September 17, 2025 • 35 mins
In Part 4 of the Olympic Park bombing series, Sheryl McCollum talks with Fallon Stubbs about her mother, Alice Hawthorne. Fallon recalls Alice’s influence as a devoted mother and businessperson, and the way she uplifted those around her. She shares memories of leaders who visited her in the hospital after the bombing and reflects on carrying Alice’s words, spirit, and legacy into her own life.
At just 14 years old, Fallon Stubbs was standing beside her mother, Alice Hawthorne, in Centennial Olympic Park when a bomb exploded during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She was injured by shrapnel and required surgery, while Alice lost her life in the blast. Today, Fallon honors her mother’s memory with deep respect and love, sharing her story of resilience, family, and purpose.
Missed the previous episodes?
- Listen to Part 1 with Irv Brandt
- Listen to Part 2 with Kent Alexander
- Listen to Part 3 with Dana Jewell
Highlights:
- (0:00) Sheryl welcomes Fallon Stubbs and remembers Alice Hawthorne
- (5:00) Memories of Alice as a devoted mother and businessperson
- (9:45) Alice's influence in Albany and the community she uplifted
- (12:30) Ambassador Andrew Young, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Reverend Joseph E. Lowery visit Fallon in the hospital
- (22:00) Fallon recounts the bombing and her last moments with her mother
- (28:30) "Take the damn picture” — how Sheryl reframed Fallon’s last words into a message of love
- (30:15) Fallon reflects on carrying Alice’s memory and living with purpose
- (34:30) Sheryl closes with words from Andrew Young and Fallon Stubbs
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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award-winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, forensic and crime scene expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. She is the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a national collaboration that advances techniques for solving cold cases and assists families and law enforcement with unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnappings.
Social Links:
- Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com
- Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
- Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
- Instagram: @officialzone7podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
The Olympic Park bombing caused the death of two people,
one a cameraman from Turkey with a heart attack, and
the other forty four year old Alice Hawthorne from all Benny, Georgia.
I never met Alice Hawthorne, but I met her brave,
smart and beautiful fourteen year old daughter, Fallon. Fallon and
(00:32):
I have only met in person once. It was just
after she got out of surgery, one of her first
surgeries after she was injured in the Olympic Park bombing
nineteen ninety six July twenty seventh, at approximately one twenty am. Now,
(00:53):
I never forgot her, and every year on the anniversary
I message her sorry I got a little chucked up.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Sorry that is I did as well. That means so
much to me that after all of these years, you
have not forgotten. You are a person of intent.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
And I am very, very grateful for this opportunity to
speak with you, in particular, because it's never for anything
else as far as my standpoint is concerned with our interactions.
You genuinely seem to wholeheartedly care about me and my
(01:38):
mother and my family in totality, and that's really hard
to find. As we maneuver through this world in any
capacity at fourteen or forty three. So I thank you
so much for that, and it means the world to me.
So anytime that I can do anything for you in
any capacity, I would be more than gracious to lend
(01:58):
my time efforts to whatever you have going.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So I'm very excited to do this with you today.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Man, do y'all hear her? She what grace? I mean here,
we're trying to do something for her. We want to
hear about her experience and honor her mom. And she's saying, Hey,
anything I can do for you, And that's the thing falling.
I mean, I thought about you so much. I thought
about your mama so much. In nineteen ninety six, I
wasn't a mama yet, but I became a mom in
(02:28):
two thousand and again in two thousand and three.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Oh what a blessing.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Oh you have no idea transformative right. And I think
about Alice Hawthorne, because with my children we did day trips.
I would take them places, I would show them things.
I would be so excited to get on an airplane
or a train or a boat, whatever we could do,
get in a car. And I thought about her so
often because I thought, here is this mama. She ain't
(02:55):
got a ticket to not one event. She is not
VIP at any fancy party. But she brought her baby
up here to see the Olympic flame. She wanted her
to experience this unbelievable once in a lifetime event in
our home state. And as a mama, I thought, you
(03:15):
know what, We're gonna move like Alice Hawthorne, Baby, We're
gonna get in the car, We're gonna have some fun.
We're gonna create our own party. We don't need no ticket.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Absolutely, Like.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I can't reiterate enough how wonderful of a mother I had.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I think if I've as I've.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Grown, of course and have had a million experiences of
my own and have met a million people, I don't
think I've had a better childhood. So I don't know
if she knew she was gonna leave early or not,
but she packed as much as she could in those
fourteen years, and I am I am so grateful to
have had her, Like extremely grateful. I've lived forty three
(04:01):
years and I may have never done as many things
as we did in those fourteen So God is so good.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Amen. And you know when I first saw you the
first thing. I mean, you were hurt, you were hurt bad,
and you had just gotten out of surgery. But it
just struck me you were a beautiful child. And then
I saw a picture of your mama, and I thought, well,
there you go. There's that apple in that tree right there,
(04:31):
just in you know, that smile. Both of you have
that smile that just you can't deny it, you can't
ignore it. It's just your whole face there.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
It is correct.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And both just beautiful, but as beautiful as you were
as a child. Let me tell you something, honey. Those
birthday pictures of you, it looked like they were straight
out of a magazine.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Oh thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
I had the intent to, and I'm sure as you
read the post, to honor her, yes in that.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
And I want you to talk about that because you
already kind of mentioned your forty three years. But talk
about that a minute.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Oh sure.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
So you know, my mother actually died at forty four,
but our birthday is a very close. Her birthday is
July seventeenth, Mine is July twenty fourth, so that's seven
days to hers. And then she died on July twenty seven,
so she was actually forty four for only ten days, so.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Her last full year of life was at forty three.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
So I wanted to take an opportunity to remember that
and to just celebrate the way that she did, Like
she was such a trail blazing before her time type
of woman. I just can't. I guess when you're living
in that moment, you can't kind of see it. But
(05:59):
once you back up and realize just how much a
person did, especially in that time.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
It was nineteen ninety.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Six, but that was, you know, way before social media,
way before we have all of these ways to connect,
like this is handshaking time, phone call times, letters time,
and she had a way with people that could not
be duplicated. And the amount of people that she touched
(06:27):
in her lifetime, I just can't even imagine. Even with
all of the access that I have now, I'm sure
I won't put a dent.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
In the world the way that she did.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
She was just extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary businesswoman, mother, student. I mean,
anything you can add in front of her name, she
did it, and no was never an option. It was
just how can I get it done. She was in
rooms that most black women were not invited to. She
(07:01):
was in places that most African American women were not
invited to, but everyone loved her.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
She had an infectious personality, a.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Magnetic smile as you would put it, and it was
a privilege and an honor to be her daughter.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Absolutely, So I'm just thrilled. I'm happy that I had her.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I know, for a lot of my adult life, I
was saddened by the fact that I lost her so early.
