100: Season 5 Trailer + Celebrating 100 Episodes (in-person) with co-hosts Jen Amos and Jenny Lynne Stroup

Jen Amos 0:00

All right. Hey everyone, Jen emos here, your Creator and co host of the award winning podcast show holding down the fort. Welcome to Episode 100, of holding down the fort. Also the trailer, Episode Two, season five of our show. And I'm really excited. I just wanted to put in this intro at the very beginning, because you're all in for a surprise, Jenny Lynn and I met in person. I mean, we met in person for the first time, a couple days ago. And then we decided to welcome you all back to our show by doing a recording together. And so that's what you have to look forward to in a couple of minutes. But before I do, I want to make sure I give you a couple of announcements that I was just overly excited to bring up while I was talking with Jenny Lynn in person. But we are taking on a more I would say focused tone, more focused objective towards Season Five of holding down the fort. And in case you want to know a little bit about it. And just to give you an idea of what the tone is going to be like for our show. Moving forward, I'm going to go ahead and read to you the new description for holding down the fort. So as you know, military families are far from the average American family. While on active duty families learn resilience, resourcefulness, time management, organizational skills, flexibility, delayed gratification. And of course, how to establish a new normal after every PCs are award winning show focuses. And this is new. So pay attention focuses on sustaining a fulfilling and purposeful military life through conversation and community building. We converse with special guests, from the military community and for the military community for this next season in season five, to share knowledge, resources and relevant stories on how we can best hold down the fort, for ourselves and for our loved ones. So what I have come to realize on my journey, so far in doing this show, is I love community building through our conversations. So that's a little bit about what to expect for the season, and the tone of it. And just a quick reminder, if you haven't listened to our last bonus episode, we are in the running to potentially win an award for the 16th People's Choice Awards. So let me go ahead and tell you a little bit about that real quick. So if you want to get our show nominated, here's what you have to do. Go ahead and visit the website, podcast awards calm. And when you visit that website, you're going to look for a blue button that says nominations voting now open. It'll be one of the first buttons you see on the website, podcast awards calm. From there, you want to make sure and this is really important to register and verify with your email address to have your nomination count. And then once from there, you can vote for your biggest podcast influencer. Obviously, I'd love it if you would vote for me, or even Jenny Lynn. And then when you get to choose the podcast show, there are two categories, you can find us the first category to nominate our show will be under Adam Curry's People's Choice Award. And then the second one, the most important one will be government and organizations. So once again, when you visit podcast awards calm, and you register and verify with your email address, but you have to confirm in your inbox. So please, as soon as you're done with this to visit your inbox and make sure you have confirmed your email address because that's the only way your vote will get counted. And then you can vote for us holding down the fort and the two main categories. Adam Curry's People's Choice Award, and government and organizations. And that's it. nominations are open till July 31. We'd love for your support. Go ahead and check it out. Again, podcast awards calm. Alright, I think that's all the updates we have. I hope that you enjoy this wonderful trailer, where Jenny Lynn and I were able to do a recording in the second time of meeting each other. So have fun with that. Have fun watching us try to get adjusted and figure out our chemistry because obviously we've been doing this throughout the pandemic in over zoom. And so I'm just really excited. Welcome home, Jenny Lynn and Matthews troop and the whole stroke family. And we're just so happy to have you here and Virginia Beach. And with that said, Please enjoy our conversation, Episode 100 the trailer for Season Five of holding down the fort. Enjoy. Hey everyone, welcome to season five of holding down the fort Podcast. I am your co host Jenn Ramos and in person in the flesh. I have my co host Jenny Lynch, Drew jennylyn Welcome. Welcome home for Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so glad to be here. Yeah, and this was the big surprise. This is part of why we kept putting out bonus episodes. Episode 100 because we wanted to show you all that we were meeting in person and so a little backstory to our show like I was running with the first two three seasons without you and then you want to I came on on there Really, maybe

I think you came into three because like after season two was when we got the award for the show. Yeah. And then we happen to be recording when that happens. And we were recording for season three.

