May 31, 2025 • 62 mins
Joely Williams joins us to discuss her compelling book, "Put The Phone Down, We Have A Job To Do," which serves as a profound exploration of our relationship with technology and the urgent need for reconnection with ourselves and our communities. Through her work, Williams emphasizes the detrimental impact of excessive screen time, urging us to recognize the importance of presence and engagement in our daily lives. As she shares her personal journey, we delve into themes of healing, expression, and the transformative power of writing. The episode not only highlights Williams' insights but also invites listeners to reflect on their own habits and consider the meaningful changes they can make. Join us as we engage in a thoughtful conversation that seeks to inspire a greater awareness of our digital behaviors and their implications on our lives.
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(00:00):
The All About Nothing podcastmay have language and content that
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Welcome nothingers, to the AllAbout Nothing podcast.
This is episode number 257.
I am Bear Gruber.
Welcome Mr.
Bill Frey.
Hello again.
Hello.
That's the first time I'vesaid that today.
I promise to everyone out there.
(00:20):
No, no hard cuts there.
This is episode number 257.
We have.
Our guest is Ms.
Joelli Williams.
Joelle, we're going tointroduce you better here in just
a minute, but we'll tell youwhy she's here on the show this week.
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(03:36):
So that isover@theallaboutnothing.com so I
want to welcome to the showthis afternoon, this evening, whenever
you're listening to it, Ms.
Joelli Williams.
Welcome, Joelli, thank you forbeing here with us.
I really appreciate this.
Joelle, you are an author.
I made notes, so I have asheet of notes.
(03:57):
So author, poet, educator, youare the creator of the book.
Put the phone down.
We have a job to do.
If you could tell us, tell usa little bit about yourself.
I know you're from the Bronxand you are now a native here to
Columbia, South Carolina.
So tell us your journey.
(04:17):
How did you get here?
It's been a long journey offinding exactly what it is that I
wanted to do.
Right.
So I've always been huge onexpression, even as a child.
Right.
I was always writing,journaling, drawing.
And so that always drew me towanting to sort of help people do
(04:43):
the same thing.
So, yeah, for me, it's alwaysbeen about creating and writing.
And writing for me is the rootof everything that I do.
I've always been drawn to it.
And so I think these arethings that are not separate from
healing.
It's the language that we usein writing and literature and things
(05:05):
of that nature that help us tosay what we feel inside and say it
plainly.
So when I couldn't explain mytraumas and different aspects of
life that I was going through,I wrote it.
I wrote it out.
And when I couldn't namedepression or joy, I let my metaphors
(05:26):
and different writingtechniques speak for themselves.
Poetry for me has always beenmy voice and it's always helped me
make something meaningful outof the chaos that I've experienced
in life.
And so that's how my book started.
(05:46):
Put the Phone Down.
We have a job to do.
It's structured like a workbook.
So there's a lot of writingand those type of ideas in it.
But it was born from sort ofthe same place that my poems come
from and my writing comes from.
And it's from feeling deepfeelings and listening and needing
(06:09):
a space to translate my paininto something that's useful and
beautiful and to share withthe world.
So that's how I got here.
Just going through life andrealizing that people also need help.
So that's how this book cameto me.
Now the name of the book, Putthe Phone Down.
We have a job to do.
(06:29):
I think the only appropriatequestion for me to ask is how much
do you on average, what isyour screen time usage on average
on your phone?
That's a great question.
So I rarely use my phonethroughout the day.
I don't have the exactpercentage, but I do, I do mainly
just have music playing on myphone, that's all.
(06:52):
And on a daily basis Iprobably use it about, you know,
probably like four hours aday, not too much.
That's impressive.
That's impressive.
I, I receive I think so manynotifications during the day that
I, I mean I could tell you myscreen time usage right now.
I could, I could very easilypull that up because holy cow.
(07:16):
And this is offensive even to me.
But that is, I don't know ifyou can see it.
Oh, I won't show on there.
It's a little too bright.
Yes.
Oh, hold on.
Was that 11, is that 11 hours?
11 hours and 54 minutes.
That sounds about right.
Honestly, I'm probably theexact same way.
My phone is going off all the time.
(07:37):
I read the news immediately asit comes out.
So having very not yetadolescent children, I have, I have
10 year old twins that whenthey go down is when I go down.
So generally probably tryaround 9:30, 10:00 clock.
(07:59):
If.
If I'm lucky.
So I am.
I am actually a little appalled.
Today may be a little off.
Today, the day we're recordingthis is Wednesday, May 28, and today
is different.
Likely by now I probably wouldnot have used that much time, but
because the Best of Columbiaopened up, I had web pages to update,
(08:21):
I had to set schedules forthese social media posts and things
like that.
So I started doing that veryearly this morning, which, you know,
obviously has risen on thebell curve of my screen time usage.
Even though that's the titleof my book.
I've had to use my phone,like, you're saying like a lot during
(08:44):
the whole making of it, doingall of this promo work.
It's crazy, but I'm still trying.
It's still a work.
Well, okay, let me ask you this.
As far as the promo work forthe book, this is your first book,
but you have had other.
You have authored other projects.
And I have here the Scales ofDust Festival for poetry, Coffee
(09:10):
Runs Through My Lineage,Northern New England Review, Poetry
in Mag Cloud and LiminalWoman, A Drink from the Wellspring.
So this isn't your firstpiece, but as far as, like, the book,
what sort of promotional stuffhave you done to try and get it out
there in front of people?
(09:30):
Honestly, I am not trying todo much.
I'm just trying to post asmuch as I can on social media and
I'm just kind of going withthe flow with it.
I'm also trying to put more ofmy poetry out.
So that's another outlet ofgetting people to know me and to
(09:52):
know what I've created withthis book.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, then I'll ask myprevious question again.
How is it that you arrived inColumbia, South Carolina, Bronx,
New York City is muchdifferent from Columbia.
What was the journey thatbrought you here?
So the journey that brought mehere, it's definitely been a journey,
(10:14):
not only geographically.
I was born in the Bronx, andthat's a place where it's always
loud.
People are always, you know,making noise.
They're really blunt and theydon't care.
It's a place that, it's a, Aplace that's full of heart.
And it's definitely greatthat, you know, you can get, you
(10:35):
can walk outside and go get anice deli plate at 2 in the morning.
And Colombia has been a bigadjustment for me.
First of all, thetransportation aspect, that was so
new for me, not being able tojust get on a train or a bus somewhere
quickly, or just being able towalk somewhere quickly.
(10:57):
Is really hard to adjust to.
So that's definitely one ofthe things that it's been a change.
And then also just raciallyand socially, it's been kind of hard
to deal with because in theBronx, you're always like, immersed
in a deep, diverse culturalsoup, you can say, and the languages
(11:18):
that people speak, thedifferent foods on every block, you
just have so many differenttypes of people coexisting.
And sometimes it can bechaotic, but it's always really vibrant.
And so in Colombia, it's justbeen really spread out, I guess you
can say, like, there's like.
(11:40):
I don't know if this is theright term to put it as, but it's
like a racial segregation sortof like most events that I go to,
I don't see many people likeme and my family out there.
And it's always like staresand little comments and it's like,
oh, it's a little scary, but.
(12:00):
And, you know, I just noticedhow different systems, even in school
or different community spaces,they're still sort of catching up
to the inclusion that isspoken of.
But I don't really see it.
And, you know, I do likeColombia, and it's sort of small
(12:21):
power that it has.
It's somewhere that I cansense that people want things to
change.
And when there are events,there are people that show up for
the communities, and there's alot of space here to grow things.
And I think that's reallygreat about here.
(12:42):
And also the parking here, Ithink is very, very positive.
Is a definitely great change, huh?
Don't get me started on parking.
I heard you mention it before.
Yeah, we did a whole episodeon Columbia's parking.
That was just a few episodes ago.
(13:03):
But no, I completely agree.
So I grew up in Atlanta, andAtlanta is.
The diversity in Atlanta is done.
When I was a child in Atlanta,I recognized a lot of diversity,
but it was in very specificparts of Atlanta.
We had Buford highway, which.
Which was dubbed at one pointInternational Boulevard.
(13:24):
And you know, like, there were.
There were a lot of differentrestaurants and markets and things
like that.
But it's not like the Bronxwhere you can go to a.
A Deli at 2 o' clock in the morning.
You know, here in Colombia,everything just.
You know, there's a point atwhich almost everything shuts down.
It's almost like there's somesort a time of 11:30 or midnight
(13:46):
or whatever where everythingjust cuts off and that's it.
We don't have a lot ofbusinesses in Columbia that are open
all night.
Long, but it is, I do seehints, I do think that the city of
Columbia does try to allow forthere to be festivals and things
like that, but it's notreally, it's not, it doesn't give
(14:09):
you the sense that it's adiverse community all the time.
It's only, it feels diversewhen we have, you know, June is Pride
Month, so we'll have a Pride Festival.
We have, we have, I'm tryingto think other one.
We have Korean festival, wehave, we have Mexican or Spanish
festival and things like that.
So we do have some of those,but they seem specific to time periods
(14:35):
or when, when there's a, whenthe city has a permit that's been
available for it.
So I, I agree.
I, I, you know, I live in aneighborhood that I recognize as
being very diverse.
We're a, we're a lower, mid tomiddle, middle class neighborhood.
I was telling you before westarted recording, I have Dominican
(14:56):
neighbors on my left.
I have Vietnamese neighborsacross the street.
I have Chinese neighbors downthe street.
I have Pakistani neighborsdown the street.
I have Indian neighbors, youknow, so when I walk through the
neighborhood on just a dailywalk, I smell all of the foods that
people are cooking and itsmells amazing.
And that's the kind ofenvironment that like, I want to
(15:20):
raise my children in.
That's the kind of environmentI want, I want to live in.
Because Bill and I talkedabout on the last episode.
One of the things that theUnited States thrives on, in my opinion,
is migration and immigrantsand having that diversity.
Because that's what keeps theUnited States young and vibrant and
(15:40):
unlike what the currentadministration wants to do, in my
opinion, which is, you know,whitewash everything, but okay.
So to get back to your book,what is the meaning of Put the Phone
Down?
What is it that inspired the title.
And the message Put the Phonedown, we have a job to do?
(16:03):
The book is about, it's sortof like a wake up call, I want to
say not only for myself, butfor the world.
I want to be able to tappeople on the shoulder and say, hey,
the world is not going to fixitself and our government isn't going
to do it for us either.
(16:23):
So it comes from this ideawhere I was actually in the same
boat as everyone else.
I was constantly using myphone and constantly scrolling, comparing
and disconnecting from real life.
And while I was thinking thatI was staying connected to my, my
(16:45):
friends, my family, to theworld, really, I was just always
scrolling and scrolling.
And just one day it hit methat we're not just wasting our time,
but we're wasting our purpose.
And that what, that's what thebook for me is really about, is pulling
us back together as acommunity and to our greater calling.
(17:07):
It's a workbook and areflective journal that I think will
help people reconnect withthemselves and the world around them
without relying on screens so much.
So the book has 30 fulllength, full length chapters and
each centered around majorthemes of reconnection and healing.
(17:30):
And these themes go fromdigital detoxing to having a presence
and for yourself.
It goes to family abandonmentand cultural memory.
Different topics of parenting.
And a lot of it also talksabout identity.
(17:53):
So yeah, each chapter comeswith 10 to 12 reflective questions
and thoughtful promptsdesigned to help readers unpack their
patterns, belief and experiences.
And it also has a lot ofdifferent tasks that the readers
can engage in.
And it ranges from differentartistic exercises to memory work,
(18:16):
breathing practices,storytelling challenges, and different
things that you can do in yourcommunity to not only put to action
all of that's coming out asfar as your trauma and the healing
work that comes from it.
And then it also has a lot ofspace for writing and journaling,
(18:37):
brainstorming, drawing, planning.
And each chapter is almostlike a personal retreat that you
can take time for yourself tolearn about yourself and learn what
you want to do with your timewhen you start to put the phone down.
And that's the job, really,the job is your life.
(18:57):
And how much time and work areyou going to put into that to feel
fulfilled at the end of theday or end of your life whenever
that comes?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So it's available on Amazonand just looking at some of the information
is the print length is 769pages and you mentioned that it is
(19:21):
partially a workbook.
I'm assuming that there aresome pages that some of that, the
bulk of that is theavailability to do some journaling,
to do some self reflection andwriting in there.
So I think that's great.
It says the reading age isbetween 13 and 18 years old.
But I assume that knowing someof the adults that I know that some
(19:45):
of this would be pretty goodfor young adults or even adults my
age.
I have a house full of ADHDand I know that we, we found some
incorrect information earlierrelated to autism.
But one of the things that Ibelieve when it comes to ADHD and
(20:08):
being on the spectrum thatit's finding ways to work through
what it is that your ADHDmight be blocking you from or what
your autism might potentiallybe blocking you from.
But recognizing that I thinkADHD and anyone that's on the spectrum,
(20:28):
they, they have special skillsets and we have.
And, and finding how mychildren learn and take in knowledge
and, and how they, you know,the, one of the things that they
have in them is that they arevery much addicted to their electronics
when they're in their hands.
