As the tapestry of our lives unfurls, I'm thrilled to bring you along on a journey that celebrates the intricacies of family – from the joys of blended households to the tender steps of a mother rediscovering love. In the comforting embrace of shared tunes, my daughter Tess and I reminisce about a tribute band concert that meant more than just music to us. Through laughter and earnest dialogue, we delve into the highs and lows of prom nights, the delicate dance of dating as a single parent, and the evolution of our family dynamics that are as unpredictable as they are rewarding.
The heart of our discussion beats to the rhythm of blended families, where love is not just born, but thoughtfully nurtured. Tess and I explore the sweetness of frozen yogurt dates that marked the beginning of something special, and the shared traditions, like our annual camping trips, that have become the bedrock of our family unity. These stories, rich with laughter and learning, shed light on the path to acceptance and the serendipity of finding one's place in a new family tableau.
As we close the curtains on this episode, we invite you to pull up a chair and join our family's table of mischief and mirth. From pranks that harken back to a simpler era to the heartfelt proposal that brought us all together, we share the memories that have defined us. A surprise interruption during our sign-off serves as the perfect reminder of the ebullient spirit that permeates our lives. So come along and be part of the conversation – a patchwork of episodes that mirrors the beautiful, sometimes chaotic, masterpiece that is family. #familymatters #tellyourstory #thebenmaynardprogram #spotify #dadsanddaughters
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram: benmaynardprogram
and subscribe to my YouTube channel: THE BEN MAYNARD PROGRAM
I also welcome your comments. email: pl8blocker@aol.com
As the tapestry of our lives unfurls, I'm thrilled to bring you along on a journey that celebrates the intricacies of family – from the joys of blended households to the tender steps of a mother rediscovering love. In the comforting embrace of shared tunes, my daughter Tess and I reminisce about a tribute band concert that meant more than just music to us. Through laughter and earnest dialogue, we delve into the highs and lows of prom nights, the delicate dance of dating as a single parent, and the evolution of our family dynamics that are as unpredictable as they are rewarding.
The heart of our discussion beats to the rhythm of blended families, where love is not just born, but thoughtfully nurtured. Tess and I explore the sweetness of frozen yogurt dates that marked the beginning of something special, and the shared traditions, like our annual camping trips, that have become the bedrock of our family unity. These stories, rich with laughter and learning, shed light on the path to acceptance and the serendipity of finding one's place in a new family tableau.
As we close the curtains on this episode, we invite you to pull up a chair and join our family's table of mischief and mirth. From pranks that harken back to a simpler era to the heartfelt proposal that brought us all together, we share the memories that have defined us. A surprise interruption during our sign-off serves as the perfect reminder of the ebullient spirit that permeates our lives. So come along and be part of the conversation – a patchwork of episodes that mirrors the beautiful, sometimes chaotic, masterpiece that is family. #familymatters #tellyourstory #thebenmaynardprogram #spotify #dadsanddaughters
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram: benmaynardprogram
and subscribe to my YouTube channel: THE BEN MAYNARD PROGRAM
I also welcome your comments. email: pl8blocker@aol.com
Hey there, everyone, welcome into the Ben Maynard program. Thanks for being here. Before we get started, a little bit of housekeeping to take care of. As a reminder, this program is available on multiple podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, amazon Music and Spotify, or you can search the Ben Maynard program and you'll have many options to choose from. I want to steer everyone towards Buzzsprout, because that's where my website is, and if you can't resist this and I know many of you can't and you're watching on YouTube then ask that you please subscribe to the channel, give me a thumbs up and leave a comment. I love comments. And yeah, last but not least, follow me on Instagram. Simply, ben Maynard program. So plenty of ways to take in this show for your dancing and listening pleasure.
Speaker 1:And with that I'll recap the last episode real quick. That was with my buddy Spaz and it was our foreigner extravaganza. We talked about foreigner the entire show, because we're huge fans and, of course, forerunner has been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and we want to celebrate that. We're pulling for them, and so we shared our experiences and our love for the band and if you haven't seen it, check it out because it's good stuff. It's always good stuff and I didn't bring my iPad in here. Oh, let me see if I can do this real quick, because I always say if you leave a comment I'm going to read it. And I did get. I got a few comments on last week's show and there was one guy on here who was a little perturbed, so I want to read it, because he was rightfully so, and let's get into it. Boom, there it is. There's that one Boom. And let's get to the comments. Oh, okay, and there was a couple on here. Of course, every time Spaz comes on the on the program, he he has to comment.
Speaker 1:But Hard Rockology show said what? No mention of spies or shadow king. And those were bands that, at least shadow king I'm familiar with spies, but I don't remember which member of of Orner was in. I think it was a Lou Graham band that I can't recall. But. But shadow king was a band that Lou Graham had in the early 90s with Vivian Campbell, bruce Turgon and I don't even remember who was on drums. But but I told Hard Rockology I said I was wanting to mention shadow king because that one and only album they had was really good and I just forgot to fit it in. So he was like, he liked it. He gave me a thumbs up on it so he forgave me.
Speaker 1:But the cool one was from Todd three MSN and he says, and he was right, he says, if you are having a show on foreigner, how about knowing what you're talking about? Because in your hands is the foreigner CD booklet and if you look inside you will see Al Greenwood pictured in the sleeve. He played on head games, which you have in your hand. Ed gagliardi was the bass player for the first two records of Forner and he was fired because that's what Mick wanted and he was the boss. Al Greenwood and Ian McDonald left Forner or were booted out after head games.
Speaker 1:And Todd MSN was right. And you know he was right and I appreciate that and I just you know, I thanks for the correction. It was purely a misspeak on my part and you know I'm just happy that he is a big Forner fan, like spaz and I and many of you out there. So he was able to recognize my mistake and he called me out on it. And look, I'll be honest, todd Todd, what was that? Todd, todd three MSN. Look, you're right, I had the booklet in my hand, but sometimes I you don't want to have to just continue to thumb through things, so you speak off the top of your head.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I misspeak. I've done it before. I remember one episode I did way back early on. I called Dennis Elliott, the drummer, for I called him Dennis Wright, but that was way back when nobody was watching this show or listening to it. So I got away with it. But so it was misspeak. And then there have actually been times where I always mix up the names and get them confused between Ed Gagliardi, al Greenwood and Ian McDonald. So I just messed up. But thanks for calling me on that one. I appreciate it. All right, so there you go, and without further ado I'm going to introduce this beautiful young lady sitting in the chair next to me. This is my daughter, tess, and Tess, I just want to say thanks for coming in and agreeing to do this, and then I'll go ahead and bring the audience up to speed.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, I'm happy to be here. Yeah, thank you for introducing me. I didn't know whether to jump in on any of those parts.
Speaker 1:You could have, but but site like for foreigners, really not like in your wheelhouse. So I don't know.
Speaker 2:I know head games, Ben David and I. Actually we went to a summer fest in Brea this past year and it was that for an attribute band? Oh, they were actually pretty good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what was the name of that?
Speaker 2:band. I couldn't tell you, I don't remember. Come on, they were good.
Speaker 1:Well, in all transparency, people, I almost had to twist Tess's arm to get her to do this. We we had a family birthday party today and earlier in the week I called Tess and I said hey come in and do the show with me.
Speaker 1:All right, I want you to come on the show, and I've been wanting her to come on the show for a while. I just I want to introduce my family to to you out there the audience, and kind of give you a little bit of a peek behind the curtain and see all the people that are a either in my corner or against me, see the people who don't watch this show, who don't listen to it, but just kind of get to know more about me. And so I did. I asked Tess hey, come in and do the program. She's like, all right, all right. And so we had a birthday party today Mine and Catherine's granddaughter and Tess's niece, and so it's a prime opportunity to come in studio afterwards and kind of bang one of these shows out, right.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, so so Tess and I did introduce her as my daughter and for all intents and purposes she is my daughter because her mother and I are married. Now, yes, legally that makes her my stepdaughter. I guess biologically it does too, but I never look at it that way and I never have. And so, because it doesn't need explanation and it's I don't know, I guess I kind of have, I guess I kind of have an aversion to that, that that first part of that term step. You know, look, we're family and that's it, and I don't consider Tess anything other than my daughter. So that's how I refer to her. She is, she always will be, and that's the way it is. So thanks for doing this, tess, and let's get started with this. So let's go back six years ago, because it's actually been almost six years to the day, right yeah, April.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh, that's right, and your mother and I had just started dating, and I actually I remember our first date.
Speaker 2:I want to tell this one.
Speaker 1:Oh, go ahead, you tell it.
Speaker 2:I don't know if you've already talked about it because I know mom was on the show, but at least from my perspective, their first date I remember it was my junior prom night and my mom told me that she had a date going on. She showed me a picture, told me your name. I didn't even have a last name, I didn't even know your name was like Benjamin. She just said, like Ben, like yeah, I'm going out with a guy named Ben. We're going to El Torrito. El Torrito Grill. It's like our favorite restaurant.
Speaker 2:So I'm like, oh, you're going to El Torrito Okay.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so I went to my prom and it was out in Hollywood and we had a volleyball tournament the next day and I remember my friend's dad drove us all home, cause, yeah, like mom wasn't driving me. And I remember I got home. I got home maybe around midnight. I wasn't doing anything crazy after the prom because it's like okay, we have a big day tomorrow. So I get home and I saw her car was there but I was like I got in, she's not home, and I was like huh, like where is she? So then I don't remember what I did, if I like, called her a texture or anything like that.
Speaker 2:But then, you know, it started getting later. I have to wake up early in the morning. So now I'm getting a little concerned because I'm like why isn't she home? And for me I'm like this is my prom night, why is she still on her date? Like, why am I home before her? At least, that's what I was thinking, yeah, and then, and then she made it home, fine, and then, yeah, everything was good. But I don't know, that's just what I remember from your first date. So I was thinking, well, it must have gone well.
Speaker 1:But did she tell you that she was going to to take an Uber? Yes, okay, yeah, that's why her car was in the drive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so her plan was like she's gonna take an Uber and if she ended up liking him enough, then she would allow him to drive her home, which was what ended up happening, If I'm not mistaken that's exactly what happened, because what can I say?
Speaker 1:there's a lot here. You know, yeah, and I remember, and you're right, I think that date went on till almost two in the morning. So you were home for quite a while before your mother, and but I, but I recall we were sitting out in front of the house and she either texted you or you texted her first and she said I'm at home and we're in front of the house, and then you felt a little more comfortable about that.
Speaker 1:But but you know how I mean you were, you were, you were 16 years old at the time and your mother, obviously single mom not single for a long period of time a couple years and kind of how did you feel about her kind of dipping her toe in the water and getting back into the dating world?
Speaker 2:I mean honestly, I wanted her to.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It was interesting because I remember, at least at the time, that my parents split up. It was like my freshman year in high school, so when, when you guys started going out, I'm a junior now, so, yeah, about two years had gone by, but I remember, for that time at least, my freshman year when that had happened. You know she made the decision shortly after to leave the job she had that. You know she had the same career going for my whole life and it was very busy for her. She was working weekends, she was working nights, she was always at work. So I remember when it was going to be just me and her, then she made that decision to leave, to just be with me and focus on me and be there for me all the time.
Speaker 2:So I saw what she was doing with that and you know I was getting older at that point in time too. You know it's like I'm getting to a point where, oh, I want to like start going on dates and I want to do that. And then I think, from the perspective of mom, like, oh, my gosh, like, of course she like wants to do that as well, probably. I know that I'm her priority, but I don't want her to feel like she's being held back in any way. So I was like happy when she would say that she had a date lined up, because I'm thinking, oh, like you know, maybe maybe this is going to be like, yeah, like someone that she really hits it off with and I don't really know, like everything. I know there was like one guy that she dated for a little bit and that didn't work out, and then I think she met you like maybe sometime after that, and then just immediately, you guys, you guys were so different than at least that other relationship, but then even you know how it was.
Speaker 1:You mean our dynamic.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, because I remember 時候 After I didn't meet you that night, that first date. No, but I don't. How long was it until we actually met?
Speaker 1:it was a few weeks, it was less than two weeks. I want to say it was around. It was around ten days to two weeks.
Speaker 2:Okay, so what Ben did? Ben was like, very like, wanting to meet me, um, and not not wanting to be like a mystery man or anything like that, because that's not your vibe, yeah. But he's like let's go get ice cream. Do we get dinner?
Speaker 1:I don't know if we got it? We just got ice cream.
Speaker 2:I still remember once ice cream, we went to cold stone in the Havra in big blue, I think you were wearing like a leather jacket. Like I remember that because you know it's like a core memory, because it's such a like a big moment, like, oh my gosh, he, my dad or my mom's, like Guy, were you guys. You guys made it official pretty quick too.
Speaker 1:No, uh, yeah, no, we did, because the one thing that I think the the one thing that your mother and I both recognized right away was that there were there were no gains in it, and we were both after the same thing. We both wanted to look for a person that would bring to us you know what, what we, what we needed, and we were both looking for A relationship. We weren't looking to be in the dating world, I wasn't looking for her to be one of my girlfriends and she certainly wasn't looking for me to be one of her saturday night specials. So, yeah, so it. So that was certainly one thing that we recognized right away, and it was just through the ease of that first date. The conversation just came easy, she was fun, um, we clicked on a lot of levels and and I don't know if you remember this, but it was about three nights later that we had our second date both, and we met for frozen yogurt and we wanted just keep it simple. I got off work, your, your mother, got off work, and we met at a yogurt land or whatever, and we got frozen yogurt and we just sat and ate frozen yogurt and talked and got to know each other even more.
Speaker 1:And it was at that point, I think both of us, without saying it, both of us were thinking the same thing. I'm done, this is it. And the good thing about it is that your mother and I were certainly both older. We both had come out of long marriages. I had been single for a few years, longer than than your mother. But when you get to a certain age, you already have a ton of life experience behind you. So when it comes to dating or looking for, uh, someone to spend your time with, um, you already know what you want. You already know what you don't want, what you're willing to tolerate, what you're willing, what you you're not willing to tolerate and what you're going to accept and what you're not going to accept. So you don't have to go on 20 dates with somebody To be able to figure out Is this, is this person, good for you? And that's kind of where we were with that and that's why it ended up Happening so quickly. Don't worry about it, I'm a professional broadcaster and I bump my microphone all the time. I'd knock it over a time or two.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, so that's where we were with that, but, um, I know from my side of it. I did want to meet you early and when we met and and I think this is why we have the relationship that we do, you and I, and Because it's great, it's healthy and it's it's there's a ton of love and respect here and I give you so much credit for that because you made it easy for me. You were easy on me, you weren't like Hard on me, you didn't have walls up, you didn't say, oh, who's this guy dating my mom? No, you can't have my mom. Blah, blah, blah. You didn't have that mentality. You never said any of that stuff and you made it very easy and we kind of meshed and our birthdays are a day apart.
Speaker 1:They are we're both leos. So, um, yeah, so that was very easy, um, you know, and, and and it was um, it gave me an opportunity. Uh, for the audience out there, I have a, I have a son and I have a daughter and, um, I'll have to kind of set this up because, look, um, Very few people out there really know me beyond this show, because Most of my friends and family don't watch this and they don't listen to this either. So, um, but in all transparency, my daughter is also my stepdaughter, but I raised her from the age of eight and um, different daughter.
Speaker 1:Yes, and, and that was difficult for me. I was a lot younger then too, and it was hard for me, um, to do that, and and Not not disparaging her at all, she was a kid but she made it hard on me. She was hard, she was tough on me, and so it was difficult, and I thought, though test was 16 years old at the time, I wasn't going to try to be your father and we've had this discussion before. You have a father but I could be it.
Speaker 1:I could be a dad, okay, and it was my job to be a positive male role model in your life and to be a positive influence, and it was my job to, and your mother's job, it was both of us together to show you what a healthy relationship Was all about and what it could be and what it should be, and what love was, what respect for one another was, and so I I've thought I've got another chance here to do this, let me do this and let me get it right, so, anyway, so, yeah, I mean, what were some of your, since it wasn't really hard on you, not tough that way? I mean, did you have any? I mean, what kind of concerns did you have when your mother and I started dating and you knew that, okay, this is kind of like this, is it? Yeah, somebody just bumped the camera, it's all right.
Speaker 2:It looks fun. No, I don't know.
Speaker 1:It was no earthquake yeah.
Speaker 2:He hasn't felt one yet out here in California. So we actually careful because I don't want to.
Speaker 1:We actually have an in studio guest or not an in studio guest. We have an in studio audience today, so it's my boyfriend, David, over there Gosh whatever.
Speaker 2:Okay, anyways, yeah, like, hmm, I have to think back on what I was feeling at the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2:You know, obviously we're past it now, but I think, initially, like there are certain memories that come up that say or speak a lot about what I was feeling at the time. So I'll share one of those with you. But in general also, I think, for me, I just wanted to see how things were gonna progress because, you know, like I said, like when I asked that question before, oh, you guys like started dating pretty quick, like you know. Is that correct? And yeah, when I think back on it, I do remember thinking myself like, hmm, like I wonder what, like the pace of this is gonna be like you know what, you know, are they gonna like date for a long time? Like, are they gonna like get married? Like what's their wedding gonna look like? I'm just thinking about all those things because in my head I'm thinking, you know, I'm still thinking about my future because, right, I'm 16 years old.
Speaker 2:I wasn't sure where I was going to college. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do career-wise or like for my major at the time. So I was thinking about all those things and then I was just thinking, well, what's it gonna look like for like them? Are they gonna move away?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I was just having all these thoughts at the time because I didn't really know what was gonna happen.
