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Ryan Sickler
Buffalo, New York. I'm headed your way. I'll see you guys Friday, April 24 and Saturday, April 25. Hey guys. Exciting announcement. We are doing a live way back at the Netflix is a joke festival. It's Monday, May 5th at 7pm at the Hotel Cafe Main stage. It's our first live ever Way back. We're gonna have a special guest. We're gonna have prizes, gifts. We're gonna do some fun stuff with you guys as well. So get your tickets now for the Netflix is a joke fe. I weigh back Monday, May 5, 7pm at the hotel Cafe Boston. I'm fired up to head back your way. I'll be there Friday, May 15th and Saturday, May 16th. All tickets on my website@ryancickler.com hey guys, we have a new segment on the way back called after the beep. We got a new landline and an old school answer machine and we want to hear from you. Call 323-452-3732 and leave a message. Hit us with things like craziest high school moment, worst job, dumbest injury, worst trouble. Maybe something you got away with or maybe you're looking for some old school advice on relationships, jobs even. Am I the asshole or keep it quick confessions, weird habits. The worst advice you ever got. We'll play him back and react. Keep it under 60 seconds. Anything longer than that, we ain't listening. All right, full segments are only available on Patreon, so give us a ring. 323-452-3732 and leave a message after the beat.
Charlie Barron
Hey, baby, we going to be here all day.
Ryan Sickler
We going to be here all day, baby. I like this kind of party. Welcome back to the Way Back, everybody. Ron, Ryan Sickler here. Ryan sickler dot com. Ryan Sickler on all your social media, starting them off like I start all these episodes off with gratitude. Thank you, guys. Thank you for supporting this show. Thank you supporting anything that I do. You're the best fans. I genuinely appreciate you guys. Very excited to have this guest back here with me today. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Charlie Barrons. Welcome to the Way Back, buddy.
Charlie Barron
Hello. Thank you for having me.
Ryan Sickler
Thank you for being here. Before we jump into some old stories. Right there. Plug it.
Charlie Barron
All right. Right there, right? YouTube. Charlie Baron's Neighborly. That's the new special Charlie Barons.com if you want to see me on tour and then the Bellied up podcast and if you like Brandy Baron's old fashioned Brandy.
Ryan Sickler
Is that really yours?
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
Is it?
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
You have a. You have a Brandy?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, it's family. Yeah, I named it after my grandpa Bob.
Ryan Sickler
But I mean, is it something that your family's done over the years or is that something you were like, they're brandy makers.
Charlie Barron
Well, no, I mean the Old Fashioned is the most common drink in Wisconsin.
Ryan Sickler
Is that right? That's the most popular drink.
Charlie Barron
We drink more brandy than any other state in the nation.
Ryan Sickler
Not only brandy. I've read you drink more alcohol than any other state.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, but you know, we don't. We like to be modest in what we brag about. Yeah, do the, do all that.
Ryan Sickler
Okay.
Charlie Barron
So yeah, the Brandy Old Fashioned, Great, great drink.
Ryan Sickler
So if you haven't watched Charlie's episode of the Honeydew, go watch that. Because you talk about being one of 12 kids.
Charlie Barron
One of 12 kids.
Ryan Sickler
So let's get into it. Dude, have you ever, first of all, have you ever ridden in this way? Back seat.
Charlie Barron
Yes.
Ryan Sickler
Your time of childhood. And who had that car? Who, where was it?
Charlie Barron
My Aunt Debbie and Uncle Tom had it. It was a station wagon. And this is even a more comfortable seat than what they had. They had. It was a little bit more of a flap down seats.
Ryan Sickler
That's all they are.
Charlie Barron
And we love that. We love sitting back there.
Ryan Sickler
It's the best.
Charlie Barron
It is the best. You know you could. We also would. Would a little Polly pocket back there. I think one of my cousin soy's in some fishing line. So we tied a little string around Polly Pocket and dragged her three car lengths behind the car.
Ryan Sickler
Man.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. Isn't that cool out there? That's a core memory right there.
