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Ben
Throw the headphones on, see if you like them. And if you don't, it just kind of almost locks you in. You hear me?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, I can hear you real well.
Ben
Okay, so basically, just. Just try and be close to the mic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. About. About that.
Grandpa Ron
Okay. All right, talk. Talk to me now.
Ben
Hey, Grandpa, how's it going?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, maybe a little bit lower in there.
Ben
Turn him down a little bit.
CJ
You might have better hearing than me.
Grandpa Ron
Try that. I can hear you. I think pretty good. Yeah, I can hear you.
CJ
Is it too loud?
Grandpa Ron
No, yeah, yeah, I'm okay.
Ben
Grandpa, do. Do you want a drink or something?
Grandpa Ron
I Sitting over there, I thought I better not drink while I'm talking. I might fall off the chair or something. But bring it over. I'll have one with you. Oh, good, good. That'd be great. Try not to show this. No, no, no, no, you're good. I don't want people to think I drink.
CJ
Yeah, that'd be a shock.
Ben
Yeah, we gotta hide that.
Grandpa Ron
We don't want that to happen.
Ben
All right, this one has. This one has been requested by a lot of people ever since the very first time that we had you on camera, Grandpa, and it was. It was when C.J. smashed your TV.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, yeah, I remember that.
Ben
But people been asking to have you on the podcast since that moment, so I'm glad that we could finally make this happen. But that was two years ago. Two years ago.
CJ
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Been that long.
Ben
Okay, if you guys haven't seen our last video, we took our grandpa Ron bowling, and he might have had a little bit of a slip action.
Grandpa Ron
I'm not gonna make the tour, let's put it that way.
Ken
A bowling tour?
Grandpa Ron
I don't think so. I'm not quite good enough for that yet.
CJ
I didn't. I don't know how many injuries there are in bowling. Luckily, you don't seem to be injured, but, I mean, you damn well could have been.
Grandpa Ron
You know, when you have a head with nothing in it, really can't get hurt that bad.
Ben
So there was a lot of concerned people, obviously, in the comments, but I got reached out to by just a bunch of friends being like, yo, is your grandpa okay? And thankfully you are, but a bunch of people have been wondering. So we wanted to have you on the podcast to show that you're still kicking it and still doing all right. And. And then also just sit down and shoot the. With you.
Grandpa Ron
What's okay. I mean.
Ben
Yeah, yeah.
Grandpa Ron
People never thought it was really okay, no matter what I do, so it's one of the buddy, I'm fine. It took a little bounce there on the. On the alley, but I didn't realize it was that slippery, to be honest. And I. In fact, somebody asked me if it was planned. Well, I planned on hitting that alley and sliding on my chest forward all the way to the pins, but when I threw the ball, it kind of threw me off balance. I went on my back.
Ben
So was amazing how off the cuff you were going, though. I mean, even with. With, you know, the back and forth rifts between you and cj. Like, you know, going into it, we were just like, all right, here's kind of what we're going to do. But, you know, just feel it out and. And just, you know, do whatever you think is funny. And then you go and do that. Which honestly would have been hilarious if you wouldn't have ate. But imagine if he would have successfully gone halfway down and throwing the ball.
CJ
As soon as you went walking out there, you can see me go, oh, grandpa grand. Because I legit knew what I was like, does he?
Ben
What?
CJ
I didn't know what you were thinking. I assumed, you know, it's slippery being that. Not that, you know, you've been through 80 years of life. You think you would know. Bowling alley is slippery.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
Ken
You want to put this?
Grandpa Ron
Okay. Yeah.
CJ
So, yeah, no, it was. It was pretty amazing how good you were at off the cuff, just doing that and just going in it. You weren't even scared or anything. Like, I was. I was telling Ben. I was like, dude, I mean, we're pretty committed to this lifestyle of, like, doing stuff like that sometimes. And you were just basically like, yeah, sure, I'll do it. And you just went in guns ablaze it and just did perfect. You could be an actor.
Grandpa Ron
I've been told that. Not a good one. That's the only problem.
CJ
You're a great actor. Yeah, well, you'd be your own stuntman, too.
Grandpa Ron
Well, I don't know about that one. What kind of stunts I could do.
Ben
I don't do my own stunts.
Grandpa Ron
I do my own stunts is right. And I see how long that would last, but. Oh, yeah, it was fun with you guys. You know, I enjoy it.
CJ
You're a hit.
Grandpa Ron
You're here. Yeah, I know about that.
CJ
You gotta see every comment is about you in the comment section.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, well, that's fine. Normally. Normally bought me in a post office with a picture up. Have you seen this man looking for this guy? Oh, yeah, yeah. Used to be husbands were always looking for me sometimes, but that's years and Years ago. That doesn't happen anymore. So I've been married to the same gal for 40 years.
Ben
Yeah, her grandma.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, the grandma. You know, if I could write a book, I could do 40 years of turmoil and. Well, and then 40 years. Maybe a little turmoil, but more fun, but chaos. The first 40 years were. You'd have been. We could have had a lot of fun. Boys. We do have a lot of fun.
Ben
So what do you like? What's the main difference between the first 40 to the second 40? Because you're 80 years old.
Grandpa Ron
Well, you know, my first 40. You always wonder, you try and do stuff that nobody's doing or you want to be successful. And in school, my buddy and myself. He was in eighth grade, he got the car, no driver's license, but his mother let him have the car. So he picked me up and my parents kind of wondered. Got to kids kind of young to be having a car. But you know, I did my work on the farm. I lived in the farm. I got my work, you know, done and we go out and we didn't get any trouble. I mean, two things. You never steal and you don't lie. That was always instilled in.
CJ
So.
Grandpa Ron
But we'd go out and have some fun.
Ben
I just had such a hard time believing you weren't getting in trouble.
Grandpa Ron
Well, we got in trouble, but not serious trouble where you know, we'd go steal something or we would do something that would damage. We may damage a few things.
Ben
If you ain't stealing and you ain't lying, you ain't getting in trouble. Well, that's what he's listening to.
Grandpa Ron
I mean we have to do like kind of. Our goal was to have a girlfriend in every town.
Ken
Oh, I got a buddy like that.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, probably you. But anyway, cuz Frank had the car. Car and we. And I was. We were always in sports. So you got to know a lot of people. And the girls in our own school really didn't like us that much.
Ben
Why?
Grandpa Ron
Well, because we'd always. Because everybody going steady, you know, where you. Yeah.
CJ
Being in a relationship.
Grandpa Ron
Well, you hang your. They hang. They want to take your letterman's jacket and hang it in their locker. That kind of shit, you know.
Ken
But it's kind of tough when your letterman's jacket is with the girl in the town over.
CJ
Town over.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, it wouldn't do that. No, you wouldn't do that. Only a couple times you date them. Okay. And so like we'd have a prom and. And you'd bring a gal from. I remember Telling fat grandma. And they were talking about that. And my junior primary, I brought a girl from litchfield, which was 20 miles. And then homecoming, I brought a gal from belgrade, which was 30 miles. And then I brought. Was a senior brought a gal from Buffalo, which is 35 mile. Always had, you know, we never brought the dates.
Ben
How were you meeting these chicks back in the day?
Grandpa Ron
We travel around. I played sports.
Ken
So you just drive around in the car?
Grandpa Ron
Well, there's one right there.
CJ
There's a girl.
Grandpa Ron
How that, how that could work? Because we like, during the winter, especially when you go to a game, you have the. The B squad. For example, in basketball, they're playing. So you're kind of. You're kind of free. So what you do, you look for the cheerleaders on the other team and they know.
Ben
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
And they know that you're playing on.
Ken
So they talk to you on the varsity.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
You're riding the pine, but yeah.
Grandpa Ron
No, no, we were waiting for the other team to get done.
CJ
Oh, oh, I see.
Grandpa Ron
Until we had time and.
CJ
Right.
