MISCHKE: Flying Around (ep. 99)

Summary

---

Garage Logic: MISCHKE - Flying Around (Ep. 99)

Podcast: Garage Logic
Host: Tommy Mischke (Mischke)
Network: Gamut Podcast Network
Release Date: April 3, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In this whimsical and meandering episode, Tommy Mischke—known for his improvisational and often absurdist style—blends satire, listener interaction, social commentary, and narrative flights of fancy. Centering around themes of adventure, aging, space exploration, listener engagement, and the strange rituals of daily life, Mischke’s show spins the metaphorical “big wheel” and sees where it lands, inviting callers (notably Mary, a rare female voice) into his unpredictable conversational orbit.

---

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Spinning the Big Wheel, Political Satire & Opening Monologue

[00:31–04:18]

• Mischke frames the episode as the result of “playing with the big wheel,” an invitation to improvisational chaos.
• Offers a tongue-in-cheek presidential platform: “We’re going to get into the Oval Office and we’re going to twist and shout. That’s pretty much what we’re going to do.”

  “You want a president who can twist and shout?... you got four years of a little twist and a little shout and the whole world's gonna know what I'm about.” – Mischke [02:17]

2. Caller Mary: On Being Volunteered, Pickleball, and Life’s Simple Joys

[04:18–16:24]

• Mary, a listener, is on air thanks to her husband, who signed her up, leading to a playful, gently self-deprecating exchange about the rarity of female callers.
• Mischke compares men volunteering their wives to Native American children learning not to touch hot rocks—painful but instructive.
• Mary: “I like to explore. I’m adventurous. I’m married, I have a few kids, and just having a good time. Life is great.” [09:11]
• Discussion about aging and hobbies: pickleball as the “fastest growing sport” for older Americans, but not without risk.

  “But I just wanna pass this along. There have been several reports of people dying playing pickleball.” – Mischke [09:57]

• Debate the mysteries of dry cleaning and the freedom of not caring about appearance in retirement.
• Mischke references reading Cosmopolitan and learning women’s views on cargo shorts.

  “Women are really down on [cargo pants]. Really down on them.” – Mischke [13:07]

• Mary recounts why she called in: amusement at a recent episode where Mischke humorously covered a story of a woman who killed her husband and wrote a children’s book on grief.

  “It was so funny. I was just rolling on the floor… What planet is Tommy from?” – Mary [15:02]

3. Mishke’s NASA Satire: On the Artemis 2 "Moon Mission"

[18:13–24:40, 40:29–42:23]

• Mischke sets up the Artemis 2 mission, lampooning NASA and media for overhyping what he sees as a “flying around” trip rather than an actual moon landing.

  “It’s not going to the moon. That’s like you saying you’re going to Chicago as you fly over Chicago… They have to say they're going to the moon or Americans won't care.” – Mischke [18:13]

• Satirical “commentary” with NASA correspondents (Steve, David), at each turn undercutting their earnestness with pointed absurdism.

  “Don’t lie to them, Steve. Nobody’s going to the moon.” – Mischke [21:56]

• Pokes fun at the idea of historic “firsts” for women and people of color in space, questioning what is actually meaningful or new about this mission.

  “We have had women and people of color flying around in space before. There's nothing historic about this.” – Mischke [41:38]

4. Dear Abby Gone Awry: Humor and Embarrassment in the Workplace

[24:45–31:27]

• Mischke reads a Dear Abby letter about an accidental gas-passing incident at work, offers counseling via the “Mischke Rule.”

  “Don’t try to be funny about it. Just say ‘excuse me.’ Really, I don’t agree with that… My sense is you get to say ‘excuse me’ if you burp. But… say something funny that will help them get the laugh out that needs to come out.” – Mischke [26:12]

• Emphasizes humor and surprise over embarrassment; rejects conventional advice.

