MISCHKE: Night Shift

Summary

Garage Logic – MISCHKE: Night Shift (March 20, 2026)

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Episode Overview

In this episode of Garage Logic’s “MISCHKE: Night Shift,” host Tommy Mischke embarks on a whimsical and offbeat exploration of the world of overnight work, the psyche of night shift workers, and the subcultures that come alive after dark. Drawing on listener stories, creative monologues, and conversations with both experts and fans, Mischke dives into the existential and often surreal realities of those who keep watch while the rest of society sleeps. Along the way, the show takes detours into poetry, reflections on intimacy, Minnesota winters, and even a darkly comic take on a true crime headline.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Decline of Overnight Shifts

• Mischke opens with a riff about the growing reluctance of Americans to work overnight jobs, despite the higher pay (01:16).
  • Quote: “There’s been a gradual turning of the back on the overnight gigs. Those late night shifts just aren’t as popular as they used to be.” – Mischke (01:48)
• Station Psychologist offers psychological insights into why night work is so difficult:
  • Night alters mental states, invites introspection, and is often feared as the realm of “freaks, ghouls, oddballs, and subversives.” (03:35, 05:57)
  • Quote: “Night is a secondary world… The imagination can get carried away. Historically, of course, night is the domain of the marginalized.” – Station Psychologist (03:35)

2. Night Shift Compatibility & Relationships

• Matching personalities to shifts: Mischke and the psychologist discuss the importance of pairing night jobs to those with a certain makeup ("the Craigs" of the world), using a recurring oddball character as an example (07:39).
  • Quote: “You gotta pair the right personality with the right job.” – Station Psychologist (07:39)
• When “morning people” marry night shifters: Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo offers practical advice for couples living on opposing schedules, suggesting written notes, gratitude, and creative communication (10:06).
  • Mischke launches into a comedic song about such a marriage, highlighting the absurdities and emotional distance inherent in never seeing your spouse (10:41).
  • Memorable verse: “I work days, she works nights. I say, honey, are we gonna be alright? She says, who needs sex? Send me a text.” – Mischke (11:07)

3. Lived Experiences: The Night Shift In Practice

• 7-11 Worker’s Chilling Tale: A listener recounts a deeply unsettling overnight experience with a disturbed man who seemingly follows them home (16:45).
  • The story highlights both the danger and psychological toll of night shift work, as paranoia lingers even after the shift ends (18:00).
  • Quote: “All night I felt like I was being watched. Even with all the blinds shut and I could swear I heard strange noises…” – 7-11 Worker (18:00)

4. Listeners’ Lives & Philosophical Meanderings

• Douglas’ Auto-Intimacy and Reflections:
  • Douglas shares the comfort of eating lunch alone in his car (20:26), leading to a Mischke riff on the lost intimacy of vehicle spaces.
  • Douglas reveals personal struggles: obesity, failed overseas teaching job due to weight stigma, and writing poetry as catharsis (24:12, 26:36).
  • Mischke encourages Douglas to read his poems, which reveal nostalgia and longing for innocence and love (27:00 & 28:49).
    • Poetry Highlight: “There’s a park just outside of town… with just enough of a hill that the green has been worn into patches of blackish brown by the padding and trotting of the young’s naked feet...” – Douglas, “Up at the Top” (27:00)
• On Finding Satisfaction in Work:
  • Mischke and Peter debate whether anyone, historically, actually liked their job, tying in the existential dilemma of modern work-life balance (37:50).
  • Quote: “They sleep a third of their life. They work a third of their life. So one third of their life awake, they’re unhappy. One third, they’re sleeping. That leaves a third for them to find some ecstasy…” – Mischke (37:50)

5. Dick Prenicke: Ego and the Myth of Self-Sufficiency

• Mischke and Peter analyze Dick Prenicke, the legendary Alaskan homesteader known for filming himself in the wilderness.
  • Mischke suggests Prenicke’s need to document was as much about ego as solitude (40:13), likening him to the “original YouTuber.”
  • Quote: “Dick wanted the world to know he was a big deal… It wasn’t enough to live that life and know you were capable. He wanted the world to know there were few out there who have ever done it better.” – Mischke (40:13)

6. Minnesota Identity and Winter’s Influence

• Mischke discusses his book “Winter's Song,” examining how Minnesota's harsh winters shape character, culture, and even happiness (32:03, 46:02).
  • Quote: “Winter… shaping the personalities of the people who grow up in that world… being truly the dominant parental figure of the four seasons.” – Mischke (31:11)
• On the ecstasy of spring after surviving the hard winter:
  • Quote: “A 70 degree day where you are cannot in a million years feel as thrilling and ecstatic and as wondrous as the 70 degrees we’re going to feel.” – Mischke (44:26)
  • “If you can’t take my winters, you don’t deserve my springs.” – Mischke, quoting from his book (44:41)