Grandpa Ron
And we get to the older girls, because they weren't cheering for the B team, they were for the A team. And that's how you meet a lot of them. And it was, you know. Anyway, say, well, where you at? Well, we're going to come to your town and maybe you could have Coke or something. Coca Cola? Not Coke, but of course. Yeah. Or maybe a beer. It depends how old you were. But yeah. So that's kind of how you met all these gals.
Ken
So did you keep in touch with them over the phone? Because, like now. No, if you meet a probably there's Snapchat, stuff like that. But you, you would have had like a landline. You would have had to call the girl. You got to call the dad. No, none of that.
Grandpa Ron
None of that. Because we had a phone. We always had a phone, but in our area, I think maybe maybe 20 people on the phone. And everything outside of that was always long distance. And in those days, my mom would never let me call on distance unless it was really important. I mean, just to call up for some gal.
CJ
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, no way. Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. So you never get to do that. So you just. We drive, you know, whatever we had to do, but only once or twice, you call it. So you're nothing enough of that person.
Ken
So.
Ben
So your buddy in eighth grade gets the car, no license, but you and him just hit the road and just start cleaning up on chick.
Grandpa Ron
We had fun.
Ben
So you, you felt like you had like the upper Hand on everyone else?
Grandpa Ron
Well, we. Yeah, and my parents, you know, they didn't say much about. Except my buddy, we had. It was ninth grade. I went in the car when he was a sophomore. He. He knocks up this chick.
CJ
Oh, no.
Ben
Wingman.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
So you had to go solo then.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, well, my mom says, you know, maybe the brakes. What are you doing? I'm not doing that. Of course. So he just kind of made things, you know. But by then I had my driver's license as well.
Ben
Hey, look, man, I'm going solo.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, yeah. Well, so did you start getting like.
Ben
Quite the wrap around. Around the surrounding areas?
Grandpa Ron
Oh, I don't know if I did that. I mean, I knew a lot of people.
Ben
Like a guy is standing there and he sees you and your buddy roll up and it's like, yo, where's my chick? Where's my chick?
CJ
They were probably looking for him. They're gonna go, well, yeah, punch his lights out.
Grandpa Ron
No, that, yeah, that's what. Sometimes they tried to do that too.
CJ
Did you get in a lot of fights back then?
Grandpa Ron
Not really, no. There's a theory it's easier to make love than war, so. Right.
Ken
Did that with all the chicks down.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, yeah, true. You know, fighting was my brother's fought, but I. I'm not me. But a lot of times when guys are out fighting, your girlfriend are available.
CJ
They're over there, you're talking, hey, how's it going?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, so. But that's kind of how those younger years went. And then, you know, I got married pretty young. 20. I was 20. And the gal I married was a school teacher. Actually, she was older than me, so.
Ben
Wait, your school teacher?
Grandpa Ron
No. Wanda. Oh, my first wife.
CJ
No, she wasn't.
Ben
She was.
Grandpa Ron
Okay. She was teaching. Yeah. But she taught at the school where I graduated from, so her teacher friends were. A lot of those were my, My teachers. So it's awkward to go to a teacher's party and here I'm 20 years old and here's my old teachers and her.
CJ
Because you were causing chaos.
Grandpa Ron
Well, there were all faculty members and that at this party. And here's his 20 year old punk married to one of us, you know.
CJ
Unbelievable.
Grandpa Ron
So, so we, we, we left town. I mean, we went to a different area.
CJ
Chased him out of town.
Grandpa Ron
No, went to Wisconsin. She taught in Wisconsin. Down by lacrosse.
Ben
You had to go. You had to go to a different state where they didn't know you.
Grandpa Ron
Well, I don't know about that, but didn. After what he did, it helped, probably.
CJ
So, you know, you ever Heard the saying they got the gift of the jab.
Grandpa Ron
Gab.
CJ
Yeah, sorry. Gift of the gab.
Ben
So.
Ken
Gift of the gab. I have no idea.
Ben
I've never heard that before.
CJ
So, like, it's just like being able to shoot the. Always having a comeback. Always just, you know, being funny, basically. And you have that to the.
Ben
Like.
CJ
I'd say you have a 10 out of 10, maybe. I'd say actually 11 out of 10 score. And the gift of the gab.
Grandpa Ron
See, I. I don't know if I'm a firm believer in that so much. I think more is if you, if you just have. If you're comfortable in talking to people. Well, maybe that.
Ken
Yeah, yeah.
Grandpa Ron
You know.
Ben
Have you always been like that, though?
Grandpa Ron
Pretty much, yeah.
CJ
So you didn't have to learn it.
Grandpa Ron
I could get some vibrations off people.
Ben
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
If they were bad, get the hell out of it. Yeah, yeah.
Ben
You. You mentioned it a little bit before, but when you saw the person being a cigarette salesman, you knew that you wanted to become a salesman.
Grandpa Ron
That'd be a good job. Yeah.
Ben
So did you see like, you know, the, the person out selling cigarettes, but they're out bullshitting with people and you're like, hey, I have that, that, that characteristic. I could be a good salesman or what, like, clicked.
Grandpa Ron
Well, it just looked like a good thing to do.
Ben
So talking to people and just selling them.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, yeah. And I always could. Pretty much could do that. I mean, but I see I had like five older brothers and they'd bring their friends home many times and bullshit with me and he gets. Talk to anybody, you know, whatever it's going to be.
Ben
What about the humor aspect of it? Like, where, where did you get the, the quick wit and the comebacks and the humor side of it? Because you can, you can talk to anyone. But how do you become a bullshitter?
Grandpa Ron
Everybody can do that, I think. But some of people are afraid to say anything. But basically, I think people, you know, you'll know people that will. With you, that probably wouldn't bullshit with anybody else. Right. Because they're comfortable with you. And that's kind of how it gets. I mean, after a couple things, you're comfortable. So you say you, you're fat, you're ugly, or whatever you can get away with. In my, in my golf group and we call name. In fact, our wives say if we called each other that we'd never talk to each other.
Ken
And that's how, you know you're good friends.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
Ken
Because that's like us too. Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, yeah. If you guys weren't in each other, you wouldn't talk to each other probably. But, but I, I, it's just kind of like you kind of learn that maybe a little bit that you're comfortable with, with people and nobody's any better than anybody else. You know, Treat everybody equal and give.
Ben
Everyone the same amount of shit.
Grandpa Ron
And give some more than others. Some, some, some are, some people are just made to give.
Ben
Yeah, I didn't know that. I didn't know that. Certain families just don't act that kind of way. Cuz I thought it was pretty normal to go to a, a family Christmas and like your, your grandpa is telling you how fat you got, but then you're also telling them how old he's looking and, and like constantly just like, you know, make making jokes towards each other. But um, and then Greta started hanging around our family and after we went to Natalie's graduation last week, we're in the car ride back and she's like, I just, I just can't believe like some of the things that your like family says to each other. Some of the jokes that you guys make.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. But that really makes for a close knit.
CJ
Yeah.
Ben
And entertaining.
Grandpa Ron
And entertaining.
Ben
So entertaining.
Ken
I remember being around your guys family going like, whoa, this is so fun. It feels like you get all your cousins together and it's really cool because I wasn't blessed with many cousins my age. They were all younger, way older.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
Ken
And once I saw your guys's family dynamic, I was like, man, that's something, that's something special. And as I've gotten older now I can BS with my aunt and uncles a little better because we're, I'm older in age. But it is unique what you guys have. Like, there's not many families like that for sure.
Grandpa Ron
Do you think we can bring Ryan to our Christmas Eve? To my house?
CJ
I don't know if he'd be able to handle it.
Grandpa Ron
At my house Christmas Eve it's my wife working all the. And then their grandpa Dave is there.
Ben
With his girlfriend who's, who's my grandma's ex husband.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CJ
So technically he's like, I don't know what you would call it because you've been married to our grandma since before we were born. But like in theory we're not blood.
Ken
Which is so funny because God, you guys, I feel like you guys are two apples right off the tree. Like, you know, you get so many similar characters though.
CJ
He's always been our grandpa, so he did raise us.
Ken
He Kind of. I can see you guys picked up manners, mannerisms.
