Ann Marie Ortolaza and Yolanda Benitez

00:09 You start Julie. Oh, okay, and I am 59 years old today. Thursday, July 29th, 2021. I'm from Rochester, New York, and I'm going to introduce and cologne and Marie cologne and she is my cousin sent. So any, okay, so is my cousin said, I'm and cologne and I am 60 years old and breaking out today, the 29th of July. I am in Washington DC on vacation.

00:48 Okay, so let's get started in. I think this is very important. I really wanted to talk to you about your parents cuz I love I love their story. I love you know, that they had such an interesting experience, how they met and where they were from. So so I'm going to turn it over to you. Let start like at the beginning, you know, you know, in terms of where your parents came from, and how they met. Okay. All right. Well, my parents are Saverio also known as Bob local on. My mother is Rosemary, CD cologne. And my father is from Cayo, Costa Rica, and my mother is from Rochester, New York, born and raised Sicilian.

01:39 And my parents met in Rochester. New York back in 1957. I would say 1956 and they were met by your stepfather. My uncle Polo cologne and my mother and feel were good friends. I guess they used to take the bus to go to work or somehow. They would always meet on the bus. And so, my uncle invited her one night, he still lives and he says, I'm having a birthday party for my brother. Pablo. Would you like to come?

02:08 So my mother thought of myself, as you know, she does. Yeah, I'd like to come and meet your brother. So my father's birthday is December 31st. So it was a New Year's Eve party if you was having at his house and remember in the house and what was the name of that street on my way to work Street immigrants would come and live when they came to this country. And at that time, it was a lot of Puerto Ricans that were there. And so my mother came to the party and my uncle, the Apollo had the apartment above in the apartment below. And so my mother was in the apartment above, and my dad was downstairs. So the people would come up. The friends would say, if Elisa byblos here. Why don't you come downstairs? So you can meet him and mommy said, no. She said you talked about will come up here. He can meet me. So people go downstairs and see if I'm up here so you can meet her. So he would say no. He says, you told her. I said she comes down here. She meets me.

03:08 3, benchley throughout the night. My father got tired. He decided. Well, let me go upstairs and meet this lady. So that's how it happened. He went upstairs. He introduced himself, and my mother said, the moment she met him. She felt like, just like there was something about him. She just got attached to him, and, you know how, you know, I love at first sight. And, and my father felt the same way about her, you know, so they sat down, she said they sent down the whole night together and they talked about their life or they came from. They talked about common things that they were both died about it. Kind of had to watch what they are and, you know, stay away from swedes and I'm sure my father talked to her about his experience and everything coming to this country. So, you know, where did your dad come from? And how did he grow up? And why did he end up in Rochester? So my father tells me that he was born in guavate Puerto Rico, which is

04:08 A Providence of province of Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, a part of it, and he grew up in the mountains. You know, he would, they lived at in the in the Backwoods of you could say of Puerto Rico. And my father's father was a plantation owner. So he grew vegetables. You got stuff like that. And so my father would always say that they lived in a hot, you know, house that my grandfather made out of wood with how do you call the the, the metal that they put on the rules? There's a name for the Nissan. Every what they call it was a silver top. And then they all lived in that home and you figured there was my grandfather had been married prior to marrying my grandmother. And he had like five boys with with his prior wife and then he got married, my grandmother and had, I believe it was.

05:00 Four boys or four boys and one girl or five boys and one girl and my aunt is the oldest of the second marriage.

05:11 So, what happened? Was it? My father's dad had passed away and when his father passed away, his father.

05:18 New or he saw on my dad and my father was good with money. He was good with knowing how to appropriate money, how to divide a, how to save it, and he knew how to organize things. So he said that if one day he would die, he wanted my father to divide the land up between his siblings and make sure they everybody got what they were supposed to get. But their older brother was jealous and got upset and was really upset. And almost wanted to fight my dad because you said you're the youngest you should, he is not your job to divide the land of the right, anything. I'm the oldest, you're not supposed to do it.

05:57 So my father tells me that he told his brother, you know, what he says this isn't worth it. He says I'm not going to fight you for this land, is divided up Reese's Pieces. Just property. He says you do what you do, what you have to do. I'm leaving. So my father was young. I don't know, he he came in 1953. So it was born in 28, I suck at math. So I don't know if you just want me to go do something. So she was upset and he decided he was not going to stay and that's what happened. What happened was? It gets back at that time Farms here in the United States. Need two people to work the farm. So they would send a voice to these countries and hire people that live there, that wanted to come to the United States and they would pay for their flight and it would give him room and board on a farm and just come and work for us and we will sign you. That's what he did. And you know, how I found. That was one of the what is the ancestry?

