The Catch-Up: Travel, Marriage & What Men Need

speaker-0: What's up y'all? I am your man Mike alongside my brother.

speaker-1: I think th was supposed to say it right there.

speaker-0: What's supposed to say right there? It ain't been that long, man.

speaker-1: Like that. I felt like, okay, so that was like a oop, right? You threw me like an alley oop, but like I thought, I thought you was in the layup, right? I thought you was just gonna release it. When you went like more like finger roll, I was supposed to trail you like LeBron. I see I didn't know. I thought you were just gonna hit the layup on your own. I

speaker-0: Okay, my bad.

speaker-1: just because I believe in you. Like I just thought I you know I had faith that you was just gonna, you know, but but you know, maybe I was wrong. Anyway, I'm Rod.

speaker-0: This is why the show was was on hiatus.

speaker-1: No, that's false. It was both of us. It was also it was also Mike. He was touring the world. He was out there gallivanting and he was frolicking in the in the in the wilderness.

speaker-0: Listen but you the only one that was on two continents, you know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: I don't know if I'm the only one, but okay. Nah,

speaker-0: I mean your whole family.

speaker-1: bruh. He was on two continents too. You was he was in

speaker-0: Thanks, man.

speaker-1: America and then you was in Asia.

speaker-0: Okay. Three then.

speaker-1: I guess so.

speaker-0: Nah y'all, but we are back, you know what I'm saying? You know. this is season two. Season two. Yeah. Yeah, man. Come on.

speaker-1: Season two. We made it through season one. We all didn't think we was gonna do it. And I'll if you're listening right now, you you definitely thought we was gonna do it. So we appreciate y'all. But most podcasts don't, right? A lot of podcasts don't make you past three episodes or six episodes and they just kind of disappear. Yeah. But no, we still rockin'. We still rocking.

speaker-0: Rocket man.

speaker-1: Yeah. I know it's been a minute, and so y'all felt like we had fell off. But no, my Mike, like I said, Mike was traveling the world. So we was just waiting on him to get back. You know, me and my family was, you know, sc you know, scraping up our pennies and and, you know, eating eating moldy bread and Mike was out there, you know, with pet elephants and and a whole nother like he

speaker-0: Okay.

speaker-1: was white sand with the water was like a crystal clear, like he was doing his thing. But that's how big Mike get down.

speaker-0: You know I'm saying? I mean, that's how I I usually do down. That's like a Tuesday. You know what I'm saying? But you know, I wasn't in, you know what I'm saying, Qatari Sands, you know, eating lamb, you know what I'm saying? Roasted lamb with you know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? Saffron rice, you know what I'm saying? Food.

speaker-1: Was so good, man. So so just to get into it, because we talk around it and not talk to it. Right. So yeah, we both went on vacation. I I went to Qatar, Tanzania, Zanzibar, kind of the same place, right? well, not really. Like Zanzibar is a part of Tanzania, but it's a it's an island, so it's completely separate. and then we spent some time in in Greece, in Naxos specif specifically. And then we spent a day in Athens before we came back. And I ate everything. Like all the food. All the food. Right. Like you gotta try everything, eat everything. So I'm a little heavy right now, you know. So I gotta get I gotta get back on it. I'm like I like twenty pounds up.

speaker-0: Hey man, fat boy life is amazing. I keep trying to tell people.

speaker-1: No workouts, no n like nothing. Just eat. And and you know, when you're on vacation, all of a sudden, like er part of part of the vacation is is the eating. And you you get a like at home, I might not eat breakfast or I might miss a lunch because just doing stuff all day, right? Like just kind of busy running around on vacation, you ain't got them responsibility. So it's where we going for breakfast? Where we going for lunch? Where we going for dinner? Like we eating full meals three times a day.

speaker-0: Come on man, you come on man.

speaker-1: Man.

speaker-0: You gotta stop talking like that.

speaker-1: Man. I'm saying it got to a point where I I told Ari, I was like, Man, do we need to eat right now? Like I feel like we just eating cause it's eating time. Like I'm not even hungry. We just like we just gotta go try this restaurant, huh? Like, man, all right, here we go. And I'm I'm gonna get something because I gotta try it, you know?

speaker-0: You need some grape leaf wrap somethings, man.

speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah, no, but the food is really good everywhere. the like cultural food too, because you know, everywhere is trying to like cater to certain things or you know, like Italian food is everywhere or or not Mexican food, but like kind of Spanish style food is everywhere. But you gotta when you go somewhere, you gotta eat the food of the people.

speaker-0: Yeah, that's yeah, man.

speaker-1: Right? Like when we were in in Zanzibar we got to go to visit a village.

speaker-0: Saw y'all in there man. Saw you you what I'm saying, holding a little little black baby.

speaker-1: Yo man, they was they was on me, bro. Like I I I didn't know what to do. Like the little kids, especially little girls, just like holding my hand or holding like my my shorts and like walking with me. I was like, listen here, little girl. I got two already. Like I'm not taking nobody else with me. But

speaker-0: my god

speaker-1: they was all over it. And it was cool though. It was cool to kind of see the the the difference. This is something I I I hadn't thought about, right? Cause you think about poverty. In America and it's like despair, right? Because there's there you're so close to people who have a lot, right? And so when you don't have a lot, you you're aware of it. But there in the village, nobody has a lot. So everybody was like, it was it was surprising to see like people living in in mud and straw huts, no electricity. There's a a water fountain that so in the in this village, I think it's like 600 people. There's 12 water fountains in the entire village. And they're like centralized in certain areas. So like several houses might have this one little spigot to get water from. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So like you would expect in that situation, like if you went down the skid row or something like that, people just look destitute and like just down and out. Nah, man. Like they was having a good time. The kids were singing songs. They were playing games. Like everybody was like just everybody was cheerful and happy. And I'm like, damn. So They they're experiencing poverty in a completely different way because the everybody don't have it, right? Like if I don't have shoes and you don't have shoes and they they don't have shoes, well, shoes don't matter. But here in America, if I if I roll around with no shoes on, you look at me like, damn, doggames got no shoes. Yeah.

