110: My Brother Todd Sickler | The Wayback w/Ryan Sickler – Baltimore Junkyard Series #110 Full Episode

Summary

The Wayback with Ryan Sickler – Episode 110: My Brother Todd Sickler | Baltimore Junkyard Series

Main Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Ryan Sickler is joined by his brother, Todd Sickler, for a deeply nostalgic trip through their childhood and family history. Set in Baltimore at the Auto Recycling of Baltimore, the conversation weaves personal memories, playful sibling banter, and authentic reflections on family, growing up working-class, and overcoming difficult moments. This highly requested “brothers” episode is filled with laughter, vivid storytelling, inside jokes, and heartfelt moments—especially as Todd recovers from major heart surgery.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Todd’s Health and Recovery

• Todd’s Triple Bypass Surgery
  • The episode opens with Ryan checking in on Todd’s recovery just six weeks after his surgery.
  • Todd: “Six weeks out from having my chest cracked open and new plumbing and doing rehab now.” (04:47)
  • They discuss expected recovery milestones, low energy, and upcoming improvements from rehab.

---

Early Family Memories & Houston Years

• Todd’s Birth and Early Childhood

  • Ryan shares memories of Todd’s birth and the emotional reaction of their grandmother and family dog. (05:09)

• Move to Houston

  • Moving due to their dad’s job transfer to Hobby Airport.
  • The family’s beloved dog, Brandy, was left behind with another family and ultimately sent to a shelter, a story with some family mythmaking and unresolved details (06:07), highlighting both childhood confusion and adult reconsideration.
  • Ryan: “You just give a good dog away. That's a good hunting dog too.” (06:32)

• Houston Anecdotes

  • Fire ant attacks, tormenting a neighborhood bull or Doberman, climbing trees to escape animals. (06:45–08:00)
  • Recycling bottles for money, enduring the Texas heat, and the excitement of rare snow days.
  • Ryan: “If the Frisbee went on the roof, it stayed there.” (08:37)
  • Collecting lizards, launching toy rockets, learning to climb trees, and a detailed physical ‘walk-through’ of their Houston home. (08:45–09:44)
  • Flooded neighborhood adventures using a boat. (09:44)

---

Family Dynamics, Struggles, and Grandparents

• Return from Houston and Living with Grandma DeVito

  • Moving in with Grandma DeVito as a strategy to save money during tough times.
  • Grandma DeVito paid cash for cars and houses and supported the family financially.
  • Tension between the mom and Grandma DeVito—“they hated each other”—while living under the same roof. (11:23–12:00)
  • Stories of a daycare they were ‘way too old for,’ a recurring theme of hand-me-downs and ‘getting by.’ (12:16)

• Grandma DeVito’s Quirks

  • Her diet of “peanuts, cigarettes, and a diet soda” (14:00–14:41)
  • References to her smoking indoors and the realization, later in life, of how strange and unhealthy that was.

---

Baltimore Adventures & Working-Class Childhood

• Iron Gate & Their House

  • Vivid descriptions of their Iron Gate home layout; the family’s creativity in making ends meet with wood-burning stoves and kerosene heaters. (15:30–16:00)
  • Ryan: “She goes, were you guys poor? I said, your grandparents were poor.” (16:32)

• Family Scandals and Peculiar Neighbors

  • Colorful accounts of their mother’s affair with a much older man, “definitely in his 70s,” and swimming in a neighbor’s pool shared with dead animals. (16:47–17:00)
  • Adventures and misadventures: bee stings (including Ryan warning them not to go under a tree with a nest) (17:05–17:25), hand-fishing crayfish in streams, and mischief with water balloon launchers at neighbors’ houses. (18:00)

• Absurd Fingernail Stories

  • A memorable Thanksgiving where a relative cut his fingernails at the dinner table, launching clippings into the food, causing disgust and laughter. (18:55–19:33)

---

School, TV Memories, and Sibling Relationships

• Chase Street Era

  • Playing Nerf basketball in the hallway, bunk bed drama, and sibling room shuffling as each one discovers adolescence. (19:54–20:55)
  • Ryan: “The minute I started figuring out jerking off...I was like, we’re moving into Second Avenue and I was right back with Derek.” (20:22)

• Memorable TV Shows

  • Watching “Great Space Coaster,” “Captain Chesapeake,” and “He-Man” before school (20:08)

• Ms. Vicki and Neighborhood Friendships

  • Remembering neighbor Ms. Vicki and her giant goldfish, and being introduced to the hippie side of Baltimore (20:57–21:10)
  • Stories of being the “rough kids” and gaining the trust of other parents through honesty.

