A Contagious Smile Podcast
Stop surviving and start thriving. A Contagious Smile is a globally ranked podcast providing a safe haven for abuse survivors and special needs families navigating the journey of trauma recovery. Whether you are healing from domestic violence, narcissistic abuse, childhood trauma, or the daily challenges of disability advocacy, our mission is to turn your pain into power.
Each episode features raw, authentic conversations with survivors, mental health experts, and advocates who share actionable resources for PTSD healing, resilience building, and emotional wellness. We go beyond the struggle to highlight the triumphs of the special needs community, offering support for caregivers and individuals with disabilities who are rewriting their own narratives.
Hosted by Victoria Cuore, an award-winning trauma advocate and survivor, this podcast delivers the "blueprints" for recovery—not just Band-Aids. Join our community to find hope, humor, and the unstoppable spirit needed to rekindle your inner light.
A Contagious Smile Podcast
When A Stranger Shares A Dark Secret
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A guy offers to help us move a table and chairs, and for a few minutes it feels like a normal neighborly moment. Then, out of nowhere, he mentions multiple felonies and casually claims he got caught trying to kill his wife. That single sentence flips the whole night on its head, and we walk through what happened, what safety steps we had in place, and why “he seems fine” is never a real plan when you are responsible for your home and family.
From that shock, we zoom out into Mental Health Awareness Month and the bigger truth underneath it: you never fully know what someone is carrying until you listen. We talk PTSD, depression, therapy, psychiatry, and the tension between real healing and the quick fix mindset. Medication can be life-changing, but we get honest about how SSRIs work, why they take weeks, why you cannot start and stop casually, and why we want a blueprint instead of a band aid.
We also celebrate a massive milestone for our daughter: after years of complex GI history and a feeding tube journey that shaped our whole family, she gets incredible news and we soak in what it means to keep believing through setbacks. Along the way, we dig into narcissistic family dynamics, being used by people who only show up when they need something, and the difference between a “perfect” house and a real home built on love, safety, and acceptance.
If any part of this hits close to home, press play, share it with someone you trust, and leave a review so more people can find honest conversations about mental health, trauma recovery, and boundaries that actually work. What would you have done in that driveway moment?
Cold Open And Playful Banter
SPEAKER_05Howdy y'all. Howdy y'all. No. Howdy y'all. Welcome to another exciting episode of a Catages Smiles Unstoppable. With Victoria, her sexy lips. And Michael. You got good looking lips. You got a pretty mouth.
SPEAKER_01What is wrong with you?
SPEAKER_05I just have my chocolate milk.
Asking For Help Moving Furniture
SPEAKER_03Lauren. I have to ask. Was that individual really? Okay, let's put no, let's make sure we word this the right way. We have a really yes. We have a really good friend who is got the biggest heart. He's such a nice guy. He has survived domestic violence himself. And uh and it was against him. Yeah, though now he is divorced, and the wife was very violent. And so he's opened up his home and he helps a lot of people. And he's a very nice person. He does have special needs. He has some other stuff going on, but he will literally give you the shirt off of his back. And so we try to help him whenever we can. I've done therapy for him and listened and been there, and we've, you know, helped out with food and all sorts of stuff and clothes and furnishings and things like that when he was going through all that he was going through. So we, as we all know, I only have one arm and my husband has a bad back. And so we needed this table and chair moved. And so I said, Oh, I'll go run over there because he's like literally not even two minutes, literally not even two minutes from us, and see if he's home and he can help. So I go over there and and I I pretty much know the majority of the people that are friends with him now because we've known him for so long. And I recognize one of the guys, and he is like, Hey, he's not here. He's over helping mow the grass of an elderly couple's house because that's who this guy is. And I was like, Oh, okay, because I was gonna see if he could help move a table. And he goes, Oh, I'll do it. And I said, Are you sure? And he's like, sure. So he jumps in the bed of the pickup truck. And I had seen him numerous times, and I was like, Okay, and you know, I know he has four kids and he's married, and you know, blah, blah, blah. I don't know him much more than that. And I know our mutual friend is like, you know, cool. And he's told all of them, you know, that Michael and I are cool, and he's told them to be cool with us, and you know, we try to help everybody out. And so I call my husband, I said, I'm on the way, meet me outside in 60 seconds. So he comes outside. I stayed in the truck, and the guy jumps out, goes through the backyard, doesn't go in our home, and just moves it from the backyard to the carport. Like, literally, that's it. That's it. So I'm still in the vehicle, and he jumps back, and I'm like, I'll take you back. So he jumps back in and I drive him and I come back, and my husband is like, looks at me with this look, and I was like, What? And he's like, I asked him about himself, and he's not, you know, I don't even know how to to say it. I mean, I don't even know.
