Tactical Living

911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about how with Clint and I not having any children were still able to enjoy being around children. And although some might not believe that to be true, we really experienced it yesterday. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Yesterday was a little bit different. It was a little bit different because unexpectedly my little nephew named Ripley. Yes, his name is Ripley wound up at my dad's house. So Clint and I went over there to go and visit. This little boy has more energy than any child I have ever seen. He is four years old, a little unruly. He is an only child and I could tell that the energy in the room was starting to take its toll on my dad. After some convincing of Ripley letting me cut his nails because I could not stand the filth that was underneath them. We asked if he wanted to go to the park. We have a park really close to our house. Literally a 2-minute drive.

He agreed. We grabbed a bag of opened pretzels at my dads' to feed to the ducks. Put in the car seat, got him excited and jammed up to go and we headed down to the park. I have never seen how excited a little boy could be just turning the corner and seeing this giant playground. And it wasn't the kind of excitement that he was just holding on to for himself. He saw this playground, started to run turned and looked at us with excitement and eagerly asked us to follow along. So we did. We ran to the playground with him and as I ran with him I stopped for a second as I started to stand on top of these woodchips and I say that because I can't remember the last time that I was standing on woodchips in the center of a playground. And I remembered it just like I was a kid. I remembered the additional cushion underneath those wood chips. I remembered how hot all of the equipment was. Of course nowadays there is no such thing as a metal slide, but on an incredibly hot California day it was still hot. And I just watched as Ripley ran into what seemed like a group of 20 kids and he was so calm. He was so understanding that these were his like people. This was his tribe. He started talking with the other kids. They started talking back with him. He made sure that he touched every single piece of equipment until he decided which one, he liked the most and in full transparency I felt a little out of place.

Clint: And it's really funny to notice this because Ashlie and I when we were surrounding the playground equipment and I don't know if you noticed this or not, but we're watching Ripley he's climbing up, he's sliding down the slides. He's going on all these different things and all these other kids are around us, but we're pretty much the only adults standing there almost helicoptering them to make sure he didn't fall. And I looked around and I see all the other moms and dads are just sitting on the benches further away just enjoying their conversation. But you and I are both just we're set up on each side of the playground just in case he were to fall this way or fall this way. But I just noticed we're paranoid in reference to that and it made me laugh when I recognized that.

Ashlie: Okay. Part 1, it's because he is not our child.

Clint: Yeah that's true.

Ashlie: Part 2, it's also because Ripley has a medical in piedmont. He has some developmental issues with his legs and his toes, and he expressed to us when he needed help and Clint and I made sure we were on either side of this giant playground in case he needed that help, which he asked for several times. I did notice that too. But what I also noticed was the engagement that the other kids were showing to us because we were present. We weren't sitting on the bench checking out our cell phones. We were completely engaged and cognizant of not only Ripley but all of the other kids. The ones that asked us to help boost them up onto the swing set. The ones that asked for an extra push or asked to help push Ripley. And it was actually kind of fun. It was kind of fun to see that engagement and a little humbling to just pay witness to how difficult it must be to be a parent and understand that you need that disconnect time by sitting on a bench checking your feet or whatever it may be and glancing up at your kid. I would imagine that helicopter parenting is something that fades away. I'm sure it would fade away had we done this consistently with Ripley. But he's like a special gem in our life. He's really the only young child that we have immediate access to. In our world especially with the boys that I grew up with, this is the only grandchild that is immediate for us. He's the only grandchild that my dad sees on a routine basis. My dad has other amazing grandkids. I have nieces and nephews. But it's different worth with Ripley because my dad sees him all of the time and my dad has gotten to pay witness to him growing up. And the caveat to that is I have never seen a child look as identical to their parent as my little nephew does to my little brother. And I'm sure that creates some sort of special place in my dad's heart and in that relationship, it just so happened that Ripley came along right after my mom died. It was only months later that Ripley was born after my mom passed away and I think this sort of rebirth helped to solidify that relationship between my dad and Ripley and just enjoying that time yesterday, there was a moment of fear. There was a moment of fear because there was a point when Ripley didn't want to listen, and he took off running so fast that Clint and I were chasing after him and it made me nervous. What if he tripped? What if he hurt himself? What if he got away so far that we couldn't catch him? And I think us not having any children it's important to be able to experience that so that we gain a better understanding of what it's like to be a parent. My little brother was a younger father. He's a single father and I give him so much credit. And as you listen to this if you yourself are a parent, I commend you for everything that you do on a daily basis. I don't think that I have the strength or capacity to be able to do what you do, and I was privileged to be able to taste a piece of that yesterday. This isn't the first time we've done things with Ripley. But it was probably the most extensive time that we've shared time with him.

Clint: Now I would say it was pretty impactful for us as well, just given the day.

Ashlie: Yeah, I think so too. And the further and further along though Clint and I go with our human potential training at the bullet proof institute. We're starting to really realize how important it is to be centered and present in every moment of our life. And I don't think I would have picked up on all of those other nuances if I was just fixated on me. There wasn't a moment when I thought about me. I was thinking about Ripley and watching you interact with him and watching him interact with the other kids and then soaking in the other parents that were around us and their interactions with their kids. I even noticed that very close to the playground there was a family that was having a celebration of life for somebody that they've lost. These are the types of things that before I wouldn't have been so vigilant on. But I understand appreciating those moments and being in the moment. And as you listen, I wonder if there are any times in your life that maybe you wished you had been more present. Clint and I adopt a lot of rules in our home. We've actually adopted a lot of rules when we take my dad out for a weekly dinner once a week. One of those rules is never having the cell phone out when we're sitting down to share time together for a meal. Clint and I have a two hour no cell phone rule before we go to bed. This allows us to start to disconnect from some of those blue gamma ray lights that are preventing us from getting in the rem sleep that we need in order to be more fulfilled for the next day. These are small things, they're easy to do. But it's also easy to sit there and scroll on your phone until it's time to shut your eyes. What are some things that you can do and implement in your own life to start to disconnect and to be more present? How can you do that with your own children? If you're like us and you don't have any children, maybe you have a cousin or a niece or nephew. What can you do even if it seems out of the ordinary, just take them for the day to take them and experience their world. Experience the world of their parents. How would that impact you in your own life? Is my personal belief that by allowing yourself to get uncomfortable with these sorts of things and experience life in a way that even though you're not willing to commit to yourself. It doesn't mean that you have to be completely objective to allowing yourself to learn from that and when you're able to be open to this and you're able to know that there are ways to be more expansive that don't necessarily require a lifetime commitment. Then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

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911, what’s the nature of your emergency? 

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: Today's episode is going to be a little bit different. It's different because it has a little bit more of a somber theme to it. I say this because this comes from a place of understanding that your life could change in an instant. And that doesn't necessarily have to be from your own story. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint has an amazing mentor, somebody that I’ve grown very fond of over the years. Somebody who I’ve gotten to know on a professional and a personal level. His entire life changed in the most unexpected way and this has impacted me. And it's impacted Clint. Out of respect for him and his family I’m not going to disclose the details of who he is. I'm not going to disclose the details of who we're about to talk about. I will say that this information has become public. There's a go fund me campaign going. I will leave it down in the show notes and ask that if you feel so inclined to do so that you help out financially in any way that you can. Clint, I ask that you just take the lead here and kind of share a little bit about what happened. 

Clint: You know this mentor of mine he's been super impactful not only in my career but in so many people's lives throughout the city I work for. He has never thought once about taking something for himself but to just giving more and more throughout the community into other officers. So about two months ago now I called him up, because he was off work and just to give him a hard time saying we need to go to dinner and I haven't heard from you in a couple of weeks. So it's kind of bullshit and after I said that he responded to me of did you hear what happened. And I said no and he explained to me the story that his girlfriend was out riding horses, something she absolutely loved to do. She loved horses she came out on our mountain deployments and would ride with us and just really enjoy being around us with the horses and her own horse.

So she went out one evening and just went for a normal trail ride and my mentor at the time was just at home just doing stuff around the house and his neighbor came over and said, did you see that your girlfriend's horses back within its stable all tacked up and ready to go and your girlfriend's not around. So he goes out there and looks and so an overwhelming feeling came over him and he began to run along the trail where she normally rides. As he did this for about a half a mile he saw her laying on the ground in the middle of the trail with another lady over her. At this time he calls 911 and they start their response and tries to figure out and piece together what happened. She's unconscious, not responding and she definitely has injuries. They fly her to a local hospital and he follows over there. She sustained severe head trauma and went under numerous surgeries those first few days just to alleviate their pressure and swelling that was caused by that head trauma. Over time things were looking very very grim and a lot of people didn't think she was going to make it from this and as he's explaining it to me, I got that sinking pit in my stomach of, oh shit this is just not good. As time goes on she's battled infections, she's battled the swelling. There was a few surgeries where they said she has a 20 percent chance of survival from it. But she powered through and she's still powering through to this day. She hasn't spoken yet, but she's still responsive. She's alert for the most part and she's able to shake her head yes and no. And she recognizes the people and who she knows. But we still don't know how deep that trauma really is. She's still sitting in a rehab clinic right now with a large portion of her skull off to make sure that the swelling doesn't return. There are still more surgeries in her future and a really really long road to recovery and fortunately steam to where we're at today with this, but the last time I talked to my mentor I could just tell a complete mindset from where he was two months ago to where he is today. I believe everything in our universe happens for a reason and I’m not saying that his girlfriend deserved this. But other aspects of life that occurred up to that point happened for a reason and I won't go into details on that. But he's so content, he's so happy knowing that he's there for her. And I know she feels the same and in looking at that and seeing his mindset shift it's been really not only inspiring, but eye opening to his character. His character is someone who he's always given forth any effort, any and all of his efforts to everyone else. Now he's taking that time for himself and for his girlfriend and all of his priorities has shifted. 

Ashlie: And when Clint first told me this story I couldn't believe that this was really happening. I am talking about a man and a woman who interject the highest level of strength that I’ve ever seen in a couple. A couple who showcase such a high level of support and intent no matter who they come into contact with that it just draws you towards them. This woman was a practicing attorney. This woman knew equestrian riding like the back of her hand. This woman was somebody who I do not believe made any sort of mistake. It was a freak accident. Something so unexpected changed their entire lives forever. It changed the amount of support that this man is now able to have for his family. And just by reading and constantly following their journey I see how humble he has become in his own life. To know that this woman might never practice law again, I cant imagine to have worked so hard your entire life to get to this place of excellence and then to have it all taken away from you. It's not fair. Why were these cards dealt in the way that they were. The questions will probably never end. But it's changed the way that I view how easy it is for it all to be taken away. Doing something as simple as going out into your routine that you do probably every single day and then something like this could happen. In your entire world, the entire nature of your family would change forever. And as we continue to follow this story I am so inspired to see the strength and dedication that a man can have for the person that he loves. How a man who has so many facets and investments in the lives of so many people around him can shut that all off and understand with great vindication what his priorities are and it can't be easy. We've tried to support him in any way that we can, while still giving grace to the fact that he needs to be the one to call the shots. He needs to be the one to say when he's comfortable visits. He is to be the one that's comfortable to ask for the help where he needs it. But I know from what his share that there's been such a great outpouring of help and support from people in his circle, both near and extended that have come together in any way that they can to try to help in such a devastating time in his life. And the amazing thing is his commitment to it. He knows this is his new life. This is his new reality.

He's accepted it. And at least on the outer surface he's not showcasing any sort of resentment. As Clint has described it's quite the opposite of that. He's showcasing that he's come to terms with where he's at right now in his life. He's at peace and I think a part of that is because of the strength that he has that maybe the universe has primed him to be able to deal with something that most people would have never been able to deal with. And as you're sitting there listening, how does a story like this impact you in your own life? Have you experienced anything like this before? How can you grow and learn from the devastation and tragedy that someone else's faced? This is real life. This isn't some made up story. This is not some over fabricated story that the media is trying to sell you. This is the reality of how somebody who had everything seemingly perfect in their lives have had it all taken away in an instant. And yet they've been able to grow and persevere and lean on people whenever they needed it. And we'll continue to need it. And it's my hope that as you listen to this, you're able to encompass any kind of ways that you're able to use this story to empower yourself and all of the what if situations. Because when you're able to step back and not take the simple things for granted and you're able to slow down and be humbled by the situations and devastation that other people are facing, you just might be able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

Let’s Connect! 

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Website: www.leowarriors.com

911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: Today's episode is going to be a little bit different. It's different because it has a little bit more of a somber theme to it. I say this because this comes from a place of understanding that your life could change in an instant. And that doesn't necessarily have to be from your own story. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint has an amazing mentor, somebody that I've grown very fond of over the years. Somebody who I've gotten to know on a professional and a personal level. His entire life changed in the most unexpected way and this has impacted me. And it's impacted Clint. Out of respect for him and his family I'm not going to disclose the details of who he is. I'm not going to disclose the details of who we're about to talk about. I will say that this information has become public. There's a go fund me campaign going. I will leave it down in the show notes and ask that if you feel so inclined to do so that you help out financially in any way that you can. Clint, I ask that you just take the lead here and kind of share a little bit about what happened.

