(placid music)
00:00:00.40\00:00:02.53
- Oh, yes, stand
right there, come on.
00:00:05.47\00:00:08.80
Stand right there,
I'll be right back.
00:00:08.80\00:00:12.24
Hey, welcome everybody to
Talking Donkey International
00:00:13.38\00:00:15.78
and our new television
series, "Country Wisdom".
00:00:15.78\00:00:19.01
- Let's set the tone
for this new series of ours.
00:00:19.01\00:00:21.98
It's found in Proverbs four,
00:00:21.98\00:00:24.62
"Let your eyes
look directly forward
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"and your gaze be
straight before you.
00:00:27.39\00:00:30.59
"Ponder the path of your feet,
00:00:30.59\00:00:33.03
"And then all your
ways will be sure."
00:00:33.03\00:00:36.90
- Join us now
for "Country Wisdom".
00:00:36.90\00:00:38.63
(placid music) So
drones, drugs and God,
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what do they all got
in common with Taylor?
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Well, stay tuned and find out.
00:00:48.54\00:00:50.18
(drone buzzing)
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We've got an
episode for you today.
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It's exciting, a young man that,
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well, tattoo
covered and everything else.
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Before we go on and
talk a little more about it,
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I wanna share a
scripture with you.
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It's found in Psalms
chapter 34, verse eight,
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"O taste and see
that the Lord is good."
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Taylor tasted and saw
that God is good, didn't he?
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- He sure did,
and he should know
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because he had also
tasted a part of life
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that's not so good.
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- A lot of life
that's not so good.
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- But then the
story of how he came back,
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how God got his attention,
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because we know God never
had His eye off of Taylor.
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Taylor took his eyes
off God for a while there,
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but he got back on
track. - That's right.
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And I'm guessing though
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that perhaps you
never had that kind of life.
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- (laughs) No, I
was very sheltered.
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In fact, I often have found
myself a little bit jealous
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of people like
Taylor, because it's like,
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oh, they have such
a wonderful testimony.
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And nobody's
gonna ask me for mine
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because my whole
life was kind of vanilla.
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- I've heard that
from so many people
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as I've traveled all
around different churches.
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People say, "Well, your
testimony is just wonderful,
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"but I don't have
any testimony at all."
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But that isn't the
case. - No, when you think
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about it, it's
not really the case.
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I may never have gotten as
far off the track as Taylor did,
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and for that, I'm
actually kind of thankful,
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but you can be lost, there
aren't degrees of lostness,
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it's not like, oh, he
was way more lost than I was,
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lost is lost. - I've
got another scripture
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for you. - Okay.
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- In Isaiah
chapter 53 verse six,
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"All we like sheep
have gone astray," how many?
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- [Janice] All.
- All, so if you're
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off the track a little bit
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or if you're off
a lot like Taylor,
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it's a real problem, innit?
- The parable of the sheep
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that Jesus told, the
parable of the lost sheep,
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but actually we're all His
sheep and all of us are lost,
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were lost until He came along
and got us back into the fold.
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I was just lucky that in my
life, I always had a teacher,
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a friend's parent, whoever
it was, I look back and realize
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that there was always
someone to just nudge me back
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before I got more than a
step or two off that path.
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- Speaking of teacher,
matter of fact, today's episode
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with Taylor, a teacher played
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an extremely
important role in his life.
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- That's true, that's true.
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And the teacher
might have no idea
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that that was a lasting effect.
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'Cause we're
talking, he was junior high.
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- I think so, yeah.
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- And I think for
every teacher out there,
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it's just good to know
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that some of those
things really stick,
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and it might not
show in the kid today,
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but the adult tomorrow is
going to remember those things.
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- Yeah, I wish that Taylor
could actually find that teacher
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and tell that
teacher what happened
00:04:00.17\00:04:01.84
in his life because of
him. - Yes, I work in a school
00:04:01.84\00:04:05.57
and I would love to know
00:04:05.57\00:04:07.28
that someday a child
might come back and say,
00:04:07.28\00:04:11.31
"You know, Mrs. Nelson, I was
having this really rough time
00:04:11.31\00:04:15.38
"at home that nobody knew about.
00:04:15.38\00:04:17.32
"But I knew when I walked
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"into school and you
smiled at me, you know,"
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who knows that I
might've had an effect,
00:04:21.16\00:04:23.32
I might've helped
keep someone on the path.
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- That's right, so folks,
gather all the family around now
00:04:24.89\00:04:28.50
and watch this episode,
it's gonna be incredible.
00:04:28.50\00:04:31.20
- [Narrator] Introducing
Talking Donkey International.
00:04:32.43\00:04:35.00
God once used a
donkey to spread His word,
00:04:35.00\00:04:37.71
(placid music) but
He'd rather use all of us.
00:04:37.71\00:04:40.21
It's time to prepare
quality programming created
00:04:41.24\00:04:44.01
to attract and reach
viewers of the world,
00:04:44.01\00:04:46.35
not just those
of our denomination.
