Nancy Brown and Francine Finnie

[00:00] FRANCINE FINNIE: Okay.

[00:00] NANCY BROWN: Is yours recording?

[00:01] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes.

[00:03] NANCY BROWN: Okay. And then do you have the bios up at the top?

[00:09] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes.

[00:11] NANCY BROWN: Okay. You want me to read first? Do you want to read first?

[00:15] FRANCINE FINNIE: You could go ahead and read first.

[00:17] NANCY BROWN: And I guess we need to introduce ourselves. I'm Nancy.

[00:20] FRANCINE FINNIE: I'm Francine.

[00:23] NANCY BROWN: Nice to meet you.

[00:24] FRANCINE FINNIE: Nice to meet you.

[00:25] NANCY BROWN: Okay.

[00:26] FRANCINE FINNIE: From Oklahoma.

[00:28] NANCY BROWN: From Oklahoma, and you are Jacksonville, Florida.

[00:35] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes. Okay. It's not my home state, but I'm here.

[00:41] NANCY BROWN: I had a very good friend who lived in Gainesville.

[00:43] FRANCINE FINNIE: Oh, okay. I've been to Gainesville a few years ago for work.

[00:49] NANCY BROWN: Yeah. Okay, so I'm gonna read yours. I'm an only child. Oldest of 27 first cousins. I'm divorced and the mother of one adult daughter, no grandchildren. My entire employment has been in healthcare. I'm recently retired after 38 years with the same company, Aramark. During my Aramark career, I was fortunate to travel throughout the US. My fundamental beliefs are the very least you can do is to respect everyone's humanity and only God knows what is truly in a person's heart.

[01:34] FRANCINE FINNIE: Okay, I will read yours. I am the youngest of five children and grew up in a traditional family in Oklahoma. My connection to the divine and to nature is stains me. I believe every human being has value and it's not mine to judge someone. I don't know their full story. I am currently retired after a career in health care. I think this program is extremely important as we have lost touch with our fellow human beings. I believe that getting to know each other across the divides in our society is part of the solution. Okay. And that's what I believe in, too. I was with one of my 27 cousins this past weekend, and I'm relating that because we talked about nature. She's the type. She's still in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, my hometown. And she likes to travel throughout. She was talking about Colorado, Utah. I mean, these are places that she She likes to drive. So her and her significant other, she's divorced as well, but her and her significant other will travel 18, 20 hours just to see the country. And I don't like to drive, and I can't sit that long in a car. Never have been able to. Three hours, even on a plane. Oh, after three hours, I'm like, Let me off. I don't go crazy. But in my mind, I'm like, I can't wait till I touch the ground. But I do believe in nature too. We talked about a lot of things, you know, and she's younger than I am. She's 22 years older than her, but it was just marvelous to hear one of my younger cousins love nature and love life and the same thing you're saying, not judging anyone, you know, just getting to know people. And I think that's what's missing. Because I do devotionals and it's something that the theme is just leave it up to God. He's the ultimate judge. And I do have a firm belief that it may not have, what you want may not happen. on earth, but it'll be there in heaven. So that's just the way I look at it. Just be thankful for what God has given you. And especially to people such as ourselves being retired. And when you see just even running errands and if you're in a mall or you're in a store and you see people our age or older and what they're doing, is just menial jobs to just exist. I always thank God for what he's given me. He doesn't give me everything I think I need, but it gives me more than I need. You know, everything that I think I need or want, but it gives me more than I need.

[05:05] NANCY BROWN: Wonderful.

[05:09] FRANCINE FINNIE: And life is, I mean, now we were, I was talking to someone about this the other day, and I don't know what your feelings are about it, but years ago, we didn't get the news right away. And the reason I'm saying this, my heart just breaks for the innocent children in these war-torn countries. They didn't ask for this. I talked to God about it all the time. I tell them, I know you're in control. I just don't understand why, you know, some of them have lost limbs, they've lost family, and I just, my heart just goes out to the poor, innocent children, no matter where they are in the world. in those war-torn areas because I asked God to help their heart to understand that he loves them. You know, because there's no one to tell them that everyone's struggling. And it's just so sad. And then I think about the Old Testament and it's like, yeah, this happened. And it's still happening, God.

[06:30] NANCY BROWN: We don't learn.

