As the sands of time slip through our fingers, we welcome the effervescent Jackie Flanagan to muse over the present moment, love, and the serendipitous detours of life. Our conversation is a kaleidoscope of experiences, spanning Jackie's leap from the allure of the non-profit world to embracing her true vocation. We traverse the landscape of emotional growth, touching on dating escapades and the tongue-in-cheek notion of seeking the next trip "across the pond" all the while sipping on the citrusy zest of a "Madras" cock & mock. These stories, laced with laughter and vulnerability, are a testament to the unpredictable journey that shapes Jackie's existence.
Whisked away by the charm of New Orleans, I recount the days that have etched a permanent joy in my soul. From slinging drinks at a bustling gay and lesbian bar to the pivot toward meaningful nonprofit work, these narratives celebrate the power of connection and the pursuit of passions. It's a homage to the cultural mosaic of the Big Easy, the unbreakable bonds of friendship that have been forged, and the fulfillment found in advocating for what truly matters. These shared memories reveal the vivid threads woven into the tapestry of my life's work and the communities I hold dear.
Amidst the laughter, we confront the sobering realities of divorce and the subsequent quest for identity. The raw honesty of my personal saga, from marrying at the twilight age of 60 to facing the stigmas of separation, underscores the complexities of life's second acts. We navigate the humorous prospect of reality TV romance, the dynamics of dating across age lines, and the reverberations of change on one's sense of self. With candor and camaraderie, we toast to the strength drawn from our collective experiences, lifting our spirits as we continue to grow and flourish within the embrace of our podcast family.
As the sands of time slip through our fingers, we welcome the effervescent Jackie Flanagan to muse over the present moment, love, and the serendipitous detours of life. Our conversation is a kaleidoscope of experiences, spanning Jackie's leap from the allure of the non-profit world to embracing her true vocation. We traverse the landscape of emotional growth, touching on dating escapades and the tongue-in-cheek notion of seeking the next trip "across the pond" all the while sipping on the citrusy zest of a "Madras" cock & mock. These stories, laced with laughter and vulnerability, are a testament to the unpredictable journey that shapes Jackie's existence.
Whisked away by the charm of New Orleans, I recount the days that have etched a permanent joy in my soul. From slinging drinks at a bustling gay and lesbian bar to the pivot toward meaningful nonprofit work, these narratives celebrate the power of connection and the pursuit of passions. It's a homage to the cultural mosaic of the Big Easy, the unbreakable bonds of friendship that have been forged, and the fulfillment found in advocating for what truly matters. These shared memories reveal the vivid threads woven into the tapestry of my life's work and the communities I hold dear.
Amidst the laughter, we confront the sobering realities of divorce and the subsequent quest for identity. The raw honesty of my personal saga, from marrying at the twilight age of 60 to facing the stigmas of separation, underscores the complexities of life's second acts. We navigate the humorous prospect of reality TV romance, the dynamics of dating across age lines, and the reverberations of change on one's sense of self. With candor and camaraderie, we toast to the strength drawn from our collective experiences, lifting our spirits as we continue to grow and flourish within the embrace of our podcast family.
Never as young as you are right this instant. You'll never be this young or look this way again.
Speaker 3:
I miss the sugars they like have a lot of great sex with.
Speaker 1:
Like it's not gonna be in between you promise you weren't gonna tell that story about me.
Speaker 3:
Oh shit, I just want to call you so many names. Oh, I bet a lot of people do.
Speaker 1:
Met the band before no, have they met me, kelly?
Speaker 2:
Oh.
Speaker 1:
Like when I was 16 years old, what I was like I need to get another job. I'm sure you got a lot of characters do me and the boys wanted to be me. I.
Speaker 3:
Could see you making a lot of cash, yeah.
Speaker 1:
I did like, I brought in, like I guess I've just always been open to anything, I mean yeah like I don't live your life. You know, do your thing, so it is my job. I know that I'm making a difference in some way, shape or form, but I literally fell into it.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, but were you like a model, you're gonna go down one path and then you're on a different path and you just have to say, all right, this is what the universe had in store for me. You know, I think I was talk, could you tell? Us a little bit about your dating history, and Not the girl to give advice dressed in believe, without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my life.
Speaker 1:
Yeah and I still cannot even say the word. It's so hard for me to even say it. I feel like I have a scarlet letter on my chest. I'm not even lying.
