Audry Barriault and Julie Bresette

[00:02] JULIE BRISSETTE: Hi, my name is Julie Brissette. I'm 64 years old. Today's date is August 30, 2022. I'm in Bristol, New Hampshire, and I am Audrey's mother.

[00:16] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And I am Audrey Berriault. I'm 34. We're in Bristol, New Hampshire, and I am my mother's daughter. So thank you for meeting with me. I figured while you're visiting, I should take the opportunity to get a recording with you since this program is still going on and I'm in charge of it. So we'll just add another one to the list of recordings for this summer. So there's a bunch of questions I can ask you, but we have kind of a list of canned questions so I can ask you about raising me and.

[00:52] JULIE BRISSETTE: Oh, boy.

[00:53] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Sorry. We just stopped by our business to meet with our landlord, and my mom mentioned I was a stubborn kid, and then I mentioned I was a biter because it's true. But I think I was a good kid, other than the biting. So when did you first find out that you would be a parent? I guess that would be to Jed, my brother.

[01:13] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, your older brother. He was born in 85, and he was born when we lived in Florida, but we didn't stay there very long after he was born. We came back within a year and a half because I was homesick for Maine. So we came back and began raising him there. And then we had you about two years later.

[01:36] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And did you always want to be a parent?

[01:39] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, I did want to be a parent very much.

[01:45] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And, oh, this one says, do you remember when your last child left home for good? I think we've been back a few times.

[01:54] JULIE BRISSETTE: So it's, yeah, for good? I'm not sure.

[01:59] AUDREY BERRIAULT: So when you were growing up, when and where were you born?

[02:03] JULIE BRISSETTE: Where did what, when and where did I grow up? I was born in Rumford, Maine, and I was born in 1958. And I'd say that was a very good year. And the sixties were a great time to be growing up.

[02:18] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Oh.

[02:19] JULIE BRISSETTE: Mm hmm.

[02:20] AUDREY BERRIAULT: What were your favorite pastimes?

[02:21] JULIE BRISSETTE: I played with dolls. I played guitar. I like to make puzzles, ride my bicycle. We played outside a lot. Yeah. Never spent any time in the house at all. You could play outside till 08:00 p.m. and then you'd hear all the parents calling to the children, come on home.

[02:42] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And didn't you write a letter to one of the Beatles when you were little?

[02:45] JULIE BRISSETTE: I did. I did. I was about five when the Beatles were popular, and I love Paul McCartney, so I wrote him a letter my mother said she mailed it, but I really doubt that she ever did. But I fully expected a reply. Yeah. Yeah. The Beatles were cool.

[03:02] AUDREY BERRIAULT: What other bands did you listen to?

[03:05] JULIE BRISSETTE: Herman and the Hermits and the Partridge family. I'm not sure. David Cassidy. I don't know if that was the name of the band. Partridge. Yeah, the Partridge family. And, boy, I had older brothers and sisters that loved music, so we had a lot of record albums in the house, so the righteous brothers my sister loved, so I would listen to them. Yeah.

[03:32] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Tell me about your siblings.

[03:33] JULIE BRISSETTE: My siblings, they were all, the closest one to me is eight years older or nine years older. So they like to say I was raised as an only child because when I was about six is when my sister left for college and my brother was in 8th grade when I was starting kindergarten, because I remember he walked me to school for that, like, first year, and then he was gone into high school. And then one brother passed away a few years ago. And my sister and one brother live in Florida and the other brother lives near Chicago.

[04:10] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Michael.

[04:11] JULIE BRISSETTE: Michael.

[04:11] AUDREY BERRIAULT: No. Yes. Michael designed the greeting cards.

[04:14] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes. He worked for Hallmark.

[04:15] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yes.

[04:16] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yep.

[04:16] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Interesting. I remember he visited once and he tried telling us that shoebox was like, shoebox was a ripoff of his idea or something like that. But are you still friends with any of your childhood friends?

