Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link - The Best Gifts We’ve Ever Received | Ear Biscuits Ep.313

Episode Date: November 29, 2021

A brand new cherry red stick shift pickup truck sitting in the driveway on Christmas morning - it was just like a scene from a holiday car commercial. Listen to R&L discuss some of the best gifts they’ve ever received on this episode of Ear Biscuits! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This, this, this, this is Mythical. Your mom hates it when you leave six half full glasses on your nightstand. It's a good thing mom lives on the other side of the country. And it's an even better thing that you can get six IKEA 365 Plus glasses for just $9.99. So go ahead, you can afford to hoard because IKEA is priced for student life. Shop everything you need for back to school at IKEA today. Welcome to Ear Biscuits, the podcast where two lifelong friends talk about life for a long time.

I'm Rhett. And I'm Link. This week at the round table of dim lighting, we're talking about gifts. A lot of people thinking about gifts. Giving is in the air. Your collar just is doing something that I could help you with or you like that.

Is it undulating? You like that? Thank you. I kind of feel like I just wanna say. I wanna get my neck covered a little bit. I just feel like there are limits to the coziness that you should experience in public. And I feel like you've crossed a line.

I love crossing that line. Well, I'm just saying that I just feel like you've crossed a cultural line and you're making other people feel uncomfortable because you're so comfortable. I'm a boundary pusher. So we ask you, Mythical Beast, to tell us the best gift you've ever received

and who gifted it to you, implying that, hey, we want a little bit of a story, as much as Twitter can stomach. And we said we might discuss it on an episode of Ear Biscuits. This is the 313th episode and we are discussing that. But we're not discussing that this is the 313th episode other than what you just did.

That's not what I was referring to. We're also gonna be talking about our best gifts ever and maybe some of the gifts that we've received over the years or maybe even given over the years that come up as we tell some of your gifts. You know, tis the season for giving. And if your wife has a birthday of December 18th. Oh goodness.

Man, this time of year, like literally, pressure. Like right now, because at the time we're recording this, I still had a few weeks and- It seems like by your body posture, you have no plans. You know what'll help? Put your collar up, just for a second. Just while you're talking about this,

just kind of experience it. There you go. Well, the thing- It's a little protection. The thing that- Makes you feel a little- This is what happens to me. More creative. I wish that she would change her birth date. I've lobbied.

I've lobbied for this and she says it's not acceptable because I'm like- I get it. This time of year, you know, this time of year is so busy for us. It's like everything just gets piled at the end of the year. I don't remember to do so many other things. I start seeing areas of my house where like things are building up

and then I see areas of my inbox that things are building up and then I'm like, oh, I have to- And don't look inward. I have to- That's how I feel. I have to give something for my wife's birthday and for Christmas. And it matters to her, so it-

No, here's the thing. It doesn't? Well, there are two disparate realities within my wife. She's a complex woman. Number one, she really cares about gifts. She really cares about giving and she really cares about receiving gifts, naturally. That is her natural disposition.

She comes from a family of gift givers and extravagant gift givers and extravagant gift receivers, meaning that when her family receives gifts from each other, there's lots of emotion over the lease. And I come from a family where my mom gets everything for herself and just says, you got me this for my birthday. You got me this for Christmas.

And she gave up- Ain't no arguing with that. You know, she gave up on my dad and my brothers a long time ago. I mean, and we actually want to give, but she's just like, you're not gonna get it right, so I'm just gonna get stuff for myself. And then also in my family, you know my dad, so it's just like, you're not gonna get it right, so I'm just gonna get stuff for myself. And then also in my family, you know my dad,

so it's just like, you give my dad a gift, it's not like, you're not gonna get some, you're not gonna get the response that you're looking for. You know what I'm saying? You're not gonna get this, you're gonna, oh, I feel like- What response are you gonna get? Because you know what, the response my dad gives is- Yeah, I think you can relate to this.

You know, he gets the shirt and it's just like, where do you expect me to wear this? Your dad does super honest. My dad does just enough to fill some social obligation but not actually make you feel great about what you got. And listen, and I have a very similar personality. Is he kind of, he's doing it for, he's giving as much as he can muster for the gifter

because for him, it's like gifts don't resonate with him, maybe with you. And I don't think with me that much. Gifts are resonating more with me as I get older. But the interesting thing about Jessie is that this is the environment, this is the nature and the nurture that she's bringing to the table, but she married me.

And I think I changed her baseline level of expectations. Now, as I've established- Changed. You could come up with a stronger version. I am a giver in many ways. And I actually, I like to give, but the thing is is I have a little bit of like, you know, she's got opinions and she's got taste

and I don't necessarily have taste. And so when you, so- Wow, a woman with opinions and taste. What ends up happening is I may not respond as heartily as she wants me to to something that is given to me. And then I may not, but here's the over 20 years of marriage her expectations have centered in a place. Sunk.

I know centered is the word that I want to use. They have descended. They become more realistic. And now she. Into a pocket. She. Despair. Is in fact, well, you know what she told me? She told me this two nights ago. She said, she was like, I am so excited about your Christmas gift.

She was like, I'm giving you- That you're giving her? No, she's giving me. She said, I'm giving you, it is the best gift you will have ever received. Crap. And she didn't even know we were doing this. And then she said, you know what?

You shouldn't even get me anything. Because it won't top it? That's what she said. You shouldn't even get me anything because it just will pale in comparison. And you whipped out the contract. You're like, let me get that in writing. I've already worked it out.

So I'm still good. So, and actually she will say two things have happened. That's a lot of pressure on you. You feel cool about that? You're, cause she's a good gift-eater. Oh, I'm fine because the point that I'm getting to is that her expectations have centered, lowered, sunk, whatever you wanna say.

My gifting ability and my listening ability has gotten better. And the graph of gifting expectations and gifting ability has some, we've met in the middle. I've gotten better, her expectations have lowered, and I've actually hit it out of the park a couple of times. Most recently for her birthday last year, which you were a part of when I did the whole cameo thing

with all the friends and family and the celebrities. And then I gave her something else too, and I've kind of forgotten at this point. But anyway, I don't feel that much pressure from her. You wrote her a song, dude. Oh, I wrote her a song. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I see, I see. I'm getting better, man, but I'm also getting forgetful.

I totally forgot, I wrote her a song for her. Well, you better hope she forgot because you don't want her comparing that to every other gift. But we talked about it at the time. It's like, you're gonna have to go back into a trough to recenter the baseline. Well, I don't feel a lot of pressure from her.

I feel pressure on myself of like, I gotta do this. I gotta do something special. For her birthday, she will be with all her family and my family though, because we're flying back to North Carolina, so that'll be special. And I did take care, with the help of my sister-in-law, who volunteered, I didn't ask her, to set up a special private dinner in some place.