Speaker 1 5:11

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. As a guest on season two. Yeah. Then started as co host season three, and all season four. Yeah, back for Season Five.

Jen Amos 5:20

Yeah. And so at the time, I'm currently here in Virginia Beach. And Jenny Lynn was back in my sort of hometown where I was raised from, you know, for a good two thirds of my life, I would say the first 10 years I was a military child. And you know, it's just crazy to think about our story. Because I remember I had this epiphany that I needed to do the show with someone else. And I put the word out there in our newsletter saying, I'm looking for a co host. And genuine one, I reached out to me, and we jumped on to the zoom call right away, and we decided to just do it. And why don't you remind our audience sort of what compelled you to reach out and be like, yeah, I

Speaker 1 5:58

want to do it. Really, it's like a lot of things in my life where I kind of have this half second, that sounds fun. Maybe I'll go for it without really thinking through any of the details or any of the ramifications. And so I'd had a really good time being a guest on holding down the fort. And I'd done a couple other guest things on other podcasts and thought, I really enjoy having conversation with people. And so when you're looking for a co host for a show largely targeted at my people, military spouses, I was totally on board.

Jen Amos 6:31

Yeah, for sure. And I think for the mental health organization you work for, I think you actually found our show first, right? And yes, and asked to be you know, we did this whole coordinating process to, you know, interview you guys. And like you said, that's how we met. And it's just so cool. How, actually, we didn't even acknowledge this a couple months ago, but I mean, genuinely happy one year anniversary. I know that you like reshare the post some time ago, and I was like, like that I'm doing I've just grown really bad at celebrating anniversaries and anything. So I just, you know, Happy anniversary, one year anniversary, and we're celebrating by, you know, being here in person. Because what happened was, you know, Matthew got the note that you guys were going to PCs. I think you mentioned that there was other places you could have gone, but you're like,

Speaker 1 7:16

no, we're going to Virginia, we had a choice of like between 10. And anything in Virginia, we ranked the top ones. Everything that fell outside of Virginia was definitely ranked below a five. For us, we were definitely taking place over job in this PCs, because he's from the Midwest. And obviously from here. Yeah, you know, it was important for us to get back. We've been gone for about a decade and just having my parents here on the east coast and his parents in the Midwest, like being California was hard to get to everybody. Yeah. And hard to see everybody a lot. So yeah, my kids are really close to my parents. So it's been a really good transition for all of us a transition nonetheless, we definitely have not, you know, we've gone without like the woes of PCs transitioning. But all in all, it's been really great. Because we're home, the boys and I were born here. So Wow, that's nice. Oh, screaming,

Jen Amos 8:11

how does it feel for Matthew, who was not from here? to, you know, kind of be an eyewitness to this because I know that your happiness and your boy's happiness is especially important to him? Because I'm sure he can think in his head like, Oh, I moved them around. Like it was it was me it was my job was my career. You know, have you guys had that conversation of like, what it's like for him to kind of witness you coming back home.

Speaker 1 8:34

I think in large part, Virginia Beach was his first duty station out of new camp and a school. And so it feels a little homey to him. I mean, this is where we met and where we got married. And so for him, there's a lot of history here too. And we have been, you know, driving around. And he has mentioned quite a bit like just how nice it is to be back. I will say the one thing that has been really interesting for me, is that I still feel a little bit like being a tourist in my own town. Yeah, I drove you know, the other day to my new PCM. And that took me on a road that did not exist. The last time I lived here. And I was like, Oh, this is very strange. Yeah, you know, so there's been some getting used to like being back and when we lived here before we didn't live in Virginia Beach. We lived in Suffolk and Virginia Beach was like, the place with the beach of the Good morning. You know, so yeah, now that we live in Virginia Beach, and everything is 15 minutes away. I mean, there's still a lot of GPS and things because it wasn't my normal routine to be out in this part of Hampton road. Yeah. But all in all,

