Clowning Around with Purpose: Circus Flora's Community Impact

Arnold00:00:01

After riding to Clydesdale when he was two years old, he grew up and got his bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard and a juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. He became a corporate attorney in New York, but eventually ran away to rejoin the circus. We're going to talk to him and more on St. Louis in Tune.Welcome to St.Louis in Tune and thank you for joining us for fresh perspectives on issues and events with experts, community leaders, and everyday people who make a difference in shaping our society and world. I'm Arnold Stricker along with co host Slap happy Mark Langston Today.

Mark00:00:48

Yeah, that's it. How are you, Arnold?

Arnold00:00:51

Hey.

Mark00:00:52

Whoa, whoa.

Arnold00:00:54

It's just been a wild morning, Mark.

Mark00:00:56

It has. The rain has stopped. The monsoons in St. Louis have given up for a little bit.

Arnold00:01:01

So I stopped building my ark.

Mark00:01:03

Yeah, there you go.

Arnold00:01:06

We're happy that you've joined us today. Folks want to thank our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage, for their support of the show.You can listen to previous shows@stlintune.com please help us continue to grow by leaving a review on our website, Apple Podcast or your preferred podcast platform. Our return to civility today is if you bring a child with you to a restaurant, bring toys to keep them entertained. Now, notice it wasn't electronics.And by all means, pay attention to them. Remember that the other customers are there for a good dining experience, not to interact with your children.

Mark00:01:40

Oh, I know. Should we even go there with all this? I was always good with our boys. I would take them out and we'd walk outside and.Yeah, some people, though, go, okay, he'll get over it. He'll stop crying in about 10 minutes. But, yeah, that's good advice.

Arnold00:01:56

And I see people hand them the electronic device and they stop anything.

Mark00:02:00

Yeah, but kids are kids.

Arnold00:02:01

But I tell you what, if you bring a child to the circus, you will keep them entertained. And our guest is Jack Marsh. Jack, welcome to St. Louis in Tune.

Jack00:02:10

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Arnold00:02:11

He's artistic and a direct executive director of Circus Flora. Mark, Circus Flora is big here in St. Louis.

Mark00:02:17

That's right. I could tell by the big floppy shoes that he has and the red nose. I'm sure he's heard this stuff before.

Jack00:02:23

And the fact that I am a horse.

Mark00:02:24

Yes, you're a horse.

Arnold00:02:29

I know we have a horse. I know he's looking for it. Yeah, there we go. So two years old, you rode a Clydesdale?

Jack00:02:39

Yeah, yeah. I grew up in the circus in Circus Flora, specifically. My. My mother has always been involved in Circus Flora. Since it was founded in 1986.And that was when I was about 2 years old.

Mark00:02:50

Wow.

Jack00:02:50

I didn't. It didn't go very fast and I. I didn't do very much on it. But that was. That was my first job in the circus.

Arnold00:02:55

And you juggled and you're an acrobat or you do the flying trapeze, too?

Jack00:02:59

Growing up, I was an acrobat and a juggler. Yeah. I would perform in Circus Flora and do those things.Then I gave up the performing bit of it, and now I'm a producer and help organize the show and conceive it and bring it to life.

Arnold00:03:12

So what does a guy who grows up in the circus. He goes to Harvard. Yeah. And gets his bachelor's in economics. Why economics and why Harvard?

Jack00:03:23

Harvard was a school that I applied to and got into. And it sounded like it would be a pretty good education, so I went.It didn't hurt that I could write my admissions essay about growing up in the circus. I think it's good to have those standout sorts of sorts of facts about yourself. And then. Yeah, when I was there, I studied economics.I liked math and thought it would be an interesting thing to study. Didn't really know where it would take me. And here I am.

Arnold00:03:48

And then you wanted to become an attorney, or was it. What was economics involved in that portion? Where it was. You were going to.Wanted to be a legal advisor on economic kinds of things or with corporations or something like that?

Jack00:04:00

No, I went to law school. I think economics is a fine background to then go to law school. But I had friends who were in law school or were lawyers while I was in college.And that sounded like a. I liked them and liked their brains and how they thought and thought. That might be a good path for me.And so I went to law school in Wisconsin for a few years and then practiced law for a few years after that before giving it all up for Circus Flora.

