Mary Emeny and Steve Long

00:00 My name is Steve long.

00:03 I'm 69. I'll be 17 in February.

00:07 I today's date is August, 31st, 2021 and I live and right now I'm in Garden City, Kansas.

00:18 My conversation partner is Mary.

00:23 I did not know her before tonight. I'm hoping to become more acquainted with her.

00:30 And my name is Mary emeny. I'm 78.

00:34 Today's date is August, 31st 2021. I'm in Amarillo, Texas and my conversation partner is Steve and the same. I'm looking forward to our conversation and maybe hopefully a picture of friendship development.

00:50 Well, I'm glad to meet you. Glad to meet you, too.

00:56 So I'm a little bit nervous as well.

01:09 I listen to MPR going to work in the morning and and you know, they express a lot of opinions. I think that I don't agree with what I'm thinking. There are gods are people in this country who probably agree that way. I'd like to know why and maybe come to understanding what's your work? I'm a carpenter carpenter build houses, and I'm I drive about 35 miles to where we're building right now. What made you want to do this interview today, Mary?

01:51 Not 100%. But I tend to more agree with, with, with the perspective of.

01:57 Age of public radio.

02:03 The way I see, particularly us here in the center of the country, is that we know how to work work together outside of political views to solve problems. And we do it very well. And at least I, at least I see that here in Amarillo, a lot. We have no politics and city government and I know that people have very different views and I and we work together on projects all the time and I was so that's that's that's some one of my, one of the duties. I think about living in this part of the country. I find this to be true of the central part of the country. That's a lot of the people living closer to the coast, tend to be much more polarized in there.

02:41 Hey, do you know it's not necessarily the way this thing but in the way they

02:48 Will function.

02:52 I guess. I think that

02:55 That that like you say, maybe the innocence of the United States. I think I think the people on the coast really don't understand us. I think they see. I think they were being a pretty shocked about recent while recent Cesar will last previous years of the web politics of gone. I think they were surprised by that that I just don't think they know us.

03:30 Aya.

03:33 So what's it? What kind of what kind of issues?

03:39 Well, I guess we're supposed to read each other's bio.

03:51 Our surprise that people would would adhere to her or believe what kind of can you?

04:00 It's hard to. It's hard to point us at what I

04:07 Some some, I guess I, I think that

04:12 I think I detect a tone, maybe, you know.

04:19 I, I am I consider myself to be pretty conservative and all of my political thinking, but I'm trying to be open to

04:33 To the fact that this is a democracy and it's going to be, you know, who you know, what, what is the vote. And so I don't know.

04:44 I guess and that and maybe I'm a little

04:47 I guess I'm uncertain. I don't know. What about you?

04:57 Yeah, I mean, I guess politically I should have 10 to agree. But boy I see mistakes all over the place and some things that I see see, you know, totally agree with on all sides when I when I listen to any kind of news reports.

05:24 Or even do you know conversations from congressmen and the president and people in Congress and the national, the federal car is just like I'm like, they don't even understand where I am where you know, what about my about my life about you know me just getting up and going to work. They don't really understand that.

05:49 Right. I mean, I really like this. Do you ever listen to the Thomas Jefferson hour? It's been a long time. I did enjoy that. I have to make a special effort because, you know, is I, I listen to public radio going to and from work and that's all Genesis.

06:07 What I really appreciate about about his perspective. Is that is that? Yes, I will go do my my duty in Congress, but then I'm going home, and lifetime, political lifetime, political leader of people who get into Congress and wanted to be a lifetime career. I think it's totally wrong. They start in their twenties as a poll Watcher and then they move up to work for a congressman. And then eventually there in Congress and and they're there forever. I think that's a mistake to it.

06:45 There's there's value. There's some value. In short of, what do you call it?

06:51 Just a continuity, but but I really think.

07:00 The national retirement age should also be through. So sorry. I was interested about your bio. Okay, and we were I think we're supposed to read our partners Bayou. And so I'm going to read your bio and how much weight would I be interested in learning more about it? Cuz it says here that you grew up in a quite wealthy suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, but started visiting Texas. When you are a six, my mother that your mother's father was sent.

07:38 They're in 1880 to oversee fencing. The first Ranch in Texas, working in Tanzania and Vietnam in the 60s shaped. A lot of who I am also work with Habitat for Humanity on since then other work sticking to improve our community. I'm a widow with three children and three grandchildren. I live on the edge of the rent that has been in our family since 1880. So tell me about your working and I and your you are 8 years older than me. And and, and when so will tell me about your work in Tanzania Vietnam application, but it never came. And in the meantime, I heard about learn about a similar program run by the the American friends service committee.

08:35 And once I touch base with them, it was like, okay, I'm stuck. I'm hooked on this and so they had this program, the Peace Corps took took the summit.

08:50 Similar to the Peace Corps except that we were set out. Individually is instead of a just Peace Corps kids were and I wanted to get that point. I want to get as far away from home as I could. So Tanzania from Cleveland is about as far as I could get. So what what did you do there?

09:09 Lowest level of the Community Development hierarchy of the government of Tanzania, which started by job description. Was there to help teaching women, you know, cooking and cleaning and that kind of stuff. It was really an excuse, It's a 21 year old to learn a heck of a lot, you know, to really live in a culture where you didn't know the language. You didn't know your way around. You really have to be dependent on other people. And so is really it's, it's it's, it's one of those things where where you go, you go thinking, you're going to do good and and you end up on my gosh, you know, I'm here because I need to learn a whole lot of lessons quickly. So it was more like that for me while we were in Tanzania because they were the Quakers. The

10:00 The guys in the program or a conscientious objector to the draft and we were asked to our group, we get together. We are scattered around the country, but we will get together twice a year for a week. And one of these times we were we were we were there and we were one of these unit meetings we call them. We were asked to discuss the possibility of sending a group into Vietnam.

10:24 And we'll just before the u.s. Involved in the war.

10:34 I got back from Tanzania in 66 and in the summer of 67 went to be enough. So I was there for close to a year after the big ten offensive in our program actually got pulled out because it was impossible to keep. We we were scattered at 23 weeks for the telegram to get to me. And then I'm saying and get there. And in the meantime, I found a way to stay left, but they have found a way to come back. And so for the last four months, I worked through the right where the food refugee camp. So so, so different level of experience of of of education, but I was able to do a little bit more useful in that, in that context, is it turned out?

11:25 And yeah, so that's that's that. So, so that's, that's impressive. That's, that's really impressive. As it was a calling. It was definitely calling. And you know, what you're doing stuff, because you feel like a privilege, which is which it did. Let me read yours. I'm nearly two years old. I'm in my second marriage. My first wife died in 1998 and I Was A Bachelor for 11 years. I'm a carpenter. I'm still working full-time but have plans to retire at the end of 2022.

12:04 Lived in 10 year for 10 years and Houston, but other than that, I've always lived in Western Kansas. I have seven children. Craig's Rental, that's impressive. First Watch, Amaya. My youngest son was 3 years old. When my my oldest daughter had was attending. Oh, are you? Are you familiar with? Or are you? And it's also it's okay. And so she was why she would have been 22 cuz she was born in 76. So I got there. I had, I had kids spread from the 22 to the age of three. And so, how many did you have actually at home?

12:55 At that point. I thought at that time at home, I had.

13:00 Abstain from that there were four at home. I have five at home at that time in high school. Hey, hey, daughter and Junior High and I send my my son who I have a son who lives with us. Now. He's has Asperger's Asperger's is okay. So, you know, he has hard time dealing socially well, and so he was, you know, and so he was just having a hard time in school at that time and then to younger that weren't in school at all.

13:41 My family stepped in and, and

13:48 They all they all move to live with my with, with my family. So it where we split up for a. And where and that is Crate. A lot of

14:01 Hardship, I guess I don't know if even a word to express. It should have what? We have it resolved. We haven't got a resolution on all of that difficulty from that time, that they may take a lifetime and you know, where we work at. It just a little bit at a time and that's what we've got. But

14:24 That stuff. So yeah, so they're all they're all grown now, right?

14:30 They are, they are my youngest was born in 95. So he's not 27. Are they, are they nearby? Or they know that? I know he lives with his. The only one that's close to sign in Seattle, Washington area of New York State. My daughter who went to Oru, she just like Tulsa. And so she just stayed and then I have my two youngest are in Colorado and you're not, you're not far far away, but still too far really too.

15:18 My daughter in salsa has for boys ages 15 to 9. And then she has homeschool them all the time. She was home-schooled until she was an eighth grader. And so she home-schooled to catch you. She she was having some difficulty.

15:41 Getting them to understand that, you know, sometimes she was teacher and sometimes she was Mom. And so she put him in public school and after about a year it just, you know, she could, she could tell that, they they picked up an attitude from, you know, and just so so she brought them all home and I and actually covid start about that time too. And so it was easy to bring them home. So they live. They live in New Haven.

16:19 My daughter is a pediatrician and she's working a grant funding Clinic up there and her husband actually teaches philosophy. So that's Boston right now.

16:39 New Haven.

16:41 Is a square. A real? Is that where you're at? And that's not in Boston though. I did not know that. I just thought he was in Boston. I, I want something.

16:57 Jails in New Haven, and I have never

17:04 I bet that's pretty nice.

17:06 A scenery up there. I've never been there. Cleveland was like the was called the Western Reserve of Connecticut because after World After the Revolution everybody who fought was given land in Connecticut, ran out of space. They got some of this in the northeast Ohio, looks like a little Connecticut. I mean, the architecture has to stay in the street light out to the, say, all this stuff is very similar similar. So yeah, so so she's upset. She's up there. They, they tend to be much more environmentally conscious than we are out here. They have two different pins in a recycle bin in a regular band, but they have this wonderful about a mile-and-a-half from their house. Is this big Reservoir that is just a joy to go down and

18:06 Watch you see all this because because it has a whole bunch of parents. I was there in the spring and watch five different hair and building nests, and they say, there's a whole Facebook group that says, okay, the talks about the Harris and there's a pair of swans that live on that Lake and you watch these babies grow. And that is so cool for kids, remind me of when my kids were small, we lived in a, I mean, it's all real with, you know, Garden. City is bigger than rural, I think. But we lived in a place called a small pattern, 40 people. And and and we had these cats with kept outside. We fed him out there in the raccoons would come up on the back porch, and eat that. And my kids got such a charge watching those raccoons, and the, and the cats really facing each other off on the back pool show.

19:07 They got a kind of a nice neighborhoods. It's sort of Sandwich between two, rather major roads. It has been Thursday. There is a family of fox living under one of the forces of the neighborhood. And so are everyday. The Facebook thing. You called Fox News would go out.

19:29 Still up the yeah, that is really cool. Let's go.

19:37 Well, I my uncle has been doing genealogy for 40 years long before computers available on computers. So he got me interested in genealogy about 5 years ago. And we've done some genealogy day trips. We, you know, there's a a website for a place called find a grave. And it's, you know, you just and most grazing, United States have been photographed or not are on our lawn line already. With all, I want to do Gina genealogist, a friend, my family down. Maya Maya. My mom is second generation in the United States on both sides from Germany.

20:30 Her, her parents are her grandparents all immigrated in the one in the 1870s and one in the 1890s and other Lutheran background.

20:47 They came straight to Kansas. They have sponsors in Kansas and they came straight to Kansas. They ended up in the middle of Kansas, kind of a south and east of the line a little bit. If you got a picture for that, sat enough, my wife, my family, my family immigrated both sides about the same time, but their Mennonite Brethren and they end up in the same county is the interest in the in traffic, but they never knew each other. They never knew it because there are different religions.

21:28 Anyway, so that my, my dad's family has been the United States since the 17 early 1700s on both sides. And so you're trying to run around that stuff down and that's what I end up doing. Probably is.

21:49 Again.

21:52 English and Irish English, Irish and Scottish. I just got in the mail today. A set of maps of Ireland with all of the names of all the people in in the lungs are in there. So I've got to check that all out of fun.

22:17 What, what do you do with your spare time?

22:28 Okay, thank you. So long time but I still get to do part of that. I'm involved in a very well to my church, which is Episcopalian at this point and then quite a ba there and and then a number of different you do projects around around your room. But what am I sore vocations is is I've been practicing Tai Chi since 25 years. I g i t. S o i t spell

23:09 Self-defense right where it is, but it's also it's it. It is a martial art but it works on it, but it's also really good. And the way they teach it for

23:20 For aging people because you keep your body limber and moving and it's not it's really we don't do it for for fighting or 4. I'm here for to keep your balance good. So so so I do that and then I'm involved with the project in Amarillo.

23:50 What did you learn from them? That is a hard question for me to answer. I grew up without much of a father figure. I hoped that my older cousins could be my older brothers, as the oldest of seven and I didn't have a father figure. I mean he was there but he wasn't there too much either. And then,

24:18 So, you know, I've been in a bouncing around I don't you know, it's hard to say who anybody, I will say this. Okay, that when I was about 23, I gave my life to Jesus Christ as my savior. And at that time, I thought I was a Democrat. But because of abortion, I chose to, to vote, Republican that year. And you know, when it was, it ran against Jimmy, Carter. I forget, who that was now, but anyway, afford in that election and and I voted Republican ever since that basis, based on that single.

25:12 And I think that's,

25:15 I am the biggest inspiration in my life. I guess is has just been my pastors, you know, since that time.

25:24 That led me to stay on the straight and narrow and keep on, Keep On Keepin On.

25:34 Have been so easy to quit. We when we watch a Vietnam, we went there, several people there, but it was really, the impetus was a Buddhist monk named it yet on, who was the first Vietnamese to come to this country and speak out against the war. He was never allowed to go back again by anybody until 2007, and he's back there at his home, for go to now, kind of major stroke. And he's just kind of waiting to die.

26:17 But certainly his philosophy was is one that I've lived by deeply and it was basically, he wrote this, this problem. The enemy is not people who kill people, who live with them, you know, the enemy is, ignorance is snow and I'm down so that, that whole philosophy in a whole way of working and living,

26:43 And just I lived in home for me was in denial, was a Buddhist orphanage. And so just living in that culture was was was influential on the way. I see the world and they're very is seeing that everything is interconnected in this. You can't anyone issues that is if you look more deeply is totally collected connected to do a whole whole range of issues and we can't be without each other. So so so that's been a huge influence for me. The other one was I was actually on the founding Board of Habitat for Humanity Millard Fuller who started that was that was a huge influence on me.

27:35 Oh, he was he was something else, you have something else. So so that was in terms of his passion and went through a page of days of not seeing.

27:53 Christianity is being totally hypocritical and not wanting to deal with it much more much, more drawn to

27:59 To the Buddhist and then later to the other, you know, and his perspective was the first one that that made sense to me, is, is okay. This is what more of what it's supposed to be about, you know, so so he was a huge influence.

28:21 Anyways, that's that's kind my background.

28:28 So in your own words, can you describe your personal political values?

28:41 A friend of mine who has a friend, who I knew. When I first moved to Amarillo.

28:49 Great. Big lanky guy who was a farmer basically and he taught Sunday school at the big Baptist Church here. He said about

29:02 You do you talk about the ark? Okay? Whose job it is. Is it today to muck the Stalls? Right? And he would have that that kind of respect and he's but he was also, he was the County Democratic County Democratic committee.

29:26 Think we forgotten that a lot but it's why I so appreciate. We are at the local level where we don't talk politics. We just get stuff done. And yeah, and I personally think that really has the two party system is out of date because when you have to, you have to, you have to be a conflict. If we have three, then you have to compromise to make things work and I didn't and I really do believe that the two party system is, it is

29:54 And it's been, you know, it was from the Thomas Jefferson hour. How they spend their ship to do, they are. But since it's always been just huge and that to me is a challenge is challenging. This is really challenging.

30:15 What are the what are my political personal values would be?

30:20 If anybody, if anybody who's elected to national office, should be required to spend six weeks in a community. That's not their own and without their own cell phone.

30:34 Living on minimum wage at least six weeks so that they can get a real quick clearer idea of what so many people have to do with the higher the office. The longer it should be Saturday's, that should be three months, right?

31:01 That was going on on the ground and many of them live in gated communities with big high walls, you know, to prevent people from getting in and I mean, yeah, we have locks on our doors to prevent people from getting in but spy and remark on it. And so we have a conversation. I don't know much about them as a lot of walkers in Garden City people and some I do know and recognize from time to time and you know, so why I think I like that that what your friend said about politics at its it's about getting along and solving problems. That's that's yeah.

