Moms Raising The Spectrum
Autism Awareness
Moms Raising The Spectrum
S1 Episode 13- Cyrus Bringardner
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kicking off Autism Awareness/ Acceptance Month we will have our first guest for this special month aired on 4/1 This week, we are joined by our incredible special guest, Cyrus Bringardner—an adult on the spectrum who shares his joy, personality, and love for The Wiggles! 💛💜❤️💙 Cyrus kicks things off by showing us one of his favorite dances (you don’t want to miss it! 🕺), and then we sit down for a heartfelt and fun conversation where we get to know him, his passions, and his unique perspective on life. This episode is full of smiles, authenticity, and a reminder to celebrate every individual exactly as they are. 🌈
Alright, well, hello everybody. Welcome to another episode of Mom's Raising the Spectrum. We have a fun guest with us today. Virtually joining us is Cyrus. And uh I met Cyrus through our love of the wiggles. So introduce yourself, bud.
SPEAKER_01I am Cyrus and I love the wiggles very much when I was a little kid. I even saw them in April. I even saw them in April of 2006 before Greg left, a few months before Greg left.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I just recently saw the wiggles and met them with my kiddo. They're amazing. And so, you know a few people I know. So we kind of have a lot of mutual friends.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And so glad to have you here with us.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_05And you're gonna teach us uh wiggles dance. All right, which one are you gonna teach us today?
SPEAKER_01We're doing wake up, Jeff.
SPEAKER_05All right, and MJ's over there in purple, so she's gonna be Jeff the purple wiggle.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. All right, here we go, guys. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_05And I we're in yellow because I liked Emma with my favorite.
SPEAKER_01All right, let's all right, let's do it.
SPEAKER_05Okay.
SPEAKER_02Wake up, Jeff. Wake up, Jeff.
SPEAKER_05Wake up, Jeff!
SPEAKER_02Wake up, Jeff. Wake up, Jeff.
SPEAKER_05And you sleep, MJ, you get to sleep. Are you teaching us the moves? Are you playing it?
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Wait. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Wake up the Jeff. Wait up the Jeff.
SPEAKER_05Right? Left? Are you hearing it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we can hear it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Turn it up a little bit.
SPEAKER_02I can I can't Wake up, Jeff. Wake up, Jeff. Wake up, Jeff. Wake up, Jeff.
SPEAKER_04You're a good singer, bro. Wake up, Jeff! Wake up! Woo!
SPEAKER_05That was a good Now we can do it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, finally.
SPEAKER_05Hot potato.
SPEAKER_01I'm not that good at hot potato yet.
SPEAKER_05No.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_05How does it go? Hot potato, hot potato. Cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti. What's the next one? Mashana.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Was it mashed banana?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And then what's after that?
SPEAKER_01That's it, there's no three.
unknownThat's it.
SPEAKER_05Hot potato, hot potato. Here, I'll play it. Ready?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I have a feeling Jackson's gonna come join us because he's gonna hear it.
SPEAKER_06Special guest appearance.
SPEAKER_05Hot potato. And we gotta do the OG wiggles because Cyrus likes the OG wiggles. He's teaching me all about the old, the originals, because Jackson grew up with like the newer ones. Oh, yeah, that's yeah.
SPEAKER_00I'm Greg, I'm Murray, I'm Anthony, and I'm Jeff. And this is our friend, John the Cook. Hi, everybody. What have you got here, John? I've got some coals we can. Oh, we'll eat spaghetti and mashed bananas. Oh, we were doing course. And these are hot potatoes. Hot potatoes. Oh, you're right. It's very hot. So let's think that's all about hot potatoes. Oh and banana! Make sure you watch out for Captain Philasaur because he loves eating everybody's food.
SPEAKER_03Hot potato, hot potato! Hot potato, hot potato, hot potato, hot potato, potato, potato, potato, potato. Potato.
SPEAKER_05He's like, Oh the wiggle. What's another good one? Fruit salad?
SPEAKER_01I'm not a big fruit salad.
SPEAKER_05No, okay. Can you say hi? Hi. Hi. Cyrus, good job. Okay. Is there any other ones you want to do, bud?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_05No?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_05You want to play the Barbie song though for us so we can hear it? I don't think I've heard it yet.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_05No? You're good?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_05Okay. Well, then let me get a chair. I gotta work out.
SPEAKER_06That was a workout. That was fun. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I thought a boyfriend was gonna propose to you the same day as the gender thing. Like I thought I'd down to one knee, but I didn't know if he was feeling it or not.
SPEAKER_04That'd be a lot of action.
SPEAKER_05Alrighty. There we go. Now I can sit. Alright, bud, so I'm worn out. Tell us uh when did you first discover the wiggles?
SPEAKER_01I think when I was a little kid.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, do you remember like the first song that you heard?
SPEAKER_01No, no.
