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Speaker 1: Everybody. It's Bill Courtney with an army and normal folks.

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Speaker 1: And we continue now with part two of our conversation

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Speaker 1: with Vanessa Elias, right after these brief messages from our

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Speaker 1: general sponsors, back to twenty sixteen, all of this that

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Speaker 1: we just unpacked, and your answer.

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Speaker 2: Is block party.

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Speaker 1: Let's have a party. There's incivility on Facebook and people

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Speaker 1: hate each other, so let's have a party.

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Speaker 3: That's right, but it has to be so the whole

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Speaker 3: purpose was to get neighborhood free play.

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Speaker 2: So we had brought.

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Speaker 3: In, so we listened this woman and I had heard

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Speaker 3: Peter Gray speak and he is a research psychologist out

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Speaker 3: of Boston College, and we'd heard him in a neighboring

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Speaker 3: town maybe the year before.

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Speaker 2: And we left.

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Speaker 3: Depressed because basically, you left so depressed because basically he

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Speaker 3: was saying, if your neighborhood doesn't have kids playing, move

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Speaker 3: like that was our that was like our option because

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Speaker 3: and you went.

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Speaker 1: Through like, or if your neighborhood didn't have kids playing,

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Speaker 1: start them playing right well, than.

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Speaker 3: It was basically that's what we saw the answer. But

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Speaker 3: he laid out the right the decrease in play and

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Speaker 3: the rise and anxiety and depression really kids. Yeah, and

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Speaker 3: it's very clear. The data points are there. It's very clear.

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Speaker 3: And so some of the parents in the grade was

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Speaker 3: at a nursery school and some of the parents were asking,

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Speaker 3: you know, and at that age, it's easy. Don't sign

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Speaker 3: them up for travel soccer when they're seven years old, right,

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Speaker 3: get them.

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Speaker 2: To have play dates. But even play dates, you're stuck

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Speaker 2: with that same kid.

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Speaker 3: So in terms of the normal neighborhood play, if someone's

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Speaker 3: being a jerk, you're like, forget it, I'm leap right.

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Speaker 2: You can't do that if you have a kid over.

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Speaker 1: If you're you know, what's interesting that you just said,

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Speaker 1: don't try to sign your kid up for travel soccer

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Speaker 1: when they're seven. Just let them have fun. You know.

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Speaker 1: I don't guess you're a huge football fan because you

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Speaker 1: evoked ballet before you said football, all right, But I

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Speaker 1: bet you it's all right. You've lived all over Europe

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Speaker 1: and everything. You're probably a bigger soccer fan than American

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Speaker 1: football fan. But I bet you've heard the name Manning,

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Speaker 1: Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Archie Manning. So even people that

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Speaker 1: don't know football know the word Manning. All right. Do

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Speaker 1: you know that Archie Manning would not let his sons

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Speaker 1: play tackle football or competitive football until lighth grade. Brilliant,

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Speaker 1: probably the royal family of American football, three generations, super

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Speaker 1: Bowl winners, Heisman candidates with a grandson now that has

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Speaker 1: a four million dollar l at the University of Texas

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Speaker 1: to play college football. That is, this family did not

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Speaker 1: let their PIDs play competitive tackle football until lighth grade.

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Speaker 3: Which is the age most kids burn out because they've

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Speaker 3: been playing it.

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Speaker 1: Incredible, So when you say don't sign up your kid

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Speaker 1: for competitive soccer as six, that's what clicked in my mind.

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Speaker 1: And the point is let kids be kids, exactly, Let

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Speaker 1: them be creative, let them get hurt a little bit,

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Speaker 1: let them bounce around in the neighborhoods. But before you

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Speaker 1: do that, you have to have connectivity in the neighborhood

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Speaker 1: for the kids to go into exactly. So you left

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Speaker 1: the Scout oppressed.

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Speaker 2: So we left its lovely. Peter Gray is lovely, said.

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Speaker 1: Let's crawl fish.

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Speaker 3: But we left depressed because we felt powerless, right like,

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Speaker 3: how are we going to change this?

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Speaker 2: How are we going to make this different?

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Speaker 3: Right? Yeah, So that's when we developed this free Play

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Speaker 3: task Force. We had them come speak to our town.

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Speaker 3: We invited all the stakeholders in town, like from the

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Speaker 3: y m c A, the superintendent, all the principles, all

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Speaker 3: you know, rotary club, city Council, Bordis, Luckmen, Bordify everybody,

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Speaker 3: some teachers, and he spoke the most amazing. Our superintendent

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Speaker 3: stood up and at the end and said I'm in

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Speaker 3: and that changed everything.

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Speaker 2: I'm in.

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: He's got five kids of his own and he set

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Speaker 3: the tone. And with that, we developed the Free Play

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Speaker 3: Task Force to educate our community on why it's so

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Speaker 3: important that kids have free play. We worked to extend recess,

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Speaker 3: worked with Leonor Scanesia let Grow to develop free play clubs,

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Speaker 3: and you know, just just launched this whole initiative. But

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Speaker 3: we needed something for neighborhoods and so I was like, yes,

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Speaker 3: finally I can do this, and so yeah, we launched

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Speaker 3: Wilton's Big Block Party Weekends. The first weekend was in

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Speaker 3: June of twenty eighteen. We did two weekends book nding

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Speaker 3: the summer to get you know, people could choose what

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Speaker 3: you know, what worked best for them and your block.

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Speaker 1: You were encouraging neighbor the hotel across your entire community

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Speaker 1: on their block. So are you telling me in this

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Speaker 1: town there were block parties all over the place on this.

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Speaker 2: Weekends there was there were at least forty block parties.

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Speaker 1: Forty yeah, are you kidding? That is so? What's what's

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Speaker 1: the geographical idea of a quote block party?

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Speaker 3: In generally in general, it's ten to twenty of your

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Speaker 3: closest neighbors.

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Speaker 2: So it is whether you share.

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Speaker 3: A wall with them right in an apartment building or

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Speaker 3: condo complex, right or whatever, or they're two miles down

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Speaker 3: the road, they're still your neighbors. And so ten to

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Speaker 3: twenty of your closest neighbors. And it was a huge success,

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Speaker 3: and it was has become a tradition for families. It

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Speaker 3: has the feedback that I got from it, you know,

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Speaker 3: from little kids saying it was the best day of

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Speaker 3: their lives to.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, a block party best day, yeah right, not Christmas?

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Speaker 3: Right, it's literally what they said. They were so excited

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Speaker 3: them for the next year and wanted to put the

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Speaker 3: flyers out and yeah, so wow, it was so it

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Speaker 3: was I guess he was ten years old, don you At.

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Speaker 1: What point did this idea that became these forty block

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Speaker 1: par days all over your town? At what point, did

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Speaker 1: you say I might have.

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Speaker 3: A thing here when other towns nearby asked how we

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Speaker 3: did it?

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Speaker 2: Wanted to know more about the.

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Speaker 1: Fact the other towns here.

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Speaker 2: I get, well, we were getting national attention, were you

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Speaker 2: really at the time? Yeah, we did.

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Speaker 3: We had PBS News Hour, we were being filmed.

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Speaker 1: This is so simple, it's it's so simple.

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Speaker 3: It's so simple, and it's so actionable. And every single

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Speaker 3: every single person has a neighbor and every single person

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Speaker 3: can do this. It's so actionable, right, there's no ringing

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Speaker 3: of the hands and what do we do? How do

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Speaker 3: we sol like this is something anybody can do.