So we're gonna do that. That'll be nice. And then trying to figure out something to private dinner in some place. So we're gonna do that. That'll be nice. And then trying to figure out something to add on top of that. Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good about it, but I still have no ideas about Christmas. Collar down. Collar down.

Okay, here we go. Now we're getting into it. Yeah, with me and Christy, it's never been that charged around the holidays. You know, it is a bit more of a focus on the kids and on like the struggle to get things for the family. The conflict we have is that like, it has defaulted to her to get gifts

for not only her family, but my extended family. Yeah. And that's not necessarily fair and has been a source of tension. That, yeah, I mean, the solution has been to slowly just stop giving them gifts. Just like, we give you the gift of our presence and something that, not that just like,

I'm gonna give you something to say you got it, but like, even if it's just a picture and given a lot of my family merch is a big win. I've discovered. No, we started doing that. We're doing that again this year. Got it, well, I hope they're not listening, spoiler. But yeah, because-

I think they've come to expect it. And I'm talking about the nieces and nephews. Yeah, nieces and nephews. I'm not like getting my mom like a hoodie. I mean, I think your dad wants a hoodie. Oh, definitely. Anything to continue to get recognized, he wants to wear.

Yeah, because for Christy, it's Mother's Day and her birthday are like very, very close together. And it seems like they're right on the heels of Valentine's Day. So there's like this triple threat of disappointment from the linkster. Right on the heels is, I mean, kinda pushing it.

February 14th, then her birthday, May 13th. Yeah, you're like half the year is on the heels. Three months later. Yeah, you got about a quarter to prepare for that. Jaysblue Sunshine said, "'This prompt from you guys I can actually contribute to "'because the answer's easy, Roxy.'" this prompt from you guys I can actually contribute to because the answer is easy.

Roxy, she posts a picture, a teeny tiny barely a palm full of Chihuahua puppy my mama and daddy got me for my 19th birthday. Okay, so you're an adult and you're getting this puppy. Roxy grew to two and a half pounds and was the best thing that ever happened to me. We spent 14 years together. Makes me wanna tear up.

You know, it's like, I mean, we know what, you start talking about dogs that are gone but like you remember those 14 years together and that super cute picture. But can you love a dog that's two and a half pounds as much as you can love one that's 20 pounds? Definitely. Of course you can.

That is a big life altering gift. I know when, after my papa passed away, my nanny was gifted a poodle, which was not a puppy, but like a full grown poodle for Christmas that was named Nicholas for St. Nick. I don't know if she changed the name or if that was just a coincidence. And she didn't, I mean, it's kind of dicey

when you give somebody a pet and they're not asking for a pet. I would say very dicey. Especially when it's an old woman, you know? When was the last time she had a dog, period? My papa had dogs always, but they were never house dogs. Yeah, yard dogs. They were yard dogs and she,

it was not like a joyful moment when she got that dog, but that dog changed her life. Yeah. So the people who gave her that gift, which I guess was like Teresa. Family, no, you're on the wrong side of the family. Oh, it was Nanny. Yeah, Nanny.

Got the gift, not Nana. Yeah, because you remember little Nicholas, the little white poodle? Oh yeah, I've been picturing that after Papa died, that Nana had been given- I call them both Papa, but on my dad's side, Papa Neil, when he basically went, for the most part, blind, he was given a dog named Bacardi.

And then that dog kinda changed his life and that Bacardi. And then that dog kind of changed his life and that Bacardi is still with Nana now. Do they know like the reference? Yeah, yeah, but they didn't change the name. So getting a pet companion can be a life altering gift in a good way, I guess in a bad way, but then maybe not, maybe you just do something about it. You don't hear about those, at least in this prompt.

Yeah, I wanted to give some cat to the dog, some tip for the tat. Carter Hastings said, "'My family pooled some money together "'and formed the, quote, Get Carter a Cat Fund "'one Christmas so I could go out and choose "'a little friend and pay for all of the necessary supplies.

Yeah, lots of expense goes along with it. An ongoing expense. Dave is the best little guy I could ever ask for. Here he is, the cat in the box with the cute little pink nose on the white snout and then the gray. You gotta know, I mean, I think that if you know that somebody, I mean easily, if you know that somebody wants an animal.

Yeah, it's tough to just give one as a prescription. It worked out for Nanny, but it was, there was Dicey there for the first month probably. I mean, it's not necessarily good for the animal as well. If it's like- I think this Carter thing does highlight a really good system. Oh, this is a good probably. I mean, it's not necessarily good for the animal as well. I think this Carter thing does highlight a really good system. I mean, you lose the surprise of the moment, but like for me, my personality type,

you know I want to pick out the dog or the cat that I'm gonna spend the next 14 to 20 years with. Oh, you know what? I'm just an epiphany I might be having and it's gonna be a huge disappointment now. Okay. If it doesn't happen, not for me. Well, my wife doesn't listen to this podcast very often,

I don't think. Thank God. And a lot of us like people on Twitter tell her to. So if you're a fan of Jessie on Twitter, don't tell her about this. You gonna get her a dog? No, what if she's getting me a dog? That's it. That would be consistent with the level of excitement

that she, because she knows that I would. Of all the things that I do and the subjects I broached on this podcast, what you're doing right now, I would not do. I'm just being honest. When it comes to gifts, and this will come up in a story later. You know what, I would not do. I'm just being honest. When it comes to gifts, and this'll come up in a story later. You know what, it's not gonna happen.

I hate, like, I can't, I don't, if someone wants to surprise me, I hate knowing that I didn't surprise them. Like, I want to make them happy. She wants to make you so happy. But here's the thing. I'm just thinking about the logistics of when our Christmas has to take place before we travel.

Yeah. And the fact that we've already got to board Barbara for a couple of weeks when we go to North Carolina. Probably not. So it's like, you can't get a puppy, you can't get a puppy right before Christmas and then not take care of it immediately as your own family, it can't be in its own home.

Right. So it can't be in its own home. Right. So it wouldn't surprise me because I'm on team second dog. It's just the amount of emotional energy and sort of logistical fortitude that it takes to make it happen is something- To get over that hump. So like that's really the gift is I got over that hump.

Here's the dog. But so the more you think about it, you don't think logistically. It hit me that it would be a perfect gift and it would match your level of excitement. But it's too far in advance too, right? I mean, did she pick out, well, not, I guess you could pick out a dog and then months later.

What if the dog is already in the house? It was in a cabinet somewhere. What if the dog is already in the house? What if it's in a cabinet somewhere? What if the dog's wearing a Barbara costume and Barbara's been boarded this whole time? She has been acting strange. She freaking peed in our bed. Welcome to my world. Lando's like, I'm taking my Squishmallow

out of the dryer for the second time because Jasper's peeing on my Squishmallows. Okay, well, Barbara has been well behaved in this area for a very long time. Yeah, I know. She rings her little bell when she wants to go out. She like rings it a couple of times. She's upset about something. What is it?