Arnold00:04:23

So were you in New York City as a corporate attorney?

Jack00:04:26

Yeah. Correct. Yeah, I was. Grew up part of New York and then part traveling with Circus Flora wherever we were, which was often St. Louis.

Arnold00:04:32

So the courtroom and New York are kind of like mini circuses anyway.

Jack00:04:35

Right.

Arnold00:04:36

So you probably felt right at heart.

Jack00:04:38

There's a performance element to it all, to all of life.

Arnold00:04:42

Drawing you back was this executive director.

Jack00:04:45

Role, artistic director role. So the. The gentleman who founded Circus Flora was this wonderful man, Ivor David Balding.He founded Circus Flora and was its longtime artistic director. And then as he was getting older and looking towards an eventual retirement.He was wanting to put a succession plan in place with our board of directors. And so he and I began to speak about it. And at the time, I was working as a corporate lawyer. Overworked, stressed, not really liking it.Always trying to sneak off from my law gig to go see whatever shows, plays, circuses. I could. Had a feeling that I wasn't on the right path for myself. And. Yeah.And then speaking with David, it made a whole lot of sense and it's been wonderful.

Arnold00:05:26

Well, kudos to you for recognizing and understanding that sometimes a path that we go down is not the one that we should maintain and keep going down. And congratulations to you for being fluid. To move and do that takes courage. Yeah, it does take courage.

Mark00:05:42

All that schooling and everything.

Arnold00:05:44

Yeah.

Mark00:05:44

All the tests that you have to go through to be a lawyer.

Arnold00:05:46

For crying. I'll tell you that stuff. Never.

Mark00:05:48

And it's expensive to be a lawyer.

Arnold00:05:50

To go to school, but you work. You work your butt off.

Jack00:05:53

Yeah, yeah, it's expensive. And then I was in debt and then I got a corporate gig to try to pay off that. That debt. And then I did. And then you got out. That's enough.

Mark00:06:03

Enough of that.

Arnold00:06:05

Now, you mentioned the founding of the. And David.

Jack00:06:10

Yeah, David Boulding.

Arnold00:06:11

And. Because he was. Tell us a little bit about Flora, because didn't he have a relationship with the elephant Flora that circus Flora is named after?

Mark00:06:19

I was wondering about that.

Jack00:06:20

Yeah.

Mark00:06:21

Glad you asked that question.

Jack00:06:22

Yeah. So David. David had been a. He came from a family of horse trainers. He was always in and around animals. And he was also a theater producer.He had gone to Harvard and. As well and not finished. But he left to go to New York to become a theater producer.So then he had this sort of twin love of performance and theater and also animals and circus. And so he combined all of that into. He adopted Flora the elephant. In the early 80s. Flora was a.An orphaned elephant, a baby elephant at the time from Botswana. And he, as I guess you did in the 80s, adopted her and then wanted to make a circus with her as the star of it. So he named this circus Flora.And off we were.

Arnold00:07:09

And as time continues and those larger animals are not accepted in positions like being circus animals. Now. She's still in. She's in Florida right now, correct?

Jack00:07:20

She's in Tennessee right now. Yeah. She. In 99 or 2000. Around. Around the turn of the century. She retired from performing at. I think she was 19 or 20 and. And went to.To this place called the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, where she's. Elephants live a good long time and she's, she's there and doing great.

Arnold00:07:37

She's got a lot of friends down there.

Mark00:07:38

Aw, that's wonderful.

Arnold00:07:40

Yeah, love it.And I'm glad she's doing well because sometimes a lot of animals don't do after they've been in captivity and then they get a little more freedom and things like that.

Mark00:07:52

Yeah.

Arnold00:07:52

This is Arnold Stricker with Mark Langston of St. Lucien Tomb.We're talking to Jack Marsh, he's the artistic and executive director of Circus Flora and we're talking to him because they are celebrating currently right now. They started June 5th and it runs through the 22nd. Their 30 season with Urban Legend. Now let's talk about Urban Legend.What are we talking about there?

