July 14, 2025 • 38 mins
Parenting Up family - today's episode is a special one!
The worlds of sports memorabilia and caregiving collide in this deeply personal glimpse into my journey to honor my father's extraordinary legacy while navigating the daily challenges of caring for my mother with Alzheimer's.
My father, Jock Michael Smith, accomplished something unprecedented - creating the largest sports memorabilia collection in modern history. Not as a full-time collector or dealer, but as a successful attorney who pursued this passion nights and weekends throughout his career. While the world recognizes many brilliant lawyers, only one person created a collection of this magnitude and significance - a Black man from Queens whose passion preserved pivotal moments in sports and cultural history.
When MeTV's reality show about collectors reached out to me, I was finally ready to speak about my father and the collection I inherited. I showcased eight iconic pieces from my father's collection of thousands. From Muhammad Ali's sweat-stained robe to Michael Jordan's double-signed jersey to Curt Flood's game-changing uniform, each item tells a story beyond sports, documenting moments when individuals challenged societal norms and made history.
This journey reminds us that dreams don't expire - they manifest on their own timeline. After 13 years since my father's passing, his collection is finally gaining the recognition it deserves. Whatever your passion, stay true to it. Build your team, follow your heart, and know that your moment will come, even if it takes longer than expected.
Executive Producer: J Smiles
Producer: Mia Hall
Editor: Annelise Udoye
BTS Videographer: Isaiah
"Alzheimer's is heavy but we ain't gotta be!"
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Parented up family.
Let me just get into it and tellyou the truth.
Okay, for anyone new to thecommunity, my dad is the reason
why I'm a caregiver.
The story has to be told.
My dad did something that noother human has ever done in
(00:20):
modern recorded history.
Yeah, he was a super dopelawyer and he got some really
big verdicts.
I'm counting on the universe tomake sure I can continue to
tell the story, to share moreand more.
The deal is, they got to knowthat my daddy did it At night
and on the weekends while he wasbeing a lawyer.
(00:41):
And oh yeah, he happens to befrom Queens and oh yeah, he
happens to be a black man.
Oh, that's a happens to be.
But the one thing you can'ttake is the biggest, baddest
collection Parenting Up Family.
Ooh, ooh, ooh.
This is such a special episodefor you, girl.
My mind, body and soul are allup in here.
(01:03):
In this episode you're about toget a sneak peek into really,
really a deep dive.
Sneak peek, a dive peek, asneaky deep.
I don't know a sneaky deep.
I like that Sneaky deep.
Let's go with sneaky deep.
You're about to get to sneakydeep version of what life can be
like for me on any given day.
In this episode I am actuallyfilming for a reality TV show.
(01:29):
Now, no, I'm not about to joinnobody's housewives, nothing.
This show is about collectorsand my dad, jock Michael Smith,
has the biggest.
Jock Michael Smith has thebiggest, baddest collection of
sports stuff in the whole world.
And this company found me andthey said hey, we would like you
(01:51):
to talk about your dad for 30minutes and we're going to put
it on TV.
I said, well, let's start.
When do you want to start?
Yesterday, we could do this.
Super cool the host Lisa.
Super cool.
The host Lisa Lisa, who, jay,I'm so happy you asked Blair
from Facts of Life.
(02:12):
Now, I don't know about y'all,but she was so cool and so much
fun and that day on set she gavethe same vibe, the same energy.
Y'all.
You're going to see a whole lotabout filming a reality TV
episode.
Metv is the network, by the way.
(02:33):
Shout out to them real hard andreal deep love for even letting
me do this.
But you're going to learn aboutmy dad, why he collected and
how come.
It matters to me, even whilegiving everything to Zeddy, that
I figure out how to honor mydaddy too, parenting Up
(02:55):
caregiving adventures withcomedian Jay Smiles is the
intense journey of unexpectedlybeing fully responsible for my
mama.
For over a decade I've beenchipping away at the unknown,
advocating for her and pushingAlzheimer's awareness on anyone
and anything with a heartbeat.
(03:15):
Spoiler alert this shit isheavy.
That's why I started doingcomedy.
So be ready for the jokesCaregiver newbies, ogs and
village members just willing toprop up a caregiver.
You are in the right place.
Hi, this is Zeddy.
(03:36):
I hope you enjoy my daughter'spodcast.
Is that okay?
Okay, today's shout out Karen7.
I hope I'm saying that right.
K-a-y-r-e-y-n.
The number 7.
From Instagram Girl, I'm afellow caregiver who feels every
(04:02):
ounce of this post.
There aren't enough emojis formy response.
And then there's the emoji withthe crooked mouth.
Honey, don't you worry, I'mright there with you.
I wish I didn't know all I doabout being a caregiver.
If you want to receive asupportive shout out and you
(04:22):
know you do, quit faking it Goahead and leave a review.
If you want to receive asupporter, shout out and you
know you do, quit faking it, goahead and leave a review.
You can do it on YouTube if youlike to watch us, or you can do
it wherever you listen If youbought them earbuds.
(04:44):
Today's episode lights cameracollection from the sidelines of
caregiving.
Let's play ball, do it, do it,do it.
Oh my God it does.
(05:06):
Parents and family.
Let me just get into it andtell you the truth.
Ok, for anyone new to thecommunity, my dad is the reason
why I'm a caregiver.
If we back up into it, my dadhad a massive heart attack.
My mom found him on the couch.
My dad had a massive heartattack.
(05:26):
My mom found him on the couch.
That event was so stressful toPolozetti's system that it
thrust her into two forms ofdementia.
Now, if you don't know abouthow that can happen, I encourage
(05:48):
you to go back and start withMay 2020 and listen to those
first couple, three, four, fiveepisodes of how this journey
began.
So for a television network tosay hey, jay, we like what
you're doing with the collectionthat you inherited, death, you
want to be on TV, tv and talkabout my dad?
Yes, so this is what happened,y'all.
(06:12):
Literally, it took about ninemonths from when they contacted
me through J smiles comedy, bythe way, you know what I mean,
because we lead with that brandto say, hey, do you really still
have all these things.
Are you willing to be ontelevision?
(06:34):
Do you have what it takes totalk about your dad at this time
?
And finally, over a decadeafter my dad passed, I can talk
about the intricacies of thiscollection and what it meant to
him, and thankfully they.
Let me bring part of my team onthe set to get footage and
(07:00):
photographs and all these kindof little things to document the
day the J Smiles parenting upcommunity way.
So I cannot stress enough whatthis means.
So we're really showing you aday in the life of J Smiles as a
caregiver, because you justnever know what's going on.
(07:23):
What does all this mean, jay?
First thing I want to tell youis this I had to they well, okay
.
First thing I want to say isyour girl had to get up at O-Doc
30 for makeup and hair.
