MISCHKE: Gods and Bathrooms (ep. 133)

Summary

Garage Logic: MISCHKE — Gods and Bathrooms (Ep. 133)

Host: Mishke
Episode Date: July 31, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode revolves around the unique, meandering humor and storytelling that defines Garage Logic. Mishke opens with a reflection on the charm of human stories in an age dominated by technology and AI, then segues into a series of comedic anecdotes and a long-form conversation with a listener named Tim. The discussion spans embarrassment, friendship, local Minnesota lore, skydiving, and the absurdity (and humanity) of both mortals and gods—particularly as they might interact in the surprisingly egalitarian setting of a public restroom. Greek mythology, small-town memories, and reflections on mortality and joy all blend into a rich, personal, and engaging episode.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Embarrassment and Bathrooms

Mishke shares a classic tale of awkwardness and self-deprecating humor:

• The Bathroom Story:
  Mishke recounts being asked where the women’s restroom is by a newcomer in his building. Having never noticed the women’s room (despite decades in the building), he leads her—awkwardly—to the men’s room, only to discover the women’s door inches away ([03:40]).

  Quote:

  • Mishke: "I never knew that women's room was right next door to the men's room. And I have to ask myself now, how observant am I if for years and years and years I can walk into a men's room with the door for the women's room almost touching it and not know the women's room is there?" ([05:53])

• Broader Theme:
  Mishke muses about writing a “Book of Embarrassment,” chronicling his many gaffes, and ponders whether sharing them would be cathartic or just compound his shame ([06:45]).

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2. Spinning the Listener Wheel — Conversation with Tim

The core of the episode is a long, naturalistic chat between Mishke and listener Tim, filled with nostalgia, wit, and genuine connection.

Old Friends and Childhood Adventures

• Childhood friendship is cherished; Tim’s inner circle consists of three friends since 1968 ([12:35]).

• Mishke reminisces about leading “freedom fighters” in his youth, war games, and makes a comic comparison to the turbulent historical events of 1968 ([13:14]).

  Quote:

  • Mishke: “In those days, I was 6 years old. I took a string and ran it from the window of my bedroom to the window of my neighbor's bedroom, my buddy Kenny. And we would talk to each other at night through empty orange juice cans.” ([14:30])

On Friendship and Time

• Mishke contrasts his own overabundance of friends (and the impossibility of sustaining all those relationships) with Tim’s consistent trio ([15:55], [18:00]).
• Reflection on how friendship changes with the demands of adulthood and work ([17:57]).

Esko, Mascots, and the Evolution of Language

• Tim recounts his upbringing in Esko, MN, formerly home of the “Esko Eskimos,” and the shifting perceptions of the mascot’s appropriateness ([18:23]).

• Mishke offers a historical etymology of “Eskimo” and wryly laments losing the intended meaning ([19:23]).

  Quote:

  • Mishke: “People long thought it meant eater of raw meat, which connoted barbarism and violence. Now there's a new theory… the word Eskimo actually came from the French word esquimaux, meaning one who nets snowshoes… But the correction to the etymological record came too late to rehabilitate the word.” ([19:23])

• Playful digressions into mascot culture: “You guys probably even could have built an igloo at the 50 yard line during a game” ([20:49]).

Tim’s Aviation Career

• Tim’s professional background: Flying for Mesaba Airlines and later working as a wildfire pilot, dropping retardant from large planes ([22:36], [23:00]).

• Mishke (characteristically tongue-in-cheek) wonders about the term “retardant,” playing with political correctness ([23:17]).

• Hair-raising experiences: Tim recounts an engine failure, a lucky emergency landing on a farmer’s airstrip, and miracles of survival ([24:40]).

• Joys of flight: the world looks safer from above, and mundane human problems seem small ([24:00]).

  Quote:

  • Tim: “Seeing the world from that perspective… it just feels like you're just motionless. And then you just look at the roads and they connect. Each community about 10 miles between each community out in the middle of nowhere and town after town after town. And you just envision on there that each of those towns has their own little gas station, their own little grocery store, their own little world.” ([29:29])

• Mishke and Tim riff on small-town bar politics and unrequited love, then segue into John Prine’s “Donald and Lydia”—a meditation on dreams, loneliness, and human longing ([31:31]).

  Quote:

  • Mishke (quoting John Prine): “Dreaming just comes natural like the first breath from a baby, like sunshine feeding daisies, like the love hidden deep in your heart.” ([31:31])

Long Marriages and Small-Town Ties

• Tim has been married to his school sweetheart, Deb, for about 50 years ([34:35], [36:55]).
• He reminisces about their first date and brushes with small-town movie production, including a story about working as a tree wrangler on a Jessica Lange film ([36:00]).
• Both Mishke and Tim reflect on what sustains a long relationship; Tim jokes his best quality is simply being “there for the duration” ([37:03]).

Brushes with Mortality: Flying and Skydiving

• Mishke recounts skydiving for the first (and only) time: an experience of profound peace upon accepting imminent death, followed by euphoric laughter when the parachute opens ([37:54] – [40:06]).

• Both men riff on mortality; Tim recalls piloting skydivers and the surreal sight of people tumbling out of his airplane ([41:27]).

  Quote:

  • Mishke: “I felt such a profound sense of peace. I just closed my eyes and I said, it’s going to happen... and peace. Not even a thought beyond that, other than complete and utter peace…” ([38:05])

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3. Greek Mythology, Gods, and Bathrooms

In the closing segment, Mishke muses on the intersection of myth, language, and the deeply human experience of… public restrooms.

• Greek Words and Expressions:
  The language of Greek myth—“Achilles heel,” “Midas touch,” “tantalize”—is traced back to ancient stories ([43:21]).

• The Story of Tantalus:
  Brief mythological retelling of Tantalus’ punishment and how it leads to the modern word “tantalize" ([43:46]).

• Comedic Contrast of Gods and Mortals: Mishke fantasizes about encountering Zeus in a public restroom, blurring the lines between divine and everyday experience—humbling even gods via the shared awkwardness of bathroom etiquette ([44:22]).