Clint: You know this mentor of mine he's been super impactful not only in my career but in so many people's lives throughout the city I work for. He has never thought once about taking something for himself but to just giving more and more throughout the community into other officers. So about two months ago now I called him up, because he was off work and just to give him a hard time saying we need to go to dinner and I haven't heard from you in a couple of weeks. So it's kind of bullshit and after I said that he responded to me of did you hear what happened. And I said no and he explained to me the story that his girlfriend was out riding horses, something she absolutely loved to do. She loved horses she came out on our mountain deployments and would ride with us and just really enjoy being around us with the horses and her own horse.

So she went out one evening and just went for a normal trail ride and my mentor at the time was just at home just doing stuff around the house and his neighbor came over and said, did you see that your girlfriend's horses back within its stable all tacked up and ready to go and your girlfriend's not around. So he goes out there and looks and so an overwhelming feeling came over him and he began to run along the trail where she normally rides. As he did this for about a half a mile he saw her laying on the ground in the middle of the trail with another lady over her. At this time he calls 911 and they start their response and tries to figure out and piece together what happened. She's unconscious, not responding and she definitely has injuries. They fly her to a local hospital and he follows over there. She sustained severe head trauma and went under numerous surgeries those first few days just to alleviate their pressure and swelling that was caused by that head trauma. Over time things were looking very very grim and a lot of people didn't think she was going to make it from this and as he's explaining it to me, I got that sinking pit in my stomach of, oh shit this is just not good. As time goes on she's battled infections, she's battled the swelling. There was a few surgeries where they said she has a 20 percent chance of survival from it. But she powered through and she's still powering through to this day. She hasn't spoken yet, but she's still responsive. She's alert for the most part and she's able to shake her head yes and no. And she recognizes the people and who she knows. But we still don't know how deep that trauma really is. She's still sitting in a rehab clinic right now with a large portion of her skull off to make sure that the swelling doesn't return. There are still more surgeries in her future and a really really long road to recovery and fortunately steam to where we're at today with this, but the last time I talked to my mentor I could just tell a complete mindset from where he was two months ago to where he is today. I believe everything in our universe happens for a reason and I'm not saying that his girlfriend deserved this. But other aspects of life that occurred up to that point happened for a reason and I won't go into details on that. But he's so content, he's so happy knowing that he's there for her. And I know she feels the same and in looking at that and seeing his mindset shift it's been really not only inspiring, but eye opening to his character. His character is someone who he's always given forth any effort, any and all of his efforts to everyone else. Now he's taking that time for himself and for his girlfriend and all of his priorities has shifted.

Ashlie: And when Clint first told me this story I couldn't believe that this was really happening. I am talking about a man and a woman who interject the highest level of strength that I've ever seen in a couple. A couple who showcase such a high level of support and intent no matter who they come into contact with that it just draws you towards them. This woman was a practicing attorney. This woman knew equestrian riding like the back of her hand. This woman was somebody who I do not believe made any sort of mistake. It was a freak accident. Something so unexpected changed their entire lives forever. It changed the amount of support that this man is now able to have for his family. And just by reading and constantly following their journey I see how humble he has become in his own life. To know that this woman might never practice law again, I cant imagine to have worked so hard your entire life to get to this place of excellence and then to have it all taken away from you. It's not fair. Why were these cards dealt in the way that they were. The questions will probably never end. But it's changed the way that I view how easy it is for it all to be taken away. Doing something as simple as going out into your routine that you do probably every single day and then something like this could happen. In your entire world, the entire nature of your family would change forever. And as we continue to follow this story I am so inspired to see the strength and dedication that a man can have for the person that he loves. How a man who has so many facets and investments in the lives of so many people around him can shut that all off and understand with great vindication what his priorities are and it can't be easy. We've tried to support him in any way that we can, while still giving grace to the fact that he needs to be the one to call the shots. He needs to be the one to say when he's comfortable visits. He is to be the one that's comfortable to ask for the help where he needs it. But I know from what his share that there's been such a great outpouring of help and support from people in his circle, both near and extended that have come together in any way that they can to try to help in such a devastating time in his life. And the amazing thing is his commitment to it. He knows this is his new life. This is his new reality.

He's accepted it. And at least on the outer surface he's not showcasing any sort of resentment. As Clint has described it's quite the opposite of that. He's showcasing that he's come to terms with where he's at right now in his life. He's at peace and I think a part of that is because of the strength that he has that maybe the universe has primed him to be able to deal with something that most people would have never been able to deal with. And as you're sitting there listening, how does a story like this impact you in your own life? Have you experienced anything like this before? How can you grow and learn from the devastation and tragedy that someone else's faced? This is real life. This isn't some made up story. This is not some over fabricated story that the media is trying to sell you. This is the reality of how somebody who had everything seemingly perfect in their lives have had it all taken away in an instant. And yet they've been able to grow and persevere and lean on people whenever they needed it. And we'll continue to need it. And it's my hope that as you listen to this, you're able to encompass any kind of ways that you're able to use this story to empower yourself and all of the what if situations. Because when you're able to step back and not take the simple things for granted and you're able to slow down and be humbled by the situations and devastation that other people are facing, you just might be able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

Let's Connect!

Facebook

Instagram

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Website: www.leowarriors.com

911, what’s the nature of your emergency? 

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about substance abuse and how Narcan plays a role in that of a police officer. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. As you listen I constantly prompt Clint with questions based out of curiosity of things that I’m unaware of because I don't live in his world as a police officer. I do that because I have such a desire for understanding the resources that he has and how he uses them in his day to day world. One of the topics of conversation that came up recently was the use of Narcan. I was asking Clint all the normal questions that somebody without any sort of knowledge of personal drug abuse would ask. And Clint I wonder if you could just share with the listener a little bit about your thoughts on Narcan as a whole. 

Clint: I think Narcan is a very good solution to the drug overdose problem. But at the same time it could be very harmful if it's not utilized in the correct way or with the right substance. In what I’ve seen just on tv and other agencies in which they use it, you kind of open yourself up to a liability to where if you don't recognize an overdose compared to say a diabetic shock and you think it's an overdose and you realize it could actually do more harm than good. And so it's being able to really evaluate that aspect of when to use it or when not to use it and opening yourself up to liability. Our agency currently doesn't use it. They don't give it to the officers responding to those incidents. That's where the fire department or the ambulance drivers are there to administer it if needed. But it also kind of weighs into the effect of we're doing something out of our general scope of duties. Now they're asking us to be a medical professional so to speak. And it's interesting I had a lieutenant bring this up to me a couple of years ago and I really like this and it stuck with me. I relish in the fact of firefighters. What do you see a firefighter doing if you look back 20 years ago? They fought fires. That's all they did. They didn't respond to medical emergencies. They didn't respond to those instances where someone needed help. They responded to fires and I always joke getting kittens out of trees, because they had the long ladders. But over time their job has changed. You know new developments in fire safety and fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems drought houses we've seen less and less fires. So they had to incorporate something else to pretty much rationalize their job description. That's when they started responding to medical emergencies as well to shorten time frames and actually provide that medical assistance at the scenes before being transferred to the hospital and just relying on doctors to treat individuals. This has reduced you know severe injuries or death out at a scene of a crash or a shooting scene. Because they're able to provide that first on scene medic responsibility to control that situation until the medical professionals are able to correct it. We describe ourselves as we just delayed the process of death. We don't stop death. We prevent it for a short time. The doctor stopped it and that ties in for the fire department as well as us. You know there's certain aspects we're having to pick up more and more on to articulate what we do. With our future changing and cars being self driven and the need for a motorcycle enforcement officers or traffic tickets going out there. It's not going to be necessary if we have all self-driving cars. Because it's an all automated process where there's no human aspect involved. And I can't cite a car for doing what it's not supposed to be doing. So over the years we're going to have to develop and figure out what needs to change to articulate our response for our jobs. 

Ashlie: I think that's a great point to point out and maybe something we don't always consider being the evolution of first responders and how the dynamics of their jobs have changed based on how much society has changed. The drug epidemic used to never be what it is today. And it seems that we're trying to find more and more ways to try to mend what happens on the backside of that. And in my opinion I think it's unfortunate that we've even gotten to this point to where we would put that sort of liability and that sort of due diligence in the hands of a first responder with them assuming responsibility for whether or not this patient lives or dies.

Clint: And it's kind of funny damned if we do,  damned if we don't. Because say I work to provide Narcan to someone who I believe was overdosed and it works, great. But if I had it and I didn't do it, then I’m screwed there. But if they were overdosing and I wasn't sure and I didn't use it, I’m damned there too. 

Ashlie: Yeah it's really not fair. It creates too many gray areas in our profession where society is already imposing so many of those gray areas on you already. And it also makes you I would assume just question so much around what's happening in those situations. And I like that you bring up everything with the fire department, because there was an agency that was running this beta test where they actually have a medical doctor going with them from call to call. And that medical doctor is saving so much money because they're able to treat the patient on site. Eliminate the need for something like 70 percent of transports that were unnecessarily sent to the hospital just by literally having a doctor on scene to be able to treat the patient there and a lot of the times it's simply done and done deal or asking them to follow up with their MD, their medical doctor themselves after the fact. And that's something we would have never thought. I mean when you think about it it's like going back into the day where doctors would perform house calls on patients. This is really like the same thing only you have to be so dire that you're calling 911 in order to access it. 

Clint: And it's crazy to even think of that because that would be amazing. It would reduce our emergency room and just in general transport service and tax pays that we're having to spend to get these people to the hospital, because no one there is a medical professional to determine if they need to go or not.

Ashlie: And that's a big problem. In being in the medical field for 12 years I can tell you in our area in particular, we are so inundated in a lot of that is because the housing became so affordable up here we started to build a significant amount of housing tracks and people were moving up here from LA. which side note increased the level of danger for our community. But we live in this tri city area where we have two hospitals and in those two hospitals during the wintertime the average wait is nine to 12 hours. And the reason for that is because of the under education of patients thinking that they have an emergency, an emergency is I cannot get a hold of my doctor and my kid has a broken bone. I cannot get a hold of my doctor and I don't know whether or not I should go. And even in those situations most insurances have a nurse advice line that you can call to ask for guidance on those questions. An emergency as I think I need stitches. I think I am dying. I cannot breathe. Those are the types of ailments that require a visit to the emergency room or a 911 phone call. Taking your child to the emergency room because they've had a fever for 24 hours does not constitute the need for an emergency room visit. Except in very small circumstances where maybe it's a literally a newborn baby. Again even in situations like that contacting your insurance and your nurse advice line could a lot of times avoid being exposed to all the other yuck that you're sitting there for hours just festering in, when you didn't need to be there at all. Apart from that if your doctor is not open you can go to the urgent care. The urgent care can treat everything that your own primary medical doctor can do apart from giving most immunizations, performing physicals. But if you have a fracture, if you need sutures, stitches, if you think there's something wrong with your tummy, if you have a fever. There are so many more urgent carers to access that do not constitute this incredible bill that comes on the backside of going to the emergency room because you have a booboo. That's not how the system works. And the problem is that people are not educated on the process of that and getting back to the discussion on Narcan. There's no line between what your profession consists of. Sure, many professions nowadays have some level of medical training. Even if you have a reception job working at a medical institution most people have CPR or first aid certification is a requirement. But being a first responder how far do you have to go in that training as a medical professional. When you're already going so far based on all of the new standards that are being imposed as the profession evolves and I think that it gets really confusing and this starts to confuse you in your own profession. What am I? Am I a police officer? Am I part firefighter? Am I an EMT? 

Clint: Am I a psychiatrist? 

Ashlie: The list goes on and on and we see that post on social media all the time like this is not what I signed up for. Well I think that's just a part of the game. You don't know what you signed up for when you have a profession that's constantly evolving. You agreed to that when you signed on, because you've paid witness to this evolution until you decided to become a first responder and I think as time goes on it's important to just take ownership of your profession and to just be open to the fact that you're going to be asked to do things like this that you might not be comfortable with. The best thing in my opinion that you can do is to just study the guidelines. Do what's asked of you and if you're in doubt ask somebody around you in that situation what their thoughts are maybe before administering that dose for example. There will be other ways to better incorporate your methodologies and what your plan of action is in that sort of situation as you get more practice with it. And I love the fact that we're bringing more awareness to the substance abuse problem in our country, especially now you know under the presidency of our current president a lot has changed in the realm of diagnosing treating and educating and then prevention. But as time goes on as you listen, I would encourage you to just be open to these changes instead of showcasing defiance or indicating that this isn't my responsibility. Question ways that you could make it a part of your responsibility. What are the ways you can make it easier on yourself? How can you learn something in a way that you can then teach to somebody else to lessen the stress. It's already such a stressful profession.  When you're able to do that and you're able to embrace the fact that change will come. Then it really allows you to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

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911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about substance abuse and how Narcan plays a role in that of a police officer. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. As you listen I constantly prompt Clint with questions based out of curiosity of things that I'm unaware of because I don't live in his world as a police officer. I do that because I have such a desire for understanding the resources that he has and how he uses them in his day to day world. One of the topics of conversation that came up recently was the use of Narcan. I was asking Clint all the normal questions that somebody without any sort of knowledge of personal drug abuse would ask. And Clint I wonder if you could just share with the listener a little bit about your thoughts on Narcan as a whole.

