Get ready to discover the fascinating journey of our illustrious guest, Dr. John Stropko. A pioneer in the realm of dentistry, Dr. Stropko takes us through his captivating odyssey from humble beginnings to inventing the ground-breaking Stropko irrigator. Borne out of his transition into the specialized field of micro-endodontics, this invention has since revolutionized the practice of dentistry. Dr. Stropko's narrative isn't just limited to his professional accomplishments, as we also traverse the personal anecdotes of his experiences as a pilot and motorhome owner, and his intriguing encounter with a rare liver dish.
As you accompany us through Dr. Stropko's journey, you'll find yourself immersed in insights and advice that extend beyond the confines of a dental practice. Dr. Stropko underscores the significance of passion and balance in every aspect of life. The concept he fondly coins as the "cross of life", emphasizes the necessity to balance work, play, love, and worship. His reflections on his personal life experiences, particularly his joy of flying and life on the road, further illuminate this philosophy.
We conclude our conversation with a glimpse into the entrepreneurial facet of Dr. Stropko's career. His innovative and strategic approach to business and marketing can serve as a learning curve for many. He talks about his plans to incorporate our conversation into his marketing initiatives, demonstrating his forward-thinking mindset. As we bid adieu, we wish him continued success and look forward to catching up with him in September. Embarking on this knowledge-filled journey with us, you're sure to gain enriching perspectives on dentistry, life, and a lot more.
Get ready to discover the fascinating journey of our illustrious guest, Dr. John Stropko. A pioneer in the realm of dentistry, Dr. Stropko takes us through his captivating odyssey from humble beginnings to inventing the ground-breaking Stropko irrigator. Borne out of his transition into the specialized field of micro-endodontics, this invention has since revolutionized the practice of dentistry. Dr. Stropko's narrative isn't just limited to his professional accomplishments, as we also traverse the personal anecdotes of his experiences as a pilot and motorhome owner, and his intriguing encounter with a rare liver dish.
As you accompany us through Dr. Stropko's journey, you'll find yourself immersed in insights and advice that extend beyond the confines of a dental practice. Dr. Stropko underscores the significance of passion and balance in every aspect of life. The concept he fondly coins as the "cross of life", emphasizes the necessity to balance work, play, love, and worship. His reflections on his personal life experiences, particularly his joy of flying and life on the road, further illuminate this philosophy.
We conclude our conversation with a glimpse into the entrepreneurial facet of Dr. Stropko's career. His innovative and strategic approach to business and marketing can serve as a learning curve for many. He talks about his plans to incorporate our conversation into his marketing initiatives, demonstrating his forward-thinking mindset. As we bid adieu, we wish him continued success and look forward to catching up with him in September. Embarking on this knowledge-filled journey with us, you're sure to gain enriching perspectives on dentistry, life, and a lot more.
Today we have Dr John Stropko, who has a very interesting history. So I'm just gonna kind of run through some of the highlights. Born in September of 1940. So that's a somewhat similar to we have. I was born in September but kind of a little later year, but you're born in Ohio, the oldest of four children and I was the oldest of three. So and then you graduated from the Indiana University School of Dentistry in 1964, became a captain in the United States Air Force Dental Corps station in Lincoln at the Air Force Base out there in Nebraska. So we thank you very much for your years of service there.
Speaker 1:And then you, after completing that, you went into private practice in Indiana in 1966 but didn't stay there too long, moved off to Tucson, arizona, in 1972 and then Interesting interestingly enough, after 24 years of doing general dash during 87 you went back to school, the Boston University Graduate, the endodontic program over there, the residency program, which I think was very unique.
Speaker 1:And then you got into micro-endodontics in 1991 and then Gaining into that. I guess that kind of gave you some ideas to develop the Stropko irrigator back in 1993 and 94 which you patented in 95. Then another thing I thought was interesting is your relocation to Alaska in 96 picked up, the family, went up there, did some amazing research on in Viva root canal morphology, which was a large clinical morphology study done at the time, what you published in the JLE in 1998, and then, after a few cold years in 1999, move back to Scottsdale and after moving back Scottsdale, really focus on the pump in on the microsurgical endodontic procedures you were doing, worked at another colleague of ours, dr McClammy, and then in December 2011 decided that was it for the clinical career and then you kind of have branched out into other areas. So you have done in one lifetime, in one career time, much more than many of us mortals usually do. So let's start the beginning. There must have been something. You seem like you're a pretty driven fella to get into dentistry at a pretty young age.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I Think back at why I became a dentist and and I remember we lived in Cleveland, ohio, and On a fairly busy street and the dentist was located about oh, a half a block and across the street. And I can remember going to the dentist. This is weird, but my mother would come out on the front porch, front steps and say, hey, johnny, don't let him use any anesthetic, it cost a dollar. And I remember sitting there gripping the chair, thinking, boy, I'd sure like to be on that end of it. You know it sounds stupid, but you know I think, well, maybe that's got into dentistry. My father told me I had, I was going to be a physician, no matter what doctor, and as I got into pre-med and I liked, of course, all of the sciences and everything, but I I just couldn't imagine and at that time my knowledge of practicing medicine was and you know we're looking back in in the late 50s and I just thought I could never tell someone they were going to die or there's some terrible thing that had happened to them. So I decided to go into dentistry and and that was a, you know, a great decision. I loved it.
Speaker 2:When I was practicing in Monticello, indiana, general practice. I found out very within a few years I did not like I love children, don't get me wrong. I did not like them in my dental chair. So I, I really limited my practice to adults and I knew that I had a lot, a lot of knowledge that had to be accumulated and I spent a lot of time at the Panky Institute and I, I just I Don't know why I I wanted to move.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to stay in in Indiana, the weather just terrible, northern Indiana, you are well know, you're in California, but it was just miserable. So I decided to go to Tucson and I passed the board which, for for Many different reasons at that time, was very, very difficult to get your dental degree Indiana University and past the board of Arizona. There was, there was some issue going on, but I did and there was no way that they could have failed me and it was a good, good two days and Then I practiced there for oh gosh, oh, 15 years, I think Something like that. But I Got involved and I'm kind of share with you in a way the the reason I went into endodontics and and, and, which is kind of unusual, because I used to Make fun of the endodontists in Tucson and I said you know what a way to spend your life is just doing this all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah and I didn't know anything about it into. I referred it all out and the I had a real close friend that was one of the biggest contractors in all of the area and they built big schools and big projects and Phoenix and Tucson and we became very close. His son and I Became very close friends and one day he came in he says how would you like to retire in a year? Well, it turned out we bought 40 acres outside of Tucson and it was in the process of the roads being put in and everything. In short, he and I Borrowed about a million dollars and this is back when the prime rate was got up to 20, one or 22%. Long story short the People putting in the roads and the underground utilities. They went bankrupt and they had. Then they had the 100 year flood in the Rideau River that caused the whole construction area complex to go into the river.
Speaker 2:I watched it happen and then, further down the line, my construction buddy filed bankruptcy and All my life, I'd been told the worst thing in the world is someone files bankruptcy. So my wife and I were 90 hours at least 90, maybe a hundred hours a week Trying to keep those payments up, and I had my Two of my accountants, the manager of my bank, good friends Tell me I had filed chapter 7, so I did, and and, as a result, I sent out a letter to all of my patients. And One morning I'm in the shower on the Thursday morning and he called me and he says I got your letter, what are you going to do? I Says well, I don't know, my wife and I just gonna get my Getting a travel trailer to travel around. You know, don't know what to do. He said well, how would you like to study under her shoulder? And I said who's her shoulder? I never heard of him. And he says well, I can get you an interview there tomorrow. You have to be there at 9 o'clock and this I'm in the shower at 10 in the morning and we had no money. No, I mean, we really didn't. So I had my 1600 dollars under the mattress, and so I called up a travel agency and I made arrangements to go to and the tickets were six hundred dollars. And she said well, I'll go ahead and get the tickets, you stop by the office and pay for it. And I says no, we don't have time. I only had maybe an hour and a half to get to the plane and I said I'll meet you at the corner of Thornydale and and I know and Pull over, give you the money. You give me the tickets. That's the way we did it.
Speaker 2:It and it's probably one of the best things that ever happened to a person, because the one thing that everybody has to realize is that it's not the worst thing in the world that happens to you, it's not the bottom of your life, that's what you do with it. And as as an end of that, as a specialist, I would have many times General Dennis calm and they had a real problem and I would share that with them and say you know it's what you do, it's not you know, it's up to you now. And, as it turned out, I could look you, I tell them, I said someday you'll look back at this and you'll say this is the best thing that have ever happened to me and and.
Speaker 2:And so that was a huge turning point in my life. And if someone would have told me when, when we're in dental school myself and a big football player from Notre Dame In my class, iu, we had the biggest hands in the in the class I mean huge hands if someone had told me back then that I would become a micro in the, donna says a yeah, right, so. But then, as being a specialist, when I first got out Well, I'm the oldest person to ever get there, don't graduate certificate from Boston and when I first got out and then I knew that I, I didn't, didn't want to go back, I didn't want to go to Phoenix or anything, and Prescott has always been a place I would like to go to. So they didn't. I was the first anodontist north of Phoenix in the whole state and Phoenix is in the lower third, so I had patients coming from Vegas at the time. It was back in 89 and I I I thought you know now I'm a specialist, but and I you know, of course they always tell you you want to the best training center there ever was and stuff like that. But I didn't feel very adequate. So I started studying under Cliff Rudd, one, gary Carr and I'd go study and read, study, and, and at one I Took a microsurgery course from Cliff Rudd and this first time I looked in a microscope, and Gary Carr was one of the guest lecturers at that. And so, oh, 10 days later I had a microscope delivered to Prescott, arizona, and, believe it or not, the rumors are getting around in Prescott I was losing my eyesight, but I, I really, I really enjoyed it and my practice went crazy. I mean, just, I was the only only guy on the block, and so you know, we're all about money to a point, but and but that was never my driving issue. My driving issue is just, I had just do it, just right, and and that's. That's one of the One of the things that really bothered me. And the reason I moved to Anchorage is because, well, I like to hunt the fish, but there were Three other endodontist up in Anchorage, so I saw my practice in in Prescott, went up to Anchorage and I was the only microscope in that part of the world and I really got busier up there than I was in Prescott.
Speaker 2:By this time I've been traveling all over, lecturing and, and you know, going crazy about micro endodontics. When I bought my first microscope from Gary Carr. I got an assistant scope and that's the one thing I can Really recommend to anybody using doing micro endodontics or microgenestries. Get your assistant in on it, that other set of eyes I don't know how many times my assistant would say what's that white spot over there, or what's this or what's that, and we get so, so tunnel vision and and then you look oh yeah, oh yeah, that was the, that's the MB2 on the number 15 halfway down the Palo canal, and Stuff like that I can many times. So I recommend it. You know that assistant scope just takes you to that other level. It's not possible to get to without it, and that's one, one of the big lessons that I learned.
Speaker 2:And so after three years in Anchorage, alaska, and Whenever I went anywhere Nationally or internationally it was a lot longer I had to take the whole week off if I was lecturing, one or two days and I also forgot how much I dislike snow cold. So by then I had I had a lot more confidence and and a pretty good reputation. So I decided it was either going to be Beverly Hills or Scottsdale and that's where I ended up. And Again, I guess maybe I've got more than my share of Hungarian and jeans. My whole family, and both sides, was Hungarian and and my I had more than my share of gypsy jeans, I guess. So I've had several different practices and I guess Tucson was the longest I ever stayed and Scottsdale was the second longest. So that's kind of the whole thing and I'm not shallow in that now, you know.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate you sharing that because, like you said, through adversity at the time, I'm sure it felt like, as you were in that shower Trying to ponder what the next step for going to be, I probably felt like it was the worst part of life. But you turn that adversity into opportunity and it's funny how that happens. And they say, when one door shuts, another one opens and and you received it and you made the best of it, you raced out there and yeah, just just that that you didn't give up and say, well, I don't think I can get out there that fast. You know you sat there and I can make this work. That's an amazing story.
