Season Five, Season Finale

The spark came back. After years of stop‑start attempts, grief, and a creative blackout, we rebuilt a season anchored in adventure—small, daily acts of courage and a few big ones too. From a solo motorcycle ride to Montana to quiet porch conversations with Pop, this year was about sticking with the craft, telling better stories, and letting a community shape the mic as much as the mic shapes the community.

Fletch discusses the roots of the show and how a year of adventure showed up in  tighter storytelling, richer interviews, and the season’s heartbeat: ordinary people taking brave steps. He then caps it with a moment on the porch as Pop draws the adventure book giveaway winner and adds a handwritten note, because we know that connection matters as much as content.

Then we look ahead. Season 6 turns toward midlife shifts: the real work of change in purpose, identity, career, location, health, and money. We will rethink the tired “midlife crisis” trope, and meet a lineup of people who changed lanes late to hear the costs, the fears, and the unexpected wins. Our goal next season is simple—normalize reinvention, lower the hurdles, and map the first steps so you can try your own pivot with a little less dread and a lot more courage.
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Guest Information
Joe Fletcher (Pop)
Born in Somerville, NJ in 1930, Pop is a regular guest of theMangoTimes Podcast. He spends his days tending to his garden and relaxing on the back porch (summer) and in his smoke shop (winters). He is a voracious reader (1-2 books each week on his favorite Kindle) and focuses on biographies and histories. Pop loves to take your questions, so feel free to contact him here: Let’s Connect.

Resources and Links
Episode 44: Top Five Adventure Books

Music used in this episode:
- Life of Riley and Carefree by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100449
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
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AFTER YOU LISTEN, PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW BY...
✅ Sharing this episode with a friend RIGHT NOW!
✅ PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS HERE.
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Chapters

• 1:24 Welcome to the Show
• 2:37 Origins And Early Reboots
• 5:15 Building Season Five’s Adventure Theme
• 7:27 Community Stories And Impact
• 8:17 Teasing The 30-Year Celebration
• 9:48 Support The Show: Share, Tacos, Reviews
• 11:07 Porch With Pop: Giveaway Winner
• 13:00 Announcing Season Six: Midlife Shifts
• 15:15 How To Text And Connect

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Free audio post-production by Alphonic.com.

