1 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Hello, Mary Cloude. 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 2: But Jackie's not answering the phone, so you're college. 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: That's why I was phoning. I know this sounds totally paranoid, 4 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: but do you think has Jackie been avoiding my calls? 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 2: She's avoiding your calls? 6 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: Why? 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 2: She has life and children and maybe she wants to 8 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 2: spend a few minutes. 9 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 3: Well, she gives her children. 10 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 4: I'm supposed to talk to you. 11 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 1: You don't think this is like some kind of cry 12 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: for help that she's kind of like isolating and everything. Yeah, well, 13 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: I just had a couple questions that I was going 14 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,279 Speaker 1: to ask Jackie, but maybe since you guys are such 15 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: good friends, maybe you can answer them. 16 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's literally four o three I need to leave, 17 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 3: So this is okay. 18 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: I was just going through my bar mitzvah rs vps 19 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: and I noticed that Jackie did not attend. 20 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 2: Do you know why did you read your barmst phone 21 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 2: the same Saturday as a very popular kid and everyone 22 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 2: went to his yes steadiers Eric Leidenheim. 23 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 3: Where she was? 24 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: Well, I guess at least she was at Temple from 25 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: Gimblet Media. I'm Jonathan Goldstein and this is Heavyweight Today's episode. 26 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: Justine right after the break, This is me, this is 27 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: your daddy. 28 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 2: Okay, I love you more than anything. 29 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:44,759 Speaker 4: Okay, You're the. 30 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 2: Greatest thing, says Slice Bread. You're the greatest thing since 31 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: can beer. 32 00:01:50,400 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: In two thousand and seven, Gary recorded himself onto a 33 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: series of dictaphone cassettes, which he gave to his daughter Justine. 34 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 1: Ever since Justine was a kid, he's worked as a 35 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: mattress salesman. But he'd always tell Justine's stories about the 36 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: wildlife he once led. 37 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 3: And I kept saying to him, like, you need to 38 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 3: write a memoir, Like you can't just end your life 39 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 3: as a mattress salesman. 40 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: Gary said there was no way he could write a memoir. 41 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: He'd get too caught up in every little detail, and 42 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: titles can be such a hassle. What would he even 43 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: name it? 44 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 3: And he goes, but I'll compromise. What if I'd just 45 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 3: tell my life story into these tapes and you can 46 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 3: have them. 47 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,360 Speaker 1: Gary's life, as he tells it, is one full of heroism, debauchery, 48 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: and brushes with fame. 49 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 3: He got into Georgetown from high school. 50 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 2: My room was the same room that President Bill Clinton 51 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 2: had when he was a freshman. 52 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,119 Speaker 3: But then he got there and realized it was all bullshit, 53 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 3: dropped out. 54 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,799 Speaker 2: Of Georktown after getting straight a's the first semester there, was. 55 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 3: Bored, so he transferred to Antioch. 56 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: At Antioch in nineteen sixty nine, Gary fell in with 57 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: a revolutionary crowd and began protesting Vietnam in a revolutionary way. 58 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 3: Robbing banks and giving the money to anti war causes, 59 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:19,240 Speaker 3: and got in legal trouble because of that stuff. I 60 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 3: mean seven years in the federal penitentiary. He says. 61 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 2: I'm going to give you the actual story of just 62 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 2: say it with flowers, banded bank rapper. The only reason 63 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 2: why I called that because the newspapers called. 64 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: Gary says, sure he was a bank robber, but he 65 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: never used a gun. Instead, he'd walk into the bank 66 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: with just a bouquet of flowers and use hypnosis on 67 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: the teller to get what he wanted, like. 68 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 3: Using his powers of persuasion, which supposedly he learned on 69 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 3: an ashram. 70 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: Gary says he broke out of prison, auditioned for the 71 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: game show Jeopardy, got on, won the game, and then 72 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: got arrested. On the flight back home. 73 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 2: I went seventeen thousand dollars, so I kicked ass and 74 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 2: I want to fucking at the La fucking airport and 75 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 2: they fucking drive me off the plane. 76 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: Once he was back in prison, Gary says he won 77 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: a prison bridge tournament with his partner H. R. Haldeman. 78 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 2: Was HR. Haldeman, who was the chief of staff of 79 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 2: the Nixon Weisshause, the second most powerful man of his country. 