October 27, 2025 • 41 mins
A gentle heads-up: In this conversation, we name some hard things — including suicide and sexual assault. If that’s tender for you today, please listen with care, skip ahead, or come back when you’re ready. If you need support in the US, call or text 988.
Sometimes hope is a laugh you didn’t expect.
At 10:44 PM on November 2, 2015, Ron “Blake” Blake was ready to end his life. A split-second laugh during The Late Show with Stephen Colbert interrupted the plan—and it changed everything. In this conversation, Blake and I talk about what came next: PTSD after sexual assault, dissociative amnesia, and a 10-year, one-human mission to gather stories on giant foam boards. Today there are 522 boards covered with 34,000+ names, poems, prayers, jokes, and equations. Proof that we belong to each other.
I love this talk because it’s not shiny; it’s honest. We sit with the hard and notice where the light still gets in. If you’re in a long night—or love someone who is—I hope this feels like a hand on your shoulder.
In this episode:
- “10:44 PM” — the laugh that stopped a suicide plan
- What dissociative amnesia felt like from the inside
- 522 boards, 32 Sharpies, and why being heard can be medicine
- A student at SDSU who chose to stay because Blake showed up
- Why his “symbolic goal” (getting on The Late Show) still matters
Find Blake: Instagram @blakelateshow | Documentary I AM (Sinconus Studios)
If you’re in crisis (US): Call/text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org
Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.
New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.
For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
When I tell people this, I I don't just say I woke
up from a nightmare, I woke upfrom yet another nightmare.
They just kept coming.
And at some point, you don'tknow, I didn't know what to do
to stop them.
I had tried, I had begun goingto some therapy for it.
But on that night, when I wokeup from that nightmare, I got
(00:22):
out my pills, I got out thewater bottle, and I knew that
was the night I was gonna I wasgonna stop the pain.
SPEAKER_01 (00:38):
Hi friends, I'm Dionyelle Elliott Smith, and
this is Hope Comes to Visit,where we name the hard things
and notice how we grow aroundthem.
I'm so grateful you're here.
A fortuitous moment of laughteron the late show with Stephen
Colbert stopped my next guest,Ron Blake, from dying by suicide
at 1044 p.m.
on November 2nd, 2015.
(00:59):
That spark of hope sent him outon his ongoing artistic mission
to overcome PTSD and to become aguest on the late show, his
symbolic goal.
Ron Blake, I am so excited tohave you here on the show with
me today to talk about the hopethat you are continuing to share
every single day.
(01:20):
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
I am good.
Um it's always a continuousjourney.
Um, I mean, it's life, but umI'm good.
I mean, it could I could tellyou all the bad stuff, but I'm
choosing not to at the moment.
Um, there's a lot of good that'sbeen happening too in my life
and still is.
SPEAKER_01 (01:39):
So there's so much more I could have said in your
introduction, but I wanted tosave that so that we could have
this as a conversation.
I I'm so intrigued by your storyand so inspired by how you have
evolved, how you have decided totake difficult times in your
(02:01):
life and turn them into momentsof inspiration for other people.
So if you wouldn't mind, umlet's go back to 2015 and tell
me about the moment that Imentioned in your introduction.
Um you are at a place that isincredibly low.
(02:22):
What happened?
SPEAKER_00 (02:24):
That it's it's almost, I mean, it's it's so
strange to think that I'm almostat the 10-year anniversary of
that night, but it was onNovember 2nd of 2015.
I woke up, and when I tellpeople this, I I don't just say
I woke up from a nightmare, Iwoke up from yet another
nightmare.
They just kept coming.
(02:45):
And at some point, you don'tknow, I didn't know what to do
to stop them.
I had tried, I had begun goingto some therapy for it.
But on that night, when I wokeup from that nightmare, I got
out my pills, I got out thewater bottle, and I knew that
was the night I was gonna I wasgonna stop the pain.
(03:07):
Um and I had the pills in mylap, I had the water bottle
there, and then I happened tolook up and I saw the TV was on.
And that was confusing for mebecause I would always shut off
the or I would set the timer forthe TV, and for some reason it I
don't think I did anything wrongwith the timer, it just
malfunctioned.
(03:28):
Um, because it should have goneoff after 30 minutes.
And for whatever reason, I Ilooked up at the TV and it was
this comedy show called The LateShow with Stephen Colbert.
Something made me laugh.
And it was it, it's just I wantpeople to imagine what an
incongruous moment that is.
That you are ready to end yourlife and you're laughing.
(03:50):
And it just that was the momentthat I said, there's something
good left in me.
And I paused the TV and I satthere for a while, and that was
the moment that stopped stoppedthe suicide at 10 44 p.m.
that night.
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
So uh Blake, is this uh had you struggled for a long
time with depression?
Was it a series of events thathad led you to this place where
you thought there isn't anythinggood left for me?
SPEAKER_00 (04:18):
I did.
I I had struggled with PTSD umfor quite a while, for several
years.
It was um as a result of uh um arape and beating I went through
um a few years earlier.
Three men came into my home indowntown Phoenix.
I was held down, I was beaten,and I was raped.
(04:39):
Um I had significant injuriesfrom that, but I was also
diagnosed um with dissociativeamnesia.
Eventually the doctors wouldwork with me.
So for about three years, I wasin this dark place where I
didn't know what had happened tome.
I almost all the memories fromthat night were erased.
They weren't erased, they werethey were there, they weren't
(05:00):
accessible to me, is what thedoctors and therapists write.
And over time, the therapistwould tell me it was usually if
people have dissociated amnesia,for most people, it might last
for days, weeks, maybe months.
In my case, it lasted for years.
And they said that was highlyunusual that I couldn't remember
that.
Um, and it caused a lot ofproblems for me.
(05:22):
And part of that was what youwere talking about, that it led
to the PTSD, the depression, thestruggles.
So I'm having I tell people ifthey've ever seen those Jason
Bourne movies, the BornIdentity, the Born, they have a
lot of bornes with Matt Damon.
But the doctors said you had thesame diagnosis as this character
that Matt Damon would play.
(05:43):
He was always being chased bythese bad guys, but he didn't
know why.
And that was me.
For those three years, I'm beingchased by these nightmares.
I would see visions of whathappened that night, but then
they would disappear reallyquickly.
And so then I had no idea if itwas just a nightmare or if it
was real.
And it turns out they were real,but um, and that's what I
(06:05):
struggled with.
SPEAKER_01 (06:07):
Blake, what a terrifying place to be, to be in
a state of mind where you knowthere's something there, but
you're not exactly sure what itis, and you're struggling with a
sense of reality.
However, you come to this placein November of 2015, it's 10:44
p.m.
(06:27):
Do you know what it was on theColbert show that made you
laugh?
SPEAKER_00 (06:30):
No, I'm glad you asked that too, because I I know
when I've spoken um at events, alot of times people in the
audience will ask me that.
Um, I've had some reporters askme, but I'm glad they asked
because it gives me a chance toshare with people.
I'll very likely I'll never knowwhat the joke was that made me
laugh.
It's because it wasn't thesignificance wasn't about what
(06:54):
was coming into me that nightthat was important.
It was what was leaving me.
I couldn't believe that I waslaughing.
That's the part that Irecognized.
So I'm sure I remembered thejoke at the moment, but then all
of a sudden it was just this Icouldn't believe that I could
laugh.
There was, you know, becauseyou're in the darkest moment of
your life.
You're obviously I'm ready totake my life.
(07:16):
So that was the focus.
And all of a sudden, thisgoodness, something good inside
me came out.
And that that moment, I said,I'm gonna get on this show.
I'm gonna learn how to tell mystory.
I'm gonna talk about this.
And it all became, and then thenext day I was at a staple store
and it became clear how I wasgonna get on the show.
Well, fingers crossed, I haven'tbeen on, I haven't been on yet.
(07:40):
But um, but that moment of hope,that's um it was powerful.
Obviously, it's powerful becauseI'm still I spent 20, I'm a
little over 24,000 hours of mylife trying to get on a TV show
for five minutes, and peoplewill ask, why do you keep going?
That's the power of a moment ofhope to keep me going.
I haven't had a full-time job in10 years, but I I do odd jobs.
(08:03):
I find a way to keep thisjourney alive because that's how
important it is to me.
And that is also how howpowerful a moment of hope can
be.
SPEAKER_01 (08:13):
So let's talk about this journey.
What have you been doing for thelast 10 years on this journey to
spread the message about PTSDand assault?
SPEAKER_00 (08:23):
Well, I mean, it started the next day when I went
to that staple store.
I I woke up the next day and Ithought I wasn't supposed to be
alive today.
It was really, it was veryprofound for me that I thought,
wow, if it wouldn't have beenfor that moment, I wouldn't be
here.
So I thought, well, what am I,what do I need to do?
And I needed computer paper.
(08:43):
So I thought, I'm gonna go to astaple store in Central Phoenix.
And I was there, and then Ihappened to look at these giant
foam boards.
And a woman that works therecame by and said, Can I help
you, sir?
And I said, Do you have more ofthese in the back, these giant
foam boards?
And she went to go look.
And before she went to thewarehouse, she turned around and
(09:03):
said, How many do you want?
And I remember I thought, Inever said I wanted any.
I just wanted to imagine, didshe have 10 of them?
Did she have 25, 100?
I think I was trying to imagine,I was trying to imagine
something.
And it was that that particularmoment that I said, you know
what?
I'll just take everything yougot.
And she came out with a wholebunch of them.
