Episode 6 - (Police Interactions Part DEUX) w/ Comedian Ponchi Herrera

Show Notes  
In this episode, we continue our multi-part series on interactions with law enforcement. We start out talking about an important lesson taken from the impact of the job on the mental health of LEOs, and it turns into a deep dive! 

Kam and Iggy are joined on this episode by our producer and former EMT Nico Adjemian to talk about what it means to encounter these experiences on a regular basis, and then ourspecial guest, comedian Ponchi Herrera, talks about the impact of comedy on mental health. It turns out, we are all just broken toys!

Sources:
American Warrior Radio, “Police Suicide – Mark Dibona” dated January 12, 2020, accessed at
https://americanwarriorradio.com/2020/01/police-suicide-mark-dibonna/

Mark DiBona, “Police Perspective: The Man in the Mirror” dated June 3, 2016, accessed at
https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/June-2016/Police-Perspective-The-Man-in-the-Mirror

Alex S. Vitale, “Five myths about policing,” The Washington Post dated June 26, 2020, accessed at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-
policing/2020/06/25/65a92bde-b004-11ea-8758-bfd1d045525a_story.html

Doug Wyllie, “Telling the Stories of American Police Officers’ Courage and Compassion,” POLICE Magazine dated August 31, 2018, accessed at https://www.policemag.com/374576/telling-the-stories-of-american-police-officers-courage-and-compassion

Transcript

Unknown Speaker  0:00  
Hopefully you already follow and subscribe to the customer in the con wherever you listen to podcasts.

Unknown Speaker  0:04  
And guess what? You can also check us out on YouTube. Like, subscribe and check the bell for full episodes and exclusive content. This podcast episode contains strong language and adult content. It may not be suitable for young listeners or really anyone, please use your judgment. We're recording this episode of the counselor in the con at the end of October. And you may know that October is Mental Health Awareness Month. On this episode we talk about mental health especially from the perspective of law enforcement officers and those they interact with. Then later with our special guests volunteer era, we talk about the impact of comedy on mental health.

Unknown Speaker  0:44  
And I think we also prove that comedy changes perspectives.

Unknown Speaker  0:47  
Absolutely. So we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we did recording it to watch. The following is a true crime story names have been changed to protect those involved. Mark always wanted to be a cop, a self described alpha male, he still tried to be approachable to those around him. He started on the job at age 21 and moved into the role of supervisor at age 35. After about 20 years on the force, however, things began to shift for Mark. He wasn't getting along with his immediate supervisor who was hard headed strict and Mark felt disrespectful. They got into frequent arguments insulting one another. The supervisor told Mark he wasn't aggressive enough with the members of his own team. Mark received an evaluation of below standards. He felt like he couldn't do anything right. Mark started to wonder if his supervisor was right. Maybe it was not the job for him anymore. This wasn't just an internal struggle. It also affected Mark physically, he gained 40 pounds, refuse to shave and generally looked unkempt. The potential stigma of weakness kept him from admitting to anyone that he was struggling even his own wife. After all, the common response to officers in crisis is to tell them to toughen up and it's part of the job. One night while on duty at the fire station, a woman pulled up in her car with a baby who wasn't breathing. Marc was the only one there. He did CPR for what seemed like an hour, but he could not save the baby. He started to have nightmares about holding that baby in his arms. Shortly after 911 Mark volunteered to travel to New York to assist with recovery efforts. He says the smell of death and burning flesh was one he could never fully get out of his head and his struggles continued. Not long after returning home to Florida, Mark responded to a crash with a vehicle fully engulfed in flames and a person still inside again and through no fault of his own Mark could not save the victim. Nonetheless, his guilt followed him and only grew his nightmares woke him in cold sweats and memories of all the things he had seen on the job ran through his head, horrible crashes, victims of sexual abuse, victims of robbery, people he called Bad guys and friends who had died in the line of duty. One night Mark felt he couldn't take it anymore. He tried to fight the thoughts but he felt like he was drowning. He attempted suicide twice that night. Mark got lucky though. When another officer pulled up in a car next to him. The other officer talked marked down. Even though he knew he needed it. Mark avoided seeking help because he was afraid he would lose his job and be placed in the hospital. After several attempts at therapy, Mark joined a support group in Central Florida for cops to talk to other cops. He found a therapist who was a retired officer. He got his marriage back on track. He was diagnosed with PTSD and depression and was eventually given medication that did not derail his career as an active officer. Now Mark reaches out to other officers in crisis as the Public Information Officer for blue H e LP, an organization to reduce mental health stigma through education and advocacy for those suffering from PTSD and other law enforcement related mental illnesses. He doesn't say as his boss did, you were just doing your job as if it were no big deal. Instead, he opens up to his colleagues about his experiences, and he shares the message of it's really okay to not be okay and welcome to the counselor and the con a true crime comedy podcast that goes off the record to bring together a former criminal turned comedian and a current lawyer turned crime enthusiast. We dip into stories from the world of crime and punishment. And it turns out we're friends Yes, I'm counselor at law cam

Unknown Speaker  5:03  
Nichols and I'm ag semi retired cholo summon Nero.