  “Surprise is a key element of humor. Someone slips on a banana peel, you didn’t expect that, you start laughing.” – Mischke [28:13]

5. Imaginative Voicemail Narrative—Spinning a Life from a Voice

[34:14–39:36]

• Mischke leaves a voicemail for a female listener, spiraling into an invented, Dickensian backstory inspired by the sound of her voice.
• Concludes his winding tale with, “Are you available Friday night to go out with me by chance?”
• Mary responds (via automated message): “Not available.” [39:36]
• Mischke chides himself and the repetition of “the town” in the voicemail loop.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On presidential platforms:
  “You people looking for a president who can twist and shout? You vote for Maury Cronch Novel. He knows how to twist and shout.” – Mischke [02:07]

• Self-deprecation about female callers:
  “Most women, after talking to me, never want to talk to me again. But peace comes over them as they realize, okay, I now know what not to do in life. I am the rock.” – Mischke [08:50]

• Absurd heights of space commentary:
  “Going nowhere fast is how I like to say it, Steve.” – Mischke [23:49]

• On aging and slowing down:
  “The older you get, the more you want the sport to slow down. Slow down, slow down. What do you foresee yourself doing five years from now? Backgammon.” – Mischke [14:04]

• Deadpan about cargo shorts fashion:
  “Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You guys don’t care what you look like anymore.” – Mischke [13:38]

• Invented backstories:
  “Your father didn’t come home one night. You were only seven years old… your mother never told you much.… You had a life of great tragedy before you ever came close to adulthood.” – Mischke [35:00–38:00]

---

Timestamps of Interest

• [00:31] Mischke’s intro and presidential satire
• [04:18] Mary calls in; rarity of female listeners discussed
• [10:06] The risks and perils of pickleball
• [13:07] Fashion, dry cleaning, and the fading importance of appearance
• [15:02] Caller's inspiration: the “murderous” children’s grief book
• [18:13, 21:56] NASA segment: The faux lunar mission
• [24:45] Dear Abby: Embracing humor in embarrassing moments
• [34:14, 35:00–38:00] Mischke's invented biography for a voicemail caller
• [40:47] Satirical NASA “update” and rhetorical questioning of mission value

---

Tone & Style

True to Mischke’s brand, the episode is improvisational, gently absurd, self-aware, and willing to poke fun at itself, its host, the audience, and cultural touchstones. Mischke’s humor is dry but kind, and even at his most satirical, he preserves an everyman accessibility. Listeners are left with a mixture of amused befuddlement and a sense of being privy to a uniquely local, human, and often hilarious conversation.

---

For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode captures Mischke at his best: unserious about serious things, serious about unserious things, and always eager to spin everyday oddities into stories, social commentary, and laughter. From the arcane rituals of calling a talk show, to exploding the mythos of moon missions and decoding the enigma of dry cleaning, “Flying Around” was less about eventful happenings and more about enjoying the ride—no landing required.

Transcript

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[Tommy Mishke]

Welcome to another edition of the show, simply referred to around these parts as Mishki. Coming to you from the bleak baron tarmac of University Avenue, I'm a sittin here in the old outpost hoping to spin the big wheel. Big wheel. Rossette. Not that one. Yeah. I've been messing with the wheel. Tinkering with the wheel. I've been oiling. Oiling the wheel and adjusting the wheel. Modifying the wheel and recalibrating the wheel. Hello listeners. Any of you out there want to chit chat? What do you want to talk about? I like talking about stuff. Different things, subjects, you know, I wanna, I wanna visit with you. I've been playing with the big wheel of late. You know what the big wheel is? Big wheel, Rossi? Not that one. No. I've been playing around with the wheel. The magic listener wheel. You understand, right? Gonna shake it up a little bit, see what happens. Oh dear. Bo. Yeah, we're going to have some fun, huh? Let's have some fun. Let's shake it up, baby. Shake it up, baby. Let's what you call. Let's what you call twist and shout. Can you imagine a presidential campaign where the platform was we're going to get into the Oval Office and we're going to twist and shout. That's pretty much what we're going to do. We're going to get in the Oval Office. So we're going to. We're gonna twist and we're gonna shout. You people looking for a president who can twist and shout? You vote for Maury Cronch novel. He knows how to twist and shout. You want that in the Oval Office? Okay, vote Maury. I'm not gonna be doing much more than that during my four year term and I'm not gonna run for a second term. So you got four years of a little twist and a little shout out and the whole world's gonna know what I'm about. What do you think of that new president the United States has? All the guy does is twist and shout. I know, but he told you he was gonna do that. They voted him in and by God that's what he's doing. Look at everybody. Twistin and then shouting and then twistin and then the shouting. And in the country, there's no more poutin. Cause I'm a twist in and I'm shouting, I'm your president. Know where the old guy went? Who cares? Things change. I've been playing around with the big wheel. I'm gonna spin it and see if we can do things differently. Here goes the inaugural spin. After a lot of tinker in. Let's try it.

[Mary]

Tommy, is that you?