speaker-0: Boy with no shoes, man. Dang. Yeah.

speaker-1: But it was it was like that there and then and a little bit like Naxxos is obviously not not tribal, but just talking to the people. 'Cause you we were taught in America, like, what do you want to do when you grow up? And and people have all these ambitions and stuff or stuff they wanna do or they like 'cause next is a small island. So we asked that one of our tour guides, 'cause he was a younger dude, like, do you ever have any like, did you want to travel or go anywhere? And he's like, he looked around, he was like, Why would I ever leave here? I'm like, Damn, you don't you don't wanna he like, I went to Athens to get my degree, I came back here and I taught school. I would never leave. I'm like I mean, I guess you live in paradise, right? But

speaker-0: I guess so. Yeah.

speaker-1: You don't want to go nowhere and see nothing? Like you don't want to travel? He's like, nah, I haven't had no desire to go anywhere. And similarly in Zanzibar, the dude that was doing our spice tour said the same thing. He was like, I want to learn different languages because I like to talk to people that are here. But he's like, I don't want to go nowhere. It's like, you don't want to leave the village? Nah. I was born here, raised here, my family's here. We have everything we need. We're having a good time. Like, and I'm looking around, like, all right, dog. All right. You seem happy. Cool. All right.

speaker-0: God bless.

speaker-1: But it was it was it was interesting to see that because also the it's just like right along the water and the beach, the beach is like white and the water's you know, turquoise or whatever. And you got all these big resorts and restaurants and stuff, right? So if you if you're on the water looking in, it looks like it's like this magical, beautiful place. On the back side of the resorts where like regular town is, it ain't it ain't it ain't sweet at all. You know what I mean? The roads is kind of either dirt roads or they're like not well kept. cats running around. Dog, it's interesting. It was a lot of cats. Cats and dogs running around all over the place. It's just like a third world country. Like literally right up against this five-star resort. It's crazy.

speaker-0: I mean, yeah, that makes sense. When y'all went to Qatar and it was something that 'cause we we had went like a couple years back. how did it feel being out there? Cause I was very confused because I was like, everything's super clean. Mm-hmm. Where's the homeless people? Mm-hmm. Where's just the regular people that's just going to work? Mm-hmm. We didn't really see a lot of people out and about and we were in the city, but we weren't deep deep in the city like y'all were. So I'm like, I'm wondering. Like we went through that, you know, that market. I call it the Indiana Jones market. I thought that was fire.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: so pe seeing people selling stuff, but it's like they're selling stuff out of Yeah,

speaker-1: Doors.

speaker-0: their their own market, their own, you know what I'm saying? It's not like people just hustling like

speaker-1: Right, right, right. Yeah, you know what? So it was interesting because when we went, it was obviously summer, so it was like 118. 118 to 116 every day. So during the day, like you can go out early in the morning and then from like nine o'clock until five o'clock, nobody's out. Like the streets are are silent like nobody's out, nobody's working. It was it we went out to dinner the first night we were there and they were doing construction at like 10 30 at night. Dang. Had the lights on and like because you can't do it during the day. And even at night it was like 90 something degrees. So it it was it was interesting to see it from that perspective. We did though when we went out at night, we went to the market and all that stuff. It was a lot of people out. People were out hanging out and having fun. It seems everybody for the most part seemed like they were locals. okay, okay. And I I think that was kind of everywhere we went because of World Cup. There's like everywhere we went, every hotel we went, every restaurant we went, like, yeah, we're we're kind of quiet now because World Cup people are out either watching games or they travel or whatever. So there's like a lot less people or a lot less tourists here now than there typically are. Okay. but yeah, we got to see some regular people. Okay. We went to the mall, one of the days during the day, it it seemed like from our hotel that was right across the street. It was not.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: It was not. And so it was like noon and it was the worst idea we've ever had. Cause once we started, it's like, all right, we can't we can't just double back. We might as well keep going. You couldn't just cross the street. You had to go like all the way down and then come back up. But yeah, there was it was interesting because there's a lot of rules there, right? Like there's you can't yell in public, right? You get a you can get arrested for yelling in public, arguing in public. but I didn't see no police. I didn't see no police cars. I didn't see no officers. I'm like, so who's gonna arrest you? Like all these things you can't do, but ain't nobody enforcing it. People just know not to do it.

speaker-0: Mean.

speaker-1: But it was it was it was really nice though. Like I I enjoyed the time there. But I did feel like I don't know, no, I felt like we got a we got a true Qatari experience. I think. Okay, okay. It wasn't there that long, though. It was like three days. But

speaker-0: That's a good amount of time.

speaker-1: it's enough.

speaker-0: What what was your favorite country that you guys visited?

speaker-1: Zanzibar. Zanzibar was my favorite. Okay. interestingly enough, I wouldn't go back though. And Ari was Ari's like troubled by that. Like I I I enjoyed it because it is Africa. most of the people that you see there, even in the resorts, are look like us, which was cool. Yeah. The people that work there, everybody's really nice. The food was good. the people, the people of Zanzibar treat you really well. Like this, they didn't feel like there was You know, cause sometimes you go places and people are like not rude, but they just they don't care about tourists like that. Yeah. I felt like everybody was like accommodating and treated us well, even when we like kind of ventured off by ourselves into different places or we went through the markets and we're kind of, you know, everybody's trying to sell you something. but they weren't rude about it. You know what I mean? Okay, okay, okay. The thing I didn't like though, is everybody is trying to sell you something. Like literally every every five seconds, like we're on the beach and it'll be like, a Maasai warrior come over selling bracelets and then 17 seconds later somebody come this way trying to sell you something and like you just can't relax because everybody trying to sell something or everybody's trying to like the hey man we're we're you know boat boat tours I'm like I nah I just got off I just got off the boat. All

