WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:06.040 So I have a grandparent show called Really I'm a Grandparent here on jail Jamdia. 2 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:09.960 It's out every Saturday, new episodes and the whole thing. And so 3 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:16.640 I was thinking, did I want to put this story on there? But 4 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:24.600 then I decided I want to put it on here because it's about being fifty 5 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:33.200 plus and the changing dynamics of how kids view sexuality. So I was like, 6 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:35.960 I was going back and forth. So I'm recording it for this, 7 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:40.240 but chat out my grandparent podcast, Really I Am a Grandparent on all streaming 8 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:45.399 services. I'm James id Jr. This is fifty plus. This is during 9 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:51.039 Pride Month. So I got a beautiful text from my grandchildren, my two 10 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:54.640 of my older grandchildren. It's got my one granddaughter, Scarlett and my grandson 11 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:59.320 Rylan, who are eighteen, well seventeen. I was eighteen and nineteen years 12 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:06.920 old. Gen Zers obviously grew up with uh kids who had same sex parents 13 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:11.120 and Sacramento things like that, and so, and they've known I was gay 14 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:15.000 this whole time. They've never always, never had a I I never made 15 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.480 a big deal about it. It was it was not really am a name, 16 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:22.239 major discussion. We talked about it recently on our last trip I was 17 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:25.680 up there. We kind of talked about it a little bit, but they 18 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:30.719 have gay folks in their lives and just it's just it just there's there. 19 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:33.000 But I'm just I've been there. I was always. I was always their 20 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:38.120 grandfather first. That's something that's just been very important to me. Everything else 21 00:01:38.159 --> 00:01:42.280 is secondary, you know, so to speak, or a third or whatever. 22 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:46.400 And they sent me a message a text saying that you know, heavy 23 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:49.799 pride month, Papa Jamie, we love you. And I did not expect 24 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:53.879 that whatsoever, and it really touched my heart, and I mean I got 25 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:57.439 cried a little bit, just thought this was very cool. And I remember 26 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.480 by the time, I I appreciate that so much. Thank you for accepting 27 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.599 me. I love being a grandfather. You know, I love you both 28 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:08.120 and everything, and we love you, right you, Jester. My daughter 29 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:15.080 did a great job raising them. But I know there's been my dissension with 30 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:23.520 when it comes to lgbt O all your stuff and children. And I always 31 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:28.439 say, you know, I raised my daughters. There are two heterosexual women 32 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:34.080 in successful relationships, long terms as relationships, and I've raising my grandchildren and 33 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:38.520 everything so far. But it's fine. I mean they accept me. They've 34 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:43.319 always accepted people in their lives. I raised my children with the village of 35 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:51.199 people of all types in their lives and there's fine. I mean, the 36 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:57.280 only things happened to them. And then going crazy, I know this whole 37 00:02:57.280 --> 00:02:59.479 there's this whole thing, and I want to get you political on here, 38 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:05.439 but I noticed a whole thing about you know that that should kid should not 39 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.879 know anything about gay stuff period, because that's the thing about the whole sexuality 40 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.479 thing, and how are you fall on it? Is fine for me. 41 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:19.120 I'm at that generation where I didn't do anything sexual in front of my kid's 42 00:03:19.560 --> 00:03:23.319 period. Whether I was with women or men or whatever, I just never 43 00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:30.120 did. And that was never that was never part of the conversation. It 44 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.599 was never they knew I was gay, meaning and see, for me, 45 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:38.319 being gay was more than just my sexuality. It was more of that I 46 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:44.879 just attracted the same sex. But that's something totally. It's a whole separate 47 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:49.159 thing. And you know, I'm your grandfather first or your father first either. 48 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.960 When I was just it was more about trying to raise them period in 49 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.879 life. But I sneeze you guys, I'm so sorry. I think it's 50 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:06.639 come out. But I just exposed them to music by gay artists, books 51 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:12.120 by gay artists, movies by gay artists that were that were appropriate, age 52 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:17.680 appropriate. Yes, sneeze, it won't come out. I hadn't recorded all 53 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:24.879 day and now I got sneeze. Excuse me, folks, I'm so sorry. 