Stories from the Center of the Universe

Episode 321: Tom Saunders

Tom Saunders and Paul used to work together at the “Bakery.” Tom was already there when Paul arrived and Paul recalled getting two pieces of sage advice from Tom about working in “Corporate America.” They reminisced and talked a lot about the people they worked with and how some were real characters! Tom has great memories of growing up in South Hill, Virginia where his dad was a doctor and he told Paul how he used to go on house calls with him. His dad had gone to the University of Richmond and Tom followed in his footsteps where he majored in political science. Paul and Tom talked about his love for sports, being a big Yankees fan and an equally as big fan of UofR Football. They discussed Tom’s passion for cycling, how he has biked over 100,000 miles and he then also told him about two major cycling accidents he has had. They finished by Tom telling Paul about his wife (they’re celebrating their 50 year anniversary this year), two kids and three grandkids.

Episode 320: Matt Stemmler

Matt Stemmler and Paul served briefly together in the Virginia Army National Guard and know a lot of the same people. Matt was a military kid as his Dad was career United States Coast Guard. He told Paul they moved all over. His first two years of high school were in Connecticut and his last two were in Virginia. He made a lot of new friends through sports and in high school, his sport was wrestling. They talked about the benefits of wrestling and some of the life lessons that Matt learned and that it teaches. He had already thought about it, but when 9/11 happened at the beginning of his senior year, the military became the path that Matt chose. They talked about his four (4) tours of duty, the various units he served in and duties that he performed. They also discussed him going to college in between tours and having an internship with the Washington Redskins. They finished by talking about his wife and their three kids.

Episode 319: John Morgan

John Morgan is a teacher, writer and musician and comes to the podcast via a couple of mutual friends of his and Paul’s. John grew up in a small house where his Dad worked for the local utility company and his mom was a teacher. His dad went to St. Christopher’s and John’s parents decided to send him there as well. John and Paul talked about his experiences at St. Christopher’s and John told Paul a powerful story about his best friend in middle school. As a result, music became very important and a big part of John’s life. He spoke about why he loves music and the influence it has had on his life. After St. Christopher’s, John went to VMI where he didn’t have the best “rat” year, but found his groove his last three years playing music and discovering a passion for writing. After graduating from and through a program at VMI, John taught English overseas and then came home where he worked for a creative agency. After about three years, he started his teaching career in Richmond, then in San Francisco and then back in Richmond at St. Catherine’s where he has been for sixteen years. They finished by talking about his wife Dawn, their two sons and his awesome in-laws.

Episode 318: Dave Lohr

Dave Lohr comes to the podcast via a round about connection to Bobby Malone (Episode 150). Dave is a VaTech graduate and his major and career was in Chemical Engineering. Paul first thanked Dave for talking to his son Zach who is also a Chemical Engineering major and a soon to be VT Alum! They then talked about The Indianapolis 500 which Dave will attend for the twenty-eighth straight time in May of 2025. This started Paul and Dave on the main theme of the podcast which was talking about sports and the many amazing sporting events that Dave has attended with family and friends. They did talk about him growing up in western Maryland, going to parochial school, playing baseball and basketball and having a great group of friends. His love of sports almost started him down a different career path, but after attending VaTech, he worked at DuPont where he would meet his wife Diane. Dave finished by talking about his family including he and Diane’s two kids, their spouses and their three grandsons. Paul finished by saying that he thinks Dave is the biggest sports fan he has ever talked to!

Epidode 317: Jim O'Farrell

Jim's next gig is Saturday, March 22 at the Eastwood Farm & Winery at 2531 Scottsville Rd, Charlottesville from 12:30 to 3:30pm.

After a twenty-eight year career, Jim O’Farrell retired from the Army about sixteen years ago. Jim has been playing a guitar since childhood and now between being in a band and singing solo, a lot of his retirement is filled with writing and playing music. He told Paul what types of venues he plays, the type of music he plays solo as well as with the band and his method for writing songs. They then had a discussion about the history of the Blues, his musical influences and who some of his favorite artists are, both past and present. They talked about Jim being a Vegan along with the way he has changed his gym time mentality and how that has changed his life for the better. They also spoke about how Jim was affected by his interaction with the USO when he was a young soldier. For about the last eight years, Jim has been a volunteer for the USO at the Richmond International Airport and he told Paul about the mission of the USO and why Richmond is a unique USO Center. They discussed him growing up in northern Virginia and his interests which were motorcycles, playing the guitar and martial arts. Jim told Paul he knew he was going into the military at an early age, but he was the first in his family to make it a career. They discussed his military career including his hardest training and his deployments and then they finished by talking about his three sons

