Kidd’s Exit, Egypt to Mexico Without Flying & World’s Fastest Arrested Athlete

On this week's just wondering with Norm Hitskas, what did the Maverick coach Jason Kidd do to get fired? We'll introduce you to an amazing world traveler who's depending on the kindness of strangers to get him all the way around the globe. And finally, we have a new record for the world's fastest athlete all coming up. I'm just wondering. And now a word from our title sponsor. Eying retirement? We aim to turn your nest egg into a paycheck with half the amount you've been led to believe. Fluent Financial combines in house portfolio design risk management with income generating investments designed to aid your financial independence. Our goal is to develop an effective portfolio strategy to help you retire sooner and have a better life Fluent Financial can also implement a program that allows business owners to install a cash balance plan, which may potentially reduce income tax payments. You've worked hard to become successful. Let us help develop an effective portfolio strategy that works for you. Learn more today about Fluent Financial. Retire sooner, better lifestyle. For more information or to schedule a meeting, visit fluentfinancial.com or call (972) 852-4800. Days after he was fired, excuse me, days after Jason Kidd and the Mavs mutually parted ways, I'm still wondering what Kidd did to get fired, what he did to get mutually parted from his job. But please don't take this as the slightest criticism of the new team president Masai Ujiri. He has a wonderful record as an NBA executive, and everybody considers him a terrific fellow, And Mavs fans have every right to be very hopeful that he'll turn them into a winner again very soon. You Jerry quickly named a young, very well regarded GM and Mike Schmitz, and many other changes happened to the organization quickly. You, Jerry, wanted to start by cleaning house, starting over with his people, if you will. No problem with that. But that brings us back to Jason Kidd. Let's first take a quick look at his coaching record here. Mark Cuban hired him and general manager Nico Harrison together in the summer of twenty twenty one. At that point, the Mavs hadn't won a single playoff series in eleven years. But in kids year one, they won 52 games and stunningly advanced all the way to the Western Conference finals. Two years later, they were again a 50 win team and surprisingly won the NBA West before losing in the NBA finals to Boston. After his first three years, Kidd was a fantastic 140 wins, a 106 losses, plus twenty two and seventeen in all playoff games. But then came the Doncic trade. The team gutting injuries to Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. I don't know how Dallas still managed that thirty nine and forty three record. But this past season, an avalanche of the injuries shredded this team again. And by February, the Mavs and the organization seemed to be focused far more on their spot in the draft than on winning games. Even with these last two torn up seasons, Kidd leaves with a record of two hundred and five and two hundred and five and those two thrilling playoff runs. Regardless of whether you liked him or not, that's a pretty admirable reason when you take a pretty admirable record when you take everything into reason. But there's something I deeply dislike about the sports media, and it's happening here again with Jason Kidd. As soon as a player or a coach or a GM or even an owner leaves, the press starts pouring out negative stuff about that person that, in this case, concern Kidd's handling of players and his style of communication. And thanks to Mark Cuban tossing him under the bus a few months ago, suggestions that Kidd knew much more about the plans to trade Luka Doncic, and he did nothing to stop those plans. And suggestions that now that kid and former GM Nico Harrison are gone, that's fired, that in the words of a Dallas Morning News headline, his exit quote marks the end of the Doncic debacle. Did Kidd have his problems with Doncic? Yes. He complained every year the two were together that Doncic was out of shape, and he was correct. Doncic regularly showed up fifteen, twenty, twenty five pounds overweight. Could kid have stopped the trade? Did he even want to? But his exit does not end the Doncic debate here. There is still one person in power in Mavs land who could have stopped that trade cold, and that's the owner, Patrick Dumont. But he did not stop the trade cold. But Kidd's gone after doing a pretty solid job here, and he won't be unemployed for too long. Good luck with him. Good luck to him, and thanks for the five years he spent here. The new people in power have a terrific Cornerstone player in Cooper flag to build around, and given his excellent track record, you, Jerry, will hire a very fine coach. But instead of the press finding all those negative things to say about Jason Kidd, how about just saying thanks, and good luck on your next NBA stop, Jason. Next, a man and a story you will not forget. What do you want from your favorite restaurant? Fantastic personal service, A cheery, welcoming, spotless atmosphere. And of course, great food. The primest of beef, Wagyu and lamb. Incredibly fresh seafood, lobster, salmon, shrimp, hall of fame food from a hall of fame restaurant, two locations of Bob's Steak and Chop House, the original Bob's on Lemon Avenue, and the gorgeous new Bob's at Craig Ranch McKinney. My