Stories from the Center of the Universe

Episode 182: Nikhil Brahmbhatt

Nikhil Brahmbhatt and Paul know each other from working at the same company in the past and they talked about how they first met. Nikhil was born in Kalol, India and grew up in Ahmedabad and was the youngest of four children. Nikhil was a very good student and told Paul about a special skill that helped him a lot in school. While in school, he played cricket, attended cultural activities where he honed his dancing ability. Paul and Nikhil talked about cricket … the rules, the game, famous cricket players and the Cricket World Championships which started in 1975. Nikhil attended an engineering university in India and then went on to get his MBA as well as a CFA certification. Then in 1998, he moved to the United States and has lived in Georgia, Florida and now Virginia. Nikhil told Paul about attending college in the U.S. and some jobs he has had while here. They also discussed the caste system of India and finished by talking about Nikihl’s wife, Sejal and their son, Yug.

Episode 181: Zach Gilman Turns 21

This episode is a celebration of Paul’s son Zach turning 21! Paul, his wife Lisa and their daughters, Lindsay and Melissa went to Blacksburg, Va. to visit Zach on his birthday weekend. Paul, Lisa and Zach started chatting and had lots of laughs about early and favorite memories from the time he was a toddler until his high school years. Lisa spoke about how being pregnant with Zach was pretty easy until the last 24 hours when he had a couple of surprises in store for his parents. Zach talked about his two younger sisters (Lindsay and Melissa) and he talked about his four grandparents. They next talked about his college journey from applying, to where he was accepted and how he ended up at Virginia Tech. Paul asked Zach what the plan after college was and Zach said the main thing was getting a J-O-B. He also put his parents on alert about a possible scenario that may happen in the next 6-7 years. Melissa joined the conversation and had a great story about her, Lindsay and Zach when they were on a family vacation. That reminded Zach of one other story that involved a vacation and a coconut, but he deferred to his Dad to tell the story. They ended the episode by wishing Zach a Happy Birthday!

Episode 180: Mac’s Service Center - Mac McManus

Downtown Ashland Association Series …

Mac McManus was born in Fredericksburg, raised in Woodbridge and later moved south to the greater Richmond area for work. His parents knew at an early age that he was good at tinkering with and fixing things. He had a job with Chevrolet during and after high school and was fortunate to be sent to to the GM Training Center at age 16. By age 17 he achieved his GM certification (Automotive Service Excellence). After time with Chevrolet and a brief stint with Ford, he now has Mac’s Service Center in Ashland. Mac told Paul how he found his way to Ashland and how they have a second location in Zion Crossroads. Mac stressed the keys to their success including a warranty that is unheard of in the industry. They discussed the effects of the pandemic on the business, why Mac loves Ashland and what is in store for the next 5-10 years.

Episode 179: William Flippen

William Perkins Flippen joins the podcast via William Kevin Flippen, the occasional co-host and his son. William was born in Buckingham County, but grew up in Richmond, Virginia. William was #8 out of thirteen kids and their first house in Richmond only had an outside bathroom. William said being a kid in Richmond was fun as they had a lot of open areas to play in and he used that to hone his skills at the game of Marbles. William started working at twelve and he talked to Paul and Kevin about some of the jobs he had as kid and an adult. He also talked about how he met his wife Nettie and about his first meeting with her family. He talked frankly about losing a child and then joyfully about he and Nettie adopting their daughter Denise first in 1968 and then Kevin in 1969. He talked about how much he loved his three grandsons … the three B’s … Brody, Briggs and Beau. Kevin asked his Dad what he would tell their kids and he offered some sage advice. He finished by saying “The good Lord has blessed me all my life” and he told one last story from his childhood.

Episode 178: MH Studios - Michelle Hollender

Michelle Hollander joins the podcast as part of the Downtown Ashland Association Series. Michelle is from Ashland and she and Paul reminisced about sledding on Goddin’s Hill when they were kids in different decades. Michelle decided to be an artist/muralist when she was 34 years old. They discussed her path leading up to that time and what movie she was watching with her kids that inspired her to make a change. She talked to Paul about her first job and also a few examples of projects she has completed since she started her business. Michelle said she likes to do her work in Ashland and Hanover because she likes to work where she lives - she is proud of where she lives. Michelle can be found on instagram (michelle.hollender) or through her website @ michellehollender.com.

