What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

When you’re a kid, you have your own unique sense of what’s
“normal”.

I
grew up in Ohio, so I knew that sometime after Thanksgiving, it was
going to start getting cold outside. And we would have snow.
Sometimes, LOTS of snow. And I loved it. Of course, as a little boy,
big piles of snow just meant having fun sledding and making snow
forts. I didn’t have to drive on it or shovel it; at least not
until I got a little older.

But
as far as I knew, that’s how it was in the winter for everyone.
What I experienced must be the same for other people. But then
sometimes we would go and visit my grandfather, who lived in Miami.
And there we were, in the middle of winter, and not even wearing a
coat outside. I couldn’t believe it.

My
guest today is Angel. He grew up with his three brothers in Brooklyn.
And to him, his childhood was normal. The hunger, the abuse, the
homelessness – that’s all he knew.

And
I have to give you a little content warning here, that this episode
is going to include something I’ve never had in a previous episode,
but you’ll have some warning if you want to fast forward. There’s
a brief bit of audio where Angel talks about what his father did to
the family cat. I contemplated not including this, because I hate to
hear about animal abuse and I know you do too. But that incident is
important to the story and what happened afterward, and I always say,
this podcast doesn’t shy away from real life. But when you hear me
ask Angel to talk about the story of their cat named Bonkers, that’s
when you can fast forward about 2 1/2 minutes if you want to. It’s
not a graphic description, just sad.

That’s
the incident that finally triggered something inside Angel. He and
one of his brothers decided they were going to kill their father.

And
Angel was just 10 years old.

Angel’s
book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4CVDSXP/

Full
show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/270

Graphics
for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want
to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL
listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at
WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook
(many of the podcast guests are there as well)

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Sponsor deals:

Quince - Go to Quince.com/whatwas
for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!

Find the best deals on what you need at Dupe.com

Boll & Branch - get 15% off
your first order AND free shipping:BollandBranch.com/WHATWAS

Nutrafol - Get $10 off your first
month’s subscription, and free shipping:
use promo code
WHATWAS at Nutrafol.com

Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for
just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every
other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then
Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by
other listeners.

The
question for this episode:

What's
a cooking hack that everyone should know?

Links
for this episode:

The
PSI Games:https://psigamesinternational.com/

Mise
en place:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place

Chef
Chew comfort food from plants:https://www.chefchewskitchen.com/

Onion
goggles:https://www.amazon.com/Haoun-Goggles-Kitchen-Glasses-Cutting/dp/B07C5RJPMG/ref=sr_1_5

KitchenAid
spiralizer:https://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/stand-mixers/attachments/p.5-blade-spiralizer-with-peel-core-and-slice.KSM1APC.html

Real
time video created by AI:https://infiniteslop.ai/

Meredith’s
podcast is The Curious Introvert:

https://MeredithForReal.com

To
check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us
at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

Sponsor
deals:

Quince
- Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and
365-day returns!

Find
the best deals on what you need at Dupe.com

Boll
& Branch - get 15% off your first order AND free shipping:

BollandBranch.com/WHATWAS

Nutrafol
- Get $10 off your first month’s subscription, and free shipping:

use
promo code WHATWAS at Nutrafol.com

Try
Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month -
MintMobile.com/WHAT

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Larry dreamed about flying – and he made it happen in a very
unusual way.

Sponsor deals:

Quince - Go to Quince.com/whatwas
for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!

Find the best deals on what you need at Dupe.com

Boll & Branch - get 15% off
your first order AND free shipping:BollandBranch.com/WHATWAS

Nutrafol - Get $10 off your first
month’s subscription, and free shipping:
use promo code
WHATWAS at Nutrafol.com

Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for
just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I live in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, and I like it here. I never
have to shovel snow, I don’t have to drive on ice, and earthquakes
are pretty rare. I can ride my bike almost year-round.

But
- one of the worst things about living in Florida is going through
hurricane season. I’m in the Tampa Bay area, which is on the Gulf
of Mexico side, so we’re a little more sheltered. But even here, we
sometimes have hurricanes that come up into the gulf and cause some
damage when the decide to finally come on land. My son David was
actually born during a hurricane.

Tara
knows about hurricanes because she’s been through a terrifying one.
A few years ago she came on the podcast and talked about her
experience with Hurricane Dorian.

She
and her family were at home, in the direct path of this category 5
hurricane. The flood waters were rising, the high winds were
threatening to tear their roof off, and all they could do was sit in
the dark attic and watch the water keep rising.

If
you’d like to contact Tara, this is her website:

https://tarapyfrom.com/

Get
her book here:https://tarapyfrom.com/order

Full
show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/269

Graphics
for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

Want
to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL
listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at
WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook
(many of the podcast guests are there as well)

Sponsor
deals:

Quince
- Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and
365-day returns!

Find
the best deals on what you need at Dupe.com

Boll
& Branch - get 15% off your first order AND free shipping:

BollandBranch.com/WHATWAS

Nutrafol
- Get $10 off your first month’s subscription, and free shipping:

use
promo code WHATWAS at Nutrafol.com

Try
Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month -
MintMobile.com/WHAT

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every
other Tuesday, we grab a past question from the Facebook group, then
Meredith and Scott answer it and read some of the answers given by
other listeners.

The
question for this episode:

What
do you wish you didn't like?

Links
for this episode:

Hu
Chocolate:

https://hukitchen.com/

How
to turn off YouTube watch history:

https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/95725

Jordan
Harbinger episode about
alcohol:https://www.jordanharbinger.com/alcohol-skeptical-sunday/

Bushwacker
cocktail
recipe:https://www.liquor.com/bushwacker-cocktail-recipe-5198246

MeUndies:

https://www.meundies.com/

90
Day Fiance -

https://go.tlc.com/show/90-day-fiance-tlc-atve-us

Hot
Dudes Reading:https://www.instagram.com/hotdudesreading/?hl=en

Hector’s
Voice:

https://www.instagram.com/hectors_voice/?hl=en

DuckDuckGo:https://duckduckgo.com/

Down
For Everyone, or Just Me?https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/

The
Flash Food app – for grocery’s best kept deals:

https://flashfood.com/

Meredith’s
podcast is The Curious Introvert:

https://MeredithForReal.com

To
check out the new Tuesday Question and get in the discussion, join us
at WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook.

Sponsor
deals:

Quince
- Go to Quince.com/whatwas for free shipping on your order and
365-day returns!

Find
the best deals on what you need at Dupe.com

Boll
& Branch - get 15% off your first order AND free shipping:

BollandBranch.com/WHATWAS

Nutrafol
- Get $10 off your first month’s subscription, and free shipping:

use
promo code WHATWAS at Nutrafol.com

Try
Mint Mobile for 3 months, for just 15 bucks a month -
MintMobile.com/WHAT

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices