From Navy Salutes to Mic Drops: Meet Mr. Whiskey—Transforming Trauma into Life Lessons

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What do you call a man who has survived child abuse and neglect, commanded two nuclear submarines, born a name reminiscent of a spirited drink, and maintains an unshakable faith larger than life? At the age of 22, the answer is Mr.

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Whiskey. Journey with this US Navy veteran, author, preacher, podcaster, speaker, comedian, voice actor, dog, dad, and more as he opens the book on a life overflowing with both unimaginable darkness and profound redemption.

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Despite facing emotional, verbal, domestic and religious abuse, Mr. Whiskey was thrust into one of the military's most challenging roles, a position marked by a high suicide rate, only to be separated due to medical reasons. Struggling with the transition from the military, and grappling with an identity crisis that felt like living two lives, Mr. Whiskey faced trauma head on. His short life has contained an abundance of harrowing topics suicide, trauma, failures and religion. Yet from this he carved a path of recovery and and empowerment fueled by a powerful desire to serve others. As the founder of the podcast Couple on Nukes, he channels his journey into spreading mental health resources and the word of God. Mr. Whiskey has weathered the storm of suicide, depression, anxiety, military trauma and more, emerging with rebuilt dreams and a rebranded life dedicated to mentorship. Tune in to explore his inspirational narrative of continual suffering transformed into hope, empowerment, peace and good health, and discover how this remarkable story might just illuminate your own path to healing and growth.

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Welcome to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Nurturing through Adversity. In this podcast, we will delve deep into the challenges and triumphs of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren as we navigate the complexities of legal, financial and emotional support. I invite you to join us on a journey of exploring thoughts, feelings and beliefs surrounding this growing segment of our society. Drawing from real stories and expert advice, we will explore the nuances of child rearing for children who have experienced trauma and offer valuable resources to guide you through the intricate journey of kinship care.

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We'll discuss how we can change the course of history by rewriting our grandchildren's future, all within a support, supportive community that understands the unique joys and struggles. This podcast was made especially for you.

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Welcome to a community where your voice is heard, your experiences are valued, and your journey is honored.

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As someone who also experienced abuse as a young girl and left home due. To an abusive stepfather at the age of 14, I can relate to the. Challenges of confronting one's traumatic past. Driven by the belief that I was born to make a difference in the world, my life has been a series of mistakes and lessons learned. Initially, I hesitated to interview someone named Mr. Whiskey with a podcast called Couple of. Nukes yet my curiosity was piqued by.

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This eclectic stranger who has now become a sole brother on this earth. Oh, and by the way, Mr. Whiskey extended an honorary invitation for me. To be his adopted grandmother, a role. I accepted with pride and affection. I hope your introduction to him is. As enlightening as mine was. Join us on this journey through resilience and faith, and perhaps you'll find a piece of inspiration for your own path.

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Well, I want to start our interview by addressing the elephant in the room. How did you get your name, Mr.

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Whiskey? Yeah. Well, firstly, thank you for hosting me. And it is a question that many hosts and a lot of guests on my own show have asked me, which is, you know, Mr.

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Whiskey, is that your real name? Is that a fake name? Do you drink it? Do you provide it? You know, what's the story with that? And, no, I had actually never drank whiskey prior to, you know, getting the name Mr. Whiskey. What happened is I was still active duty, military, when I was thinking about starting the podcast. And we weren't saying anything wrong, but we know there's a lot of fine print in the contract, and we know that our personal experiences with the Navy had not been great. So, you know, we were a little cautious. So we were like, maybe we should get, you know, anonymous name.

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And my real last name is Hennessy, which I recently revealed in the season five premiere of my show. I combined my two lives, which I. Had been living separate for quite a while. Quite, quite burdensome, to be honest. Now, the Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same guy, only, yeah, it's Mr. Whiskey and Mr. Hennessy. And so the Mr. Whiskey was kind of a joke that it was just a step off from Hennessy. So it was anonymous to everyone. But then my friends were hearing Mr. Whiskey and chuckling to themselves like, I just use Whiskey now. So that's kind of where it started. A lot of people think it's to do with drinking or a military phonetic like Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot or something like that, but it's not. It's just a name that I kind of picked on a whim, and it has taken me many places through the grace of God. It is quite the attention getter. And I never meant to be a. Flashy or showy person, you know, but people love it and it's a great conversation starter, so that helps. I grew up not allowed to talk. To people in a very closed home.

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So it's nice to have this name that draws people in for those days where I'm kind of back in My roots of being introverted and scared to talk to people.

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So thanks for sharing that.

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I'm glad to get inside the mystery.

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You have had a very eclectic life and you have a background, a traumatic childhood. You've gone through a lot of abuse, religious abuse, although I know you're a very spiritual person yourself.

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And then you joined the military. And I want to hear more about. That because I know you had a. Very high stress position in the military. So why don't you share a little bit about your background and let us know how you got to doing the podcast that you're doing now and for. Sure we'll do a 30,000 foot overview because it is a lot. You know, when I was writing my memoir, I was. It was hundreds of pages so far. So it is. I've lived a lot of life in. A very short time. There have been crazy things that have happened to me. It's like I such a compact, you know, person of just these crazy tales and, you know, to kind of just give you. I love sharing this example, to really capture the contrast of my childhood, which is I had operated most of the inside of a submarine before I had ever used a stove. Because when I was growing up, a. Stove was considered too dangerous.

