Nov. 24, 2025

Hold My Fosters: Dave Kunst Walk Around The World

Hold My Fosters: Dave Kunst Walk Around The World
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A wild idea in a Minnesota movie theater turns into a four-year odyssey across continents, palaces, deserts, and a war-torn frontier—only to be shattered and reshaped by a midnight ambush in the Afghan mountains. We follow Dave and his brothers from a rainy hometown send-off to a photo-op in Manhattan, a meeting with Princess Grace in Monaco, and the hard reality of Cold War borders that forced detours and difficult choices. Along the way: a mule named “Willy Make It,” letters from Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale, wintering in Turkey, and a charitable tie-in with UNICEF that promised meaning beyond the miles.

The journey’s heart is complicated. After John’s death, Pete steps in so two brothers can finish what two began. Bureaucracy blocks the ideal route, so the path bends through India’s crowded roads and into Australia’s vast Outback, where solitude tests resolve and a schoolteacher named Jenny quietly becomes essential support. By the time Dave crosses the Pacific and trudges home through the Rockies and the Plains, the story is no longer a simple tale of grit. A blunt interview strips away the hero varnish and exposes the raw motive: a man who walked out of a life he didn’t want, and the fallout that followed.

Expect adventure and its cost: endurance under a brutal sun, embassy fixes, political no’s, and a Guinness record won at great personal price. We talk ethics and ambition, why “firsts” are rarely clean, and how a cause can coexist with contradiction. If you’re drawn to hard roads, human contradictions, and the thin line between courage and selfishness, this story will stick with you long after the credits roll.

If this episode moved you, share it with a friend, hit follow, and leave a quick review—then tell us: is this a hero’s journey or a cautionary tale?

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00:00 - Cold Open, Beer, And Banter

02:06 - Meet Dave Kunst And The Wild Idea

04:45 - Sponsorships, Letters, And A Mule

07:01 - Across America To NYC

09:00 - Europe To Princess Grace

11:50 - Through The Iron Curtain Fringes

14:05 - Turkey’s Crowds And Winter Pause

16:10 - Iran To Afghanistan: Warnings Mount

18:20 - The Ambush: John Is Killed

20:50 - Recovery And Pete Steps In

23:00 - Pakistan Escort And India’s Chaos

25:10 - Route Blocked: Pivot To Australia

27:00 - Outback Miles And Jenny

29:00 - Alone Again: Death Of Another Mule

31:00 - Sydney Finish And Return To U.S.

32:45 - The Nebraska Rant Backfires

34:30 - Homecoming, Fallout, And Guinness

36:15 - Legacy, Contradictions, And CTA

WEBVTT

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Testies, testes, one, two, three.

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Say something.

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Anything.

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Test one, two, three.

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Anything but that's a good idea.

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Oh, hey there.

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I'm gonna leave that first part in.

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Just just testing out the microphone.

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Microphone.

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Hey, I'm Bradley.

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I'm Kate.

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We're the history of buffoons.

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Yup.

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Thank you for joining us on this gloomy day.

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Oh my gosh.

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It is early in the day, but it does not look like it's early in the day.

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It feels like it should be nighttime, honestly.

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Like it's three o'clock, full disclosure.

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It's just after three.

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Yes.

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It feels like 5 30, 6 o'clock at this point.

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For sure.

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That's how dark it kind of appears outside.

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It's really kind of jarring.

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It was actually just starting to sprinkle when I got here.

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So and Amos is all like, um, it's time for me to eat.

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And we're like, sorry, you got three more hours.

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He's like, bullshit, look outside.

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Oh, Amos.

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So cute.

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So we don't have anything terribly exciting for beverages today.

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We're just doing our old standby, which has been Coora's banquet lately.

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Yeah, so sometimes you just gotta go back to the, you know.

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It's a classics.

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So um we also had a miscommunication.

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Oh, did we?

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In terms of picking up set beer.

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I got beer, but apparently I got not the right beer.

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Oh dear.

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Oh, mine too.

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I didn't even shake it or nothing.

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I swears.

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I had I had some lineys last night and it did the same thing.

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Maybe it's my fridge.

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It could be.

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Anywho, I've been told we have a little bit longer episode, so let's get into it.

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Well, let's go back to what you were talking about.

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All right, let's not get into it.

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I told you to pick a podcast beer and I was gonna pick a podcast wine.

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Yes.

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And he got cooers and no podcast beer, but that's okay, because now we can drink this on as a podcast beer.

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Cooers banquet.

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Like I said, let's get into it.

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So yeah.

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We're gonna talk about Dave Koonst.

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Dave Kunst, the author.

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Is that an offer?

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Author?

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Oh, Koons.

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Is it Kuhnz?

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There's no T in it.

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The one you're talking about?

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The one that you're talking about, the author?

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I don't think there's a T in it.

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Koons?

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Now I'm drawing a blank.

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I thought there was.

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I could be wrong.

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Dave Kuhn.

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I think you might be right.

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It might be just K-O-O-N-Z.

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No, it is K-O-N-T-Z.

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That's what I thought.

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Interesting.

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That's his name, though, right, Dave?

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I'm gonna talk about um Dave Koontz K-U-N-S T.

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Oh.

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Yeah, I did not put those two together.

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I just I mean I heard the name.

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No, you're right.

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Didn't know the spelling.

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Um popular author, yeah.

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I'm very uh smart.

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Okay, so Dave Koontz actually walked around the world.

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Oh.

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So Dave Koontz started in Minnesota in a movie theater.

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Um, it was 1970, and Dave was about 30 years old, and he was he worked in like the projection booth of a theater.

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Okay.

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And his buddy what town in Minnesota to whether is this where he grew up?

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Yeah.

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Yes.

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Uh Wasika.

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Oh, sure.

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Wasika?

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I believe you.

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Yeah.

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Um, so he uh Dave and um his buddy Rick, they're working together.

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Okay, Dave contemplating wanting to drive a Jeep across South America.

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Oh, and Rick was just like, you can do something better than that.

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I mean, what a kind of a dick, like you could do better.

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I I get like, could you do that better?

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Maybe, but at the same time, it's like that's still a pretty big feat.

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That's pretty awesome, though.

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Yeah.

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It's like, dude, that's chunk change.

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Anyone could do that.

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Do better, man.

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Um, so he says, why not do something truly epic?

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You've got to do something nobody has ever done before and won't probably be done again.

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Spoiler alert, it's been done since.

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But yeah.

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Without missing a beat, Dave rang up his younger brother John, who was 23, and suggested, let's walk around the entire world.

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Okay, continue.

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I'll ask questions in a minute.

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John didn't hesitate.

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He's like, it was uh based on like hearing the idea, he's like, it was enough to sell us both.

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Um, so the two brothers agreed, and they were going to trot around the globe one step at a time.

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That's just wild that so when they got to the was it the Bering Sea Bridge, did they have was it frozen over for them to get into Russia?

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They didn't go that way.

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Which way did they go?

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They went east.

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How'd they get across the Atlantic?

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You can't walk across water unless you're Jesus Christ.

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Well, funny story.

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They flew, they had to fly.

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That doesn't count.

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Okay, Purist.

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Purist?

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He said he walked around the world.

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He did, but he did have to take a couple flights.

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I'm already pissed.

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Don't be pissed.

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So I was uh when I asked you whatever episode that was, like, what's the depressing level on this?

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I was trying to work on a depressing level meter.

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I'm still it's still in works.

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This is the more majority of this story is about a 70, 97% not depressing.

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But then the 3% is really heavy.

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Oh shit.

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Is that at the very end?

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No, it's in the middle, yeah.

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Oh boy.

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Okay.

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Is it because he flew and didn't walk?

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Anyways, don't give it away.

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Uh you already did.

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Okay, so ordinary life was kind of closing in on date, uh, on Dave.

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He had a wife, he had three young kids, and a steady job in Wasika, Minnesota.

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Um, basically small town stability.

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Right.

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But that life was fairly stifling for him.

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Lots of people get these ideas.

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Some people even like come up with really great ideas, Dave said, but most people just say, someday, someday, someday.

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Yeah, they they have these grandiose ideas, and then that's just like, well, I don't have the money for that now, or yeah, whatever.

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That's the whole carp ideum, season the day kind of thing.

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Like, just do it.

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Exactly.

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Which I commend people for doing that.

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I've had weird, crazy ideas that I've wanted of stuff I wanted to do, and I'm like, I just can't fucking afford it.

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Yeah.

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So I'm really curious to see how they funded this trip.

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That happened twice with me.

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Yeah.

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Once when I went to aesthetic school, I dropped, I I left, I quit work, I just went to school full time.

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Right.

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And that was such a big leap.

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Oh, sure.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And then I did dig in with massage therapy, but I kept a job at the time.

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Yeah, you were still working at the time.

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That's right.

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Okay, so they didn't want that to happen to them.

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So the Koontz.

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Who does?

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Yeah.

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The Koontz brothers refused to let someday essentially slip away.

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And they're like, today.

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Yeah.

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They saw this walk as like their ticket out of the grind of the typical world.

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Which, okay, with that being said, dude's married and has three kids.

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Three young kids.

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Kind of a dick move, man.

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Well, that comes up again later.

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Kind of a Dave move.

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I see what you did there.

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Thanks.

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So it kind of sounded like an insane idea, but that was part of the whole appeal.

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Of course.

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As John put it, the younger of the two, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rise above the normal trivialities of life and do something unique.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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If they didn't do it now, when the heck would they do it?

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1971?

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Yeah.

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So Dave and John got practical really fast.

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They drummed up support in town and miraculously secured sponsorship sponsorship from a local banker.

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His name was Hal Greenwood.

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Really?

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So Hal sponsored them.

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What is he getting out of it?

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Just game like, hey, sponsored, you know, brought to you by this guy.

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Who works at this bank?

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Yeah, bank here because he gives money away.

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Yeah.

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Apparently.

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Perhaps.

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Perhaps.

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Um, but even more crucial were some letters that were written for them.

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For them?

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Mm-hmm.

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Okay.

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Two heavy hitters in politics, former vice president of the United States, Hubert Humphrey.

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What the what?

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Current senator of Minnesota.

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Okay.

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At the time.

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Right.

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And Senator Walter Mondale, also current senator of the time.

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I know that name.

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Um, both of them wrote a letter politely asking folks around the world to extend all possible hospitality and assistance to the Koontz brothers.

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Okay.

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Vouching that Dave and John were men of good character.

00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:34.480
So why are we mainly talking about Dave when John went along with this?

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Because it was Dave's idea.

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Yeah, it started with Dave.

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It'll end with Dave as well.

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Gotcha.

00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:39.120
Okay.

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Just curious.

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So this kind of endorsement opened a lot of doors.

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Um embassies, town mayors, local police in far-reaching places would see these letters with Humphrey's U.S.

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Senate letterhead and know that these wandering nobodies were just wandering nobodies?

00:09:57.840 --> 00:09:58.879
They were just wandering nobodies.

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They were somebody, if you ask me.

00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:03.440
Yeah, they were like the golden ticket to get around the globe.

00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:03.840
Ha ha.

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I'm in the golden ticket.

00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:11.840
You know what I have to say about that?

00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:13.360
Nothing.

00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:18.320
So Dave and John decided to give their walk a charitable purpose as well.

00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:18.799
Oh.

00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:24.159
Um, they uh if they were gonna trek across countries, they wanted to try to help others along the way.

00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:28.399
So they partnered with UNICEF, hoping to raise money for children in need.

00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:36.639
So UNICEF is the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, which is active currently in over 190 countries.

00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:37.200
Right.

00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:37.679
Okay.

00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:38.240
Okay.

00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:45.600
So as they walked, they'd they'd encourage people they met or who heard about the quest to send donations to UNICEF.

00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:46.320
Gotcha.

00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:46.720
Okay.

00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:52.879
So it was kind of a charitable hook that gave their outrageous journey kind of a touch of legitimacy.

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It wasn't just for themselves, but for the world's kids as well.

00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:58.080
Yeah, they put a cause behind it.

00:10:58.240 --> 00:10:59.840
So which is which is nice.

00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:13.039
So in planning their route, um, they'd start at home in Minnesota, head east to New York City on foot, then hop a plane across the Atlantic to Portugal, and then from there they intended to go through Europe and Asia.

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They start with Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan.

00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:29.679
Um, and then they would um go to the Soviet Union if possible, and uh Japan as well.

00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:30.240
Okay.

00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:33.519
And then they would go to Hawaii and then back to the United States.

00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:35.919
And then start from the West Coast back to Minnesota?

00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:36.399
Yes.

00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:36.799
Okay.

00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:37.279
Yes.

00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:45.360
We're talking tens of thousands of miles on foot through deserts, mountains, cities, villages, and every kind of terrain and culture imaginable.

00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:47.440
How many miles was it in the air?

00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:48.879
I don't know.

00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.200
Oh, you said 10,000 of miles on foot.

00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:54.240
Yeah, because I'm talking about when they're on foot, not in the air.

00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:55.840
Just asking.

00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:02.000
Of course, it was all contingent on the entire world cooperating.

00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:07.600
Visas, weather, wars, politics.

00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:10.240
So I assume they had their passports then.

00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:13.600
Were passports needed back then in the 70s?

00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:14.159
Yeah.

00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.000
Then they probably did.

00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:17.200
Okay.

00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:19.279
Wow.

00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:23.440
Passports have been around for quite some time.

00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:24.639
And they probably had them.

00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:24.960
Okay.

00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:27.200
With we visas and shit.

00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:31.600
Okay, so no MasterCards.

00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:33.759
With confidence.

00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:34.159
Yeah.

00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:37.120
Or perhaps a little naivete.

00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:38.080
Yeah.

00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:42.639
Um, Dave and John figured they'd handle those hurdles as they came across.

00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:44.799
Yeah, just take it as it comes.

00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:46.080
Kind of thing, right?

00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:46.480
I mean.

00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:47.039
Yeah.

00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:47.519
Yeah.

00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:47.840
Okay.

00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:52.159
So if everything went according to plan, they'd be back home in a few years.

00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:53.360
Years?

00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:55.279
Wow.

00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:57.200
Hey kids.

00:12:57.840 --> 00:12:58.879
Daddy's leaving.

00:12:59.120 --> 00:13:00.000
Peace out.

00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:01.039
Yep.

00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:03.840
I feel bad when I don't see my kids for like a day or two.

00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:08.320
If that ever happens, if I'm on vacation or whatever it might be, if they're not with.

00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:13.279
I couldn't imagine being like, hey Xavier, see you when you're 10.

00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:13.840
Yeah.

00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:14.799
What the fuck?

00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:15.200
Yeah.

