Coming of age Joey has his doubts

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What was your reputation around the neighborhood. Well I would be able to be patient.
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I always did have.
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Troubles I would see in a time when people know me they play
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and liked it so I used to get even with some of them because I don't always sit by my back
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you never told me that my face tough place even when because I'm always like
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somebody does something to me says something about me and it's kind of cute.
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What would you do.
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My sound. Guy was my size and everything in our
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house right one of my poem look you talking by my back and I mean what you say to me you know.
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Talking everybody else.
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When you get them alone make that film act as brave as when they're with their boys.
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This is Ben park with a program in the series coming of age. The boy Joey who is
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telling us about himself is 18 years old. Some of his story will sound familiar to
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you and some may not. But he's the product of in a part of 20th century America
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he's what our series is all about youth today. At the end of the program there's a brief
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commentary by Mr. Maurice Russell a psychotherapist who has known many boys like
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Joey.
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I want to get into the mechanics feel they can get into racing because I think I can get into a car racing with
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a know it by car eyes. You know you
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can get into a car and drive unless you know what you're driving. What kind of car you're
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driving.
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On that's. How long you have ever since I was a little kid.
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I mean it's something inside of me a feeling I've had I always wanted to do because I was
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located try to run the try school I wanted to get into it.
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Just a feeling I get every time I see a little car. I can you say
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something about it Tracy. You know I used to ride my little tri sickle around the block.
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I. Used to be and everybody used to. Always
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say used to come down like racing on a black hole. Now about
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a seven years of success. I was like speed like that.
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Yeah. Tell me about it. Well it's a feeling I mean speed don't
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buy them. I mean I can be on fast and that doesn't bother me at
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all. I mean. I like is the feeling I get inside. And that now
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can take place when you say it was like to be a bicycle. Oh yeah.
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Up around where I live they know me. Well and work in food so I don't
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have to race. Always on messed around with them things. I mean
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the kids. Quite a rest I'm told.
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You're pretty fast on a bike here. Always I can go slow and I'm always moving when
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ever I mean anybody right now yeah hit cars trucks buses I see that we can without being
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many is junked. I got in the store where I work now it's time so it's not
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the chat. Sometimes I just misjudged a few times and then to always
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make mistakes. Everybody's pushing. You going so fast against that
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I want to stop while I went was going too fast I stopped the whole bike went over me did a few
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flips.
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And there were good when I crank up on the unlucky guy. Just get a few scratches that's
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sure to get my brains knocked out but I always make OK.
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Well you have a car you already carry right now but I'm thinking of getting one pretty
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soon. Be a long time before I get one tonight in fact. I wish I
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could drag racing or anything like that. Yeah I don't know but not
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legally. You legally have to. What to do
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that. This road up in Yonkers. That road.
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Only guys with doubt rise made up to me to some dragon.
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On hindsight. I used to bug them. I always got them they never that's why they never
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really want to me in the cars because I used to blow up the drive when I was driving I used to get and speed sooner
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or later you know when I was in the mood you know and I saw Donnie was ahead and I can let that happen.
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Donnie was pushing it and we can catch a movie about. 10 cars behind him in the leg.
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And he kept staying ahead of us and pushing up to 95 96 100 and we
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still can catch. Anybody in the back was quiet in the front and
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I'm going to actually jump and I'm told I'm moving all the way you use I got all the way
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down I can't hold any further. So finally we get up to Dani and
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we had to cut out though so we could I wouldn't get out of the X and it was a sharp turn and they sort
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of people's money goes out because the back is a lot of. The back screens on the back is
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like. So he takes a turn he'll spin out before he rolls. But I won't.
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I wasn't locked in the back so Danny spins out and takes off so ours is longer there is
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I tell you everybody is for you wait till you get us like this guy is going to go over. So we spend
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now too but he was a good journalist. He wrecked it up here and I'll pull it off.
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Not too long ago. He was in the junkyard anyway so why don't you so he care he
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takes another part of the con throws it on what he can and then they
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were sucking now. The time. So Euros while around the neighborhood.
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How come. Oh I don't know it's just my nature where who's been. Jumping.
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I can never be still I mean there were not and I get nervous I have I have to be doing something
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otherwise. I go batty. So you guys keep telling me take your time sit out on my
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king said I gotta be doing some time.
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I was screaming that mean everything going up where I used to go in Micah.
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She used to. Before and never once in a while
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but almost always use a jump on me.
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My money used to hit me and punish me. Mean hitch and Elijah
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and punish me stay in the house and any brothers and sisters. Yeah
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one brother and the sister. And brothers all me my sister you know.
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How much was your brother museum between you and my sister's twelve. How do you
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want to bet it we don't get along you know I mean.
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If you live at home what kind of guys is always a quiet guy never
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gets in trouble and using a married priest all the time you would get in
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trouble it was to get your parents ever favor him as a result of that.