Speaker 2:You know, sometimes God talks to us and all we have to do is listen. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's, that's amazing. And then you know, I had a question because I know you talk about how you want to get your assistant involved and for many years your, your wife, was your assistant.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, 30 over 30 years, and we had yeah, and she's still a good assistant, yeah.
Speaker 1:So when she'd see that little white spot down in that hell, the Camel like you're saying, did she tell you nicely or was she kicking? You're underneath the chair.
Speaker 2:No, no, she would Tell you. One of our patients went up to the front desk and said is that I'll ever do this grunt at each other? You know she, she just go. Oh, no, what spot? Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:I Laugh at the story because my wife and I, we we've worked together. Now she's an assistant too. We work together for over 30 years too, so I Can relate to that. You don't hear the same thing, just kind of having no, from the little change in posture or that little grunt, yeah, something else, no, that's great. And so you know. Going back, I think it's funny when I listen to that story. It's a great story, but you know, moving from Arizona to Anchorage, alaska, that's kind of a big change. So, because, let's go back to your family, how many kids did you have?
Speaker 2:well, I had. We had two. One was born in Boston. I had my from a previous marriage. I had two, but that was over with and so we took there were three of us at the time I see maybe it was four, or lose track, yeah, so, um, I yeah, it was. It was a real challenge, I, and it was something. Once I saw Alaska, I had to live there, you know, go up there deer hunting or or salmon fishing or something. I just had to do it and I really thought I'd have more time to do it than I did.
Speaker 1:So so it was it. Is it harder to get somebody to have a root canal? It was hard to get your kids and your wife to move from Arizona to Alaska.
Speaker 2:No, barb's always been, you know, ready for any challenge and change. She, she knew that I was having problems and you can only do so much, you know. I believe there's only one real way to control your practice and that's with your fees. But you can only exert so much control when you're that busy and then it gets to be a point where you know you don't want to charge a million dollars that come out and I don't feel right about it. So I Wanted to go somewhere different. She knew that. So it was just a matter of doing it and we, we had a wonderful time up there and I just I got, I got too busy and that's when I decided I would Come back and I like Arizona. I couldn't imagine going to Beverly Hills or someplace like that.
Speaker 1:I think you made a good choice all the way around. But that's, that's an amazing story. I mean. I think it's it's so Interesting to hear because you know, I tell colleagues and you know even my kids, when they're thinking about going to dentistry, I said you know a lot of dentists. You go to dental school, you graduate, you open up a practice and that kind of locks you into that location for the rest of your life and you you've had the ability to kind of move around or the situation you best, and I think that's it, that's a great, a great piece of advice to give, give our colleagues. So you got into the the end of the microscope and and then you do want to go into how you came out with the irrigator.
Speaker 2:Okay that at the time when we were doing surgery, the one thing when I was doing my graduate study at Boston, the way I was taught to do surgery, epical surgery, was the way I did it myself, if I ever get it in in practice. So I'm I just never felt confident and that's one reason I took Cliff Ruddell's course, which that, and then working with Gary Carr Perth, was a phenomenal experience and so. But when you're trying to Trying to clean and dry your apical preparation, we used to use a Absorbent point bent at the very tip, and we just dip it in there and and if you couldn't, you couldn't rinse it because it'd be splashing all over the place. And so you know, when you then you could look at the microscope, you still see some debris in that apical prep. You just could not get out. There's just no way, especially when you did it the way it's supposed to be perpendicular. You know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2:So I, I had it. I it was. It had to be two or three in the morning. I woke up with this idea. So the next morning there was a machinist in Prescott and I took a syringe to him and a Air syringe or a three-way syringe. I said can you attach this to this?