And I had this idea that I'mgonna go out, I'm gonna learn
(09:26):
how to re-engage with societybecause I had isolated badly
because of the PTSD.
That's that's anotherconsequence of PTSD.
A lot of us will isolate,loneliness.
So I thought, I'm gonna go outand I'm gonna take it.
And I saw some um Sharpiemarkers in the store too.
So I thought I'm gonna put onthe top Blake Late Show, on the
top of these to these giant foamboards, and I'm gonna tell
(09:48):
people when I walk up tostrangers, my name is Blake.
I'm trying to get on the lateshow.
Can I tell you my story?
And that's the journey, that'show it began.
I I've gone out every day foralmost 10 years, and I've walked
up to strangers all over thiscountry every single day.
I can't believe every single dayI've done this, but and tens,
(10:09):
34,766 strangers have engagedme, and they've written.
I thought they would always justwrite their name or their
initials on the board to confirmthat I spoke with somebody that
day, I got out of my home, and Ihave a goal.
And what has happened is peoplestarted putting their own
stories, poetry, Bible verses,they put jokes on these boards,
(10:32):
they put mathematical equationson there to try.
It's it's very like everybodyjust has a story to tell back.
And so um that's how it began.
It was that next day I had this,I guess this light bulb moment,
you could call it, at thestaples store, and it began the
journey.
Um, and then along the way, I'vebecome, I've started advocating
(10:54):
for people with PTSD, sexual anddomestic violence, that it just
took on a life of its own.
And um, I mean, I could go indepth about all the advocacy
that's happened because I do getthe critics that said, you know,
you're probably never gonna geton the late show.
We we would love for you, butyou're probably never gonna get
(11:14):
on.
He would have had you on yearsago.
People also failed to realizethere's there's so much that's
happened on this journey,besides, yes, my main goal is to
get on the late show becauseit's that significant for me.
Because that's the moment thatstopped it all.
But a lot of other things havehappened, and that's what
sometimes people miss.
SPEAKER_01 (11:35):
98,000 miles across the country.
Where have you gone?
Are you walking?
Are you driving?
Are you what are you doing?
SPEAKER_00 (11:41):
Everything.
I mean, some people think I justwalk from here to DC.
I don't.
Um, I've walked a downtownPhoenix.
Um had been, it's just been myhome base for so long.
So everybody, not everybody, buta lot of people down there have
come to know me.
I'm at the art festivals everyfirst Friday of the month.
Um, a lot of people come runningup to me.
(12:03):
And it happened the other day.
I was there last week.
A guy named Richie came runningup to me, said, I met you nine
years ago at a community collegehere.
He said, I can't believe you'restill going.
I follow you on social media.
He hugged me.
He was so happy.
That happens a lot.
So um, but yeah, so in downtownPhoenix, I will walk around a
lot.
(12:23):
But people have brought me in tospeak at universities.
Um, New Mexico State Universityin Los Cruces, New Mexico,
brought me in for a few days.
I was brought up to ShadronState College up in Shadron,
Nebraska, a very smallcommunity, but very tight-knit.
And I spoke at um an eventthere.
So they brought me into theDenver airport, got a rental car
(12:45):
for me.
I drove.
So it's been all sorts oftransportation.
I've been on my bicycle takingmy boards with me.
I um uh yeah, just it's beenit's been a lot.
But I've been in uh New YorkCity, I've been in Miami doing
this, but I've been in somesmaller communities in Indiana,
like where I grew up by Gary,Gary, Indiana in East Chicago.
(13:06):
Um lots of places.
Um Orange County in California,uh, Wyoming in Laramie.
I was meeting students there.
SPEAKER_01 (13:16):
Storytelling is so incredibly powerful, right?
Um, you telling your story hasthe ability to change things for
someone else just as that momentof laughter changed your
trajectory.
What have been some of themoments that have felt so
fundamental for you on thisnearly tenure journey?
SPEAKER_00 (13:39):
People sharing back.
I a lot of therapists joined inover the years and said the
reason so many, becauseinitially I was really
surprised.
Like, why would why would peopleshare so much with me?
They share a lot.
And I mean, in some cases, I Imean I can give you the
generalities and so I don't giveaway any specifics so um to
(13:59):
protect the identity of people.
But wow, I mean, just whatpeople started opening up to me
about uh it's not just alwaysabout the traumas, it's also
about these triumphs thatthey've had, um, successes.
And sometimes it's thediscoveries people have had when
they didn't there's there werelike the these big surprises
that people said, hey, you know,I went through this terrible
(14:21):
trauma, but I was surprised tofind out that some of the people
that I thought would be therefor me were not, and some of the
people that I never expected tocome out and be there for me
were.
And so there's there'sdiscovery, there's surprise,
there's ingenuity, and and sothis journey, it's it's a it's a
mix of all of that.
Uh, but it's also a mix, youhave to throw in the mix unity.
(14:44):
I mean, we look at our countryright now, and I would think
overwhelmingly, people would saywe're very divided in the United
States.
Well, I have 522 giant foamboards of tens of thousands of
people that have come togetherfrom traditionally very
conservative red states, youwill, um, and then some
traditionally very blue states.
(15:05):
And so they're all together onthese boards.
So there's a lot of unity.
And so I think that surprises alot of people to think, but
we're so divided.
But people, when when people arehurting and people need help,
these boards, this journey hasshown me that people will come
together to help somebody inneed, and they will put aside
any differences, whether thoseare philosophical, any
(15:28):
ideological issues, um,political, they will put that
aside to help people.
And that's what I've I've seenhappen over and over, and it
continues to happen over andover every day.
And that's been um reallysurprising to me.
SPEAKER_01 (15:42):
522 boards.
Where do you store these?
SPEAKER_00 (15:46):
Well, there's a big U-Haul um center in downtown
Phoenix, a storage center.
It's behind where the PhoenixSuns play basketball.
Um, I keep a lot of them there,probably 90% of them.
They're all protected, it'sclimate controlled, so um
they're there.
It's it's if if people have everseen those Harry Potter movies,
there's there's a um one of themovies they take um Harry and
(16:10):
his friends go into this vaulthe has, and it it's what's been
left over from his parents andgifted to inherit he inherits it
from his parents.
And it's all this gold and allthese just beautiful things
inside there.
And that's what it reminds me ofwhen I go in there.
I've taken some reporters downthere, they wanted to see these
boards, or people just arecurious.
(16:30):
And I take all the sheets off,and it's like Harry Potter
showing his friends everythingthat's been left to him.
It's just absolutely stunning.
Um, because these boards, thisis probably the greatest legacy
all the tens of thousands of uswill leave society when we're
gone.
I think I feel like in a hundredyears, somebody is gonna see all
(16:51):
these boards.
My hope is they go into apermanent exhibit somewhere
where they can impact people.
But this is the legacy we we'regonna leave behind, I feel.
Um, and it's a powerful one, butthe the most of them are in
downtown Phoenix in that storagearea.
And then I have um, I think 40or 50 here at the home with me.
But I I like to show people ortake to places and I read them.
(17:14):
I mean, when I have bad days,I'll go through the boards, and
it's like looking at Hallmarkcards years later.
SPEAKER_01 (17:21):
Do you have any close by?
SPEAKER_00 (17:22):
Oh, yeah, I have one right here.
I mean, I could show you.
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
Um I would love to see one.
I figured you'd have one closeby.
So there are some people wholisten to us, and there are some
people who watch.
So right now we're encouragingpeople to hop on YouTube and
take a look.
Look at that.
SPEAKER_00 (17:37):
Yeah, that's just one board, if you can imagine.
I mean, 522 more of these, butthese are just some of what
people have put.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
Um will you read a few of those for me?
SPEAKER_00 (17:48):
Oh, sure.
SPEAKER_01 (17:50):
I would just love to hear what people are writing to
you.
SPEAKER_00 (17:53):
One of them is inside a heart.
It says you matter, and then theperson signed it, Steph Z.
Keep going every day.
Sharing your story isempowering.
Kristen.
Um somebody put something inSpanish on one of them, and I I
didn't know what I thought theywere referencing somebody else,
and somebody said, Oh, honey,they're talking about you.
(18:14):
I think they put El GuapoGuerro, I think.
Uh it means like you, the cuteone or something.
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
Guapo is handsome.
SPEAKER_00 (18:20):
Yeah, I think they said I can't find it, but I
thought they were referencingsomebody else.
Um, and somebody's like, Oh no,honey, they're talking about
you.
And I thought, that's so nice ofsomebody to put that on.
SPEAKER_01 (18:32):
That's very nice.
SPEAKER_00 (18:34):
And then somebody, um, let's see.
Blake, you are amazing and oneof the most genuine people I've
met.
I love your progress you havemade and wish you the best of
luck.
So a lot of times people arethey become like a big
cheerleader on this journey andthey keep me going.
Um, and then sometimes peoplejust share stories about their
(18:54):
lives um and they want the worldto know.
Sometimes it's just thatthey've, again, been through
something, and it's their chanceto say, hey, I want to be heard
too.
And I and a lot of people thathave been through sexual and
domestic violence, especially,we often we never get to have
our stories told.
Or people don't believe us.
(19:16):
And um when I do speak in frontof audiences that it's dealing
with just specifically sexualand domestic violence, because
this is actually domesticviolence awareness month.
So I've spoken at several eventsin the last couple of weeks, but
so many survivors of that kindof violence, they want to read
these boards because usuallythey're just in disbelief that
(19:39):
that many people, because I'vehad people say, You met that
many people that listen to you.
