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Speaker 1: When it comes to home improvement, you've got choices. Let's

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say there's a hole in the bedroom wall and somehow

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nobody in the house knows how it got there. You

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could fix it, I mean there's always YouTube, right, but

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you know.

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Speaker 2: Three hours later it's gonna look like.

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Speaker 1: A patch job, not even a good patch job. And

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how about that leak under the kitchen sink. Yeah, you

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said you'd get to it, and that was what two

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and a half three months ago. If we're being honest,

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we all have that list, the one word deep down

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you're not totally sure you've got the skills to pull

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it off. If it's my list, I'm calling Back of

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All Trades. Holes in the wall handled, leaky sinks done,

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full kitchen remodel, Yeah they got that too. And hey,

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warmer weather's coming. How's that deck looking? Need it extended?

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Rebuilt outdoor patio? Don't be ahead. Called Mac of All

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Trades five eight five two zero two ninety two eighteen.

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That's five eight five two zero two ninety two eighteen.

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And you can see all they do online at Macofalltrades

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dot net. They'll handle it so you don't have.

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Speaker 2: To win your old career gives you lemons throwing some

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ice mix in some vodka.

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Speaker 1: We call it a podcast from the Mac of All

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Trades Studio in Fairport and driven by Victor Chrysler Dots

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Jeep Ram.

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Speaker 2: It's Billified, the Bill Moran Podcast. Well, hello and welcome.

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Thanks for getting your pot on, Thanks for telling a friend.

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Speaker 1: And that's how we spread the word about the pirate ship.

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Speaker 2: It's all about the grassroots. So I I've been kicking

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around in.

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Speaker 1: My head for a while. I've wanted to talk to

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this person because when I go to the Bilified Facebook page,

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and I don't know if she followed it or how,

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but she's one of the first things that pop up.

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Mercedes Vasquez Simmons. She's a Monroe County legislator and reaching

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for higher office and stuff. But that you know, okay,

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so you go all right, and then but she keeps

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popping up and I see things, and I see a

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lot of activity in the community and the stuff with politics.

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And then I see that she was a beauty pageant

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winner and she has stuff in boxing. I see her

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standing with Sugar Ray Leonard, one of my favorite boxers

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of all time, and I go, this is either the

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most intimidating resume I've ever heard of, or this is

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someone who got real comfortable with being uncomfortable, and I

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thought I got to find a way to get her

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on the podcast. And I just reached out one day

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and called the number. I thought it was somebody else

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that answered. It wasn't. It was her, she answered, and

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she said, yeah, I'd be happy to come on. And

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I'm honored. But that is like I saw you standing

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with Sugar Ray and I'm like, what the heck is this?

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Speaker 3: That's right, that's right. Yes, a New York state licensed

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boxing promoter. I may be right now the only female

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licensed promoter in the state of New York. Have been

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into boxing pretty much all my life, and I'm close

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to twenty years ago. I started a company call it

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Pretty Girl Productions. And that's a fun story too that

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I'll have to share one day. But so yes, I

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entered into the boxing space as a fight promoter.

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Speaker 2: Wow.

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Speaker 3: Tried the boxing, you know, tried doing any amateur circuit.

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Didn't care for getting punched in the face, so I excited.

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There's got to be another way.

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Speaker 1: It's always the punch. It's always the punch. You don't

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throw when you're in the ring, right, it's the punch you.

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Speaker 2: Don't throw that.

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Speaker 1: You go, God, my head only right And you look

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back at tape and it's it's interesting, Wow, what a

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cool thing. But I mean that and beauty queen at

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the same time, I mean, what are we doing here

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that's like or not?

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Speaker 3: Well, let me tell you about the beauty queen. Tomboy

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Born and raised a Tomboy. I just you know, in

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the city. You know, we were just a I wasn't

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bully of the neighborhood, but love to fight. I love

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to scuffle with the guys, and it was it was

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fun to do that. My mother was working with a

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group of individuals within our community to help save what

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was the Puerto Rican Festival. At one time, we were

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at jeopardy of losing the festival, and my mother was

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so kind of recruiting me to become a participant in

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this pageant because again they were trying to save this pageant.

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They were doing their fundraising just to have at least

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a few hours of festivities in a downtown area. And

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of course you have to have a beauty queen. And

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I'm like, beauty queen, I don't want to be I

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don't want to do this now, I've already you know,

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dad into dancing. I love dancing and did a cultural

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piece that was true to me. In fact, I was

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the only contestant that didn't have shoes on, because if

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you understand what it is to dance a cultural song

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like a bleana or boomba, they don't wear shoes. They

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didn't have shoes, and that's I was just being true

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to that, and apparently that resonated with the judges, and

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that's how I was able to become the beauty creating

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Miss Puerto Rico of Rochester.

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Speaker 2: Why I was shocked too.

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Speaker 3: I was like me, are you sure?

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Speaker 2: I wasn't shocked at all.

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Speaker 1: I really wasn't shocked at all, but I just thought, boy,

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what a what a thing?

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Speaker 2: It's usually one or the other.

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Speaker 1: You don't see many people who have such love of

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boxing then going beauty because, as you said, getting punched

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in the face into the fun. But what was life

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actually like growing up in Rochester? You just mentioned that

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your mom saved the Puerto Rican Fest and I don't

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want the Polish version, I mean the real version. And

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I guess to sort of tag onto that. What did

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being Puerto Rican here feel like as a kid, oh,

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you know.

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Speaker 3: I was immersed in a community that we're all Puerto Ricans.

