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Episode 4: Vince Jones · 10:14 Moondust

• Moondust: Alright, let's it. There you go. Hey all and welcome to episode four of the 1014 Moonds Podcast. I'm the old gunny and I'm so glad you've chosen to join us for this ride. Joined by my good friend and co-host Daff. Time of the morning, ladies, and probably not so gentlemen. Thank you for returning to our shenanigans. We are still learning this podcasting thing, and I think with God's help we are getting a little bit better every time. We are still not professional biblical scholars, pastors, or theologians, and James is once again back there, manning the camera and sound for us. And we actually got him to say hello on the last episode, which is funny. It is kinda funny. And if this isn't your first time with us, we want to thank you for coming back again, and hope that God has used us in some way to to touch you. If this is the first time you are joining us, we humbly pray that you get to take away a little deeper understanding in what Christ can do for you and has done for you through the testimony of some brothers and sisters in arms. But before we g go any further, let's pray and ask God Bless our efforts. Alright, here we go. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you, Lord, once again for this day. Lord, we thank you for for all the many blessings that you've given us. Thank you, Lord, for for my my good friend Lord and co-host staff Lord thank you for for giving us this this medium Lord that we can that we can reach other followers of you and and maybe even more importantly Lord that we can reach those that that are searching because we know that they're out there Lord especially in the veteran community Lord we ask that you that you bless this this podcast Lord that you bless this show that you bless us as we as we try to do humbly what you've asked us to do Lord ask Lord that that if we just touch one soul, just one soul, Lord, with each episode, Lord, or even with the show as a whole, Lord, then we've done what you've asked us to do. But we thank you again, Lord, for all these blessings, Lord. But we ask all these things in your holy name's sake. Amen. Amen. See if I can do this right. that was pretty funny. I was trying to do a little flip. I I did a flip a couple times. All right man. Let's I want to take a brief moment to reiterate that our re reiterate our mission statement to glorify God through fellowship storytelling and studying his word. Ten fourteen Moondust aims to give veterans, first responders, and their families an opportunity to give their testimony, including their service and their journey of faith. Today's scripture comes from Paul's letters to the Philippians. We will be discussing chapter four, verses one through nine. Alright, man. so I'm not gonna lie to you. I I try not to steal other people's sermons. But a couple weeks ago our our youth pastor did this did this particular scripture on on a Wednesday night with the youth and he talked about joy. a lot of it was about joy. I kind of wanted to look at it from a little bit different perspective though, today. so I think I sent it to you actually from our Wednesday night over youth service. I was like, hey man, like I think I wanna like this is this is it. not that what you know Pastor Rhett was 'cause to definitely where he was going was a hundred percent the right direction. Yeah. but I think there's another way to look at it that pertains a little bit more to to us as adults and veterans, that I'd kinda like to discuss. whose turn is it to read, man? Mine or yours? I think it's yours. But Can I add something real quick? Sure. I think that's the beauty of studying a living the living, breathing word of God is that while you don't want to do the the exegesis thing of trying to like I forget the exact definition of exegesis versus isegesis, but basically you're trying put w yourself into whatever and just the exegesis of pulling everything out, you can you can do that and find read the same thing and still get a a little bit more of a lesson and how it can how you can find God through that and through any situation. That's what makes it living and breathing and a little bit of my uneducated opinion. Well and I'll tell you, man, so i God's God's works for everybody. Yeah. Which I think is is amazing, right? Like I can read a passage, you can read a passage. and even if we take the same meaning out of that passage, it's still not Yeah. Does that make sense? I I don't know how to and I can't say those fancy words that you just used. XO and ISO and yeah, I'm not that fancy. I say that as I'm gonna read from the King James Version. I can't say those words. Dost thou, the good sir! Alright, so here we go. So we're gonna be in Philippians 4 today. So again this is Paul's letter to the Philippians. So the church in Philippi so I did some background before we get into the reading and and the church in Philippi you know, we joke that you know, that if Paul were alive today that the Church in America would probably be getting a letter, right? and and what I enjoy yeah, that letter would probably start with, I hope this letter finds you before I do. Well, you know what? Ironically, I think if America was gonna get a letter, it would be the same letter that he sent to the Philippians, right? pretty close at least in a lot of ways. Not completely. some Corinthians, right? I I think that I think that all of Paul's letters probably apply to us in some way. but all right, here we go. Chapter four, let me put my eyeballs on. therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I'm gonna butcher this name, man, I'm sorry. I beseech Eudais and beseech Syntach. That they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, do, and the God of peace shall be with you. Man, that's not to unpack. That's a big chunk of section. It is, and it's really got three Well so I can I can I read the ESB real qu like I'm trying to do it real quick and then show you 'cause that's what the I got a ESV right here. Yeah. And show you like how the words are different, but you can still Still pull the same meaning. Still pull the same meaning. Like I don't mean I don't want to steal your thunder from it or like from the the glorious scroll of the King James. But it it it's you can still You can still get a lot of the s it the same. The essence of it is still the same. Yeah, definitely. so I'm gonna start over. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm, thus in the Lord, my beloved. I entreat, I am Those names these two young women. Okay. And I entreat Sentike to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God who surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is any Anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Whatever you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. So like I d I was just as you were reading, I was reading along in mine, and I was just noticing a couple like differences in words. And it's not the the thou thost like those things, but like there were certain words that were just different, but they have the same meaning. Each one of those each one of those I have like a there's a little footnote for the ones that were different that I could see like and this isn't my study one. This is so so it I I rather I I you know, so we talked with Sam on the last episode, right? He talked about how he really he really gets into the historical context, right? So when I look at like the when I look at the translations of the Bible, I also kinda look at some of the i I look at the time when they were translated, 'cause that matters, right? Yeah. and so again, man, you know, my Hobili Butt growing up in Western North Carolina where I mean Appalachian. Listen, man, they're probably still getting original copies of the King James Version up there. They're so far up in the hills, but that's okay. but the meaning is still there, and it just it always interests me. So, like, just look at something as simple as verse 9, right? Verse 9 is pretty much the same. except for, you know, in the King James Version, you know, he says, do. Mm-hmm. whereas in the you know. And you said yours is the NIV. Or ESV. You're the ESV, right? You know, he doesn't use do, he actually uses like a sentence. Mm-hmm. You know. And and then on the flip side of that, if you look at verse eight, it's the other way around, right? Yeah. You know, verse eight is like 12 run-on sentences in the King James Version. it's just that's just something interesting to look at. but what I really want to do, man, is so there's three, I see this as being really there's three lessons in in nine verses here. and and maybe you took something a little bit different. the first part, right, so really verses one through one through three, right? So these two women, and we have no idea what they're mad at each other about or what they're arguing with each other about, right? But what we do know is that that they were there in the church in Philippi when Paul was there, right? Yeah. we know that they've they've helped Paul and Somewhere. Whatever part of his ministry was there. Yep. Like, I mean it you know, because they they've they've worked with him. and they have some sort of disagreement. Who knows what it is? Somebody, maybe some some theologian scholar might know what it is. It begs the question, like, did they have a disagreement while Paul was there and then like not have it resolved by the time Paul had to leave. Yeah, yeah. To continue his journey. So Or did he hear about it from somewhere else because Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well and what's interesting, so I I I I'm gonna So I'm gonna I'm gonna give a shout out to some things that I read over the weekend, and I'm gonna butcher names, I'm sorry. so, you know, when you talk about Calvinism versus Armenianism. Armenianism, right? and you and I probably well, I know that we listen to a lot of the same podcast and a lot of the same things. ironically is I actually read about this earlier in the week and then listened to to a podcast yesterday where they actually talked about it. But and I'm man, I'm terrible with names. Billy Graham's I wanna say rival, but the other big name preacher during Billy Graham's time. yeah. and I can't remember his name saved my life right now. but one was full on Hardcore Calvinist versus Calvinist, right? The other was hardcore Armenianism, right? and and the other guy was asked like, hey, you know, when you get to heaven do you think you're gonna see Billy Graham? Mm-hmm. and he said no. And everybody was like, what? And then he was like, because Billy Graham was gonna be so close to the throne and I'll be so far away that I won't see him. Mm-hmm. I think that's important when we talk about these two women, because what I see Paul as telling them is, hey, like, you may not agree on the Well, you get you get into primary doc doctrinal issues versus or primary issue like What what do they call them? Primary or secondary issues of the faith. Yeah. think like your primary issues are the things that are going to be your belief on salvation and like how you were saved, what you were saved through. secondary issues being stuff of like different things in translations, a little bit a little bit of doctrinal stuff. From my understanding. It's kinda like what we just talked about, right? The different translations. Yeah. Right? They they mean the same thing. I would also use, you know in America we've got multiple denominations, right? We've got some studies would say forty thousand. Yeah, that's I mean I mean there's but we have multiple denominations. and I think what Paul would have all of us believe, or have all of us understand, is You know, thee versus thou versus you versus he, right? Like that's not that's not important. And what's great is that he's telling the rest of the Philippians, like, hey, like, like help help them, right? Like don't be afraid to step in and like, hey guys, gals, right? Like this is I mean, you know, to use a to use a good military term, it ain't that serious. Right? Like like it ain't You know, there are other things in the kingdom that are way, way more important than than whatever these two were two are arguing over. so I just kind of wanted to