Beer, Booze & B.S. Podcast

Troy Walker is a Zimmerman, Minnesota legend — and this Episode is packed with the kind of stories you swear can’t be real… until the guy telling them is sitting right in front of you.

In Episode 17 Part 1 of Beer, Booze & B.S., Troy breaks down:
✅ A lawn mowing accident that nearly took him out (and changed his life)
✅ The ’97 blizzard and plowing 53 HOURS STRAIGHT
✅ Growing up an Air Force brat (Minnesota, England, Germany, Texas — everywhere)
✅ Being on his own as a teenager and working nonstop just to survive
✅ The shocking story of his son being adopted… and finding him again years later
✅ His dad’s unbelievable connection: Nixon’s personal veterinarian + trips to DC/White House stories
✅ 35 years in lawn care + snow plowing + storm cleanup + tree work (including some insane close calls)
✅ Back/neck injuries, surgeries, and what it’s like pushing through pain while still working

PLUS: we kick it off with a review of the Cutwater Chocolate Espresso Martini 🍸☕ (and yes… we rate it.)

👇 DROP A COMMENT:
What’s the longest you’ve ever worked without sleep — and what’s the worst snowstorm you remember in Minnesota?

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▶️ Beer, Booze & B.S. — real people, real chaos, real laughs.

#Minnesota #SnowPlowing #LawnCare #AdoptionStory #StormCleanup #ZimmermanMN #BeerBoozeAndBS #Podcast

What is Beer, Booze & B.S. Podcast ?

Beer Booze and BS is a bold new podcast filmed inside Frontier Liquor in Zimmerman Minnesota where craft spirits cocktail culture and unfiltered fun collide. Hosted by Chrissy Bohnhoff this show delivers liquor tastings off the cuff conversations giveaways and a real behind the register experience. We spotlight local legends badass women small town rebels and anyone who loves a strong drink with a side of real talk. Whether you are into whiskey vodka tequila or craft cocktails you will feel right at home. New episodes drop weekly featuring liquor reviews cocktail tutorials biker vibes exclusive merch drops and raw stories you will not hear anywhere else. Support local drink local and do not take life too seriously. Subscribe and sip with us. BeerBoozeBS LiquorPodcast DrinkLocalMN CocktailCulture MinnesotaPodcast WhiskeyTasting

Chrissy:

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to Beer Booz and BS. We are here on a cold Sunday, Minnesota day filming

Troy:

A short table, kiddies table.

Chrissy:

Yep. With our new table that we have. Obviously joining me is co host Paul. Today, we have a really good friend of mine Twenty five years the communities

Troy:

Twenty five years ago.

Chrissy:

Think even longer than that.

Troy:

At least twenty five.

Chrissy:

Feel like you're kind of a community Zimmerman legend. I've known you for like thirty years,

Troy:

close to it. I'm just the guy that tries to dial up.

Paul:

Oh. Right?

Chrissy:

And I said he

Paul:

Sounds like it.

Chrissy:

This is Troy Walker is his name. He's been literally one of my most favorite, favorite customers in the world. Go above and beyond for him all the time as he has done for me. That's what friends do. So welcome.

Chrissy:

Thank you. Welcome, Troy.

Troy:

I'm sunshine at my ass, but thanks.

Chrissy:

Not even for one sunshine. Yeah. You're, like, literally totally one of my favorite customers ever.

Troy:

For a long time.

Chrissy:

We're actually sitting with two of my favorite customers today, so I love it.

Troy:

Some days you're blessed.

Chrissy:

A little less of you are here with us today. Just a little bit less.

Troy:

The hair. Cock and cock foot.

Chrissy:

We are gonna get into that not right away, but we will get into that later.

Troy:

You don't want me to show those pictures.

Chrissy:

Oh, I know. Put them on the

Troy:

You have the a video. Holy Troy lost might shake it. Is that no

Paul:

I don't know how many people are gonna be able to see that just in the film.

Chrissy:

Troy lost a part of his arm this past summer, 07/02/2025 from a lawn mowing incident accident, and I'll let him talk about that later when we get into that. But it was touch and goal. He almost died a couple times I hear now from that incident. So we will talk about that, but let's get to know you. Married for how many years to your beautiful wife?

Troy:

It'll be forty on May 2.

Chrissy:

No way. Forty years. Wow. That's crazy. Yeah.

Chrissy:

Congrats.

Troy:

Yeah. I didn't hear that much anymore.

Chrissy:

I invited her to come on, but she didn't want to. So she's still came or shy, she said.

Troy:

And she's got her mom at house.

Chrissy:

That's right. Great customers, great people. He's been in the lawn business for how long?

Troy:

Thirty five years.

Chrissy:

Thirty five years. So what did you do before that? Before you started a lawn service, what did you do?

Troy:

Well, started out at a turkey farm when I was 11, but

Chrissy:

You did? Yeah. For No, you were in Texas.

Troy:

Oh, wow.

Chrissy:

Where did you

Troy:

grow up? I lived everywhere, but I was air force grad.

Chrissy:

Yes. Dad was air force.

Troy:

Started in Minneapolis, moved to England, moved to Germany, moved to a couple other places, moved to Texas, back to Minnesota, back down to Texas for Texan for two years, San Antonio for two years. And then back to Minnesota. And I finally, well, finally, I've stayed in one place. Yeah. I've been to more schools than I don't know.

Chrissy:

You were kind of on your own at an early age, right?

Troy:

Yeah, my dad moved out. So like 11. And my mom kind of found a new boyfriend when she

Chrissy:

When he was 11.

Troy:

I think my mom moved out. So I've been on my own since then pretty much. She she paid the house payment, and I paid for the electric, the phone, the groceries, the cloak.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Yeah. Which is what? Ninth It's

Troy:

either get a job or go hungry. Yeah. Right? So I still went to school. I went to school three days a week.

Chrissy:

Did you graduate? You graduated? So you went to school and work? Damn. You did tell me that.

Troy:

What's school like three days a week? I just work Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Yep.

Chrissy:

And what did you do down there in Texas for you?

Troy:

I didn't do nothing down there. I was young.

Chrissy:

Oh, okay.

Troy:

I started working up here in Anoka when I lived in Anoka.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Troy:

But I did

Chrissy:

So you lived here when your mom left. She found a new boyfriend and left. You were in Minnesota? Yeah. Was a

Paul:

turkey farm in Minnesota? Yeah, it's

Troy:

right in Anoka. Really? Really? It was about three miles away from my house. I'd ride my bike over there about 08:00 at night.

Troy:

Yep. And can put into loading turkeys feeding turkeys.

Chrissy:

So you started your own Turkey farm? No, I worked at eleven. Okay. Do you ever I was gonna say

Paul:

those fucking places just reek. You ever get used to that smell?

Troy:

No, no, You come home

Paul:

and drive down

Chrissy:

the Yeah. I

Troy:

get off work at two in the morning and I ride my bike home three miles. Yep. And I get undressed on the deck. Leave your clothes on it. That's right to the shower.

Troy:

Yep. Because that ain't dirt. Yeah. That's shit. Coughing up and Wow.

Troy:

It's turkey shits.

Paul:

It's Well,

Chrissy:

you know, I have one just minutes from my house. A couple

Troy:

Oh my god. Just God.

Chrissy:

I don't even think it's two miles from my house, but I'm not with the winds heading west. It stinks Yeah. In the summer for sure.

Troy:

After that, I went to working at Tom Thumb. Then I started digging ditches and laboring. Just laboring and framing hurt my back. Went back to that, worked on power plants with steam turbine tech. So your first job was what?

Troy:

My first real job was dirty farm.

Chrissy:

Then I working

Troy:

at Tom Thumb, and then my real job where I was working fifty, sixty hours a week, still in high school. I think I was in tenth grade. And that was framing and laboring.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Paul:

That was crazy.

Chrissy:

So how old were you then when you met Mona? And where did you meet her?

Troy:

I was 18. It was 09/10/1983. When I was born, I had good with numbers.

Chrissy:

Where were you? How did

Troy:

you I asked her. I she was just house chicken and okra.

Chrissy:

Oh, it was

Troy:

an okra. Okay. Peggy's pizza. Oh, shit. Love it.

Troy:

Stopped by there on the way home, hitchhiking home from work.

Chrissy:

You did?

Troy:

Yeah. I had a lot of cars that should know who works. Sort of like this one.

Chrissy:

It's not an open works.

Troy:

Yeah. Know you get a four cars and barely one barely works.