[Tommy Mishke]

Whoa. I don't know about this.

[Mary]

Tommy.

[Tommy Mishke]

How long indeed? How long indeed. Yes, just like that. The clouds parted, the sun shone, and the birds began to sing. What was thought to be a moment that would never come again suddenly appeared in the midst of the show. A woman. A female listener. That voice, so different from its male counterparts.

[Mary]

Listen, Tommy.

[Tommy Mishke]

Undeniably feminine. Quite different from the sounds that have been on the phone in recent weeks. Sounds like this. Hey, how's it going?

[Mary]

Oh, boy. Is this Mishki? Well, Mishky, you're gonna always be the phantom collar to me, Mishky. All right, Tommy. Tommy Mishke, what are you up to? I'm ready to go. Hey, Mishky. Mister. Oh, Jesus. I just listened to your Friday.

[Tommy Mishke]

Oh, man.

[Mary]

Misky, I knew it'd come to me.

[Tommy Mishke]

You can understand, I'm sure, after all that, what it's like to suddenly hear this.

[Mary]

Oh, my gosh. I can't believe I'm talking to you.

[Tommy Mishke]

You can't believe it? Imagine the shock I'm feeling right now knowing I'm talking to an actual woman.

[Mary]

Well, you know, to tell you the truth, Tommy, you're not a woman.

[Tommy Mishke]

No, no, no.

[Mary]

How.

[David (NASA Correspondent)]

Where?

[Mary]

Why the nerves?

[Tommy Mishke]

Bollocks.

[Mary]

I am a woman. But I really was kind of nervous about talking to you because I just feel so in awe of your creativity and everything. And so I was telling my husband, I just don't know if I dare talk to Tommy. And so he's actually the one who signed me up for you to call me. So.

[Tommy Mishke]

Good man.

[Mary]

I can't believe it. Good man.

[Tommy Mishke]

Yeah, good man. That's what it takes these days. It takes good men volunteering good women. So I want to put out a call to all the good men out there to volunteer your good woman. Put her on the caller list. All you gotta do is text me. 6513-21-8949. She'll never do it, so you've got to do it for her. This is the analogy I'll use for the guys out there volunteering the good women in their lives. You're doing something that probably the woman in your life doesn't want you to do, and you're doing it really for her because you know deep down it's going to be good. Overall, in the beginning, it will seem like you've done something cruel, almost inhuman, by putting your name on the list. But think of the Native Americans in their teepees on the plains years ago. Their child would be crawling toward the fire, and there'd be these rocks around the fire that were quite hot. And they would see the child crawling toward the rocks. And they would know if the child touches those rocks and the child will get burned. But, and this is what was so important, they allowed the child to do it anyway because they could not watch the child the rest of their lives. They needed the child one time to get burned so the child would never go toward the rocks again. And so the child would touch the rock and it was hard to watch and get burned. But the child, for the rest of its childhood, would stay away from that fire.

[Mary]

Tommy, what you're saying is that if the man puts their name on the list, they're going to wait for you to call, and that's like touching fire. And then they'll never want to do it again.

[Tommy Mishke]

Most women, after talking to me, never want to talk to me again. But peace comes over them as they realize, okay, I now know what not to do in life. I am the rock.

[Mary]

I don't think so.

[Tommy Mishke]

Tommy, what is your entire life story in a nutshell?

[Mary]

What is my entire life story? I like to explore. I'm adventurous. I'm glad that my husband told you to call me because that's kind of an adventurous thing to do. So I'm married, I have a few kids, and just having a good time. Life is great.

[Tommy Mishke]

Having a good time. Life is great. I wish more people could say that. I realize the older I get that there are fewer people who can say that than I previously thought. I would have suggested in my 20s that most people could say that. And as I get older, I think it's a minority.

[Mary]

My husband and I are just getting ready to go play pickleball now. In fact, I'm walking out the door with him.

[Tommy Mishke]

But I just wanna pass this along. There have been several reports of people dying playing pickleball.

[Mary]

I have heard that. Yeah, I'm a little nervous. I haven't played since I fell down about a month ago. We both fell down playing pickleball within the last month. It's America's fastest growing sport. But pickleball is proving more and more dangerous. 76 year old Jeff Webb fell and suffered a severe head injury on a pickleball court. His death follows the release of a report that has found that the popular sport famous for its appeal to older generations has seen death, death, death, death, death.

