Todd: 0:20

All right, we are back with episode five of Ash and Iron, and I've got with me today, mr Richard Rogers. I have no idea who you are and this is the first time I've met you. It's so fun and so yeah. So the idea is that this is a space for you to share your story, like it's your story to tell, however you want to tell it, and we're excited to hear it. And I'd like to first of all thank Michael Brandt, too, for connecting us, and I'm really grateful to be here.

Richard: 0:52

Well, I appreciate the opportunity to share my story. I do.

Todd: 0:56

Sounds good. So who is Richard Rogers?

Richard: 1:00

Richard Rogers. Well, right now, in one more month, I'll be 71 years old, wow. And so getting ready, in the middle of May, to hit the 71 mark.

Todd: 1:17

You don't look that old at all.

Richard: 1:18

Well, the one that bothered me the most was when I turned 30. I thought I was really old then. That's awesome. But in answer to your question, who am I? Gosh?

Richard: 1:37

I'm a guy originally from a little town here where we are, south Pittsburg, tennessee, grew up here for the first 15 years of my life and my family and I moved to Chattanooga when I was 15 because I went to school in Chattanooga and actually I don't think I really ever left South Pittsburg. The school I went to. It was a good school, but it was a military school and I didn't really want to go there. But looking back, I'm glad I did. So. You know, I don't know how to answer who I am, but without starting back when I was younger Sure, yeah, and looking out the window here I used to live four blocks up the street here from where we are right now.

Richard: 2:31

South Pittsburg is, I consider it my hometown so and I had a lot of friends in South Pittsburg, a lot of close friends that are still close friends. Wow, that's cool. So when we moved I never did really move. I stayed in touch with all my friends and came back on weekends when I wasn't in school, and I really came back not long after we moved because things in my family got so toxic I've got two brothers and two sisters and things got really bad at home into my parents' bedroom and I said to both of my parents I said, do you all realize how stupid you sound arguing? And my dad looked at me and he said, hey, you little son of a bitch, if you don't like it, move out. So I said, okay, I will. So I said okay, I will.

Richard: 3:52

And as I was moving out he said, son, there's two things I'll give you. I'll give you a good education and opportunity. I said, dad, that is fair, and I'm the fourth, uh, born in the pecking order got older brother, a couple older sisters and a younger brother at that time. And so I moved out and I moved here in South Pittsburg to a little place at that time called the Bachelor's Quarters and I was living in a room with a sink and a bed, probably a 10-by-12 room room with a sink and a bed, probably a 10 by 12 room. And so I moved out on my own and worked in the foundry here in South Pittsburg back at that time making cast iron Franklin fireplace parts. That was back in 1969.

Todd: 4:43

So let me ask you this For someone listening who doesn't know South Pittsburg, tennessee can you kind of describe what this town or what this city is like?

Richard: 5:01

South Pittsburg is right on the 1860s, 70s thereabouts. There was a belief that there was a lot of iron ore deposits in the mountains around here, and so it was called South Pittsburg because they thought it was going to be the Pittsburg of the South. Ah, that's cool. And the population here, I think today, is probably around 3,000, 3,500 people. Okay, so very small, yeah, very small town.

Todd: 5:37

Very cool, All right. And so when you moved, let's see you moved out of your house, at what age.

Richard: 5:44

I was 15. I moved out. I guess you could say I moved out, but during the week I went back home and my day in school consisted of being picked up by the school bus at 5.30 in the morning and going to school all day long and riding the school bus back and I would get back about 5, 5.30 and study three or four hours every night and get back up and do the same thing every day. And so that was grades 9 through 12, the way that worked. And then pretty much every weekend I came back to South Pittsburg and actually lived with, stayed with War Out my Welcome, I'm sure with some of my friends, and I got to a point where I was really I felt bad about asking, and so then at several occasions I just came with a sleeping bag and I stayed out in the woods and slept under, slept wherever I could find, without bothering my friends and their families. But there's so many good families that I want in particular that I'm very thankful for that.

Todd: 6:58

They took me, and so I don't know where to go from there so if, if you're, uh like, all right, so you're going through this time in your life, you're sort of figuring things out for yourself, right, and you're, you're in that position, at some point do you have a mindset of, like man, I messed up. Or do you think, no, I'm gonna do this, like what's? What's your mindset going through all that? Like when you're staying with people wearing out your welcome, you're out in the woods, sleeping in a sleeper. Are you thinking to yourself I've got this, or are you thinking I made a mistake? What's going through your mind?

Richard: 7:34

No, I didn't think I made a mistake at allborn child. My older sister and my younger brother. They stayed in the environment that I didn't want to be in, and my older brother, he had gone off to college and my older sister she had gone off to college. So it was the three of us that were there and I guess you could say I sort of gotten away from that environment that was at least I felt like was very toxic.

Todd: 8:17

And you were sort of still getting bits of information from them, I'm assuming like how things are going at home, yeah, and both of them, both of them.

Richard: 8:24

they're now like how things are going at home, yeah, and both of them, both of them, both of them are now deceased. They got messing with the wrong crowd and drugs and all that kind of thing, and just both of them really messed their lives up, man.

Todd: 8:39

I'm sorry to hear that. If you don't mind me asking, do you feel like some of that was a byproduct of growing up in that environment? I do yeah.

Todd: 8:48

That's tough In your situation. It's interesting to me hearing this too, because you're out there fending for yourself, but because it was out of necessity, I could tell you wouldn't just put yourself in those situations unless what was what you could go back to was worse, and that's kind of what I'm feeling is like being out there in the woods or staying with friends or whatever, whatever the case may be, was a better alternative than staying in that environment, and that's what that's what I'm kind of feeling from that. Is that fair? What are your thoughts? That's fair.

Todd: 10:23

Yeah, and so all right. So you get out of school, you graduate. What do you do from there?

Richard: 10:30

Like, where do you go from that point? I graduated, let's see, in 1972, and I went to school at Macaulay School in Chattanooga and the first two years, the 9th and 10th grade, were military, and then they switched to non-military in the 11th and 12th. Okay, and so in 72, when I got out of Macaulay well, prior to that I got out of Macaulay, well prior to that I went to a school, first through eighth grade, which is about two or three miles down the road from where we are right now, a school called Richard Hardy Memorial School. Okay, and I had some of the best teachers, looking back that they were really really good and I got a really really good education there. And so when I went to ninth grade at Macaulay, most Macaulay students started at Macaulay in the sixth grade. Oh, okay. So when I go to Macaulay I'm kind of going, oh no, this is going to be tough. And that's when my dad told me he said I'll give you a good education. And I do appreciate that he did do that.

Todd: 11:45

Sure.

Richard: 11:46

And even though that's not where I wanted to go or be. But looking back, I think it was one of the best things that happened to me. So that school that I went to through the eighth grade, when I got to Macaulay, I was at least equal to or more advanced than those kids that had gone to Macaulay in the sixth and seventh grade. And one of the things my father always did, you know, he was the type that would always say you can't do that, you're not going to be able to pass at Macaulay, and over the years there'll be more stories about that, about, well, you can't do that.

Richard: 12:33

And the more I got told I couldn't, the more I got inspired to prove him wrong. Prove him wrong, yeah. Inspired to prove him wrong, prove him wrong, yeah. And so at Macaulay I made really good grades and one of my motivating factors was what I just said. But the other one was, if I stayed in an A grade level, I didn't have to go to study hall and I could go to the library and sleep and there'd be like two periods and I could go to the library and sleep.

Todd: 13:06

Wow.

Richard: 13:09

There'd be like two periods where I'd go to the library and lay around and read Sports Illustrated or go take a nap or whatever, and then wake up in time to go to the next class. That's great. So Macaulay was a really, really good education for me. I met a lot of great people there, but my heart never left South Pittsburg. When I graduated at Macaulay. My dad I can't remember if he came to my graduation or not, I know when I graduated from college because they always told me I'd never graduate from college and it really hurt my feelings that he did not come to my college graduation. But that's okay. I mean, hey, that's life, yeah. But after Macaulay I went to school at the University of the South at Suwannee, which is just up the road from here, and I loved it.

Richard: 14:07

After Macaulay I went to school at the University of the South at Suwannee, which is just up the road from here. I loved it. The college life was party, party, party and have a good time. They had party weekends and all that sort of thing. I had a girlfriend here in South Pittsburg as well that we started dating about the time I was 16, 15, 16, and ended up marrying her. But anyway, I went to school at the University of the South from 73 through 75, 76. And then I transferred to the University of Tennessee, chattanooga, okay, graduated from there in 1977. And when I got out of college in 77, in May of 77, I came to work for United States Stove Company and my first job was sweeping floors at US Stove. And that was a hard job, yeah.

Todd: 15:09

I'm sure it was.

Richard: 15:10

If you apply yourself. Sweeping floors is a hard job.

Todd: 15:13

It's like a never-ending job too. Yeah, yeah, it's like those floors never get cleaned. Yeah, yeah.

Richard: 15:19

So when I was sweeping those floors and I worked doing that kind of thing and worked doing various other jobs and in my going around throughout the company, which, where we are now, is where the company originated Actually it goes back to 1869, but the US Stove moved here. Actually it goes back to 1869, but the US stove moved here, yeah, 1860, I guess the building was built right about the time of the Civil War and it was a huge building and the company employed I don't know probably at that time probably 400 or 500 people.

Todd: 16:00

Is that here in South Pittsburg?

Richard: 16:01

Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, and there's a story behind that and we can go off on that here a little bit.

Todd: 16:08

Yeah, absolutely.

