115: Chris Lamb | The Wayback with Ryan Sickler – Baltimore Junkyard Series #115 — Full Episode

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Wayback with Ryan Sickler – Episode #115 Guest: Chris Lamb | “Baltimore Junkyard Series” Release Date: March 12, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this laughter-filled, nostalgia-soaked episode, Ryan Sickler sits down with his lifelong friend Chris Lamb for a trip down memory lane. The conversation weaves together stories of fractured families, oddball childhood punishments, small-town adventures, hard-headed parent figures, and the wild joys (and perils) of growing up in Baltimore’s suburbs in the 1980s and 1990s. This is the first in the Baltimore Junkyard Series, promising more stories from friends and family soon.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Chris Lamb’s Childhood and Family Dynamics ([02:41]–[07:55])

• Family Background
  • Chris is an only child; both parents from Maryland. Parents split when he was in third grade. No explanation was given for the split—his mom simply said dad “went to work,” then dad turned up remarried just down the street.
  • Chris: “There was never an explanation. My mother said ‘hey, Dad’s going to work,’ and then three years later, he shows up down the street, remarried.” ([03:36])
• Moving Between Parents
  • Initially lived with his mom, Rita, who worked overnight shifts, leaving him home alone at night—“me and the dog.” Eventually, his mom “had enough” and sent him to live with his dad and new stepfamily.
• Adjusting to Instant Family
  • At his dad’s, he was thrust into a new home with strict rules and step-siblings, transitioning from “raised by wolves” to a regimented environment.
  • Chris: “I come in and I’m like, what the heck did I just get myself into?” ([07:26])

2. Meeting Ryan and Childhood Friendships ([09:05]–[11:59])

• The pair met in sixth grade when school was relocated due to asbestos. They became "walkers", trekking through Maryland winters to St. Joe’s Church for classes.
• Mr. Chase, the no-nonsense principal, is remembered as a true local legend—“very much Joe Clark from Lean on Me.”
  • Ryan: “He’d drive his Cadillac around the neighborhood, make sure nobody was fighting. He’d break them up if they were.” ([10:13])

3. Grandparent Stories & Wild Rides ([11:59]–[16:09])

• Chris’s grandpa drove them to school in an ancient brown Dodge Omni, grinding the gears, always distracted by counting deer in the fields.
  • Chris: “Every time, he’d be looking off to the left, never on the road—‘Look how many deer!’” ([14:06])
• Memories of the first taste of teenage freedom: Ryan getting his license and the infamous Aspen station wagon, dubbed their “wedding limo,” which unlocked a new world of adventure and mischief.

4. Reckless Fun & Teenage Shenanigans ([16:09]–[21:59])

• Recounting illegal beer runs to Curly’s Liquors with fake IDs: “They’d just give us bush light, and they were like, ‘this is what the f*** you’re getting.’” (Ryan, [17:27])
• The struggles of waiting on chronically late friends in the cold—Chris never ready on time due to obsessive adherence to his stepmom’s dress code.

5. Rope Swings, Reckonings, and the 6-Month Grounding Saga ([18:50]–[28:00])

• The legendary rope swing in Ryan’s backyard led to Chris landing face-first in the mud—not even supposed to be outside, they covered it up with a sketchy story of a bike accident.
• Chris: “I got grounded for SIX months. Not even for good behavior. I had to serve the whole time.” ([24:44])
• Ryan shares that his own mother felt genuine guilt for Chris’s punishment, a rare display of heart: “She said, ‘I really feel sorry for Chris Lamb.’” ([24:23])

6. Classic Sickler Family Moments ([28:00]–[36:30])

• Bickering, fights, and landmark moments:
  • The time Ryan accidentally pushed his mom, Judy, over an ottoman during an escalating fight, leaving Chris stunned, controller in hand.
    • Chris: “Judy down— knocked down on the couch next to me. I look over… what just went down?” ([30:02])
    • Ryan: “Andre the Giant started leaning. I think this is gonna come… I just tried to push her off me. I did not know the ottoman was there.” ([30:44])
  • The iconic “Together Forever” Run DMC/Beastie Boys concert shirt—ripped in the heat of a brotherly fight and mourned as a great loss.
    • Chris: “That guy was distraught, I’m telling you. I even was like… he’s really upset about this.” ([35:16])

7. Mischief, Bird Feeders, and Suburban Retribution ([36:41]–[39:14])

• The infamous BB-gun “bird feeder incident”: the group unwittingly vandalized a neighbor’s bird feeder; Ryan gets wrongly accused while his friends laugh.
• Chris: “For some reason, [Derek] thought taking out the bird feeder was the mission that had to be accomplished. So he’s like, ‘Hey…’ he’d shoot at it a couple times.” ([37:58])
• Result: Their neighbor, the Moriarty brothers, retaliate by stealing the Sickler family’s outboard motor, ending a planned crabbing excursion.

8. Parental Figures & “Adopted” Family ([39:14]–[41:07])

• Chris remembers being included in Sickler family activities, from Disney trips in the family Lincoln (“hold your pee, we’re not stopping”) to inside jokes and enduring friendships.
  • Lefty, Ryan’s dad, remembered for torturing the kids with “fart lock”—rolling up the windows, blasting the heat, and refusing to let anyone confess.

9. Closing Reflections ([41:07]–[41:36])

• The heartfelt (“I love you, brother”) exchange underscores the enduring value of these friendships and shared history.
• Ryan hints at future episodes from the Junkyard series and a desire to return seasonally for more storytelling from the old neighborhood.