It was so cool that everyonehelped set up the exhibit
(07:45):
Because, let me tell you, mydad's collection helped set up
the exhibit Because, let me tellyou, my dad's collection, the
biggest in the world.
There are thousands of pieces.
The MeTV network asked me tohighlight eight, eight.
Do you know how hard it is todecide which eight Like what
(08:09):
eight?
How do you decide who to pickwhen you got thousands and
everyone that my dad collected.
They are men and women who hadsome kind of real bearing on
either culture or societalbreaking up societal norms,
disrupting stuff, or justwinning a whole lot, and I gotta
(08:35):
point this out.
The network asked me to reallyfocus on some iconic
African-American pieces.
Now my hottest African-Americanpieces are actually with the
Smithsonian on display there.
So that meant I was like, well,ok, well, I can't use my Jesse
(08:59):
Owens cleats from the 1936Olympics when he got the four
gold medals in front of Hitler.
Right, that's what I'm saying.
Your girl, oh, there's oneknown pair and your girl owns
them from my daddy, of course.
They said, well, of what is notat the Smithsonian, can you
give us a hot eight?
(09:20):
And I was like, of course, butanyway, that might be part of
why it took nine months.
We got a schedule when are wegoing to be?
We got to be on location.
We got to find a location.
Everybody has.
Yeah, I had no idea how hard itwas to find a location.
I mean, we're in Atlanta, it'sstuff in studios everywhere.
(09:42):
But you know what they booked?
Because we booked a visit downhere.
They working, so shout out totheir production crew for
figuring all that stuff out.
Kobe Bryant, I have a Lakersnumber eight autographed.
Purple Kobe Bryant Lakersjersey purple Kobe Bryant Lakers
(10:06):
jersey.
And because Kobe left thisearth in such a startling
fashion, y'all his memorabiliahas shot through the roof and I
learned more about how muchthrough the roof you know you're
like okay, through the roofinto the trees, through the roof
(10:28):
into the clouds or through theroof into Jupiter.
How much skyrocket.
We talking about series.
The Collector's Call on MeTV isabout also getting an expert to
(10:50):
come on, chat with you and giveme some kind of market
experience on what they thinkthe value of this item is.
So Philip Merrill was theexpert on my episode.
Y'all you got to go watch theepisode yourself.
I'm not going to tell you howmuch he said my Kobe Bryant
(11:13):
jersey is worth.
I'm going to just say it wasthousands of dollars and now
you're something way more thanwhat my daddy paid for it the
benefit of dumb luck.
I also need you to know mydaddy didn't collect any of this
stuff thinking.
Well, you know what I want to.
Uh, I want to make sure that mybaby girl is taken care of, so
(11:35):
when I die, you know she'll havesomething solid.
I wish I could say that my dadhad that kind of foresight, or
he had a crystal ball man.
The dude was just a nerd whowas awkward, who loved sports,
and that was his connection tohis dad.
My dad's dad, my paternalgrandfather, died when my dad
(11:59):
was eight.
He was actually murdered in hislaw office Long story.
We're going to make this ahappy episode, though.
My dad started collecting in the1980s and, over about a 30 year
period, bit by bit, hecollected baseball, football,
basketball, hockey, tennis,track and field, nascar, golf
(12:24):
yes, nascar.
I got NASCAR whole racing suits.
So the majority of mycollection actually is not
African-American because, as weknow, the majority of
professional athletes in thehistory of America have not been
African-American, have not beenAfrican-American.
(12:50):
So I got white folks, asianfolks, latina folks, all the
folks, women and men.
Today, though, we talking aboutmy Michael Jordan stuff and my
Ali stuff and my Hank Aaronstuff, my Arthur Ashe stuff,
even LeBron.
My dad got a LeBron James highschool jersey A high school
(13:13):
jersey.
Now, shout out to dad.
I'm sure a part of the reasonwhy he got it is their mascot
was the Fighting Irish and theircolors were gold and green.
My dad went to Notre Dame LawSchool the Fighting Irish the
same school colors.
I got to believe that my daddyhad a little extra affinity for
(13:36):
LeBron's high school jerseybecause of that connection
connection.
Michael Jordan yes, not only isit a Michael Jordan Jersey, but
let me tell you this it's signedon both sides.
Jordan signed the front and theback.
I don't even know what made mydad think to do that, but that's
(13:56):
what makes this super rare it'ssigned on both sides.
And that chair you see, that isan original sideline VIP seat
in the first arena where Jordanplayed for the Chicago Bulls and
got his first ring.
Who even knows to get that?
(14:24):
My daddy, ali, what?
You see?
Ali robe.
Yes, he wore the robe.
Yeah, that's dirt.
You see dirt on it.
As a collector, we want all theDNA, blood, sweat and tears,
grass things, loose tooth,whatever we can find that makes
(14:47):
that thing more gritty, moregrindy.
That makes that thing moregritty, more grindy.
That makes the piece moreunique and more connected to
that athlete in that moment inhistory.
So I also got Ali boxing trunks.
(15:10):
By the way, ali was my father'sfavorite athlete of all times.
Why?
Because he told you he waspretty.
He was bold with his words, hebacked it up and he took a stand
against the American governmentwhen he didn't think it was
just to go and fight.
In the Vietnam war he losteverything.
My dad had a lot of respect fora man willing to really put his
(15:39):
whole life on the line for whathe thought was just.
You know, y'all know my dad wasa lawyer, so that was.
I have so much Ali stuff.
I could probably make a minitouring Ali museum and just take
it all across the world.
I have multiple boxing shoes no, he don't have cleats box
(16:03):
multiple boxing gloves, probablyfive or six pairs of his boxing
shorts.
I even have a photo of my dadwith Ali.
Now, ali was his guy.
Hey, what's up?
Parented Up family.
Guess what?
Have you ever wanted to connectwith other caregivers?
(16:23):
You want to see morebehind-the-scenes footage?
Want to know what me and Zeddyare doing?
I know you do scenes footage.
Want to know what me and Zeddyare doing?
I know you do All things.
Jsmiles are finally ready foryou, even when I go live.
Do it now with us on Patreon.
(16:44):
Join us in the Patreoncommunity.
Catch everything we're doing.
Visit patreoncom forward.
Slash JSmilesStudios with an S.
This Arthur Ashe tennis racket.
I just need you to go look upArthur Ashe.
(17:06):
Put an E on the end of the Ashefor you to find a man,
african-american man, first oneto win the majors in tennis.
We also got his professionaltour card.
That's a part of what's insidethat frame piece.
My dad was really ahead of howmy dad was really ahead of the
(17:29):
curve on how he exhibited thingslike this.
He would get these items and hehad a preferred framer that
would create these shadow boxesand put whatever little metal
descriptor of what it is.
My dad considered himself anarchivist and a person who was
(17:54):
preserving history.
So, yes, he was a big kid atheart that loved sport and
competition.
But if you were someone likeArthur Ashe who actually made a
difference culturally andlegislatively on what it means
to be a black man in America,then that's another whole level.
(18:15):
Another whole level and also interms of medical activism.
Arthur Ashe if not the first,he was one of the first known
individuals to actually contractHIV AIDS and die from those
(18:38):
complications, from a bloodtransfusion.
We had not known before himthat that was really going down
In the background while we don'tever talk about it.
On the episode you see a darkcrimson red jersey with Williams
on the back.
It's also autographed.
That's Doug Williams.
He went to Grammar StateUniversity, a historically black
(19:02):
university and college, and hewas the first black quarterback
in the NFL to win the Super Bowl, and he came from a HBCU.
Okay, I'm going to tell yousomething that a lot of people
don't remember, but I do,because my dad was pissed and
then that gave me a reason toask him why he was pissed.
(19:24):
It had been like tradition foryears that Walt Disney World,
immediately after the Super Bowlwhoever was the MVP got the
Disney commercial.
What are you going to do nextNow that you won the Super Bowl
and won the MVP?
I'm holding my hand, being verysarcastic, like I have a mic.
(19:46):
Well, I'm going to Disney World.
That was it.
I mean, everyone could say thecommercial.
You could say the commercialwith your eyes closed.
All of a sudden, doug Williamswins the MVP.
He doesn't get the commercial.
It's the only time I'm aware ofthat.
They did that, but in the yearssince there was a black man who
(20:14):
got the MVP, there have beenmultiple black quarterbacks who
won MVP in Super Bowl and theydid get that Disney commercial.
So thank you, mr Williams.
Hank Aaron goes without speaking.
I mean, he what he took fromthe world in terms of being
(20:38):
treated poorly.
Well, let me back up a littlebit for you all.
Ok, hank Aaron is a baseballplayer.
He was originally from Mobile,alabama, which is my home state,
not my home city.
Why does he matter?
Why did we choose him?
Why did I put him in theepisode?
Because, again, when you got10,000 people, I got everybody.
Who are you going to pick?
I'm sitting here right now in myDerek Jeter forever shirt,
(21:00):
because Zetty made me take her,even with Alzheimer's.
This chick made me find DerekJeter and take her to Derek
Jeter's farewell tour on hislast year playing.
At that point her Alzheimer'swas not as advanced as it is,
but it still was funny as hellto me that she could be asking
(21:21):
for something that's specific,as I got to go meet Derek Jeter.
Really, really, effa, everybodywants to meet Derek Jeter.
Anyway, I got this shirt duringthat mother-daughter time and
so I'm rocking it now to have alittle mom and a little dad,
because Derek was one of mydad's favorite Yankees.
Anyway, back to what I toldthem about on the episode, hank
(21:44):
Aaron.
He doesn't have the home runcareer record anymore
technically, but a lot of peoplestill give it to him because
there were no steroids orenhancing performance type drugs
and things back in his day.
This is the thing y'all.
(22:06):
He got death threats.
This was the 70s and there wereindividuals that were so pissed
off at the notion that HankAaron would surpass Babe Ruth, a
Caucasian man.
Now, okay, first of all, it's alittle shaky on whether he's
Caucasian.
His nose is bigger thananybody's in my family and I got
(22:30):
all kinds of noses in my family.
Don't look at my nose and thinkit's all the noses in my family
.
We got noses that go fromearlobe to earlobe and Babe Ruth
was right up in there.
Okay, his hair was okay.
Anyway, I'm just trying to saythat he had a little something
in him.
They didn't want America notall of America, but some very
(22:52):
outspoken individuals did notwant him to surpass Babe Ruth.
They offered to kill him, tohurt his family, to break his
legs.
But this boy is from Alabama.
What you're not going to do iskeep us down, okay, so he went
(23:15):
on.
He did get the record and what Ibrought to this episode is
there's a Hank Aaron jersey.
There's a ticket that Hanksigned of the day and the game
where he hit where he actuallysurpassed Babe Ruth.
(23:35):
Babe Ruth had 714.
This is the game where he got715.
So there's a lot going on.
And then there was a baseballthat has Hank's name on it, but
guess what else?
What else?
(23:59):
It has like 75% of every manwho's hit 500 or more home runs.
So they're Caucasians on theretoo.
But when I tell you my dadwasn't about he wasn't playing,
he was about that collectinglife Family.
The most important piece to meon this episode is that cream
colored jersey that has Cardinalacross the front.
Nobody on the team on theproduction side.
They didn't know about him.
Most Americans don't know abouthim.
(24:21):
His name is Kurt C-U-R-T.
Flood Like we go flood theriver when we break the dam.
Okay, that was too much.
His name is Kurt Flood C-U-R-T.
Flood Like Water Can Flood aCity.
Why does he matter?
(24:43):
Jay, he had multiple goldengloves.
In baseball a golden glove isgiven out for each position.
That means that year you werethe best defensive player at
that position in the entireMajor League Baseball.
(25:03):
Big deal, he did that multipletimes.
He had a really good hittingaverage, but that's not why he's
one of my favorites Y'all.
He is the only reason that freeagency exists, the only reason.
(25:25):
Before Kurt Flood, whoeverdrafted you, that was where you
were going to retire and if theytraded you you had to go.
Black, brown, asian, white,everybody knew.
For all practical purposes itwas kind of like indigent
servitude.
They like hey, we got a scout,you sign this contract, we own
(25:50):
you professionally and we get,when we get tired of you and we
want to see you, somebody else.
You got to go.
Either you go or you stopplaying baseball.
Kurt said I disagree, I amperforming very well.
Look at my stats and I don'twant to go.
(26:13):
Why don't I have a say so onwhether or not I got to go?
And then the second layer hesaid was and if I got to go, why
don't I have a say so in whereI'm going?
Because I did choose to say yeswhen you drafted me.
Like I, like this organization.
(26:35):
So what's up?
Y'all you gotta understand.
This went all the way to theSupreme Court and Kurt came out
victorious.
So all these players in anysport anywhere in the world, I'm
saying this is what washappening in Europe, in Asia.
Mr Curt Flood started that.
(26:58):
So everybody that goes to a newteam.
Or you got the collectivebargaining agreement where you
can get $100 million in one year.
That's all because of CurtFlood.
But the kids who are getting incollege getting this NIL name,
image likeness, all these all ofthis comes from Curt Flood
(27:19):
being willing to go to theSupreme Court.
And then what happened?
Of course they blackballed him.
Of course they said, ok, yeah,well, you did win and we're
going to trade you and we.
But you know what else it'sgoing to feel and look a lot
like Colin Kaepernick, you aboutto get iced out.
So, even though this man stillhad the talent, his career was
(27:43):
all but over.