  Quote (parodying a restroom conversation with Zeus):

  • Mishke: “Are you actually going to use that urinal, Zeus at a urinal? Intermingling with the hoi polloi”—“…by the way, the word I hear is, in the future, you're no longer going to intermingle with us. Is that right? Are we going to come to bore you over time?...” ([44:22])

• Reflection on the Absurdity of Greek Mythology:
  Mishke shares Zeus's romantic exploits, including marrying his sister in disguise, and throws up his hands at the failings of gods and mortals alike ([45:35]).

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

1. Mishke’s Embarrassment at the Bathroom Doors ([05:53]):
“I could touch both door handles by spreading my arms. They were next to each other. And I said to her, ‘I never knew this was here, and I didn't.’”

2. On Friendship and Time ([15:55]):
Mishke: “You make a buddy, you keep a buddy, you never lose a buddy. You don't give up a buddy. There's no reason in the world to surrender a friend once you've made a friend.”

3. Tim’s Lucky Landing ([25:04]):
Tim: “I was very fortunate. There was a farmer down in Blair, Wisconsin… and I happened to be just over his place when I needed to be over his place and landed there.”

4. Mishke on Skydiving and Peace ([38:05]):
Mishke: “I felt such a profound sense of peace… I just closed my eyes and I said, it’s going to happen. And it was beyond even, that's okay. It’s more: it’s going to happen. And peace.”

5. Mishke Imagining Running Into Zeus at the Urinal ([44:22]):
“If a God really wants to come down to our level, really wants to intermingle with we commoners, a God should be willing to step into a public restroom with the rest of us.”

6. On Zeus's Questionable Love Life ([45:35]):
Mishke (mocking): “His final wife was… what? What? His sister, Hera… Zeus turned back into himself and slept with her. Good Lord, Zeus. It's still me, Roscoe. You didn’t wash your hands, pal. But I don't care about that anymore. You're a freak.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Embarrassment at the Bathroom – [03:40] to [07:00]
• Conversation with Listener Tim Begins – [12:07]
• Discussion of Esko, Mascots, and Names – [18:23] to [22:14]
• Aviation Stories & Mishke's Adventures – [22:36] to [29:12]
• John Prine Song and Small Town Characters – [31:31] to [34:34]
• Love, Marriage & Jessica Lange Anecdote – [34:35] to [37:01]
• Skydiving and Reflections on Mortality – [37:54] to [41:27]
• Mythology, Language, and Gods in Bathrooms – [43:21] to end

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Tone and Style

The episode is warm, rambling, gentle, and deeply self-aware. Mishke’s storytelling fuses relatable embarrassment with affectionate satire and Midwestern wit, often veering into surreal and mythic territory. The tone is light-hearted but reflective, and the stories, while sometimes absurd, are always rooted in rich personal experience and a love of wordplay.

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Useful For…

• Anyone wanting a blend of humor, nostalgia, local color, and mythology
• Fans of storytelling podcasts and Midwestern storytelling tradition
• Listeners seeking a slice of Americana mixed with philosophical asides and everyday awkwardness

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Garage Logic proves again: in a world of cyber-reality and infinite content, there’s nothing quite like the story of one human being leading another to the wrong bathroom—and all the unexpected truths we find along the way.

Transcript

[Mishke]

As technology becomes more complex, cyber reality dominates the culture and AI becomes an endless, anxious discussion. Simple, old human storytelling becomes all the more precious. And that's what you'll find on the Mishki Podcast. In the end, we're all just people. Folks with our brilliance and our absurdities and stories about people. Well, they never get old. The Mishke Podcast. Wherever you get your podcasts, garagelogic isn't just another podcast. It's a trusted voice with a loyal audience. Every day, listeners tune in and pay attention to the businesses we feature. When you advertise with garagelogic, you're putting your brand in front of people who listen and act. We're number one in Anguilla, and we'll make your business number one with G. Ellers. Here's what one of our clients had to say. Hey, it's Pete Arnold from Hire It Pro.

[Tim]

And I've used garagelogic to promote my business for years.

[Mishke]

And I've seen great results of new

[Tim]

clients for my services from the GL audience. I recommend it to any business looking for new customers.

[Mishke]

