From Classroom To Couch: A Midlife Reinvention

Sometimes the door you’d never choose is the one that finally opens.

Today I sit down with marriage and family therapist Chris Oneth to unpack a gritty pivot: from high school dropout to beloved history teacher… to therapist after a career-ending reset.

The move into therapy came with both fear and strange confirmation. An old wedding announcement resurfaced where he’d once said he wanted to become a therapist. The counseling office he visited at nineteen would later become his own. On his first day in mental health, he was handed the very laptop he’d use to finish his master’s degree.

He built on his teacher’s toolkit...the whiteboards, curriculum, presence...and developed a tri-relational model exploring our relationship with self, others, and environment.

This isn’t a glossy reinvention story.

It’s an honest look at identity, owning mistakes, and choosing action when the plan dissolves.

If this episode nudges you, follow the show, share it with someone who needs courage for a pivot, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find these conversations.

What’s the next brave step you’re ready to take?

If you’re feeling stuck — listen to that feeling. Ask why. Then send it.

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Guest Information
Chris Oneth is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) based in Modesto, California, and the Executive Director of Downey Park Counseling Associates. With a background in education and years of counseling experience, Chris works with individuals, couples, and families navigating identity, relationships, and life transitions — especially the questions that surface at midlife.

Outside the therapy room, Chris is a fellow adventurer, overlander, and motorcycle rider. Like Fletch, he’s partial to his Triumph motorcycle, spending time on the road and trail where reflection, perspective, and renewal tend to show up naturally.

Resources and Links
Downey Park Counseling
Chris Oneth - Personal Website
Venn Diagram - Purpose
Our Next Question - Podcast with Chris Oneth and Melanie Jones

Music used in this episode:
All music in this episode is licensed for use through Epidemic Sound.

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Transcript

Fletch 0:02

Welcome to the Mango Times Podcast. Hey, it's Fletch, your host of the Mango Times Podcast, and I'm back here in the studio for another episode. That means I have a pipelit, I've got a steaming hot cup of black coffee, and I am ready to sit down. I have a guest today that you've already heard. Actually, on the first episode of the season, Chris Oneth came on. He's a marriage and family counselor, and we talked about what is a midlife crisis, and he really helped me kick off this season of talking about midlife adventure. Well, I was able to talk Chris into staying in the studio to talk about his own midlife adventure. Um, and this is a story that's a little more uh messy. I hate that term. No, that's a messy thing, but but it was. It's a little messier. Uh, this isn't an epic adventure, although Chris loves epic adventures, you know, riding motorcycles. Um he's he's ridden across country and and canoeed down the Mississippi with a friend. I mean, he loves those big epic adventures of overlanding. However, this isn't a story of someone who carefully planned an exit and chased a dream. Now, this is again a little more personal. Uh, this is a story where the decision was made for him. There was a job loss, uh, there was a career that ended, and suddenly the future looked very different than the plan. If he hadn't been forced to pivot, maybe he wouldn't have. But sometimes life throws us a curveball. And what feels like loss and disappointment can actually become unexpected invitation. So, again, this is a personal story about identity, about disappointment. Uh, there's also aspects in here, a lot of aspects in here about courage. And what happens when you finally choose the thing that you always wanted to do. So, join me for a conversation today about adventure. Not the Instagram kind, but the kind that shows up when life decides to rewrite your script. Alright, let's head into the studio now with Chris Oneth.

Welcome Chris Oneth

Fletch 2:20

Alright, so I'm sitting in the studio with uh someone we've already heard before on the Mango Times Podcast. This is my friend Chris Oneth. Chris, welcome to the Mango Times Podcast. Thanks, Fletch. Thanks for having me. Hey, last time we talked about the midlife crisis. You helped us define it, you helped us talk about it. On this episode, I want to get into your story. So we didn't do this last time. Why don't you tell a little bit about your backstory? How do we know each other?

Chris 2:44

Oh, geez, how do we know each other? Well, we went to church together, Fletch. That's it. Boom, done. Church. Our kids were friends. Yeah, our kids were friends. There may have been a few embarrassing moments on my part within that span.

