For some reason, Herc gets onto the subject of what his life was like before the Jaeger program, when he was still married, when Chuck was just a little thing. They had been happy, back before his wife got breast cancer and wasted away before his eyes, leaving him alone with a hyperactive little kid who grew up to be a stranger.

He doesn't really get into that part, though, focusing more on the happier moments of his life, which segues into concerts he went to with his wife, which segues into the music he listens to. That's a fairly safe topic of conversation.