In this episode I am interviewing Bill Parish. The story behind this interview (the story of how I first met Bill) is an example of what I hope this show will be all about.
We met in the late 2000s on a flight from Phoenix to Dayton. I was coming home from a flight to Alaska to inspect an apartment building with a layover in Phoenix. I had just slept the night on the Anchorage to Phoenix leg. On the Phoenix to Dayton Leg I was planning on reading a book I bought until I fell asleep. Usually when I am on a flight I armor up. I pull out a book, put in my headphones, and if I remember to pack it I pull out my hat that says bug off. But on this flight the guy sitting next to me puts a guitar case in the overhead and I’m thinking to myself what if this guy is some famous musician and I miss out on talking to him. So I get up (I’m the aisle guy) and let Bill sit down next to me. I extend my hand and say “Hi, my name is Chuck” and so began a conversation that expanded across topics such as God, family, music, and work. We talked the entire 5+ hours of the flight and were still talking as we walked to claim our bags. We became Facebook friends when we got home.
About a year later when my son was born Bill was online when I was posting photos on Facebook. We chatted for about an hour about fatherhood. Every now and then when I have an assignment in Cincinnati (where he now lives), I will give Bill a call and we have breakfast or lunch as it works out. So it was natural that when I had a job in Cincinnati around the time I was thinking of setting this podcast up that I would reach out to Bill to be my first guest. He was at the time a music minister in Austin. Turns out Bill is also a painter. In this episode Bill and I talk about Creativity.
Charity
Chuck - Eyes Wide Open
Bill - Johnny Williams Scholarship Fund
Play
Read
Bill
Any Book by Beverly Cleary for his daughter
Charlotte’s Web
Boxcar Children
Chuck
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
Show (Note: This was before I decided to use all four letter words and I talk about teach here instead)
He and his wife shifted their life so that someone was home when their kids got home from school. If there was an issue he would “get a breifing” and then go and respond if he needed.
He developed a relationship where his kids felt comfortable to be transparent with him
He gets down on their level and plays.
Bill got invited in
