A Contagious Smile Podcast
Stop surviving and start thriving. A Contagious Smile is a globally ranked podcast providing a safe haven for abuse survivors and special needs families navigating the journey of trauma recovery. Whether you are healing from domestic violence, narcissistic abuse, childhood trauma, or the daily challenges of disability advocacy, our mission is to turn your pain into power.
Each episode features raw, authentic conversations with survivors, mental health experts, and advocates who share actionable resources for PTSD healing, resilience building, and emotional wellness. We go beyond the struggle to highlight the triumphs of the special needs community, offering support for caregivers and individuals with disabilities who are rewriting their own narratives.
Hosted by Victoria Cuore, an award-winning trauma advocate and survivor, this podcast delivers the "blueprints" for recovery—not just Band-Aids. Join our community to find hope, humor, and the unstoppable spirit needed to rekindle your inner light.
A Contagious Smile Podcast
Captain Jack, Socks, and Service Dogs: Life's Unexpected Heroes
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When Malcolm Goodwin reached out to thank Victoria for saving his friend's life, it reinforced exactly why the Contagious Smile podcast exists. "I'm not looking for praise or notoriety," Victoria shares with raw honesty. "When I went through this and was laying on the floor bleeding, not wanting to get up, I wished someone could say 'I've got you. You're not alone.'" That connection – knowing someone understands your darkest moments – can transform a tiny remaining spark into a wildfire of healing.
This episode unveils exciting new developments, including Victoria joining Cameo as talent (at just $10 per video) and the creation of the Stucco Squad community, named after Victoria's beloved service dog. The Squad will offer special merchandise including hospital-friendly bracelets for children and families navigating medical challenges. Michael and Victoria's natural, sometimes hilarious banter reveals why their authenticity resonates with millions of listeners worldwide, propelling their podcast into the top 2% globally.
The heart of their mission shines through stories of impact – how Victoria's memoir "Who Kicked First" took a decade to write due to fear but ultimately saved lives, and how her domestic violence advocacy creates practical safety plans for those in danger. Their work extends beyond trauma to celebrate relationships that heal, like Michael's special father-daughter bond with Faith, showcased through weekly movie nights and playful pranks that balance the heavier topics with genuine joy.
Whether you're a survivor seeking connection, a parent navigating challenges, or someone wanting to understand trauma's impact, the Contagious Smile podcast offers a rare blend of unflinching honesty and hopeful perspective. Join the Stucco Squad community on Facebook to participate in upcoming events, contests, and receive updates on their initiatives that turn pain into purpose and isolation into belonging.
Welcome and Podcast Introduction
Speaker 1howdy y'all. Welcome to another episode of contagious smile podcast with the lovely and sexy and sexy you're sexy sexy no, did I say 60 you? Did well, I kind of bit my tongue. Okay, victoria curey. Yay, give it up for victoria. Yay, we need current the frog. You know how they did the muppets back then? They would introduce someone like stan lee, you know from DC Comics.
Speaker 2I just learned who that was.
Speaker 1Shame on you.
Speaker 2You've known me 25 years, but Hi everybody.
Speaker 1Did you just call me a, but no.
Speaker 2But guess what?
Speaker 1What.
Speaker 2VIP members of the Stucco Squad. Guess what, Speaking of Stan Lee these aren't like coincidental Spider-Man has come to visit, Made a video talking about how he just is in awe of the VIP Stucco Squad elite member group, and I'll be putting that out there soon enough.
Speaker 1Now you've got several renditions of Spider-Man.
Speaker 2Spider-Man? I don't know. I've never seen a single Spider-Man movie.
Speaker 1I don't know. I personally like Tobey who, tobey Maguire, I thought you were going to say Tobey Keith.
Speaker 2God rest his soul.
Speaker 1Everyone loves Tobey.
Speaker 2I've never seen a Spider-Man movie. I don't know who these people are. Everyone loves Toby. I've never seen a Spider-Man movie. I don't know who these people are. Negatory Memore, I don't think so. None of that does anything for me. None of those movies I mean to each their own. That's why there's chocolate, vanilla and chocolate chip, Thin Mint, whatever ice creams are all out there. For that reason.
Speaker 1So my wife was referencing we have been invited as partners, alumni for Give Kids the World, which they have a big event coming up in May.
Speaker 2No, no, Make a wish. Make a wish. We just finished podcast See. This is why you know it's not rehearsed Podcastathon, which we just finished. We partnered up with Give Kids the world as our fundraiser. But make a wish. Alumni and the regional make a wish.
Speaker 1Annual thing in may we are which is give kids the world no, it's only make a wish okay, so I just slaughtered that, so why don't you cut this and start all over? No, I'm good keep going oh, lord my foot's halfway down my throat.
Speaker 2Well, it's a good thing you have a very large foot. Are you serious?