00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:16.399
You missed three.

00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:16.879
Okay.

00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:20.559
Already already starting not to like this Dave character.

00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:26.480
So one piece of advice from a local woman proved particularly handy.

00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:28.639
She said, get a mule.

00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:30.000
Well, I mean, yeah.

00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:33.840
Carry your stuff and loosen the burden on yourselves.

00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:34.320
Yeah.

00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:40.799
And it would distinguish John and Dave as travelers, not hitchhikers.

00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:41.360
Right.

00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:44.240
But you know what's unfortunate?

00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:46.960
They couldn't hitchhike because they have a mule.

00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:48.159
Anyways.

00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:56.080
So the brothers loved the idea and they uh acquired a packed mule and gave him the name Willy Make It.

00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:57.360
Oh, Jesus.

00:13:57.919 --> 00:13:58.399
Willie.

00:13:58.639 --> 00:13:59.440
Willie Make It.

00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:07.120
It's kind of like this video I saw about supposedly it was a time traveler, and we all know how shit's made up and whatever.

00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:12.559
And they tried to pass it off as real, and the guy's name who traveled was Justin Time.

00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.639
Like, seriously, could you make it any more obvious that it's fake?

00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:17.120
Yeah.

00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:19.759
Anyways, will he make it?

00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:21.440
Do they just call him Willie?

00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:23.440
Willie make it.

00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:23.840
Yep.

00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.840
So June 20th, 1970.

00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.080
It was actually a rainy day in Oseca.

00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:31.519
So Dave and John were undeterred.

00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:34.320
They're like, it's this is gonna be par for the course.

00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:36.799
Yeah, I mean they're gonna come across a lot of fucking weather.

00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:37.039
Yeah.

00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:39.120
So you can't just like, ah shit, it's raining.

00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:40.240
Maybe, maybe start tomorrow?

00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:41.120
Right, right, right.

00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:41.519
No.

00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:44.320
So they set off from their hometown on foot.

00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:52.240
Um, a small crowd of of their neighbors and stuff gathered um despite the rain, both proud and a little bit confused about their doing this.

00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:54.159
Well, it is a confusing thing.

00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:58.240
The town's mayor, Carl Swanson, gave a short speech.

00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:07.279
Um, he said, we should be aware that this is something that has never been attempted before in the history of man, and we will be able to say we were there when it started.

00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:16.000
So Dave's wife Jan was also there watching her husband disappear into the distance on a journey that she probably didn't really understand.

00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:17.279
How could she?

00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:18.639
I same.

00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:26.000
Because now she's just stuck raising the three kids on her own with like I mean, did the banker bankroll her too?

00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:26.799
I doubt it.

00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:28.960
Because what the fuck, man?

00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:31.039
Yeah, that's kind of irritating.

00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:36.240
She had told him, quote, I always knew you'd do something crazy like this someday.

00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:39.279
Well, at least she knew, I suppose.

00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:39.919
I guess.

00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:41.759
I mean, that's something.

00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:42.639
Yeah.

00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:48.639
So many in town quietly wondered how Dave could abandon his family for a crazy scheme.

00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:53.039
It was a fair question, but Dave purposefully kind of pushed that shit from his mind.

00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:57.840
Well, yeah, because he had bigger fish to fry or walk or whatever.

00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:03.840
So the first leg of the trek took J Dave, John, and Willie the mule across the United States.

00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:07.919
They covered 1,500 miles on foot from Minnesota to New York.

00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:08.399
Wow.

00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:14.399
Along the way, they slipped wherever they could, strangers' homes when offered campgrounds or open fields.

00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:24.879
Um, in Ohio, they actually spend a night in jail by choice because a local sheriff offered them a free cell to stay in, perhaps just for the safety of it.

00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:26.639
Did Willie stay in the cell with him?

00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:29.120
No, he was he was outside.

00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:33.360
So, I mean, how did they feed the mule?

00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:38.639
Did they bring food with like did they bring feed for him, or are they just like, I hope he gets enough grass here?

00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:40.960
I I didn't look into that.

00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:41.440
Oh.

00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:45.440
I'm assuming that they were carrying all kinds of camping gear and food.

00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.039
I'm assuming the mule was.

00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:48.720
Yeah, yes, that's yes.

00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:50.559
You said they.

00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:52.320
I'm like, they didn't care shit.

00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:55.600
Willie was burdened with such a task.

00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:57.039
Willie make it?

00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:58.240
I hope so.

00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.679
By late summer 1970, what?

00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:07.200
I was just gonna say, did they have to buy a plane ticket for Willie?

00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:08.400
No.

00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:10.880
Did he not make it?

00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:12.079
Yes and no.

00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:13.839
Did he have to swim?

00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:15.279
No.

00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:16.000
Okay.

00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:18.720
Continue, sorry.

00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:21.920
By late summer 1970, they made it to the East Coast.

00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:28.559
On October 8th, 1970, the brothers strolled into Manhattan, leading Willie down 42nd Street.

00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:31.119
So they have a parade.

00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:38.240
The New York Times snapped their photo, and that led their to their first taste of like global attention.

00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.200
Oh dear.

00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.440
So after arriving in New York, it was time to fly across the ocean.

00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:48.000
Um, so they paused the journey while they boarded a plane to Lisbon, Portugal.

00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:51.440
Hal Greenwood, the banker, backed this up.

00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:53.839
So he bought the bought the airfare.

00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:54.400
Okay.

00:17:54.960 --> 00:18:02.400
Naturally, Willie the mule couldn't ride in coach, so they did make arrangements for him to stay behind.

00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.119
So who did who took care of him?

00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:10.880
Well, I probably uh a generous person.

00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:15.440
They left him at the local livery stable.

00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:16.240
The what?

00:18:16.480 --> 00:18:16.880
Livery?

00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:18.160
I've never heard that term.

00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.440
I'll have to make you watch old timey movies.

00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:22.799
The livery.

00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:25.680
So once in Portugal.

00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:27.839
They forgot about Willie.

00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:29.359
Willy?

00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:36.400
The cousin, the European cousin of Willy will make it, Willie Make It 2.

00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:38.640
Is that seriously what they call it?

00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:43.200
Oh Jesus.

00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:45.920
Wow.

00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:50.720
They got us they got a second mule in Portugal and they named him Willy Make It Two.

00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:54.160
I'm gonna go with their creativity level.

00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:54.880
Shit.

00:18:57.279 --> 00:19:09.519
So they also carried like this long scroll meant to be signed by dignitaries or mayors in each town, kind of a guest book of sorts um to kind of um convey their journey.

00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:16.960
They spent our they spent the winter of 1970 and 71 working their way down the Iberian Peninsula and across France.

00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:17.519
Okay.

00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:24.160
By early 71, they were um they were uh walking along the sunny French Riviera.

00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:25.519
Oh, fancy.

00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:36.720
They strolled into the town of Saint-Tropez not long after Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones had gotten married there in May of 71.

00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:37.279
Oh.

00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:41.680
The brothers happened upon the very church where the rock star's wedding had taken place.

00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:43.279
Which wife was that, do you think?

00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:45.119
Was that that wasn't his first was that his first one?

00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:46.079
Because he's been married a few years.

00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:47.119
That wasn't part of my research.

00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:51.359
I didn't think it was, but I it was more of a speculative guess.

00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:58.000
So their real high society moment came when they entered Monaco.

00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:00.240
Oh, Monaco, yeah.

00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:09.599
Thanks to their letters of introduction and the intrigue of their mission, Dave and John secured an audience with Princess Grace of Monaco.

00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.519
Yeah, she was a famous actress.

00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:12.720
Grace Kelly.

00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:17.759
Yeah, yes, gave up acting to be Princess Grace of Monaco.

00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:18.799
Monaco, yes.

00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.079
So I had a feeling as soon as you said Monaco, you were gonna say her.

00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:23.039
So yeah.

00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:30.079
So Princess Grace um became one of those, like, I have to pinch myself, this is actually happening kind of things for them.

00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:38.240
Um Princess Grace greeted them um with like an easy charm and well, she was that type of person.

00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:42.640
So glancing at the mule, she said, Does the mule kick?

00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:47.279
Of course, it kind of broke the ice and the brothers laughed.

00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:47.920
Right.

00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:58.559
Um, but they decided to offer um Princess Grace a gift to remember them by, a polished horseshoe that Willie Make It 2 had worn down on the roads of France.

00:20:58.799 --> 00:20:59.119
Okay.

00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:02.480
So did they have to change his horseshoes themselves?

00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:03.440
Yeah, they would have to.

00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:04.000
Oh wow.

00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:07.839
So did they have to take farrier classes or I don't know.

00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:08.720
Bradley.

00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:09.519
Sorry.

00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:11.200
You know what a farrier is?

00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.880
Someone who changes horseshoes?

00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:15.039
Well, they take care of horse feet, basically.

00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:15.920
Horse feet.

00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:16.480
Yeah.

00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:21.200
So are are horseshoes and mule shoes different?

00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:24.480
Continue.

00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:32.480
The type of questions that you ask, honestly, I cannot predict them.

00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:34.240
Isn't that the point?

00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:37.680
Keeping your eye on your toes.

00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:41.599
So this was obviously an unforgettable highlight.

00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:43.359
Sure, I can imagine.

00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:43.920
Yeah.

00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:52.400
So Dave would later remiss that, reminisce that meeting Princess Grace were definitely highlights of the entire four-year walk.

00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:53.680
Four years.

00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:04.559
By late 1971, the brothers had walked clear across Western Europe and were moving into the more uncertain territory of the Middle East.

00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.039
Right.

00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:10.160
The Cold World World Cold War was in full swing at this time.

00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:10.559
Right.

00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:15.759
And countries like Yugoslavia and Bull Bulgaria lay beyond the Iron Curtain.

00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:16.160
Yep.

00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:20.960
So trekking through these reasons, these regions presented kind of a new challenge.

00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:21.440
Sure.

00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:24.720
Not really the physical terrain, but the political climate.

00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.839
Yeah, like literally getting through there with their visas, passports, and all that.

00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:30.240
Yeah.

00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:30.799
Right, right.

00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:37.920
And in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, Dave and John definitely felt wariness from the locals.

00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:53.680
People were reluctant to engage, um, maybe fearing that these visitors might be spies or just simply unsure of what they should do with these like the watchful eye of you know, the authoritarian regime kind of a thing.

00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:55.759
What spies have a meal with them?

00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:56.640
Seriously.

00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:57.920
The good ones.

00:22:58.079 --> 00:22:59.119
Oh, fair enough.

00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:01.920
So what you're you're saying is these they were spies?

00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:02.240
No.

00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.319
They seemed uh too scared to do much of anything.

00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:06.880
Right.

00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:07.920
Basically.

00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:09.200
So no, I get it.

00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:16.240
I mean, you have these foreigners walking through tumultuous times in their their region, all that stuff.

00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:22.400
And you're like, it's common to second guess what their motives were because they don't they don't know these people.

00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:30.799
No, whether they got wind of this thing or not, they don't understand who the fuck are these people, and they're coming through our town or whatever.

00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:34.319
So yeah, I I don't blame them for being a little cautious, if you will.

00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:36.079
So it makes sense.

00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:37.039
Yeah.

00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:42.880
So at one point, the brothers hoped to make a northern detour through the Soviet Union.

00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:43.440
Right.

00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:54.480
Um, and their senator Humphrey um even tried to pull some strings and penned letters to Soviet officials to allow the American peace walkers across.

00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:55.119
Okay.

00:23:55.279 --> 00:24:04.720
Um, Humphrey argued that letting two ordinary Americans walk through the USSR would be a great gesture of goodwill during the tense times.

00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:05.519
Right.

00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:12.720
But the Soviets were not about to set a precedent by opening the gates to a couple of Randos.

00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:13.759
Yeah, exactly.

00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:15.839
Pretty much, however well-intentioned.

00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:19.119
Um the answer came back as a firm, like nyat.

00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:28.000
Um, so disappointed but undaunted, Dave and John stuck with plan B, which was to head south through Turkey.

00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:31.759
Okay, then eastwards to Iran and Afghanistan.

00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.240
Maybe they should have sent him some vodka.

00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:35.839
Wodka.

00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.920
They would have been like, oh, thank you very much.

00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:39.119
We let them through now.

00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:41.920
That's not Russian at all, but either way.

00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:44.319
It really wasn't.

00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:46.079
That was terrible.

00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:51.200
So Turkey proved lively, but but a little bit challenging.

00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:52.079
Oh so.

00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:59.599
Um, so they often drew a lot of big crowds of curious onlooker onlookers, many of them have never seen Americans before.

00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:00.160
Okay.

00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:04.000
Um, children were actually like really fascinated by them.

00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:08.000
I'm sure because again, they've never really seen these people before.

00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:17.440
In one village, a group of kids would trail them for hours, eventually, like getting brash enough to start tossing pebbles and stones at the brothers.

00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:22.480
I maybe they thought it was a game, but they were having to dodge rocks essentially.

00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:24.079
So they literally got stoned.

00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:25.039
They got stoned.

00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:25.759
That's terrible.

00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:26.160
Yeah.

00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.240
They knew that the children meant no harm.

00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:32.960
Of course, but they became really known moving targets for Turkey.

00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:38.559
So winter started setting in, and of course, you can't outwalk walk the seasons.

00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:43.839
So by late 1971, brutal cold and snow made progress near impossible.

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:44.319
Okay.

00:25:44.640 --> 00:26:00.079
Fortunately, because of their network of well-wishers and and high society people dignitaries, the American Embassy and Ankara, Turkey, arranged for a modest apartment where Dave and John could wait out the harsh winter in relative comfort.

00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:00.720
Oh.

00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:01.440
Yeah.

00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:02.480
How nice.

00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:03.759
I guess.

00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:05.440
I feel like fuck that.

00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:07.519
We'll just put a pause button on it.

00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:08.720
Let's put a pin in it.

00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:09.119
Yeah.

00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:11.359
We'll just hang out in a turkey for a while.

00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:12.559
Yeah, exactly.

00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:13.920
Turkey's good.

00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:14.880
I like turkey.

00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:15.359
Exactly.

00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:16.799
Can I have some in a couple weeks?

00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:17.599
I know, right?

00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:19.039
Thanksgiving.

00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:21.359
So come spring of 1972.

00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:24.319
Um the thaw of the brothers resume their their march.

00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:32.960
They cross into Iran and across landscape that range from lush plains to really arid dare deserts.

00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:35.440
Where did the second Willie stay during that time?

00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:37.519
They were probably taking care of him.

00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:39.200
Just in a stable somewhere.

00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:39.759
Yeah.

