Episode 81: Visiting with Kristy DeWall of Bloomington-Normal and her story, “A Straight Up Reason to Stay”

                                    SSPP ep. 81 KRISTY DeWALL

Hosts Jenette Jurczyk and Kerry Rossow return to the studio to visit with Kristy DeWall from Bloomington-Normal. Kristy discusses her experiences in foster care, emotional struggles and a straight up connection to the performer Paula Abdul.

ANNOUNCER  00:00  Raising women's voices one story at a time. Welcome to The She Said Project Podcast.
 [Music: The She Said Project Podcast Theme]

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JENETTE JURCZYK  00:07  It is a beautiful day here at The She Said Project Podcast. It's always a beautiful day when I get to spend a little bit of time with my friend Kerry Rossow. Hi, Kerry.
 
KERRY ROSSOW  00:36  Hi, Jenette! Right back atcha. This is the highlight of my days -- when we're all running around -- and then to get to sit down here and like, ah, hey, kid,
 
JENETTE  00:46  I truly, truly enjoy our time here in the studio at Illinois Public Media, and chatting with some incredible women who have appeared on a stage somewhere. Now that That's What She Said, has shown up not just in Champaign, Illinois, where it all began. But I think in 2023, we were in eight cities. Eight That's What She Said shows in eight different cities. Can you believe it?
 
KERRY  01:07  You know, I can't believe it. But it's what we always knew: there is no shortage of amazing women. And it truly travels because every single community on the planet has (whispered) badass women doing big things. And we just run around the country sticking a microphone in front of their face.
 
JENETTE  01:25  I love that. That's actually what it feels like, Hey, you're awesome. Here, talk to me, tell me a story.
 
JENETTE  01:30  Whenever I sit with a woman, and you just tell them what we do, what we do in our work, they just start talking. Stories. "Oh my god, what would I say if I were on a stage?" "Oh, let me tell you about the time when..." Women need this. Women need a place where they can come together and share stories. And our guest today is of course no different. She actually reached out to us, because she had heard about That's What She Said we launched a few years ago in the Bloomington Normal Community not too far from where we sit right now. And she had a friend in the show or she had seen the show. And she reached out to us. And it's a wonderful full circle moment because I was having coffee with one of our cast members. And I said yeah, I got this message from a woman named Kristy DeWall and Ray Hatch who we've had on the show before was like, oh my god, Kristy is amazing. She's in my writers group. This woman has a story, let me tell you, which is of course, how many of the women we get to meet. It starts with let me introduce you to a woman you need to know. So Kristy DeWall. Thank you for joining us on the podcast today.
 
KERRY  01:30  Yeah.
 
KRISTY DeWALL  02:33  Thank you so much for having me today. It's great to be here.
 
JENETTE  02:36  How was it that you had originally heard about That's What She Said, had you seen a show or you just knew someone in the show ... remind me
 
KRISTY  02:42I actually had not seen a show. I knew that Ray had been in it. And we met every month with our little writers group called Memoir and Merlot
 
KERRY  02:54  I like it. I’ll consider that an invitation. So, but continue...
 
KRISTY 03:00  Absolutely. And I had read a piece. And Ray was like Why? Why? You know what? Why? Why haven't more people heard you know about this topic. And so I did some research and found y'all. And yeah,
 
JENETTE  03:16  The rest they say is She Said history because I remember the first time we talked and I just fell madly completely in love with you. And you jumped into this process, basically sight unseen. I am so curious, because so many of the women we get to work with, they've certainly seen a show, or knew some friends in it and were familiar with one of us, but when you sought out this opportunity, and then you got to join a cast to go through the process. What was it like for you?
 
KRISTY  03:47  I had heard of it because I actually bought tickets for 2022. But then I had to go to Massachusetts for a drill…
 
JENETTE  03:55  Oh, okay, the truth comes out.. okay...
 
KRISTY  03:57  Well, I had and I couldn't attend. So I gave my tickets to a friend and they got to enjoy it. But this experience was by far like one of the most amazing experiences that I have been a part of. And I mean that 1,000% You know, from the ability to share your story to impacting people to the sisterhood to the lifelong friends I now have made and just all of it altogether from people coming up afterwards and months later, telling you how important it was to hear your words and how impactful they could be to other women was just it's been amazing. And still...
 
KERRY  04:32  WOW! That is great. I think that we have to share the goods. I think it's time to roll tape.
 
JENETTE  04:38  Like Kristy said people have been impacted by her story. And one of the biggest reasons I want Kristy on the podcast was because I think more people need to hear the story that you shared on stage. So Kristy without further ado, we're going to share that story, the original audio from your performance. You were on fire that night and during the rehearsal process, it was really amazing and to work with you in the editing and the rehearsal, but the night of the show, I had never seen that woman, you know, in any of the rehearsals like you showed up and just delivered the best performance.
 
KERRY  05:11  I mean, the audience was going wild before one word was out of her mouth.
 
JENETTE  05:15  This is true. She is a very popular lady in Bloomington Normal. So now I think it's time for the rest of our listeners to fall in love with Kristy DeWall. So please enjoy this performance. Grab a box tissues, get your dance shoes ready. You need to enjoy the story from Kristy DeWall on stage and That's What She Said Bloomington Normal 2023 And here's her story, "A Straight Up Reason to Stay." 

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(recorded September 22, 2023 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts)
KRISTY DeWALL  05:40  The day before my second birthday. DCFS got involved with my family because of my mom's third abusive husband. The lady was no slouch. She gave Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money and married seven times. A DCFS worker helped my mom find a women's shelter where my mom sister and I lived for a short time. And then DCFS got involved again for neglect when I was five. I started kindergarten in Divernon, Illinois with foster parents that let us watch Nickelodeon's premiere of Pinwheel. They taught us the campfire song Found a Peanut and made us eat nasty brussel sprouts. I can recall sleeping on my little nap mat at school each day. But more than anything, I remember drawing picture after picture of what reuniting with my mom would someday look like. I didn't understand why I couldn't just live with my mom. I didn't understand why other kids got picked up by their moms and minivans. And I only got to see mine once a week in a small sterile room and the Carlinville DCFS office.
 
06:55  Show and tells sucked. Do I tell them I live with strangers? Or do I show them a picture of who I visit each week. We ended up leaving our first foster home and were returned home to mom on her 31st birthday. But less than a year later, we were placed in our second foster home and then our third and then our fourth. During that time I lived on acres of farmland and I had plenty to explore. It was during those years that I found out I was allergic to bumblebee stings. I discovered my profound love for all things She-Ra and Garbage Pail Kids. I learned how to lip sync to Loverboy and how to magically remove a bra through your shirt sleeve.
 
07:53  I became a Girl Scout Brownie. I learned how to tie my shoes and ride a bike. I learned the importance of freeze tag, ghost in the graveyard, Sunday school and how to shuffle your feet just right and give electric shocks to others during dry winter months. I was the town of Gillespie's pogo ball champion in 1987. And I have a Dairy Queen gift certificate to prove it. I was also fed every meat known to humanity: deer, squirrel, turtle, rabbit and can now attribute my vegetarianism to the formerly licensed foster parents of Macoupin County.
 
08:44  Basically, I learned how to be a kid. I had a childhood, I had some normalcy. However, I also learned how to perfect the art of the foster child - how to blend, adapt, adjust to change, don't get too attached to any one person or thing because eventually, they're going to leave you or eventually, you're going to be forced to leave it. I learned how to condense my week's worth of kid news and make lists of stuff that I did so my mom wouldn't miss a thing. I learned how to ignore the comments from other kids in school about how I was a weirdo, an outsider, and how to ignore the mean jokes about my Lions Club donated eyeglasses and my hand me down clothes from kind teachers. I learned how to hold my hand just right so that when I handed my free lunch card to the cafeteria lady, the other kids in line behind me couldn't see it. I learned how to be ashamed, embarrassed and how to think something must really be wrong with me. Otherwise my mom would try harder and get me back home.
 
09:50  Eventually she did try hard enough and we went back home on Christmas Eve 1986 and 842 South State Street, Litchfield, Illinois became our home. A few years later, we ended up back in our hometown of Springfield, and my my sister and I stayed with an old family friend while mom was busy meeting her six husband in the psych unit of Memorial Hospital. The two became quite the dynamic duo. If you combine their love of drugs, drinking, and fights with the refusal to take their psych meds and it was quite a show. We dreaded weekends, because it meant we would have to be at home all day long for two whole days without school to shield us. And when their fights were particularly volatile, my sister and I would end up spending the weekend at a youth shelter. And I always worried myself sick, leaving her there to fend for herself against him because at least when I was there, I knew she would eat because I would feed her when she was too drunk to do it herself. The drugs and drinking and abusive relationships finally took their toll on our family for the last time on June 27, 1990. It took the police coming to our house and removing my sister and I seven times in two months before they finally put us back into foster care. Seven times they came to our house, heard our scared please took us and put us back seven times. The 911 dispatcher listen to my sister and I cry into the phone worried that this man may kill our mom.
 
