An Army of Normal Folks - On Being A Junkman

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

For Shop Talk, Army member Charlotte Dance shares a beautiful tribute to her late dad that's titled, "On Being A Junkman". And how it relates to the Army. Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody, Bill Courtney. Welcome to the shop. Welcome in Alex, how you doing? That was so weak. That was like my little kids doing it the other day. That was George. Except you're a grown up. George, I don't have a grown up.

Here. There, welcome in. How do you like it? Is that better? Do you think I should bleep that swear word we just said? I want George back. Okay. He's, George is awesome.

All right. Shop Talk number 51 on becoming a junk man. Charlotte Dance, a listener, sent us a really cool email. And I think it's worth talking about right after these brief messages from our dinner sponsors. she took a daily walk along a towpath near the E&O Canal. So when she was killed in a wealthy neighborhood, She had been shot twice in the head and in the back behind the heart. The police arrived in a heartbeat.

Within 40 minutes, a man named Raymond Crump Jr. was arrested. He was found nearby, soaking wet, and he was black. Only one woman dared defend him, civil rights lawyer Dovey Roundtree. Join me as we unravel this story with a crazy twist, because what most people didn't know is that Mary was connected to a very powerful man.

I pledge you that we shall neither commit nor provoke aggression. John F. Kennedy. Listen to Murder on the Towpat with Soledad O'Brien on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the MeatEater podcast network, hosted by me, writer and historian Dan Flores, and brought to you by Velvet Buck. This podcast looks at a West available nowhere else. Each episode, I'll be diving into some of the lesser-known histories of the West. I'll then be joined in conversation by guests such as Western historian Dr. Randall Williams and best-selling author and meat-eater founder Stephen Rinella. I'll correct my kids now and then where they'll say when cave people were here

and I'll say it seems like the Ice Age people that were here didn't have a real affinity for caves. So join me starting Tuesday May 6th where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2020, a group of young women in a tidy suburb of New York City found themselves in an AI-fuelled nightmare. Someone was posting photos. It was just me naked.

Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts on my body parts that looked exactly like my own. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to scream. It happened in Levittown, New York. But reporting the series took us through the darkest corners of the internet and to the front lines of a global battle

against deep fake pornography. This should be illegal, but what is this? This is a story about a technology that's moving faster than the law and about vigilantes trying to stem the tide. I'm Margie Murphy. And I'm Olivia Carville. This is Levitown, a new podcast from iHeart podcasts, Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope. Listen to Levitown on Bloomberg's Big Take

podcast. Find it on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 1978, Roger Caron's first book was published, and he was unlike any first-time author Canada had ever seen. Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted. I spent 24 of those years in jail. 12 years in solitary. He went from an ex-con to a literary darling almost overnight. He was instantly a celebrity. He was an adrenaline junkie and he was the star of the show.

Go Boy is the gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable. I had a knife go in my stomach, puncture my skin, break my ribs, I had my feck all in my hands. Only to find himself back where he started. Roger's saying this, I've never hurt anybody but myself. And I said, oh, you're so wrong. You're so wrong on that one, Rod.

From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to GoBoy on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, hello, Malcolm Gladwell here. or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, hello, Malcolm Gladwell here. On this season of Revisionist History, we're going where no podcast has ever gone before. In combination with my three-year-old, we defend the show that everyone else hates. I'm talking, of course, about Paw Patrol.

There's some things that really piss me off when it comes to Paw Patrol. It's pretty simple. It sucks. My son watches Paw Patrol. I hate it. Everyone hates it, except for me. Plus, we investigate everything from why American sirens

are so invariably loud, to the impact of face blindness on social connection, to the secret behind Thomas's English muffins, perfect nooks and crannies. And also we go after Joe Rogan. Are you ready, Joe? I'm coming for you. You won't want to miss it. Listen to Revisionist History on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everybody, welcome back to Shop Talk. Charlotte Dance is a lister and I will read this to you and the topic is on being a junk man.