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah.

speaker-1: right it's the jet skis like God dang man

speaker-0: Yeah, get out of here.

speaker-1: I understand it though I respect the hustle

speaker-0: Yeah, so.

speaker-1: but man it's nonstop. Mm-hmm. And you you get that a lot of places, right? Even when we were in Greece, there was a there was like a massage person that would come by like every few minutes or somebody trying to sell some chips or something. Like it would happen, but it wasn't as intense as it was in Zanzibar. Okay. so that was kind of off putting because it was like I wanted to lay on the beach and relax, but that's just not possible. Right. You could do it if you stay inside the resort because they don't allow people to come inside the resort. But as soon as you step on that sand, bro, you better be ready. You're gonna be ready to go to war. It's gonna be like a no thank you. No thank you. Yeah, yeah. No, I appreciate it, brother. Thank you. Yeah. And they're all really nice about it though. It wasn't pushy or like, you know, people trying to make you buy something or make you take something so they can try to sell it to you. Like in some places in Mexico, you get that where they like trying to put it in your hand. Yeah. Nah, they just, you know, that's what I got. No? All right, cool. But seven seconds later it was another but another there's another dude look just like him that came in the other direction. Somebody behind you waiting for them two to walk away so he can show you something. It's like, yeah, I'm good on that. And I don't really like to go anywhere where I just stay on the resort.

speaker-0: Yeah, it makes no sense. I can do that out here.

speaker-1: Yeah. So so, you know, I I wanted to to get the experience of being able to just be out, you know what I mean, without without being forced to see what you got to sell. Yeah.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, I feel you. We experienced some of that in Thailand. We went to Thailand, y'all. Phuket. But it was like the same thing, kinda like they just very nice. Yeah. You want as soon as we hit the sand, you wanna but no thank you. Okay. But beautiful, you sure? No, no, no, no, thank you, no thank you. Sabadi Kra You know,

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

speaker-0: but yeah, I'm like, we haven't really had I'm sorry, y'all. Y'all just watching a videotape of me talking to my boy about his trip, 'cause we haven't had time to really, you know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: Yeah, we'll get into some grown man game here in a second. We just this is this episode, you know, episode one, season two, it's called the catch up. You know what I mean? We we gotta catch all up and catch us up.

speaker-0: yeah man, we got that's the name of the episode. Thank you, man.

speaker-1: Yeah, we look at that, man.

speaker-0: It w it was gonna be ninety percent me, ten percent him, but now the splits are working, he's at twenty percent now. Earn the money, man.

speaker-1: Yeah. Look at that. I done came up. Look at that.

speaker-0: Look at that man. See, you learn that hustle from the Masai tribe out there. So Are you

speaker-1: It's not a bowl of

speaker-0: hungry, brother? Yeah. That's the Masai, please.

speaker-1: Yeah, right?

speaker-0: But what was I saying? Like, yeah man, Thailand. Thailand, yeah. So we did Singapore and Thailand.

speaker-1: Alright, so you you mentioned Qatar being clean, right? Mm-hmm. Did y'all get out in Singapore? The

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah.

speaker-1: streets just clean. You can't chew gum in public. No. Like it it's like in Asia in general, not everywhere, but like Singapore, Japan, I don't know. Those only two I've been to, but I felt like it was the cleanest places I've ever been. Mm-hmm. Everything was clean. It wasn't like a a a a wrapper on the ground. You know what I mean?

speaker-0: Yeah it was great.

speaker-1: Nobody tossed nothing out, like it was just the streets was clean, everything was clean.

speaker-0: And it was like, I'm looking for trash cans. It wasn't a lot of trash cans. Yeah. So I'm like, how is it so clean? Everybody just keep their trash with them.

speaker-1: And I didn't see like a cleaning crew running around. It was just clean.

speaker-0: Nope. We went into the subway in Singapore and it was like, no food, no drinks. Not in the subway, like when you hop on the train, but not only, I should say, in the train, but in the whole station. They like, don't bring, I don't care if it's water, you better keep it tucked away. And I'm like, hey, okay.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: Okay. Yeah, and I think it's illegal to spit out there, also. I was like, dang, they're not playing.

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah. And you know what? I don't I don't know. Well, historically, right? We probably couldn't get to something like that in America just based on the history, right? Come on. There would be no way. Like there would be a a a

speaker-0: Rebel.

speaker-1: there would be just all kinds of like civil war. People would lose their minds if if it was cause you can't get people to not litter

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: still, as much as we know about it. I seen somebody throw something out the window just the other day, like like a full bag.

speaker-0: Sheesh. Yeah,

speaker-1: Like it is terrible.

speaker-0: I saw a lady throw a a diaper just out the window.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: Did get that feeling like when you got back, you were like, Well, we back in America, y'all. Yeah. Like it felt good to be home, of course. We love our country. We love our country. No, but it was like

speaker-1: Right, yeah.

speaker-0: Yeah, we back.

speaker-1: Yeah, I did, man. Every time we go somewhere else and come back, I'm always like greeted with with America. and and and again, I I enjoy America. I love the I'm I'm American, right? Like so anywhere I go, I'm gonna be American. But I definitely did start talking about expat life. Like it it if for whatever reason this trip really put that on my on my on my spirit, man. It's like I gotta Once these kids get into college and start getting get themselves settled, I need some time away. And just the more cause you come because when you're away from the country, you don't hear about the news, you don't hear about whatever. It's funny though, because everywhere we went, that somehow somebody brought up Trump.