Fletch 2:56

Oh, aren't there always, though? So I want to talk to you about your road, the pivots you've made in life, your maybe your current second act, maybe there's gonna be a third act, who knows?

Chris 3:09

So, where did life start for you? I was raised by a single mom. Okay, who raised my sister and I, my sister is four years older, and then my mom found my stepdad, and I when I was six years old, they married, and then he adopted us, and I went from being Christopher Snyder to Christopher Ownath. Okay. So a little bit of an identity shift. Yes, a little bit. Then we moved to San Ramon and lived there. We could eat off the streets in San Ramon. And I as a kid I loved just exploring and going out in the creek and getting lost and getting poison oak every other day. What year was this? Oh gosh. Moved to Santa or moved to San Ramon in 1980.

Fletch 3:50

Okay.

Chris 3:51

I was born in 1972. All right. Lived there for oh seven years, and then dad passed away when I was eleven years old, then moved to the Central Valley Modesto, where I started high school in the first day of high school. I did not know a soul. Who were you in high school? Who was I in high school at the end of the day? Yeah. Or what were you drawn to? What was I drawn to? I wanted nice hair and nice clothes. Okay. That was it. I had no aspirations, no goals. I liked history. Those are the classes I paid attention in. English and history. Math was horrible. I tried to avoid it at all costs and really resonate with this Jimmy Buffett song, Math Sucks. You know what?

Fletch 4:35

Just for the sake of our audience, let's put it in the click of Math Sucks right here. All right. Thanks for boy. I didn't even think to ask for that one. That is a little hanging free. That was easy for me. What did you think adulthood was supposed to look like when you were in high school?

Chris 5:02

Oh gosh. I you know, I it's funny. Looking back, I didn't even conceptualize adulthood. It I was so in the moment. And and granted, it was part of my upbringing, part of my trauma. My father, stepfather was an alcoholic. Mom was raised in an alcoholic home. There was some emotional immaturity that she passed on. And so there was just this maybe a survival just every day. And it wasn't desperate survival. I just distracted myself with whatever I wanted to have fun with. One of the things I never did, though, is get into drugs and alcohol. Okay. I liked to chase girls and I like That's why you're on the Mango Times podcast.

Fletch 5:40

No drugs or alcohol, but I like to chase girls. That is one of the That was a hobby.

Chris 5:48

I had this image of what I wanted to be, but without any foundation or how I was going to get there. So I ended up dropping out of high school my senior year. Now eventually you became a teacher. Can you connect those dots? So I met my and then because I was interested in girls, I uh we there was a new girl that showed up to the church college group, Melanie Jones, and she was smart and confident

From Dropout To Teacher

Chris 6:15

and beautiful, and uh she knew the Bible better than I did. And I was like, man, I better step up my A game because for some reason she was talking to me. So we end up getting married, and I end up, I remember I went to a job interview at Big Five Sporting Goods. And I was super excited. It was before we were married, and I was like, this is gonna be this is a great start to my life. I want an adult here, I want to have a family, I want to have a wife. And so he interviewed me and he said, uh, hey, so here's proof of where you graduated high school, hand me all these papers. And a week before I had my done my classic technique at that age, and I just avoided. And so when it came time to take my GED test, I just didn't show up. So I sat before him and I said, Well, actually, and I did reschedule, that was honest. I said, Well, actually, in another week I'm gonna be taking the GED. And he picture this, he he's sitting forward, handing me papers, and and when I say this, he sits back and he crosses his arms and he shakes his head and he says, I can't tire a dropout. And in that moment, my blood just went cold, and I remember just feeling out of body, and I stood up and I kind of gathered my things, and I went home and got actually had a motorcycle at the time. I got on my motorcycle and I went home to Melanie. She was at an apartment that we weren't living together, but I lived there by myself, and then she would come and visit. She was there, and I f I remember being on my knees and just bawling my head off. And I say to this day, you know, it probably would have felt better if he just punched me in the face. But he didn't, but he also told me exactly what I needed to hear. So at that point, I I took the G B Ged, passed it, and then I went to work for uh the gallow winery. During this time, I have friends that are going to seminary, they're getting in their master's degrees in seminary. And so we were talking about things, we're, you know, life, philosophy, ideas. And, you know, some of them are saying, Chris, why don't you go back to school? You can totally pull this off. But I I realized if I unless I had a skiller in education, so my plan was to go to JC. And these this back then, guys, this is how it worked. You call you, you, you, did that it was an automated system, and you tried to get into these classes, you dialed in the number of the class or class, the class number, and it would tell you if you got in or you're on the waiting list. And so I pretty much was on the waiting list for all my classes because it was going to be my first semester. And one of the classes that I was that I wanted to take is some sort of business class or whatever. Well, Melanie said, I couldn't get you into that class, so I thought you would really like Western civilization. And the class she got me in was taught by a guy named Anthony Bedford. He was from Great Britain, lived through the German bombings of Operation Sea Line. Fantastic. And his stor I was enraptured. Is that a word? I was, yeah, I was wrapped with attention.