Unknown Speaker  5:07  
And today we also have for the first time on the mic, even though you've heard about him before in our prior episodes, our producer and also homie Nico Adjemian.

Unknown Speaker  5:20  
Hey guys, what's going on?

Unknown Speaker  5:21  
Not too much. We're having a good time here. Welcome to the microphone. Thank

Unknown Speaker  5:24  
you very much. I'm gonna be popping on every once in a while.

Unknown Speaker  5:28  
As long as you're not popping off is this neat Corps is God you right?

Unknown Speaker  5:31  
You also might recognize him as the voice of God. But please don't tell him that sometimes I think I've got right. And that is why I mean, that makes them a good producer. But it also means he's kind of bossy.

Unknown Speaker  5:44  
Yeah, keep going guys do your job.

Unknown Speaker  5:47  
That's, that's pretty much what he does. And also, things like telling ag not to lick the microphone. That's an important part of his job as well. Whatever he just did there. worked miracles were that buzz.

Unknown Speaker  6:00  
We're actually recording he I know. And we're taking shots, too. I'm very excited about this episode. I'm very excited about this episode because and this weird thing in comedy, like, Ken's got to get the word out. We call him a mentor. Right? It's kind of like, you make him seem old or whatever. But this cat mentored me through my process. So I'm really excited about this shim. I'm excited about this episode.

Unknown Speaker  6:23  
Oh, you're talking about the interview? We're gonna do later in the episode. Yes. Right.

Unknown Speaker  6:26  
Then I jump ahead.

Unknown Speaker  6:27  
I you did a little bit. That's okay. I'm a time traveler before before we get to that though, we just actually did have a very serious opening story about a police officer who struggled with mental health issues. And, you know, this is this is a perspective that we really haven't talked very much about in our prior episode on police interactions, because it really dealt with how this officer processed all the things he had been through on the job. What do you think about the experience of a police officer? from a mental health standpoint,

Unknown Speaker  6:59  
you're you're asking the right person about mental health? You're asking me did

Unknown Speaker  7:05  
Sorry, I didn't have my, my my whole makeup. I would have commented and not made this awkward, but now it's awkward. It's very awkward. I feel like they have a tough job. I was just gonna say it sounds like very tough to be a police officer and

Unknown Speaker  7:19  
whoever thought that God was awkward,

Unknown Speaker  7:21  
right. I used to work really closely with police officers as well. So he has a good perspective on this. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  7:32  
Yeah. So can I just go first, I'll give you rights and then you get interrupted. I was an EMT, I would show up to accidents show up to places where police officers can show up to and it's a tough job. When you see that kind of stuff all the time over and over and over again. You become desensitized and real sad. I'll start telling jokes.

Unknown Speaker  7:54  
Well, that's probably why jobs for you all exist as comedians because people do need laughter. I think that's a really important job that you all do out there in the world. I'm sorry. You started to tell us about your thoughts on police officers mental health. What do you think? No, no,

Unknown Speaker  8:10  
I was gonna say about the, the opening story we said, the first sentence of your story was about alpha male.

Unknown Speaker  8:18  
Right? Right. So

Unknown Speaker  8:20  
now this is a nother system of bravado, this machismo type shit. And then you said it took 14 years to move his way up the ranks right. Now who's up there? The fucking the old guard. You know what I'm saying? So it's not that cops are bad, man. And like we said at the end,

Unknown Speaker  8:43  
that it's okay to not be okay.

Unknown Speaker  8:45  
Yeah. You know, who seen it? look a little like this. I am a former criminal. Current comedian. And forever fucking Mexican. Right?

Unknown Speaker  8:56  
So I put forever scumbag.

Unknown Speaker  9:00  
I try I try to do my my best with it. But um,

Unknown Speaker  9:08  
but then

Unknown Speaker  9:12  
this is why I tell you not

Unknown Speaker  9:13  
to do we're talking about that we're doing a dry run. We're not

Unknown Speaker  9:19  
this is not a dry.

Unknown Speaker  9:21  
You you say that you want to do?

Unknown Speaker  9:25  
Their mind? I'm sorry.

Unknown Speaker  9:25  
Okay, so we know you were you had a really good point, I think about alpha male mentality and how that how that translates to stress on the job as well, because there's all these expectations that you're going to act a certain way, right?