Speaker 1you have such big feet, you better keep this bg why, anyway so and it is true what they say.
Speaker 2But he's taken, he's spoken for, he is of the market. Sorry, carry on.
Speaker 1So the wife is getting an um I don't know giveaways for the children.
Speaker 2Children. Yes, they're so cute, the Stucco Squad. We have to get some. We have to get a theme song.
Speaker 1And Stucco's our main stud that we use.
Speaker 2Stucco is my service dog For when we're breeding golden retrievers.
Speaker 1My service dog, he is your service dog. Or when we were breeding golden retrievers, my service dog. He is your service dog.
Speaker 2Yes, my baby, he's actually right here Because he can't get around to me because you're in the way with your big feet.
Speaker 1So y'all please go on the website and y'all see Stucco a lot on Facebook. He's so cute. He has a lot of people, he has his own group. Now I swear we need to do a cameo.
Victoria Joins Cameo as Talent
Speaker 2I'm going to put him in there with me. Announce the cameo. Nothing's been told.
Speaker 1So cameo reached out to my wife, my darling sexy Victoria Curie wife, to become a talent, I don't know why she accepted.
Speaker 2I do not know why. I am not in the league with the people that are on Cameo. Can I just say that?
Speaker 1There's a lot of actors, a lot of old actors that you know I grew up watching on there, a lot of the young that I don't have a clue. I'm sorry, don't take offense, but you know folks like, hey, buddy, come here. Uh, when you have folks like lou diamond phillips call up your wife, you know it's not to go out on a date but it's to congratulate her and to, you know, give a heartfelt uh, thank you of what you're doing and spreading the message of, you know, the special needs community and dev survivors, malcolm goodwin, know that's freaking awesome. You know I'm proud to have a wife like that. So, yeah, now that she's out there on Cameo, y'all reach out to her. Oh, it costs money. Well, folks, it goes for a dang good cause. Oh, hold on.
Speaker 2No, I got to interrupt because, okay, caitlyn Jenner is like $2,500, right, and I had to explain to my husband, redneck Cartnell, who Caitlyn Jenner was. He had no idea. So he can't give me crap about not knowing who any of the Superman people are when you don't know who Caitlyn, aka, previously known as Bruce Jenner, was. So he's like $2,500. She is. I truly had a faux pas. She is $2,500. A, he's like 2500. She's so sorry. I truly had a faux pas. She is 2500. Faux pas, yeah. And then, like, jennifer gardner is a thousand dollars. She's so pretty. I think she's pretty.
Speaker 2Then you have people like um, who else is like everybody's on there, I'm. I'm just like, why am I even in this mix? Because I don't belong. And so right now, because I'm wet behind the ears, new at this cameo thing, I'm only asking for $10 for a video and I can reach out to you and send you a happy birthday, feel better, some advice, some pep talk, whatever the case may be. Advice, some pep talk, whatever the case may be.
Speaker 2You know, I've been looking at the rules and stuff of Cameo and most people leave anywhere from like 30 seconds to two minutes. The first video that I got as a request. I think I did six minutes, because we all know I'm a talker, and then I had another one and I think I did four and a half minutes, something like that. So it's well worth the $10 and it goes to a good cause, um, also. But then there's like all these people on it and I am, I'm starstruck, starstruck, completely starstruck, and then, um, it's an amazing opportunity. I, I, still, I. I hope they don't wake up and realize they made a mistake allowing me on here, because I am nowhere near the caliber of any of these other people that I'm amongst the honor of being with.
Speaker 1That's all. Well, I think we should put Stucco on there.
Speaker 2He'll be on there with me. I'll put him in some of the videos. Can we put him on there? No, he has to have his own following first. You said there's dogs on there. There is, there's like the dog of TikTok, let's get Stucco on there. We have to have him have his own following.
Speaker 1Stucco, you're about to become a superstar.
Speaker 2He is a superstar.
Speaker 1And you're only three.
Speaker 2Hey, so that's that.
Speaker 1So big event in May, cameo. Thank you, cameo. Thank you, lou, for reaching out to the wife.
Speaker 2I just heard from David Arquette from Scream oh, that's right.
Speaker 1Yeah, we got to from David Arquette from Scream oh, that's right, yeah, we gotta get to him.
Speaker 2When's he coming on? I'm not sure, but and you heard from someone else, gentleman named John, who was the janitor in the Breakfast Club, one of my favorite movies ever he, you know, is gonna come on the podcast, the old Breakfast.
Speaker 1Club, didn't they make a new one?
Speaker 2No, there's only one original. There's only one original. It had Anthony Michael Hall and Emilio Estreves and John.
Speaker 1Jones with Lou Diamond Phillips.
Speaker 2Look at that connection. That's awesome. Molly Ringwald yeah, he was the janitor. He also played in a ton of other movies and shows and he will be coming on, which I'm so ungodly honored and just oh, I'm starstruck.