80 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,840 Speaker 2: Labor Day bridge tournament in September of nineteen seventy six 81 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,480 Speaker 2: at Lompoke Federal Penitentiary. 82 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: The tapes are filled with hour after hour of stories 83 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: like this. 84 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 2: Later on, I lived in the cave, I went to 85 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 2: spy school, and I bought a horse. 86 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,919 Speaker 1: Gary stories were out there, but he had this magical 87 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: quality that made anything seem possible. He could get justine 88 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: tickets for sold out concerts, appointments with doctors who were 89 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:47,839 Speaker 1: booked solid. 90 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 3: She idolized her dad, and all my friends knew how 91 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 3: cool he was. I was always talking about my dad. 92 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 3: It's so silly. I have this one memory of when 93 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 3: I was in high school. So I was dreaming, like 94 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 3: from my dad's point of view, that he was driving 95 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,600 Speaker 3: over a bridge, like on accident. And I was awakened 96 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 3: from that dream by my dad calling me on my 97 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 3: cell phone at like two in the morning and I 98 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 3: picked it up and he had a dream that I 99 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 3: was dying, and I couldn't wait to tell my friends 100 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 3: because it was just like, we have this cosmic connection, 101 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 3: me and my dad. 102 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:26,040 Speaker 1: But there are other things about Gary that, looking back 103 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: on as an adult, Justine has a hard time reconciling 104 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: with the dad she's so adored. For one, they're cosmic connection. 105 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,280 Speaker 1: Gary would often tell Justine that the two of them 106 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: were different than everyone else, different than her mom, who 107 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: divorced Gary when Justine was only three, and different from 108 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 1: her brother Stephen. She and Gary were a gang of two. 109 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 3: We are smarter, we get it. We were different from them. 110 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 3: And then when I became a mother, I just felt like, 111 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,559 Speaker 3: you know, it's kind of inexcusable. I was just able 112 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 3: to zoom out a little bit and see some of 113 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 3: the inappropriateness of things. He is an addict, and sometimes 114 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 3: he would be completely wasted driving us, which was like 115 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,480 Speaker 3: scary for me. I remember crying a lot in the backseat. 116 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 3: We would go to restaurants and there were times when 117 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,000 Speaker 3: the patrons of the restaurants would call the police because 118 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,159 Speaker 3: they were concerned about our welfare and I would be 119 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 3: like making jokes to the waitress to try to like 120 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 3: diffuse the situte. Like he would be really embarrassing and 121 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 3: obviously drunk, and I would say, hey, can we get 122 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 3: the guy some milk? You know, like just a nine 123 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 3: year old trying the smooth things over. 124 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 1: If the kids needed a babysitter, Gary would find the 125 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: neighborhood teenager and pay them in marijuana. Other times he'd 126 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: leave the kids to their own devices. Justine and her 127 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: brother Stephen would wander over to the Lowe's hardware store 128 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,799 Speaker 1: beside their apartment complex and occupy themselves for hours playing 129 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: hide and seek among the appliances. Justine says Gary would 130 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,200 Speaker 1: often drop her off at elementary school with her hair 131 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: unbrushed and a half eaten Big Mac wrapped in tinfoil 132 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: for lunch, and when middle school rolled around. 133 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 3: He would like show up drunk in the cafeteria during 134 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 3: lunchtime to come talk to me in. 135 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: Did you at this point did your friends still think 136 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: that he was cool? 137 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 3: Yep? 138 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: What was it that made them feel that way? 139 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 3: He would bring me money, which was you know cool? 140 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 3: When you're in seventh grade, he would crack a lot 141 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 3: of like inappropriate jokes like he he would talk about 142 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 3: sex like there are absolutely no boundaries in terms of 143 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 3: what he felt was appropriate for kids. He just treated 144 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 3: us like adults. 145 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 2: I'm not sure I'm a good parent. I'm sorry for 146 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 2: everything I've done wrong. I'm sorry for well living the 147 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 2: incredible lifestyle I live. 148 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: At this point in her life, Justine knows her dad 149 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 1: can be manipulative. She knows he's an addict, but she 150 00:08:11,400 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: still wants to believe that's not all he is. A 151 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: Part of her holds to that childhood belief that her 152 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: father's life truly was the stuff of memoirs. Those stories 153 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: feel like her inheritance. Yet at thirty one, she's forced 154 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: to ask herself, are those unbelievable stories about robbing banks 155 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: and winning Jeopardy so unbelievable because they're simply not to 156 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: be believed. 