All About The Joy
All About The Joy is a weekly hang-out with friends in the neighborhood! We share insight, advice, funny-isms and we choose to always try and find the positive, the silver lining, the "light" in all of it. AATJ comes from the simple concept that at the end of the day we all want to have more JOY than not. So, this is a cool place to unwind, have a laugh and share some time with friends!
All About The Joy
For a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime: Redefining Friendship
What happens when life throws you a curveball and you find out who truly shows up? In this powerful episode, Maurio returns to All About the Joy after his 36th surgery, sharing raw insights on friendship, healing, and emotional boundaries.
From spinal stenosis to Paget’s disease, Maurio’s resilience shines through as he reflects on the people who stayed, the ones who faded, and the wisdom he’s gained along the way. “I’m on the back of the struggle bus with an expired MetroCard, but I’m okay,” he quips - setting the tone for a conversation that’s equal parts vulnerable and sharp.
Together, Carmen and Maurio unpack what it means to be a true friend: someone who pours into your cup, not empties it. They explore how to recognize when relationships have run their course, how to set boundaries without bitterness, and how to let go with dignity.
Whether you’re questioning a current friendship or grieving one that’s ended, this episode offers clarity, comfort, and a compassionate framework for understanding connection. Tune in for real talk, real healing, and the kind of emotional intelligence that lasts a lifetime.
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Music By Geovane Bruno, Moments, 3481
Editing by Team A-J
Host, Carmen Lezeth
DISCLAIMER: As always, please do your own research and understand that the opinions in this podcast and livestream are meant for entertainment purposes only. States and other areas may have different rules and regulations governing certain aspects discussed in this podcast. Nothing in our podcast or livestream is meant to be medical or legal advice. Please use common sense, and when in doubt, ask a professional for advice, assistance, help and guidance.
Hey everyone, welcome to All About the Joy, the private lounge. I'm here with Mario. How you doing, Mario?
Maurio Dawson:I am doing okay, you're doing okay, I'm doing okay. I'm on the struggle as I tell my friends. I'm on the back of the struggle bus with an expired MetroCard, but I'm okay.
Carmen Lezeth :For those people who don't know, you just came out of surgery. Yeah, you're healing and getting better. Um, and I don't want to pressure you to talk about it too much, but we have missed you on the show and we're so glad you're kind of sort of back well, yeah, I'm, I'm.
Maurio Dawson:I got one toe in, one toe out, because I don't know how I'm gonna feel from week to week. But I have to have a spinal surgery and I have what they call stenosis and I also have something called Paget's disease. So you can look it up and you can.
Carmen Lezeth :Or you can just pray for Mario and his family. But, I'm just glad that you're feeling better and you're looking so much better. But I have to say, when I came to visit you, your spirit, where do you get that from? I mean, I had hip surgery and I still am talking about it four years later Like I was miserable. Well, miserable.
Maurio Dawson:You know what I mean. Like no, yeah, no point. Well, it's just because I feel like I have had so many surgeries in my life and this, literally, is the 36th surgery.
Carmen Lezeth :So yeah, I had no idea yeah, this is like my 30s.
Maurio Dawson:That was number 36, so I'm like it's just another. Like here we go now, when I found out about my diagnosis and because it started with something called drop flight, because, as you people know, a lot of people know, I was on a weight loss. I've been on a weight loss trend for the last two years, okay, you know, and over the last two years I've lost, and over the last two years I've lost approximately 143 pounds. So over that process I was working out like four times a week, three to four times a week, minimum three, top four. I was never doing more than five, because that's just obnoxious. I was doing really good, I had steady pace and I had a tendency to do the treadmill and I would do it like on an incline of like a minimum of seven, eight, and then I'm doing like two and a half miles an hour, three, something, just a good rhythm. And all of a sudden I was doing my regular regimen and my foot started to flop, just really like, just like this wow like you know, you have to stay straight.
Maurio Dawson:Like this right, I almost had my foot that's going like this, and it's just going like this and I couldn't figure out, like what is going on.
Maurio Dawson:And I was still pushing, pushing through. And then I went to the jazz festival my normal every year thing I do and I started tripping up the hill and my mom was like dude, baby, are you OK? Like what's going on? I was like, mommy, I don't know, I'm like. I still ignored it, Kept going, Then finally called the doctor twice. First doctor gave me some grand old excuse. Second doctor's like um, what'd you tell me? There's a sign of mini strokes, Mini strokes. I'm headed to the doctor.
