What If Healing Is Control You Take Back

The jokes land fast, but the truth lands harder. We pull back the curtain on how narcissism doesn’t end with parents—grandparents can cross lines too, using children’s stories or medical needs to win attention, favors, even faster restaurant tables. That’s not quirky family drama; it’s exploitation. We talk through the damage it causes, how to set boundaries that actually hold, and the real-world signs that tell you it’s time to pull the plug on access.

From there we get practical. Victoria reads prompts from her new healing workbook on life after narcissistic abuse, sharing why survivors overwork, how identity gets tangled in roles, and what it feels like when safety finally returns to your body. We revisit a harrowing NICU memory to show how institutions often misread trauma—calm abusers are believed, panicked victims are questioned—and how journaling can help you reclaim facts and voice before systems try to tidy your story. It’s raw, it’s specific, and it leads to tools you can use today.

We balance the heavy with hope: a new humanitarian award, a call for sponsors who believe in survivor advocacy, and a live read from the Stucco Squad children’s series that teaches little ones to “choose your brave” in simple, everyday moments. There’s golden retriever love, craft bracelets, and shoutouts to upcoming guests whose humor and heart keep us going. We also reflect on public figures who quietly serve—visiting children’s hospitals, standing up in court—and why that kind of integrity matters for anyone rebuilding after abuse.

If you’re tired of being told to calm down while the abuser charms the room, you’ll feel seen here. Come for the candor, stay for the tools: boundary scripts, reflective questions, and proof that messy truths still change lives. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs strength today, and leave a review telling us the boundary you’re ready to enforce. Your brave counts.

Transcript

Banter, Awards, And Housekeeping

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Good evening and welcome to another episode of a contagious smile unstoppable. We have the redneck and the redhead. Hi there. Mr. I'm healing from a gunshot wound.

SPEAKER_03 0:14

I did have a gunshot wound.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

You had a flipping. It wasn't even a graze.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

A projectile exited someone else's gun.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Okay, the word graze is bigger than the little millimeter of a little dinky-doo that's there. Hi everyone. Welcome. By the time this gets out, we would have just celebrated International Woman's Day. Yeah. So there you have it.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

Is it Men's Day?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Every day is a man's day.

SPEAKER_03 0:41

Damn right. That's how it should be.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Because y'all are pain in the ever-loving ass.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

No, that's your daughter.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Who just told us what she wanted for her birthday?

SPEAKER_03 0:48

Oh, yeah. Let's not go there. Ever.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Yeah. She's got this thing about tarantulas.

SPEAKER_03 0:54

I I I would have rather motorcycles. Okay, yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

No. Yes. Okay, but no motorcycles. Absolutely not. No.

SPEAKER_03 1:08

Woman's day. My wife got nominated for good gun.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

I did not get okay. It was not a nomination.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

No, I'm sorry. You were awarded.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Okay, but not nominated.

SPEAKER_03 1:18

This this title that is 18,000 words. It is not. It's what is it? Victoria Cure, best lifetime humanitarian for survivor advocacy and empowerment in the U.S. of 2026. Now, how about that, y'all?

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yay!

unknown 1:44

Shh.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

By who? Who awarded me this? Um you don't even remember.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

I don't even remember. Women's CEO Times.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yeah, that's like a big thing. I didn't even know about them. Sorry, no disrespect.

SPEAKER_03 1:58

So thank you, CEO Times.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Yeah, and they did an article and everything. I didn't even know about it or just kind of.

SPEAKER_03 2:08

If any of you multimillionaires out there want to help keep us open, we would love to sponsor Victoria and keep her going and help promote a contagious smile and the academy and all the books that are out there. Please contact us and you can be our sponsor.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Because we can't keep going at the level we're going and we're funding it ourselves. That's that's kind of challenging. That is for sure. So we did record our episode with the amazing Joshua Hess.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

Dr. Joe.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Oh, good God. He's hilarious. I would like to, and he follows our show. So, my good friend, I would like to invite you to come on more often. It took me like a year or two years to get him to come on. So I'm putting out the invitation now. So maybe we can get him by the end of the year again. I'd like to have a monthly, honestly. I I mean, he's just a freaking riot. He's hysterical. He really is. And the radio voice is just perfect. It's so like, and you know, I think I'm really honestly, I'm okay with the fact that you two have a like little sexy bromance going on, you know? Like it's kind of fun to sit back and watch the two of you like drool over one another.

SPEAKER_03 3:29

It's nice that he's confident in his masculinity.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

As are you, because it's you know, he's offered to deliver the baby for you.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

Are you saying I'm fat?

SPEAKER_01 3:40

No, he said you were pregnant.

SPEAKER_03 3:42

So both y'all saying I'm fat.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

I didn't say it. He said you were pregnant with quadruplets.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

I only weigh 280. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

What did you date? What did you weigh when we dated?

SPEAKER_03 3:53

Like 225-ish.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

So that's that's what, 60 pounds of sympathy weight?

SPEAKER_01 4:01

Sympathy weight for what? I will call Faith.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

No, leave that one alone.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Sympathy weight for what?

SPEAKER_03 4:08

Being with y'all.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

So you need sympathy to be with us, is what you're saying. I will call our child up here so fast.

SPEAKER_03 4:18

Okay, listen, I didn't put my foot in my mouth.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Yeah, that's a big foot there, 16. So let me ask you a question. Will you give me an honest answer?

SPEAKER_03 4:27

Probably not.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Of course not. What's the name of your puppy you're getting?

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Oh, I can't tell you yet.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

We don't do that. You always say you don't keep secrets. So why would you be doing that now? Why won't you?

SPEAKER_03 4:40

I'll name her second chance. No.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

That doesn't even make sense in your world.

Family Jokes, Weight, And New Puppies

SPEAKER_03 4:48

I don't know. I'm I'm up in air between uh at least two names.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

The Emily Rose and Misty Rose. So you got rid of chicken.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Yeah, you can call it dog chicken.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Well, at first you said chicken noodle, and then you said they'll have nuggets.

SPEAKER_03 5:03

They'll have chicken nuggets. Yes, poopies.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

And like I can't. I I don't even know how, sometimes with you. Seriously.

SPEAKER_03 5:15

You married me.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

I did. I waited long enough.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

Well you had to. I was married before. Twice.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

When I dated you, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_03 5:25

No.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

So just I don't even have words. Really.

SPEAKER_03 5:33

Anyway. I know we're unscripted always. But do we have a subject to talk about tonight?

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Yes. Let's talk about stupid people that make my head hurt.

