A Journey Through The Best of Season 3

Hold onto your hats! We're stepping into the intriguing world of email, internet and parole, seeing it all through the lens of a speaker who first encountered these concepts behind prison bars. The course of our conversation takes on a retrospective tone as we trace the evolution of the internet, journeying from the dial-up era to the Wi-Fi dominated present, while exploring life in a halfway house and the dynamics of the parole system. We'll also tackle the speaker's tryst with different churches, his power struggles, relationship drama, and his audacious encounter with the law at his own restaurant. 

Remembering the past isn't always melancholic. Let's take a trip down memory lane as we recollect the speaker's lessons learned from Tony, his mentor from Leonardo's Italian Restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama. Relive the vibrancy of Tony's storytelling, his lesson on customer experience, and the speaker's first Alabama football game. But it won't just be a wistful trip; we'll also share the speaker's experiences of getting arrested at his own restaurant, and the life-changing lessons learned. So join me in this riveting conversation that spans a wide variety of topics, each one filled with insights that promise to educate, entertain and inspire.

Transcript

Speaker 1 3:40

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Speaker 1 7:36

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Speaker 3 7:57

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Email CrossFitMephobiacom.

Speaker 1 8:24

Call or text 256-303-1873, or check her out on Facebook and Instagram CrossFitMephobia. Well, hey guys, thanks for tuning in to the Straight Out of Prison Podcast. My name is James K Jones and this is the best of season three.

Speaker 3 8:46

And this is Hailey Jones, and you've thrown me off because usually you say this is. James. K Jones and this is my story. And then I say and this is Hailey Jones and this is his story, that has now become a part of my story.

Speaker 1 8:59

I think, if people were up this season three, they pretty much got that down.

Speaker 3 9:04

They got that on, I know, but you threw me off of my of my rhythm, so okay. But yes, like you said, this is the best of season three Coming at you. It's gonna be really good. I've been loving the number one and two.

Speaker 1 9:18

Yeah, espen, this has been really fun. I like it, but this, uh, this will be the last week that we do the best of, because we don't have any more seasons Plus, season four is premiering September the 7th.

Speaker 3 9:28

Drumroll, please yes, september the 7th Like you said September 7th, season four. We are stoked about it. We'll see you soon. Bye, season three. We made it. What's up? I feel like we need to go out to dinner to celebrate You're out of prison and free at last, driving off.

Speaker 1 9:50

Free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last.

Speaker 3 9:52

Driving away, I should say, if you're gonna kiss the dirt of the free ground. But you decided.

Speaker 1 9:58

Well, ain't nobody got time for that. I had always planned on doing that. That was always been my plan for almost seven years, but somehow that morning everything was going so fast. We got to the end of the driveway and Tommy was like stopping and I think he wanted to take like a picture or do something cheesy like that and I just said I don't want to do it. I'm good, just get me out of here.

Speaker 3 10:21

Keep driving, don't stop.

Speaker 1 10:26

Yeah, well, I was. You know there's a lot of things I wanted to do for the first time. You know, I wanted to call my mom and wanted to see. You know, I want to do all the things Right, but Brian wanted anything. Is I want to get something to eat, because the brother was hungry?

Speaker 3 10:41

So yeah, because you had talked about how the, the food and the I mean in the Alabama prisons, where it was terrible, it was awful.

Speaker 1 10:49

I mean it was. It was worse than like don't food. It was and I felt like a like a kid in a candy store, like I just couldn't, I couldn't process like the food and it was just. You know, I'm pretty sure I ate some of everything that was there and then. But when I got there was cereal and then they had milk and then I was so excited about it and then I looked up and Tommy was crying.

Speaker 3 11:15

Wait, you were so excited about the, the milk, and how like were you? Just like, oh my god, milk.

Speaker 1 11:20

Like I was just excited to see I haven't had. By that time it's been almost four years since I had milk. We didn't have, we didn't have milk.

Speaker 3 11:27

What did you have? Well, did you have cereal, I guess.

Speaker 1 11:30

Well, if they did cereal, they would take that powdered milk and then they would put water in it and shake it up. So that was, that was the milk. We didn't have milk. And I was excited about the milk. And he was bawling and I was like what's the matter? Like you know what's the matter with you? And he was like I've just never seen anybody get so excited about milk. It was, I mean, I kind of felt bad for him but I was just like, well, you know, I haven't had milk. I've spent a long time since I had milk, but I didn't. I didn't. I didn't know how to talk on the phone, but you know, eventually I didn't know how to talk on the phone.

Speaker 1 12:04

Well, now, like with a regular, like a home phone, you can hear your there's like you can hear yourself. And that one I couldn't, and it might have been because we were in the car and the background noise, I don't know. Yeah, but it was very difficult. And then, but I finally got on the phone with my mom and you know her tears of joy and she's real. You know all that stuff and it was. And of course, you know when are you coming to see me? You know, like mom, you gotta give me a minute. I gotta figure out. I got a lot to figure out, you know. But I'm coming to see you, but you know there's a lot I gotta get through it. I got a lot of hoops to jump through.

Speaker 3 12:38

It's hard to believe. I mean, our daughter just turned seven, so to think that you were in prison as long as she's been alive, yeah.

Speaker 1 12:45

It's crazy.

Speaker 3 12:46

Is it's crazy, you know? Think of it from that perspective.

Speaker 1 12:49

It feels like a very long time it was the better part of the 90s. Yeah, I mean, even to this day people will tell me like a classic movie that they love. And if it was during the 90s, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know what that is, I didn't see that. Then we went to Tommy's house. He was going to show me, he was going to show me where I was going to stay. I guess I was kind of taken back when we pulled into his neighborhood because it was like he lived in Kaba Heights, which was on the outskirts of Birmingham. Now it's actually part of Estavia, but at that time it was just unincorporated Jefferson County and it's behind the summit on 280.

Speaker 3 13:27

Okay, it was a big shopping center area, yeah, and just the neighborhood like all these big houses.

Speaker 1 13:36

And then when we pulled up to his house I was like this is your house, I mean, because it looked like a mansion, like it was like there was two stories kind of tucked in a hill, yards and landscaping and flowers and it was just beautiful.

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Speaker 3 13:50

I mean you explain, you describe all that, and I think I mean because you had never, really you didn't grow up in a house or neighborhood like that either, right? No, I mean, my granny had a nice house in a nice neighborhood. I'm just thinking you're coming from prison, being in a prison cell, to one of the nicest houses you've ever been. That, as far as I'm going to stay here, I'm going to stay here. Yeah, it was crazy.

(Cont.) The “Best” of Season 3 🌟

Speaker 1 14:13

Yeah, I mean because this was, it was nice, it was, it was crazy. What a contrast. No, I felt like little orphan, annie, like coming in there, like hey, I'm James, where do I need to start Clean the floors? I'm James from prison. The house was intimidating because when you walked in the front door there was like this long whining store staircase, you know like something out of going with the wind, and you know, just nice, just nice, expensive stuff. And they took me in and he showed me where my room was going to be and when he opened the door to the room, the bed, the floor, the dresser was flooded with clothes, cosmetics, underwear cosmetics cosmetics like deodorant and shampoo.

Speaker 3 15:04

Oh, okay, yeah, I didn't have anything, hailey see, hailey, I guess I just I mean, you don't think of it when you don't know it, to think that you actually, that you didn't have any of that shampoo, or anything like that.

Speaker 1 15:16

I mean I had a prison ID in my paper sack just to be able to sit and eat dinner and watch TV and then the next morning to wake up and be like this is real, like this is really happening, like I'm not in prison anymore. It was crazy, like the freedom Freedom is, uh, freedom.

Speaker 3 15:38

You definitely have an appreciation for it. I mean, like I said, someone like me who's never I mean I've always, I've never not had freedom, but because of that I've never thought about it. Yeah, I don't think about it in the same way that you do. It's crazy.

Speaker 1 15:51

I remember the biggest thing for me was that, I noted, was that Wicked Snack. Like you could, they had a little din. You know, sit in there and watch TV and eat chips and I thought that was neat. And then he had a computer and you know he was trying to get down to business with me that first night and he was like we're going to need to set you up an email address and I was like what is that? Like I don't know.

Speaker 3 16:14

Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 16:15

What does that mean? Like what?

Speaker 3 16:16

That did all come just half, like in the 90s.