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Speaker 1: So the neighboring community started you saying how'd you do this?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Had you know? Asking questions.

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Speaker 3: I kept hearing more and more stories of the impact

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Speaker 3: of the singular block party, or what I call now

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Speaker 3: the block party ripple effect, you know, all the things

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Speaker 3: that end up coming, right, not just the party is fun,

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Speaker 3: but it's about what comes after. And there were stories

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Speaker 3: that brought tears.

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Speaker 2: To my eyes. Get you know, and.

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Speaker 1: I've read a couple and I was just like, holy smut.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, So so that and then just this date, you know,

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Speaker 3: the state of the nation Basically I realized this is

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Speaker 3: something we need nationwide, and this is something that is

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Speaker 3: actionable again by every single person. So so I launched

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Speaker 3: block Party USA in twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 2: Finally I talked about it for about two years.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: When I read that, I went back to my teen

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Speaker 1: years and I thought of MTV of felt like a

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Speaker 1: block Party USA thing. There's some like guitar music in

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Speaker 1: the background or something, But I did I thought, that

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Speaker 1: feels like nineteen eighty six to me, And thank god,

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Speaker 1: it does feel like nineteen eighty six to me, to

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Speaker 1: a simpler time really in terms of our humanity and

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Speaker 1: even when we disagreed with each other, how we interacted

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Speaker 1: and it just good. Block Party USA just kind of

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Speaker 1: brought a smile out about face. I think it's hilarious.

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Speaker 2: I love it.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, So tell me what is what is it now?

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Speaker 1: So what does it growing too? From them?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? So now it is a nichewide movement and it is,

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Speaker 3: as I say, is a free, simple and actionable cure

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Speaker 3: for our country's loneliness, social isolation, divisiveness, and the youth

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Speaker 3: mental health crisis.

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Speaker 1: Say that one more time. That is really important.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it is block Party USA. Is a simple, free

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Speaker 3: and actionable cure for our country's loneliness, social isolation, divisiveness,

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Speaker 3: and the youth mental health crisis.

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Speaker 1: And inability, which is yeah, which is where the start

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Speaker 1: and incibility exactly freaking awesome. So it's only two years old. Yep,

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Speaker 1: not the block Party, but Block Party USA.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and people love the idea. People have forgotten about

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Speaker 3: block parties, right, people they were a thing of their child.

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Speaker 1: I forgot about block parties, So tell me what it's doing.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, So it's it's been really exciting because it

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Speaker 3: resonates with people. It resonates with people because it's a

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Speaker 3: fond memory of their childhood and it's something that they

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Speaker 3: know that they can do that it's actionable. And so

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Speaker 3: I have people signed up from forty six states in Washington,

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Speaker 3: d c. And a couple of other countries Nairobi or

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Speaker 3: Kenya and what. Yeah, I signed up that are interested

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Speaker 3: and so you know, part of for a little what

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Speaker 3: Canada as well and.

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Speaker 2: For a little WI.

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Speaker 3: I was like, oh, I shouldn't have put us, but

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Speaker 3: you know that's my that's my focus and people can

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Speaker 3: adopt it.

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Speaker 2: It's about neighborhood gatherings.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, so as part of doctor Vivic H. Murphy's

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Speaker 1: Quote Recipes for Connections initiatives, the Office of the US

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Speaker 1: Surgeon General features two year old Block Party USA as

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Speaker 1: a resource that supports building social connection through gathering. Wow.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that was pretty awesome. It was really exciting.

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Speaker 1: How did that happen?

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Speaker 2: I don't actually know.

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Speaker 1: I ask you're just hanging out having block for.

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Speaker 3: I did ask Jennifer Wallace, the author I mentioned earlier,

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Speaker 3: because I know she was working with him on something,

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Speaker 3: and I said, were you the very bit told doctor

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Speaker 3: Murphy about it, but she said, no, you already knew

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Speaker 3: about it.

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Speaker 2: So I don't.

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Speaker 3: I feel really grateful, and it helped amplify because I

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Speaker 3: think the most important thing is just and that's why

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Speaker 3: I so appreciate talking to you is just amplifying this message.

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Speaker 3: It's so actionable for people to do, and it's just

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Speaker 3: that we just have to bring it back into their

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Speaker 3: consciousness and my job is to sort of hold their

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Speaker 3: hands they.

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Speaker 1: As they go, Okay, I got lots more questions. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and we're also going to talk about these things, which

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Speaker 1: I found vastly interesting. But I think now's good time

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Speaker 1: for this. We had our first block party in September.

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Speaker 1: It was so much fun and we had an excellent turnout.

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Speaker 1: I've lived on this street for many years and know

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Speaker 1: most of the neighbors, but it was great to meet

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Speaker 1: the others and to all hang out together. We tend

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Speaker 1: to do this again the summer. We even set up

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Speaker 1: a Facebook page for our neighborhood. A second person said,

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Speaker 1: we organized the block party with short notice, and we're

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Speaker 1: pleasantly surprised at how how easy it was to plan

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Speaker 1: and how many people came. People of all ages responded,

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Speaker 1: and we met other families with kids that we would

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Speaker 1: not have known otherwise. Everyone brought a snack to share

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Speaker 1: and coolers with their drinks. We had tons of fun

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Speaker 1: playing cornhole and the kids had a massive water balloon fight.

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Speaker 1: Oh no, someone might get their eye poked out. Sorry,

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Speaker 1: I was just that was my embellishment. They drenched the

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Speaker 1: parents and really everyone got involved. We look forward to

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Speaker 1: doing it again this year. Third after our block party,

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Speaker 1: our street changed. Kids are actually playing outside together. Everyone

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Speaker 1: from young couples to families to seniors are in their

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Speaker 1: yards more. I see more people out walking their dogs.

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Speaker 1: Neighbors go out of their way to say hello, stop

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Speaker 1: and talk and help one another. Allan, it's the same

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Speaker 1: people who I guarantee you on last election, some had

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Speaker 1: Trump and some had harisions in the yard yep, and

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Speaker 1: they don't care so much about that anymore. But if

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Speaker 1: you don't know the person with that Trump sign or

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Speaker 1: that air sign in your front yard, you may come

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Speaker 1: up with some preconceived notions about those people that are

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Speaker 1: completely false. And the way you find out if they're

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Speaker 1: false or not is.

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Speaker 2: You get to know them in real life.

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Speaker 1: In real life, how do you feel when you hear

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Speaker 1: people saying.

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Speaker 3: That it's what gives my life meaning and purpose? It

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Speaker 3: makes me I'm tearing up again because it's just so

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Speaker 3: meaningful and it's just I mean, I think that's what

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Speaker 3: we underestimate, is the power of one person making a

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Speaker 3: difference in other people's lives. So that person that organized

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Speaker 3: that block party made a difference in everyone's lives.

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Speaker 1: There, you mean, just a normal person, Just.

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Speaker 3: A normal person exactly doing what they can do.

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Speaker 1: So I could call some neighbors right now and say

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Speaker 1: let's have a block party. I don't really need block

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Speaker 1: party to say for that. That was my initial thought

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Speaker 1: until I started reading Born. Researching Born, I got some

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Speaker 1: handy dandy stuff that Alex got off your website that

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Speaker 1: you sent us.

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Speaker 5: I did well today.

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Speaker 1: Why does block Party USA as an organization matter to

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Speaker 1: people who want block parties? Catch it?

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Speaker 3: I think people are really busy, okay, and they're not

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Speaker 3: They want to do something, but they're not actually sure

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Speaker 3: how to do it. And so my I see, my

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Speaker 3: role is making it easy for them.

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Speaker 2: Right. We are all overtasked, over, over stressed over.

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Speaker 5: Everything, right, and I got a bandwidth?

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Speaker 3: What one more thing? You're asking me to do? One

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Speaker 3: more thing?

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Speaker 6: Right?

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Speaker 3: And so how to make it as easy as possible

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Speaker 3: for people is the first thing. We'll be right back,

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Speaker 3: and how to make it most success right, Like you

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Speaker 3: can have a block party, but without the name tags

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Speaker 3: and the contact list, it's just it doesn't have you know,

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Speaker 3: there's so much more potential I guess when you have

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Speaker 3: those things. So just putting those in people's minds. The

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Speaker 3: other piece is that we live in a very procured

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Speaker 3: through social media perfectionist environment like what we think it

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Speaker 3: needs to be. And to have someone in your ear

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Speaker 3: constantly saying keep it simple, keep it simple, keep it simple,

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Speaker 3: and you don't need that, right, This is just a gathering,

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Speaker 3: and to keep helping people focus on just the fact

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Speaker 3: of bringing people together. You're acting it's a service, and

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Speaker 3: this is not a party to impress, it's a party

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Speaker 3: to connect.

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Speaker 1: When I read that, I thought about the fact that

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Speaker 1: when Lisa and I got married in nineteen ninety one,

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Speaker 1: we did it in a church. We had our reception

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Speaker 1: at the church. She had a lovely dress, we had

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Speaker 1: a nice cake. A bunch of people came. It was

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Speaker 1: lovely and beautiful. There were a few flowers on the altar,

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Speaker 1: and I'm certain maybe a couple of arrangements at our

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Speaker 1: wedding at our reception church, and then we got in

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Speaker 1: a car and drove off and it probably lasted three

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Speaker 1: or four hours and costs I don't know, twenty five

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Speaker 1: hundred and three thousand bucks, maybe if you count the

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Speaker 1: finger food and the cake. And today a wedding is

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Speaker 1: a week long event.

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Speaker 6: So years year long event. You've been to engagement parties

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Speaker 6: and made for even.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we've had engaging parties, but there's a cap on

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Speaker 1: what we do because of what I'm saying. But the

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Speaker 1: point is, I feel like we've lost sight of the

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Speaker 1: fact that we're supposed to be celebrating the union of

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Speaker 1: a young couple, and that's what it's there for. Now

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Speaker 1: it's become almost an excuse to engage in excesses to

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Speaker 1: a whole different realf I could go off on, but

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Speaker 1: I've got a daughter getting married. I've already married off

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Speaker 1: one saw this marriage, so I've been through all of it.

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Speaker 1: And I certainly am not trying to disparage people who

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Speaker 1: want their children to have a lovely day. But the

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Speaker 1: point is, I think we can lose sight of what

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Speaker 1: the point is behind a marriage. And when I was

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Speaker 1: reading your block party thing metaphorically, that's kind of came

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Speaker 1: up with my mind, which is what you're saying is

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Speaker 1: it's not about the biggest balloons. It's not about making

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Speaker 1: sure the venue is absolutely perfect, it's not about spending

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Speaker 1: a whole bunch of money on a bunch of crap.

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Speaker 1: It's simply about getting your neighbors together. So keep it

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Speaker 1: simple and just make it. Let the people make it fun,

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Speaker 1: not the crap that you bring in. That's kind of

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Speaker 1: what I was getting from you on that. Is that

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Speaker 1: not right?

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Speaker 3: It's one hundred percent right because those wedding right at

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Speaker 3: what cost?

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Speaker 4: Right?

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Speaker 3: And I don't mean financial costs. I mean like the

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Speaker 3: effort and the stress and all that stuff. It's sort

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Speaker 3: of like kid anxiety birthday parties, now right, they are

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Speaker 3: so over the top.

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Speaker 1: Why can't we just have a pizza and a cake

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Speaker 1: and a park and call it that.

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Speaker 3: We did old fat like old fashion on birth that

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Speaker 3: we had games for my youngest party.

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Speaker 2: The kids loved it. Then her friends would be like, can.

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Speaker 1: I have a party?

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Speaker 3: Like?

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Speaker 2: Right?

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Speaker 5: Yeah?

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Speaker 2: It was pintail and a donkey.

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Speaker 3: It was a donut, you know, with your hands behind

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Speaker 3: your back, grab it trying to.

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Speaker 2: Eat it.

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Speaker 1: For apple.

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Speaker 2: Exactly exactly. Swap in DNA.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, oh god. Yeah. What would the Swiss say about that?

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Speaker 3: They wouldn't say anything first.

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Speaker 2: So yes, one hundred percent.

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Speaker 3: But with block parties, what I've so one of I

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Speaker 3: have these monthly sometimes weekly depending on the time of year,

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Speaker 3: office hours and block party zooms so people can come

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Speaker 3: ask any questions, yeah, just to have like you know,

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Speaker 3: they ask it some support. And one of them, one

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Speaker 3: woman came, I think she's from Pennsylvania, and she said,

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Speaker 3: I am a reluctant block party organizer, and I was

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Speaker 3: like okay, and she explained that the two women that

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Speaker 3: had done it for years had stepped down because it

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Speaker 3: was just too much.

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Speaker 2: And so that is the cost, right, if.

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Speaker 3: We overly manufacture this, engineer it. We've got a band

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Speaker 3: and volunteer sign ups and we've got that, like it's

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Speaker 3: a production. That's not what this is about, right, That's

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Speaker 3: what I mean.

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Speaker 1: About the weddings. When it's more about the production than

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Speaker 1: the celebration of the marriage, you're missing a point. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and that's the point with the block party. Yeah, here's

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Speaker 1: another reason why block party. This little one pager I loved.

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Speaker 2: Thanks.

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Speaker 1: Uh, it's block party, who say how to organize a

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Speaker 1: block party? It's easier than you think, and it's got

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Speaker 1: some headings with little boxes around it, but it says

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Speaker 1: keep it simple, don't go at it alone, select today,

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Speaker 1: go big, go small. Location. You need a permit, name, tags,

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Speaker 1: and sign in sheet, so you're building a database in

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Speaker 1: your community. Invite mixed ages, which I think you have

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Speaker 1: to speak on food and here's the best one, bubbles

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Speaker 1: chalk and a kickball. This is why block party, I say,

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Speaker 1: because you've vetted what works and doesn't work, and you

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Speaker 1: can help people understand all of that. Do you want

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Speaker 1: to talk about any of these little boxes on here

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Speaker 1: because I found this such a cool tool.

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Speaker 2: Oh thank you.

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Speaker 3: I think that it just it lays it out step

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Speaker 3: by step, and you know, the mixed ages.

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Speaker 1: And with this story I've read I can't even remember,

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Speaker 1: but some four year old and some eighty year old

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Speaker 1: playing cornhold again.

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Speaker 3: Yeah that was is Ray. He's ninety actually he's almost

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Speaker 3: ninety one now. But that's the thing that that's the

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Speaker 3: beauty of block party. It's just it's the intergenerational experience.