Paul:

Yep. You put them all together and then

Troy:

get one in the garage. I know. And it's hard to fix things with one hand now.

Paul:

Yeah. I'd imagine. Fuck. But I used to

Troy:

work on steam turbines. On a what? Steam turbines.

Chrissy:

Steam turbines? Power plants? Yeah.

Troy:

Oh. Yeah. I started doing that when I was 19 in the winters when they tear them down. You know those blades? I like on an airplane?

Troy:

You see the blades? I used to fix those on steam turbines they'd

Chrissy:

run all the

Troy:

ways from about six feet tall to 16. That's what I worked on. Really? That was wild.

Chrissy:

Is that a union position? Union job?

Troy:

It was a couple of GE runaway guys. And they started their own business. And I was their first employee. The reason why is that the one of the bosses, his kid was really bad on drugs, and he wanted me to help him get him off. So I got him off the drugs, he gave me a job.

Troy:

And it was just seven hours or seven days a week, twelve hours a day minimum. Minimum. Fuck that. For five, six weeks in a row and Nowheresville, USA. Because they don't put power plants right in Minneapolis.

Troy:

I worked on a couple of those down there, but the other ones like out in Arizona. Yeah. They put you out in the middle of a desert. And that was hey, it was and then I asked Martin to marry me after three months of dating.

Chrissy:

You did?

Troy:

Oh, God. Yeah, I knew. And that's crazy. It was just a bad way to start a marriage. I quit working that job after a couple years.

Troy:

Just the winners.

Chrissy:

Sure.

Troy:

It was but money was crazy.

Paul:

Oh, yeah. Was just gonna say the money.

Troy:

You're getting forty four to sixty, fifty five hours a week overtime.

Chrissy:

Fuck. So

Paul:

That's insane.

Chrissy:

Go ahead. Look. Yeah. Meeting Marna, and then I know you two have two daughters. Yep.

Chrissy:

But somehow in the mix, there's a son that's older than

Troy:

his We had another one before Danielle. We got Megan's youngest, then Danielle. Then we had Travis who died from SIDS. And then I got Chris, the bony child we call.

Chrissy:

When how Chris obviously is the oldest.

Troy:

Yeah. He's I think he's 41 now. Okay. Okay. He's 41

Chrissy:

and where's the mom? Where's his mom?

Troy:

She lives in Winona. Oh, now she

Chrissy:

lives in Winona?

Troy:

Well, she's never he's never met

Chrissy:

her. What? Oh.

Troy:

We She decided to put her up for adoption.

Chrissy:

Oh, was a dad to that. Okay. Choice. I forgot. I know.

Chrissy:

I'm sure you told me this that long ago.

Troy:

Wanted to date Marna, but she was out of my league. So I dated her slutty friend. I'm down line. And, you know, my son knows it,

Chrissy:

you know? Yeah.

Troy:

She had him went to Pittsburgh and put him up for adoption. I found adoption. Yeah. And I never I got to see pictures and that was it. And he found me about.

Chrissy:

Oh, I remember that. Yeah. Yeah. Because he brought he came in here. You brought him

Troy:

exactly like me. Just a little bit different jobs. Yeah. No shit. Yeah.

Troy:

The same jobs, just different order. Yeah. It was crazy. I mean That is weird.

Chrissy:

Jobs we did.

Troy:

But yeah. He lives in Jersey.

Chrissy:

Yep. I knew he'd lived on the East Coast. But, yeah, I remember meeting him when you when he when you first got out. He brought him in here.

Troy:

I wanted to date Marna, so I got Sue. And then a couple months later, her wife said, why don't you ask me out? I'm like, well, you're out of my league.

Chrissy:

You just never know if you don't

Troy:

I know.

Chrissy:

I was a scared to death away. You told me one time that your dad was a veterinarian.

Troy:

Yeah. Was colonel in

Chrissy:

the air force. He's a or vet Retire. Or a veteran.

Troy:

Veterinarian.

Chrissy:

Yeah. That's what I thought. But he was also a veteran. Yeah. Okay.

Chrissy:

That's all I think of. I was like, did I did I misunderstand that?

Troy:

Think he's also qualified as a doctor

Chrissy:

too. Is he really?

Troy:

Just an ear I throw whatever ear

Paul:

I Well, they, fuck. I wanted to be You gotta go through

Troy:

all that thing and go to veterinary.

Paul:

Yeah, I wanted to be a vet. And then they told me it was like seven years of school. So Yeah. We might as well eat a duck.

Troy:

He started out as a captain. That's why I lived everywhere.

Chrissy:

Yes.

Troy:

So we moved everywhere.

Chrissy:

What still alive? Or is your mom still alive too?

Troy:

Oh, yeah. Okay. She lives up in Ogilvie, and my dad lives in Texas Yep. Now, and he's moving to Tennessee, I

Chrissy:

guess. Okay.

Troy:

But he's 82 and he's in better shape than me.

Chrissy:

I know you're saying that.

Troy:

I want

Chrissy:

to meet him so bad. Next time he comes to Minnesota, you better

Troy:

call me. He's in better shape than me. Yes. And he gets around quick. Yeah.

Troy:

He still work.

Paul:

That's insane.

Chrissy:

What is he doing about

Troy:

some He's just of the the universities. Okay. He goes to all

Paul:

the universities.

Chrissy:

He sounds fascinating.

Troy:

The medical universities, he goes to them and I said, how much you get paid for this? He goes, like, $150. He writes up this huge report. I'm like, why do you do it? He said it's an honor.

Troy:

They send me a plane ticket, I cash in, I drive there and then I bring my fishing rod and I stop at Rivers on the way.

Chrissy:

Nice. But

Troy:

he says it's an honor. There's only four of us in the country that do it and I'm one.

Chrissy:

Wow. Yeah. Your dad sounds absolutely fascinating.

Troy:

Oh, yeah. We lived in DC for a while. He's been everywhere. For about two and half years I lived in DC and that sucked because it was so humid.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Oh, it's

Troy:

had a good a yeah. Dad had a choice. DC or Alaska.

Chrissy:

Shows DC out of Alaska.

Troy:

If was Alaska, I wouldn't be here, Bob.

Chrissy:

Right? Yeah.

Paul:

Right? I

Troy:

never met my wife or not. So I guess it was a good one, but

Chrissy:

Good bet With an Eskimo.

Troy:

But he was never

Paul:

coming back.

Troy:

He was Nixon's personal veterinarian. What? Yeah. Damn. I have all been the places in Washington.

Chrissy:

We need your dad on here.

Troy:

Yeah, right? I mean, I've been everywhere in Washington, D. C. Really? Yeah.

Troy:

And I've been to the White House.

Chrissy:

And I've never been at all.

Troy:

I've never been there either. But my dad was Nixon's personal veterinarian back in '72.

Paul:

What kind of animal did he have?

Troy:

A dog. Dog? Yeah. And then I think there was Ford when Nixon got impeached and resigned. Yep.

Troy:

And then it was Ford And then I think think Nixon's dog named Checkers.

Chrissy:

No, does he do like the service dogs at all too?

Troy:

He was mostly got into research and then he went to Medtronic and worked on animals there and the pacemaker up developed that and then three ms hired him in three times the money.

Chrissy:

Right.

Troy:

Fuck. He says we'll pay you so much that you'll never quit. Yeah. That way you keep your secrets.

Paul:

Yep. And he worked

Troy:

for them till he retired, but he was still in the air force. He dropped out when we were in DC because he hated it there. Move back to Minnesota, and then he got back in again. Yeah. So he lost a rank.

Troy:

Oh. He he was colonel. He went down to lieutenant colonel, then went back up to full bird again. Oh, shit. Jesus.

Chrissy:

So did he fly planes?

Troy:

Nope. No. He never got an area.

Chrissy:

Okay. So he never got to fly?

Troy:

Fuckers only shot a gun once. What? How are

Chrissy:

you that high ranked?

Paul:

Yeah. I never shoot.

Troy:

He said I had to shoot a pistol once just to qualify to pass.

Paul:

Yeah. Yeah. I'm like

Chrissy:

Really? No.

Troy:

He don't like guns.

Chrissy:

Well, you had to shoot him in a with basic training.

Troy:

No. He he didn't go through basic. He started as a captain, educated, you know? You can

Paul:

start Oh, yeah. So

Chrissy:

back then, they did that.

Paul:

Yeah. Yep. Yep. When he got he had a degree or something where he just walked right in as

Troy:

yep. Someone was Started as a cat. Yeah.

Paul:

Yep. So yeah.