00:04:46.35\00:04:48.82
Together, we can carry
the final advent message
00:04:48.82\00:04:51.65
to the
individuals of planet earth
00:04:51.65\00:04:53.96
and hasten the
return of our Lord.
00:04:53.96\00:04:56.29
Please pray for and
support the successful mission
00:04:56.29\00:04:59.46
of Talking Donkey International.
00:04:59.46\00:05:01.60
(placid music) -
Taylor, before we start
00:05:02.56\00:05:07.64
your interview, and by the
way, thank you for coming today.
00:05:11.27\00:05:13.58
- Of course. - I
wanna read a scripture
00:05:13.58\00:05:15.24
because it seems
like it's apropos
00:05:15.24\00:05:17.18
to kind of your
life and your journey.
00:05:17.18\00:05:19.51
It's found in Isaiah,
chapter one, verse 16,
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it says, "Wash
you, make you clean,
00:05:22.25\00:05:23.82
"put away the evil of your
doings from before Mine eyes,
00:05:23.82\00:05:26.86
"cease to do
evil, learn to do well.
00:05:26.86\00:05:30.36
"The Lord will
teach you His ways,
00:05:31.39\00:05:32.63
"walk in His
paths and let us walk
00:05:32.63\00:05:35.96
"in the light of the
Lord." - I'm curious, Taylor,
00:05:35.96\00:05:40.44
you brought us up
here, it's gorgeous.
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Clearly, it
means something to you
00:05:43.04\00:05:44.97
and you obviously
didn't bring me up here
00:05:44.97\00:05:47.58
for my comfort and
convenience, so why here?
00:05:47.58\00:05:52.85
- So the mountains are a
forming part of who I have been,
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I would say, with my
experiences of going with family
00:06:00.36\00:06:04.26
through all my
childhood, through trips
00:06:04.26\00:06:08.43
where we would go to
Rocky Mountain National Park or
00:06:08.43\00:06:12.77
Lassen, or places all
throughout the Midwest.
00:06:12.77\00:06:15.90
I enjoy the outdoors and I feel
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that there's nowhere more
indicative of the outdoors
00:06:18.91\00:06:21.18
than on top of a mountain
00:06:21.18\00:06:22.54
where you can see
all of the outdoors.
00:06:22.54\00:06:25.78
And I think it's also a
little bit fitting being
00:06:25.78\00:06:28.85
that I'm a drone pilot.
00:06:28.85\00:06:30.52
I spend most of my working
day up above everybody else,
00:06:30.52\00:06:35.79
just like these mountains,
00:06:36.42\00:06:37.73
they sit here and
they watch us do our thing.
00:06:37.73\00:06:40.96
And when I'm up in the air,
00:06:40.96\00:06:42.90
I watch everybody
else do their thing.
00:06:42.90\00:06:44.90
And I feel that the
mountains speak a big part
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of what it means to be
powerful, but also reserved.
00:06:49.74\00:06:55.01
The mountains can be a volcano
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or they can just be a mountain.
00:06:59.81\00:07:01.72
So, I think that
that's a big, big thing
00:07:01.72\00:07:04.45
where you can look at somebody
00:07:04.45\00:07:06.89
and you think you would know
so much about them immediately.
00:07:06.89\00:07:10.93
We can look at a mountain
00:07:11.56\00:07:13.06
and we can think we know so
much, but it might be a volcano.
00:07:13.06\00:07:15.60
I like that idea.
00:07:16.40\00:07:18.37
It just seems to be fitting
in a lotta different areas
00:07:18.37\00:07:22.40
in my life that I feel at
home up on top of a mountain.
00:07:22.40\00:07:25.34
- Well, it
certainly is beautiful.
00:07:25.34\00:07:26.61
I don't mind
spending the day you here.
00:07:26.61\00:07:28.51
- I can settle that for ya.
00:07:28.51\00:07:29.71
It is a volcano
that we're on right now.
00:07:29.71\00:07:32.18
- Oh, thank you. - Sure, sure.
00:07:32.18\00:07:33.78
- Remind me, yeah. -
All right, now, we're not
00:07:33.78\00:07:36.05
on top of it
right now, but I think
00:07:36.05\00:07:38.45
about when you're talking
about loving the mountains,
00:07:38.45\00:07:41.89
but you've really had
some valley experiences
00:07:42.82\00:07:44.99
in your life too, do you care
00:07:44.99\00:07:45.96
to share some of those with us?
00:07:45.96\00:07:47.40
- Definitely, it's hard
to decide which one to share,
00:07:47.40\00:07:51.37
there's yeah, there's plenty.
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My life has been a
lot of moving around
00:07:58.37\00:08:02.38
because of freelance
video being my dad's job
00:08:02.38\00:08:07.15
most of my life, so
we-- - [Janice] So the apple
00:08:07.15\00:08:10.29
didn't fall far from the
tree. - That's exactly right.