Unknown Speaker  9:37  
Yeah. And before God messed me up nauseam, because I'm full Mexican. And when I try to explain to my mom, like, I was diagnosed bipolar. I just give you the real man. I was diagnosed bipolar. And when I told him, it didn't register and you're like, we don't have a word for that. You don't mean the reason there's no word for mental health. You don't say So I could see how these cubs move this cup moving up in the in the ranks and the old guard been they're going to suck it up that suck it up shit, man. It's not about that you see a person burning, it does something to you can suck that up,

Unknown Speaker  10:15  
right it doesn't just go away and especially like Mark was talking about in his story that I related earlier. It's it's like you close your eyes and it's all there waiting for you that I think that's something that all of us can can envision to some extent but but then the officers have such a really impactful set of experiences that then pops into their minds. Like most of us don't have to see dying people. Most of us don't have to see, you know, the all of the terrible

Unknown Speaker  10:49  
victims. Right?

Unknown Speaker  10:51  
And it's like you said like, like Nico being an EMT, you saw a lot of fucked up shit, right? And watch like, when I work construction, and they get home and my girlfriend will ask me, oh, how's your day? Oh, you know, I had to put the stuff whatever. Imagine if you get home it? How's your day? Won't this person burned? Right? Right. So maybe he doesn't want to put on this family and maybe himself? Or he doesn't want to give me stressing over the details? No, no, he's gonna keep it in. That's what we're sure to do. Let me tell you I know about me to fucking help me. The worst thing is to keep it in. And that's what these kids kind of are forced to do. You know,

Unknown Speaker  11:26  
I actually saw a meme about that just today. And it was about telling man, hey, when you're going through something emotional, don't bottle it up. And the man in the meme is like, first you get a jar with a tight lid. And

Unknown Speaker  11:43  
there's this funny you know, one another thing another thing? Is this laughing about it, talking about it openly? Because like, I've got this I'll tell you this. In my pursuit of comedy, and other endeavors. I've been homeless and shit, right? And what I was homeless. And I had this job working construction during the day anyway, so I show up in my homie demos like a man like what's up with a long face but in Spanish a computer without really? Give me brush it off and go, do you understand? I'm fucking homeless right now as of yesterday, and he go fuck, like, understand, but. And he says it not hasta la comida meaning Don't be walking around set and I got what have you seen? So he's telling me suck it up a bit in a different way. Which is kind of a medium will have which should do. Because when he told me that shit, I did go, you know, he's right. You know me. I'm homeless. I have a car wreck I live in. Yeah, I got a mobile apartment. But don't soak in it. But don't tell someone suck it up. That's what we're shitman.

Unknown Speaker  12:47  
Well, and at that moment, yes, you have a job to do. And that's important as well. But there has to be a time when you do get to work through those issues in maybe maybe when you arrive on the job in the morning is not the is not the best time. But there has to be a time and it can't be put off forever that you can't just put it in that jar and seal the lid and stick it on a shelf. and hope for the best.

Unknown Speaker  13:10  
He didn't as a man,

Unknown Speaker  13:12  
I was gonna say, don't you think that way? Who do you think has more of a burden when they go to sleep at night? The police officers are the criminals. What depends what you did? It depends what who has more nightmares. Ah.

Unknown Speaker  13:27  
So that this kind of went to through PTSD, right? To burn bodies. Whenever I've seen a car burning, I've seen a I've gotten shot at twice. You know, I've gotten a complaint me four fucking times. So do I have PTSD? Generally saying that maybe this officer has to burn bodies, but never had a complaint at him or been shut out? And I have, but I'm looking to burn body. But then they go, are you comparing miseries or they're both fucked up?

Unknown Speaker  13:54  
Right? Those are just different experiences. There's not it's not like a ranking system. I just think that, that and maybe this applies to those with a criminal history as well. I think with police officers, they have so many of them. It's not like a once in a lifetime experience.

Unknown Speaker  14:08  
It's like, this is what I see very regularly. And now imagine this, what if the person in front of you that kind of suffers from the same type of PTSD, not same type but suffers from PTSD in front of you in an interaction where your PTSD comes from that person? You know what I'm saying?

Unknown Speaker  14:27  
Oh, that's a great point like that, that when when a police officer interacts with someone who has a criminal history and you both have those memories and experiences that you're that have affected your mental health that have created stress, and then you are feeding off of one another stress as well. That's got to make that whole interaction even more tense.

Unknown Speaker  14:47  
I love your reaction to this because when I said that you went Oh, I love you because there's no video but if he could hear you cast, you audibly gasped and that but I didn't say who was traumatized by who's

Unknown Speaker  14:59  
no one Think both ways weigh in. And I mean, that is a major revelation to me about police interactions. And I really had never thought of it that way before. But I think that that Nico made a great point about both sides having some sort of, you know, stress or prior experience that would put them in that mindset. And then your point was also just really it was eye opening for me because I'm like, oh, wow, it's not just you know, you get pulled over and you're having you know, a normal, I was caught speeding type interaction. It's you're both drawing from that stress.