Chrissy:

So what do you like to do better getting to what you do? You you went you plow in the winter and then mow mow in the summer, which That's easy.

Troy:

I love mowing mow because it looks so nice when you're down. Yeah.

Chrissy:

It does. It is gratifying.

Troy:

And you have a schedule. You got your Monday, your

Chrissy:

Tuesday, Wednesday,

Troy:

and a Thursday, and another Friday empty just in case it rains.

Chrissy:

Snow is sporadic.

Troy:

Yeah. With snow, yeah, you're on house arrest. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much.

Paul:

You're basically on a vacation.

Troy:

You gotta look and you gotta really know the weather. Yeah. Okay. I told Marla one time, you wanna go on vacation? And she goes, when?

Troy:

I said, tomorrow. She goes, really? And I'm like, yeah.

Chrissy:

She We told

Troy:

go tomorrow morning at seven.

Paul:

We gotta

Troy:

be here at 04:30.

Chrissy:

Oh, I remember the

Troy:

I mean, I did that

Chrissy:

at night. I remember the mornings opening the store, and it had been snowing for days. You know? This poor guy come in at eight in the morning. He's so fucking tired.

Chrissy:

He's been up up for, like, three days straight plowing.

Paul:

Yeah. I remember doing that fifty three hours.

Chrissy:

Can I open a beer in here? I'm like, fuck. Yeah.

Troy:

Getting two for the road

Chrissy:

on the way. All right. We'd sit at our little Miller Lite table

Troy:

and Yeah,

Chrissy:

didn't get

Troy:

the parking lot without two in my hand. But yeah, I love summer for the schedule, but I love the winter being out at one in the morning when it's dark, nobody's on the road. Yeah. And it's Yeah. And you can see the deer.

Troy:

It's light out because of snow.

Chrissy:

That's so I have really fond memories of just fucking around in the snowstorms and trucks and stuff. It's fun. Yeah. Even when Colton was a baby, I used to

Paul:

My old man used to do that. Sometimes we'd it'd be whatever Wednesday snowing like a motherfucker and midnight 01:00, we'd still both be up watching movies or whatever. He's like, let's go in the truck. Just

Chrissy:

fuck around.

Paul:

Just putts around.

Chrissy:

Yep. It's fun. I think so.

Troy:

I get done making money. I just go around all the neighbor's driveways and plow it out Yeah. Mailboxes. And then when they come over and said, you plow my driveway? I'm like, no.

Troy:

Somebody plow my driveway. You sure wouldn't? No. Wasn't me.

Chrissy:

Used to take Colt when he

Troy:

was it's more fun.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Yeah. I used to take Colt when he was little. I had a little Ford Mustang and I with a stick, and I could take him out on Green Lake and we'd do whip shitties and then hit the emergency brake and we'd spin. Oh my god.

Chrissy:

You'd love that so much.

Troy:

Taught my wife to drive.

Chrissy:

Did you?

Troy:

Yeah. I I get I taught her how to drive a stick when she was 19. She didn't

Chrissy:

That's my first car was a

Troy:

license cause I had one. Two: And I took daughter I drive a stick and she sucked and then she got the hang of it. Yep. That's all she wanted to drive. Speaker And then I take her out in the parking lot when there's snow on there.

Paul:

Well, that's how my dad did. Speaker Okay, now

Chrissy:

I'm gonna teach how to get out of a slide.

Troy:

Yep. Drive along. Yeah. And I she'd be like, woah. You know, that off.

Chrissy:

It's fun.

Troy:

You know, hit it again. It's top of my daughters. I do that.

Chrissy:

Did you? Yeah. It was a good time.

Troy:

Yeah. That's a great way to

Paul:

do it. Oh, He break right here. Well, they should. Honestly, they should teach you that in like drivers that. Yeah.

Troy:

Should not have that drive Right. Yeah. That way you can't play with

Chrissy:

your Yeah. When I bought a car, I was well, my I should say it was my first car. It was the first car that I purchased, like, big money. I think it was, like, $4,500, but it was in '19 Colton wasn't even born yet, so 1985. And so I think I bought like '82 Ford Mustang and it was in 1984.

Chrissy:

So it was a pretty new Yeah. New to me car for sure. Oh my god. It was so cute. And but I'm like, I don't know how to drive a stick.

Chrissy:

You're gonna learn learn really quick.

Troy:

I'm worse than my Fords got a shitty clutch. Yeah. It's like clutch clutch clutch clutch engaged. Oh. It's like, you know, Fords got that.

Troy:

You go all the way up until about that last half inch and then you stall.

Chrissy:

Yeah. I I learned pretty quick. I mean, it wasn't that hard, but yeah, I would cry and be like, oh, we're never gonna learn this. Best good

Troy:

to learn is on snow or dirt road. Yep.

Chrissy:

Dirt road.

Paul:

A little more forgiving.

Troy:

Yeah. You can just drop the clutch and It's hit the

Chrissy:

the ones you can start feeling that gear, you know, in the clutch or whatever. Then, you know, you just gotta pay attention and feel for it.

Troy:

Yeah. And the nice thing

Chrissy:

about it you can a better

Troy:

spark on a hill. Yeah. Right? Because I did that for I did that for a whole year of school. See.

Paul:

That. Right?

Chrissy:

Or a car with no reverse.

Troy:

Did that.

Chrissy:

I've done that.

Troy:

Really? Always aim towards the future. Don't go any place you have to back out.

Chrissy:

Yep. Yep. When actually when we bought this place in or 1999, I was driving like an old the older Acura not a Acura Legend. It was a

Paul:

Integra?

Chrissy:

No. Goddamn it. What's the one like Acura but nicer?

Troy:

Lexus?

Chrissy:

Oh, god. Any I don't remember what it was, but it was it was, like, in its day, it was a really nice car, but it was older. And the reverse had gone out in it. So I had to, like, didn't have money to fix a gear, get a new trainee. So I just park on a hill and, like, have But to yeah.

Chrissy:

Or, you know, learn how to pop the clutch in the Yep.

Troy:

Push it down

Chrissy:

the Push it down the road. Yep.

Troy:

Drop it into second.

Chrissy:

With that little Mustang, it was so light and tiny. It was easy to do.

Paul:

That's how my S10 was.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Paul:

My first vehicle too. Manual S10. Yep. Taked $5

Troy:

for Do you five cars before I had a license?

Chrissy:

Oh, I believe it.

Troy:

I mean, I don't even know. I've had over 40 cars at least. Really? Yeah. I don't think I've sold more than about five.

Paul:

I think I probably had about six in my life.

Troy:

Oh, god. I've had a lot. I drive new grounds.

Chrissy:

So after a night of plowing, do you well, it's usually in the morning, I'm assuming, or is it at night? Or can it be just Depends. Depends. Yeah.

Troy:

Just depends on the day. Day. Night. Day. Night.

Chrissy:

What's your drink of choice after a night or a morning of plowing or days of plowing? When you get home

Troy:

It used to be two whiskeys and just take the jitters out.

Chrissy:

Some R and R?

Troy:

Yeah. Because you're going backwards forward and you gotta watch out for

Paul:

Well, do

Chrissy:

you mix that R and R or you just drink it straight? I put it in Diet Doctor Pepper. Oh, you do. Okay.

Troy:

Just smell like sugar pop.

Chrissy:

Yeah. I don't either. I love Diet Doctor Pepper, though.

Troy:

It's a good pop. Yeah. Otherwise it'd be a couple cold Budweisers. But I'd like to have a couple beers or a drink on the way home, come down the Girl Scout Camp Road. Yep.

Troy:

And then I just gave that away. Right?

Chrissy:

No one knows where

Paul:

that is.

Troy:

You know that last driveway or two, you're pouring one till you, at least one So so you get by the time you get home, you can actually close your eyes and go

Paul:

Right. To Yeah.

Chrissy:

How did you actually get into? What made you start lawn mowing and snow plowing?

Troy:

That's an interesting one. Get sick

Chrissy:

of working for somebody else.

Troy:

I had two girls, one in almost three years old. They were 17 apart. Yep. And I was working on cars in my garage, and then working for neighbors and a car lot I had that I just do brakes, Chinese, whatever. Oh, yeah.

Troy:

Yeah, I didn't rip out a few engines for them, but I needed a job. And I played softball down Elk River. And I ran the Tuesday nights. And I just went around all the tables at the bowling alley down there after everybody plays ball and I asked all the coaches and they were sitting around guys I said I need a job, I got a bad back, you guys know me, I'll never let it come back on, I just need a job, I got two girls, I need a job, I don't care what. And Kevin Cook, Kevin's lawn service, he's he come over to me later on he says you serious?