00:08:10.29\00:08:12.92
So we went where the jobs were.
00:08:12.92\00:08:15.72
I was born in Lincoln,
Nebraska, and then in 1998,
00:08:15.72\00:08:19.06
we moved to Southern California.
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And then a
couple of years later,
00:08:20.60\00:08:22.16
we moved to Northern California,
00:08:22.16\00:08:23.77
a couple years later we
moved to Central California.
00:08:23.77\00:08:26.10
Year after that,
I moved to Colorado,
00:08:26.10\00:08:28.34
year after that,
moved back to California,
00:08:29.27\00:08:30.77
and it's been
all over the place.
00:08:30.77\00:08:32.91
But in all of that,
I would say that some
00:08:32.91\00:08:36.48
of those valleys have
been not having that bit of,
00:08:36.48\00:08:41.32
oh, this is my childhood
house, I grew up in this house,
00:08:41.32\00:08:44.25
or having that
hometown to go to.
00:08:44.25\00:08:48.42
I have a town that I
consider my hometown,
00:08:48.42\00:08:51.06
but it's not that, oh, I
remember being a little kid here
00:08:51.06\00:08:54.46
and doing all these things, but.
00:08:54.46\00:08:56.56
- So different
from my experience,
00:08:57.37\00:08:58.70
born and raised
in the same town.
00:08:58.70\00:09:00.94
And didn't really
move until I got married.
00:09:00.94\00:09:04.21
- Yeah, the longest
we ever spent anywhere
00:09:05.14\00:09:07.68
after 1998 was
a year and a half.
00:09:07.68\00:09:10.91
And most every time we moved,
00:09:10.91\00:09:13.08
I was going to a new school.
- [Janice] Making new friends.
00:09:13.08\00:09:15.25
- Yeah, new town,
absolutely new everything, so.
00:09:15.25\00:09:18.69
(placid music) - So how did that
00:09:18.69\00:09:19.69
affect you psychologically?
00:09:19.69\00:09:20.89
You get into a
new town, new school,
00:09:20.89\00:09:22.92
new people all the time,
you're the new kid all the way.
00:09:22.92\00:09:26.06
- When you're
the new kid always,
00:09:26.93\00:09:28.26
there's no reason
for your personality
00:09:28.26\00:09:32.37
to be rock solid
because. - [Jim] Unpack that
00:09:32.37\00:09:37.24
a little bit. - Yeah,
if you're the new kid,
00:09:37.24\00:09:41.48
you've gotta make friends,
00:09:41.48\00:09:42.78
you've gotta figure
out how to make friends.
00:09:42.78\00:09:45.41
And so, do
something, do anything,
00:09:45.41\00:09:49.92
even if it's minorly out
of character to make friends.
00:09:49.92\00:09:54.02
And then, oh, that thing I
did that was out of character
00:09:54.02\00:09:56.73
is what got a lotta people
to start paying attention.
00:09:56.73\00:10:00.13
So I continued doing
that. - [Janice] And then you
00:10:00.13\00:10:02.23
would mold
yourself. - And then we moved.
00:10:02.23\00:10:03.53
- [Janice] To whatever
new group you were with.
00:10:03.53\00:10:05.17
- Right, and so, I felt
that a lot of my younger years,
00:10:05.17\00:10:10.11
I was very, very, very malleable
00:10:10.11\00:10:13.31
and I wasn't
around the right people.
00:10:13.31\00:10:15.31
- So in other words, I
take it the doing certain things
00:10:15.31\00:10:18.71
to get attention wasn't helping
00:10:18.71\00:10:20.22
the little old
lady cross the street.
00:10:20.22\00:10:22.08
- No, definitely not,
no, most of the time it
00:10:22.08\00:10:25.05
was what you'd
call foolhardiness,
00:10:25.05\00:10:29.42
just going way too extreme.
- [Janice] Jim knows what
00:10:29.42\00:10:32.53
you're talking about.
- We're not bringing me
00:10:32.53\00:10:34.83
into this today,
it's his interview.
00:10:34.83\00:10:36.80
- So a lot of it was
I'll jump off the roof,
00:10:36.80\00:10:40.60
I'll jump off the
second story into the pool,
00:10:40.60\00:10:43.97
I'll ride the dirt bike
with my feet on the seat.
00:10:43.97\00:10:48.31
I was the dare
devil, and most of the time,
00:10:48.31\00:10:52.15
I was scared
pantsless, but I still did it.
00:10:52.15\00:10:57.12
And honestly,
looking back, I'm glad
00:10:58.22\00:11:00.32
that I pushed myself
out of my comfort zone,
00:11:00.32\00:11:03.32
but it wasn't for
the right reasons.
00:11:03.32\00:11:05.63
So, it got the right
outcome with the wrong method.
00:11:05.63\00:11:10.87
- And where did
that eventually lead?
00:11:11.93\00:11:13.90
- So now, I'm probably the
most adaptable person I know.