[Tommy Mishke]

Get a concussion, death, just like this. Death, death, like this. Death,

[Mary]

death. I don't know why I'm doing this, but this is part of the adventure, Tommy, that I was talking to you about. You just gotta keep on doing it and hope for the best. My husband is here, Tommy, who signed me up for this.

[Tommy Mishke]

So under the guise of taking you to pickleball, he's really monitoring your call. He's not really comfortable with you talking to me without him around. I don't know the last time I talked to a woman on this program, and lately I've been getting a little scared about it.

[Mary]

Oh, well, I can say to all the women out there listening that this isn't so bad talking to you. It's actually kind of fun.

[Tommy Mishke]

It's no different than talking to the guy at the dry cleaners. Right, and you don't care about that. That's comfortable. The guy at the dry cleaners, what's his name again?

[Mary]

What's his name?

[Tommy Mishke]

You have a dry cleaner you go to regularly, don't you? I got a dry cleaner I go to regularly. And every time I hand him something, I realize I have no idea what he's gonna do to that item. I've been dropping stuff off there for decades, but I don't know what he's doing. It says on the sign outside dry cleaning. You'd think one time I'd say to him, what the hell is dry cleaning? I've never done that. I just hand it to him and I pick it up later and he's done something to it called dry cleaning. And I'm okay with that. And I pay him and it looks good when I pick it up. But what the hell did he do to that damn thing? Do you know?

[Mary]

I don't know either, but I have the same question too, now that you're talking about it.

[Tommy Mishke]

Wait a minute.

[Mary]

And I know you don't know. No, I don't know.

[Tommy Mishke]

It's one thing for a moron like me not to ask that question. You're supposed to know. You mean women don't even know what they're doing to the clothes? No.

[Mary]

You know what? The next time I go, but I don't know when that'll be, Tommy, because like, we don't care what we look like anymore. We're Retired.

[Tommy Mishke]

That's what I have to look forward to. I'll get so old, I don't care what I look like.

[Mary]

Absolutely. Yes. It's wonderful.

[Tommy Mishke]

What are you guys wearing?

[Mary]

I'm wearing my sweatpants. Tom is wearing cargo shorts.

[Tommy Mishke]

I'd like to pull Tom aside. Sometimes when I go to doctors, I sit in the waiting room and, well, I spend most of the time reading women's magazines. If there is an opportunity to learn about women, it's going to be in those magazines. So I'll be going through the different magazines. And I hate to tell Tom this, but I was reading a long article in Cosmopolitan recently about cargo pants. Women are really down on them. Really down on them.

[Mary]

What do you think about that, Tom? I'll stick with him.

[Tommy Mishke]

Oh, that's right. I forgot. You guys don't care what you look like anymore. Okay. This pickleball fascination. I gotta tell you, I've never played the game in my life, and I plan to go to my grave without playing it. What is this new fad all about? I mean, prior to this, you seemed happy. Right. Why did you need this in your life?

[Mary]

I think the big thing is that when you hit the ball, the action is a lot slower, so it just makes the game is kind of a little bit slower.

[Tommy Mishke]

I'm starting to get a sense of what aging is, so the games just get progressively slower. The older you get, the more you want the sport to slow down. Slow down, slow down. What do you foresee yourself doing five years from now? Backgammon.

[Mary]

If I keep falling down playing pickleball, I might have to resort to that. But another backgammon injury. Backgammon injury. I don't know.

[Tommy Mishke]

I picture myself at the end just playing hangman with my roommate at the home.

[Mary]

Tommy, I have to tell you something. You know what spurred me on to tell my husband that I just really was so impressed with you was when a couple of podcasts ago, you were talking about this lady who murdered her husband, and you said that she went on to write this book about grieving, and then she did it in this Dr. Seuss poem.

[Tommy Mishke]

Yeah.

[Mary]

And you started reading this poem that. It was so funny. I was just rolling on the floor. I was like, oh, my gosh. And that's when I was saying to my husband, what planet is Tommy from?

[Tommy Mishke]

She did set it up for me nicely. She teed it up by first killing her husband and then writing a kid's book about grief. And I just thought, I'm going to picture her reading that book to her Kids, it's hard coping with grief. Hardest time we've ever had. Well, not that hard for me since I'm the one who killed your dad. But we cry when daddies die. Oh it makes us all so sad. Well I'm not that upset cause I'm the one who killed your dad. Well, I'll let you get to your game. But I'm delighted that you were thrown onto the list even if you didn't volunteer yourself. Maybe this will be an example for others. We'll see if anybody says she didn't seem to have too hard of a time. Maybe they want to radio collar you though and track you over the next few days to see if it really was harmless.