Speaker 1 16:19

I don't know what that did. We would in prison. We would see commercials or like on the news where they talked about the world wide web or the internet or Yahoo or America online, and we didn't know what that meant. We didn't understand it. Like we didn't know what it meant.

Speaker 3 16:35

Yeah.

Speaker 1 16:36

And then he wanted me to have an email address and he explained to me, like when you go for job interviews, they're going to want, and I was like what for for what? And so he set me up. He helped me set up. My first email address was JKJ5372 at ALLcom and I would keep that for the next 10 or so years, till, all you know, till Gmail came around.

Speaker 1 16:57

Right After we set it up. I was like, okay, now what do I do with it? And he was like, well, you can send emails. And then so he started sending me emails and I would open the emails and it like had some words. I was like, but you're sitting right here and suddenly I don't understand the concept, I'm not getting the concept. So it took me a minute. Then he tried to show me what the internet was and it was that old, it was the dial-up. That yeah. And I just like this is just, this is not productive. Like I mean, I'm good little did you know? I'm good with books. Just let me, I'll just read, I'll just use my book. But the first stop was the parole office.

Speaker 3 17:36

Okay, and that's where you met your parole officer.

Speaker 1 17:40

And apparently I got the the doozy.

Speaker 3 17:44

And what like. What is the role or the job of the parole officer like? What's the point there?

Speaker 1 17:51

Hey guys, hang tight, we'll be right back.

Speaker 5 17:56

Hi, I'm Clarissa Christensen, the host of Thriving Through Menopause. If you're in perimenopause or menopause and feeling anxious, confused and alone, this is the place to get some answers. Here you'll learn about lifestyle interventions and mindset shifts to help you feel positive, informed and connected. Join me and my guests as we educate, empower and motivate you to thrive not just survive in menopause and beyond. Remember, you've got this Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 1 18:39

You report to them and they're basically, when you're on parole, they're in charge of you, they can arrest you, they can put handcuffs on you and take you to jail. Oh, wow, yeah, because when you make parole you're out, you're free, but you belong to them until you complete the parole because, technically, you're still a prisoner on parole. So when I got in there and I met her they're right, she was all business. She was not. There was no warm fuzzies, no fun and games, it was all business.

Speaker 1 19:11

And she started telling me all the things and I just took out my notepad and started taking notes. You know, whatever I need to do, I'm going to do it. How did she say it? She said you're free and you can go walk down the sidewalk like anybody else, but you're not free like other people because you have this hanging over you. So anything you do can I can send you back to prison. So, whatever I, if I can come to your house, I can come to your job, I can you know anything and they can. They have that power. Basically, you belong to them and there's nothing you can do except whatever they want you to do, right? So she gave me this big list and she was very harsh with me, like I'm not playing games with you, but later on she told me. She said I've been a parole officer for 18 years and when you came in my office and you started taking notes of the things that I was telling you, that was the first time that's ever happened. There's never been anybody.

Speaker 3 20:16

That's hard to believe, though, really for me, like thinking someone coming out of prison.

Speaker 1 20:21

You would think that everyone has the want to to stay out of prison and like, let me just make sure I'm well, I was just serious about my freedom, right, because they can any technical violation, I mean, but I'd seen guys come back to prison for stupid stuff.

Speaker 1 20:34

Right, right Just for, like moving, like if you live somewhere and if you move somewhere else and you don't tell them, then that's a violation. Or if you step over a state line, that's a violation Really. Yeah, like I couldn't even go see my granny unless I got a. Oh wow, you have to get a traveling pass.

Speaker 3 20:51

Well, it's like the simple stuff. Like you had your notebook and we're taking notes to remind yourself of what you need to do. I mean, it's just so simple. I didn't want to forget. Right, Exactly that's what I'm like making the point.

Speaker 1 21:02

No, I'm like we can gamble. We can gamble with other stuff, but I'm not gambling with my freedom. Right, I'm not. I'm taking my freedom. I'm taking my freedom serious. We went to Rossies in Birmingham. I talked to her and her husband, pat they were like co-managers and the dining room manager His name was Nabil- Nabil.

Speaker 1 21:25

Nabil. He was from Israel, uh-huh, but he wasn't Jewish, he was, uh, like Palestinian, I guess. And they didn't even make me feel application, and I was just honest about you know everything, didn't hide anything, and they told me to be there tomorrow.

Speaker 3 21:43

Here's the deal. I just got out of prison two days ago.

Speaker 1 21:46

No one day ago.

Speaker 3 21:47

One day ago.

Speaker 1 21:48

I got out of prison yesterday morning.

Speaker 3 21:52

Nice to meet you.

Speaker 1 21:53

This is Tuesday around lunchtime. I got out of prison yesterday morning. That is so funny. Two days ago I was at West Jefferson.

Speaker 3 22:01

I can just envision that conversation. I mean, just break this down for you.

Speaker 1 22:05

Well, I didn't want to know, but he had already told her the backstory, so they already knew. Yeah, and it was. But this was a nice place. This was like like the Hilton Hotel they were and they hired me.

Speaker 3 22:18

Wow.

Speaker 1 22:19

And so I got a job. And not just that I got a job, but it was a job I wanted.

Speaker 3 22:27

Oh, shepard's Fold is a halfway house. I did have a question when I was thinking about recording today, because I just don't have any experience with a halfway house. What exactly is a halfway house? Cause, when I think of that term, I think of people that are on drugs, that don't pay their rent, that are just finding an abandoned house and going and living in it.

Speaker 1 22:45

No, I mean most halfway houses are programs. Oh, okay, so they're trying to help people. There's different types. There's some for people like coming out of recovery or trying to get off drugs. There's some for people that just have had, you know, like financial problems and they need some help. You know they got to, they need a place to land to figure it out. And then there's some, you know, when I when I had Kairos in Birmingham, I worked with the Bethany home and it was it was a halfway house but it was helping women come out of abuse, like it was a secret house, nobody knew. Like they made me. You can't say where this is.

Speaker 3 23:18

Yeah.

Speaker 1 23:19

And they would help women, you know, escape their abusers and put their life back together and then move on. And then there are other ones where they can bring their kids. They're just all over and but they're not all good. Now, all halfway houses are not just cause they say they got a 501 C three in their nonprofit does not make them good cause. Some of them are rough.

Speaker 3 23:38

Well, another question random why do they call it a halfway house? You're halfway somewhere.

Speaker 1 23:45

Well, the idea is it's it's like a step up. So I didn't want to go to a halfway house, I wanted to go home. You know, steve was the one who taught me into it and he taught me it was part of my parole plan of committing. You know, it's not long, what is four months? And I remember, as I was debating whether he was right or not, it did sound wise Like you don't want to get straight out of prison, you don't want to go. He called it going to mama NIM's house. Don't don't go home to mama NIM, go figure it out somewhere else. So there was a part of me that felt like he was right. But then there's another part of me that felt like, you know, I don't want to do all that, but I was.

Speaker 1 24:18

As I was thinking about that, you know, a couple of two, three days when we're doing our parole plan, I thought to myself, how many four months did I do in prison? And I counted them up and I did a lot of four months in prison. So four months is nothing. And it ended up being like one of my best decisions was going there, because it just gave me I didn't have to go straight out into the world and start trying to figure it out. I had some room to breathe and you know they helped me. You know, get to the next place, and that was his goal. Halfway houses for people coming to prison are just to help you take the step to get to where you need to be, like halfway to full freedom or something, yeah Okay.

Speaker 3 24:59

So you got there and what was your first impression? Or thought like, what did you do? You check in like a hotel?

Speaker 1 25:05

No, I was, uh, I was shocked by the neighborhood. I'd already been prepped, though. There were a lot of guys that were with me in the honor dorm that were from Birmingham and they were familiar with Southwest Birmingham. It's a bad neighborhood and I had two or three of them even the day before, the night before or the day I left, to say James, look me in the eyes, I know how hardheaded you are, you're stubborn, you think you can do it Whatever you want. Don't go for a walk in the neighborhood by yourself and don't even go outside at night. And they were right. It was scary and it was like one way during the day, but at night you hear gunshots, you hear screams, you hear sirens. It was just, it was rough, it was a rough neighborhood. So I, I was prepared for that, but I, you know, I told myself, you know, I'm just gotta do what I do, I ain't in prison. And then I was also taken back by.

