Tell Em Steve-Dave - #523: Bruce Almighty

Episode Date: July 18, 2022

The boys give Rob Bruce a TESD send off.

So boys, this is a long time coming. People have been asking about it. It's the tribute pod to Rob Bruce. Yeah, the memorial pod for Rob Bruce recorded a couple days or maybe a week after you know Rob passed away. I felt it was something that I think people would like to hear. I especially, you know, Brian and Shells, you know, coming, you know, raw and honest with how he felt about Robert and I feel like it's something that they should be released, you know.

And I think it was a nice, you know, a little, you know, conversation about Robert and how, you know, what he meant to do. Remember it is good and bad, you know, what he meant to you. Remember it's as good and bad, honest and, and I think you're right, I think that people expected to hear something after a friend of ours passed away beyond like, yeah, he died. So this is what it has been.

This is what it would have been. Well, you know, there's an intro by BQ and again, you know, the very emotional Brian Michelle. And we hope you enjoy it. Hello everybody. My name is Brian Quinn. You may know me from the hit show Tellum Steve Dave. I'm here to introduce this special tribute episode to the man, the myth, the legend, Rob Bruce. I didn't know Rob as well as the other guys did, but I did know him a little bit. Got to hang out with him a few times

when he was on, tell him Steve Dave and every time that I was on, comic men. But more than that, like sometimes I would just see him walking the streets of Red Bank and stop to talk to him a little bit. And I have to say, like, Rob always seemed happy to see me and I was always happy to see Rob and I like to

You know just talk to him about the things that I really like to talk to him about you know comics and movies and toys He was so big on toys and stuff like that and more than once I would Get a toy or or find some little fact about something online and be like man I can't wait to see Rob Bruce and talk to him about this and get his opinion on it And I would do that and sure enough, he would deliver me some sort of knowledge and insight that I didn't have before. I liked him. He was genuinely fun. Sometimes I mean, look, nobody's perfect.

Sometimes he laughed a little bit too much in the background during talent sleeve day when I was trying to get a very important point across, but I would say more often than not, he added to the show than took away that's for sure. One time on the podcast, he had told this story about seeing an angel, and it was my belief that he did not see an angel, that if anybody in their real life had seen an angel, I don't know how they would care about things

such as toys anymore. I mean, once you've seen an angel, and you have evidence that God exists and that there's an afterlife and everything like that, that maybe things like a creature from the Black Lagoon toy wouldn't matter as much. And so I dismissed him. I dismissed the whole notion of Rob Bruce having seen

an angel one day, quite publicly, I might add. I think I just said he just wanted to be on the podcast. But that was early in my relationship with Rob having known him for years after that. I would like to publicly correct myself and say that if there was anybody on this planet we call Earth that would have seen an actual angel and then got up the next day and went to a toy store to get the latest wave of Star Wars toys or

You know whatever Rob was into the next day It was absolutely Rob Bruce so I want to retract what I said originally and say Rob I now believe that you saw an angel and if there's any justice in this universe you and that angel are up and heaven right now kicking back, talking about toys. That's what I choose to believe, and I hope you believe it too.

So there you go, an official retraction years later. And now I leave you with the boys from Tellum Steve Dave and Com Bookman to talk about the man, the myth, the legend, Robbers. Hello and welcome to a very special episode of Tellum Steve Dave. Tellum Steve Dave tribute to Robert Bruce, the man, the legend. I'm here with Walt and I am here with Brian Nishal of Combook Men and producer, showrunner,

extraordinaire, all the fucking credits. And we just wanted to talk about Rob a little bit, have some remembrances. Rob passed away recently. I'm not sure what the exact date was right before Christmas was it? I think it was after Christmas. A little bit after Christmas. And we would be remiss, as they say, if we weren't to talk about a guy who figured so prominently into our lives for a long time. He was around. He was a fixture in Red Bank, and if you were around Red Bank for the last 30 years, I mean, you had to come across him, run into him.

He was definitely one of the guys you would just see seemingly every day. He was a character. Well, he lived in town. So he was able to walk around town. Like that's why people like nobody knows me in my neighborhood. Because there's not like this little central area where everybody walks around. Like I I've lived in my place for over three years now. I still don't know the neighbor's names. We wave. But I don't know anybody, you know, I want to walk down the street. Nobody would know my name.

So Rob Bruce used to have a store in Redbank called Groove Spot, wasn't? Yeah, I'm Mama Street. No, did you used to go to that? Very first time I ever met Robert was at the Groove Spot, you know, I don't know the circumstances of a why I walked in, but I just happened to walk in, maybe because something in the window drew my eye, and I remember he was working and his kids, you know, Josh and Frankie, who were very young at that point. I mean, super young. We're in the store as well, and I remember God, you know, I had a feeling of like, and he was,

and you know, and I know that like, you know, this wasn't always everybody's first impressions of the man when they met him. But I remember, like, he was super nice. And like, he was like, hey, if you need anything, I got everything. Let me know. Right. And I'm my impressions over loud. It's a nice little family who's a little family run, little store, but I mean, never thinking that I would work with the guy in a television show a couple of years later. Decades later, you'd still be involved with the guy. My first impression of Robert was that he was a total

of a bull. And I'll tell you why. Because, and this was the only time I've ever been like, what a jerk off, because then I grew to like the dude. But when we first opened the first stash on Broad Street. Oh, no, it was all of the moment. Mama Street, sorry, Mama Street down the street from where the group spot was. He came in and he was obnoxious and he was arrogant and he was brash and he told me in no uncertain

terms that he would be getting 20% off all bags and boards because his previous deal with Steve Dave who came about the store from that was that was the deal and I was like I don't know you guy I don't know you he was so angry I mean he stormed out of the store and it wasn't for another like couple weeks that he came back in and he was like a little bit more mellow and so he started talking and then I didn't mind him. And all those things I just said about him were the obnoxiousness and the arrogance and all that shit. That was to the end.

He was always that guy, but somehow he was still likable. Yeah. To most people. I mean, there's a, I mean, no people are asking me online and I'm sure we're wondering like how come, no Mike, how come, no Ming here today?

Ming we asked to be involved, but he had an engagement in New Orleans. And Mike, I just felt like, you know, if this pod's gonna be about Rob Ruth, if Mike is here, then it's all about like Mike, having to explain about the incident where, you know, if this pod's gonna be about Rob Ruth, if Mike is here, then it's all about like Mike having to explain about the incident where, you know, where he got punched. It's about after Robbert. And then it's becomes, you know, Mike having to deflect and try to maintain a stance that

I didn't hate the guy. Right. And, yeah, so that's, there was other reasons why, yeah, but like my personal dealings are Robert there weren't that many where I could look back on that were memorable or but he was always nice to me and I never really had any kind of like distaste for the guy as an enough but a lot of people couldn't say that they were working on a lot of people could Could say that you know they generally like them, but also realized that like, man, he could get under some fucking, some people's skin. Tom Mum comes to mind. Super fucking smart guy, don't man. Like, I, I, I, I question if he wasn't in the,

you know, high upper 140s as well in that IQ. You think he could have been, we come across a lot of fucking geniuses. A lot of self-proclaimed geniuses. You've never seen any paperwork on any of these guys. But sometimes I can back it up, but like, like, fuck, how did you know that? Yeah. And so quickly, like, one of the most important, it sounds so fucking stupid. One of the most impressive things that Rob Bruce must have out of nowhere was we were talking about, can you remember what the product was, but it like somehow it got.

Yes. And somehow it got to the card board of it all. And he knew about cardboard being produced at a certain place at a certain time. And I'm like, he's just saying it too fast to make it up. He must know it. It's like, who the fuck would know this? And that is, that's like a gittum type. Yeah behavior, you know What about you Brian? I mean, I think you

Have some real Nice memories of Robert and how healthfully what's to you, right? I do I I have to say that I loved Rob. You know, I really loved him. He was a part of my life for six years during comic book man. I saw him every day when we were shooting the show. I saw him after hours. Our families would get together, hang out on the beach, in Ocean Grove.

They'd come over and we would eat together. Our kids would play together. Our wives were very fond of each other because they're both kind of wacky, which was great. And from the minute I met Rob, I really liked him, okay? It's funny because a lot of the things that made him repellent to some people and many people on my staff at Conway Bookman were very often the same things that made me really, really like him and admire him.

He was a classic new Jersey character. And I've said it before on, tales with you guys, I love a character. And he was, I mean, I saw, I don't go online much, but I saw some, you know, post things about his uniqueness and all that, but he really did have a brilliant mind. And I think the biggest thing that I could add to this conversation about Rob, away from, you know, my personal feelings about him, which are all positive, is how valuable he was to the actual show, comic book men. From the minute I saw the sizzle reel, everybody in the office was saying, well, if we're

going to move forward with this series, we need this guy. He's the way in. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of all this stuff. So when I got the show, I knew we had to bring him on as a producer. And so we had him in the office. So he served the dual role. He was on camera and everyone loved them for that. And then he was in the office.

And I admitted then, and I'll admit now that I didn't know shit about this stuff we were talking about, you know, you guys know. I knew my 70s, you know, TV pop culture and some toys and stuff. And I flat out said to Rob, I need you. You know, I know how to make a TV show, I know how to build out characters and storylines, but I need you to keep this legit, right?

So every day, we would look at casting sheets from people who had stuff to buy or sell. And Rob would be kind of the gatekeeper. and I would yell things out to him in the office Hey Rob does anybody care about blah blah blah and he would say no stay away from that, you know And of course you guys too, you know, but I wasn't gonna bother the talent with my you know Inane questions day in and day out, so lucky we would have fired. I know Step away from your free haircuts and your cappuccino. I cannot overstate how valuable he was to me. And when we started doing,

especially like celebrity A stories, when we started getting people in the shop like say Ralph Machio, I would say Rob, what would Ralph Machio possibly be looking for? And he's like, well, there are three karate kid play sets. Two of them are pretty easy to get, but one of them is pretty rare because it's got the referee and blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, well, find me that. I'm going to run that by Machio. And lo and behold, when I finally speak to Machio himself, I tell him about the sets. And he's like, no kidding. I've been looking for that third set. Oh, so Robert was correct, huh? Robert was absolutely correct, and I was like,

well, we have one. He's like, get the fuck out of here. You have this, I'm like, we have the set, and I ran the storyline through him, you'll come in, you're looking for it, you heard you guys may have it, you can get some rare items, and that's how it played out. And, you know, that is one where like the Ralph Machio visit was made so much better

because Rob knew what a guy like Machio might be looking for, the guy who may have everything and turns out he was 100% correct and it made it a great day and we'll talk more about the Machio visit when we do tales about that episode. But you know similar with you similar with Marky Ramon, when Marky Ramon visited, and it was like the 50s robots and the drum heads, whatever it was. And for many of these, I needed Rob with me. When I was like, okay, I'm gonna go talk to someone, so Peter Mayhew, whoever it was,

I need you standing by my side, so I don't sound like an idiot. And when they start bringing things up that I may not know, you can chime in and dazzle them with your knowledge. So day to day, Rob was really my right-hand man. And you know, Brian's right. I had to talk to many of the staff at times. You know, my number two, who we've talked about, your personal masseuse walled, Eric Duncan, he and Rob, like we, the three of us, we're in the office together and

it was really like the three of us kicking around ideas quite often. And, and, and, and, and Eric was very impatient with Rob's idiosyncrasies, which I loved, okay? And and so I a few times how to pull Eric aside and say dude Robert is you know 20 some odd years older than you you can't talk to him like a child You can't scold him like you would a 20-year-old PA like I get you I get I got Rob and I got my boy Eric Duncan and and I had to you know sort of correct that behavior because I knew Rob had lived the life before comic book man. For a lot of the staff coming in, I mean we had like 24 year old people coming in and now they're sitting in an office with Robert Bruce. There used to sitting in offices with other 25 year old people, right? But now they're with

Robert fucking Bruce, okay? Who was a punk rocker, was a Wall Street guy, you know, has been sober for 30 years or whatever after having lived a mad life, you know, before these kids were born, and they didn't know what to do with him. And we would do fun games in the office where I'd be like, Rob, give these kids some rock trivia. And you know, and he'd tell them about, you know, the, the Ramones or he'd tell them about the early days of punk in New York and educate them. I mean, and ultimately people like, you know, you guys remember Banana Man, you know,

a, uh, uh, Keith Haskell. Who was, he was, for those who don't know who Banana Man is, who, who he was, what to the show again? He was a segment producer and I had him kind of heading up some of our A stories and so I had him partnered up with Rob Bruce. They were teamed up a lot. You know and and I spoke to Keith. You know a bunch of the a bunch of the staff had been reaching out to me after news of Rob's death came out texting me like holy shit I can't believe it. And I went back and forth with with banana man and you know we were talking about the the trippy took with Rob out to Long Island to Mike Esposito's widow. You remember that Mike Esposito the artist and it was one of the like seminal moments in banana man's life driving out to this little house along Island to the widow of a famous anchor. to the widow of a famous anchor. And the stories of Rob going in and sizing it up, and the woman insisting that she make them sandwiches,

and keep describing them as disgusting, mean-a sandwiches. And Rob looked at him and said, oh no, we have to stay. It would be impolite if we didn't stay for the sandwiches. And they sat and ate and came back with just hilarious stories, which probably could have been a sitcom, you know, all by itself with Keith and Rob driving out to Long Island.

But then Keith and Rob got close. And Keith was probably again, you know, 23 years younger than Rob. And they ended up, you know, Keith was like, yeah, we would get up at four in the morning and I would go to Collingwood with him. And he would show me and my girlfriend the ropes. And we would get up at four in the morning and I would go to Collingwood with him and he would show me my girlfriend the ropes and he would get out of the car and puff his chest out.