SPEAKER_05Would you like me to pick up part of it?
SPEAKER_03There's some of it, yes, some of it no, but go ahead.
SPEAKER_05What part do you not want me to say?
SPEAKER_03Obviously, I'm not gonna say it now, but go ahead.
SPEAKER_05Anyway, the guy didn't have like Okay, how about you make one of your sound effects, if I'm about to say it.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
The Shocking Felony Confession
SPEAKER_05All right. No, I'm just kidding. So I so me and this fella go on the back porch to bring down this table, right? And I say, Hey buddy, where are you from? Say, do you from around here? He said, I said, because you sound like you're from Florida. No, I'm from I'm from here. All right. So we get on down the steps and into the backyard. Say, hey fella, what kind of work do you do? Oh, I don't work. I said, No, I don't either. I just fiddle around the house myself. That's it, sure, you work. And he says, Yeah, it it's hard to get a job with you know, several felonies. I said, Oh, really? I said, I was in for four and a half years.
SPEAKER_02Did you tell him that?
SPEAKER_05I did. It was the truth. Kinda.
SPEAKER_03You're on the opposite side of the bars. Well Oh my god.
SPEAKER_05I was still in.
SPEAKER_03Oh my god.
SPEAKER_05And this this fella without missing a beat, he said, Yeah, I I I I was I was I got I got too many felonies to get a job and I got caught trying to kill my wife. I said, Excuse me. He said, Yeah, I I buried her up to her neck right off the the interstate here in Atlanta and Georgia Highway Patrol caught me, or she would have been dead. So they got me for aggravated felony instead of murder one, murder. But uh, had they not caught me, she would have been dead. And he said this so casual to me, like, you know, here, you want a banana for your milkshake? I mean, just like nothing, and I'm like, okay.
SPEAKER_03And now the listeners are going, what the hell is the matter with you? Why would you let her drive him back? So like you take him back, or you know, first of all, he never went in our home. And he went from the driveway, which we have like 20 cameras all over the whole property. And when you pull up, you see all of the cameras. There's lights everywhere, there's cameras everywhere. He never made it in the home. And our daughter was inside, he never saw her, she never saw him. And when I dropped him off, our friend was there, and I had not known this yet. Okay, I didn't know this till I got back here and got home and Michael was outside. And I had asked our mutual friend, I was like, Hey, you know, are you doing okay? And he was like, Yeah, sorry. I was mowing this older couple's grass for him. And I said I pointed to him and I was like, I've seen him here a few times. And he's like, Oh, yeah, he's cool, no worries. And I even, you know, just like, are you sure you know he's cool? And he was like, No, no, he's cool. I said, I've seen him here. And he's like, Yeah, he's here all the time. He's always over here. There's no worries, he's fine. And he's told all of his friends, he's like, Hey, you know, Victoria and Michael are good people, and you know, they always help me, and you know, you guys be good to them or whatever. And this guy wouldn't have tolerated anything if something had, you know, been out of line because he's very protective. He is, and he doesn't really have a lot of genuine friends. And he has told us, he told me again today that we are probably only genuine friends who don't try to take advantage of him. And so, with that being said, you know, I literally I come home and you know, he looks at me. Now I had no interaction with him. Like he rode in the back of the truck, I didn't let him in the truck, I had the doors locked, you know, I I was carrying. The point is, is is that you know, I just and I confirmed before I even got home that this was an okay person, like you know, he had been vouched for, and I'd seen him many times there. So then Michael's like, yeah, I don't think so. I had no idea. I didn't have a first clue.
SPEAKER_05You didn't.
SPEAKER_03No, but people are probably asking, what the hell did you leave her and let her take it back?
SPEAKER_05A possible murderer. Well, didn't you? Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you brought one home and you let him live with us.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. We're speaking to my biological father.
SPEAKER_03We're talking about your donor donor.
SPEAKER_05No, so when when my wife All right, so the the fella, we get done moving the furniture. The fella jumps in the back of the truck and and I tell the wife, hang on a minute, let me go grab something for this young man. Right? So I went and got him a soda so I could talk to my wife secretly, and I gave him soda in the back, and I made sure my wife was armed. Okay, get it armed.