Jen Amos 9:45

I mean, it's been really good. Yeah, well, I'm just so happy for that. And it's interesting because this is home for you. Right? And for me, this was feeling uprooted for the last like three years because you know, not having my my my immediate family. And a lot of My friends, and then you have the pandemic, on top of that, making it that much more difficult to actually try and make friends. It was hard. And it was hard. And it's even still hard to feel like I can, you know, grow roots and make home here. But you know what, it's better to try than to not try at all. And I just want to, you know, thank you, Jenny Lynn for being a part of this journey with me because we've I was listening to our last recording before the three bonus episodes to try to prevent Episode 100. But like, I was listening to our, you know, season finale episode, and I was just thinking about, like, if it wasn't for winning the award, and if it wasn't for you jumping on board, like I don't know, if I would have kept doing this show. Like, I think that I was trying to find so many ways to build community. And you know, one thing that I've learned anyone when it comes to like community building and building a home for yourself, and having a sense of family is like, you got to focus on the people who are engaging with you who actually reach out to you and check in with you. And I think for me, I was trying to like, I think I wasn't paying attention to people who were already doing that for me. So then when I realized like, oh, like, Jenny Lynn wants to do this show, like, oh, like, I'm not ready for this conversation. But she is like, I can't cancel that. You know, like, and we were talking about that in the last episode, it happened to be a week where, like, all your meetings were canceled in one day. And then that was also like a day, except for our interview. Right? And I was gonna like last minute text you like, Hey, I don't want to do it. But like, if you want to do it, and you said yes, I was like, Okay, I gotta do it. But the point is that like, and then actually, we were talking about this offseason, the book tribe by Sebastian, younger. Yeah. And I read that book, like, in two days, like, I mean, I took a break kind of way. Cuz I mean, I was surprised how quickly I got into it. But the biggest thing I got from that book is that, you know, part of building community and part of mental health is like being a part of something greater than yourself, you know, and feeling like you're contributing to a society. And for me, I feel like there's so much purpose, and so much belonging in the military community, that for me, it's like, I mean, for as long as you're going to do the show with me, and as long as you know, Scott and I are in the military, you know, working with the military, I think we're gonna stay here for a while, you know, and again, I just want to thank you so much for like your involvement. And, again, just being involved because like i i've said that a million times already. It's so funny. Doing this in person is like the first time we're doing this person, y'all. So I'm just like, Oh, I'm still making the same mistakes. We've only had one other in person conversation offline. So you know, yeah, we're trying for everyone. Yeah, this is like new for all of us. And I'm sure for a lot of people who probably like my people online during the pandemic nerd meeting in person, you're like, how do we do this eye contact thing? Do I look at the camera? Or do I look at anything? Right? Right. But anyway, I said a lot. I just want to pause and see if you had any thoughts.

: 12:43

Oh, I mean, man, one Subash noongar. Great book, tribe. I appreciate that. You read it after I sent out the link.

Jen Amos: 12:53

I even watched like his I think he had like Ted Talks and stuff. And I watched a couple of those. And I was like, yeah, anyway, go on.

: 12:59

Yeah, well, I read that book a couple years ago, probably midway through our tour in San Diego tours, I should say, multiple tours in San Diego. And just with the mental health things that my own family has gone through, and that I've seen in the military community at large, and with my own friends, there was something so comforting about that book that just reminded me of why it's important to engage and why community is so important and how it really is isolation that brings kind of people town down. And, you know, for as much as you say, this podcast, like save you during the pandemic, it was the same for me. Sure, I was having work meetings, and I was I mean, I do outreach, a lot, a lot of work meetings, but really sitting down and taking the time to have conversations with people recorded or not, are such a lifeblood for me. I mean, I I've done a lot of individual emotional and spiritual work. And the one thing that continues to ring true for me is how much community and hospitality and belonging are just such a core of who I am, that I'm really happy to be part of another community that's holding down the fort podcast folks like it's just one more way that I get to connect with people. And that's something I hold very dear. Yeah. Well,

