TAGQ (That's A Good Question)
TAGQ (That's A Good Question)
Water Traps
What truly defines an island and why do we label some places as separate entities while others blend seamlessly? This episode starts with a curious exploration of geographic labels, pondering the arbitrary separations that mark our maps and our minds. Our musings then shift to personal growth, sharing the invigorating and sometimes uncomfortable practice of cold showers as a metaphor for embracing life’s unwanted challenges. Nostalgia floods in as we reminisce about the warm summer waters of the Midwest and the simple joy of lake adventures, from jumping off pontoons to navigating stormy waves.
Moving from geographic and personal reflections to thrilling tales of lakeside adventures, we recount the exhilarating experience of floating in vast waters and confronting the playful fears of what might lurk beneath. These stories open a dialogue on generational differences in fearlessness and how societal anxieties have evolved over time, adding a humorous twist to our ever-shifting perspectives. The metaphor of playing guitar on a pontoon amidst a sudden storm becomes a poetic reminder of life’s balancing act—finding harmony and stability amid chaos by tuning in to the natural rhythms surrounding us.
Finally, we explore the art of maintaining connections, inspired by stories of nightly calls and small gestures that strengthen friendships. This conversation highlights the comfort of traditions and how even a simple text can bridge distances and ease communication anxiety. We also share an unexpected encounter with art in the woods, celebrating the diverse ways we can engage with community and creativity. Join us as we journey through the intricacies of connection, tradition, and the enriching impact of embracing the world around us.
here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go welcome, all right welcome back to the island TAGQ oh, that's okay. That's what it is okay. Yeah, I'm back on the island after, uh, some time away.
Scott:TAGQ, surrounded by water on all sides.
Ben:Yeah, but we kind of all are, aren't we Just depends on how far back or how far out you want to go.
Scott:How big an island it is. That's true.
Ben:Turtle Island.
Scott:I'm on the big island.
Ben:Yeah, you are, you're on the you're on a very little island.
Scott:That's one of the biggest, but not the the big well not really.
Ben:People say it's big, but it's not really big. I mean, whenever you, whenever you, when it comes to anything geographic, about like how big something is, it's like this is the biggest thing in the continental united states. It's like, well, that's like, and then you, they always exclude alaska from all of that, and then it's just all kind of like arbitrary. It's like, yeah, yeah, we'd be islands, second longest Island in the continental United States. It's like why do we care? And then you conclude Alaska, which, like why wouldn't you include Alaska? Because it all these big islands that are carved along the Pacific Northwest coast from Northern California all the way North? Well, they're not, aren't islands down there?
Ben:but puget sound on north through a yeah, uh, you know, although they were carved out by glaciers, it's like well alaska's full of massive islands like would be. You're not special no, I didn't.
Scott:I didn't got a lot of people there, but yeah do you know that no, do you think africa and uh eurasia are separated by water?
Ben:do? I think africa and eurasia are.
Scott:I guess it's just the Suez Canal separates them, so it's only a little. It's only like being separated by a river.
Ben:Right.
Scott:Yeah, a canal. They're separated by a canal.
Ben:And canal implies that it was man-made.
Scott:Yeah, so there wasn't a natural separation, it was more like a isthmus, I mean yeah.
Ben:Isthmus. Isthmus. What was the name of my first friend in public school? Isthmus.
Scott:Really no.
Ben:It just sounds like Every time I think of Ismus, I think of all the people I've met named Ismail.
Scott:I see.
Ben:Wow, you're not. You're still in the Midwest. How long have you been there now?
Scott:Almost a month, yep. It's a good place to be in the summer because it's warm okay yeah I'll have to remember that for next time.
Ben:I'm looking for a warm place in the summer midwest.
Scott:All right, just writing that down here one second no, I mean the water gets warm enough to swim in.
Ben:Yeah, well, the water is warm.
Scott:Which is caused by the air being more warm.
Ben:And also the fact that it's a relatively small body of water, because it's fairly warm here.
