Speaker 1: Hey, folks, it's Lyle here. I just wanted to ask
Speaker 1: you guys, because there's no comments section on podcast apps
Speaker 1: and I don't really get a lot of feedback on this,
Speaker 1: but I was wondering, do you guys like that this
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Speaker 1: Or should I change the music because I've realized that
Speaker 1: maybe it's weird to have some of the more serious
Speaker 1: calls going while there's cute jazz in the background, But
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Speaker 1: Lyle Forever and Ever at gmail dot com. That's Lyle
Speaker 1: Forever and Ever at gmail dot com. Lyle l y
Speaker 1: L E Forever, f O R E V E R
Speaker 1: and Ever at gmail dot com. Let me know what
Speaker 1: to think about stuff. All right, let's get into the episode. Hello,
Speaker 1: Hello James.
Speaker 2: Yes, sir, how are you doing while.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm here right now. I'm alive. I have two legs.
Speaker 1: It's pretty uh, It's all I ever need.
Speaker 2: The getos have two legs or four legs? There's a
Speaker 2: two hine on it.
Speaker 1: So, James, what is it that you wanted to talk
Speaker 1: about today?
Speaker 2: So when I was two, on my second birthday, I
Speaker 2: was kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq, And basically I was with
Speaker 2: my uncle, and my uncle and I had a very
Speaker 2: We had a very close relationship. He was like my
Speaker 2: father kind of guy. He raised me. I mean for
Speaker 2: two years, I guess, but he was kind of a
Speaker 2: father figure that I hadn't growing up there. And on
Speaker 2: my second day, we would have these corner stories, like
Speaker 2: these bodega types of places in Iraq and in the
Speaker 2: neighborhood that I lived in. He took me out to
Speaker 2: grab go get a present. He went go get some
Speaker 2: candy or some toys or something for my birthday. On
Speaker 2: the way there, a humby drove in front of us,
Speaker 2: stopped right in front of us, and about four men
Speaker 2: hopped out and they shot my uncle in the head
Speaker 2: point blank as he was holding me and killed them
Speaker 2: and I dropped you a floor and they moved kidnapping
Speaker 2: me and then they had me for about nine days.
Speaker 2: And so about the third day they got a hold
Speaker 2: my parents and they were like, hey, you got your kid.
Speaker 2: You want your kid back, you need fifty thousand dollars,
Speaker 2: and that converted like from whatever currency like be not
Speaker 2: it's converted to dollars. So they wanted like thousand dollars
Speaker 2: and he they basically said that they gave their ransom
Speaker 2: and then they hung up on the phone. They didn't
Speaker 2: let my parents beat They said nothing. So my parents
Speaker 2: started panicking because we weren't wealthy. We barely had enough
Speaker 2: money to survive. And they kind of started panicking because
Speaker 2: weasive fifty thousand dollars in my life. And so with
Speaker 2: the help of extended family and family and the neighborhood
Speaker 2: in the community that I that they grew up in,
Speaker 2: they were able to gather around twenty five thousand dollars
Speaker 2: and about on the eighth day. I believe it's what
Speaker 2: my mom told me. They got a hold of them,
Speaker 2: they got the kidnappers called again and they were like, Hey,
Speaker 2: here's the details for the exchange. We're gonna you're gonna
Speaker 2: meet up with this location. You can only bring one person,
Speaker 2: one person in the money, if anybody else, if a
Speaker 2: single other soul shows up with them, then the deal's off.
Speaker 2: And and whoever shows up is going to die and
Speaker 2: your kid's going to die, and that was kind of it.
Speaker 2: That was literally all they told them. And then so
Speaker 2: the person that ended up going with my father and
Speaker 2: my father went to this it was like, I guess
Speaker 2: secluded area that doesn't doesn't He doesn't like talking about
Speaker 2: it much, so I can't really talk to him about it.
Speaker 2: But we went to this area and he ended up
Speaker 2: meeting this like, there's a seventeen year old kid there.
Speaker 2: So the story with a seventeen year old kid is that, yeah,
Speaker 2: the story with the seventeen year old kid is that
Speaker 2: this seventeen year old kid was also kidnapped, but his
Speaker 2: thing is is that he was kidnapped solely for this exchange.
Speaker 2: Basically what they had told this kid and thisally what
Speaker 2: the kid had told my father.
Speaker 1: So he was kidnapped to work for the kidnappers on
Speaker 1: this other kidnapping exactly.
Speaker 2: So it's like it's a fuck fest.
Speaker 1: Of just kidnapping, total fuck fast.
Speaker 2: And so basically what the kidnappers had told this kid
Speaker 2: was like, they're going to be up with this with
Speaker 2: with this guy for the money, which is my father,
Speaker 2: and if you don't get us the money, we're going
Speaker 2: to kill you, we're going to kill the kid, and
Speaker 2: we're going to kill your entire family. That was it.
Speaker 2: And back then there's not a lot of this was
Speaker 2: This was two thousand and five, so it's it's a
Speaker 2: little it's a little bit after the war, so it's
Speaker 2: still the country is not in the great state. There's
Speaker 2: not a lot of like anybody can do whatever the
Speaker 2: fuck they want, basically, right, And it was like, no.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, one thing I was wondering is like,
Speaker 1: it doesn't I mean, it doesn't sound like your parents
Speaker 1: had much resources in terms of, like, you know, when
Speaker 1: you were kidnapped for ransom, like they it didn't sound
Speaker 1: like they could call the police or call any other
Speaker 1: third party to help them out. It sounded like they're
Speaker 1: only options were to just get the money.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so basically the kid ended up meeting up
Speaker 2: with my dad and my dad before, prior to getting
Speaker 2: all this knowledge that I just told you, my dad
Speaker 2: had thought that the kid was part of the kidnappers.
Speaker 2: So as soon as he showed up, the kid and
Speaker 2: him like started fighting like basically like scrabbing in the
Speaker 2: middle of the fucking like wherever they were. And then
Speaker 2: the kid was like hold on, hold on, and then
Speaker 2: he proceeded to tell him everything that I just told you,
Speaker 2: and then so they got up. They kept the talks
Speaker 2: for a little bit. Then my dad gave them money.
Speaker 2: And then before you get the money, he's like, wait,
Speaker 2: where's my kid? Because remember I told you this was
Speaker 2: an exchange.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So.
Speaker 2: As he was like before, he's like, wait, where's my kid?
Speaker 2: This wasn't exchange. He's like, they told me to tell
Speaker 2: you that your kid's going to be released once I
Speaker 2: get this money. If I don't get them one and
Speaker 2: your kid's not released, and basically I'm going to die
Speaker 2: and my family's going to die and your kid's gonna die.
Speaker 2: And so my dad was like, I guess I can't
Speaker 2: There's not much I can do. I have to trust this,
Speaker 2: Like there's there's really you can't play a game here
Speaker 2: with with with the lives that are risks. So my
Speaker 2: dad the kids of money. The kid ended up going
Speaker 2: back and I guess giving them the money. And basically
Speaker 2: what was what happened is that in Iraq there's these banks.
Speaker 2: There's just the rivers and then there's banks of the rivers,
Speaker 2: and the banks of the rivers is where people would
Speaker 2: throw their like trash bags at or their trash and
Speaker 2: then at a certain day, people, some people like workers
Speaker 2: would come in new clean. This kid's body, the kid
Speaker 2: that was kidnapped with the exchange, this kid's body was
Speaker 2: found on the river of the bank.
Speaker 1: With holy ship. The kid that your dad met up with, yes, then.
Speaker 2: Was found in my kid my uncle was found in
Speaker 2: a hospital dead mm hmmm, with a bullet in his head,
Speaker 2: just dead on then on arrival. And I was found
Speaker 2: but asked naked at the age of two, outside of
Speaker 2: an abandoned carnival what three in the morning on the ninth.
Speaker 1: Day and who who? So so okay, so hold on,
Speaker 1: so so the seventeen year old kid that met up
Speaker 1: with your dad was killed, but you so did the
Speaker 1: did was it? The kidnappers made good on their promise
Speaker 1: and they did release you or how were you found exactly?
Speaker 2: Yes, So thankfully they had an ounce of empathy and
Speaker 2: they had they released me and because because again I
Speaker 2: was two, right, So there's I mean, there's not really
Speaker 2: unless you're gonna fucking raise me to be this fucking
Speaker 2: like super weapon of a terrorist or whatever, like, there's
Speaker 2: not really much in keeping a two year old, like
Speaker 2: you have to take care of it, and you have
Speaker 2: to unless they could have killed me obviously, but I
Speaker 2: don't know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that didn't sound like something that was past them.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I guess it was the age because they
Speaker 2: didn't have a problem killing the seventeen eighteen year old kids.