Fletch 9:22

Okay, because I don't I feel like I should look up enraptured because it makes me feel like there was something sexual involved. Ooh. Yeah. So I was enraptured. I don't know that, but out this is and again, thanks for coming to the Mango Times Podcast. Perfect. Perfect.

Chris 9:41

All right. So yes, I loved everything. The guy had an accent, the guy, and then I heard another one of my history teachers, uh, Bill Newell, who commanded the attention of an entire forum classroom with his tales of the West. And I was like, I want to do this, I want to do this. And so I developed a passion, and I always loved history, and and then I became a great student. So that eventually got you to teaching. Got me into teaching. I wanted to be the guy that could talk to a kid and be like, hey man, I I understand, having a hard time. So that's what you loved about it. I loved that about it. And I love the subject matter. And I think looking back, I probably loved like the edification and the attention. Now, this is looking back with a therapist's eyes, but I think part of my part of my weakness is then I looked to those kids to edify me.

Fletch 10:36

So this might be a tricky question. What parts of you did teaching use? And what parts did it ignore?

Chris 10:42

What part did it use? Well, I think I'm gonna reframe that to say what parts did I use and what parts did I ignore in teaching. So what I used is my humor, my ability to connect with kids, people, people in general, because they're just people.

Fletch 10:58

Okay.

Chris 10:59

I used my forceful personality. I don't say strong personality because I don't think my personality was as strong back then as it is now. And the reason I say that is because the parts I did I ignored were my need for acceptance, yeah, my putting my in at times emotional okayness on how those kids behaved and whether or not they edified me. And so I I ignored those parts myself and you know, at you know, and I'm not talking about an everyday thing here, but yeah, I I would my my temper would would flare up sometimes, right? And I man, thinking back, it's like those kids, all of us, go through some crazy stuff.

Fletch 11:46

Did you think this would be a forever career? I did. Okay. You're no longer a teacher. I am not. Now you are a marriage and family therapist. Yes, I am. So a shift occurred in your life. Now we've already we were talking about this pre-show. Uh-huh. This wasn't a choice shift.

The Classroom Strengths And Blind Spots

Fletch 12:05

Right. You weren't you didn't hit a midlife crisis. No. You made a change. Do you want to go into that and tell us how you got there?

Chris 12:15

Sure. I was a teacher that kids connected with. Yeah. And I I it's weird because I wasn't doing things to try and impress them. I was still being me.

Fletch 12:27

Yep.