• Grandma’s Accidental Exposure to Adult Content

  • Story about getting caught watching the Spice Channel and their grandmother misinterpreting the visuals ("Is that two foxes?”). (22:12)
  • Exposing her to Sam Kinison’s HBO special—the shock, then laughter. (22:30–23:10)

---

Father-Son Traditions

• Crabbing with Dad
  • Getting up early to go to the Y River, towing boats with an underpowered station wagon, and mishaps involving escaping crabs in hotel elevators and almost dropping coolers on kids in Ocean City. (23:36–24:51)
  • Ryan: “We towed a boat with a goddamn wood panel station wagon every time... Nobody else was towing a boat with a wagon.” (24:12)
  • Ryan shares his living will: requesting his ashes be spread in the Y River or Chesapeake Bay. (23:53)

---

Extended Family & Baltimore Institutions

• Colorful Relatives

  • Recollections of Janice (mom’s friend and dad’s possible romantic rival), godparents Jack and Janice, Aunt Marguerite, and their signature sayings and quirks. (25:32)
  • Aunt Marguerite’s nickname for Janice: “that Leslie Janice...that’s my godfather, I don’t care, she’s an—” (25:55)

• Friday Night Pizza at Sorrento’s

  • Ritual of Friday night trips to Sorrento’s with their dad and grandmother—memories of pinball, the owner’s bad hair plugs, Gilligan’s Island pinball, and movies next door at the Paradise. (26:22–27:16)
  • Todd: “She would give us quarters to go play...Pinball. The Gilligan's Island.” (26:43)

---

Grandma Stories & Family Bonds

• Infamous ‘Bathroom Story’

  • The oft-requested tale of their grandma discovering a mess on a bathroom wall, her horror, cleaning attempt, and lasting family hilarity. (27:26–28:10)
  • Ryan: “If you could get her going, it was like, all right, let’s kill this lady now. Let’s make her laugh so hard.” (28:31)

• The Strength of Sibling Bonds

  • Ryan closes with genuine gratitude for Todd’s participation post-surgery and a heartfelt “I love you.” (28:42–28:53)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Post-Surgery Recovery
  Todd: “Six weeks out from having my chest cracked open and new plumbing…” (04:47)

• On Giving Away Their Dog
  Ryan: “You just give a good dog away. That's a good hunting dog too.” (06:32)

• On Childhood Poverty
  Ryan: “She goes, were you guys poor? I said, your grandparents were poor.” (16:32)

• On Family Dysfunction
  Ryan: “There was Grandma and there was Grandma DeVito. Grandma Titsi, Grandma DeVito. Grandma DeVito loved us, but she just couldn’t stand Mom. Like she was on. She hated Mom. They hated each other.” (11:25–12:00)

• On Sibling Mischief
  Ryan: “If the Frisbee went on the roof, it stayed there.” (08:37)

• On Grandma’s Diet
  Ryan: “Her whole diet was peanuts, cigarettes, and like a diet soda.” (14:00)

• On the Spice Channel
  Ryan: “She was squinting and she goes, is that two foxes?” (22:12)

• On Crabbing with Dad
  Ryan: “We towed a boat with a goddamn wood panel station wagon... Nobody else was towing a boat with a wagon.” (24:12)

• On Grandma’s Infamous Story
  Todd: “She went down [in the bathroom] to flush and there was nothing there. She looked up on the wall and she was terrified.” (27:36)

• Heartfelt Closer
  Ryan: “Thank you for...I know you just had your chest cracked open and you got three new arteries in your ass. And I appreciate you doing this. Todd. I love you. I'm glad you're good.” (28:42)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:47 – Todd discusses his heart surgery recovery
• 06:32 – The fate of the family dog, Brandy
• 08:37 – Houston adventures and recycling
• 11:23 – Grandma DeVito and family financial struggles
• 16:32 – Growing up poor: wood stoves and kerosene heaters
• 17:05 – Swarm of bee stings incident
• 18:55 – Disgusting Thanksgiving fingernail story
• 19:54 – Life and bunk-bed politics on Chase Street
• 22:12 – Grandma and the accidental Spice Channel showing
• 23:36 – Crabbing with dad, Y River and chaos
• 25:55 – Aunt Marguerite and the “Leslie Janice” nickname
• 26:22 – Friday nights at Sorrento’s and Gilligan’s Island pinball
• 27:26 – The family “poop on the wall” story
• 28:42 – Sincere closing and brotherly love

---

Overall Tone and Takeaway

The episode blends brotherly banter and riotous anecdotes with flashes of vulnerability and warmth. Ryan and Todd’s chemistry captures not only the rough-and-tumble reality of their Baltimore upbringing but also the resilience and laughter that held their family together through hard times.