Jack00:08:12

Circus Flora.At its core, it's this wonderful world class circus with these amazing circus acts and high wire and aerialists and acrobats and we have some performing dogs in this show. But the other thing that we are is, is a theater company, we're a storytelling show.So all of those acts that are part of the show, we write a narrative, a storyline that, that winds you through those acts. So it's. The idea is that you get to see these amazing things.You also get a fun, quirky story that gets told through these performers and you get to know these people as characters and then you see them do these superhuman things and it to, to me it's, it really adds to the joy of being there and seeing them. You get to know all these performers and their humanity and how fun they are.You see how difficult it is what they're doing together that, that really adds to the fun of the experience of going to Circus Flora.

Arnold00:09:06

And then I've got here. The city's folklore comes to life in thrilling and unexpected ways. Get ready for a thing here, Mark.With daring acrobats, clever clowns, incredible performance dogs and a monster. What's this monster business?

Jack00:09:26

Yeah, there's a monster. This show is called Urban Legend.It's set in, it's set in a small city where everything is idyllic and everything's perfect and going smoothly until a monster shows up and tries to ruin everything. So that's the quick log line of this show is you see these inhabitants of the town and this monster shows up and it's this, it's been funny.Obviously we're a family friendly show and people bring their kids and adults enjoy it. But so we have this monster that's not scary. It is large and fluffy and has sharp teeth, but they're made of felt. And it's not a scary.We do get a few like four and five year olds who are worried about it.And then we've taken the time then to bring them backstage and introduce them to this monster costume when it's sleeping and let them know that it's all a show. It's a. We make sure not to traumatize.

Arnold00:10:17

The circus has traumatized me. Talk about some of these acts that you have and the performers. You've got a roller skate duo, you've got like some folks who perform at NBA halftime.You've got jugglers, a comedy duo, a hand balancer, some of these.

Jack00:10:33

So we, what we do is we go and find the best circus acts in the country and in the world and we assemble them in St. Louis and put a. And put them together with our creative team and with our. We have a live band that plays alongside them.So we take the best of circus and bring it into the ring and then make it a full show, a full experience around them. But there's some incredible talent in this show. It's a monster of a show.

Arnold00:10:56

Oh, you caught him off guard.

Jack00:10:58

Yeah, there we go. There we go. Yeah.It's this amazing monster of a show with Alexi and Mary, this incredible roller skate duo where they're spinning around at 100 miles an hour and Mary's spinning by her neck while they're rotating in a circle. This duo called Dauntless Duo that does. It's an act called a perch pole, which is barely anyone in the world does or can do.There's this big guy named Dutch and he puts this 30 foot pole that he rests on his shoulder. And his partner Angela climbs up that pole and does acrobatics on it.Dutch then can he gets a second pole, a different pole, and rests that one on his forehead. And then she again climbs up it and does acrobats. It's a stunning thing. Yeah, there's a lot of that.The Flying Wallendas are the most famous circus family in the world. You'll see their 6th and 7th and 8th generation of performers all performing together, from 6 year old Mateo to.I won't tell you how old Tino, his grandfather is, but it's three generations of Wallendas doing just some incredible stuff on the high wire. What else? So much else. There's Mutts Gone Nuts is a dog act that is amazing, hilarious, cute. They do everything. They.They're the most delightful presents to have. All these dogs bounding Around. They even do some magic tricks, these dogs. Kyron Walton is a hand balancer who's from St. Louis. He grew up in St.Louis and then went to circus school in Montreal, which is a thing that one can do. And now he's. Now he's touring the world with different circus companies, but we've brought him back to St. Louis.He was in circus flora as a kid, but now he's making his adult and professional debut with us.

Arnold00:12:30

So what does a hand balance? Are they balance completely on one hand or something?

Jack00:12:33

Exactly, yeah. Handstands. So he balances on these. On these three, two and then three canes they're called, which are these long sticks that.That he then bounces on one hand on. He's just a stunning performer. He makes these incredible shapes.

Arnold00:12:47

It's very beautiful.

Mark00:12:47

I can't stand it. It just deserves it.

Arnold00:12:51

Wow.