[04:32] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, I am, actually. I found one on Facebook through an aunt. She kind of found me and we were friends in high school, childhood. There's one that I'm friends with on Facebook, though. We never see each other, but, you know, we know I sent her some pictures of when she was at my little birthday parties when I was a kid. So they're still around and that's pretty much it.

[04:57] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Everyone's. Or do you think most of them are still in Rumford?

[05:01] JULIE BRISSETTE: Only actually the two that I just mentioned are still in Rumford.

[05:08] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Did you have a nickname?

[05:11] JULIE BRISSETTE: No, just Julie.

[05:12] AUDREY BERRIAULT: That's lucky, because mine was pooper scooper, so. And no one asked me, so. And I still don't know how I got it. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

[05:27] JULIE BRISSETTE: I wanted to. It's funny how things come true. I wanted to just travel in a van across the country playing music. And I never. I always thought, well, how am I going to make a living out of that? Oh, I'm not sure. But yeah, but I think because my.

[05:44] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I.

[05:45] JULIE BRISSETTE: My father was a millworker, my mother was a nurse, and they worked the same job 35 years. And so I think I was looking at a more adventurous life. But careful what you're wishing for.

[05:57] AUDREY BERRIAULT: You might be living in a camper one.

[05:59] JULIE BRISSETTE: I am.

[06:03] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Tell me about your work life. So you worked in a bank?

[06:06] JULIE BRISSETTE: I did work in banking for 30 years, but prior to that I started working when I was twelve. I was a dust girl in a little general store in Mexico, Maine. And I went in and asked for the job. Do you need any help? I'd love to work for you. And they gave me a feather duster and they said, you can dust all the cans, you know, once a week or whatever. And I was a bartender and a waitress, and that was a lot of fun. And I worked at SeaWorld in Florida. And that was a lot of fun. I was in the catering department, but that was just an awesome, fun job. And then I went into banking. Banking is good for moms because it was kind of like mom hours instead of. But I used to leave Jed home with dad when I worked at SeaWorld because I worked nights. And he would take jed to the mall and Jed was so cute, and all the girls would come up to him and say, oh, what a cute baby. And so he kind of liked my job at SeaWorld.

[07:04] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I remember seeing pictures of you. You had like a, like a pomfron moo moo. Is that what you wore?

[07:10] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes. Yes. And actually, at SeaWorld, three of us were pregnant at the same time. So my mom back in Maine, I bought the cloth and mailed it back to her and she made us matching, almost like jumpers or Mumu's that matched the regular uniforms of people.

[07:26] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Like a shamu moo.

[07:27] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, shamoomoo. How cute. Yeah.

[07:33] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And then you went into banking and you. I still remember the smell of all the banks you worked at. There's a very specific money bank.

[07:40] JULIE BRISSETTE: Money smell. Yeah, money smell. Money smell. Yeah. Yeah. Money is really dirty, nasty. And you know, we used to have to, like, if we ordered in $100,000 to the bank for the week that we needed, we had to fine count all that. So we would usually sit inside the vault, locked in the vault, fine counting all that money banding, and it became like it wasn't even money anymore. It was just another piece of paper. But I did a lot of different jobs in the bank. I was a teller, I was a trainer, I was an assistant manager, customer service. Then they stuck me in the basement because they figured out that I was really good at programming and I programmed the teller software. They sent us to Nebraska, me and a few other girls, to learn how to use the software. And that was really fun.

[08:29] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And I think Nebraska is the place. Did a fire alarm go off in the hotel? Couldn't. Because your hearing aids you didn't hear?

[08:38] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, the fire alarm went off. I didn't know it. I was sound asleep. And the next morning, it was a false alarm. So the next morning they told me, Julie, we're about ready to send somebody to get you because you didn't come down. I'm like, what? So they told me next time I had to register as a disabled guest if I ever went anyplace alone. Yeah, it was funny.

[09:01] AUDREY BERRIAULT: So you are hard of hearing. So you're reading lips right now?

[09:05] JULIE BRISSETTE: I am. And actually, the microphone is smack dab in front of your lips.

[09:10] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Okay, I'll enunciate, too.

[09:12] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, very important.

