S2E11 "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That" -Special Guest Chris Martha

0:03 Ship that you throw. Hi, I enough of Gary air ever. Good morning, Don, Good morning? How are you? I'm good and I'm good Those of you that don't know, like, like you don't know already my name is second, but really I am the star. So is it like that today? It's like that? Okay, it's like Don and Gary, I'm doing sixty. Can I mean you over here? Just speak with me for a minute over. Here, We'll be right back.

0:43 We'll be right back. Whack. Anyways, that's how are you. Everything's good? Yeah, it's a gloomy Sunday, but you know. Not digging. This is that weather pattern and I hate so much because it's basically we're just jumping in April soon to be May, which is basically May gray, June gloom. And I don't like it. Me No, I like it. We're supposed to be like on the first of a four day rain spell. But you know, we'll see what happened. Yeah, rain this morning too. I was just like, oh God, I lived. I moved to the beach for a reason. It wasn't for this. No, but you get plenty of sunny days. Come on, well not until after like you know, May, mid May or something. I can't wait. I need it now.

1:27 This hair requires no humidity. You can always go to your other house and Palm Springs. Which one. It's driving across town from one to the other. It's like there's a lot to do. I'm just kidding. So I've been watching real quick, I'll jump into this. I've been watching The Residents. Have you seen that yet? I've heard it about it? Is that on Netflix? It is on Netflix and actually with the woman who start who was in Orange is the New Black? As crazy as I've seen a clip of it, it looks. Good, phenomenal. She is a wonderful actor. I love her. She also was in a really good series where she played a psychiatrist on Showtime or HBO, and it was really wonderful.

2:09 I remember you talking about that, but that only lasted like one season, maybe a couple of seasons. I don't know if they brought it back or whatever. It was jump right into COVID, but you know, otherwise, really great. What do you are you bringing anything? Fun? Right now? There is a show that's was on NBC. And of course the name is Skagen right now, and I downloaded the NBC app because suppose you could watch it there. I saw the first episode. Great, I want to watch more of this, and then it's like, oh, you have to pay, like son of a bitch, that's why I'm not paying. No, there's way too many channels out there watch this.

2:50 Okay, I move on. Speaking of you know shows, I have to bring this up. I hate criticizing our people, but there's a new show that just started this week on Hulu. Yeah on paper great guest Nathan Lane, Matt Bohmer, there's another gentleman who I don't I've not seen him before, but he's one of the three main characters. And then Linda Lavin plays Nathan Lane's mother. They filmed one season. She passed away towards the end of season one, so they apparently in the ten episodes they worked her death into the episode number nine and they're waiting to hear if there's a second season.

3:37 So it just premiered like two days ago. I fat and I guess people have already seen previews of it, and most of the comments like I love it, I love it. The clips i've. Seen, Yeah, we don't always hit it when we try and do the LGBTQ plus series thing. I've read a lot of think people. One thing I hear that they really dislike most is the off track. Okay, and apparently they're trying to be Hulu. I've not seen it. I've only seen little clips. I've not seen it either, but I hear the same mixed reviews on it. It's just like, I sure, hope so, but I'm not convinced. Even though my ex Matt Bomber is on there. You know he you know, before I broke it off with him, he decided to follow up this show prospect and.

4:23 Me behind the scene scoop or you know, yeah, under the cover. He's a little bitter about the breakup, so we don't talk anymore. Okay, but you're not bitter, but I don't. I don't like to talk about it either. It's a little uncomfortable. Okay. Well, one thing I won't talk about after this episode because I've brought it up a couple of times. You and I were talking the other day and I was walking to an appointment and I said, I'll tell you on the podcast what the point was. And we'd say it an hour. We have to wait till we come back from the break. Oh, okay. The good teas Okay, up to you. Let's let's do the break and then I'll well, you are. Co executive producer, so yeah, but my pay doesn't show it. Okay. So in contract subset A subset B, it shows that when you signed the contract and you received your first hundred million dollars for doing this podcast, there are some certain things that you agree to that your lawyers looked through before you signed anything.

5:14 So live it along, Grace, come on. Okay, I guess we'll close it and let's get back to it now. I forget because it's a Sunday worrying. Do we talk about what we're talking about on the podcast now or when we come back? What is that bell sound? That's a timer? That's that's the bell should be going off in your head saying I don't know. Oh yeah, that was me. I was. I was sending message to you saying I don't know. We you know what, we own this show. We can do whatever we want, okay, and. You know what, We're gonna take a break, we're gonna come right back and then we're gonna share your. Your teas and then tell people what we're gonna talk.

5:55 Yes, so we'll be right back folks and everyone just calm down, no, you know, and we're back well. And for our listeners and watchers, who are we? We are Don and Gary doing sixty. We're here to unwrap and unpack navigating the world at this age. Yes, you can find us on the podcasts and Spotify and wherever amazing podcasts are found. We're also on Instagram at Don Andngary doing sixty. We're also on YouTube on p fiver pod Don and Gary doing sixty and soon to be Blue Sky? Is Blue Sky only audio? Or is it audio and video?

6:35 It's audio and video. I've been doing some perusing through it because I'd like to start following some specifically interest groups that are part of the podcasting world. So I'm trying to sort a perus of. That sid It's not really hitting like with all eight cylinders just yet, but it's got to be momentum. It's a lot less caustic, it is somewhat political, but it is a lot less toxic and betriolic adriolic. It's a lot less mean basically, So that's why we're doing it anyway. Sorry, gery, we got to jump along with them. Where do you want to drop your bomb? Well, it's not I would call a bomb, but it's just it's just I just was laughing because as you and I were having a conversation today, I was heading to an appointment to get my technis shot. I brought it up like time, so now I can cross it off the list go on, because last week I had an appointment with my primary care doctor. Yes, because it had been a year and just kind of checking in, and that was one thing on my list of questions.

