Stories from the Center of the Universe

BBQ Gives Back KCBS master and backyard contests were held in Urbanna, VA at the Bethpage Camp Resort March 24th-26th. We were fortunate enough to chat with four professional teams through their pit masters thanks to Bill Jones. Check it out!

Helen Emerson is the co-owner of Rosie Connolly’s Pub in Richmond, Virginia. Born in England, Helen moved to the United States when she was 8 years old. She talked to Paul about leaving a big family, the move itself and the culture shock once they got to the U.S.A. They discussed the Pub, horses and her families … her actual family and her Pub family.

Lily Cameron was born in Iran, but moved to the U.S. when she was very young. Paul and Lily talked about her family’s emergency exit from Iran during some tumultuous times. They discussed her education, career path and the amazing volunteer work she does in the community.

Bill Jones, aka BBQ Bill, joins Paul and Kevin on the podcast and they covered a variety of subjects. Bill grew up on a farm in Shortpump “before it was Shortpump”. They talked about Bill’s childhood, softball, his career and being a BBQ cook and judge. He finished by talking about his wife Mary and their son Lee.

Virgil Gray and Paul served together in the Virginia Army National Guard. They talked about how Virgil grew up in two very different places, various experiences they had in the Guard and jobs he had after he retired from the National Guard. Virgil finished by telling Paul about being really retired, his wife Becky, their kids and their five grandchildren.

Theron Potter Bell IV, aka T Bell, and Paul have known each other since 8th grade when Paul started at St. Christopher’s. They talked a lot about baseball and about two tragedies in T Bell’s life and how he made it through them. They also talked about his family and some changes he has made in his life over the last few months.

Mary Crutchfield has led a “varied” life. Mary is from Trenton, New Jersey, but from about age eight until twenty-one, she was living all over the world. Her parents were missionaries and Mary and her family lived in Kenya, Tanzania and the Philippines. Paul and Mary discussed her life abroad including her education and the fact that she had Malaria seventeen times! Mary moved back to the United S...

The podcast went on the road (with a special guest) to Charlottesville, Va. this week to talk to Margie Howell. Margie grew up on a dairy and beef farm in Bedford County, Va. near the area that is now best known for Smith Mountain Lake. She had typhoid fever when she was 10 and admittedly said was lucky to have survived. She attended Mary Washington and UVA and received a Bachelor of Science in Nu...

Rob Owens has known the occasional cohost Kevin Flippen for 30 years and also knows Paul from working together. Rob and Kevin met playing pick up basketball and now share a passion for the game of golf. Rob grew up in northern Virginia and played the three major sports. They discussed the positions he played in high school and how he almost tried out for the Hampton University basketball team. The...

Skyler Allen joins the podcast via a connection with Kenny Wingle (Episode 79). Skyler grew up in Hanover County and said his Mom’s side of the family has deep roots in Hanover. He played lots of sports growing up, but he knew at an early age that football was his passion, his best sport and that he wanted to play in college. He went to Atlee his freshman year and then went to Fork Union Military...

Paul and Kevin welcome back George Monroe to the podcast. George (Episode 170) joined the first time to tell his story and returns to tell the story of his family history. Paul started with a question of when George started to understand and question his family’s history. George said he was young, but that the subject was not discussed very often amongst the adults. Over time, George has become th...

Tim Lilly is a veteran, has a strong faith, loves his family and is in the first phase of retirement. Tim grew up in rural southern West Virginia and then moved to the Huntington area for junior high and high school. He had a great and adventurous time as a kid leaving the house in the morning and coming home when it got dark. Tim told Paul that he decided to walk into a recruiters office one day....

This is Al Lester’s second time on the podcast. He was on Episode #32 with his friend and the Occasional Co-Host, Kevin Flippen. Al was born in Miami and grew up in a military household in Georgia. He had a unique experience through 8th grade while living on the base and then his family moved into town when his dad left the military. Al was a stand out athlete in all three sports, but football bec...