It's the fact that it's not Barbara or that she knows there's another dog coming. Have you picked out, have you agreed on the type of dog you wanna get? Because that really starts to support this theory. We're not as specific, we don't want a Barber to look like this, it's a slightly different color. You don't want a peanut butter version of Barber? We have not, the McLaughlin's don't get that specific.

The only thing I've said is I don't want a big dog that requires a lot of activity because- It can be a dog. I don't think that big dog that requires a lot of activity because- It can be a dog. I don't think that our family would support that in the right way. Like we don't, we're not good enough at dog walking. We need a dog that doesn't need a whole lot of like energy. Do you want me to ask Christy?

No, don't even, in fact, just forget I ever brought this up. It's not gonna be a dog. I'm good at forgetting stuff you brought up. We will get a dog eventually, but. I'll literally forget about it. Like I can, it's like I have a button in my brain that if you tell me to forget about something,

especially something you said, boop, I've forgotten about it. It's like the Men in Black button? Like I have one of those. Okay. So I've forgotten about it. Or like the What We Do in the Shadows. So don't be mad at me. You will forget about this conversation. Yeah, yeah, or call it a Jedi mind trick.

Yeah, they don't make people forget. It's not gonna be a dog. But it wouldn't be a bad gift because- I hope it is. I think the things that are necessary when you're thinking about giving somebody an animal is, you have to know that they've already expressed a willingness to invite an animal into their home and life.

But just to round things off with the pet, Aaron tweeted at us, "'My aunt and uncle,' I'm saying aunt." You're assuming that it must be from like a certain part of the country or something. That's not the South. "'My aunt and uncle got me goats in fifth grade. I bred them and managed a small herd for eight years.

Looking back, the best part was that they lived at my grandma's house because I lived in the city limits. It let me get a lot closer with my grandma for going over there every day. That's cool. Not only is it, I mean, I appreciate the connection with grandma, but if every fifth grader in America

could be given a herd of goats. Well, you have to make the herd. They just given a couple. Forget about all the difficulties of like where they would be and what they would be fed. But I'm just saying, if you can have every fifth grader have the responsibility of a herd of goats for the next eight years.

Yep. So basically like until they graduate high school. I like this as a social program. All our problems as a society would go away. I feel that. Do you understand? Everything that we argue about, everything that people get so bent out of shape about

would completely go away. And if I ever have the privilege and honor to run for president, my platform is gonna be goats for every fifth grader. And you know what? The environments help too, because they eat trash. Well, they also will like, they can mow lawns and stuff,

but they can get out of control. So we might have to do some sort of cooperative thing where there's like this class of fifth graders has a herd of goats. I don't know. I need my team to work on the logistics. But just know that that's my platform, goats for fifth graders has a herd of goats. I don't know. I need my team to work on the logistics, but just know that that's my platform. Goats for fifth graders. As long as my team doesn't work on the logistics. Shop Best Buy's ultimate smartphone sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select

phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today. Terms and conditions apply. Okay, this one from JustKateTM. When I turned 15, my grandma got me a sewing machine and gave me lessons at her house. Seven years later, I have a degree in costume design and I work at a theater running wardrobe. I might have to incorporate sewing into my goat plan at this point.

You can choose between goats or a sewing machine. I feel that too, man. Okay, all right. Do you wanna run with me? Co-president? Co, yes. The first ever co-presidents. They changed the constitution for us.

You know what? I kinda wanna be vice president. I kinda want- The first ever co-presidents. They changed the constitution for us. I kind of want to be vice president. I kind of want- The lack of responsibility. Heck yeah. Yeah, low pressure. Got it. I love this.

Lily actually asked for a sewing machine and got it. And she- How'd that go? She did sew some stuff and she still has this like handy thing about her, but she never used a sewing machine that much. Instead, she would do more like hand embroidery, which is actually pretty amazing on like book packs,

backpacks, book sacks, what do you call it? Book sacks is what you call them. Jean pockets, book sacks, all that stuff. But yeah, the fact that her grandma gave her something that just, it either changed or accelerated, maybe even determined her life trajectory to this point with a degree in costume design, working at a theater, like just kind of putting the kindling together

in the form of a gift and then like hit it, then the receiver brings the spark and it fans into a flame that is a pivotal point in their lives. That's, you can't hope for more from a gift, right? Yeah, and some people might be like, well, I mean, if somebody doesn't hope for more from a gift, right? Yeah, and some people might be like, well, I mean, if somebody doesn't ask for something and you're just forcing it on them,

trust me, kids ain't gonna do what kids don't wanna do. So Kate obviously had a predisposition for enjoying this and it was maybe even in her blood and maybe that's what her grandmother recognized. I try to give, my version of this is giving my kids musical instruments. Or putting them in piano lessons. Lincoln is interested in production,

so it's like, what can we do to foster that and see where it goes? Lily's got, Lily's taken more to it. Like she's saying when she comes home for Christmas, she's gonna take her guitar back with her to campus. And she also has a keyboard, but it's so big, she didn't wanna take that until like she has more of a space where she can take that and the cat.

I think by the time she's gonna take that cat, I don't know if I'm gonna want her to take the cat. I think by the time she's gonna take that cat, I don't know if I'm gonna want her to take the cat. And you didn't hear that from me. I'm just starting to understand. I mean, this is a whole different discussion. I can tell by your sweater that you understand cats. I'll just leave it at this. Lincoln and I have many conversations about understanding

like how to connect with Sokka is totally different than the dogs, but seeing some success there is rewarding. I'll leave it at that. Give a good life changing gift lately. Well, it's interesting because I don't know, you know, Locke is like me in that he's all over the place, right? And interested in so many different things.

And so he has bought himself, with his money that he has earned at his job, three guitars. Okay. Now one was, according to him, the first one was stolen, but we're pretty sure it was just left on the corner. By him.

By him in the neighborhood somewhere because what is that app that our wives go on? Nextdoor. And it was like somebody had found a guitar on the side of the street. You didn't retrieve it? Well, but Jessie was going back months and saw it. Oh. And so then when she reached out to the guy, the guy didn't retrieve it? Well, but Jessie was going back months and saw it. Oh.

And so then when she reached out to the guy, the guy didn't respond. I think it's because dude, I put this up here like months ago and now you're reaching out to me. I've already pawned this thing or whatever. Pawned it. It was a cheap guitar.

Pawned it. And he's got like his app, his amp. You know, I was telling you about the amps, these new amps that communicate with an app on your phone. Of course they do. And you can dial in a sound like, I want this guitar to sound exactly like Jimmy Page?

