October 8, 2024 • 40 mins
Michael has been inspired to volunteer with, donate to, and reach out to 9 different Army members featured on the podcast! Frankly, this normal dude inspires us and we cannot wait for you to meet him.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey guys, it's Bill Fortney with an army of normal folks.
And we continue now with part two of our conversation
with Michael Lignas right after these brief messages from ours
and her sponsors Jets. This is a July Jets. I
(00:27):
hope you had a great weekend. I'm working to spread
an army in normal folks to as many people as possible.
Something I want to talk to you about in just
a minute. And I just signed up for the premium membership.
Thank you, Michael. Also day to eighty two, Yuri's the
Future see for your own friends and Atlanta Redemption, Inc.
(00:48):
And I'm going to check out Isaiah One's seventeen house
in Georgia. And you take an elderly lady shopping every
two weeks.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
That's what she does, she does that.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yes, all right, So first let's unpack this. You heard
about Uri. That dude's crazy. So you've donated to Yuri's
super hero thing, which is Uri sat here with some
of his helmet and stuff on his table. That guy
(01:19):
is awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
He is.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
I watched a bunch of his YouTube videos.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Did you, Yes, yeah, yeah, he does good work. And
then you've also donated to Redemption Ink. Redemption Ink. If
anybody hasn't heard that story, I really encourage you to
go back and listen to it because it is gosh.
If that doesn't grab at your heart nothing, it's dark.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I mean it's it is super dark.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It's basically formerly trafficked women, more times than not by
their handlers, their pimp or their captor will tattoo their
women and make them their property. And when women are
able to break free of that life, oftentimes at their
(02:08):
own peril, they have to kind of escape and they
try to start down the path of rebuilding their lives.
When they look in the mirror and they see that tattoo,
they're looking at a reminder every single day of their
former life and the misery and the trauma of their
(02:28):
captivity and then their trafficking. And the question is, how
in the world do you ever really move on when
you hate the thought of looking at yourself? And so
a formally trafficked woman started Redemption Ink and she helps
get no charge to these formally trafficked women to get
those tattoos removed. And that's in your hometown exactly. Yeah,
(02:52):
have you met her? I haven't, I haven't but you should.
She is phenomenal. She is really an amazing young woman.
And ironically enough, we have found another Uh there's a
story that didn't even out yet that we did the
interview earlier, and it will be released in the next
two three weeks. Spoiler alert. The name of it is
(03:16):
Eight Days of Hope. What's up? Yeah? Eight Days of
Hope does a lot of what Big Al does. But
they show up for eight days with four thousand volunteers
and they rebuild houses, and then they've gone to other
stuff and one of them is building houses now for
(03:39):
women who have been rescued from sex trafficking and all that,
and they deal with the ink problem. And so we're
going to try to hook up Days of Hope with
Redemption Ek to come together and then also let Big
Al know about Eight Days of Hope so that Big
(04:00):
Al can maybe team up and feed Eight Days of
Hope while they're doing the work. How cool is that?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Yeah, yeah, Well you need to meet Redemption E, Big
Al and the rest of them, and then tell us
about Isaiah one seventeen house, which is in your backyard.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Yes, so, and this is super ironic since we're staying
with two a couple that went to Millsops with me.
So they were asking me yesterday, so what's up the.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Staying here, staying here in Memphis with you when you're visiting.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, and they're like you, they're saving us money by
staying with friends.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
We're going to that next Just Alex, go back to
your corner and do some production. I'll handle the interview.
So love make him sit down.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
So uh yeah, just you know, listening to the podcast,
you know, the foster system is really I think the
genesis you know, as you've seen a lot of the
issues we have. I mean, really, if we can solve that,
we can solve a lot.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
And so I was just really, can I.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Say something real quick? Yeah, I don't want to hammer
the people in the foster system. They are doing the
very best they can with a horrific set of circumstances.
But the fact is, if you look at the demographics,
like seventy eight percent of the people incarcerated today were
at one time in the foster system. Sixty percent of
(05:28):
the women trafficked today were at one time in the
foster system. That is not the foster system's fault. That
is the family fault. That this child got left out
of and the foster system was the only catch base
in form and the people working in that system, by
and large are trying very hard with very little to
(05:48):
do the best they can do. But the problem is
when kids aren't adopted and brought into loving families and
they have to go into this foster care catch basin.
It has proven over and over again woefully inadequate in
preparing a child for life.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeap, especially when they you know, age out, there's.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Like age out, have no way to get fall back.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Nothing to fall back on.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
So Isaiah, Yeah, so just the scope of what she's done,
like you know, the cheer the cheered teacher in Tennessee,
you know, and all she's done.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And then I was.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Looking up and there's one in North Georgia that we
want to go up and visit. But then last night
we're at our friend's house and they're asking me, Hey,
what's up with this podcast?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
What's up with this?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, what are you coming to?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah? What are you doing?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Exactly exactly, So I'm giving them the story and then
they go, oh, you know what we uh, we do
work with this outfield outfit called Isaiah one seventeen I'm like,
oh my gosh, that.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
They're part of the podcast that we do and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
So I guess your host will tune in.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yes, I think theys of this.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
One, whoever you are out there. So in addition, Sherry,
you'd take an early woman shopping every two weeks.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
I do.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I found her on next door and she said I
just need some milk. And I reached out to her
and said, why don't we just go shopping and she
said she was not getting her you know, her food
stamp money, and there was a glitch, and I said,
We're just going to go shopping. Whenever you need something,
(07:26):
We're just going to go to Public's. We're going to shop,
and then we're going to go to your house and
we're going to put it all away. And she really
she's from Cuba, so she really enjoys talking about politics.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Oh boy, So she.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Can't wait to get the car to talk about politics
because a lot.
Speaker 6 (07:43):
Of people don't have her view and I understand her
view and she her views.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So she texts me and we we, you know, chat
for a long time.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
We talk about the Bible and we you know, and.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
You just found her on the neighborhood app next door.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I did, and then I took myself off the next
door because it was just too much for me to handle.
And so it's just she and I and then we,
you know, we find different things to do, so unbelievable.
We have a great time together and I can't I
always look forward to getting in the car, and she's
just this frail little lady and she jumps up in
(08:21):
my Sequoia and is.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Ready to go and start talking, coughing.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
So we have a really good time. I'm trying to
lead her to you know more. She's Catholic, and she
wanted to leave her more to feeling like she has
what she needs and all she has to do is
say I have what I need and she'll have it.
Speaker 6 (08:39):
And so I keep telling her.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
She gets what she needs through praying. She just doesn't
realize it. She said, oh, yeah, you're one of those people,
and I said yeah. So she's had a roof put
on her house by the neighborhood. She's had a hot
water heater replaced by the neighborhood. So she's she's been
well cared for and she just doesn't realize it.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So, you know, do you think all of this would
have happened had they not fired you from a business shop.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Built Probably not.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
I mean I would have gotten the guideposts anyway, right,
But I would have still if I was still working
like I would have just I would have read the
story and go, wow, that's really really cool.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Let me think about doing that later.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
But the fact that I, you know, had this time
on my hands, I really had the opportunity to take
advantage of it.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So let's recap, shall we. You've run with Back on
my Feet, You're You're inquired about sleeping Heavenly Face. You're
involved with care Portal. You've told you you've joined the
Minions of Big Owl for if anything happens in your area.