[06:31] FRANCINE FINNIE: No, we don't. You know, even though sometimes he ordained it. And as I would say, not well, I guess you could say just destroying that some of the bad aspects of society back then. But it's just so sad to see it now and all the crazy things that are happening in the government. I don't even want to get into it. I mean, it's sad. It's so sad. It's just, why can't we be there for each other? Why can't we understand each other? I did something that I shouldn't have done, and I keep saying, friends, stop watching these documentaries. Well, last night before I went to bed, I was like, oh, let me watch a documentary. And it was about Katrina. 'Cause it's what, 20 years. And I mean, the back stories that we never heard, I was just so sad. I was like, okay, I guess, you know, the Holy Spirit is saying, I tried to tell you not to watch these things all the time 'cause you got depressed.

[07:44] NANCY BROWN: But.

[07:46] FRANCINE FINNIE: It'S man in humanity to men, that's the way I look at it.

[07:51] NANCY BROWN: Right, right.

[07:53] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yeah.

[07:54] NANCY BROWN: We're being, we're very good at that.

[07:59] FRANCINE FINNIE: It is. And I, and today for the young people growing up, all this, all the things that they have on Tick Tock and challenges that they give them and a lot of people with parenting, I know here in My area, they have what they call next door, which is everywhere. But some of the things that these teenagers are doing and oh, my cousin and I were talking about that because we grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And in our neighborhoods, it was black or white. You didn't have any other culture. And we were talking about the different cultures now. And I was talking about I lived in my house now 17 years because I came to Jacksonville in 2002 and I lived in a townhouse and then I moved here in my house but ding dong ditch I never heard of that and the kids knocking on your door and running I was just I was just like what is this going on? You go to the door there's no one thing. And reason, it's become worse with the kids going and kicking people's doors. But everyone has a ring camera. Why would you even do that?

[09:23] NANCY BROWN: Right, right.

[09:24] FRANCINE FINNIE: It makes no sense to me. And I'm just like, God, where have we lost our sense of reasoning, common sense? What is wrong? And I don't want to blame it on the parents because I'm. I'm sure as a mom, I didn't have a child and say that, okay, she's going to be a good child. She's not going to do this. She's not going to do that. Because you don't know, but you didn't have. Or that's like getting married. You didn't marry a man because you thought he was going to be an alcoholic or something like that. That's not what you go into marriage. Yeah. Somebody in alcoholic abusive and. So I'm just saying where I cannot always blame the parents because you can't be with them all the time. And there's such a thing which we went through is peer pressure. And peer pressure now is right there on your phone. Isn't that strange?

[10:22] NANCY BROWN: It's huge, 24 hours a day.

[10:25] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes, it was different. We had to go to school and before you really experienced it, firsthand, it wasn't where somebody could text you or you could read about it on their phone. And no matter if you woke up three o'clock in the morning, you could look at your phone and see somebody's bullying someone or you yourself. I, I, it's, I'm, my heart goes out to the parents that are raising children today for emotionally economically, it's difficult.

[11:00] NANCY BROWN: Very difficult. Very difficult.

[11:03] FRANCINE FINNIE: Right. Because I always tell people, when I'm shopping in the store, if they see something and they'll put it down and they'll look at me and I'll always say, I'm a population of one. So I can, I can treat myself with this because I'm a population of one. I don't have, I don't even have grandchildren, which is saddens me, but. just wasn't meant to be. Right.

[11:27] NANCY BROWN: Yeah. Well, and, and our culture has gotten to where there are so many one person homes, you know, we've, and that's sad that we don't have more Community.

[11:44] FRANCINE FINNIE: That is true within, I know in our little group here is the call to that, but. They're all younger than my daughter. So I'm the old person on the street in here in the cul-de-sac. So I just look at the younger couples and I was always wondering, years ago, I was like, they always sit in their driveways. They have nice backyards and things. And when do they go out to dinner and things like that? And in traveling, and I'm not a drinker, but when going places with my daughter, when I go home to Pittsburgh, and she orders a cocktail, and I look at the price, and it's like, oh, my gosh, now I know why these couples don't go out. They can't afford to go out like this.

[12:36] NANCY BROWN: Right.

[12:37] FRANCINE FINNIE: One, you know, if you go out just as a couple or as a group, can you Imagine how expensive that can be, especially when you have young ones at home. You have to pay for a sitter and then, you know, just putting clothes on them and food on the table. I just don't know because I, I know I get my grandmother fixed when I go to the stores and I look at children's clothes. Don't have any, but I was just, well, if I had a grandchild, I would buy her this or him that. But then when you look at the prices, you're like, oh my God, as a grandparent, because one of my first cousins, he has eight grandchildren. And that, you know, ranging from 10 all the way down to, I think the youngest one might be five. Now, how do you. Just like I told them, you, after Christmas on December 31st, you need to start saving or buying stuff for next year for Christmas because you can't. It's just an expense, but I don't know. And you see all these kids, little kids with these iPads. I was like, Do your parents know? But I know one friend of mine, she as the maternal grandmother and then the paternal, well, the grandparents, they they split the cost of their six-year-old grandson's iPad. Right. You know, and you have to do things like that.

[14:19] NANCY BROWN: Yeah, you do, because if that's what.

[14:20] FRANCINE FINNIE: You want your kid to have.

[14:23] NANCY BROWN: Yeah. And I think it's sad that all the kids now think they have to have their own phone with them all the time. You know, it's like.

[14:34] FRANCINE FINNIE: I think the.

[14:37] NANCY BROWN: IT revolution with the iPhones and instant information, Gmail, all of that news 24/7, I don't think the human brain was quite ready for it.

[14:49] FRANCINE FINNIE: I know mine is.

[14:52] NANCY BROWN: Too much input.

[14:53] FRANCINE FINNIE: It is, and that's what I'm saying. You used to have to find that, you know, something happened in say in the mid-east, you wouldn't find that out years ago when we were growing up. You wouldn't find that out for almost a month, you know, then all of a sudden this news story and now it's within minutes breaking news or this just happened and you're like, what? And it is an overload because sometimes I can't do it. I'll watch PBS NewsHour. and, and every once in a while, I'll watch the local news just to find out what's going on local. But I, I just, this bombardment and then, like, as they say, fake news, you just don't know what's true. And now with AI, I am just honest to Pete, it's just too much. And robots, I'm just, I'm saying this in working in healthcare, I'm sure you If you worked in hospitals, you might have seen, well, the floor care equipment that the men or women had to use and manage to operate. But now with the robots going up and down the corridors, cleaning and getting on elevators, I'm just like, where am I? Right. What country is this? What year is this? How did I miss all of this? It's simply amazing. Everything's programmed, you know? I don't know.

[16:33] NANCY BROWN: I think it's really concerning to me about the PBS, NPR, all of those losing the funding.

[16:41] FRANCINE FINNIE: That really bothers me because I am a big PBS fan. I like their shows.

[16:48] NANCY BROWN: I am too.

[16:49] FRANCINE FINNIE: I like, you know, I just, I don't know, but I did read something that Ken Burns was working on something too. I don't know if he has some benefactors that are him to help keep PBS and that running. I'm not really sure. It just gave a little, you know, blurb about, okay, this is what Ken Burns is planning to do. And I was reading through it, so I was happy about that because I love his documentaries.

[17:29] NANCY BROWN: I do, too. Yeah.

[17:30] FRANCINE FINNIE: They're right.

[17:31] NANCY BROWN: They're. Well, and the problem is they are documentaries that try and present the true history. And I think it's, it's frightening that the current Administration wants to rewrite history.

[17:44] FRANCINE FINNIE: I, you know, I I was in trouble at church. I go to a, well, it used to be United Methodist, but now it's Global Methodist. But a couple years ago, when was it in 2020? Let's see. It was when Trump, his first presidency, and I made the mistake because some of a lot of members in our church because we're, I'm, people of color are definitely a minority in our church. There might be out of, if there's 400 people attending, maybe 10 of us were people of color. But it's still a good church. And I really did like our pastors, the one there now, I was a little, I'm still a little concerned about him. But what happened, we were discussing at grunge after church one Sunday. And they were MAGA people, and they just believe everything he said. And I just made the mistake of saying, I don't understand it. I said, if we're truly Christians, how can we have that much hate in our heart for others? I said, yes. Jesus, God is love. I don't understand it. And they went on about something else. And then I made the mistake of saying, well, I truly believe if he told you God did not exist, and if he even said, I'm God, you all would believe him. And a few people, oh, my God. A few people, oh, no, no, no. That's when I wouldn't believe him. I'd stop believing him then. but look at what he's doing. And a couple of people were really upset. They reported me. I guess they wanted me to leave the church.

[19:43] NANCY BROWN: They reported you for saying that?

[19:45] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes, they went to the, because we have a lead pastor, three associate pastors, and Pastor George, he's really nice. He came to me. oh, I think two weeks after that, and he was like, Fran, are you okay? And I looked at him, yeah, I'm fine. He said, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I said, yes. And I said, oh, no, I know who went back and told him because she, someone had said it at one in that conversation because I mentioned, well, now he's 40, you know, president 47. But I mentioned the fact that he had said he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue. when he would say a word. And do you know the real MAGA people said he never said that?

[20:41] NANCY BROWN: Oh, yeah.

[20:42] FRANCINE FINNIE: And at least a couple of them there said, oh, no, no, no. He did say that. And then they started debating that. I just, I was like, how you're intelligent, how can you just believe that and believe that he didn't? you know, I'm looking at them, like, okay. And then I think, you know, those were the ones that decided to tell Pastor Kevin that I had said that about, you know, Donald Trump. And then our current Pastor, the one I just said I'm a little worried about, he tried to prior to the election, this started in the latter part of September, all of October, he tried to compare Donald Trump's his campaigning to the campaigning of Jesus Christ going into Bethlehem and to Jerusalem. And I was saying, what is this? I was. I'm looking at him, and he had a whole sermon series. But then it started me to researching the global Methodist tenants, and I read that they honored. Not honored him, but they did. That was their. reasoning they were comparing because people didn't like Jesus, the lies they told about Jesus. And I was just like, what does this mean? Because a couple of times I'm sitting there and I jerked my head, like, what did he just say? And then I hate to say this, but I stopped going there after all these years. Like, as I said, I've been in Jacksonville now. 23 years. And I've been at that church for 20 years. And I was like, I have to go. And then you start telling us who to vote for.

[22:55] NANCY BROWN: Oh, my gosh.

[22:57] FRANCINE FINNIE: Oh. And a lot of people left, you know, good.

[23:03] NANCY BROWN: I'm glad they did.

[23:05] FRANCINE FINNIE: They left because. And another friend of mine, she's a person of color. She was trying. She always tries to. Francine, you need to come back. They miss you, yada, yada, yada. And I was like, nope. I can't do that when, you know, to try to compare Jesus's life on Earth for those three years or more to Donald Trump's campaigning to become president. No, I don't know how you guys like. You can't tell me that. You just can't. Right. And. and she, oh, and then sure he, something about they were talking about woke. And I was like, you know, that was just a buzzword and they made more out of it. I blame the Democrats for not standing up and saying more and refuting what they were saying, especially when they'd go down the rabbit hole. And one of the young ladies, they have a Bible study at a condo, and a lot of them live in the condo over by the town center. And because they figured, I'm not really exclusive area because they're right in the town center. And what they were saying at a Bible study a couple Mondays ago is talking about woke. And I said, Jesus, if you want to use the definition they're using for woke. Jesus was woke because he was telling us, turn the other cheek, go two miles instead of one mile. You know, and I was like, so what is wrong with people nowadays? And I know I'm not right because I keep telling God, you know, when I get there, I always tell other people, when I'm on, you see me on a judgment seat, have a seat because I'm going to be there a while because God says, all right, Trian, get up, go, get, go. Hey, some angel, whatever, come get her, because I'll be there expressing and why did this happen? And when such and such today, I said, I can see myself now asking him multiple questions or my thinking and I guess a schoolgirl's way is when I walk through the gate and sit on the seat, I'm gonna know everything and I won't have to ask him questions. but it's just funny. But it's just sad in people in Belize. And I think I don't take anything for granted. I always have to try. That's the one thing I like about technology now, checking resources. And that's what I have to do. You know, just don't tell me, let me check it out. Let me make sure, because you just don't know. But I told people, if you just leave and look at statistics them talking about now with the vaccines and stuff like that. I'm just scientists are no longer intelligent. I don't know the CDC. There's no one there that can steer us in the right direction. Oh, because I know they talked about Fauci. And I said, we were learning, not we, they were learning about COVID as it went along. It's not like all of a sudden, oh, I know, this is what we have to do. You know, okay, he didn't say you have to wear a mask until they found out, yes, you do.