00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:41.200
They were probably taking care of him.

00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:42.079
Fair enough.

00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:47.599
Because mule number two lasted a while.

00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:49.279
I hope so.

00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:51.279
I mean, they had a long fucking way to go.

00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:51.839
I know.

00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:52.720
Poor kid.

00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:54.160
Poor kid.

00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:56.640
As a goat.

00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:57.599
Yeah, I know.

00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:59.680
That's why I thought it was funny.

00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:02.640
So much I hit my microphone with my beard.

00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:05.359
And I pulled on my my cord.

00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:05.680
Okay.

00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:12.079
So as they neared the border of Afghanistan, warnings were actually start starting to catch up with them.

00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:22.559
The American embassy in Tehran warned the Kunts against camping in small off-road villages where shady um characters might lurk around.

00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:32.319
Oh, so I mean, in theory, obviously they have their gear with them, but like, what do they really have that besides the gear, I guess?

00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:38.400
I mean, don't get me wrong, it's worth it, but it's not like they're walking around with bags of money.

00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:39.359
Bags?

00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:40.319
Bags.

00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:42.160
I'm from Wisconsin, yeah.

00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:48.880
So I said the word scop scoot down to Scoche when when people are flipping over on my table.

00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:49.119
Yeah.

00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:51.279
I always make them get off the headrest first.

00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:52.480
So they scoot down.

00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:53.359
A scotch.

00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:54.559
And then they turn over.

00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:54.799
Yeah.

00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:57.279
But sometimes they don't scoot down far enough onto the table.

00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:00.400
So I say scotch, you know, go with scotch more.

00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:00.720
Yeah.

00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:02.640
And they're like, well, that was very scony of you.

00:28:02.720 --> 00:28:03.599
I was like, oh my God.

00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:04.480
I've been here a while.

00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:07.680
Am I a sconny?

00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:09.279
That's nice.

00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:12.400
You're you're still a corn husker at heart.

00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:12.880
I am.

00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:14.319
Sorry.

00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:28.319
So uh instead, officials suggested that they make it more onto the frontier where there were like Iranian military outposts that would offer a little bit more security for the two brothers.

00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:30.000
Well, that's very nice of Iran.

00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:30.559
Yeah.

00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:32.000
I mean, geez.

00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:33.759
Olive branch, am I right?

00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:34.880
Uh right.

00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:38.400
So Dave and John did take this to heart.

00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:42.880
Um, they were seasoned now, so they were like, we have to follow these rules.

00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:43.920
Yeah, it makes sense.

00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:44.799
These suggestions.

00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:45.920
Um, right, right, right.

00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:53.039
So they pushed through the last stretch of Iran, and um, they were about to walk into Afghanistan.

00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:53.599
Oh.

00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:54.960
Yes.

00:28:55.440 --> 00:29:04.480
In late August 1972, yeah, the brothers crossed, officially marking the halfway point of their round-the-world Odyssey.

00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:05.759
Oh, Afghanistan.

00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:06.000
Yeah.

00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:14.079
Um, Afghanistan So Afghanistan is halfway around the world from Minnesota for their tra what they had planned.

00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:15.359
Oh, it was like halfway.

00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:15.759
All right.

00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:16.480
Yeah.

00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:26.960
So um Afghan authorities informed of their coming by those letters from um the senators and the media the media buzz.

00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:27.519
Sure.

00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:31.119
And they actually greeted Dave and John with a little fanfare.

00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:31.680
Oh, wow.

00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:39.759
Yeah, there was an official welcome at the border, and even a police escort offered to to walk with them for a ways.

00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:40.160
Yeah.

00:29:40.400 --> 00:29:40.799
Wow.

00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:41.200
Okay.

00:29:41.440 --> 00:29:44.400
So at first, Afghanistan embraced them warmly, warmly.

00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:50.799
An American diplomat in Kabul, ambassador Robert Newman, personally took an interest in the brothers.

00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:56.960
He handed them a letter with a message that managed to be a little bit more cautionary, but also admiring.

00:29:57.839 --> 00:29:59.759
He said, quote, make no mistake, you are.

00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:01.599
In some danger here.

00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:04.400
All adventurers ultimately are.

00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:05.279
Well, right.

00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:11.759
Warning that bandits might come and kill them for the present for uh possessions or simply out of resentment.

00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:12.319
Sure.

00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:24.960
Um, the letter um called Afghanistan a quote, fascinating, difficult, and dangerous land, but it also conveyed Newman's considerable envy of their journey.

00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:27.599
So basically, be careful, and I wish I was you.

00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:29.039
I wish I was gone with you, man.

00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:29.599
Yeah.

00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:31.759
Well, he could have joined.

00:30:32.480 --> 00:30:34.960
So Dave and John took the warning seriously.

00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:36.319
Um, I hope so.

00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:38.799
But after two years, they're like, we got this.

00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:40.240
We're seasoned vets, yo.

00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:41.440
Let's do this.

00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:51.359
With their police escort in tow for the time being, they set out into Afghanistan's interior, determined to cross the Central Asian terrain to Pakistan on the other side.

00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:51.920
Okay.

00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:52.400
Okay.

00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:58.400
Afghanistan in 72 was really beautiful, but there was a lot of peril.

00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:03.920
Um, the brothers marched through barren landscapes under a scorching sun.

00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:04.880
I'm sure.

00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:05.680
Yes.

00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:12.000
And sometimes when they would be on roads, it would just look like it just went endlessly into the horizon.

00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:14.640
Was it the whole like where it's like Mirage?

00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:18.480
Yeah, where it looks like it's heat's coming off and all that.

00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:19.279
Exactly.

00:31:19.519 --> 00:31:20.559
What am I seeing down there?

00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:21.440
Yeah.

00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:32.400
We um so they later reported we walked through vast, empty, hostile stretches, no water, no pasture for Willie, no food for us.

00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:39.440
Daytime temperatures soared to 130 degrees Fahrenheit on the asphalt, making them alive in their boots.

00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:40.559
I would get off the road.

00:31:40.720 --> 00:31:42.799
Yeah, I walk in the grass, man.

00:31:43.119 --> 00:31:48.319
Every so often there would be a nomadic herder called the Coochie tribesmen.

00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:51.680
They were they were simply herders that were nomadic.

00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:53.119
They like they moved, yeah.

00:31:53.200 --> 00:31:53.839
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:31:54.160 --> 00:32:02.079
Um, and they would kind of materialize, and most were friendly, friendly, some curious, um, but never harmful.

00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:03.200
Some cautious.

00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:03.759
Yeah.

00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:10.319
They took turns keeping watch over their camp, one brother sleeping while the other listened for any approachment in the dark.

00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:10.799
Sure.

00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:14.480
The US Embassy's warning had painted a target on their backs.

00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:20.720
Um, Ruber had it that these foreigners might be carrying cash donations for UNICEF.

00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:24.160
Oh, why would they like how would those rumors start?

00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:25.200
I have no idea.

00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:26.400
Because clearly they weren't.

00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:30.400
They weren't going across the world to clutch thanks.

00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:34.880
Yeah, no, they were specifically asking send it into UNICEF.

00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:36.640
Contact UNICEF.

00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:39.920
We they should have got one of those signs like trucks.

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.319
I see driver has no cash on them or whatever.

00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:43.039
Yeah, exactly.

00:32:43.359 --> 00:32:44.720
Should have put it on their bum.

00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:50.640
So um the brothers took time to appreciate the culture, and he even did have a bit of fun.

00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:55.680
And Kabul, they had a chance to witness Booskashi.

00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:57.359
Bushkashi?

00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:58.400
Bouzkashi.

00:32:58.640 --> 00:32:59.440
Bouzkashi.

00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:00.160
Okay, what is that?

00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:04.640
An Afghan national sport that's kind of like polo.

00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:05.039
Oh.

00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:11.359
But instead of a ball, they played with a headless goat carcass.

00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:12.240
Oh.

00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:15.920
Buskashi.

00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:18.240
That took a dark turn.

00:33:18.559 --> 00:33:19.119
They really did.

00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:21.200
This is not the three percent, by the way.

00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:22.480
Where's the head?

00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:24.960
And how do you play with the carcass?

00:33:25.039 --> 00:33:26.319
I think you would play with the head horseman.

00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:27.440
Yeah.

00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:28.559
Anyway.

00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:29.599
Wow.

00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:30.079
Okay.

00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:35.279
Dozens of horsemen would thunder around trying to grab the goat and drag it across the goal.

00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:42.319
Um, Dave and John watched this game in awe and later proclaimed it was the most exciting event we have seen yet.

00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:44.480
And disturbing.

00:33:45.359 --> 00:33:48.480
So after Kabul, my ears are starting to like.

00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:50.079
Is it Kabul or Kabul?

00:33:50.400 --> 00:33:50.880
Kabul.

00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:51.759
Is it?

00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:53.279
Yeah, I think it's Kabul.

00:33:53.680 --> 00:34:03.039
I'm I'm just asking for clarification because I don't know if I'm thinking of something else, because I've heard of Kabul, but I don't know if that's the same thing we're talking about.

00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:07.359
I am not what you would call a walk-around the world man.

00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:11.440
So after Kabul, the police escort turned back.

00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:20.079
So the authorities believe that they had guided the brothers past the worst sections and that the road ahead to Pakistan would be relatively safer.

00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:24.079
So in mid-October 1972, Dave and John set off alone once again.

00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:24.400
Okay.

00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:30.960
Um, wagon creaking behind their their mule, and they were heading southeast towards Pakistan.

00:34:31.199 --> 00:34:32.320
They had a wagon?

00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:34.320
Yeah, they had a wagon.

00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:38.239
I don't know where they picked that up, but yeah, they ended up having a wagon eventually.

00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:38.800
Oh.

00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:41.119
So So, okay.

00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:44.559
They didn't ride in the wagon at all, did they?

00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:46.960
I don't think so.

00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:49.039
Because if they did, that's cheating.

00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:51.199
That's called bullshit.

00:34:51.599 --> 00:34:53.039
They already flew.

00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:56.079
I don't think the mule could take additional two men.

00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:57.599
Mules are pretty strong though.

00:34:57.760 --> 00:35:00.000
Pack mule, they can have assholes though.

00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:02.159
See what I did there.

00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:05.360
I'm gonna take a swig of my beer.

00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:10.719
I'm gonna contemplate my co-host's relationship with myself.

00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:11.920
Okay.

00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:13.199
Oh dear.

00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:21.679
So Jen wrote in his entry in his diary around that time, feeling uh that he had a bit of uneasiness.

00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:23.760
He did John John did the brother.

00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:29.360
The possible dangers are a little scary, he admitted, but we've committed ourselves and we have to keep moving.

00:35:29.599 --> 00:35:34.880
Well, I mean, you've gone this far, you're literally halfway around the world, or halfway through your trip for that matter.

00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:35.199
Yeah.

00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:40.800
You kind of have to stick with it, even if you feel a little uneasy about it, right?

00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:44.320
I mean, seriously, you've gone this far.

00:35:44.880 --> 00:35:46.480
I mean, you're not turning back.

00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:49.679
You're probably closer to the other side now.

00:35:50.079 --> 00:36:01.679
So virtually everyone, diplomats, locals, other travelers, had urged them not to camp in the open or travel the mo more isolated stretches without protection.

00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:02.880
Like a gun?

00:36:03.119 --> 00:36:03.440
Yes.

00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:04.159
Protection?

00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:04.320
Okay.

00:36:05.679 --> 00:36:07.280
Or from like police or whatever.

00:36:07.599 --> 00:36:07.920
Sure.

00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:09.519
But they were stubborn.

00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:13.119
So they were stubborn, is it what you said?

00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:13.599
Mm-hmm.

00:36:13.840 --> 00:36:14.880
So they didn't listen?

00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:15.360
Mm-mm.

00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:17.360
Sounds like John's gonna die.

00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:23.519
Three percent.

00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:26.000
Here's the three percent.

00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:30.000
The night of October 21st, 1972.

00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:31.119
Oh dear.

00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:37.920
The brothers had set up camp off the road in a remote area of the Afghan mountains.

00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:38.559
Yeah.

00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:40.320
The air was cool and still.

00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:43.440
Um, Dave later described it.

00:36:43.519 --> 00:36:51.840
The moonlit silhouettes of turban figures emerged out of the darkness, bandits, five or six of them, approaching silently.

00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:52.800
Okay.

00:36:53.920 --> 00:36:55.360
So did he see them?

00:36:55.599 --> 00:36:56.159
He saw them.

00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:57.519
Did he warn John?

00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:09.440
Um the Willy Make It Two braid, uneasily sensing the danger even before they saw them.

00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:10.000
Sure.

00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:24.239
Dave's heart must have leapt into his throat as they grabbed their one firearm, a pistol that they carried for signaling or emergencies, hoping to spook the intruders that he fired a warning shot into the air.

00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:28.079
I was told by Nathan never to do that.

00:37:29.199 --> 00:37:31.599
Because you know what happens to that bullet when you fired it up?

00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:32.480
It comes down.

00:37:33.679 --> 00:37:34.079
Yeah.

00:37:35.599 --> 00:37:44.960
The crack of the gun echoed off the rocks, and for a moment the bandits paused and kind of disappeared back into the darkness.

00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:47.119
I don't know.

00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:47.679
I can't do that.

00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:48.719
I'm not sure.

00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:52.559
Like um Homer Simpsons.

00:37:52.880 --> 00:37:53.599
Homer Simpsons.

00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:56.559
Yep.

00:37:58.400 --> 00:37:58.719
Okay.

00:37:59.440 --> 00:38:01.599
So they thought maybe they were in the clear.

00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:02.719
They were not.

00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:04.880
Clearly, they were in the clear.

00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:06.079
The other guys were in the bushes.

00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:06.559
Yeah.

00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:09.840
So a gunshot rang out from the darkness.

00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:14.480
Dave felt a shearing punch in his chest.

00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:20.079
He had been shot, the bullet tearing into him before he even heard its sound.

00:38:21.440 --> 00:38:21.760
Yeah.

00:38:22.320 --> 00:38:30.480
He crumpled to the ground, stunned, grasping, and in the chaos, Dave shouted for John to grab the gun and defend them.

00:38:31.440 --> 00:38:37.679
John's defense was a plea, perhaps to the bandits, perhaps to the universe.

00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:40.320
He said, quote, this is stupid, you dummies.

00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:41.280
Please.

00:38:41.760 --> 00:38:43.119
He yelled into the night.

00:38:45.280 --> 00:38:48.559
Then came a hail of gunfire from the bandits.

00:38:48.800 --> 00:38:50.079
And shot John down.

