An unedited conversation with Proud from June 1, 2017.

James Allen Ehrlich (July 19, 1945 - August 17, 2024)

Emma Rose Allen grew up in Ojai and graduated from UCLA's dance program. She works as a teacher and choreographer for the Ojai Youth Entertainers Studio (OYES) and continues to choregraph and perform her own works as a professional dancer.

musical notes:

"So What" by Pink

"Vampire Empire" by Big Thief

"Ride" by Lana Del Rey

"Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter

"Up All Night" by SAULT

Mark Smith grew up in Alberta, Canada and is currently an occupational therapist working with veterans at the VA clinic in San Francisco.

musical notes:

Antonio Williams & Kerry McCoy "Changes"

Rosier "La volerie"

Jackson Browne "These Days"

T. Rex "Monolith"

Porridge Radio "7 Seconds"

This is a conversation with my Dad (Bill Ehrlich) on the eve of his retirement at 65. He had a 35-year career as a sales professional in the commercial printing business.

Photo: On the front steps of our house in Minnesota with his two grandsons.

musical notes:

Neil Young "Ohio" [1:14]

Simon & Garfunkel "Punky's Dilemma" [8:40]

The Beatles "Getting Better" [21:20]

Norman GreenBaum "Spirit in the Sky" [31:35]

Crosby Stills Nash & Young "Carry On" [outro]

January is currently studying to become a psychosomatic therapist.

musical notes:

Rostam - "Thatch Snow" [intro]

Yo Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott - "The Swan (From _Carnival of the Animals, R. 125_)" @ [18:50]

Thelonious Monk - "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" @ [29:45]

Colleen - "Soul Alphabet" [outro]

Wesaam Al-Badry is a photojournalist living in San Francisco. He was born in 1984 in Nasiriyah, Iraq.

website: http://www.wesaamalbadry.com/

musical notes:

Charlie Parr - "Jaybird" [intro]

The Cannonball Adderly Quintet - "Mercy Mercy Mercy (Live) (Remix)" [outro]

Lorna Simpson is a stylist and art director currently living and working in San Francisco.

website: https://lornaaisimpson.com/

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lopimpson/

musical notes:

Spoon - "Inside Out" [intro]

Wilco - "I am trying to break your heart" @ [5:35]

Wild Nothing - "Shadow" @ [15:34]

Oddnesse - "Somewhere Somehow" @ [19:43]

M. Ward - "Epistemology" @ [32:18]

Flo Morrissey & Matthew E. White - "Look At What The Light Did Now" [outro]

Simone wrote a piece about how he "solved his quarter life crisis" -- link provided below. Topically the piece has overlap with a number of the conversations I've had for this show and it displayed an admirable candor:

"I’ve been out of college for four years, and while my med school friends inch closer to their white coats and my finance friends inch closer to their white board meetings, I feel about as lost as ever. I’m in my third industry in as many years, my love life fluctuates between The Matterhorn and It’s A Small World, and the only time I really feel at peace is when I have 10 minutes to poop and for some reason forgot my phone in the other room.

But I have found something I do care about—choosing how to orient my attention. It’s the common thread with most of the things I unconditionally love ...

... Not only is uni-tasking incredibly empowering, but it also might just be the answer to my quarter life crisis."

Focusing and reorienting our attention is easier said than done. In our conversation Simone shares his still uncertain thoughts about his own path and admits it is hard to take our own medicine.

Since our conversation Simone has enrolled in Stanford's journalism school and I look forward to reading more of his writing in the future.

Show Notes:

Medium: https://medium.com/re-orient/unsolicited-life-advice-from-a-millennial-without-much-life-experience-424b2cac9f76

Musical Notes:

Neil Young, "Out On The Weekend" [17:07]

Mott the Hoople, "All the Young Dudes" [23:31]

Darrell Williams is an excellent barber and lends a nonjudgmental ear to his clients, I know because I'm one of them. Darrell's mixture of serene wisdom and humor come through in our conversation reflecting on his life. He's been through a lot but has made it through without bitterness.

"Their responsibility is to show me support, not to support me . . . There's a difference."

"If you put in effort you're going to get something out of it."

Show Notes:

Massive: http://www.hellamassive.com/barbershop/

-713 Washington St, Oakland, CA 94607

Instagram: @williams714_barber

Delivery Service: https://www.kayaforniadelivery.com/

Musical Notes:

Jacques Renault, "Norman's Fire" [8:30]

Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, "Baby What You Want Me To Do" [21:30]

Erykah Badu, "Penitentiary Philosophy" [31:00]

The Isley Brothers, "It's Your Thing" [39:00]

Outro: Trus'me, "Working Nights" [45:30]

Music Selection & Episode Mix by Mike Benz - www.mixcloud.com/djtashtego/

Nick Carrel - corporate sales turned dog walking entrepreneur . . .

Nick went from corporate sales to dog walking via a failed attempt at "following his passion" for Yerba Mate tea. His story highlights the difficulty of career navigation in uncharted waters and how the vehicle to achieve work satisfaction can be totally unexpected.

Show Notes:

Website: www.barkingbuddhas.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/nickcarrelsdogs/

Instagram: @barking_buddhas

Musical Notes:

Intro: Spoon, "The Underdog"

Blood Orange, "Uncle ACE"

Vampire Weekend, "M79"

Rolling Stones, "Street Fighting Man"

Outro: Led Zeppelin, "Black Dog"

Episode Mixed by Mike Benz - www.mixcloud.com/djtashtego/