Chris 12:27

But yet deep down I wanted certain approval. And so I didn't go out of my way to try and be cool, but still I ignored that part of me that was like, what are you expecting from these kids? One of the things I wasn't expecting or didn't realize is that they were kids, you know, and they have rough home lives and all this other stuff. And so that's gonna come out. And so here's the so the story of what there was a few things that started to get me on the radar as far as disciplinary action with the school district. One of those was that there is a young man and putting his hands on girls in an inappropriate way. And so a few of these girls came to me and said, Mr. O, can you talk to so and so? And and so I did manual amount. I was cool about it, you know, and I and I said, Hey man, you gotta be careful, you know. You you know, you don't want to upset anyone. Well, he got very upset. And and probably I think it was about later that week, my daughter, who also went to the school, came in and told me that he had put his hand on her. Oh. And so in that moment, I didn't act like a teacher, I acted like a father. And I went and found the kid and I said, if you ever touch my daughter again, I will have you thrown out of the school. And I and and when I said those things, it wasn't very Christian, and it wasn't very teacherly, and it was overheard by a few people. So that was one. The second thing that really got got me is there was a young man who had threatened he had threatened to call his friends. There was an incident in where he came to a I was I was working overtime at it was called it was a Saturday school, sus in school suspension. And he had come with his girlfriend, and all of a sudden he storms out of the room, and I couldn't find his name on the roster. I didn't know who he was. And and come to find out he wasn't supposed to be there. And so I would see this, you know, they were they were a couple, and and and he was very upset that they're breaking up and very emotionally distraught. And so coming back to school the next week, I saw them together and I said, Hey guys, be careful. And he got really upset at me. And so it went from kind of talking this kid down and befriending the kid a little bit to him being, you know, probably very vulnerable and very insecure, and then him seeing that as a threat. And so he threatened to get his friends. He he opened his phone, he goes, You you wait, you wait right here and you'll see what happens. And I said, Okay, go ahead and call people. I said, Go ahead and call them. And I waited, and then he accused me of pushing him. So that in combination with a few other things got me on administrative leave. And so eventually what happened is they offered to buy me out for the year if I resign. And so I thought about that and I thought, man, that's tough. Do I want to go back to a job that potentially could be hostile? What are my options here? Well, I had just started

Incidents That Ended A Teaching Career

Chris 15:30

taking classes for my master's degree. And so I thought to myself, I mean, it's time to transition, of course. I mean, it it and so when when I part of what helped me is when I left teaching, I had a year's salary. That made the jump easy, easier because eventually the salary ran out, right? Right. Okay. So it it was very difficult because you get into that headspace where, like, hey, what I had dreamed of, what I'd hoped for all this time is now gone. And so what do I gonna do? And so what I did there, and I think is very important if anyone out there listening who may have lost a job, what you do is you you you find something that meets what you love to do. And part of what I love to do is help people. I'm still a teacher, I have a whiteboard, mainly for men. I created curriculum, I've done all these things to help facilitate my job as a therapist that I knew how to do because I was a teacher.

Fletch 16:34

Alright, so you're jumping now into the next career, and I want to take a pause here and then we're gonna go in there together. Hey, we're gonna take a quick break in the interview, and while we're paused, if you've been enjoying the Mango Times, would you take a minute and leave a review over on Apple Podcasts? It helps more than you know. It helps new listeners find these stories, and it lets me know that I'm heading in the right direction. So, you know what? You can go do it right now. I promise this conversation will be right here waiting when you get back. So go, leave a review. I'll see you when you get back. Alright, so we're back. I'm talking to Chris Oneth. We're talking about midlife shifts, and he just finished up a story about finishing the first half, which was teaching at the high school level, and we were just starting to talk about your decision to become a therapist. Yes.

Chris 17:34

How quickly did you make that decision? So here's the funny thing. On the c I'm gonna fa jump fast forward to on the cusp of when I was taking my licensure to be a therapist, we have to have two years of therapy before we take the test and get our license. On the cusp of taking that big test, my daughter found a a newspaper clip clipping of Melanie and I in our wedding announcement. And and the wedding announcement said Melanie wants to be a stay-at-home mom, she wants to raise kids, and Chris Ownath wants to be a marriage and family therapist. Wow. And I had forgotten all about that. Wow. Are you kidding me? That's crazy. Now, another piece of the puzzle was that when I was 19 years old, of course, I thought I knew everything. Yeah. I was raised by a single mom, and we were having high conflict because she didn't realize that I knew everything. And so she takes me to counseling in the very room that is now my office. Wow. Wow, that's this is all kismet. When I get to, you know, I go out, hand out resumes to to try and get a job in the mental health field, and I end up at this place called telecare. The day I got there, the day I started was the day they handed everyone a laptop computer to do all their notes on the field. And that was the computer I did all of my master's degree on. So there was all these little things, and there's about a thousand more I could tell you. This is all confirmational to you. So did you go into it with fear though? Yeah, and here the way I equated it is I was on a safe ship, and I honestly I could have gone back into teaching, right? I still had my credential. And and the thing with the teaching is it's like I I fully realize and accept, you know, some of the decisions and the actions I took w were not helpful. And so it wasn't like, well, you're doomed, figure it out. It was, hey, I have this other path, and step forward and move forward and be active. Yep. Do not just sit and say, okay, I'm doomed, I can't do anything. The way I equate it is I was essentially on one safe ship, and I saw another ship out in the sea, and I'd like, I want to get on that ship. And so I jumped in the water and I started swimming, and at some point you cannot turn back. Yeah, you just gotta get going. Man, that's a great power. Well, I knew you'd love it because the boats and the sand in there.