31:56 How about you words? What's a? I mean, you have a b in terms of a proportion being a thing, the issue the most critical to you, but

32:06 Are there other than that? I had a friend. Tell me one time that if it wasn't for abortion, I mean, what would the issues being an. You know? I said golly. I don't know. I I am saddened. That is seems to me that the that in the last 20 years that Republicans have been equivocating on the abortion issue. Not as they're not as I remember during the time of Reagan it was strongly and and and maybe and I was involved in it certainly but I live near waste time those days when whenever that was in the 1980s that they did, all the the demonstration, the whole summer in Wichita, Kansas abortion. I don't

32:57 So, outside of abortion, I believe that

33:01 I I I do not I do not like the idea of the government spending my grandchildren's future, but you know just spending trillions and trillions of dollars weather is buying but but Trump did it and Obama did it? They all just they just spend that money and it's just based on future tax revenues. And you know that I I mean as a as a, you know, I was an individual I have to keep track of my checkbook and make sure that I don't know how to draft, and make sure I have enough money to go around. And I don't understand how they can get away with, just keep borrowing against the future.

33:49 I keep thinking about about,

33:56 Not so much about specific issues. But about what's the trajectory? What, what do we want? Our country? To look like for our grandkids? And so that leads me to think, you know.

34:11 Equity is a big issue. Certainly global warming is a big issue in terms of what the what's going to be there for for my grandkids. So, you know, and so that's a much. I'm much more interested in instead of being

34:30 Against something is like, what are we? What are we really looking for? And what is the long? What are the long-term effects of that? And how do we, how do we work that way? It's kind of the way I think about things. I want to been closer. If I want to, I want to include everyone. I want to go and everyone to have a Saturday and, and what the future looks like, exactly. And that's, that's really some of the reason for, for me, you know, coming on this interview was, you know, I just, I would hear these

35:06 Ideas and Anna. She encountered, you know, just counter to what I would believe it. But but, you know, God, we're so polarized between the two extremes. I mean, why don't you come a little bit closer to the inside of a way back? I had to come back from Vietnam, and I was working out short, as head of the peace movement for Texas and, and I was living in San Antonio and this talk show host wanted to do, but he called her right left debate. And I was put up against the head of the John Birch Society was like 10 miles out of town. He did. So he picked me up and by the time we got out of the interview, we were, we were having a blast and we interview and and people attending questions and we

36:06 Agreed. When we had exactly the same answers, except we would take the different places of where we go. We had, we had so much fun of that. It was just great. It was great fun. So picked up by a realtor, conservative individual, probably.

36:28 What, what are they?

36:32 You know, this whole idea of alternative facts just makes no sense. And there's no way if if people are living in their own bubbles of what they consider to be knowledge and can't get out. It's really a it's a it's a challenge to have to have a decent dialogue. I'll bet I have something. I bet you would agree with one of those things that I saw. There's a there's an article in time a number of years ago about you know, we were all grateful when the draft went away. But says one of the things about that was that it got people out of their out of their people had to interact with people unlike them. There's one of the reasons I'm I'm really think I should be Universal Universal service. It doesn't have to be the draft but the universal service that you go and do something for the country's national service, something that's going to benefit the country and not in your own home town. You know, I think that would do more.

37:32 The other or to help us learn how to dialogue is Nation than it's been almost anything to Vietnam. And I and I and you were there for a while. I'm supposing. I went to nine days to Panama about 10 years ago, with my son, just my son, who has Asperger's, and we went down there to help build a church and it was the most absolutely the biggest learning time for me. The thing that surprised me that we were aware as far south as you could go on the Pan-American Highway before I on the other side of the river with Columbia and there was a big drug traffic. The bus got stopped on the way to call of our passports and went to, you know, what was the name of the place?

38:32 Right on the other side of the railroad Columbia, but but we got stopped and and these soldiers took all the passports of everybody because it's a big drug trafficking reney. But anyway, what what, just just amazed me was, was those people, you know,

38:57 I know this, I guess I knew it, but but I just kind of really been aware of it. But, you know, they're just people trying to struggling to make a living and take care of their kids have a life and they just live in Panama, you know.

39:24 In Afghanistan in Iraq, and then you know that the vast majority of the people are just people trying to make it from day-to-day and refugees. I know that I do not know I would I did wonder, why think we don't know how many yet. We just Amarillo and Barton County which is used to hear about two hours. And when we came here, Mike, why my wife came to teach Spanish in Garden City and in the orientation date older, there are 23 languages spoken in Garden City.