SPEAKER_05No. Do you have a favorite or do you just like I like them all? They're all so good, huh?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Name off some ones that you love. Just start, just start naming them.
SPEAKER_01I think we're I I like Wake Up Jeff. I like every song that they've made.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Can you move your camera over just a little? Perfect. There we go. We can see your smiling face. I like um what is one? Uh you like the OG wiggle, so let's see. I like Amy.
SPEAKER_01Your hair looks so pretty. Like your hair looks so different.
SPEAKER_05Oh, I it's all curly today.
SPEAKER_01I can nobody tell us, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Let's see. Uh well, let's see. You saw the wiggles, what'd you say, in 2006?
SPEAKER_01Yes, before Greg left. It was April.
SPEAKER_05Right before Greg left?
SPEAKER_01Greg left in November of that year, but he left Turing in August.
SPEAKER_05And that was why tell us because he had like a heart condition, right?
SPEAKER_01He was orthostatic intolerance.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Um, so you said you don't have a favorite wiggle?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_05No? Do you think Greg do you lean more towards Greg though?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01He had the heart attack. I've been following it up with him since.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. He still does a little bit of stuff here and there, huh?
SPEAKER_01He just finished he we could have just added him on there. We could he could. He just did a tour of any the musical.
SPEAKER_05Oh, he did? I didn't know that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, in in the Australian production.
SPEAKER_05Oh, wow. Good for him. So you still follow along?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05With them?
SPEAKER_01I'm kind of upset that MJ hasn't followed them since then.
SPEAKER_05That he what?
SPEAKER_01I'm kind of mad that MJ doesn't know who they are.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. I know. I know the old school, the OG wiggles.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I'll I'll say a lot of 90 people are age too. They don't know the newer one.
SPEAKER_01Something like that. Yeah. Like early 2000s.
SPEAKER_05I love that Captain Feathersword has still been there all this time. I'm a little sad I didn't get to meet. We didn't get to meet him. We only met the Wiggles.
SPEAKER_01Huh? You only met the did you meet you thought did you see all eight?
SPEAKER_05Or what or yeah, all eight. Yeah. Yeah. I was really hoping to meet Captain Feathersword, but at least we met Anthony.
SPEAKER_01Jackson really like I can't believe that he's still there. He's like in the third he's like in the 60s now.
SPEAKER_05I know. Good for him, huh?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_05He must love what he does.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I think he really does. He it brings a lot of people joy, right? Yeah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06Kai hasn't gotten into the wiggles yet.
SPEAKER_05Is he musical or not really?
SPEAKER_06He loves music and singing and everything.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, well, that's good.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Do you want to um MJ, do you want to ask Cyrus the other Wiggles questions we have?
SPEAKER_06Oh, let's see. What makes the wiggles so special to you?
SPEAKER_01I think it's because of their c songs.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Do the songs um, they're just fun and they make you happy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Do um do you feel like because I know the wiggles have helped Jackson with his um autism. Do you feel like they've helped you growing up?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. It's I told them that when I met them. I told them that Jackson is Amy.
SPEAKER_01Your mom went with you guys. Your mom went with you, right?
SPEAKER_05Huh?
SPEAKER_01Your mom went with you guys, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah, I saw that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And I told them, I said, you have helped him, who is on the spectrum. And I told them, I said, I know they've you guys have helped so many kids and adults on the spectrum, and they were just so happy to hear that. So um know that they love that they're um making such a good impact on individuals like you and Jackson and everyone who loves them.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's good they're so colorful too, because like all the prime, well, not all the primaries, but the bold colors.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, especially green, like he changed to blue because he didn't want to clash with Dorothy.
SPEAKER_05Oh, right. That's right. Because it yeah, and then um yeah, it would look just like Dorothy, and Dorothy's been around for a long time, she's the dinosaur.
SPEAKER_01Mari was Mari was the one that originally made up the the character.
SPEAKER_05Oh, really? I didn't know that. When did Wags the dog come in?
SPEAKER_01I have no clue. I think I think Jeff made him or something.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I love it. So it's like Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and Captain Feather Sword. They have some new ones now, but I don't know who they are.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and Evie just got engaged to one of the dancers. What was that? One of the yellow wiggles. Her name is Evie. She just got engaged to Zayn.
SPEAKER_05Yes, yes, I saw that. I think he's like a new character.
SPEAKER_01I think it is a new one.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I love that. I hope things work out great for them. All right. Well, we have a few questions we want to talk to you about just to get to know you a little bit better. Is that all right if we have questions with you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Awesome. All right, MJ. I'll let you go right ahead.
SPEAKER_06All right, Cyrus. So growing up, what were some challenges that you faced?
SPEAKER_01Social skills, I think, is one. Uh talking too loud. I do that because I'm excited a lot.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Um, it's a good it's a good thing, but sometimes it can be hard, huh? For people to understand.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I love your excitement.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05You bring so much joy. And I can't help but smile.