When, when you deviate fromthat and you get them onto any sort
(20:52):
of creative path or creativeinstruction, schooling, that sort
of thing, they go to it very well.
But it's, it's, it's the factthat the, the, the, the phones and
the tablets are such an easydistraction from, from just regular
life that, that it's, it'salmost like severing a lifeline for
(21:15):
them.
They have, they.
All of, they're homeschooled,so all of their friends are also
homeschooled.
So that's their connection totheir, to the outside world for them
in a lot of ways, except forthe activities that they go to and
things like that.
But this is, this, I'vealready added it to my cart, so this
is something that I'm going tohave to bring home so we can have
(21:38):
them take a look at it as well.
It does have that age framebecause that was mainly the ages
that I started to have sort ofa knowledge of, of or idea that I
was going through so much.
And I need help at thesetimes, but for this book is for everybody.
(22:00):
I wanted it for parents,caregivers, for therapists and counselors,
college students, creatives,anybody really, that needs to just
get back to, to themselves, I think.
And that's what this book hashelped me do because a lot of this
comes from work that I'veactually done.
(22:21):
It started out as me writingquestions for myself, and then after
I dealt with those issues andquestions, I started to write them
for my husband, for my kids.
And then I started to look atthe broader scope of like everybody
needs.
Everybody has traumatic events.
So I'm going to just create alot of questions for all types of
(22:44):
issues and hopefully this willhelp somebody.
So I don't want it to come offlike, oh, I'm.
I'm the queen of not having myphone in my hand.
But more so I just want tosay, look, we're all, we're all addicted
to our phones, but we can do better.
We can definitely tell our stories.
And yeah, I reflect on whatI've seen and I try to ask those
(23:09):
questions in this book tohelp, to help everybody, honestly.
But I also laugh at myselfwhen I Do overuse my phone.
I do poke fun at others like,hey, you're on your phone.
Too much time to get off.
But it's definitely nobody's perfect.
And I know that sometimes asparents, we also feel like, this
(23:32):
deep, deep shame.
Like, I let my kid use theirphones for more than what I wanted,
but nobody's perfect, andwe're all capable of creating that
change in our homes that wewant to see.
And so, you know, I want thisbook to feel like, you know, it's
a conversation with ourselvesor with me or with a family member
(23:53):
or whatever the case may be,but without all the guilt and shame
that's attached to using ourphones as much as we don't want to.
Yeah, yeah.
And I'm.
I'm fully addicted to mine.
I mean, it's like, at least Iwant to say every 10 minutes, I get
buzzes and notifications.
I just look over and check orsomething else.
(24:13):
I mean, it's.
It has become just also, I'm,like, dependent on it.
I mean, I take too many phone calls.
I have phone calls all thetime, text messages.
Always something's happening.
And so I feel like there'ssome level of.
I don't.
I don't want to say, like.
Well, I feel like one of thepros is that you can be social with
(24:33):
it, but there's still that.
That's not what I'm always doing.
A lot of the time.
It's also like reading andwatching videos.
That's just.
I mean, I look down and thenan hour has gone by.
I mean, it really is some.
Some sort of addiction that Iwill admit that I have.
I am absolutely of the mindsetthat there is an Eden somewhere that
(24:55):
I am not connected toanything, that I don't have any devices
that, you know.
And I realize that it's goingto probably be about the time that
my dementia sets in and I' ina home where I'm strapped to a bed
and can't make any decisionsfor myself.
But, you know, it's.
But I do.
I do appreciate the timeswhere, let's say I sit down and just
(25:18):
read a book or watch a movie.
Like, there is significantdesire to have that time more often,
or, you know, just to sit.
To sit down and read with yourchildren or to.
I love having the discussionsbecause one of the things that my
kids really enjoy is talkingabout history.
(25:41):
My daughter Vivian is verymuch obsessed with the Broadway show
Hamilton, and she hasresearched on her own just some of
the things from the play orfrom the Broadway from the musical
and the differences betweenwhat Hamilton and who he was and
(26:04):
the things that he reallystood for versus what, what is in
what makes a good Broadway show.
But learning history about himand then also learning history about
some of the characters thatwere in that.
That are.
That are.
That are, that are in the playor that are.
That are described in themusical and, and learning that history
(26:25):
telling her that, you know,that slavery wasn't just confined
to the south, that, that earlyon that, you know, and that.
That the, the heroes that wehave recognized as being these forefathers
of the United States aren'theroes in the sense that, that they
(26:45):
still, they still used slaveryto amass their wealth, whether it's,
you know, Madison orWashington or.
I think, I think one of the,One of the very.
One of the, One of the onlylike original or the first few presidents,
John Adams was that didn'thave slaves.
And then, and then he did haveslaves when he was president because
(27:07):
he was the first president tomove into the White House, which
still had slaves building it.
So, you know, but she's.
I enjoy talking to her abouthistory and learning, learning along
with her and, and, and, andboth of them, those sorts of things.
So, but, but I also recognizethat that is disconnection time.
That is time that I am notholding my phone, that they're not
(27:31):
staring at their tablets.
Again.
I want to tell everybody wehave author Joelie Williams, who
has written a book availableon Amazon, Put the Phone Down.
We have a Job to Do.
It is available in paperback,large print on Amazon.
You can find links in the show notes.
The tagline at the bottom ofthe description says, for anyone
(27:53):
ready to put the distractionsdown and pick up the pieces of themselves,
this book is for you.
When you wrote this, obviouslya lot of it was also tied to your
personality or to your situation.
You mentioned your trauma.
Was there anyone else close toyou that you also recognized that
(28:16):
this is something that wouldbenefit them?
So it was definitely somethingthat I think was needed for my husband
and just my family in general,or just everybody around me, but
specifically my children.
I saw that they were having alot of trouble getting me and my
(28:39):
husband's attention.
And that was something thatsparked the desire for me to create
this book.
I was ignoring the job ofbeing their, their parent.
And that was really, it wasjust hurtful to see.
And then I would see it onsocial media as well.
Parents scrolling and theirkids trying to get their attention.
(29:03):
And that was something thatreally sort of like smacked me in
the face, like, I have to stopignoring my responsibilities and
duties to.
To myself and to my children.
And then on a larger scale, itwas speaking up for my community
and having the awareness tohelp others around me.
(29:24):
You know, when it comes tobeing married, a lot of it has to
do with listening to one another.
So I was not doing that aswell, or I was listening, but not
really listening.
And it was just causingproblems in the household in general.
So those were some of therelationships that I saw that were
changing due to my own phone addiction.
(29:49):
So, yeah, I think that'samazing, the amount of self reflection
that that takes to.
And then to put that to task,to try and.
Because is it working?
That's.
That.
