Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Stan.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: And I'm Shen.
[00:00:03] Speaker A: And each week we bring you the Stan and Shen Show.
And each week, we talk about fun things through our travels throughout the capital region. We touch on food, we touch on news, try to touch heavily on good news. And Shen's always available with hot takes.
[00:00:20] Speaker B: Yeah. So if you could follow along and listen to us every week on DailyGazette.com or on all major streaming platforms, we'd love to have you join us.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: All right, we're back in the podcast studio. Take two for Stan.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: It's you. You messed it up again.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: Did I?
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:00:40] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:00:41] Speaker C: That's why I think you just say.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: Good morning, good afternoon, good day.
[00:00:44] Speaker A: Good day.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Yeah, it's usually just the three. The four is too much.
[00:00:48] Speaker C: Stan, it's Monday.
[00:00:49] Speaker A: Well, you're. We're doing this on a Monday. I think that's half the problem. Usually we're like, Wednesday.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: So have you not had enough caffeine? Where's your coffee?
[00:00:55] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Where is my coffee?
[00:00:59] Speaker A: See, I knew this was going to happen. So there's a whole writer thing that she's supposed to have coffee for every podcast, but I didn't know what the coffee order was for our guests, so therefore.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: Okay, that's fine.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: We all went without coffee.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: It's appropriate. It's fine.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: We all have water, and that may be what's.
[00:01:14] Speaker B: There's definitely water in my cup. I just want to note that there's water in my cup.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: I did witness.
[00:01:19] Speaker B: He witnessed me fill it up.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: Did.
[00:01:21] Speaker C: So.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: Unless they've changed the tank to something else. There's water.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: Are you ready? Are we fully started here?
[00:01:29] Speaker A: We are.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: Oh, okay. So on today's podcast episode, we have Carmel, Patrick, and. Oh, my God, I just blanked on your name. Jackie Clue.
Good Lord. We're have to do a take three soon. I should have got Jackie Clue from Schenectady Shares, which is leading the way with Schneider, Connecticut County's food pantry operation.
And what a month it has been. What, a year, What, a couple years?
[00:01:56] Speaker C: That's for sure.
[00:01:57] Speaker A: Within a month.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Yeah, it's been a month within the week and a year within the month.
[00:02:03] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:02:04] Speaker B: Like, for you guys. So, yeah. Do you want to give us a little bit about just what Schenectady Shares is and what exactly you guys do in the county? Sure.
[00:02:12] Speaker C: Schenectady Shares. We started it back In, I think 2023 was our first Schenectady Shares food drive, and that's what we do. So starting in January we kick off a food drive that now, in 2025, we had over 60 sites throughout Schenectady county collecting food for us. Every week we go out and collect the food from each of these sites. We come back to the daily bread food pantry at St. Luke's sort the food with probably like 20 volunteers into, you know, here's all the soups, here's all the pasta products. And then it gets sorted into boxes and delivered out to the over 20 pantries, food providers, I should say, throughout Schenectady county. So in 2025, we collected over 26,000 pounds of food.
We also had corporate and individual donations of over $26,000. And the money that we collect goes directly back out to food providers in the county as well, so that they can purchase food from the regional food bank, which really gives them a lot.
[00:03:22] Speaker D: More food bank accounts. Yep.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: This is really just a quite a large operation that you guys have been running the last couple of years, I think. I actually covered your very first of press conference back in 2023 inside of the pantry, and we were all in sort of a tight room. It was actually a decent showing of people there, which was great to see.
But I remember you guys kicking off the campaign and then, you know, immediately show. Immediately showing us around the food pantry and like, all the shelves and the organization that needs to happen. And just there's a lot of moving parts to this and. And even more so recently.
So, yeah, Jackie, maybe you want to talk a little bit about just what's been recently where things currently stand. I know you guys have extended this year's campaign, so if you want to talk about that a little bit.
[00:04:15] Speaker D: Yeah, we've been hearing from a number of food pantries that weren't able to open because they ran out of food.
So they've been coming to Lukin St. Luke's and I've been giving them food, just, you know, making a spreadsheet for what we give them. We send them out, and we reimburse the pantry through Schenectady Shares, because that's what Schenectady Shares was built to do.
We were built as a hub, as a clearinghouse for all the pantries when they run into some. Whatever problem they run into to troubleshoot those problems with them.
[00:04:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I guess I'll piggyback on what Jackie just said that when we first started.
I do want to say this was the brainchild of Dave Bouck, a former city council person who approached us and said this would be a great idea for you guys to do this, get a big truck, and on a Saturday, we'll fill the truck with food, a tractor trailer filled with food.
And that will be Schenectady shares. And so another person who also was involved with helping start it, Camille Sosnowski, said, well, let's go to St. Luke's because they have this very large food pantry. So we contacted Jackie. That was when Jackie and I met. And Jackie and her colleague Mike Clark said, there's no way that we could take a tractor trailer full of food on one day and get it out.
A big waste of. A waste of time, a waste of food. So that's how we evolved into this, you know, kickoff in January. We run through the second week in February, and it works. And what I want to say about it also is it's all volunteer. By the way, Jackie is also a volunteer, all the people that are at the pantry, which is sort of amazing because she works, like, 24, seven over there.
But that's really been what I consider one of the kind of heartwarming pieces of this, is it's all volunteer. And when we get together, we have teams of students from Union College, we have people that bring their grandchildren in to help us sort the food. So we have young kids. We have, you know, all the police come over on the Saturdays to help us sort the food. The fire department helps collect the food every week from all these, you know, sites.
So it has become. There's people from all walks of life that are together as Schenectady shares volunteers. And that's been really fun. I mean, I've gotten to know so many more people.
We were able to just recruit, I think, because of our network. The people that kind of started the program, the folks that we knew, we just all reached out to different people that were in our networks, and it has exploded in terms of volunteerism.
And that's, you know, we actually use the tagline neighbors helping neighbors as part of what we do, and you can't beat that, you know, So I don't know, Jackie, you want to say a little bit about just everything that's been happening nationally and how it's been affecting you. And I'll come back with. And that's why it's so important that we have all these local players doing what they need to do. For Schenectady County, I think probably one.
[00:07:25] Speaker D: Of the biggest changes was the billion dollars that was cut from the usda. USDA used to send trucks to all the regional food banks, and it was free stuff. It generally tended to be you could get fish.