wife, Mary, is the cocreator of Full Moon Healing Balm, and I guess I'm the reason this terrific cream was developed. A few years ago, I began getting these huge ugly blood blotches just beneath the skin of my arms and hands. The condition's called senile purpura. And no, you don't have to be senile to experience this embarrassment. It happens as you age. And then to cover it up, we begin wearing long sleeves, even when it's hot. It took two years working with a New Jersey lab to refine the all natural ingredients of full moon healing. Gently massage a very small amount into the skin, and within a day, the blotches begin to fade. See now, purpura usually takes weeks to disappear. But this bomb cuts the timeline to about a week. And ordering's so easy. Just go to the website, fullmoonhealingco.com. Those of you who are regular listeners and viewers of Just Wondering know how much I admire adventurers, and we have a story for you today. A story that's in progress. It involves 31 year old Egyptian traveler, and I mean traveler with a capital T, Obar Nook. He set off in October from Egypt to go around the world without flying on an airplane. He's literally figuring his way around the world. Omar, thank you for your time. Thank you, Norm. Thank you for your kind words and a pleasure to be here and speak with you. So literally, where in the world are you as we talk? I'm currently actually kind of close. I'm right now in Southern Mexico. Really? Yeah, it's a big milestone for me as well-being on the Mainland, North America. When when you set off to go West from Egypt, How how many countries is that already taking you through? Oh, I haven't kept. I haven't kept the life count in my head, but probably around 20, I would say, give or take. Wow. How long do you think this journey is going to take you, Omar? You know, I in the very beginning, I thought one to four years and it's such a big range, I guess, because there's so much that is kind of out of my hands or so much things that can just come out of nowhere unexpectedly and I have to adapt and improvise the route and timing and everything. So when set out, I had in my mind one to four years. Now I'm thinking two to four. I think I'm already not going to be on the lower end of that. So why do this? I mean, that's the question everybody watching is going to ask. Why? Yeah, not flying is a it came over time as my preferred method of travel because it allows me to see more of the world, experience more of the world. It's not about going to specific points in the world. Also, I'm not the kind of person who wants to go to specific places and not so much to others. For me, all is more or less the same in terms of desire to see the world and as much of it as possible. And not flying just lets you go through everything in between, not just points A and B. Yeah, you if you fly, you fly over a bunch of countries and a whole bunch of people. Yeah, and it's good news also. Don't get me wrong. I'm just would like to experience also on the ground what's there in between. Was going to ask you how long this took to plan you, but it sounds to me like you're almost planning this as you go along. That is correct. You're on the money there. It's yeah, I just as a big picture route is all I can think about and plan really. Just big picture in terms of let's say continents. Okay, I need to cross the Atlantic, then I need to find a way to get to a place where I can get the boat across the Pacific, which is a whole other story. Then wherever the boat goes, I see from there because like I don't know, it's not like I own a boat or anything, I'm basically like hitchhiking on a sailboat to cross the ocean. I don't know where the boat would go. If someone would take me and I'm at the marina looking for a boat to cross, if they're going to place A, I'm not gonna be like, oh no, but I prefer to go to this. No, no, it's okay. Beggars can be choosers. When you made it the big leap, of course, is to get across the Atlantic so far for you. How long did it take you to find somebody that you could go across the Atlantic with? Yeah, that was a big, big jump. It took me three weeks. I was in the Canary Island off the coast of Spain, off the coast of Morocco as well, North Africa, but belongs to Spain. And I was there at the marina basically every day with a sign, just sitting there. The sign literally said, need a helping hand for crossing the Atlantic. And just with a smile on my face, tried to speak with sailors and maybe somebody somebody knows somebody or just trying to make connections. And three weeks it took of me being there every day. Three weeks. Well, everywhere along the way, this is your story, though. You get to a place and you're basically asking for help to get to another place. Correct. Yeah, I basically ask around, okay, how do people get to the next? Usually it's like, how do people get like it? Usually locals or what kind of transport is there. I definitely don't know it in advance. I just look at the map, okay, I have this direction of travel in this direction and then while I'm in the place I just check today how I'm gonna travel tomorrow to the next place. Just checked today with someone here. Do you know? Do you know how where are you gonna go tomorrow? Yeah. Apparently, there's a train here, which I didn't know about until I asked today. I'm like, oh cool, I like trains. Guess we'll take that one. Oh my, I can't imagine having made your way from Egypt