And I too took those early morning trips. You know what I mean, Rob's motto of, you know, if the sun's up, you're already late, was so true because he was out scouting for the best stuff. And so these are kids that were exposed to Rob Bruce in the course of making our show whose lives were made better, you know, whose characters were made richer by knowing a guy like Rob. And, you know, Rob is two things, you know, he was a character, but he also had character, you know, and I'm

sure there's people out there who say, Rob ripped me off, Rob overcharged, whatever. I worked with him closely for six years, and sometimes it's different when you're the boss. You know, you hear a lot of things. I think Robert was extremely lucky that you were the boss, extremely lucky. He was more than qualified to do the job, but just alone on the amount of people he would get into arguments with.

It was unreal. You were his fucking, you were truly like the best thing. Like his party in Angel. Yeah, because there's a lot of incidents. And like I said, like, yeah, you were a very good friend to him and helped him out a long way to make, to put out those fires erupted once in a while and set, not even on set or in the office or whatever.

I mean, the sheer number of arguments he got into with people when we used to play poker. Once a week everybody the crew would get together we'd play poker and there were probably like five different tables. Not once did I sit at Rob Bruce's table but almost universally there was shouting, there was arguing, there was one time where I really thought that he and Brian O'Hallen were going to fistfight. I really thought that he and Brian O'Hallar were going to fist fight. I heard about that. I really thought they were going to fist fight because I think Rob lost a head and he accused Brian O'Hallar and his girlfriend of like feeding O'Hallar in signs and signaling.

That was so fucking funny. You know, I would ask him like, you know, because after a poker event that went, that was pretty testy and everybody that went, that was pretty testy and everybody was like, everybody was really annoyed at him and pissed off at him. I remember just me and him talking like outside on the bench before we're getting ready to shoot a scene. I'd be like, why do you do that? And he's just like, I'm doing it because I want to win.

That's my strategy. If they're pissed off, I'm going to win that game. And sometimes that actually worked because they people would be so furious that he would he took the big pot home. And to him, that was his strategy was to get everybody off their game. Everybody fuck it. So pissed off. Dude, people dislike him so much playing poker that there was a there was a weekly bounty for Rob Bruce. If you got a huge talk rob bruce out you'll get an extra fifty bucks. I remember all of that. I never played in the poker game either.

But I would revel in the stories. Yes. Every Wednesday and morning about this. And I thought it was so funny that Rob was able to get under everyone's skin the way he did. i believe you that that was part of his strategy um and i think that even for people that we know that had a distaste for his personality in the way he was maybe in hindsight

they'll look back at those moments and say you know what the world was a more interesting place those games were more interesting because Rob was there. Right. Because he was a character and because I don't think there'll ever be another Rob Bruce. He is a one and a trillion person. And I love a person like that, you know? And I think that there are, and this is no disrespect

to anybody, but I think that you could divide the world, our little world anyway, into two kinds of people, those that got Rob Bruce and those that didn't get Rob Bruce. That is 100% accurate. And that's it. Oh man, yeah, you just laid it all right out there, so eloquently and perfect. And I would try to talk to those people

who weren't, who didn't get him. And I would be like, how come this annoys you so much? Like the big fish story. Right. He would come in every day and say, and I would be like, how come this annoys you so much, like the big fish story? He would come in every day and say, I found this little rubber doll for $0.30, I just sold it for $3,000. He believed the store and two people in particular

were besides themselves, so angry. And I would be like, he is not telling that story to get under your skin. He's telling that story for him in a way and that endeared me a little bit to him because I was like, it's harmless. Yes, it's so harmless. And the people I tried to explain it to just never could see, he wasn't telling that story to like put them in a way, put in a position to be like, it's like don't take it so fucking personally, bro. Yeah, I know.

And he's not. And he's not doing it to, to be a braggart either. No, I, I, I, he truly got joy from it. And it was in a, it was like a guy on Wall Street saying, holy shit, I just did whatever, whatever with these stocks and I made myself a cool $10 million. Rob would legitimately go buy something for 25 cents, sell it on eBay for 60 bucks,

and that was equivalent to whatever that, you know, hedge fund guy made. And I feel good about that. Exactly, that's what I'm saying. It was a legitimate accomplishment. I'm not, I'm not even so sure that every story was true, but. I mean, there's no way to know now, but I know where I'd put my money. But like, yeah, I just could never get understand the way it set off people

and just made them so angry. What I was just like, can't you see? Maybe he just needs to tell that story for himself coming into a situation, you know, and I never could get that connect, never could drive at home to the people that I was talking to, like, he's up, chill the fuck out. Who cares if it's true? What do you care? If it's not true, what do you care? Right, yeah, either way.

Either way, it's just like, what the guy have it? Look, I think that what I hope I'm saying is that, I think in hindsight, hopefully people come to appreciate what you just said that, for better or for worse, their lives were made more interesting. Their experiences were made more interesting. I think that Rob is someone who wore his is it humanity? Is it humaneness? He wore his humaneness on his sleeve. We're all fucked up in

flawed, but some people keep that in check when they're around people. I don't think Rob was embarrassed by his quirks or his flaws or what he was. I think he knew what he was. He lived a life and he wore it on his sleeve. And if you didn't get it, you didn't get it. But if you got it, you know, you loved him. Yeah. Um, and, you know, I, I will miss him. Man, I will miss him.

Uh, we, our relationship, ship stayed strong. I sent him a text of the Monday, you you know before we found out a picture that I sent you walled of the new poster my son got a vintage Um, the invisible of melting man incredible melting credible 1977 Beautiful vintage poster he got and of course I took a picture of it and I sent it to you Walt and I sent it to rob and I'm like check this out and I didn't hear back Which is like fuck you rob Bruce? No, I'm not gonna Rob and I'm like, check this out and I didn't hear back. Which is how? Where you like, fuck you, Rob Bruce.

No, I actually, I'm not gonna say, oh, I was worried, I knew something was up, but it was weird, I thought, okay, the guy's busy because normally it's right back. I mean, that's the shit I would do if I'd be at a flea market or an antique shop and I text him a lunch box and say, hey dude, they want 60 for this,

should I get it and it's like, boom, right back, okay. Well, that's a credit to your character though. A lot of people who would have come into that position, that job that you had, they see Rob as what can I get from him to help me with my job, but you stayed in contact with him if there's show is canceled. You legitimately cared about him and, you know, you were truly his friend though. I mean I after

Confirmation was canceled. I have a little bit of guilt regarding Rob Bruce you know talking about what happened you know he got banned from the store because of the thing and I didn't talk to Robert out of some form of misplaced loyalty I was like I just like I would see him in town and I didn't stop to talk to him. And if I saw him down the street, you know, I was like, oh, fuck, I don't, I don't want to deal with this. I just crossed the street because of what happened. And it was almost a year after that incident that I did run into him. And I was talking to him. And I realized I was him and I was talking to him and I

realized I was like, dude, why the fuck am I acting like? Wait, he's not the asshole. The other guy's the asshole. Why, like, why, like, he was so nice to me. I mean, the first two seconds it was in the 7-Eleven, the first two seconds, he's like, I found this and flipped it for three hundred dollars. I mean, immediately. Of course. And that was right back to us like, I'm not mad at this guy. Right. I'm not mad at this guy. And thankfully, you know, the last time I saw him

was like, I reached out to him and I needed these two sets of 70s TV handheld TVs. I don't know if you remember these. You asked me for his number so you can ask him about this. Yeah, and I reached out to him and I was like Hey, do you happen to have these two things was for the opening of let's all go to ho the movies? I want to shoot this opening where we mean Jeff had these handheld TVs So I reached out to him. I was like, and I sent him a picture and he was like, yeah, come on down and You know and I have some so I went down and I met them there.

And we had a real nice conversation where laughing and there was no tension that I had put into my head that there would be because of the incident. So there is a little bit of guilt that I, like I said, that a mis-fucking-spent misplaced loyalty, I didn't talk to the guy for a year. And now I don't want to know how many times I would have talked to him in that year, but we was bad from the stash, so unless you saw him on the street, chances were unlikely to talk to him.

Yeah. So there was like I said, so there was, thankfully though, there was that, you know, I did see him and did talk to him. And that doesn't make me feel as guilty as I do feel because he was nice to me and he didn't like, he wasn't aware that I was even like had some sort of like some sort of thing where I was like, well I really can't talk to the guy, like did I think he was wrong and what he did? Like yeah, that's not the way you handle things.

But do I also realize maybe he was pushed to a point that like he's- Do you also think it's funny? Yeah, no, that's like, it's, what are you gonna do? I mean, say people. Here's something that people may not know, you know, about Rob. Rob was, it bothered him.

People who harbored ill feelings toward Rob, it kind of bothered him, all right? He was pretty sensitive and there was one day in particular to stash, I don't know if you guys will remember this, where things blew up with him and Mike and it may have been the day that one through a pencil at the other or something, but it was just like the kind of fight that 10 year old boys. Right. And Rob stormed out. and I went after him on the street and I found him in front of the the chase bank that used to be there across the street or maybe it's still there and and and he was crying you know and I gave him a

hug and I hugged him I'm like talked to me man and he threw his tears was saying I don't know what he has against me I don't know what I ever did to deserve that, you know, this guy fucking hates me and I don't know why. I have nothing against him. I don't know why. I do. But it's not over time. I can tell you. I'm sure Mike has his reason to get the point is, some people just don't get along and that's okay.

And we saw that and we had fun with it throughout the show. But it did bother him and it did not agree, a crazy way, but I think it confused him that level of animosity that he had to endure kind of on a daily basis. And I'm not pointing fingers either way. I had great times on set, great times with Rob on set. I never did get the wrestling match in a tub of jello between the two that I wanted to get done.

And I guess we'll have to just, we can only wonder from here on out. What's this a spot on a memorial episode? Uh, yeah, sorry. It is commerce must proceed. And, uh, if I knew Rob Rob Bruce like I think I knew Rob Bruce He would be very happy that we were turning a dollar because he was a man who liked to turn a dollar and he's also a man Who I imagine loved me on these just like everybody does I mean come on are you still trying to make plans for the summer? Are you booked and busy already?

Wait, what? Hold on. You've got pool days, pride parades, bachelor parades, and beach vacations waiting for you. It's a lot, but thankfully, meandies want you to make this summer the most comfortable one that you'll never forget. Because when you're living your best life, the last thing you want to do is worry about butt sweats. Come on, that's pretty true. I don't worry about butt sweat one and a one, because I wear meandies every day. I have so many meandies. If I were to model all my meandies, it could probably be a daily calendar.

Like where to day? Brian meandies a day. How would you like that? When you're comfortable feeling good, you're more present to enjoy all of your summer plans. It's like science or something. Meandies has the lightest and most breathable fabrics to help keep cool and comfortable whenever, wherever you go. From Undy's brawls, oh yeah brawls, and

socks to lounge where in swimwear you can find something for all your plans. Mian Di also releases new prints all the time like their limited edition pride collection. You can match with your partner friends or even your dog. Find your ultimate summer comfort and sizes from extra small to 4 XL. And Mandy says a great offer for listeners. For any first time purchasers, you get 15% off. And for a limited time, if you sign up for their free to join, I'm not. You get 25% off your first membership item. So again, 15% off your first order, 25% off your membership item, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

That's 100% that doesn't get more than that. Forget all these sports guys that are like, we gave it 110% man. 100% that's the max. And that's what MianDis goes to. MianDis goes to the max. You can use that if you want MianDis. So that's pretty cool.

So go to MianDis.com slash T-E-S-D, that's pretty cool. So go to me on this dot com slash TSD. That's me on these dot com slash TSD. You want to know something interesting that I thought of last night. And then I looked up the episode, sizzle real aside, which, which featured Rob Bruce heavily. And I, and I'd say was, you know, besides having Kevin Smith and stuff and James using you guys in it was one of the things the network liked so much about. I watched his, uh, And I'd say was, you know, besides having Kevin Smith and stuff and James used in you guys in it, was one of the things the network liked so much about. I watched his, I watched his, what's it called, his... The pilot?

His take at the Sizzle Reel? Yeah. I watched it. I was sitting right there and I remember seeing the reaction of the guy who was filming it. I don't know if you know who filmed it. A young guy? I don't remember. I remember his reaction to like, because he asked Robert to show him his tattoos because he had the alfredi Newman. Like, like, what was that

dude from Kung Fu, Kane? Yeah. I remember like, he had the tattoo right here and he had a tattoo right here. One saw on his forearm. So I know you can't see what I'm talking about anybody listening, but on his forearms, he had an alfredi Newman normal face on his left arm and on his right arm, I believe he had the Alfredi Newman skull. And so he asked him to explain it on camera when he explained it on camera the guy filming it Fuckin did a little dance and was like he knew that like we found something amazing right here. This guy is going to be Yes So that was true.

OK, so Cisal Real aside, which he crushed on, he was fucking amazing on that Cisal Real, OK? That aside, comic book man episode one features Rob Bruce. OK, it's the calling, it's the calling with episode. So Rob Bruce is featured heavily in that episode. And then 95 episodes later, the what we didn't know at the time was going to be our last episode, right? The pop goes the stash where you guys get your Funko pops.

Oh, I know what you're going to say. Yeah. Rob was featured very heavily. So the conceit of that episode was, okay, and in real life, not on the show, but in real life, we got this deal with Funko where you guys were going to have Funkos made and Kevin would be out there and you guys would all go to Washington State to get your Funkos, but Walt doesn't fly, as everyone knows. So we had to come up with a story for, you know, have some fun at the stash while the shenanigans in Washington were going on ever, ever, ever it Washington. And so I said, Hey, what if Rob Bruce?

Remember this? I said, what if Rob Bruce works the stash? He finally gets a shot at wearing the staff t shirt and he gets to walk, work alongside El Negotiator, the great Walter Flanagan. And Rob was in his glory as I was pitching this out to him and he works at the shop with you. He does two or three transactions, really nice stuff. He's wearing the staff shirt and you put you put the trainee, you know, trainee foot, fun boy, pin on him, which was fantastic. And he does grade in the episode and I have to tell you that Cameras not rolling Rob was truly honored. He kept telling me I can't believe I'm gonna get to wear the shirt

And do transactions on that side of the counter He was truly honored and and when I told him Rob I'm gonna watch you with the podcast to sit around the table with Kevin and talk about this. He was beside himself He was genuinely touched and I mean welled up talking about that that we were allowing him to sit around that that podcast table with Kevin and you guys and I watched it late last night and The final sign off from the final episode of comic book men features Rob giving his name alongside you and Kevin and Mike and Ming. Well, you're not the only one who recognized that.

I got two emails from listeners of Tom Steve Dave after Robert had passed. And they mentioned how important comic book man was. One of the email states that it's what led them to listen to Tom Steve Dave, but they thought it was so amazing that the very first episode of Compokman, we introduced Robert and I say to the table, he's a guy I always wanted to get into the stash. I always wanted to get this guy, but he's kind of lone wolf operative. He's not a team player, Leo, and not in a bad way, but like, you know, and then in the last episode that connective tissue, he does come work for us. He said they felt like it was

a planned narrative that was built and we knew that like, and I was like, and I wrote back as I asked him, wonderful. I said, no, it wasn't planned, I said, but it is kind of sweet though, that you recognize that. And that was something that was meaningful to this particular person that we emailed in. They thought it was sweet. I'm glad that some of the fans caught that. Because it is in hindsight, sometimes you're doing something at the time and you don't know what its significance will be. We didn't

know that was going to be the last episode and we certainly didn't know Rob was going to die long before his time. But it was so bittersweet to see that last night and just, you know, the little behind the scenes about that, I just wanted to share that last night and just, you know, the little behind the scenes about that. I just wanted to share that that was not lost on him at the time. He couldn't, he couldn't express how meaningful that was to him enough. Yeah, he really did. You know, I'm going to get there behind. I'm going to win a share of the wall. It was a great moment and it all came flooding back to me when I saw that last episode. How important the show was to him.

He was always for the show. It was never for his ego. We would spend many, many nights and days and launches talking about the items. He was always prepared, look, was he off base sometimes? Where his facts and figures are on sometimes, of course. Look at the volume of items that came in and out of that place during the course of 96 episodes. I would never nickel and dime his input

and nitpick it that way. Overall, I will say, unequivocally, I could not have pulled off comic book men in the way I did without Robert Bruce's help. Both on camera and off camera. He was an essential producer, possibly probably most likely the most essential producer I had, unreplaceable. You know, he was unreplaceable. Anybody else, sorry, say,

myself included, could have been replaced. But I will say that. I know there's other people who will fight me on that, but, you know, I worked the intricacies of that show, personally. And I had specific boxes I needed to check for the network and just for the whole arc of every season. And he helped me. He was intimately involved with it. And he was an indispensable part of that. And so I just want that to go on the record. You know, I know he could brag and talk and people say, oh, he's a producer or whatever, yeah, he was. He was fucking 100% legit, a big part of producing that show.

That annoyed certain people. It did, and that's why I'm saying it. And that's why I'm saying it. So, so, um, um, just so emphatically, okay. There's no debate for it. You know, when a network gives you $45 million and says, make us 16 episodes, when or lose, it falls on the shoulders of the showrunner, right?

So my reputation, my stake, my ability to feed my family was based on the success or failure of that show while we were doing it. And those were the stakes for me. And Robert understood that. And I would tell him time and time again, I need you to make me look good. Like, let's pull this off together. I can't do it without you. I don't know shit. I need your help. And we did it together. And it can't be argued. You know, I know what it was like to make that show in the field and in post. Even through post, Rob would help me come up with those graphics and the facts and figures

about the items that would come up and stuff. That's for the record and it's inarguable. One of my favorite Rob Bruce moments was how wholeheartedly he bought into when we went out looking for the Jersey Devil. Oh yeah. And he dressed up like the Jersey Devil. He looked amazing. But he looked great and he had so much fun doing it.

Like he was one of those guys. You could ask him to do something to make sure I'll do it. Yes. Like you didn't have to fucking beg or cajole or offer him anything else. It's just like he was a team guy. We set up a four on, you know, on, on, on our tails podcast that this was the dream job for RB. And he, he reveled in it and he understood how special it was that the

stars aligned to have this job that he was perfect for. He had a place to go in a whole new group of people. And the guy said he's hanging out with 25 year olds and he's, you know, and he's, he's keeping up and it was, it was just great. And we laughed at him. We laughed with him, but there was the perfect job for him. That, you know, the perfect time. And I don't know if he was, I don't know.

He seemed like, how could he ever be happier? Oh, yeah. I mean, like for when the show got canceled I imagine for him it was like me and Mike went back to our Real jobs Kevin Smith wasn't going to be Would move on to his next project You know, Brian. What was I gonna do?

I thought I was gonna be on TV forever. So, you know, Robert had to go, you know, is like probably was a bit disappointing to have that envy, you know, and have to go back to like, you know, shut, like really making the round. Hustle him, yeah. Hustle and I like, I would tell people to people that I would be like, why are you so fucking hard in this guy? Look at this man. His existence is like if he doesn't he has to find shit

Weekly to meet his nut whatever he has to pay that's fucking pressure man Can you never? No, you've got to go to a flea markets and find something to move so you can pay keep the lights on Or you have to put food on the table you have to hope that somebody has no idea what they have. You can get it. Turn it around and sell it to somebody else who's like, oh my God, I can't believe you have this. That's a lot of pressure. The time.

Right? I mean, you go there and there's just nothing there to like, you know, and then you're like, you got to wait another week to make to go back. It's, I don't know, it was, it was difficult at times to like to talk to people and just make them see him in a different light. Well, they just didn't want to hear shit. They just didn't want to hear it. Rob Bruce, I'll say this, every single time I saw him in town up until like, I saw him

probably a week before all this happened. I was at the Red Bank diner and he came in, I guess he was a staple at the Red Bank diner. He used to go down by the post office. Oh shit. There's a tiny little diner there now. That's still open? Yep. Yeah. And just like every other time he would stop and he'd ask about stage how she was doing. How's her school going? Yeah, he was very genuine in that way, like where he would ask about, you know, Mary Beth wasn't there, oh, how's Mary Beth doing? How's like, and not in a way of people,

like, okay, you know, really what they want to do is talk about themselves. He seemed to be genuinely interested in like, especially sage how she was doing. That always, yeah. That dared him to me. That is true, you know, because up until very recently I would get a random text from him that would say, how's mom?