I remember one year they had shrimp. I mean, and you got all this food and you were able to feed your people without breaking the bank.
Now, like this past week when I was finalizing my order, There were only 90 items to choose from at the regional.
I brought in 25 cases of corn last week just for my pantry and our Mount Pleasant site. And I've got about eight cases left that I couldn't get anymore.
You know, so it's, it's, it's a crapshoot. You don't know what you'll be able to get. And that's why I think pantries are running out, because they get what they can, but they still have certain core things that everybody wants. And when they run out, they don't have a choice but to come to another pantry that might actually have something for them. So that's been a huge change.
That cut really hurt the food banks. And all the pantries rely on the food banks.
I know the county of Schenectady has stepped in. They've made $100,000 donation for the program, as has the Schenectady Foundation.
They gave us the business center. Actually, my name's on the lease and I hold the insurance so that we will have a central location to store the food that we collect and food that, you know, sometimes you'll get a truck and it will be turned away because it was too late or whatever. And they will call the pantries and try to find a place so the food doesn't go bad.
So the intent is, I think Gary told me what we have like four rooms, a loading dock. We're going to write a few grants and get refrigeration and freezers in there, because a lot of times that's the stuff that comes over and nobody has the space. I mean, I have a 10 by 12 foot walk in freezer that the.
[00:09:26] Speaker C: County donated years ago bought for us. Yeah.
[00:09:29] Speaker D: So they are fully invested in taking care of their citizens. And I tell you, it's nice to see because not everybody does that.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: I have to echo that. I mean, Gary Hughes in particular has just been.
They've really gotten it. They really understand. And I don't know if that's because we've done a good job of getting out there promotionally or just obviously the county oversees the Department of Social Services, the Department of Public Health. So they really get it in terms of sort of the crisis that's happening in our community around this. And I think, I guess I also want to say, and I was joking earlier, but Jackie really has roped a lot of us into actually doing hands on work at the pantry year round.
So, you know, just want to know.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: Because nobody can see it, that Jackie's pointing back right at you.
So I don't know. I think you guys are sharing a shared responsibility here.
[00:10:26] Speaker C: But you know, it really has been. And several of us, I mean, so there's myself, Doreen Detouro, who's also on city council.
Mike Aragoza, who has been part of the Glenville town board and is now Schenectady County Ledge. We're the co chairs of Schenectady Shares. And it has really been important in terms of even educating us as elected leaders as to what needs to happen, what needs to be done. Why are you laughing now?
[00:10:54] Speaker D: I'm remembering the first time I took you into my pantry after the truck fed. And you're all standing there and I'm educating them. They're going to never saw such blank faces in my entire life. They had no clue. They just knew we needed to get food to people, but they had no idea how anything worked.
[00:11:15] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:11:15] Speaker D: And I'm talking to them and they're.
[00:11:17] Speaker C: All, we've learned so much. And again, especially because of being so hands on. And as Jackie mentioned, the Mount Pleasant pantry. So we started out, we're just going to do this food drive, right?
We realized really soon that we had this ability to make this big impact because of the people that were brought around our table as volunteers. And so we started thinking, what else can we do? We want to be year round. We don't want to just be January and February. We started January and February because we knew, like I've volunteered in the, in the hunger arena for my entire adult life. And we knew that once the holidays were over, you know, the holidays, people, that's their first thing. We're going to donate to, you know, something for Thanksgiving. We're gonna donate to fill pantries for the holidays. After the holidays, we all knew that the shelves could be bare and that's why we, why we chose that. But the Mount Pleasant we also learned early on, again, I think there's 23 food providers right now. Changes right now, I think there's 23 food providers in Schenectady County.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: That's a lot, right?
[00:12:24] Speaker C: But we recognized that there wasn't a food pantry in Mount Pleasant.
And so we, okay, we're going to open a food pantry in Mount Pleasant. And again, we're just all doers, right? I mean we're definitely Roll up our sleeves. Kinds of people. And so we located the space, which is over at Holy Name of Jesus Church. We're only open there on Monday afternoons from 3 to 6. But we got equipment donated, we got shelving donated.
And Jackie was able to expand her purchasing from the regional food bank. We had an initial grant. I can't remember how much money, but that helped us purchase that first load of food.
Mike Aragoza, actually is the site coordinator. Yes, he is from Mount Pleasant, so it's kind of become his baby on Mondays under Jackie's leadership, of course.
But that's just one piece of the puzzle. And this other idea of out of the gate, we thought we can be providing technical assistance as well. So Jackie has really taken on that. I mean, she has, I don't know, decades. I can't remember how many years of experience.
[00:13:29] Speaker D: Enough.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: We won't age Jackie.
[00:13:33] Speaker C: So she. That's important too, you know, so that if a pantry is struggling with something or if they have questions or if they need to know a best practice. We've brought pantries together now to share a luncheon at St. Luke's and we bring in a speaker so that we can all meet and talk and share around best practices, around challenges. Because, you know, we're trying to break down silos as well.
And I will shut up in a second. But I do want to say what this has evolved into now is that in Schenectady county, every day of the week, there's a food provider open, because the Guyanese Community center, when they opened, I think last year, they opened a food pantry, and they're open on Sunday afternoons.
We're open. Well, we got a grant that expanded us into Saturdays, which we need more money now for that. So we have to do some more work to continue being open on Saturdays. But every day of the week, and folks are using all those pantries, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Tell them about what you do as a people's choice pantry and how many days of food and that kind of thing.
[00:14:42] Speaker D: Well, when there was EFNs, which has been.
[00:14:45] Speaker C: What does E stand for?
[00:14:46] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:14:47] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:14:47] Speaker D: Emergency food.
Emergency Food and shelter.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: I will always be here as the dumbest guy in the room.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: I think Carmel's taken over the podcast.
Sorry.
[00:14:57] Speaker C: They're using me to do.
[00:14:59] Speaker D: There used to be an EFS program that has been eliminated this year, along with a lot of other things, but an EFNS program had to be open more than three days a week.
[00:15:09] Speaker C: And.
[00:15:12] Speaker D: New York State's health Department has requirements.
And you have to feed everybody that comes to your door three meals times three days. So you have to have a minimum of nine meals for every person that comes to your door.