I mean, stanky, grosslybenefited from what maneuvering
allows you to do in aprofessional sense, like you ask
(28:03):
for a trade, you get traded,free bargaining, whatever.
You can put that in yourcontract.
Now, after two years, I canleave for no reason at all.
I think everybody who did thatneeds to drop some in his estate
.
Go find whoever he's related.
Go find whoever is still alivethat's related to him and just
(28:24):
give him a car, give him a house.
You ain't got to meet him, andit don't matter if you think
they good people or not.
Without they, somebody, uncle,cousin, you wouldn't be.
I don't want to curse this issomewhat of a family podcast but
anyway, fuck that, you wouldn'thave shit.
(28:44):
So put some respect on KurtFloyd's name and that's why he's
in the episode, because this isthe parenting up community and,
if nothing else, what we'regonna do is we're gonna tell the
truth or we're going toadvocate and we're going to
spread awareness about whateverit is we're doing.
Y'all, that day was so emotionalI had to stop several times to
(29:08):
get my makeup kind of dried upor to step outside to get a deep
breath, because I'm talkingabout my dad and why he
collected, which then means he'snot here to say it, and, as
wonky as that might sound, I'mgetting a little bit of
butterflies in my stomach rightnow as I recount the event of me
(29:30):
being a little bit thrown off.
But the story has to be told.
My dad did something that noother human has ever done in
modern recorded history.
Yeah, he was a super dopelawyer and he got some really
(29:52):
big verdicts.
But there are other lawyersthat are super dope, that get
big verdicts and help even outthe playing field between
corporations and the little man.
It's a lot of lawyers who'vedone that, ain't but one person
in the whole history ofeverybody, everywhere,
everywhere, made a collectionlike this.
So I'm counting on the universeto make sure I can continue to
(30:20):
tell the story, to share moreand more, to make sure that our
partnerships grow from theSmithsonian to maybe the various
professional leagues.
Look out for what your girltrying to do Maybe take a tour
to some universities, someprimary schools, maybe all
around the world.
(30:40):
The deal is they got to knowthat my daddy did it at night
and on the weekends while he wasbeing a lawyer.
And oh yeah, he happens to befrom Queens and oh yeah, he
happens to be a black man.
Oh, that's what happens to be.
But and oh yeah, he happens tobe a black man, oh, that's what
happens to be.
But the one thing you can'ttake is the biggest, baddest
collection ever ever known.
(31:02):
That day was stressful alsobecause the caregiver that was
with Zeddy had a difficult daythat day.
So I have my assistant holdingmy cell phone because you've got
to be on airplane mode, becauseyou can't have nothing go while
(31:25):
we on set, but watching to seeif I get any text messages, to
see if I'm going to have to cutthis whole thing short to get
back to my mama Now.
Zetty didn't need to go to thehospital that day, but the point
is I was still a caregiverfirst on that set, talking about
(31:46):
my dad and the great thingsthat have already happened and
are in the works with hiscollection, a documentary and
all these kinds of cool things.
So I feel, y'all, you arealways a caregiver.
Wherever you are, whereveryou're working, it's always
right there.
And a little bit you wait forthe other shoe to drop.
(32:07):
You wait for the other shoe todrop.
Am I going to get through thisshoot?
That's what I kept telling theproducers and my assistants, my
whole team.
Can I get through this shootingtime?
And we're going to make thedeadlines and it's my mama going
to need me.
Do you know how hard it is toremember the story or the lines
(32:28):
you're supposed to say If youthink your mama might be
somewhere in distress and needyou?
See, that's man.
Ain't nobody listening to me?
Y'all listening.
That is why we continue toadvocate legislatively and other
things, because I shouldn'thave to feel that way while I'm
(32:51):
celebrating my dad, honoring himand doing a reality TV episode
on how cool his collection is.
That's life.
I'm a caregiver.
Y'all know what it is theSnuggle Ups.
(33:15):
Number one A stay ready.
So you ain't got to get ready.
Or another way to put it isdon't give up on yourself.
Another way to say it don'tthink that the universe has
forgotten about you, your hopesor your dreams.
Y'all.
My dad died 13 years ago.
That's the same year that Zeddywas diagnosed with two forms of
(33:39):
dementia.
But today, today, this day, wasthe day, the first time, that I
filmed a show talking about myheart's desire to have my dad's
collection discussed on TV.
(33:59):
Yeah, 13 years.
And, truth be told, I startedtrying to convince my dad of
sharing his collection with thepublic while he was still alive.
So, who knows, we were talkingabout more like 15, 16, 17, 18
years ago.
But all happens when it'ssupposed to happen, so keep
pushing.
You don't know when it'ssupposed to happen, but you'll
(34:23):
be ready when the opportunitycomes.
Number two while on set filmingDid y'all hear me say that
Filming the Jock Michaels Smithjust a fraction of the
collection for a reality show Iwas asked how and why and where
(34:49):
and when my dad got the pieces.
I got to tell y'all some of thestuff I don't know, some of the
pieces my dad didn't even quiteremember where and when he got
it.
Now, it's not that he didn'thave a clue, it would be he's
like oh baby, okay, now I got itfrom Tommy.
(35:11):
But I got to remember whereTommy told me he got it from J
Smiles.
Why are you telling me all ofthis and what's the point?
The point is follow yourpassion.
My dad was so sold out to hisconnection to history and sports
and his dad and sports and hisdad.
(35:34):
Right, I don't know if I toldy'all this, but my dad started
collecting in order to be moreengaged with the memory of his
father because his daddy tookhim to baseball games when he
was a little boy.
So he wanted to collect all ofthe iconic pieces from the
players that he would go andwatch play baseball in New York,
from the players that he wouldgo and watch play baseball in
(35:55):
New York from the 1950s.
And then it just blossomed andexpanded into all lacrosse.
Why do I have a full team oflacrosse players from Notre Dame
?
I know good and damn well, mydaddy watched no lacrosse with
Notre Dame, but anyway, Idigress.
(36:16):
But my dad was so into being apurist and following what he
needed and the passion.
He didn't remember all thedetails of what got him the
result that he wanted, and youmight not either, but what is it
that you're passionate aboutand that you want to do?
Start on the journey, one stepat a time, one day at a time,
(36:41):
and you'll get there.
Who the hell cares how manydips and doodles and tips and
turns you have to take?
Number three watch who the hellyou are with.
All right, I have a phenomenalteam.
When this opportunity wasbrought to me, can I tell you, I
(37:04):
jumped on it.
Yeah, the people came to me.
The network came to me becausemy team and I have put out good
content.
We have stayed true to ourbrand.
I never had a million followers, I've never been on the cover
of Time magazine, I've neverbeen in the New York Times.
(37:26):
But you don't have to be.
If you are true to yourself,true to your brand, and you have
solid people on your team whoare committed to you and what
you're trying to do, magic canhappen.
The network came.
