Step right into the quirky world of our guest's past, which borders on the fantastical. Their story sweeps you into a narrative rich with eccentric characters—a whimsically dressed woman evoking Lucille Ball, and a humorous encounter catalyzed by our guest's mother that will surely tickle your ribs. At the heart of their tale is a profound reflection on the necessity of self-awareness, the revelatory nature of recording oneself, and the undeniable impact of love on personal transformation.
Venture with us to the streets of Chicago, where our guest's education was anything but ordinary. They detail life in a private school that mirrors a detention center, under the thumb of a retired major with a glass eye and methods as unorthodox as his appearance. Here, survival equated to adaptability, lessons were gleaned in surprising ways, and each challenge was a molding force. Explore the unconventional classrooms, the sting of corporal punishment, and how these formative experiences carved out our guest's unique outlook on life.
Step right into the quirky world of our guest's past, which borders on the fantastical. Their story sweeps you into a narrative rich with eccentric characters—a whimsically dressed woman evoking Lucille Ball, and a humorous encounter catalyzed by our guest's mother that will surely tickle your ribs. At the heart of their tale is a profound reflection on the necessity of self-awareness, the revelatory nature of recording oneself, and the undeniable impact of love on personal transformation.
Venture with us to the streets of Chicago, where our guest's education was anything but ordinary. They detail life in a private school that mirrors a detention center, under the thumb of a retired major with a glass eye and methods as unorthodox as his appearance. Here, survival equated to adaptability, lessons were gleaned in surprising ways, and each challenge was a molding force. Explore the unconventional classrooms, the sting of corporal punishment, and how these formative experiences carved out our guest's unique outlook on life.
Speaker 1:
You listen to me, you go to the top. Bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby. No-transcript. She had a pair of socks on with balloons on them and a green dress and she had red hair. She looked like a cross between Lucille Ball and Peggy Davis and she had a babushka in her hair which was striped and she had a green dress on with a striped babushka and polka dot socks. And this man walked by her who was about 70, and he had a black pair of pants on and a different jacket. My mom said get him. And I told her. I said hey, hey ho, you don't have Ronald McDonald's. Mom, get him. And that was it. That was it. My mom would just See.
Speaker 1:
Everybody judges people. They don't judge you. You have to videotape yourself. When you play golf, you don't know how you swing once you videotape yourself. You don't know how you are in life once you videotape yourself. My mother never knew how silly she was or funny. I probably don't either.
Speaker 1:
Some people don't know how you are in life unless you videotape yourself. My mother never knew how silly she was or funny. I probably don't either. Some people know how mean they are, how bad they are, how cheap they are, how rude they are Unless they see themselves. And unless you have love in your body, you can't correct it. A lot of people say that they make excuses. Well, he made me, he pissed me. This guy, no, you do what you want to do because you do it. I was mad every time my wife pissed me off. I mean, who would take these characters off? You know, I was always wondering, because this kind of came up when I thought about like the book being a movie. Was there like when you would go to the department stores and hang out and cause trouble and stuff? Did you know about that?
Speaker 1:
No, you know, as a kid I had to keep it a public school in Chicago because of my attendance record. So my mother had three choices. It was to send me to, well, what was called Monte Fiori in Chicago. It was an attention school for bad kids, I mean, just like a day standpoint. Well, she didn't want me to go there and I didn't either. But I couldn't get into a Catholic school or any Protestant school because you had to have your father sign. I had no fun. So my mother sent me to a private school For $65 a month.
Speaker 1:
The guy was a retired major from a military academy and he had a glass eye with a flag on it. He rolled his eye until the flag came up and it felt like I was being taught by a slot machine. And this guy Everything I was in the room with they were either criminals or problem kids like me. He would have me read a book and he'd read a room. It was an apartment building. It wasn't a school, it was his house. So if you were bad, he would make you go into this one room that had a radio and a window open and a life magazine and he'd make you stay in there all day so you didn't have to stay with the guards and the criminals. So I would personally show up. He'd hit me with a ruler right across the wrist. Come on, raymond. He put me in there. You have to stay here. So I kicked the ruler across the wrist but all day long I had the window open, I could look out the window, I could read the magazine and I never had a clue as long as I was out.
Speaker 1:
I made $65 a month and for one thing, you had lunch in the building. They had a big hall and they'd make they'dher kids that would stay there overnight and sleep in bunkers. It was like a. It was like a hand-working program in a prison. It was like stay in court and I could leave. Then they'd take you over to Lincoln Park in Chicago from noon until two You'd play ball and then you'd go back to two. You'd be there till three. It was just a gimmick Then, to make money, I think so when winter would come.
Speaker 1:
This is how I self-propelled him. I told him his name was Major and Be careful with the names. No, I understand. So I left him. I listened to the teacher. I said Some people are falling out front. Do you mind if I sell the walk out front? No, I got the bus, went home. He had no idea. I made five bucks a day. Silver snow, had lunch, read the book, sat in the room, listened to the radio, read a life magazine and passed. That's my education. How long were you there? Eighth grade, and that was the last school you went to. Yeah, never graduated. Never came. Was the last school you went to? Yeah, you ever graduated. You ever came back. The last couple weeks I told her. I said you beat Nick one more time. You get the cube. Put the word in the streets.