[09:14] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And so when did you start to lose hearing?

[09:17] JULIE BRISSETTE: Well, it was during school. Random testing in fourth grade, they discovered I was hard of hearing, and they said I must have been reading lips because I was tall. And in that school, they arranged everything by height, so I was always the last in line back of the classroom. But I did very well in school. So they said, you must be lip reading. You don't know it. And by the time I was 18, then I got my first hearing aids, and then I've worn them ever since.

[09:45] AUDREY BERRIAULT: What's the hardest part about being hard of hearing?

[09:49] JULIE BRISSETTE: Not being able to hear. No, actually, while during COVID it was the mask situation. It was, you know, even you saw yesterday at goodwill, I asked somebody else what somebody said, but they had a mask on, too. And I'm like, I give up. But it's embarrassing at times. I remember talking on the phone with a customer at one of the banks I worked at, and I was trying to ask him his Social Security number for id, and he was telling it to me, but I couldn't care. And he started getting angry at me, like, somebody else, please take this guy. So I'd say phone calls are very difficult and just in general, always having to see somebody's face. I don't care how loud they are because I think it's a habit, too. I'm just so used to it that it's like a security blanket to see the face.

[10:39] AUDREY BERRIAULT: What's the nice part about being hard of hearing?

[10:42] JULIE BRISSETTE: When I take these babies out at night, I don't hear a thing. There can be fireworks. There can be a loud party at the campsite next to us, you know, and I just. I'm sorry. I feel bad that I can't hear anything that's going on. But it's kind of wonderful.

[10:58] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yeah. I mean, you're very, you're a very quiet guest because as long as there's subtitles. This morning, you know that tv was on mute.

[11:06] JULIE BRISSETTE: I know, yeah, yeah. I had it on mute because you were still in sleep at first. And I'm like, as long as the subtitles are there, I don't really care about the sound. I can get it. I can, you know, get the drift.

[11:15] AUDREY BERRIAULT: You realize you don't miss it after a while. I think we watch tv for 3 hours and I never heard a word. You don't need it because you have subtitles on now that I always have them on for you. I can't hear unless I have them on.

[11:28] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, you get used to it. That visual cue. Yes. Hearing aids are, they're only supposed to last maybe five years a set. These that I have in now are ten years old. So I'm looking forward to being able to get a new set with Bluetooth and I can control it on my own app instead of going to an audiologist. And so I'm looking forward to that. Next year I'll get some new ones.

[11:54] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I know growing up, we'd go places and people would just think you were rude, but I'd have to go up behind them and they'd look at you and say, can I help you find something? You'd look around like, did someone just say something? No, probably not. And then just keep on going. And I'd have to go up to them and say, she can't hear you.

[12:10] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, yeah. One time at a little store, I was looking at sweaters or something. The woman was right behind me. You told me. She asked me three times, then she just gave up. Sometimes I wanted to have, like, a t shirt or something on the back. I actually saw an elderly man that said deaf and slow because he pedaled his bike around the campground. And that's really hard, too. You have to be careful if you're walking. Definitely. To listen for people behind you.

[12:39] AUDREY BERRIAULT: It does affect your balance too.

[12:41] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes.

[12:42] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I don't think people realize all your balance is in your ears.

[12:45] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes.

[12:45] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Because you often walk right into me when we're walking together.

[12:49] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, I do. I walk into everything.

[12:55] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And I know you said, like, you didn't want to work in a bank again because that change machine.

[12:59] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes. It was too noisy. People would come in with. Sometimes they would do, like, a sponsorship where people can donate coins. And this one man would come in with a five gallon bucket full of coin and dump it in this coin. Machine that was right in the lobby, and it was just so noisy. And if I happened to be even waiting on a customer at that time or on the phone or something like that, it was so that was kind of my reason that I gave them that. I just. I wasn't doing well, I wasn't doing them any favors, and I kind of didn't want to work there anymore. Anyway.

[13:37] AUDREY BERRIAULT: You said you did well in school. What was your favorite subject?