For listeners, it’s a front-row seat to a working-class coming-of-age—wild, loving, a little unrefined, and very, very funny. The authenticity and detail will resonate with anyone nostalgic for childhood chaos or who knows the healing power of a good laugh (and a strong sibling bond).

Transcript

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

Lets do the 60 second savings challenge step 1 download Rocket Money step 2 link your accounts and see every subscription you're paying for. Tap one you don't use and cancel it. That's money back every month. Step 3 Create a financial goal $50 every paycheck or let the app automatically move small amounts of cash when you can afford it. In a week, you'll forget you set it up. In a month, you'll see real dollars piling up. In a year, you'll be shocked at how much money you've saved. Bonus Challenge Upload an Internet or phone bill and let Rocket Money try to lower it. You only pay if they find you savings. On average, Rocket Money members can save up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Users love the app with over 186,000 five star ratings. Make saving money the resolution you actually keep. Start the 60 second savings challenge at RocketMoney.com cancel that's RocketMoney.com cancel RocketMoney.com cancel.

[Ryan Sickler]

This podcast is sponsored by Talkspace. Last year I went through many different life changes. I needed to take a pause and examine how I was feeling in the inside to better show up for the ones who need me to be my best version of myself. When you're navigating life's changes, Talkspace can help. Talkspace is the number one rated online therapy, bringing you professional support from licensed therapists and psychiatry providers that you can access anytime, anywhere. Living a busy life, navigating a long distance relationship, becoming a first stepfather, Talkspace made all of those journeys possible. I could speak with my therapist in the office. I could speak with my therapist in the comfort of my home. I was never alone. Talkspace works with most major insurers and most insured members have a $0 copay. No insurance, no problem. Now get $80 off your first month with promo code SPACE80 when you go to talkspace.com match with a licensed therapist today at talkspace.com save $80 with code SPACE80 at talk.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

Let's do the 60 Second Savings Challenge. Step 1 Download Rocket Money Step 2 Link your accounts and see every subscription you're paying for. Tap one you don't use and cancel it. That's money back every month. Step 3 Create a financial goal $50 every paycheck or let the app automatically move small amounts of cash. When you can afford it in a week, you'll forget you set it up. In a month you'll see real dollars piling up. In a year, you'll be shocked at how much money you've saved. Bonus Challenge Upload an Internet or phone bill and let Rocket Money try to lower it. You only pay if they find you savings. On average, Rocket Money members can save up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Users love the app with over 186,000 five star ratings. Make saving money the resolution you actually keep. Start the 60 second savings challenge at RocketMoney.com cancel that's RocketMoney.com cancel Rocket Money.com cancel.

[Ryan Sickler]

Kansas City. I'm headed back your way. Valentine's weekend. That's right, Valentine's weekend. I'll be there February 13th and the 14th. Connecticut. Come see me at Comics Roadhouse March 13th and 14th. Get your tickets now at Ryan Sickler dot com. Hey, baby. We going to be here all day. We going to be here all day, baby. I like that kind of body. What's up, guys? Ryan Sickler here. I'm back home in Baltimore. Very excited to be here to do something that I've been wanting to do for a long time. You guys been asking for years to have my brothers on, old friends, family, and I'm finally able to make it happen. Make sure you're subscribed. You're going to get episodes for a while. We got a bunch of them coming your way. Can't wait for you guys to see this. Welcome back to the Way Back, everybody. Ryan Sickler here. This is the Way Back, the Baltimore Junkyard series. We are here at Auto Recycling of Baltimore, llc. I'm very excited to have this episode go down. This is one you guys have been asking for for a long, long time. You guys been saying, get my brothers on. So I'm back here. It's the middle of the summer. It's hot as hell right now, and my brother sitting next to me here. Ladies and gentlemen, Todd Sickler, everybody. Welcome to the Way Back. Thank you. Todd just had triple bypass surgery. So first of all, how. How are you feeling? Genuinely good.

[Todd Sickler]

Six weeks out from having my chest cracked open and new plumbing and doing rehab now.

[Ryan Sickler]

So everything's good even though all that's happening. Do you feel more energy than you felt before when you started? Not yet, no. No. When you. When will they say that'll come?

[Todd Sickler]

It'll probably come as the exercise keeps going.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, so I remember you being born during. Derek and I are at Winfield. Grandma's watching us, and we had the dog Brandy at the time. Well, I do. I remember you being born and I remember them calling the house and telling grandma. She started crying and then the dog started crying, all that stuff. And then they brought you home. And then we moved to Houston. Do you remember going to Houston?

[Todd Sickler]

I don't remember. I mean, I remember the story, but I don't remember going.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you remember? Can he have a mic actually off there, Give us a sound check. Derek Sickler drinking his third one. All right, so you remember. You remember going to Houston, Moving. I remember Houston. So dad gets transferred to Hobby Airport for, I mean, not even a year, I think it was. We go to Houston and they give the. Do you know the story of Brandy? Stella just asked mom what the real story is. I remember going and looking for her. They gave it away. To who?