You've donated to Yuri and the Superhero. You have donated
(09:50):
to Redemption Eek in Atlanta. You found out about the
Isaiah one seventeen house and are going to get involved
in that. And you take a elderly Cuban shopping every
two weeks or so to support her. I guess the
last one. I can't say it's connected, but I think
(10:11):
the overarching effort to serve is probably part of it.
And all of those things were connected to you by
listening to an army.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
In orm books. Absolutely, So.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Now it's time for you to get in your soapbox
to our listeners right now. You don't have to have
a quarter down and change your profession to get involved,
but it's an open mic. I want you to talk
to the people listening to us right now, who many
(10:49):
of many people are regular listeners and some maybe first
time listeners. And I want you to explain from your
point of view what we're trying to accomplish, why who
gets what out of it, and why we need it
so bad? Go all right?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah, So you know, you can get so beat down.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
And frustrated by what's going on in this world, right,
I mean, I've I've gotten normal people do and I
I have.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
One of the things I did was, I'm I'm.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Off a lot of social media because I just it's
not good for me, right, it brings me down. And
so tapping into an army of normal folks and seeing
the amazing work that regular people are doing, that are
having like profound change, like this isn't just you know,
in some cases it's smaller, but some of these things
(11:47):
are huge, Like profound start that way, they didn't start
that way right, I mean, just amazing change. It's just
there's so much positivity like it. It's just has changed
my life a lot.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
You know.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
One of the things I talk about listening to the
podcast when I go to work. One thing I try
to incorporate in my daily life was from Jim Valvano's
speech at the SP's right before he passed away, and
he was introducing the v Foundation, and he said, if
you can do three things every day, it's a good day.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Laugh, think and cry.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
And I can be listening to one of the Army
and Normer Folks podcasts and I can do all three
of those things on my way to work, and then
I'm like, Okay, I've had a great day. In fact,
sometimes when I get to the office I have to
like hang out in the parking deck for a couple
of minutes because I got to compose myself before I
you know, go into the office, just because it moves
(12:41):
me so much. But it just, like I said, it's
just really changed our attitude about everything because you feel
like there's no hope, like we're never going to fix
any of these problems, and there's like people out there
coming up with amazing ideas to fix these problems and
it is doable.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
We just need more.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
People to get in line and help out. And you know,
you just got to start with something like it doesn't
have to be big. It's like, you know, find one
of these organizations and donate and you know, follow them
on social media and things like that. Or in my case,
you know, I just went out and did a run
and that thirty minute run I did with those people
(13:22):
was like, oh my gosh, I want to do this
forever as long as I can, because it's just I
get so much like most of your the people say,
you know, they get so much more out of it
than they put in, you know, put into it. So
forty five minutes are running, what I get out of
that is like ten times more than just hey, I
put some more miles on my feet for the week.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So my message is, listen, get involved.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
You don't have to do some great thing, you know,
start up five O three whatever from the beginning, Like,
just do something and really align with what all these
people are doing, and we.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Can make things change here.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And it's I think the only way it's going to change,
given you know all the other forces that are out
there right now.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Do you want to just go ahead and host this
podcast because it sounds like everything I've been saying for
a year and a half.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Now, now, you do a great job.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Do any of these nine things you do ever feel
like work?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
No, not at all.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
I mean they're just part of my you know, they're
just part of our lives now. I mean it's just
like you know, doing another chore or aeron.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
But it's not even that. I mean, it's just part
of what we do.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
We'll be right back. A gentleman I interviewed not long
ago who actually runs a sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter
that when it starts to feel like work, it's no
(15:05):
longer philanthropy, and he said it's something you don't want
to have to do, it's something you get to do.
I thought that was a profound statement, and that's why
I spinny of it feels like work. But the truth
is you're you're involved in some way and giving or
being involved or trying to find out nine different things.
(15:27):
Do you feel like, Hey, this is something I get
to do or something I need to do.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
I think it's something I get to do. I mean,
it's just a great opportunity. Like you know, I'm a
very social person like I had. Like one of the
reasons why I took the job that I took was
because they had an office and I was going to
be in the office every day because I just like
being around, you know, around people, and so the more
opportunities I can have to go out and meet people
(15:54):
and get new perspectives and you know, really understand, especially
with you know, the members that back on my feet,
the struggles that people have and the effort it takes
to really get out because just like with the foster systems,
there's just not a lot of transition programs for people
that are in prison or they are homeless or the
(16:15):
foster that's the key is to give them a way
to get out. And if we provide that, then people
will do it.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
When I started work at Manassas High School, I went
to North Memphis with At that point, I was thirty one,
So I went to Manassas with thirty one years of experience,
not an overabundance experience, but whatever level a thirty one
(16:45):
year old has of experience, that's what I went with. Well,
experience is important because it provides wisdom and perspective, but
experience can also be a little bit of a detriment
in that it also begins to your preconceived notions about
a particular area that people in it, why they're there,
(17:06):
how they're there, And if you listen to the narratives,
the public narratives long enough from whatever particular category you
separate yourselves into in this world, and you combine that
with the experiences you have when you show up at
the doorstep of a place you really don't understand, those
(17:29):
preconceived notions can be the very barrier that prohibits you
from having any success in the first place. And now
I did not know that back then. I do now,
And those notions that I once held to be absolute
and true, I now know the vast majority of them
(17:52):
were patently incorrect and candidly kept me from my own
personal growth. Have in just this short period of time
you work it back on my feet and listening and
getting involved in these other things, have they changed any
(18:13):
of your preconceived notions?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (18:16):
I mean I go back to something that Carly Rice said,
you know about when.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Good for you? Yeah good, yeah, carl Rice is awesome.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
You know, when you see somebody on the street, like
I would say, you know a while back, my first
inclination would be to like turn, you know, not look whatever.
And you know the way she explained that, you know,
that person had a life, they probably didn't want to
be in the situation they're in. So just make on
contact and you know, smile and just acknowledge that they're
(18:52):
a human being and you know that kind of thing
as opposed to.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Totally ignoring it.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
And so one of the other things that we do
as a family, we kind of got this idea from
the church. As we create these, we call them bags
of love, or we put a lot of things like tissue,
paper and foods and stuff like that into a drawstring
bag and we keep them in our car, and when
we stop at a place you know that has somebody
(19:17):
asking for something, we give them the bag. And so
sometimes we go buy the same intersections and we see
our bags, you know, sitting out there. They're using them
for something else or something like that. So that's kind
of funny. But there's a happens to be one gentleman
that has a dog with him every time, you.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Know, And I think in the past I.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Would have like maybe just like you know, given them
the same thing or whatever. But I've told chairs, like
there's this there's this guy that has a dog out
and she goes, oh, I'll get some dog treats and
so I.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Put them in the car and turn off.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Last week, you know, he was out there and I
was like, hey, dude, I got these just for you,
you know, and I gave them to him and I
pulled up and I could see him in my side
view mirror and like, you know, he walks over, leans
down to the dog and it's like showing the dog
the dog treats and the dogs wagging its tail and
everything like that. And so, you know, just understanding that
(20:09):
kind of personal perspective, like literally that you know, listening
to that podcast and listening to what she had to say, really,
you know, change my perspective on that.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Do you feel like, do you feel like that personal
growth matters? Oh?
Speaker 4 (20:27):
It does for sure, because again, it kind of like
I was the same way, Like I was like, gosh,
how could you make such bad decisions? And you know,
this is your fault like and everything like that, and
it's just it's kind of gone away, like I don't
even think about that. I'm just like, what can I
do to, you know, help this person? And so it's
(20:48):
it's really changed a lot.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Okay, this is a little interesting one. Does it change
the way you in to political discourse?
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Well, I pretty much don't. She's the one that listens
to political discourse.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
I really don't.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
There's still a political discourse in the world. You you vote, right,
I understand what I'm saying. Does it even change the
way your perspective about the way you view society is run? Uh?
Or policy with guarding society?
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Definitely with policy, because I mean again getting to understand
these programs you know that are out there that uh,
you know, most of the people here are trying to
circumvent because they don't work. It just shows that, you know,
we're we're not doing it right, Like we're throwing that's
all this money, this vote, all this money at stuff
(21:50):
that's not working. And again I equate it back to
my business because I mean I see a lot of
companies do the same thing, you know, where they are
investing in places that they should not be investing, you know,
because it's either not their core competency or it's inhibiting
their growth and things like that.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
It's the same thing.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
It's like, you know, we're spending all this money on
a foster care system that doesn't work, and throwing more
money on it's not going to make it better, Like
we've got to.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
There's got to be radical change.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And you know what, it would be an interesting metric how
many people that are running and back on my feet
and the homeless were also part of the foster care
at one point, I would bet, I have no guess.
I mean I have guessed, I have no facts on it,
but I guarantee it's over fifty percent.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I would agree with that.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
So it's interesting, you know, over the course last year
and a half of telling all these stories and meaning
all these unbelievable people, it's interesting how they seem so
dissimilar in their focus, but they're all almost all interwoven
by a common thread of poverty, a lack of education,
(23:03):
a poor home life, and how so very connected all
of this work really really is. And as such, when
your perspective and understanding of that evolves as a result
of hearing all these stories and learning all these stories
and all the work's being done, we always say that
(23:26):
the government's proven woefully inadequate, and there's an enormous amount
of power and wealth generated by continuing to craft narratives
that divide us and scare us. Frankly that the only
way we're really going to fix this is truly an
army of normal folks, seeing as in Eden felling them.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
You see this is from the Susan Amra's interview.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Oh hold it, what'd you just look up?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
We got the stats from Susan or Eramerez talks.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
About this, and we know through statistics that fifty percent
of our home Wok population is made up of former
kids who came from foster care as alex On alex
On the Alex use the Google machine. Sixty percent of
child sex trafficking victims, seventy five percent of our prison
(24:17):
population all spend time in foster care. And we know
that girls by the time they're nineteen will be on
their second pregnancy, and those kids will also then go
back into the very care they came from. So as
you hear that and we think about I guess what
I'm saying is, even if you don't have the heart
(24:39):
for the homeless, or the heart for the needy, or
the heart for the downtrodden, pragmatically, just pragmatically think about
our tax base, our society, and our culture. If we
could just fix these few things, how different our country
would look in only twenty years. Yeah, and when we find,
(25:01):
after telling these stories after fourteen months, that they really
are so interwoven and they all are connected by this
same commonality, what better answer is there? When we know
that government has proven woefully inadequate and candidly the government
it is not the government's core competency, just like what
you said about poor businesses, it's not what they're supposed
(25:23):
to be doing. And then we continue to give all
this money and power and power and wealth to people
who continue to craft narratives that scare us and make
us afraid of these quote people. The only answer, in fact,
is guys like you finding things to do from guys
(25:46):
like the people who've made these things, and saying enough enough.
I'm tired of the preconceived notions. I'm tired of the narrative.
I'm just going to take whatever passion and ability I
have incorporate in places in need. See if I can
make a little change in my neighborhood. But what if
there was a million of you? What does this country
look like in your estimation?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Totally different?
Speaker 4 (26:08):
I mean, just like go after the way I say,
I think if you go after the foster care system
and fix that, I mean, the ramifications down the line
are massive. We just do that, there's going to be
a huge change in the country.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
And who's going to do it.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
It's going to have to be an army of normal
folks because you're not going to get through the red
tape and everything of the government to look at these
kind of changes.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
You just you just can't.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
We'll be right back. So what's next. We've got some
more episodes coming up.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Yeah, I mean, I'll be listening in.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
I'm in the middle of the one that just dropped
this this week, the couple from Alabama, you know, they're
from North Alabama. And I'll just continue to do that.
You know, I'm getting more and more and more involved
with back on my Feet, so that's obviously one I'm
gonna stay in.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Sounds like care Portal, you really do.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Yeah, and uh and actually with Saint Jude, I'm gonna
try to see if I can maybe get hooked up
with Enrique and I think we may try to go
up there this afternoon just to check it out. And
I'm actually coming back in December to run in the marathon.
Saint Jude Marathon. So hopefully I can get back up
and you know, see the facilities and that kind of
(27:37):
thing when I come back up in December.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Sure you proud of your hobby. I am.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
He's grown a lot.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
He's grown a lot.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
Through your program because he really didn't have a lot
of the awareness of all of this. I do homehow
for physical therapy, have done that. So I'm kind of
surrounded by all the different ways of moving through different families.
It's not the same list to experience, you know, different
(28:07):
kind of.
Speaker 6 (28:09):
Ways that people have had to.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Push themselves to new levels or where they've been placed
and it's not there, you know, not by their doing
or And really he was working really hard to provide
for his family and that was a big focus. And
now he's about, you know, a little more balanced.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
So I have that, you know, to thank.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
For MBO books so to take care of his you know,
his mental health.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
To you, I wish I could get ten million people
to hear you. We've got a bunch, but we don't
have ten men. I just can't imagine people across our
country not hearing the story and hearing you and understanding
how you very organically have just found ways to plug
in and it's not work, it's something you get to do.
(28:59):
And literally, if there were a million of you, things
would change everywhere. And we are working hard to that
end to find nine hundred ninety nine thousand more of you.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I'm doing everything I can to get it out.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
There, and I believe you are to that end. If
someone wants to reach out to you, how they find you?
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Uh yeah, mlignas at hotmail dot.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Com, M L I g n O s. These Greek
words are very difficult. Mlignus at hotmail dot com at
hotmail dot com, and I am sure you would be
happy to tell anybody about any opportunity.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Yes around.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Before we end so far, tell me your favorite interaction
you've had as a result of getting involved through the
things you found out from an army in normal folks.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
So I think, so back on my feet.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
One of the ways that we get our members into
races is we volunteer for the Atlanta When you.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Say members, the homeless guys, homeless people.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Okay, so volunteers, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
So one of the ways you what, I've wanted to
make sure I knew who you were talking.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
Right, So the members the homeless people that are associated
with Back on my Feet right. One of the ways
we get them into races is by working with the
Atlanta Track Club, which is a huge running organization been
around for forty five years in Atlanta. So we volunteer
at races to you know, line the race course and
we ring bells and encourage the runners and stuff like that.
(30:34):
And for doing that in races, the Atlanta Track Club
club gives us bibs so that when the next race
comes in that we want a race in, they'll give
us like twenty five bibs and we can give those
out to the members to go run in the race.
And some of them are like phenomenal, Like some of
these runners are like phenomenal in some of these members.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
And so one of the things we do.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Really homeless people that are like really good runners.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Oh my gosh, Yeah, some of them are unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Don't you wonder when you have that talent nobility, how
did you end up here? You know what what trauma
must of you endured when you're a talented person and
you end up there. I mean it's heartbreaking, really it is.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
And I can't remember the guests you had on maybe
two or three weeks ago that was talking about some
of the advice he got from his uncles, which was
like really bad advice about getting multiple girls pregnant. And
so I mean, if that's the advice you're getting and
that's the environment you're in, you know, you just get
caught up in it, and you know it's really hard
to break out of it. So again, that's that's why
(31:38):
I try to quit doing that, which is what I
would do before, Like.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Those preconceived conscripts, you just that doesn't even matter.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Yeah, it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
It doesn't licious work from how forward. So when we
volunteer at the at the race, one of the things
back on my feet is said, hey, for the last
runner in the race, as they're going progressing through the course,
volunteers will get behind that runner and encourage them.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
To get jog alongside it to get to the finish line.
Most of the time they're walking, yeah, but still but still.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
And so you know, we're at this race, it's a
five k and this person's so slow that by the
time we get to the to the place where the
finish line is like they're taking down the tents and
stuff like that. Because this you know, person's really slow.
But here's a here's a woman that is running in
the you know, in this race, and she's coming across
the finish line and she's got forty people behind her,
(32:32):
like yelling her name, like giving her encouragement, Like the
EMT's coming by and saying, hey, do we need to do?
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I need to take you out?
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Are you okay?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And she's like, nope, I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna
make it.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
I got all these people behind me like I'm gonna
make it. I'm gonna make it. And then she gets
across the finish line and in that race, they gave it.
It's a north Side women's race, so they gave her
a rose and they gave her a metal and like
she was beaming and all that kind of stuff, and
it was just like it was just it was unbelievable
to like be able to do something like that and
(33:03):
be a part of something like that.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
You have to wonder if she's ever in her life
felt that kind of support and love. You have to
wonder if she's ever felt that. Yeah, and if she's
ever finished anything what a life experience.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
Yeah, yeah, I guarantee if if she hadn't had, you know,
that support behind her, and basically all these people saying, hey,
you can't stop or turn back, you know, and even
at some point like volunteers are like interlacking arms with
her and you know, things like that, she wouldn't have finished.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
She'd probably just walked off.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
And oh, so you're saying that people without support oftentimes
can't finish, so metaphorically, maybe that is exactly how some
of these people end up in situations. One one person
asked me a very simple question, Darren Babcock Bantan Farms
in Dallas. He said, this, could you be who you
(34:02):
are or have done what you've done ever if you
had never had access to credit? Something so simple like that.
And I have thought about that a lot and answers no, Well,
how can someone who doesn't have somebody behind them, that
(34:25):
comes out of foster care, ages out and has absolutely
nobody to support them, to encourage them to lock arms
with them when they're struggling, to give them an opportunity
for credit to be able to buy a car or
get an apartment. Where else do we expect them to
end up when they don't have that support behind them?
(34:45):
And so many people in this life that are alone
end up at homeless shelters and places like that because
they have aged out of foster care or come from
very dire circumstances. And metaphorically, I think the story you
just told is a beautiful illustration of exactly what we're
talking about here. That is, if you do join arms
(35:07):
for the folks and you do support them, and they
do feel like they have an army of people pushing
them on and encourage them to finish and get across
the finish line, they can reach things that maybe they
even thought they never could do.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
A lives change, Yeah, can you give you one more
little nugget I place? Yeah, So I was, we were
back on my feet, had a race, and I went
by the Salvation Army and pick up a couple, pick
up the guys.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
To take them to the race because it was a
little bit farther away.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
Ended up with just this one gentleman and we raced.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
He did a great job as his first race.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
And then we're driving home and he's like, hey, you know,
I just got my first paycheck from this job, and
I'm not sure what to do about cashing it. And
I was like, well, don't go to a check cash
place or a look or store right right. I was like,
go to the you can go to a Kroger or
you know, you can go to a grocery store and
they'll cash it for you. They're not going to take
a chunk out of it and everything like that. And
he was like, okay, great, you know, I'll do that afterwards.
(36:03):
And then I saw him at a at a group run,
you know, later, and I was like, Hey, did you
cast your check? And everything is, oh, yeah, you guys
now have a bank account and it's automatically being deposited
in my bank account, so I don't have to do
the check anymore and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
So just like that, he didn't even know where to
cash a check, right, So the financial illiteracy, But why
would he have any financial literacy if he never had
an example of it in his life? And we will.
I can remember the derogatory comments about well, yep, there
they go first one to the liquor store there and
(36:41):
they're cashing, they're checking the liquor store. They're getting tempera
taken out of it, and wow, that is so stupid.
Don't they know any better? And no, they don't know
any better, and shame on you for degrading them instead
of taking the time to teach them and to serve
them and to help them. Has that small, little, itty
(37:02):
bitty hurdle to understand just the basics of interest and
cost and things like that that happens all day, every
day in our country. And the government's not going to
fix that, and the people on CNN are not going
to fix that. But you and I we can fix that.
We can teach that, and I think it's another beautiful
(37:24):
example of exactly what we're talking about. My friend Michael
and Sherry y'all are clearly a team. Back on my Feet,
sleep in Heavenly peace Care Portal, big Al Gosh, you
got to hook up with a big al, trust me,
it's worth the time. Uri and the superhero Redemption inc
(37:49):
Isaiah one seventeen House and the Cuban lady who goes
shopping every two weeks, all born from uh just kind
of tuning in and listening to an army of normal
folks and becoming a member. And we had to share
(38:09):
your story because of all the emails you've sent us,
and we know there's more of you out there, and
the whole idea behind this is to encourage everybody listening
that Michael Lignis is just an average everyday Guy's got
a family and a life and struggles just like all
of us. But he's been inspired by the show to
involve himself in a number of things that have been
(38:31):
highlighted on the show. But most importantly, you're an inspiration
to us because you are exactly who we're trying to
reach and grow minions of. Because I do believe, with
everything I am, minions of you change this country.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Michael, Well, thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
It's been an awesome experience and I can't wait for
the future.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Well, one last thing. We always pay for our guests
to fly in and put up in the hotel lodging,
and you wouldn't even take that, you you. You said, nope,
I'm buying my own tickets that I'll find my own lodging.
I don't want to take the money from the show.
You use it to make other shows. Incredibly thoughtful and
(39:14):
giving heart, and we we thank you for that as well.
My friend, Sure, thanks for being here absolutely, Sherry, thanks
for being with us, and thank you for joining us
this week. If Michael or other guests have inspired you
in general or better yet, to do like he has
(39:36):
done and to take action. Please let me know I
really want to hear about it. You can write me
anytime at Bill at normal Folks dot us, and I
swear to you I will respond. If you enjoyed this episode,
I'm begging you share it with friends that are on
social Let folks know about us, subscribe to the podcast,
(39:57):
rate and review it. Join the army at normalfolks dot us.
Please consider becoming a Premium member like Michael. All of
these things that will help us grow an army of
normal folks thanks to our producer, Iron Like Labs. I'm
Bill Courtney. I will see you next week.
Hey guys, it's Bill Fortney with an army of normal folks.
And we continue now with part two of our conversation
with Michael Lignas right after these brief messages from ours
and her sponsors Jets. This is a July Jets. I
(00:27):
hope you had a great weekend. I'm working to spread
an army in normal folks to as many people as possible.
Something I want to talk to you about in just
a minute. And I just signed up for the premium membership.
Thank you, Michael. Also day to eighty two, Yuri's the
Future see for your own friends and Atlanta Redemption, Inc.
(00:48):
And I'm going to check out Isaiah One's seventeen house
in Georgia. And you take an elderly lady shopping every
two weeks.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
That's what she does, she does that.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Yes, all right, So first let's unpack this. You heard
about Uri. That dude's crazy. So you've donated to Yuri's
super hero thing, which is Uri sat here with some
of his helmet and stuff on his table. That guy
(01:19):
is awesome.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
He is.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
I watched a bunch of his YouTube videos.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Did you, Yes, yeah, yeah, he does good work. And
then you've also donated to Redemption Ink. Redemption Ink. If
anybody hasn't heard that story, I really encourage you to
go back and listen to it because it is gosh.
If that doesn't grab at your heart nothing, it's dark.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I mean it's it is super dark.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It's basically formerly trafficked women, more times than not by
their handlers, their pimp or their captor will tattoo their
women and make them their property. And when women are
able to break free of that life, oftentimes at their
(02:08):
own peril, they have to kind of escape and they
try to start down the path of rebuilding their lives.
When they look in the mirror and they see that tattoo,
they're looking at a reminder every single day of their
former life and the misery and the trauma of their
(02:28):
captivity and then their trafficking. And the question is, how
in the world do you ever really move on when
you hate the thought of looking at yourself? And so
a formally trafficked woman started Redemption Ink and she helps
get no charge to these formally trafficked women to get
those tattoos removed. And that's in your hometown exactly. Yeah,
(02:52):
have you met her? I haven't, I haven't but you should.
She is phenomenal. She is really an amazing young woman.
And ironically enough, we have found another Uh there's a
story that didn't even out yet that we did the
interview earlier, and it will be released in the next
two three weeks. Spoiler alert. The name of it is
(03:16):
Eight Days of Hope. What's up? Yeah? Eight Days of
Hope does a lot of what Big Al does. But
they show up for eight days with four thousand volunteers
and they rebuild houses, and then they've gone to other
stuff and one of them is building houses now for
(03:39):
women who have been rescued from sex trafficking and all that,
and they deal with the ink problem. And so we're
going to try to hook up Days of Hope with
Redemption Ek to come together and then also let Big
Al know about Eight Days of Hope so that Big
(04:00):
Al can maybe team up and feed Eight Days of
Hope while they're doing the work. How cool is that?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
Yeah, yeah, Well you need to meet Redemption E, Big
Al and the rest of them, and then tell us
about Isaiah one seventeen house, which is in your backyard.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Yes, so, and this is super ironic since we're staying
with two a couple that went to Millsops with me.
So they were asking me yesterday, so what's up the.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Staying here, staying here in Memphis with you when you're visiting.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Yeah, and they're like you, they're saving us money by
staying with friends.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
We're going to that next Just Alex, go back to
your corner and do some production. I'll handle the interview.
So love make him sit down.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
So uh yeah, just you know, listening to the podcast,
you know, the foster system is really I think the
genesis you know, as you've seen a lot of the
issues we have. I mean, really, if we can solve that,
we can solve a lot.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
And so I was just really, can I.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Say something real quick? Yeah, I don't want to hammer
the people in the foster system. They are doing the
very best they can with a horrific set of circumstances.
But the fact is, if you look at the demographics,
like seventy eight percent of the people incarcerated today were
at one time in the foster system. Sixty percent of
(05:28):
the women trafficked today were at one time in the
foster system. That is not the foster system's fault. That
is the family fault. That this child got left out
of and the foster system was the only catch base
in form and the people working in that system, by
and large are trying very hard with very little to
(05:48):
do the best they can do. But the problem is
when kids aren't adopted and brought into loving families and
they have to go into this foster care catch basin.
It has proven over and over again woefully inadequate in
preparing a child for life.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeap, especially when they you know, age out, there's.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Like age out, have no way to get fall back.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Nothing to fall back on.
Speaker 4 (06:10):
So Isaiah, Yeah, so just the scope of what she's done,
like you know, the cheer the cheered teacher in Tennessee,
you know, and all she's done.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And then I was.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
Looking up and there's one in North Georgia that we
want to go up and visit. But then last night
we're at our friend's house and they're asking me, Hey,
what's up with this podcast?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
What's up with this?
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Yeah, what are you coming to?
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Yeah? What are you doing?
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Exactly exactly, So I'm giving them the story and then
they go, oh, you know what we uh, we do
work with this outfield outfit called Isaiah one seventeen I'm like,
oh my gosh, that.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
They're part of the podcast that we do and stuff
like that.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
So I guess your host will tune in.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yes, I think theys of this.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
One, whoever you are out there. So in addition, Sherry,
you'd take an early woman shopping every two weeks.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
I do.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I found her on next door and she said I
just need some milk. And I reached out to her
and said, why don't we just go shopping and she
said she was not getting her you know, her food
stamp money, and there was a glitch, and I said,
We're just going to go shopping. Whenever you need something,
(07:26):
We're just going to go to Public's. We're going to shop,
and then we're going to go to your house and
we're going to put it all away. And she really
she's from Cuba, so she really enjoys talking about politics.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
Oh boy, So she.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Can't wait to get the car to talk about politics
because a lot.
Speaker 6 (07:43):
Of people don't have her view and I understand her
view and she her views.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
So she texts me and we we, you know, chat
for a long time.
Speaker 6 (07:54):
We talk about the Bible and we you know, and.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
You just found her on the neighborhood app next door.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I did, and then I took myself off the next
door because it was just too much for me to handle.
And so it's just she and I and then we,
you know, we find different things to do, so unbelievable.
We have a great time together and I can't I
always look forward to getting in the car, and she's
just this frail little lady and she jumps up in
(08:21):
my Sequoia and is.
Speaker 6 (08:23):
Ready to go and start talking, coughing.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
So we have a really good time. I'm trying to
lead her to you know more. She's Catholic, and she
wanted to leave her more to feeling like she has
what she needs and all she has to do is
say I have what I need and she'll have it.
Speaker 6 (08:39):
And so I keep telling her.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
She gets what she needs through praying. She just doesn't
realize it. She said, oh, yeah, you're one of those people,
and I said yeah. So she's had a roof put
on her house by the neighborhood. She's had a hot
water heater replaced by the neighborhood. So she's she's been
well cared for and she just doesn't realize it.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So, you know, do you think all of this would
have happened had they not fired you from a business shop.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Built Probably not.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
I mean I would have gotten the guideposts anyway, right,
But I would have still if I was still working
like I would have just I would have read the
story and go, wow, that's really really cool.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Let me think about doing that later.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
But the fact that I, you know, had this time
on my hands, I really had the opportunity to take
advantage of it.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So let's recap, shall we. You've run with Back on
my Feet, You're You're inquired about sleeping Heavenly Face. You're
involved with care Portal. You've told you you've joined the
Minions of Big Owl for if anything happens in your area.
You've donated to Yuri and the Superhero. You have donated
(09:50):
to Redemption Eek in Atlanta. You found out about the
Isaiah one seventeen house and are going to get involved
in that. And you take a elderly Cuban shopping every
two weeks or so to support her. I guess the
last one. I can't say it's connected, but I think
(10:11):
the overarching effort to serve is probably part of it.
