Shaun Newman Podcast - SNP Archives #49 - Gerald Groenen

Episode Date: March 1, 2023

Born in 1925 Holland as a teenager he was a part of the underground railroad helping people escape the Nazi's. He is also a military veteran and was married for 70+ years.  SNP Presents: Legacy Media featuring: Kid Carson, Wayne Peters, Byron Christopher & Kris Sims March 18th in Edmonton Tickets here: https://www.showpass.com/snp/ Let me know what you think Text me 587-217-8500

This is Francis Whittleson. This is Benjamin Anderson. This is Dallas Alexander. I'm Alex Craneer. This is Forrest Moretti. This is Chris Sims. This is Chris Barber, and you're listening to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome to the podcast, folks.

Happy Wednesday. Back in the chair. Back in the studio. We got a new intro for March. How the hell did March get here? I got no idea. Man, a couple weeks away from the studio. And it feels good to be back in the chair.

Not going to lie. Not going to lie. And it feels, you know, every time I get to put together the start of a new month, you know, the introductions. I mean, you know, kind of like a little bit exciting, you know, like, ooh, who's this month? And it's pretty cool to be introduced by Mr. Barber himself. So, you know, among other names in there, don't get me wrong. Lots of cool guests last month. So if you're new to this each month at the start, the first episode of the new month, we, you know, we allowed the previous month

introduce for the month moving forward if that makes sense anyways um SMP presents march 18th i've been harping on this a lot uh it is 18 days away how the hell did that happen like i don't know where the time went um yeah so 18 days away we uh we uh we we got kid carson chrisims way way way Beyrs, Byron Christopher, all going to be live in Amiton, March 18th, talking legacy media. That is going to be fun, I'm telling you. And if you haven't got your tickets, click on the link in the show notes. I hope to see you all there. Hope it's a fun evening for everyone I was telling Tuesday on the Tuesday mashup just yesterday.

Tamara Leach is going to be in attendance. A whole bunch of other cast of characters is going to be in attendance, too. But that one sticks out. obviously everybody knows her story or at least got to witness her story unfold here over the last year. So it'll be exciting to have her in attendance among others and hopefully you can attend as well. Now, today is a special one. I tell you what, before we get to the sponsors, I just want to say that, you know, episodes like, people always are like, oh, you know, like, what's your favorite episode? It's like, I don't have a favorite episode. I enjoy all these, um,

conversations, they're, you know, they're just bits and pieces and little puzzle pieces that make up a hole, if you would. But every once in a while, you, uh, you sit down across from somebody and you just, you're like, you almost want to, like, is this actually happening? And I don't want to sell it too high. Um, but, uh, I think you're in for a treat today, uh, 97 year old man, you know, telling some stories that I've never, you know, even, you know, certainly read about some of this, but to hear it in his, his voice, his words is, um, pretty, um, pretty, unbelievable. So before we get there, today's episode brought to you by Guardian plumbing and heating. That's Blaine Joey Stephan. What makes them different? They got

seven days on, seven days off work schedule, 12 hour shifts, no night shift, no on call, and they basically, you know, basically work half the month while getting paid for the whole thing. They also offer traditional five and two schedule for their installers, great benefits, awesome wages, great team, looking for plumbers, HVAC techs, installers, and impredices. They also might not force things on you, you know, that that goes pretty high in my books. Just go to guardianplumbing.ca where you can schedule your next appointment at any time.

Erickson Agro Incorporated at Irma, Alberta. That's Kent and Tasha Erickson, family farm raising, four kids growing food for their community and this great country. They just want to shout out. They're on top of the world, teaming up with this guy, or maybe it's vice versa. Sorry, Ericson family. It's probably the other way.

Sean's on top of the world because he's he's partnered up with the Erickson Agro. Either way, I'm happy to have you aboard. They came on board last Wednesday, so great to have you back for another week. And for the rest of 2023, if you're looking for any opportunities, folks to get on board with the SMP. Text the number in the show notes. Would love to add you to the list of growing members that are supporting the podcast and what it stands for. And, you know, some of the conversations I'm helping on our. earth with your help because today is no different.

It ain't for you guys leading me along and trying to, you know, make me bump in with some pretty incredible individuals. Some of this never happens. Deer and Steer Butchery, the old Norman and Kathy James family built butcher shop on the north side of Highway 16 and Range Road 25. It's used by local hunters from an area for custom cutting and wrapping, or it has been for a long time. Now with a facelift and everything else, you can get professional meatwork done there.

and they offer this cool little thing that Sean's, you know, Brian, I'm going to have to come out and do it again. But you can help cover up your own meat. And maybe for a lot of you hunters and farmers and everything else, you're like, I do that all the time. Well, this guy doesn't do it all the time. And it was a super cool experience. And look forward to my next opportunity to do it all over again. If that's something that's interested you or you just got an animal that needs butchered, 780870-8700. Three Trees, Tap and Kitchen.

They, well, they got more live music happening. They just had another live act in there. I've been saying here, if you're in the Lloyd area, you know, and you want a cool feel. You've got to pay attention to Three Trees. Instagram is where I pay attention, but social media in general. And they'll keep you posted on when they're bringing in live acts. Then you can take the misses or Mr. Oat and, you know,

get a table, enjoy a couple of beverages, or as twos would, you know, you've never mentioned the food, Sean. You've got to mention the food. The food is fantastic. You know, they create a pretty cool vibe there. So give them a call, 780874-7625, book a reservation. Don't be like me. And, you know, maybe enjoy a night on the town. Gartner Management, the early Mr. Base company specialized in all types of rental properties to help meet your needs, whether you got an offer, or whether you're looking for an office.

or you got something, you know, there's more of you than the meat, C-I, you need a bigger space. Give way to call 7808-5025 you can get you hooked up. Now, let's get on to that tale of the tape brought to you by Hancock Petroleum. For the past 80 years, they've been an industry leader in bulk fuels, lubricants, methanol and chemicals delivering to your farm commercial or oilfield locations. For more information, visit them at Hancock, Petroleum. Dat C.A. Born in Holland in 1925,

He's 97 years old, soon to be 98. He was part of the Underground Railroad as a teenager. He's a former military veteran and was married for 70 plus years. I'm talking about Gerald Grownen. So buckle up. Here we go. Okay. It is...

Yeah. February 7th, 20203. I'm sitting with Gerald Gronan. So first off, sir, thanks for allowing me to sit and chat with you for a little bit. Okay. Well, how old are you today? Pardon? How old are you?

Old on 97. 97. It would be 98 in another month. And another month? Yeah. So that means you were born in 1925. 1925. What country were you born in?

Holland. Holland. Netherlands. What, when you... Remember back, what's one of the first memories you have as a kid? Do you remember the 20s at all or the 30s? What's the first memory you have? Oh, what's memory?

I don't know. I remember the first memory I have this that I said on my motor's lap in an old farmer's wagon. I had one horse pulling it. going from one farm to another one and a bigger one I remember very little

one the time before that but then the farm was called the Crouton Tailed and that means Crouton Tailed that was stuff that

used medicine and it was owned by a firm in the Hague and Amsterdam. And it was an isolated area which became later on I think because we were involved in the war with the Germans

and we were never contacted with the undergrounds just took it for granted that we did what was asked to us. we helped French prisoners of war, what was on a camp close to the German border, and they ran away, and then they were to our place, and then one of my brothers took them on the bike

and brought them to unoccupied France. France was only partly occupied by the Germans, The rest was all on the General Pétain. He was the head of the French, but had their freedom, were under the influences, German of course, but they had their own government and their own things. Once they got there as prisoners,

they would get picked up by the English, by the English, their Air Force, and back to ship to England. Long stories about the presence of war on French. We couldn't speak French and they couldn't speak Dutch, but we always helped them. We did that for about, I would say, a year and a half, and I was the one that was outside of it. outside of it because they were too little or too young.

My older brothers, my older brothers did the very job. And we helped the undergrounds. But we never official members of the undergrounds. They just took it for granted that we would do whatever we asked, whatever they asked, without being recognized us, part of the undergrounds. We never had weapons, we never had a uniform. But we did a lot of duty job for the undergrounds. And it was at the time that the English flew over Germany and the German Air Force was terrifically strong with good Mr. Smiths and old fire thing from

what they so we saw one night one night we saw seven planes within vision of the eye

shot down by the Germans and they were all English planes that was the beginning of the war from England between England and Germany and the German Wehrmacht was

I have German and was known that Hitler talked to Guring and I have I have my friend Herman Huring outracht gave and a