157 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 3: As I get older and my childhood begins to feel 158 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 3: more and more alarming to me, like I realize that 159 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:50,839 Speaker 3: I have to know what was true, Like I have 160 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 3: to know this is my dad we're talking about, and 161 00:08:53,840 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 3: if none of it's true, then that's completely insane and 162 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:07,200 Speaker 3: I need to reevaluate everything. You know, if he's telling 163 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 3: these same lies in great detail, over and over, like 164 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 3: he's a fraud and a pathological liar. I just want 165 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 3: to I need to know that I started to discover 166 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 3: little things that he said that weren't so true, Like 167 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 3: there have been so many times when he's told me 168 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,839 Speaker 3: that he's dying. I thought that he would never even 169 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 3: see me graduate high school, like I always have thought he. 170 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 1: Was dying after a lifetime of drug use and alcoholism. 171 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: Gary is in consistently poor health. It's just not clear 172 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,559 Speaker 1: exactly how poor. Since he's been saying that he's dying 173 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:56,079 Speaker 1: for over a decade, the prognosis is murky, like Justine's 174 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,080 Speaker 1: fairly certain he does have hepatitis. 175 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 3: Oh, diabetes too, he got diabetes and that you like, Yes, 176 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 3: they had to like remove a toe, you know. 177 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: And you've seen you've seen this, uh this missing toe. 178 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 3: Yes, I was there in the hospital. 179 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: I'm sorry to have to ask that. 180 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 3: I mean, I haven't seen the toe, but I've seen 181 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 3: like the lack of a toe. 182 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: I've seen the lack of a toe. Okay, Yes, Gary 183 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: stuck to the same stories, often verbatim, for decades. So 184 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,839 Speaker 1: at this point Justine doesn't feel like sitting down with 185 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: him to re examine, and requestion will yield new results. 186 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: She needs a neutral outsider to train an objective eye 187 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: onto Gary's stories and finally offer some clarity. And what 188 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: and what do you? What do you want me? You 189 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:46,240 Speaker 1: want me to bring my powers of fact checking and 190 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:47,400 Speaker 1: research to bear. 191 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 3: Or yes, you know, listen to the tapes. Maybe try 192 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 3: and pull out a couple of claims that you think 193 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 3: could be verifiable one way or the other. Yeah, start simple. 194 00:10:57,559 --> 00:10:59,000 Speaker 3: Did he go to Georgetown? 195 00:10:59,120 --> 00:10:59,200 Speaker 4: Like? 196 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 3: Start there? Yeah, and then just see what we can 197 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:03,199 Speaker 3: verify and what we. 198 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: Can't after the break the facts. 199 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,680 Speaker 2: Listen, I'm not making this shit up. I don't have to. 200 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: I'm sorry. 201 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 2: These tapes sometimes are incoherent, and I'm sober, I'm half drunk, 202 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 2: I'm totally drunk. But it's the real daddy. 203 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:34,679 Speaker 1: It's the real meat, I must confess. As I begin 204 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: looking into Gary stories, I expect to quickly discover that 205 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: all of his stories are lies. I've met plenty of 206 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: Gary's in bars, on greyhound buses, and even at a 207 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,880 Speaker 1: few public radio conventions, charming liars who lie to self 208 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: aggrandize or for no discernible reason at all. But as 209 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: I start the process of fact checking disproving Gary unequivocally 210 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,200 Speaker 1: turns out to be more difficult than expected. I keep 211 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,560 Speaker 1: phoning and emailing Georgetown, but no one gets back to me. 212 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: I look through an old Jeopardy archive, but it only 213 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,960 Speaker 1: goes back to nineteen eighty five, years after Gary would 214 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: have been on the show. And while I do discover 215 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: that H. R. Haldeman was an inmate at Lompoke Federal 216 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: Penitentiary on the dates Gary said, I can find no 217 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:24,439 Speaker 1: record of a Labor Day prison bridge tournament. Finally, though, 218 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: I alight upon one small claim I can weigh in 219 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: on with confidence. So I phoned Justine with the news scared. 220 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: Does it feel like stuff is getting real? 221 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 4: Yeah? 222 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:36,920 Speaker 1: Is that okay? 223 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 4: Yeah? It's about time something got real. 224 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,959 Speaker 2: Now the most underrated man on the history of the world. 225 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 2: Just so you know, a band called Buffalo Springfield has 226 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:51,959 Speaker 2: Neil Young in it. Also Richie Fury, by the way, 227 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 2: who was a friend of mine in Yellow Springs, Ohio. 228 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: Had Gary been friends with a member of Buffalo Springfield. 