The Ground Crew Report Issue #2
January 2nd: The Day That Changed My Life
There are days in life that you know you'll remember forever, and it just so happens that
January 2, 2025, was one of those days for me.
It wasn't a birthday.
It wasn't a wedding anniversary.
It wasn't the birth of a child.
It was the day I returned after a long holiday weekend. A weekend in which I knew I had forfeited because I had chosen to “call out” the Friday before a holiday in which the Dealership was scheduled to be closed. But because of my circumstances, I felt I had no choice but to forfeit the “holiday pay.” But this was the automotive industry, and anyone who's worked in it can tell you: management will always strive for the largest profit margins while employing the smallest possible workforce. I built a career in the automotive field, which spanned across three decades
And for those thirty years, my identity was wrapped up in serving customers, solving problems, and helping people get back on the road, all while trying to save them a dollar or two. I wasn't a mechanic—I was a Parts Advisor and a dam good one if you ask me, but I'm a bit biased. My job was to listen, diagnose, ask the right questions, and make sure technicians and customers had what they needed to fix the real problem, not just the symptom.
I believed that if you worked hard, treated people with respect, and did the right thing, those things would matter.
On January 2nd, that belief was shaken.
After more than thirty years, I was terminated.
One conversation.
One afternoon.
Just like that, the routine I'd known for decades disappeared.
I drove home wondering the same question millions of Americans have asked after losing a job:
Now what?
What I didn't know then was that losing my job wasn't just the end of a career.
It was the beginning of a calling.
Three days later, I watched the presidential inauguration.
Like every inauguration before it, I paid attention. But this one looked and felt different.
For the first time in decades, I wasn't thinking about getting up for work the next morning.
I had nowhere to be.
No dealership waiting.
No parts orders.
No repair tickets.
Just questions.
Lots of questions.
I started reading.
Then I kept reading.
I read court decisions, government reports, historical documents, investigative journalism, and the Constitution itself. I began comparing what public officials were saying with what I could verify for myself.
The more I learned, the more I noticed something that felt strangely familiar.
Warning lights.
After thirty years around automobiles, you learn something important.
The check engine light isn't the problem.
It's the warning that something deeper is happening beneath the surface.
Ignore it, and you're calling a tow truck
Ignore it even longer, and you're shopping for a new automobile.
And as I watched our politics, our institutions, and our public conversations, I couldn't shake the feeling that America was driving with every warning light illuminated on the dashboard.
Instead of pulling over to investigate, we argue about whether the lights are even real.
That's when the mechanic's mindset I'd spent decades developing suddenly found a new purpose.
It's not fixing cars or deciding what parts to recommend
It’s helping people recognize warning signs.
Some people have asked me why I started Common Ground Media.
The honest answer is that I didn't set out to become a political commentator.
I certainly didn't wake up one morning hoping to spend my days writing newsletters or recording videos.
I reached a point where staying silent was no longer an option.
My wife and I are raising our 30-year-old daughter, who was born with developmental disabilities and requires full-time care. Like millions of American families, we've faced financial setbacks, uncertainty, and difficult choices. Losing my career only added to those challenges.
But difficult times have a way of revealing what matters most.
Recovery taught me something years ago that still guides my life today: you cannot solve a problem until you're willing to admit there is one. I think I’m going stop there for this issue and hope you have a better idea as to why and what Im trying to build here and looking forward in building it together with you, The Ground Crew. See you in the next episode.