SPEAKER_01MJ. I'll tell you a funny story about the ball. The first, the first, the first thing to write that the first was Amy at the principal. That was the only person I first saw. The only person I first saw.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I was standing there with my friend Sam. And you know Sam, right?
SPEAKER_01Do I? He's in the citizens program, I think.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Well, I was standing in there with my friend Sam, and all of a sudden I hear, I was like, we were messaging him. I'm like, hey, I'm here. And then all of a sudden I hear Amy, and I'm like, I know who that is.
SPEAKER_06Finally.
SPEAKER_05It's been like two years in the making, huh?
SPEAKER_01But you know what's terrible? Amen. I come to the friendship walk.
SPEAKER_05I know. I won't be able to make it again. It's always so close to my birthday, and I always have stuff going on. Hopefully, it's not gonna be too hot for you out there.
SPEAKER_01Well, I hope so. It's it's in Tempe now.
SPEAKER_05It's in Tempe. Is it at Tempe Beach Park?
SPEAKER_01It was at Kowanis. Now it's at Market Panisa High School.
SPEAKER_05Oh, gotcha. Okay. So um what was school like? Did you go to school here in Arizona?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I did. Yeah. Every teacher was wonderful.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's good. Did you go to um like elementary?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. That I went to. I went I meant all over the Kigley district.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And did you have a favorite um like class to take?
SPEAKER_01I think like unified sports. I would always do unified sports over there.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Yeah. Did you like science, math, anything like that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. No.
SPEAKER_05No. Yeah, me either. Did you go to like the dances and stuff? I feel like I could see you going to like school dances, getting your groove on.
SPEAKER_01Not much, no.
SPEAKER_05No. They're probably loud and too too much, huh?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Alright.
SPEAKER_01At the end of the night, Amy's car had a flat tire, and I felt so bad that I I felt so bad for her. Yeah. Well, I felt so bad that she had a flat tire at the end of her night.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I don't think I told you this.
SPEAKER_01A flat tire.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Well, me and Sam were over at the Rabian Horse Show, and uh, as soon as we got, and it was at the same place at Westworld, but it's just in two different buildings. So I drove from one building to another. And then we get out, and Sam's like, Amy, I think you have a flat tire.
SPEAKER_07Oh man.
SPEAKER_05So I called up Triple A, and uh I was like, well, I'm going into a dance, so I'm gonna go have fun while I wait for Triple A to get here. Right, right. You never know how long it'll be.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of hard for MJ to go to these things because it's it's it's it's part up for Alex.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Maybe, yeah, maybe next year, MJ, we can um go together. And it's so I'm gonna try and bring Jackson. And if if Kai likes you know music and dancing, there was little kids there too.
SPEAKER_01It was so yeah, there's always little kids with these things.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it's so cool to see individuals. Um so for those who are listening, we're talking about the best buddies program. They have a best buddies ball, and wires loves it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. They have a business program I do, which I'm not paired yet. I'm not paired yet, so I have to wait until uh I'm paired up.
SPEAKER_05And so, oh yeah, so the best buddies, they um they pair you with like a buddy, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you're paired up with a buddy that you have to hang out like once a month.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. And so you're so they have like an athletic program and you'll get paired with somebody, and then what will you do?
SPEAKER_01So I don't know if I told you this yet, but they have a but but they have a travel program where you go on cruises every year.
SPEAKER_05A cruise?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they just did their first one.
SPEAKER_05Oh my gosh, where did they go?
SPEAKER_01I think about no, it was it was the Bahamas. Oh that would be nice, huh? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Man, I would like to go on a cruise. Maybe I should join to be a buddy and and be your buddy, and we can go on a cruise. Yeah, I know. I know it's probably pretty expensive, I would imagine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, oh yeah, it is expensive.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that'd be fun though.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, it would.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. All right, well, um, we'll go on to some more questions.
SPEAKER_06MJ, go ahead. All right, so as an adult now, what are some challenges that you still face?
SPEAKER_01Oh, Amy, did you ever watch oh okay. What was the there was a movie with Steve Irwin. That's like my if I had to pick a favorite movie, that's my favorite one.
SPEAKER_05Oh, the uh a favorite like movie or wiggles?
SPEAKER_01That's my favorite one.
SPEAKER_05The wiggle the wiggles video?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's like my favorite. I think that one. And I love Amy, he died four years after that was released because of a stingray attack.
SPEAKER_05Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01It was because of the stingray attack.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I love that. Uh the wiggles. Are you talking about the one with uh like Emma and them? They did one with him too, right?
SPEAKER_01No, Greg Murray, Jeff, and Anthony did one with Steve Irvin.
SPEAKER_05Oh, and then the and then they did the wig the ones with Emma and um did they do it maybe with Ben, they did a duet. They did they did it with the mom and son, right? And the kids? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I wonder if they will do another one again now that Robert is all grown up.