Grandpa Ron
Then my brother is there who married my ex wife.
CJ
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Christmas time.
Ben
Yeah.
CJ
It's like what? Yeah, you got my grandma's ex husband with his girlfriend and then his ex wife married to his brother.
Ken
Wow.
Grandpa Ron
Christmas Eve. Yeah. Yeah.
CJ
And everyone plays cards and talks and it's fun.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
We drink wine and beer and once.
Grandpa Ron
In a while we have a surprise. I don't know what it would be, but we maybe have one on Christmas Eve. But anyway. Yeah, that's kind of.
Ken
Who's that?
Ben
I don't know what that means. Well, yeah, I, I, I, I didn't realize how weird that family dynamic is until a couple years older. Yeah. I was explaining it to a friend or, or someone and, and I was like, yeah, it's actually pretty funny though cuz like my grandpa's ex wife is there and then my grandma's ex husband is there and then, and then actually my, my, my grandpa's ex wife is married to his brother and. Yeah, but it all works like, it all works and they're just like what? Hold on. No, your, your grandpa's brother, strange situation to the ex wife. Which I still think is really funny because I, I just like, I'm trying to picture what that would be like of you and her like getting divorced and then you find out that your brother is married to like getting.
CJ
Yeah. Were you mad hitching up? No, I've already asked you this before.
Grandpa Ron
Nobody did hear something this morning or. Yeah, this morning. I think when I talked to my niece, she, you visit with her sometimes, she'd clue you in a lot of stuff. She says her mom just died here a couple months ago. And she said one of the things my mom always told me is she remembers you talking me is when Ken, my brother, married my wife. I said, what in the is wrong with him? She, her mother is 92 and she could still remember the day I said that. Which was a good point at the time. And then after he married her, I would say I'm glad he's married to her instead of me. So that was.
CJ
Yeah, that's what he always would say. I was just happy that he always married her instead of me.
Grandpa Ron
They'd always ask me, you know, what's that like? I mean, seeing your brother with, you know, fine with me. I mean, at least it's not me, so. But yeah, but you know, getting back to, to relationship like that. I found out that like my mom's mother died when my mom was 3, so her dad Ended up marrying my dad's sister whose husband died in the war. So that we kind of started a long time ago doing this.
Ken
Wow.
CJ
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
So actually my dad's sister was my grandma.
CJ
Oh my gosh.
Grandpa Ron
Kinda, you know. Yeah. And I didn't really realize that growing up when I was younger, but now, you know, later years, I'm all together. Yeah. Yeah. That was crazy in those days. I mean, they were looking. Everybody knew everybody and weren't blood related. But one person spouse passed away and another one's dead, so they got together.
Ken
That's how it goes.
Grandpa Ron
That's how it goes.
Ben
Love the more, right?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, talking about these guys when growing up Ben. I lived on a golf course and Ben and Sam and Natalie would always come up there and we'd go out in a golf course. Today all I wanted to drive the golf cart, of course. Well, Ben was the youngest, so they always beat the out of here. He would. They wouldn't let him drive. And now I think about that, you know, it's probably a good thing because I see how he drives. Today I wouldn't have had a golf cart. Probably. Yeah. I've been toasted. I was thinking about that. You look.
Ben
You look out the window and I'm jumping it off the tee box.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, right. I mean. Yeah.
Ben
Have you watched our reckless golfing videos?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Yes.
CJ
I gotta do that.
Ben
Do you want to come with on next one maybe? Oh, actually, hold on.
CJ
You'll get your own cart and you just stay off the side. You got to stay out of there.
Ben
I don't know if we can trust them with that.
Grandpa Ron
I.
CJ
Well, I know we gave him strict instructions not to hurt anyone. You didn't tell him not to hurt himself though, in bowling. That is where we messed up.
Ben
Yeah, that one kind of slipped between the lines.
Grandpa Ron
I got a cut in my finger. Christ. I mean that's I was telling these guys ran. You know, I got five older brothers farm. They used to throw me under a bull and a kick. What? And we had boxing gloves, you know. And I'm five older, so I get the shit kicked out of me all the time. So there was no big deal.
Ben
I mean that you are a tough bastard, you know that? Well, you know how up anyone else. Even everyone sitting at this table would be taking a fall like that.
Ken
I'd be complaining about for a week.
Ben
Cj. Cj he would have been bad deal.
Grandpa Ron
You have to know how to land you.
Ben
What are you talking about? You had no time to brace you.
Grandpa Ron
I know. I Remember going down. God, I felt like I was flying for a minute. You were Okay.
CJ
I remember going back to the golf cart stuff as kids. I remember one time we had. You were driving the golf cart, and we had, like, I don't know, four or five of us crammed in that thing, and I was on the end, and there was, like, nothing to really hold on to. And you were ripping around, and we were on the car path, and you took, like, a hard turn, and basically everyone just kind of slid. And I just got booted off the side.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, yeah.
CJ
And I just, like, tumbled and got all skinned up, and I was like. Like, I think I might have been crying. And then all of you guys pulled up on the golf cart, laughing.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, yeah. Well, yeah.
CJ
And then I hopped on. I think you guys didn't really care until we got home. Then Grandma was like, oh, are you okay?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. My niece was telling me another story because she. Now she sees some of this. That happens. But she said when her and her sister are, like, maybe eight or nine. And I had a 60 Chevy convertible. And so I decided, I'll take them. They were at our house, and I said, I'll take you to town. Buy a cone of ice cream or something. So I do. And I put them in the back seat. And then I'm driving, so I'm going 90 miles, and their ice cream flies off of their cone. And one was in the front, one was in the back. Ice cream all over hell. And they told their mother about that. God, I thought, their mother. Mother, she'll never ride with your Uncle Ron, and they never have. I mean, that's death. Well, I. They don't have to, but, I mean.
Ben
Oh, gosh, you know what we used to do? Do you remember when you'd be driving us somewhere and you go, hey, I bet you I can make it the entire way home without stopping.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. So that's across town, and that's.
CJ
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ben
So we'd be driving, you know, 20 minutes across town, busy stop, the intersection, stop plates, everything like that. So we'd see, like, a red light, you know, quarter mile up, and he would. He would start slowing down in traffic. He'd be holding up traffic just so you can go until it turns green and then you can go again. Same with, like, stop signs and all that. Or if. Or if you're, like, actually getting in traffic. But we did it.
Grandpa Ron
I think we did.
Ben
Oh, we would do it. And then we would. And then if you would fail, we'd be like, I told you, you can do it. Or if you'd make it, you'd be.
Grandpa Ron
Like, got your fucker.
CJ
One mile per hour. Just creeping till the light would change.
Ken
Be cars behind.
CJ
I remember one time when I was riding with you, Grandpa. It was me, you and grandma, and there was a guy at the grocery. We were driving past the grocery store, and this guy was getting arrested, and you. And you pulled over and. And we watched.
Ben
Like.
CJ
Like, we pulled over, parked, and watched like. Oh, you want to watch? We pulled.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Ken
Those people take. Most grandparents, take them to, like, the zoo.
CJ
They're like, don't turn the other way. Oh, yeah, that's cool. Watch we pulled in.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Learn not to get arrested. That's.
CJ
Yeah, that's true.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, exactly.
Ben
Yeah. That's the underlying message, not the entertainment factor.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
I think you were laughing during it.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. I've had some great experience with all these guys, all my grandkids, so a lot of people, so. But you gotta. You know, your live wide open is a perfect. And that's what you got to do.
CJ
Absolutely.
Grandpa Ron
You know, and help people do things and whatever.
CJ
I always say it, but, like, I really hope that by the time I'm your age, I've lived a life like you, and I'm still like, have energy like you. Maybe I shouldn't say lived a life like you, but just had a very fun life like you. Like, that's what you've had.
Grandpa Ron
So you can tell he hit his head in hockey, can't you, by the way?
Ben
But, like, you're in such good.
CJ
You're in good condition. And like, you just, like, you can do a lot of stuff that most people 10 years younger than you can't even do.
Grandpa Ron
Well, that's your fault.
CJ
I mean.
Grandpa Ron
Well, seriously, like, your parents both are chiropractors. Taking great care of me, obviously. Next morning after I hit my head, I get phone calls, get your ass over to the clinic and do this and do that. So they take good care.
Ken
Did they say you were out of shape when they fixed you up?
Grandpa Ron
No, my neck was. Neck was a little bit screwed up.
Ben
He just kept complaining about his finger. My finger, which I'm on. I'm just like, I'm happy that that's not even broken. Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
Ben
It's a little jammed up.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, well, Jason put a laser on it, and he said, if it hurts that laser, it's broken. I said, just cut, for Christ's sakes. I mean, everybody gets that. But anyway, so that. That helps keep. Obviously keeps you. You're healthy and you Kind of watch what you eat, you know? I don't really.
CJ
You do.
Grandpa Ron
I don't eat a lot of greasy foods.
CJ
That's good.
Grandpa Ron
And I've never smoked, ever.
Ben
Cigarettes.
CJ
What about vape?
Grandpa Ron
No, I'd never do that.
CJ
They didn't have vapes back then? No, no.
Grandpa Ron
And they had dope, marijuana. But I'm afraid if I would have tried it, I would have liked it. So I stayed away from it, you know.
Ben
I can't believe you never smoked cigarettes either. What was the reasoning behind that? Cuz growing up, I'd imagine it was extremely common. It's like how vapes are now.
Grandpa Ron
My mom never smoked and my. My older brother's three or four of them did, I guess. And my dad did my earliest. I don't remember him smoking. And whenever my. My brother would. Would bring older brother, bring a girlfriend home or something and my mama said she smokes, it was like she put something in my mind that it's really bad, you know, so she never did. And I was in sports, so we had training, drank beer, but work that off.
CJ
You've been drinking beer your whole life but lunch.
Ben
When did you start drinking beer?
Grandpa Ron
Oh, I don't know because, you know, we used to have a farm. We had thrashing days, you know, where you'd harvest and thrash meat and crews would come in. And when we do that, we had a milk cooler. You guys went in that milk house and my dad would buy two or three cases of beer and throw it in there so it'd stay cold and people would come in and have a beer before they go back out. So I maybe, I don't know, 13, 14. You can sneak it there and grab a beer.
Ben
Yeah, yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Didn't have too many, you know, but I would have, you know, good for you. Better than Coca Cola.
CJ
That's another thing you've always told me. Drinking a beer is better for you than a pop.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, yeah, if you're old enough. Well, not old enough, but old enough.
CJ
Dan, don't take any of this as advice. Just. Just. This is just what, the way I was told.
Grandpa Ron
Well, yeah.
Ben
So where do you get this energy from, though, Grandpa?
Grandpa Ron
I mean, I don't take drugs. I don't even have a doctor, so I. But I try and eat right pretty much if I can. And I know, you know, I eat eggs every day and I don't eat a lot of fatty foods and I don't. I don't drink a lot. I don't drink pop with the sugar in it. You know, stuff like that.
Ben
So how much of a difference do you think just being social makes and like getting out and talking to people, but more along the lines of just doing something.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, 100%. I mean, if you can have social, you can bullshit with somebody and go out. Well, look at people that don't do that. They get up and barely walk and they limp or whatever, back bent over, nose is touching their toes, basically, they don't socialize. You know, in fact, I was telling your grandma, yes, we should go out dancing some night, you know, and I could still do that. She's a little lax in that maybe, but I could do that. And I think you can do a.
CJ
Lot of things, but I have the.
Grandpa Ron
Energy to do that. And it's because. But you got to socialize with people, you got to talk to people. You guys do that all the time. That's, you know. But you have friends probably your age that are not social or not friends definitely do. And you know, what are they like? I mean, they're duds. Probably not that.
CJ
I don't know. Some people just have it or they don't though, you know. Well, you have a knack for just like when you walk into a room, you just like being funny, you're talking loud. People just like immediately kind of like you and then like just the whole vibe of the room and the positivity of it, you know, everything gets elevated and yeah, everyone else has more fun whether they're even not talking around you.
Grandpa Ron
I mean, you have to have good feelings towards everyone. Basically you should have, you know, like, you know the other night we did at the pool, the three gal setting on the table there.
Ken
I didn't know that happened. I was laughing. You're pretty good.
Grandpa Ron
Well, I was talking to them. Okay. You know, they were having some fun here and. And so pretty soon they're asking questions and they're talking to all of us because we're nice to them, you know.
Ken
Yeah, it's a good point.
CJ
You walk in energy, the way you talk to people.
Ben
Yeah.
CJ
If you're smiling when you're talking to, you know.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
You can, you can just tell. I feel like almost everyone has that innate. You can tell if someone means well, you know, obviously you gotta be careful because there's plenty of people who are snakes, but.
Grandpa Ron
Oh yeah, yeah.
CJ
But ultimately in like most cases, you can kind of tell.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, I kind of ended up, you know, when I was travel in the clothing business that most of my. All my clients or customers, basic clients, I guess were friends of mine and a lot of them. I would stay at their house, you know, at night, sometimes come over and make dinner. And you stay here because I get along with them, treat them fair, you know, don't cheat anybody. So. But, but yeah, that. You are correct on that. Social is so important and that's why I worry about nowadays the kids working on computers.
Ben
Oh yeah. Like for, for work and then school.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, and school. I mean, you got to have part of that social life or you're going to turn out to be a machine, basically, you know. So. Yeah, that's scary.
CJ
Would you go door to door doing sales?
Grandpa Ron
I did that. I did that when I went to I still Fuller Brush at one time.
CJ
I feel like that's where you've got to like really refine your social skills because every, every door to door salesman or person who did door to our sales actually kind of has very similar.
Grandpa Ron
I, I did Fuller Brush and you guys, are you familiar with Fuller Brush at all? Brush, you'd sell spray cleaners or room deodorant and they'd sell brushes, you know, nail brushes, scrub brushes, toilet brushes, cleaners. And you'd have your case and you'd always have these little leaders. You'd knock on a door to give them what I mean by leader, A sample or something. But when I went to work, these guys, I was in the same.
Ken
Paul.
Grandpa Ron
They put me in the freaking slums or the low income area.
CJ
Really?
Grandpa Ron
Oh yeah.
CJ
Were you getting, were you worried walking? No, I was like. It wasn't like the hood or nothing?
Grandpa Ron
No, I wasn't worried at all.
Ken
They didn't have the money to spend as compared to the.
Grandpa Ron
They thought they did. So they give me these orders. Shit, I'm writing these orders, you know. Well, then I have to deliver them. A week later I go back. None of them have any money.
Ben
Oh no.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. But some of the places I can go in, they stunk so bad. So I'd open my case up and I'd always have these room deodorants and I'd spray them above my head. So I'm talking while this is settling down. As soon as I would go, I'd grab another one above my head and so I can talk to him without choking. But some of these places, I remember this one place I walk into, I'll never forget it. I walk in, lady lets me in. She must have weighed 300 pounds, no teeth, you know, whatever. I walk in and at the refrigerator, she's got a broom handle holding the refrigerator door shut. In those days he had milk bottles, you know, and there were empty milk bottles that weren't washed out. Oh, and. And the side of the refrigerator was just dirt house of back. I stand it. You want to get out and look. Well, those people. No, no, stick around. Let's see what, what you got, what you have. I got an appointment. I gotta go. I mean, some of those places, what a lesson to be learned. But if you go. But if you can go door to door, a lot of people are so full of brush have been done. Okay. Afterwards. Because if you can go door to door and talk to those people and stand that you can almost do anything. Yeah, yeah.
CJ
That takes courage now.
Grandpa Ron
Or you don't. Or I don't know any better.
CJ
I mean, I'd say the courage came in handy with the blind bowling.