speaker-0: Mm.

speaker-1: Right. And then because we were traveling to Qatar and whatever's going on with the war there, people were flights were getting canceled and all that kind of stuff, right? And so in the airport. One of the dudes I was talking to in the store, he was like, his flight had got canceled a couple of times. So he was trying to tell us to make sure we check in and go to the gate right away, make sure that they kept us at that gate and that they weren't moving our flight around. Cause I guess he didn't. He went to the lounge and was chilling. And then when he went to his gate, his flight had moved and they had changed the time or whatever. So he was like, Yeah, just just you know, be aware. He's like, Your your your president is is causing us all kind of All right, yeah. And the same thing in in in Tanzania as well. It was like one of the guys at the at the first hotel we stayed at was like, So how like how is how is America and the president and all that? And I'm like, I mean, we we just deal with it. Like I it we don't know him, like we don't get to talk to him like that. So like whatever he decides, we just all gotta deal with it. He was like, Yeah, we too.

speaker-0: Okay.

speaker-1: I guess so. Yeah, it has an effect on everybody. And so coming back and like watching the news and trying to catch up on what was going on and and it's it's wild. It's the wild west out here.

speaker-0: Yep.

speaker-1: That's your boy. Like that's you know, is you it's who you voted for and you know making America great again.

speaker-0: No, no, no.

speaker-1: Don't don't do this now, man. You and what's that dude's name? I don't know, somebody else.

speaker-0: The sheriff whoop dee whoop or detective somebody.

speaker-1: Right. You Officer Tatum. Sheriff Sheriff Brown or whatever his name was. David David with the thick the thick goatee. yeah. You Candace Owens. yeah. Now all over

speaker-0: No, no, no. She flipped.

speaker-1: now. I know. That's what I'm saying. Like y'all was telling us who to who to yeah, get it right. Now

speaker-0: Don't be pointing that out there.

speaker-1: you like, nah, man, this is not what I signed up for. Look at you. Yeah. What is what is the Charlemagne got the podcast with the the with the white Yeah, who what's the the Schultz is backpelling that?

speaker-0: Brilliant idiots. Andrew Schultz. Yeah, yeah.

speaker-1: It's not what I signed up for.

speaker-0: They all switching up, man.

speaker-1: Like, bruh, this is exactly what you signed up for. Like I don't know what you thought it was gonna be different. He is literally doing the stuff he said he was gonna do.

speaker-0: Yep. And they thought it was a joke, because that's what you know, what happens with a lot of people when you feel insulated, you're like, man, it's fine. It's not come on man. Like back in the day when Schwarzenegger became the governor of California. You know, you walking around college and people are like, I think it would be fun to have the Terminator and then started calling him the governor. Bro,

speaker-1: Governor, yeah.

speaker-0: he's an actor, what are you talking about? Yeah. We in college.

speaker-1: I mean listen, Ronald Reagan was an actor and also one of your favorite presidents. Wasn't

speaker-0: Man, listen, man.

speaker-1: he the first president you was able to vote for?

speaker-0: You got so many jokes. Hey, I want y'all to ask this question in in the in the comment section, man. What's the name of his firstborn daughter? That's all I'm saying. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: It's a good name. It's a good strong. It's good American b good American values.

speaker-0: Araqisha, you know what I'm saying? It ain't that. You know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: we went to DC too. damn, okay. Yeah, we was

speaker-0: No, yeah. Wait, you went you went twice? Okay, you see what I'm saying? That's

speaker-1: Yeah, twice.

speaker-0: why he's only getting twenty percent 'cause he got it.

speaker-1: I was out there w once for w work and then the other time on the way out.

speaker-0: Nah, man, don't know. You know what I'm saying? Listen here. All right. Now we are humble brothers, very humble, but we are also confident in who we are.

speaker-1: I think I talked about this though. I feel like I talked about it. Yeah. Before it was obviously before I went, but I think I talked about it. I'm pretty sure I did.

speaker-0: Well, how about you let let a brother in on Well, go ahead, say what you about to say, man, my bad, but then we

speaker-1: so so yeah, so so we were in DC. I felt like a Charleston White. Yeah, yeah. So C C C So we're in D C the fifth. So the the you know day after the fourth of July, obviously.

speaker-0: 'Cause you went you went to the celebration at the White House to party with your boy.

speaker-1: Nah, but that's what I was gonna talk about. So America 250. so it was it it was hard to see stuff because they had the streets blocked off everywhere. You couldn't see the White House. they had it blocked off like all the way around. the reflecting pool was wasn't drained yet, but it was it was dirtied in the mug. They had they had like I guess fished the fireworks out of it. and so they were all on the grid, like all around the pool was like the remains of fireworks. It was it was a mess. it was a mess. I don't know what the party was like. If from the videos I saw, it looked like it wasn't well attended. It's it is what it is.

speaker-0: It is what it is.

speaker-1: The weather was it was outrageously hot and humid at the same time. So I can imagine that it wasn't a fun event to go to. And I think they had rain that night, that night previously, so the fourth of July it rained.

speaker-0: That's the one guy was crying for the country, man.

speaker-1: But nah, so it was it was Reese's first time getting to go. No So it was cool that she got to see some of the stuff, but we couldn't see everything. So it was kind of like a it was a good first visit, but it was one of those where like now we have to go back because you didn't she didn't get to see any of the monuments. We didn't get to go to the African American Museum.

speaker-0: It might not be there next time we go back.