Jack00:12:51

Book Kennison, another St. Louis native who now lives in New York. But he's back for this season. He's a juggler and plays one of the central characters. When you guys come.There's a duo called Daredevil Chicken and they are clowns. They're a comedy duo, a husband and wife. They do a whole lot and they're amazing.But the thing that has our audiences really talking is this banana act that they do, which I don't want to give away too much about it, but they juggle bananas with their mouths and then it gets more insane from there.

Mark00:13:21

Okay, that's gotta be. I'm gonna do this all day. I can't imagine.

Arnold00:13:27

I wanna remind folks that there is a little top. And that's a Wednesday special one hour performance for kids or kids at heart.That's June 11th and June 18th at 10am Thursday, June 12th is 7pm first responders night. Friday, June 13th, 1pm sensory friendly performance tailored for individuals with different sensory needs. Friday, June 13th at 7pm is Pride Night.Sunday, June 19th at 1pm is the Juneteenth matinee. How was opening a night?

Jack00:14:00

Incredible. Yeah, it's. It was great. We. Such great energy. We.For our opening the last few years, we've done an opening day parade where the entire circus cast and crew and we also bring in our friends at the Red and Black Brass Band. They play us down from the corner of Washington and Grand, which is just a couple blocks from where we perform where the big top is.We walk down Washington and through our front gates and into the circus tent. And that's our kind of official welcoming to our audience and kickstart to the Season. It's really, it's a, it's an incredible time.That band is the best. I love the Red and black brass band and they, yeah, they play us into our seasons. We did that and then of course had a fun post show party.

Arnold00:14:38

That's great. Metro Ticks is where you can get tickets, folks.Tickets start at $10 metrotix.com I want to also remind you to go to Circus Flora F l o r a.org circus flora.org and Jack, go into a little bit about clowns on Call. This is something I don't think many people know about Circus Flora.I think it's a really great thing what I was reading earlier, but I'd like for you to explain it and the impact it has on our community.

Jack00:15:05

Of course. Yeah. So Circus flora, we're a St. Louis nonprofit.We in some ways resemble a traditional circus that might be touring through town and stops for a little bit and then heads out. But no, we're a St. Louis institution and we're only in St. Louis. And so we do our seasonal performance, this big world class circus show.But then throughout the rest of the year we're still in the community and still a part of St. Louis. So we have some great community outreach programs, one of which is this program, Clowns on Call.We have several clown performers, some clowns that we send into local children's hospitals and we partner with SSM Health, Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and Rankin, Jordan and siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital.And what we do is we have these performers go and visit kids who are going through this really, what is pretty much always a really difficult time and one of the harder times in there in their family's lives and try to help them get through it in various different ways.And what's really nice is there, you might hear that and think giant boisterous clowns, big noses, honking horns, which like maybe it's sometimes a version of that where they're. If that's what the situation calls for.But they're really these sensitive performers and so they're, they're able to go into a room and speak with the care team and assess the situation. And maybe they are being funny and distracting a kid from an upcoming procedure. That's certainly part of what they do.Maybe the situation calls for the patient and the parents or have something to focus on there. But the sibling who's also going through this experience needs to be entertained or needs to.Needs a buddy or needs to laugh a little bit or Whatever it is. Or maybe, maybe the situation just calls for going into a quiet room and strumming a lullaby on the ukulele.Like they're great at feeling their way through these things. And it really is impactful. There's a whole international community of clown doctors or hospital clowns.And all the research that's been done suggests this is something that really is. Improves patient outcomes. It's a really critical part of the overall care team. Obviously, it's. It's doesn't work by itself.It's in partnership with the medical team, the doctors and nurses and everyone. But it's something that's really wonderful and I think a really impactful program that we do.

Arnold00:17:09

No, kudos to you guys for doing that program. Wonderful. Yeah, it really is.Especially, and I had never thought about until you had said that, like siblings or parents, one thing if it's the patient, but another thing, it's. If it's a sibling who's going through it too, and the parents. And you have another thing called Share the Circus. What's Share the Circus about?

Jack00:17:30

That's a program in which we partner with other St. Louis nonprofits and we give away thousands of free tickets to Circus Flora.So the idea is we try to have this universal show that we hope everyone in the community is going to love. That's the idea, is that Circus Flora is really for everyone. But obviously there's various barriers to coming to Circus Flora.If you're in the hospital, we try to bring a little piece of it to you through Clowns on Call. If you might not have the financial resources or the wherewithal to the ability to get to Circus Flora, we try to partner with other St.Louis nonprofits who we feel who are already working with different communities who are either under resourced or might otherwise have trouble getting to Circus Flora. And we, through them, we distribute free tickets to our show.And we hope that everyone can come and enjoy this really joyful experience of coming to Circus Floor with everyone in the St. Louis community.

Arnold00:18:21

If you've never been to the circus, you need to go. Circus Floor is a great institution here in the St. Louis metropolitan area. And I want to encourage everybody to do that.

Mark00:18:31

And it's the circus is, isn't it right behind the symphony, the St. Louis Symphony Hall?

Jack00:18:37

Yeah. So we used to perform directly in the symphony parking lot.And we've, as of a few years ago, we've moved what is a more permanent home still in Grand Center. It's like Caddy Corner across the street, but it's Right on Washington, about two blocks down from the Fox Theater. So just east of Grand.

Mark00:18:52

And you. Yeah, it's easy to see, easy to get to.

Arnold00:18:55

Big tops all set up, right? Yeah.

Mark00:18:57

And it's only once a year for about a month. Is that.

Jack00:19:00

Yeah. We run seasonally in June, so we think of ourselves as a harbinger of summer for St. Louis families.And the thing I'll add about our performing in June is that we air condition the tents. We keep it nice and cool in there, which thankfully it's not been. It's been more wet than hot lately. But the AC is come in handy as June continues.We know that heat's coming, but it's nice and cool in the big time.

Mark00:19:18

I bet it. Yeah. That's great.

Arnold00:19:20

So the season is going on right now, folks, as we speak. June 5th through the 22nd, it's Circus Circus Flora's 39th season. The 39th season mark. Can you believe it?

Mark00:19:31

Wow.

Arnold00:19:31

No, that's crazy. You want to go see the axe? Go to circus floor.org or go to Metro Tix to get tickets. That's metrotix.com Jack Marsh, thanks for coming in St.Louis in tune and talking to us about the show. We appreciate it.

Jack00:19:45

Thank you guys. It's been great to talk to you.

Arnold00:19:47

We're going to take a break. We'll be right back. You're listening to St. Lucin tune with Arnold Stricker and Mark Langston. Don't go away.As strange as it may sound, at Better Rate Mortgage. We love talking to people about mortgages. Everyone in St. Louis promises a better mortgage rate.But what you really need to turn that perfect house into your dream home is a better mortgage. At Better Rate Mortgage, we open the door to so much more. So where are you in the home buying process?Researching, maybe wondering how much you can afford House hunting. Get a pre approval from Better Rate Mortgage. Ready to buy. Our team is ready to make your mortgage process fast and easy.Whether you're purchasing your first home or taking cash out to make your dream home even dreamier, our door is open. Come on in and get started. Today we'll show you how.Call Sean directly at 314-375-3293 or online@betterratemortgage.com Remember, at Better Rate Mortgage, a better rate is just the beginning. Betterratemortgage.com MMLS ID20035 and equal housing lender the United States has a strong tradition of welcoming newcomers and refugees.The welcome corps is a new service opportunity For Americans inspired to welcome those seeking freedom and safety and in turn help strengthen their own communities. Welcome Corps is a public private partnership that is inspired by what Americans represent to so many around the world. A beacon of hope and refuge.All it takes is a helping hand. Are you ready? To learn more, contact the International Institute of St. Louis@infoistl.org or call 314-773-9090.That's infoistl.org or call 314.773-9090. This is Arnold Stricker of St. Louis in Tune on behalf of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation.In 1857, the Dred Scott decision was a major legal event and catalyst that contributed to the Civil War. The decision declared that Dred Scott could not be free because he was not a citizen.The 14th Amendment, also called the Dred Scott Amendment, granted citizenship to all born or naturalized here in our country and was intended to overturn the US Supreme Court decision on July 9, 1868.The Dred Scott Heritage foundation is requesting a commemorative stamp to be issued from the US Postal Service to recognize and remember the heritage of this amendment by issuing a stamp with the likeness of the man Dred Scott. But we need your support and the support of thousands of people who would like to see this happen.To achieve this goal, we ask you to download, sign and share the one page petition with others. To find the petition, please go to dredscottlives.org and click on the Dred Scott petition drive on the right side of the page.On behalf of the Dred Scott Heritage foundation, this has been Arnold Stricker of St. Louis in Tunes. Welcome back to St. Louis in Tune. This is Arnold Stricker with Mark Langston and Mark Circus Flora.Dazzling audiences of all ages with its unique combination of world class circus performers, exceptional storytelling and live original music. June 5th through the 22nd folks.

Mark00:22:59

I think it's great.

Arnold00:23:00

That was fun. Jack did a great job.

Mark00:23:01

What a guy. Yeah, I've never been. Have you ever been to circus floor?

Arnold00:23:06

I've not been. My wife's been and I was busy one night and she and our daughter in law when could have gone but it's just too much going on.

Mark00:23:17

Didn't think it was going to be fun.

Arnold00:23:19

No, I did. I was just like I was tired.

Mark00:23:20

Yeah, okay. I've seen that. I've gone to the symphony and I've seen the tent there.

Arnold00:23:27

That's.

Mark00:23:28

I was asking. I thought they had moved but it's right there by the symphony. If you know where that Is down grand by the Fox theater. It's in that area.And it's great that it's permanent. It's here. It's a St. Louis staple.

Arnold00:23:39

Yes. And wasn't always it moved here. They started in South Carolina, I believe it was.And it was started by a Italian composer, Giancarlo Manotti for the Spoleto festival.

Mark00:23:54

Ay ay Yai.

Arnold00:23:55

In 1986. And it was to bring the best elements of traditional European circus with modern theater and circus.Flora's big top tent was the first ever erected at the Kennedy Center. And then it was also raised at the Lincoln Center.

Mark00:24:14

Oh my.

Arnold00:24:14

In New York City. Just a wonderful thing.

Mark00:24:18

Oh yeah.

Arnold00:24:19

Has a national and international reputation.

Mark00:24:23

So I guess they just take performers that tour around the country, bring them all together a couple a few weeks.

Arnold00:24:29

And very similar to what a lot of the theaters do. The muni or what goes on at a variety of. Like we did the Missouri chamber Music festival. Gather international and national artists together.

Mark00:24:39

Yeah.

Arnold00:24:40

To have all these wonderful folks here in St. Louis to be able to see what's going on.

Mark00:24:44

I'll be tired. Yeah.

Arnold00:24:46

Here's a little trivia for circus lovers out there. And band music lovers.

Mark00:24:50

Oh really?

Arnold00:24:50

Okay. That's. There was always circus bands and they played these gallops and things called gallops and circus things.But they never played Stars and stripes forever Unless there was a fire in the circus tent. When they played Stars and stripes forever, the circus performers knew there's a fire somewhere.

Mark00:25:10

Get out.

Arnold00:25:10

Yes.

Mark00:25:13

I don't know why I did that.

Arnold00:25:18

Ladies and gentlemen.

Jack00:25:22

Wow.

Arnold00:25:22

You've got your finger on that button.

Mark00:25:23

We're reaching right now. Right. Wow. That's real.

Arnold00:25:26

Do you have any days of the day, Mark?

Mark00:25:28

There's a couple of interesting ones. Where is that first one here? A national call your doctor day. Oh. National Bedbug prevention day.

Arnold00:25:37

Oh, gosh.

Mark00:25:39

How do you prevent bedbugs? I'm not sure. National Black cow day. It's a black. It's a drink. Black cow drink.

Arnold00:25:46

Oh, I always thought those were. Oh, those are brown cows. Were those ice cream bars?

Mark00:25:51

Right now there's national law ballpoint pen day. The ballpoint pen holds a special place in their pen holder for those that it does. Uh huh. National Egg roll day.Oh, I feel like I should have an accent when I say that. Egg roll. The egg roll. I'm just kidding. Oh, here's one. This is what we've all been waiting for. National forklift safety day.What O Herbs and spices day. Did you ever grow herbs or spices at your house?