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I didn't know anything but what it is to be

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Puerto Rican. So I was born and raised in the

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inner City. In fact, I still live in the home

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that I was raised. And I came back about four

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or five years ago just to help my mother. I

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noticed that she was slowing down. I noticed that things were,

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you know, just weren't connecting as they should have. So

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I said, you know, I'm just going to take some

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time off from boxing in the private sector to really

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focus on my mother's well being. And that was probably

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the biggest blessing I could have had because it allowed

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me to spend quality time with my mother and really

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understand what her motives were. What why are you going

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to so many meetings? And simultaneously, Father Tracy, who was

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he's a pillar in our community, particularly in the Latino community,

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his health started deteriorating. So I slowed down my traveling

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because I was traveling quite a bit with boxing, and

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I slowed things down, and I thought to myself, why

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did God bring me back into this? And I think

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everything is spiritual connected. Father Tracy was diagnosed with als

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and quickly his health deteriorated, and you know, of course,

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with not being able to be as mobile as he

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wanted to, I was running him from one meeting to another,

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and I thought to myself, from sun up to sundown,

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he's in meetings impacting my community. And here is a

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he's an Irish German priest. What was his investment? Why

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did he care so much about our community? And as

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I started meeting with individuals and attending some of his meetings,

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it became very clear we didn't have a seat at

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the table. And although we are a as a I

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guess race getting into spaces that at one time we

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weren't allowed, we still missed that voice. So Father Tracy

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and just being able to shadow him and then shadow

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my mother, I would deem the most as Batman and

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Robin when anything was happening in our community. They were

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front and center and bringing awareness to that community. Sadly,

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Father Tracy passed away and then several years later my

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mom did too, But that opportunity to be with them,

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right to be in their space, to understand their why,

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really resonated with me. Now again, Born and raised in Rochester,

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My mother was a civil rights activist, and you know,

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just by nature, because I was her only daughter, was

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I was always with her. You know. In fact, most

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people think that I was the only child and my

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mother and several other children, but my mother just you know,

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I was always with her. She was my best friend.

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And understanding her why became part of my why. It

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was part of my DNA growing up, just seeing what

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she was involved with. Now, I wanted to be a

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normal kid. I wanted to be outside playing kickball and

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and playing baby dolls with the neighbors. But that wasn't

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for me. That wasn't my path. My path was to

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me more of a public servant, understanding the little grain

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that everyone puts has the impact on a community. Shortly

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after my mother was quite an extraordinary woman. You either

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loved her, you hate her. There was nothing in between.

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My mother called it the way she saw it, but

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she earned the respect of many in our community. She

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was able to mobilize our Latino community went when it

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was time to take action again civil rights activists. She

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fought for the right to vote. Many Puerto Ricans one

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day migrated to Rochester and Latinos they of course they're

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American citizens because right the relationship Puerto Rico has with

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the United States, you're able to vote. But they also

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saw as as cheap labor, the cheap labor they can come.

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They worked the Kodaks, the Xerox, the Boston Moms, all manufacturing,

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right because in the late sixties, early seventies is one

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that we at this boom here in Rochester. But what

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was missing was our ability to vote. Now, the ability

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was there, however, there was a barrier, which was a literacy.

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Now understand that that requirement was of of all, you know,

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African Americans Latinos. However, those are the two major sectors

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that were greatly impacted. So my mother worked with the

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likes of Minister Florence John Lewis and to remove that barrier.

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So shortly after, you know, Puerto Ricans were able to

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vote again because of their citizenship, they were able to vote.

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And that's really what changed things for the Latino community

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and the African American community. I will tell you that

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the relationship between the Puerto Rican community and African Americans

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solidified during the Civil Rights movement. That's really what makes

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us a strong unit.

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Speaker 1: So in twenty twenty, this is so you just decide

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that I'm going to run for county legislator.

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Speaker 3: No political experience, you.

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Speaker 2: Know, well that's what we need because the political.

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Speaker 3: We worked on on we worked on campaigns. But me

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as a candidate, are you kidding me? I'm the most

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politically incorrect person you'll ever meet.

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Speaker 2: Oh it's awesome. Those are the kind of people I like.

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I love that, I'm telling fighters. Yes, yes, yeah, right right,

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you're holding the air.

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Speaker 1: I got spit buckets and wraps in your gauze and

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a little bit of vaciline on the head. I got it, Mercedes.

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I love this.

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Speaker 2: This is amazing. And so because of.

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Speaker 3: That, I'm the last person I think I shocked myself,

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like what I just commit to. But it was the

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fire again, just the seat. My mother's just her disappointment,

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her hurt, her pain really burned the fire in me

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to say why am I My mother? Would I could

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I could hear her say that. You know, I did

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come to her with of course, asking for advice on things,

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but I I present her problems that I've been having.

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My mother would just look at me, She goes, where

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are you gonna sit on the sideline? So you're gonna

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do something about it, and that I don't want to

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sit on the sidelines. I refused to sit on the sidelines.

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It's time for me to start taking action. And I

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just did a swift from a shift from boxing. I

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went from one ring to another because we tell you,

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these are some serious battles that we've been having at

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the county, within our community. Just as we have a

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we now have a seat at the table. My goal

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is to remain active in my community. And often i'm

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I asked, you know, you're not in campaign season. You

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can slow down. No, when you when you're campaigning, you

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make commitments. When you're done with it, When you're done

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with campaigning and you've secured SIE, that's when you actually

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start working. You have to fulfill the commitments that you made. Right.

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I find my model and that's what I'm sticking to it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's a It's an amazing model. It

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sounds like you had an amazing mother, right. Uh. Can

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I ask a personal question? Was was your dad in

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the picture?

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Speaker 3: He was? He was. My parents divorced when I was young,

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but my father was very much part of our life.

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Speaker 2: Yep.

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Speaker 3: You know, you pick us up, you take us out

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the pizza, knew everything that was happening.