SPEAKER_01That's exactly what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Well, I'm glad we got down to a favorite.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's a good one. I always I almost forget about that one.
SPEAKER_01Even though it's been dead for like it's been dead for like almost 20 years.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. Has it been that long? Yeah. It doesn't feel like it's been that long. I know.
SPEAKER_01Okay, Amy, can I say one thing about your life right now? I am so sorry that you don't see your brother because I feel bad for you every single day.
SPEAKER_05Aww.
SPEAKER_01Thank you for every single day. I feel bad for you. And you're bad for every I feel bad every single day. And I want to talk about it now because I feel so bad that people are estranged from somebody.
SPEAKER_05Like that's we feel bad. It's a hard part of life, but you know, sometimes we just go through life and just hope that things will change better. I appreciate it. That means a lot to me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And you know, your parents a lot too. Like that's like the best part.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Family is important, right?
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Exactly.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. And speaking of family, you said you your dad, you you're there with your dad?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Did he record a skitting or groove on?
SPEAKER_01No, he was he went upstairs.
SPEAKER_05Oh. What are some fun things you and your dad like to do together?
SPEAKER_01If you talk about me and my grandfather, we used to go to sports bars and watch the Green Bay Packers a lot if they weren't on television.
SPEAKER_04You're a Packers fan? You mean the closer of a buddy?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Me too.
SPEAKER_01Excuse me. I thought you were a buckey. No, that's your husband.
SPEAKER_05Um, no, buckeyes. Yeah, we're buckeyes. That's college football. But NFL, I like I like the Packers. When I was since I was little, I don't know why, but maybe. Huh?
SPEAKER_01Have you been to Wisconsin? My grandpa bills from there.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. So I lived in Wisconsin for a year and a half.
SPEAKER_01Was it because your dad had a new job or something?
SPEAKER_05My husband.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so we lived there for a little while. And then when I was found out I was pregnant with Jackson, we decided to back here.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_05And guess what? The company I worked for, they were like, You haven't been to Lambo Field? And I was like, No, I didn't get a chance to go while I was here. The CEO gave me um a pair of some season tickets he had. Got to go to a game before I moved back. So I got to go to Lambeau Field. It's pretty cool. It's a go pack go, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes. So you're not a sports person.
SPEAKER_05You're a sports person. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01No, I'm talking about I'm asking MJC's a sports person because it every time I talk to him, it's like, uh, he looks like he's not a sports person. I could already tell by now.
SPEAKER_06Oh, I'm like a sports. I can't play this right.
SPEAKER_01But Allen doesn't like sports. The only sport he likes is baseball, and baseball starts tonight.
SPEAKER_05Oh, it does start tonight. Yeah. Do you like do you have a favorite baseball team?
SPEAKER_01Not really. I'm not a big baseball person. No football? If I had to pick one, it would be the Cleveland Indians.
SPEAKER_05Oh, good. Good choice. Okay. No, the D-Backs?
SPEAKER_01Not the D-Backs, no.
SPEAKER_05Aww. You know, um, the D-Backs have uh autism night. We're probably gonna go.
SPEAKER_07Yeah.
SPEAKER_05It's gonna, yeah, they'd like to do this thing. Hopefully this year, Jackson will be able to participate where they have. I thought it's been last year.
SPEAKER_01I saw some post about last year that he participated in it.
SPEAKER_05We went, but he wasn't able he wasn't able to um walk. Uh they do like this thing where you can walk the field before the game starts, and he just Oh yeah. He wasn't in a place where he could do that. So I'm hoping this year he can.
SPEAKER_01Amy, so Mark's the only child? Mark's like the only kid? Yeah. Oh my gosh, that's insane.
SPEAKER_05I know.
SPEAKER_01Oh, Amy, do you know what the good news is? He has your aunts and uncles that are uncle figures. Is that right?
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That's good. Gemini, siblings, MJ? Are you the only child?
SPEAKER_06Oh, I'm the oldest of six. Oh my god. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Big family.
SPEAKER_01That's insane.
SPEAKER_05Do you have siblings?
SPEAKER_01I have a sibling, yes.
SPEAKER_05Yeah? Sister or brother?
SPEAKER_01Sister. My dad has four.
SPEAKER_05Aww.
SPEAKER_01No, no, no. My dad has three, but a step sibling too.
SPEAKER_05Oh, gotcha. Uh is your sister here in Arizona?
SPEAKER_01Yes, he lives with my mother. I live with my dad now.
SPEAKER_05Do you get to see her?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_05Yeah? Oh, good. What kind what's what are some things you guys do together?
SPEAKER_01Oh, Amy, that's why my my mom's parents just left. So they were down here because Amy, so it was oh no, my mom is a seven-year cancer survivor for seven years.
