30th Anniversary Celebration

Send Fletch a Voicemail or Text! It all started in Hoopa, California. A tiny motel, a dial-up connection, and a young guy who thought it might be fun to write down a few stories from his life on the Trinity River. That set off a 30-year chain reaction: a monthly family update grew into a website, a blog with running bits, and eventually a podcast that found an audience by telling the truth with a grin. I take you back to the Trinity River bridge where it began and trace the crazy and surprisingly durable path of theMangoTimes, shaped by forward-happy friends, early web experiments, and a Jimmy Buffett ethic to quietly make noise. You’ll hear how a dentist with an AOL handle became a reluctant publisher, why parental myths and top ten lists helped build a voice, and how friction around faith and church forced a move toward independence that actually made the work stronger. We revisit the homeschool blogging era, the launch of HomeschoolingIRL, and the moment podcasting clicked as a way to say out loud what most people whisper. Along the way, friends drop in: tech lifeline Sven Rafferty, musician John Trost with a coconut-and-machete memory, and longtime pals who remember the forwarded emails that started it all. The throughline is simple: show up, be real, and create for a tiny crowd that keeps you honest, which in my case was my wife, Kendra, my brother-in-law Jeff, and my long friend Byron Wolfe. Their voices shaped every post and episode, even through grief and long pauses. As we close the loop on three decades, I outline where we’re headed next: a season on change in midlife, featuring people who pivot hard and find new lanes with practical courage. If you’ve ever wondered whether your quiet project matters, this story says yes. Platforms may shift, but practice endures. If this resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend who’s plotting a pivot, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Tell me: what change are you setting in motion this year? ⸻ Guest Information Sven Rafferty Matt Andrews James Estes Jon Troast Reese Hopper Byron and Barb Wolfe Kendra Fletcher Resources and Links First Edition of theMangoTimes Music used in this episode: Coconut Telegraph - Jimmy Buffett (Buy It Here) Quietly Making Noise - Jimmy Buffett (Buy It Here) The Andy Song - Jon Troast Life of Riley, Bass Walker, Look Busy, Sunny All Day andCarefree 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/ Back to Portland by Track Tribe. Lost and Found by Dan Lebowitz. ⸻ 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. ✅ Buy Me A Taco (LINK HERE) Support the show