7:32 Was like, hey, you know it's come up on my podcast. I didn't say that, but it's come up in conversation and I don't recall ever doing it. And he's like, yeah, I do it. So I did take it, and it is. It's called actually the t DAP. It's a three prong vaccination that covers tetanus, diphtheria, and protessis. So as I mentioned before, tetanus is basically a lockjab. Yes, it causes painful stiffening of the muscles. Dip theory can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, or death. We don't have time for that, No, we don't. Nobody got time for that.

8:13 And then protussis also known as whooping cough can cause uncontrollable violent coughing that makes it hard to breed, eat, or drink. So this one vaccination covers all those three and they say adults who have never received tea DApp should get a dose of it and receive a booster dose every ten years. So, like I said, if we had it and you're supposed to have it as a child as well as a child, I don't recall too many years ago. As an adult, I can pretty much say never had it, So check out off the list. Ten years from now, I get a booster how about you. Good to know I was only a mere embryo when I probably had my tetanus shots. But I do remember all of those different illnesses coming up as something I would hear growing up in the sixties. There was something you heard more about whooping cough, mom's measles, all those other things that in lockjaw, that kind of thing that the tetanists Shop is supposed to prevent. So yeah, I absolutely will definitely check. Because I went back to my doctor recently. We need to jump into who we're talking to and what we're doing this week.

9:11 So we have another guest of the under the umbrella of ain't nobody got time for that. This is someone who you may have met at one of my parties. Maybe maybe not, but he is a friend of mine. I know him through his wife. They've been married. I'm gonna I would. Say thirty years, but he'll he'll confirm. I've known his wife since I was a teenager or in my early twenties. She grew up in Sanmitao, but we did not go to the same schools because she was in a different part of Sanmitto. Okay, so different elementary, middle and high school. But I wanted to bring him on because he is a member of the club, and you know, we talk about retirement. I'm going to confirm with him. I think he retired early okay, recently went back to work. Interesting Okay, and.

9:52 Then yeah, so different things they'll come up. Yeah, so he'll join us in about four minutes. Okay. So I didn't mean to rush you on your bomb. No, you know it wasn't really bombed. But since you mentioned vaccinations, yes, you know a current topic as you mentioned measles. There's an outbreak in five states right now. Yes, yes, I've read about that, and I believe that I don't know how much we want to dive into why that might be happening or the prevention for it that is not going to happen. We know how, we know who. But we know if you know, you know, just so you know. So what's new in your world? Well, let's see, we are going we were going to do a lot of gardening and irrigation today, but since it's raining, we're taking a pass and doing a lot of binge walking or watching instead.

10:41 Okay, so you know, things are fine. Let's see, back on the exercise routine, back on the outdoor routine. It's just nice to be back on a routine that is more health driven because I have to say, I think we spoke about this before. I was kind of lacking with the consistency on working out and using my growing machine. So yeah, that's actually been good. I had to take last week off because someone had to go take a business trip and leave me with the dogs. So someone me, Yeah, had to take care of all the dog duties, which is quite consuming with time. Although that's basically another excuse for not getting on the growing machines. Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I've I've been trying to be more consistent boy going to the gym, and I haven't posted of the Gary chronicles only because I'm in this kind of holding area where once I hit the forty pound loss point, it's like, okay, we'll just keep going, and I've kind of stuck. I don't know why. Yes, I plateaued, and you know I don't like that. I want to continue on the journey no plateau.

11:45 So yeah, I mean, I think that's a natural progression with people on a either a weight loss, working out, gaining losing. Everyone hits a certain mark and then you just have to be consistent through that plateau to get you over. That's stressing about it, But it is like, you know, Pat, because I'm excited, like I want to get to like the next post, I can. Say, hey, I've lost fifty backs. But I'm not there yet, and it's like, you know, it's forty two and then I lose one, then I gain two, and I lose three. So it's just well, but let me ask you this, and you don't have to tell her if you want to, but I expect you to. Like the stock market, people recommend that you don't watch it very often, that you don't because if you're checking. Let's say you're checking your financial portfolio, and you go to the stock market every day and check it whether it's up or down, or up or down. You can't really time out the market to hit a good time to invest or sell or whatever the thing might be said about checking your weight, because you do have to put that time into be consistent.

12:42 So do you check regularly? So my routine since I started on the you know, before I started on a Zempik, I didn't own a scale, so the only time I waved myself was when I went to the doctors, so I got a scale. My routine has been every Wednesday and. Every Saturday, Saturday being causascid day, that I give myself the ozombic injection. So that's my routine. So Wednesday mornings and Saturday mornings, I. Weigh myself and I take my blood pressure, which is handy daddy, right here next to. My computer, because that way you have to say, I get up and then I come and sit down and I'm. Gonna calm mm hm because your blood pressure. Chris, Martha, what are you doing here?

13:24 Oh? Can I stop us all for a second here for a second, Gary, can I speak with you over here for a second. Why why is that? Well, remember we discussed this, that Chris would have to shave his head to come on to the podcast because no one can have better hair than me on this show. Yes, for our listeners, not just feel I'm threatened because our guest has nicer hair than Don. Yeah, well Don, the good thing is that's the only thing I got going for me, So hope please, So you're you're yeah, way above. I don't buy that. But if you read your contracts or when we sent it to check for doing the show, which was multi thousand dollars deal that we signed, we agreed that you would shave your head before you came on.

14:05 Luckily, my my hairstylist was was was out of town. Oh shoot, okay, well we'll wait. Tech you question, Don, is Chris's volume good for you or does need to go up a little bit? Chris, I think you just talked to me. Start sing a song. What's your favorite if you were a singer, what would your number one hit be? Don't stop believe? Okay, okay, good, we'll call you on that one. Yeah, no, you're good. So Chris, Martha, welcome to our podcast. Thank you, it's wonderful to be here. Before you joined us, I mentioned to Don that i've known you. I was going to say at least thirty years. How long have you Enjoyce been married.