They asked I told my team we'restrong and we're mighty.
(37:48):
Hey, this is what we got to be.
Please, everybody, show up.
Hair, makeup videographer.
My assistant.
Let me tell you something.
What?
Just stay out of our way In aminute.
What are we going to have?
Whatever we want, and you canhave it too.
Thank you for tuning in.
(38:13):
I mean really, really, really.
Thank you so very much fortuning in.
I mean really, really, really.
Thank you so very much fortuning in.
Whether you're watching this onYouTube or if you're listening
on your favorite podcast audioplatform, either way, wherever
you are, subscribe, come back.
That's the way you're going toknow when we do something next.
(38:33):
Y'all know how it is.
I'm Jay Smiles.
I might just drop something hotin the middle of the night.
Parented up family.
Let me just get into it and tellyou the truth.
Okay, for anyone new to thecommunity, my dad is the reason
why I'm a caregiver.
The story has to be told.
My dad did something that noother human has ever done in
(00:20):
modern recorded history.
Yeah, he was a super dopelawyer and he got some really
big verdicts.
I'm counting on the universe tomake sure I can continue to
tell the story, to share moreand more.
The deal is, they got to knowthat my daddy did it At night
and on the weekends while he wasbeing a lawyer.
(00:41):
And oh yeah, he happens to befrom Queens and oh yeah, he
happens to be a black man.
Oh, that's a happens to be.
But the one thing you can'ttake is the biggest, baddest
collection Parenting Up Family.
Ooh, ooh, ooh.
This is such a special episodefor you, girl.
My mind, body and soul are allup in here.
(01:03):
In this episode you're about toget a sneak peek into really,
really a deep dive.
Sneak peek, a dive peek, asneaky deep.
I don't know a sneaky deep.
I like that Sneaky deep.
Let's go with sneaky deep.
You're about to get to sneakydeep version of what life can be
like for me on any given day.
In this episode I am actuallyfilming for a reality TV show.
(01:29):
Now, no, I'm not about to joinnobody's housewives, nothing.
This show is about collectorsand my dad, jock Michael Smith,
has the biggest.
Jock Michael Smith has thebiggest, baddest collection of
sports stuff in the whole world.
And this company found me andthey said hey, we would like you
(01:51):
to talk about your dad for 30minutes and we're going to put
it on TV.
I said, well, let's start.
When do you want to start?
Yesterday, we could do this.
Super cool the host Lisa.
Super cool.
The host Lisa Lisa, who, jay,I'm so happy you asked Blair
from Facts of Life.
(02:12):
Now, I don't know about y'all,but she was so cool and so much
fun and that day on set she gavethe same vibe, the same energy.
Y'all.
You're going to see a whole lotabout filming a reality TV
episode.
Metv is the network, by the way.
(02:33):
Shout out to them real hard andreal deep love for even letting
me do this.
But you're going to learn aboutmy dad, why he collected and
how come.
It matters to me, even whilegiving everything to Zeddy, that
I figure out how to honor mydaddy too, parenting Up
(02:55):
caregiving adventures withcomedian Jay Smiles is the
intense journey of unexpectedlybeing fully responsible for my
mama.
For over a decade I've beenchipping away at the unknown,
advocating for her and pushingAlzheimer's awareness on anyone
and anything with a heartbeat.
(03:15):
Spoiler alert this shit isheavy.
That's why I started doingcomedy.
So be ready for the jokesCaregiver newbies, ogs and
village members just willing toprop up a caregiver.
You are in the right place.
Hi, this is Zeddy.
(03:36):
I hope you enjoy my daughter'spodcast.
Is that okay?
Okay, today's shout out Karen7.
I hope I'm saying that right.
K-a-y-r-e-y-n.
The number 7.
From Instagram Girl, I'm afellow caregiver who feels every
(04:02):
ounce of this post.
There aren't enough emojis formy response.
And then there's the emoji withthe crooked mouth.
Honey, don't you worry, I'mright there with you.
I wish I didn't know all I doabout being a caregiver.
If you want to receive asupportive shout out and you
(04:22):
know you do, quit faking it Goahead and leave a review.
If you want to receive asupporter, shout out and you
know you do, quit faking it, goahead and leave a review.
You can do it on YouTube if youlike to watch us, or you can do
it wherever you listen If youbought them earbuds.
(04:44):
Today's episode lights cameracollection from the sidelines of
caregiving.
Let's play ball, do it, do it,do it.
Oh my God it does.
(05:06):
Parents and family.
Let me just get into it andtell you the truth.
Ok, for anyone new to thecommunity, my dad is the reason
why I'm a caregiver.
If we back up into it, my dadhad a massive heart attack.
My mom found him on the couch.
My dad had a massive heartattack.
(05:26):
My mom found him on the couch.
That event was so stressful toPolozetti's system that it
thrust her into two forms ofdementia.
Now, if you don't know abouthow that can happen, I encourage
(05:48):
you to go back and start withMay 2020 and listen to those
first couple, three, four, fiveepisodes of how this journey
began.
So for a television network tosay hey, jay, we like what
you're doing with the collectionthat you inherited, death, you
want to be on TV, tv and talkabout my dad?
Yes, so this is what happened,y'all.
(06:12):
Literally, it took about ninemonths from when they contacted
me through J smiles comedy, bythe way, you know what I mean,
because we lead with that brandto say, hey, do you really still
have all these things.
Are you willing to be ontelevision?
(06:34):
Do you have what it takes totalk about your dad at this time
?
And finally, over a decadeafter my dad passed, I can talk
about the intricacies of thiscollection and what it meant to
him, and thankfully they.
Let me bring part of my team onthe set to get footage and
(07:00):
photographs and all these kindof little things to document the
day the J Smiles parenting upcommunity way.
So I cannot stress enough whatthis means.
So we're really showing you aday in the life of J Smiles as a
caregiver, because you justnever know what's going on.
(07:23):
What does all this mean, jay?
First thing I want to tell youis this I had to they well, okay
.
First thing I want to say isyour girl had to get up at O-Doc
30 for makeup and hair.
It was so cool that everyonehelped set up the exhibit
(07:45):
Because, let me tell you, mydad's collection helped set up
the exhibit Because, let me tellyou, my dad's collection, the
biggest in the world.
There are thousands of pieces.
The MeTV network asked me tohighlight eight, eight.
Do you know how hard it is todecide which eight Like what
(08:09):
eight?
How do you decide who to pickwhen you got thousands and
everyone that my dad collected.
They are men and women who hadsome kind of real bearing on
either culture or societalbreaking up societal norms,
disrupting stuff, or justwinning a whole lot, and I gotta
(08:35):
point this out.
The network asked me to reallyfocus on some iconic
African-American pieces.
Now my hottest African-Americanpieces are actually with the
Smithsonian on display there.
