Portland Trail Blazers....United States Marshal Service and a Carton of Cigarettes....

I had a Turning Point series plan that looked perfect on paper: bring on a married couple, go straight at the hard parts, then spotlight the moment they rebuilt their relationship. Then reality hit. Finding people who can be truly open, honest, and vulnerable on a mic, without turning their pain into bragging or content, is harder than it sounds, and I refuse to fake it just to publish on time.

So I pull back the curtain on what I’m looking for in these stories and why the show prioritizes truth over drama. I also share what life has looked like lately with heavy travel, training, and building new relationships through work, plus a message for anyone in law enforcement or public safety who feels trapped: your skills are transferable. You are not as stuck as you think.

From there, we pivot to wedding season and the heart of Murders to Music: I used to show up on people’s worst days as a homicide detective, and now I get to help create someone’s best day, making sure the celebration runs smooth and the memories are joyful. We also hit a quick but meaningful reunion with an old colleague tied to U.S. Marshals Task Force work, then end on a deeper reflection about faith and the question that never really goes away: why do bad things happen to good people, and what do you do next when life breaks?

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Transcript

Turning Point Series Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Murders to Music podcast. My name is Aaron, I'm your host, and you guys are in for just another week of this thing we call murders to music. I don't know. So, hey, this week uh we're in the turning point series, right? And this week is supposed to be an episode uh with a married couple. And we want to talk about those of us in relationships, if we've ever been in relationships, if we're in a committed relationship, if we're in a marriage, we know that it's not always that marital bliss. And at some point in your marriage, you're going to hit a low spot. At some point in your marriage, you or I or us or we are going to want to run the other direction. And what I want to do on this episode is I want to find a couple that uh had trials and tribulations along the way. It could be infidelity, it could be financial, it could be drugs, alcohol, gambling, it could be uh religious differences, whatever it may be, and talk about their story, but then emphasize the turning point where they brought it all back together and became one and are living a life that is just full of hope and joy. That's what I want to do. But here's the problem I'm running into. I can't find a couple that um meet all of the criteria. And first, I need somebody that's going to be open, honest, transparent, and be willing to be vulnerable in this conversation. As you know, everything on the podcast, first of all, leads with truth, honesty, and vulnerability. And then educational, entertaining, or provide value. That is kind of the general genesis of this whole podcast. But beyond that, when you're talking to people, and if you guys are podcasters yourself or content creators, and you may understand this. But if not, when you are trying to reach out to talk to people, everybody has a story. Everybody listening to this podcast right now has a story. And the story is great, but a couple things. When you're talking to people and when people want to share their story, oftentimes it's about self-promotion and gloating or bragging. And when I hear that coming across in somebody's story, well, it doesn't align with the the values and the way this podcast is put to market. And then, you know, then once you have somebody with a good story and you're like, okay, I think this is gonna fit, and I think you're you are gonna fit the kind of the mold that we're looking for. Can they tell a story? You know, I'm able to take a podcast where somebody rambles on for three or four hours and edit it and condense it down uh to, you know, a 45-minute podcast. But really, it's awesome when I get people that can just come in and like, you know what, I lived this and I can just tell you from A to Z, here it goes. And they just tell you the story and they cover all the bases and they hit the bullet points and they don't add too much fluff, but they add enough to keep the story interesting, right? So finding somebody can actually tell a story is another challenge. Um, and then we need to make sure that it fits the turning point model. What are we doing in this series, this mini-series, where we're not glorifying and highlighting the drama or trauma, yet we're emphasizing and um getting excited about the turning point and life on the other side in all of these guests that we're talking to. And everybody's story is just a little bit different. And everybody tells the story a little bit different, you know, and like the gentleman I had on a few weeks ago that lived 18 years with a false cancer diagnosis. He lived his life like he was dying, and and then 18 years later the doctor's like, oh, you have sleep apnea. It's actually not cancer in the first place. You know, it's those types of stories that, and then it's the life that he lived, right? And then it's the way that he turned his life around and um the joy that he brought and the helping others and all that other stuff. It's those stories that make this series what it is, and they've got to be honest and true and from the heart. The problem is I'm having a tough time finding a couple that fits all of this criteria. Now, I think I'm well on my way, and I think that next week I'll have that episode for you. But these episodes, as they come out, there's a method to my madness as to how I release them. Because we're taking you from darkness to light, and each episode focuses on a couple of different things, a couple of different key elements, and those things build upon each other. So, all this