Stories from the Center of the Universe

Episode 239: Mark Jenkins

Mark Jenkins comes on the podcast at an opportune time, but we’ll come back to that. Mark, who grew up in the Richmond area, is a pastor at Berea Baptist Church in Rockville, Va. Mark spoke to Paul about having a huge family and being in two very different school systems growing up. They talked about him switching his major while attending Chowan College, discussed his various careers and how he was able to combine them over time and find a certain niche for one of them. Then Mark decided to pursue church work full time and that led him down a path that makes his timing of being on the podcast perfect. Mark has a great deal of knowledge about and has traveled to Israel many, many times. He and Paul spoke at length about Israel and specifically about the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023. The podcast ended with Paul making an offer to Mark that he has never made before.

Episode 238: Professor Ed Wallace

Dr. Ed Wallace joins the podcast via a connection with Njeri Kershaw (Episode 39). Ed was born in the Bronx, NY and grew up there. He was born into a family that loved and talked sports and he told Paul that sports as well as education played a big part in who he is today. He spoke about his Dad and his influence on Ed through teaching him several life lessons. They discussed Ed’s higher education journey to upstate NY, then Massachusetts and finally to Alabama. They discussed his course of study for his doctorate and they talked about the Tuskegee Experiment. They also discussed policing in the U.S.A. and Ed had an idea of how to improve it. They finished with whether its a necessity for kids to go to college in today’s world as well as his fraternity experience and how he still keeps in touch with his fraternity brothers.

Episode 237: Nick Wisner

Nick Wisner and Paul work together and Paul opened up about how Nick had an impact on him recently. They discussed Nick being born in Chesterfield, but going to high school in Hanover and being involved with a lot of different groups. Nick went to Virginia Tech and he told Paul about his experience there, an internship that led to him taking a semester off as well as why he stayed in Blacksburg for some extra time after graduating. He talked about what he does in his spare time that helps him recharge and then finding church through a friend. He told Paul about a Christian trip to Israel which led to one extremely unique experience.  He then talked about his whirlwind romance with his wife Kelley and getting married in a far away place.

Episode 236: Patrick Henry HS Hall of Fame

This episode sets a record for number of guests in one recording! Paul attended the inaugural Patrick Henry High School Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet. Paul spoke with each of the eight inductees … Chris Tate (there for his dad, Ray Tate), Eddie Webb, Sonja Fridy Kinney, Donnie Morris, Damien Woody, Dominic Smith, Lizzie Powell Hissey and Coach Ray Long Jr. This was an impressive first class for the newly founded PH HOF. The night was filled with laughter, memories and was a wonderful night not only for the inductees and their families, but the extended Patrick Henry HS family as well.

Episode 235: Michael Reynolds

Michael Reynolds joins the podcast via a connection with Andrew Ting (Episode 40.) Michael was born in Nebraska and grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota which he said was a great place to grow up. He got into drama and singing in high school and that led in part to him attending Northwestern for college. After trying that for a couple years, he switched to Political Science and then went to law school at UCLA. They spoke about his time as a lawyer and then Paul and Michael talked about a connection of theirs which is the nation of Belize. They discussed the difference between being a tourist (Paul) in Belize and being a business owner in Belize like Michael. He told Paul stories about Belize, the best time of the year to go to Belize and ended by talking about his wife Bonnie and his kids.

Episode 234: Chris Karpes

Chris Karpes lives in New Orleans and he and Paul met about six weeks ago. Chris was born in Tacoma, Washington, but grew up in Canada and was about thirty when he moved back to the states full time. Chris told Paul about the decisions he made and then the road those decisions took him down. For Chris, that meant he has had to battle addiction with alcohol and various drugs for a lot of his life. They discussed this in length including time behind bars, bouncing around the U.S. and Canada and the epiphany that has seen him sober for the last fifteen years. He talked about his adult son, his wife of nine years, what the future may hold for him and Paul thanked him for the real conversation about his life.

Episode 233: Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park

In the last Downtown Ashland Association Series episode of Season 3, Paul talks with Carolyn Hemphill, Betsy Hodges and Tom Wulf about the Mid-Atlantic Railroad Park. They discussed why they’re calling it a “park,” how it got started and the groups involved in backing this project. The history of railroad in Ashland as well as other general history was discussed amongst Betsy, Carolyn and Tom. They each talked about their groups and some upcoming events this fall. This was a great way to end this DAA season and discussing what is happening in Ashland … The Center of the Universe.

Episode 232: Rich Dalton - Part 2

Paul brings back Rich Dalton for Part 2 of a three part series. They completed a quick recap of Part 1 and then discussed life after the Marine Corps. Rich talked about his interest in law enforcement, but that he decided to go back to college and wrestle. He talked about living in California, but moving back to New Jersey for a brief time and then how he changed his career path and got certified as a personal trainer. Rich did work in law enforcement, but also told Paul about his MMA career including his fighting style and one particular event that was held at the Playboy Mansion. Stay tuned for Part 3 …

Episode 231: Colette and Tom Miranda (Ashland Dance Academy and 110 Thompson)

Paul talks to Collette and Tom Miranda for another Downtown Ashland Association episode. They are the owners of The Ashland Dance Academy and 110 Thompson. Collette has danced since she was nine and taught dance since she was fifteen. They started the business in 2020 amid the pandemic and said it was tricky, but it was the right time and right thing to do for the community. They discussed with Paul about being commercial building owners, the end of the year recital and their future plans. Tom and Collette met through a friend, moved from California to Hanover in 2018, have three kids and are busy all the time … and that’s the way they like it!

Episode 230: Tom Greco returns

Tom Greco is back (episodes 4 and 215) and he's still thinking about starting his own podcast. For this second installment, he joins Stories to talk about how a Disney movie from decades ago inspired Disney to buy an NHL franchise by the same name. The underdog storyline with sub-plots of redemption really stuck with Tom. With the recent release of the documentary E:60 movie, Once Upon a Time in Anaheim, Tom couldn't resist sharing his thoughts. Once again, here's Tom...