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And my friends and I had a home together off the submarine base there. And they were like, you know, Mr. Whiskey, can you turn on the stove for us? We're cooking dinner. And I was just like, I don't know how. They're like, you were in charge of, you know, xyz, amount of kilowatts of energy and radioactive material and steam demand and this and that on a submarine, but you don't know how to use a stove. I was like, no. So that shows you, you know, my dad was a police officer for 25 years before that. He was very criminal by nature and. Still is to this day and gets in trouble every day, every day getting phone calls and texts from him or cops. But yeah, he was afraid of the. World in some degree. And he as a police officer and with a criminal mindset, he knew the worst of what was out there. And he was really protective of his kids. And he also had a fear of. His children growing up, which I think. Is relevant to the show, which is, you know, some parents are afraid to lose their authority. That comes with being a parent or a grandparent. They're afraid of their kids becoming adults or teenagers and making stupid decisions, which we're going to do anyway. You know, it's inevitable. Even, even adults and grandparents sometimes mess. Up I mean, that's what being a human is. But he just wanted us also because he loved having the fun without the responsibility.

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So, babies, toddlers, puppies, Right. Because once a dog got to that point where it wasn't just play time, it was, we gotta crap and walk and do this, and you gotta take me to the groomers. Then he got. He would get rid of the dog. And just get a new one. I saw maybe 50 or more dogs. Come in and out of my life. My mom was a dog breeder and trainer. And, you know, she.

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She plays a role into all this as well. Her and my father had a very bad marriage. She had broken her whole skull open. Half her face is made out of metal plates because of some domestic abuse there. And control, there was manipulation, narcissism, gaslighting. And this is really important because you asked, why did I go into the military? Well, I've always been very patriotic, and to this day, I am very patriotic. I just knew that the military lifestyle wasn't for me. And I have great respect for men and women out there, but I always just knew in my heart, I was like, that's not me.

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I don't think it is. But my parents, when I was 17, made me join. This was around the same time Covid was just first happening. So the working world was shut down. College wasn't an option. They said community college was for minorities in the scum of the earth, and I was not allowed there. And I'd. You know. So they really pushed for the military. Originally, it was Air Force Day. Before I shipped out, they changed the job I was going to do on me and said, oh, the job you wanted to do? Photojournalism is taken. So we're going to make you a. Crypto linguist, learn another language, spend 14. Hours a day in a plane.

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Said, I'm not doing that. And so then I. I had a sour taste in my mouth for the military. I was like, see, I knew it was going to be like this. And my mom's like, no, no, no. Go to the Navy.

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We went to a Navy recruiting office. Worst experience of my life. I said, never.

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She took me to a different one because she was that set on it. And they were pretty good at not being honest and true. Like the first. The first recruiting office, it was dim, it was depressed. The people were jerks. They were very accurate. The second one, everyone's happy. There's pizza, there's Netflix. Not a sponsor. And they're just party. And they're like, welcome. The Navy's A huge party. And so I'm going to go for photojournalism.

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They say I can't do it. So I said, all right, I'm going for underwater welding. Eventually I took the AS rather like. Hey, you're a pretty smart kid. Why don't you do a nuclear operations? And so I became a nuke. And then I ended up with a couple of nukes, which is a play. On words to my show. Which is a couple of nukes, right?

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Yes. Yeah. So I can go further or if you have anything to say, I don't want to ramble on too much. Tell us how. Well, we have similar childhood. I was on my own very young, in quite an adventure that got me in a lot of trouble. But it also, in the end, because I was pretty smart, you know, pretty. Pretty logical.

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The lessons that I learned early on made me grow up real early. So in some ways, I mean, I don't regret my past. You don't have regrets about your past, do you?

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You know, that is something I struggle with. So I've been on a couple of. Shows that are faith based, talking about forgiveness.

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And I've forgiven my father. You know, it was a bit easier because even though my father committed more. Evil in the long run, the bigger. Picture, he had alcoholism. I mean, he was hospitalized with 20 times the lethal amount of alcohol to kill a human being. He's a miracle case. And he's still alive. His body is quite regenerative. I'll say his liver is a miracle. And just his body in general, every time he's been in an accident to die or something, he's just like unscathed. And he. He calls himself God's elect. And we won't get into that. That's the whole religious piece. There's a lot of. That's a rabbit hole of his own. But, you know, he had brain damage. From alcoholism, from drug use, all this and that. And at the end of the day, despite all that, my father still loved me in his own twisted way. And you know, my mother, I've yet to forgive her. And I'm really struggling with that. Because she was sober, right? I mean, she was a normal woman, relatively. Sure, her life was pretty hectic. But there's a lot of stuff that happened that was also her fault in her doing and including the stuff that happened in the relationship with my father. And she also really always said she would never make us the middle person between her and my dad or make us choose a parent.

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I was the middleman, the messenger constantly. And it Tore my family apart. It ruined my life, ruined my relationship with my father and my mother. And she also just like encouraged everyone to hate my father. The thing is, I'll give you an example. My birthday this past June, my father. Was drunk and high and fist fighting. People in Atlantic City.

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Not the nicest place in America. It's in New Jersey, so that tells you everything you need to know. It's also a gambling city at the Jersey Shore, so.

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And he called me seven times for my birthday. My mom never called me, send me a text. And so my mom has always played.

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Favorites with her children and this and that. So it's hard. And there are things she's said to. Me that, you know, I was writing about in my faith based book and my memoir that are just unspeakable. I can't even repeat them. It's just things you should never say to a child, especially your child or to people in general. But. So I've had trouble, but I don't regret it because one, I am a faith based person. I am a believer. So I know that everything happens for a reason. Like you said, the life I live now is very unique and I have learned a lot. You know, being in a closed home and then going to the military. Military is already a culture shock to normal social people. To an outcasted kid like myself at 17, it was a very, very different world. And my dad and mom not only kept me in such a closed bubble. But they also had very skewed views of everything. I mean, there's a lot that they said that was just completely wrong. And to this day, I still battle with them over things because their minds are just so warped around things. But like you said, it forced me to grow up a lot. You know, people were surprised that I run my own company and people I. Have guests on my show who are just amazed by my intellect. But it's because, I mean, I was forced to. I never had a childhood. I've been an adult since I was. You know, probably eight or nine. Same with you. You know, because even though I grew up in a home where I couldn't think independently, you know, I think something of that rebellioness against your parents.

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You start thinking and as soon as you get out, it's like, now who am I going to be? And the military doesn't really have a place for that. You know, the military kind of assigns you a position and identity and you can. There's only so much you can do. But after that, when I became a podcaster, I mean, I Love what I do every. I feel like I'm. And I don't, I don't like to brag, but I feel super intelligent because every day I sit down with experts from all fields. My show covers finances, real estate, mental health, physical fitness. Every day I'm recording sometimes 10 hours. A day with millionaires, with billionaires, with. Small time celebrities, some big time celebrities, with normal people, with everyday people who have found great success, people who have found joy, people who have found happiness. People who have found family, people who have overcome traumatic experiences. And every day I get to pick their brains about this stuff for free. And you know, just educate myself and learn. So through that eclectic nature, serves you right. Well, and that's what I love is, you know, I always say there's so many mediums we can tap into in this world, even just like expressing ourselves. There are so many different forms of. Artwork and creativity, from steel sculptures to. Painting to interpretive dance that, you know, I think it's very important for people, since we're all going to be a mentor and a leader in some way, to master as many forms of communication. As we can to reach as many. People as we can. So when you talk about that, I totally agree. Which part of grandparents in your life at all? Not really. I have one pair of. Well, my grandmother's death is what really changed everything in my life. She passed away the same time my.

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Dad retired police officers, firefighters, you know, law enforcement, military already have about a two year window of before mortality if they don't adjust their lives after retirement. To couple my grandmother's death on my father's side with his retirement. And he had an uncanny super close relationship with his mother. I mean he thought she was a goddess, that she would never die. He thought that she was queen of the world and that she had put him in charge of the whole world. And it really messed everything up and tore the family apart because you know, my aunts, I still despise them to this day for this as my grandmother was still alive but dying in her hospital bed in her home. They went through her stuff, started stealing stuff, started taking stuff ahead of time and I could never forgive them for that.

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Yeah, after she passed away and I was only 13, going on 14 at the time, I mean that left me with just my grandparents on my mother's side. My grandmother is my stepmom to my mom. So there's already, already. And it wasn't like a we love you, it's great. It was a bad relationship. Now my relationship with my grandparents exists Independently of my parents, which is great. Sometimes we get into disputes over my mom. My grandmother is usually on my side.

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My grandfather, her father usually isn't.

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But it's nice to have that independent relationship. They're part of the only family I.

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Have left that isn't involved with soul trauma and chaos. But I only see them maybe twice a year, sometimes three times a year.

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But it is refreshing. But I do wish I had grandparents in a family. I mean, growing up, all I could think is, in the movies, in the television shows, everyone has four grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.

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Everyone gets together for the holidays. Everyone's in love. And I never had any of that. You know, even my. My grandma and her side of the family on my dad's side was chaotic. To say the least. So who were the great mentors in your life? What do you attribute your success to?

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Or. Those are two separate questions. Well, as far as mentorship, I mean, that was something I didn't really get. Until the past few months when I. Joined the podcasting world. I mean, in the military, I did have one great leader, and to this day, I thank him.

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And I did have a good captain on my ship. There's some conflictions there with other stuff, but, I mean, I had just a few great leaders, mostly bad ones. But even then, I was still in this bubble of the military, you know, the base, and especially during COVID I mean, the first year I was in. The service, we couldn't even leave base, really. And then there were so many restrictions. And then after they opened up, I kind of was still spending most of the time in my room or hanging out with my friends, but we didn't really meet people. And then when I got out, I. Went blue collar industry. I was working on a chemical plant for rotating shift work 12 hours a day. Had one supervisor and, like, three or four other people in charge of me. And they had the mindset that because they had been there for 30 years, they had seen everything, knew everything under the sun, and that they had this. Very biasing against my generation. And anytime something was wrong, it was, your generation is lazy. They don't want to work. You're liars. You're stupid. You know this and that. So I didn't have any good mentorship there. When I went to PodFest, which was God's doing, because I got handpicked from. Buzzsprout for them to pay for me. To go, I had never even heard of it. And you know that I had talked to God, I said, not going to a Podcast conference. That's crazy. That exists.

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But if this is the life for. Me, then please take me there. Next day, I got picked and they paid for me to go. I met more people in a day. At Podfest in my entire life. I mean, there was over 3,000 people there. It was. It was almost overwhelming. But I found great people. I mean, a loving community. And through that, I found mentors. I do have a mentor, Johnny T, host of Refuge Freedom Stories Plug out for him. He. He's a great guy and he really has mentored me in my faith because I was living as a believer, but not as a true believer. And he's helped me with a lot. Of my actions and words and behavior. And studying the Word. And we meet once or more a week, and he's introduced me to some great people. But as far as grandparents, I do want to mention a big theme of my show in my life is family outside of blood. And I have elderly neighbors I take care of. They're in between 60 and 80.

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And I go over and see them. Maybe once a day. I take them to the hospital. I'm with them through their surgeries. They, you know, bake me dinner, bring. Me food, I bring them desserts.

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So I have found a pair of grandparents right here where I live. And it was just through being a friendly neighbor. And so just.

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I do want to say for anyone out there who's, you know, because oftentimes. There'S plenty of people who grow up. And they don't have grandparents or their. Grandparents pass away when they're young. And I get that. And, you know, I always felt like I was missing out. But there are plenty of grandparents out there who, their kids have grown up or they don't see their grandchildren often, and they're more than happy to adopt. You, just as I've been adopted. So I think that's great to find.

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Family outside of family. And that can be through mentorship or. It can just be through your neighbors or the community. Did you ever believe in your life that with all the challenges you had, that God had a plan for you? You know, I credit my life still being here to this day to God, because when I was 16, 17ish, I think was junior year of high school.

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Now I've been suicidal at many points in my life, from, from high school to the military to. Even afterward. My most major, like the time I was really going to do it, I remember I was going to go to my favorite spot on this beach at sunrise and take my life bleed out. Into the sand and watch the sunrise.

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It was very poetic in my mind. As us writers and artists and podcasters, we got twisted minds when it comes to poetic beauty. But that was my favorite spot. That was my safe space. Like, the beach was everything to me, and so that's where I wanted to go. And, you know, it had gotten to the point where my faith had always kept me from taking my own life because, you know, this fear of hell, what happens? And it got to a point of brokenness. And this was long before I was really, you know, I don't want to say tight with God, but, you know, before him and I were really, you know, a father, son pair like we are now, you know. So it got to the point where I was like, I'm going to take my life. And I remember the morning I went to do it, I went to go to that beach, started pouring rain, and I hate the rain, and God knows that.

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And I've always credited to God stopping me, because, I mean, that's what stopped me. And then I said, all right, maybe. Maybe he has something else in mind. And then it was just more and more trauma, but I pushed through it. And I remember thinking that I felt in my heart, you know, because I was so confused. God, I was never a military person. I love this country. I would die saving others. There's no greater love than that. But this structure, this rank, justifies everything.

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This authoritative, controlling climate, just like home, is not what I wanted. And at some point, I remember saying to myself, Mr. Whiskey, what if God doesn't intend for you to be a nuclear operator, but he tends to take you through the program and the service to a certain. Point, to meet certain people and learn certain things. And I truly believe to this day that's what it was. Because the people I met changed my life and my show and what I'm. Doing now all stems from that, from. A conversation that was held on the ship. And I think back on life. And the older I get, and the older everyone gets, I think the easier. It is to believe in God, because. While you experience more awful things, there's so many more things lining up that you're just seeing. I feel like life is a puzzle and that's being built day by day.

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And as you get older, you can look back and see more and more of the image. You're like, wow, look at all those pieces lined up. So I know that's really helped me. Writing has also really helped me. Looking at God through the eye of. An author and us as a story. Has really helped me because we live word by word, chapter by chapter.

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But as an author, when I'm writing and, you know, readers are like, why is this happening? I'm like, well, because XYZ is going. To happen in this chapter, and ABC. Is going to happen in that chapter. And I realized that's.

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That's what life is with God. And so looking back at it, I. Do think he has a plan for me.

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And I found the most success with my show when I offered it up to the Lord. And I said, God, I don't know. Who needs to hear this when they. Need to hear it, but you transcend space and time. You get this to the right people at the right time. And I. I've had downloads every day since I have had people writing in, and I, you know, it's great. I always just say, lord, use me. And my show as a vessel to serve your people.

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Because I think the only two purposes in my life, one is to serve. And glorify God, and second is to. Help people that they might learn of love and mercy and forgiveness and all that.

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And that's why you talked. You mentioned earlier, ringing all the way. Back to the beginning about, do I have any regrets over the trauma in my life? And I wish I didn't go through it, but I am glad that I did in the sense that I know that it has enabled me to do so much. And I do believe it was for a reason. And so sometimes it's a struggle, you know, do I forgive my mom or not? Because it's like, well, God needed me to go through X, Y, and Z. But at the same time, you look at, well, XYZ was because of her.

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Sins and this and that. But, you know, it's written that what. The enemy wants to use against us, the Lord will use for us. And that God can use people's sins and sinners to make great things. And I myself am a terrible sinner. And God has done great things through me. And I'm grateful every day that he's. Still using me to this day, because. I've done plenty of. Plenty of awful things.

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Yeah. So if you went back and looked at the beginning of your life in hindsight, and I'm sure you have messages, because I know that you give to young people, because I know that one of your missions is to mentor young adults and others that have faced similar challenges, such as yourself, what advice. What, at your tender young age would you give to young people that are struggling to cope with the abuse, the neglect, the exposure to some Awful things that, you know, we wish young people. Never had to see at a young. Point in their lives, which both you and I have seen. What advice would you give to them? You know, as I was writing my memoir, I realized, and really it was. Reading the Bible end to end for. The first time because unfortunately we live in a world where a lot of people grow up in the church or in a faith based home, but they don't actively read the word, they're told.

