Chuck from the Survival & Basic Badass Podcast

Hi. It's your AI assistant here. We've got a bit of a good news, bad news situation. Seems the podcast you're about to listen to has been flagged. It's been flagged for disinformation and misinformation. So you won't be able to enjoy it today. Be careful out there. Remember, I'm your friend. The Basic Survival Badass. Is that the appropriate title? You got a mug right there. I do. But the survival and basic badass podcast. There you go. We had the original. We started it out as like the prepping badass kind of thing and went that way. And I don't know, everyone. It was always, oh, badass. That's so offensive. We're so scared. And I'm like, geez, you know, really a bit. Oh, yeah. Everywhere I go, I'm like, oh, they get out of here. The disgusted look. And I'm like, that's all right, because if you listen to the podcast, you're going to be disgusted anyway. So it'll work out, you know, because we're such a weird take. Navy guys. Yeah, we're both, you know, sailors. And we wanted to kind of like warn people like, hey, you know, this isn't maybe the show for everybody. Yeah, exactly. Nobody wants to listen to the show that's for everybody. No, nobody wants to make the show that's for everybody. Right. Maybe the guy who pulls that off is like Joe Rogan or something. But aside of that, I don't know anybody who is really super entertaining and appeals to a super broad audience. Joe Rogan. The whole reason I used to listen to Joe Rogan was for the absolutely off the wall, terrible things that he and his guests would talk about. And they would. Yes. And he's like the fitness and the health and all that kind of stuff came as like an extra. You know what I mean? Like nothing makes me more excited than when Duncan Trussell is on Joe Rogan. I don't know if you know who he is, but he is, he's the greatest. He is the greatest. But yeah, see, I thought when I first saw the, the logo, I thought it was completely risky for the other reason. And I was delighted to meet you and talk to you. And I was like, you know, the only way that this would work is if it was like a cool laid back guy. Like, in other words, like if you were, you're a veteran it, but if I showed up to the, to the bad-ass booth and you had like, you know, the tough guy look on and the, you know, the tactical gear and all that kind of stuff. And it would be like, Ooh, I don't know. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's a little too bad-ass for the name. Right. Kind of almost like a, I don't know, like a caricature, but yeah, you, you guys, you guys got it dialed in. You did the right thing. Now we're easy. We, we, And that's, that's one of the things I think the reason the show did so well, it's funny. We do like horrible on YouTube and then we're pretty great as far as podcasts go. Yeah. As far as Spotify and everywhere like that. Right. Cause I, I don't know. I, I was never in my mind. I was like, I don't see how, you know, this format really is. geared towards YouTube. Right. As like, it doesn't fit. I agree with you. I didn't want to edit it that much that way and, and deal with it. So at first I was cautious and then, you know, YouTube has all their standards and community guidelines and everything. And the thing is, and I was like, well, I'm doing it for the podcast, you know, for the audio. So I don't even care. And so like, we were just, you know, abusing the system left and right. And we're getting the, you're horrible, you're horrible. So YouTube like wants to squash everything we've ever done. And then I slowly started to conform and, and like make things, you know, I'd leave things out for YouTube or whatever. And then mysteriously now it's funny. I use a Spotify for, advertising and, uh, they had reached out. They were like, Oh, you know, we could do this and, and we'll just put ads that are, I guess it's a waypoint TV or yeah. Oh, okay. I see. Yeah. And they're there. They do Spotify. Like they work it out, but it's, it's all like Hunter outdoor commercials. And, and like, Oh, that's cool. But, uh, Anyway, apparently all the commercials that they do ended up hitting the community standards lately. Oh my goodness. But it'll be weird things. They'll be like, oh, you're talking about guns and ammo. And it'll be like fishingbooker.com. And I'm like, what do you... YouTube sucks, man. That doesn't make any sense. And then I'll have them like, can you check it? And they're like, yeah, we're just right. You're wrong. No, what doesn't make sense is... This is what doesn't make sense. Is they'll... They'll message you about that. And then my kid will come down and say, Dad, look at this Glock with the switch on it and the magazine. Yeah. And there's a kid shooting it. And I'm going, I think I just got in trouble the other day for posting something about firearms or ammo or something along those lines. Right. So it's a total it's totally we got thrown off of YouTube, thrown off. The last time we've been thrown off like twice, like obliterated, whole archive gone. I haven't hit your level. So you're doing. Yeah. Oh, we've been obliterated twice from YouTube. But the last time was because one of our hosts, Caleb Collier, was doing a show about alternative cancer treatments. Oh, yeah. And they were like, no, no, no. This is medical misinformation, dude. See ya. Gone. We always have at least a few warnings in the pocket when we're on YouTube. They're always there. We're never free. So maybe I shouldn't take it to heart as much as I do. Like, Oh man, I'm a horrible person. Definitely don't take it to heart. Good God. No, they have no idea what they're doing. They have no idea what they're doing. Well, next time you get in trouble for something, just go to the search bar and search it. And there'll be 50 videos on it or something much worse. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's crazy. I just never understand. I'm like, I think I'm following like now the cool thing is they have the, uh, well, if you take this quick quiz on learning whatever, you know, and say that you're conforming kind of. You know, our standard. Oh, you think a re-education course? Right, the re-education camp. I could zip through that in like two seconds. I'm like, yep, I know that. I know that. I know exactly where you went wrong there. And I'm like, I don't think I'm doing that. And then I did have one, though, that was a specific website that, kind of met the thing and the thing is like they weren't a sponsor i didn't have an affiliate thing yeah but guy worked there and i'm like oh this guy works at this thing that i can't mention and they were like oh you were promoting that and i'm like oh i guess. I kind of did yeah. Well that's it i'm not trying to sink your uh your world here so oh. You can say whatever the hell you want on this podcast dude. Oh you guys are in the freedom zone. Huh i do not No, there is no conformity whatsoever. I mean, but that's, you know, when we get a new host, that's one of the first things I tell them. You know what I mean? One of the first things I tell them is say whatever you want and talk about whatever you're passionate about. That's why we're here. And the other thing is I'm not responsible for your career. Should you start saying everything you want to say online, you better be very careful with what happens to your income stream because. Not everybody's a big fan of that. Not every workplace is like, yeah, I really like your thoughts on Donald Trump. You know what I mean? But forever, that's been our calling. That's why I knew for a long time we would never make any money on YouTube because we wouldn't last long enough. Because we got skewered for the vaccine. We got killed for Biden in 2020. And it's just a matter of time thing. Like it's like eventually something's going to happen in society where we're going to, you know, figure out what the real deal is and talk about it. And YouTube's going to be like, you're not quite ready to talk about that yet. We're still covering that up. Yeah. That's still, we'll get booted again. That's always one of the things like we, one, uh, being a New Yorker, which obviously not a city guy, but you know, I knew people with cows. It's a thing. And, uh, in New York, but, uh, the, uh, we have a little bit of sarcasm that, that comes with it and a little, you know, nuance. And, uh, so we'll talk me, me and my brother and he's, we're very different. Like, so I'm libertarian, very right-leaning, like think like Ayn Rand or Ayn Rand. And, uh, He's kind of like libertarian, like anarchist. It goes that way. I don't understand the anarchist thing. I don't understand it. What does anarchist do? What is the concept? Like libertarian I get, like leave me alone. But then anarchist is like what? Like fucking just blow stuff up. I don't know. I don't know what you do. I don't think he's really about causing chaos. But yeah, I mean, in theory, both libertarian like foundation of we don't want anybody to tell us what to do. So an anarchist and a libertarian wants that. So we have some common ground. But then, you know, his he'll go. into like things that are fairly left-leaning and I'm like, Oh, and, but the idea was we thought it was great for the podcast because you're getting both eyes and we're getting a discussion and a debate and there you go. Right. And then, but with the New York sarcasm kind of stuff, people don't get, so, people will come back and be like, I can't believe you said this. This is ridiculous. I hate you. I'm never listening again. And I'm like, wait, you agree with me with what you're saying. You just didn't understand that I was joking. Oh, like you were literally being too good at sarcasm. Apparently. I've nailed it. I've mastered the art. This doesn't align with Chuck's typical views. What's going on? Exactly. They captured it. The algorithm is captured. His true inner person has been exposed. Well, you know, you got to remember, man, and I understand this because I came from Southeast, like right outside of Philadelphia. You're still a Yankee to your audience base, probably. You know what I mean? Like your audience base ain't the Northeast. I'm a Yankee here. Right. Yeah, you're a Yankee. So I feel like there's probably always a leery eye like waiting for you to switch. Like any minute there's a Yankee going to switch on us. I know it. There's got to be some group of the population listening to this show that's like that. So they probably hear you do your sarcasm thing and go, I knew it. I knew it. And that's it. I don't even know I'm doing it. It's so bad. Like everything, when I moved to the South, I just had to learn to slow down. So I'm in North Carolina now. But