14:48 So we're about to hit twenty six years, okay, coming up in a month or so. So, yeah, it's been. It's been, you know, right around the twenty seven I guess, I guess, you. Know, twenty seven, twenty eight years or so? When right? So I mentioned that I've known Joyce since I was either a teenager or in my twenties. Yes, I'm known for roughly forty years. Wow. Well you know our kids call you uncle Gary, so you're part of the family. Yeah. Yeah, so I knew Joyce's are single, and then I was invited to their wedding, and then they've got two kids who are now in their mid till mid.

15:29 Twenties, mid twenties. Yes, yeah, wow, yeah, so yeah, it's and they've lived close by, so it's been a nice a long friendship. Just saw them a couple weeks ago. But anyway, so welcome, yeah, and welcome to the club. It's an honor to be here. I gotta you know, I gotta. Admit it's my first podcast, so I'm a little nervous. No, I don't want to screw this up for you guys, but. Well it's contractually you can't do that because you've signed away your life and if you do screw. It up, we get to you for everyone everything. So yeah, fine, So Chris, were you like me that prior to Don and I starting the previous podcast, I'd never listened to a podcast. Are you a podcast listener?

16:10 I had never listened to a podcast. You know. Actually, Gary, I think you were the first one who really when you mentioned your your previous podcast, I was like, oh. That's pretty cool. But you know, what's what's this podcast stuff all about? And that really did get my interest in the whole concept of podcasting and and you know, to be honest, it was it was you got me thinking, hmmm, maybe I can look at doing a podcast with my four brothers who are all back Easton in New England, because we we did a couple of zooms over covid and you know, we found out it was fun.

16:55 To get together and I was I was like, well. Maybe maybe we can put together a podcast if I can maybe learn something from you guys. Right, Well, it's a great way because you're on opposite coast. It's a great way to stay in touch because you don't get to physically see each other very often, right, And that's kind of what started with Don and I and our friend John, was that we're all living in different cities in California and that we can't get together, you know, in person a lot. So that was what started as and what you want to do with your brothers, share stories, make memories, and that's how this got started. Everybody loves stories, Chris, and if you're I'm sure your family and your brothers have great stories that you tell.

17:36 And people love to listen to stories too, So I think it's a great idea. People love to archive memories like this for family, for their children, for their grandchildren, for people coming because you know, the internet is forever, so you know, if you didn't make some recordings, I think that'd be a great way to archive for your family some history and maybe they're your family and other people could enjoy and learn stories that they might have heard before. Absolutely. Yeah, I think you know now that there's you know, all all all of us brothers, others, five boys, no girls, my mom. I think you know, if she wanted a girl and after five she was like, Okay, that's it. Cut it off. The shop is closed closed.

18:17 But yeah, we all, you know, we all have kids and and and now grandkids are entering the picture. And it's totally agree. It's a great way to you know, share stories with the next generation. And can I ask you quickly because I have in laws that live in Worcester, are you anywhere near Worcester or Worcester, Worcester, Worster wister Withsta it's actually Withsta called Worcester. I don't get it. You know, way back in college days I went I went to school in Boston, and you know, we were I was actually born in Massachusetts, you know, and we kind of traveled around New England.

18:58 But yeah, we we we know, we know Worcester. And so you're the only rebel that that ventured westward. I am the rebel that ventured westward. I it's kind of funny, I guess, you know, I call myself the black Sheep. But you know, I had always known from I don't know, I don't know what age, but I always wanted to go to California somehow someway and it's It's a weird story how I got out here, but but it I actually did have a brother that followed me, my youngest brother. Who's uh, who's a musician. He wanted to come out and check out San Francisco.

19:42 So after I was out here, I was living with a friend, a good friend from work. We had rented a house in Mountain View, California, and we had an extra bedroom and we said, yeah, come on out. And it was my youngest brother, Kenny, who. Ended up moving up to San Francisco and finding a room rent where the woman who was renting the room out happened to be Joyce's old college roommate. Really, so my friend, my brother. When my now wife Joyce was looking transitioning from her old apartment to look for a place to buy, she got the extra.

20:28 Bedroom that they had and with her. Old college roommate, and my youngest brother said, hey, Chris, you got to you gotta meet this girl who just moved in here. And it's my youngest brother who introduced me to Joyce, who is really a wife of almost twenty six years. So yeah, he was out. He was out in San Francisco. I think he was looking to try to get and break into music career, and it worked a little bit, but not quite enough, and he ended up moving back East. But he served his purpose of introducing me to Joyce and then and then he left. That's rest. So I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I missed spart.

21:10 But when you moved to California, was it for work, for school or you just wanted to move? It was for work, So my I'll try to keep this short. But you know, I was in school in Boston, and the school I was at was called Northeastern University. But there their big attraction was what they called cooperative education or co op, where six months. Of the year you're in school. You know, you're in class. The other six months of the year they send you out to work in your field and you actually earn a paycheck. So but it's also really gaining experience. So by the time you graduate, if you've done a pretty good job, that you'll have a job waiting for you.

21:53 So my field of study was computer. Science, and I had gotten jobs with the IBM at various places from from school. So I started off actually. In New York and then and then I got called down to IBM in Houston, Texas of all places with working with NASA down there in Houston, we have a problem. Yeah, I ended up after graduating, I ended up moving down to Houston and I worked with IBM for a little while. And Houston actually was a kind of a fun place. To be with in your early twenties, with a bunch of other folks that were just you know, single and in their early mid twenties and looking to you know, have fun.

22:43 And it was IBM that. Sent me out to Palo Alto helped this little tiny startup company get their software working on IBM computers. This is back in the eighties and back in the late eighties, and that. Little startup company offered me a. Job, and I'm like, okay, I always wanted to go to California. This I'll this is middle of Silicon Valley. It seems like things are starting to happen in. The world with computers. And so I was like, okay, I'm moving. I'm taking this chance. And so that was kind of the how I got to California. You know, It's just it just I just. Got lucky and lucky and lucky you know, through through.

23:25 Just just different opportunities that popped up and yeah, kind of the rest is history. So you were basically at the start of the Silicon Valley. I was right at the start. Yeah, it was. It was I was the one guy in the company that got to take home a the original little Mac. This little the rectangular one, the square one. Where this little square box. Yeah, and my roommate, like I mentioned before, I lived with My best friend was was guy I worked with happened to be like the genius techie guy at work. And you know, he he was like, all right, we're gonna make this thing.

24:05 We're gonna we're gonna start doing this stuff called email, right, you know, and we're going to start you know. So it was like email before you know, people had email, and I'm. Like, this is this is cool? You know. So it was really the beginning of Silicon Valley, but we didn't quite know how how big it was going to explode. But it was funny to like I said, I look back, and it seems like I've just been lucky to be in the right place at the right time. And I'd like to say I was smart enough to know to. Be in the right place at the right time, but ah, I was just we'll go with that, We'll go with that, okay. So anyhow, so.

24:46 I wanted to jump ahead because I was telling Don that at and whether it was that company or another company that you work for for several years, did you retire early than the traditional retirement age. So once again, another lucky story. So the first company I joined this when I said, I moved out to California for this little startup. So I worked with this smaller company. We got pretty successful, and then they got purchased by Reuters, which is a British company. The guy that was sort of managing the other company said, come on over to us. You know exactly. Well we do. You know how it works. You will fit right in. The next company was called Tibco Tibco Software.

25:30 Which I then spent the next twenty years with and the big and it's kind of like in the early nineties. They ended up going public and right at the right time, right when the Internet was just any company called dot com was just going crazy. When it went public, things went kind of crazy. And once again lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Timing is everything, I guess. So a lot of us old timers twenty plus years were given the option of taking an early retirement package. I was thinking, Okay, what would I want to do next?

26:13 That's always the question that we ask people too. Yeah, if you were all of a sudden given basically the golden key. I was, I was, and I'm like, Okay, I wonder if I could follow another dream of mine of getting into the music industry and starting a starting up a music company that would help musicians, you. Know, really become their own. Bosses and not have to give away all of the proceeds to write the record companies, if you will. And so I had met a friend that was wanting to do the same thing, and he was already in the music industry, and so we said, all right, let's try to put together a little startup where sort of give musicians a different opportunity where they can, you know, own their own intellectual property, if you will.

27:10 So that say they write a song and it. Gets pulled into a Coca Cola commercial or something like. That, that they they own it. It's not like the record company owns it and they don't get. There and they get a percentage, right, And so this was kind of an experiment, and I would say the one so I learned a lot of lessons in this, you know, trying to build your own startup experiment. First most important lesson is. Make sure you really enjoy being around the people that you're partnering with and that you're on the same vision forward. I kind of thought we were, but in the end it turned out we were. We sort of had different visions.

27:54 So anyhow, where are your musical tastes? Chris? Where do you? Where do you land? So I'm more of a. You know, I'm kind of more of an old time rock and roll you know, Jackson Brown. Rolling Stones, rolling Stones, rolling Stones, so very different worlds. We're talking about R and B. Yeah, rock and roll, h R and B rock and roll. And I'm like, well we can, I'm sure we can, you know, kind of merge these things together. And that really wasn't working and it was going sure, and it was kind of going in the opposite direction. And I'm like, you know, this is yeah, But I mean just the undertaking of a business like that, just the legality side of it, there must be a lot.

28:36 The thing the thing about I find admirable about that is that you took the stride to do something following kind of a passion of yours. Plus you probably, as you said, learned a great deal from the experience. It might not have gone where you had thought or projected it to go, but I'm sure you took a lot of things back with you. Yeah, from that learning experience, right. Absolutely, absolutely so. So the experience itself was great for learning. And you know, if I ever want to try doing something like this again, I will have a lot more knowledge and a lot, you know, a lot better idea of how to put it together.

29:16 When I look back, it. Was good to go through it, or there were times that were a little bit painful because you get these relationships going and then it's like I disconnect myself from this. It's kind of like going through a divorce or something. I have that thought with Gary every time we hit the record button. But let me ask you something real quick. How many guitars do you own? I have two guitars, but okay not Yeah, so music still is very big for me. So it more is you know, when I think about what do I really like about music? Almost everybody on the planet has some form of music that can it can connect with. It's not always going to be what music I like or whatever. But I think music has a an emotional element to it that people can connect with and for sure, so I really like when I think looking forward, when I think about, you know, what would I like to be doing, you know, later in life, is it really is musically involved, But I think it's more probably on a personal level, it's more about making music and creating it, so the whole creative process.

30:33 And you know, getting getting my own little. View of perspective or message out to the world, you know, in some sort of positive way, hopefully make a positive message out there. So you'd like to be in front of the microphone? Is that the point? You know I've always secretly told myself, I would. Like to be in front of the microphone, okay. To just to try it, not to be Mick Jagger, you know, uh as fun as that probably would be, you know, uh more just to uh you know, get over that little fear factor of you know, you can do this.

31:15 You know, you enjoy it. You enjoy it yourself in your you know, in your your your your bedroom. You know, just playing without without anybody else there. You know, it's really fun. So I think it would be a dream of mine to eventually get out there on open mic night at the coffee shop or whatever. Well, I was just gonna ask have you ever looked into I mean, because they've got to be open mic nights or you know, set up a little area in the corner of a farmer's market, right and just start playing. Well, there's a lot of people around, you. Know, I'm one of those guys that goes to the open mic night or the farmer's market and and watches you know, and and and loves loves the uh, the courage of these people, you know, to to it up there because you can tell, you know, some of them are their first time trying it, and and I'm like, okay, that's that's courtage right there.

32:08 That's you know, I want to be like that. Okay, But I have to ask you. One of the questions I sent over to you was, what's your karaoke go to song? Do you have a karaoke go to song? You know? Mind so you know, you know when we started off and you said sing a song into the you know, I can't sing like Steve Perry and Journey or something like that, but you know I like songs like Don't Stop Believing. Yeah, I like positive You know, like, right, you can do this, you know. So that's kind of my whole life is, you know, never give up, you know, just keep pushing forward. You'll make it happen. So I kind of like that's the first thing that popped. Into my head. Don't stop believing.

32:49 Even though I can't sing it, I don't know you know who can sing it in that at that level. But you know what, you don't have to be Steve Pets. That's going to be your version of you. That's right. Whether it's that I would create a song or another one similar to it. But I like that sort of that vibe, you know, get people and get people, you know, move in and in a positive way, dancing and stuff like that. Well, I was gonna say, I appreciate the story of you, you know, actually taking steps to start this music company on your own, because well, not everyone has an opportunity to do that. I think coming out of the pandemic, a lot of people took that opportunity to follow their dream to do something that maybe they wouldn't have done because they were set in their nine to five job and even though they thought about this dream they had, they never did it because you know how can I do it? And but coming out of the pandemic, I think a lot of people said, you know what, it's why not now? Yeah, yeah, so you didn't do it during the pandemic, but you you you did it so that you wouldn't have to look back later in life and say I wish I would have.

33:54 That's exactly that's exactly right, that's exactly right. And I got it. And I do have to thank my wife Joyce for saying, you know, go for it. You know, now's now's the time, and you don't want to look back and say I wish I'd tried it. And stuff like that. You know, when I when. I realized it it wasn't working, you know, it was kind of like, hey, we just have to we just have to pull the band aid off. We just have to say, okay, this this isn't working. Let's you know, let's cut it off and and go our own ways. And then you know, I was thinking, Okay, this is kind of like my second mini retirement.

34:35 So I started to think about what am I what are we going to do. Next, What's next? What's next? Well, what was next was COVID. It hit right when and then everything. Sort of the bottom fell out, like, okay, we have to we have to figure out what the world is doing right now and what we're allowed. To do and things like that. So for the next several years really kind of shut down, and and when things kind. Of opened back up, we started had moved from Palo Alto up to where we live now, which is Mill Valley up right across Mill Valley's right across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, and we find.

35:15 This is like a many little. Secret paradise place because it's yeah, I don't know if you can see behind me, Oh, it's just trees and you know, we. Got Yeah, it's really typed away. Yeah, and it's nature, beautiful nature, and you might even see deer literally walk behind. Me as we're talking. But it's also fifteen minutes you're in San Francisco. Right, you know, And it's it's a beautiful kind of lence between being out in nature and nice and quiet and kind of private. But also when we want to go into the city see a show and whatever, it's really quick to get in there. And so when COVID finally opened back up and we started going back into the city from here, one of the things that we saw clearly every time we went in were tents and encampments, you know, in all these various places, homeless people, and it seemed to be not getting better.

36:14 It seemed to be getting worse. And I was every time we went in. I was talking to my wife about, you know, what's who's fixing this? What's going on here? This just is not getting better. It's it seems to be getting worse. And she was like, well, you've talked about that for years. You know, what do you want to do about it? And I said, I was like me, I was like, okay, you're right, I have been talking about this, and maybe I should see if there's anything I can do to help. And so I. Literally checked into is are there any any jobs in San Francisco that where you know, you can actually help out with this process, and sure enough there were, and so I went ahead and took one of the these jobs working for the city of San Francisco.

37:04 Basically, it's falls underneath the mayor. Of helping out with the homeless issue, and it is a uh, it is a real you know, it's a hard, hard problem and it's you know, I wish I could tell you that there's a there's a you know, a little pill everybody could take and all of a sudden it would go away. And but but. That's not the that's not the reality. It's it's will say that. There are a lot of very good people working to try and help and the underlying let's say foundational, you know, the trying to trying to help fix the problem is what is what's really underneath the services in San Francisco.

38:00 And I'm sure San Francisco is just you know, one of many many places around around the country where this is a problem. You know, the good news is that I think people really are trying to come up with solutions to help. And it's. It's not it's not the easiest thing to solve. It's something that I think is going to take a lot of different approaches from many different angles. It's gonna say, Chris, I don't think Gary can chime in too, because he actually is very connected too. But the thing is, I don't know that one strategy is going to fix the problem.

38:40 Right, It's really yeah, it's really going to be multiple strategies, multiple groups and services and you know, minds all coming together to make this work. And so so I did come out of retirement recently have been there now just for a year, and it has been a very eye opening experience, and I'd say that I will continue to support with these what these groups are doing. You know, I am happy to say that there's a lot of smart, good people that really, you know, their entire intention is to is to help make this work.

39:23 And so I still have just so many different I'm sorry, go ahead, go ahead. Look, there's so many. Different components because under the umbrella of homelessness, where you have there's the drug part of it, there's the mental health. Yes, and wellness part of it. Very big are. There are folks that maybe because of job loss or whatever that they suddenly find themselves not able to pay their rent. So they not on drugs, and they don't have mental health issues, but it's a financial crisis exactly. It's it's just a combination of all of this. And even though yes, to your point, other cities are experiencing this, at least when I I'm watching or hearing the news, San Francisco seems to rise to the top in terms of they're getting national tension.

40:06 Where it's like then. I'll read a small story about what's happening in Pittsburgh and in Chicago and in Atlanta and then here and there, But those stories don't get covered. It's all about San Francisco and how yeah. Horrible San Francisco does seem to get a lot a lot of the headlines. I think they're an easy target for people who are detractors from the strategies that are being put into place. I think there's a lot of people that want to see it fail, just to call it out. And we know how toxic social media is now and has been for a long time. So it's hard when you know all the good things Gary and you know what's happening that are actually. Good people, good things, good strategies in place. They just take some time, yes to work right, because it's not going to happen or fix itself in a month.

40:48 And it's been an issue, you know that in other cities as well, but especially in San Francisco. It's you know, twenty it's been going on for decades, and every mayor and every department that comes in and touches on it, I mean, they all have good intentions, but it's not something, as you say, you can take a pill you can snap your fingers and it's done. There's a lot of red tape. There's a lot of the NIMBI groups that come up and like they want to build a homeless shelter not here, or the administration wants to do X. But then there are groups that are advocates for the homeless that you can't do that because you're taking away their rights. And so there's a lot of push and pull.

41:29 Yeah, yeah, and the mayor and Department of Housing and Homelessness and so on, they've all got so many obstacles against them, right, right, But in the end, they all have good intention. It's just a matter of what they can do and how quickly they can do it and how much is going to cost. And you know, just to put a little bit of a positive note on this, there are absolutely what I would call success stories where folks come in we call them client and clients come in and maybe they hit you know, like Gary was talking about the perfect storm where they lost a job and then the rent got raised, and you know a number of things happen and they find themselves, you know, out on the streets and where the services that we have are able to get them back on their feet able to get them back into the workforce and back into housing. And and you know they'll come back and they'll say.

42:32 You guys saved my life. And when we hear that, it's like it's like, you. Know, it's one of the most wonderful things to hear. Is it's actually working for some people. So you get re energized when you when you hear those shorts and you're like, okay, let's let's keep pushing forward here. So I applaud you for taking on this latest career because you say, you go in the city and you witness and see this. A lot of people can just go away and say criticize it or say I'm never going back, or just complain about it and point and why aren't. They doing anything right? Well, you took the approach of well, what can raise your hand? Guess not too many people do that. What can I do? How can I help?

43:16 Well? Thank you? Yeah, And so I apologize. I'll admit it was. It was a little scary at first, you know, going in and it's a little bit of a shock. You know, we're like this, you know this, this is this is a serious problem and and but these are real people. You know, these are you know, when you meet these people face to face, it's. Like, oh my god, this is You're You're. Amazing, you know, being able to make it here to our office, you know. And talk. So, you know. So the the other thing that we learned, or that we're taught in training early on is do your best to not get personally too deeply connected with each individual person.

44:00 And because things can happen, and you will, you know you will. You will get hurt along the way if you get to get too connected. And so that's sure. It's a tough side of it too. Yeah, I'm I'm sort of the eternal optimist guy that you know, I always think about the positive things. I'm like, Okay, this is, you know this, this this will hopefully work, and let's keep going, you know, just to bring it back. To you a little bit, Christen, And again we're apploting you for all of the efforts that you made. But I have noticed a thread with a lot of us who are at this age who reinvent ourselves or change paths or courses. It seems to be that our second or third reinvention always steers us towards something we truly.

44:44 Are passionate about or would like to do something with or four or two. So I think it's quite interesting how that's a common set about us at this certain age where reinvention takes place. I don't think it ever stops. I know you're not going to give up this current journ or fight that you're on for the community. But is there anything else that you would change about if you had a magic wand I'm sure you could, you know, try and fix something very immediately. But is there anything else? You mentioned music? You mentioned this current path through on with helping the community. Is there something else that. You do for yourself or for your family? Yeah? I mean. You mean, if I'm you know, moving forward, what else would I would I want to be doing? Uh?

45:27 Yeah? Help? I know this is a long journey probably now, so this one's not going to end any time. Yeah, I mean, well I will, I will. You mentioned the music thing, you know, I'm really and you said earlier how many guitars do you have? And the fun the funny thing is is had always wanted I played guitar. I was sort of a hack on guitar and played that all you know for forty years or whatever. But I'd always wanted to learn how to play a piano, and so. I finally told myself, all right, you know, you can do this, and and it's it's another thing that has always been in the back of my mind. So that's kind of what I'm teaching myself now, is.

46:13 Because guitar is two hands, piano's two hands. Those two hands, but how are you doing two different things with your hands? Yeah, and the piano, I think, is a nice way to put together a song, put together kind of compose a song, and then you can you can add. Guitar or whatever later. For some there's some weird feeling I have. In myself that the piano is is my instrument and even though I'd been a guitar player for for so many years. So I'm really I'm really enjoying having a time on, you know, to learn the piano, to play it and to hopefully compose music and stuff.

46:56 Like do you have a piano at home? I have a Yeah, I have a key word it's called a weight a weighted keyboard, so that the keys are supposedly just like playing a piano. So I don't have that. I was going to ask you, does your family enjoy. Yeah, so I made sure. So it's a good, excellent question. So I made sure that the keyboard that I got allows you to plug headphones in. So they're just gonna ask she can play away. The house is. Blistered, so it's okay with the family. Yes, but I will, I will. You mentioned family, I mean, you know, i'd say probably the most important thing in my life is my family.

47:37 And my two kids are wonderful, wonderful kids. So we have a daughter who graduated from college about a year ago, and she is working with a startup company here in Marin and they also do some work in. San Francisco that is helps. Young kids in school who are having kind of social problem, not intellectual problems, but social problems with fitting. In with a classroom and things like that. And so she is actually living with us at our house right now. She wants to go back to grad school and she wants to move out of out. She's like, you know, I don't think that I think I'm just gonna stay here, you know, as long as I want. She's just an amazing, amazing young lady, and you know, we are excited for her future.