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Speaker 3: You know, it's just who what's ever on your road?

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Speaker 3: So we had our last block party, we had, you know,

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Speaker 3: a kid in the stroller, and we have Ray, you know,

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Speaker 3: who is a ninety and it's it's a unique experience

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Speaker 3: and you know, to have this mixedtages, so and everything

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Speaker 3: in between, everyone in between. And I think what's important

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Speaker 3: is so often teens and young adults, if they're back

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Speaker 3: living at home, they don't want to come. And so

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Speaker 3: it's really important that they come as well, because because.

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Speaker 1: Because they're well, so a seventeen year old dude, I

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Speaker 1: don't want to go a blog party, that's gooby. But

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Speaker 1: I bet when they go they end up having fun.

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Speaker 2: They end up having fun.

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Speaker 3: So Isaiah, give them a job, right like, have them

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Speaker 3: carry the cooler, have them right Like, that's a way

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Speaker 3: to get them out and maybe say, okay, just it's

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Speaker 3: maybe the block party's three hours, stay for two and

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Speaker 3: then you can go if you want to or something

410
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Speaker 3: like that. But the expectation needs to be there. They

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Speaker 3: don't on an opt out for the kids because it's

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Speaker 3: such a unique opportunity. Again, helping our tweens and teens

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Speaker 3: especially find agency and competency and capability is possible in

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Speaker 3: your own neighborhood. Right the mixed age play piece that

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Speaker 3: you can be an awkward thirteen year old, but to

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Speaker 3: the seven year old, you're a rock star, right Like.

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Speaker 2: It's just it's and it's good. It's good for both.

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Speaker 3: Never mind the whole neighborhood jobs you know that can

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Speaker 3: come out of babysitting, lawn cutting, you know all of that,

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Speaker 3: and that is a critical that's cool.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well we've touched on that and I think the

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Speaker 1: second piece of paper that Alex gave to me that

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Speaker 1: us send us off your website on them where it

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Speaker 1: came from. But it's very cool. It's one block party,

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Speaker 1: countless benefits and it's not a ven diagram, but it's

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Speaker 1: basically a a I was about to say.

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Speaker 5: If you would, Vanessa was thinking the same thing I say.

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Speaker 1: Is mic off if Yeah, it's basically a diagram of

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Speaker 1: the ripple effect, which is cool, and the little ripples

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00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:16,159
Speaker 1: are but I'm just going to name a few inside

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00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,840
Speaker 1: where obviously the public first drop is the obvious stuff,

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Speaker 1: which is make new friends, create a neighborhood list, all that,

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Speaker 1: and then as the ripples go, the outside ripples the

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Speaker 1: extra effects. There's layers neighborhood play for children and all

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Speaker 1: of that, but not lonely, grounded supported sense of belonging

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Speaker 1: and joy. A connected neighborhood is more desirable for new buyers.

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00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:47,240
Speaker 1: Very interesting part time paid work helps teenagers build agency

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Speaker 1: and confidence, play based instead of tech based childhood. Holy

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00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,040
Speaker 1: smokes that one needs to have estimation points by it.

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Speaker 1: The point is it seems so simple, I have a

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Speaker 1: block party, get to know your neighbors. But as you

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Speaker 1: really beautifully illustrate through the ripple diagram is there's so

443
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,960
Speaker 1: much more to it than just having a party. It's

444
00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:13,639
Speaker 1: all that happens as a result of it, and I

445
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,720
Speaker 1: would argue there needs to be another ripple out here

446
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:25,880
Speaker 1: that reminds us that it's really hard to be convinced

447
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,760
Speaker 1: by the people in Silicon Valley and DC and on

448
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,320
Speaker 1: Fox and CNN to hate somebody that you've hung out with,

449
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:35,960
Speaker 1: hat a hot dog with, and you know you don't

450
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,920
Speaker 1: vote the same, but they're your neighbor and they're human.

451
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,359
Speaker 1: That that fixes so much.

452
00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:49,800
Speaker 3: I'm thrilled that you see it as well, because it

453
00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,520
Speaker 3: is so powerful and it has the potential to do

454
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:54,600
Speaker 3: so much we have. You know, we had at our

455
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:59,040
Speaker 3: own block party, right, my husband and neighbor voted differently,

456
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 3: and they over.

457
00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:03,120
Speaker 2: The smoke ribs. My husband made right.

458
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:08,639
Speaker 1: Your husband and your neighbor voted differently, Yeah, but smoked ribs.

459
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:09,040
Speaker 2: Brought them together.

460
00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:11,280
Speaker 1: I don't really care about the White House because these

461
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,560
Speaker 1: boys are good exactly.

462
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:16,840
Speaker 3: It's just something so simple and it just gives us

463
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,280
Speaker 3: an opportunity. We don't have those opportunities.

464
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:24,080
Speaker 1: And how fulfilling is that to your husband and his neighbor? Yeah? Really,

465
00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:28,040
Speaker 1: how much depth do they have in life now?

466
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:28,960
Speaker 2: Exactly?

467
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: From the rib yep from block party and I go

468
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 1: back to we just did a small shop dog where

469
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,640
Speaker 1: Alex they just tie together Alex, I think it's worth

470
00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,040
Speaker 1: talking about the fire thing.

471
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:50,000
Speaker 6: It's a foundation for individual rights and expression. Jonathan, the

472
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,480
Speaker 6: Heights actually been involved them too, you know, as part

473
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:54,919
Speaker 6: of the Yeah, so he's he's running some books with

474
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,560
Speaker 6: Greg Luke and off they're wrote The Colleen and the American

475
00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:58,159
Speaker 6: Mind together.

476
00:25:58,240 --> 00:25:59,520
Speaker 5: Yeah, so Greg's that had a fire.

477
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,600
Speaker 6: They're basically the leading country.

478
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,119
Speaker 1: Great, well in what you're doing. I encourage you to

479
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,359
Speaker 1: kind of look at some of the data that they've

480
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,320
Speaker 1: actually and again it's sixty eight thousand people they polled,

481
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:15,399
Speaker 1: So we're not talking about they went to one college

482
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 1: and talked to one hundred kids. Right. I think you

483
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:27,560
Speaker 1: could put China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and anybody else

484
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:33,320
Speaker 1: who wants to fundamentally fight the Western way of living.

485
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,000
Speaker 1: I think you could put them in one entire army

486
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:40,959
Speaker 1: and attack us and to not be nearest dangerous. Really,

487
00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:46,960
Speaker 1: I genuine believe that that is less danger than the

488
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,120
Speaker 1: fact that in some circles we have more than fifty

489
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,240
Speaker 1: percent of our populace that think that shooting Donald Trump,

490
00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:58,520
Speaker 1: assassinating Donald Trump would be okay because of what he says.

491
00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:03,639
Speaker 1: It's terrifying, that's real, that's real math, that's real data.

492
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 1: That's what we've found out. That's what we talked about

493
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:10,199
Speaker 1: on this chop talk because it's just stark. And look,

494
00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,439
Speaker 1: I'm not saying that to defend the things that come

495
00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:14,520
Speaker 1: out of Donald Trump. Wow.

496
00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:16,959
Speaker 2: Great, you don't have to agree with him. No, I

497
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,080
Speaker 2: know that that's not okay.