SPEAKER_05That's right. You did tell me that. Wow.
SPEAKER_01Did you go to the cola guard? Wow. My mom, my mom is always over there. Like it's always in two. My grandparents were here for that.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Oh, what a strong woman.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05That's amazing. Good for her.
SPEAKER_01I should have just had my mom on here, but she went to Zumba.
SPEAKER_05Oh, Zumba, good for her. Woohoo! Yeah, she's a that's where you get your moves from, huh?
SPEAKER_01No, no, no. I get it for my I get it for my grandfather.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, your mom's staff?
SPEAKER_01My dad's stepdad.
SPEAKER_05Oh, okay. Well, okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Just seems like the moves are in the family, huh?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So tell us, Cyrus, you work. Where do you work?
SPEAKER_01I work at a fries store. And um, and I work I work at a fries store.
SPEAKER_05I love fries. They're a great organization. How long have you worked there?
SPEAKER_01For like three years.
SPEAKER_05How long? Two years?
SPEAKER_01Three.
SPEAKER_05Oh, three?
SPEAKER_01Amy, so the one that I worked at was Pyrrhon Baseline. Guess what happened to it? It closed down because it wasn't making enough money. So I'm at the new one in Power and Elliott.
SPEAKER_05Oh, wow. Okay. So you live you live out in Mesa?
SPEAKER_01I live in Gilbert.
SPEAKER_05Gilbert? Okay. Yeah. My my aunt's a uh supervisor at one in Scottsdale. And I know that they just yeah, they're very inclusive with their employees, and they um I've heard they do a great job of um giving opportunities to everyone. You like working there?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Go ahead. What's your favorite thing about the job?
SPEAKER_01I I I think it's the I think it I think it's the co-workers.
SPEAKER_05Oh, that's good. You got a good group?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05That that makes work enjoyable when you have a good team with you, huh?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Feels like a second home. Yeah, I mean, you're there probably there a lot. Do you work full-time?
SPEAKER_01I work part-time, 20 hours a week.
SPEAKER_05Oh, that's still a good amount.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's you work uh during the day?
SPEAKER_01Yes, always during the day.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's good.
SPEAKER_01Oh, oh, Amy, did Amy, did I probably went to Vegas for my 21st birthday?
SPEAKER_05You went to Vegas on your 21st birthday? Woo-hoo! What did you do? What'd you go see? Did you see any shows?
SPEAKER_01No. Well, I know that Penn and Taylor are are out there 24-7.
SPEAKER_05Oh, yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05What do you do at Fry's? Are you do you know?
SPEAKER_01I work at the courtesy clerk, so like back in groceries, getting carts from the parking lot. That's the hardest part because you have to you have to be out there for like an amount of time to do cards, but it's hot. Yeah, oh, that's yeah.
SPEAKER_05Oh, well, good, good for you, but that's that's a hard that's hard work.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Okay, and what do you like about the pageant stuff? Like, like, is it the people? Is it is it the directors? Like, what do you like about being the Packers? No, the pageant stuff. Like you do all the time. What's like your favorite thing to do over there? The what? Like, like I I saw that you were passionate the pageants? Yeah, what do you like about that?
SPEAKER_05Um, I love meeting all the different women and ladies that I have met through the years, and then being able to um use the crown and sash as like a like a platform to talk about you know um things that are important to me. And I feel like it just brings more attention to things, and um what I say, my favorite part is meeting so many wonderful people along the way. Yeah, you're you're like me. We like to meet people and talk to people, huh? Yeah, yeah. MJ, you're you you're you're a people person.
SPEAKER_06Oh, yeah. I'm like the social butterfly floating around. I talk to everyone.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it's we're both Aries. We're her and I, our birthdays are really close and they're coming.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. You want to hear something cool, Cyrus? We both went to the same high school.
SPEAKER_01So your high school three. Oh my gosh, I went to high school three first.
SPEAKER_05We weren't together. We didn't we weren't in the same grade, but we were um a couple years apart and didn't right, right, right. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Small world.
SPEAKER_01Oh, world.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. And have you worked anywhere else besides Fry's?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_05Oh, so that was your first job and been there since?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. How did you get that job? Through Best Buddies?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, through the jobs program. Yep.
SPEAKER_05Oh, cool. Awesome. Well, let's yeah, let's talk a little bit more about Best Buddies. So um tell us a little bit more about that program and what it's like when you have a buddy, what do you guys do?
SPEAKER_01I was in high school, so it would it always does help me.
SPEAKER_05Don't say you've been in it since high school.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Oh wow. Nice. And how did you get introduced to best buddies?
SPEAKER_01I think it was my mother.
SPEAKER_05Oh good. Oh, and you had the same buddy, or do you have you had different buddies?