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Speaker 2: And but Mom was really the biggest influence.

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Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely absolutely.

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Speaker 1: Can I ask like a cultural question, it is the

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it's because I come from like Irish, right, all Irish.

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I could get second dual citizenship and it was very patriarchal.

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But would you say that that Puerto Rican was more matriarchal?

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Speaker 2: Is it really led by by by honestly.

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Speaker 1: Like strong, strong, strong women that have really shaped I

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mean you're talking about your mom. Who is I mean,

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you want to talk about throwing a punch, right, she

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threw a punch at eighty something?

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Speaker 2: You know what I mean?

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Speaker 1: I mean, hey, that's that's that's so like that and

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that and where does it that comes from? Just a

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love of her people and her culture and wanting it

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to be better here.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, I would say that it is. But culturally, and

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you'll see that in many Latin American countries the concept

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of machismo, right, that the male is a dominant factor.

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And you know, my mother, my mother lived a very

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abusive life and I sort of don't know I'm to

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talk about that, but about her marriage, it was very difficult.

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There was you know, domestic violence that which we had

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to deal with, and I think it was because of

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that that she emerged to be this this superwoman that

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I've grown to admire now. When my mother passed away,

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there was over two thousand people at her funeral. Yeah,

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it was a traffic jam down Putton Avenue because she

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insisted on having it at Saint Michael's Church. And we'll

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talk a little bit about Saint Michael's Church because it's

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such an important part of my life and the community

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in this in this section of the city. But she was,

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she was my superhero. It was two thousand people there,

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and then she wanted to be buried in Puerto Rico,

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so the governor did the whole half mess. It was

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just beautiful. It was incredible that that she she earned

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that level of respect.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, what well, what a testament you can always tell

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like I remember.

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Speaker 3: That fired up when I talk about my mom.

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Speaker 2: Well you and as you should.

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Speaker 3: Be, because I should thank you.

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Speaker 1: Yes, as you should be, because that that's a pretty uh,

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pretty amazing woman.

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Speaker 3: And I'll tell you all throughout my my childhood, people

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didn't even know my name. They were like, oh, you're

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law have the Blaine right, the daughter of Bilin, and

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what an honor it is to be called like you

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have the Blaine thinking, I was thinking about changing my

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name to let you have. But Mercedes is Mercedes, and

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I have my own fire, my own fight. But I

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thank her, and there's no there would be no Mercedes

296
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if there was no blank go along. Let's be clear

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about that. And it's her fire. This the fight she

298
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had back in the sixties, sixties, it's the same fight

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we're having now. You know, equity to different things. And

300
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it's not that there's a handout, right, we never expected

301
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a handout, but give us a handsole that there is

302
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an opportunity for us to do that. Mother came from

303
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the Puerto Rico. She insisted on not taking any public funding.

304
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My mother still does in us at an early age

305
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that government funding equals they own you. And we never

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took a dollar. And sadly, I mean we we suffered.

307
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We suffered, We ate vegetation. I mean, this is what

308
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we we ate from our from our garden. But it

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was her mindset to say, don't take any money from

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the government because that means they own you. And then

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I think about everything that's happened at the federal level,

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you know with snap and how they're at her quickly

313
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to impact folks with snap. Right, that's that's a level

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of control. So that that that placed back in my

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in my mind as well. You know, my mother had

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some points that so we never took government subsidies. My

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00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,880
mother worked two three jobs at a time. She was

318
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a single mom trying to make a lot of things

319
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happen in our community. How she found time to do

320
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things and barely making thirty thousand dollars is a mystery

321
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to me. But my mother was. She made it. She was.

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She was a fighter and made no excuses. You know,

323
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there was no such thing as you know, committing crime

324
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and somehow being justified criminality is that criminality, there's no

325
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excuse for it. Now, one of our biggest initiatives right

326
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:38,440
now is addressing absentee at the high school level. RCSD

327
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is at a seventy percent absentee. Listen, if that doesn't

328
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scare you to a point where you're like, what is

329
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going on? Stop everything? I don't know what has but

330
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yet I don't see the alarms, I don't see the hey, community,

331
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we need to do something about it. So we're allowing

332
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this chronic problem to continue and it's only gonna get

333
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worse now. This is we've had the issue of the

334
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absentee prior to COVID. COVID just amplified it and now

335
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it's just something that sadly is accepted now. I applaud

336
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:13,839
the new superintendent. I think he had his work cut

337
00:18:13,839 --> 00:18:16,400
out when he came on, but he's that's his focus

338
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right now is a dressing absentee. But again, we're at

339
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seventy percent at a high school level. That scares me

340
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because they're not in the seats. If they're they're not

341
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actually in these classrooms or are they they're definitely not learning,

342
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and odds are they probably get into things that they

343
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shouldn't be, So I'm terrified by it. That's our priority.

344
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We're getting into communities, We're canvassing areas that most don't

345
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even want to travel through. But that's what There's children

346
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that are living in these communities and they have a

347
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right to education.

348
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Speaker 1: Everybody has the right to education. And I hear what

349
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you're saying. It's very hard. And you know, I have

350
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my sixteen year old son who lives with me. I

351
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am not in those zip code and I have sometimes

352
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,079
some real battles, real battles to get them to school

353
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some years, and it's like, you know, I've got ubers

354
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or whatever I mean, But but I it's a little different.

355
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I understand. However, it is a human problem. And when

356
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a parent is trying to get food on the table

357
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and doing these other things, you got so much bandwidth.

358
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And if there's a way for us to recognize that

359
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and help kids. And the other thing, Mercedes is maybe,

360
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and forgive my friends, maybe our public school system's a

361
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bit fucked up and we got to find a different way.