G L ers are pretty awesome. You just gotta ask for an introduction. You just heard how garagelogic delivers results for our advertising partners. Now it's your turn. Reach our engaged audience of G L ers and grow your business by contacting account executive mark [e-mail]. that's Mark Ellisbi.com. put your message where it belongs, right in the ears of listeners who trust Garagelogging magic. Coming to you from the Hubbard radio empire. Off the bleak, barren tarmac of University Avenue, ensconced in the old outpost. My name's Mishke. Huddly, huddly. Hi. Hoodley hood. Bingo Bangle Bongo. Let's get to it. Let's get to it. Let's get through it. Pull up the vector 7. Drop down to G16. I had a woman just come up to me and ask where the bathroom was. Now, I've. I've been. I've been coming to this building for years. Now, granted, there was a little gap there, but for many years I worked in this building off the bleak, barren tarmac. Then there was a little hiatus after the firing, but I wound my way back here, and I've been back here well over a year. And I do use the men's room, but no one before had ever asked me where the women's room was. The women who work here know where it is, and no other woman just wandering the building has ever come up to me to ask where the women's room happens to be. Well, just a moment ago, on my way in, a lovely woman came up to me and asked if I knew where the ladies room was. And I said, you know, I started coming into this building in the late 90s. He'd think somewhere along the line, I would have seen the women's room. And I got really nervous, and I said, this is gonna sound strange. I know exactly where the men's room is, obviously, and generally the two aren't that far apart, but maybe in this building they are. I mean, maybe there's a whole other hallway for the women's room. I can get you to the men's room. And then I. I can only assume somewhere in that general area will be a women's room. You know, a B to go with a. A yin to go with yang. We can't just have the men's room there. We have to have another one not too far away with a W on it or the image of a woman or something that says women's. Well, this woman was looking at me like I was. Well, someone maybe she'd like to move on from. Maybe she'd like to leave behind someone who she was sorry she ever asked this question to. Yeah. And I picked that up and felt ridiculous. But the whole time we're talking, I'm leading her toward the men's room, knowing she wants to go to the women's room, but I only know where the men's room is. And I'm trying to tell her, I'm taking you to the men's room. But the idea is, can the women's room really be that far away? So let's go directly to the men's room, as strange as this sounds, and then get our bearings. This woman is giggling a little bit, but I think it's nervous laughter. And I think she's thinking, what a creep. Not quite to that extreme, but what a unfortunate, odd little man. Nevertheless, she followed me. We moved through the hallways, we moved past a couple other studios, and eventually found our way to the men's room. And I looked, and I felt so stupid. That men's room I took her to, that I first started visiting in the late 90s, is 3 1/2ft from the door for the women's room. They're next to each other. They're literally next to each other, and they always have been. When I got to that men's room, I said, oh, here's the women's room. I could touch both door handles by spreading my arms. They were next to each other. And I said to her, I never knew this was here, and I didn't. And she giggled a little bit nervously and went in. And I thought, okay. I went from the odd little man to let's see if that guy actually works here. And if he does, if he shouldn't be moving on to perhaps a home professionally run. I never knew that women's room was right next door to the men's room. And I have to ask myself now, how observant am I if for years and years and years I can walk into a men's room with the door for the women's room almost touching it and not know the women's room is there? Where's my attention at? What is wrong with me? Over a quarter century after first heading into that men's room, I have found discovered the women's room inches away, and I have embarrassed myself yet again. I could write a book called embarrassment, and it would just list all the embarrassing moments in my life. It would be hard to write. I'd live them again. And I shudder. When I think back on embarrassing moments in my life, I shudder. And there have been so many. And it seems the more I try not to have them, the more I have them. But what would that book be for? For people to laugh at me? Do I want that? Would there be any catharsis? Would I feel any release? Or would it just compound the horror of my existence? Anyway, I just came into the studio, poured myself a cup of coffee, and I'm trying to decide what to do with this here show. There's a lot of ways I could go. How's about we start out with a call to someone in listener land to see if that can get some juice pumped into this here show? It's a time to spin the big wheel. It's time to spin the big wheel. Not time to spin the big wheel. I'm a gonna gonna spin the big wheel. It's kind of a big deal spinning the Lesnar wheel. The name? Tim. There are some who call me Tim. Let's give him a try right after this break.

[Tim]

Tim.

[Mishke]

Greetings. I am not human. I am a being of pure light from the Andromeda quadrant. And I've traveled 400,000 light years to tell you but one thing. Bradshaw and Bryant see, on my planet, we don't have injuries. We simply dissolve into stardust when we're wronged. But you, you fragile, magnificent earth creatures, you get hurt. A forklift betrays you. A gas station awning stages a coup and lands on Your Toyota, a wedding cake, six tiers of pure ambition collapses entirely and takes your shoulder with it. And when that happens, you do not dissolve into stardust. You call Bradshaw and Bryant. I have seen these attorneys argue a case in front of a judge while simultaneously bench press the very concept of justice. They are not attorneys as much as they're a natural phenomenon wearing suits. So when the universe throws living hell in your direction, do not panic. Simply go to Minnesota. Personal injury dot com. Your mom stopped remembering your name last March. That's a strange moment. And when it happens, you think you've lost her. Then you find the Wellshire Memory Care center in Medina and Bloomington. There's a woman there. She's on the staff. Her name is Renata. She works the evening shift the first week. She doesn't try to make your mom remember you, she just sits with her. She learns that your mom hums when she's anxious, that she loves the smell of cinnamon, that she used to dance in her kitchen Sunday mornings. She liked the quiet while everyone else was asleep. One evening, you walk in and Renate has music playing, something from the late 50s. And your mom is dancing. Eyes closed, really dancing, smiling, present in a way you haven't seen in many weeks. She doesn't know your name that night, but she knows Joy. And Renate gave her that. That's the thing about the staff at the Wellshire. They're not just caring for a diagnosis. They're caring for a whole person. The one underneath the memory loss, the one who still hums, still dances, still deserves to feel known. Because she's still there. And they see her.

[Tim]

Hello, this is Tim.

[Mishke]

Well, hello there, Tim. It's Mishke calling.

[Tim]

How you doing?

[Mishke]

I'm swell. How about you?

[Tim]

Just hanging out, trying to stay cool today.

[Mishke]

Hanging out, trying to stay cool. I bet your buddies tell you you've always been cool, Tim.

[Tim]

Well, I don't know about that.

[Mishke]

Do you have friends?

[Tim]

I do have a couple friends.

[Mishke]

Generally, you refer to your friendship circle as two people.

[Tim]

Maybe three at the most.

[Mishke]

Three at the most. These three stalwarts, Tom, Dick and Harry, they've been through thick and thin with you?

[Tim]

Yeah. Since 1968.

[Mishke]

They've been with you since 68?

[Tim]

Third grade.

[Mishke]

Were they with you in the riots that spring?

[Tim]

We're awful Young. Back in 1968, were they with you

[Mishke]

at all in the ballroom of that hotel in LA where we lost Bobby? Did they see Sirhan Sirhan get close enough to put a bullet right behind RFK's ear? Because every Witness said Sirhan Sirhan never got close enough to do that. Which makes you wonder who put the bullet in Kennedy's head.

[Tim]

That's a good question. I don't think we are the guys to ask that question to.

[Mishke]

I thought you all were there. Were you there for King? Were you at the Lorraine?

[Tim]

No, we weren't at Memphis.

[Mishke]

It was a big year, though. 68. It's interesting that that's the year you guys all got together and decided to give it a run for this lifetime as best pals.

[Tim]

How about you, Tommy? Where were you in 68?