John Mayer's guitar in this particular song. So like slow dancing in a burning room, like that riff, right? Yeah. And then Locke plays it and it doesn't sound like John Mayer, but it sounds like your 17 year old learning how to play guitar trying to play John Mayer, but the guitar sound,

the tone is exactly the same. And he's like, dad, what about Merle Haggard, so-and-so, so-and-so, and then he- Could be holding you tonight. Is it really awesome, like Tele sound? But you hope to give them gifts that it takes off. Right, but what I'm getting at is- You can't control it. With Locke, and now Shepard's playing piano, violin,

and now is learning guitar. And so they're kind of doing that, but I think a guitar would be a good gift for Shepard at this point, because he's like just playing the ones at school. There might be three laying around, or at least two. Yeah, they're electrics though. Oh.

But you know, one of the better, this is an opportunity for me to talk about one of my favorite gifts that I got because Jesse gave me my Nirvana hand pan. Nirvana is the brand. I say that because they're based in Glendale, local business. But you know, know my hand drum. Oh yes.

The musical instrument. But again, I requested this. It would've been a great gift, but it's one of those things that I had particulars. I knew which one I wanted because she, okay, I had played somebody's, a friend's hand pan a while back. This is such a California conversation. Years ago, right?

And then, so Jessie ended up getting me- I played my friend's hand pan. I had some opinions about it. It's not just California. Colorado, we could do this too. Yeah, Asheville. Asheville, there's lots of places in the world. She got me a Russian tongue drum,

which is that, you've seen that thing in my house, which is about that big, and it's like a metal, it looks like a spaceship, and it just has these little U-cutouts, like tongues, and then you hit it with a mallet or a little yarn wrap thing. Okay. And I liked that, but it wasn't the,

I can get into the rhythm and play with my hands. It wasn't a hand pan, right? If you hit that thing with your hand, it doesn't make a lot of noise. So I found the people making them locally. I found, I researched all the keys and I wanted to get the Celtic scale, mostly because of my Scotch Irish background

and it seemed like a good place. So I had these ideas, oh, let's do the D minor. And so then she got it and it was an amazing gift. I find that most of the gifts that are my favorite gifts are the ones that were my idea and I selected and then told somebody what I, basically what my mom does. I mean, how often does somebody, and again, my wife apparently thinks

that this is what she's done, that she thinks that she struck gold this year. We're gonna find out, I'll report back. A totally unexpected, unrequested gift that is as fulfilling as one that you curated for yourself. That's the ultimate gift. But I don't have many examples of that. I don't have many examples of like favorite gifts

that was difficult for me. I think I'm just, I just don't think that's my love language so it doesn't resonate. But like the biggest gift that is, I mean, has to rank up there pretty high. And you'll have to help me remember how to tell this story because I haven't told this story in so long that I gotta pull it back up.

So I was 15 years old and I was just looking forward to getting my license and getting a car. And there was a pickup truck on the used car lot that, just a few blocks from my Nana and Papa's house in Lillington and I was like, that's the truck I want. Candy Apple red, 1987 Nissan pickup with chrome wheels, pretty redneck, like it wasn't four wheel drive,

but it kind of impersonated a four wheel drive pickup. Did it already have the size tires on it? Yes, yeah. Okay, yeah, so it was like larger tires than it needed and larger than you would like see. Like if you saw this truck. It's a little truck. You're not from the south.

But the tires are a little too big. You'd be like, okay, that's a redneck driving that truck. Yeah, and that resonated with me because that's who I was. And my papa took me to see it, I believe, one day. And you know, this was in the fall, and then that was it. And then how did this happen? Okay, then I noticed it was gone from the lot.

You can see where this is going. He bought me the truck, okay? You know, that's where this story's going. But how did this, what, it was gone from the lot. And then I think I had this theory that my papa had bought me this truck, but it was pretty early before Christmas. And you know, my birthday's in June,

so I had a little doubt, but I did have an inkling. And then, let's see, it's Christmas, I believe what happened was it was Christmas morning. Oh, and I told you that I thought I had. I'm gonna be honest with you and tell you I don't remember being involved on this side of the process. I told you that I thought I might be getting this truck. And then what had happened was you were told

that I was gonna be surprised with this truck. You were given the information. What do they tell me? Because either my mom or my papa or somebody was just so excited about this gift. It's just like, I assume Jessie's as excited as she is, she's probably told Christy. That's why I'm not gonna ask her what your gift is

because I don't wanna have that information and I've already pushed the button. I gift is, because I don't want to have that information. Well, I'm sure- And I've already pushed the button. I'm sure that if they told me that I just turned around and told you. I can't remember that part if you told me ahead of time. But the part that I do remember, and maybe you do. Well, you know, I'm a good, I'm actually, I'm a tight secret holder. You tell me something, and if you tell me

that you don't want me to tell anybody. As a 15 year old? No, I don't know what I was like at 15. I don't know what I was like at 16. Now, I will take something to my grave. Oh yeah. I do not snitch. I'm really good at that too. I take pride in that.

Again, it's the button. I'm really good at it because I push the button and I don't remember it. I totally remember it and I always want to say it when I'm around the person who I know is the person who needs to hear it or would want to hear it. I'm able to compartmentalize so much that I legitimately no longer have the knowledge.

That's dangerous, man. That's like not knowing you have a gun in your pocket. You know what I'm saying? Well, I haven't, I use it with discretion. That's dangerous, man. It has bit me in the butt a couple of times. Yeah, right, because you're like, oh, I didn't remember that I wasn't supposed

to remember that. Yeah, it. Because you're like, oh, I didn't remember that I wasn't supposed to remember that. Yeah, it's like keep a secret is different than forget you know it. So I am questioning my technique. DQ presents Picture This. Picture the Reese's Extreme Blizzard back for a limited time. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Reese's Pieces blended together with world-famous soft serve in one blizzard treat. It's a dream treat for Choco Peanut Butter lovers. Wait, are you dreaming? Well, check.

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The dessert is real. Hurry into DQ today. DQ, happy tastes good. On Christmas morning, I'm at home with my mom, opening presents, stuff like that, having the whole Christmas thing. I get a phone call. It's you. Hi, Link.

And my mom's in the room. I answer the phone. I'm talking to you. I'm like, hey man, Merry Christmas. What'd you get? What'd I get? And then you to you, I'm like, hey man, Merry Christmas, what'd you get? What'd I get? And then you start, then you're like, did you get it? Did you get the big red surprise?

You, whether we had talked about it ahead of time or not, at that point, you assume that I had gotten it because it was Christmas morning, but I don't go to my Nana and Papa's house until Christmas night, so. I didn't understand your complicated family traditions. So you were like. It could have been anything, big red surprise.