06:57 A search Has, It Was An ancestry, was another one and I found his ticket. He came in 1953 with his one brother and you believe it was on Miguel, it was Victor. Victor was already here. So he came to the United States and he worked on the farms.

07:21 And dumb, do you want to tell you a little bit about what happened from the Farms or anything or? Yeah, I think because he was older and he had come up and I actually worked on the migrant Farms, like you said, because there was a opportunity there and so, they live together in the communal communal situation. And what I do, remember is yours later. My stepfather would take us to those places were, they did mygrant work and the people there would invite us in and we would commune and have food with them. And this one on like the year after year. So it's a lot of people still were there were talking what 10-15 years after. So, exactly,

08:15 So, I'm not sure if Bobby was on the same from that there was working on or whatever form. He was at a. Remember. He told me it was a hard worker. He had strong ethics that you had to work for what you wanted and he said, he was the fastest picker, whatever the fruit was. He was a fastest picker, he knew how to fill his basket fast enough so that he could save every penny that he had and he was always a business entrepreneur since she was in Puerto Rico. So he said he saved us enough money that he was able to get his best friend Manuel and some other guys and said, listen, when we go to New York City and let's open a shop, that's open a bakery. And that's just what these men did. They decided to save their money. They went to, I'm not sure if it was Brooklyn or bronx and they wanted 1950. 19, late 50s, right? Late fifties, you know, if he came before 53, I'm not sure, I only know, I found that one passage of a ticket for him.

09:15 53. And so they went to to New York and they open the business, you open a bakery. But remember like I said, my father was diabetic and so he you know, he work you did good work or what happened was the people that he worked with these guys were taking the money and spending it and not giving it back into the business of the business couldn't grow. So, my father decided, you know, why this isn't worth it. These guys are in, have my mentality of running a business and so, he told everybody, you go your way. I'm going my way. I'm going back to Rochester, New York, and imma go with my brother. So, that's what my dad did. He came back to Rochester his friend, man. When his best friend, went to Buffalo New York, which is not far. And so, when my father came to Rochester for some reason, he decided to go to Buffalo and he went to Buffalo and he work. He worked on the railroad. He worked for the railroad for. I don't know how many years and he would come to Rochester to visit the Apollo.

10:15 And then now we're sort of back to where he meets my mother, because at that time he was working. I believe, for the railroad in Buffalo, in Tonawanda, New York answer. Then that's when he met mommy. Going forward from that point. So, tell me about your mom. So my mom is Sicilian with a true foundation of Sicilian language and culture which is sold the million or so, similar to the Hispanic culture in in family, you know, family is important. Food. Food is almost the same and the culture. And so, she grew up in Rochester, New York with her mother and her father. And they live right over there on Woodward Street, not too far because like I said, Woodward Street was the catch all of immigrants that came to the United States. And so at that time in 1932.

11:15 Mother was born in March of 1930 to now, that's where her parents were living. And so, my mother grew up with her parents. She worked several jobs. She always worked in Dinars. I don't know. She was short like me work with a lot of men and so she worked in the diners. She was very, as you remember she loved to talk to people. She was very sociable. And so even when she met my father was she worked in the Book Bindery, as well as the young lady shorts and Book Bindery. As she only went up to I think maybe the 8th grade or 9th grade and my dad only went up to the 5th grade or 6. In the end, 6 is a lot so she worked there and then I think when she met my dad she might have been working in the food industry in a restaurant over there on Main Street. I don't know if you remember that one Cafe on Main Street.

12:15 It looks like a diner. It's it's so she worked in there. Okay, so that's what she was doing. And how did they eat like connect in terms of conversation? Well, like I said, you were saying, I don't know how my mother picked up the language so quickly, but she learn the Spanish cuz she fell in love with the Hispanic Community. She fell in love with the people. So somehow she passed away too early for me to ask her how quickly she picked it up and how how she did it, but she learned to read it, write it. And she learned the language fluently. So that's how they communicated. My father always spoke broken English like the old broken English, but he could communicate, you know, and he would you know, he would be able to talk with people and so that's how Mommy and Poppy would communicate. Like I give you a perfect example. When time, my father