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Not taught, they don't have this intellectual curiosity. And I'm very grateful that I've always been intellectually curious. You know, I love researching. You know, if you say xyz, I'm going to research XYZ and make sure what you're saying.

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Because there's plenty of people who have said stuff about the Bible. I'm like, well, let's go look at the source, you know. And so I made a commitment just this past year, year and a half, two years ago, and I said, I'm. Going to read the Bible end to end. You know, I need to do it in order because there is so much. Historical context that really creates messages that. You would miss otherwise, which originally I was a Bible hopper, like most people, you know, I was, I actually started the Bible at Revelation, but I think a lot of people would do that. And then I went back, went through it all. I realized reading through that, that whether you're religious or not, the Bible is. A book of wisdom, ultimate wisdom. And there are so many stories in. There, analogies, lessons that I said, man, that would have prevented me from doing. This, this and that, or I would. Have double thought this, this or that.

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And I realized, I said, wow, if I could give any advice to the young folk, it would be to read the Bible end to end and to always educate yourself. We live in a day and age where we have access to more information than anyone. And I watched this tournament not too. Long ago, a couple of weeks ago, where the pastor went over the. He turned it into, you know, like gigabyte quantities of how much information the. Average person down, you know, downloads into. Themselves each day and this and that, and it's, it's amazing.

00:30:56.855 --> 00:31:08.047
And I realized that I always want to continue learning every day to be the best possible version of myself so that I can help more people.

00:31:08.230 --> 00:31:59.957
I think just like I said, it's important to master different forms of communication from comedic approaches to serious approaches. I've talked on my show how to. Address children's suicide with your children by. Creating a certain type of environment. I think it's just as important to be knowledgeable in a lot of different fields. And that might be. They say, you know, have a mile. Worth of knowledge an inch deep rather. Than inch wide, a mile deep of knowledge, you know, which most of us have on in certain degrees. But you never know who you can reach through some different topic or subject. So I think it's so important, and I think that the Bible is a. Very important book of wisdom to start. With because there are a lot of lessons about life. And there, I mean, the book of Proverbs and in Ecclesiastes, I mean, in. Psalms, it gives warnings of young men.

00:32:00.020 --> 00:32:21.060
You know, if you do this, this. And this, this will happen. And if you do this, this and this, that will happen. I always say it's kind of like studying the driver's ed book, you know, before you go out and drive a car. When I tried to explain how I felt about faith with my son. These are directions for life.

00:32:21.252 --> 00:32:53.204
And if you practice them, really God's just trying to save us from a lot of hassle. And me, I was always one of those people had to test everything out because I didn't believe the people that raised me right, because everything they told me really wasn't true. So I'd have to go out and test everything. If you don't stop at a stop sign and you're driving a car, there's a 50, 50 chance you're going to hit another car and you may live, die. I believe the Bible is the same way. That's what got me to read it.

00:32:53.904 --> 00:33:34.494
I was like, this many people have read it, and if this has been that important book of a book in history, I probably ought to read it for sure. I'm at the point now I'm trying to learn Greek and Hebrew to read its original, you know, translations, because they have a lot more power to them. But what I'm saying, Aramaic. Okay, okay. Have you, have you ever read Aramaic? I have. Not that I know of. Well, I love to sing. And I used to write music same. I grew up playing violin. I played piano and I played violin. I decided that I would sing the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic.

00:33:35.315 --> 00:33:47.010
So I went on to YouTube and the words. It's a very beautiful language. It's a very rhythmic language. A very. A language.

00:33:47.042 --> 00:34:50.407
You want to sing. And I think that music originally was intended to be a spiritual thing. Amen. Yeah, anyway, you gotta. You gotta try singing, try reading Aramaic sometime. Oh, yeah, no, I think music, I. I love music. I'm trying to become a singer. And I, you know, I've had some friends who are like, oh, it's just music. But I'm like, music is one of the few things that can forcibly change people's emotions, that can trigger memories or feelings. You could be having the best day of your life, and you hear a song that it's, you know, reminds you. Of something sad or somber, and you. Could just break down weeping. Or you could be having the worst day of your life and you hear that one special song, you're like, I feel better. Or you could be tired and you got your hype song. I mean, music is so powerful and emotional, and I thank God all the. Time for it because, I mean, it. Has grown so much. I mean, I always say this. We are a creator's creators. You know, like, God is a creator. We made in his image. And I think the greatest thing is. That every human is capable of creativity. And we have so many people who are like, I can't.

00:34:50.456 --> 00:35:08.503
I can't paint, you know, for xyz, and I can't sing for this and that. But as I mentioned in the beginning of the episode, there are so many forms of creativity out there that you couldn't even imagine. You could never get tired of trying. New things to do. I said, even gardening is a form of creativity.

00:35:08.543 --> 00:35:18.614
How you arrange the plants and how you can make stuff out of it. I said, you see these shows? People are baking realistic cakes. I said, there. You know, from there, I have. I live near an art school.

00:35:19.155 --> 00:35:37.891
Good mechanics are artists. Yeah. And I was gonna say, I have like 25 different containers of different types of pencils in my house, from. From charcoal to Prismacolor to this to that. I said, even just with pencils, I have so many different forms to try out. So I also encourage.

