A Tribute to Jeff’s Dad | The Still Real to Us Show | Episode #784 – 02/20/25

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It's still real to be damaged!

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Alright, welcome everybody to this week's edition and still real to show.

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Episode number 784 for February 20th, 2025.

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Jeff Pack, Dr. Tre Franklin here.

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I think everybody, you kind of figured if you're a listener of the show obviously,

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that this was supposed to be our 15th year anniversary special,

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that we were going to do with an award show.

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If you're seeing the title of the podcast here, it's a little bit different.

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On Friday morning, my father unexpectedly passed away.

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And just figured that I would sit here today and kind of talk about my old man with Dr. Tre,

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I really haven't watched the liquor wrestling at all. I have struggled.

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I hope that we're kind of back to semi-normal next week and we'll discuss and try to get to

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doing the 15th year anniversary special, what have you, but I'm sure anybody that's out there that

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has lost a parent can relate to this, whether it's expected through a hospice care or somebody

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that's been ill or in my case, an unexpected passing. So kind of have a little cathartic and talk about it.

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I appreciate you hopping on here and doing this episode with me. So that's kind of what we're

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going to talk about today is in a way it tribute to my dad because as I was telling Dr. Tre off,

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I don't know if I'd be a wrestling fan today if it wasn't for him, honestly.

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Yeah, I mean, it broke my heart when I saw the message that you put out about your dad and

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I was telling you off, it's been my biggest fear in my entire life as losing my dad.

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And my dad and I aren't, we don't talk all the time, but he was the ones who was there for me.

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So in the last week, I had to miss the show just because literally like wife and kid and Valentine's day stuff

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all popped up and I couldn't get free to do the show and then to see that it crushed me because it

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like you're one of my, you're one of my closest friends in a lot of ways and we've been together for

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so long and you know, I made it a point and literally I told you this week when you, when you brought

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this up, I was amazed you want to do the show this week. I mean, we could have done a, we could have done

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the best of, you know, addition for the first time ever in 15 years. This is an absolute reason to pull

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one out and when you say that you wanted the show, I literally said you tell me when and I will make

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sure I'm on the show. I don't care if I'm at work, but I'll clear my schedule for it because that's what

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it means to me knowing how close you and your dad were, how your dad influenced you and everything else.

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You know, seeing those pictures of your dad by the fire trucks this week, I was just like,

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it just, it just brought, you know, a tear to my eye knowing how, how special that man was to you

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and I never met him, unfortunately, because I'm like, I'm pretty sure that me and him would have

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annoyed the shit out of you if we were ever together. Yeah, yeah, no, it's, um, it's been tough, obviously.

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My dad had been battling stage 4 T cell lymphoma since about August. It was his third

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bout of cancer that he's had. He had one in 99, 2011 and most recently, in late to, in about mid,

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early to mid December, he finished his chemo treatments and rang the bell for anybody who's ever

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had a family member that's gone through cancer. You know, when I'm talking about that, when they're,

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we're done with their chemo treatments, they, they rang the bell. About five to six days

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before Christmas, he landed in the hospital. He was really sick, almost died then, had, had sepsis,

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had some form of C-diff bacterium just because of his immune system being so bad and he was in the

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hospital from probably the 19th or 20th till a little after New Year's day. Then he was in a rehab

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facility for a couple weeks and just got home over the last couple weeks and he had just begun this

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treatment because my dad got a PET scan and the lymphoma was showing that the lymph nodes were,

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were elevated levels and my dad went for a stem cell treatment consultation and

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he was not a candidate because he also had a heart issue that was going on and the heart issue

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was, was one that was put on pause. He was actually supposed to get surgery for that about a

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couple weeks before he was diagnosed with cancer again. So that was been put on hold and they,

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the stem cell consultant or doctor and then my dad's oncologist as well, they both reviewed his

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PET scan and they felt that this was, do more towards his infection that he had in December rather than

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the cancer returning because the prior PET scan to that in about October time for him and

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showed then he was nearing remission. So we believe that he, he was a pet beet cancer again,

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theoretically. On Thursday of last week someone to show was recorded that afternoon he went for some

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of this treatment that they were going to be doing for a couple of months and then they would

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reassess in about April to see where he was if, if their belief was true that the lymphoma had left

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or if it, you know, what's still there, he was doing like this maintenance drug in a way.

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Came home from it Thursday, felt fine, had a normal night, then Friday morning he passed away in his

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sleep. We believe that he, it was a heart attack. There were no signs of any, signs of any type of

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pain whatsoever, but it was, it was a total shock because we felt like that there was a chance that

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he was going to be around in the corner, still felt like there was going to be some health issues

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that were going on in 2025, wanted to get through the lymphoma stuff and then get the heart but trust.

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And it's just all just like very, very terrible timing because as, as you all know, on the show,

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just recently came a father myself. My brother has a daughter who's about a year and a half and he

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just recently came a grandfather and those, that's who he was fighting for were those, those two kids.