229 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: I'd gone to Fire's website and filled out a contact 230 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 1: for him that said it was for all inquiries. My inquiry, 231 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,839 Speaker 1: I explained, was that I was trying to figure out 232 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: whether someone's dad was a pathological liar, and so might 233 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,680 Speaker 1: mister Fiura be able to tell me if he remembered 234 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: hanging out with a man named Gary in Yellow Springs, 235 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:24,080 Speaker 1: Ohio in the early nineteen seventies. The next day, I 236 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: got an email back from Richie Fire's manager David. He 237 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,320 Speaker 1: said that Richie left Yellow Springs in nineteen sixty four 238 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: and does not recognize the name, so that that came 239 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: back negative. 240 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 4: Okay, I'm really happy right now. 241 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 3: Really? Why? 242 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 4: Yeah, I guess it's the clarity. Wow, that's one. I 243 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,559 Speaker 4: feel a little bit lighter for some. 244 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: Reason, and like, Okay, learning your father is a liar 245 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 1: is never good news, but for just it's better than 246 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,679 Speaker 1: the years of not knowing. To misquote the most underrated 247 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: band in history. Something's happening here and what it is 248 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,560 Speaker 1: is becoming increasingly clear. 249 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:13,560 Speaker 4: The clouds are opening up a little. 250 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,360 Speaker 1: Your dad did not know one of the members of 251 00:14:16,400 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: Buffalo Springfield. 252 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 4: And so the cloud's part And now I feel lighter. 253 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: It's great Buffalo Springfield is still bringing joy and meaning 254 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: to people. Justine mentions another musician story I should look into. 255 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: There's a local celebrity blues guitarist named Jean Deear, who 256 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: Gary always claimed to have discovered. They were great friends. 257 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: Gary said, until a big falling out. 258 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 2: Believe me, Christine, I've heard from so many people that 259 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 2: I'm an asshole for ever putting any money into Jean Dear. 260 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 2: I've sponsored him. I found him, pay for dental bills, 261 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 2: pay for home bills, fight it so much for him. 262 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 2: He just thinks he's God because he can play guitar. 263 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 4: Well, he may be a good person to contact. I'm sure. 264 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 4: I'm sure he's got information and stories. 265 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 5: I would say as far as discovering me, I'd have 266 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 5: to give him a thumbs up on that. 267 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: This is Jean Dear, and gen Deere says Gary is 268 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: telling the truth. Back when Jeane was twenty three years old, 269 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: he and his band were playing a small Indianapolis bar 270 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: one night when Gary just walked up to him. 271 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 5: I'm on the stage. He got a fool stick under 272 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 5: his arm, a drink in that hand, and then the 273 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 5: other hand he's handed me for money. He goes, take this, 274 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 5: take this. I'm his first time I re saw him, 275 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 5: said take this. I want to record you guys. I 276 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 5: want to make you famous. 277 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: Gary financed and produced Jene's first album, and forty years on, 278 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: Gene is still making a living from his music alone, 279 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: all thanks to Gary, and Jane says. If there was 280 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: any drama in their friendship, it played out on Gary's 281 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:10,800 Speaker 1: side alone. 282 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 5: I hold it and in very high regard. 283 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: I hadn't expected Gary's story about Gene to be true, 284 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: and as I continue in my research, more of my 285 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: expectations are upended. Hello, Hey, justin Hi, So a couple 286 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,920 Speaker 1: orders of business on the docket. I'd finally gotten an 287 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: email back from the communications office at Georgetown, confirmed by 288 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: our records. Said the email, Gary attended Georgetown in fall 289 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty eight, And yet another surprise. Spend some time 290 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: looking into this say It with Flowers bandit. This is 291 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: what I was able to find. There was a robber. 292 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: I discovered several articles in a small Washington paper called 293 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: the Bellingham Herald, which covered the search for a say 294 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: It with Flowers bank robber. The robber had come into 295 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 1: a local bank wearing sunglasses, a pea coat, and a 296 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: stocking cab covering his hair. He stole eight hundred and 297 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,879 Speaker 1: forty eight dollars and was never caught. There doesn't seem 298 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,680 Speaker 1: to have been any hypnosis though, and the robber was armed, 299 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: which is a significant departure from Gary's telling, But all 300 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:24,719 Speaker 1: the other details line up. The year is right, nineteen 301 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: seventy four, and the robber was Gary's age and Gary's height, 302 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 1: and he'd been carrying a bundle of white carnations, just 303 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: like Gary always said. Here's another telling detail. Have you 304 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: ever known your father to wear a beard? 