Speaker 2:And that's how the struggle came about and and the way it was before I'd spend half my time after seeing a patient is cleaning the lens off my microscope. So and then, oh, just you know, especially now with with the aerosol problems we're having, it needs to be Something that more Dennis get involved with. Just if nothing else, cut down aerosol in there contamination. So but yeah, and and of course all I had had, I had the patent on it, and then I had one real well-known Dennis that lectured me. He went and had DCI make it and and we settled out a court for a bottle of real good scotch, but he stopped messing with it. I don't I had no idea what happened to him. But anyway, there's been a lot of fun things happen because yeah, so no, I think it is a really nice.
Speaker 1:We'll put a picture of that in this video, but I think it's nicely elegantly designed, because of the simplicity yet, to accomplish the task of carefully air water delivery, to make the procedure as easier, especially for microscopic procedures, and to minimize aerosols. So I think it's a great tool to have in today's practice for everybody. And one of the reasons why we're doing this interview is because you've been kind enough to give this apex the privilege of handling that, that product line in the future and moving ahead so you can do better things like hunting fish. So it's really nice that you've done that and we look forward to making sure that we maintain the quality and everything that you put into this you want to maintain for you.
Speaker 2:Well, they've already made a small change and made it more, more, more like the Stratocaster Ergator. You know the precision was fine but there were just some minor adjustments that needed to be made and they made them and that really impressed me about working with Scott Lamar and Vista. They've treated, they've treated my, my previous clients and customers very nicely and I really appreciate that Some of those people became real close friends over 20, 25 years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know loyal customers and we want to make sure that they're taken care of. So it's. I mean, you've been a clinician. You've developed things like the Stratocaster Ergator. You've been an educator for many years. You've written textbooks. You've done like that study we were talking about working with 20,000 roots up there in Alaska. You've done a lot of things.
Speaker 1:So what's the I don't know what's another piece of advice? I know you've given us some great advice. You know that's just. You know there's adversity, but look at that as a point of opportunity. And then I think you pointed out really well that you know you have taken those areas that maybe you didn't feel confident or comfortable with and you've gone and done your own research and education. It's a lot different today than it was 20 years ago. Today we can get on the internet and do a lot of the research. Back then you had to go to textbooks, you had to find mentors and I guess you found that very valuable it's. You've worked with some of the greats, like he's, like he talked about Dr Schilder, dr Carr, dr Ruddle. You know you've had some really great John West.
Speaker 2:John West Good yeah, and there's just Panky, ld. Panky was an incredible experience for me. Yeah, a lot of philosophy, and it was really a wonderful experience doing restorative and trying to maintain those kind of levels.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think that what I have experienced and I've come to know hundreds of doctors and you know and I know there's some that are just excel beyond you know, belief sometimes, and but the one common ingredient that I found in doctors that excel in what they're doing is passion and the passion. To me, if you're not passionate about what you're doing, then do it a different way or get something. You know just the way it is, and I I'm still passionate. I just I just submitted to Arnoldo Castellucci that he's coming out with his new three volume textbook in Adonix and I just submitted the surgery chapter that I had previously done, bringing it up to date with technology, which blows me away just the way it's moving. And then he also is publishing I'm writing an article about I call it system S. It doesn't mean system strop go, it means system squirt, about injecting thermal plasticized gut aperture and I don't know if anyone's ever written about it. A lot of people use it. So anyway, that's that and the surgery article. Probably you'll meet less articles for a while.
Speaker 1:So you're not slowing down yet. You may come back, no, I'm still passionate, I guess.
Speaker 1:So, so you know, one of the questions I like to ask people when we do podcasts and these types of interviews. You know, one of the things that I guess in my life I've always pondered was you know, how do you have a meaningful life? And one of the quotes I read was in order, in order to have a meaningful life. The way to do that is help others have a meaningful life. So if you had to give any of your colleagues a piece of advice on how they would have a meaningful life, I mean, you've given us a lot of great pearls and I've really enjoyed this, but is there anything else that you could think of? Yes, how to have that meaningful life?