[Todd Sickler]

I don't remember. Bobby and Mary Blair?

[Ryan Sickler]

No. Well, I forgot those people until you said it. So there are beauties, my godparents. Bobby and Mary Blair is such a harputist couple. Feathered hair Mary Blair. You don't hear those names anymore. Okay, so wait. Mom tells Stella that Brandy was a hunting dog and she and dad thought it would be best to leave it with a family because it would be miserable in Houston. And the dog ended up being so miserable, it tore this family's house apart. So they gave it to the shelter all in a year. Who was it? I don't know who the it was that. This is why when I say, who's the family? And she's like, I don't know who they were. I'm like, you're lying. You wouldn't know what family you gave your dog to. You just give it a good dog away. That's a good hunting dog too. But we get to Houston, you remember the fire ants? Oh my God. I fell on a hill. Those that got my ass bit up.

[Todd Sickler]

I remember all I know, up a.

[Ryan Sickler]

Tree too, for like hours. A what? A bull. Remember? We had to bull. Like, what was the kid's name behind us, There were two girls behind us named Mimi and Khaki and their mom. You remember them? I gotta go. You don't remember going like down the road a little ways was a pasture with this mean ass bull in it. We would torment the out of. We got in there one day and that chased. I got over the fence. You ran to some tree and climbed up a tree like three years old, four years old. I'm telling you, in Houston, I remember being stuck up in a tree because a Doberman was below. The tree's got a bull in here. Maybe it was a big Dover. This is Why? I love these episodes. See what people remember. Maybe it was a big dude. He's got El Toro coming.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

We're.

[Ryan Sickler]

We're four hopping fences in a pasture. Who's with us?

[Todd Sickler]

Ferdinand?

[Ryan Sickler]

I'll tell you another thing I remember about Houston is we would recycle bottles for money. And Grandma came one time. And I don't know why I remember this, but it's probably because it's one of the few times I heard her. Us. But we must have been digging this bottle out of the dirt for 20 minutes. And we got to the bottom. It was broke. The bottom was broken. She's like, son of a. It was hot. You remember? It was hot as in Texas. And you're right. If the Frisbee went on the roof, it stayed there. It also snowed when we were in Texas one time. Do you remember that? You remember when we would take the little lizards. We take the little lizards and throw them against the house. They would stick there and die in their skull. Their little skulls would be on there when you come back out. A couple. Do you remember the. We had a rocket. It was a little. It was what, red and white. And the red part was plastic. And you pumped it with water and you. That thing would shoot. You remember it? And it did get on the roof of Texas. And then we went up and got that. That was the last thing we were ever getting off the roof in Texas. That was hot. You had to wait till night. See, I took Mom. I took mom through a mental walkthrough of every house we've ever lived in. And she could not believe it. I was like, I can do Winfield. I can walk you through Texas right now. And she's like, go ahead. I said, you had a garage. Two car garage right here. I said, you walked in the front. Immediately to your right was a dining room. And you could go from the dining room into the kitchen, loop into the family room, or you could walk straight in and go right into the family room. You made a. There was a closet here. You made a left. And that's where the bedrooms and bathrooms were. Do you remember, Derek? We had Ronald McDonald. We had McDonald's bed sheets for a while and curtains. Do you remember that? Maybe. I don't know. Who gets their kids McDonald's bed sheets, bro? I was proud of myself because Texas was where I learned to climb trees. I got this scar on my finger from Texas. Learn how to swim. And you're right about the pool. We learned to swim in Texas. And then through thunderstorms, we went up and down our street in a boat because the whole neighborhood. Flood. That's right. You remember that? We had pictures of that. That's right. We got flooded. Y' all could have. Houston. Spring, Texas, it was called.

[Todd Sickler]

Now, I know the mom said we had to come home because she was so sick. Her being sick rubbed off of me and made me sick. Yet we had to come home and see Dr. Wells, and that's how we ended up coming.

[Ryan Sickler]

I do had Adam's Apple like this. Dr. Wells, Adam. There's no. Dude could never be trans. He couldn't shave that down. If you put a foot on his neck, you'd have to saw it out.

[Todd Sickler]

The animals that were on his stethoscope on his Adams.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, so that's Houston. So we go from Houston, then we go back, then we go to Iron Gate. Okay, so, like, you. You're.

[Todd Sickler]

I remember iron.

[Ryan Sickler]

What do you remember, though? What do you remember? Do you remember living with Grandma DeVito?

[Todd Sickler]

Yeah, she talk about that top, that second floor up, right by the kitchen.