SPEAKER_03You're an ass.
SPEAKER_05Now, here's the conundrum, folks. I let my wife go probably a minute down the road with this fella until I started calling.
SPEAKER_03Okay, but in all fairness, when I'm in meetings or doing interviews, my phone's on silent. And I haven't left the house in like that's beside the point a couple of days.
SPEAKER_05The point is I was calling. I was blowing up your horn.
SPEAKER_03Blowing up my horn? Yes. At least you didn't say a blowing up my skirt.
SPEAKER_05Now you asked, what kind of man allows his wife to go off with a suspected, you know, well, a guy like this, right? After knowing that. All right, folks, we're dealing with a redhead right here. We're dealing with one of the toughest damn women you've ever met. She Beth ain't got nothing on this woman.
SPEAKER_03I love Beth. I can't wait for the new show that starts Friday.
SPEAKER_05I hope you get on the show.
SPEAKER_03Male, you know, she's all actually Australian and she taught has I can't imitate Australian.
SPEAKER_05And for me to either one strong on my wife and say, get out of the truck, you're not taking this guy back, I'll do it. Okay? That would I I have insulted my wife. That would have been funny. I have misjudged her and saying that she is not competent, that she's not physically able to or you know, intellectually handle this fella. You know, and that's a man's job.
SPEAKER_01Careful.
SPEAKER_05Oh, hey, all this went through my head. What am I looking at here? An earring?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, take that back off while you're talking.
SPEAKER_05So I'm not gonna I'm not gonna insult my wife like that. Right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And so I had a decision to make. Either let my wife take this fella back, knowing she's armed, or I remove her from the truck.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01It's funny.
SPEAKER_05What am I, a clown?
SPEAKER_01No, I just I just thought that was funny. Sorry. You remove me from the truck. Go ahead. Anyway.
SPEAKER_05And the fact that I started blowing up her phone should have shown her how concerned I was for her love. And that I love her.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Uh-huh. Anyway, I don't want the whole episode talked about this. Anyway.
SPEAKER_05I'm just saying, fellas, watch out. Your wife brings home strays. Better do a background check.
SPEAKER_03What about when you let your in-law move in who's a convicted felon?
SPEAKER_05That was different. We didn't know until after we known.
SPEAKER_03I didn't know this.
SPEAKER_05And then we took care of it. I didn't know about this. No, but now you do.
Mental Health Month And A Big Win
SPEAKER_03Yeah, now I do, but I didn't. I had no idea. So let's talk about mental health awareness, because it's May. Oh, and I did put out the news because I'm so unbelievably proud that we got some great news for my daughter. No, it's not your daughter, it's my daughter.
SPEAKER_05It is it's not an it. Go ahead. I'm gonna tell her you call her an it.
SPEAKER_03She'll know better. She got the best news ever. And that's why you don't give up hope. That's why you don't quit believing in miracles because they happen. They absolutely happen. And I can do this by myself. I draw no. Anyway, so I draw up my own GLP1.
SPEAKER_05What do you want? A hero cookie?
SPEAKER_03No, because that would be against the diet.
SPEAKER_05My diet?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I can't wait to see how you lose this week.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, thanks a lot. Folks, I am now type two diabetic.
SPEAKER_02Hold up. Oh my god.
SPEAKER_05I cannot have sugar, bread. Move your finger. What am I doing?
SPEAKER_02Sound right.
SPEAKER_05What are you trying to do? Stick it in?
SPEAKER_03Oh my god, no! Take the back of the earring off. This is gonna be one of the most duped up episodes. Don't take the earring out through the back. See, this is why. Take it off, put it in. What make up your damn mind? Oh my god! No, you put it back on there. That's where it goes. See, this is why women go into mental institutions. Right.
SPEAKER_05Because you're a comp kid.
SPEAKER_03What?
SPEAKER_05What?
SPEAKER_03What did you just fall out of your mouth?
SPEAKER_05I said I put that back on for the back.
SPEAKER_03That's what I thought. That's what I thought. Anyway.
SPEAKER_05You won't help with that one?
SPEAKER_03I got all the other ones out off out of my ear. I could do this too. I gotta be careful what I say around you because you misconstrue and say things different that you're not supposed to say. Anyway, so let's talk about how amazing our daughter was at the fact she got some great news. My daughter received the news where where were you at this appointment?
SPEAKER_05That as of today.
SPEAKER_03Where were you? And it was not today, it was yesterday. So where were you in this appointment?
SPEAKER_05As of today, no, she no longer has need of doctors.
SPEAKER_03No, that's not true. That's not true. See, had you gone to this appointment, then you would have known, because that's not true.
SPEAKER_05That no are in the field of GI and all that stuff.
SPEAKER_03No more gastroenterologist.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_05No more. That's what I just said.
SPEAKER_03You said no more doctors. That's not true. In the field of the state, that's not what you said. That's not what you said. So our daughter, who has had a feeding tube, they told her she'd never eat by mouth. She'd have to have a feeding tube her entire life. She had it for 16 years and then she got rid of it. And then when she went into organ failure, they put it back, which broke her heart and ours. And then she got the tube again, and then we got rid of it. And here, no, never mind. You'd mess that up. I'll do it myself. Nope. So anyway, she ends up getting that tube out. And they told her, you know, that she would always be dependent on a gastroenterologist. Well, no, she's not because she's faith and she's amazing. And she has been cleared from any further GI doctor, which is amazing. And I'm so proud of her. I am so proud of her because she overcomes everything. And what does she want? To celebrate another tattoo. Yep. She wants a new tattoo to celebrate. Which, of course, our good friend, Jeff, who is amazing.
SPEAKER_05Jefe.
SPEAKER_03What?
SPEAKER_05Jefe.
SPEAKER_03What's Jefe? He's he's Italian, Momo. He's not Hispanic.
SPEAKER_05Do you forget my name? No. It's Michael.
SPEAKER_03I know I have a lot of mics in my life. Jeff is not Puerto Rican. He's Italian. What are you doing? You're so frustrating. He's so frustrating. He is. So go ahead, talk about mental health, because you're driving me nuts.
SPEAKER_05Let's see. I went down to see the the VA rep today for my mental health. And they released me. I definitely need to get something going on. You know, looking at that fella today that just casually claimed that, you know, he attempted to kill his wife. He said I was in a very dark place at the time. And you know, he was a little grungy, you know, but he looked like he'd been working or something today. You just don't know what's going on with people. You know, unless you sit down and and ask or listen. You know, well, my wife spoke about our good friend that we went down to his house. He's he's he's been down. He's been he's been taken advantage of by others, and it's really you know, hurt it it really broke his heart. You know, it's it's like you just want me for certain things. And my wife and I and our daughter, my daughter, can attest to that. Uh uh no my folks have used and reused us just to get what the the hell they want or get whatever they can from us, and then they you know, they go ten eight, they ditch us.
SPEAKER_03So I don't know people do that. Like, why do people just advocate for themselves? What can you do for me? What can you do for me? Oh, nothing anymore. Well, to hell with you, I don't want anything to do with you anymore until I need something else, and then I'm gonna come back around. Yeah, like I don't understand how people can be that way.
SPEAKER_05I don't understand how someone can just be so selfish and yeah, I think it's a need that overrides their their logical, emotional part of them that should be empathetic to another human being, but that that need that they have, oh, I need this, so I'm gonna run over this person again. I'm gonna use this person again.
SPEAKER_03Well, it's like the theory of the black sheep. The black sheep is the most dangerous person to a narcissist because they try to discredit us, they try to change everybody's opinion of the black sheep so that nobody will like them. They try to, you know, isolate them and they even turn the siblings away uh, you know, against one another. I mean, like, you know, look at me with mine, look at you with yours. And at the end of the day, it's like, what is the point? You know, life is too short. And I've said, I said to my sperm donor, you know, I can't even tell you how many times, you can't take all that with you. You can't take all that money with you. You can't take, you know, excuse my French, all that scattered ass that you are out parading around with, with you. And you know what? And I've told him, I told him a million times, you know, my egg donor and I, you know, weren't close. The term, you know, never mind. But anyway, the fact that we weren't close, I still was like, look, if you're not happy with her, I will be your biggest cheerleader and support you a million percent. Get a divorce first. Get a divorce first. And the thing is, is that I lost a lot of friends because he would flirt with them to the point that they didn't even want to come around. And then if they didn't, or if they did come around and he was trying to talk to them and they felt uncomfortable, it was always my fault. He blamed me if my friends were uncomfortable because I should have made them more comfortable with him being around. And, you know, there are so many times where it's just like, have you looked at yourself in the mirror? And if you have, how can you find yourself to be okay? How can you be proud of who you see looking back? Like, you know, he used to tell me all the time, I bet you wrote your number on a bus stop bathroom wall, because that's the only thing you attract, you know, or the things that he would say is stuff that I would never in a gazillion years say to our kid, never, ever, ever. You know, like he had handed me a Sharpie and said, Hey, go connect all the dots of all your scars, you'll be busy for months. You know, he asked somebody one time, why would you lower your standards to want to go out with her? Talking about me. Like, you know, and how do you think that makes you feel when you're a child or a girl? And then you hear the person who's supposed to teach you what is right and wrong from a man say these things about you as a person, you know? And that's why I'm so glad I had my grandparents because they showed me what was acceptable, what and how things were supposed to be. And then, you know, I do. I I am thankful for my biological parents because they showed me how things aren't supposed to be. You know, people who knew me around then were like, you walked away from a 10,000 square foot home. It wasn't a home, was it? It was a house. I mean, he knows he's been in there, you know. It's I don't even know how you explain it. Like you come in, everybody comes into our home. It's like it's so homely and you can feel the love. And we have a huge wall of pictures of all of us through the years. And the blue wall. Well, and then, you know, at their place, it's like it costs$15,000 to paint those walls up there. Why you are not allowed to hang anything? You have to wear certain shoes. I mean, when you would walk in there, it was like a muzzle, a mausoleum, right? Like it was cold and lifeless. And, you know, like I'd always go over and be like, it smells like formaldehyde in there. And it just smells soul searching, like soul sucking, you know. I mean, and people are like, Like really 10,000 square foot. Am I exaggerating?
SPEAKER_05No, ma'am.
SPEAKER_03I mean, seven-car garage, you know, and then it and this is how everything was described. This this is what just killed me. Is is it was I and he's known me, Michael's known me for 25 plus years. And even when I was a senior executive and I made really good money and I was in my early 20s, I didn't drive, you know, a BMW, Mercedes, or anything like that. I was never pretentious, I was never materialistic. But we went years without speaking to them, and then we had a run-in. And the very first thing they said, don't look at my crazy wild hair right now.
SPEAKER_05It's just pulled back. I'm thinking about you 25 years ago when we met and how you are now.
Therapy Versus The Quick Fix Pill
SPEAKER_03The very first thing they said when we saw them for the first time in years stutter was, Oh, this is the brand new Mercedes we just bought. This is the$90,000 Mercedes that we just bought. And it was like, it's not worth$90,000 now. Well, that's not the point. You know, look inside. I don't want to look inside. Why? I don't care. Like, how do we get on this? Just talk about how pretentious and you know, how draining it is for someone to be so materialistic, to you know, only care what others think about. Oh, look at me, be envious of me, look at my you know,$250,000 motor home that I run into mailboxes with twice in a day. But and the thing is that I would rather have our home with unconditional love and acceptance. And we don't care. Put your hand on a wall. Put a, I mean, we have like pictures that faith has drawn tacked up with push pins everywhere. And you know what? We love it. We love it. There, you know, we put stuff everywhere, and that's what a home is supposed to feel like. It's not supposed to feel like you pay admission to take a tour, you know, like, oh, you only have to, you can only wear rubber sole shoes in here because of the floor, and we're not going to get it scratched up. And I mean, that's just stupid. That's just dumb. And I don't understand. That's why, like, you know, what really gets me is I have openly stated this numerous times. I have been in some form of therapy for 40 plus years, right? And then I started doing all the courses and classes and all of that as well. But the people who need therapy aren't really the ones on the couch. It's the ones who put us on the couch. But they never, ever, ever wanted to go or think they need therapy. They don't believe they need it. They, you know, I've offered, I offered both of them so many times to have a conversation with my therapist or and it was why there's nothing wrong with me. I don't need to go. Why do you need to go? That's stupid. Why, why, you know, and why can't you just say, hey, things aren't right? Let's try to make things better. And that's why mental health is so important. It's so important because you need to take it seriously because it does turn around and affect the rest of your health. You know, like mental health causes all sorts of other things. It it goes into your physical health and vice versa. And I just think more people need to take it with a little more, you know, than a grain of salt.