Speaker 3:
I need to understand.
Speaker 1:
I maybe shared it with two people in my entire life of what really happened and what went down, and you're like the 10,000th person to tell am I, oh, my god. I would definitely.
Speaker 3:
Jackie, you know, I see this.
Speaker 2:
This is some main character energy here.
Speaker 3:
My grandma, pat, bought me that, of course she did.
Speaker 1:
I ain't fighting over a guy.
Speaker 3:
They're fighting over my mom oh fuck, that hurt, that's a slap in the face. Oh shit Are you a partier?
Speaker 2:
Well yeah. Here we go. Oh my gosh, I can make sure it.
Speaker 1:
You know what I do suffer from, which is funny that you say that I do suffer from him 30 years plus into my career. I still suffer from that. You know, like someone's gonna figure me out. Yeah, it's like something that you always kind of carry with you.
Speaker 2:
Did you get any more Irish than that? Apparently it does.
Speaker 1:
That's why I won't take that test. I'm not kidding, it's gonna take a lot more than that. You are watching. Mocktails are Messy with Jackie Philanigan.
Speaker 3:
Oh, taxi boy, I like that. She is a hottie-bototty Imposter syndrome. We are very excited to welcome one of my closest family friends from the Oakmont Pennsylvania Neck of the Woods of Pittsburgh. We have a really amazing connection with Jacqueline, jacqueline, jackie, jack, attack Flanigan, miss Flanigan.
Speaker 1:
I'm so excited to be here to join you guys and to meet Kelly, who is stunningly beautiful.
Speaker 2:
You are so beautiful and I said she looks just like her LinkedIn photo, oh, which I don't know if that's good or bad.
Speaker 1:
It's a good thing. You are stunning, I'm not even kidding. Your face is perfect. You are too baby. Stop it, infinity.
Speaker 2:
Oh.
Speaker 1:
Never as young as you are, right, this instant. You'll never be this young or look this way again, right.
Speaker 2:
So you gotta embrace it. That's true, it's true.
Speaker 3:
I'm a lucky guy. Today I have beautiful blondes in the studio All natural, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:
I've got these pants these boots, the sweater, the coat I just threw it on, you know. What do we call it? The cream dream, the cream dream Cream dream.
Speaker 3:
Yes, we had a little happy hour before. The mocktails are messy moment. Right, we offered her a car and she turned it down and I was like what a class act we can't afford that?
Speaker 1:
Wait, did you offer me a car to drive me, or you offered me actually a car?
Speaker 3:
Oh we.
Speaker 2:
See, I thought, it was just to get me here. See, it was an actual car. Oh shit, I'm right there.
Speaker 3:
In that she's got a nice infester.
Speaker 2:
A wink, a sugar daddy.
Speaker 3:
I miss the sugars, alright.
Speaker 2:
I'm gonna find a sugar. Yes you know what?
Speaker 3:
I talked to my friend. She's in her fifties. She said I have had a great life with my husband. We have great kids. Whatever, the only guy that I am interested in is somebody that is either going to be able to take care of himself and me or just somebody to have a lot of great sex with. Like it's not gonna be in between.
Speaker 1:
You promised you weren't gonna tell that story about me. Oh shit.
Speaker 2:
Now tell us about your drink that you chose today. Oh, my drink today.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
Actually, you know, officially this drink is called a madras. Oh, it's a vodka OJ splash of crayon. So you know, like they had greyhounds, which was a vodka and grapefruit, and they had three drivers, a vodka and OJ. This was called a madras M-A-D-R-A-S. I don't know why, but it's fantastic.
Speaker 2:
It's still my drink of choice. This is my first time having it and it's way better than I expected. So, like I've done the vodka cranberry before and I was kind of over it.
Speaker 1:
Which is a poinsettia, by the way oh.
Speaker 3:
Okay, which was a little fancy.
Speaker 1:
It matches your outfit, so you can't go wrong there.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, this matches my outfit.
Speaker 3:
I like it. I have the non-alcoholic version of the madras. Is that it Mm-hmm? Okay, and then Jackie, jack, attack, jack, I can't, I just want to call you so many names.
Speaker 1:
Oh, I bet a lot of people do.
Speaker 3:
All good names, but maybe a naughty one. Yes because we have the mocktails or the messy. You like the concept.
Speaker 1:
I love it. I think it's fantastic.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
I was listening to some of your other podcasts.
Speaker 2:
You guys are great and plus you've been friends forever.
Speaker 3:
Yes, for anybody who is interested, and taking a pause from the boozer. You know, maybe they just want to do a little mocktail. Months dry January is kind of seeped into February. Who knows how long it's gonna go for me, but I am enjoying. The amethyst is a non-alcoholic Spirit that is masterfully crafted and blended with invigorating fruits and botanicals. It's rooted in the spirits of balance, wellness and inclusion. Amethyst allows you to celebrate all of life's moments, like this one today with Jack attack. Thank you for introducing the Mauderice. I am having the amethyst Mauderice equivalent. It is eight calories per serving size, 1.5 fluid ounces and that equates to three grams of carbohydrates, zero sugar, which is an A plus. I think the amethyst mocktail equivalent to your mother is today is Pretty stellar amethyst. It's really delicious. I'm having that Mauderice.
Speaker 1:
Yes.
Speaker 3:
Yes, a modris.
Speaker 2:
You said that you've traveled around the country. Could you tell us a little bit about?
Speaker 1:
actually me and my friend Michael Dunley his cousin. Him and I and our other girlfriend redhead.
Speaker 2:
We are her redhead.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, she's. I've been friends with her since I was 10 years old. Her real name is Cindy Capuccio need, and I met her when she came into my gym class in fifth grade and I looked at her and said she's mine, she's my and we've been inseparable ever since. But Redhead and Duns and I are huge YouTube fans. We have been since the 80s and we literally follow them all over the world. We've seen them in Portugal, spain, netherlands, belgium, japan, no, but some people are like oh, you follow you too, like, oh, what's that about?
Speaker 1:
But it's more about the journey than it is about the band getting together with my best friends and going to see them and right, you know, have you met the band before? No, have they met me, kelly? They haven't had the privilege but.
Speaker 3:
Oh damn.
Speaker 1:
Bona, play your cards right. Oh, I like it Really. You know what it's turned into. More is like a reason to go travel, because if you say you know we should go to Spain sometime, you never get around to it. Yes, but if you say we should go to Spain on August 5th to see you to play you know, You're gonna make the effort to go and determine. Dave, you gotta make it to the day right, and we've just traveled all over the world to see them and it's been fantastic.
Speaker 3:
So, contrary to popular belief, you are not a material girl. You are all about the experiences. A little bit of a Jaggy has this aspiring look. You did this aspiring lifestyle. I mean, where is your next venture?
Speaker 1:
Actually, I'm heading to New York City in April.
Speaker 3:
Oh yeah, I just to go up there for a long weekend.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, but I don't have any trips out of the country and I should explore this country more. Like I've never been to the Grand Canyon, I've never been to like Seattle or Oregon or anything like that. You know what I mean. Like I really need to explore this country more, but I always think about when I want to travel. I just want to go across the pond, kind of thing. You know?
Speaker 2:
Yes, how do you plan your trip, like with the trains and all that stuff?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so it's funny you say that because for my 60th birthday, my girlfriend, my best girlfriend and I, cindy, went To Italy.
Speaker 3:
I love what you said, casually, like 60th.
Speaker 1:
Oh honey.
Speaker 3:
Are you fucking kidding me?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, well, you know.
Speaker 3:
Okay, I didn't mean to like in a rope, but we just got to give you a shout out. You look hot, beautiful.
Speaker 1:
I'm all about it, yeah.
Speaker 2:
Oh yeah, I would have guessed 40.
Speaker 1:
Oh my god, kelly, you're my favorite.
Speaker 3:
This is like a love fest and this is all genuine guys, I swear.
Speaker 1:
I'll take a sip on that. Oh yeah, back in the day, like I kept saying to my girlfriend Cindy like we need to go to Switzerland, I found this place on Instagram and I said I want to go there and I kept sending her pictures, you know, like we're going here, and then we decided we were gonna go to Italy for our 60th and then I I was like, well, why can't we go to Switzerland, to this place called louder Brunen? It's like the land of 72 waterfalls or something ridiculous. And so we flew into London, we went to see her niece for a couple days and then we took a train to Switzerland, which wasn't easy and in retrospect, I probably would never do it again, because everybody acts like it's easy.
Speaker 2:
It's not easy.
Speaker 1:
Okay it's not, it was literally 10 hours. You know what I mean, and it's a lot of little trains on and off, upstairs, downstairs. They're not really ADA compliant over there.