362
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And the thing is like to me, and it's hard, right,

363
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schools are a system and they have to be there's

364
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,559
standards we've got to you know, there's there's things. Being

365
00:19:51,559 --> 00:19:56,440
a teacher is from personal observation over the past few years.

366
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Speaker 2: Being in some schools.

367
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Speaker 1: Is hard coming from non education. You know, I have

368
00:20:03,799 --> 00:20:05,720
thirty years on the radium and stuff and then sort

369
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of making this switch and dovetailing into podcasting and things

370
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and needing some health insurance. So you go to a

371
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,079
school or where your sub or you'll do whatever. You

372
00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:18,480
see how hard it is. But it's very easy to

373
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come in and meet a kid where a kid's at

374
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on an individual level for me, But I don't have standards.

375
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I'm not the one who's got to get them to

376
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you understand what I'm saying. So there's this, there's a

377
00:20:30,599 --> 00:20:33,440
system with the school. Why can't we design this to

378
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meet the kids where the kids are at. These kids

379
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may not look there's all kinds of things. They may

380
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:44,640
not be neurodiversion, whatever, but they're capable and we can

381
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find things for them that will reach them whatever that is,

382
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wherever their interest is.

383
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Speaker 2: How do we do more of that and less of

384
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the other.

385
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Speaker 1: And then it becomes a battle because you know, the

386
00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,920
teacher's got pressure, and so the kid's not there, and

387
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,359
there's this and that, and then the kids you know,

388
00:21:01,599 --> 00:21:06,799
and believe me being a class clown, right, but I was.

389
00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,759
It's hard when there's disruption. Now take it to frustrating,

390
00:21:10,759 --> 00:21:16,400
you don't. My dad was a he had He went

391
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,960
to Saint John Fisher, which is where I ended up

392
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,359
going as well, but I didn't grow up around here,

393
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and he was. He was a major in philosophy. He

394
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,240
got a master's and a doctor in philosophy, and he

395
00:21:29,319 --> 00:21:33,640
taught sixth grade English in the city of Poughkeepsie, Wow

396
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,160
for thirty five years. And he would always say to me,

397
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you don't know how someone's day began, and what he

398
00:21:41,319 --> 00:21:43,640
meant was and I would assume that the some of

399
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,680
this stuff happens in the city of Rochester as well,

400
00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,000
that in the middle of the night somebody's door got

401
00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,400
kicked in and someone in the home was dragged out

402
00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:58,240
for drugs or whatever or whatever things are going on,

403
00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:01,359
and the frustrations and the you know, and when I

404
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:06,599
think about it, when we're angry about something, it's usually

405
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,920
and it's much bigger than the issue at hand. It's

406
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,640
usually a lot of built up ship over the years

407
00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,359
when you have no outlet and you have nobody helping you,

408
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,519
and you're looked upon as as as forgive me, but

409
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,079
you know, the Scuma society or the whatever or this

410
00:22:24,799 --> 00:22:28,000
we're not helping. And yet we sit there and we go, well,

411
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I don't understand. I don't get it. Well, come on, man,

412
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:35,119
it's human beings that need just a little guidance.

413
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Speaker 2: That's all people need is a little guidance. And you.

414
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:42,680
Speaker 3: Looked for that, right. They need structure, they want struggle.

415
00:22:42,759 --> 00:22:48,519
Speaker 1: Yes, boxing is so freaking wonderful for kids. I think

416
00:22:48,559 --> 00:22:50,039
it's amazing for kids.

417
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Speaker 3: I think so too. Everyone says, you know, how do

418
00:22:53,559 --> 00:22:55,920
you enter into the boxing? It is such a violent

419
00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:57,440
sport extraly, it's a very disciplined.

420
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Speaker 1: It's a super disciplined sport. Hanky bar and have somebody

421
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,160
throw medicine balls at your stomach, you know what I mean?

422
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:08,279
Speaker 2: Or have them hit I did, I did, I did right.

423
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,119
Speaker 1: But it's okay because it's and it's really honestly, it's

424
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,559
a beautiful sport because it's about scoring points. It's not

425
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:17,839
all about the knockout. It's not all about this stuff.

426
00:23:17,839 --> 00:23:20,599
I get it's about scoring points, and yes, there's some

427
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,400
things there, but the discipline of it is wonderful. And

428
00:23:25,319 --> 00:23:27,759
I think that that kind of and it doesn't have

429
00:23:27,839 --> 00:23:29,640
to be that. It could be something else. But I

430
00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,000
find so many parallels to life. I see you stepping

431
00:23:33,039 --> 00:23:36,519
into a different ring, throwing different types of punches, promoting,

432
00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:38,400
promoting yourself, doing.

433
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Speaker 2: All these things. It's it's amazing. It's it's really interesting.

434
00:23:42,319 --> 00:23:44,240
Speaker 3: We really have to try it. And I think that

435
00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,160
if you see things, and again, I think I think

436
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,319
that what my mother said, if you sitting the sidelines,

437
00:23:48,839 --> 00:23:50,880
you know you're not, you're part of the problem. You

438
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,440
have to get in there and try to figure things out. Now,

439
00:23:53,599 --> 00:23:55,119
I don't know if I mentioned this. My mother was

440
00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,279
an educator. She worked at Number eight School. She retired

441
00:23:58,319 --> 00:24:01,119
after thirty five years of service, and she would have stayed.

442
00:24:01,559 --> 00:24:04,440
She started having health issues and that's slowed her down,

443
00:24:04,519 --> 00:24:06,720
and you know, she decided, well, let them just retire.

444
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,519
But she was still very much vested in the education

445
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,680
of our kids. In fact, she had this little challenge

446
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,240
in our community. For each a she'd grant five dollars.

