🎪 Episode 84 Parenting, True Crime and Chaos: Tomato Thieves, TikTok Tea & Weaponized Witchcraft (Yes, Really)

Hosts: Stefanie Navarro & Meredith Hill
Run Time: 49 Mins

Theme: 4th Of July recaps, Car Scams, Weird land Marks, CIA Projects, AITA, Book Club Review

Welcome back to This Is My Circus — where suburban parenting meets petty rage, true crime tangents, and a garden full of zucchini no one asked for. This episode is giving chaos, conspiracy, and cult classic vibes.

In this episode, we cover:

• 🍅 Tomato thieves, garden hose justice & why community pantries aren’t always wholesome
• 🚙 Oil change scams, warranty games & dealership drama — car ownership is a scam
• 🧨 Viral Fourth of July TikTok drama that turned a potluck into a public dragging
• 🌱 The great zucchini takeover (and why our gardens are better than yours)
• 🐐 Weird small-town statues, creepy Marilyn Monroe legs, and our ongoing Hendersonville confusion

🔍 True Crime + Government Files You Didn’t Ask For:

• MK Ultra’s 149 subprojects revealed — and it only gets weirder
• Project MK Often: CIA-funded black magic, psychic warfare, and voodoo priest experiments
• Final Diddy Trial Update: Found guilty on two charges, facing up to 28 years in prison
• Real-life spiritual warfare? We’re not okay.

🎙️ “Am I the A-Hole?”

A gardener hoses down trespassers stealing tomatoes from his yard after a neighbor sets up a community pantry.
 Verdict: Not the A-hole. We stand with petty horticulture warfare.

📚 Book Chat: You by Charles Benoit

Told in second-person narration, this dark YA tale about teen Kyle’s downward spiral didn’t land for us. Harsh parents, bad influences, and a twist that fizzled. We wanted more redemption, less monotone.

⭐️ Rating: 3/10
 💬 “Zach was a manipulative psychopath, the parents were trash, and the ending? Meh.”

📖 Next Read: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham

Mystical mean girls, elemental magic, twin heirs, and fae drama? We’re in. This series is about to be our new obsession.

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🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES

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• Support: Send us garden fences, conspiracy theories, or caffeinated gifts ☕

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome to, this is my circus, the podcast where we embrace the chaos and keep it real about parenting, pop culture, true crime, and the books we can't put down because let's be honest, life is one big circus and we're just trying to survive with caffeine, sarcasm, and a little true crime obsession. So if you love unfiltered conversation, questionable parenting hacks, and deep dives into the things that keep us up at night, you're in the right place. Buckle up, grab your popcorn, and let's get into the chaos. I'm Stephanie. I'm Meredith. And welcome to This is my circus, so I lost my beep. Put a bleep in there. I lost it today. Why? Okay, so Jackson Hill. Had know it's okay, lemme start over. Jackson had a, physical schedule today. You know, they have to have'em, you have to upload'em for sports and to all the things. Mm-hmm. Well, I had put it off because I didn't realize he was past due.'cause I didn't get an email from his pediatrician. You know, all the things, like, I depend on them to remind me when he's due. Mm-hmm. I'm terrible. I know. Yeah. Well, so I went online yesterday. And scheduled an appointment for him today with his pediatrician and you know, they've got the CVSs or whatever, the MinuteClinics, and I was like, you know, I don't wanna go and wait forever, like they say, so I'm gonna schedule with this regular doctor, same practice that he's been seeing since he was born. Mm-hmm. So I scheduled it online. I checked in online. I paid the copay online, like I did all the things and we're set to go. So Jackson and I practiced today. He, I told him what time to be home so we could leave or go plenty of time. We get there in plenty of time and I walk in and I'm like, I've got an appointment for Jackson Hill. And you know, they start doing the, what was the name? And I'm like, oh God, you know, then, then they're like, what's his birthdate? So I told them, and they're like, And who are you seeing? Like, you know, and you start to, you know, yeah. At that point they were like, we canceled your appointment and we left you a message. But, so apparently it was scheduled in the wrong spot. I just wanted his physical form filled out. Uhhuh Scott put it in just like an office visit spot. Well, apparently needed to be put in a different kind of spot. I don't know that. Yeah, I don't know where you want this. Don't you know? Why there's not an option for it. So, it's like I will just go somewhere else. I was like, Jackson, go to the car. And I was so mad. I was like, are you gonna refund me? And they were like. Yeah. And we left you messages yesterday and I was like, no, you didn't. And they were like, well, we emailed you through the portal. I was like, no, I'm I, I checked my email more than I checked my phone. Yeah. I mean, like my, my voicemail, I was like, no, there's nothing. And I was like, forget it. We'll just go somewhere else. And you know, I was like 200 degrees outside. Yeah. So Jackson had already marched to the car and he's like, mama. So I get in the car, turn it on, and we're sitting there for a second. He was like. What do we wanna do? I said, I don't know, gimme a second. So I start googling like, urgent care.'cause we have to get it done. Yeah. It's already, it was due like the end of either the end of this week or last. So we gotta get it done. And I checked all the portals and all the stuff and I took screenshots of it. He was, Jackson's like, what are you doing? I was like, there are no messages in here. He is like, mama let it go. So I called back in there and I was like, Hey, I'm Meredith. Just had my kid really? Sorry. I said, but I just wanted you guys to know that we didn't receive any messages. I checked the portal that I have no voicemail, so I don't know if there's a system glitch Uhhuh, because I mean, sometimes stuff like that happens and facilities don't know until like somebody says something. Yeah. So I were, I was apologizing and really trying to be helpful and, um, she was like, okay, hold please. And I was like, okay. So I'm holding at the same time I'm scheduling him an appointment for like a walk-in urgent care. And I was already dreading that. Um, I. So she comes back and she's like, yeah, we sent you a message through the portal. And I was like, I'm telling you, there's no message. There's no message in the portal I've got. I didn't, I wanted to say, I've got the screenshots to prove it. She said, yeah, it says you didn't see it. I was like, there is no message in there. I was like, whatever. Just letting you know. And I said, you know what, by the way, and I mentioned Jackson's doctor and I was like. I, we've been going to her since he was born. I bet if you would've asked her, she would've said, oh yeah, just let him come in. Did you even ask her? And I was like, nevermind. So we ended up skirt skirting down the road and went into this urgent care place and, Was it the place in York? No. Oh, no. But we're a frequent flyer there too. It was on the way home from Gastonia. Okay. So we stopped at one on the way home and went in and I had checked in online and done all the things online and they're like, here, here's your, do you need us to do your paperwork? You know, whatever. And I was like, sure. They printed, gave it to me like that. And usually urgent cares are, you know, they're busy. Um, and she was like. It'll be 25, which was less than I paid at the regular doctor. And I was like, that's fine. Yeah, yeah, that's fine. And she was like, okay. Sat down, filled the forms out. Okay. Come on back. Like it was like, I was like, angels are singing now. Yeah. And Jax was like, are you better now? I was like, I'm getting there. It was just the whole thing. Right. So while Jackson and I are on this. Expedition and we get everything done. By the way, everything's good. Brian has taken his truck to get an oil change. Now he took it to the same place where he had taken it before it was a dealership, and they tried to sell him like$200 windshield wiper blades that you can get at advance and put'em on yourself. Mm-hmm. So Brian was upset with them for that. They're like, people come in here and depend on you to give them a fair price and you're a dealership, so you're more, you should be more reputable. All the things. And Brian, did he get banned? No. My easy going husband who? Most people are gonna be really shocked at this. He left them a bad Google review. What? Right. So he went there today because it's where he bought his truck. And again, you think that you're getting whatever. Well, they're like, the belt is questionable and about to break, and Brian's like, well, don't I have a warranty? It expired last week. Are you kidding? Last week it expired, and this is the same place. He always takes it. So he's like, you're telling me that when I was here two or three months ago, there was nothing wrong with the belt when it was under warranty, but today you're telling me I need a$500 repair on something that my warranty expired days ago. Yep. So Brian took it. He was like, forget it, I'm outta here. Yeah. And they were like, well, might break. He was like, I'll take my chances. He stopped at this place where we had taken vehicles before for mechanical things. They were like, no, that's max$200. So we've gotta figure all the logistics to take it out. Was it, was it like, I dunno, we gotta take it tomorrow for them to work on it. So. I'm telling Jackson when we're on the car on the way home, I'm like, I cannot wait to tell Daddy our experience about this whole doctor office thing. So quite the day in the hill house. But we're gonna make it. So Dylan took my car to get an oil change. Okay.'Cause he is been taking my car back and forth to work in Charlotte. Yeah.'cause he didn't want the truck so bad on gas. Mm-hmm. And he's like, are you going anywhere today? And I'm like, no. Yeah. I was like, babe, if you're gonna take my car and he's an oil change, he'll get an oil change before you go. Mm-hmm. Okay. Mom. I had a 50% off coupon. Perfect. And I was like, she'd be like 50 bucks. Gave him my card. Right. He leaves there and he is like, mom, it was like$140. And I'm like, for what? Mm-hmm. And he is like, well, they showed me your air filter and your air filter was like black. And I was like, okay, but how much was the air filter? Because the oil change after the coupon should be$50. Mm-hmm. How did we get you a, I mean, they're like 20 bucks. Yeah. The air filters, right? Like if you get, and you can YouTube a video and do it yourself. Yeah. And he's like, well, I just, um, but I appreciate him taking care of you. Oh, me too. Yeah. And I was like, okay. Mm-hmm. It's fine. Whatever. Just, he's like, I got the receipt. Like, I'll, that's fine. You. I needed to get done, whatever. And so he got home and I was looking at, I said, well, that's fine Dylan. Don't worry about it, but for future. I said, they're always gonna try to upcharge you. Yeah. And sell you stuff. I said, and if it needs it, we can just order it on either on Amazon or get it at AutoZone or whatever. Right. Right. It's not hard. I said, it's like 20 bucks. Yeah. I'm sorry y'all paid for it. I'm like, it's okay. It's fine. It's life. Life. But that's in the future. Yeah. Don't I just tell'em to put it on the receipt of what they recommend and we can get it done. Right. Anywhere else? So many places are two, or websites you can plug in. I've got a 2012 or whatever. Pop everything up. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So, Very similar situation. Tell Brian, okay, I'll tell him. It's not just the dealers, it's not just him. So we're going away this weekend for just a few days and I'm just so excited. I'm so excited. I bet. Did you have a good fourth? Yeah. We went over to, Tammy Tyler's Mom's Tyler's house. So we went over there and, they had some other family there. I've known them. Yeah, Dylan was in kindergarten, so Yeah. I've known them for years and years and so it was, it was nice. We low key. Yeah. Just, you know, hung out. Mm-hmm. That look cool. They do. Mm-hmm. So all the kids got in and, Dylan had to work, so he didn't get there till like 9 30, 10. Yeah. as soon as he got there, I mean, all the kids were in the pool and Yeah. Having a good time. And it was like when they were like five again. Yeah. Well, I wasn't feeling good on, I think I got dehydrated from cut and SI swear, Steph, I'm, I'm gonna make it, but it's just gonna be an effort. So Friday was like my first day off in, I don't know how long. Mm-hmm. And, I just kinda laid around. I didn't feel good. I was just a little, like, I kept saying, my head was like, swimmy and Jackson was like, I don't even know what that means, mama. And I was like, just don't worry about it. But I was feeling better by the evening and um, that there's a neighborhood right behind us, not the one that you probably you guys were at. Mm-hmm. But the other side. And I was like, let's take the golf cart, Jackson, and go just ride around. And'cause he didn't go anywhere either, so we were, they had fireworks everywhere in that neighborhood. Mm-hmm. We were like heads on a swivel, watching'em all. Even at one point, like I. Don't, they weren't the poppers, but it was like something that did like little sparks and stuff like spinning around, they were throwing'em at us on the golf cart and Jackson was like taken off and it was just a whole thing. It was a lot of fun though. Uhhuh. But it was, it was very low key for us too. Yeah. It was too flipping hot to do anything. Mm-hmm. It's hotter today. Oh my gosh. It's like 98 degrees. It's miserable. Yeah. But feels like it's gonna be that way the rest of the week too. I know. Yeah. Bummer. Well, speaking of 4th of July drama. Yeah. All this drama on TikTok. No. Oh my gosh. I'm on like drama talk, I guess. But, so this is just like small town drama, which Yes. So I'm gonna introduce the characters. Okay. So we have the bad guys, which is Stasia and Jake Hicks and Jake's mom, Melissa. Okay. And then Nicole, who was the guest. Okay. At this party. Which wasn't a party, but we'll get to that. Okay. Okay. So Nicole is new to this town and her son's new best friend's Mom invites her to this 4th of July party. Okay. It wasn't her 4th of July party, but she was a guest and, you know, told the people, Hey, I am bringing so and so. Um, it's my son's friend and his mom. Okay. This lady says, yeah, it's all good. You're invited. This girl, Nicole, makes this beautiful antipasto salad and you're like a step from her garden. I mean, it was just beautiful. Okay. Like, and I don't, I don't do like a lot of that stuff, but it was just so pretty. And she's like, I spent like$40 besides the stuff for my garden. So, they get there, they go into the kitchen, she puts down the platter, and she's like talking to whoever's in the kitchen. Mm-hmm. Doesn't know whose house it is. Wasn't like, you know, introduced to anybody uhhuh. But they're really still in the kitchen. They haven't made it outside yet. Okay. So this dude walks by like super attitude and she was like, well that was weird. And she just continues to