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Speaker 1: It is time now for today's Strawberry Letter, and if

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Speaker 1: you need advice on relationships, dating, work, sex, parenting, and more,

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Speaker 1: please submit your Strawberry Letter to Steve HARVEYFM dot com

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Speaker 1: and click submit Strawberry Letter. We could be reading your

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Speaker 1: letter live on the air, just like I'm want to

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Speaker 1: read this one right here, right now. You never know

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Speaker 1: it could be yours. All right, let's buckle up and

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Speaker 1: hold on tight. We got it for you here. It

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Speaker 1: is the Strawberry Letter subject. I want that old thing back,

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Speaker 1: all right, Dear Stephen Shirley. My wife and I have

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Speaker 1: been married for twenty two years. Before the past four

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Speaker 1: years we've lived apart. We talked about divorce, but we

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Speaker 1: never did it. It's very weird, but we fell into

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Speaker 1: a pattern of co parenting and just never filed for divorce.

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Speaker 1: Every holiday she invites me over so our family can

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Speaker 1: be together. Every Christmas, I sleep in the guest room

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Speaker 1: and wake up, cook breakfast, and then we watch our

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Speaker 1: kids open presence. It's not until recently that I'm seeing

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Speaker 1: my wife in a different light. We got married when

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Speaker 1: we were twenty four, and I was still immature and selfish.

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Speaker 1: Now that I'm older, I see my wife in a

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Speaker 1: position of authority leading a household without me, and it

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Speaker 1: kills me inside. I want so badly to just apologize

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Speaker 1: and go back home, but my pride gets in the way.

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Speaker 1: I fear rejection too, because the children told me she's dating.

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Speaker 1: She's got her hair cut short, and she's still got

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Speaker 1: her twenty four year old figure, and she dresses very nicely.

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Speaker 1: I don't want her to forget about me and move on,

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Speaker 1: so I made up reasons to see her without the children.

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Speaker 1: I asked her to come to my office to discuss

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Speaker 1: our oldest child's college tuition, and she came in, smelling

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Speaker 1: good and looking like a movie star. All eyes were

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Speaker 1: on her, and for a second I was proud to

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Speaker 1: call her my wife. She quickly reminded me that we

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Speaker 1: are estranged and I no longer have any privileges. The

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Speaker 1: day after, I went to our middle school's band competition

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Speaker 1: and my wife's new boyfriend was with her. I set

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Speaker 1: far away from them because this cut like a knife. Recently,

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Speaker 1: I got enough courage to tell her to call her

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Speaker 1: to see if she'd be interested in patching things up,

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Speaker 1: and she let me know she has moved on and

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Speaker 1: we need to file for divorce for real. This time

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Speaker 1: I cried, but she was cold as ice. I can't

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Speaker 1: lose her. What do I do now? Well, it looks

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Speaker 1: like you already lost her, and she so much as

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Speaker 1: told you that. And you don't say what caused a separation.

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Speaker 1: Four years ago you just talked about there was talk

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Speaker 1: about divorce, but never filed. And for four years you

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Speaker 1: both have been just dealing with this situation for the

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Speaker 1: sake of kids. So you say, until now, you never mentioned,

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Speaker 1: like I said, what causes separation. But I'm thinking you

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Speaker 1: cheated because you say you have something to apologize for,

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Speaker 1: but your pride won't let you. Now, all of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: your wife is looking like a movie star. She's a boss,

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Speaker 1: smelling good, she has her twenty four year old figure bag,

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Speaker 1: she's got her short haircut. You also said you were

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Speaker 1: selfish and immature when you were married at twenty four,

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Speaker 1: and that's another reason I think you cheated. But now

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Speaker 1: that you're older, you see your wife in a different life. Well,

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Speaker 1: I mean that's understandable because people do change and people

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Speaker 1: do grow, and your wife is aging like fine wine. Apparently,

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Speaker 1: it sounds like you're stuck and can't move forward because

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Speaker 1: you say you're afraid of rejection and just too prideful

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Speaker 1: to do what you need to do. I think it's

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Speaker 1: because the kids told you your wife is dating. Okay,

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Speaker 1: your wife is dating. So now you're getting all these

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Speaker 1: feelings about you don't want to lose her. You feel

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Speaker 1: like another man is taking your place, so of course

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Speaker 1: that makes you want her more. You realize what you

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Speaker 1: lost now. But unfortunately, your wife told you she's moved on.