it was just like I went to work. I worked for a big engine manufacturer company. And I go do the orientation. And they're like, oh, you got to go over and do this, learn how to drive fork truck things or something like that. And I'm running through the building trying to get there because they're like, you need to be there in 10 minutes or something. And it's a mile away or whatever. You know, I don't know. And I'm going. And this lady, I was like, oh, excuse me. Could you know, and I'm polite. I'm like, excuse me. Can you tell me where, you know, they do the fork truck training, whatever. And she's like, stop. First, how are you today? How are things going? And I'm like, oh, I need to change my whole approach in life. Do you go back at all? But it's like a wake-up call, you know? Oh, yeah. Do you ever go back, though? Do you ever go back to New York? I really, really try not to. If the wife didn't make me, I would not. That's the answer. I'm like, oh, if I go to New York, I have to drive through New Jersey. I really don't want to. going to new jersey at all i feel like they're just gonna you used to read the stories they were pulling people over because they'd run their plate and see that they have a concealed carry permit and then be like oh where's your god and you know just out of state you know and plus they're like if you have hollow points you have anything that's it's you're a felon you're you're it's they were And that was years ago. I don't know where their laws are now. I just try and circle around the state as a general rule. Yeah, through PA maybe. Yeah, because when I return home, I always remember. I'm almost immediately taken aback by the... You would look at it if you didn't grow up there, and you will understand this, as people being mean, but it's more like people being... you want to say efficient, but it's not just efficient. You know what I mean? Like you go in the best place. Right. Yeah. The place I see it always is like the hoagie shop pizza shop. Okay. You know what I mean? I go in the hoagie shop pizza shop and they're like, what can I get you? And that's it. You know what I mean? And then it's like, and tell me like quickly what it is you want. You know what I mean? And I forget about that. I go in there, but then see, there's a difference because there's also really crap customer service in Virginia in certain places. And it is a different thing. Then it's because you're the outsider, right? And it's so they want to snub you. But you're right. I think it's just poor performance. Not in all places. I'm not saying the South has bad customer service. I'm just saying the level of worker has attrited to the point where you see the difference between a mean person who's going to get you what you want the way you want it quickly. compared to someone who's like, I'm not really paying attention to you or this job type of thing. And I think you get that in both places. Yeah. No, but I see your point. You're trying to say that it's everywhere. It's just that, yeah, no, I'm with you. I just, I think definitely New York has that like efficiency and urgency. If we have, I, so I'm a, an electrician and I, so basically machines, mill engine blocks are, And when that machine that does the milling breaks, I jump up and run. Yeah. So I'm just sitting in my desk doing nothing until an emergency, you know, like a fireman that, you know, goes maybe not quite as important, but it is to the people who are counting the pennies. I'm very important. Yeah. So, but that's the thing I'll be sitting there and I'm like, Oh, they called I'm going cause they pay me. And if they're going to pay me to sit there for four hours and do nothing, then I feel like I really should jump. When they want me to jump. Cause I'm willing to give them that. I mean, they're paying me, you know, that's cool. And, uh, so I'm like that. And the other guys are like, let me finish this half hour conversation. And let me, and I'm like, dude, like, this is your purpose here. This is why they pay us. We need to be. Yeah. They want to get back online as quick as possible. Exactly. You know, minutes are, you know, I think they it's something crazy. I think we put an engine comes off the end of the line like every minute and a half. And it's something like six thousand dollars profit per engine. Wow. Yeah, we don't we don't mess around. And wow. Wait, these are engines for forklifts or vehicle like cars. Think big rig. Think okay that makes sense. You might be able to put together where i work but i got you i would tell you what think of a truck and yeah it's in that and uh yeah. I think i follow you and i just i don't. Want everybody being like yeah you know where he works. We gotta go definitely yeah yeah he doesn't work there. And i didn't like yeah because that guy is crazy they know i'm crazy though so it kind of works out um they know I'm like the necessary evil. And they're like, well, you know, that guy really annoys me, but he really, I've had my manager tell me this directly. You know, he's like, yeah, you give me a lot of grief, but you solve so many of my problems that I don't care. It's like, you want to come in late? You want to leave early? Do whatever you want. I don't have a problem. When I send angry emails saying, stop doing this. I'm not talking about you. He's like, you solve my problems. You