Carmen Lezeth :I'm like excuse me, I'm going to the ER.
Maurio Dawson:So I go to the ER and then from the ER I end up staying in the hospital 20 days, end up going through a myriad of tests and then ended up getting the diagnosis Fast forward. I had to have surgery on my back because the drop foot was a signal of the stenosis I had in my back, where stenosis is basically where your spinal cord is open, like this, right and all up and down, but then when you have stenosis it closes up, like that oh, yeah, yeah, yeah no, so it's super tight, so it's cutting off the signals from the brain to the leg right.
Maurio Dawson:So those signals are not going in. So they have to open it up to get it to get it going. And then from there, um, I had fallen in between the time I was scheduled for surgery to surgery and I had a fractured vertebrae. Didn't know when they went in to do my surgery. I don't think I told you that part, no you didn't.
Maurio Dawson:Oh my goodness so when I read the report, my nurse, who comes to check on me, read my report. She said Mr Dawson, you had a fracture of vertebrae that was removed too. I was like what.
Maurio Dawson:She's like yeah, she said they had to remove a fracture of vertebrae from, you know, during the surgery. So that's why my incision is a lot larger into surgery. So that's why my incision is a lot larger. And so, but yeah, long story short, I have gone through so many surgeries. I just keep a positive attitude because it's no use crying about it. What's the use of crying about it?
Carmen Lezeth :I totally get that. I think I was more surprised, not just by your spirit, because I've known you for a long time. I know we had a time period where we didn't speak, not for any other reason than we just lost touch. But it was interesting, especially when I came to visit you, that we started talking about friendships.
Carmen Lezeth :And that's kind of what we were going to gonna talk about, because I was a little bit thrown I don't know if thrown's the right word but I'm like, okay, but we're in touch and you're in the hospital and I'm down the street not from the hospital, but I'm like you know, I'm like I can come visit you, you know, and you were kind of like, no, but you don't know, people say that all the time, and so we started having this kind of I started thinking a lot about your friendships, our friendship.
Carmen Lezeth :I wanted to see what to start off with, kind of what the definition of friendship is to you, even in a broad sense.
Maurio Dawson:Okay, my sense of friendship is. It varies because I also because it was just interesting, because I knew I was having this conversation today. Um, I asked my mom. I said mom, what do you see as friendship? And she's like friendship are those people that you can depend on, whether, she said, whether it's five minutes, five years or five decades. She said because those people are going to show up for you If you pick up the phone and say I need you. She says you don't have to see these people every day. You don't have to talk to these people every day. She said, but your friends are also someone who pours into your cup and doesn't empty your cup. She's like now, if you're pouring into them. She's like if you're pouring into them and you're emptying your cup and they're never pouring back into you to fill you back up, that's not a friend, she said, that's an acquaintance.
Maurio Dawson:She's like that's someone who you know. You understand what I'm saying and during this whole process of this particular healing cycle of my life, I got to see who my friends are and be reminded of who my friends are, because I've had people in my life during different seasons of healing. But those people who show up with me or for me during those different seasons of healing, I've been consistent, um. But then there are some people, like you, who I lost touch with or come back into my life. There are some more friends who have come back into my life, like you, right, but guess what? They showed up, like they called. They said hey, friend, I might not be able to make it to the hospital, but I'm leaving town, but I want to make sure. Are you okay? How can I support you?
Maurio Dawson:There's one of my dear friends who I've known since sixth grade and he is going through his own health challenges, and but you know what he did. He said hey, brother, I want to see you before you go into surgery. I might not be able to get to you, but let's go have lunch, let's fellowship, because I want to see you, I want to love on. He said I want to love on you before and it was just he and I and he loved on me real hard and he supported me and he's like I got you, we got this, and he's sitting there struggling with his own things. I'm seeing him struggle, like his light is fading, but he's still worried about me, right? But in the meantime, I'm worried about him, right.
Maurio Dawson:So, I'm like brother, I'm worried about him. So I'm like brother, I'm going to pull back into you because let's get you out of here, let's get you home, let's get you rested and we'll talk later. I'll see you when I wake up, and that's how I always tell my friends I'll see you when I wake up, right.
Carmen Lezeth :I think something that you said earlier about what your mom said is you know what? It's weird. I didn't think about this, but so, for people who don't know, we knew each other back in the day when I worked at brand new school and I was the controller of the company there and you were. I don't know what your title was, but you were our principal.
