Family, Horses, and Stories Worth Keeping

A reading edition of Corey’s original episode, lightly edited for readability. Listen to the story →

Well, hello there. Welcome to the Roundup. I'm Corey Moser. And apparently, after more than 50 years on this planet, I finally reached the point where I think people might actually want to listen to me talk.

Which is interesting because I've spent most of my life surrounded by people who would probably pay good money to get me to shut up. So, welcome to the very first episode of the Roundup with Corey Moser. Now, I should probably warn you right up front. I'm not a professional radio personality.

I'm not a celebrity. I'm not a psychologist, and I'm certainly not somebody who's figured out all the answers to life's problems. In fact, there are mornings when I can't even remember why I walked into the garage. But I have been around long enough to collect a few stories, make a whole lot of mistakes, and learn a thing or two along the way.

And I figured maybe it's time to start sharing some of them. So pull up a chair. Grab something cold to drink, or whatever suits you, and let's get acquainted. First of all, let me tell you a little bit about myself.

My name is Corey Moser. I'm a husband, a father, a grandfather, a mortgage guy, a horse lover, and depending on who you ask, either a pretty decent guy or a walking example of what happens when somebody doesn't always think things through. I'm also getting to that wonderful stage of life where everything makes noise when I stand up. My knees pop, my back cracks.

Sometimes my shoulder makes a noise that sounds like somebody stepping on bubble wrap. And I've learned that when you're young, you get out of bed because you're excited about the day. When you're my age, you get out of bed and spend the first five minutes taking inventory. Okay, knees are working.

Back's questionable. Left shoulder's making a new noise. Let's see how this goes. And don't even get me started on being bald.

Believe it or not, there was a time in my life when I actually had to decide how to comb my hair. Now my entire grooming routine takes about 12 seconds, and I guess you could say I've streamlined the operation. But seriously, I've had a pretty interesting life. I've worked in the mortgage industry for nearly 30 years.

I've owned businesses, taught classes, worked with thousands of people, and spent more hours discussing interest rates than any human being should reasonably be required to endure. And believe me, nothing livens up a dinner party quite like somebody asking me what I think mortgage rates are going to do. That's usually about the time everybody else suddenly remembers they need to check on something in the other room. But this podcast isn't going to be about mortgages.

Well not primarily. I'm sure a story or two from my business career will sneak in occasionally because after nearly three decades of working with people, I've witnessed some pretty entertaining situations. But there are plenty of places you can go to hear about interest rates. This is going to be something different.

Now here's where things get interesting. I have six children of my own. Six. And I'm currently married to my wife Rihannon.

Who has four children of her own. So between us, that's 10 kids. Ten. Now, before anybody starts wondering whether we have some kind of reality television show in the works, let me assure you, we do not.

Although I'm pretty sure there have been moments when we could have given a few of those television families a run for their money. 10 kids. when you have one child, you worry about whether you're doing everything right. When you have two, you start realizing you don't know nearly as much as you thought you did.

By the time you get to six, you're mostly just trying to make sure everybody gets fed and nobody sets the house on fire. And when you combine two families with ten children, let's just say there ought to be some kind of an advanced degree for that, or at least a certificate of survival. I love my family, every one of them, and I'm proud of the people they've become. But I'll tell you something about raising children.

You can spend years teaching them important life lessons, trying to set a good example, and hoping they'll remember all those wonderful things you said. And then, when they're grown, what do they remember? The one time you lost your temper over something ridiculous, or that embarrassing thing you did in public, or some comment you made 20 years ago that you don't even remember saying. Apparently children have photographic memories, but only when it comes to things you'd rather they forget.

And the really frightening part? Now there are grandchildren, which means there's a whole new generation of people who may eventually discover just how many questionable decisions grandpa has made. And I have a feeling they're going to enjoy those stories a little too much. Now, since we're getting acquainted, I might as well tell you something about myself.

I've been married three times. Yep. Three. Apparently I'm one of those people who believes that if something doesn't work out the first time, you should either keep trying until you either get it right or run out of people willing to put up with you.