Let's assume you were, yeah, that you were keeping the secret, but also totally confirming the surprise. You're like, did you get the big red? And here I am like. You already knew that you were gonna get this truck. And I didn't want my mom to overhear that you were spoiling it for me.

Well, there was no such thing as speakerphone at the time. My side of the conversation had to be really veiled. I was like, I'm sure this went great. So instead of, yeah, instead of saying like, I don't know what you're talking about. 15 year old Link trying to make, I was trying to figure out like.

Trying to manage two people at once. Cause it's like, yeah, man, I, you know what? That's probably gonna be tonight. You know, I'm going to Nana and Papa's tonight. I'm gonna get some more presents. Some may be bigger and redder and rednecker than others, but I haven't gotten there yet. You said something like that?

No, I have no clue what I said, but like that was the dance. Well, hopefully you didn't say that because your mom would have known that you knew. Exactly. And then she probably wouldn't have told Papa because this was his thing, you know, to like surprise me, huge surprise.

I get there that night, everybody's open in the presence, lots of tradition, lots of family members. By the time we get done with the presents, he's like, you may have noticed that you got less presents this year than you used to get every other year. And I always love how he would go into like- Kind of a speech.

If you gave him the opportunity to take the floor for something. You may have noticed that you do not have as many gifts this year as you've gotten in previous years. It was like a political speech. Though all of your half siblings and cousins have gotten the same amount of gifts that they've gotten in previous years.

Let's walk around out back. And I'm like, now I have to act surprised about this huge thing. And I just, I wanna give him the gift of me being surprised, but I'm not, but I was still elated. So I just channeled that. You know, I'm a performer. Ha.

He had it parked out back and it's just one of that. You know, I'm a performer. Ha. He had it parked out back and it's just one of those car commercial things except in 1987 and 1994. It's the 1995, 1994 commercial for a 1987 Nissan pickup truck. Yeah, and I got in the thing and didn't know how to drive it because it was a stick. A stick, yeah. But he taught me and that was a connection that we made

and that truck is still in the family. You know what? That's the third pillar of the McLaughlin plan as president, okay? Okay. Pillar number one, every fifth grader gets a herd of goats or a sewing machine, it's up to them. Pillar number three, because those are actually two pillars.

Yes. Okay, so pillar number- Oh, I'm tracking. Pillar number three, because those are actually two pillars. Yes. Okay. So pillar number- Oh, I'm trying. Pillar number three is every 16 year old has to get a manual transmission car. Now I believe in electric- It's a little late in that. I believe in electric vehicles. And so I don't know if there's a way to implement this. So yeah. Electric race car.

The combustion engine, we gotta get rid of that sucker. But we gotta somehow give kids electric cars with a manual shifter that completely makes it more difficult because I think that made you a better person. You got the paddles, the shifter paddles. No, the shifter paddles aren't anything, no. You gotta learn how to operate a machine in a way that is meaningful

and you gotta take care of goats. Put them in the back of the truck. I kept that truck all the way through college, hitting a tree, busting a radiator. I mean like near death experience. So much happened in that truck. I almost died in that truck. So many experiences.

I took that truck into marriage and then eventually sold it. Well, it died and- And you got a pretty similar truck to replace it. But it was a Toyota. I got a Toyota. It was also, it looked like a four wheel drive truck. Big wheels, but two wheel drive.

It was- Which really was like one wheel drive. A Toyota pre-runner. Yeah. So it was a fake four wheel drive truck because you know, it was cheap. I didn't even get the extend cab. It wasn't a stick though, was it?

No. I liked that little truck. That was a good looking truck. I wanna get a little truck again. I actually- They don't make little trucks anymore. That Toyota, that style of Toyota- Tacoma, Prerunner are bigger now than they were.

Like the early aughts. Yeah. That's a really good truck. Yeah, I like going back to that. My father-in-law had one of those that I drove. That's how I learned how to drive a stick. Speaking of that, just because while you're talking about this, I am gonna talk about the best gift

that I ever got. Oh, well do it. Because it's the same gift that you got. I don't know how long we had been married. Not long. We were on staff of Campus Crusade at the time. So, you know, we were not making a lot of money. No.

And so definitely not in a position to purchase a car for ourselves that was not used or really a gift from someone else is what most of our cars would have been at the time. Yeah. And Christmas morning, this was actually, and this was, I believe this was 100% unexpected. I remember it that way.

You didn't tell me. So that I could call you before you got it and tell you you were gonna get it. So we're at my in-laws house for Christmas day, which was like two houses down from my own house. And, well, no, at the time we wouldn't have been, it was just before Locke was born, so we would have been, we were living in Chapel Hill.

But anyway, Chris and Ashley, Jessie's sister and her husband, you know, our Key West buddies, were all inside the house and then, you know, we're opening like smaller presents and clothes and stuff like that. You may have noticed. And then they said there was some sort of speech, please go outside.

And we go outside and there are two, 2002? Or 2003, whatever year it was, was the year that this was. Mitsubishi Monteros. Two brand, one was gray, one was burgundy. No, one was burgundy and one was gold. Ooh. And they're exactly the same, brand new.

Some like, one of like, my father-in-law's like employees had like driven them up and like put them in the driveway next to each other. And it was literally like, which one do y'all want? Like it wasn't this one's for you and this one's for you. That's trouble. Fight over the color. I don't remember, it was an easy decision.

We took the burgundy one, I don't know why, but that was, and then I remember driving to Christmas conference because we always went to Christmas conference, which was the regional conference for Campus Crusade. The day after Christmas, we would drive. We would drive on the 26th because we were- MCing the conference. MCing the conference.

And I remember driving down Highway 40 and pulling up next to you and Christy. Ha! On the highway in our car that you did not, I don't think you knew that we had gotten it. And like honking the horn at you and getting all to look over and see our big ass SUV that we just got for Christmas. Yeah.

I mean, that was really unusual. That was, I mean, we drove the hell out of that car. Then your tire blew out. And we just kept going. That didn't happen. But that was the most unexpected and most helpful at the time gift because it was like, we were thinking about having kids.

It was, we needed a car and we couldn't afford one ourselves. So it hasn't gotten better than that. No sibling rivalry except over colors. Right. You gotta give them the exact same thing. Gotta be equitable. Lauren Hooks and Spines tweeted, "'Maybe not the best, but the most memorable gift.

My great aunt got me the board game Sorry six years in a row every Christmas. Not as a joke either. Legitimately, she forgot it's what she got me each year before. The irony was lost on her, because it's called, sorry. Okay, there's a few things to explore here.