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Yeah in a way. Because he was quiet and weakness and want to be like you got and
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buy used to always say you brought us all quite some nice guy.
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How can you be from the same family on the way to.
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Do anything about it. Now. I kept being same way I was.
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I mean change to be like my but I never.
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Want to be like I'm any education what I got
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my school you know.
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I. Can do much what do you think is just going to get the kind of jobs you can get
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when I. Mean there's not much.
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What about your education for high school. Do pretty well and I did
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OK. You told me you went to 600 school.
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Tell me about a success but what kind of school is or was a school for guys working along those schools
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and regular school. So you sent you there and straighten you out.
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What were you doing at a regular school that you can get on. Always get into fights and talk
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and class. Don't worry about the 600 school when it comes
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education. They really don't teach you much because the guys who go there.
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Sort of get in trouble too you know. And they aren't learning school so they have to
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start teaching them from the bottom again you know it isn't that they're dumb it's just that they haven't any
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education and they can be good. And they are. They
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may have to know that. I never did homework. Never.
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And the kind of guys over there they go there. They get to fight they
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were there like me. You know I look at them a long anything they want to fight you
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know. And they have to teach you baby stuff you know.
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Third grade reading and all of that I don't like that because I can read them
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backwards. When we went up in the ninth grade there anyway. And guys be there
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17 years olds to ninth grade you know. But I was
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absent quite a few times. Just the only thing that held me back from getting out my
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lateness along either was there for two years and
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I wanted to get out Dana.
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I thought I was getting out that yeah.
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But I didn't because I was absent by too many times so I quit the job. And
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I think there's no more work.
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But I saw what it was like to work you know own place. No education and you can write.
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So I went to see the head of 600 school was and I talked I told look I wanted when I
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scored the only reason I'm not going is because I've been absent so many times in late
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night always everything else I don't get in any trouble in the school. I'm at a
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school monitor for school I go pick up films and everything for school and all that. I take care
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some classes sometimes when a teacher for a period I want to get into high school you know.
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So I went back. They call that my school so the school said I would give you a break
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and come here for one month. Never absent and never late and will send you to any three
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high schools you want to go to you know. But if you absolutely once you're shot you can't you know
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because we have to have a good record saying you did a high school you know we have a song that you can do if you want to
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be on a trial period anyway if you don't make good their schoolwork in the absence of
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they can boot you out you know. This is fine I'll be able to do that.
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So I finally made it. So they sent me didn't go there. And I got to high
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school to put me in at that time I was gone by the end of the what the hell was coming on.
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They give me geometry and all that I did not want to home was.
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I never had that kind of work before I never had algebra or anything because then in teachers over there
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but I was still going to go through with it get dry would at least go
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out for a fight and. You know. You see trouble sometimes.
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Do you know what. And. Juvenile delinquency.
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Jews believe if you look at it you know it really well.
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Sometimes. Once while I took I was up in the place taking some
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bicycle by. Needed some parts for my bike. So I went
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up to this place with my friend. He took some parts from up there. I got
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quiet but they let me go to you. They took me on in my house and the.
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Saudi guy who lives up moved you.
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His mother paid off the cops with a bottle of whiskey so that now happen to him but I had to go down to do
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the thing for that thing.
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My father went down with me to get me or a game your warning. How old were you.
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When I was courtin.
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Did you get detained at all in the general harmony like that and take me to juvenile.
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I was only once for.
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Was you frightened society.
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What kind of thought was that.
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Down the river.
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We got into a fight and I got quite. A. Lot of the
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complications for me from being Court for the trained in the bicycles and on that.
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Steve. Arsonist. The. Cops.
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They sent me away for two weeks then. Down to the court.
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12st you can now.
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Do With House. He said it was around but how did that come about. I used to work
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and just when I start to make deliveries up to block a block up there.
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And the step to go right into a block and you used to be scenic when you have to. I used to
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work in the afternoons if the school. So they used to come up to
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me and call me speak as I was making my delivery and everything.
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So when they got fed up and I told them You guys want to get all the women I swear they
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said I swear by the river. So we went down and then
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we started a fight. But what a face time to get on the way.
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Somebody call the cops and the cops with just about to get to where
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it was cop cars on the bike.
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So everybody got both of them. That's when I was about 15. But then I met this little girl
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and I quit our stuff and they're at a dance. One night this
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first time I saw your mom but it was going to die. So I'm going to do on the block. Just
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don't go on with you said no you're not you know come with me. So I said I want to
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go. And was he was like. So I went up to today and I went home and put on a suit and with
This program has been transcribed using automated software tools, made possible through a collaboration between the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and Pop Up Archive. Please note that no automated transcription is perfect nor is it intended to replace human transcription labor. If you would like to contribute corrections to this transcript, please contact MITH at mith@umd.edu.