00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:54.000
Bullets whizzed through their camp, Dave bleeding and dizzy.

00:38:54.159 --> 00:38:56.079
He did the only thing that he could think of.

00:38:56.159 --> 00:38:57.119
He played dead.

00:38:57.360 --> 00:38:57.840
Sure.

00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:01.760
He dropped flat and held his breath as the assailants closed in.

00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:07.199
One rough hand rolled him and he felt his wrist watch being yanked off.

00:39:07.440 --> 00:39:07.760
Sure.

00:39:07.920 --> 00:39:12.159
Um he lay limp, uh, fighting the instinct to groan or move.

00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:15.519
Um, by some miracles, the bandits didn't finish him off.

00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:16.400
Wow.

00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:23.039
When the attackers finally left, Dave finally dared to move.

00:39:23.199 --> 00:39:26.960
He crawled to where John lay and fumbled for a pulse.

00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:31.599
But John was still sprawled on the rocky ground.

00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:40.639
The kid brother, who jumped at the idea of this wild walk, who had joked and grumbled and persevered, was now gone.

00:39:41.119 --> 00:39:46.960
I want to cry for John, but it's too late, Dave would write later.

00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:52.079
More alone than I have ever been in my life.

00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:56.000
Grief would have to wait, though, survival mode kicked in.

00:39:56.159 --> 00:40:00.400
With a bullet in his own chest, Dave somehow summoned the will to carry on.

00:40:01.039 --> 00:40:06.639
He stumbled back towards the road and collapsed, hoping that someone would find him.

00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:16.639
At least one or two passing caravans did come along in the dark hours, but seeing the carnage and fearing for an ambush, they didn't stop.

00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:18.320
Which I totally get.

00:40:18.480 --> 00:40:19.119
Yeah.

00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:26.960
Um, at this time, their mule Willie was also dying, not from a bullet wound or anything, just from work.

00:40:27.440 --> 00:40:27.840
Work.

00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:28.239
Yeah.

00:40:28.400 --> 00:40:28.719
Wow.

00:40:28.880 --> 00:40:29.519
Yeah.

00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:38.320
So near dawn, um a Land Rover uh full of Afghan soldiers drove by.

00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:38.880
Okay.

00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:45.840
Um, they did stop, and the soldiers cautiously approached and were astonished to find that Dave was still alive.

00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:46.320
Okay.

00:40:46.480 --> 00:40:54.800
They lifted him into the Land Rover, and after a bit of jostling around the rocky trails, they did get him into a hospital in Kabul.

00:40:55.199 --> 00:40:55.599
Wow.

00:40:55.840 --> 00:40:59.599
Dave's injuries turned out to be serious, but miraculously not fatal.

00:40:59.760 --> 00:41:04.159
The bullet had passed through his chest, nicking a lung, but missing his heart and spine.

00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:05.360
Jesus Christ.

00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:06.239
Yes.

00:41:07.119 --> 00:41:12.480
For a second time in one night, Dave Kunst has cheated death.

00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:17.760
And while Dave recovered in the clinic, the terrible news was relayed back home.

00:41:18.079 --> 00:41:24.639
John's body was flown to Minnesota, um, where he was laid to rest in Wasika.

00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:26.800
Well, at least they got his body home.

00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:27.199
Yes.

00:41:27.440 --> 00:41:31.360
And didn't randomly bury it in fucking Afghanistan.

00:41:31.599 --> 00:41:31.920
Yeah.

00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:32.639
Jesus.

00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:39.280
So lying in the hospital bed, bandaged and broken, um, Dave did not see the end of his dream.

00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:40.800
It was only a detour.

00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:48.960
Um, the walk around the world has cost him dearly, but in Dave's mind, stopping now would render this cost now meaningless.

00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:54.559
So after a few weeks, he was stable enough to fly home to Minnesota to recuperate fully.

00:41:55.039 --> 00:41:57.119
So he was able to attend the funeral.

00:41:57.360 --> 00:41:58.400
Well, that's nice.

00:41:58.559 --> 00:41:58.960
Yes.

00:41:59.199 --> 00:42:00.079
Jesus.

00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:07.039
Their friend and supporter, Humphrey uh Hubert Humphrey, came in person to attend John's funeral, paying his respects.

00:42:07.360 --> 00:42:11.199
Princess Grace, upon hearing of the tragedy, wrote a personal letter to Dave.

00:42:11.519 --> 00:42:11.840
Wow.

00:42:11.920 --> 00:42:12.320
Mm-hmm.

00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:13.199
That's crazy.

00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:14.079
Yes.

00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:23.440
Um, amid the comforts of home, though, Dave's physical wounds slowly healed, but the empty space where John should have been was kind of a constant ache for him.

00:42:23.840 --> 00:42:25.440
Well, he can't replace your brother.

00:42:25.679 --> 00:42:29.760
Yeah, and he was wrecked with grief and guilt and anger.

00:42:30.239 --> 00:42:34.079
Um and part of him even wondered, do I even continue this?

00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:41.280
Um, but Dave also remembered what his promise was and what his purpose was.

00:42:41.599 --> 00:43:00.559
Now, before they had left Wasika the first time, their older brother, Pete, had made a vow that if something happened to either Dave or John, he would replace Pete would step in so that two so that two Kunt's brothers could finish what two had started.

00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:02.880
So Pete's coming along.

00:43:04.480 --> 00:43:11.440
As the winter of 1972-73 set in, Dave grew restless at home, he wanted to get going again.

00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:14.239
Yeah, because God forbid he spends time with his family.

00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:17.679
Seriously, what the fuck?

00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:25.039
Barely four months after nearly, nearly dying on that mountain, Dave announced that he would continue the walk.

00:43:25.280 --> 00:43:28.960
True to his word, brother Pete Kuhn stepped forward to join him.

00:43:29.280 --> 00:43:30.960
You said this is the oldest brother.

00:43:31.440 --> 00:43:34.000
So John was the youngest, Pete's oldest.

00:43:34.239 --> 00:43:37.679
Yep, and Dave that we started with, he's the middle.

00:43:37.840 --> 00:43:38.079
Okay.

00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:42.559
So you said Dave was 30.

00:43:43.039 --> 00:43:44.320
30, 30, 31.

00:43:44.559 --> 00:43:44.880
30.

00:43:45.039 --> 00:43:46.000
30 when we started.

00:43:46.320 --> 00:43:47.280
And John was 23.

00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:48.000
23.

00:43:48.159 --> 00:43:49.039
I don't know how old Pete was.

00:43:49.199 --> 00:43:49.760
I don't okay.

00:43:49.840 --> 00:43:50.800
I was just curious.

00:43:51.119 --> 00:43:59.039
Pete was older than John, married with kids of his own, and he already kind of wanted to, he wanted this journey with them.

00:43:59.519 --> 00:44:01.519
Yeah, he's like, I want to abandon my family.

00:44:01.679 --> 00:44:02.320
Yeah.

00:44:02.960 --> 00:44:09.039
So he couldn't let Dave go alone, and maybe deep down he wanted to do this for John as well.

00:44:09.360 --> 00:44:19.760
So in March of 1973, Dave and Pete flew back to Afghanistan and resumed the walk at the very spot they were shot that that that John had fallen.

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:20.320
Wow.

00:44:20.480 --> 00:44:20.719
Yeah.

00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:21.599
That's wild.

00:44:21.679 --> 00:44:21.920
Yeah.

00:44:22.159 --> 00:44:25.519
Do they put a little cross there like people do when car crashes and stuff?

00:44:28.159 --> 00:44:34.719
Afghan officials um welcomed D Dave and Pete and arranged a little bit of a ceremony.

00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:35.519
That's nice.

00:44:35.679 --> 00:44:39.840
In Kabul, they were given support to reach the site of the ambush.

00:44:40.079 --> 00:44:40.400
Okay.

00:44:40.639 --> 00:44:46.960
Afghan authorities informed them that several of the bandits responsible had been caught while they were stateside.

00:44:47.360 --> 00:44:48.320
That's nice at least.

00:44:48.480 --> 00:44:52.719
But there were a few ringleader leaders that had escaped into the wilds of Pakistan.

00:44:53.119 --> 00:44:53.440
Of course.

00:44:53.599 --> 00:44:54.159
Yeah.

00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:55.519
That's not surprising.

00:44:57.599 --> 00:45:03.599
So crossing into Pakistan via the Khyber Pass, which is just a like a mountain pass.

00:45:04.159 --> 00:45:04.800
I've heard of that before.

00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:05.599
I have too.

00:45:05.760 --> 00:45:06.079
Yeah.

00:45:06.320 --> 00:45:08.960
Um, the brothers were given an armed escort.

00:45:09.119 --> 00:45:09.760
Oh, nice.

00:45:09.920 --> 00:45:16.800
Um, the lesson of the Afghan ambush was not lost in anyone, and it was kind of a courtesy of the tragedy that they did.

00:45:17.199 --> 00:45:17.360
Sure.

00:45:17.440 --> 00:45:19.280
They're like, hey, you guys suffered some shit.

00:45:19.440 --> 00:45:19.599
Yeah.

00:45:19.760 --> 00:45:20.639
We'll help you out a little bit.

00:45:20.719 --> 00:45:20.880
Yeah.

00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:28.559
So Pakistan's soldiers made sure the Americans and a new mule got through the lawless tribal area safely.

00:45:28.800 --> 00:45:29.920
Will we make it three?

00:45:31.039 --> 00:45:33.199
They actually didn't say what the name was.

00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:34.320
Oh, for the third one?

00:45:34.480 --> 00:45:36.239
Yeah, I even looked it up and it wasn't, yeah.

00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:37.199
That's tragic.

00:45:37.360 --> 00:45:39.599
I feel like the story could be so much better with the third name.

00:45:39.840 --> 00:45:40.320
Stop it.

00:45:42.719 --> 00:45:46.960
So Dave and Pete descended into the plains of the Indian subcontinent.

00:45:47.119 --> 00:45:47.360
Okay.

00:45:47.519 --> 00:45:53.039
Um, their hopes was to continue eastward, perhaps in um even through China to reach the Pacific.

00:45:53.199 --> 00:45:53.760
Oh, okay.

00:45:53.920 --> 00:45:55.920
So Dean was keen on a shortcut.

00:45:56.079 --> 00:46:00.719
If they could swing north through China, they might save over a thousand miles of walking.

00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:02.239
That's a lot of miles.

00:46:02.800 --> 00:46:03.519
Holy fuck.

00:46:03.760 --> 00:46:07.679
But China in 1973 was still politically isolated.

00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:08.079
Right.

00:46:08.239 --> 00:46:11.679
And they were not keen on hosting two American pedestrians.

00:46:11.920 --> 00:46:12.559
Of course not.

00:46:12.800 --> 00:46:21.519
So Senator Humphrey tried appealing to higher powers for help again, even nudging national security advisor Henry Kissinger to intervene.

00:46:21.760 --> 00:46:23.199
Oh, good old Kissinger.

00:46:23.679 --> 00:46:23.840
Nice.

00:46:24.000 --> 00:46:27.039
Um, Kissinger responded with polite skepticism.

00:46:27.360 --> 00:46:27.519
Sure.

00:46:27.679 --> 00:46:30.719
Why I mean, he's like, why do I need to fucking worry about this?

00:46:30.960 --> 00:46:31.119
Yeah.

00:46:31.199 --> 00:46:39.360
So he called the brother's story fascinating, but doubting that he could persuade Bers Beijing to let in these independent American boys on a whim.

00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:42.079
And I don't blame him because it's like, I get what they're doing.

00:46:42.159 --> 00:46:43.840
They're trying to do something cool.

00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:44.320
Yeah.

00:46:44.559 --> 00:46:47.360
Whatever you want to say, raise money for UNICEF, so on.

00:46:47.440 --> 00:46:50.320
But it's like, you literally know where they're going.

00:46:50.480 --> 00:46:50.880
Yeah.

00:46:51.119 --> 00:46:53.599
I can't, I don't have that much pull.

00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:58.719
He did caution that trying to do so might raise more suspicions than it was worth.

00:46:59.039 --> 00:46:59.360
Okay.

00:46:59.519 --> 00:47:04.400
So the door to China was firmly closed, and Dave and Pete would have to find another way around the world.

00:47:04.639 --> 00:47:06.000
There's actually a door into China.

00:47:06.239 --> 00:47:06.480
Yeah.

00:47:06.559 --> 00:47:08.000
It's fucking wild.

00:47:08.400 --> 00:47:10.159
It's red and massive.

00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:11.519
Like so big.

00:47:11.840 --> 00:47:13.360
Does it have stars on it?

00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:14.880
Anyways.

00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:19.360
So southward they went through the plains of India.

00:47:20.320 --> 00:47:28.079
If Afghanistan had been empty and threatening, India was crowded, chaotic, and alive.

00:47:28.639 --> 00:47:29.920
Well, they do have a lot of people.

00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:31.280
They have a lot of people.

00:47:31.519 --> 00:47:35.679
And even back in the 70s, I'm sure they still a lot of people.

00:47:35.920 --> 00:47:41.440
So by summer 1973, they were trudging through these monsoon monsoon-soaked roads.

00:47:41.599 --> 00:47:43.199
They were like mud slicked.

00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:43.840
Sure.

00:47:44.079 --> 00:47:45.760
The air was thick and steamy.

00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:47.679
There was downpours all the time.

00:47:50.159 --> 00:47:52.239
I mean, poverty was everywhere.

00:47:52.480 --> 00:47:52.800
Yeah.

00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:53.440
Yes.

00:47:53.679 --> 00:47:56.159
Um, people everywhere.

00:47:56.239 --> 00:47:59.519
And that made their progress so slow and difficult.

00:47:59.840 --> 00:48:00.639
I can imagine.

00:48:00.719 --> 00:48:00.880
Yeah.

00:48:01.199 --> 00:48:07.840
Dave quote, quote, said, Dave said, quote, people, people, people.

00:48:08.000 --> 00:48:10.559
We just could not get away from people.

00:48:11.199 --> 00:48:11.679
Aw.

00:48:12.559 --> 00:48:14.880
It was a sensory overload.

00:48:14.960 --> 00:48:23.199
A 900-mile um walk from New Delhi to Calcutta was with scarcely a quiet moment to themselves.

00:48:23.440 --> 00:48:25.679
God, that had to be kind of frustrating to be honest.

00:48:26.239 --> 00:48:28.079
I can't do that many people.

00:48:28.639 --> 00:48:30.639
I I have a hard time being in a room with you.

00:48:30.800 --> 00:48:31.920
I'm just kidding.

00:48:32.320 --> 00:48:33.440
I jokes.