How could you, yeah, it's like. I think that this, I mean, first of all, you know, as we get older, sometimes the memory begins to fade a little bit and this is a legitimate thing that could happen and she could just have forgotten and then apparently that's what happened. But her thought pattern stayed consistent. That's fascinating.

That is what I question. What should, what does Lauren want? I bet she'd want a board game. Sorry is probably the best one. First of all, I'm taking issue with two things here. Number one, you've never said sorry like a Canadian until today. Yeah, because I was kind of impersonating Lauren's great aunt

which I never say aunt either. I don't know. You've been saying sorry. Sorry. It's sorry. If you're from North Carolina. Yeah, I'm not being me right now. Okay, but the second thing is, is I think that this aunt gives sorry to lots of people, man.

She got a buck deal on sorry. She's got sorry's. Somehow she came into a lot of sorry's and maybe her system is off and she doesn't know who's gotten what, but Lauren is not the only person who's receiving sorry's from this great aunt. I mean, there's no way that she just,

I mean, that is the other possibility if she thinks about Lauren and she thinks she'll love this game. It is a great game. I like the feeling of that popper in the middle. Yeah, any sort of physical feedback that you can get. Pop, pop, it's very satisfying. Yeah.

It is a great game. And you don't lose the die because they're contained in that module. This is a good time to check, I wanted to check in with you on something because- You've been waiting for this? Waiting for the right time to bring what up? When I was in Kansas City recently, Locke and Shepherd and I took a little drive into the city.

They'd never been to Kansas City. We went to this, I think it's called the River Market area, sort of outdoor market. Shout out to the people at the Brazilian restaurant. Can't remember your name, but you're a mythical beast. And you gave me a really incredible sandwich and then gave me some cheesy Brazilian bread balls or whatever they are.

Okay. Wow. Not gonna forget that. But there's a store there that was a board game store. Big board game store. Now- It's tough business. I, but it's also like- It is.

Also like Pokemon cards and stuff too, so. Okay. You know. Irons in the fire, that's a good business technique. There was a lot of square footage for this kind of store, but maybe it's just because I'm so used to LA. Like if you're selling board games in LA, they're gonna give you like 10 by 12, that's it.

That's all you get. It's gonna be like a board game closet. Right, but in Kansas City, I guess you basically get what amounts to like two Radio Shacks. I don't know what your Radio Shack scale is for your local Radio Shack. It probably doesn't exist anymore. But anyway, I love the idea of board games

and so does Shepherd. And so we're like looking at all these board games and I'm just thinking, man, we should get one of these board games. We're not gonna get one because we have to fly back, et cetera, but that brought me back to, you kind of started getting into board games during the pandemic and then there was this whole thing

about you getting the National Parks game. Yeah. You know, the pandemic, the kids are back in school, Lily's off at college, is the board game, has it died, has the dream died? I, funnily enough, I was thinking this morning that like a holiday activity of ours should be breaking out parks

and it would be a nostalgic event. The Neal family had never incorporated board games into our everyday Neal activities, but I think it can- It's a good old Survivor. But I think, yes, it can be a nostalgic thing. There's only so much time. So yeah, I think it can become a holiday thing, but probably only parks.

I think I could get- Is that what you wanted to ask me about? Yeah, I wanted to know, do you still recommend it? Yes. And the question I have as a follow up is, I think I could get just Shepard into it. Jessie is a wild card. It depends on if like, she's got a lot going on.

Locke, forget about it. He might step in for a little bit. But are there games where just two people can play? And it's fun? Well, first of all, there is a single player version of Parks within the game. Single player? So he can just play by himself.

I don't know, I mean, that's not what I'm asking. I'm asking, are there good board games, in fact- I think you can play with two people, yes, I think so. I also might just do a little Google search. Just do that. Best two player- Stop bothering me with things that you can Google search. Two player board games. No, I don't remember. If you have any insight, hashtag your biscuits.

Just at me. I wonder what you can do with six versions of Sorry at once. Like, is that like a mega Sorry? Well, I wonder if every single one of the little bubbles makes the same exact tone. Every Canadian dairy farm is unique. That's why every farmer takes charge of their own unique environmental farm plan. Also drawing from 57 environmental practices.

My plan includes biodiversity. And part of mine is powered by renewable energy. Why care so much? Because Canadian dairy farmers hold themselves to higher standards. That's what's behind the Blue Cow logo. Dairy Farmers of Canada. Bryant Alvarado said,

"'My college roommate gave me a case of Kraft Spirals "'macaroni and cheese for Christmas one year.'" A case. Solid. Love it. "'He gave me a barbecue sauce sampler for my birthday the next year. Nice. One of the best friends I've ever had.

Yeah, you didn't know where that was going. So that's pretty cool, Brian. You got a friend who knows you. But it kind of makes me want to discuss our approach to gifting to each other. You we've got this, like the main thing we go back to is that one Christmas when Rocky V came out, we each went to, in my memory, we went to Roses

and we were browsing the music section and we each decided that we wanted Rocky V, so we just both bought that soundtrack for each other. Can you name one song on that album? From the streets, coming the man, a fighter, doing the best that he can to survive. Who's who? Yes, the survival of the fittest strive for what is mine.

The Lord be my witness. I have no clue what artists sing that because it was not a recognizable artist, but I knew that song. It was a rap song and it was on the soundtrack that you got me for Christmas, so I memorized it. Boy, I wish you would just take that part of your brain and apply it to other things.

I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I'm telling you, man. I mean, it's got some useless knowledge in there, man. There's no way I could- You don't have any useless knowledge. I could not remember anything about that. I don't know what the cover looked like. It wasn't a good soundtrack.

Well, of course, it was Rocky V. What was the best Rocky movie I've ever seen? And the only, well, you've seen Creed. No. Ever since Michael B. Jordan's bodyguards gave me the hard shoulder at that party, I just can't go back to the B. Jordan. Creed came out before that.

Before you were body checked by his bodyguard, Creed was already out. Maybe even Creed II was getting ready. I like Black Panther a lot. But we don't typically give gifts to each other these, well, okay, there's the two versions of us that are, there's blurred lines between the two. There's the version that you see

and the holidays that we celebrate. We celebrate each other's birthdays in front of you on the shows that we make, right? And then when the birthday rolls around, because we shoot things ahead of time, it's kind of like, oh, happy birthday, man. I've already like acted like I gave you a gift on the internet.

Right. That came out today. Yeah. And I don't think that it's just, again, first, I don't think it's either one of our love language to receive gifts. Well, and this is what Jessie asked me all the time because she's like,

we gotta get something for your dad, we gotta get something for your mom. And she's like, I want it to be more thoughtful. And I'm like, yeah, that's great. And then a lot of times we just settle on Amazon gift card or something like that, which for a lot of people is just like, but that's actually what my parents prefer in many ways.