11:19  On June 28, my sister and I were placed in a temporary shelter with our maternal grandma until DCFS could find a home willing to take two almost teenage sisters. The one resounding theme that is far too common in the lives of foster children is loss.
 
11:39  In the few days that we were placed with our grandma, I overheard her telling my sister something one of Billy Graham's crusades was blasting on grandma's large ass console TV. But he was not preaching the word of God loud enough to drown out what my ears had just heard.
 
11:59  "I want to keep you here with me. But I don't want Kristy."
 
12:06  I was about to round the corner from the front of the trailer to the living room when grandma felt moved enough by the Holy Spirit to ruin summer 1990 for me. I stood waiting in the hallway, running my fingers of the smooth wood paneling of the wall wondering how long I should wait there or should I continue listening? Because devastated or not, it felt wrong to eavesdrop.
 
12:28  Eventually I rejoined them, because Billy Graham was almost over and grandma had promised that we could watch the Sound of Music. So 12 year old me composed myself. I sat on the couch. And I knew in that exact moment that I was not good enough for my grandma. And I sat there wondering what specifically was wrong with me? That made her not want me? Was I too loud? That I talked too much. Was I too whiny? Or was it because I reminded her of her own daughter, my mom. I dared not ask or confess that I heard anything.
 
13:03  Billy Graham was well known for singing the old hymn Just as I Am at the end of his crusades and grandma would hum along and I don't think that my 12 year old brain really caught the irony of that moment. This suppose a woman of God humming along to a song about Jesus welcoming us just as we are in one breath while steering such rejection and hurt in the next. Maybe not just as I am, I thought. Well, I was different. And Grandma knew it.
 
13:38  I was 10 years old when I first heard Paula Abdul belt out Straight Up
 
13:49  I am pretty sure the heavens aligned and I immediately turned into a lesbian
 
14:09  It was 1988 and on Saturday nights I craved Star Search. I also craved Paula. The sound of her tap shoes clicking and clacking a sent impure thought straight up to my... hear. Sure, I was only 10. But I knew. The other girls in my class were drooling over New Kids on the Block, I was busy planning my future with the former cheerleader from San Fernando Valley. I was fairly certain that none of the other kids in my class felt like I did and and I could add kissing my Paula Abdul poster to the growing list of things that made me a weirdo. As a kid trying to navigate life, Paula represented hopes and dreams And she put a face to a feeling. It was the late 80s and early 90s. And there were no positive queer representations on TV or in the media. We had Pat from Saturday Night Live. And it was total bullshit!
 
15:29  When you're raised in foster care, no one expects you to amount to much. Like, I never thought I'd buy myself a home
 
15:41  And for years, I convinced myself I didn't want one anyway, I convinced myself that I wouldn't be able to afford one on my own. But the reality was that I didn't know how to sit still. The urge to run, the urge to run is real, and has reared its ugly head many times and after moving from North Pole, Alaska to Normal, Illinois in 2021. I found the love and support in the form of an amazing group of runners.
 
16:22  I found a job at my alma mater. I found some stability. And as soon as I found a reason to stay, it felt uncomfortable.
 
16:35  I didn't tell my friends but this past April a few months ago, I got the urge and started looking for a reason to leave. Leaving is safe. Leaving is familiar chaos. When you're raised in foster care, no one expects you to succeed or to stay. I applied for a job in Anchorage feeling a pull to return to Alaska and I got the job. I was about to accept the offer. But then I did a stupid thing -- in the worst possible housing market.
 
17:18  I put an offer in on the house in Bloomington. I gave myself a reason to stay.
 
17:37  And as I sit in my new home, I anticipate disaster. That's normal, right? I sit comfortably in my green chair of imposter syndrome waiting for a fire a broken hot water heater, a shitty neighbor, a foreclosure, because 10 years ago I ended up fired, evicted, homeless, on EBT for a few months, all while thinking it couldn't happen to me. Because I was the foster kid who had made it. I was the foster kid with two master's degrees.
 