Speaker 2:But overall, yeah, like nothing, I wouldn't say anything was ever. Like when you first started dating, anything was super difficult or you know, because I was still in my house, you were in your house, so you guys would see each other. I did appreciate how present you would try to be, Like I remember you know you'd show up to my volleyball games and you would show up to just different events that I had going on. So that definitely made a lot to me and it made a really good impression on me, like oh, he actually like cares about me, because there was this one guy, like that one guy told you about that. My mom dated Like I don't think that lasted for a long time, but I also he never. In the time that they were together he never tried to make an effort to really talk to me or get to know me or come to any of my events. It just seemed very like you know dating.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like you know, my mom and I've known friends who grew up with. You know a stepdad like that you know from a young age, or a stepmom, or like just someone who wasn't their biological parent, marrying one of their parents, and now it's like there's no connection there, right, right, and I had seen that a lot. I even have a friend who, yeah, they're like one of her parents, got married to someone and there's, yeah, in the past several years and yeah, no connection. And you know, I think it's harder potentially as the child gets older. However, despite me being 16, going on 17 that year I did feel that you actually cared and wanted to be there and that definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable and just like receptive. I mean, it took a long time for me to say like I love you back to you.
Speaker 2:Like that was one of the things like Ben loves really big, he's a huge like hugger. If I leave, he'll always say I love you, and literally for years, like he'd been telling me if for years and I just would not say it back to him I finally started saying it back to him, maybe like within the past two years for sure. But you know, like he was always ready, if that makes sense, like he always had his arms open to me. He was always there and he was in this space of like you know, not in a rush, like oh, like she'll come around, like I'm just gonna like be here and do what I'm doing, and you know that is the case. Like I did come around.
Speaker 2:You know that's it's not to say like I didn't love you all that time, but I think it's a lot more. I don't wanna say difficult, but it is something you think about when you're a child and it's like you know I do still have my dad. So then for a while, you know that's something you think about. Oh, do I feel weird like saying that to someone who's not my dad and just trying to navigate that. But ultimately, you know, in the time that we've gone to know each other, better we've I mean I've gone to know your whole family. Who is my?
Speaker 1:family, now your family, I love all of them.
Speaker 2:It's yeah, like now, there's no question about it, which maybe before I don't wanna say there was a question, but it just takes longer to get around.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that you also you had come from being a part of a family that would see each other on like Easter and Christmas. You know you see them on Easter and when you're saying goodbyes, I will see you at Christmas, where my family now we see each other constantly, whether it's the whole family or a portion of the family, whatever it is, we're always trying to do something together. We're always trying to see each other and that was the one thing that I wanted to. I knew I could bring it to the table, but I was like chomping at the bit to bring that to you and your mother, because I knew that they would just throw their arms wide open and accept the two of you.
Speaker 1:You know as much, if not even more, than I, and I know from at least you can and you can correct me if I'm wrong. But I know that it was tough for you at first because you didn't wanna open up to a bunch of people not really knowing them and your mother and I only being together for a couple of months I mean that could change in another two weeks or whatever it is and I know you didn't wanna open yourself up and open your heart up to those people. But I also think it was because it was something you weren't used to as well, and so I know it took a little bit for you to warm up, but once you did you were all in. And they're all in.
Speaker 1:They were all in they were all in from the start. It just, you know, took you a little bit of time to warm up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I remember the first time we met them, like I could tell you because I remember what, I remember exactly what it was. Yeah yeah, so early April is when we met.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Then it's June. Mm-hmm, it's two months later. Yep, we. He tells us that his family goes camping every year. That's like the tradition, yeah, so it's like okay, I was scrolling for a picture. Go ahead Like I'm thinking to myself, like okay, like that's cool. Like I'm thinking to my mom when she's telling me that's like we're not going camping.
Speaker 1:Like yeah.
Speaker 2:Like so I think I don't remember if you were trying to convince her to go camping. I think she was thinking about it. And then, ultimately, I'm like no, we are not staying there overnight. Like we don't know these people, like we're going out in like the middle of, like the campground. Oh my gosh, okay, wait, hold on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I'm gonna, yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2:So I'm like you know, like we're not gonna be there overnight, Like we'll drive up for the day, like, and I was like we'll do that. So then we went and it was Brenda's birthday and it was like a whole party. We I mean, you're gonna see the picture in a second- 50 to 60 people yeah show the picture.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so this is Tess and I.
Speaker 2:Circa 2018.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, June of 2018. And though we both look really happy, that's like she can barely stand this, so here you go. Wait, there he is, yeah, yeah. Yeah, Tess was having a hard time with that one, especially me, and, like you said, I love big and I've got my arm wrapped around, tess.
Speaker 2:And we can wear it on our support girls.
Speaker 1:It's like, no, let's go, let's go, big smile. And yeah, tess is kind of like, yeah, okay, whatever.
Speaker 2:I was tired at that point in the day too. I'm thinking, oh, like they were almost out of here, Like, oh, we're leaving.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, but yeah, so I could understand your. You know from your side of it where it was coming from, but they love you to pieces and now they're your family too.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And wow, you know, here's the crazy thing. Trust me, if something were to happen to Catherine and I, I'm out and they're in all the way. Just know that. Just know that. I've already been told that too.
Speaker 2:So yeah, they give the.
Speaker 1:I get the boot. Yeah, good thing, nothing's gonna happen. But so when was it that you realized it? Okay, no, these two, my mom and Ben, they're in it to win it.
Speaker 2:Oh, when did you guys get engaged? What month was that?
Speaker 1:That was in April. A year later, it was 54 weeks from our first date, and that was on Easter Sunday.
Speaker 2:Yep, I remember the details of it. I just remember the day, okay so I would say probably leading up to that time, because you know there were several events Like I got to see, you know, my first Italian Thanksgiving, I got to do the like family Christmas. So I think that you know those events and like seeing how you interacted with everyone I don't know like I think that did a lot because I grew closer to your family. I saw my mom growing closer to your family. You know, I saw I don't know just all like that the family's still growing and how there are a lot of you know, a lot of people in the family who you know, maybe on their second marriage, like you know things like that. So it did help me be like, oh, like.
Speaker 2:I'm not like an outsider. No, because there's a lot of blended families within the family yeah, so, you know, once I saw that and got to spend time with everyone a bit more, it just made me feel a lot more comfortable around everyone into the new year. Then, I don't remember how soon before he proposed, but Ben did ask me, like you know, if I would help him in the engagement. What else did you we talked about before that.
Speaker 1:Well, I kind of asked for your permission.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I asked for your permission and your blessing.
Speaker 1:What was that?
Speaker 2:When was that Like? How far in advance.
Speaker 1:I think it was about. I think it was about two weeks prior.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I'd say, like in the new year, leading up to that moment, I kind of had the feeling that, you know, we weren't going anywhere, that we were like, okay, like this is like we're gonna be at Italian and things like that, we're gonna be at family Christmas, like we're like gonna like be a family. And I know that, for my mom at least. You know, I was gonna be graduating high school that spring. I was supposed to move into the dorm that fall, like it. Just like I could tell that the timing was right, I think is the best way to put it. Like that, you guys were obviously in love and wanted to be with each other, and it just seemed like, yeah, everything was kind of falling into place in that season, that you guys would be able to, you know, start planning the wedding and whatnot. And then we all know what happened with that.
Speaker 1:That was funny and you know I am not one for I'm completely against public proposals. I don't like it because I believe that it puts a lot of pressure on the woman because there's, you know, you see guys, they're at a football game and on the score, but will you marry me?
Speaker 1:or a baseball game or basketball whatever it is or sometimes a guy will do it at a big family function and I really am against those because, like I said, it puts a lot of pressure on the woman and a lot of times not all the time, not all the time, people, but a lot of times a man will do that. He'll make that public proposal because he's feeling like the relationship is on shaky ground and it puts pressure on that woman. She's not gonna say no one from all these people and so I don't really I'm not a fan of that and I wasn't a fan of doing it. But we did it, we did it at church and your mother and I, prior to that, we had talked about getting married. She had no idea the proposal was coming when it was coming, but we had talked about it and we, you know, this is just. You know, our relationship is too perfect. It's too I shouldn't say too perfect, but it's just, it's too good right now it is. It was so good that our dynamic between the three of us was great, and so let's not mess around and not only that, but your relationship with the three of us and mess around, and not only that, but your mother also said he would never live with me or anyone else, unless she was married.
Speaker 1:And so so I was like, well, we got to do this. You know I'm thinking of myself. And, like I said, we had talked about it. So she just had no idea it was coming. So she was surprised by it, but I knew that she was gonna say yes. So it made that public proposal kind of like a slam dunk. But I remember asking you for help on that, tess. Can you get your girlfriends to like paint a banner at school? Yeah, it will say, will you marry me? And I remember that I had to hide it in the back of big blue. We went to church that morning. I had to hide it in the back of big blue, and then I asked Pastor David, give me a hand with it. And it was crazy.
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't know if you guys have talked about it, but I feel like she was a little suspect that day, like she kind of knew something was up because you kept walking out. Yeah, that's, true I remember you walked out because it was Easter.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And she looked at me at one point just like I see, keep walking out like something like that Like you know I'm like, oh no, I'm new.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just I remember it was after service and right in front, and I screamed out, got everyone's attention. The church had a photographer and a videographer there too, and I wasn't even aware of that. And then I start saying my thing, and then people get their cell phones out and they're all taking video and pictures, and then this banner rolls out. And it rolls out will you marry me? As I'm dropping down on one knee to ask your mother to marry me, and she was she's kind of surprised by it, you know. And it all worked out, right. Yeah, it all worked out, it was fun. And that was the second time I got to see you cry, tess, that you got to cry where I was concerned anyway.
Speaker 1:So I mean that was the first time I cried that was when we did Thanksgiving at the house for your side of the family, for your aunts and uncles, and all that. Yeah, yeah, I cry. You were crying. I think you started me crying too, because we went around the table asking what we were all thankful for and I really honestly, I mean seven months into this great relationship, this great bond that your mother and I had, that I never knew that I could have ever again, it gets to my turn. Of course, I saved myself for last. I let everybody go first And-.
Speaker 2:He's like I'm gonna bring it home, that's it.
Speaker 1:That's it, man. You gotta bring it back and put a big old giant bow on it. But I remember saying what I was thankful for and you were a part of it because of who you are, who you were then and how accepting of me you were. And I remember looking across the table and I think you were trying to smile but you had ugly cry face. It was great, and that's when I knew that-.
Speaker 2:I'm a repeat offender of ugly. Cry face.
Speaker 1:But I knew that's when you and I were gonna. We're like good to go. We were good forever.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I just wanted to kind of talk about this a little bit because-. Because, she always teases me Because everybody, everybody, everybody, somebody but geez.
Speaker 1:There's another one, I'll think about it, oh okay, all right, but I just there are a lot of these situations that come up in life, other relationships, other instances where blended families don't obviously don't quite work out, and I don't know. I think we're honestly, I just think that we're a really good example of how you can make that work and it's mutual love and it's mutual respect. And I'll be honest with you, I don't know if I've mentioned this to you, I've certainly told your mother, but it was after your mother and I were dating for a while I had probably six months or eight, whatever it was, I can't recall and she had said to me we never, ever once, talked church, religion, nothing. She could have been an atheist for all I know. And she says to me, she says, hey, you wanna go to church sometime? And I never even thought twice about it because I was a Christian going into our relationship, I was a believer and all that.
Speaker 1:But I had kind of let's put it this way I had strayed and was living the life of Charlie Harper from two and a half men, without the drinking and stuff. So, without thinking, I just said, well, yeah, of course, and then we started going and that was really, I mean obviously, I think from date from the time I swiped right on Bumble. That was when my life turned around. But your mother is so responsible for all of this just because of who she is, how she handles things. She is like grace under pressure. She never lets a moment get too big for her and she is as cool as the other side of the pillow and she just is.
Speaker 1:And me, I'm the one that's excitable. I don't wanna say I'm well, I am kind of hot tempered, even though I try to temper it, ha. But yeah, it's, this is all because of your mother, it's all because of her, and it's because she brought us together in returning to our faith and getting us back into church. It's all on her, it's all on her. So, yeah, did you come up with your story yet? What story? Oh, you said you had another one.
Speaker 2:Oh, I can't remember.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, there.
Speaker 2:Oops, I mean I could probably think of oh okay, well, this is like unrelated, but this was a crazy story when it happened and I don't know if you've told the viewers this yet.
Speaker 1:I don't know, just get up on the mic. You don't have to get up, just move there you go.
Speaker 2:Okay, this one is good. It was Italian Thanksgiving. Oh okay, I don't remember what year it was. You know what I'm gonna say.
Speaker 1:I know what you, I love it, and I know I haven't shared this one. This is great.
Speaker 2:Okay. So yeah, it's Italian Thanksgiving. We have this long table set up in the backyard.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh long communal table.
Speaker 2:And okay, so I'm not gonna say what it was, but they had already told me to get my raw reaction. And then I was like what?
Speaker 2:And then they told me oh, we're just kidding, but like we're gonna prank everyone and say this yeah, and I was like so we were hosting it, it was at our house, yeah, and yeah, Ben's going up to make a speech. If there's one thing about a party that Ben's hosting or he's not hosting, he's gonna make a speech at some point. So, anyways, he goes to make this speech and I'm like okay, here it comes, Like I don't know what he's gonna say. So it's my mom up at the front, like at the head of the table with him, we're all seated and he's standing up, you know, thanking everyone for being there and whatnot, and I don't remember exactly what you said, but I, okay. Well, I think this, I think this is what he said. He's like. He's like mm-mm-mm, mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.
Speaker 1:Catherine, I don't know what he said mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-m-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.
Speaker 2:Whatever Ben says, or because everybody, because, get off the truck yeah. Catherine and I are expecting, and then everyone in the room is like like looking around, like what? Like I think someone said isn't she too old?
Speaker 1:Brenda's not too old, but do you remember Jake?
Speaker 2:and Aaron's reaction. So his other two children who I mean they have children of their?
Speaker 1:own and they were sitting next to each other Sitting next to each other.
Speaker 2:They were like squeezing, like I think Jake was squeezing their-.
Speaker 1:Aaron was squeezing the blood out of Jake's arm.
Speaker 2:Aaron was squeezing Jake's arm Because everyone was like what? Like? I beg your finest pardon, what?
Speaker 1:Yeah, what had happened was I mean, if you remember, in the last few years it was 2019 because everyone was yeah. People were having kids left to ride or pregnant ready to have kids, all that kind of thing, and so I had just-.
Speaker 2:There were like three pregnant people at the table.
Speaker 1:I just said, hey, in the spirit of everybody you know, having Everybody All these pregnancies and expected mothers and all that, catherine and I have a bit of news to share we were expecting. That was when I was like, what Of all my gags as an adult, not the pranks as a kid.
Speaker 2:Those were funny. Those are good. Which ones? The ones of you and Chuck.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, so that was probably one of the best as an adult, yeah. That was a good joke, we got them your mother and I got them good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they got everyone good.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I can't wait.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to. Okay, at some point you'd need to tell them about your stories, like pranking people in the car.
Speaker 1:You got to ask.
Speaker 2:Well, can you please share a couple of stories about how you pranked people in the car where you would do something and wait for a car to drive by and react?
Speaker 1:and then you'd laugh at them. Oh, is that what you want to know?
Speaker 2:Well, you know-. Well, I want you to tell the viewers, because I'm thinking of two things.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, I'll tell you this. All right, this is why what I'm going to say here is pretty innocent, but it's very mischievous. But this is why I can't get some of my friends on the program, because they're afraid to talk and they're I don't know, I guess they think that there's some statute of limitations that hasn't run out. And when we were kids, we did a lot of mischievous things. We just, you know. And then, when I say mischievous, it was mischievous. We didn't go break into people's homes, we weren't knocking over old ladies for their social security checks or anything like that. And yes, when you're my age, you understand the when I say knocking over old ladies for their social security checks, because they actually got a check in the mail and those old ladies would go to the bank and cash it.
Speaker 1:Now it's just all electronic, but we didn't do any of that kind of stuff. Okay, it wasn't it was just, you know, doorbell, ditch, things of that nature. And there were a couple of other type of things. I know there was some a few times. We would get some old clothes and we would get safety pins and we'd pin the shirt to the pants and we would get newspaper and we would stuff it and make it dummy and go to Goodwill and get like the Styrofoam head and put it on, and we did this a couple of times and, man God, this is bad.
Speaker 2:We would we usually did it right in front it's gonna need to break on the spot, but it's gonna start, it's all right.
Speaker 1:It's all right. We did this like in front of John Fuller's house and and like a car would come by and we'd be behind the cars and as soon as they got close enough we'd throw the dummy out and then they would hit the dummy and of course it explodes all over the place and then people slam on their brakes and, you know, get crazy, and then of course we would run and giggle in and that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:I didn't do any stuff like that. So when you told me that, I thought it was the best thing ever.
Speaker 1:Well, that's because you weren't creative and ingenious like okay you gotta remember this. Okay, this is this is the 70s. Okay, this is like 70s, 77,. Okay, you weren't even an itch in your daddy's pants at that point Okay, and and so so we didn't have all these other distractions.
Speaker 1:We would go outside and play, we would hang out in someone's front yard, backyard, at the wall the wall at the end of the alley, or whatever it was, and and you know, we did stuff like okay, we would get a dollar, maybe two bucks, which is a lot of money, and we would go up to Goodwill and we'd go buy an old, beat up purse.