Ryan Sickler
You're reeling it up and.
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
Or do you just cut it?
Charlie Barron
No, we. We reeled her back in. She didn an arm when she came back.
Ryan Sickler
That's what I'm talking about. Getting all burnt up. Road racks all over.
Charlie Barron
And I think that was through the slot window, you know, that just could pop open just a little bit.
Ryan Sickler
So wait, there's 12 of you, plus parents, Obviously we're talking about a family of 14.
Charlie Barron
14 total.
Ryan Sickler
What is your family day to day vehicle?
Charlie Barron
Well, several iterations. We at one point had that Chrysler little minivan with the rolling doors. But really when, when the family got him full force, it was a. We had a Dodge, I think 375 something. But what? The Dodge with the big ass? Basically a secondhand Presbyterian people mover.
Ryan Sickler
Is it talking about a van Van? Yeah, with the extended back?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, with the extended back. 99. This one was green. My dad also had a Monte Carlo with a trailer hitch which Was what
Ryan Sickler
the he throwing on his mon.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, there we go. That's it. That's it.
Ryan Sickler
But this is the family vehicle, right?
Charlie Barron
That's it. Man. Look at that. It's beautiful. It's more beautiful than I remember. You know how many friends of mine I could fit into that thing?
Ryan Sickler
The family first, man. There's 14. Do all 14 of you ever roll in that at once?
Charlie Barron
We rolled down to Alabama in that for the first ever out of the state vacation that we had.
Ryan Sickler
Do you ever think this. I know this is a sexy. Is what that fun podcast. Do you ever think, like, if we get hit and die, we're all dead?
Charlie Barron
Oh, yeah.
Ryan Sickler
You do?
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
You ever fly all together?
Charlie Barron
No, I didn't fly till I was 18.
Ryan Sickler
Is that right?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, not. Not with that many. That might be our van. Put a bit on that. You put a bit on there.
Ryan Sickler
Good. Dude, that thing's well kept, bro. Yeah, it's clean, man.
Charlie Barron
It's clean. Moving those seats out of the car was always such a pain in the ass. You got to push them forward and then back and up and then angle them out. Now, sometimes when we would put the seats back in because we moved the seats out to, like, move things or whatever, take mulch, that kind of deal. But on occasion, we didn't fully get the seat down. So people are running where it's, like, kind of rocking a little, you know, and. Yeah, that's. That's amazing.
Ryan Sickler
Whoever took pictures of this, solid.
Charlie Barron
Dude, this is in good shape.
Ryan Sickler
Damn good shape right there. 99. I mean, think about that. That's 26 years old. That car looks great.
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
Wait, go back up. What's the mileage on it?
Charlie Barron
Only 70.
Ryan Sickler
That's roll back. Yeah, me so got a hold of that one. That's roll back. Ain't no way. 70,000. 25 years out. It's not. It's like, barely. It's like three a year. Yeah, that's 3,000 miles a year, my ass. In a van. They're meant to be driven.
Charlie Barron
They are.
Ryan Sickler
Okay, so the family's rolling around in that. And you said you went to Mobile, Alabama, so I like to ask people like, vacations, if you were a vacation family, you fly and you're driving, I'm assuming with that many people, you.
Charlie Barron
You are only driving Every year we go up north, northern Wisconsin to, like, Pres Isle or Lando Lakes or Eagle river somewhere up there.
Ryan Sickler
And what are you doing camping there or what's happening?
Charlie Barron
No, we would get a cabin, and we would usually. My uncles Were there as well. My mom's family would go up too, so we had, you know, we go fishing mostly and then occasionally some skiing because my uncles would rent like a. A ski boat. And so I did some. Yeah, there it is. That's my grandpa TG right there. That's my dad. And this is. See us? We're ready to fish, baby. Look at those socks.
Ryan Sickler
Pocket on the end of that rod.
Charlie Barron
Yep. Oh, yeah, there it is. Skiing. Ready to go.