Unknown Speaker  15:34  
And people listen, man, we're not going to get personal but I was telling our producer Nico, on the way here that we come to record in our studio is inside of cams mentioned three story mansion in this gated community. I give you rides

Unknown Speaker  15:51  
and Nico. Nico is the chauffeur and the

Unknown Speaker  15:54  
producer. We get out of your house, carrying beers we're gonna serve whatever right tattoos on my neck, whatever. And your neighbors were tell you like he would? Oh, no, I

Unknown Speaker  16:05  
don't talk to my neighbors about the cholo parade.

Unknown Speaker  16:09  
Her parents say what are you doing?

Unknown Speaker  16:12  
They have questions

Unknown Speaker  16:14  
about the judging part, right? Because what are we doing here? Right, we're we're meeting in this recording studio, talking about issues like this and trying to get a common ground man, because Are you scared? when when when you interact with someone that you know, or a homie or whatever, are you scared? Are you anxious, are you? Right? You're not

Unknown Speaker  16:37  
like that, right?

Unknown Speaker  16:39  
But if you interact with someone that is perceived to be an enemy, how do you feel? It's a great point is what are they going to do? So what I'm saying is there's just a precision of the enemy, but it's gonna start both ways because I could tell homeys Amen. Don't treat cops like, like shit. But you guys tell the cops don't treat these homies, absolutely. shits usually seen. So now there's, there's not that enemy interaction, because whatever it is, it is. But you'd have to come up with it with a preconceived notion of there's gonna go bad, and that's my enemy. We're not enemies, man. We're not enemies.

Unknown Speaker  17:13  
That's a really great point. We've been talking about police interactions over the beginning of this episode and our last episode. And today, we really wanted to try to explore things from law enforcement perspective. And that's what our opening story was about was about kind of the mental health issues that face officers. And now he made a really great point with Nico as well about how those stresses on both sides, the officer and the person they're interacting with how that creates additional stress in the interaction. So we're going to take a quick break and after that we have another guest to the podcast, who is going to entertain us with stories from the road of various types. It is paunchy Herrera, at their friends and pals. If you want to catch more of the council in the con sign up at the Council in the con calm and look us up at the border geek Podcast Network on Facebook. This is God. Welcome back. This is the counselor in the con and we've been talking about interactions with law enforcement during this episode in our last episode. Today, we've been talking more about the officers perspective and what it means to have mental health issues as a police officer, how that impacts on the job and things like that. But now we have a special guest with us. He has experience with law enforcement through family members, but also he has great experience with entertaining law enforcement officers from the stage. I would love to introduce to you comedian Pontiac era.

Unknown Speaker  18:49  
Hey, How y'all doing? Thank you all for having me. I really appreciate this chance to be out here with you guys.

Unknown Speaker  18:53  
No punching, no power,

Unknown Speaker  18:55  
no punching apart. Dude, I gotta be honest with you, man. I appreciate you guys, not only as my host right now, but I mean to be honest with you. I appreciate you guys as people as humans. I actually like each each one of you individually for the people that you are. So thank you for having me.

Unknown Speaker  19:10  
Oh, thanks for being on buddy, man. Yeah, we're

Unknown Speaker  19:12  
so glad to have you with us punchy. And so y'all have known each other for a while now. Tell tell everybody about how you how you first met. Oh, I just your meet cute.

Unknown Speaker  19:21  
It was a kind of a meet cute.

Unknown Speaker  19:23  
Which one? Are you asking? Who are you asking? Because if you're asking me I have to approach it carefully because do you know how long you've been doing comedy?

Unknown Speaker  19:32  
I've been doing it? 20 years? 20 years? Yes.

Unknown Speaker  19:35  
When someone says oh, this is my mentor. Does that kind of make you you

Unknown Speaker  19:40  
know, there's there's a lot of people that take that the wrong way because to be honest with you. It's like what that means like Kenny you're not in the game anymore. This guy topic. I do. I love it because the whole idea is like I read a lot and I remember reading this this quote by Confucius and he had something like me lighting your light doesn't diminish my light, you know, he has a candle and he lights your candle that only doubles my light because my light is now your light. And now you go on and you teach it. I gotta be honest with you, I'm just part of the chain. When I when people say you're my mentor, you taught me a lot of stuff in comedy. I love it. Because at the end of the day, dude, I was taught a lot. And I love that I'm not one of those jaded comics that I don't want anybody I do you know, me. I want everybody to make it I want everybody to do I want everybody to succeed because I figured, dude, if you're gonna be on the show, there's a good chance that you might actually have me on your show.