Richard: 16:09

But so after sweeping floors and doing that kind of thing, I noticed these guys in a section of the business of the company where there was probably I don't know 150 or so people making cast iron parts and making molding and doing it the old-timey way. I mean it was hard, dirty, dangerous work and instead of sweeping floors I said, hey, you know what I'd like to try that try to be a molder. And what's involved in molding? You pack sand, you put different patterns in there and then we would start at 6 in the morning and at 1.30 every afternoon they'd tap the cupola. We would carry the molten iron by hand ladles, pour the different parts and it was piecework. And that's what I liked.

Richard: 17:09

I wanted to be my own boss and I didn't like getting paid. I remember my first paycheck for 40 hours was $37.11. And I thought I was rich. But anyway, I went to work in the foundry and I just loved it. I mean I loved it. I worked in the foundry for the next all throughout high school and even through college, because I skipped classes at college, because I didn't have any money and I came and molded, skipping classes to make money because I was, I guess. I think I might have been one of the kids there that didn't have as much money as the rest of them, sure, and so I went to college, university of the South, and then transferred to UTC, and in that process, during that time, in 1975, I got married and in 1979, my wife had twin boys. So those twin boys are now 45 years old. Wow.

Todd: 18:19

I've got twin girls. Oh, do you, yeah, but they're not 45.

Richard: 18:25

The minor fraternal twins yeah, RS2.

Todd: 18:28

Yeah, rs2. Yeah, they're eight and so all right. So I'm curious. I got a couple of questions here. So the first thing that popped in my mind is, at that time, that you got that check for 40 hours's like 39 and some change, like, yeah, back then that was actually decent money. Back then, right, oh yeah, yeah, I was thinking so because because I was like, wait, that's, that's almost a dollar an hour, which back then was yeah, but great.

Richard: 18:52

But when I started bolding, guess what I was making I was making that much every day?

Todd: 18:58

no way yeah, was it just because of how laborsome the work was, so it paid more because it was dangerous.

Richard: 19:06

You got paid. It's called peace work. You got paid for what you did, sure, and I worked my butt off.

Todd: 19:12

I did. Well, that was the other thing I was going to say is that I can tell, just even so far, in this short time that we've talked so far, that you have an unnatural drive that most human beings don't have. I can sense that from you already because you attribute a lot to your schooling, people telling you no and it makes you want to go harder. And there's this recurring theme so far, even in this short conversation, of drive.

Richard: 19:39

Well, in the foundry thing my dad told me. He said you know, if you work in that foundry you got to have a strong back and a weak mind. And he also said he said you go work in that foundry and it's a bunch of rough guys, you know, and he said they'll chew you up and spit you out. And he said you won't ever make it there. You won't ever make it over a week or two.

Richard: 20:05

And so you know again the same old story. I'm going to prove him wrong, but not just to prove him wrong. But hell, I was broke, I needed the money. Yeah.

Todd: 20:18

You wanted it for yourself too, but it didn't necessarily hurt anything to have some extra motivation in there. Oh no, that's so good. Okay, so what's that process like of you kind of went into it briefly of making these things from cast iron, because I think you said that South Pittsburg was sort of founded on iron ore, right, that's right. And so they obviously found some yes, and that's sort of what was feeding into this manufacturing happening here. That's right. And so they obviously found some yes, and that's sort of what was feeding into this manufacturing happening here.

Richard: 20:47

That's right and then okay. But US Stove Company dates back to 1869. And currently today I am the owner of US Stove oh wow. But also here in South Pittsburg is a world-renowned company called Lodge Manufacturing, and they're just across the street from where we are now and they sell cookware all types of cookware throughout the world, and a very successful company. I'm good friends with many, many members of their family and at that time they had a foundry similar to ours but more updated, and so I became friends. And there was another foundry down in Bridgeport, alabama, where they made cast iron parts as well, called Jacobs Manufacturing. And so there was three foundries here that were located here, I guess, because the iron ore deposits, but later on they found out that they weren't really what they thought they were, and so South Pittsburg was not really the Pittsburg of the South.

Todd: 21:58

Wow, so you correct me if I'm wrong. You said earlier that you started off sweeping the floors there, yeah, and now you're the owner of it, yeah, and that goes back to that drive that you have. It's like you're not settling for anything where you're at. You're continuously moving forward. Where did that come from? Where does that come from?

Richard: 22:17

Is that from your dad, or do you feel like that was from being in a family with a lot of siblings, or is it just built into you from the day you were born, like I, don't know, there's and there's so many times that, uh, you know, I think and I hope this doesn't sound like I'm tooting my own horn but there's been so many occasions where it's been almost hopeless in my life that, you know, I just, I think, I just have that drive inside of me because, maybe because I was told I couldn't do it, and when I get told I can't do it, it makes me want to do it more.

Todd: 23:01

Yeah, man, that's me want to do it more. Yeah, man, that's so good, it's inspiring, like it is, and I'm excited to get deeper into that. So you are—I'm trying to think where we left off. You were working—you basically made that much that you made from your first check, but you were making that daily yes. So then, where did you go from there? Like, where did your profession go from there? Like, what was your life like, transitioning from that?

Richard: 23:32

Well, I was like I said when I was at school I would skip classes and I had a motorcycle. I rode the motorcycle from over the mountains to Swanee and I didn't have enough money to buy a helmet. So I got this old football helmet and rode it most and I froze. I mean, during the wintertime it was cold riding over that mountain from here to Swanee and back. But so I don't know.

Todd: 24:05

I really want to see a video of you riding around on a motorcycle with your football. Well, everybody laughed at me.

Richard: 24:11

It was hilarious and.

Todd: 24:13

I, you know I didn't, I couldn't help it, I didn't care, and when I would get enough money at school, I would there's in my, in my dorm there's's they always had a poker game going on. Oh, there you go.

Richard: 24:27

Sometimes I'd do good, sometimes I wouldn't do so good. Just depended on the day of the week, right, yeah, yeah yeah, that's awesome.

Todd: 24:35

Okay, and then your wife was the girl you met at 16?.

Richard: 24:40

Yeah.

Todd: 24:40

That's incredible. And then, what year, how old were you when you guys got married?

Richard: 24:45

We got married in 1975, so I was 21.

Todd: 24:50

Wow, okay, so you get married at 21. I don't want to skip over anything. Am I skipping over anything if I jump to that?

Richard: 25:00

I don't know. We got time. You can go back if it sparks anything alright.

Todd: 25:04

So you guys get married. You've been together for a while up to that point yeah, five years what was that like? Did you get straight to kids, did you?

Richard: 25:16

no, we lived in a little 12 by 60 mobile home down a couple of miles down the road from here. We lived in that home until 1978. And I bought a home up on the mountain here called South Pittsburg Mountain and went in debt. That's another story. So in 1979, my twin boys they were born after we'd been married four years and in fact my brother helped me build the house. We did the carpenter work, the wiring, the insulation, so forth. I bought an old apple cellar up on the mountain and added an addition to that and I was laying the carpet the night before when my wife went into labor and had those boys and she got her to the hospital and they were born, no problem, 6'2 and 6'7, 6'2 ounces and 6'7 ounces, and so that and we had a really, really really good life together up to a point and unfortunately it was it didn't last. Sorry to hear that. I don't even know where to go from here.

Todd: 26:53

No, you're good, All right, so it's funny. You saying that reminded me of a funny moment. My wife and I, when we had our first, the day came and went when she was supposed to be due. So we went to the doctor and they were like, all right, well, how about this? We're just going to come back on Monday and then we'll induce labor. It's like all right, cool. So that night I go home and I'm on my headset playing video games with my friends. Like guys, monday I'm going to be a dad. It's happening. I stayed up late because I was like this is my last chance. I was like you know what I mean? It's like I'm about to be a dad, got responsibilities. I'm just going to stay up really late, play video games. I go to bed at like 1 o'clock in the morning. My wife wakes me up at 3 and goes into labor. Oh man, and I feel nauseous when I don't get a lot of sleep. So she's nauseous, I'm nauseous.

Richard: 27:48

Like I'm rushing her to the hospital. Well, I took my wife riding around in a dump truck I guess that's what induced the labor and it was bumpy and I said, hey, we're going to get those boys out of there. And, by the way, I didn't know if it was boys, girls, boy, girl. I didn't know. And I made bets with everybody it's going to be two boys and I won quite a bit of money betting on two boys.

Todd: 28:11

That's awesome. My mom told me she's like you watch, one day you're going to have a little boy and he's going to be just as awful as you were and like all this stuff. And I was just like praying. I'm like please, don't have any boys. I ended up with three girls so I'm like eat it.

Richard: 28:26

It's so funny. Well, I do have a girl, do you? That's later in the story, I guess.

Richard: 28:36

But I have a daughter. So we lived up on the mountain and, gosh, just so many good memories, very good memories. It's almost like looking back a fairy tale, because we were so happy and everything was so good and all of that changed drastically January 23, 1979. Actually, my boys were born December 15, 1979. But December 23, 1979, at that time I was, I guess you could say, kind of in the management of the company at that time and the company was in pretty bad shape financially. Basically the company was in solvent.

Richard: 29:31

And I remember that day my dad, walking by me, and I was actually I was sweeping some floors and putting up chicken wire because the bank wanted to quarantine the inventory because of just a dire financial situation. And I think, and so my dad walks by me that day and he says, richard, we're not going to make it. And I said, what do you mean? We're not going to make it? And he just kept walking and I knew, oh no, this ain't good. So I ran after him. He just kept walking. I said, hell, yes, we're going to make it. Hell yes, we're going to make it. He kept walking and later that evening he took a shotgun and blew his brains out in the driveway of his home, killed himself. I'm so sorry. So that was January 23, 1979. And not long after that's when I found out I got 20 boys on the way I'm going. Oh my God, yeah, wow.