U.S. Marine, Author, FBI Agent, Podcaster and Father … a few of the roles Robin Dreeke has had in his life. Robin grew up as an only child in Carmel, NY. He told Paul that it was a home with low economic status and some addiction, but one that had a lot of love. Robin said he became self-reliant when he started working the summer before middle school. He had fun growing up and told Paul that he en...

Matt Green has done a little bit of walking in his life … Matt Green grew up just outside Ashland, VA and had fun growing up exploring, collecting baseball cards, putting lego sets together and playing wiffle ball. After graduating high school, Matt attended the University of Virginia and earned an engineering degree. Matt worked in northern Virginia and then moved to New York. Matt enjoyed walkin...

Erik Kleinsmith is a former U.S. Army Intelligence Officer and private contractor who has testified in front of Congress. Erik knows Pete A. Turner (Episode 185) and he and Paul started by talking about his career in the United States Army and serving overseas. Erik grew up in Plymouth, Michigan and said it was an idyllic setting for him and his two brothers to grow up in. He told Paul about his m...

Guy Crittenden is a nationally known artist and professional photographer who lives in Richmond, Virginia. Guy grew up in Gloucester, VA on the Ware River. Growing up, the Ware River was the playground for Guy, his family and his friends. Guy said his grandfather was part of the folklore of Gloucester and taught him everything he ever learned about hunting and fishing. When Guy wasn’t in the outdo...

Former NFL player and Washington Commanders Ring of Fame member, Ken Harvey, joins the podcast. Ken Harvey comes to the podcast via a connection with Jock Jones (Episodes 148 & 175) because they played in the NFL together. Paul started off by talking to Ken about his book, Stepping Stones, and growing up in Texas. Ken talked candidly about dropping out of high school, going back and then moving on...

Rob Dull, aka “Silent Rob” & “the Scribe” is on the other side of the microphone for an entire episode. Rob usually helps Paul with the Stories podcast, but he is the one getting interviewed by Paul and Kevin this time. Rob talked about living where Henry Clay was born and then moving to and growing up in Ashland. Paul and Rob talked about the guys they grew up with, some of the games and sports t...

Greg Burton comes to the podcast via a connection with Ross Luck (Episode #172). Greg grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and said his life was pretty much within eight blocks of his house. He walked to school & church, played little league, visited his grandparents and went to see his dad at work in those eight blocks. Greg played sports in high school, but knew he had a passion for and wanted to cov...

Sue Watson, a Center of the Universe icon, joins the podcast to talk to Paul and Rob. Sue was born and grew up in Wilson, N.C and has great memories of her childhood and family, especially going on horse rides with her Dad. Sue started dancing when she was three years old and her love for dance and all things theatrical has continued through out her life. After high school, Sue attended Duke Unive...

Pete A. Turner joins Paul via a connection with Jeff Bloch, aka Speedy Cop (Episode 173). Pete is from and lives in California. He told Paul about his adoptive dad growing up as well as just finding his biological father which has led him to having a whole new family. Pete talked about his interest in a musical instrument he got while growing up and his time in high school. After going to college,...

Audra Becker and Paul used to work together and she admitted that for a while, she was 50/50 on doing the podcast and telling her story. She joins us from Arizona where she was born and raised though she has a lot of family in Pittsburgh. She and Paul discussed how she never knew about daylight savings time until she moved to the Midwest for a while and she also told him what it was like growing u...

Stacie Straus and Acie Wyatt are the first twins to be on the podcast. They are from Ashland and Stacie is still in the area. Acie lives in Charlotte, NC. Paul asked a couple of questions about being twins and then they discussed what sports they each played when they were kids. They then talked about playing sports at Patrick Henry High School (PHHS). Stacie played softball & volleyball and Acie...

Nikhil Brahmbhatt and Paul know each other from working at the same company in the past and they talked about how they first met. Nikhil was born in Kalol, India and grew up in Ahmedabad and was the youngest of four children. Nikhil was a very good student and told Paul about a special skill that helped him a lot in school. While in school, he played cricket, attended cultural activities where he...