point that out. I just think that's really interesting. there's a key part of that just is not telling them to come to an agreement on whatever like one person's right versus the other one. It's he's telling them to come to an agreement or agree in the Lord. Yeah. So I would like to dig in. I don't know I I I haven't done it, but I would like to dig into like what would be the actual Greek passage or the Greek word that was trans that that portion was translated from to find out like when he says in the Lord, is it is it are they having a a secondary or doctrinal a doctrinal disagreement or is it a disagreement among women that be like, hey y'all Hey hey, is it over the parking place at church, right? Like Yeah. Or are you mad because somebody's got somebody else that wants to play piano and that's missed so and so's job. Yeah. Like and and that is kind of interesting. and I don't know. th but either way, it just Paul tells them to like come to an agreement in the Lord. What are you looking at my coffee pot for? I was just curious. you may see the chipping from drinking out of it around the top. So I will say, nothing that is in or not in the Bible is accidental. Right. maybe I would contend that that Think God told Paul to leave that what they were argu maybe God told to leave it out on purpose, right? God told maybe God told Paul and I don't know, I wasn't there, right? I Yeah, however the Holy Spirit inspired him to write during this time. It was Okay, those people at that time need that. But the rest of the world is not gonna need to know their personal problems. Yeah, their personal squabbles, right? And it could be doctrinal, it could be, you know, who's gonna play the piano, it could be Yeah, why was your kid in my house today? Yeah, man. I mean, yeah, it could be like who knows what it was. but the important part is that they be of the same mind in the Lord. Right? And then he talk, I mean, you know, and then he finishes verse three with, you know, whose names are in the book of life. Yep. which is of all of the short, not full verses, but phrases, right? Everywhere that the Bible mentions the book of life, it always, at least for me, right, man, I always take a moment to be like, man. Like. The book of li like do you know who writes names in the book of life? I don't write names in the book of life. Jesus writes names in the book of life, right? Mm-hmm. And I'm like, man, like. And Paul is literally telling these two women, like, listen, your names are in the book of life. You know, Clement's name is in the book of life. Mm-hmm. With my fellow laborers, right? I think I heard a version, I think the version that I think they used the NIV version on Wednesday nights with the youth, and I think it says co we use the term co workers, right? Yeah. Regardless, we're talking about people that are working together in the name of Christ, right? And at the end of the day, all the little things don't matter. they only matter to the extent that they they matter to us. Yeah. But but in the in in the Lamb's Book of Life There's not an asterisk, right, beside you know, there's not an asterisk beside Frank's name, beside Gunny's name, right? That says, Don't even have a podcast. Star, star, star. he's not getting into this club in the New Jerusalem. Right. Yeah. There's a there's a building over here that he doesn't have access to because Yeah, right. You know I mean, yeah. He played guitars on stage during worship. Yeah, and don't get me wrong, if God's calling you to do those things, then you should do those things. Yeah. But but I think what he's telling here is that you don't do those things sitting at the after beside your name, right? You do those things because because God himself put our names in the Lamb's Book Life, right? Like you do that because he's worthy. all right, that's my that's my two cents on trying to be humble. now we did talk, I will tell you on Wednesday and I and maybe you have a little more insight. so verses four through seven we talked a lot about joy. and and I know you work with you work with the youth at your church also. joy is a difficult thing. I think we confuse joy with happiness. I agree, yeah. and we talked about that before when we were talking about the guys that we've been with who you know, those one or two guys that are always the ones that will be deep in their faith and the amount of joy that they find even in difficult situations. or when you're going through it or when they're even when they're going through it, like and you can tell when those guys are going through it. Mm-hmm. But there's still a joy that they bring it with life in general. They are happy to do life. Yeah. Despite the struggle. Mm-hmm. and so the one of the ladies, the one of the one of our deacon's wives that's in our Sunday school group, She brought up I don't know where she says she learned it from, but she brought up like joy being an acronym. So when you put Yeah, I've heard this when you take the order of Jesus, others, and then yourself, you can like that that peace and happiness that all goes together. I think that's what joy really altogether is. It's not just you can have peace without happiness. That's when, you know, things are just calm and your mind is going crazy. Yeah. You can have happiness without peace. Things can be chaotic and usually alright, I got it, bro. You know what's crazy? Is the world tells us and I'll never forget this, right? I'll never forget this. When I was a kid, when I was a kid, I had man, I hope that our recording didn't just stop. I don't think it did. so when I was a kid, we Yeah, there you go. No, we're still gonna have 22 minutes on here. 22 minutes. The section was supposed to five minutes. So for anybody, for anybody watching, our teleprompter just went like crazy in general. Don't let them know we have a cheat code behind the camera. Listen, man, I don't know what that. and and James back there, super ninja fixed it. I thought he got into our Bible study a little bit. And I did too. And I just completely lost my train of thought. There we go. All right, so So when I was a kid, I'll never forget this, right? When I was a kid and I forget how old I was, I would it's kind of rough, but I remember we had we had to write a paper, right? And the the prompt on the paper was, Would you rather be happy or would you rather be content? Mm-hmm. Right? I think you talked about this before. Yeah, yeah, maybe I have. If not on here, I you and I have talked about it in the past. you know, and I was like, man, like being content, that's terrible. I was a kid, right? I think I was a teenager, right? Like, nah man, I wanna be happy. Happy. And we've talked a little bit about how like those those moments are fleeting, right? But that joy is not. That joy is always there. So when I look at verse four, right, when he says, Rejoice in the Lord always. And then he even goes as far enough to say, and again I say rejoice. Right? He's putting emphasis on the word rejoice. Alright. It's one thing for me to say, Hey guys, you should be happy. Listen to me, you should be happy. It's another thing for me to write it down. Right? Because if I if if Paul took the time I mean and listen, it ain't like today, right, where, you know, I mean I've got this nifty little, you know, from McConnell's First Baptist Church, by the way, it's the church I went to with my dad the other week. But I've got this ballpoint pen, right? And I click it and now I can write some stuff down, right? And if this pen doesn't work, then I'm gonna chunk it and I'm gonna get another one, right? I mean that's what's gonna happen. When Paul was writing this letter, first off he was under arrest. He was he was in prison, right? Probably. we think that he was under house arrest and roll, but but at least that's what most most scholars think. but for him to write this, I mean, you know, like ink, you know, he had to get the quill and the ink and the I mean, it wasn't exactly Yeah, it wasn't an easy process. It wasn't an easy process, right? And he took the time to and again I say, and every no matter every translation you read, he says, rejoice twice. Mm-hmm. Right? That's important. otherwise it wouldn't be in there, right? Yeah. but that's just that's just interesting to me that he does that. now The ESV, what was the word so the King James uses moderation, in verse five. and the ESV used a different reasonableness. Reasonableness. I think that's I mean they're they're both kind of one and the same, right? Yeah. there's the footnote down here has or gentleness. Yeah. So moderation, reasonableness, gentleness, you tie all together in white Don't go overboard. Like you you really can let yourself it is us as human beings, it is easy for us. and he says in verse five, he says let your let your reasonableness or let your gentleness or let your moderation be known to everyone. And and it says and follows up with the Lord is at hand. So One thing that it seems that he is trying to say in the text is to like that is what you need to present to people, like a very moderate behavior. Not not just present like that's just the way you need to be or live. Like be reasonable, be gentle, be moderate. Man, so let me tell you. I'm I'm not gonna lie to you, I cheated this week. oops. Not not that kind of cheat. No, I mean on test. Yeah, no, not on test either, but I I'm not proud of this, but I'm gonna say it anyway. So I may or may not have used some AI to because I was struggling, right? Like I was like, man, I'm burning up all the water in Ankhon. I'm telling you, man, all the water. No, not in Ankhon, they haven't built that one yet. We're probably this is probably Columbia's water, so they'll be alright. Those are all from those We got a flyer put in the AI generated high. Man, dude, I this. but it crack it it it was funny because That last phrase, right? The Lord's at hand. and I think some translations say the Lord is near. Okay. but I I notice that's not a different verse. It's in the same verse, right? So when I when I think well, he's telling that, you know, let your moderation, let your gentleness, right? Let your reasonableness be known to to everyone, right? the Lord's at hand. Well when I as I'm cheating and using my my AI over the week to Trying gain some some insight. and this is what I'm gonna tell you, kind of a disclaimer and kind of a warning to folks. If you're gonna use AI to help you study, always verify it. I'm I'm a trust but verify kind of person. I'm gonna cut you off in the end. Can I s Me going me doing online college. Yeah. Part of the s thing is I took I I think I talked about it before is using the Logos logos, logos software. And they do their AI study assistant with but it has guardrails within like what is available through their library of books that you can get. Actually I was using for for my pa my research paper that I gotta do turn in my Monday. Yes. I'm still trying to get it like edited. Yeah. I may have went a little more like the thing said between a thousand and twelve hundred words I got like sixteen fifty. And I don't know if like that's too much to be. No all the ands. I'm kidding, don't do that. Well, I mean it said the pro I think that was just like a minimum requirement. Yeah. But because the professor on their discussion post, he's had like a word like, hey, it needs to be at least this, but I've done like twice as much sometimes, just 'cause I go rambling, like I'm doing right now. A anywho, but it has the guardrails and it actually made me want to I I bought a book on there for that because I found a quote inside of a a book that was Talking about the return to sexual morality and Christianity. Like so that 'cause that was part of the prompt for our assignment. Yeah. so that's kinda funny. well this one said, and it was actually very interesting to me, right, is to put these two together. And there's really two schools of thought, right? Like one school of thought is that Paul is saying the Lord's at hand because because you know, the right truth like Jesus is coming back soon. Right. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Right, yeah. That's that's kinda what he's saying, right? Yeah. I don't I I don't want to say I disagree with those those scholars and theologians because I don't 'cause I'm nowhere near as smart as they are, right? but another school of thought, which you and which my good old AI brought me to, was that what he's actually saying here, and maybe I think both are right, to be honest with you. It's a both hand. Yeah. is that he's saying when you let your moderation, gentleness, reasonfulness, when you let it be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand because he's with with you. Right? and the best part is, is I'm reading this thing and AI generated this. No, right. I'm sure it stole the quote from somewhere, right? because what AI does. But it but it then proceeded to say, either way, it doesn't matter. Because if you look at the next verse, what he's telling you to do is rejoice. Right? Act with humility, kindness, you know, all those words, right? Do not be anxious. Yeah. About anything. Boom. And then in verse six, he says, be careful or don't be anxious for anything, but in everything. by prayer supplication with thanksgiving later request be known unto God, right? So what he's saying is, this is like the perfect blueprint, right? Mm-hmm. You know, our church they use the pray acronym to teach people how to pray, right? Okay. Praise. Repent. Ask guilt. Right? Okay. I'd never heard that until like a year ago and I was like I didn't hear that until just now. Yeah. It's I mean, I've always done that. I just didn't I know anyway. Man, we just totally sidetracked that. Right? But that's what he's saying, right? Mm-hmm. Rejoice in the Lord always. Praise. Right. Now he doesn't necessarily go into repent here, but he does say, Let your moderation be known unto all men, right? So so I would contend that that's that that's the yield. Right. Yeah. Right. But then he goes into but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made. He's then he's telling to ask, right? Mm-hmm. He's telling you to do those things. and it's just then just like we talked about at the very beginning, right? What what's good for Eudiaus and it may not be what's good for I can't say her her name either, but the two ladies of the beginning, right? Right. What's good for me may not be good for my son James, right? What's the what's and what he's saying here is just another way to rejoice and and conversate with with God. and then I don't know, let's see, our guest should be here any minute now, so we should probably start closing this up. But what I do want to get into is specifically seven, eight, and nine, right? because we started this talking about you know not having disagreements, right? Mm-hmm. And just understanding that we were different, right? And then we talked about you know rejoicing and and and asking God for for for his for everything, right? Literally leaning on him for everything, right? You know, King James Version says, be careful for nothing. in the you know is it be anxious or don't be anxious for anything not be anxious for anything not be anxious for anything and then everything by prayer supplication with thanksgiving let your quest be made known unto God, right? Everything. So when I was younger and this this is so funny to me. So when I was younger, man, and especially young in my face, right, I was like, man, like, God ain't got God's got time, but God ain't got God doesn't care about this, right? Like this or that, or you know what I mean? and I'll tell you, man, one of the young men in the the student group that I've been working with, well, a few of actually completely, right, so The other adult who leaves, right, he's like, hey guys, what you know, what can we pray for you for this week, right? And one of them's like, hey, coach, I got a I got a huge science test coming up this week. Like it's gonna be like a third of my grade, right? And at first I'm like, like, I I don't care about your science test. I guess we'll do my mind at first, right? And then, I kid you not, on Wednesday. On Wednesday, right? We read this, you know, be careful, nothing. But in everything, everything. God says everything. God doesn't say, hey man, your science test isn't that important, right? You know, for the youth that are out there that are listening to us, right? God doesn't say the science test, that science test is important. It's important to God because it's important to you, right? From that all the way to, you know, the folks that are, you know, in hospitals and suffering and like all those things. I mean, you know, every time I get on my motorcycle, I'm like, hey, you know, God please, you know, protect me because I'm on a motorcycle and that's kind of dangerous, right? But sometimes I forget that when I get in my truck, you know what I still need to do? The same thing. and as long as I keep doing those, then I'm gonna jump down here to verse nine. Don't go too fast real quick. Hold on one sec. Because when you what does he follow up what you were saying with verse verse seven is and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So you you you follow your everything in prayer and supplication, and no matter what the answer is. w how things are going to turn out, that peace that surpasses all understanding is going to be with you if you truly accept what God is doing and understand the fact that He does care about every little detail about you. yeah. Why? Flowers of our hair. And why? Because he's a good dad. yeah. All Spain. That's what yeah that's that's what so See you beat me to it, right? He says it again in verse nine, right? And the God of peace shall be with you, right? Like that's it's just man, it's too it's too broad, too deep, too I mean, you know, the peace of God which passeth all understanding, right? Like yeah, I don't I don't understand it. you know, I had a friend of mine at work ask me who was like, Hey man, like how do you not let like the stress of work and Like you know, how you don't let that stuff just not get to you And I was like, Brother, I don't like like I God told me not to worry about it. Mm-hmm. Like I I I don't know how to I don't know any other way to say that. and and before I tell you, man, before I returned to my faith, I struggle with that. and now that I've returned to the faith and and finally stopped telling God that I'll do what I wanna do, right? Started telling God I'll do what He wants me to do. and I found that dude, like I man, I I pray every day that that maybe th that when people ask me that, God'll tell me how to answer because right now the only answer I have for is 'cause 'cause God told me not to worry about it. and for me that works. Yeah. And I mean maybe that hopefully that works for other people too. But Yeah. All right. So I think if you're good, I think without further ado, we need to we need to get our guest in here. He's got a he's got a a commitment this afternoon we gotta make sure we get him to and we have proven that We don't know how to stick to a timeline. You don't know how? No, we don't have a clue. Alright, so joining us today is an absolute legend in the veteran community at Aiken, South Carolina. he served eight years in the United States Navy on board a couple of different ships, and a few different shore d duties. We're gonna come on let you in. After leaving the Navy, he spent thirty eight years in telecommunications, right? Yep. currently lives in Aiken with his wife Carol. Since then, he spent the last 30 or so years as an active member of America Legion Post 26. Currently attends St. John's Methodist Church in Aiken. Is that correct? He's an active member of the choir and other service teams. We're to ask him about his time in the choir here in little bit. And once again, it's my pleasure to introduce our friend Mr. Vincent Jones. Okay, thank you. Justin, nice to meet you sir. Vince, how you doing, man? I'm alive. Well that's that's better than the alternative. Yeah. Hey, you know what's what's ironic here is I think Vince might be our first our first non-Baptist. Huh. Maybe, yeah. Yeah. So if we beat you up, don't don't don't a Methodist for eighty years, right? Well, not so that long. it's funny because our our our Bible I know you walked in as we were finishing up, but the scripture we were studying today actually talked about setting setting petty differences aside and and focusing on on the main thing. they're all pretty much Christian one way or another. Yeah. Whether they're Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Muthor. Yeah, as long as you I've been to all of through the you know been to a service of all of them and they're pretty much closely related. I mean, it as long as at the end of the day, you know, washing the blood, that's what matters. Right. That's what matters. Alright, so Vince is I think he's about forty-six years old. Yeah, right. Maybe twice. man. Vince was born in nineteen forty-six. Man. I'm older than most of the movies you see on TV. Most of the movies. Even the old ones what I'm talking about. So I'm gonna brag on Vince just a little bit as as kind of a personal thing. So so some of you know that I'm the commander of the American Legion Post here at Aiken. Vince was my adjutant for a couple years. has recently retired from that. but for for quite a few years now Vince has been my my sounding board to keep me out of trouble. so I really appreciate that. so tell us man, tell us about growing up in Chester. Well Chester was a Greek city to grow up in back then, you know, in the forties, early forties, early mostly the fifties was my childhood. it's certainly going downhill. They're trying to bring it back some, but they have their own casino now. So that's that's gonna be wonders. Yeah, right. As long as they got a casino made. You only gotta take a form to get out of hand. So growing up there, we had I'd have a friend, close friend that we every Saturday, I mean it was like clockwork, every Saturday we get up. We go to the YMCA for swimming. And then we go to the gym and play either dodgeball or basketball or something. And then every Saturday afternoon we went to the roller rink and spent the afternoon at the roller rink. And this was like clockwork every week. You know, same. I still am in touch with the guy, you know, that I grew up with. He's one of the, I guess, probably half a dozen people from high school that I still speak to and all that. Yeah. But it was a different lifetime. I mean you you c I drove it's only a town of about it's only about two miles wide either way, yeah. And it was a town of about thirty, forty, fifty forty, fifty thousand people then. And everywhere I went, you went on a bicycle. You didn't lock your doors. You know, it was a different lifestyle than nowadays, that's for sure. Well, I enjoyed growing up there. I went and when I graduated from high school in 63. I went right in the Navy as a gr what they called back then was a kitty cruiser actually. I was only seventeen. And if you joined the Navy when you were seventeen, you could get out the day after your twenty-first birthday. Plus I went in on a six-year hitch because I went in for FBM submarines. that was required six years plus The A school I went to, electronic technician, was thirty six weeks long. wow. gosh. Yeah. Yeah. So I went to Great Lakes Fruit boot camp and I was there for I was only I was there short period 'cause while I was there, about the fifth week I was there, my father passed away, or so the Red Cross told me when I got home. company and they came and met me and said you've got to come with us over to Camp Barry which is the first place you go and I went over there and they told me that my father had passed away. The Red Cross was going to give me money to fly home. Well when I got home he was still alive. So you can imagine I don't do a lot for the Red Cross. But anyway, So Was he ill? Was he yeah, he was in the hospital. Okay, I mean Yeah, and they told me when I got home he's not gonna last more than a few days. He had kidney and heart problems. I mean, at least I got you home for Well, yeah, true, that's true. That's just so so while I was home and he hadn't passed away yet, they had only given me three days to go home for the funeral and come back. So yeah, I mean that's well so I called him back and I said, He hasn't passed away yet. I said I need to extend my leave for a few days. So they said, Okay. But they never told my company commander. wow. So when I got back, they