It's built around a half plate initiative, which was fruits and vegetables should make up half your plate, then your proteins and your carbohydrates. So there's a lot of wonky kind of stuff that goes with this.
But so our pantry, we don't do boxes. We don't give you what we want you to have.
You're encouraged to call us before 9 in the morning. I have a bank of callers. She's one of.
And. Yeah, well, it gives them the opportunity to talk to the people in the county of Schenectady. And for a politician, what could be better than that? No, seriously.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:04] Speaker C: Well, I think she means it because I'm learning, not because I'm trying to get votes.
[00:16:07] Speaker D: So she'll be in my office at the treasurer's desk because the treasurer doesn't work on Saturdays. She's lucky I'm not.
And I'll be listening to her make her calls. And I'll be thinking, she's giving away the store because that's all the callers. We give away 10 meals to every person that comes to our door.
We call them back and. And we have a long list of what we have every day. And they get to choose what they will eat for us. That's the only way that is correct. That's the correct way to do it because it provides respect and allows them their dignity.
I'm not gonna tell you you gotta have these four jars of peanut butter because I have a bunch of it. Oh, you have a peanut butter allergy. I'm so sorry, we don't do that.
We think it's very important not just to nourish the body, but to help people feel like they matter. And sometimes they come to our doors and they can't even look at us. Their heads are down like this.
And that's probably the hardest thing for all of us is when we see that kind of shame.
Because, you know, we're all made differently. Some people are strong and can work, and other people weren't gifted in the ways that make work easy.
And then immigrants, they came here. We asked them to come to Schenectady from down in Queens, remember?
And because they're immigrants, they come 30, 40 years old. They never get to earn the points to get Social Security when they retire. There is no retirement. They weren't here long enough and able to work to earn those points. So we see multigenerational households everywhere, three and four generations of people all living together, just trying to hold it together.
[00:17:54] Speaker C: And that's. I mean, so Jackie's pantry, the daily bread, is called a people's choice pantry.
And as she said, they choose. We have. When I'm calling, I have to look at how many people are in the household. So if there's 11 people in a household, I can see that, oh, they have this many points for fruits and vegetables. They have this many points for grains, they have this many points. Points for protein. And so now I look at the list of what is in the pantry that day, and I go through it with them. So I'll be like, okay, today for fresh vegetables, I have celery and romaine lettuce. And, you know, and do you want the fresh vegetables and fruits? They can get as many as they want from us for that. Everything else has to go along these points. So she's right. Like, even she was away this weekend, and I was calling on Saturday and I was like, yeah, you can have that whole chicken.
Yeah, you're a few points over, but that's okay.
You know, we're going to do it. And actually I do that because I know, actually the person who was volunteering in her place on Saturday said to me, you know, Jackie would give them whatever they want. So you just go ahead. If you're a few points over, you just go ahead because Jackie would do the exact same. So you were present. Even though you weren't sitting in your office, you were present with.
[00:19:14] Speaker D: That's the job I started at.
The person who ran this before was Mary Jane Smith. She. She had it for all her life. Basically. It started in her home.
So this pantry is 40, 44 years old, I believe.
And she, she. I just, she was going. I was taking people over to Ireland. Okay. Because I go to Ireland as frequently as I can go.
[00:19:40] Speaker C: She's a big time Hibernian. Lady Hibernian.
[00:19:43] Speaker A: Sorry, we talked about that. Good thing I have a beep. She's Irish.
[00:19:49] Speaker D: You're good, smart man.
[00:19:51] Speaker B: That beep is because of me, by the way.
[00:19:52] Speaker D: But anyway, I just went to her off. She asked me if I would take American money and turn it into euros. I said, sure. I went. A couple days later, I came back with euros. She says, I'm really strapped today. Do you think you could make some calls? Boom, that was it.
[00:20:05] Speaker C: And then that's what she did to us. So now you have all these Schenecte shares Volunteers that actually also work at the pantry. And it's, it's spectacular, really. It really is.
It means a lot to me. I mean, I actually would be doing it full time if I, if I could, if I had that time. Because, you know, you just see the need. You see the need. And the folks, most of our folks are working.
You know, let's dispel some myths.
[00:20:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I was going to say, let's, let's put out some things here. Yeah, yeah.
[00:20:37] Speaker C: People are working. They're working more than one job.
It's just tough. They can't make ends meet.
[00:20:43] Speaker D: You know, we used to call them the working poor. The people who work. Usually it's about 30 hours, because at 30 hours you don't have to give benefits to anybody.
So you're working 30 hours a week.
You're going home, managing your three children and trying to get them ready for school the next day. And you're, you know, your rent. You're now paying $1,300 for a three bedroom flat. I mean, I don't know how people survive. I really don't.
You know, I'm basically retired. I retired years ago and then I walked in and. To change Euros.
[00:21:16] Speaker B: Well, I mean, and I know Stan and I, you know, we talked about this quite a bit post the distribution at SUNY Schenectady.
I told him, like, you know, Jason had me out there that night doing some social media for the downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp's Facebook page. And the next Friday, I had to turn off notifications because I could not stand the amount of hate that was in our comment section. And I just, I could not battle with these people because there is, sometimes there's just no arguing with people. Like immediately started with, those are some nice cars that people have out there.
And I'm just like. And I was like, let me just put this out there. You can have the nicest car in the world and, and need food. You don't know what someone's going through on a day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year basis. I said, there are a lot of federal workers who aren't working right now. There are so many people for so many reasons who need help. You should not judge someone based off of where they live, what they drive, how they dress. It is just like, you know, I'm one of those people. I'm a no questions asked kind of person. I think everybody should have food. I don't care.
I wholeheartedly believe that if someone stole food from me, I would not care. I, I would be like, okay, they're hungry, they need it.
And it's just like, that's the part I don't think people are understanding.
[00:22:34] Speaker D: Well, the things.
Occasionally I've had new volunteers who say, well, look at that car they're driving. Do they really need to be here? Guess what? Four weeks ago, she was happily married with her four children and her husband. Today he's gone. She's left with the bills and all she's got is that darn car to get her to be able to get food for her and her children.
So before you judge, you really need to walk in someone's shoes. And if you can't, then you have no right to open your mouth.
