82: The Wayback #82 | Des Bishop

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Wayback #82 | Des Bishop

Introduction

In Episode 82 of The Wayback with Ryan Sickler, host Ryan Sickler welcomes comedian Des Bishop to the nostalgic journey known as "The Wayback." The episode, released on July 24, 2025, delves into Des's childhood memories, experiences growing up in Queens and Ireland, and his reflections on pastimes that shaped his youth.

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1. Childhood Memories and Nostalgia

Des Bishop begins by reminiscing about his childhood, particularly the cars his family owned and how they contrasted with his desire for a station wagon—a symbol of coolness in his eyes.

• Family Cars:
  • Des Bishop shares, “We never had a station wagon. And I was always jealous of the station wagon. I thought station wagons were cool.” (02:05)
  • His family initially owned a Plymouth Duster and later a Ford Fairmont, which served as their second car for a considerable period.
  • The arrival of a Mercury Cougar marked the first time they purchased a new car, with its "little velour seats" adding to its appeal (03:20).

Ryan adds humor by linking the Plymouth Duster to the iconic TV character Al Bundy: “Yeah. Al Bundy.” (02:23)

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2. Boarding School Experience in Ireland

At 14 years old, Des was sent to St. Peter's College, Wexford, Ireland, after struggling with alcohol-related issues in Queens. This transition from Queens to Ireland was likened to "going in a fucking time machine" by Des, highlighting the stark cultural and environmental changes he faced.

• Challenges and Adaptation:

  • He recalls feeling homesick, especially during the cold, damp winters: “To this day, I hate the smell of real coal, real cold... Those walks from the bus back to boarding school.” (12:02)
  • Des shares a poignant memory involving his principal, Donald Collins, who was later revealed to be a pedophile: “He was charged in 1995 with 21 counts of indecent assault. He was my principal.” (09:15)

• Activities and Camaraderie:

  • Despite the challenges, Des cherished the camaraderie with fellow students and participated in activities like hurling, an Irish sport: “It was like lacrosse, but a lot more dangerous than lacrosse.” (13:37)
  • He fondly remembers skating rinks such as Laces in New Hyde Park, where parties and skating were central to social life: “Laces was... just awesome.” (14:10)

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3. Life in Queens and Social Activities

Growing up in Queens, Des and his brothers engaged in various childhood antics that left lasting impressions.

• Skating Rinks and Parties:

  • The Laces Roller Rink was a hotspot for parties and skating, complete with video games and a party room: “We used to have roll. We would have them at... Laces, like what are we gonna do today?” (14:35)
  • Des recounts the social dynamics of asking girls to skate: “You ask a girl to skate and hold their hand while you were going around... The best a girl could skate backwards.” (15:43)

• Roof and Pool Hopping:

  • Des describes "roof hopping" with his brother, a precursor to modern parkour: “The idea was to get from one block to the other just by roof hopping.” (18:39)
  • Memories of Minneola Pool Club highlight community interactions and youthful rebellion: “We used to just dive off the high diving board and try to soak the lifeguard.” (24:34)

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4. Family Dynamics and Personal Life

Throughout the episode, Des shares insights into his family life, including his brothers and parents.

• Siblings:

  • Des mentions his brother Aiden, a comedian, and Mike, a former sports star now coaching at North Shore High School: “He [Mike] was a great soccer player.” (21:05)

• Parents and Upbringing:

  • Des reflects on his Catholic upbringing, serving as an altar boy and reader: “I was an altar boy and a reader.” (21:40)
  • He humorously describes his and his family's 80s fashion choices, including his mother's "Farrah Fawcett vibes": “My mother has a very 80s kind of Farrah Fawcett vibes.” (22:05)

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5. Vacation Memories

Des reminisces about family vacations, particularly the first trip to Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

• Seaside Heights:

  • Des recalls the excitement of visiting the Boardwalk and the local attractions: “The cable car... just goes along the shore.” (23:05)
  • Despite the modest accommodations, it was a cherished memory: “I loved it. It's my own snobbery because actually I loved it.” (23:45)

• Pool Club and Night Swims:

  • Des describes attending night swims at Minneola Pool Club, an event that fostered community among parents and kids: “The night swim was like an event, you know.” (25:04)
  • He shares a humorous anecdote about his wife peeing in the pool despite his objections: “My wife... she's a big pee in the pool person.” (26:42)

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6. Reflections on the Past

Throughout the conversation, Des and Ryan reflect on how childhood experiences shape one's perspectives.

• Nostalgia vs. Reality:

  • Des asserts, “Nostalgia is a liar. Nostalgia really doesn't embrace the reality of the times. Nostalgia definitely is the rose tinted glasses, man.” (01:37)
  • They discuss how certain experiences, like being early risers or pool antics, carry over into adulthood, influencing current behaviors and preferences.

• Cultural Shifts:

  • The shift from above-ground pools being a suburban staple to in-ground pools signifying wealth is highlighted: “If you had an in-ground pool, we were like, man, they got some money.” (28:31)
  • Des notes the evolution of community spaces and how events from the past remain ingrained in personal memories despite changes over time.