Clint: I think Narcan is a very good solution to the drug overdose problem. But at the same time it could be very harmful if it's not utilized in the correct way or with the right substance. In what I've seen just on tv and other agencies in which they use it, you kind of open yourself up to a liability to where if you don't recognize an overdose compared to say a diabetic shock and you think it's an overdose and you realize it could actually do more harm than good. And so it's being able to really evaluate that aspect of when to use it or when not to use it and opening yourself up to liability. Our agency currently doesn't use it. They don't give it to the officers responding to those incidents. That's where the fire department or the ambulance drivers are there to administer it if needed. But it also kind of weighs into the effect of we're doing something out of our general scope of duties. Now they're asking us to be a medical professional so to speak. And it's interesting I had a lieutenant bring this up to me a couple of years ago and I really like this and it stuck with me. I relish in the fact of firefighters. What do you see a firefighter doing if you look back 20 years ago? They fought fires. That's all they did. They didn't respond to medical emergencies. They didn't respond to those instances where someone needed help. They responded to fires and I always joke getting kittens out of trees, because they had the long ladders. But over time their job has changed. You know new developments in fire safety and fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems drought houses we've seen less and less fires. So they had to incorporate something else to pretty much rationalize their job description. That's when they started responding to medical emergencies as well to shorten time frames and actually provide that medical assistance at the scenes before being transferred to the hospital and just relying on doctors to treat individuals. This has reduced you know severe injuries or death out at a scene of a crash or a shooting scene. Because they're able to provide that first on scene medic responsibility to control that situation until the medical professionals are able to correct it. We describe ourselves as we just delayed the process of death. We don't stop death. We prevent it for a short time. The doctor stopped it and that ties in for the fire department as well as us. You know there's certain aspects we're having to pick up more and more on to articulate what we do. With our future changing and cars being self driven and the need for a motorcycle enforcement officers or traffic tickets going out there. It's not going to be necessary if we have all self-driving cars. Because it's an all automated process where there's no human aspect involved. And I can't cite a car for doing what it's not supposed to be doing. So over the years we're going to have to develop and figure out what needs to change to articulate our response for our jobs.

Ashlie: I think that's a great point to point out and maybe something we don't always consider being the evolution of first responders and how the dynamics of their jobs have changed based on how much society has changed. The drug epidemic used to never be what it is today. And it seems that we're trying to find more and more ways to try to mend what happens on the backside of that. And in my opinion I think it's unfortunate that we've even gotten to this point to where we would put that sort of liability and that sort of due diligence in the hands of a first responder with them assuming responsibility for whether or not this patient lives or dies.

Clint: And it's kind of funny damned if we do, damned if we don't. Because say I work to provide Narcan to someone who I believe was overdosed and it works, great. But if I had it and I didn't do it, then I'm screwed there. But if they were overdosing and I wasn't sure and I didn't use it, I'm damned there too.

Ashlie: Yeah it's really not fair. It creates too many gray areas in our profession where society is already imposing so many of those gray areas on you already. And it also makes you I would assume just question so much around what's happening in those situations. And I like that you bring up everything with the fire department, because there was an agency that was running this beta test where they actually have a medical doctor going with them from call to call. And that medical doctor is saving so much money because they're able to treat the patient on site. Eliminate the need for something like 70 percent of transports that were unnecessarily sent to the hospital just by literally having a doctor on scene to be able to treat the patient there and a lot of the times it's simply done and done deal or asking them to follow up with their MD, their medical doctor themselves after the fact. And that's something we would have never thought. I mean when you think about it it's like going back into the day where doctors would perform house calls on patients. This is really like the same thing only you have to be so dire that you're calling 911 in order to access it.

Clint: And it's crazy to even think of that because that would be amazing. It would reduce our emergency room and just in general transport service and tax pays that we're having to spend to get these people to the hospital, because no one there is a medical professional to determine if they need to go or not.

Ashlie: And that's a big problem. In being in the medical field for 12 years I can tell you in our area in particular, we are so inundated in a lot of that is because the housing became so affordable up here we started to build a significant amount of housing tracks and people were moving up here from LA. which side note increased the level of danger for our community. But we live in this tri city area where we have two hospitals and in those two hospitals during the wintertime the average wait is nine to 12 hours. And the reason for that is because of the under education of patients thinking that they have an emergency, an emergency is I cannot get a hold of my doctor and my kid has a broken bone. I cannot get a hold of my doctor and I don't know whether or not I should go. And even in those situations most insurances have a nurse advice line that you can call to ask for guidance on those questions. An emergency as I think I need stitches. I think I am dying. I cannot breathe. Those are the types of ailments that require a visit to the emergency room or a 911 phone call. Taking your child to the emergency room because they've had a fever for 24 hours does not constitute the need for an emergency room visit. Except in very small circumstances where maybe it's a literally a newborn baby. Again even in situations like that contacting your insurance and your nurse advice line could a lot of times avoid being exposed to all the other yuck that you're sitting there for hours just festering in, when you didn't need to be there at all. Apart from that if your doctor is not open you can go to the urgent care. The urgent care can treat everything that your own primary medical doctor can do apart from giving most immunizations, performing physicals. But if you have a fracture, if you need sutures, stitches, if you think there's something wrong with your tummy, if you have a fever. There are so many more urgent carers to access that do not constitute this incredible bill that comes on the backside of going to the emergency room because you have a booboo. That's not how the system works. And the problem is that people are not educated on the process of that and getting back to the discussion on Narcan. There's no line between what your profession consists of. Sure, many professions nowadays have some level of medical training. Even if you have a reception job working at a medical institution most people have CPR or first aid certification is a requirement. But being a first responder how far do you have to go in that training as a medical professional. When you're already going so far based on all of the new standards that are being imposed as the profession evolves and I think that it gets really confusing and this starts to confuse you in your own profession. What am I? Am I a police officer? Am I part firefighter? Am I an EMT?

Clint: Am I a psychiatrist?

Ashlie: The list goes on and on and we see that post on social media all the time like this is not what I signed up for. Well I think that's just a part of the game. You don't know what you signed up for when you have a profession that's constantly evolving. You agreed to that when you signed on, because you've paid witness to this evolution until you decided to become a first responder and I think as time goes on it's important to just take ownership of your profession and to just be open to the fact that you're going to be asked to do things like this that you might not be comfortable with. The best thing in my opinion that you can do is to just study the guidelines. Do what's asked of you and if you're in doubt ask somebody around you in that situation what their thoughts are maybe before administering that dose for example. There will be other ways to better incorporate your methodologies and what your plan of action is in that sort of situation as you get more practice with it. And I love the fact that we're bringing more awareness to the substance abuse problem in our country, especially now you know under the presidency of our current president a lot has changed in the realm of diagnosing treating and educating and then prevention. But as time goes on as you listen, I would encourage you to just be open to these changes instead of showcasing defiance or indicating that this isn't my responsibility. Question ways that you could make it a part of your responsibility. What are the ways you can make it easier on yourself? How can you learn something in a way that you can then teach to somebody else to lessen the stress. It's already such a stressful profession. When you're able to do that and you're able to embrace the fact that change will come. Then it really allows you to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

Let's Connect!

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Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn

Website: www.leowarriors.com

911, what’s the nature of your emergency? 

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton. 

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about how switching up your routine even in the smallest amount could start to change the trajectory of your entire lifestyle. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint, you just shared with me a couple of the techniques that you like to use with your own clients when it comes to starting to implement new routines into their lifestyle. So I am wondering if you could share that a little bit with the listeners. 

Clint: You know one of the biggest problems that I’m always dealing with my clients that they present to me is they want to achieve fitness goals. They want to get the body that they've always wanted for themselves. But they never have the motivation or the energy to do it. So I started the approach of changing their morning habits. You know a morning habit you wake up, you roll out of bed, you go to the bathroom, you get your cup of water whatever it may be is just what you do. None of us know why we do it. It's just how we do it. So in the approach I take is I tell them you roll out of bed and you roll onto the floor and start with one push up, one sit up and when they do this they're already starting their day off not only with gratitude but with that fitness mindset. I know one pushup doesn't seem like a lot or one sit up. But in doing that you're like well I’m already down there, I know I can do more. So when push up turns into two to five to ten and then you start a routine on it. And now that two morning habit instead of first going and grabbing that cup of coffee with tons of sweetener and sweet cream in it and overtime you increase that goal from one push up to 50 pushups to 100 pushups and you really establish that mindset of what you want for yourself. You know then you can also transition that into workouts and whatever else in your life that you truly want. Some people practice meditation right out of bed.

Ashlie: And it's funny that you pointed this today because I believe in a pattern interrupt. I believe that it's important. And that's one of the only ways that we can start to move forward when it comes to growth in our lives. And for me one thing I started doing about six months ago was I started taking stock of the things that I do routinely every morning. I'm the type of person to where the first thing I need to do is brush my teeth. I don't even want to drink coffee before I brush my teeth and in identifying that I started to think of what else I could do while I’m brushing my teeth and you touched on gratitude. And for me what I do is I start to visualize the entire day before it's even started while I’m brushing my teeth and I start to embody all of the things that I know I’m going to be grateful for throughout the day to come and I do this in a way to start to draw those sorts of things to me. But most importantly for me to be able to be very intuitive and very intentful when it comes to trying to identify those things as I go about my day. We brush our teeth for what a good 20 minutes, floss my teeth runs maybe it takes a total of three minutes. So that's three minutes of very direct focus on gratitude for what the day is going to bring me. This ranges from my experience in the day with you Clint. This also stems into my relationship with other people I know I’m going to come into contact with throughout the day. This goes into how grateful I feel sometimes for the ability to just process water through my kidneys every day. I say that because I drink over 100 ounces of water every day and Clint and I have a friend who just recently had a kidney transplant after years of literally dying while waiting on the transplant list. So in him sharing that story with me, it allowed me to incorporate that into my daily ritual of being grateful every morning as I’m brushing my teeth for literally being able to process the water that I’ve been taking. That might sound minute. It's something so small to me, yet it means everything for my friend and those are the types of things that I try to pick up on every day. Those are the types of small things that I try to ask myself what I’m taking granted for everyday and I think it's great Clint that you're able to use that small tactic to incorporate into your client's training because it just starts with one small technique. One small pattern interrupt that's going to start to change or even mold the foundation for your entire day. And I love that you have them doing that in the morning. It's how we say like one good habit leads to another and one bad habit leads to another. And it's easy to say, oh screw it I just eat some crap food and the rest of my days screwed anyways I might as well keep eating crap food. Well it doesn't work that way. But it's so hard for us to have that self-discipline to be able to stop ourselves when we've already started to go down this negative spiral. And the key is just unlocking the morning, unlocking the morning with such intent that you know you're taking full ownership of what's going to happen throughout your entire day. For us we've included a lot of rituals, a lot of things that we do without question. Feeling our bodies every single day with a green smoothie. That goes without saying we do that consistently. We do that because it's the first thing that we can do to supercharge the nutrients that we need in our empty bodies first thing in the morning.

Clint: And with that specifically it sets you up to where you're like, well I put so much time and effort into making that this morning I don't want to throw it all out the window by going and eating five donuts. 

Ashlie: Absolutely and then you start to realize the difference in the way, that you feel that morning fatigue. We haven't felt that and I don't know how long. That desire for those cravings for those pastries or those carbs that early in the morning, it goes away. Because you realize that ok if I eat that it's going to make me feel this way and in learning to fuel your body instead of eating for feelings, that's really what it comes down to, it makes all the difference in the world. 

Clint: And with you mentioning that I just had a deep conversation with one of my clients in reference to that. You know sugar is a very addictive substance and our body craves it, because we're not fueling it with what it truly needs. 