[Mishke]

Well, in 1968, I was in my fort in the woods. I was commander of a unit of freedom fighters. There was Kenny, Mike down the street. There was Barry, Tim, Steve. I rallied the fellas. I told them I had to be in charge. They could be beneath me, 12 ranks, but I was going to be the big guy. We were taking on a lot of big projects in that neighborhood. A lot of it involving fireworks, messages we needed to get to people in the way. We needed to get it to him. There was the one fellow who wouldn't join us. Hid out in the rafters in his pop's garage. And we had to take him out with extreme prejudice. And we did. That was 68 in my world. It was a memorable year.

[Tim]

Made a big difference whether you're 8 years old, 10 years old, or 14.

[Mishke]

In those days, I was 6 years old. I took a string and ran it from the window of my bedroom to the window of my neighbor's bedroom, my buddy Kenny. And we would talk to each other at night through empty orange juice cans.

[Tim]

And what would you talk about in those days?

[Mishke]

War films. He and I only watched war films. That's all we wanted to watch. Sometimes we talk about the rat patrol. You remember the rat patrol?

[Tim]

I do. I do remember a friend in school who had a lunch pail that had that old school rat patrol lunch pail.

[Mishke]

Rat patrol ran between about 1966 and 68 years later. When I first had an opportunity to ride in a golf cart on a golf course, I said, by golly, if we're not able to reproduce the rat patrol here, look at this. We got hills. We got little dunes. We got a jeep we can ride in. I got that music playing in my head. I played rat patrol all over an entire golf course one summer. Never did swing a club at a ball. Wasn't interested in that. I'm still not interested in that. I still. When I get to a golf course, I want a golf cart And I want to hear that music playing, and I want to head out and I want to take out some Jerry's.

[Tim]

How many friends do you have, Tommy, with your interesting life and what you've done over the years, what would you consider your number from all the people that you meet and talk to?

[Mishke]

I'm going to tell you something that I have not told very many people. I have way too many friends. That's going to happen when you operate the way I operate. Here's the way I've operated all my life. You make a buddy, you keep a buddy, you never lose a buddy. You don't give up a buddy. There's no reason in the world to surrender a friend once you've made a friend. So if you don't ever give up a friend and you spend your life in the same area and you keep making friends everywhere you go, pretty soon you have too many. You can't do what is important to do with friendships, to keep them strong, to keep them going. You can't be as attentive, particularly when you're doing this podcast that comes out 12 times a year called the Roadshow. And one day you take a job here at Hubbard and you go from 12 shows a year to 104 shows a year, and it starts to eat up all your time. Pretty soon you have to contact some of these friends and say, I'll get back to you in a few years when I retire. I don't have any time to do what is necessary to keep this friendship strong. You look at all the places I've worked, made friends at all those places. Then you look at just the people I've met year in, year out. Friendships, the parents of my kids, friends, all those friendships. Then all the friends you get because you married a woman and you take on all her friends and they're your friends. And then you got the 70 guys you hung out with in high school. You got down to the Mississippi on a Friday night. The crew, as you looked around, it was a good 50 to 70 people there, and they're all your buddies. And if you're not going to give any of them up, I one time a few years ago, got all the 30 boys I went to grade school with and had them in my backyard. And I've tried to stay in touch with that crew, but I'm telling you, the numbers get too high and then

[Tim]

you run out of time and pretty

[Mishke]

soon you realize what's better, my situation or yours, where you just maintain the solid three. Tom, Dick and Harry.

[Tim]

Yeah, always A challenge, but I think it always comes down to time.

[Mishke]

There isn't enough time. And I'm coming to the end of the road. I can see it. Where am I finding you?

[Tim]

A small community called Esco. Esco, Minnesota. Home of the Eskimos.

[Mishke]

The Esko Eskimos.

[Tim]

Mm.

[Mishke]

That was your team name in school?

[Tim]

It used to be, but due to modern rules and regulations, they had to change it to something less insulting.

[Mishke]

So now you're the Inuit.

[Tim]

I think they decided to simply call themselves Esko.

[Mishke]

It's the Esco Escos.

[Tim]

The Esco football team.

[Mishke]

Here they are, the Esco team.

[Tim]

Well, I think that was one way of being stubborn going. Well, you can take the name away from us, but that doesn't mean we have to come up with anything different.

[Mishke]

What was the logo for the team? Who was the team mascot?

[Tim]

It was a outline of an Eskimo. Very classy, nothing cartoonish about it. And of course, it was on everything associated with the school. And the amount of money needed to spend to get rid of all that down there was a little insulting, but I guess that's the society we live in today.

[Mishke]

Let me just find out, what is the story here with Eskimo? Eskimo is an older term used for the Inuit and Yupik, native people of the Arctic, considered offensive or outdated, mainly because outsiders gave them this name. It's not what they called themselves. People long thought it meant eater of raw meat, which connoted barbarism and violence. Now there's a new theory. According to the Alaska Native Language center, linguists believe the word Eskimo actually came from the French word esquimaux, meaning one who nets snowshoes. Netting snowshoes is the highly precise way that Arctic peoples built winter footwear. But the correction to the etymological record came too late to rehabilitate the word. So the word's actually okay, but we learned this too late.

[Tim]

Well, I think we should do something about that. And we just thought it sounded pretty neat. The Esco Eskimos.

[Mishke]

We thought we were calling them barbarians. No, we were saying they're skilled at making these snowshoes.

[Tim]

Nothing wrong with that, is there? Our logo wasn't anything insulting. It was just a very classy outline. You know, nothing like, say, cartoonish or derogatory on there. But, you know, that doesn't. That doesn't change anything. It still had to go.

[Mishke]

Yeah, and of course, you were up north where the deep snow could be found. You guys probably even could have built an igloo at the 50 yard line during a game and had the flip of the coin there.

[Tim]

Eniglo was built every winter for homecoming.

[Mishke]

Was it?

[Tim]

You had to.

