Cookin' Up A Story w/ Aaron and Joe

Fredy Romero came to the United States when he was five years old and almost immediately went to work with his father. Together, alongside his mother and a growing team, they ran Romero's Produce, a grocery store on wheels that served communities without adequate access to fresh goods. Fredy never stopped working and, over time, built himself up into an entrepreneur running his own business. Along the way, though, there was a lot of other output for others. In this one, hear Fredy tell the crew why Romeros always produce. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #migration #mexico #produce #farming #crabfishing #entrepreneur #dj #club 

John Collins got his start as a security guard. After that, he became a police officer, a career in which he was known for making DUI arrests. There was one incident, though, that changed his outlook on the approach to DUIs and another which dampened his desire to confront bad guys in the wild. Those experiences led him to pursue a career as an attorney, first as a prosecutor and then as a defender. In this episode, hear his wild stories, the reasons for his career moves, and why he decided to become a scum-sucking criminal defense attorney. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  Follow John on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.  #attorney #johncollins #dui #dwi #jcpenney #defense #criminaldefense #getsome 

While the year isn't over, we at Cookin' Up a Story are thankful. We're blessed with great families, great friends, great guests, and great stories. In this one, we debate Thanksgiving foods, discuss alternative recipes, and reflect on the episodes we've put out this year. Happy Thanksgiving and give it a listen, it's a good one.  #thanksgiving #turkey #ham #dressing #pie #eggs #friedturkey 

Brad Steele doesn't think of himself as a tweaker even though he is an addict. He works, he won't steal your copper, and he doesn't like associating with people who do. He's also a fan of venomous snakes, taxidermy, and other pursuits that sleeping much less than most affords him the time to do. In part two of our discussion with Brad and his son Keith, we get deeper into the strange life of this modern day outlaw. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #meth #copper #snakes #taxidermy #studying #adderall

In another time, Brad Steele would've been a bit of an outlaw. He's also a bit of one in the present day. In this episode, listen to him and his son Keith touch on various points of Brad's life, and their life together. From stealing booze to getting into drugs to starting accidental fires to raising his kids by himself, Brad has done a bit of everything and Keith has been around to document much of it. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #drugs #fire #meth #plumbing #plumbers #marriage #divorce #carnivals

When Mark Holaway found himself struggling to get out the dark places, he decided to give less conventional options a try. This led him down a path of natural medicine, a path which isn't always legal. The success that route have offered him, though, can be replicated in others who are suffering similarly. In this episode, we dive deep into natural medicine, where trauma is held, and ways to move forward. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #ptsd #trauma #ketamine #psilocybin #mushrooms #plantmedicine

We thought we were going to discuss PTSD and psychedelics, and eventually we did, but first, we finally found a cult member. Words cannot describe it. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #ptsd #emt #ibogaine #psylocibin #lsd #mdma #medecine #holistic #therapy

In part two of our conversation with Justin Glover, Merrill White, and Duane Wright, we move beyond boot camp and into active service, occupation vs. conquering, trying to restart wars, and what comes after. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #army #marines #desertstorm #waronterror #crayons #veterans #gwot 

In honor of Veterans Day, we hosted three for this week's show: Justin Glover, Merle White, and Duane Wright. Justin and Duane were Marines and Merle was in the Army. Hear them discuss their decision to join, what boot camp was like, and the difficulties of getting trained for combat before being sent to occupy a foreign country. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #army #marines #VeteransDay #bootcamp #rulesofengagement 

John Bentley has seen some downs, but he didn't let that define him. Instead, he used those struggles to find success, though he went down a few rabbit holes along the way. In this one, hear him discuss his road from the asylum to trucking to construction to helping build a legendary camp out in the woods. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #trucking #construction #land #storytelling #chisel 

John Bentley's early life was simple and rural, focused on his family's farm. Once he became a teenager, though, he started finding trouble. Initially, it was typical teenage trouble, but it soon escalated to the point where he was transporting large amounts and contraband over several states in order to feed his appetite. As a result, he found himself in a facility with a Nurse Ratched, but he used that experience to turn his life around. In this one, hear John discuss his wild early years and how they helped shape him into a productive and relatively calm man. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #farming #countryliving #prison #coldturkey #addiction 

In part two of our discussion with Tim Shepard, we get into his decision to run for county judge, why we need collaboration, and why there's more to roads than just roads. We also remember hippies living in trees and go down a few rabbit holes. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #timshepard #countyjudge #roads #elections #community

Those who end up enforcement were rarely choir boys, but instead those who spent some time running from the law. Tim Shepard didn't spend much time running from the police. He didn't spend zero time running, either. In this episode, listen to him discuss his upbringing, his career thus far, and why he's deciced to keep running, this time for office. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #police #hazing #lawenforcement #Countyjudge 

Meditation, SpongeBob, colon cancer, and the quest for peace. In part two of our discussion with John Connors, we discuss those things and many, many more. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #downsyndrome #Cancer #meditation #spongebob #peace  On Wednesdays We Read (OWWR Pod) We are two best friends who do a deep dive into a new book book series, one book at a time Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

For this week's episode, we met our match in John Connors. Whether he is a rabbit hole in human form or just the rabbit is open for debate, but to say this one meanders around is a bit of an understatement. From St. Louis to Madison to Mexico, John veered around the first few decades of his life, offering anecdotes, lessons, and observations from his time as a high school seminarian. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #seminary #stlouis #madison #mexico #volkswagen #crosscountry #rabbitholes

Jonathan Rueppel was born to be a warrior and after boot camp, deployed to the Middle East. Once there, he experienced situations that challenged the toughness inherent to being a Marine, ones that stuck with him after retiring. In this one, hear about his experiences in battles as well as the battles he's still facing as a civilian. This is another episode that's going to help someone else out there fighting similar battles. Give it a listen, it's a good one. #marines #mentalhealth #middleeast #ied 

For this episode, retired Marine Jonathan Rueppel joined us to discuss growing up on military bases, his passion for education, and the recently announced changes to the military. We also learned why he chose to join and what boot camp was like, with a few trips down rabbit holes along the way. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #marines #iraq #DepartmentofWar #teargas #bootcamp 

In part two of our conversation with Brad Bassham, which arrived late because Rich dropped the ball (dammit, Rich!), hear more rabbit holes upon rabbit holes, as well as Brad's story about an encounter with the FBI. It's another meandering conversation around the campfire and it's a good one. Give it a listen.  #fbi #neworleans #pawnshops #jcrew

Troy Currens didn't get his life together until his 40s, but he did get it back together. He cleaned up, welcomed a new baby, and found his passion for helping people by helping get them into the car they want. Hear him talk construction, sales, and respect in this episode. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #sales #carsalesman  #cars #addiction #rehab #prison #ReadTheTape 

When Troy Currens was a a young man, he was a little bastard, constantly getting in trouble with every authority in his life. But as he grew up, he remained a little bastard, constantly getting in trouble with every authority in his life. In part one of our conversation with him, hear Troy tell how he ended up on the wrong side of the law over and over again and how ultimately shaped him into the man he is today. Give it a listen, it's a good one.  #jail #police #prison #DUI #repeatoffender #redemption