[Ryan Sickler]

So as an adult, I look back and realize that Mom's not working at all, and Dad's salary is not paying for that house on Iron game. And Grandma DeVito is living with us, obviously. Now, mom was at Little George's then, wasn't she? Not yet. Not yet. She decides, I guess they have her come in to live there, and I'm sure she wasn't getting a free ride. And our grandma DeVito had money. It was absolutely for her money. Yeah. Bought like Grandma devito was OG she.

[Todd Sickler]

Had cash sitting in little like candy.

[Ryan Sickler]

Cash for that Buick. She drove every cash for the house in Westminster after we did. And I'll tell you, she wasn't the love. You know, a lovey dovey lady. Like, there was Grandma and there was Grandma devito. You know what I mean? Like, that's what we called her. Grandma and Grandma DeVito. Grandma Titsi. Grandma DeVito left this cash, though. Grandma DeVito loved us, but she just couldn't stand Mom. Like, she was on. She hated Mom. They hated each other. And then they're living in together. Like, think of that mix you got mom cheating on dad. They're arguing. Grandma DeVito already hates her. She sides with everybody else and telling her she sucks. She goes and gets a job at a convenience store and. Oh, man, here's one I want to see if you remember this, too. Derek, do you remember when mom made us go to that daycare? Oh, yeah. We were way. You and I were way too old.

[Todd Sickler]

To be In a daycare like that big white farmer. Yeah, I remember playing tag night.

[Ryan Sickler]

You remember Frenchie? Yeah, Frenchie. Frenchie wrote a moped. He had no tea. Hey. Actually, I don't know what his friends was French. It was an old school moped too. The kind you had to pedal first to get it going. Yeah. So Grandma DeVito, she and Aunt Mary had a system with the phone. Do you remember this? No. So back then, I don't remember much. Aunt Mary, you could pay for me. You could pay for the amount of calls you had monthly back then, right? You didn't have to get the unlimited plan.

[Rocket Money User]

I didn't realize I was wasting $415 a month until I downloaded Rocket Money. I thought I had my finances under control until the app laid out all my spending and categorized it for me. Takeout shopping and unused subscriptions were quietly draining my account, and as a result, my savings took a backseat. But Rocket Money doesn't just tell you what you're wasting money on. It takes action to save you money. First, the app looks at your income and monthly expenses and calculates how much you can safely spend each day to stay under budget. Rocket Money also fines and cancels unwanted subscriptions for you and even negotiates better rates on your bills so you have more money in your pocket. On average, Rocket Money members can save up to $740 a year when using all the app's premium features. Users love the app with over 186,000 five star ratings. It's time to simplify your finances and take control of your Money. Go to RocketMoney.com Cancel to get started. That's RocketMoney.com Cancel. RocketMoney.com Cancel.

[Ryan Sickler]

And so she and Aunt Mary had a system where it would ring twice, and if it didn't ring the third time, that meant you call me back. So they would figure out how to keep going. Call. And do you remember she spoke? I wish. She spoke nothing but Italian. She was talking about everybody in that house Italian. To Amar or to Aunt Mary. The whole time. The whole time. And I remember her whole diet was peanuts, cigarettes, cigarettes, and like a diet soda. That was hurt. I do remember the planters Peanut. Yeah, he nailed him. That's it. Planners feed. Not Fishers. Planters. Peanuts. I don't remember. Was it Paul Malls? It might have been Paul Malls.

[Todd Sickler]

You know what's funny?

[Ryan Sickler]

When Sarah got pregnant with Maddie, I ate planters Peanut. Like, I would just drink them out of the jar. Like that was the food I got addicted to. Really?

[Todd Sickler]

Planners, I think she smoked. Medical taste of them.

[Ryan Sickler]

She smoked in that house where we lived. I mean, imagine that your kids are running through that, just smoking there. And she's just sitting there smoking. And you can't say to her, because she's paying, just smoking. That house, she had her whole. That was a great. I told Mom, I go, that was my favorite house. She goes, that was my least favorite house. Yeah, because you're banging the old man and ruining your family. It was the greatest house we had. So, iron gate, you walk in immediately on the. On the right, there's the master bedroom with a bathroom in it. Stairs up to the left here. Grandma devito lived here. Kitchen again, you could go through to the dining room and circle through. You go up another level. Our bedroom on the left, yours next to it, hers across from it with the bathroom, but also bathroom in that hallway. And then you had the big. You had the basement going down here and then you had the big living room and then out back. It was a big house. It was a big house. Do you remember when dad put the wood burning stove in? It honestly was way too hot. Do you remember that? You be, you be sweating at night. Like, man, this is, this. I don't know about this wood burning stove here, man. He's just throwing whatever the. Do you remember? We used to go over and spit on it and stuff and watch it sizzle. Do you remember? Yeah, that's what you do when you're a kid. Here's the other thing that I tell. I tell Stella all the time. Crayons about snow days and stuff, because she doesn't get him in la, you know. And I tell her how we're in the bedroom and I said, we got a kerosene heater in between us, keeping us warm. She's like, were you guys poor? I said, your grandparents were poor. Iron gate, all good. Then Trudy does what she does. Starts banging a senior citizen. Like in my mind, I try to look back and think maybe that guy was in his 50s. That guy was definitely in his 80s. I don't know if he was in his 80s. That's Mr. Roy's age, right? But I would say definitely 70s. I would say definitely 70s. Trudy had no teeth. And she's back. We gotta go down there. She's bagging this dude out. We're like, let's go swim in the pool with dead squirrels and dead like 12 inch cop. Do you remember getting stung by bees? Yeah.

[Todd Sickler]

There was a tree that got struck by lightning.

[Ryan Sickler]

Who got stung? Me. And who else I don't know. I know he swears he didn't. He says it was just you and me, but I swore all three of us.

[Todd Sickler]

Yeah, we walked underneath.

[Ryan Sickler]

Telling you I went over top of the tree and you two idiots went.

[Todd Sickler]

Underneath a tree over here at least 25, 30 stings.

[Ryan Sickler]

I think I even told you to not to go underneath of that top of it. Joe Wilderness is telling us what we're doing over here. Don't go under that tree, guys. If anything, you didn't tell us Hope. We didn't even know there was a nest about. Yeah, Derek's over here. Like, whatever. I'm just like, what is that? Next thing I know, we were getting lit up. I used to like hand fishing for them crayfish, too, back in that stream. You remember that? Crayfishing. We called them crayfish and they were crawfish.

[Todd Sickler]

We went down to that. Remember we used to go to that. It was like a stream or a river.

[Ryan Sickler]

Eric Bolton backboard. No, down from Summerhills. Yeah, where mom's banging him and we're barefoot and.

[Todd Sickler]

Not the stream behind his house.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you remember taking the water balloon launcher and firing balloons into an old man's house? And you're hearing windows and break, and then we're just pulling up. It's clear. It was a Aspen station wagon is driving. It's not a fast getaway car. It's like, who. Who's in a station wagon bombing my house? Remember the one son of his that kept all his toenail clippings in the. In the. No, no. It was because you want to see something neat? And he shows me, like, you know, the jars you can. Tomatoes and in. Shows me one of them completely full of toenail clippings. Okay, speaking of toenails, tell that story about being at Timmy's and Aunt Marguerite's Thanksgiving. Tell that story.

[Todd Sickler]

This was. I think this was the guy that Chris married from the Aspen wagon.

[Ryan Sickler]

Her wedding limo.

[Todd Sickler]

And I remember at the wedding, yeah, telling. Telling Aunt Marguerite I was like. Or grandma or somebody.

[Ryan Sickler]

Like, I was like, this guy's fingernails are dirty dirt under his.

[Todd Sickler]

So then this same clown, we were at Thanksgiving dinner sitting around the table, and he's cutting his fingernails and they're just flying everywhere. I got right up with a full plate of food in the trash.

[Ryan Sickler]

Huh. Was he using a pocket knife?

[Todd Sickler]

No, he's using fingernail clippers. But they're flying around food table, the.

[Ryan Sickler]

Dinner table, and they're randomly flying off into the stuff. He dumped it. Right.

[Todd Sickler]

Disgusting.

[Ryan Sickler]

At the Thanksgiving dinner is the same.

[Todd Sickler]

But grandma was embarrassed when I told him how dirty his nails were at the wedding.

[Ryan Sickler]

She's like, she loved it. She laughed after that. What. What do you remember about Chase Street? When do you really. Because you're just not quite four years younger than us. What is when you really start remembering things?

[Todd Sickler]

I remember Chase.

[Ryan Sickler]

I remember long hallway.

[Todd Sickler]

We used to play in that long hallway.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you remember we had to Nerf rim in the corner. We used to bank it off the thing and see how many we could get.

[Todd Sickler]

I think I remember.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you remember the TV shows we watched there before we go to school?

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

Nah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you remember Great Space Coaster? We watched a lot of great space. We had Captain Chesapeake and then he. Man would come on.

[Todd Sickler]

You guys had the room here and then I had the one on the end, right?

[Ryan Sickler]

No, I shared a room with you in Chase Street.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

And it never made sense to me. I complained to dad and I'm like, I'm in bunk beds and Derek's got his own room because this figured out. He could go ask for it and she gave it to him. But the minute I started figuring out jerking off and I was. All those beds and like, it was like, we're going. We're moving into Second Avenue. And I was right back with Derek. It was a one year mistake Trudy made. Like, I better. I better put these two back together.