Grandpa Ron
Well, yeah, but that's, that's some of the sales stuff. Yeah. And then you get to some places in corporate where everybody thinks they're on. On a pedestal. You know, it's a privilege for me to try and sell me something. Screw you. But. But once you got past some of those buyers, they were great. Yeah, if you had a good product. But that's kind of how sales work, you know? But. Oh, this is a good one. I forgot to tell you guys about this. It's Easter time and I'm going to Watertown, South Dakota. That way, I'm going, I'm going to Watertown to call on a customer there. And I used to have a deal underneath my seat. You never heard of this one? And it was like a little flapper and it would say, how about a drink? Which, like a cup of coffee or whatever it may be. So. So I see this gal driving this maybe a 65 Mustang, whatever, and I wheel up and I go, good looking gal. So I walk up, I pull my sign up and I hold it.
Ben
No fucking way. You had a sign to hold out the window.
Grandpa Ron
I kept it underneath the seat. And I. And I could.
Ben
Wait, was this just you or. Or this was like a thing how.
CJ
You'D pick them up?
Grandpa Ron
Well, how you'd meet them. Okay. Yeah. So anyway, I have this sign and I bring it up and I put it next to the window. And she looks at me like, what sign was it? It just said, how about a drink? It's like two in the afternoon. And we get to the stop sign and she's right behind me. So I get out of my car and I walk over, I say, you see my sign? Would you like to stop for a drink? And she said, sure. So we go to a place Called the Pheasant Inn, which is a restaurant bar in Watertown. This is like 2, 2:30. And we drink gimlets.
Ben
What are those?
Grandpa Ron
Gimlets with their vodka with a little rose of lime juice in them. You drink too many, you'll know it.
Ken
Okay.
Ben
Okay.
Grandpa Ron
So anyways, and we go in this bar and she's drinking gimlets with me. Well, she's on her way to Belle Fourche. You know where that's at? That borders the Wyoming border.
CJ
Okay.
Grandpa Ron
Across the state. So we're drinking about 5:30 maybe. And so she's heading out there because on Easter, she was a teacher at Sherburne, Minnesota, and she was. Her parents were out in Belle 4 brother. And she was going to go visit a free Easter. Okay, why don't you come with me? I said, I can't work. And she says, oh, I'll bring you back.
Ben
I can't.
Grandpa Ron
I'm working.
Ben
She's like, no, you're not. We're sitting in a park.
Grandpa Ron
So anyways, we get in her car and we have to drive across. Okay. All right. Along. So we get in our car. It's a five hour drive, find her brother. It's like one in the morning. Whatever. I'm tired and so piss around at night with whatever. Next morning I got to go back to Watertown, not five hours away. So I said, you don't have to give me a ride back. I'll try and catch a bus. No buses fly back. No planes. I said, well, I guess you do. So she had to give me a ride all the way back to Watertown. So I screwed up two days of.
CJ
Her vacation just because of. Because of.
Grandpa Ron
Your signs were pretty good, too. In the morning you could go, how about coffee? You know, and then you'd go in the restaurant, have coffee.
Ben
How many. How many times would that work? But then you find out that they're married.
Grandpa Ron
Never asked that.
Ben
Because I'd imagine, you know, if you're having a conversation with someone, but that one's just like, you see someone, you're like, well, want to go on a date?
Grandpa Ron
If we're driving down the road, I mean, and. And like South Dakota, especially out in the middle of nowhere by themselves, they're probably.
Ken
Yeah. True.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Yeah.
Ken
Makes sense.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
Ben
I mean, you said you.
Grandpa Ron
I mean, I mean, you wouldn't do that. You saw some lady with two kids in the back seat. You do.
CJ
You don't want to deal with them.
Grandpa Ron
No.
Ben
You said you had the kids going to do. You pissed off some husbands, though.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Really yeah. Yeah. Well, when I lived in Kenyan with my buddy, we were single, both of us. And I get a letter in the mail from this guy, and I was. And they were not getting along anyway, but I was maybe going out with his wife, let's put it that way. And anyway, I get a letter in the mail. It's from her husband.
Ken
A letter?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, honey, hell. You get my address on the hell does he know who I am? And in there, he's starting to kill me. I'm going to kill you when I'm coming to your house and kill you.
Ken
Which is concerning because he wrote a letter to your house, so he definitely knows where you live, right?
Grandpa Ron
Live? Yeah. And it's only about 80 miles from where he lives. So my buddies I live with. I mean, they had fun with that. Schmidt. Strange car just pulled in the driveway. Yeah, I mean, what do I do? Got my upstairs window because there's only one door out of the house. Well, then it wouldn't be. But they did that a number of times on me. But finally I settled down.
Ken
He never did come.
Grandpa Ron
Not when I was there, I hope. But he got over it. They were getting divorced anyway, so it wasn't.
Ben
That was the only run in.
Grandpa Ron
No. No, I had one in Fargo, actually. Yeah, that was long. And that's like 50 years ago. And I go to her place. I'm taking a shower in the morning, door knocks. Somebody knocks on the door and opens it up. A guy? Yeah. And I'm. I'm naked.
CJ
Taking a shy talk about being vulnerable.
Grandpa Ron
Well, I'm gonna take a bar of soap. First of all, I'm gonna rub on his eyes, and whatever I have to do. I don't.
Ken
You had a plan.
Grandpa Ron
I did have a little. A bit of a plan.
CJ
Rub it in his eyes. Punch him.
Grandpa Ron
Well, yeah, I mean, I'm not a.
Ben
Fighter, but I'll rub soap in his eyes.
Grandpa Ron
Well, he can't. That hurts, you know?
Ben
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
I don't want. So I said. And he said, that's my girl.
CJ
Right.
Grandpa Ron
I didn't realize she was married, as you're using his.
Ken
His bar of soap to wash your nuts.
Grandpa Ron
And she. He said, well, we're not. That was my girlfriend. Oh. I said, well, that's different. But then they go in the bedroom and argue. All my clothes are in the bedroom, so I got to go in there and get my pants and my shoes, and they're sitting there. That was an awkward moment.
CJ
Talk about it.
Grandpa Ron
And I got the hell out of there. I told her I'm not coming Back to your house. You're gonna see me. You have to come. Yeah. You know, you get some interesting experiences when you're. You can free and do whatever. Whatever you want. Kind of sounds like it. So that was the first party when I went down. My brother and I and two other guys, we go to Nassau. We're in the Bahamas.
Ken
Bahamas.
Grandpa Ron
Yep. And went to play. It was my birthday actually, in March 7th. And we go to Playwright Club at that time was fairly new there.
Ken
And we had those in the Bahamas.
Grandpa Ron
First one they built.
CJ
They still have those.
Grandpa Ron
I don't know if they do or not.
CJ
There's no way. I feel like they've kind of gone extinct.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Meet this gal from the current, her friend from Louisville, Kentucky. So we spent a couple days. We have all get together. We have fun. So they want us to come back to Louisville with them, my brother and myself.
CJ
Okay.
Grandpa Ron
Hell, we're no hurry. So we do. We get back to Louisville and Lemo picks us up at the airport. Was her butler.
CJ
Oh, my.
Grandpa Ron
So we go back to their house on the river. Nice home. God damn. This is. All right. That was the one my brother was fooling around with. And her husband had passed away, but he owned all those, like, carpet ranches. You know, that kind of carpet store stuff. Carpet world. Well, stuff like that with home decorate. He owned. Around the whole country. He owned.
CJ
Wow.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. And then she also owned a country western bar in Louisville and she owned a radio station. Jeez. But she had never gone in her bedroom. And since her husband died. So that bedroom overlooked the river. So I got that bedroom and morning. So he gets it. Yeah. Yeah.
CJ
I don't care.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. So I pushed the button behind me and here and made would come up, bring me orange juice because the other gal was pristine. But anyway, we're supposed to go back to the Kentucky Derby and in the clothing business, you get your lines that would break, like for fall or winter. Well, that would have been my fall line, which is a big time of the year for me to be on selling. And when you get your line, you're supposed to get your ass on the road.