Maurio Dawson:Yeah, I was, uh, no, I was never a vice president, I was a system.
Carmen Lezeth :I was a system personal banker well, you were our principal person and whoever our initial con, they never helped us at all. So you were our person and you took care of everything we needed done at brand new school and that's how we developed our friendship. And then, somewhere along the way, especially when I quit brand new school, which was in like 2007 or 2008, we just kind of lost touch. Now the irony is is we live down the street from each other, not literally the next town over.
Maurio Dawson:My daughter was going to school right around the corner from your house.
Carmen Lezeth :So it just happens. But something you said, that your mother said, it's true. If I needed something and I called you, I know you would have been there over all these years and I think you feel the same way, like if you would have been weird and out of the blue. But then it would not have been, because you know what? I forget how we started this again, that you started coming on the show or something.
Maurio Dawson:But no, you reached out to me. We had already reconnected.
Carmen Lezeth :We were already on Facebook. We were already on social media and we were already chit-chatting or whatever.
Maurio Dawson:And then you said hey, Mario, why don't you pop on? And I did, and then we did the first private lounge where we talked about my kidney transplant. That's right, all that stuff. And then you know we still kept in contact sidebars and on the show.
Carmen Lezeth :Right.
Maurio Dawson:It just redeveloped and rekindled and we picked up where we left off. I'm going to disagree with you.
Carmen Lezeth :I don't know if I like the word rekindled, but I don't think it had to redevelop. That's what I think. That's what I think is the kind of definition. Part of friendship for me as well is it's like we never had all that time gone, no, between, like I don't know, like yes, we're learning more about each other and we're becoming a different kind of friendship now, which is so cool, especially because Alma's involved your wife and your daughter's now involved as well, marissa, and so it's kind of now growing in a way that it hadn't because we had that stagnation, right? I think the true definition of friendship is exactly what you said, and time. Time is not as much of a big factor when it's a honest friendship. Does that make any sense?
Maurio Dawson:it makes perfect sense. As long as something is sincere and you're coming from sincere place, no time, it doesn't matter how much time has passed, because there are people in my life, even relatives, who I see like as friends, who come back into my life and it's like no time is left. So you just pick it right back up. The laughter continues, the laughter just. It's like we just rev each other. It's just, it's family, it's fun, it's love. And when love knows no time, love no. Love knows no boundaries, love knows it just. It is okay.
Carmen Lezeth :But let's talk about when friendships bobby. Because? Well, because one of the things I I will read for people.
Maurio Dawson:I will read you down without even talking about your name.
Carmen Lezeth :Let me tell people who are listening like the thing that I find I guess it's not shocking, but I always like have to mind my P's and Q's because I'm like, was it me? Was it me Because when you're upset with a friend or you're not happy you will lay that shit out on social media, but you won't name them.
Maurio Dawson:I'll never name names. And so because the thing is, you know, I have to find an outlet because my wife, bless her heart, she gets sick of me talking, so then I don't talk to her about it, so she's like enough already. Okay, I heard you. So, like you know, I don't have very much outlet, but social media is a great outlet to get some shit out without, without having to name names, and I'm not, and it's very rarely. It's very rare that I'm like pissed off with multiple people. A lot of times I'm pissed off at my father.
Maurio Dawson:And he's not on social media, so it really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, I can just. Right, yeah, his family's on social media, so you know they can't clock it if you want to, but it's very.
Carmen Lezeth :But that serves as an outlet for you, but Completely. But I, but it's very serves as an outlet for you, but completely. But have you already spoken to those people like when? When does it get to that point where a friendship bothers you so much? Okay, you know what I'm gonna say. Like this if you get mad at me about something, are you gonna come talk to me or am I gonna find out about it on? No, no, no, no, I'm gonna always talk to you first am I going to find out about it on?
Maurio Dawson:No, no, no, no, no. I'm going to always talk to you first and I'm going to try to have a conversation with you first. But if you're not receiving the conversation or if you're not taking any accountability, that's when shit goes left, because I believe in taking accountability. For my part, as hard as it is, if somebody calls me on my stuff or calls me on my shit, I got to sit there and say you know what? You are totally right. I dropped the ball. Please accept my apology. I promise I won't do this again. Let me work on this. Let me show you that I can do X, y and Z.
Carmen Lezeth :Or maybe you just made a mistake. It doesn't always have to be that deep.