Richard: 30:50

And my brother, my older brother, steve, and I he's five years older than me we kind of got left not kind of. We did get left holding a bag with a big mess, a really big mess. And so we, I guess we did what we had to do. We applied ourselves and worked very hard. The bank called our loan and we really had nowhere to go. But we went to. The bank was in Tennessee, in Chattanooga, and so we went to Atlanta on our hands and knees, literally on our hands and knees, begging for a bank to take us and believe in us and give us a chance. And so we went to. We got turned down by most, all of them, and then there was one that said, okay, we'll give you a chance. But they loaned us money at three over prime and back. At that time prime was 18%, so we had an interest rate we were paying of 21% and the debt was around $10 million. So we had to make, just to stay, even a significant amount of money to just do that.

Richard: 32:15

And I remember when we got the gray light from Citicorp in Atlanta, my brother had a little Vega car and it got really good gas mileage and so we traveled down there in that car and on the way back I said, hey, steve, you know we're high-fiving. I said, all right, we've got a chance. You know we've got somebody that's going to give us a chance. And so I said pull off this exit here and let's get a six-pack of beer and celebrate. So we walked into this convenience store, I bring the six-pack out and sit on the counter. He looks at me and I look at him and I said you got any money? He said no. I said well, I don't either. So I took the six-pack, put it back in the cooler, so we left and we didn't get to celebrate.

Todd: 33:06

That sounds like a scene out of a movie.

Richard: 33:09

It's true that's great. But going back to even further, when my father committed suicide on that January 23rd, back in 79, there was no such thing as cell phones. So I went to his home, saw where all the thing happened, in his driveway and so forth, and pretty devastating to look at and see and think about. But so I left there and I went and sat down by the river here called the South Pittsburg Boat Dock, and I did have me a six-pack of Miller Lite and I sat there and just watching the river go by and going what the hell am I going to do? What in the hell am I going to do? Yeah, so, and it's poured down rain that night and all of a sudden there's taillights come up behind where I'm sitting, sitting there by the river, and I knew who it was it was my brother.

Richard: 34:18

I get out of the car. It's poured down rain. I walk back toward him. He gets out of his car. It's pouring down rain. I walk back toward him. He gets out of his, he walks toward me. We stand in the middle of a mud puddle in the pouring down rain and crying, hugging each other, and both of us going what are we going to do? What the hell are we going to do? What the hell are we going to do? So I don't know what came over me, but I grabbed him, pushed him away and held him by both of my hands with his shoulders and I said Steve, steve, I'll tell you what. I'm going to work my ass off and I'm going to turn this company around and I'm going to pay all these people when we should have gone bankrupt. I'm going to make sure all these people that we owe money to that we pay them back, and I also going to make sure all these people that we owe money to that we pay them back.

Richard: 35:42

And I also want to be here when we pay the damn bank off. That's what I'm going to do, and I mean it. Chances of doing that, slim of none. Yeah, it's's pretty dire situation, the so, for the next six years, my brother and I worked our. If I slept more than three hours a night for the next six years, I don't remember doing it. And so, going back to you know, my dad said I'll give you three hours a night for the next six years. I don't remember doing it. And so, going back to you know, my dad said I'll give you a good education.

Richard: 36:29

Well, thankfully I did have one and I had somewhat of a brain anyway. And then I kind of laugh now because he said I'll give you education and opportunity. I thought, wow, I didn't know the opportunity was going to be like this, yeah, so it was an opportunity, even though it was a most people wouldn't look at it like as an opportunity.

Richard: 36:53

And so it was, and through a lot of luck, hard work, lucky breaks, I don't know who, you know. I don't know how we did it. Even today I really don't know how we did it, but we did and we paid everybody off and by George, we paid the bank off too. Wow, paid the bank off, and so that was very gratifying to have done that. And you know, it wasn't just to pay people off, it was to restore my father's name too, the pride that's powerful, the pride in my father's name.

Richard: 37:35

But my grandfather, previous to him, who is my hero and will continue to be the rest of my life, wrote a book about him. It took a couple of years to write a book about him, during COVID. But in 1929, here in South Pittsburg, what happened was US Stove was here at that time and was here from the 1860s through 1929. And there was a lot of labor problems. Anyway, on Christmas Eve of 1929, there was a gunfight here in the street and six men died in the gunfight. Actually, my grandfather was there. Actually he was on the roof of the building we're in here. The old original buildings are gone, but this is one section that still remains to this day. This is one section that still remains to this day. So in 1929, the owners at that time they finally just couldn't deal with the situation anymore and so the company was pretty much mothballed from 1929 until 1937.

Richard: 39:07

In 1937, my grandfather he was an entrepreneur, he had the first funeral home business in the Valley. He was a coal miner and, by the way, he worked in the foundry that I worked in in the early 1900s, had an eighth grade education, and all the local citizens asked my grandfather. I said hey, mr Rogers, would you be willing to see if you can't turn this company around? And so he went and sold everything he had, took everything he had, put it into the company and he bought the company. I don't know what he I guess just the money he had was just to get the company started back. And he, in 1939, or 1937 is when he did that, and that's when my family became involved in the ownership of the company, and then my dad after my grandfather, and then my brother and I after my father.

Todd: 40:16

I feel like you and your grandfather are probably very similar in a lot of ways, because for him to just sell everything like that and to be like I'm all in it sounds like he had that same kind of drive that you had. In a lot of ways, I take that as a compliment. I meant it as one. I really do, yeah, and I also want to get a copy of that book at some point. Is there a place I can get that, because I'd love to sit over there.

Todd: 40:44

Because I would love to read that.

Richard: 40:46

Well, the way the book came about about my grandfather. During COVID, when it started in March of 2020, I had this idea because I do think so highly of my grandfather I said, you know, in 2019, the company turned 150 years old, wow. And so I wanted to do it as a tribute to my grandfather and let future generations know what a great man he was. I also wanted to do it. It came about. Kind of funny how it all came about, but anyway, I got 18 family members on the phone in a conference call and I said, hey, everybody, I've got this idea. I'd like to do a book about our grandfather, about our heritage, about all that kind of thing. And I said if there's one of you all I mean just one of you all that objects to that, I won't do it, we won't do it. But if there's no one that objects, then I'm going to ask you to help put this thing together and I want you to help cooperate to a certain extent anyway. Sure, and you know, all families have their disagreements, their people's cousins, whatever that they just don't get along. Yeah, and that's just. You know the reality of it.

Richard: 42:29

But luckily, during that period of time, I went to a website called Story Terrace Okay, a website called Storyterrace Okay, and I hired a person, interviewed several, and hired this lady to be the writer of the book and, with us furnishing all the information for her to be the guiding force in putting the book together. And it took us two years to do that. Her name's Darren Kagan and she was a CNN news anchor for 13 years and I don't know what really happened as to why she wasn't there any longer, and that's another story altogether. So she and I became became very, very well, uh, acquainted and got to know, almost like this, what we're talking about right now.

Richard: 43:30

She, she knows my, my life story, sure, and so in putting that together and my grandfather's life story and the other stories involved that revolve around US Stove Company, around where we came from, who, all the personalities, people involved over the years, it was really a really a good experience, but probably the best thing that came out of it All of the family members when we got the book completed, we had a book signing and a little party in Chattanooga. There's a picture of all of them right there on the wall. I don't remember how many of them showed up, but we did that when we got the book completed. I've got a book where all of them signed my book and put a little comment in there about our grandfather, about our family and so forth, and so the best thing that came out of that book was it brought all our families so much closer together. Wow, it really did early day.

Todd: 44:55

So Richard is an author, entrepreneur, go-getter, family man. I love hearing all about this. So in that time COVID was crazy for everybody, like it forced a lot of people to have to slow down, which in a lot of ways I think was good. I, I know several people off the top of my head, my buddy tommy, uh, he works in music, and so covid forced him to, uh, finally start working on a christmas production that he'd always wanted to do, and now this year he'll be performing it at the Bridgestone Arena. That's how big it got, oh wow. And so it's funny because it's just something that I don't know if he ever intended for it to do that. But it's neat because in that time it made you go hey, here's this thing I've always wanted to do. Now's the perfect time to do it.

Richard: 45:40

Yeah, and at the same time I went and got certified as a scuba diver too. What I mean? I was old then I mean I was 66, and all these young kids are doing it and they're going. Who is this old fart here?

Todd: 45:54

Why is he here?

Richard: 45:55

I just said because I've always wanted to do that. That is amazing. I just said because I've always wanted to do that.

Todd: 45:58

That is amazing, all right. Well, now we've got to talk about that because I want to hear all the stories. So, scuba diving what?

Richard: 46:08

Why I was holed up in Destin, florida, and stayed there for several months during COVID. Because everybody was working remote at that time and I had a place in Destin that I stayed there for, went there to stay like a couple of weeks, ended up staying there like six or eight months.

Richard: 46:29

Wow and just I was bored. Just, you know, I worked out every day. There was a gym there and I got in the best shape of my life at that time. But unfortunately too, at that time in March of 2020, we had Yastove, had an operation in Bridgeport, alabama, a couple of miles down, a few miles down the road from here, and we had to shut it down, I mean, shut down the whole operation, and just had to lay off a lot of people. And you know, things got really, really, really bad.

Todd: 47:11

Yeah.