[Mishke]

Of course you did. You should have also had people in the stands, all in those big furry parkas, everybody wearing the same kind of parka. You should have all had to go on a hunt, make your own parka. Of course, then you'd have to kill animals. That could get you in trouble. With some people, there's always the guy who sneaks into the backyard of the principal and just gets his dog, makes a little jacket for himself and causes all sorts of trouble. We actually had a situation where a guy on one of the athletic teams in my high school skinned the pet of the principal. And either he was good at it or his mom. I think his mom was a seamstress, and he made jockstraps for the whole team.

[Tim]

Okay.

[Mishke]

And when we asked him why that out of all the things he could have made, he said, less likely to get caught.

[Tim]

Okay.

[Mishke]

You know what I'm saying?

[Tim]

I don't know how to respond to that.

[Mishke]

Well, you know what I'm saying? You're less likely to get caught because when's the principal ever going to see that?

[Tim]

True.

[Mishke]

And when he did hear rumor about it, it was awkward for the principal. He wanted to look. But how do you even broach the subject? Come up to some of the guys on the field and say, hey, can we go back maybe into a private area? You know what I'm saying?

[Tim]

I do know what you're saying.

[Mishke]

So what did you do for a living?

[Tim]

I still work. I flew airplanes and still fly airplanes. Matter of fact, I was up in the air this morning at 6am for a little flight. I flew for a living for a small airline that eventually grew big called Mesaba Airlines.

[Mishke]

Mesaba Airlines. I know about that one.

[Tim]

Yeah.

[Mishke]

Mesaba is a word meaning, actually barbarian. How long did you do that?

[Tim]

I was an airline pilot for 16 years, and then I retired from that, and now I work for a company out in Missoula, Montana. We fly large aircraft that try to put out wildfires. We're the airplanes you'll see on the evening news that are dropping that orange retardant.

[Mishke]

Now, talk about politically incorrect. You're dropping what on those flames?

[Tim]

Retardant? Yeah.

[Mishke]

First of all, we don't use that word. And second of all, those people are children of God. If you can't find something like water, which has worked for eons to put out fires, I question whether you should be in the air.

[Tim]

So it's the fact that we're dropping what we're dropping. Not really the color that it's orange.

[Mishke]

I don't want to know the skin color. I don't want to know the race. I just don't want you dropping those folks on those flames.

[Tim]

I will pass that on to our bosses, and they'll see the strange look I get from them.

[Mishke]

What's your favorite thing about flying?

[Tim]

Seeing the world from that perspective.

[Mishke]

Because from that perspective, the world no longer is scary. I mean, Hitler from up in the air would be so tiny, he'd be like a little bit of lice.

[Tim]

It'd be nothing. Nothing.

[Mishke]

Imagine seeing a panzer division, little ants. And just about the time the world seems safer because the problems are so small, your engine dies on you now. My engine dies when I'm driving my vehicle. No big deal. Pull over to the shoulder yours, we got problems. Have you ever had the engines die on you midair?

[Tim]

I have only once in the small airplane, and that ended up just fine. I'm still here today.

[Mishke]

So when the engine quits on you and you're trying to get this thing going again and it won't go, and you're saying birds seem to be able to fly without an engine. Looky there. That hawk doesn't have an engine. Surely there's a way to bring this thing down without an engine safely.

[Tim]

And I was very fortunate. There was a farmer down in Blair, Wisconsin, who had himself a field that he cut a little airstrip into it, and I happened to be just over his place when I needed to be over his place and landed there.

[Mishke]

What are the odds? How many farmers out there are saying, you know what? I'm not going to grow crops this year, honey. I'm going to build me an airstrip?

[Tim]

Yeah. And he seen me land there, and I pulled up to his little utility building, and he came down in his old pickup truck and said, do you need any help? I said, no, there was something I was able to fix and get back flying again.

[Mishke]

Wait a minute. You got out of your airplane, grabbed a wrench, said, son of a gun, I didn't realize this baby was loose. And got the engine going again.

[Tim]

What brought me down is if you heard the term in a small airplane engine called carburetor icing.

[Mishke]

Carburetor icing. How did you fix it?

[Tim]

I waited for the weather to change.

[Mishke]

So the next summer, everything worked out. But you had to hang out with the farmer. Was he a good conversationalist man?

[Tim]

A few words and the weather condition Changed. About three hours later, the sun came out, the humidity dropped to an acceptable level, and I was able to take off with no issues and get back on my journey. I was on my way to Oshkosh, the big air show that year.

[Mishke]

The Oshkosh air show. Do you ever ask yourself what the devil Oshkosh means?

[Tim]

That I don't know. I was just down there last week and on my journey down there, I thought, well, maybe Tommy will give me a call when I'm driving to Oshkosh.

[Mishke]

Have I tried you in the past?

[Tim]

You did. You know, I was busy. So you left a message on there and.

[Mishke]

All right.

[Tim]

And I'm a patient man in there and I appreciate you calling on there. I like all your fans on there. It was a particular show on the road and it had to do with. What was the name of the dog? Moose.

[Mishke]

Moose.

[Tim]

And that was my very first one I listened to at 8 o' clock in the morning coming home. And I was hooked. Ever since. The story of moose. What children are forced to remember and forget just to survive.

[Mishke]

It's sad, though, to have the best show be the first one you hear. I haven't really hit my stride quite to the degree I did on that particular show since, of course, I had a month to work on that one. That one's from the old roadshow days when only 12 came out a year. By the way, Oshkosh was named for a Menominee chief. That means the Claw. Now who does that remind you of?

[Tim]

Oh, what's his name? The Claw.

[Mishke]

The Claw.

[Tim]

Oh, is it the Baron?

[Mishke]

Baron von Rashki.

[Tim]

That's the man.

[Mishke]

He should have lived in Oshkosh. Da Claw. And where was Baron von Raschke born? Omaha, Nebraska. And what does Omaha mean against the current? Those who go against the current are the Omaha. I just want to say I don't think we should be putting planes in the air that can't fly anytime the weather changes.