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• [03:36] Chris: “There was never an explanation. My mother said ‘hey, Dad’s going to work,’ and then three years later, he shows up down the street, remarried.”
• [07:26] Chris: “I come in and I’m like, what the heck did I just get myself into?”
• [10:13] Ryan: “He’d drive his Cadillac around the neighborhood, make sure nobody was fighting. He’d break them up if they were.”
• [14:06] Chris: “Every time, he’d be looking off to the left, never on the road—‘Look how many deer!’”
• [17:27] Ryan: “They’d just give us bush light, and they were like, ‘this is what the f*** you’re getting.’”
• [24:44] Chris: “Yeah. I didn’t get off for good behavior. Nothing. I had to serve the whole time.”
• [30:02] Chris: “Judy down— knocked down on the couch next to me. I look over… what just went down?”
• [35:16] Chris: “That guy was distraught, I’m telling you. I even was like… he’s really upset about this.”

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Highlights & Takeaways

• The emotional swerves of childhood: The conversation is full of humor, grit, and vulnerability, as both men reflect on the lack of emotional clarity, the improvisational survival, and the absurdity of 1980s/90s suburban parenting.
• Brotherhood in all but blood: Chris’s lone-wolf upbringing is contrasted with the chaos of the Sickler twins, but the message is clear—chosen family can be as formative as biological.
• Baltimore suburbs as a character: Whether it’s parent squabbles, delinquent BB-gun warfare, school asbestos crises, or walks home in the cold, the neighborhood itself is ever-present and shapes every laugh and bruise.
• Heart: Under the dark humor and sharp language, warmth—tough, honest, and unapologetic—shines through.

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Chris’s Family Backstory & Parental Split — [02:41]–[07:55]
• Meeting Ryan, Becoming Walkers & School Life — [09:05]–[11:59]
• Ridiculous Rides & Grandpa Stories — [11:59]–[16:09]
• First Car Freedom & Beer Runs — [16:09]–[17:27]
• Rope Swing Disaster & The Six-Month Grounding — [18:50]–[28:00]
• Sickler Family Bickering & Run DMC Shirt Fight — [28:00]–[36:30]
• Bird Feeder BB-gun War & Motor Theft — [36:41]–[39:14]
• Parental Inclusion & Family Trips — [39:14]–[41:07]
• Emotional Sendoff — [41:07]–[41:36]

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Tone

Candid, irreverent, raw, and warm, with the language and rhythm of lifelong friends and the rough edges of working-class Baltimore suburbia. This episode is full of the kind of stories that shape identities—awkward, ridiculous, a little tragic, but always funny in retrospect.

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For listeners and non-listeners alike, this is an affectionate and unvarnished chronicle of friendship, family, and formative chaos. Stay tuned for more from the “Baltimore Junkyard Series.”

Transcript

[A]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Hey, baby, we going to be here all day. We going to be here all day, baby. I like that kind of party.

[B]

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 Junkyard series. This episode here is with one of my brothers in life. We go back to sixth grade. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Lamb, everybody. Welcome to the Way Back. Chris Lamb, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. Hold that up a little bit. Relax.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

All right, Chris Lamb, before we get into how we met in our stories, let's get a little backstory on you. You can even Refresh my memory. You're both parents from Maryland originally?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Mom and dad?

[A]

Yes, sir. Yep. That's correct.

[B]

And how'd they meet?

[A]

I have no idea.

[B]

Was it high school? They met young, right?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. They both graduated and together.

[B]

Or you're their only child. Correct.

[A]

Broke the mole. They couldn't stand. They couldn't stand. After we had me, they couldn't. They didn't even like each other. Right. So we were. So that's me and that's it. Right.

[B]

And how old are you when your parents split?

[A]

So I was in third grade. So when you're trying to figure out how to, like, do cursive. Yeah. In multiplication. I was trying to figure out whose house I was going to.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Do you remember any of it? Do you remember them, like, saying, hey, we're doing this?

[A]

So I've had this conversation, my wife, many times. There was never an explanation. My mother said, hey, Dad's going to work. And then three years later, he shows up down the street, remarried. So there was never an explanation.

[B]

See, I didn't know that. So. So Rita. Rita's his mom's name. Rita Lamb. Rita told you he was going to work, like, what, like in Alaska? Like, away on an away job?

[A]

No, I mean, so he was.

[B]

A lot of people say that. And their. Their partner's going to prison.

[A]

Right. So he was a local firefighter, Baltimore County Shout out. Right. So he went to work and, you know, she just. That's how she covered it. But there was definitely a lot through that. Right. When we were living on Gaither with her, he would call, she'd get angry, she'd throw the.

[B]

That's what I want to get to. Oh, really?

[A]

Yeah, she.

[B]

So you went with Rita first, correct?

[A]

Yep.

[B]

But when I met you, you're at Dad's.

[A]

Yep, definitely.

[B]

So what happens between that and that? That you get into Dad's house? Because we meet in sixth grade. Also, I want to give a shout out to Rita Lamb. Rita Lamb. If you watch My Special Lefty. Son, if you haven't go watch it. Is the lady who. It's his mom that told us about the crazy lady at Springfield. The lady would jump on your hood. That's who we're talking about right now. Okay. So you're living with Rita all through what, Greed?

[A]

So third day, split third through six. I think by sixth grade, she had just had enough. Single mom trying to figure out how to raise me. And I was probably a handful, I'm sure. I was a problem child at that time. Right. You know, with all that and no therapy or counseling or anything to figure anything out back in the day. Right. So then I think she was just like, I've had enough. I'm sending him off with his father. Right. So that was literally my dad moved away, got remarried and moved three miles from the house. Right. We lived at.

[B]

So I can't tell you how many people I've had come on the podcast over the God knows how many years I've been doing this. And so many of my mother included leave the house and move right down the damn street.

[A]

Right.

[B]

They don't move to another state.

[A]

You can see them at the grocery store.

[B]

You know what I mean?

[A]

It's so weird, right?

[B]

So you don't hear anything and then poof, instant family over here down the street.

[A]

Yeah. Like already pre made family, already put together with perfect children. Then you're throwing this like so with. When you lived with Rita, bless her heart, single mom, worked at night. I don't even think what she did was legal now. Right. Because she put me to bed at night and go to work at Springfield 11 to 7. Then I was home alone and then she would show up in the morning. Get your ready.

[B]

Where at grandma's?

[A]

No, at Gaither Road when we were at seven.

[B]

So you had that, you had the apartment there?

[A]

No, so we were at the house right above the apartment.

[B]

Okay. Okay.

[A]

Yep. Right there. So.

[B]

And you're sleeping in there by yourself as a little kid? Me and adults Child protective services now.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. So me and the dog. All good stuff.

[B]

Well, your mom was leaving to go to work. Mine was going to bang dudes.

[A]

Either way, CPS is coming today. Yeah, right. Right on, right on. So yeah. So then had to go to dad's instant family, new wife, you know, perfect kids. And then they throw me in. Right.

[B]

Step brother and stepsister. Right, Correct.

[A]

Okay. So.

[B]

And you're still obviously you're older because

[A]

just by a little bit. By one year, Jenny Jennifer was below me.

[B]

One year apart and it takes nine months to have a baby, so.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, we do that. Man.

[B]

Somebody was doing I wonder why Rita was throwing ashtray.

[A]

Right, Right. So. And Rita didn't have a lot of rules or regulations. Right. So I was pretty much like raised by wolves, right? No, no. Like, hey, brush your teeth, go to bed at this time. No. Hey, these chores are not everyone you're

[B]

about to see on these episodes is the exact.

[A]

Right, right.

[B]

It was the exact same parent.

[A]

Exactly. Right. So then now move fast forward three years now I'm at Central Avenue, dad, new stepmom, instant family. And I come in and I'm like, what heck did I just get myself into? Right.

[B]

So

[A]

go in there, listen, and you know, you're put in a bedroom with a brother that you never knew and you're supposed to be brothers right away you're kind of, you know, round peg in a square hole, kind of trying to figure it out.

[B]

Lots of rules, lots of interrupt here. But in that three years they had both kids. It wasn't.

[A]

No, those kids weren't dads.

[B]

Oh, I didn't know that. I thought those were his children as well. So you, you're. You are true steps, siblings, not half brother, half.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

Okay, my bad.

[A]

Yep. Yeah, all good. All good. Go ahead. So then move into an element where like rules, restrictions. And I was like, what did I just get myself into? Right. Brown socks on non gym days. If you remember that right now you had to wear.

[B]

She made you wear.

[A]

Yeah, she made you wear penny loafers and khakis on non gym days. Like if you didn't have gym. I don't remember that. There was no getting out. You're walking in the snow with us and take it on and dress up socks. Right. Remember?

[B]

That's why.

[A]

Well, as we get into it, my biggest punishment was because I went out and played outside when I had to. Our clothes.

[B]

I've told that. We're going to tell it.

[A]

I want to.

[B]

I want to hear it from your side.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So we were living on Iron Gate Road in Eldersburg. Trudy cheats on lefty. They split. We move into Westminster for one year.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

That was sixth grade year. Sixth grade year. Sykesville Middle School had an asbestos problem. Do you remember?

[A]

We went to Saint.

[B]

Where do we go? We went to St. Joe's Church and that's where I would go to CCD.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Every Sunday. So I'm like, now we're in this six days a week. Come on. But they had an asbestos problem which you think about now and it's like. But seventh and eighth grade floors are fine. If there's a problem with asbestos in the building, the whole building not fine.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But we did. We attended sixth grade in the basement of St. Joe's in the catechism classes. Remember that?

[A]

Yes, sir. Yep.

[B]

So then they actually. So then we meet you in the. Right after sixth grade, it'd be the summer after because we moved to Second Avenue right after that. And Second Avenue is when we were all walkers. Right. And. And I still, I asked people to come on the podcast too. Like were you a walker? And it was nice because it was first thing you heard at three, three o'.

[A]

Clock.

[B]

Walkers are dismissed. We're out there. And I wish I'm gonna jump around here. I wish there were more principals, vice principals like Mr. Chase, because that dude, that dude drove his Cadillac around the neighborhood, made sure nobody was fighting. He'd break them up if they were. Like that guy actually gave a.

[A]

Do you remember his what he would

[B]

say, you want to talk about the birthday song? Or get your coat and hat.

[A]

You're going hat and coach out of here. Yeah, he was sitting here, he was sending.

[B]

You remember the paddle he had on his wall with the holes in it? He would say that was so yours, so your skin could come through it.

[A]

He said, dude wore a suit.

