This episode originally aired in May of 2023. It is the story of how I met one of the very best friends I ever had: Prissy the wonder dog. I hope you enjoy it. Much Love,HankYou’ve Been Hanked!The Hank Griffin Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hankgriffin.substack.com/subscribe...
So, You or Someone You Love, Just Got a Parkinson’s Diagnosis First of all, I am sorry. Parkinson’s sucks. I wish this weren’t happening to you. Secondly, while I am sorry and Parkinson’s absolutely does suck, you’ve been diagnosed, and most likely this is real and is really happening. So, now what? Well, life goes on. It is different. No doubt you feel like someone who just got ran over by a large truck. At least that is how I felt when I was diagnosed. The shock was, it was tough and stayed wi...
Weary Woodcutter’s Winter Lament Momma and Dub worked hard to provide for our family. They were good people, young, in love, and they loved us kids. They were, neither of them, perfect. Like me, they were not even close. Curiously, to my mind these several decades later, though it is fair to say that neither of them were perfect, it is also entirely correct to say that they were more perfect, together than either of them were, individually. I think back to the words of the prophet, Nephi who, in...
This Classic Hank episode of the, Hank Griffin Podcast is intended as a companion piece to this week’s episode, “Crack In The Mountain.” It originally aired on Father’s Day, 2023. I hope that you enjoy it here. Much Love,HankYou’ve Been Hanked!The Hank Griffin Podcast Ps. The Hank Griffin Podcast needs your help. Help me grow this podcast by sharing it with those you enjoy storytelling. Thanks in advance! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acces...
Father and Son Camping Trip Recently, my son and I drove into the mountains to enjoy a father and son camping trip. It was not one sponsored by a third party. He is active in his Deacons Quorum at church. He is also active in the Masonic, appendant group, DeMolay, for boys. Both of those worthy organizations are known to host such trips but this time was set aside for just he and I. We drove some hours north and west. As we did so the topography over which we traveled changed. We do not lived on...
Please enjoy this Classic Hank episode of the Hank Griffin Podcast. I like to garden. Always have. Inherited the trait and learned the basics from, Momma. Momma has always been a forward thinking, able, and diligent gardener. For all I know, she had to be, after all, old gun fighters sometimes need a place to bury the fools who occasionally show up to challenge the legend. Just kidding, Momma – on the off chance you are listening, just a little jokey-joke. For the rest of y’all, its not really a...
Present Day Last evening, Dearest Love and I were lying in bed ready to turn out the lights to go to sleep when we heard the alarming sounds of tires screeching on pavement, a scream, the sound of several crashes, a moment of comparative silence, and then a den of mayhem outside our home. I jumped from the bed, threw on something to cover my modesty, ran from the bed room to the parlor where I was surprised to see My Bride already there. “Baby, you need to put something on to cover yourself.” “I...
Recently, while driving together, My friend, Buddy, who’d been occupied with his phone for a while, looked up from it and said, “So, you are a Mason.” “I am.” “What is it, exactly, that Masons do?” “What do you mean?” “I mean, what do y’all do, really ? There are some crazy things out there, you know? I want to understand what Masonry really is.” “Crazy things?” “You know what I mean. In the shallow end of the pool, its movies and television shows about treasure if its American media or evil plo...
Granddad struggled with retirement. For twenty-two and a half years he’d owned and operated the only service station with a mechanic on duty, twenty-four hours a day on the two hundred mile stretch of interstate between Texarkana and Dallas. He’d done is bit and finally sold out. I think he was glad to be free of the hard work of being a service station owner. However, he wasn’t fine with the lack of social stimulation. Granddad was, perhaps more than any of the men and women of his generation i...
A Beautiful, Lie I remembering transitioning from elementary school to what we then referred to as Junior High School. My children and the children of my friends tell me nowadays it is more commonly known as, “Middle School.” No matter what is called today or may be called tomorrow, in those days, in that part of the world, and particularly in the Beautiful Independent School District (BISD) it was, Junior High School. Junior High was a different experience from that to which I’d been accustomed...