7. Farce, Crime, and the Absurdity of Life

• Mischke recounts the true crime story of Corey Richens, a children’s book author convicted of murdering her husband (47:03).
  • He skewers the bizarre irony—writing about grief while hiding her crime—and imagines a pitch-black Dr. Seuss-style rhyme about the case (53:44).
  • Darkly Comic Verse:
    “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.”
    – Mischke (53:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Highlight | |-----------|---------|-----------------| | 01:48 | Mischke | “There’s been a gradual turning of the back on the overnight gigs. People collectively are saying, no sir. No thank you. No, I will not take that shift.” | | 03:35 | Station Psychologist | “Night is a secondary world with its own rules, its own psychological landscapes… Night has served as a sanctuary for subversion.” | | 07:39 | Station Psychologist | “You gotta pair the right personality with the right job.” | | 10:41 | Dr. Lombardo | "Leave notes, send texts, emails... whatever it is to make sure that you’re continuing to communicate." | | 11:07 | Mischke (song) | “I work days, she works nights. I say, honey, are we gonna be alright? She says, who needs sex? Send me a text.” | | 18:00 | 7-11 Worker | “All night I felt like I was being watched... I refused to get any sleep until the sun came up.” | | 27:00 | Douglas (poem) | “There’s a park just outside of town... with just enough of a hill that the green has been worn into patches by the padding and trotting of the young’s naked feet...” | | 37:50 | Mischke | “They sleep a third of their life. They work a third of their life... That leaves a third for them to find some ecstasy…” | | 40:13 | Mischke (on Dick Prenicke) | “Dick wanted the world to know he was a big deal… He wanted the world to know there were few out there who have ever done it better.” | | 44:41 | Mischke | “If you can’t take my winters, you don’t deserve my springs.” | | 53:00 | Mischke (satirical rhyme) | “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.” |

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Important Segments (Timestamps)

• [01:16] — Mischke introduces the topic of night shifts and societal reluctance.
• [03:35] — Station psychologist breaks down psychological effects of night work.
• [10:06] — Dr. Lombardo’s advice for relationships affected by night shifts.
• [16:45] — 7-11 worker’s chilling night shift story.
• [20:06-32:12] — Conversation with Douglas: cars, life’s trajectory, poetry readings.
• [36:17-46:55] — Conversation with Peter: shifting careers, work-life balance, Dick Prenicke discussion, Minnesota identity.
• [47:03-53:42] — Mischke’s darkly comic retelling of a true crime story.

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Tone & Style

Mischke brings a blend of wry humor, melancholy, and philosophical curiosity, inviting both laughter and introspection. The episode is rich in anecdotes, existential tangents, and creative asides, giving voice to everyday workers and oddballs who populate Garage Logic’s fictional universe.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

• This episode offers a unique look at the night shift’s social, psychological, and cultural dynamics—at once funny, poignant, and slightly surreal.
• The show is as much about the characters who call in (and the creative flights they inspire), as it is about the ostensible theme.
• Listeners get a dose of offbeat poetry, deep dives on work and loneliness, and dark comedy served in Mishke’s unmistakable, off-kilter voice.

If you have ever wondered what keeps the world running overnight—or why life sometimes feels both tragic and farcical—this is a must-listen.

Transcript

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[Tommy Mischke]

Coming to you from the old outpost on the bleak, barren tarmac of University Avenue, Courtesy of Hubbard. My name's Mishke. Am I catching you at work by any chance? Are you listening at work? What shift are you working? Is this a typical 9 to 5 deal or you got the swing shift going on here? You're not working overnights, are ya? You're working overnights. Wow, one of the last of the dinosaurs, huh? More and more people are saying nuts to that noise. That's what I'm hearing. There's a big story in the news this week about how fewer and fewer people out there are willing to take the overnight shift. In various industries, people looking to get jobs are rejecting the overnight positions more often than ever, even though those positions pay a little more money. There's been a gradual turning of the back on the overnight gigs. Those late night shifts just aren't as popular as they used to be. People collectively are saying, no sir. No thank you. No, I will not take that shift. I'll work a 9 to 5. Sure, I'll take a swing shift, but overnight I'm not doing that word is. A greater percentage than ever is flat out saying no. What is that about? What is that about again? It pays better. And that's generally been the case. That's how they've gotten people to work overnights. That's not cutting it anymore. Why won't you work at night, Tim? I'm scared. What? I'm Frightened? Frightened of what? Nighttime's when creepy things happen.

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

Tim, I'm not gonna lie to you. Night is a secondary world with its own rules, its own psychological landscapes. Darkness shifts the human brain from objective observation to subjective introspection. Always has been the case. It causes us to misinterpret shadows, sounds. The imagination can get carried away. Historically, of course, night is the domain of the marginalized. The night has served as a sanctuary for subversion. It has acted as a thin veil between the physical and the spiritual worlds. So, Tim, I know asking you to work the night shift is asking a lot, but I'm paying you a dollar more than I'm paying everyone else.

[Tommy Mischke]

I'm frightened,

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

Tim. Night will always present its own strange world. Psychologists always say people are more likely to confess their secrets at night. People are more likely to experience existential dread at night. And also, the part of you that cares about being appropriate, well, that tends to tire out at night, leaving a more raw, unfiltered version of your personality. To understand the night world, Tim, you have to view it as a physical space that psychologically transforms into a very different dimension where the sensory and the social hierarchies of the day are inverted, if you will, shifting us from the outer, directed, objective tasks of the day to a state of more raw, subjective introspection where the social ego tires out, leaving what I call a midnight self. The boundaries of personal space begin to blur, creating a paradox where being unseen makes an individual simultaneously vulnerable and yet remarkably more powerful. A transitional phase of ambiguity, disorientation and transformation.

[Tommy Mischke]

Yeah, that's what I was saying. That's why I don't want to be working at night.

