and paid him to usher us around all evening in the station wagon. Amazing. Yeah. My mom did not tell me that. You know how crazy you mentioned the word Huff? I haven't seen Huff in ages. Hunter, Correll, our friend. Yep.

[00:05:47] Was in dinner in Raleigh on Friday and sent a picture and he's like, guess who I'm having a beer with? And it was Huff. Oh, old Huff. Did you break his name up? This is so weird. Never wore pants. Never wore pants. He used to drink Yoo-Hoo's by the guy. Like instead everybody would have beer in high school, he'd bring a six pack of Yoo-Hoo to the party and we'd say, chug, chug, chug. And he would just knock those Yoo-Hoo's down like it was candy. I'll never forget it. But Huff, this one's for Huff. Good to hear Huff's name. Yep. So I can't really remember any story from prom that I can talk about. That speaks volumes.

[00:06:16] That I can talk about on the mic. I do remember, yes, senior year. Nope, junior year. Prom before dinner at Roger's house. And Mr. and Ms. Young, I spent the night with Roger a bunch. And they had before the party, the prom party, they had a bunch of rugs laying around. So I just happened to show up the time the rugs needed to be unfurled. Right? So we were moving furniture, unfurling rugs. And so Mrs. Young, you had to be there to understand what I'm talking about. But we moved so many rugs that day.

[00:06:46] You know, me and Mrs. Young will always have a story. I was there moving rugs for at least five hours. And then shower. Was Roger there? Roger was helping too. But unfurling rugs, took a shower immediately. Prom dinner. All our buddies. You know, good memories. I can still see us around the table. Oh, yeah. Just like what we were talking about. I can't recall. But I just know that we were happy all to be together. And now, fast forward 30-some years. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. I mean, it has flown by. And you have one more. Yeah. One more prom. Yeah, one more prom to go.

[00:07:15] So anyway, brought back some good memories. So congratulations to all the prom attendees. I hope you all had a wonderful time. I'm sure it was lovely. Hank, it's been brought to my attention that this evening, a very important tennis match is about to occur. Well, I mean, it's just something that we do. This is for bragging rights of all of Hickory, though. That's what I hear. All of Hickory? All of Hickory. Bragging rights. Okay. For the lower leagues, of course. You know, not the upper leagues that I'm a member of.

[00:07:44] But the lower leagues, this match decides who the best team in Hickory is. And you have to win. You have to win. Do you feel any pressure right now? I have no pressure. No pressure at all? No. Last time we played, I won. We lost as a team. Oh, yeah. So you're more of an into, you care more about yourself. No, I'm just saying, I'm saying, listen, I don't, we're not going to fold under pressure. We're going to go out tonight and play. But, you know, we've got to have our players. Yeah. And normally we don't get our players. Right. Like, we have busy schedules. We don't have them. That's not an excuse.

[00:08:12] That is just what we need to make sure that to have the right lineup, we've got to have our people in the lineup. Sure. And so hopefully we can do that tonight and pull away with a victory and feel good. Yeah. You know, LeBron hasn't had Luka or Austin Reeves in the lineup at this playoff series at all. And they're leading the series. LeBron sucks. And they're leading the series. So LeBron had no excuses. His two top scores weren't there and he still seemed to get it done. Okay.

[00:08:41] Granted, I think they get swept and they will not advance. I think LeBron's going down. However, I believe in you. I will be there to support you too. You coming? I've actually asked a lot of people to come, not only join me in celebrating, but also heckling you out on the court. Okay. Me specifically. Not you specifically, just the team in general. Okay. Well, I feel good about where we are. Okay. Yes. So hopefully we go out and we have good fellowship. Yeah. And we play good tennis. And when I get off that court, I'm going to beat your face in.

[00:09:11] I'll have a cold one ready for you, Hank. And hopefully it will be a celebratory one, not a cold one of despair. Fair? Fair. Fair. Okay. All right, Hank. Are you playing tennis this week? Wait. Is it? We have a match Thursday, yes. And you're not playing. You didn't make the lineup. Something's come up. Did not make the lineup. Something came up. This is so funny how this always comes up. You didn't make the lineup. I've already participated three times. Do you need me to talk to your coach? Other people need to get a chance. Do you need me to talk to your coach? Okay. I am the coach. Don't you forget it.

[00:09:39] Hank, last Sunday, two Sundays, Saturdays ago, member golf at our golf course that we play. And, you know, I was partnered with a very talented young man in golfing skills. Too handicapped, let's say. Yeah. Yeah. Which I am nowhere close to that. Nowhere near it. Nowhere near that. But because of his prowess on the golf course, we get bumped into the second flight.

[00:10:06] I mean, typically, I'm hovering around fifth or sixth, possibly seventh flight. Now I'm in the second flight. Expectations. We're rolling with the big dogs. Yes. Rolling with the big dogs. But, you know, I recognize some of the names of the people in my flight. And I was like, on a perfect day, I'll wax all these people. But it has to be a perfect day. Do you understand? Well, we didn't have a perfect day. Close to perfect. First day, Saturday. Come out. End up being one, one and a half points out format.

[00:10:35] 27 holes of golf. Three matches. Play three different matches. Nine holes. Starts three holes. Captain's choice. Three hole modified. What do you call it? Yeah. Where you both take a drive. Take the drive. Yeah. And then the last three, best ball. So no alternate shots. Well, scramble is what it's called. Yes. So the scramble kind of takes the place of the alternate shot. So you do take the drive, but then it's alternate shot after that. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So we get in the mix.

[00:11:03] We tee off relatively early, 830. The night before, you know, which is typical of any golf tournament, most smart people go to bed at a very decent hour. Most smart people. Most smart people. This fellow did not. So we cruise up five minutes before the tee time, jump out of the car, throw the bag on the car, boom, we're off. And my partner was Seth Caudill, who's what an awesome dude. I mean, really cool guy. Great usher in church environment, too. I hear he's the number one usher. He's a great usher.

[00:11:33] Yeah, number one usher. Leads a whole crew of other ushers. He is. He's the leader. He's the king of ushers. The leader of the pack. So we get out there, and I'm a little bit nervous. I think he's a little bit nervous, too. So we both poor drives, not very good, but it is captain's choice. We scramble around, finally get it back together, and we end up at the end of Saturday down one and a half points to the leader, which we're in striking distance. Sunday comes around, actually get a little rest, rested on Sunday. I heard you were sleepy.

[00:12:01] I was sleepy, but it's not because I didn't get sleep the night before. I got lots of rest. I think I was just sleepy for the previous five days. Do you understand? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we get out there and really, the first match, kind of give it away, and then the second match, which we're playing the big dogs, the leaders, Fletcher and Brian Graham. They whoop a seven and a half to two and a half, which puts us really close to the bottom. Just a very poor outing. However, they ended up winning our flight and finished second or third overall to the entire

[00:12:31] rest of the crew. So fun trip. I mean, fun golf tournament. What do you think about a format like that? Do you like when they split it up in three different formats during nine holes, or would you rather play all one best ball and then the next match, all captain's choice? No, I like breaking it up. Do you? I think that that keeps you entertained. Yeah. Because, I mean, alternate shot or the scramble's tough. It's hard. And as you get further down, I mean, it's not bad if you're a two handicap with a one handicap. Sure. But when you get further down, it's a scramble. Yeah.

[00:13:00] In the 16th handicap with the 18th handicap, the alternate shot, I heard, ooh, it got pretty ugly. A couple 12s. Yeah, I'm sure. A couple 12s. A 10 or so. One of our buddies actually made a 10. They were right in the hunt and then carded a 10. But it's only match play, so you just lose a hole. So anyway, it was good. Good tournament. Yeah, I thought it went off without a hitch. Now there's a couple more golf tournaments throughout the summer. Participate in. Hopefully you'll be there as well. Thank you. Yes. Oh, one on Monday.

[00:13:30] Future Christian Athletes. Do you play in that one? FCA's? FCA. I do not. Okay. I do not play on that one. I'm playing in the Hickory High one. Yes, I'll be in that one. Okay. So I'll see you out there. All right, buddy. So, changing the subject just a little bit. I don't know if you've heard over the past couple years, there have been 12 missing scientists and engineers that have been linked to the U.S. government and military who are

[00:13:56] dedicated to researching, you know, possible things that are very sensitive to our safety here in the United States of America. UFOs. Is that what we're talking about? Well. People are going to get upset with this topic here. Let's make it short. I don't care. Most of them, these engineers or scientists, studied aerospace. Some studied nuclear materials, Hank. Okay. Nuclear materials. Couldn't they just die because of radiation exposure and stuff like that? Potentially.

[00:14:24] But this is more murder and suicide is what I've been told from the articles I've been reading. Some of them studied a lot of energy, how we can, you know, use jet propulsion to move vehicles and transport items and such. There's also a cosmologist, not a cosmetologist. I was getting ready to say, are they putting makeup on aliens? But the most recent one, this happened two or three days ago, a very prominent ufologist

[00:14:54] recorded to the world that he had proof that the aliens were here and that they've actually identified their craft that they come in. And he was ready to, he said, I will expose it. I will send you more information. We'll come out within the next two weeks. He's dead. He's dead. They said he committed suicide. Why would he commit suicide? Too much pressure. No. Too much pressure. Something fishy is going on here.

[00:15:22] Somebody figured out how crazy he was and they were getting ready to put him in a loony tune house. So to all that, all those who watch ancient aliens, which I do religiously, he is the fellow with the really kind of, he's not got the crazy, crazy hair that's in the beehive. Listen, now that you're describing this guy like this, then your cover is blown. Not him. It's not him. I know you, so Moose knows who I'm talking about. It's another, it's another guy who has like, he's balding up top and has really like

[00:15:51] the three stooges hair on the side. And so he was found. He's our expert? Yes. Larry? Larry is our expert? It might be Mo. It might be Mo. But anyway, just if you have the time, just research, look into it a little bit. It's just weird. 12 scientists? Is it this guy? That's him. That is the fellow. Do you recognize him? No, absolutely not. Yeah. David Wilcox. In a police standoff. It doesn't say that he committed suicide. He died in a police standoff. That cannot be. That's fake news, Hank.

[00:16:20] I think there's a lot of fake news going on right here. Mental health crisis. Okay. I think maybe he was forced by these government agencies to, you know, and that's, he went to a mental health state where he didn't belong. I mean, it does not negate the fact that there are multiple scientists that are in this realm of thinking and study that are just murked off the planet in the last few weeks. Thank you, Andrew. You're welcome, Chad. Case closed.

[00:16:50] Case closed. Case closed. Okay. Case closed. Let's get to the next topic. I send this topic specifically out to Daniel Willis, who says every time that I talk about aliens, he turns our podcast off. He does. And then I ran into him the other day at the tennis courts, and I walked by him, I said hello, and he was like, you don't even like to talk to me anymore, do you, Chad? And I was like, quit talking about it by aliens, and I'll start talking to you again. Okay, Daniel? Okay? Is that fair? Okay. Anyway, on to the next topic here, Hank.

[00:17:18] I hope they find all these guys living in like a mountain range somewhere. Yeah, they will. I hope they do. They might have a couple in my basement, friend. Maybe. All right. Moving on. So this is pretty interesting. So we talked about our last podcast about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. It was awesome. A lot of people that I saw walking the streets that listened to a big fan, we talked about it in passing. Like, yeah, Black Crow's not getting in. That's not fair. They love Sade getting in. Anyway, Wu-Tang they thought was a lot. You know, all that good stuff.

[00:17:48] So a new survey came out, Hank, yesterday that listed the top 100 vocalists of all time voted on by some Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voters, which really means nothing. Artists, you know, some musicians and such. And so I've narrowed it down. Some of the people in the top 100, you'll recognize for sure. Like Adele was 18. Yeah. Stevie Wonder was 23. Okay. Stevie Wonder was 23. Wow. Stevie Wonder was 23.

[00:18:19] I didn't see her, but she had to be top 20. Yeah, she had to be in there. Top 20. So anyway, I've got it down to nine. And so you don't have to put them in any order. Just give me an idea who you would put in your top nine vocalist of all time. It's tough. And a couple of these, no way you're going to get random. So you've got to think Whitney's got to be in there, right? Whitney is definitely there, which to me would be number one. Right. But to this group was number three. So Whitney, I'm going to check off the list. Good job. So Whitney's got to be there.

[00:18:48] It started with a C, Andrew. If you'll go top 10 vocalist, it's the number one on the Google search because it just came out. But top 10, top 100 vocalist of all time. Go ahead. So you've got to think that there's going to be some, like, obviously male counterparts, like with Led Zeppelin being there. Robert Plant. Okay. You got him. Number five. Okay. See, I wouldn't think anybody would get that. But, you know, his voice, yes. I would say he's a top 10 vocalist of all time. Would Diana Ross be in there? Diana Ross is not there. Comparable.

[00:19:19] Aretha. Aretha, number two. Okay. Aretha, number two. Yeah. So you've got three of the nine right now. Then you got to think that there's some, like, obscure guys like John Lennon. Not obscure, but like John Lennon or somebody from the Beatles. So nobody from the Beatles. Elvis. No Elvis. I think Elvis was top 20, though. Think of some Motown, kind of. So you're not talking about Barry White. Bill Withers. No.

[00:19:46] Think of who you think of the male Motown guy. Marvin Gaye. Bingo. Marvin Gaye's sweet, precious voice, number four. Luther Vandross. Luther would be in my top 10. He didn't make it, which is kind of crazy. That is kind of crazy. Think. Anybody new? Yes. Newish. I'm not going to say new, but they would have come in our kind of time listening to music. Well, first of all, would Michael Jackson be in there? Michael Jackson's number nine. Okay. Yes. Check.

[00:20:14] Another newish one would be maybe when we are in college, high school to college, this female was in a group and then kind of- Beyonce. Beyonce. She was number six, which really only leaves you. There's three. You don't have number one yet. This is hard. I mean, you would think one would be easy. Male or female? It's a male. Older. Older. Older. It's not like Chuck Berry or that. Is it that?

[00:20:43] And it's not soul music, no R&B. It's rock and roll. Wow. Now, give you another hint. They've made a movie about his band recently within the last five to seven years. The Oneeders. Do you remember that? How do I ever remember that? Of course. What is the song? The Wonders or whatever. What is the song? I don't know. God, I've got it on my Apple Music. Another hint. The gentleman who played this role won an Academy Award for it.

[00:21:14] His band was famous. Not The Doors. Nope. But this band was famous for selling out Wimper. It didn't sell out. Oh. Live Aid. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Freddie Mercury. Freddie Mercury is the number one vocalist of all time voted on by his peers. Yeah, yeah. Which is wild. That's crazy. The other two are really hard. I don't even know this guy. Number eight. Moose will know this guy. His name is Mike Patton. He's the guy that sang in Faith No More. What is this? Remember that song? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:21:43] So they say he can hit octaves of his vocals that nobody except like Mariah Carey. Mariah Carey didn't even make the list. She's like 15. And then the last is Ella Fitzgerald. Oh, yeah. You know, the nightingale. Yeah. So anyway, that is the top nine list. Who would you put in your top ten? Right. Like you're saying, Luther. I mean, who's got a smoother voice than Luther? Nobody. Right? I mean, so I think that there's probably, that would be very, top 25 would be, I mean,

[00:22:11] sure, you're going to have some that are like, oh man, they should be at the top. But the top 25 has got to be almost interchangeable. Yeah, you would think. Because it depends on your music too. Because, you know, there's plenty of, like, where is Kelly Clarkson? Right. I don't even see her. I'm sure she's on the list, but we're right. Yeah, because you think of her as being in the last, you know, 20 years. She's been a great singer. Right. You know, where is she? Where's JT? Where's your boy Bruno Mars? Who's playing tonight? Where? He's in concert in North Carolina. He's playing in Charlotte, I believe. Or Greensboro. No, he's in Charlotte.

[00:22:41] He's in Bank of America. Oh, wow. The big one. That's great. Yeah. That reminds me of my Bruno Mars experience. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we all heard that one. Yeah, thanks. So, we're in the nosebleed, the furthest away that you can get from Bruno. Literally, I'm in the corner. I mean, he looks like an ant out there just dancing around. But you know what? It didn't matter to me. We had the Bruno jacket on. Yeah, the jacket on. Yeah, the boots on. Jennifer and all our friends were all there just having a time. Oh. Good times. Good times. Good times. Yes.

[00:23:19] What a show. Yeah, there's a couple of people in my office that are going tonight and are looking to have a lot of fun. Oh, that's going to be awesome. Wonderful. Oh. I've noticed this year that when we're in this, you have to put glasses on and off to read your list. Yes. What's happening over there? Well, I'm getting ready to turn 52 years young, Hank. And so, I can't see. Got a little vision issue here. I can't see.