Richard: 47:13

That broke my heart, to have to do that, but you know, we had to, we had to survive, we had to survive to do that.

Todd: 47:23

But you know, we had to. We had to to survive. Yeah, it's, you know. A lot of times, when it comes to business and entrepreneurship, it's like people tend to only see the good side of it, you know, or they only really think about the good side of it, you know. But there's a lot of tough decisions you have to make regularly, you know, when it comes to that, and sometimes it affects other people and it's not always easy.

Richard: 47:45

Well, I had experience with that in 19— Okay, my brother and I we were partners beginning in 19—well after my father's death, but that's another. The story behind how we ended up being partners is a long, long one, and I don't really want to talk about all that. But eventually we ended up where he was 50% owner and I was 50% owner, and that was well 1980, I guess, when all that, after a lot of court hearings and all kinds of man banking relations lawsuits, it just really was overwhelming. It was just very overwhelming. And so we ended up, actually, my mother, my dad had remarried and she descended from the will and was postured to take over the company, basically, and my mother, anyway, went to court hearings and all that legal stuff, and my mother loaned Steve and I the money to buy the stock, which was worthless, it had no value. She loaned us the money and we promised we would work hard to dig the company out of the bad situation it was in and we would pay her back. And we did, we paid her back, and so, had she not given us the chance, we wouldn't have done it, we couldn't have done it.

Richard: 49:38

So then, you know, there was a lot of things happened that were to our benefit, that made our products very, very popular.

Richard: 49:49

The sales really did well, and that was definitely, you know, when I said earlier that hard work and luck and so forth.

Richard: 49:58

Well, yeah, we were lucky because back at that time, the same situation happened in 74 with the Arab oil embargo, and that's when sales went crazy. And then the war in Iraq and so forth took place, and when oil prices go high, our business does well. And our business does well too when there's a recession or economic times are bad, because people buy our products what they pay for it, normally they will save on the utility bills and it'll pay for itself in four to six months, depending on the product, depending on where they live, and so that's where the luck comes in. Sure, we don't have any control over what the economy does in this country. We don't have any control over wars. We don't have any control over what the economy does in this country. We don't have any control over wars. We don't have any control over a lot of things, but there are some things we do have control over, and so we were fortunate because of that.

Todd: 51:14

Yeah, that's true. It's like you know, I think about that even in my own business. Like you know, I think about that even in in my own own business, you know, with chattanooga beard company. It's like I never, you never, really know. Like you know it's, it's based on a trend. You know some guys are like, oh, beards are in and they want beard products and all that stuff, and then the next year they might be like man, I'm not going to grow a beard this year.

Todd: 51:35

You know it's like yeah and there's so many other companies out there you're constantly competing with and it's it's just an unknown. So I've just kind of come to the philosophy of just be a company that's honest, that's genuine, and let people make the decision based on that. You know, and and so that's that's where we've been and it's it's been amazing. Like the guys that buy our product, you've got a nice looking beard. I appreciate it. I appreciate it.

Todd: 52:01

You know the guys that buy our product are. You know they're buying more than more than just a beard product, because those are a dime, a dozen. Anybody can buy a beard product. But you know, we create an environment where people can actually talk to us, get in contact with us and we're real people, you know that's. I think that's really where the big value comes in. But okay, so at this, let's see I'm trying to think through the next part. So the scuba diving thing you were in Florida, you were there, for you said about six months ish, give or take, yeah, and you got into the scuba diving. What made you?

Richard: 52:40

Not really. I mean, I just wanted to get certified, I just wanted to say I did it. There you go.

Todd: 52:45

I like that. Did somebody tell you you couldn't do it? I don't remember, I don't remember. No, I was just kind of bored. You can't get certified.

Richard: 52:54

I was just kind of bored and thought, hey, you know, I just can't sit here and do nothing. And, like I said, I worked out every day. Sure, in fact, my brother and I Steve and I have been avid runners. He inspired me to start running when I was 31. So I'm coming up on 40 years of being one of those crazy people you see running up and down the side of the road. Wow.

Todd: 53:22

I've always admired that.

Richard: 53:23

Well, my brother and I used to every weekend go do a 5K or 10K or 15K and ended up doing marathons I don't know how many marathons and then eventually got into doing the Ironman competition thing in 2004. I did my first full Ironman in Panama City, Florida, and well, let's see what did I say? And then I hadn't been running long in 1986. Like an idiot, I ran the New York City Marathon and I did finish, but it was a horrible experience because I didn't train properly. But I finished. I think it took me four and a half hours or something, and then, 30 years later, I went back and did it again in 2016.

Todd: 54:15

How many hours did it take you the second time?

Richard: 54:19

It wasn't that much better because 30 years later, sure, but in between there there are those 30 years. I ran marathons in a lot of different places.

Todd: 54:34

So explain to me, because I'm not a runner, I don't claim to be and I don't know much about it. Marathons there's different lengths, right?

Richard: 54:42

No, they're all the same.

Todd: 54:43

They're all the same. What is that distance? 26.2 miles, all right, so 26.2 miles, that's equivalent to running from here to where.

Richard: 54:54

That gets you pretty close to Chattanooga.

Todd: 54:56

I was going to say it's probably not far from Chatt. Is it close to chattanooga? I was gonna say it's probably not far from chat. Is it so okay? And so how do you? How do? Is there a way to train for that other than just run a lot? Or is there like a specific thing that you do to train for? Oh yes, there's specific training plans are you allowed to share those secrets, or is that like?

Richard: 55:12

no, it's I mean I've read a lot of books. I mean there's a lot of different people that have their own plans and different things work, but the primary thing is to get in before you do a 26-mile run is, I think, get in at least three 20-plus-mile runs prior to then, and then the hardest thing is tapering off a week or two before and let your body recover. And the same thing is true of Ironman triathlon, which is even more of a challenge than a marathon. The Ironman, the full Ironman, is 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and then a 26.2-mile run. Wow.

Richard: 55:57

And I did my first one of those when I was 50 years old. That was in 2004. And I did another one when I was 60 years old in 2014. Then I did another one when I was 61 in 2015. I attempted another one in 2016, but the weather conditions were so bad in that the fourth one I tried that 40% of the field didn't make it. I ended up going to the hospital, had to get IVs and so forth. I made it 90 miles into the bike ride, but it was like 110 degrees. I mean it was horrible, wow. So you know, looking back, 10 years ago, I was in the best shape of my life 10 years ago. Wow, really was.

Todd: 56:52

And that's inspiring to hear because sometimes I'm like man, I just hit 40. I feel like I was in such better shape Like I bloomed later than most people did in their life, like I was in the best shape of my life in my mid-30s, like I just felt unstoppable and was training with a guy out of Chattanooga and doing bodybuilding and stuff and so I went from 135 pounds to 170 and just felt amazing, like when you put on that much muscle.

Richard: 57:19

You were packing in a protein, weren't you I?

Todd: 57:21

was. I was, I was eating, eating everything. And it was funny Cause, like you know, people were like what's, what's your diet? Like what's the plan? And it was funny Cause, like the guy who was training me his name was Jason Jason was literally like at my church hearing me tell somebody like I went, I kept having to go to the doctor. I, I happened to go to the doctor. I kept getting sick over and over and over again and I went to the doctor finally and the doctor was like you're like way underweight. Like you, at your height, you should be like walking around at least 150. And at that time I was 135 pounds. Oh, wow. And he's like you got to gain weight. Well, I'm complaining to my friends making excuses, like well, I eat all the time, blah, blah, blah. I don't know why I can't gain weight.

Richard: 58:00

Oh, that's good.

Todd: 58:01

yeah, and it just was a thing. I don't know why it was like that. And then Jason overheard me saying that and he's like I can help you gain weight if you want to gain weight. And he's like I'll train you and everything.

Todd: 58:16

And so it was that kind of thing he was just like whatever you're getting ready to eat, eat two of them. Yeah, it was like you wake up and you're like, oh, I'm going to have a bowl of cereal. He's like eat two bowls of cereal. He's like, if you're having a sandwich for lunch, eat two of them. Yeah, and it's like he just constantly eat. And that was harder than the training itself.

Richard: 58:34

Well, when you, when you're burning that many calories, you've got to put them in.

Todd: 58:37

Yeah, but it was two years straight of working out like an hour and a half, two hours a day, five days a week, two days for recovery, and I just got jacked. I'll have to show you some pictures here in a little bit. Most of the time when I say that people are like yeah, right, and it's like I show them, they're like started all of that. I was below average back then.

Richard: 59:00

I used to do weights too, but I didn't bulk up. I just did it for strength.

Todd: 59:05

But yeah, I love exercise, I love working out. I just don't like running. I've never been a runner but I always admire the people that do, because there is a dedication, it's a mental thing for me, I think.

Richard: 59:23

It was therapy for me, think it was therapy for me, and it still is how? Um, because mindless activities, you have your best ideas, agreed. I mean, like if you're taking a shower and you go, god, and these ideas pop into your head, yep, and over the last 40 years that's been that's, that's my therapy, that's when I'm by myself with myself and in this little world of my own.

Todd: 59:44

Yeah, that's where some of my best songs come from, oh yeah.

Todd: 59:47

And then also Mowing the Lawn. That's another one where ideas pop up. I'll have headphones on listening to music, but I'm not listening to the music, it's just drowning out the mundane mower sound. You know what I mean? Yeah, and I'll just have those on and I'll be pushing and all of a sudden I'll stop and I'll get out my recorder. I've got like a little button on my phone where, if I hold it in, it just starts like recording, because like I have ideas and I don't want to miss them, and so I'll pull that up real quick and then I'll just try to capture the thought or the idea or whatever it is, and then it's inspiring. Like I'll go inside and be like telling my wife hey, I got this idea, just hit me out of nowhere while I was mowing the lawn.