Ken
I was going to say that. It seems like in a lot of these stories, it's been that you've taken advantage of an opportunity and you're just like, yeah, no, the other stuff I got to do that I can do later. I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity now. It's really cool. Like, I admire that. Yeah.
Ben
You set your life up so you can kind of just do whatever you want.
Grandpa Ron
Well, it turns out that this gal's booth that she had her box was next to the governor. Okay? So I'm thinking, okay, I get my line that particular week to go back to work, and I think I go to that Kentucky Derby, or I go down there and I'm setting up in their box, and my guys, my bosses from Texas, look at the there. He watches a Kentucky Derby, sees me setting up in a box. Why isn't that on the road selling goods like he's supposed to be? So I didn't go. Oh, I didn't go. That's one of the reasons I didn't go, because I want to jeopardize my job. And I kept thinking about that, you know, I mean, he's in Minnesota, and now he's just got his line because they know when they ship all my samples. And now it's Saturday. He's down in Louisville, Kentucky, up to Derby. Ah, he's not working.
Ken
You were selling clothes to the governor.
Ben
Yeah. You couldn't say.
Grandpa Ron
Well, because I thought they were. When they run the camera, you always show the governor.
CJ
Yeah.
Ken
Course, you'd be right in the side.
Grandpa Ron
Right on the side. And they would talking. Oh, yeah, yeah. And I. Oh, it's not worth it. I didn't.
CJ
Is that Ron?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. I said I didn't go, Grandpa. You did.
Ben
Ryan kind of mentioned it, but everything that you're saying is basically you just saying yes and then just figuring the rest out afterwards. Like, have you always kind of just been like, it, let's do it.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. It doesn't get me in any serious trouble or anything. And don't hurt anybody. Yeah, I'm game for a lot of stuff.
Ben
The only question. Hey, we got a prank. Do I have to get naked? No. All right, I'm in.
CJ
You were in before you heard the prank.
Grandpa Ron
Well, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ken
But no, I do appreciate that. I don't know if it. If it's the times that's a little different. I feel like now it's. You're so easily connected. Like, your boss would be calling you on Friday and go, hey, how is sales? You don't get that day or two of leeway when you're.
CJ
They're tracking the truck, everything.
Ken
Exactly. And I feel like life moves maybe a little bit faster. I don't know. But I really can admire that. You're just like, yeah, I went to the Bahamas. I took the time to do this. I took the time to drive five hours across the state of South Dakota with some chick. Like, stuff like that. I Don't think. People just do now. Maybe because the world isn't set up, maybe girls wouldn't pull over if you pulled, held up a sign and said, want to get a drink?
Grandpa Ron
Maybe they're smarter nowadays.
Ken
But, I mean, it's. It's just so cool. And it shows. You can learn by saying yes to experiences and stuff like that. Like, you know, almost never regret saying yes to something, which is maybe a bit too much of a blanket statement.
Grandpa Ron
I said yes a couple times when I got married. I shouldn't have it. I mean, that. That's one. Maybe I should have. But we said no. I'm walking out of here. So.
Ben
Well, it worked out for you. And Grandma's sitting here like, oh, maybe I shouldn't have said yes to that.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I always give her about that. Oh, man. But she's a great lady, so, I.
Ben
Mean, she's managed to put up with you for what, 40 years?
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, she's wonderful. So that's. That's perfect.
Ben
But I do find it so funny because Grandma is like, one of the nicest people I've ever met.
Grandpa Ron
She is.
Ben
And I just think it's so funny that you two ended up together. Not saying that you're not, but I just picture opposites more of like a. Just like a. You know, she's a little bit quieter, but just like clean cut, sweet lady. And then you got you coming in.
CJ
Just kind of like you and Greta, but very similar.
Grandpa Ron
I don't know if I say this, but what it probably happens because of her previous marriage. I mean, living the way that. What they did. I mean, like, that was kind of a downer road, middle of the road probably kind of thing, you know, we know.
Ben
Right, Right.
Grandpa Ron
And finally, not who I want this anymore.
CJ
You're. You were in the ditch. You're driving in the ditch. They were down the middle of the road. You were going across the ditch. Then you're popping back, hitting the other side, jumping approaches.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah.
Ben
So the other night, it was. It was probably 11 or so, and we were in. Down in Minneapolis. Everyone wanted to go to bed but me, C. And C.J. and Grandpa Ron wanted to go to the casino.
CJ
And Ken. Ken was our driver. He was very eager.
Grandpa Ron
Ken was game.
Ben
And we were talking about going to the casino, but it ended up getting vetoed. But I think we still got to do something like that.
Grandpa Ron
You guys love that casino down there.
Ben
Well, we just need a little bit of help on the. On the gambling aspect. Not. I don't know if you're any help, but I think we need to switch something up. We need some good luck.
Grandpa Ron
Well, yeah, yeah. But you know what I was thinking? Why, when I have it in my back of my head, the part that got hit, we got hit. Yeah. Right here. You guys should do a casino night here sometime. Let us, you know, games to go. We do those and we set up maybe six blackjack tables, a roulette table.
CJ
Oh, that'd be fantastic.
Grandpa Ron
Big wheel. You have to, you know, we can do that. I, I, the money part of it, we, we got play money, 100 bills. I don't think you'd be allowed to.
CJ
Oh, we can't do real money.
Grandpa Ron
Well, but here's how we can do that. You do that, and we, you would have to. You get chips. Okay, but. Or, and you get money to start with, and everybody have to buy play money. And let's say everybody spends 100 bucks and you get X amount or whatever they get. And then they play with chips. And then at the end of the night, you take your chips in and it's worth X amount of dollars in chips. And then you have your prizes you can bid on or whatever, however you want to do it. But I don't think, I think from.
Ken
What I watched a movie on it, as long as the house doesn't take a cut, it's not a casino.
Grandpa Ron
Okay. All right.
CJ
We should totally do that. There's tons of people in this area that would totally pull up if we had blackjack.
Grandpa Ron
And it'd be so good for your atm.
CJ
Oh, my gosh. I'd keep my ATM plumped full. I'd probably swap from the brink.
Grandpa Ron
And I would have the dealers and I have people because I work with them all the time. You know, I deal blackjack all the time. Games to go. So we got tables, we got, we got roulette, two roulette tables. We got a spinning wheel.
Ken
I can't believe you have a big wheel. Evan loves big wheel.
Grandpa Ron
We spin it. Yeah, we got that. And then we'd have one called a horse race thing.
Ken
That's fun.
Grandpa Ron
We get some other games too, probably, but you put maybe seven or eight or 10 games together, accommodate quite a few people. I don't know if you got enough room in your parking lot for everybody, but.
Ben
What'S like your go to gambling game?
Grandpa Ron
I'm by myself. Probably. Probably. Blackjack. Yeah.
Ben
Do you think you have the best odds?
Grandpa Ron
The video poker, I think I mentioned to you before we play video, that is your best odds. Except for the guys who really Know how to play craps.
Ben
I still don't understand that game at all.
Grandpa Ron
If you're really a good crap player, you can, you'll win because you know what? You know you can. You cover your bet. You're smart enough to know how to cover your, your bets. Yeah, I, I'm not smart enough to do that.
Ken
I'm just a crap player. I'm just a crap player all around.
Grandpa Ron
Well, you know, that's true then.
Ken
No, I, no, I just, I just can't play. I'm like crappy. I'm bad. I am shitty player. I'm a shitty gambler.
Grandpa Ron
Oh yeah, yeah. Maybe we've seen the game sometime, but yeah, but no, if you learn how to play craps, I mean really know how to. But do the odds. I had some friends that were really good at it. They fly into Vegas all the time to play.
Ken
Man.
Grandpa Ron
I was telling these guys, you know, they had his one friend that he would run money through the front desk at the hotel. So they think he's spending all this money there, can he take it out and he, he just keep. Have more money. He wouldn't, he'd gamble, but he wouldn't lose it. But they don't know that. But they think because he's running 5:10, genius. 5, 10,000 through the check, through the front desk, that he's gambling a lot of money in their casino. Therefore they'd get big copies room fly him in. Yeah.