Speaker 1 25:56

Like it just looked like poverty, like it was an old rundown house. It was like one of those big old timing houses like from, you know, 200 years ago, where there are steps in the middle, no hallways. Every room led to another room, led to another room and there were like 40, 30, 40 guys living there and I mean it was like square footage wise, it would have been like a mansion, but it was. You know, it was rundown and decrepit and old and yeah, but 40 people living in. Well, we had plenty of space, it wasn't. It wasn't like tight, like we weren't like busting at the seams. Everybody had their own space. Most of the rooms were two man rooms. Some of them were three man rooms and then there were two or three like one man rooms. You know, it didn't take me long to negotiate. I think my second month I negotiated. You know, I need that one man room because it was a, it was a trip but you started in a three man room, or it was a two man room.

Speaker 1 26:55

I was in a middle room, which meant that my room was like a hallway, so there was me and somebody else sleeping on the next bed over, but there were huge rooms so it wasn't like we were close. I had my own closet with and he had his own closet, and Joe had told me go straight and get a lock before you put anything in your closet. And I didn't listen and I found out quick that they stole everything there. There was still your toilet paper, there was still your toothpaste, there was still your toothbrush. They were still there was they was still anything that you left laying there, except for a Bible or any kind of book.

Speaker 3 27:32

Who's they? The other men living there, the other people?

Speaker 1 27:34

living there, yeah, so it was like I digressed. It was worse than prison in that sense, so that was a shot.

Speaker 3 27:41

That's crazy, I would say. My only experience that's like even close to that is I stayed in a hostel when I was traveling. What is a hostel?

Speaker 1 27:48

Is that like where Hooker's no, james, no, it's like a brothel, yes, big difference, so he gave me some bus passes that first day, these little tokens, and he told me gave me a car Copy of the bus route of the Birmingham Metro, what else? Called and told me I need to go find a job. So I was like I already got a job. But I was. I was like torn because I was like they just push people out the door in the morning morning, tell them go get on a bus.

Speaker 1 28:22

I don't even know how to ride a bus, I don't know where they go, I don't know how it works. I mean I could figure it out. I'm really wrong. Yeah, but I braced myself. I'm not going to be able to get my car from them, I'm just going to have to learn how to ride the bus. But I ended up the way it ended up I would have. I didn't feel like I was too good to ride the bus, but then people just started wanting to help and give me rides and stuff. So it didn't know. So you never had to ride it. No, and it didn't take me long to once I started working to save up my money and then get my savings account that he wanted to get insurance and stuff like that and to be able to have my car.

Speaker 1 29:00

So it was like six weeks maybe before I got my car. But it was like getting out of prison again, cause now I'm free. I'm so free I can go where I want, except you have to be back by six. Yeah, and now it was another one, the guy that was the staff person there.

Speaker 3 29:15

Was that the assistant hobby?

Speaker 1 29:17

or a happy. His name was happy, okay, and he was skinny little guy. He ended him Haggard looking. No, he was like from Ohio, okay, but he looked like like a stoner, like he was out smoking weed he wasn't, but like he had that look like like a hippie kind of look. And he what?

Speaker 3 29:34

does the stoner?

Speaker 1 29:35

look like, you know just unkept, I was wearing flip flops. Oh okay, just lounging.

Speaker 1 29:41

You know lamping dreads he didn't have dreads, but I could see him with dreads. Okay, you know I carry a backpack everywhere. I don't know I didn't like him and he didn't like me. What didn't you like about him? He was annoying. He was like this, uh, like little spur in my side from the time I walked in there, like somebody, someone toilet paper. The second day I was there and if you have to use the bathroom, you have to have toilet paper.

Speaker 3 30:09

Okay, pause, though Maybe it's some people don't know. I don't know if we've mentioned this before, but James is very particular about his toilet paper. I know eight years that we've been married, I have bought the wrong toilet paper a couple of times and that was not okay. It's only the blue Charmin, right. That's what I mean. I'm pulling up on me the pandemic thing had nothing on team Jones, because we were good on our toilet paper, yeah Well that came from prison.

Speaker 1 30:37

Right, I learned that in prison. Like you have to stay ahead because you never know. You never know when things change, yeah, like you can get in a toilet paper drought. Like I'm gonna have mine. I might even sell you a role.

Speaker 3 30:48

No, I wouldn't do that, but uh okay, so he got on me about the toilet paper and like screaming at me Wait, it got stolen from you, though, right.

Speaker 1 30:55

Yeah. So I went and asked for another toilet paper and he started screaming at me. Didn't understand, I didn't know. And I said don't I pay rent? Don't we pay rent? They don't pay for the toilet paper. Blah, blah, blah and like just. And this was like my second day, and it was like it was after 1030 because the doors were locked and I said just give me the toilet paper and for the rest of my time here, I promise you, you'll never, I will never ask you for another toilet paper or anything. So just let me get. And I didn't, I wouldn't bum on toilet paper. There was something about Birmingham that was like Atlanta, but not it was like for me. Birmingham was like a collection of small towns just all pushed together, whereas Atlanta was like this big metro, like you know, just everything happening.

Speaker 3 31:49

So there was a familiarity, but also it was different, something new. Yeah, I just want to talk more about what did that keep stepping? Look like so you were coming out of your brothel I was about to say brothel.

Speaker 1 32:04

Brothel, I wouldn't know I wasn't a hooker.

Speaker 3 32:09

You were halfway house.

Speaker 1 32:10

I was trying to apologize. I don't know where I came from.

Speaker 3 32:14

I think I like halfway house in brothel. You're thinking?

Speaker 1 32:15

hostile. You're thinking hostile Because the last episode you said you said hostile.

Speaker 3 32:20

Yeah, but brothel is totally different, I don't know what. Ok, so you kept stepping, you were keeping the step and it was important and I agree with all that.

Speaker 1 32:31

And it kind of stunk the way you said that.

Speaker 3 32:34

I think you talked about this last episode.

Speaker 1 32:36

No, I didn't, it was the one that we taped that we didn't tape. Oh, ha, ha ha ha. Yes, we actually taped one and, hey, we had our microphone turned around so we had to re-tape it. And this one's funny because I talked about Jimmy Dunn and Walter like they were big in the Catholic Church, me and Walter not so much. Walter came and picked me up one night and took me through. He gave me a ride through Birmingham in his brand new Ford Escort I've been so proud of, but it was at night and it was like downtown Birmingham, southside, through UAB, all that stuff, and I was just like, wow, this is the big city.

Speaker 1 33:18

I was in New York, but I mean, I know it wasn't, but it felt like that to me. And there had been a conversation the night before was that I know that Catholics don't let you take communion unless you're confirmed as a Catholic. And so I was just saying I know I can't take communion at the Catholic Church and he said, james, you're more Catholic than most Catholics that I know. So he said, if you can take communion, if you want to just go to my wife, and I was like, ok, so we get to Catholic Church. It was a beautiful church, beautiful service.

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(Cont.) The “Best” of Season 3 🌟

Speaker 1 33:55

Jimmy actually was the minister of music so he played on these or he played as the organist, like ah, ah, ah, ah, ah ah. But it wasn't like the Baptist Church where they have a little piano where it was like the pipes went through the ceiling. It was beautiful and he was the one up there like getting down the organ or whatever Getting down at the Catholic Church. But I was taken back by how many times I had to stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. And then they wanted to do all this repeating and then they passed the offering plate like seven times. I'm like how many times. I mean how much money y'all got. I mean what's happening here? But we went down there, took communion, I took the bread and then I took the wine and it was real wine. So you know I'm straight out of prison, like I haven't had anything to drink in like 10 years probably and I got a buzz like for the wine. I was like what?

Speaker 3 34:58

Some kind of communion wine?

Speaker 1 34:58

Yes, it was strong wine. It was not. It wasn't like it was wine, it was like it was close to whiskey. I mean, I don't know.

Speaker 3 35:07

I don't know about that.

Speaker 1 35:08

But no, but I got a buzz, Like I almost stumbled back to my thing. Yes, I did, I did, I promise. But I was also like struggling with, like guilt, because you had to sign a thing in Shepherd'sville that said you wouldn't drink alcohol. And I was like I'm afraid I'm getting in trouble. And Walter was like relax, change, relax.