SPEAKER_03 5:47

Stupid people that make my head hurt.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

And I'm not talking about unintelligible, I guess I am talking about unintelligence, but I'm not talking about like in a mental capacity. I'm talking about people who do things that you just need to take a big cup of shut up, right? Like last night, as you guys have your movie night, right? And I they have movie night every Saturday night, and I absolutely love it. And we record on Sundays and Wednesdays. And so by the time you get this and hear it, it's at least Monday. But I was like, listen, it's that whole change your clock, mess up our whole system thing. And I am not gonna look at the clock at two and watch it go from two to three, right? Because that's just crazy. And so, of course, it's what happens. And our daughter, Faith, comes up and says, you know, can I talk to you for a minute? And she tries to get words in between his snoring. And she she tells me about some things that were said to her when she was little by my egg and sperm donor that just came to her out of nowhere. And quite frankly, I mean, I want Michael to be honest, you know, not that he wouldn't be anyway. It's stupid. I mean, it's stupid. You know, everybody who knows Faith knows that she has been through hell in a handbasket. She isn't a warrior. She is. I mean, she is amazing. She's overcome so much medically, it's unheard of. And anybody who's been through that and has the heart she has, it's like a diamond in the rough. Really. It really is. She's so spectacular and amazing. And one other thing about narcissistic people, and one thing we've never really talked about is narcissistic grandparents. Because they a lot of people wonder, are you going to be the same to the grandchild as you are to the children? And to learn that they said things that were so out of line and so wrong just to try to put boundaries that are not theirs to place is just unacceptable. I mean, it it is. And I what what is your take and thoughts on? You know, to say that, you know, the grandparents, um that doesn't eat that title doesn't even fit them because there's nothing grand about them and there's nothing parental about them. So, you know.

SPEAKER_03 8:17

You know, once they go through their own children, their own child, they they perfected it. So they know what to do when when it comes to the grandkids. And to use grandchildren who have medical conditions is absolutely below the bottom of the barrel. I mean, that that's just so wrong to put that child out in front of the public and say things like, Oh, look what I've had to deal with as as a grandfather.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

You had no idea what it's like to deal with.

SPEAKER_03 8:52

Right? Look at all the mess I've had to cover up or I've had to to pay for.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

But hasn't paid for it.

SPEAKER_03 8:59

I mean, let's be real, but didn't even and it's just it's just so low, you know. There I I wish there was a word for it, but I don't think there is.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

You could make up one. Super califragilistic expelled ocious.

Stupid People And Boundary Violations

SPEAKER_03 9:13

No, there's nothing super about them, superficial. See, it that's super assholes. Yeah, I don't know. But folks, don't don't don't use your loved ones as a way to get in to places or to get into someone's heart or someone's bed.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Like, oh, there's a wait, it's 45 minutes for you to come in and and get a table at the restaurant. Oh, I have a special needs granddaughter, and if she doesn't eat, then she could pass out and faint. Oh my god, sir, we'll get you the next table. Right. I mean, this was stuff that would be done in that duration of period of time, and that is so just ridiculous. Ridiculous, you know, and the thing is is we don't put two cents towards them or think about them in that aspect or regard, but she wanted to tell us what had come into her mind that she hadn't thought about in a while. And, you know, we always want her to come to us with anything and talk with us, and so that's what she did. And, you know, for the very short period of time, because it's been years and years, and then we had like a what three-week period of time that they talked to us because they wanted something, and it was you have no idea what it's like to take care of somebody that's going through this. And I said, Well, if your wife is so challenging, why don't you put her in a facility that'll care for her? I am not paying for that out of my money. Are you crazy? I'm not doing you know, and it was just you have no idea. Well, are you doing this? Are you doing this to care for her? Are you no, I'm not doing any of that? Nope, nope, I'm not doing that either. I'm not doing that, I'm not doing that. And it's and it's like, well, then how what are you complaining about? What are you bitching about? You know, for him to say you have no idea what it's like to take care of someone who's been through anything like this, and you just want to look at them and be like, is the light on? Is the light on in there? And it's not, and you know, they only come around when they want something, which is the same as your family, they've done the same thing. Like, we went years without hearing from your dad, and then we got a phone call that said, Hey, nobody wants me in. I need a place to go.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

Right. So, for those y'all listening, my wife has written several new books here recently. If you've read any of them, I would like to hear from you.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

That means you gotta check your email.

SPEAKER_03 11:45

I have one here. One of her books is Healing After Narcissistic Abuse. 101 Questions. Now, how relevant is that book?

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Pick up a book, uh, pick it up and pull a question out of nowhere.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

Hang on, I'll just put on my old man glasses.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

You gotta put it on your eyes.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

They're my red-headed wife.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

All right. And each part of the book is its own section, so you need to keep that in mind.

Narcissistic Grandparents And Exploiting Kids

SPEAKER_03 12:09

Page 203. The title reads, When they played when they played more than one role in your life. Question number 576. When you strip away every role you played for others, who are you at your core? And what qualities feel the most true to your spirit? Question 585. What does it feel like to imagine imagine living in life where you are no longer defined by what hurt you? Damn. Just damn.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Just go somewhere else in the book.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Pick something else out. Wow, that's all right. And you know, it's weird, not weird as in weird, weird, but like I'm one of these people, like for Christmas, I got everybody a book, Thousand of One Things, Would I Rather? And I love it because I wish my grandparents had done something like that because you could live on the tiniest memories of them. Like it asks a question, would you rather eat rice or potatoes with your chicken? Or, you know, and and it's a fun thing to do because it makes you remember like the little things. And you could pass that book on. And I had gotten everybody one for Christmas. And I just think that it's a way to really make you think and put things out. And once you put stuff down in writing and and it becomes more like more real. And so one of the things that I learned going through everything that I've been through was writing it out was therapeutic for me. But in the beginning, before my training and schooling and certifications and all that, I didn't know where to begin because I was like all over the place. Do I want to, you know, go about this? And oh my God, this is bringing a horrible memory back and this and that. So I did this book so that you could do it at your own pace. You could pick it up when you want, you could put it down when you want, and you can go back and reflect when you need to. And it lets you, who when I say this, is it's so important. It lets you be in control, which is something that we have not been in for a while until we get out and become survivors and warriors. So this gives you all of the control, it gives you all of the power, it gives you the ability to pick it up and work on it when you want and put it down and walk away when you need.

SPEAKER_03 14:38

So here's one question 757. What practical skills or strengths did you underestimate because they constantly minimize your abilities?

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Every single thing about myself.

SPEAKER_03 14:53

Right?