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

I get it, Tim. I get it. People aren't supposed to work at night, Tim. They're supposed to be home. And they were home for centuries and centuries and centuries. Nighttime was when people went home. When the sun went down, when it got too pitch black to work, people went home. That was the human story forever. Now we have a night world, A nocturnal world. A world of freaks and ghouls, oddballs and subversives, the disturbed and the disturbing. No, I wouldn't join that tribe. Tim, I get it, and I'm not gonna ask you to do it. I'm going to ask Craig. Craig's a loner. He's a loner who will fit in perfectly. He not only tolerates the fringe folk, he is one. I had him working at my other convenience store. Guys would come in to buy a Mountain Dew, and instead of have a nice day, old cr Would talk to him about the full disclosure program with the government, the formalized UFO documents, all being laid out in the open. He'd ask them if they themselves had been abducted. Astoundingly, every customer Crag talked to at night had been abducted. All of them. Even the lady who came in once a week for a half and half and a pack of smokes. Her name was Margaret, and she not only had been abducted.

[Tommy Mischke]

Abducted.

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

The aliens had taken her eggs. By day, she was a simple house cleaner. But at night, she could be found

[Tommy Mischke]

in the darkness, staring at the night

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

sky, calling out to her children.

[Tommy Mischke]

Craig.

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

He found it all fascinating. You gotta pair the right personality with the right job.

[Tommy Mischke]

What are you people's thoughts on the overnight shift? Are there any crags out there listening right now? Look in the mirror. Are you a crag? Maybe you're a crag working the day shift. Whoops a daisy, let's get you where you belong. There are people out there born to work overnight. You gotta pair the right person with the right shift. That's what I'm told. You know when the overnight gig first started to seem creepy? The day someone decided to call it the graveyard shift. That's not a way to make it sound enticing. There's Dennis, the ice cream truck driver, Always smiling in the summer sun. Children all around him. And then there's Oscar. Oscar of the graveyard shift. No ice cream sales for Oscar. No children either. No, just shadowy figures coming down the alley to buy small, mysterious white packets Carl keeps in his pocket. Oscar's parents knew the day he graduated from high school, he'd work the graveyard shift the rest of his days. There was just something about him. His parents would tell the neighbors. Oscar's a night person. He's just always been a night person. Now Jane and I were morning people. Mm, yes. Sometimes a morning person and a night person marry, and, oh, what a mess. Anybody out there married to a night person while you're a morning person? Or vice versa? Maybe you've married someone who works the graveyard shift. You never see that SOB Ever. Well, then it's time to talk to our station psychologist.

[Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo]

Hi, it's Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, clinical psychologist. Today we're going to talk about how to live with a night shift person. So the first tip I'm going to give you is if you can't actually see the person because you're asleep when they're awake and they're awake when you're asleep, I want you to communicate in other ways. Leave notes, send texts, emails, whatever it is to make sure that you're continuing to communicate. It can be a challenge to live with someone who is working the night shift. But I also want you to feel very grateful for the fact that you have this person in your life. The fact that you two are together is something to be grateful for. You despite not being able to spend time together.

[Tommy Mischke]

Yeah, we don't actually get to spend any time together at all, but we do write notes. Mm. Yeah. Yeah. We learned this from our psychologist. See, she said, if you marry someone and you never ever see them, well, write them notes throughout the years. That will be a way of staying in touch. When you never ever see them at all. Send them an email, send them a text. Try and stay in touch. What with the two of you being married and all over the years, it will help you feel like you're still in love despite going through your lives. Really never seeing each other ever. I work days, she works nights. I say, honey, are we gonna be alright? She says, who needs sex? Send me a text. Let's go, everybody. I'm a walking in the door, she's putting on a coat. She has no time to talk. She just leaves me a note. It says, how's your life? It's signed your wife. I ride her back. I say, I'm forlorn and I think I might be getting addicted to porn. She says, that's all right, try and have a good night. That's right. All right, let's go now. Mom and dad say this life will be rough. Notes and emails are not enough, but it's all we got. Yeah, we're stuck in a rut. Yes, we are. Look, she tells me we will rekindle the fire in 40 years when we both retire. So that's our plan. I know you don't understand, man. No, I cannot hug her, but at least I don't bug her. She's sleeping with my best friend. He told me he dug her, so that's kind of nice. At least he doesn't have lice. What? I work days, she works nights. I say, honey, tell me, are we gonna be alright? She says, who needs sleep? Sex? Just send me a text. Send me a text. Send me a text. That's a song. Let's talk about your dignity. When you need a personal injury lawyer, your dignity's in a dumpster. You're hurt, you're frustrated. You're being treated like a claim number by an insurance adjuster, One who has the personality of a damp sponge. You could go to one of those firms with the giant billboards, the ones where the lawyers look like they're screaming at a sandwich. Or you could go to Bradshaw and Bryant. They've won the awards. Yes, their peers respect them. Yes, that's the whole trust us part. But here is the why you actually go to them part. They are the legal equivalent of bringing a master crafted katana to a butter knife fight. They don't just handle cases, people, they dismantle the opposition's excuses. They're the people other lawyers call when they realize they're in over their heads. If you have tired of the noise and you just want the smartest, most sophisticated room commanders in this business to help fix your life, you call Bradshaw and Bryant. Learn more@minnesota personal injury.com this podcast is

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[Tommy Mischke]

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[7-11 Night Shift Worker]