Speaker 1 35:25

But then after the service we were waiting on Jimmy and his wife to get done because they work there or whatever, and we were standing up at the front and people would walk by and like bow down, like the people would just walk by and just bow down and there was nobody up, because I noticed they were bowing down to the priest, but they were just walking by, just like bow down, bow down. And so I was like what are they doing? And he was like oh, they're reverencing the Ark. And I was like the what he was like the Ark, that's where Jesus is. And I was like where's Jesus? And he was like well, the priest made the bread turn into the body of the Jesus and the wine turned into the blood of the Jesus and then the leftovers were put in the Ark. So that's why they're bowing down.

Speaker 1 36:16

And so I was like do you believe that? And he was like yes, I do. And so I said Jesus isn't me. And he was like I know it's because you took communion. And I was like no, no, hold up, bro. Jesus wasn't me before I came in here. But there was a little bit of pressure from them like we think you should be here, and I was like I think I should not. I've already found. My church is the World Victory Church in Vistavia. But I went and during the state it was like one of those big. It was like a very formal service but I was chewing gum and apparently, according to the Word of Faith people, that's a cardinal sin. Like you, don't chew gum during the service. But somebody came up to me during the service and said I'm on need to get your gum and I was like what?

Speaker 1 37:03

Well, they wanted to spit it out on their hands or something. No, they came with a napkin, like I'm going to need you to give me your gum, and I was like, what are you talking about? And they were, like pastor says, gum chewing disturbs the anointing. So I was like, are you serious? But so I gave him my gum. But I was like I'll give you my gum but I won't be back. This is Steve Long. Steve Long had a deep relationship with him, but what I found out after I got to the Shepherdsville was that Joel Brumbach went to church at Steve's Church. Habbie, the guy that drove me crazy, the little assistant man, habbie, he went to Steve's Church. Hey guys, hang tight, we'll be right back.

Speaker 4 37:46

To some extent, we're all still trying to figure out what we want to be when we grow up. In fact, it was from that struggle that I started my podcast, career Sweet Spot. I'm Steve Perkins. I'm the founder of Greenhouse Coaching and, together with my team, we explore everything about this topic on our podcast, career Sweet Spot. We share ideas, practical steps and insights we've gathered from coaching thousands of individuals and companies. On Career Sweet Spot, we like to joke and have fun while also tackling the biggest topics intentional people are thinking about in their work, their leadership and their life. So why don't you press pause and hit subscribe to Career Sweet Spot, a podcast all about life and career growth?

Speaker 3 38:28

I feel like I need to say his name like that every time Habbie, Habbie, Habbie.

Speaker 1 38:33

Habbie was a trip. Habbie was a trip, but they all went to Steve's Church. I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew I loved Steve. I was connected to Joel. Couldn't stand Habbie Didn't really know anything else but I knew that, like his daughter, sean was going there and I thought, you know, I need to hook up with that little something.

Speaker 3 38:52

So did we talk about that? We talked about it last night.

Speaker 1 38:55

Yeah, I felt like she was. You know, there was. Yes, there was some connections there. I don't think about one, but when I went in it was like in a like a conference room. There might have been like 50, 60 people there, but they started the service with an open mic where they invited people to the open mic after worship.

Speaker 3 39:15

Is that like karaoke open mic?

Speaker 1 39:17

No, just where they called it share time.

Speaker 3 39:20

OK.

Speaker 1 39:21

And so I was like immediately like struck, like Steve, are you going to give people a microphone? Like I've been in prison, I know what happens in church services when you let somebody go, like it's just they could go. They could go all kind of ways. But the first person that got up was an older lady who got up, was not sharing about anything, except that she was making organic dog biscuits that are really good for dogs and very healthy for dogs.

Speaker 3 39:52

So she was marketing her business.

Speaker 1 39:54

She was selling her dog biscuits and I was just like this is not, this is not the place for me. I mean, I'll do this for like this one time, but like I'm one and done I'm out. I saved up money, was able to get my first apartment, which was and I guess that was kind of complicated because Tommy was helping me and he kept. I found out he had a lot of free time when he wasn't wallpapering or pastoring and he kept finding me these apartments that I didn't want, Like he would.

Speaker 1 40:30

He found me this one, I know the Lord Jesus, the spirit, spoke to me and told me this was your apartment and it was because it was close to him. And I went and looked at it and there was no washer and dryer connections and I was like, where am I supposed to wash my clothes? And he was like, oh, they have a laundromat. And I was like, no, I'm not doing a laundry mat, Like I'm no, like if I'm going to get an apartment, I need to be able to wash my clothes. And so I had not a lot of standards but I had a. I guess that was the only one I need to be able to. They have to have a washer and dryer connection. I ain't going to laundry mat and he didn't understand that. But I was just like I know myself, Like I need to be able to wash my clothes.

Speaker 1 41:10

So everyone that he found I turned him down, but then in my vision that I wrote it, said you will find a nice place to live in, a good area.

Speaker 1 41:20

So that like narrowed the gap for me and so I would show him that like I'm supposed to find a good area, Like I'm not supposed to live where it's cheap, I'm supposed to find a good area. And he got aggravated with me but I was like I'm going to hold out for the good area. So what ended up happening was he had a cousin I forget her name, but she was renting a duplex in Kaba Heights, like three blocks from where him and Brenda lived in this big fancy neighborhood, but it was right behind the summit in Birmingham and it was a duplex. And she decided or got married or something. I forget what happened, but it was like one of those deals where it was a small real estate company on this property and you had to know somebody to get you in. And he was able to get me in and ended up being able to rent that duplex apartment and it was $300 a month, which was insane. Which?

Speaker 3 42:18

is insane legit.

Speaker 1 42:21

So the ladies wanted to throw me a housewarming party and I thought that was cool. But then I was kind of weird because I was like ain't that what you do when you get married? And they were like no, you're starting your own home. Like you need things.

Speaker 3 42:32

Yeah, for sure, that's a thing for sure.

Speaker 1 42:34

So I was like, okay, let's do that. And then somehow I got out at my job that I was having a housewarming party and then all of a sudden, all them people wanted to come. So it turned into like this huge like event and it was on a Sunday and somebody brought food and it was just. This was a little bitty dupe. It was a two bedroom, you know probably 7, 800 square feet, and there was like 30 people that came through there that day. But there was one of the assistant chefs that worked at Rossi's.

Speaker 1 43:05

He was from Italy and he did not speak very good. He could speak English, but it wasn't like great English. And I remember him. His wife was the banquets director there and she was American. She spoke good English.

Speaker 1 43:17

But he came up to me and was like James, I really want to come to your party, but can you tell me, like, explain to me like what is? How do you say a warm house party? So it was like no, it's a housewarming party and I had all these people up on the stage and he would preach and they were singing and hollering and do all that stuff. But there was many times I would look up and there would be more people on the stage than there were in the congregation. So it was just like I don't know. But I didn't want to leave because I had this statistic that I heard yeah, if you can be with one church with one job for one year, then your statistics go up and making it. So I was like struggling with that. Plus I didn't want to church hop. But then it kind of came to a head when they did a special church service where they had a visiting traveling person that came in. His name was Tim, I don't remember his last name.

Speaker 3 44:12

So a visiting, traveling person, like for those of us that I don't know.

Speaker 1 44:16

He like went around from church to church and put on services, like spoke or whatever. Oh, he didn't want to speak. They say that he was a prophet, and a prophet if you don't know what that is, there's people that can tell you things that God is saying to you. But he also said that he was an anointed psalmist and I was like what does that mean? Somebody that was next to me was like it means he writes his own songs from the Lord. So I was like okay. And then out in the lobby he was also had a clothing business with Christian symbols on him.

Speaker 3 44:50

So he was a. Let's break this down. He was a prophet. He was a prophet, a songwriter. He was a songwriter, songwriter AK, anointed psalmist Singer. He also had a clothing line.

Speaker 1 45:00

Clothing line. It's called Zion clothes or something, some religious thing attached to it, but they were like. It was like ain't nobody finna pay $80 for no pair of jeans, especially looking like that Were they.

Speaker 3 45:10

anointed jeans, were they?

Speaker 1 45:12

He said they were. But you know I'm not into all that. So he was doing, he started off the night with a little message and he was going to do the prophecies. So that means everybody's supposed to walk up there and he's supposed to tell you something. So I walked up there and he like laid his hands on me and like took a deep breath and shivered and was like I have a word for you, brother James. So I was like, and I was like sincere, like I'm waiting on my word. And he was like I see a book opened. The book is opened from Birmingham to Montgomery.