13:15 Go to court. I'm not sure what he had to go to court for, but he was being asked questions by an attorney, and the attorney was taken advantage of it and he kept intimidating him and trying to confuse them by talking in English. So my mother was sitting there because like they were always together. So she went with him and she could see that my dad was being frustrated, not frustrated too much, but that he was being harassed. So my mother stands up in the course uses. Hey, why don't you ask me? Those questions? I can speak English. I can answer those questions for you, ask me. So my father don't worry, don't worry. So my mother was so upset. So the judge hits the Gap. When he says are in the court order in the court. Are you ma'am? And my father says to him, and his broken language is my girlfriend or whatever. And my mother, until the judge says, what Mammy says, you have to be quiet. If you can't be quiet in this court, you're going to be escorted out.

14:15 So my mother wanted to be there to defend him. So she stays quiet and sat down and had to deal with my dad, you know, trying to answer the questions. So that goes to show how well she you know, she she loves you know, that the Hispanic language and understood, you know, my dad and stuff. So so when did they like getting married and and then what happens from there? So they were married around 1958. That's when Polly was born. Then cuz we already had Johnny. And so they 258 was when they got married and it about the time, my dad had been working for Tobin packing. You member told him packing in Rochester Soto be packing was a meat company that used to sell me two stores in two meat markets. And so my father, learn how to cut me. He became very good. So he decided him and my mom just

15:15 It's open a store on Hann Street in Rochester, New York. So my father didn't have quite all the money he needed. So he was talking to his friend, Manuel Martinez was from Buffalo New York and my family says, I'm telling you the money. I'll give you the money. So you can start an open that store and my father. I'm sure what time is it in? Cuz you don't people don't like to borrow money, but his friend, no choices. You are, you letting I'll lend you the money. I know you'll pay me back. So that's what happened. He, let my dad, and my mom, the money, and whatever money. My parents had, they put in and they run in the store and hand Street. And my father was the first owner of Hispanic food in Rochester, New York, background 1959. Because in 1960, I was born and they had to stronghand street because there's a picture of my mother pregnant with me. And in the videos that my mother has, she has been using me, just only a few months old. She's walking me in front of the store.

16:15 The community Baker. How how big was the Hispanic community in Rochester in 1960? It was very big. I can't give you the numbers on it. But again hand Street and Clinton Avenue was

16:32 Was a very Parish area. It was, it was I don't want to say the ghetto, but it was an area where people, you know, who didn't have other means, that's where they lived in, or it wasn't a great. Why you? So mean I don't want to see the word tenement houses, but, you know, the people that own these buildings and everything these homes cuz it's not like New York high rises, but the homes, you know, you and these departments that random. We're not always well cap, you know, there were rodents. There. Were you named it infestation of other things and being that we were living in that environment. We were never, I was never ashamed. My brothers were never ashamed of where we were. And I want to say, the reason why we weren't shame is because how my mother raised us and my dad was important is that you were with family and family is what got you through. Everything. As long as you were with family, you had a wonderful support system, you know, you you're going to do good. I know there were other

17:32 That didn't have that support system that feel of family in and maybe they might have gone other routes. But but we didn't, you know, we, we felt we were with everybody else. We didn't feel like we were any less better than anyone else. You know, my mother always made us feel proud of who we are and to let other people know that. Yeah, I'm Hispanic. I'm Italian. And I'm just like you, I'm not any different than anyone else, you know, and, and everybody respected my parents. They they were very gracious to them because

18:08 Back, then people would always come out right. I mean, my dad had Ledger's ledgers not that much but he had lied years of people that owed him money. But do you think my dad ever told him? Listen? You can't find her know. You never paid me back last month or three months ago. Never, my father, or whatever they could pay. They paid, you know, he didn't want people to feel like you couldn't come here and get how you couldn't get food. I know your family. I know where you live, you know, so, my parents weren't like that. They never never put it in the car that I wanted to know. If I got to know her knowing and also my dad, he loved business so much that he even bought a station, wagon and beg them for minority to buy a station. Wagon means a lot. He bought a station wagon, and he would

19:07 Take the food to the people, you know, they would call put an order. My dad will be delivered. He would deliver the food to them. And from hand Street. We went to Clinton Avenue, which was a bitter stor-mor partments that have like, one, two, three, three Apartments upstairs, and downstairs was where we live. We live downstairs, our family, which is my three brothers call Michael John and me, and we looked downstairs, and, and the store was in the front. So we had a storefront and the same with my dad was on hand Street. That's just how my dad was on Clinton Avenue. And I'm pretty much everybody in that community of of hand Street, Clinton Avenue all the way to Saint Bridget's Saint Michael's on North Babylon. I'm even politicians would come to the store and say, hey, I'm mister mister colone. You know, I'm running for this candidacy. Do you mind if I put, you know, my

