The Origin of The Eddy
I have always been a social drinker. Never interested in being inebriated. More interested the difference in flavors, smells, and diversity between different types of beverages. While living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming I was introduced to a range of liqueurs by Jeremy Walker (aka Bonecrusher) who at the time was working for the Fine Dining Group and whose office was at Bin22 my local favorite restaurant. He frequently would bring a liqueur over to me for a tasting. These liqueurs are usually offered as an aperitif after dinner or used in the creation of cocktails.
One evening at my home during the summer of 2018, I mixed a bourbon with Amaro Nonino liqueur that Jeremy showed me, and with Cardamon bitters. It was just an experiment. I was amazed at how good it was. I shared my finding with Jeremy. It was the last word we spoke about it.
December that year I return from a three week trip overseas and was told by the staff at Bin22 that I needed to be there the following night. I showed up to find that The Eddy cocktail was now on the menu. With Rye whiskey added to the mixed, the legend of The Eddy was born, and the name became a brand for me.
This is how The Eddy cocktail became The Eddy Network Podcast. It is a name that travels well, and I’m always honored by its history of development to share as a symbol of congeniality and conversation in social environment. If you are to visit my home, you may be served The Eddy if the moment is appropriate.
The Eddy Network Podcast is Born
All my life, I have been curious and explored questions of why and how. I’ve learned that I am not an expert, just very interested in understanding how things work. Why am I not a scientist or an engineer? I do not know. Instead, I am a man of faith and a lover of people. My interest in religion, even as an ordained minister, is the same as my interest in how organizations form and function. Each are human institutions whether faith-based or not. I do not believe they are the validation of some higher truth. They are simply how human beings apply their values to the world that exists within our reach. We should not forget this as wars and threats of genocide by politicians, business interests, and entertainers promote chaos and social collapse.
I am interested in spirituality, consciousness, and belief, in the context of community and society. This curiosity has taken me down many paths of inquiry. Introduced me to many fascinating people, and constantly motivates me to extend my reach to new and distant places. Still, I am not an expert, just a curious guy.
This curiosity led me to begin The Eddy Network Podcast last February. Actually, I started interviewing people several months before that. I had been on podcasts before. Most were not very interesting. They didn’t pique my interest. They were much more like marketing or promotion of connections without human interaction.
With The Eddy Network Podcast, I decided to make it as easy as possible for people to come on the show . There is be no agenda and no need to prepare. Just show up and have a conversation with me. My role was to listen, ask questions based on something that emerged in the first minutes of the conversation, and show respect to the guest in a manner that we often don’t see in public.
About halfway through the year, my guests began expressing deep appreciation for the experience. I didn’t doubted their sincerity. I just felt what I was doing was very pedestrian and normal, not exceptional. One guest commented that I probably could not see the importance of what I was doing because this is the way I have always related to people. Probably so. I take comments, pro and con, seriously. It doesn’t mean that I follow what they suggest. Rather, it gets rolled into the mix of insights and thoughts that flood my mind and heart throughout this experience.
I decided to do two episodes a week. I wanted to create momentum and expectation. Once a week seemed too casual. I wanted a sense of urgency to attend these conversations. The opportunity to everyone is that I am sure no one has listened to every episode. There is always one waiting to be discovered. One friend who has a house cleaning service listens while she cleans. Her comments are precious and very meaningful to me. The reason is that I want people to feel that you don’t have to be influential to be valuable.
First Conversations
There are themes that run through these conversations. I won’t characterize them because I believe they must be discovered through the attention given to the conversation. The only exception is that a majority of these conversations were the first time we had ever talked. I now have a First Conversations playlist on YouTube. They are important because they demonstrate what is possible when two people meet for the first time. Throughout January, I’ll post one of these First Conversations every Monday and Thursday. I hope these conversations encourage you to start your own first conversations.
My guests have also encouraged me to think more broadly about the nature of conversation. The lack of an agenda is a key. People don’t feel like they are being set up for a sales pitch or to be put down because their political perspective is different from someone else. Part of the dilemma is that we need examples. The past year’s episodes is a start. But that is just between two people.
The Eddy Network Podcast Branches Out
Beginning in February 2024, I’m going to take the conversational approach of the podcast to a group orientation. These monthly programs will be available to the paid subscribers of my Substack.
Once a month there will be a conversation between three or four of my past guests to the podcast. There are some natural groupings that appear to me. In some cases, these will be First Conversations between the participants. I’m interested to see how a group of people meeting for the first time will respond to one another. Of course, they will obviously watch the episodes of the other guests from the previous year. I’ll moderate the conversation. It should be quite interesting.
The other opportunity will be a monthly opportunity for a group of six to eight people to join me in conversation. It will be a new challenge because there will be no prior knowledge of who will be on the conversation. Again, this conversation will be made available to paid subscribers.
The New Year for Expanding The Eddy Network
Touchpoints for the coming year.
My Health:
I enter the new year with many challenges and opportunities before me. I have two surgical procedures upcoming. One to neutralize an acoustic neuroma in my right ear canal and hip replacement surgery in April. I also have some nerve issues in my lower back that I hope can be dealt with by physical therapy once the hip issue is resolved.
My Home:
I also am moving back to my hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I am purchasing a house near downtown that will provide space that I have not had in decades. Part of the plan is to create what I am calling The Eddy Salon for casual conversation with people that I am just getting to know. If you live near by, let me know of your interest. The first event will be later in the year so I can get settled into the house.
My Purpose:
I know that the coming year is going to be filled with crisis and chaos. Many of you are not prepared because you don’t know how to address change. It is like what I wrote about in The Ostrich, The Peacock and The Sheepdog.
The Ostrich hides.
The Peacock preens.
The Sheepdog watches.
I want you to know that whatever you think is going to happen, it will be different. I will be worse that we can imagine. And there will be moments that remind us of the goodness of people and the sustainability of the world we have known. Those who speak in absolutes will be proven to be wrong in the overstatement of their predictions.
What then are you to do?
First, become a sheepdog. Look after people who are vulnerable and who need you. Keep your friends and family close to you. Create times of conversation where you can talk without agenda and in particular without judgement.
Second, simplify your life. Even if this means getting rid of the clutter in the garage or the basement. To simplify is to prioritize your time and investment in your daily activities. Think and plan what you will do on a contingency basis. And in particular, reduce your social media time. The primary reason is that it asks nothing of you except your attention. You life requires your attention now.
Third, be grateful for what you have. It is difficult to work through hard times when we are not aware of the good things that we have in our lives. Follow my Five Actions of Gratitude. Do these every week, if not every day.
Say Thanks
Give Back
Make Welcome
Honor Others
Create Goodness
Fourth, think of yourself as a member of The Eddy Network. All of you who read my Substack and watch or listen to The Eddy Network Podcast, I consider a part of this community of people who share a range of values that connect us together.
If you want to have a conversation, reach out to me at ed@edbrenegar.com. Unless we have a direct connection through someone else, I will not respond to a “Let’s connect.” I need to know what your purpose for connecting with me is if you genuinely want a relationship to form.
Fifth, introduce me to people that you feel I should interview. One of the arenas that I’d like to explore more is with artists and musicians. The best way to do this is to send us both an email introducing us. I’ll take it from there.
Thank you everyone. May your New Year surprise you with good things to celebrate.