[Mary]

I think this was a wonderful experience.

[Tommy Mishke]

Thanks for being a part of the show and good luck with your game.

[Mary]

Thank you. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed talking to you. Call again.

[Tommy Mishke]

I will Mary.

[Mary]

Have a good day now.

[Tommy Mishke]

Bye bye. Some people say to me, mishke, have you ever seen Bradshaw and Bryant? No one's ever seen Bradshaw and Bryant. That's like asking, have you seen Batman? Have you seen the Green Hornet? What you see is what they do, what they leave in their wake. The things they accomplish. The good, the decent, the wholesome, the lives they take care of. The scales of justice they balance. You never see Bradshawn Bryant. Do you ever see the hand of God? You're not allowed to. You're not privy to that world. But do you see the handiwork? Oh my, oh my. No, I don't see Bradshaw and Bryant. I don't need to shake their hand. I don't need to look into their eyes. What I need to see is what they do, how they do it and how their work is received by those they do it for. And I've seen enough. More than enough. Learn all about him at MinnesotaPersonal Injury.com Smokey the Bear.

[Mary]

Then you know why Smokey tells you when he sees you passing through. Remember, please be careful. It's the least that you can do.

[Tommy Mishke]

After 80 years of learning his wildfire

[Mary]

prevention tips, Smokey Bear lives within us all. Learn [e-mail] and remember, only you can

[Tommy Mishke]

prevent wildfires brought to you by the

[Mary]

USDA Forest Service, your state forester and the Ad Council.

[Tommy Mishke]

MSP stands for Minneapolis St. Paul. MSP is the name of my air conditioning operation, plumbing operation, heating operation. If there is air in my home needing attending to, I contact them. That means cleaning the ductwork. That means checking the air quality and what's in those walls in My home pipes. And who takes care of those pipes? MSP Minneapolis St. Paul plumbing, heating and air. And they have a $49 furnace tune up special right now. Call them up before the 17th of April, get a $49 furnace tune up and qualify to win a Weber grill from Fratelloni's Hardware. Take care of your furnace in a simple, easy, inexpensive way and grill all summer long. There won't be that many people in this contest. It ends April 17th. Get in there. You need the tune up anyway. Your furnace worked hard all winter. Get the $49 tune up from MSP and possibly get a phone call being told you've won a fine Weber grill. Msp. Tell them where you heard about them, please. We got a rocket taking off for the moon. Have you checked that out in the news? Big story. Rocket heading to the moon. That's what they all say. They say that to get you fired up. It's not going to the moon. That's like you saying you're going to Chicago as you fly over Chicago. Chicago's down there. You're flying over Chicago. Maybe you're headed to Florida or something. But you're telling everyone I'm going to Chicago. Would they agree you're going to Chicago when you're not landing in Chicago? No, they would not. You're flying over it. This isn't a trip to the moon. The moon is out there the same way Chicago's out there when you're flying over it. They have to say they're going to the moon or Americans won't care. If they say what's actually happening, that a rocket's taking off and just flyin around, who's gonna tune in? Who's gonna care? Worse yet, people might get upset about the money being spent just to go flying around. Oh, they're making a big deal out of it at the launch pad. It's just like the old days. They want you to get excited. The big countdown. Oh, look at that rocket. It's gonna take off. It's gonna go up to the moon. Well, kind of. Not really. It has all the ingredients of an important flight. It looks like it. When you're watching the screen, when you're hearing the guys talk, you can almost start to think this is a big deal, this trip. Then you remember, oh yeah, they're just flying around. Why aren't they going to the moon? Well, that would be very expensive. It's very expensive to land on the moon and we were already there. It's like if you already went to Chicago, I'VE seen it. I got the T shirt. What's the point? Well, then why are you flying around at all? Well, we're checking out this new flight path, and we're gonna go around the moon in a different way, and it's all gonna be very different from other flights. Right, but in the end, you're just flying around, right? Well, easy there, Tommy. Let's go to Mission Control. There's that drama with the countdown. This is big. Four brave explorers ready to ride the

[Steve (NASA Mission Control)]

most powerful rocket NASA has ever launched.