Troy:

And I'm like fuck yeah I'm serious, I need a job. Yeah. And he said when can you start? I said tomorrow. Nice.

Troy:

It was like 09:10 o'clock at night. And I went down the next day and he started me at $8 an hour.

Chrissy:

And this was what year?

Troy:

Thirty five years ago.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Troy:

Fuck. And a week later

Paul:

he gave

Chrissy:

Which was pretty good for thirty five years ago.

Paul:

I was gonna say A week later he gave me $9

Troy:

an hour and then a month later he gave me $10 an hour because I was definitely worth it. Nice. And we worked together for a little over nine years and then finally had more equipment and knowledge and stuff like that. I just had two bosses. Yeah.

Troy:

Which is Yeah. You know? It was I was used to being a boss. Yeah.

Chrissy:

Right.

Troy:

So I just we split our own. We're still good friends. I send him work. Yeah. He didn't send me any work, but I had I had so much.

Troy:

I just send

Chrissy:

him You're just easily getting work.

Troy:

We just don't step in each other's toes.

Chrissy:

We recently did a podcast up in Malacca with this kid. He's 30 years old. He has the largest monster trucker. What is it? A super trucker?

Paul:

Oh, yeah. He got

Chrissy:

The largest one in Minnesota. You've seen him last name? Yeah. Jason? Yep.

Chrissy:

But he does lawn lawn in the no. He does concrete. Concrete. Yeah. In the summer and snow plowing in the winter.

Chrissy:

And he said he said his snow plowing business gets him more money than his concrete one does, which is I know we were like astonished by that.

Troy:

I made more money doing lawns and snow than I ever made frame analysis. Really? Yeah. Doing kitchens for I used to do kitchens for Sears and trim work and then sheetrocking and taping. I love taping but hard with one hand.

Troy:

It was hard on my back.

Chrissy:

Yeah.

Troy:

But JR does that. It's an art form.

Paul:

Yeah. I

Chrissy:

mean. You could paint.

Troy:

Well, I'm a good painter but I didn't, know, taping was better.

Chrissy:

Oh.

Troy:

Good money.

Paul:

Good oil.

Troy:

Yeah. Yeah. But it was only like rock tape and sandals, 22¢ a foot. Okay. Now they're getting like buck and a half a foot.

Troy:

Yeah. I'm like, where was that when I was doing it?

Chrissy:

Right? Get my neighbor and

Paul:

he'll go and he works like three days a week fucking for four or five hours and $4,000, $5,000 for a job.

Troy:

Oh, yeah. I made way more money than that climbing trees too. Yeah. Shit. I would not make $10,000 in a weekend.

Paul:

Dude, after a storm. That's another fucking

Chrissy:

How much? 10. 10,000 in a weekend?

Troy:

Made 10,000. I'd mow lawn

Chrissy:

I wonder you're out buying cars

Troy:

for I 40 was out chasing storms. Oh, that's cool. Just go out and be honest with people and there were so many hacks out there. Yeah. And I just go out there and shit, could make so much money.

Troy:

Just did a lot of really dangerous shit. The wife doesn't know about.

Chrissy:

Well,

Troy:

I didn't tell her much about it. That's why don't

Chrissy:

tell her why want know.

Troy:

Right? Well, climbing forty, fifty feet up in the air and some more on one handed and free climbing, not roping, you know. I had to do this one tree. It was out in Big Lake. It went up and it snapped off halfway and it went and it poked a hole through the roof, branch about so big, and it went through the roof right into their bedroom, through the bed.

Troy:

Luckily, weren't in there. Holy fuck. So I had to go in the house and cut part of that loose, then climb up through the hole and cut some of that loose, and then shimmy across the tree about eight, nine feet to the trunk. Monkey. And then cut that loose and then take the rest of it down.

Troy:

Fuck. And get

Chrissy:

I forgot that you used to do that, but that's how I got my squirrels.

Troy:

I love to make them.

Paul:

Evan Thompson just bought like a big ass truck wood chipper thing for his

Chrissy:

Oh, really?

Paul:

He's got a tree service business. Okay.

Troy:

So, yeah. I never used a boom truck. Dan McElwain, he taught me a lot.

Chrissy:

Oh, yeah.

Troy:

I already knew a bunch, but he's got a boom truck.

Chrissy:

Yep.

Troy:

He's the same age as me.

Paul:

You know,

Troy:

I see We're just ten days apart.

Paul:

One thing yesterday actually, and it's it looks like a like one of those big boom forklifts, but it's got the cab back here and this big boom, And it would just fucking grab the tree, cut it, and then pull that fucking section out. I know. It's like, dude, that'd be the way to fucking do it. Yeah.

Chrissy:

What is that being cost?

Paul:

Don't even know, but if you've got a service, man, that's a fucking

Troy:

tool Bunch I of employees that never show up. And you got to have a lot of work where you have summer or

Paul:

Yeah, you could literally run the show just yourself with that fucking Yeah. Because I just watched him just dismantle this huge fucking tree from top down because he just That thing would grab onto it and it would cut it and then he just pick it up, put it in a pile.

Chrissy:

Nice.

Troy:

And I mean,

Paul:

he just kept fucking They

Troy:

got them ones up in Northern Alaskanship. They grab them and they strip them and

Paul:

they run. Yeah. It sucks it right through that thing and limbs it all off. Yeah. Those things are

Chrissy:

fucking nuts.

Paul:

They are. Can't imagine what something like that fucking thing costs.

Chrissy:

But, you know, in a forestry like that Yeah.

Troy:

You're gonna get stuck like that. Time. Yeah. I was up in a tree. I was about thirty, forty feet up, and it was an elm tree, which I was stupid.

Troy:

Didn't think because each tree cuts different. Cottonwoods, you know, dangerous as hell. You did step on a branch on a cottonwood Yep. This far from the trunk, and it'll snap off without warning. But you can step on an oak tree.

Troy:

Yeah. A red oak this big and you could stand a foot out. It'll just brrrrr. Yeah.

Chrissy:

Because it's bendy. Yeah.

Troy:

Yeah. And the cottonwoods, they'll snap right off the trunk. No warning. Crack. They just drop.

Troy:

So I'm on an elm tree which likes to peel. Well, I'm up about 3,040 feet. And I got a lot of it taken down or cleaned away. I can just tip it over right there and then come down to the bottom take it up. So I get down, I got my strap around the tree.

Troy:

So I'm hooked in, and I'm hooked in around my belt. So I start up the saw and I start cutting through and I didn't back cut it. So when I got through here, that whole tree went down like that and my straps on there and it peeled down below my feet and it stuck me to the tree. So I'm like this and my saw's here and other hand's here. I'm like and the saw's not running now.

Chrissy:

Dude.

Troy:

And I'm sitting there like getting suffocated like a Yeah. Snake just sucking the air out you every time you breathe. Like a python. And then I went like this. Flip the switch.

Troy:

It started. And I'm like, okay. That's one fuck. That was close.

Paul:

Don't do that again. Jesus.

Chrissy:

I don't do hypes. That was spooky. And I was

Troy:

my own stupid fault. I didn't fat cut. With oak, it would have snapped off most time, but Elm likes to peel and then sometimes you'll peel all the way to the ground. So you got all that weight and it's just pulling my strap and sucking me to the tree. Fuck.

Paul:

Yes. That shit.

Troy:

That's why you

Paul:

That's why you get paid in the big box. Yep. Yeah.

Troy:

The guy say, how much go take that branch out of the tree? That's only like this big.

Paul:

Yeah. It's

Troy:

about 40 feet up. And he said, $100. He goes, a $100. Sounds like a lot of money. I said, here's how you go.

Troy:

It. Yeah. You know? He went, I go up there and said, that's why it's a $100. Exactly.

Troy:

I went up and down in ten minutes and took that branch out. And he goes, I was kinda a of money. I'm like, but you you did a pretty good job. Right? Well, I just ran up through like a squirrel and Yeah.

Troy:

You know, spikes on. Up. Down. Yeah. Was it

Chrissy:

So what is thinking back on all these thirty five years of doing this, any, like, customer requests or what's kind of the strangest thing, I mean, that's happened here?

Paul:

Chicks have to get

Chrissy:

back to That's what I'm thinking. Run, anybody having sex.

Troy:

No. I've had a couple of eighty year old women hit on me.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Troy:

Well, a lot of widows I for. Yeah. And they just needed somebody to take care of them. Yeah. Kind of understanding that point nowadays.