Richard: 1:00:21

Well, you're lucky you had a phone back in the day. When I was doing that, I carried a little notepad with me, yeah, and I would write. I mean, in fact, every on my bed stand at night there's a little pad and a pen. I would wake up in the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep because I'm always thinking, trying to figure out something, solve a problem or design a heater or all kinds of crazy things. It's crazy what your subconscious does when you're either mindlessly doing something, or maybe you're in a state where you're half asleep, half awake or whatever the terminology is. But it happened to me and it has. My entire life it's been that way.

Todd: 1:01:07

I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but I've had nights where I go to bed stressed out about a problem that I can't figure out a solution to, and I'll wake up the next morning or have a dream about the solution and like, wake up the next day and be like, oh my gosh, that's it, and it's like it's the weirdest thing. I've had that happen to me twice.

Richard: 1:01:30

I understand.

Todd: 1:01:31

Yeah, it's yeah, it's wild when it happens. It doesn't happen often enough because, like I, got a lot of problems actually it happened to me last night.

Richard: 1:01:40

With all these tariffs that are going on now, it's been a major, major challenge for yes Stove Company today. Sure, I probably slept three or four hours last night. I tried to doze off and wake back up and go back to sleep and tried to figure out what to do to deal with these uncertain times. Right now they definitely are.

Todd: 1:02:14

Yeah, all right. So let's see, I'm trying to think where we want to go from here. So, running, you ran, marathons, you did some Ironmans.

Richard: 1:02:29

Did you ever win any of those? Yeah, I won. I crossed the finish line, that's right, that's right.

Todd: 1:02:34

I don't think it works that way. Right, there's not like a first place.

Richard: 1:02:45

Well, yeah, I got some medals and so forth, but that's. You know, yeah, oh yeah, back in, back in my younger days, I was very, very competitive in in, you know, wanting to be placed, but as far as out, out outright winning. I think I came in second at one time in a 5k, but back in the day you know, back in those days, that the running craze was really, really, really popular. I don't know if it's that popular nowadays, I don't know, but uh, I feel like it fluctuates. I really loved it, though. I mean, it was like a weekend and I'd take my family, my wife and my my boys.

Richard: 1:03:15

When they were six years old, they ran, ran their first race and I tried to inspire them to do it. My brother inspired me to do it. But my brother, he weighed like 220 pounds and drinking heavily and not in very good health, and he started running. Actually, he started walking because he couldn't run because he's so big and fat. He started running. Actually, he started walking because he couldn't run because he's so big and fat, but he really became a very good runner and he won several races. I love my brother. No doubt he and I have been through some things together and you know, I guess hard times bring you together or drive you apart.

Todd: 1:04:03

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, do you guys still talk Is? He still around.

Richard: 1:04:09

Does he still run?

Todd: 1:04:10

Yeah, is your brother still running?

Richard: 1:04:11

No, he doesn't still run. He's got some health issues. Now he's 75, and he's had some health issues. In fact, he had back surgery done and that kind of was a bad result from that, and that's a couple of years ago.

Richard: 1:04:33

But my brother and I we about lost each other as being brothers in 1991. He walked in one day and he just said hey, richard, I want out. I said what do you mean you want out? Well, we had a legally binding document that was a buy-sell agreement. So if he told me what he thought his half was worth, then I had the option of saying okay, I'll pay it or you can buy me out for that amount. So just out of the blue, he walks in and lays that on me. And I think that was in late 1980, 1989 or early 1990, I think.

Richard: 1:05:30

And during that period of time from when we finally turned around the company in 86, he and I had different business philosophies, in that I'm more of a risk taker and he's very conservative. That doesn't make me right or wrong, it doesn't make him right or wrong Right. But our business philosophies were it didn't work out to have two people steering the boat when it really needed to be one person, you know, with one vision of where they wanted to take the company. Mine was different than his and I think what made him decide that he wanted out was in 1986, we bought a company down in Maybank, texas, moved it to Chattanooga making smoker grills, got into that business. Then in 88, I bought another company and let's see 89, 90, another one, and I started growing the business and growing it, I thought, did a good job and actually the one that I made the deal with in 90 ended up being one of the best ones.

Richard: 1:06:58

And unfortunately, that's about the time my brother said, hey, you know, here's what I want, here's how much. And I said well, steve, congratulations, you just bought the company. He said oh no, I don't want to buy the company. I said well, legally, that's the way it works. I said so, let's work, you know, let's try to figure this out, come up with a solution. So you know, you end up getting go where you want to and I'll do the same. So basically we made an agreement that he would leave the company for one year and during that year he would have nothing to do with the operations or decision-making or anything, and that I would, and if I could get it in a position in one year to where I felt like, okay, I'll buy you out, I'll pay you what you're asking, but if I don't feel comfortable with that, we'll just both sell the company.

Richard: 1:08:10

Okay yeah, he said that's fair enough. So he went on during that year he went and got his CPA, he got certified as a CPA and, by the way, he passed it the first time, which is highly unusual. So Steve's pretty dang driven too. So at the end of the year and during that year oh wow, a lot of things I had to do that were very unpleasant. We had a plant in Chattanooga I had to lay off were very unpleasant. We had a plant in Chattanooga I had to lay off several hundred people on a Friday afternoon. That was very tough. And then I sold that smoker business during that year to generate some money, some revenue, some funds, so that I could be positioned to pay Steve. We worked some more things out on some properties and so forth.

Richard: 1:09:13

So at the end of that year I remember I was deer hunting nearby in the mountains here and I and I was so torn about whether to take the chance or the challenge of buying him out and then continuing the company alone. And I remember I crawled up in a hackberry tree and if anybody knows what a hackberry tree is, the bark on those things is really kind of rough. I got up in that tree before daylight that morning and I didn't get out of that tree until after dark and all day long I beat my head against that tree. I had blood running down my face, all down my clothes, and if a deer had walked up under me under this deer stand, I wouldn't have seen him. I was just kind of in one of those places where what am I going to do? You know what am I going to do?

Richard: 1:10:09

So before I got up in that tree, I made the decision that as soon as my foot hit the ground, I wasn't going to waffle, I was going to be committed. I remember when my foot hit that ground I said and I had attorneys, I had all kinds of advisors saying don't do it, it's not worth it, it's no, no. And I still kept saying, you know, I'd rather try and fail than not try at all and wonder the rest of my life, well, could I have done it? So I finally came to that conclusion. As soon as my foot hit that ground, I knew what I was going to do and I was balls out. Then I was ready to take the bull by the horns and ride him best I could. There you go, wow.

Todd: 1:11:14

Okay, and so you did right, you bought him out.

Richard: 1:11:17

The deal was that I would pay him over a 10-year period to be able to deal with the cash flow and maintain the business as a viable business, and this is where I about lost him. He didn't speak to me at all for well over a year and I had these terrible, terrible nightmares about that because it bothered me.

Richard: 1:11:47

Yeah terrible nightmares about that because it bothered me. And as time went on I started having those nightmares turned into dreams pleasant dreams, and incidentally, I was supposed to pay him over a 10-year period. I paid him all of it after two years. Wow, Turned it around so quickly. I think it kind of made him a little bit mad, even though he got paid. I mean, little brother's not supposed to outdo big brother, Right right.

Richard: 1:12:22

But that's not what he wanted to do. He didn't want to do that, and I respect that. So those nightmares started turning into dreams, and that dream ended up being that he walked up to me, hugged me and said hey man, richard, what a great job Hugged me and made us be brothers again.

Todd: 1:12:45

Sure.

Richard: 1:12:46

Because it was tough, hard things going on between us and there's a lot of things happened that could have turned us against each other, maybe for the rest of our lives, sure, but fortunately that didn't happen and that dream became a reality. He did, that's what happened, and we've been close brothers ever since, and that was in 19,. I don't know, 92 or 3. And one thing with him and his philosophy, I said. He said, steve, I want to get this company where it works for me instead of me working for it. He said, oh hell, you won't ever do that. Well, that was, I was saying that when I bought him out. And fortunately, that's what my goal was to get it that way.

Richard: 1:13:45

And fortunately, what happened five years later got tested, because on November 11th 1995, I got struck by lightning, what? And I was in a hunting cabin, in a bed of sleep on Montego Mountain, old primitive cabin, plywood cabin, and there was three other people in the cabin with me. I was in a wooden bunk, on the lower bunk and above me was a young man named Jason Berry. At that time he was 14. He might have been 13, 13 or 14 years old. His brother, brandon, was on the ground floor with me and their father, mike, was also on the ground floor. Lightning came through the cabin, came up. There was a set of metal steps outside and I happened to be the one closest to those metal steps and the lightning happened at about 5.30 on the morning of November 11, 1995. The lightning came up through those steps, went in through my feet and came up through those steps, went in through my feet, burned, melted all my clothes on my body, set the bed on fire, set the cabin on fire. Mike and Brandon were on the same floor level as I. It knocked, but it killed me. It knocked out Brandon and it knocked out Mike.