had me listed as A. wall. You know. Then they put me in what they call a Mickey Mouse company. Yeah. Which is all the people waiting for a discharge for one reason or another until they could find another company to put me in. Which they did. But at that time they were having all this meningitis out in California. Yeah. So they were sending everybody to Great Lakes. So I only went back for like two weeks and then I was done boot camp. I never I I never had like not tying or any of that stuff. You know, of course you don't tie many knots is all like. electronic technician. So then then I went from there, I went to stayed there. Or I got became I went home for two weeks on leave. Yeah. For real this time. For real. And then I went back up there for 34 weeks, 36 weeks of electronic technician A school. Then I when I graduated in June of the next year, I got two more weeks vacation. Man. And I went then I went to submarine school for sub school up in Groton, Connecticut. I don't 36 weeks of school six weeks of electronic electronic technician school school. You think that deserves two weeks of I I think he I think the man might have earned it. Of course, of course first before that he Between there was Christmas. Yeah. And they told us, they said, if you live east of the Mississippi, you can only get one week. If you live west, you can live two weeks. Well, me and another couple of my friends up there that I had met friends at school, we decided, hey, we're gonna put in for two weeks, all they can do is say no. But they gave it to us. So here I've been in the Navy. For six months and I don't and I've already spent my whole years. Yeah, and then so so then I get finish in June, I go to s I get two weeks more. I go to sub school for two months, I get two weeks more, and then I go to Damneck, Virginia for more school. But between then and the ti of time I left there, it's Christmas, so I got another two weeks. They were real generous to you running time. The commitment to make up that many days of leave, I could take it. I mean Viz took more leave in his first two years in the Navy than ever took in the first decade I was in the Marine Corps. So in Damneck I I failed one test. Yep. And they kicked me out of the program because they had so many people in the program. And there was a guy in the same class as I was gonna ask if they gave you two weeks to find a newsletter. Come back and try it again. This was the second test he failed, but he claimed he had marital problems, and so he kept it. I don't think I'd want somebody to be kept. If they were going on a submarine and they had marital problems. So anyway, so I so they sent me. I mean, I guess you can injure marital problems pretty quickly that way. That's right. If you don't have a marriage marital problems. So they sent me through the amphibious forces, a group called Beach Jumpers. Yep. And I spent Went from March of not sixty-five to June of sixty-eight there. And when I got there, the XO looked at my record and I thought, by now I'm sixty days in the hole for leave. So the XO looked at me and he says, Boy, you don't plan on taking any leave anytime soon, do you? So yeah, taking two weeks for Christmas. So I made a couple mid-cruises and I was the beach jumpers, if a lot of people say, what the heck is a beach jumper? Well, their job was tactical operations and deception. Okay. We were supposed to make it look like something was happening over here when in actuality it was happening over there. Okay. And they were started in nine in World War II by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. He went over there and trained with the the English people that were doing this and came back and talked to the to the Navy and said, we need to start this group up. So they did. Now there was Beach Jumper One on the West Coast in Coronado, Beach Jumper Two on the East Coast in in Little Creek. Well, most of us on the East Coast when I was in there, I never served in a combat, but On the East Coast, we did deception in the Mediterranean. Yeah. Our job basically was we put equipment on the destroyer and when it went into the mid, on radar it looked like an aircraft carrier to the enemy. wow. But so So that's what you did. You're the try. Yeah. Okay. So we basically we told the guys when we go on the ship, you know, if you see beach jumpers come on your ship, you just became expendable. Right? So but most of the guys on the west coast, they went on river patrol boats and all in that time. So I give them a lot of credits. But and they were more teams than just what the unit was called Beach of the Unit One. Yeah. And we still have a association which we get together at reunions. In World War Two they trained down on Oakra Coke Island. wow. But did you find a colony? I suppose there's a lost colony floating around there somewhere. Well supposedly yeah. We also have a memorial there just as you're going into town. It looks like a cemetery headstone, but it's got the beach jumper memor s engraved on it and all that. And there's a building behind it that used to be used for communications. But But yeah, it's so so it was started back there and then it evolved to the amphibious courses. And so I went to beach jumpers and then I left. Do you familiar with the Seabase Shorebay list? No, what is it? It was a Sea Base Shorebay list. It was a list that came out every every, I don't know, it's a quarter or monthly. And on that list was every rate in the Navy. Yeah. and and when they were eligible for shore duty. Okay. So and and it moved it could move six months, it could move one month, whatever. Yeah. So when it was about January of sixty eight, sixty-five, or February, I n I knew if it moved at all the next month, I was gonna be eligible for shore duty because even though I at the beach jumpers in three years I spent ten months at sea. Yeah. That's it. That's the only time I went at sea in the Navy. You hear something funny? I have more sea time than vents and I never knew that. I mean I made two mini cruises, one on D D and one on a D D G. And so I knew if it moved one month I'd be eligible and In that month they sent me orders to a fast attack submarine. And I said, no, no, no, no, no. There's a guy that was stationed near with me and he went over to the skip jack and I went to visit him and he says, it's whatever y 'cause it's a different story on a fast attack than a FBM. 'Cause they have two crews. Yeah, the fast attacks, yeah. No. the the yeah, the bullshit missiles? He says, I've been out at sea three hundred and fifteen days this past year. out of three hundred and sixty five. He said, don't willing to put you on a fast attack, right? So anyway, I went over there and devolunteered. And devolunteered. And devolunteer. The next month it moved one month. I was eligible for shirt duty. They sent me to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Yeah so I gotta ask man, so like I actually highlighted that on your thing. What in the world did an enlisted electronics guy doing it? Do at the graduate? Yeah. What what were you doing there? We were The that we worked in the electrical engineer engineering department. They had classes for officers. Most classes for officers. And it's not a lot of them were foreign. And they had classes for them. We were the lab technician assistants. Okay. All the labs were run by GS people, government services. And then they used the military people as their assistants. I also part part of the time I was in charge of the confidential library which and that was also the inventory of all the test equipment in all the labs, about five thousand pieces. Yeah. And at that time it was kept on IBM punch cards. You can imagine. Hey James, do you know what an IBM punch card is? No. No. Chad? Didn't you know Chad, right? Hang a Chad. I mean I I I've never used those. Do you know what an IBM punch card is? Nope. It's a card that looks about like a number ten envelope or not number ten, large envelopes. But it's got all the spaces and you punched holes in it and that read code that told you what the number of serial number of that piece of equipment was. But it was hole punches instead of zeros and ones on a computer. It was early code. Yeah. Right. And so I did that and then I also worked in the electronics lab or the calibration lab because you had to calibrate all that test equipment all the time. But those of us that worked in the calibration lab in actuality We fixed more televisions for officers than we did actually chapter fixing the officers' TVs? I actually had a female cat pick me up in her Porsche, drive me to her house so she so I could fix her intercom. And then take me back. That's nuts. I know. Could you imagine if you were like hanging out of a full board car and just gonna roll it with like, hey, get in, we're gonna go fix my intercon. Honestly I could say yeah. Well because we had a saying at the school w and one of the yeah, we noticed this with commander. Eventually we'll get commander over here to talk. Yeah. or Brian. But officers, one of the best and worst things that you might be able to give them is authority and free time. yeah. Well it was it was a lot of fun out there. I mean we the w well, we played golf. We had an eighty course, only nine holes with two Ts. Then that was two dollars to play that. Five dollars to play the regular course out of four doors. And then Were you good at golf? Well, 'cause I just started it in sixty seven before I left for G. But I played more golf out there because the civilians wanted me to play, the military wanted me to play with them. I and this one guy the Chiefs, the we had a senior chief that was in charge of the whole thing. And on Fridays, most of the Fridays we were off in the afternoon, so me and another guy were taking off and we were going to go to Ford Ord and play golf. We went down to A C Doosy Club and our two senior chiefs were in there and we never made it to the golf course. I was playing the the dice game with Craig and ever made it. I can't imagine being a senior chief in charge of the what there couldn't have been more than what, fifteen or twenty of you guys there, enlisted folks. Yeah, cute like a small crew. And we had we stood the we stood There was always somebody there. We c on the weekends one guy was assigned the duty. The duty. yeah. And he had caught there with a T V in the room and if any officers came in and wanted to do something he could get the equipment out for or whatever, you know. But and I I play we used to be able to play there was a there's a cop course out there called Spyglass Civil, which is part of what used to be Bing Crosby and now it's part of the AT<unk>T tournament. We that's probably cost you about five hundred dollars to play now. It cost me ten dollars when I wanted to go out there and play. And then once I said to my wife before we left, I said, I gotta play Pebble Beach, because it's right there. And it cost me twenty dollars with cart. To play Pebble Beach. To play Pebble Beach, and now it's about six hundred bucks and you gotta be staying in the lodge. Man, that's crazy. But it was a lot of fun. so if you didn't know, Vince was first made on the arc. Yeah, but then and that's where then we decided we were gonna start a family but we d talked about it and decided I was gonna get out because There was no way she was having a kid at Ford Ord. She'd had heard so many terrible stories about that place. So and we didn't know if I went back to sea duty had ended up on a fast attack, who knows? So you you were in f you were in the Navy for seven years? Seven years. A little over seven about seven years in one month. And your wife was with you the whole time or No, we got married in sixty seven. Okay. She's from the same area as you? Or or we don't know each other before? We're both from southeastern Pennsylvania. Okay. Did you know each other beforehand or? Yeah, yeah, we we went together. She was in she was actually three years younger than me, so I was actually in high school and she was still finishing junior high school. Wait well y'all were dating then were you? Yeah. Once in a while. Once in a while. But now That was when you took bicycle everywhere though. And her mother was a widow. And she never drove, so whenever I was there, I'm the one that drove him