Ashlie: Yeah and Clint and I just watched a documentary called the c word. C stands for cancer and it's crazy because apparently the manufacturers of like big tobacco. When they started to realize all of the federal regulations that were being imposed on tobacco products and how this was impacting their sales what they did was they turned to the biggest food manufacturer companies of the world, like Nabisco. And in doing that they're using the same addictive chemicals that they put into cigarettes and they're putting it inside of the foods that you and your family eat every single day. The crackers, the cookies, the Cheetos and is doing the same exact thing that tobacco products have done. It's creating this addiction. It's creating this feeling of you not having your own self-control and not taking ownership of yourself because you're allowing other people to take it away and they're trying to expose the truth as to what's happening with these foods. Manufactured foods are literally becoming the death of America in particular. And I think it's a shame that the FDA is allowing this to happen. There's no regulations on this yet. Maybe years and years down the road after we've lost more and more people that we love because of the big c word. Maybe then they'll come around. Maybe it will take them losing somebody that they love because of the big c word for them to finally realize what we're doing to our bodies. We're literally putting chemicals, byproducts and these things that were never intended to become consumed orally into our bodies. It's like putting dirt inside of a vehicle, doesn't run that way and it breaks it. It ruins it. And we're doing the same thing to our health. And I think it's amazing the way that like natural path medicine is becoming more and more popular. It used to be something that was more of a western remedy or a western way of living. And as organic foods and the whole rush of being more holistic has starting to come to the united states more and more, these medical professionals are the ones that are just trying to make the waves and just educating people. There are many stores like Trader Joe's. You go to trader joe's you think you're buying something healthy. They sell it at trader joe's, it must be great right. That's what they publicize. But the truth is in the united states, there's a very small percent of the amount of organic that has to be in an organic product in order for it to be labeled as organic. I know that on the east coast there are a couple of stores that actually tell you this is 52 percent organic. Okay well that means 48 percent of it is all of the other shit stuff. So what's organic about it if you're still consuming 48 percent of the pesticides and who knows what else. I think people need to wake up. People need to know exactly what they're eating. The only way for us to truly do that is by trying to live the way that our grandparents did. Eat the things that are wholesome. Shop in the perimeter of the grocery store, not the center. And this doesn't mean you need to go blow a bunch of money. This doesn't mean I’m telling you that I believe that organic is solely the way to go. But what I do believe is that it is important for you to be educated on exactly what you're eating and not just taking for facts as to what it says on the label. I can guarantee you they're lying to you. Unless you can see touch sense taste and know exactly what's inside of that product, I can guarantee you they are lying to you and it's a shame. It's a shame because it's being allowed. We're being allowed to consume products with the intent and belief that we're consuming something healthy when really a lot of these products especially, the manufactured ones are doing more harm for us than good. More harm for us in a way that as science becomes more and more readily available on these types of products. All of the other issues, the underlining symptoms that we're having with these behavioral health problems, speech impediment issues in children like the list goes on and on as to what's happening and how the foods that they are consuming are a byproduct. Food as medicine. But it has to be food. It can't be these chemicals. It can't be these genetically engineered products that are being slopped into a box with some all natural gluten free like, who the fuck cares if it's gluten free. You know how many Americans don't even understand what gluten free means. That means you have celiac disease. That means you have an allergy to wheat. Do you know how few people actually have an allergy to wheat? You need to shit on a stick and submit it to your doctor in order to even see if you have celiac disease. How many people do you know brag about the fact that they are gluten free. Next time you hear that ask them. Cool, so when did you shit on a stick? I bet the answer will be never. But that's the way that society is conditioning us to think, that gluten free aisle keeps growing bigger and bigger and we're sucking it up. We're sucking it up because that's what society tells us we're supposed to do to live a healthy lifestyle. That's not healthy. That's misinformation. That should be illegal. That should be pinpointed as to why Americans have the highest obesity rate in the entire world. This is not okay. I know I just went on a rant. 

Clint: You were on a roll, so I was just going to let you keep going because you're on point with everything you're saying.

Ashlie: And as you sit there and you listen to this maybe this is not news to you. Maybe it is. But it's my hope that you're able to take this information and understand that you are what you eat. But if you don't understand what it is that you're eating, who knows what you are or what's growing inside of you. Maybe check out that documentary. Clint and I don't have Netflix, you we got it on amazon prime. Think it was like three ninety nine. And the point I’m trying to make is that when you take ownership of the fact that what you read and see on the labels and what everybody is trying to produce as being this persona of the healthy lifestyle just might not be that healthy. And in the very least it might not be that healthy for you, we are all unique. We are all unique in the manufacturing and the compounds of what we need internally. And when you're able to identify that your needs are unique in yours and that you don't follow into the same category as everybody else, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

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Email: [email protected] 

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911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode we're going to talk about how switching up your routine even in the smallest amount could start to change the trajectory of your entire lifestyle. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Clint, you just shared with me a couple of the techniques that you like to use with your own clients when it comes to starting to implement new routines into their lifestyle. So I am wondering if you could share that a little bit with the listeners.

Clint: You know one of the biggest problems that I'm always dealing with my clients that they present to me is they want to achieve fitness goals. They want to get the body that they've always wanted for themselves. But they never have the motivation or the energy to do it. So I started the approach of changing their morning habits. You know a morning habit you wake up, you roll out of bed, you go to the bathroom, you get your cup of water whatever it may be is just what you do. None of us know why we do it. It's just how we do it. So in the approach I take is I tell them you roll out of bed and you roll onto the floor and start with one push up, one sit up and when they do this they're already starting their day off not only with gratitude but with that fitness mindset. I know one pushup doesn't seem like a lot or one sit up. But in doing that you're like well I'm already down there, I know I can do more. So when push up turns into two to five to ten and then you start a routine on it. And now that two morning habit instead of first going and grabbing that cup of coffee with tons of sweetener and sweet cream in it and overtime you increase that goal from one push up to 50 pushups to 100 pushups and you really establish that mindset of what you want for yourself. You know then you can also transition that into workouts and whatever else in your life that you truly want. Some people practice meditation right out of bed.

Ashlie: And it's funny that you pointed this today because I believe in a pattern interrupt. I believe that it's important. And that's one of the only ways that we can start to move forward when it comes to growth in our lives. And for me one thing I started doing about six months ago was I started taking stock of the things that I do routinely every morning. I'm the type of person to where the first thing I need to do is brush my teeth. I don't even want to drink coffee before I brush my teeth and in identifying that I started to think of what else I could do while I'm brushing my teeth and you touched on gratitude. And for me what I do is I start to visualize the entire day before it's even started while I'm brushing my teeth and I start to embody all of the things that I know I'm going to be grateful for throughout the day to come and I do this in a way to start to draw those sorts of things to me. But most importantly for me to be able to be very intuitive and very intentful when it comes to trying to identify those things as I go about my day. We brush our teeth for what a good 20 minutes, floss my teeth runs maybe it takes a total of three minutes. So that's three minutes of very direct focus on gratitude for what the day is going to bring me. This ranges from my experience in the day with you Clint. This also stems into my relationship with other people I know I'm going to come into contact with throughout the day. This goes into how grateful I feel sometimes for the ability to just process water through my kidneys every day. I say that because I drink over 100 ounces of water every day and Clint and I have a friend who just recently had a kidney transplant after years of literally dying while waiting on the transplant list. So in him sharing that story with me, it allowed me to incorporate that into my daily ritual of being grateful every morning as I'm brushing my teeth for literally being able to process the water that I've been taking. That might sound minute. It's something so small to me, yet it means everything for my friend and those are the types of things that I try to pick up on every day. Those are the types of small things that I try to ask myself what I'm taking granted for everyday and I think it's great Clint that you're able to use that small tactic to incorporate into your client's training because it just starts with one small technique. One small pattern interrupt that's going to start to change or even mold the foundation for your entire day. And I love that you have them doing that in the morning. It's how we say like one good habit leads to another and one bad habit leads to another. And it's easy to say, oh screw it I just eat some crap food and the rest of my days screwed anyways I might as well keep eating crap food. Well it doesn't work that way. But it's so hard for us to have that self-discipline to be able to stop ourselves when we've already started to go down this negative spiral. And the key is just unlocking the morning, unlocking the morning with such intent that you know you're taking full ownership of what's going to happen throughout your entire day. For us we've included a lot of rituals, a lot of things that we do without question. Feeling our bodies every single day with a green smoothie. That goes without saying we do that consistently. We do that because it's the first thing that we can do to supercharge the nutrients that we need in our empty bodies first thing in the morning.

Clint: And with that specifically it sets you up to where you're like, well I put so much time and effort into making that this morning I don't want to throw it all out the window by going and eating five donuts.

Ashlie: Absolutely and then you start to realize the difference in the way, that you feel that morning fatigue. We haven't felt that and I don't know how long. That desire for those cravings for those pastries or those carbs that early in the morning, it goes away. Because you realize that ok if I eat that it's going to make me feel this way and in learning to fuel your body instead of eating for feelings, that's really what it comes down to, it makes all the difference in the world.

Clint: And with you mentioning that I just had a deep conversation with one of my clients in reference to that. You know sugar is a very addictive substance and our body craves it, because we're not fueling it with what it truly needs.

Ashlie: Yeah and Clint and I just watched a documentary called the c word. C stands for cancer and it's crazy because apparently the manufacturers of like big tobacco. When they started to realize all of the federal regulations that were being imposed on tobacco products and how this was impacting their sales what they did was they turned to the biggest food manufacturer companies of the world, like Nabisco. And in doing that they're using the same addictive chemicals that they put into cigarettes and they're putting it inside of the foods that you and your family eat every single day. The crackers, the cookies, the Cheetos and is doing the same exact thing that tobacco products have done. It's creating this addiction. It's creating this feeling of you not having your own self-control and not taking ownership of yourself because you're allowing other people to take it away and they're trying to expose the truth as to what's happening with these foods. Manufactured foods are literally becoming the death of America in particular. And I think it's a shame that the FDA is allowing this to happen. There's no regulations on this yet. Maybe years and years down the road after we've lost more and more people that we love because of the big c word. Maybe then they'll come around. Maybe it will take them losing somebody that they love because of the big c word for them to finally realize what we're doing to our bodies. We're literally putting chemicals, byproducts and these things that were never intended to become consumed orally into our bodies. It's like putting dirt inside of a vehicle, doesn't run that way and it breaks it. It ruins it. And we're doing the same thing to our health. And I think it's amazing the way that like natural path medicine is becoming more and more popular. It used to be something that was more of a western remedy or a western way of living. And as organic foods and the whole rush of being more holistic has starting to come to the united states more and more, these medical professionals are the ones that are just trying to make the waves and just educating people. There are many stores like Trader Joe's. You go to trader joe's you think you're buying something healthy. They sell it at trader joe's, it must be great right. That's what they publicize. But the truth is in the united states, there's a very small percent of the amount of organic that has to be in an organic product in order for it to be labeled as organic. I know that on the east coast there are a couple of stores that actually tell you this is 52 percent organic. Okay well that means 48 percent of it is all of the other shit stuff. So what's organic about it if you're still consuming 48 percent of the pesticides and who knows what else. I think people need to wake up. People need to know exactly what they're eating. The only way for us to truly do that is by trying to live the way that our grandparents did. Eat the things that are wholesome. Shop in the perimeter of the grocery store, not the center. And this doesn't mean you need to go blow a bunch of money. This doesn't mean I'm telling you that I believe that organic is solely the way to go. But what I do believe is that it is important for you to be educated on exactly what you're eating and not just taking for facts as to what it says on the label. I can guarantee you they're lying to you. Unless you can see touch sense taste and know exactly what's inside of that product, I can guarantee you they are lying to you and it's a shame. It's a shame because it's being allowed. We're being allowed to consume products with the intent and belief that we're consuming something healthy when really a lot of these products especially, the manufactured ones are doing more harm for us than good. More harm for us in a way that as science becomes more and more readily available on these types of products. All of the other issues, the underlining symptoms that we're having with these behavioral health problems, speech impediment issues in children like the list goes on and on as to what's happening and how the foods that they are consuming are a byproduct. Food as medicine. But it has to be food. It can't be these chemicals. It can't be these genetically engineered products that are being slopped into a box with some all natural gluten free like, who the fuck cares if it's gluten free. You know how many Americans don't even understand what gluten free means. That means you have celiac disease. That means you have an allergy to wheat. Do you know how few people actually have an allergy to wheat? You need to shit on a stick and submit it to your doctor in order to even see if you have celiac disease. How many people do you know brag about the fact that they are gluten free. Next time you hear that ask them. Cool, so when did you shit on a stick? I bet the answer will be never. But that's the way that society is conditioning us to think, that gluten free aisle keeps growing bigger and bigger and we're sucking it up. We're sucking it up because that's what society tells us we're supposed to do to live a healthy lifestyle. That's not healthy. That's misinformation. That should be illegal. That should be pinpointed as to why Americans have the highest obesity rate in the entire world. This is not okay. I know I just went on a rant.

Clint: You were on a roll, so I was just going to let you keep going because you're on point with everything you're saying.