00:48:34.079 --> 00:48:35.679
No, I I I know.

00:48:35.840 --> 00:48:38.239
That's a lot of fucking people to deal with, though.

00:48:38.320 --> 00:48:39.920
Like constant fucking people.

00:48:40.639 --> 00:48:42.000
So no, I totally get it.

00:48:42.239 --> 00:48:50.559
Um, you know, I with what I do, I I work very early, so early on in my day, less people.

00:48:50.880 --> 00:48:51.760
Not a lot of people.

00:48:52.079 --> 00:48:54.559
A little bit late, like towards the end of the day, a little more people.

00:48:54.639 --> 00:48:54.800
Yeah.

00:48:54.960 --> 00:49:04.480
And I've I've like I don't want to say befriended, but maybe I've talked to there's certain people I talk to at certain accounts all the time.

00:49:04.639 --> 00:49:05.679
They're great people.

00:49:06.320 --> 00:49:08.239
But like I chose to.

00:49:08.400 --> 00:49:08.719
Yeah.

00:49:08.960 --> 00:49:09.840
I didn't have to.

00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:10.159
Yeah.

00:49:10.559 --> 00:49:16.639
When you have this many people around you that they're going through, that's a lot of people.

00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:18.480
Just like blinders on.

00:49:18.639 --> 00:49:19.360
Yeah, exactly.

00:49:19.599 --> 00:49:20.320
Fuck.

00:49:20.719 --> 00:49:27.760
It was during this stretch that Pete fell seriously ill with a severe kidney infection.

00:49:28.000 --> 00:49:28.719
Oh fuck.

00:49:28.880 --> 00:49:31.760
For days or weeks, Pete was too weak to walk.

00:49:31.840 --> 00:49:33.360
Um Pete was too weak.

00:49:33.519 --> 00:49:34.800
He Pete was too weak.

00:49:34.880 --> 00:49:39.760
Um, and he went to a rural clinic um while and he tried to recover.

00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:40.320
Okay.

00:49:40.880 --> 00:49:43.760
Dave um continued on.

00:49:44.079 --> 00:49:45.599
Seems like a dick move, Dave.

00:49:46.400 --> 00:49:54.960
Um, he had he walked and guarded their their camping gear and did yeah, did all the things.

00:49:55.199 --> 00:49:55.840
Yeah.

00:49:56.320 --> 00:50:03.920
Um one night a robber actually tried to make off with something, um, but Dave managed to save everything.

00:50:04.159 --> 00:50:05.440
Dave's like, fuck you, man.

00:50:05.519 --> 00:50:06.880
Yeah, not again.

00:50:07.039 --> 00:50:08.400
Not on my watch.

00:50:08.559 --> 00:50:09.519
Not today, Satan.

00:50:09.760 --> 00:50:11.039
Fool me once, shame on you.

00:50:11.119 --> 00:50:12.719
Fool me twice, shame on me.

00:50:12.960 --> 00:50:13.519
Am I right?

00:50:13.679 --> 00:50:14.320
Am I right?

00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:21.039
So by the time Pete regained his strength, he went by train to where to where uh Dave was.

00:50:21.599 --> 00:50:23.119
Fucking Pete on the train.

00:50:23.360 --> 00:50:25.519
Well, Dave is the one that wanted to walk, so yeah.

00:50:25.599 --> 00:50:27.679
Well, you know, he should have fucking waited.

00:50:28.480 --> 00:50:34.159
So the original plan had been to continue on foot through Burma and down into Southeast Asia.

00:50:34.480 --> 00:50:36.239
Burma, where is Bur where's Burma?

00:50:36.320 --> 00:50:37.039
I've heard of Burma.

00:50:37.519 --> 00:50:38.239
Myanmar?

00:50:38.639 --> 00:50:39.199
Myanmar.

00:50:39.760 --> 00:50:40.159
Thank you.

00:50:40.320 --> 00:50:40.880
Yeah, yeah.

00:50:41.119 --> 00:50:42.639
Okay, that's what Burma is.

00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:43.840
Okay, yeah.

00:50:44.159 --> 00:50:49.039
Um, but like the Chinese, the Burmese authorities gave a flat no.

00:50:49.360 --> 00:50:50.639
Like, yeah, fuck off, dude.

00:50:50.800 --> 00:50:51.840
Yeah, no outsiders.

00:50:52.000 --> 00:51:00.719
So the um overland route to East Asia was effectively blocked on all sides by politics and in conflict and douchhiness.

00:51:00.960 --> 00:51:02.639
And Vietnam was war-torn.

00:51:02.719 --> 00:51:07.760
Um, China and Burma were off limits, and Central Asia was inaccessible.

00:51:08.159 --> 00:51:09.760
That sounds like a great area to go.

00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:12.960
Dave and Pete found themselves stuck in Calcutta.

00:51:13.119 --> 00:51:25.039
They had walked thousands of miles eastward from where they started, and to keep the spirit of circumnavigation, they needed to cover a roughly equivalent distance across the rest of the globe.

00:51:25.360 --> 00:51:28.960
Oh, to make the the journey proper in terms of miles.

00:51:29.360 --> 00:51:29.920
Okay, gotcha.

00:51:30.320 --> 00:51:31.119
So, where did they go?

00:51:31.280 --> 00:51:33.119
They flew to Australia.

00:51:33.440 --> 00:51:36.000
That see fucking planes, man.

00:51:36.719 --> 00:51:38.079
They should have walked there.

00:51:38.239 --> 00:51:38.960
Um, yeah.

00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:40.320
I mean ocean walkers.

00:51:40.559 --> 00:51:43.360
JC would ocean walkers.

00:51:44.320 --> 00:51:49.519
So Australia offered vast landmass to cover, and it was logistically simpler.

00:51:49.760 --> 00:51:50.079
Yeah.

00:51:50.719 --> 00:51:56.719
Australia welcomed them and walking across it would account for a huge chunk of the east-west distance.

00:51:56.960 --> 00:51:58.719
Do you think when they landed, like, good day, mate?

00:51:58.880 --> 00:51:59.679
Good eye, mate.

00:51:59.920 --> 00:52:03.840
Put another shrimp on the that's such a dumb line.

00:52:04.159 --> 00:52:06.400
I was put a shrimp on the bar, me.

00:52:06.800 --> 00:52:11.280
Uh, I was just uh listening to a podcast with uh Russell Crowe as the the guest.

00:52:11.760 --> 00:52:12.960
I love Russell Crowe.

00:52:13.039 --> 00:52:20.960
He's he he's had some issues in his personal life in terms of being a little uh kind of douchey, but he's a really good dude actually.

00:52:21.199 --> 00:52:28.960
And um, I was listening to him, so I'm like he when he was 31, I think he said so.

00:52:29.119 --> 00:52:41.199
In 90 fuck, 93, 96, 96, I think it was, um, he bought a hundred acres out the as they call it in Australia, the bush, like the outskirts, whatever, or interior.

00:52:41.360 --> 00:52:42.239
I don't fucking know.

00:52:42.400 --> 00:52:42.800
The bush.

00:52:43.039 --> 00:52:43.920
I've heard of that term.

00:52:44.000 --> 00:52:44.639
I don't know exactly.

00:52:45.119 --> 00:52:46.960
It's probably the like the desolate interior.

00:52:47.199 --> 00:52:47.599
Yeah, yeah.

00:52:47.920 --> 00:52:53.039
But he also so over time though, he's I think he said he's got up to like 1700 acres.

00:52:53.519 --> 00:52:56.880
So he's got a it's a big farm, plantation, whatever the fuck you want to call it.

00:52:57.119 --> 00:52:58.480
But I'm like, I want to go.

00:52:59.199 --> 00:53:02.480
I want to go hang out with Russell Crow on his farm.

00:53:02.960 --> 00:53:04.320
On his bush?

00:53:05.280 --> 00:53:06.079
In the bush?

00:53:06.719 --> 00:53:07.840
Helmet in the bush.

00:53:08.159 --> 00:53:08.639
Helmet?

00:53:09.199 --> 00:53:10.159
That's a song by Korn.

00:53:10.480 --> 00:53:13.360
Oh it's uh never mind.

00:53:13.679 --> 00:53:14.480
I'll tell you later.

00:53:14.800 --> 00:53:19.840
In late 1973, Dave and Pete took a flight from South Asia to Perth, Australia.

00:53:20.159 --> 00:53:20.960
Perth, yeah.

00:53:21.119 --> 00:53:29.440
Now Perth is the western west southernmost city, basically, of the continent.

00:53:29.760 --> 00:53:31.199
So is Sydney on the other side?

00:53:31.440 --> 00:53:31.679
Yes.

00:53:31.840 --> 00:53:32.000
Okay.

00:53:32.239 --> 00:53:32.400
Yes.

00:53:32.639 --> 00:53:33.199
Right, right.

00:53:33.360 --> 00:53:33.599
Okay.

00:53:33.840 --> 00:53:35.760
So they're going from east toast.

00:53:36.000 --> 00:53:36.639
West to east.

00:53:37.599 --> 00:53:37.840
Yes.

00:53:38.480 --> 00:53:39.599
Yes, west to east, yes.

00:53:40.880 --> 00:53:46.960
So Perth was laid back, um, sun soaked, they spoke English.

00:53:47.360 --> 00:53:49.440
Which had to be a fucking relief, right?

00:53:49.679 --> 00:53:57.039
Because I mean, you're going through Afghanistan and Pakistan and all these other stands and stands and stands, like, what now?

00:53:57.199 --> 00:53:57.599
Yeah.

00:53:58.480 --> 00:53:58.880
Come again.

00:53:59.119 --> 00:54:01.199
Yeah, could you could you repeat that a little slower?

00:54:01.440 --> 00:54:06.719
Um, whereas getting to Australia, it's like, hey man, how's it going?

00:54:07.119 --> 00:54:09.199
Don't let the dingo eat your baby.

00:54:09.760 --> 00:54:11.360
I can't do an Australian action.

00:54:12.320 --> 00:54:12.880
Obviously.

00:54:13.119 --> 00:54:19.440
But it's like, man, that had to be a fucking relief that you could communicate with the people that you come across because I'm sure they came across people.

00:54:19.760 --> 00:54:20.800
So damn.

00:54:21.119 --> 00:54:22.960
They didn't get bit by a spider, did they?

00:54:23.360 --> 00:54:23.599
No.

00:54:23.840 --> 00:54:24.480
Oh, thank god.

00:54:24.559 --> 00:54:25.280
Are you tired?

00:54:25.440 --> 00:54:28.239
Uh I did have a just little yawn, yeah.

00:54:29.119 --> 00:54:29.920
My gosh.

00:54:30.320 --> 00:54:30.639
Okay.

00:54:31.039 --> 00:54:34.960
So before they set off into the outback, they took a little time in the city.

00:54:36.239 --> 00:54:36.559
Okay.

00:54:37.840 --> 00:54:39.360
I have a problem with that.

00:54:39.599 --> 00:54:40.480
Tell me why.

00:54:40.800 --> 00:54:41.760
Because fuck them.

00:54:42.000 --> 00:54:42.639
Keep going.

00:54:43.840 --> 00:54:45.360
They have they have time.

00:54:45.760 --> 00:54:47.440
They have kids at home too.

00:54:47.840 --> 00:54:49.039
But they don't care.

00:54:49.599 --> 00:54:51.199
Fucking move, dude.

00:54:51.440 --> 00:54:52.639
They don't have time.

00:54:53.679 --> 00:54:58.400
During December of 1973, there was a get together in Perth.

00:54:58.880 --> 00:55:04.079
And Dave met spilled everywhere.

00:55:04.239 --> 00:55:05.119
I know, I don't get it.

00:55:05.280 --> 00:55:07.199
I'm not, I'm not, I'm not sure why.

00:55:07.599 --> 00:55:08.639
Dave met who?

00:55:08.880 --> 00:55:13.840
Dave met a young Australian school teacher named Jenny Samuel.

00:55:14.639 --> 00:55:15.599
Oh, Dave.

00:55:16.159 --> 00:55:22.800
They were at a party, probably what like a social gathering that a friend brings a friend, it brings a friend, you know.

00:55:23.360 --> 00:55:29.679
And Jenny walks in, she's tan, and these Americans are there.

00:55:29.840 --> 00:55:32.800
She's like, she's picking up conversation with them.

00:55:33.360 --> 00:55:38.400
Jenny, as she later puts it, says, totally fascinated by Dave and his walk.

00:55:38.639 --> 00:55:39.280
I'm sure.

00:55:39.599 --> 00:55:42.480
He literally walked into her life.

00:55:42.800 --> 00:55:46.239
I mean, that's what he was doing, except for when he flew.

00:55:46.480 --> 00:55:50.639
Um, they hit it off as friends and spent that evening talking about his travels.

00:55:50.800 --> 00:55:53.679
Dave was still technically married to Jan back home.

00:55:53.840 --> 00:55:56.079
I'm guessing that's not gonna happen for much longer.

00:55:56.320 --> 00:55:58.719
The strain of the years did put a damper on things.

00:55:58.880 --> 00:56:02.079
I wonder why, because he just abandoned his fucking family.

00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:03.519
I know.

00:56:04.880 --> 00:56:06.960
So I really don't like Dave.

00:56:07.519 --> 00:56:19.360
Here in Perth was someone who seemed to get what he was doing, who leaned in eagerly, um, as he kind of recounted the deserts and the bandits and the princesses, and you know who probably also would have got that?

00:56:19.519 --> 00:56:21.760
His fucking wife if he talked to her.

00:56:22.480 --> 00:56:27.119
Um, he and Jenny exchange addresses um as like a little lifeline.

00:56:27.199 --> 00:56:28.480
But pen pals.

00:56:28.719 --> 00:56:29.199
Exactly.

00:56:29.360 --> 00:56:35.360
So Dave and Pete begin the new year 1974 um by tackling the Australian Outback.

00:56:35.599 --> 00:56:42.159
So if they thought Afghanistan had empty stretches, Australia was like, hold my bea.

00:56:42.559 --> 00:56:43.519
Hold my fosters.

00:56:43.760 --> 00:56:47.840
Literally, Foster's Australian Fabia, brewed in Canada, and then in Texas.

00:56:48.079 --> 00:56:52.639
I used to sell Fosters, and yes, it originated in fucking Australia.

00:56:52.719 --> 00:56:53.840
I get that, but oh okay.

00:56:53.920 --> 00:56:56.239
At least that food my fosters.

00:56:56.559 --> 00:56:59.679
They have the I think they were what 32 ounce cans.

00:56:59.760 --> 00:57:01.280
They were the oil cans, they call them.

00:57:01.519 --> 00:57:04.559
So they were like they're pretty thick, short, thick cans.