[00:23:46] I mean, it's so weird how immediately it goes. I mean. We're spending a lot of time putting glasses on and off here. There's a lot of movement going on here. Have you seen the new glasses that, I think Frank wears these a lot. They've got the little thing in the middle. Oh, they click in the middle. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. You going to get some of those? I might have to because this is taking them on and off a million times a day is just for the birds. You'll dig this. You're a hat guy. No, you're a hoodie guy. I like hats. But you like hats. I wear hats. So, do you remember back in the day, my buddies just, well, I've already texted them when I read this.

[00:24:16] Do you remember the bar hat? You know, when we were coming up the bar hat? You know what I'm saying? Yes. It was the circle and then the bar. NC State. And sometimes it wouldn't even have a circle. We just have the name. The game was the company that made it. Okay. So popular when we were growing up. Especially in college. Yes. I mean. Everybody. Everybody had them. Like, I mean, we'd have multiple ones. I like had a University of Hawaii. Had a Virginia hat that I stole from my brother. Had Villanova. I had Georgetown. You had Georgetown. My buddies had Bama. Somebody had Ole Miss. Anyway, everybody had them.

[00:24:46] Then all of a sudden, it seemed like they just went away. That style was not in anymore. I always loved them. They're back. They are back. Full force. And so, I sent the link about them being back out to my friends. They're like, yeah, we've seen them in the stores and everything. And we had this guy. His name was Mitch Carpenter. I'll never forget it. NC State. Well, he was the king of hats. I mean, a hat color for every occasion. They were all bar hats. And he said, and they always fit.

[00:25:13] You know how you could get them to fit just right? Oh, yeah. Have that lid perfect. And so, he said, if y'all give me $10, I will make your hat fit your head like nobody else can. So, he had a running business of forming hats to your head. Okay. And so, when I sent the link out to my buddy, Casey, responded, he was like, you think Mitch still got that hat fitting business? And all he did is put it in the dishwasher in a cup or something. He did something so easy. So simple.

[00:25:43] Yeah, so simple. But people would come to him to make sure their hats look cool. So, anyway. My favorite. This is what I was going to ask you. We getting ready to reload here? We going to get a Hawaii? We going to get? I'm going to go get Hawaii for sure. It was green. It was so dope. I think I remember that. Yeah, because it made it. Will had it in Charleston for years and it came back to Hickory. I wore it to some of our drafts early. Yeah, I think I remember that hat. I don't know where it is right now, but I would like to find it. Tell me your favorite hat of all time because you'll remember it. Yeah, okay. So, I know exactly what it is. Yes.

[00:26:14] I wore this hat probably my junior or senior year in high school. I wore it all through college and then after college. It was made by the game, okay? Same hat company. It was all white. Yes. And on the front, it had the Major League Baseball logo and it just said Major League Baseball underneath it. Okay. Okay? So, it was very different. It's what umpires wore during spring training. Right.

[00:26:41] And I wore the crud out of that hat. Yes. And to this day, I still have it. It's my favorite hat. I don't wear it as much. Love it. But by far, growing up, it's my favorite hat. Yeah. So, people back in the day even would recognize you or call you by, that's the guy that wears that hat. Like, you know what I'm saying? Because I always wore this Virginia hat and I'd keep it way low. And they were like, oh yeah, you're the guys in my class that wears the Virginia hat. I'm like, yeah, that's me. So, anyway, the hats. I love hats. I do too. Yes.

[00:27:10] So, anyway, bring back the bar hat. I'm so excited to see it. All right. I got a couple more here. There it is right there. Yeah. Major League Baseball. Imagine in white. That hat right there. Oh, no kidding. Yeah. That is a good looking hat. That does look like an ump hat. You know? Yeah. That's what they would wear. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's good looking. A couple quick shout outs. My mom's birthday was last Sunday. We celebrated at my house. It was lovely. My sister, my brother, their kids came. Just had a great, great time. Happy 78 to my mom. So, she's 78.

[00:27:39] My dad just turned 79. Yep. Saw a picture. I don't know where. You're sitting, I think outside of the club near the fire pit. Oh, in the sun setting. Yeah. Everybody, like your dad and your mom were sitting down and everybody was behind them. It's a great picture. Lovely picture. Matthew Pitts took that picture for us. Thank you, Matthew. And also very important, Olivia's 21st birthday is in two days, Hank. Wow. Two days. So, I think I mentioned this to you. She said, all I want to do is I want to go to a casino and I want to pull the lever on a slot machine. You've never told me this.