[13:43] JULIE BRISSETTE: Well, my favorite subject in school, once I hit, I can remember specifically hit 9th grade or junior high because I went to catholic school k through eight. So all the subjects were very, you know, just your reading, writing, math, penmanship. I was good at liked. But once I got into junior high, I liked psychology, and I took photography, where you had to go into a black room and do your own. You want to ask me? The worst subject was algebra. First f I ever got in my life, but I changed it to a b on my report card. And then, you know, and I did a good job, too. And then. But my mother got a call. Well, we'd like to talk to you about Julie's struggles with algebra. She's like, well, she got a b. No, she didn't. But anyway, they switched me to geometry. I just said, it just doesn't make sense. Oh, but you need it for college. I said, that's not really in my plans right now. So take me out of those courses and geometry. I did really well in something about the angles.

[14:49] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yeah, I remember I got a. Probably a 99. Same thing with algebra. When Justin and I first met, we tried to split the bills, and he says, I think you're doing this on purpose so that I pay for everything. I'm like, no, I'm really just not good at the math. I just can't do it. So because you went to catholic school, you. I saw you write. You wrote in your form that you consider yourself Christian. Mm hmm. But I thought you were buddhist at one point.

[15:18] JULIE BRISSETTE: I'm a multitude of things. Yep. But I know that. For instance, when your dad went in the service, he told them he was Baptist, but they wrote on his dog tag, no preference. And that I always bothered him. He says, no, I told you I went Baptist as Christian. It's just not Catholic. You know, it's a little bit different. So, yeah, I'm really more of a little bit of everything. But I think from my upbringing, I go with Christianity because it's more common.

[15:50] AUDREY BERRIAULT: But you didn't like catholic school, or did you like it?

[15:53] JULIE BRISSETTE: Well, the nuns were very strict. So it was probably a good thing. I mean, back then they could hit the boys on the hands with the rulers. They wore full habits right down to their ankles with a full veil on, great big crucifix down the front. And we went swimming once they took us on a field trip to a little park. And I was so excited because I'm like, are they going to swim in those abbots? And actually, the nun that was there had a bathing suit on. It was rather, you know, very modest. But she did have a bathing suit on. Like, hey, they have legs. Oh my goodness. But, yeah, so catholic school was good, but it made me very kind of fearful of going into public school because it's a whole different set of kids. Like generally the kids in the catholic school were there from k through eight. Right. With you. And then public school was, you know, going to be something different. I told you about, like phys ed. We didn't have phys ed in catholic school. That was playground time. You go out on the playground, you play. Got to 9th grade and we had to actually take phys ed, which meant, you know, running and going on the balance beam and, you know, all that stuff. And I just did not like that at all. I didn't like changing with the other girls in the locker room and. Yeah.

[17:14] AUDREY BERRIAULT: So did you get out of it?

[17:15] JULIE BRISSETTE: I actually did. I came up with a backache, truly. I think I truly had a backache. But the, the doctor took my mother in the room after he talked with me for a while. He, he just said, oh, he told her to make sure I had a firmer mattress. And he wrote me a note to be out of phys ed basically for the rest of my high school years. So that means I had an extra block and I graduated early. Come senior year, I was out of school by April because I just didn't have those blocks to fill in with phys ed. I had extra credits.

[17:49] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Must be nice.

[17:50] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, it was.

[17:51] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yeah. Never heard that story before. This week I went to all my phys ed classes.

[17:56] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes.

[17:58] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Do you have an experience with God or a higher power in your life? Do you see signs?

[18:05] JULIE BRISSETTE: Do I see signs? I think sometimes I have intuition and yeah, I do a lot of praying. Not sure exactly who I'm praying to, but I'm praying to somebody or something. And I think when things are going really smoothly, that's when you're on the right path. But if things aren't going smoothly, then you're on the wrong path and it's somebody trying to tell you, get on the right path. So, yeah, I do a lot of praying.

[18:38] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Let's talk about marriage and partnerships. How did you meet your spouse?

[18:43] JULIE BRISSETTE: The spouse I'm married to now. Oh, this is a lovely story. In Bethel, Maine, they were having what they call Malayakit day. It was a big summer celebration, and I worked at the Bethel Inn at the time. I was the bar manager, so I was dressed up in an indian costume. I had this arrow going through my head and I was right into it. And I was the manager, so I had to be right into it. And your dad came up to get a beer. We were on the outside and there was a rope around the perimeter. And I'm like, who's this hunky guy? Because Bethel's a town of 1000 people. And I told him, here you go, sir, but you can't leave the perimeter. He goes, okay, and what's he do? Step right over the rope. So classic bad boy. You know, you like a bad boy trait for a minute. So when he came up to get another one, I said, you really can't leave the perimeter. It's our license. So just sit down over there, keep an eye on you. And then that was it. That was love at first sight. But he had this little, he had this little boy with him on his motorcycle. And I'm like, I just can't figure out the child. He said, oh, that's my son from my first marriage. I'm like, oh, okay. So. And he had two sons by his first marriage. And little Andrew was probably twelve at the time, or ten or something like that.

[20:04] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Is that when you lived in the cabin?

[20:06] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, I lived in a cabin in Bethel with no running water, which is why I'm so flexible to this day. Oh, it had running water, but you had to pump it with a hand pump. And it had a toilet that ran on propane, and it was called a destroylet. And it actually burned your stuff. And every now and then you had to clean the ashes out of it. And I had a wood stove, and I rented this cabin for $50 a month, which, I mean, even in 79, that was pretty good. But I considered myself a little bit of a handyman. So the deal was I was gonna put this paneling up inside the cabin for the owner, and that was the trade off for the cheap rent. And I did it. I had some friends help me with it. Then dad moved in within a couple weeks, and then he did a little bit more remodeling in there.

[20:54] AUDREY BERRIAULT: So he moved in within a couple weeks.

[20:56] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, you did.

[20:57] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Of meeting him?

[20:58] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes.

[20:58] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Okay.

[20:59] JULIE BRISSETTE: That's what we did in 79.

[21:03] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Well, I met my husband on Craigslist, so I really don't have anything I can say about that. And how did. How were you proposed to?

[21:14] JULIE BRISSETTE: Well, I was pregnant, I think I. No, no, it was my mother. We lived in Florida. We had been down there for about three years. And I wanted a baby so bad. I became pregnant with Jed and I called my mom and I said, hey, mom, guess what? I'm pregnant. You getting married? And I said, well, she wants to know if we're getting married. He goes, I guess, yes. So, yeah, so that's how.

[21:41] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And tell me about your wedding.

[21:43] JULIE BRISSETTE: We lived in Florida, but we wanted to get married. We came up to Maine to get married so that our parents wouldn't have to come to Florida. And so they arranged for us to get the license and everything since I couldn't really do anything from down there. And we got married at this justice of the pieces farmhouse in Westbrook, Maine. And it was very, very simple ceremony. Little Andrew was there with us, too. And then we went to his mom and dad's house and had beans and hot dogs. And then he left for hunting for a week the next morning. But it was such a trip to come home to Maine, so he was gone and I was visiting with my old friends. So, you know, my first marriage, I was married when I was 19. I had the gown, the white gown. I had three bridesmaids. He had ushers. Big catholic wedding. We did all that already. So, you know, I was happy to. Want to hear about the third one. No. Yeah, well, see, one time I divorced your dad. Well, then we got married again to each other two years later. This one was in the south Portland city hall, and we were behind a lady getting her dog licensed. And you need witness and justice of the peace or whatever. So I think that lady was one of the witnesses. So that was, you know, that was kind of simple. But he never really left. We divorced, but I think he was gone a week. And it was very. It was so amicable that I said, sure, come on back in.

[23:14] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And I think you both split the divorce fee.

[23:17] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, it wasn't much. I didn't use a lawyer or anything. $5 each or something, something like that. He was at the kitchen table with me and I go, here, you served. So it was so amicable. But, yeah, and we've been married. That was in 2011 because we wanted to go to Alaska. So part of the thing was getting remarried and, you know, then we took off and went to Alaska and then did a lot of traveling. So that's been eleven years since then. Wow.