Scott:But the ocean, the ocean, the ocean. The sound is still kind of cold.
Ben:I went into the ocean for the first time this morning. Since Sorry, I bet that was a confusing way to put that it doesn't actually make much sense and just actually false the way I structured it radically, this morning I went into the ocean. It was the first time I had gone into the ocean prior to 9 am, um okay and that was probably also another confusing way of putting it. I went to the ocean in the morning today and it was good I had a little cold.
Scott:Watch you swam a little bit.
Ben:I've been doing cold showers in the mornings. Yeah, that's been part of my morning routine. Um, just yeah, I, I need structure in the morning. I've been really leaning into the idea that that structure doesn't have to. You know, I don't have to do the same thing every morning for my whole life. Just so long as I have one or two things that I do every day, and also to just do things before drinking coffee, that's the big thing. So I've been taking, first thing I do, a big glass of water. Maybe I've talked about this on the podcast.
Ben:I tend to repeat myself when it comes to my morning routine. I guess it might have been a different morning routine, but I always start with a glass of water, yeah, almost 32 ounces, prime the pumps and then I jump into the cold shower and it just yeah, it kind of works wonders. You really don't want to do it, but the way I heard one Buddhist put it once, who's also a poet, is, every morning she washes her face with cold water so that she can learn to want the unwanted. And when I'm feeling like I really don't want to step in this cold shower right now, I repeat that in my head like learn to want the unwanted. Okay here I go. Huh, okay, here I go.
Ben:And then I think the whole point behind that idea is that you like do things that are actually going to be good for you in the long run, but like your body is just like no, I don't want to. No, it's kind of like I'm less conflict avoided than I used to be. It's like I'm learning to really appreciate the process of telling people how I actually feel, learning to actually want that discomfort. I don't know if I'll ever actually want it, but I can kind of trick myself into doing it. If I just kind of remind myself of that poem, oceans, it's jumping off poem for me it's uh, oceans, it's.
Ben:For me it's jumping off the dock into the lake yeah, I mean, that's what I did when I was uh visiting you. Oh, out there we're out visiting you. That's weird. I've never said that about the cabin before. I was visiting my dad. Out of wow, dad, you really becoming a cabin dweller, my God.
Scott:I'm here more than anybody.
Ben:Yeah, yeah.
Scott:It works for me. I can play drums louder here than at home.
Ben:Yeah, it's true. Yeah, is it really a cold plunge if you're, uh, if it's 72 degrees?
Scott:oh well, don't belittle. Don't belittle my.
Ben:Oh, you're right it's not if you stay in. No, I know that's quite a bit colder than your. You know body temperature, so it's plunging into something colder than the water inside of you.
Scott:Yeah, and I jump off the pontoon and swim around it Hope it doesn't get blown away in the wind.
Ben:What if you? Have you ever worried about forgetting to put the ladder down before you get in?
Scott:Yeah, I'm worried, but it's. I've seen people also do it, just swimming up to it.
Ben:You can get back in the boat if you just swim up to it.
Scott:No, you can pull the ladder down if you swim up to it.
Ben:Oh, got it. Okay, good, have you tried that before?
Scott:No, Peter did it.
Ben:Okay, got it. You don't have to be extra strong to do it.
Scott:No, but this time it was kind of windy, so I took a rope and put it on a cleat and then went to the front of the boat and jumped off with the rope.
Ben:A cleat.
Scott:Yeah, things you use to tie down rope?
Ben:Did you tie it to your ankle? What did you do in the middle of the lake.
Scott:No, I just held on to it as I jumped off so that I was tied by rope. I wasn't tied, I mean I, I could have. I'd be really funny. Things could go wrong, I could let go of it, it could slip off the cleat, but I like go. But once I learned that I can swim as fast as the pontoon is moving, then no worries.
Ben:Yeah, and even on a windy day that's probably the case, Unless it's like super windy, I guess.