And they honestly, they don't, like my family doesn't care as much about it. Like I know that my dad is not gonna be like, oh man, you didn't think about me, but we always give them stuff. I'm just saying that. But I think for, but we don't give each other stuff out of just an obligation and expectation.

And we've never discussed it actually. It's just that usually it doesn't happen. There's been some times when, I mean, I remember for your birthday, I got you that Hawkman poster one time, and then I got you a wooden holster that would charge your Apple Watch and your phone, and I was in kind of a mindset of like-

No, no, no, it wouldn't charge it. Oh, it was a piece of crap. No, it was just a piece of wood that you sit your phone in and it like- If you ran the cable through it. Yeah, yeah. It was a wooden holster. It was only wood.

He likes wood and he has an Apple watch. I'm gonna give him this, but it was a piece of crap. I was experimenting a couple of times with, am I gonna become a gift giver? And I think it was, do I wanna be a gift receiver? And do I want Rhett to give me gifts? And then I discovered by giving you gifts, the thing I discovered was it didn't resonate

with either one of us. I think that the biggest thing, and it's not about our love languages, the reason why we don't give each other gifts is we know how difficult it is for each of us to get up the gumption to give gifts in general. And I think we believe that we're on the same page that the amount of work that we would have to put in

is more than the amount of enjoyment we would get from receiving. So it's like we kind of have this unspoken thing that's like we both don't wanna, we don't have, it takes a lot of time and energy, especially this time of year, like what you were talking about to like give gifts. You're not, neither one of us really have a felt need

for that, so it's like, let's just spare each other the trouble. Well, it's interesting because I don't honestly, I honestly don't, like if somebody gives me a good thoughtful gift, I think it's really cool, but I don't expect it, I don't expect it from you. I've gotten, I can't recall, because again, my memory doesn't work in this way,

but if I've seen some things, I've been someplace and I've seen something that's like around your birthday or whatever, there's a couple of like examples that are kind of, analogous to what you did with the Hawkman thing that I've gotten you. I can't remember what they are. Yeah, I will clarify.

I think I found the Hawkman poster because I was looking for stuff to decorate our office at the time. And I was like, you know what? I see, Rhett would like this and it fulfills a desire that I have to have our office decorated. So it was kind of like me controlling how you decorate your part of the office.

So like, I'll take that. That's like, it was kind of like I had another interest in giving you a poster maybe. But I think one of the things I'm discovering though is that when I find something, I'm gonna use the example of what I found for Stevie for her birthday. Yeah.

When I find something and I'm like, oh man, this is perfect and they're gonna love it. I get a lot out of that. And I think it taps into the same thing that I like when I like cooking for somebody, you know? It's just like, they're gonna have this sandwich and it's gonna be this great experience and we're all together.

So, whether or not- And you're talking about the liquid death sweat outfit that you got. Stevie is absolutely obsessed with liquid death the drink, which is just water. It looks like you're drinking like a tall boy, you know, malt liquor, so don't drive with it, but it's just water. And it is really good water and she just loves it. And she's always drinking one.

She's very hydrated. And I just saw on Instagram. But you weren't looking for a gift for her. No, I'm just scrolling Instagram. And all of a sudden I see this Liquid Death long sleeve shirt. And it's just like, I don't know, I got an abnormal heart rate detected.

Are you okay? I'm sweating. Maybe it's because I have my collar up too. Let me check mine, let's see where I'm at right now. Why are you making this about you? 74, I'm just wondering is there something that we should. In the room? Is it in the room that we should be worried about?

I'm at 97. Oh good lord. I don't know. I'm at 97. Oh, good Lord. I don't know. I'm under a little stress. I see this long sleeve shirt and then I start scrolling through the wheel or whatever, you know, with the carousel. And it's like, there's a hat, there's a hoodie,

there's matching sweatpants. And I'm like, this has got Stevie written all over it. And the timing was right. And her birthday was coming up in like a week or two. I saw an ad. And by the way, she absolutely loved it and felt really like thought of and appreciated. Now I'm not saying I do that.

And I told her I found it. Yeah, and we don't do that for Stevie every single year. We always get her something for her birthday. Usually doesn't matter. But it's like- It usually doesn't resonate. It usually is like, here's a gift certificate to something or whatever.

Cause it's tough to find the things that connect with the person. Yeah. But I saw an ad for something that I was like, this has got Christy written all over it. And I was like, you know what? I'm gonna buy it. It's not something I,

I've only recently started buying stuff from ads. And by the way, we're gonna do an episode, you know what, I'm gonna buy it. It's not something I, I've only recently started buying stuff from ads. And by the way, we're gonna do an episode, our 2021 purchases, that's something we're starting to do every year. So that's coming up. That's gonna be fun. Yeah, I was like, you know what, I really like this, she'll really like this,

and I'll order it and I'll give it to her for Christmas. And now I'm thinking, I'm just gonna go ahead and give it to her now. I think it would be more of a surprise. But then I gotta start over for Christmas. So maybe I'll keep it. It's already wrapped. I'm kind of itching to just give it to her.

I don't know what I'll get her for Christmas then. But it's a thing that like she could already enjoy now. I'm not gonna say what it is, even though I don't think she's listening. When you find that stuff, man, you gotta go for it. College roommates who give gifts, I think she's listening. When you find that stuff, man, you gotta go for it. College roommates who give gifts, I think that's sweet. Here's another friend gift thing that I thought was creative.

This is Aaron Clemonson. Thanks for tweeting at us. My roommate, my senior year of college, filmed a little bit of almost every day of our senior year. He put it together like a vlog that ended up being over an hour and a half long. Having the ability to go back now and enjoy some of those moments again is truly special.

Very cool gift idea. And it's a gift that he was able to give to himself too. Ain't no shame in like a gift for you is a gift for me. Yeah, I agree with this. Like that Hawkman poster. I don't know if it's called, it's called like what the one second, one second a day or one second app or whatever.

Yeah. One of our good friends has done that. I think we end up talking about it every year, by the way. Yeah. This is probably the third year we've talked about it, but still never done it. But this, that's an hour and a half. That's ambitious.

But also you get a little bit of the, you get a little bit more context, you know, than just the one second thing is great because it's just like, okay, it's 365 seconds and we're done with it. Yeah. But I do think that these, man, I mean, this kind of ties in with what we've been talking about

with getting some footage of your relatives over the holidays telling stories. Just, it's so easy to commemorate things now. And if you don't know where we were talking about that, that was, we do car, Oh, yeah. We do carpool vlogs every month on the Mythical Society. So like just a 20 minute conversation.

I think it's kind of like an ear biscuit in a car, but you don't. I think it's like an ear biscuit in a car, but I think that that's the wrong way to brand it, which is a separate conversation. Now. Anyway, that's what we were talking about. I will say.