00:35:38.003 --> 00:36:41.144
My other advice would be learning to express yourself and vent out those negative. Emotions through some creative form. For me, I love poetry, I love song lyric writing and just a fictional writing. But for you, ladies and gentlemen, it. Might be one of the things I said. It might be something different. Like I said, even making steel sculptures, carving wood. I mean, there's so many different forms. Of creativity, and they're all forms of expression that you can use to. Maybe you need to express the positive. Stuff to feel better. Maybe you need to express the negative. Stuff and get it out of you. But I think communication, knowledge, and creativity are the three pivotal things in your life that all work with one another and will help you reach others and be yourself. I always tell the kids that I work with, I've been a volunteer in the schools since my children were young. And it's probably something a lot of parents don't want to hear. But I encourage people to be seekers, to be curious.

00:36:41.644 --> 00:37:37.585
I believe that as parents, that we should draw boundaries, firm boundaries, give firm advice, but that we can't control or. Expect to control everything our children do. There are consequences for everything that we do. And if I could go back and say, wow, you know, this was a waste of my time, time. There's so many powerful things we can do in this world and there is so much to be creative with in so many different ways. But being a seeker and a researcher. And I am one as well, there's so much out there and so many opportunities. And it's when we limit ourselves that we are not able to be a tool for an incredible higher power. Then we can do things that we're not capable of on our own.

00:37:38.405 --> 00:38:07.702
And I think that that's when life really gets to be fun, when you get to that point of understanding what faith really is for sure. And I think you talked about, you kind of mentioned there multitasking. And I think that's so important too, because you can be creative while learning. You know, we live in a day and age where you can get information and listen to it, watch it, read it, have it read to you. I mean, pretty much anywhere. And I highly suggest you take a.

00:38:07.719 --> 00:39:02.425
Break every now and then. But if you're going for walks or you're cleaning around the house, that's what I do now. I mean, I listened to my own episodes about three times because I record them, then I edit them. And so my show is always playing in my house, but I also listen to other people's shows. And when I'm walking my dog or clean around the house or driving, I think, I mean, I'll put it simply, and I'm not the originator of this, but if you have time to scroll on social media, you have time to be learning. I mean, it's very simple. People want to just fall into this pit of liking funny content online, which I think, hey, I mean, there's a time and place for that. But you could also be scrolling through and learning stuff and fact check everything, please. Because I've read a lot of things on social media that I was like, wow, this is, I never knew this. This is cool. And then I don't believe anything until I research it myself.

00:39:03.085 --> 00:39:40.217
It's a whole lot more fun than doing drugs. And it's healthier for your body. Yeah, for sure. And the best part is too that learning and creativity is self serving and. Self therapeutic, but it also serves others. Whether that's people are inspired by your artwork in whatever form or you're able to communicate with them and share the knowledge or help them express themselves through some form of creativity. I think if you're going to heal yourself, you can do it in a way that helps others as well as yourself. That's the most beneficial thing to humanity is us all helping ourselves and each.

00:39:40.240 --> 00:39:55.065
Other at the same time. The more I've let go of my ego and my own self serving interests and served others, the more amazing things have happened to me in my life. Amen.

00:39:56.085 --> 00:40:03.025
Yeah, well, I know that we could go off on a million tangents together. Mr. Wilson.

00:40:03.764 --> 00:40:07.224
Tell me your first name again. Well.

00:40:08.025 --> 00:40:11.565
Oh, you haven't told me. You haven't told anyone.

00:40:11.905 --> 00:40:22.313
Well, I announced it recently. I was waiting for my memoir was supposed to be this grand reveal that combined my two lives and it was going to be two authors, which was going to be Mr.

00:40:22.369 --> 00:40:29.724
Whiskey and then my real name. But with the podcasters cruise coming up, I knew that there was going to be.

00:40:30.105 --> 00:40:54.420
I couldn't keep the hat on at all times, you know, which was kind of what kept my identity anonymous was the hat. I used to wear sunglasses too on the show, but I knew with the cruise I was gonna have to take the hat off at some point. And with passports and IDs and stuff, with this cruise staff, I knew that my real identity would be out there. So it lined up where right before. The cruise, it was the season five. Premiere of my show. Season five.

00:40:54.612 --> 00:42:05.083
The episode was called the Truth About Mr. Whiskey. And I shared my origin story and. How I ended up becoming Mr. Whiskey. And I didn't get too much into it, but the different lives they live. And then I ended up revealing my first name. But I've also had a fake first. Name as long as I've been Mr. Whiskey because Facebook wouldn't take Mr. As a first name. So there is Mark Whiskey out there. But Facebook wouldn't accept Whiskey as a last name. So there's a Mark Whiskey out there on Facebook. And I've had plenty of people call me Mark. And it's funny because it catches me off guard, but at the same time, when I hear that name I like, I was on the cruise and there was another guy named Mark and they kept saying Mark. I kept turning my head because I've. Because my two lives are so real and even though they're Combined. Now, it's like you could say Mr. Whiskey or you could say my real name, but my real first name is something I don't really respond to because I was in the military, so I always got called my last name. Oh, right. And then most people call me Mr. Whiskey. Even my friends and my adopted grandparents and everything, they all call me Mr. Whiskey, kind of as a.

00:42:05.219 --> 00:42:37.675
As a joke or to be funny. So my real first name is like, that's like the intimate lover, and that's the only person who calls me that. And maybe, you know, if I have to put my name down somewhere in public, but it's either Whiskey or Hennessy. It's just funny. Leave it a mystery, because I want our listeners to follow your podcast. And when I get off the air, maybe you'll share with me. I might be inclined to share with. You my new adopted grandmother. I appreciate you. I would love to be your new adopted grandmother.

00:42:38.295 --> 00:44:20.186
Awesome. Cool. Well, I know that comedy is also a big part of your life. And for me, one of the great things that's made my job as a parent and a grandparent to two children with learning and behavioral disorders and a lot of trauma, I've discovered that humor, the levity that it gives me in this situation, helping my family laugh more and getting lighter about things has made my job easier and brought our family together more. Tell us about the comedic part of your career. Yeah. So that was unexpected. It really started in the military. I don't smoke, but there was a smoke pit that a lot of sailors would go to to skip out on work. And it was mostly a lot of people with medical issues, a lot of people really depressed or suicidal. And I would go and I would just storytell and tell jokes or horror stories in my dating life, and which were funny now. Now to me, always to everyone else. And I would just tell a lot of jokes in a variety of different humors depending on, you know, the people around. And it was a way to connect with people. There are certain people that, especially if they're feeling suicidal, depressed, that they're not. Going to open up. But humor can be a way to. Break down those walls of protection and security. It can be a way to create familiarity with someone that you don't know. And I talked before about the importance. Of communication and mastering different forms in. Comedy is a type of communication that not everyone gets.

00:44:20.331 --> 00:44:24.050
And, you know, it's important to blend.

00:44:24.242 --> 00:44:27.987
Humor, transparency, honesty, and sensitivity. Right.

00:44:28.050 --> 00:44:31.827
Especially when you're talking, especially nowadays. But in general, there.

00:44:31.891 --> 00:46:29.469
There are people who just aren't responsive to it that people won't understand. One of my. My most recent comedy performance is on. My YouTube if you want to check it out. It's my Podcasters Cruise comedy skit making fun of the Navy. But yeah, it's. I think it's important. So the reason I started doing stand up, I mean, originally it was just because I was offered a platform to get on stage and, and tell jokes and stuff. And I said, wow, I'm at podfest doing all kinds of crazy stuff I never thought I'd do. We might as well, let's keep. Keep it going. I went on stage. I, I still can't believe I did that because that was my first time. Meeting other people really, and talking and. Socializing and, and I was already overwhelmed. And I can't believe I got on stage and had never really done actual comedy before other than just storytelling. Which three minutes stand up isn't a storytelling platform? You know, I'm more of a 10 to 30 minute kind of comedian. This was three minutes. So I was like, oh man, I gotta, like, I was shaking. And even at my, at the Podcasters. Cruise when I performed, I mean, my. Legs were shaking the whole time because it was only my second time performing just because I, I've been so busy and I definitely am not going to. Perform in my hometown. There's no honor for a profit in his hometown. So I got to drive out to Florida or Alabama and do some standup sometime. But for me, the reason I'm still. Pursuing it is one, to generate more public presence to redirect people to my. Show to get help or to build. That relationship where they're like, you know, we really like this guy. He's funny. We like his personality. Oh, he gives out, you know, mental health advice and mentors young adults maybe. Let's listen to what he has to say. So it is a redirection ploy on one term, which at the same time is to further perfect different styles of storytelling and comedy to better communicate with people and each skip.

00:46:29.516 --> 00:46:56.862
Being about a different topic is great too, because my last one was military. Centric and crew centric. So I might get military people coming up and saying, hey, I liked what you talked about this. And then we start a conversation and. End up talking about military suicide or. What they've been through. Whereas next time I might do a. Faith based segment and someone's going to. Say, I really appreciate what you said. You know, I grew up in a church where they did X, Y and. Z and starts a conversation. So I think it's a way of connecting one another.

00:46:57.039 --> 00:47:19.016
And I think it's great with children, especially because when I talked earlier about people being guarded and protected and when. It comes to children want to talk. About their emotions, especially big emotions like depression and suicidal ideation or what's going on in their life, you might have to use humor to create a non. Disciplinary kind of tone.

00:47:19.121 --> 00:47:26.704
Because a lot of times when we go to talk to our children about something, it just comes off as disciplinary. We're taller, we have authority over them.

00:47:26.824 --> 00:47:34.449
And that's why I talk about, I always talk about, you know, the car. And creating an intimate yet distant space.

00:47:34.577 --> 00:48:46.824
Whereas a lot of parents and grandparents go straight to the sitting on the bed or the couch and it comes off as disciplinary despite our intention. But if you're doing that approach, humor could help break that down. Or just as a casualty response, you know, if your kids are crying and you know, if they don't, if they for some reason don't want to just go get ice cream every time they cry, which is a good fix, it might be humor. So I highly encourage it, like I said, as a form of connecting with others that you may not already have. And look, you don't have to be the funniest person in the world. Humor comes in such a variety. And let's be honest, I mean, as a grandmother, I'm sure, you know, little kids are probably the easiest to entertain. You just say the word. Part of my friends, you say poop and they start laughing or, you know, they, they're pretty easy to entertain. They find things, they find, most of them. We forget that though, because we become. Too serious sometimes as adults. And yeah, I forgot how much I enjoyed being a child because like you. I really never had a childhood. And the best fun I have is when I get to act like a kid with my own children. Oh yeah, I just had an episode.