20:07 My flier whatever you do and your store or whatever and my parents. Sure, why not, you know, as long as what they were running for was meeting but my parents, my parents believed in. You know what I mean? Amazing, you is my dad's truck one time for, I don't know if it was a Hispanic person or somebody who is running for something and my dad made a sign on so that they could put a sign on top of his truck. So that whenever he would deliver food or do anything, they could see this person's name, rump me to vote for me. So and your mom eventually became a social worker. How did that happen? So see. Bridget's in Rochester, New York, Spanish community. And I don't mean just Puerto Rican. I mean, to Cubans, many Cubans at that time, or flooding were coming to the United States, and many were coming to Rochester because they knew a family members that live here and if they would have a better opportunity. So a lot of them will come to Rochester a cute butt.

21:07 We were Cubans. But of course, you know, from other Hispanic countries and the Catholic Family Catholic, Family Center, Rochester. Wanted to meet that need. And they said, you know why, let's see how we can open a point-of-service here, right here in your church. Because you have so many Hispanics that live here around this area where they know, they can go and get the assistance that they need and people, you know, help them and hear them. And so they started to recruit people for the recruiting my mother because my mother could speak Italian and Irish and English. So she can meet the needs of all three and and she did, she help the townies and she helped Hispanics. And so they hired her and many other Hispanic women that were bilingual to help the meet the needs of the Hispanic community. And it was a wonderful thing, you know, I mean, I remember,

22:03 Sitting in my mother's office and the people would come with nothing. Really nothing. Absolutely nothing. And my mother would say, you know why she says we're going to get your your we're going to open up your your your night, your account. We're going to open up a case for you. All I need is an address and it was at my brother's house. Okay, we're going to get you taken care of and that's just what my mother do. She never ever turned anybody away that came? She made sure, they all I need is an address. We're going to get you the help that you need and and that's what she would do if she would she would help you know, and those people became her friend, you know, we would visit them. They were, they just, you know, just knew her as I'm go there. As long as she's going to help you about your mom, what she was one of the first to get a video recorder back in the early sixties. So your whole life was like for corded and I just remember all

23:03 The, the the dancing and the celebrations, the kids running around dancing and just dancing. And I remember, you know, you showing me those videos, and a lot of them were about your mom, celebrating your dad and always liked your anniversary. She like, always went all out. And, you know, I remember saying to you, you know, I just love their their love story. Your mom was, you know, so, so in terms of, when you would see the videos and your dad and that was very unique, has a lot of back, then that's too many people had the recorders exactly. And she really did, she loved him so much because he was diabetic, you know, there were certain foods that he was for him when she bought them. This was for him. So he left to eat.

24:03 Fruit. So she would buy bananas apples, great. And so my brothers whenever my brother, she would catch them eating the bananas, whatever. She was a hate.

24:14 It's for your father. That's for him for work. Leave the heck. Don't you touch that food, but she did, she love him so much. I mean, I've never seen. Look at she loved him so much that she always told my father when I die. Pablo, nobody's to be buried next to me, but you not even my mother is going to be buried next to me. Unfortunately, my grandmother got buried next to her because she got my father excelled at 5 to her, but she loved him very much. It was going to say that they both loved each other, you know, as much as she loves him. He loved her. You know, I just knew everything was my dad. Everything was for my dad, just the way, my mom was so they, they were very

25:05 Faithful talk a little bit about their face and and and how that kind of transpired within the community. So my mother is was cat. She's Catholic. Okay, my grandmother always went to church Grandma. Eleanor was went to church and what happened was my mother had a really great faith and love for God. Because she when she was young. She was having problems with her kidneys, and when she was 10 years old, she became so ill that she was in the hospital for a month. And the doctor said, well, this is Candela, you know, we can't do no more for your daughter. We suggest you start getting things prepared for your daughter. Don't think she's going to come out of here and we think that you should start making plans and my grandmother just as strong as my mother. Just so you know, is the net of a kid is my mom. She said no, she says my daughter's going to walk out of here. My daughter is not going to die. I'm not planning nothing and sure enough. I don't know if it was a week two weeks after my mother woke up.