[26:53] NANCY BROWN: I said, they're always- I think it's a wonderful job.

[26:56] FRANCINE FINNIE: I think so too. and you, you're. It's like polio when he's. Who. When they started working on researching that, or even HIV AIDS, when they start researching, it's not like everything is laid out for them. Try. You know, you go to step one, then if it takes you to step two, then you might have to go back to one again and redo something. I'm saying it. It's a process. trust the scientific process. But a lot of times it's like if we can refute it, because like they say, and that's what I think with Donald Trump is that when he tells a lie, he figures there's, it's that there are people that are going to hear that lie and they're not going to go any further. He said it, it's true. And that's it. And he knows that. you know, and I'm sorry that so many of the people in his cabinet, because sometimes I won't listen to his voice if he comes. If I'm watching even on people. Yes, I'm muted because I don't want to hear his voice. I don't want to hear his lies. And I shouldn't feel that way. And, you know, I. I always say this, and I'll say this to you, too. I said, friend, God loves the people you hate because that's God. And I'm or the people you don't like. God loves them. And those are the ones he wants to come to him. And I just look at it that way, but I just can't imagine how many times. And what was your opinion of Biden when they had that debate?

[28:46] NANCY BROWN: What was my opinion of Biden?

[28:48] FRANCINE FINNIE: During it, you know, for the debate.

[28:51] NANCY BROWN: I think they made a major mistake in not rescheduling it because I think he was sick. He was recovering from an illness. I think, you know, I never felt that Biden was incapable of being the president. I didn't feel like he was really having that much mental decline.

[29:19] FRANCINE FINNIE: I was upset with the, his staff. You knew there were issues. And, and I'm, if I'm not mistaken, I don't think Donald Trump wanted to, I don't think Donald Trump wanted to debate him. But Biden's staff kept telling him, no, let's do this. I think, and the preparation, because I was all hyped because I thought, oh, well, he's at Camp David, and they're prepping him. He's going to be able to do this. It's going to be able to do that. But knowing that he was ill, I wouldn't have accepted a debate. If the man said, I don't want to debate, I'm going to say, okay. I think that would have been a much different outcome had he not pressed having that debate. And I'm quite sure he was listening to his staff. Right.

[30:27] NANCY BROWN: I think they just didn't, you know, I mean, Trump and Biden are both about the same age. And so, anybody that age, if they're really sick, it knocks you down. It takes longer to recover. It has maybe a bigger effect. So I think they really, you know, I don't know why they thought he could just overcome that because really, he was struggling.

[30:56] FRANCINE FINNIE: And the night of the debate, yes. And with medication, because I generally don't watch debates. I know I should, but I don't. Not even when Obama was president, those, you know, eight years, I was like, I'm not watching this out. Because when you, in the morning, the next morning, the news coverage, that's all it is. It's just like, I didn't have to watch it. They're telling me this. They're telling me that.

[31:20] NANCY BROWN: And.

[31:23] FRANCINE FINNIE: I, I just felt sorry for.

[31:25] NANCY BROWN: Him because I felt sorry for him then. And I felt like they were really unfair with him as far as, you know, in his speech. I mean, he has a speech impediment, and so that is going to, the stutter thing is going to be more.

[31:44] FRANCINE FINNIE: Evident when he's tired, when you're tired, you're, you're anxious. you're stressed and you've been on medication. Yeah. Medication to help you breathe, medication to help you sleep. It's just, there are just too many negatives for them to put him in that position. And I just think he should have said, you know, when the first time Trump would have said, I don't want to debate, I would have said, okay, Let's move on and be out there campaigning in something like that.

[32:21] NANCY BROWN: I don't know. I mean, I think I really did want to see them debate. I think it needed to happen, but I think it would have been better.

[32:29] FRANCINE FINNIE: For.

[32:31] NANCY BROWN: Biden to simply say he was sick and needed to postpone. Now, they would have used that against him, too.

[32:39] FRANCINE FINNIE: And maybe that's what his staff was saying. you know, they'll use that against us. We can't afford that. But I would have rather had it been used against them because I could have gone, they could have counter. Well, you didn't want to debate anyway. I was.