speaker-1: that was the thing. We was like trying to fit it in, but we couldn't because we had to we only had a short amount of time. Like we we had twelve hours to try to do everything we could and we got in at night. So it was like some of those hours were spent sleeping.

speaker-0: Okay, okay, okay.

speaker-1: and so we didn't get to go there. We we thought we were, but it just didn't it didn't line up. So it was cool. But it wasn't, you know, the time I went by myself, I got to kinda go do everything. It wasn't Wasn't no no hindrances, no no fences up, they wasn't redirecting traffic.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: It was a t it was a ton like every police officer in DC must have been out that day. Cause they was everywhere, on every corner, in cars, out of cars, like they were everywhere. And I'm like, the event is over though. Like y'all just breaking down stuff and putting stuff away and right. It but they was prepared for something.

speaker-0: Yeah, something that never came. Meanwhile, January 6th. You know what I'm saying? We're not a political podcast, y'all. You know what I'm saying? We just grown man talking.

speaker-1: Yeah, just change change change the channel.

speaker-0: Dang, man. That's dope.

speaker-1: So when you was in in in Thailand, so how long were you in Singapore?

speaker-0: like f five days. Yeah, four or five days.

speaker-1: you've been there for a while. Did you guys go to the we went to the night did you guys go to night safari? Yeah.

speaker-0: Yeah. wait, no no no, we didn't do the nights of art. Okay.

speaker-1: are good because it's yeah i don't know you know what i talk about like sometimes we doing stuff that just cause we can that's some white people shit like it was in the you're in a safari right and it's not like a the the actual safari location so they got just got animals that don't really belong here with each other you're in a jeep no doors right like you're just in the jeep You're driving through, and they got real animals in this place, and it's nighttime with most of the like the predators that are active, they're nocturnal. I was like, I I on on looking back on it, this is the dumbest thing we probably could ever done. Nobody got eaten, nobody got attacked, but it was like, yo, this is not smart. This is dangerous. This is a dangerous thing for us to be doing. Why are we doing this? But it it is one of those again, one of those experiences you can say you did, but I won't ever do again. Yeah. Yeah.

speaker-0: Come on now. Where's your black card at? I'm gonna need that.

speaker-1: Yeah, you can have it, man. I d I've been doing some stuff. I I need to I need some time. I need to get myself together.

speaker-0: It's been too long, man. You know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: I you know, swam we swam in a cave.

speaker-0: Yeah, I saw that. I said you know what

speaker-1: Just jumping off the boat in the middle of the ocean. No no looking around for shark. We just you know

speaker-0: Yeah, I mean we did that too, you know what I'm saying? So, you know.

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah. However, in Zanzibar, they we we out in the ocean, jumped off whatever, and my cousin in law, I don't know what you would call him, saw a jellyfish in the in the water. Mm-hmm. And then they have, I guess, jellyfish larvae. I forgot what the actual name of it is, but they're like in the water, and so they'll sting you. I felt one sting. I'm done, bruh. I'm gonna get about this water. Like I he saw jellyfish on the other side of the boat. I got stung on this a yeah. Now I'm done. I'm done. I'm getting back in the boat. Nah, you're not finna get me.

speaker-0: Did they pee on you? Ain't you supposed to get pee on to get it right? Mm-hmm.

speaker-1: No, sure. No, you can just get out. However, my cousin-in-law is is is of the fairer complexion. So he stayed in the water while getting stung. He's just having fun, swimming around, snorkeling. The next day he came, he came to the pool with his shirt off, and it looked like he had took some lashes. His whole body was all red and bit up. I'm like, man, what kind of ignorance would make you stay in there? You were still getting bit and you just stayed in the water?

speaker-0: White side. Well, that's all right.

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah. No, he he is white. He is no white salad. He's all white. he all well.

speaker-0: what's the name husband? Okay, I thought it was the kids, man. Chris, what you d what you doing, man?

speaker-1: Yeah. No, no, the kids got out too. The kids got right on up out of there too. He was in there having a good time though.

speaker-0: Hey man, will he earn his stripes? Literally. There you go.

speaker-1: Literally.

speaker-0: That's wild, man.

speaker-1: Yeah. We gotta get into some grown man games.

speaker-0: We do, man, 'cause we over here, you know what I'm saying? But it is what it is, man.

speaker-1: Just yapping.

speaker-0: We just yapping, man. So what's happening out there in them streets, man? Anything going on out there?

speaker-1: dang, it was something that I sent you. Let me see. I just I just sent it to you.

speaker-0: Don't be sending me stuff, man.

speaker-1: Yeah, you don't be responding, but I l I just sent it to you. Like

speaker-0: What a made it what it US Bank? okay. Cashback. I'm sorry, man. I got an alert talking about some US Bank. I'm like, hey man, I'm not spending no money.

speaker-1: the men are men are simple, women are complicated. Did you see that?

speaker-0: yes, that was hilarious. I showed tip that last night.

speaker-1: Yeah, I I I think what do I need to play it? Yeah, all right, I'll play it.

speaker-0: Probably sh just make more work for me to you know what I'm saying? Cut it into the thing and Stay married for a hundred years. É isso.

speaker-1: Did you hear the crowd though? Women as he as he said things, as he continued to add more and more women cheering louder and louder.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, Tip was on the couch like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I'm like, yeah.

speaker-1: That that's it, you know what's what's interesting about that is is I think one, I don't think he was wrong. Right.

speaker-0: No.

speaker-1: I think I think we do have to do all of those things. Yeah. I think that's a part of being in a relationship, right? Is like you're doing the things that make that other person happy. You're doing the things that cause some of that makes you happy, right? Them being happy makes you happy. And so maybe somewhat selfishly you're doing it for yourself. But you want to see them happy, so you're doing it. Men are simple. I agree with that. But I also like some of that other stuff. You know what I mean? Like, can I can I get some encouragement? Like, can I get some, you know, can you wind me and dine me sometimes? You know what I mean? Like