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And he gets, we go through the services later this week. It's a shock. It's a total shock. I said to my

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wife, it's probably the worst day of my life and I'm sure that there's so many people out there that

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can relate in some form or fashion, whether it be a parent, a close friend, what have you, you know,

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losses, unimaginable, the amount of grief that goes on here. So even sitting down here, I have no

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idea how long we're going to talk. I mean, there's, I haven't, we're not going to be obviously recapping

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vengeance day, giving out awards like I said, but, you know, Dr. Triano, you said it's like your worst fear,

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right? Personally, it's, it's, it's, it's hard because there's, there's a, there's a period of time

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where you realize that life is filled with chapters and there's new chapters in my book where,

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you know, I have a son now I'm married, but there are people in my life whether it be my uncle who

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passed away from cancer, my grandmother from several years ago and now my dad, it's like they're not part

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of it and I wish they were and it's really hard to get your head around grief and death obviously is

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as human beings because you want people to live forever. Yeah. Yeah, I've been blessed that, you know,

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I'm approaching 50, like I'm two months away from being 48, which tells you again, how long we've been

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doing this freaking show and both my parents are still around. I lost all of my grandparents before I was

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21, except for when I have one grandmother left, everybody else was gone really early in my life.

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So it's always been, it's always been my dad. But, you know, there's all, like the chapters

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thing is such a brilliant way of laying it out because, you know, people are kind of put in your

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life for a reason and in the chapters maybe along with them or they may be short, but, you know, it's

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the time that we really spend with the people we care about is what lives on forever. You know,

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like I'm actually in the, in the, when those was going on, like I actually just planned a trip to

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North Carolina to go see my dad and take Sammy Franklin out there with me because like you said,

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that's who your dad was fighting for were his grandkids and that's what my dad does now. Like my dad

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throws a fit because my 17 year old doesn't call him as much as she used to and I'm having to explain

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to my dad it's like, well, dad when you were 17, were you hanging out with your grandparents all that

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much? It's not that you don't care. It's just that the priorities shift a little bit and then

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they shift again later on. Like we've all gone through that somewhat rebellious phase where,

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you know, our parents don't know anything and we kind of stop listening and then at some point when

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we mature, we realize, oh no, our parents knew quite a lot of stuff and we should have been

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paying more attention and then you start to see a different side of your parents when you have the

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kids and you know that, that man that was kind of a disciplinarian or that man that was like making

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you eat your vegetables and you know being kind of a hard ass of time is now like the softest,

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most cuddly guy in the world when he's around your kids and you're like, hey, where was that guy when

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I was growing up? He wasn't around but his parents were doing that for you. So the fact that

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you're up here right now willing to do this show for us, the audience, everybody else and you know,

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like I said, you know, off air it can be kind of cathartic to get these stories out and put it out

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there for everybody, put it into the ethos. So in a lot of ways, this is something that Luke can

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listen to down the line. This is something that Luke's kids can listen to down the line is you talking

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about your dad and how he influenced you in something that Luke is going to see is very important to

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you as well. So wherever this conversation goes, I'm along for the ride with you my friend.

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Appreciate it brother, I really do. What's funny is as you were talking there, I think both Dr.

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Tray and I, you know, were around the same age and have dads that are around the same age and

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we grew up in a time period where dads were still, you know, our dads grew up with parents that were

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in the, you know, 50s and 60s and they're coming off of, you know, being the disciplinary in the

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the hard ass, right? You know, dad never shed no tears. I think I can count on my hand a very small

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amount of time that I watch my dad cry. Yeah, say what I mean. Like for me, it's like that too. It's

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maybe two or three. And what's funny is as you were talking about, you know, your daughter and

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bringing Sam and he goes see them, see your grandfather is, you know, at some point they become

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grandfather and then become soft. I saw my dad get softer when both Mike and I, my brother Mike,

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got married and we had, you know, significant others now in the life because he didn't have any

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daughters. So there was a little bit of softness there. And then when the grandchildren came, I mean,

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it was just a whole nother ball game where it was like almost like a reboot and a restart to

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the, my father when we were young kids, when we were babies, when we were toddlers like that was

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who he became again and my dad, like loved kids and and friends of ours who had younger children or

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whatever, like he was always like the very funny go to guy. And, you know, that was, that was what

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was really cool about him is is is he was getting ready to become a, you know, as a grandfather,

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like you kind of saw a refresh on a reboot and he was getting softer and seeing those layers,

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layers peel away. It's, it was like a really beautiful thing and that's, that's the hardest thing

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for me. I grew up with, I lost my dad's mom, so my grandmother obviously and then my, my mom's dad,

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grandfather, before I was ever born, they had passed away. So I grew up with a grandfather on one side

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and a grandmother on another and you know, that's, that's difficult to go through that where you never

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met a grandparent because grandparents rule and well, my dad has been able to meet both kids,

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you know, the, the likely, you know, they're not going to remember them, other than outside of

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pictures. They're not going to have those moments. Walt Disney World is a, is a massive part of my

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family and not having him be able to take his grandkids, which was a dream of his is very difficult.