[32:54] NANCY BROWN: Because, you know, after that, he was. What was it at the United, at NATO? I think there was a meeting of all the heads of state of NATO and. he gave some speeches. He gave some excellent speeches and was alert and. No, no stuttering, no mess-ups no anything, you know. So I. I think.

[33:22] FRANCINE FINNIE: And.

[33:22] NANCY BROWN: But I do think it had an effect on the election. Oh, well, I mean, obviously he didn't run then, so.

[33:29] FRANCINE FINNIE: But no, I'm. I'm thinking to. He could have stayed in the race. and won had he not debated. I'm just believing that he could have stayed in the race and won had he not done that debate.

[33:44] NANCY BROWN: Because, well, that debate was, yeah, that debate was a disaster.

[33:48] FRANCINE FINNIE: And I think what they should have done is consistently say during the campaign, he didn't want to debate, it's too late now, it's off the table. Even if, you know, his campaign, Trump's campaign would have brought it up later, I would have said, nope, off the table. Let's move on. You get out there and visit your constituents and I'll do the same and let it go at that. Because he's, you know, I think that was a big disservice and I really blame his staff because I can't see Biden said, oh, I'm gonna do it anyway, because I'm quite sure he would, he knows politics. he's been there a long time. You know, he knows, he knew what was going on. I don't think he knew, well, how did he know he was gonna be sick?

[34:39] NANCY BROWN: That's just, well, yeah, it gets arranged so much ahead of time.

[34:46] FRANCINE FINNIE: Right.

[34:47] NANCY BROWN: I also think the assassination attempt on Trump gave his campaign a huge boost.

[34:57] FRANCINE FINNIE: That's true, too. That was shocking, though. It's like the.

[35:01] NANCY BROWN: Yes, it was. Yeah.

[35:04] FRANCINE FINNIE: That was really shocking. But in it, when I see him now and he has, like, his cabinet behind him, sometimes they look scared. I mean, you don't. see, I don't know if somebody's mentioned it to him because I've seen it a little better, but a couple weeks ago, they were all standing behind him and they looked as though if somebody would have said, boo, they would have just jerked or because they were just standing there and no smile, no nothing. It was this look, this face, like he had all just cussed them out and they went out there and they're like, well, we better not smile. We better not do this. And I feel sorry for them because to me, you're selling your soul. No, I'm not going to do that. I. Why do you. What is it about being in today's world? You're not really in power. Even Putin, you're not really in power. You've got to. You've got things lined up, because if this doesn't happen, you know, it's like Domino effect. Things are going to fall apart because they can isolate you, even Russia. Everyone can say, may cost money, but they can all say, okay, let them do their own thing. But we're not going to help them. Not going to sell them anything, not going to buy anything from them. And you. You can't live what I'm trying to say. You can't live on this Earth. in a silo. You just can't. As even as a country, you need something again, working together. You need to work together. And if people want to say.

[36:59] NANCY BROWN: All.

[37:00] FRANCINE FINNIE: Right, let's just not deal with this. Let's just let them. If you, you can't sell me anything and I'm not buying. anything from you. What are you going to do?

[37:15] NANCY BROWN: I don't, you know, the sad thing, I, I understand what you're saying. The sad thing to me is in our world right now, if it involves.

[37:26] FRANCINE FINNIE: Money.

[37:29] NANCY BROWN: I don't know that any of the countries are going to do that.

[37:34] FRANCINE FINNIE: Oh, no, I'm just saying, you know, they could. But like you said, it's the, I always say, follow the money. That's what, follow the money.

[37:43] NANCY BROWN: That's where the power is.

[37:45] FRANCINE FINNIE: Follow the money. Follow the money. Because it's, and you, we, you know, working in the healthcare field, follow the money. I know I've started meetings and it's a new president and CEO of the hospital, been there for a month and he's meeting with everybody and I, this one particular meeting was infection control. at a major facility in Fort Lauderdale, and they were on credit hold for antibiotics. And he, when they were discussing this, you could see him turning red. And I guess he was saying, How did I miss this? why am I here? Because he didn't stay long. Right. Less than six months, he was out of there. And I guess that because I kept saying, what's wrong with him? Is he, is he okay? Is he okay? Because that was my first time to meet him. And I was there as a representative for Aramark, and they were on credit hold and not just for antibiotics. They were on. Oh, no, not credit hold. They had to pay over a half a million dollars in arrears to the regulated medical waste hauler. Because if they didn't, they weren't coming back to pick anything up. Wow. And when you look at business like that and you figure, this is a medical facility. Who does that? I don't know. How does that happen?