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Speaker 1: She wants to file for divorce. Sounds like you need

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Speaker 1: to move on too. I mean, you could give it

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Speaker 1: another shot, no risk, no reward, But sounds like she's

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Speaker 1: made up her mind. And that's about the end of that. Steve, Well,

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Speaker 1: Doe came to the right place. The only thing about

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Speaker 1: coming to me with a letter like this is being

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Speaker 1: a man. I know exactly what he's really saying now,

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Speaker 1: what you typed, it's all cut and but bro, that

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Speaker 1: ain't really. That ain't really was happening. And we just

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Speaker 1: gonnaea to be honest with you. If you want Uncle

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Speaker 1: Steve's help. I don't know that I can be because

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Speaker 1: you've ignored something for a while. You've been married twenty

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Speaker 1: two years, But the last four y'all been living apart.

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Speaker 1: Y'all talked about divorce, but you never did. But every

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Speaker 1: holiday she invites you over so the family can be together,

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Speaker 1: and every Christians you're sleep in the guest room and

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Speaker 1: wake up, cook breakfast and watch your kids open presence.

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Speaker 1: And then you say, not until recently that I started

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Speaker 1: seeing my wife in a different light. We got married

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Speaker 1: when we were twenty four, So you've been married twenty

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Speaker 1: two years. That means you're forty six now and I'm

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Speaker 1: still and you were twenty four and I was still

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Speaker 1: immature and selfish. Now that I'm older, I see my

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Speaker 1: wife in a position of authority, leading a household without me,

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Speaker 1: and it kills me inside. Oh okay, so now you

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Speaker 1: realize as a lot of men do that families every day.

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Speaker 1: At you though, I want so badly to just apologize

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Speaker 1: and go back home. And here's the reason we have

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Speaker 1: this whole letter. I want to so badly to apologize

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Speaker 1: and go back home, but my pride gets in the way.

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Speaker 1: The Bible says pride cometh before fall. You will see

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Speaker 1: the fall in this letter, and you will understand it

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Speaker 1: was caused by pride. When we come back. I will

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Speaker 1: show you what he considers to be pride, and I'm

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Speaker 1: going to tell you that it's something else. All right,

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Speaker 1: all right, Steve, hang onto that thought. We'll have part

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Speaker 1: two of your response at twenty three minutes after the hour.

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Speaker 1: Today's Strawberry letter. Subject I want that old thing back.

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Speaker 1: We'll get back into it right after this. You're listening

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Speaker 1: to the Steve Morning Show. All right, come on, Steve,

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Speaker 1: let's recap today's Strawberry letter. The object, I want that

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Speaker 1: old thing back. Well, yeah you do, dog, but you

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Speaker 1: didn't appreciate it when it was a new thing, and

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Speaker 1: you didn't do it right when it was your thing.

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Speaker 1: Now it's becoming an old thing, and we have a situation.

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Speaker 1: Now you want it back, right, Married twenty two years

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Speaker 1: past four. They lived apart. They celebrate holidays together. She

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Speaker 1: calls him over to the house. He sleeps in the

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Speaker 1: guest room. On Christmas, they wake up and they watch

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Speaker 1: your kids open up the presents together, and then all

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Speaker 1: of that right there, And then he says, not too recently,

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Speaker 1: I'm seeing my wife in a different light. We got

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Speaker 1: married when we were twenty four. I was still immature

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Speaker 1: and selfish. So now I'm older. He's forty six now.

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Speaker 1: By the way, folks, because he's been married twenty two years.

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Speaker 1: They got married twenty four. I see my wife leading

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Speaker 1: a household without me, and it kills me inside. Here's

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Speaker 1: the reason we have this letter. I want so badly

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Speaker 1: to just apologize and go back home, but my pride

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Speaker 1: gets in the way. I said, there as a scripture

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Speaker 1: that says pride cometh before fall. Now, the four years

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Speaker 1: of not filing for divorce and this pride you have,

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Speaker 1: you want so badly to go back and apologize, but

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Speaker 1: you just your pride get in a way. Well, now

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Speaker 1: the fall is occurring, sir, And exactly what he's pride? Everybody,

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Speaker 1: what is this thing about men? Sometimes that prohibits us

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Speaker 1: from doing what's the right thing and watching something occur,

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Speaker 1: knowing what would fix it. But your pride gets in

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Speaker 1: the way. Well, let me tell you what pride is.

