Mr. Jim Fox approached me a while back about sitting down for an interview. We chat about my life and how things developed, my journey through college and into marriage, a busy, budding, expansive career, and my largest podcast project to date, "Between the Levees." Jim appeared a few times on that show over the years and we've kept in touch ever since. Hope you enjoy it. He made me say way too many words.

David Trahan, the horsepower behind NewOrleansMusicians.com, joins me again on the channel to talk through our respective podcasting journeys and his primary project and contributions to the local music scene. Among other things, we touch a bit on my podcast numbers and get his perspective on the efforts we've put forth.

The boys from the new Rimfire Radio Show join me to talk through the origins and development of the program, their respective introductions to their favorite hobbies, and the surprising following they've garnered in a short 9 weeks. Come meet the guys behind the glass!

In this episode, Shane, a family connection from days long past, joins me to tell about his early life in Ponchatoula, LA, grade school through college, challenges and opportunities found in life, leaps of faith, and his projects. At the time of this recording, he was an unemployed author writing daily to explore a nearly endless array of topics that include "content" as it is seen today, a developing theory of everything, consciousness studies, meditation, and a relentless examination of belief. He aspires in his writing "to eff the ineffable" and explore "The Big Blip."We may one day reconvene to chat through the evolution of consciousness and what's become of us.

Mr. Jimmy Arnett, my late father's best friend, hops on the show to tell about his family history from a few centuries ago to World War II, his birth a few years later in New Orleans, LA, his childhood moving to and from the Franklin, LA, area, his own father's untimely death, and a bond of friendship with my father and their friend group that began in the late 50s. He tells about his best friend's eating habits, the commanding presence my father maintained from the get-go, a car accident when they were young, food and football alongside Lake Pontchartrain while both students at LSU-NO, and a cascade of memories from the seven decades now behind him. We jump ahead to Mr. Jimmy's career and family, friends, music, and the last times we saw my father. We talk through Dad's fight with cancer, his death at 66, the wake and funeral that followed, and more memories of life with him.

Mr. Jimmy Arnett, my late father's life-long best friend, joins me on the show to chat about where he came from and how he and my father's lives intersected back in the day. We hear endless memories of food, football, and friendship at the Lakefront in New Orleans and for the 45 years that followed.

Fred and I first met at the Baton Rouge Traffic & Transportation Club crawfish boil where I received a scholarship to jumpstart my life after college. I moved out to Baton Rouge in late 2009 chasing a job and a 20% pay bump and got involved with the Baton Rouge T&T Club where we met again. From there, we talked career aspirations and present conditions, future potential and a conection made.We hear about his childhood in Houma, LA, a start in college, 16 years, 9 months in the Army, and a journey into the civilian world at a local railroad. He found himself in the oil and gas field in trucking and landed at Lard Oil Company where we eventually worked together. We hear about family, society, and whatever else came up between us. It was great catching up with an old friend.

Boston University Professor Carl Ruck joined me a few years back to discuss his long life and experiences. Born in 1935 in Bridgeport, Ct., Carl realized early on an academic prowess that steered him eventually into and through the Ivy League. He was a participant in the psychedelic revolution of the 60s and 70s and found himself amongst those studying it. In his abundant writings over the years, he coined the term "entheogen" to remove the social stigma then-associated with psychedelic pharmaceuticals. We hear about his journey into academia, the Classic Traditions of societal development and language throughout history, about memory, trauma, reality, and lived experiences. He found himself in the realm of the archetypes many years ago, and reminds us now that death "is a pity, but not a disaster."

Fred joined me again on the morning of my 36th birthday back in 2022. We discuss briefly his life touring and a few shows he'd played the prior weekend before we get into a few more songs and side projects of his over the years.The following tracks and projects are discussed in this episode:"Always Give Thanks" • https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/always-give-thanks-audio-cd-included/9421848/#edition=64220451"The Saddest Song" •https://open.spotify.com/track/2VbAK0pKqpoUEFMukWruVN?si=648bd58d72a34752"God Makes the Rain" • https://open.spotify.com/track/06SWtSsyjehUN9TqXWASY1?si=b69bc5840c5f4a07The Avenue" • https://open.spotify.com/track/1QfmUlFp5sOHDJrRE65zBy?si=531522d149534826"Kelly Ripa" • https://open.spotify.com/track/1LjKYNIGxYDHJEb0ExLBHa?si=e3aaad2c15484ff0"He Don't Know You (The Sweater Song)" • https://open.spotify.com/track/0ZwfiOnU67vXK08N6Mcdna?si=220548ce6cbd4803"These Days" • https://open.spotify.com/track/1YJu9m1trD2QQ4qb85kWa6?si=a5dbd0f8d04d4511"I Believe" • https://open.spotify.com/track/1L5xMBdHPQXdRrDAOKtbdF?si=92ac9a68d3e14593Check out their Spotify Channel and discography! https://open.spotify.com/artist/32rtQaUBGDTxYH3rMWKNvH?si=YUFxxV78R9attf-9U6Gahw

In this second visit with Fred, we discuss a number of tracks that inspired something in me over the years, and we hear more about his approach to life and what really matters.The following tracks are discussed in this episode:"Maureen"https://open.spotify.com/track/0FfwRUQYu74uSbVR06hG9r?si=a3d6627ccfb84099"Where's the rain?"https://open.spotify.com/track/6FXffAZ9nACkg34nDLSYcO?si=ae207110511742b0"I believe"https://open.spotify.com/track/1L5xMBdHPQXdRrDAOKtbdF?si=ca3509f9e0984471"Watch the water"https://open.spotify.com/track/26WBQVQm9Gjw2ijzno2HKH?si=3a9a426f4d294c30"Always give thanks"https://youtu.be/75DZ4VZ7ViQ?si=ziJZZ_tpRvqGfuya"Jenny says"https://open.spotify.com/track/3HSBCz4Tj3l1gtjvXal9ey?si=4bab492d955d4871Check out their Spotify Channel and discography!https://open.spotify.com/artist/32rtQaUBGDTxYH3rMWKNvH?si=VTnqYrM_QOyplDKXcsdsVA