48:32 So she's it's kind of you know, we. Want her to go off and become independent, and you know she's. He's not so much an easy thing to do is when we were going to school or to college, because cost of skyrocketed. Grad school is incredibly expensive, just college is incredibly expensive now and to be able to I mean, when she moves. Out, I'll move into Mill Valley because I love Mill Valley and it's beautiful there, so why would you ever leave? But you know, I think it's a very different struggle for younger people right now getting through college. Just getting through college is one thing. Going to grad school is another thing. As you say, I think it's very different from when we were growing up because you had state colleges you barely paid to go to, or training colleges that were very affordable. And now no education is inexpensive anymore.

49:20 So I have to give credit. To these I don't was the kids who are actually getting their way through this. But also it sounds like your daughter's found a passion that she wants to be helpful to the world in. Her own way too, right she is, and we're reminding her to, you know, try and find a balance between you know, following your passion and also you know, being regimistic about having a place to you know, having a place to live, and you know there are expenses and stuff. Like that that come along the way. So she's you know, she's an. Amazing I always joke that, you know, I think it was about third grade or so when she asked my intellectual capability. Really she follows after her mother, so she's really, you know, she will find her way and have a wonderful life.

50:11 And same with our son. Our son is right now, he is finishing his. Last semester in the local community college College of Men and is going to be transferring to for your school and somewhere in California. So he's starting to get his acceptance letters coming in, so he's going to be choosing over the next few weeks where he'll be going in the fall. And it's we're very. Excited for him because he was he was kind of you. Know, wondering, you know, how important education really was years years ago, back.

50:53 In the high school days. And you know, it was wonderful to see I think the light bulb went. Off in his head where he's like, hey, maybe education really is important and I can I can create my own future, and I can do whatever I want to do, and. That's what a JC is good for. Though. That gives you time to marinate on what you'd like to do a pursue and not spend a jillion dollars on two years of ge education at a very expensive college. So if you're not sure about education, JC can be a great landing ground for you to figure it out. Yeah, it was perfect for him. We were so excited that you know, he had that that that that path to follow and figure things out. And now you know things have churned around one hundred and eighty degrees for him, and you know he's excited about, you know, going off on his own too.

51:46 So if you enjoyce thought about what it'd be like to have no kids in the house we we have. It's it's weird, it's you know, it's it's kind of a whole next chapter. I guess, now, what do we want to do? And we've talked a lot. About it, and you know, we have a lot of kind of fun ideas, but it'll be I guess it doesn't really hit you until it happens and then we'll sure. So, Chris, you've had twenty plus years of being an amazing father to two amazing children, and I'm sure giving them advice when they need it or when they want it. But one question we ask people at our club is if you could go back and give your younger self advice, and you can pick the age, whether that's a teenager or yours or thirty, is their advice based on what you know now of what you tell your younger self.

52:40 Yeah, okay, excellent question. So I would say that what I would tell my younger self is is, don't be so worried about what you think other people want you to do. Do you know, think about what. You really are enjoying, and don't be so worried about how other people like your parents might feel that you're letting them down or something like that. But you didn't. You didn't take this path in life sort of you know, you thought that they wanted you to take. So I would that's kind of what I would say. Is really, you know, with your your gut, feel about what you really enjoyed, and worry so much about what you think other people want you to do.

53:27 Sure, no, but I think everyone can relate to that. And let's talk bucket list. Do you keep one and what's on it still that you haven't done, whether you by yourself or you enjoys or you and the family. Well, because once they leave the nest, it's harder to rope them breath right right. So bucket list is that's a good one. And I'm glad you brought it up, because I recently, we're talking, we're talking three three weeks ago or so, was able to scratch one thing off my bucket list, and so I was. It was back the last week of February. I have a cousin who lives down in Florida, who owns a place in Colorado, and he invited all of us brothers, his cousins, me and my brothers to come out and do a ski week in Colorado and just stay at his place. Me and two of my brothers were able to get out and I was able to ski for the first time at some of the resorts.

54:37 In the Rockies. So Veil Veil was on my bucket list. Oh nice, And it churned out to live up to the hype. We were there. The week we were there, the weather was like perfect sunny. We're talking black Diamond or bunny slopes. What are we talking? We're talking. We're talking a few black diamonds, okay, but aggressive Since I'm on your podcast, I'm not in my twenties anymore, so you're not the black diamonds were. You know, it probably took a little more cautious approach to him then used to bomb down those things in the old days. But it was just absolutely amazing. We had so much fun, did a lot of bonding. It was kind of like the Guy's trip. So did some great bonding with my brothers and my cousin who I hadn't seen in probably twenty years. And you know, by the end of the week, cousin is like, Okay, this is officially an annual trip.

55:41 We're doing it every year. And it was just it was just a blast. But one other thing I'll add to the list, and this is something that Joyce and I had talked about, kind of tying into what will happen if when we become empty nesters, is she had always liked the idea of the two. Of us getting basically renting a van. I guess you'll call, you know, some comfortable van and uh, just touring across the US. So going to all the National parks, Canyon, Yellowstone, is just going just going all around Dollywood. Yeah. Yeah, And the new Volkswagen Electric just came out, so I mean it looks pretty amazing.

56:25 That looks cool. I love I love the of that. So yeah, that's that's something that just kind of got at it. Could you get to Dollywood on a single charge? That is, yeah, we'll have to we'll have to plan it, We'll have to plan how to stop along the way. But that's kind of that. You know. When she mentioned that, I was like, that is an amazing idea because when when the kids were younger, we actually and I was working with Tipico, we had the opportunity to go to a lot of places outside the US, Australia and India and. And stuff like that. And Joyce was like, you know, there's a lot in the United States that we haven't seen. You know, we've seen in the East Coast, we've seen Boston, and we've seen California, and there's a lot in the middle that would rather be fun to make a just an extended road trip out of it.