SPEAKER_05So here's the thing, Victoria. I I've been seeing a therapist, a psychiatrist is also a redhead. Yes, a redhead. And and she, along with my wife, have come to the conclusion that you know I have some form of depression. I I do have PTSD. You know, I was in the military, I was in law enforcement. So you know about 20 years there.
SPEAKER_01More than that.
SPEAKER_05But if you ask me, I don't have depression, you know, but I have to listen to people who are smarter than me. And of course, you know, them being redheads, I have to listen to them. Period. Okay. Even my daughter, who's a redhead. Right? My daughter.
SPEAKER_01My daughter.
SPEAKER_05But the thing that gets me about this shit is okay, you're depressed. Here's a pill.
SPEAKER_03They're very quick to say, it's like the band-aid. That's why I said we'd rather have a blueprint than a band-aid.
SPEAKER_05What's this pill gonna do for me? It's gonna help mellow you out, calm you down. I'm not excited. Right? I'm not freaking out. Now you got me on this medication, who my wife said the other day, I don't think I like you on this medication.
SPEAKER_03So And you have been jumping more in your sleep than ever before.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I mean, you already jump in your sleep, but oh my god, you jump in your sleep like really bad. Really, really bad.
SPEAKER_05That's not you know, and and it's no different from the teacher saying, Oh, this kid's got ADH, let's give them a test.
Listening To Kids After Hard Days
SPEAKER_03But they don't test. But you can't, well, I mean, just assume automatically. Let's just give you a pill and see how it works for you, and we'll try it out. First of all, any SRIDs don't take into effect right away. It takes weeks and weeks. You have to build up, you just don't start at a normal dosage. You start up and then you tamper your way up, and then you can't just cut them cold turkey, you have to bring yourself down off of them. It doesn't work that way. So you can't just do it and be like, oh, I've taken two pills. I know now that it works or it doesn't work. Like, that's not how it works. That's not how you figure out if that's what's necessary or not. And now these days, it's just so quick fix. Let's get this done. Let's pop a pill or let's restrain them because they're having a hard time, or you know, let's just sedate them because they're having a hard time. And why don't you just find out what's going on? I mean, everybody, including kids, can have bad days. Like I get so just frustrated when I see these parents that are like screaming at these kids because these kids came home and got bullied and they're like, you know, dad, mom, I had a bad day at school. I got pushed, you know, in class or I got pushed in the hall. And it's like, I had a bad day at work, you know. I don't really need to hear this from you right now. Go play your game. Well, you just bullied your kid all over again, right? Take five minutes, take a deep breath, and sit down with your child. Nothing else matters. Sit down with your child and ask them, tell me about your day. What happened? What's going on? You know, what what do we need to do? What can I do to help?
SPEAKER_05Well, Victoria, they're only kids.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_05But you're they where the adults they're just kids. You would argue that? No. Yes, you would. No, because kids have a right to do it, too. Right. Kids have a right to have a bad day.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, kids have a right to have a bad day. Absolutely.
Corduroy, Alexa, And Comic Relief
SPEAKER_05And the shit that goes on in their world, we didn't have this this type of peer pressure that they have. Correct. Right? I mean, I I may have got fun of me because I wore corduroy. You know? You wore what? Corduroy.
SPEAKER_01What is that?
SPEAKER_05Corduroy.
SPEAKER_03What is that?
SPEAKER_05You don't know what corduroy is?
SPEAKER_03If I knew how you were pronouncing it, I might.
SPEAKER_05Oh Lord. What is it? I'm gonna have to show you. It it it's a fabric. It's a I'll I'll show you. We wore it back in the 80s.
SPEAKER_02Cotton?
SPEAKER_05No, I ain't saying cotton. Corduroy. Corduro are you deaf? Yes! Corduroy! You're gonna have to spell it! You can't spell! Cor really? Let me take off my shoes. Type it in. Type it in.
SPEAKER_02No, I don't want to.
SPEAKER_05Alexa, what's corduroy?
SPEAKER_03She's gonna say she don't know what you're talking about.
SPEAKER_04Corduroy is a durable fabric with raised ridges called whales. It's typically made for whales in various wallet sizes.
SPEAKER_05Damn it, woman, I said corduroy 18 times.
SPEAKER_04Corduroy.
SPEAKER_01That was like corduroyization.
SPEAKER_04That's some serious dedication to textile education. Thank you, Mr. Alexa. Just your front.
SPEAKER_02Hey, stop.
SPEAKER_04See? Uh yeah. It's a textile. What can I help you with? Nothing fabric. With whales. I'm here if you need anything.
SPEAKER_03Thank you.
SPEAKER_05Uh babe, we're on air. I'm listening. You're you're looking up rings and shit. Why do you gotta say shit? Alright, folks. My wife's not in this podcast right now.
SPEAKER_03You got jabba jaws, and so I I don't have jabba jaws. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_05I said I got made fun of for wearing corduroy.
SPEAKER_03Now you said it right, I understood that.
SPEAKER_05Corduroy. How do you say it?
SPEAKER_03Pants.
SPEAKER_05Breeches?
SPEAKER_03What?
SPEAKER_05Dungarees. What? Dungarees?
SPEAKER_03Dungaree?
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_03What's a dungaree? It says Australia. What is a dungaree? No.
SPEAKER_05Yes. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_03No, what is a dungaree?
SPEAKER_05Mr. Alexa.
SPEAKER_03Alexa, what's a dungaree?
SPEAKER_04Dungarees are sturdy work pants made of blue denim. They're designed for durability with features like extra pockets and handborn beams. Perfect for tasks that need tough clothing.
SPEAKER_03Wear them.
SPEAKER_05We wore them because we were poor in the 80s.
SPEAKER_03That's because your egg donor was sleeping with everybody in the driveway.
SPEAKER_05Yes. So are you kidding me?
SPEAKER_02Alexa, stop. Alexa just wrote on there that Alexa, stop.
SPEAKER_03So she just wrote on her screen that Michael's egg daughter was whoring around in the driveway.
SPEAKER_01Oh Lord.
SPEAKER_02I love it. That's fantastic.
SPEAKER_05This is mental health awareness month. And you have two cases right here. No comment.
SPEAKER_03Are you talking about your egg donor and stuff?
SPEAKER_05You and me.
SPEAKER_03Oh well, that's because we've been made.
SPEAKER_05She and I.
Rings, Frugality, And What Matters
SPEAKER_01Oh. She and I. Look how pretty that is.
SPEAKER_05So my I don't know why, but my wife is over here looking at rings on the internet.
SPEAKER_03Because my husband's been asking me for months, what do you want for your birthday?
SPEAKER_05And I've already decided I'm gonna make our next wedding ring.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I'm talking about the fact that my grandmother gave me her wedding ring and it was custom made in like forever and a day ago, right? And it's you can't size it down, and you can't because it's engraved and it's beautiful. It like it even has a very unusual top and bottom layer to it, so you can't, and it's engraved inside, and it it's spectacular. I've never seen anything like it. And then you know, she gave me that and she gave me a beautiful bracelet. And so I want an index ring for my finger. I have my best friends who passed away, and I want one that I can give to our kid when the time comes so that she can cherish it forever. That's you know, not necessarily like she's gonna wear my grandmother's as well, but I want I just want something that I can give her like that. And you never even bought me an engagement ring. Like I said, I don't want one, and I didn't, and I still don't.
SPEAKER_05That may be the reason you didn't get one.
SPEAKER_03Okay, but I'm just saying I don't want one now. I just want a ring on my index hanger.
SPEAKER_05Okay, you want a ring, but you don't want me to buy it.
SPEAKER_03No, I didn't say that. Who just bought two guns?
SPEAKER_05I I don't know. Where's the damn fella at? I want to talk to him.
SPEAKER_03Uh-huh. I am like the most non-materialistic person you've ever met in your life, and you know it. You know it. You can't say different. You absolutely cannot say different.
SPEAKER_05I don't go out You don't need material things.
SPEAKER_03I don't go out and buy like$500 shoes or no. No.
SPEAKER_05Then take off your clothes.
SPEAKER_03You're nasty.
SPEAKER_05Come on now.
SPEAKER_03No, I don't go on like lavish vacations. I don't go out with what's that exactly. Like, I don't go out and spend money on furs and diamonds and whatever. I don't do any of that stuff. Like, I feel guilty. Just hit it with the truck. You're disgusting. You you know I feel guilty when I'm like, hey, I don't want to go spend$20 and get my fingernails done. And it, you know, yeah, I get half off, I'll say it before you do. But I always am like, I don't want to go spend$20 because I'm cheap. Like, I just don't want to do it, you know. I don't because I'm so frugal.