Maurio Dawson:But for me it's usually that deep, because normally in my friendships I try to be pretty present. I'm that friend, I'm checking in. Hey friend, you okay, do you need anything? How can I help you? Or my go-to line, especially when my friends are in need. How can I help you? What can I do to make it easier for you? I can't rescue you, but I can help you in some way. What can I do? Right? They say well, can you come sit with me? Absolutely, I'm on my way. I can sit with you, I can listen to you, I can hold your hand. I can cook a meal. I can listen to you, I can hold your hand. You know I can cook a meal because I'm a good cook. You hungry? Let me see.
Carmen Lezeth :Let me write that down. I did not realize that was an option.
Maurio Dawson:I'll feed you. I can feed you because I believe in your food is not only your belly but your spirit. I'll feed you. You know what I'm saying and I've done that. But what I will not tolerate in a friendship is misuse. I'm trying not to put this person out there, but right now I'm upset with someone because all of my friends have checked on me in this instance. But when I poured into this person and I emptied my cup on this person and you can't even pick up the phone to say are you okay?
Carmen Lezeth :How was your surgery? Do they?
Maurio Dawson:know you? No, no, no, no, no, no, you can answer, you can answer answer they absolutely knew what this situation was. And so I asked a mutual friend. I was like, hey are so-and-so and I beefing and and I didn't know. That's the other question, because sometimes people are upset with you.
Maurio Dawson:They have no clue, but they'll tell somebody else, oh my, you'll piss me off because I See, that's the other question, because sometimes people are upset with you and they don't tell you Right, they have no clue, but they'll tell somebody else. Oh, mario, pissed me off, because my tongue is very sharp and sometimes I can come off a little.
Carmen Lezeth :I don't know what you're talking about, because I'm so the opposite. Yeah, no, I hear you. I hear you.
Maurio Dawson:So you know, and sometimes I have a tendency to to cut people real short, and I'm not intending to be malicious, but I just I'm very honest. You know, and people know that too. My friends know me to be that way and tell fault, so sometimes I'm like I may have said something.
Carmen Lezeth :Then I did and I didn't really mean to hurt your feelings so this person still hasn't reached out to you and there's no beef you're aware of.
Maurio Dawson:No. And then I saw that person today on TikTok so I told him today. I said so I guess we're not friends, right?
Carmen Lezeth :Oh serious, I said that.
Maurio Dawson:so I said we're not friends, right? And so the person responded no, we're not friends, right? Oh seriously, I said that. So I said we're not friends, right? And so the person responded no, we're absolutely friends. So that was your cue to to say well, what would you ask me that?
Carmen Lezeth :Yeah, what is that about?
Maurio Dawson:That's weird. And then they didn't respond to anything else. So I was like, okay, cool, but I'm not trying to play games.
Carmen Lezeth :Wait, wait, wait, wait. So cool like you're done. That's it for you.
Maurio Dawson:No, no, I just know where to put you, like after having that conversation with my mom. I'm not going to put you like after having that conversation with my mom. I'm not going to cut you off, but what I am going to do is put you in the category where you deserve to be.
Carmen Lezeth :So you're now, you we're not friends, but you say we're friends, but no, we're really kind of associates and we are going on that, because that's one of my questions, right is, when there's a value shift in your relationships, does that make it easier to cut off people? And I'll give you a great example. Sure, this whole and this is not to make this political, this is to give you an example. But people who are still supporting Trump, I'm out.
Maurio Dawson:I'm out.
Carmen Lezeth :I just can't even fathom it anymore. It's a value shift. I've had other value shifts that have been interesting. Like someone talking about you know black women, this black women, that and I'm like, oh, I'm so sorry, who do you think you're talking to? Number one and number two back the fuck up. You know what I mean.
Carmen Lezeth :like sue because your last name is suarez but no, no, this is a person who who was trying to blame black women for why kamala harris didn't win because it was only 92. They were trying to make a stupid point. Well, it was only 92 percent women, black women, and only 76. Why didn't they all come out like for Obama? I was like, yeah, so you can see. I was like you know what You're, you're cut off, you're done, we're out. We're not having this conversation. That's not what is happening here, but I don't want to go off on that tangent. I want to ask you when value shifts happen, what does that do for you and your relationships?
Maurio Dawson:Can they?
Carmen Lezeth :sustain it.
Maurio Dawson:I have a tendency to slowly back away. I have a tendency to I'm not going to cut you off at the knees because I'm going to ease away. So next thing, you know you're not hearing from me. Next thing, you know it's been a couple of weeks. Next thing, you know it's been a couple of months and if I haven't, and then after about six months and you haven't talked to me and I've blocked you on social media. I think you got it.