305 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 4: Always? 306 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: What color would you describe as beard? 307 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:48,400 Speaker 4: As being pictures I've seen from like the eighties where 308 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 4: he had a very full, long, disgusting beard. It was 309 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,479 Speaker 4: kind of like a reddish brown, but like growing up, 310 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,199 Speaker 4: you know, he would keep it closer to the face 311 00:17:57,359 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 4: so then it. 312 00:17:57,800 --> 00:17:58,439 Speaker 3: Was like darker. 313 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: Well, according to this article, bank personnel said he had 314 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:05,880 Speaker 1: quote British type reddish colored whiskers with about a five 315 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: day growth. 316 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 4: Like for me, this corroborates, like I feel like it 317 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,560 Speaker 4: was true. 318 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: I mean, look like, is it not possible that he 319 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: read about this bandit who has never caught and took 320 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: credit for him. Maybe at the time. The reason I 321 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,960 Speaker 1: sound skeptical is because I am. The job I've been 322 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,919 Speaker 1: handed was to fact check, to allow the facts to 323 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,200 Speaker 1: speak for themselves, But over the course of my research 324 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 1: something kept eating at me. I'm going to play something 325 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: for you from my first conversation with Justine that initially 326 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: I wasn't going to include. 327 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,160 Speaker 3: So this part, if it could please just remain off 328 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 3: the record. 329 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:49,920 Speaker 1: Sure it's like really important, okay. 330 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 3: But that might like might give you some insight into well. 331 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: Originally this wasn't something Justine wanted to make public. She 332 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: since reconsidered, so I'm sharing it with her. Permisis. When 333 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: she was very young, around seven years old, Justine says 334 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:06,480 Speaker 1: her father told her a secret. 335 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 3: He was like drunk and crying to me when I 336 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:12,840 Speaker 3: was younger, and he told me this, And he said 337 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,879 Speaker 3: to me that if I ever tell anyone that he 338 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 3: would wring my neck in public. When he met my mom, 339 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:23,959 Speaker 3: she was pregnant with my brother, and my brother doesn't 340 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 3: know that he like my brother doesn't know that he 341 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 3: doesn't know who his dad. 342 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: Is, that is, Stephen doesn't know that Gary is not 343 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:34,680 Speaker 1: his biological father. 344 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 3: Like according to the public knowledge would be that my 345 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 3: brother and I are siblings from my mom and dad, 346 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 3: that we are their two children. But the truth is only. 347 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: I am after his drunken confession. Gary never brought up 348 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 1: Stephen's paternity again, and until Justine mentioned it to me, 349 00:19:56,359 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: neither a. She she was terrified by her dad's threat, 350 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 1: so all the way into adulthood, she never told anyone, 351 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:04,680 Speaker 1: not even her mom. 352 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 3: And so my mom doesn't know that I know. Nobody 353 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 3: knows that I know. And it's like kind of a 354 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 3: painful thing because I feel like my brother should know. 355 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,119 Speaker 3: But I just keep, you know, I try not to 356 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:16,719 Speaker 3: think about it. 357 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,880 Speaker 1: And so the secret made a silent home inside her head, 358 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,159 Speaker 1: becoming a wedge between her and Stephen. But when Justine 359 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,920 Speaker 1: first laid all this out for me, I was incredulous, 360 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: you know, given the fact that, like there's a lot 361 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: of doubts surrounding the veracity of the things that your 362 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,160 Speaker 1: dad has told you. Have you ever questioned whether that 363 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: was that was the truth? 364 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 3: WHOA, No, I never have. 365 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: I was thrown by Justine's reaction. If everything her father 366 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,920 Speaker 1: had ever told her was suspect, why wasn't this story 367 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: about Stephen's paternity suspect too, especially since it seemed to 368 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: belie an agenda. I mean, you're saying that he had 369 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 1: all these techniques for like, you know, grouping yar you 370 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 1: two together against the world and everyone. I mean, that 371 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:05,199 Speaker 1: seems to fit in with that. 372 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's this is true. So there are a couple 373 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 3: of reasons why I think I never questioned it. 374 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,120 Speaker 1: For one, Stephen is pale with bright red hair. Well 375 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 1: Gary is dark complexion with dark hair. Plus garyot also 376 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: revealed a secret about a cousin's paternity, which did turn 377 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 1: out to be true. So from Justine's perspective, in the 378 