[39:35] NANCY BROWN: What is Aramark?

[39:37] FRANCINE FINNIE: Aramark is a service management service company. We have we, they, I can't have to stop saying we, they are international and they started out as food, food and nutritional service. And they started out with vending machines and things like that. Then they went into plant and operations. for we do hospitals, colleges, schools, sports stadiums. We're at a lot of the stadiums, not only for food, for retail, also for environmental services. So the different services are just contracted out and are, you know, we work around with our competitors and things like that. But it was a good company. I mean, it still is a good company. I was reading something about it on LinkedIn yesterday, something else that they were doing. And they have a lot of automated equipment now. And that's why I was talking about that. Right. But they're everywhere. And the prison systems as well. because I don't know if they still do it at church, but at the church I was attending, Crossroad, they had a prison ministry at a couple of the prisons here in North Florida. And so they do that throughout the United States. And they're, as I said, international in the Middle East and United Kingdom. some of the Scandinavian countries and where else are they? Oh, I forgot. Japan, China and the Philippines, you know, so it's a huge company. It was called ARA in the beginning. Then they ventured out and they were based on the, the first mission. What in their mission statement is honor God and all they do. And they went, you know, from there. So they do a lot in health care, as I said, even at the Aviation, too. So the only thing I don't think we do, we're not on cruise ships yet. We haven't been able to go into the cruise ship, but a lot of the stadiums. I know at Pittsburgh, we're at the pirates, the Steelers and the hockey team. We have retail and environmental services and some of the some of our hospitals and a lot of the colleges. We've been there for 30 years. They're in Gainesville, too, University of Florida, for food and environmental services. usually the three, well actually it's four when they bundle, it's environmental services, food and nutritional services, transportation and plant operations. And that's what they like to present to the health systems and they generally go in there. And it's usually a five year contract. Then they go out to bid again. So it's interesting back and forth, back and forth. Then that's how I got to travel around in the north east, south east, and west, northwest, southwest. It was, look at a lot of people say, well, you get to go so many places, but as you know, it's called work when you get there. Right, right.

[43:38] NANCY BROWN: So you don't get to see very much.

[43:39] FRANCINE FINNIE: No, it's called work when you work, we work 10 days on, four days off. And then sometimes it turned out to be 20 days on and four days off, you know, and that was easy for me not. That's why I said if I had grandchildren, I wouldn't have done that. It stayed as long either. My daughter had said at one time that she was going to put a house over top of the garage, and I can move into that little apartment over top of the garage. I said, oh, I couldn't live in the house. I got to be over top of the garage. Isn't that so nice? She said, yeah, because then you can be there for your grandchildren. I trust you. I was like, oh, that's so nice of you to put me in an apartment over the garage. And then I could come in the house during the day.

[44:36] NANCY BROWN: So how old is your daughter?

[44:38] FRANCINE FINNIE: She'S. Oh, wait a minute. I'm. She's 49 now.

[44:42] NANCY BROWN: Yeah.

[44:43] FRANCINE FINNIE: I had to think she just had a birthday in ####, but she probably.

[44:46] NANCY BROWN: Isn'T going to have children.

[44:48] FRANCINE FINNIE: No, no. I told her it's too late now and you would have to adopt or something like that. Yeah.

[44:55] NANCY BROWN: Yeah.

[44:56] FRANCINE FINNIE: So I. But I have a lot. The little kids in the neighborhood, they call me the popsicle lady because they come. I buy popsicles for them. They know. this Francine has popsicles.

[45:10] NANCY BROWN: That's nice.

