Stories from the Center of the Universe

Episode 165: Buck Sessoms, Part 2

In Part 2 of the podcast with Buck Sessoms, Paul and and Buck talked about his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Buck told Paul the differences between deployments and some of the stories of what he and his fellow troops did while overseas. Buck then discussed one of his next assignments which was becoming a pilot for HMX-1. This is better known to most as being a pilot for the President of the United States and flying one of the “Marine One” helicopters. They talked about the rest of his time in the USMC, the subject of PTSD, what he would now tell his sixteen year old self and what he is currently doing for work. They finished by talking about some of his favorite SFCOTU podcasts, golf and his wife, Jackie and their daughter, Amanda. 

Episode 164: Buck Sessoms, Part 1

Buck Sessoms and Paul graduated from St. Christopher’s together and share a common bond in that they both served in the United States Military. In Part 1 of this podcast, Buck tells Paul how he got his name and they talked about his fondest memories of St. Christopher’s. They talked about him attending VMI, the brutal first year as a “rat” and how he lacked motivation and was on some form of probation most of his first two and a half years there. Buck said he found the motivation and new levels of desire and maturity in his last two years at VMI and mentioned that his education at St. Chris was a key to his latter college success. Buck joined the United States Marine Corps in 1992 and they discussed his USMC career and how he first served as an enlisted Infantryman and later became a helicopter pilot and an officer. Part 2 will be released Thursday.

Episode 163: Dr. David Jones

Dr. David Jones and Paul haven’t talked in quite some time, but they went to St. Christopher’s together and graduated in 1987. David, who Paul said is one of the nicest guys he has known, grew up on the north side of Richmond and later in the Midlothian area. David, who is one of six siblings, played tennis at St. Christopher’s and was a captain his senior year. David knew early on that he wanted to be a doctor. His dad and other family members were doctors and he and two of his siblings became doctors. Paul and David talked about his schooling which included being a “Cameron Crazy” at Duke during his undergrad years. They discussed how his residency was great, but was also a culture shock. They finished by talking about how David ended up in Atlanta, what has kept him there and his husband, Michael.

Episode 162: 3rd 50 Lookback

Paul and Silent Rob discuss episodes 101-150. 

Episode 161: Cherud Wilkerson

Cherud Wilkerson comes to the podcast courtesy of knowing occasional co-host Kevin. Cherud is from Long Island and he grew up going to different schools. He played football and wrestled in high school and even played against a famous Bengal QB. Football was his main sport and it got him looks from various colleges and he ended up playing at Va State. Cherud was in US Navy for eleven years. He started as enlisted and left as an officer. Cherud then told Paul and Kevin about his Covid-19 story. At the very beginning of Covid-19, Cherud got sick and he went to the hospital, back home and then back to hospital. He was in the hospital for twenty-one days. He said his good physical shape, mental fortitude and faith in God is what got him through. Cherud beat Covid-19 and that earned him a nickname from the hospital staff. They discussed how his battle with Covid-19 has changed him and they finished by talking about his family.

Episode 160: Rob Stiles

Rob Stiles, possibly the first guest with three first names, joins Paul and Silent (?) Rob on the podcast. Paul and the two Rob’s all grew up in Ashland and have known each other since they were kids. Rob lived a couple places in town, but spent most of his time on Caroline St. near the Randolph-Macon campus which became his “playground” growing up. Paul and Rob first talked about his dad. Rob described his dad as a great man, a simple man, a local fixture around town (especially as a runner) and one who taught Rob and his sisters the Golden Rule. They talked about his friends growing up and how they still keep in touch. They discussed sports at different times from the state of recreation sports to professional sports. Rob attended Hanover Academy and then attended Liberty Middle and Patrick Henry HS. After attending Hanover Academy, Rob and Paul discussed the culture shock of Liberty and going to public school. They talked about Rob’s college journey and his career. They finished by talking about Rob’s wife Sharon and their sons George and Ethan and Rob added the “how we met” story for him and Sharon.

Episode 159: Edouard Asmar

Edouard “Edy” Asmar works with Paul and this episode took two tries due to a bad storm which cut out communications the first time they tried to chat. Edy was born in Washington, DC and says he is “a DC guy through and through”. He has a great deal of exposure to different cultures mostly due to travel opportunities because of his mom’s work. He lived in Ecuador for the first 3-4 years of his life and continued to travel with her throughout his childhood. He and Paul discussed his favorite place he visited as well as his favorite thing to visit in certain countries. They discussed Edy’s view on academics, his likes and dislikes and how some kids didn’t like the fact that he didn’t study for standardized tests - which he did extremely well on. He only applied to Stanford and Cambridge for college. He ended up attending Stanford, but told an interesting story about the application process at Cambridge. They finished by talking about his mom and dad and his girlfriend, JJ.

Episode 158: Magnus Nordenman

Magnus Nordenman joins the podcast courtesy of former guest, John Watts (Episode #50). Magnus is from Sweden and lived there until he was 18 when he came to the United States to go to The Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. He told Paul about previous visits to Virginia, but it was a different and very unique reason that led him to VMI. They talked about his experience at VMI and how it is a grind more than a sprint. They also discussed what he studied and after a short stint doing humanitarian work, how he ended up in another Lexington (University of Kentucky) to get his masters. Magnus is an author and he and Paul talked about his book which Magnus knows quite a bit about due to his dad’s profession.  They also discussed the current war between Ukraine and Russia and then finished by talking about Magnus’ family (wife Rita, daughter Kate and son Bengt) and Star Wars.

Episode 157: Dave Tribble

Dave Tribble knows Paul’s dad Larry (Ep. #9) and he joins Paul on the podcast. Dave is from the Richmond area and after his U.S. Army service was completed, he and his wife settled in Hanover, Virginia.  Dave talked about growing up, a long list of jobs he held as a young man and a car accident that changed his life. Dave is a United States Army Veteran and he and Paul talked extensively about his time in Vietnam. Dave came home in 1970 and had a hard time finding and keeping a job. His father-in-law got him an apprentice position in the electrical field and that led to a lifelong career with Dave eventually owning his own company. Paul and Dave talked about his likes and dislikes of running a company, why he likes central Virginia and he also told Paul about a “lawyer” joke that he told Larry a while back. They finished by talking about his family and his favorite hobby. Dave’s wife is Betty and they have three sons (Kevin, Dave Jr. and Cory) and he and Betty have nine grandchildren. He and Paul then talked about golf … how much he loves it, some good stories and the life lessons it teaches you. 

This episode was recorded not too long after Memorial Day. In memory and deep appreciation of Dave's friends lost too soon and for all those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Episode 156: David Chappell

David Chappell knows Paul’s parents Brenda (Ep. #46) and Larry (Ep. #9) and he joins Paul for this episode. David moved around a bit due to his Dad’s job as a Methodist minister, but his family settled in Ashland and that is where he grew up. David told Paul that he was just an okay student and about a series of events that changed his attitude towards school … which in turn changed his life. After graduating Patrick Henry HS, David said he couldn’t get in to any colleges and said it was only because of his dad’s new job as a professor at Randolph-Macon that he got in there. Between doing very well at RMC and a job with one of Hanover’s most famous people, David decided to go to law school and become a lawyer. He is currently an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney and they discussed the path that has him prosecuting rather than defending people who are charged with crimes. David spent some time talking about the effect that Covid-19 has had on his life and his continuing battle with the virus. He also told Paul about his early love for professional wrestling and how that has led to a life long passion for the sport. That passion has seen him and business partner develop a website that has led to the two of them getting a very unique accolade for what David refers to as a “labor of love.”