SPEAKER_01Different buddies.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And so your buddy. Yeah. So Air Inclusion. I've told Amy about this. So he said, Sandler, so I tried to get Amy to go to the Easter one. Remember Amy, the Easter egg hunt they would they did one year? Oh yeah. And so I might go to that, but it gets full quick.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I go to events as much as possible so they don't get full.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. I'm gonna go to, I'm gonna, um, and MJ's gonna join me a little bit later, but we're gonna be at one in Goodyear um for the autism society. We're gonna go to that one.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's why the Easter, that's right.
SPEAKER_05It's so hard when Easter falls around my birthday. It's so hard because I'm so busy.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of hard for you, isn't it?
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. One of these days I need to get you to come to play pickleball. Have you played pickleball?
SPEAKER_01I just did, in fact, with air inclusion.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, did you like it? It's fun.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of tough at first, but yeah. It's kind of tough at first.
SPEAKER_05You know, and I wanted to play just to hit the ball around. I don't like keeping score.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I'm like, I just want to hit it around.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06And I actually have yet to play. Oh, right. Yeah. The ball is soft enough. Maybe if I don't move too much. Oh, you know.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06Well, just have someone behind me that can hit it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. So, Cyrus, what are just some things you and your buddy do together?
SPEAKER_01I'm not paired up at the moment. No. But but my favorite event has to be the Friendship Walk. So many people. Oh, Amy, did I tell you that I I I met a family last year who had um autism, the whole family. The mother, the father, the kids.
SPEAKER_05That's so cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I love that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Someone saying hello again.
SPEAKER_01You can see his head there.
SPEAKER_05He looked at you, Cyrus. Like sneaky. So how long have you been going to the friendship walk?
SPEAKER_01This is my seventh. This is my seventh walk.
SPEAKER_06Oh wow. You've been going for a long time. How many years?
SPEAKER_04Seven years.
SPEAKER_05Seven years? Wow. That's a long time. Okay, I will try and make sure I can come next year. This this year I'm judging a um a pageant thing. I'm judging a pageant and it's gonna be at the exact day and exact time. I'm like, oh do you know where it's at?
SPEAKER_01Where?
SPEAKER_05The my pageant?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, do you know where it's at?
SPEAKER_05Somewhere in Phoenix.
SPEAKER_01Oh, MJ. Every picture I see of Amy, I feel like he's beautiful because he is.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Oh, you're supposed to be.
SPEAKER_06I love seeing what dress she's gonna be in next. It's like my favorite part. Oh, what dress am I gonna be in? Yeah. It's like little girls playing dress up.
SPEAKER_05I'm like, oh my god, I like that one. I'm trying to get MJ after she has her baby and she recovers. Maybe one day she can do a pageant too.
SPEAKER_01What's your due date?
SPEAKER_05June 29th.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god. That's 21 days after my birthday. Cool, your birthday's coming up. Yeah, the 8th. Like I said, Amy, if if I'm doing something, I'll invite you guys. If you can, so yeah. Please invite us if you do something for your birthday. If you go out to dinner, I'll keep you guys posted.
SPEAKER_05If MJ's not like too miserable or having her baby.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, if if he's not miserable, I'll just invite you and Marker.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and then I'll I'll video chat with MJ.
SPEAKER_01I want I'm trying to I'm trying to see if my uncle can come too.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. What do you want to do?
SPEAKER_01I have no idea. I have no clue.
SPEAKER_05No. Well, maybe we can think of something.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05All right. Well, let's go into some more. Uh you mentioned that you participate in track.
SPEAKER_01Oh yes. So I just track is hard for me because I don't like to run.
SPEAKER_05You don't like I don't like to run either. It's good for you, but it's not.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, I know. I like to walk, and that's like the I like to walk. That's like the only thing I exercise I like to do.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Uh what what organization do you do track with?
SPEAKER_01AR Inclusion.
SPEAKER_05AR Inclusion. Okay. That's what I was wondering. You mentioned then.
SPEAKER_01Okay, they're doing a camp up in Lakeside. In in May, they're doing a camp up in Lakeside.
SPEAKER_05Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_06You'll have to tell us about that.
SPEAKER_01Maybe I don't know. I don't know much details.
SPEAKER_06Okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_06And you're going to that to the camp?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Nice. How long have you been doing track for?
SPEAKER_01Just I think for like two weeks. I mean, I just started.
SPEAKER_05Oh, you just started? Oh, good for you. Getting out of your comfort zone if you don't like to run.
SPEAKER_06It's a way to change the uh the tables, you know.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06Is it outside or is it in?
SPEAKER_01Oh, you're outside.
SPEAKER_05Oh! It's too it's hot already for that.
SPEAKER_01It's six o'clock at night. Oh, that's good.
SPEAKER_06So the sun's going down. Well, at least it looks nice in the sky.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah. It's not that cool.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_06It's still kind of hot everywhere.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. It's it's maybe a degree or two cooler out where I'm at.