And all of those things were connected to you by
listening to an army.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
In orm books. Absolutely, So.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Now it's time for you to get in your soapbox
to our listeners right now. You don't have to have
a quarter down and change your profession to get involved,
but it's an open mic. I want you to talk
to the people listening to us right now, who many
(10:49):
of many people are regular listeners and some maybe first
time listeners. And I want you to explain from your
point of view what we're trying to accomplish, why who
gets what out of it, and why we need it
so bad? Go all right?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah, So you know, you can get so beat down.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
And frustrated by what's going on in this world, right,
I mean, I've I've gotten normal people do and I
I have.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
One of the things I did was, I'm I'm.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Off a lot of social media because I just it's
not good for me, right, it brings me down. And
so tapping into an army of normal folks and seeing
the amazing work that regular people are doing, that are
having like profound change, like this isn't just you know,
in some cases it's smaller, but some of these things
(11:47):
are huge, Like profound start that way, they didn't start
that way right, I mean, just amazing change. It's just
there's so much positivity like it. It's just has changed
my life a lot.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
You know.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
One of the things I talk about listening to the
podcast when I go to work. One thing I try
to incorporate in my daily life was from Jim Valvano's
speech at the SP's right before he passed away, and
he was introducing the v Foundation, and he said, if
you can do three things every day, it's a good day.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Laugh, think and cry.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
And I can be listening to one of the Army
and Normer Folks podcasts and I can do all three
of those things on my way to work, and then
I'm like, Okay, I've had a great day. In fact,
sometimes when I get to the office I have to
like hang out in the parking deck for a couple
of minutes because I got to compose myself before I
you know, go into the office, just because it moves
(12:41):
me so much. But it just, like I said, it's
just really changed our attitude about everything because you feel
like there's no hope, like we're never going to fix
any of these problems, and there's like people out there
coming up with amazing ideas to fix these problems and
it is doable.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
We just need more.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
People to get in line and help out. And you know,
you just got to start with something like it doesn't
have to be big. It's like, you know, find one
of these organizations and donate and you know, follow them
on social media and things like that. Or in my case,
you know, I just went out and did a run
and that thirty minute run I did with those people
(13:22):
was like, oh my gosh, I want to do this
forever as long as I can, because it's just I
get so much like most of your the people say,
you know, they get so much more out of it
than they put in, you know, put into it. So
forty five minutes are running, what I get out of
that is like ten times more than just hey, I
put some more miles on my feet for the week.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So my message is, listen, get involved.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
You don't have to do some great thing, you know,
start up five O three whatever from the beginning, Like,
just do something and really align with what all these
people are doing, and we.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Can make things change here.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
And it's I think the only way it's going to change,
given you know all the other forces that are out
there right now.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Do you want to just go ahead and host this
podcast because it sounds like everything I've been saying for
a year and a half.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Now, now, you do a great job.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Do any of these nine things you do ever feel
like work?
Speaker 2 (14:25):
No, not at all.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
I mean they're just part of my you know, they're
just part of our lives now. I mean it's just
like you know, doing another chore or aeron.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
But it's not even that. I mean, it's just part
of what we do.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
We'll be right back. A gentleman I interviewed not long
ago who actually runs a sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter
that when it starts to feel like work, it's no
(15:05):
longer philanthropy, and he said it's something you don't want
to have to do, it's something you get to do.
I thought that was a profound statement, and that's why
I spinny of it feels like work. But the truth
is you're you're involved in some way and giving or
being involved or trying to find out nine different things.
(15:27):
Do you feel like, Hey, this is something I get
to do or something I need to do.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
I think it's something I get to do. I mean,
it's just a great opportunity. Like you know, I'm a
very social person like I had. Like one of the
reasons why I took the job that I took was
because they had an office and I was going to
be in the office every day because I just like
being around, you know, around people, and so the more
opportunities I can have to go out and meet people
(15:54):
and get new perspectives and you know, really understand, especially
with you know, the members that back on my feet,
the struggles that people have and the effort it takes
to really get out because just like with the foster systems,
there's just not a lot of transition programs for people
that are in prison or they are homeless or the
(16:15):
foster that's the key is to give them a way
to get out. And if we provide that, then people
will do it.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
When I started work at Manassas High School, I went
to North Memphis with At that point, I was thirty one,
So I went to Manassas with thirty one years of experience,
not an overabundance experience, but whatever level a thirty one
(16:45):
year old has of experience, that's what I went with. Well,
experience is important because it provides wisdom and perspective, but
experience can also be a little bit of a detriment
in that it also begins to your preconceived notions about
a particular area that people in it, why they're there,
(17:06):
how they're there, And if you listen to the narratives,
the public narratives long enough from whatever particular category you
separate yourselves into in this world, and you combine that
with the experiences you have when you show up at
the doorstep of a place you really don't understand, those
(17:29):
preconceived notions can be the very barrier that prohibits you
from having any success in the first place. And now
I did not know that back then. I do now,
And those notions that I once held to be absolute
and true, I now know the vast majority of them
(17:52):
were patently incorrect and candidly kept me from my own
personal growth. Have in just this short period of time
you work it back on my feet and listening and
getting involved in these other things, have they changed any
(18:13):
of your preconceived notions?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
Absolutely?
Speaker 4 (18:16):
I mean I go back to something that Carly Rice said,
you know about when.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
Good for you? Yeah good, yeah, carl Rice is awesome.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
You know, when you see somebody on the street, like
I would say, you know a while back, my first
inclination would be to like turn, you know, not look whatever.
And you know the way she explained that, you know,
that person had a life, they probably didn't want to
be in the situation they're in. So just make on
contact and you know, smile and just acknowledge that they're
(18:52):
a human being and you know that kind of thing
as opposed to.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Totally ignoring it.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
And so one of the other things that we do
as a family, we kind of got this idea from
the church. As we create these, we call them bags
of love, or we put a lot of things like tissue,
paper and foods and stuff like that into a drawstring
bag and we keep them in our car, and when
we stop at a place you know that has somebody
(19:17):
asking for something, we give them the bag. And so
sometimes we go buy the same intersections and we see
our bags, you know, sitting out there. They're using them
for something else or something like that. So that's kind
of funny. But there's a happens to be one gentleman
that has a dog with him every time, you.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Know, And I think in the past I.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Would have like maybe just like you know, given them
the same thing or whatever. But I've told chairs, like
there's this there's this guy that has a dog out
and she goes, oh, I'll get some dog treats and
so I.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Put them in the car and turn off.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
Last week, you know, he was out there and I
was like, hey, dude, I got these just for you,
you know, and I gave them to him and I
pulled up and I could see him in my side
view mirror and like, you know, he walks over, leans
down to the dog and it's like showing the dog
the dog treats and the dogs wagging its tail and
everything like that. And so, you know, just understanding that
(20:09):
kind of personal perspective, like literally that you know, listening
to that podcast and listening to what she had to say, really,
you know, change my perspective on that.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Do you feel like, do you feel like that personal
growth matters? Oh?
Speaker 4 (20:27):
It does for sure, because again, it kind of like
I was the same way, Like I was like, gosh,
how could you make such bad decisions? And you know,
this is your fault like and everything like that, and
it's just it's kind of gone away, like I don't
even think about that. I'm just like, what can I
do to, you know, help this person? And so it's
(20:48):
it's really changed a lot.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Okay, this is a little interesting one. Does it change
the way you in to political discourse?