chatting or whatever with whoever she was in the kitchen with. Well, this woman comes inside and she's like, um, we don't know who you are. And Jake is like flipping out that somebody in his house that he doesn't know is in there. It was his mom. He went outside and like threw a hissy fit and his mom comes inside. Okay. So she was like, I'm so sorry. Yeah. Like, I didn't know who like the home was. I like, I right. I just, you know, I came with so and so. Whatever. She goes outside, introduces herself like. Super awkward, right? Uh, Uhhuh at this point, now it's awkward. And everybody that was there, I guess all lives on this road. It's like. One of those roads that like, it's like all family. Yeah. Like compound. It's in Virginia, no southern hospitality on this road. No, no. But they're all giving her dirty looks as she's trying to introduce herself and one person made some kind of like, yeah, welcome to the neighborhood now, you know, see you later. What? Just super insightful. Yeah. Yeah. And so she got so embarrassed. Upset. Yeah. And she got her kid and left and she was like, no, I'm don't like work. Don't blame. Yeah. So she goes onto TikTok and makes a TikTok about it. Okay. And she's got like a decent following on TikTok, like she's got a good following. Okay. And Sassy I think is trying to have that kind of following. Mm-hmm. But doesn't mm-hmm. A little bit of, but like now she's got nothing. Yeah. So she goes on there, tells a story, well then this chick makes a rebuttal video thinking that she's like eating it, right? Like right. Yeah. No, she basically confirmed everything that this girl Nicole said, had already said. But she was like, well, we didn't know who she was and she was in our house. And everybody must know like, you don't want people that you don't own in your house. Well, then they show her house. Right? And I'm thinking how this girl is so presenting so bougie. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's like you got nothing in that house. Just like, don't worry about. Right. Nobody's selling your stuff in in this, in this house. It wasn't a mil million dollar home. No. So then, this goes on, right? She takes down her video in like two hours because she got. Yeah. Yeah. Good. But of course it's still out there because everybody stitches. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I hadn't seen it. Yeah. Well then the mother-in-law gets on. Okay. And she is like dying on this hill that they did nothing wrong. Getting eaten up in the common, yeah. So it's like the entire world against. Mm-hmm. These people, and it's like this girl, she's like homestead. Just like super right? Like pure, nice. Just trying to be friendly. Yeah. And show up with the stuff. Well, now these people are trying to think like. Law. Like they are like, we are connected to the sheriff and we're connected to And they're for what? Exactly? Because they made themselves look bad. Yeah. Basically. Oh my God. So now there's this Canadian chick who got invested. Mm-hmm. And started to dig a little bit on Jake. Mm-hmm. His wife. Okay. And apparently there is like some super sketchy stuff with Jake and children. Oh. So. Back up that Jay calls Nicole after everything blew up and they were getting all this backlash and was like, well, you know, we didn't know you were coming and we thought you were just dropping off your child and leaving so you were okay. Like, like that, that's, that whole situation's weird. Mm, right? Mm-hmm. Like who just drops off their kid not knowing, not knowing anybody. Well, I've had a lot of people that have done that actually. Yeah. But like this is a whole town. Like you don't Yeah. You're brand new. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think I would've, no, definitely not. Definitely not. That's crazy. Right? So then of course somebody links it to the sheriff's page and they'll all comments on the post are like, uh, why are people able to use the sheriff's department as their personal gold outs? And they like tag this Dossie and Jake. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. No. That these crazy drama. Yeah. All over like. Yeah. Being buttheads to a new person. Well be nice people. I know that's not southern hospitality. You are the south, it's, it is not. You mentioned gardening in there. I'm growing a vegetable garden. Did I tell you? Mm-hmm. Working on my vegetable garden. How is it going? My zucchini is out of this world. Everything else is getting there. I've got so much. Do you eat Zuc candy? I'll have to bring you some. I've got so much and some of them are cute. Yeah. I'm talking the as big as my arm. Yeah. So many, so many zucchini and I don't know if they just produce first. Yeah. But I've got little bitty cucumbers and little bitty peppers and mm-hmm. And stuff. So Definitely bringing you some zucchini. When we first moved here, we did a, garden along our fence line. Yeah. And it, the first couple years, I mean, it did amazing. Yeah. The zucchinis were ginormous. Yes. Ginormous. And we had a party that year for, I don't know if it was a birthday or we just had like a pool party or something. Yeah. They're like, what is in your fertilize? Like what's in the, in the ground under there? but, um, we, we did broccoli one year. Oh yeah. So we get, we, that didn't do so super great. Mm-hmm. And we got like a little bit mm-hmm. But it didn't like become like, like Yeah. Broccoli. Yeah. But our jalapenos, oh yeah. Were so hot. Really like the hottest you could possibly ever have. So I'm learning that tomatoes, I've always tried to do tomatoes and I think they're just very. Tough to grow. Mm-hmm. Because they get attacked by all the different, the split Yes. Of the heat. Yeah. Yes. My squash and zucchini are really good, but I've never done like a jalapeno or anything. I'm doing green peppers, which I love. Me too. Yeah. But I, I wonder why they were so hot, the salsa garden, and so Oh, that's a great idea. Yeah. So we, so that's why we had'em. But they were the hottest peppers ever. I wonder what made'em so hot. I don't know. I mean, they were just like a basic. Plant. Yeah. But, oh my gosh. Well, I'm bringing you some zucchini. Okay. Um, that story reminded me though. I read a thread this week on some social, and it had me cracking up. It was, and you might have seen this, it was probably on mama drama. What situation is embarrassing for no reason. Mm-hmm. And people had on there like. Standing in line or wearing a winter coat or, you know, these things that are like passing somebody, in a car and then pulling up beside'em at a stoplight, like just random things. That's embarrassing for me, like going to a new person's house and knocking on their door. That's embarrassing. I don't know why that it's uncomfortable. Like it's like the, the anxiety of it. Yes. Yeah, so I a hundred percent. Would feel sketchy she was trying to be a good person. Mm-hmm. By doing that, because I, I, that already makes me feel like, do we knock which door do all that too? Which door do we go to?'cause some people are like back door people, or front door people. Which one do all that kind of stuff gives me anxiety. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I know. But even sometimes, people, I, I do know if, if there's gonna be people I don't know there. Yeah. I used to be social, like I'm not social anymore. Yeah. And I just have a hard time being. I don't know, like as I get older, I just get more social anxiety, I guess. I do too. And I get anxiety about new places. Mm-hmm. Especially like restaurants that I've never been to before. If I'm like, I don't know where the bathroom is, I don't know. Do we tell them our name? Do we see it ourselves? All those things, do I pay here? Do I pay at the cashier? And some places we go to, sometimes you pay at the table and sometimes you pay at the cash. Like it is just too much for me. Yeah. Yeah. I'm with you 100%.'cause the older I get, the more Yes. Anxiety I have and I, we probably are just overthinking things. Mm-hmm. I'm sure that's what it is. Like they're not big deal things, but in our minds we make'em big deal things. Yeah. the little things that get me all stressed out mm-hmm. If I don't know people that are gonna be somewhere like I'm Oh yeah. Like full on anxiety attack mm-hmm. In the car. Or if I only know. The host. Mm-hmm. I'm like, well, the host is gonna be busy and if I don't know anybody else, oh, and I'm bad at small talk. If I don't know you, I I can do, it's so awkward, but it's so stressful. I'm so awkward. You know what I hate, I. And I don't, it's not that I don't like the people, it's just so going to Brian's work functions when, I know a lot of them now, but especially when I didn't know them and then they start talking work, talk that I don't know the people that they're, talking about, about who's pregnant or who's got a promotion or mm-hmm. Whatever. It's so ex exclude, what's the word? Like, just excluding Yeah. To people. And they don't do it on purpose. Yeah. That's just what they have in common and what they wanna talk about. Mm-hmm. And I've gotten to know some of the people and they're great now, but like, when you don't know the people and you're just like, eh. I wanna be home with my PJs anyway, Uhhuh, it can ugh, so uncomfortable. Yeah, I'm so awkward. I'm like, so socially awkward now I've gotten worse. Well, dirty news, he was found guilty only on two charges, so that's, I cannot believe, yeah, that was some trash. But, he could face up to 28 years in jail for the charges that he did find, get found guilty on. Well, is it 10 years per charge? Mm-hmm. So if they run them, is that concurrently? If they do'em at the same time, they could, or they could do'em individually or a lower, yeah. So up to, they said up to 20 years is what he could get that, I guess it depends on how they decide all those pieces. So after they read the verdicts, Diddy's attorneys were trying to get him released that day. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. On bail or whatever mm-hmm. Until sentencing. And the judge was like, well, each side please write me a letter. I'll review them today and we can. And so he said no. Like he uhhuh. Yeah. No, we're, we're good. I feel like he gave them like, okay, everybody go home and write an essay. 500 words. No double spacing. Yeah. Wait, that's not even done anymore. Um, um, okay. So do you have some of the excerpts? No, no, no, no. But Oh, okay. So, did, he's, lawyers are requesting two years in jail with time served. Oh my gosh. And, they're like, mm-hmm. Uh, you're not even getting bail, so, yeah, yeah, yeah. But sentencing isn't gonna be until October 3rd now. Okay. So we haven't until October 3rd to find out. I saw something where they were like, you know, he's doesn't have his passport, dah, dah, dah, duh. And then like, he was doing all the, the theatrics, yeah, pray, like, pray, pray Jesus and all this crap in the after the sentencing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What a bum. Yeah. Can't I cannot believe that. Have you ever been to he single? Yeah, I have not. Okay. But I keep seeing these, like around Charlotte. Mm-hmm. And North Carolina, South Carolina, places that people are visiting. Yeah. On all the socials. And this dude goes to Hendersonville and he's like, yo, I don't know what is up with Hendersonville. And he said, if you have ever been here, why are there. Did you see the big concrete legs Uhuh that are spread? Mm-hmm. It's supposed to be Marilyn and Monroe's legs, but in the center of the legs that stick outta the ground that are like spread Uhhuh, like in her position? Yeah. Is like a red berry bush. So this dude is like, this is wildly suggestive. Yeah. Yeah, they're like, 20 feet tall, playing. I'm picturing, um, patch Adams. Did you see the movie Uhuh? Oh. Where they had big paper mache legs? No, in the, YI know O-B-G-Y-N uh, when he was trying to like, make medicine fun and he was like making'em walk through the big ginormous legs, like they were up in stirrups. Do you have a picture of the legs? That's kind of how the patch Adams thing is. Oh my gosh. Why? Why? I thought, and there may not concrete, like I thought you were talking about Marilyn and her legs, like the picture of her over the gr where her dress is blowing and she was standing up. No, no, no. I didn't realize just like, like, like. On the ground with your, yeah, with your knees bent and like skin stirrups. A gynecologist. Yes. That's what it looks like yeah. It looks like you're in stirrups. Yep. Yeah. Reminiscing. Yeah. And the arch that you walk through to get to the center is reminiscing. Reminiscing what? Right. And then there's a little trailer right next to it. My God, that's so random. Is that somebody's home? Right. So are those shoes? Yeah, that's across the street. I mean, I don't under, it's not like it's the home of Marilyn Monroe. Yeah, no, I don't know. And then there's a garter belt on the one leg. Uhhuh. Yeah. It's super weird. So Hendersonville, I don't get it. A hundred percent don't get it. I wanna know the backstory. So if you know, let us know