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Conclusion

Episode #82 of The Wayback with Ryan Sickler offers a heartfelt and humorous exploration of Des Bishop's upbringing, highlighting the significance of nostalgic memories in shaping personal identity. From childhood antics in Queens to formative years in Ireland, Des provides listeners with a vivid account of past experiences that resonate with anyone reflecting on their own "wayback" moments.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Des Bishop: “We never had a station wagon. And I was always jealous of the station wagon. I thought station wagons were cool.” (02:05)
• Des Bishop: “Nostalgia is a liar. Nostalgia really doesn't embrace the reality of the times. Nostalgia definitely is the rose tinted glasses, man.” (01:37)
• Des Bishop: “He was charged in 1995 with 21 counts of indecent assault. He was my principal.” (09:15)
• Des Bishop: “It was like lacrosse, but a lot more dangerous than lacrosse.” (13:37)
• Des Bishop: “The night swim was like an event, you know.” (25:04)

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Note: This summary is based on the provided transcript excerpt and covers the discussed topics up to the 29-minute mark. For a comprehensive understanding, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode.

Transcript

[Ryan Sickler]

Hey, baby. We're gonna be here all day. We're gonna be here all day, baby. I like that kind of party. Welcome back to the Way Back, everybody. Ryan Sickler here. RyanCickler.com Ryan Sickle, on all your social media, starting this episode like I start all the episodes by thanking you guys. Thank you very much for supporting anything I do. I don't care what it is. Shows, merch, whatever. Supporting this show is a huge one. Thank you for watching this show. Thank you for. Look, this is such a fun show. We're bringing people's past to life. You're getting a lot more going on here. Also, make sure you check out the new tier on Patreon. You now get the way Back a day early ad free, sensor free, all that stuff. But you're also getting exclusive bonus content, episodes, fun stuff. We're doing that you're not getting on the other tier or anywhere else. Very excited to introduce this guest sitting back here with me today. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome DEZ Bishop. Welcome to the Way Back, buddy.

[Des Bishop]

Great to be on the Way back.

[Ryan Sickler]

Thank you for being here. Before we jump into all of it, just get it out of the way. Promote whatever you'd like, brother.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, so check me. All my shows are on des bishop.net. who knows where I'll be, but if it's near you, it'll pop up. And you can check out my special of all people on YouTube and my Instagram's at Des Bishop. That should about. That should about COVID it.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right.

[Des Bishop]

I can't shake the song. Do you remember the song back in the day when I was young and not a kid anymore, that now is now stuck in my head because of.

[Ryan Sickler]

This, because of what we're about to do.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, it's just, it's. I love Back in the Day. The older you get, the more Back.

[Ryan Sickler]

In the day and you realize how those were. Even though some of that was the worst time of your life, it's still the best fucking times ever.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, well, the nostalgia. Nostalgia is a liar. Nostalgia really doesn't embrace the reality of the times. Nostalgia definitely is the rose. Tinted glasses, man. So I'm more than happy to. To delve into the past.

[Ryan Sickler]

Well, let's do it, dude. This seat here, you're 49, is that right?

[Des Bishop]

49. November 12, 1975.

[Ryan Sickler]

You ever sit in this seat growing up anywhere or so.

[Des Bishop]

So these. These station wagons, these. We never had a station wagon. And I was always jealous of the station wagon. I thought station wagons were cool.

[Ryan Sickler]

What were you Got how many in your family total?

[Des Bishop]

We had three boys. So the first car we have with a Plymouth Duster.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Al Bundy.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, Plymouth Duster. Which it was orange so people thought it was the, was the, the Dukes of Hat.

[Ryan Sickler]

The generally.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. And then my mother got a Ford Fairmont, a Roy, a red 4 Fairmont.

[Ryan Sickler]

There it is.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, we had like a later one, you know, but. And then we had a red Ford Fairmont which was secondhand. Like that. Yeah, that was our second car and that was like. We had that for quite a while. And then my mother got a Mercury Cougar. The first time we bought a new car.

[Ryan Sickler]

A lot of people I'm going to.

[Des Bishop]

Say, funny, a 1983 Mercury Cougar. Approx.

[Ryan Sickler]

Because it's, it's the knockoff of what Ford. It's the Ford Lincoln Mercury family. But they're like, no, but they were actually.

[Des Bishop]

No, Mercury was actually above.

[Ryan Sickler]

Was above Ford.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, Mercury and Lincoln were both the, the, the higher than Ford.

[Ryan Sickler]

I didn't realize that back then. There it is, one of these guys.

[Des Bishop]

Ford coup. Yeah. Actually might have been a little earlier, a little later than that because it was a little cooler looking than that, but it was, it was. I remember thinking that was a great car with velour seats like this actually. Little, little velour.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you ever ride in this? Any neighbors? Any.

[Des Bishop]

So other people had station wings. I thought it was really cool sitting back. My cousins, the pals always had a station wagon. They had seven kids. So you'd sit in the back.

[Ryan Sickler]

Looking back, that's before the minivan.

[Des Bishop]

Like try to get people to react to you and stuff. Do you know, do you know what I was thinking recently? Because I, you know, I, I doing some nostalgia bits and I, I completely forgot that we used to, we used to try to get trucks to. I forgot about that.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let me tell you something.

[Des Bishop]

Now kids are on their phone.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, we talked about it on here, just on one episode.

[Des Bishop]

I only remember that recently.

[Ryan Sickler]

No, but we got so many TR responded saying that they love it as much as the kids do.

[Des Bishop]

And I was like, yeah, I used to love it.

[Ryan Sickler]

We love it too, bro. We love it too. Yeah, like major, whole day.

[Des Bishop]

Oh man, I wish we could because I was gonna include that because I have all these bits about, you know, my friend's kids talking about how like it was easier for us and I was trying to give all these examples and one of the things I thought of was like, oh, you guys, you know, you know what used to entertain us, we used to get the truckers to do that. But I haven't actually done it yet. But I'll probably now this.

[Ryan Sickler]

You have kids, bro, you'll be doing it forever.

[Des Bishop]

The kids these days make the truck. Oh, they still do it.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, I tell my daughter, I'm like, get this guy here and she'll do it. No, I'll hit it. They love it.

[Des Bishop]

Still happening. That's the problem. You know, that's the problem. Waiting so long to have kids.

[Ryan Sickler]

You get out with what's going on.

[Des Bishop]

You don't know what stuff carries over.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's right. You know, this carries over. For real.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. You know what doesn't carry them? We were early risers. I'll tell you what doesn't carry over. Being up before TV began.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

What.

[Ryan Sickler]

Why are you getting up so early?

[Des Bishop]

All my life I've been an early rise. I Woke up at 5:30 this morning. It's just the way it is. My parents were cursed with children that woke up at the Cracker Dome. But so much so that the rule, they didn't get up till seven. So we would just left her own devices in the morning. So I would get up before TV and I'd have to wait for the Patchwork Family to come on.

[Ryan Sickler]

What's the Patchwork?

[Des Bishop]

That was just some show that was on like channel 11. Patchwork family. But. But before that I was looking at fucking Fuzz or at the, the colors. You know, that's the thing that's. I need to include that in. My thing is like these kids have never watched Fuzz.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, that's like a nightclub.

[Des Bishop]

I used to wait. I used to wait for that man. That used to come on. But it came on before Sesame Street. It was, it was Patrick Family, then sesame street, then Mr. Rogers. That was the. I watched all those every morning because we were up. My parents never put me to bed because I always fell asleep in the couch. They carried me to bed. I was never made to go to bed. No. You know, I was never woken up unless it was like really early. We were doing something.

[Ryan Sickler]

And you can still do that. Your body still gets you up early.

[Des Bishop]

I would. I'm cursed.

[Ryan Sickler]

Are you the dude that can.

[Des Bishop]

I got. I got a farmer's b. I got the work. I got the body clock of a farmer and the working hours of a stripper. Cursed. Cursed in my life with bad, bad timing.

[Ryan Sickler]

Well, you also spent a lot of time in Ireland. We have not had anybody here that's had child.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. So I went to Ireland when I was 14.

[Ryan Sickler]

Let's hear about 1990.

[Des Bishop]

So I got flunked out of St. Francis Prep for Fresh Meadows, Queens. Had a big problem with alcohol at.

[Ryan Sickler]

A young age, so they say, instead of cab.

[Des Bishop]

That's the joke. They saw the potential of my alcoholism. They thought, let's send it to the. To the World Series, baby. The World Cup. I mean, it's not 100 true, but it's definitely funny as a joke. So. So I went to Ireland, 1990. August 26, 1990.

[Ryan Sickler]

To what? A boarding school?

[Des Bishop]

You said boarding school in the southeast. Wexford. St. Peter's College. Put it up. You'll see how Hogwarts this motherfucker is. And then unfortunately, if you Google St. Peter's bad shit comes up. But luckily nothing bad came to me. But bad shit did happen there. St Peter's College, Wexford. They call the boarding schools colleges in Ireland. That's where. That's. That's where I went to boarding school. Yeah, it does. The building left of the church is actually the seminary. So we ate breakfast and had evening meals with the guys that were studying to be priests. So that's all boys? All boys. It's no longer a boarding school because bad things did happen there. But. But it's still a school, though.

[Ryan Sickler]

Any building that looks like that had terrible.

[Des Bishop]

I have that picture.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is that your class?

[Des Bishop]

Actually, you know what? Just out of Curiosity, put in Des, Bishop, St. Peter. See if anything comes up. That is exactly. I took that picture back in 1993. Oh, there. That's me in my school uniform.

[Ryan Sickler]

Where?