A hum of conversation droned, punctuated by loud laughter, and was occasionally brought to near silence when for reasons unknown to me, the whole crowd, whether seated at tables, in booths, or at the counter, grew suddenly quiet. Eerily so. Chris and I were at the counter. She sat in her customary place, on the comfortable padded stool between the counter and the cash register. I stood, wrapping metal forks and butter knives in paper napkins and stacking them in their designated holder on a shel...
My good friend and fraternal Brother Michael Arce of, The Craftsman Online Podcast invited me back on his show after an initial collaboration that aired at the beginning of the year. Some of his listeners wanted to know more about the connection between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry. Being both a Latter-day Saint and a Freemason, Brother Arce kindly thought of me as he searched for answers to the questions that were posed to him. Brother Arce’s podcast, a Masoni...
Like many of you, our family took time to view the recent solar eclipse together. I set up comfortable chairs in the front yard, brought out a few pairs of the eclipse glasses I like to keep stashed away to view signs and wonders in the heavens both the expected, and the unexpected. Dearest Love prepared tasty food for us to enjoy together while we watched the heavens in motion. Specifically, she made eclipse tostadas and sliced yummy Cara Cara oranges. For those of you who may be wondering what...
On April, 6 of 2000 I was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason. That happy occasion occurred inside of Beautiful, East Texas Lodge No. 1. I have been a Master Mason nearly but not quite, half my life, and for the great majority of my adulthood. Does it matter? To the greater world, not at all. To me, it matters a great deal. Some of you listening, having experienced it and then lived it understand. Others of you may find yourself wondering, “What’s the big deal, why Masonry?” If you will...
While still just a little feller, though transitioning to young manhood, I was what we referred to in those days as a, “Blazer.” That is to say, an eleven year old boy who would soon see the end of his time as a part of the Primary. The Primary being the Sunday School program for children age two to eleven at church. I was a serious lad, thoughtful, and one who never enjoyed Primary. To say I was eager to move on is an understatement. I wasn’t, “too cool for school” like some eleven year old boy...
Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll Part 1 of the You’ve Been Hanked Brain Surgery Project You are listening to the initial installment in a special, You’ve Been Hanked series about life with Parkinson’s and Essential Tremor leading to brain surgery. This special series is not meant to steer the podcast in a different direction. Rather, story telling will remain the primary focus. I will, however, seek to tell a life long story of living with one then both of those two conditions from a very young age...
Sunday Supper: Fried Chicken, Biscuits, & Gravy Each month back in Beautiful, East Texas, Beautiful Lodge No. 1 prepared smoked chicken, pinto beans, macaroni and cheese, dinner rolls, cornbread, and banana pudding there at the Lodge to sell to the public by way of raising funds to help ensure our ongoing ability to conduct good works without interruption. There were a half dozen or so dedicated Brothers who worked hard to prepare the meals, package them into large square to-go type containe...
Details Matter For most of my life my community has revolved to a lesser or greater degree around my faith. It is there, outside of family and friends from school, where of much my tribe has been found. It has been consistent, predictable, and for the most part, felt right. A few years ago, before The Rona was a thing, this changed in a way that surprised me and left me unsettled. My worship community, of a sudden, was just to busy to accommodate those who continued to need a strong element of f...
Recently, it was my pleasure to record a crossover podcast episode with WB Michael Arce of the excellent, Craftsman Online podcast. We had a lot of fun doing it and I am pleased to share it with my listeners here on, You’ve Been Hanked. Michael’s podcast is a good place to hear many worthwhile Masonic voices. Incidentally, Michael and I also participated together in the recording of, “A Christmas Carol” heard here in December as well as on the excellent, Scottish Rite Podcast. I will include a l...