around. Other than that, it was my wife's grandfather that drove him around. her father died when she was ten. He was a C V in the World War Two. man. And I just got to think it on the way over here. I 'cause I've been wondering about if I didn't think I'm eligible for Sal. Okay. But I haven't checked into my father's grandfather. I know my father didn't serve in the military. He was in the postal service. But I don't know if his father was ever in the military. But I didn't know if I'd be able to if an in-law father was in the military. I don't know. So for our listeners, the Sal is the Sons of the American Legion, which is a it's like a Suborganization's not the right word. it's another unit, yeah, like a job. For for sons of American Legion members. Yeah. It's a pretty good program. Okay, so I decided to get out and we came home. I just ended up looking for a job and I just stopped in the fill in the phone company in Delaware. Said you got any job openings? Well it just so happened a guy in the top rate had just quit. to go back to college. And I walked in the door with seven years of electronics experience. They said, can you take a physical more? And I was with them, well, ATT, the bell system more or less in ATT for 28 years. Then another ten years with two other companies. Well So you enjoyed the work doing doing that part? The last the last job I had, the they when they went to interview me, it was for a government contract. But it was doing exactly what I did when I transferred down to Arlington. And that's kind of like monitoring the ATT network. But it was on a government contract. And the three people that interviewed me was one, the guy that I was going to work for, who I worked with at ATT Number two, a guy who that I worked with at the second company in between And then the director of engineering and the last thing he asked me was, Do you golf? I said, Yeah, that's they wanted me to run a golf tournament for a government apples. Did you say that you only golf if you get two weeks of vacation afterwards? So I that's what I ended up doing. So how did you end up at Agin? I was just about to ask that was a question. Well we were when I was getting to the point where I was getting ready to retire, I'd been my wife my wife goes away every week. for a year for a week with two girlfriends. One one's a guy is the was is the widow of a guy I was in the Navy with in the beach jumpers. Okay. So we've known them for 40 years. Unfortunately he passed away on his birthday on the day he became eligible for Social Security. So but he stayed in for twenty years and and became a war. And She asked me to read his eulogy, which was a struggle. But it was wasn't written by me. I didn't write it. I just read it. But it was written by an admiral that he met on a river cruise. wow. So anyhow, she goes away for a week every year. And during the time I was getting ready to retire, I would take that week off and go look for places where we might want to live, retire to. we were up in that time in Northern Virginia. Traffic was as you can imagine. Amazing. Atlanta. Well on a on a good day, if I left work after five o'clock, to go home two miles, it took me thirty minutes. That area, the DC area, that traffic up there is the worst I've ever seen. And then and then of course you wanted to get out of the snow. And so I I looked everywhere from Williamsburg as far south as South Carolina. I didn't want to go into Florida because the rest of my family was there. You know. They had a different lifestyle and I didn't want to be close to In actuality my we were caregivers for her mother, her grandmother before that, but and my sister in Florida was caregiver for my mother, our mother. So I I my only hope was she left longer than my mother. So but anyway, so I looked all around as far west as, you know, Tennessee and and w I just up in Virginia, in Northern Virginia, every year they had a thing called a trade show, real estate trade show called Live South. And the people from the development I live in, Cedar Creek, used to have a booth for each of those shows. And I talked to them and so one of the times I came down here and they took me all around and showed me Aiken and all this other stuff and we I liked it. So I brought her down here to see if she liked it, you know. And that's how we ended up here, that's all. You've been here in Aiken for how long? What's this? I we've been here for seventeen years now. Okay. So like within the past couple years. So I've only been I don't even live here in Aiken. I just I work here for Ferris Alvin. So But one of my friends from the Rink Wars actually how I wound up here. One of the guys that went went to MP School with me. But I'm originally from Orangeburg, which is a whole different Orangeburg? Yeah. It's a whole different environment over there. So I came over here. This is actually kinda like a this is to me Ake reminds me of Chester size wise and and all that stuff, you know. Chester was actually a little bigger. They had a Scott Paper Company for a plant there and but we have a pencil bill here. yeah, that's downbound. Yeah. But it's it just seems like the the the here in like Aiken City itself, close to it, like there's just so many subdivisions, like, and there's so many more people like moving in. there is now. I mean when we went over there and moved that girl that was moving down from the VA and I mean I've been over there before to Richard Dornan's house and he he lived in a house further in there and I thought that was a lot of houses. And then I went over there to move this girl to VA and these duplexes they had. I said, Holy cow, there's another city of Akin in here. Yeah, yeah. But you don't see it. Just like driving down the roads, all the trees, you don't know there's thousands of horses behind Yeah. So so to put it in perspective, I just want to put this in perspective for just a minute. Right. Vincent. is 80 years young. Yep. Right. So some of us, we got a call, it was probably about a year ago, six months ago or so, when that young lady showed up. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. so the Aon County Veterans Council actually gave me a call and was like, hey, we got a young veteran. She's moving here by herself. Like she needs some help moving. Yeah. and I I was I think I was out of town. For some reason I couldn't help, but So I send a thing out to a lot of the members of the American Legion like, hey, could somebody be willing to help this young lady, right? And who volunteers? Vince. Vince, eighty-year-old Vince shows up to Well, I wasn't eighty. Sorry, seventy-nine year old Vince. Give the man some credit. Shows up to help this twenty-two year old woman move. That's I just thought that just speaks volume slowly. Mm-hmm. And Yeah. But and her father, I think. But other than that, she just been I thought they were just talking about a little U-Vall trailer behind the car. she's got a whole trailer. so looking at your little questionnaire thing. Yeah, looking at your questionnaire and and I think you mentioned him earlier, I just wanna So Roland, you mentioned him a couple times on this question. Roland, yeah. Rolland. Rao Roland, his his name was Roland. He was another ET he was the third class when I was second class there at Little Creek. We did the second med trip I did. There was only four of us. He was the up me and him and two radar men. And we just became friends. In fact, he lived his wife they got married about couple months after us. And it but his wife was pregnant at the time. And we were on duty and his wife went into labor so they didn't have a car so my wife had to drive her to the hospital. So and we we were just we've just been friends ever since he joined me there to be each other. And his brother was a chief. He was in charge of the chop shop. wow. But they all they he had about four brothers and they all had heart problems. Yeah. That was his problem. And you think he stopped smoking? Nope. So we and right above that the question about Raw. I said d we asked did you have a church in the mil did you have a church in the military? and you said no. No. I didn't When I was growing up, I was involved in the Methodist church there in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the Methodist youth group. that was most of my church. I would go Sunday morning to Sunday school And sometimes I'd stay for church and sometimes I didn't, depending on what was going on and all that. but that was my extent of church. And then Sunday nights the youth groups would go do different things at different churches and all that stuff. But then when I went in the navy, for whatever reason I just didn't follow up on going to church regularly. You know, when you're going to school all week long and And you spent half of the weekend sleeping, which I did. Did you know? Did you still have a faith yourself, personally then? yeah, yeah. But I mean and and it's like I was think I thought about this too when after I talked talked about doing this, you know. Not being I think people that have to go into combat have a little more faith than than those of us that are just like musicians or whatever that aren't really in jeopardy all the time. Like as as as somebody that's in combat. atheist in a foxhole. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. But I just I it's not that I didn't have faith, I just didn't go to church or whatever. There's not a lot of practicing or like formal practicing of or l of the faith or anything like that? No. Well, no, not really, but I can remember anyway. Yeah. And then went when we got out and came back east. my wife, when she grew up, her father was Catholic. He was a Polish guy from Hazel, Pennsylvania. And So they were Catholic but they weren't really practicing. I was gonna ask how did that well when so disclaimer, I I I know Vince and and his wife, when when Carolyn told her Catholic father Well, he wasn't alive then. okay, okay. I never met her 'til after he had passed away. He had the diabetes that he didn't take care of. And like I said, he was in the navy but Fact I have his Blue Jacket's manual. wow. nice. That's perfect. That's cool. And I have mine. But anyway, yeah, she she they were Catholic but they weren't practicing Catholics. She used if she went to church, she went to church with me at the Methodist church. Okay. so you you put on your so we you know, one of the on the questionnaire. was you know, we asked when you start when did you start really getting in your like diving in your faith. and you put Pleasant Valley, you're not a Methodist church. Right. tell us about that church, man. Well, when we lived in Chantilly, Virginia, which is up near Dulles Airport, you know, there was a small church there right close to our house, Pleasant Valley. And they it's a Methodist church and it wasn't very big, we had about might just be between 30 and 40 participants each Sunday morning. and we just started going there and join and joined our membership there. And I started doing more things. I started singing in the choir towards the end there. Five years I was the only man in the choir. Because there's only like eight people in the choir. So you had to hold down the bass. Yeah. And then I also played handbells up there too, you know. But I started getting into it more myself when her the the the woman that was the choir director, her her husband was very into the religion and he got me coming to the Methodist Men meetings and got me being involved in the Methodist men and the How was it? Vice president or something of the church count. There was one point there I held six jobs in the church. You know how it is. Nobody wants to do a job. You know, so there was also one point where he had six jobs at the American Legion. Would you point that out? There I I was I was this more or less what they call the sexton then, which is like the janitor, especially when I was in between jobs. I was on the church council, I was in the choir, I played handbells. I there was a couple other jobs I was doing too at the same time. And then he got me involved in well I here's how I guess I really started. I went to one of the first champ council meetings I went to, I said to Frank, I said, you know, it's kind of puzzling me, you know, I said, I went to church as a youth. But then when I was in the military, I never did it. Never never got involved much. And when we lived in Virginia, I mean Delaware, we tried to go to a big church a couple of times and my wife didn't like that. And you know, it just seemed like the people didn't weren't that friendly or quite so we never really went to regular church services in Delaware. But then when we got down there involved in the small church, and then Frank might be involved in the church council, and I said, you know, fact I said, I don't know how in the world You know, what made me decide to come back to church. And he said, God told you to do it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So and I got involved in it more and more there. We did a couple we did that million man march down at in the at the mall downtown. My kids got involved in they had a group there called Top, which was Teens Opposing Poverty. and they would about once every month or two, they would take food and clothing down to the homeless in DC. Yeah. And I made a couple trips with them and and then they started that and and today that was I'm trying to think. That was probably around in the nineties, yeah, 'cause Paul was still in high school and and John and My son was in junior high school. And they would go down to DC and they started this top. And today that top is still running with the same director, the guy that took them down there, and it's got about fifteen churches involved. man, man, that's awesome. They're mostly out in the Shenandoah Valley area in Winchester now, but they still make occasional trips into D C. That's awesome. There's nothing better I it's it one of my favorite things ever and so him we both work with the youth at our churches, is when when our youth go out and and they become the hands and feet of Jesus. I just think that's like like there are very few things that I'm like, dude, I I I don't know how to describe that, but that's one of those that's like Right. Yeah. Yeah, it's it's I was always proud of doing that, you know. And It's and for it to still be gone. Yeah, that's awesome. It's cool. Yeah. so then you came here. So I so this is this I was not expecting this. So we send this questionnaire out to to everybody we interview. Right. And favorite scripture, we were expecting like everybody to have a favorite scripture, but you were actually the second person to say that you don't have one. that you use music. I'm well, I try most of my my praising to God and all that I try to do through the music. Yeah. We we both the handbells and the choir, I sing at eight thirty and eleven o'clock every Sunday. handbells we play about twi twice in the fall and twice in the spring. But I just I I felt if if I'm not gonna be involved in other stuff, which I do other stuff like today. Yeah. When I leave here I'm going to a wedding. But it's not a wedding of somebody I do happen to know the person, but most of the time I just go to all the weddings and take care of the church. Yeah. I have to I s reset the altar for our service after the wedding and all that. And the same goes for funerals. I attend all the funerals if I'm in town. Yeah. I'll tell you, man, that's people don't realize how important that is. Just being involved in your local church and like serving like it's it's very fulfilling. I did not as somebody who was a lot more on the atheist agnostic thing for like the first thirty something years of my life, always kinda look down on people for wanting to do all that on top. Now it is one of my favorite things to do. Yeah, like like you you know, you talk about you know resetting the resetting the the pulpit. Yeah, resetting the altar. That's people don't understand what's involved. Yeah, and they don't understand how important you know what though? Let somebody not do it one weekend. yeah. Mm-hmm. I have a couple of women that work with me that I I Let them know while I'm going out of town so they can take care of it. but that started because the person that was choir director before the one we have now, she'd been there for like twenty-two years and I got involved in the choir because I sang karaoke out at Cedar Creek. Two people that were in the choir were what'd you sing for karaoke at Cedar Creek? Karamea by Jay Black and the Americans. Okay. James, you gonna have to look that up so we can listen to it later. And and so those two people one sang they both sang in the choir. And they heard me sing that night and two days later I got a call from the choir director. Man, that's what's up. She she was always looking for tenors. Always looking for tenors. Yeah. And so that's how I got involved and then she asked me to start to help her do all this other stuff. And I'm thinking to myself, how in the world did you accomplish all this being the director and and have time to to do all this resetting the altar and all she just used her husband and that was it. Good for him. So so our our worship I guess worship pastors is the right title, our choir director at our church. He heard me sing and then asked me if I wanted to work the lights for the That happens a lot, especially with ministry, you know. He's like, hey man, I've heard you say We're all a part of the body of Christ and some people need to be the hands and some people need to be the voice. Man, yeah. That's cool. So you didn't put it on here, but I know. Tell us about your trip to New York with the choir. Well, that's what this new director this new director has been all over the world and and and he's He's got like three degrees in conducting and singing and everything Yeah, like the other thing, when I was out there in Monterey, I mean you know, they talk about like people now, this there's a group of our church that goes to they call it Kyrus. Yeah. Cookies they take to the prison and then Okay. They take cookies to the prison and they talk to about Christ and Jesus. And I don't know if they do that once or I think they only do it once a year, but they take like a hundred and forty-four dozen cookies. Yeah. Does Carol know that sounds like something Carol knows? No, that's there's a girl in one of the treasurer at church that does that, a couple other people. But yeah, but when I was in California at the Naval Postgraduate School, because I I played soccer in high school. And Being that there was a lot of foreign officers, they started up a soccer team. Yeah. Or they had a soccer team while I was there. So I started playing soccer with them. I played softball and soccer. And we used to go play some of the community colleges. Because you you gotta find somebody to play, you just don't want to keep playing. So we we would play the community college and then twice I went down and we played the prisoners in Soledad Prison. And you know, when the first time I was going down there thing. Whoa. yeah. But they were total gentlemen. They were they played clean game and they were happy that somebody would come play. So I got offered a chance. we're still working out the details, but at the the prison in Edgefield, there's a group of us that are gonna go down and play softball with those guys. hopefully turn it into a kind of a a recurring thing, but it's share the gospel with Yeah. It's different. And and then when you go in they'd stamp your hand, right? I said I am not showering until I leave this building, right? Yeah. When I when went into the prison, yeah, they would just stamp your hand so they know you're not the prisoner. So So I'm gonna have to stink and go back and feel better? Yeah. We're gonna come on a bus over here. Dap didn't do his pre combat checks and inspections. Hey. So what was I gonna tell you? Alright, so tell us about your trip to New York. So so April of two years ago we had done this feast at a church called Sabbat Mother. It's the story of Mary at the crucifixion. Okay. And It's it's done in none of if there there's like twelve parts to it. If there's any English, there's only one part that's English. The rest is Latin and Arabic and all kinds of other languages. So we did that piece at our church. And in New York, at Carnegie Hall, every year they have the this Carl Jenkins. He's a he's from Wales. and they have a piece that he's composed that they do or something. So when they were gonna do this, they were gonna do this Stavat Moder. And they started they went online and they were looking for peop groups that had done this. It wasn't just our group. Yeah. There was two hundred and forty people in the choir. wow. And they were from six different choral groups. wow. but they were looking f when they went online Every time she goes online, the first thing that popped up was St. John's Methodist Church. A little old ache in South Carolina. So she called and here it turns out sh he is he knows the girl that was doing this. Yeah. So we got invited to be part of this group of 240 singers and the 80 Orchestra, Peace Orchestra. And we went up there January 19th. We spent two first two days we spent over at Lincoln University practicing. And then then on the day of the performance we practiced in the morning and then we performed that night. but it was It was a different because y you had to stand the whole time and it's like ninety minutes long. Yeah. You know. So but it was a very interesting thing to do. I said it wasn't on my bucket list, but at least I can cross it off now. I wouldn't be surprised if we get another invite to do something else, you know, in a year or so. But yeah, it was unexpected and we spent so much time practicing it here. and and then we're doing it's like another we're we're practicing now to do in Thanksgiving the Messiah. Yeah. The whole thing. wow. Not just the hallelujah course, the but the whole messiah thing. So that'll be interesting. You're you're gonna tell me when you do that on my Yeah, well it'll probably be there'll probably be articles in the paper or on l on Facebook. We we might find ourselves at at at the Methodist Church for that. Yeah, you might we do cer we do some things. They have the thing called under the steeple where they have different musical groups and things. Yeah. Well we joke about music, right? Because I prefer The hymns, like the old style hymns. Yeah, I mean I've got I've got a brand new red back hymnal that that I ordered and waited like eight months while this thing was on back order for. but you know, it's just the music interests me because well one, I have about zero musical talent whatsoever, but And half of the song hymns we sing I've s I've almost know by heart, but yeah. But there's also we also do a contemporary service at nine o'clock. And that's a lot of people like that because you can go in there with your coffee and sit and they sing few songs that are more tr not traditional, contemporary. Yeah. But they do the same sermon. Yeah, so the coffee thing is glad you brought the coffee thing. Have we talked about the coffee thing here? I don't think we have Well, with you and how you leave your coffee cup. Yeah. I might bring a bottle of water, but Well you do it in the regular sanctuary, your service? Yeah. Well we have a sanctuary where the eight thirty and eleven service is. The contemporary service is done over what we call the face center. It's almost like an auditorium. wow. But it's a different building next So we have and People joke with me all the time, but it's okay. 