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Speaker 1: And then he says, I fear rejection too. Now he's

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Speaker 1: trying to be honest, but this pride is a part

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Speaker 1: of that. See, the reason he don't want to be

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Speaker 1: rejected is could it be because he does the rejecting

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Speaker 1: and now he don't want the roles reversed. You know,

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Speaker 1: you do what you want to do, but then and

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Speaker 1: it's time for you to do what you have to do.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, she may you call that pride? Okay, bro,

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Speaker 1: I go with you. And then he says, our feel

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Speaker 1: rejection too, because the children told me she's been dating.

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Speaker 1: She got a new hair cut short, and she still

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Speaker 1: got her twenty four year old figure, and she dresses

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Speaker 1: very nicely. Okay, dog, when she got the new haircut,

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Speaker 1: you ain't see this coming. Let me tell you something, fellas.

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Speaker 1: When you see your woman in the gym, when you

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Speaker 1: see your woman with a new hair cut, when you

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Speaker 1: see your woman going on about her business, you better

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Speaker 1: sit up and take new this. If she don't ask

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Speaker 1: you how you like my hair, if she don't never

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Speaker 1: mention to you why she working out, it ain't for you, player,

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Speaker 1: it ain't for you. And I want so badly to

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Speaker 1: go back home, but I I don't want to apologize

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Speaker 1: because my pride gets sent away. So now here's what happened.

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Speaker 1: I don't want her to forget about me and move on,

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Speaker 1: so I made up reasons to see her without the children.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, I said to come down to the office

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Speaker 1: and discuss your oldest child's children college tuition. She could

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Speaker 1: show up, half cut, short, smelling good, body banging like

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Speaker 1: a twenty four year old. Come in the office. Everybody

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Speaker 1: notices her. He proud to call her my wife. But

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Speaker 1: then she told your arm, we are strange. You ain't

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Speaker 1: got no privilege. People, How did she say it? We

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Speaker 1: are strange, You ain't got no privilege. You stop telling

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Speaker 1: people I'm your wife. Now you look at stupid down

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Speaker 1: at your little office. See this, that pride, old dumb

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Speaker 1: ass pride, the finest woman in the world is your

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Speaker 1: ex on the arms of another man, blew and pimple.

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Speaker 1: And now you're watching it. But we ain't got there yet,

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Speaker 1: But we do. Right after this, though, the day after

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Speaker 1: I will. The day after I went to our middle

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Speaker 1: child's band competition and my wife's new boyfriend was with her.

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Speaker 1: I sat far away from them because this cut like

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Speaker 1: a knight. I got enough courage to call her to

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Speaker 1: see it. Now here we go. Now he got courage.

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Speaker 1: Now see a minute ago it was pride. Pride is ignorance, man,

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Speaker 1: And so now you got enough courage to call her

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Speaker 1: to see if she'd be interested in patching things up.

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Speaker 1: And just like she did when she came up to

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Speaker 1: the office. Let you know she did. You don't hand

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Speaker 1: the more privileges and stop calling you meet your wife.

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Speaker 1: She told you she had moved on, and we need

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Speaker 1: to file for divorce for real this time. Because the

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Speaker 1: boyfriend was saying, well, if y'all ain't going to divorce,

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Speaker 1: why don't y'all just get divorced? Because I won't you,

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Speaker 1: I cried, But she was cold this ice. We're a

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Speaker 1: little bit too late for the tears. Dog, who excuse me?

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Speaker 1: Didn't you say your pride got it? What did your crime?

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Speaker 1: What happened to all that pride? See what I said,

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Speaker 1: I can't lose her? Sureley said it. You've already can't

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Speaker 1: lose Huhn. Who did you see at the band competition?

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Speaker 1: You you think he said nothing about the haircut and

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Speaker 1: the little banging body? What do I do now? Or? Dog?

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Speaker 1: I think you've done what you're gonna do. You waited

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Speaker 1: four years. You took too long. You thought you was

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Speaker 1: just gonna sit over that hold of fine self and

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Speaker 1: what nobody else gonna want on? Bro? You may be

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Speaker 1: too late, homie, and you let your pride get in

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Speaker 1: the way we gotta go. Post your comments on today's

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Speaker 1: Strawberry Letter at Steve HARVEFM on Instagram and Facebook, and

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Speaker 1: check out the Strawberry Letter Pie podcast on demand coming

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Speaker 1: up at forty six minutes after the hour from the

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Speaker 1: talk our Girl Cheryl Underwood. Right after this, you're listening

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Speaker 1: to The Stave Harvey Morning Show