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Well, I pretty much don't. She's the one that listens
to political discourse.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
I really don't.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
There's still a political discourse in the world. You you vote, right,
I understand what I'm saying. Does it even change the
way your perspective about the way you view society is run? Uh?
Or policy with guarding society?
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Definitely with policy, because I mean again getting to understand
these programs you know that are out there that uh,
you know, most of the people here are trying to
circumvent because they don't work. It just shows that, you know,
we're we're not doing it right, Like we're throwing that's
all this money, this vote, all this money at stuff
(21:50):
that's not working. And again I equate it back to
my business because I mean I see a lot of
companies do the same thing, you know, where they are
investing in places that they should not be investing, you know,
because it's either not their core competency or it's inhibiting
their growth and things like that.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
It's the same thing.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
It's like, you know, we're spending all this money on
a foster care system that doesn't work, and throwing more
money on it's not going to make it better, Like
we've got to.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
There's got to be radical change.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And you know what, it would be an interesting metric how
many people that are running and back on my feet
and the homeless were also part of the foster care
at one point, I would bet, I have no guess.
I mean I have guessed, I have no facts on it,
but I guarantee it's over fifty percent.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I would agree with that.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
So it's interesting, you know, over the course last year
and a half of telling all these stories and meaning
all these unbelievable people, it's interesting how they seem so
dissimilar in their focus, but they're all almost all interwoven
by a common thread of poverty, a lack of education,
(23:03):
a poor home life, and how so very connected all
of this work really really is. And as such, when
your perspective and understanding of that evolves as a result
of hearing all these stories and learning all these stories
and all the work's being done, we always say that
(23:26):
the government's proven woefully inadequate, and there's an enormous amount
of power and wealth generated by continuing to craft narratives
that divide us and scare us. Frankly that the only
way we're really going to fix this is truly an
army of normal folks, seeing as in Eden felling them.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
You see this is from the Susan Amra's interview.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Oh hold it, what'd you just look up?
Speaker 2 (23:54):
We got the stats from Susan or Eramerez talks.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
About this, and we know through statistics that fifty percent
of our home Wok population is made up of former
kids who came from foster care as alex On alex
On the Alex use the Google machine. Sixty percent of
child sex trafficking victims, seventy five percent of our prison
(24:17):
population all spend time in foster care. And we know
that girls by the time they're nineteen will be on
their second pregnancy, and those kids will also then go
back into the very care they came from. So as
you hear that and we think about I guess what
I'm saying is, even if you don't have the heart
(24:39):
for the homeless, or the heart for the needy, or
the heart for the downtrodden, pragmatically, just pragmatically think about
our tax base, our society, and our culture. If we
could just fix these few things, how different our country
would look in only twenty years. Yeah, and when we find,
(25:01):
after telling these stories after fourteen months, that they really
are so interwoven and they all are connected by this
same commonality, what better answer is there? When we know
that government has proven woefully inadequate and candidly the government
it is not the government's core competency, just like what
you said about poor businesses, it's not what they're supposed
(25:23):
to be doing. And then we continue to give all
this money and power and power and wealth to people
who continue to craft narratives that scare us and make
us afraid of these quote people. The only answer, in fact,
is guys like you finding things to do from guys
(25:46):
like the people who've made these things, and saying enough enough.
I'm tired of the preconceived notions. I'm tired of the narrative.
I'm just going to take whatever passion and ability I
have incorporate in places in need. See if I can
make a little change in my neighborhood. But what if
there was a million of you? What does this country
look like in your estimation?
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Totally different?
Speaker 4 (26:08):
I mean, just like go after the way I say,
I think if you go after the foster care system
and fix that, I mean, the ramifications down the line
are massive. We just do that, there's going to be
a huge change in the country.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
And who's going to do it.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
It's going to have to be an army of normal
folks because you're not going to get through the red
tape and everything of the government to look at these
kind of changes.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
You just you just can't.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
We'll be right back. So what's next. We've got some
more episodes coming up.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Yeah, I mean, I'll be listening in.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
I'm in the middle of the one that just dropped
this this week, the couple from Alabama, you know, they're
from North Alabama. And I'll just continue to do that.
You know, I'm getting more and more and more involved
with back on my Feet, so that's obviously one I'm
gonna stay in.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Sounds like care Portal, you really do.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Yeah, and uh and actually with Saint Jude, I'm gonna
try to see if I can maybe get hooked up
with Enrique and I think we may try to go
up there this afternoon just to check it out. And
I'm actually coming back in December to run in the marathon.
Saint Jude Marathon. So hopefully I can get back up
and you know, see the facilities and that kind of
(27:37):
thing when I come back up in December.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Sure you proud of your hobby. I am.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
He's grown a lot.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
He's grown a lot.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
Through your program because he really didn't have a lot
of the awareness of all of this. I do homehow
for physical therapy, have done that. So I'm kind of
surrounded by all the different ways of moving through different families.
It's not the same list to experience, you know, different
(28:07):
kind of.
Speaker 6 (28:09):
Ways that people have had to.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
Push themselves to new levels or where they've been placed
and it's not there, you know, not by their doing
or And really he was working really hard to provide
for his family and that was a big focus. And
now he's about, you know, a little more balanced.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
So I have that, you know, to thank.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
For MBO books so to take care of his you know,
his mental health.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
To you, I wish I could get ten million people
to hear you. We've got a bunch, but we don't
have ten men. I just can't imagine people across our
country not hearing the story and hearing you and understanding
how you very organically have just found ways to plug
in and it's not work, it's something you get to do.
(28:59):
And literally, if there were a million of you, things
would change everywhere. And we are working hard to that
end to find nine hundred ninety nine thousand more of you.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I'm doing everything I can to get it out.
Speaker 1 (29:13):
There, and I believe you are to that end. If
someone wants to reach out to you, how they find you?
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Uh yeah, mlignas at hotmail dot.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
Com, M L I g n O s. These Greek
words are very difficult. Mlignus at hotmail dot com at
hotmail dot com, and I am sure you would be
happy to tell anybody about any opportunity.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Yes around.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Before we end so far, tell me your favorite interaction
you've had as a result of getting involved through the
things you found out from an army in normal folks.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
So I think, so back on my feet.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
One of the ways that we get our members into
races is we volunteer for the Atlanta When you.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
Say members, the homeless guys, homeless people.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Okay, so volunteers, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
So one of the ways you what, I've wanted to
make sure I knew who you were talking.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
Right, So the members the homeless people that are associated
with Back on my Feet right. One of the ways
we get them into races is by working with the
Atlanta Track Club, which is a huge running organization been
around for forty five years in Atlanta. So we volunteer
at races to you know, line the race course and
we ring bells and encourage the runners and stuff like that.
(30:34):
And for doing that in races, the Atlanta Track Club
club gives us bibs so that when the next race
comes in that we want a race in, they'll give
us like twenty five bibs and we can give those
out to the members to go run in the race.
And some of them are like phenomenal, Like some of
these runners are like phenomenal in some of these members.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
And so one of the things we do.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Really homeless people that are like really good runners.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Oh my gosh, Yeah, some of them are unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Don't you wonder when you have that talent nobility, how
did you end up here? You know what what trauma
must of you endured when you're a talented person and
you end up there. I mean it's heartbreaking, really it is.