Troy:

Yeah. Right. But I can't think of anything.

Chrissy:

A weird request or No.

Troy:

Change a light bulb.

Chrissy:

Okay. So what's in your memory, we've had some pretty mega snowstorms here. What's probably the worst one? '7. '7.

Chrissy:

It wasn't '91?

Troy:

'96, '97. No. It was snow. Yeah. It was about fifty three hours straight.

Troy:

And Kevin, we call him Buddha

Chrissy:

k.

Troy:

Because he looked like a Buddha.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Troy:

So I gave him that nickname. He has he lost reverse. So I've been out for fifty three hours. He had a break, and we just traded trucks. So I'm coming home and I'm going down my neighborhood, which kind of a bluff, and I'm looking.

Troy:

I got no reverse. I'm looking. I can't see any cars in the way. The snow's about that deep where it drifts over. Yeah.

Troy:

Sure shit. Get over the top of the hill, and there's three cars buried.

Chrissy:

Oh, no.

Troy:

I'm like and they're right there. And I'm like, oh, well, I could probably get around them, but I can't back up now. Yeah.

Chrissy:

Right. So I lift the plane as

Troy:

high as it'll go and turn it a little bit. And I said, gotta make this. And I try to make it, I get halfway next to them. The snow's up to the mirrors. And they're parked in

Paul:

the middle of the road, not on the edge.

Troy:

Yep. So now I'm buried, and I gotta walk home about a block and a half in that snow. Luckily, a neighbor, Jeff

Chrissy:

And it's up to your way.

Troy:

Picked me up on a snow, but they were out having fun. Oh, Chad I Johnson, a mechanic, a friend of mine. He plowed away all the way out to my truck so we could tow it out. Yeah. And then I went home, got a six hour nap, and then I went back out for forty eight hours again.

Troy:

Fuck. That was

Chrissy:

So I did not know hours

Troy:

and two shifts. Yep. With a six hour nap. Six hour sleep stuff. Yeah.

Troy:

Yeah. That was not fucking fun.

Chrissy:

That's crazy.

Troy:

That was the worst. Otherwise, ninety one. I didn't start till ninety one.

Chrissy:

I was gonna say in '91, we all remember that. Can't wait a month.

Troy:

Please start. Please come plow for me. Why I would do that? I'm making $25 an hour in my garage, turning wrenches, drinking a beer if I want. Yeah.

Troy:

Right? I'll give you $25 an hour.

Paul:

That was easy.

Chrissy:

What's the Okay. I'm doing this for as long as you have. You had to have, like, run over something before. Bushes. Just nothing expensive.

Chrissy:

Packed up

Troy:

over a mailbox or two.

Chrissy:

K. Yeah. I was like, what's the costliest thing that you've ever fucked up? Either mowing or snow plowing or whatever.

Paul:

Through a window.

Chrissy:

A tree.

Troy:

Yeah. A rock through a front door. Mhmm. Mental health. Rock come out the side 50 yards away.

Chrissy:

You know what that's

Troy:

Little teeny rock. Yep. All the way across shattered the whole fucking glass door.

Paul:

Yeah. You

Troy:

know, all the money I made that day had to pay for that door. Yeah. And I got insurance but Right. A thousand dollar deductible, the door is like 5 and a

Chrissy:

half. Right.

Troy:

Right. So Yeah. That's it. Two doors.

Chrissy:

But that's not bad then actually.

Troy:

My house. Otherwise because always think like- I'll shrubs in mailbox.

Chrissy:

When you're plowing, you know, you don't know it's under the snow. That's why I don't like snow every Actually,

Troy:

I see them first. Yeah. Yeah. In the summer.

Paul:

Well, that's same with like when, so like the places we mowed, actually plowed. Like, yeah, we had a good idea. I'm assuming same thing.

Troy:

And then you can kind of feel the edge. Yeah. And you lift up and try not to tear up your grass because the one you mow

Paul:

all the time. Yeah.

Troy:

You don't wanna go back and fix it in the

Paul:

spring Right. I'm assuming you flag shit too. No. No. No.

Paul:

We fucking flagged everything.

Troy:

Now they just get in the way. And I ended up running them over. Especially when you get deeper snow. Yeah. Sorry about all your flags.

Troy:

They're over there. You can pick them up in the spring. Yeah.

Chrissy:

The fucking county guys are it's the county roads, you know, the the whatever. Fuck with my mailbox every single year. It's Most just

Troy:

of those guys have regular jobs during the summer and

Chrissy:

Don't care. Pisses me off. Mike built us a thing now. A few years ago, he built it where it's on our mailbox Well, at it's like this one too. Because they made him do it on this one.

Chrissy:

Yeah. No. When it That's what does. It moves. Yeah.

Paul:

My neighbor's has already been busted off three times a

Chrissy:

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Until he started making these, we just said, fuck it. Had our that one year we had a lot of snow, we had our mailbox just sitting on a snowbank. Yeah.

Troy:

I've seen a lot of Mine is is sticks out about that far from the road. Yeah. And it's solid steel and the school bus hit it one time. It just let that gouge

Chrissy:

down the And the county city school didn't say nothing about it being solid steel like that.

Troy:

No. The next part of it is three by three or two and a half by two and a half. I think it's three by three concrete for three feet, four feet high and then three feet in the ground concrete. Yeah. It's all done in Flagstone.

Troy:

One of my neighbors, their clients had it had it on Highway 10. Somebody hit it Oh, and it broke it in half. Yeah, it was pieces of car for a mile. Oh, and she says, Well, you want it? I'm like, Hell, yeah.

Troy:

So I picked it up the bobcat in two pieces. Yeah. There they picked it up and then dug a hole and put it in the ground and I've had it ever since. But you hit it, you're not going anywhere.

Paul:

That's mine's, I don't know, probably two inch pipe and it's a three inch pipe in the ground and then it just sticks in there. Yeah.

Troy:

Oh, yeah. Schedule for you or something like that. It's about that thick.

Chrissy:

Yours is a cross. Is it on

Paul:

your driveway? No. So there's a turn lane.

Chrissy:

For yours.

Paul:

Right? Yeah. Okay. He's the fucker still hits that fucking thing. My neighbors already They

Chrissy:

do it on purpose.

Paul:

I know. My Well, I like I custom paint mine too. It's like, I got fucking sick of paint. I'm like, fuck this. Yeah.

Troy:

You start doing something fancy.

Chrissy:

Yeah. That's how I know.

Paul:

The county and then they're like, we'll just buy a fucking new one and we'll give you your $7. I'm like,

Chrissy:

fucking mailboxes weren't $7. Where have

Troy:

they been? I'm like, where are getting a plastic fucking 10 new

Paul:

mailbox? Yeah. They're

Troy:

not totally skilled. Most of them. Some of them are.

Chrissy:

Right.

Troy:

But driving house trucks, they suck.

Chrissy:

Oh, I know.

Troy:

I mean, I I wouldn't wanna do that

Paul:

one of those trucks. I my neighbor, he They're

Troy:

on defense all the time. Yeah.

Paul:

He like he said, he's he's been hit three times, broke it off and fucking And he's got his own company, so he needs his mail for the company. Oh, gets checks with me. Yeah. DOT shit he was just

Chrissy:

going Just happened here.

Paul:

I just fixed his last weekend or this Yeah, last weekend. Because he hit fucking hit it again.

Chrissy:

Our mailbox wasn't even broken. And Shannon goes, you know, we haven't gotten any mail in, like, two weeks. I'm like, what? That's not normal. She goes, it might even be over than two weeks.

Chrissy:

I go, and you're just telling me this now? I said, they gotta be holding our mail. So I said you're gonna have to go to the post office. And what

Troy:

happened? They couldn't get close enough to it?

Chrissy:

Motherfuckers said they couldn't get close to it, yet they were still delivering to everybody else. So ours wasn't any worse than anybody else's. I don't know.

Troy:

Probably because you're pitching at them on TV.

Chrissy:

Well and then the lady said at the post office, we got a new driver.

Troy:

So But my oh, see, in my neighborhood, if you can get to my house, you can get out. Yeah. Because I always right out the driveway up the road

Chrissy:

down the corner to a main road.

Troy:

So everybody in the neighborhood, if can make it to my house, you can make it out.

Chrissy:

I like my wife to build a driveway. Right.

Troy:

And when I'm done, I go around, do mailboxes, look for the mailman because Jimmy and I are good friends. Yeah. And then when you get to my house, the whole corner's done. My mailbox, you don't plow anything when you get to my house.