Speaker 2:
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:
It's not easy to get around right we you know, went through the French Alps and the Swiss. Alps and the Italian Alps and and we stopped in louder Brunen and then we went down to Italy and we're in Sorento for a couple days and it was just the best trip ever. We were staying in an Airbnb in Sorento and somebody said like Are you having fun here? And I'm like oh, we live here, I love it.
Speaker 3:
I love how you say that you're like in Sorrento and you're like, oh yeah, we live here. That's like so Jackie, or that's so Vegas, as her Instagram handle is, I don't know, you might be a little so European.
Speaker 2:
Where's your favorite place that you have visited?
Speaker 1:
I would say Prague is absolutely stunning, okay, fantastic. When I was 16 years old, my high school did a trip abroad and a bunch of teachers took a bunch of kids over to Europe over the summer and my old man was like you are going on this trip and literally I was like I don't want to go, daddy. I know right, and actually Cindy Zordic was on that.
Speaker 3:
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:
So I don't want to go, daddy, I don't want to go, daddy, like you spoiled brat. I don't want to go to Europe. And it literally transformed my entire life. It was that and it just gets in your blood and then you can't stop. You just want to go go go, go and you just realize how big the world is and how much out there there is to see.
Speaker 3:
Well, I can relate to you. I don't have any desire to go to some parts of the US, even though I should be a proud American, but there is just like when you get that little bug of like Europe or even outside of Europe, asia, you're just like there's so much.
Speaker 1:
It's a chicken scratch, right, there is so much.
Speaker 3:
Exactly what you said.
Speaker 1:
And I think it just makes you a better person. You know to see different cultures and enlighten yourself and see, you know the way different people live. It makes you a better person all the way around. Where's my next trip? Where are we going?
Speaker 3:
Oh, we're going to New Orleans, that's right.
Speaker 1:
We're going to be in the United States. Jackie, have you ever been?
Speaker 3:
I have only been one time, and it was August. Oh well, so totally hot oh geez, I love it when you stop with me in these trips to August in the South. I know.
Speaker 1:
That's not a good thing.
Speaker 3:
So you're in New Orleans. I want to say local, but you were there for five years I lived there for five years so you could be considered a local.
Speaker 1:
It's literally my favorite city Probably on the face of the earth. I'm not even lying.
Speaker 3:
Wow, I want to say God.
Speaker 1:
Well, kind of like you said about the European influence, I think it's the closest city we have to a European city in the United States, you know, with the culture and the food and if you really learn, like the history of the city, like the French and the Spanish, and how they built their houses in the French Quarter to like they didn't want people to see. So all the beauties like inside in their courtyards, like when you walk through the.
Speaker 1:
French Quarter. It's really amazing and I was really blessed Like I met a lot of cool people in New Orleans and moved in a lot of cool circles, so I got to see like a lot of the inside of New Orleans, you know, which was fun. So I love that.
Speaker 3:
Do you still keep in touch with those? I do.
Speaker 1:
There are some people I still keep in touch with there it was ball and I dated the mayor what Did?
Speaker 3:
you really, oh my God, can we?
Speaker 1:
talk about that. We need to edit that out.
Speaker 3:
I mean it doesn't surprise me, though it was fun. It was definitely a fun time I worked for Tulane School of Medicine.
Speaker 2:
I did fundraising for them.
Speaker 1:
I was making jack shit and I got paid once a month. So by the time the end of the month rolled around, I had no money. You?
Speaker 3:
know you pay the bills you go out.
Speaker 1:
So I was like I need to get another draw. I started bartending at this gay and lesbian bar in New Orleans and it was a ball. I had so much fun, I'm sure you got a lot of characters. I used to say where the girls wanted to do me and the boys wanted to be me. Oh, I love that. I had a ball there, oh my God.
Speaker 3:
I could see you making a lot of cash, yeah.
Speaker 1:
I did Like I brought in like literally a couple extra grand a month just doing that oh wow. And I needed it for sure.
Speaker 3:
Do you feel like that's what makes you good ally to the community? The LGBTQ plus.
Speaker 1:
I guess I've just always been open to anything I mean yeah, like. I don't live your life, you know, do your thing as long as you're not hurting anybody.
Speaker 3:
Who cares right? Exactly Because you have an eclectic group of friends, like a whole walks of life.
Speaker 1:
I mean I graduated with a thousand 62 kids.