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_01The only thing I feel bad for you, I feel bad for you, Mark, on this one.
SPEAKER_05Why?
SPEAKER_01I feel bad for both of you on that. On what? Your father-in-law passing away. I feel bad for you and Mark.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because it looked like you had a great relationship.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, it was hard. But we know he's with us all the time.
SPEAKER_01Amy and Amy. What did you guys get engaged like a year later after you guys met? Uh you got married in 2021. I know that.
SPEAKER_05We got married in 2021. Oh, what do you need? He needs something for me. So MJ, I'll go ahead and let you ask some questions. Jackson needs something for me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Go ahead, Amy. Don't take too long.
SPEAKER_06I'll be right back.
SPEAKER_01Don't take too long.
SPEAKER_06And what other sports have you played or do you like to play?
SPEAKER_01Football, I've played basketball.
SPEAKER_06Nice.
SPEAKER_01MJ, I'll tell you the only sport I wouldn't play. Hockey. Too rough. I like hockey all the time. It's not.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, but it does get kind of physical out there. And I don't like the cold, so I don't know if I could handle being on the ice like that.
SPEAKER_01And guess what? The coyotes aren't in Arizona anymore.
SPEAKER_06I know. It was so sad.
SPEAKER_01I was so angry when I heard that. I was so upset. I've only been to one game.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I don't think I've been to a game, but maybe if they come back, then Amy, we were just talking about the coyotes being done up here.
SPEAKER_05I know. I'm so sad. Did they go to like Columbia? Utah? Huh?
SPEAKER_01They went to Utah.
SPEAKER_05Utah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05I know. I kind of enjoyed hockey a little bit. Do you like hockey?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_05Aw, so you really miss them. I remembered. So Cyrus, if you grew up here and MJ, you did too. So you guys remember was it the Roadrunners? Yeah. I was like, I remember something to do with them and like this reading program, and I get like free tickets to go see them and stuff.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Do you like basketball? Oh, yes. Yeah, do you like the Suns?
SPEAKER_01There's no way in heck they're gonna get the playoffs this year. I could guys watch the Suns, do you, Mark? What was that? Do you and Mark watch the Suns a lot?
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I always root for the Suns. I've loved the Suns since I was little. And I always hope I thought we were gonna get there one year and we didn't.
SPEAKER_01Oh, MJ. I told Amy that Mark looks handsomer than I do. That's what I told her, and she was like, absolutely not. You're handsome as him.
SPEAKER_06Yes, everyone's only as handsome and beautiful. Yes.
SPEAKER_05Well, I didn't get a chance to get to it this year, but I'm hoping maybe next year during April, we can try because I know there's like this thing where you can get organizations and you can like high-fi the sons players when they come out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So next year I want to try and do something with like an organization for autism where we have individuals on spectrum that get to high-fi the the players.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, I'm like, that would be cool. I've done that before. We had like we had like Sun's place come to the best place in Elephants and Phoenix, and um I we raised ten thousand dollars for their foundation.
SPEAKER_05Wow, that's pretty neat.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Wow. They you know, um, we went last year uh sometime and they have a cool sensory room.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Have you been in this?
SPEAKER_01Not really, no.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but yeah, the arena. They developed a lot of these arenas are now having sensory rooms.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Do you feel like Cyrus, if you go have if you go to any of those big games that you get overwhelmed?
SPEAKER_01Oh, what's big games? The basketball game? Yeah, because it's too loud and a bunch of people and stuff.
SPEAKER_05A lot of yeah, a lot going on.
SPEAKER_01Oh, Amy, I forgot to mention my mom did a did a Zumba dance for the Mercury.
SPEAKER_05Oh, how fun! Yep. I did you get to watch her?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, I was there.
SPEAKER_05Oh, good. I bet you were proud of her, huh?
SPEAKER_01Probably not. I'm kidding, I'm proud of her.
SPEAKER_05Oh, you cracked me up. All right. Well, we probably got about another 15 minutes or so. So we're gonna um ask you a few more questions and then we'll close it out. All right.
SPEAKER_01I'm glad we're friends, you guys. I'm glad you I'm I I was nervous the first time. You know what? I was I wasn't nervous at first.
SPEAKER_05You are you are remarkable, bud. I'm always so proud of you and all the things that you do, and yeah. Um, we just appreciate you coming on to our podcast.
SPEAKER_01So if when he gets eight, when he turns 18, he could do the program.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I'm excited for him to have like you and Yaya. Like, I'm so excited for him to have like guys like you to look up to, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Hi, Bud. He's back again. All right, well, let's uh let's ask you a few more questions and we'll get wrapped up. Yeah, you saying hi.
SPEAKER_01You say how's it going?
SPEAKER_05Hi Cyrus, say hi Cyrus. Say hi Cyrus. No, you're not gonna say hi.
SPEAKER_01Come on, Jackson. I'm your bud. Come on, dude. Come on now.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I'll get him to say it one of these days. Say, hi Cyrus. Yeah, all right. Well, uh MJ, I'll go ahead and let you ask uh the next question.
SPEAKER_06All right, so when it comes to the autism community, what are some changes that you would like to see happen?
SPEAKER_01I would like to see more living programs. Like, like so Best Bites just did a living program too, and they're doing it all over. I'm like, I hope they have one in Arizona. Like they hope I hope they have one here, but it takes but it takes years to fund that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's the hard part is funding, right? For things that we need.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, I also have the call the Best Bites conference in July have to go to also.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_05And what are some goals and dreams that you have for your future?
SPEAKER_01Maybe interview some celebrities.
SPEAKER_05I'm sorry, he's loud. What was that?
SPEAKER_01Maybe uh maybe interview some celebrities. He's been a big inspiration. I don't think Amy has seen the picture of me dressing up like him before.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Drew Carrie. Yeah. I know you really like watching your prices, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. He seems like he'd be a cool dude.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna interview Ted Danton also. Who? I want to interview Ted Danton Also.
SPEAKER_05Who's that?
SPEAKER_01The guy that did.
SPEAKER_05Oh yeah, okay. Duh. I know who that is. It took me a moment.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah. Maybe you've never seen Cheers. It was out in 1982 and then it ended in 8093. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Well, if we ever maybe can try and interview somebody on our podcast, we'll make sure you come on.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_05Yes.
SPEAKER_06For sure. And if you could give encouragement to other adults on the spectrum, what would you want them to hear?
SPEAKER_01I would say just I would just I would just say be yourself and try and try to be your best self.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_05That's so good. Yeah I love that. Because you are your authentic self, and yeah, that's most important because you just bring so much joy being your authentic self, right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, guys, I really appreciate you guys letting me be on here today. I really appreciate the yeah, of course.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Well, what makes you um if you uh how do I want to word this? What are you most proud of about what you've done with your life and what you're doing? Because you deserve a lot of praise.
SPEAKER_01That's funny to change that. Like they've always have loved me ever since I was in high school.
SPEAKER_05Oh, yeah. Oh, that's beautiful. I love that. Oh bah! Great answer. Yeah, he's gonna start dancing.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_05So my dad's the answer.
SPEAKER_06Oh, thank you. Thank you being so open with us and sharing. Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thank you guys very much.
SPEAKER_06Yes, it was it was amazing, it was a joy. Yeah. Well, bud, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_02Of course, of course.
SPEAKER_05You know, we can't wait to maybe do something together in person. Yeah, yeah, that way you two can officially meet, and then maybe one day you can meet our kiddos, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05For sure.
SPEAKER_01Well, guys, thank you very much.
SPEAKER_05You're welcome. Anything else that you want to say before we go?
SPEAKER_01Not really. No, not even thank you.
SPEAKER_05Just wiggle.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I'll see you guys later. Thank you guys.
SPEAKER_05Thank you. All right, Cyrus Buddy. Have a good night.
SPEAKER_06Oh, he's so much fun, isn't he? Yes, he's he's amazing. You just can't spectrum.
SPEAKER_05You just can't help but smile, and his joy is just like when I was at the best buddies vault, and he was just saying hi to so many people and just so welcoming and loving on you know everybody, you know. It's just it goes to show like he doesn't see the like the differences in people, he just just loves and exactly.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, my cheeks hurt. I know, right? Oh man, I know the workout.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah, he's something else. I he I'm just so happy that uh you know he's in my life and and brings so much joy. And I I love that you know, I have someone to talk to the wiggles about.
SPEAKER_06Of course, of course. I cannot wait to see who else on the spectrum we get to talk about and talk to and just some.
SPEAKER_05Wait till Yaya comes on, he knows a lot about the wiggles too. So I know maybe we'll have to do something with the wiggles and have them too. I don't know. Who knows?
SPEAKER_06Hey, that would be fun. Then we can all wear different colors.
SPEAKER_05I know, we can have a wiggle. Maybe we should see if we can help Cyrus plan a wiggle birthday party.
SPEAKER_06Yes, that would be awesome. Yeah, like that. I think he would appreciate that.
SPEAKER_05I know, and you know the wiggles are going on tour again and they're not coming here, and we're all bummed. I know, I know. I wish he could meet the wiggles, he would love it. Yeah, all right. Well, we'll wrap it up. All right, have a good night, MJ. Thanks, everyone. Bye. We would like to give a shout out to our graphic design sponsor, MySpot Design. Do you need a standout graphic design or seamless website solutions for your brand? MySpot specializes in custom logos, promo materials, plus professional website design and ongoing maintenance. Elevate your online presence today. Reach out at contact at myspot.design or go to myspot.design for more info. Thank you so much, owner Lindsay, for helping us out. We appreciate you.