Because he knew my mom wasn't doing well the last couple of years. And he knew all about my dad. My dad was a collector when he was young, so I was always taken pictures. I probably sent some to you all too of all the shit I'm in finding in my parents' basement. And so he knew about my parents, he knew their health issues, and that's true, Brian. He would just randomly sometimes say, how's mom? And maybe he met her one time down in Ocean Grove.

He had character, listen, I mean, the last time I saw Rob Bruce was at Mellow's funeral, out in Hempstead. So Mellow, for those of you who don, no, Shemellow was our production manager for all the seasons of Comfort Man, and he was a, you know, a dear, dear, dear friend was all. And mellow died suddenly. Rob took several trains to get out the Hempstead Long Island and this was like middle of COVID.

This was there wasn't a vaccine, you know? So everybody who went was like, okay, you're not supposed to be crowding in small rooms and you're not supposed to be on public transportation. Rob did all of that to get down to this funeral. Um, and that just showed his character, you know. He was a character and he had character. And it's the kind of thing that if you just look

at Rob's, you know, brashness and the fun people have with, you know, tearing him down, you're gonna miss that. But like Brian says, he, if you were in his world and he knew that you had love for him and he knew your family, it wasn't bullshit, you know. He was thinking about that and he saw you and said, how's this one, how's that one? And the fact that he came to that funeral in Hempstead in the middle of this pandemic was such a sign of character and made everybody feel so so good about it. And you know, what more can I say? That's what says a lot about people.

I wouldn't focus on any of the petty bullshit, you know what I mean? And I'm sure those two had their battles when it came to poker as well, you know what I mean? But he battled with most people at poker, yeah. You know? I could, yeah, it's weird, because like I can honestly say, I never ever saw that side of,

like me dealing with them 101, never had an issue with them, never had to argument with them. She was always just nice to me. So I mean, I generally like the guy. I really didn't know him that well though. I don't really have any like where we went out and did things together, like, you know, memories of us doing anything together.

I mean, he was always in town, though, you know, and he was always around his store. Yeah, but yeah, I didn't have like any like, you know, anything that we just did mean him together. But, you know, like I said, I was always, you know, he seemed to always be friendly and happy. He had a smile when he came in to see me talk about what he liked basketball too. You know, I seemed to always be friendly and happy, he had a smile when he came in to see me, talk about what he liked basketball too. I remember always talking about the nicks, and I'd be always like, Robby, I don't follow basketball.

I'll talk about football, I'll talk about football or hockey. Well, you got to go to his house though, remember when we went to his stuff. I don't think I did that. You weren't that silent to the lambs basement? No, I think that was you and Ming. Yeah, you always, oh, it's just us too. Yes.

Why would you not be there? Because it was too small, probably. I don't remember why, but I think it was just you and Ming. It was definitely of like Dungeonesque proportions. It was fucked up. Look, and how much stuff was in this little like, this little basement. Immortalized on the sizzle reel.

Yeah. Which is, I think on YouTube, probably illegally, but it's on there. Yeah, that's another thing. He was always like you would ask like, well, how are your kids doing? And there was there was not a fucking Prouder dad out there. I mean, holy shit. Like, I don't think I'm yours. Come you can come you can.

Cumin to the level he talked this good about me. I just won conversation with Rob Bruce. So fucking proud of Josh doing the animation stuff and Frankie for about to graduate high school. And you're like, these little, I'm like, this fucking Frankie, this little kid was at the birthday party. Like in the, like, he's so small.

Time gets away from you. That's really good. The last text I got from Rob was, was you want to feel old? Frankie just got into Penn State. Wow. He's in Penn State. Hopefully not for a football program.

For him. Yeah. Well, last man, well, Sandusky's gone. Long time. No way. Sandusky's. I think he died in jail or is he still? I think he's died.

Did he die in jail? Did someone kill him in jail? Oh, I don't know that. I think you're thinking of Jeffrey Dahmer. No, no, no. I think you don't work. No, no, no. I was thinking you don't work to talk about- Don't work Jared. There was a big scandal at the Penn State football team couple.

Oh, I'm not that. I know about that. But I don't remember the guy getting shanked in prison. So, yeah, he was a real old fucking- Pedophile. Yeah, and I can't imagine that he would last long in prison if they allowed him to be in general. Well, they're like, you know, they're like, I like football, but he would last long in prison if they allowed him to be in general.

Well, they're like, you know, they're like, I like football, but I also don't like pedophilia. Kyle Grape, but football. Yeah, give a guy a pass. He's still out there. He makes fun. 77 years old. Wow, he's still in jail. Still out there playing slip and slide in the showers and put some...

Leading a youth program. Uh, yes. slide in the showers and leading a youth program Yes proud of those boys You know they were friends with my kids all those summers and and that was you know and also and also you know Zamsik kids and sagey. I mean that was we've talked about on the show before as well You know those kids that grew up on the set at comic book, man, you know, they'll always have that bond and they were immune to all the other bullshit, you know what I mean? The Zapsid kids and the Bruce kids didn't know they were the Hatfields of McCoy's.

They didn't know they were supposed to play together, you know. They all hung out together. It was a wonderful time and Rob reveled in it, you know? Yeah, when I read, you know, when I, I think it was you all that texted me. Yeah. And so I went online and I was looking, there was one article from like a local paper

but there was one from the New York Post and it's on the like reality star, Robert Bruce, you know, dead, whatever. And I was like, God damn, he would love that. Being called a reality star. Like, if he were here to see this, he would really love that. Oh, yes. But he was.

In a world where like, if you're in a porn, you're a porn star. If you're in a reality show, you're a reality star. Right. Robert Bruce legitimately like earned his status, I think, as a reality star. rob bros legitimately like urn to his uh... earned his status i think as a reality star he did indeed is you know if you were a fan of cbm rob was a star uh... you know any uh...

god i got to tell you man i it's i i have i have unfortunately lost a lot of friends at young ages um... you know teenagers twenty thirty's unfortunately lost a lot of friends at young ages. You know, teenagers, 20s, 30s, Rob was, I didn't even know, but I guess 62. Yeah, I didn't know how old he was. Yeah, I didn't either. And that even feels like,

we just lost a young man who had so much more to do, and to give to the world. So, I mean, I really try to avoid eulogizing Rob. I guess this is some sort of comedic eulogy we're doing, but I don't wanna get too heavy about it, but we're sitting here talking about him, and, fuck man, it's a loss, and it's that thing that he was such a very specific person

that it's not like you you know, you lost the buddy you played bowl, you went bowling with and now you're going to find a new guy. We need another guy for the team. You know, you really can't, I mean, Walt, you're just going to get all of my fucking stupid questions when I'm at flea markets now. Oh, yeah, bring him on, you know, and when I get them on, instead of, you know, I'll look at with like, well, he doesn't have Robert now, as a two-ass.