SPEAKER_05Do I borrow some money?
SPEAKER_03No.
SPEAKER_05You said you were cheap.
SPEAKER_03You just bought two guns and a sight and all that other stuff. So don't start.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_03And you get paid.
SPEAKER_05I get paid.
SPEAKER_03Wow thing. You hate that I can rap. He hates it. I think it's great.
Blacklist Casting Surprise And Amir Plug
SPEAKER_05Anyway, thank y'all for listening. They just smile. Unstoppable. Oh, and I apologize, I was not feeling well. Uh let's see. Shit. Did I miss two episodes?
SPEAKER_03You did, but guess what? I put out instead. Um mirror. Aka. I was gonna say a ROM, aka Amir. But yeah.
SPEAKER_05He's been asked for that. Did you sell him he was out?
SPEAKER_03Not yet. I'm gonna send him an email and I have his address, so I'm gonna send him a little box of goodies stuff. Oh, good. So nice about his dogs. Right, but he wouldn't let us conclude it until he read Faith's work.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that was awesome.
SPEAKER_03Like he and oh, what I loved also was he told you to listen to your wife and that you were wrong. In the same sentence, you were wrong, Michael, and listen to your wife. Do what your wife says. I kept that soundbite.
SPEAKER_05Good.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Because he's amazing. Oh my god! Okay, before we go, I have to tell you this. Because I looked this up. Of course you do. You did this. In the interview with Amir, he dropped a tidbit that even I, who love the blacklist, I didn't know. James Spader was not the first nor the second nor the third, fourth, fifth, twice thirteenth. He was the 13th choice of the blacklist. Do you know or can you name any of the other options?
SPEAKER_05No. Chris Bond.
SPEAKER_03Who?
SPEAKER_05Donnie Wahlberg.
SPEAKER_03No. The rat stuff. No.
SPEAKER_05Chatham Tating.
SPEAKER_03Who? Chatham Tating? Tatum?
SPEAKER_00Whatever his name is? No. Keith or Sutherland. Really? Kevin Stacy. Oh God, no.
SPEAKER_05Kevin Stacy. No. Uh-huh. I don't I don't yeah, he I don't think he portrayed that as well. No.
unknownYep.
SPEAKER_05You'd be a little psychotic in there.
SPEAKER_01Why?
SPEAKER_05Huh? Why? That's what Kevin is. He'd play some weird stuff. So does James Spader. No. Stargate one.
SPEAKER_03Richard Year.
SPEAKER_05No, he's too squishy.
SPEAKER_03Pierce Brosman.
SPEAKER_05Okay, I'm gonna go for that.
SPEAKER_03Hell no. Absmartly not.
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_03No. Absolutely not. Nope. And James Spader accepted the role three days before they began filming, actually. Believe it or not. Keith Sutherland is the one person that I have always wanted to play idiot if Who Kick First ever went into production. And I don't think I could have watched the blacklist had that been Brian Cranston. I don't know who that is, but Richard Gear. I can't see it. I cannot see it. Yeah, I can't see it. I just can't. I I can't. There was a few others that Keith Sutherland, Richard Gere, I don't know who that is. Pierce Bronson. I just couldn't. No. It was made for Spader. It really was. It was made for Spader. Spader nailed that right out the park. He did the most amazing job as Raymond Reddington.
Final Thanks And Sign Off
SPEAKER_05So y'all be sure to go back and listen to the previous podcast with Amir in there. Okay. He's a super great guy. Very nice. Just spent quality time with us. And you know, good shout out to our daughter. So we thank him for it. We love him for it. And we got some gifts for his puppies. Yes. So thank y'all for listening to Contagious Smile. Sorry we're a little off topic tonight. But that's how we are. Unscripted. Off the cuff.
SPEAKER_01That's how we roll.
SPEAKER_03Rolling.
SPEAKER_05Let's go rolling the bed.
SPEAKER_03Good night. No, goodbye. Good night. I I have work to do.
SPEAKER_05You're saying goodnight to them, or well, I'm saying goodnight to them.
SPEAKER_03I have to produce this podcast. I have to get this done, and I am still working. I have other work to do tonight, too. It's still only like 11 p.m.
SPEAKER_05But you haven't you stopped recording.
SPEAKER_03I know.
SPEAKER_05Good night, y'all.
SPEAKER_03Good night. Good night to you too.