57:16 It's a great idea. So that's something I hope we get to do. You know, when the kids go off on the round nice. Let me ask you another real quick one too, Chris. I know you are the tech guy. We made fun of you a little bit about that at the beginning. Was there, in a simplistic way, was there any technology that has come out in the last twenty five thirty years that you have been really impressed with. It doesn't have to be a platform. It could be anything. It'd be a cell phone, it could be yeah, a tract tape, yeah, right, right, right right. You know, I think it's easy to say, you know, the original iPhone, which which could kind of do everything, you know, I was like, change the world. It was just unbelievable. But I'll even go back, you know, I kind of say, okay, well, what about what was before that?

58:02 You know? And I think of the Apple, the iPod, right. That came out with this this little thing that like this bit yeah, you know, and you can and you can have you know, one hundred thousand songs on it or whatever and right dial them up and that dial yeah, and uh, you know, and I start kind of going back. I go back, and I'm like, geez, there's. So many, you know, so many phases of technology that kind of happened pretty fast. You know, when the original personal computers came out and you could have one in your house. And then the Internet's the internet really. Catches on and you're able to go to a website, you know, the original websites where there was a web page you could go visit and you could click on some buttons. Uh, and then before you know it, yeah, we have the we have the iPhone, and and of course now.

59:03 I think the whole AI. Wave is both exciting and scary, and I think, you know, we have to listen to the expert guys who actually created it and are warning us, you know, put some guardrails around this, or it could go off in directions that we weren't anticipating. So I look forward to. Like I said, I'm the eternal optimist, So I think we can can use technology in a positive way and hopefully be smart enough to protect ourselves from from letting it get out of our hands.

59:44 I agree, I can see the value in it, though I have to say, I mean, there's so many things that even in one of our last episodes, I ran out of time and we had some issues with an episode, and I actually could hit the AI button on this platform and it would basically create an episode for me, it would illuminate all of the gaps and noises and would it would get the sound levels correct, it would change the picture, it would do everything for you. And it was just at the click of a freaking button. It's a little scary, but it. Came and came in handy. I have to admit amazing. Yeah, so. They're making a big splash here in San Francisco because they took over a large office space on their Chase Center. Yeah. Really, they just opened recently. So yeah, it's it's it's the talk of the town.

1:00:29 On a lighter note, and I knew I told you I was going to ask you this question, who would play you in a movie or TV? Okay, this is the one we have to finish off on. Yeah, so that question. Took me about three seconds to and so I will preface by saying, this is my wife's favorite actor who I think would be perfect fit. Matt Damon is the guy. Oh see, I was gonna say Kevin Bacon. I was gonna say. Kevin Bacon too. Okay, you know I can dance. I can dance, maybe Kevin Bacon. But what Matt Damon is is Joyce's favorite actor.

1:01:13 And I'm like, nice, Now, maybe you can work that out. Okay, Hey, we've got your karaoke song, We've got your character that can play with the TV in a movie. We just need to get you a contract now with a movie like Netflix or something. Absolutely absolutely as. Songs, I don't have to show his next career. Well, well, Gary, are we good? Did we? Did we? Did we cover it? Do you think I think we're good? I'll tell you what. This has been more fun than I than I am. And you thought it was going. To be well, no, I was. I was nervous, you know, my first podcast. But you guys are are so. So friendly and so welcoming, and so I am.

1:01:54 Thank Hey, Hey. It's been an honor to be on your show here. We really appreciate you joining us absolutely, Chris, thank you so much for joining us. It was wonderful. Issulations on all your work. And more kudos to you for your continued success with working with the community in San Francisco. Thank you, guys. We appreciate it. And we're back. Really nice, Yes, super cool guy I'd not meant before, but really really interesting, very involved. Yeah, and I knew about this latest episode or the latest career move because I had stopped by his house a couple of weeks ago and chat with me and his wife. But it's just surprising. I knew he I was gonna say graduated, but he retired early.

1:02:41 But I didn't. I didn't know about the music part, the in between part. I didn't know about that. But you know, it's not everyone that can follow their dream and you know, make the move and take that step. And he did it, and regardless of the outcome, he can go back and. Say, you know what, I tried it, yep, and try it again. It sounds like he's really making an impact personally and self in the Bay Area too, with working with the organization he's working with now right, which is great. And as I was. Saying to you, he's such a great stream of consciousness. It's like we don't really have to edit much. I just have to edit you completely out of the episode. Right. Yeah, Well, it's not surprising. Just kidding, just kidding you really this episode? Are we ready to wrap it up?

1:03:22 Let's wrap it up please? Alrighty folks. So we thank Chris Martha for joining us, and to our loyal listeners and watchers, you know that you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other platforms where you part and we're available on Instagram at Don and Gary Doing sixty. And if you want to watch us, which who doesn't, you can check us out on YouTube under Fifer pod Productions at Don and Gary Doing sixty and then, asn is mentioned, coming soon to Blue Scott. So we'd love for under all those platforms like and subscribe. Comments are welcome. You want to reach us, out reach out to us by email. That's Don and Gary Doing sixty at gmail dot com. So until the next time, I'm.

1:04:07 Gary, I'm done and you might need a paycheck this time. We're doing such a good job. Well, you know I appreciate it. Okay, Well, enjoy the rest of your weekend. You take care. And I just saw all your notes close down. Oh you did? Oh my, I don't like to show things like that. Sure you do, all right, we'll talk to you next time. Take care. Bye bye,