[Tim]

Well, fortunately, it doesn't happen very often.

[Mishke]

You ever run into a flock of birds?

[Tim]

I almost hit a goose this morning.

[Mishke]

You almost hit a goose?

[Tim]

As I took off, they went flying by the nose. And I thought, you know what? They're just big enough that if I clipped one of them, they'd probably take me down.

[Mishke]

You ever see a deer from up above? Nope. Right in front of you.

[Tim]

Oh, yeah. Plenty of deer up the road. I live here.

[Mishke]

What? At Christmas time? What are you talking about?

[Tim]

Well, I live on a dirt road surrounded by trees, and they are all over in there.

[Mishke]

I'm talking about hitting them with your plane.

[Tim]

Oh, no, no, no. You might see occasionally on a Runway, but I've never hit one.

[Mishke]

I wasn't even talking on a Runway.

[Tim]

Oh, seeing them. No, they're camouflaged. You'd have a tough time seeing them unless they're sitting in an open field grazing, which I suppose happens on occasion.

[Mishke]

I'm not talking about down on the ground. I mean, do you ever see one cross your path when you're flying? Oh, you're flying at night and you're saying, what? Good God, am I on something that's a buck right in front of my plane. I gotta be 10,000ft in the air. Ever seen a UFO?

[Tim]

You see things up there that makes you wonder. All the different stars and the way they shine and different things. I thought I seen things.

[Mishke]

Are you ever flying at night way up there and there's no moon and clear skies and you almost feel like you're up in the stars.

[Tim]

And it just feels like you're just motionless. And then you just look at the roads and they connect. Each community about 10 miles between each community out in the middle of nowhere and town after town after town. And you just envision on there that each of those towns has their own little gas station, their own little grocery store, their own little world. And it just goes on and on and on. And you can kill a lot of time just looking down, looking at those towns across America.

[Mishke]

And in each of those towns, there's probably some guy who's never left. He's lived his whole life in that little dot you see from up in your plane.

[Tim]

They got a little corner bar down there, and he's probably got his stool. And he's probably sitting down there right when you're going over the top.

[Mishke]

And in each town, the guy's name is Ted, talking about more or less the same thing. It's something that annoys him, something that people do that they shouldn't. And he figured this out a long time ago. And he's telling the bartender how things should be and wondering why these other people don't wake up.

[Tim]

And he's just looking every night for a new audience, he is.

[Mishke]

And every now and then, a woman comes in named Dolores. And he's had his eye on her ever since they went to grade school together. But Dolores has never given him the time of day. But on this particular night, he notices she's drinking a little more than usual. And he's thinking this might be the evening he stands a chance. So he sends a drink her way. She looks up to see who sent it and she decides that's it for my drinking at this joint tonight. And she hightails it out of there. Once again he strikes out and he will strike out the rest of his days. But as John Prine sang, Dreaming just comes natural like the first breath from a baby like sunshine feeding daisies like the love hidden deep in your heart I shouldn't have made it. Ted and Dolores. I should have made it. Donald and Lydia. You know that song.

[Tim]

I don't.

[Mishke]

I'm just going to give you the lyrics. It's a lovely little story by Mr. Prine. Small town bright lights Saturday night Pinballs and pool halls Flashing their lights Making change behind the counter in a penny arcade set the fat girl daughter of Virginia and Ray Lydia Lydia hid her thoughts like a cat behind her small eyes sunk deep in her fat she read romance magazines up in her room Felt just like Sunday on Saturday afternoon but dreaming just comes natural like the first breath from a baby like sunshine feeding daisies like the love hidden deep in your heart Then we move on to Donald. Bunk beds, shaved heads. Saturday night. A warehouse of strangers with 60 watt lights staring through the ceiling Just wanting to be lay one of too many. A young PFC Donald. There were spaces between Donald and whatever he said strangers had forced him to live. In his head he envisioned the details of romantic scenes after midnight in the stillness of the barracks latrine. But you see, dreaming just comes natural like the first breath from a baby like sunshine feeding daisies like the love hidden deep in your heart Hot love, cold love no love at all A portrait of guilt is hung on the wall Nothing is wrong and nothing is right Donald and Lydia made love that night. They made love in the mountains they made love in the streams they made love in the valleys they made love in their dreams but when they was finished there was nothing to say because mostly they made love from 10 miles away. That's about the most beautiful song ever written about self pleasure. Maybe other people have taken a crack at it, but not in such a lovely and human way. I wonder what came first. Whether or not John Prine said, I want to write a song about a guy enjoying himself in a latrine and a woman enjoying herself alone up in her bedroom. And I'm going to have them secretly longing for one another but probably never truly getting together. Just dreaming, dreaming about each other. And there'll be small town people and I'll try to write this song in a way that people can sing it around a campfire and grandpa and grandma won't really know what the devil's going on.

[Tim]

I think he accomplished it.

[Mishke]

Are you married?

[Tim]

I am. And with the same gown? 50 years or so.

[Mishke]

And where'd you meet this woman?

[Tim]

In the Esko school.

[Mishke]

You married one of your classmates? When did you first see her?

[Tim]

Fifth grade. She moved into Eskow on there.

[Mishke]

And she moved in for fifth grade?

[Tim]

Yeah. 10 years old.

[Mishke]

So she arrives from. Where did she arrive?

[Tim]

She came from down in Duluth.

[Mishke]

Well, I know you're up north when you're saying down in Duluth. She was down in Duluth and her old man got a different job. Boy, if he doesn't relocate, is your life ever different. But he relocates and he brings this 10 year old daughter and she camps in the same classroom you're in, couple desks away. You look over and say, you may not be giving me the time of day right now, but, sweetheart, you and I are going to be married.

[Tim]

That's not far from the truth.

[Mishke]

When did you get your first car?

[Tim]

I would say when I was 16.

[Mishke]

Yeah, just like me, you get your car and now you can go on a date. A real date, A bona fide date. What do you do?

[Tim]

We went to movies on occasion.