Thank you. I'll take him on and try to, I won't be as good as Robert, I mean, unless you're sending me comics, because Robert knew everything, not only comics, he knew toys, bottle caps, buttons. I mean, like, all that shit, I would need to look up, comics I kind of have a, I could kind of look at and give you a good idea what its value is

But Robert knew everything in terms of the world of collecting If there's one thing Rob Bruce did it was eat green the man was a vegan I never saw him eating any crap just all good fresh stuff So he would have appreciated a green chef Just all good fresh stuff. So he would have appreciated green chef. Well green chef is a CCOF certified meal company. Don't ask me what CCOF means. Just Google it. Green chef makes eating well easy with plans to fit every lifestyle. Whether you're keto, paleo, vegan, like raw Bruce, vegetarian gluten free or just looking to eat more balanced meals. Green Chef offers a range of recipes to suit your preferences. Now you can choose from all 24 recipes weekly with the option to mix and match from meals

from different preferences. Oh my god, vegan one day keto the next. Vegan one day pellia the next if you want, if you really want to be a hypocrite. Time-saving recipes packed with fresh produce and vibrant flavors to help you make them most out of those long summer days. Green Chef saves you time by cutting down on weekly meal planning, prepping and grocery shopping. That's what Mary Beth likes. She's extremely lazy. So when it comes to somebody else doing the work for, she's all for it. Exciting and delicious meals support a healthy lifestyle. Green Chef keeps meal times interesting without sacrificing taste. Green Chef's expert chef's curate every recipe so you can enjoy restaurant quality dishes at home without

compromising flavor and with seasonal produce, premium proteins and organic ingredients you can trust. Green Chef is the number one meal kit for eating well. I eat green chef because we could buy it and they sent it to us and marry both likes it the pre-portion stuff Is what she likes she likes just just shit. I know what it I mean come on Maybe I'm being a little bit too hard on her But she likes the pre-portion stuff so she just don't dump it in a pot and myth get up and next thing you go you got pesto Parmesan chicken it saves a lot of time and how do green chefs offer offerings fit my

diet or lifestyle? I mean, I don't know. I can't answer the question honestly. Green Chef, I'm sorry, my wife cooks, I don't. So you're gonna have to ask her. And the recipes though are flavorful and easy to follow. That much I know. I saw the paper that it came with. It is very easy to follow. So go to greenchef.com slash TESD135 and use code TESD135 to get $135 off across 5 boxes and your first box will ship for free. So go to greenchef.com slash TESD135 and use code TESD135 to get $135 off across five boxes and get your first and your first box ships free and realize that uh robberose would have wanted you to do this. You know what I forgot to show you guys I took my flannel off because it was getting a little hot

but I'm wearing a pin an actual campaign button from uh the Teddy Roosevelt Fairbanks uh campaign from 1905 I think that Robert gave me as a gift because he knew that I was a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt, and he was one of the few people who I could sit down with and talk about Roosevelt and politics and history. And so just out of nowhere, he founded a flea market one day and gave me this valuable or maybe not so valuable. Campaign was valuable from 1915, but it is valuable and I'm wearing it proudly on my shirt today. You know earlier in the show, it's talking about how like Robert would quiz people on like old rock and that kind of stuff. When I went into the production office, it was quite the opposite with Michelle who would quiz people on to it Teddy Roosevelt and all this

All political shit nobody knows her cares about Well see if that shit was included I comic book man. I would have had more to offer George Pettas Yeah, that's more of a Pond star I think type like Teddy, you would have fit in there with the pawnstars. But with us, and yeah, nobody cared about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was definitely more qualified to be on pawnstars than convocman.

What else you got about old Rob Bruce and your notes, anything? What else I got about Rob on the notes? You know, I didn't, I think we ran through most of the things i wanted to to highlight about rob and and like i said i thought for the most part uh... what i would have to add is that he was indeed invaluable producer on the common book men's show do you know how many episodes he actually appeared in you know i it one of the articles I read listed that, I'm like, who the fuck sat down and counted

it out? I mean, you could do it. It's a lot. I mean, you know, he was a part of behind the scenes of every single episode. I can assure you that. How many he appeared on? I would say a lot. You know what I mean, especially the hour episodes, season one, we used

him a lot, I think. But there's no way you could not, you could watch any season of comic book men and come away knowing who Rob Bruce is and forming an opinion of him somehow. So he was in a lot of episodes. Now I'm sure you won't say any different, but because this is a tribute to Robert, but I felt that on camera me and him had a little bit of chemistry. I felt that like, you know, where as other people, if you put them in the scene,

like if it was somebody else and not me, like I would always lean towards like, like he would negotiate it with somebody and I'd be like, dude man, you in the scene, like if it was somebody else and not me, like I would always lean towards like, like he would negotiate it with somebody, and I'd be like, dude man, you're the fucking, you're a beast master, you're like impressive, like you're like a tiger. Yeah. I remember, like, and I believe that was how you,

you would connect with him. You would get more out of him, rather than like on camera, like you know, belittling him or more trying to like or try to bust us nuts You know, I would go the opposite way and be because you know because I thought it was it was funny that I would be that Like overpowered by his The way he handled himself. Yes In ammits action. Yeah, you know, yeah

Picture season one where it was just like you were basically turned on yeah You were absolutely turned on like oh geez. I need a cigarette yeah watching him negotiate tear somebody apart and break them down and destroy what they thought was a Million dollar book, right? Yeah, he definitely he was there are many times when he when he was telling somebody their shit was worthless So he was very flippant about it like this I Fucking loved it. I really did because again he He wasn't I don't believe he was putting on a show and I don't believe he was saying that to these people

to try to break them down, but he was just a reality check for a lot of people, and I think he reveled in it, sure, he knew he knew more than most people, but I don't think it was ever malicious, is really what I'm trying to say. And like you said, I true character because, I knew him before, you know, the show began

and his first transaction, he comes in, and he's wearing a Quoteroid jacket with, with Elbow patches. Yeah. And I was just like, why are you dressed like that? I mean, he'd never dressed like that, you know? He had this idea and his head of how like, how he should be on TV, you know,

like he should dress up for it, which is in a way is a little bit charming. Indeed. Yeah. Well, he was a visiting expert. Yeah. And then the court, the court of Royce, jacket with the patches was sort of balanced by the dreadlock, you know what I mean?

So it was created this very interesting persona. I mean, shit, man, do you remember we used to say that he was like, oh, who's the bus driver from The Simpsons? Oh, Otto? He was like, Otto, because he'd come, you know, pulling into the parking lot with that station wagon, with the surfboard hanging out, with fucking metal cranked, you know?

And it was just like, my God, who is this person, you know? And that's what I mean. I don't know if you can argue that the world was a more interesting place with Rob Bruce in it. And it's kind of a cliche. People say that bullshit all the time when some fucking idiot dies, but this is true. And when people die, those who knew them,

and even those who didn't, they try to create some kind of mythology around that person, right? And they try to sort of rewrite that person's history or their relationship with that person. But I don't think that- I've seen that. You know? But I don't think we need to do that with Rob. Like, we don't need to do anything to pump up Rob's memory or the way we are intending to remember him?

Or our relationships with him, like, like I said, I didn't really know him that well. I was friendly with him. He would always had a kind word for me. I never had an argument with him, but other than I really didn't really know the man all that well, I didn't know, but I was on friendly terms with him all the time. You, I think, had a much more connection with him because you worked so closely with him

for all those years. Yeah, we did. Leaning on him and his knowledge and everything. But we just bonded. We bonded. We had things in common, interest in history. We both were sober for you know 20 plus years or so So you know when everyone else was drinking we weren't drinking you weren't drinking either wall, you know

so Yeah, we just we just we got we got each other, you know we got him. I I really liked him. I you know, I don't want to keep beating that but You know that that to me guys, you know, I don't wanna keep beating that, but, you know, that to me, guys, was, you know, when you asked me to do this, I thought, you know, a lot of people are saying a lot of stuff. The one thing I can say is what I've been saying, is that he was invaluable to that show and what's great for the family,

you know, is that they can always look back. You can see him in those episodes and what you see is what you get if you want to know what rob was like I don't know what it was like as a husband or a father but if you want to know what he was like as a dude you ran into and met and maybe had you know had a cup of coffee with I feel like that guy is on the show. And I guess that before me that the testament to your affection for him is he lasted, he lasted in that job where I think he may not have lasted.

With a list for giving showrunner. Oh, believe me. There were several people who asked me flat out. And you know what? And I can identify with that because, you know, there's been people that I've hired and I'm like, you know, that like been people that I that I've hired that I'm like you know that like That make other people rip their hair out. I think I mean who you talking about? No, I'm talking about our resident in genius though. He could yes he has an ability to make other people rip their hair out

But I was like I don't care. I like the guy I feel like there's nothing he could do that would make me be like, he's out of here. I mean, I guess there is. There's probably a couple things. Certainly not like it, and certainly not pressing someone else's buttons though. Same thing, you know, you get put up with it. That's like if you're friends and you're truly friends, you overlook it. And that's the bottom line, that's what friends do. Bottom line is, if you met him, you probably will never forget him.

You know what, Walt? That may be the most profound and true statement that's been uttered at this table. That is true, and that is the mark of a true character. You know, that is, look, I ask myself, can you look back and say that your life had been made better or worse by having Rob Bruce in it?

And I don't know. I don't even know if people who count him as someone that they don't like could say their life was made worse by knowing him. It was probably made more interesting. I mean unless he swindled you out of millions of dollars or you know killed your cat, maybe he made your life worse. But if you're going to say your life was made worse because some of his personality trace annoyed you and because he was kind of a

shit talker and would you know would kick up dust here and there. Did it make your life worse or did it just make your life more interesting and give you more funny tales to tell around a campfire one day? You know? I will say without question that knowing robber who's made me a smarter person, a better person, a more understanding person and broadened my scope of knowledge about many things. And just the sheer fact of knowing him made me feel better about life and the possibilities of life and loss and

redemption. I got to know a bunch of his story and his story is a good one. His story is a story of a human being who is different, who you can't put into a box who has lived many lives, wore many hats. But definitely, as you say, Walt left an impression on everybody who came into his world, you know, and at the end of the day, if we can say that about anybody in ourselves, then I think it was, you know, a life worth living. We don't know how long we have on this planet, and we don't know how long we have on this planet and we don't know how long the people who are in our orbit are going to be with us.

Exactly, you know, if there's, you know, I'm sure every time you hear about someone passing now you wonder, you know, should I go write some men, some fences before? You can't help but think of yourself. Right, yeah, but. Yeah, but. Yeah, should I do different? Yeah, I do something differently.

Should I patch up these fucking meaningless wars? And shit, yeah, I hear you. Yeah, you tend to reflect like that. But I'm glad you're able to find some time. I know you're, you're, you've been dealing with your mom being ill, but I, I knew you had to be here for this one. I'm not to this not to this is not an way to insult me, but like

like if I knew that you were you needed to be here more than even me because you truly had some some real affection for the man that like nobody else could bring, you know know like I like them But you generally like you said you start out you said you loved them Yeah, and that's and that's true Right here I love you Brian Johnson. I love you all flanagan. I love you too You're a big part of my life.

And let me say it now, because who knows? Why don't you make it hit by a fucking bus when you leave here? Oh, you're gonna strip me off. We don't strip the bus. No, but all I know is serious now, like, yeah, because, I mean, you filled about, fucking 45 minutes of this tribute,

which we need it. We need it. We needed, we needed some real good, positive, Rob Bruce content for a tribute. And I don't know if Bri had it at 45 minutes, I don't. Yeah, I think so. And that's not to say anything, that's not like I said, we just didn't have the relationship that Brian and, you know.

Right, yeah, like such a close working relationship. Yeah, like I've known the guy, I mean, technically, since 1997. Right. You know, other people, you know, if I'm doing attributes in the future, it'll depend on who it is. I'm sure I'll be able to offer a little bit more.

Yeah. I, guys, I, I really, I'm glad I could make it here. I appreciate you having me in on this. It's helping me with my own process of like letting this sink in. This has been great for me to do, great for me to see you guys and get some normal sea. You know, as you said, it's been a little, you know, a little nutty with my mom's health right now.

So I was able to get a break and come out here. I did one thing. I did one little search of the internet before i left the house on my know how close rob felt to his roots his scottish roots of being a somehow a direct descendant of robberton robert the bruce oh yeah um... which Laura a bruise confirmed for me when i spoke to her the other day um... and i i just i just wanted to see man what did brought what did Robert the Bruce ever say

uh... that could be applied uh... to the loss of our Robert the Bruce and i found this one is this that Robert the Bruce is a historical real figure who what he fought wars he was the i guess the ruler of scottland under williams all right part yeah yeah he did he was in so he was fighting Yeah, he was like the liberator of Scotland in a skirt, but like a fucking a man's man to a war skirt Yeah, I was a king. I like to that And I found one one little little quote from him that I thought I thought nice Robert the Bruce would like to hear.

Okay, and it goes like this, when under the sweetness of peace, the minds of the faithful find rest. Robert the Bruce. Heavy, right? That's a way that is nice to go out on. You know, I want to, I'm sure Brian as well. I mean, we want to appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed this tribute to our Bruce.

Thank you, Brian. Thank you, Brian. Yeah. Thank you, guys. We're going to miss you, buddy. Yeah. Find rest, my friend. He's up there right now probably making a deal.

He's taking somebody. We're lying about it. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha We're lying about it.