Luftz to build but he once in wealth not never seen hadn't seen I speak enough chairman

to repeat that and he did but after after a while it wasn't that a lack of planes it likened to like the lack of

tanks, the lengths of artillery, and nothing the only thing was short was gasoline. They didn't have, on the end of the war, they still had lots of planes and lots of tanks, but they had no, no, no, no, um, no fuel. No fuel to put into, into planes

and into the, and into the thing. And that's why they got lost to war. which was everybody delighted. So then, after the war was over, I went back to agriculture school, which was in the meantime the agriculture school I was going to, was lifted up and I was unused. And I finished that after the war. And then I was to the university of agriculture.

culture and I was there for about two weeks or three and then the Dutch army and drafted me into their army and sent to Indonesia and I was there for three years in a very peaceful role because I was I worked at the headquarters of the general So that was a warm place, very protected. So I had no, no, I was a couple of times in the thing that I got by the patrol from the Bahasa Indonesia. Anyway, he had promoted to sergeant, eventually. I returned home, and I went my wife,

I had three dates with her, three dates with her before I left to Indonesia. And three years later, she was still waiting for me and I was waiting for her. And here we got the Pope's blessing that we were married for 70 years when she died. Seventy years? Seventy. 70 years we were married. She died just over a year ago. Wonderful marriage.

Wonderful, wonderful woman. Absolutely a wonderful woman. Yeah. And then my daughter, my youngest daughter, she had an inkling of a writer. very smart girl. They always were smart. Every one of them of my daughters.

Six of them, all had degrees in different things. Political science and engineering. And, yeah, they're all very smart. Anyway, we're very successful. And she went to Indonesia, and I got a brother there. where what went to Indonesia as a priest. He was a theologian.

He never was a parish priest. He always was a professor in theology. He wrote several books and gave lessons to the seminarians in the colleges. in the colleges over the years. He never was a parish priest. He always was a professional, professional person. Anyway, she went to Indonesia with her sister

because I insisted that she didn't go alone. So the two sisters went to Indonesia. And she found the grave where my brother was married, married by Jakarta and then then so now and then she wrote a book about Indonesia uprising

see it was the Dutch colony that was called the Dutch East Indies Dutch East Indies we had the Dust West Indies which is by the states the Dutch East Indies is by is on the globe If you're interested, I want to show you where it is

and my brother was sent there and he finally died, not too old he didn't live too long had malaria badly and other tropical diseases and anyway my youngest daughter, she wrote a book

and it's written on the tongue. It's this, what is written on the tongue. I did this example, a sales book, but it's not the, the one that came as a book, it's just a little different, what is in it is the same, it's the same, it is the original book here. So, that was quite a,

and my picture is in it. You know, it's the first page. I don't know. Oh, yeah, there it is, yeah. For my parents, Gerardis, Theodorus, Johannes Gronen. Yeah. Who loved to tell a good story. Who loved to tell a good story.

Well, well, that's just, that's a lot of little things. I want to go with it. Part of the book is from Anna, from Anna La Zerco Road is about me, a common out of concentration camp. I was, I was picked up by the Germans on the end of the war nine months, nine months before the war ended.

What did, Gerald, what did they pick you up for? No, it just picked me up and then put me to work in Germany. They just said you, you're coming with us? Yeah. Well, there was one guy, he says he was not going. He started to run away and they shot him right there. Oh, that was not a thing of you wanted to go. That's just...

And he jerry me and he was wounded. on the shoulder. I had a shot going right across his shoulders. And he was in our place to butcher pig. I'll help his butcher pig. Anyway. So they showed up and at your house said you're coming with. One of them tries to run away.

They shoot them and you're like, well, I guess I'm going. And the funny part of it is that that same night, The Germans sent their doctor from the army over to sea and look after that as a patient. And he was so mad because in the meantime the underground took the guy up in a wheelbar when wheeled him to their own shelter. So the Germans, you know, I came to the conclusion after all the years That there's a hell of a lot more good people than bad ones. The Germans aren't all bad. The Americans aren't all bad.

We are not all bad, but there's a lot of bad people amongst us. But most people, as a group of people, as the Germans, as Ukrainians, as Dutch and everything, they're not bad. They're not bad people. Not even the Germans. No. No. A lot more good people than bad people.

A lot more. I had a very interesting life. There's no two ways about that. Could you tell us about the underground? You've mentioned it several times, working on the underground. Well, yeah, but we were never, like I said, we were never official part of the underground. part of the undergrounds, but they took it for granted that we would do what was, they sent

his French prisoners, what ran out of their, their, their, what they got, Germans called, their prison, and they run away, and they got to our place, and we fed them and kept them for a couple of days as long as they needed, and then my older brothers, Took him on the bike all the way through Belgium to unoccupied German friends, and then the English picked them up again, and flew them back to see. There's some part of the war that hardly everybody ever mentioned it, I was aware of it that had happened.