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,640 Speaker 1: secret paternity department, Gary was batting a thousand. But from 379 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 1: my perspective, none of that is definitive. So as I 380 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 1: updated Justine on Buffalo, Springfield and Georgetown and the say 381 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,159 Speaker 1: It with Flowers bandit, I continue to obsess over the 382 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 1: story of her brother, Stephen's paternity. You have any further 383 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,919 Speaker 1: thoughts about the business with your brother? Gary had saddled 384 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: six year old Justine with an albatross of shame and 385 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 1: secrecy that adult Justine still couldn't laid to rest. 386 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,440 Speaker 4: All of these couple decades, it's been like, number one, 387 00:21:58,720 --> 00:21:59,440 Speaker 4: do not do that. 388 00:21:59,640 --> 00:21:59,960 Speaker 3: What's work? 389 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,879 Speaker 1: The secret she'd been entrusted with maybe wasn't even true, 390 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,440 Speaker 1: So to me, proving it false would relieve a huge burden. Plus, 391 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,360 Speaker 1: unlike some of Gary's other stories, there wasn't space for ambiguity. 392 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: He either was Stephen's dad or he wasn't, so proving 393 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 1: the truth about Stephen's paternity would inevitably shed light onto 394 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:32,360 Speaker 1: everything else. Stephen's paternity was the master key. I ask 395 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 1: Justine if she's ever considered talking to her mom about it, 396 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 1: to see if the story is true. It's a new 397 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,160 Speaker 1: idea for Justine, one that takes time to process. Until now. 398 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: She's always assumed she'd keep the secret her whole life, 399 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: But I keep nudging her. Have you continued to think about, 400 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: like talking with your mother? In February, Justine absolutely did 401 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:54,160 Speaker 1: not want to talk to her mom. 402 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 4: It's really not my place. 403 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,439 Speaker 1: But in March she was leaning towards maybe talking to 404 00:22:59,440 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: her mom. 405 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 4: You know, I'm an adult now, so it's not like 406 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 4: I could get in trouble for bringing it up to her. 407 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: In April, though, she was back to not wanting to 408 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: talk to her mom. 409 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 4: I don't want to devastate her unveiling a secret that 410 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 4: she's been trying to keep from me, her whole life, 411 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,400 Speaker 4: from everyone. 412 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:20,919 Speaker 1: But then three months after our first conversation, Justine realizes 413 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: there might be a workaround a way to fact check 414 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,400 Speaker 1: her father's story about Stephen's paternity without confronting her mother. 415 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,159 Speaker 1: In reevaluating her past, A dormant memory is rattled loose 416 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,920 Speaker 1: years ago conversation that took place at her mom's house 417 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:37,480 Speaker 1: with her cousin Rihanna. 418 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 4: She had said something to me about Stephen's real dad. 419 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 4: I think I did block that out. I am really 420 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,919 Speaker 4: honestly just now remembering that this happened. I think we 421 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 4: were looking through old photo albums that she had brought over, 422 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,159 Speaker 4: Like I think maybe there was a picture of him 423 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 4: in this photo album. She was like, and this is, 424 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 4: you know, Stephen's real dad. Really don't remember many details 425 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,479 Speaker 4: about that conversation other than that and I and I 426 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 4: was kind of uncomfortable, and I was like, yeah, yeah, 427 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:07,719 Speaker 4: you know, like, oh, okay, cool, next picture. 428 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: Huh. 429 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:25,120 Speaker 4: I can ask her about it if you want. Hello, Hey, hey, 430 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 4: it's just doing. 431 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: Justine told Rihanna she wanted to ask her something concerning 432 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:32,240 Speaker 1: their family history. 433 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 4: Has to do with Stephen. Do you know what I'm 434 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 4: talking about? I'm bosing what you're talking about. You and 435 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:51,119 Speaker 4: told me, am, okay. So when I was a lot younger, 436 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 4: like seven or eight. My dad told me that he's 437 00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 4: not actually Stephen's dad. Correct. Okay, So when you say correct, 438 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:19,640 Speaker 4: what does that mean? I mean that he's not. I 439 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:24,000 Speaker 4: was told to keep my mouth shut, so was I Yeah? 440 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 3: Yeah? 441 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 4: So who told you my parents? Okay? 442 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 1: It seems like it's not just Rihanna who knows the truth. 443 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: Justine's entire extended family does too. 444 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 4: Do you remember the Kirbys or you guys? You probably 445 00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 4: you guys weren't around them, were you? 446 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,080 Speaker 1: Rianna and Justine are first cousins, but while Rihanna grew 447 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 1: up with a family called the Kirby's, Justine has no 448 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: recollection of any Kirbys. Rihanna explains why, and, in keeping 449 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,880 Speaker 1: with the way she's been explaining everything so far, she's. 450 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 4: Blunt to my knowledge. What happened is your mom was 451 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 4: with one of them, and he didn't want to further 452 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,640 Speaker 4: a relationship with your mom, so when she got pregnant, 453 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,600 Speaker 4: she told her he didn't want anything to do with her. WHOA, 454 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 4: and does he know that Stephen exists? 455 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 5: Yes? 456 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 4: Well, I've always just felt like it's not my place 457 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 4: to say anything to anyone if it's not you know, yeah, 458 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,160 Speaker 4: I think it would devastate Stephen. I do too. 459 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 1: Stephen is known as the sensitive one in the family. 460 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,960 Speaker 1: Although he's fifteen months older than Justine, he's always felt 461 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: more like a younger brother to her. As a kid, 462 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:54,439 Speaker 1: he was given to outbursts and tears, which made him 463 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:57,879 Speaker 1: an easy target for bullies. Justine remembers leaping to his 464 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 1: defense and shouting down his tormentor. Just like when they 465 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,200 Speaker 1: were kids, she still wants to protect her brother. As 466 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: the cousins sit in silence, trying to decide what to 467 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: do next, Rihanna offers to send some pictures of the Kirbies. 468 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 4: I think, get them to you now. Okay, you're on 469 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:26,240 Speaker 4: Wi Fi, right, mm hmm okay, hang I just got 470 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 4: the Oh my god. 471 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, and there he is Stephen's biological father. He has 472 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,560 Speaker 1: red hair, a red goatee, and is the spitting image 473 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 1: of Justine's. 474 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:46,439 Speaker 4: Brother that looks like exactly like him. And even in 475 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 4: the one with like that red shirt or whatever, the 476 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 4: orange shirt, that's like a face that he makes. Yes, sorry, 477 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:04,920 Speaker 4: I'm just like staring. Wow. Well, thank you for the 478 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 4: pictures and the info. I mean, I would definitely. 479 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:11,520 Speaker 3: Call that confirmation. 480 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:19,160 Speaker 1: Once Justine hangs up with Rihanna. She and I talk. Justinekay, 481 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 1: how are you doing? 482 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:31,920 Speaker 4: I'm okay. It's a little painful to look right at 483 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,840 Speaker 4: the situation, just like talking about this secret. I feel 484 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 4: a little bit guilty, so do I. 485 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: Justine in fact checked Gary's paternity claims, not because she 486 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,960 Speaker 1: doubted them, but because I had I'm the one who 487 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:49,800 Speaker 1: pushed this thing forward, but Gary wasn't lying. 488 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:56,200 Speaker 4: It actually does kind of relieve me to maybe come 489 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 4: to the conclusion that a lot of the stories were 490 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,959 Speaker 4: based in truth. Mm hmm, Like it makes me feel like, Okay, 491 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 4: that's my dad. 492 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: He's an alcoholic, Justine says, and a manipulator, but he's 493 00:29:09,160 --> 00:29:12,280 Speaker 1: not a liar, or at least not a total liar. 494 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,560 Speaker 1: So having arrived at this conclusion, Justine and I decide 495 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: to shelve the mission. She feels like the next step 496 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,520 Speaker 1: would be to talk to her mom, and she's not 497 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 1: ready to do that yet. About a month later, I 498 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 1: reach out to Justine to see what's new, and it 499 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:37,640 Speaker 1: turns out a lot is new. 500 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,479 Speaker 4: So gosh, this has been so crazy. 501 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 6: So my brother came over the week before Stephen had 502 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:48,280 Speaker 6: come over to put up some outside lights, and while 503 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:51,440 Speaker 6: he was there, he asked, Hey, so what's going on 504 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:53,440 Speaker 6: with that whole endeavor to fact check dad? 505 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:57,240 Speaker 1: And Justine panicked, I was not prepared for this question. 506 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,080 Speaker 4: I hadn't thought up, like what was I going to 507 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 4: tell him about why we were shelving it? So he 508 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 4: kind of caught me off guard. 509 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: She knew she couldn't say, well, one of the things 510 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: we fact checked was your paternity, and since I didn't 511 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 1: want you to know that dad isn't your dad, that 512 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,520 Speaker 1: kind of ended things. But instead of just making some excuse, 513 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,920 Speaker 1: she was cryptic and vague, almost like she wanted Stephen 514 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,040 Speaker 1: to keep digging. There's this one thing she told him 515 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,760 Speaker 1: that I realized I wasn't ready to talk about publicly. 516 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 4: And he said, well, you have to tell me, and 517 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 4: I said, look at me, you need to drop it. 518 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:39,120 Speaker 4: You need to just accept the fact right now that 519 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 4: I'm never ever going to tell you, and he goes, am, 520 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 4: I adopted. 521 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:53,719 Speaker 7: So then he goes home and he says to my mom, am, 522 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 7: I adopted, and she's like, where is this com what 523 00:30:58,400 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 7: are you talking about? 