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Because I was never good enough. I never could accomplish enough. And, you know, one of the things I learned in one of my school courses was, and I I know where we're going with this, a person that and they and they asked this question Do any of you work like around the clock? Do any of you find yourself working when everybody else is doing other things? Like your friends, your family, they might be out doing other things. Are you constantly feeling the need to constantly work to get more accomplished? Absolutely. Like I think that's me to a T, right? And it's because we feel as if we've never been told we're good enough, we'll never accomplish enough, we're never gonna accomplish what we want, that kind of thing. And it's almost us pushing ourselves way above what's necessary. And I agree with that tenfold because I my husband will come in and be like, you need to take a break. I can't right now. I can't right now. I can't right now. I gotta work, I gotta work, I gotta work. And that's what I do. And I'm like, that's spot on. You know, when that three-week period of time, we'll talk about it on my end, when it was like five or six magazines that I was in, different magazines, and women's weekly, I was on the cover of their magazine during this period. My husband took them to my sperm and egg donor and said, Look, look at your daughter, look at all you know, she's accomplished, and this is only in like the last month. They never even touched one of the magazines, gentlemen, picked it up, right?

SPEAKER_04 16:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

They didn't even want to read the articles, they didn't want to see it, and they didn't even ask for a copy of it. They didn't say, Hey, I'm really proud. Can I have one of these? I've never heard I'm proud of you, ever, like from them on anything.

SPEAKER_03 16:41

Yeah. So here's one. 768. When you imagine feeling secure in your finances, home, or personal responsibilities, what changes within you?

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Why don't you answer that question?

Reading From The Healing Workbook

SPEAKER_03 17:00

Well, I mean, hell, you you you were you were in a narcissistic family where they controlled everything.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

They had the power, they they had the but I had my own money to kick you out of the they were getting compensated for us being there.

SPEAKER_03 17:18

Right. But but to know that they could kick you out at any time and you'd have to, you know, basically struggle to get by. I was struggling. It just to me that would be a very proud sense in inside me to know that hey, doing this on my own, doesn't matter what age you are, you know, life happens, you know, situations arise. We understand that.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Why don't you answer a question about yourself?

SPEAKER_03 17:45

Oh Lord, let me 801.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

801 just because it's my favorite number.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

That's what popped in your head? Sure. 801. What emotion do you feel ready to explore more openly? And what what makes that possible today? What emotion? Hmm. I would say love. What I love you. I love you.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Are you in love with me?

SPEAKER_03 18:21

I am love with you, woman. And I love that little girl down yonder. And unfortunately, I love these two dogs here too.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

And we're gonna get two more dogs that are sleeping completely through the night.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

But I didn't I didn't I didn't do love, right? I mean, as a teenager, you're gonna tell your first girlfriend, oh, I love you, right? It took me years to get you to say I love you. You're gonna say beginning. Right? Now I was in lust, but I wasn't in love. I married in lust the first twice. You were in lust with the first one? Well, I was fresh out of high school.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Okay, but but I saw what she looked like in the first at that age.

SPEAKER_03 19:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

And you were in lust with her?

SPEAKER_03 19:10

Back then.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Did you have glasses?

SPEAKER_03 19:12

No, I'm wearing glasses now. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

Did you need glasses?

SPEAKER_03 19:16

I probably did.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

Seriously?

SPEAKER_03 19:21

Seriously. So I think I think now that I'm able to admit that that I'm in love, even even with your spunky ass attitude, I'm still in love with you, woman. That's because I speak English. You're hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Well, most of yours didn't.

SPEAKER_03 19:36

Huh. I wonder how many people are laughing.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Well, you didn't even know the name of 80% of them.

SPEAKER_03 19:41

75. 80. You weren't there.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Yes, I was. I was just in a parking lot somewhere else without knowledge.

SPEAKER_03 19:48

Okay, you were there.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

I mean, you don't even remember 88% of their names.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

You're you're absolutely right.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

That is so sad.

SPEAKER_03 19:56

It is sad, and I and I've regretted it.

SPEAKER_01 19:58

That is so sad. I'm not sure. But you know what? That is not necessarily a reflection. It's partially a reflection of you, but a lot to do with your parents. You know that, right?

SPEAKER_04 20:09

Yeah. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Because first of all, your mom's a whore, and everybody I've ever met has said that, including your dad. Well, maybe like sometimes it skips generations because I think I'm more of a prude, and I grew up with the the error of my grandparents, right? Like, no matter what, you would never see me dressing inappropriately or whatever. I would never wear anything that I wouldn't want my child to wear, right? Yeah, and so that's you know, really important. And I I just I don't know, it's kind of like you you pick up a lot of habits based on on your upbringing, right? And thank God I picked up a lot of my grandparents' habits. But your mom and dad were both put in the adjective. Same no good.

SPEAKER_03 21:03

Promiscuous.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

That's a big word for both of them.

SPEAKER_03 21:06

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

They were both what promiscuous. I'm helping you, I'm doing therapy for you right now. You would, but when you're not on air, you say another word that doesn't even have four letters in it. Whores? That's more than four letters. You say hoe, but whatever. I mean, you you learn by that, and that that bothers me because it makes me realize that you didn't have a lot of self-esteem growing up, and that's horrible.

SPEAKER_03 21:34

Oh God, if you had known me as a teenager, I had none.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

But see, the thing is, and what I love about faith is faith will walk up and be like, I know I'm hot, I know I'm beautiful, because there's not a day that goes by I do not tell her that she is not gorgeous, she is beautiful inside and out, and she's stunning. She is, but there is, you know, a big difference. And like when I was in in high school. I never got asked out. You saw pictures of me in high school. I never got asked out. Why are you making that face?

SPEAKER_03 22:06

Because you look good.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

I was white. You're still white. Right, but back then you you like folks, the the running joke here. It's not a joke. It's an actual. It's oh, let me do it. Ready, Josh? Are you ready? Oh, that's a fact.

SPEAKER_03 22:22

All right, Josh. I preferred a buffet non-white women. A buffet in my past life.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Of Latino, Asian, Filipino. He's been all over the UN. So I'm like the only white woman.

SPEAKER_03 22:45

There were some other white women.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

You made them lesbians and bus drivers.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

And oh, that's a fact. There, Dr. Joe. I have made a couple women lesbians.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

Including our daughter.

SPEAKER_03 23:00

Okay, let's let's put that in in reference, okay?

SPEAKER_01 23:03

She said that because you were such a slut whore, that she has insecurities that a man could be faithful to her. And she said that that made her a lesbian. Even though we know it wasn't what made her a lesbian, but she likes to blame him for it. So, you know.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

And I'm okay with that, y'all. Okay with my daughter being gay.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Lesbian. Gay is male, lesbian is female.