And as I went through therapy and all of those
things that people have to do to heal from grief,
what I.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Realized was what a blessing it was to have her.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
How many things we saw, how many places we went,
even to the Olympics, like it was.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
My birthday was the twenty fourth.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
We had a huge celebration in all Bennie, and she said,
you know what, we should go to the Olympics because
I was I'm a huge basketball fan.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Steal to this day, shout.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Out to my God, Charles barklay Shack. I still great.
People loved them right, and she knew that, and I
wanted to celebrate that and embrace that part. She was
one of those mothers that whatever you wanted to do,
she was encouraging to do. So, so I went through
(08:19):
a stage I wanted to play tennis. Put me in
tennis lessons. I went through a stage I wanted to
play basketball. Gave me a basketball coach, Like, whatever it
is I wanted to do in the moment, she didn't
just hear it, she supported it. And to have that
kind of support at such a young age really catapulted
(08:40):
me to be the adult that I am today. So
I'm blessed, humble, grateful all of those things to have her.
So we celebrated her on my birthday. We celebrated her
with all of my wonderfully beautiful friends everybody and nobody
even knew that's what we were doing, but the assign
was understood and they came and we had a great time.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
It was a great, great time. I wish you were
there because it was.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I do too. I'm telling you, I looked at some
of those pictures and I'd be like, I wish I
was right in the middle of that right there.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, we had time.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
But you know that's something you have in common with
your mama. Love in action. She loved you, She wanted
the best for you. She took action so that you
didn't miss anything, whether it was a basketball coach, or
that Olympic flame and what a I mean, you already
said it, but what adventures packed into forty three years.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I keep saying that I think she must have knew
that she was going to leave early because she had
a lust and love for life that just could not
be duplicated.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
The amount of things she did in her lifetime.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
From her childhood walking with Martin Luther King, because we're
from Atlanta. We're originally from Atlanta, Douglasville to be at
Zach But for most people who don't know where Douglasville
is located right outside of Atlanta. On I twenty, you
say Atlanta, that you're from Atlanta. So to march with
Martin Luther King, to go to college at Albany State,
(10:19):
a city that if you go to the Martin Luther
King exhibit and Memphis it says, could not be saved.
So to be in a city that is deemed unredeemable
and to leave a mark as she did with her businesses,
with her giving back to the community, with bringing things
(10:40):
to the community that had never been here before, with
the want and desire to better this city.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
And the citizens in it.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
To have that kind of vision at such an early age,
and not only to have the.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Vision, but to do it.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
A lot of us think of things, but we don't
actually do them. To actually do it, I'm still in awe,
you know, as I've been on my own business journeys
and with my off with the tax office and real
estate and all of those things I've done along the way,
(11:20):
i just say, God, leave, Mama.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
How did you do it? Because I have a ton
of help.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And she had a team of wonderful women that accompanied
her throughout the way. And I have such a beautiful
team of phenomenal women who helped bring all of my
visions to life. And I couldn't do it without them.
And she told me the same thing, that she couldn't
do it without her team.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
She used to always tell me as a child.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
It's not what you know, but who you know. And
that's exactly how I've lived my life.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I may not have.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
A million dollars, but I have access to millions of
dollars through I know, and building good partnerships and making
sure you do good business and.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
You treat people the way you want to be treated like.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
These are all things she is stilled to me so
early and I try to walk her walk to be
a representation of her in my daily life, and I
pray that she looks down on me and says, job
well done, baby girl, Job well done.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Sorry, I just need a second. You don't have me crying.
I'm a professional. Okay. So you mentioned doctor Martin Luther King,
and I just got to tell you something after I
left the command center, because we knew you were coming
out of surgery and we wanted to talk to you
and make sure that you felt safe. And you knew
(12:52):
that we were going to have law enforcement outside your
door and that nobody was going to be able to
get to you ever again, as long as we had
access to you. Let me just see, I'm sitting there
talking to you, and all of a sudden, the door's
open to your hospital room and in walks Ambassador Andy Young,
(13:16):
Jesse Jackson, and doctor Joseph Lowery. I was so taken
aback because not only was this almost one of those
moments where you're like, am I seeing something? Like is
this really happening? But when those men came into your
room and prayed with you and talked lovingly about your mama.
(13:41):
I don't know how that happened. You may, but to me,
it was astonishing and it was one of the most
incredible events of a group of men reaching out to
a child that I've ever seen in my life and
they almost spoke about your mama like they knew her.
(14:02):
So do you know how that happened or were you
also surprised by it?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Oh? I was shocked by it.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
And the great thing about being a kid sometimes you
don't know who you're in the presence of sometimes, and
so for me, I'm just looking at these three older
gentlemen and I'm like, Okay, you know who who are
these these men? But you could tell they were distinguished.
You can tell that they were educated men. And that's
(14:34):
one of the things that we've always preached was education.
That's always been our way in to any room was
through education. And to be able to have a conversation
with them, to be able to converse with them and
not about just only the present moment, but future moments.
(14:54):
Mister Young was so gracious with his time and his knowledge.
That's the thing I love about people the most when
they share what they know and who they know and
open doors for you that would not be open without that.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
He was very very gracious with that. And he told
me then, and.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
I knew he meant it, that if there was any
ever a day that I needed anything, that he would
be there. If I needed a letter of recommendation, if
I wanted to get into school, whatever it was that
I needed, that he would stand in the gap is
what we call it, That he would stand in the
gap for me. And those words, and it seemed as
(15:39):
if although he didn't know me, he knew me, you know,
like he knew what I was feeling and what I
was going through and what that experience was like for me.