Fletch 20:08

No, that's just great. Because that the risk is jump, you had to jump off a boat. You do, you had to do and you had to do. You had to do a hundred percent. It wasn't you weren't getting off one boat and stepping on another one. No, you know, you had to navigate a sea. Sink or swim. Man, this is good, these are good word pictures.

The Narrative Of A Career Shift

Fletch 20:26

Were you worried at all about how others were going to see you if you left teaching?

Chris 20:31

So that's an interesting thing. So I I did I remember spending a lot of time trying to spin the the narrative. Okay. Right. And I'm sure in the stories I told, you know, I would go into these elaborate things about who the who the players were. Yeah. And I think it and I know I did that to try and, you know, not seem like like I I made the decisions I did or took the actions I took. Right. But I did. I did things that I now, granted, were there circumstances that w were were jacked up? Sure they were. Absolutely. But I also didn't respond in in my own integrity. I also didn't respond in s in some cases maturely. And being able to say, wow, that was that was a hard lesson. Right.

Fletch 21:18

And again, you you started this off by saying you've had the benefit now of a hundred percent.

Chris 21:23

Time therapy and to look back and go, Oh, I know what I was doing. Yeah, and I remember I remember the day I had to pack up my classroom, the principal was there. It was it was her name was Amy, and I said, I said, Amy, I'm not mad, you know, uh, in a way I totally understand. Right. And the irony of that is like here I am the one saying, you know, as if I'm the victim, saying, Hey, I'm not mad at you for firing me when you know I did stuff that was you know, I acted in ways that was not becoming of an adult.

Fletch 21:58

So how did you land? I mean You you said these stories about newspaper clippings and stuff like that, but how did you land on therapy?

Chris 22:04

I've always had some insight. And by the way, don't don't be fooled. Therapists have great insight into other people, not themselves. So Well, was this obvious to you or did you stumble into it?

Fletch 22:18

What, the therapy? Yeah. Going into becoming a therapist. Was it obvious or was it?

Chris 22:22

I think it was obvious to me.

Fletch 22:23

Okay.

Chris 22:23

I didn't feel like I stumbled, well, what am I gonna do? I guess I'll do this. I mean, I had a real like there was a there was an inkling beginning to happen even before the incident happened. Okay. So I was having ideas, and then um everything happened, and it was like, okay, this is where we're the the wave, the tidal wave came, and I'm like, oh, let's ride it.

Fletch 22:42

Did you have to dismantle anything in order to start over? Dreams, aspirations? Like, I'm gonna take down this whole path I had. I'm gonna break it off. Oh, okay.

Chris 22:52

Well, other than having summers off, you know. Okay. And part of what I tell people is, yeah, I got tired of having summers off, so I left teaching. Yeah. Who supported you maybe and who didn't along this path? Well, everyone, everyone supported me, and absolutely 150% my wife.

Fletch 23:08

Okay.

Chris 23:09

She we moved into this trip forplex one time, and there was this pile of rubbish that that was there, and on the top of this pile sat this broken up, gross, like child's rocking chair.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Yeah.

Chris 23:24

So we saw I see this pile up gross rocking chair, and and and it's later that day, or it's that evening, or whatever. And I go, Oh, did you see that pile of stuff out there? And she said, Oh, yeah, isn't it great? And she took that chair, she sanded it down, she reupholstered it, and she gave it to our daughter, and she had it for years before she grew out of it. But that is Melanie in a nutshell. She is so gifted and has just an ability to transform things.

