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From their “Park Bench Perspective,” Carlos and Mike Hammer reminisce about growing up in St. Louis Park and early work experiences, starting with a childhood paper route and frustrations with school fundraisers, including a story about Melissa McCarthy opting to write a check rather than sell magazines. They compare fundraisers like paper drives and Girl Scout cookies and joke about shrinkflation. The conversation shifts to first jobs: Hammer dishwashing at the Ambassador Motor Hotel (union breaks, heavy pots and pans) and briefly working at Jolly Troll before quitting due to a creepy manager; Carlos describes working at TGI Fridays as a teen, cutting his thumb and receiving a disability payout, then being fired over an earring, and quitting Plums after 17 straight days. They mention other jobs (Shakey’s, Snyder Drug, Tom Thumb, Domino’s) and discuss restaurant theft, service, and management lessons. Carlos announces a new podcast with Joe Reilly, “Forgotten Television,” debuting with The White Shadow, teases another podcast with Hammer, and they plan “Jobs Part Two,” while plugging Hammer’s handyman/construction work and Carlos’s writing project “The Ghost of Lake Osseo.”

00:00 Park Bench Intro
00:31 First Money Jobs
01:03 Fundraiser Rants
04:03 Girl Scout Shrinkflation
05:24 First Real Restaurant Jobs
09:04 TGI Fridays Thumb Story
11:55 More Teen Jobs List
13:12 Dominos Before GPS
15:26 Restaurant Theft Wisdom
20:26 New Podcasts Announcement
21:29 Jobs Part Two Tease
24:11 Wrap Up and Contact

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St. Louis Park Summertime Perspectives (and the “Bare Ass Pool” Story)

Carlos Figueroa and Mike Hammer talk on Park Bench Perspectives about May leading into summer in St. Louis Park, recalling elementary track meets (relays, sack races), a tougher era of safety (asphalt playgrounds, no bike helmets, lawn jarts), and the start of summer baseball with Little League drafts, uniforms, opening day, and a memorable visit from a Japanese Little League team whose disciplined play and submarine pitching were intimidating. They reminisce about the last day of school paper-throwing chaos, summer park programs with the “green box” of games (four square, capture the flag, Knox hockey), neighborhood mischief, Cub Scout paper drives and liability fears, exploring marshland, and local traffic changes advocated by “Disco Dave Hammer.” They also cover the rec center pool, beaches and cabins, teen driving and partying stories, and invite listeners to share St. Louis Park trivia—jokingly titling the episode “Bare Ass Pool” after discussion of nude swim classes in earlier decades.

00:00 May Bench Banter
01:07 School Track Meet Memories
02:13 Dangerous Games and No Helmets
04:13 Little League Draft Days
05:32 Japanese Team Showdown
08:05 Last Day School Chaos
10:53 Summer Parks and Green Box
12:01 First Kisses and Window Breaking
14:44 Neighborhood Games and Lawsuits
16:49 Cub Scouts Paper Drive Hustle
19:16 Cub Scouts and Summers
19:28 Neighborhood Exploring Tales
20:19 Phone Book Anderson Joke
20:37 Hampshire Road Changes
22:02 Snowballs and Speeders
22:53 Highway Frogger Food Runs
23:43 Mark Globus Memories
25:09 Rec Center Pool Days
28:50 Beaches Falls and Cabins
30:01 Boy Scout Camp Mischief
31:06 Road Trips and Teen Years
33:24 Driving Drinking Concert Chaos
35:58 Podcast Wrap and Call In
37:44 Bare Ass Pool Trivia
39:10 Bench Season Goodbye

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On Mother’s Day, hosts Mike Hammer and Carlos Figueroa return to their “park bench perspective,” invite listeners to leave Fan Mail or voicemails on their Buzzsprout page to share St. Louis Park stories, and dedicate a mom-centric episode to their late mothers, Judy and Maria. They discuss grief and the ongoing one-way “conversation” after a parent’s death, including therapy practices like talking at the cemetery and writing letters, and reflect on how their moms quietly supported families and neighborhoods through work, Scouts, sports, and hospitality. The conversation touches on generational realities such as women’s limited ability to sign contracts before 1974, financial strain after divorce, and the importance of checking on others. They also share personal memories, including Marty Hammer’s severe accident and ICU ordeal, Maria’s lonely phone calls, and Judy’s “not today” refrain near the end of her life.

00:00 Park Bench Return

00:43 Listener Voicemails Invite

01:50 Mothers Day Reflections

03:29 Grief Coping Tools

04:37 Moms Who Show Up

05:32 Pick A Pop Memories

07:09 Divorce And Resilience

09:00 Check In On People

10:13 Entrepreneur Mindset

15:23 Sales Luck And No

17:40 Create Your Own Luck

18:50 Handling Rejection

19:11 Rejection Isn’t Personal

19:57 Sales Process and Asking

20:43 Fair Deals and Karma

21:17 Hidden Fees and Tipping Screens

23:55 Back to Mothers and Similarities

24:41 Judy’s Compassion and Passivity

25:54 Aging Parents and Doctor Visits

27:49 Marty’s Accident and Aftermath

33:19 Shoutout to Moms

33:36 Maria Story and Not Today

36:25 Final Farewell

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