[B]

Wore a three piece suit. Professional as Mr. Stan Chase. He was very much Joe Clark from Lean on Me. You know, the principal from Lean on Me. He was very much of that, you know, mold. Do you remember? He was like our referee in high school. And we'd be like, come on Mr. Chase, that's a bad call. He'd be like, ah, black and white on the field, son. Mr. Chase, after the game I'm like, all right, yeah. But he was great. And so then we were walkers, we would walk. I wanted to go back, I do want to go back one day and clock it. Because it wasn't, it wasn't a short walk.

[A]

No, it wasn't.

[B]

Not from 7417 Second Ave up that hill and then down the hill and then back all the way.

[A]

I'm at the halfway point. No wonder. Take a break. Right. You had to catch your breath.

[B]

I have as all know, a twin brother. So we're walking together to, to seventh grade and we just see you on there and we start talking, walking with you, you and your penny loafers and dress socks. And that begins a friendship of just on non gym days. That begins a friendship of. God, what are we, 12 then? Maybe I, I mean 30, 40 years now.

[A]

Something. Long time.

[B]

Long time. All right, tell me what you remember about the drives to school. Start with your grandfather. So your grandfather. So just real quick, when you got a little older, you got out of that house and you went back to with your mom, but you lived in your grandmother's house then, correct?

[A]

Correct. Yes.

[B]

On gher road back to schoolhouse and describe the house then tell them how close the train tracks were in the yard. Like describe it so they understand literally

[A]

the house would rattle the. When the train would come by. No joke. People, first time ever staying there, jump up in the middle of the night. They think something's wrong. Right. It's just a train. It was literally 50ft. You know, it really was. It was closer than you. You could spit on it. You could spit on y. So it was right, right, right there. So it was.

[B]

Do you remember hopping the trains in the winter and stuff like that?

[A]

We definitely hop trains. We would take the little iron ore off them and use them in our slingshots and knock down people's bird feeders.

[B]

So Derek and I. Yeah, we're going to get to that.

[A]

You know who didn't do that? Me.

[B]

But you know who got yelled at for me?

[A]

I got a. I gotta remember that. Outside by that. Yes, yes.

[B]

So I. I was telling. You know, we used to go down to. God, what was it? Was it. What was the big main road that went down to the. The railroad tracks in downtown Sykesville? Rain Cliff. I don't know. Spout Hill. Thank you.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So we would go down to Spout Hill, jump the train there, and then we could ride it in the winter and jump off into your yard.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

I've done that a couple of times, which is insane. It's insane to do that. Yeah, but you're. It would come right through the backyard. And you had quite a few parties there back in the day. But let's go back to the ride. So your grandfather and grandmother owned that home.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And they would drive you to school in the morning. Yep.

[A]

Grandpa, I believe, just wanted to get out of the house and get away from grandma. Right. So he volunteered to drive us to school. So he would get me. Not only get me, he'd swing by second Avenue. Get you and your brother. Yeah, another guy down on second Avenue. And we go out. We go out. Rain Cliff. We go out the road in a brown Dodge Omni. Right.

[B]

Stick shift.

[A]

Stick shift. Right.

[B]

I got to stop you. I told you. I think I might have told you this recently. I am sitting outside of this McDonald's and I see the brown. It's a brown Dodge Omni. It's got to be, what, a 70 something? I don't know. Shannon will come to us. The goddamn A frame, but late 70s. And I'm just staring at this thing and I'm reminiscing. I'm like, man, that's the same. Damn. How about that? You know, I try to take moments and, like, have to, like, stop for a second. Let me take it in. And as I'm taking it in, this homeless guy sits up in It.

[A]

He goes, what are you doing?

[B]

I'm taking pictures of it. Yeah. Jump.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

I didn't know you were living in there, dude. He's like, what are you doing? I go, I know this doesn't look good, but. And then I tell him the story, dude, that guy sat there and talked to me. I was like, is that a stick? He's like, it is. I was like, oh, I used to have a stick with two. Yeah, but your mom had a white one that I think was automatic, right? Right?

[A]

Yeah, definitely. Yes. You're from Dodge Omni family, so. And when you're going up the hill, grandpa would. He would grind third gear every single time. And he'd always be looking off to the left, never on the road. Right. He'd be like, look how many deer. He would count how many deer in the field every time. Right? So. And now I'm guilty of that. Right. That that skill's been passed on to me all the time. My wife be like, will you watch the road? The road is here. You're over here counting deer in the field. Right? That's not. No good. So.

[B]

Tell me about what you remember when. When we started driving in the Aspen wagon. Do you remember the time that the hubs flew off?

[A]

Let me tell you, Ryan. March 8th or 9th. When's your birthday? March 8th. Changed my life. Right. Because of March 8th, the whole world opened up to an experience I had never. I was a sheltered child until that point in my life. Whatever, dude. March 8th. Cave. You come up in schoolhouse in this Aspen station wagon. In life, change the thing.

[B]

Like, Timmy's sitting right here. Off camera. That Aspen wagon was his. His aunt's wedding limousine. That was his aunt's wedding limo. And it's now our. Like, our first car to share.

[A]

Yes. Yes.

[B]

Yeah, we're coming to get you.

[A]

Yeah, you come get me. And we. And then the whole world open.

[B]

Oh, we're picking up so many people. And the way we had Wagner.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You weren't even supposed to be driving kids other than kids.

[B]

No, you weren't. You weren't at all. We got about eight kids pulled up in high school.

[A]

Yep. And then it opened up everything. Right then we could go to Reisterstown and buy beer from Curies. Curly's. Curly's Liquors. Right on the corner.

[B]

We've looked it up on the podcast. We went to the corner. Like, that's where you went to get beer? Like, that's where we went to get beer. Dude, it was insane to go there. You Start seeing lake trout signs in the city, you're like, we probably shouldn't be down here.

[A]

Yeah. You know what I mean?

[B]

We would go to Curly's.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

With a horrible fake id, Right. And they were Asians.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And it was all bulletproof, remember?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And every time we would go be a bunch of black guys just sitting on the corner like, y' all ain't 21.

[A]

They'd be doing that. You ain't supposed to be down here.

[B]

Really hot.

[A]

We're power walking.

[B]

And we'd be like, can we get a case of Coors light? And they would just give you, like, bush light, right? And they just were like. They knew. And they were like, this is what the. You're getting.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Get the out of here. And we would get the out of there.

[A]

There.

[B]

Yeah, Curlies. So I want to jump back to middle school, too. So we would walk and, you know, winters. We walked Maryland winters to school. And we'd come get you, and you were never on time. That was the thing. Your ass.

[A]

I was looking for my brown socks. You know what I mean? I had to find the socks.

[B]

Pennies are missing.

[A]

I mean, yeah, man. I had to have the socks smashed. I had to have the belt on, dude. Like, it had to.

[B]

We're out there freezing.

[A]

But here's the of it.

[B]

It wasn't that you were late. It was that she wouldn't let us come in the house. She would not let us come in. We sat on that little, like, you know those little swans and wooden little benches people have out on their porch in Maryland. We're just out there freezing. After a while, we were like, all right, Lamb.

[A]

If he.

[B]

And there's no texting, we couldn't be like, we're coming up the hill. Right? Right. It was. If we swing by and you ain't out, we're gone, bro. It's cold, Right?

[A]

Yes, sir. Yup. Used to sit out on a yellow glider, and it had the big bay window, and I could see you out there. And I'm like, I'm coming. I'm coming. I'm gonna come get you. I'm gonna be there. Just that be fine. I need one more sock. Sock. I can't find my belt. I can't find my belt.

[B]

It's so funny, because my mom didn't like any of her kids, Right? But she liked you. She always liked you. She liked Shannon. Shannon got a pass. I think Eric Lee probably got a little bit of.

[A]

You know why she liked me? Because she rolled over on me that time. I got my bike, remember? So when I, when we were supposed to tell the story, right now, supposed to be inside playing. Right. We were out in the woods in the wrestling ring. In the rope swing. In the rope swing.

[B]

Right. So in the back of our house we had, we. But actually built a pretty impressive wrestling.

[A]

Amazing. Amazing. Yeah.

[B]

We would all come in backyard, wrestle with music and stuff there and stuff. We had a state of the art wrestling ring. And then just beyond that, a little farther back in the woods was a great rope swing off a real sturdy tree, but with a drop under that. Son of a. That was treacherous.

[A]

Yes, sir.

[B]

And we used to swing the rope and you get a good, you get a good swing around. But it was also a knot right on the side. And if you could put it on that knot, when your weight came around, it would hit that knot and it would draw, I mean aggressively drop. And you had to hold on, you know, you could break your neck. But of course, we're kids, we're like, this is what the we're doing today.

[A]

We have no sense.

[B]

So we ask you to come and over and play.

[A]

I was doing anything to get out.

[B]

Yep. And you had a white Schwinn, I'll never forget. Yeah, white Schwinn, 10 or 12 speed. Really nice bike.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

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[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then we're like, all right, let's go out in the woods. You're like, I'm not supposed to be outside, guys. We're like, we're not going to get dirty.

[A]

You know, we're just going to go

[B]

hit the ropes away. You'll be fine. You'll be fine.

[A]

One of my many talked into decisions that didn't turn out well.

[B]

Not even supposed to be outside. So we go back in of the woods and we're all taking turns on that rope swing. And it's one of those things too. It's another time when, when Derek did this jump I'll talk to about, but off the sidewalk where he hit the lip of the sidewalk and, and, and I mean, it looked like Evil Knievel going into my mind. I'm like, I'm never beating that. But then you realize, oh, he's out of control.

[A]

You know what I mean? This is out of control. This is, this is treacherous.

[B]

And your turn. If we swing that rope and that damn thing hit that knot, to this day I've never seen it drop and pull up like a bungee cord. Wet flying. I mean, face down in the mud. You came up with it in your mouth.

[A]

We were like, in my teeth, in my ear. I had mud for not even supposed to be outside.

[B]

You look like you're mud wrestling. So we go back inside and, you know, we're kids. We're all like, all right, what's the lie we're gonna tell? You're gonna get in so much trouble. So if I'm pretty sure I remember this correctly, we tried to say that you had come down the hill, and we all did. Used to just cut over the Kurt, Jump the curb into our front yard, skid 100, tear our yard up, right? And so we tell that you did that. You skid, you lose control. That's how you got dirty. You were.

[A]

It was, yeah.

[B]

That's how you got dirty. You were. You were not outside after you got to our house, just in between yours to ours, right? That was the lie we told.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you went home and told that. That.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then what happened?

[A]

It didn't go well. It really did. I got crowded for two months.

[B]

No, six.

[A]

Was it six?

[B]

Listen, it was six months to the day. I'll never forget. And I remember. And I remember because I remember my mother felt bad like this again. Not for her kids. One of the times I remember being like, this lady might have a tiny bit of heart in there. She said, I really feel sorry for Chris Lamb. I was like, yeah, she made you do all six months.