Richard: 1:15:27

Fortunately Jason was in the bunk above, above and it did not knock him out. He had, by the way, for a pill. He had a hunting vest with 30-06 shells rolled up in that hunting vest. It melted those shells together under his head, oh my gosh. So he realized that the cabin was on fire. He jumped out of that top bunk, took a cover and put me out. I was laying in a bed on fire and I was dead. He pulled me out of the bed, got me in the floor, got his I guess he woke up his brother and his dad and said hey, richard's on fire, hey, oh God, and the cabin's on fire. And the cabin, it was on a bluff up on Montego Mountain and it's very unusual because it's in November and lightning storms don't happen in November around here, yeah, that seems like the worst.

Todd: 1:16:31

That's weird.

Richard: 1:16:33

But Jason had seen on the refrigerator door this magnetic thing about how to do CPR. Jason did CPR on me, and while he's doing CPR on me, I am up above watching him do it and I'm going through this brightly lit tunnel and it was so peaceful, I didn't. I mean, it was such a peaceful experience, just a brightly lit tunnel, and it was just awesome. And I really didn't want to come back. And before that, though, I was up there sitting on the ceiling or above watching him do CPR on me. I mean, I know this all sounds weird. No, I've heard that I was watching him do it. And then I'm going through this tunnel. I was watching him do it, and then I'm going through this tunnel, and next thing I remember is being slapped in the face very, very hard, and coming to and looking up, and there was Jason's father standing above me. Of course, he was upside down. I mean, he was above my head, standing over you. Yeah, I was laying on the floor and he's slapping the hell out of me. I said whoa, whoa, what are you doing, mike? He said hell, you've been struck by lightning and my clothes were melted on me and it was still storming and the cabin was on fire. The mattress that I was on. It was still storming and the cabin was on fire, the mattress that I was on it was still burning. So I felt myself going into shock at that point. And how in the heck?

Richard: 1:18:32

At that time in 95, I did have a cell phone and it never worked at that location. Somehow that cell phone worked that morning and they called their Mike, called his wife and told her what had happened. So they got in touch with the emergency services and so forth and we were way out in the middle of nowhere, out in the woods, services and so forth. And we were. We were way out in the middle of nowhere out in the woods. So they came and got me and I think it's I don't really remember the make of the vehicle or anything, but I think it's like a log wagon or something. But trees had blown down everywhere and it was, and I had a vehicle parked. It fried all the circuitry in my vehicle. Big rocks were blown out of the ground. I mean it was crazy. Big, huge trees were split. I've got pictures. I'll show you downstairs of that.

Richard: 1:19:24

But fortunately they got me out of there and I was picked up by life force from Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga and back at that time they had a burn unit and so I was flown to Erlanger on life force and I remember it. I was in so much pain and I remember it. I was in so much pain, got there and I spent 11 days in intensive care. I think it's Channel 3 or Channel 12, one of the local stations, announced on the evening broadcast that I had died. I got third-degree burns all over my body and so forth and it fried my.

Richard: 1:20:15

Hands are numb today and sore my feet, but I've adapted to it, I've gotten used to it. I've had three operations on my left eye, but other than that I'm fine, wow. So anyway, I spent the time there in Erlanger and I was told I'd never walk again, much less live, and I went through so many different prognosis and doctors and so forth from 1995 for the next two or three years, and I was in a wheelchair, pretty incapacitated. So the story I was telling you previously about getting a company where it worked for me instead of me working for it. I'm glad I did, because the company survived and it continued to exist while I was in that shape.

Todd: 1:21:07

That's a testament of a good leader.

Richard: 1:21:10

Well, I had a really good management team.

Todd: 1:21:12

Yeah. So, I did. I've often heard people say that it's like a good leader is someone that can identify people's strengths and give them opportunities to be in position to have that ability to run things. And you can always tell the strength of a leader by his absence. If everything still runs smooth, it's probably ran by a great man.

Richard: 1:21:35

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, I mean, if you're any business owner, you know you can be a slave to your business or you can maybe work smart a little smarter and let your business work for you, that's right, and you've got to get good people to do that of course.

Todd: 1:21:51

Yeah, all right. So, wow, all right. I don't even know where to begin with that one, because I didn't expect that that was a good plot twist. By the way, well, I'm glad you didn't know anything about me before you got here. Everything's a plot twist when you don't know someone, all right. So you got struck by lightning. Like that's crazy, like the odds of that are like rare, like from what I hear you're, you're better off winning the lottery than getting struck by lightning. Yeah, so obviously you didn't expect that. What was no, like what, all right. So what was the recovery like from that? Because, in my mind— Well, for a long time when I say a long time.

Richard: 1:22:34

the recovery, well, it was in stages, but I was pretty much flat on my back for, I don't know, at least six months maybe, in such severe pain. I mean, there's no way to describe the pain. I use the analogy I spoke about Lodge Manufacturing being here in South Pittsburg that makes all the cast iron cookware. Just imagine taking a cast iron skillet and having a gas stove to cook on and put that cast iron skillet on that eye of that gas stove and picture yourself laying in that skillet being flipped over and over and over and over for eternity. It felt like eternity, I bet it did. And I was in so, so bad, such bad pain. Morphine, I was on that for probably a month, two months, and I said I'm not going to do this anymore. So I just, cold turkey, quit it. And I said I'm not going to do this anymore. So I just cold turkey, quit it.

Richard: 1:24:01

And I guess one of the things that happened during that period of time, both my sons at that time in 1995, they were 15, getting ready to be 16. And that was a very traumatic thing for them, as well as their mom, my wife. So that was not a good thing for our family, for me personally, or our family. And I recall very vividly one day my younger son, russ, walks in and I'm crying as usual, just hurting so bad, and it'd been months and months of that going on, and he's, he's. He walked up to me. Actually, I was in the bed and I was crying and he said Dad, are you going to die? I went, whoa, I never thought about dying like this, but I guess maybe I should have. And so I said, russ, I'm going to answer that question with two questions to you. The first one is you see that damn clock on the wall over there and it's got a man in hand on it and I've been watching that thing and one minute seems like an eternity to me because I'm in such pain. Will you take that damn clock off the wall? And the second question is will you put it under your arm and walk out that door and close the door behind you? I said okay. When he walked out, I sat up in the bed and I prayed, and my prayer was this If you will, let me live. I don't want to live for me, I want to live for others. And if you'll let me live, give me another chance at this thing that we call life. I will make a difference. For others. That was sometime during 1996, I guess maybe later, 96, 97.

Richard: 1:26:59

Many, many things happened after that. I mean, I was in a wheelchair and so I just I got an airdyne back and put that airdyne back. Well, previously to that I'd gone to doctors and all they were prescribing was pain medication and I was in a pain clinic in Chattanooga. I got my wife. I told her I said, wheel me out of here. And I was shooting a pain clinic in Chattanooga. My wife, I told her I said, wheel me out of here.

Richard: 1:27:29

And I was shooting the doctor birds. I was telling all of them if you stay here, you're going to die. I'm sitting there looking at all these people and I said, if I stay here I'm going to be dead. So I left there and that's when I quit. The pain medicine called turkey. The doctor ran out behind. He said if you quit that you're going to swallow your tongue. Going compulsions. I said, well, I'm ready to go. So I remember contacting several different friends. I said, hey, I want to, even though I was couldn't stand up or walk. I went and played one hole of golf with a buddy of mine on a walker and I remember it was a par four and I got a seven on it.

Todd: 1:28:10

That's not bad. Better than me on my best day.

Richard: 1:28:13

No, and then we got stuck because it was muddy and we got stuck in a cart. I never got off that golf course then and then I asked another buddy. I said hey, will you play a few hands, get some guys together and play some cards together, and just crazy things like that. Because I really did think that my days were numbered and I thought, you know, hey, make the best of what you got, make the best of what I got left. And I got told all kinds of crazy things about everything from that.

Richard: 1:28:45

I had leukemia and I had so many tests and so much medical misinformation and I got in that medical revolving door and I just decided I'm going to jump out of this revolving door, I'm going to do it my way, I'm going to go die my way and if I die, so bad I'll die. But then a fraternity brother of mine this is even crazier he was telling some guy in Florida about my situation. He said oh well, there's a doctor at every clinic in Atlanta. You ought to go see this man. He knows how to deal with that and he doesn't mask the pain, he does it by herbal healing. And I tried hypnosis, I tried acupuncture, I tried anything and everything, but I didn't want to take morphine. Sure, get hooked on any of that kind of thing. I'll tell you one thing that probably helped just as much as anything was uh, drink three or four, uh, miller lights here's. You know, and I'm still, I still really like my middle light today?

Todd: 1:29:55

yeah, absolutely, but uh, we'll have to have a miller light after this.

Richard: 1:30:00

Oh, yeah, the guys gonna be in here later we'll have, but uh, uh, so that was uh, that was quite a struggle and so I went to the doctor at Emery Clinic in Atlanta, dr Hammonds, and I went in there and I had this bad attitude about doctors anyway, but I went anyway and I wasn't very nice to him during our first visit because I had to wait a long time and there was other people sitting around there in such pain. Yeah, I mean, I could go off on a tangent, tell you stories about these other guys that were sitting by me in the waiting room.

Richard: 1:30:37

And terrible, terrible. One guy had his leg cut off, a truck wreck Another guy he was an ARC agent. He got shot to the shoulder of his bulletproof vest and he was paralyzed. And so they told me their story and then asked me what mine was. I said oh, I'm fine, I don't have any problems.

Todd: 1:30:55

Not compared to yours.

Richard: 1:31:00

And I mean it was so memorable what they were telling. And you know, it's funny how things become more important to you than what they might have been previously. More important to you than what they might have been previously. But anyway, dr Hammonds, during that visit he said you know why don't you try to get on a stationary bike and ride it, maybe 15 minutes, three times a week? I said, no, not going to do that. I'm going to get on that thing and ride it two hours every day.