Speaker 1I am. So let me put a shameless plug out there. You do those, I don't. I do Because my wife sits here at this computer about 21, 22 hours a day, right Given that this past storm knocked out the internet for like three days.
Speaker 2Which was great because the family had video games. It was wonderful, which I am so against. Anyway, she puts a lot of time into this.
Speaker 1Y'all, y'all. And I'd just like to say, if y'all are wanting to come on our show, write to us. Uh, our email is everywhere out there. We're on like 30 different platforms. Um, some of her favorite people she would love to get on the show. If y'all have contacts out there, johnny depp okay explain why okay wait, wait, wait, wait wait.
Stucco Squad Community and Merchandise
Speaker 2I'm going to interrupt you only for one reason I love you with every milliscule of my body. The reason yes, he's a fabulous, amazing actor, but that's not the reason. I don't want people to be like, oh, she's starstruck by Johnny Depp, he's one of her, whatever. No, this man, in my eyes, is a hero. I actually, when I worked my family will tell you that I have videos in the background playing and when he went through the domestic violence trial, I knew just by his mannerisms, just by the way he spoke. I mean, he publicly came out and said I will never look at her again. And when he was on trial, he didn't look at her when and said I will never look at her again. And when he was on trial, he didn't look at her. When he sat just literally laterally across from her, he never looked her way, right, he got on the stand. And where the other person got on the stand, total, complete different dispositions, right, there was not a question.
Speaker 2Now, everybody knows johnny depp's had his ups and downs and everything. So is everybody else right. But this man, anywhere he goes and he travels, forget everything else. Take everything else out of the equation. He's not an actor, he's not a survivor. He's not any of this.
Speaker 2This human being, this amazing human being. For this reason alone, every time he travels anywhere, he takes jack sparrow's costume with him. Everywhere he goes, captain jack sparrow, I'm his twin sister, by the way. Uh, johnny, I'm your twin, because he goes into the hospitals and he just wants to go see kids and make them smile. That's all he wants, and he doesn't want to make a deal about it. He doesn't want the publicity of it, whatever. You know none of that. It is a wonderful human being who cares about the smile of these kids face and for that reason alone, I would love the opportunity and honor to interview him Now.
Speaker 2Put on top of it all the amazing things that this human being does. Okay, he is a survivor, survivor, he's a thriver. You could tell by looking at him when he left court. Every single day, he walked out and thanked every single officer of the court. He walked out and like, didn't just shake hands, he held their hands and the body image, the body language, talked so loudly about him. Right, you hear all these horrible things about him, but then you watch him, like how he interacts and how he treats people and he is just a five-star, stellar human being. That's all I gotta say about it you have a lot to say about him.
Speaker 2I have diarrhea in the mouth, fine, whatever, but he is such a true soul and that's so hard to find, especially out in Hollywood, and for him to be so authentic. I mean, it resonates so deeply with me and I'm his twin because I just recently lost an arm and I could play his sister just saying that's it, go ahead. So, johnny Depp.
Celebrity Connections and Interview Dreams
Speaker 1So let's get Johnny Depp on this show y'all. Okay, Make this woman happy.
Speaker 2You make me happy.
Speaker 1Well, thank you.
Speaker 2Yeah, nobody can make me happy.
Speaker 1James.
Speaker 2Spader, I've come so close. I've come so close but I haven't been able to. James Spader, you remember those commercials like 10 years ago, where it's like the woman's outside her favorite store and it's open, open, open, open, open open and she can't get into the other side of the store. That's where I am with James Spader, because I've been so close. I had the privilege and honor of tutoring, as a writer, the writers of the Blacklist's niece, right, I tutored her to help her get into writing school and I'm just not that person that's like hey, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, I can't do it, I won't do it well, you had a mirror on oh, he's another five star human being which played a rom, a rom, a rom on the blacklist, I believe the first season he played all nine.
Speaker 2He played eight, played eight seasons.
Speaker 1I didn't finish. I don't think I got past season five.
Speaker 2No, he played up to like eight and a half seasons. He was an amazing actor, amazing.
Speaker 1He's got a very romantic side, from what I could tell.
Speaker 2He is a stellar human being and he's doing Broadway. Yes, he is just a stellar human. So, and not just that, my, my new friend, who emailed me and reached out today, who was on the breakfast club, played on the blacklist. Yeah, yeah, he was on there, he was on an episode. So I'm like there but not there, and I refuse to put that card and say to somebody that I've become friends with or that has reached out to us to thank us for what we do, to say, hey, by the way, could you give me a? I can't do it. That's not who I am, right, I can't I can't God.
Speaker 2Okay, and it's the disposition and character of James Spader in the blacklist it was Raymond Reddington, like that reminds me so much of you All women that have been through any kind of domestic violence.