18:16  In this house, I have already felt joy, fear, excitement. And now grief. But I have to face the fact that I'm home. I have to face the fact that seven people in this damn town have a key to my new house. And that's seven more reasons to stay.
 
18:42  The bath tub may be ugly, the kitchen maybe the size of a closet, and shit will inevitably break. It already has. But it's mine.
 
18:56  The first thing I did when I closed on the house was turn the dining room into a music room. I painted the walls fuchsia pink and I put up my Paula poster. The poster hangs on my wall as a reminder of how far I've come on my journey. I don't kiss it anymore. I really don't. And I don't look at it longingly as I sit in my new space. Paula and I have turned a corner in our relationship. When I met her in Pennsylvania in 2016 backstage at a concert, her first one in decades, I was able to share my appreciation with her. I spoke to her for like five minutes. And I thanked her for inspiring me as a kid. And I was able to tell her how she helped me come to terms with my sexuality when I was a teen. She was sweet as pie. We hugged and she kissed me on the cheek.
 
20:06  What she doesn't know, is that her face now grace is the walls of the very first place that I have chosen to be my home. All on my own, straight up! 
(applause)

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KERRY  20:24  Two words, Paula. Abdul. Wow, I don't even. Okay, so how, how was it for you? How was the reaction? And you can feel it on this stage? Right? The the feeling in the room.
 
KRISTY  20:38  There were moments where, you know, people were laughing and then there was like, gasps Yes, absolutely. From co workers, to fellow runners, to people I've just known for years people haven't seen for 20 years that were there. Yes, yes.
 
JENETTE  20:53  I love that people showed up for you in a very big way. But you know what you did during this process, Kristy? I'm just gonna say you showed up for yourself. Period. The work that you put into getting to this final story. I'm just so honored that I got to witness the experience with you. You had brought to the table, some very hard memories from growing up in foster care. And I'm so glad that you did get to share them with the cast as we worked as a team. And not all of them made it to the stage. But you got to use this experience for all that you could...  like you dove in and found this beautiful thread of stories that kind of, I mean, you remember we were piecing it together, we were tying it together with a pretty bow like we were, we were sewing it we were building the plane as we were flying it. It was work, but it was so good. Am I remembering this wrong?
 
KRISTY 21:52  No, no. I I just remember that first version. And it was all trauma, trauma, trauma, trauma, trauma, and I was looking back on that now. It's like, oh, my gosh, wow, that was silly. But that's the nature I think of this topic with foster care is that we are taught that if your story isn't traumatic enough, no one wants to hear it. Or if it's not this, or if it's not bad enough. And so for years, I always thought well, it has to, no one wants to hear about someone that survived foster care. And now they're a grown adult, there's so much more than just physical abuse and the extreme things that we hear about. Honestly, I learned how to write, to perform. And you helped me with that. I always thought I just write to write write write for the reader, because that's what I was accustomed to. So now, it kind of elevated everything, elevated my writing to make me think of it in terms of what you're sharing it audibly, how it can be impactful.
 
JENETTE  22:42  And I think that was evident in the story we just heard, and I love how you worded that: you're writing to be seen, you're writing to be heard, you're writing to perform. It is a different art form than writing a book that's going to be read by your audience. But you rose to the challenge, my friend, and I had never heard of the way you just said that that children talking about, or adults talking about their experiences in foster care -- if it's not traumatic enough, it's not important enough. And that just blew me away. Because you have the trauma, you brought it to share. But is that what a lot of kids in foster care think about their own stories?
 
KRISTY  23:21 I mean, I can't speak obviously, for everyone, but at least back when I was an adolescent, and in my early 20s. And so we knew of famous authors who had made it because of their extreme stories. So my thought was, what about those of us with the subtle messages of unworthiness, the subtle messages of not being good enough, the emotional abuse, it's like this hierarchy of trauma. I think that's the case sometimes. And a lot of times those are even worse than the physical things. So I think it's important that all experiences are obviously recognized and valid. So...
 