Unknown Speaker  20:32  
That did. So you weren't meant to but you offer meant advice. So technically, you may be bored, but you didn't

Unknown Speaker  20:39  
you mean? And the truth is like, there's people that have called me that and I appreciate it. I really, really do. And some people don't want advice and I am okay with that. Also, I like when someone asked me because the truth is, I wish I would have had me coming up. I grew up in my comedy career in Laredo, Texas, there was no comedy shows. There was no

Unknown Speaker  21:01  
naked tacos. Taco Bell in my neck.

Unknown Speaker  21:06  
Yes. dislikes. Well, the tacos backwards are still good dude. I we didn't have a comedy club. We didn't comedy shows nothing, nothing. Nothing. I have to go all the way to San Antonio. I would drive to San Antonio to go do five minutes at an open mic at three in the afternoon. Wow. So I mean, you're you're doing you know, comedy now as I do. I am not saying this. I walked to school backwards and forwards in the snow uphill both ways. Yes. Yeah. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is I really wanted to be a comic. And I made I made shows in Laredo when there wasn't any. So I wish I had somebody there's a guy, my mentors, Victor Speedy Gonzales, that he's from Laredo, he was only doing shows here and there. But every time that every time I asked them and why I remember I was putting a show together and somebody said, Hey, you got to get Victor on the show. I contacted them. The guy's like, Hey, dude. I'm going to do a victor impression. He butchy you're funny, but they're really dirty. And I was like, Okay, so what do I need to do goes Dude, this joke is perfect. There's no reason to throw this many fucks in there. There's no reason to throw. Why did you say asshole there was no punch to joke is a B. C. You could do that clean? And I was like, You know what? You're a he goes Dude, you're you have a crutch but you don't even see you. There's not there's books I get it. But there's not like a guidebook to be a comedian. But when you have somebody who's done it, and they tell you hey, I've done it this many times. It worked for me this way. It didn't work for me this way. Oh, that's badass. So sweet. Speedy really did help me out. But he wasn't always there because he moved to San Antonio.

Unknown Speaker  22:44  
But wasn't he a teacher or yes

Unknown Speaker  22:46  
he started Yeah, well Yeah. Good.

Unknown Speaker  22:49  
Teacher Yes.

Unknown Speaker  22:51  
Yeah, and I think that that's actually what gave him a lot of patience with me because he was like a dude. This joke just throw it out. And I was like, dude, I know you're married to it. Don't be married to it anymore. It is not where you need to be. I hear this from you. And and I love this I love this Don't do this. And somehow know like caught on a click. This guy got me to where I needed to get to to just start doing comedy the right way. And so when I go to open mics here in El Paso in Laredo, shout out to Laredo funny jorts Steve Sarah and Fred those guys I started a community over the habit there's a comedy comedians in Laredo now and these guys are amazing doing shows big shows all over the place there

Unknown Speaker  23:34  
how cool but we will not shout out to louder because there's no mortgage not a mortgage this Oh cool. No real people are right my first time that you took me yeah riddle within this the gym for George. Big Sean All right. All right. So we've shown this theater man and I'm I have no business meeting again against but whatever. So do a guest bump this would happen so years later.

Unknown Speaker  24:01  
Let me interject here because I think this actually has a little bit to do with the show. Speedy goes can SPD he goes Can I go with Yeah, go You know what? Yeah, dude, come on out. Dude. Give me five minutes. He just five minutes steals the show on the first show. So I give him 10 minutes on the second show steals the show. He had people coming up to him after the show. Remember this big tall, white guy lawyer type? And he's like, you know, I don't actually like totals. But you're you know, I really enjoyed your comedy my life.

Unknown Speaker  24:30  
Y'all can't see this. But he's blushing.

Unknown Speaker  24:33  
Yes. Did this. I thought he was a doctor. Yes. Yeah. He's got clinicals normally I wouldn't talk to your type.

Unknown Speaker  24:40  
Yeah. Laughing they

Unknown Speaker  24:41  
will fight amigos. But you're funny. Thank you. It wasn't evil at Bruce booth. Yeah, and he goes to shake my hand goes, You changed my perspective.

Unknown Speaker  24:50  
I honestly I heard this firsthand. And and to be honest with you, I I stopped what I was doing like that really touched me in the hole. Do like he had that opportunity to show a different side to me. He made somebody think differently. And that's the thing about comedy. I mean, we have

Unknown Speaker  25:09  
but here's here's where I go keep going somewhere else. here's here's right click open a booth. And so I should I should present a bagel store handshake and I go for the cholo.

Unknown Speaker  25:20  
Yeah. This

Unknown Speaker  25:24  
and then he walks away and ago, he was a by the way, Bruce, you want your wallet back? Actually. And he goes, God, Nico. Thank you. Because I really did a beer. Yeah. Also, we're fortunate in that we only

Unknown Speaker  25:39  
Yeah.

Unknown Speaker  25:41  
There was another time that you took me to the riddle, man. The fucking judge.

Unknown Speaker  25:45  
Oh, yeah, yeah, yes, yes. Yeah. I got a better start where we got to continue the story. Morgan, right. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about my hometown. When I graduated back in 1989. from high school. A Laredo had a population of 90,000. It's close to 300,000. Now it's not the city I grew up in the ones they could count. Yeah. So back then it was a lot smaller. And everybody would ask me is the raven like to pass on like No, not at all. It really is a lot smaller. And the truth is, it's not we have these have mountains here. Laredo. The best thing about Laredo is the worst thing about Laredo, the people. Because we have some of the best people in the world. We also have a lot of raffle. But to give you a good story about a great how great the people from Laredo are. ag take it away. You went to Vegas, after meeting Laura Morgan in Laredo, and after the show.

Unknown Speaker  26:37  
Yeah, so I did the show a little riddle with with it with the doctor with Bruce, whatever. And a couple years later, I'm on my way to Vegas. I didn't make it to Vegas, and we're going to Vegas last $2,000 cash, man, that's all I had. I lost them. So I'm getting too big. I got a show in Vegas. I got a gig to do your day. So I post on Facebook. Can someone help me out man and Lauren Morgan from rental cars? Yeah. I'll get your room and I could give you 200 bucks to recoup. That's all I needed. I just needed to get through into the fucking show. But I don't know you. When she's home. Yeah, I mentioned Rachel. I saw you that showed up. That's super cool. Dude, that's

Unknown Speaker  27:17  
Laredo

Unknown Speaker  27:18  
reached out to you. All that time. Yes. Wow,

Unknown Speaker  27:22  
that's Laredo. I mean, the truth is, we're very giving very loving very happy people. And I really like the times that you've gone to the valley dude, McCauley and Lori McKenna.

Unknown Speaker  27:34  
I don't say like, this is a story that eventually has to be told on the show.

Unknown Speaker  27:38  
And maybe the second time I come around, but yeah, I when you asked me how I met AG, I gotta be honest with you. I love going to open mics here. And, and I remember one time I went, Jerry karns.

Unknown Speaker  27:52  
Two Gentlemen,

Unknown Speaker  27:53  
he throws Amazing, amazing shows. He's been the one that working the hardest here in town trying to make it Kenya will make the thing happen here. And he would come tell me come through man. And I still remember this bald guy getting on stage and I kept this weird cadence. And yet this weird way of saying the joke, the weird whale just enunciating things. But it was brilliant. And I was like, dude, I like this cat. I'm gonna go talk to him. Dude, I want to go talk to music. Oh, yeah, right on, right on. Oh, yeah. A dude. I like this joke. I know. You don't know me from anybody. But I want to help you. And he's like, No, no, no, dude, tell me what you thought you were in the audience. He doesn't know who I am. He doesn't know. And I'm not trying to pop my collar. But I'm gonna try it right here. I mean, I've been on two uso comedy tours I've been I've been around the world I've been on k locals. I've been on ta this guy has no idea who I am. But he's taking my advice. And I'm like, dude, I came off like a douchebag. At least I thought so. And he goes No, no, no, no, no, no. Tell me what you do. Next time I see him that he polished the two jokes. I told him and there was like two those are them right there. That's it. You can never you can never not do those jokes. You have an up to this day. Tell me the West Side Story joke. I how is that not your golden joke, dude.

Unknown Speaker  29:07  
And that was because you had no business. Obviously. No business been open mic. You don't have to be right. How many and this would be this work coming? So sharpen their skills. What are these what makes and he was there in the summer because I was like two weeks into comedy. So I'm up there. Just do whatever the fuck I can to float. And then I hear

Unknown Speaker  29:27  
ah.

Unknown Speaker  29:29  
I do have

Unknown Speaker  29:31  
a very loud infectious laugh that you can recognize anywhere you

Unknown Speaker  29:35  
know was not in by the way. I'm gonna get him before the puck is over. I'm gonna I'm gonna get him to do it. But I hear this. Ah, this cut.

Unknown Speaker  29:43  
I love the comments and tell me that goes Dude, I think you're lying when you're laughing. I don't know. Dude. I'm laughing guttural like it's deep, dude.

Unknown Speaker  29:50  
It's a real belly. laughs

Unknown Speaker  29:51  
Yes.