447
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:22,599
My mother was barely making minimum age, and every every

448
00:24:22,599 --> 00:24:25,200
semester you see a line out of our house with

449
00:24:25,279 --> 00:24:27,960
everyone collecting their five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and my mother

450
00:24:28,079 --> 00:24:29,960
celebrated that. She goes, I don't care if we don't

451
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,000
have any money. After this, the metre fact that our

452
00:24:32,039 --> 00:24:36,000
community now sees, you know, our kids are being rewarded

453
00:24:36,039 --> 00:24:39,160
for it. So I applaud my mother for doing those

454
00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,720
small initiatives that made such a big impact, because when

455
00:24:41,759 --> 00:24:44,559
my mother passed away, I would get those calls, you

456
00:24:44,599 --> 00:24:46,759
know when my mother, your mother did this, and then

457
00:24:46,799 --> 00:24:48,920
I had no idea. My mother still had so many

458
00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:53,240
connections from you know, my childhood where people are off

459
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,759
to college, they're in California, they're in Harvard, and they

460
00:24:56,759 --> 00:24:59,519
were saying, your mom wrote letters of inspiration just telling

461
00:24:59,599 --> 00:25:01,480
us that we and still do it. And just to

462
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,400
think my mother was always busy. How did she find

463
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,000
time to do all this stuff? But she found time.

464
00:25:07,079 --> 00:25:08,920
My mother said, when you want to do something, you

465
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,920
will find the time to do it. That led me

466
00:25:12,079 --> 00:25:15,960
into getting into education too. I worked as a substitute

467
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:17,559
teacher and I wanted to sort of kind of do

468
00:25:17,559 --> 00:25:20,440
it as a tribute to her. At doing someone door

469
00:25:21,279 --> 00:25:24,519
at Rubert do Clamented number eight school, I ended up

470
00:25:24,519 --> 00:25:29,880
at Franklin and I'm like, oh, Franklin, huh, Franklin it is.

471
00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:34,839
And Franklin, my goodness, Franklin has such great things again

472
00:25:35,039 --> 00:25:37,400
you hear Franklin. In fact, we have barriers. If you

473
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:41,839
ever drive down down Norton Street and Hudson's it's quite

474
00:25:41,839 --> 00:25:44,240
a site. And one of the things I want to

475
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,119
address with the City of Rochester. We've got to remove

476
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,720
those boulders. Have you driven by that by Franklin High School?

477
00:25:51,079 --> 00:25:54,039
It is a welcoming site. It's not a welcoming site

478
00:25:54,079 --> 00:25:56,920
for the community, for the students, for the parents, for anyone.

479
00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,240
Speaker 1: So were they trying to prevent people from driving on

480
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:03,759
the property? Absolutely, I mean I got it. I mean

481
00:26:03,839 --> 00:26:06,519
I get the thing. I think there's a better way, But.

482
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:08,319
Speaker 3: There's got to be a better way.

483
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:13,519
Speaker 1: Come on, he's looking what I'm hearing from you what

484
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:16,599
I'm hearing, and and correct me if I'm wrong on this.

485
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:17,039
Speaker 2: Okay.

486
00:26:18,319 --> 00:26:20,319
Speaker 1: I had a friend. He has a name that is

487
00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:23,440
not very popular probably in the city of Rochester much anymore.

488
00:26:23,799 --> 00:26:25,319
Speaker 2: And I really like this guy.

489
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:27,039
Speaker 1: And I thought he did a lot of really good work,

490
00:26:27,119 --> 00:26:29,079
and I tried to get him. I used to push

491
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,359
him because I would say, you need to run to

492
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:33,920
be mayor, you need to do something.

493
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:34,400
Speaker 2: And it was.

494
00:26:36,039 --> 00:26:40,880
Speaker 1: I hesitate to even say. But he ran a nonprofit.

495
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:43,799
They were putting some money in places they shouldn't. It

496
00:26:43,839 --> 00:26:47,480
was Adam McFadden. Okay. Now, Adam would say to me,

497
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,400
and Adam would come on the radio show with me,

498
00:26:50,079 --> 00:26:52,599
and he was part of our We did a high

499
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,799
school fantasy football because I wanted to highlight some of

500
00:26:55,839 --> 00:26:58,880
the kids as much as we highlight the pros.

501
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,359
Speaker 2: Right, so we would all draft different players.

502
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,480
Speaker 1: And Adam once said to me that there's going to

503
00:27:04,519 --> 00:27:08,880
be a real problem in the city because the grandparents

504
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,799
are raising the kids and they're going to die, like

505
00:27:12,839 --> 00:27:16,799
they just age out. And as I'm listening to you,

506
00:27:16,799 --> 00:27:22,440
your mother raised the community. Your mom raised the community.

507
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,279
I mean, that's what I'm hearing you say without you

508
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:28,160
saying that. But that's that's the story. And your mother's

509
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:33,400
not here anymore. And so here you are again, like,

510
00:27:33,559 --> 00:27:38,039
but you're one person doing amazing things. You've started the

511
00:27:38,079 --> 00:27:41,440
community thing, you've done this, you're a county legislator, you're

512
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:42,559
a school teacher.

513
00:27:43,319 --> 00:27:48,440
Speaker 2: But you're one Where are all the people? What happened?

514
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,160
Speaker 1: Why don't we give a shit? What happened within the community?

515
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:53,759
To not give a shit? And I don't know if

516
00:27:53,759 --> 00:27:56,160
that's even the accurate thing. And it sounds very bad

517
00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:00,119
coming from a face that looks like mine, right, it

518
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:00,880
sounds judgment.

519
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,400
Speaker 3: Already has an opportunity and I think I said this earlier,

520
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,240
putting their little brain in this earth. We all have

521
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,079
the opportunity to do it. We just don't have the will.