KERRY   23:54  It is - it's the trap of it could always be worse. You know, when you're in a bad space or someone else's and you're trying to be helpful and like well, but at least the sun is out well, but at least whatever. And then it's really dismissive. Like wait, I'm, I'm really mine is valid and the situation I'm in and yes, I survived it or, you know, yes, XYZ. But we're in a culture that we want it all wrapped up in a bow and yeah, but everything's okay now, so let's move along, I can understand that. And there's
 
JENETTE  24:22  There's nothing subtle about what you shared, the trauma that you felt, overhearing the conversation in your grandmother's kitchen, when you say these subtle messages, you were very honest with the audience, that that wasn't subtle to you at all, like you heard something loud and clear. And that unfortunately defined your self confidence for a very, very long time. So thank you for being so vulnerable because I can completely understand how hard that must have been. At the same time, you are the child who grew up and got two masters degrees and found purpose in your life and got your dream job, you are a freaking marathon runner. You know, she gets up at 4:30am every morning, Kerry, and goes running. When was the last time you ran a half marathon?
 
KERRY  25:08  Just looking for a solidarity moment, like I got up at 4:30am  all week, but I just because I'm 52 and had to pee, but whatever. Samesies basically. Sorry, but that is awesome that you then run. I'm just running to the bathroom and she's out there running a marathon. Wow. So what has it been like? Since Did you have any surprise responses when people responded after seeing it?
 
JENETTE  25:32  Did Paula Abdul call you? Like did she become the phone? No, not yet. All right, I'm gonna have to follow up with her...
 
KRISTY  25:40  No, but I do have a really funny story. So Bloomington has a First Friday, which is like a big downtown event where you just visit each of the local businesses. And it's real fun. It's called the Tour de Chocolate. And we're walking around each of these businesses. And there's this woman and, and worked and she's friends of a friend or supervisor. And she's talking and she's like, I really want her to go see that. That's What She Said program. I was like, oh, and she's like, Yeah, I use someone who's in the cast. And so I'm like, Oh, was it so and so? So so if I literally go through the entire cast. And she's like, No, no, no, what was her name? And then I jokingly said, Oh, was it Kristy DeWall? She's like, yes, it was her. Oh, my gosh, I love her. She used to be a student worker. When I worked there 25 years ago. It's me. And she was like, Oh, my God, we had this hilarious moment. I've just oh my god, Debbie? Oh my god, Kristy? And it had been 25 years. Apparently, we both looked so differently, we didn't recognize each other. And it was just hilarious.
 
KERRY  26:44  Wow, I love that. I love that.
 
JENETTE  26:47  She's trying to identify you to your face.
 
KRISTY  26:50  That was really funny. And I mean, I've had other moments with people. I had the Provost of the University send me a personal card thanking me because she used to be a foster parent and was touched by the story and, you know, just little things that kind of tie people together. And it's, it's been really, really cool. Being able to talk with people about the story or out in the community. And people are like, Oh, hey, you know, loved your story, or thanks for what you said. So that's been important, I think. And
 
JENETTE  27:19  Oh I love that. I mean, there's no doubt that any other person who's hearing your story today, for the first time, I got to enjoy it. In the Bloomington Normal show. For any child, any adult who's been through something that you've been through, of course, they're going to find some connection and something to relate to. But I love how you shared that even a woman in your professional life, who has experienced the foster system from the other side, from you know, from a parent reached out to you because your story was important to her. And I think that is absolutely beautiful. We can all learn from your experiences, how we can make the world a better place and how we can support children going through such a challenging time. I keep coming back to the family who fed you all the different wild foods and animals and are you
 
KERRY  28:08  Did you say squirrel here?
 
JENETTE  28:10  Turtle? I don't know. What didn't you eat?
 
KRISTY  28:12  Oh, no. Everything. I mean, they also would, and this was the 80s. So you know, they'd put us outside in the morning and say go play. There's an outhouse. So we'll call you back at dinner during the summer. Very country, Southern Illinois.
 
JENETTE  28:30  But I love how you say learned to be a kid and you had some really great experiences like you were though. I'm going to say it wrong, you were the pogo champion, pogo stick?
 
KRISTY  28:40  Pogo ball champion.
 
JENETTE  28:41  Pogo ball champion of 1980 something and you have a Dairy Queen gift certificate to prove. Did you ever cash that in?
 
KRISTY  28:49 Of course I did… for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup blizzard of course
 
JENETTE  28:52  Of course. Okay, so let's talk Paula for a second. Paula is having a resurgence right now like on YouTube and YouTube shorts and Tik Tok. She has revived her career not that it needed reviving. But I heard her announce recently she's going on tour.
 
KERRY  29:08  What?
 