Fletch 23:57

And so what you see, she could see the potential. A hundred percent.

Chris 24:01

Yeah, yeah.

Fletch 24:03

100%.

Chris 24:04

Remember, she married a telemarketing high school drama.

Fletch 24:07

Were you as you looked through it going into this new direction? Like I was I have been teaching, this was comfortable, I knew how to deal with students, I knew how I knew what my career path was. Were you terrified? Were you relieved?

Chris 24:23

Well, both. What do you think? Part of me was too busy and too challenged to be terrified. Okay. I didn't necessarily think of it as relief, like I don't have to do that anymore. There was some loss, of course, of my career and mourning that okay, the path I thought I was going to go down, I'm not. But there was also some excitement about the possibilities of what was ahead. Okay. And that's part of how I've always operated is being able to have a vision of what if and if only while not making that my master. Because you get too far into the what if and if only, and then it be then the situation you're in becomes unbearable because you see this, oh, I'd love this fantasy and this, that, and the other thing. Well, yeah, I had visions of man, we could be have my own office, call my own hours, you know, take time off, and do this, that, and the other thing. Well, guess what? I'm also you know, awake at three o'clock in the morning figuring out how to make payroll.

Fletch 25:21

Yeah, right. No. Did this new path scratch an itch? Yes. Uh that you were feeling?

Chris 25:27

Yes. Okay. In in what way? People fascinate me. Human behavior and patterns that I see and ways I can connect things. It inspired me to develop my own theory, try-relational model. And that is, you know, a relationship we have with ourselves, with with others and with the environment and how all those interact. I think it ties in also beautiful beautifully with the Trinity of Christianity.

Fletch 25:54

So that in a sense might have been the answer of did you were a bit maybe surprised by what becoming therapist unlocked in you? Yeah. Okay. Good way to put it, Fletch. Yeah. All right. Totally. Did it feel like coming home or building something new? That's interesting. Both.

Chris 26:12

It's that familiar and fantastic we talked about on the la uh the last podcast. Okay. It's like, okay, here's just review it again. Here's a base. The familiar is a base I can operate from. It's the ritual, it's the comfort, it's the safe place. And yet the fantastic is the risk and the adventure and the novelty. And we absolutely need both. And so I think that, you know, being a therapist unlocks that for me.

Fletch 26:39

Well, let's take a break here. We're going to come right back with the end of this episode. We're going to have some fun together. All right, so let's take a break. Before we wrap up this interview, there's one more thing. I'm always on the lookout for good stories, uh, especially the kind that involve courage, reinvention, midlife pivots, or just everyday killer adventure. If that's you or if that's someone you know, you can text me straight from the show notes. Or if it's easier, just head over to the Mangotimes.com and hit the Let's Connect button. I promise I'll do all the legwork because around here I believe a good story needs to be told. Alright, let's head back into the studio for the rest of this interview. Alright, so Chris,

Venn Diagram

Fletch 27:26

you saw this in the season launch. I showed you this Venn diagram. You did. And now I want you to respond to it through the lens of your own story. Let's look at both. Maybe teaching. Where did you line up on that?

Chris 27:38

I loved it. You loved it. The world needed it. Yep. I was paid for it. Yep. And I was good at it. So that was a you nailed it. I mean the first half of Chris Sonet. And maybe and by the way, when I say good at it, it's not across the board good. Like I was good at some a lot of things. Yeah. But there are other things it's like, well, Chris, you you need to kind of evaluate yourself here. Okay. Well, it doesn't say you're perfect at it. Thank you.

Fletch 28:01

It says you're great at it. I love that. Thank you. I mean, I'm not perfect at being a lot of things.

Chris 28:07

Yeah.

Fletch 28:07

But I'm pretty damn good at it.

Chris 28:09

Well, this gets into the notion of well, a lot of people say, am I am I enough? Am I enough? And in some ways, yes, we are. But in other ways, we're not. Good enough? Dog on it, people like me. Exactly. Thank you, Stuart Small or Smalley. Yeah, Stuart Smalley. Stuart Smalley.

Fletch 28:24

What about therapy? How about if we use that diagram with therapy? How do you feel about that?