522
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,720
It's quick to it's easy to criticize. It's easy criticize,

523
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,240
yea it istize, But what are we doing about it?

524
00:28:17,279 --> 00:28:20,039
Everyone's sitting in the sidelines. So we have to shift

525
00:28:20,079 --> 00:28:23,440
that mentality to say, if we're upset about what's happening

526
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:25,319
with our youth stealing cars, what are we doing as

527
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,400
society to help that. When I said that, you know,

528
00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:32,319
we have kids walking on walking in with anchor bracelets.

529
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,759
It's a ownership. We have failed. We have failed. So

530
00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:37,960
this is why I'm in education. This is why I'm

531
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,480
summing over at Franklin High School and have been there

532
00:28:40,519 --> 00:28:42,319
for four years, and I can see myself being there

533
00:28:42,319 --> 00:28:45,000
for many more years because I want to see those

534
00:28:45,079 --> 00:28:48,200
kids that were in my ninth grade class walk the stage.

535
00:28:48,559 --> 00:28:49,960
That's what I want to see it. And I tell

536
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,920
them all the time, and here they're worried about living

537
00:28:53,039 --> 00:28:56,039
to see their their workers permit if I get six

538
00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,880
you know, if I make it to sixteen, can you

539
00:28:58,920 --> 00:28:59,759
help me find a job?

540
00:28:59,799 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 2: I do if I make it to sixteen?

541
00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:08,160
Speaker 3: And it was it was ninth grade, and they're asking

542
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:09,759
me that. I'm like, what do you mean? No, not

543
00:29:09,799 --> 00:29:11,440
only are you going to make it till fifteen, you're

544
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,319
gonna make it to twenty five and four thirty five.

545
00:29:13,359 --> 00:29:15,680
And you and I will laugh about this when you're

546
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:17,839
taking care of me because you're the generation that takes

547
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:21,759
care of me as as it is. But it was

548
00:29:21,799 --> 00:29:25,559
a moment that I said, how horrific that they can't

549
00:29:25,599 --> 00:29:29,000
see a future. Nothing worse than you know, this whole

550
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,079
political theater when they do it during your election year.

551
00:29:32,359 --> 00:29:34,839
You're putting half a million dollars to a rec center,

552
00:29:35,039 --> 00:29:39,079
community center right before election. No, no, no, do it

553
00:29:39,119 --> 00:29:44,400
all your entire term and be present. There's elector's officials

554
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:46,599
that will come to Clinton and say, well, we're going

555
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,559
to have police escort. Can you walk with us down

556
00:29:48,599 --> 00:29:52,200
Clinton Avenue? Absolutely not. You leave all those escorts and

557
00:29:52,319 --> 00:29:55,160
in all this entourage, Let's have a real conversation. We'll

558
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,160
walk down Clinton, Joseph Stiles Street, anywhere you want to

559
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,559
walk in our city. Let's walk. I don't walk with

560
00:30:00,599 --> 00:30:04,640
police escort, I don't walk with security. I walk with myself.

561
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:09,759
I have intentional conversation about what's happening in our communities.

562
00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:11,440
Speaker 2: Yeah.

563
00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:16,519
Speaker 1: Right, so you pull back the political mask and you

564
00:30:16,559 --> 00:30:20,319
get to see what's really happening and not not the theater.

565
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,079
As you say, right, it's not the political theater. But

566
00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:27,440
let's go back to something that you hit upon that

567
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:35,160
I think is so important in human beings. I believe

568
00:30:35,359 --> 00:30:39,680
that everything in life is an inside job, and by

569
00:30:39,759 --> 00:30:43,519
that I mean that there's really nothing in This will

570
00:30:43,559 --> 00:30:46,799
sound ridiculous, people, what the fuck is wrong with you?

571
00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:51,599
I don't believe anything. No one can really assert anything

572
00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:56,079
on you. Now, there are certainly things, as you gave

573
00:30:56,119 --> 00:30:59,759
it an amazing example in the beginning where your mother

574
00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,799
was trying to vote. That seems like things were asserted

575
00:31:02,839 --> 00:31:06,960
that way. Were they intentional? I don't know. Was it wrong?

576
00:31:07,119 --> 00:31:11,920
Yes it was, but there was things. But I think

577
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:14,480
that one of the problems that I see so much

578
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:17,200
and I wish there was an easy answer to this

579
00:31:17,519 --> 00:31:23,200
is building the self esteem in children. And when I

580
00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:25,839
say that, I don't mean like I don't want to

581
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,160
be blown smoke up a kid's ass, And it's not

582
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,119
you know, And I hear people every kid shouldn't get

583
00:31:31,119 --> 00:31:34,440
a trophy. Well, I had three sons and I don't

584
00:31:34,519 --> 00:31:37,839
remember them out past the age of five playing soccer.

585
00:31:37,839 --> 00:31:40,920
That everybody got a trophy, right, And even there there

586
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,119
was one kid who scored the most goals. And so

587
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,400
it gave you a meritocracy to try to build toward.

588
00:31:46,799 --> 00:31:49,079
I don't know how you really build self esteem. But

589
00:31:49,119 --> 00:31:51,240
the self esteem is what we need. And I don't

590
00:31:51,279 --> 00:31:54,440
care where you live. The kids are hit with shit

591
00:31:54,559 --> 00:31:57,839
on a constant level with social media, and it is

592
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:02,799
really really like they live on these things. That device

593
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,640
is never more than six inches away from them. It

594
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:10,319
feels like right, and so how do you have to

595
00:32:10,359 --> 00:32:14,359
make those kids feel good about them? And when I

596
00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:18,880
heard things like in communities and you say you're the Democrats,

597
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:20,960
I'm not the whatever you think, the others in the

598
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:21,599
party will say.