SPEAKER_03 23:26

Whatever. To me, it's the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

No. So when my brother had his first excitement about you, that's Did you have to go there? Well, you know, that's that's complimentary. No, it's I don't think so.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

Why? He didn't touch you, maybe in his mind. For me to know that another man had a wet dream about me, no, that's not complimentary for me.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

You were smoking hot by then. And and he had a fact. It is a fact. He has good taste, apparently, because he thought you were all that in the donut bag of chips you came with.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

Because I was a cop.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

He just wanted to see your nightstick.

SPEAKER_03 24:06

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_01 24:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

So be sure to check out my wife's award in the very beginning of this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

No, I it's on victoriacurie.com and we're trying to live.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

It is.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

That website is updated often.

Why Writing Heals After Abuse

SPEAKER_03 24:30

Great place to go to pick up some of her latest books that she's written. Y'all, this woman is a machine. She goes phenomenal. And uh some of her writing is I know I'm a big tough guy, but some of her writing has made me teary-eyed. What? Because it's it's just beautiful the way she writes. She writes for these magazines, she writes books.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

Okay, hold on. I don't write for all the magazines. Like I don't write for the magazine that I was just on the cover on or anything like that.

SPEAKER_03 25:01

But you write for four?

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Four magazines, four different magazines.

SPEAKER_03 25:05

But you've been in nine, ten? I've been in eleven. Eleven. See, I ain't got that many damn toes yet.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

I don't have that many fingers. Ha ha. So I am currently, of course you are, working on another book I started yesterday.

unknown 25:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

And it's talking about life after domestic violence, like the emotional and psychological trauma that comes with domestic violence. What happens after you leave? So many people think, oh, you're out now. We don't have to hear about it anymore. You know, why did you choose to stay? Why didn't you leave? Blah, blah, blah. And they think because you walked out and shut the door on the relationship, that all of it is behind you, which is the biggest crack of crap you've ever heard in your life, because that is absolutely not the case. And this book will really give you the inside of what it is, how to expect, what to expect, that kind of thing. Yeah, I started it yesterday and I'm figuring out that it's gonna I know, I know he's gonna say this. I'm guessing it's gonna be about 12 chapters by the time it's done.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

I'm waiting on him to say, and what chapter are you already writing?

SPEAKER_03 26:25

That's what 350 pages.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

I don't know. I don't know how much it was like. No, I'm almost finished with chapter 10.

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Unfortunately. I'm almost done with chapter 10. You got one hand. Yeah. I type 45 words a minute. How do you start a book yester yonder? Yestery?

Interrogations, NICU Memories, And System Failures

SPEAKER_01 26:56

And almost completed by because I work crazy. I worked on this book like six hours last night. And then and it it's easier, like I honest to God, really believe that if I ever wrote like, you know, a a fic a fiction book, it would take me months and months and months. Like my the fact that it's all of truth is why it's so easy for me, because it just flows and it's all true, and it's all what to expect and what will happen and you know, things like that. So it just flows because it's natural and it's the realization of what happens when you go through this, right? But if I was to write like some book that's fictitious, I think it would take me. He doesn't write on a computer. He writes on napkins and paper and and stuff like that. But I think if I was to write a fictitious book, it would take me forever because I couldn't remember the characters, you know, right off the bat. I would have to have like cheat sheets of each character and who they are, what they look like, you know, whatever, whatever. I think I'd be very repetitive in my book because I wouldn't remember what I had said previously. But when it's all factual, it just comes and flows and is, you know, right as rain. So it just makes sense. And I think that's why it's easier for me. Like when I did my first book, my memoir, Who Kicked First, you know, it took me 10 years. Well, it took me 10 years because I didn't have the cojones to get it out. Number one. Number two is I started it when Faith was in the NICU. And it was because I was being integrated, I was being I can't even talk. I was being interrogated. Interrogated, thank you. I was being interrogated left, right, and center from everybody from the police to lawyers to CID to you name it. It was happening. And it was who saw him break your nose? Where were you then? What were you wearing? What time of day was it? What you know, what was the weather? And nobody knows what freaking weather it is when your face is bashed up. I'm sorry, but you don't. And so, and more importantly, I'm sitting there with my daughter, right? Who is fighting for her life at that moment. I'm in a wheelchair, I'm all disfigured everywhere. And the one thing is I am not going to tell you who is at my nine o'clock, three o'clock, one o'clock. I don't know because I'm not paying attention to that. I'm paying attention to the fact that I'm yet again getting nobody to be on my side and help me and protect me and my unborn child at that point. So I started to write on my laptop. I started to cry and scream into the keyboard, is what I did. And that was my therapy. I was all alone. I had no one. No one was sitting with me, no one was holding my hand. And I was praying on constant repeat that if my daughter survived, I offered my soul to Satan for eternity. I did. I literally said, I will be damned to hell for my entire afterlife if you let me have this life here with her, because I know I'm meant to be a mom, save her, and I will sacrifice myself. And I did. I said that all the time because that little girl was and still is my heart. And I didn't have anybody to sit there with me while I cried. And she was in a medically induced coma, and you couldn't stimulate her. And so I had rattle socks on her. So if she moved, her little feet would rattle. And all I could do is let her hold my pinky. I couldn't rub her hand, I couldn't do anything. So I sang to her all the time. I read stories to her. I told her all about my grandparents, you know, and how the picture over her head and that little incubator were and still remain her guardian angels, and that they are there to protect her. We prayed together all day long. I had the chaplain in there praying with me every single day. And it was just nobody was there to help me. Like, you know, I had a dear friend who it was weeks and weeks after that I had him come up and help. And it was like my brother, he would not my actual brother, but like he was a best friend, like brother, who has committed suicide. And I've talked about it on the show before only a few years ago. And he would go do my laundry for me and bring me up clothes. And you know, this was somebody that I made her uncle. And you know, the only real fight we ever had was give me his address, right? And I was not going to be tied to that. Nope. You know, I'm human and I'm not perfect, and I'm not one to provide karma, but I do want to hear about it, right? I'm not gonna be the cause of it, I'm not gonna be the reason that it transpires, but I like to hear it, you know, I'm not perfect. And so I started to to put thoughts down, you know, about certain things and you know what day. And so, like one specific time I remember I was being interrogated, and I was, and my husband will tell you, I still get chronic, horrific headaches. I have what's called secondary concussion syndrome from all of the concussions I had. And one of the times I was being interrogated, I literally remember faith was starting to code and I heard, you know, code blue, and I literally had like stepped out of the room. I mean, she she was in the NICU and they had private rooms and then they had one big room. And I was maybe five feet from the door of her room with her door open, so I could see her because when I was being interrogated, I didn't even want her to hear what was going on, but I could visually see her. And when they coded, when she coded, I immediately tried to go back in the room and they were like, no, you need to answer our question, you need to answer a question. And I had given them the wrong date and it was off by a day, right? So instead of like he broke my nose on March 18th, I had said March 17th or whatever, right? And it was, oh, you got the day wrong, so maybe it wasn't even him who did it, maybe somebody else broke your nose. I know what he looked like, you know. I know it was him, and I, you know, the thing is that if somebody is on the stand or if somebody is being interrogated or somebody is being questioned, if they got every single answer spot on dead true, then there is something a little wonky about it. I got the day wrong. I was wrong. I'm human. I made that mistake. Yeah, I'm sorry. You know, I'm watching my daughter code, she's turning gray. I don't give one rat's ass that you're standing here interrogating me at this time. You can take a, you know, hop off a bridge for all I care at this point. What matters to me is five feet right there. And you get interrogated constantly. Well, why isn't anybody interrogating him? Why didn't anybody asking him? So when you have the opportunity to write things down, do it right, go do it. I tell people a lot of the time if you have like a big trash can or a dumpster, take a glass and then get like three or four black trash bags and put the trash bags in each other and in each other and each in each other, and then take the glass and put it in the trash bag, and then just throw it inside of the dumpster, right? So if it shatters, it's not gonna be at you, it's gonna be all in that glass and that trash bag, and you have enough plies in there that it won't come through and cut you and help release your stress, right? And the fact that people that are abusers, and you can testify to this all day long, when they when an officer goes to the scene, they're so calm, right? At that point, 99% of the time, they're so calm while the victim is like, this is what he did again, and he's gonna get, you know, and they look at us like we're hostile. They look at us like we're, you know, the mouthy ones while they're just chilling with a beer, cutting up with the officer. And so we're the ones that, you know, are the ones they need to look at. And the whole dimension of how domestic violence is handled as a whole in this country is bent. That's my four-letter word, and it's not the one I would like to say. It's not because nothing from it occurring at all, it shouldn't happen at all, number one, all the way to attempting to get help, to getting refuge, to getting release, never ever comes easily. It's always an issue, and you just can't seem to get someone to take care of you the way you deserve.

SPEAKER_03 35:43

For those of y'all interested in her backstory, go to victoriacure.com and grab that book she was just mentioning. Who kicked first? Those are her memoirs of what was transpiring back then, what happened and because she lived it, it is the truth. It's not fictional, it's something that she went through. And it is very hard to read, but you will learn more about Victoria.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

You'll learn a little bit about faith and the thing is is is as hard as it is to read, it was incredibly healing for me to do it. And I've never reread the book. I've said that numerous times.

SPEAKER_03 36:31

I've never read it to begin with.

Memoir Truths, Imperfect Grammar, Real Impact

SPEAKER_01 36:33

I've never reread it. Her initial godmother, who was a doctor, read it, and she'd be like, Oh my god, I'm on this page. And I'm like, tell me a sentence of the page, and she'd tell me, and then I would just say, Oh, the da da da da da. And she's like, looks at me and she goes, You don't have a copy of the book. I'm like, I don't need it. And she's like, This is verbatim, like verbatim. My therapist that I saw for and have been seeing for decades would say something, and she's like, You tell me the same story, verbatim, in detail every time there's not anything off. And it's because it's the truth. And you don't have to recall the truth, the truth is there, you don't have to try to remember exactly what happened because you know. And I couldn't edit who kicked first. And so one of the very first things in the book is an apology for the grammatical errors because it is not formatted like the rest of the books, it's not in order of like it's not like a book you would get at Barnes and Noble's or you know, anything like that, because it's not how it was written. It was written as a journal, it was never written to be released. And I had a respiratory therapist saying, You're doing an injustice if you don't put it out there. And I realized that maybe that person was right. And then when I did a speaking engagement and someone said your book saved my life, it was worth it just for that, right there. And so the book is not grammatically correct. I understand that. But then again, if you really read the book and you see what I endured and what I went through, now that I've had people tell me about it, I would honestly say that if the book was grammatically correct with the correct punctuation and you know, paragraphs and spacing and things like that, to me, it wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be the same, and that's why over all the years, one of the two reasons, I honestly never re-released it. Because number one, I'd have to read it to correct the grammar. I'd have to reread it to put the paragraphs in correct form. And I don't think I could. I don't think I could go through it and read it again. I can't. I reread everything I write except that.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

So y'all be sure to get a copy of Who Kicked First. It's on Amazon, it's through our website, it's also on victoriacuree.com.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

Are you about to fall asleep again?

SPEAKER_03 38:44

No, I my eyes are burning. It's the fan.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

It's not the fan.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

It is the fan.

SPEAKER_01 38:49

No, it's not.

SPEAKER_03 38:50

It's Paulin.

unknown 38:51

From what?

SPEAKER_01 38:52

It's allergic. Hey, you know what you could do? You could take the book right there and take a moment and read a page or two from our new release of Stucco Squad, book one.

SPEAKER_03 39:04

Oh, let me grab it.

SPEAKER_01 39:05

He's the best story reader.

SPEAKER_03 39:07

No, I suck at it. Huh? I get tongue tied. Good thing these are children's books.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Then you should be fine.

SPEAKER_03 39:13

I need a pop-up. I can read that. I bet you would like a pop-up. Alright, choose your brave. Book one in the Stucco Squad series.

SPEAKER_01 39:20

Tell them about the cover and the back cover, because I think they're so cute.

SPEAKER_03 39:23

An interactive book where you decide what to do. We got little Miss Rosie. Thing there. Rosie. Red hair and her super cape and purple glasses. Yes. Besides Stucco, who also has a cape.

SPEAKER_01 39:39

Stucco's the best. Hib and Rusty Room.

SPEAKER_03 39:41

He's written by Victoria Cure. You didn't put in there that I edited.

SPEAKER_01 39:47

You didn't. You didn't even see the book until it was done.

SPEAKER_03 39:51

Alright. He's so full of it. See, my eyes burning because of the fan.

SPEAKER_01 39:56

Whatever.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

The lights turn off at bedtime. Your room feels very quiet. Your tummy feels a little wiggly. What could you do? What?

SPEAKER_01 40:08

Everybody can see this because first of all, he's wearing a contagious smile unstoppable podcast t-shirt that we have. And next thing you know, he's he's reading it like your tummy is a little wiggly. And he's rubbing his belly like, ooh, it's a little wiggly.