[00:28:09] I haven't told you this story? No, no. Oh. So, what the plan was we were going to try to get it together and go to Vegas real quick just for a real quick weekend and let her do it. But there's just too much stuff going on. We can't throw it together in a couple weeks. So, I was like, let's do this. Where are we going? Cherokee? We're going to Cherokee. Okay. So, this is what we did. We booked it this weekend. So, we're going to Cherokee, staying in the hotel. My mom and dad got a room. My sister and my brother-in-law, they've got a big RV. So, they're going to come up there and stay in their RV. And then my brother's coming up who hasn't. I've never gambled with my brother ever in a casino. What?

[00:28:39] Ever. Is that not crazy? That's crazy. We have never gambled together. So, Jennifer and I, Lucy Rose coming with us too because they have this really good arcade. You know, kids can't go in the casino. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They've got to be 21. And they have a bowling alley and all kinds of stuff. So, we've got it all set up. Got reservations at Ruth Chris. This is crazy. But even during the week, what do you think the minimum bet at Cherokee is? Even during the week, we're going on a Thursday. Minimum bet. 25. It's 25. Yeah.

[00:29:07] Do you remember when you used to be able to find a $5 table? No. No. They don't even exist anymore. No. The only way you could do that is if you went way off the strip in Vegas and your life was in jeopardy. Yeah. You know what I mean? You're like, you're going to get cut at the table if you make a wrong move. I went to Fremont Street. That's the place that's off the strip. That's old Vegas. You could find $5 tables. How long are you going to? I mean, I haven't been there in a long time, but it was just during the day at night. Everything gets bumped up. But I was thinking maybe we could find $10 during the day and then at nighttime, I know

[00:29:37] it's $25. But think about it. If you get on a bad roll, I mean, you're out of there. $400. Bad. Yeah. You're out of there in 14 minutes. Yep. You know, if you get on a roll like we did at Biloxi, we'll last three minutes and back to the hotel. It's going back to the house, guys. But anyway, I want Olivia to just pull that slot. Man, I hope she hits a big one. Would that not be great? It'd be great. She just hit a ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Yeah, that's awesome. So we're doing that in a couple Thursdays. So happy birthday to Olivia. Looking forward to that. And let's see what else we've got on my notes. Get them glasses on. Oh, this is the last thing.

[00:30:06] This is what we'll leave. So I don't know if you heard, but they're, you know, sports, they're always trying to kind of tweak stuff here and there to maybe make it what I think it is. They say it's to make it a more enjoyable experience for the fans. Yeah. I think it's to make more money for the people. That's what they, let's tweak it here. Let's add another game here. Blah, blah, blah. Well, they want to add March Madness potentially doubling the amount of the field. It's crazy. That is so stupid.

[00:30:32] So I started thinking, what is the four or five sporting things that we would, you just can't even imagine touching because they're already so. Well, March Madness, let's start with that because you shouldn't because the 16 seed, let's be completely honest. The 16 seed has no real business. I mean, you know. It's happened. It's happened that they've won, you know, they've gotten a victory in. Right. But could you imagine going beyond the 16 and what you're going to get? Right.

[00:31:00] Like you're going to have people that finish second in their mid-major conference. Or maybe if they're doubling the field, even worse than that. Yeah. Even worse than that. So, I mean, this, they have parity like, you know, oh, this team didn't make it and they had a great season and it's because Florida State played better competition. And they're, you know, so March Madness has got to be one of them. Got to be. Has got to be one of them. I'll just add to that too. Think about it. The logistics and how they have it set up right now, it's perfect with the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, first weekend.

[00:31:29] Then that next weekend is the Sweet 16, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And then, you know, Saturday, Monday. You add, you double it. How are you going to get all those games in? You won't. I mean, it's going to add another three weeks to that. That screws it up. It screws it up. And we've seen that. We've seen that with college football in their, the way that they're doing it. You know, they, they go, they, they went to the bracket play and then they were like, oh, the play in or whatever it is. And you know, now it's okay how they get to it. But, um, you know, I will say, I hate it when they tweak it, but there are some things that are good.