SPEAKER_01: 0:10

Today on the Mango Times Podcast, I'll be on the porch with Pop as he picks the winner of our adventure book giveaway. We're also wrapping up season five of the podcast and giving you a little bit of an intro for what's coming next. Stick with me, this is episode 46 of the Mango Times Podcast. Welcome to the Mango Times Podcast. This is Fletch, and I'm the writer and editor for everything you read and listen to here on the Mango Times. On this podcast, we're going to discuss anything and everything that we experience together here on this crazy planet. So join me as I talk about different aspects of culture, from great movies to great music, to everything we love to binge watch online together. And I'll do my best to entertain you as I share my perspective on life as a husband, dad, and grandfather to a big loud family. So sit back as I grab a cup of coffee and my favorite dog and quietly make some noise. Hey, this is Fletch, and I want to welcome you to episode 46 of the Mango Times Podcast. We are wrapping up our adventure year. That's right, we have reached the final two episodes of the Mango Times Podcast for season five. So today's episode is going to be a little bit of a porch sit with Pop, a little bit of a reflection. I'm going to share what this adventure-themed year has meant to me, what's coming up next, and then, like I said, on the porch with Pop as he picks the winner and announces who has won our adventure book giveaway that we had several weeks ago. Then, next episode, our final episode of the year, we are going to mark something a little more personal. It's 30 years of the Mango Times. So we're celebrating our 30th anniversary of the Mango Times. But for now, do me a favor, let's light up a pipe, pour yourself a cup of coffee or a cup of hot black tea, and let's look back on a pretty remarkable season of stories. All right, as we start this episode, I just want to talk a little bit about seasons on the Mango Times podcast. You know, when I started this, the podcast, I was just monkeying around. My wife and I had a podcast called Homeschooling in Real Life. You can still go find that online. If you search Fletch and Kendra Homeschooling in Real Life, you'll find our very successful homeschooling podcast where we just talked about all the things Christian homeschoolers were not talking about. That's right. We pulled the curtain back on Christian homeschooling and we jumped into conversations like how to deal with culture, how to deal with things like movies. I remember some of my favorite episodes were homeschooling, Harry Potter, and Halloween. You know, things that Christian homeschoolers just got their undies in a bunch over. So we did that, we did that series, I think like 150 episodes. I I forget now, so you you'd have to go check. It doesn't matter. But while we were doing that, I'm like, I have this recording equipment. I should start a podcast for the Mango Times. I was already blogging. I had already won some uh blogging awards for my blog, and I thought, hey, why don't I start a podcast? So it just became a little hobby project, and I monkeyed around with it. I did some recording for some other homeschool radio shows, and I would just include those on here. And so if you go back through the catalog of the of this podcast, if you whatever app you're using, just most people are using Apple Podcasts, if you just, you know, roll up the screen of episodes, you'll see some of those early shows were quick, disconnected, the quality sucked, and I finally just stopped. But then I started again, and I'm like, hey, let's reboot this podcast, let's do it this time. And then life got in the way, and then I stopped again. And then I'm like, no, let's reboot this. I think I rebooted several times. And then some things happened. Some big things happened. My brother-in-law Jeff died. There was COVID 2020. The church blew up, uh, the church that I was going to uh blew up. And really, just too many challenges kind of knocked the wind out of my creative sails. And I just said, that's it, I'm not doing this. And I just buried the podcast for four years. Well, in January, my mom died. And I I was just kind of a reawakening time for me to say, I'm gonna reboot my blog, I'm gonna reboot my website, and I'm gonna reboot this podcast, and this time I'm gonna stick to it. Well, folks, that's what season five was all about was a commitment to rebooting the podcast. Now I started off the season just going through the Fletch Afesto. I picked up where I left off, just going through each point of the Fletch Festo. And then part of that was turning it into what I knew was going to be the word of the year, which was adventure, a year of adventure. So I started talking about how to live adventure, how to how to live daily adventures, um, how to go on an adventure, you know, and I I shared my story of going to Montana, my solo motorcycle ride to Montana and back, the 12-hour walk. I talked to my dad on the porch. That became a big part of season five, it was just sharing stories. And so that's what season five was. It was it was this great year for me to relaunch and stick to some creativity. So why did it stick this year? What was it about this year that made me stick to podcasting? You know what it was? It was that desire to be creative that just was rekindled in me. You know, when I started this all out, it was the desire to write and to blog and to put humor into what I was putting down on the screen for people to read. But then I thought, you know what, let's get creative again and do that with the podcast. And and what stuck this year is I've been creative on stage. You know, I've been part of an improv troupe, the mod players improv troupe. And and we heard some interviews with some of my co-players in the last episode. I have been writing for the stage. I got to write a play. I got to act in some productions. I got to be in Phantasm in the Footlights in downtown Modesto, which was this vaudeville variety show. Well, all of that, just hanging out with creative people, is really what kept motivating me to do this podcast. And you know what personally? I hope you've liked it. I hope you've liked what I have shared about adventure, about just listening to a 95-year-old guy talk on a porch, and about interviewing a bunch of people in what I consider to be my philosophy of life, the Fletch Festo. But the truth is, it changed me along the way. And I realized I love this medium, and I love interviewing people, and I love stories, and I love hearing from people in different walks of life. You know, in a lot of ways, this has become a peak into my community of the people I hang out with, and I love sharing that with you. Whether it's a story about someone who was addicted to methamphetamines, or whether it was a story about people who have just accomplished huge adventures, I'm I'm so thankful I get to welcome you in because these are people from my community. And when I wrap up next episode, our 30th anniversary, I plan on taking the month of December and just sharing some of my favorite parts of this year's interviews as we gear up for next year. And speaking of our next episode, again, it's 30 years of celebration of the Mango Times. You know, a lot of you wonder what does that mean? Thirty years ago, I moved up to a Native American reservation in Northwest California to practice dentistry. It was my first gig. And I started sending an email home and I called it the Mango Times. And that turned into a website, and that turned into a blog, and another blog, and then another blog, and eventually it turned into a podcast, and now it's turned into an entire website that contains writings and photos and blogs and websites and social media accounts, all called the Mango Times. That was 30 years ago. And next episode, we're gonna celebrate. I have some guests from the 30 years that have helped, influenced, encouraged me along the way. And they are going to be coming on. They are going to be sharing some stories and some celebrations. And I'm looking forward, it's gonna be a quick 30-year anniversary celebration. Hopefully, I can get Kendra on the mic. She's got the voice, it sounds like butter. Hopefully, I can get her back in the studio with me just to talk about it quickly. So that will be our next episode, and I cannot wait to share what that with you. Then I'm going to take a quick holiday break and come back in January strong with a whole new season. But before we talk about that, I think it's time for us to head out to the porch and see who the winner of our adventure book series is. Hey Fletch here back in the studio. If you've been enjoying the Mago Times podcast, the best way to support the show is very simple. First and easiest, just share the show, share this episode with someone you think would like it. Second, you can buy me a taco. It's a super fun way to fund the show. Just go down the show notes and hit buy Fletch a Taco. Lastly, and most importantly, you can leave me a review and a rating over on Apple Podcasts. Listen to this one that just came in this month.

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I am truly enjoying Fletch's thoughts and adventures, more so his process throughout. Not only do I appreciate this life experience, but value the questions he poses to his audience. It gets me thinking, there is such importance in this type of community spirit, each other on our individual experiences. Thank you, Fletch.

SPEAKER_01: 10:45

Seriously, as a listener to this podcast, leaving a review is a fantastic way to support the show and to help other people find the podcast. So, whichever one of those you choose, I just want you to know. I really, really appreciate it. Alright, enough begging. Let's get back to our show. Alright, so we're sitting out here in the smoke shop and we are getting ready to pick names for our adventure book winner. We had 10 entries. And sitting in the hat are the 10 names of people who tried out for the adventure book giveaway. Pop, are you ready? I'm ready. Alright, reach in the hat, grab one piece of paper. Oh, he's mixing them up, folks. He's got one. Go ahead and open it up and tell us who won. Oh. James Estes. James Estes? Boy, he's been a good listener of the Mango Times, too. That's good. He wants undaunted courage. Oh, yes. About the building of the railroad. Yes. So I tell you what, why don't we uh get that book for him? You wouldn't mind writing something in the book to James, would you? Oh, absolutely. So, James, uh, we will get that book for you. And you l you're close enough to the Mango Times that we'll actually probably hand deliver that book to you. Sure. And we want you to uh enjoy reading about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. And we want to thank you for being a listener of the Mango Times podcast. Any words of wisdom for him as we leave? Well, man, just keep the faith. Keep the faith, James. Thanks for playing. All right, congratulations to my buddy James for winning the adventure book giveaway. Thank you to everyone who submitted submissions. We will get a copy of Undaunted Courage Your Way, and I will even have Pop write a special note inside for you. Alright, with that wrapped up, let's talk a little bit about next season. 2026, season six of the Mango Times is going to be all about midlife shifts. Midlife, we're gonna start the season talking about what a midlife crisis looks like. You know, we talk a lot about a midlife crisis. People have joked about it with me, and it's kind of funny, you know. You have all these motorcycles, you've done these big adventure trips, you're focusing on dogs, whatever it is, people love to say you're having a midlife crisis. I don't think we even know what a midlife crisis is. I know we like to say it, and I know we think we know what it means, but I'm actually gonna break that down. We're gonna get a buddy on here who's a therapist, and we're gonna talk about what it looks like to go through a midlife crisis from a therapist's perspective. And once we kind of decipher what that means, then we're gonna go into this concept of midlife shifts. People who've been doing something and then make a right turn and decide, this is what I want to do now. I'm gonna stop doing this for whatever reason. It may be health, it may be finances, it may be relocation, I don't care. The idea is you were doing something and then you did something else. And the reason I want to talk about it is I think a lot of us want to do that. A lot of us say, you know, if I could, if I had my choice, I would do this. But I'm too afraid, I don't have enough money, you know, my people won't support me. My wife thinks I'm crazy, my husband thinks I'm nuts. There's no way I can do this. I I would have to make all these changes, I would have to spend all this money, whatever it is. And I want to talk to people who've done it. I want to see if we can normalize it. I want to see if we can make it more approachable. I want to see if we can learn the hurdles that people jumped over so that the rest of us who are listening can say, you know what? I think I'm gonna try that. I think I'm gonna do that. I've always wanted to do that. So that is what our next season is going to be about. There are gonna be definite conversations about purpose, about identity, about change, and really about courage and what it means to navigate a midlife change. Now, here's where you come in. If you've got questions or stories about your own midlife shift, or if you just want to suggest someone who would be a great guest, I would love to hear from you. And here is how you do it. I think a lot of people have said, how do I reach you? Well, first off, I've made it extremely easy. So let's just pretend you're using the Apple Podcast app. If you're listening to podcasts on your on your iPhone, just slide down the episode. You you find the episode, you see the title of this episode, and as you slide down, in the notes for this episode, the very first line says send Fletch a text. And when you click on that, it's gonna open up your texting app. There'll be a number that says do not remove. That's because it identifies me. It'll send it directly to me. It'll actually send it to my podcasting app. I won't know who's sending it unless you include your name. You can text me whatever you want. I don't use it for marketing. I'm not going to. I won't email you back. I can't. It's just a message to the show. Now, if you don't want to do that, if if that's too difficult for you and you're like, make can you make it even easier? You can. You can go to the MangoTimes.com and hit let's connect and just send me an email. There's a messaging right on there, just your name and what you want to tell me, and it'll come directly to me. I would love to hear if you have had a midlife shift and you want to talk about it. I would love to hear a suggestion of someone that's had a midlife shift that you know. I'll reach out to them. Just give me the details, I will reach out to them. I already have about a dozen people lined up for next year. If you have questions, if you are if you want to talk about this, if you want to ask questions about what it means to shift at midlife, or you have fears, or you have concerns, or anything you want to share, send me a text, go to the Mango Times, hit let's connect, and let's work on this together. I'm all about collaborating. And if you want to collaborate with me on this topic, I'd love to hear from you. All right. So for this second to last show of the season, I think I've reached everything I want to talk about. First off, I want to thank all of you. I want to thank all of my listeners, my new listeners, for a full year of podcasting. You know, we started this ride back in January, and I'm still amazed that you keep showing up each week. So thank you for listening to The Mango Times. I have a creative circle around me of people that keep me going. And at the top of the list is my wife, who just encourages me to continue to be creative. She knows how important it is for me to do improv. She has encouraged me to drive to Sacramento once a week to get better at that. She has encouraged me to go up on an open mic night. She has encouraged me to sit in my office and record in my studio once a week. So I cannot thank my wife enough for all the people involved in my creative circle, those people that are often around my fire pit, just helping me find humor and making me laugh. Thanks to Isaac, Tara, Christian, Caroline, Roy, Corey, Kirk, Lori, all the people in my creative circle that make me laugh and help me build good humor. Obviously, I need to say thank you to my pop for being willing to be on this show. Uh every time I clip a microphone on him, I think he just shakes his head. Thank you to all my listeners and all my guests this year. Everybody that was on the Mango Times, I appreciate it. Uh, thank you so much. And to those people that make good pipe tobacco and good coffee, thank you to you as well. So that is it for episode 46. This is Fletch, and as always, I want to remind you when you get out there, don't forget to quietly make some noise. I will see you next time for our 30-year celebration. You have been listening to the Mango Times podcast. Everything written and produced on this is by Andy Fletcher. If you're going to use it, steal it, borrow it, or share it on the internet, please just let me know. I don't care. I just want to know where my voice is being used out on the internet. And as a bit of a disclaimer, don't forget, everything I recommend on this podcast, you should use discretion. Choose whether you should watch it, listen to it, eat it, try it, go there. But when you do, don't forget to quietly make some noise. Thanks for listening. All right, so we're sitting out here in the smoke shop. Oh, let me redo it.

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Free audio postproduction by alphonic.com.