to say, I do not have an episode for you this week on the Turning Point series. I apologize, but uh, I couldn't find anybody that really fit the mold as to what I wanted, but I'm still working faithfully to get this episode out to you next week. That being said, there is a couple things that I want to talk about because I have been super, super busy, and I want to share some of that with you. So I've been traveling the last six out of seven weeks, and I've been all over the country. I've been to Alaska and Arizona and all over the place. Um, and it's been great. I've been doing a lot of traveling and training and entertaining people and some sales calls in Alaska, all over the state of Alaska, and that has been super, super great for me. Uh, I've been with uh in front of a lot of different people, building some relationships, and it's been awesome. You know, the nicest thing was I got to bring my wife on one of these trips. I got to bring her to Arizona with me, and we had a down day on the weekend, so we got to get in the pool, and that was just a blast and such a blessing to be doing. So um, I'm just thankful, you know, for where I'm at right now in my life, and I'm thankful to be blessed with this career that I have. It's it's pretty, pretty awesome. And the whole point in this is for those law enforcement out there, people out there who are quote unquote stuck in your career. Uh, the only skills you have are what you're doing today. You know nothing else. It's just a burden. You're punching the clock, you hate life. I get it. I've been there, and I'm here to tell you that the skills you have are transferable and relatable to the real world. Somebody saw something in me and it seems to be panning out. I see something in each and every one of you. Just have faith in yourself. I don't even know you and I have faith in you. I know that this can be done. If you're stuck in that place, there's no reason to be stuck. The other thing I want to talk about is the wedding season is upon me. You know, between now and October, uh I've got a bunch of weddings planned. So I'm going to be blessing people on their best days. And that's the whole murders to music thing for those new listeners. You know, doing the homicide stuff, I was helping people on their worst days and I was making their worst memories. You know, I was thinking about this week. You're sitting at home, your wife goes to the store to grab a gallon of milk. You're sitting there and she's taking a little bit longer, but you know there's traffic. And then all of a sudden a car pulls up in your driveway, and two guys get out you've never seen before, and they knock on your door and they say, Hey, my name is Detective Turnage. I'm with the Gresham Police Department. Can I come in and talk to you for a few minutes? And he's like, Sure, I guess. Come on in, what's going on? Hey, can we sit down your table? Yeah. And then I proceed to tell them that their loved one was shot in a drive-by shooting, or their loved one was killed in, you know, a violent attack at the grocery store, whatever it may be. And I've done that notification hundreds of times. During that stage of my life, I was making people's worst memories on their worst days. Now, wedding season, I am so blessed to be making people's memories on their best days. Now, when they think about me and they think about what I contributed to their life, it's going to be the most kick-ass party they have ever been involved in. It's going to be their wedding reception. It's going to be bringing their most esteemed guests, family and friends together in one place at one time to celebrate them. And the whole day is focused on making sure the answers are yes. They get what they want on their wedding day, and we make sure that it goes absolutely smooth and flawless. And that to me is such a blessing to be able to execute. And at the end of the day, they're like, man, I had no idea the day could be this amazing. And it's not all about what I do, but it's about the professionals they hire, and I get to be a part of that team. So I'm super blessed to go from making memories on people's worst days to making people's memories on their best days and their brightest day of their life, which is pretty freaking cool. On another news, tonight I went to a basketball game, I went to the Trailblazers game, and they were playing Milwaukee and they kicked their butt, which was pretty freaking cool. But while I was at the game, I noticed that the head of security there for them is a gentleman that I used to work with. He and I worked many, many cases together. He worked for a neighboring agency, but he was on the U.S. Marshall Task Force. And he and I worked uh dozens of cases, murders, child abuse. In fact, Ashley, you guys remember Ashley from my show when she told about her family secret being molested by her father thousands of times. Um, he is the one that arrested Ashley's father. So, for those of you who don't know, the U.S. Marshals Task Force, that is men and women from the U.S. Marshall's office as well as surrounding law enforcement agencies that contribute to this team. And their job is to go out and arrest the baddest of the bad people. They got all kinds of super secret tools they use. They go out and they just make justice happen. They track people across the country, they track them into other countries, and they go out and they find themselves. I have a murder suspect or this child molesting suspect, the father. I say, hey guys, I'm ready. Here's the warrant. Take it and go. I give them all the information, they do their magic ball stuff, and all of a sudden they deliver me a present and it's my bad guy in handcuffs. That was their job. So they are a badass bunch of people. Um, but the first time I met him, he was actually on patrol and he stopped the some guy as a motorist assist. So somebody's broken down on the highway and he stops. And somehow, this, you know, this guy and I, um we have a