Chris 28:29

I I am I I love it. I yeah, I absolutely love it. I think the world needs it. I get paid for it. And yeah, I I think I'm good at it. I think that you're great at it part, that's hard for everybody to ever answer. Yeah, it's almost like you need like an external to go, yeah, you're great at it. And I think it's okay to say you're great at something without thinking you know everything about everything.

Fletch 28:51

I do feel like this diagram, we were talking about it in the first episode, we were trying to figure out whether this was worth it. This can help drive you. Yeah. You can like I can hang in there. Yes. Like if you're not getting paid for it, it's gonna be hard to get it.

Chris 29:05

You better find a different way of funding it. Yeah, that's exactly it. I mean So my my podcast, our next question, we fund it through Downey Park. So there you go. But it's a great way to get to the phone. I fund the Mango Times through a lot of fillings.

Fletch 29:20

And it really doesn't need much funding. I'm using old equipment from an old podcast that was we we had a sponsor in our original podcast. It was a coffee company. Really? And they would give me a pound of coffee a week. Oh, nice. And I would talk, I would drink it and talk about it. So if there's anybody out there that wants me to sponsor, wants me to sponsor the Mango Times, let me know. I'll wear your underwear. I will drive your motorcycles, I will put on your motorcycle gear.

Fast Five Questions

Fletch 29:46

All right, so one thing I'm doing with all my guests is I'm doing a fast five questions. Oh boy shit.

Chris 29:50

Okay, so are you Richard Dawson now?

Fletch 29:53

Yeah, I'm not gonna kiss you on the lips. I'll tell you that right now. I'm a little disappointed. Do you know what I'm talking about? Yes. Do you know about just watching all if if our listeners don't know, first off, he said Richard Dawson. Which, if you're young enough, you don't know who Richard Dawson is, but he was one of Hogan's heroes. Was he? Yes. He was uh you know the host of Family Feud back in the day. Yeah, but he was one of Hogan's heroes. Oh he was the British prisoner, exact right. Yes, and then we'll check that out. Well then he was well then he was on match game. Oh he was the bottom center on match game. Okay, and he's who everybody wanted to work with. That's funny because he was pretty smart. Then he became the host of Family Feud. All right, and as he went down the family, yes, hey darling, that's right, he would kiss them on the lip. Mr. Hansey. Oh and Kendra goes insane when she sees it. All right, so five quick questions. What's a belief you had at 25 that you no longer hold?

Chris 30:56

Oh gosh, belief I have at 25 that I no longer hold is that other people are responsible for my feelings.

Fletch 31:02

What's one thing you wished you'd done 10 years ago? Ten years earlier. Ten years earlier. Get a motorcycle. Okay. What's a small habit that's changed your life? Getting up early in the morning.

Chris 31:17

What's an adventure you still haven't taken? Motorcycle ride across the United States. Boy, there's so many things I want to do. Bikepacking down the coast, want to take the tundra to Australia, maybe even Japan, and do some overlanding in those places. Oh, there's some of the list is endless. What advice would you give someone who feels stuck? If you feel stuck, listen to that feeling. Explore it, dig in, ask why. Don't just ignore it or distract yourself from it. Fully feel it because it may be asking you to do something.

Fletch 31:51

See, the five quick questions weren't that hard. All right. I have an extra one for you though. Oh gosh. Give me one moment on a motorcycle that taught you something about your life. Oh man.

Chris 32:05

Actually, I saw this one, so I'm prepared. So I was taking my motorcycle. I just I was going down to a Southern California conference, and I love to take the motorcycle. And I decided to go on this off-road place near uh near what a Pinoch Road, and it was near Koalinga. Yeah, I was gonna say it was near Koalinga. Yes, thank you very much. And there's this little this ghost town out there called the new Idria mine. Well, I I go and I see signs that say the bridge washed out and all this other stuff, and I'm like, eh, whatever. I don't, I don't, I'll worry about that when I get there. Well, when I get there, sure enough, the bridge was gone. There was a little bridge that was gone across a creek. So I proceed to take my giant 1200cc on off-road motorcycle down and up, and I make it out. And I'm like, woo-hoo! So I go and explore that area and and I I can't discover, I can't find a way through. So I turn around and come back, and I have to go back down into the creek and come out again. And in so doing, I drop my bike about seven times. Two hours I'm out there. It's probably 80, 90 degrees. I drop my bike again, and I and I literally I just need to pick it up one more time, and I can't do it, Fletch. I can't. I cannot, my my grip strength is gone. I'm out of water, and now I'm like, what am I gonna do?

