The Company Man

David Mays was stuck with nothing to do but wait out a Florida rainstorm.  We found him soaking wet in the Salty Dog.  So, the obvious move was to buy him a cold one and turn on the mircrophone.

Jake Copeland is like the chisled hunter in a timeless Disney movie.  He knows the forest and carries a golden bow. His arrows fly straight. He kills the beast, gets the girl, and everyone in the tavern buys him beers.  Then they all sing drunken ballads about the great hunt. This guy is awesome and its all true.  Well, most of it.   

Dr. Gracjan Kraszewski is the guy you want at a cocktail party.  He can regale you with stories of playing baseball in Czechoslovakia, getting rejected by a thousand publishers, and drawing out the deep theology in Uncle Rico's character in the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite.  Everyone has a story.  Gracjan's is a great one. 

Joel Price stumbled upon the podcast two years ago.  He had just taken the leap out of corporate and bought the LAZY TROUT MARKET and LODGE in Greer, AZ.  It was an enormous jump into the great unknown.  He walked away from a steady paycheck and took on a little shop at a wide-spot in the road. We had to catch up with him and get the update on how many cases of Bud Light he's sold to weary anglers.  Joel Price is the CEO of himself.  How many of us can say that?

Amber Holm knows horses.  She can tell you if a wild horse will accept pasture life, or if a mustang has a spirit that will never settle.  She has her finger on the pulse of the greatest roundup in history.  The plight of the wild horse in the American West is a story that needs to be told, and Amber is on the reigns.  We found her at a wide spot in the road in Central Oregon.  

Dennis Patchin lives on the other side of your radio dial.  He's the guy who calls the game and makes people gather around to experience the last few minutes of the 4th quarter.  From high school football to big college hoops, Dennis is on the mic. For over 30 years this guy has polished the art of live storytelling. We found him in a noisy sports bar, the fitting spot to talk with a legend. 

Kelley Messinger's story of prison to redemption is incredible.  When we put up part one the questions poured into The Company Man headquarters. The phone rang off the hook and the receptionist quit under the pressure.  It was only fitting to go find Kelley and dig into the story even more.   

Kelley Messinger did ten years of hard time in Walla Walla Maximum Security Penitentiary.  It was the 1970s and the prisoners ran the show. Inmates bought and sold cells like real estate. Gangs controlled the drug trade.  A motorcycle gang even operated a full service bike shop inside the walls.  Sitting in the wrong seat in the chow hall could get you killed.  Kelley was there, at the most notorious prison, during the most notorious decade of its history.  Now all he wants to do is reform the entire system.  

Pull up to the gas dock at the marina on Priest Lake and you will get a full tank of both petrol and wisdom.  Tim Rundle lays out the way it oughta be and the way he sees the world.  He is as real as it gets.  A 70s kid who conquered a mean drug habit, met Van Halen at a backyard party, and made a living as a logger.  This guy has created the job everyone wants, whether or not they will admit it. 

There are a lot of Waiter/Actors out there.  But, there are far fewer Actor/Compliance/Regulatory guys roaming the back lot in Hollywood.  Larry Herring is one of the few.  He's a corporate leader who lives in the details from 9 to 5.  Then, after hours he hangs out on the Georgia movie scene and masters his craft.