[00:23:03] Speaker C: Well, I will say also because so now the Schenectady foundation started the Schenectady County Food Council. Are you still on that steering committee.
[00:23:10] Speaker D: Or the advocate group?
[00:23:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:23:12] Speaker C: Oh yeah, we're both on the advocacy group for that.
I remember going to a speak out that they had and one of the folks that is still involved with them, she stood at the mic and she said, you know, first I have to pay my rent and then I have to worry about my utilities and then I have to worry about gas because, because I have to get to work. I need my car because I have to get to work. So that then ultimately whatever's left, maybe I'm going to have money for food.
But I. It just, you know, it just came home to me and I saw those comments on, on the Facebook that you're taught that you're talking about and it, I had to like hold myself back.
[00:23:59] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:59] Speaker C: There was a lot from not responding because it is sort of a lose, lose. Right. I mean, people are going to argue you to death.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: Yeah. And thank you to those who did get in our comment section and did argue back and like did point out these things because it does truly matter. But it's also just like one of those things that can get, you know, day in and day out when you're arguing this all the time with people who just won't listen, it is very tiresome. And at some point you just gotta be like, you know what? Nothing's gonna change their mind until it happens to them. And I hope to God it doesn't. But some it might.
[00:24:29] Speaker D: Your life can change on the drop.
[00:24:32] Speaker C: Of a dime, that's for sure.
[00:24:33] Speaker D: You know, I was married for many years. We had four children.
And I used to open up the computer bank at Kmart. I was the pricing manager.
And one morning my husband called me about 7:30 and I said, what's wrong? He said, we had a fire.
I said, okay, did kids get out? I got him out, but we've lost everything.
[00:24:59] Speaker B: Well, I know that the county has saw what you guys have done. And so I like. Because I know I want to end on some happier notes here.
[00:25:08] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: So the happier side of it.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: I had one question, but that's okay.
[00:25:11] Speaker B: Oh, go ahead, Stan. Sorry, we jump in, Stan. You got Stan. We took this over. We did. Ladies, run.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: This is now the Shen podcast. I just run the board, which is nothing, nothing new if you've ever listened to us before. So one thing, and we've had conversations about this. We had a really heartfelt conversation on the last podcast about the whole SNAP crisis and things like that and what it means to different people. It means different things to different people.
So one thing that I want to share, but on my end, it's embarrassing, but I hope it ends up being heartwarming and I don't get crushed for this, but we came here at the same time. We were both here about five years.
So literally, I came on weeks before COVID hit.
I was sitting next to the education reporter. And I've spent the last 20.
I was 22 years up in Saratoga county, balls and spa, writing for Saratoga. So we're the demographics of Saratoga County. 99.7% white. It's Saratoga. You know, doctors and dentists is the running gag.
Covet hits. We start shutting down schools. So I'm a sports guy. That's what I know. I know soccer. Three, two. Somebody won. Somebody lost. Get two kids and a coach. My story's done. Life is very easy for me as a journalist at the time.
Education reporters hang out the phone and he starts going in, talking to Miles Reed and things like that. And he goes, how are they going to feed the kids?
[00:26:38] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: Stan sitting there as polish as the day is long, as dumb as a box of rocks.
And I have to ask, what are you talking about at that moment? Only because I came down to the Gazette did I get a first blast of what life is like outside my circle and my family. We're all up in Saratoga county, and we've all been very fortunate. I talk about that all the time.
But to then find out the mechanics and everything about how many kids don't eat if there's not school, that's absolutely right.
[00:27:17] Speaker C: I mean, if you. That summer lunch program, for example, that the Sycamore Collaborative runs, my Rotary Club volunteers at that every year. And I'LL never forget somebody saying that for some folks, when they pick up that meal from you at lunch, when they come back tomorrow, that's gonna be the next time that they eat. I mean, so I learned that really early on. And that's why, I mean, thank God, our school district, there's a lot of kids that are in summer school every year and thank God because they're getting still the meals that they get at school.
And that's really, really, it's just vital. I mean, they wouldn't have any food otherwise.
[00:27:56] Speaker D: But, you know, a good part of that was also cut away with the U.S.
they cut a lot of the school breakfast, lunch, program money.
[00:28:04] Speaker B: It's so frustrating to watch because, and I know I've talked to Stan about this is I was a kid who grew up in Syracuse, you know, I was a kid who got free school meals. I have. I've walked in these shoes. I know exactly.
It makes me cry every time I talk about it because it's just so frustrating.
Well, it's so frustrating. It's just so frustrating because people don't understand until they they've been a kid in like in the hard part. And the part that angers me most about this conversation that just really does not get across to people is like, kids don't get a choice here. No, kids don't get a choice. They don't get to choose who their parents are. They don't get to choose what their parents do with their life. They don't get to choose how their parents life impacts them. They don't get a choice. They are a kid in this situation. They deserve to be fed.
And that is just like bare minimum, like the least we can do with society is take care of children.
[00:28:58] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:28:59] Speaker D: Can you imagine being the mom and the dad of children and not know from day to day whether you're going to be able to feed them dinner tonight or not? Yeah. You work, but you don't make much and you work hard and you're tired when you get home and there's so much to be done to help your children and you still don't know if you're going to be able to feed them.
[00:29:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:19] Speaker C: What were you gonna. I interrupted you.
[00:29:21] Speaker A: No, you're fine. Thank you.
So again, that was so eye opening.
I left the office and I got on the phone tree to everybody who was near and dear to me. And Shen knows the entire family that I love dearly. And I'm like, guys, this is not the Bronx, this is not Detroit.
This is 15 minutes away from us.
And that energized our family and we love and we give in our own way. We always have and always did. But our life changed to recognize what's out there and find more opportunities and things like that.
So I'm so grateful for the opportunity to come to the Gazette because it was at the right time for me, but then also to be exposed list. I said I was in, you know, I was in the sports bubble, you know. So I'm so grateful for that opportunity. But to find that out and then become in tune to like the efforts that everybody, the schools went through and everybody went through to feed the kids at that point in time when that was a nationwide thing. And then we go fast forward five years later and we have our own self inflicted nationwide crisis with things like that.
How do you.