because, it is weird, super weird. Super duper weird. Yes. So I got stuck down the rabbit hole of what? No way. The MK Ultra Files, what'd you file one night? And so there's 149 sub projects under the MK Ultra. Really? Yeah. 149 projects that were done. I didn't realize there was happening. Me either. But the weirdest one was called Operation Midnight Climax. Okay. And the CIA set up brothels in San Francisco and New York where workers lured men into the apartments that were rigged with one way mirrors. The men were dosed without their knowledge of LSD and then were observed in secret to study their behavior under those circumstances and the vulnerability under the influence, and it was all tax funded. Are you serious? Yeah. That is crazy. Pants, right? That is crazy. Mind blown, Well then I kept going like, yeah. Down this. Yeah. Awfulness of our government and MK Ultra's, unholy cousin, project MK often. Oh geez. Which never, ever heard of it. Uhuh this one's got witches demons and full on psychic warfare, and it's not fiction and it's declassified. What, so this was launched in the late 1960s by the CIA's Office of Research and Development. Its mission was not just drugs, which mainly was MK Ultra. Mm-hmm. They, they did a lot of drugging people without their knowledge to see what would happen. This was exploring the supernatural for use and intelligence and psychological warfare. Oh my gosh. Um, real life occult consults with, the Church of Satan, like the head of the Church of Satan. Mm-hmm. Witch covens. Oh my gosh. All the things. I don't want anything to do with that. Yeah, so they consulted with astrologers, psychics, voodoo priests, satanist mediums and self-proclaimed witches, and were brought into test whether the paranormal could be weaponized their girls were. Could they influence behavior with rituals, predict the future using astrology trigger fear or mental breakdowns through occult symbols. Could black magic be used to mentally destabilize foreign targets? It's crazy how we went from burning them at the stake. Yeah. According to some sources they worked with, members of Anton Levy's, church of Satan invited voodoo practitioners to consult on psychological operations and conducted drug experiments while monitoring for things like astral projections or possession. What? Yeah. That is. Yeah, government funded. Government funded. Yeah. So not just like LSD, right? Tell you what, let's round up the biggest, baddest voodoo priestess, astrologers. Satanists. Could you imagine being in that room? Oh, not at all. I don't think there's enough holding water in this world. There was no priests invited I to not, oh, I would not wanna be in that, involved in that. That's one that like, I'm really nosy. And there's a lot of things that I. Want to, like, I'm just fascinated by a lot of things. Not that I just, I mean, it blew my mind what the government funded part or all of it. No. Like, well, like that they were trying to weaponize Yeah. Like spiritual warfare. Mm-hmm. I shouldn't surprise me, but it does. I mean, where does, where does one go to round up these? I I, in the sixties, I have no clue. Are they showing up in their CIA, like the black suits and, excuse me, looking for, can I talk to your manager? I don't know, but there's your wow for the day, that is the whole segment every, every week. Well, if I wanna know that or not. I mean, like I said, that nosy part of me does. Mm-hmm. But yeah, all that kind of stuff scares me though. Were you ready for end by the A-hole? Sure. Okay. Am I the a-hole? Ask the neighbor to move their little farms Stand. Because people are stealing me from my garden. You'll relate to this. I can relate to this before anyone says, just build a fence. We can't afford it right now and no, no, HOA, my neighbor set up one of those pantries, farm stands where people can take what they grew in their garden pantry stuff, donated stuff, et cetera. In theory, it's a great idea and especially in a time where life in America sucks and people are struggling to make ends meet, my family included. Okay, get that. The problem. People started coming into my yard to pick things in my garden. I've put up signs saying not to do it. I installed rabbit fence around the garden. I've angled a tarp, so you can't see what's there from the road. People just hold their kids over the fence to pick tomatoes or beans or jump it. What? I ended up getting into an argument with a lady over it. I yelled, Hey, stop. Those are not for you to take. She told her kid to move faster and then tried to run away. I caught up to her and asked what the F her problem was, and she turned it into, how dare I swear in front of her child? Why am I so angry? Why am I really that upset about a couple of tomatoes? I said, okay, time out. Tomatoes are hard to grow. We already covered this. Okay. I said, I am upset that you're stealing from me. The next day I approached my neighbor. I asked if I could maybe help move it to the other side of their driveway, so it's next to the other neighbor's house. They don't have a garden up front. They said, at least not until the end of the season, I asked if they could make larger signs, talk to people, just do something. They were like, can you really not afford to share? I said, they aren't taking my zucchini. Let's talk about the zucchini, because they're starving. They're taking my tomato, tomatoes. Tomatoes. They're taking my tomatoes because they want them. They said that I'm going to have to learn to live with it for now, and we can talk about a solution together that will benefit the whole community after. Mm-hmm. I said, I do not care about a solution that benefits the whole community. I care about a solution that stops people from stealing from me. So last night it happened again, man, in his fifties. I sprayed him with the hoax. He started yelling at me and after a minute or so, the neighbor came out yelling at me too. People have posted on the neighborhood board to be careful if they come because I'm an A-hole. The neighbor says I'm scaring people away from a community resource. I told him I'm going to continue until he does something about the effing thieves who think they're entitled to my garden. I feel like I'm losing my mind here. Am I the a-hole for asking them to move it? Am I the A-hole for being pissed off that people are stealing from me? This is food for my family. I don't think so. I don't think so either. No. I'd be mad and Oh, I'd be little bit, it'd be like no trespassing signs. That's what I was gonna say everywhere. Like