Tony on the Mic

Today – My guest Jayden Lombardo just returned from completing the most famous, and some say most daunting marathon: the Boston Marathon, 26.2 grueling miles through the streets of Boston, culminating at Heartbreak Hill! He joined 30,000 other runners and finished just before the rain came down in buckets. I pity those who finished later. We learn why the Unicorn is the official symbol of the Boston Marathon, why I call him Quadzilla or the Quadfather, and how he managed to spend an entire week apart from his girlfriend Schmoopy. He enjoyed his first trip to Boston and saw the sites including learning about the Salem Which Trials, the kings church and fun facts about the Rhode Island state capital. We sample and rate another Whisky and I recall a good chunk of the famous poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” from elementary school – not bad for an old man! 

My guest today turned down Oprah, the first time she called, but did Tony on the Mic on the first request! She is Pam Smith and she is fascinating. She had a genealogy friend and they were working together for a few years. They discovered one of her friend’s people, owned – as in slavery – her people. How would your react? She tells us about the emotional whirlwind and how it all reconciled. Spoiler alert: after some tense moments they are still friends 30 years later.   She is a long time civil rights activist who has worked with Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama and met Stokely Carmichael by accident! She lived in Africa for a few years, and lived in a monastery (not quite like Sister Act or Sound of Music I found out.) She has lived in the DMV, Chicago, Portland Oregon, spreading seeds of hope and racial reconciliation at every stop. Way too many cool stories for one podcast so we will have her back! 

My guest is Author / teacher MacArthur Shaw! He has written and published his first book, Adventures in Subbing, the life and times of a classroom mercenary. It is loaded with tales from the various schools and classrooms. It is also loaded with adult language – he pulls no punches. We talk about the various times we have been punched in the mouth for being a smart ass in our lives, and agree, it needs to happen to more smartasses. We talk about Smashmouth – unrelated – and a tribute to Shock G from Digital Underground! He also talks about his days of fencing and bartending and doing stand up comedy. 

Today I have a return guest Lori Biesel of Starseed Galactic enterprises! We talk about the power of high vibrational frequency music, and how it can help is so many areas – youtube it! We talk about getting in touch with the Source, and achieving balance in your life, but mostly we discuss her first Ayahuasca trip! A three-day guided trip of meditation, yoga and hallucinogens, into the depths of her consciousness. The light, the visions, the freedom, the puking… If you have never tried this, I am not sure if this will make you more or less likely to consider it, but I think I might try it. We talk about doshas and dietas, and how the practice of Ayurveda can balance your diet and physical and spiritual sectors to make everything work in harmony.

Today we revisit a real-life transgender man, who is asexual, and a woman who is not interested in having sex. We learn about the trials and tribulations, challenges in school and at home with family. We talk about labels and the problem some people in society have accepting other’s lifestyles, choices and identities. We learn all kinds of new words and definitions. We ranked best friends, laughed childishly at the planet Uranus for childish reasons. We touch on Drag Queens reading to kids and find out if Al Capone and the mafia owned and ran gay bars. My bug zapper goes on a massacre in the background, and Duke (my dog) takes over the episode.

So, I got a tattoo, my first tattoo. I decided to interview a well rated tattoo artist for the pod, and what better way than to do it while I am in the chair! I talk about how it hurts mostly, but I get to ask questions I have always wondered. Is there anything you won’t tattoo? What is the longest continuous tattoo session? Should I use a pain killing gel, or is pain part of the process? Do you tattoo drunk people? Have you ever tried to talk someone out of a tattoo? We meet his business partner Soda Pop, I barely cry and am thrilled with the tat. See, I say tat now because I have a tat. Those of us who  know, know. It’s a lifestyle. He also mocks me a bit for thinking I understand the lifestyle after one, fairly innocuous tattoo… 

The sound is not as good as usual, as the phone picked up all the background noise. Maybe we can get Sky into the studio and really dig into this! Anyway, I get introduced to a great new band, that sounds like a great old band. The soundtrack to my tattoo is Durand Jones and the Indications – check them out. 

My day at Disneyland with Patrick Mahomes. Isabella got some discount (but still expensive) tickets to Disneyland a few months back through her work. We set the date, scheduled coverage for work and planned an awesome day! We had no idea that when Kansas City won the Super Bowl, and Patrick Mahomes exclaimed “I’m going to Disneyland!” that we would be there together and forever intertwined in history. Hear about our great day and our embellished account of the details. Tony on the Mic has a policy of honesty and transparency, so I came clean at the end about what was real and what was enhanced. Disneyland is awesome and my cousin Gary helps me revisit a great day at the happiest place on Earth. 

Today I am so excited to take another step in my life / spiritual journey. I sit with Three “Spirit Livers” (people who live in the spirit. *Trademark, Tony on the Mic.) We talk about getting in touch with our feelings and actual honest, inner desires. We talk meditation, positive outlook, manifesting and determining what we really want down deep, versus what we think we are supposed to want, and sometimes say we want. We lay some simple groundwork for you to start a journey and set the foundation for self-introspection. I try to overcome deflection, procrastination and excuse making. We touch on ayahuasca and “trips” (yeah, I am not there yet) and the need to challenge your own status quo and comfort zones – I am trying hard to do that. And it is NOT a midlife crisis, it is a step in the connective journey to a higher power! 

Today my guests are ultra Marathoners – Jayden Lombardo and Jake Ennis. They recently put a 50-mile race under their belt, and have qualified for the Boston Marathon in April. After that, they set their sites on an Iron Man triathlon and/or a 100 mile race. Hear about the training discipline, the diet, the ambitions, injuries, and insights they gain while doing this grueling activity. They get very personal… some might say TOO personal, in the details they share. Hear the horrors and hazards of running for 13 hours straight – for the “short” 50 mile races. What do they think about, why they don’t listen to music while running, and learning to prevent chafing. We also talk about hate following the liver king, Jayden’s pending proposal and Jake’s single life (he is available!) 

In Part 2 of my cross generational, gender identity and sexuality discussion, we cover the Adams Apple – I learned more about it today - The difference in physical transformations m between male to female, female to male, the surgery, hormones etc. We talk about family’s acceptance, or not. We talk about some more obscure labels, and ask are they necessary. They explain that sometimes trying on a label is like trying on a shirt, it might not fit, but it is good to know you tried it on, and that it did not fit.  and once and for all declare that all divorces ARE indeed the kids’ fault. You may want to listen to part one first as we lay down a lot of foundation