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You know, we're set to go there later this year and that's got to be really hard to go there. I mean,

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there's been times this week where I didn't necessarily want to go. I was, I wanted to cancel it,

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but I know that my dad didn't want to do that at all. So it's just been, it's been tough for sure,

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you know, to get my head around that because I know my father was fearful of that of, of dying,

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where he wouldn't be able to watch his grandkids grow. So, you know, it's just one of those things where

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the wood it could have showed us where if anybody that's listening to this podcast where if you

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haven't talked to a parent in a long time, if you haven't talked to a friend in a long time,

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sibling in a long time and they mean something to you, pick up the phone, reopen those lines of

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communications, rebuild those bridges that may have been burned or broken or, you know, or dusty

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right now in dormant because you haven't reached out in some time and and rekindle those because

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that's all we got at the end of the day is is family and people that are like family to us.

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You know, take these situations where, you know, you doctor try, you're, you're getting ready,

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you're taking your son and go see your grandfather or your father to see his grandfather, you know,

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enjoy those moments, right? Because there's got to be people out there that obviously won't be able

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to do that, you know, plan something special, have some fun, go out to dinner, whatever you got to do

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and take as many photos as possible because that's something that where over the last couple months,

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my dad had lost some hair. He was, he got thin from chemo and and he didn't want many photos because

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in his mind it was like, you know, let's, we'll get the photos once everything comes back and,

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and I'm starting to, you know, feel better from post chemotherapy and and that stuff isn't happening

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now. So I wish I had more photos of him with my son. So take as many photos as possible,

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spend as much time as possible, pick up those phones, rekindle those relationships because it's,

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it's a very cliche to say, but yeah, you just, you just don't know when someone's time comes because

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this is, this is unexpected obviously. I got to ask you a question and I've been thinking about this

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for a very long time and I've never asked it on this show. I don't think I've ever asked you a person

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alive, but you brought it up. I have to know like who was the Disney person between your mom and your

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dad because I've known you for damn near 16 years now and you guys have made a lot of trips to Disney.

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It's, it's a rarity to seize a couple like I have a good friend of mine, the Jeremiah Plunkett who

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wrestles for NWA wrestling. Him and his wife are die hard Disney fanatics and that is something they

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bonded over in their first couple of dates. Between your mom and your dad, who is the Disney person and

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who convinced the other person to be a Disney person? So you know what's funny? So in 1995 I was just

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telling the story recently. In 1995, my parents, I had been nine years old, my brothers, brother would

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be about four, five. I remember this vividly, but my parents brought us into our dining room and

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they were like, so we're going to Disney World and my brother and I had the utmost worst reaction

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all the time. We were like, no, we don't want to, like we thought it was for a little kid. So they took

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us there for a trip in February in 1995 and the weather was brutal and to get to your original point

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here, really neither one of them is quote Disney people. I grew up in the golden era of Disney movies of

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the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, toy stories of the world grew up in that era. Certainly saw

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those movies, but I can't recite lines and stuff like that. So it was more like that first trip,

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they really enjoyed it. We went a year later in 1996, went to another trip and really enjoyed it.

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And that time my father saw this like Disney vacation club that's out there and he got to talk

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in and decided without really consulting with my mom that he was going to make this investment

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because it made sense to him that him and his family could go down a Walt Disney World in Lake

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one of us to Florida from 1996 to like 2048 and it was this really at the time like cheap and

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affordable price and everybody always thinks that it's like just tied to Walt Disney World and it's not.

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It's tied to Disneyland. There's resorts actually in like the Carolinas at Disney owns, there's a

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Hawaii resort that they own, but they're also tied with resorts everywhere. There's some resorts

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in New York and Canada. It's like a quasi partner with this hotel group chain almost in a way.

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So he signed us up, my mom was not happy about it and like my parents, I want to say from like

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mid 2000s on my parents did not go away on vacation anywhere else. Then one time a year for about

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two to three weeks in April, May time frame March April, May time frame to Disney World and then in

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October, no, remember time frame to Disney World. They would do about six weeks of the year and they

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were never still I mean it's not like Mickey Mouse's in tattooed on my dad's arm. We're not sitting down

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watching Disney Plus as a family. My brother and I weren't like inundated with with Disney stuff. They

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just really enjoyed the serenity and the escapeism of Walt Disney World. If you ever anybody who's

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ever been to Disney World and if you're inundated with it, everybody thinks it's just like one theme park.

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It's more than that. It's four theme parks in 20 plus resorts and quite honestly, what my parents would

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do is every day they would spend down at this one resort. They would sit at this one pool, the same

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street that they would go to and they would just sit outside and my dad would read a card magazine. He

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would make sandwiches and breakfast, eat smoke a cigar and drink a coffee and that's what they did.

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And maybe in the morning or night time, they would go to one of the theme parks, but it wasn't like

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we were go, go, go with the theme parks at all time and it's funny because everybody always will ask

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me like, why do you go there so much? What do you do there? You're 38 years old. What is this? And

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it's like it's more than this. I can't explain it to you, but it is. It's escapism. You go down there

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and it's for my family and us. It's like the closest outside of leaving the real world that you

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possibly can because you're just in this bubble and it's friendly. It's nice to great atmosphere.

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You have a good time. You're excited to do things, try new foods and they keep you busy.