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: he wakes me up in the middle of the night sometimes. Like sometimes we we we want some of that stuff too. and I think maybe we don't I don't know if we don't say it. I feel like there's people that say it and I feel like it's out there and and it's been said more and more. But I think we don't actively tell our partners that. We need all that stuff too. You know what I mean? Like we yeah, if we need something, we typically take care of it. Right. Like if I need to get something, I'm not waiting until it's my birthday to get it. Or I'm not waiting until she knows that I need it and then she can bring it to me. I'm just like, all right, I I need to go get something, I'm gonna go get it. Yeah. Right. And then if we just so happen to do it together, then great. But I'm just gonna take care of it because I need something to do.

speaker-0: Talked about on the podcast, you know, before, you know, me wearing cologne. And it's like, I do wanna, I do want my wife to be like, you smell good.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: So it had got to a point to where I'd put cologne on. I'm all by her, like, what's on you? Do you smell mint? Mm-hmm. So we definitely need these things, and I don't know why we don't. speak so I don't well I kinda have an idea why cause it's not quote unquote manly to be like, hey, I wanna be lifted up. Hey, I need your support.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: You see it in like hip hop where dudes will talk about my day one, she had my back since whoop de whoop whoop. So no matter what, why you cheating on her then, man? Crazy.

speaker-1: Yeah, that's crazy. Mm-hmm.

speaker-0: But you know, you see it there, but it's after the fact. Mm-hmm. You know, it's never like Me and you talking like, hey man, I think I need Tiff to, you know what I'm saying? I want her to smell me when I wear cologne and tell me that I smell good and tell me that I look good. It makes me feel good. I mean, shut up, man. Get up out of here, man.

speaker-1: Yeah. You know what's funny though? Is it's we we will see it or hear it sometimes. Like if you if you're watching social media, I like we we watch platonic. Have you seen that show before?

speaker-0: yeah, yeah, yeah.

speaker-1: So the main kit one of the main characters, the lady Sylvia, her her husband was a lawyer. He just quit his job, like he retired. He's going through a midlife crisis. So he retired and now he's gonna be a writer. And so he wrote this manuscript that he wanted her to read, and she just She does is boring to her, right? It's just like legal drama or something, whatever it is. It sounds terrible. So she she isn't reading it. He gave it to one of his friends at work. Friend at work read it right away, gave it back to him, gave him some notes. And matter of fact, he read it twice. So he's got like these this anxiety about her not supporting him. Right. Like he feels unsupported, like she doesn't care about his his newfound goals and dreams or whatever. And so, you know. I it hasn't happened yet, but I'm sure in this next episode there's gonna be some kind of discussion around it. Like we will talk about it in that regard. Like, yeah, we I just need you to have my back. I need you to support me in in the things that are like okay for us to say it. But when it comes to like emotions or like, you know, just treat me right in this relationship, or you know, saying I smell good, yeah, stuff like that. I can't imagine pr bringing myself to be like, you know what, you you don't ever hold me.

speaker-0: Like

speaker-1: You know, when was the when was the last time you took me out on a date? You

speaker-0: You see how your whole voice had to change?

speaker-1: don't buy me any jewelry. you know, I it just I don't know. Like I don't know what you I don't know what you're doing here in this relationship. And then so then I think w by saying that, I think it's almost our fault that we don't get what these things, right? Because we don't ask for them. We don't even allude to the fact that we want Mm mm. In most cases, we act like they don't even exist. And so I agree with what he's saying in the in the video, but I don't know the solution to it.

speaker-0: I think the solution is is funny because it's right there in front of our faces. Cause we say the same thing about women, right? We say, You want me to go into your mind and know what you're thinking? You know what I'm saying? Yeah,

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah.

speaker-0: yeah. So the solution is really communication and being comfortable with communicating, but we that's so foreign to us as men that we're just now starting to really Yeah. Understand like man, I gotta talk too.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: I go to work, I bring home money, we all work, you know, whatever, whatever. I make sure everything is safe. I take the trash out, I cut the grass, I do this and that, and now I gotta talk to you about what I want.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: But that's it, man.

speaker-1: Yeah it is. It is. It it's it's simple, right? But it's not easy.

speaker-0: Easy. Simply difficult.

speaker-1: Yeah, because we're not not that we're not programmed to do it, because we can do it, right? Like you look at pretty much anything that we do, and I use sports for a lot of analogies, but if you watch it just to watch a basketball game, if you go watch a basketball game in person, like live and you're close enough to the floor, they talk the whole time. Like everybody's communicating, there's constant conversation going on. back and forth talking about what we need to do. You go here, you do this. You know, it's all this communication. So we're obviously capable. We do it at work, right? Like you got coworkers, you talking about we need to get this done. We have a team meeting. We talk about what we need to get accomplished. We're constantly communicating as we're doing the job. Then we get to the house and we'll be like Dang, don't nobody care about me? Man.

speaker-0: Yeah, man, listen man. I go home after work. I cooked before I cooked I know, I know man. Beta

speaker-1: B

speaker-0: male, dog, beta male, dog. I guess I got what I deserve, man.

speaker-1: Yeah, exactly. Sit down to pee too.

speaker-0: Damn man, it's good for the prostate, man. Help me out. I get home. I cooked the the the night before, like in a slow cooker to make like the shredded beef tacos. Like Maddie been on my head, like, I really want some shredded beef tacos. So I was like, all right, let me figure this out. Cooked it, I tasted it, I said, mm-hmm.

speaker-1: Fire.