[Tommy Mishke]

Sound suppression. Water is flowing. And Here we go. 10, 9, 8, 7. RS 25 engines lit. 4, 3, 2, 1. Booster ignition and lift off. The crew of Artemis 2 now bound for the moon. They're not going to the moon. Don't lie to them, Steve. Nobody's going to the moon.

[Mary]

Good roll pitch.

[Steve (NASA Mission Control)]

Houston now controlling the flight of integrity on the Artemis II mission around the moon. Traveling more than 1200 miles per hour, the flight of Artemis II. Wiseman, Glover, Cook and Hanson cross the boundary to space with good com checks.

[Tommy Mishke]

Good comm checks, yeah, Steve, but kind of a boring flight plan, don't you think? I mean, they're just flying around up there. The whole thing seems kind of pointless.

[Steve (NASA Mission Control)]

Commander Reid Wiseman confirms he has visuals of his destination.

[Tommy Mishke]

Yeah, but what a ridiculous destination, Steve, don't you think? I mean, they don't really have a destination. They're just flying around.

[Steve (NASA Mission Control)]

Three good main engines are all that's needed to carry integrity. Though at this time, we're seeing four good engines here in mission Control, Houston.

[Tommy Mishke]

Four more engines than were really needed, Steve, when you think about it, I mean, they could have just stayed on the ground, sitting at the controls there, playing the radio, and they'd have accomplished about as much, don't you think?

[Steve (NASA Mission Control)]

Integrity, 75 miles in, altitude 330 miles downrange. Approaching 10,000 miles per hour.

[Tommy Mishke]

Going nowhere fast is how I like to say it, Steve.

[Steve (NASA Mission Control)]

Integrity, 78 miles in, altitude, 460 miles downrange.

[Tommy Mishke]

And heading where again, Steve? Oh, that's right. They're just flying around. You think any Americans are watching, Steve? Or do you think they're looking at old reruns of the Golden Girls instead? Because that's what I'm doing.

[Steve (NASA Mission Control)]

The window is now open for an abort option that would target splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

[Tommy Mishke]

An abort option? Boy, I didn't know there was one of those. I would jump at that. An option to abort and just come back down, Take it. We'll call it a Fun flight, A NASA joyride, get everybody some beers, call it a day. What do you say, Steve?

[Mary]

Foreign.

[Tommy Mishke]

Let's have a good old Dear Abby segment. Let's hearken back to that old feature, where's Mikey Lunan? Dear Abby, what did they write to day? Dear Abby, what did you have to say? Here's a lovely Dear Abby that I found today just delightful. Dear Abby, I am a female working full time in an office with all men. Yesterday I ate a salad that contained several varieties of beans. I was standing outside my boss's office laughing at a joke one of the salesmen was telling when I suddenly passed gas. I was mortified, of course. I ended up patting the salesman on the arm and saying, I guess that's what I think of your joke, and walking away to my office. But today, Abby, I cannot look either man in the face. Since this seems to be something that happens to older people. I'm 69 and it's something we often don't have control over. Please tell me how one can recover if this should ever happen again. What should I say or do? I was stunned by Abby's reply. She answered real matter of factly. She answered by saying, if it happens again, don't try to be funny about it. Just say, excuse me. Really, I don't agree with that. This may be just a Mishki rule, but my sense is you get to say excuse me if you burp. But in this situation where our lovely 69 year old only female employee at this all male business past gas to say as the two men look at her, excuse me, That leaves something to be desired there. That's, that's not cutting it. I think she did about the best she could there by saying, I guess that's what I think of your joke. I mean, there is no easy way out. But some sense of humor there was called for, and I would say would be called for. In every one of those instances, say the funniest thing you can, please. In every one of those instances, do not think saying excuse me is going to leave the two guys saying, oh, okay, we'll just move on from that. Very good. We'll just forget we ever heard that. No, they're wanting to laugh. They're dying to laugh. They're aching to laugh. Say something funny that will help them get the laugh out that needs to come out. Anyway, I bet when you said that, when you said to the salesman, I guess that's what I think of your joke. I bet he laughed harder than one should have given that that's not that funny a line, but there was excess laughter that needed to come out from what he overheard the passing of the gas. He had to laugh, the boss had to laugh. And you helped them laugh by giving them permission, by at least trying to be funny and they could say later, I'm sure she thought we were laughing at her little joke. They were laughing at the surprise in that moment. See, the one key element in almost all humor is surprise. When a punchline is delivered, you don't see it coming and the surprise is mixed in with the humor right there. If you knew the punch line that was coming, it wouldn't be as funny. Surprise is a key element of humor. Someone slips on a banana peel, you didn't expect that, you start laughing. They didn't expect you to pass gas at the end of that joke. That was the last thing they expected from a 69 year old woman. I'm going to tell this joke and Carol here afterward is just going to let one fly. No, no way did they expect that. So they wanted to laugh uproariously, but you are not allowing them to do that. If you just say excuse me, if you just say, oh, excuse me and then they burst out laughing, how are you going to feel then? And they have to laugh because if they stifle the laugh and you see them stifling it, that's going to be worse. How do you want it to go? Do you want to say excuse me and then have these two guys laughing with when that's not a funny thing to say and thus you're going to have to conclude they're just laughing at you, or would you like to try a joke? As bad as it was, it at least freed them. And then you could walk away thinking you're witty or at least a good sport. No, Abby's wrong. You have to try and be funny. In that instance. Never in such a situation end with excuse me. Sometimes Abby gets it wrong. People call me up all the time and they say mishke. What does well shire mean? The name Wellshire. What does it mean? I hang up on them. I hang up on all of them. What do you mean, what does the well shire mean? Like it's some foreign term. I can translate the way one can translate gesundheit. The Wellshire is a revolution, my friends, a revolution in how to care for those with Alzheimer's and dementia. And people all over the state are becoming more and more aware of this extraordinary facility. In Medina and Bloomington, four quadrants for the four stages of memory care, a town square environment, gardens, balconies, live musicians paid to give those you love joy and comfort. Beautiful rooms, fine chefs working in the kitchen. Extraordinary meals, barber shops, salon, library, cinema, ice cream parlor. Tour this place and you will not consider going anywhere else. It was built with love, care and compassion. So call me up and ask me about what they do. I can't take calls all day responding to questions like what does Wellshire mean? Stop it.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over $900 on average. Pop over to progressive.com answer some questions and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99% of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and national average 12 month savings of $946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary you people who

[Tommy Mishke]

use pressure washers in your business, Industrial pressure washers? Aren't you ever curious to find out what all is out there? What all is available, what the new technology provides, what innovations have come along? Don't you ever just want to stop by American Pressure and just take a look at what you could possibly have at your place if you wanted to make some changes? Don't you want to at least ask what those changes would cost? How they would save you in the long run? How they'd make your job easier? How much better? What American Pressure has right now, brand new? How much better that is than what you're using? Don't you just want to pick their brain a little bit, knowing it's not going to cost you anything? Knowing there are people who've been around for decades, experts in the pressure washing field, who not only have service technicians working all day at the shop on pressure washers, but they're sending out service trucks while they're also selling brand new equipment, while they're setting up new equipment, while they're training people on how to use new equipment, all sorts of different pressure washing equipment? Pressure washers are an important part of your company. Don't you want to see what you can learn? Take part of a day someday to do that. Find out a little bit more. What if that little bit more is a game changer in your world? Then what was it worth to you to find that out? American Pressure of Robbinsdale.

[Mary]

Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. The person you're trying to reach is not available. At the tone, please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up.

[Tommy Mishke]

Well, you have an interesting voice. Every now and then you women with your outgoing messages deliver a voice that intrigues me.

[Mary]

At the tone, please record your message.

[Tommy Mishke]

I'd like to know more about you, but I don't suppose there's any way for me to learn about your life. I have so little information right now. Just that tone, that sound, that voice of yours.

[Mary]

Your call has been forwarded to voicemail.

[Tommy Mishke]