00:11:13.90\00:11:18.87
(placid music) You
can drop me anywhere
00:11:18.87\00:11:22.41
in any country
with any group of people
00:11:22.41\00:11:25.75
and I can have conversation
00:11:25.75\00:11:27.55
and I can get by and I can
even get work done, I've been--
00:11:27.55\00:11:31.42
- Actually, I
can testify to that
00:11:31.42\00:11:33.15
since you came
and helped us film
00:11:33.15\00:11:34.79
with your drones in
some countries, and totally
00:11:34.79\00:11:39.19
adaptable. But let's go back
to a moment, let's get into high
00:11:39.19\00:11:42.00
school. Now, did this
carry you in a worse direction
00:11:42.00\00:11:44.80
by the time you got to
high school to be the odd guy?
00:11:44.80\00:11:48.37
- For sure, my whole growing
up life was private education,
00:11:48.37\00:11:53.34
a Seventh Day Adventist
education, all through eighth
00:11:54.84\00:11:59.48
grade, and then
freshman year was my first year,
00:12:00.45\00:12:03.18
obviously, my first
year of high school,
00:12:04.09\00:12:05.69
we decided that it would
be good to try something new.
00:12:05.69\00:12:09.96
And by try something new,
00:12:09.96\00:12:11.16
it was right around
my freshman year was
00:12:11.16\00:12:16.06
when, well, let me start over.
00:12:16.06\00:12:19.27
Just before high school
in seventh and eighth grade
00:12:20.40\00:12:23.57
is when my parents were
going through their divorce.
00:12:23.57\00:12:27.14
And so, there was a lot of
rockiness in life in general
00:12:27.14\00:12:31.05
then but there was a whole lot
that I was just kind of saying
00:12:31.05\00:12:34.58
that's not
important to me, I don't care.
00:12:34.58\00:12:37.62
I don't need to put any effort
00:12:37.62\00:12:38.89
towards things that
I'm not interested in.
00:12:38.89\00:12:40.92
- I'm gonna interrupt ya.
00:12:40.92\00:12:42.06
So you're saying
it's not important,
00:12:42.06\00:12:43.79
but deep down, was it important?
00:12:43.79\00:12:45.46
- Oh, for sure, there's so
many things that I just let go.
00:12:45.46\00:12:49.00
There's a lot I
let go of at that age
00:12:49.00\00:12:51.10
because when it
became, oh, well,
00:12:51.10\00:12:55.40
our family is no
longer gonna be our family,
00:12:55.40\00:12:57.87
then who do I have
to keep it together for?
00:12:57.87\00:13:00.04
I'm not beholden to any of you.
00:13:01.31\00:13:03.55
So, I'm gonna do
whatever I wanna do.
00:13:03.55\00:13:06.61
And so, I kind of went
further along that way.
00:13:06.61\00:13:09.75
And so, eighth
grade was not terrible,
00:13:09.75\00:13:13.62
but it was the start of
what led me to needing to go,
00:13:13.62\00:13:17.16
freshman year of high school
00:13:17.16\00:13:18.73
went to a boarding
school in Colorado.
00:13:18.73\00:13:21.16
And my family
lives in California.
00:13:21.16\00:13:23.23
I had
grandparents there in Colorado,
00:13:23.23\00:13:25.10
but it's 700 miles away
from family to go to high school
00:13:25.10\00:13:30.37
for my first
year of high school.
00:13:31.24\00:13:33.04
- That would be
tough, I can't imagine.
00:13:33.04\00:13:35.08
- If I thought
that I was foolhardy
00:13:35.08\00:13:36.95
in my elementary school years,
00:13:36.95\00:13:38.55
my freshman year is
where I really took it up
00:13:38.55\00:13:40.52
to the next notch because
I was in a new state now.
00:13:40.52\00:13:44.82
My parents aren't
even in the same county,
00:13:44.82\00:13:47.92
who's gonna get me in
trouble for doing what?
00:13:47.92\00:13:50.03
- So, not only physically
were you in another state,
00:13:50.03\00:13:52.06
but mentally as well?
- Absolutely, absolutely.
00:13:52.06\00:13:55.06
And so, I would say
one of the main low moments
00:13:55.06\00:13:57.90
in my freshman year
is I was through years
00:13:57.90\00:14:02.27
where I had found
methods to, daredevilness,
00:14:03.44\00:14:06.71
trying to develop a sense
of humor, that kind of thing.
00:14:09.98\00:14:13.05
And I was trying it there,
and it didn't seem to quite work
00:14:13.05\00:14:16.12
with the same
oomph that it had before.
00:14:16.12\00:14:19.09
So I said, "Okay, I just
need to turn the dial up."
00:14:19.09\00:14:21.46
(placid music) And
so, it became snowboarding
00:14:21.46\00:14:25.26
off the roof of the boys dorm.
00:14:25.26\00:14:27.60
It became, there was
a very popular TV show
00:14:27.60\00:14:32.80
that was
throughout the early 2000s,
00:14:33.64\00:14:35.34
and the title is
another name for a donkey.