Is this part of this is my segue into this? I think is this one of the many reasons why it was so important that Schenectancy Shares became the ambassadors and, and talk about have you on the podcast and the things we're doing in our publication and the things Shen's doing with dsic because I know she's, you know, everything you guys are doing, she's promoting through dsic, through Facebook and Instagram and things like that and then also taking part.
So credit to the co host for being out there Texting me at 6:45 Saturday going, hey, you're gonna be near Saratoga. And I'm like, oh God.
[00:31:07] Speaker D: And then she's like, that was amazing.
[00:31:08] Speaker A: I'm at the food, I'm at the food day. I'm like, are you really? I'm like, I gotta be someplace. I gotta be someplace. I gotta be someplace. But I was thrilled that you know, walking the walk, you know, as a young person because she is half my age. It is birthday week, both of our birthdays.
[00:31:26] Speaker B: Oh really?
[00:31:27] Speaker C: Okay. Happy birthday.
[00:31:28] Speaker A: We share a week. We share a week.
[00:31:30] Speaker B: His is Friday and mine is next Monday.
[00:31:32] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:31:33] Speaker A: So we share that and we'll talk talk about that later.
There's, there's always riders with Shannon for birthdays and things like that. But her writer this year for her birthday is very special. But, but how important is it, you know when we take the. Like last year was the sketch the ambassador.
[00:31:51] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:31:51] Speaker A: Which are great group of people.
[00:31:52] Speaker C: Oh my gosh, they're fantastic.
[00:31:53] Speaker A: You know. But then this year like this decision was made before the debacle.
[00:31:59] Speaker D: Well, not.
[00:32:00] Speaker A: I mean, was it close enough that it concerned.
[00:32:04] Speaker D: I believe this decision by the county was made because they Saw the writing on the wall. They saw the cuts. They'd heard what was in the big beautiful bill and they, they.
[00:32:16] Speaker C: The big ugly bill. I'll say.
[00:32:18] Speaker D: Betrayal.
[00:32:18] Speaker A: The bug. Oh, betrayal. Yeah.
[00:32:20] Speaker D: And they knew. They knew this was coming. They knew something bad was going to happen. Did you know that every school in the district has a pantry now?
[00:32:29] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:32:29] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:32:30] Speaker C: Which is different from when we started Schenecte shares three years ago. I think only the community schools had.
[00:32:35] Speaker D: The pandemic and that three of those schools had a huge homeless population of children.
When in America did this ever, ever happen where our schools had to have pantries, washers and dryers and worry about whether those children were sleeping in their parents car tonight?
And this is the tip of the iceberg because we now understand that housing has become a huge problem.
He who knows if that's going to be around the heating assistance. The federal government is going to be able to provide Section 8 for the municipalities.
And then we go to health insurance. So we're going to have a population of underfed illustration, homeless people.
And it's very hard to reconcile the wealth of this nation with what we see all over this country. Whether it's a rural area, your insurance, your hospital can't afford to stay open, your family farm is failing because of tariffs. I mean, there's so many things that are going on. And I know the administration came in with high hopes that they could change things and make it better, but that's not what's happening now.
[00:33:56] Speaker C: So I'm gonna try to get us back to a little bit of joy. And by the way, this is what, you know, okay.
[00:34:02] Speaker B: I mean, Jackie, Jackie's not wrong in anything she said. And I, you know, I think that plays and that. I think that's why it's so important you guys were picked this year. And I think that plays into that. Just, you know, like you said, bringing it a little bit back to sort of the joy here is like, I think it just brings more recognition to really put you at the forefront of the largest nighttime parade in the Northeast.
The largest nighttime parade in the Northeast that will be live streamed on WTEN, so channel 10 and on the Daily Gazette's website. So, like it's going to be out there.
[00:34:36] Speaker C: Yeah. And we're very excited about that. And you know, again, I think that we're really proud that the work that we've done over the last few years has gained so much visibility so quickly that we were chosen to be the grand marshal. I mean, it really means a lot to all of us.
And at the same time, there is that, gosh, how could this be happening in our country right now?
But Jackie always says. I mean, when she talks about what we do at the food pantry. And Bruce Schenecte shares as well. But the idea that when you can have people. I should let you say this. Sitting around the table. Go ahead, you say it. It's your line. That's your line.
[00:35:18] Speaker D: But it means it's not always about the food.
[00:35:21] Speaker C: It's.
[00:35:22] Speaker D: Do you remember you growing up in the holidays, the whole family got together and you'd get to hang out and make fun of grandpa or all the things that we do as kids.
[00:35:31] Speaker A: That's why she invited herself into our day.
[00:35:34] Speaker B: I did.
[00:35:35] Speaker D: But how joyful it really was.
[00:35:37] Speaker A: She. She was taken back. She's not a hugger. This is. This is. If there's.
[00:35:41] Speaker B: I'm not.
[00:35:42] Speaker A: If there's any minus.
[00:35:43] Speaker B: Hugs are very special to me.
[00:35:45] Speaker A: So, you know, very late. And I'm like, really?
[00:35:48] Speaker C: Because I'm a big hugger.
[00:35:49] Speaker A: I'm like, get ready. I said, brace yourself.
[00:35:52] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:35:52] Speaker A: And so now she's adjusted.
[00:35:54] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:35:54] Speaker B: I have.
[00:35:55] Speaker C: So.
[00:35:55] Speaker D: But. But when you don't have food security, even after school, do you remember sitting. Coming home and sitting down around the table and telling your parents how school went to school and what you learned and what you didn't learn, how you got in trouble and they made you sit in the closet and play with the trucks?
Nuns. But you don't have that anymore. The family is breaking down because they don't even have the dinner table in some families. And it's becoming a bigger gap than ever before.
Less people. I mean, mom and dad are both working just to put food on the table, and a lot of times they can't do that. There's no time to sit as a family unit anymore. It's just.
[00:36:36] Speaker B: It's a.
[00:36:37] Speaker D: It's a breakdown in so many ways, but it's still centered around food.
[00:36:42] Speaker C: Yeah. I think that's why. I mean, again, we're always looking for volunteers. We could take as many volunteers that want to come and volunteer.
[00:36:50] Speaker B: We're gonna talk shares. I want to be deeply involved.
[00:36:53] Speaker C: Well, that. Believe me, you're talking to the right person about that.
But also the food pantry itself.
[00:36:59] Speaker B: I want to be.
I'm ready.