Mysterious, really. I could begin to make up something about you, but I fear I'd be off here and there. Oh, every now and then I'd nail it. I'm always going to nail a few things just from the sound of a voice. It's astounding how much one can learn from that. And that alone. And your voice, young lady, is particularly evocative. Yes. Oh my. My mind is starting to spin now. Yes, I'm spinning a yarn, I believe. A tail a about you and your world. Your father didn't come home one night. You were only seven years old. He had said he was going down to the corner bar to meet Roger and Kevin, but he never came home. Your mother never told you much. Just that your daddy was gone and that the two of you would have to make your way in this world without him. You always wondered what had happened. Was it an escape he made intentionally? Or did something terrible happen to him that night? And if so, what? You would never get your answer. You spent so much of your childhood answering the door, telling people who were looking for your father that he wasn't around. You got so you could do it in your sleep. Your mother worked two jobs and raised you as best she could. But her long absences left you having to find a way to raise yourself. And that meant hanging out at Sarah's Beauty salon over on 8th Street. Sarah would let you sweep, clean the brushes, scrub the floor, restock the beauty supplies. And at nine years of age, you were working three quarter time along with going to school. Then when you were 11, your mother was killed at a crosswalk hit by a city bus. A bus whose driver was found guilty of driving under the influence of narcotics. You received a fair amount of money from the city in a settlement and you abandoned the junior high you were going to attend. And you were home schooled by Sarah, who also adopted you. You were a hairstylist by 13, working full time, but one day when you were 15, Sarah died without warning. An aneurysm. She dropped dead in her home in the morning while making breakfast for you. Yes. You, my young friend, had a life of great tragedy before you ever came close to adulthood. Many wondered what effect all of that tragedy was having on you. You bore it well on the outside, that's what everyone used to say. Sarah's partner, Debbie, took over the salon. And that's when something momentous happened. First of all, Debbie told you never to tell anyone that Sarah was dead. Debbie told you she couldn't take the pressure of everyone thinking this was now her place. Especially knowing the horrific way it came to be her place. She told you when people came to the door asking about Sarah, you were to say Sarah was unavailable. My God, the number of times you had to do that. For three straight years, you swore that was about all you did. Answering the call of people at the door day after day, telling them the fine woman they were trying to reach was unavailable. Young lady, you did that so often, you got pretty damn good at it. And after a while, you came to see it as the life God had chosen for you. Telling folks who came calling that so and so wasn't available. You had done it when they came looking for your dad. And you were doing it when people came looking for Sarah. You decided it was your true gift, the role you were meant to play in this world. You took a job with the phone company at 18 and you never looked back. In fact, you loved to joke that this was your calling, your true calling. And it's what you do to this day. I think that's your story. That's what I'm picking up in the tone of your Voice Now. The $64,000 question. Are you available Friday night to go out with me by chance?

[Mary]

Not available.

[Tommy Mishke]

What's that?

[Mary]

Not available I see at the town. Please record your message at the town. The town. The town. Town. The town. The town. The town. Town. The town. The town. The town. Town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town. The town.

[Tommy Mishke]

Well, I think it's time to check in again with our NASA folk. The guys flying around up there claiming they're on some sort of lunar mission. Anyway, let's. Let's see how that's going. Go ahead, David. We're all hooked up with you.

[David (NASA Correspondent)]

Just moments ago, the start of humanity's return to the moon. The launch of Artemis 2.

[Tommy Mishke]

Easy there, David. We're not returning to the moon. I wish you would quit saying that. Let's strive for accuracy, okay?

[David (NASA Correspondent)]

Traveling around the moon for the first time since the Apollo era and paving the way to once again land there on future missions.

[Tommy Mishke]

There you go. We're just flying around. We'll get to the moon sometime later with a different mission. Not this one. This one's the flying around trip.

[David (NASA Correspondent)]

Most of us were not even alive the last time this happened. Which is why today's launch has generated so much excitement here on the Space Coast. Families gathering to watch history unfold before their eyes. The first lunar mission to include a woman on board. The first to include a person of color.

[Tommy Mishke]

It's not a lunar mission, David. I'm going to ask you again to quit saying that. And we have had women and people of color flying around in space before. There's nothing historic about this.

[David (NASA Correspondent)]

Watching it all with us here, senior national correspondent Mark Strassman. Mark, it was an overwhelming experience watching that shuttle just moments ago. It's an emotional experience. And yet what did they just achieve?

[Tommy Mishke]

Well, that's an excellent question, David. Mark, will you answer it? What did they just achieve?

[David (NASA Correspondent)]

How big of a moment is this for NASA? What did they just achieve?

[Tommy Mishke]

Cat gut your tongue. Mark.

[David (NASA Correspondent)]

Mark, what did they just achieve?

[Mary]

Mark?

[Tommy Mishke]

I think it's a huge moment for NASA. A very dramatic first step. First step. We took that with a Mercury program back in the 60s. First step. I think Mark's done. Can we get someone else in here? Well, that's about gonna do it for this show, folks. Thank you so much for listening. I've enjoyed our time together. We did a little twistin and we did a little shoutin together. We shook it up. Aybe did we not? I think so. I think this show will be remembered long, long, long after the sun burns out and this planet disappears. Oh yeah. We'll talk to you again next time. Okie dokie. Until then, you be well.