So that meant I was like, well,ok, well, I can't use my Jesse
(08:59):
Owens cleats from the 1936Olympics when he got the four
gold medals in front of Hitler.
Right, that's what I'm saying.
Your girl, oh, there's oneknown pair and your girl owns
them from my daddy, of course.
They said, well, of what is notat the Smithsonian, can you
give us a hot eight?
(09:20):
And I was like, of course, butanyway, that might be part of
why it took nine months.
We got a schedule when are wegoing to be?
We got to be on location.
We got to find a location.
Everybody has.
Yeah, I had no idea how hard itwas to find a location.
I mean, we're in Atlanta, it'sstuff in studios everywhere.
(09:42):
But you know what they booked?
Because we booked a visit downhere.
They working, so shout out totheir production crew for
figuring all that stuff out.
Kobe Bryant, I have a Lakersnumber eight autographed.
Purple Kobe Bryant Lakersjersey purple Kobe Bryant Lakers
(10:06):
jersey.
And because Kobe left thisearth in such a startling
fashion, y'all his memorabiliahas shot through the roof and I
learned more about how muchthrough the roof you know you're
like okay, through the roofinto the trees, through the roof
(10:28):
into the clouds or through theroof into Jupiter.
How much skyrocket.
We talking about series.
The Collector's Call on MeTV isabout also getting an expert to
(10:50):
come on, chat with you and giveme some kind of market
experience on what they thinkthe value of this item is.
So Philip Merrill was theexpert on my episode.
Y'all you got to go watch theepisode yourself.
I'm not going to tell you howmuch he said my Kobe Bryant
(11:13):
jersey is worth.
I'm going to just say it wasthousands of dollars and now
you're something way more thanwhat my daddy paid for it the
benefit of dumb luck.
I also need you to know mydaddy didn't collect any of this
stuff thinking.
Well, you know what I want to.
Uh, I want to make sure that mybaby girl is taken care of, so
(11:35):
when I die, you know she'll havesomething solid.
I wish I could say that my dadhad that kind of foresight, or
he had a crystal ball man.
The dude was just a nerd whowas awkward, who loved sports,
and that was his connection tohis dad.
My dad's dad, my paternalgrandfather, died when my dad
(11:59):
was eight.
He was actually murdered in hislaw office Long story.
We're going to make this ahappy episode, though.
My dad started collecting in the1980s and, over about a 30 year
period, bit by bit, hecollected baseball, football,
basketball, hockey, tennis,track and field, nascar, golf
(12:24):
yes, nascar.
I got NASCAR whole racing suits.
So the majority of mycollection actually is not
African-American because, as weknow, the majority of
professional athletes in thehistory of America have not been
African-American, have not beenAfrican-American.
(12:50):
So I got white folks, asianfolks, latina folks, all the
folks, women and men.
Today, though, we talking aboutmy Michael Jordan stuff and my
Ali stuff and my Hank Aaronstuff, my Arthur Ashe stuff,
even LeBron.
My dad got a LeBron James highschool jersey A high school
(13:13):
jersey.
Now, shout out to dad.
I'm sure a part of the reasonwhy he got it is their mascot
was the Fighting Irish and theircolors were gold and green.
My dad went to Notre Dame LawSchool the Fighting Irish the
same school colors.
I got to believe that my daddyhad a little extra affinity for
(13:36):
LeBron's high school jerseybecause of that connection
connection.
Michael Jordan yes, not only isit a Michael Jordan Jersey, but
let me tell you this it's signedon both sides.
Jordan signed the front and theback.
I don't even know what made mydad think to do that, but that's
(13:56):
what makes this super rare it'ssigned on both sides.
And that chair you see, that isan original sideline VIP seat
in the first arena where Jordanplayed for the Chicago Bulls and
got his first ring.
Who even knows to get that?
(14:24):
My daddy, ali, what?
You see?
Ali robe.
Yes, he wore the robe.
Yeah, that's dirt.
You see dirt on it.
As a collector, we want all theDNA, blood, sweat and tears,
grass things, loose tooth,whatever we can find that makes
(14:47):
that thing more gritty, moregrindy.
That makes that thing moregritty, more grindy.
That makes the piece moreunique and more connected to
that athlete in that moment inhistory.
So I also got Ali boxing trunks.
(15:10):
By the way, ali was my father'sfavorite athlete of all times.
Why?
Because he told you he waspretty.
He was bold with his words, hebacked it up and he took a stand
against the American governmentwhen he didn't think it was
just to go and fight.
In the Vietnam war he losteverything.
My dad had a lot of respect fora man willing to really put his
(15:39):
whole life on the line for whathe thought was just.
You know, y'all know my dad wasa lawyer, so that was.
I have so much Ali stuff.
I could probably make a minitouring Ali museum and just take
it all across the world.
I have multiple boxing shoes no, he don't have cleats box
(16:03):
multiple boxing gloves, probablyfive or six pairs of his boxing
shorts.
I even have a photo of my dadwith Ali.
Now, ali was his guy.
Hey, what's up?
Parented Up family.
Guess what?
Have you ever wanted to connectwith other caregivers?
(16:23):
You want to see morebehind-the-scenes footage?
Want to know what me and Zeddyare doing?
I know you do scenes footage.
Want to know what me and Zeddyare doing?
I know you do All things.
Jsmiles are finally ready foryou, even when I go live.
Do it now with us on Patreon.
(16:44):
Join us in the Patreoncommunity.
Catch everything we're doing.
Visit patreoncom forward.
Slash JSmilesStudios with an S.
This Arthur Ashe tennis racket.
I just need you to go look upArthur Ashe.
(17:06):
Put an E on the end of the Ashefor you to find a man,
african-american man, first oneto win the majors in tennis.
We also got his professionaltour card.
That's a part of what's insidethat frame piece.
My dad was really ahead of howmy dad was really ahead of the
(17:29):
curve on how he exhibited thingslike this.
He would get these items and hehad a preferred framer that
would create these shadow boxesand put whatever little metal
descriptor of what it is.
My dad considered himself anarchivist and a person who was
(17:54):
preserving history.
So, yes, he was a big kid atheart that loved sport and
competition.
But if you were someone likeArthur Ashe who actually made a
difference culturally andlegislatively on what it means
to be a black man in America,then that's another whole level.
(18:15):
Another whole level and also interms of medical activism.
Arthur Ashe if not the first,he was one of the first known
individuals to actually contractHIV AIDS and die from those
(18:38):
complications, from a bloodtransfusion.
We had not known before himthat that was really going down
In the background while we don'tever talk about it.
On the episode you see a darkcrimson red jersey with Williams
on the back.
It's also autographed.
That's Doug Williams.
He went to Grammar StateUniversity, a historically black
(19:02):
university and college, and hewas the first black quarterback
in the NFL to win the Super Bowl, and he came from a HBCU.
