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Shouldering the Weight – Finding Meaning by Giving Back – Epi-3397

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Today we welcome J. Carmichael to the show. J. is a singer songwriter in the alt-country/rock genre who has been writing about love, family, God and the decline of the American republic since 2009. He has released multiple independent albums and EPs, toured and opened for a number of larger independent bands and produced other projects for independent artists. After releasing his last full length album Poison in the Wires in 2012 and his first child arriving, he took some time away from the music industry to go get an “adult job”.

Some of this decision was in large part due to having been raised in a military family where service was highly valued. Joining the military was not a good option with a young family at home, so he went to wilderness EMT school and spent the next few years working in EMS, wildfire and corrections. This decision also came in part from listening to The Survival Podcast and developing a prepping mindset. He wanted to know if he could operate in situations where things went wrong and learn how to be someone who would not freeze under pressure.

He worked for a very busy EMS service in Washington state and fought fires there and then moved his family to Idaho where he worked for a time as a corrections officer. He later worked as a gun dog handler/bird hunting guide in the Teton/Yellowstone area, this job allowed him to bring some of the skills in wilderness EMS to the table.

In 2020 during the pandemic, hearing Jack’s call to get out of the cities and seeing how even places like Boise had been infected with elements of city mindset he relocated his family to a small mountain town in Idaho and volunteered with the fire department there fighting wildland and structure fires, responding to medical emergencies etc, all while doing more hunting, prepping, raising ducks, and starting to produce music again. J believes that art is supposed to be a tool to get people to pause and consider the world around them. His new album is an attempt to get back in that fight.

He joins us today to discuss what he calls “Shouldering the Weight”: there are a lot of things in this world that need lifting and fixing, from military service to first response, from emergency docs and nurses to those putting the power back together after a storm. The work he’s done both as a volunteer and as a professional in the last 10 years has given him a perspective on the importance of teaching our children that eventually it’ll be their generation that has to shoulder that weight.

Since starting this journey J has transported prisoners and picked up WW2 vets off the ground in the middle of the night, and been a part of teams that have saved lives and a part of teams that couldn’t and I have stood next to my brothers and sisters in fire/ems as we have laid to rest those taken from us in the line of duty.  He joins us today to discuss all of this and more.

Resources for today’s show…

 

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Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.

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