I was Called in to do the night shift. 10pm to 4am at 7:11 There was this one guy, mid-20s, that came in. He started making weird noises, like loud yelling noises. I assumed he had some kind of mental disability. He walked up to the counter without any items with his head facing me, but his eyes were looking up at the ceiling. I felt uncomfortable. I tried speaking with him, but he only responded in loud noises. I kept checking if he was with someone outside, but he was alone. There weren't any cars in the parking lot, so I assumed he walked. He stood there for so long looking up at the ceiling and making noises that I tried to get him out by handing him a bag of chips and telling him he can go. I tried finding some kind of number to call for someone to help him. He finally turned around and walked out of the store. Then about an hour later, the phone on the counter rang. I picked up to hear the familiar yelling sounds of the man from earlier and was now becoming paranoid of my surroundings, constantly checking the outside through the windows. Then the person working after me came in, finally allowing for me to go home. It wasn't my problem anymore. I got home and threw all my stuff on the table, ready to get to sleep. But my phone rang within a minute after entering the door. Why would someone be calling at 4am? I could only imagine it was bad news. I braced myself and picked up the phone to hear the man again. I felt sick to my stomach as I listened to the loud noises he made. I struggled to slam the phone to the receiver. All night I felt like I was being watched. Even with all the blinds shut and I could swear I heard strange noises coming from all over my house. I refused to get any sleep until the sun came up. Weeks passed and I had forgotten about the incident until one day when going into the basement for the first time in a while, I found that papers had been scattered all over the floor. And when I went into the basement closet, I found writing on the walls. 7:11 had been written in Sharpie on the wall along with the address to the 711 I worked at. He had been living down there for God knows how long. I haven't seen or heard from him since.

[Tommy Mischke]

All right, I am itching to talk to somebody. Let's get to a listener. I'm not gonna spin the big listener wheel this time. I'm gonna throw the listener darts. I got the names all on the wall. I throw the darts at the wall. I see if I can hit a name. If I can hit a name, I call that Person. By golly, I nailed Douglas right through the D. Bullseye.

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

Let.

[Tommy Mischke]

Hello, Douglas.

[Douglas]

Who's this?

[Tommy Mischke]

Father James Windell.

[Douglas]

Oh, Misky.

[Tommy Mischke]

What are you up to?

[Douglas]

How are you doing? Sitting in my car.

[Tommy Mischke]

You're sitting in your car?

[Douglas]

Yeah.

[Tommy Mischke]

Just sitting there?

[Douglas]

Yeah.

[Peter]

Just having lunch.

[Tommy Mischke]

Do you do that often, just sit in your car and have lunch as opposed to sitting in a cafe or a deli restaurant, something like that? Maybe a park? What is it about sitting behind the wheel that makes the lunch so enjoyable versus all the other places you could sit?

[Douglas]

You're kind of in your own little space, your own little world.

[Tommy Mischke]

I don't think we spend enough time talking about, writing about, discussing the little private world of the interior of an automobile. What that has done for each of us to provide a little home away from the chaos.

[Douglas]

I'm always amazed at how many people I see in parking lots just sitting in their car, not backing out, not getting ready to go, just kind of sitting there.

[Tommy Mischke]

And you think back to the 1950s, when the cars first began to be used as little bedrooms for lovers. Right at the drive in, at a lover's lane, some scenic overlook in the evening. You didn't know what all was going on in the cars.

[Douglas]

You had a lot more room to do things in those cars, too.

[Tommy Mischke]

I wonder if that was the thinking when they made those big cars, that we're going to need extra room for these young folks. They've stopped thinking about that because perhaps the car is no longer the little private, intimate space it was years ago. Maybe it's used differently. Let me ask you, and please, if I'm getting too personal, let me know. Did you ever enjoy intimacy in an automobile?

[Douglas]

Never. That's not ever happened, so.

[Tommy Mischke]

Really, no. Have you ever had intimacy ever?

[Douglas]

Yes, of course. But not in a car.

[Tommy Mischke]

What is the weirdest, or if I could quote Bob Eubanks, where is the weirdest place you've ever made whoopee?

[Douglas]

Picnic table.

[Tommy Mischke]

Was it the company picnic?

[Douglas]

No, just me and her on a walk kind of thing. And one thing leads to another and nature calls.

[Tommy Mischke]

I wonder if you ever put it in those terms to the woman. If you ever just say, during the walk, I'm hearing the call of nature. You hearing the call of nature?

[Douglas]

I don't think that would fly too well.

[Tommy Mischke]

Why not? What if you're on the same page in that moment? What if she looks at you and says, you thinking picnic table?

[Douglas]

Well, I guess I'm there.

[Tommy Mischke]

I assume you were a young man back then.

[Douglas]

Then, yes, I was. Those days Seem long gone, unfortunately.

[Tommy Mischke]

Really those days are long gone.

[Douglas]

I feel like it.

[Tommy Mischke]

Aw, damn it.

[Douglas]

I'm about to Next Tuesday, turning the big five zero.

[Tommy Mischke]

Might want to get you to a doctor. It's not supposed to be all over at that age. I thought you were gonna say 80 or something. A lot of stuff going around social media now about getting a genetic methylation test and going on some sort of intermittent fasting deal and taking 117 supplements a day. And there's this whole positive thinking visualization course you can take. And then there's this new age approach to altering the cells in your body by going under an infrared light. I could have you in a week making love on picnic tables daily if you wanted. Well, it would cost you a fair amount, but I always, always have a money back guarantee and it says if you can find me. If you can find me. What'd you do with your life, Douglas?

[Douglas]

Been around. Got to experience a lot of the world, meet a lot of interesting people. Lived in Korea for several years. Believe it or not, I was actually homeless in Korea.

[Tommy Mischke]

How were you homeless in Korea?