Episode 316: Dumi Mabhena

Dumi Mabhena had lived in four countries by the time he was 22 years old. The four countries were Zimbabwe where he was born, then Canada for a couple of years, South Africa for boarding school and Scotland for college. Dumi talked to Paul about what is was like growing up in Zimbabwe and why he, his mom and his sister moved to Canada for a period of time. He talked about the pros and cons of going to boarding school and how he went to college in Scotland to study one thing and switched to another. Dumi told the story of how a prayer by his father changed the trajectory of his work life. Paul and Dumi discussed the many different cultures he has experienced and he told the story of how he met his wife Anita who has also lived in various places around the globe as well. They finished by talking about his family, Anita’s family, what he thought of the USA before and after he moved here and he how used to watched a lot of MTV!

Episode 315: COL Winton (Dip) Spiller

Colonel Winton ‘Dip’ Spiller comes to the podcast via a connection with Paul’s dad Larry (Episode 9). Colonel Winton Spiller was born in Hanover, Virginia and grew up in the Richmond area, mostly on a farm in Henrico County. They talked about how he got his nickname Dip, what his schedule was like growing up on a farm and him remembering when they first got a television. Dip graduated high school and went to Virginia Tech and was in the Corps of Cadets. They discussed his likes and dislikes about being in the Corps at VaTech and how he became active duty United States Army after he graduated in 1960. Dip and Paul spoke about his thirty year career in the U.S. Army which included two tours of duty in Vietnam during the war. They discussed his progression through the ranks, his times in Vietnam as well as some of his state side assignments. They finished by talking about his four sons and his grandchildren.

Episode 314: Chuck Casey

Chuck Casey returns to Stories from the Center of the Universe from when he was on with John Hollis and Jeremy Bowling in Episode #309. Paul and Chuck touched on their organization, The Longest Climb Foundation and Paul reiterated his commitment to help the organization. They then started to talk about Chuck and his military background. Chuck accurately labeled his career as a Unicorn. Chuck’s path is unique and varied as he touched three of the branches of the military during his education and career. After graduating high school, Chuck went into the U.S. Air Force and after about two years, he entered the U.S. Air Force Academy. During that time, he participated in an exchange program and spent a semester at the U.S. Naval Academy. It was there that he met and observed some U.S. Marines and that influenced him to switch from the USAF to the United States Marine Corps after graduating from the USAF Academy. They discussed his career over his nineteen years as a USMC Officer which was also varied and unique. They also talked about Chuck growing up in Massachusetts doing anything and everything on a board and being a drummer. They finished by talking about his wife Annie and how they have four kids.

Episode 313: Pai is back

Pai Charasika returns to the podcast to chat with Paul about a few different things. Pai first told Paul about his first hand experience dealing with Hurricane Helene. Pai is a high school football coach in Asheville, NC., an area that was hit very hard by the hurricane in late September 2024. Pai talked about the team having to miss games, but how the boys used that time to help the community which ended up winning them an award from the Army National Guard. It was life lesson they will never forget and when they got back to playing football, they came together and made it to the playoffs! Pai discussed being a financial advisor in Episode 301 and he and Paul talked further about finance and some lessons he teaches his clients. They discussed the NIL and getting student athletes excited about finance and they also covered subjects such as diversification, whether to rent or own and investing. They finished up by talking about the upcoming Super Bowl and Pai told Paul he is a Bears fan because of the 1985 Bears. For Super Bowl LIX, Pai said he is pulling for the Eagles and would like to see them win.

Episode 312: Courtney Kimble

Courtney Kimble used to work with Paul and they reconnected after Paul met Courtney’s dad Anthony last week. Courtney is from Middlesex County, Virginia and Paul and a couple of friends went to eat lunch at Something Different (https://somediff.com) in Urbanna which Anthony and his wife Sarah own. They talked about where Courtney grew up, what Urbanna and Middlesex County are known for and how her best friend is a cousin of another guest that has been on the podcast. Courtney has been laid off for about the last five months. They discussed some great advice she got from her Dad, the perspective she has gained over these five months and what she has learned from going through a lay off. Courtney told Paul what she has done during this time to increase her skills and what she has accomplished to make herself a better candidate for her next job. Courtney talked about growing up, what sports she played, the different schools she went to and being coached by her Dad for a lot of years. They spoke about her schooling after high school and they finished by talking about her love for true crime, the Philadelphia Eagles and how she is looking forward to March Madness after the Super Bowl.