Wasn't your family terrified if you got caught? Or is your family terrified if you got caught by the Germans smuggling? My older brother would emigrated after I and lived in Leibnizter. We had a, we helped the underground smuggling food, you know, rye and pigs and chickens and food in general because all the people what got on the grounds the first thing the Germans was called them from the distribution of food, you know, so they didn't get any coupons anymore, so they couldn't buy any food anymore. So they had to live off whatever people fed them, you know.

And we were the ones what supplied the undergrounds in Maastricht. Mastricht is the capital of the Limburg, the province. and so we got a great big wagon truck what moved furniture and stuff so the underground's what was doing is and we got the supply the food because we were on a farm and we supplied with rye and barley and and pay

meat, and purchased some pigs and that was fed outside of the Germans. No one. And then the distribution bureau, what was looking after the food distribution, they found out that we did that. And they waited on the close to economic. close to a canal, the half-wadrish canal, and they stopped the wagon, and they took the furniture off on the back, and there was all the stuff that we were going to the underground. So my dad ended up in jail, and my dad was already an older man, and one of my brothers said, No, it wasn't my dad was doing this, and I was the one was doing it.

So, well, the German guy or the Dutch guy was under German control, he said, well, I don't know, I'd have to put somebody in jail for that. So my brother Matt was from, left in Lloyd here after he immigrated. He's dead now and his wife too. but he sent time in jail but they never did find out the Germans never did find out that we were with the undergrounds

no it's a long story and as I tell you this now it's and then to come back to that book from Indonesia That was quite a, like I said, you know, they were not, the Indonesian people were good people. They were good people. But, see, Holland was a small country, you know.

Only about six or seven million people. Small country in size and in population. And we had the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa and they're all colonized by the Dutch because they went to

the power of the sea for so long, you know and the guys what knew how to run the world was sea power later on it became an earth power

but in the glory time of the thing it was Sealand So if you take South Africa, the Boer in War, Boer means farmer, farmers' war, because the fleet was looking after the sailboats going. That's why I call it an east wind and the west wind. The east wind brought them to Indonesia. the West Wind brought her back to Holland.

And they have to get some... So they said they had a lot of casualties. People were servious and shortage of vitamins, the shortage of good food. And they died on the fleet. And so they put some farmers on the point of South Africa and they called it the boers because there was just farmers from the Holland

that was clanswaters there and they started farming and they put all the all the people what was the slaves the Dutch were great with slave drivers and they picked them as slaves and they became workers for their farmers

the bouron war and on England found out that they had We had diamonds in South Africa. There was diamonds on the ground. And they wanted, they had to have for the diamonds. They couldn't care less about the farmers. And then the booers, they fought like hell to keep the English away from them because that was their land.

And that was only partly through. And eventually the English born. And Churchill was the one that was still involved in the, And the thing that was in my lifetime yet that this, the last little bit of this bouron war was handled in South Africa. So I lost that power there. New York was it called New Amsterdam, New Zealand. Holland had a lot bigger road on the size of the land,

would have. Rightfully had, no way. It's just bullet their way through it. They were good seafarers, and they were not scared for nothing. And there's several good books about the sea fairer those unions. Yeah. Anyway.

What do you remember about Churchill? you bring them up while Churchill was on the he said the bouron war the bourons the England was smart enough not to turn the boers off completely

and they had the thing Paul Kruger he was the Dutch queen Queen Willamina sent a boat over to to pick

Paul Kruger up and brought him to a little bit of the holdings they had in Germany and that's where he died. But when the war was on the end and the future of the South Africa was with Pyrne, the Churchill set

on one place down and done Paul Kruger. So he won after all. It was just a ceremonial thing because the Churchill was involved very much. That's how recent that the Germans, that the Dutch were involved with the colonial picture of England, You know, and so then they used over the transvaal, they call it Transfal.

Valle is a river. The transvaal is because the Boers were sent over by the German troops by the German fighters. South Africa, that was the point of South Africa where the diamonds were. So it was chased the Boers away from their own land. over the river, and then it became transfal, transfal. You know? And so then, yeah. But I'm always supposed to kind of interest in history,

so I'm a little more, maybe than most people care or Well, you've lived a lot longer than most people. You've seen some things. You've lived a long time, Gerald. Yeah. Could you talk to us a little bit about concentration camp? I've read... Well, it's not concentration camp.

Work camp. It was a... Yeah, it was a concentration camp. When they picked us up, It was been done by German troops, see? Yeah. And they shot the one guy. And anyway, we went in with the Germans, and they treated us royal.

They gave us the same rassas, and they had the same amount of cigarettes and the same amount of bread and everything in the morning. And that was our ration, you know. And they were, they were very, very good. And they put us over to what they came. called the Greener Politsai. The Greenland Policai was the Green Police Corps from the Germans. They were the ones that went over camps

and concentrations and prisoners and all this. And they took it over from the German army and they put it on the train. in a in a covered cattle wagon and the only ventilation was the little hole on the top of the thing on the right and the right-hand corner of the thing and we had people in there that got moved from a transportation from a transport camp to the right camp into the camp that we were all planned to go to by the Germans and they all just had to diarrhea and they were in starvation and one even died in the car and

there was a lot of Germans they were bombarded by the English but that time already and every time the warning for the air serenance and the sirens came they

covered up their locomotives so that the fire was in shining and that train would sit there by the hour

and so it was a horrible ride and it was just and And I come from a total Catholic area. And there were all Catholics there.

And I grouped up at the same time than I did. And they had a young priest there. Fire red hair. Red as to come. Red hair. It was just ordained a year before, a young priest. And the people prisoners within that cattle wagon started to pray for all reasons to pray.

And finally the priest got up and he said, that's enough prayers. Let's show the bastards who we are. Let's sing. And he got some folk songs, folk songs that anybody learned as a kid. and we sang and the Germans knocked on the windows on the thing of the cattle

wagon to be quiet and how harder they ordered us to be quiet, how louder we sang and the first stop that we came they took that priest

out of that bunch who never saw him since he never came back he got in concentration camped and they killed them. That was one little story within the whole thing. That's thing, he said. And he sang, loud and clear. And the Germans got mad and madder and madder. And he sang louder and louder. Yeah. What do to each other, hey? And most of the time without reason and without I said.

Do you think that's leadership, government? What we do to each other? You said, you were mentioning the things we do to each other. Do you think that it comes from government or do you think that's the people that wanted that type of violence? I still don't know I said. I'm wondering where you think. think the violence like that pulling a human spirit sings loud sing loud show him who we are and that's

that's one part of humanity the other part is the part that takes the priest out the pastor and you never see him again is that government that uh fosters that type of evil or hatred or i don't know the word gerald you i'm just to me that story makes the hair on my arms raised because I hope we never see that again. No, no. Well, of course, each war has his own little, or big misjudgments and myths.

After that, the First World War, those things in Belgium where they sat on the ground, you know, for months on end. That was horrible. And the second one never, the second word of what I thought they had the same thing, never came to that. They never had the six-freet line or the marginal line. There was no need for the nine, because the airplanes and the tanks and everything.

was a totally different war. Totally different war. Well, that's a little bit of my story. What can you tell me about 70 years of marriage? What wisdom did you take from that? Huh? Seventy years of marriage, your wife? Yeah, 70.

70. Seventy years, yeah. That's... Oh, it was... It was... Nobody that I know of. It was a wonderful, wonderful match. Wonderful match.

Yeah, me had six girls, and we were very Catholic and very, now none of the kids go to church anymore. Which has no use blaming somebody because they think they got the reason for it and one of two things. Yeah, I married. I had three dates with Anne.

And then I went to Indonesia for three years. And she still was at the bus stop when I came back from Indonesia. And then we went together for another year. And then we moved to Canada. Got married and moved to Canada. Was it love at first sight then? Did you know immediately? Yeah.

No, not. That was, it was a wonderful, wonderful relation. She was a good woman. Yeah. Why did you pick Canada? Well, the Canadians were the one that were freed in Holland from the Germans, you know. They were the ones that, and I did, the Canadian troops were already. all back to Canada when I got back out of German there but then I heard the

stories and everything about and Ann was was fully involved at that time you know she had the right age and troops took him out for dancing and things like this you know so It's a totally different end of the war than I had. How was the end of the war for you, Gerald? Well, we stood on, when the war ended, we saw the German tanks, American tanks coming down a hill in Rhineland.