[Douglas]

When I got hired, I was going there, I was teaching English and Korea. Let's just say aesthetic is a very important thing to them. And they hired me not knowing what I look like. And so when I got there, they weren't too impressed because I will say I'm a very heavy person, if you know what I mean. Rotund is not what they like in people. And so they fired me when I got there.

[Tommy Mischke]

So now I'm starting to understand why. Still in your 40s, you're hanging up any wishes of strenuous sexual activity.

[Douglas]

Right.

[Tommy Mischke]

How much do you weigh, Douglas?

[Douglas]

Probably over 500.

[Tommy Mischke]

How tall are you?

[Douglas]

Six? Two.

[Tommy Mischke]

So you show up for a teaching gig in Korea weighing a quarter ton and they say, ix na na obje. They say to you, there's no way a guy of your size is going to be working here. Did they actually spell it out?

[Douglas]

I'm fat and they don't want fat. So basically I went to Korea twice. The first time I was there for four years. I taught, I taught at a university and things are good. And they didn't kick me out for being fat. When I came back around to for a different place, they didn't want that. And I tried a couple different academies and they also turned me down just because of the obesity.

[Tommy Mischke]

Are you with a significant other these days?

[Douglas]

No, I'm by myself, single.

[Tommy Mischke]

When was the last time you did

[Douglas]

have a partner living in Korea? The first Time around, I had a Korean girlfriend. She didn't want a relationship, according to her, because she wanted to work on her career.

[Tommy Mischke]

How's your health?

[Douglas]

Not the greatest, but gotta work on trying to improve upon that. I really only eat once a day. The problem is that once a day I'm probably not eating the best choice of calories. You know what I'm saying?

[Tommy Mischke]

That's extraordinary that you can eat once a day and maintain a quarter ton weight. Are you having a whole chicken or something?

[Douglas]

A lot of this comes down to mental health.

[Tommy Mischke]

What are you having for lunch today?

[Douglas]

McDonald's. So I'm trying to write a novel right now. You know, I write poetry, short stories.

[Tommy Mischke]

You don't by any chance have any of your poems memorized, do you?

[Douglas]

Not off the top of my head, but I could. Let me pull one up here real quick.

[Tommy Mischke]

Why don't you find me a favorite poem and read it to me?

[Douglas]

I'll read you. It's called up at the Top. I kind of wrote it through the perspective of children at play and wanted to try to capture that innocence. There's a park just outside of town with just enough of a hill that the green has been worn into patches of blackish brown by the padding and trotting of the young's naked feet, which are sore from black asphalt blisters and sharp twigs hidden beneath. The cool of the mud always brings temporary relief. It's big enough to climb and roll yourself down. And if you're fast enough, you can get to the top and put on your crown. Then claim yourself king and yell down below, I am king. I am king. Which always has a nice ring. Then everyone will gather together way up at the top. It's time for the secret meeting. Be home by 8 o'. Clock. With the sun on its way down, it takes the heat out. It's time to go, time to go. Someone screams out. We had fun today. Traversing all over that mound and back again. Yes, back again. We'll be there to enjoy that sacred ground.

[Tommy Mischke]

There's a sense of that being part of a children's book. I felt like I could see the illustrations with it, as if it were part of a children's book. It's a delightful poem. Do you have another one?

[Douglas]

I can share one. That's my personal favorite. This one's called the Lover's Moon.

[Tommy Mischke]

Is there a picnic table in it?

[Douglas]

It's called the Lover's Moon. Sun, come down now. Greet the golden wheat horizon. Come in haste, Slip beneath the earth so that the stars have permission to come out and that your tutelary saint, the moon won't be shy. Grant me this. You have already made the lover's day. Now unleash the moon, Let its light shine on us lovers here. For I am not done with romancing her son. You have exposed our love to the day. Now everyone is not fooled to our intent. Now let us lovers capture our love under the dark canopy so we may anticipate another day in your beam. Sun go down. Now, gentleness, let us watch as night takes its shift. We will still be here in your naked dawn so that you may see the radiance from our union.

[Tommy Mischke]

What prompted that?

[Douglas]

I was living up in Alberta, Canada, and there's a ton of wheat fields, and I was on a drive, and there's something about the. The wheat fields that kind of sparked this imagination. And I just kind of wrote it on a whim. So it wasn't about anyone particular or anything like that. I just like the idea of this guy begging his son to come down so he can have an evening with his girl.

[Tommy Mischke]

If you would ever want to send that to me, I'd like to see that on the page. You know, sometimes there are poems that are better as spoken poems, and some are better on the page. I'd like to see that on the page. Well, I wish you well. I've enjoyed talking to you.

[Douglas]

I'm very glad you called it. Been a fan of yours for, well, literally decades now. I suppose so. I've always just really loved hearing your stories. You should write. I'm not sure I know you do music, but I love your prosecution. So the pros that you come up

[Tommy Mischke]

with are always beautiful because you are a writer. Do you know about my book at all?

[Douglas]

Oh, I didn't know you have a book.

[Tommy Mischke]

I'd like to send it to you.

[Douglas]

Oh, yeah, I would love to see that.

[Tommy Mischke]

Wrote a book a couple years ago on winter. I looked around to see if anybody had written a book on what the season means in this part of the country. The cold winter part of the country, the northland between northern Michigan and eastern Montana. I wanted to isolate this part of the world and winter specifically as shaping the personalities of the people who grow up in that world and shaping the culture, the language, really being kind of a mother and father to us. Winter being truly the dominant parental figure of the four seasons. And I wrote it in such a way where I came at winter from a couple dozen different angles. I'd like to send it to you. Text me your address and I'LL throw it in the mail.