Ken
Wow.
Ben
I wonder if they still do that.
Ken
Because they've got the player cards, you can track what you put in. But I still don't know. It might be.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, Yeah. I don't think. Yeah. Let's say he doesn't use his player card all the time. It just plays, you know.
Ken
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
I don't know if he still does. I don't think he still does that.
Ben
But I don't know if I'd have the self control if I've. If I've got money coming in. If I was walking, I'll just put.
CJ
Getting ready to walk it out. And he'd end up being like, let's put it on black.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
Ken
And then it'd be gone.
Grandpa Ron
But. But I had a good friend who was a. Actually he sold his paper company in San Jose, California and just became. Had the money just to play sports. He could be booking sports bet. Yeah, he did. He wasn't a bookie. Could be, but he wasn't. I mean he just for himself and he'd have his budget for baseball, football and that's. And then he wanted to be. He was a professional gambler. So some of the offshore gambling at that time, he wasn't a professional gambler. So he let. He run it through my computer. So I would see all the bets, all the bets he's doing, you know. And so some day weeks, some days he'd bet 12,000 and lose nine. He'd bet 20 and win 40. And it was really fun to watch that. Yeah, I bet.
Ken
No kidding.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. And when I go to go to Vegas to visit him, we'd go to the. When he'd make his bets, we'd bounce all around town at six in the morning to find out where there's a half a point difference in a spread because that's a big deal. Could he bet. And when he played blackjack, he had about $100 at a time to keep his card going and at the mgm and then he got all his comps and he'd go there and Mr. Bennett, how are you tonight? Have dinner and all the wine you wanted and free food. I don't know how much they do that. He's passed away. How they're much of doing that anymore. But I think they do. Do they?
CJ
We have a buddy who gets all of his stuff comped.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
And he goes down. He'll either win real big or lose big.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
One or the other.
Ben
But Yeah, I wonder. So like Steve will do it. Is always at the casino, Red Rocks Casino in there. Like taking really good care of them and doing all this stuff for him. But I'm. I just wonder if he is positive or negative. Because if he's positive, why would.
Ken
Why would they do it?
CJ
There's no way he's. Yeah.
Ben
Well also.
CJ
But he is promoting them.
Ben
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But I'd imagine that they have similar treatment to other people that are just big gamblers. They must just be taking the risk on like this person's an addict. They're going to keep doing it and.
CJ
We'Re eventually going to win.
Ben
Yeah.
Ken
They should call me a room. I'm a consistent loser. They don't need to.
CJ
They know you'll come back.
Grandpa Ron
Either way, the house is a winner.
Ken
It's always.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. It's hard every time. Yeah. If you're like that, you know, I telling these guys you're a gambler. Time I was in the Bahamas, I go to the. To the casino and our dealer is stoned.
Ken
Okay.
Grandpa Ron
And what the hell. Anyway, playing blackjack and nobody breaking. He pees everybody. Every time. Almost go around you have break, you pay. This is a Hell of a deal. You know, people are lined up. One guy wanted to buy my seat. He offered me 500 bucks for it. So he wanted. Got people behind us watching. And you don't. You're not losing. And my buddies keep taking my money, you know, because I'm winning and kind of like, ben, if I have it, I'll spend it.
Ken
Oh, I suppose you gotta shift it off the table, get it away.
Grandpa Ron
They kept taking it.
Ben
No, I think because he was so liquored up.
Grandpa Ron
Oh. So anyway, they changed dealers, went out to another story. Because although the pit boss came over one time and looked at him and he said, sleepy, sleepy, sleepy, wakey, wakey, wakey. They're all British there. So they got the eye in the sky.
Ken
Yeah, they know.
Grandpa Ron
And I guys, I couldn't believe it. So anyways, this other guy comes back. Shit, you know, I don't have money left. I lost it, but I had. So I go home next morning, they come in there, they take it. They threw $2800 on my bed that I had won. That they took.
Ken
Amazing.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, those are some true friends, my brother.
Ken
And you know, I would have tried to double it. And then I would have been like, my brother, money you won. I lost it.
Ben
Well, well, I'd be like, what? What are you talking about? And you'd be like, perfect doesn't remember you.
Grandpa Ron
We went back the next night and he's still working. He wasn't going this time, but he was still. Still had a job. And it was amazing.
Ben
People lining up to hop on that table.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, not that, not the next night, but amazing. He still had a job.
Ken
No kidding.
Grandpa Ron
I mean, I never seen that before. Yeah. But anyway, getting that think about a casino night.
CJ
I think we gotta. Just for fun. I don't think we could put on YouTube, but it'd just be fun. People would love it around here. We have a lot of friends that. That like to gamble.
Grandpa Ron
And you might have a recreationally site on auction at the end on some. You want to give away some stuff. You guys give away a lot of.
CJ
Maybe like a T shirt or something.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, that. Yeah. Motorcycle, car, whatever.
Ben
Case of beer blown up. R6.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. But anyway that you guys. I think you guys like to gamble. That's a lot of fun.
Ben
Yeah, yeah, no, that would be fun.
Ken
You got any stories about these hooligans when they were kids? Anything they did?
Grandpa Ron
Oh, well, you know. Yeah, I got one. One. One about C.J. over here. We were building a house. This has been in 2000, building a new house. So we didn't have a. We sold our old one. We didn't have a place to live. Grandma and I, so we'd bounce around. We stayed at Ben's parents lake home for a while. Gonna stay at Kim and Jeff, CJ's parents, so we could stay there. So we stayed there and I in the spare bedroom. Here comes cj. You can't stay here. And he's crying and he's shaking his hand. He's about four, maybe five. You can't stay here.
CJ
I think I might have even been younger.
Ben
He was like 15, 16.
CJ
They really hold this against him?
Grandpa Ron
Me.
CJ
Well, he does.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. You can't be. I can't. You can't hate you guys. And great grandma, she doesn't know what to say and I. Well, I should.
CJ
Poor grandma took it personally anyway that.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, look at there.
Ken
One time my grandma bought me underwear for my birthday and I was so embarrassed I cried. I'm hoping she forgot it, cuz.
Ben
What she got you Smalls?
Ken
No, she got me like freaking Spongebob underpants. I was like 12, so it was just like right in that age. And you sold friends over your birthday party. Cried like a baby.
Ben
Man, that had been a rough look.
Ken
It was probably a rough look. And then I. Crying. What an idiot. Dude, I was probably younger than that.
Grandpa Ron
Eight. I don't know.
CJ
I think you gave me a case of beer at. On my 12th birthday. I did.
Ben
Really?
CJ
Because I did.
Grandpa Ron
Could you imagine I might have given you one beer on your 13th birthday? But I don't not going to give you a case of beer. I'm drinking myself.
Ben
I think that was about the age that you. When whenever we would start coming over, you started offering us beer.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, only. Only wine. Right? That's all.
CJ
I.
Grandpa Ron
That's all.
CJ
It was more of a setup though. It was trying to see if you'd take it.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, I could tell the parents, but. Yeah. Yeah, that was one of. One of the stories about cj. I love.
Ken
They hold it over me.
CJ
Yeah, they do, but. But they bring that story up all the time.
Grandpa Ron
It's hard to say this, but Ben was really always a good kid. I mean.
Ken
No way that one.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, he was. He was. I remember shit. When he'd crawl around. He never cried. He cries now a lot probably, but he never cried. He was just. Always a good kid. Just you know and this. Never cried. You know, he was just. He probably was afraid to get the shit kicked out of him by his older brother and his sister. I don't know. But he never Cried. He was a good guy.
Ben
Pumping my tires. Thank you, Grandpa.
Grandpa Ron
Well, you didn't. I mean, you didn't. You were a little kid that just always laugh, crawl around and flooring.
Ben
Yeah, they. They actually tested if I was deaf because they thought I couldn't hear because I. I, like, wouldn't. I wouldn't cry and.
Ken
Really?
Ben
Yeah. I don't know. Right. Dad, how long did I go without crying? Like, years. Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. He's amazing. Yeah.