00:48:46.945 --> 00:49:25.813
Implementing childlike joy into your adulthood because. We, we lose it. You know, joy changes over time and we kind of perceive things differently. You know, the example was as a kid, you splash around in a puddle, you're happy. As an adult you're like, oh, I. Gotta wash my clothes and this is gross. But sometimes you just need to jump around in a puddle and have fun. I think it's important to, especially as a parent or a grandparent to forget about what you think about yourself. I mean, part of comedy is making fun of yourself or not caring what others think. And I think, I think that's important when you're trying to Connect with your. Kids especially, or your grandkids. It's like, forget what everyone else thinks.

00:49:25.869 --> 00:49:28.344
You connect with them. That's what's important.

00:49:29.804 --> 00:49:56.206
Good advice. I just want to bless you and all the work you're doing and being the eclectic person that you are. Obviously, God made you that way. I felt cursed for a long time, really, until recently. Me too. That I had had such an eclectic career. And then I realized that God doesn't make mistakes. In fact, my granddaughter and I were driving to church yesterday and she's struggling with a lot right now.

00:49:56.231 --> 00:50:21.625
Her mom's back in jail. And in the conversation, she said, you. Know, sometimes I wish I was never born. And I said, you know, I want to tell you something. I felt that way for a long time. And then I realized that God doesn't make mistakes. And I said, God made you the. Way you are for a reason. And that doesn't mean you're not going. To have your challenges.

00:50:21.965 --> 00:50:39.585
But we were created especially in God's eyes. And so I just think that you're another amazing person out there and I'm looking forward to listening more. Would you share with the audience? Also, you must have a website.

00:50:40.784 --> 00:50:44.445
Oh, yes. And the podcast information give them everything they need to know.

00:50:44.985 --> 00:50:59.284
Yeah, if you just look up Cupo. O apostrophe couple nukes. And it's because I was a nuclear operator and we're called nukes. So it's not about weapons and mass destruction. It is a comedy slash life advice, mainly life advice.

00:50:59.625 --> 00:51:03.336
And it covers all aspects of life, whatever you need to fix your mental.

00:51:03.360 --> 00:53:11.889
Health or vice versa, because everything's connected. So your finances, real estate, physical fitness, your joy, your happiness, your sleeping, your. You know, we go into everything on my show. We cover so many different aspects and it's because life is very broad and so many things in life can affect your mental health and vice versa. So my show is just for anyone to go there and have access to resources to improve their life. And if you just look up a couple of nukes, it's pretty unique. So my website pops right up. The show pops right up. No pictures of me yet. And you might if you had to go to the images tab. But we're getting to the point. Hopefully there will be some handsome pictures of me right on the front page of Google. But for the time being, you know, my website is right there. My show is right there. It's available on 17 different platforms, you. Know, Apple, podcasts, YouTube. But if you just look up couple of nukes, if you look up couple of nukes, Mr. Whiskey, to be double down safe. You. You'll find it. And I highly encourage my website as. As a resource because it has every episode for my show categorized into different sections. So if you're. If you want to focus on something specific, there's a fitness section, there's an. Addiction recovery section, there's a real estate. There'S finances, there's faith based, there's career, there's mental health. Right. I also have every guest in all. Of their links and their picture on a page. I have, you know, all the ways to contact me. I have every event I've been to. Every show I've been on. So I've tried to make my website. Just this huge resource hub for y'all. To find what you need. And a page of all the discounts and special offers for my guests for just my nukelings. I got to come up with a. Better name than that. But my listeners, you know, so if y'all want to check out those discounts and freebies as well, I mean, those are there for y'all as well because you're here listening to me on this. Amazing show if you're a wonderful host. So feel free to check out my. Website and find something to help you or to help someone. You know, I always encourage you all to share. The best thing we can do is look out for one another, check up on one another, and send resources to one another. Even if people aren't asking.

00:53:12.016 --> 00:53:36.322
You shouldn't wait for people to ask you to help them. You should go out of your way to make sure they're okay because there's been a lot of people who didn't. Ask for help, and they're no longer here. I will share that information in the show notes, too. Well, thank you, Mr. Whiskey. We'll be talking again soon, for sure. Thank you so much for hosting me. I really appreciate the platform you have set up here.

00:53:36.498 --> 00:53:43.494
Thanks for joining us today for another episode of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Nurturing Through Adversity.

00:53:44.114 --> 00:54:13.244
I encourage you to share both your challenges and your successes with us. Your story is undoubtedly one someone else needs to hear. Submit your stories to the links provided in the podcast information. Your contributions will enrich upcoming conversations, creating a more supportive community in which we can learn and grow together. Have you ever heard or known of someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder?

00:54:13.864 --> 00:54:35.135
Did you know it was once thought to be merely a chemical imbalance? What are the myths and realities surrounding this condition and how does it impact family dynamics? Next week, join me as I interview Michelle Redinger. A remarkable woman who has broken free from the limitations of her bipolar diagnosis.

00:54:35.554 --> 00:55:17.985
Michelle will share her journey and powerful. Insights offering families navigating these complex dynamics. New Hope Tune in for a compelling. Discussion that champions change and provides valuable. Guidance for families on similar journeys. Thank you for tuning in to grandparents, raising grandchildren, nurturing through adversity. Remember, you are not alone. Together we can find strength and hope in the face of adversity. Peace be with you. And I pray that you find some time this week to listen to your inner wisdom amongst the noise and the pandemonium of this world.