Speaker 2:Yes, and I got it from Dr Pankie. He had what's called the cross of life and there would be. I got to that be work and play and love and worship, and those four things when they come together in the middle is going to be happiness. And I'm a pilot or I used to do a lot of flying and have planes and stuff and there's been called an artificial horizon and so many times when I'm coming in on an instrument approach and that that thing is going like this, I think there's a LDPanky looking right at me. You know, and that's the way it is and we get.
Speaker 2:It's easy to get to involved with your work, less involved with your family, less involved with your, your, your god, your, your religion. It's important to keep all those in balance. And there were times in my life when I look back, and now is the Unhappiest is when my cross of life look like an arrow toward work and that you know just to recognize that has to be put into balance and it does make a huge difference. So and I'm not, I don't know, is you ever really get that cross of life set? You know, and you and you know get to something is not right. Well then you have to review and see what's wrong.
Speaker 1:So that has been a real big factor in my life and I think that's a great piece of advice. And, and you know, again, there's some similarity that we have is that I fly too. So I know when you're watching those crosshairs and coming on an approach, you want to make sure everything's lined up. That they're not lined up, you may not have to make another approach. So I think I think that you know, I, I know Dr Pinkies, the cross of life and you know that the concept behind that but I've never really thought about that like artificial rise, and when you're making an approach, and I think, yes, I think you laid it down perfectly.
Speaker 2:So next time you make an instrument approach, you're gonna think about Panky.
Speaker 1:No, I think I'll think about you and I'll think about Panky. That's great. Now, yeah, I will tell you I'm open for more. I really appreciate your time. I don't want to take up too much of it, but I really enjoyed this interview and, like I said I'm. There's so many great things that you've done. I know I know you're gonna keep going for another couple decades, so I look forward to maybe do another interview with you and you can bring us up to date on what you're doing at that time.
Speaker 2:Oh, no, I anytime. I'm pretty well retired. Now I have the only thing that really keeps me going, I guess, as I have 60 years Wonderful 60 years in my profession, and I have so much to share and that's what I wish. My wish is that everybody could have as wonderful an experience in their work as I have.
Speaker 1:So that's, you know, that's what keeps me going Well I think just in this short time we've had, I think this will make an impact on many Wanted again say thank you very much Well my pleasure, honest, nice meeting and I hope, I hope our past crossed soon.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hope so. You know, this is we. We can kind of stop the interview part. But no, I mean I, I think I Would love to make it out there sometime and stop by and see you and hopefully, you know, at some point maybe there's a reason for you come out. Actually, I'm in, I'm in Racine, wisconsin, today.
Speaker 2:Oh, you lucky devil.
Speaker 1:No, outside it's still last night when we landed, and so it was. That's great. So when you were, I assume are you still flying, or was that just something in the past that you had done?
Speaker 2:you know it seems like I had five airplanes and we, my wife and I, flew a lot of medical missionary trips. I founded an organization called help them International and our mission was to go where no one else went. You know that flying doctors go this place, in that place. Well, I worked with save the children and they would take us to villages where nobody went. Half the children died before age six. An incredible experience and, you know, made me appreciate how fortunate we are to live in the United States. I mean, it just blew me away. And so we did for, oh, 46 medical missionary trips and I used to land down the streets and some of these villages and At that time, for those I did most of my flying in a three-town and but for the missionary work I had a turbo 206. That was just a fabulous, you know, bush, bush landing sometimes and, you know, maybe avoiding a cow on the runway the next time. Where were the villages? They're all throughout Mexico. We went, we went one time cleared out a chi-apis and and that was through save the children. And at the time there was I believe it was in Costa Rica. There was a lot of people, murders and stuff like that, and they saved the children had a secret underground Railway, so to speak, bringing children up, and how I got involved is Bruce Harris, who is still really involved with with, say, the children. I would take the children that they would bring up into the states and I would take care of any toothaches or tooth problems they had for them, and that's how. And so we were down Chiapas and we went to across across the world, south, to a camp that had just been evacuated the night before we got there because the soldiers were coming after the kids. I, that's all I know and we're driving and and I Heard the police in Mexico Secret service, whatever they call them would drive white fords that had been confiscated, and we were, we're on a road that was. We had to go around bulldozers that were just making it across the border, and I look at my review mirror and there's a white Ford and I'd speed up. It is speed up, I slow down, it is slow down. I'm thinking, whoa, I got a fit or something out. Well, there was a fairly concise little village that we passed through and I was able to Go in and outside streets and I got in behind a building and we stayed there for about an hour and a half and then I flew on back to Chiapas and where we spent the night. A Lot of wonderful experiences, a lot of incredible I've had.