Ashlie: And as you sit there and you listen to this maybe this is not news to you. Maybe it is. But it's my hope that you're able to take this information and understand that you are what you eat. But if you don't understand what it is that you're eating, who knows what you are or what's growing inside of you. Maybe check out that documentary. Clint and I don't have Netflix, you we got it on amazon prime. Think it was like three ninety nine. And the point I'm trying to make is that when you take ownership of the fact that what you read and see on the labels and what everybody is trying to produce as being this persona of the healthy lifestyle just might not be that healthy. And in the very least it might not be that healthy for you, we are all unique. We are all unique in the manufacturing and the compounds of what we need internally. And when you're able to identify that your needs are unique in yours and that you don't follow into the same category as everybody else, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

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911, what’s the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode, we're going to talk about the difficulties that officers might face when their family members or the family members of their spouse let's just say… live alternative lifestyles. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Now, I have five brothers. I'm the only girl. And at one point or another most of my brothers have done things that let's just say Clint’s career wouldn't quite align with. And there have been many times where we've had to completely avoid family gatherings. There have been other situations where we use a lot of deliberate thought in what we involve ourselves in and what we don't what types of things we talk about. The limitations on discussions with other people who might not share those same lifestyles in our family but we know we wouldn't want that information shared with those people that do lead that lifestyle directly. So Clint, I just want to know your viewpoint as an officer on some of the struggles that you faced and knowing that some of my brothers have done things that we both don't agree with and that we know the law also does not agree with. 

Clint: You know some of the hardest factors involved with this is just shutting ourselves out from it where it's hard to either cut those people out or limit your contact with anybody. For me it's always been with your brothers in specific. It's kind of been hard because I knew you had such a close relationship with them growing up and in saying that it's we still see your brothers in a safe environment where we know they're not conducting illegal or illicit activities for the most part and we're not put in a situation to where we just go out and hang out with them on a regular basis either. So those hardships that I’ve been presented with is one I feel you can't have the relationship with your family members that I knew you wish you could have. And so because of my line of work it's kind of forced you to not have that relationship. And we've talked about that over and over again over the years we've been married and I know it doesn't affect you to the way that I think it used to. Because you've kind of accepted the fact of we can't just go out and be with your brother so to speak.

Ashlie: And I would have to argue to your point a little bit, because I mean I have my own choice in it. I've never, I mean luckily I’ve never gone down that path of feeling that I need to abuse substances in order to feel like I’m sustaining in life in some way and that path that some of my brothers are on, you know this is something that I didn't just start when you and I got together. This is a road that they decided to take long before that even happened and the dynamics of our relationship certainly has changed in terms of what we allow ourselves to be a part of. As you were speaking one thing that came to mind is we would never even being be in a vehicle with some of my brothers. Because we would literally need to search the home in order to feel comfortable with having them in one of our vehicles. And we certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with having them drive us.

Clint: I can only imagine telling your brother to grab the back of my truck while I searched him.

Ashlie: Yeah. So we can go out to dinner. 

Clint: Yeah exactly.

Ashlie: And I mean that sounds funny but it's really sad actually. Because I do I love my brothers and they are very well aware of where I stand as it pertains to the alternative lifestyle that they live. And yet they've never done anything but show me an endless amount of respect. And in thinking about it, it's actually humbling the fact that they have such an acceptance and an understanding for the variation in lifestyles that we live based on the fact that number one, I don't do drugs and number two, that I’m married to a police officer. And there are boundaries there. Any time that there's ever been a situation where maybe they have had to be interjected into my world. They've always been respectful and cognizant of the fact that the answer might be no. 

Clint: And I do have to say we're extremely fortunate with your brother's response to my profession and to us and everything the respect that they've shown us. Because I know of other people who their brothers sisters family members call them, hey can you get me out of this. And they've definitely never tried doing that.

Ashlie: Yeah and I think if anything they've come to you in particular with questions of guidance. And you know inevitably when you're involved in any kind of criminal activity be it a substance abuse problem or what have you. Eventually the law is going to catch up with you. And that's happened with my brothers and they have maybe in some aspect they've been uncomfortable coming to pose these questions. But they've still gotten up the courage to reach out to you and to ask for guidance and help with certain situations that they're in. And this has never been a beating around the bush. Like how can I avoid this. Helped me hide myself. This is always like sound legal questions or questions about how the legal process works or what to expect and you've always been really forthcoming with them in answering those questions.

Clint: Yeah and the questions always have been very direct and just asking me so what can I expect now and I’m able to articulate it to him. 

Ashlie: And I’m grateful that we still have that open line of communication. It's not like I’ve shut them out and they're not in my life at all. As I said I love them and especially after my mom died and you know the family dynamics are unique when you're growing up in a home with five brothers and you're the only girl. So doing things like Christmas holidays and things like that. It's important to me to still be that female figure for them and my little brother has a four year old son and I know how important it is for my little brother to have his son experience what the female side of life is in our world because it's not very big. There was my mom and I. So we do, we have them over for holidays. We make the rules very clear. They know that one wrong move will result in us asking them to leave. But we don't focus on that during those times. We pretend like that doesn't exist. We don't even have to pretend, it doesn't even take intention. Because that level of respect is there that we're all able to just enjoy ourselves.

Clint: Yeah we don't have to follow your brothers around the house thinking that they're doing something wrong or because of that respect factor that is there.

Ashlie: Yeah I mean the other side of that is we're not naive. We know that that possibility could exist like if they were to, I don't know let's just say they stole something from us. They don't have a history of that, I’m not saying they ever would do that. But we're not naive to the fact that those types of things exist not in my brothers, but in addiction and being able to set that aside and to still have my brothers in my life to the extent that I’m comfortable with and Clint to the extent that you're comfortable with, it's still not easy. We don't call each other all the time. It's usually them reaching out to me first when they need something or they have a question. I'll admit that. But it's not the brother sister relationships that I see that most other people have. There's some envy that I have in there. There's some envy in that because it's not me that created that sort of relationship. It's based on their decisions and their choices in life that have really made no other choice but for me to have that guard up to some extent. But we make it work. And I think being in a family of law enforcement it's important to really have those guards up and to know that you're putting yourself at an increased risk and liability based on your profession if you're just leaving it all open and you're taking things to chance. Like I can run through a million different scenarios. If we didn't have those guards up. Like somebody grabbing your gun or you know there are things or stories you create in your head. 

Clint: And it's funny you said that because I was just going to say you know, that is one thing we do before any family gathering such as that. Put all the guns in the safe instead of just lying around the house. 

Ashlie: Like normal. 

Clint: We do. We go through we do this roundup of making sure everything is put away. But that's just another point that we're trying to make is having that ability to be cognizant of the fact that you don't want to lay it all on the line and make it easy.

Ashlie: And I just want to point out as you listen that I know so many families be them in law enforcement or not that have somebody or multiple people in their family that struggle with drug addiction. It's not easy. It's not an easy battle, because your family doesn't turn out the way that you always thought it would. Maybe it's not the way that it was when you guys were kids. But that doesn't mean that it has to go away completely. I hate drug addiction more than many things and that's because of how much I’ve experienced it as a byproduct of the people around me that I love being faced with those types of addictions. But no matter how much I despise that, my brothers are the only bloodline that I have. It's just me and them and going forward as you listen if there's not one person in your life that maybe you don't even talk to anymore, maybe you don't talk to you because you've gotten so fed up with their addiction and the way that they acted and treated you. I would challenge you to consider how you can still have some sort of relationship with them that still creates that bond and keeps that link open. But that makes you comfortable enough to know that you're the one taking charge of how that relationship looks. And when you're able to still allow the people that you love into your life to some extent especially as you get older, it allows you to know that you still have a family that's there and you're not alone. When you know you're not alone and you're able to take ownership of the things that you still want because you know that you have control over them. Then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics. 

Hit that subscribe button so that you don’t miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly. 

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911, what's the nature of your emergency?

Ashlie: Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint: And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie: In today's episode, we're going to talk about the difficulties that officers might face when their family members or the family members of their spouse let's just say… live alternative lifestyles. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. Now, I have five brothers. I'm the only girl. And at one point or another most of my brothers have done things that let's just say Clint's career wouldn't quite align with. And there have been many times where we've had to completely avoid family gatherings. There have been other situations where we use a lot of deliberate thought in what we involve ourselves in and what we don't what types of things we talk about. The limitations on discussions with other people who might not share those same lifestyles in our family but we know we wouldn't want that information shared with those people that do lead that lifestyle directly. So Clint, I just want to know your viewpoint as an officer on some of the struggles that you faced and knowing that some of my brothers have done things that we both don't agree with and that we know the law also does not agree with.

Clint: You know some of the hardest factors involved with this is just shutting ourselves out from it where it's hard to either cut those people out or limit your contact with anybody. For me it's always been with your brothers in specific. It's kind of been hard because I knew you had such a close relationship with them growing up and in saying that it's we still see your brothers in a safe environment where we know they're not conducting illegal or illicit activities for the most part and we're not put in a situation to where we just go out and hang out with them on a regular basis either. So those hardships that I've been presented with is one I feel you can't have the relationship with your family members that I knew you wish you could have. And so because of my line of work it's kind of forced you to not have that relationship. And we've talked about that over and over again over the years we've been married and I know it doesn't affect you to the way that I think it used to. Because you've kind of accepted the fact of we can't just go out and be with your brother so to speak.

Ashlie: And I would have to argue to your point a little bit, because I mean I have my own choice in it. I've never, I mean luckily I've never gone down that path of feeling that I need to abuse substances in order to feel like I'm sustaining in life in some way and that path that some of my brothers are on, you know this is something that I didn't just start when you and I got together. This is a road that they decided to take long before that even happened and the dynamics of our relationship certainly has changed in terms of what we allow ourselves to be a part of. As you were speaking one thing that came to mind is we would never even being be in a vehicle with some of my brothers. Because we would literally need to search the home in order to feel comfortable with having them in one of our vehicles. And we certainly wouldn't feel comfortable with having them drive us.

Clint: I can only imagine telling your brother to grab the back of my truck while I searched him.

Ashlie: Yeah. So we can go out to dinner.

Clint: Yeah exactly.

Ashlie: And I mean that sounds funny but it's really sad actually. Because I do I love my brothers and they are very well aware of where I stand as it pertains to the alternative lifestyle that they live. And yet they've never done anything but show me an endless amount of respect. And in thinking about it, it's actually humbling the fact that they have such an acceptance and an understanding for the variation in lifestyles that we live based on the fact that number one, I don't do drugs and number two, that I'm married to a police officer. And there are boundaries there. Any time that there's ever been a situation where maybe they have had to be interjected into my world. They've always been respectful and cognizant of the fact that the answer might be no.

Clint: And I do have to say we're extremely fortunate with your brother's response to my profession and to us and everything the respect that they've shown us. Because I know of other people who their brothers sisters family members call them, hey can you get me out of this. And they've definitely never tried doing that.

Ashlie: Yeah and I think if anything they've come to you in particular with questions of guidance. And you know inevitably when you're involved in any kind of criminal activity be it a substance abuse problem or what have you. Eventually the law is going to catch up with you. And that's happened with my brothers and they have maybe in some aspect they've been uncomfortable coming to pose these questions. But they've still gotten up the courage to reach out to you and to ask for guidance and help with certain situations that they're in. And this has never been a beating around the bush. Like how can I avoid this. Helped me hide myself. This is always like sound legal questions or questions about how the legal process works or what to expect and you've always been really forthcoming with them in answering those questions.

Clint: Yeah and the questions always have been very direct and just asking me so what can I expect now and I'm able to articulate it to him.

Ashlie: And I'm grateful that we still have that open line of communication. It's not like I've shut them out and they're not in my life at all. As I said I love them and especially after my mom died and you know the family dynamics are unique when you're growing up in a home with five brothers and you're the only girl. So doing things like Christmas holidays and things like that. It's important to me to still be that female figure for them and my little brother has a four year old son and I know how important it is for my little brother to have his son experience what the female side of life is in our world because it's not very big. There was my mom and I. So we do, we have them over for holidays. We make the rules very clear. They know that one wrong move will result in us asking them to leave. But we don't focus on that during those times. We pretend like that doesn't exist. We don't even have to pretend, it doesn't even take intention. Because that level of respect is there that we're all able to just enjoy ourselves.

Clint: Yeah we don't have to follow your brothers around the house thinking that they're doing something wrong or because of that respect factor that is there.