Speaker 2I'm telling you because when Faith was little, the show started and I had it on record or whatever you know, and I didn't sleep then, like I don't sleep now, and she couldn't sleep one night and I was looking through the DVR and if you don't know what those words are, you'll have to go look them up because we're old and I'm like looking and looking and I'm like there's nothing on TV. So I go through and I'm looking at the DVR and I'm like I have like eight episodes of the show, the Blacklist, and I couldn't remember why I even started recording it, like you know, and so I was like okay, whatever, so I turn it on. Thank god I found it when I did, because had I just watched that first episode and I had to wait seven more days for the second it, it would have been ugly, because the first episode, as you know, because you saw it was so good, you are hooked and I'm like, okay, this is.
Speaker 2You know, james spader was made for this role and this show was made for james spader period. Nobody else a could have done this position, this role. Nobody would have had the series last as long as it did. And then I go back and I'm looking. I'm like that's that actor who played all the bratty roles in the 80s 16 candles, the mannequin, I believe he also played in stargate, which is sci-fi I don't know, I didn't see it and I'm looking at it, going no way.
Speaker 2So of course I pull up and I see you know him and I'm like I want to look at his biography and I'm like he was in the movie with Estelle Getty who I worship from the Golden Girls, from Mannequin, and I'm like what, that is not the same guy, right, they don't even look the same at all at all. And I remember seeing those movies and I was like I wasn't fond of him back then, right, but now raymond reddington, oh my god, every the way, the first episode if you haven't seen it, mute me for a moment. I was like that's his daughter, right off the bat. That's his daughter.
Speaker 2I was not a big fan of the character elizabeth keen, because how are you an fbi profiler and you don't know or how to scratch your watch or wind your butt right, she could do nothing without Raymond, like everything had to be from Raymond. Raymond was always saving her, constantly saving her, and he never hurt anybody who didn't need to get hurt and I know I'm gonna get crap for that but like he hurt people who hurt the ones he loved. Yes, he was manipulative and okay and but he was a bad guy but he didn't hurt the good people, he only hurt the bad people, right. And he was like the reason why our judicial system sucks and he was like the founding ha-ha person for it. That fixed everything. So you watch Raymond Reddington and you watch episode after episode where he goes in and he gets these bad guys that just hurt people, right, that really hurt people. And frank was on there, the guy who wished you a happy 50th. He was on the blacklist, was a place to be and, like you just watch it and then you learn about dembe and his story and it's oh, and you fall in love with the blacklist. And then it's like I used to get so upset because it would go on hiatus for like three months and it was so upsetting and I was just like I'm a special needs mom, I'm a special needs person myself and when my child is asleep and I'm watching her on these machines, I need me a little Raymond Reddington and I would watch these in his little fedora and I would think, oh my God, that's my Michael, right, like, like, because the way you act and the way he acts are so similar in so many ways and it was his disposition and demeanor that I found so alluring. And it's the same with you, like, it's the way you acted, right. So I'm just saying, and it was amazing, and I even got faith hooked on it, and amir was hilarious.
Speaker 2He was like you're a little young to watch the blacklist, but Faith is so wise behind her years anyway, right, and she loved Aram. She'd walk around because at the time she had apraxia and you can't pronounce a lot of words and she has a non-functional tongue and her anatomy in her mouth is small, right. So she'd walk around and his name on the show was Aram Mushdabai and she'd go Aram Mushdabai and it was the cutest thing ever and she was like that's her favorite. She loved Aram just as much as Raymond and she's like Mom, raymond's yours, I'll get Aram. Okay, that's fine, she loved both of them. But she'd always be like I'm Aram, I'm Aram, I rom, I'm a rom rom, unless you try to roll ours so cute.
Domestic Violence Survival and Advocacy
Speaker 2And the first time we ever heard from a rom, he sent her the sweetest ever video, talking about she was getting ready to have her 34th surgery and he was like ain't nothing but a chicken wing, ain't nothing, you know. And then what was it Valentine's. We're sitting at the table and I'm like, faith, you just got an email from a ROM wishing you a happy Valentine's Day. And I looked at you and I was like, are you kidding me? This year's a ROM, you know, saying I'm thinking about you and how are you doing? You were on my mind Last year Dermot Mulroney, best friend's wedding, chicago Fire PD.
Speaker 2Chicago Fire Captain sends Faith a message and asks her to be his valentine. I mean, really, these are like the elite people and I'm like I'm so there but not there. So now that everybody's like, yep, victoria has diarrhea of the mouth, I'm gonna let Michael go back and continue to explain this and explain more about our stucco squad, which everybody is welcome to join. I mean, kermit's an honorary member and Spider-Man wants to be a member, and I'm just saying so. Love, the diarrhea of the mouth.
Speaker 1I don't know if y'all can tell, but my wife and I, we share one microphone between us. We sit here about I don't know, a foot and a half apart, Our dog's laying there.
Speaker 2That's because your feet are big.
Speaker 1Okay, we're keeping this PG-13.
Speaker 2I did keep it PG-13. Thank you very much. Okay, you and Faith.
Speaker 1Okay, we won't open that door. Yeah huh yeah, we share, you know, a tiny little office here in our podcast world and my wife has done a phenomenal job. And to circle back on my plug about Johnny Depp and James Spader, if we could get those two on, she's over there smiling, fanning herself, y'all.
Speaker 2And it's not because it's like, oh, they're one of my.
Speaker 1But one thing, oh, I would call out for work for that one. I would, yes.
Speaker 2You wouldn't call out of work for Johnny Depp.
Speaker 1Well, yeah, but I mean Keanu definitely.
Speaker 2You'd call out of work for Shakira.
Speaker 1Shakira. I don't Next subject what, any way. Who? How? My wife has done a phenomenal job on the classes that she has produced. Ok, y'all are going to be in for it when you see the quality of work she has in these classes. Right, babe, what she's giving me the stink eye.
Speaker 2My hips don't lie.
Speaker 1Oh Lord, I'm in trouble y'all. I used to have this thing for the Latinas. I don't anymore. Hint, hint, wink, wink, okay. What do you mean? Hint, hint, wink, wink, okay, because you're a very white woman with very red hair and I love you.
Speaker 2You're my soulmate darling, I love you, anyway, yeah.
Speaker 1So you're saying if Shakira came up to you, you would ask me to give you a pass.
Speaker 2If she came up to me what for a podcast? No, and said, hey, big hey, big boy, I'd say howdy and she hit on you or whatever, and said I can make your dreams come true oh no you wouldn't say babe, could I have?
Speaker 1that pass? No, there'll be no pass. Why there's no million dollars? Why no? Why because I gave my heart to you, woman about time will you stop? It's your coffee that's making so one class that my wife teaches is on podcasting how to podcast, how to get started. Y'all get on the computer, email us and we'll get you start set up for the classes, okay, um, you hear how her and I talk. Okay, she's got all the brains. I'm just the redneck guy with the dogs in the background again with the big feet.
Speaker 1Are you serious? So we have. We have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of followers on throughout all our platforms we're the millions well, I know, but each, each platform has yeah just and and like we'll put this out. We're late because of the recent storm that knocked out our internet here for the past three days, so we're late, so we're. She'll probably put this out, maybe tomorrow or thursday and, uh, you know, it'll have millions of listens. It's different from views they're not the same because this is all audio.
Speaker 1Well, we could go, we could go video.
Speaker 2Uh, well, I don't want to scare people on youtube it's not halloween. This is on the youtube I mean video on youtube no, but people put in their keywords, not just audio. And then they do whatever, they don't watch it.
Speaker 1So she's done this and she's got our podcast in the top 2% globally of the most listened to podcasts. Y'all, she knows what she's doing. Get in on these classes, okay.
Speaker 2And they're cost affordable.
Speaker 1They're a drop in the bucket on what you should be charging Each of her classes. Her class is no less than a $500 master class. Okay, and she is. I mean, it's nothing, it's almost nothing. It's something, but it's almost nothing.
Speaker 1Well, it's also outrageous for the platform that we paid to house it y'all, what she does works okay. She has facts to prove it. She has numbers to prove it. Oh, okay, are you going to argue with all these celebrities calling her ask, look at your, look at your itinerary. Do you have all these celebrities calling you out of the blue eating dinner? You know you got. You got Lou Diamond calling. You got all these other folks just out of the blue. I'm like, babe, are we paying these folks to call us Like? No, they just call us like Malcolm Goodwin.
Speaker 2Well, hold, on Somebody he knew Right. There's a story behind that.
Speaker 1Okay, here's a mic.
Speaker 2No, here's my mic.
Speaker 2Malcolm Goodwin plays in the reacher and I zombie and the breakout kings and several others. But somebody reached out to him and told them that I help them through a life altering situation and the one consistent thing is that I will never disclose geographics or your name, um, and I always do follow up and I end up staying pretty connected to everyone that I work with and I have I mean, my husband will tell you, 10 o'clock at night, two o'clock in the morning, I'll have somebody reach out and I will stop and and reach back and start talking with them and, honestly, they knew Malcolm and Malcolm reached out thanking me for helping his friend. And when you're dealing with people and these situations, you have no idea who they are right, and it doesn't matter to me who you are, it matters that I help you. That's the whole premise of it. And he said I just want to thank you because you saved their life. And not only did you save their life but, like you, literally still follow through and talk with them and you're who you are, you're genuine and because of that, now you have a listener and a fan in me and I'm like what? Because that's not why I do this. I do this because I know what it's like to be alone. I know what it's like to go through this alone and want to give up and realize that you're letting them win and they're not worth it. So you're much better than that and even when you think the tiniest spark is all you have left within you, I'm going to show you that that spark is going to set a wildfire I mean, and it can and going to set a wildfire, I mean, and it can. And you just need that positive lift right and then I'll even help you through your healing journey.