[00:37:01] Speaker C: We have all different volunteer roles at the food pantry, but there's lots that you can help us with.
Schenecte shares. But I just want to say that that is. Again, I mean, this is going to sound really silly, but I Mean, just the fact that, you know, a couple of, like, it's going to sound silly, but like one of the things that I learned just from doing the calling is so we always have box macaroni and cheese.
And I went in there and I thought, well, everybody's going to take boxed macaroni and cheese. I mean, who doesn't like box macaroni and cheese? Guess what?
I can tell that you know where I'm going, they don't have butter and milk. I never ever am giving away boxed macaroni and cheese. Nobody says yes to it because they don't have the milk and the cheese. So Jackie purchases Stuart's milk cards. Actually, we had gallons of milk the other day. I was so thrilled. But everybody takes the card. I mean, I'm like, take the card, take this.
They all want those milk cards.
[00:38:05] Speaker D: We used to carry butter all the time. We always had it. But now it's $111 for a case of butter.
That's a lot of money for a non food item.
So I mean, yes, we carry Mac and cheese because I think a lot of people say, I'll make Mac and cheese. And when they get home they say, crap, I don't have milk and I don't have butter. What am I going to do?
[00:38:26] Speaker C: Now they're using water. I mean, I definitely have talked to people at the pantry and they are using water instead of the milk and the butter.
[00:38:35] Speaker B: I've actually noticed a lot on social media, a lot of people making videos saying like, do you know this is. It's still a great item to give, don't get me wrong. But like, it's better if you give it and then you give this or like complete pancake mix because you don't need anything additionally with that except for water. Like these little things like that people don't realize, like instead of maybe buying Kraft Mac and cheese or the store brand, you're buying Velveeta or the store brand Velveeta because it's a packet of cheese that goes in there, it's a little bit easier. But even then, I mean like, there's like, you gotta really look at these things and be like, if I'm gonna do this, are there other things I need to buy? Like, or people talking about how like seasoning so hard to food pantries oils.
[00:39:18] Speaker C: That'S a good thing to donate our spices to food pantries. Actually though, again, donations, monetary donations, whether it's to us or to any of the pantries that are out there, any of the providers is the best thing that people really can do as opposed to the food, actually, because it she. You can buy so much more food.
[00:39:41] Speaker B: At the roots this year.
[00:39:43] Speaker C: What is it? Is it like for every dollar? It's like $4 worth of something like that.
[00:39:48] Speaker D: You know, it used to be big bang for small buck. Now it's more comparable because of the loss of the funding in so many different ways. And you have to remember, everybody carries the dry Mac and cheese because that's what you can purchase through the regional.
Now, the county has gotten really smart. Between the county and the Schenectady foundation, our first choice is going to be through the regional.
But Price Chopper is also going to become a provider to Schenectady shares for the hub.
And that's going to open up doors that we don't have right now and will take some of the pressure off the regional. They are supporting 23 counties through that food bank.
[00:40:33] Speaker C: Yeah. And actually, Mona Golov's been at our Schenectady show. She was the first person I called when we decided we wanted to do it. I called Mona and I said, hey, would you and Marie be the honorary co chairs? She said, what do we have to do? I said, I have no clue. I'm making this up as I'm talking to you, but I think that if you guys were at our table with us, it would just be great. And now Mona has got, you know, Mona got. So they've always done food. I mean, Price Chopper's always been, you know, part of the anti hunger advocacy work that happens in our community. But Mona got very, very invested very quickly and is part of our.
[00:41:10] Speaker D: Well, you know, she's one of what you call those, quote, good people, people who actually can see the forest through the trees. And not everybody can do that.
I know the last pantry meeting we had, she was talking about their initiative, their Snap bucks. You buy double Snap, they double up your fruits and vegetables if it's in the, you know, a raw state, not a processed state.
And that is a great program. It really is. I know a lot of people take their snap, go over and buy all the fruits and veggies they want, and they get as much in coupons back.
[00:41:45] Speaker C: Right, right.
[00:41:46] Speaker B: Yeah. And I just. I think this is a good segue to just come back to the whole, you know, your campaign of neighbors helping neighbors. It really is about that. And I think if we had so much more of that in the world, and we would be in such a different place. And so I hope that this podcast today has reminded people that the person next door to you matters as much as the people in your house, matters as much as you matter. And hopefully, you matter to them just as much.
And if we think about the world in that way, maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to see the forest.
So, you know. So I'm super glad that we were able to have you guys on.
[00:42:33] Speaker C: Thank you so much for.
[00:42:34] Speaker B: Yes. I'm so excited to see you guys at the parade.
We'll be hyping you up the whole time, of course.
[00:42:40] Speaker C: So I will just note on the parade that we decided to. Do, you know, how the Grinch Stole Christmas as the theme for our float. And I was walking around, you know, painting. We were painting and building and. And all of that all weekend.
And I kept saying, and the Grinch's heart grew three sizes too big.
I mean, it really is. That's what it's about. It's about trying to, as Jackie would say, bring joy back into a family's life through not just the food, but the kindness that also goes along with it.
[00:43:16] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:43:17] Speaker B: And just for those who will be listening to this, some reminders about the parade. So the parade is free.
It does not cost to come to the parade. So please bring your families down. Okay? You don't have to dress up. You don't have to do anything. You just get to come watch and have fun. Okay? That is the best part about the parade. It's one of. It's probably my favorite thing that this county does all year long.
[00:43:42] Speaker C: It's.
[00:43:42] Speaker B: You can ask Dan. I have looked forward to this all year. I love it. I have participated in it in one shape or another. I cannot say how exactly I've done it every single year represented. But I have. I have done that.
[00:43:59] Speaker C: A secret. We now know a secret.
[00:44:00] Speaker B: I've been part of the parade since I started working.
You know, when I started working for the Gazette. And that was. It would have been five years if I had stayed here till February, but I did it. But now I'm part of.
[00:44:11] Speaker A: You know, prior to breaking my heart.
[00:44:12] Speaker B: Yes. Still. Still working it from. From the DSIC standpoint. I told Important, too.
[00:44:20] Speaker A: Everyone asked when Shen left. They asked me how I was doing. And my response is. I'm fine.
[00:44:28] Speaker D: No attitude there, though, right?
[00:44:30] Speaker C: Told you.