40:24 Other natural herbs, herbs about Garden City, and how, and how important refugees are two to the economy of Garden City, and how welcoming you are. You guys are? It was a wonderful story. Yeah. My my, my wife was the president of the cultural Relations Board because they haven't even met for now for about 18 months. But yes, yes. My current wife has been dead too long.

40:55 Tell her congrats. Congratulations for Patricia and

41:09 Yeah, I I

41:11 I I I I really when I look at the mess that's going on at the at the border Mexico and you know, who knows?

41:23 You know what, the politics of that is, but I think we need to be welcoming. I know, you know how it is. Our how does our economy? How does our system sorb? All of those people but without without them, there's so much that wouldn't be getting done in our rules that I exactly did it go to McDonald's and there aren't any, you know?

42:00 So true, so true, but I do if I do appreciate it, that that fighting, at least as getting a chant of its thing. It's okay. If you want to stop the flow of refugees, got to address the reasons, they're coming. Nobody's done. Nobody's been able to do that yet. I just, I really I have

42:20 I grew up near Garden City end, and all of my life. I've lived around Hispanic individuals. And, you know, and I have been friends with Hispanic individuals and work with Hispanic individuals, and I'm telling you what, their, there's some great people. They are there, good family people, and they're hard workers, and they just really want to know for sure. So we really need them. Yeah. Yeah. It's a long, it's a long big projects.

43:07 Been so wonderful. We still have more time and I have, I'm finding. It's so interesting to hear you guys come together and talk and and explore. There are some questions. I'm going to put in here and I apologize. I can't separate them out so far. We have you guys. Do is choose one. Both you guys choose together, kind of collaboratively of what you would like to address. One of them is what do you wish people understood about? And so, you have come together so much and many things with where you guys are diverge. If you could pick one of those areas that you think you diverge, and that you would like people to understand about

44:01 You think his is misunderstood about that area? Steve? I don't know. I'm not, I don't want to, but I do hear that. Abortion is an important defining issue for you. And so that's why I'm not saying to address that, but that's what I'm talking about. Those things that you want, people that you think of misunderstood by maybe either side. Do you know what I'm saying? The other one, you feel misunderstood by people with different beliefs in you, and if you ever feel troubled by people with the same beliefs as you, I have people on your own side of the aisle and how they communicate those beliefs. So you guys can come together and talk in terms of choosing one that you both would like to dress. Thank you. What would be your choice?

45:01 Oh, golly.

45:03 I am so insulated, you know, I got to you know, I hang out with people who believe the way I believe. And you know, I got to charge with people and I think most of them bleed the way I believe. If I don't know everyone certainly but

45:22 I don't I don't know how to dress either of those questions, honestly.

45:27 Well, let me tell you my perspective about abortion and it's

45:36 It's the last possible choice for people. It's not it's not, it's never done lightly and I've known a few people who've had abortions and have been traumatized by having to have them. But it was, it was the only thing that could make their life work at the times. I saw it.

45:54 It's so it's it's it's one of those things where I can't judge somebody until I walked in their shoes, and that's so that so to make it.

46:10 Politically for that. To be a political issue and not rather an issue that you deal with with your own.

46:20 Your own God, your understanding of God and your own self.

46:27 To me is, is

46:31 I find I find that challenging the like we were talking about with Central America. What are the causes that create bring that about and so often is it's either rape or incest or something like that. And you know the new law in Texas where them people could people can basically

47:03 Ruin Physicians lives because they suspect, he might, they might be doing. And I mean, these are these kind of things are to me. I find that important that I can't until I walk to somebody shoes. I can't tell them what's right or wrong for themselves. And the other side of it is, is, it's called the right to life, but it's, it's pretty radical, Catholic nun. Who says no, it's the right to birth. But if it's if it's the right to life life, is a lot more than just being. It's it's a right if it's a right to life and it's a right to to clean air and water and a decent job, and I'd like the opportunity to have a life.