Paul:

Yeah. I don't

Troy:

have to worry about anything hitting.

Paul:

Right. Oh, nice.

Chrissy:

Okay. We're just gonna do our first drink. Okay. I don't know what she is.

Troy:

Like I said, I quit drinking, but I didn't really completely quit. I just quit drunken. Yeah.

Chrissy:

That's a detail. I don't. I didn't quit drinking. I quit drinking.

Troy:

I've had a couple of drinks before. I've only drank anything since the surgery.

Chrissy:

So I haven't been drunk.

Troy:

My wife didn't want me drink, and I wanna drink.

Paul:

So My fucking time went on last night.

Chrissy:

Where were you guys, Monica?

Paul:

No. We went up to the golf course for, like, a hockey benefit. In Princeton?

Chrissy:

Yeah. Oh, okay.

Paul:

One of my buddies, his kids had some hockey benefits.

Chrissy:

Isn't that nice in there? Yeah. Oh, what are we drinking? What are we drinking? Espresso.

Chrissy:

It is hot water chocolate espresso martini. Thank you, Paige.

Troy:

Thank you.

Paul:

We'll just

Chrissy:

leave that can right there.

Paul:

This is gonna be

Chrissy:

So these this is camera

Troy:

on. Right?

Chrissy:

Yep. Perfect. Did she not know what you're gonna drink?

Troy:

No. I don't care.

Chrissy:

I'm just taste testing anyways.

Troy:

She's not the boss of me.

Chrissy:

I told you. That's what Mike used to say.

Troy:

You know what? You're not my mom.

Chrissy:

So this is Cutwater chocolate espresso martini. It's 13% alcohol. It's sixteen sixty nine, and it comes in a four pack. It's a single 12 ounce can of cut water spirits. Espresso contains 540 calories, 38 grams of carbs, 14 grams of fat, three grams of protein.

Chrissy:

It's made with vodka.

Troy:

That's more calories.

Chrissy:

Cream liquor. I know. And coffee flavor with over two shots of vodka and no gluten. Alright. Cheers, guys.

Paul:

It's not bad. Cheers.

Chrissy:

Cheers, buddy. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. Don't miss my hair.

Chrissy:

You're right. Paul and I have liked all the cut wires.

Troy:

I think my wife might like that one. It's kinda like a white Russian emulsome.

Chrissy:

Yep. They have a white Russian one of these.

Paul:

I don't like coffee, but this is actually good. I haven't drank coffee.

Chrissy:

I don't like coffee either.

Troy:

Four pipes. I

Chrissy:

don't know. I mean, if I start two months a day. Like, Bailey's in it.

Troy:

Drink. Yeah. I just like to whack, like, stand a spoon up.

Chrissy:

Oh, no.

Paul:

That's how my brother drinks it.

Chrissy:

I just black? Yes.

Paul:

Two pot today,

Troy:

I used to drink. And now I haven't drank coffee in so long.

Chrissy:

Oh, no.

Troy:

And I, you know, I used to be at a coffee club.

Chrissy:

You did?

Troy:

Yeah. It was had

Chrissy:

So what made you stop drinking it?

Paul:

I don't know.

Troy:

I just quit drinking coffee. And

Chrissy:

And Mike just started drinking coffee, like, his forties. He never drank it before ever.

Troy:

Drinking coffee when I was 14.

Chrissy:

Oh, god. And if

Troy:

I didn't have time to make cup of coffee before school, I'd just get the Folgers, you know, the cheap shit. Oh, yeah. Take a spoonful.

Chrissy:

What? Said,

Troy:

oh. To school. Yeah. If I didn't catch the bus, I had to hitchhike, so I had to go fast. I was famous for hitchhiking on 7th Avenue.

Troy:

Really?

Chrissy:

Really?

Troy:

I had customers, you know, not customers, but usuals. Oh, would pick me up. They're showing. They stopped picking me up. Oh.

Troy:

Don't know if I got to a certain point when somebody's getting off work. I'm like, would have hurry to get to that. Yeah. Get to town before this girl, Lori, I used to work with. She'd give me a ride home.

Troy:

Nice. So I was like, I had schedules where I Yeah. Hitchhiked home.

Chrissy:

Well, that's

Troy:

I've been hitchhiking since I was

Paul:

13. Isn't that child legal?

Troy:

I miss the bus. My mom says,

Chrissy:

Better hitchhike. Yeah. We fucking I hitchhiked once.

Paul:

We when when I was younger in school, we lived over by Polly's Pickens down this dirt road, and it would go out around to Edmond's place or whatever. And Yeah. She's I knew if I missed the bus, I could fucking haul ass across the field and make it.

Troy:

Yep. So it's like See, we had this bus stop too and went by here the first bus stop and they do with the whole big loop about four miles and then Yep. About twenty, thirty minutes later Yep. You catch it on the way out. Yeah.

Troy:

Our I miss the second one all the time. Ours got hit pretty quick.

Chrissy:

So ready? Okay.

Paul:

I'll take it.

Chrissy:

Here's one more you can.

Troy:

Nice to see here. That shit's good. It is good.

Chrissy:

Yeah. It's a different What do you give it? Will you rate from one to ten, one being the worst, 10 being

Troy:

the drink it, I would probably have a half a can. I try to drink a whole can in about an hour. So it'd be a nice tasty

Chrissy:

Sifted. Yeah.

Paul:

It's a soup. Kinda like

Troy:

a Bailey's and coffee syrup that you would have that you don't just pound them like

Paul:

beers. No.

Troy:

I would give that a probably out of ten, seven. Okay.

Chrissy:

I'd probably what I would give it to, to be honest.

Paul:

I liked it way more. You did? Yeah. I'd say nine.

Chrissy:

Okay. Really? Yeah. Okay. I don't know.

Troy:

I'd a seven, maybe eight.

Chrissy:

You want more?

Troy:

Eight and a half, but no. I'm good.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Paul:

I struggle busting it. Okay.

Chrissy:

Yeah. I would give it a seven just because I'm not a huge coffee flavor.

Paul:

I I like coffee either, but that was fucking good.

Chrissy:

It was good.

Paul:

Yeah. It reminded me of that PBR shit.

Chrissy:

Oh, yeah.

Paul:

A little

Troy:

bit. Yeah. Yeah.

Chrissy:

Yeah. That was really good. That was like chocolate milk.

Troy:

Yeah. Coffee. You like you ever had Javelia? Javelia coffee? Shit.

Troy:

I got top club. I get a couple packs every now and then. Yeah. And it come in a little pack about, you know, size about that big and we open up. It would really grow.

Troy:

Yep. Because it was a hard brick. Yeah. To value coffee was the shit. Put coffee, blueberry coffee, all different kinds.

Troy:

From I look it up. Jamalea. I What's that? I got a line ordered. Then Is it

Chrissy:

a Costa Rican coffee?

Troy:

I don't remember.

Chrissy:

Because when we went to Costa Rica, bought back coffee just because we knew coffee people, but it was probably the best flavor.

Troy:

Yeah.

Chrissy:

Coffee I ever had.

Troy:

I used to get, like, a four pack delivered about every month or so. And then, oh, it was amazing.

Paul:

What's that problem?

Troy:

Price, it was kinda spendy, but when you open it up, a little went a long way. Really?

Paul:

Oh, really? There's isn't there coffee beans that they like what is it? Like, monkeys eat these berries

Troy:

and they pick that? Expensive.

Paul:

Yeah. That that's what I was trying to think of. How much is do you know how much that is?

Troy:

I remember. Right? I'm just guessing. It was over $20 a pound. 26 or something like that was a pound.

Troy:

Fuck. And what they do is the monkeys eat these berries. Yep. And then they go through and they shit them out. They shit out the seeds.

Troy:

Yeah. And then they pick the seeds and dry them. Yep. And roast them and grind them. Yeah.

Troy:

You know, it's supposed to be amazingly good and till I remember they tell you where they got it from. Yeah. Just Hell, this is really good. He acted out of a monkey's ass. Yeah, they can pull back the vultures.

Troy:

Hard pass. Well, yeah, you get that thought in your mind and it's like, yeah,

Chrissy:

I'm never drinking Hatcher. Yeah.

Troy:

I've never had it just

Paul:

for that reason. I'd probably try it.

Troy:

I mean, I'd try anything, but I just don't need to.

Chrissy:

If you have, give him $20,

Troy:

he'll fucking drink it. I'm telling you, back on the day when you first bought this place, there ain't nothing in here I hadn't tried. Yeah.