[A]

Yeah. I didn't get off for good behavior. Nothing. I had to serve the whole time.

[B]

Nothing.

[A]

Yep, yep, yep. I got grounded quite a bit there because I really wasn't fitting into the program, you know, like it was this well oiled machine. And then here comes this thing. Well, supposedly, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

From the outside, right?

[B]

I was on the. I know we weren't allowed in.

[A]

Trust me, from the outside. That's all I saw it from. And you know what's crazy about that story? We had a nice foyer. You could have come in taking your shoes off.

[B]

Wait, listen. We came in one time.

[A]

One time.

[B]

I think that was when she's like, that ain't happening again, Right? Right.

[A]

So, yeah, all punished, right? So I came in, told the story how I rehearsed it all the way from your house to that house, right? Like, man, this is going to work. I've convinced myself that this is going to work. Right? You know what I mean? I've told this enough. I go in there, tell this story. I spit that. You're like dirt. My ear. I couldn't get it all out for like, week. Right in my teeth, all over my face. It's not even exaggeration. It's not it's so ridiculous, like it should have never happened.

[B]

It's like God took it, Just slammed

[A]

it out in the mud and said, you go.

[B]

You go take something.

[A]

And what I remember, it wasn't one side. It was. It wasn't this odd. It was only this side. It was caked in mud, right? So it was just one side of my body, right? So, yeah, go in. I'm like, hey, man, I'm telling this story. I think I walked past Debo downstairs. My dad was down there. My stepbrother playing in television, right? Yeah, we were playing some in television, grinding back on the day, and said, hey, dad, fell off the bike. Crazy story going down. Tried to cut in and drive. He fell at the bike. I didn't get much response from him. You know what I mean? I thought maybe he bought it, right? Like, maybe it's going to work, right? And then. Then I look up at the steps. Out of the corner of my eye, the steps. Like it had an open stairwell back in the day, right? I see her pushing the swing bike down the steps. She brought it in. I didn't know this. She put the swing down the bike, and she said, ain't no way in hell you wrecked that bike. There's not a drop of dirt on that bike. Like, how are you? It's all on me. It's, how are you so dirty? That bike is spotless. I never knew that's how it was. She called me out, so I was like. So then I guess she got on the phone with Judy, right? And Judy's like, yeah, they've been outside for hours. You know what I mean? She didn't know it was a story we were supposed to be telling.

[B]

Also, my mother wouldn't have known if we were in the basement or where the we were. She had no idea. So Trudy ratted you?

[A]

Well, no. Trudy told Debbie that, yeah, we were outside. She didn't know she was supposed to be covering for us, right? She wasn't part of the story. That's why she felt bad for me the rest of her life, right? That's why she still gives me all.

[B]

I'm so sorry you got grounded for six months because I. I'm just glad

[A]

you're all she said last time I saw. I'm just glad you're not being grounded anymore,

[B]

dude. A half a year when you're in seven, that's the wonder years, right?

[A]

There goes half a one. And grounding was.

[B]

We were wondering where the you were when you were getting out.

[A]

That's what you know, parole was walking to school. That was my only sense of sanity.

[B]

What do you remember about. There's two stories I'm gonna ask you about my mom. You know, the two and together forever. Which one would you like to tell first?

[A]

Let's go. I think that together for. Everyone was older, right? Is that probably.

[B]

Well, seventh grade's when the thing happened with my mom. Together forever was like my dad. That was like 10th grade. Okay, let's go to my mom.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

So one of the many days you're

[A]

over hanging out, just trying to mind my own business. Like you had a. I had in television, which was crap back even still, right? But you had. You had to Nintendo. And yes, man, you. That was the place to go to go play Nintendo at your place. I didn't have to. The little paddle on the Intellivision member. It was sucked, right.

[B]

We just looked it up the other day. The gold one with the dick.

[A]

And you couldn't control the stuff you're all over by. I'm just minding my own business, trying to, you know, play Mario or whatever it was, right. And. And it wasn't that out of the ordinary for a little bit of bickering to happen. Maybe your house. Like a little bit of Judy throwing cups at our hands and a little bit of back and forth. And I'm just like, man, I'm just. I'm Nintendo on it. Right? Right. So I'm just on a Nintendo playing Mike Tyson's punch out. Oh, yeah, right. That's. Remember that? That was awesome. So, yeah. So some little bickering back and forth. A lot of bickering. It's getting louder. It's getting louder. But that wasn't different to me. Right. I grew up in the same thing. Rita would be. Would raise her voice from time to time. And so I'm on the couch here. There was a little couch, and then there was another couch here. And then Ryan's in the seat. Judy come up in, like, all up in Ryan's business, right? Like all. Like all aggressive. Like all in his business. And I don't know what happened. I love. You know what happened.

[B]

That lady put hands on me. Oh, I love Judy. That lady put hands on me.

[A]

Judy might have put hands on you. I wasn't paying attention. I wasn't paying attention. She was playing Mike Tyson's punch out with me.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

So then next thing I know, Judy is up in the. Up in the air. Feet in the air, man. Feet going up. Judy down. Knocked down on the couch next to me. I look over, and Judy's laying down there. And I said, what just. Just happened? What just went down? So I caught a little bit out of corner of my eye. I think it was a little bit of push. But when she got the motion got going, it wasn't going. It wasn't. She wasn't catching herself. You know what I'm saying? When she started falling, it was down.