Okay, I'm going to tell yousomething that a lot of people
don't remember, but I do,because my dad was pissed and
then that gave me a reason toask him why he was pissed.
(19:24):
It had been like tradition foryears that Walt Disney World,
immediately after the Super Bowlwhoever was the MVP got the
Disney commercial.
What are you going to do nextNow that you won the Super Bowl
and won the MVP?
I'm holding my hand, being verysarcastic, like I have a mic.
(19:46):
Well, I'm going to Disney World.
That was it.
I mean, everyone could say thecommercial.
You could say the commercialwith your eyes closed.
All of a sudden, doug Williamswins the MVP.
He doesn't get the commercial.
It's the only time I'm aware ofthat.
They did that, but in the yearssince there was a black man who
(20:14):
got the MVP, there have beenmultiple black quarterbacks who
won MVP in Super Bowl and theydid get that Disney commercial.
So thank you, mr Williams.
Hank Aaron goes without speaking.
I mean, he what he took fromthe world in terms of being
(20:38):
treated poorly.
Well, let me back up a littlebit for you all.
Ok, hank Aaron is a baseballplayer.
He was originally from Mobile,alabama, which is my home state,
not my home city.
Why does he matter?
Why did we choose him?
Why did I put him in theepisode?
Because, again, when you got10,000 people, I got everybody.
Who are you going to pick?
I'm sitting here right now in myDerek Jeter forever shirt,
(21:00):
because Zetty made me take her,even with Alzheimer's.
This chick made me find DerekJeter and take her to Derek
Jeter's farewell tour on hislast year playing.
At that point her Alzheimer'swas not as advanced as it is,
but it still was funny as hellto me that she could be asking
(21:21):
for something that's specific,as I got to go meet Derek Jeter.
Really, really, effa, everybodywants to meet Derek Jeter.
Anyway, I got this shirt duringthat mother-daughter time and
so I'm rocking it now to have alittle mom and a little dad,
because Derek was one of mydad's favorite Yankees.
Anyway, back to what I toldthem about on the episode, hank
(21:44):
Aaron.
He doesn't have the home runcareer record anymore
technically, but a lot of peoplestill give it to him because
there were no steroids orenhancing performance type drugs
and things back in his day.
This is the thing y'all.
(22:06):
He got death threats.
This was the 70s and there wereindividuals that were so pissed
off at the notion that HankAaron would surpass Babe Ruth, a
Caucasian man.
Now, okay, first of all, it's alittle shaky on whether he's
Caucasian.
His nose is bigger thananybody's in my family and I got
(22:30):
all kinds of noses in my family.
Don't look at my nose and thinkit's all the noses in my family
.
We got noses that go fromearlobe to earlobe and Babe Ruth
was right up in there.
Okay, his hair was okay.
Anyway, I'm just trying to saythat he had a little something
in him.
They didn't want America notall of America, but some very
(22:52):
outspoken individuals did notwant him to surpass Babe Ruth.
They offered to kill him, tohurt his family, to break his
legs.
But this boy is from Alabama.
What you're not going to do iskeep us down, okay, so he went
(23:15):
on.
He did get the record and what Ibrought to this episode is
there's a Hank Aaron jersey.
There's a ticket that Hanksigned of the day and the game
where he hit where he actuallysurpassed Babe Ruth.
(23:35):
Babe Ruth had 714.
This is the game where he got715.
So there's a lot going on.
And then there was a baseballthat has Hank's name on it, but
guess what else?
What else?
(23:59):
It has like 75% of every manwho's hit 500 or more home runs.
So they're Caucasians on theretoo.
But when I tell you my dadwasn't about he wasn't playing,
he was about that collectinglife Family.
The most important piece to meon this episode is that cream
colored jersey that has Cardinalacross the front.
Nobody on the team on theproduction side.
They didn't know about him.
Most Americans don't know abouthim.
(24:21):
His name is Kurt C-U-R-T.
Flood Like we go flood theriver when we break the dam.
Okay, that was too much.
His name is Kurt Flood C-U-R-T.
Flood Like Water Can Flood aCity.
Why does he matter?
(24:43):
Jay, he had multiple goldengloves.
In baseball a golden glove isgiven out for each position.
That means that year you werethe best defensive player at
that position in the entireMajor League Baseball.
(25:03):
Big deal, he did that multipletimes.
He had a really good hittingaverage, but that's not why he's
one of my favorites Y'all.
He is the only reason that freeagency exists, the only reason.
(25:25):
Before Kurt Flood, whoeverdrafted you, that was where you
were going to retire and if theytraded you you had to go.
Black, brown, asian, white,everybody knew.
For all practical purposes itwas kind of like indigent
servitude.
They like hey, we got a scout,you sign this contract, we own
(25:50):
you professionally and we get,when we get tired of you and we
want to see you, somebody else.
You got to go.
Either you go or you stopplaying baseball.
Kurt said I disagree, I amperforming very well.
Look at my stats and I don'twant to go.
(26:13):
Why don't I have a say so onwhether or not I got to go?
And then the second layer hesaid was and if I got to go, why
don't I have a say so in whereI'm going?
Because I did choose to say yeswhen you drafted me.
Like I, like this organization.
(26:35):
So what's up?
Y'all you gotta understand.
This went all the way to theSupreme Court and Kurt came out
victorious.
So all these players in anysport anywhere in the world, I'm
saying this is what washappening in Europe, in Asia.
Mr Curt Flood started that.
(26:58):
So everybody that goes to a newteam.
Or you got the collectivebargaining agreement where you
can get $100 million in one year.
That's all because of CurtFlood.
But the kids who are getting incollege getting this NIL name,
image likeness, all these all ofthis comes from Curt Flood
(27:19):
being willing to go to theSupreme Court.
And then what happened?
Of course they blackballed him.
Of course they said, ok, yeah,well, you did win and we're
going to trade you and we.
But you know what else it'sgoing to feel and look a lot
like Colin Kaepernick, you aboutto get iced out.
So, even though this man stillhad the talent, his career was
(27:43):
all but over.
I mean, stanky, grosslybenefited from what maneuvering
allows you to do in aprofessional sense, like you ask
(28:03):
for a trade, you get traded,free bargaining, whatever.
You can put that in yourcontract.
Now, after two years, I canleave for no reason at all.
I think everybody who did thatneeds to drop some in his estate
.
Go find whoever he's related.
Go find whoever is still alivethat's related to him and just
(28:24):
give him a car, give him a house.
You ain't got to meet him, andit don't matter if you think
they good people or not.
Without they, somebody, uncle,cousin, you wouldn't be.
I don't want to curse this issomewhat of a family podcast but
anyway, fuck that, you wouldn'thave shit.
(28:44):
So put some respect on KurtFloyd's name and that's why he's
in the episode, because this isthe parenting up community and,
if nothing else, what we'regonna do is we're gonna tell the
truth or we're going toadvocate and we're going to
spread awareness about whateverit is we're doing.