Speaker 1 45:44

The interpretation of this vision is that you shall preach the gospel from Birmingham to Montgomery and from Montgomery to Birmingham, but nowhere else. And I was like, what does that even mean? Like you know, even none of this is and I've been, I've studied, I have teaching. Like they say, if somebody gives you a prophecy, you either know it's right or it's not. And if you know it's not, then you're not supposed to even think about it. So I went back and sat down and was like, well, maybe, maybe he's, you know, good for somebody else. Maybe Jesus don't want to tell me anything tonight. But he started singing a song and the song was about the anointing, and that's what they call like when the God's presence comes down. And the anointing. In the Old Testament they did it with oil. So that's like how they you know some of these With oil. What do they do with oil? Well, in the Old Testament they would anoint people with oil. Does that mean?

Speaker 3 46:41

you pour it on them, or?

Speaker 1 46:43

Yeah, like the priests and the, but these were Jewish people, Like they did. This was a long and plus. You needed oil back then because you were dry and I don't know, I don't know, let's start off with that.

Speaker 3 46:53

I know no, but I'm trying to understand. When you're talking like this, it's like what In Old Testament they used.

Speaker 1 46:58

They used oil to like anoint kings and prophets and people, and so in the New Testament the anointing is this is not that, it's the spirit of God, that's the anointing. So he started singing about the anointing and he's up there and he's got like one of those little pop up keyboard things and he's up there Toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot. And then he starts singing about the anointing and then he starts calling it the grease and he says, okay, oil, yeah. So he starts calling it the grease and I think he I think they said he was making this up in real time, I don't know, but then he started singing, the song was released to grease. So he was like Lord, release the grease, release the grease. And it was getting weirder and weirder, like by the second. It just kept like it was just more weird and weird. So I'm sitting there.

Speaker 1 47:50

There was probably 50 people in the congregation, maybe a little bit more. So they started a march, they started riding the train. You know, come on, ride this train. They ride it, chew, chew chew. Come on, ride the train. It's the chew, chew.

Speaker 1 48:04

But it was the release, the grease train. So everybody was on the train going around the church, hollering and carrying on, and it was not a very big church, it was just a little. I don't, I couldn't get up, I couldn't do it, you couldn't bring yourself to I couldn't get on that train. And I was watching the train and they were going around and he just kept getting louder and louder and he would say the same thing over release the grease. Then he started spelling R-E-L-E-A-S-E-T-A-G-G-R-E-A-E-S-E.

Speaker 3 48:35

You know just so were people singing along with him or clapping or what? Yeah, they were carrying on.

Speaker 1 48:40

They were carrying on so they went around a few times. I was towards the back and I didn't get on the train. So they stopped the train for James and the pastor's wife was like James, come on, you're supposed to be on this train. So I was like I don't want to get on the train. She was like come on and get on this train, get on this train. So I got up, got on the train, I walked, I didn't holler into, I walked around one full time. One lap.

Speaker 1 49:06

Did one lap on the train and I got to the end, stepped off the train. I wasn't in the middle anymore. I looked back and I said, Lord Jesus, this is not where I'm supposed to be. And I left and I never went back.

Speaker 3 49:17

You never went back after that.

Speaker 1 49:19

Nope, that's the end. And the last one I did for Greg was in Vestavia. It was a big house that we were there for like two weeks with all kinds of stuff but we were putting in a sprinkler system in the back and I'd started to trench a hole and I was at the edge of a. I don't know if a trencher is like a thing that goes down in the ground, like you lower it with a switch and it goes down and it just it creates like a little thin hole to be able to run pipes through for a sprinkler system. But as I was lowering that down in at the edge of the yard next to the fence, it hit a rock and it bounced. And when it bounced it grabbed the chain link fence.

Speaker 3 50:00

Oh my gosh.

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Speaker 1 50:01

No, it was a miracle that I didn't get hurt. But it was like the fence was there one time, one minute, and the next minute the fence was gone. And then it was just there were just poles standing there and I felt like the poles were mocking me. Like what are you doing? What are you doing here? You feel like the poles were mocking you. They were mocking me. The poles were just looking at me like why are you doing this? Like this is not because I'm not even good at stuff, like I can play in a flower bed, but I can't do it. So I got my little walkie-talkie. It was like you go, and it was a phone too, but if you did it, all the people would hear you. So I was like, does anybody not a fix of chain link fence? And my boss was like wow.

(Cont.) The “Best” of Season 3 🌟

Speaker 1 50:41

And so I drove back that day. I went in and I said look, I appreciate you giving me an opportunity. This has been a hard slimmer, you know. I mean he paid me the best he could. He did. I mean you know I got some poison in now and I'm miserable and I said this is, I'm tired of tearing up your equipment and you have this sadness about me and you want to keep letting me do it, but this is, I'm not made for this. So I said I want, I'm putting a notice, I need to put in a notice and I need to do something else. And he said well, if you don't work here, what are you going to do? I said I'm going back to my world. I'm going back to the restaurant world. I'm going to get me a job in a restaurant. And he was like how long do you think that would take you to do that? And I said probably, I could probably find a job by the end of the day. And he said well, you're free if you want to just be done. Oh, he was a good guy. Yeah, he knew he was free, but it was just.

Speaker 1 51:33

I was just in a like a lost kind of place where it was just just gosh. I hate this. Like I hate everything about this. I hate, you know, not having enough money, I hate trying to figure it out, and it was so one of the hardest things I ever had to do is ask my mom to leave because that hurt her feelings. And then you know, but it was, you know, I had to do what I had to do and but again, every day I would wake up and be like this is not, this is not life, that's not what I'm doing. I mean, I hate. I hated both the jobs I was working. I hated the church I was going to. I didn't hate it, I just felt like I wasn't getting anything out of it.

Speaker 1 52:12

Right, she called me and she said I know how much you liked working in Italian and you know you're doing so good and so great. I just I took a job at this little place on Rocky Ridge Road. It's called Leonardo's. It's owned by one of the Bruno's and Mr Fuletta. I think you would love it. Here, small, we have a great little lunch business, a little great little dinner business. The food is authentic. So you know everything. It just it just feels like something you would love. I think we'll end up, maybe pause on that and we'll pick up next, because that was where my season changed.

Speaker 3 52:48

Well, ok, so that is interesting. Yes, let's pause and pick up next time. But you say now you can see that's where your season changed. But as you were driving to that restaurant, you got the job there like immediately. You didn't know. But so let me just say that this makes me very emotional.

Speaker 3 53:06

I will, ok. So here's the deal. So this is going is about to shift your season, oh yeah, entirely and get like a whole new kind of era for you which we will unpack. My next start, right, yeah. But here's what I'm feeling, like led to encourage myself, as well as other people that are listening, that you don't know, like, what you're embarking on. Maybe what's happened even recently, that is a total shift in season for you, that is a total shift in the air that you don't know. That that's what that is. But just to know that there is a gift, maybe that you don't even realize you're walking out or walking in right now. That's about to change things for you.

Speaker 1 53:48

Oh hey, guys, hang tight, We'll be right back.

Speaker 6 53:54

Hi, it's Ashley Rogues here, host of the podcast called Dala Dala Bills. This is a podcast devoted to helping you learn and grow your financial toolkit so you can ultimately respect your money and foster long-term growth. This podcast is for anyone looking to improve their financial situation and either grow from scratch or develop new techniques to continue to thrive. People are emotional creatures and ultimately make poor financial decisions as a result. Let me help you to make conscious, non-emotional decisions about your money. Listen to Dala Dala Bills over on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast, that's true.

Speaker 1 54:36

This next season of my life was one of the best ones in my life, actually.

Speaker 3 54:42

Why are we so emotional? I don't know.

Speaker 1 54:44

We're both starting to cry right now. It's because you know the story. Okay, the first shift I had, they told me that Rafael was going to train me, so I had to. Dana was like you got to follow him at least one shift and you can start waiting tables tomorrow. But you've got to know the menu. The menu was similar to the one we had at Rossies but there was neat stuff on there that was like they did a rolled eggplant Parmesan type of deal. There was just a lot of stuff on there that was new that I had to figure out what it was.

Speaker 1 55:16

But that first night Rafael was, he was from Mexico and he was a hustler and he was like six feet tall and he was just, he was all about making his money. But he wouldn't really show me anything, he wouldn't train me anything, he was just like you follow, you follow. But I met, like all the people that worked there, big Tony. We called him Big Tony because he has a son named Tony. His name was actually Anthony Filetta. So Big Tony is Anthony Filetta the third and little Tony is Anthony Filetta the fourth. So I met him. And then the lady that ran the office, boo, she was Tony's aunt. It's like a movie Boo. Well, her name was Cosette but they called her Boo. But the food was amazing, it was off the charts.