Ryan Sickler
Who's that? Is that you?
Charlie Barron
That's me.
Ryan Sickler
That is you.
Charlie Barron
Yep. And that's. This is one of three tries I got to get up on skis. Three tries.
Ryan Sickler
Oh, is that how it works in a family like that? So you got three tries and you're done.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, 100%.
Ryan Sickler
Dude.
Charlie Barron
You better get you and it. Yeah. You do not have any more goes than that.
Ryan Sickler
I like that rule. I like it. I do. You gotta. I mean, I guess there's so many of you.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. Three shots and out. Yeah. And. And that's. That's my mom's dad right there. And he's stylish, dude.
Ryan Sickler
So these two men right here combined for how many kids? 30? 23.
Charlie Barron
My dad would be 12 and your
Ryan Sickler
mom's one of what, 11? Yeah.
Charlie Barron
23. Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
These two men combined have shot some. Some loads.
Charlie Barron
They've done.
Ryan Sickler
They.
Charlie Barron
They have done their.
Ryan Sickler
And they. A lot of them are productive.
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
You know what I'm saying?
Charlie Barron
Like. Yeah. Productive.
Ryan Sickler
When you want to have a kid, it's not the easiest thing. I know it sounds stupid because there's a gazillion humans over time, but when you really. I'm sure if you're 19, you don't want it. You're getting pregnant. You know what I mean?
Charlie Barron
Right.
Ryan Sickler
When you really want it, it's not the easiest thing to do.
Charlie Barron
No.
Ryan Sickler
23 humans out of these two men. Right.
Charlie Barron
I've never thought about it like that. And look, look at my dad. Is that on? Is that a Michael Jo shirt that he's wearing?
Ryan Sickler
Flight. Yeah, flight 23.
Charlie Barron
Flight 23. Yeah. How about that? I didn't know. He probably got.
Ryan Sickler
Who's this right down in the front?
Charlie Barron
That's Billy.
Ryan Sickler
No, next. Yeah, that person.
Charlie Barron
That's me. That's.
Ryan Sickler
You got your grandpa's socks. Go back.
Charlie Barron
Runs in the f. Look at that, bro. Look at that, dude. Those are definitely. Those are definitely my dad's socks. I think that I. I mean, they are big. We were. We were a hand me down family. For sure, dude.
Ryan Sickler
You had to be.
Charlie Barron
How many boys and Girls, by the way, eight sisters. Oh, yeah, that's. There's one other boy. He's just smile on my father's face right there. But yeah, that's. That's it. But yeah, all that stuff. We would always wear secondhand stuff.
Ryan Sickler
And who's up here? Is this just a place? Someone own a place there? You just. That's the family tradition there.
Charlie Barron
We would just rent whatever place would house us and. And you know, just. You get like a cabin and. And then you get it for like a week or something. So you go up there and it's really nice. It's great up there, man. Best childhood memories were up there. Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
You mentioned going to Mobile, Alabama in that van. Why are we going there?
Charlie Barron
Okay, so I just said Mobile, Alabama because that stuck out. We, we. We stopped there I think to use a bathroom. But no, we went farther south to Orange beach for vacation for. This was. This was the one out of state vacation we did.
Ryan Sickler
Kirsten, will you look up Orange Beach? I've never heard of.
Charlie Barron
It's. It's basically Florida, right? It's right on that. Yeah, it's right on the tip of Florida.
Ryan Sickler
Oh, there's Mobile, Alabama there. So I see sending your boom here. You're coming across the 10 and you shoot straight south.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. Gulf Shores. That's what it's called, Gulf Shores. And yeah, it's just real nice beaches there.
Ryan Sickler
This is still Alabama here. Yep. Okay.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. So right on that border. And it's. I think you just get a little better of a price break on the Alabama side. Just a scotch.
Ryan Sickler
Do you remember it? Is it nice?