speaker-0: You know, went to work, came back later on, they had a dinner. You know they they ain't lean me nothing, man. He ain't leave me nothing, man. You know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: I've been there. I've been there.

speaker-0: I'm proud and happy that they enjoyed it so much. And the cold part about it is, you know, Tiff did tell Maddie, like, hey, save daddy some. Mm-hmm. But then she went back for seconds because it was so good. And when she she left me like enough for a half a taco. She left a taco. Yeah.

speaker-1: you a sample. Just so you know how and it they know that it was telling the truth. It it was good. Yeah, you okay, all right. I've been there.

speaker-0: Yeah man. I wanted to cuss out the world, you know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: And you was probably hungry too, cause you'd be taking like a a a spinach leaf and a and a olive and a scoop of tuna.

speaker-0: You see you see.

speaker-1: It's big Mike. Big Mike had s a six ounce container of food.

speaker-0: For work. Listen, man.

speaker-1: You know, I mean you don't have to we don't have to do that big dog. Man,

speaker-0: I'm trying to be a four fit father, man.

speaker-1: nah. You know what I'm saying? You got to get you the old school the the the red one with the white top, you push the buttons on the side and it turns

speaker-0: I need to have a thermos too.

speaker-1: The old school Stanley though, the green one. You gotta have the green Stanley when you pour the hot soup in the cup. man. Yeah, man, what's wrong with you? Yeah.

speaker-0: Come on, man. Eating corn chowder. Yeah.

speaker-1: It's meat and potatoes in there, man. This guy, big Mike out here eating bird food.

speaker-0: Amen.

speaker-1: She taught you a lesson. Number one, number two, you should have took you a plate. Like you see, don't don't meet Matt put this on them. They thought you had eaten already. That's one that's the thing. That's the thing that happens. My girls and my wife would be like, Well we thought you ate already. If you th you didn't even ask, you didn't think be yo, did you eat any of this? It looks like there's a full amount here.

speaker-0: Okay.

speaker-1: Everything looks untouched. I probably didn't get none. Right. Like, man, you mother.

speaker-0: But we love y'all, man. You know what I'm saying? But there is a communicat I feel like I shouldn't have to communicate. Now I'm sounding like

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: where's tip that? Let me cover this up. Now I'm sounding like them though. I feel like I shouldn't have to communicate to you that don't eat up all the food before I get home so I can enjoy it. But I guess I gotta say, say me some. It's gonna be good. Just say me some. I

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah.

speaker-0: haven't ate yet. Save me some.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: I'm supposed to get the big piece of chicken.

speaker-1: She didn't make chicken. That's your fault. No, but you're you're right though. And what what that what that just kind of signaled for me is that just these are just human human desires or wants or needs, right? It's not like women versus men. No. Like the whole idea of like they can't read your mind, right? So you didn't know that you wanted them to say that you didn't say it. You're like, hey guys, I made the food. Here it is. It's like that sounds like it's for us. Mm-hmm. You didn't set none aside. You didn't, you know, get you a bowl and put it in the refrigerator or nothing like that. So that's on you, big dog. Unfortunately, right? But but as you just said, like I I feel like I shouldn't have to say that. Right. I feel like just like I was thoughtful enough to create the meal for you, you would be thoughtful enough to save me some. But again, it's just a human thing, right? Cause we definitely do it to them. Like

speaker-0: For sure.

speaker-1: we definitely are are somewhere coming up short or doing something that that we, you know. probably should have been more thoughtful about. and and so it's not just a man thing or just a woman thing. Like I think we all have needs and wants and desires. I think we are more socially accepting of catering to those needs, wants, and desires when it comes to women for sure. Or or girls. because I think the same thing happens with with our our kids, right? Like we are We'll cater to our daughters. Like you if you hear any dude talk about his daughter, it's like, she got me wrapped around her finger. I'd do anything for her when it comes to her son. Man, that little Nick better. You know what I mean? Like he better get it out the money. He's gonna tighten, man. Get it like I got it. and that's just the way society has has kind of put us, unfortunately. And then we we get to being adults, I'm like, man, this sucks. Don't nobody care about me. Nobody care about daddy.

speaker-0: Don't nobody care about that.

speaker-1: It's like Chris Rock had that whole little little bit about that daddy get the big piece of chicken, but that's it. You know, no nobody cares about daddy's feelings. But I mean that's that's it's a it's a cycle that continues, right? Unless you unless you and it's and it's unfamiliar to even to them. Like if you were to start start doing that, right? Start kind of talking about your feelings and emotions and things you would like. Yeah,

speaker-0: What's you okay?

speaker-1: what's happening, bro? Like why are you why are you treating us like this?

speaker-0: I'm evolving, man. I think we have to give ourselves room to evolve.

speaker-1: Like it.

speaker-0: There is like a commonality in this in this story. So on me and Tip's podcast, we were just talking about basically there was this

speaker-1: Girl.

speaker-0: Yeah. On Dan We Grown. Yeah, you know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: No put it out.

speaker-0: Our podcast, YouTube at Dan We Grown, you know what I'm saying?

speaker-1: Go?

speaker-0: Whew, I gotta pay you. How much do gotta pay you for?

speaker-1: Nah, that's free. Yeah, free promo. Damn we grown.

speaker-0: You just earn another percent, man.

speaker-1: Wake up and you realize one day. Damn, we grown.

