Episode 70: Cousin Geri Unplugged: Geri Jewell Beyond 'The Facts of Life’

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In this episode, we sit down with Jerry Jewell, the
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trailblazing actress, comedian, and advocate best known for her role
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as Cousin Jerry on the Facts of Life. She made
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history as the very first person with a visible disability
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to have a recurring role on a primetime TV series
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back when TV was huge, and we discuss her groundbreaking career,
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her experiences in Hollywood, and her ongoing work and advocacy
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today on Off the Couch and Welcome to Off the Couch,
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where psychology meets everyday life. I'm doctor Greg Kason, Psychologists
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here with producer Brian Gomez, and we have Noah on
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the board. Hey, Noah, how's it going today? We have
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a very special guest. We have Jerry Jewell, who's best known.
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Oh thank you, Yes, I'm glad our studio audience responded,
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thank you. Jerry Jewel is best known as Cousin Jerry
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on the NBC sitcoms The Facts of Life. This is
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the Facts of Life for people who don't know. Like
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I was trying to tell Brian on the way over here,
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TV was not the same. TV was like we only
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had a few channels, and the Facts of Life was
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this huge phenomenon of a show, and in fact you
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the episode you were on I believe it was in
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December nineteen eighty or something and on Christmas Eve or something.
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I can't remember exactly, but it was around that time,
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and they it was the highest rated show that they
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had up to that point.
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Yeah, yes it was.
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I mean, this was an unbelievable show. So millions and
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millions of people watching. This isn't like the streaming stuff now.
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She was known as the very first person with a
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visible disability to have a regular role on a TV series. Jerry, welcome.
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I'm going to go through a little bit of your introduction.
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Just because she began her career doing stand up at
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the Comedy Store in nineteen seventy eight. I love that.
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In nineteen eighty she performed at the second annual Media
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Access Awards. That's where you met Lorman Lear, the producer
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of so many TV shows, including Facts of Life. And
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did he write the role for you?
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Ah? He wrote the concept, but the staff Fritter is
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Joel Kimmel and A Gibbs wrote the very first episode.
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Well that's so amazing. So he put you in the show.
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I mean, this is just like amazing stuff. After the
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Facts of Life, you appeared on TV shows like the
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Emmy Award winning movie Two of a Kind? Was that,
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the one with Robbie Benson. Yeah, and Sesame Street, Sesame Street,
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Great Story, twenty one, Jump Street, Young and The Restless
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Strong Medicine. But the one, of course, I think stands
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out for a lot of people. It's HBO's Deadwood. Oh God,
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what a great show. I mean, a phenomenon of a
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show where you also received an Emmy consideration for that.
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When you're not working in television though, you're a highly
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sought after motivational speaker and trainer, and in areas of diversity,
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disability and LGBT issues. We'll have to talk about where
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that's all going today, including wager corporations and government agencies.
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She or at least you know who knows what now,
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but we'll talk. She's also the author of two books,
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I'm Walking as Straight as I Can in her latest book,
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Jerry's Jewels and Gems, which I'll talk to her about.
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That's a collection of her columns written for Ability Magazine
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over six years. So welcome, Jerry, Thank you. I wanted
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to talk with you because there was just so much
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that was so much. It was a parallel. I grew
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up in Huntington Beach, which is near you grew up
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in Fullerton, So we're both Orange County people. We know
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that we're about the same age, and my brother had
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a severe disability growing up. So I was keenly aware
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of you when I was watched when I was in
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school and whatnot, because it was so exciting for me
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to see someone with visible disability on television in my
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living room, you know, having that validation because it was
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almost like another world. Especially you know, he's developmentally disabled
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in a what was once known as mental retardation, severe
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mental retardation. It's now called intellectual disability, but it was
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he was severely disabled. And so yeah, so I mean,
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hen't doesn't quite have the life that you have, but
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it was it was so meaningful for me to see
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and you were always an inspiration. Being able to see
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you do that and like have success and you have
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great success.
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That warned my heart that I was able to make
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a difference in your life in that way.
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Well, thank you, But I didn't know you were an
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Orange County girl, so that kind of flipped me out.
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And your dad, you know, I'm going completely off script here.
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Your dad worked at the Westminster Memorial Park or something.
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Yes, he did.
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That's where my grandparents, my aunts and uncles. I have
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my mother as a plot. It's like everyone everyone in
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my family was very good. It kind of cracked me up. So,
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you know, Orange County, I mean people call you know,
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they they look at it as somewhat glamorous, but it's
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you know, it's like any other place.
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Any other ship.
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Yeah, yeah, you know. So you have cerebral palsy. Yes,
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And I wanted to just touch that a little bit
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for this reason, because that's a visible disability that you have.
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I wanted to can I just do like a little
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bit of a definition and then I want to touch
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on one. People don't know what it is, so cerebral palsy.
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I call it cerebral paul I always called it that,
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you know, so pausy. What a palsy is to people,
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refers to a medical condition characterized by the loss or
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impairment of voluntary muscle movement. It's often accompanied by weakness
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or tremors or paralysis. So historically, pausy was used to
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describe various forms of paralysis. In contemporary medical terminology. It's
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typically associated with conditions like Bell's palsy, which Brian had
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a friend who had that that sudden temporary weakness on
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one side of the face, and cerebral palsy, which is
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a group of disorders affecting movement and posture, and it's
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caused by damage to a developing brain, most often before birth.
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Yes.
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And in the book, in the first book that you wrote,
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you tell the story about your mother that when she
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was pregnant with you.
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Yes, would you like me to yes, that'd be great. Okay, Well,
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my mother was six months pregnant with me. Yeah, and
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we were in believe it or not, We lived in
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cheeko Woga, New York. Not Buffalo. Oh, we lived in Chichawaga,
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but my parents were from Buffalo, so I have a
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lot of relatives in Buffalo. And she was sitting on
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the front pit on the front porch of her home,
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my mom and dad home, and this car came around
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the corner going way too bad, lost control and ran
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my parents' front lawn and knocked over the maple tree
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on the front lawn and my mom ran to escape
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the tree, and in that process she fell and she
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was hemorrhaging and she was reshed to the hospital and
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I was born at six months instead of nine months premature,
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and they didn't expect me to live. Not the reason
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I was born in Buffalo was because I was born
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at the Sister's Hospital in Buffalo. So technically I was
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born in Buffalo. And a lot of things, a lot
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of trauma during my birth. I mean the maple tree, uh,
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you know, the accident altogether. And then I was put
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into an ice leat and I was transferred to an
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incubator too soon and I turned blue, and then a
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nurse had a cold and gave me pneumonia.