524 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 4: But then he asked my mom's parents. She's like going 525 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 4: around asking the whole family and I adopted, and then 526 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 4: he comes back to me and he said, just seeing 527 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:12,360 Speaker 4: I think I want to do like a twenty three 528 00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,800 Speaker 4: year or something. Everyone's being weird when I asked this question. 529 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: Then, early one morning, while feeding her son oatmeal, Justine 530 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,400 Speaker 1: received a call from her mother, who wanted to know 531 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 1: why Stephen was asking all these questions. 532 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 4: So I just said to her, like, do you want 533 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:36,200 Speaker 4: to talk about this now? And she paused for a 534 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:40,920 Speaker 4: long time, and she goes, I guess so, And I said, 535 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:46,480 Speaker 4: I've known the big secret since I was six, And 536 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 4: then we just started talking about it. 537 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 1: They decided to meet for lunch, where they continued to 538 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,200 Speaker 1: talk about it for two hours. 539 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:59,800 Speaker 4: Even the simplest of interactions with her before this, there 540 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 4: was a level of like falsehood. I guess. I just 541 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,760 Speaker 4: really felt like I was able to be myself for 542 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 4: the first time. 543 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: Together, Justine and her mom, Lynn went through the whole story. 544 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:17,440 Speaker 1: Lynn explained how as a teenager, she hooked up with 545 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 1: a childhood crush, a boy named Brian Kirby that she'd 546 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:23,640 Speaker 1: been in love with since she was thirteen. While Lynn 547 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,719 Speaker 1: had a curfew in rules set by her parents, Brian 548 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,160 Speaker 1: was a free spirit who could stay out all night. 549 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 1: Their dates were basically impromptu makeout sessions and Lynn's backyard 550 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,280 Speaker 1: treehouse where she was out of view from her parents, 551 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:41,520 Speaker 1: And then at seventeen, she got pregnant. Brian ignored her calls. 552 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,640 Speaker 1: Then Gary appeared. Lynn was working at her parents' gas station, 553 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,680 Speaker 1: visibly pregnant when one day Gary drove up. The two 554 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,320 Speaker 1: of them started flirting, and a few months later Gary proposed. 555 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,040 Speaker 1: He promised Lynn that he would raise the baby as 556 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,680 Speaker 1: his own. Lynn thinks he wanted to be a father 557 00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:02,080 Speaker 1: even more than he wanted her, so when they eventually 558 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,080 Speaker 1: got divorced, Gary panicked that he might lose the kids. 559 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:08,400 Speaker 1: He threatened Lynn, telling her he'd ever killed if she 560 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:12,000 Speaker 1: ever revealed the truth about Stephen. Lynn says Gary knew 561 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 1: enough shady people to make it happen. For Lynn, that 562 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: threat was enough to keep her from ever telling a soul. 563 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: She was just as afraid of Gary as Justine was. 564 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,120 Speaker 1: Lynn is always believed that one day she would talk 565 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 1: to Stephen about it. She just needed to wait until 566 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,520 Speaker 1: Gary was dead so she'd be safe. But with Stephen 567 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:34,720 Speaker 1: asking so many questions, Justine doesn't think they can afford 568 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:38,040 Speaker 1: to wait. So what began as a need for Justine 569 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:40,000 Speaker 1: to know the truth of who her father really is 570 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 1: has become a need for her brother to know the 571 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:46,959 Speaker 1: truth of who his father really isn't. Justine convinces her 572 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,840 Speaker 1: mother that, despite their fear, they owe it to Stephen, 573 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:53,080 Speaker 1: and together they devise a plan and set a date. 574 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,959 Speaker 1: And while they know telling Stephen the truth will have consequences, 575 00:33:57,520 --> 00:34:00,680 Speaker 1: what they don't know yet is just how big those 576 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 1: consequences will be. 577 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,880 Speaker 2: Okay, let's end this and go on to the next side. 578 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:28,640 Speaker 1: On next week's Heavyweight Side B. This episode of Heavyweight 579 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:32,120 Speaker 1: was produced by Senior producer Khalila Holt, along with Stevie Lane, 580 00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:36,920 Speaker 1: Mohemy mcgawker, and me Jonathan Goldstein. Special thanks to Emily Condon, 581 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: Alex Bloomberg, Sharon Mashihi, Connie Walker, and Mary Cloude. Bobby 582 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,440 Speaker 1: Lord mixed the episode with original music by Christine Fellows, 583 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:48,439 Speaker 1: John K. Sampson, Ben Aliman, and Bobby Lord. Additional music 584 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,560 Speaker 1: credits can be found on our website Gimbletmedia dot com 585 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:54,560 Speaker 1: slash Heavyweight. Our theme song is by The weaker Thans 586 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:58,080 Speaker 1: courtesy of Epitaph Records. Follow us on Twitter at Heavyweight 587 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:01,480 Speaker 1: or email us at heavyweight at give fletmedia dot com. 588 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,680 Speaker 1: We'll be back next week with Part two and a 589 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: special message from my friend Jackie. Jackie, if you're listening, 590 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:09,520 Speaker 1: please pick up the phone next week