And and again, so many survivorsdon't think anybody will listen.
And to see that I've had over34,000 people not just listen
but sign something back, that'sreally it it lends a lot of hope
for people.
So these boards really becamethe rock star of the journey.
SPEAKER_01 (20:02):
Do you find that not only is this journey healing for
you in the fact that you arefeeling seen and heard, but
you're showing other people whatit looks like to feel seen and
heard, especially in a in aspace in that level of sexual
assault and violence wherepeople traditionally don't feel
(20:26):
seen and heard.
SPEAKER_00 (20:28):
Oh, yeah.
I mean, people, it does, itgives people a chance.
I I tell people like once Ishare my story with somebody
with these boards, and I say,now the board is yours, I give
them 32 uh Sharpie marker colorsto do whatever they want with,
they get really excited becausenow they have a chance to add
something to that.
Um, and now they're gonna beheard, they're gonna be seen.
(20:50):
And that's important for a lotof people.
Um, but it's also, again, it'svery therapeutic for a lot of
people because they say theyfeel like there's this community
on these boards, and they'repart of that now.
And I've had I've had, I'vecounted, I think it's 22 people
now, 22 or 23 that have passedaway that they put something in
(21:14):
these boards.
Um, and one of the momentshappened at a coffee house right
in the heart of the artsdistrict in Phoenix, and I was
meeting people with the boardson this particular day, and a
woman, young woman, came in andshe said, Blake, do you remember
me?
I met you maybe, I think it waslike a week or two ago, and she
hugged me and I said, I do.
And she said, I was with myfriend, and I said, Oh, I wish
(21:36):
you guys would have both beenhere.
I'd like to show you, you know,the boards again, what I've done
since I met you.
And she said, Well, sadly, myfriend passed away.
I believe it was an autoaccident.
And she got very emotional andsaid, She loved so much what you
were doing, and she reallybelieved in it, and she's so
happy, she's part of it now.
(21:58):
And she said, When she passedaway, and she said, Me, her
family, her friends, we want youto get on the late show because
we want her story to live on.
And she felt like, in thatsense, when I get on, and I
fingers crossed that'll happensomeday, she wants that story to
get there.
And it's just so I'm carryingforth not just her story, but
(22:20):
these other 21 people thatpassed away.
Because when somebody doessomething like that, there's a
reason.
You know, they don't, I theydon't just want to see me get on
the show, they want to see usget on the show.
And I think that's somethingthat people do miss on this
journey is that I'm not gonnaget there on my own.
And I I feel like I'm I'm tryingto get a I think it's gonna
(22:42):
start today.
Somebody's helping me get aTikTok account going, and we
think potentially that could getthe attention of Stephen
Colbert.
It's uh obviously a very popularsite, TikTok, and it gets a lot
of attention.
But I've always imagined overthe 10 years, the way I was
gonna get on the late show isjust somebody's gonna, they're
gonna know the right person.
So it's not anything that I'mdoing wrong.
(23:04):
Sometimes you have all thesevoices out there that are
yelling and screaming forattention.
And I'm sort of at the back ofthe line because I'm not yelling
or screaming.
I'm just going out, I'm doing mything.
But eventually, if you do theright thing, it works.
And um, I can't guarantee toanybody I'll get on the late
show of Stephen Colbert, but itdoesn't mean I'm not gonna get
(23:25):
on.
And I feel like so uh so again,it's it's it's all these people
that are around me.
I feel that I will because Ihave all this energy behind me
from these tens of thousands ofpeople, including the ones that
have passed away.
SPEAKER_01 (23:37):
So, a question about that.
So, what happens when you geton?
SPEAKER_00 (23:42):
Well, I'm glad you asked that too, because um a lot
of people at in the events I'vebeen at have asked that.
And I I know that's the thingthat a lot of us in life, we we
want to know what's the nextstep.
But I I've told people the samething.
I have no idea what I'm gonna dowhen I get on the late show.
Uh, like even when I get on thelate show, fingers crossed
(24:03):
again, um, I I want to let themoment guide me.
And then even after the lateshow, I want to let the moment
guide me.
If there was one thing that Iwould want, though, it's it's
that these boards be put in apermanent exhibit.
Because I feel like just it'ssort of sad.
It's, it's, it's, it's my um uhdirty dancing moment with
(24:23):
Jennifer Gray and um PatrickSwayze, where he says, nobody
puts baby in a corner.
Well, I feel like these boardsare in that metaphorical corner.
They're sitting in a U-Haulstorage area and they're under
covers.
Like, how are they impactinganybody there?
They're not.
And I need to get them out.
I need to show these to people.
And I would love to take themall with me to the late show
(24:44):
someday to share with everybody.
Um, but eventually I would wanta permanent exhibit.
So if there was one thing I'dwant after all this is done, is
it's that.
Because I feel like nine ofthese boards have been framed,
but I feel like um if they wereall framed and put in an
exhibit, people from all overthe world could come to this
place of hope.
(25:04):
And we could have like therehave been two documentaries made
about the journey that I've beenon, one nine years ago, one this
past year.
One of that, the one from thispast year just won best short
film at the Rocky MountainEmmys.
So, I mean, those are visualcomponents beyond just the
boards.
And people could see that.
They could learn more about thejourney, and it also could
(25:26):
connect them to their traumas ortheir difficulties they've been
through.
There are pictures I've takenwith over, we think about 5,000
people I've taken photos withwhere we hold up the boards.
I'd love to see those in anexhibit because I want people to
see the people I've beenmeeting, the places I've been,
the news stories.
Um, it it all tells this bigstory.
(25:46):
So I would love to see that.
Um and I just I imagine thatpeople from around the world
could come to a place like thisand they could meet other people
that have been through not justtraumas, but people that have
triumphed.
So somebody comes there and theylost their three children in a
house fire and they're fromBinghamton, New York.
Somebody else could come fromThailand and say, Hey, I heard
(26:06):
about this place.
You know, I went through atrauma and I'm coming in here,
and now they can connect witheach other and they could build
off of how they can recover.
So I just I imagine just thesepossibilities.
Um, but I think it could be veryexciting too for a lot of people
to see something like that.
SPEAKER_01 (26:24):
Doesn't it almost feel as though you had to have
had this journey?
Like you weren't supposed to beon the Kobe show in that first
year or in the second year,because this journey wouldn't
have the boards that it has, orthe impact that it had, or the
(26:45):
stories that you've had, or thethe possibility to be the
documentary that it uh that youjust mentioned that was just
filmed.
The the ability to have thiscollection of community and
stories and impact and 22 peoplewho you hope to have uh live on
(27:07):
within these boards if you're ifyou hadn't been going for all of
this time.
So it's almost as though youweren't supposed to have been on
the Colbert show yet.
Right?
I mean I I I I I know thatthat's the goal, right?
So there's almost to me, I dareI say, whether you get there or
(27:32):
not, I feel like you're doingthe right thing.
I feel as though while I'mcrossing my fingers for you too,
Blake, we have a limited timeconsidering our lovely Cobert is
not going to be on for very muchlonger, um, as heartbreaking as
(27:56):
that is.
However, there is this piece ofme while I listen to you and I
listen to this impact thatyou've had, and I think about
all of the people you've touchedand all of the stories you've
collected and all of the peopleyou've impacted, that while that
is your pinnacle goal, I hopeyou get there.
(28:20):
But I know that you've had tohave been through these last 10
years doing this in order tohave what you have right now.
SPEAKER_00 (28:31):
Right.
And I mean, I'll give you anexample, Danielle.
Um you said if I'd have got onthe late show in the first year,
you can start erasing so much.
I mean, it reminds me of Back tothe Future when Michael J.
Fox's character is playing theguitar at the dance under the
sea or whatever it was, and hehad to get his parents to kiss
(28:53):
because if they don't, hedoesn't exist.
And so he has that photograph onthe neck of his guitar, and as
he's playing it, he's realizingI have to make this happen or
everything disappears.
And I feel like in that sameway, yeah, if I had got on the
late show eight or nine yearsago, that photograph that is
(29:13):
this journey, this 10-yearjourney, so much is erased.
It's gone.
I would have never met you.
And I'm gonna give you a storythat was very emotional.
I was at San Diego StateUniversity in the little under
two months ago.
School was just about ready tostart.
I was in San Diego.
I spoke at an event, shared thejourney with people, the boards,
I was meeting a lot of people.
(29:34):
And at San Diego, I used to livein Carlsbad up in San Diego
County, and I had never been to,it's called STSU, San Diego
State University.
Yeah, I went to USD.
SPEAKER_01 (29:43):
Oh, the University of San Diego.
Yeah, so I'm I'm familiar.
SPEAKER_00 (29:46):
So I had never been there, and I thought, why not?
So I'm there, and it was um onSaturday.
So two days later, classes wouldbegin for the new school year.
And this student, he was afreshman, and I walked up to him
and I was sharing what I Had andhe said, You know what?
I'm really glad you didn't geton the late show.
And I didn't know if healtogether didn't understand
(30:07):
what I was doing.
I'm like, okay, you know, likethat's my big goal, right?
It has been for every 10 everyday for 10 years.
Because I just really thoughtmaybe he doesn't understand it.
And he said, No, I understandit.
He said, But if you'd have goton the late show years ago, even
weeks ago, he said, I'd havenever met you.
And he said, and I would nothave survived the weekend.
(30:29):
And I said, What do you mean bythat?
And he said, Tomorrow I wasplanning on killing myself.
He goes, I can't do thisanymore.
And he hugged me and he told me.
I shared this on Facebookshortly after that experience.
And he said, I just can't do it.
And he said, All of a sudden,you walked up to me.
You're just you got this randomstory of hope.
(30:51):
And he said, I'm not gonna doit.
But he was also reading a bunchof the messages people put on
these boards.
But the whole thing about thatis what you said.
Had I got on, and he was right.
He told me if I'd have got on,I'd have never met him.
And we wonder why people comeinto our lives.
And I so I can't tell you withcertainty, is that a higher
(31:14):
power?
Is that just the universe?
Well, I shouldn't say just theuniverse, because there are
people that don't believe in ahigher power, but they believe
in the universe.
I have friends who are wicken,atheist, agnostic.
I I've met people from alldifferent ends of the spectrum
of life, and so I want torespect that.
So everybody believes somethingdifferently, but whatever
happened, I think I was supposedto be in his life and he was
(31:37):
supposed to be in my life.
And I and just the same withyou.
SPEAKER_01 (31:40):
So just like Stephen Colbert was supposed to be in
your life at 10:44 p.m.
November 2015, right?
I mean, so you were his StephenColbert.
SPEAKER_00 (31:50):
Right.
And so I I keep going, I keepbelieving.
Um, every day I wake up, I getso and the most the most excited
I get is when I meet peoplebecause it's it's this energy
that I get.
It's it's very sometimes it'shard to describe because it's
just this.
I meet people, I engage withthem, but like today I'm gonna
(32:12):
meet people.
I have no idea who I'm gonnameet.
They have no idea I'm cominginto their lives.
But when I'm done, before I goto bed tonight, Danielle, I will
have met people.
Not just said hi and bye, notjust held the door open for them
at a at a store, which is stillnice, but I will have engaged
with these people.
They will hear my story, andvery likely I will hear
(32:34):
something back from their lives.
Um, and they will well, theywill definitely share a story
back with me.
Because I've had people say,Well, I only signed my name or
put my initials.
How did I tell a story?
And I said, You did.
First of all, you you chose oneof the 32 Sharpie color markers,
that's telling a story.
You picked a color, and theysaid, I randomly picked one.
I said, Okay, but you randomlypick one.
(32:54):
That's a story you're tellingme.
You decided to do it randomly.
You chose a place on the boardto put it.
So I tell people, like, whetheryou know it or not, you are
telling me a story.
And um, and I read it later.
So I will have met, I will meetpeople before the before I go to
bed tonight.
That's that's pretty exciting.
Maybe people don't see itsomeday.
I do.
SPEAKER_01 (33:15):
I I I do as well.
Like, how do you define hope?
SPEAKER_00 (33:20):
I'm not sure there is a word for it.
I mean, uh, there's a way todescribe it.
Sometimes it's just a feeling.
You you each person, it's it'sit's something that it's hard to
describe.
I mean, I've had all these yearsto be able to put a definition
to it.
But it's it's it's everythingthat I've shared with you, um,
(33:42):
but for every person that'sgonna be different.
It's it's hard to explainbecause it's just this this
feeling that you have that youwant to keep going.
Um that there's a possibility.
But again, I've never foundwords since that night that can
really describe it.
It's just um it's just thishappiness.
It's almost like you're sittingthere and the storm has
(34:05):
happened, and you go outside andthe finally the sun breaks
through after days of rain, andyou just feel this warmth.
I mean, I'll I I'm just doingthe best I can to give hope, but
it's just this sense of warmth.
Um but I yeah, I I I it soundslike I'm fumbling for words
because I am.
(34:25):
Because it's it's it's more ofwhat it feels like.
It's a sensation.
SPEAKER_01 (34:31):
I actually love that because I agree with you.
I think it's really hard to topinpoint hope to some level.
It's there are so many differentways to define it, which is why
I I ask.
I think it's it's a verypersonal thing.
And for you, you are I mean, inin so many ways, hope is a
handshake and a smile and thecolor of a sharpie, and it's
(34:55):
where someone chooses to signtheir name, and whether or not
they use words or colors or or asquiggle on the board.
Um, hope is is whether or notthey stop to listen, right?
So I uh I'm so grateful that youhave spent time with me, and I'm
grateful to to have a tiny partin your story.
(35:17):
I am going to do everything Ican to help you reach your goal
by sharing as much as I can.
Is there anything that I didn'task you that you'd like to
share?
SPEAKER_00 (35:28):
No, I mean, you could ask me 50 other questions.
We could talk for a while.
I have so many stories I couldtell you from there just that's
it.
I mean, that's why I feel likelike individuals like yourself,
when you ask me questions,there's a lot still in my head.
It's not just on the boards,it's not just in the
documentaries, but it's it'sthat's how all of us in our
(35:50):
lives are.
We have so much that we onlyknow.
And if we don't get those pulledout of our heads, they're gone
forever.
And so I feel like what you'vedone today is you're pulling
pieces of this journey out of myhead so that I could share it
with people, whether that'sstories of people I've met,
moments that have happened.
Because again, once we're gone,if we've never shared our
(36:12):
stories with people, they'regone forever.
And I that's one of the it's oneof the saddest things.
And I wish more people wouldsay, hey, I want to get this out
there because um I want to beable to impact generations from
now.
So as you know, you've doneyou've done that today.
You've helped pull some of thisout of me.
And um, you know, I I would hopehopefully people can go to this
(36:34):
newest documentary because umobviously we can't cover
everything about the journey andthe the bad and the good that's
happened.
But I my hope is that a takeawayfor people that are listening or
watching this today, they can goto the documentary, they can see
it, but they can it's somethingthey can relate to because I'm a
(36:54):
human being, even if theyhaven't been through the exact
same trauma, maybe they've neverbeen through a trauma.
They can see this and they cansee how a lot of people have
come together to help me getthrough it.
Um, and that's the hope is thatthere's a takeaway for everybody
today, because it's just itwouldn't do me any good if I
shared this story and they'relike, oh, it's just this guy
(37:16):
talking about himself and hisexperiences.
No, because if if it was justme, I'd be an island.
And it's just it's not look atTom Hanks proved in Castaway.
It's not fun to be on an island.
You need to get out.
And I feel like you're giving methat chance to be get off the
island, and I'm sharing it withpeople, and I want to be
together with people.
So, you know, whether they watchthe documentary or whether they
(37:39):
look on Instagram and see thephotos of the people I've been
meeting, look at the boards.
I want there to be a takeawaybecause everybody has something
that they can find that connectsto them.
SPEAKER_01 (37:50):
And so what is the name of the documentary and
where can people find it?
SPEAKER_00 (37:54):
Um, well, if they go to Synkonas Studios, um, it's
S-I-N-C-O-N-I-Sstudios.com.
The name of the documentary is Iam.
Um, or they can just look upBlake Late Show.
If somebody did a Google searchof Blake Late Show, so much is
gonna come up.
Um, and again, there's probablysomething for everybody that
(38:16):
people can find that speaks tothem.
And um, and where can peoplefollow your journey someday?
And and we can all we can allsuccessfully make it to the
goal.
SPEAKER_01 (38:28):
Fingers crossed, where can people follow your
journey?
On Instagram, yes?
SPEAKER_00 (38:32):
Yes, the TikTok's gonna come along soon, but um
yeah, Instagram's Blake LateShow.
Um, or again, if people just dida Google search of Blake Late
Show, they're gonna find quite abit pops up.
Um and then, yes, I've beenwaiting for this TikTok to
happen because I gotta learn howto do this pretty good.
Um but I share, I've shared alot over the years, a lot of
(38:55):
little videos.
Um, I shouldn't call them littlebecause it may it diminishes the
impact, but I do a lot ofone-minute videos and I share
again the journey because umbecause a lot of people are
invested in this.
I feel like people they're in away, like in a business sense,
they're shareholders.
They they wanna they're investedin in getting this all to the
(39:17):
late show because I feel likethey see the vision.
This can impact millions ofpeople, millions of viewers that
day.
Because there are people outthere, they're like that student
at San Diego State University.
They're they're at the end.
And sometimes it could be two,three, maybe two thousand people
that could see that someday onthe late show and say, you know
(39:40):
what?
All these people help this guykeep going.
And a moment of and that'sanother thing.
When I get on the late show, Iwant to share with people the
amazing power of laughter that'saround each and every one of us,
even when all seems lost.
Because at that night, it wasjust so strange to think that I
could still laugh.
(40:00):
Like just it was it was thislaughter that could stop me.
And um and you know, I I feellike when I get on the late show
as well, I don't want to peoplethink that I I think that
Stephen Colbert is a hero.
I don't.
It doesn't mean he's not, but inmy opinion, it's I think Stephen
would probably agree with me.
(40:22):
It's not about a person, it'sabout it's about laughter, it's
about something that we allshare, the power of laughter.
And and if there was no traumaand bad stuff in our world, we
wouldn't need laughter andcomedy.
So Stephen Colbert was part ofthat.
And I think it's not just abouta person, it's about what we
need in our lives.
(40:42):
We need laughter, we needcomedy, and I want to focus on
that.
And I really feel StephenColbert will understand that.
SPEAKER_01 (40:49):
We also need community, and you've been
providing that, right?
We need community and we needstories, and there is a piece of
that you're providing, andhopefully there's a piece of
that that I'm providing, right?
Like we need to show up for eachother and hold space.
So I'm super grateful to you forspending time with me.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, thank you for being hereand sharing your story.
And I'm grateful and I uh I willdo the best I can to share your
(41:10):
story far and wide.
