Matt Himes: Losing His Home in the California Fires
KEY MOMENTS
0:00 – Intro: Matt Himes of The Blaze
2:48 – Viral videos of older people with hidden talents
5:19 – Reaction videos and hearing music for the first time
11:06 – Relearning to ice skate alongside your kid
15:12 – Wrestling, cross-country, and kids who love sports
18:24 – Not being afraid to try new things
21:42 – Lou's dirty hit in youth hockey
25:36 – Palisades Little League and pressure at the plate
30:24 – Raising boys and girls
34:01 – David Foster Wallace's String Theory
37:42 – Bullies, wrestling culture, and sports parents
42:02 – Ranting about storage just before the fire
47:00 – Shelter in Venice and watching it spread
50:06 – Why the loss hit Matt's wife harder
53:12 – Losing 1,200 books
57:43 – Sifting through the ashes
1:00:42 – Volunteer helpers and putting loss in perspective
1:04:12 – A furnished rental and plans to rebuild
1:07:23 – Why stay in Los Angeles
1:11:36 – A trial by fire and existential questions
1:14:42 – Exercise, writing habits, and editing
1:17:40 – Wrap-up
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Matt Himes, managing editor of The Blaze's Align, lost his home in the California fires but not his sense of humor or his willingness to try a lot of things he's bad at. He joins Lou to talk about life after the fire, living out a George Carlin bit, and going into the unknown of rebuilding.
We also get into Carlin's "String Theory," his New York Post piece "This liberal is seeing red after decades of California misrule meant my house burned down," and why Lou is jealous he didn't write it, but grateful he didn't have to live it.