to Mexico across the Atlantic, obviously across the Equator coming north of it. How many different forms of transportation have you had? Oh, that's a lot. I keep a list by the way, inside I'm counting as I go. Yeah. It goes like buses, trains, minivans, hitchhiking, can be on the back of an open truck, which is one of my favorites. You just enjoy the view and the air. Yeah, like all kinds of skips, small skips in both thingies, motorcycles. Have you ridden on animals? On this trip, Not yet. On previous trips, ambitious overland journeys as well. Yes, I have been before. Sometimes horses or camels. This happened before. I was going before from Egypt to Japan without flying. I guess you can call it kind of a warm up, which is already crazy because it's such a big way anyway. The course is a bit Just of a small journey from me. I would never thought of that but that involves, for example, taking a camel in the desert of Kazakhstan or a horse trekking in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. That's an incredible place to go. Yeah, that was how that's how people there and semi nomadic people that I would meet in these countries, that's how they would travel there. And that's I guess how I got into it also. Well, you're traveling through many countries where the languages are different. How do you make yourself understood to people whose language you don't speak? Yeah, I think I've gotten pretty good, I guess, sign language, more or less. So I think if if I've gotten pretty good at the you know, the game charades, you probably do. Yes. I think I would be an expert now in this game just because I'm over time and over so many failures and attempts of trying to get my message across, I've become really I think I've developed that skill now over time to try to get my idea across or my question usually across just by sign language without using words. Like if I would, I don't know, ask about the train station, if they don't really understand what I'm saying, would just like I just have to find a way. Well, making your way across some of these places, really have to trust people, don't you? That's true. Yeah. Yeah. I have to put a lot of faith in three things in people, but also in yourself and the universe. Faith in all these three things would get you a long way to where you go. And I think this is like generally in life, not just travel, but I think you have that faith in those three things. Well, And a smile goes a long way, I might add. A smile goes a long way. Obviously, you're not flying, but trains and buses take some money. How much is the trip costing you? Yeah, this one is really, there's also a big I'm on the lower end for sure, because I'm on a budget backpacker style, I guess. So like I'm hitchhiking, I'm taking public transport anywhere I go, like taxis is a no go for like I would this would never be something that is one of the primary options. It's very rare that I do it. I'm eating street food, I'm sleeping in hostels, so dormitories, so let's say there are like eight other people with me in the room sleeping there. So this is as minimal as possible, probably maybe hundreds of dollars a month, I would say. It costs me less even than to live in, I don't know, Europe or US also. Oh, yeah. Have there been instances where people invited you into their homes to either eat or sleep or both? Happens happens a lot. Yes, happens a lot. Really? It happens a lot that people are extending a helping hand and this is always a constant wherever I go. Just someone would look at me and see that maybe I'm looking around trying to figure things out, they would just step in and offer their help. It can be as minimal as offering help in terms of directions or transport, but also in instances more so, especially in some regions, it's very normal for them just to, hey, just let's yeah. Are you looking for a place to stay? Like, I can host you and my family and we'll feed you and so on. This especially happened in Central Asia, places like Iran, Afghanistan, and basically any country that ends with Stan in the year, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, extremely hospitable countries, but it happens in other places as well, at least for a meal or something. Omar, when you head west from Cairo, from Egypt, you you cross some areas that I think most people would consider pretty dangerous. Have you felt unsafe during this trip? Unsafe. I think I'm usually a calm person during potentially scary or stressful situations. So I think in my mind, those situations would be a bit downplayed, I guess, or I would remember them as less scary, I guess. But for sure, there were some instances where it's like, okay, how are we getting through this? Something like crossing Libya overland, people are incredibly hospitable. But the issue, politically speaking, is that the country is divided into East and West unofficially. So Libya is one country if you look at the map, but unofficially there are two governments, one in the East and one in the West. And crossing between both, and especially as a foreigner and especially as an Egyptian, where they think I'm like immigrating illegally or something or looking for work, that was pretty challenging. To get there we had to take some routes in the desert to bypass some checkpoints that would just turn us around. Yeah, some crazy. Is your passport Egyptian? I have two passports, an Egyptian one and a European one as well. So that definitely helps a lot with visas and entrance to countries and all that. You're in Southern Mexico now. Is your route going to take you through The United States? You know, I was that was the aim when I my head, the big picture, like I mentioned before, just big picture plan or routes was to go north, continue north through The US, on the East Coast, north maybe until Canada, then turn around, cross from east to west, and then cross again south on the West Coast, again back to Mexico. So it's like a big circle kind of. This was the aim, but unfortunately that won't be possible. I realized already maybe two or three months ago because of my travel history. So having been to countries like Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, there is a list of countries where for The US, if you visit one of them, and you need to visit The US as a foreigner, obviously, you need to visit The US after, you would it triggers a need to go for an embassy interview. And they say that it needs to be in your home country. So it actually was not possible. Like, for example, it would trigger it when I crossed Libya, but that's already after I left my home country. So even if I wanted, I it's just not practical to go back and ask for for the interview and get to The US. Unfortunately, won't be possible this time. And your your passports have besides Libya, like you mentioned, there are other places The United States just doesn't want you to come in from Afghanistan, Iran, places like that that are in your past. That's true. Yeah, that's true. But for me it's yeah, I try. That's part of also kind of why I want to I like to share my journey as well online and my experiences from these places because what usually happens is or almost always, the people are incredibly hospitable and friendly and welcoming. And it's usually at the government level where there is detention, where there is the not liking part, but what I notice is with day to day people, regular people, that's very far from what you see on the news. Believe me, I can understand that Omar. Oh, okay, some quick questions. Have there been nights you've literally had to just sleep outside? Yeah, I carry a tent with me as a just in case, but also sometimes on purpose that I would just camp out in nature, out in nature. It can be a beach on an island in the Caribbean, which happens several times, or it can be the jungle or the desert in the Sahara. It happens several times that I camp out there. Wow. You've had an incredible different list of foods that you've eaten on this trip. What's the strangest food you've eaten? Oh, stranger. Octopus was very strange for me. Maybe just I think it's it exists in some countries, but maybe just where I'm from, this is not something that you would not find any. So this was just based on where I'm from is very strange. I don't know about you. Do you have octopus as a regular? Can you find it regularly in The US? No, Omar. An octopus is tough, isn't it? Yeah, that's a good word for it chewy. On this trip, you can't plan terribly far ahead, can you? Because your your plans change on the fly. Yeah, that's true. It depends on it's changing circumstances is the name of the game, guess. There are always changing circumstances and having to always adapt and improvise and not maintain a positive mental attitude and a positive mindset. That for sure is step number one of how they chase facing changing circumstances. And then you can keep a calm head and just adapt and improvise, find another solution, find another route, another way. Omar, when my wife and I meet travelers, we love to ask one question. So I'm going to ask you this question. If during this journey, you could go back to one place that you really liked, but only one place that you've been to, where would that place be? That's a tough one. That's a tough one. I would say Cape Verde, which is a country, small island nation, a several island. It's an archipelago of islands off the coast, off the West Coast Of Africa. Mhmm. And it's just incredibly beautiful, incredibly beautiful nature. One of the islands I went for hikes there, and there are just there's one or two words that just came to my mind when I was looking there and looking around. Jurassic Park. It's the closest thing I could in my head, like, what is it? Scenery. And, yeah, I would go to the island. The island is called Santo Anto, if I remember correctly. Anyone is interested to pick it up. Are you documenting your journey as you go along? Are you filming? Are you taking pictures? Yep, for sure. I make kind of a daily, quick daily recap. It's usually one minute or ninety seconds. Just a quick recap of how the day went, where I woke up, how I transported, what I ate, who I met, who helped along the way. So you can also kind of see basis of locals and how they look and what they eat and how they transport. So I share that online as well. It's kind of a quick, easy way of summary of seeing, I guess, what I go through or what I experience on the way. So where do you share it online? TikTok? Yeah, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube as well. The same, it's everywhere basically. People can look this up under your name? Yes, correct. Omar Nok, that would be the name. And by the way, the last name is N O K. Omar Nok. Is your family following you or your was your family worried about you when you left on this journey? They're worryingly following. Yeah. Of course, they were worried when I was this range of one to four years norm, I have to tell you. When I when my family asked, I would have to say one to two, knowing in my mind, it's probably one to four. So I try to minimize the worry or that it's not too overwhelming for them or they get too scared for me. But over time, I think over time, they're getting more and more cool with it, let's say, and I think they're trusting me more, especially that I share online. Previously I wasn't, and maybe that was maybe the black box in their head, oh, I wonder what's going on, and all kinds of crazy ideas can come to their head, But now that I share more online, they over time, they're kind of seeing that the world might not be as scary of a place as many people think, and they see how I also deal with situations, and I think they're developing a bit more trust and calmness in this journey myself and I guess other people around me as I go through the country. Omar, if someone watching wants to help support you with a contribution, can they do that? Yeah, that would be extremely, extremely helpful, especially that I'm on a low budget, so it doesn't take much to help a lot for me. Yeah, there's also a link, I guess, in my social media profiles where people can contribute if they like. I've had very kind people support along the way and previous journeys as well. So if someone went to Instagram or Facebook, could they could they find that link to help you? Yeah, it's usually one link in the in the profile bio. There there like there is like a donation link, if someone is interested. But yeah, just kind messages, even for me, are usually I'm already super happy with them. Some people going back to your previous question of people inviting, it's not just something that happened on the spot, someone seeing me on the street, but also online, where people sometimes would offer a place to stay. They will send me a message saying love the journey, love following and seeing everything. If you happen to pass by this place or that place where I am and where they are, you're welcome to stay or happy to host you or even, like, have you a buy buy a dinner or meet to show you around or all kinds of different messages that really always put a big smile on my face and keeps me going with more positivity for sure. Omar, I wish The United States would let you in. I wish you could come through Dallas, Texas, because if you did, we'd offer you a nice comfy bed to sleep in, and and some good food that did not include octopus. That very two lines underneath this. I appreciate it. Appreciate it a lot. Yeah, I hope so. If not this time, hopefully another time even though it's on my mind for sure at least to have a big North American trip even. If it does happen, please reach back out to us. Thank you for your time, and God bless you on your travels. Next up, we have a new record for the world's fastest athlete. Stolen water media is making a move. After two plus years, it's time to change and keep up with our growth. You can continue to view all eight of our podcasts on our Patreon pages. But now you can get all episodes at www.stolenwatermedia.com. This is a developing story, but you can begin by watching and listening right now at www.stolenwatermedia.com. Continue to find all audio wherever you find your favorite podcasts, and some you may not have heard of, but I think will enjoy. Are you just wondering where your next spectacular vacation will be? Relax. Feel the sun on your body. Let your cares melt away at the all inclusive Cerenian Bay Resort in Southern Belize. It's literally built right on the sand. The ocean, your ocean, is just a few barefoot steps away. Laid back luxury, terrific food, a swim up bar, a spa, air conditioned gym, unimaginable service, fishing, snorkeling in gorgeous turquoise waters. Do you want relaxation or do you need adventure? You choose at Sirenian Bay. Barry and I have been there three times and this summer will be number four. Take a cozy bungalow for two or bring the whole family to villas that can accommodate up to 14. Sirenianbay.com, S I R E N I A N. The sand and the sea are just waiting for you to get here. Boy, earlier this week, we saw NASCAR and Indy 500 cars going so fast. That's actually this note about the world's fastest athlete. Last week, Philadelphia Eagles linebacker, Nolan Smith junior, was arrested for going 135 miles an hour in a 70 mile per hour zone. Hey, that's a new record. The last highest speed athlete record was set by former Giants receiver Plaxico Burris, who was once arrested going a 125 miles an hour. But now Smith just blew past that record. Congratulations, Nolan. You are now the world's fastest arrested athlete. And now a word from our title sponsor. Today's episode has been brought to you by Fluent Financial, Retire Earlier, Live Better, and by Bob's Steak and Chophouse on Lemon in Dallas and in Craig Ranch in McKinney. Bob's, a Dallas tradition for more than thirty years. If you've enjoyed just wondering, please hit follow, and a fresh new episode will land in your mailbox early every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. Should you know a sports fan who might like our work? Please share our contact information with that person. Thanks for listening to today's episode of Just Wondering. I'm Norm Hitschkes, and know that every day I'll be just wondering about something. And I'm Mary Hitchgis, and I'll just be wondering too. This is a Stolen Water Media production.