SPEAKER_00 (41:12):
Well, I appreciate that, and hopefully this helps
some of uh your viewers and andlisteners.
So um thank you for theopportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
I really appreciate you, and thank you, friends, so
much for spending time with uson this episode of Hope Comes to
Visit.
I so hope that Ron Blake's storytouches you and hits you exactly
where you needed it to today,and that you will take the story
and you will share it withfriends and family, and you
know, maybe even send it on overto Stephen Colbert so that he
can uh can meet with meet withBlake and get him his dream come
(41:43):
true.
So until I see you again nexttime, take very good care of
you.
Thank you.
When I tell people this, I I don't just say I woke
up from a nightmare, I woke upfrom yet another nightmare.
They just kept coming.
And at some point, you don'tknow, I didn't know what to do
to stop them.
I had tried, I had begun goingto some therapy for it.
But on that night, when I wokeup from that nightmare, I got
(00:22):
out my pills, I got out thewater bottle, and I knew that
was the night I was gonna I wasgonna stop the pain.
SPEAKER_01 (00:38):
Hi friends, I'm Dionyelle Elliott Smith, and
this is Hope Comes to Visit,where we name the hard things
and notice how we grow aroundthem.
I'm so grateful you're here.
A fortuitous moment of laughteron the late show with Stephen
Colbert stopped my next guest,Ron Blake, from dying by suicide
at 1044 p.m.
on November 2nd, 2015.
(00:59):
That spark of hope sent him outon his ongoing artistic mission
to overcome PTSD and to become aguest on the late show, his
symbolic goal.
Ron Blake, I am so excited tohave you here on the show with
me today to talk about the hopethat you are continuing to share
every single day.
(01:20):
How are you?
SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
I am good.
Um it's always a continuousjourney.
Um, I mean, it's life, but umI'm good.
I mean, it could I could tellyou all the bad stuff, but I'm
choosing not to at the moment.
Um, there's a lot of good that'sbeen happening too in my life
and still is.
SPEAKER_01 (01:39):
So there's so much more I could have said in your
introduction, but I wanted tosave that so that we could have
this as a conversation.
I I'm so intrigued by your storyand so inspired by how you have
evolved, how you have decided totake difficult times in your
(02:01):
life and turn them into momentsof inspiration for other people.
So if you wouldn't mind, umlet's go back to 2015 and tell
me about the moment that Imentioned in your introduction.
Um you are at a place that isincredibly low.
(02:22):
What happened?
SPEAKER_00 (02:24):
That it's it's almost, I mean, it's it's so
strange to think that I'm almostat the 10-year anniversary of
that night, but it was onNovember 2nd of 2015.
I woke up, and when I tellpeople this, I I don't just say
I woke up from a nightmare, Iwoke up from yet another
nightmare.
They just kept coming.
(02:45):
And at some point, you don'tknow, I didn't know what to do
to stop them.
I had tried, I had begun goingto some therapy for it.
But on that night, when I wokeup from that nightmare, I got
out my pills, I got out thewater bottle, and I knew that
was the night I was gonna I wasgonna stop the pain.
(03:07):
Um and I had the pills in mylap, I had the water bottle
there, and then I happened tolook up and I saw the TV was on.
And that was confusing for mebecause I would always shut off
the or I would set the timer forthe TV, and for some reason it I
don't think I did anything wrongwith the timer, it just
malfunctioned.
(03:28):
Um, because it should have goneoff after 30 minutes.
And for whatever reason, I Ilooked up at the TV and it was
this comedy show called The LateShow with Stephen Colbert.
Something made me laugh.
And it was it, it's just I wantpeople to imagine what an
incongruous moment that is.
That you are ready to end yourlife and you're laughing.
(03:50):
And it just that was the momentthat I said, there's something
good left in me.
And I paused the TV and I satthere for a while, and that was
the moment that stopped stoppedthe suicide at 10 44 p.m.
that night.
SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
So uh Blake, is this uh had you struggled for a long
time with depression?
Was it a series of events thathad led you to this place where
you thought there isn't anythinggood left for me?
SPEAKER_00 (04:18):
I did.
I I had struggled with PTSD umfor quite a while, for several
years.
It was um as a result of uh um arape and beating I went through
um a few years earlier.
Three men came into my home indowntown Phoenix.
I was held down, I was beaten,and I was raped.
(04:39):
Um I had significant injuriesfrom that, but I was also
diagnosed um with dissociativeamnesia.
Eventually the doctors wouldwork with me.
So for about three years, I wasin this dark place where I
didn't know what had happened tome.
I almost all the memories fromthat night were erased.
They weren't erased, they werethey were there, they weren't
(05:00):
accessible to me, is what thedoctors and therapists write.
And over time, the therapistwould tell me it was usually if
people have dissociated amnesia,for most people, it might last
for days, weeks, maybe months.
In my case, it lasted for years.
And they said that was highlyunusual that I couldn't remember
that.
Um, and it caused a lot ofproblems for me.
(05:22):
And part of that was what youwere talking about, that it led
to the PTSD, the depression, thestruggles.
So I'm having I tell people ifthey've ever seen those Jason
Bourne movies, the BornIdentity, the Born, they have a
lot of bornes with Matt Damon.
But the doctors said you had thesame diagnosis as this character
that Matt Damon would play.
(05:43):
He was always being chased bythese bad guys, but he didn't
know why.
And that was me.
For those three years, I'm beingchased by these nightmares.
I would see visions of whathappened that night, but then
they would disappear reallyquickly.
And so then I had no idea if itwas just a nightmare or if it
was real.
And it turns out they were real,but um, and that's what I
(06:05):
struggled with.
SPEAKER_01 (06:07):
Blake, what a terrifying place to be, to be in
a state of mind where you knowthere's something there, but
you're not exactly sure what itis, and you're struggling with a
sense of reality.
However, you come to this placein November of 2015, it's 10:44
p.m.
(06:27):
Do you know what it was on theColbert show that made you
laugh?
SPEAKER_00 (06:30):
No, I'm glad you asked that too, because I I know
when I've spoken um at events, alot of times people in the
audience will ask me that.
Um, I've had some reporters askme, but I'm glad they asked
because it gives me a chance toshare with people.
I'll very likely I'll never knowwhat the joke was that made me
laugh.
It's because it wasn't thesignificance wasn't about what
(06:54):
was coming into me that nightthat was important.
It was what was leaving me.
I couldn't believe that I waslaughing.
That's the part that Irecognized.
So I'm sure I remembered thejoke at the moment, but then all
of a sudden it was just this Icouldn't believe that I could
laugh.
There was, you know, becauseyou're in the darkest moment of
your life.
You're obviously I'm ready totake my life.
(07:16):
So that was the focus.
And all of a sudden, thisgoodness, something good inside
me came out.
And that that moment, I said,I'm gonna get on this show.
I'm gonna learn how to tell mystory.
I'm gonna talk about this.
And it all became, and then thenext day I was at a staple store
and it became clear how I wasgonna get on the show.
Well, fingers crossed, I haven'tbeen on, I haven't been on yet.
(07:40):
But um, but that moment of hope,that's um it was powerful.
Obviously, it's powerful becauseI'm still I spent 20, I'm a
little over 24,000 hours of mylife trying to get on a TV show
for five minutes, and peoplewill ask, why do you keep going?
That's the power of a moment ofhope to keep me going.
I haven't had a full-time job in10 years, but I I do odd jobs.
(08:03):
I find a way to keep thisjourney alive because that's how
important it is to me.
And that is also how howpowerful a moment of hope can
be.
SPEAKER_01 (08:13):
So let's talk about this journey.
What have you been doing for thelast 10 years on this journey to
spread the message about PTSDand assault?
SPEAKER_00 (08:23):
Well, I mean, it started the next day when I went
to that staple store.
I I woke up the next day and Ithought I wasn't supposed to be
alive today.
It was really, it was veryprofound for me that I thought,
wow, if it wouldn't have beenfor that moment, I wouldn't be
here.
So I thought, well, what am I,what do I need to do?
And I needed computer paper.
(08:43):
So I thought, I'm gonna go to astaple store in Central Phoenix.
And I was there, and then Ihappened to look at these giant
foam boards.
And a woman that works therecame by and said, Can I help
you, sir?
And I said, Do you have more ofthese in the back, these giant
foam boards?
And she went to go look.
And before she went to thewarehouse, she turned around and
(09:03):
said, How many do you want?
And I remember I thought, Inever said I wanted any.
I just wanted to imagine, didshe have 10 of them?
Did she have 25, 100?
I think I was trying to imagine,I was trying to imagine
something.
And it was that that particularmoment that I said, you know
what?
I'll just take everything yougot.
And she came out with a wholebunch of them.
And I had this idea that I'mgonna go out, I'm gonna learn
(09:26):
how to re-engage with societybecause I had isolated badly
because of the PTSD.
That's that's anotherconsequence of PTSD.
A lot of us will isolate,loneliness.
So I thought, I'm gonna go outand I'm gonna take it.
And I saw some um Sharpiemarkers in the store too.
So I thought I'm gonna put onthe top Blake Late Show, on the
top of these to these giant foamboards, and I'm gonna tell
(09:48):
people when I walk up tostrangers, my name is Blake.
I'm trying to get on the lateshow.
Can I tell you my story?
And that's the journey, that'show it began.
I I've gone out every day foralmost 10 years, and I've walked
up to strangers all over thiscountry every single day.