00:14:35.34\00:14:39.14
- [Janice] Okay, yes.
- We mimicked that show
00:14:39.14\00:14:43.51
to a T and I-- -
So, when they said,
00:14:43.51\00:14:45.15
"Don't try this at home,
kids," you weren't listening
00:14:45.15\00:14:47.78
to that part. - And I said,
00:14:47.78\00:14:48.62
"Get the camera."
00:14:48.62\00:14:49.78
So we did a lotta
things where it's like,
00:14:49.78\00:14:52.12
oh, I'm in the shopping
cart, push me off the bank
00:14:52.12\00:14:54.62
and into the river, that
kinda stupid, absolutely stupid.
00:14:54.62\00:14:59.36
But we were
doing all these things,
00:14:59.36\00:15:01.33
and putting 'em on video,
00:15:01.33\00:15:02.56
and we were laughing
about them afterwards,
00:15:02.56\00:15:03.80
and everything like that.
00:15:03.80\00:15:05.23
And it was the little
bit of comradery that I had,
00:15:05.23\00:15:07.80
but I wouldn't say
that it was healthy at all.
00:15:07.80\00:15:11.41
But I'm trying to
keep a flow through this
00:15:11.41\00:15:16.61
because it's like there was a
very low a moment in that year
00:15:19.55\00:15:24.19
but I would say one of the
moments that I felt closest
00:15:24.19\00:15:27.42
to God was also at
that boarding school.
00:15:27.42\00:15:30.56
- If I can. - That's quite
00:15:31.86\00:15:33.36
the juxtaposition
there. - [Taylor] Of course.
00:15:33.36\00:15:35.60
- We'll talk just for a moment,
what was your experience?
00:15:35.60\00:15:40.30
Did you know God at all?
00:15:40.30\00:15:41.40
You grew up in a Christian home,
00:15:41.40\00:15:43.61
but did you know God by
the time you got to this point?
00:15:43.61\00:15:47.18
- I would say that a big
part of developing any yearning
00:15:47.18\00:15:52.38
to be close to God is all thanks
00:15:53.28\00:15:56.08
to my seventh and
eighth grade teachers.
00:15:56.08\00:15:58.32
And that was in
an elementary school,
00:15:58.32\00:16:00.29
that was Adventist both times.
00:16:00.29\00:16:01.96
Dwight Crow and Brian
Henry are those two teachers.
00:16:03.29\00:16:07.36
And they, I still
remember everything
00:16:07.36\00:16:09.56
about being in their classroom.
00:16:09.56\00:16:11.40
I remember so much about
going on video jobs with my dad
00:16:11.40\00:16:16.60
and hearing we're gonna
meet such and such a person,
00:16:18.31\00:16:22.54
and I'm not gonna name
names because I'm not saying
00:16:22.54\00:16:25.41
that these are tried and true
indications of who they were,
00:16:25.41\00:16:30.09
but there were
moments where it was like,
00:16:30.09\00:16:32.69
we're gonna go meet these
people that everyone knows them
00:16:32.69\00:16:36.12
as a person that
is so close to God,
00:16:36.12\00:16:38.89
and I'm seeing them
in a work environment,
00:16:39.83\00:16:43.03
and they're dressed,
and I totally get that now,
00:16:43.03\00:16:46.47
but I'm also seeing some
of the worst sides of people
00:16:46.47\00:16:49.47
that everybody, they're
the best person I've ever seen.
00:16:49.47\00:16:53.11
And so, I felt for a
long time that, oh, okay,
00:16:53.11\00:16:58.38
if they're a good Christian,
00:16:59.01\00:17:00.52
everybody's gonna say
they're a good Christian,
00:17:00.52\00:17:01.68
but really
they're kind of a jerk.
00:17:01.68\00:17:03.52
My seventh and
eighth grade year,
00:17:04.75\00:17:06.82
those teachers
absolutely flipped on its head
00:17:06.82\00:17:10.53
because they showed me
what it meant to be a steward,
00:17:10.53\00:17:15.76
they showed me what it
meant to listen for real.
00:17:17.47\00:17:21.10
(placid music) If
you have a problem
00:17:25.24\00:17:28.11
and you say, I don't like X,
00:17:28.11\00:17:30.78
or I don't like that
God is doing X to me,
00:17:30.78\00:17:33.58
there's a lotta people that
would immediately say, "Well,
00:17:33.58\00:17:36.18
"you're wrong for
thinking that way."
00:17:36.18\00:17:38.42
But there's
another way of doing that,
00:17:39.75\00:17:42.52
and I was led to that
through those teachers.
00:17:42.52\00:17:45.26
- I wonder if they
have any idea of the effect,
00:17:45.26\00:17:48.56
the seeds that
they were planting,
00:17:48.56\00:17:50.50
that you would this many
years later still remember that
00:17:50.50\00:17:53.90
and have that
still be signified.