consider this your warning. Yeah, I like the hose idea. No. Yeah, I would definitely do No trespass. I mean, he shouldn't have to do it. The other thing should take some ownership of what they created and like, and the whole do something to benefit everybody. Just nice in theory, but you give a little bit and people wanna take all, um, point in case, right. And I mean, some of us are really struggling to just take care of our families. Yeah. Like feeding everybody. I, I wish I could do it, but yeah. Okay, so first off, thanks for the responses. I got some good ones. I'm happy that so many of you live in places where the cops would do anything about this. But this isn't the reality. I'm living. Cops here would not give a crap if I sent them a video of someone picking from my garden. They would laugh in my face. Be thankful you live in a place where the police are useful. Ouch. It looks like signs are the best option for now. Going to make some signs indicating heavy use of pesticides and repeating that they are stealing food from the mouse of hungry children. I don't know why the signs we already have are not enough. Maybe more will help. I'm sure they won't. We'll also scour Craigslist for free fencing or similar items. Hopefully that pans out. I didn't know Craigslist was still a thing. I had no idea. Um, I feel like it's all shady, dirty stuff anyway. Me too. Free fencing might mean something else on Craigslist, but listen, you wanna get some petty revenge on somebody. You can list like a free tv. Oh yeah. Their phone number. Good point. Good point. Be some good petty revenge. Good point. Um, no, you're not the a-hole and, um, I love your hose idea a hundred percent. And I mean, I guess the signs are the, the best options It doesn't matter. In my mind. It, I mean, it's terrible that they're filling the food from mouths of hungry children. Mm-hmm. But that's not the point. The point is it is not theirs to take. Right. Exactly. And they just feel entitled. Yeah. Yeah. To just, to just do it. I wanna know where he is. Yeah. You didn't say Yeah. I probably don't wanna know. It probably pissed me off. No, you're not a-hole dude. Absolutely not. All right. Well, if you're not our bookies, it is time for y'all to leave. I mean, you're welcome to stay, but if you don't wanna listen to our review, peace out love. Bye. Learn to read. Yep. All right. this week. We an that is not how the audio book, it was not BWA of the No, it wasn't Bewa. It was what you said. So we read you by Charles Bennet Benet. According to how the audiobook reader pronounced it. So we're gonna go with that. No fancy pants here. That's regular pants at all. Jeans. Yeah. All right. Told in rare second person voice, you by Charles Benet is a 10 psychological gripping. A novel that plunges you into the unraveling life of Kyle Chase. A once promising teen, now drifting towards a tragic end where every bad choice brings him closer to the point of no return. I did not like how, I guess, I don't know if it was the audiobook reader. Mm-hmm. Or it was like the verbiage that was used. It just, I don't know. It, it didn't flow. It just, it was annoying to me. Mm-hmm. Well, I didn't like this book. I was very thankful it was short. Me too. Um, I didn't like it either. I felt like the, I, I, I really do think it was a narrator, like the Annunciation was off. Something about it didn't jive with me. Mm-hmm. And I, I just didn't like the book. Yeah. I didn't like the characters. Mm-hmm. Especially didn't like the dude that wore the suit. Forgot his name. Zach. Yeah. Did not care for him at all. Even before. Yeah. The end of the book. Mm-hmm. How did you feel? Well, okay, my notes. Yeah. Because I had feelings. I didn't, I didn't care for the book. It was not my favorite at all. Yeah. His parents were horrible Uhhuh. He had no chance at redeeming himself through his human size. None at all. Zero. They decided he was bad and mm-hmm. Just go to the side till you can get outta the house. Yep. And they did not. Give him a chance whatsoever. Mm-hmm. The little sister was the light of his life. Mm-hmm. And when she said, I wanna be like Kyle. Mm-hmm. And the mom was like, no, we already have one. That's enough. Mm-hmm. Or something like, you know, put him down and he overheard it. Yeah. That broke my heart. Yeah. Because I was like, oh yeah. no wonder why he was so angry. Right. If you're being told all the time how horrible you are, and no wonder he just kind of gave up. Yeah. Because when you, you start to believe it. Yeah. Zach is a pure psychopath. A hundred percent. He, I didn't see it coming at first. He, I just thought he was a ard, but friends, people, just to find out what their weaknesses. Mm-hmm. And then to take that weakness and destroy them. Mm-hmm. That's his sole purpose, right? He needs to be checked out. And I wonder what he told everybody after. I know like what his story was, right? Or did he just like dip out'cause they just ended it, they didn't say, I know. It was very unsatisfying. And so I wonder if he just dipped out and mm-hmm. And moved onto his next big, I wasn't there Right dude sitting there with a pair of panties. So some, stuff was. Some stuff caught me. Mm-hmm. Like they kept referring to the injury, and you wanna know what that is, but it was very anticlimactic. I felt like, like I wanted more pomp and circumstance, almost like mm-hmm. Like, I don't know, I just, it was almost dry. Mm-hmm. I wasn't getting a lot of the emotion out of it. Mm-hmm. I felt bad for Kyle. Really bad for Kyle. Me too. Like you said, his parents weren't fans of him and he knew that he had made a lot of poor choices starting back from when he didn't get into the school, which was, you know, started the downward spiral. But like, he knew that he could do better than he had done. Mm-hmm. I hated it. It was depressing. But, you know, he had made a comment about, He had got sent to the principal's office the day before. Yeah. So he didn't have the homework assignment, so he didn't get the homework assignment because he wasn't in class. Mm-hmm. Because he got sent to the principal's office for being late or something. Mm-hmm. And so he didn't have the homework assignment. The next day. And it was just like a cycle. A cycle. Yep. A hundred percent. Wasn't able to get himself out of that cycle even if he wanted to. Right. There was not a way for him to, and nobody, and that, that made me sad too. Nobody was helping him. Mm-hmm. Catch up. Right. If there had just been a teacher who was like, you know what? This dude just needs an