498
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:21,199
Speaker 1: But it's not okay. That's not okay. But you but

499
00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,439
Speaker 1: you and I say that, But the data is showing

500
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,560
Speaker 1: that the third of us say it is. Now, that's

501
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:35,800
Speaker 1: where we've evolved today. And I left reading that I

502
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:39,320
Speaker 1: can't quit thinking about it, and I'm you know, what's

503
00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:44,399
Speaker 1: the solution? And I mean, you can't. More. Censorship doesn't

504
00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,199
Speaker 1: help that, it makes it worse. So there's you know,

505
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,400
Speaker 1: And then I read about you and I'm like, there

506
00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:58,119
Speaker 1: it is, seriously there it is human connection, understanding one another,

507
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:05,840
Speaker 1: getting to know one another in a easy, non politically

508
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 1: or non culturally charged environment. And then once those barriers

509
00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:15,520
Speaker 1: start breaking down. So due to those numbers, I think,

510
00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,480
Speaker 1: and what lessons are we teaching our children with this

511
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:24,400
Speaker 1: mess versus what lesson does a block party teach a kid?

512
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:29,560
Speaker 1: Because you just told me that your spark for this

513
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,639
Speaker 1: was when a neighbor brought over a pie when you

514
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,000
Speaker 1: were six year old on one of your moves. That

515
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,520
Speaker 1: was a lesson your neighbor taught you that probably led,

516
00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:43,600
Speaker 1: in some part, led to this. So what lessons are

517
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,320
Speaker 1: teaching about not having block parties and talking around the

518
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:48,560
Speaker 1: dinner table about how bad we hate the guy with

519
00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:50,640
Speaker 1: the sign in their front yard that we don't even know.

520
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:53,480
Speaker 2: I don't even know if we're talking about the dinner table.

521
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,480
Speaker 3: That's another whole thing, right, it's like talking it somewhere, Yeah.

522
00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:02,560
Speaker 1: Talking about it the way year old compan works, but

523
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,040
Speaker 1: still the same point. Yeah, yeah, So, I mean, I

524
00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,800
Speaker 1: think this block party thing is is awesome and it's

525
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,200
Speaker 1: cool and it's fun and it's something everybody needs to do.

526
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:12,600
Speaker 1: But I think we need to get our arms around.

527
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,720
Speaker 1: These are the kinds of things that really do change

528
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:20,040
Speaker 1: our society. And it's bottom up, normal folks engagement.

529
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,040
Speaker 2: Yea, I love it, thank you?

530
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:23,600
Speaker 1: So what's next?

531
00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,920
Speaker 3: So it's one hundred percent that it's getting the word out,

532
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,600
Speaker 3: it's it's it's real life, Like as AI is expanding.

533
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 2: We have to get off social media. We have to

534
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:35,400
Speaker 2: get off the technology.

535
00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 3: It is literally killing us and our humanity, right, we

536
00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,680
Speaker 3: are losing our humanity and we don't know what's real

537
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:43,640
Speaker 3: anymore and what's not.

538
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,080
Speaker 1: Oh that's another scaredboard, right, and so.

539
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:51,120
Speaker 3: More in real life experiences are the most important thing

540
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,640
Speaker 3: that we can do and to connect with each other.

541
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,360
Speaker 1: And is there a block party goal for this year? There?

542
00:29:57,800 --> 00:29:58,400
Speaker 2: We just did.

543
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 3: I just did a block party USA Back to School challenge.

544
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,040
Speaker 3: I'm trying to get, yeah, states to compete with each other.

545
00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:08,240
Speaker 3: I actually have to look at I'm still taking the data.

546
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:10,800
Speaker 3: It was ending on Sunday on National Good Neighbor Day,

547
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:13,120
Speaker 3: not to date it, which is.

548
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,280
Speaker 1: Seemly in this national Know your Neighbor Month or something.

549
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:18,640
Speaker 5: I don't know, but a National Good Neighbor Day?

550
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:20,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, is that what it was?

551
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:25,000
Speaker 3: Yeah? So and it ended then, and so I really

552
00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,520
Speaker 3: I'm thinking ahead to next year because it's our two

553
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:32,560
Speaker 3: hundred and fiftieth as this country and since the declaration

554
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:34,240
Speaker 3: of independence was signed? So what can we do?

555
00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,719
Speaker 2: How can we So I'm in the brainstorming.

556
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,720
Speaker 1: Process of do you think you can foster next year?

557
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:44,400
Speaker 3: So, you know, fostering and not organizing, we could have

558
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:49,800
Speaker 3: tens of thousands, right, it's possible, right, it is all

559
00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:54,720
Speaker 3: across this country. Twenty to thirty neighbors, it's possible. And again,

560
00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:58,080
Speaker 3: they need to be micro local. Right. When people sometimes

561
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,360
Speaker 3: I say block party, they're like, oh yeah, you know

562
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,120
Speaker 3: casts of hundreds, right, it's a town party. Those are fun,

563
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,360
Speaker 3: but that's not what this is. This is that microlocal

564
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:07,320
Speaker 3: neighborhood gathering.

565
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:11,440
Speaker 1: We'll be right back.

566
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:30,000
Speaker 3: So all across the country, right, if everyone, you know,

567
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:34,800
Speaker 3: in a set of twenty neighbors did something, we could

568
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:36,600
Speaker 3: change this country.

569
00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:39,920
Speaker 6: Well, I've actually thought about it for our local chapters,

570
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,040
Speaker 6: for this being one of the army activations that they

571
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:44,240
Speaker 6: can think.

572
00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:48,920
Speaker 1: This would be an excellent Army activation for the chapters.

573
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,440
Speaker 1: I think it needs to almost be something we push.

574
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,720
Speaker 1: I am absolutely so. I live in Midtown Memphis, which

575
00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:02,680
Speaker 1: is you know, all the houses are are between seventy

576
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:04,520
Speaker 1: and one hundred and thirty years old. So it's that

577
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:08,320
Speaker 1: kind of part of town that has always been kind

578
00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,880
Speaker 1: of the center of Memphis. Right, It's called Central Gardens.

579
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:17,120
Speaker 1: Everything from some six seven thousand square foot really big, big,

580
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 1: big old houses to a lot of arts and crafts,

581
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: bungalows with all kinds of charm and everybody has a

582
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:29,880
Speaker 1: front yard and anyway, my neighborhood has a July fourth

583
00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:34,800
Speaker 1: parade and it's an old fire truck and a bunch

584
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:37,560
Speaker 1: of people pulling their kids and wagons, and there'll be

585
00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:40,400
Speaker 1: four or five hundred people walking through the streets and

586
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:43,920
Speaker 1: it ends up at a place where there's a dunk

587
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,240
Speaker 1: tank and some clowns and stuff. It's old school and

588
00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:50,320
Speaker 1: you chuckle, but it's fun. It's funny. My kids used

589
00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:54,000
Speaker 1: to like, do it right, really well. And two streets

590
00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:58,080
Speaker 1: north of us once a year flows off the access

591
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,880
Speaker 1: to both ends of the road, and I say, ironically,

592
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,920
Speaker 1: there's probably twenty five houses on that road, maybe twelve

593
00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:07,960
Speaker 1: thirteen on either side, maybe twenty five twenty six. And

594
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:12,480
Speaker 1: they have a block party, and I can somebody hooks

595
00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:14,960
Speaker 1: up a speaker and dead in the middle of the street.

596
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:17,000
Speaker 1: In the middle of that whole block, they have a

597
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:21,160
Speaker 1: bouncy thing and maybe that's going overboard, but that's pretty

598
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:23,080
Speaker 1: much all they have. And then it's a bunch of

599
00:33:23,200 --> 00:33:25,680
Speaker 1: kids and you can see a bunch of dads running

600
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,880
Speaker 1: around in T shirts. There's Huggies on their beers, but

601
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,560
Speaker 1: they're all drinking a beer. The kids have you can

602
00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:35,239
Speaker 1: tell they've been eating everything that's not good for them

603
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:39,120
Speaker 1: because their faces are covered in sugary looking red crap.

604
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,800
Speaker 1: And I imagine there's a few moms out there with

605
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,760
Speaker 1: some wine and a solo cup and they're having a

606
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:50,720
Speaker 1: lot of fun and they just make a mess of it.

607
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,560
Speaker 1: And it is everybody on that road, just kind of

608
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:58,760
Speaker 1: standing streeting in the yards, hanging out. And I've never

609
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,000
Speaker 1: been a part of it. I'm not on that block,

610
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 1: but I've passed it.

611
00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,400
Speaker 5: You could feel how sad villas are now, can't you feel?

612
00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:08,520
Speaker 1: Well, no, big hugger, No, I've passed. I've driven past it,

613
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:14,319
Speaker 1: and I've thought that is so cool, And that's all

614
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:16,960
Speaker 1: I've put thought to it. And I never thought about

615
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:21,879
Speaker 1: its ability to do the things that you've pointed out

616
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:25,279
Speaker 1: it does. I've never thought about how simple it would

617
00:34:25,280 --> 00:34:30,080
Speaker 1: be to pull off. And I'm absolutely convinced that this

618
00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:32,640
Speaker 1: is just one of the greatest ideas I've heard because

619
00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:35,040
Speaker 1: it is so simple and anybody can do it, and

620
00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:37,400
Speaker 1: it breaks down the very barriers that I think are

621
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:38,280
Speaker 1: tearing us apart.

622
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:39,080
Speaker 2: Thank you.

623
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, and the bouncy with the bouncy house, I say

624
00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,840
Speaker 3: no bouncy houses, but you know, if somebody's got a

625
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:45,799
Speaker 3: bouncy house that they're willing to offer.

626
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:47,360
Speaker 1: You go with it, right, like.

627
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:49,960
Speaker 2: Company.

628
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,319
Speaker 1: I think he has company, so such one up.

629
00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:55,439
Speaker 3: So it's not like we're not rigid right in terms

630
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:57,320
Speaker 3: of what is okay. We just don't want people to

631
00:34:57,400 --> 00:34:59,879
Speaker 3: go out and spend five hundred dollars right at the point,

632
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:01,920
Speaker 3: there is just there's no need for that. Right.

633
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:03,800
Speaker 2: Kids are going to have fun with and I have

634
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:04,319
Speaker 2: seen them.

635
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,080
Speaker 1: They have cornhole all over the street. There's like six

636
00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:09,719
Speaker 1: of those things out there, and there's kids driving around

637
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,680
Speaker 1: on big wheels or whatever the heck they are called now.

638
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,600
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's so fun, awesome, and it is fun,

639
00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:21,320
Speaker 1: and it doesn't mean that you're gonna you get to

640
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,839
Speaker 1: know your neighbors and they become your neighbors rather than

641
00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:30,560
Speaker 1: your foes, your political foes, your cultural whatever. It's awesome.

642
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:32,680
Speaker 3: One of the things we haven't talked about is how

643
00:35:32,840 --> 00:35:35,439
Speaker 3: your neighbors are really your first responders as well.

644
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,520
Speaker 1: Oh, that's interesting that your neighbors are.

645
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,200
Speaker 3: The people that can be to you first and you

646
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:45,160
Speaker 3: can call out and there is nothing like I share

647
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:47,160
Speaker 3: the story of Dick Van Dyke. He was carried out

648
00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:50,240
Speaker 3: from the fires in California by his neighbors.

649
00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:51,400
Speaker 2: That's how he was saved.

650
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,880
Speaker 3: And so that is to have someone that you can

651
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:58,320
Speaker 3: go to in your neighborhood right next near you is

652
00:35:58,960 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 3: tremendously valuable.

653
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:05,680
Speaker 2: That's a very practical aspect of this, but just is important.

654
00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:09,200
Speaker 6: And you talk about it with your neighbor the morning

655
00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:10,440
Speaker 6: you were super stressed out.

656
00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:18,759
Speaker 3: Yeah, so specifically the morning, specifically, I was giving a

657
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:23,440
Speaker 3: nine to eleven speech and at my high school. And

658
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:30,120
Speaker 3: because my husband worked in Tower two and the plane

659
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:32,560
Speaker 3: that crashed into his building was carrying a friend of mine,

660
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:36,480
Speaker 3: his wife and his two year old and I'm so sorry,

661
00:36:36,719 --> 00:36:37,000
Speaker 3: thank you.

662
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,840
Speaker 2: So I honor him by telling my story.

663
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,719
Speaker 3: And I was my daughter was in kindergarten, and I

664
00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:48,239
Speaker 3: was stressed, emotionally stressed out right, running late. We get

665
00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:50,240
Speaker 3: to the end of the driveway, trying to get myself

666
00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,080
Speaker 3: ready in the morning, you know, not just in my

667
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:54,279
Speaker 3: pajamas at the bus stop, right, get myself ready, get

668
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:55,560
Speaker 3: her there. And we get to the end of the

669
00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:59,439
Speaker 3: driveway and I realize we've missed the bus, the school bus,

670
00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:02,200
Speaker 3: and for me to drive her to school and back

671
00:37:02,239 --> 00:37:05,080
Speaker 3: and I won't make it in time. So this neighbor,

672
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,600
Speaker 3: who I had met but didn't really know. Was walking

673
00:37:09,239 --> 00:37:13,000
Speaker 3: saw me and saw my distress and said I'm happy

674
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,400
Speaker 3: to drive her. And she got in her car, and

675
00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:18,839
Speaker 3: she went back, took her dog back home, came got

676
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,480
Speaker 3: her And little things like that, right, she made a

677
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:27,319
Speaker 3: huge difference in my life and and in my day right,

678
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:29,880
Speaker 3: just as simple and so little little things like that

679
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:30,160
Speaker 3: I have.

680
00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:32,080
Speaker 2: I have a bunch of those stories.

681
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:34,120
Speaker 1: Before shed But before she did that, did she say,

682
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:35,880
Speaker 1: but first, I'd like to know how you voted in

683
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,040
Speaker 1: the last rest of the plection exactly. I want to

684
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:42,239
Speaker 1: know what you think about gay marriage before I take

685
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:43,800
Speaker 1: your child to school there out.

686
00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:47,360
Speaker 2: Exactly, or before I let my child in your car exactly.

687
00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:50,560
Speaker 2: Of course, it doesn't matter, that's the point being.

688
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:53,680
Speaker 6: Humans's an interesting type of poverty I heard somebody mentioned

689
00:37:53,719 --> 00:37:56,719
Speaker 6: in the last few years of I guess especially an

690
00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:59,160
Speaker 6: affluent neighborhoods. But I'm sure it happens Olsford too, Like

691
00:37:59,239 --> 00:38:03,040
Speaker 6: if your kid gets sick at school. These people are

692
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:06,759
Speaker 6: literally calling like babysitters rather than family or friends. Like

693
00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:08,719
Speaker 6: back in the day you'd call your friend or your

694
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:11,279
Speaker 6: I remember a neighbor, and now you just do hired

695
00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:13,759
Speaker 6: help because you're like both parents are grinding as these

696
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:16,640
Speaker 6: fancy executives, and they don't have like friends who can

697
00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:17,560
Speaker 6: go pick up their kid.

698
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,279
Speaker 3: It's just crazy, which leads to the whole it's not

699
00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:22,200
Speaker 3: just kids' mental health right that I talk about. But

700
00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:26,319
Speaker 3: you know, doctor former Surgeon General, doctor Vi mcmarthy also

701
00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:29,759
Speaker 3: put out advisories about parental well being and caregiver well being.

702
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:34,160
Speaker 3: And parents are not okay, and we don't And the

703
00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:39,040
Speaker 3: biggest indicator of a child's well being is the well

704
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,560
Speaker 3: being of the parent and the primary caregiver. So a

705
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:46,680
Speaker 3: parent's well being is key and critical, and so block

706
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:51,480
Speaker 3: parties offer opportunity to build that village that we need

707
00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:57,200
Speaker 3: to be okay right and raise our kids and be healthy.

708
00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:00,720
Speaker 3: And so there's just there's so many, so many benefits.

709
00:39:00,719 --> 00:39:03,040
Speaker 6: One thing a stat behind that that I think must

710
00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:05,040
Speaker 6: have been from you. You said it somewhere in the

711
00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:09,759
Speaker 6: prep of citing this study from Harvard the thirty six

712
00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:14,040
Speaker 6: percent of adults reported feeling lonely frequently or almost all

713
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:18,400
Speaker 6: the time. Yeah, thirty six percent, Yeah, frequently or almost

714
00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,880
Speaker 6: all the time. And I've thought about this too with

715
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,880
Speaker 6: my situation, which listeners know, unfortunately, my ex wanted a

716
00:39:24,960 --> 00:39:27,560
Speaker 6: divorce and the four kids and like that I got

717
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:29,680
Speaker 6: and what do you model, you know, to your kids?

718
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:32,520
Speaker 6: And it is really important to make these intentional efforts

719
00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:34,759
Speaker 6: of having neighbors over and other people over right, And

720
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:36,960
Speaker 6: it's easy not to with the busyness of life. But

721
00:39:37,719 --> 00:39:39,960
Speaker 6: all these parents out there who are just feeling lonely

722
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,800
Speaker 6: and are not modeling it well to their.

723
00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:44,160
Speaker 5: Kids, I mean, you're basically screwing the next generation.

724
00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:45,760
Speaker 2: Unfortunately.

725
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:50,279
Speaker 3: Right, It's it's and and it's it's really important. And

726
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:51,960
Speaker 3: I feel like that number is higher than that. I

727
00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:54,279
Speaker 3: feel like half of half of all Americans is what

728
00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:55,200
Speaker 3: I had read, right.

729
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:58,560
Speaker 1: Maybe the thirty six the ones that admit it.

730
00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:02,640
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, it's really it's it's a struggle. And you know,

731
00:40:02,719 --> 00:40:05,600
Speaker 3: we look to social media for connection.

732
00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:12,799
Speaker 1: In case the place, especially now because AI you may

733
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,040
Speaker 1: be finding connection with a bot.

734
00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:17,320
Speaker 2: Dangerous.

735
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:21,960
Speaker 1: Well, there's no bot at the block party exactly. They

736
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,799
Speaker 1: put together kind of a cool robot, like a kid.

737
00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:28,360
Speaker 6: Eventually they're going to make our block parties easier.

738
00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:30,360
Speaker 5: The bots can do all the work. We can just

739
00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:31,799
Speaker 5: enjoy the block one day.

740
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:37,439
Speaker 1: Unbelievable. So somebody's listening to me. I hope a whole

741
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:39,960
Speaker 1: bunch of somebody's listen to me right now saying okay,

742
00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:42,239
Speaker 1: I'm convinced. Let's do a block party. How do they

743
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:42,600
Speaker 1: find you?

744
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:46,960
Speaker 2: So if they go to block party USA dot org

745
00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:48,000
Speaker 2: is the website?

746
00:40:48,280 --> 00:40:52,759
Speaker 1: Got it? And do you do a zoom with How

747
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:53,279
Speaker 1: does that work?

748
00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:55,920
Speaker 3: So I once want well right now and back to

749
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:59,360
Speaker 3: once a month. And if they go on, if they

750
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,480
Speaker 3: sign up to receive my updates, they'll get the time

751
00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:04,359
Speaker 3: and date for it, and I just have a zoom

752
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:05,200
Speaker 3: link and they join.

753
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:09,000
Speaker 1: The costs to any of this, no cost, no you

754
00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:13,799
Speaker 1: all this just to be kind and fix our.

755
00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:15,520
Speaker 5: Culture, she said, bloody do gooder.

756
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:18,320
Speaker 1: You are a bloody do gooder.

757
00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:22,440
Speaker 5: She's willing to share her email address to people want to.

758
00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:23,920
Speaker 1: Get in touch with you. How do they email?

759
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:27,399
Speaker 2: The best way is info at block PARTYUSA dot org?

760
00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:27,920
Speaker 1: Got it?

761
00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:29,719
Speaker 3: Or I have forms on the website too, like if

762
00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:32,080
Speaker 3: they have specific questions, you'll get to them.

763
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,759
Speaker 1: Just go You'll help and they can zoom with you

764
00:41:36,239 --> 00:41:37,759
Speaker 1: at some point ye if they would need to.

765
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:41,320
Speaker 3: There's one thing too, I'm working on how to guide

766
00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:46,440
Speaker 3: for organizations, houses of worship, towns and cities. How to

767
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:48,200
Speaker 3: bring this idea to their communities.

768
00:41:48,760 --> 00:41:53,280
Speaker 1: Certainly houses of worship only make sense. That would be easy.

769
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:56,120
Speaker 1: And you said towns and cities, Yeah, they have like

770
00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:57,600
Speaker 1: a citywide block party.

771
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,719
Speaker 2: No, to encourage their citizens to dream.

772
00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:00,520
Speaker 1: It's an idea.

773
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:03,960
Speaker 3: So it's basically to get them to bring the idea.

774
00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:07,520
Speaker 3: So like your local chapters, they would bring this idea, right,

775
00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:12,480
Speaker 3: and so other organizations can bring this idea today, Alex.

776
00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:15,080
Speaker 1: Seriously, the whole local chapter thing, this needs to be

777
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:16,600
Speaker 1: one of the focus.

778
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:18,960
Speaker 5: I was actually about to say earlier too.

779
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:22,280
Speaker 6: Even for you Army members listening who aren't starting chapters

780
00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:24,239
Speaker 6: in your community, you can still do the block parties too.

781
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:26,440
Speaker 6: It's actually kind of a cool way of testing it out, like, hey,

782
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:28,239
Speaker 6: let me see about doing some more stuff in my

783
00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:30,480
Speaker 6: community and hopefully do more after that.

784
00:42:30,719 --> 00:42:32,440
Speaker 1: Here it is. I'll bet they'll be one of them.

785
00:42:32,480 --> 00:42:34,440
Speaker 1: I'll bet they'll be a block party in Atlanta from

786
00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,560
Speaker 1: a certain subbody after this episode. I'll bet you it

787
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:39,480
Speaker 1: what you got.

788
00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:42,759
Speaker 6: So I thought it was very cool the email he

789
00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:45,759
Speaker 6: sent me yesterday, Just the connectivity of the Army. Yeah,

790
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:49,399
Speaker 6: so Vanessa emailed me Hi Alex getting ready to board

791
00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:51,520
Speaker 6: my flight and finally had to listen to send you

792
00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:54,680
Speaker 6: these photos. As I was listening to past episodes, I

793
00:42:54,760 --> 00:42:57,200
Speaker 6: cannot believe it when I saw Tim Brown and then

794
00:42:57,239 --> 00:42:59,120
Speaker 6: she sent me a bunch of photos of him and

795
00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:01,200
Speaker 6: said I'm on a see had a loss for words,

796
00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:04,040
Speaker 6: and then we actually uncovered even something deeper in the

797
00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:05,719
Speaker 6: car driving over here talking about it.

798
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:09,640
Speaker 5: Why did you Why did you share it? Vanessa? Well,

799
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:13,279
Speaker 5: it was just that how did you get to know Tim?

800
00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:15,160
Speaker 5: Your expense at Tim? And then where we found out?

801
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:17,400
Speaker 3: I couldn't it was it was a yeah, it was

802
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:21,920
Speaker 3: a powerful episode and I was just anyway. So my

803
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,040
Speaker 3: friend Pete who I mentioned, who was killed on nine

804
00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:27,880
Speaker 3: to eleven, I became really close with his mom, Unice Marguerite,

805
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:32,160
Speaker 3: and she had never been to a nine to eleven museum,

806
00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:34,239
Speaker 3: even though we live, you know, an hour away, and

807
00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:37,680
Speaker 3: so we made a plan three years ago in November

808
00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:40,719
Speaker 3: to go and we called there were there are two

809
00:43:40,760 --> 00:43:41,600
Speaker 3: other women that were with me.

810
00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:46,000
Speaker 2: Call ourselves Team Marguerite and this guy Mac.

811
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:53,160
Speaker 3: Who is with the Victim Assistant Witness program and so

812
00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:58,279
Speaker 3: he'd be He connected us with Tim Brown, and I

813
00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:00,840
Speaker 3: think Unics had already met Tim before were and so

814
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:04,120
Speaker 3: we spent two days at the nine to eleven museum,

815
00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:08,000
Speaker 3: the Greek Orthodox Church that had just opened or was

816
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:11,759
Speaker 3: about to open, and also Ahara's. We went and had

817
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:14,760
Speaker 3: lunch there at the at the pub that he mentioned,

818
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:20,440
Speaker 3: and right before you know, my Greet's ninetieth birthday. She

819
00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:27,360
Speaker 3: fell dis May and her funeral was May eighth, and

820
00:44:27,920 --> 00:44:32,160
Speaker 3: Tim wasn't able to come because he was traveling. And

821
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:35,000
Speaker 3: I looked back through the text in the car ride

822
00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:37,080
Speaker 3: and he said he was in Denver and then going

823
00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:37,760
Speaker 3: to be in Memphis.

824
00:44:38,520 --> 00:44:39,560
Speaker 1: He was doing our show was.

825
00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:42,200
Speaker 2: On May eighth.

826
00:44:42,800 --> 00:44:46,040
Speaker 1: What a ray small world.

827
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:49,920
Speaker 5: That crazy, unbelievable and if people haven't.

828
00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,440
Speaker 2: Everybody has, Oh two of.

829
00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:58,000
Speaker 3: Both of them, Yeah, they were really My husband and

830
00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:00,200
Speaker 3: I listened to both of them in the car right

831
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:04,319
Speaker 3: up to Vermont on Friday, and it was really impactful

832
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:08,600
Speaker 3: on my husband, who is I'm going to connect him

833
00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:10,440
Speaker 3: with him, He's going to do some work on this

834
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:14,919
Speaker 3: because it's so important to not only never forget.

835
00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:19,279
Speaker 2: In our homes and in our schools, but also never

836
00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:22,720
Speaker 2: forget what cause right the hate of the other.

837
00:45:23,080 --> 00:45:28,080
Speaker 1: That caused this. Maybe we should have a block party, definitely,

838
00:45:28,800 --> 00:45:30,640
Speaker 1: Maybe we should have a block party, and we need

839
00:45:30,719 --> 00:45:34,440
Speaker 1: to open up some block party Middle East things and

840
00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:39,640
Speaker 1: some block party Oversees things, and I mean metaphorically, a

841
00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:41,160
Speaker 1: block party can fix all of it.

842
00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:44,400
Speaker 2: Be so happy if.

843
00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:48,520
Speaker 1: You well, we'll just see each other's human beings. Yes,

844
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:52,600
Speaker 1: what it's about it is. Thank you so much, Vanessa.

845
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:58,720
Speaker 1: You are awesome. Vanessa Elias, founder of block Party USA

846
00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:05,720
Speaker 1: from Wilt, Connecticut, but shedding her light and ideas around

847
00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:08,880
Speaker 1: the world in our country. And I hope each of

848
00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:12,680
Speaker 1: you listening today will consider looking up black Party USA

849
00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,719
Speaker 1: and pulling one off in your own community for the

850
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:21,080
Speaker 1: good of yourselves, your family, your neighborhoods, your neighbors, and

851
00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:25,040
Speaker 1: our culture. Because if we don't start doing more stuff

852
00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:28,759
Speaker 1: like this, I fear of where it leads. There are

853
00:46:28,760 --> 00:46:31,240
Speaker 1: always answers, and it starts with an army and normal

854
00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:34,080
Speaker 1: folks that are willing to do the simple things. And

855
00:46:34,239 --> 00:46:38,719
Speaker 1: this is simple and effective. And I got to do

856
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:40,400
Speaker 1: is get in touch with Vanessa and she'll tell you

857
00:46:40,400 --> 00:46:42,560
Speaker 1: how to pull it off. Thanks for being here.

858
00:46:42,719 --> 00:46:44,279
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me in for the

859
00:46:44,360 --> 00:46:44,799
Speaker 2: work you do.

860
00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:52,279
Speaker 1: It's been awesome. Thanks, and thank you for joining us

861
00:46:52,560 --> 00:46:56,360
Speaker 1: this week. If Vanessa Elias has inspired you in general,

862
00:46:56,640 --> 00:47:00,560
Speaker 1: or better yet, to take action by hosts a block

863
00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:04,960
Speaker 1: party in your neighborhood, organizing a community wide block party movement,

864
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:09,600
Speaker 1: or something else entirely. Please let me know. I'd love

865
00:47:09,719 --> 00:47:12,600
Speaker 1: to hear about it. You can write me anytime at

866
00:47:12,719 --> 00:47:17,040
Speaker 1: Bill at normalfolks dot us and I will respond. If

867
00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:18,880
Speaker 1: you enjoyed this episode.

868
00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:22,279
Speaker 4: Share of friends, share it on social, subscribe to the podcast,

869
00:47:22,719 --> 00:47:26,279
Speaker 4: rate it, review it, join the army at normalfolks dot us,

870
00:47:26,480 --> 00:47:28,960
Speaker 4: any and all of these things that will help us

871
00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:31,440
Speaker 4: grow an army of normal folks.

872
00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:35,440
Speaker 1: I'm Bill Courtney. Until next time, do what you can