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Oh my god.
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So from the beginning of my life it was you
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marked by trauma. And I think that's why I'm still
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alive today because I am so conditioned to live. You're
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gonna beat this. You're gonna beat this. You're gonna do this,
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even if I wanted to die. Damn I missed.
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In fact, your book is just one story after another.
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By the way, your book that why I'm walking as
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straight as I can. It was the most human book
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because you I could just kept seeing myself in your shoes.
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I kept thinking, you know, this is You're not trying
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to portray yourself in the best light. You were portraying
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yourself in the most human light.
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It was a very honest portrayal of how I perceived
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myself and now I perceived luck.
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Yeah, it was incredible. But you made a joke about
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cerebral palsy on Howard Stern. That's all that was to
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lead up to this joke, because he said, what's it
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like having cerebral palsy?
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Well, I came up with that line. I think I
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know what you're talking about. But when I did the
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god who was that.
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Howard Stern?
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Yeah, Howard Sterne, Yes, what Howard Stern? He was getting
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at me with his jokes.
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Yeah, he's a radio shock shock you know who he is?
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Okay, the interview, and then he asked me what it
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was like to have Gilbert posy. So I decided to
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throw his shock cousin back at him and I said, well, Howard,
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it's kind of like having an orgasm on then you
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never know when I'm coming or going. And I might
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add to that. Silber Paul is like, well, have you
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ever heard.
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Of the.
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That psychic that famous psychic doctor.
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Oh oh, Edward Casey or something. Yeah.
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Yeah, I read a book of his once and he
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actually had silber Polly lifted in his book. Oh, and
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he said that people that were born with seyble Parsi
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were sexually promiscuous in a past life, and therefore they
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are given to seyble Parsi like they have a continuous
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orgatem with no pleasure.
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Well, I guess you hit the nail on the head
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and good for you in the former life.
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No, thank you.
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Yeah, that that joke cracked me up. Number one. I
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could certainly see you doing that on Howard Stern and
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it's perfect for it. And you said, he stared at
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you like he didn't know what to make of it.
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But he mentioned me every single Valentine's Day from that
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day on.
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It was on Valentine's Day, You guys did it?
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No, it wasn't every balanced he said for Vala, I
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want to be judge because I don't want to have it.
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I want to have a continuous and not know when
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I'm coming over.
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Oh that's great. The you know. Also in your book,
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you outlined that the disability community got very upset with
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you about that.
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Not the disability community, but people who were involved in
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promoting disability and exactly a disability.
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Okay, good, I'm glad.
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Not the disabled community.
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I'm glad to hear that, because I was, like, what,
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because I would do this was actually kind of a warm, wonderful,
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genuinely funny joke made. Yeah. So, but I I do
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understand the people who are supporting often get wow.
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You know, everybody has their you know, I learned a
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long time ago when I started doing stand up that
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every time I performed, I was going to offend at
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least one person, if not more. And if you're not
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offending anyone, then you're not any good as a common.
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So what I mean this is interesting to me because
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you knew from a young age you wanted to be
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an actor. You knew this was the direction you were going.
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I did. I knew from the time I was in
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probably about eleven or twelve, that I wanted to be
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an actress and a comedian a writer, but I never
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wanted to be a stand up I got into that accidentally,
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kind of sort of.
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Well, what got you into that?
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Huh?
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What got you into being.
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I was in college, and I was in my third
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year of college, and I was flunking anatomy in physiology.
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I was flunking algebra for the third time. The logic
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in my brain had something wrong. I've never been logical.
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You can ask my parents. I'm never logical. And I
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was very depressed. And I was sitting in this student
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services department for student for disabilities huh, and my friend
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Alex was there and he said, hey, Julley, you seem
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really down today, and I said, well, yeah, I am
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Why and I said, well, because I'm flunking classes and
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I really don't I don't want to be here. He said, well,
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what do you want to be. Well, I want to
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be in Shoulbred. I want to be an actress. I
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want to be a comedian. And he said, well, why
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don't you do what I do? What do you do?
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I go to the comedy store every Monday night and
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tell blind jokes. And I said, what, Alex, that may
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work for you, but I don't know if you know this,
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but I can see you just fine and blind jokes
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wouldn't fly. And he said, no, dinky face. He used
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to call me dinky face and you never found my face.
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But he said, no, dnky face. You go on stage
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and you tell several policy jokes. Really, And I didn't
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have ida stand up idols. My idol, My big idol
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was Carel Burnett, So I didn't have Yeah, Bob Hope
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or anybody else that I followed or and wanted to
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do that. So Alex kind of got me into it,
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and I remember he was my coach. He said, Jerry,
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if you're gonna succeed, you can't do just cerebral policy jokes.
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You have to branch out. You can talk about cerebral policy,
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but you'll lose happy lot of you if you don't
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get past that. So what you have to do is
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you have to read the newspapers. You have to see
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what's going on currently and talk about that and bring
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it in that way. So the first night that I
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ever performed at the Comedy Store, you know, I'd just
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read the paper. I took Alex advice, and the audience
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thought that I was a guy when I came on stage,
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because the MC introduced me as a heap. Oh Jerry.
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They talked, Lodge, you don't meet a lot of female Jerry.
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You think of it as a male name, and he said,
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let's give him a big hand. Jay came away from
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One Towny and I walked on stage and I'm hearing impaired,
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and I could hear the murmurs. It's like, oh, that's
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a heat. And he drove like that from one county.
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And normally comedians have to fight for attention.
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Uh huh.
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I didn't have to fight for it. I had it magically. No,
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I had to do something with it. So the first
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thing out of my mouth was, I said, I don't
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know about you people, but I've heard an awful lot
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about the Gates. It's been coming out of the closet lately.
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No laughter, they were staring, Oh my god. But what
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you haven't heard about is all de steable, positive people
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that have been coming out of the closet. But don't
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tell anybody. I don't want anybody to know, and I
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especially don't want any to Bland to hear about it,
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because she will go all around the country and she
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will say things like we must stop these people were
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terrible posy teaching in our public schools. They will influence
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her and before you know it, all child will be
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movie like this. That was my opening line. That's Anita
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Bryant was in the paper I was doing with Alex.
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Se very topical. Yeah, she recently died didn't she I believe.
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So that's a great joke. So you hit it right
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out of the park the.
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First I've got a standing ovation.
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00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:40.160
See that's an addictive drug. I would imagine like you
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got a mainline of heroin doing comedy. I can see
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how you got stuck right there.
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Exactly the following week I bombed.
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You know, every every comedian I hear talk to it
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seems like their second show doesn't go well because you're overconfident.
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I think it because it was so easy the first time,
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so to speak. It really wasn't now with a nervous reaction,
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00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.680
but you think the same thing is gonna happen. You know,
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one plus one equals too. Yeah, why it didn't it
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equal to? Why why is it five now?
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But then you know, obviously people really latch onto you
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because you started to perform quite a bit.
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Yeah I did.
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And then you got that that festival where you met
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Norman Lear.
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Yeah, the second Annual Media Acceptable.
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Yeah, that was that was very soon out of the gate,
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wasn't it.
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00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:43.960
That was? That was well. You know what a lot
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of people don't realize is that the first movie that
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I ever did was the Chicken Drunk film. Ah, it
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was nice dreams and if you ever see the film,
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I have film credit. I got my sad cart. I
311
00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:07.599
worked three weeks on that film, but you never see
312
00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:14.359
me any because when I got the film, the insurance
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company had a problem with me. Said, well, the insurance
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is going to be really high if you hire someone
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like her. I mean, what if she trips over something?
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You know, it's cheating charm. They're tripping all the time,
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and they're worried about me. For me, so I had
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to sign an agreement with the studio that I wouldn't
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walk anywhere. In other words, if I had to go
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to the restroom, excuse me, Can I have a car?
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I can't go to the ref room. I wasn't allowed
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to walk on set anywhere. So after the third week
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of filming, you know, I had just completed three weeks.
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I have a four am car and it was uncentin
325
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Boulevard and the set was up the hill and I
326
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was late. I was about it was like about five
327
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minutes to four, and I was like, oh my god,
328
00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:22.640
and a productionistist and said, where are you going, Jewel,
329
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you can't walk? No again, no, no, we'll get in trouble.
330
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We gotta get you a car. You can't walk up there?
331
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Can we get a car for Jewel?
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Oh?
333
00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:41.759
The originally, so this truck came around the corner and
334
00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.119
he said, hey, man, can you get Jewel a ride
335
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up to the to the up to the set. Suret man, Yeah,
336
00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:55.079
put her on the back of the truck. Now, hold on.
337
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And he took off so fast that I had a
338
00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:04.200
voluntary movement and let go and fell off the truck.
339
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And I had to put a cast on my arm
340
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all the way up pathway up my arm, and I
341
00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:18.680
remember sitting at the lunch table. That's when I got back,
342
00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:24.680
and I asked Tommy Chong to help me cut my
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00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:30.799
meat because it was really hard with the cast. And
344
00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:37.519
he was so depressed. He said, oh my god, if
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00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:42.319
they had only let you walk, because they couldn't match
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00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:47.279
the shots. I had a cast on now, so I
347
00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:51.759
couldn't mask the previous shots. So I got cut from
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00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:56.519
the film. Oh no, but I believe that there's a
349
00:24:56.599 --> 00:25:02.000
reason for everything in life, and it is a very
350
00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:06.920
good reason. I got cut from the Cat because it
351
00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:10.680
came out right after I appeared on Back to Life.
352
00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.359
Oh my god, Facts of Life would have never appreciated
353
00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:18.240
me being in a Cheachen junk boom.
354
00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:22.240
No, Brian, just so you know, Cheach and Chong big potheads.
355
00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:25.160
That's a that's a huge theme of their movie. Like
356
00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:27.799
that's there, that's basically the I've just told you all
357
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:35.119
their plots and facts of life. Super wholesome, super duper wholesome.
358
00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:38.039
Four young well, well five, you know whatever, how many
359
00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:40.720
young women? And then you you were cousin Jerry. We
360
00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:43.680
weren't a student at the school though, No, you were
361
00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:48.480
cousin Jerry co Blair Blair Blair Warner's cousin. You were
362
00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:51.599
Jerry Warner and then later became Jerry Tyler somehow.
363
00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:56.720
Like I've always resented that that they changed your last name.
364
00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:01.200
Yeah, I never understood it. It hurt and every time
365
00:26:01.240 --> 00:26:05.319
I hear it, even to this day, it's still affects me.
366
00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:08.960
I understand, And you know, I bet the audience was
367
00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:12.079
with you, because there's nothing worse as an audience member
368
00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:14.359
than when something like that changes.
369
00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:17.920
I think it was even said in the episode that
370
00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:19.440
my name was Jerry Warner.
371
00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:20.720
Yeah.
372
00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:26.480
So did I get married and nobody was invited to
373
00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:31.960
my wedding? Broider, I'm sorry you wouldn't invite it. But
374
00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:34.440
I didn't even know I was married. I must have
375
00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:35.240
been on drugs.
376
00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:44.440
Well that's the so, you know. But yeah, that was
377
00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:48.640
that was an incredible Yeah, I do believe you're right.
378
00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:51.920
That would not have worked out well. And then actually
379
00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:55.039
Facts of Life is what really of course launched you,
380
00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.599
and that was such a groundbreaking thing.
381
00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:03.559
Yeah, I mean, the Cheechy Trunk film would have been wonderful.
382
00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:07.400
I mean, I was Timothy Leary was in the film,
383
00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:13.799
and he had given Marin Cheech an acid tablet, and
384
00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.440
when he was on acid, he saw me performing at
385
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:19.480
the comedy.
386
00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:23.640
Store on acid that Larry gave him.
387
00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:25.799
That was one of the scene.
388
00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:31.839
Oh okay, oh that's oh it was in the movie.
389
00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:36.839
That's excellent. That would have been funny.
390
00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:42.000
You're getting up first, No, I've never told that.
391
00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:48.640
That is good. Yeah, no, And then you you went on,
392
00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:53.640
uh you went on to play then you you know,
393
00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:56.880
then you you did Facts of Life, and and that was.
394
00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.599
It sounded like, at least from your book, that that was.
395
00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:03.039
It had it's kind of a push me, pull you experience.
396
00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:06.799
It was difficult at times, it sounds like, but overall
397
00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:09.079
a good experience. Oh yeah, okay.
398
00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:12.119
Yeah. In fact, Lisha Watchew and I are very close
399
00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:13.319
even to this day.
400
00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:18.599
She's incredible And you guys were roommates for a while. Yeah,
401
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.680
so that's you know, that's kind of a wonderful thing.
402
00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:23.559
And it sounds like she was a good support.
403
00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:27.400
Yeah, she was an amazing support and amazing friend. And
404
00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:30.640
she never treated me any different way than anybody else.
405
00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:31.480
Oh good.
406
00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:35.799
Yeah, it was a it was a you know, we
407
00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:38.640
went in separate ways, you know how people grow and
408
00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:41.759
go in different paths, and then we reunited and we
409
00:28:41.880 --> 00:28:45.720
become friends again in the sixties, sixties.
410
00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:51.359
Sixties, Well, we all got to get used to that one.
411
00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.359
But I wanted to talk about then, you I mean,
412
00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:57.519
I'm not trying to short trip that. The Facts of
413
00:28:57.559 --> 00:29:00.839
Life was an amazing phenomenon. It was a huge, huge show,
414
00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:05.160
and cousin Jerry was a huge character and everyone knew.
415
00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:08.680
Well. One of the lines on Facts of Life, which
416
00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:11.279
was brilliant, and it wasn't my line, it was the
417
00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:19.920
writers was questioned, don't hurt because Lou was upset because
418
00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:24.599
everybody would have to be questions about cerebral palsy. And
419
00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:28.559
my answer was questioned, don't hurt ignorance us.
420
00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:34.559
Oh beautiful, brilliant line. Yeah, beautiful in fact, Noah, we
421
00:29:34.680 --> 00:29:37.279
are we putting up those photos because we have a
422
00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:40.440
ton of photos. I haven't seen it. I mean a
423
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:43.039
ton of Facts of Life photos. One of them, Oh
424
00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:45.519
that was where you. I don't know if I pulled
425
00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:48.839
that from somewhere, but the the one that was the
426
00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:51.200
one I wanted. You have the T shirt, your famous
427
00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:55.480
T shirt. I don't have cerebral palsy. I'm drunk, yes,
428
00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:59.559
which is great. And then the joke you did on
429
00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:03.960
the show was kind of the opposite. I think you talked.
430
00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:05.680
Do you remember that the joke you did.
431
00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:07.759
I remember the joke, oh you.
432
00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:09.960
Will on the show you I think you kind of
433
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:12.319
said it the opposite that you said to the girls,
434
00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:16.279
don't worry, I'm not drunk, I have cerebral palsy. And
435
00:30:16.319 --> 00:30:18.799
then you said when I drunk, I walked straighter.
436
00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:20.799
Yeah.
437
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:22.160
It was actually great.
438
00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:26.000
And that T shop, by the way, was the one
439
00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:30.720
that Facts of Life wardrobe made for the show. H huh.
440
00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:36.279
I wrote that joke early on, didn't have that T
441
00:30:36.440 --> 00:30:40.480
shoot made and I still happened to this day. It
442
00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:45.240
has copy stained body of the stain wow, everything all
443
00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:47.359
over it. But I didn't have a lot of money
444
00:30:47.400 --> 00:30:50.640
and I could only afford one, so I would wash
445
00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:54.839
it every day and work for the comedy.
446
00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:56.039
Oh wow.
447
00:30:56.440 --> 00:31:01.559
I didn't realize until that of life made me a
448
00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:06.640
duplicate of that T shirt that all that time I
449
00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:16.279
had spelled syrup wrong. You know, I put an e
450
00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:21.160
in pol and I could have saved thirty cents.
451
00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:30.480
If you just hadn't put that. I know, really, I
452
00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:33.079
believe it. No, that is funny. It's an easy mistake
453
00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:35.799
to make. I think, not.
454
00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:42.119
For me, provider, and I've had for how long? And
455
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:43.480
you don't know how to fight?
456
00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:53.440
But then you were on You were asked to perform
457
00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:56.680
at the White House. Yes, and that was for a
458
00:31:56.799 --> 00:32:00.240
very special thing which I didn't even write down. It
459
00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:02.079
was the Axis.
460
00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:03.640
And Inspire eighty five.
461
00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:07.839
Eighty five, that's right, Inspire eighty five. And it was
462
00:32:08.279 --> 00:32:11.480
you performed in front of the White House staff, invited
463
00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:14.839
guest Nancy Reagan was during the Reagan years.
464
00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:15.720
Yes, it was.
465
00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:20.119
And tell us about that because that was fascinating to me,
466
00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:26.559
because you you wanted they wanted you to do jokes
467
00:32:26.839 --> 00:32:28.160
and you didn't want to.
468
00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:39.000
Well, I shortened that yeah, yeah, yeah. What happened was
469
00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:42.319
is they wanted me to do ten minutes of stand
470
00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:46.759
up and I was cool with that. I could do
471
00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:50.960
ten minutes of stand up, and then somewhere along the
472
00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.240
line it was knocked down from ten minutes to two minutes.
473
00:32:55.319 --> 00:33:00.799
And what people didn't understand was that I knew someone
474
00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:03.680
on the board of director at the White House, and
475
00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:06.240
she was telling me of the meetings they were having
476
00:33:06.319 --> 00:33:09.240
every day, and they said, you know, you have a
477
00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:13.319
lot of problems. And I said, what are you talking about. Well,
478
00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:19.799
it seems you ruffled a few feathers with your orgasm
479
00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:28.599
joke a national television jury, and they don't believe that
480
00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:31.640
you're a good world model for people with disabilities.
481
00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:33.839
Ohe And I was like.
482
00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:39.200
Oh my god. So they knocked your time from ten
483
00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:43.039
minutes to two minutes, and I said, how is that
484
00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:46.799
gonna make a difference. Well, you're not gonna believe this,
485
00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:52.839
but Nancy Reagan herself came to your defense. Wow, does
486
00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:54.359
she know I'm a Democrat.
487
00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:04.839
Good for Nancy, by the way, she said that, regardless
488
00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:10.000
of a questionable material at the time, she is the
489
00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:15.480
most highly visible person with a disability, successful person with
490
00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:19.159
a disability in the United States, and we have to
491
00:34:19.239 --> 00:34:19.760
honor that.
492
00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:24.199
So I think what we can do is is knock
493
00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:29.440
her time down from ten minutes to two minutes. Then
494
00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:34.960
she won't have time to get into the orgasm.
495
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:38.800
And I was time to bring people to orgasm.
496
00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:43.159
I was young, you know. I was like nine, I'm
497
00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:46.679
gonna do it. My friend said, you're an idiot to
498
00:34:46.840 --> 00:34:51.960
turn down a performance at the White House. Use your brain,
499
00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:55.599
and I said, no, I'm being censured. I don't care.
500
00:34:55.800 --> 00:35:01.360
You're gonna do it. And what I did was is
501
00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:04.360
everybody thought that I was going to do stand up
502
00:35:04.360 --> 00:35:08.719
comedy two minutes. And I surprised everybody at the White House.
503
00:35:11.239 --> 00:35:14.599
I said, you know, I thought about doing stand up
504
00:35:14.639 --> 00:35:18.159
comedy today, but then I thought nah, And everybody's like,
505
00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:22.519
oh no, what is you gonna do? You know, I
506
00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:28.599
thought about just telling you look joke. I didn't say that,
507
00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:30.920
but that's what we're going through my head. I should
508
00:35:31.480 --> 00:35:36.960
you look out some joking walk? No, I said, but.
509
00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:39.840
I would have been a ball drop right there. Yeah,
510
00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:40.719
mic drop.
511
00:35:40.760 --> 00:35:50.159
I guess, stupid thing. So what I what I said
512
00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:53.559
was I decided to share with you a little bit
513
00:35:53.599 --> 00:35:55.519
about my philosophy.
514
00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:57.840
I'm like, and I have that clip? Do I have
515
00:35:57.960 --> 00:36:01.360
that clip? Can you put that up? Because this was
516
00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:05.519
so touching to me, I'd like, here we go.
517
00:36:06.039 --> 00:36:08.639
This young lady, she is a jewel. Indeed, at twenty nine,
518
00:36:08.719 --> 00:36:11.400
she already had a book on her life, a six
519
00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:14.679
year career as a stand up comic, a hit series,
520
00:36:14.719 --> 00:36:17.280
her four year run on Facts of Life, in a
521
00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:20.559
new series pending for the coming season. Today, we asked
522
00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:23.920
her to say a few words on the theme of
523
00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:26.840
the Inspire eighty five program, and I am proud to
524
00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:29.559
have you meet miss Jerry Jewel.
525
00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:35.079
Jerry, so she's walking out to present at the White
526
00:36:35.159 --> 00:36:36.320
House ve Now.
527
00:36:36.679 --> 00:36:39.719
Oh my god, I haven't seen this new decades.
528
00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:41.039
It's incredible.
529
00:36:41.480 --> 00:36:45.360
Thank you first have that to say, how honored I
530
00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:47.880
am to be a part of this event Inspire eighty five.
531
00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:52.079
And needless to say, I was nervous about what I
532
00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:55.159
was going to say, but after I thought about it,
533
00:36:55.920 --> 00:36:58.639
I thought that I'd like to share with you something
534
00:36:58.679 --> 00:37:02.320
that means a lot to me, a philosophy that I've
535
00:37:02.320 --> 00:37:06.159
come to understand over the years that love and fear
536
00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:16.519
cannot exist at the same time. The two conflict. One
537
00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:21.639
cannot exist in the presence of the other. Not think
538
00:37:21.719 --> 00:37:26.440
for a moment how we react to fear. We either
539
00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:35.280
attack it, deny it, alienate, or avoid. As a result,
540
00:37:36.440 --> 00:37:41.920
this leads to prejudice and discrimination. We are not born
541
00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:47.119
into the world with feelings of prejudice. Prejudice is a
542
00:37:47.239 --> 00:37:54.239
learned behavior, and as I stress before, fear is what
543
00:37:54.400 --> 00:38:02.239
stops us from loving and accepting genuinely. I firmly believe.
544
00:38:03.599 --> 00:38:05.880
That in order to begin to deal.
545
00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:13.280
With accepting and loving people, we have to learn to
546
00:38:13.320 --> 00:38:18.119
deal with our own fear within all of us. Only
547
00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:21.639
then can we begin to accept others on a whole.
548
00:38:23.079 --> 00:38:28.599
I would only hope that I heightened awareness and insight
549
00:38:29.800 --> 00:38:35.480
that self acceptance and self love, the acceptance of our
550
00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:40.880
own inadequacies, will give us the freedom to see the
551
00:38:41.039 --> 00:38:46.119
humor and the beauty that flows through all of us.
552
00:38:48.360 --> 00:38:52.039
Thank you and in the spirit of love, God, blessed
553
00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:52.440
you off.
554
00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:56.679
My God, that was incredible.
555
00:38:57.320 --> 00:39:01.599
Wow. Like I said, I had seen that in decades.
556
00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:03.679
What do you think.
557
00:39:05.320 --> 00:39:08.119
It? But tears to my eyes a little bit because
558
00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:14.159
I remember how terrifed I was. I was absolutely petrified
559
00:39:14.840 --> 00:39:20.199
to do something what nobody expected, and I could have
560
00:39:20.280 --> 00:39:25.599
easily fallen flat of my face. And what happened was
561
00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:31.960
I got a standing ovation and I was invited to
562
00:39:32.039 --> 00:39:34.599
perform at the Kennedy Center that same day.
563
00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:40.440
Incredible, and in fact, I was so moved by this.
564
00:39:40.519 --> 00:39:43.239
I watched it many times. I didn't mist watch it once.
565
00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:47.679
I watched it many times, and I was and I
566
00:39:47.719 --> 00:39:50.159
played it for Brian. I was solved it. I feel
567
00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:52.880
like everybody, I feel like this should be displayed on
568
00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:54.360
like every TV right now.
569
00:39:54.599 --> 00:39:58.920
You know, it's so important, it's needed right now so desperately.