Speaker 2I'm not a medical doctor. I still tell everybody they need to go and get therapists and counseling and things like that, but I give you tips that have worked for me, that have worked for others. I don't tell you to get out, but you do need a plan. You know I help you get one in case and whenever you are ready, things that can help keep you as safe as humanly possible during the time that you're there. But still, these are all things that I didn't have available to me, and if one nugget from one thing saves your life, then God bless it.
Speaker 2Everything we do is for a reason, and that's just why, and for him to have reached out and just said thank you. That meant more to me than he will ever know, because I'm not. Obviously we're not doing it for the money, because we've been funding this out of our own pocket from inception right. But to know that somebody was like what they did saved me and they were talking about it to someone else, and for them to be so moved by that person to say you know what I'm so glad they did what they did. I'm going to reach out and thank them myself. Right, his message to me was so genuine. He didn't say I was asked to do this or, you know, I felt the need to do this. He said I wanted to personally reach out and thank you for saving my friend and because you did this, you now have a fan in me. I've listened to your podcast. I, you know, checked out what you are, what you do and who you are, and that means everything I mean.
Speaker 2The only additional positive I see is spreading the word so that more people know about us and how to find us and how to utilize our resources to help them. In turn, right, I'm not looking to like. You know, whatever you want to consider, I'm not trying to be the 18 year old TikTok, you know, phenomenon superstar that is doing it because they want the praise and the notion and the notoriety. I don't want it for that reason. I want it because when I went through this and I'm laying on the floor bleeding and I don't even want to get up, I can say someone else has got me, I'm not alone.
Speaker 2You know, I could put my hearing aids in. I could not a word. And I can turn on one of our podcasts and I can hear survivor stories, or I can listen to Michael and Victoria, or I can hear survivor stories, or I can listen to Michael and Victoria, or I can listen to Dana and I and I can go and say, oh my God, that's exactly like what I'm going through. I am not alone. I'm not alone and it makes such a huge difference and it makes you feel like I can fight this, I can beat this, I can overcome this, and then my voice and my story matter and it's going to help somebody else along the way. So I know.
Father-Daughter Relationships and Pranks
Speaker 1Diary of the mouth no, no, um, also in the past. Uh, victoria, cure, that's how you pronounce her name, it's like pure a with a c right, um, she wrote her memoir, uh, in the form of a book that she self-published some years ago called who Kicked First, and one of the readers got a hold of her book and stated your book saved my life. Now you know that book may have took, I don't know, 10 years in the making.
Speaker 2It did because I was petrified to come out. Yeah.
Speaker 1But that one simple statement was what made it worth it, right, absolutely, to sit there and write it down. And so, yeah, that's awesome, you know, to have something to come back to you and say, hey, because you did this, it saved my, or it saved the life of my daughter, because you know, yeah, wow. So my wife's the real deal, y'all. She, she went through hell and back and my daughter's been through hell what death's bud a couple times more than a couple. And, uh, our little girl, faith, she's a fighter. If y'all ever follow us on on facebook or tiktok, y'all hear about faith.
Speaker 2She's a little everybody loves her everything and we're not saying that because we're biased Hell kicker. Everybody loves her.
Speaker 1She's a pain in my butt.
Speaker 2You're just mad because my husband love of my life and soulmate the other day remember I'm an amputee I'm trying to fold clothes, which I do, I do, and he gives me a shirt and says hang this up. So I do, I do. And he gives me a shirt and says hang this up. So I do. And then he takes it off the hanger and I'm like do you know what that did for me to do it? And he calls Faith in and says hang this up for me.
Speaker 2And I'm like what Just hung this up, this is because I'm a horrible liar and I can't get away with anything hangs it on the hanger and hands it to him and he goes ah, like some, whatever. And I looked over and I'm like what, what's the problem? And he goes now I know which one of you two buttons the button okay, well, let's not be newton here for a minute and realize that it does take an extra minute for me to button buttons. And you look over her and you go do you know that's a button of mine, that you buttoned my buttons?
Speaker 1Because I hate it. I hate it. Just because it's a buttoned down shirt does not mean it has to go on the hanger with every button on there. It's a pain in the butt for us guys to unbutton them. We just want to throw the shirt on and go. I don't care if they're unbuttoned.
Speaker 2So what was the premise of what you said to her? Do not.
Speaker 1I said from now on, because it's an inconvenience and it's a hassle and it's a button, a pet peeve of mine do not button any of my shirts and put them on a hanger, or my britches. She zips up my britches and buttons them now, oh, lord.