Unknown Speaker  29:52  
Yeah, so it doesn't go but when I got on stage, you go. Hey, man. Good chuckle cool, man. Like You fucking me and you know I'm a comic I didn't know that yeah y'all mechanical right on and then this is my thing man even in the streets gangbanger whatever I always listen to someone that was even a year older than me. You don't think but Dude,

Unknown Speaker  30:15  
I let you an age

Unknown Speaker  30:15  
I love No No but I love that you said that because one of my favorite stories I happen to be at the Cadillac barn wobba Laredo, which is across the border from Laredo. This is

Unknown Speaker  30:24  
like a gay bar that kind of like, Nah, dude, this

Unknown Speaker  30:26  
thing is like, No, no, no. This thing was opened in like 1922 it's like, Oh, dude, it's ridiculous. He has a lot of legend in it. Anyway, so I I'm there at the time with my girlfriend and my friends. And Dude, I see this like, older man at the bar. And I'm like, dude, it kind of freaked me out. So I went up to him like, hey, just let me baby beardless. Why not? Just you know. And the guy's like, looking at me. He goes, let me buy you a beer. I would Dude, you have a you have to have a store. He goes, Yeah, gotta be honest with you. I served in Vietnam with this guy. And he passed away and I came to his funeral. And he said that this was his favorite bar. So I'm here having one beer with him that I never had with him here at this bar. I go, Man, that's a great story, man. That's better. How do I swear to God? Dude, I might have been 22 when this happen. Love the story. Easy goes up. 54 I go. Can you tell me something that I need to learn from 22 to 50 for us? Yeah, that you can tell me right now that I wish I would know. And he tells me to just be a good person. It all works itself out. And I'm like, dude, how simplistic he goes. No, no, no, he grabbed me by my shoulder goes. Don't don't don't just look at it. Do trust me on this. Be a good person work hard. Everything works itself out. And I swear to God, dude, that mantra up to now every day, dude. I don't care how hard things have gotten for me or not gotten for me, dude. I always think of that. Oh, man, like, dude, I'm 49 years old. Best lesson I've ever learned. Dude, if you work hard, be a good person. things worked themselves out. Yeah, don't get me wrong. You're gonna go through some downs. Yeah, get that everybody. But Dude, you're good person and good things happen. Do they? Do they come around? And Dude, I love that that happened. So every time that I mean Dude, that was like an eye opening. Like it was like a polyphony. Dude, I was like, dude, I need to tell people this. So when you tell me that so that they Oh, yeah, I you know, I live that.

Unknown Speaker  32:26  
I've seen it through you work on this. Do you kiss as you call it, everyone?

Unknown Speaker  32:32  
I appreciate that. That is what

Unknown Speaker  32:34  
do you know, I'm Willie Barcelona's comedy Gods do Jesus. So when I've talked to him, until he has a great joke about like religion, and it pretty much says the same thing. He goes, did it he says, If I had my own religion, I mean I did. My sermon would be really short. Just like, thank you for coming to church. He opens the book. He goes, don't be a dick. We're gonna be passing the collection. Don't be a dick. So he says he says this and I told him Dude, I love that joke. Because it connect because dude, but that's the way we're supposed to be a kid.

Unknown Speaker  33:10  
Can we keep it real? Yeah. our listeners Nick, would you bring me over? And I love Oh, by the way. But when he said that in effect and whatever. He tells the story with you.

Unknown Speaker  33:27  
Because I did not know this was gonna come up with

Unknown Speaker  33:30  
me to wait because this is not like a story of redemption. It but in a way it is because whatever center

Unknown Speaker  33:37  
tough motherfucker. He's a badass.

Unknown Speaker  33:40  
Right? And he Oh, I so this. Let me preface this story happened. Right? But then he apologizes.

Unknown Speaker  33:48  
You're taking the punch, right? I was

Unknown Speaker  33:49  
gonna say, like an ag story where we hear the end before the

Unknown Speaker  33:54  
Let me try to do it really, really quick.

Unknown Speaker  33:56  
I'm just saying cuz it's redeeming.

Unknown Speaker  33:59  
Back in 2001 San Antonio was the host of Latino left festival. It's a whole weekend of comics. And luckily, the comedy club there in San Antonio. They liked me enough. said hey, you know, we want to invite you to this thing called diamonds in the rough. So I mean, dude, you have all these amazing Latino comics all in town. But there's this one show for the newbies up well, and Willie Barson is the host and like I've seen him I've seen him on NBC on the Jay Leno show. I've seen him do the tonight show he's been on it. I don't know how many. I love this guy. Dude, anytime I left you know, grabs a mic. I feel like a kinship right away. I mean, anytime I don't know what it is. It's just like, dude, there's so many so so few of us man did to be honest with ya, comparatively. Well, so the story is about to get better because dude, my comedy God is part of the Vegas, you know? So now Willie goes on. And Willie says he goes a I'm the third guy on he goes. Hey, dude. From Laredo, Texas, what do you want me to do? Just say I'm from Laredo. Okay, cool. And we we've been drinking. When he goes introduces the first guy comes back April. We from Laredo, Texas. Okay Laredo, Laredo, horrors that for two hours that way. Okay. He goes into the second guy. Hey Pro, your next where you from Laredo, Texas, okay, cool. He gets back on stage and he goes, Hey, the reason I even picked up a mic is because of this guy. And I'm like, on the side of the stage a lot, dude, it can't be me. I mean, dude, I've only been doing this two years.