'cause so I grew up in a little tiny church and you didn't take like you take tr you you might take a bottle of water. Yeah. Yeah. Now what's funny, what was perfectly acceptable was a pocket full of peppermint. this and do you know what I carry in the s in the church every Sunday? I I bet you I eat eight I probably eat seven or eight peppermint every church summer. Mr. Harry, the guy that sits behind me, he's got the little cinnamon candies. yeah. I get two or three cinnamon candies from every day. Every time we're there. But yeah, like they laugh at me at church because I will like I walk out of either Sunday school or when I'm with the kids and I have my coffee cup and I'm like And they're like, Alright, we'll see you in the sanctuary. I'm like or they're like, You can walk to the s sanctuary? I'm like, Yeah, hold on, I gotta go put this put this away 'cause yeah, they used to have to walk across the street, didn't you? I used to, yeah, but now that I'm volunteering with the kids, I'll park like by our kids where the kids ministry is so right. Well, the student ministry, not really. They get upset when you're calling kids. Yeah, my son and his family go to the contemporary church up there in Virginia. Yeah. So they're still in Virginia? Yeah. My my daughter's in Richmond and my son's in near Warrington. Okay. But they go to church regularly. My daughter, she's hit and miss. I was just about to ask you your kids into their faith pretty much or my daughter how many you might buy us how many how many two. Two kids? One girl boy. Okay. He's I think he's more into it my son in law my son because his wife is. Okay. And she's she's a r she gets up early every morning and spends an hour on the in the Bible. Mm. You said your son? No, my his wife. his wife? Yeah. And their one daughter well it's a long story, but their one daughter has a lot of health issues and she's Her mother's to got her the same way. And I think her grandmother is that way too, you know. There's something to the habit of doing that. yeah. I mean personally trying to be better about it. It's but it's that was definitely not a Yeah. I started now that I've got a little more time and I'm spending more time I'm trying to start going through I have a little stu study bible, but You know, if you can go through and read certain verses each week or yeah. Yeah. So I looked at some of those, like the devotional, like the year long devotionals and stuff like that. Yeah. but they all have dates attached to and that drives me insane. Right. because if I get behind today, you know what I really appreciate for the Bible app recently just updated because I do a devotional daily on there. but I do So usually what I do is Monday through Thursday, I a devotional at work. or in the parking lot before I go into work, right? and then Fridays, if we have a podcast, I'll spend an hour or so Friday, you know, making sure I'm ready for for the our our scripture discussion on Friday. and then Saturday I do the same thing, but I'm getting ready for Sundays. Mm-hmm. with with the students, right? and so like I'll kinda peek at those scriptures through the week, but I really, you know, try to spend Friday digging deep into what we're gonna talk about on Saturday and then Saturday digging so that way it's fresh in my mind. The problem with that is is when I do those, I don't do the one on the app, right? Because I it's gonna sound I don't wanna say I don't need both, but but Just my flow to the Yeah, my review. If you follow one like there's there's a flow to it. Yeah, you know, and and there's sometimes when like like for example, like next week, right? Next week I won't have to do we we're not recording a show next week and w and I won't I'll be out of town so I won't be able with the students. So next week I will do the one on the Bible app. Yeah. Over the weekend. But they used to Like if you started say it was like a thirty day devotional, right? Yeah. Well it advanced every day whether you read it or not. And in order to get to the day like you had to back up, you know what I mean? Well they fixed that. Now it just it still pops up and says, You missed three days and I'm like, I don't care how to miss three days, dude. Like like yes, I did not do this devotional on this app for these three days. I still you know, I I I picked up my hard copy it. I Tristan gets so aggravated with me 'cause every now and one, I wanna get my kids I got a seven year old and he we're trying to get him to get better at reading. So one of the things that I do, I'm like, hey man, I need you to sit down and read your devotional. But I I'll miss a couple days or we got stuff going on. Like he plays flag football. we go to our prayer serv we we are starting to go to our prayer services more on Wednesday nights. because our church is very, very small. I go to like something that is a Baptist church that is the exact opposite of what he has. I our church is over two hundred years old. or close to two hundred I think is what the sanctuary is. And but it's and I mean that's that's what we found home in church. And it's become a rookie thing. I think that's what my life my wife prefers a very small church. She loves Pleasant Valley. And she started coming to I mean, she she's a member of St. John's, but she's and she started coming to it, but Because I was in the choir all the time, she felt like a choir widow sitting out there by herself. And so now she just does the Sunday morning streaming. Yeah. So so y'all don't you and your wife don't go to the same Yeah, we go to the same or the point member of the same church. but she just doesn't attend. She watches it on TV. y you gotta help me out here because The little tiny church that grew up in, right, the seven or eight of us that made a joyful noise for the Lord in the choir because I'm not gonna say we sang. Miss Peggy sang, I did not, I tried. Mm-hmm. But we would sing and then go sit down. Right? In the church that I'm in now, like when the the music's over the choir, you know, during the the transition, they all come down and sit. So I'm just curious, and d does your choir stay in the choir loft the whole time? Yeah. Yeah, we stay up there because we start out singing a prelude type thing. Well there's a organ prelude, then there's a call to worship thing, and then we do the first hymn, which we sing and the at congregation sings too. Then we're we're seated and we're up and down singing but night seeing creator, whatever, talking and say and then we do an anthem during the offering. And then we do another hymn at the end. And then we do a benediction. So we're singing almost off and on the whole time, you know. So you're probably up there singing for almost a full hour. I well, not singing all that time. Not yeah not singing all that whole hour. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. That's and then the same thing for eleven o'clock. So I'm not gonna lie, so and and again, this is by no means this a knock on on on a the ho when I was a kid, my grandmother, my dad's side was a Methodist, right? And so I went to her church a couple of times. Mm. And I'm not gonna lie, it blew me away that like when you walked in they handed you a A Bulletin? Yeah, it was a bulletin. Yeah. Program. Yeah, but it was it was bul it was a because I've been to like Magist churches where they give you a bulletin, but the bulletin like, hey, please pray for these people. And you know what I mean? It wasn't a at eleven o'clock we're gonna do We're gonna do the prelude at eleven five we're gonna do the like and that I'm not gonna lie, that the first time I saw that I was like This is very structured. Yeah, right. I'm not sure what to do here. Yeah. Yeah, ours isn't that structured. man, no, it had times to it. I was playing. Yep. Philadelphia United Methodist Church in York, South Carolina. Wow. Yeah, that's an old church too. they did a a favorite thing about that church when I was a kid is they did a haunted graveyard for Halloween every year. And they so they had a path. They didn't go through the cemetery. That'd be a little but the path went around the cemetery and it was like their big fundraiser every year was they did this haunted cemetery. Now the other thing back up in in Virginia, and this again this is this Frank that told me why I why I was coming to the church council and all that now. And they used to have a thing up there, he kept trying to get me to go, but the weekends never suited. It was a weekend retreat. It's called Walk to a Mayus. Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that 'cause you put that on here. Yeah. That was a very moving weekend. It's all men. I mean they have one for women too. But it's all men, you go up to Retreat on Friday. And it's you take communion, you have communion about three times a day. But it's all kinds of and you're and you're divided up into little groups of about five people and a leader. And you sit around and talk about different parts of the Bible and all that other stuff. And they also have things like they did some kind of a skit, I can't remember, of the crucifixion, but like behind the sheet with lights, so it was like silhouettes. Yeah. And they did all kinds of stuff like that. it was it was something else. Very moving the whole weekend. And at the end on Sunday, like the families come back up to pick you up, you know, and you're sitting in this like room and and everybody Like 50 guys. Yeah. And everybody that wants to has an opportunity to say something, what they thought, you know. And I told my wife, I said, I think this is the first time I've ever seen 50 guys cry. Yeah. Because it was so moving. And and each one of them thought it was moving. They were crying while they were telling you their story. Yeah, whatever it was they wanted to say. So there's something to be said about. Men, right, men especially, taking some time to to just be together with Christ as men. And so one of the one of the big megachurch pastors that I watched and stream services on, guy's name is Joby Martin. does Church 1122 Down and Up. They just They just had a big event that they do every year where they do like five days of they call it saturated, whereas like he has guest preachers come in every and they stream it all and do all this other stuff. But one thing that they they had a lady who is named Jenny Allen and she's one of the ladies that's been going around all the the college campuses and like having kids, you know, she talks to them about repentance and stuff like that. That's what she thought about is saturated. And cu I think today actually, my wife's had a conference with our pastor's wife in One of our deacon's wives, they're at a conference in Gatlinburg, and that lady's supposed to be speaking there too. But she brought up the point, like when you get a bunch of like teenagers or like college students or men, like they don't, you know, everybody's real secretive about the things that the problems that they got going on. But when you get them in there and you can really tell that like the Holy Spirit is in the room, and when somebody just lays it all out, that's when you really see the floodgates open. And like it it all it but it really all it takes is that one person to step up. and admit that they need like they're in need of God's help before the Holy Spirit just breaks out and then it just causes a There's some kind of scientific term they get for like an emotional you know, just an emotional response. But you can see and it's not just crying, like it's not always crying and tear like there's you're just so you're just so overwhelmed with that emotion of the realization that like it is real. It is real, it's tangible, you can feel it. Like you say, in these small groups, you know, guys would open up that you in ways you never expected to. Yeah. Well I'll tell you, when you talk about men especially, right? You know, 'cause 'cause the Bible tells us that that we're we're supposed to lead, right? We're supposed to lead our families. We're supposed to lead I mean we're supposed to lead our churches. We're supposed to lead you the we are supposed to be you know men of God. Right, right. And and and that that gets hard. And so, you know, at least especially for me, especially when we talk about veterans, right? So when we talk about it is hard for a veteran, especially a man, right? Veteran, to go to his family and say, Hey, like I am like I'm struggling, right? It's hard to do that. but when you get a bunch of godly men together You know, one, it's a little bit easier to say, hey man, I'm struggling, right? It's a little bit easier to be honest. But also that support is it's different, right? I'm not saying it's better or it's worse or you know what I mean? Like like my wife is super supportive of all the things that I do, right? I know that your wife is super supportive of all the things that you do, right? Same thing for you know, for a man that like I know that But it's a different kind of support. Well so there and and one, I think that like when you talk you you said something about veterans being like it's hard for veterans as well, not just men, like veterans. And I think that's one thing that like the Lord has called us to do with the