And it was, and it was an amazing conversation. He's
an amazing man. All three of those gentlemen lasting imprint
(16:01):
on my life, but mister Young in particular, I just
revel at the opportunity that I even got an opportunity
to meet such a trailblazing ahead of his time civil's
rights advocate.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
And he walked with He walked with the same man
your mama did, all of them, And now that I
know that connection, it's even more remarkable. I don't know
that they knew it, but that's one thing you know
about those group of men, Doctor King's friends have all
stayed together. They all come together when they need to
(16:38):
to support who they need to. And that's one of
those things that I admire. I mean, the reason my
podcast is called Zone seven is because that's my inner circle.
Those are my people that I know I can trust.
They're going to look out for me. They're going to
tell me the truth, they're going to cheer for me,
they're going to make sure nobody's talking about about me
(16:58):
if I'm not in the room, they're going to celebrate
with me. That's who I want to be around. I
don't want to be around nobody else. I don't fool
with people that I don't trust. And so that's what
I saw in that room. And I'll tell you. You know,
Ambassador Young that early morning it was still mourning. The
way he spoke to you, he did not talk to
(17:20):
you like you were a fourteen year old child. He
spoke to you like someone that was about to be
a young adult because of what had happened to them.
He knew you had to grow up a little bit
pretty quick. But he made it clear to you that
because of who your mama was, that you should embrace
(17:41):
the joy and the happiness and the fun and the celebrations,
to not let this turn you bitter and sad and
you know, put your life on a course that you
didn't deserve. And he said that right off the bat,
in front of everybody in that room. And you had
aunts and uncles and other people in that room. You
(18:03):
had a room full.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Honey.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Yeah, because sometimes when you endure a tragedy, you know
that that brings out the worst in you.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You have a war, it's me complex.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
You think about all the things that you now are
going to miss out on instead of embracing all the
things that that may now be open to you. And
I think that's what he was telling me. Don't don't surrender.
Don't let this person win, because if I let and
I don't even speak of his name, but if I
(18:38):
let that person win, then everything that my mother did,
everything that doctor King did, everything Ambassador Young did, is
for not you know.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
This is this is the point.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
In this day and especially in the current times, we're
bombarded with hatred because you can it's so easily, it's
so easy accessible. Now you can just type in into
Google and you can just be flooded with hate at
the hate after hate after hate, and what I love
(19:14):
about Ambassador Young Doctor King, my mother. They never lived
in that. They only lived in the space of love,
in the space of acceptance, in the space of understanding,
because no matter how different.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
We are, we're way more like than we are different.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
And if we can just focus on that, then you'll
find way more friends than you do enemies.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
And that's what I love about sports.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
I think those type of things bring everyone together because
no matter who you are and what you look like
and what color your skin is, if you're a Falcons fan,
you're a Falcons fan. If you're rooting for the Braves,
you root for the Braves, and it doesn't matter who's
(20:06):
on that team. You don't even see the color. All
you see is the jersey. And I think that's what
I try to live my life by. I don't even
look at anyone for who they are, female, male, black, white.
I want to see your heart because if I talk
to you long enough, I promise I'm going to find
something we have in common, and even if we got
(20:28):
a hundred other things that we disagree on.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
We can live right here. That's your spaces.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Amen. Yes, it's so true.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And you know.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
When they were little, especially but I mean, I would
just preach to hunting, Caroline. Love wins. You can look
at any event that is sad and tragic, but if
you look at it, love wins. Love absolutely wins. There
was one hundred and eleven of y'all that were injured
in that part. There was one hundred and fourteen of
(21:04):
us that showed up within forty five minutes. And that's
people that weren't already there. So there was more of
us that showed up in forty five minutes, even more
that started praying even more, That started the ribbons even more,
that said, what can we do? Donate blood, give clothes,
anything people could think of to try to help. You
(21:28):
don't have to look far, and I agree with you,
you don't have to ever speak his name. That, to me,
is not the most important thing that came out of
this event for you and your mama. She poured so
much love into you, girl, there's no room for hate
in your heart. You couldn't hate if you wanted to.
There's too much of Alice Hawthorne in you. That's not
(21:50):
what you're made of, all.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Right, Fellan.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
I mean, I don't think you and I can talk
about it without mentioning the bombing. Okay, what you may read, remember,
did you see your mama? Did you know how bad
you were hurt? What did you think had happened? Were
you even aware in the chaos of what happened?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So I'll tell you that the crazy thing is, even
all of these years later, I can remember that night
as if it was yesterday. It's just etched and burned
into my mind.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
So I can remember very distinctly what we were doing
before it. We were right in front of a statue
and it looks as if I haven't been to the
park in a while, but it was like almost like
a half moon with athletes maybe three divided in that
half moon. And my mother was like, you know, take
(22:46):
my picture. And I was like, and this is so crazy,
because I counseling therapy. Oh my god, love, I love
my mother like I'm I'm I'm my mother's daughter, Like
I thought my mother was the best thing since sliced bread.
I didn't think anybody's mother was better than mine. And
(23:08):
I have a million friends who have wonderful mothers and
steal I don't think they were better than mine. So
I remember saying to her, and I don't even know
why it must have been at fourteen getting on me,
but underneath my breath, I was like, I'm gonna take.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
The damn picture. I never cussed at my mother. I
don't even know why I said.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
That, but that was and I think that's what broke
my heart the most, because as much as I loved
my mother, I know that's the last thing that I
uttered out of my mouth before the bomb went off.
And so as soon as it went off, I was
snapping the picture.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And of course they never gave us the.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Camera back, so I don't know what actually I snapped,
but it was snap and boom simultaneously, and I remember
very distinctly seeing my mother whip around from the blast.