Charlie Barron
It was fun. Super nice, man. I was. First time I had seen the ocean and it was. Did some fishing and we got. We got a bunch of mullet there with. We put shrimp on the pole and. Yeah, you just send it out there and you just bring them in. Cleaned a bunch of mullet. Yeah, we had a. And I. I think that's what they were. It was some kind of white fish. Yeah. Isn't this nice? Look at that. That five guys. Oh, that's a Walgreens cvs. Yeah. So they got cbs, is there?
Ryan Sickler
Yes. Nice.
Charlie Barron
That's a good area, man.
Ryan Sickler
What's. I asked you before obviously interview before we do this. So you said you also would go to camp. Is that up north as well? This Ben's camp?
Charlie Barron
Oh, Ben's camp. That's not really a camp.
Ryan Sickler
Oh, what is that?
Charlie Barron
It's a restaurant on a. I didn't. I misunderstood the questions.
Ryan Sickler
Well, I don't Know if you did camps in the goddamn.
Charlie Barron
See, look at that. This is a nice spot, man.
Ryan Sickler
What the is this? This is the place.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, that's it. They serve.
Ryan Sickler
They have cabin rentals and boat rentals, it says up there.
Charlie Barron
Yep, they do. They do have that. But we didn't. We. We've. Since later in life we'd rented from there, like as adults.
Ryan Sickler
So their main thing is this restaurant stuff. And then when you go there, they have these other things.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, you can rent a boat from there or you can rent, I don't know, a cabin or something. But we would go there as kids
Ryan Sickler
as a vacation also.
Charlie Barron
Well, no, this was just. We had a cabin on a lake around that area. But since we had so many people, we didn't. Didn't go out. So if we were going to go out, this was the one place we went to go out to eat because it was big enough to fit us all. And because they got that outdoor seating, as you can see there. And so, you know, there's plenty of space to spread around for some kids to, you know, go get missing for a little bit. They had an arcade still do. I think she could play some big Buck Hunter. All that. Yeah, they little claw toy there.
Ryan Sickler
The whole deal looks so pretty.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. Nice pizzas. That was a good spot. Good spot, man.
Ryan Sickler
Let's talk about what's Orchard Lane. What's that?
Charlie Barron
Orchard Lane is a grade school that I went to.
Ryan Sickler
Let's go check out your elementary school.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, we were. We were. The reason we brought this one up was in the last podcast we were talking about touch math.
Ryan Sickler
Yes. Thank you. I wanted to bring this up.
Charlie Barron
This is where I learned it.
Ryan Sickler
And so I had never heard of touch math. Kirsten has said she has. I thought you were literally going, 1, 2, 3, 4. And you're like, no. So this is the school.
Charlie Barron
This is the school here. And it's touch methods, where you touch parts of the number.
Ryan Sickler
Yeah, I don't even understand. Kirsten, bring it up for us here.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, yeah. So there. We got it. Yep. I remember. It's the most. See? Yeah. One.
Ryan Sickler
Let's see. Four to me, should be five.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, Don't.
Ryan Sickler
You're counting down here.
Charlie Barron
Stop bringing logic into this. Just listen to the lesson.
Ryan Sickler
You start repeating. You go, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Oh, it's the repeat. So how do we do seven?
Charlie Barron
You go one and then you repeat
Ryan Sickler
two, three, four, five, six. And eight's just doubling him up. And nine is rolling.
Charlie Barron
Reason. Dude, there's no rhyme. Zero, zero, zero, yeah.
Ryan Sickler
So, okay, wait, though. Let me ask you this math problem right now. Obviously, you're going to know the answer. Tell me how I do 8 plus 7 and I get 15. How I do that math?
Charlie Barron
You go 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Obviously. Dude, what a stupid question that was. It's right there for you.
Ryan Sickler
You just touch it like that. What do you do when you're getting like 3,245 plus 7,860?
Charlie Barron
You know, it's like when you're skiing on a really big hill. You can make any hill big. If you say it takes you that long to do those, well, you use it for like. Because 3405, 18 plus whatever. You just do it with the 5 and the 9. The whatever's at the end.
Ryan Sickler
You know, you carry your. You still carry your ones and all that.
Charlie Barron
Carry your ones.
Ryan Sickler
The whole person was saying she figured it out and she was cheating doing it. And the lady said, you're too smart to do that. Why? Why? How's this. I'm confused. How is this a dumb.
Charlie Barron
This is. They got mad at me for it,
Ryan Sickler
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Charlie Barron
I do. I was telling my parents about my dad. I was doing math at. I was paying for something. How old were you?
Ryan Sickler
When they're telling the store what you're about to.
Charlie Barron
There's 20. This was this. No, this was recently. This was recently.
Ryan Sickler
Okay.
Charlie Barron
And I was paying for dinner for my dad and my brother being a nice guy. And I'm doing the bill and I'm doing the touch math on the thing.
Ryan Sickler
And what are you touching the numbers on?
Charlie Barron
I'm out of habit, you know, like that. Seven. That's seven right there. I'm like, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12. Seven, eight, nine, 10,11, 12. See that? So I put the two right there. Carry the one. And my dad was like, tell me you're not doing that touch mash. And then I was moved.
Ryan Sickler
You out of that goddamn school district.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. And. And I was. And then they were roasting me. And then my brother, he was. Asked my brother why he didn't do it. And my brother said, they never taught me that. And I think he said something similar like, that he was too smart. So maybe I was in the special section of the school, which is. I didn't know. Maybe I was. But I know how to. I know how to add. I got a good tip on to get 20 extra dollars.
Ryan Sickler
There you go. Yeah. Let's go look at Holy Hill Church. Your church. Let's see your church.
Charlie Barron
So Holy Hill Church is. This is one that we would go to every once a year in the fall, because this place is beautiful.
Ryan Sickler
What do you mean once a year? You're not going for weekends, Sunday church?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, no, we. We went to. To this place called St. Mary's like, every. Every week but once a fall, you go this place called Holy Hill. I just thought this would be more. A more fun. Look. Look at that. Isn't that cool?
Ryan Sickler
I mean, this looks like something that's not even in the States. This looks like out of Europe, right?
Charlie Barron
Yeah. Isn't it cool? So it's at, like, the tallest peak. You can see downtown Milwaukee from that.
Ryan Sickler
It's about 45 minutes in the state of Wisconsin.
Charlie Barron
Yep, It's. It's about 45 minutes outside Milwaukee. But it's a beautiful, beautiful church. And yeah, we would go once, once a year to see the. The colors. And I actually walked all the way up to the. The lookout thing, and you can walk all the way up to that. That deal up there. But this is
Ryan Sickler
all the way up here, this window in the steeple. You can.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, you can walk all the way
Ryan Sickler
up there or that little tiny one up there. That above the circle?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, above the circle.
Ryan Sickler
Somebody right there, right? That might be you, bro.
Charlie Barron
And that. Cool. Oh, is there someone in there when they took it?
Ryan Sickler
And you can. Oh, look, at that view. Yeah, it is pretty. The changing of the trees and everything.
Charlie Barron
And it's sweet.
Ryan Sickler
Yeah, it is.
Charlie Barron
So, yeah, we.
Ryan Sickler
It's massive to. The building itself is massive. And do you do a mass in there?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, they do mass.
Ryan Sickler
I mean, are you going to it or is it something you're just.
Charlie Barron
We're going to the mass. But this. This actually part of why I brought up, because going to church with a big family, that big. This is kind of like a church that there's locals that go here. Yes. But largely it's a lot of tourists, especially in the fall, so we always would have to get there early because we take up a whole pew.
Ryan Sickler
Good point.
Charlie Barron
You know, and so, yeah, you look at those pews.
Ryan Sickler
Those are gorgeous.
Charlie Barron
That's just gonna fit 12 total. So there's a few lap sitters there. Because of course, we always would get there late and in tears. You know, someone was slap sitters. Yeah. Double buckling in the back there. But, you know, that's just kind of a thing where it's 45 minutes away from where we were. And then, you know, we're always late. So it's just like the memory of church of just like, you know, Midwest dad screaming at you, we gotta go, we gotta go. And then someone who was the latest was getting, you know, reamed out a little bit. And then you get a few tears on the way to church. There's just nothing with the crisp fall air. Nothing says Midwest like that.
Ryan Sickler
Tell me, let's go see one of your old homes here.
Charlie Barron
That's it right there. That one.
Ryan Sickler
This one with the garage open?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, that one with the garage open.
Ryan Sickler
How many people are in this house before you move for a bigger place? What's the most in here? Eight.
Charlie Barron
Okay, eight kids. Two. Two parents.
Ryan Sickler
Is that you guys still? We go Back to what, 2007?
Charlie Barron
Oh, no, no, no. We were long gone.
Ryan Sickler
Give me the windows. Top left window. Who's that?
Charlie Barron
Top left window. That's my parents room. And then to the right. That's not a room. That's just kind of like. That's like where the stairs would come up. And they just had a window there and. Oh, no, there was this. There was a room there. That's where. That's where three of the girls were. This is fun. Actually, I kept trying to remember. I think Maggie, Betsy, Maggie, Addie were in that room. Yeah. Oh, maybe. Yeah, I think Betsy, Maggie, Eddie in that room. And then across were Andy, Charlie, Billy, Andy, Charlie, Billy, Betsy, Maggie, Eddie, and then the other two Must have been in the. The room across the deal. Oh, they had a mini there now in the back. See those, those trees up there? They had a. Oh, there was a white pie, a white pine which might have been cut down at that point. I remember it being white pine. Anyways, we had a mulch pile back there and the mulch pile was really. We would jump from the tree into
Ryan Sickler
the mulch pile, out of the tree, down into it.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. And we always had the best. The best jumps were after the house to the left there. That was the Zilucky's house. And Steve, he would cut the grass and he would see how nice that grass is. And he would keep the grass clippings and he would go put them in the mulch pile.
Ryan Sickler
That's cool.
Charlie Barron
And once the. Once the. On grass cutting days, that was the soft landing because there was this gun that was dangling like a toy gun that was dangling at this one branch. And we were trying to get the gun down. And that was kind of the game to see if you could get the gun down from the dangling branch. It was difficult to do. It was left there by the people that were there before us. And it stayed up there. None of us ever reached a gun, you know. If a man's reach never exceeds his grasp, then what's a heaven for? And we never got. Yeah, I stole it from someone. My nana used to say that, but she got it from someone. If a man's reach never exceeds his grasp, then what's a heaven for?
Ryan Sickler
Amen.
Charlie Barron
Amen. There you go. So, yeah, that was. That was the house. I've got some scars I recall from going down one of those hills.
Ryan Sickler
Sneak out.
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
Because that looks like a good window. If that's a stair window, that looks like a good window to hop out onto the roof.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, I actually screwed that up. It's not a stair window, I don't think. I think there was a. A wall up before that. That was the girls room right there. But it's crazy that I don't even remember that.
Ryan Sickler
No. Funny. You have a basement in that house.
Charlie Barron
Oh yeah, that's finished basement. No, no, that's. That's where I used to play hockey by myself with a tennis ball. Yeah, My dad. Yeah. Oh, you got it. Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
Well done.
Charlie Barron
Look at that. Well, I had that. Damn. Look at that carpeting. Man.
Ryan Sickler
I was about to say, look at that car. Look at the little. And look at the little sweeper too.
Charlie Barron
Yeah, that's classic. Now see, I. That's the half right there. That we had that. Those wooden walls and then. So I guess half that room was somewhat finished, but the other half was open. But the ceilings were exposed. I remember that because that you could hide stuff there. Oh, yeah.
Ryan Sickler
What's going on here? Where are you? Here?
Charlie Barron
I was stylish, man.
Ryan Sickler
Donald Duck.
Charlie Barron
My mom made me those shorts. She sewed them. Should we get some fabric from Joanne Fabrics?