Jen Amos: 14:31

no, I'm really happy and I'm grateful. And it means a lie. And I mean, I'm just going to talk in circles now because I really am like, try like put on foundation for the results. Like don't mess up your makeup done. But no, that means a lot. And thank you so much for sharing that. And like I said, You've been such a great asset to the show you and Matthew, by the way, we were having this no pa Oh, yeah, we were having talks about having a group chat. So that I was like, hey, if Matthew has ideas, which apparently he does like all the time, just I just do a group chat. And we're going to be able to get his input and stuff like that. But you know, speaking of which we are now in season five. And we talked a little bit about kind of the hopes we had, and a lot has happened, to say the least. And I'm not ready to talk about specifically what has happened in my personal life. But what I will say is that as soon as genuine got here, I've decided I'm going to do some crazy traveling for the next upcoming months. We have talks about possibly meeting up again in September, which I'm not going to get into the details yet, because we're still finalizing it. But it's really exciting. So it was kind of another last minute thing that we decided like seven days ago, I think, like last week when we met. Yeah, that's a week ago. Wow, Time Is Flying by really fast. But so it's it's funny, because like, just when Jenny Lynn got here, I've decided to make this sporadic decision to go traveling. She came from California, she just got here to Virginia, I've decided to go back to California for a little bit, I'm gonna try not to be offended by that move. You know, it's like, I got like, really freaked out that genuine was here, like, Oh, you know what, actually, I haven't seen my family in forever. And it sounds great and hago sounds amazing. But either way, like, I have loved that we've done this virtually, because it's not like we're gonna skip a beat. You know, like, we can still you have your microphone. Thanks to Santa. I have my microphones and lavalier mics, if I do anything in person. But yeah, we're just really excited to continue doing the show. And so last season, it's funny because I made some, like, big promises of things that we're going to get done, because I thought that between that time and now is plenty of time to make a blog and revamp the website. Well, I was wrong. Not enough time due to everything that's going on. So really, what I want to do today is talk about our intentions actually, that I think the how tos will figure themselves out. But I want to talk about, like what we hope to do for this next season and what we have already discussed. So first and foremost, in theme of community, I'm really excited to bring back past guests onto our show. So there's a couple that I've already been in talks with in the recent weeks. And I'm just really stoked. So I don't want to reveal all the names just yet. But genuine, how do you feel about you know, reconnecting with some past guests. I mean, if you haven't been talking them offline already.

: 17:15

them I will say that, I mean, this, again, this podcast been great for community, and I've kept up with some, you know, I'm really excited to have some folks back on to talk about whatever is their newest, most upcoming. And we also have some guests scheduled that are coming in a different capacity. So they may have come in one capacity and talked about a certain aspect of what they do and who they are. But they're coming on to talk about, you know, other things that they do and who they are. And I'm really excited about those conversations.

Jen Amos: 17:45

Yeah, me too. Like when I was catching up with some people, I know that some people have new projects they want to talk about, they have, you know, maybe new upcoming events, or they have, you know, they want to maybe update us on their journey of what they have been working on in the recent months. And so I'm just excited, you know, to really do that. And so for me, that's really my job is to go back and bring everyone but in addition to me bringing on past guests, Jenny Lynn actually has plants. So we have different roles now, Jenny Flynn's tasks, or duties have expanded on the show from just showing up to actually bringing people on Not that I've ever asked her to, but she is, you know, trying to tie in even her own professional efforts into the show. So without revealing any actual names, or people you want to bring on genuine give us a hint of maybe your intent behind the people you want to bring for this season.