And before anybody starts sending me relationship advice, let me assure you I've probably heard most of it. Some of it more than once, and usually from the people who are married to me. But here's the thing. Marriage is complicated, relationships are complicated, and life has a funny way of teaching you lessons that you probably should have learned a whole lot earlier.

Looking back, there are plenty of things I wish I'd done differently, things I wish I'd said, things I wish I hadn't said, and more than a few times when I probably should have just kept my mouth shut. Which incidentally is a skill I've been working on for decades. I still haven't mastered it, but I'm making progress. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

One thing I've learned is that being right isn't always nearly as important as you think it is. When you're young, you can get so wrapped up in proving your point that you forget what the argument was even about. And somewhere along the way, you realize that winning an argument doesn't necessarily mean you've accomplished something worthwhile. Sometimes you've just managed to make somebody you love feel bad.

And that's not much of a victory. And sometimes the smartest thing a man can say is absolutely nothing. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that husbands should spend their lives nodding silently while their wives make every decision. I'm just saying there have been a few occasions when that strategy might have saved me an awful lot of trouble.

We'll talk more about relationships and marriage in future episodes. I've certainly got enough material. In fact, We could probably devote an entire season to things which I wish I hadn't said, and still have enough left over for a Christmas special. Now something else you should know about me.

I love horses. I love being outdoors, riding through the mountains, and spending time in places where the biggest decision of the day is which trail to take. There's something about being on horseback that just makes the world feel less complicated. Of course, horses have their own opinions about things, and they're not particularly interested in yours.

You can have an entire plan worked out in your head. exactly where you're going, how you're going to get there, and how long it's going to take. And then your horse decides that a perfectly harmless rock or a branch or a garbage bag that's just been sitting on the ground for a while is actually a dangerous creature preparing to attack. Suddenly, your carefully planned afternoon becomes a discussion about whether the two of you are going to continue down the trail.

And the horse has some pretty strong feelings on the subject. I think horses teach you a lot about life. Patience for one thing. Humility, definitely.

And the importance of paying attention to what's going on around you. They also teach you that being stubborn isn't always a particularly useful personality trait. Although, come to think of it, that's probably a lesson I could have learned from a few of my marriages, too. But I love the Western lifestyle.

The mountains, the open spaces, the animals, the quiet. And I imagine there will be plenty of stories about those adventures along the way. Some of them funny, some of them meaningful, and probably a few where you'll wonder how I managed to survive long enough to tell the story. Believe me.

I've wondered the same thing. something interesting happens as you get older. When you're young, you spend a lot of time thinking about what you're going to accomplish, the career you're going to build, the money you're going to make, the house you're going to buy, the things you're going to own. And don't misunderstand me, there's nothing wrong with having goals.

I've spent a good part of my life working hard, building businesses, and trying to provide for my family. But somewhere along the way, your perspective starts to change. You begin realizing that some of the things you worried about so much weren't nearly as important as you thought they were. And some of the things you took for granted, those turn out to be the things that matter most.

Time with your kids, conversations with your parents, an afternoon with somebody you love, a good laugh with an old friend, a quiet ride through the mountains. It's the little moments. It's funny how often those are the things you remember. Not the big business deals, not the fancy purchases, not the days when everything went exactly according to plan.

You remember the people and the experiences, and sometimes the mistakes, especially the really embarrassing ones. Those seem to stick around forever. And the older I get, the more I realize that life doesn't come with an instruction manual. We're all just doing the best we can with what we know at the time.

Some of us are a little better at it than others, and some of us apparently need to repeat the same lessons several times before it finally sinks in. I'm not naming names, but I do happen to be sitting behind this microphone. Now I want to tell you something about why I decided to start this podcast. And this part is actually pretty important to me.

I've been thinking about all the stories I've accumulated over the years. Some are funny, some are embarrassing, and some are things I'm proud of, and some are things I wish I could go back and do differently. And I got to thinking about my children and my grandchildren, and someday, hopefully their children. And I realized that there are a whole lot of things about my life they may never know unless I tell them.

Not because they're not interested, but because life gets busy. People grow up, families spread out, and somehow we don't always take the time to sit down and tell the stories. I think about my own parents and grandparents. I'm fortunate enough to still have my parents around, but there are things I wish I could ask them today, especially my grandparents.

Questions about what their lives were like, what they dreamed about, what frightened them, what made them laugh, what they would do differently if they had the chance. And there are stories I wish I'd taken the time to write down, or better yet, record. Because there's something special about hearing somebody's voice, their laughter, the way they tell a story, the little expressions they use. Those things are part of who they are.

And someday, when I'm no longer around, I hope my family can listen to these recordings and feel like grandpa is sitting right there telling one of his stories. Maybe they'll laugh. Maybe they'll roll their eyes. Maybe they'll say, boy, here he goes again.

And you know what? I'd be perfectly happy with that. Now I don't want this to sound like I'm preparing to ride off into the sunset anytime soon. I've still got plenty of things I want to do, places I want to go, horses I want to ride, and probably a few more mistakes I've gotten I haven't gotten around to making yet.

But I figure there's no sense waiting until it's too late to start telling. The stories. And if a few people outside my family happen to enjoy listening along the way, well, that's even better. So what exactly is this podcast going to be about?

That's a good question. And if I'm being perfectly truthful, I'm not entirely sure I know the answer yet, which is probably not the most reassuring thing you could hear from somebody launching a podcast. But here's what I do know: we're going to talk about life. Marriage, family, kids, grandkids, getting older, business, friendship, horses, the things that make us laugh, the things that make us think, and the occasional situation makes us wonder what in the world we were thinking.

Some episodes might be downright ridiculous, others might be a little more serious. And every once in a while we might stumble across something that actually makes a difference in somebody's life. I didn't I don't intend to sit here and lecture anybody. Goodness knows I've made too many mistakes to start pretending I'm qualified to tell everybody else how to live.

But I do think there's value in sharing our experiences. Sometimes hearing somebody else's story helps you realize you're not the only person who struggled with something or made a bad decision. Or had a day when absolutely nothing went right. And sometimes you just need a good laugh.

Because life can be pretty darn funny if you learn not to take yourself too seriously. And if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that taking myself too seriously has rarely worked out particularly well. Now, before we wrap up this first episode, I've got a little favor to ask. If you've enjoyed spending a few minutes with me, I'd love for you to follow the podcast.

That way, you'll know when the next episode comes out. I'm planning to release a new episode every Tuesday. And if you happen to know somebody who might enjoy hearing a slightly worn-out cowboy ramble on about life, family, and the occasional bad decision, feel free to share it with them. I'm not looking to become the next big celebrity.

Although if somebody wants to offer me a million dollar podcast contract, I suppose I'd be willing to hear them out. I mean, I'm not unreasonable. But seriously, I'd love to build a little community of people who enjoy a good story, appreciate a little humor, and understand that none of us has this whole life thing completely figured out. And if you've got a story of your own, something funny or meaningful you'd like to share.

I'd love to hear it. Who knows? Maybe someday we'll have a segment where we talk about stories from the people listening. Because I can guarantee you one thing I'm not the only person who's done something ridiculous.

At least I certainly hope not. Well, I guess that about does it for the very first episode of the Roundup. And you know what? That wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it might be.

Of course, you might have a different opinion. Before I go, I want to leave you with one thought. I've spent a lot of years trying to figure out what makes a good life, and I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers. But I'm beginning to think it has a whole lot less to do with how much money you make, how important your job is, or how many things you accumulate, and a whole lot more to do with the people you love, the memories you make, and whether you can look back on your life and find a few reasons to smile.

I've been fortunate enough to have plenty of those reasons. And I hope there are a whole lot more still to come. So thanks for spending a little time with me today. I'm Corey Moser, and this has been the Roundup.

Until next week, take care of yourself. Be good to the people around you. And remember, life's a whole lot easier when you learn to laugh at yourself. And believe me, I've given myself plenty of material.

See you next Tuesday.