It was just like you just can't imagine actually being
(24:11):
in a bomb, Like if you've never been a part
of something that impactful, it's just it's the loudest thing
you'll ever hear. It has so much force behind it,
like he understood what he wanted to do and he
did just that.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
So the.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Impact of the blast spent her in a tailspinn and
I remember seeing a slew of blood across her face
and I thought, again fourteen year old me, that her
eye had exploded or something to that effect, because it
was just that much blood and she went down instantly,
(24:58):
and I went down, of course as well. But when
I saw her, I knew she was hurt, like I
knew it.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I knew it. I knew it. I knew it like
I knew that she was hurt.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
And you know, you're kind of in a daze originally,
you're like, you.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Know, like what happened? Like is this a movie? Like
what is happening?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
And I immediately got up and I started running because I.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Knew she needed help.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
And I'm sure I was injured, and as we both know,
I definitely was, but in the moment, nothing was more
important than me securing.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Help for her. So I ran, you know, to find
someone to help.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
And I'm thinking I'm moving because I ran tracked my
whole life, so I think, am I'm moving like I'm
I am moving. I was not moving that far at all.
And then the next thing, you know, all of.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
The responders was like, get down, get down. You know
you're hurt, You're hurt.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
And I'm pointing back at her because I can see
her out of the corner of my eye, and I
was like, know, my mother, my mother, and they and
I saw a lot of people around her, way more
than was around anyone else, and I knew the damage
was substantial, and they put me in the ambulance. You know,
(26:17):
they separated us immediately. I never saw her again. Godley,
you just can't imagine. You can't even verbalize how much
that moment impacts you, how it.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
It stings you. It changes your whole life in one moment.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
One moment can change everything that you thought you would
be and put you on a whole nother path.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
And the next thing I know, I was in the ambulance.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
And I had an opportunity to kind of assess my
own injuries.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
And I used to not even used to steal, probably
an overly vain person.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
So I used to my skin, used to keyloid when
I was a child, and I would get, you know,
scratches and things, and I'd be like, God, look at
my skin. And I remember like I was like, God,
that's gonna leave an awful scar because I'm looking as
my leg is hanging over, as my finger is hanging
on literally by a thread, as my arm is in shreds,
(27:45):
and I'm thinking to myself, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Like what is like what is this going to look like?
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Like?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
What is this going to be?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
And then I'm also thinking to myself, if I have
to taking on so much damage, you know, what does
my mother look like? You know, because she was a beautiful, beautiful,
stunningly beautiful woman, Like.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
What damage did it do to her? And to.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
You know, fast forward and be able to see the
amount of damage that it did to her body, the shrapnel.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
You just it's like dying a thousand times. It's like
dying a thousand times.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I don't want to tell you something as a mama,
she knew when you mumbled it under your breath, but
that was you. That was the strong, opinionated, fun loving
kid she raised. And you know, I've got a real
good buddy. She has a daughter just like her, and
(28:57):
she said, I'm so tired of trying.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
To beat me out of her.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
So when you told her, I'm gonna take this damn picture.
I think we need to flip this around, Fallan. I
think this needs to be part of your ministry where
we remind people. You may feel like you don't look
great after a baby, or maybe you've just turned sixty
two and you think you look like a haint you
(29:24):
may not want to take your picture at a class
reunion because everybody looks better than you. Take the damn picture.
People want that picture.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Hashtag take the damn picture.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Take the damn picture, and it's a wonderful reminder. Alice
Hawthorne was gonna take the damn picture.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Now take this picture me because a I'm cute and
two we're in the Olympic Park celebrating, So that, I
think is what we need to do. And just remind
people it don't matter if you think you're fat. The
person that's in love with you don't. It don't matter
if you think you look skinny and you know, old
and just pitiful. Take the picture with coworkers, with family,
(30:08):
with friends, with neighbors, of yourself at fantastic places, because
the people you love are gonna want the damn picture.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
I just want to take an opportunity to just highlight her,
you know, as a as a mother, as a as
a business owner, as a coworker, as a wife, as
a best friend, as a sister. You just never understand
(30:40):
how impactful a person is. Sometimes into the gone about
how many people that she's helped along the way, pulled
up gave a helping hand. How many students that all
any state that she's encouraged and helped.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Get through school.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
How many student that we've encouraged through her scholarship fund
that we had at all any state? Single mothers to
be able to be educated and make sure that they
are able to give something back to their children, to
their community. This is all part of God's plan. Nothing,
(31:19):
nothing is a mistake. Nothing in life is a mistake.
Nobody that you meet is by chance. Everything is a design,
and we have to walk in purpose. And I think
that's what she did. I hope that's what I'm doing.
I know that's what you've been doing for a very
long time. And I just encourage everyone to walk in
(31:41):
their purpose, whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
It doesn't have.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
To be a big, grand thing, you know, it may
just be being the best you can be for the
people that love you. But find a purpose and something
that you love and do it. I mean, do it
with everything that's in you. And I promise when you
close your eyes, you will not have not one regret.
(32:05):
That's the only thing I can wholeheartedly say about my mother.
I'm sure she didn't know she was going to close
her eyes that day, but when she did, she didn't
have one regret. She had lived life in a way
that very few lived, and she lived it at an
accelerated rate with such love and passion not only for
(32:28):
herself and her family, but everyone else around her that
to this day, if a person sees me, they say,
you look like somebody I know, and to be able
to smile at them and know who they're talking about
and just say I get that all the time and
know that they mean her.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
That is such a blessing. It's such an honor.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
It's a badge that I will carry for the rest
of my life and know that I have came from
such a remarkable woman who wanted to live her life
out loud and proud and.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Be the best at everything that she absolutely touched.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
And so that's my purpose, you know, to just be
the absolute best that I can be, and I hope
that I can inspire someone else to walk in theirs.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
She is so proud of you, there is no doubt
about it. And you also affected my life. I changed
the way my entire career was done, the way I work,
the way I operate, the way I respond to people.