[23:48] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Well, I remember at my wedding when they did the married couples dance and I saw you guys dancing and they keep naming off, okay, if you've been married a day or less, sit down. Or if you've been married a year or less. And then when they got up to around the 25 mark, I saw my dad go. I saw him mouth the words, how long's it been? And I saw you go. In total.

[24:07] JULIE BRISSETTE: In total. Or do we divide it into one piece and the other piece? Yeah. A long time. So now we've been together. We met in 81. So more than 40 years. That's a long time.

[24:21] AUDREY BERRIAULT: It was a very long time.

[24:22] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes. Yes.

[24:23] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And what were the best times that you've had?

[24:28] JULIE BRISSETTE: Having new kids. Oh, living in one town for 20 years, that was really nice. And, you know, just having a nice, very normal home, I think. I mean, I was, I worked. You kids had to go to daycare. I always felt bad about that, but we always had a supper at night. You kids did your activities. I think it was quite normal. So those are the good times, seeing you guys do so well, growing up and going to your activities and all of that stuff.

[25:00] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Well, you did a good job.

[25:01] JULIE BRISSETTE: Thank you.

[25:03] AUDREY BERRIAULT: What advice do you have for young couples?

[25:07] JULIE BRISSETTE: Communication is key. And, like, I don't know if it's a man thing or what. They don't seem to listen. They seem to get distracted really easily. Like, I know I have to say, listen, you know, we need to talk for a minute and just shut the tv off and just listen. And I can see, you know, he gets a little fidgety after a few minutes, but that's just really important because you can say something and they either don't believe you or they don't listen. Patience. That's another really important virtue. You're never going to change anybody. You're not going to change anybody else. So you have to either, I say that serenity prayer a lot, because you have to either accept what they're doing or decide that you're not going to accept that and move away from it.

[25:54] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I thought you had said it was just because we are both married to Capricorns, right?

[25:59] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes. Yes. That's a very big capricornian thing. They're ruled by Saturn. They can be. That's the grumpy us. Actually, Saturn is the grumpiest ruler because they're very serious. They don't like and I don't know, and of course, they have other signs in there mixed in with their planets, and I don't see Justin as being very grumpy. I think as they get older, they get grumpier. But it's just, I know I used to study quite a bit about astrology, and I do believe in it, and I think I, knowing that Saturn is the very strong, strict ruler, they don't accept many variations to the norm. It's like this way. So. Yeah.

[26:43] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And you're a Taurus?

[26:45] JULIE BRISSETTE: I am.

[26:46] AUDREY BERRIAULT: What are the traits of a Taurus?

[26:47] JULIE BRISSETTE: Taurus is very stubborn, and we're also an earth sign, so we mix well with capricorns. Scorpio, as yourself, also mixes well with capricorns, for whatever reason. The problem is I'm very alpha. You know, I just, I'm stubborn and I know how to do it, and I want to do it my way. And, for instance, if we were building a house together or doing work together on the house or doing whatever, he wants to be the alpha, too. And so somebody's got to give, because you can't both be in charge all the time. So, yeah, that's really hard.

[27:22] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Do you have any favorite stories from your marriage about your spouse?

[27:28] JULIE BRISSETTE: Favorite toys?

[27:32] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Stories.

[27:36] JULIE BRISSETTE: Oh, favorite stories. Oh, my God. I have a million. I have a million stories. I can't really think of any right now. He's, he's quite a builder, your dad is. He's, like I said, we built houses while we were living in them, and, oh, one story, we were living up in north Norway, up in the woods, and he got home from, no, he was out there cutting down a tree or something with his chainsaw. And I got home from work and I decided to run over and give him a big hug, like, hi, I'm home. And he's like, don't hug me in public. So I latched onto him anyway, and we both fell down my pants, landed on the chainsaw, and I snagged them. And so that was really kind of funny because somebody did ride by and I'm like, see, if you would just let me give you a hug, this would happen.