Scott:Yeah, and I just get to do that, and it probably has similar benefits to a cold shower or jumping in the ocean.
Ben:Yeah yeah, probably similar. Similar benefits to a cold shower or jumping in the ocean. Yeah, yeah, probably similar.
Scott:Cause I don't want to do it. I like why am I doing this? I can just, I can just dock this thing, get out and take a shower. I don't have to, you know, I can do it, yeah.
Ben:What if there's a that's appealing Jump into?
Scott:the lake and do it.
Ben:Yeah.
Scott:What if there's a?
Ben:That's appealing to you than getting into the shower, jumping into the lake no, it's, it's, it's an.
Scott:It's a thing I want to do, just like you know that. That has exactly what you've been describing. The um want what you learn to want the unwanted yeah yeah right I mean it's cold and dark in that water and you know who knows what's going on down there does everybody think that about like big bodies of water, or is it just our family?
Ben:no I never did growing up but now you do? Is that because of like, your sons are always talking about like? I don't know what's down there. I'm scared of the lake. It's like yeah I can irrational fear, man like what do you like?
Ben:there's like an airplane that's just like neutrally buoyant, just like six feet under the water, and you're gonna dive in and get your head on the sharp propeller like what. What do you think is gonna happen here? There's gonna be a giant freshwater fish that no one has ever discovered before. It's gonna like bite onto you and take you down to the depths yeah, yeah, I can absorb others' anxieties, I guess. Yeah, yeah, well, that's.
Scott:I never thought about that when I was a kid. It's like, nah, I worried more about theirs.
Ben:Well, because no one else was. Yeah, maybe it's just the fact that we're a heightened, we're just a society with heightened anxiety nowadays. I don't know, I could see that being the case. People are just kind of more dysregulated and I don't know. I don't know. People seemed a little more fearless back in the day. You know, grandma and grandpa just kind of did stuff. They're just kind of different I only know for me.
Scott:I'm probably more anxious than I than than I ever was, um, but maybe, maybe I was repressing it well, that's interesting.
Ben:Well, uh, we don't need to uh, go too far down that rabbit hole. On the podcast. It might be a conversation.
Scott:Neither of us praise each other. Enough for that.
Ben:We'll keep that for off the record. Okay, okay, and now we're back to our regularly scheduled program.
Scott:I never edit anything out yeah, I, yeah.
Ben:I know that's why I gotta be very lightly right now.
Scott:Any um, any highlights from your whole month at the cabin oh yeah, last night I went out to play guitar in the middle of the lake nice you know playing along to my playlist on the bluetooth and I just turn off the go to the middle lake, turn off the pontoon, let it float and jump in the water.
Scott:It started rocking because it wasn't moving, it just got rocked by the waves. But then I noticed that if I stopped playing guitar and just sat dead, it didn't rock. It's just kind of interesting. It's like oh okay, I'm rocking with it, All right.
Ben:Didn't? It's just kind of interesting. It's like, oh okay, I'm rocking with it, all right as in. Like, does that mean you were generating momentum with your slight movements?
Scott:Yeah, if my body was sort of alive, I was, without thinking about about it, reinforcing the rocking by my own motions so I could sit inertly and things would get stable again. But then I looked off and the rain was coming, no lightning. So it's like, okay, you know, no thunder. So I turned to go and then this worst wind comes up and the steepest waves I've ever dealt with. Huh, I mean our old boat.
Scott:I wouldn't have want to been out there yeah right, um, this, even with this pontoon, I had to. I had no choice. I had to almost go into the waves. If I had gone you know 90 degrees of the waves, I'm not sure you know. So I had to head straight, you know toward leader sort of, before I could get close enough to the shore and then make it home. And you know it was calm but raining like crazy, wow. So it was as ill-advised as my UTV experiences. Wow. I got a lot of material here. You haven't heard the UTV story.
Ben:No, I have not. I don't think the people have either.
Scott:We rented a four-seater UTV for a day when you guys were in Minneapolis.
Ben:Oh, I got pictures. Yeah, oh, wow, this is a recent story. Ooh, okay, last couple weeks.
Scott:It's fun. I mean, adam and Sophia, it's like we drove up to like Cable and on the on the routes, and I opted for a ride back in the van with my sister, but everybody got the experience. It's quite thrilling. But then, uh, at the end of the day I went and, uh, they were taking the pontoon to the, the dock, you know the restaurant, and I was going to get there on utv and so I ended up going on the route behind the casino, the one we did on snowmobiles. So, yeah, how we got from the casino to like round lake?
Scott:there's this trail yeah yeah, yeah, yeah okay, yeah and it was the whole. The puddles of water just kept on getting deeper and deeper and wider, and I guess the way you're supposed to deal with them is hitting into a riverbed. Yeah, and fast enough so you hide your hydroplane across it. Okay, that's what Adam would have been doing if he was driving.
Ben:That's how you get through it. That's what makes it adult. What does the U in UTV stand for?
Scott:Utility.
Ben:Utility terrain.
Scott:Utility terrain vehicle. What?
Scott:makes it capable of going through water is You're actually just floating on top of it, okay, so I came to this really deep hole that was like maybe three times as long as the machine and so deep that the engine was drowning, and I got it just up on the edge. And I got it just up on the edge but I had to break, like cling into the this edge, leaving the pond, which was kind of a steep exit. Um, until it got enough air, it was just far enough out and it's like, okay, can I, you know, am I going to kill it if I give it gas? And then what am I going to do?
Scott:It it's like there were a lot of things I could have done, but, um, but I made it out, I made it out, it's just there. And I was so happy when I got over that and then, when I got back to the road which was only halfway to the restaurant, I bailed, I bailed and drove probably for a third of a mile through the reservation, which you're not supposed to do, and then, and then I was out of the reservation and then, like all the town roads, can you know? Uh, yeah, it was.
Scott:So I've had these are thrilling stories for me where I've been driving through the elements and back out in the backwood, wisconsin.
Ben:Yeah, men and their machines. Yeah, wow, you're living the dad life.
Scott:More sports.
Ben:Living the dad life more than ever before.
Scott:I'm also in the silent sports such as cross-country.
Ben:You weren't talking during any of this pardon you weren't talking during any of this, were you?
Scott:oh, the vehicles are not silent, they make noise, their powers so what's the what's the opposite of power sports, Dan. Silent sports, which is the only place.
Ben:For all sports, from football to cross-country skiing. That's their main. No, no.
Scott:It's like, mainly like this county, where they have these two opposing factions of people interested. How are you going to run through the woods and across the water or across the ice? Are you going to use human power or machine power? And they're different.
Ben:They're different sports that coexist are you a silent sporter type or are you a power sporter type? Yeah, you like both. You say, you like silent sports, but you also like power sports.
Scott:Yeah, this pontoon's keeping me away from my kayak.
Ben:What makes them sports You're not really like? Oh oh race. Sport is a matter of yeah okay, yeah, sport competition yeah, okay, that's a cross-country skiing this?
Scott:yeah, you know, it's just the mode of trying human.
Ben:I guess I just think about well dance it's just the mode of trend, human, I guess I just think about. Well, dan, it's weird Cause like dancing, why isn't dancing considered a sport? Because I feel like I guess it's because it's not competition based, cause you can't have a winner. Well, you can, but you can in, like certain places, but even then it's not really considered a sport. It's different. Wow, consider the sport, it's different. Wow, this is all very fascinating, profound Wow.
Ben:Wow I had a big going away party a couple days ago. I had a lot of friends there and it was. It was good. It was good, I uh.
Scott:Did they sing? For he's a jolly good fellow.
Ben:No, no, no, fuck, Damn, it never happened to me. You didn't sing anything for me. No, it was really wild.
Ben:And there's something that keeps going through my head is how I have so many close, like great, friendships with people here of all ages, and I'm constantly this week I've been constantly thinking about how that's the case.