[45:11] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes. And you'll have to pray for me because I joined this group called Better Together. And it's a group where it's not foster care, but your emergency care. Say a mother gets sick and there's no one. She has to be admitted to the hospital and says she has two kids, then you would keep the two kids. say, for the three or four days that she's in the hospital until they find, you know, other family members that could take over. And they had me, oh, I just recently had to go to a doctor's appointment with her mom because she had three kids. They were 9, 8, and 5, and I had to sit with them while she was at her doctor's appointment. and then take them back home. And now they asked me to, it's four teen, well, three teenagers and an adolescent and the grandmother. I don't know what's going on, but they're checking everything out. It's a 17 year old, 16 year old, 13 year old and an eight year old child. They're all girls and their grandmother is their guardian and they need housing from the 12th of September to the 14th of September. And I said yes. And I was like, but these are complete strangers staying in here. But I'm always saying, God, you've been so good to me. I need to give back. And I said, so, friend, you told him that, and he's saying, well, this is how you can give back. So shut up. you know, and just pray about it. But I'm just like, but these are strangers and I, you know, it's something different, family or friends, but total strangers. So I'm just like, okay, but what happens a lot of times is that if they don't have their paperwork together, they won't let them, they, they'll call and say, I'm sorry, because they have to have medical records for each child. and whatever other records. And if they don't have all of that, they're like, nope, we can't do it.

[47:30] NANCY BROWN: Well, and I'm sure that's, they really vet that group, whoever it is.

[47:34] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yeah, well, right. Because it's Better Together is actually national. I didn't know that. And this is the group for the Northeast Florida, because they're in South Florida, too. So. I just said, you know, I asked to help. This is one way to help out.

[47:55] NANCY BROWN: Now, how long have you been retired? I know it said in your thing, I think. I'm not sure. How long have you been retired?

[48:01] FRANCINE FINNIE: Oh, I. It'll be three years in October this year. I. I left at the end of October 28, 2021.

[48:14] NANCY BROWN: Okay.

[48:14] FRANCINE FINNIE: I mean, 2022. what am I talking about? Yeah, because it's 2025, so three years. And they, I don't think they can call me because I'd have to be rehired because before I know with other friends, they would just keep them on your, because we would, you would become per diem and if you weren't on an account. in an account or on an assignment. But now it was total retirement, so I was happy about that. Because I didn't want them to call me and say, you gotta go to work. And I'm like, oh, no, I've gotten used to this.

[49:00] NANCY BROWN: Well, I wouldn't think even they could call you and say, you have to go. I think it would just be more, do you want to take this?

[49:09] FRANCINE FINNIE: Oh, well, when we were, before I retired, if they call you, I mean, you can say, no, I'm not doing that. But then they're like, oh, really? You know, but you now, they can't do it. But before, if you're in that group, if you go to per diem, they frown upon you saying, no, because they're doing it. They could ask you to go, they could call. me today and say, you have to be in Bellingham, Washington tomorrow.

[49:41] NANCY BROWN: Okay.

[49:42] FRANCINE FINNIE: And you have to get yourself together and get packed.

[49:45] NANCY BROWN: But that's what you kind of agreed to.

[49:47] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes, you did. We did when we were, we were, when they decided to have us work per diem, that's what happened. And we did. We said, yeah, because my male counterparts, literally, I'm not going. I was like, okay. See what happened? But no, once you agree to that then, because it could be an emergency, somebody had a heart attack there and they can't find anyone else to go. And, you know, as the director or general manager of the departments, then they're like, okay, you're up. Can't find anybody else.

[50:26] NANCY BROWN: So on my screen, it's showing that we're out of time. Does it show that on your screen?

[50:33] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes.

[50:34] NANCY BROWN: So I'm not sure exactly what that means.

[50:37] FRANCINE FINNIE: We can stop recording and, you know, if you have to go and do something or if I have to go. Yeah, I feel bad.

[50:44] NANCY BROWN: I do have someone, I have someone coming at noon. A plumber is supposed to come.

[50:49] FRANCINE FINNIE: Oh, oh Lord, didn't you, you've got to open up the Brinks together. Plumbers are so expensive. Yeah. So.

[51:02] NANCY BROWN: Well, very nice meeting you.

[51:04] FRANCINE FINNIE: Yes, it was nice to, I did most of the time. I feel bad, you know, I'm maternal last name Madison. And I feel bad because they like to talk and I like to talk. I say it's in my blood, but I hope I didn't. just talk more than I should have.

[51:25] NANCY BROWN: That's fine. That's fine.

[51:27] FRANCINE FINNIE: Okay.

[51:28] NANCY BROWN: You take care. It was nice to meet you.

[51:29] FRANCINE FINNIE: It was nice meeting you too, Nancy, and you take care and have the wonderful rest of your week. Stay healthy. Stay safe.

[51:37] NANCY BROWN: Same to you.

[51:38] FRANCINE FINNIE: All right. Goodbye.