extra day. He needs some extra, he needs something. Yeah. Let me do something. Have you ever, ever read that poem? I. I didn't have a pencil or something like that. And let's talk about, um, children that show up to school that don't have a pencil because they were running late, their mama didn't have a card, so they didn't get breakfast. And like, it's just this whole series of things and it's like, and I got in trouble at school'cause I didn't have a pencil kind of thing. Yeah. Um, just like these cycles that are so detrimental. Yeah. That sometimes you just need. One, one good thing. Mm-hmm. To get you out of him. Yeah. And he thought that Zach was gonna be that one good thing he did, being invited to the parties. Mm-hmm. Zach became a little bit popular. Mm-hmm. And he was like, I'm in with a cool kid now. Right. And it, it just totally was not right. he just set out to destroy people. Yeah. Which is awful, crazy weird. Yeah. And the fact that Kyle. Was so in love with Ashley. Mm-hmm. See, the first chance she got, yeah. She hopped in bed with Zach and Kyle ends up dying because he's trying to save her honor. Mm-hmm. Basically. Yep. Yep. But just so sad. Very sad. Very sad. Did you know that the author was actually a high school teacher? No. Mm-hmm. They probably had a lot of insight to the behaviors. I wonder if they're based on real characters. I. I thought that was interesting. That is very interesting. I did not know that. What would you rate it? Oh three maybe. And the, one of the pros was it was short. Yeah. I the idea of it being very. Realistic as far as the hole you dig yourself in mm-hmm. At that age and the point of view. Yeah. I, I, I didn't mind that. I mean, it was different, but I didn't mind it, but yeah, just the way things snowball. Mm-hmm. Can, you know, so I think like, depending on where you're at in life, it would be a good, kind of learning thing. Mm-hmm. But not really because he never got himself out of it. No, that's not like a turnaround point. I've always wanted to read one of the books like this where it's like, okay, you can choose the path the character takes. Mm-hmm. So, well, if you would've done X, Y, or Z, you can, you know, build your own book off of it. But yeah, no, it was, it was depressing to me. Yeah. Well. It's over. It's over. And we are on z. Yay. So, Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham. Benoit. It's like what, is our next book, and it's the first book in that series. Okay. You've been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny. If you are one of the Fay elemental magic is in your blood, and apparently it's in ours as twins born in the month of Gemini, we're a rare breed. Even in this Academy of Supernatural, a-holes change. Things were outlawed hundreds of years ago, but I guess our birth parents didn't get the memo, which means we're totally unprepared for the ruthless world of the faith, air, fire, water, earth. No one has ever harnessed all four of them until we arrived, and it hasn't made us any friends so far. As the rarest elements ever known, were already a threat to the four celestial hairs, the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we've ever seen. It doesn't help that they're the most dangerous beasts in the academy, and probably on earth too. Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They've only got until the lunar eclipse to focus, to force us out, and they'll stop at nothing to succeed. We never know. We never knew we had a birthright to live up to. But now that we do, we intend to claim our throne. We can't expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt and the vampires fanciest snack, then we have to be ready. But we've been looking out for each other for a long time, and fighting back is in our blood. That sounds really good. It does some mystical creatures. Mm-hmm. These aren't scary mystical creatures to me though. No. Like werewolves and stuff don't bother you. Yeah. No. This is like, don't bring spirits into it. A mystical high school of bullies. Yeah. Is it the awakening? Yes. And, and that, okay. The Zodiac Academy. Mm-hmm. It's gonna be good. So that is our next book. I can't believe we're at z. We are. I read a couple of Tear Jerkers this week. Don't do it. No. I continued on with our, author that did the Un Honeymooners. Oh yeah. So I'm, I'm digging her books. They're kind of light and easy. Yes. Just, yes. Good. Does not bring me down any further. Yeah, no, I, I read, I read one and. It was if I'd been with him or something like that, and YA romance, whatever. All the things ended ends tragically. And then there's a next book and I was like, this has got to like come full circle and make it better. Did not, have you watched the, we Are Liars yet? Oh no. That's on Amazon Prime. Okay. And it was, it's based off of books and I've read the books years ago. Okay. By the, the last episode you just, it's Yeah, but it's so good. Yeah. When we were liars Yeah. Or we were liars. We were liars. We were liars. Okay. Mm-hmm. I'm making a note. Oh, and then I think I sent you another one must have been my sister. It was on Netflix. And that was also based off of books. It was what if. Okay. Um, so the girl is a, researched and she found a way to cure cancer. Okay. Or she was like figuring out how to cure cancer. And so she gets, funding from this woman. But the deal was the lady had to sleep with her husband for one night. Oh. In order to get in the unravels, like this whole situation. Yeah. But it was really good. Okay. On, Netflix. Okay. We were liar. And what? Well, I'm wrapping up Gossip girl. I'm like season finishing, season four, so I think I'm almost done. Isn't there a lot more than that? I don't know. I was hoping I was only five. I don't think so. Wait, gossip. Yeah, that's the right one. I don't know why I keep mixing that up with Gilmore. Anyway. All right, well thank y'all for listening. We love you guys. Thank y'all. Tell, tell some people please come back. Bring a friend. Love you. We love you. Bye. Bye. Alright, that wraps up another episode of, this is My Circus. If you survive this episode and somehow still like us, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, share it with your friends, or just send us caffeine. And don't forget, you can join our VIP circus crew for the full video version of each episode. Also exclusive bonus content, access to merch, and so much more Until next time, keep the drink strong. The book's coming, and the kids only mildly Ferrell because this is our circus and these are our monkeys. Love ya.