00:57:04.800 --> 00:57:07.519
But I I want to say they were 32 ounces.

00:57:07.840 --> 00:57:09.199
It's been a it's been a minute.

00:57:10.239 --> 00:57:11.440
Australian phobia.

00:57:11.760 --> 00:57:19.840
Then they had so they had the fosters, it was the blue can, which is the regular one, and then they had the green can, which was the extra bitter, I think, if I'm not mistaken.

00:57:19.920 --> 00:57:25.760
It again, it's been a couple of years since I have sleep beer, but um fuck that.

00:57:27.199 --> 00:57:35.039
So for weeks and weeks, they would cross endless desert, dirt.

00:57:35.440 --> 00:57:39.199
Yeah, because isn't like the interior of Australia pretty deserty, right?

00:57:39.360 --> 00:57:40.480
Yes, if I'm not mistaken.

00:57:40.719 --> 00:57:40.960
Yes.

00:57:41.119 --> 00:57:41.360
Okay.

00:57:41.679 --> 00:57:44.320
They would go days without seeing another soul.

00:57:44.480 --> 00:57:52.800
Um, their daily log of sleeping spots read like this middle of nowhere, open country, absolutely nowhere.

00:57:53.280 --> 00:57:54.480
In the vast wide open.

00:57:54.719 --> 00:57:55.840
Did they have a compass?

00:57:56.480 --> 00:57:57.119
I don't know.

00:57:57.519 --> 00:57:59.280
Because how would they know if they're still on track?

00:57:59.440 --> 00:58:00.400
We're gonna say yes.

00:58:00.960 --> 00:58:06.960
I feel like that's not for me to say, yeah, because we don't fucking know, so we shouldn't just say yes.

00:58:08.239 --> 00:58:09.679
You would assume that they did.

00:58:09.920 --> 00:58:10.400
Yes.

00:58:11.119 --> 00:58:11.840
But we don't know.

00:58:12.079 --> 00:58:12.639
We don't know.

00:58:12.960 --> 00:58:14.000
All right, continue.

00:58:14.239 --> 00:58:30.239
So there were no curious villagers, no well, because there's no villages, no markets, um, just the occasional rancher or roadhouse, kangaroos bouncing in the distance, and a sky that seemed to stretch on just for fucking everything.

00:58:30.800 --> 00:58:31.679
Look, it's a Joey.

00:58:33.679 --> 00:58:37.039
The sun could fry an egg on a piece of rock.

00:58:37.199 --> 00:58:37.920
Well, at least I couldn't get it.

00:58:38.079 --> 00:58:43.119
And then you could see the but then you could see like the Milky Way at night, like it was just so clear.

00:58:43.360 --> 00:58:45.840
Oh, I'm sure the all the stars you could fucking see.

00:58:46.000 --> 00:58:46.719
Jesus Christ.

00:58:46.880 --> 00:58:47.199
Yes.

00:58:47.440 --> 00:58:49.840
Out there, no, no, no, uh, what do they call it?

00:58:49.920 --> 00:58:52.159
The light pollution, right?

00:58:52.320 --> 00:58:52.639
Yeah.

00:58:52.880 --> 00:58:54.800
I mean, just completely just free of that.

00:58:55.039 --> 00:58:55.519
Free of that.

00:58:55.679 --> 00:58:56.320
Could you imagine?

00:58:56.480 --> 00:59:05.760
Like even like you live in an area that's not terribly populated, same with me where I live, but you still get some light pollution.

00:59:05.840 --> 00:59:06.320
Oh, for sure.

00:59:06.480 --> 00:59:10.880
Could you imagine being literally in the middle of fucking nowhere, Australia and just like sky?

00:59:11.039 --> 00:59:12.559
Yeah, how beautiful would that be?

00:59:12.800 --> 00:59:16.480
Not a tree in sight, might that was better.

00:59:16.639 --> 00:59:16.960
Thank you.

00:59:17.199 --> 00:59:19.280
I'm not good at accents.

00:59:19.440 --> 00:59:22.320
So it was beautiful, but it was lonely.

00:59:22.559 --> 00:59:22.960
Sure.

00:59:23.119 --> 00:59:24.800
Um they had a mule.

00:59:25.119 --> 00:59:29.440
Pete was starting to miss the comforts of home.

00:59:29.760 --> 00:59:31.760
I don't know, maybe his family too.

00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:33.599
Dave's like, That's home, yes.

00:59:34.000 --> 00:59:35.440
I'm gonna divorce my wife.

00:59:35.679 --> 00:59:41.519
So about halfway across Australia, yeah, they neared the town of Alice Springs in the central Springs, okay.

00:59:41.679 --> 00:59:42.559
In the central desert.

00:59:42.639 --> 00:59:44.159
And I did look up Alice Springs.

00:59:44.239 --> 00:59:47.039
There's a Kmart there, so there's gotta there's some civilization.

00:59:47.280 --> 00:59:48.639
I thought they went out of business.

00:59:48.800 --> 00:59:49.440
I'm just kidding.

00:59:49.599 --> 00:59:50.320
This is 70s.

00:59:50.400 --> 00:59:50.639
I get it.

00:59:50.719 --> 00:59:51.280
I was joking.

00:59:51.599 --> 00:59:53.760
Well, I looked at the map today and there was a Kmart.

00:59:54.000 --> 00:59:55.840
So maybe they're I don't know.

00:59:56.239 --> 00:59:56.639
Weird.

00:59:56.800 --> 00:59:58.639
Maybe there's use using the name.

00:59:58.880 --> 01:00:00.800
I don't know, but Anyways.

01:00:01.440 --> 01:00:04.559
But there it's like the size of Manitowalk.

01:00:04.639 --> 01:00:06.000
It's like 30,000 people.

01:00:06.159 --> 01:00:11.119
Like there's it's not a big place, but it's literally in the middle of Australia.

01:00:11.599 --> 01:00:12.000
Australia.

01:00:12.320 --> 01:00:13.280
What was the name of the town again?

01:00:13.360 --> 01:00:13.519
Sorry?

01:00:13.920 --> 01:00:14.800
Alice Springs.

01:00:14.880 --> 01:00:15.760
Like the name Alice?

01:00:15.920 --> 01:00:16.639
Yeah, right, right, right.

01:00:16.719 --> 01:00:16.880
Okay.

01:00:17.280 --> 01:00:18.159
I'll have to check that out.

01:00:18.320 --> 01:00:21.199
But here, Pete Kunst reached his breaking point.

01:00:21.440 --> 01:00:22.079
It was March.

01:00:22.880 --> 01:00:24.079
It was March of 1974.

01:00:24.639 --> 01:00:25.440
Isn't that kind of funny?

01:00:25.519 --> 01:00:26.559
It was March.

01:00:27.440 --> 01:00:28.239
That's what they're doing.

01:00:28.559 --> 01:00:30.079
What's the March of the Ants?

01:00:30.400 --> 01:00:32.000
Is it March of the Ants?

01:00:32.800 --> 01:00:34.800
I I like the Imperial March.

01:00:35.039 --> 01:00:36.960
Dun, dun, dun, don't sing it.

01:00:37.119 --> 01:00:38.079
We don't have rights to it.

01:00:38.320 --> 01:00:39.440
La la la la la.

01:00:40.800 --> 01:00:43.920
I don't need I don't need no sue-in from Disney.

01:00:44.400 --> 01:00:44.719
Okay.

01:00:45.679 --> 01:00:49.760
March 1974, Pete had been away from his own wife and kids for a year.

01:00:49.920 --> 01:00:52.960
The call of duty that brought him here was now kind of answered.

01:00:53.119 --> 01:00:56.159
He had helped Dave get back on his feet and furrow along the path.

01:00:56.880 --> 01:00:59.679
Pete had walked further than he wanted to.

01:00:59.840 --> 01:01:00.639
Oh yeah.

01:01:00.800 --> 01:01:04.079
And so um Pete told his brother that he would be heading home.

01:01:04.239 --> 01:01:05.039
So he caught a plane.

01:01:05.519 --> 01:01:06.159
I got to go.

01:01:06.320 --> 01:01:10.079
Yeah, so he caught a plane in Alice Springs and went back to the United States.

01:01:10.400 --> 01:01:14.000
Oh, so did he like have to fly to Sydney first or something?

01:01:14.159 --> 01:01:14.400
Probably.

01:01:14.719 --> 01:01:15.039
Probably.

01:01:15.280 --> 01:01:19.840
I mean, because I can't imagine they had big planes flying in and out of Alice Springs.

01:01:20.079 --> 01:01:21.440
Little tiny Alice Springs.

01:01:21.599 --> 01:01:21.920
Yeah, a little.

01:01:22.159 --> 01:01:24.000
You got a puddle jumper that can give me to Sydney?

01:01:24.079 --> 01:01:26.400
He said, Okay.

01:01:26.639 --> 01:01:27.039
Puddle jumper.

01:01:27.920 --> 01:01:28.000
Wow.

01:01:29.199 --> 01:01:30.800
That was fucking excellent.

01:01:31.199 --> 01:01:34.159
So Dave was now truly alone.

01:01:34.480 --> 01:01:37.360
Well, he had Willie Make It 3.

01:01:37.840 --> 01:01:41.199
Dave still had a long road ahead to Sydney on the eastern coast.

01:01:41.360 --> 01:01:41.679
Yeah.

01:01:41.920 --> 01:01:44.000
He did have still have his mule.

01:01:44.079 --> 01:01:44.559
Yep.

01:01:44.719 --> 01:01:47.360
Um, which they acquired in Perth.

01:01:47.519 --> 01:01:47.920
Yep.

01:01:48.239 --> 01:01:54.159
In keeping with tradition, this mule bore the whimsical name Will Willy Make It.

01:01:54.800 --> 01:01:56.639
Oh, so this is the fourth one.

01:01:56.960 --> 01:01:57.840
Will Willy.

01:01:58.400 --> 01:01:59.039
Right?

01:01:59.519 --> 01:02:03.760
Because they had the other one when they got back to Afghanistan.

01:02:04.159 --> 01:02:04.480
Yeah.

01:02:04.719 --> 01:02:04.960
Right?

01:02:05.119 --> 01:02:07.599
It might have been no, because that one died.

01:02:08.079 --> 01:02:09.440
No, the the second one died.

01:02:09.599 --> 01:02:11.280
The Willy Make It 2 died.

01:02:11.760 --> 01:02:14.000
Because he was dying from overwork.

01:02:14.239 --> 01:02:15.599
He went back to recover.

01:02:15.679 --> 01:02:17.679
He came back and then they had another one, yes?

01:02:17.840 --> 01:02:19.119
And you said he didn't have a name?

01:02:19.440 --> 01:02:19.679
Yeah.

01:02:19.920 --> 01:02:21.519
So this is the fourth one.

01:02:22.639 --> 01:02:27.679
I know there's another one after that, and and my research only said that there were four.

01:02:29.119 --> 01:02:29.840
Let's carry on.

01:02:30.000 --> 01:02:30.800
Let's carry on.

01:02:31.119 --> 01:02:44.400
So his mule, the Australian mule, will Willy Make It surprisingly actually died on the trip.

01:02:44.880 --> 01:02:45.199
Oh.

01:02:45.920 --> 01:02:46.079
Yeah.

01:02:46.639 --> 01:02:47.360
Did he eat him?

01:02:47.920 --> 01:02:48.159
No.

01:02:48.480 --> 01:02:48.880
Thank God.

01:02:49.119 --> 01:02:51.199
He Dave gave him the best care he could.

01:02:51.360 --> 01:02:53.360
Um, but it was rough traveling.

01:02:53.760 --> 01:02:57.840
The mule just reached its limit and died right there on the road.

01:02:58.159 --> 01:03:03.760
Um Dave did his best he could and buried him and left a marker.

01:03:04.159 --> 01:03:04.400
Oh.

01:03:04.639 --> 01:03:06.159
Is it still there today, you think?

01:03:06.400 --> 01:03:06.800
I don't.

01:03:07.280 --> 01:03:10.880
It was just not part of your research, just your speculation.

01:03:11.280 --> 01:03:11.840
It's still there.

01:03:12.159 --> 01:03:12.639
You think so?

01:03:12.800 --> 01:03:13.119
Yes.

01:03:13.280 --> 01:03:13.519
Okay.

01:03:13.760 --> 01:03:14.480
Nobody goes there.

01:03:14.719 --> 01:03:15.760
I'm gonna go there.

01:03:16.559 --> 01:03:22.239
So now he had to haul all of his gear and supplies and the wagon that the mule had been pulling.

01:03:22.480 --> 01:03:27.119
He should have uh uh captured a kangaroo.

01:03:28.079 --> 01:03:29.199
Now you're thinking.

01:03:29.440 --> 01:03:29.760
Yeah.

01:03:30.079 --> 01:03:31.119
Good day, mate.

01:03:31.360 --> 01:03:36.800
So alone in the Australian sun, Dave rigged up a harness and began dragging his own wagon.

01:03:37.199 --> 01:03:37.840
Fucking hell.

01:03:38.079 --> 01:03:39.360
It was grueling work.

01:03:39.519 --> 01:03:40.159
Yeah.

01:03:40.480 --> 01:03:42.079
Which is why the mule died.

01:03:42.400 --> 01:03:43.039
Well, clearly.

01:03:43.360 --> 01:03:44.400
Because it was grueling.

01:03:44.559 --> 01:03:46.159
He was in the middle of nowhere.

01:03:46.400 --> 01:03:50.719
Quitting or even pausing too long could mean dehydration, or worse.

01:03:51.519 --> 01:03:53.679
He needed a miracle or a ride.

01:03:54.400 --> 01:03:56.480
So he called Jenny.

01:03:56.800 --> 01:03:57.280
Jenna.

01:03:57.679 --> 01:03:58.639
He called Jenna.

01:03:59.360 --> 01:04:00.800
So I thought he only had her address.

01:04:01.199 --> 01:04:02.079
So he had her number.

01:04:02.559 --> 01:04:03.519
He must have had her number.

01:04:03.840 --> 01:04:04.400
Interesting.

01:04:04.719 --> 01:04:06.079
So she had a car.

01:04:06.239 --> 01:04:08.159
She'd offered to help if he needed anything.

01:04:08.559 --> 01:04:10.239
Of course, because they were in love.

01:04:10.639 --> 01:04:19.280
With a bit of luck and a passing motorist, he reached a telephone, and Dave managed to get a message to Jamie.

01:04:19.440 --> 01:04:20.079
Jenny.

01:04:21.920 --> 01:04:22.800
Jenny.