[00:44:30] Speaker B: I'm very well loved in this office.
[00:44:32] Speaker A: Fine.
[00:44:34] Speaker B: So. Yes. And other things to note. So Stan and I are back. Where we'll be, you'll find out with us.
[00:44:42] Speaker C: Dress warm. Dress warmly.
[00:44:43] Speaker A: Second stage.
[00:44:44] Speaker B: Dress warm. Yes.
[00:44:45] Speaker A: Warmer than last year.
[00:44:46] Speaker C: You.
[00:44:47] Speaker B: I was good once we got the coffee flowing. We were moving on the stage. We were good.
I did wear socks. They were just short.
[00:44:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Wear short, short socks and sneakers.
[00:44:58] Speaker B: Probably the same before. It's fine. I'm so.
[00:45:00] Speaker C: Like, you have to cover your ankles.
[00:45:02] Speaker B: Yeah. You get ankles, coffee, and then what else? Just try to have fun. Like, I love. I love seeing the kids out there. Like when we're walking up and down the streets throughout the day.
[00:45:14] Speaker A: So black party kicks off at 3 o', clock, correct?
[00:45:17] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:45:17] Speaker A: With our very good friend.
[00:45:19] Speaker B: Yes. Sidney.
[00:45:20] Speaker A: Sidney Wordley.
[00:45:21] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:45:22] Speaker A: Mrs. Claus will be making the rounds by 3 o', clock, if not sooner. With elves.
[00:45:28] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:45:28] Speaker A: So Mrs. Claus is all in.
[00:45:31] Speaker B: I believe Santa will also be out there at some point, though. Has not been confirmed.
[00:45:35] Speaker A: We don't know. Santa's arrival in the 518.
[00:45:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:39] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:45:40] Speaker A: So we're trying to figure out when that's gonna land.
[00:45:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:45:43] Speaker A: But Mrs. Claus will be the opening act. There is a request and I've got a call into shelby regarding. Apparently Mrs. Claus and the elves know the entire Ophelia dance.
[00:45:55] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:45:56] Speaker C: I don't know what the Ophelia is.
[00:45:58] Speaker A: A Taylor Swift song that has a dance with it.
[00:46:01] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:46:01] Speaker B: Yes. It's a dance.
[00:46:03] Speaker C: That'll be cool.
[00:46:03] Speaker A: It's a dance. So I've got an interview with.
[00:46:07] Speaker B: No, this song's.
I'm a big Taylor Swift fan.
[00:46:10] Speaker A: So we'll be. We'll be bopping around from three o' clock on.
There is a horrific rumor that someone may have a golf cart in the podcast studio. That petrifies me.
[00:46:22] Speaker B: I may have access to a golf cart. We'll see.
[00:46:27] Speaker A: I could be too.
[00:46:28] Speaker B: Also not confronted.
[00:46:28] Speaker C: Not to mention that the Grinch.
[00:46:30] Speaker B: Right.
[00:46:30] Speaker C: I mean, Proctor's has the Grinch. So Christmas musical this weekend, so you never know.
[00:46:37] Speaker B: There's definitely some other very special surprises that will be happening right in the beginning to kick off the parade. The tree lighting. Also free to watch.
[00:46:50] Speaker C: I never get to go to the tree lighting because of the. I'm, you know, waiting for the parade to kick off.
[00:46:55] Speaker A: I just think we just take a bus down.
I'm gonna work on that this week. I'm like, I think the whole gang should be up there for the tree lighting. Then we'll just jet you down.
[00:47:01] Speaker C: The logistics are always a little.
[00:47:03] Speaker A: I mean, the street's close, right?
[00:47:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:47:05] Speaker C: Right.
[00:47:05] Speaker A: Like nobody's coming at you.
[00:47:06] Speaker C: Exactly. And you can't get back to your car. I always have your husband drop me off.
[00:47:09] Speaker A: Walk over. We're just gonna get the trolley.
[00:47:12] Speaker C: Oh, that's a good idea.
[00:47:13] Speaker B: See?
[00:47:14] Speaker C: Okay. Learn something.
[00:47:16] Speaker A: I'm gonna make that call.
[00:47:17] Speaker C: That's a good idea.
[00:47:18] Speaker A: I'm gonna make that call. That's gonna be my contribution.
[00:47:22] Speaker B: All right, you run that by Jason. Let us know how that goes.
[00:47:27] Speaker C: I have a technical question, since you guys have parade Express experience. Well, do the floats get judged?
[00:47:34] Speaker B: Yes, because we were, like, doing all. Not at our station. At the main stage. Yeah, at the main stage, I'm. Yes, I'm.
[00:47:42] Speaker A: So that's when you got to, like, turn it on.
[00:47:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm pretty sure. And there is, like, there's criteria. I'm not exactly sure how they do it.
[00:47:47] Speaker A: So, like, you're both young enough to remember Spinal Tap. And this is where we lose Shen off the podcast. So, like, when you come by us, like, you want to turn up to, like, a six or seven, and then when you hit the judges, then you want to turn it up to 11.
[00:47:57] Speaker B: No, no, we're okay with an 11.
[00:47:59] Speaker A: We'll take 11.
[00:48:00] Speaker B: We'll take. And 11 is real fun with us. And it also means that Stan can tell less of his really bad debt.
[00:48:06] Speaker C: There we go. There we go.
[00:48:07] Speaker B: Well.
[00:48:07] Speaker C: Well, Jackie's reached out to all the providers, so we're hoping. We have signs for all of the food providers as well. So we're hoping that there'll be people from each of the providers marching with Schenectady shares.
[00:48:18] Speaker D: I talked to Dr. Kedley last week. Leah from school district, and they're gonna send representatives from every school. And I told her, if you have any children that are just so sad and so out of place, bring them along. Let them march in the parade.
Let them be part of that.
[00:48:34] Speaker B: Kids get so excited to be in the parade. I just know from being in the back parking lot before and walking around in our costume and having fun with them and almost getting tackled by a whole group of the Schenectady patriots.
[00:48:46] Speaker A: So here's my cell in this parade. And this comes from Mrs. Claus in regarding to recruiting the elves for this year. We have head elf now along with our two little elves. But Mrs. Claus called participating in this holiday parade a core memory for the elves and everybody who's involved with this. So if there's a question, get here.