Ashlie: Yeah I mean the other side of that is we're not naive. We know that that possibility could exist like if they were to, I don't know let's just say they stole something from us. They don't have a history of that, I'm not saying they ever would do that. But we're not naive to the fact that those types of things exist not in my brothers, but in addiction and being able to set that aside and to still have my brothers in my life to the extent that I'm comfortable with and Clint to the extent that you're comfortable with, it's still not easy. We don't call each other all the time. It's usually them reaching out to me first when they need something or they have a question. I'll admit that. But it's not the brother sister relationships that I see that most other people have. There's some envy that I have in there. There's some envy in that because it's not me that created that sort of relationship. It's based on their decisions and their choices in life that have really made no other choice but for me to have that guard up to some extent. But we make it work. And I think being in a family of law enforcement it's important to really have those guards up and to know that you're putting yourself at an increased risk and liability based on your profession if you're just leaving it all open and you're taking things to chance. Like I can run through a million different scenarios. If we didn't have those guards up. Like somebody grabbing your gun or you know there are things or stories you create in your head.

Clint: And it's funny you said that because I was just going to say you know, that is one thing we do before any family gathering such as that. Put all the guns in the safe instead of just lying around the house.

Ashlie: Like normal.

Clint: We do. We go through we do this roundup of making sure everything is put away. But that's just another point that we're trying to make is having that ability to be cognizant of the fact that you don't want to lay it all on the line and make it easy.

Ashlie: And I just want to point out as you listen that I know so many families be them in law enforcement or not that have somebody or multiple people in their family that struggle with drug addiction. It's not easy. It's not an easy battle, because your family doesn't turn out the way that you always thought it would. Maybe it's not the way that it was when you guys were kids. But that doesn't mean that it has to go away completely. I hate drug addiction more than many things and that's because of how much I've experienced it as a byproduct of the people around me that I love being faced with those types of addictions. But no matter how much I despise that, my brothers are the only bloodline that I have. It's just me and them and going forward as you listen if there's not one person in your life that maybe you don't even talk to anymore, maybe you don't talk to you because you've gotten so fed up with their addiction and the way that they acted and treated you. I would challenge you to consider how you can still have some sort of relationship with them that still creates that bond and keeps that link open. But that makes you comfortable enough to know that you're the one taking charge of how that relationship looks. And when you're able to still allow the people that you love into your life to some extent especially as you get older, it allows you to know that you still have a family that's there and you're not alone. When you know you're not alone and you're able to take ownership of the things that you still want because you know that you have control over them. Then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

Balance. Optimize. Tactics.

Hit that subscribe button so that you don't miss a day of the added value that I am dedicated to sharing with you weekly.

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Ashlie 1: (00:17) Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors on your host, Ashlie Walton.

Clint 3: And I’m your co-host Clint Walton.

Ashlie 1: In today's episode, Clint and I are not alone because we are joined by a very special guest by the name of Rick Psonak. Rick, how are you? So Rick, we asked you on our show because you told us a little bit about your background. We've known each other for some time now and I felt like I really wanted to give you a space to showcase a little bit about who you are. So I'll just dive in by sharing with the listener a little bit about your background myself and then we'll dive into some questions that allow really the world to get to know some of your story and how you've used your past to continue to benefit what I believe society as a whole. So a little bit about Rick.

Ashlie 1: (01:11)
Rick and I met in our Human Potential Institute Training. We are getting certified by uh, The Human Potential Institute and then potentially the ICF. We are coaches. And for Rick a little bit about things you've have shared with me about your background. Rick received his Bachelor of Science degree in orthotics and prosthetics from the University of Washington and he also went to Grad School for prosthetic and orthotic research from the University of Connecticut. Apart from that, in his journey, he has gone along the path to become the principal owner of a small Prosthetic business. They're laughing guys because that's probably the fifth time I've had a hard time pronouncing the word prosthetic… but he also specializes in microprocessors for prosthetic limbs in Jackson, Mississippi.

Ashlie 1: (02:07)
This this guy's background, we can go into talking about him starting a small silicon and manufacturing business that he's used for product development. He's also a business consultant and expert witness regarding issues concerning prosthetics. On top of that, he is a fellow of the American Academy of prosthetics and orthotics and he served two terms as a commissioner for the national commission of Orthotics and prosthetics education. If that wasn't enough. He has authored and coauthored chapters in textbooks and journals. In addition to that, Rick has also served in the United States army from 1974 to 1977 he is an ordained pastor. He is the cofounder coach and player of the sons of thunder basketball team and he's the founder of the epilogue life, which is a mission to be a resource and to set an example on how to thrive physically, spiritually, financially, and relationally as people age. That's quite a mouthful.

Rick 2: (03:12)
You made me sound better than I think I really am.

Ashlie 1: (03:16)
That's what I love about you, Rick. You had this humble way about you and I think that'll a lot of your history is very rich in the things that led you to be able to create this ability to serve other people. And if someone were to look at your biography, and of course this is from my, my point of view, I see this pattern of this continued desire and progression for being able to find ways to articulate your abilities to give back to other people. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Rick 2: (03:52)
You know, I think growing up my mom was married five times and uh, and so at a very young age and so I grew up really trying to figure out what did it mean to be a man. And, uh, so I spent more time without a father than I did with the father. And, uh, I think that's part of it. Is this a journey? Trying to figure out what does that mean? What does it mean to be a man? And so I grew up in the inner city in Philadelphia. And so you had the street rats and you had athletes and you had all the different groups. And so I, I think it's just been a journey of figuring out what does it mean to be a person that, uh, has some sort of significance that has a sense of purpose and, and really the military was a big deal for me.

Rick 2: (04:43)
The only thing I knew about my dad is that he was in the army and, and I have pictures of him and my uncle who was also in the army. And so I thought maybe as, as I struggled through going to college and things like that, and I really was a terrible student, the only thing that I associated with being a man was being in the military. And so, uh, I guess as, as I think about the things I've done, it really goes back to that is that what does it mean to be a man, uh, to be a person that lives a life of significance. And, and certainly I've, over the years I've drawn a call it a correlation that being a person that lives a satisfied life somehow contributes to other people.

Clint 3: (05:25)
Right? So that's, that's amazing, you know, to really hear your story and to see what you've honed in on for your own past, uh, surrounding your journey and the military seems like it was huge for shaping you into what it was. And you went into the military at a hard time, you know, towards the end of the Vietnam War and just kind of gearing in towards that whole environment of, and Americana at that time, our, our country shifted within that point, within that timeframe from in the early seventies to where we are now. It's completely shifted. So did you actually serve in the Vietnam War?

Rick 2: (06:14)
No, I was at the very end of it. And so we were training as if, you know, something would still continue just like now with the Iraq war and uh, uh, it just seems like it's a never ending process. And so the same thing was going on at the time I was in is that there always seem to be some conflict. And so, and then I was in a combat unit that was, we were ready to go at any time. That was kind of our motto.

Clint 3: (06:41)
Hmm. So in that, I'm sure you saw a lot of soldiers coming back from the war within your youth at that time. You seen soldiers coming back from Vietnam, seeing what they were exposed to, seeing what they kind of were invested in and their injuries there, there PTSD now, now we know what it is. How did that articulate into what you've become and what you've done in your own life?

Rick 2: (07:11)
Yeah. You know, I think, I think in my life, my family had been through a lot of emotional trauma. And so I was really attuned to that. And of course, early like you were saying is that the post-traumatic stress that I don't even know if that word existed at that time, but you could see when you would deal with the soldiers coming back, there was something, there was something missing in their life. And, uh, and, and there wasn't, there weren't groups to, uh, help, uh, individuals develop a strategy. Now how, how do we go from in a jungle in a, in a territory that is nothing like where I grew up and under conditions that there's no, no, there's no practice to prepare you for that. I don't care what you do. And so you're, and these guys are 19, 20, 21 years old.

Rick 2: (08:04)
I mean these, you know, my son's 21 years old, I don't, he doesn't know where to catch up goes, you know, you don't know how to put that away. And so now we're telling these guys after they've seen people killed and they've been maned and psychologically they've had challenges and now go ahead. You're good luck. Have a good high five. And uh, and so yeah, you didn't take a psychiatrist to recognize that that was happening. And um, and so it is cool. And even now there, there are, uh, you know, certainly challenges, but it's cool to have an organization like what you guys are doing because post-traumatic stress exists all over the place. I mean, patients that I see that are in car accidents that lose limbs, they have post-traumatic stress. And of course, policemen, I lived, one of the things I did is I lived with a policeman for three or four. He was actually Tecta homicide detective. And so, uh, and I would watch him come home after the stress of, uh, of the day of life of a homicide detective and see, hey man, this is taxi.

Clint 3: (09:11)
No, and you're absolutely right. And, and to identify that its not just first responders, it's not just military veterans, it's anyone who goes through any type of traumatic incident within their lives has some form of PTSD and, and it's crazy to see that the response that our society has towards that nowadays one people over utilize it to the effect of trying to capitalize on it for disability or whatever else it may be. But there are also, it's do people who really need or under utilizing it because they don't want to label put on them.

Rick 2: (09:53)
Yeah.

Clint 3: (09:53)
Have you noticed that with say some of your clients that you've worked with with prosthetics?

Rick 2: (09:59)
Yeah, absolutely. You know, I worked on military base for a couple years after I got out and I, yeah, no, I see. That's the cool thing where as you start to see common pieces of the puzzle in different facets of life. And so we have what's happening with police officers. But if you're not careful, you think, oh, we'll work, we're unique, we're a separate segment of society and you feel isolated. But then we'll send you feel like, well hey, we have some the same symptoms of people who went to battle and then you realize that people who are in substantial trauma situations like in a, in a car or truck accident, well now they have some common things. And so I think one of the solutions, and it's not easy, I don't want to sound like as easy is that we team up, I think we team up. That's a cool thing that you're, the thing that I see what you guys are doing is you are creating a team, a network. When I listened to you about your fishing trip, I thought, man, you guys, you guys got going, you got something special there. And so, um, yeah. If we can start bringing in the different facets and say this, hey, let's use some of the resources that you guys have developed and some of the tactics that you guys now understand and help people who experienced trauma in other aspects of life.

Ashlie 1: (11:10)
I think it's great that you pointed that out and I love that you preface that by saying that we need to use caution. Um, I just read about another, another police officer. He lives in New York who committed suicide and his service is going to be tomorrow and it just really hit me because the media was very graphic and portraying the fact that his girlfriend was at home and they're talking about the witnesses that heard her shouting, no, no, no. Right before it happened. Hearing the gunshot and hearing her screaming, no, no, no. Again and there, they're just taking us through such a portrayal of what I believe to be very raw and even defaming and we can get into the whole, the whole is with media in general. But the point I'm trying to make here is, is there was one lieutenant who pointed out that it should be routine and consistent for not only police officers, but for anybody in a high stress profession. So it'd be it doctors are like name, name a high stress profession too, where there's some sort of annual therapy. That way it becomes not only required, but it starts to become more open and acceptable. And people don't feel like there's something wrong with you. People understand the fact that this isn't an aide. This is literally like a medical supplement that you need in addition to your profession. What are your thoughts on that?

Rick 2: (12:31)
Oh, yeah. I mean, some of the solutions are not, they're not easy, but they're common, you know, because one of the things I'm doing now is in my longevity studies as, as we try to figure out how can you have a wife of significance that doesn't end when you're in the military or when you played sports, they can continue on. And you know, some of the common factors that, uh, because apathy, what happens is a person, uh, like with both post-traumatic stress, all of a sudden they ask them questions. Does anybody love me? Do I have anybody to love? Do I now have a purpose? Is there something broken? You're my wife and who, who am I part of a team? We'll, we'll see old folks think that they think something's broken. I'm not as physically active as before. People were, people stereotype me and tell me I'm going to lose my memory.

Rick 2: (13:23)
I'm not going to remember things. And so some of that is a, there's a study that the words set in motion, physical action in your body. So when you start saying a person has post-traumatic stress, say a placement, if he starts saying, well, I'm crazy, there's something wrong with me. People are not know, don't know how to respond to me. And then what do they do? They back off. And then the isolate themselves. Another one of the factors that, uh, really set in motion, this thing of depression. And, uh, and that happens with the age of people, they all of a sudden feel like, oh man, I don't want to, uh, like my, my stepfather used to say he wouldn't come to a family gathering because, oh, I don't, you know, I don't walk that well and people have to take care of me and bring my food.

Rick 2: (14:13)
And he's the guy that needs this the most. The officer who has experienced a situation that's not a time to go into isolation. And that's where the team, you know, again, I love it when the team shows up, even, you know, you hate it. Uh, there was an officer killed in the line of duty here, Mississippi and the streets lined up with soldiers and officers and, and you know, for him, uh, the mission was over, but for his family, for his children to see, hey, daddy meant something, somebody for his wife to see. Daddy met some and he was part of something. I think that that nothing can erase the healing, but I think that helps.