From Charlotte Dance, I listened to the podcast about the Whistler today. I loved it. Chris Olman. Chris Olman, the Whistler. The Goat Whistler as Chris Vernon called him.man the whistle the goat whistler is Chris Vernon called them I listen the podcast about the Whistler Day. I loved it made me miss my dad Although he didn't really sing he loved to whistle and I always wanted to whistle like he did ten years ago

I wrote this essay about my dad being a junk man. I think you could do a shop talk on being a junk man. So here we go. My dad is a junk man. This is not an occupation that is a life goal for many people. He chose to be a junk man in every area of his life. I'm sure that growing up on a farm during the Great Depression played a big part in directing his life. True junk men have to find great value in junk or they can't survive in the business. My dad has excelled in finding value in junk. Where everyone else saw junk, Dad saw physics lab equipment. He used old bicycle tires to make gyroscopes, an axle helped students to learn the pulls of centrifugal force and even an old vacuum cleaner to make an air table to teach frictionless

motion. Where everyone else saw junk, Dad saw an addition to our house so our family of six didn't have to live in a two-bedroom house. Windows, doors, and lumber were all salvaged from houses being torn down. Where everyone else saw junk, Dad saw a solar greenhouse. He researched it and then made it for $200 plus lots of reclaimed parts. It's been working consistently for 30 years now. Where everyone else saw junk meat, Dad saw venison that could be made into sausage and jerky and feed many people. It all started when our pastor gave us an antelope meat for our dog

because they couldn't even eat it in chili. He gave them back sausage he made from it, they couldn't believe it was same meat. Junk meat. Where everyone would say that things in his past were junk, dad used them to make a difference for his family. His father was extremely harsh and always used dad's name and anger. Granddad wouldn't have anything to do with him and didn't come to his wedding. Dad decided that if he didn't forgive his father, he would never be able to have a good relationship with his children. He forgave them and worked

on making peace between them. Not only does he have a good relationship with his biological children, he has had others adopt him as their father. Where everyone would say that a young boy could be annoying and was a slow learner, dad saw someone who was interested in everything he did. This boy followed him as he worked on rentals, butchered, set up science labs, and worked on object lessons. His family split up and moved away, but he remembered those afternoons with my dad. He became a butcher, bought a rental and put himself through an engineering school. He even went to law school. He came back to visit saying, I still use your abject lessons. Where everyone saw a man with

wasted life in prison, dad saw an opportunity to serve. He visited a man in prison for six years and saw him grow into a man of God. After his sentence was over, Dad was the best man in his wedding. Now this man is fixing junk in the lives of juvenile offenders and helping them change their future. Where everyone else would see junk in their own lives, he saw an opportunity to serve Where everyone else would see junk in their own lives, he saw an opportunity to serve or to listen. With the insurance payment for roof damage didn't cover the cost of shingles for an elderly woman's roof, he not only did the roofing, but paid for the rest of the shingles. One man went through many rough times and dad listened to him through all of it.

He said he has to talk through everything before he knows exactly what to do. Never once did he complain about the time or effort it took. Where everyone would say, it is a hopeless case of junk, Dad didn't give up. He prayed for his sister for 28 years. His brother-in-law told him to never talk about God again. He didn't talk, but he prayed and he lived it. His nephews and nieces came to Christ, then his sister

and finally his brother-in-law. Recently he counted 40 people on his side of the family that were believers. He was the first. Where everyone would see junk that all we go through, Dad saw an opportunity to prepare. Several years ago he felt strongly impressed that he should prepare to die. He was in good health, but he wanted to have things ready. He bought cemetery plots and a gravestone. However, his most important thing was to find people to pray for his grandchildren.

Shortly after this, I was mourning the loss of my friends in a canoe accident, and I need something constructive to do. When I talked to Dad, he suggested that I find people to pray for their grandchildren. It has been an honor and privilege to do that. I may not want my yard filled with reclaimed lumber and other various treasures but I think I want to be a junk man just like dad. Looking past the junk and scars and people's lives and seeing the treasure that they truly are. Seems like a awful lot of Army members are junk men. Thanks

for having a great show Charlotte Dance. Charlotte, if my children speak about me one day with 25% of the reverence you speak about your father I will rest a a very proud man that is a phenomenal tribute to your dad and I can certainly see why you wrote it there's a lesson there too lesson there too. The junk, the homeless, the foster children who were aged out of foster care at 19 or 20 and are living destructive lives. The kid who has never read a lullaby or saying a lullaby or read a bedtime story who can't read on grade level now in seventh grade who we know because he's not reading on grade level by third grade is more likely to be in prison than is to have a job one day the junk that your dad saw opportunity in is exactly what the call to an army of normal

folks is, is to see the junk and use it. See the junk and fix it. You're right, a lot of the members of the army of normal folks that we highlight are junk people but the call and inspiration is is that you listeners out there see the value in the junk the power of an army of normal folks is that is that we see areas in need and fill it which is effectively as Charlotte points out being a junk man. So my question is, and maybe even my challenge is, when's the last time you drove past a

pile of junk and thought, man, somebody ought to clean something up, but kept on going instead of getting out of your car and clean it up yourself. We are surrounded by junk and the cleanup is not gonna happen by a city crew coming by in a tax-paid-for truck and throwing it in the back and dumping in the garbage. It's gonna happen by an army of normal folks. Of course all of that is metaphorical but I think you get what I'm saying. Alex, you got any ideas of some junk? So I forgot to include this in your prep. She actually wrote it before her dad died.