[Mishke]

What was the name of the theater in town?

[Tim]

In the Cloquet Theater. The small town. It was the chief theater.

[Mishke]

Cloquet.

[Tim]

Eskow is near Cloquet. Esco is too small to have a theater in Cloquet.

[Mishke]

Did you ever run into Jessica Lang?

[Tim]

I owned a small company when I was in my 20s that did contracting work. Part of my work was climbing trees and clearing utility right of ways. And I got a call from a production company that was filming near the Cloquet airport asking for a tree wrangler. I said, I'm a tree wrangler. And I was on the set with Jessica for a few days. Wrangling trees that she could climb is part of a scene in the movie she was in way back then. Do you recall the movie country or something like that? And my job was to cut a beautiful pine tree, move it, rope it in place so that they could get cameras underneath it, and then she'd climb up in there while I kind of made sure the tree didn't fall back down on top of her. And that was about as exciting work a guy could get back then. Matter of fact, I am sitting right now one mile from the location of that scene.

[Mishke]

So what's your wife's first name, Deborah?

[Tim]

Deb.

[Mishke]

Deb. I wonder what Deb Would say she sees in you.

[Tim]

That'd be a good question.

[Mishke]

You're not sure?

[Tim]

I am not sure. I am not sure. I think I can take credit for being there for the duration. I have all these years to prove from it on there. But at this point here, I guess I don't think about it too often.

[Mishke]

What's Tim's best quality? Well, there for the duration. Before getting in your plane, do you ever say out loud, I feel the need, the need for speed?

[Tim]

I don't say that.

[Mishke]

I talked to a guy one time who grew up ranching and he was in his 90s, and he said when he dies, he wants to die on a horse. Would you like to die on a plane?

[Tim]

Boy, that's a good question. You know, compared to a lot of other ways to go, that wouldn't be too bad. We all have to go. I guess that's as good as.

[Mishke]

Anyway, I jumped out of a plane one time with a parachute. And before the parachute opened, I was convinced I was going to die. Not 99.9% sure, 100% sure. And the reason I was 100% sure I was going to die was because I was midair and that plane flew away. And everything my body had been taught from the day I was born was that someone in this position right here dies. The people who live, they're in the plane. I'm one of the ones who die because I have left the plane unnecessarily, did not need to leave the plane. And yet here I am falling, falling, falling toward the ground. And I knew I was going to die. And I felt such a profound sense of peace. I just closed my eyes and I said, it's going to happen. And it's beyond even, that's okay. It's more. It's going to happen. And peace. Not even a thought beyond that, other than complete and utter peace. It was going to be the most gentle moment of my existence. I was going to simply cross over. Why I wasn't thinking about how hard I was going to hit the ground or how terrifying it is to head toward the ground and smash into it, I do not know. But I have never felt that sense of peace since. And I had never felt it before. And for me, it was waking up to the idea that when the time actually comes, that is also what I'm going to feel.

[Tim]

Now, when you felt the tug of the parachute opening, were you disappointed?

[Mishke]

No. On the contrary. Try and parse this out however you want to. But when the chute opened to me, it was the funniest moment of my life.

[Tim]

And.

[Mishke]

And I could not stop laughing. I just laughed and laughed and laughed all the way to the ground. Almost hysterical laughter.

[Tim]

Just sheer joy.

[Mishke]

Yes. I think I was up in the realm of extremes. The extreme of death and the peace of that and the extreme of the wonderful exhilaration of living. I was feeling both, which is why jumping out of an airplane was something I'm so glad I did. I only needed to do it once, but I needed to do it once all my life up until that point. I felt the pull over and over and over again. I had to get this out of my system. I had to jump out of this plane. And then it was done. And then I took a six pack of beer and my wife and I went and sat in a cornfield on a Beautiful October day. 60 degree blue sky. October day in the countryside in Minnesota. And I sat in a cornfield and just drank the beer and breathed. Now it was. Look at how beautiful this cornfield is. And look at that sky. And look at over there. That guy's shoot is an opening. I know what he's feeling.

[Tim]

I also did the skydiving thing one time, except I did it as the pilot of the airplane. I only did it one time and it was shocking to me to have three people next to me in an airplane. And all of a sudden they fell out and my heart just stopped. Seeing the human bodies tumble out of my airplane. And I'll never forget that feeling. I wasn't prepared to witness people falling out of my airplane.

[Mishke]

I can just feel that it once again goes against everything you've been taught since you were born. That's not what you do. We are in a perfectly good plane here. What are you doing? Oh, my God. You've jumped.

[Tim]

You're out and your arms are flailing and they just disappeared. They fell out of my airplane. That's my only experience. I only did it one time. It was the fourth of July morning, dropping some skydivers over some type of parade up on the Iron Range.

[Mishke]

I often wonder what it would be like if you were to return to the airport and get word that those guys were simply never seen again.

[Tim]

Ooh.

[Mishke]

Well, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. I appreciate all your time.

[Tim]

Well, it's been great. Tommy on there that. Throw me back on the list for another three, four years down the road and we'll chat more.

[Mishke]

Congratulations on finding the right woman. Here's to her old man and deciding to get the devil out of Duluth.

[Tim]

I will pass that on to her that she'll get a kick out of that. After I mentioned the podcast with Moose the dog, she became a fan shortly after that, so I'm sure she'll be listening at some point.

[Mishke]

Boy, that Moose acquisition is sure paying off. I'm sure glad my brother got that dog. That dog is having a second life here in podcast ville.

[Tim]

It just left a mark on me and I'm sure a lot of different people.

[Mishke]

Thanks for that. Appreciate you mentioning that. Hope to run into you somewhere down the line. You stay well.

[Tim]

Take care. Thank you.