599
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:21,839
Speaker 2: I know.

600
00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,079
Speaker 1: One of the things that was coming out and it

601
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,599
bothered me was the defund the police, and they go,

602
00:32:27,039 --> 00:32:31,200
you know, words mean a lot. Can we say something

603
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:35,079
else instead of defund the police and making you know,

604
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:40,519
like in any community it's the the or what's the

605
00:32:40,559 --> 00:32:44,640
saying the bad apple spoils the bunch, right, And we

606
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,039
have that with police as well, where there's bad police officers,

607
00:32:48,079 --> 00:32:50,240
but yeah, are they're bad teachers?

608
00:32:50,279 --> 00:32:50,759
Speaker 2: Probably?

609
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:53,720
Speaker 1: There's all kinds of stuff, but we focus on those

610
00:32:53,759 --> 00:32:55,680
and now all of a sudden, you know, they're this

611
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:57,440
and when we say defund the police.

612
00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,279
Speaker 2: There used to be things that the police did that

613
00:32:59,359 --> 00:33:03,720
were great. There were youth leagues, you know, one of the.

614
00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:07,200
Speaker 1: Greatest basketball players to ever come out of this area

615
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:08,920
was in a police league.

616
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:10,599
Speaker 2: He used to play.

617
00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,799
Speaker 1: So my point being is, okay, you want to defund

618
00:33:15,839 --> 00:33:18,359
the police, well then let's reallocate some of the money

619
00:33:18,599 --> 00:33:22,559
because those things impacted the community and it got.

620
00:33:22,359 --> 00:33:25,960
Speaker 2: And you can't tell me like people go, well, how.

621
00:33:25,799 --> 00:33:28,319
Speaker 1: Do you make a friend? You know, I'm older, Now,

622
00:33:28,359 --> 00:33:30,599
how do you make a friend? You show up at

623
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:33,839
the same place all the time, right, and you just

624
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,640
as the conversation goes, we get to know a little

625
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,119
bit more more about each other and we share and share,

626
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,839
and then one day you're sharing something a little more vulnerable.

627
00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:42,799
Speaker 2: And that's how it happens.

628
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,319
Speaker 1: That's exactly how it happens on a basketball court with

629
00:33:45,359 --> 00:33:46,440
the police and the kids.

630
00:33:46,839 --> 00:33:48,519
Speaker 2: And that's something that's not missing.

631
00:33:48,519 --> 00:33:51,480
Speaker 1: And John Wallace is a product of that, went on

632
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,720
to play for the New York Dicks. A wonderful guy

633
00:33:53,839 --> 00:33:56,720
still comes back and does all that. That is the

634
00:33:56,799 --> 00:34:00,279
ship that's missing, and it's still.

635
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,519
Speaker 3: I'm a big fan of pal. I absolutely agree with

636
00:34:03,559 --> 00:34:06,160
you on it. As I mentioned, we run a soccer

637
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,800
program where at the Latino Youth Development Resource Center, we

638
00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,320
use one of the city Recreation centers and several years

639
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:15,760
ago I was approached by I believe the Sheriff's department

640
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,719
with a new group of new cohort was coming on

641
00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:22,760
and they had to do some community service. So I said,

642
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:25,800
I would love to participate in that where they helped

643
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:28,079
coach our kids. They're all in the field with our

644
00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:32,639
kids during that summer and the end the last game,

645
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,960
which is always ends with a little picnic and barbecut's

646
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,400
really nice. They did this and the kids loved it.

647
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,360
The last day they came in their uniforms. The kids

648
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,880
were like, wait, you're a cop. And it was such

649
00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:48,679
a moment. But they build relationships, so all of a sudden,

650
00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,119
he's not a cop with a an interview, you know,

651
00:34:51,159 --> 00:34:53,639
and all the stereotypes they hear about a police. This

652
00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:58,480
is a guy who couldn't play soccer or they scored

653
00:34:58,559 --> 00:35:00,559
on them. You know. They all have this story and

654
00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:04,199
these are lifelong relationships. But it changed their perspective on

655
00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:07,440
an outlook on policing. We need to do more of that.

656
00:35:07,559 --> 00:35:09,400
I really listen. I want to. I want to pal

657
00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:11,199
right on Clinton Avenue. We can make this happen. We're

658
00:35:11,199 --> 00:35:13,639
gonna have to. We're gonna have to work with the

659
00:35:13,639 --> 00:35:17,280
police to make it happen, because you're right, that's what's lacking.

660
00:35:17,719 --> 00:35:21,320
Trust me. I got quite a bit of a backlash

661
00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,719
because I voted against uh continuing the funding of this nonsense.

662
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,519
We just can't continue it. I mean, let me just

663
00:35:29,559 --> 00:35:33,199
tell you host of your things things were. They were

664
00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:36,800
earmarked to hire a social worker and then they hired

665
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,599
someone that barely had a high school diploma. Do you

666
00:35:40,679 --> 00:35:43,760
understand the impact that that has in our community. A

667
00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:46,840
person has now given herself the title of a social

668
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:50,320
worker and doesn't have that. It just to me, you

669
00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:53,079
are now the enemy of this community because now you

670
00:35:53,119 --> 00:35:56,199
are advising folks that really need someone that's.

671
00:35:56,079 --> 00:35:57,360
Speaker 2: Like a license.

672
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,119
Speaker 3: Right. Social workers is a serious yes.

673
00:36:01,119 --> 00:36:01,360
Speaker 1: It is.

674
00:36:01,519 --> 00:36:04,039
Speaker 2: It's a very serious job, yes, And how.