[B]

I didn't realize is that when I. I just shoved her to get her off of me. And what I didn't know is there was an ottoman right behind her legs. I didn't see that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I just was trying to get some distance between us, but, man, she took that stutter step, hit that ottoman, and Andre the giant started leaning. And that's when I was both excited and terrified. Like, I think this is gonna come.

[A]

Hey, I think it might be time for me. I think I hear. I think I hear Debbie calling me. Right. So I better be getting up out of this place. I think about it all the time. Have you ever. We were two little kids. Could you imagine just being a.

[B]

Seeing somebody pushed her mom over an ottoman.

[A]

Holy cow. Yeah, that was pretty. That was. That was a pretty. That's a core memory. Definitely. That's a core memory.

[B]

I was like, oh. And then she called my dad. I'll never forget. She's yelling and stuff. And, you know, this is back when he had. You had to get him on a work phone, and he had to be around. He had to be around, you know? And he's like, okay. He just put it on the phone, and I go. He goes, what happened? I was like, she's beating the out of me in front of Chris. I just. I said, honestly, Dad, I just tried to push her off me. I did not know the ottoman was there. He's like, she go down hard? I said, you know, hard? He said, don't let me hear it. Don't let her hear me laugh. Started laughing so hard, he's like, listen, don't do that shit again. I'm like, I'm not doing that shit again. I think she's gonna kill me if

[A]

I do it again. Right.

[B]

So I tell Shannon this all the time. We have to remember to be this cool with our kids. But my dad and Mr. Roy, who's up front, took us to see Run DMC and the Beastie Boys together forever. It was me, Derek, Shannon, Todd. Did you go to that with us?

[A]

I think I did, yes.

[B]

And then we had our cousin there.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And we all got shirts, and I've recently looked that concert shirt up, and it's. That concert shirt is 500 or 800. It might even be 1200. Like, we've looked it up on the bottom.

[A]

It's a shame you ripped Eric's. I mean, he could have retired. Tell the story.

[B]

Tell the story.

[A]

So another probably. I. I feel like it was a heated soccer game.

[B]

You saw a lot of sickler brother fights, too, so you were used to that. Like when we fought at the wedding, you were like, this ain't no. Can I get another drink?

[A]

No. So. So not because didn't have siblings, right? Not. Not. Not understanding, but just figured it out. Like, there would be some fights in the basement, playing soccer, right? Somebody would get offended. It's a lot of testosterone. It's middle school, early high school, and we're just alphas, right? So we're all out there trying to work through it, right? So I think it was another heated soccer match. Probably a loss in overtime. Somebody might have got it elbowed into the pole down there in the middle, Right? Because you had to watch out for the pole. Right? So. And we come upstairs and. And I think. I don't know exactly. I think. Were you in the same chair you're not Trudy down in.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Right. Yeah. Right. That was your son right out there, right? Soon as you come in the door, that was there, right? And then I don't. I don't remember how or I don't know if the Run DMC shirt might have got ripped in the basement. I don't know.

[B]

It was upstairs in the living room.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I remember that, too. Yeah. I really could not. I know everything, all of it. But I'm curious. I want to know your side of it, because I genuinely could not remember what started this one. I fought Derek so many times, I couldn't remember.

[A]

I don't remember what that day's application was or what.

[B]

What.

[A]

What escalated it to throwing hands, right? So. But we got to that point and. And something went down. It was. It was you on top of Derek, right? And they come out and everybody's getting themselves together and resorted back. And Derek had a rip across the front of his. His Run DMC shirt. Like, right here, man. And it. It was heartfelt, man. Like he was hurt. Like he was. He was put out like. Like you would never get net back. We're not crying. He was crying. We're not going back from here. We're not getting another Run DMC concert shirt from 1983. Together forever, right?

[B]

I mean, not unless you will spend like $1,200. You.

[A]

So you know you done ripped his Run DMC shirt. Now, if that's not fighting terms like, I don't know how you slept with. Not sharing a room with him was a.

[B]

You're fighting with all day, the son

[A]

of a. Yeah, so just him too.

[B]

It's not just some normal kid. It's some kid grabbing snakes out of the yard and putting them in the house. And like, Derek was mental. Derek's got problems like we all do, but he's got, like, extra level problems.

[A]

Well, he's. He's your brother, so you gotta share the same.

[B]

We're separate zygote, though. Separate eggs. You know what I mean? We're not identical twins. We have my own egg. I was like, genetics, right?

[A]

I mean, you got the same genes, right? So.

[B]

Oh, God damn.

[A]

Yeah, that was. He was. I remember. I remember the rip was right here, right. I don't even know how it was here and in his heart right here. I would think you were fisted. You were throwing hands. It'd be ripped up here like you were grabbing up here or something. I don't know what you're doing. Grabbing down here on his shirt, right? Like you down here. You must. He must. I don't know how it happened. We come up ripped down the middle of the Rondy MC shirt, man. And that guy was distraught, I'm telling you. I even was like, man, he's really upset about this. Like, not the parents going through all that stuff. None of that. Right? Just not. No emotions for all that. I know. I don't remember. No. No issues, no emotion with any of that. Right? Same with me, right? But that Rondy MC T shirt. What's up, man? Man, it like it opened up something, right? It opened up not only the shirt, but a can of worms, right? Like, he. He was. He was distraught. He was so upset. He knew there was no going back. He knew there was no going back. We weren't bro. He knew. He knew we weren't getting that run

[B]

DMC and I had one too. Remember he went. Ripped mine after. I was like, I don't give a. I can't wait to see what he remembers.