[Douglas]

I will do that for sure. And I appreciate doing that. And it was more than an honor to speak to you and hopefully we can do it again sometime.

[Tommy Mischke]

I hope so.

[Douglas]

Thank you, Mishke.

[Tommy Mischke]

Bye. Bye, Douglas.

[Douglas]

Bye. Be well. Thank you.

[Tommy Mischke]

When winter wraps up in Minnesota, that furnace of yours has put in a yeoman's effort. Congratulate it and tell it you're going to help take care of it by getting it a quick $49 tune up from Minneapolis St. Paul Plumbing, Heating and Air. End your winter season by getting that furnace tuned up so it's ready for next fall. And if you call MSP, Minneapolis St. Paul Plumbing, Heating and Air and if you get that $49 furnace tune up, you'll qualify to win a brand new beautiful Weber grill from Fratelloni's Hardware. You lucky stiffs. You take care of your furnace and as a reward you end up grilling all summer long. But you gotta call MSP before the 17th of April. The good news is with that tiny window, there aren't that many people in this drawing. Feel comfortable that you took care of your furnace this year and get ready to possibly win a beautiful Weber grill From Fratelloni's Hardware, Minneapolis St. Paul Plumbing, Heating and Air. Please make sure to tell them Mishke

[Bleacher Report App Promoter]

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[Tommy Mischke]

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[Minnesota Golf Passport Announcer]

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[Peter]

Hello, Tommy.

[Tommy Mischke]

Peter.

[Douglas]

How are you going to see better?

[Tommy Mischke]

Are you doing well? What are you doing right now in Florida? You're in Florida? Are you on a speakerphone right now?

[Peter]

I'm sorry, Tommy. Is that any better?

[Tommy Mischke]

Dramatically better.

[Peter]

Okay, good. I'll leave the earbuds out.

[Tommy Mischke]

Are you a Minnesota person who happens to be in Florida, is that it?

[Peter]

That's correct. Down here for a couple months and then heading back when it's safe.

[Tommy Mischke]

Will it suddenly be safe? What will happen, do you suppose?

[Peter]

The snow will melt?

[Tommy Mischke]

Oh, you're one of those guys who runs from the beauty of the angelic white.

[Peter]

I gotta admit, last couple winters, I've run from most of it.

[Tommy Mischke]

And when you arrive down there, what do you see there that's so enticing?

[Peter]

Swaying palm trees are always a nice thing to greet me.

[Tommy Mischke]

So you need a swaying palm, whereas I need a swaying pine. When I see a swaying palm, it feels foreign to me. It tells me that I'm on another planet. I'm not in my world. So what did you do with your life?

[Peter]

What did I do with my life? I did well. I went to the University of Minnesota, got over educated, and I went on to become a lawyer. And then I went on to stop doing that and I got a commercial driver's license and bought a company and pretty much finished up my productive working life.

[Tommy Mischke]

Why'd you hang up the lawyer shingle?

[Peter]

That's a good question. I just felt I wasn't much of a minute detail person and I just felt that it ran its course.

[Tommy Mischke]

The commercial driving, was that a step down?

[Peter]

Just a whole different path. You see a lot of different things, you do a lot of different things. You obviously interact with different strategies of people.

[Tommy Mischke]

What type of commercial driving?

[Peter]

Well, I pretty much hauled heavy equipment. Fair amount of just hauling construction equipment. Heavy commercial equipment on top of flatbeds.

[Tommy Mischke]

Wonder how many guys you hung out with in that job who also were lawyers.

[Peter]

I never met one.

[Tommy Mischke]

Tommy, I think you'd be the only one. I just don't think that's a natural transition for most folks.

[Peter]

No, no, it's probably not. Maybe that Sums me up in a nutshell.

[Tommy Mischke]

I'm starting to understand why you believe you got over educated. Was there much of a drop in salary between those two gigs?

[Peter]

It was a drop in salary. It was a drop. But at the time it really didn't make that much difference to me.

[Tommy Mischke]

You can't put a price on being happy. The majority of Americans in surveys don't like their jobs. They sleep a third of their life. They work a third of their life. So one third of their life awake, they're unhappy. One third they're sleeping. That leaves a third for them to find some ecstasy, something that makes life worth living.

[Peter]

That's a tough task too.

[Tommy Mischke]

I wonder if we could find a time in history when the majority of the planet liked their jobs. Say, I don't know, 200 BC? I wonder if there was a time when the majority of planet Earth liked what they did for a living.

[Peter]

Kind of doubt it if they spent most of their time hunter gatherers.

[Tommy Mischke]

You know how many people go out hunting for pleasure, just for their leisure time? Why would it be so awful to be out hunting? It's possible that people thought of it as just life. They didn't think of it as work.

[Peter]

I think you're right. If there is no choice, it's just a matter of whether you're good at it or not.

[Tommy Mischke]

You think of that fella, Dick Prenicke, up in Alaska for 30 years, had something he had to do constantly because he was living off the land and living through harsh winters. And there was always something to repair, to fix, to hunt, something to catch, something to skin, logs to cut, fires to start. But he seemed so content.

[Peter]

Who did the camera work? Did he do most of the camera work on that? That was an amazing series.

[Tommy Mischke]

He did it all. He did it all. And you have to ask yourself, why was Dick filming himself?

[Peter]

That's a profound question.