570
00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:04.599
And then you played a role in my sister's eulogy
571
00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:08.360
for this reason because I was so touched by that,
572
00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:11.719
and I had to write a eulogy for her, and
573
00:40:11.800 --> 00:40:14.599
like I said, you know, I had to cancel because
574
00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:18.800
the previous time, because she had died the day before,
575
00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:25.920
in the afternoon before, and I actually your book, Jerry's
576
00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:28.800
Jewels and Gems. I had it with me. I went
577
00:40:28.840 --> 00:40:30.440
down to see my mom and I had it with
578
00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:33.000
me because you know, I was getting prepared for the interview.
579
00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:38.159
I just cracked opened the book and in the book
580
00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:43.000
was the story of Gloria, your sister. And I didn't
581
00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:46.679
know she had passed. I didn't read that yet and
582
00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:51.519
when I read that, it was the weirdest, most comforting
583
00:40:51.679 --> 00:40:55.679
thing to read your story of you know, dealing with
584
00:40:55.840 --> 00:40:58.480
passing and dealing with her and you know, and how
585
00:40:58.559 --> 00:41:01.639
much you loved her. And then having had that just
586
00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:04.559
happened to me that day, not that happened to me,
587
00:41:04.679 --> 00:41:09.880
but just happened in my life, And so that was
588
00:41:09.960 --> 00:41:14.519
a weird coincidence. Then I then I that that talk
589
00:41:14.559 --> 00:41:16.880
at the White House was so moving to me that
590
00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:19.480
I started the eulogy this way, just so you know,
591
00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:23.199
I started it. Love and fear cannot coexist at the
592
00:41:23.239 --> 00:41:27.679
same time. The two conflict. One cannot exist in the
593
00:41:27.719 --> 00:41:31.159
presence of the other. These words were spoken by the
594
00:41:31.199 --> 00:41:35.159
actress and disability advocate Jerry Jewel at Inspire eighty five
595
00:41:35.480 --> 00:41:37.960
hold deep meaning for me today as I remember my
596
00:41:38.079 --> 00:41:41.760
sister Michelle. Sorry, because if there is one thing about
597
00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:48.360
Michelle is that love always cut through fear. Yes, so wow,
598
00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:51.400
I just wanted to say thank you for you know,
599
00:41:51.480 --> 00:41:54.400
giving me those words to be able to talk about that.
600
00:41:55.320 --> 00:41:59.360
And I just felt my sister and your.
601
00:41:59.199 --> 00:42:05.440
Sister, Ah, they're here hanging out. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure
602
00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:07.679
they would like each other. They sounded like they're two
603
00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:11.519
of a kind, like fun people that you know, like
604
00:42:11.719 --> 00:42:19.320
popular fun you know, Oh yeah that would Oh gals, Well,
605
00:42:19.519 --> 00:42:20.800
my sister's name is Michelle.
606
00:42:20.920 --> 00:42:22.199
Michelle. That's right.
607
00:42:22.400 --> 00:42:28.000
Yeah, okay, So that was kind of an interesting thing
608
00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:31.800
and very touching to me. And your words are actually
609
00:42:31.840 --> 00:42:34.599
in this book, this is your newer book, The Jerry's
610
00:42:34.639 --> 00:42:39.559
Jewels and Gems. I had earmarked so many things in
611
00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:43.880
this book because it was just one one inspiration after another,
612
00:42:43.880 --> 00:42:46.199
which is why you wrote. I mean, it was basically
613
00:42:46.199 --> 00:42:47.920
an inspirational column.
614
00:42:48.480 --> 00:42:55.679
You know. I wrote Flibility Magazine after they interviewed me
615
00:42:56.599 --> 00:43:02.119
on my push book and the the editor was so
616
00:43:02.440 --> 00:43:04.960
impressed with my writing he asked me if I would
617
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:10.800
write for Ability Wow, And he wanted comedic step in
618
00:43:10.920 --> 00:43:15.000
there because it was so heavy everything was on disability,
619
00:43:15.039 --> 00:43:19.400
and he thought my comedy would balance it. And there
620
00:43:19.480 --> 00:43:21.320
was a lot of comedy in my writing.
621
00:43:21.480 --> 00:43:24.320
You always put funny stuff in, but yeah, I throwed
622
00:43:24.400 --> 00:43:25.079
in yeah.
623
00:43:25.119 --> 00:43:33.440
Yeah. But in twenty twenty, when we had the lockdown
624
00:43:33.719 --> 00:43:38.760
with COVID and everybody was just up and on with
625
00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:42.480
where we're going and what we're doing, it was a
626
00:43:42.599 --> 00:43:47.760
depressing time. And I remember reading my columns. I thought,
627
00:43:47.840 --> 00:43:53.519
oh my god, those columns I wrote then I needed
628
00:43:53.679 --> 00:43:58.199
more now than they actually were when I wrote them.
629
00:43:58.320 --> 00:44:02.559
So I went to the editor and I asked him
630
00:44:02.840 --> 00:44:06.599
if I could please use those to close in a book,
631
00:44:06.960 --> 00:44:12.559
and he gave me his blessings and can signed me
632
00:44:12.679 --> 00:44:17.000
off and said, okay. Oh, and I'm like, this book
633
00:44:17.320 --> 00:44:19.360
is so needed today.
634
00:44:20.039 --> 00:44:22.039
Today in twenty twenty five, it's needed.
635
00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:24.280
Yeah, it's needed even more.
636
00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:29.079
Even more because what's this, I mean we could launch
637
00:44:29.119 --> 00:44:34.440
into that the weird decimation of DEI people don't understand,
638
00:44:34.840 --> 00:44:39.360
if I may say my own editorial here, diversity, equity,
639
00:44:39.559 --> 00:44:45.440
inclusion includes disability, yep. And that's that's what we're trying
640
00:44:45.480 --> 00:44:48.400
to get rid of, is trying to make room for
641
00:44:48.519 --> 00:44:52.840
people who are in any way different in any way.
642
00:44:53.519 --> 00:44:57.599
You know something that we're afraid of, and here you are.