JENETTE  29:09  Is that?  Have you heard this, Kristy? Do you have your tickets yet?
 
KRISTY  29:11  I find it funny though, that she's opening for New Kids on the Block when it clearly it should be the other way around.
 
JENETTE  29:18  I'm...
 
KERRY  29:18  Agreed.
 
JENETTE  29:20  uh huh. Yes. No, Paula, if you're listening, you're the headliner. You're the headliner. We need more.
 
JENETTE  29:27  But I did not have tickets. Yes. Here's the thing. I saw her in 2016. I met her in 2016 at that concert, that that is forever going to be you know, in my heart.
 
JENETTE  29:41  You really can't. So should you even try? Yeah,
 
KRISTY  29:44  I just recently re-saw the video of someone was filming me at that concert when she started tap dancing. And I.. all you could hear was the tap shoes and knees screaming
 
JENETTE  29:57  Clickety clacking right up to your heart, girl.
 
KRISTY  30:00  Do you remember Cold Hearted, the video?
 
KERRY  30:04 (singing) Cold Hearted.
 
JENETTE  30:05  Yes,
 
KRISTY  30:05  It's so racy that my mom forbid me to watch. Still sneak and watch it and
 
JENETTE  30:15  And you would practice the choreography?
 
KRISTY  30:17 Like, I couldn't do the Cold Hearted but I did..And I didn't say this in my She Said speech, but I performed Straight Up in my sixth grade talent show and I got a solid third place.
 
JENETTE  30:31  Solid! I want to see the video of that, please.
 
KRISTY 30:35  Oh, gosh, oh, gosh, that's when my lip sync career started.
 
JENETTE  30:40  What's next for Kristy DeWall? You are She Said famous. You're an amazing, amazing person. Are you writing anything we need to know about?
 
KERRY  30:49  Wow.
 
KRISTY 30:49  Since She Said I have been working hard to organize everything. So I've been writing but mainly organizing because my book project really incorporates the writing with my diary entries since I was 10 and my DCFS files which I have obtained. So the idea is that I'm kind of interspersing them between chapters. So it's kind of this lifelong project. But since the performance have been more motivated to really get that out.
 
JENETTE  30:50  I think that sounds like an amazing project.
 
KERRY  31:14  That sounds amazing.
 
KRISTY  31:22  It's intense. It's intense, and it has been years in the making.
 
JENETTE  31:26  If you need to talk to anyone please give me a call because I know processing all of this stuff can take a toll. But I hope that you are taking care of yourself you are forever in the She Said family. We have loved every minute of getting to know you and your story,and I can see you out there in the world taking more stages. I think there's a whole world out there that needs you and needs your inspiration
 
KRISTY  31:49  Thank you. I'm trying
 
KERRY  31:51  Killing it.
 
JENETTE  31:52  So if you need an amazing speaker, Kristy DeWall -- I will post her number in the notes, no I won't. You can always find us through all the She Said channels. Hey! A perfect segue: https;//shesaidproject.com all things She Said to learn about upcoming shows, we have a women's conference coming and to learn all the people that have made The She Said Project Podcast possible thank you to Sterling Wealth Management. Thank you to Carle and Health Alliance and to our partners at Illinois Public Media for supporting our podcast since the very very beginning. And thank you to you Kristy DeWall for saying yes to being in That's What She Said. And then for spending some time with us today.
 
KRISTY  32:28  It has been life changing. And I appreciate it. And I appreciate everyone's support. Thank you so much.
 
KERRY  32:33  Oh my gosh. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Let's get together for that... I only remembered the merlot part but then it also said memoirs,
 
JENETTE  32:41  Oh, memoirs...
 
KERRY  32:41  Let's get together for merlot Oh yeah, yeah...and memoirs.
 
JENETTE  32:44  And writing. You belong to a writer's group.
 
KERRY  32:46  Yes. There's just nothing crazier than a group of writers. We are a crazy bunch but we're fun.
 
JENETTE  32:51  We all need some more merlot in our lives so we'll we'll just we'll leave it at that.
 
KRISTY  32:55
Okay, thank you.
 
JENETTE  32:56  Write if you want to but lots of merlot
 
KERRY  32:58  Over and out.
 
KRISTY  33:00  All right, thank you.
 
JENETTE  33:01  Thank you, friends
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[Music: The She Said Project Podcast Theme]
ANNOUNCER  33:06
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