SPEAKER_03 40:23

This is animated.

unknown 40:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 40:25

I know I wrote it. What could you do? A hug your stuffed animal. B turn on a small nightlight. C take three slow deep breaths. D. Call for someone you trust. I choose my brave. And which one would you choose? I would. If you took three breaths, you'd be asleep. The lights went out. You'd be asleep. And my tongue is wiggly. Your tongue is wiggly. I'm gonna call for someone to turn on the light to go get me something to eat.

SPEAKER_01 41:03

Oh my lord in heaven. Alright, pick another page throughout the books. I love this book. I love these books. I think they're fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 41:10

They're fine. They're really good for kids. Alright. Uh-oh is the title. I've had a few uh oh's before. This one time.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

At Bandcamp, when you crapped on yourself at Chick-fil-A. See, we're always on the same page. Always.

SPEAKER_03 41:27

It was it was on the same wall, the ceiling, the stall, the toilet.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

Did you clean it up after? No, you had the whole ass. You made some poor kid clean up your shit? What what are you supposed to do? Clean it up.

SPEAKER_03 41:42

Anyway.

SPEAKER_01 41:43

You are nasty. That's a hazmat situation.

SPEAKER_03 41:48

You're right, it was.

SPEAKER_01 41:50

I'm glad you weren't at Wendy's leaving a frosty.

SPEAKER_03 41:52

Here we go. You turn around.

SPEAKER_01 41:54

Wait.

SPEAKER_03 41:59

Why are you cackling over there? You turn around and f our listeners won't animated stories.

SPEAKER_01 42:10

You're jumping and your whole physicality is changing, but they can't see it.

SPEAKER_03 42:15

You turn around. Wait! Where did they go? The shelves look taller. The lights feel brighter. Your heart goes thump thump thump thump. What does it go? Thump thump thump thump thump. What could you do? A stay right where you are. Please. B look for someone with a name tag.

SPEAKER_01 42:38

Because somebody could see you spinning around looking.

SPEAKER_03 42:41

C. Say, I need help.

SPEAKER_01 42:44

Yes, you do.

SPEAKER_03 42:46

D, take one slow breath, and remember, you are not alone. Dun dun dun. I choose my brave. What do you choose? It's got a picture of a little girl standing in what looks like to be the supermarket aisle with her little dog Stucco. And she's turning around like, where did my parents go? Where's my mommy? My dad.

SPEAKER_01 43:11

Look who came up. My stucco.

SPEAKER_03 43:14

There's Stucco. Come to the rescue. Good boy. I choose Stucco. Hi, buddy.

SPEAKER_01 43:19

Come here, baby.

SPEAKER_03 43:20

Come on. Let me lift up the microphone cord.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

He's Stucco butt, baby. He's a mama's boy. That's right. Come to mama.

SPEAKER_03 43:27

He's a big fat mama's boy.

Children’s Series: Stucco Squad Live Read

SPEAKER_01 43:29

Front door.

SPEAKER_03 43:31

A couple too many treats. So this is great for you and your your little ones. If you're a dad like me, this is great.

SPEAKER_01 43:40

And then it's not big words. You'll be fine.

SPEAKER_03 43:42

That's right. So y'all pick up the stucco squad series. Victoria Cure.

SPEAKER_01 43:47

Did you really just throw it down like that?

SPEAKER_03 43:49

Well, I kind of flopped it.

SPEAKER_01 43:51

And this is for ages. Uh you would know this if you did edit the book, Mr. Fancy Pants. Doesn't it say? Yes, it does. It's four to eight.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

I keep forgetting that.

SPEAKER_01 44:01

And then the next series is called Michael's talented tongue? No. Toga party. Oh yeah. People are loving that toga. It no, it's the Stucco Society. And in book Stucco Society. Yeah, it's like a club. And in book 11, stop it. In book 11 of the Stucco Squad, they graduate into the society. And so we start talking for kids seven to ten about other issues that are a little more age appropriate.

SPEAKER_03 44:35

Oh, I see.

SPEAKER_01 44:36

And then we're going to go to the next age group.

SPEAKER_03 44:38

Of course you are.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

And the next age group. And then the next age group.

SPEAKER_03 44:42

Until they're all doctors, lawyers, and scientists. Oh my. Stucco's getting his neck scratched right now, y'all. He's a good dog. So we have two female puppies coming here.

SPEAKER_01 44:53

They're going to be candy canes. Stucco and Rusty are because Stucco and Rusty are the rare red golden retrievers. And our two new girls that are coming, which must be really odd for you, are both white.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

They're blanket.

SPEAKER_01 45:08

They're white. They're both purebred white golden retrievers. And so white and red are the candy canes. So how cute are they? You're gonna have way too you I don't think you've ever had that many white people around.

SPEAKER_03 45:23

Ha ha, you're hilarious. I'm just saying. So yeah. Grab them books up, y'all. My wife's obviously she can write the hell out of a book, but that's beside the point. She put a lot of heart and soul into these. Come on, you can go.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

It's my boy. He got mama's baby. He's a good boy. Unlike his daddy. He's not right. What does Stucco do when you try to get close to mommy? It's so fun.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

Oh, Stucco pushes me away. He is super jealous.

SPEAKER_01 45:56

He loves his mama.

SPEAKER_03 45:57

I can't hug or kiss my wife without this boy getting in between us.

SPEAKER_01 46:00

And Rusty, what does Rusty do? He's so gentle. He's a big boy. Right in the no noise.

SPEAKER_03 46:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:10

Rusty's big. His paw has always been like bigger than my hand. It's always he's a big boy. But with us, he is a gentle giant. That's what very gentle. That's what Faith calls him. It's a gentle giant. But you come anywhere near us, and that dog is like no joke. You would think he's like a pit bull. He don't play around. But y'all especially Faith, he's so protective of Faith.

SPEAKER_03 46:33

Don't miss through what my wife's saying about Golden Retriever. Oh my god, they're the best dog. So docile.

SPEAKER_01 46:39

There are babies. There are babies.

SPEAKER_03 46:41

They got a good good bark.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

It's very loud. That comes up. Very loud bark.

SPEAKER_03 46:46

But they're just general that they've never done anything wrong.

SPEAKER_01 46:50

No, they're amazing, but they're very protective of who they love, too. They're very sweet. They're very sweet. So what are you gonna accomplish this week?

SPEAKER_03 46:59

Oh, we've we started making some more bracelets.

SPEAKER_01 47:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:04

We're gonna be officially putting them out there this week.

SPEAKER_01 47:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 47:09

And we'll let folks know how they can get some.

SPEAKER_01 47:12

How they can get some.

SPEAKER_03 47:15

Come get some.

unknown 47:17

What?

SPEAKER_01 47:17

It sounds like a tarantula talking.

SPEAKER_03 47:19

No. It's red neck talk.

SPEAKER_01 47:23

So you're making bracelets. I think you need to make like a round and have a golden retriever puppy on it. I think that would be huge. Right, baby?

SPEAKER_00 47:32

Yeah. You're such a handsome boy. You're such a handsome boy. You wanna say hi, Stucco? Say hi. You give kisses. You give in kisses. Such a good baby. Why are you looking at me like that?

SPEAKER_03 47:45

Because I love you. Oh can you say that on air?

SPEAKER_00 47:50

I love you. Like a fat kid loves cake. I love you. So now I'm fat. No, I didn't say you. I said like a fat kid loves cake.

SPEAKER_03 48:02

Yeah. And I love cake. Well. Are you saying I love to eat?

SPEAKER_00 48:09

You do like chocolate cake.

SPEAKER_03 48:11

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 48:15

Let's not go there.

SPEAKER_00 48:16

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 48:17

That's my shit. What? And then that's all. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. That's my shit. What are you trying to sing? I don't know. I'm gonna keep my day job. What is that? So, Dr. Joe! Obviously.

SPEAKER_01 48:32

Dr. Joe. It's not Dr. Joe. It's Joshua Hess.

SPEAKER_03 48:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 48:43

And Hello my friend. Everything doesn't have to be scripted. Doesn't have to be correctly on the timeline.

SPEAKER_01 49:02

That's why he's overdue for delivery.

SPEAKER_02 49:07

Just get on there and do it, my friend. I have faith in you, buddy.

SPEAKER_03 49:15

And for those of y'all who want to know how to start podcasting, my wife has put out a course. On the academy.

SPEAKER_01 49:21

Of course, she has put out a course.

SPEAKER_03 49:23

Needle baby. So y'all jump on the academy. A contagious smile.mn.co. That's a contagious smile. Mn c dot it. I slaughtered it.

SPEAKER_01 49:42

Yeah, try again. But look at this.

SPEAKER_03 49:44

You can uh get on the official website of a contagious smile.com and the academy is one of the tabs up in the top. Top what? Up in the top. Where? So top. You change it all the time.

Goldens, Bracelets, And Small Joys

SPEAKER_01 49:57

Do not you haven't checked. Because you know, you go, you sound like beaker. You sound like beaker when you're like that was not beaker.

SPEAKER_03 50:05

That's not beaker.

SPEAKER_01 50:06

Uh-huh. What does beaker sound like?

SPEAKER_03 50:07

Not like that.

SPEAKER_01 50:08

What does beaker sound like? Okay, fine, whatever. But that's what you sound like. Or you could be like a minion. I love my minions. I was thrilled when I got to kiss my minion on the make-a-wish trip. That was the shit. I got to kiss a minion. And Faith got to beat up Vector. Like her and Vector was like, yeah. And I walked up and I was like, ooh, I get to kiss a minion. And he went, mm, mmm, mm. And I was like, oh yeah. And I deserved it after having to go over to SpongeBob in the stupid pants. Hate that thing. Yeah, he grabbed my butt.

SPEAKER_03 50:50

I thought it was Patrick.

SPEAKER_01 50:51

No, I stood next to Patrick because I told SpongeBob, shouldn't you be like, you know, in a trash compact by now? And it's child labor laws because you're a kid and you're working underage. You know, you should be like 1,800 pounds. I hate Spongebob square pants. I think it's dumb. And if you can only imagine my six three husband, six foot three husband, walking through a parking lot when we dated back in 1810 and saying, We're gonna go to a movie. And here I am, all excited that I'm going to a movie with my hot boyfriend. And he walks up in a bright ass yellow. And I mean yellow.

SPEAKER_04 51:24

That's yellow.

SPEAKER_01 51:25

Yellow, yellow, Spongebob, square pants, t-shirt. And oh my god. Oh my god. I think I stopped right where I was and I said, You've got to be kidding me. And you're like, no, we're gonna go see SpongeBob. Are you kidding me right now? You never let me pick a movie in the theater ever. Now I know why. It's because you had freaking frat and all the other ones. So I didn't now I know why you didn't let me pick any of them. But we sat in Spongebob and I said, Oh great, I'm gonna go to sleep because I cannot believe you're making me. We're the only ones in there. And the whole time you sang every song in my ear as loud as you possibly could. You were so excited, you even got up and shaked your booty rump with the SpongeBob. I wanted to crawl under the seat. Luckily, nobody was there. But you thought it was a downright riot. It was hilarious. You loved it. You were such a belt SpongeBob. It was just yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:26

Are you done?

SPEAKER_01 52:28

Maybe now. Wait, one more. Ugh, yeah. I'm good.

SPEAKER_03 52:33

What else you got for us, Victoria?

SPEAKER_01 52:35

I am going to be on a live show tomorrow night for Mputees as the guest speaker, and that's very exciting. And got a lot of stuff going on. We get our puppy Saturday.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

What about our guest speaker we just had on the other night? We've been talking about Dr. Joe.

SPEAKER_01 52:55

His podcast will come out here in the next few weeks. And Amir will be joining very, very soon. We have our date scheduled, and then we'll see how fast I release that one. I'm so excited. You don't understand. It's like a little kid at Christmas, right? And I can't wait because he's so much fun. He's so much fun. I've gone back and looked looked at all the videos he sent Faith and I, and and I mean his personality is just amazing. He's hilarious.

SPEAKER_03 53:30

And I would like to see him how he is on Broadway. Oh I'm sure he's a riot there.

SPEAKER_01 53:35

I would love to see him perform live. Like, seriously. I would love for him to be, you know, bringing my book to life, but I just don't know who he would be. I would love to have him in this in the book. But I don't ever want to see him as like an idiot, you know? Maybe he could play you.

unknown 53:54

Maybe.

SPEAKER_01 53:55

I like him as a cop.

SPEAKER_00 53:57

Well, that's what the blacklist is for.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

He's played a doctor. Well, yeah. Can you even say his name from where he was in the blacklist? Do you know his last name on the show?

SPEAKER_03 54:08

Amir Mushtbai. Did I say it right? A Ram Mustabai. He was Y'all forgive him on written if I can talk right.

Academy, Podcasting Course, And Minion Tales

SPEAKER_01 54:20

He is a stellar, stellar actor. Phenomenal. I'm like so excited to have that opportunity. Maybe you'll be invited, but he's co-hosting, at least with me and Faith.

SPEAKER_00 54:32

That's fine.

SPEAKER_01 54:33

No, you could partake. You can you can say hi, maybe. No.

unknown 54:39

Ha ha.

SPEAKER_01 54:39

No, if it was, you know, James Spader or you know, Johnny Depp, whatever. Do you know I just learned something about Johnny Depp that I did not know?

SPEAKER_03 54:53

That's unfathomable.

SPEAKER_01 54:55

Eric Dane, who is mixed steamy, who just died from ALS, who did the most amazing, you know, interview that he did not want released until he passed, right? And the end was like six and a half minutes of a message to his daughters, and it was tear-jerking. Like it was the sweetest thing. You have to watch it. Like, I know you're not gonna, like, you need to watch it. It's you need to love. Like, you really people, everybody needs to watch this. The authenticity of it. It's so genuine and loving. And more men need to do this kind of thing for their, especially for their daughters. It is so this is what we're gonna do when we're finished recording. You gotta watch it. It's so sweet. I found out that Johnny Depp, for unless this is false, which I don't believe it would be because this is exactly something that Johnny Depp would do. He had him live with him and he helped take care of him while he was going through this last bit.

SPEAKER_04 55:46

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:46

This is what the the people were saying is that he was, you know, right there helping him. And that's just, you know, I mean, he gets such a bad rap for so many things. But look at all the stuff he does. Look at all the heart Johnny Depp has. I mean, come on now. He always talks about what a loving experience it is that everywhere he goes, he brings Captain Jack. And he doesn't ask, he just shows up at the hospital. He just shows up. And he he says, it's not fair that he gets that feeling of satisfaction. He wants to pass it on to the kids. But instead, he gets such a great feeling from being able to go and do that. And what a gift that is. I mean, to go in and do that, and he doesn't want the recognition for who he is. He wants to go in and make a kid smile. That's all he wants, right? I mean, what a stand-up person. And then to go through everything he's been through, he has had, you know, some his best friend, one of his best friends was River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose. And everything that he's gone through just and and he keeps he keeps going. He's just an amazing person. Yes, he's had his ups and downs, but who hasn't? Who hasn't, you know, had some run of bad luck? Why did you wink at my dog?

SPEAKER_03 57:11

Because he looked at me.

SPEAKER_01 57:12

Because he's like, don't touch my mom. So if anybody has a way to get a hold of Johnny Depp, and it's not because, let me make that very clear, it's not because he's Johnny Depp, like the actor, the phenomenon, you know, the amazing actor Johnny Depp. It's because of who he is, like as a person, who he is and who he is as the fact of a survivor of domestic violence. The fact that he lives to bring smiles to children who are in a medical difficulty, right? It's that person that I would love to talk to. Of course, if he said, you know, I'll come on, but you have to help promote my movie, nobody needs to help him promote nothing because it's going to be amazing. But I want the Johnny Depp that has been the survivor, the thriver, the warrior, the one that literally goes to trial for something he did not do and then leaves and goes to the kids' hospital just to put a smile on the child's face and asks for nothing in return. You know, so many snobby Hollywood people would A wouldn't do it. They wouldn't go at all. And if they did, they wouldn't go in character, right? They would want all the fame and notoriety of who they are walking through the halls. Well, a lot of people don't realize that if it wasn't for your fans, you wouldn't have notoriety to begin with, Mariah Carey. So we all know I can't stand her. But that's what I'm saying. I would love to have a conversation with the non-actor Johnny Depp. That humanitarian, soulful, survivor brother, Johnny Depp. That would be like the best gift anyone could ever give me ever. And it's not because he's I'm sawstruck on him.

SPEAKER_03 58:59

The Keanu Rees.

SPEAKER_01 59:00

Keanu Reese would be my second.

SPEAKER_03 59:03

He does a lot.

SPEAKER_01 59:04

Absolutely. But Johnny Depp is number one because of the fact that he survived domestic violence and he stood up for what was right. And not only that, but he's a man and he publicly allowed the cameras to be in there while he spoke his truth and won. And there's a lot to be said for that because a lot of men wouldn't want to do what he did. And he did it. And I my respect for him quadrupled at that point because men are just like, I can't do that. It takes away my man card. I'm not. No, he was like, let's do it. Let's let's go out there. And and he did. And so I have the utmost respect for the humanitarian domestic violence survivor Johnny Depp. So I would love to have a conversation with him. If anybody can make it happen, I would be at your beck and call for doing so.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:03

All right.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:04

Yeah. I brought us in. You can take us out.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:07

You heifer.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:08

Now I'm a fat cow, everybody. See? I am on my GLB1. Happening fast enough, apparently.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:15

Thank you all for listening to Contagio Smile Unstoppable with Victoria and Michael.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:19

And happy International Woman's Day.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:22

Congratulations on your award, Victoria.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:25

Your another award.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:28

You see? But you're just saying, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:32

Because it's not me. I the award, yes, was awarded to me, but it is because of the amazing people I have the honor of working with. And I wish I could meet them under a different capacity than abuse and special needs, but that's how I've met them. And those are the people that vote for me to obtain these awards. And I'm so honored by them, but I don't think I deserve them because I'm just doing what I never had.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:00

Okay, so decongratulate her.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:03

Oh my lord.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:06

Whatever. We thank you, Victoria. From all 40 million listeners out there. Keep up the good work. One-handed. You're freaking the machine. I swear.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:20

Is that an all-metal joke because my whole body's metal?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:22

I don't know how you do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:23

Is that because I'm all metal? Yeah, you're a terminator. Can you imagine some stop you? Can you imagine some bloke when I'm 150 and I've passed away and I've sitting on an autopsy table? I want to be on the wall, like in the corner, staring down when the somebody's gonna be like, I got punked. Because they're gonna like, think about it. My whole face is metal. I have metal in my back, I have metal in my chin, and like not my my boobs are real. Not, I mean, I have metal in my arm and my head and my neck and my spine and my knees. And you know, you you just go my foot, you go down there, and I have all these implanted devices, and like this thing is gonna be like this thing isn't human, and like where where's the person? There's no jaws, there's no this, there's no that, it's all metal, right? I've got wires and then your arm. And I've got titanium replaced parts and shoulder replacements, and you know, you name it, and they're gonna be like, Oh my god. You know, somebody's gonna think they're being punked, but you know, I reserve that till I'm 152. So there you have it.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:30

Good night, y'all.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:32

Later.