[A]

Where was he at when Shudy got knocked over to.

[B]

Over to. I don't think that's. That's funny, cuz. I maybe downst. And we were upstairs doing something or maybe he was outside shooting a bird feeder with. Were you part of that?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

All right, so we'll tell that one.

[A]

Yes, that's a great.

[B]

So one Day it's my turn to cut the grass. And we live next to the Moriarty. And Shannon was always solid. She still is. She'll hit me up every now and then. Her brother passed away. Rest in peaceful Moriarty. And we lived, you know, I don't know, what do you have maybe a 10 yard space in between the houses?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And it's my turn to do the grass. And I'm out there push mowing and stuff. And her mom is, man, little punk over here shooting up my bird feeder. And I'm like, what the are you talking about, lady? And she's like, you shooting at my bird feeder? And you know, I'm out there giving it to her like, I ain't shooting up your bird fan. I don't even know what you're talking about. Off cutting the grass. Cutting the grass. I go inside and I'm just like, man, old lady Moriarty over there yelling at me about shooting her bird feeder. And then you guys all just start laughing. I'm like, you know what thing? I never even considered it. I never considered you guys were in there doing that. And I'm just, I'm just rooting. I'm just defending all of us.

[A]

And you guys like, yeah, right, you're defending your homeland. And Decker up on the deck, I mean, there was plenty of stuff to shoot at. I don't know, why shoot at their house and the bird feeder, right? Like her precious bird feeder. She was like, she liked her bird feeder and her birds, right, bro? So I, for some reason he.880 BB

[B]

gun, high powered BB gun next door.

[A]

He thought taking out the bird feeder was the mission that had to be accomplished. So he's like, hey. He'd shoot at a couple times. Hey, you shoot out. I shoot out a couple times until we, I think we took it out or we cracked it or did something like that. So, yeah.

[B]

Do you know the ramifications of that? Do you know what happened to us because of that? No, you don't know what happened. So one day we're about to go crabbing and my dad's like, ryan, go get the motor and put her on the back of the boat. Now that motor was a Johnson. We started with this little Evinrude and then we had a big ass Johnson. And it was a heavy. And I carried it by myself and put her on the back of that boat. And the reason I know that is because I carried that heavy motherfucker by myself. So we run up to Kmart and we come back. I'm like, dad, the motor's gone. And he's like, no, it's not. You didn't put. I said, dad, I carried that thing up by myself and put it on. He's like, nuh. The Moriarty brothers stole it.

[A]

Cause y' all shot that bird feeder. They got you back. You took that bird feeder. I was going crabbing that day.

[B]

He's just sitting there like, I'm like, because of you. You.

[A]

We took out their eight dollar bird feeder and they got a $800 in

[B]

the middle of the day. They walked over and stole that big ass thing. And no one, no neighbor saw it or anything. And I'm like, you, Derek ruined our crab and day.

[A]

Another great Lefty story. I remember riding in the Aspen with Lefty, like, like, kudos to Mr. Lefty and Mr. Roy, man. Like they invested in us and took us places. I had, like Rita couldn't take. No, I mean, like, she just put me off because she couldn't figure out how to deal with me, right. I think part of the time. But I was always with you guys and, and Lefty. We'd be riding in a car and somebody would rip one, right? Remember what he would do? He would lock all the windows. Oh yeah. He wouldn't let the windows down, put the heat on. So then he locks all the windows and everybody just gotta sit in it, right? And. And no one would ever admit it, right? Like no one would ever mess up. So he's like, if nobody's messing up, we're all sitting in it, right? And he would roll the windows up and turn the heat on. We just sit in there. So he had lots of great stories. Man, you guys took me everywhere, like everywhere. The Pattersons took me to Disney, you know, like that was a story, right, with Mr. Roy, Ms. Sandy, me and Shannon and Kelly. And she had a friend in the car, right? So we had to take.

[B]

You drove? We drove.

[A]

So it's three and three in the Lincoln Town.

[B]

So we had to rotate long.

[A]

We had to rotate who had to sit between Roy and Sandy up front, right? Because we couldn't put the four kids in the back. So whoever drew the short straw had to sit up front with Roy and Sandy. So, you know, like you might get a four hour shift or you're at the front, you're sitting between Roy and Sandy. And I don't remember him bickering. But it wasn't, you know, like it was probably a husband, wife, wife telling the husband how to drive kind of thing, right? So there was always a Little bit of that going on. So then you would rotate right. Next Pit stop, gas out Shad and go to front. I'm in the back with the girls. And then, you know that you steady rotated, but we just. And then Mr. Roy, he would just hammer down, right? Just running it down, down. Florida, no stopping. Hold your pee right. We're not. We're not stopping, so.

[B]

Brother, I love you.

[A]

I love you, too.

[B]

Thank you for doing this. Thank you. This is great. We're gonna do more together in a group episode that we'll have for everybody, but this is awesome. Thank you so much. And look, this is something. I don't know if Shan is to sell this yard or what, but this is something I'd like to come back maybe twice a year and do. All right. Definitely not when it's 104 degrees and we're drifting. This ain't our heat. This is your heat. This humidity here. Jesus Christ. Thank you, brother. I love you. Chris Lamb, everybody.

[A]

Thank you so much.

[B]

Keep an eye out. We're going to have so much more of these episodes. This is the way back the junkyard series. I'm Ryan Sickler. I hope you enjoyed the way back to 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.

[A]

J.