Speaker 3:
So you know right.
Speaker 1:
All socioeconomic backgrounds, race sexuality everything's what we were a big melting pot, and I love that you know.
Speaker 3:
Can you tell me a little bit about your career now? That's like you know, big executive.
Speaker 1:
No, I don't know about all that.
Speaker 2:
But yeah, tell us about the nonprofit work that you do.
Speaker 1:
Well, it's very near and dear to my heart, something that I love doing, you know. Not only is it a career and a job, it's a passion, right. So, you know, every day I go into work, even though it is my job. I know that I'm making a difference in some way, shape or form, but I literally fell into it. I was going to, I just had graduated from college and I was working at Purdue Purdue honey boiler up.
Speaker 3:
Oh wow, I like it.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, not a, we are.
Speaker 1:
My friends from Penn State say per don't, oh shit, Not Purdue.
Speaker 3:
And then we got a slippery.
Speaker 1:
Right, oh, yes indeed, honey, I love slippery rock you got so much fun when I visited her, I bet you do. Yeah, yeah, that's a ball up there for sure. What do?
Speaker 3:
they call it Slippery or slimy.
Speaker 2:
I'm going to let you say it Slimy pebble.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, or I think it's like slippery yeah.
Speaker 2:
Whatever Rhymes with rock.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, thank you, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:
But to go back into your very humble I was oh, so I was just graduated from college and I was working at Eve in the Monroeville mall boutique.
Speaker 3:
My father was ready to kill me.
Speaker 1:
He was like are you kidding me?
Speaker 2:
like lingerie. Yeah, oh my god, she's 48.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
It was. It was in the Monroeville mall and heard of it. Yeah, they sold lingerie. They sold like Really cute dresses. I mean they were like a little boutique.
Speaker 3:
Is it like Fred Ricks?
Speaker 1:
Fred Ricks, but along those lines, like they sold lingerie, like that, but they also sold clothes and jewelry.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, were you like a model?
Speaker 1:
No God, no God.
Speaker 2:
No, I was just work there.
Speaker 3:
Like you're six one no, in heels maybe okay, all right.
Speaker 1:
But um, so my dad was ready to kill me. He's like what the hell are you doing? I paid for this education. My parents were like, what are you doing? And they're like all you got want to do is be in college. And I was like you know what? You're right. If I can't beat them, I'll join them. So I decided to go back to the University of Pittsburgh to get my master's and higher-ed administration because I thought I'd work in like you know, student affairs or a dean position or something like that yes and they placed me in the development office and I was like what am I gonna develop?
Speaker 1:
I had no idea what development was, and then that led to a full-time job with them and then I went on to work for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and you Tulane and then the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. I was a consultant for five years and I traveled all over the United States working with nonprofits and Now I'm worth Presbyterian senior care.
Speaker 1:
So it's been a it's been over 30 years and it's a passion. But it's really funny how I fell into it. You know what I mean. Like I would have never set out on that path, but it just worked my favor. You know, this is really a people person job too. You know what I mean. Yes, you have to be able to schmooze, and you know.
Speaker 3:
I was gonna say you do seem so happy and I don't know if it's in your life or your career, or is it a combination of I think it's a combination of both.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, just being like you know, like this is where I'm supposed to be right. Yes, cuz you really don't know. You know, you think you're gonna go down one path and then you're on a different path and you just have to say, alright, this is what the universe had in store for me. You know, I think I was telling you guys earlier.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, could you elaborate on?
Speaker 1:
yeah, like you know, I always thought I was like gonna get married and have kids and I just wanted to be the girl that went to the country club every day.
Speaker 2:
My husband bought me nice jewelry and another life. I could see that You're more of like a Soho house girl. Yes, exactly the real housewives of.
Speaker 3:
Oakmont. We're gonna make something.
Speaker 1:
You know I fell into it and it's something that I love and it's a passion, and you know the rest is history right.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I'm definitely impressed. I think it's because of the family that you have as well. You guys are so close and there's five of you, right? Can you tell me how the craziness of growing up with four siblings is?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, my parents grew up in New York and were raised there Brooklyn, long Island Okay, astoria Long.
Speaker 3:
Island nice.
Speaker 1:
They got married and then my father got a job in Oklahoma and they moved there and they had my sister there and then they moved to Iowa and had my other two sisters and then they moved to Pittsburgh and had me and my brother. So I'm a lifelong Pittsburgh you know, but um, but we never had cousins growing up.
