Live On Air - The Espo Experience (Episode 34: Walking Tall)

This week's episode is dedicated to Brian Hahl.

A wonderful, inspiring teacher, and yet an even more inspiring human being.
A masterful coach who brought out the best in me, and taught me to run like hell.
He shaped me into the man I was today, and though he was taken from this Earth far too soon, I do my best to honor him in the only way I know how - to live life every day to the fullest, or, as he so often aptly put it:

Balls To The Wall.

Episode 34 Setlist

TRACK: White Castle Blues
ARTIST: The Smithereens

TRACK: Boom Boom
ARTIST: John Lee Hooker

TRACK: Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun
ARTIST: Elton John

TRACK: When Sunny Gets Blue

ARTIST: McCoy Tyner

TRACK: Lighten Up

ARTIST: Beastie Boys

VINYLTIME

ARTIST: AC/DC | ALBUM: Highway to Hell | RELEASE DATE: 1979

A Side

TRACK: Highway to Hell

TRACK: Girls Got Rhythm

TRACK: Walk All Over You

TRACK: Touch Too Much

TRACK: Beating Around the Bush

TRACK: Love Is The Drug

ARTIST: Roxy Music

TRACK: No Pain (No Gain)

ARTIST: Betty Wright

VINYLTIIME

B Side

TRACK: Shot Down in Flames

TRACK: Get It Hot

TRACK: If You Want Blood (You've Got It)

TRACK: Love Hungry Man

TRACK: Night Prowler

TRACK: Burning Heart

ARTIST: Survivor

TRACK: Sad Statue

ARTIST: System Of A Down

TRACK: Twilight

ARTIST: Maze & Frankie Beverly

TRACK: Solitude

ARTIST: Billie Holiday

TRACK: Cosmic Dancer

ARTIST: T. Rex

TRACK: Tessellate

ARTIST: alt-J

TRACK: Takin' Care Of Business

ARTIST: Bachman-Turner Overdrive

TRACK: Crucify Your Mind

ARTIST: Rodriguez

TRACK: Dream A Little Dream Of Me

ARTIST: The Mamas & The Papas

TRACK: Another Brick in the Wall, Pts. 1-3

ARTIST: Pink Floyd

"30 Things I've Learned From Brian"
Written by Suzanne Cooperman Gill, read at Brian's 2009 memorial service

1. The louder the event, the cooler it is. This applies to air shows, demolition derbys. Monster truck races…or just talking non-stop while you are on a bike ride with friends. If there is no noise…MAKE SOME.

2. Never EVER call someone when “24” is on. EVER. Don’t even talk. Then, the next day, talk about EVERYTHING Jack Bauer did.

3. It is actually really awesome to work alongside your parents. In fact, hang around with your parents a lot. You will have a lot of fun.

4. When you are 6’7”, the air is fine up there, no, you don’t play basketball, and yes, you might have to duck to get in doorways.

5. Blowing up stuff in the microwave is fun. Recommended items include marshmallows, gummy bears, water balloons, and, if someone of authority leaves the kitchen…try an egg.

6. The difference between men and boys IS the price and size of their toys.

7. If the rule says “No hats”, then you do NOT wear hats. Rules are established to help you shape your character.

8. If you like a movie, watch it a lot. If you don’t like a movie, watch it a lot and make fun of it. (For Kaity: Top Gun...Speed up through the romance parts. All anyone wants to see are the jets)

9. Going to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum is fun. INSANE fun. Go A LOT. Talk about how great it would be to work there to anyone who will listen.

10. When you lose a critical cross country race…the only loss of the season, don’t take it out on the other team… Write the team’s name on a pumpkin…and run it over dozen times with a really big vehicle.

11. Say “Hi” to everyone. If you don’t remember their name, no matter…call them all “Kiddo”.

12. It’s perfectly OK to buy a Playstation simply because you want to play “Grand Turismo”.

13. Do NOT curse at the dining room table. There is NEVER a good time to drop the “F-bomb”, even if you want your mom to pass those potatoes.

14. If there is something cool going on in the sky, watch it. It could be an F-16, it could be some meteors, or maybe some fireworks. Whatever it is, get out there and watch it. While you’re at it, include some friends. Take some pictures. Show them to everyone who wasn't there.

15. People love to get presents. Give them some and make them memorable.

16. If you want an awesome destination, go to Moab, Utah. Bring some friends. And if some of them can’t go, take lots of pictures. And then talk about Moab A LOT.

17. Don’t talk about how something works. If you want to really know, GO SEE IT HAPPEN. (*Drag Races, Salt Marsh, Star Gazing Parties...)

18. Telling someone “I love you” is special and unique. If you tell your ‘everyday people’ “Love ya” and never reserve true emotion for the people you sincerely love, the feelings might get lost. (*Joe Roba-5 people ...I taught with a very special man...Joe Roba. He once told me if you have as many people in your life to love you and who you love as you have fingers on one hand...you would be VERY lucky...and you would always have a hand to hold...)

19. If a tarantula is crawling up your arm, GET IT OFF. Fast. OK, it might be your friend's pet, but get it off…even though it might get splatted onto the wall.

20. On a camping trip, if you don’t want someone to mess with your food, sit on your cooler. That way, they won’t eat any of the entire pack of hot dogs you are planning to pound down in under an hour.

21. Being someone’s hero is a responsibility. If someone is looking up to you, realize who is watching you and present yourself with integrity. And humor. And wear a tie.

22. Burning stuff is mad fun. Styrofoam cups make an awesome squeaking sound. (*Caution tapes-cousins...Bri's cousins told me yellow caution tape ALSO makes a great noise as well as cool dripping effects...)

23. Put an ICE ("In Case of Emergency") in your cell phone if you haven’t already. Do it today and tell the person they are your contact.

24. Go to Musikfest in Allentown with a bunch of friends. Sure, there’s great music and activities, but where else can you get deep fried oreos and Snickers?

25. Preserve your natural resources. Don’t wait for a kitschy “Go green” campaign. Find your natural balance with the world.

26. Why read the book when the movie only takes 2 hours to watch?

27. Sometimes it’s better to ride one’s bike in the dark- talking to everybody, singing, laughing - anything to keep your mind off the hills- try riding at night, so you can't see the stuff that scares you if you’re a real chicken on the downhills

28. Do not tell anyone to shut up. You can ask them to lower their voice, turn down the volume…but you can NOT tell them to shut up. It is acceptable, however, to yell “AW, COME ON!!!” in a variety of situations.

29. Do whatever you have to do to make someone laugh, seriously…do whatever you have to do. And when you laugh, make it really big. Noises are helpful. So is YouTube. Try the site “Will It Blend”. And when your friend's neighbor makes some really fancy jello helmets in team’s colors for the Super Bowl Party, impress everyone with your ability to inhale them one at a time off the plate. Watch the neighbor stare in horror. Laugh, laugh, laugh.

30. Any event can be made better if it has a helicopter.

Your assignments…

1.The" Pay It Forward" philosophy suggests "If someone does you a favor, something big, something you couldn't do on your own, and instead of paying it back, you paid it forward to three people, and the next day, they each paid it forward to three more, and the day after, those 27 people each paid it forward to another 3, etc., etc., then in two weeks, that would come to just over 4.7 million people." With these kinds of numbers, the world would soon start to change -- for the positive!

2. High five everyone when they need a little mini celebration. You can actually let them reach your hand, though…

3. NEVER stop hugging yourself.

"So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!"