643
00:44:58.360 --> 00:45:05.559
You know anyway that the fear I have and I
644
00:45:05.599 --> 00:45:08.719
think many people do, and there's lots of evidence for it,
645
00:45:08.840 --> 00:45:14.559
is we're seeing the decimation of science, the decimation of education,
646
00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:18.320
the decimation of things that you know. Of finance right
647
00:45:18.360 --> 00:45:21.320
now is you know our stock market and the dollar
648
00:45:21.400 --> 00:45:24.159
value going down. I mean, we're seeing a lot of
649
00:45:24.199 --> 00:45:29.000
stuff happening in this country, like it's being self inflicted
650
00:45:29.960 --> 00:45:33.079
and we're doing this to our own people. And I
651
00:45:33.239 --> 00:45:36.920
was so I think that a book with these words,
652
00:45:36.960 --> 00:45:41.800
these words are even more important today. In fact, there
653
00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:43.920
was one thing I wrote from this book, if you
654
00:45:43.960 --> 00:45:47.239
don't mind me saying, you wrote that the real crippling
655
00:45:47.320 --> 00:45:53.159
disabilities in life are disabilities of the spirit, hatred, envy, prejudice,
656
00:45:53.280 --> 00:46:00.960
loss of faith, bullying, despair, deception, hypocrisy, greed, and false pride.
657
00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:03.079
And I firmally stand behind that.
658
00:46:04.960 --> 00:46:07.760
Yeah, no, in the book has many You're exactly right.
659
00:46:07.800 --> 00:46:10.320
And in fact, you wrote very honestly in this book
660
00:46:10.320 --> 00:46:13.559
because you wrote about your own fears, your own different things,
661
00:46:14.719 --> 00:46:18.239
and it was it was really nice because it's inspirational
662
00:46:18.239 --> 00:46:20.840
because I again, I had this experience where I kept
663
00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:24.559
seeing myself in this you know, like, oh, yeah, I agree,
664
00:46:24.639 --> 00:46:25.199
I see that.
665
00:46:26.159 --> 00:46:26.400
Well.
666
00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:30.599
You know, Norman later and I were very close and
667
00:46:30.800 --> 00:46:33.039
he wrote the followed for this book.
668
00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:35.480
Yes he did, and that was.
669
00:46:35.400 --> 00:46:38.280
His last gift to me at a hundred years old.
670
00:46:38.320 --> 00:46:42.760
He Oh my god, the followed for me. Wow, Wow,
671
00:46:44.320 --> 00:46:46.360
that's incredible. Jerry.
672
00:46:46.840 --> 00:46:51.960
I feel so blessed and I miss him. I miss
673
00:46:52.039 --> 00:46:59.039
Norman so much cause he was so close to me
674
00:47:00.719 --> 00:47:05.159
and he called me we FaceTime. It was just like
675
00:47:05.239 --> 00:47:08.119
he was my buddy. He was like a trurogate dad
676
00:47:08.159 --> 00:47:08.400
to me.
677
00:47:09.119 --> 00:47:13.239
Yeah, I can see that. He seemed like a genuinely
678
00:47:13.320 --> 00:47:16.360
good soul and really wanted to make a difference in
679
00:47:16.400 --> 00:47:16.880
the world.
680
00:47:17.039 --> 00:47:18.639
He was and he did.
681
00:47:18.880 --> 00:47:23.840
Yeah. Yeah, And Brian, you don't know he had. He
682
00:47:23.880 --> 00:47:26.960
didn't just have Facts of Life. He had major television shows.
683
00:47:27.079 --> 00:47:30.519
Mad All in the Family. I can't admit it was
684
00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:32.440
the Jeffersons on one of his shows.
685
00:47:32.519 --> 00:47:36.159
Yeah, oh right, I love that show.
686
00:47:37.480 --> 00:47:44.960
I'm Coming Elizabeth. But yeah, yeah. He was an incredible producer,
687
00:47:45.159 --> 00:47:51.639
like he was talent. So yeah, and your books, if
688
00:47:51.679 --> 00:47:53.960
I can just say, I thought there was just too much.
689
00:47:54.320 --> 00:47:56.519
We don't have much time, but I wanted to say
690
00:47:56.559 --> 00:47:59.559
some of the other things. You had so much wisdom
691
00:47:59.599 --> 00:48:03.559
in your book. But two standout statements in your I'm
692
00:48:03.559 --> 00:48:06.159
Walking as Straight as I Can book, which I love,
693
00:48:07.639 --> 00:48:13.400
which has so many meanings. I love that. But you
694
00:48:13.559 --> 00:48:17.000
said there's no there should be no shame in asking
695
00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:21.119
for help. Rather shame is not asking for it instead
696
00:48:21.280 --> 00:48:26.679
and giving up. Yeah, I love that. And when you
697
00:48:26.719 --> 00:48:29.480
were talking you were on Phil Donahue. You know, I
698
00:48:29.480 --> 00:48:31.760
won't go into that, but you are on Phil Donahue
699
00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:35.679
promoting a book you didn't write, and you were there reluctantly.
700
00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:37.639
You did not want to be there, you say, I
701
00:48:37.679 --> 00:48:41.400
did not. And he apparently read the book ir like,
702
00:48:41.639 --> 00:48:45.719
earmarked everything and was ready to ask you all these questions.
703
00:48:46.480 --> 00:48:49.320
But you pointed out the cover of the book said
704
00:48:49.760 --> 00:48:53.039
a warm, fuzzy, moving account of a woman's rise to
705
00:48:53.079 --> 00:48:58.239
stardom and triumph over cerebral palsy. And you you said,
706
00:48:58.880 --> 00:49:02.280
it's not about and then you personally said, it's not
707
00:49:02.400 --> 00:49:06.960
about overcoming a disability, but learning to accept it so
708
00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:08.920
that you can live life to the fullest.
709
00:49:09.239 --> 00:49:11.360
Yes, that sounds like me.
710
00:49:11.760 --> 00:49:15.920
Which is brilliant, which is which is you know? That's
711
00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:18.280
that's absolutely it right there.
712
00:49:18.440 --> 00:49:22.599
So that was great, And I still have to honor
713
00:49:22.719 --> 00:49:27.239
my own wisdom on a daily basis. Today's world is
714
00:49:27.400 --> 00:49:28.679
very hard for all of us.