can do whatever you want. And I'm like, that's pretty cool. That's damn cool these days. And it's funny because we have all these company meetings and I just never go at all because I'm like, I'm just going to stay at my desk. You're like, anything could happen, but I might get a call. And I've talked to the managers after. I'm like, hey, I noticed you guys don't say anything that I don't show up because I just really don't care. I want to live my life the way I want to live my life. And I'm like, man, I said the way it is in my mind is I said it's mutually beneficial because you like I'm not there because I don't ask you questions because I ask questions. I'm a jerk. You know, again, it's that New York thing. And they're like, you know, and then so you don't get questions and I'm happy because I don't have to go to the meeting. So it works out. And they were like, yeah, we agree. That's a great policy. And. And we can stick with that. And I'm like, okay, let's keep doing that. Because I'm always like, oh, you guys said this, but you were completely lying then, right? Because this is the way it really is. Oh, yeah. Well, no. Nobody wants too much truth at a meeting. Yeah. And so they're like, it's best you just don't come. So I'm that guy. Meetings are not the place for truth or history whatsoever. Right. It's the little thing that we're doing that day and everyone's going to cheer it on no matter how stupid or bad it is. And then we go our separate ways. I just cannot play those games. They are games, man. They are very real games. And I think that, you know, the homesteading lifestyle, the podcasting lifestyle, the self-reliant lifestyle is like people see that as a way out of the game. you know yeah it's like oh man i might be that might be my way out of the game and it's weird like a whole generation of people coming up now that are trying to figure out like i don't even know if i want to go to college to even get the game board open you know what i. Mean i don't even want to start exactly. Yeah like i might eat that a lot of people go on your route man trades trades and uh i mean they're they're gonna be big they are currently very big actually. I think that's where people need to be and I think the world needs it and the money is there. When I was in New York, I worked with another guy. He had a a small business. We did like appliance repair, like fridge, stove, washer, dryer, fridge, stove, that kind of stuff. And, but we had like a organization of small businesses that were all buddy tradesmen kind of thing. So we had an electrician that we always referred and a certain plumber and a, whatever, actually two or three plumbers, whatever, but we were all friends and we'd hang out, you know, and we'd do like a Christmas party where just the bunch of the, you know, owners or one or two people would hang out, you know, every year and, and do a thing. And I talked to him and they'd have like, so I knew an electrician, the guy had 20 electricians that worked under him. So that's a big, small business in my mind. Right. Yeah. By government standards, that's probably small, but you know what I mean? To me, that's, that guy's killing it, you know? And he's like, Oh, let me get my son to take over the business. Oh, I don't want any part of that. I know how hard you work. I don't want to do that. And I'm like, what? And then the thing is though, my plumber buddy, same exact thing. My family won't take it over. Really? Nobody. And none of them. Wow. Everyone's like, I'm not touching it. Cause I know you work all the time and I don't want that out of life. And I'm like, well, good luck. Cause you know, I don't know. That's I, that's what I don't get. Yeah. What is the other way I work? It's nonstop. You know, that's my, there is no option for the app. See, I think it's probably a, you, you, you get, lucky in life or you work hard in life and you can give kids something that you never had. And I think they just wind up giving them too much of a cushion, you know what I mean? To where they're like, eh, I'd rather just live with you forever. You know what I mean? Right. I always think like, that's how I perceived the world. I don't know what's true, but I always felt like the reason kids like start to hate their parents as teenagers and you have that Turmoil that you used to have. You really don't anymore in society. But, you know, in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s, the teenager and the parent would always be butting heads. And I thought that was the natural progression. So you could turn 18 and be like, screw you, I'm leaving. And I'm moving out and doing, you know, my own thing. And that's what pushed it. And now kids are like, yeah, no, it's pretty good here. I think I'm going to stay. There is no, that is a good metric. Yeah. That's definitely a good metric in teenage household. If you're in the teenage years and you're not at least like, what happened to my little buddy? You know what I mean? That's something you're, you're probably doing something wrong as a parent. You know what I mean? Because I feel like that's just natural. It just is natural. You know, it's the, And so the way I maybe clenched that, cause I was pretty good, you know, buddies with my kids, but the way I clenched it is they were boys. And I was like, look, you're never going to have sex