And you probably had no idea, but that is an
(33:37):
absolute fact. And I appreciate you and what you brought
tonight was not just honor to your mama, but I
think you have given everybody that's going to hear this
energy and, as you have said repeatedly tonight, deliberate purpose
to love in action.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
You know how much I adore you, like I absolutely
adore you. I think a lot of people fall off
along the way, and that's just natural, you know, that's
just the way. You know, people work a reason, a
season and a lifetime, and for me to be able
to have you in my life for a lifetime has been.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
A true blessing. It hasn't been a season, it hasn't
been a reason.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
You have been very present for a lifetime, and I
am humbled and honored to know.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
You, y'all.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
I'm going to do something a little different tonight. I'm
going to end Zone seven.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
With two quotes.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
We will remember not the hatred, not the bitterness, not
the alienation, but the joy and happiness. Ambassador Andrew Young,
chair of the nineteen ninety six Atlanta Committee for the
Olympic Games. Second quote, take the damn picture fallen Stubbs,
(35:06):
daughter of Alice Hawthorne. I'm Cheryl McCollum and this is
zone seven
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Mm HM
The Olympic Park bombing caused the death of two people,
one a cameraman from Turkey with a heart attack, and
the other forty four year old Alice Hawthorne from all Benny, Georgia.
I never met Alice Hawthorne, but I met her brave,
smart and beautiful fourteen year old daughter, Fallon. Fallon and
(00:32):
I have only met in person once. It was just
after she got out of surgery, one of her first
surgeries after she was injured in the Olympic Park bombing
nineteen ninety six July twenty seventh, at approximately one twenty am. Now,
(00:53):
I never forgot her, and every year on the anniversary
I message her sorry I got a little chucked up.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Sorry that is I did as well. That means so
much to me that after all of these years, you
have not forgotten. You are a person of intent.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
And I am very, very grateful for this opportunity to
speak with you, in particular, because it's never for anything
else as far as my standpoint is concerned with our interactions.
You genuinely seem to wholeheartedly care about me and my
(01:38):
mother and my family in totality, and that's really hard
to find. As we maneuver through this world in any
capacity at fourteen or forty three. So I thank you
so much for that, and it means the world to me.
So anytime that I can do anything for you in
any capacity, I would be more than gracious to lend
(01:58):
my time efforts to whatever you have going.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
So I'm very excited to do this with you today.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Man, do y'all hear her? She what grace? I mean here,
we're trying to do something for her. We want to
hear about her experience and honor her mom. And she's saying, Hey,
anything I can do for you, And that's the thing falling.
I mean, I thought about you so much. I thought
about your mama so much. In nineteen ninety six, I
wasn't a mama yet, but I became a mom in
(02:28):
two thousand and again in two thousand and three.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Oh what a blessing.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Oh you have no idea transformative right. And I think
about Alice Hawthorne, because with my children we did day trips.
I would take them places, I would show them things.
I would be so excited to get on an airplane
or a train or a boat, whatever we could do,
get in a car. And I thought about her so
often because I thought, here is this mama. She ain't
(02:55):
got a ticket to not one event. She is not
VIP at any fancy party. But she brought her baby
up here to see the Olympic flame. She wanted her
to experience this unbelievable once in a lifetime event in
our home state. And as a mama, I thought, you
(03:15):
know what, We're gonna move like Alice Hawthorne, Baby, We're
gonna get in the car, We're gonna have some fun.
We're gonna create our own party. We don't need no ticket.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Absolutely, Like.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
I can't reiterate enough how wonderful of a mother I had.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I think if I've as I've.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Grown, of course and have had a million experiences of
my own and have met a million people, I don't
think I've had a better childhood. So I don't know
if she knew she was gonna leave early or not,
but she packed as much as she could in those
fourteen years, and I am I am so grateful to
have had her, Like extremely grateful. I've lived forty three
(04:01):
years and I may have never done as many things
as we did in those fourteen So God is so good.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Amen. And you know when I first saw you the
first thing. I mean, you were hurt, you were hurt bad,
and you had just gotten out of surgery. But it
just struck me you were a beautiful child. And then
I saw a picture of your mama, and I thought, well,
there you go. There's that apple in that tree right there,
(04:31):
just in you know, that smile. Both of you have
that smile that just you can't deny it, you can't
ignore it. It's just your whole face there.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
It is correct.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And both just beautiful, but as beautiful as you were
as a child. Let me tell you something, honey. Those
birthday pictures of you, it looked like they were straight
out of a magazine.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Oh thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
I had the intent to, and I'm sure as you
read the post, to honor her, yes in that.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
And I want you to talk about that because you
already kind of mentioned your forty three years. But talk
about that a minute.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Oh sure.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
So you know, my mother actually died at forty four,
but our birthday is a very close. Her birthday is
July seventeenth, Mine is July twenty fourth, so that's seven
days to hers. And then she died on July twenty seven,
so she was actually forty four for only ten days, so.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Her last full year of life was at forty three.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
So I wanted to take an opportunity to remember that
and to just celebrate the way that she did, Like
she was such a trail blazing before her time type
of woman. I just can't. I guess when you're living
in that moment, you can't kind of see it. But
(05:59):
once you back up and realize just how much a
person did, especially in that time.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
It was nineteen ninety.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Six, but that was, you know, way before social media,
way before we have all of these ways to connect,
like this is handshaking time, phone call times, letters time,
and she had a way with people that could not
be duplicated. And the amount of people that she touched
(06:27):
in her lifetime, I just can't even imagine. Even with
all of the access that I have now, I'm sure
I won't put a dent.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
In the world the way that she did.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
She was just extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary businesswoman, mother, student. I mean,
anything you can add in front of her name, she
did it, and no was never an option. It was
just how can I get it done. She was in
rooms that most black women were not invited to. She
(07:01):
was in places that most African American women were not
invited to, but everyone loved her.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
She had an infectious personality, a.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
Magnetic smile as you would put it, and it was
a privilege and an honor to be her daughter.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Absolutely, So I'm just thrilled. I'm happy that I had her.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I know, for a lot of my adult life, I
was saddened by the fact that I lost her so early.
And as I went through therapy and all of those
things that people have to do to heal from grief,
what I.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Realized was what a blessing it was to have her.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
How many things we saw, how many places we went,
even to the Olympics, like it was.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
My birthday was the twenty fourth.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
We had a huge celebration in all Bennie, and she said,
you know what, we should go to the Olympics because
I was I'm a huge basketball fan.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Steal to this day, shout.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
Out to my God, Charles barklay Shack. I still great.