Ben:And there was something that I um, when I was in college and doing the farm club thing, there was a farm club advisor that I had, um, so it was just someone that was more experienced in farming and would help us students with like the actual growing of stuff, and she said that, like college is amazing because you never, will ever again live in such close proximity with you know so many friends, and I kind of always just took that as like this like level of just like oh, dang, you're right, that's a bummer, but I have more friends now than I did in college, and that was the realization I had at this going away party. It was just a really kind of special sort of moment. It's like, oh, I don't, you don't know how I got it. I didn't need to ascribe to the idea that school was going to be the peak of my social intelligence, like it was for me.
Ben:Like it was for a lot of people.
Scott:I mean elementary school and college. Mm-hmm was for a lot of people.
Ben:I mean elementary school and college yeah, yeah, um yeah, so good, it was a yeah, it was a special time. It was a special time, I don't know.
Scott:Yeah, it was a special time. It was a special time. I don't know?
Ben:Yeah, I don't know. Why do you think it is that people don't have as many friends as they did in college? Is it just because people get obsessed with their nuclear families?
Scott:Yeah, partially. And you know, on top of raising families, everyone's taking their free time to maintain. You know what friendships they have instead of making new ones yeah.
Ben:I just heard my voice right there uh, oh, uh, oh, now it stopped. I just heard my voice right there Uh-oh, uh-oh. Now it stopped.
Scott:My computer has got a flaky mode on it. The audio has started to be garbled. Every once in a while Dropped a little piece of a potato chip. Yeah, I don't know, I don't.
Ben:I haven't really dropped anything on the speakers but maybe it's the uh humidity, yeah for me, yeah, I guess. So I guess that could be the thing. It's just like to me, though, like well then, why would I? Why would I ever? I know it Just makes me really wonder, like, well, why would I ever start a family? Like, why would I? Why would I do the nuclear family thing by to like all of these amazing, like friendships and all of this new stuff that like keeps coming up in my life because I have the free time, just like try new things and meet new people and well yeah, I think it's.
Scott:You'll find it's the seasons in everybody's life. You know you're hanging out with people who are all like looking to hang out with other people now, right, um, and you know, at some point it probably changes into something else. Where you're, you know, I don't know if you have you know. Yeah, I don't know If you have you know. Yeah, I mean I think you should. Oh, I'm muted, I think you're not.
Ben:No, I'm not.
Scott:Okay, sorry.
Ben:I was ranting I thought I was. You were expecting me to say something.
Scott:No, I just hope this.
Ben:It's weird.
Scott:I don't know if the noise I hear is going to show up in the recording, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it that's cool enjoy that you got all those friends yeah, yeah, special, special.
Ben:I recently it was a while ago at this point I listened to a podcast where gosh did I say this is another one of those man, podcasting is hard. I guess that's why you have an editor. So it's like, ben, you said that three weeks ago. Okay, we're not. No, we're not going to repeat content like that.
Scott:Yeah, but what like that? Yeah, but, but do a podcast what. I think that a bit of repetition builds your character. You know people get to know like, oh yeah, he always talks about that he's always talking about.
Ben:Yeah, okay, yeah, well, yeah, I'm come, I listen to a podcast and I probably could very well be the case that I didn't talk about this actually listen to a, a podcast where I was listening to this guy and this guy said to me and I was listening, and he said that he calls two friends every single evening before he goes to bed and he talks to two friends every night.
Scott:Wow.
Ben:And that was like I just really had to stop for a second and think about that and be like and found in myself just like, oh man, why don't?
Scott:I do that.