Unknown Speaker  35:31  
This is why he picked

Unknown Speaker  35:31  
up. He goes, he's right here in the front row. Dude. Can y'all help me welcome party agrees he was the area's he was in the front row. So Paul doesn't even go through the stairs. He just kind of reached out his hand and he picked them up on stage is short enough to do that. And he comes off the stage because they bro I had to do it. I saw him there. I go to fuck. And then he tells me one of the best lines I've ever heard in all of my comedic career. Will you guys have helped because dude, just know that from now on, you could say Pato three has opened up for you. And I go, dude, that dude, I was so nervous having to follow that and Oh, he put it down like oh, cool, dude. And he goes and he puts his arm around me goes to you're gonna kill we're from again. Laredo, Texas. Okay, cool. So part of this goes in. I do love them to death. But he did two minutes, but he was doing it. I'm praying. It's not about me. It's about these guys. Hey, I'm gonna get back off the stage one more time when he gets off stage. When he comes back on a man this guy. I love him. Because while I love you, this next guy's from right here, your hometown, San Antonio, Texas. And the truth is, I wish I had known more about comedy to know how to do that. Because my first joke is about being from a small town. So I could have gone I'm doing now I'm saying this now. I could have gone up there and just gone. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I live here now. But I'm from originally a small town, but that's not what I did. Because I was too stupid. to new to comedy.

Unknown Speaker  37:02  
Very green. So I said you didn't get to do it to stick it to Willie. No,

Unknown Speaker  37:05  
no, no. So I get the microphone. I go Willie, I love you. But no, dude, I told you twice, three times four times. I'm from Laredo. And then dude, he turns around, and I didn't expect a sir. Coming back on stage and he has a mic for my hand. He goes hey, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm fucked up. This pussy from the radio and then he just drops the mic. And now every all the nerves that I ever had before. Now they all came back and I grabbed the microphone and I was like, okay, yes, I am from Laredo. Just regroup. I did my first joke. It got last second joke got more or less, okay, more relaxed. But get going saw the light in the truth is they were giving us four minutes each. And I remember seeing the light and I will do it. That's about where I thought it was good. Perfect. This is great. Did my job, boom, I put it back on the mic. I respect this guy so much. And I know that I just I pissed him off. And I was like, Damn, how am I gonna get off the stage? Dude, so I see him I put it back on the mic and I kind of wave it open. I walk the other way. Like I got off stage right. He's coming stage left. So anyway, I'm making this story a lot longer than it should be. Anyway, I go to the green room and he comes up to me grabs me picks me up against the wall. And he's like, you know, just to to Latinos being Latinos. You know, just WHAT THE FUCK YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUCK back and forth. Boom, boom, boom, boom. There's this guy named Gabriel. A big chunky guy named Gabriel. Douglas. Yes.

Unknown Speaker  38:29  
Oh, yeah, I

Unknown Speaker  38:30  
heard of him.

Unknown Speaker  38:31  
Yeah, he was on the show with me. He comes up to me. He goes, Hey, dude, you're pissed off? Well, I know. Cuz dude, he's really mad. I go to what should I do? Buy my tequila shot. So I did. But I noticed that he was with another guy and we say more or less. So I bought. Yeah, that guy. So I bought three tequila shots. Let's say you know, hey, Let's bury the hatchet. Let me try to you know, I'll have a shot with a Willie. I'm sorry. Do he go and I had the three shots in my hand. And he took all three of them. We'll talk later. That was 2001 I moved to El Paso. 2006 2007 Bart Reed calls me says hey, do you want to open up for Willie barsana I haven't spoke to him since 2001. Yeah, I'd like to open up. I show up at the club. And it was like, dude, you would have thought we were best friends. Do we gave me a huge hug because they do. We're just too young looking bucks. That's you know, we're two bucks. We're over it. We're grown man. Dude, give me a hug. Give me up to one of my best friends in comedy. Dude. I love that guy. Dude, yeah, I can call that guy when I'm down. I could call that guy after a break anything and break up anything that guy when I got divorced I called him he was right there for me.

Unknown Speaker  39:45  
Was when you when you call about your divorce? Was he the table? He wrote to me a few days ago. Heard you out and go a suck it up. And you know, I gotta be honest.

Unknown Speaker  39:54  
I gotta be honest with you, dude, he I was expecting. That's what I was expecting. analyzing data you know, be the guy. Anyway, you cheat with the checks. Don't worry about it. No, dude, he was actually he he listens, but he's a buck dude. He's intellectual shit. We got

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