00:17:53.90\00:17:56.30
- Is it proper to
say you saw people
00:17:56.30\00:17:59.41
that finally walked the talk
00:17:59.41\00:18:02.68
and it made some
impression upon you?
00:18:02.68\00:18:05.45
- Absolutely, when
you hear everybody,
00:18:05.45\00:18:10.05
and I mean, everybody saying
00:18:10.05\00:18:12.25
this is the pastor
that we like to listen to,
00:18:12.25\00:18:15.16
or the way that they say it
00:18:15.16\00:18:18.29
is the way that I have
wanted to hear it said,
00:18:18.29\00:18:21.00
because that's what I believe.
00:18:21.00\00:18:22.53
You're putting these
people on a pedestal,
00:18:22.53\00:18:26.30
and then of course you
end up seeing the human side.
00:18:26.30\00:18:29.44
And then, that
pedestal, wrongly,
00:18:29.44\00:18:33.84
was my idea of
what Christianity is.
00:18:33.84\00:18:36.61
And so, when they knocked
that over, I'm like, oh, okay,
00:18:37.78\00:18:40.88
I don't know what I believe,
I don't know who I believe,
00:18:40.88\00:18:43.69
I don't know what
I'm supposed to be doing.
00:18:43.69\00:18:47.06
And then, you meet
somebody that it's,
00:18:47.06\00:18:49.66
their job is not to
preach, their job is to teach.
00:18:49.66\00:18:54.30
And in that, they were able
to find a way to also preach.
00:18:55.50\00:19:00.47
And it never felt
like it was something
00:19:01.70\00:19:06.57
that they stayed up
all night to write down.
00:19:06.57\00:19:08.68
Like, I'm gonna make sure
00:19:08.68\00:19:09.84
that I say this
when he says this.
00:19:09.84\00:19:11.31
- Just flowed out of
'em. - [Taylor] Yeah, yeah.
00:19:11.31\00:19:12.58
- I'm impressed
because I work at a school,
00:19:12.58\00:19:14.78
and if you can
maintain a true Christian walk
00:19:14.78\00:19:18.12
teaching junior high.
- (laughs) Absolutely.
00:19:19.09\00:19:22.12
- So now Taylor,
you're into high school now,
00:19:25.29\00:19:28.16
you've left these teachers
behind, so what's going on?
00:19:28.16\00:19:31.47
You're getting wilder
and wilder it sounds like.
00:19:31.47\00:19:33.77
- Right, and having
those teachers show me
00:19:33.77\00:19:38.04
what it meant to
be a my approximation
00:19:38.04\00:19:41.58
of what a true Christian is,
00:19:41.58\00:19:43.18
was at least the smallest
layer of a foundation possible
00:19:44.35\00:19:49.52
that I could have had, I was
on the smallest rock possible
00:19:52.09\00:19:57.29
in this sea of sand that I'd
been walking on my whole life.
00:19:58.49\00:20:01.43
And when I went to
high school, I was like,
00:20:01.43\00:20:04.33
okay, it's kinda tight here.
00:20:04.33\00:20:05.57
Maybe I'll step out
into the sand a little bit.
00:20:05.57\00:20:07.40
And that's what I kept on doing
00:20:07.40\00:20:08.97
is these activities to just
try and get people's attention.
00:20:08.97\00:20:13.78
And for a long time,
that's the driving force
00:20:14.78\00:20:18.85
behind most of what I did
was just to get attention.
00:20:18.85\00:20:21.72
- And what was the
yearning to get attention,
00:20:21.72\00:20:23.89
that deep down psychological
yearning in your mind?
00:20:23.89\00:20:26.96
- I feel that it was when,
it's because we moved so often
00:20:26.96\00:20:31.46
that any attention I was getting
00:20:31.46\00:20:33.83
was usually so base level of
like, oh, hey, how's it going?
00:20:33.83\00:20:38.77
And then that was it
00:20:39.53\00:20:41.00
until the next day. -
You were never one place
00:20:41.00\00:20:42.47
long enough to form
really deep relationships.
00:20:42.47\00:20:44.27
- Right, so I would say
00:20:44.27\00:20:45.57
that the time I
had a deep conversation
00:20:45.57\00:20:47.64
with somebody, for real,
that wasn't a family member
00:20:47.64\00:20:50.08
was sophomore,
junior year of high school,
00:20:50.08\00:20:52.78
because there was nobody that
I was ever around long enough
00:20:54.48\00:20:58.62
for it to make sense to say,
00:20:58.62\00:21:00.56
"Hey, you know, I'm
kind of struggling with this.
00:21:00.56\00:21:02.49
"What do you think, or
what do you go through?"
00:21:02.49\00:21:05.26
Most of the time it would be
00:21:05.89\00:21:07.50
what are we doing this
time that we're hanging out?
00:21:08.60\00:21:11.87
And it was usually
whoever had the dumbest idea
00:21:11.87\00:21:15.80
was the one that we
picked and (laughs).