[28:27] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Oh, I remember when you were Miss Pothole.

[28:32] JULIE BRISSETTE: I was Miss Pothole, and I won a prize. I was actually going to ask the newspaper in the town if they had a picture they can bring, get pictures of all that. I mean, that was a giant pothole. But he was second runner up because he found the next biggest pothole. So, which is kind of funny for, you know. What are you doing this weekend? I'm going to look for big potholes, but I want a birdhouse and some other things. Yeah, it was fun, but we didn't.

[28:59] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Win a new road.

[29:00] JULIE BRISSETTE: No way. I think that pothole is still there, probably. Yeah.

[29:05] AUDREY BERRIAULT: It was a good place to grow up, though. I would say in north Norway, it was really. You have to grow up in the woods. I would say.

[29:12] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes.

[29:12] AUDREY BERRIAULT: It did take a long time to go to the grocery store, though.

[29:15] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes. Yes. And then during that ice storm, it took them seven days to get to us. We were starting to chase, seeing the power trucks around, like, are you going to my house today? Come on. Because we stayed in the mobile home for that seven days. We heated with a kerosene heater. We heated up soup on top of the kerosene heater, and we went to the shelter for one night. I don't know if you remember that.

[29:40] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Oh, I remember there was a guy there with a knife.

[29:43] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah. Machete. He's, like, on the cot next to us. He's like, don't worry, I have this. And we're like, oh, we're very worried. But we went and took a shower there. But, no, we would rather be home. Plus, we had two dogs, so we had to do something with them.

[30:01] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Did you have any questions for me?

[30:05] JULIE BRISSETTE: I would say, what are summer? What are some of your favorite memories from growing up?

[30:16] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I always liked Halloween. I remember Pleasant street. Talking about the other day was the best street, I think, anywhere that you could. Trick or treat. Remember one year we. I don't remember ever buying a costume. Right?

[30:31] JULIE BRISSETTE: No, we always made it.

[30:32] AUDREY BERRIAULT: We never bought a costume.

[30:34] JULIE BRISSETTE: Never. No, you made it.

[30:35] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I think we found a photo once. I think Justin. Justin. Jed was supposed to be a ninja turtle. I don't know if he really looked like. No, I think you just put a cardboard box on his back with a.

[30:46] JULIE BRISSETTE: Belt, maybe something like that. He might have had the mask.

[30:49] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I think he had a.

[30:50] JULIE BRISSETTE: You a little red riding Hood.

[30:52] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I was. Or a rock star.

[30:54] JULIE BRISSETTE: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that one.

[30:56] AUDREY BERRIAULT: But I remember one year, the best costume was someone gave you a rat costume. Do you remember that?

[31:03] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yes, yes, yes. I think my sister somebody or someone's.

[31:08] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Kid used it for a recital. Yeah, it was a full rat. Full rat.

[31:13] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah.

[31:14] AUDREY BERRIAULT: That was a good one.

[31:15] JULIE BRISSETTE: That was cute.

[31:17] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yeah. So Halloween and playing outside with Jed, which, looking back, I was really mean to him. I wouldn't play with him. But I remember one time he played outside, I had a banana seat bicycle, and he had made a little jump for his mountain bike, and I was too scared to go over the jump, he's like, you just have to. You just have to go fast. And I thought I was going fast, but I was going really slow. And as soon as the front tire went over that jump, I just fell completely over. And those were heavy.

[31:43] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah.

[31:43] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Banana seat bikes were very heavy.

[31:45] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah.

[31:46] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I think that's the last memory I have of playing outside with him. But.

[31:49] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, yeah.

[31:50] AUDREY BERRIAULT: But Halloween, especially in holidays, and there was always snow. I remember there always being snow around Christmas. Now there's not so much anymore, but we always had a white Christmas and stuff.

[32:03] JULIE BRISSETTE: We play with big tree and all of that. Candles in the windows. Yep.

[32:10] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Well, that's all I had for you, mom.

[32:13] JULIE BRISSETTE: Okay, well, thank you, Audrey. It's been so nice talking with you today.