01:04:23.119 --> 01:04:25.360
How would she like a little bit of a road trip?

01:04:25.519 --> 01:04:26.559
Oh, Jesus.

01:04:26.800 --> 01:04:28.320
Please tell me he walked.

01:04:28.639 --> 01:04:29.440
He walked.

01:04:29.679 --> 01:04:31.679
She pulled the wagon with her car.

01:04:32.079 --> 01:04:33.280
Jesus Christ.

01:04:34.480 --> 01:04:37.519
Yeah, do you think I can stick my head in there for some of that AC?

01:04:38.559 --> 01:04:39.840
Jenny didn't hesitate.

01:04:40.719 --> 01:04:49.599
They probably didn't even have AC back then in those cars, but anyways, so she drove hours out into the bush until she found Dave trudging and straining with his wagon.

01:04:49.920 --> 01:04:53.119
And just like that, Jenny became part of the adventure.

01:04:53.360 --> 01:05:01.440
Dave walked and Jenny drove slowly beside him with hazard lights on, you know, just in case for those roaming kangaroos.

01:05:01.599 --> 01:05:04.880
Um, and her the little wagon was hitched to her car.

01:05:05.440 --> 01:05:07.840
So they chatted as the miles rolled by.

01:05:08.079 --> 01:05:10.079
Did she bring extra gas?

01:05:10.320 --> 01:05:11.280
I hope so.

01:05:11.519 --> 01:05:15.360
Because I feel like she would run out of it if she's slowly.

01:05:15.679 --> 01:05:18.320
He's walking, she's driving.

01:05:18.639 --> 01:05:19.599
Three miles an hour.

01:05:21.760 --> 01:05:26.079
Um next gas station isn't for 123 miles.

01:05:26.239 --> 01:05:28.239
I am I am almost empty.

01:05:30.480 --> 01:05:35.119
So they had that chance to blossom their friendship, essentially.

01:05:35.280 --> 01:05:37.840
And by the time don't call it a friendship.

01:05:37.920 --> 01:05:38.719
We all know where this was.

01:05:39.199 --> 01:05:42.639
By the time they reached Sydney, he was spit smitten.

01:05:42.800 --> 01:05:44.159
So he was spitten.

01:05:44.400 --> 01:05:45.920
He was spitten.

01:05:47.440 --> 01:05:48.079
Yes.

01:05:48.960 --> 01:05:50.880
In July of 1974.

01:05:51.199 --> 01:05:52.400
He sent divorce papers.

01:05:52.719 --> 01:05:56.880
Four full years after leaving Waseka, Wasika.

01:05:57.199 --> 01:05:58.800
Yeah, but he was back for a little bit.

01:05:58.960 --> 01:05:59.360
He was.

01:05:59.599 --> 01:06:07.199
I mean, that's kind of Dave stepped into Sydney, thus completing his on-foot crossing of Australia.

01:06:09.119 --> 01:06:13.920
He parted with Jenny with a heartfelt goodbye and promised that he'd be back.

01:06:14.639 --> 01:06:23.679
He got a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles, and from LA, he pointed himself east and started walking yet again.

01:06:24.480 --> 01:06:26.960
He literally like forced himself to point east.

01:06:35.599 --> 01:06:41.440
Nevada's emptiness tried to break him, and the Rockies challenged his legs and his lungs.

01:06:42.079 --> 01:06:44.480
He actually crossed the Rockies.

01:06:45.280 --> 01:06:46.320
Holy shit.

01:06:46.639 --> 01:06:49.599
He acquired one more mule in California.

01:06:49.840 --> 01:06:52.480
I feel like this guy is a mule murderer.

01:06:52.880 --> 01:06:55.599
His name was Willie Will Make It.

01:06:58.800 --> 01:07:00.159
I hate Dave.

01:07:01.840 --> 01:07:02.400
Yes.

01:07:02.639 --> 01:07:13.840
So perhaps spooked by the harsh conditions or simply just being stubborn, the mule refused to walk somewhere in the California desert.

01:07:18.079 --> 01:07:19.760
So he left the mule.

01:07:20.000 --> 01:07:22.159
He's like, this mule isn't budging anymore.

01:07:22.239 --> 01:07:24.320
Go live a happy life in the pasture over there.

01:07:24.480 --> 01:07:25.679
I'm gonna keep walking.

01:07:26.000 --> 01:07:28.719
But that mule died because he was stranded.

01:07:29.440 --> 01:07:35.199
By late summer 1940, 74, Dave was cutting through the Great Plains, heading home.

01:07:35.519 --> 01:07:35.760
Okay.

01:07:36.159 --> 01:07:43.360
The media, which had been intermittently covering his journey, uh ramped up the attention as he was nearing his finish line.

01:07:43.599 --> 01:07:53.280
Small town newspapers ran stories on the Earthwalker passing through, and local reporters would hike alongside him for a few miles to grab an interview.

01:07:53.519 --> 01:08:02.719
And for the most part, the press coverage was positive, painted Dave as heroic, kind of a quirky do girl go uh gooder raising money for charity.

01:08:03.119 --> 01:08:03.280
Da.

01:08:05.360 --> 01:08:06.480
Heaven of dalliance.

01:08:06.880 --> 01:08:08.800
As he trudged through Nebraska.

01:08:09.039 --> 01:08:17.840
Hey! Hey, in September of 1974, mere weeks from completing his quest, something in him snapped.

01:08:18.640 --> 01:08:19.680
Like a bone?

01:08:20.960 --> 01:08:26.319
Dave got to talking candidly with a reporter from the Omar Hall World Herald.

01:08:26.560 --> 01:08:29.279
Do you know of that paper?

01:08:29.600 --> 01:08:29.760
Paper.

01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:31.119
Yes, it is still in effect.

01:08:31.199 --> 01:08:34.640
And fun fact, I was on the cover of it once with my mom and my sister.

01:08:35.279 --> 01:08:36.560
I was below the fold.

01:08:36.800 --> 01:08:37.439
Let's see.

01:08:37.760 --> 01:08:39.119
Didn't say wanted.

01:08:39.439 --> 01:08:40.079
Shut up.

01:08:40.720 --> 01:08:42.560
The three of us were below the fold.

01:08:42.640 --> 01:08:46.720
We were taking a sign language class, and the teacher was A Sun language class?

01:08:47.039 --> 01:08:47.520
Sign language class.

01:08:47.680 --> 01:08:48.000
There it is.

01:08:48.319 --> 01:08:50.880
And the teacher looked like Sigourney Weaver.

01:08:51.199 --> 01:08:54.239
Like with really short hair, like copycat short hair.

01:08:54.479 --> 01:08:55.520
What's copycat short?

01:08:55.760 --> 01:08:58.720
Copycat is a movie Sigourney Weaver was in.

01:08:58.800 --> 01:08:58.960
Okay.

01:08:59.199 --> 01:08:59.920
I don't know that movie.

01:09:00.159 --> 01:09:00.319
Okay.

01:09:00.399 --> 01:09:02.000
Well, she had really short hair.

01:09:02.319 --> 01:09:04.640
And she looked just like Sigourney Weaver.

01:09:04.720 --> 01:09:06.000
Anyway, she was top of the fold.

01:09:06.239 --> 01:09:08.880
My mom, my sister, and I were bottom of the fold.

01:09:09.359 --> 01:09:12.239
So what was the purpose of this protocol?

01:09:12.720 --> 01:09:16.079
Um, just to raise awareness that sign language classes were happening.

01:09:16.560 --> 01:09:17.439
That they existed?

01:09:17.680 --> 01:09:18.479
Pretty much.

01:09:18.720 --> 01:09:19.520
I didn't read it.

01:09:19.600 --> 01:09:20.560
I was young.

01:09:20.960 --> 01:09:23.920
Maybe if it was signed to you, you could have understood it.

01:09:25.520 --> 01:09:31.039
I remember going into church that Sunday and people coming up with me with their papers and being like, Can I have an autograph?

01:09:31.680 --> 01:09:33.199
You know, like I don't even know how to read.

01:09:33.439 --> 01:09:33.840
Shut up.

01:09:35.520 --> 01:09:35.840
Okay.

01:09:36.960 --> 01:09:42.319
So under the scorching sun, endless cornfields visits Nebraska.

01:09:42.640 --> 01:09:43.600
Let's hear what he said.

01:09:43.840 --> 01:09:50.399
He vented four years of pent-up just emotion and opinion.

01:09:50.960 --> 01:10:03.039
He said, quote, I was tired of Wasika, tired of my job, tired of a lot of little people who didn't who don't want to think, and tired of my wife.

01:10:03.359 --> 01:10:04.239
What a dick.

01:10:04.479 --> 01:10:06.960
The walk was a perfect way to change all that.

01:10:07.119 --> 01:10:09.520
I just walked out of town.

01:10:10.000 --> 01:10:12.479
This dude's a fucking piece of shit.

01:10:12.720 --> 01:10:13.359
It was, yeah.

01:10:13.840 --> 01:10:15.840
Fucking man up, you a-hole.

01:10:16.079 --> 01:10:16.560
Yeah.

01:10:17.760 --> 01:10:19.199
It was a dose of honesty.

01:10:19.279 --> 01:10:28.319
I don't think he was expecting to do, but um, Dave basically said, I did this because I was fed up with my boring life and my failing marriage, and I bailed.

01:10:28.880 --> 01:10:31.439
Well, sounds like Dave's a piece of shit.

01:10:31.600 --> 01:10:37.279
So, of course, those words were printed on September 22nd, and boy, did it set off some fireworks back home.

01:10:37.600 --> 01:10:38.880
You don't say.

01:10:39.520 --> 01:10:44.479
Do you think uh he sent that piece that paper to uh Jenny?

01:10:44.960 --> 01:10:45.520
I don't know.

01:10:46.079 --> 01:10:46.479
Chef.

01:10:47.359 --> 01:10:51.760
So suddenly Dave's journey wasn't so tidy.

01:10:52.399 --> 01:10:56.239
No, it it kind of put a black stain on it because he was a piece of shit.

01:10:56.640 --> 01:11:02.000
Back home, some of those people who had supported him felt betrayed or at least affronted.

01:11:02.239 --> 01:11:08.000
Um now they're now he's calling them like little people he didn't want to think about.

01:11:08.479 --> 01:11:11.840
I mean, at least what he wasn't referring to his kids, was he?

01:11:12.399 --> 01:11:13.359
They're people.

01:11:13.680 --> 01:11:17.119
A local uh mis a Miss Minnesotian.

01:11:17.920 --> 01:11:18.800
Minnesotan?

01:11:19.119 --> 01:11:20.560
Minnesota, I think.

01:11:20.880 --> 01:11:26.560
He fumed in a letter to the editor saying, I think Kunst is going through his adolescence a bit late.

01:11:26.960 --> 01:11:32.159
Capturing the sentiment of many who read Dave's outburst as immature, self-centered rant.

01:11:32.399 --> 01:11:33.760
Yeah, it was very self-centered.

01:11:33.840 --> 01:11:35.119
It was all about him fucking self.

01:11:35.359 --> 01:11:39.600
And of course, the criticism hit Dave like a gut punch, but he kept walking home.

01:11:40.079 --> 01:11:47.680
So three days later, another journalist met up with Dave to let him respond to the kerfluffle that was happening.

01:11:48.319 --> 01:11:50.640
Um, Dave didn't exactly apologize.

01:11:50.800 --> 01:11:54.800
Being honest was kind of his whole shtick now, apparently, but he did clarify.

01:11:54.960 --> 01:11:57.680
He said his comments had been sensationalized.

01:11:58.000 --> 01:12:00.640
No, he fucked you, Dave.

01:12:00.960 --> 01:12:06.720
What he meant, he explained, was that he was done pretending to be some storybook hero.

01:12:06.880 --> 01:12:10.239
I just hate playing games when it comes to who I am or what I am.

01:12:13.600 --> 01:12:21.039
Yes, he could have sugarcoated everything, acted like a knight or somebody out of a fairy tale, but as Dave put it, that's dishonest.

01:12:21.600 --> 01:12:24.319
No, you could have just not been an asshole.

01:12:24.560 --> 01:12:25.039
Yeah.

01:12:25.279 --> 01:12:25.920
Yeah.

01:12:26.319 --> 01:12:30.960
He wasn't gonna stand on ceremony um about world peace and personal growth.

01:12:31.279 --> 01:12:32.560
Was he gonna walk on it?

01:12:33.279 --> 01:12:40.800
It was a bit risky telling the truth, but it also earned Dave a few nods of respect from those who value authenticity.

01:12:41.199 --> 01:12:49.920
One mini Minneapolis reader wrote in Dave's defense saying, quote, at least he's honest, he's not a politician trying to charm us.

01:12:50.319 --> 01:12:53.920
Do you think he wouldn't have said some of that if he didn't meet Jenny?

01:12:54.159 --> 01:12:55.199
Yeah, I don't know.

01:12:56.000 --> 01:12:56.960
Makes you wonder.

01:12:57.119 --> 01:12:57.760
Yeah.

01:12:58.239 --> 01:13:00.880
By early October 1974, yeah.

01:13:01.119 --> 01:13:04.399
Dave was on the final approach to Wasika, Minnesota.

01:13:04.720 --> 01:13:05.279
Final approach.

01:13:05.359 --> 01:13:06.880
It's like he's lying in a fucking plane.

01:13:07.039 --> 01:13:09.199
Which he took, so he didn't walk the full earth.

01:13:09.359 --> 01:13:10.319
Anyways.

01:13:10.880 --> 01:13:14.720
Four years of sun and wind had leathered his skin.

01:13:14.880 --> 01:13:17.520
He'd walked through 21 pairs of shoes.

01:13:17.760 --> 01:13:19.279
I was gonna ask that actually.

01:13:19.439 --> 01:13:21.600
He had to have a lot of fucking shoes.

01:13:21.920 --> 01:13:25.920
Every step from here on was over ground.

01:13:26.000 --> 01:13:31.600
He had once walked before, heading out and now trying to kind of retrace his steps coming home.

01:13:31.840 --> 01:13:38.000
October 5th, 1974, a crowd of thousands of well-wishers gathered on the outskirts of Wasika.

01:13:38.800 --> 01:13:44.960
Despite missed mixed feelings, most everyone could appreciate the magnitude of what Dave had accomplished.

01:13:45.119 --> 01:13:49.359
They lined the streets, craning for first glimpse of the wanderer.

01:13:49.439 --> 01:13:54.000
They weren't disappointed as Dave strolled into view right on schedule.

01:13:54.239 --> 01:13:59.199
Um, big beard, tattered clothes, swagger, whatever.

01:14:01.119 --> 01:14:04.079
And he wasn't walking alone.