very similar way of doing business. We both like to turn over rocks. He is he is an amazing man. I like him a lot. And uh he turned over these rocks on this motorist assist and learned that you know, the city that I worked in had been getting plagued with people throwing bricks through Walgreens windows in the middle of the night and then going in and stealing thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes. So he turned over on this traffic stop that hey, that's gonna happen tonight at uh at a Walgreens at 162 in Gleason. So me and my shift partner, uh, another dude, uh, he and I got this information. So we went out there and we set out at like this makeshift stakeout, right? So he and I are hiding in bushes. I mean, we might as well have been wearing ghillie suits. I think I might have tucked some uh tree branches into my belt or something. I don't know, but we're hiding there and uh waiting for this to happen. And sure enough, car pulls up, the window gets broken, we jump out, haha, police. Uh, take people into custody. It was a fun time. And uh it was cool. So that's the first time I met this cat. But anyway, so I got to see him tonight. I haven't seen him since probably 2022, 2021, something like that. And it was great. And what was great about it is we hugged, we caught up, and when I left, there was no adverse effects like I had a few weeks ago. There was no sadness, there was no negativity, there was no, man, I wish I was back in it. It was a good interaction, a good meeting. It was a solid friendship, and it was super, super cool. And we reminisced about a couple of calls and, you know, high-fived and uh parted, shared numbers and parted ways, but that was pretty cool. And he got to meet my wife, which was awesome as well. And the last thing I'm gonna leave you with is this. Every morning I try to get up and do some reading, and I'm not perfect, but I try to get up and I either read my Bible or I read a couple of books that I've got going on, and um it's it's just a great way to start my day. And today I was reading a book, it wasn't the Bible, but it was talking about why bad things happen to good people, and that is what I have spent most of my life dealing with, right? Um, so bad things happening to good people. We've all been there, we've all contemplated this. Why is this happening? If there's a God, why are bad things happening to good people every single day? Why is this child allowed to be molested? Why is this occurring? Why is that occurring? And I would submit that the world is broken and full of sin. It started in the Garden of Eden with the whole apple and snake and uh, you know, Adam and Eve thing. So that's where it started. Sin enters the world, and as a result, we are broken people, right? So that is the first step as to why bad things happen to good people. You are good people. However, we live in a sinful world, and I am a sinner. I can be the best person that I want to be. I am a sinner. And I know that, and that's why things happen to me. But that's not the point of my story or the point of the message that I read today. The message was this: that Jesus, when he was on earth, he was a sinless person. He was without sin, he was without flaw. He experienced all the same temptations that you and I have experienced. Those were subjected upon him, but he resisted them and did not sin or give in to them. However, when he was crucified on the cross and nailed to the cross by everybody's observations, it looked like Satan had won. It looked like Jesus had been defeated on the cross. Then take it one step further. He is so beaten and bruised, and so much violence executed upon him that he's almost unrecognizable. In that moment, it is clear to the layperson, to the people standing there watching, when they put him in that tomb that Satan had won and Jesus had been defeated, the king of man had been defeated. That's us in this world. If it can happen to the sinless person, it can happen to the sinner. But what happened three days later? Three days later, he rose again. And we're right around the corner from Easter. Three days later, he rose again and he was redeemed. Bad things happen to good people. Yes. It's what happens after that. It's the turning point. What do we do with that? Do we give up and do we throw in the towel and we just say, you know, screw life? Or do we do something? Do we push on, persevere, and do we find redemption on the other side? God is sovereign. All you have to do is ask him. And I think that that message in my book this morning was pretty freaking cool for me. It fit kind of what I've got, some stuff going on in my life. It fit the idea of why good things. I always ask my why has this child been killed? Why has this child been beaten? Why is this X happening in front of me? And the message this morning was just it was grid. So I don't know if it can resonate with you. I hope it does. Anyway, guys, hey, this is gonna be a short episode this week. And uh, but next week I'm coming at you. If you guys want to tell your story, if you want to tell your turning point story, please reach out to me, Aaron. Sorry, that's not the real address. The address is murders to music at gmail.com. Murdersthenumber two music at gmail.com. Reach out, send me an email. If you guys are liking the turning point series, please let me know that. Uh, it's a lot of work, and I want to see if people are actually indigging it or if it's just like, yeah, whatever. Uh, feel free to leave me some reviews, feel free to send some fan mail. The fan mail is not because you need to be my fan, but it's a way to communicate with me through some of those different online uh streaming platforms. Ladies and gentlemen, enough about me. I love you so much. Thank you for listening, thank you for being here every single week, and I promise to bring you another episode of the Turning Point series in just about seven days. Ladies and gentlemen, that is a Murders to Music Podcast.