00:21:15.80\00:21:18.71
- Sounds like, and I don't
wanna put you on the spot here,
00:21:18.71\00:21:20.64
but it sounds like you
were jumping off a lot of things
00:21:20.64\00:21:23.98
and a lotta cliffs, did you
jump into alcohol and drugs?
00:21:23.98\00:21:26.95
Because that seemed like
part of everything that goes on.
00:21:26.95\00:21:30.25
- Not my freshman year,
00:21:30.25\00:21:31.89
not at the
boarding school, honestly.
00:21:31.89\00:21:33.82
And it was available,
but I felt intimidated
00:21:33.82\00:21:38.79
by the crowd of kids
that were already in there,
00:21:41.43\00:21:45.43
because I was like, I'm a
good Christian boy (laughs).
00:21:45.43\00:21:48.37
But I never felt myself
actually wanting to do it
00:21:50.01\00:21:54.68
in freshman year. (placid music)
00:21:54.68\00:21:57.78
Sophomore year is
when it was really bad.
00:21:57.78\00:22:00.98
Junior year is when
it was at its worst.
00:22:00.98\00:22:03.65
And then senior year, I
was trying to taper off.
00:22:03.65\00:22:06.92
And yeah, but. -
Why were you trying
00:22:06.92\00:22:10.23
to taper off? - I was ending
00:22:10.23\00:22:12.66
my high school
career with no idea
00:22:12.66\00:22:15.36
about where I wanted to
go or what I wanted to do.
00:22:15.36\00:22:18.23
And I realized,
okay, it's been two years
00:22:18.23\00:22:21.24
that I've been at the school,
00:22:21.24\00:22:22.70
and other people or
other friends of mine
00:22:22.70\00:22:25.74
that have already
decided their career path,
00:22:25.74\00:22:28.21
and they're already
taking those AP classes,
00:22:28.21\00:22:30.38
and as soon as
they're graduating,
00:22:30.38\00:22:32.48
they're
enrolled in the next set,
00:22:32.48\00:22:34.12
and they're gonna just
shoot off like a rocket.
00:22:34.12\00:22:36.92
And I was telling
myself, there's those kids,
00:22:36.92\00:22:40.62
and then there's the other
kids that I'm hanging out with
00:22:40.62\00:22:43.59
that I can see the wall.
00:22:43.59\00:22:47.00
And there's been so many
times that I've had that moment
00:22:48.76\00:22:53.74
of seeing the
writing on the wall
00:22:54.87\00:22:56.77
and still going
that direction where...
00:22:56.77\00:23:00.91
- There's gotta be
some young viewers out there
00:23:06.38\00:23:08.92
that are watching
this, maybe they're hung up
00:23:08.92\00:23:11.65
in all the things you were,
00:23:11.65\00:23:12.82
but I almost get
the feelings that,
00:23:12.82\00:23:14.52
yeah, at that point I just
decided it was time to quit.
00:23:14.52\00:23:18.13
Well, we know that
just doesn't come by itself.
00:23:18.13\00:23:21.36
- [Taylor] Right, of course.
- So, how did you do all this?
00:23:21.36\00:23:24.23
- Well, I don't wanna
take 45 minutes on this part,
00:23:25.50\00:23:29.10
but I will just
say sophomore year
00:23:29.10\00:23:31.34
is when I had first experimented
00:23:31.34\00:23:33.17
with alcohol or
anything like that.
00:23:33.17\00:23:36.64
And I have still to this day,
00:23:36.64\00:23:40.52
not been at all
a fan of alcohol,
00:23:40.52\00:23:43.79
I've never once
enjoyed being drunk,
00:23:43.79\00:23:47.09
but it's always been the
I need to do it to hang out
00:23:47.09\00:23:49.96
with these people, and horrible
excuse, horrible excuse.
00:23:49.96\00:23:54.23
If that's what you need to do
to hang out with those people,
00:23:54.23\00:23:56.23
you don't need to
hang out with those people.
00:23:56.23\00:23:57.70
But I went sophomore
year having done that,
00:23:57.70\00:24:02.60
and got a couple more
friends that I would smoke with,
00:24:03.74\00:24:06.27
or that I would
have a beer with,
00:24:06.27\00:24:08.04
or that they were
getting drunk on weekends,
00:24:08.04\00:24:10.48
and I would be around and
happened to get drunk too.
00:24:10.48\00:24:12.95
And then junior year was when
it became much more available
00:24:12.95\00:24:18.15
to do anything, and I
mean literally anything.
00:24:22.36\00:24:26.06
We lived in the
central valley of California.
00:24:26.06\00:24:28.50
Bay Area is an hour away,
you can take an hour drive
00:24:30.13\00:24:34.80
and go see the worst
drug dealer imaginable,
00:24:34.80\00:24:38.64
and get anything you imagine.