Speaker 3 56:08

Making me want some right now.

Speaker 1 56:10

Oh, I can't even eat Italian anymore. I mean, you know that even that nice place you like to go, it's not. There's nothing like Leonardo's. I mean, tony ruined Italian for me.

Speaker 3 56:21

Well if they had a restaurant. Was it Mama Connie? Yes, Coming in with the recipes and making sure everyone was doing it right? She was handling her business.

Speaker 1 56:28

Yeah, that's awesome, but Tony cooked too. You know he stayed back there, but he was. He was just a character Like he was. There's nobody else like him. He was full of life, he was a storyteller, he liked to tell stories and you know, you know how you teach me about hyperbalizing and you know exaggerating. You say that he was like that times 10. Like everything was more. Wow, he did.

Speaker 1 56:59

But he had a gift Like he made people feel special, like the customers. He would go out and go around to every table and talk to him with his, with his apron on, and he loved it. He loved everything about the business. He loved making people feel special. He loved telling stories and he had this idea of the experience that we needed to provide for people coming into eat. But when we didn't have a musician for a night, he wanted live music. So I had this thing was called a midi file and it was a little. You would put a floppy disc in and it would play whatever you put on it. So he was sitting in his office and and search midi files and download them on a disc and he would go out and push the midi file into the piano and then he would sit there like he was playing and it was the funniest thing. But people really thought that he was playing the piano, like they really thought that Tony was playing piano. And.

Speaker 1 57:57

I mean I had I would be waiting on tables and people would say, um, tony is just so talented. I was like, yeah.

Speaker 3 58:04

So he let them believe that he was playing, which is funny for you, because we all knew you're just the opposite, though, like we have noted this episode and last about how you hate like line and let's be real and don't cover things up. And so you just let that go.

Speaker 1 58:21

It was cute, it was funny and it was. It was kind of what, if you knew him, it made him him because he wasn't doing it, he wasn't trying to be deceptive, he just knew that people needed an experience, and that was what made Leonardo special Right.

Speaker 3 58:37

But for you, I mean, it's kind of seems like that was the first time you really experienced that.

Speaker 1 58:43

Well, things, something happened with him. He became. He became like a father to me and I never thought he was my father. You know, I never thought like, but he, he filled a role. You know, steve filled a big role, but then he filled a big like a daily role of the things that he just, but also I would do things with him that other people wouldn't do, like Dana and Tony and his older daughter, michelle I didn't get to know her until later because she wasn't really part of the business.

Speaker 1 59:10

Then he would want to go do stuff like let's go to Bahama breeze at 11 o'clock. It was a restaurant, I don't know. It was a big, like a Caribbean. I mean it's fun to go eat you know this fish or you know it was like a, it was like Caribbean food. So he would want to do these things that you know nobody wanted to do them with him, and so he would ask me and I would say yes, cause I I didn't. I wasn't like trying to suck up to him. I really want to go, let's go to Bahama breeze. You were straight out of prison. You're like, yeah, let's go to Bahama breeze. But he did so many things for me. He took me to my first Alabama game at Legion Field and I believe that was the last Alabama game was ever played at Legion Field. Oh wow, he was so excited about Alabama football. He was a huge Alabama fan for our international listeners.

Speaker 3 1:00:01

Alabama is a college football team and they're the best in the country and have been for several years in the world.

Speaker 1 1:00:09

He took me on so many like first. Like he took me to my first Alabama game. He, uh, I say he bought me my first suit. But when I said that before somebody out that that lady that went to World Victory Church was like I bought your first suit, but like he bought me the first suit I wanted, like I still have it, I have a suit that he bought me. Like he taught me that you know, you don't have to have a suit that matches, you just buy a sport coat, you buy pants, you buy a shirt and different ties. Like you don't have to be all matchy match. Like he taught me how to dress, yeah, um, but he was taking me to a wedding. The one of the Bruno's sons was getting married and he took me to the to the way as a big. Like you know, it was like Prince Harry getting married, like it was crazy. And the Alabama world, yeah. But he also, uh, he helped me buy my first house Around the beginning of 2005,.

Speaker 1 1:00:59

I began the process of opening my own business and the girl came home and we got together and so I really thought that I had everything that ever wanted, everything ever dreamed of, and I remember, uh, one night during this time, like I had a dream and I was sitting at the head of the table and like Sean was there and Steve and his family and my mom, and it was like in the dream. We were like at a table but we were in my restaurant and it was like I woke up, just so full of hope, like everything that ever wanted. Every dream is coming true. It's crazy.

Speaker 3 1:01:39

So what we're going to do is this episode, which I don't know why I find this so exciting to talk about.

Speaker 1 1:01:44

I'm kind of I won't even talk about it If you don't want me to.

Speaker 3 1:01:47

You know what I mean. No, I want you to. I feel like I mean this is the most interesting episode so far, that we're going to be just talking about Shawna and that relationship.

Speaker 1 1:01:57

Well, in my mind, in my mind, she was supposed to marry me and somehow that got stolen from me and but now it was. It was Jesus putting it all back together the way it was supposed to be, and it was a. It was an exciting time, you know, and I did. I did fall in love with her. I mean, it wasn't.

Speaker 3 1:02:15

I can't imagine that the you know she's moved in with Tonya and Jeremy and then you were already there over there. I'm just, I mean, I can think like young and love, like the thrill of like, oh, we're going to see him. You know like it is an exciting feeling. I feel like I was winning if I was her. I'm getting flowers as big as my cubicle at work, going to dinner, getting $5,000, settling accounts. I'd be like mama is in the game.

Speaker 1 1:02:45

Okay, but that was where the for lack of better words, the shit hit the fan. Okay, After that, how the shit?

Speaker 3 1:02:51

hit the fan.

Speaker 1 1:02:55

So I'm just on top of the world heading back, you know, doing my thing, and I get a call from Steve and he was very harsh with me. So I was like what's up? And I was telling him about the dishwasher and all things and he said I have to call you, I had to confront you, I have to confront your behavior. And I said what behavior? And he was like what are you doing with Sean? I has to stop. This has to stop. You're in sin. And I was like no, I'm not.

Speaker 1 1:03:24

And he's like she's married and you're sending the flowers. And so he had found out I sent her flowers and he went on a deep investigation of what we were doing, like asking Tony and Jeremy, asking people, asking Sean. He found out we've been going to lunch and you know I've been hanging out over there. So he told me that I was sinning and I was like I hadn't. I mean sin is like having sex, I haven't done anything. I mean I've been kissed her, I haven't done anything. And he commanded me to stay away from her.

Speaker 3 1:03:53

That's not good, commanding you to not do something or do something.

Speaker 1 1:03:57

Well, I had a level of respect for him, though, at that time, where he was like a father to me, but he was also my pastor and now I was just getting twisted because now he was my business partner too. So it was weird, but I did. I always had a level of respect for him. I listened to him. I probably listened to him more than I've ever listened to anybody.

Speaker 3 1:04:17

So what was your thought then on the phone? What was your first thought when he commanded you use that word to stay away from her?

Speaker 1 1:04:25

I shamed like I was, just cause he said I was a sinner, you're in sin, oh you felt ashamed.

Speaker 3 1:04:31

That was, he made you angry.

Speaker 1 1:04:33

Not it for it did later on. But no, in the beginning I was ashamed and I was confused, cause I was like y'all are pushing this, y'all were pushing this from day to day. She got here Like y'all were, like even her mom. I felt like they were pushing it, like they were. I have a friend, nelson, that was the worship leader, grace and truth. He was on the elders cause, like in that kind of church, the elders, like with the pastor, run the church. And he called me and he said Darryl has put a complaint against you to the elders and what does that even mean?

Speaker 1 1:05:07

Like they're going to like talk about you and see how to punish you or whatever. I don't know what they do. I don't know how to punish you.

Speaker 1 1:05:14

Well, I don't know what would have happened. But Nelson called me and I said what do you want me to do? I said we're not. It's not like we're having sex or anything like that. And he's like I know and I know you and I know her. He said but I think you need to show up and speak for you. I don't like this idea of them like bringing a case against you and making a big thing out of it. And so I went, okay.