Chrissy:

Well, you were always my taste test guy. Yeah. Like, try this. You gotta try this. See what you'll eat.

Troy:

I'm like, oh, this one's good.

Chrissy:

Remember when screwball came out? Yep. And you're like, oh my god.

Troy:

This is dangerous. Woah.

Chrissy:

Yeah. That shit is dangerous. It is so dangerous. Yeah. Out

Troy:

how dangerous it was.

Chrissy:

Yeah. So did I.

Paul:

What was that one we they drink we made or whatever with that and some peanut butter whiskey to

Chrissy:

was peak Screwball is peanut butter whiskey. And then we mixed it with like a Bailey's then a butter shots or something like that. It was

Troy:

phenomenal. Fuck. Yeah. That was ridiculous.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Was really, really good.

Troy:

Had it so much that it was wow. I was so I think the last next morning, I'm like, I'm gonna be hungover. No. Nope.

Chrissy:

I have another shot. Oh, so hungover if

Paul:

you don't get sober. Yeah. Right?

Chrissy:

Drink it one night. Just screwball on ice. Know? Yeah. And I'm not a whiskey drinker, but you forget it's whiskey.

Troy:

Yeah.

Chrissy:

Oh my God, I barfed my guts up the whole next day.

Troy:

Was not Betty and I was like, uh-oh.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Said, you gotta try this. He goes, where is

Troy:

it? Yeah. Would have wrong. Where you got

Chrissy:

it? I

Paul:

can smell it.

Chrissy:

Gotta get a bottle. Yep.

Troy:

I was looking forward in the whiskey aisle. Oh.

Paul:

That shit is fucking delicious.

Chrissy:

It is.

Troy:

So is this stuff.

Chrissy:

Yeah, that is. Chinkies whip. I do like that

Troy:

as well. Tried that one time, I don't know, about a year or two ago. When you first got it, I'm like, I'm gonna try that. So I paid for it and I put it on the tab and cracked it with no shit with Yeah, that know. Where's that stuff?

Troy:

Because I'm a

Chrissy:

Did you see the cute little Yeah. Cans that comes in Okay. It comes in a little bit bigger, but it's a big fan. They're so cute.

Troy:

Well, it's better if you buy it in this size because it's not cost efficient. Right. But it keeps you on that. How many of them little bottles I have?

Paul:

Oh, yeah. Four. That's probably enough.

Troy:

If you get the regular bottle, you don't say, well,

Paul:

mean, three fingers. There's ice in there so

Troy:

I can have a little more. Yeah.

Chrissy:

So we talked about Marna a little bit, how you met and how you propose how you propose in three months?

Troy:

Yeah. We we we're dating about two years.

Chrissy:

After oh, you

Troy:

We dated for about two and a half almost.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Until you got married.

Troy:

Yeah. We got married in 1986.

Chrissy:

Okay. Okay.

Troy:

May 2, we got married.

Chrissy:

And then the kids were born shortly after that.

Troy:

Yeah. We had Travis right after that. And then we lost him. So there was a void in my heart. Yeah.

Troy:

I mean, lost my son five days later. Then we had

Chrissy:

Danielle right come

Troy:

away after that. And then we had Megan who was an accident, which is a blessing. Yeah. And then we said, Okay, that's enough. My wife said, Get my tubes tied.

Troy:

And then nurses, You're only 23 years old. You better wait a little bit. She said, you don't do it now. I'll be here nine months from

Chrissy:

now. Yeah. Yeah.

Troy:

We had three kids. Fuck. She had three kids. But I get three. Within three and a half years.

Chrissy:

Oh, that's a lot. It's hard on your body.

Troy:

That's aggressive. I thought, well, I had a boy. Well, I got to then I found my son. Yep. Jersey found me.

Troy:

But just cool. He's crazy. He was a loon like I was. And I got my two girls and that's enough.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Now I don't need anything more now. What are your girls, do they still live around here or where are they at?

Troy:

Meg lives up in Sartell or just on this side of St. Cloud. She just moved into a house here and her boyfriend Jamie. And they just had a daughter about nine months ago.

Chrissy:

Okay, so grandpa?

Troy:

Yeah, again, because Chris has got three kids.

Chrissy:

Oh, yep.

Troy:

And Danielle's got two. Okay. And she lives in my other house, seven house

Chrissy:

And Megan just has the one now? Yeah. She's got if

Troy:

she Yeah. She wasn't gonna have kids. And then all of sudden, she got pregnant and got a kid.

Chrissy:

Good for her.

Troy:

And when she had that baby, I'm like, I just smile because you could see it. Oh. That's what she needed in her life. It was just she is amazing mother.

Chrissy:

Just can't

Troy:

just imagine. Amazing too. Then I got, you know, the two boys. Yeah. Merrick and Rowan, they're nine and 11.

Troy:

Merrick? Merrick.

Chrissy:

That's a fucking

Paul:

sweet name. Yeah.

Troy:

That's my father in law's middle name.

Chrissy:

Oh, is it Merrick and Ronan? Rowan. Oh, Rowan. Okay. Like Rowan.

Chrissy:

Yep. Yep. Cool

Paul:

name too.

Troy:

But yeah, they live.

Chrissy:

How old are your how old are your dad kids?

Troy:

Nine eleven. Then one's almost Nine. And then the other one is 15. And he's got a daughter that's two, and another one that's adopted.

Chrissy:

So you're a great grandpa? Is that what you said?

Troy:

No. Oh. Nope. Just grandpa.

Chrissy:

Oh, okay. Oh, I thought you meant the 15 year old had a two year old. Old. No. Oh, okay.

Chrissy:

I was

Paul:

like, wait

Chrissy:

a minute.

Troy:

No, my son had him early

Chrissy:

when Gotcha. He was like

Troy:

So it's just different.

Chrissy:

What's been some of the hardest learning experiences you think of being a father, Especially to the I've thrown over by a lawnmower. Well, I mean, with your kids. Fuck. Of daughters, let's just say.

Troy:

Yeah. Trying to remember they're just like me. No.

Chrissy:

No. Are they more That shit crazy? Are they more like Marner or more like you? Or is each one different?

Paul:

Hard to tell.

Troy:

Okay. No. They're they're both

Chrissy:

Are they girly girls or are they more like tomboys?

Troy:

Wouldn't need to be. Danielle, she's used to be sponsored for trap shooting. She was amazing. Really? They were like 12 and 13.

Troy:

I got them a job at the trap range and only mile away they could ride their bike.

Paul:

Yep. That's my brother used to do that too. I dropped them

Troy:

out of the trap. And yeah, they'd sit up there and they worked there for like four years. They got paid $6.06 and a half cash. Yeah. And then Danielle got it.

Troy:

They had to get their gun safety and everything. Yep. And it was great because I chewed on Wednesdays for league and then I chewed on Sundays. So it was kind of family thing.

Chrissy:

Yep. And If I were you

Troy:

That was pretty cool. And Danielle, she's she's this much almost better than me.

Chrissy:

Is she really?

Troy:

Oh, yeah. Depends on the day. Really?

Chrissy:

Now she's better than you,

Troy:

I bet. No. Didn't go that far. Maybe it was probably a good chance.

Chrissy:

I just remember Danielle as a teenager. Huge boobs. Is that right? Was it the right That had to have been hard.

Paul:

Both of them.

Chrissy:

Because I mean, it wasn't just They a just little big day.

Troy:

My girls are tougher than

Chrissy:

They were ginormous. So she probably got a lot of shit through that from men, I would imagine.

Troy:

I don't know. She's pretty tough and she's I mean, they're both they're they got thick skin.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Oh, that's good.

Troy:

Danielle's she knows how to fight. Megan, she's a scrapper.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Troy:

And Megan already had a breast reduction once.

Chrissy:

Megan that okay. I I just remembered Danielle was tall and skinny with just gigantic. Yeah.

Troy:

Her great grandma, you know, they are hanging so long. They look like a big pair of nuts.

Paul:

You know, when

Troy:

you when you sit them down Put that song.

Paul:

Can you tie them in a knot?

Troy:

Get them

Paul:

tied in. That's exactly

Troy:

it. Marna's great grandma lived to be about 100 and almost 101 and she had tits down to her about her pockets. She was really tall of course, four nine, four ten. No, that's

Paul:

just a little pint

Troy:

of piss.

Chrissy:

You know,

Troy:

farmer, you know, farmer. Oh. I can't think of anything with my girls. Hey.

Chrissy:

I'm just singing with your friends and stuff.

Paul:

You still shoot trap that or what?

