Southwest Flavor Ep. 176 - Will Peña

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

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Ron Arenas (0:13)

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Southwest Flavor.

Thankful that you are here joining us. It's episode 176 Happy Thursday to everyone. It is September 10th, so...

Will Peña (0:27)

2026

Ron Arenas (0:28)

2026 Yeah. So good morning, Will. How are you doing?

Will Peña (0:31)

Good morning, my friend. I'm doing wonderful.

Ron Arenas (0:33)

Good. Thank you so much for coming in today, making the long drive through the Tucson Highway system.

Will Peña (0:40)

You know, the traffic was clear, so...

SPEAKER_4 (0:42)

Was it? It was good.

Will Peña (0:43)

Yeah.

Ron Arenas (0:43)

Okay.

Will Peña (0:44)

Yeah.

Ron Arenas (0:44)

That's always good. That's always good. I just want to mention a couple of things this morning.

Today is the one-year anniversary of... I guess it is an anniversary, but Charlie Kirk being assassinated as it was one year ago today.

SPEAKER_4 (1:00)

Yeah.

Will Peña (1:01)

You know, it still gets me. It still... You know, there will never be another human being like that ever again.

SPEAKER_4 (1:08)

Right. Right. He was making a difference. Yeah.

Will Peña (1:10)

And just his mind. I mean, just, you know, a smarter man, you know, just well-versed in everything.

SPEAKER_4 (1:21)

Right.

Ron Arenas (1:22)

You know, he was a reader.

SPEAKER_4 (1:23)

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Ron Arenas (1:24)

Yeah.

Will Peña (1:25)

And he... Yeah, I just... You know, that, you know, obviously, you know, it affects the... obviously his family differently.

Ron Arenas (1:31)

Of course.

Will Peña (1:32)

But us is, you know, his fans and, you know, people who enjoyed listening to him.

Ron Arenas (1:37)

Mm-hmm.

Will Peña (1:38)

You know, we miss that. And I really miss that. And I really miss there not being...

I don't think there will ever be another...

Ron Arenas (1:44)

Right.

Will Peña (1:44)

You know, I mean, you can have people, you know, step in for him and do his show and do, you know, go around the college campuses and do what, but it's just not the same.

Ron Arenas (1:53)

He had that ability to reach that younger generation. Yeah. And, you know, which is... That younger generation is kind of... Because of our generation, I think our generation has kind of fallen off, you know, from stepping away from, from, you know, being Christians and, you know, Christianity and all that.

And so a lot of these younger generations didn't, you know, grow up with that, you know, they didn't grow up with that, that backing or that foundation. And so he was able to reach a lot of the younger generation that was seeking, you know, something.

Will Peña (2:28)

Yeah.

Ron Arenas (2:28)

And able to speak to them. So, yeah, well, he was doing a lot of good in this world.

Will Peña (2:34)

And, you know, I mean, he still is.

SPEAKER_4 (2:36)

Yeah, yeah, definitely. He still is, you know.

Will Peña (2:38)

I mean, his work will definitely carry on. It will be the same, but...

Ron Arenas (2:41)

Right, right. Yeah, and with, you know, with the digital age and all that, you can pull up stuff and see a lot of his work.

Will Peña (2:49)

Yeah, I still go back and listen, you know, watch his stuff on YouTube and, you know, just, you know, it's very motivational and, you know, it's, yeah. So, yeah. Hopefully, he's resting in peace and, you know, prayers for his family.

SPEAKER_6 (3:02)

Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Ron Arenas (3:04)

And then tomorrow is a big day, a memorial day, you know. I mean, it's 25 years.

Will Peña (3:10)

Infamous.

SPEAKER_6 (3:11)

Yeah.

Ron Arenas (3:12)

September 11th.

Will Peña (3:13)

Yeah.

Ron Arenas (3:13)

So, what were you doing that morning? How did you hear about it?

Will Peña (3:19)

I was...

Ron Arenas (3:20)

Because I think the first plane hit about 630 our time somewhere around there, 615, 630

Will Peña (3:25)

I was driving to work. I was...

SPEAKER_7 (3:29)

Were you even in Tucson?

Will Peña (3:30)

Yeah. I was with Walgreens. Okay. I was actually working at the...

In Green Valley at the Esperanza store. I was living in Picture Rocks.

Ron Arenas (3:38)

Okay. Okay.

Will Peña (3:39)

And I remember driving and listening to the radio.

SPEAKER_4 (3:41)

That's a pretty good drive for you. Yeah.

Will Peña (3:43)

Yeah. And so, I remember getting to the... You know, listening to it on the radio, getting to the office, and meeting some of the other managers that were there. And we...