675
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:06,360
Speaker 3: Dare you do that to our community, to play to

676
00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:09,400
pretend to be something that you're not and call it help.

677
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:10,679
I don't need that help.

678
00:36:11,519 --> 00:36:12,440
Speaker 2: And I don't know that.

679
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,960
Speaker 1: It's a disrespect for the police as much as it

680
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,440
is a disrespect for every human being these days. And

681
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,440
by that, I mean if you don't have a little

682
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:22,239
bit of something in here, you don't give a shit

683
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:25,280
about anything out there. Is kind of my point. And

684
00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:29,400
when you're right, right, we see more shootings of police officers,

685
00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:32,239
we could say, boy, there's a real disrespect for police. Well,

686
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:34,719
there's also teachers getting punched and we're not hearing about it.

687
00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:38,840
We're also yeah, huh, there's also parents that are are

688
00:36:39,599 --> 00:36:45,719
getting whatever. There's something where there is this hopelessness. And

689
00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:51,679
when there's that, you know, the scariest thing is a

690
00:36:51,719 --> 00:36:55,280
person who has nothing to lose. Yes, And when these

691
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:58,559
kids feel like they have nothing to lose and they're

692
00:36:58,599 --> 00:37:02,280
telling you if I make it to sixteen, that's a

693
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,440
really scary telling thing. That to me is the bigger

694
00:37:06,079 --> 00:37:10,719
concern here. And we need those community centers to show

695
00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:15,679
these kids you matter and you got to figure out

696
00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:19,320
inside here you matter and build something in here. Don't

697
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:22,920
listen to all this noise and shit out here. You matter, right,

698
00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:27,840
And I think that that's where we're seeing. I don't

699
00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:29,639
know that it's a disrespect for the police. I think

700
00:37:29,639 --> 00:37:33,559
it's a disrespect for themselves and they have nothing to lose. Yeah,

701
00:37:33,639 --> 00:37:35,039
and that's a scary.

702
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:39,039
Speaker 3: Scary absolutely right. Yeah. And I think we as society,

703
00:37:39,079 --> 00:37:41,400
we owe it to this generation to just give back,

704
00:37:41,639 --> 00:37:44,239
take time out of your busy schedule and spend time

705
00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:44,920
with youth.

706
00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:48,719
Speaker 1: Well, this has been a real pleasure for me. I really, really,

707
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:52,119
really enjoyed the conversation. Got you are one interesting human being.

708
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,599
I didn't know you kept popping up at my Facebook

709
00:37:55,599 --> 00:37:56,320
page and go, man.

710
00:37:56,239 --> 00:37:59,960
Speaker 2: It's this This chick's cool man. She's standing with some taterle.

711
00:38:00,079 --> 00:38:02,760
What the heck? Wait? You want a beauty? What the

712
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:04,280
heck is going on here? I don't know.

713
00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:06,880
Speaker 1: I want to find out more. And I'm glad I did.

714
00:38:07,639 --> 00:38:12,199
I really appreciate it. I am uh and I will say,

715
00:38:12,519 --> 00:38:17,320
please go learn more about what Mercedes is doing. And

716
00:38:18,519 --> 00:38:22,079
her dad built that car. By the way, I'm kidding.

717
00:38:22,119 --> 00:38:24,599
Speaker 2: I'm kidding. The car is named after the man's daughter.

718
00:38:25,159 --> 00:38:28,920
Speaker 3: Everyone says that because joke is, what's your brother's name, Toyota?

719
00:38:29,119 --> 00:38:34,000
Speaker 1: Now the car was named after the man's daughter. Come on,

720
00:38:34,159 --> 00:38:37,159
just like Portia, same thing. Come on, all right, they

721
00:38:37,199 --> 00:38:41,199
got those beauty queen daughters. I'm Bill Morea, you got it.

722
00:38:41,519 --> 00:38:42,159
I'm Bill Moran.

723
00:38:42,239 --> 00:38:43,079
Speaker 2: We'll see you next.

724
00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:44,039
Speaker 1: Time somewhere.

725
00:38:47,239 --> 00:38:48,480
Speaker 2: Dark Flow Murder.

726
00:38:48,599 --> 00:38:50,960
Speaker 1: You never think you're gonna need a personal injury attorney

727
00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:54,960
until you do. It's not something you plan for you know,

728
00:38:55,079 --> 00:38:58,039
one minute, you're just living your life. Do next thing,

729
00:38:58,079 --> 00:39:00,960
you know you're dealing with an accident and injury, missed

730
00:39:01,039 --> 00:39:04,760
work and a whole lot of stress you didn't ask for.

731
00:39:05,119 --> 00:39:08,679
And here's the truth. Insurance companies they've got a plan,

732
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,119
They know exactly what they're doing.

733
00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:13,679
Speaker 2: The question is do you.

734
00:39:14,639 --> 00:39:17,480
Speaker 1: That's why if it's me, I'm calling Connors and Ferris.

735
00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,119
They know the system, they know how to fight, and

736
00:39:20,199 --> 00:39:22,920
more importantly, they know how to take care of people

737
00:39:23,039 --> 00:39:26,400
when things get messy. You're not just a case file

738
00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:29,280
to them. They walk you through it step by step

739
00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:32,320
and make sure you're not getting pushed around when you're

740
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:35,800
already down. So if life throws you one of those moments,

741
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:38,599
don't try to figure it out alone. Call Connors and

742
00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:42,679
Ferris or visit Connorsanferris dot com, with offices in New

743
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:46,800
York City, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo. Because when it matters most,

744
00:39:47,159 --> 00:39:50,079
you want someone in your corner who actually knows how

745
00:39:50,119 --> 00:39:52,440
to win. Connors and Ferris