Fletch 33:33

And so I start saying, This is just because you decided to go off-road for this little part. Yes, that's the part that kills me.

Chris 33:42

So, so I absolutely didn't need to do this. I did not need to do this. This I invited this upon myself. So I oh guy, and so I, you know, I call uh on the phone, there's no phone service. So I end up getting a hold of I do the satellite thing, the emergency thing, and this is they're like, this is 911, and they're texting, you know, you can text through the satellite, and I start saying a prayer, Lord, please help me. Please, you you know what to do, this, that, and the other thing. And Fletch, out of nowhere, some dude shows up in a golf cart. It's one of those mules. Yeah, it's one of those. And he shows, and I, and rather than see him and and me jump up and down going, Oh my gosh, you've saved me. You know, I keep it cool, I keep it real staid, and he shows up and I said, Hey, uh, kind of tip my bike over, man. Would you would you be able to help me out? And he's like, Oh, sure. And he has waters, so he's giving me water. I'm like, this guy is an angel from the Lord. Well, he helps me. He not only helps me up, he like helps push me out of there, and I am back on terra firma. So I put my bags back, and I remember going to this Chipotle across the freeway from Harris Ranch. I was so depleted, and it was 5 p.m. by the time I got there. I ate a massive burrito, jumped on that bike, and got to uh you know LA by I don't know, by the by dark.

Fletch 35:15

I love that story.

Chris 35:17

So, what did it teach me about life? It meant that listen, God will rescue you, but not without you putting in some effort, man.

Fletch 35:28

Fantastic.

WrapUp

Chris 35:30

Yeah.

Fletch 35:31

All right, Chris, if someone's listening and standing at the edge of their own shift, what would you tell them?

Chris 35:37

Send it. Send it. Make it happen.

Fletch 35:40

All right. Hey, how can people find you, talk to you, or work with you if they want to?

Chris 35:44

Uh you can email Downey Park at Downey ParkCounseling.com. Okay. You can find a bi-monthly bi-monthly, is it it's every other week release of our podcast. Our next question. Our next question. Hosted by Melanie Jones, my wife, and me. Okay. And we talk about psychology and Christianity. All right. And we do so in a very connected and lighthearted way.

Fletch 36:08

I'm going to put uh links to both Downey Park and the podcast in our show notes. So just scroll down and you can find Chris either way if you want to talk to him, ask more questions. Hey, thank you so much for being on the MakerTalks Podcast. Thanks for having me. All right, that's my conversation with Chris Oneth. Chris, I want to thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Thanks for your vulnerability, and just for letting us into that part of your story that a lot of people choose to edit out. I mean, I know that losing a role can feel sometimes like you're losing part of your identity. But what I love about Chris's story is that sometimes the thing we would have never chosen becomes the doorway to the thing that we were actually meant to build. And remember, midlife isn't about slowing down. A lot of times it's about stepping into who you actually are. So here's a question for you. Have you planned your 2026 adventure yet? Big or small, bold or quiet? It can be some epic road trip, some epic adventure, or is it just the time for that midlife shift, the new career, the new path? Have you planned it yet? Because I'd love to hear about it. Just drop down in your show notes and send me a text and let me know what you have planned. And maybe I'll even share it on the air to encourage someone else. And if you're enjoying these conversations, can you do me a favor and leave a review? Or share the episode with a friend. Text it to someone who you think might need it. That's how this show grows. So until next time, whatever's in front of you, whatever is big, scary, daunting, challenging, why don't you do me a favor? Climb on the back of the motorcycle and let's get out there and quietly make some noise. You have been listening to the Mango Times podcast. For more information or any questions, head on over to themangotimes.com. Why didn't you get there sooner?

Chris 38:10

I should choose therapy. Therapy chose me.

Fletch 38:13

Love it.