Richard: 1:31:30

There's that drive, not only that I'm going to get on it and ride it two hours every day out in the hot weather, in the sunshine, and I want to make myself hurt like hell. There you go, and so I did. And after about, oh, it hurt like crazy. I mean, hey, if you're going to hurt, why not hurt yourself worse? I mean, there's different degrees of hurt, that's right, and it was horrible, but it was also at the same time I'm going. Well, hey, maybe I am going to get better.

Richard: 1:32:02

And you know what? I got where I could stand up again after about I don't know three to six months. That's so good. I got where I could stand up again after about I don't know three to six months. That's so good. I got where I could stand up again. And then, guess what? I got where I could actually walk. And then I got where I could run again, and I'll never forget running one mile. I lived on the mountain and finishing that run, laying down in my yard, crying, looking at the sky and just saying thank you, yeah, thank you, for giving me this another chance at this thing called life.

Todd: 1:32:40

Wow, that's so good. If you're going to hit your head on the tree, you may as well do it until your foot hits the ground, right. Hey, why not? Wow, you know, I realize the doctors messed up whenever you was walking out of there and they told you well, you're going to do this and that and the other and you're going to swallow your tongue. It's like that drive that you have. They just told you what was going to happen. No, that ain't happening.

Richard: 1:33:03

Not with me. Well, by the way, that same doctor he got, I think he lost his license for over-prescribing paid medications, which we all know that happens A lot. Yeah, there's a lot of money flowing through those doctors. I didn't have any idea that that was going on, but I just knew if I was going to die. I wanted to die on my own terms and it was not making me better, it was just masking the pain. So I hit that pain head on and made it hurt worse.

Todd: 1:33:36

There's there. You are super interesting. I feel like I feel like I could do a nine hour episode. We may have to do that. Let's set a record. See what the longest podcast episode is.

Richard: 1:33:47

You said you had 55 hours on the battery. I got 55 hours.

Todd: 1:33:51

We actually have 54 now.

Richard: 1:33:54

Well, we may have to take a beer break.

Todd: 1:34:00

This is incredible, and the one thing that I really feel like I'm hearing over and over again, just as you're telling these stories, is just, you have a will and a determination about you that is inspiring Like it makes me want to mimic that and I think that's an incredible thing.

Richard: 1:34:18

Well, some people call that stupidity. Yeah, that's good.

Todd: 1:34:27

So what advice or what do you want people to get out of this Like whenever they're listening to this episode? Is there something that you want to?

Richard: 1:34:34

tell people, yeah, okay. So after I got where I could walk, run, do somewhat normal things again and got back able to function reasonably normal, about that time I realized that my wife had pretty much given up on me and she was going outside of her marriage and so our marriage disintegrated, ended. That was that's probably one of the one of the toughest things, because I truly loved her. One of the toughest things because I truly loved her. But you know, the reality of it was she probably didn't want to be taking care of some invalid guy. You know Not sure that necessarily what happened. But so then we got a divorce and she left and my two boys at that time were still with me. They wouldn't work and after three occasions, on the third occasion I said listen, you're not going to work, you're not going to live here. So I gave each one of them a garbage bag and I said go get whatever your shit in your room is, put it in that bag. Oh, I don't want to. I said no, I'm talking about right now. Go get your stuff whatever you think you might want, because you're not coming back here and I'm walking you to the front door and telling you bye, you're not welcome back here. If you're not going to work, you're not living here. So they went and moved in with their mom and it didn't work. She did pretty well with the divorce and lived off that.

Richard: 1:36:58

I guess they didn't think they had work and unfortunately, just a few years later she died of brain cancer, and so that was devastating for my sons, both of them. One of them had a nervous breakdown and he hasn't been able to live on his own since the age of about 18, 19. 18, 19. So for the last 20, 26 years he's been living in group homes. He can't take care of himself. That's my older son he's the oldest one by one minute and then the one that's the youngest one, russ, the same one that walked in my room and I told him to get that clock off the wall. He's having his struggles and he's currently in a place for rehab from being filled with meth and drugs and so forth, and so, unfortunately, both of their paths have not been very good paths up to this point. I still don't give up hope.

Todd: 1:38:15

You know my children are young and I as a father, I have that thought a lot of times, like what if they grow up and they make choices that aren't great? And there's a worry there. You know what I mean and I'm sure it's common. Every father probably thinks about that. Oh yeah, still worry about mine today.

Todd: 1:38:36

Yeah, yeah and it's at some point and I'm hearing this commonly, not just with your story but other gentlemen that I've talked to who have older children you know it's like at some point you have to kind of have a realization that, like, you've got to let them be their own person and you're not responsible for the choices that they make. You know that's right and I hear that a lot from them.

Richard: 1:38:57

We can't be enablers either, and that's probably one of my pet peeves, I guess call it what you want. Yes, call it what you want. But you see so many parents that they think they're helping but they're just putting a Band-Aid on it and it's a temporary solution to a problem that needs to be addressed more sternly than just a Band-Aid here and a Band-Aid there, sternly than just a Band-Aid here and a Band-Aid there. And I was, you know, I guess I was pretty stern and maybe harsh, more so than others in my immediate family thought I should be, but I didn't really feel like I was. I thought I was being fair and actually, because of my background, I kind of thought, hey, you know, hey, it's time to grow up. You're 15, 16 years old, so you know right or wrong. That's the way I felt, sure, but you know your question you asked a little bit ago about what do I want the takeaway to be from all this that's been talked about so far? The prayer I made to give me another chance. What happened in the process of writing that book? What happened in the process of writing that book and when we started writing it in 2020, toward the end of 2022, we were getting through with it, prayed what I prayed, and that I wanted to make a difference in other people's lives. You know, I've realized that I haven't delivered on that promise, that I haven't delivered on that promise and the takeaway I want to give on that is I started a foundation and the name of the foundation is called Just One More.

Richard: 1:41:23

It's called Just One More Foundation. I have a website, justonemorefoundationorg, and it's been in existence. Now we're two and a half years into it and I would encourage anybody listening to this to look at the website justonemorefoundationorg and see what it's all about. But basically, what it's all about it's for people that are in a hopeless situation or feel like they're in a hopeless situation. It's for people that have a plan to work hard and put forth the effort and energy to get themselves out of that hopeless situation, and what Just One More Foundation does is we take grants from people with that situation going on in their life, whether it be mental illness, whether it be mental illness, whether it be educational needs, whether it be medical things or anything else. The mission statement. I'm not going to read it to you word for word because that's too plain vanilla, but it's on the website plain vanilla, but it's on the website. And since, in the last two and a half years, what we do, we have cycles and the giving cycle each year is from let's see if I get this right January, from January through March and then from July through September.

Richard: 1:43:12

There's a three-month window twice a year where you can go to the website, apply for a grant. All you got to do is hit the button apply for a grant. There's a questionnaire. The questionnaire asks easy-to-under, understand questions. You know why are you applying, so forth and so on.

Richard: 1:43:33

But the other key, very key component of this the people that we pick to help, and we choose to help. When I say we, there's several other individuals involved in the organization that started, but one of the biggest factors is whoever that person is, if they get themselves out of a problem situation and overcome their obstacles that they're facing. One of the key things we're looking for is if they want to do it, so they can go help others as well, not just themselves. That's cool. And so in the last, let's see the first year. Well, up to this point, we have given somewhere between a half million and a million dollars away. Wow, and we do it. It's vetted with a committee of people. It's not just one person or two people, it's a committee of people. That it's not just one person or two people, it's a committee of people that look through these. We make the selections of the people. We call them do a podcast, a live podcast, oh, that's cool.

Richard: 1:44:40

And on the website there's a bunch of examples of that. On the podcast there's a lot of emotion and not only do we aid them and give them the assistance and the grant, we follow up with them and we follow up to see where their life has gone and what they're doing to honor that commitment to help others, and is that something that people listening can get involved with somehow?

Todd: 1:45:09

You better believe it. Yeah, go to the website. All right, good, because I'm interested to look more into that myself and see if there's a way we can get Chattanooga Beard to partner up and do some stuff with you guys somehow.

Richard: 1:45:21

So the takeaway I'll go back to. Yes, I wanted to put that out front and center. I wanted to put that out front and center. That that's most of the reason why I'm sitting here and wanted to do this interview, because I wanted to get that out. About just one more foundation, yeah, and when you look on the website you know I just kind of generally described it, but lo and behold, last, what was it? And this is on the website as well. Last October, which is about six months ago, the National CBS News film crew came in and did a story on the story we're talking about now. Yeah, that's cool and it aired on CBS Sunday morning sometime back in October I don't remember when it was the month, but gotten a lot of publicity out of that for the foundation. And let me say this too this publicity is not about for the foundation. And let me say this too this publicity is not about for Richard Rogers, it's about helping others and you can sense that.

Todd: 1:46:36

And that's what I love about what we're doing at Ash and Iron. It's like there is a genuineness to it, because there is no script, because there is no filter, it's just. This is the story and I think because of that, the listeners of this are going to resonate with that and get involved. I hope everyone listening gets involved in some way or another. Justonemorefoundationorg Is that correct? That's right. And it's spelled O-N-E, not the number one, right? Just O-N-E. That's correct.

Richard: 1:47:08

More yeah, okay, that's correct. More yeah, okay, just making sure. Just one more yeah. And we've had fundraisers and in fact we're doing a raffle here during the Cornbread Festival to try to raise some funds to give money's way going down the road, and I've got a really good group of people that are involved as board members and those people are shown on the website as well.