I guess that's.
That's one of the big questions.
And not as a reflection of thebook, but everything that you've
put in place, are you seeingimprovements and results?
(30:13):
As far as my relationships gonow, it has improved a lot, actually.
We all try our hardest to stayconnected to one another.
I started listening more, Istarted being present, and I was
finding different spaces whereI could put my phone down.
(30:35):
And like, at dinner time orjust having, you know, moments with
my husband and my kids, I wasable to teach them more because I
also homeschool.
So I was able to use my timemore wisely to create lesson plans
and things of that nature.
My husband, he even noticed,and he was like, you know, I want
(30:57):
to try this.
I want to stop using my phoneas much too.
It's a little harder for him.
But that goes back to.
To mental health and justlearning how to deal with your issues
instead of picking up thephone when you're stressed out, you
know, you have to learndifferent tactics to stay rooted
in your feelings and actuallyaddress them in that moment.
(31:21):
So it definitely has shiftedthe energy in our house, but it wasn't
really easy.
It was really hard.
Just acknowledging it and thendoing it is two different things.
We had to have some reallystrong conversation about attention,
about presence, and digitalboundaries that we wanted in our
(31:43):
home.
While those talks wereextremely uncomfortable for us at
first, they did bring uscloser as a family.
When one person shows up andreally wants to, you know, lead as
an example in your house, everyone.
Everyone feels it.
Everyone wants to be a part ofthat, especially kids.
(32:04):
They see mom and dadinteracting more and taking time
to be with one another.
They want to join in on thenight card games or the reading sessions
or the quiet time that we haveat home.
They want to do the same thing.
So I'm always Thinking ofdifferent ways to stay physically,
(32:25):
emotionally and mentallyconnected to.
To my family.
And, you know, it's never.
It's never always a positivething, like, for one instance, has
required to let go of somedifficult situations and relationships.
(32:46):
So as I continue to divedeeper into the trauma healing that
this book has provided, I hadto acknowledge that not every relationship
could stay with me.
I had to stop at some pointanswering phone calls and messages
from people that I needed todistance myself from.
So it wasn't easy, but it wasdefinitely necessary.
(33:10):
And because healing isn't justabout what you do, it's also about
what you stop doing, andthat's important as well.
And sometimes healing asks youto be there for you.
And it may be really hard todo it, like stopping some relationships
or stopping some behaviors,but it's a way that.
(33:32):
Or it's something that's goingto change you in a way that you've
never been before, and it'sgoing to bring you closer to your
real self, I guess you could say.
Yeah, absolutely.
Bill, I want to ask you,because you are between all of us,
I assume you are the mostrecent to education as far as, like,
(33:54):
university and high school.
Bill is.
Bill is 23 now.
I am 23 and just graduated in December.
So how, how.
What do you, what do youbelieve your skills in poetry are
like?
Did you have to write poetrywhen you were in school?
Poetry?
I did a little bit.
(34:14):
I remember for my specificmajor, they required either a English
literature class, which isactually a British English literature
class, or a poetry class.
And I opted to take theBritish literature one just because.
Yeah, we.
(34:36):
Yeah, we.
Yep, a lot of that.
We.
We probably read eight books.
It was.
So, I mean, to be honest, I.
I thought it was veryinteresting, but there were very
dull parts of it.
Poetry I, I enjoy.
I remember when I was in highschool, I did some poetry and, you
(34:56):
know, I always loved a shell.
Is it Silverstein?
Silverstein.
Shel Silverstein?
Yeah.
Shout out to Shel Silverstein.
You know, I love that.
But I never really got into awhole lot of.
It was a long one.
I don't think Shel stillaround, so I can't.
No, I don't think so.
(35:18):
No.
The reason I.
So I am and because I want toget into some of your.
Your poetry, Joel.
But I am.
I am not very good at readingpoetry and getting the meaning out
of it, getting the feeling outof it.
I have a really difficult time.
I can.
I can listen to music andlearn the lyrics and repeat them
(35:39):
back along with the music andsing in the car and not recognize
any of the words and what themeaning of those words is until I
hear an artist explain what itis that that song was about.
And sometimes then I have toreflect and go, should I have been
singing that in front of my children?
(36:00):
And the answer is probably no.
Rage against the Machine.
While I want them to have thatpolitical drive, I certain I don't
need them repeating some ofthose words in front of their friends
or their grandparents.
But, Joeli, you are a poet.
You have several pieces thathave been published with some of
(36:23):
them that I got off the list,the Scales of Dust.
So I have not read it.
I look at a title like thatand in my head I start to think,
okay, what.
What could this potentially be about?
So I'm judging the book by its cover.
So I would prefer you tell mebefore I go into a spiel where I'm
(36:45):
completely wrong, because thatis not good.
So what is this poem about?
Let me pull it up.
Because I've written so manypoems that I can't remember verbatim
the words.
So let me just.
Well, well, let me ask you this.
Where can people find your poetry?
(37:07):
So right now I don't have aspecific place.
I just.
I like to just post it todifferent magazines and journals
and do it that way.
I am working on an anthologyof my poems because I do have years
and years worth, but most ofmy stuff is published in other people's
(37:28):
releases, publications.
So, yeah, I don't have aspecific place, but.
So the scales of this.
I'm just gonna read it andthen sort of say what it's about.
So.
The Scales of Dust by Joelie Williams.
The judge and robes a gavelpoised to break a measured breath
before the verdict falls thejury's eyes like iron gates opaque
(37:52):
behind them hum the distantpresent walls the lawyer paces, weaving
webs of doubt his silvertongue a blade behind a smile yet
truth and fiction wrestle,flail about and both may lose if
dressed in right denial thewitness shakes a hand upon the book
yet perjury's a coin that allmay spend the guilty sit with innocence
(38:17):
look, the innocent are guiltyin the end what is law but paper
turned to dust?
A game of gold, A theater of trust.
So this poem talks about sortof all of the pros and cons of the
judicial system.
It's sort of like a theater ora show.
(38:42):
In the theater, everybody'sdressed up.
Everybody has to come lookinga certain way, and everybody has
these specific roles that theyneed to Play to be able to either
put someone in jail or not.
And then a lot of the times,no one's ever really right in these
(39:03):
situations because everybody'sjust trying to get the best outcome
for themselves, you know,regardless of the crime or the criminal.
For me, a lot of crime stems from.
From the lack of care andservices provided to certain communities
and people.
(39:24):
So I feel like that reallywhat this poem is about is the lack
of trust that everyone has foreach other.
And then when it comes down tothe judicial system, it's really
a lack of care for the personcommitting the crime.
(39:44):
Just everything that lawyershave to do in order to prepare to
share their story so thatpeople can sway to whichever story
they feel makes more sense.