Speaker 1:
You know All of our friends in our neighborhood, you know especially the big Italian families, had tons of cousins and their cousins always came over to their house. But we never had that because all of our cousins lived in New York. So we were always just like tight because we never had that extended family kind of thing and then consequently, like my best friends and their kids and their families became our extended family.
Speaker 2:
Could you tell us a little bit about your dating history and?
Speaker 1:
can you give?
Speaker 2:
Oh God, so he needs advice, so could you give him advice.
Speaker 1:
I do need some advice. I am not the girl to give advice. Trust and believe.
Speaker 3:
Well listen, we've both gone through divorces and not a lot of people know about mine. I didn't really want to divulge at the time, but it's. It's a serious thing I think a lot of people don't talk about because they're so like divorce is so bad. It's like we're Catholic, we can't be done, and it's like nowadays I'm like no, if it's not working, why? If there's no children.
Speaker 1:
It is, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my life.
Speaker 3:
Yeah.
Speaker 1:
And I still cannot even say the word. It's so hard for me to even say it. I feel like I have a scarlet letter on my chest. I'm not even lying.
Speaker 3:
I need to understand from a woman's perspective.
Speaker 1:
Well, for starters, I only got married when I was 51, right? So I mean, why would I even have gotten married, Right? It wasn't like I wanted to have kids, or you know what I mean. Like I knew that that ship had sailed, I thought I wanted to get married because I wanted to be with the person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. So I wouldn't have even gone down that road had I thought it would have ended in divorce.
Speaker 3:
Right.
Speaker 1:
And it was gut wrenching, you know, and I had never, ever talked about it. You know, I never posted anything on Instagram I maybe shared it with two people in my entire life of what really happened and what went down, and I feel like it's private and personal, yeah, but it's hard, oh yeah, and you know, even like you know, when you go to the doctor's office and you have to check off like widowed single married and I can't even check off divorced it's like it just like I'm like.
Speaker 1:
Why does that define me? You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:
Right Does that even mean I should it, I agree.
Speaker 1:
So I just check single, like you don't know?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I would do it, as you know exactly. Why does that even make a difference? Business doesn't make a difference for anything, right?
Speaker 3:
You know, I was always confused because I was like did they file? Like? I was like, should I put divorce or should I put single?
Speaker 3:
Like because it was like it was really difficult as well. I thought the same thing. I'm like, if I'm going to do this, I know my parents have been together forever. I've known my grandparents, your parents have been together forever. It's like we see so many relationships. It's like hard times are inevitable, Right, but you just go through it, work it out, Right. And it didn't work out for me and I take it lighter than it should be.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 3:
But it does probably sit hard. It's gut-wrenching, I mean it's a tarot.
Speaker 1:
You know you, when you get married, you know you say for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. Like you know, I took those vows seriously.
Speaker 3:
Yes, Like.
Speaker 1:
I would have never done that, had I thought it would have ended up the way it did. Like why did I need to get married? I didn't need to do it financially. I didn't need to do it to have kids. I didn't need to do it for any other reason than I wanted to, so it just was. And what's really crazy is I'm still very close with his family. Yes, I love his mother, I love his sisters, I love my nieces and nephews.
Speaker 1:
I still call them my nieces and nephews, you know, and it's just, it's gut-wrenching, because you never think you're going to be there you know, but To piggyback on that and your question, like yeah, I'm looking, honey.
Speaker 2:
so yeah, she's like let's make it like oh my gosh, you need to apply to be on the bachelorette.
Speaker 1:
You're like the 10,000th person to.
Speaker 3:
Am I not even kidding? Oh my god, do you think you would I?
Speaker 1:
would definitely, jackie, you know.
Speaker 3:
I see this. I don't even like take up, take it for what it is. Like you know you definitely shouldn't be golden, but like I mean, but I get that that guy I was like shocked at the guy was this is some main character energy here. I would do it in the heartbeat Okay oh my god, what are you doing this? The new golden bachelorette, jackie Flanagan.
Speaker 1:
I would do it with the how. I mean what? How else you gonna meet people? They're single and you're in your 30s. Try being single in your 60. I mean it, that's really hard. It's hard to meet people. It's hard to meet single men but would you date younger? I would, absolutely my husband. My ex-husband was 18 years younger than me, right? Maybe that was a?