Speaker 4 (31:15):
And I can't remember the guests you had on maybe
two or three weeks ago that was talking about some
of the advice he got from his uncles, which was
like really bad advice about getting multiple girls pregnant. And
so I mean, if that's the advice you're getting and
that's the environment you're in, you know, you just get
caught up in it, and you know it's really hard
to break out of it. So again, that's that's why
(31:38):
I try to quit doing that, which is what I
would do before, Like.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Those preconceived conscripts, you just that doesn't even matter.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Yeah, it doesn't.
Speaker 4 (31:47):
It doesn't licious work from how forward. So when we
volunteer at the at the race, one of the things
back on my feet is said, hey, for the last
runner in the race, as they're going progressing through the course,
volunteers will get behind that runner and encourage them.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
To get jog alongside it to get to the finish line.
Most of the time they're walking, yeah, but still but still.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
And so you know, we're at this race, it's a
five k and this person's so slow that by the
time we get to the to the place where the
finish line is like they're taking down the tents and
stuff like that. Because this you know, person's really slow.
But here's a here's a woman that is running in
the you know, in this race, and she's coming across
the finish line and she's got forty people behind her,
(32:32):
like yelling her name, like giving her encouragement, Like the
EMT's coming by and saying, hey, do we need to do?
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I need to take you out?
Speaker 1 (32:40):
Are you okay?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
And she's like, nope, I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna
make it.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
I got all these people behind me like I'm gonna
make it. I'm gonna make it. And then she gets
across the finish line and in that race, they gave it.
It's a north Side women's race, so they gave her
a rose and they gave her a metal and like
she was beaming and all that kind of stuff, and
it was just like it was just it was unbelievable
to like be able to do something like that and
(33:03):
be a part of something like that.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
You have to wonder if she's ever in her life
felt that kind of support and love. You have to
wonder if she's ever felt that. Yeah, and if she's
ever finished anything what a life experience.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
Yeah, yeah, I guarantee if if she hadn't had, you know,
that support behind her, and basically all these people saying, hey,
you can't stop or turn back, you know, and even
at some point like volunteers are like interlacking arms with
her and you know, things like that, she wouldn't have finished.
Speaker 2 (33:38):
She'd probably just walked off.
Speaker 1 (33:39):
And oh, so you're saying that people without support oftentimes
can't finish, so metaphorically, maybe that is exactly how some
of these people end up in situations. One one person
asked me a very simple question, Darren Babcock Bantan Farms
in Dallas. He said, this, could you be who you
(34:02):
are or have done what you've done ever if you
had never had access to credit? Something so simple like that.
And I have thought about that a lot and answers no, Well,
how can someone who doesn't have somebody behind them, that
(34:25):
comes out of foster care, ages out and has absolutely
nobody to support them, to encourage them to lock arms
with them when they're struggling, to give them an opportunity
for credit to be able to buy a car or
get an apartment. Where else do we expect them to
end up when they don't have that support behind them?
(34:45):
And so many people in this life that are alone
end up at homeless shelters and places like that because
they have aged out of foster care or come from
very dire circumstances. And metaphorically, I think the story you
just told is a beautiful illustration of exactly what we're
talking about here. That is, if you do join arms
(35:07):
for the folks and you do support them, and they
do feel like they have an army of people pushing
them on and encourage them to finish and get across
the finish line, they can reach things that maybe they
even thought they never could do.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
A lives change, Yeah, can you give you one more
little nugget I place? Yeah, So I was, we were
back on my feet, had a race, and I went
by the Salvation Army and pick up a couple, pick
up the guys.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
To take them to the race because it was a
little bit farther away.
Speaker 4 (35:34):
Ended up with just this one gentleman and we raced.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
He did a great job as his first race.
Speaker 4 (35:41):
And then we're driving home and he's like, hey, you know,
I just got my first paycheck from this job, and
I'm not sure what to do about cashing it. And
I was like, well, don't go to a check cash
place or a look or store right right. I was like,
go to the you can go to a Kroger or
you know, you can go to a grocery store and
they'll cash it for you. They're not going to take
a chunk out of it and everything like that. And
he was like, okay, great, you know, I'll do that afterwards.
(36:03):
And then I saw him at a at a group run,
you know, later, and I was like, Hey, did you
cast your check? And everything is, oh, yeah, you guys
now have a bank account and it's automatically being deposited
in my bank account, so I don't have to do
the check anymore and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
So just like that, he didn't even know where to
cash a check, right, So the financial illiteracy, But why
would he have any financial literacy if he never had
an example of it in his life? And we will.
I can remember the derogatory comments about well, yep, there
they go first one to the liquor store there and
(36:41):
they're cashing, they're checking the liquor store. They're getting tempera
taken out of it, and wow, that is so stupid.
Don't they know any better? And no, they don't know
any better, and shame on you for degrading them instead
of taking the time to teach them and to serve
them and to help them. Has that small, little, itty
(37:02):
bitty hurdle to understand just the basics of interest and
cost and things like that that happens all day, every
day in our country. And the government's not going to
fix that, and the people on CNN are not going
to fix that. But you and I we can fix that.
We can teach that, and I think it's another beautiful
(37:24):
example of exactly what we're talking about. My friend Michael
and Sherry y'all are clearly a team. Back on my Feet,
sleep in Heavenly peace Care Portal, big Al Gosh, you
got to hook up with a big al, trust me,
it's worth the time. Uri and the superhero Redemption inc
(37:49):
Isaiah one seventeen House and the Cuban lady who goes
shopping every two weeks, all born from uh just kind
of tuning in and listening to an army of normal
folks and becoming a member. And we had to share
(38:09):
your story because of all the emails you've sent us,
and we know there's more of you out there, and
the whole idea behind this is to encourage everybody listening
that Michael Lignis is just an average everyday Guy's got
a family and a life and struggles just like all
of us. But he's been inspired by the show to
involve himself in a number of things that have been
(38:31):
highlighted on the show. But most importantly, you're an inspiration
to us because you are exactly who we're trying to
reach and grow minions of. Because I do believe, with
everything I am, minions of you change this country.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Michael, Well, thank you. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (38:48):
It's been an awesome experience and I can't wait for
the future.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Well, one last thing. We always pay for our guests
to fly in and put up in the hotel lodging,
and you wouldn't even take that, you you. You said, nope,
I'm buying my own tickets that I'll find my own lodging.
I don't want to take the money from the show.
You use it to make other shows. Incredibly thoughtful and
(39:14):
giving heart, and we we thank you for that as well.
My friend, Sure, thanks for being here absolutely, Sherry, thanks
for being with us, and thank you for joining us
this week. If Michael or other guests have inspired you
in general or better yet, to do like he has
(39:36):
done and to take action. Please let me know I
really want to hear about it. You can write me
anytime at Bill at normal Folks dot us, and I
swear to you I will respond. If you enjoyed this episode,
I'm begging you share it with friends that are on
social Let folks know about us, subscribe to the podcast,
(39:57):
rate and review it. Join the army at normalfolks dot us.
Please consider becoming a Premium member like Michael. All of
these things that will help us grow an army of
normal folks thanks to our producer, Iron Like Labs. I'm
Bill Courtney. I will see you next week.
Host
Bill Courtney
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