Speaker 1: So you were found so who? Well, okay, so so
Speaker 1: you were found outside of a carnival.
Speaker 2: You say, I was found on the door. So there's
Speaker 2: this like carnival ground basically, and there's this abandoned carnival
Speaker 2: that has like the abandoned ferris wheel and everything, and
Speaker 2: the gates who were closed, and I was found literally
Speaker 2: right in front of the gates.
Speaker 1: Who found you?
Speaker 2: And my dad and.
Speaker 1: His brothers how did they know to go to this carnival.
Speaker 2: Because they all they told them was that your kid
Speaker 2: had been been released. So everybody in my family and
Speaker 2: extended family just took cars and they started driving around
Speaker 2: the area.
Speaker 1: And it was a small was it a small area?
Speaker 2: It wasn't necessarily a small area, but it was. It
Speaker 2: was kind of like looking areas where you wouldn't think
Speaker 2: anything would be there, right, looking areas where a lot
Speaker 2: of people wouldn't be there. Because if if I was
Speaker 2: I guess, if I was dropped off in an area
Speaker 2: with a lot of people, then people would see this
Speaker 2: a person dropping off a random kid at a populated area.
Speaker 2: So I don't know.
Speaker 1: So your father eventually did find you.
Speaker 2: And then we ended up we ended up moving to
Speaker 2: Syria actually from there, which back down Syria was recently
Speaker 2: a little bit better. But we moved to Syria, and
Speaker 2: my dad was a he's a co mechanic. He's been
Speaker 2: a co mechanic all his life. But in Syria you
Speaker 2: can't really be a co mechanic because people tend to
Speaker 2: put bombs under cars like I D type things and
Speaker 2: have them explode. So my dad opened up his own
Speaker 2: cell phone shop and he was fixing phones, selling simcards,
Speaker 2: selling phones, type that type of business, right, And this
Speaker 2: is this is kind of like I guess, this is
Speaker 2: where the story gets crazy. The story he's been kind
Speaker 2: of fucking and that's already. But my dad's a very
Speaker 2: punctual man. My dad is rarely irrelated to anything. One day,
Speaker 2: my dad literally sat down to have breakfast with my
Speaker 2: mom and I. This was in Cereal. When this caused
Speaker 2: my dad to be late to work, I should not, dude,
Speaker 2: I swear to God, hand on the fucking karan because
Speaker 2: I'm muscled by the way.
Speaker 3: But that was not.
Speaker 2: He When he was late, somebody had to knuck into
Speaker 2: his shop and placed the bomb in his trash can,
Speaker 2: and the bomb had been time to go off while
Speaker 2: he was in the shop since he was late to
Speaker 2: go to work. The bomb went off when he was
Speaker 2: not in there, and it exploded the shop. It went
Speaker 2: up and fucking flipped, and unfortunately there was like a
Speaker 2: six year old kid in front of the shop that
Speaker 2: had like lost the lower half of his leg and
Speaker 2: he was taken care of. But then at that point
Speaker 2: we were like, we gotta get the fuck out of
Speaker 2: the Middle East.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I was saying in my head. I
Speaker 1: was like, you guys gotta get the fuck out of there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, right, So I mean after kind of fuck around
Speaker 2: and find out twice, you gotta get the fuck out.
Speaker 2: And yeah, sure he got out of the Middle East.
Speaker 1: And so okay, so can I ask you this? And
Speaker 1: you know, actually, I'll I guess I'll let you keep
Speaker 1: talking because I might just be asking you a question
Speaker 1: that you're gonna answer anyway. But like, what was preventing
Speaker 1: you from leaving or was it just like, I mean,
Speaker 1: it's your home and you wanted to stay, but things
Speaker 1: got too dangerous for you to stay.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and mostly it was yeah, and mostly it was
Speaker 2: family I have. We have no my family currently here
Speaker 2: in America. We don't have any family around us. All
Speaker 2: of the rest of my family is in still living
Speaker 2: in Iraq, so we have no extent of family here.
Speaker 2: So the reason we were moving to Syria is because
Speaker 2: it was farther. It was far enough to where we
Speaker 2: were out of the danger zone as we thought on,
Speaker 2: but it was close enough where you would be able
Speaker 2: to take a four hour bus ride or five hour
Speaker 2: bus ride and go to Iraq and see your family.
Speaker 2: But obviously it got too dangerous, so we kind of
Speaker 2: had to get up and go, and we came to
Speaker 2: America in June of two thousand and eight, I believe,
Speaker 2: and I've been living here ever since. And my now
Speaker 2: my dad has his own dealership and shop, and I've
Speaker 2: been blessed and I've been lucky to go to school
Speaker 2: and get my high school diploma, and now I'm going
Speaker 2: to college. Well I actually dropped out of college, but
Speaker 2: now I'm transferring to another college and so.
Speaker 1: How well, so how old were you when you went
Speaker 1: to the US.
Speaker 2: Two thousand and eight? I would have been around five.
Speaker 1: Okay? Where where was it was? It was it difficult
Speaker 1: for your family to go from the US to there?
Speaker 1: I mean fun? Sorry? Was it difficult for your family
Speaker 1: to go to the US for the Middle East?
Speaker 2: I believe. I believe so because it was a little
Speaker 2: bit right after the war. So it was kind of
Speaker 2: still like like tensris, like if we had like obviously
Speaker 2: they saw it like when we were applying the things,
Speaker 2: you'd be like, oh, you have an Iraqi passport. The
Speaker 2: chances of you really doing anything with an Iraqi passport
Speaker 2: was kind of slim, the fucking nuns. But we got lucky.
Speaker 2: We went. We we actually ended up coming to America
Speaker 2: through It's like a I don't like, I don't know
Speaker 2: the exact details, and I don't want to give you
Speaker 2: false information. But it was like this church organization that
Speaker 2: took us in as refugee and the general America and
Speaker 2: we lived in their home for about a month.
Speaker 1: Where where was where was? Where was their home again?
Speaker 2: Pennsylvania?
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania? Okay, Yeah, And.
Speaker 2: I've been I've been in Pennsylvania, Mina my entire life.
Speaker 1: Of living in And so then did you end up
Speaker 1: going did you? Did you finally like like did you
Speaker 1: enroll in like uh, elementary school, middle school and kind
Speaker 1: of live a normal American life from there.
Speaker 2: I never I never went to school in Iraq or Syria.
Speaker 2: I tried it, and my pent my mom was just
Speaker 2: too anxious. She didn't really let me do anything. Actually,
Speaker 2: here's the fun thing. I went back to Iraq in
Speaker 2: the second grade to visit, and I was not allowed outside.
Speaker 2: I could not go outside. I was literally not allowed
Speaker 2: a fucking footstep outside. The most I could go was
Speaker 2: to the courtyards, and that's because the courtyards was sealed
Speaker 2: by a metal cage, like a metal.
Speaker 1: F not not allowed by by by your mother.
Speaker 2: Yes, And the only time I was allowed outside is
Speaker 2: if I was with if we were going into a
Speaker 2: car and we were going.
Speaker 1: Why why did uh why did you go back to
Speaker 1: visit if it was still very dangerous? Just curious?
Speaker 2: It wasn't. It wasn't dangerous, that's the thing. It wasn't
Speaker 2: still dangerous. It was it was just paranoia. Got mm hmm,
Speaker 2: Like like what would happen if we did it again.
Speaker 2: Basically the reason I guess we get through the reason
Speaker 2: of this. Obviously, it's a crazy story, and I've been
Speaker 2: through a lot, and my family has been through a lot,
Speaker 2: and it kind of shaped me into who I am today,
Speaker 2: because there's like, how I look at it is I've
Speaker 2: been given a second chance of life. Because why did
Speaker 2: that bullet hit my uncle and not hit me? Why
Speaker 2: was it the seventeen year old kid that died and
Speaker 2: not me? Right, there's just see so many things that
Speaker 2: went right in my favor but wrong in other people's
Speaker 2: favor that I'm still standing here today and then I'm
Speaker 2: able to speak on the phone with you. Right, So,
Speaker 2: am I a bad person? If I were to use
Speaker 2: this story in my college as a college essay or
Speaker 2: as scholarships and milk they shit out of it. Not
Speaker 2: milk it, but use it and use it repetitively to
Speaker 2: my advantage to get to win scholarships and to win
Speaker 2: money and to.
Speaker 1: Yes, it says here that your your well, it says
Speaker 1: here that your your primary dilemma is you're wondering if
Speaker 1: you're a bad person. If you milk your if you
Speaker 1: quote milk your story to get scholarship money for.
Speaker 2: College exactly, like like scholarship money, and okay.
Speaker 1: Because I let me, let me, let me, let me,
Speaker 1: let me, I have thought I have a bunch of stuff.
Speaker 1: First of all, you said that you went to school
Speaker 1: and you dropped out. What happened to that?
Speaker 2: Some ran into a couple issues that my living situation
Speaker 2: was kind of I was going to college for free.
Speaker 2: I had free tuition to to this university. I don't
Speaker 2: want to say the university because then it's weird and
Speaker 2: I don't have you had. Yeah, and basically all I
Speaker 2: had to pay for was room and board. But my
Speaker 2: girlfriend at the time had lived ten minutes away and
Speaker 2: her parents had offered me to stay in her house
Speaker 2: or in their healing and treat me as a child
Speaker 2: and feed me as long as I got got good grades.
Speaker 2: And I was like, cool, fuck it, that sounds like
Speaker 2: a great deal. I move in. First month of college
Speaker 2: goes by. We're doing handy dandy. Keep in mind, even
Speaker 2: in this relationship for four years. Second month of college, Hey, Robbie,
Speaker 2: this isn't necessarily working out, and I think we should
Speaker 2: break up. And basically I was like, oh, okay, I
Speaker 2: guess i'llill fuck myself. And I had to drop out
Speaker 2: because the commute was too far. The dorms were shit
Speaker 2: like literally no ac no okay, so.
Speaker 1: You couldn't okay, so you couldn't find a a suitable
Speaker 1: living situation. So you dropped out.
Speaker 2: Exactly and the community was like two hours and with
Speaker 2: the prices for gas and I wasn't forward, So.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, And so what did you do after? What
Speaker 1: do you what did you do right after you dropped out?
Speaker 1: Did you start working?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I had a job at Apple. I was working
Speaker 2: at Apple as a specialist.
Speaker 1: And I also I like Apple Apple or like the
Speaker 1: Apple store.
Speaker 2: No Apple store. I was working inside of an Apple store.
Speaker 1: No, not okay, okay, because it's about to say, if
Speaker 1: you are already working an Apple, I don't know what
Speaker 1: the heck you need a school for. But okay, so
Speaker 1: now you are working at the Apple store, you are
Speaker 1: trying to go back to college, not any situation. Okay,
Speaker 1: you're not anymore? What are you doing now? Just hanging out?
Speaker 2: I work at this well, I just about a week
Speaker 2: and a half ago, two weeks I started working at
Speaker 2: this UH sports facility, like one of the biggest sports
Speaker 2: facilities in America, it's called Spooky Nook, and so I
Speaker 2: work there.
Speaker 1: Now It's like okay, so so, so you are now
Speaker 1: trying to go back to school in a situation that
Speaker 1: is a more standard but you have your control over
Speaker 1: that's not linked to a romantic relationship, which is a messy,
Speaker 1: bad thing, and you're trying to do it again.
Speaker 2: What are you trying to go to traditional right? Go
Speaker 2: to the traditional route, dorm, dining hall?
Speaker 1: What are you trying to go to school for.
Speaker 2: Computer science?
Speaker 1: Computer science? Beautiful? What do you want to do with
Speaker 1: your life at this very moment, right now?
Speaker 2: Or you talk in future?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean the future. I don't not neither of
Speaker 1: us know what you are going to want to do
Speaker 1: in the future. But what do you want to do
Speaker 1: right now?
Speaker 4: Right now?
Speaker 2: I just want to I just want to be happy.
Speaker 2: I guess to put it to I want to do
Speaker 2: things how I want to do. I spent the last
Speaker 2: four years in that relationship and and I kind of
Speaker 2: did everything with them to to to to keep that
Speaker 2: relationship and say this, and now I want to do
Speaker 2: things for myself. I want to go to whatever college
Speaker 2: I want to go to, even if that's across the
Speaker 2: fucking country. I want to I want to do things
Speaker 2: for myself. I want to be who I am, like
Speaker 2: who I know I am, and do what I like doing,
Speaker 2: be around the people, make new friends, and be around
Speaker 2: people that I enjoy being around.
Speaker 1: M So, so okay, So back to your your central dilemma.
Speaker 1: Am I a bad person if I milk the story?
Speaker 1: First of all, I mean, no, no, you're not. Second
Speaker 1: of all, why would you in your in your mind?
Speaker 1: I want to get into your mind and your perspective
Speaker 1: about this. Why would you feel like you're a bad
Speaker 1: person for telling the story in an attempt to get
Speaker 1: money to go to college. Why do you believe that
Speaker 1: would make you a bad person?
Speaker 2: Because I don't because sometimes when I tell people it,
Speaker 2: they I get this vibe that they think that I'm
Speaker 2: trying to use it as an excuse, like I was
Speaker 2: kidnapped so I deserve this, or my uncle died so
Speaker 2: I deserve this. But that's not how it is. It's
Speaker 2: just it's that story has allowed and like like I said,
Speaker 2: it's kind of given me a different perspective on life
Speaker 2: to where it is. But people don't get that perspective.
Speaker 2: People think that I'm doing it for money or this
Speaker 2: or that, but I'm just doing it because it's genuinely
Speaker 2: there was, genuinely a life changing experience, sing who I
Speaker 2: am today.
Speaker 1: Well, let's look at a couple of things. First of all,
Speaker 1: I assume I don't know your family right now. I
Speaker 1: assume you guys are not working with a lot of money.
Speaker 2: Well we yes, I mean the combined income between my
Speaker 2: parents and like filling out that type information staff but like, yeah,
Speaker 2: we're probably combined. It's under like under you.
Speaker 1: Don't you don't have to give me your number, but
Speaker 1: it's it's yeah, your you you you know, Okay. Because
Speaker 1: what I'm trying to get at here is, let's think
Speaker 1: for a second, what is the why do these scholarships exist.
Speaker 1: They exist to try to give opportunities to people who
Speaker 1: were we were born in situations, who came from situations
Speaker 1: that were not ideal, and these scholarships exist as a
Speaker 1: way to to give opportunities two people. I'm repeating a
Speaker 1: thing that I said. I'm repeating it to my I'll
Speaker 1: say it again, to give opportunities to people who came
Speaker 1: from situations that were not ideal. You, my friend, have
Speaker 1: proven over the course of this call, with that story
Speaker 1: that you came from a situation that was not particularly ideal,
Speaker 1: being in Syria, with your dad getting blown up, with
Speaker 1: your uncle getting killed, with you getting kidnapped, not an
Speaker 1: ideal situation by any means. And that story proves that,
Speaker 1: that story proves that you've been through a lot. And
Speaker 1: the story proves that you know, with this money that
Speaker 1: has been allocated by people to be given to folks
Speaker 1: who again came from non ideal circumstances and are now
Speaker 1: trying to make something great of their lives, as you
Speaker 1: are trying to do by going and pursuing a higher education,
Speaker 1: you are, with this story proving to people that you
Speaker 1: are indeed deserving of this money. In no way, shape
Speaker 1: or form does that make you a bad person. Why
Speaker 1: would that make you a bad person.
Speaker 2: It's just some people just like like and some people
Speaker 2: like you tell the story and it sounds it's it's
Speaker 2: it's it's it's like okay, like, but some people are like,
Speaker 2: how do you remember that? Well, obviously I have parents
Speaker 2: that tell me and and and and and keep in mind,
Speaker 2: my mother didn't know I was kidnapped until nine hours later.
Speaker 2: They hit it from her for nine hours. They told
Speaker 2: her I was sleeping over.
Speaker 1: But James, James, what okay are you? Are you just
Speaker 1: afraid that people are going to think that? What are
Speaker 1: you afraid of?
Speaker 2: I'm just I don't want to like like like and
Speaker 2: this is like a personal fucking flaw, I guess, but yeah,
Speaker 2: I'm I don't want people to think that I'm fucking
Speaker 2: lying or taking advantage or or or or doing this
Speaker 2: just to fucking get the money and bullshit this story
Speaker 2: and that's not what it.
Speaker 1: Okay, But James, James, James, you're not lying. This did
Speaker 1: happen to you?
Speaker 2: Now you asked me, yes.
Speaker 1: Yes, yes, No, I'm not asking. I'm telling you. No,
Speaker 1: I know, I don't. I don't know. I fully believe,
Speaker 1: there's there's no bone in my body believes that you're
Speaker 1: alying to mar right now, I'm telling you this. I'm
Speaker 1: stating the facts here. This did happen to you, Okay.
Speaker 1: I don't think you would lie about this. And you, James,
Speaker 1: know that this happened to you, okay, right, you don't
Speaker 1: you believe your parents? You know that this is your story.
Speaker 1: This is your story. You know it? Correct? Yes, so
Speaker 1: this is your story. It happened. You know what happened.
Speaker 1: You know the truth. That's all that fucking matters who,
Speaker 1: any other tertiary party, any of your friends, anyone listening
Speaker 1: to this, any any other party that thinks to your life.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter, James, because you know the truth. You
Speaker 1: know that you came from an unideal circumstance and you
Speaker 1: are now trying to as you put in your own words,
Speaker 1: you were saying, going to college for me is an
Speaker 1: opportunity because I was kidnapped and I almost fucking died
Speaker 1: multiple times, and I now have an opportunity to do
Speaker 1: something really worthwhile with my life. And that's what this
Speaker 1: fucking scholarship money that's out there is for James. And
Speaker 1: nobody needs to know that or be assured of that
Speaker 1: other than you. So I don't really care what your
Speaker 1: friends think or what anyone else thinks except for you.
Speaker 1: And so what I think you gotta do is really
Speaker 1: internalize the fact that this is your story. This is
Speaker 1: the truth is that's what happened to you, and you
Speaker 1: do deserve to be able to go to college, and
Speaker 1: you do deserve these opportunities, and anyone else's perspective on
Speaker 1: that really does not matter except I guess the people
Speaker 1: who are giving you the money.
Speaker 2: And yeah, I guess the problem. I guess it comes
Speaker 2: back to me worrying about other people's things. But like
Speaker 2: you said, it.
Speaker 1: Does, this is coming back to, This is coming back
Speaker 1: to like this is a classic thing. This is like
Speaker 1: a universal thing of caring about other people's opinions.
Speaker 2: You gotta get over in situations that their opinion doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: It doesn't matter. You know, you know what you're telling.
Speaker 1: You know you're telling the truth. That's all that matters.
Speaker 1: So other people's opinions that it just doesn't matter, James,
Speaker 1: So please write your essay. Please tell the story. Tell
Speaker 1: tell those people in the college admissions, in the scholarship essays,
Speaker 1: Tell them the story exactly how you told it to us,
Speaker 1: because I was compelled by it, you know, I mean,
Speaker 1: this is this is a trait. It's a gnarly fucking story.
Speaker 1: You know, it's a gnarly fucking story. That's why you
Speaker 1: called in with it. It's a gnarly story. And you
Speaker 1: and and and it's not just a gnarly story, it's
Speaker 1: there's a thing behind it, which again you explained, which
Speaker 1: is I really feel strongly. I'll repeat this. I really
Speaker 1: feel strongly that I was given a second chance in life,
Speaker 1: and you believe that. You told us that, and I
Speaker 1: think you believe it, and I think it's true. You
Speaker 1: believe strongly that you have were given a second chance
Speaker 1: in life, and you want to make the most out
Speaker 1: of that second chance. And that's your truth and that's
Speaker 1: all that matter. Anyone else's opinion on that doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: That's your thing. So go forward with that, Let that
Speaker 1: take you wherever you want it to, and on the
Speaker 1: way to don't give a fuck what stup anyone thinks
Speaker 1: about it, because you know it be true.
Speaker 2: That feels I'm gonna that that that that feels like
Speaker 2: from a like like it just feels good to hear,
Speaker 2: like like I guess I just needed to not sound
Speaker 2: like a bitch, but I need to reassurance like like
Speaker 2: it's like like like I and I genuinely do believe
Speaker 2: like everything that I do in my life, like from
Speaker 2: when I was able to contextualize and figure out what
Speaker 2: I wanted to do in my life, I figured out
Speaker 2: that everything that I do now is a second opportunity
Speaker 2: to do it, because that's that's how it is it's
Speaker 2: I've been given the second opportunity to do whatever I
Speaker 2: want in my life and to live at how I
Speaker 2: want to and because I'm choosing how to do it,
Speaker 2: and even with like even with my I want a
Speaker 2: major in in computer science. But a majority of that
Speaker 2: comes from I've done a little bit of coding and stuff,
Speaker 2: but a majority comes out of that comes from the money.
Speaker 2: I'm not even gonna lie it comes from the money
Speaker 2: because I want to be able to to like support
Speaker 2: my family and my brothers and my sister and my
Speaker 2: and my parents. But also I have this. I have this,
Speaker 2: I have this passion for social work and allowing people because,
Speaker 2: like I said, when we came here, we came to
Speaker 2: a church, and I want to be able to give
Speaker 2: back to the same people that allowed me to be
Speaker 2: here today and to be able to talk to you.
Speaker 2: And I didn't do I didn't even know how to
Speaker 2: speak a word a lick of the English before I
Speaker 2: came here. The first week that I came here, we date.
Speaker 2: She handed me this is a truth, so I remember this.
Speaker 2: She handed me a doctor pepper for dinner at Dan
Speaker 2: hitting me at doctor pepper. I cracked it open and
Speaker 2: I drank it, and it was like the most disgusting
Speaker 2: thing that had adver tasted, because I never had soda
Speaker 2: before that, and and I like and I didn't want
Speaker 2: to be rude, and I also didn't know how to
Speaker 2: speak English, and so I just down the whole doctor Pepper,
Speaker 2: and she thought that I enjoyed it so much that
Speaker 2: she gave me another one. And I had to look
Speaker 2: at her, and I didn't know how to be English,
Speaker 2: and I just shook my head and I stuck my
Speaker 2: tongue out like like like in a sign of disgust.
Speaker 2: And I've come from doing that, from using facial expressions
Speaker 2: to describe how I feel, to be able to write
Speaker 2: an essay on my life and use it to myself.
Speaker 1: Up. Yes, you've you've h James. You've had a beautiful
Speaker 1: journey in your life, and this journey has inspired and
Speaker 1: everything you're talking to me about right now. You want
Speaker 1: to go into social work to help people in the
Speaker 1: same way that you were helped. You want to go
Speaker 1: into coding so that you can afford to support your family.
Speaker 1: You have altruistic passions and motivations, and I just need
Speaker 1: you to know, these are these, these are these truths
Speaker 1: that you have, these motivations you have, you know, you
Speaker 1: know where they came from, you know where they will
Speaker 1: guide you. And that's all that matters. And nobody can
Speaker 1: everyone in the fucking world could believe that that you're
Speaker 1: not telling the truth. Whatever it is, nobody, nobody can
Speaker 1: take it away from you. Not nobody can take that
Speaker 1: away from you, James, So just keep following that and
Speaker 1: stop giving a fuck about other people's perspectives on your
Speaker 1: internal life motivations and your truths. Well, can you do
Speaker 1: that for me?
Speaker 2: Thank you? Thank you? I can. I'm gonna do it,
Speaker 2: not only do it for you, but I'm gonna do
Speaker 2: it for myself. How about that.
Speaker 1: Please don't do it for me, do it for yourself.
Speaker 2: I will. I will. It's just yeah, I don't want
Speaker 2: to keep you here much longer. But it's uh, it's
Speaker 2: it's also like there's a like, like a very strong
Speaker 2: part of me, like I said, give back to my
Speaker 2: parents because of where we came from, and we literally
Speaker 2: lived I should not we lived in a box like
Speaker 2: it was. It was basically a closet. Lived in a
Speaker 2: closet that had two mattresses on the floor, had a
Speaker 2: kitchen and I had to hear and that was it.
Speaker 2: Thank you have you get a door? Thankful for the door.
Speaker 2: So the weather got shitty and there's a lotting, but
Speaker 2: we that was that was a serious by the way, Well.
Speaker 1: Well listen, James, is is there you know? Look man,
Speaker 1: I'm glad. I'm glad that you I hope, and it
Speaker 1: sounds like we have gotten somewhere in this conversation. I
Speaker 1: really hope we have because I think that you deserve
Speaker 1: to feel confident in your truths and not let random
Speaker 1: fucking people, you know, mess with that confidence because it's
Speaker 1: the really powerful thing that you've got. I hope you
Speaker 1: come away from this conversation really believing that is there
Speaker 1: any other aspect of of this or of your story,
Speaker 1: or of your future or anything that you kind of
Speaker 1: feel like we didn't cover before before we do that.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I think I think it's for like not too.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I don't want to sound too but I think it
Speaker 2: gives a It gives a perspective onto of people. There's
Speaker 2: a lot of people that are that are like me,
Speaker 2: not like that they've kidnapped, they that they've come from
Speaker 2: from from kind of nothing. The work worked, their family
Speaker 2: has worked, and they've worked so hard to achieve and
Speaker 2: and and they kind of they kind of get undermine
Speaker 2: and they don't they don't get the attention they deserve,
Speaker 2: and they don't get the they don't get acknowledged for
Speaker 2: how hard they fucking work, and and they should and
Speaker 2: it sucks because not everybody's gonna do it.
Speaker 1: But James, real quick, what's what's what's your future goal?
Speaker 1: You want to get into programming?
Speaker 2: You said, yeah, currently, I have this internship at the
Speaker 2: A cybersecurity, saying, so, cybersecurity is kind of the road
Speaker 2: that I want to take in because most comfortable with it.
Speaker 2: So cybersecurity, Well.
Speaker 1: Well, listen to James. I I I I want to say,
Speaker 1: I really appreciate you calling in and sharing your story
Speaker 1: with us. It's a gnarly story. I don't and I
Speaker 1: really hope I'm glad that it sounds like you're coming
Speaker 1: away from this conversation feeling more confident in your truths.
Speaker 1: I hope that that stays like that as you write
Speaker 1: your essays and do your things and follow your path.
Speaker 1: And thank you for calling. Man, Is there anything else
Speaker 1: you want to say to the people of the computer
Speaker 1: before we go.
Speaker 2: To the people computed. Take it from me, take it
Speaker 2: from a Wilder said, do what the fuck you want.
Speaker 2: Do it for yourself and your family. If that's something
Speaker 2: that you that you work for. Be happy. Do what
Speaker 2: makes you happy. Surround yourself with people that make you
Speaker 2: happy and that push you to be better. Do you
Speaker 2: not surround yourself people that hold you back and that
Speaker 2: are selfish. I think that the devil in this world
Speaker 2: is being selfish. Be selfless, help others around you, allow
Speaker 2: people to help you. Don't afraid to reach out sad.
Speaker 2: Tell people you're sad. It's okay. There's nothing wrong with
Speaker 2: being sad, which I'll do with therapist. I go to therapy.
Speaker 2: There's nothing wrong with say it's one of the best
Speaker 2: decisions I made for myself. There's so many things outside
Speaker 2: that can that can help you. You're not alone no
Speaker 2: matter what. And yeah, man, thank you for taking the time.
Speaker 2: This has been This has been amazing. It went literally
Speaker 2: ten times better than I than I thought you could have.
Speaker 1: Man, But beautiful, beautiful. I'm really happy to hear that. Man.
Speaker 1: I appreciate you sharing this all with us, and I'll
Speaker 1: talk to you again soon. Man, good luck with those essays.
Speaker 2: All right, all right, man, I'll call you back if
Speaker 2: I get if I get into the colleges I'm applying.
Speaker 1: Please do give us a little updick, give us a
Speaker 1: little up to have a good have aggressed that.
Speaker 2: James, all right, you as well, Thank you.
Speaker 1: I liked that call a lot. I like that call
Speaker 1: a lot. That call touched on a lot of themes
Speaker 1: that I'm very interested in. James has this story and
Speaker 1: he's like concerned with other people's saying to him, whether
Speaker 1: or not. I don't even I didn't even get from
Speaker 1: him if this is like a thing that people have
Speaker 1: been saying to him, or if this is a thing
Speaker 1: that he thinks other people think about him. But both
Speaker 1: of them are are are irrelevant that he's in his
Speaker 1: mind like, oh, people are gonna think I'm lying. People
Speaker 1: are gonna think I'm you know, just milking it for attention.
Speaker 1: People are going to think this and that and the
Speaker 1: other thing. But it's like, you know, let's go back
Speaker 1: to his truth, right, which is this happened to me.
Speaker 1: I was there. I was in fucking Syria and Iraq.
Speaker 1: My family was there.
Speaker 2: This.
Speaker 1: I know this. I don't need other people's validation on
Speaker 1: this to be true, because I know it happened. I
Speaker 1: know what I've been through. I went, I came to America,
Speaker 1: I didn't speak any English. I had to go from
Speaker 1: sticking my tongue out to now being able to have
Speaker 1: fluent conversation. Was hard. I was there and I know it,
Speaker 1: and it was hard. And I now want to take
Speaker 1: that and go back and like try to help other
Speaker 1: folks who we are dealing with similar things in the
Speaker 1: way that you know, this church helped me when I
Speaker 1: was dealing with some shit. And this is a beautiful,
Speaker 1: powerful thing, And I just hope he realizes it and
Speaker 1: realizes the strength of it, that it's so strong that
Speaker 1: a guy on the internet typing fake and is not anything,
Speaker 1: it's just not worth paying attention to. He's got a
Speaker 1: stronger thing to be rattled by that, and I hope
Speaker 1: he follows it, and I hope it takes him to
Speaker 1: wonderful places. That was a good call. I like that.
Speaker 1: Thank you for sharing. James, Keiko. Hi, what's what's going on?
Speaker 5: Hanging out?
Speaker 1: Keiko? It says here that you you are in Tokyo
Speaker 1: right now? Yeah? Wait, Lyle, Yes, this is.
Speaker 5: Me Wow, your voice sounds so different.
Speaker 1: How does it normally sound?
Speaker 4: Well?
Speaker 5: I wish I had perfect pitch and I could tell
Speaker 5: you exactly, but it's like a different tongue.
Speaker 1: Are you Can you do an impression of me? Is
Speaker 1: that what you're trying to do right now?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Keek, are you there?
Speaker 5: I can't do an impression.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I don't think I can do an impression of you
Speaker 1: either without sounding mean. Oh man, Keiko, what's going on? Kiko?
Speaker 1: I picked your call because you're are you? Are you
Speaker 1: just in Tokyo or do you? Do you live there?
Speaker 1: Were you born there? What's what's the deal?
Speaker 5: I was born here and I live here now. Uh,
Speaker 5: but I've spent half of my life in America?
Speaker 1: What part of America?
Speaker 5: Washington State?
Speaker 1: That's cool? Man? I am you know I'm playing. I'm
Speaker 1: going to take a trip to Japan either in December?
Speaker 1: Did I say that already? When? Did I say that? Well?
Speaker 5: I told you in chat to come to Tokyo like
Speaker 5: two days ago or something, and you said you were
Speaker 5: thinking about coming in two months, and I really want.
Speaker 2: To do you around.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm thinking about Oh shit, you know what? Actually, okay,
Speaker 1: let's put a pin in this Keiko, because I actually
Speaker 1: do need somebody because I'm going to do street interviews
Speaker 1: in Japan and I need someone for you to translate
Speaker 1: for me. Wow.
Speaker 5: Perfect, Oh my Japanese is better than my English.
Speaker 1: Perfect perfect? Okay, sweet No, let's put a pin in
Speaker 1: that message me on Discord or Instagram or something and
Speaker 1: we'll keep in touch.
Speaker 5: For I'll do Instagram. I don't know how to do discord.
Speaker 1: Okay, perfect. I was going to say, uh sh I was.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking about when I go there. I'm trying to
Speaker 1: decide whether or not I want to do a show,
Speaker 1: because like I'm on this kick now, like I want
Speaker 1: to go internationally and do shows. I don't I don't know.
Speaker 1: I know there's like there's this place called the Tokyo
Speaker 1: Comedy Bar that I think does stuff, But I don't
Speaker 1: know if I have enough people who listen to me
Speaker 1: in Japan.
Speaker 5: Oh, for sure you do. I was talking about like
Speaker 5: trying to call in and just like a random friend
Speaker 5: was like, oh my god, you listen just.
Speaker 2: Like Lyle two.
Speaker 1: Really yeah.
Speaker 5: But I feel like it's all like non Japanese people
Speaker 5: because Japanese people don't want to speak English.
Speaker 1: Well, does she live in does your friend live? Does
Speaker 1: your friend live in Tokyo?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Okay, Well I figured it wouldn't be Japanese. Okay. I
Speaker 1: figured it would be like, I guess, expats or do
Speaker 1: a lot of people in Japan speak English.
Speaker 5: Japanese people don't, like I'm married to a guy who's
Speaker 5: Japanese and doesn't speak English.
Speaker 1: Interesting? Interesting? Yeah, how did you meet him?
Speaker 5: We actually met on Tinder, but it's really magical and
Speaker 5: he's yeah, he's my soulmate.
Speaker 1: So what is can I ask? What is Japanese Tinder? Like?
Speaker 5: Just as bad as Tinder anywhere, I think? Okay, but
Speaker 5: I mean, I guess I never really dated in Japan
Speaker 5: too much. But it's like, I don't know, it all
Speaker 5: feels very sticky and gross.
Speaker 1: Did you meet him on Japanese tender?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 1: But did you get lucky? And it just didn't?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 1: Sorry, go ahead, I interrupted you.
Speaker 5: Yeah, no, no, no, yeah. We were both about to
Speaker 5: fucking like do et our accounts because it was so
Speaker 5: like cringey. But yeah, just and like it was at
Speaker 5: the point where I stopped giving a ship and so
Speaker 5: I was just like messaging random people like stupid things.
Speaker 5: But then he like came back with the same energy.
Speaker 5: So we met up in shibu yah h and turned
Speaker 5: out so when we first saw each other, we both
Speaker 5: had a shaved head and yellow pants on and where
Speaker 5: the exact same height, really, and I was just like, yeah,
Speaker 5: what the heck? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Did you take that as a sign of.
Speaker 5: Some kind kind of but not as much as like
Speaker 5: I feel like someone else might think. I mean, like,
Speaker 5: what a coincidence. But I didn't think too much about it.
Speaker 1: How long have you guys, you said, he's your husband?
Speaker 5: Mm hm, now he is.
Speaker 1: How long have you guys been.
Speaker 5: Married for for a year?
Speaker 1: For a year now, congratulations?
Speaker 2: Man?
Speaker 1: How long have you been like dating in general?
Speaker 5: Three years?
Speaker 1: I think, Yeah, that's awesome, that's awesome.
Speaker 2: It's cool.
Speaker 1: Do Now I'm wondering. I'm I'm probably gonna go in
Speaker 1: Japan like December January, and I'm gonna do I'm want
Speaker 1: to do these streen interviews. Would love your help to translate.
Speaker 1: I'm wondering. Wait, I hold that thought because I want
Speaker 1: to ask you what you were gonna say. But I'm wondering, like,
Speaker 1: how in like public in Japan, how willing are people
Speaker 1: to like interact with nonsense? Like if I set up
Speaker 1: my chairs and my sign and stuff and invite people
Speaker 1: to come sit down, Like, are are just most people
Speaker 1: going to gloss over me? Or do you think we'll
Speaker 1: be able to get folks to sit down?
Speaker 5: You hit up the right places and there'll be plenty
Speaker 5: of people who will want to hang out.
Speaker 6: Okay, the right place you're yeah, yeah, yeah, I feel
Speaker 6: like I mean, Japanese people love that sort of like
Speaker 6: TV show like interview, interesting dynamic, so I think, and
Speaker 6: there's some like late night shows that do that.
Speaker 5: It's really silly. So it might also be like the
Speaker 5: place and time of day.
Speaker 1: Well, okay, there was a thought that you were holding
Speaker 1: me you were going to tell.
Speaker 5: Me, oh, well you should if as soon as you
Speaker 5: know when you're coming, I can take as much time
Speaker 5: off as I need because I'm like kind of you know,
Speaker 5: I have a flexible schedule.
Speaker 1: What do you what do you do for work?
Speaker 5: I I tattoo.
Speaker 1: As like a Japanese tattoo place. Yeah, I guess that
Speaker 1: was a ship question of me because if you live
Speaker 1: in Japan and you are a tattoo artist, you would
Speaker 1: be at a Japanese.
Speaker 6: Tattoo It's not like the traditional like hand done Japanese style.
Speaker 1: What what style is it?
Speaker 5: Mmmmmm Everyone at the studio does sort of like like
Speaker 5: more contemporary, like Japanese like stuff, and then I kind
Speaker 5: of stick out because I do like scribbly, rainbow, sparkly
Speaker 5: weird stuff.
Speaker 1: You know, it's good to it's good to be different,
Speaker 1: makes you stand out.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: Now let me ask you this again. Sorry, I'm making
Speaker 1: you into my travel agent, but.
Speaker 5: No, I'm so happy to do that.
Speaker 1: I I definitely go. I'm definitely going to Tokyo. I'm
Speaker 1: definitely gonna go to Kyoto. I've heard cool things about Kyoto.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go for two weeks. Is there anywhere else
Speaker 1: in the two weeks that you think I should hit
Speaker 1: besides Tokyo and Kyoto? Osaka, Okay, Osaka could be cool.
Speaker 5: Osaka is like the comedy capital of Japan.
Speaker 1: The comedy for like Japanese comedy or American comedy.
Speaker 5: It's for Japanese comedy. Like a question, there's a specific
Speaker 5: die like Japanese dialect. I guess that's from Osaka, and
Speaker 5: like pretty much all comedians are from Osaka and they
Speaker 5: have that distinct dialect. So it's like comedy equals Osaka.
Speaker 1: I'm going to make an Instagram I did this recently
Speaker 1: with just Europe in general. I'm gonna make an Instagram
Speaker 1: story and I'm gonna be like, who in who currently
Speaker 1: lives in Japan and would come see me if I
Speaker 1: did a show there, and if I get like ten people,
Speaker 1: I mean.
Speaker 5: Oh, okay, I think Japan small enough that everyone would
Speaker 5: like come to you.
Speaker 1: I don't know, I guess I just don't know if
Speaker 1: I have enough. Well, I'll find you know if I
Speaker 1: do it. If I do it and you and your
Speaker 1: friends show up and I just spend the whole thing
Speaker 1: interviewing you guys, that would be a win win.
Speaker 5: I could die hardily.
Speaker 1: Okay, real quick before we go, it's us here that
Speaker 1: you had an acid trip recently and that you what
Speaker 1: what what was going on in this acid trip? Mmm?
Speaker 5: So it was my birthday and my husband and I
Speaker 5: were taking acid in the mountains and I just I
Speaker 5: don't know where it came from, but I was just
Speaker 5: like the gecko, the gecko, I really want to talk
Speaker 5: to the gecko, and I mean he doesn't speak English.
Speaker 5: That was like Frank you as gecko in Japanese.
Speaker 1: But by the way, what is is it? Is it
Speaker 1: it's Yamori right or something like that.
Speaker 5: Oh, it's YAMMOI. Oh, I don't know. There's like so
Speaker 5: there's I kept saying tokage, but that might be lizard.
Speaker 5: I don't know specifics tokage, but we do have a
Speaker 5: yammody living in our post uh our mail box.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 4: Acid, Yeah, I was on acid and I was just
Speaker 4: like talking about you. I was just like, I've been
Speaker 4: really wanting to talk to the Geck and I know
Speaker 4: it's going to happen, and I'm going to tell him
Speaker 4: I'm in Japan and I do tattoos.
Speaker 5: And he was just like really encouraging and he's like.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you tell him and I was like yeah, Gecko, no, hell, yeah,
Speaker 6: this is this is.
Speaker 5: I just thought I should share that with you. It
Speaker 5: was a really good trip.
Speaker 1: Well no, it's this is perfect because I was, well,
Speaker 1: it's perfect you mentioned because I literally it's so perfectly
Speaker 1: called in because I literally really this morning was like yesterday,
Speaker 1: I was really high and I was like, I should
Speaker 1: just go to Japan. I'm gonna die. Just go to
Speaker 1: Japan for two weeks. I've never done this, to do
Speaker 1: it and so It's funny that you just now are
Speaker 1: calling me right now, and as I'm on this kick
Speaker 1: of trying to do it, because I was thinking two things.
Speaker 1: I was thinking, I need to get a translator for
Speaker 1: doing street interviews, and also I kind of want to
Speaker 1: do acid in Japan. If you know, I shouldn't be
Speaker 1: talking about God. We'll talk, we'll talk on the we'll
Speaker 1: talk about that. We'll go ahead, what we're gonna say.
Speaker 5: Okay, we'll take good care of you in Japan?
Speaker 1: Okay? Oh? Can I interview your husband too?
Speaker 5: When you're here in Japan.
Speaker 1: He's at worker, you know, Okay, Okay, sick, sick? Okay,
Speaker 1: this is cool, and I'm glad you call cut your hair?
Speaker 1: Oh shit? Could he because I'm gonna probably could he? Like?
Speaker 1: Can he make me look cool? Can he give me
Speaker 1: like a mohawk or something?
Speaker 5: Yeah, mohawk, skin fade, whatever you need?
Speaker 1: Oh sick, Okay, cool. I'm very stoked about this.
Speaker 5: I figured you wouldn't want a tattoo, but.
Speaker 1: Maybe I don't know. I don't know. I've been I've
Speaker 1: been fairly anti tattoo for most of my life. But
Speaker 1: maybe while I'm on acid in Japan, I'll open myself
Speaker 1: up to new experiences.
Speaker 5: Are you gonna be doing the interviews or is that
Speaker 5: like oh.
Speaker 1: No, oh no, no, no, no, I will I.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 1: Drugs and the gecko costume do not have never mixed. Well,
Speaker 1: I like to keep those two things fairly separate. But no,
Speaker 1: I'm excited. I'm glad you called in. This is actually
Speaker 1: part of them because I'm like, I literally last night
Speaker 1: was fucking Stone and I was looking and I was like,
Speaker 1: it's only this much money to go there. I can
Speaker 1: do that. It'll be easy. Let's do it. We're on
Speaker 1: geto's going to.
Speaker 4: Yay Lyle forever.
Speaker 1: Yes, send me a thing and we'll keep in touch
Speaker 1: on I'll that, you know.
Speaker 5: Yeah, when I d M you, my my usual name
Speaker 5: has my name Keiko in.
Speaker 1: It, So this is yeah, okay, perfect, perfect Keko. Is
Speaker 1: there anything else you want to say to the people
Speaker 1: of the computer before we go?
Speaker 5: Oh, shout out to Bri.
Speaker 1: Yes, shout out Tobris as well. Sabri is one of
Speaker 1: the call screamers. She's a she is a mega homie,
Speaker 1: very sweet individual. Shout out debris. Yeah, that's it, Kiko forever.
Speaker 1: I'll talk to you soon, dude.
Speaker 5: Okay, I have a good night.
Speaker 1: Damn that was that was genuine I that was genuinely
Speaker 1: kissed me.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 1: I've been thinking about Japan. Uh, I have the you know,
Speaker 1: this is gonna this is a this is cliche. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get cliche for a second. You know, the whole
Speaker 1: there's a coffee table expression that's not even the word
Speaker 1: someday is not a day type of shit was getting
Speaker 1: into my head, and I'm like, I've always wanted to
Speaker 1: go to Asia but never been. I should just do it.
Speaker 1: I like going to foreign countries alone with my little
Speaker 1: Gecko suitcase. I've done it a couple times. I did
Speaker 1: it once. I did like a weekend in Guatemala alone
Speaker 1: with my Gecko suit and did interviews there. That was
Speaker 1: fucking awesome. I did it in Mexico City that was great.
Speaker 1: And now we're gonna do it in Japan and hopefully
Speaker 1: do it everywhere in the world. Very exciting stuff, very
Speaker 1: excited stuff. Hey, folks, it's Lyle. Lately I've been ending
Speaker 1: my Sunday podcast with an excerpt from my street interview segments,
Speaker 1: and this is a great one. It's a conversation I
Speaker 1: had on Broadway Street in Nashville, Tennessee with a guy
Speaker 1: who is just kind of getting his life back together.
Speaker 1: And I really enjoyed having the talk. And I'm gonna
Speaker 1: shut up and play it because I hate rambling intros.
Speaker 1: I just wanted to be here to explain the transition
Speaker 1: between phone calls and real life. Soundy sounds Okay, let's
Speaker 1: get into it. Cody.
Speaker 3: Yeah, nice to meet you.
Speaker 1: What's your deal, Cody? What's going on that? Man?
Speaker 3: I'm just standing here. I'm gonna go to work. I
Speaker 3: work at the hard Rock across the street.
Speaker 1: You work at the hard Rock.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm just enjoying the weather right now.
Speaker 1: I feel like the hard Rock Cafe in Nashville must
Speaker 1: be a gnarly place.
Speaker 3: Yeah, today's my first day.
Speaker 1: Actually, this is your first day. You haven't even been
Speaker 1: in there yet. Okay, what I maybe this is a
Speaker 1: stupid question. What inspired you to work at the hard
Speaker 1: Rock Cafe?
Speaker 3: I really just I love I loved Nashville. I like
Speaker 3: this the energy in the atmosphere, and I love to cook.
Speaker 3: And if that's mixed up both over there, it's NonStop,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean? And I'm just really uh
Speaker 3: anticipating what I can learn there and how I can
Speaker 3: progress in that environment. There's a lot of people there.
Speaker 1: Interesting, So you're you're talking about what you could learn there?
Speaker 1: What what what is it that you want to learn that.
Speaker 3: Just more culinary skills because I love to cook. I
Speaker 3: love to present food to people. I like people the
Speaker 3: smile on their face when they get it. And so
Speaker 3: it's the closest thing to being a chef in there.
Speaker 3: It's really cool.
Speaker 1: Interesting are you Are you a chef or your waiter?
Speaker 1: I'm a cook, your cook, I'm gonna cook. So we'll
Speaker 1: get there. What what is like? So you you like
Speaker 1: to cook? What is your magnum opus dish?
Speaker 3: What does that mean?
Speaker 1: Like your your your signature dish? Probably checking af fredo,
Speaker 1: checking out I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, definitely that's the
Speaker 1: bomb dot com Okay, and gro cheese. I feel like,
Speaker 1: are you gonna be cooking chicken altfreddo and girl cheese
Speaker 1: and probably.
Speaker 3: Not groal cheeses. Maybe chicken alfredo though definitely I have
Speaker 3: to put my own little spin on it.
Speaker 1: So you love Nashville and you want to contribute to
Speaker 1: the to the sphere of the culture. Yes, definitely tell
Speaker 1: me what you love about Nashville.
Speaker 3: Well, first of all the people, there's some really nice
Speaker 3: people here and just it's a really a good place
Speaker 3: for opportunity. Man, It's a good place for you to grow.
Speaker 3: And that's what I'm trying to do in life right now,
Speaker 3: because I'm really just now like figuring what I like
Speaker 3: and who I am.
Speaker 1: Interesting. Tell me, let's start from like before, when you
Speaker 1: didn't know, I didn't know. It was like a struggle
Speaker 1: to figure out who you are and what you like.
Speaker 3: Yeah, because I was always high, because you're high. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I was on drugs for a long time, bro, And
Speaker 3: I'm just now getting off of those things, you know
Speaker 3: what I mean, and really just discovering who I am
Speaker 3: and what real happiness is because I thought I was happy,
Speaker 3: but now far from it.
Speaker 1: Was it difficult to wean yourself off the.
Speaker 3: Drug very difficult. I've been. I've been using since I
Speaker 3: was like thirteen. I'm twenty seven. Yeah, yeah, and I'm
Speaker 3: only I'm only like three or four months clean. He congratulations, man,
Speaker 3: thank you, bro, thank you.
Speaker 1: What what kinds of things are you doing in your
Speaker 1: sobriety to like keep it up, to keep yourself in
Speaker 1: good shape, to try to you know, stay off.
Speaker 3: Drugs, staying positive at all times no matter what. Yeah,
Speaker 3: that's the first thing I have to do every morning, bro,
Speaker 3: is look at what my day is going to be,
Speaker 3: like how I'm going to look at it, Because it's
Speaker 3: all about my perspective, really it is. And willingness and
Speaker 3: being open minded to suggestions and remaining teachable is the
Speaker 3: biggest thing because I think I know everything, So yeah,
Speaker 3: I have to remain teachable bro at all times.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's important to not feel as though you're like
Speaker 1: done growing or like you know everything, because then you
Speaker 1: are opening yourself up to more of the universe's knowledge
Speaker 1: and sit.
Speaker 3: Yeah definitely.
Speaker 1: So uh okay, so you were using for a while.
Speaker 1: Your three months sober again, congrats? What types of like
Speaker 1: things are you learning about yourself in those three months.
Speaker 3: I like a roller skate. I really like to roller skate, Bro,
Speaker 3: I do. And I really want to have a hand
Speaker 3: in helping people, but not specifically help find missing people
Speaker 3: because I don't know why. That's that's something that's got
Speaker 3: to be hard on a family, bro, is to not know.
Speaker 1: You want to help find missing missing people? Yeah, like
Speaker 1: go on like rogue missions to find like folks on
Speaker 1: like milk cartons and stuff.
Speaker 3: Yes, like I really want to do that, you know
Speaker 3: what I'm saying. Yeah, And it's I don't know why
Speaker 3: or how, it's just something I would like to do
Speaker 3: because whether they're alive or whether they're dead, it's the
Speaker 3: fact of knowing for their families that's got to be hard,
Speaker 3: waking up every day wondering.
Speaker 1: Yeah, have you ever like gone, have you like looked
Speaker 1: for missing posters and like gone on your own sort
Speaker 1: of like hunts for the folks?
Speaker 3: No? Not, Yeah, I don't have the resources or the
Speaker 3: time right now to do that, but it's something I
Speaker 3: aspire to do.
Speaker 1: Man, it really is anything else like a roller skating
Speaker 1: looking for missing people? I both very niche like I
Speaker 1: wouldn't have guessed those things.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm glad you're thinking outside of the box here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: anything else that you're interested in developing for yourself.
Speaker 3: I want to help, Okay, like people like the guy
Speaker 3: that was just sitting here. I want to help people
Speaker 3: like that man that are in because I was that
Speaker 3: guy before. I've been there. I've been on the streets
Speaker 3: and not knowing where to go or no having no
Speaker 3: one to talk to or no money or no resources.
Speaker 3: So finally, I would like to get in a position
Speaker 3: to help those people. I just want to help, Bro,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Can I ask you, you know, having been in that
Speaker 1: guy's position, having been on the streets with not a
Speaker 1: lot of resources, like, what would be the most helpful
Speaker 1: thing for you in that moment?
Speaker 3: Go to rehabit all day because they are going to
Speaker 3: help you. You know. The first they're gonna teach you
Speaker 3: how to help yourself, and then they're gonna help you
Speaker 3: as far as shelter, food, transportation, everything you need to
Speaker 3: become a better person. They are gonna give you that.
Speaker 3: It's the best thing I've done ever.
Speaker 1: See did you go to rehab three months ago?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I went to Samaritan Actually oh no shit, yeah,
Speaker 3: oh so was it?
Speaker 1: I assume it was like really hard at first. We're
Speaker 1: going through a lot of like withdrawal and whatnot.
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely because my DLC. Can I stand it on here?
Speaker 1: You can tell what everyone?
Speaker 3: Okay? Yeah, my DLC is fitanel heroin, which is deadly Bro.
Speaker 3: It's and it took an OD for me to actually
Speaker 3: wake up. It took me dying to wake up, which
Speaker 3: is ironic, but Yeah, I did go through those withdrawals
Speaker 3: and that's the hardest part. But it's like a weak work.
Speaker 1: And you fucking made it through.
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely, Yeah I did. And I don't know, it's
Speaker 3: a blessing. I'm not really a big believer in God,
Speaker 3: but I do have a higher power, you.
Speaker 1: Know what I mean. It's fuck it because in the
Speaker 1: like NA and AA and all that stuff they talk
Speaker 1: about like submitting to a higher power, which doesn't necessarily
Speaker 1: mean God. So in your own like definition of that,
Speaker 1: what is your higher power?
Speaker 3: Well, I'm I have a lot of pagan beliefs. I
Speaker 3: have a lot of pagan beliefs and wicked beliefs, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean, which is just it just really
Speaker 3: just ties into the earth and nature and there. I
Speaker 3: feel like there's a God of love. There's a god sadness.
Speaker 3: There's a God of the sky, god of you know
Speaker 3: what I'm saying, the trees, There's a god for everything.
Speaker 3: So but my main, really my main high power is
Speaker 3: the universe.
Speaker 2: Bro.
Speaker 3: Like the universe.
Speaker 1: I want it.
Speaker 3: There's a force that puts people in our path for
Speaker 3: a reason. There's a force that makes us think a
Speaker 3: certain way. There's a force that makes us go through this,
Speaker 3: so we get ready for that even though if we
Speaker 3: don't know it.
Speaker 1: Are you deterministic in your beliefs? Do you believe that
Speaker 1: things happen for a reason that is kind of predetermined
Speaker 1: by forces outside of our control?
Speaker 3: Especially my biggest thing is horoscopes. They're pre written, but
Speaker 3: when I read mine, it's like it's already it just
Speaker 3: it speaks on my situation and what I'm going through,
Speaker 3: not physically, mentally, internally, and it's that's the weirdest thing
Speaker 3: to me. Man, that's so weird.
Speaker 1: What's your sign? PCEs?
Speaker 3: Yeah, so we're already very tuned in with the other
Speaker 3: side type stuff.
Speaker 1: And how long has that philosophy been a part of
Speaker 1: your life?
Speaker 3: For as long as I remember, bro, since I was
Speaker 3: a kid, Like, I've always heard things different, seen different
Speaker 3: things look different to me than other people. Or I've
Speaker 3: always seen other sides of things that normal people didn't.
Speaker 3: Really I'm not gonna say normal with that other people
Speaker 3: didn't see. So I've always felt like I've had not
Speaker 3: a gift, but like a third eye since before I
Speaker 3: was even aware of it, you know what I mean,
Speaker 3: It's always been open.
Speaker 1: Has uh you know, following your horoscope and and and
Speaker 1: sort of this philosophy of the determinism has it guided
Speaker 1: you into positive places in your life? Oh?
Speaker 3: Yes, definitely. I gotta be work at two. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Oh what time is there right now?
Speaker 3: On fire good? Yeah?
Speaker 1: Oh man, I'm really happy for you.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 1: You have a very bright smile on your face. It
Speaker 1: seems like you're doing a lot better.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I've just met you. I'm alive.
Speaker 1: Yeah, man, what uh? What are you the most excited
Speaker 1: for it to work at? For the hard rock?
Speaker 3: You want to be honest, please.
Speaker 1: The girls seems to be a trend going on.
Speaker 3: They're really cute girls there, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: But I'm not gonna let that determine from my main focus.
Speaker 3: It's gonna be cool to make some new friends, get
Speaker 3: some new associates because I've had to let all the
Speaker 3: old ones go, So it's gonna be nice to meet
Speaker 3: some new friends. Man. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So I when you stopped using, did you have like
Speaker 1: a lot of relationships or you know, friendships or anything
Speaker 1: that were like really tied in with the drug use
Speaker 1: that you had to cut off.
Speaker 3: Yes, When I look back, the only thing me and
Speaker 3: those people had in common was getting high.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so that's a very toxic. I didn't know then,
Speaker 3: but I know now that's very toxic. And one thing
Speaker 3: that I had to quit doing was talking to girls,
Speaker 3: and that's my biggest distraction and my biggest downfall.
Speaker 1: Every Just why was it a distracting thing for you?
Speaker 3: Because I put more time into them than I do
Speaker 3: me sure they become a higher power.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's not good. That's interesting. We talked at
Speaker 1: the very beginning of this to a girl who was
Speaker 1: just getting a divorce and she was had a similar
Speaker 1: thing where she was like, I'm putting all my energy
Speaker 1: into this guy, and I'm not key saving anything for myself,
Speaker 1: you know. So I feel like it's a common thing
Speaker 1: with ye training.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So to recap roller skating, looking for missing folks ship,
Speaker 1: What was the third thing you had? A good? Third thing?
Speaker 1: I want to remember.
Speaker 3: What was that?
Speaker 1: Man, you're picking good niches?
Speaker 3: Was it hard rock? Was it cooking cooking hard rock?
Speaker 1: I'm I'm oh, I know. I'm very glad to seem
Speaker 1: as though you have a lot of very exciting things
Speaker 1: ahead of you doccupy your life and your time that
Speaker 1: are not only gonna be fun for you, but are
Speaker 1: gonna help other people?
Speaker 3: Yeah. Oh I love to take pictures in paint. Oh yeah,
Speaker 3: and I didn't know that before, but I'm really good
Speaker 3: at those things.
Speaker 1: Do you have a before you go? Do you want
Speaker 1: to plug anything you have an Instagram or you.
Speaker 3: Make art or anything that don't have any social media.
Speaker 1: You don't have any social media, you must be much
Speaker 1: more calm.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's this distracting. Of course it's distracting. And of
Speaker 3: course I find myself always comparing my life to social media.
Speaker 3: So oh, I had to let it go.
Speaker 1: Has getting off of like hard drugs sort of helped
Speaker 1: you with your relationship to other vices such as like
Speaker 1: talking to girls, social media thing like that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's made me very much more aware of these
Speaker 3: problems so I can start doing something about them. But
Speaker 3: you want to know my biggest my biggest obstacle, Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, my ego interesting myself? Yeah, how in what ways?
Speaker 1: How do you combat that? How do you in your
Speaker 1: experience for a better relationship with your ego?
Speaker 3: Just being aware of it, Yeah, and knowing when I'm
Speaker 3: being egotistical and chill because I miss a lot of
Speaker 3: messages because my ego is in the way. So being
Speaker 3: aware of it.
Speaker 1: Well, that goes back to what you were talking about
Speaker 1: earlier about like wanting to be more teachable and the
Speaker 1: bigger your ego is. It's blocks all that shit clo.
Speaker 1: You have to get out of here. Yeah, I have
Speaker 1: to say to the people of the computer before you go.
Speaker 3: No, man, just just don't give up. Just don't. It
Speaker 3: is possible. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't,
Speaker 3: because you can. You can.
Speaker 1: What's your name again, dude?
Speaker 3: Cody? Cody, nice to meet you, got nice.
Speaker 1: To be You're too many night.
Speaker 3: Never be get ghost doing his right. He was teaching
Speaker 3: you to housing your.
Speaker 1: Life, but he's not ready.
Speaker 3: An expert
Speaker 2: H