Speaker 3:
problem. You looked very similar in age and very the same energy.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I would definitely not too young, though I'm done, you know I need somebody on my same wavelength.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, yeah, I don't know, I mean oh god we might be on to something better.
Speaker 2:
I was just Is this like a West?
Speaker 3:
Virginia type of situation. Oh wait, we can't say that that's politically incorrect Sorry. That was coming from an Abercrombie fit shirt back in the day. Right, it's all relative. In West Virginia, my grandma, Pat bought me that, of course she did. But yeah, we're doing the golden bachelor for you, jack bachelor at bachelor.
Speaker 2:
I'm all for it, yeah, well because she could be on the bachelor like she could be one of contestants.
Speaker 1:
No, no, yeah, I ain't fighting over a guy, they're fighting over.
Speaker 3:
I can't even see you ever fighting for anybody a friend, a guy.
Speaker 2:
I am like anybody. I can't even be a competition. Oh, look at you.
Speaker 3:
Kelly is no bullshit either. I know she doesn't pull any punches, that's for sure, but I know that you guys having.
Speaker 1:
We were pre-gaming.
Speaker 3:
Yes, what did you catch on from that?
Speaker 1:
Quit talking, cuz we have to talk about this in the studio. She's like okay, enough about you.
Speaker 2:
She's like bullet pointed. I wanted you to tell us a little bit more about your passion for Purdue University. Oh, my god, I think everyone would love to hear about your crazy college days. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:
Except all my Penn State friends. You know, the only reason I went to Purdue was because I did test out of Penn State. So I remember there was like you could go in and talk to your guidance counselor and my guidance counselor is like so you're gonna go to like IUP or you know, like all these local schools, clary, you know I was like no, I'm going away.
Speaker 1:
You know, like you could like feed in all these parameters into this computer and they would spit out like schools. So I said I wanted to go to a big school and at the time my old man was like if you don't major in computer science, you're never gonna get a job. You know Computers are the wave of the future. I feel like that was pushed on us as well, and I'd never even touched a computer. I didn't even know what it was right.
Speaker 3:
So computers in Microsoft 95.
Speaker 1:
So they like spit out all these schools, and Purdue was one of them and they didn't have an application fee. Oh, I thought shit, I'm applying and I got in. I'm like damn, if they're taking me, I'm going. Exactly and I loved it. I had a ball. I still have a lot of really good friends there. One of my very dearest friends was my roommate Lisa, and we still keep in touch and have fun and were you a partier.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, but it was very Midwestern, very like conservative. I was like this crazy girl like this New York. Exactly like East Coast girl even though he wasn't. I mean, I was from Pittsburgh. But I remember I had this gold headband that I wore at lunch one time it was like here, yeah, oh my gosh, I can make sure it right. You know that's back in the let's get physical days, you know.
Speaker 3:
Wait that voice who is that? From. That's a character on a movie. Definitely heard that voice before.
Speaker 1:
But yeah, but it was. It was also a great nurturing place. You know what I mean to go to school and go to college because it did have the Midwest values and you know. Yes like I never knew what cow tipping was and shit.
Speaker 2:
Wait, did people do that? Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:
I guess that was like a thing.
Speaker 2:
Does it actually work to the cows?
Speaker 1:
So like.
Speaker 3:
I love your response. I think so. That doesn't seem like your thing, or you Know me Loving your pose to yours like seem like such a natural out it right now. You got like your arm back here.
Speaker 1:
I mean, you know what I do suffer from, which is funny that you say that I do suffer from imposter syndrome, for sure. Yes, I do like in my job and things like that. I'm always like wait, oh, they find me out. What do they figure me out? You know? 30 years plus into my career. I still suffer from that. You know, like someone's gonna figure me out. Yeah, it's like something that you always kind of carry with you.
Speaker 3:
You're a busy woman and I just appreciate you making the time for us.
Speaker 1:
Well, why wouldn't I? You know, I adore you because you guys got it going on your podcast, or phenomenal. Your great friendship, my new girl, kelly Flaherty.
Speaker 2:
Don't take the DNA test.
Speaker 1:
You have a lot to offer. I just really hope it takes off for you, you know.
Speaker 3:
Well, it's fantastic. Seriously, we want you to be part of it. Oh my god, seriously, I'm not kidding. It's gonna take a lot more than that, cheers to the Modrez oh, get it girl. You.