Chicken, My Chicken It’d been a good family Easter dinner as far as family gatherings go. I love family, my family. All the people, blood or not, who I’ve chosen or permitted to be a part of my life. Of course, when a gathering is not at one’s own home, there’s little choice in who attends and only, really, a choice in whether or not to be a part of the gathering. No doubt most people can relate. If you can’t, well... good for you. Poor Granny. She’d consumed one adult beverage too many and was ...
Good Community Is Where You Build It The day was hot. Such was then and continues now to generally be the case in Beautiful, East Texas. That heat, y’all. There are many things I miss about home. That heat is not among them. Earlier in the day Momma called, “Why don’t y’all come to my house for Sunday Supper?” she asked. “I’m gonna fix fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, and make a chocolate cake.” At that time in my life, Momma’s fried chicken was my very favorite food and I always en...
Friday Nights In Beautiful Part 1 When my brothers and I were still little fellers we spent every single weekend with my Great Uncle Carl. He really was great, in every sense of the word that little boys could ever possible care about. Uncle Carl grew up in Oklahoma. It is a testament to his real and enduring greatness that I even mention that. Texans, don’t necessarily like folks from Oklahoma. Uncle Carl is different. He grew up farming cotton with his family. Eventually, the Dust Bowl drove t...
My dad, I’ve always called him, “Dub” was a bad ass. Maybe all sons think of their fathers that way. The thing is, my dad really was. He was strong in the way that a man becomes when he works hard on the farm, cutting wood, operating heavy machinery, building barbed wire fences, and raising watermelons. If that weren’t enough, Dub ran and lifted weights regularly. He was physically powerful but not only that. Dub wanted to learn to fight and to do so with real skill. He sought out a student of t...
Walking With Granddad “Son,” Granddad began, “What say we go for a walk?” Granddad always called me, “son.” I jumped up from my comfortable pallet made for me by Grandma from a particularly soft yellow and white quilt. Eager to join Granddad, I hurried to put shoes on my feet before having to be told to do so. The old man’s eyes sparkled with humor as he watched me get read and he, likewise began lacing up his own shoes. From his lips hung a burning cigarette. An unfiltered Camel. His brand and ...
I wish I’d known about silence and circumspection on the occasion of that fraught Sunday dinner! Please help this show grow. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hankgriffin.substack.com/subscribe
In a recent episode of, You’ve Been Hanked entitled, “The Warrior’s Path” I discussed my pursuit of martial arts as a kind of physical therapy to help manage the increasing symptoms of Parkinson’s as well as my own journey as a karateka. I talked about some of my anxiety in preparing for my brown belt test. Tonight I faced that test. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epis...
Prissy and The Rules I’ve talked about my Sweet Blue Haired friend, Prissy the Wonder Dog previously in the episodes, “That Time I Stole a Dog” and, “Prissy and The Bull.” She was truly a dear friend, among the dearest I’ve known. She was the kind of dog that makes one wish that dogs might live much longer than they do. You've Been Hanked is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Prissy had a list of rules that she r...
The year Jerry died his special tree, the Japanese feather leaf maple he’d planted sixty years before showed signs of stress. He loved that tree. All the family did. It was important to each of us. I sought advice from the county extension agent as to how to restore it to health. Watered it. Fed it. Amended the soil. Pruned it. Did all the things I’d been counseled to do and did them for three years hoping for the best. Despite my earnest prayers and significant efforts, each year Jerry’s specia...
“As I opened then closed the front door a great set of bells hanging from the inside door knob jangled. They didn’t ring. They didn’t jingle. They jangled. It was a distinctive sound, one that remains with me despite time, distance, and age. You've Been Hanked is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. There were three dining rooms. The smallest there by the door, another long and narrow one adjacent to it, and the ma...
“Eighteen months ago my Movement Disorder Specialist (MDS), a Neurologist who specializes in treating Parkinson's Disease, gave me news that was necessary but entirely unwelcome. You've Been Hanked is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. It went like this, "Mr. Griffin, you need to start physical therapy right away or you are absolutely going to wind up in a wheelchair." To which, I responded, "But Doctor, I don't ...