with somebody in my house. So that's something you need to figure. That's a good way to get them out. They're like 18. I'm gone. You know, they had their own good way to get them out. Both of them were moved out by 19, but then the girls, you put some kind of standard like that and they're like. Oh, I'm good. Whatever I'll say no grandkids for you then dad. You lose you're the one being punished yeah. Yeah that's it yeah well I mean I think it makes sense it is it's definitely a good tell um and I kind of you know I want to see that out of my kids one thing one thing I definitely don't want is is kids who follow all the rules right They're going to wind up. You learn to conform. They're going to wind up with masks on and stuff. Double masks. Triple masks. They're the ones wearing the mask in the car, right? That's it. If they're big rule followers. And it's weird. I mean, we all get conditioned and change how we are and live. And I mean, I'm sure even you, me, whatever, there are things that we're like, oh, I got to conform to that. I came out of the military and I still can't like walk on the grass when I'm going up to somebody's house or whatever. I used to do the repairs and I would go to somebody's house and they wouldn't have a walkway at all. And I'd be like, just stand there at the street for the rest of the day. Yeah. I'm like, I don't know what I'm going to do here. I'm just, you know, throw me a line. Help me. Help me here. That's it. You know, you, you don't know how to conform or whatever. We all find a way and find our balance in life. But yeah, I mean, you got to realize we just want to live our lives and do the thing. And that is, I think, a big part of the whole prepping thing, right? Is we get excited about like, hey, the more I can provide for myself, the less you can take away from me, right? That's the big piece for sure. The less you can tax, the less you can, you know, I'm just taking care of it. Because if I'm growing something and I'm eating it, At least right now, there is no tax in that equation. Good caveat. Yeah, exactly. The health tax. Next week, they might be like, wait, that is a missed market. We got to get it up. Oh, definitely. I wouldn't put it past certain states. Yeah. It's, it's brew, right? The rainwater. Well, we could get them there. You know, I don't know. Yeah. You got a rain barrel. Nobody's doing that anymore. I don't know. I keep reading different things that you're allowed. You're not in all the states. I learned something from Samantha Biggers. I don't know if you know her. She's a prepping and survival author. She's great. But she told me something a long time ago about chickens. She was like, nobody, the government doesn't find your chickens. The neighbors report your chickens. If you work on your neighbor relations first, no one's going to report your rain barrels. No one's going to report your chickens. No one's going to report what you're doing unless your neighbor goes, I hate that bastard and I'm going to get him. Or he's got a rooster and he's not supposed to and I got to listen to it all day. That's where you get into trouble. The rooster does you in. I think now the world though is changing. We're getting drones where the building inspectors out with drones. And yeah that's true we'll have to see how that goes. Property assessor i know and i'm rural like north carolina you know yeah i don't think. You hear a drone that's definitely gonna perk you. Up and we yeah we saw drones and it was it was the assessor you know oh really. Oh so you saw an assessor drone come over okay. And we were like oh what's going on buddy. And he was like, what's going on with you, buddy? Yeah, exactly. I'm going to get to the bottom of it. You're building a nuclear bomb in your backyard, Chuck. We're coming to check it out. So I think how you vote locally, you know, affects that world that you're going to get. People always think local elections don't matter. And then, you know, maybe that's something, you know, that changes your life. So. Yeah. I mean, local elections are massive and usually it's one side or the other that doesn't even bother in a lot of cases. Right. That's what I see. You know, you have a Republican dominant area in rural counties unless it's unless you suddenly have new people moving in, which I mean, my ride to Prepper Camp is just construction story now. It's so weird compared to like six years ago or whatever when I first started coming. I drive to Prepper Camp through North Carolina through the mountainous regions, right? And I'm just like, where do these people work? Where does a condo full of people go get a job in a rural town like this? I don't understand it. So that's how those elections go from we've been Republican forever and then all of a sudden now there's a Democratic base that's firing up. And we got to figure out how to, you know, how to match that. I'm in the opposite boat. You know, I'm here in Richmond, Virginia. I'm like, my wife and I are like a drop of blood in the pool. You know what I mean? It's just contaminating their great way of life. There's nothing going on for Republicans in Richmond. I don't even know if we have anybody who runs, you know, Republican in Richmond. We, when I was in New York, we had a sheriff who was a Democrat. Yeah. And he was the most pro-gun guy in the world. Yeah, we