Speaker 2:That's where one of my, one of my miracles I believe in that, I believe in prayer but we were coming back from a village and this is in, oh, one of the states just south of the border, and I can't remember the name of the town but we we were coming back in a rain all day, all night, all day, and we had to cross a river and and the river was flooded and I was driving a, a truck that the savior children had given me, and we're going across there, and the water started going over the hood of the truck and the truck started slipping sideways and I said, dear Lord, jesus, don't let this happen like this. And I made it to the other side. The cart stalled out and I started it, made it to the other side and they looked under the hood and the car bird was filled with water. So I believe the Lord has something to do with that and there have been a few other things like that. So I believe in miracles.
Speaker 1:So that's a great story because, yeah, a carburetor filled with water. They shouldn't have been in here. If you get your cross, that water.
Speaker 2:But you ask about flying, if I still fly. I've had five motor homes and I've got over 425,000 miles driving one and we're coming back from a wonderful trip and I just told my wife I said, well, you're gonna sell the coach, I'm done. And it's the same thing with flying. Before I moved up to Alaska I knew that I would have to really be good on my instruments. I wanted to get a float plane and so I went up with an instructor in Prescott when I was still practicing here and spent 23 hours with the instructor and he said well, he said you've got it mailed and he said just call me, lock the plane up, call me if you have any questions. So I locked the plane up, got about 15 feet away and had that same feeling that I always get. It seems like I get to a certain level and I'm over. It's done. So I haven't had a motorhome since and I can't imagine some of these guys still driving. I'm like don't you know how much easier it is to check into a best Western every night?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well, I think we could sit around for hours talking. So I've owned a few planes and my wife doesn't like to fly, so I've been on the plane. And then we had a motorhome that was about a 40 footer and she didn't like motorhomes. Oh really, yeah, I would tell her I never had a better night's sleep than in a motorhome. We had a class A and you would just park that, throw out a couple of things and you were set and just sleep so well once you're in it.
Speaker 2:So yeah, that's one thing I liked. We used to have a place. We'd go to Happy Jack or Arizona and of course I'd pull my RV up there and everything, and we were by ourself. I mean, there was nobody around, everybody else seemed to like this place. A mile down the road that I set up my own campsite and I was able to. I had a 40 footer and I was able to get to that and we had terrific. One of my kids, one of my sons, still goes up there once in a while with his wife to camp out. So it is really it's been. I'm just, I've had a wonderful life. I really have. I can't imagine you know.
Speaker 1:Well, you know and everything you've done, you've blessed a lot of people yourself. So, yeah, we have to thank you for that, and you know what God's blessed you. You've blessed others. So it's been a good life. Not you got decades to go, but I tell you you've accomplished a lot. It was great talking with you about everything.
Speaker 2:I hope I've got some time. I just turned 80 in September. What's your birthday? Oh, mine's, that's at November 21st, I'm 17.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so we're real close so what's the? Parties. Yeah, let the, let the hang out sometime.