speaker-0: We grown. But you know, there was this you know, maybe like a 20-year-old kid, 20, 22-year-old kid, and he was just talking about how he had grew up and how his grandmother was just very like, kids are to be seen and not heard. she was she was, you know, scolding him, wearing them out, you know what I'm saying? He just had to tears in the eyes, and you can't speak, and you just take it, take it, take it. And then he's like, Y'all gotta stop doing that because as I got older, I'm in high school, I'm in junior high, and I don't know how to stick up for myself when someone is talking to me because this is all I knew. Right. So now I gotta relearn here in my twenties how to defend myself, how to speak for myself, how to come from that place where I can have the courage to be like, no, that's not right. That's wrong. Right. And, you know what I'm saying? I liken that too. As men, how we're just like, we hold it all in, we gon' hold it down. I don't need nothing. Don't celebrate my birthday. My birthday's on Sunday, y'all. Hey. Watch this episode for my birthday present, all right?

speaker-1: Yeah, he's gonna be fifty.

speaker-0: Man. I'm 46, man. It looks good on me. Look at me. Shining

speaker-1: Forty six.

speaker-0: out here. Got all my teeth.

speaker-1: Forty five. Dang forty six. You really are getting up there, man.

speaker-0: Hey man, listen man. Either you're getting up there or you're getting down there. What wh which one you want? Right then, man. Keep

speaker-1: I guess get up. And you know.

speaker-0: talking, you ain't gonna you ain't gonna get up. You know what I'm saying? You know what happened last time. Nothing at all. Anyway Well it's a trip, man. It's like I don't know, man. I feel like it's the same thing with therapy. It's like, man, I don't need no talk nobody, man. What you talking about, man?

speaker-1: Until you do it. And I needed this a long time ago. Like this is exactly what I needed. Yeah. It it's it's I think we are progressing towards some of those things. I think, you know, as we mature, as we let go of some of like the quote unquote societal norms and we kind of like lean into who we are and what we need, you see guys starting to do stuff and starting to communicate and starting to go to therapy, starting to kind of work on themselves. But I think there's so many years of the opposite. And then so many other like voices in the in the atmosphere talking about like that stuff is is not masculine or not whatever. And unfortunately, if you have not gained a good level of self-esteem or a good level of like trust in yourself, you hear those things, you're like, well, I can't do that.

speaker-0: Man, they're gonna talk bad about me.

speaker-1: They gonna think I'm soft. Like, man, I can't put my my phone in my back pocket. You heard what my big Mike said? People

speaker-0: Dang, come on man.

speaker-1: get all offended, right? But that's that's not his fault. That's your own insecurities. Like that that shouldn't offend you. I wasn't offended. I I didn't even know it was a thing. Like, I didn't, you know what I mean? And even if I did put my phone in my back pocket, I'm like, shoot, I didn't know. Never even paid attention. Like it made what it did make me do is start to like actually pay attention and not. Talk to my wife, she's like, well, I don't even have jeans with a back pocket. And I'm like, or sorry, with front pockets. I'm like, shoot, I didn't even pay attention to that. And I looked at like with the girls' pants and they have like these fake like pockets where like the pocket was that big. I'm like, they can't put nothing in the front pocket. So that makes sense. That's respectful. That's why women put stuff in the back pocket. All right, cool. I got it. And I never I because I've seen women do it, but I never associated it to like just women. I just didn't even think about it.

speaker-0: Just don't open up the wound again, sorry, man.

speaker-1: But like it's little stuff like that. Like that's totally insignificant to your life and the things that you got going on. Right. Right. But to let that rile you up is is probably saying more about you and what you need to do.

speaker-0: Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah.

speaker-1: But I think I think we're on the on the right trajectory to getting to answering some of those questions and and having some of those conversations and having that communication with ourselves and with our partners so that we can, you know, we get to stuff that we need. Yeah. 'Cause everybody deserves to get their needs met to an extent. Right. Not all of them. It's ain't ain't nobody gonna get all your needs met, but you can get some some key some key things taken care of.

speaker-0: 8020, man.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: 80 20. I'm thinking we're about there, man. next episode we can get into congratulations, brother.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: we did some some hot topics and stuff. But you know, we were just trying to welcome y'all back. You know what I'm saying? Back into the fray. We are back. This is season two, episode one. And

speaker-1: Yeah, man. Just rapid. Listen, I as always appreciate, you know, spending the time talking to you, talking to you guys, you know. For sure. thank you guys for for hanging out with us as we caught up with each other. you guys kinda were a fly on the wall for a little bit of that. but like you said, the next episode we back on, back to doing our normal thing, hitting our normal points. say you know you know how like you we get old right we old now and it used to be back in the day you'll go play a pickup game of basketball gimme the ball let's go now I gotta warm up you know I mean now this is this is the warm up episode like I gotta get my shoulders together gotta do a couple of these right like used to be back in the day I could just hit the court but yeah no I need some time so this I appreciate y'all spending the time for the warm up episode and look forward to the next one man it's gonna be fun.

speaker-0: Alright y'all. Deuce.

speaker-1: wait, shout out to Teacher Gang. school, school's back, kids back in session. Teacher Gang hats. I'm gonna drop the link in somewhere, somewhere you'll see it. Go ahead and grab you one to support your teacher. There's every year there's a teacher appreciation day or teacher appreciation week. Your teacher would love a hat. Come on. you know a teacher in your family, you know, a teacher in the community, go ahead and support them. Like every every dollar spent in the in buying a hat goes back to a classroom. at the end of the year they select a certain number of c classrooms and donate that money to the school or to that particular teacher. Nice. so you know, we all know teachers don't get paid what they should. So if we can and then they're taking money out of their own pocket to buy school supplies is crazy. so if you can support a teacher, support a teacher, teach a game.

speaker-0: TG gang, teach a gang, teach a gang. Yep. E equals C squared, honey. You know what I'm

speaker-1: Square. Square.

speaker-0: saying? Grown man, grown man, gang, man gang, man gang, man. GMG, GMG, GMG, GMG. What up, bro? Got him, Mike.