Episode 177: Dave Klisz

Dave Klisz met Silent Rob about twenty-five years ago and joins Paul and Rob on the podcast. Dave was born in California, but moved around quite a bit early on due to his dad’s job with General Electric. They settled in Virginia and Dave grew up in nearby Chesterfield and did BMX, skateboarding and played a lot of soccer growing up. Dave played travel soccer and his senior year in high school, he was captain for the soccer team as well as the place kicker for the football team at Manchester HS. Dave went to James Madison and told Paul why it was the best four years and two summers of his life. Dave majored in Sociology, minored in Criminal Justice and had an internship that would be a foreshadowing to what he would do the last ten years of his career. Dave’s career was in law enforcement and he talked to Paul about where he worked and he also had a couple stories to tell. Paul then asked Dave why would anyone want to run more than 2-3 miles? Dave is a long distance runner .. and we mean long distance! Dave has run 38 marathons, some of them being ultra marathons. They finished by talking about Dave’s own podcast and about his wife Monica and daughter Lucy.

Episode 176: Red Vein Escape - Kitty Barnes

Red Vein is the latest addition to the Downtown Ashland Association Series on the podcast. Kitty Barnes is a co-owner of Red Vein and moved to the Richmond area from Maryland about sixteen years ago. She discussed Dark Immersive Art as well how they got the business started. She talked about all the things that the Red Vein Army does .. the Escape Room, the Haunted House (at the Hanover Vegetable Farm) and the Ashland Haunted History Tours. She told Paul what day to day business is like and how October is definitely their busiest month. They finished by talking about her favorite scare, what the future holds for Red Vein and how to find them on social media.

Episode 175: Donnie Morris and Jock Jones

On this episode, we have two repeat guests who are here together, know each other well, but haven’t seen each other in about twenty years. Donnie Morris (Episode #138) and Jock Jones (Episode #148) played football at Patrick Henry and Lee-Davis (now Mechanicsville) High Schools respectively and at the same time. They played against each other and their senior year they were the two best players in the state of Virginia. They reminisced about the rivalry between their two schools in all sports as well as the infamous Tomato Bowl match ups. Kevin had a list of rapid fire questions that he posed to both gentlemen and Paul added a couple as well. Kevin even had an epiphany about when he played youth football during the episode! Jock and Donnie gave some advice to kids playing today, talked about the NFL and what changes they would make to football as it is played today. They finished by exchanging cell phone numbers and agreed to see each other soon.

Episode 174: Your Path Counseling Center - Eddie Martinez-Cunion

Eddie Martinez-Cunion joins the podcast via the Ashland Downtown Association to talk about her business, Your Path Counseling Center. Eddie says she is a military brat, but she calls Maryland home. As a youngster, she was an avid reader and that has continued into adulthood. Eddie worked as a counselor and then decided to start her own business. She told Paul why she picked Ashland and they discussed her business’ objectives, the types of therapy used and how treatment goals vary from person to person. She encouraged people to reach out to her or any of the many resources that are available including the new nationwide 988 line. They finished by talking about her family, what will make her happy when she retires and the train effect in the Center of the Universe.

Episode 173: SpeedyCop

Jeff Bloch, aka SpeedyCop, comes to the podcast via a connection with John Watts (Episode #50). Jeff grew up in New Jersey and New York and was the 2nd of nine kids. Jeff and his family did a mission trip to China when he was a teenager and they did some interesting smuggling while they were there. As Paul and Jeff were talking, Jeff relayed that he knew two things early in life - he was going to be in law enforcement and he loved cars. Jeff is nearing the end of a long career with the United States Park Police. He relayed a bit about the agency’s history, some interesting stories from his career and some of the famous people he has met over the years. Jeff is SpeedyCop (speedycop.com) and when he’s not working, he dreams up, builds, shows off and races his vehicle creations. Jeff is about to retire from the USPP and he told Paul that he will have a unique way of getting to work as he does SpeedyCop full time. They finished by talking about Jeff’s siblings, parents and his wife Jamie whom he called the love of his life and his rock.