[Des Bishop]

Right there with me and David Hayes. You go the one. The one next to it is bigger. Yeah, that's me and David Hayes. That was night. That was. I was in St. Peter's but that's my school uniform without the tie. That'll tell you. We. We were talking earlier and you were.

[Ryan Sickler]

Like, oh, that's where you got the Irish haircut. Like a.

[Des Bishop]

Well, I had a sheep's head, man. I had a. I had a real sheepy head back in those days, man. So that's me and myself.

[Ryan Sickler]

How old are you here?

[Des Bishop]

I'm like 16, 17.

[Ryan Sickler]

Okay. At that school.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, St. Peter's so anyway, that's actually. Coincidentally enough, we were talking about that earlier, but that's me. My. My dad. I brought him over there. That look so bad.

[Ryan Sickler]

Shit happened at that place.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, no, it really did. Just for. Just for shits and giggles, put in St Peter's College, Wexford Ferns report, and. Let me just. Let me just freak you out for just two seconds. We won't hold on it because it's pretty heavy. But put in Fern Ferns F E R N s report. So St. Peter's was actually kind of the beginning of the downfall of the Catholic Church. There's my principal. So this guy Donald Collins was my principal pedophile.

[Ryan Sickler]

He's got a wicked feed advantage.

[Des Bishop]

He went to jail, that's why.

[Ryan Sickler]

Right, okay, here he is. He was appointed principal.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, they called him Slinker. This is crazy. We called him Slinky. So we called him Slicker. And so this is, this is a true story. But I used to joke about it. He's call him Slinker and people say why we call him Slinker? They say because he's a pedophile. And I was like, well, shouldn't he do something about it?

[Ryan Sickler]

Right?

[Des Bishop]

But he actually was. So here, you want to hear a crazy. So this is supposed to be a lighthearted show? Okay, so, right, the. The first report subsequent to the 1966 allegations, right, came to Bishop Kamisky's attention, right? So in 1991, he's sent to counseling in Florida for his fucking sexual abuse, right? So guess who he stopped? So he flies to New York first. Guess whose house he goes to on his way to this thing? Of course we have no idea. He's on his way to Florida to get counseling for the fact that he's a fucking pedophile. And he stops in our fucking house on the 4th of July, 1991, and hangs out with us on the day having no idea.

[Ryan Sickler]

Do you know he's going to.

[Des Bishop]

I only found out when I read the Ferns report.

[Ryan Sickler]

Get the. And he's at your house during this.

[Des Bishop]

1991, on his way to Florida, he stops at our house. That's how diluted this guy was, right? And he was attached to a parish in Florida. Anyway, he was charged in 95, 21 counts of indecent assault. He was my principal.

[Ryan Sickler]

Jesus.

[Des Bishop]

Father Collins. Slink.

[Ryan Sickler]

What finally got him? Just so many.

[Des Bishop]

You can read it there. You know, I actually. I actually never looked at his Wikipedia. So the Ferns Report came out. So the Ferns report was the fourth first report of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. This is literally like the beginning of the domino that goes to Boston, to Baltimore, all these places.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's where I'm from. That whole heavy jelly, though.

[Des Bishop]

We're not going to stay focused on that, cuz it's heavy jelly. But anyway, okay, so sorry, I didn't mean to take it dark, but what.

[Ryan Sickler]

Are you guys doing? Like what kind of shenanigans and trouble are you getting into at this boarding? It's all boys.

[Des Bishop]

Well, I was 14, so I'll tell you one memory I have so that the dorms were like cubicles, so almost like a prison, but they're cubicles. They're not all the way up. But you have a private cubicle with an open door, no door shut. So I remember when Nirvana's Smells Like Team sounds nice, Team spirit comes out. We loved moshing to that. And I remember that song got so big, so we would always put it on and then we would all like fucking jump all over each other on somebody's bed and in this fucking cubicle. And it was kind of fun. Honestly, man. Like, I. I probably won't send my kids to boarding school, but I actually loved boarding school. Boarding school suited me. We had supervised study.

[Ryan Sickler]

You liked it?

[Des Bishop]

I loved it. The camaraderie with the boys, you know, because when I was in St. Francis Prep, like, I was so distracted by women and booze and, you know, like, I was so distracted. Then I got to this, like, it was like going back in time, going to our 1990s, not now, you wouldn't notice as much now, but back then, man, like, Queens, New York to Wexford in 1990 was literally like going in a fucking time machine. I was drinking, smoking weed, already lost my virginity. I go in these kids. None of them are even next door near that kind of shit.

[Ryan Sickler]

Really?

[Des Bishop]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

So why are they in the school then?

[Des Bishop]

No, that's normal boarding school. It's not like. It's not. It's not a military.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're the one that's in.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, well, a couple of kids were, you know, but a lot of them just, you know, it's just, you know, it's a good education, all that type of. So. So I actually love the camaraderie with the boys. I like the absence of women. It was like, less distractions and, you know, after I got over the initial homesickness, like, just being in a new country was pretty. It was pretty cool. Obviously being away from home wasn't ideal, but, you know, I got. I mean, like. So the one. The memory I have, which won't resonate really with Americans, is to this day, I hate the smell of real coal, real cold. Because when during those horrible winter months, my first winter in Ireland, I did get a little bit homesick, I was. The only time that I really longed to be home was like, February of 1991, and I used to stay with my cousins in Waterford. And then when I would, I'd get the bus to, you know, the bus back to Wexford, and I would get off the bus and. Miserable. Cold. Irish dampness. You've never experienced dampness till you've been to Ireland. The walls drip in Ireland, which, coincidentally enough, I used to do a joke about St. Peter's I was like, if I was the walls in St. Peter's the things I'd seen, I'd be crying too. But it was actually just. It was actually just moisturized or just condensation. So anyway, if I smell cold to this day, I think about those walks from the bus back to boarding school. And I was a little bit depressed then, but honestly, the rest of the time, I loved it. I used to. I learned about hurling. You want to look up hurling? I'd never. I'd never held a hurl in my life, so I'd never held this stick. That's hurling.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, it's like high li.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, it's kind of like lacrosse, but a lot more dangerous than lacrosse.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, it is.

[Des Bishop]

And, you know, so I. I just, like, it was all new to me.

[Ryan Sickler]

Can you rock somebody in that? Like a rugby hit? Can you crush them?

[Des Bishop]

You can. You can body check, like, but you can't tackle. You can't tackle. And my school was a big. Was a big hurling school, so I didn't get good enough to play because they. These guys have been playing since. Since they came out of the womb. But, you know, I played a bit, and it was. It was. It was fun, I have to say.

[Ryan Sickler]

All right, let's talk about skating rinks, because I was a big skating rink.

[Des Bishop]

Guy, so Laces was, like, where all the parties were. Where was New Hyde Park? Nassau county, because I grew up in Queens, but we were on the. The eastern side of Queens. So we were. We were basically at the end of. Of Queens, the end of New York City. So very quickly, we got over the border. I actually haven't seen a picture of Laces in a long time.

[Ryan Sickler]

There it is.

[Des Bishop]

Wow. So, you know, it was just. There it is, man.

[Ryan Sickler]

Whoa, that's big inside, dude.

[Des Bishop]

We used to be awesome. The video games around the side.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is it?

[Des Bishop]

And.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, that's bad.

[Des Bishop]

And they always showed one video.

[Ryan Sickler]

Look at all the new skaters with their walkers out there.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, man. But there was always that one. The one good skater that would be, like, skinny.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, of course. Oh, God.

[Des Bishop]

I haven't looked at. I remember those lightning lights.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. You know, and you say the games around the perimeter and stuff.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, all around there was, like, video games and then there Was a party room in the back corner, and then there was a screen. But they would only show the video once. I always remember. They always showed all night long by. And that would be on. And there's actually a skater in that because I always remember, like, oh, the skater. But there was always one fucking asshole that was, like, going too fast, you know? And then there was couple skate. Oh, yeah, that was fucking awesome. So it was still around, luckily.

[Ryan Sickler]

Now, are you drinking at the time.

[Des Bishop]

You'Re going to hear originally? No, because it was like when we were kids. But then you go to a period where you're too old to go to the Laces birthday parties, but then you get old enough to go to Laces with your friends, so you're no longer with your parents. You just go into Laces, like, what are we gonna do today?

[Ryan Sickler]

We're going to Laces and stuff.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. And then couple skate. You would ask a girl to skate and, like, hold their hand while you were going around.

[Ryan Sickler]

The best a girl could skate backwards.

[Des Bishop]

Was like, oh, you know that. I'm so embarrassed. I never skated back.

[Ryan Sickler]

Me either. Just the girl's job. Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

That's all night long, right? Oh, that's skating at Laces. Wow.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's actually.

[Des Bishop]

That's a. That's a show, man. I remember that.

[Ryan Sickler]

These guys. Yeah, these are guys that would whip through while you're trying to just get your balance and like, come on.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, the guys that could go backwards and, you know, because, like, some people, obviously, that was their whole jam was like being at Laces. And then I remember Carrie McKenna. We're still friends to this day. She messaged me recently. We were, like, going out for, like, two weeks. You know, you just hold hands, kiss on the lips, goodbye. And they had the grappling game. Grappling games are kind of new back then. And I wanted to get her, like, a present.

[Ryan Sickler]

The cloth.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. The claw.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

I wanted to get her a present. I ended up spending, like, 20 fucking bucks trying to get her a goddamn stuffed animal. And they all made fun of me. They were like, how much money did you spend on that? You could have just bought a stuffed animal for, like, maybe 20 bucks is too much. Because back then, with inflation, man, I remember that desk. And then you'd get their shitty skates. You know, what's your size?

[Ryan Sickler]

Let me tell you something. I still go with my daughter. I still can skate. I go out here to Moonlight Roller Way. And let me tell you something. The skates, I think they're the same skates like the boot is the same. They got new trucks and wheels. But the booty leather and thing with. Oh yeah, orange wheels.

[Des Bishop]

Parents would always get mad because you like go too fast into the get off, you know. Then you end up in the carpet. You'd fall over. Yeah. Laces was. Laces was.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did you have birthday. Did you have a birthday party here?

[Des Bishop]

I probably didn't. You get the shitty like frozen pizza right there.

[Ryan Sickler]

Kirsten, no skates.

[Des Bishop]

Those are them.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's it.

[Des Bishop]

That's.

[Ryan Sickler]

That is 100% what they still look like. If really 100%.

[Des Bishop]

They look exactly those skates. I remember them well.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

God, I wonder, am I in any of those pictures, man? Laces, look at that. That's like some kids party, you know. The mets won in 86. Riding high.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, right.

[Des Bishop]

That was us, man. That was literally us.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, we had roll. We had a parties at. We would have them at. The roller rink was big. McDonald's was another one. Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

Springfield Springfield Boulevard. McDonald's had like one of the, the indoor play areas with like a, with like a, like a merry go round that you could make so fast that it was like insanely dangerous. Which I thought would have been gone by now, but I just noticed at a, at a playground in West Hampton recently that they still have one that kids can spin around. I was, I was like, damn, that's pretty dangerous.

[Ryan Sickler]

Ours.

[Des Bishop]

There's a dangerous. Ours was Springfield McDonald's, but not that one. But you know those types of ones.

[Ryan Sickler]

We have roof hopping on your list. We went pool hopping because where I grew up it's all above ground pools. Unlike here, which is all in ground pools. Maryland's above ground. So you hop, hop, hop. What is roof hopping?

[Des Bishop]

Well, we get a little bit of pool, pool hopping. But in Queens there wasn't that many above ground pools.

[Ryan Sickler]

I believe it. Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

So my brother would. My brother's two years younger than me, but he's the one that got me into roof hopping because him and his.

[Ryan Sickler]

Buddies like parkour early before.

[Des Bishop]

Kind of like Parkour. Yeah. Because in Queens a lot of like row houses are close houses together. And the houses that had the always growing up in our neighborhood because we had like an alleyway. So we had roofs that were just one after the other. So we would just hang out on the roof. But that wasn't roof hopping. That was just going on the roof and somebody like get off my roof, you're going to give me a leak. But then when we got older, my brother got into it. You would hop from like garage to garage. But some of them were hard and some of them were dangerous. But yeah. So the idea was to get from one block to the other just by roof hopping. So it was a little like parkour. And that was fun. But that was. My brother got me into that. My buddies weren't into that. My. Oh God, the Z Cavaricis, bro. That was the Guido. That was the Guido era. So that was like the late 80s, early 90s. Z Cavaricis became a thing. I don't know if you remember them.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, of course.

[Des Bishop]

Really expensive. You gotta get a pair of Z Cavaricis. So that's when everybody wanted to be Italian. That's what everybody wanted to be. Italian, man. And that picture to me is very embarrassing actually. So that was in my. My wannabe Guido era. And the fact that I put that on the Internet haunts me, especially right now.

[Ryan Sickler]

Right.

[Des Bishop]

But that's a four leaf clover around my neck. My little bit of Irishness. Yeah. Because my. My sponsor for confirmation bought me that. So that was. And then in. In Ireland in like 1993, I gave it to my girlfriend of the time, just like to borrow. But in Ireland they didn't have that thing of like you give the necklace and you get it back and she never gave it back. And then she lost it. So I actually lost that. Not going to name her, but I gave it to her to wear while we were going out and we broke up. She'd already lost it. I never got it back. But that was.

[Ryan Sickler]

You're a good Irish boy. A Catholic boy. I'm Catholic Italian. And we had. So you're baptized? Communion, Confirmation. You got it.

[Des Bishop]

I was an altar boy and a reader.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, really?

[Des Bishop]

Oh, dude. I was super. We were. We were super Catholic. I can remember every church song in Ireland because everyone's Catholic. I do a lot of material about church songs because everybody knows them. So I often have like five minutes of my show where we're just literally singing hymns. That was actually my confirmation. That's my confirmation outfit back there.

[Ryan Sickler]

I see it.

[Des Bishop]

That's actually.

[Ryan Sickler]

There's.

[Des Bishop]

There it is. Because he just bought it for me. That's actually my confirmation outfit and my brothers are wearing there. So Aiden gets the. Hand me down. So that was originally bought for me or Mike in the Miami Vice days. So Aiden there is wearing what was originally like a Miami Vice blazer. That's my youngest brother there, Aiden, who's also a comedian.

[Ryan Sickler]

Is he?

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, my brother Mike was the sports star. He had a trial for Arsenal he sent to London when he was under 16.

[Ryan Sickler]

He had a trial for Arsenal. That's massive, dude.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, yeah. And that's. That's my. My dad and my mom's. Obviously, I got my.

[Ryan Sickler]

Did he play or coach?

[Des Bishop]

And he.

[Ryan Sickler]

What do you do?

[Des Bishop]

He's a coach now. He coaches North Shore High School. They just. They just had the best season they've ever had. He was a great soccer player.

[Ryan Sickler]

Wow.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. So my. My mother. You couldn't get any more 80s than my mother. No, no, they didn't go to Ireland. My brother Aiden went to Ireland, but only after he became a comedian. I told him to come over and get better.

[Ryan Sickler]

The haircuts are so good. Look at your brother. I had that one, too. Parted down the middle. Down the middle and then just feathered off to the side a little. Your mom's rocking at it.

[Des Bishop]

And I had curly hair when I was younger. That was really. That was right when it started getting curly. It drove me crazy. That hair, that outfit that's so. That was so the style that I'm. Cardigan, turtleneck chain. And I can't remember what pants I was wearing. But my mother has a very 80s kind of Farrah Fawcett vibes.

[Ryan Sickler]

Where's this family going on vacation?

[Des Bishop]

Well, this is actually not my house. This is my grandmother's house.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, it's your grandma.

[Des Bishop]

That's the side of my grandmother's house, which is where my mother grew up and where I lived the first two years of my life. So around this time, right after that, we went to Disney World. But before that, the first vacation, the only vacation we ever had, was to Seaside Heights, New Jersey, which is not fancy. We'd never been away. The only other time I stayed in a hotel in my life, which actually came later, was, like, from my brother's soccer tournament. But we stayed in, like, a shitty motel a block and a half off the beach in Seaside Heights, which I think is more well known now for, like, Jersey Shore.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, is that where they shot it?

[Des Bishop]

I think it's near there. It's right there. Yeah. Okay.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, there you go.

[Des Bishop]

But at that time, honestly, I thought it was the coolest play ever. The Boardwalk, The Ride. Yeah, they had, like, you know, they had like a. Like a cable car, you know, like. What do you call them? The. You know, like. Like a ski lift, but just it goes. Just you sit on it, though, goes along the shore.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, really?

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. I love that vacation. It was literally like a shitty motel like, that that we stayed at with a pool and this is what I.

[Ryan Sickler]

Always say the west coast doesn't understand. This is very similar to Ocean City, Maryland, where we would go to and people here, it's a day trip. You just go to the beach, hang out for a couple hours there. It's your vacation.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

Pack up the family. You go there for whatever, a week. We did a weekend. Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

And we were all packed into this room. There was like, you know, two. Two queens. Myself, my brother slept in one of my parents slept in the other. And I guess we had a cot for my brother. And I thought it was the coolest thing ever, you know, hanging out there and the shitty food and. I mean, I would never bring my kids there, but that's my own snobbery because actually I loved it.

[Ryan Sickler]

I took my daughter. We just took her to Ocean City. I've taken. Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

Hell yeah. But I think Ocean City has a little more class.

[Ryan Sickler]

Maybe it's still wild and stuff, but it's something that, you know.

[Des Bishop]

Look, look, they have fireballs now. There was no playa bowls when I was there. Where's that? That Seaside. Now, Seaside was very damaged by Sandy, so a lot of it's like, probably like freshened up because they had to almost completely rebuild it.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

But that was our first family vacation because normally during the summers, the Minneola Pool had like a community pool. But in those days you're allowed to be from Queens and pay and go to Minneola Pool Club. And it was awesome. Back then they had a high diving board. I think they got rid of it for insurance purposes. But we used to just dive off the high diving board and try to soak the lifeguard. And if you soak the lifeguard, they. They put you in. Like you had to sit in the bleachers for 10 minutes. You couldn't go on the board.

[Ryan Sickler]

See, we used to go look this one up, Kirsten. It was called Freedom Swim Club. Let's see if there it is.

[Des Bishop]

There it is. Yeah. All these community pools.

[Ryan Sickler]

This is. Now we. We didn't have money to join this either, but we knew everybody that, you know, all our friends would go. So you were allowed to bring us.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, like a paper guest pass.

[Ryan Sickler]

I'd be the paper guest pass for the day was where we go.

[Des Bishop]

We used to have that.

[Ryan Sickler]

And then at night they would lock it up. But it wasn't back then, you know, there weren't cameras and alarms and she was just a regular fence. No barbed wire at the top, so we'd climb.

[Des Bishop]

Oh, you get in there at night?

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah. Oh, wow.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I. My Mineola days were done by the time I would have been old enough to do that. But like once a month at Mineola they would have like a night swim and then the parents would hang out. I think a lot of the parents used to get like lit up. But I used to love the. The night swim was like an event, you know. And then they. I remember because my brother was the. My middle brother, the sporty one was the fittest, you know, so they would have like a Mr. Mineola competition.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh yeah.

[Des Bishop]

And my brother got third once because he went up there, he's like naturally ripped. And when the competition came, he did like a. And he got a huge laugh and one Mr. Minneola. It was fun. It was fun, man. I. I have to say that was like a. That was like a happy childhood memory. Just. It's funny how when you're a kid, you could just be in the pool all day, man.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's what.

[Des Bishop]

I never peed in it because I.

[Ryan Sickler]

Believed it would turn red.

[Des Bishop]

I believed it.

[Ryan Sickler]

I'm still, to this day, I'm still scared of that.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. Traumatized.

[Ryan Sickler]

And I've never seen it happen anywhere. I know anywhere but a TV or movie I've never seen. It's not really in that thing.

[Des Bishop]

My wife, I shouldn't out her, but she's a big pee in the pool person. I'm like, yo, you can't pee in the pool. But she pees in the pool.

[Ryan Sickler]

And she's like, whatever, I'm going to pee here. It's got chlorine.

[Des Bishop]

And my cousins had an above ground pool and they had a sign outside of that said welcome to our ool.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, you know that one Y notice.

[Des Bishop]

There was no pee in it. Please keep it that way. That also stopped me from I never peed in the pool. We still don't pee in the pool.

[Ryan Sickler]

We used to get. It was me, my two brothers, I had two cousins. They had an above ground pool and we would get in and we would just start running in a circle to make.

[Des Bishop]

To make the whirlpool. Oh, dude, I love the whirlpool.

[Ryan Sickler]

Be running and running and running. And then would. Nobody would say anything. We just give eyes and we grab my little brother, just kick him in the middle. Holy this.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah, I forgot about the whirlpool. And then you'd have to switch it up. It'd be so hard at the beginning.

[Ryan Sickler]

To switch it running around the other way.

[Des Bishop]

Love the. It was crazy. You can't really do that in A.

[Ryan Sickler]

And they. Kirsten, look this up. Look. Above ground pool with wooden deck.

[Des Bishop]

Oh yeah, they did.

[Ryan Sickler]

Next they put the wooden deck.

[Des Bishop]

My cousins had the wood.

[Ryan Sickler]

Right now it was just a shitty laughing and we're trying to go. We're diving into in ground pools. Which you're never supposed to do. Yeah, like this, by the way. It wasn't that nice, but yes, yes. It was more of a platform form.

[Des Bishop]

I should say Kelly Hogan used to have.

[Ryan Sickler]

And we would jump and then we would try to dive through the, you know, inner tube in an in ground.

[Des Bishop]

I do that all the time. So dangerous. My cousins used to. So they had like a porch and the porch roof got close to the pool. My cousins would dive off the porch roof. Jesus.

[Ryan Sickler]

In an in ground pool.

[Des Bishop]

In an in ground pool. That's how that is. People always like, what was it like growing up in the 80s? It's like you could dive off roofs into four feet of water. That's what it was like.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, that's great.

[Des Bishop]

And that the, the, the, the lining.

[Ryan Sickler]

Was just like vinyl. Yeah, vinyl. Just you could feel the hand, you.

[Des Bishop]

Could feel the sand underneath.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, totally. Nobody's will love.

[Des Bishop]

Love that. The above ground. That's a very like suburban American thing.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah, man.

[Des Bishop]

Above ground Long island kids would make fun of us for having above ground pools.

[Ryan Sickler]

Yeah.

[Des Bishop]

Because you weren't allowed to have them in Queens, you know. You weren't.

[Ryan Sickler]

Oh, is that right? You weren't even allowed.

[Des Bishop]

No. You weren't allowed. You had no choice.

[Ryan Sickler]

I see.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah. Whereas in Long island they had in ground pools. Yeah, they were fancy, man.

[Ryan Sickler]

That. See, that's how funny it was. If you, if you grew up with us and you had an above ground pool, we were like, man, they got some money.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

If you had an in ground pool, we're like, you're rich.

[Des Bishop]

That's rich.

[Ryan Sickler]

Like, that's what we really thought rich was having a pool in the ground.

[Des Bishop]

Yeah.

[Ryan Sickler]

When I money was having one above the ground.

[Des Bishop]

It's funny, when I was a kid and we would go out to like Smithtown, Long island, like the real burbs. These streets, to me they look like fucking mansions. But now in adulthood, I realize our house was more expensive. In my mind, I was like, wow, these people have money? I was like, no, they fucking paid half the amount of money. But they pay a lot of property tax.

[Ryan Sickler]

That's right, man. This was fun. Des, thank you for doing this. Oh, thanks.

[Des Bishop]

Thanks for having me.

[Ryan Sickler]

Promote one more time, please.

[Des Bishop]

Yes. Go to desbishop.net for all my tour dates, ezbishop on Instagram, and check out my special of all people on YouTube. Thank you.

[Ryan Sickler]

Thank you, brother. As always, Ryan Sickler, on all your social media, make sure you check out the new tier on Patreon. You're getting a lot of exclusive bonus stuff over there you're not getting anywhere else, including the first tier. All right, Check it out. We'll talk to y' all next week here.