[32:17] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Shane has a question. Yes.

[32:21] JULIE BRISSETTE: What did you mean by that?

[32:22] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Well, I am like, I was just saying, the other day we went out to eat, and I realized sometimes I'll do things, and the way, like, my mannerisms, I just go, oh, my God, my mother would do this. But I remember we both sat down at the same exact time. We cut a burger in half the exact same way, and then we both moved our legs and crossed our legs the same exact time. And I just thought, oh, my gosh. But no matter what, you can always count on, I think, becoming your mom.

[32:47] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, I think so. A lot of times I'll do something and my husband will go, you look just like your mother. Meaning my mother. Whether it's the way I hold my hand or point. Remember the time she told you, Audrey, get out of my chair. And she, you know, she just doesn't mean to be mean. She just had a very abrupt and, you know, hey, she's 70 years old. Let her have a chair.

[33:08] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yeah, yeah. Everyone that talks about their grandparents, I'm like, I mean, it's been a long time since she was gone, but I remember I'd sit down and it was just like, how long are you guys gonna be here? I was like, okay, well, well, glad.

[33:21] JULIE BRISSETTE: To see you too.

[33:22] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yes. But she. The way she showed love is by making things right.

[33:25] JULIE BRISSETTE: Oh, my goodness.

[33:26] AUDREY BERRIAULT: I don't think she ever said, I love you, but she made every dress for every occasion. We never bought any special clothes. She made that dollhouse it took her two years to make. She always made all my dolls.

[33:38] JULIE BRISSETTE: Clothes. Yes, matching outfits. Like, you had that dress and your little doll. That gingham dress and little doll had one. Yeah. She made furniture. Yeah. She was so crafty. And you take after her.

[33:50] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yes.

[33:50] JULIE BRISSETTE: She would be so proud. I didn't take out. I can be crafty if I want to be, but I don't just have that natural inclination that I want to do it. I do it if I have to do it. But, yeah, she was definitely crafty.

[34:03] AUDREY BERRIAULT: And she sewed all of your clothes, like you said, Friday nights, you'd go downtown and pick out something, and then she'd just go home and make it.

[34:10] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, I wanted something store bought, you know, a dress or anything. Now, I know that was really silly. Like, for instance, wool coats. Every winter we had a new. I had a new wool coat. She would have one too. And then for fall, we would have a wool blend. So not quite wool, because you don't quite need wool. And then in spring, the Easter outfits were amazing. I had one. I remember it was a white and green dress with a bright green cape that went over it. And then she even took a straw hat she bought and made matching ribbons to go on it, so. Yeah. And everybody knew, you know. Oh, look at Gertrude's little girl. And. Oh, did your mother make that? Oh, you're so lucky. But I want something store bought. But, yeah, now, I appreciate all those things.

[34:56] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Yeah. And she made. I remember she made me a bonnet for Easter. Remember the cakewalk? They had a cakewalk at the bank, which I don't even remember what that is now, but it was like an Easter cakewalk. And I remember she made me a bonnet that had all the eggs.

[35:08] JULIE BRISSETTE: Oh, yeah.

[35:09] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Plastic eggs on it.

[35:10] JULIE BRISSETTE: Yeah, yeah. And she even made jed. He's got a little, like, a suit coat and a little vest. He's about six. And, yeah, she could sew anything. Yeah. Do you see yourself in Audrey? Oh, I do. I do. And it's really funny. Like, I love playing with photo filters. It's just how I get my creativity out without making much noise. You know, I'm in 200 sqft, so I have to do things that are kind of quiet. And I. So I'll play with these photo apps and I'll take myself and, you know, put like a wig or makeup or anything. They always end up looking like her. And I've even shown one to somebody else, and it looks just like Audrey. Yeah. So I think between the height and, you know, everything, and, like she said, some of the characteristics. Yes.

[36:01] AUDREY BERRIAULT: Shane can see it. All right. Thank you, mom.

[36:06] JULIE BRISSETTE: You're very welcome. Odge.