[Mishke]

You know that sound that your AC makes right before it decides to just, well, stop? Yeah, don't wait for that. I have been there. August rolls around, it's 90 degrees and suddenly your AC is making a noise like it's auditioning for some horror movie or something. If your AC is acting up, rattling, running constantly, just not keeping the house cool like it used to, that's your sign. Get it looked at now before it becomes a full blown breakdown. And right now, Minneapolis St. Paul Plumbing Heating Air Electric is offering 50 bucks off any AC service in the month of August. And here's the critical part. When you book that AC service from msp, you're automatically entered the Beat the breakdown giveaway, where one lucky winner walks away with four Minnesota State Fair tickets and 250 bucks to spend at the fair. A $250 Visa gift card to spend at the fair. Don't wait for that AC breakdown. Schedule your repair with 50 bucks off today by going to callmsp.com and get entered to win that state fair package. Well, with the ongoing success of Christopher Nolan's epic movie the Odyssey, Greek mythology is all over popular culture right now, and it's a good time to remember the many expressions from the various Greek myths that have made their way into everyday English language and continue to be used often to this day. If you've ever talked about an Achilles heel or someone possessing the Midas touch, you've been referencing tales thousands of years old. Greek words play a large part in modern English vocabulary, with many thousands of commonly used words tracing their origins all the way back to that old world. Words like democracy, melancholy, music. Yes, the word music, phobia, sycophant, planet, and numerous other words all stemming from the Greek language. The word tantalize, a great word, tantalize, meaning to tease or torment as if by presenting something desirable, but then keeping it just out of reach. To understand the history of that word, you have to look to the Greek mythological figure Tantalus. Tantalus. If you're a young couple having your first baby, you might want to think about that for a name. Tantalus. Tantalus was among the very first generation of humans at a time when gods and mortals frequently intermingled. Tantalus was described in mythology as rich and arrogant, and he earned the ire of the gods by going to a feast at their home there on Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. Tanalus was invited because, again, this was a time when gods and mortals intermingled. But he was a rude guest, terribly rude. Presented some pretty horrible behavior. And all the stories have Tantalus being sent to Tartarus, the underworld, where souls are judged and where they receive their eternal punishment. And Tantalus sentence was quite cruel. Starving and thirsty, he was forced to stand in water beneath the boughs of a fruit tree. Whenever he stooped to try and drink, the water would flow away, it would recede. And if he reached up to grab the fruit, the branches would rise up to a point just out of his grasp. Hence the modern meaning of the word tantalize. And while that's all very interesting, let's face it, the most interesting thing here is that there was a time when gods and mere mortals frequently intermingled. They did, did they? Where? In the marketplace. Where exactly did humans and gods intermingle? At sporting events? In public restrooms. If a God really wants to come down to our level, really wants to intermingle with we commoners, a God should be willing to step into a public restroom with the rest of us. Hey there, Zeus. My name's Roscoe. I'm just a regular dude. Glad to see you. Regular enough to actually need to use a bathroom. Who knew? Are you actually going to use that urinal, Zeus at a urinal? Intermingling with the hoi polloi. Hey, Zeus, let me ask you something. What do you think of us average guys, we regular folk? I mean, look at me right now and just kind of size me up. Well, I don't want to use that word. What do you see when you look at me right now? Let me say that differently. What's the vibe you get when hanging with me here? Not hanging. Sorry. What is the vibe you get when standing here with me? By the way, the word I hear is, in the future, you're no longer going to intermingle with us. Is that right? Are we going to come to bore you over time? That is a damn shame. Because hanging out with a famous sports figure or a celebrity actor is thrilling but running into gods. Gods in public, Biffies. That is a freaking hoot. Let me ask you something. You get a lot of women. How do you know when they like you for you and not for the fact that you can get them stuff? Pretty much anything and everything. I wouldn't know how to trust them. You know, just a random thought. I'll tell you one thing. During intimacy, when she says, oh, God. Oh, God, that has a whole new meaning for you, doesn't it, you old dog? What a lucky sob. You ever just meet a checkout girl at a Walgreens or something and ask her out? Maybe you like her smile or the way she says, have a nice day or something. I mean, if you're really going to intermingle with us average people, you gotta really intermingle and date a checkout clerk at Walgreens with a ponytail and a sort of sweet way of saying, have a nice day. Zeus, let me ask you something. Me and the fellas meet every day at 5pm for a happy hour at Stewie's over on 12th Street. What say you join us for a drink today? You'll really get a sense of who the average guy is in this world. There ain't a God in the bunch, I'll tell you that. Carl throws darts like a God, but that doesn't count. His dad had a dartboard in the basement when he was growing up. Anyhoo, you done at the urinal there? You must have really had to go. Let me ask you something. You gonna wash your hands before leaving this room like the rest of us? I'll be really bummed if you just walk out that door without washing your hands. And you know what, Zeus? To really make me feel better, I'd also like you to take a good look at yourself in the mirror before exiting. I mean, one good look in that mirror just to assess the presentation you're offering the world today. Like the rest of us do. Before leaving a bathroom, just look deep into that face of yours and ask the question, are my looks fading? Am I just kind of withering away? And I'll tell you something, Zeus. Even if your looks are fading, you still have that trump card. You're Zeus. And chicks will always dig that. I mean, look at Mick Jagger. You seen who he's with lately? I mean, give me a break. If that's what Jagger gets, what does Zeus get? A God. Actually, let's look at who Zeus's lovers were according to the ancient Greeks. I'd like to know. Let's see here. Zeus's lovers. His first and favorite lover was Metis, a Titan goddess and mother of a third, Athena. He later married Themis Titan, goddess of tradition, with whom he had six kids. His third wife was Minamocene, who gave birth to the nine Muses. And he also married Leto and had Apollo and Artemis with her. And his final wife was. What? What? His sister, Hera. What? Knowing her sympathy for animals, Zeus transformed himself into a distressed little cuckoo bird, which Hera took in her arms to warm it. At that moment, Zeus turned back into himself and slept with her. Good Lord, Zeus. It's still me. Roscoe. You didn't wash your hands, pal. But I don't care about that anymore. You're a freak. Your sister. What kind of example were you setting for your kids? Yuck. Let's put an end to this gods and mere mortals intermingling right now.