I can't believe every single dayI've done this, but and tens,
(10:09):
34,766 strangers have engagedme, and they've written.
I thought they would always justwrite their name or their
initials on the board to confirmthat I spoke with somebody that
day, I got out of my home, and Ihave a goal.
And what has happened is peoplestarted putting their own
stories, poetry, Bible verses,they put jokes on these boards,
(10:32):
they put mathematical equationson there to try.
It's it's very like everybodyjust has a story to tell back.
And so um that's how it began.
It was that next day I had this,I guess this light bulb moment,
you could call it, at thestaples store, and it began the
journey.
Um, and then along the way, I'vebecome, I've started advocating
(10:54):
for people with PTSD, sexual anddomestic violence, that it just
took on a life of its own.
And um, I mean, I could go indepth about all the advocacy
that's happened because I do getthe critics that said, you know,
you're probably never gonna geton the late show.
We we would love for you, butyou're probably never gonna get
(11:14):
on.
He would have had you on yearsago.
People also failed to realizethere's there's so much that's
happened on this journey,besides, yes, my main goal is to
get on the late show becauseit's that significant for me.
Because that's the moment thatstopped it all.
But a lot of other things havehappened, and that's what
sometimes people miss.
SPEAKER_01 (11:35):
98,000 miles across the country.
Where have you gone?
Are you walking?
Are you driving?
Are you what are you doing?
SPEAKER_00 (11:41):
Everything.
I mean, some people think I justwalk from here to DC.
I don't.
Um, I've walked a downtownPhoenix.
Um had been, it's just been myhome base for so long.
So everybody, not everybody, buta lot of people down there have
come to know me.
I'm at the art festivals everyfirst Friday of the month.
Um, a lot of people come runningup to me.
(12:03):
And it happened the other day.
I was there last week.
A guy named Richie came runningup to me, said, I met you nine
years ago at a community collegehere.
He said, I can't believe you'restill going.
I follow you on social media.
He hugged me.
He was so happy.
That happens a lot.
So um, but yeah, so in downtownPhoenix, I will walk around a
lot.
(12:23):
But people have brought me in tospeak at universities.
Um, New Mexico State Universityin Los Cruces, New Mexico,
brought me in for a few days.
I was brought up to ShadronState College up in Shadron,
Nebraska, a very smallcommunity, but very tight-knit.
And I spoke at um an eventthere.
So they brought me into theDenver airport, got a rental car
(12:45):
for me.
I drove.
So it's been all sorts oftransportation.
I've been on my bicycle takingmy boards with me.
I um uh yeah, just it's beenit's been a lot.
But I've been in uh New YorkCity, I've been in Miami doing
this, but I've been in somesmaller communities in Indiana,
like where I grew up by Gary,Gary, Indiana in East Chicago.
(13:06):
Um lots of places.
Um Orange County in California,uh, Wyoming in Laramie.
I was meeting students there.
SPEAKER_01 (13:16):
Storytelling is so incredibly powerful, right?
Um, you telling your story hasthe ability to change things for
someone else just as that momentof laughter changed your
trajectory.
What have been some of themoments that have felt so
fundamental for you on thisnearly tenure journey?
SPEAKER_00 (13:39):
People sharing back.
I a lot of therapists joined inover the years and said the
reason so many, becauseinitially I was really
surprised.
Like, why would why would peopleshare so much with me?
They share a lot.
And I mean, in some cases, I Imean I can give you the
generalities and so I don't giveaway any specifics so um to
(13:59):
protect the identity of people.
But wow, I mean, just whatpeople started opening up to me
about uh it's not just alwaysabout the traumas, it's also
about these triumphs thatthey've had, um, successes.
And sometimes it's thediscoveries people have had when
they didn't there's there werelike the these big surprises
that people said, hey, you know,I went through this terrible
(14:21):
trauma, but I was surprised tofind out that some of the people
that I thought would be therefor me were not, and some of the
people that I never expected tocome out and be there for me
were.
And so there's there'sdiscovery, there's surprise,
there's ingenuity, and and sothis journey, it's it's a it's a
mix of all of that.
Uh, but it's also a mix, youhave to throw in the mix unity.
(14:44):
I mean, we look at our countryright now, and I would think
overwhelmingly, people would saywe're very divided in the United
States.
Well, I have 522 giant foamboards of tens of thousands of
people that have come togetherfrom traditionally very
conservative red states, youwill, um, and then some
traditionally very blue states.
(15:05):
And so they're all together onthese boards.
So there's a lot of unity.
And so I think that surprises alot of people to think, but
we're so divided.
But people, when when people arehurting and people need help,
these boards, this journey hasshown me that people will come
together to help somebody inneed, and they will put aside
any differences, whether thoseare philosophical, any
(15:28):
ideological issues, um,political, they will put that
aside to help people.
And that's what I've I've seenhappen over and over, and it
continues to happen over andover every day.
And that's been um reallysurprising to me.
SPEAKER_01 (15:42):
522 boards.
Where do you store these?
SPEAKER_00 (15:46):
Well, there's a big U-Haul um center in downtown
Phoenix, a storage center.
It's behind where the PhoenixSuns play basketball.
Um, I keep a lot of them there,probably 90% of them.
They're all protected, it'sclimate controlled, so um
they're there.
It's it's if if people have everseen those Harry Potter movies,
there's there's a um one of themovies they take um Harry and
(16:10):
his friends go into this vaulthe has, and it it's what's been
left over from his parents andgifted to inherit he inherits it
from his parents.
And it's all this gold and allthese just beautiful things
inside there.
And that's what it reminds me ofwhen I go in there.
I've taken some reporters downthere, they wanted to see these
boards, or people just arecurious.
(16:30):
And I take all the sheets off,and it's like Harry Potter
showing his friends everythingthat's been left to him.
It's just absolutely stunning.
Um, because these boards, thisis probably the greatest legacy
all the tens of thousands of uswill leave society when we're
gone.
I think I feel like in a hundredyears, somebody is gonna see all
(16:51):
these boards.
My hope is they go into apermanent exhibit somewhere
where they can impact people.
But this is the legacy we we'regonna leave behind, I feel.
Um, and it's a powerful one, butthe the most of them are in
downtown Phoenix in that storagearea.
And then I have um, I think 40or 50 here at the home with me.
But I I like to show people ortake to places and I read them.
(17:14):
I mean, when I have bad days,I'll go through the boards, and
it's like looking at Hallmarkcards years later.
SPEAKER_01 (17:21):
Do you have any close by?
SPEAKER_00 (17:22):
Oh, yeah, I have one right here.
I mean, I could show you.
SPEAKER_01 (17:25):
Um I would love to see one.
I figured you'd have one closeby.
So there are some people wholisten to us, and there are some
people who watch.
So right now we're encouragingpeople to hop on YouTube and
take a look.
Look at that.
SPEAKER_00 (17:37):
Yeah, that's just one board, if you can imagine.
I mean, 522 more of these, butthese are just some of what
people have put.
SPEAKER_01 (17:45):
Um will you read a few of those for me?
SPEAKER_00 (17:48):
Oh, sure.
SPEAKER_01 (17:50):
I would just love to hear what people are writing to
you.
SPEAKER_00 (17:53):
One of them is inside a heart.
It says you matter, and then theperson signed it, Steph Z.
Keep going every day.
Sharing your story isempowering.
Kristen.
Um somebody put something inSpanish on one of them, and I I
didn't know what I thought theywere referencing somebody else,
and somebody said, Oh, honey,they're talking about you.
(18:14):
I think they put El GuapoGuerro, I think.
Uh it means like you, the cuteone or something.
SPEAKER_01 (18:19):
Guapo is handsome.
SPEAKER_00 (18:20):
Yeah, I think they said I can't find it, but I
thought they were referencingsomebody else.
Um, and somebody's like, Oh no,honey, they're talking about
you.
And I thought, that's so nice ofsomebody to put that on.
SPEAKER_01 (18:32):
That's very nice.
SPEAKER_00 (18:34):
And then somebody, um, let's see.
Blake, you are amazing and oneof the most genuine people I've
met.
I love your progress you havemade and wish you the best of
luck.
So a lot of times people arethey become like a big
cheerleader on this journey andthey keep me going.
Um, and then sometimes peoplejust share stories about their
(18:54):
lives um and they want the worldto know.
Sometimes it's just thatthey've, again, been through
something, and it's their chanceto say, hey, I want to be heard
too.
And I and a lot of people thathave been through sexual and
domestic violence, especially,we often we never get to have
our stories told.
Or people don't believe us.
(19:16):
And um when I do speak in frontof audiences that it's dealing
with just specifically sexualand domestic violence, because
this is actually domesticviolence awareness month.
So I've spoken at several eventsin the last couple of weeks, but
so many survivors of that kindof violence, they want to read
these boards because usuallythey're just in disbelief that
(19:39):
that many people, because I'vehad people say, You met that
many people that listen to you.
And and again, so many survivorsdon't think anybody will listen.
And to see that I've had over34,000 people not just listen
but sign something back, that'sreally it it lends a lot of hope
for people.
So these boards really becamethe rock star of the journey.
SPEAKER_01 (20:02):
Do you find that not only is this journey healing for
you in the fact that you arefeeling seen and heard, but
you're showing other people whatit looks like to feel seen and
heard, especially in a in aspace in that level of sexual
assault and violence wherepeople traditionally don't feel
(20:26):
seen and heard.
SPEAKER_00 (20:28):
Oh, yeah.
I mean, people, it does, itgives people a chance.
I I tell people like once Ishare my story with somebody
with these boards, and I say,now the board is yours, I give
them 32 uh Sharpie marker colorsto do whatever they want with,
they get really excited becausenow they have a chance to add
something to that.
Um, and now they're gonna beheard, they're gonna be seen.
(20:50):
And that's important for a lotof people.
Um, but it's also, again, it'svery therapeutic for a lot of
people because they say theyfeel like there's this community
on these boards, and they'repart of that now.
And I've had I've had, I'vecounted, I think it's 22 people
now, 22 or 23 that have passedaway that they put something in
(21:14):
these boards.
Um, and one of the momentshappened at a coffee house right
in the heart of the artsdistrict in Phoenix, and I was
meeting people with the boardson this particular day, and a
woman, young woman, came in andshe said, Blake, do you remember
me?
I met you maybe, I think it waslike a week or two ago, and she
hugged me and I said, I do.
And she said, I was with myfriend, and I said, Oh, I wish
(21:36):
you guys would have both beenhere.
I'd like to show you, you know,the boards again, what I've done
since I met you.
And she said, Well, sadly, myfriend passed away.
I believe it was an autoaccident.
And she got very emotional andsaid, She loved so much what you
were doing, and she reallybelieved in it, and she's so
happy, she's part of it now.
(21:58):
And she said, When she passedaway, and she said, Me, her
family, her friends, we want youto get on the late show because
we want her story to live on.
And she felt like, in thatsense, when I get on, and I
fingers crossed that'll happensomeday, she wants that story to
get there.
And it's just so I'm carryingforth not just her story, but
(22:20):
these other 21 people thatpassed away.
Because when somebody doessomething like that, there's a
reason.
You know, they don't, I theydon't just want to see me get on
the show, they want to see usget on the show.
And I think that's somethingthat people do miss on this
journey is that I'm not gonnaget there on my own.
And I I feel like I'm I'm tryingto get a I think it's gonna
(22:42):
start today.
Somebody's helping me get aTikTok account going, and we
think potentially that could getthe attention of Stephen
Colbert.
It's uh obviously a very popularsite, TikTok, and it gets a lot
of attention.
But I've always imagined overthe 10 years, the way I was
gonna get on the late show isjust somebody's gonna, they're
gonna know the right person.
So it's not anything that I'mdoing wrong.
(23:04):
Sometimes you have all thesevoices out there that are
yelling and screaming forattention.
And I'm sort of at the back ofthe line because I'm not yelling
or screaming.
I'm just going out, I'm doing mything.
But eventually, if you do theright thing, it works.
And um, I can't guarantee toanybody I'll get on the late
show of Stephen Colbert, but itdoesn't mean I'm not gonna get
(23:25):
on.
And I feel like so uh so again,it's it's it's all these people
that are around me.
I feel that I will because Ihave all this energy behind me
from these tens of thousands ofpeople, including the ones that
have passed away.
SPEAKER_01 (23:37):
So, a question about that.
So, what happens when you geton?
SPEAKER_00 (23:42):
Well, I'm glad you asked that too, because um a lot
of people at in the events I'vebeen at have asked that.
And I I know that's the thingthat a lot of us in life, we we
want to know what's the nextstep.
But I I've told people the samething.
I have no idea what I'm gonna dowhen I get on the late show.
Uh, like even when I get on thelate show, fingers crossed
(24:03):
again, um, I I want to let themoment guide me.
And then even after the lateshow, I want to let the moment
guide me.
If there was one thing that Iwould want, though, it's it's
that these boards be put in apermanent exhibit.
Because I feel like just it'ssort of sad.
It's, it's, it's, it's my um uhdirty dancing moment with
(24:23):
Jennifer Gray and um PatrickSwayze, where he says, nobody
puts baby in a corner.
Well, I feel like these boardsare in that metaphorical corner.
They're sitting in a U-Haulstorage area and they're under
covers.
Like, how are they impactinganybody there?
They're not.
And I need to get them out.
I need to show these to people.
And I would love to take themall with me to the late show
(24:44):
someday to share with everybody.
Um, but eventually I would wanta permanent exhibit.
So if there was one thing I'dwant after all this is done, is
it's that.
Because I feel like nine ofthese boards have been framed,
but I feel like um if they wereall framed and put in an
exhibit, people from all overthe world could come to this
place of hope.
(25:04):
And we could have like therehave been two documentaries made
about the journey that I've beenon, one nine years ago, one this
past year.
One of that, the one from thispast year just won best short
film at the Rocky MountainEmmys.
So, I mean, those are visualcomponents beyond just the
boards.
And people could see that.
They could learn more about thejourney, and it also could
(25:26):
connect them to their traumas ortheir difficulties they've been
through.
There are pictures I've takenwith over, we think about 5,000
people I've taken photos withwhere we hold up the boards.
I'd love to see those in anexhibit because I want people to
see the people I've beenmeeting, the places I've been,
the news stories.
Um, it it all tells this bigstory.
(25:46):
So I would love to see that.
Um and I just I imagine thatpeople from around the world
could come to a place like thisand they could meet other people
that have been through not justtraumas, but people that have
triumphed.
So somebody comes there and theylost their three children in a
house fire and they're fromBinghamton, New York.
Somebody else could come fromThailand and say, Hey, I heard
(26:06):
about this place.
You know, I went through atrauma and I'm coming in here,
and now they can connect witheach other and they could build
off of how they can recover.
So I just I imagine just thesepossibilities.
Um, but I think it could be veryexciting too for a lot of people
to see something like that.
SPEAKER_01 (26:24):
Doesn't it almost feel as though you had to have
had this journey?
Like you weren't supposed to beon the Kobe show in that first
year or in the second year,because this journey wouldn't
have the boards that it has, orthe impact that it had, or the
(26:45):
stories that you've had, or thethe possibility to be the
documentary that it uh that youjust mentioned that was just
filmed.
The the ability to have thiscollection of community and
stories and impact and 22 peoplewho you hope to have uh live on
(27:07):
within these boards if you're ifyou hadn't been going for all of
this time.
So it's almost as though youweren't supposed to have been on
the Colbert show yet.
Right?
I mean I I I I I know thatthat's the goal, right?
So there's almost to me, I dareI say, whether you get there or
(27:32):
not, I feel like you're doingthe right thing.
I feel as though while I'mcrossing my fingers for you too,
Blake, we have a limited timeconsidering our lovely Cobert is
not going to be on for very muchlonger, um, as heartbreaking as
(27:56):
that is.
However, there is this piece ofme while I listen to you and I
listen to this impact thatyou've had, and I think about
all of the people you've touchedand all of the stories you've
collected and all of the peopleyou've impacted, that while that
is your pinnacle goal, I hopeyou get there.
(28:20):
But I know that you've had tohave been through these last 10
years doing this in order tohave what you have right now.
SPEAKER_00 (28:31):
Right.
And I mean, I'll give you anexample, Danielle.
Um you said if I'd have got onthe late show in the first year,
you can start erasing so much.
I mean, it reminds me of Back tothe Future when Michael J.
Fox's character is playing theguitar at the dance under the
sea or whatever it was, and hehad to get his parents to kiss
(28:53):
because if they don't, hedoesn't exist.
And so he has that photograph onthe neck of his guitar, and as
he's playing it, he's realizingI have to make this happen or
everything disappears.
And I feel like in that sameway, yeah, if I had got on the
late show eight or nine yearsago, that photograph that is
(29:13):
this journey, this 10-yearjourney, so much is erased.
It's gone.
I would have never met you.
And I'm gonna give you a storythat was very emotional.
I was at San Diego StateUniversity in the little under
two months ago.
School was just about ready tostart.
I was in San Diego.
I spoke at an event, shared thejourney with people, the boards,
I was meeting a lot of people.
(29:34):
And at San Diego, I used to livein Carlsbad up in San Diego
County, and I had never been to,it's called STSU, San Diego
State University.
Yeah, I went to USD.
SPEAKER_01 (29:43):
Oh, the University of San Diego.
Yeah, so I'm I'm familiar.
SPEAKER_00 (29:46):
So I had never been there, and I thought, why not?
So I'm there, and it was um onSaturday.
So two days later, classes wouldbegin for the new school year.
And this student, he was afreshman, and I walked up to him
and I was sharing what I Had andhe said, You know what?
I'm really glad you didn't geton the late show.
And I didn't know if healtogether didn't understand
(30:07):
what I was doing.
I'm like, okay, you know, likethat's my big goal, right?
It has been for every 10 everyday for 10 years.
Because I just really thoughtmaybe he doesn't understand it.
And he said, No, I understandit.
He said, But if you'd have goton the late show years ago, even
weeks ago, he said, I'd havenever met you.
And he said, and I would nothave survived the weekend.
(30:29):
And I said, What do you mean bythat?
And he said, Tomorrow I wasplanning on killing myself.
He goes, I can't do thisanymore.
And he hugged me and he told me.
I shared this on Facebookshortly after that experience.
And he said, I just can't do it.
And he said, All of a sudden,you walked up to me.
You're just you got this randomstory of hope.
(30:51):
And he said, I'm not gonna doit.
But he was also reading a bunchof the messages people put on
these boards.
But the whole thing about thatis what you said.
Had I got on, and he was right.
He told me if I'd have got on,I'd have never met him.
And we wonder why people comeinto our lives.
And I so I can't tell you withcertainty, is that a higher
(31:14):
power?
Is that just the universe?
Well, I shouldn't say just theuniverse, because there are
people that don't believe in ahigher power, but they believe
in the universe.