01:14:04.560 --> 01:14:05.439
Jenny showed up.

01:14:05.600 --> 01:14:10.640
His brother Pete flew out to meet him and walked the last stretch at his side.

01:14:10.960 --> 01:14:12.000
Where did he meet him?

01:14:12.239 --> 01:14:13.279
I didn't look it up.

01:14:16.159 --> 01:14:21.119
Remember Rick, the other movie theater projection guy, his friend?

01:14:21.279 --> 01:14:21.920
Yes.

01:14:22.159 --> 01:14:22.960
He was there.

01:14:23.119 --> 01:14:26.800
He flew in from California with his wife to join the Final Miles.

01:14:27.600 --> 01:14:38.239
Um they finally reached the center of Wasika, the crowd ended up erupting in applause and cheers.

01:14:38.399 --> 01:14:40.479
Their the church bells rang.

01:14:41.119 --> 01:14:46.800
It was basically a small town Americans version of a little tiny parade.

01:14:47.119 --> 01:14:48.399
Super touching.

01:14:48.720 --> 01:14:54.000
Yet, amongst the celebration, there were a few notable absences.

01:14:54.319 --> 01:14:55.520
His wife and kids.

01:14:55.840 --> 01:14:59.119
Hal Greenwood, their baker who bankrolled him.

01:14:59.279 --> 01:15:00.960
Yep, chose not to attend.

01:15:01.279 --> 01:15:02.479
Because he's a dick.

01:15:02.720 --> 01:15:03.520
Not Hal.

01:15:03.760 --> 01:15:04.000
Yeah.

01:15:04.319 --> 01:15:04.640
Dave.

01:15:04.960 --> 01:15:07.439
Perhaps because he was miffed at that Dave, yeah.

01:15:07.600 --> 01:15:09.359
Yeah, because he's like, wait, wait, what?

01:15:09.600 --> 01:15:15.279
Uh Mayor Swanson, who also gave that that send-off speech in 1970, kept a deliberate distance.

01:15:16.159 --> 01:15:18.319
And Dave's wife, Jan Koonst.

01:15:18.560 --> 01:15:19.760
Did kids show up?

01:15:20.079 --> 01:15:21.199
The kids did show up.

01:15:21.840 --> 01:15:24.000
You probably didn't recognize them because they were fucking older.

01:15:24.159 --> 01:15:24.319
Yeah.

01:15:24.560 --> 01:15:31.520
Jan had held on the fort during Dave's four-year walk, working to support their three children as a single mom.

01:15:31.840 --> 01:15:33.920
Um, the marriage had not survived.

01:15:34.000 --> 01:15:34.640
That was clear.

01:15:34.960 --> 01:15:35.520
Clearly, yeah.

01:15:35.680 --> 01:15:42.800
So we knew that was gonna be a big part of it, even before he ranted about his not wanting to be with his wife.

01:15:43.279 --> 01:15:44.479
Yeah, exactly.

01:15:45.039 --> 01:15:46.880
So Dave's children were there.

01:15:47.039 --> 01:15:56.399
Um, they were uh witnessing their father's triumphant return um with probably some mixed feelings, you know, pride, bewilderment, maybe a little bit of resentment for lost time.

01:15:56.479 --> 01:15:56.720
We don't know.

01:15:56.960 --> 01:15:58.560
And be like, who are you?

01:15:58.720 --> 01:16:00.000
Yeah, exactly.

01:16:00.560 --> 01:16:09.279
Um, Dave stepped up to the makeshifts uh makeshift stage um in the town square, and the crowd hushed in anticipation, anticipation.

01:16:09.520 --> 01:16:11.520
Pete stood there right by his side.

01:16:11.680 --> 01:16:17.520
Um, Dave made sure everyone remembered the fuller story beyond just what one man's feet was.

01:16:17.760 --> 01:16:24.479
Two Koontz brothers started this trip, and two Koontz brothers finished it.

01:16:25.359 --> 01:16:27.359
Yeah, I mean, technically.

01:16:27.760 --> 01:16:33.760
Of course, Dave acknowledged the brother who wasn't there, John, and the brother who took his place, Pete.

01:16:34.079 --> 01:16:39.600
Um, Pete op um openly wept as the crowd cheered his tribute.

01:16:39.840 --> 01:16:46.720
Um, and then in the aftermath of that day, Dave Kunt's name was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

01:16:46.880 --> 01:16:47.600
Oh, thank God.

01:16:47.840 --> 01:16:51.279
Recognizing him as the first person recorded to have walked around the world.

01:16:51.520 --> 01:16:51.840
Okay.

01:16:52.560 --> 01:16:56.399
Dave didn't slide back into normal life, really.

01:16:56.560 --> 01:16:58.800
Um, he never really returned to Wasika.

01:16:59.119 --> 01:16:59.840
No, of course not.

01:16:59.920 --> 01:17:02.239
He didn't want to be there because he wanted to abandon his family.

01:17:02.560 --> 01:17:02.800
Yeah.

01:17:02.960 --> 01:17:09.359
So in 1977, a reporter tracked him down and found him in Southern California.

01:17:10.159 --> 01:17:12.319
Dave was living a humble life down there.

01:17:12.479 --> 01:17:19.199
He was a caretaker of an apartment building, and he was he was a newspaper delivery person on the side.

01:17:19.439 --> 01:17:20.560
In the early on the side.

01:17:20.720 --> 01:17:20.880
Yeah.

01:17:21.119 --> 01:17:21.439
Okay.

01:17:21.840 --> 01:17:26.640
Fairly anticlimatic, but he was in California with Jenny.

01:17:26.800 --> 01:17:27.119
Jenny.

01:17:27.359 --> 01:17:28.239
Of course.

01:17:28.560 --> 01:17:29.199
Yes.

01:17:29.920 --> 01:17:40.319
Um, Dave had a divorce Jan, and over the years, Dave and Jenny would visit every US state road trip around Europe, never letting that exploration kind of die out of them.

01:17:40.479 --> 01:17:40.880
Yeah.

01:17:41.199 --> 01:17:48.960
Dave would write a book about the walk called The Man Who Walked Around the World, published in 1979 with the help of a co-writer.

01:17:49.279 --> 01:17:50.000
It's a good year.

01:17:50.720 --> 01:17:51.279
I know.

01:17:51.600 --> 01:17:58.000
Dave himself, now in his 80s, reflects on it with a perspective that only time can really give.

01:17:58.239 --> 01:18:01.279
He knows people saw contradictions in what he did.

01:18:01.439 --> 01:18:01.600
Yeah.

01:18:01.920 --> 01:18:08.640
Run away, running away from responsibilities while preaching about world peace, raising money for children abroad while leaving his own home.

01:18:09.039 --> 01:18:12.399
Leaving his own, not even his own home, his own fucking children.

01:18:12.640 --> 01:18:15.520
So let's help these other children, but fuck you guys.

01:18:15.600 --> 01:18:16.399
You're my blood.

01:18:16.479 --> 01:18:17.520
Go fuck yourself.

01:18:17.760 --> 01:18:19.520
Seriously, that's a piece of shit.

01:18:19.760 --> 01:18:23.359
He's aware that he's um he was a dick.

01:18:23.600 --> 01:18:25.840
He was not a flawless hero, and he's okay with that.

01:18:26.079 --> 01:18:27.039
He's not a hero.

01:18:27.199 --> 01:18:28.319
He's not a flawless hero.

01:18:28.399 --> 01:18:29.760
He's just flawless.

01:18:30.159 --> 01:18:35.119
Dave's story um was real, it was messy, it was human, it wasn't a fairy tale.

01:18:35.199 --> 01:18:38.640
And he often said, Um, life is short and the world is wide.

01:18:38.880 --> 01:18:41.680
How fast time flies when you're healthy and having fun.

01:18:41.920 --> 01:18:45.600
So did he not like he just completely abandoned his kids?

01:18:45.760 --> 01:18:47.920
I I don't know if they still have a relationship.

01:18:48.159 --> 01:18:49.600
I would imagine they still don't.

01:18:49.840 --> 01:18:50.640
I don't know.

01:18:50.880 --> 01:18:53.439
So he worn out 21 pairs of shoes.

01:18:53.760 --> 01:18:54.159
Good.

01:18:54.399 --> 01:18:56.319
He used four, maybe five mules.

01:18:56.399 --> 01:18:57.039
I don't know.

01:18:57.359 --> 01:18:58.159
Sounds like five.

01:18:58.399 --> 01:19:02.239
He walked around 14,450 miles.

01:19:02.399 --> 01:19:02.720
Okay.

01:19:02.960 --> 01:19:04.880
He lost approximately 30 pounds.

01:19:05.199 --> 01:19:06.159
Grew a beard.

01:19:06.319 --> 01:19:16.000
He visited about 13 countries: USA, Portugal, Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Australia.

01:19:16.319 --> 01:19:18.800
Can you really say can you include USA in there?

01:19:18.880 --> 01:19:19.760
Because he's from there.

01:19:19.920 --> 01:19:20.880
He didn't visit there.

01:19:21.119 --> 01:19:25.600
He was on the road from June of 1970 to October 1974.

01:19:26.000 --> 01:19:32.079
Um, UNICEF donations raised$2,000.

01:19:32.800 --> 01:19:33.840
That's it.

01:19:34.479 --> 01:19:36.239
He's even more of a piece of shit.

01:19:36.399 --> 01:19:38.319
In today's money, it's about$16,000.

01:19:38.560 --> 01:19:39.920
Oh, yeah.

01:19:40.159 --> 01:19:40.479
Wow.

01:19:40.960 --> 01:19:44.079
Bullet wound survived, one check.

01:19:44.399 --> 01:19:48.479
Brothers lost, one relationships formed, one.

01:19:49.039 --> 01:19:50.079
Relationships lost?

01:19:50.640 --> 01:19:51.039
One.

01:19:52.319 --> 01:19:54.319
Countries denied entry, two.

01:19:55.039 --> 01:19:56.399
USSR and China.

01:19:56.640 --> 01:19:56.880
Yep.

01:19:56.960 --> 01:19:57.119
Yep.

01:19:58.000 --> 01:20:01.520
Anyway, that's the story of Dave Koontz and his walk around the world.

01:20:02.079 --> 01:20:04.960
That's amazing how something like this can be tainted by a douche.

01:20:05.199 --> 01:20:05.600
I know.

01:20:05.840 --> 01:20:07.119
What a fuckedard.

01:20:07.680 --> 01:20:08.560
Seriously.

01:20:08.720 --> 01:20:15.600
I mean I didn't think that was gonna piss you off so much.

01:20:16.880 --> 01:20:18.960
I mean, it pissed me off the first time I read it.

01:20:19.039 --> 01:20:20.399
I was like, really, dude?

01:20:20.720 --> 01:20:28.800
So like he he heard from what you have said, and this might just be my perception of it.

01:20:28.880 --> 01:20:30.479
So this is Bradley talking.

01:20:30.640 --> 01:20:33.520
No one else, not you, not Dave or anybody.

01:20:34.079 --> 01:20:36.720
He ran away from his life and his responsibilities.

01:20:36.960 --> 01:20:37.760
That's what he did.

01:20:38.000 --> 01:20:41.680
But he tried to sell it like, look at me go across the world.

01:20:41.920 --> 01:20:42.720
Cool, huh?

01:20:42.880 --> 01:20:46.560
No, you're an a-hole for leaving your fucking kids and your wife.

01:20:46.960 --> 01:20:48.720
I understand people get divorced.

01:20:48.960 --> 01:20:49.840
I've been divorced.

01:20:50.079 --> 01:20:50.880
It sucked.

01:20:51.039 --> 01:20:51.760
I get it.

01:20:52.079 --> 01:20:53.520
But you got kids, man.

01:20:53.840 --> 01:20:56.000
I do now, luckily not with her.

01:20:56.479 --> 01:20:57.439
Dave, Emmett.

01:20:57.760 --> 01:20:58.159
Oh, yeah.

01:20:58.239 --> 01:20:59.840
Dave, Dave had Dave had kids.

01:20:59.920 --> 01:21:09.039
He had a responsibility to those fucking kids, but he looked at his wife and the kids the same and be like, wait a Jen A.

01:21:10.079 --> 01:21:11.520
Do you think he named a boat after?

01:21:12.079 --> 01:21:13.279
A shrimp and boat?

01:21:13.520 --> 01:21:13.920
Anyways.

01:21:14.159 --> 01:21:16.640
No, if they had a kid, I bet they named him Willie.

01:21:18.960 --> 01:21:22.319
Fucking he's just a serial murderer of donkeys.

01:21:23.199 --> 01:21:24.720
Mules, whatever.

01:21:25.039 --> 01:21:25.920
I mean.

01:21:30.399 --> 01:21:31.359
I don't know.

01:21:35.359 --> 01:21:38.399
Maybe I'm just looking at as a dad, you know?

01:21:38.720 --> 01:21:39.119
For sure.

01:21:39.439 --> 01:21:42.079
I love my kids more than anything in this world.

01:21:42.239 --> 01:21:42.720
Right.

01:21:43.039 --> 01:21:47.680
And I could never like, could I do something sensational?

01:21:47.920 --> 01:21:48.319
Yes.

01:21:48.479 --> 01:21:50.399
But you know who'd always be on my mind?

01:21:50.640 --> 01:21:51.279
My kids.

01:21:52.640 --> 01:21:55.920
Could I leave my kids for four years to walk around the world?

01:21:56.079 --> 01:21:56.399
No.

01:21:56.640 --> 01:21:57.439
I couldn't do that.

01:21:57.520 --> 01:21:58.000
You know why?

01:21:58.159 --> 01:21:59.439
Because I love my kids.

01:21:59.680 --> 01:22:00.640
He did not.

01:22:02.399 --> 01:22:03.039
Well.

01:22:04.319 --> 01:22:05.840
Fuck Dave suppose.

01:22:06.800 --> 01:22:07.920
All right, buffoons.

01:22:08.000 --> 01:22:09.359
That's it for today's episode.

01:22:09.680 --> 01:22:13.680
Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time.

01:22:13.920 --> 01:22:16.079
Feeling hungry for more buffoonery?

01:22:16.239 --> 01:22:21.039
Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

01:22:21.279 --> 01:22:22.720
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01:22:22.800 --> 01:22:27.520
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01:22:27.680 --> 01:22:32.000
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01:22:32.159 --> 01:22:35.199
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01:22:35.359 --> 01:22:40.079
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01:22:40.239 --> 01:22:43.600
Until next time, stay curious and don't forget to rate and review us.

01:22:43.840 --> 01:22:46.399
Remember, the buffoonery never stops.