[00:31:59] Like, I think that the, uh, pitch clock for major league baseball is a great addition because it makes, I will sit and watch a four hour game. You will not. I will not. Yeah. So it brings you into a game and kind of speeds it up. So I think that that's actually a good thing. No doubt. Right. I think that's good. I think the bigger bases in baseball are a good thing. More steals. Oh, okay. It's just a little bit bigger. A little bit more exciting when people steal. People want to run. Right. Um, next thing I wouldn't mess with the masters. Bingo. Why? I mean, that's perfection.

[00:32:29] Why? The masters. That's perfection. The masters is perfection and they know you need to tweak nothing. No. Keep the amount, the concession stands, the same prices, the beer, the same. Don't mess with the course, you know, just let it be. I would, I would. And this is like, I love like new sports and I, I love, um, waste management, the green where everybody's freaking out and going crazy. But that is that tournament. The masters is not that tournament. Yes. I don't like cell phones at the masters.

[00:32:59] I don't want, I don't want it to get away from what it is. Like people yelling Baba Booey on the tee box and stuff like that. Like if you yell Baba Booey at the masters, you're out. You can never come back. Yeah. So, I mean, I just think that that's like an important part of it too, because there's so many people, but did you see the one that where he's doing the final putt and they showed the people behind him, there was not one cell phone. No, I didn't know. It was a picture of all the people behind him and they're just watching him putt. There was not a single cell phone. So cool. So there's, that's probably the only place in the world.

[00:33:28] Now you can go in and we take a picture like that and you wouldn't find one cell phone. Yeah. Think about that in the world. Yeah. Wow. Crazy. Um, I had, do you have a couple more? I had a couple written down. So for Thanksgiving football, you know, Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. And one of the reasons, because you got the football and the food and all those and your friends and family, well, they want to add to that weekend. NFL football game Wednesday, three on Thursday, two on Friday, two on Saturday and the rest of the schedule on Sunday. No, come on.

[00:33:57] Give us some time. Football Thursday. Perfect. You know, you're with your family. You're watching it in the background. That's great. If you take up, take over the whole week with NFL football, it doesn't make that Thursday a special anymore. Don't mess with that. Leave that alone. That's one of my favorite days of the year. Leave it alone. Um, this other one, I don't know if this is true or not, but they were saying the Kentucky Derby, not only do they want to change the time, which is this weekend, Kentucky Derby takes place this Saturday.

[00:34:24] It's been the first Saturday in May for forever. But they're talking about maybe, how could they do this? Making people not wear the hats anymore. I mean, Kentucky Derby. What's the point of that? That's where you wear your hat. And I'll tell you, there, you know, there are plenty of people that like gambling on horses, men and women. Yeah. But there are plenty of women that get into that hat scenario and men that get in that hat scenario and want to wear it there. One time a year. Why are you going to mess with that?

[00:34:53] That's ridiculous. That's tradition. It's ridiculous. Derby? No. And okay. So I agree with you there. The other thing is, and this is just a baseball one. It's not, it could apply to other ones. Fenway Park. Yes. Wrigley Field. Yes. They're tearing down parks. And I understand that they're Turner Field. There wasn't anything special to that. You know, they got the new field. You got to keep Boston's field. Are they talking about getting rid of it? No, no. These iconic fields, you cannot get rid of it. They got rid of Yankee Stadium, you know, the original one.

[00:35:23] So like there's other fields, like there's college fields that are like iconic. Like the Rose Bowl and all those things. I would hate for them to, the Dean Dome is a prime example. They want to get rid of the Dean Dome and take it off campus. They do. Well, tear that stuff up. So I'm going down. That's fine about me. Come on, dude. Like stay with me here. But I mean, like how important. So, you know, what they want to do is they want to take it, take it off campus and make like a little city around it. They want shops and restaurants and stuff like that to make an experience, which has

[00:35:51] proven to be really effective everywhere else. Like Brave Stadium does the exact same thing. You go there, you're buying dinner, you're hanging out, you're going to bars and you go to the game. Right. But could you imagine it being 20 minutes off campus? No. I mean, as a student. Right. It doesn't matter to us because we're driving there. But like you want to be on campus. And as a player, I want it on campus. Now, Carolina is a little bit different. But like if you're going to go play in college, go play something. I want students there. Yeah.