: 18:31

Yeah, I think, you know, when we had James Laporta on, and I asked, because of what he does for a living, you know, they kind of asked for the metrics of like what we do here. Yeah, and that was really important to me, because we've never really talked, I literally have just shown up and talked like, that's literally been my role. And I'm okay with that. But, you know, getting into kind of the how it's made and the what our purpose is and the who we're talking to really kind of spark something in me to go Okay. Well, if we're talking mostly to seasoned military, spouses and family, yeah, that is me. Yeah. And I can be totally honest, and say that I've been married 12 and a half years, and I've been in and around the Navy because my husband now for almost 14. And it wasn't until I began working for a veteran service organization that I even realized the depth and breadth of what we have available to us. Yeah. And I come across it every day. I mean, I just had a meeting Friday where the woman was like, I had no idea any of this existed in San Diego, and I was like, Oh, yeah. And I just, you know, having this outlet of holding down the fort, has been really fun for me to be able to go well if I didn't know this, then there are probably hundreds of other people that didn't know this. So what better place than to have a conversation with these people that are you know, From our community doing good things for our community, and just having a really good conversation. And so, you know, the list of names on my phone is largely, largely to do with, like, how people show up for military families like what is happening in and around our community every day to you know, bring military spouse to the forefront of conversation, military, spouse, employment, the forefront of conversations, and like health care and all of those things. So that's kind of been the spark between the good idea fairy that has now listed names on a note on my phone while we're driving across country.

Jen Amos: 20:37

Yeah, and I'm glad that you know, because obviously, and I mentioned this quite often, like I've been far removed from the military for 20 plus years. And, you know, my husband's a veteran, the people I work with are veterans, essentially. And so, you know, part of why I started the show is because I wanted to kind of be on the fast track to understanding what is going on. And so I've just been so fortunate that when Jenny Lynn joined at the time, I wasn't thinking about career military families. And then what we started to learn is that career military families appreciate long term financial planning, more so than let's say, the younger couples, because they're just like, Oh, well, I have money, I have benefits, like, everyone's telling you what to do. It's great. You know, like, I don't have kids yet. And so for us, we're like, well, let's just focus on them more. So that way, we you know, just talking about what you mentioned, with James, it's like, let's, let's be hyper focused, so that we can really hone in on certain people and serve certain people. And also, like, I was a career military family as well, my dad had served for, you know, 18 years. And like, literally, like, I don't recall my mom using any resources other than our family. You know, fortunately, we come from a big military family, and we just kind of leaned against each other. But other than that, like, I didn't even know that I was a goldstar daughter till like, a handful years ago, I literally had no idea. And it was because of the show that I started to learn about the resources available to us. And even know that there's help and people that want to share our stories as a Gold Star family. So you know, all in all, I'm just excited to continue to, you know, bring on these people, and not just share the resources. And you actually mentioned this in the last episode, the one before the three bonuses, Episode 99. We're saying that was the last one. But you mentioned, you mentioned something that I thought was really important to me. And I actually wrote it down in my notes here, even though it's not in front of me, but I know it's there. You mentioned that, you know, we're providing resources through storytelling. And I love how you said that, because that is what we're doing. You know, it's not just like giving you firehose of information, saying, Here's everything, here's what you need. Visit very often, when we do work with career military families who are transitioning, like those last two, three years of going through taps and whatever, they're just like,

: 22:43

very way, like information about fire hose. Yeah, like, let me just lay it all on you right now. Something.

Jen Amos: 22:50

Yeah. And so our goal is my hope at the show, and I don't have the new description. I'm like, so unprepared. But actually, no, I do have it memorized. So not memorize I have an idea. So, you know, the tone of the show moving forward, is that what I realized, you know, generally, when it comes to communicability, at least for us, and for me, is I want to community build through conversation, you know, through connecting in this way. And that's what we hope to do with the show moving forward is to continue to amplify those stories, especially of those who have resources that they want to come forward with. And tell us like, what compelled you to want to share this resource? Like how did you even hear about it to begin with, you know, and so I'm just excited for all the new blood that you're gonna bring on our show, as well as I think Yeah, as well as like, you know, kind of expanding the holding down the Ford family.