Ryan Sickler
This is giving me flashbacks, bro. Give me nightmare same.
Charlie Barron
Well, why. Why? She got the pink with the fishes. And those were my roller skates right there. Those were, man. Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
You would put those out, those adjustable ones. I remember those now.
Charlie Barron
Yeah. Now this. This looks like it might have been my birthday. That might be the first time I was rocking those skates because they look pretty fresh. No helmet yet, so I haven't learned too many lessons.
Ryan Sickler
Oh, yeah, There they are.
Charlie Barron
Those are so awesome. Those are Fisher Price ones. Is that right? Yeah. Dang. I wonder if you can get those. Yeah. I was a roller skating guy. Yep. This is. This is me shortly after, I believe, we lost to the Dallas Cowboys. And I painted my. How my face like that for the game. And that's a disappointment after the game.
Ryan Sickler
It is a let down to look like that if you lose.
Charlie Barron
It's a huge letdown. Yeah. So. But I got the cheese head on, as you can see. I did it myself because I got some fingerprints on the shirt there. See that?
Ryan Sickler
Yeah. Yeah.
Charlie Barron
So. And I didn't fully commit. Thanks, dude. Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
What do you got to do to fully commit? Your neck or something?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, I gotta get the neck going, you know.
Ryan Sickler
Wear a turtleneck next time.
Charlie Barron
I should. Yeah, maybe I had one on, but I wore a white one and it got all smudged.
Ryan Sickler
Did you ever get to go to a Packers game?
Charlie Barron
A home game I went to, they played at County Stadium. So we went to a game at County Stadium. Like an exhibition game, a preseason game. And then. And then we went to a preseason game at Lambeau. So that was preseason's the way to do it for kids, you know.
Ryan Sickler
Yeah. Stadium experience and all that.
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
Tell me, your first car, what was your first car?
Charlie Barron
First car was a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. Yep. Silver. Called it the Silver Bullet Van because I accidentally shot it with a shotgun.
Ryan Sickler
What do you mean accidentally?
Charlie Barron
Well, we were going pheasant hunting. We went pheasant hunting and I pulled Princess.
Ryan Sickler
Be great for pheasant hunting.
Charlie Barron
Oh, she would. Oh, yeah, she'd be awesome. She'd find them there. I. I was pulling the guns out of the car and one of Them went off. It was my brothers. He forgot to fully unload it, sliding
Ryan Sickler
it out, and it went off.
Charlie Barron
I was. They were all in their cases. I was pulling them out. But, yeah, he put a loaded gun into the case. And now we have the Andy rule, which is every time you unload a gun, you give it to someone else to double check. Except for Andy.
Ryan Sickler
Except for Andy.
Charlie Barron
He's not checking. So.
Ryan Sickler
Yeah.
Charlie Barron
So, yeah. And then I.
Ryan Sickler
So what happened when it blew through the case and hit the. The side of the car?
Charlie Barron
Yeah, dude, I know.
Ryan Sickler
No one's around.
Charlie Barron
I know. I was pulling him out of the back. So it just blew the bucket seat off. And then.
Ryan Sickler
Damn.
Charlie Barron
Huh?
Ryan Sickler
And then everyone was out of the car already.
Charlie Barron
Thank God, dude. Thank God. And the dog's just like, ready to go.
Ryan Sickler
Like, where's the bird?
Charlie Barron
You know, he thought we were still hunting, so he was getting all excited and. And yeah, so my dad was pissed. He was furious. So he made me buy it from him at the Kelly blue book level marked.
Ryan Sickler
This wasn't someone else's car you bought. Do you bought this because it was your dad, your family car, and you it up. And they're like, now you're buying it.
Charlie Barron
Oh, yeah. And that. I got off. Easy, dude. Easy. And he sold it to me. A pre shotgun. Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
On the side of this van here. Tell me. I don't know if we can get a back view in. Where is it? Where's the damage? Blew the seat off. What else? Like, did it break the windshield?