Carmen Lezeth :So that's where you and I, obviously, I tell you, I'm going to tell you.
Maurio Dawson:No, because you know what I can see the thing for me. I can be confrontational, but it's exhausting. Therefore I'm like I don't need all that. But then there have been friendships where both parties have decided to say you know what? I don't think we're friends. I think we need to just be done with each other. I wish you well. I you know I don't wish you no ill. May god bless you on your journey in this life and the next. And no harm, no foul, and I can be done. I can be done like that too. I've had friendships be done like that.
Carmen Lezeth :I think there were friendships that I you know just recently. I have an ex friend that I thought about him the other day because it was his birthday and normally I would have sent him a text or whatever.
Carmen Lezeth :And he got me so angry and it's kind of one of those that I I mean I hung up on. I hung up the phone on him, I told him we no longer friends. We were never friends. Like I had one of those fights with him. And you know, to me it matters Like if, if I gave you a copy of my book when it first came out, gave hand, wrote you a note and handed it to you and I know you are a voracious reader because every time I talk to you, you talk about the latest thing you read and we're like what?
Carmen Lezeth :I wrote my book in 2018, so I gave it to probably 2019. And we in 2020 look at, I had to look at the calendar to make sure, okay and we in 2025. Well, the breakup of our friendship ended in 2024. You've never been supportive of me.
Maurio Dawson:So that means you didn't have the value to him.
Carmen Lezeth :Yeah, yeah.
Maurio Dawson:So is your anger because he didn't have the value or because you invested the time. So are you more angry at him.
Maurio Dawson:So then I think sometimes that's where our anger is displaced and I think we get pissed off with ourselves, and I think that's where our anger really gets going, because I'm like, why the fuck did I spend so much time investing in this person? And then that's where you get pissed off, and then we kind of recycle that stuff in our heads and then that's for us to get out of, because that means we're giving that person too much power. We've empowered them, believe it or not. So when we stop caring and we don't value, we stop giving that value, then we deflate the power that we've given that person and we've also given ourselves room for peace and for other things.
Carmen Lezeth :And for other people to come in. I mean, I think that's the beauty of cutting people out of your life. And then you're absolutely right, I was more upset that I had wasted, because this person you know, I helped them learn it doesn't even matter. Yes, I gave much more because I believe in reciprocity. How do you say reciprocity?
Carmen Lezeth :yes, I can't say that word because of my stutter, but yes I believe in that and you I mean you're kind of calling it the same thing when you're saying pouring into each other, whatever, and look, and I don't believe there's a time period it's not like, okay, well, I gave you an hour of time, mario, you need to give me? No, it's like sometimes we need more, sometimes we don't need anything and sometimes nobody needs nothing and we're just chilling, you know what I mean, like there is no equation and the way.
Carmen Lezeth :I see it is is at some point when I'm asking you. I'm now basically asking you, as my friend, to help me with this and your answer isn't, carmen. I cannot, I'm unable to, or I wish I could, or I support you, but I can't. It's just complete ignorance and silence. You're not a friend no, there's no value and you're right, I was mad at myself, but I also had to knock him out. I don't mean, I mean knock him out of my life in order to just be settled.
Carmen Lezeth :But that's why this came up too is because I was like I really want to talk about this in depth with somebody who understands friendship so much A hundred percent. So have you ever ended a friendship that still haunts you today?
Maurio Dawson:Hmm, no, only because when I'm done, or when I've done everything that I can, then it's I've come. I'm old enough to know. Now a younger Mario Probably would have said oh yeah, I wish this, but no, I'm old enough to know that when something has run its course, it's run its course. Oh man, the oil has run out the engine, it is burnt to the ground, it is done, and I'm going to walk away and keep on trucking and I'm gonna leave that little empty, burnt up engine on the curb where it's at you know what?
Carmen Lezeth :I thought you were gonna say something else, but you just you just helped heal me a little bit. I had a friend named todd who I went to college with. Long story short, we both came out here, not together, but eventually I helped him find an apartment out here, like we. We were connected and we had a huge fight when he borrowed my car. It doesn't matter what the fight was about. He took my car and he needed it to go to San Diego or wherever he was going. I said, take my car no big deal, cause I don't care, material things don't matter to me. But he took my car.
