Couldn't Stop Laughing: The Story of FKU50

One of the greatest things about having a mom who's an identical twin is having cousins who are more like siblings. That's what Jeff and Kent are to me.

The three of us grew up, for the better part of our youth, just two doors apart on the shore of Lake Brantley in Seminole County, Florida. Kent and I are the same age, and Jeff is three years older.

I didn’t see much of Jeff for a number of years. Now hat I've had teenage children of my own, I understand why. Hanging with your younger brother and cousin just wasn't cool back in the day.

The three of us reconnected when we were all close to middle age. We started taking annual backpacking and mountain biking trips together, hiking the Appalachian Trail one section at a time. Jeff and I would fly to Tennessee where Kent lived, and we'd hike from Friday to Sunday, covering anywhere from 20 to 30 miles.

Those trips were great opportunities for conversation—on sports, hobbies, marriage, relationships, kids, parenting, politics, religion, and everything in between. We agreed on some things, agreed to disagree on others, and threw each other under the bus on the weightier matters. It was great to toss in some fiction and act like the 12-year-olds we used to be.

On one of those hikes, I couldn’t stop laughing as I brought up the rear and listened to Kent and Jeff heatedly discuss some random topic. Their interchange was full of brash opinions, colorful words, and rich insights.

"This would make great radio!" I told them.

Several years later, while talking with my friend Stanley of Duck Duck Productions about the possibility of starting a podcast, my mind went straight to those great conversations with my cousins.

That was the beginning of FKU50: The Podcast. It's just one big endless conversation among friends and family about overcoming and outsmarting life at 50 and beyond. Jeff, Kent, and I are determined to stay active and not give up—because we intend to still be taking those backpacking trips well into our 80s!