People loved them right, and she knew that, and I
wanted to celebrate that and embrace that part. She was
one of those mothers that whatever you wanted to do,
she was encouraging to do. So, so I went through
(08:19):
a stage I wanted to play tennis. Put me in
tennis lessons. I went through a stage I wanted to
play basketball. Gave me a basketball coach, Like, whatever it
is I wanted to do in the moment, she didn't
just hear it, she supported it. And to have that
kind of support at such a young age really catapulted
(08:40):
me to be the adult that I am today. So
I'm blessed, humble, grateful all of those things to have her.
So we celebrated her on my birthday. We celebrated her
with all of my wonderfully beautiful friends everybody and nobody
even knew that's what we were doing, but the assign
was understood and they came and we had a great time.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
It was a great, great time. I wish you were
there because it was.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I do too. I'm telling you, I looked at some
of those pictures and I'd be like, I wish I
was right in the middle of that right there.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, we had time.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
But you know that's something you have in common with
your mama. Love in action. She loved you, She wanted
the best for you. She took action so that you
didn't miss anything, whether it was a basketball coach, or
that Olympic flame and what a I mean, you already
said it, but what adventures packed into forty three years.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
I keep saying that I think she must have knew
that she was going to leave early because she had
a lust and love for life that just could not
be duplicated.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
The amount of things she did in her lifetime.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
From her childhood walking with Martin Luther King, because we're
from Atlanta. We're originally from Atlanta, Douglasville to be at
Zach But for most people who don't know where Douglasville
is located right outside of Atlanta. On I twenty, you
say Atlanta, that you're from Atlanta. So to march with
Martin Luther King, to go to college at Albany State,
(10:19):
a city that if you go to the Martin Luther
King exhibit and Memphis it says, could not be saved.
So to be in a city that is deemed unredeemable
and to leave a mark as she did with her businesses,
with her giving back to the community, with bringing things
(10:40):
to the community that had never been here before, with
the want and desire to better this city.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
And the citizens in it.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
To have that kind of vision at such an early age,
and not only to have the.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Vision, but to do it.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
A lot of us think of things, but we don't
actually do them. To actually do it, I'm still in awe,
you know, as I've been on my own business journeys
and with my off with the tax office and real
estate and all of those things I've done along the way,
(11:20):
i just say, God, leave, Mama.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
How did you do it? Because I have a ton
of help.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And she had a team of wonderful women that accompanied
her throughout the way. And I have such a beautiful
team of phenomenal women who helped bring all of my
visions to life. And I couldn't do it without them.
And she told me the same thing, that she couldn't
do it without her team.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
She used to always tell me as a child.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
It's not what you know, but who you know. And
that's exactly how I've lived my life.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
I may not have.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
A million dollars, but I have access to millions of
dollars through I know, and building good partnerships and making
sure you do good business and.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
You treat people the way you want to be treated like.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
These are all things she is stilled to me so
early and I try to walk her walk to be
a representation of her in my daily life, and I
pray that she looks down on me and says, job
well done, baby girl, Job well done.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Sorry, I just need a second. You don't have me crying.
I'm a professional. Okay. So you mentioned doctor Martin Luther King,
and I just got to tell you something after I
left the command center, because we knew you were coming
out of surgery and we wanted to talk to you
and make sure that you felt safe. And you knew
(12:52):
that we were going to have law enforcement outside your
door and that nobody was going to be able to
get to you ever again, as long as we had
access to you. Let me just see, I'm sitting there
talking to you, and all of a sudden, the door's
open to your hospital room and in walks Ambassador Andy Young,
(13:16):
Jesse Jackson, and doctor Joseph Lowery. I was so taken
aback because not only was this almost one of those
moments where you're like, am I seeing something? Like is
this really happening? But when those men came into your
room and prayed with you and talked lovingly about your mama.
(13:41):
I don't know how that happened. You may, but to me,
it was astonishing and it was one of the most
incredible events of a group of men reaching out to
a child that I've ever seen in my life and
they almost spoke about your mama like they knew her.
(14:02):
So do you know how that happened or were you
also surprised by it?
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Oh? I was shocked by it.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
And the great thing about being a kid sometimes you
don't know who you're in the presence of sometimes, and
so for me, I'm just looking at these three older
gentlemen and I'm like, Okay, you know who who are
these these men? But you could tell they were distinguished.
You can tell that they were educated men. And that's
(14:34):
one of the things that we've always preached was education.
That's always been our way in to any room was
through education. And to be able to have a conversation
with them, to be able to converse with them and
not about just only the present moment, but future moments.
(14:54):
Mister Young was so gracious with his time and his knowledge.
That's the thing I love about people the most when
they share what they know and who they know and
open doors for you that would not be open without that.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
He was very very gracious with that. And he told
me then, and.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
I knew he meant it, that if there was any
ever a day that I needed anything, that he would
be there. If I needed a letter of recommendation, if
I wanted to get into school, whatever it was that
I needed, that he would stand in the gap is
what we call it, That he would stand in the
gap for me. And those words, and it seemed as
(15:39):
if although he didn't know me, he knew me, you know,
like he knew what I was feeling and what I
was going through and what that experience was like for me.
And it was, and it was an amazing conversation. He's
an amazing man. All three of those gentlemen lasting imprint
(16:01):
on my life, but mister Young in particular, I just
revel at the opportunity that I even got an opportunity
to meet such a trailblazing ahead of his time civil's
rights advocate.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
And he walked with He walked with the same man
your mama did, all of them, And now that I
know that connection, it's even more remarkable. I don't know
that they knew it, but that's one thing you know
about those group of men, Doctor King's friends have all
stayed together. They all come together when they need to
(16:38):
to support who they need to. And that's one of
those things that I admire. I mean, the reason my
podcast is called Zone seven is because that's my inner circle.
Those are my people that I know I can trust.