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Speaker 3 1:05:36

I have to pause and say those. I got. Courtroom Literally sounds like historical times, like when the church is bringing a case against you. Yeah, I mean, I kind of have a hard time with that. Now. I don't know a lot about it and I'm not trying not to judge, but at the same time it just feels very like what can they do to you?

Speaker 1 1:05:58

I was getting myself into a situation that I didn't see coming later on. Yeah, it would be like that. Okay, I think I was trying to find something, but in the beginning I did not think that. But then, after they said yes and we started moving the ball forward, I sat down and had a meeting with Steve at his house and that was my first like red flag, because his did. You know, it was a red flag at the time. I did, but I didn't. I thought maybe I was just being scared or you know, trying to find a reason not to move forward.

Speaker 3 1:06:28

Right yeah.

(Cont.) The “Best” of Season 3 🌟

Speaker 1 1:06:30

But the red flag was just the way that he talked to me, like he was very like, forceful with me, like just not in any way he'd ever talked to me before. I got a call from the White House and it was a voicemail.

Speaker 3 1:06:46

Yeah, never know, do you?

Speaker 1 1:06:48

crazy. It was a voicemail on my cell phone when I was at work. And it freaked me out and it was like this is so and so, calling from the White House. We got your president Bush, got your letter, and so I call back. We had a little chat and it wasn't like the Oval Office, it was like somebody you know he probably still he probably never read the letter, but they, you know it's that.

Speaker 1 1:07:13

You know the White House has got hundreds of people that worked there. But whatever it was, it tugged on the heartstrings Right and they got back with me and she told me that I needed to go through the small business administration. And I didn't know what that was and but lucky for me that there was the chapter for North Alabama was in Birmingham, so she sat me up and meeting with the small business administration. It's in a section in Homewood, right outside of Birmingham.

Speaker 3 1:07:42

Yeah, it wasn't good. So I mean I'm asking you, do you think that was the big thing, that kind of like the whole thing.

Speaker 1 1:07:48

The whole thing was bad.

Speaker 3 1:07:49

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:07:49

The whole thing was bad. Then you had the stuff with Sean going on. Steve's attitude kind of changed towards me because we had a team. Four of us would meet once a week and plan what we were doing that week, you know, to keep the ball moving forward. And at the time that all the stuff started happening with Sean and then, if you remember from the last episode, I canceled them yeah, I also put the brakes on this. I was like I'm not doing this, this is crap. I'm not getting sucked into this, I'm not getting stuck in this, I'm going to figure out. I got to figure out a way to get out of it, so I put the brakes on it.

Speaker 3 1:08:20

But the reality is you all, you already really felt stuck.

Speaker 1 1:08:23

I was stuck. I was stuck in this. I put the brakes on it for like two or three months, like I didn't even try to meet, like I don't want to meet right now. You know I'm going to talk about. So during that process Steve kind of took the reins from me for that. So now I had Jeremy like doing a hostile takeover of the process of the contract and then Steve doing like a gentle you know, I'm just going to ease in here and take over because James can't handle this kind of deal. So that just bothered me even more, because now I feel like you know, like like they're controlling me and I didn't like that. I hated every part of it.

Speaker 3 1:09:04

And you were the prison project. It was a disaster. Now I shouldn't say that, but okay, so it wasn't a happy day for me?

Speaker 1 1:09:10

Well, it wasn't a happy day. No, it was an awful day.

Speaker 3 1:09:13

So did a lot of people come.

Speaker 1 1:09:17

Hey guys, hang tight, we'll be right back.

Speaker 2 1:09:22

Hey, it's Pat Flynn here, host of the award-winning podcast, the Smart Passive Income podcast, which was created to help you learn how to become an entrepreneur In the simplest way too. You know, entrepreneurship can be very difficult. I like to simplify things. I interview people like Josh Hall and Shane and Jocelyn Samms and Maria Fela. Who are they? Well, they're people just like you, people who have taken action after listening to the show and have built a business that has changed their lives. I'd love to share an episode with you that I think will inspire you to get started too. Check out the link in the description or go to smartpassiveincomecom To get inspired, get what you need to get started and change your life. You got this, and thank you.

Speaker 1 1:10:05

Yeah, actually the news came. The team did a news story. Well, joe Brumbot from Shepherds Fold called me the day we opened early that morning and he said I have a contact, a friend at Fox Six that wants to come and do a new story on Chiris. And I said really, and he's like, yeah, they want to do it today, on opening day. So I said, well, awesome. And he said, well, they want to tell your story. And I was like, okay, I'm fine with that. Up until that time, my story had not been like public. They made my story public that day. For me it was awful, so I just wanted to throw up. The whole time. It was like I had a premonition that I've gotten myself into something that's going to be a disaster and it was something that I don't want to be in. I don't want to be controlled by other people.

Speaker 3 1:10:55

So to me that's really sad. I mean, what would you say, like for other people, like what was the biggest takeaway? Like what's the lesson? You feel like you learned and you would want someone else to know?

Speaker 1 1:11:06

That you don't do it. You don't do it at all costs. Like you don't move into something, you don't push through something at all costs and give up your freedoms, give up. I made a lot of concessions during that time, things that I would never do again.

Speaker 3 1:11:22

Like.

Speaker 1 1:11:22

I would never, ever even come close to getting involved in a situation like that again. But once you get in, you're in. It was one of those days where everything was bothering me and I was just trying I got to get out of here. I got to get out of here, get out of this. I can't do this.

Speaker 1 1:11:41

And there was a car outside that kept circling the building and Jeremy he was. He's kind of like Royal, he's very my son, royal. He's very aware, he pays attention to everything and he would call attention to everything. He was like why does this car keep circling? And I said it don't matter, we're closed. So who cares? Like, why do you even care?

Speaker 1 1:12:02

And a car pulled up to the front. It was just a regular car and his two guys jumped out and they came to the front door and they said we need to see James Keith Jones. And I said that's me. What's up? And they were like can you? Can you step outside? And I said sure, I mean I thought it was like a customer or something. So I stepped outside and he said I'm so and so, with the US Marshals, I have a warrant for your arrest. And I thought it was a joke. I mean, I thought, I thought it was a joke. He said I have a warrant for your arrest and I said okay, ha ha ha, because I had a friend, paul Wendorf, who's actually elder at Grayson Truth. He was a Hoover police officer Like he's an FBI. Now he's moved up. You know he's awesome.

Speaker 1 1:12:52

Up and out, but he would play jokes on people with his police car. Like maybe I shouldn't be telling that, but he was like pull people over, Like just as a funny you know like friends like people, he can play with that like. So I thought it was Paul Wendorf playing a joke on me. I really did. And I was like okay, Terrible joke.

Speaker 1 1:13:12

I was like, okay, ha, but they turned me around and put handcuffs, handcuffed me behind my back and then reached down and put handcuffs on my feet and I was like, oh shit, like what's happening here?

Speaker 1 1:13:25

And this is a real arrest. They arrested me and I didn't know what fun and understand what's happened. I was like I know I ain't, I ain't did no crime, you know what's happening. And then I looked back and there was Lenora and Jeremy and Wanda and they were looking at me like I did something wrong and I was like I don't know, I don't know what this is.

Speaker 3 1:13:44

That is insane. So you're standing outside your restaurant and all this and they are putting you under arrest.

Speaker 1 1:13:51

They arrested me, they handcuffed your hands and feet and threw me in the back of the car and sped away. What it was, I don't know it was. It was very traumatic. And they said come out. And they said go in this little thing where you talk through the glass, and there was a man sitting there that I didn't know and never seen him, and he said I need you to sign these papers. I need you to not say a word. I need you to sign these papers and then they're going to release you. You're going to walk out into the bay, You're going to take a right, You're going to walk straight out and you're going to see a red Bronco. I need you to get in the red Bronco.

Speaker 3 1:14:34

This is like a freaking movie. Why aren't we doing this? It was crazy. This should be an episode by itself.

Speaker 1 1:14:40

It was crazy. So I was like but I was still half asleep. I was like, okay, I'm a name, walk out, I get in the car with him.

Speaker 3 1:14:48

Who does that?

Speaker 1 1:14:50

I get in the car. No, look, he looks over at me and he said I don't know you, I don't know why the hell I'm doing this. And I said can we pause? What are we doing? What's happening? Who are you and what the hell are you actually?