00:24:38.64\00:24:40.98
But what we were
doing in our junior year
00:24:40.98\00:24:45.55
was a ton of
smoking weed, a ton,
00:24:45.55\00:24:50.22
every day before
school, skip a class to smoke,
00:24:50.22\00:24:54.76
and then after school
until we've decided we didn't
00:24:54.76\00:24:57.86
wanna hang out
with each other anymore.
00:24:57.86\00:25:00.43
And looking back at that,
00:25:00.43\00:25:03.57
it's like I cannot
imagine quantifying
00:25:03.57\00:25:06.80
the number of
hours I wasted on people
00:25:06.80\00:25:09.57
that I can't even either
remember their names anymore
00:25:09.57\00:25:12.57
or wouldn't care
to. (placid music)
00:25:12.57\00:25:15.44
- My grandmother was number
11 in a family of 13 girls.
00:25:15.44\00:25:20.72
And she sometimes
felt lost in the crowd.
00:25:21.62\00:25:24.02
Do you ever feel that way?
00:25:24.02\00:25:26.19
With nearly eight
billion people in the world,
00:25:26.19\00:25:28.99
it's easy to wonder if anyone
even notices you're alive.
00:25:28.99\00:25:33.09
But there is
someone who notices.
00:25:33.09\00:25:36.23
The Bible says
God calls us by name.
00:25:36.23\00:25:40.17
He knows you, knows
your name, you're His child.
00:25:40.17\00:25:45.37
If you'd like proof, go to
talkingdonkeyinternational.org
00:25:46.54\00:25:50.18
and request offer number
130 for this free pamphlet.
00:25:50.18\00:25:55.45
There's not another you.
00:25:55.98\00:25:57.35
(placid music) -
That was exciting,
00:25:58.62\00:26:00.09
a lot of stuff,
but we ran outta time.
00:26:00.09\00:26:02.89
- We always run out of time.
00:26:02.89\00:26:04.16
There's always more
that I wish we could pack in.
00:26:04.16\00:26:06.49
- But there is
more in this, yeah.
00:26:06.49\00:26:08.00
- Oh yes, if you thought
the first part of Taylor's life
00:26:08.00\00:26:10.57
was interesting, you are
going to want to come back
00:26:10.57\00:26:13.27
for part two.
00:26:13.27\00:26:14.40
I can't believe
some of his stories.
00:26:14.40\00:26:16.77
First of all, the
way he moved every year,
00:26:17.81\00:26:20.31
the new kid
practically every school year.
00:26:20.31\00:26:23.28
I was born and
raised in the same town,
00:26:23.28\00:26:25.65
lived in the same house
until I went off to college.
00:26:25.65\00:26:29.85
And from
kindergarten through 12th grade
00:26:29.85\00:26:33.82
was in the same school.
00:26:33.82\00:26:35.39
I cannot imagine being the
new kid over and over and over.
00:26:35.39\00:26:39.79
And then beyond that, I
can't imagine the business deals
00:26:39.79\00:26:44.27
that Taylor was making.
00:26:44.27\00:26:46.50
And then, he ends
up in the Bay Area,
00:26:46.50\00:26:49.87
and that story where he
is running from the police.
00:26:49.87\00:26:53.07
- That's the part
that I can identify with
00:26:53.07\00:26:54.78
being in San Francisco
00:26:54.78\00:26:55.94
'cause I've had
some pretty rough times,
00:26:55.94\00:26:57.75
but boy, his was hair-raising.
00:26:57.75\00:26:59.91
- My run ins with the police
are much more run of the mill,
00:26:59.91\00:27:03.92
the highway patrol are a little
more of who I've run into,
00:27:05.05\00:27:08.12
because I might
have kind of a lead foot,
00:27:08.12\00:27:10.46
but that is literally the
worst trouble I've ever been in
00:27:10.46\00:27:13.66
is a speeding ticket.
00:27:13.66\00:27:15.86
- The cool thing
is God loves us all,
00:27:15.86\00:27:17.93
He died for all of us,
and He wanted to save Taylor.
00:27:17.93\00:27:21.07
It's absolutely evident.
00:27:21.07\00:27:22.87
But I think people
need to tune into part two,
00:27:22.87\00:27:25.51
because part two
is even more exciting.
00:27:25.51\00:27:28.51
- Oh yes, we barely touched
on parts of his life today.
00:27:28.51\00:27:33.05
That's why it's
gotta be a two-parter.
00:27:33.05\00:27:34.75
He's had that kind of life.
00:27:34.75\00:27:37.09
Some of us have been boring,
vanilla Christians, not Taylor.
00:27:37.09\00:27:41.99
You are definitely going
to want to join us next week.
00:27:41.99\00:27:44.89
- See how God saved him
00:27:44.89\00:27:46.26
out of this
problem in San Francisco.
00:27:46.26\00:27:48.26
(placid music)
00:27:48.26\00:27:51.10
Hey, thanks for joining
us for "Country Wisdom".
00:27:52.60\00:27:55.27
- See ya next time.
00:27:55.27\00:27:56.50