And then she read it at his funeral. Wow. Isn't that cool? I bet there was a dry eye on the place. Yeah, a couple of junk thoughts. One thing Christ says is I didn't come to heal the healthy, right? I came here to heal the sick. That's why I was hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes.

People challenged him on that. And then an interesting business case for this too, or even just take the army case first, right? That's actually where a lot of the fun is. You're grinding to grow something, right? From nothing into something significant. That's a where a lot of the fun is. You're grinding to grow something, right? From nothing into something significant. That's a lot more fun. I bet Charlotte's dad had a blast making a,

what was it, a solar garden or something out of a bunch of junk. I mean, can you imagine the satisfaction he felt growing stuff for 30 years out of something people left on the curb? Yeah. Well, that metaphorically is the satisfaction you can feel by seeing junk in your life and fixing it.

And then like a bit, I mean, this isn't so normal, but I think people can do it in a more normal way. There's a guy I once interviewed who basically had a bunch of energy exploration projects. But there were a bunch of things that ExxonMobil was trying to get rid of. Like it wasn't interesting enough for ExxonMobil. And so he collected a bunch of things that ExxonMobil was trying to get rid of. Like it wasn't interesting enough for ExxonMobil. And so he collected a bunch of these things,

built up the business, and he made $500 million when he sold it one day. But it's an interesting case. There's a lot of things out there that aren't interesting enough to the big players. But for you, you can actually build a really interesting business off it. Obviously, you don't have to sell for $500 million.

Even if you make $100,000, you make $500,000, you make a million, whatever. It's actually a really interesting business thing to think about, too. What does everybody else see as junk that actually could be an opportunity? Which could be a business. It could be in society.

It could be wherever. Charlotte Dance, that is a incredible tribute to your father. And it is a beautiful illustration of exactly what we're talking about and I can't tell you how much we appreciate you shared it. If you have any ideas for shop talk, would you please email me? Bill at normal folks dot us.

I'll always respond and hopefully like Charlotte stuff here we we can comment it because we think others will want to hear the story. Beautiful pieces of writing like this if anybody else has actually that's a good idea of letters. You read like World War II letters. Yeah that's a really good idea. Civil War letters like the writing back in the day is I mean obviously if you were something beautiful today send it to us too but especially back in day, all those kind of love letters were so much better than the way we text each other. So it's true.

I think it's a lost art. Send us send us that stuff. If you enjoyed the episode, rate, review it. Join the army at normalfolks.us. Subscribe, become a premium member there. And what else? you goofed it up again you can't subscribe on the website but it's okay whatever you do just people know you're a goofball then follow us you know listen tell people

about us and help us grow the army because the more members the more impact we can have that's shop talk number 51 is that it I'll see you next week I'll see you next week. I'll see you next week. I'm Soledad O'Brien and on my new True Crime podcast, Murder on the Towpath, I'm taking you back to 1964 to the cold case of artist Mary Pinchot-Meyer. She had been shot twice in the head and in the back. It turns out Mary was connected to a very powerful man.

I pledge you that we shall neither commit nor promote aggression. John F. Kennedy. Listen to Murder on the Toe Path with Soledad O'Brien on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Sam Mullins, and I've got a new podcast coming out called Go Boy, the gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable.

Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted. Had spent 24 of those years in jail. But when Roger Caron picked up a pen and paper, he went from an ex-con to a literary darling. From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to Go Boy on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. is dead for 11.5 minutes. And return. It's a miracle I was brought back. Alive Again, a podcast about the strength of the human spirit. Listen to Alive Again starting May 13th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Why is a soap opera western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. Listen to The American West with Dan Flores on the iHeartRadio app app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2020, a group of young women found themselves in an AI-fueled nightmare. Someone was posting photos.

It was just me naked. Well, not me, but me with someone else's body parts. This is Levertown, a new podcast from iHeart podcasts, Bloomberg and Kaleidoscope, about the rise of deepfake pornography and the battle to stop it. Listen to Levittown on Bloomberg's Big Take podcast. Find it on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.