I have friends who are wicken,atheist, agnostic.
I I've met people from alldifferent ends of the spectrum
of life, and so I want torespect that.
So everybody believes somethingdifferently, but whatever
happened, I think I was supposedto be in his life and he was
(31:37):
supposed to be in my life.
And I and just the same withyou.
SPEAKER_01 (31:40):
So just like Stephen Colbert was supposed to be in
your life at 10:44 p.m.
November 2015, right?
I mean, so you were his StephenColbert.
SPEAKER_00 (31:50):
Right.
And so I I keep going, I keepbelieving.
Um, every day I wake up, I getso and the most the most excited
I get is when I meet peoplebecause it's it's this energy
that I get.
It's it's very sometimes it'shard to describe because it's
just this.
I meet people, I engage withthem, but like today I'm gonna
(32:12):
meet people.
I have no idea who I'm gonnameet.
They have no idea I'm cominginto their lives.
But when I'm done, before I goto bed tonight, Danielle, I will
have met people.
Not just said hi and bye, notjust held the door open for them
at a at a store, which is stillnice, but I will have engaged
with these people.
They will hear my story, andvery likely I will hear
(32:34):
something back from their lives.
Um, and they will well, theywill definitely share a story
back with me.
Because I've had people say,Well, I only signed my name or
put my initials.
How did I tell a story?
And I said, You did.
First of all, you you chose oneof the 32 Sharpie color markers,
that's telling a story.
You picked a color, and theysaid, I randomly picked one.
I said, Okay, but you randomlypick one.
(32:54):
That's a story you're tellingme.
You decided to do it randomly.
You chose a place on the boardto put it.
So I tell people, like, whetheryou know it or not, you are
telling me a story.
And um, and I read it later.
So I will have met, I will meetpeople before the before I go to
bed tonight.
That's that's pretty exciting.
Maybe people don't see itsomeday.
I do.
SPEAKER_01 (33:15):
I I I do as well.
Like, how do you define hope?
SPEAKER_00 (33:20):
I'm not sure there is a word for it.
I mean, uh, there's a way todescribe it.
Sometimes it's just a feeling.
You you each person, it's it'sit's something that it's hard to
describe.
I mean, I've had all these yearsto be able to put a definition
to it.
But it's it's it's everythingthat I've shared with you, um,
(33:42):
but for every person that'sgonna be different.
It's it's hard to explainbecause it's just this this
feeling that you have that youwant to keep going.
Um that there's a possibility.
But again, I've never foundwords since that night that can
really describe it.
It's just um it's just thishappiness.
It's almost like you're sittingthere and the storm has
(34:05):
happened, and you go outside andthe finally the sun breaks
through after days of rain, andyou just feel this warmth.
I mean, I'll I I'm just doingthe best I can to give hope, but
it's just this sense of warmth.
Um but I yeah, I I I it soundslike I'm fumbling for words
because I am.
(34:25):
Because it's it's it's more ofwhat it feels like.
It's a sensation.
SPEAKER_01 (34:31):
I actually love that because I agree with you.
I think it's really hard to topinpoint hope to some level.
It's there are so many differentways to define it, which is why
I I ask.
I think it's it's a verypersonal thing.
And for you, you are I mean, inin so many ways, hope is a
handshake and a smile and thecolor of a sharpie, and it's
(34:55):
where someone chooses to signtheir name, and whether or not
they use words or colors or or asquiggle on the board.
Um, hope is is whether or notthey stop to listen, right?
So I uh I'm so grateful that youhave spent time with me, and I'm
grateful to to have a tiny partin your story.
(35:17):
I am going to do everything Ican to help you reach your goal
by sharing as much as I can.
Is there anything that I didn'task you that you'd like to
share?
SPEAKER_00 (35:28):
No, I mean, you could ask me 50 other questions.
We could talk for a while.
I have so many stories I couldtell you from there just that's
it.
I mean, that's why I feel likelike individuals like yourself,
when you ask me questions,there's a lot still in my head.
It's not just on the boards,it's not just in the
documentaries, but it's it'sthat's how all of us in our
(35:50):
lives are.
We have so much that we onlyknow.
And if we don't get those pulledout of our heads, they're gone
forever.
And so I feel like what you'vedone today is you're pulling
pieces of this journey out of myhead so that I could share it
with people, whether that'sstories of people I've met,
moments that have happened.
Because again, once we're gone,if we've never shared our
(36:12):
stories with people, they'regone forever.
And I that's one of the it's oneof the saddest things.
And I wish more people wouldsay, hey, I want to get this out
there because um I want to beable to impact generations from
now.
So as you know, you've doneyou've done that today.
You've helped pull some of thisout of me.
And um, you know, I I would hopehopefully people can go to this
(36:34):
newest documentary because umobviously we can't cover
everything about the journey andthe the bad and the good that's
happened.
But I my hope is that a takeawayfor people that are listening or
watching this today, they can goto the documentary, they can see
it, but they can it's somethingthey can relate to because I'm a
(36:54):
human being, even if theyhaven't been through the exact
same trauma, maybe they've neverbeen through a trauma.
They can see this and they cansee how a lot of people have
come together to help me getthrough it.
Um, and that's the hope is thatthere's a takeaway for everybody
today, because it's just itwouldn't do me any good if I
shared this story and they'relike, oh, it's just this guy
(37:16):
talking about himself and hisexperiences.
No, because if if it was justme, I'd be an island.
And it's just it's not look atTom Hanks proved in Castaway.
It's not fun to be on an island.
You need to get out.
And I feel like you're giving methat chance to be get off the
island, and I'm sharing it withpeople, and I want to be
together with people.
So, you know, whether they watchthe documentary or whether they
(37:39):
look on Instagram and see thephotos of the people I've been
meeting, look at the boards.
I want there to be a takeawaybecause everybody has something
that they can find that connectsto them.
SPEAKER_01 (37:50):
And so what is the name of the documentary and
where can people find it?
SPEAKER_00 (37:54):
Um, well, if they go to Synkonas Studios, um, it's
S-I-N-C-O-N-I-Sstudios.com.
The name of the documentary is Iam.
Um, or they can just look upBlake Late Show.
If somebody did a Google searchof Blake Late Show, so much is
gonna come up.
Um, and again, there's probablysomething for everybody that
(38:16):
people can find that speaks tothem.
And um, and where can peoplefollow your journey someday?
And and we can all we can allsuccessfully make it to the
goal.
SPEAKER_01 (38:28):
Fingers crossed, where can people follow your
journey?
On Instagram, yes?
SPEAKER_00 (38:32):
Yes, the TikTok's gonna come along soon, but um
yeah, Instagram's Blake LateShow.
Um, or again, if people just dida Google search of Blake Late
Show, they're gonna find quite abit pops up.
Um and then, yes, I've beenwaiting for this TikTok to
happen because I gotta learn howto do this pretty good.
Um but I share, I've shared alot over the years, a lot of
(38:55):
little videos.
Um, I shouldn't call them littlebecause it may it diminishes the
impact, but I do a lot ofone-minute videos and I share
again the journey because umbecause a lot of people are
invested in this.
I feel like people they're in away, like in a business sense,
they're shareholders.
They they wanna they're investedin in getting this all to the
(39:17):
late show because I feel likethey see the vision.
This can impact millions ofpeople, millions of viewers that
day.
Because there are people outthere, they're like that student
at San Diego State University.
They're they're at the end.
And sometimes it could be two,three, maybe two thousand people
that could see that someday onthe late show and say, you know
(39:40):
what?
All these people help this guykeep going.
And a moment of and that'sanother thing.
When I get on the late show, Iwant to share with people the
amazing power of laughter that'saround each and every one of us,
even when all seems lost.
Because at that night, it wasjust so strange to think that I
could still laugh.
(40:00):
Like just it was it was thislaughter that could stop me.
And um and you know, I I feellike when I get on the late show
as well, I don't want to peoplethink that I I think that
Stephen Colbert is a hero.
I don't.
It doesn't mean he's not, but inmy opinion, it's I think Stephen
would probably agree with me.
(40:22):
It's not about a person, it'sabout it's about laughter, it's
about something that we allshare, the power of laughter.
And and if there was no traumaand bad stuff in our world, we
wouldn't need laughter andcomedy.
So Stephen Colbert was part ofthat.
And I think it's not just abouta person, it's about what we
need in our lives.
(40:42):
We need laughter, we needcomedy, and I want to focus on
that.
And I really feel StephenColbert will understand that.
SPEAKER_01 (40:49):
We also need community, and you've been
providing that, right?
We need community and we needstories, and there is a piece of
that you're providing, andhopefully there's a piece of
that that I'm providing, right?
Like we need to show up for eachother and hold space.
So I'm super grateful to you forspending time with me.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, thank you for being hereand sharing your story.
And I'm grateful and I uh I willdo the best I can to share your
(41:10):
story far and wide.
SPEAKER_00 (41:12):
Well, I appreciate that, and hopefully this helps
some of uh your viewers and andlisteners.
So um thank you for theopportunity.
SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
I really appreciate you, and thank you, friends, so
much for spending time with uson this episode of Hope Comes to
Visit.
I so hope that Ron Blake's storytouches you and hits you exactly
where you needed it to today,and that you will take the story
and you will share it withfriends and family, and you
know, maybe even send it on overto Stephen Colbert so that he
can uh can meet with meet withBlake and get him his dream come
(41:43):
true.
So until I see you again nexttime, take very good care of
you.
Thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!