Ben:why, why can't I cause two friends every single day? Dang, I should do that too. And it's, it was just, uh, it was a big moment for me to just be like, okay, I'm noticing all this judgment that's going on with me and it's like level of jealousy I have for this guy that does this thing, and then I also can get you know, know, realistic about the way my days actually look and you know, um, yeah, just reflecting on my just knee-jerk reactions and also, though, like seeing that it's that's something that like not necessarily calling two friends every evening being part of my, you know, nightly routine, but to just see that it's like, oh, I'm jealous because, like I actually really want like consistent connection with, with people, kind of like on a on a daily basis with like multiple, multiple people but maybe that's what I feel most alive maybe texting is you know?
Scott:it's because calling people is like walking up to their front door and ringing the doorbell well, that's you, don't.
Ben:You don't start with that, right, you know it's I? I would like, because I'm at the point where, you know, calling people and depending on the person kind of still instills this like level of anxiety, or I'm like we have set the precedent where it's like oh, we always have two hour long conversations when we're on the phone, so it's a matter of just working slowly towards more consistent connection, and it could start with a text.
Scott:Yeah, just a few word texts, it's like okay, we're the two friends I'm gonna hit up today texting is comparable to like well, you just ran into him on the street, you know, right, right, like low-key. It's asynchronous where catch up more soon calling or going to their house or like that's what you arrange when you just run into them. You know, hey, Tuesday I'll do this, you know.
Ben:Yeah Right, yeah yeah. Okay, we don't have a sponsor.
Scott:Was there a point? Okay, so what? No, we're still getting to a point.
Ben:Oh, what do you think?
Scott:Pardon.
Ben:What do you think About?
Scott:what.
Ben:I have a lot of friends and I want to keep having friends and I want to keep connecting, because community is like people say it all the time that good community is like what makes or breaks.
Scott:Yeah, I think you just gotta make up sort of traditions that involve getting together yeah, exactly, yeah, you just kind of gotta, you just gotta work the muscle. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah well, um, it's our sponsor. What's your favorite kind of kale?
Ben:no, uh, no, I am. I. I don't know where this is gonna go, but I just came from a a performance out in the woods. There was a dance performance happening out in the woods and I went to it. It was, uh, choreographed. It was also not. There was probably some improv. There was some improv in there too. Uh, it was. I actually don't, it was outside, it was. This is brought to you by Blueberries. I have to. I don't know where that was going, so I stopped.
Scott:You bailed Blueberries. They're good Home in Wisconsin, in Grumman, california, yeah yeah, dance Collective. Dance Company.
Ben:Yes, yes and good, you know, home in wisconsin, you can grow them in california. Yeah, dance, dance, dance, collective dance company. Yes, yes and and blueberries and blueberries. Yeah, summer, summer, summer. So good work there, ben no, that's.
Scott:I've been watching another not podcast but video equivalent where the guy has the same shtick of just like making up that these places are his sponsors, but then sometimes they really become his sponsors, you know, just like dive bars in Wisconsin. It's like, oh, we're going to, gonna go to, we're sponsored by this dive bar sponsored well, I should.
Ben:just I I can plug the dance company they're called meander dance, yes, based on whitby started by a mom that really wanted to be dancing more but like didn't feel like she could be spending the money for dance classes because, like you know, she got it, had to clothe and feed her children, so instead she just started. She I think it's a nonprofit, not positive but came together with some people and just it's all donation based and really just so that she can get out there and dance.
Ben:Yeah, so you have me, and her dance company would be island Donate hundreds. They'll love you. Me and me, me and her, me and her.
Scott:yeah, yeah, three words there is the person you're dancing, yeah google me and her would be island.
Ben:It'll get you right to where you need to be I'm probably.
Scott:It is me and her. It's not me and her.
Ben:It's not me and her it's me and her well, good to talk to you, and good to talk to you listeners and be careful out there on those waves and in those ponds yeah, yeah, we need you to hold down the fort out there, you sink out in the lake and we're not gonna maybe I should go running. I'm gonna have a cabin dweller to go visit. I should go running. I'm going to have our cabin dweller go visit him.
Scott:I'll go running.
Ben:Thanks for joining us everyone. Enjoy the sunlight. Enjoy the sunlight while it lasts oh it's gone.