Arnold00:26:25

I grew herbs. Yes. I love basil. A lot of basil. Rosemary, basil, thyme.

Mark00:26:30

Yeah, I'll be darn. Really?

Arnold00:26:33

Yeah.

Mark00:26:34

Basil.

Arnold00:26:34

It's a lot cheaper than buying it at the store.

Mark00:26:36

Uh huh. The Belmont Steaks is coming. Oh, yeah. It is cheaper than buying it at the store.

Arnold00:26:41

Belmont Steaks just happened.

Mark00:26:43

I know.

Arnold00:26:43

So it's the former Belmont Steaks.

Mark00:26:45

It is.

Arnold00:26:46

The horse that won the Kentucky Derby. Won the Belmont.

Mark00:26:48

Yeah. National German Chocolate Cake Day. Do you like German Chocolate Cake?

Arnold00:26:52

I do.

Mark00:26:54

All right. What is this? National Making Life Beautiful Day. Remove those Snapchats and Instagram filters and.

Arnold00:27:02

See what people really look like.

Mark00:27:04

And they're real beauty. How about national say hi Day? Hi.

Arnold00:27:09

That's every Day.

Mark00:27:10

How you doing?

Arnold00:27:11

Every day.

Mark00:27:11

Howdy. Yeah, I like that too. Yeah, there's not much. There's just not. We're getting into the part of summertime when they. We just don't celebrate many days.I don't think.

Arnold00:27:21

I don't think Congress doesn't have anything to do.

Mark00:27:23

Democracy Day is coming up. That's the one.

Arnold00:27:25

Every day.

Mark00:27:26

That's one of my favorites. Yep. Yep.

Arnold00:27:29

Okay.

Mark00:27:30

Okay. That's Jerky day.

Arnold00:27:32

Beef jerky day.

Mark00:27:33

Do you like. I like beef jerky.

Arnold00:27:35

As long as it's not overly sodiumized. How about that one?

Mark00:27:40

Yeah. Sodiumized.

Arnold00:27:41

Sodiumized.

Mark00:27:42

That's a new word.

Arnold00:27:43

Yeah. Mark. I dropped my copy of Oliver Twist on my toe. It hurt like the dickens.

Mark00:27:49

Oh, my. You did not just say that.

Arnold00:27:54

Most people write congrats because they don't know the spelling of C O N G R A J U L A S H I, o, n s. Do you know that in 3025 years, life will either be really good or really bad? Because it's going to be 50. 50.

Mark00:28:15

Oh, yeah. Sorry.

Arnold00:28:21

And I saw an old dude with a fishing rod outside my local bar fishing in a puddle. He looked so cold. I said to him, come in for a drink and get warm. As we sipped our double whiskeys, I thought I would humor him.I asked him, how many you caught today? He replied, you're the eight. And a waitress asked me if I want a box for my leftovers. We went three rounds before she knocked me out.

Jack00:28:49

Oh, no.

Arnold00:28:53

Let's see. What's this? I didn't believe. Excuse me? I didn't want to believe my dad was stealing from his job as a road worker.But when I got home, all the signs were there.

Mark00:29:02

Oh, yeah. All right. Yeah.

Arnold00:29:09

My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start so far. I finished two bags of M&Ms. And a chocolate cake and I feel better already. And we'll close with this one.A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads, low bridge ahead. Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge.Cars are backed up for miles and finally a police car comes up. The policeman gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, says, got stuck, huh?Truck driver says, no, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas.

Mark00:29:43

Yes. Love that part.

Arnold00:29:49

Oh, that's all for this show, folks. Thanks for listening.If you've enjoyed this episode, you can listen to additional shows@stlntune.com consider leaving a review on our website, Apple Podcasts, Podchaser, or your preferred podcast platform. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and continue to grow.I want to thank Bob Berthisel for our theme music, our sponsor, Better Rate Mortgage, our guest, Jack Marsh and co host Mark Langston. And we thank you for being a part of our community of curious minds. St. Louis in tune is a production of Motif Media Group and the US Radio Network.Remember to keep seeking, keep learning, walk worthy, and let your light shine. For St. Louis in tune, I'm Arnold Stricker.

Jack00:30:31

Sam.