I am always asked, “Mark, What do you do for fun?” First, I love to read about the history, ideas, and societies that came before us. For me, mankind is a curiosity. I am in a constant and endless search for understanding. It is a journey through history, philosophy, culture, and economics. I believe my books and broadcasting convey some of this to my audience. But there is so much to cull through and mentally process that one lifetime cannot do it justice. That said, I have reached a point where I am quite confident about the principles, philosophies, and values that have led me to where I am, who I am, and what I believe. And my mission is to spread “the word” to as many people as possible and in as many ways—especially now, given the dark clouds forming over our country.

But one’s life is nurtured and hopefully more fulfilled by family. That is, the family we create thanks to God’s good graces and will.

There’s nothing more fun than spending quality time with our family. By quality time I mean time without interruptions by phone calls, texts, emails, and the rest. My wife Julie and I have wonderful kids and grandkids. They also live in different parts of the country—Florida, Tennessee, and Maryland. But we are all very close and keep in constant contact. Life can be challenging. A close family makes all the difference.

I understand that people with skills, who work with their hands, are some of the most intelligent people I have ever met or known, and among the most important people in supporting our way of life.

As most of my audience is aware, I am a diehard dog lover. We have two fantastic puppies. They’re not puppies anymore, as they’re about one and a half years old, but they will always be puppies to us. We adopted them from the Lost Dog & Cat no-kill rescue foundation in Virginia. After much family discussion, we named the larger dog (about 38 pounds) Ronnie and the smaller dog (about 12 pounds.) Tobie. They bring us such joy every day.

And when the day is particularly tough or the news is depressing, which is too often, they bring a big smile to my face just by how they walk, bark, sleep, and act generally. I was very slow to agree to adopt another dog, let alone two, without the passage of more time after my beloved Barney suddenly passed away. Like most people who lose a dog, I took Barney’s loss very hard—as I have the loss of all my little buddies. I was driven to write a book about the experience when our dog Sprite passed, Rescuing Sprite, which I hoped would help me and others cope with their loss. But my dear Julie finally brought me around in her special, persuasive way. Thank goodness she did. We love these two rascals!

Some people seem surprised when I discuss Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on the air. I love it. I try not to miss any of the major UFC or Bellator matches. I began talking about MMA on the radio many years ago before most audience members knew what it was. I came upon it one Saturday as I was channel surfing. There was a match in a small arena (actually, it looked more like a baseball field with a portable, fenced-in stage). I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I started to learn more about it and began watching the more advanced or professional form of MMA as time went on. I have been hooked since. The truth is that I have always been a sports fanatic. I am an ardent fan of all the Philadelphia sports teams, and I played soccer, baseball, and basketball throughout primary and secondary schools. But there was something quite different about the MMA.

My wife once asked me why I was attracted to MMA. I got to thinking about it, and I said, “These young men are doing something I could never do. And they are strong, brave warriors. It is a man-to-man sport like the days of the gladiators. There’s nothing else like it, not wrestling, not boxing, not kickboxing.”

I realized that my interest in MMA was akin to my attraction to so many things that men and women who use their hands for a living. My father was such a person. He was super intelligent and good with his hands. When my brothers and I were very young, my parents started a nursery school and day camp. My father built most of the benches and tables, the various structures in the playground, maintained and painted (every year) the two pools on the grounds, painted the wood fence surrounding the property with the help of his father, and every weekend cut the one and a half acres of lawn with a push mower. He was also a wonderful artist and would later become a renowned author of children’s history books.

My beautiful mother made all the food for the nursery school children and the campers, sometimes with the help of her mother (my grandmother), prepared the weekly schedule of educational and other events (my mother had a teaching degree), and always came up with creative arts and crafts projects and special holiday activities. My parents also arranged day trips to historical sites or parks or even bowling events. As I look back, they worked so hard and rarely had a break. And they did it for nearly twenty-years. My mother was the driving force behind the various small and modest businesses my parents would eventually start, the motivation for my father to continue his painting and writing, and gentle hand-prodding her sons to make the best of their educational opportunities.

I am eternally grateful to them and miss them every day.

This is a roundabout way of saying that from observing my parents, from a young age, I learned to admire people who work hard, and work with their hands. I understand that people with skills, who work with their hands, are some of the most intelligent people I have ever met or known, and among the most important people in supporting our way of life. The plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and so forth. When faced with a life-or-death situation, no one calls a college professor. They call the police department or fire department.

I marveled at the people who built my house from nothing, from the bottom up, into a complex, functioning home. When I worked full-time at Landmark Legal Foundation, before my broadcasting career, rather than eat lunch, I often drove to our building site and watched as one tradesman after another built different phases of our house. It seemed like organized chaos until you spent more time intently watching what they were doing. Each person had a special skill, knew exactly what they were to do, and moved fairly quickly and efficiently. I was mesmerized. I could watch them for hours at a time. Sometimes I did.

These are the people who make America work. Some have called them the “forgotten Americans.” There’s no doubt about that. But for me, I will never forget them and will always admire them.

Mark Levin is the host of LevinTV and co-founder of Blaze Media. A nationally syndicated talk radio host and chairman of Landmark Legal Foundation, he is the author of eight consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers.