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Speaker 1: If it doesn't work, you're just not using enough. You're

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Speaker 1: listening to Software Radio Special Operations, Military news on straight

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Speaker 1: talk with the guys and the community in holding and everyone.

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Speaker 1: Welcome back to Software Radio, Software Radio on Time, on Target.

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Speaker 1: We have a great podcast lined up for you folks

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Speaker 1: this afternoon. We're talking with another politician who's running for

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Speaker 1: state rep. A couple of months ago we we spoke

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Speaker 1: with a gentleman of a retired Marine Corps colonel who

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Speaker 1: was running for office in Kentucky. And now we're gonna

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Speaker 1: talk to another Lieutenant Colonel, um Ingrid Centurion who's running

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Speaker 1: for State Rep in the state of Massachusetts. We want

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Speaker 1: to welcome her to the podcast. Mrs Santorium, Welcome to

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Speaker 1: Software Up Radio. Thank you so much, Steve. Yeah, it's

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Speaker 1: it's a pleasure to have you here. And uh, I

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Speaker 1: know that reading some of your bio, you're in Iraq,

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Speaker 1: were veteran and as well as being a small business owner,

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Speaker 1: but you are a pilot and share with our listeners

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Speaker 1: a little bit about your military career. Yeah sure, Well

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Speaker 1: I started flying when I was sixteen and became a

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Speaker 1: private pilot at and so I share that story with everybody,

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Speaker 1: because uh, I knew what I wanted to be at

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Speaker 1: a at a young age. And I saved all my

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Speaker 1: money and three thousand dollars and my mom drove me

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Speaker 1: out to the airport and I became a private pilot

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Speaker 1: four months later. And then I just I did, Okay,

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Speaker 1: I love this. I want to be a commercial pilot.

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Speaker 1: And by the time I was twenty one, I had

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Speaker 1: my commercial license. I was actually a c if I

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Speaker 1: double I multi engine instrument instructor. So my dream at

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Speaker 1: that time was to go fly for the airline. I

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Speaker 1: want to be that airline pilot, delta pilot. But I

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Speaker 1: got an Army r otc UH scholarship, so after college,

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Speaker 1: I had to go into the military and SERF and

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Speaker 1: I got active duty and I was in flight school

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Speaker 1: down at Fort Rucker uh females. Back then, you know,

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Speaker 1: we got the Huey transition and then after that we

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Speaker 1: would go to maintenance test pilot school. Most of the

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Speaker 1: girls were logistics or maintenance. So I became a maintenance

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Speaker 1: test pilot and my first assignment was in Korea, and

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Speaker 1: back then we flew single pilot. I remember flying all

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Speaker 1: by myself along the Korean border and I share that

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Speaker 1: because today young kids at seventeen eighteen, they all need

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Speaker 1: to take on more responsibility and and really grow and mature.

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Speaker 1: And we need to UM put more responsibility in our

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Speaker 1: kids and get them working as young as possible so

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Speaker 1: they understand and have a strong work ethic. So then

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Speaker 1: I went in. After after that, I went into you know,

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Speaker 1: I was on active duty. From from there, I UM

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Speaker 1: went to Korea, came back as far as my whole

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Speaker 1: twenty years. I was stationed at Fort Belvoir. Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

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Speaker 1: I flew the I P there. We had a Huey's

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Speaker 1: and Blackhawks in that unit. I was there for a

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Speaker 1: long time and then from there I was sent to

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Speaker 1: Fort Rucker. So down at Fort Rucker I was I

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Speaker 1: had a company command there, my second one I had

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Speaker 1: one at Belvoir, and then I was in charge being

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Speaker 1: a maintenance officer. I was in charge at one time

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Speaker 1: of all the hell copters down at Fort Rucker, seven

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Speaker 1: of them, all the different platforms, and every time an

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Speaker 1: aircraft went down, safety of flight UM would come out.

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Speaker 1: My job was to develop the get well planned because

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Speaker 1: the Chinooks went down for parts, the black Hawk went

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Speaker 1: down for some safety of flight the APACHE went down.

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Speaker 1: I mean it was a very stressful job down there

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Speaker 1: and down at Fort Rucker. Normally we have a contractor.

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Speaker 1: Back then it was dine Core, and dine Core you know,

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Speaker 1: was responsible for providing the maintenance services for our fleet.

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Speaker 1: But that was really great. And then, um, do you

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Speaker 1: want me to go over the whole career. You can

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Speaker 1: talk about whatever you want. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway,

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Speaker 1: I love flying. You know, I did start flying early,

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Speaker 1: and I really was, um, kind of like a little

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Speaker 1: bit of a stick pig. I went from one flying

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Speaker 1: job to another, a flying job to another flying job,

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Speaker 1: so I was able to build my flight hours. Uh.

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Speaker 1: Then I got transitioned into a black Hawk while I

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Speaker 1: was at Fort Rucker, and I went to the instructor

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Speaker 1: pilot course at Fort Rucker and actually, yeah, let me

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Speaker 1: move to the second company command that I had, which

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Speaker 1: was being the first female commander of the all male

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Speaker 1: UM Hispanic flight training unit down at Fort Rucker called

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Speaker 1: at that time it was UM the Helicopter School Battalion

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Speaker 1: formerly known as the School of the Americas. And so

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Speaker 1: all the guys, whether they were gs or warrant officers,

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Speaker 1: they were all instructor pilots, and many of them were

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Speaker 1: of Hispanic and Latino descent. Some of them were Americans

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Speaker 1: who who knew how to speak Spanish, so that was great.

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Speaker 1: So um, being the first female company commander there, that

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Speaker 1: was a great experience because most of the Latino community,

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Speaker 1: you know, they're not used to having female as their boss.

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Speaker 1: And uh so I was the first one, and I

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Speaker 1: was great. I had a great experience and they taught

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Speaker 1: me a lot. You know, I learned to become an

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Speaker 1: instructor pilot with you know, the old guys who flew

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Speaker 1: in Vietnam and these pilots that have you know, five thousand,

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Speaker 1: six thousand hours. So that was a great experience. And

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Speaker 1: I love teaching and I love training, and that's actually

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Speaker 1: kind of like what I'm doing now. So but then

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Speaker 1: then after that, I was offered a fixed wing transition

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Speaker 1: and and this career that I had is very strange.

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Speaker 1: Like most people, most pilots that you meet in the Army,

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Speaker 1: or most retired lieutenant colonels, they don't normally don't fly

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Speaker 1: three different aircraft. So that's why I say, you know,

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Speaker 1: it was a little bit of a stick pig. And

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Speaker 1: then then I was then they offered me the fixed

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Speaker 1: wing transition when I was a major, so I took

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Speaker 1: that and I got my top secret clears and then

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Speaker 1: I transitioned into the fifteen am I Battalion out of Courthood,

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Speaker 1: and from there we deployed to Iraq. And what year

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Speaker 1: was that? What year were you in Iraq? Oh Man?