Y'all, that day was so emotionalI had to stop several times to
(29:08):
get my makeup kind of dried upor to step outside to get a deep
breath, because I'm talkingabout my dad and why he
collected, which then means he'snot here to say it, and, as
wonky as that might sound, I'mgetting a little bit of
butterflies in my stomach rightnow as I recount the event of me
(29:30):
being a little bit thrown off.
But the story has to be told.
My dad did something that noother human has ever done in
modern recorded history.
Yeah, he was a super dopelawyer and he got some really
(29:52):
big verdicts.
But there are other lawyersthat are super dope, that get
big verdicts and help even outthe playing field between
corporations and the little man.
It's a lot of lawyers who'vedone that, ain't but one person
in the whole history ofeverybody, everywhere,
everywhere, made a collectionlike this.
So I'm counting on the universeto make sure I can continue to
(30:20):
tell the story, to share moreand more, to make sure that our
partnerships grow from theSmithsonian to maybe the various
professional leagues.
Look out for what your girltrying to do Maybe take a tour
to some universities, someprimary schools, maybe all
around the world.
(30:40):
The deal is they got to knowthat my daddy did it at night
and on the weekends while he wasbeing a lawyer.
And oh yeah, he happens to befrom Queens and oh yeah, he
happens to be a black man.
Oh, that's what happens to be.
But and oh yeah, he happens tobe a black man, oh, that's what
happens to be.
But the one thing you can'ttake is the biggest, baddest
collection ever ever known.
(31:02):
That day was stressful alsobecause the caregiver that was
with Zeddy had a difficult daythat day.
So I have my assistant holdingmy cell phone because you've got
to be on airplane mode, becauseyou can't have nothing go while
(31:25):
we on set, but watching to seeif I get any text messages, to
see if I'm going to have to cutthis whole thing short to get
back to my mama Now.
Zetty didn't need to go to thehospital that day, but the point
is I was still a caregiverfirst on that set, talking about
(31:46):
my dad and the great thingsthat have already happened and
are in the works with hiscollection, a documentary and
all these kinds of cool things.
So I feel, y'all, you arealways a caregiver.
Wherever you are, whereveryou're working, it's always
right there.
And a little bit you wait forthe other shoe to drop.
(32:07):
You wait for the other shoe todrop.
Am I going to get through thisshoot?
That's what I kept telling theproducers and my assistants, my
whole team.
Can I get through this shootingtime?
And we're going to make thedeadlines and it's my mama going
to need me.
Do you know how hard it is toremember the story or the lines
(32:28):
you're supposed to say If youthink your mama might be
somewhere in distress and needyou?
See, that's man.
Ain't nobody listening to me?
Y'all listening.
That is why we continue toadvocate legislatively and other
things, because I shouldn'thave to feel that way while I'm
(32:51):
celebrating my dad, honoring himand doing a reality TV episode
on how cool his collection is.
That's life.
I'm a caregiver.
Y'all know what it is theSnuggle Ups.
(33:15):
Number one A stay ready.
So you ain't got to get ready.
Or another way to put it isdon't give up on yourself.
Another way to say it don'tthink that the universe has
forgotten about you, your hopesor your dreams.
Y'all.
My dad died 13 years ago.
That's the same year that Zeddywas diagnosed with two forms of
(33:39):
dementia.
But today, today, this day, wasthe day, the first time, that I
filmed a show talking about myheart's desire to have my dad's
collection discussed on TV.
(33:59):
Yeah, 13 years.
And, truth be told, I startedtrying to convince my dad of
sharing his collection with thepublic while he was still alive.
So, who knows, we were talkingabout more like 15, 16, 17, 18
years ago.
But all happens when it'ssupposed to happen, so keep
pushing.
You don't know when it'ssupposed to happen, but you'll
(34:23):
be ready when the opportunitycomes.
Number two while on set filmingDid y'all hear me say that
Filming the Jock Michaels Smithjust a fraction of the
collection for a reality show Iwas asked how and why and where
(34:49):
and when my dad got the pieces.
I got to tell y'all some of thestuff I don't know, some of the
pieces my dad didn't even quiteremember where and when he got
it.
Now, it's not that he didn'thave a clue, it would be he's
like oh baby, okay, now I got itfrom Tommy.
(35:11):
But I got to remember whereTommy told me he got it from J
Smiles.
Why are you telling me all ofthis and what's the point?
The point is follow yourpassion.
My dad was so sold out to hisconnection to history and sports
and his dad and sports and hisdad.
(35:34):
Right, I don't know if I toldy'all this, but my dad started
collecting in order to be moreengaged with the memory of his
father because his daddy tookhim to baseball games when he
was a little boy.
So he wanted to collect all ofthe iconic pieces from the
players that he would go andwatch play baseball in New York,
from the players that he wouldgo and watch play baseball in
(35:55):
New York from the 1950s.
And then it just blossomed andexpanded into all lacrosse.
Why do I have a full team oflacrosse players from Notre Dame
?
I know good and damn well, mydaddy watched no lacrosse with
Notre Dame, but anyway, Idigress.
(36:16):
But my dad was so into being apurist and following what he
needed and the passion.
He didn't remember all thedetails of what got him the
result that he wanted, and youmight not either, but what is it
that you're passionate aboutand that you want to do?
Start on the journey, one stepat a time, one day at a time,
(36:41):
and you'll get there.
Who the hell cares how manydips and doodles and tips and
turns you have to take?
Number three watch who the hellyou are with.
All right, I have a phenomenalteam.
When this opportunity wasbrought to me, can I tell you, I
(37:04):
jumped on it.
Yeah, the people came to me.
The network came to me becausemy team and I have put out good
content.
We have stayed true to ourbrand.
I never had a million followers, I've never been on the cover
of Time magazine, I've neverbeen in the New York Times.
(37:26):
But you don't have to be.
If you are true to yourself,true to your brand, and you have
solid people on your team whoare committed to you and what
you're trying to do, magic canhappen.
The network came.
They asked I told my team we'restrong and we're mighty.
(37:48):
Hey, this is what we got to be.
Please, everybody, show up.
Hair, makeup videographer.
My assistant.
Let me tell you something.
What?
Just stay out of our way In aminute.
What are we going to have?
Whatever we want, and you canhave it too.
Thank you for tuning in.
(38:13):
I mean really, really, really.
Thank you so very much fortuning in.
I mean really, really, really.
Thank you so very much fortuning in.
Whether you're watching this onYouTube or if you're listening
on your favorite podcast audioplatform, either way, wherever
you are, subscribe, come back.
That's the way you're going toknow when we do something next.
(38:33):
Y'all know how it is.
I'm Jay Smiles.
I might just drop something hotin the middle of the night.
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