Speaker 2:Well, I hope, I hope you come up to Prescott.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll make it out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's, it's a great, great place I'm. You know, if you go to my website, you see that mountain.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm looking at right now.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:Just, it's an incredible place. That's why I bought. This place is on a dirt road. I just hate the dirt road, but I love the view when I get done hate the road.
Speaker 1:No, yeah, yeah, you know that whole area of Prescott, scottsdale, tucson, just such a nice area out there, flagstaff, sedona, everything out there. Yeah, when we did it's one of we bought a Saratoga TC. This was back in 2006. And so we went to do the flight safety train out there. Phx and Phoenix.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, and we got our plane. It was in the summertime, so I think it was probably in July, and we were doing our. I think we had a three day checkout and train on the plane and I'll tell you, flying in and out in that summer heat.
Speaker 2:I was just saying, I'm thinking turbulence, turbulence.
Speaker 1:We could have been making margaritas and milkshakes or without shaking something, without even moving them, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've been there and done that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but we spent a lot of time out there and you know, did you know? Did you know Omar Reed out there?
Speaker 2:Oh, oh yes, Omar Reed, I flew, I had my 310, that went that one time and I had fled from Tucson and I had lunch with Omar Reed and we were going, we're going to lunch and we're walking there I thought a lot of Omar, yeah. And so we're going to lunch and he says you know, you like liver? Well, I. There are two things I hated when I left, you know, to go to college, and that was steak and liver, cause my parents, they'd cook a steak for an hour at high heat. It had to be like shoe leather.
Speaker 2:So I, and one day I was with some friends when I was at St Joseph's College in Lawrence, where Indiana, and they were having steak and they said, well, how do you like your steak? And I'm thinking, oh, I don't want steak. And I said well, and I didn't know, and we're a relatively poor family. And I said, well, what do you mean? He says, well, do you like it? Well done or medium or rare? I said I like it rare. Well, I became a. I still am a steak fanatic. I love a good, rare steak. And then I was with Homer Reed and he says do you like liver? And I was thinking no. He says, well, why don't you like it? I said, well, to me it's like shoe leather. He says, well, have you ever tried it rare? I'm on the rare side and I'm thinking liver rare. Now, I love liver and onions and I ordered a restaurant as rare as legal.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, yeah With the onions, yeah, you can't beat that so anyway, homer is another.
Speaker 2:You know one of my mentors and philosophy, bob Barkley.
Speaker 1:Yeah, bob, yeah Bob and Homer yeah.
Speaker 2:Those are the people that were such an influence on my practice and gosh, I studied under so many of the names, I just can't bring them off, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well now, like I said, you've had some great mentors and, yeah, homer was one of the greats and he always had something good to share about everything and he had a deep faith too. You know, he and I were friends for decades and then I saw him right before his passing. I went out to his house and visited with him, marcy, and it was really nice to see him. But, yeah, he was a good man. So, yeah, well, good.
Speaker 2:And just all these people that have been such an influence in my life and I'm so thankful that I listened to them. That's sometimes a little harder to do, but I'm always trying to find a better way and enjoying. I'm looking forward to my relationship with you and your company also. Yeah, thank you, it's been a pleasure.
Speaker 1:If you ever need anything, please let Scott or I know. And yeah, you know again. I don't want to take up all your time, but I just want to let you know that, just from what you said today, you've made a big impact on my life, so I just want to say thank you. Oh, wow, so I really appreciate that.
Speaker 2:Well, I want to shake your hand one of these days. Yeah, we will.
Speaker 1:We'll get together All right. Well, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it. And yeah, we'll take this and I'll hand off to our marketing. We'll splice and dice it up a little bit and let you take a look at it before you send anything out, just to be sure you're comfortable with everything, and then we'll go from there. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:I'll look forward to working with you.
Speaker 1:All right, well, thank you very much.
Speaker 2:There's anything I can do, let me know. We will All right, stay healthy, and that's right, and I'll thank you about you in September.
Speaker 1:OK, I will too Take care, take care YouTube.
Speaker 2:Bye-bye, thank you, bye now.