47:50 And, and

47:53 And if

47:55 So I see that as a Continuum and and, and

48:04 I guess that's about as much as I can but I do respect, I totally respect. I totally respect. It's just not where I can be. I think some of the things that you express concerning that issue or you know, I understand and actually even kind of Suman my own position. I don't like for

48:33 People men, and women to enter into a

48:37 Our relationship with the idea that will we can fix it by just

48:43 By just having abortion. I've never met because it's not a solution to fix the problems that they're but they're facing the number of unwed mothers that that we were there. It was. Hi. Hi. Hi Bertha, you know, but without marriage. So I know it's just difficult pregnancy.

49:32 If you can't see anything, you know, it's it's like if you don't have a sense of belonging or a sense of something, above a future Beyond.

49:43 Beyond your block, the block that you live in then. Then it's, it's hard to get it all comes down to it. I had a mess of it lady. She was young and she was, she was black and she was just neat lady. And she said she looked very on much younger than she did. And she said that her husband works for the state department, Texas Department State and his job was to go and collect child support from deadbeat dads in high school.

50:20 And she said the day she met the 25 year-old grandmother. She lost it.

50:26 Ya ghali so. So, kids opportunities outside of the city block in which they were raised, and it was a great program that they ended up taking the Atlanta black kids, but, you know, and tell you what to somebody's shoes. It's really I, I can't judge. I can't judge it. And I understand. Thank you for sharing. Well, thank you for sharing so much as

51:04 I'm not nervous. I was an hour ago.

51:17 I'm sitting my eyes are in the shadow. I hope they don't take a picture of me like this.

51:28 Mascara means means it's on the question. One of the question was was, was I were you surprised by anything. You know that I

51:51 Was I what you thought it would be but I thought we would end with. What does it mean to be a resident of the high plains? And what are the shared traits or characteristics?

52:04 It's home.

52:09 I lived in.

52:12 Lived in Houston for 10 years and it was always we're going home for Christmas. Yes, I guess so.

52:36 And that's that's that's pretty common. At least, certainly here.

52:43 Well good.

52:46 Do you think that some of these characteristics that last part are these characteristics?

52:53 If you guys could read that last part of the question and address that and then, we'll will be closing.

53:04 Well, I don't like the idea of leveraged. Honestly are these characteristics that can be leveraged? I think it's important to, to be expressive than to tell people that, you know what, we just spoke of or we going to her about the high plains are about, you know, our differences and how to work through those. But I I

53:34 I, I do not like the idea of trying to

53:38 To convince or to it almost sounds like manipulation to me. Almost. I don't want I want a person to believe and be able to express what they believe.

53:50 Articulately and Anne in a a quiet, peaceful manner.

54:00 I agree with that. I think let's let's find places where we where we can work together to solve issues that we all see what we see is important and start there. And you know, what you believe is not my business. What we can do together to make the world better for our grand kids and grandkids is my business, you know.

54:24 Yeah.

54:36 Branch. What, how can we use these wonderful characteristics? That are part of Mary, your family's lived on the ranch since the 1880s, right?

54:50 We haven't actually live there full-time. But but we've been to, I see, everything is like this. This story is unfolding. Continually. Continually. Continually. I mean, that's the nature of creation and and so we're living through one particular chapter, but it's our choices that will write the next chapter. And what does what do we want that to look like? And how do we work together to bring that about? You know, what are the things that we can? We all agree on that? We can help actually.

55:30 Manifest here. That's that, that to me rather than rigid, even don't even talk about bridging tattoo.

55:37 By bridging differences. It was more like, okay. What can we agree on? Let's go do that.

55:49 I think you're working find a a place to work. A place to serve a soup kitchen. I served. It's been a long time now or ten years since I did. It was served in a soup kitchen in just

56:05 To try to understand, you know, what's going on and place to help. And you know, they're helping with with other people are helping. We're just helpers.

56:16 Yeah, and that's amazing that to me. It's the way we solve problems. You know, I can't imagine. And everybody, you know, who's helping to raise bar and a hundred years ago with each other and believe the same thing. Surely people who have, you know, or in crisis situations, like you do floods and tornadoes and, you know, Greenland cancer green, I mean,

56:53 Thank you so much. Okay. So what I'm going to do is and how is this for you? Enjoy this?

57:05 Say that again, please.

57:13 How was a great experience?

57:17 It's a

57:23 You know, it know, it is good to meet people is good to just say hi and how you doing and what's going on? And so I, I like to do that anyway, so yeah, it was great.

57:49 That's great. Okay, I am going to at this point. I'm going to stop the recording.