[00:36:21] I just don't want alumni there. Yeah. Or the biggest, the highest bidder. Sure. Sorry about that. Makes sense. That's my rant. Hank Soapbox. He took the place of me today, LT. Okay. Hank, ready? My last one. They want to change the date of the Super Bowl Sunday, right? To Saturday. For many years. I might be able to get behind this. I might be able to get behind this. I was like, okay, that one might seem to work. What they're thinking is maybe, you know, they were going to change it to Saturday.

[00:36:48] It's got to be Super Bowl Sunday, but they were maybe moving it to the Super Bowl Sunday before President's Day, which is a Monday. So you'd have the day off on Monday. I get behind that. Okay. Yeah. I get behind that. I'll vote on that one. How many weeks does that push the season? Who gets President's Day off? No one. It'll be an official holiday, Super Bowl slash President's Day. See what I'm saying? So the post office is closed. Yeah. The banks are closed. Banks are closed. Good for them. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, so that is one that I could see passing through. I could take Saturday.

[00:37:19] It's Super Bowl Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday. I think Super Bowl Saturday would be fantastic. Okay. Play it. We'll have to vote on that. Four o'clock on a Saturday. Chad. What are you going to do on Sunday? Rest. It's a day of rest. I'll eat the rest of my chicken wings. Day of rest. I love it. All right, Hank. Well, I mean, that's... We've talked about some really good stuff here today, my friend. A lot of topics there. A lot of topics. A lot of topics. And so this weekend, what do we have?

[00:37:45] This weekend, yes, we have Lucy is dancing in Asheville. They leave Saturday morning and then return Sunday evening. Are you going or are you staying? I might try to come up for the day, but the moms, they always get the hotel rooms. The daddies can't stay. Hey, oh, shoot. Oh, shoot.

[00:38:10] But anyway, you know, so I hope I'll be able to sit here and dance for a little bit. But so who knows? Sky's the limit. Phones take great videos too. We're just dancing. Phones take great videos. They certainly do. They certainly do. How about you? What you got going on? Saturday, not very much. Going on Saturday, right? So I don't know what we have going on. Is the pool opening? We're talking about opening it. I don't know if it's going to open this week or next week or whenever. Need to help anybody pouring some chlorine in there? Maybe. Okay. Maybe.

[00:38:40] Somebody jump on a raft. Yes. Okay. I'm good at that. All right. And then Sunday, Harris is trying out for state games. And so he'll go with some other, like JB and some other guys down there. So I really don't have that much going on this week, Chad. Well. Chad. Well, well, well, well. Chad might weasel his way over to the house. Yeah. Maybe you could weasel your way over to my house. And, you know, there's this big oblong shaped table that has not been in use in a long time. Maybe just throw a little cards. Oh, I owe you. A little yellow pad.

[00:39:09] Do you have a $5 buy-in over there? It's a little bit higher than that, my friend. Okay. A little bit higher than that. But we'll run into something for sure. And I do want to let all our listeners know next, not next week, but the following week is the Camden Special. Okay. Moose, I need to run this by you. But we need to make, if we can get another mic. Camden wants to do the film extravaganza. Summer Spectacular. Summer Blackbusters Spectacular.

[00:39:37] And he's already seen a lot of the films that are out right now. And he wants to tell us about the ones that are coming. He said Michael Jackson won, which is at the Carolina right now. He said it's superb. So anyway, there's a lot of other ones too. So he wants to be in here with us. I had to tell his plan on it. Okay. I love how disgusted he gets with the amount of movies that I watch. Does he really get angry? Oh, yeah. He's like, you've seen this, right? And I'm like, no. He gets so upset. I love it. So funny. So anyway, we'll have Camden in here in two weeks.

[00:40:06] So we're looking forward to that. And we're also looking forward to seeing many of our new listeners. I hope to run into Ross. There was another fellow that was at the bar that he downloaded it at the same time. His name is Gene. So he said he was going to listen too. So the numbers keep rising. I was telling you, I was getting out for church and I got out of the car and there was a guy walking down the street who I know, you know, and you introduced him to our podcast. He pulled out his AirPod and said, you'll never believe what I'm doing. I'm listening to you. Incredible. Incredible. Yep.

[00:40:36] Big fan keeps growing larger and larger by the minute, by the second. Hank. Yes. I'll see you tonight. Good luck at the tennis match. Thank you. And to all big fan listeners, we'll come back with you or come back to you in two weeks. Until then, peace. That's what I feel now.

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