Ashlie 1: (14:56)
Yeah. And it, it brings emotion up for me because when we hear about that, especially Clinton, we're just having this discussion yesterday being not the platform that we have created. We give every intent to pour out positive and influential training information, the words we speak, we have a very important intent when it comes to showcasing things and in recent time we've gained a significant amount of feedback thanking us for not showcasing a lot of the negativity that we do see on similar niche social sites, let's say. To hear that, to hear that from somebody, not let's say in our immediate circle and to hear the respect and just the identification that you had during something like that, like it means a great deal to us to hear that identification and, and taking a step back and maybe bringing the level up just a little bit, but in a lot of my neuroscience studies, Rick, what you had made mention of with the ability to take your thoughts and like plant the seed so to speak.

Ashlie 1: (16:13)
There are newer studies that have come out that are showcasing the fact that even having the mental exercises in our mind of like physical mobility is producing real physical, statistical, statistical growth in even on like muscle mass. So it's amazing what could happen when we start to identify the power of our intuition, of our, our cognitive abilities. But we need, we need a place for people to be able to showcase how to do it. This isn't something that were ever taught, and that's something I love about the company that you've created with the epilogue worthy life, is that you really want to show people that you don't have to follow this social standard that doesn't have to apply to you anymore.

Rick 2: (16:58)
Yeah. You know, the thing that I saw in the military in this was a big thing for me spiritually, is that I didn't come from a spiritual background. I mean like my one step father was Catholic and so I hit a little thing of Catholic and I didn't really know anything about God or church and I was in the military and there were two guys, there was two soldiers and they really stuck out to me. And these were guys, these are the guys you wanted to be with. If you were going into a tough situation, you wanted to be with them. And they somehow talked about their spiritual life. Like it was natural. Not that it was weird, they didn't pass out tracks, but they felt like they, they felt like they believed that God existed in, played a role in their life and that their job was to, to be an example.

Rick 2: (17:39)
And I was, I was fastened. I was intrigued by it. I mean, these are guys that didn't just talk about it but lived it. And I think that's the same thing with what we're trying to do with this longevity study is that there's a lot of groups out there. They're talking about, oh, here's the supplements to take, or here's the research that supports it. The cool thing is, is I've been fortunate to team up with guys that are older than I am. I remember I thought, wow, I'm the baddest ass 65 year old guy in the gym and I would kind of strut around like a peacock. It soon as one guy, uh, was, there's one guy was obviously a little bit older. I didn't think he was older than me, but a little bit older and he was what I was trying to be.

Rick 2: (18:17)
I mean, you could see every single muscle in his body. He wasn't the bulked up, he was just ripped. And he's a trainer, athletic trainer or a fitness trainer. And so one time I said, his name was Joe. I said, Joe. I said, man, how old are you? I was expecting him to say 58. Well, he's a year older than me. And I was like, Joe, you hurt my feelings. I mean, really, I mean, you know, I lost a couple, uh, Turkey strut and feathers that day. And so, uh, and so then a couple of weeks go by and I'm on the treadmill and there's this, uh, a fella that a tall guy looked like a look like a older doctor. J just a very distinguished, a little bit salt, pepper in his hair. We get talking. He was a specimen too. He's on the treadmill. And I go, so you come here to put a shame on a old man here. And he goes, oh man. I said, well, how old are you? Well, same thing. He was 67. And I thought, Oh, what the heck? You know, I'm not even the second, uh, you know, most fake guy. But the point was, is what I, and then since then I've picked up about three other guys there, fortunately just a little bit younger than me.

Rick 2: (19:24)
But what happens is they are examples of people living the way that they believe. And so it's not statistics, it's not research. I mean, what I want to do is this investigate why is the, um, um, the retired Navy guy, why is he so healthy? He's taking care of his momma too. And so, you know, why is she so healthy? Uh, and um, and then the same thing with the fitness guide. So we're sort of looking at what, isn't that what you want? You want to be the best example of what you proclaim in what you believe. That's, that's, that's all. And so that's what we're trying to do is say, I don't know what supplements you need. I don't know. I don't know if they even help. Here's why I know is that having a positive attitude, teaming up with people. Um, uh, you know, your, your, your Kryptonite, minimizing the Kryptonite. That's in your life. Certainly Diet and exercise has a big role in that relationship. Listen, my wife, uh, if I live longer, it's because of her support and her love. And as I listened to you two guys, I mean, I see that you've got a powerful, you know, um, Dynamo going there and uh, anyway,

Clint 3: (20:37)
So, so for your longevity study that you're doing, it sounds absolutely amazing and I love that because it's not science-based, it's not, it's not based off of experts in the area of what supplements you can take and all that. It's based off almost your vibrational pattern that you put out in the day to day along with a healthy lifestyle. Yeah. So in that, how was that in turning? How, how have you seen other people enacting that around you, other than those people that you are doing this study with?

Rick 2: (21:17)
Yeah, well, one of the, there's a young guy that I'm, I'm coaching in our program. I'm coaching and, uh, he's like 22 years old. And he was also a fitness coach at this same club that went to, and he has a video business where he does commercials for people. And so I said, his name is Derek. And I said, Garrick. Um, I brought him into our meetings and because I thought, well, maybe he gave the help, you know, market it or sell it. And I said, do me a favor though. I'll be honest, is this just some nuance that's speaking to us older guys or is it, does this have some interest to a guy that's 22 years old or how rolly he's probably older than that, but, um, in his twenties. And he said, no, no, no. He was, listen, he goes right now, he goes, a younger person's role model sometimes is another young person, a skateboarder, a guy that's invented some app. And he goes, that only takes you so far. He goes, so my question to myself is, uh, what does life have in store for me? 10, 20, 30 years from that? And he goes, you guys give us a positive picture of what that could be. And so that's kind of the question I asked my kids. I said, let me be honest, is this something that doesn't have anything to do? Everybody is wondering what's around the corner. Huh?

Clint 3: (22:43)
And, and it's really funny, like I, as you're, you're talking about this eye I can picture of you and your buddies talking about in your meeting, you're all, it comes to my mind. I don't know if you're aware of the movie, the space cowboys. That's it. That's literally what is pinging at me right now. And then I could just see you guys all sitting around saying, no, you've got to do it this way, not this way. And you guys kinda transforming it and then, but really developing this plan, your approach on how you want to do it and bring it out to the world and you're so right. And I think back on every day on the news, you hear this ladies lived to be 105 years old and she attributes tributes it to drink in a Coors light every day. You know, or she had tr day attributed to not sleeping in the same bed together ever. And it's things like that, but what they're really not covering is how lifestyle that, that way of their own vibrational patterns, their own way of living. And it starts up here and it absolutely starts up here and you said it perfectly is when you have that one seed planted, whether it's a good seed or a bad seed,

Rick 2: (23:57)
It's going to grow.

Clint 3: (23:58)
That's right. If you had that good seed planted, it's really developing from there. And that's what the key is to longevity.

Rick 2: (24:08)
Yeah. Well any type of recovery. And that's, you know, for me it's, well, here's what happened for me is that I'd had some injuries. Um, and I guess life was, was I was trying to get some businesses going and I wasn't at home as much as I needed to. I was missing some ball games my kids were playing in and it wasn't, wasn't really in a good place. What wasn't, wasn't a happy place. And, uh, but I didn't know that. I didn't know any other way. And that's the problem is real examples of how to do it right. They're not, they're not out there. And, uh, and so one day I'm coming out of church and a lady comes up to me, she's looking at me and I'm thinking, oh Geez, what somebody hitting on me at church? She says, you, you will make a great person for a photo shoot.

Rick 2: (24:54)
I'm doing. I'm like, what? She goes, we're doing a calendar and we are going to have cheerleaders in every month and we're going to feature cheerleader, local high school cheerleaders and we need somebody for December. We need somebody to play Santa Claus with a cheerleader on her lap. I'm like, do I, do I get to keep my clothes on in this year? Or like some kind of Bordeaux? And she goes, no, no, no, no. You'll just be there with the, you know, sort of contemporary sack glass. And I'm like, yeah, well, no idea. My picture of Santa Claus, there's a bowl, you know, stomach, like a bowl full of jelly. And I thought, I still see myself as, you know, as rocky. I still see myself as some, some hero and she saying, no, no, you would really make a good Santa Clause. And it was that day, you know, it was called the day.

Rick 2: (25:38)
I said, I don't want that. I don't want that scenario. I don't want that to be my story that I'm going to be a Santa Claus. Uh, I still, I don't want all my, my, my hero stories to be when I was 20 years old in the military or when I was playing college football or whatever. I want some in the future. But here's what I realized is in order to do that, then okay, I'm going to have to monitor what I eat. I first am going to have to be healthy and then, uh, I need to tie up, man, you know what? I need to up my game with the people I know. That's why it's exciting to know you guys. You guys just elevated my friend level, you know. But there was some, listen, there was some people I had a kick out of my life and I think that's on any team.

Rick 2: (26:21)
I don't know if that's with the police force, but there's some folks that are negative and bring you down and make you weaker. And it was really during that time I, there was some folks, like I said, you know what, I'm not going to hang out with them anymore. So my wife and she said, good cause all we do is complain about stuff whenever we're around them. And I want to be around people that are exciting. I want to be around with young people, with the young mindset. And, and so I think in any recovery or improving your longevity, you need people to love. You need things to do. You need people to team up with. Uh, you need things that you want to learn. You need places that you're going to go to. You know, as I was listened to Ashley talk about, you're not fishing but wanting to fish and yeah. And, and I think you had indicated there was some fears in the process, but you, but the fears, you know why parachute, not because I'm, I'm brave and heights is cause it's scary. That makes life fun. [inaudible].

Ashlie 1: (27:23)
Yeah. I would love to just point something out to you and that's what you would discuss too to some people, the listeners, as you're listening to this, you, you might have found humor in Rick story as it pertains to being offered the very prestigious role of Santa Claus and him shutting it down. But the way that I see that Rick is you, you really broke the mold by telling her, no, I don't see myself the same way that you see me, and I think so many people don't have that type of courage because a lot of us think that we're being discourteous by disagreeing with somebody in that same instance, and I want to applaud you for really showcasing your own truth because I don't believe that a lot of people find it acceptable to do that. And Clinton, I always try to stress getting outside of that social norm and that conformity that we've really had imposed on us from a very, very young age. And I think that's a perfect example of showcasing that you're owning your own reality and you're not allowing anybody, be it a sweet little lady at Church or, or anybody else dictate who you're supposed to be.

Rick 2: (28:28)
Yeah, yeah. No, you know, you articulated perfectly. And I think that's the problem is that when the media, right now, that's who's defining a lot of things where I'm at, Mississippi is known to be a hotbed of racial tension. Yet the people that are on my team, it's predominantly black individuals. And then I asked them, I said, listen, maybe we can use this for something else other than longevity. Maybe we can show. And, and I think that there were, was a sense of the reality that the false reality, the false narrative that the media portrays are there other areas of hotbed were racial tensions. Yeah. But it's not, it's not predominant. It's the police that listen to police matter look like a bunch of crazy people out. Just shoot in the first person, walk around. And I know, I know police officers that that's not their intent.

Rick 2: (29:26)
Nobody's there with the camera when they're, uh, they're helping somebody or protecting somebody or when they're involved, engage in social activities in the community. Where's the camera then? And yet, but that doesn't make news. They want to, you know, they want a dirty Harry scenarios what they want. And so I think that that's why I told these guys that I'm working with, I said, I want you guys to be famous because you are worthy to be an example for the younger folks. I think Clint guys like you, you are worthy to be the example of what a policeman is. And it's not.

Rick 2: (30:02)
Well, we, can go to why bad things happen. But you know, in my mind, when I was, when I was a soldier, we practice every day shooting. We practice entering a room, how to go in with a team. And a lot of times what happens is that in some professions is that, uh, you're not engaged. We always felt like we're going to go to war. We were ready. A police officer doesn't go to work that think this day. And I remember the story that I actually talked about with the, when you entered the house is that, gee, you didn't know that day that you're going to actually go to the crossroads of life and death. And so for, I think the unfortunate things for what I, my experience with police officers, they are not in that tension mode of I better have my six gun drawn at any moment. And so, and then now we're going to criticize somebody who went from kissing their wife goodbye and then entered into a combat zone. The, I think it's unfair. I think it's the media. I blame the media because they're just trying to get, they don't care about you. They don't care about the victim. They care about a good story and shame. Shame on them.

Clint 3: (31:11)
Yeah, absolutely. I couldn't have said it better myself and, and I appreciate your kind words. I really do. Um, you know, and, and being a police officer and being your first responder in general, it's, it's not easy nowadays. Times have changed. We have to adapt, we have to overcome. But you know, one thing Ashley and I really wanna to do is, is, you know, present the humanity behind the badge, whether you're a firefighter, a police officer, or an ambulance driver. You know, firefighters always get the positive news stories, but it's kinda something that we as first responders, we all have the animosity towards each other than we had and we've talked about to you the listener before in reference to that. But for four, as a first responder, you know, when we go to work, we kiss our spouse, we kiss our kids, our dogs, whoever that may be to you. And we don't go out upon, you know what, I'm going to shoot somebody today. Yeah. That's the least of what we've ever thought about. It's really trying to understand what can I do not to have to shoot somebody? What can I do to come home safe to my family at the end of the day while I protect the city, the county, the state that I worked for.