CJ
Years.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah.
CJ
That's unbelievable.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Of course, I had a chance to watch CJ play hockey a lot. And of course, when he played hockey, his cheeks would look like two red roses. Remember how rosy?
CJ
Yeah. I probably got red cheeks right now, though.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, well, yeah, it could be, but I watched him get some hat tricks many times.
Ben
Oh, I thought you were gonna say get lit up.
Grandpa Ron
Well, that too.
CJ
But thank you.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, yeah.
Ben
Were you.
CJ
I appreciate the hat tricks.
Ben
You're getting Addies.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah. Oh, he could. Yeah.
Ben
Are you a goal scorer?
Grandpa Ron
Lots of score. Lots of scoring. Lots of scoring. Yeah. He won more medals. And for that.
Ben
Thank you.
CJ
I appreciate that. You can't say that on your own.
Grandpa Ron
Well, you did.
Ken
Yeah. Thank God.
Grandpa Ron
What's the one that. Who's the guy that had. Where you did it behind your back? Who did that?
CJ
Sydney Crosby or. When I did it when I was. I skated behind the net and I had a bunch of wax on my stick, so I picked the puck up and put it behind.
Grandpa Ron
Behind him and made it.
CJ
And made it behind the goal.
Ben
Yeah. Pretty big deal, too. Didn't you get, like, varsity because of that or something or what?
CJ
No, I was, like, younger, but. But, yeah. No, we didn't have on video, though. But that would have gone Sports Center.
Grandpa Ron
That was a Sydney Crosby shot. Only he's the guy. Only guy that could.
CJ
It was the University of Michigan goal. That's, I think, who originally did it in, like, college hockey. Like in the 90s. Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Behind your back.
CJ
Wow.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, yeah.
CJ
You've always been so. So involved in our life, though. Like, I mean, you came to every sporting event, any kind of, like, school thing. We'd be hanging out. Now you're filming YouTube videos and podcasts with us. It's like, really? I mean, yeah, thank you. It's been great. It's been a lot of fun.
Grandpa Ron
Well, I'm safe today. I got. I got my chiropractor here, so don't try any with me today.
CJ
Grandpa, we don't have to try anything with you. You'll be hurt yourself.
Ben
Thank God he's Here. He's gonna help you when you fall down.
CJ
I know.
Grandpa Ron
That's what I said. I'm glad I got him here. That's. Yeah, he keeps me healthy, for Christ's sakes. That's good.
Ben
You know, hopefully grandma lets you continue to hang out with us and I. I mean, and the rest of the family. I do get a. We did get a little backlash after that one, but you did. Well, they just weren't.
CJ
I mean, not too pumped.
Ben
Yeah, they just weren't too stoked on. On, I guess, us enabling it.
CJ
He's older than me. He should be telling me what to do.
Grandpa Ron
No, no. Like I said, when my niece saw that, she thought it was great, so what the hell, you know?
Ben
Well, we appreciate you and we're glad that you're okay. Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, so am I.
Ben
But we do have to keep doing more. More video bits.
Grandpa Ron
Or maybe we could do something a little more dangerous.
CJ
I didn't know.
Grandpa Ron
I didn't either. I didn't either. Okay. Maybe try trap shooting and I'm.
CJ
Oh, my gosh.
Grandpa Ron
The wrong end of a gun or something like that.
CJ
I think you're. You're looking too into, like, the danger factor.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, no. Just so you guys have fun and do some videos.
CJ
We could do a bunch more pranks. We could maybe have Ben pull up in his Lamborghini or something. And then you and, like, he's like, maybe, like, bragging about just some guy, and then you pulled me. What are you doing with my car? Yeah, like, spank them or something in public.
Grandpa Ron
Can I take the car then, too?
CJ
Yeah.
Grandpa Ron
Okay. My car. You take. That's my car. I want it.
Ben
Sure.
Grandpa Ron
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ben
No, we'll do some other stuff.
Grandpa Ron
Whatever you guys want.
Ben
All right. I think we're gonna wrap, but new merch drop cboystv.com April 27th go and check it out. 7pm and go and pick up some merch. Get entered for the giveaway. And we appreciate the support.
CJ
Do you. Do you want us to plug. You don't have any social media. You want us to, like, plug your email or.
Grandpa Ron
You can do anything you want.
CJ
We're not going to plug your email because you have to get a new one after that.
Ben
Thank you, guys. Thanks for coming on, Grandpa.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, yeah, that's fun.
Ben
We love you guys.
Grandpa Ron
Oh, you guys are great. Yeah. So even have cold beer here. That's.
Ken
Yeah.
Episode Date: April 25, 2023
Episode: Grandpa Ron on Bowling Prank, Funny Stories of Ben & CJ, and Picking Up Chicks
This episode features the famously charismatic Grandpa Ron as a special guest on the Life Wide Open podcast. The CboysTV crew (Ben, CJ, Ken) dive deep into Grandpa Ron’s hilarious stories from his youth, his adventures in dating, behind-the-scenes tales about the CboysTV family, and his take on living life with openness and joy. They also recount the recent viral bowling prank, discuss family dynamics, and share timeless advice about relationships, humor, and social skills.
[00:51 – 04:14]
"People never thought it was really okay, no matter what I do." [02:12]
“It was pretty amazing how good you were at off the cuff, just doing that… you could be an actor.” – CJ [03:29]
[04:41 – 14:44]
“Our goal was to have a girlfriend in every town.” – Grandpa Ron [05:58]
“You gotta see every comment is about you in the comment section.” – CJ [04:14]
[15:02 – 18:51]
“At my house Christmas Eve...my brother is there who married my ex-wife. Christmas time.” – Grandpa Ron [16:09]
[06:21 – 13:09, 18:52 – 20:38]
“Not really, no. There’s a theory it’s easier to make love than war…” – Grandpa Ron [10:04]
[19:21 – 24:15]
“He would start slowing down in traffic... until it turns green and then you can go again.” – Ben [22:44]
[12:16 – 32:59, 34:10 – 36:09]
“I have this sign and I bring it up and I put it next to the window. And she looks at me like, what sign was it? It just said, how about a drink?” – Grandpa Ron [34:21]
[41:25 – 44:17]
“You set your life up so you can kind of just do whatever you want.” – Ben [41:38]
[46:13 – 55:04]
“If you learn how to play craps, I mean, really know how to do the odds... you’ll win.” – Grandpa Ron [48:46]
[55:06 – 59:25]
“You’ve always been so involved in our life... now you’re filming YouTube videos and podcasts with us.” – CJ [59:25]
[24:49 – 29:49]
“If you can have social, you can bullshit with somebody and go out... You guys do that all the time.” – Grandpa Ron [27:51]
On the Bowling Prank:
“You know, when you have a head with nothing in it, really can’t get hurt that bad.” – Grandpa Ron [01:41]
On Dating Philosophy:
“There’s a theory it’s easier to make love than war.” – Grandpa Ron [10:04]
On Family and Humor:
“If you guys weren’t in each other, you wouldn’t talk to each other probably.” – Grandpa Ron [13:48]
Life Philosophy:
“You set your life up so you can kind of just do whatever you want.” – Ben [41:38]
“Almost never regret saying yes to something.” – Ken [44:06]
Classic Grandpa Wisdom:
“Drinking a beer is better for you than a pop.” – Grandpa Ron [27:05]
“If you’re really a good crap player, you’ll win.” – Grandpa Ron [48:46]
On Family Dynamics:
“My grandpa’s ex wife is married to his brother and... it all works.” – Ben [17:14]
This episode is a heartfelt, laugh-filled reminder to embrace life fully, keep a sense of humor, and cherish family connections. Grandpa Ron’s quick wit and zest for life shine, offering both comic relief and timeless wisdom. Whether it’s pranks at the bowling alley, bold dating escapades, or wild family reunions, Ron’s legacy is one of living wide open and enjoying every moment.
Follow CboysTV for more behind-the-scenes stories and weekly podcasts wherever you stream!