They're going to look out for me. They're going to
tell me the truth, they're going to cheer for me,
they're going to make sure nobody's talking about about me
(16:58):
if I'm not in the room, they're going to celebrate
with me. That's who I want to be around. I
don't want to be around nobody else. I don't fool
with people that I don't trust. And so that's what
I saw in that room. And I'll tell you. You know,
Ambassador Young that early morning it was still mourning. The
way he spoke to you, he did not talk to
(17:20):
you like you were a fourteen year old child. He
spoke to you like someone that was about to be
a young adult because of what had happened to them.
He knew you had to grow up a little bit
pretty quick. But he made it clear to you that
because of who your mama was, that you should embrace
(17:41):
the joy and the happiness and the fun and the celebrations,
to not let this turn you bitter and sad and
you know, put your life on a course that you
didn't deserve. And he said that right off the bat,
in front of everybody in that room. And you had
aunts and uncles and other people in that room. You
(18:03):
had a room full.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Honey.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Yeah, because sometimes when you endure a tragedy, you know
that that brings out the worst in you.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You have a war, it's me complex.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
You think about all the things that you now are
going to miss out on instead of embracing all the
things that that may now be open to you. And
I think that's what he was telling me. Don't don't surrender.
Don't let this person win, because if I let and
I don't even speak of his name, but if I
(18:38):
let that person win, then everything that my mother did,
everything that doctor King did, everything Ambassador Young did, is
for not you know.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
This is this is the point.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
In this day and especially in the current times, we're
bombarded with hatred because you can it's so easily, it's
so easy accessible. Now you can just type in into
Google and you can just be flooded with hate at
the hate after hate after hate, and what I love
(19:14):
about Ambassador Young Doctor King, my mother. They never lived
in that. They only lived in the space of love,
in the space of acceptance, in the space of understanding,
because no matter how different.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
We are, we're way more like than we are different.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
And if we can just focus on that, then you'll
find way more friends than you do enemies.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
And that's what I love about sports.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
I think those type of things bring everyone together because
no matter who you are and what you look like
and what color your skin is, if you're a Falcons fan,
you're a Falcons fan. If you're rooting for the Braves,
you root for the Braves, and it doesn't matter who's
(20:06):
on that team. You don't even see the color. All
you see is the jersey. And I think that's what
I try to live my life by. I don't even
look at anyone for who they are, female, male, black, white.
I want to see your heart because if I talk
to you long enough, I promise I'm going to find
something we have in common, and even if we got
(20:28):
a hundred other things that we disagree on.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
We can live right here. That's your spaces.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
Amen. Yes, it's so true.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And you know.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
When they were little, especially but I mean, I would
just preach to hunting, Caroline. Love wins. You can look
at any event that is sad and tragic, but if
you look at it, love wins. Love absolutely wins. There
was one hundred and eleven of y'all that were injured
in that part. There was one hundred and fourteen of
(21:04):
us that showed up within forty five minutes. And that's
people that weren't already there. So there was more of
us that showed up in forty five minutes, even more
that started praying even more, That started the ribbons even more,
that said, what can we do? Donate blood, give clothes,
anything people could think of to try to help. You
(21:28):
don't have to look far, and I agree with you,
you don't have to ever speak his name. That, to me,
is not the most important thing that came out of
this event for you and your mama. She poured so
much love into you, girl, there's no room for hate
in your heart. You couldn't hate if you wanted to.
There's too much of Alice Hawthorne in you. That's not
(21:50):
what you're made of, all.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
Right, Fellan.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
I mean, I don't think you and I can talk
about it without mentioning the bombing. Okay, what you may read, remember,
did you see your mama? Did you know how bad
you were hurt? What did you think had happened? Were
you even aware in the chaos of what happened?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So I'll tell you that the crazy thing is, even
all of these years later, I can remember that night
as if it was yesterday. It's just etched and burned
into my mind.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
So I can remember very distinctly what we were doing
before it. We were right in front of a statue
and it looks as if I haven't been to the
park in a while, but it was like almost like
a half moon with athletes maybe three divided in that
half moon. And my mother was like, you know, take
(22:46):
my picture. And I was like, and this is so crazy,
because I counseling therapy. Oh my god, love, I love
my mother like I'm I'm I'm my mother's daughter, Like
I thought my mother was the best thing since sliced bread.
I didn't think anybody's mother was better than mine. And
(23:08):
I have a million friends who have wonderful mothers and
steal I don't think they were better than mine. So
I remember saying to her, and I don't even know
why it must have been at fourteen getting on me,
but underneath my breath, I was like, I'm gonna take.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
The damn picture. I never cussed at my mother. I
don't even know why I said.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
That, but that was and I think that's what broke
my heart the most, because as much as I loved
my mother, I know that's the last thing that I
uttered out of my mouth before the bomb went off.
And so as soon as it went off, I was
snapping the picture.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
And of course they never gave us the.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Camera back, so I don't know what actually I snapped,
but it was snap and boom simultaneously, and I remember
very distinctly seeing my mother whip around from the blast.
It was just like you just can't imagine actually being
(24:11):
in a bomb, Like if you've never been a part
of something that impactful, it's just it's the loudest thing
you'll ever hear. It has so much force behind it,
like he understood what he wanted to do and he
did just that.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
So the.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Impact of the blast spent her in a tailspinn and
I remember seeing a slew of blood across her face
and I thought, again fourteen year old me, that her
eye had exploded or something to that effect, because it
was just that much blood and she went down instantly,
(24:58):
and I went down, of course as well. But when
I saw her, I knew she was hurt, like I
knew it.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I knew it. I knew it. I knew it like
I knew that she was hurt.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
And you know, you're kind of in a daze originally,
you're like, you.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Know, like what happened? Like is this a movie? Like
what is happening?
Speaker 3 (25:19):
And I immediately got up and I started running because I.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Knew she needed help.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
And I'm sure I was injured, and as we both know,
I definitely was, but in the moment, nothing was more
important than me securing.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Help for her. So I ran, you know, to find
someone to help.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
And I'm thinking I'm moving because I ran tracked my
whole life, so I think, am I'm moving like I'm
I am moving. I was not moving that far at all.