Speaker 3 1:15:03

doing.

Speaker 1 1:15:04

He said I'm a bell bondsman and I've never done this before and I honestly I don't know why I'm doing this, but I've got to go to Troy and so I thought it would be nice. Your friends are coming to pick you up, well okay okay, okay, stop. I'm going to Troy. I'm just going to take you to Troy. We'll meet them there.

Speaker 3 1:15:23

How did this guy even know about you in the jail?

Speaker 1 1:15:25

Because they called him bonding Okay, I think it was Mike Farrell like he had been in prison. He had, you know, he had a real connection.

Speaker 3 1:15:33

Okay, so they had called this connection no, just a bondsman.

Speaker 1 1:15:37

A bondsman. So for some reason this guy felt compelled to do all this weird stuff for me, that he didn't know what he was doing. But then he looked at me and was like if you try anything stupid? And I was like what are you? I'm not whatever, you know whatever. So we drive to Troy. Wait, hold on, hold on. I feel like this is crazy.

Speaker 2 1:15:54

I mean, I'm a very fast processor and I feel like I need to hear this again.

Speaker 3 1:15:58

So he said you needed to that right then. And there he was bonding you out. I was already out.

Speaker 1 1:16:05

I was sitting in his car. No, we were driving away.

Speaker 3 1:16:08

No, no, no, I was not in jail anymore. I'm talking about when you went to the glass.

Speaker 1 1:16:13

I didn't know what he was doing. Okay so he looked at me. He said I'm going to pass this to you. You need to sign this paper and I need you to not speak a word about anything. I just need you to walk out. You weren't skeptical. I didn't know what to do. I was scared, but I was like what is happening? Like it didn't. And it was early in the morning and I knew it didn't make any sense Like four hours to get from Birmingham to Tokyo.

Speaker 3 1:16:38

So you signed the papers, I signed the papers and then you immediately walked out. They set me free, they'd let me out, and then you didn't follow this instructions. I walked out To the right Red Bronco. He said to the right, I walked out.

Speaker 1 1:16:48

There was a Red Bronco. I jumped in the Red Bronco and we're on the highway. I feel like this is like an OJ scene. It was weird. So then we're headed to Troy. No, I guess worse it gets weird. So we get to Troy. You're headed to Troy and it's around like eight like this, still early in the morning.

Speaker 3 1:17:07

For all people listening.

Speaker 1 1:17:08

I have never heard this story to say now it was early in the morning Like nothing was happening. It was early. He pulls into a Kentucky fried chicken. That was closed, so we're the only people in the parking lot and I'm looking around like and he starts to be like. I'm finna die.

Speaker 1 1:17:27

He starts smoking a cigarette and I was like, can I have a cigarette? I need to do some. So we're sitting there Maybe 10, 15, 20 minutes. He's not talking to me. He's like. He's like weirded out, like what am I doing? Like I think he's nervous because you know he can trouble for that.

Speaker 3 1:17:46

For what? I don't understand. If he's a bondsman and he bonded you out, what can he get in trouble for?

Speaker 1 1:17:52

He's supposed to bond me out when they pay. They hadn't even paid the bond. They hadn't paid the bond. I mean I was not. I mean it was just weird. But and he kept saying I don't know why I'm doing this. And I was like I don't know why he keeps saying that to me. I don't know what to tell you.

Speaker 3 1:18:05

I don't even know what you're doing.

Speaker 1 1:18:07

So he, steve and Mike Farrell, pull up in the Kentucky Fried Chicken Park a lot, and so there's two cars there, the Red Bronco, and they're early in the morning, it's like eight o'clock. They get out and they count out cash thousand dollars to him because I had a $10,000 bond and just counting out $100 bills to him that my mom had gave him the money. But they're counting the money out to him and to me it looked like a drug deal, like I was like if I was watching this, like if I was like standing on the side of the road watching this happening, I would think they're getting crack or heroin or something. It's happening. I never had to go to court and I never had to do anything, but it was very traumatic. But at the same time it made my faith, it increased my faith, like I understood, like God is for me. If he can, let them come and arrest me and take me four hours away and get me back in time to cook lunch the next day.

Speaker 3 1:19:13

And you probably got more sleep than you would have ever gotten.

Speaker 1 1:19:15

I did Well. Wanda was the best one during that time. She was my best person. She was like we're wringing our hands, stressed out, going crazy, and you were over there sleeping. I don't know what I'm saying. Oh, that's great, it was neat, so, but after that it was neat. No, I mean it wasn't neat what happened, but it was neat the way that God's hand was on that. There was no way that could have. And then, you know, that night, when I went in at Leonardo's and all those lawyers were there and telling all they were like what the hell?

Speaker 1 1:19:51

Disbelief, and I was just like I don't know what to tell you. I'm here, you know. I was like, oh, let me go get Dino, he's Greek. And I was like I thought y'all said one, no Greek people here. Like what's happening here?

Speaker 1 1:20:03

But she went and got the guy that was the manager of the cafe. He came out, he was a little short guy, probably in his, maybe in his sixties, had had like salt and pepper hair, very nice, and he wanted to know my story. He started asking me questions. So I pulled everything out and told him the whole story, showed him everything that I had, and he wanted to help me. You could tell he wanted to, but he didn't know like how to, right, so I think we sat there for about 10 or 15 minutes. He came back with another guy and this guy did not look like a. You know what you would think a typical Greek person looked like. He was like six foot three. I mean, he was very tall, blonde headed, had dark skin and like green eyes. But he didn't. He didn't look Greek to me, but when he started talking he talked to Greek because he you know his, his English was broken, yeah, so he actually sat down on the table with us and started asking me questions.

Speaker 1 1:21:00

I think our conversation lasted about four minutes and he said do you don't know his last name? And I said no, and he said this is like a needle in a haystack If you don't have a, if you don't have a name, you have nothing. You have nothing. And he like got up and left like stomped off, and he turned around and said you don't have a name, you have nothing. And you're like wow, you're kind of aggressive. Well, he, he was just being blunt, like don't waste my time, basically what he's saying.

Speaker 1 1:21:29

But Sean picked up the paper that I had in the folder and she yelled out to him he won a cutlass in a poker game, in a card game, and the guy stopped like froze and he flipped around, he looked at me and he said it was red cutlass. And I said I think so. And he came running back and he sat down in front of me and he told me who my, my father was. And it was crazy, it was just crazy. And Derek was like hold up, let me get this right.

Speaker 1 1:22:04

So James got in the car and drove across America to Denver, colorado, and he didn't even have the last name and he found his father Like how did this have? This is a testimony, a testimony. And it was in the middle of the lunch rush, and the lunch rush of cars was crazy because it was like everybody came in at one time and you know you're cooking and doing all the things, and Lenore came to the back and said James, you have a phone call. And I said I can't talk on the phone, I'm cooking. And she said I think you're going to want to take this call. And I said I think you're going to want to take a message.

Speaker 3 1:22:46

And she said that sounds like you.

Speaker 1 1:22:48

She said you're going to want to take this call. It's coming in from Greece and I don't know. I almost felt like I almost passed out and I took the phone and I was looking at it was on hold, but it was like a number with like 75 numbers. I had never seen a number like that before and I went in my office and I locked the door and I said, hello, this is James. And he said, hello, james, this is your father. And he's like hollering in the phone. And then I'm like I'm trying to talk, I'm like did you cry at that time?

Speaker 1 1:23:24

I did. It was very emotional. Well, hey guys, we hope you enjoyed the best of season three and can't wait to see you next week for season four.

Speaker 3 1:23:35

Yes, guys, it's a new beginning. I cannot wait.

Speaker 1 1:23:38

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So she don't just teach you how to work out, she can teach you how to eat right too. So you can be the best version of yourself. Crossfit Mephobia classes are all one hour long, start to finish. They literally have classes any day or time that fits your skin.

Speaker 3 1:28:34

We love Hayden and there is not a better time than the fall to step back into a routine.

Speaker 1 1:28:38

They also have open gym times. You can come and do your own thing, and coaches are always available there for you, if you need Right.

Speaker 3 1:28:45

Hayden, help you be the best version of you.

Speaker 1 1:28:46

CrossFit Mephobia is located at 222 Decatur Highway in Gardendale, Alabama. Email CrossFitMephobiaInfo at gmailcom, call or text 256-303-1873, or check her out on Facebook and Instagram. Crossfit Mephobia.