26:05 Asking for water. And ever since that time. My grandmother said to my mother every day of your life. You need to thank God that you're alive because they prayed to him for you to stick to be here. And that's how was my mother became so faithful to God for her. Everything was God first, whatever plans. You made, whatever things you were going to do. Guy should be a part of it and he should be first to help you to do the plans and help you do whatever you need to do. And so when she met my father, my father was Christian, he was Catholic too, but he wasn't as devoted as my mother.

26:39 Remember my mother telling me that she felt like she was only when I was going to church, he wouldn't go to mass and the priest at the time said to her cuz she asked them. Listen. Father, won't, you know, I'm trying to get my husband to come to church but he doesn't want to come. What do I do and he still want. Also, this is Rose. What is what you do? Rosie said you keep coming. You keep coming to church. You keep letting your husband know about how important the mass was and how God is, you know, helping your family and blessing your family and eventually your husband don't come and sure enough. That's just how it happen. Eventually. I think after they close the store and I'll tell you why they close the store. My father started to come to church with her and ever since that time. I thought I'd fall in love with God and they both we went to church every Friday, every Saturday, every Sunday and they were involved with the full. See your movement after so she needs. So they were very,

27:39 Very devoted to their faith and their, their their love for God and their put everything in God's hands.

27:47 So, why you said why did they close the store? So what happened? Was it, his diabetic? His diabetes was getting too much. It was always going to the hospital because he wasn't eating, like, he needed to because his devotion was to the store to get the food to the people and she felt like it was on him to do. So the doctor, when they searched my father, he said, well mister colone. I'm going to tell you this, either you keep up with the storm and I can tell you that you're not going to live very long or you close the store, find a regular job and you'll live longer. Well, that's all you got. Told my mother. She said, that's okay. We don't need it. She said, Pablo, what's more important to me is that I have you? What is my life? If I don't have you she says, no. Nothing is worth all this. She said we're going to sell the store and we're going to both get jobs and that's it. Okay, if that's how we're going to do it. And then from there to work.

28:47 For the cemetery in Rochester, New York. What's it called? Again? Julie? What is a grave digger from quite a few years. He was a grave digger. Eventually. They got cool and they got, and they started using the backhoe and Greg has my God. My mother would would. My mother wasn't working. We would go there on his lunch break. She bring him lunch, and when we would come, I remember one time coming and it was the whole already did. And my father was down in it. And so he comes out the whole, you know, that, you know, smiling and eat lunch. So the whole thing was that my dad got his Blessing so much that from that point out from being just a grave digger. He became the foreman for Catholic, the, for the Holy Sepulchre, Cemetery.

29:47 He became the form and he even helped to begin Union for the men that work there. So that those men will be represented and taken care of. And at one point, I had mentioned to you before the people that the people that own the cemetery, those in higher Administration, really respected. My dad's jewels and his, his thoughts that when they built the very first. The very first, you know, Mausoleum, they asked my dad. This is what Bible we're going over looking to build a mausoleum. We'd like your point of view. What do you think? We should build it? So they took my father up in the helicopter and he had them fly him around the area. And then he told me to look at this area right here is the Eyrie right? That you should build it and probably explain to them. Why? And lo and behold,

30:44 Wow, I just actually physically, cuz that's a lot of work. But yeah, it's pretty amazing. After they sold the store. Did they stay? They're living in the back. You guys used to live in the back of the building, and exactly. So what, so, what happened? What is urban, renewal in Rochester, New York started, they wanted to knock down. All the buildings are on Clinton Avenue and build. Something better for the people that live there. Really, they didn't achieve anything. But so they sold the store. They bought the store for my dad, to gave him quite a bit of money that we could have lived anywhere. We'll hopefully maybe we could move to the suburbs. I don't know, but my mother was so devoted to this city. She loved their Community because all her friends were there, my dad as well. They bought a house just so many I do.

31:44 Half a mile 2 miles down up towards st. Bridget's, I mean, say Michaels, and they bought a house and having you ain't I was still in the city. We were still there in the community of the Hispanics and some Italian that were there too. And that's what they did. They bought a home there and my mother stayed working for Catholic Family Center, until she passed away in 1975. And my father stayed working for Holy Sepulchre until 1989 when he retired because because of his arms, he had such a bad case of of arthritis in his elbows that it was hard for him to work and and pretty much that was it. You know, I mean, I think I used to have a little bit about mama. Guela. And why did she live with you?

32:34 So, my mother didn't want my dad to be working hard in the store by himself, show his fault that she could, you know, be a help to him. So, we, we met, I don't know how my mother met mama, guela in pain, or whatever. His name is, the guy that used to hop out and some I'm acquainted with babysitter that she would have come everyday and babysit us kids while my mother worked on my father's store. So she would run the front cashing people out and my dad will work in. The back, is the butcher, cutting up the meats and filling the orders. And so that's what my mother while I would do. Sometimes, she would stay the night with us, and she make breakfast with us. And if with my mom in the morning, she was just the kindest woman and she some, I'm at my parents. Didn't, you know, she wasn't there for free, you know, they paid her, you know, her to to come and take care of us if she stayed with us until my parents sold the store. She was always their mama guela. Yeah.

33:34 Could we thought she was? So somehow we started to call her mama? Guela. I don't know why. But yes, it was a great heritage, you know, the, my parents, you know, my mother like I said, love the Hispanic people so much that it my house. We spoke more Hispanic then we did Italian. I know all the Italian bad words cuz Mommy was quick to curse when you do what you want. I know all the bad words, but whenever Grandma's come over cuz Grandma always come over everyday everyday Grandma. My mother's mom was over everyday as long as my Aunt. Mary is. So whenever Grandma didn't want us to know what they were talking about. They talk in Italian. So we wouldn't know. But we know some words in Italian, but we know more than Hispanic because that's what we say is more. Yeah. Oh my gosh, so, I always go back to where they just love to celebrate and celebrate family. I remember every New Year's Eve.

34:34 Eve. It was very special because it was your dad's, you know, birthday. So I just remember as families. We would go. Every year we switch from house to house, but we, we would celebrate. So tell us a little bit about that and like, our New Year's Eve celebrations. Oh my goodness, 12 years old cuz I'm only a year older than you. So we would always go like you said, back and forth and they were wonderful family celebrations. We're also celebrating celebrating Thea's birthday. Your mom says, mom was the same time and so, we always celebrate it at your house or my house. And I remember one year, you remember that one time when there was a guy there who got drunk at your house and the guy, the guy was flirting with everybody.

35:34 And the music was playing, he was drunk as can be, and he took off the rate that the, the record that was playing at the Apollo, went up to him and said to him in Spanish. She says, hey, he says that's my, that's my record player. This is my house. She said just a little bit of that. I got. So the guy got smart and said no drugs, so I don't like I don't know how many minutes and the only person that saved him was poppy up some me to come here. Let me escort you out of here cuz my brother is going to kill you.

36:12 But we enjoy the right. Remember? We had a good day. Yeah, we would always end the evening in the prayer, right before New Year's Eve, the family would gather God, what, what he blessed us with for that year and it's true. We held hands in a circle and everybody would say something that is so true. That is so true.

36:35 Yeah, just a great love story. I always like to talk to you about. I would learn something a little new. Every time we talk about it. Thank you. And I also wanted to mention that my mom also used to work with the Electoral voting system in Rochester. You know how in different areas, where there is a dominant language, you need people to translate. So my mother would work there for those. So what was it? That one night day before or whatever? Ready? She would explain to them. How you bow, how you do a way to show me, you know, there was always a thing that showed the people that love her to class. So, Mommy will spend the whole day of the week is nowhere. She was so weird. Oh, be up here, but they're but, but I'll be back in the day to have a tab of candy with a polar bear on it. I don't know what candy that was. So people could get a candy after you voted. So yeah, yeah.

37:35 Deza, a crossing guard or for the school on Clinton Avenue, so we would not be up here but their two kids are waiting for you, waiting for you. So we'd be all up on the corner that she worked with her and our dog King waiting for her to walk home. But she did a crossing guard. She had her own uniform. They had to stick a police officer whistle the whole thing. So, she would, she was a person that's if they still see. You always love to be doing something. So, did my dad you were, you didn't mention that you were the only girl. And I also thank God you came along because I have somebody to play with, but yes, I hate group, my three brothers, and they say I was feisty, I don't remember fighting, but one that says that we would always, I would have spiked back with my brothers, please.

38:34 I hate you do defend myself. So I think I think we're almost towards the end of time of our conversation, but I think it's been a great, a great time, just reminiscing cuz it brings back great memories, and I know that when your mom, you know, left, she left too early. She passed and the family structure was never the same cuz I think she was the one that held it together because she was always so much energy. And just so much positivity and just love life and a very infectious. So, thank you. Thank you for saying that.