[00:49:13] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:49:14] Speaker A: You know, you need to get here. Cause it's a thing, and it is the greatest thing, one of the greatest things we do in this community. Down State street, largest northeast nighttime parade.
[00:49:27] Speaker B: And you can't be prettier than Christmas lights.
[00:49:30] Speaker C: Oh, it's. And DSIC has been out there, I think, you know, getting the trees ready. I mean, it is amazing when you. We happened to be at the Stockade Inn for something last year, and we left the Stockade Inn and went on Church street and then turned left onto State Street. It wasn't parade night, obviously, and the whole street was just ablaze with holiday lights.
P.S. we are actually collecting. If anybody has extra strands of lights, we're trying to, like, overload our float with them, so reach out.
But it was amazing. I mean, we were, like, gasping in our. In our car at how gorgeous it was. So it is the place to be on Saturday.
[00:50:12] Speaker A: Okay, last piece of housekeeping before we say goodbye is.
Do we have.
We have a challenge going on. We have a matching. What do we have going on right now? What's our.
[00:50:23] Speaker B: Well, so Schenectady foundation is doing matching funds, I believe, up to $25,000. So if you donate to them, they will match you. I actually did that. I did it right after donating to Schenectady shares. So I was like. I saw it pop up, and I was like, make another donation because it's twice as much, Right?
[00:50:40] Speaker C: That's right.
[00:50:40] Speaker B: So, yeah. So they're doing that great thing right now, and I think they just posted maybe the other day that they're halfway through.
[00:50:46] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:50:47] Speaker B: So there's plenty of time. Get out there. Let's. Let's do it. Let's. Let's get to that $25,000.
[00:50:52] Speaker C: Let's.
[00:50:53] Speaker B: Let's get that 50. Let's get that.
[00:50:55] Speaker C: Yep, That's.
[00:50:56] Speaker B: That's a lot of food.
[00:50:57] Speaker A: That's why she's here. I just run the board.
I just run the board.
[00:51:01] Speaker C: Well, we appreciate you guys inviting us. It's really. We're. Well, I'll end on saying we just can't believe we're the grand marshal. It's going to be so. It's going to be so much fun. So we're excited about that.
[00:51:12] Speaker A: Well, we can't wait to see you there.
[00:51:14] Speaker C: And Jackie's got the sash.
[00:51:16] Speaker B: She's got the sash.
[00:51:18] Speaker A: Do you have the wave down. Jackie, do you have the wave down? The queen wave.
[00:51:22] Speaker C: We're all sitting here doing the queen wave.
[00:51:24] Speaker D: I'm sorry. I. I am. I am.
[00:51:27] Speaker A: Just remember, Jackie, just.
[00:51:29] Speaker C: Just.
[00:51:29] Speaker A: Just remember. I know, I know you're Irish. We talked about. Make sure all the fingers are together when you do the wave. Okay? Don't.
[00:51:36] Speaker C: Don't be like this.
[00:51:36] Speaker A: Don't. Don't be spreading those fingers out.
[00:51:38] Speaker B: No.
[00:51:39] Speaker A: Depending on who you pass. So you got to do the full. You got to do the mitten wave.
[00:51:43] Speaker D: This one or.
[00:51:44] Speaker A: Yeah, there's a couple.
[00:51:46] Speaker C: I'm so glad this is just audio. I'm so glad this is just audio.
[00:51:52] Speaker A: Okay, so our. Our two guests. And now for co host.
[00:51:58] Speaker B: Oh, I'm. I'm good. I was, I suppose, supposed to end.
[00:52:02] Speaker A: Peace out. Shen, what do you want to close with?
[00:52:07] Speaker B: Just remember to donate.
Whether that's time, money, or food, all of it matters.
And, you know, just remember when you're sitting around the Thanksgiving table to just be extra thankful this year.
[00:52:22] Speaker A: All right? And then for those of you who have. Who do not know that the co host's birthday is the 24th, and the CO host's request for her birthday is that everyone involved in her life and those who care about her as an individual, former co worker and still co host is make a donation to any food pantry of your choice, wherever you are, nationwide, worldwide, is what she wants this year for her birthday, which is just nice.
[00:52:57] Speaker C: That's awesome.
[00:52:58] Speaker A: And there's always something under the tree. So she's stuck getting something from me, and I don't want to hear it because that's the way it is.
I put a lot of time in trying to find something that will make her happy.
So thank you both so much. Thank you for Shannon, for coming back to the hood and making the podcast studio appearance so you can get us on all your streaming platforms. You name it, we're on it. We're on Facebook.
I might try to talk her into TikTok for January 1st maybe is the new year.
Shen turns 29 on Monday. We're doing the podcast recap on Monday because we have to, because it's her birthday.
She just found out. And I just remembered today.
[00:53:39] Speaker B: I was like, oh, man.
[00:53:40] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. It is then. And that's it. So for Stan and Shen, I am Stan at the Gazette podcast studio. I feel like Boswell from Charlie's Angel. I got three angels here with me, and I'm the guy on the phone. Another Shen reference she's got to have to look up. But that's it.
[00:53:55] Speaker B: I know Charlie's Angels.
[00:53:57] Speaker C: Don't even.
[00:53:57] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:53:58] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:53:59] Speaker A: I never.
[00:54:00] Speaker B: I know. Cameron Diaz. Charlie Angels.
[00:54:02] Speaker A: Exactly. We're old school.
[00:54:04] Speaker D: Jacqueline Smith.
[00:54:05] Speaker A: No. Yeah, for the ladies.
They know somebody they know sold a lot of posters.
[00:54:11] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:54:12] Speaker A: But I'll digress.
[00:54:13] Speaker B: Are you gonna do your outro?
[00:54:14] Speaker A: I'm gonna do my outro now.
[00:54:15] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:54:16] Speaker A: How are you, buddy?
Thank you so much for listening. Thank you, ladies, for being here. Skankety shares. The parade is next Saturday. It's live streaming next Saturday. It's this Saturday. This is like the fourth and the third. The third and the fourth again.
[00:54:27] Speaker B: Oh, God, not that.
[00:54:28] Speaker A: So, yeah, my birthday is 21st. I'll be there on the 22nd and we will see you there. But until then, love your life. It's the only one you got.