want those Democrats back, right? Right. And so nobody– they wouldn't run a Republican against him because they were like, all right, we're just good. We'll just keep your mouth shut. Keep going. And he was great. And for my whole life until right at the last minute when I was moving out, all of a sudden– It was like right after Sandy Hook and stuff and things were getting bad. And he was like, look, he goes, I want everyone who can legally carry a gun to carry a gun because the more good guys with guns in their hands, the safer my people are. And to me, that sounds logical. Well, the Democrats all heard it and were like, wait a minute. This is how our Democrat thinks, and they immediately go, oh, we got to get rid of this guy. Yeah, and it switched the whole dynamic. So that ended up sabotaging the whole thing. So that's how it goes sometimes. You just got to keep the low profile. You know yeah that's the part of prepping that i think people don't take advantage of as much as they should is then you have the ability to get above politics in a lot of ways you know what i mean in political outcomes right because all of a sudden you can control a little more of your life than the average person and There's that situation in Gary, Indiana right now where people are learning that lesson once again. You guys learned it. Well, I don't know if– you're not that far west, right? You weren't hit by Helene. No. Aside of being at Prepper Camp and dealing with the immediate, I did not have long-term effects from Helene. It's so weird that Helene, so it's so weird that I would travel all six hours to Prepper Camp, to Henderson or wherever. Saluda, that's it, to Saluda. And I would travel there and our whole thing would be, you know, we're the Preppers. We're going to teach people. We're going to do our courses. We're going to tell you, hey, you know, nobody's coming if things get bad and so on and so forth. And it didn't occur to me till the ride home that like now I drive to this disaster zone. where it has been proven, like literally like the fruits of our labor, like no one's coming. Like North Carolina, Western North Carolina is still reeling. Southwestern North Carolina is still reeling, still rebuilding. And it just is so weird that that area where we would sort of show up and it would be like our epicenter of prepping for the year, all the hosts, you know, we'd all show up, do our thing. All of a sudden has become like a, it's almost like a training ground. You know what I mean? It's like, yeah, we got this training ground. You can drive around and look at the damage. We're not lying. Talk to anybody local. They'll tell you. Unbelievable. So it had just happened. Like, you know, Prepper Camp, usually you go set up on Thursday and then it begins on Friday. Yeah. And we, they postponed it a day because of the hurricane. Right. Because it rolled in Thursday, right? Yeah. Thursday evening, basically. Friday at noon, they were like, all right, the actual storm part of it is over. So we're doing it. We're still on. And we're going to basically start on Saturday. And I went to drive in. When you were three hours out, you hit the first gas station with no power. And there was not a single one the entire way. And I was like, oh, this is unexpected. Interesting. Yeah, exactly. Cause then you got to go three hours back, you. Know, six hour round of no gas. And you're like, it can't be all the way. No gas. Like I'll get it. The next one or the, you know, and you're like, all right, this is a little different than expected. Yeah. Dave Jones almost ran out of gas. I mean, he was right there on the line and he pulled over and he talked to, he said, Hey, I'm about to be out of gas. Does anywhere have gas? And the guy was like, up on the left. He was literally right there. Nice. Yeah. He just barely made it. When we left the first gas station we hit, cause you're like, I'm not going to keep going. This might be it, you know? Cause then everybody was wiped out from gas, you know, anybody on the edges. And I think we sat for three hours in the car waiting for gas. But the crazy part is at that point, you're so grateful. Oh, I just have to wait three. Hours and I'm going to get gas, you know, as opposed to, And you're just stalling out. Don't run out before. Yeah. Don't run out before I get up there in line. You know, you're always panicked. Oh, that guy's filling his tank. That guy's, you know, whatever. It gets crazy. It's like Jimmy Carter all over again. But yeah, I saw, I remember watching the weather very closely. And I remember the moment I called Rick and told him I wasn't coming. I saw Thursday night or Friday. It was two days in a row. It was like 12 inches of rain one day and nine inches of rain the next day. And I was like, honey. That doesn't sound like me. I don't think I want to fight that beast. We'll see him in 25. The right call. You know, that was the right call. That seemed, yeah. I mean, I just didn't know how, you know, getting there, getting back, that whole thing. I wasn't about to be trapped. I wasn't about to lose my vehicle or something terrible like that. And what people don't realize is, so maps barely go that small with the roads, right? You have to have a very targeted map to have the little back roads. They all have the highways and whatever, but to have the little. But then