Troy:

No, no. Now once they quit working there and Danielle got off the trap, she used to shoot trap and took the league and tournaments, know, like up in Alex and they shoot off that big one. Okay. And she just fell out of that, you know, she played band for a long time. She could have went to school scholarship.

Troy:

Really? Yeah. What did she play? Clarinet. Okay.

Troy:

And then she could play anything else. Really?

Chrissy:

Play saxophone. Music and guitar.

Troy:

A month later, playing guitar. Really? Yeah. She plays. That's cool.

Chrissy:

That would be awesome. Does she sing?

Troy:

Yeah, I know.

Paul:

Pick that up.

Chrissy:

Does she sing too?

Troy:

I don't know. Probably

Paul:

a little.

Troy:

Watched. Oh, my wife played guitar.

Paul:

Oh, really?

Troy:

She played guitar and she sang to me a couple of times. That was it. I was hooked. I was knew it right there.

Chrissy:

Well, I think if anybody can play an instrument, it's always sexy.

Troy:

She picked up her fenders, her playing for me and I was like, I'm done.

Chrissy:

Nice. Right then. I

Troy:

mean, I think why bought her gifts and I think my daughter Danielle's got that. Okay. But Yeah.

Chrissy:

So where's your mom at now? Are you set up in Ogilvie? Yep. And do you still talk to her?

Troy:

Yeah, did. Because she kinda I did about the day before my neck surgery.

Chrissy:

This back surgery or neck? Nope, neck.

Troy:

Oh. That was in 2017.

Chrissy:

You were you were saying earlier. Now you were pretty young when you thirty five years ago starting your your lawn mowing business and you said you had hurt your back. How did you hurt your back the very first time?

Troy:

I hurt my back back in 06/10/1984. Okay. Running jackets. What the

Paul:

hell do you remember?

Troy:

I don't know.

Paul:

Can't remember what I fucking had for breakfast. I

Troy:

just tell you

Paul:

how much jettle. Time

Troy:

a dollar and I can tell you

Paul:

where date.

Chrissy:

You're good with dates, definitely.

Troy:

Just numbers. But was 1984 and I was running jackhammer and I should have been because I was framing. Well, they set the bulkhead under the stairs 14 inches too high and we start framing up and get to the 1st Floor and then it's raw. That's what my boss says, who was my uncle at the time, said get down there and knock that out with a 110 jackhammer, which is a big ass jackhammer. Alright.

Troy:

Well, I'm hanging on to it sideways and I'm knocking this bulkhead out and I'm supposed to knock it down and then reframe it a little bit and then, you know pour down. Okay. Well that sucker hit some rebar and had twisted me like that, pissed my pants and that was it. I cracked three vertebrae, herniated three discs. Holy.

Troy:

Two in my neck, three in my low back and he said, I'll take five, walk it off. Said, I'm going home. Because I knew something was wrong. Yeah. And that was pretty much the end of my full time.

Troy:

I tried, I went back for a couple of days here and there, couple of days. That's all. Yeah. I couldn't do more than two days a week. Holy fuck!

Troy:

But it was messed up. They said, Oh, you're young, you're strong. Well shit, was about one hundred and ninety five pounds solid muscle. Yep. And I was six'four.

Troy:

I mean, you'll heal. Yeah. So I've seen probably somewhere in the range from then to now a 100 doctors for all different kinds of things but probably 40 doctors from my back. Jesus. Every, know, chiropractors, psychologist, hypnotists, you name it, I've seen them.

Troy:

And one doctor I hated the worst, he says, well, best advice I can give you is learn how to get used to it. Live with it.

Chrissy:

Learn to get used to it? Yeah. To live with it.

Troy:

I want to not.

Chrissy:

I want to fucking fix that.

Troy:

I wanted to drop him right there. Said, That's your that's your diagnosis? Learn to live with it?

Chrissy:

There's some pretty shitty doctors out there.

Troy:

It took about five years and I'm that was the best advice I ever got. Really? Best advice.

Chrissy:

Just learn to live with it?

Paul:

Yep. Because no one can figure out what the fuck. Nope. Just learn to live with it. Just fucking pain constantly.

Paul:

Yep. It took me forty years to

Troy:

get that back surgery.

Chrissy:

Fuck. How many surgeries have you had on your back?

Troy:

One in the neck, two in the back. This is my second one.

Chrissy:

Okay. So I thought it was more than that actually.

Troy:

No. Had one on January 27, four years ago.

Chrissy:

Okay.

Troy:

So almost exactly four years ago. Okay. And it worked great for about six to eight months. And I think bouncing around that lawnmower.

Chrissy:

Yeah.

Troy:

You know, You silly bouncing. Well, the disc, I'll do that. The disc was here, that's one, there's two, there's three and there's another vertebrae down below that. Here's four and something happened and it slid out then it popped out and a little fire and now it's up against my nerves on my spinal cord so I can't feel my legs. And that was two years, well that was almost four years ago.

Troy:

That happened the first year. Probably didn't give enough time to heal or whatever in the job. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Bouncing around, getting hit with branches, hitting a pothole.

Troy:

It's in the truck

Paul:

and bouncing around.

Chrissy:

I mean, all of the stuff that you do, you're bouncing around.

Troy:

Bobcat. That would be terrible. I wouldn't do that.

Paul:

I was

Troy:

just mowing. Yeah. So I've had three. Two on my back, one on my neck. Hopefully this one works out because it's been how long has it been now?

Troy:

Four weeks?

Chrissy:

That's not long.

Troy:

January December 26.

Chrissy:

Yeah. He's in the day after Christmas. Yeah.

Paul:

Had a I had a buddy.

Troy:

I could sit up. I could sit. Normally, I'm sitting like this.

Paul:

Yeah. It

Troy:

feels like

Chrissy:

got crooked.

Troy:

It feels like I got a golf ball under my butt cheek. Oh. So I'd sit like this. Yeah. Yeah.

Troy:

And a day later, I was sitting on the bed and my wife started crying. She's just sitting straight up. And I'm like, yeah, I know.

Chrissy:

I was so happy to see you when you're walking straight up too. Yeah. I was like, woah. Literally, the last few times he's been in here, like, we've all felt so bad. We go get his beer for him.

Chrissy:

Don't let him walk. He can barely even walk. You know?

Troy:

You're carrying something. Ugh. If I had to, you could balance out. Yeah. You carry it with that one hand.

Troy:

Yeah.

Chrissy:

Yeah. Yeah.

Troy:

I see a 12 pack of Coors Edge or something and then I can't carry it and I can't carry it in front of

Chrissy:

me.

Troy:

Fuck. And I need something to hang on to because my balance has gone to shit.

Paul:

If I ever had back surgery, I'd be worried about that same thing because I've heard it go both ways. Yeah.

Troy:

Well, it could be great, but you can end up going in five, ten years. Yeah. Over and over and over.

Paul:

I had this one buddy actually drives truck and shit and That's terrible for you, man. Yeah. Oh, I know. I've been doing it twenty some years already or almost twenty years already. But yeah, he went he he had fucked couldn't hardly walk.

Paul:

He, like, if if he fucked up his back a little more than normal or something, he'd, like, wouldn't even be able to get out of bed. Nope. He went in. He had his I think he said he had a

Chrissy:

spine fuse or something.

Troy:

That's what I got. Is it? Mhmm. Yep. Six vertebraes.

Paul:

He said it's the best decision he ever made. He hasn't been in an ounce of pain, fucking everything's Yeah,

Chrissy:

Shannon's had one or two back surgeries as well.

Troy:

The pain got so much better. Yeah. But I heard it and then one disc popped out. They wanted to tear it all out. One surgeon, tear it all out and we'll redo it.

Troy:

And another one says, we'll tear out half of it, redo it, fix that. Another surgeon says, how about we just reach in there and pull that thing out and put it back in place? And I'm like, you win. Yeah. Right.

Troy:

Win. Because it's less I don't have to sit in the hospital for two weeks and the healing process be a lot faster. Especially the thought to hold the guts out. Hold it right out, put a bigger one in and said, you're done. They wanted me for five days, and I said, no.

Troy:

I had it on Friday morning, and I left on Saturday afternoon.

Paul:

That's probably part of the problem, though, too.

Troy:

The storm was coming. There was ice and snow coming. I didn't want my wife driving down to Robbinsdale and that shit. Yeah. Fuck.

Troy:

Cut me out because you ain't stopping me. Yeah. I got closed this time. Last time they tried to keep me. I said, I'll be the only guy walking down the road hitchhiking with a robe in my ass hanging out.