715
00:49:29.800 --> 00:49:35.079
It is hard. I'm afraid if I don't, you know,
716
00:49:35.239 --> 00:49:38.039
I I know I shouldn't perhaps say that. I'm concerned,
717
00:49:38.119 --> 00:49:44.559
maybe concerned, deeply concerned. And I hope that we can
718
00:49:44.599 --> 00:49:48.760
make the world. I hope we wake up and you know,
719
00:49:48.960 --> 00:49:51.719
to go to understand we need to support all of
720
00:49:51.760 --> 00:49:53.760
our people everyone.
721
00:49:54.800 --> 00:50:00.119
I do too. I just you know, I spent a
722
00:50:00.199 --> 00:50:07.559
lash weekend watching movies, and I watched the judgment of Numberg. Oh, JESUMBOO.
723
00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:12.280
I watched what was the other one? And here the
724
00:50:12.360 --> 00:50:19.440
wind oh, and I just followed all the dialogue and
725
00:50:19.480 --> 00:50:22.519
I realized that, oh my god, here we are again.
726
00:50:22.639 --> 00:50:28.440
Here we are again. Yeah, maybe not the best thing
727
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:31.159
that we're here again.
728
00:50:31.760 --> 00:50:34.920
Well, the truth of the matter is it was never gone.
729
00:50:35.440 --> 00:50:38.320
That is the truth. The other truth is the hope
730
00:50:38.400 --> 00:50:42.599
I have, Jerry, is that we got through it before. Yes,
731
00:50:42.639 --> 00:50:45.079
we did, and we triumphed. You know, it's a little
732
00:50:45.239 --> 00:50:47.360
like going back to the beginning of your life that
733
00:50:47.440 --> 00:50:51.119
you you were going to push through and live no
734
00:50:51.239 --> 00:50:51.679
matter what.
735
00:50:52.039 --> 00:50:52.320
Yep.
736
00:50:52.840 --> 00:50:56.199
And you know that little spirit in that little body
737
00:50:56.280 --> 00:51:02.119
that just said no, no, not today, death, God, I'm
738
00:51:02.159 --> 00:51:05.760
going forward, and you know, kept pushing in all the
739
00:51:05.800 --> 00:51:09.840
adversity that you've had to face and all the uphill battles,
740
00:51:10.159 --> 00:51:14.280
and yet you've still triumphed. And that's that's an incredible gift.
741
00:51:14.440 --> 00:51:18.199
Well, that's what we all have to do. Yes, And
742
00:51:18.320 --> 00:51:21.719
I'm not gonna say it's easy because but it isn't
743
00:51:21.719 --> 00:51:26.280
easy for me. No, I read my own book sometimes.
744
00:51:26.280 --> 00:51:28.960
Oh yeah, that's why.
745
00:51:30.719 --> 00:51:38.599
It is good to remind ourselves of our own selves sometimes. Yeah,
746
00:51:38.679 --> 00:51:41.119
and you also wrote, Yeah, if we really listen and
747
00:51:41.239 --> 00:51:44.159
accept one another, we can grow and evolve into better
748
00:51:44.239 --> 00:51:45.039
human beings.
749
00:51:45.320 --> 00:51:47.679
Yes, that is true.
750
00:51:47.840 --> 00:51:50.000
That's where I learned all my lessons from other people.
751
00:51:51.360 --> 00:51:56.039
It's true too, I've been very blessed with amazing teachers
752
00:51:56.079 --> 00:52:02.480
in life. And even though I'm hearing impered and I've
753
00:52:03.400 --> 00:52:07.840
I've missed a lot of steps. Intuitively, I think I
754
00:52:07.960 --> 00:52:10.960
grasp on to a lot more than I even hear.
755
00:52:11.320 --> 00:52:17.920
Yes, well, thank you Jerry, I thank you Jerry Jewele.
756
00:52:18.960 --> 00:52:22.679
It's incredible having you, and I'm glad that we did
757
00:52:22.719 --> 00:52:25.960
get back together. And if we're going back to everything
758
00:52:26.039 --> 00:52:29.480
happens for a reason. Maybe it was for that reason
759
00:52:29.719 --> 00:52:33.239
to help guide me through the loss of my own sister,
760
00:52:34.039 --> 00:52:36.920
because you played a role in that, you know, an
761
00:52:37.280 --> 00:52:43.599
unintentional one, but it was very You were very helpful process.
762
00:52:45.360 --> 00:52:48.159
Thank you, And I would love to come back and
763
00:52:48.599 --> 00:52:49.800
do this again with you.
764
00:52:49.920 --> 00:52:50.039
Oh.
765
00:52:50.079 --> 00:52:53.039
I love that, I really would. Yeah, because it was
766
00:52:53.559 --> 00:52:54.239
too short.
767
00:52:54.519 --> 00:52:57.280
I know, we didn't get to a lot of stuff.
768
00:52:57.320 --> 00:53:00.159
I know we didn't, but thank you for being here.
769
00:53:00.159 --> 00:53:01.360
I really appreciate you coming.
770
00:53:01.480 --> 00:53:03.320
Thank you, thank you for having me.
771
00:53:03.519 --> 00:53:05.320
Thank you, thank you.
772
00:53:05.719 --> 00:53:05.880
Well.
773
00:53:05.920 --> 00:53:08.199
That brings us to the end of the show. A
774
00:53:08.280 --> 00:53:11.639
reminder to like, subscribe, give us five stars. Also links
775
00:53:11.679 --> 00:53:14.119
to this Well, we don't have any studies today. I
776
00:53:14.159 --> 00:53:16.880
have links to Jerry's books. I will have links to
777
00:53:16.960 --> 00:53:22.679
your website, your books, everything in the YouTube links. So
778
00:53:22.679 --> 00:53:25.599
if you go to YouTube dot com forward slash doctor
779
00:53:25.639 --> 00:53:29.480
Greg of this video, it'll have the links. Also, if
780
00:53:29.559 --> 00:53:32.119
you have questions or topics you likes to cover, hit
781
00:53:32.199 --> 00:53:35.079
us up on the socials at ask Doctor Greg. This
782
00:53:35.199 --> 00:53:39.679
is doctor Greg, Brian Noah and the incredible Jerry Jewel
783
00:53:40.159 --> 00:53:44.639
bidding you farewell. Until next time. Be present, be flexible,
784
00:53:44.840 --> 00:53:45.599
and be kind.