Speaker 2these two, as you know, are the pranksters of the millennium. Like they're crazy about their pranks on each other. They both have stuff in the in the woodwork in the pipeline right now. So he said don't you do it again? So abby's on her way here and and will be here in a few weeks Yay, abby. And she's already like well, he said Faith couldn't do it. He didn't say I couldn't do it, and not only that, but he told her very specifically do not do this to my shirt or to my pants. Well, we learned years ago that Michael has to have his socks even a certain way. We learned years ago that Michael has to have his socks even a certain way. So our lovely child is going to do what you hate to every single pair of socks that you own. Great, because you didn't specify socks, she's on down black.
Speaker 2No, she's rolling them and putting them in a knot. Oh hell no, you said no to shirts and pants. You didn't say anything about the socks. Okay, I'll get her back. So she, why do you think all your socks went missing?
Speaker 1and she actually did laundry ask her today if she saw that brand new pack of socks that's because she's rolling them and tying them up.
Speaker 2This is why I love the pranks that they do. They're fantastic, they're awesome, but they push each other's buttons all day long. Yes, they do, and it's hysterical because this is how they are. This is the love they have for each other, but you've never seen such love as you do when you see the two of them.
Speaker 1They're amazing.
Speaker 2I mean they are, and it cracks me up because she says to me oh my god, he gets on my ever laughing last nerve, like. And then she's like but if anybody ever even looked at him wrong, I'm, I'm gouging the eyes like she's, like that's my dad and the only person who can annoy him is me. I mean it's hilarious like the, the banter between the two of you, but y'all love each other on a level of father-daughter that should make everybody envious. I mean, y'all have your date night every week. The way you talk to her, some of the stuff I don't approve Date night.
Speaker 1Let's clarify that means it's daughter and daddy movie night.
Speaker 2Yeah, that's the daughter-daddy date night.
Speaker 1We sit on the couch and we watch movies, and I've been doing that for.
Speaker 2Years.
Speaker 1Four years, four years now, over four years.
Speaker 2Longer than that.
Speaker 1yeah, it's just Because that's something she never got, if I can say got when.
Speaker 2Well, I was a single mom.
Speaker 1You were a single mom and she didn't get that from Grandpa.
Speaker 2Don't call him that. Well whatever he was is Absent.
Speaker 1Yeah, so, and like she says, I cherish those. You know it's great to sit down with your child, even if it's just one child. You know we have two other knuckleheads, but it feels like they kind of disowned us, like everyone else.
Speaker 2But that was not due to those kids. Don't blame those kids, those kids didn't disown us.
Speaker 1I didn't blame them.
Speaker 2Call it what it is. We love them. I would go get them right now if they called me.
Speaker 1Absolutely, and they're welcome here.
Speaker 2Who turned them away from us?
Speaker 1We know here who turned them away from us. We know who turned them away.
Speaker 2Well, and you know, that's that's things we go into later narcissism.
Speaker 1It was not the kids controlling factors manipulation yeah, and it's heart-wrenching to me yep, I had it done to me when I was a child.
Speaker 2I was turned against my dad, so I can't even the things that were said to you about your dad. You know, I remember meeting him for the very first time and I walked in with this preconceived notion that he was these horrific, awful things, because that's what I was told right. And I mean they were told to me so sternly, like I didn't even want faith near him because of what I had been told Right and you knew no different. I mean, the things that you were told were so horrific. And then, after I spent some time with him, I said to him you know, spend some time with him. I said to him you know, I need to give you an apology because I came in here so misguided and misconstrued because of what I was told, and he was like, oh, by my ex-wife, like he knew right off the bat, and I just said I'm so sorry. And he reminded me years later he was like, do you know, when you sat down next to me and you said I'm so sorry that I came in here with this opinion already created because of everything that I heard, and then you spoke with me, sat with me, got to know me and the first thing you did then was apologize and he said that meant more to me than you'll ever know.
Speaker 2And I said because I mean I would never have let you near my kid ever, because the things that were said to you and to me and to our kid about him right, I mean these are things that we fight for is what the category he was put in. And then I mean to do that because parents shouldn't use their kids as pawns to get them to hate the other parent. Right? Just because it didn't work out with your spouse doesn't mean you should turn the kids. That's horrible. I mean that's just so, so wrong to do.
Speaker 1And we've met parents who turn the kids for a financial gain. Absolutely, it's sick the mentality, but we can talk a lot about different things, right? We've covered a lot tonight. Let's see what else Stucco Squad's coming out. It's going to be awesome. I believe it's airing tomorrow. What about your bracelet?
Speaker 2Oh yeah, we have a merchandise that will be given out for free to the kiddos and the parents out at Truist Park in May and if you join anywhere you go to the Stucco Squad group on Facebook, you can. We're going to set up membership and we will send you a whole goodie bag of stuff too where's our link for that squad?