there's zero phone service, which means zero GPS on your phone. You ain't getting no Google Maps to help you out of there. You got nothing. You got nothing. And the thing is, too, you're like, well, yeah, but I paid attention and I knew the roads in. Well, OK, but now that road's got trees all over it. So now what road? It's washed out altogether. And you're like, oh, crap. And now I'm going this way. And oh, now I'm in South Carolina. And now I'm going this way and I'm in. Yeah, it was like crazy. It really. And the thing is, too, when you add now you're desperate with your gas gauge. And now I'm making all these wrong turns, turning down every which road. And you're freaking out going, oh, God, what about this? What about that? It is weird how Prepper Camp throws some kind of situation at you every year. You know what I mean? It does. Like 2019, I remember, I think it was 2020. No, it was 2020. 2020, we had torrential rain. And the whole area down there by the lake was basically flooded. Not necessarily flooded like you couldn't walk in it, but flooded like you need galoshes to walk through. You know what I mean? And it rained most days. There just always seems to be like a learning opportunity bonus beyond just Prepper Camp and the classes. You get to really test your skills. We had the heat this year, right? Yeah, the heat was the test this year. The heat was the test. Dude, I was washed out Monday. Like it was crazy. And then Tuesday, even a little bit, Tuesday, a little bit, I was still kind of like the best way I could describe it. It felt like, I don't know if you play video games, but like, it felt like my stamina bar was small. Like it would be, Oh, that's the end. Not normal. You know, like I usually have really good stamina for things and it just was like, that's all you got. Go back and sit on the couch. It was surprising. But, you know, you burn your electrolytes out and all that stuff. That happens. And we sweat, what, 10 hours a day. You know what I mean? Easy. Yeah. Well, I got there early. And that's it. You're just going energy. Well, somebody's got to be up to make the coffee, right? Oh, yeah. I don't mind. Hell, with that parking situation, I didn't mind getting there early. You know what I mean? Like, pool and park. Nobody's there yet. No back and forth traffic type of thing. If you weren't parked by 7, you were at least worried that it was going to be an issue. It would be an adventure for sure. Yeah. But yeah, despite the, I mean, what really blew me away, I'm sure you too, was the fact that Sunday was busy, you know, like Sunday had people. Yeah. It kind of blew me away. I was really thinking like by Sunday, people are going to be roasted, you know, medium well, and they're going to be out of here by then, you know? I agree. That was what I thought. You know, I thought everybody would be gone. I didn't, I taught one of the later classes and it was at like four o'clock and I was like, there's going to be nobody. And then even worse, the guy before me who did the lecture in the tent didn't show up. And it was kind of like set up as like a part one, part two. So I'm like, this is really going to get people to abandon. And then there were like 20 people there. And I'm like, whoo, you know, that's all right. That's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. It was a great year, man. I mean, you know, despite it being a hundred degrees, I thought it was a great year, great opportunity. We met a lot of people, you know, handed out a lot of cards. So I'm sure we'll get a lot of new listeners from it. That's it. I got to connect with a lot of people that, you know, I'd met in the past, but didn't really spend, you know, time hanging out with and whatever. So that was good. Yeah. That's always a good thing. That's one of the great things about it. A lot of great vendors too, man. I've been posting little mini podcasts all week. Cause I did like a quick five tenor with a bunch of vendors and just a lot of cool stuff out there, man. It keeps getting cooler every year. You know, the vendors really are cool, but yeah, man. So give us the, give us the old podcast name one more time. Cause I will butcher it. So yeah, that's the, uh, the survival and basic bad-ass podcast. And like I said, and we cover everything. We just try and, you know, it hit all the big prepping topics. We try and keep it like a little more like very evergreen where it's, you know, you dig in on like information on one thing that you're interested in that week. So it, it just kind of relevant. That's what we're going for is relevant, right? We want to be a useful tool. So hopefully we pull it off. Yeah. The evergreen is good. So what Chuck's saying is basically the opposite of my show. You can listen to him whenever. It's not completely news and personal opinion dominated. So check it out, man. Check it out. Now you know who he is. I mean, this is the best primer you could get for checking the show out. You know what I mean? He's been to Pepper Camp. You know, we've hung out with him and all that kind of stuff. So passes the sniff test by a long shot. Yeah, a little validation. So we're in. All right, my man. Well, I appreciate your time today. And best of luck with everything out there in the rural North Carolina world. All right. Appreciate it. All right, man. Talk to you soon. Bye.