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Speaker 1: I was forget the years now? Yeah, I know, I

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Speaker 1: known that feeling real well, right, what was it? The

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Speaker 1: second go for? When we went into two thousands, I

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Speaker 1: flew um, I flew uh and I deployed over there

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Speaker 1: under the Originally it was the five O four am

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Speaker 1: I Brigade out of Fourthood, and then we transitioned to

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Speaker 1: the five D am I Brigade out of Hawaii. And

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Speaker 1: I was actually when I first went to Forthood, I

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Speaker 1: was in the U S three shop shop and I

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Speaker 1: helped that whole brigade deploy to Iraq. So that was

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Speaker 1: really was a really great experience. Very are demanding um

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Speaker 1: for for me deploying all those units and transition them

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Speaker 1: and getting you know, the load plan and loading the equipment.

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Speaker 1: And I just remember all the stress on the on

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Speaker 1: the company commanders and all the majors as they were

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Speaker 1: coming in because it was you know, a long hours,

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Speaker 1: long days deploying a whole unit, right, and we were

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Speaker 1: so dependent on our aircraft over there. I mean it

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Speaker 1: had to have been a very busy time at that point. Yes,

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Speaker 1: it was very busy. So and you have a military family.

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Speaker 1: I read in your bio that you've been married for

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Speaker 1: over twenty years to your husband who's a retired infantryman,

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Speaker 1: and your youngest son is in the army now at best.

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Speaker 1: Yeah exactly, Yeah, yeah, So my husband's retired Army infantry.

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Speaker 1: He was in the Old Guard and that's where we met.

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Speaker 1: Um and my son, who is nineteen, just graduated from

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Speaker 1: high school, wanted to go to college in Arizona. He

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Speaker 1: goes out there and he joins the army. The recruiter,

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Speaker 1: the recruiter apparently signed him up. He's in infantry training.

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Speaker 1: I think he's graduating next week. We can't go to

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Speaker 1: the graduation and um, then he will go back to Arizona.

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Speaker 1: He's joined the Arizona National Guard and the Army will

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Speaker 1: pay for his um you know, college, So that's good.

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Speaker 1: So he's saving us some money there and he's studying.

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Speaker 1: He's really following in my footsteps exactly. He's going to

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Speaker 1: be getting a degree in aerospace engineering. He's going to

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Speaker 1: join Army r OTC at a s U and then

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Speaker 1: when he graduates, he wants to be an officer and

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Speaker 1: go on active duty. So excellent. Yes, well, well good

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Speaker 1: luck to him and we wish him all the best.

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Speaker 1: Done that. And I saw as well that you're an

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Speaker 1: advisor to the Veterans Entrepreneurial Training and Resource Network. Can

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Speaker 1: you fill us our listeners in on what that's all about? Yes, yes, yes, yes.

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Speaker 1: So you know, I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur.

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Speaker 1: You know, I love the Army, but I always wanted

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Speaker 1: to you know, when I retired, you know, I had

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Speaker 1: plans to wanted to be a consultant, right, all those

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Speaker 1: high paid consultants that you see. You know, I'll say,

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Speaker 1: you know, all those old guys that are you You

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Speaker 1: see them and they're still working, and you're like, you know,

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Speaker 1: why aren't they playing with their grandkids? Right? But you

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Speaker 1: know I get it now. You know. They want to

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Speaker 1: stay relevant, they want to stay current. They love reading

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Speaker 1: and learning. I think that's what it all comes down to.

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Speaker 1: And you've got to keep your brain active. Um and

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Speaker 1: and your body right. So when I UM, I moved

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Speaker 1: up here. When I retired, Oh, let me talk about that.

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Speaker 1: So my last assignment, without going through you know, every

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Speaker 1: every assignment, my last assignment was working along the border

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Speaker 1: at Joint Task Force North in El Paso. And there

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Speaker 1: I was a mission planner and I would plan missions

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Speaker 1: um in coordination with the Border Patrol to help surveil

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Speaker 1: the border. And I flew an aircraft that I packaged

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Speaker 1: with cameras and censors on them to look for the

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Speaker 1: illegals coming across the border as well as the drug

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Speaker 1: trafficking and the narcotics that come across the border. And

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Speaker 1: it was really interesting to see what comes across that

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Speaker 1: border every single night. And I caught, you know, hundreds

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Speaker 1: of pounds of marijuana with the border patrol. And it's

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Speaker 1: amazing how open the border is. I know that there's

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Speaker 1: some border wall, but the border is so long, right,

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Speaker 1: and we're talking about the ground side. Then you have

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Speaker 1: the maritime side, and then you have the air So

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Speaker 1: at the time we had this was like almost ten

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Speaker 1: years ago. Now we had UM ultralight aircraft flying across

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Speaker 1: the border dropping um four pounds of marijuana and I was.

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Speaker 1: I wanted to figure out how can we stop this

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Speaker 1: from occurring? So I reached out to a company here

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Speaker 1: in Massachusetts, a really high tech technology company, and I

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Speaker 1: met with them and I asked them, hey, give me

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Speaker 1: some ways and some capabilities of how would you take

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Speaker 1: down an ultra light? And they shared, they gave us

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Speaker 1: a briefing and they shared some awesome ways we could

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Speaker 1: do that. And that's how I met this company called

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Speaker 1: Knnectic North America. And that's with a que q I

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Speaker 1: n e t i q can neddic North America. And

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Speaker 1: when those guys came out to El Paso to give

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Speaker 1: us a briefing, UM, I will always remember it because

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Speaker 1: they were so um motivated and they had all this

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Speaker 1: cool technology and they were all special operations guys now

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Speaker 1: that I look back at it, not all of them,

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Speaker 1: but about four on the team. I remember there was

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Speaker 1: one guy that was retired lieutenant colonel. I don't remember

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Speaker 1: his name now, but um, they came out and I said, Wow,

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Speaker 1: when I retire, I want to work for a company

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Speaker 1: like that. I want to be part of a team

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Speaker 1: that is uh continuing, continuing to support the war fighter.

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Speaker 1: And that's a culture that I would easily adapt into.

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Speaker 1: And so when I retired, I actually sent them my

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Speaker 1: resume and they hired me to be the product manager

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Speaker 1: of the Tactical Robotic Controller. Now that was really cool.

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Speaker 1: It was called the Universal Tactical Robotic Controller, and this

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Speaker 1: was a small handheld controller that was designed for the

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Speaker 1: Marine Corps or fighting lab. And the Marines had developed

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Speaker 1: this lightweight universal controller that would fly last one ua vs,

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Speaker 1: drive ground robots, monitor unattended ground centers and even more,

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Speaker 1: and drive unmanned maritime systems. So I love technology and

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Speaker 1: I was like, oh my gosh, I gotta have this job.

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Speaker 1: And that's what I did. I was helping UM get

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Speaker 1: the Universal Tactical Robotic Controller into UM, the Marines, into

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Speaker 1: the Navy, into all the different services. I saw that

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Speaker 1: on your website. There's a picture. I take it. It's

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Speaker 1: down on the border somewhere outside of Al Paso with

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Speaker 1: with some looks like Marines and Army. Yeah. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: that that photo actually was at Camp Pendleton. Yeah, because

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Speaker 1: our ground robots at Kinnectic, we we had the Alan

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Speaker 1: Are you familiar with it? Yeah, we had the talent,

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Speaker 1: we had the Dragon Runner and the combat engineers. You know,

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Speaker 1: use those for UM i e. D. Clearing and keeping

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Speaker 1: the soldiers and a war fighter out of harm's way.

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Speaker 1: And that's what you know I tell people. As a

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Speaker 1: pilot and Army Aviation, my job is always to support

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Speaker 1: the men and women on the ground with whether it

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Speaker 1: was airlift, or it was bringing them logistics, or it

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Speaker 1: was providing them UM aerial reconnaissance and sigging. That's what

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Speaker 1: we do. We support the guys in girls on the ground,

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Speaker 1: guys and gals UM, and we want to keep them

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Speaker 1: out of harm's way. Support excellent. So you moved up

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Speaker 1: to Massachusetts obviously, Yeah, I moved up here. I had

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Speaker 1: never lived here ever in my life. UM, but I

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Speaker 1: always wanted to come back east because you know, in

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Speaker 1: the Army, you're signed in Alabama, you're signed in Texas,

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Speaker 1: you're signed in Virginia. You know, you pick up their

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Speaker 1: accent and you're you're you're not in uh New England.

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Speaker 1: So I always wanted to get back to um the

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Speaker 1: East coast because I'm originally from New Jersey. Okay, well

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Speaker 1: you don't sound like you have a mass accent yet,

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Speaker 1: but there's still time right right. Actually, most people are

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Speaker 1: say you have kind of like a Twain. Yeah, you're

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Speaker 1: almost you almost sound Virginia. So Virginia. Okay. I don't

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Speaker 1: know what I sound like, but I think when I

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Speaker 1: get upset or angry, my New Jersey attitude and accent

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Speaker 1: comes back. That's it. You know, it always comes back

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Speaker 1: to that, doesn't it. I mean, when people either get

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Speaker 1: mad or they're counting to themselves, they go back to

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Speaker 1: whatever accent they grew up with. Not that so uh,

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Speaker 1: you know myself, I grew up in masks and then

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Speaker 1: uh went into the military. But you can take the

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Speaker 1: boy out of Massachusetts, but unfortunately, you can't take the

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Speaker 1: Massachusetts out of the boy. In my accent. Everyone always

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Speaker 1: asked me, oh, do you still live in Boston? Yeah? Okay,

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Speaker 1: So where did you grow up here? I grew up

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Speaker 1: in Wooburn, Yeah yeah. And when did you leave? I

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Speaker 1: left in nineteen late nineteen seventy nine. I joined the

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Speaker 1: military and yeah, yeah, And then after I retired, I

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Speaker 1: lived down South for a while, and then I did

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Speaker 1: the army contracting thing for a while because it was

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Speaker 1: paying so well. And you know, it wasn't until about

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Speaker 1: two thousand my family moved back up there and we

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Speaker 1: lived right outside of Worcester, Massachusetts, and we lived there

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Speaker 1: for quite a few years. And now that my son

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Speaker 1: went to college and we we love the South, and

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Speaker 1: we moved back down south and we're living in Florida now.

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Speaker 1: So wow. Well, another reason why I wanted to move

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Speaker 1: to Massachusetts is I wanted my boys to shovel snow.

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Speaker 1: I also wanted them to break leaves, because that's how

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Speaker 1: I grew up. When you have a when you have

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Speaker 1: a strong work ethic, I think that's a good thing.

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Speaker 1: It's a flip flops and you know, we're out in

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Speaker 1: the desert. There's not much cleaning to do out there.

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Speaker 1: I think it's just a different way of life, different culture. Well,

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Speaker 1: there's plenty of snow to shovel up there, so that's right.

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Speaker 1: That's My youngest son is like, I'm out of here.

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Speaker 1: It's like I hate the snow. Yeah. Well this winter

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Speaker 1: wasn't so bad. We only had a couple of storms

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Speaker 1: and but but I mean that's not a normal winter.

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Speaker 1: But just so, yeah, you moved that you obviously you

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Speaker 1: you worked as an entrepreneur. What made you decide to

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Speaker 1: get into politics? Oh so, oh, let me finish telling

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Speaker 1: you that story. You know. So I got laid off

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Speaker 1: at Kinnectic because of UM sequestration and the military cut

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Speaker 1: back and the spending. You know, it was just like

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Speaker 1: a lot of people lost their jobs under Obama and

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Speaker 1: I was out of work and I'm here in Massachusetts now.

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Speaker 1: And so then that's when I started my own business

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Speaker 1: and I started helping other business owners grow their business.

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Speaker 1: I was helping small companies get contracts with the Army.

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Speaker 1: And you know, it's so hard having your own business.

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Speaker 1: You you you one have to start a whole new network.

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Speaker 1: Remember I moved to Massachusetts. I don't have any connections here.

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Speaker 1: I've never been here in my life, and and it's

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Speaker 1: really hard for small business owners. So I got a

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Speaker 1: letter from Lee Goldberg, who's the founder of Veteran, the

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Speaker 1: Veteran Entrepreneurial Training and Resource Network, and it said, hey,

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Speaker 1: you can go to this thirteen week program will help

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Speaker 1: you grow your business. We met and I went through

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Speaker 1: that program. I was actually the first female to go

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Speaker 1: through the program, and and it was great. I met

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Speaker 1: Lee and I learned a lot and then I've changed

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Speaker 1: my business model after that, and I started to do

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Speaker 1: speaking and training and um, now that's what I do well.

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Speaker 1: It's hard now with the pandemic, but I was getting

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Speaker 1: paid to speak as a motivational speaker, and I'm working

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Speaker 1: on a book right now that's going to come out.

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Speaker 1: And then as a speaker, one you need to have

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Speaker 1: a book, and then you need to have a program,

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Speaker 1: training program. So I started to do team building sessions

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Speaker 1: and soft skills training, communication training, and just teaching corporations

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Speaker 1: how to how to build a a really strong team

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Speaker 1: and work together. And I like that as a trainer,

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Speaker 1: you know, I was an instructor pilot, did a lot

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Speaker 1: of that also throughout my career, and I realized that

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Speaker 1: I do really love training and coaching and pushing people

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Speaker 1: to their maximum. Sounds like you could have had a

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Speaker 1: career in special ops. I could have, but they didn't

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Speaker 1: let women in UM that field when you know, when

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Speaker 1: I started UM. And then then you get married and

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Speaker 1: you have children, and it's tough, yeah, special ops when

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Speaker 1: you're away from your family so much. That part of

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Speaker 1: special ops was very tough on the families because back then,

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Speaker 1: I mean back when I was in I mean you

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Speaker 1: were basically you were a stranger in the home, you know,

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Speaker 1: because you were gone all the time. Um, they've since tried,

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Speaker 1: well now they tried to rein that in and then

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Speaker 1: with the war the way it's been going, our guys

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Speaker 1: have been tasked out and they're actually over tasked these days.

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Speaker 1: But that's an issue for another time. And and and

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Speaker 1: throughout this whole time, I have been taking care of

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Speaker 1: my mother and I kind of always like kept that quiet,

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Speaker 1: But taking care of a parent is a lot of

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Speaker 1: stress as well. And that's another reason why, you know,

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Speaker 1: sometimes your career may not allow you to do certain

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Speaker 1: things because you don't have that freedom you have you

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Speaker 1: have responsibilities, and and she's really been um my my responsibility. Um,

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Speaker 1: even though I have you know, three other brothers and sisters.

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Speaker 1: She lives with you live up in mass Yes, yes,

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Speaker 1: she's with me up here in mass and between I'm

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Speaker 1: the youngest and my oldest sister, we rotate her and

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Speaker 1: so we take care of her. That's awesome. Yeah, where

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Speaker 1: our family we're going through something some or to that

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Speaker 1: down here as well, So I totally get where you're

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Speaker 1: coming from there. Um, and you also have your own

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Speaker 1: local cable access television show. Is that dealing with you know,

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Speaker 1: the same kind of you know, issues you were just

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Speaker 1: talking about well this is this is how that happened.

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Speaker 1: I started speaking and I said, well, if I'm going

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Speaker 1: to be a speaker, I need to have I need

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Speaker 1: to be better on camera. I need to focus on

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Speaker 1: uh what you know when when you see the people

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Speaker 1: on TV, it's like do they have classes for that?

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Speaker 1: How do they do that? You know, I'm pilot. I

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Speaker 1: have never had any classes in speaking or communications, or

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Speaker 1: or pronunciation or the tone of your voice. And these

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Speaker 1: are all the things that I learned at the TV studio.

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Speaker 1: And so I'm the producer, I lay out the story

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Speaker 1: and really being a great speakers just story telling and

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Speaker 1: sharing and connecting with your audience. And most people that

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Speaker 1: strive to be a speaker, they may not realize that initially.

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Speaker 1: And if you're not connecting with your audience, then you're

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Speaker 1: you're not that good of a speaker. And and that's

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Speaker 1: what I needed to do. And so through having this

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Speaker 1: TV show, which I like, you know, motivating people, it's

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Speaker 1: called inspiring Careers. And I learned how to angle the camera,

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Speaker 1: I learned how to do lighting, I learned how to edit,

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Speaker 1: and and it's really about building that story. So that

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Speaker 1: has really helped me actually now that I'm going into politics,

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Speaker 1: because in politics you have to speak to people. You

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Speaker 1: have to have presence, and people need to trust you.

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Speaker 1: And if they can see me on camera, that will

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Speaker 1: really help. And and I've been able to do that.

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Speaker 1: I'm I'm sharing my issues what I believe in on

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Speaker 1: video and that's been really great during my race. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: speaking of which, you know you decided to throw your

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Speaker 1: hat in a ring for state rep. And uh, what

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Speaker 1: what made you decide that? Was it just because of

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Speaker 1: the situation that's out there or do you do you

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Speaker 1: just see a need to serve? Well, I always say

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Speaker 1: I am not a professional politician, and you said, I

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Speaker 1: have this politician on the line. No, I am. I'm

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Speaker 1: a mother first, I'm a veteran, I'm a small business owner,

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Speaker 1: I'm a caregiver, I'm all those other things, and I'm

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Speaker 1: a soldier. I choose now to serve because it's needed.

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Speaker 1: And I am in a very democratic state and oh,

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Speaker 1: yes you are, that's right, and this is your state.

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Speaker 1: This is your state, and so I need you to

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Speaker 1: help me take back Massachusetts and what I've been observing

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Speaker 1: here because I've never really been involved in legisla nation is.

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Speaker 1: I have a lot of friends that go to the

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Speaker 1: representatives here and they ask for help on a certain

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Speaker 1: issue and they're ignored. So I think that you know,

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Speaker 1: here in Massachusetts Beacon Hill, they're not listening to the people.

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Speaker 1: They're not listening to the small business owners. And that's

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Speaker 1: the most important thing a legislator should do is listen

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Speaker 1: to the people and help them resolve their issues, come

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Speaker 1: up with a solution. And I want to bring responsive

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Speaker 1: leadership to Beacon Hill, and if I win, people need

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Speaker 1: to know that that's what representatives do. They don't push

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Speaker 1: a certain ideology on people. They need to listen to

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Speaker 1: all the people, whether they're Democrat, Republican or independent. We're

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Speaker 1: all Americans first, and it just bothers me that people's

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Speaker 1: stereotype and label me um just because of a political party.

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Speaker 1: I'm trying. I'm running because I want to bring people together,

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Speaker 1: not to buy us. And it's been really interesting. That's

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Speaker 1: been the main reason of why I want to run,

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Speaker 1: because I've always been a very productive, efficient, you know,

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Speaker 1: idea solution person, developed solutions, solve problems. That's the kind

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Speaker 1: of representation that they need here. And I want to

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Speaker 1: help small business owners number one, and that is so

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Speaker 1: refreshing to hear because I think that's something that not

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Speaker 1: just speaking Hill, but I think that's that's a symptom

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Speaker 1: that we're seeing everywhere in this country. I mean, I

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Speaker 1: think that a lot of people forget that their first

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Speaker 1: duty is to represent all the people that they're serving,

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Speaker 1: and we get two wrapped up in party politics today

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Speaker 1: and it's, oh, well, you know, no one's crossing the line.

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Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of issues out there, and

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you'll you'll tell us about some of those

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Speaker 1: that it doesn't matter what side of the aisle you run,

429
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,280
Speaker 1: it's it's about serving the people. And I think that's

430
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,320
Speaker 1: you know, it's like I said, it's refreshing to hear that,

431
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: because we don't hear enough of it today. No, and

432
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:21,000
Speaker 1: our founding fathers said political parties, it would be the

433
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:27,119
Speaker 1: destruction to good governance. We shouldn't be picking sides. We

434
00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,200
Speaker 1: need to be working together. And you know, in the military,

435
00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,600
Speaker 1: that's what we do. We don't look at the color

436
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:37,080
Speaker 1: of your skin, your religion. We all come together and

437
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,520
Speaker 1: you know, we're all green, and we work together. And

438
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,240
Speaker 1: that's what I'd like to bring to the State House

439
00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:48,040
Speaker 1: if that's possible. But also to here in Massachusetts, you

440
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 1: also need to realize that there is no balance when

441
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,960
Speaker 1: you have a hundred and twenty six Democrats and thirty

442
00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:02,600
Speaker 1: one Republicans. Is that balance? Yeah? Not balance? Right. I

443
00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:06,880
Speaker 1: didn't think there was that many Republicans. I know that, Uh,

444
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:12,560
Speaker 1: Paul Frost was my my state rep. But he was

445
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:17,560
Speaker 1: one of the few so and so. Yeah, so that

446
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:19,440
Speaker 1: you know, they really need to listen to their people.

447
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,360
Speaker 1: They need to get out there, and they shouldn't be

448
00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 1: um professional politicians. You know, it's a two year term, uh,

449
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,760
Speaker 1: and there should be term limits, and you know they

450
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,480
Speaker 1: need to be moving on and moving out and doing

451
00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:37,320
Speaker 1: bigger and better things or you know, allow someone else

452
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:41,120
Speaker 1: an opportunity to to serve their community and serve their

453
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:45,680
Speaker 1: district because that's what they should be doing. And I'm

454
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,480
Speaker 1: also not happy with, uh, some of the current legislation

455
00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:54,280
Speaker 1: that's being passed during a serious pandemic. That was another

456
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,880
Speaker 1: reason that caused me to run because I have been

457
00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:02,240
Speaker 1: telling everyone, listen, when there's an emergency, when serious things

458
00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:07,280
Speaker 1: going on, leaders act. And that's what we are in

459
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:10,960
Speaker 1: the military. We're leaders. We're all trained to work together

460
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:13,640
Speaker 1: as a team and lead and so I'm not going

461
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:18,240
Speaker 1: to sit back and watch Massachusetts fall apart. So that's

462
00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:23,640
Speaker 1: why I'm running because I really believe in legislation that

463
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:28,840
Speaker 1: should be passed to protect the elderly, to protect our children,

464
00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:34,240
Speaker 1: and safety and security is so important to me. Currently

465
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:39,680
Speaker 1: in a pandemic, they're pushing legislation that doesn't even focus on,

466
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:45,880
Speaker 1: you know, on the real street problems that are going on. Well,

467
00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 1: tell us some about the issues. Um, I've checked out

468
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,040
Speaker 1: your website, so obviously I know what some of the

469
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 1: issues that are near and dear to you. But you know,

470
00:30:57,360 --> 00:31:00,280
Speaker 1: I'm filling our listeners about some of the issues. Well,

471
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,120
Speaker 1: I think I think the number one issue and that

472
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,840
Speaker 1: people are really concerned about is they're worried about their jobs.

473
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:13,440
Speaker 1: They're worried about earning an income. Small business owners have

474
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,760
Speaker 1: not had a choice. So when all this happened, why

475
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,080
Speaker 1: was Walmart allowed to stay open but mom and pop

476
00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:25,000
Speaker 1: shops had to close and they weren't even allowed to

477
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:28,360
Speaker 1: be open. That's not fair and they weren't even given

478
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 1: an option. When you know, small business is the heart

479
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:38,080
Speaker 1: of America and that's why I helped small businesses h

480
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 1: and so I mean that's the biggest problem. And if

481
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:47,360
Speaker 1: we don't have small businesses giving people jobs, what do

482
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:50,920
Speaker 1: these people do? Um, they can't rely on the government,

483
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:54,920
Speaker 1: you know, to give them a check that's even sustainable.

484
00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:58,440
Speaker 1: And for for the rent, you know, rent is really

485
00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,880
Speaker 1: expensive here, food were expensive and in some of these

486
00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,840
Speaker 1: places in Massachusetts there is no transportation, so you have

487
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,440
Speaker 1: to have a car, and having a car is expensive

488
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:12,680
Speaker 1: and insurance is expensive. So this, this is what I'm

489
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:17,480
Speaker 1: saying right here, that is the real challenge for hard

490
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:22,920
Speaker 1: working Americans probably all around the country. But if you're

491
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,320
Speaker 1: wealthy and you're retired or these things don't concern you.

492
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:33,040
Speaker 1: These things don't get fixed. And and what's the current

493
00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:38,040
Speaker 1: failing around Massachusetts? Are things getting anything simple close to

494
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:41,320
Speaker 1: back to normal yet or no? Well, I think every

495
00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:46,040
Speaker 1: town is different. Um in uh, a lot of people

496
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,720
Speaker 1: depending upon what community in town you live in. Some

497
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:53,720
Speaker 1: people are really really scared of COVID. You know, they've

498
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:57,560
Speaker 1: been inside for three months, four months. They're all working

499
00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:03,120
Speaker 1: from home. And I know as a caregiver, the adult

500
00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,600
Speaker 1: daycare place that my mom would go to it's still closed.

501
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:11,160
Speaker 1: And that's really sad because there were so many people

502
00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:14,920
Speaker 1: that went to this adult daycare. And at the daycare,

503
00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 1: they do activities, they interact, they keep their brain functioning,

504
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,560
Speaker 1: you know, they get up every day, they take a shower,

505
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:25,320
Speaker 1: they go to the location in the facility, and all

506
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,760
Speaker 1: of that's closed. So I could see all these individuals

507
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:32,160
Speaker 1: at home getting depressed, you know, who's taking care of them?

508
00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:37,280
Speaker 1: And I think that's um a big problem, you know,

509
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:43,000
Speaker 1: and that that isolation from their peers has got to

510
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,160
Speaker 1: affect them as well. I mean, because that's something you know,

511
00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,960
Speaker 1: um and and my town where I lived in Millbury,

512
00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:57,040
Speaker 1: I mean, the Senior Centerm was really really busy all

513
00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:00,360
Speaker 1: day long, every day of the week, and you know,

514
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,920
Speaker 1: that was an area where they would go and like

515
00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,440
Speaker 1: you said, they'd get involved in activities, they'd stay active,

516
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:10,960
Speaker 1: you know. And right now I know a lot of

517
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,759
Speaker 1: people they were hurting because of it. And it's not

518
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:18,520
Speaker 1: just worrying about the COVID, it's it's the mental outlook

519
00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:21,480
Speaker 1: on things as well. And that's something you know, I

520
00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:24,680
Speaker 1: I believe in protecting our seniors and veterans, and I

521
00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:27,640
Speaker 1: know obviously that's something that's near and dear to you

522
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:31,520
Speaker 1: as well. Right The other thing is I you know,

523
00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:36,320
Speaker 1: being in the military, that physical fitness is essential to

524
00:34:36,560 --> 00:34:43,120
Speaker 1: us being in shape, exercising to exercise our bodies. Uh.

525
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:48,760
Speaker 1: And when all this happened, the gyms are all closed,

526
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:51,680
Speaker 1: and even to this day, I think some of the

527
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,400
Speaker 1: gyms are closed. They may never open again. Owning a

528
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:59,160
Speaker 1: gym anyway, they've always, I think, always struggled. And and

529
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:02,000
Speaker 1: so the gyms are closed. And you know, these these

530
00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:05,680
Speaker 1: gyms they could have they could have emplaced the proper

531
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:11,920
Speaker 1: safety protocol, cleanliness, all those kinds of things to stay

532
00:35:12,320 --> 00:35:16,520
Speaker 1: running without having to shut them down for five months.

533
00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:20,080
Speaker 1: And I think that that's another area where you know,

534
00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:24,920
Speaker 1: exercise is essential for some people because that keeps them

535
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:30,399
Speaker 1: mentally sane and physically healthy as well as Let's say

536
00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,080
Speaker 1: you're going to rehab. You need you need your physical therapy.

537
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:35,800
Speaker 1: And if you can't go to the gym and do

538
00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,440
Speaker 1: that kind of stuff, you your body deteriorates, your mind deteriorates.

539
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:43,400
Speaker 1: And this all goes back into you know, how how

540
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:47,640
Speaker 1: do you deal um with a pandemic, And you know

541
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,759
Speaker 1: all this that happened. You have to place your small

542
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:54,240
Speaker 1: businesses um at the forefront so they don't lose everything.

543
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:59,359
Speaker 1: That they've worked for absolutely, and I wanted to ask

544
00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:03,080
Speaker 1: you about you know, your your feelings on education as well,

545
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:06,799
Speaker 1: because I did read some of your stuff on your

546
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,200
Speaker 1: website and I think that's something that our listeners would

547
00:36:10,239 --> 00:36:15,719
Speaker 1: like to know about. Well. I always i'm I'm a

548
00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:22,279
Speaker 1: multi cultural person and the children always come first. The

549
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:25,120
Speaker 1: way I grew up, the children would eat first. Our

550
00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:28,840
Speaker 1: children come first. We're responsible for the safety and the

551
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:31,799
Speaker 1: education of our children, and I think when you look

552
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:35,600
Speaker 1: at this whole pandemic, they also should have been a

553
00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:38,040
Speaker 1: priority in Okay, how are we going to get these

554
00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:40,239
Speaker 1: kids back into school? How how are we going to

555
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:43,960
Speaker 1: continue to teach them? And I know everybody's worked through

556
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,880
Speaker 1: it and they're doing online stuff, but kids can't be

557
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,240
Speaker 1: cooped up in a home. I've I've knocked on doors

558
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:53,040
Speaker 1: and gone into real small homes and when those kids

559
00:36:53,239 --> 00:36:55,080
Speaker 1: come to the door, they're excited to see me. I

560
00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:57,680
Speaker 1: don't think they've seen anybody in months. And you know,

561
00:36:57,800 --> 00:36:59,719
Speaker 1: kids need to get out, they need to play, they

562
00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:02,759
Speaker 1: need release all that energy. And I think it's been

563
00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,080
Speaker 1: really hard on on working moms or single moms or

564
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:08,719
Speaker 1: mom and dads who both work and now one of

565
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,399
Speaker 1: them has to stay home and figure out how they're

566
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:15,160
Speaker 1: going to be the teacher and still work at the

567
00:37:15,239 --> 00:37:20,440
Speaker 1: same time. So education is so important. On Okay, how

568
00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,080
Speaker 1: are we going to move forward with these kids? When

569
00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:27,080
Speaker 1: are they going to open back the schools and come

570
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:31,200
Speaker 1: up with the safety procedures and the cleanliness and cleaning

571
00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:35,000
Speaker 1: your hands and whatever the social distancing or take their temperatures.

572
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,320
Speaker 1: I think we can be a little bit more proactive,

573
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,400
Speaker 1: proactive when it comes to getting the kids back into school.

574
00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:43,160
Speaker 1: Because right here in Massachusetts, somebody was telling me that

575
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:47,800
Speaker 1: his kids they play lacrosse and they finally let them practice,

576
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:50,400
Speaker 1: but they have to stay six ft away from each other.

577
00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:55,320
Speaker 1: Lacrosse is a like a contact sport. Yes it is.

578
00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,960
Speaker 1: It's especially for the boys lacrosse team. I mean that's

579
00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:02,880
Speaker 1: that's a very much of contact board and you know

580
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:06,320
Speaker 1: it's very physical one at that. So I don't know

581
00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:10,920
Speaker 1: how you would practice keeping six ft distance. I mean,

582
00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:13,600
Speaker 1: this is what this is what a parent told me

583
00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 1: actually today too. And then he said, well, inside, if

584
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,080
Speaker 1: they're going to go back to school, they're gonna do

585
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,600
Speaker 1: anything inside inside they could be three ft apart. And

586
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,840
Speaker 1: I was like, does that make any sense? Because inside,

587
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:27,279
Speaker 1: you know, if the German bacteria is in the air, um,

588
00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:31,480
Speaker 1: you're more likely to get it. Outside you're not as

589
00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:33,560
Speaker 1: likely and you're in the sun and things like that.

590
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,719
Speaker 1: So everyone is just very confused, right now, what do

591
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,400
Speaker 1: we do? And I think the biggest thing is you

592
00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:43,880
Speaker 1: stay in good shape. You know, you lower your blood

593
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:47,040
Speaker 1: pressure if you have diabetes, you work on losing that weight,

594
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:49,399
Speaker 1: you do all those things. You do all these things

595
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,960
Speaker 1: to try to be in the best physical shape as possible. Um,

596
00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:55,360
Speaker 1: and that is what's going to help you defeat the

597
00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,719
Speaker 1: virus if you get the virus, because if you do

598
00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 1: get the virus, hopefully you survive. Right And um, you

599
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:07,920
Speaker 1: know what, what's the situation look like up in the state.

600
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 1: Are they going to allow the schools to open in

601
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:14,040
Speaker 1: the fall or is it going to continue the way

602
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:18,000
Speaker 1: they finished this last school year. I heard some schools

603
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,720
Speaker 1: are opening in September. UM, but most of the parents

604
00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,320
Speaker 1: that I talked to are really not sure that they

605
00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:30,279
Speaker 1: I don't think they've been told all the details about that. Yeah,

606
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:32,880
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's it's a tough decision. I mean,

607
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:36,640
Speaker 1: I know a lot of people feel you know, depending

608
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:39,200
Speaker 1: on who you talk to. I mean, it's some people

609
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,920
Speaker 1: feel very differently, and I know some teachers are very

610
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:47,360
Speaker 1: nervous about, you know, teaching again in a crowded school,

611
00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:51,319
Speaker 1: and I understand that. I mean, it's just something we're

612
00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:54,800
Speaker 1: going to have to work through. But I don't know

613
00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:59,239
Speaker 1: if there's uh an easy answer to any of it.

614
00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:03,560
Speaker 1: That's why that's why we hire. We're going to hire

615
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:08,279
Speaker 1: people like you two, yeah, take over. I have all

616
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:12,520
Speaker 1: kinds of ideas and solutions on how to administure that,

617
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:17,600
Speaker 1: but it requires discipline and respect and and sometimes that

618
00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:21,640
Speaker 1: can be hard for the teachers to instill in in

619
00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:24,560
Speaker 1: the students when they all get together. But you know,

620
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:29,680
Speaker 1: if the kids follow the rules and if they have

621
00:40:29,920 --> 00:40:33,160
Speaker 1: respect for each other and for their teacher, we can

622
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:36,000
Speaker 1: we can get them all back to school and learning again.

623
00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:39,359
Speaker 1: And that that's a good lesson our Our young kids

624
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:42,279
Speaker 1: do need to learn respect for the elderly, respect for

625
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,600
Speaker 1: their parents, respect for property, respect for their teachers, and

626
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:51,359
Speaker 1: respect for themselves. I firmly in agreement with you there.

627
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,680
Speaker 1: So how can people how can they help out your

628
00:40:55,760 --> 00:40:58,600
Speaker 1: your your campaign, and how can they get help out

629
00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:05,520
Speaker 1: my campaign? All those Massachusetts uh you know, Massachusetts born

630
00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:08,080
Speaker 1: people who have left this state. They can help me

631
00:41:08,239 --> 00:41:12,080
Speaker 1: by going to my website at Ingrid the number four

632
00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:16,319
Speaker 1: Rep dot com, Rep dot com, Ingrid for rep dot com,

633
00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:21,600
Speaker 1: and they can donate to my campaign. Uh. They can

634
00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:28,759
Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter all the social media. I

635
00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:31,960
Speaker 1: have Instagram, I have Twitter, I have a YouTube channel.

636
00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:37,560
Speaker 1: They can subscribe to my channel and like my post,

637
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:42,920
Speaker 1: share my post. And this is where it all started,

638
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:46,240
Speaker 1: right here in Massachusetts. And that's another thing that's so interesting.

639
00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:51,160
Speaker 1: I never thought I'd be running for politics, but here

640
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:56,359
Speaker 1: I am, and and I have been truly blessed by

641
00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:00,520
Speaker 1: people coming and helping me who are veterans, you know,

642
00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:05,560
Speaker 1: like Sal that induced us, and he's awesome, sounds a

643
00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:08,719
Speaker 1: great guy. And uh yeah. In fact, if Sal was

644
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,440
Speaker 1: the one that you know, he had he had asked

645
00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:15,000
Speaker 1: me if I had heard of you, and I said no,

646
00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:19,200
Speaker 1: I actually you know, because your area was just east

647
00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:22,000
Speaker 1: of where I lived, so I hadn't heard of your

648
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:25,400
Speaker 1: your campaign. But when Sal told me about it, he

649
00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:28,520
Speaker 1: was very much he's very much a supporter of you.

650
00:42:29,640 --> 00:42:33,440
Speaker 1: You know. He sent me the info and I immediately said, well,

651
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:35,560
Speaker 1: we're gonna reach out to her. We're gonna get him

652
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,439
Speaker 1: around the podcast that hopefully we can you know, drum

653
00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:41,880
Speaker 1: up some some positive feedback and get some you know,

654
00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:46,279
Speaker 1: momentum going for your election. Yeah. So you know, the

655
00:42:46,360 --> 00:42:51,040
Speaker 1: biggest thing is you know, you know, the donations and

656
00:42:51,360 --> 00:42:55,920
Speaker 1: the following on the social media. So so people support

657
00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:00,200
Speaker 1: me and we build a strong grassroots organization and let

658
00:43:00,280 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 1: people know. I mean, this is where it all started.

659
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:05,839
Speaker 1: So we got to take it back. We can't allow um,

660
00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:08,800
Speaker 1: you know, a small group of people with a certain

661
00:43:08,840 --> 00:43:12,560
Speaker 1: ideology to think that, um, you know, whatever they say

662
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,440
Speaker 1: is right. Uh. You we all need to respect everybody

663
00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:19,160
Speaker 1: and respect each other's opinions. And I was telling someone today,

664
00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:20,960
Speaker 1: you know, I'm not going to push my religion on anyone.

665
00:43:21,040 --> 00:43:26,200
Speaker 1: I respect everyone's different faith. I respect everyone's family and

666
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:31,239
Speaker 1: and and that's what representatives and politicians should do, is

667
00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:37,320
Speaker 1: you know, do what's best for America and Americans. M hmm. Absolutely.

668
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:40,719
Speaker 1: And you know a lot of people talk about you know,

669
00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:45,440
Speaker 1: immigration and immigrants, and your father and both of your

670
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:48,680
Speaker 1: parents came from Argentina, wasn't it. No, no, no, My

671
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,160
Speaker 1: my dad is from Argentina. My dad was a professional

672
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:54,560
Speaker 1: soccer player, So I didn't know my dad. My dad

673
00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:56,640
Speaker 1: died when I was two years old. I was raised

674
00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:59,400
Speaker 1: by a single mom, and my mom was born in

675
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:03,480
Speaker 1: Puerto Rico. And my mom came to New York when

676
00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:08,320
Speaker 1: she was I think five years old. Uh, and she

677
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,840
Speaker 1: has seven brothers and sisters, and they moved to the Bronx,

678
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:13,600
Speaker 1: New York. And so my dad was playing soccer in

679
00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:16,840
Speaker 1: New York. Back then it was just the Cosmos and

680
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,399
Speaker 1: fifties and stuff like that. Yeah, So he met my mom.

681
00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:24,040
Speaker 1: She was working, she was a waitress, and they got married.

682
00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:27,839
Speaker 1: They had four children, and my dad was was from

683
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:31,239
Speaker 1: the country in Argentina, Santa Fe. And then they moved

684
00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:34,320
Speaker 1: to Buenos Aires. And so my dad really didn't like

685
00:44:34,440 --> 00:44:37,560
Speaker 1: New York City and we lived in New Jersey. So

686
00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:41,880
Speaker 1: that was like, you know, the country for New Yorkers.

687
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:44,560
Speaker 1: I mean, it's only four it's only like twenty minutes

688
00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:47,280
Speaker 1: away across the George Washington Bridge. But all my cousins

689
00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:49,040
Speaker 1: in New York were like, oh, you guys live in

690
00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:54,200
Speaker 1: the boondocks. And my dad died though, uh, when he

691
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:57,600
Speaker 1: was thirty years old in a car accident with my

692
00:44:57,680 --> 00:44:59,600
Speaker 1: mom was in the car. But my mom didn't die,

693
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,680
Speaker 1: you know, she was she was hurt badly, and that's

694
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:05,000
Speaker 1: one of the reasons why she has dementia today, because

695
00:45:05,040 --> 00:45:07,960
Speaker 1: she had a lot of injury to her head. And

696
00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:12,440
Speaker 1: I keep her very busy. I keep her very socially active,

697
00:45:13,160 --> 00:45:17,719
Speaker 1: so she keeps that brain working. I make her do

698
00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:21,880
Speaker 1: math problems. And that's what dementia is. Your brain is shrinking,

699
00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:25,600
Speaker 1: You're you're forgetting. Your parts of your brain are shutting down,

700
00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:31,920
Speaker 1: and you you want to keep that active. Well, that's great.

701
00:45:32,239 --> 00:45:35,000
Speaker 1: And so yeah, so my dad was from Argentina. He

702
00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:38,920
Speaker 1: came here legally, you know. So I'm first generation American.

703
00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:44,680
Speaker 1: And actually my husband he is also immigrants, so he

704
00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:49,440
Speaker 1: uh is originally from Mexico and his family as well

705
00:45:49,719 --> 00:45:52,719
Speaker 1: came here and he became an American citizen by going

706
00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:57,799
Speaker 1: into the army. And yeah, so I'm all about I mean,

707
00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:01,359
Speaker 1: all my friends are immigrants from other countries who left

708
00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:06,440
Speaker 1: those countries to escape communism, to escape um, and not

709
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:09,280
Speaker 1: not just escape, just you know, to have a better future.

710
00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,239
Speaker 1: And they all came here legally. Uh. Some of them

711
00:46:12,280 --> 00:46:15,200
Speaker 1: even were in refugee camps and then had the opportunity

712
00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:18,080
Speaker 1: to come here. And I think that's I think that's

713
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:20,120
Speaker 1: the right way to do it, you know, to follow

714
00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:23,160
Speaker 1: the laws, do it properly. And then if you're here,

715
00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:28,080
Speaker 1: find a way to become an American citizen and and

716
00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:32,320
Speaker 1: that and and that's and that's a good thing. Assimilate,

717
00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:35,440
Speaker 1: You assimilate into the country, you learn the language, and

718
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:39,400
Speaker 1: then you work. But I think our our whole immigration

719
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:43,520
Speaker 1: system as well needs to be corrected and fixed and um.

720
00:46:43,680 --> 00:46:46,560
Speaker 1: But we we just can't have you know, people crossing

721
00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:52,480
Speaker 1: our borders um illegally. We I like to say, this

722
00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:58,520
Speaker 1: is an identification problem. We need to know who's here,

723
00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:04,200
Speaker 1: what their intentions are. Just like your own home, you

724
00:47:04,239 --> 00:47:06,920
Speaker 1: don't let anybody come into your home, right if you

725
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:11,640
Speaker 1: know the party, you're gonna let strangers in. It's that simple.

726
00:47:12,600 --> 00:47:17,040
Speaker 1: And once we know who's here, and you know, if

727
00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:21,319
Speaker 1: they have good intentions, then that's great. You get to stay.

728
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:24,960
Speaker 1: But we have people here who are threats to America.

729
00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:30,160
Speaker 1: And I don't think that the average person may understand that.

730
00:47:30,520 --> 00:47:32,719
Speaker 1: You know, you and I we worked in the military,

731
00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:36,279
Speaker 1: We had top secret clearance. We know that that you know,

732
00:47:36,480 --> 00:47:39,319
Speaker 1: national security UM is an issue. But if you've never

733
00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:42,359
Speaker 1: lived on a border town, you've never lived in an

734
00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:45,120
Speaker 1: area where you see that you don't see. You know,

735
00:47:45,440 --> 00:47:48,240
Speaker 1: you may think that that's not true or it doesn't

736
00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:54,840
Speaker 1: happen right. Well, um, you know, it's a it's a

737
00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:59,160
Speaker 1: complicated situation. And again it comes down a lot of

738
00:47:59,239 --> 00:48:02,320
Speaker 1: it comes on the politics. And you know, we this

739
00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:05,279
Speaker 1: is something where as a country, we all need to

740
00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:08,960
Speaker 1: get together and you know, we have to agree on

741
00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:12,919
Speaker 1: what's best for the entire country and not for any

742
00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:18,279
Speaker 1: particular you know, political party. So hopefully that's one of

743
00:48:18,360 --> 00:48:21,360
Speaker 1: the things you can change. And it has to start

744
00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:25,120
Speaker 1: somewhere and no place better than where it all began

745
00:48:25,640 --> 00:48:29,840
Speaker 1: in the state of Massachusetts. So but Ingrid, we we

746
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:33,359
Speaker 1: want to really thank you for your time. Uh, your

747
00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:37,320
Speaker 1: patients are all of our questions and you know, for

748
00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:40,399
Speaker 1: your insight and and we wish you the very best

749
00:48:40,719 --> 00:48:44,560
Speaker 1: in the upcoming election and hopefully well we can do

750
00:48:44,719 --> 00:48:47,919
Speaker 1: this again soon when we're talking about the newest state

751
00:48:48,040 --> 00:48:51,520
Speaker 1: representative from the state of Massachusetts. Wow, that would be

752
00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:55,520
Speaker 1: so awesome. I love it, and I tell everyone I

753
00:48:55,719 --> 00:48:59,359
Speaker 1: will represent you well and I would do everything I can,

754
00:48:59,560 --> 00:49:03,400
Speaker 1: just like I've done my whole career to help others

755
00:49:03,640 --> 00:49:08,440
Speaker 1: and help families and help everyone. Well, thank you very

756
00:49:08,560 --> 00:49:11,560
Speaker 1: much and all the best to you and to your

757
00:49:11,680 --> 00:49:15,440
Speaker 1: family as well. And um, we'll be watching the polls

758
00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:18,799
Speaker 1: and hopefully we're gonna hear some good news. Okay, good, great,

759
00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:22,399
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, thank you for joining us. We've

760
00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:26,319
Speaker 1: been on the air Software Radio with Ingrid Centurion. She's

761
00:49:26,360 --> 00:49:29,160
Speaker 1: running for office in the state of Massachusetts, a retired

762
00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:32,040
Speaker 1: lieutenant colonel, and we want to thank her for being

763
00:49:32,120 --> 00:49:35,239
Speaker 1: here on the podcast this afternoon, Software Radio on time

764
00:49:35,280 --> 00:49:39,840
Speaker 1: on target. Please join us again for another upcoming episode.

765
00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:43,239
Speaker 1: We'll be back real soon. But for myself, Steve Blastaria,

766
00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:45,239
Speaker 1: all of us here at soft Rap, and for our

767
00:49:45,320 --> 00:50:03,839
Speaker 1: guest this afternoon, Ingrid Centurion, thanks for listening. You've them

768
00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:05,880
Speaker 1: listening to self red Lydia