Speaker 1it goes in the show notes okay, and the show notes will be stucco squad vip membership. Y'all get on it.
Upcoming Events and Merchandise Details
Speaker 2Get on in there, um and the stuff is not junk, it's cute yeah, she's, she.
Speaker 1She's worked her butt off up here. She, my wife, does amazing stuff and, like I said, the numbers and the videos, the listen score, everything proves she knows what she's doing.
Speaker 2So now tell them how cute. Just tell them about the bracelet, how cute it is and the colors it's.
Speaker 1It's a, I guess, a standard rubber bracelet.
Speaker 2It's purple and black yes, but it's not like going to make you sweat rubber and the thing is it's made for kids and my husband's wearing it, but it's something that if you're at the hospital or you're going in for an MRI or a CAT scan or an x-ray or god forbid, you're in the hospital, guess what you don't have to take it off. There's no metal in it, so you can keep it on. You can wear it if you're wearing an IV or going for testing, whatever the case may be, you can still wear this because it's like your. It's like your badge, right, and it is your superpower identification band that has two stucco's on it, one on either side, and it says Contagious smile.
Speaker 2Oh, that's on the back VIP stucco squad superhero, and then on the back it says a contagious smile, but you're wearing it backwards.
Speaker 1I want everybody to read it. See if I can hold it out to them. Yeah, but it's from the I want them to read it Right, I know what it says okay, yeah, and then we have a bunch of other cute merchandise.
Speaker 2Are you yawning? I am, I don't sleep and I'm having a ton of coffee, so but the thing is they're so cute and we're gonna have little.
Speaker 1Oh, I don't even want to give them stuff away, but they're so cute, exciting day to go out there and meet everyone.
Speaker 2Well, even if you can't attend that, because you know a lot of it's invitation only is that you can join and get the same stuff right and get into the newsletter magazine. We'll celebrate your birthday and holidays. And, like, we're still the contest, the coloring contest is still up where if you go to Facebook and type in Stucco Squad you can go to the group. We just released this group. So go in there and add and add yourself, and then you'll see there's a bunch of different coloring pages and we're having a coloring contest. I just put up some seriously cute St Patrick's Day and then also did St Patrick's Day, and then there's other cute pictures of Stucco and we're having a contest. So submit them in, color them, show us what you're doing and get a prize. Cameo.
Speaker 1Y'all go to Came and get a prize. Cameo, y'all go to Cameo. I believe it's Cameocom. It is and type in Victoria Cure.
Speaker 2C-U-O-R-E.
Speaker 1Right C-U-O-R-E Cure and request a Cameo from her. Y'all. It's what? $10? Right now it's $10. $10.
Speaker 2Cameo from her y'all it's. It's what? 10 bucks. Right now it's 10, 10 bucks. Come on a cup of coffee, really pretty soon. It won't be the way coffee is going up, but if I celebrate all your events, I can make public announcements, I can do business stuff, all sorts of awesome things, and I love it because it could be a plug for whatever your business is right well, if it's business, you're supposed to do it. Through the business side of cameo.
Speaker 2There is the personalized in the business and the business is like ten times more expensive so I can't imagine what, like Caitlyn Jenner starting for a business probably 15 grand, but I so I did look at the business side and certain people like there's a couple of wrestlers I looked at and they're charging several thousand dollars to do a promo for their business if you do it through Cameo on the business side. So it's much more expensive, Right, but I can celebrate anniversaries and holidays and get well and you know, I had someone that you know asked me when I did a podcast earlier that what I do, I'm dumping you.
Speaker 2Oh you get a cameo that says I'm dumping you. I guess if you ordered it I would do it. I don't know. I mean that would be a different one, but sure you know.
Speaker 1I'll get on there and request one from her.
Speaker 2And you can put in there. You want Stucco? I'll put Stucco in there with me, because how could you not? He's so stinking cute. Stucco's my baby.
Speaker 1We'll get him in there, stucco's mama's boy. He'll be a famous dog.
Speaker 2He's a famous dog. He's a famous dog.
Speaker 1He's a famous dog.
Speaker 2Thank y'all for listening to.
Speaker 1Unstoppable.
Speaker 2I love you most. Oh, he's so sweet With Victoria Curie and my big foot husband Michael no caffeine for her.
Speaker 1Y'all look for Stucco Squad tomorrow and shoot us an email. Hey, you want to get on, and if you reach to Johnny or James Spader, come on.
Speaker 2Or Keanu Damn, I keep forgetting.
Speaker 1He is amazing too. I'm just thinking about you, because I grew up watching Keanu.
Speaker 2He's amazing. Do you know he's in his 60s? Yeah, he does not look it. He does not look it. I need whatever water. He's in his 60s. Yeah, he does not look it, he does not look it. I need whatever water he's drinking. Okay.
Speaker 1Good night y'all, and we are.