: 23:36

Yeah, yeah. And you know, talking about expanding the holding down the fort family, that was the other good idea ferry that kind of wandered into my brain on the 3000 miles and took to get from San Diego to here. And really, it came from another conversation. Matthew, and I were in Nashville, it was our last stop. Yeah, really, until we hit Virginia. And we went and had lunch on the rooftop of the hotel we were staying in. And I mean, it was a great, like just a great outdoor space. It was like, mid afternoon, and there were just lots of people there. And so it's just a sit wherever, you know, you can order food, you can order drinks. And there was clearly a group of four people that had come together and they were very, but the only two seats available were like sort of near them. And yeah, I'm, I don't know if people can see me talking with my hands. You know, and so Matthew was kind of like, hey, are these are these taken? They were like, No, we'll, you know, inadvertently that inserted us into like, their conversation and their role and so we did the whole like, Where are you from? are you hanging out here like what brought you to Nashville? You know, all these type of things. We ended up spending, I don't know two and a half hours like we literally went up there to eat our hot Nashville chicken. Not in our hotel room with that chicken. Well,

Jen Amos: 24:52

I do now. like spicy chicken. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's called it's like a Nashville thing. So Can I have? I'm gonna have to like, look into that now next. National is really good. Okay, really good. So hot chicken hot chicken.

: 25:06

We literally went up to the roof to eat or hot chicken. So we weren't making a mess in the hotel room. Yeah. And we ended up spending two and a half hours, you know, talking with these people who were from the Midwest. And it was a fascinating conversation of just what started with Where are you from? And we're like, Yeah, what are you doing in Nashville to? You know, when we said that we were military, and we were PCs saying and explaining what PCs? They were fascinated, because where they're from, there are not a plethora of military folks. There are people like Matthew who are from there. But they're not people that live there on a daily basis. And it's something that in an area like virginia beach or San Diego, when I would talk to my like San Diego friends, they were like, there are people that don't know about you guys. And I'm like, yeah, there are more people who don't have daily interactions with military folks. It's true, then who do and that conversation just, we ended up telling them about the podcast, and we ended up telling him kind of about, like, you know, our journey as military family. And it just unlocked something in me that has been there. I mean, we've talked before about how, as a military spouse, I kind of personify the bridge between civilian and military life. Yeah. But it just gave me that one more like spark to that connection. They were so interested. And so like, Oh, my gosh, tell me more that I was really like, Oh, this is really important. And so you know, as we talked about expanding the family, my hope is that as we're providing resources, to our seasoned military families, we're also bringing along people that may not have otherwise met us. And by us, I don't mean just you and me. I mean, like us as a military community. Yeah. And that we provide some insight to the kind of life we leave, because really, what we found crossing the country is that we're all a lot more similar than we are different.

Unknown Speaker: 27:13

Yeah, I agree.