54 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:30.680 I couldn't I think stop it. That it was more than it's just 55 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:35.240 that, you know, I was it was told age appropriately, just that 56 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:39.639 I like certain I like this. That's all it means, you know, 57 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.959 it's all about love and light and and but that was even a major conversation. 58 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.839 Was just like, get to know people as people, and a lot 59 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:53.519 of gay people that I know are just as boring and regular and ordinary as 60 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:57.240 straight people. Like there's no there's nothing, a lot of things that a 61 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:00.519 lot of the things that I like have nothing to do with my b blackness 62 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.279 or nothing to do with my business. Or it's like I like certain movies 63 00:05:03.319 --> 00:05:08.639 and certain shows, and I just I felt like, but it showed them 64 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:13.879 though, is that it's just a normalized thing, nothing crazy. Because I 65 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:17.680 grew up with crazy straight parents. I grew up in a society where they 66 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:20.000 were doing all kinds of stuff. I should have seen. They were doing 67 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:24.800 sexual stuff that I shouldn't have seen. I was exposed at things way too 68 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:27.399 early, you know, that kind of stuff. So that was and that 69 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.600 was my generation. That was baby boomers right for me. So like it's 70 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:35.920 I mean, I just I'm just kind of amazed at this point now with 71 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:40.759 them, I've always just been their grandfather. We had to talk recently about 72 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:42.319 it, but growing up, we don't have to talk about it. We 73 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:46.279 never talked about it. Not really. They knew my they knew my my 74 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:51.680 partners, but it was more it was more of I am the fun grandfather. 75 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:55.879 It was just fun and this happened to be my partner. But other 76 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:00.560 than that, I'm your grandfather first, and let's just focus on me helping 77 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:02.639 you with your school stuff, or playing with you guys or whatever, to 78 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:09.560 your sporting events. There's it's like there's just so much when you're when kids 79 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:13.560 are in your life, when you're raising them or you're a grandparents, it's 80 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:15.879 just you're not even I mean literally, you're just like you're focused on what 81 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:19.279 they're well being. Is they do they need to eat? Are they hungry? 82 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:21.439 Are they thirsty? Have to go to the bathroom? You know, 83 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:25.839 can entertained like you're not even thinking about anything else. That's what's so funny 84 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:30.920 about this whole bit, Like I never thought about that, But it's times 85 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:34.560 are times. We're had a weird time period where a lot has changed, 86 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:40.399 I feel for the better, but now we're starting to have marginalized groups again, 87 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:44.800 and that's the part that's hard. And and for them, they also 88 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:50.480 have a very black grandfather who's also very kind of militantly black on some level, 89 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:55.720 and I've root for black people and black folks and and I you know, 90 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.879 I do shows on TV about black artists and stuff. So but again 91 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:04.439 I'm their grandfather first, that's my whole thing. And then then I teach 92 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:08.439 them some of the ancestry, We talk about some of the family stuff and 93 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:13.439 go from there. So it's just it's it's funny how that's I never thought 94 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:15.759 a million years. I mean, when I thought when I had my got 95 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:17.839 grandkids, I hadn't thought to throw on that either. But the fact that 96 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:21.439 they're old enough that we can actually now talk about any kind of subject they 97 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:26.240 want to talk about because they're literally adults, so which is very interesting. 98 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:30.240 It was very touching. And again, people have their own thoughts about this, 99 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:34.319 and that's fine. But my kids and grandkids are relatively well adjusted and 100 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:40.920 they're fine, and it's and again, a lot of my home life was 101 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:44.759 boring, boring as fuck, nothing exciting, nothing, no, nothing. 102 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:46.879 I didn't take them nowhere. Are crazy, We didn't do anything. We 103 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:51.120 were so busy just raising them to be adults that can be worthy in society 104 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:56.600 all. I think most socials are that way. I'm James Thought junior, 105 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.040 and this is fifty plus. I'll taught to you next time.