[Tommy Mischke]

I've always wanted a psychologist to go to work on that man. Why over those years did he feel compelled to film himself? I can't tell you how arduous that is with that equipment to not only be the guy in the film, but the guy filming. The number of times he had to walk back and forth, back and forth, set it up, then go get in the canoe, go out in the water, then stop in the middle of the lake, come back, take the camera apart again. It was practically a full time job filming himself. And then you add the audio narration. Why was he doing that? Would you like my theory?

[Peter]

I would, Tommy.

[Tommy Mischke]

Dick wanted the world to know that he's a big deal. It wasn't enough to be alone in Alaska enjoying the sunshine, the lake, the mountains, the wildlife. It wasn't enough to live that life and know you were capable of living that life. He wanted the world to know he was capable of living that life. And more than capable, he wanted the world to know there were few out there who have ever done it better. I think Dick Prenegie had a sizable ego.

[Peter]

One can only surmise that given what you've laid out. And in fact, I guess we could look at him as an early YouTuber or, you know, isn't that what everyone does now is they try to rebroadcast their life to the whole world with their phones.

[Tommy Mischke]

All he was was nature's version or the natural world's version of Mick Jagger on stage singing a song. What's Mick doing when he's singing that song? Sure, there are elements of just pleasure and enjoying singing it and having fun, but there's also look at me, look at me, look at me. Look what I can do. Look at what I've done with my life. Check this out. That's in all of us. But one could have been fooled into thinking it wasn't in Dick because he was up there alone in Alaska by himself 30 years. Surely Dick doesn't have that in him. He's fine on his own, he doesn't need the world's adulation. Doesn't he?

[Peter]

Yes. Dick was not fully self actualized. I think we could refer to him as Tricky Dick, if you have to be believed.

[Tommy Mischke]

Oh, the poor man. Why have we done this to him?

[Peter]

You put a whole new spin on it. I used to just think this guy should have been a shop teacher and taught all these kids everything he knew.

[Tommy Mischke]

Here's where the rubber met the road with Dick, where you really saw through him. He'd put together a latch for his cabin door and as he put it together, you realized his level of craftsmanship was astonishing. And what he was doing making this latch was nothing short of art, high end art. He was a master, absolute master. But what he would say after he'd put it together, after he'd make it the single most extraordinary latch in the history of latches, he'd say, well, that'll have to do. Best I can do today. You know, I wonder if Da Vinci ever said that.

[Peter]

In his own way. I think he was just rubbing it in, knowing that nobody else could probably do what he did.

[Tommy Mischke]

I think so. And I've never spoken to a psychologist, but he fascinates me in how he

[Peter]

operated, all while wearing plaid, too. That was another point in the till itself.

[Tommy Mischke]

He looked the part. I mean, did that guy come out of central casting or what?

[Peter]

He had the cap with the ear flap, everything.

[Tommy Mischke]

If it would have been fiction, you would have said, stop already.

[Peter]

Do we know? You probably know where he was originally from. Was he from Minnesota?

[Tommy Mischke]

Primrose, Iowa, was his hometown.

[Peter]

Probably not a lawyer, though.

[Tommy Mischke]

No, he didn't waste his time on that ridiculous pursuit. On May 21, 1968, he arrives at his new place, Twin Lakes, up on Alaska. And he doesn't leave there for 30 years. In 99, at the age of 83, he left his cabin, went to live with his brother Jake, and they lived together in Helmet, California. I would have liked to have hung out one afternoon with those two characters. He died of a stroke April 2003, at the age of 86.

[Peter]

God rest his soul.

[Tommy Mischke]

So when you do back this way.

[Peter]

Couple weeks. Tommy, I gotta admit, as nice as it is down here, I do feel somewhat guilty leaving, leaving all of you behind. So I better get back pretty quick.

[Tommy Mischke]

70 degrees on Saturday?

[Peter]

No way.

[Tommy Mischke]

Yep, 70 is the high on Saturday.

[Peter]

I'm just wasting my time down here then.

[Tommy Mischke]

Let me tell you something. A 70 degree day where you are cannot in a million years feel as thrilling and ecstatic and as wondrous as the 70 degrees we're going to feel.

[Peter]

You're stealing one if you get it in March.

[Tommy Mischke]

There's a great line. It's a quote I stole from somebody. It's in my book. The quote goes, as if you can't take my winters. You don't deserve my springs.

[Peter]

I think there's some Catholic dogma tied up in that quote. Something about guilt and earning your way.

[Tommy Mischke]

I don't think it's earning your way. I think the feeling of spring in Minnesota is born out of the winter. The season cannot be known in and of itself. It's known by what it comes out of. And so if you come back here to experience that 70, you can't know the spring. I think the quote speaks to that. You can't know it.

[Peter]

I would agree completely, Tommy. Again, there's just. There's a little bit of guilt every day I feel. But I successfully can push it to the side, but it keeps bubbling up.

[Tommy Mischke]

Well, just about the time that that doesn't do the trick for pushing you back. I'm hoping you'll meet a Floridian and that alone sends you back. Oh, no, I'm sure they're perfectly fine people. I've just heard rumors, that's all.

[Peter]

There's all types down here, all types of crazy. You got that right. All over. From all over.

[Tommy Mischke]

All over. It's something about.

[Peter]

Hey, what book were you referring to, Tommy? I'm ashamed to say I don't have it, but I'm gonna go get it.

[Tommy Mischke]

I wrote a book. A couple Winter and the extraordinary effect it has on the people of this part of the country. The hard winter part of the country. And by that I mean the northern states between northern Michigan and eastern Montana. Not the coasts and not the South. The hard winter region. We all speak the same language, we know the same culture, we have shared experiences and it shapes us and alters us in ways other people in other parts of the country will never understand. And I wrote a book about that called Winter's Song.