Jen Amos: 27:15

Yeah, no, thank you for saying that. And I got you right here. There was something you said that really stood out to me. And I really, like lost my train of thought, because I was like, I got you. I'm gonna take over. Because I said so many words. No, no, I love what you shared that story. Because being raised in San Diego, for the most part, like after living the military life, like military life was normal to me, like running into people, like veterans and people serving is very normal for me. And what I love about doing the show is that it reminded me and you reminded me that and even Scott reminds me like that less than 1% of Americans serve, right. And there's even a smaller percentage of those that are military spouses. So the reality is, the majority of America doesn't know what it's like to be a military family. And sometimes I think that often they look at us as one dimensional sometimes. And so I think that even in my experience interacting with my civilian counterparts, like, especially when I think about the podcasting community, like, I'm one of the very few military podcasters, you know, out there and like active in these communities. And sometimes I like to think that in talking to civilians, I remind them of their mortality, if that makes sense. It's like, I think that like when they think about, let's say, their day to day problems, and then they learn about my story, and they learn that there's like, behind every, you know, service member, there's a family, I think some people kind of are there, they're a little more grateful for their own life. Yeah, knowing that there's people like us who have made these types of sacrifices to protect you guys, you know, and your opinions, you know, of things. And I see that in the best way possible. Like just remembering like, you know, why you have your rights, why you have your freedom of speech, why you have, like this opportunity to live this amazing American life, because there's families such as us who are, who've made these kinds of sacrifices. And part of why I want I continue to do the show is to remind us all that and remind myself of the privilege of having been raised in a military family, and everything. So I think it's just all good feelings, you know, all around. So all that being said, I want to welcome you all back to season five of holding down the fort podcast, and obviously jennylyn, welcome home to Virginia. And I'm so glad to have had this opportunity before I dip for a couple of weeks back to where you just came from. I'm just happy to continue to be in community with you. And I look forward to the new stories and relationships that we're going to have and just kind of continuing to expand this whole now. The Ford family. So offline, genuine was asking me so when season five gonna start? That is a great question. I will say right now at the time of this recording, we are inviting people to be interviewed. So we're starting that process. And so if you are interested in being a guest on our show, of course if you've already applied to be a guest, we'll be reaching out to you soon. I know I keep saying that. But I mean, at this time, we will invite you. And then of course, I know Jenny Lynn is gonna have some new faces joining us as well. But I think we're looking toward my guests. This is my guest is either toward the end of summer, or start a fall. But the goal is end of summer, which is like, I guess, August, it's already like next week and recording. Well, yeah, that's when we hope to come back. And I guess that's it. I feel like that's all we have to share for today. I'm just really glad, you know, genuine that you're here. And I know, this won't be the last time we do recordings in person. But it's great to be here. And you know, it's interesting, because as I decided to kind of go back to California for a little bit, I just have to say that, you know, despite how hard it is, for me to have build a local community here, I still have just really appreciated I guess they call it southern hospitality. Right? Yeah, I just feel like the fact that we know our neighbors, like they just knock on our door and have a conversation with us at the time of this recording. Last weekend, it was Scott's birthday. And so our neighbors came over and gave us a gift card. And we're just talking a little bit and I'm going to miss that, you know, like, obviously, I'm going to be coming back. But like, I'm going to miss like just that for a little bit. Like, I feel like in California, everyone's like, always on their phones, you know, just kind of like staying in their own world for all, you know, for a good reason, which, you know, but I think that I get to come back to California with just a little more of that, to adapt a little bit of that southern hospitality. And I don't know, just that generosity, I feel like that people out here give just that willingness to have a conversation with you, too. You know, even like, our neighbor was saying, like, hey, do you want us to like, check your mail while you're traveling? You know, and I was like, that's a great question. And, you know, I just really appreciate that, you know, and so I hope that's something that I can bring back to like my friends and family in California and show that kind of generosity. And I don't know, I just really have come to enjoy it here. And now that now you're here. So

: 31:56

I know. Well, I mean, even as we've been recording, there have been no sort of 15 people that have walked by behind the camera that you all can't see that literally look at and smile and kind of like half wave and it just Yeah, for me, that is the feeling of home that I was most grateful for getting back to like,

Jen Amos: 32:15

Okay, can you tell me about that? Because like, because it was okay, it was quite a culture shock for me when it first happens. I will tell you the first time it happened, we were in Richmond. And like Scott and I and our dog, we're walking on one side of the road. And then there's this other lady on the other side coming this way. And she was just like, and I and I'm like, is she waving at us? And it's funny, I actually made this as part of my stand up bit like for my thing that I did through a nonprofit recently, but helped me understand what is up with the wave. And I say that I say, best way possible. But is there something that I'm, you know, missing out on that? I don't understand. Either way. I love it. I just want you know, I love it. But I'm curious if you have any insight on the wave, because