Recording your elder relatives' stories. But you know. For posterity. But you know that, you know, I'm sure Google's doing the same thing and other services, but Apple is basically doing a, you know, they're basically creating these memories, right? Like, oh, on this day, November 18th, 2016, like what happened on that?

Google Photos does it too. I was actually looking at it this morning. Oh, I'm just gonna, where is it? Oh, there's Lincoln and Lily, oh, this is in Hawaii. There we are, there's Mia the waterfall. Yep, this is, so, this is our Thanksgiving trip. We got into the helicopters. Tell me what you've been thinking about Hawaii so far.

Don't touch it. So that's Lando not answering your question. Oh, this is cool. I mean, this is like, because I don't want to take the time to do this. And they, what in the world was that? A steering wheel of something. It was my leg, it was my bare leg in a car.

This is us going for a hike. I get the idea. Well, I guess it was for one job. This is us going for a hike. I get the idea. Well, I guess what I'm getting at is that what this friend took time to do, the internet, the cloud. Big Brother is now doing it for us. The cloud does automatically. Like, we don't need to curate our lives

because the computers are doing it for us. Yeah, and there's probably a like, give me my summary of the year. You probably don't even have to ask for it. It's gonna happen. I'm probably happening right now. But I'm not saying this is not a thoughtful gift. I'm just saying that like-

Put it on VHS for your grandparents. Okay. I just kind of relived our Hawaii 2016 Thanksgiving that we went together as families. How often do I think about that? Not very often. Every day, I do. And I, so, but now here it is. It's a memory on my phone.

And I, you know what? I could send that to everybody in your family, everybody in my family, and they would be like, thanks for taking the time to do that. Yeah, I put a little something together. All I did was literally open an app and hit a button. Yeah, there's a button that said share. You could send it to the group right now.

Mistina Mashic. A personalized song by the lead singer of my favorite band from My Husband for Christmas. It makes me so happy each time I listen to it. I don't know what your favorite band is. Wow. And is there, so they're either- Maybe a local thing.

Either this is a- This is Cameo on musical steroids or this is a low-level band. This is either Cameo, this is a very accessible band or this is a big band is cameo on musical steroids or this is a low-level band? This is either cameo, this is a very accessible band, or this is a big band where there's a connection between, you know, that the husband has. Either way, it makes her happy every time she listens to it.

The cameo version of that, the thing that we're pushing for the cameo montage stuff, I think is akin to this. Yeah, and it's losing, it's kind of losing its luster a little bit now as everyone begins to understand that this doesn't take a whole lot of work, it's a system.

It takes money and- But it's still very meaningful at the point of sale. Yeah, it's compelling. Not the point of sale, but the point of experience. Oh yeah, yeah. Speaking of thoughtful experience, Tyler Reese, final kicking tweeted, "'I had the goal of visiting all 50 states

"'before I turned 30,' which was interrupted by COVID. "'On my birthday, I woke up to the house "'decorated by my wife with things "'from my three missing states. "'And the rest of the day was spent doing activities and eating food from those states. So thoughtful. Very thoughtful.

Very sweet. So experiential. I love the fact that Tyler had this idea, first of all, to get to all 50 states before 30. I assume that being trapped inside your home and just eating food from, I'm wondering what three states it was that he hadn't been to. Alaska is probably one of them.

Like if you have to just state a Hawaii. I bet it's not. No, I bet it's. You think it's like a Vermont? Yeah. Rhode Island. I haven't been to Rhode Island. I don't wanna throw the Dakotas under the bus, but I'm thinking Dakotas.

It's easy to miss a Dakota. It's easy to miss both Dakotas. South Dakota. I'm sorry, Dakotas, it's easy to miss you. Which one has Mount Rush less? That one's tough to work up the gumption to go to. On a closing note, I thought that this one was very sweet.

From Rachel Homburg. When I was three, I got a mini recliner that matched- Okay, stop there. First of all, a mini recliner that matched. Okay, stop there. First of all, a mini recliner is a thing. Of course it is. And this is a great gift for anyone who's three. Well, not only are mini recliners a thing, but I'm surprised that you guys haven't done this

at your house yet, but lots of people, and it seems a lot of people with Datsuns are making little living rooms. If they have multiple Datsuns in their home, they're like making little living rooms with miniature like couches and table, furniture and artwork around that's all lower level and it's like in a room in their house.

You have to give a room to a dog, but I mean, you got one kid in college, you can take Lily's room and make it a dog room. I don't know. Okay, start over. I interrupted. When I was three, I got a mini recliner that matched my grandpa's.

We would watch TV and eat our nightly ice cream next to each other in our recliner. My grandpa was my best pal and my only father figure growing up. Miss him every day. Oh, that's so cute. And poignant. My grandfather had a, sat in his recliner.

It wasn't necessarily as inviting as it seems that your grandfather was, because he just sat in his recliner chewing on a cigar, drinking something. It was, I think he just drank wine. My grandma just drank whiskey. She would smoke cigarettes and drink whiskey and he would smoke a cigar and drink something else,

but I think it was wine. And he had a little poodle that would sit right next to him, Honey Bun. Honey Bun. It would get like right up on him like that. Oh yeah. So, I mean, there is a thought that if I had a little recliner,

I could go back and have my little candy cigar and my little apple juice. And your little fake poodle, your little Honey Bun. Cause there was no ice cream eating in a night chair. And once you had a cigar and wine, Yeah. You didn't need anything. I don't know what he, maybe it was whiskey too,

but mom and dad, buddy, she would have some whiskey every single night. I didn't understand that that was probably a problem until much later in life. I think this is such a sweet memory. And sometimes it's like, you know, gifts that you can go back to in your brain. Cause I, you know, it's like,

if it's the three-year-old recliner, you're not actually going back to the recliner. It could be in an attic somewhere. Mm-hmm. I like that. You can put your Datsun in it when you grow up. Yeah. And put that on Instagram. Well, thank you for sharing your gifts with us,

the stories of your gifts. May your gift giving be especially thoughtful. I got a rec. Yeah, give it to us. My gift to you, the gift that you can give to yourself, a musical pick me up. Enjoy that Silk Sonic album. Anderson.Paak, Bruno Mars, Super Group, Silk Sonic.

You got some Bootsy Collins, legend, kind of narrating a story that lasts about 31 minutes. You got a little bit of Thundercat in one song, which is cool. But yeah, it's just a syrupy, retro, soul, funk, good time. So if you need that, pick me up, give yourself that gift this holiday season. Little bit of the Silk Sonic.

Get in your recliner, grab your ice cream, your earbuds, and listen to your heart's content. Hashtag Ear Biscuits. Tell us what you think. Talk at you next week.