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The pricing there has gone really, really high, so much so that I guess Disney themselves now

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was acknowledging that for a middle class family, it's really, really expensive. But that was just their

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thing. I mean, we didn't go to the Jersey Shore. We didn't go on a family vacation in an upstate New

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York or Canada or across the country, down south, the Carolinas. That's what they did. They did six

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weeks out of the year. They would go to Walt Disney World. And my brother and I would go about one

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week out of the year. Actually, the last time I think I saw Dr. Trey or one of the last times I saw

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Dr. Trey in person was we were down there for Florida for Disney World and my wife now wife and I

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drove down and saw the Yankees race game. So Dr. Trey and we were down there. So it was like their second

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home, the way that they looked at it was like their second home because quite honestly as time went on

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and thank God my dad did it because if anybody joins these DVC or Disney vacation clubs now,

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they're so damn expensive that I don't know if it's as affordable as it would be now because basically

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after the first couple trips it paid for itself. And the money that they pay each year nobody would be

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able to get a hotel room for that price. So we were very, very fortunate he made that decision and

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he did that for his kids. He did it for the future of his kids to have kids and it's something that's

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a major part of our lives today. Yeah, I love that. Your dad just goes, this is a really good value.

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I mean, it's just it's it's it's it's finding the value and stuff. But then I also this is something I've

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struggled with and I mean you've known me for a long time. I'm kind of a workaholic. I like staying

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busy. I've never really done vacations. My dad never, we never really did vacations. Like we would do

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weekend trips to like the lake or we had a family pond or something like that to kind of get away

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but it was never these long drawn out, you know, two three week long trips and even now when my wife would

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bring it up, you know, last year or the year before like she was like, you know, we we don't go

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on vacation. I'm like, I don't even know what that is because in in my head a lot of it was I never

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really appreciated the escapism of taking some time to kind of re-center yourself letting all the stress

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because for me the stress was always going to be there. It's like when I come back it just starts

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right back up. I have the same thoughts as you. So and I've known you for a long time and you've

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been a workaholic also. So I appreciate the fact that your dad and your mom could go, look, we're not

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Disney people but Florida is nice and there's a pool and we can just go down there and like get away

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from everything and just spend some quality time together because that's something that I've

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really struggled with, you know, realizing that, you know, both my my two oldest kids, my my daughter,

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my stepson, are both about to graduate high school and go off on their own. My daughter's graduating in

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three months, uh, pay no graduate. He's 18 now, but he'll graduate next year. At that point is just me,

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me, the wife and Sammy is like, I, I, I want to have a feel guilty about trying to go, look, we need to

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do stuff as a family and spend some time together, but the two oldest kids probably won't be along with

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us because they're about to be adults. So there's this weird contrast of guilt and, you know, not being

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able to take them along for stuff, but yeah, it really is important, especially as you get older to kind

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of just go, we need to step away from life and just enjoy us. And that's one thing I'm trying to be

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very cognizant of, you know, cognizant of going forward. Your mom and dad just figured it out years and

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years ago. Yeah, yeah. No, my mom wasn't too happy with them originally because they were still a

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mortgage and had two young kids and my dad was a, a blue collar worker. He had his own business. It

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was an H-FAC business. I actually worked with him. At one point when he had, I had cancer, then I was

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with him for 12 years until I got into, uh, in radio, but it's funny to the point that you're making

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because I go through this every single time that before we leave for vacation, I'm like super stressed

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out because I got a list of things that I got to do that's long and wide. And what's always, uh,

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sucks is there's a list of things to do long and wide when you get home. And it has a lot to do with

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how connected we are nowadays where, you know, my job can text me day and night at any point. I can

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get an email at day and night at any point. Um, anything that I do as a hobby could reach out to me day

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or night. It's, it's, it's so easy. We're so accessible more than whatever. Um, that you kind of want to

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go back into 1995 and, and remember those days when everybody didn't necessarily have a cell phone

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and everybody wasn't texting or calling and all you really had was your landline because you could

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completely disconnect. So I could totally relate to those feelings where it's like I have, I don't

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want to go on vacation because I know what it's going to be like when I come back, but I tell you what,

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day about two, three, four, when you're down on a vacation and you're doing it, you could feel the

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mind just completely escape. Obviously as it gets closer, you know, depending on the length of the

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vacation, you know, that, uh, shortly after that first travel day in the middle, uh, about 75%

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towards the end, you're, you're in a really good spot. And then that dread comes on when it's like a

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crap, I got to get back to this all. So, um, yeah, we had had some phenomenal moments and, um,

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yeah, that's kind of where the whole Walt Disney World thing stem from, which is just, uh,

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just wild to think. So yeah, I mean, I'm truly blessed and honored and honest, uh, or honestly,

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happy that my dad, you know, seven days a week, eight hours a day, worked his hands to the bone,

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worked in a blue collar job, built a business that was just him and I for a period of time.

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Sold that business, was able to retire and joy some life for a little bit. Um, and he did that all

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on his back and you're not really going to see those types of workers all that much anymore because

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the entrepreneur of business has changed. Um, you know, if you're able to build something, it takes a

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really, really long time to do that, uh, whether it's blue collar or white collar. So it's, it's kind of like

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that last of a dine breed of some sort where I, I mean, I don't know what it's like for you, Dr.

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Tre, but I could tell you when I was 20 years ago when I graduated high school, uh, they were already

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trying to shy kids away from doing these blue collar jobs, working with your hands, being a plumber,

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electrician, HVAC, which is a damn shame because I could tell you what from a son of someone who did

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that, uh, he made a very, very good living, was able to provide for us and will still be able to take

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care of his family for decades and years to come because of the stuff that he did on his own two hands

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and on, you know, breaking his, his back to the bone almost. Yeah, so, you know, similar, like my dad

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was a construction, you know, I did my dad, uh, delivered sheetrock for 25 years. He'd be the guy out there

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the boom truck full of, you know, with all the sheetrock for a house. He'd go out there and nowadays you see

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a boot, you see a truck go out of all the sheetrock. There's like three or four guys on the truck,

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you know, no, my dad was the guy that would go out there by himself and deliver it and built a,

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built a life for him and his family on his back until his back literally gave out. Um, and he got a

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really good settlement for work with his companies. It will retire, but my, my grandfather was in construction,

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uh, both my uncles are electricians, my brothers in electrician, uh, and my dad, basically told me,

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he's like, you're not a blue collar guy. You're not a heart, you're not the physical guy. You're a smart guy,

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you're a funny guy. You need to go to college and figure stuff out for yourself and figure out what

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role, you know, what role works for you. And then I end up in construction doing story models and

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renovations. That's what I was doing. We launched a show that wasn't until a few years back when my

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stepson looked at me and went, saw me at a wrestling show. He's like, you're a really good talker. And

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I was like, okay, thank you. He goes, do they pay you for this? And I went, I like, you know, 20 bucks. He's

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like, you should have a job where you get paid to talk. And I, and I laughed at it. And I thought about

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like, it's what my dad was telling me years ago. And I never, and that's how I transitioned over and

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doing the marketing stuff for construction companies because I'm a good talker. And obviously,

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we've been here to show for this long. I must be a good talker. But yeah, like, but they were,

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that was the whole thing. Like, oh no, you don't want to go into construction. You don't want to go

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into manual labor. You know, you don't see your family. You're gone all the time. You're always

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kind of on call for your customers when they need emergencies because you're trying to build a loyal

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customer base. And the, the scary thing is now, you know, that was like, you know, late 90s, 30 years

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later, we're begging people to go to trade school. You know, we're a guy. Seriously, you'll make more money

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doing trade school stuff than you will go into college. Jeff and I mean, seriously, I, how many

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friends are ours? We have to have like masters degrees and they're making 30,000, 40,000 dollars a year.

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Like, there's just not a great market for it, but like my brother now who's started his own company up,

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you know, he'll probably make 400,000, 500,000 a year. He's building something for his son

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that if that's where he wants to go, there's a business. If not, he can sell it and retire early.

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I got into a field where, basically, I can do this until I drop into the ground myself because of

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the fact that like, I can, as long as my brain's working, I don't need my hands on my, I can talk.

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I can teach people how to talk. I can teach people how to do my job. So

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that it was kind of like the best of both worlds. I'm like, I'm combining my one talent with

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my family's history and kind of combining it into one. But yeah, like I tell my steps on my steps

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on all the time. I'm like, dude, I'm like, you're not a great talker. You don't like people.

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You might need to find a job in some kind of service trade industry just so you can do the job and

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not really communicate with anybody and still make a good living for your families. A little bit

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of that like playing to your strengths and minimizing your weaknesses. That's more the lesson

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my dad taught me than anything else. Yeah, it's, you know, I guess we're thankful that we grew up in

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that different era. Then I guess some right nowadays because it did help thicken the skin a little bit

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and kind of teach you the work ethic. And that's been something I've been pointed out. And I just

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mentioned previously I started working with my dad back in 1999. I was 12 years old, which,

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I don't think a lot of 12 year olds are working nowadays, especially in a in a blue collar job. And

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it originally just started because he needed a pair of hands. He needed help carrying some stuff

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because my dad was weak from the chemotherapy at that time. And what started from there was from 1999

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until about 2000 and 12 when I got hired in Hartford Connecticut to work at the local radio station

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there in sports radio, 97 to 90 SPN for those who remember those days if you're a long time listener is

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here of the podcast or even if you remember listening to me from the Bauer Shadeys, it was,

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it was where that work ethic started and he did not pay me that first summer because he felt that

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I needed to earn it basically. And I started at like $0 an hour and I would get paid in like

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lunches and of course I loved it. And then it became like $2 an hour and $4 an hour and kept increasing.

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And you know it was it was cool. I enjoyed those times. I mean working with them for God, I guess it

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would have been 13 years. And then towards the end of it it was it was a really tough decision for

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me because in about May 2000, so March 2012 Bauer who who kept an obvious Dr. Tray Franklin

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I did the old Captain obvious name there, knows very well. And he's the gentleman that still host

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this podcast on there. He got hired in Hartford Connecticut 97 to 90 SPN and in about two months time

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he brought me along and what was the trigger of all that was the CM Punk interview of Profession

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Wrestling was in town in Hartford at the XL Center and he was like you got to be here for this

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and I think he started doing an internship in Air Quotes with me about two weeks prior.

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And I would ask my dad like hey do you need me these days or I'm going to go up to Hartford.

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And he would give me his blessing to go up there it would be like maybe two three days a week.

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And this time went on it was two three days a week to almost five days a week because he knew I was

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chasing a dream. He allowed me to do that and I got hired in December 2012. And that was tough because

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I didn't want to leave my dad out there by himself because he was getting older and age and he was

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he was having difficulty at times like carrying things and I knew this was going to be a little bit

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of a burden on him. And I think it was also right around that time that he started talking about selling

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the business. If I remember correctly I think I may have worked with him on some weekends but he

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allowed me to to chase that he could have said no you know I need you five days a week I can't

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have you go internship do an internship there chasing a job that you may not get for no money

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because I wasn't getting paid at that point until December 2012 when I finally got hired as like a

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quote board operator still was making peanuts making less money than I would with my dad

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because the clear channel was extremely cheap and using us basically using me for that role

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just because I was chasing the dream but he allowed that to happen again I mean he could have said no

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but he allowed that to happen and I was happy to that then he did that because it led to some radio

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and he was extremely proud of me he would it was funny because my mom would tell stories that she

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would come home from work and there would my dad would be on the computer listening to the

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Bauer show online every day in a bag of potato chips eating sandwich whatever and he would be

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listening the show every single day he was so proud he would never tell me he was listening

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the show every single day but he was listening every single day for those two years got to ESPN chase

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that I remember talking to him like when I was getting ready to leave and he and my mom both said like

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you know you you did what you tried what you wanted to do you did your dream that you want to do I

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always wanted to work at ESPN it didn't work out for you the money wasn't there and now you're taking

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these next steps and which led to my my rest of my career but yeah I mean a lot of those things where

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he sacrificed for us as a father as an apparent and he sacrificed as a person to allow me to chase

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other things and and for that I'm obviously forever grateful and as I said at the start of the show

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I don't think I would be a wrestling fan today if it wasn't for my dad I remember in like

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91 92 93-ish he would watch wrestling and he would always mimic matcha man's rainy savage voice

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and from time to time he would have me sit with him and we'd watch wrestling and see Hulk Hogan

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and and matcha man randy savage and he would like play wrestle and all that stuff it wasn't really

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until 1994 that I got into wrestling and and a couple stories that like really span out to that to

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tie it back to wrestling here on the wrestling podcast that we do in in the in the early 90s he he

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worked for Bruce Pritchard I think I mentioned here on the show so worked with Bruce Pritchard would

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ask me if I remembered brother love I think brother love was an on television at that point and

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wf as it was known at the time back in the day since I lived close to the headquarters or

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lived close to the headquarters of role-rest entertainment they would do these literal high school gyms

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doctor tray and they would do it for a benefit for a Stanford Connecticut police officer and we

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would go to a regular high school and watch wf stars I remember seeing yoko's universe's earthquake

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in like a sumo match I think Lex Luger was one of the head shrinkers being there one two three kid

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and it was so cool and before one of the shows he took me down to meet Bruce Pritchard

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you know shook his hand set a few pleasantries you know set high to my dad and and off we would go

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and that was really cool and my dad had some connections where somewhere and I got to find it I've

365
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:10,720
been thinking about this for a long time but somewhere he got a photo of Macho Man Randy Savage

366
00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:16,160
signed for me where it said to Jeffrey you know best wishes which is Macho Man Randy Savage

367
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and it was because he had some friends I don't know I don't remember if it was Bruce Pritchard or

368
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someone that he knew that worked for wf but he was able to get that for me you know he would make

369
00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:35,520
sure I didn't miss a single paper view you know we would watch every mid early to mid 90s paper

370
00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:42,560
view from like 94 to 96 97 was because of my dad watching every single paper view paying for that

371
00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:47,520
I'm a bro we said my dad you know they're about to go on did you pay for it he's like yes I paid for

372
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it all good and we would watch those paper views obviously illegal now but at the time well illegal

373
00:37:56,000 --> 00:38:02,240
then too but he would record them for me so that I could watch them I remember a Thanksgiving where

374
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we were at we went to go visit my uncle and my dad couldn't come because he was working and I called

375
00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:14,560
him for like the results of survivor series 1994 and having him tell me on the phone that Bob

376
00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:20,720
backlin won the wf championship because Owen threw in the towel and then watching it afterwards was

377
00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:27,440
like blew blew my mind I remember staying up and watching those early days of Monday night raw with him

378
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:35,840
you know it was just it was really cool and he got me my start in professional wrestling is as time

379
00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:41,840
went on you know he would kind of break my chops of watching wrestling and you know you know that

380
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:48,880
stuff is not real and you know I would choke around with him like got there was something recently like

381
00:38:49,680 --> 00:38:54,560
you know did you see that the rock came back or whatever and he's like now I didn't see that and

382
00:38:54,560 --> 00:39:00,240
you know or Hulk Hogan was back on and he's you know he would get a kick out of like the holster still

383
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:07,280
going out there and running through the motions but yeah um pretty sure that if it wasn't for him

384
00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:13,360
watching wrestling in those early 90s and he would actually talk about his old man and my

385
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:17,920
grandfather grandfather taking into madness for a garden to go see Bruno Sam Martino

386
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:25,200
and how important it was to sit down and watch wrestling on those Saturdays and I don't know my my great

387
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:31,840
grandmother loved wrestling and he would watch it with her and he would tell those stories I think

388
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:37,040
it's safe to say I want to be a wrestling fan today if it wasn't for my father um introducing me

389
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:42,320
to professional wrestling so you know it's pretty cool that that happened and the amount of things

390
00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:47,360
that he did for me to become a wrestling fan to start out being a wrestling fan and uh yeah just

391
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:51,760
forever grateful I mean when we would go to those events he would buy out the things I'd have the

392
00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:58,960
Bret Hart sunglasses he would buy every styrofoam plastic WF title belt for me I had all of them um

393
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:06,080
the my my Reverend razor Ramone chain with a razor that's a razor Simone on it I mean he would

394
00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:11,280
just spoil us and um that was my dad and you know I don't know if I'd be here today again

395
00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:15,760
talking professional wrestling if he didn't introduce that door to me I'm I'm sure he probably

396
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:21,680
thought at times that it went along a little bit too long that I was a wrestling fan but uh he still

397
00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:28,160
he still got that going so I appreciate my dad for doing that I'm just picturing like 11-year-old

398
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:34,640
ginger Jeff Peck uh walking through the halls of his school with that razor Ramone chain dangling

399
00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:40,960
from his neck thinking he's the coolest thing in the world I just it's it's it's it's it's I mean

400
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:45,360
and we've talked about the show like we know my I always tell everybody like my I give my

401
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:50,080
grandmother credit for getting me in a wrestling but my dad was the bridge dad dad was not a

402
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:54,800
diehard wrestling fan but he I mean he'd watch it with grandma and then when he saw that I was

403
00:40:54,800 --> 00:41:00,560
interested he kind of helped push that a little bit like he's the one that you know like he always

404
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:06,800
bring up Danny Hodge is like our sixth cousin and he would tell stories about how Danny Hodge could

405
00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:12,880
crush an apple with his bare hands and you know all those stories and then you know seven years old

406
00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:17,760
like mid-south wrestling in Tulsa was the big thing like you know Ted D. B. Ossie, Dr. Steve

407
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:24,880
William, junkyard dog all those guys came through that territory and you know dad I remember it took

408
00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:31,680
me to my first wrestling show and got me and and nose bleed sees but I mean you know because I mean

409
00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:36,000
you know this from having a blue car background your dad's working eight 10 hours a day dad worked

410
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,280
might have a good work at five o'clock in the morning he wouldn't get home till six o'clock at night

411
00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:44,400
and he would come home and be like get in the car and go and drive it and take me to a wrestling show

412
00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:52,400
and kind of the same thing like I think you know he always would kind of like you know as I got older

413
00:41:52,400 --> 00:41:56,240
like you're still watching that stuff you're still into like kind of giving me crap about it a little bit

414
00:41:56,240 --> 00:42:03,520
and even into my 20s and then we started the podcast I I joked with somebody recently I'm like I

415
00:42:03,520 --> 00:42:11,840
don't think my dad has ever listened to an episode of our show um up until recently you know just

416
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:16,800
been the last like year or so that I think my dad's actually listened to the show but

417
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:23,520
it once I got involved in the wrestling business my dad thought it was kind of cool like he was like

418
00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:28,160
really you're out there and and then now that he sees like the interactions that Sammy has

419
00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:35,120
with the wrestling stuff and he told me he saw the video of me getting the crowd saying happy birthday

420
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:41,360
to Sammy was one of the coolest things he'd ever seen it actually brought a tear to his eye and he's

421
00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:45,840
like that's one of the things that's gonna live with Sammy forever and in the back of my mind I'm like

422
00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:50,320
it's also one of those things that's gonna live with my dad for as long as he's around is he's gonna

423
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:58,640
see that how much something I loved gave back to something he loves so much in Sammy so

424
00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:05,200
like I'm really I'm really proud of that that it's taken a long time for me to kind of make my dad

425
00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:11,200
a wrestling fan again not so much in the you know day to day week to week watching of the show

426
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:17,520
but just how much the wrestling community can love the people that love it shit I'm gonna

427
00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:22,960
show you fuck yeah yeah no it's it's it's an amazing bond right I mean it starts somewhere for all

428
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:30,400
of us and that's what's really cool about professional wrestling where it's a bond it starts somewhere

429
00:43:30,400 --> 00:43:37,680
and it's passed on to someone else and it brings people together there is no greater joy than

430
00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:42,720
professional wrestling for me at times it's one of the best and it's you want to talk about escapism

431
00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:46,400
I mean this is another one it's the world of professional wrestling and that's something that my

432
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:52,240
dad opened that door too and I'm sure didn't figure it would be as open and wide as as it was but I

433
00:43:52,240 --> 00:43:55,440
mean there are other things I mean we talked about Walt Disney World my dad opened that door for a

434
00:43:55,440 --> 00:44:00,880
period of time and he himself got away from it as well but NASCAR was a big thing that that we did is

435
00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:06,160
as a family traveling around to different racetracks and went to Charlotte Motor Speedway with him

436
00:44:06,160 --> 00:44:12,240
went to New Hampshire Motor Speedway with him so I mean those were moments that I'll always remember

437
00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:19,120
one thing that I'll all kind of lead with it and another story that just came to mind as we're

438
00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:25,120
talking about my dad and professional wrestling like how wf was back in the day and I think I've said

439
00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:30,320
the story on here as well so forgive me for those who've heard it but wf back in the day would have