Ashlie 1: (32:33)
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. You both of you, I appreciate you for sharing that. And Rick, I just want to dive into a little bit of the epilogue worthy life a little bit because I know how hard you're working and you've created this team of very likeminded individuals who understand that there's so much more that you're worthy of and creating and receiving and giving in in your world, especially as you age. So can you talk to the listener through a little bit about some of the services that you've created and what your offering is?

Rick 2: (33:03)
Well, well, we're very early. We're very early in the process. And so right now what we're doing is, um, you know, silver, our motto is we got stuff to do. That's the model we have stuff to do. It's not over. We're not, I'm not, we're not retiring. We're not going fishing. And so what we're doing right now is we're formulating the stories and identifying the message that, uh, each of these individuals have. And that's what we really want to do with, uh, um, w our plan is to do probably on, um, a podcast, uh, to do some seminars because, you know, uh, one of the guys is, um, you know, he's, he's, he's an expert on fitness and diet and, and things like that. And so we want to help people, um, understand how your diet affects how well you're able to get into that zone, to that best version of yourself.

Rick 2: (33:55)
And then how exercise, I mean, there's a lot of research that speaks to that. And then, um, uh, the one fellow, the ex-navy officers, also a pastor. And so how does spirituality, how does that attribute, how, how does that change as you get older and how does that affect your view, your picture of yourself and, um, and so in matter of fact, one of the guys that is on the team is a, uh, former professional baseball player. And he's a guy who reached the pinnacle, kind of the pinnacle of his career in dreams in his twenties and early thirties. And so what happens from there? The point is what happens is when, when you retire or when your success is something in your past. And so we're right now at the point of developing those stories. And, um, I think that's a big part of it is if you're familiar with the hero's journey and, um, uh, I took a course called storyline and the question they ask is, so what kind of character are you in your story?

Rick 2: (34:55)
Or are you the lead character in your story? There are some people whose narrative is that their secondary to their spouse or to their boss or they're still doing what their dad told him. Um, you know, and so some online you have to become the lead character in your story and then recognize in any exciting story, um, you know, it's not exciting story to say, you know, okay, what's your story? Why I want to buy a BMW? You know, that interest not that compelling, but hey, I want to go out there on the big water and catch me a big fish and there's going to be challenges in the process. I'm going to go out there and uh, you know, uh, who knows what that the weather. And so that's like, now we've got an exciting story. You know, the weather is a factor in then fighting the big fish is a factor and that's an exciting narrative, but you want to be the hero in your story.

Rick 2: (35:48)
Now the other thing what's cool about being a coach or even a police is that when you're the person who enters a another person's story and you're the guy, hey, let me be your guy. Let me, let me help you. You know, the person who calls nine one one, well, they're the star of their story, but they need, they need the guide to come in and protect them. Um, and, and we, we all need a coach. We all need a mentor. Um, so that's what I'm hoping is, hopefully we'll have a team of guys that will be good mentors, uh, that will have, you know, everybody, like the one guy says he eats Red Jello and that helps the cartilage in his knee. I don't know if that does, but he thinks it does. And so you know, well, what we're looking at is for the commonality. We're looking at all the guys exercise routinely. That's a common thing. All the guys watch what they eat. That's a common thing. All the guys have a um, positive family relationships. That's that, that when you start finding those types of commonalities, well now we have a, uh, we have some maybe steps that we can enter in. We have to think, are these contextual? Maybe they just worked in this context or are they universal? And so those are the types of things that we'll, we'll ask, do you guys eat Red Jello?

Clint 3: (37:08)
I Love Red Jello. So this is an incredible platform and foundation that you've created and I know that you're going to do amazing things. And I think the diversity and the networking aspect of this and how you're really being cognizant and, and taking your time to pull all of the things that make sense together before you just started, you know, word vomit out into the world. I think that just shows me a little bit more about your character, Rick. And what you mentioned was that it's so important to be the star of your story. And what you said was, let me be your guide. And that brings me back to the beginning when we first started this interview where you're talking about not having that mill role model in your life and using military service to help you to form that discipline and to become, become a man. So to sum it up, can you share with the listener a little bit about how this journey, how that first decision to join the military service and everything that happened thereafter led you to be what I believe such an incredible man that we're honored to be able to sit in front of right now.

Rick 2: (38:28)
Yeah. At any point in my life, if someone were to come up to me and say, uh, that, let me, let me train you, let me help you. I would have been, I would have received it, but there wasn't, there weren't people. Now, there were a lot of, you know, cocky folks who, who, um, but they're bad asses and then somehow wanted to teach you, wanted you, wanted you to be their boy. Uh, well I'm talking about somebody who was living an epic wife. If somebody were to come up to me, I, I would have jumped on board and I, I probably would've followed somebody bad if they, um, they came along. But fortunately, like I met these soldiers and all of a sudden I seen people who were succeeding by doing what was right and doing the hard thing and that they were able, the other thing was being able to clearly articulate what they believe and, um, and doing it in a way that, you know, the, that nobody, nobody snickered at these guys.

Rick 2: (39:31)
And so when I got out of the military and, um, and start thinking what I was going to do, um, uh, well, I was injured in the military. What happens? I was injured and, um, where I was, when I was in the hospital, there was a guy that had lost his leg and he was in a wheelchair. And I wanted to be able to say, do you know, cause he sat by himself, his obviously he was depressed. I wanted to say, come hang out with us. And I thought, well, what's he going to say if I say, dude, how you doing? I thought I was going to say Masa. What do you think? Because, so I didn't know how, I couldn't see how the interaction, so I just avoided in one day, uh, they brought in a prosthesis in fit him and he stood up and start a walk and I go that that is a coolest damn thing I've ever seen.

Rick 2: (40:19)
That's what I'm going to do. I just knew I was gonna do that. So again, these examples and, and the guys that work with them seem to know they were compassionate and they, um, they had skill and that's what I wanted. I felt like I was a guy that didn't have a lot of skill. Uh, didn't have a lot of confidence just because of my, my upbringing. And even when I went into the military, uh, there are a lot of, I was doing a lot of cool things, but I was still the same guy. I, I wanted to, I didn't want to stay the same, just say, I don't know if you've got time for a quick story, but you know, I always wanted to change in the, I was at the hospital one time and a guy was in the hospital and he had a short sleeve shirt on and he had a big airborne tattoo.

Rick 2: (41:00)
So parachute with wings on it. And I thought, I love the give military guys a chance to cry. And so I went up to him and I said, dude man, well tell me about that tattoo he was with. I'm one of those guys that jumped out of perfectly good airplanes in the military. I go, really? I said, well what unit were you in? And then he looks at me a little bit and he goes, I'm never, I've never made it to a unit. I go, what? It was. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I got ahead of that thing. I think, God, I didn't know that was an option. Got Out. W what do you mean? Here's, well, you know, all those lifers take it so serious and uh, I, I'm not one of them dumb guys, you know, they have to be told what to do. So I just got out.

Rick 2: (41:42)
Well now, I mean, I don't know what to say cause I'm going up here to compliment him and it's, it's kind of taken a turn. I don't even know what he's talking about. And so fun. I just, in order to kind of conclude the conversation, I said, well, you know, did it, did it, did your experience, um, help you any way change you in any way for the good, you know, and he goes, no, he goes, I came out the same way I went in and, you know, I was like, okay, I guess we're done now. You know, and I thought they want to say a thing cause I didn't come out the same way I went in. I came out with a different view of what teamwork meant, what friendship meant, what dedication it would hard work, man. And, uh, and, and that's, that's what his, his, his, even now I don't, I don't want to come into my thirties and come, come onto my forties the same way that I entered in, you know, and, and even with friendships, man, I don't want to meet you guys and leave without something happening, some connection happening here, because, you know, as time goes on, I don't have a lot of time for stuff that doesn't work.

Rick 2: (42:45)
And so, um, so really that's the, the thing is I think is as I go on, I still want to learn. I still want to grow, even though there's some things that I can't do it, guess what? There's some things I can do. I ran a marathon with my daughter, a half marathon with my daughter, uh, and I was 64. Uh, I entered my first fitness contest and won it. I was 60. Um, I started two businesses, 63. Um, and so I think one, it's my nature to do that kind of stuff. Um, the other, um, it's exciting. It's adventurous. I'm a late bloomer, I guess.

Ashlie 1: (43:25)
Um, there's never been a more appropriate time to say better late than never.

Ashlie 1: (43:32)
And Rick, as we wind things down here, I just want to point out that I do believe you owe me a story as it relates to a cadaver putting you in a headlock.

Rick 2: (43:43)
You know, I listened to that story about a client he got tackled by a Zombie. You know, I thought, yeah, I can relate. Um, when I was a, when I was, one of the courses I needed to take before I go to the University of Washington is I had to have a could diver anatomy class and um, at East Cara, so I was at East Carolina University and they had a brand new medical program and on the seventh floor of the hospital was the cadaver land. And so what would happen is as students, we would get a key, and this was an intense course. It was in the summertime. So it was faster than normal. And what we'd have to do is during the tests is we have to identify the smallest bone or the smallest nerves. And we were studying the brachial plexus. And again, I was not a good student.

Rick 2: (44:31)
I'm panicking. It's like 11 o'clock at night. I can't study, I have to pass this test. I was accepted universe, Washington contingent of passing this test. And so I think I got study, we're studying the brachial plexus, a series of small nerves in the eye, exhilaration in the armpit. And so I go up to this seventh floor. And so as you go, the floor of the hospital, you go in, there's a lot of activity even at night, but as you start going up the floors, you have administration on the top floor, there's nobody. And then you go into the cadaver lab and it's freezing cold. It smells like Formaldehyde and you have 20, um, looks like stainless steel coffins that the bodies are down inside and you wheel him up, you know, to, to eye level. And so I have all these podiums around and the brachial plexus are these nerves bet the size of a string and they'd go in and out of muscles and they, they come from your sir, um, from your neck, from the, uh, Vertebra and come down to different muscles.

Rick 2: (45:28)
And activate these muscles and they purest muscles. And so I gotta be able to identify them. And so these body, so I will my guy up and we called him half and half because half his body had the skin on the other half. He'd been carved out by the pre-med students where they would separate his pictorial muscle from his major, from his Pec minor. And so I'm in here. So if you can imagine I got my guy up like you, like a touched, like the referee would signify a touchdown. So he's up uh, his armpit, his eye level and I'm trying to find these nerves in his pictorial. I had to pull his pectoral muscle back and trying to find this nerve. And when I let go it, it comes back slaps over top of where I'm trying to find it. And now I've lost what I was looking for it.

Rick 2: (46:12)
And so I do this three or four times and I got my face right in there with a magnifying glass cause I got to find it cause I'm like facing. And finally I get irritated and I grab that pictorial muscle where the pictorial muscle inserts on your humerus. And so his arms are like this. I grabbed his pictorial, his arm goes over top of my head and of course Rigor Mortis has set in and I'm sitting on a chair, I can't get away [inaudible] closer to his exhilarate and I listen, I know this guy's dead. You know what his problem is? I've watched too many Zombie movies and I'm like, I know he's dead, but somebody might have just jumped. I don't know, maybe somebody just jumped in here and I try to calm myself. I, you know, put the, the sheet over top of them, crank them back down, and then I get out of there and I see a security guard and I go, Hey sir, how you doing? How you been? You work here long, you've been in here, you know what time is? I had have somebody talk to you. I tell everybody I got a headlock by a cadaver. That's a memory that I'm sure you've carried with [inaudible]. Well, that's it. Yeah. We have another thing for us to share. Absolutely. We battled the zombies together.

Ashlie 1: (47:29)
Oh, Rick, it's been such a pleasure to sharing this space with you and hearing more of your story and just building on our friendship together and you know, as, as you listen, I, I'm sure there's some nuggets or some pieces of wisdom or relate-ability that you share with Rick and his story and Rick and I'm just wondering how as a listener, if they want to reach out to you, what's the best way,

Ashlie 1: (47:54) How could they contact you and I'll give you my information?

Rick 2: Yup. Certainly they should certainly email me at, um, I don't even know my email address.

Ashlie 1: (48:06)
It's [email protected]

Rick 2: (48:09)
There we go. Yeah. And listen, love to, to talk to them. And to me the lesson is teaming up and you know, I love, you know, the fact that I feel like we're teaming up here and I think, uh, no matter what your, you know, tense situation is, don't, don't face it alone. You weren't meant to face it alone. And, um, yeah,

Ashlie 1: (48:32)
Perfect way to end it. Rick, we thank you again. We thank you for your service and as you listen, if any of this resonates with you, then you know that that's how you're able to enjoy your Tactical Living.

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