Speaker 2:Oh, I love this one.
Speaker 1:And and we would we would take fishing string and and we would tie it to the purse and then we would throw it out in the street and and then and then, when cars would come by, they would see the purse and they would stop, sometimes right in the middle of the street, sometimes they'd pull over and they would stop to and when they would when the driver would bend over to pick up the purse, we would pull the string. We'd hide behind the bushes and we'd pull the string and they would pop up-. Oh my gosh, you know, get spooked or whatever. And most of the time look, when you're getting beat by a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds, you get pissed and and so most of the time they would just oh, you stupid kid, you know, call us names or whatever get back in the car and drive off.
Speaker 1:But there was there was a there was one time we were up a block or so from the house and it was Saturday night and it's late, it's dark and we're at the intersection. No one's gonna know, but we're at the intersection of Hadley and Seadry.
Speaker 2:I know that I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1:And we were in front of Hadley Lanes, which was a neighborhood bowling alley, 10 lanes, that is this property here, our our property is twice as wide as the property that oh, hadley Lanes. Okay, that's how small this was, but it was our neighborhood bowling alley, it was our hangout. Well, so we're across the street and this house on the corner had these big juniper bushes, perfect cover, and we throw the purse right out in the middle of the intersection and we're hiding behind the bushes and we're waiting. And if anybody knows a UPS truck, the step vans, they have a certain sound that they make. They make this roaring sound coming down. And so here comes a it was a it was not a UPS truck, but it was a USPS truck, so it's for the postal service, but it was a step van, same same type of vehicle, guys coming down, and on our street the speed limit was like 30 miles an hour. And he's coming down. You can hear him roaring, you know that rumbling down the street. And then all of a sudden the guy locks up his brakes and in the middle of the intersection, if you guys ride your bicycles, does a power slide. The van goes sideways in the middle of the intersection.
Speaker 1:This is like eight, nine o'clock at night. It's pitch dark out. So he's doing a power slide, you hear the tires squealing on the asphalt and then he comes to a stop and you hear this big ol' yee-ha and the guy jumps out of the step van and he runs over to the purse and as soon as he bends down, we pull the string and the guy jumps up and he goes oh my God, you guys got me so good. That's such a great jump. He was so happy about it that we punked him and he was like that is fast. He was so good about it, he could have beat the tar out of us. It was I think it was Chuck and John Fuller and me and that was the best. But see, it's this kind of stuff that these guys don't want to come on the show and talk about, are you kidding me.
Speaker 1:Come on, what harm do we do?
Speaker 2:I know you're naming off this John Fuller guy, but everyone's got a feeling. Yeah, I know he actually looks cool. Let's first name, last name.
Speaker 1:I don't know. This isn't I don't change the names to protect the guilty okay, but it's just some of the silly stuff that we did and the reasons why these guys won't come on the program Spouse does, but the rest of them are afraid, I guess. I don't know. I guess maybe because they were firefighters or police officers. They're retired now, but whatever. So I don't know.
Speaker 1:But what do you want to know? What else do you want to know, I guess, besides the silly pranks that I would play as a kid? And that's just two of them. Oh my gosh, that isn't even like the yeah, I can't believe I'm gonna say this Bombing cars with oranges.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you didn't tell me that one.
Speaker 1:I think back and I was like wait a minute.
Speaker 2:Let's make orange juice boys.
Speaker 1:If I'm driving down the road and I got pelted with about four or five oranges, I'm pulling over and I'm beating me some kids, I am tanning some butts. I don't care, they can call their parents and call whatever. I'm tanning some butts because I don't want any dents in my vehicle. But we used to go down in our neighborhood. We had an alley that was behind, that was between the two streets, went right down the center of the block. So we would go out the back of our house and we walked down the alley to the end. It was Broadway and the Davises lived there and the Davises had like six, seven citrus trees on their property and all in the front and they were always full of fruit. So we'd go and pick oranges off the tree and we stood right at the edge of the alley and when cars came by, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Yeah, yeah, bad stuff, bad stuff. I guess that was kind of breaking the law a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that one. But if there's property damage, we didn't hurt anybody.
Speaker 1:Thank God, we didn't make anybody crash, we didn't cause any accidents, nothing like that. But it's all good, yeah, so those are good.
Speaker 2:I do love hearing those because I don't know, it just seems so different. I just can't imagine kids today. I can't imagine just going out and seeing kids throwing oranges like a car. I'm like, wow, like the 70s were like wild, like when I hear that story the first one I could see that happening today for sure.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, well, you know, and, and, and you know, we did stuff like toilet paper someone's house.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God.
Speaker 1:But the fun one that we used to do a lot. The fun one we used to do a lot is we would um, we did it, I don't know. Maybe a couple of times we would get newspaper and we would rip it up into confetti. We would tear it up into little pieces and we'd put it in a grocery bag. And then we would go up to someone's yard that had, like they were growing new grass because there was no such thing as sod in the 70s. Okay, there was no sod. You seed it, you're lawn, and so this fresh grass is growing up. We will go sprinkle our newspaper shreds, our, our, our confetti. We would sprinkle it on their new lawn. That hadn't you know, it was just sprouting. So what are you going to do with all this newspaper that's sprouting, that's covering your freshly sprouting grass? It's still mostly dirt. We do silly things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you were a menace.
Speaker 1:But that was more like it. We were a menace to the neighborhood. Okay, we were maybe even a menace to society. I don't know, but they're just silly things like that, yeah.
Speaker 2:They are funny stories though.
Speaker 1:They're great stories. They're great stories because they always had a funny ending. You know good stuff, that's all. I don't know.
Speaker 2:So Like gosh with the teepee thing. There was all this drama in high school. You, you were around.
Speaker 1:I was there. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:You were there, yeah. But yeah, there was all this drama. Long story short, we some of my friends and I we teepee'd someone else's house. We did something similar to the newspaper I think it was rice, if I'm not mistaken so that was like really bad. But yeah, that happened, we got caught. It was a huge deal. It was a huge deal, yeah, I'll never forget that. But then, like a week or so later, one of my friends, his house, got teepee'd and I didn't know this. He's calling me up that morning all mad at me, like Tess, why would you do that? I'm like what are you talking about? He's like I know it was you, I know it was you guys who teepee'd my house. Yeah, I'm like what? Like we got in so much trouble. Like you think I'm going to be out teepee-ing again another week in a row. Like that was my first and last time teepee-ing a house.
Speaker 1:They yeah Well, the word got around and they all thought you were serial teepeers.
Speaker 2:Apparently so, because he was so upset, like he was borderline, crying through the phone, like telling me like what it was. I don't know if I told you that, but yeah, it was with my close friends, ryan, yeah, yeah, come on, I was like okay, but it was pretty funny.
Speaker 1:We was probably crying because his parents would make him clean. Yeah See, when Jake was in high school we would get teepee'd also. When I'd wake up and I got a Saturday morning or Sunday morning and I'd teepee all in the trees and everywhere else, around the mailbox, whatever, and I'd just I'd go up into Jake's room and I'd just kick his bed or whatever. I'd say get up, you got to go clean up Now. Your friends made a mess, let's go. And he'd have to go out there and clean it all up. You see it.
Speaker 2:Like you were just chill about it, though People like Well, because I wasn't cleaning it up. It's not my best People are like freaking out about the teepee these days. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it's not like. It's not like in short supply anymore, Like it was a few years ago. So I mean, if this was a few years ago I would have been really mad.
Speaker 1:I waited in line for two days for that. But nah just, you know, besides all the gags and the pranks and the stuff that we did, look, you know, steering this back really tests to you and to me and your mother. You know I have to say this and I guess I I don't know I want to say this because whatever audience is out there, I want them to really know what kind of a young lady you really are. You're truly remarkable, you're absolutely incredible and, and you know, we're so very proud of you for the things that you've accomplished in your, you know, 22 years of life right now and you've accomplished so much really in the last nearly five years with, obviously, you know, graduating from a four year university, graduating in three and a half years, taking on the job that you have now. It's a great. You know you've got a great thing going on. We're just really proud of your accomplishments. You've really done so much. Probably the worst decision that you've made right now is sitting over here in the studio, no, but, but no, I just you're, you're, you're, you really are. You're a remarkable young lady. You have a good head on your shoulders, you don't? You make good decisions. It's not always the right one. But you make good decisions. But the cool thing is is that you will come to your mother and I when you are, you know, perplexed with having to make a decision on something, and you'll get our advice. You won't just make decisions willy nilly without putting some thought into them.
Speaker 1:The one thing that you and I are very much like it's so funny because we're so similar we can be quite dramatic at times. We love to hear the sound of our own voice. Well, no, I tell, and it's truth, I'm being truthful, I don't like the sound of my own voice. I just like to hear myself talk. Um, I wish it sounded better, but, um, but we are, we're rational thinkers and we try to break things down and put, put it back together to form a decision or an opinion of something. So we're just, we're very similar in that way. It's, it's, it's, it's really neat and um, but what I? What I like, is that you lean on, you lean on your mother and I you lean on her, more rightfully so. But it really hits me right here when you come to me and um, which it just shows me, um, that, and it proves to me that I guess I'm a pretty okay guy and um, yeah, I have a good support system, and you guys you do.
Speaker 1:You have a tremendous support system and you have a lot of people that love you. We're one of them. I think that we're probably your biggest fans and uh yeah. So I don't want to get all mushy. You know, I don't want to see you cry.
Speaker 1:You'll probably come out with like that ugly cry and I'm like no, no one needs to see that, no one needs to see that, but yeah, um, I look, I just appreciate you doing this, coming in studio, having some fun with me, um and um, just spending some time with my audience. So they kind of get to know Tess a little bit. And, uh, they know your mom a little bit. Your mom hated that episode. She hated coming to this day. I dragged her in here kicking and screaming. She hated it. I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it.
Speaker 2:She's just the you know graphic design team and the production crew and the social media manager. She definitely is a social media team.
Speaker 1:She definitely is the creative design crew as well. Everyone knows she created that right there. But um.
Speaker 2:She, like hand, did this.
Speaker 1:She did and we're talking to, for those that are listening and listening at home or in your car. We're talking about the, the, the, the, the show logo the artwork for the show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, catherine created that by herself, by hand. Um, but not she's she. She thinks she's the producer, she's not the producer of this show. Uh-uh, she thinks so. She tries to run it, but you know, I tell her her she, it stops right there at the studio entrance. So, but I do, I appreciate you coming on, I appreciate you doing this, I appreciate you putting up with me for the last hour and six minutes. Um, it's been fun. And um, yeah, well, you know, I, I'm hoping that we'll do this again sometime in another, in another form or whatever. Um, but yeah, it'd be great. And um, I guess with that, we're just, uh, we're going to wrap it and remind you all that this podcast is available on multiple podcast platforms, like Apple podcast.
Speaker 1:Amazon music, leave me alone and Spotify, or just search the Ben Maynard program and choose your option.
Speaker 2:You'll have multiple options to choose from.
Speaker 1:And let me do my thing here. If you're watching this on YouTube, then please subscribe to the channel, give me a thumbs up and leave a comment, and I try to get a guest in here. That's going to inspire people to leave multiple comments. You know, I get like one, two, three, something like that. So who knows?
Speaker 2:Maybe the people would feel more inspired if it is like that kind of off there. What, if we like? Added my solo out over here.
Speaker 1:I can't believe. Look, I'm trying to close the show here, all right, and Tess is trying to take it over. She wants it to be the Ben and Tess program, really Okay. And last but not least, follow me on Instagram. Simply Ben Maynard program. With that, we're done, we're out. Thanks for being here. This is the Ben Maynard program. Tell a friend Bye.