I was picked up in Germany, and after I bought the guns in that camp, where we were separate. where the train brought us. And from there on, we were distributed amongst the people. And I'm nabian from the agriculture background. They put me to work on a farm, which was the last way you can hope for, eh? And she was a widow.

She lost her husband in Stalingrad. And my brother got to the next farm on the hill there. and her, her, his, his mistress, the woman was on the farm, her husband was in Stalingrad. And one in Winigrad, Phel in Winigrad and Stalingrad. So they both were widows. And then the Germans were so low in Gens. gasoline and everything. They couldn't use the cars or tranks or nothing anymore.

So they got back to horses again. So there was the end of the war, obviously, it was coming. And we took the pair of horses, a team of horses and a German wagon. And loaded it a little bit we had, loaded it in, and we didn't have to walk. And we drove the horses all the way back to horse. Holland. But eventually, at first we had to get across the Rhine, which was no bridge, no any. And they had a pond bridge there, you know, bridge on...

And one horse lost its iron. He started to limp. We got to the other side, on the German, on the Dutch side of the Rhine. a smith, a hoof smith there on an establishment, you know. So we went there and the guy didn't want to put the iron back on the horse's foot again. And we got boasts, and brother and I got so mad and we just about attacked the guy on. And he felt coming that we went business, you know. So he put the yard on the foot of the horses,

and then we got back to the border in Holland, and there was an American officer. What said, how did you get here? Well, we, so we put the horses in the wagon in the bush there. And we could push the wagon in the bush, but the pole, the beam pole where the houses, horses on was still visible. And he saw that damn thing.

And he said, oh, that's how you came here. He was an American officer. And about two weeks later, we go to the city, after it was all cold down and everything. And there was two horses coming on a wagon but was gathering crap, you know, falls. And I said, two, brother I said that there are two horses and he said oh no yes so we went to the

guy that said what did you get your horses from oh he said I thought of an American officer very sheep coincident how did all happen you know within the same some the war and all what's what matters is the sister it's just that Absolutely unbelievable miracles all the time. Miracles all the time. It's all the time that something happened that was not supposed to happen, what doesn't happen, what's supposed to happen, and vice versa. You know, it's full of...

Oh, well. That's something I've never heard before, Gerald. You said, you said, war is full of miracles. Huh? War is full of miracles. Yeah. What miracles did you see during the war? The miracles.

Oh, well, the thing, off the trip home from the chasm to the, to the, to the, to, to the German and the Dutch border. That was a miracle. We had a far acquaintance. Lived in Germany. We didn't know where or anything. And then they finally get into, on the main road to back to the border.

And an American soldier comes and stops us. And he was a boy from our town. He got joined by the army, and he was on patrol. And so he fell of Dutchmen from our own town. We're in an American uniform? Yeah, we're an American uniform. So he said, he said, he said,

you better go off the road, he said, because if the Americans find you, they put you in jail for God knows how long before you can get your journalists back. But if you've gone off the road now, and there was a house with a Dutch flag on top. Who did that be? That was my aunt who had immigrated when she was a young girl,

never knew that she lives there. The miracles of what happens now. So we slept there overnight. And we'd make wall of the blankets, wall on bed, and all this kind of stuff. And finally we were used to sleep on the floor. He couldn't get to sleep anymore in that bed. It was too soft and too...

He got out of the bed and slept in front of the bed. front of them and crazy that is the things would happen that that are so totally unaccepted unexpected but they do happen and you're just anyway if you're going to say there you know you mentioned you're at the start to start this all off you're turned 98 in a month yes your birthday's coming up 98 Yeah. What do you think the secret to life is? What do you think the secret to life is?

The secret. The secret of life? Oh, I don't know. Nothing. Nothing. I did everything else that anybody died. I smoked all my life, the biggest part. But not smoking was a bad thing.

and they run an elevator and then the train elevator and the smoke and I know that it's going to kill me because they coughed my head off and I quit that and of course that was that's what I blame

but that's what I came to my long liver to it quit smoking would have never made it 98 And, well, it's a good marriage. Big thing.

She saw other people out of there. It's okay. It's okay. Very much okay. I appreciate you sitting down with me today. Huh? I appreciate you sitting down with me today. Oh, sure.

Yeah. Yeah, it's okay. Yeah, it's okay. I think most people like to talk about their life but I'll too think that that even if my life

wasn't as good as it was and I wouldn't talk as freely as I do now let's go let's disconnect the stuff thank you very much for doing this.