And then the next thing, you know, all of.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
The responders was like, get down, get down. You know
you're hurt, You're hurt.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
And I'm pointing back at her because I can see
her out of the corner of my eye, and I
was like, know, my mother, my mother, and they and
I saw a lot of people around her, way more
than was around anyone else, and I knew the damage
was substantial, and they put me in the ambulance. You know,
(26:17):
they separated us immediately. I never saw her again. Godley,
you just can't imagine. You can't even verbalize how much
that moment impacts you, how it.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
It stings you. It changes your whole life in one moment.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
One moment can change everything that you thought you would
be and put you on a whole nother path.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
And the next thing I know, I was in the ambulance.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
And I had an opportunity to kind of assess my
own injuries.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
And I used to not even used to steal, probably
an overly vain person.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
So I used to my skin, used to keyloid when
I was a child, and I would get, you know,
scratches and things, and I'd be like, God, look at
my skin. And I remember like I was like, God,
that's gonna leave an awful scar because I'm looking as
my leg is hanging over, as my finger is hanging
on literally by a thread, as my arm is in shreds,
(27:45):
and I'm thinking to myself, you know.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Like what is like what is this going to look like?
Speaker 3 (27:52):
Like?
Speaker 2 (27:52):
What is this going to be?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
And then I'm also thinking to myself, if I have
to taking on so much damage, you know, what does
my mother look like? You know, because she was a beautiful, beautiful,
stunningly beautiful woman, Like.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
What damage did it do to her? And to.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
You know, fast forward and be able to see the
amount of damage that it did to her body, the shrapnel.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
You just it's like dying a thousand times. It's like
dying a thousand times.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
I don't want to tell you something as a mama,
she knew when you mumbled it under your breath, but
that was you. That was the strong, opinionated, fun loving
kid she raised. And you know, I've got a real
good buddy. She has a daughter just like her, and
(28:57):
she said, I'm so tired of trying.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
To beat me out of her.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
So when you told her, I'm gonna take this damn picture.
I think we need to flip this around, Fallan. I
think this needs to be part of your ministry where
we remind people. You may feel like you don't look
great after a baby, or maybe you've just turned sixty
two and you think you look like a haint you
(29:24):
may not want to take your picture at a class
reunion because everybody looks better than you. Take the damn picture.
People want that picture.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Hashtag take the damn picture.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Take the damn picture, and it's a wonderful reminder. Alice
Hawthorne was gonna take the damn picture.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Now take this picture me because a I'm cute and
two we're in the Olympic Park celebrating, So that, I
think is what we need to do. And just remind
people it don't matter if you think you're fat. The
person that's in love with you don't. It don't matter
if you think you look skinny and you know, old
and just pitiful. Take the picture with coworkers, with family,
(30:08):
with friends, with neighbors, of yourself at fantastic places, because
the people you love are gonna want the damn picture.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
I just want to take an opportunity to just highlight her,
you know, as a as a mother, as a as
a business owner, as a coworker, as a wife, as
a best friend, as a sister. You just never understand
(30:40):
how impactful a person is. Sometimes into the gone about
how many people that she's helped along the way, pulled
up gave a helping hand. How many students that all
any state that she's encouraged and helped.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Get through school.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
How many student that we've encouraged through her scholarship fund
that we had at all any state? Single mothers to
be able to be educated and make sure that they
are able to give something back to their children, to
their community. This is all part of God's plan. Nothing,
(31:19):
nothing is a mistake. Nothing in life is a mistake.
Nobody that you meet is by chance. Everything is a design,
and we have to walk in purpose. And I think
that's what she did. I hope that's what I'm doing.
I know that's what you've been doing for a very
long time. And I just encourage everyone to walk in
(31:41):
their purpose, whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
It doesn't have.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
To be a big, grand thing, you know, it may
just be being the best you can be for the
people that love you. But find a purpose and something
that you love and do it. I mean, do it
with everything that's in you. And I promise when you
close your eyes, you will not have not one regret.
(32:05):
That's the only thing I can wholeheartedly say about my mother.
I'm sure she didn't know she was going to close
her eyes that day, but when she did, she didn't
have one regret. She had lived life in a way
that very few lived, and she lived it at an
accelerated rate with such love and passion not only for
(32:28):
herself and her family, but everyone else around her that
to this day, if a person sees me, they say,
you look like somebody I know, and to be able
to smile at them and know who they're talking about
and just say I get that all the time and
know that they mean her.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
That is such a blessing. It's such an honor.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
It's a badge that I will carry for the rest
of my life and know that I have came from
such a remarkable woman who wanted to live her life
out loud and proud and.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Be the best at everything that she absolutely touched.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
And so that's my purpose, you know, to just be
the absolute best that I can be, and I hope
that I can inspire someone else to walk in theirs.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
She is so proud of you, there is no doubt
about it. And you also affected my life. I changed
the way my entire career was done, the way I work,
the way I operate, the way I respond to people.
And you probably had no idea, but that is an
(33:37):
absolute fact. And I appreciate you and what you brought
tonight was not just honor to your mama, but I
think you have given everybody that's going to hear this
energy and, as you have said repeatedly tonight, deliberate purpose
to love in action.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
I thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
You know how much I adore you, like I absolutely
adore you. I think a lot of people fall off
along the way, and that's just natural, you know, that's
just the way. You know, people work a reason, a
season and a lifetime, and for me to be able
to have you in my life for a lifetime has been.
Speaker 2 (34:18):
A true blessing. It hasn't been a season, it hasn't
been a reason.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
You have been very present for a lifetime, and I
am humbled and honored to know.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
You, y'all.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
I'm going to do something a little different tonight. I'm
going to end Zone seven.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
With two quotes.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
We will remember not the hatred, not the bitterness, not
the alienation, but the joy and happiness. Ambassador Andrew Young,
chair of the nineteen ninety six Atlanta Committee for the
Olympic Games. Second quote, take the damn picture fallen Stubbs,
(35:06):
daughter of Alice Hawthorne. I'm Cheryl McCollum and this is
zone seven
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Mm HM
Host
Sheryl McCollum
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