[Todd Sickler]

I don't remember sharing a room with you at all.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yep. We shared the summer between 5th and 6th grade and then all of 6th grade.

[Todd Sickler]

I remember we had to drive to school from there.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, do you remember Ms. Vicki? Yeah. You remember Ms. Vicky Peltier? Yeah. Yeah. Then they have like a big one, big giant goldfish. I mean, biggie. Bigger than that. That crappie you call.

[Todd Sickler]

That's all I remember about her.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, she was. I. I look back on her. She had salt and pepper hair. She always wore funky pants. I was like, oh, you're a hippie, you. I feel like she was like a hit, total hippie chick. She was super nice to us, took us in, let us come over and corrupt her kids. Remember we got three of us over there. Like, that's a lot for anybody to take them on. I remember when I should have told Shannon, when Ms. Sandy told me that when she. She said when she first met us, she was driving Derek and me back to our house and we were just shitting on Trudy or whatever, and she said, I thought, who the hell are these kids? And I don't want them hanging out anywhere near My son. Then she goes, but then I met your mom. I was like, these boys are right. Okay. Do you remember when grandma stayed with us? I'm pretty sure it was you. And somebody put like the Spice Channel on or something. Do you remember this? And she. If it took her a second to register and she's. I'm pretty sure it was you.

[Todd Sickler]

That illegal cable box.

[Ryan Sickler]

She was squinting and she goes, is that she saw there Forget. Do you remember what she said? She goes, is that two foxes? She said. And then she realized what it was. She said, oh, it was you. Because she was like, oh, my God, you were dying. He turned it. Do you remember when we turned her on to Sam Kinison? Do you remember that? I remember that.

[Todd Sickler]

She listened. She acted like she didn't like, oh, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

She couldn't stop laughing. Like she was like, no, no. Because she loved Johnny Carson, who is absolutely fantastic and iconic. And she said she used to tell grandpap, like, you're gonna. You're gonna miss tonight's show with Johnny Carson's. I don't want to see it. Then she said, one night he sat down, he did Carnac, and she said, that was it. He was hooked forever. So I remember, you know, we come down, it's the Sam Kittison's HBO special. We must be in middle it. And we're like, grandma, we're gonna put HBO on. HBO is new at the time. And we're like, watch this special, Grandma. And he's right away to this and that. She's like, no, no, we're just. Just watch Grandma. And I to. In my memory, in my mind, I remember when he was doing the bit about his girlfriend telling him to her harder. And he's screaming, he's back in the car into. He's like. And then I remember hearing grandma go. And she's like, no, it's just. Was terrible. And then it was fine to keep on. Dude, what do you remember about going crabbing with Dad?

[Todd Sickler]

I remember getting up early, as in the morning, driving down to the Y River. I think that's where we always went there.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Do you know, in my last will and test, my living will and trust, I put in my will that Stella has to take my ashes and sprinkle them into. I originally wrote the Y River and updated it to Chesapeake because it's easier, right? But then I also know how life goes. It's going to be raining. They're going to get stuck in like, they're just going to dump me out the window while I'm driving, which is also fun. You'll be cake, Bar K. Why? I keep looking at houses in like Stevensonville and Greens or Graysonville and stuff just across the bridge. They're expensive. Yeah, everything's expensive these days. But. Yeah, but we towed. This is the other thing I laugh about. We tow. We towed a boat with a goddamn wood panel station wagon every time we get down there. Nobody else was towing a boat with a wagon. It's pickup truck.

[Todd Sickler]

Me with the minivan towing this fishing boat. And lock Raven. Remember the crabs breaking in the hotel?

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, you remember that ocean? Who was holding them? Somebody was holding them. I think it was dad and his bushel broke. Well, I felt like somebody kept going. They're slipping. They're gone. They're gone. And dad's like, quit playing around. Oh my God, I'm really gone. It broke all over the elevator in Ocean City and everything.

[Todd Sickler]

And then he dropped the cooler out of the window and almost killed that kid.

[Ryan Sickler]

Key or the quay it was called. And Mom. You know who mom invited on that trip? Do you remember?

[Todd Sickler]

Janice?

[Ryan Sickler]

No. Somerville. Yes, he. She did. Was he there? Yeah, there's a picture of him on the beach and everything. She invited the guy dad was or she was to the beach with us. Were always everywhere. Yeah, the Corona. I told Todd what. Do you remember what Jack Cronice used to do all the time? Oh, and yeah, he drive like that. He'd do that. Like that. I told. I told Todd a triple bypass would kill Jack Cronus. He just used to drive like this all the time now I wonder if he wasn't on some kind of speed or something.

[Todd Sickler]

Yeah, I don't know. He was on something.

[Ryan Sickler]

He was on something he said. And I used to laugh because, you know, Aunt Janice. We used to call her Aunt Janice. They're my godparents. Jack and Janice were my godparents. And Aunt Marguerite used to on her Janice all the time. Like that Leslie Janice. You call that Leslie Janice? Because she had that short ass haircut make me laugh so hard, dude. Her and her or Leslie J.

[Todd Sickler]

They didn't give a.

[Ryan Sickler]

She didn't give a call that lady A. Leslie was in the 80s, bro. It was great. Her, that Leslie. I said, who was there? Aunt Margarit. Hern at Leslie Janice. I laugh so hard like that's my godfather. I don't care. She's an. Tell me what you remember about trips to Sorrentos of Grandma and dad. That was. I was always.

[Todd Sickler]

Yeah, I mean Friday night, walking down that. We used to walk with when dad went there.

[Ryan Sickler]

But we would.

[Todd Sickler]

You would get the pizza from that same guy. I guess he was the owner.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Do you remember when he got hair plugs early? It was bad hair plugs too early today. I mean they were grow. He should not even been in a restaurant with that head.

[Todd Sickler]

We would sit there and she would give us quarters to go play.

[Ryan Sickler]

The Sheila remembers he come play games with pinball machine. Yeah, Pinball. The Gilligan's Island. Yeah. Would that send you a picture of it? I was.

[Todd Sickler]

I think you did.

[Ryan Sickler]

I was gonna. I almost bought that Gilligan's island pinball machine one time. You know, it's funny. I just set up maybe a few months ago. Tom and. And Bert had a Porosos Vodka thing at this bar in la. And I went and I look over and there's Gilligan's Island. I said, I'm playing this son of a. Right here. Gilligan's Island. Gilligan's.

[Todd Sickler]

She would take us to that dollar matinee next door.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yup. At the Paradise.

[Todd Sickler]

See, like movies that were all like two years old.

[Ryan Sickler]

Give me a good funny grandma one or something here. Hold on.

[Todd Sickler]

You guys already talked about. I mean, when she on the wall.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, but everybody's got their memory of it. Look at. He's already like. That's the story everybody made her tell, dude.

[Todd Sickler]

Yeah. Everybody said she'd always talk about it. She went to the bathroom and she went down the flush and there was nothing there. And she looked up on the wall and she was like terrified. Started spraying it with perfume or something. I forgot.

[Ryan Sickler]

She's doing this with her head. It's everywhere. Then she said a cleaning lady was coming in and she's leaving. And she said some sick son of a in there did that. They got the out of you know where it was. White coffee pot. I will never forget her. Her and Jimmy had a birthday together, remember?

[Todd Sickler]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

She and Jimmy shared the same day. 7th or 9th? December 9th. And they're going to just get some coffee and breakfast together. And she ended up all over their wall and ruining their bathroom on their birthday. And then we would make her tell it and she'd start laughing so hard. Then we'd be pissed. Like, Grandma's laugh would make my stomach rip open. If you could get her going, it was like, all right, let's kill this lady now. Let's make her laugh so hard. We killed us in the chimney. Always got her Norse.

[Todd Sickler]

Yep. She would just laugh.

[Ryan Sickler]

This was great. Thank you for. I know you're just had your chest cracked open and you got three new arteries in your ass. And I appreciate you doing this. Todd. I love you. I'm glad you're good.

[Todd Sickler]

I love you too.

[Ryan Sickler]

As always, guys, I am Ryan Sickler this is the Way Back the Baltimore Junkyard Series. Talk to y' all next week. I hope you enjoyed the Way Back the Baltimore Junkyard series. Trying something different? Why not? We've got the ability to go do it. Why sit here and do the same thing all the time? So I hope you guys are enjoying it. And if you are, throw a comment in there, let me know and we'll keep on doing it.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

The number one resolution for people last year was to save more money, but nearly half gave up by February. Don't let that be you. Download Rocket Money to reach your financial goals this year. Track your spending, cut waste, and automate savings in one simple app. Rocket Money shows you all your expenses and categorizes them so you know exactly where your money's going and where you're overspending. From there, the app cuts waste by canceling your unused subscriptions and lowering your bills. No customer service needed. With that money freed up, the app will automatically set some cash aside for your goals. Whether it's an emergency fund, paying off debt or saving for vacation, Rocket Money's got you covered. Users love the app, with over 186,000 five star ratings, and on average, users can save up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Make saving money a priority this year. Go to rocketmoney.com cancel to get started. That's rocketmoney.com cancel rocketmoney.com cancel.