Charlie Barron
Shadow.
Ryan Sickler
What about the spray? Didn't hit any other windows.
Charlie Barron
Spray guys. Spray guy. There's two pellet holes in the front console, you know, but no glass blew out. Well, the glass cracks. So Now I've got two BBs. I can tell my alignments off because the BBs are down on one side or the other. And there's a few.
Ryan Sickler
Oh, you can hear them rolling around.
Charlie Barron
You can see them rolling around when you're driving. And then there's my alignment salt. There's. There's like the little heater AC thing. It's got a bunch of cracks in it. There were a few that were broken, but nothing of damage, really. What got the brunt of it was the back right seat that got the. Because that was up. Luckily we had the stow and go. So, you know, there it is. Yeah. And I. I slept in that van. Well, I moved out here. There was more G. And that tanked in my bank account by a good amount. And so I slept in there, like, because I was Trying to, you know, I stayed with my buddy, but if my buddy wasn't there, you know, then I would just sleep in the van, and I slept in my buddy's closet. And that was for a little bit before I got. Got some money going. But, yeah, that's a great car, man. I got three people in the back of that car. Sleep in the back of that car in San Francisco one time, because my buddies came out and I said, oh, we'll go to San Francisco. I'll get the hotel. And I did. I had a little money. I was going to get a hotel. I was. But then I was San Francisco marathon, and there were no hotels, so we just all slept in the back of that van. Nuts to butts. And. Yeah, that was. That was. That was rough. Gets cold in San Francisco at night.
Ryan Sickler
Let me tell you something, man. People think California, it gets cold as up there.
Charlie Barron
Mm. But, yeah, it's a great van. That's actually the. That. That van started my career in a lot of ways, so. Because I was working for a production company out here, Herzogen Company. And my boss, Matt, he. He let me be a set PA because I had a van that could take stuff. He didn't have to do a truck rental all the time. And so then I would set up the lights, take them down, and that's what got me. That's. Then I. That's how I shot my first reel.
Ryan Sickler
Okay.
Charlie Barron
You know, shooting it after I brought all the stuff back. And they were cool about that there. They were like, yeah, you can use the equipment. Just don't break it. And I like places like that, you know?
Ryan Sickler
Yeah. Be responsible.
Charlie Barron
Yeah.
Ryan Sickler
This was fun. Thank you.
Charlie Barron
This was super fun, man.
Ryan Sickler
Little trip down memory lane one more time right there. Promote whatever you'd like, please.
Charlie Barron
Oh, thank you. Charlie Barron's YouTube Neighborly is the name of my new special. I'm on tour. Lost and Found tour. Go to charliebarrence.com and bellied up podcast. That's awesome, man. Thank you.
Ryan Sickler
You got it, brother. Go watch a special. And as always, man, thank you guys for your support. We'll talk to you all next week. Ram.
Podcast: The Wayback with Ryan Sickler
Episode: #121: Charlie Berens on Growing Up 1 of 12 & Shooting the Family Van
Date: April 23, 2026
Guest: Charlie Berens
This nostalgic and often hilarious episode features comedian Charlie Berens, known for his Midwestern charm and his experiences as one of 12 siblings in a large Wisconsin family. The conversation explores vivid childhood memories, family road trips in a crowded van, sibling dynamics, quirky family rules, and the legendary incident of accidentally shooting the family vehicle. The episode mixes lighthearted banter with genuine reflections on family, community, and the formative chaos of growing up in a big household.
Ryan: “Do you ever think if we get hit and die, we’re all dead?” (05:48)
Charlie: “Oh, yeah.” (05:58)
“If a man’s reach never exceeds his grasp, then what’s a heaven for?” (24:20 - Charlie)
“We always would have to get there early because we take up a whole pew.” (20:40 - Charlie)
“He sold it to me a pre-shotgun.” (29:28 - Charlie)
Tone:
Warm, witty, and self-deprecating, with the upbeat camaraderie and layered storytelling that defines both Berens’ comedy and Sickler’s show.