Todd: 1:47:32

Can I send some raffle items? Huh, can I send you some raffle items? Sure All right awesome? Yeah, because, chattanooga Beard, we want to do that and just donate whatever you guys raise from it.

Richard: 1:47:40

Well, we've already got it kicked off. We're giving away about $50,000 worth of items. Very cool. There's really some really good prizes and, by the way, there is a website. It's on the website too. You can buy the raffle tickets. You can buy them online and you do not have to be present to win oh that's fun.

Todd: 1:48:04

That is so fun. All right, everybody, make sure you check out that link. That's exciting and I love hearing that. I'll tell you after the podcast a little bit about how that resonates with me personally.

Richard: 1:48:18

Well, this place we're at here is called the Hooch, and the Hooch is a man cave on steroids. It's about a 12,000, 15,000 square foot warehouse, and you haven't. You just walked through. You haven't seen anything yet other than a few dead animals on the wall, and so forth.

Todd: 1:48:39

I do want to. Before I leave, I want a tour. I know that you said you were going to give me one and I was like, let's not.

Richard: 1:48:47

You didn't want to know too much about it, right, but the Hooch here is sort of the home base for just one more foundation, okay, and I guess you could say it kind of originates here. Maybe maybe not, I don't know, but I'm pretty proud of what we've accomplished so far for health. I mean, we're just two, two and a half years old and I'm pretty proud of that. In fact, I'll tell you how proud of it I am because just this last Christmas, on December the 20th, I had an appointment with my doctor that he checked my he. He said I had a I guess a scan done on my abdomen and he said, hey, there's something in there, looks like a problem. Oh, what's that? So he calls me.

Richard: 1:49:43

December 20th of last year, I mean just just six months ago, he says, hey, there's a, looks like a mass, a tumor, in your bladder. But don't dwell on it, christmas is coming up and I'll see you after Christmas. I go December 20th, I believe, is on a Friday and I go don't dwell on it. What do you mean? Don't dwell on it? Don't dwell on it. What do you mean, don't dwell on it? Well, I go in the next Friday, one week later, and I'm thinking, oh god, you know, I've got the C, the big C word, yeah, so he goes in and does a thing up my, I mean sure, with a scope yeah, and it didn't feel good.

Richard: 1:50:25

But so my significant other, who I've been with 25 years now, she's there with me and he looks at me and he looks at her and he says it's a huge cancerous tumor. And she starts crying. And I'm standing there, looking like deer in the headlight, and I'm going what, crying? And I'm standing there, it looked like deer in the headlights and I'm going what? And I go and she starts really I don't know how to describe it throwing a tantrum of an emotional whatever.

Todd: 1:51:05

I'd imagine Rightfully, so right.

Richard: 1:51:07

Yeah, and I'm going and I'm just kind of numb. I go well, and he looks at me and he says you got any questions.

Richard: 1:51:24

I said well, how long do I have to live? And she starts in on him too. And so he says hey, I'm sorry I missed this, I'm sorry I'm telling you this, but I'm just right. At this point, all I can do is try to save this man's life. That was on December 27th, on a Friday, I believe it was the following Monday.

Richard: 1:51:46

Three days later, I go in for surgery. I think they're going to take my bladder out and I've got cancer. I meet up with it and I go into the hospital, they put me to sleep and so forth, and while I'm out, the doctor comes. It's a different doctor, by the way. He comes walking up to Kay, my significant other, with a smile on his face, and she goes what's going on? I'm still under anesthesia. He said there's no tumor. There's no, nothing in there, there's nothing. There's no tumor, there's no, nothing in there, there's nothing. And he said but we took some tissue to send it off to be sure there's not any cancerous tissue or anything like that in there.

Richard: 1:52:39

And so I had to wait another seven days to get the story or the news about that. And I got. You know, I didn't. I'm just still kind of going whoa. But during that period of time I'll be honest I felt like, you know, if it's true, if I'm on my final leg here, you know what? At least, at least, I honored that promise that I made Back when I asked for a second chance, when I asked for another chance. So I've been given another chance, A couple chances. Yeah, I've been given several chances. I have, and I don't take that lightly at all.

Richard: 1:53:30

That's incredible, so I don't have anything to you know. And I asked that guy, the doctor. I said, hey, when do I need to come back to follow up on this? He says wait a year. I said bye, see you in a year.

Todd: 1:53:45

Wow, I don't know that I want to go any further. I said bye, see you in a year. Wow, I don't know that I want to go any further. I feel like that's such a great note to end on, but I also don't want to take anything from you. If there's something else specifically that you're like, you know what I really felt like during this conversation that I wanted to share.

Richard: 1:54:08

this other thing that's really what I want to share. I want to share that you know there's human struggles everywhere. Everybody's got their problems. Everybody's got their issues. Some people choose to. You know they get knocked down. It's not how you get knocked down, it's how you get up.

Todd: 1:54:29

Yes.

Richard: 1:54:30

And the ones that have the initiative and want to take the initiative and put forth the effort to change their situation. If it's hopeless or if it's whatever it is, hopeless is probably as good a word as any, at least from my past, is probably as good a word as any, at least from my past if they've got that determination and the will to change their situation and not sit around and go oh, woe is me.

Richard: 1:55:04

you know that's the kind of people that Just One More Foundation is looking for, because, again, if we can help that person and that person will help other people. We're starting what I call the second chance movement.

Todd: 1:55:22

Yeah.

Richard: 1:55:23

And it's pay it forward.

Todd: 1:55:25

It'll snowball.

Richard: 1:55:26

Yeah, yeah, that's my hope and to this point I think we've given away in over 20-something states all over the country. We try to focus a good bit of it locally to the local area, but my hope and dream is to grow the thing and it become more and more of a way of thinking and a way of people living their lives and being an influence on others' lives.

Todd: 1:55:58

That's so great and I want to add on to the end of this episode.

Todd: 1:56:03

I don't normally do this, but I just want to personally say thank you to you, richard, first of all, but also to all the guests and all the people that listen to this podcast, because when I first set out to do this, it was not what it turned into.

Todd: 1:56:19

It was just an idea. I love people and I love hearing people's stories. I personally have a story and I will share it at some point in one of the episodes, but I just wanted to create an outlet for guys to have a place to share those stories. I personally have a story and I will share it at some point in one of the episodes, but I just wanted to create an outlet for guys to have a place to share those stories, and it has changed my life in ways that I didn't think possible. And I've had people from all over the United States that I've never met, don't even know who they are or how they found out about the podcast that hear these stories and reach out like please keep making these episodes. And it's turned into something bigger than I set out to create.

Richard: 1:57:00

Well, it could be a good influence. I mean, I see it as a really good influence because I've listened to one previously and that's how we got connected. I happen to know the guy Michael Brandt and that's how we got connected. I happen to know the guy Michael Brandt. That's how we got connected. His story was very inspirational, extremely inspirational.

Todd: 1:57:21

And every guest that I've had on. I've just been honored and we've become friends and I'm planning to keep in touch with you now. I hope so, and it's an incredible thing that's happening with the podcast, and so I hope that everyone listening right now knows that this means more than just another number of plays. Like to me, it's more than that. I genuinely hope that something you've heard in any of these episodes motivates you, encourages you, inspires you in some way to where you say you know what. I'm not going to stay in my current situation, and I think that's been the central theme for everybody that's been on this show. It's like everyone has something that they offer or bring to the table and it's such a cool thing to be a part of. So, if anything, I'm the least common denominator in this whole podcast. It's like I'm just here facilitating, but really it's the listeners and the guests that make this what it is. So thank you for sharing and being a part of this.

Richard: 1:58:22

Well, thank you for listening to me. I know I probably rambled quite a bit, but there was no script to it and I had no script. I had no idea what questions or what might come up.

Todd: 1:58:39

I didn't know what you looked like. I don't know why, but I was picturing a guy with like a cool mustache, and then I'll pull up and it's like you got a little mustache and so and and I love that, I love, I love that about. About what I'm doing here is just, yeah, we never met before. Yeah, I never looked you up online, didn't know anything about you, had no idea what you even looked like. You just said, hey, I'm over here waving my arm and I was like, oh yeah, there's a guy over there waving his arm yeah and uh.

Richard: 1:59:04

So after you drove for four hours, yes, I did.

Todd: 1:59:09

I did drive a lot longer than. I expected today. And then I guess, lastly, is there someone that you want to nominate, and if so, you don't have to do it on here on the episode. We can do it off the episode. It's up to you if you want to, and you don't even have to answer it right now.

Richard: 1:59:26

No, I don't, I can't.

Todd: 1:59:27

I probably would like to, but no well, if you do think of someone, you've got my number. You can always feel free to call me up or text me or whatever you want to do.

Richard: 1:59:35

Yeah and I'll tell you this has been a good experience. And, uh, if, if nothing else, it's uh, I don't know if you've been able to tell it, but I get pretty emotional about some of these, some of these things and these things, and it just feels good to talk about it sometime and it's almost it's therapy.

Todd: 1:59:58

Yeah, it is. We're friends now. Yeah, and it really is true. Like as soon as I hit, stop on this. Like I guarantee you I'm going to give you a hug, we're going to have a beer Sounds good to me.

Richard: 2:00:09

Hey, listen, all we got is Miller Lite. Though that works for me, I'm not picky, but anyway.

Todd: 2:00:13

Thank you guys. So much for listening to this episode of Ash and Iron. Thanks for supporting and thanks for being a part. Remember, don't forget to check out justonemorefoundationorg and just check out what Richard and his organization has been doing.