440
00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:35,600
like these warehouse events where it was people could come to the warehouse and and they can

441
00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:42,720
buy merchandise or stuff that was off the rack and recently my dad showed me a flyer for it which

442
00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:47,040
was wild it was like something in the newspapers like a little small newspaper clipping like

443
00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:52,720
WWE wf is having a warehouse sale come on down and I think wrestlers were going to be there and my dad

444
00:44:52,720 --> 00:44:58,320
always claims like Hulk Hogan was going to be there but he showed me the flyer and said it was

445
00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:03,040
going to be there Hogan was going to be there whatever but I refused to get out of the car because

446
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:10,080
of donk the clown being there I was afraid of seeing donk the clown and he always said told that story

447
00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:13,600
where yeah you were going to meet Hogan we were going to do this warehouse thing but you went

448
00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:18,560
to get out of the car you were afraid and scared because donk the clown was in there which is kind of

449
00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:26,880
speaks to a generation where it was pretty cool at one point it was still real to me dammit and I was

450
00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:31,120
so fearful this was you know the evil donk the clown error I did not want to get out of the car

451
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:36,000
because of donk the clown being there so the story that he always would tell from time to time

452
00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:45,760
you know I think this has been a very therapeutic and cathartic edition of the podcast there's

453
00:45:45,760 --> 00:45:52,080
a lot to be said and maybe in the weeks and months and days that follow here on the podcast from

454
00:45:52,080 --> 00:46:00,960
time to time will bring up some more stories but in a weird way I'm sorry to everybody that we're

455
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:05,120
not sitting here right now and celebrating 15 years of the still real to show and giving you

456
00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:10,480
that award show and recapping review and NXT Vengeance Day and anything else that's going on

457
00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:16,880
WrestleMania 41 roundup and I truly hope that we're going to be able to get to that the only

458
00:46:16,880 --> 00:46:21,680
wrestling show that I finished so far of watching was smacked down from last Friday the day that my

459
00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:27,280
dad passed away and I literally just did that today as Dr. Trayn I recorded this on Wednesday afternoon

460
00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:32,000
everything else is just so backed up in the queue of things that I got to get caught up on and watch

461
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:37,840
I don't quite frankly know if I'll be able to to be fully back and recapped everything that's going on

462
00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:41,760
on next week's edition show and I'm sure you know Dr. Trayn is understanding to that and I'm sure

463
00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:46,320
all of you listening to the podcast are very understanding to that as well and I thank you for that

464
00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:52,880
it was the toughest day of my life it's it's one of the toughest times I've ever gone through

465
00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:58,720
and sitting down here for well over 45 minutes talking with Dr. Trayn talking about my dad

466
00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:05,760
talking about listening about his dad and sharing stories about our dad is is it's been fantastic

467
00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:10,160
it's been extremely helpful and I thank everybody who's downloaded the show I thank Dr. Trayn for

468
00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:14,960
giving me this opportunity to say yeah let's wipe the show clean we're going to go do something

469
00:47:14,960 --> 00:47:22,800
that we've never done in in 784 episodes and then just talk about us there are some wrestling tie

470
00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:28,720
in still but this is just basically Jeff Pack and Dr. Trayn Franklin talking shooting the shit you're

471
00:47:28,720 --> 00:47:37,600
part of the phone call and it's it's it's uh it's been fun I uh I wish I didn't have to do it

472
00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:43,680
certainly given the circumstances but again I thank everybody for downloading I thank everybody for

473
00:47:43,680 --> 00:47:49,920
their support it's it's been immense to me and my family and it has meant a lot to me so

474
00:47:50,560 --> 00:47:55,200
I guess before we formally close up shop on this week's edition of the show Dr. Trayn anything

475
00:47:55,200 --> 00:48:01,280
anything else you want to say here before we we bid bid adieu for this week's edition of podcast

476
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:07,600
we have we've been together longer than most married couples I make that joke with you all the time

477
00:48:07,600 --> 00:48:13,120
like we've been together now 15 years of doing the show probably 16 years of our friendship

478
00:48:13,120 --> 00:48:19,120
I don't say this enough I love you man you love you too man you are near near to my heart

479
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:25,680
we may not have given the audience 15 years of best RTU we gave them 38 years of memories about

480
00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:34,000
fun time Johnny that that is more important to me uh then the show this week so I love you my brother

481
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:43,120
my thoughts and prayers and everything's with you um and this whole community cares about you

482
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:50,800
so if you need anything all you have to do is reach out to any of us and we always have your back my friend

483
00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:57,040
I appreciate that man um I appreciate all of you for downloading and supporting this podcast for

484
00:48:57,040 --> 00:49:02,240
15 years I down I appreciate all of you guys for downloading this week's edition of the show

485
00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:08,240
probably very curious as to why we're doing this um with the title of the episode and um

486
00:49:08,960 --> 00:49:17,600
again I cannot thank you enough I will I will love and miss my dad forever um and I thank him for everything so

487
00:49:17,600 --> 00:49:24,240
until next week four Dodge Tray Franklin I am Jeff Peck thank you for downloading thank you for

488
00:49:24,240 --> 00:49:27,360
being there on this week's edition of the StoRill does show