Carmen Lezeth :It got into some situation and he didn't handle it well and got into a big fight on the phone. He came back and he like left my cars. He parked it but he left my keys like on the door, didn't even wait to have a conversation about it, didn't whatever. And um, and we never talked again, like he wouldn't answer my phone calls and he wouldn't take my calls. He was upset that I yelled at him on the phone about what he did to the car, to get it fixed or whatever. And I still don't think I was out of line. But I will say this I found out recently that he died a couple of years ago.
Carmen Lezeth :I know, I know that's why I was asking the question. I know I know that's why I was asking the question, like I feel bad to go there, but the point is a part of me was feeling very, uh, regretful of that friendship that I didn't resolve it. You know, I mean, but you just said something is you know? Look, I mean, basically this is what I took from what you just said. You could tell me from wrong, but like you did the best you could and you had to leave that in the background and yeah.
Maurio Dawson:But okay, I'll give you a better example of why I'm I'm good on people. I was in a long-term relationship before, way before my wife and my wife knows the story. She gets annoyed when I say it. But whatever it is what it is, it's okay. I was in a relationship with someone.
Maurio Dawson:The relationship had ended, but she ended up dating one of my best friends. Oh Okay, they end up going off into the sunset, but I have always had the sneaking suspicion that they were cheating, they were creeping while we were together. Oh, Now that might not be the case. There was some misunderstandings along the way. You know there was all of these things and you know there was all of these things, but when?
Carmen Lezeth :we broke up. She proceeded to call my house asking for him because he was staying with me at the time, which I thought was very disrespectful, very disrespectful.
Maurio Dawson:So I had to let her know hey, you can't call this MF house no more. So I told him. I said look, if she's calling you, you need to have that conversation somewhere else, you can't have this conversation of mine Rude from both of them.
Maurio Dawson:Both of them so he left, he moved out, great Cool. Then he brings back her stuff to me, right. And so then from there it goes into. You know, I find out fast forward. They're dating Fast forward. They get married Fast forward. They have children Fast forward. He's dead now, and when my mutual friend called to tell me that he had passed, I didn't feel anything and I was like wow. And so when I didn't feel anything that kind of let me know, I was kind of over both of them and I was like, you know, I don't wish and here's the thing, I don't wish anyone death, because I've had a hard life, I've had a very, very hard life.
Maurio Dawson:So I don't wish people death, but I do believe in karma and I do believe in how you get them is how you lose them, and I do believe in you know what I'm saying. I get it, I totally get it but I was like, wow, that's some hard karma for yourself, because now you're miserable again because that person made me miserable at the end. Your misery doesn't always come right away. The misery can come later on, but that's another friendship I don't regret losing.
Carmen Lezeth :Right.
Maurio Dawson:I was hurt in the beginning.
Carmen Lezeth :Right, right right.
Maurio Dawson:About it. But the thing is I realized it was never my friend. And then there were signs that this person wasn't my friend before he started dating my ex. Before that there was a time where we had gone to Catalina Island, for example, and it was a group of us that went. We were young, we had spent New Year's Eve over there. Note to self.
Carmen Lezeth :Yeah, don't.
Maurio Dawson:Catalina Island is boring, right, exactly, it is dead. I mean everyone should come Catalina.
Carmen Lezeth :Island is boring Right exactly.
Maurio Dawson:Like it is dead.
Carmen Lezeth :I mean, everyone should come to California and visit there if you need to.
Maurio Dawson:but no, but don't go for New Year's Eve. I thought they were going to be jumping. It was the. No, it was like Catalina Island, wow, anyway.
Carmen Lezeth :That's what you regret now Regret.
Maurio Dawson:One regret. So anyway, we come back and we're all broke and short of money. But he left me and my friend Rebecca there. But he took him and his friends back home. He called his mom. His mom came and got them and he said oh, I don't have enough money for y'all, so I'll see y'all later, and left me stranded in Long Beach.
Carmen Lezeth :So that was him.
Maurio Dawson:That was him. Same person, same person.
Carmen Lezeth :So you kind of mad at yourself. That was why you were bringing that up, like when we're mad at ourselves for wasting time.
Maurio Dawson:Yeah for wasting the time and see, and that was one of those. That's one of those instances where you didn't see the sign right the first time, and then you came back around to me and asked me for another favor and I and I let you back in. So that's one of those things like you like, where you beat yourself up and you get mad at yourself, but then I'm resolved because I got to believe number one. Two I have the best friends who show me what true friendship is.
Maurio Dawson:That's right Three. I have an amazing wife who loves me deep, and you know how deep Alma loves me.
Carmen Lezeth :Yes, she does.
Maurio Dawson:So those are the lessons I got from that. So you know what, for those lessons, I say thank you.
Carmen Lezeth :That's right.
Maurio Dawson:You understand what I'm saying. As long as you get the lesson from what and I just had this conversation with Amayla, my niece I said as long as you get the lessons from the stuff that you did wrong or the lessons from someone doing you wrong and you don't repeat it, then you're learning, you're growing.
Carmen Lezeth :You still win, you still win.
Maurio Dawson:Yeah.
Carmen Lezeth :So do you think some friendships are supposed to be seasonal?
Maurio Dawson:Mm-hmm.
Carmen Lezeth :Or lifelong, or is every friendship supposed to be a lifelong relationship?
Maurio Dawson:No, no. And that goes back to that saying is are some some, some friendships are for a season, a reason or a lack of yeah, oh, I like the reason one.
Carmen Lezeth :Wait, that's a good one. Why did I miss that now? I always think this is tala perry, and I think you were the one who's like that's not tala perry that's not tala peri.
Maurio Dawson:He just gave a different analogy of the root okay, you know, if some people are the roots, some people are the leaves and some people are the branches, okay, poor tala peri, okay, wait.
Carmen Lezeth :so friendships for a reason I like that.
Maurio Dawson:Why is friendship?
Carmen Lezeth :for a reason.
Maurio Dawson:Yeah, some people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Some people are just angels that come into your life just for a short season, just for a reason to help you learn something, and then you move on. And they move on and they translate, they do something.
Carmen Lezeth :So maybe that could be the Todd thing.
Maurio Dawson:Yeah, yeah.
Carmen Lezeth :I don't know if he taught me anything, though I don't know. But there and there he would be a season.
Maurio Dawson:He would be a season and like there was a. There was some friends who were in my life in high school that came back into my life later on and their time they served their purpose and they were just a season. They just were supposed to be in my life for a season and we were no longer friends. But they were great friends for that time period and for that season, right. But then there are my people who are lifetimers, like Sheila Brunson is a lifetimer, corey James, christopher Anderson. You know, these are people who are lifetimers, like we've been friends for 40-plus years. And Christopher is another. This is the friend I told you who came to see me, who was not doing well. It was a long time where we lost. We lost touch, we completely lost touch, but I was always asking for him through other friends. So then when we reconnected, it was like no time had passed, no time had passed.
Carmen Lezeth :Yeah, those are the good ones, those are the family people. Those to me are family and it's simply because somebody the other day was asking me some question, whatever, and I said well, my brother from another mother, da-da-da-da, and they were like is he related to you? I'm like he's family, they're like but is he?
Maurio Dawson:Because they were so stuck In my blood.
Carmen Lezeth :No, they were like missing. They were missing the actual thing we were talking about because they got stuck on this. Well, what makes somebody your brother from another mother? I'm like somebody who's been with you through thick and thin, somebody who is gracious and kind, and the thing I love about Billy. I'm just going to say this because a lot of people who listen to the show know who Billy is, but he's never been on the show. He will never want to be on the show. But I knew Billy when I was in color guard and drum corps and and he basically was somebody I competed against and had no business competing against at all, because he was so much better than I could ever be. There's no even doubt about it.
Maurio Dawson:But anyway, then he became one of my instructors well, he did come on the show once a long time.
Carmen Lezeth :No, no no, no, that's, that's tommy lee billy would okay, on the show? No, no, I don't think Billy's been. No, billy might've been on the phone, maybe once, but he he hasn't been on the show. But I think the thing that I love about Billy is there's no airs, there's you can, I can, just I can cry with him for real real, and he's not going to judge me. We can fight or argue about politics, we can have great conversations about other things, we visit each other, but I don't talk to him every day.
Carmen Lezeth :You know what I mean. And one time I made the mistake of telling him. I said man, it's been like three weeks we haven't talked and I really needed to talk to you. And he was like, oh okay, I'm sorry. Like every week after that he was texting me. You okay, I'm like, all right, back it up.
Maurio Dawson:He's like okay.
Carmen Lezeth :But the reason why I feel like that becomes a family thing is because I know that when I was at my lowest point I didn't even have to ask. He knew, and that's that instinctual feeling of someone who knows you so well and says I got you, what do you need? That to me is like okay, yeah, I love him so much, I love that so much. Because there are very few people who get me like that and most people think of me as some strong, powerful woman who needs nobody, which you know.