: 32:56

I feel like it's everywhere. I mean, chances are out and out. I mean, it's it's interesting being in Virginia Beach, because it's even less, less of a thing. I mean, I grew up in a village like Yeah, not a town, not a city, a village with one yield sign. And everybody knew everybody. And so of course, we were waving at each other because my parents had gone to high school with this person. And like, this neighbor had a child the same time I was born. So we grew up together, you know, and it was very familial. And I just, I think, that is kind of the spirit with which this area operates. There's a large from familial, like, air, and it just is a politeness you don't get a lot of other places. We can sidebar and politeness later, but that portion of politeness is something that I did really miss being away from here, just that acknowledgement that you're another human being walking down the street. You know, we went from here to the northeast, and then to California where everyone really is like, kind of in their own little world unless you are able to break into that. But that invitation of just like the wave or the acknowledgement, you know, I mean, I think that's all it is. It's just really an acknowledgement that you're another person standing on the sidewalk. Yeah, you may not know them. They may not know you, it's just a hey,

Unknown Speaker: 34:22

yeah, there you are. Yeah,

Jen Amos: 34:24

I got so used to it. I started doing it to people. So when someone didn't do it to me, I was like, I was like, Is it me? Like, did I did I do something? But no, I love it. And that's one thing I've grown to appreciate out here as hard as hard as it has been. That's something I appreciate. It's like, Oh, well, at least, like you said, it's like we don't have to have a conversation. But hey, you know, yeah, and so I just I appreciate that the UPS guy does it like our neighbors, you know, to strangers do it. It's it's just the most interesting thing. When I when I realized that not everyone was going to stop and talk to you. I was more comfortable doing it. I think I think that was I think that was the bar That freaked me out. The first was like, oh, if you're trying to get my attention, we're supposed to talk. And the problem is that I'm an enabler, I get people to talk a lot. And I just don't want to go through that, you know. And so, so fortunately, we were just like, Oh, hi, you know, and I was like, oh, okay, that's it. That's all. That's, that's, I can keep going with my life, you know. But anyway, thank you for that culture. Lesson. rock out here in Virginia Beach, or east coast or flow is just gonna say like, Virginia,

: 35:25

it's a really Southern thing, you will find it The farther south you go, probably the more often that will happen. You know, I found that is pretty typical of the Southern culture that I have experienced. I mean, our neighbor brought us a cheesecake and literally handed it to Matthews. He was cutting grass and was like, I saw new cars in the driveway. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Jen Amos: 35:47

Oh my gosh, it was delicious. Wow, they like really took their time. They're probably planning for it because all the neighbors knew that that house was empty and like, oh, we're gonna have a neighbor's, you know, coming to the sale sign is down, like someone's moving in. It's gonna be great. Again, I really like I really love that about being out here. And it's I think it's kind of gotten me to be a more open person in the sense and not so like, Okay, I'm going to just look at my phone whenever someone walks past me because right, you know, I mean, culturally speaking in California, I feel like it's almost threatening when you give someone eye contact in person, I think like, because it's like, Oh, is that person gonna? Like, you know, pickpocket me? Are they gonna like right? You know, are they trying to Mad Dog me or they try and I don't know, it's it's just it's very weird. But anyway, I am glad to be out here and to experience all this ends. I'm just glad that you're here. I'm glad. So anyway, I feel like we over extended this conversation. You know, Welcome everyone to season five. Obviously, you can sign up for our newsletter to see when my hair was like my face. Sorry. You can sign up for our newsletter to see when we're officially officially starting. But we figured we'd get this trailer out to you so that you can you know, see us in person see isn't the flesh This is how we look like after the pandemic. We made it. We survived genuine. Yeah, you did. Okay. Well, we appreciate you all and yeah, with that said, we look forward to chatting with you all in the next episode. Tune in next time.