[Peter]

Okay, I'm going to look that up. Is that on Amazon or. Where do I get that?

[Tommy Mischke]

Yes, it is.

[Peter]

Did you write that sitting by the candle in your cabin some nights?

[Tommy Mischke]

Often, yeah.

[Peter]

I'll look forward to reading it.

[Tommy Mischke]

All right. Well, wonderful hanging out with you. Hope to talk to you again sometime. Safe travels. When you do, swing back north.

[Peter]

Thank you, Tommy. I always enjoy listening to you. And I've enjoyed our time together.

[Tommy Mischke]

I have us. Well, bye. Bye.

[Douglas]

Goodbye.

[Tommy Mischke]

I'm doing an ad for the well Shire. The well Shire is a revolution in memory care, people. If you ever toured some senior facility that felt like a beige waiting room for the inevitable, you know, the hollow feeling in your chest. The Wellshire is the cure for that, folks. They didn't just build a memory care center, they built a world. A town square with a cinema, a real barber shop and salon, an ice cream parlor, professional musicians. This isn't just care, this is life. There's life at the well Shire. They're doing something so smart it makes the rest of the industry look like they're stuck in the dark ages. They have the four quadrant system, four households. They've mapped out the four stages of memory care and they've built specialized environments for each stage staffed by people who actually understand the specific language of that stage. It's the most sophisticated, well appointed setup in the state of Minnesota. The well Shire of Bloomington and Medina. Today I found myself wanting to re educate myself on the difference between comedy, tragedy and farce. It was because of a news story I came across, the headline, mom who wrote children's book on Grief Convicted of husband's murder. I don't know. Life is tragedy. Life is comedy. Life is farce. Sometimes it all blends together. Oh, dear. A Utah mother of three, Corey Richens, self published a children's book about coping with grief. And not too long after was convicted of murdering her husband. She had murdered him before writing the book, just hadn't been caught yet. So she murdered him, leaving her three kids without a father, but helping them out by writing a book on grief. The book was titled, are you with me? Wink wink, kids, you hit me on this, you're gonna keep quiet. Right after the book came out, she said, yeah, it was a really good distraction from the whole period of the holidays without my husband going through his birthday, the anniversary, all these things. And it gave me and the kids something to work towards in our grief. Of course, I didn't mention to the kids that I greased the old man. Later on, after the book was published, old Corey was charged with killing her husband Eric, and she was just convicted. So she's going to be going away for a while, a long while. There will be time to write many more kids books. I'm always intrigued by crime. In the movie Body Heat, the character played by Mickey Rourke reminds the character played by William Hurt that anytime you commit a crime, there are 50 ways of screwing up. And if you think of 25 of those ways, you're a genius. And Mickey says to William Hurt, and you're no genius. He was trying to let William Hurt know, you're not going to get away with this. You'll screw up in too many ways even if you cover your bases in all these other areas. Well, that's what happened to our gal Corey. Let me just give you a timeline. I like timelines with crimes. We'll go back to an October day a few years ago, long before the crime. Eric tells an estate planning lawyer that he wants to protect himself from recently discovered abuse and misuse of his finances by his wife, Corey. Month later, Eric removes Corey as the beneficiary of his five hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy. He transfers his home and company interest to a trust managed by his sister. He's getting nervous about this wife of his. December Corey tells a friend that she's stuck and trapped in her marriage and it would be better if Eric died. Then a month later, she applies for a life insurance policy for Eric, names herself as the beneficiary. Erik has no affiliation with the account. His signature is forged. A month after that, an acquaintance purchases fentanyl for Cori. That same month, Erik tells a close friend he thinks his wife tried to poison him. Corey left him a sandwich from a local restaurant. And when he ate the sandwich, he broke out in hives. Felt like he was going to die. Turns out fentanyl can cause an allergic reaction such as hives. Corey didn't use enough fentanyl. So a little later, Corey purchases additional fentanyl. A month after that, she calls 911 to report that her husband isn't breathing. In the months following that, Corey researches online what happens to deleted phone messages. She researches how do police and forensic analysts recover deleted data from phones. Later on, she's googling how long do life insurance companies take to pay? And then, of course, she publishes the famous children's book All About Grief. The book's description states it was written by a loving mother who personally faced this grief challenge. It's designed to offer comfort and solace to young minds. I think it was a kind of Dr. Seuss type book. Just a rhyming children's book of some kind, talking all about grief. 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. But he was a real great guy.

[Station Psychologist / Night Shift Expert]

And to heaven he did go.

[Tommy Mischke]

Just as his bank account went into my stock portfolio. So grieve for him, kiddos. He was such a happy dude. A little less so after I put that poison in his food. No, he no longer can drive you to the corner candy store. But he also cannot drive me freaking crazy anymore. Sure, there were other options. I'm aware of that, of course. But six Feet Underground seemed to beat a long divorce. It had to be done, kids. Don't look at me that way. Daddy had to go, but I always planned to stay. I thought I covered my tracks. But now, kids, I think I'll write a children's book called Mommy's in the Clink. You can read it at night when you stay with Uncle Reg. And if he doesn't want you, read it in the orphanage. I'll give the story whimsy so you don't feel so bad. And the only way for me to write it was to go and kill your dad. I got a book deal, but blew our lives to smithereens. Of course, in this case, I think the ends justify the means. Okay, kids, good night now. Hope you enjoyed that one.