podcast and why everything has kind of fallen into the way that it has for this. And it's really coming together a lot. Just in that Letting letting other vendors know there's a way that you can do that. You can do it with cr do it with Christ. And it's it's what's the word I'm looking for? The thoughts there but my brain's not functioning right now today. which happens a lot. We need to hit eighty. Yeah person. Honestly honestly sir, I would never be twelve up, right? I probably would never have guessed that you were eighty if I had met you out on the street. Like, well most people don't because I I do a lot of other things, you know. I Yeah. Like he was saying, besides the church I think or and the post. I for the Methodist men now, that I I the They have an antique show in e in the beginning of February downtown. So it became the antique show. But the Methodist men from our church for twenty five years have been helping them move vendors in and out. Okay. And I've been doing that since like twenty one or so when the guy that formed me passed away. and that's I don't so I don't feel that old but My knees are starting to say otherwise, right? He said that his knees are starting to. But it's yeah, I think it's like that's I think that's one thing that the Lord has called us to do. Let veterans know that there is a place that you can go and it's with Christ. And so the that other the other pastor guy, he he brings it up like when you get godly men around people, you don't just need brothers in arms that are gonna tell you everything's okay and all that other No what you need is you need people fr from the the the story of the the paralyzed man that was brought through the roof. You need you need those kind of friends. Yeah. Yeah. You need what they call or what and that one church that pass refers to him as mat carriers. You need four or five people that are going to be in your close circle that when you can't walk, like you physically can't walk anymore, they're gonna put you on a blanket, pick up the corners, and break down a roof to get you to Jesus. Well and I tell you that, you know, and we've talked about this before, right? So at our church they call Sunday school groups the connect groups, right? Mm-hmm. And and we've talked about how I I I have a difficult time connecting with some of those folks. by no fault of theirs, really no fault of mine. It's just two different Yeah you got two different experiences. Yeah, right. But one thing that I really appreciate since we started this podcast, and honestly since I've become more more involved in my faith, right? as I know, I mean I kinda said at the very beginning, right? Vince has taught me off the ledge on more than a couple of occasions, right? Like yeah like like somebody, you know, somebody will make a decision that I disagree with and I'm like, Vince man, I'm gonna I'm gonna call this guy in maybe you shouldn't you you've done that for me. I mean as much as of a mouth that I've had, like there's been times where I've gone and you're all like, hey gunny, I need to go in the the the uniform closet over here and and sometimes we Your principal's gonna get a cousin. Yeah, well, but we need that, right? Like we as we as veterans need that and we as Christians need that. And when you can put when we can take people that fit in both categories, right? Us, right? And and now you know that's a different type of connection. And it's not, you know, and again, you know, I don't want anybody who's I don't want anybody who's listening to this say, well, you know, veterans need to be segregated from their chacause we've talked about that, right? Like not that. but it's it's nice as a veteran, right, as a Christian, to have a group of like-minded men and women with similar experiences. to discuss our faithfulness. It's comfort by proximity. Yeah, it really is. There you go, that's a good phrase. I mean honest like so this is my first time ever meeting you, Mr. Vince, and like I'm sitting here listening and it's it's very I get Very, very reminiscent of like sitting and listening and I'm not I'm I I get very reminiscent of like sitting and listening to my grandfather. probably as old as he was, right? He he passed away three years ago at eighty eight years old. And y'all y'all had about the same time of service and and he was in he was during that same time frame, well, he retired from the Air Force after twenty something years. And I sent you the picture of Manna talking to me earlier this week. She said, you know, I wish your granddad would your power was still alive because he'd be a great person to have on the podcast. And he was I wish I would have taken his his faith or his faith and like my grandma and everybody little more seriously. Yeah. But I just wanted to thank you for you know, bringing me back to being able to sit down with my grandpa and like having that same feeling. It's well I've noticed as I've aged here more recently the last few years that I've become a lot more emotional over a lot of things. Even even if it's just watching T V and watching a veteran and his family's reunion. Yeah. Get choked up and stuff like that. Yeah. and of course and in my family I'm I'm like the patriarch of both my family and my wife's family because there's her and her sister, that's it. And there's me. on my family. My two sisters well they passed away. One passed while you were talking looking here when we when I felt close to that. My first sister passed away when she was forty four. She was a nurse and she had cancer that she fought for about six years. And I was the only one in the room with her when she passed away. And that was kind of like upsetting, you know, very. But And then the other one was seventy eight, but they they were both ten years older than me. wow. Because I think what it was was I was a World War Two Victory Baby. Okay. So you were a little baby boober. Because the war ended in forty in forty five. Yeah. And I was born in January of forty six. yeah, you were definitely a victory baby. That's right, yeah. So So anyhow but and then there's besides my sister, there was I was there when my father passed away, but it just seems like I'm the always the one there. So and for some odd ball I don't know if I mentioned it in there, but for some oddball reason, people always think that I'm in charge. I mean So you know you s you mentioned you being the only per like you seem like you're you're the person that's always there, right, when something happens. you talk about people always thinking that you're in charge. Hey, I would contend that after knowing you for a few years that that that that's probably that that's God always puts us where he needs us w where he wants us. God didn't really need us, but we need him way more, but but God always puts us where he wants us, right? and I would I would just say that God has put you through those things because now when you are the person that's there, everybody knows Everybody knows as long as you're there it's gonna be okay. Because that was just a natural like yeah talent for leadership. 'Cause it always 'cause it always is. Well I did go to the Navy did send me to the amphibious Fiblant, which was Amphibious Forces in Atlantic, Petty Officer School. Yeah. I forget whether it was I think it was two weeks or a month. I can't remember. And I came out first in the class. But that was only twenty five people. But I was lucky I was married then. And w with this school you had go through inspection every day. First thing inspection. They inspect you, and then they inspect your bed and your locker and all that crap. Well, my bed and locker never even got slept in. 'Cause I stayed at home at night. I go home, wash my uniform, iron it, come back the next morning. My bed's still just the same as it was yesterday. But yeah, it that that turned out good for me in a way, but Yeah, it I think, you know, I've always had I guess you might say a knack for leadership type stuff in the military, you know, rather more so than I probably was a better leader part than I was electronic technician, you know. But well sometimes that's what that's what God needs us for. or wants us for. You seem you seem like a very, very just naturally like calm person too. Yeah. It takes a lot to get me. in and of itself is like something that helps with that. Like like when gun like Gunny was talking, it's like everybody else knowing that everything's gonna be okay, knowing that you have a calm, cool headed person at the at the the top. Right. Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen that's actually anger. I don't usually. Yeah. Everything just it's like a what they say. It's like water running off a cup's back. Yeah. So other than the choir, do you have any projects or anything that you're working on like or that you wanna like any organizations or anything like you might wanna hint towards or any advice for the people that might listen or find these? Hm, I'll chat the thing, but no, the choir and the and handbells is mostly what I do and the stuff at the church. and the other stuff I do is basically for the church the even the antique stuff, it's the men from the churches. I gotta get men from the church, which is getting harder and harder. 'Cause for a while there, up until a couple of years ago they had the stupid show the same weekend as the Super Bowl. gosh. And and of course and now so what I've done now in the last few years I go recruit the US V Aiken soccer team to help us because they're young. And and they don't play soccer in s when in in February. They're playing now. They're their season is now so they're done. but so I get the h them to help us. And I'm trying to think other than the post, you know, having stuff to do with And all that behind the scenes stuff is more important than than you Yeah. Than you know. But well Vince, I know that you've got an engagement that you gotta get to. what time? about two about two twenty. but there was anything on here else but I was looking at your question. wanna take I just wanna thank you man for for spending some time with us. I think we've covered most everything. just sitting and listening listening to you and talking about you and like seeing that you have a real service mindset towards the church is it and you find a place where you fit and go to it. It's it's very I want to say thank you and it's inspirational to I don't feel it in my knees or back anyway from some injury that I had. But like a as a younger guy or somebody that's really young in the faith, yeah. It's it's very inspiring to see. I have personally wanted to say thank you and it's it's a great pleasure to meet you, Mr. Vince. I enjoyed coming out here. And I tell you, man, I appreciate you know, we've talked we've had this discussion before at the Legion, right, about the generation, right? veterans organizations especially are having a difficult time, you know, connecting with just veterans. It's not just veterans, right? It's it's the church. It's hey, for my young people, the older folks might be right about a few things. Listen to them. Yeah. Just gonna throw that out there. So I know, I I know that a podcast I mean to be honest with you, the the podcast is more it's more it's probably even more Dash generation than 'cause I'm kind of a net weird in between generation 'cause I refuse to call myself a millennial, but but it's you know, the fact that you were willing to come spend some time with us, you know, that just speaks volumes about your character and so we really appreciate you. and I think with that, man, I think we'll wrap things up. Yeah. so for those of everybody listening, you know, as usual, you know, you can catch us on all the things. Well we're on spot we're on Spotify now because Spotify's updated. Yeah. YouTube's we haven't gotten on Apple stuff Apple so Apple All those different things, please feel free to send us a message through our social media. and if you're as always, if you're a veteran who wants to come share your testimony with us, please give us a shout. Engage us in the comments on the Facebook reels if you want. Yeah, we'll have to we'll have to talk about five comments. Sometimes I may not engage back or we we may not engage back, but choose your battles. All right guys, thanks for joining us. Thank you.