Carmen Lezeth :That's bullshit, but people don't know that people will keep taking from you or asking you for stuff because they think you have more than you actually do. So when somebody gets it, that to me is that's deep love for me.
Maurio Dawson:Yeah, I love billy but I think that, um believe it or not, I think rick is a good friend. I think who are we? Talking about rick costa yeah, I love it, are you?
Carmen Lezeth :talking about a good friend of me. Yeah, no, no, rick is a good friend. Rick is interesting because we really, especially at the beginning I don't know about now, but at the beginning, when I asked him to be the co-host, you know, I asked him about the show. Whatever I said. Well, we got to have some conversations, because we do not align on things.
Maurio Dawson:Right.
Carmen Lezeth :And the thing that made Rick amazing is not only was he able to take everything I had to say to him and ask about or whatever, and answer honestly and truthfully. And you know and I'm not saying I'm trying, you don't have to change your mind or be different. You need to be able to explain to me so that I at least logically understand, so that we can have some type of alignment. Rick's a good guy.
Maurio Dawson:Rick's a really good guy. He's a really good guy and I really. You don't have to put this in the show, but I.
Carmen Lezeth :It's going to be in the show because you brought it up.
Maurio Dawson:But I think that, even though politics and religion are you guys see completely differently, politics and religion are you guys see completely differently, but that's the fact that you can agree on so much more than that, I think that's what makes a good friend let me just say this about the politics practice.
Carmen Lezeth :I think it's important. I think it's important the reason why rick and I are not that different on politics, actually, okay, I'm.
Maurio Dawson:And.
Carmen Lezeth :I'm going to even say this A lot of people and this is so interesting because Andrea and I are going to talk about this in our next episode on culture and consequence Most people think they're Republicans, but they're really not Like that's no, they're not, and so I think that's kind of the thing is the conversations I had with Rick were about deep issues. They that's kind of the thing is the conversations I had with Rick were about deep issues.
Carmen Lezeth :They're about abortion, about, like I had to have these because I had to be like, let's just be honest, I need to know where you're coming from and why. But that's because we did have a good friendship and we've built on that. That. I felt comfortable to have that conversation with him and he felt comfortable to tell me basically, the F off. No, he didn't. He was like yeah, carmen, whatever, no, but yeah, the friendship is based on a mutual respect, and that's a whole different.
Maurio Dawson:I think that's the foundation of any friendship.
Carmen Lezeth :It's true.
Maurio Dawson:It's just having mutual respect.
Carmen Lezeth :The students' acquaintances and respect.
Maurio Dawson:Mmm. The difference between acquaintances and respect the difference between acquaintances and respect. Acquaintances come in and out when they need something from you, whereas a friend will be there when you need it, no matter what?
Carmen Lezeth :No matter what.
Maurio Dawson:And right now I'm feeling a little used by one person, but I'm not going to put it out there on social media this time. You just put it on the podcast.
Carmen Lezeth :Oh my god, that was so good. You have any last words besides dissing this person?
Maurio Dawson:I'm not dissing them, no, no, no, no, no. When I say about friendship, it shows up in the best way that you can. It's not perfection. Nobody's asking for perfection, nobody's asking you to be the best version of yourself. But just be authentic and be true to yourself and then true to that other person, because, um, it's never gonna be 50 50.
Maurio Dawson:Any relationship is never gonna be 50 that's right but as long as you know what you're signing up for, when you walk in the door or when you say I love this person or you, I'm down for you, I'm a ride for you, then ride for them, and that's what I do. And I do that for any of my friends, all my friends.
Carmen Lezeth :I love you Mario.
Maurio Dawson:I love you, I love you, I love you deep, I love you so deep, I love you deep too.
Carmen Lezeth :Thank you for doing this. I appreciate you so much for doing this. Do it again, and I'm so glad you're feeling better. So today, today, today. Thank you so much. Everyone remember we are always here on Friday nights at 6. Pm Pacific, 9. Pm Eastern, eastern, eastern, for our Friday night lives. I know right, and check out our new show, culture and Consequence, which lands on Thursday nights. And yeah, remember, at the end of the day it really is all about the joy. Thank you everyone.
Maurio Dawson:Bye guys.
Carmen Lezeth :Bye.
Maurio Dawson:Bye.
Carmen Lezeth :Thanks for stopping by. All About the Joy Be better and stay beautiful. Folks have a sweet day.