I feel like this has been along history of this, of just people
just trying to look out forthemselves instead of caring for
(40:08):
those below them.
So far as the judicial systemgoes, they don't really care about
mental health.
They care about, you know, howmany people can we put away in jail?
Or how many.
How much money can we makefrom this?
So those are some of the ideasbehind this poem?
Yeah, absolutely.
No, and I think that the poemwas written very well, and I think
(40:32):
it expressed that very well.
And I am a firm believer thatthere is no one that is a criminal
because they just want to be a criminal.
There's nobody that.
That.
That is committing crimes against.
Whether it's an institution orsomeone committing crimes against
their neighbors.
They aren't.
No one does it just out ofthis desire to cause harm.
(40:54):
I mean, we do have sociopaths,but I think that for the most part,
most people that are convictedof a crime because they were found
guilty of whatever it isthey're charged with, it's purely
out of necessity that.
Because here in the UnitedStates, and it happens in other countries
as well, but here in theUnited States, we have a social structure
(41:15):
that really, it doesn'tprovide enough.
Either it's an education, orit is the social net or, you know,
the socioeconomic net that isabsolutely necessary.
We have such a difference inwhat it is that people's value is,
(41:36):
you know, like the poor andthe poverty and middle class and
then.
And then upper class, youknow, but we see criminals in the
upper class, too.
You know, I mean, just.
Just today, a very populartelevision show that I watched for
several years with, with Toddand his wife, the Chrisleys.
They were pardoned byPresident Trump yesterday for bank
(41:59):
fraud and tax evasion.
And I think to myself, why?
$30 million?
Yeah, why?
Why would he why would hepardon these people for what they
did?
And then I think about it aslike, well, he's been accused of
both of those things and weknow that he's done, he's had, he's
done bank fraud because of hisfilings with the fec.
(42:19):
So, yeah, I guess it kind ofmakes sense that if there's somebody
out there that's committed thesame sort of crimes that he would
potentially pardon him justbecause they say they like him.
He pardoned a sheriff or asheriff's deputy in Virginia yesterday.
That is that he pardoned the,that insurance guy.
Yeah, like, but who was it?
He like withheld $7.3 millionof the Social Security.
(42:43):
Yeah, yeah.
And then he just like had amillion dollar dinner with his wife
or something and pardoned him.
But I am, I am a firm believerof the, the idea that that and we
don't have a system thatreally prevents crime.
We have a system that reallysort of encourages people to fight
(43:06):
out of necessity.
And sometimes in thosesituations it's taking.
So while I would prefer thatthey not commit crimes, I certainly
think that the system shouldbe better to try and prevent those
crimes.
If we could have a systemthat, that builds people up out of
poverty, that helps, you know,that helps people take care of their
(43:30):
families and their children,that other countries do it and they're
not nearly as wealthy as our country.
So I think that's fantastic.
You have.
Before we start wrap this up,I did want to ask about Coffee runs
through my lineage.
This one, I'm not sure if youhave access to that one in front
(43:52):
of you, but I am veryinterested in this one.
It's.
It was in the Northern NewEngland Review.
And.
And is it, is it out of heritage?
Is this because, you know, youwere born and raised in the Bronx,
but obviously your family is.
(44:13):
Is not necessarily a NewEngland New York family.
Family.
So how is.
What is a coffee runs throughmy lineage?
I'm curious.
Yeah, so let me pull it up.
The pink and orange halo signstill gleam on frosted roofs where
morning breath collects.
We've built religion oncaffeine and cream.
(44:35):
We sip a right that ancestry respects.
My mother's voice came steepin caramel My father drove with one
hand on his cup.
A drive through priestess knewour name so well she blessed the
lid before we pulled it up.
No siren song, no beings fromdistant lands can match the comfort
(45:01):
of this waxen gold.
We live and die with coffee inour hands and generations passed
before it cooled.
You'll find us Here throughwar, through storm, through rust,
a powdered donut nation builton trust.
So, yeah, this story or thispoem comes from our family's love
(45:24):
for coffee.
It's the reflective narrativealmost of how coffee is more than
just a drink for us.
It's the time for our familyto connect with one another.
Whether we're drinking coffeeat home or coffee on the go.
As this poem speaks, it'salways a moment where we can just
(45:46):
talk and reflect on our family.
Anything that is either indisagreement with each other or agreement.
A time for coffee or a timefor tea is always a great time for
me and my family.
Coming up, I think theappropriate follow up question is
how do you take your coffee?
Well, I don't drink coffee asmuch now as I'm older and neither
(46:11):
do any of my family members.
We're on this whole like Matcha.
Not the South.
We're on this Matcha thing now.
So it's just.
But, well, we did used to loveit black with a little sugar.
And that's it.
Yep.
Yeah, that's how, that's how Itake mine.
(46:33):
Black with artificial flavoring.
So I'm going to get cancer,I'm sure, but that's, that's how
I drink mine.
Bill, how do you, how do youtake your coffee?
Straight black.
Straight black.
I don't.
Just straight black.
Nothing else in it.
Straight black coffee.
So, so then, then, Bill, thequestion is, is it a medium roast?
Is it a dark roast?
Dark roast.
I have a question.
So if you guys were strandedon an island and somehow had Wi Fi,
(47:01):
what apps or what three appswould you keep in order to survive?
My gosh.
To survive.
Bill, I'll let you go first.
Well, I tell you what, Bill,you name your first one, I'll name
my first one.
That's how we'll do that.
Order in order to survive.
Am I trying.
Can I contact someone if Ihave an app?
(47:21):
Well, you're stranded.
I don't.
But if I have WI fi without wi fi.
No, no.
With or without WI fi, Joel?
I guess that's easier with Wi fi.
Okay, so you have WI Fi.
But let's, let's, let'sassume, let's assume that the outside
world is not available.
So far.
You can't contact me as far aslike, you know.
You can't.
(47:41):
Yeah, you can't.
Yeah, it's not like I couldjust have WhatsApp or something and
contact anybody.
Right?
You're on a local network, sir.
There's no outside for survival.
I mean, I'm gonna.
I feel like I would have todownload a lot of music.
Okay.
I would need a lot of music.
Music app.
I think if I'm stranded on adesert island, I think the first
(48:03):
app that I would want to makesure that I had would be like not
Kindle, like the Kindle app onmy phone.
So I'd be able to.
I'd still be able to readbooks and I'd have the ability to
entertain myself that way.
Maybe a little book on.
Instruction manual on how tobuild a shelter or how to build a
(48:25):
fire, how to fish.
That would.
Those would be.
That's what I was thinking.
I was thinking more so appsfor like life saving skills.
I don't know, but Instagram isnot going to help.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
WikiHow.
That would work.
Yeah, yeah, WikiHow would probably.
WikiHow has an apple.
They could probably tell mehow to do everything I need to do.
(48:48):
All right, so Is that yoursecond app?
You need your wikiHow?
Yeah, wiki.
I'd have access to all human knowledge.
Ooh, okay.
That's a tough one to follow.
I think that I would still want.
Because there's always thepossibility that if I've been here
(49:08):
long enough that after I'veexpired that someone will find my
phone.
I think that I would probablylike to have a voice record, the
voice recording app so that,so that my thoughts can be.
I can record my thoughts sothat somebody could potentially use
those for, you know, the goodof all mankind later on.
I have zero ego.
You're not doing, you're notdoing camera or video.
(49:29):
You're just doing straight voice.
This, this face was made forradio, sir.
I see, I see.
What's your, what's your thirdad there, Bill?
I think camera.
Camera would have to be itbecause then I can like, if I'm describing
something, I'm just like,yeah, there was this thing that happened
to me.
Check it out and then I canflip it and show like, or create.
(49:52):
Videos and something happening.
I don't know what it would be.
No, go ahead.
I don't know.
I guess I would just be like,man, check out this animal I found
out here.
Could turn it to a whole documentary.
After like a cool looking birdor monkey.
I mean, if you're stranded,that's about it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm going to say my third appwould be the New York Times crossword
puzzle.
That would be.
That would be my last one.
(50:13):
I would, I would want the NewYork Times crossword puzzle unlimited
subscription so that I'm notpaying for it while I'm, you know,
deserted on some island somewhere.
So, you know, I don't know, Ijust, I, I think it'd be interesting
to keep my, my skills, myskills up on that, so.
Well, Joeli, we reallyappreciate you being on the show
(50:36):
with us.
Before we let you go though,because you are a first time guest
and having authored a book, itmakes you a celebrity in our eyes.
So you have to do.
I have to ask you to do ourseven questions again.
The light's too bright.
You can't.
You can barely see these things.
So the, if you, if you'veheard this segment, then you're probably
(51:00):
prepared, but hopefully,hopefully you've heard it and just
forgotten.
So the first question is, whatwas the last thing that you probably
had.
To do with something along thelines of my children, because I am
a, like a frantic parent.
So anything that's wrong, Iwill google it.
(51:23):
Like if they, I don't know,have a mark on their arm or they're
telling me something hurts,I'm like, google, what does this
mean?
So that's probably one.
Okay.
All right, second question.
If you could have onesuperpower, what would it be?
This is actually funny becauseI was watching the series of X Men
(51:44):
recently, so I would want tohave the power of Dr.
X being able to controlpeople's minds and read their minds.
Okay.
All right.
That's a good one.
He is an omega level mutant.
So you, you have picked one ofthe strongest.
The.
The third question.
(52:05):
If your life were a movie, andwe change this one a little bit.
If your life were a movie,what would be the opening sound or
the opening song to that movie?
I don't know if you guyslisten to Kid Cudi, but it would
be Kid Cudi.
Rose.
Yes.
Rose Gold with Willow Smith.
That's a good song.
Okay, okay, okay.
(52:27):
Kid Cudi in the news this weekhaving, or I guess it was last week
because he was on the standfor the P.
Diddy and apparently he saidthat P.
Diddy would be like the Marvel supervillain.
Oh, my goodness.
(52:47):
Trafficking.
Wow.
I'm like, you know what?
It would take an artist likeKid Cudi to come up with that.
I would not have thought of that.
That was really good.
All right, fourth question.
If you could eat one food forthe rest of your life, what would
it be?
I would eat mangoes.
(53:08):
Mangoes are so filling anddelicious and they're just great.
I could eat 20 mangoes a dayand I'll be fine.
Man, that does.
I do like.
I do like mangoes.
I do like mangoes.
All right, fifth question.
What is your least favoritecandy and why?
It's hard.
My least favorite candy.
(53:31):
Oh, man, do I have one.
I love candy.
Okay.
Twizzlers.
Twizzlers.
And those types of candiesbecause, yes, they are delicious,
but they're so hard to eat.
I have to pull so hard on itto bite it.
It's so complicated.
(53:52):
But they are tasty.
So the licorice in general.
So I used to.
When I would go to movies,because I'd go by myself.
If they had a pack ofTwizzlers, that was what I got as
my snack.
I'd get a water or a softdrink, and I'd get my.
My pack of Twizzlers.
And that's what I had during the.
(54:13):
But I don't see the pack ofTwizzlers very often anymore.
It's not because it's notthere, but it's probably just because
I'm not looking.
All right, question number six.
What is one strange or unusualtalent that you have that you're
comfortable with?
So I like to rap.
I like to rap, and sometimesit doesn't make any sense, and most
(54:38):
times it's just a whole bunchof nonsense, but I like to just randomly
rap throughout the day.
I just start rapping about stuff.
Well, I won't put you on thespot and ask you to do one, but I
think Bill wants me to.
So I really want you to.
Do you need a beat?
Okay, go ahead.
(55:00):
Okay, I could put on a beat.
I don't know.
I would do it.
I would love to hear just something.
Just something.
Okay, I'm going to find a beatreal quick.
Can I do that?
I was going to say worst case scenario.
Then the requirement is thatat some point in the next week or
(55:21):
so, you send me a leak to asocial media post of you rapping
and just nonsense.
We can.
We can do that.
We'll do it that way.
All right, last questionnumber seven.
If you could have dinner withany three people, dead or alive,
who would they be?
Okay.
Dead or alive, I would chooseprobably one of my great grandparents
(55:51):
from my mom and dad's side.
And then so, like, maybe mymaternal great grandmother and my
paternal great grandfather,and then maybe Shakespeare.
Shakespeare.
Because I want to know, okay,if he was actually a real person
(56:13):
or not.
And then also if he reallywrote those pieces or not.
If that makes sense.
So you need Shakespeare.
Yeah.
Shakespeare needs to besitting down at dinner, and he has
to be honest, that might be atough one to pull off.
Even the ghost of Shakespeare,I think, would probably lie to us.
(56:34):
That's good.
All right.
And who would be your thirdchoice at dinner?
It's not an easy questionbecause there's always the obvious
ones.
There's always the obvious ones.
Like people will be like, oh,I'd like to sit down and have dinner
with Jesus Christ.
But I'm just going to put thisout there.
I believe he's probably a bitof a showboater.
He's always pulling off thesetricks and whatnot.
(56:56):
He's trying to entertain the audience.
He might, he might take alittle bit of attention away from
what the dinner is intended for.
So I'll.
Maybe John the Baptist or something.
This is a hard one.
I'm not sure.
So maybe Kanye West's mother.
Oh, that's a good one.
(57:16):
That's a good one.
Because I honestly, I'd likeher opinion on what, what exactly
has happened.
And then maybe right nowtrying to.
Actually get recovery like ithappened this past week that he's
just like, I'm sorry I didthese things, but I'm like, I don't
know what, I don't know.
I will, I will just say Ithink Kanye west is easily one of
(57:39):
the most talented artists whenit comes to the, his, his, his ability
to, to express.
I think he's incredibly talented.
I, I absolutely enjoy many ofhis albums and his singles and B
sides and, and so Kanye West,I think is extremely talented.
(58:01):
I just wish he wasn't a Nazior a self proclaimed Nazi.
Like, I wish, you know, therewill be, there will be two different
stories of Kanye west that,that I eventually tell my grandchildren
and great grandchildren andthat is that I hopefully will be
able to leave out, I hopefullybelieve be able to leave out the
(58:23):
crazy.
All of this crazy stuff.
But he also made graduation atthe end, so we're going to just swipe
all that stuff out and he'sstill a great guy.
Yeah, let's not, let's not,let's not call it the end.
Let's, let's, let's hope for reformation.
You know, he'll, he'll makesome changes, so.
Well, Joel, those werefantastic answers.
(58:44):
Thank you very much forparticipating in that.
Also thank you very much forbeing on the show.
Joel's book is available on Amazon.
It's called Put the Phonedown, we have a Job to Do.
It's available on Amazon again.
You can check for link in theshow notes.
So go check that out.
Purchase it because ultimatelyI think that for a lot of us, especially
if you're listening to thispodcast on your phone, there's a
(59:05):
good possibility you've beenscrolling through junk on your phone
while you've been listening.
So you know, that's just thereality of it.
So go check that out again.
Joel, thank you very much forbeing on with us.
Real quick.
Want to remind everybody, vote.
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
It was absolute pleasure.
Our pleasure.
Vote for the All About Nothingpodcast as best local podcast.
Just click the link in theshow notes or go to theallaboutnothing.com
(59:28):
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So also check outtheallaboutnothing.com you'll find
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be very much appreciated.
That's going to do it forepisode number 257.
Thank you again JoelieWilliams for being here again, author
(59:50):
of Put the Phone Down.
We have a job to do.
Also Bill Fry, thank you forbeing here.
I know that at some point ZachKing is going to rejoin the show,
but he hasn't yet.
So Bill still not being paidfor his appearances here.
Links to all of our pastepisodes, podcast platforms and merchandise,
(01:00:10):
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Welcome nothingers, to the AllAbout Nothing podcast.
This is episode number 257.
I am Bear Gruber.
Welcome Mr.
Bill Frey.
Hello again.
Hello.
That's the first time I'vesaid that today.
I promise to everyone out there.
(00:20):
No, no hard cuts there.
This is episode number 257.
We have.
Our guest is Ms.
Joelli Williams.
Joelle, we're going tointroduce you better here in just
a minute, but we'll tell youwhy she's here on the show this week.
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(00:42):
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You can findlinks@theallaboutnothing.com and
it is the best of Columbia2025 voting season now and we are
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(01:03):
So if you could do us a favor,head over to our website theallaboutnothing.com
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There are plenty of goodpodcasts out there.
Well, there's.
Out of the five, there arefour really good podcasts and one
that just sort of hangs on.
I'm not going to tell youwhich one.
It might be us.
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(01:25):
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We'd really appreciate that.
Also want to make sure thatyou are in the know.
The 10th Masters of Putt Puttis coming up Friday, August 22nd
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Deadline to register yourthree team three person team is August
(01:45):
21st and yes, costumes are encouraged.
Best dress team also wins prizes.
So bring your A game and your wardrobe.
Also want to tell you about this.
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(02:06):
They make these awesomeseasonal and theme T shirts and they're
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(02:28):
find something there you love.
So that is the business out ofthe way.
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Oh, real quick.
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(02:53):
Pod that are also in therunning for the Best local Best of
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Vote for these people.
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(03:15):
Now that I realize it.
There it is.
Oh, I'm hitting on allcylinders today.
But yeah, this is the Friendsof the Pod.
They are all nominated in the2025 Best of Columbia.
If you click the link next totheir name, it'll take you to the
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They would really appreciateit also.
(03:36):
So that isover@theallaboutnothing.com so I
want to welcome to the showthis afternoon, this evening, whenever
you're listening to it, Ms.
Joelli Williams.
Welcome, Joelli, thank you forbeing here with us.
I really appreciate this.
Joelle, you are an author.
I made notes, so I have asheet of notes.
(03:57):
So author, poet, educator, youare the creator of the book.
Put the phone down.
We have a job to do.
If you could tell us, tell usa little bit about yourself.
I know you're from the Bronxand you are now a native here to
Columbia, South Carolina.
So tell us your journey.
(04:17):
How did you get here?
It's been a long journey offinding exactly what it is that I
wanted to do.
Right.
So I've always been huge onexpression, even as a child.
Right.
I was always writing,journaling, drawing.
And so that always drew me towanting to sort of help people do
(04:43):
the same thing.
So, yeah, for me, it's alwaysbeen about creating and writing.
And writing for me is the rootof everything that I do.
I've always been drawn to it.
And so I think these arethings that are not separate from
healing.
It's the language that we usein writing and literature and things
(05:05):
of that nature that help us tosay what we feel inside and say it
plainly.
So when I couldn't explain mytraumas and different aspects of
life that I was going through,I wrote it.
I wrote it out.
And when I couldn't namedepression or joy, I let my metaphors
(05:26):
and different writingtechniques speak for themselves.
Poetry for me has always beenmy voice and it's always helped me
make something meaningful outof the chaos that I've experienced
in life.
And so that's how my book started.
(05:46):
Put the Phone Down.
We have a job to do.
It's structured like a workbook.
So there's a lot of writingand those type of ideas in it.
But it was born from sort ofthe same place that my poems come
from and my writing comes from.
And it's from feeling deepfeelings and listening and needing
(06:09):
a space to translate my paininto something that's useful and
beautiful and to share withthe world.
So that's how I got here.
Just going through life andrealizing that people also need help.
So that's how this book cameto me.
Now the name of the book, Putthe Phone Down.
We have a job to do.
(06:29):
I think the only appropriatequestion for me to ask is how much
do you on average, what isyour screen time usage on average
on your phone?
That's a great question.
So I rarely use my phonethroughout the day.
I don't have the exactpercentage, but I do, I do mainly
just have music playing on myphone, that's all.
(06:52):
And on a daily basis Iprobably use it about, you know,
probably like four hours aday, not too much.
That's impressive.
That's impressive.
I, I receive I think so manynotifications during the day that
I, I mean I could tell you myscreen time usage right now.
I could, I could very easilypull that up because holy cow.
(07:16):
And this is offensive even to me.
But that is, I don't know ifyou can see it.
Oh, I won't show on there.
It's a little too bright.
Yes.
Oh, hold on.
Was that 11, is that 11 hours?
11 hours and 54 minutes.
That sounds about right.
Honestly, I'm probably theexact same way.
My phone is going off all the time.
(07:37):
I read the news immediately asit comes out.
So having very not yetadolescent children, I have, I have
10 year old twins that whenthey go down is when I go down.
So generally probably tryaround 9:30, 10:00 clock.
(07:59):
If.
If I'm lucky.
So I am.
I am actually a little appalled.
Today may be a little off.
Today, the day we're recordingthis is Wednesday, May 28, and today
is different.
Likely by now I probably wouldnot have used that much time, but
because the Best of Columbiaopened up, I had web pages to update,
(08:21):
I had to set schedules forthese social media posts and things
like that.
So I started doing that veryearly this morning, which, you know,
obviously has risen on thebell curve of my screen time usage.
Even though that's the titleof my book.
I've had to use my phone,like, you're saying like a lot during
(08:44):
the whole making of it, doingall of this promo work.
It's crazy, but I'm still trying.
It's still a work.
Well, okay, let me ask you this.
As far as the promo work forthe book, this is your first book,
but you have had other.
You have authored other projects.
And I have here the Scales ofDust Festival for poetry, Coffee
(09:10):
Runs Through My Lineage,Northern New England Review, Poetry
in Mag Cloud and LiminalWoman, A Drink from the Wellspring.
So this isn't your firstpiece, but as far as, like, the book,
what sort of promotional stuffhave you done to try and get it out
there in front of people?
(09:30):
Honestly, I am not trying todo much.
I'm just trying to post asmuch as I can on social media and
I'm just kind of going withthe flow with it.
I'm also trying to put more ofmy poetry out.
So that's another outlet ofgetting people to know me and to
(09:52):
know what I've created withthis book.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, then I'll ask myprevious question again.
How is it that you arrived inColumbia, South Carolina, Bronx,
New York City is muchdifferent from Columbia.
What was the journey thatbrought you here?
So the journey that brought mehere, it's definitely been a journey,
(10:14):
not only geographically.
I was born in the Bronx, andthat's a place where it's always
loud.
People are always, you know,making noise.
They're really blunt and theydon't care.
It's a place that, it's a, Aplace that's full of heart.
And it's definitely greatthat, you know, you can get, you
(10:35):
can walk outside and go get anice deli plate at 2 in the morning.
And Colombia has been a bigadjustment for me.
First of all, thetransportation aspect, that was so
new for me, not being able tojust get on a train or a bus somewhere
quickly, or just being able towalk somewhere quickly.
(10:57):
Is really hard to adjust to.
So that's definitely one ofthe things that it's been a change.
And then also just raciallyand socially, it's been kind of hard
to deal with because in theBronx, you're always like, immersed
in a deep, diverse culturalsoup, you can say, and the languages
(11:18):
that people speak, thedifferent foods on every block, you
just have so many differenttypes of people coexisting.
And sometimes it can bechaotic, but it's always really vibrant.
And so in Colombia, it's justbeen really spread out, I guess you
can say, like, there's like.
(11:40):
I don't know if this is theright term to put it as, but it's
like a racial segregation sortof like most events that I go to,
I don't see many people likeme and my family out there.
And it's always like staresand little comments and it's like,
oh, it's a little scary, but.
(12:00):
And, you know, I just noticedhow different systems, even in school
or different community spaces,they're still sort of catching up
to the inclusion that isspoken of.
But I don't really see it.
And, you know, I do likeColombia, and it's sort of small
(12:21):
power that it has.
It's somewhere that I cansense that people want things to
change.
And when there are events,there are people that show up for
the communities, and there's alot of space here to grow things.
And I think that's reallygreat about here.
(12:42):
And also the parking here, Ithink is very, very positive.
Is a definitely great change, huh?
Don't get me started on parking.
I heard you mention it before.
Yeah, we did a whole episodeon Columbia's parking.
That was just a few episodes ago.
(13:03):
But no, I completely agree.
So I grew up in Atlanta, andAtlanta is.
The diversity in Atlanta is done.
When I was a child in Atlanta,I recognized a lot of diversity,
but it was in very specificparts of Atlanta.
We had Buford highway, which.
Which was dubbed at one pointInternational Boulevard.
(13:24):
And you know, like, there were.
There were a lot of differentrestaurants and markets and things
like that.
But it's not like the Bronxwhere you can go to a.
A Deli at 2 o' clock in the morning.
You know, here in Colombia,everything just.
You know, there's a point atwhich almost everything shuts down.
It's almost like there's somesort a time of 11:30 or midnight
(13:46):
or whatever where everythingjust cuts off and that's it.
We don't have a lot ofbusinesses in Columbia that are open
all night.
Long, but it is, I do seehints, I do think that the city of
Columbia does try to allow forthere to be festivals and things
like that, but it's notreally, it's not, it doesn't give
(14:09):
you the sense that it's adiverse community all the time.
It's only, it feels diversewhen we have, you know, June is Pride
Month, so we'll have a Pride Festival.
We have, we have, I'm tryingto think other one.
We have Korean festival, wehave, we have Mexican or Spanish
festival and things like that.
So we do have some of those,but they seem specific to time periods
(14:35):
or when, when there's a, whenthe city has a permit that's been
available for it.
So I, I agree.
I, I, you know, I live in aneighborhood that I recognize as
being very diverse.
We're a, we're a lower, mid tomiddle, middle class neighborhood.
I was telling you before westarted recording, I have Dominican
(14:56):
neighbors on my left.
I have Vietnamese neighborsacross the street.
I have Chinese neighbors downthe street.
I have Pakistani neighborsdown the street.
I have Indian neighbors, youknow, so when I walk through the
neighborhood on just a dailywalk, I smell all of the foods that
people are cooking and itsmells amazing.
And that's the kind ofenvironment that like, I want to
(15:20):
raise my children in.
That's the kind of environmentI want, I want to live in.
Because Bill and I talkedabout on the last episode.
One of the things that theUnited States thrives on, in my opinion,
is migration and immigrantsand having that diversity.
Because that's what keeps theUnited States young and vibrant and
(15:40):
unlike what the currentadministration wants to do, in my
opinion, which is, you know,whitewash everything, but okay.
So to get back to your book,what is the meaning of Put the Phone
Down?
What is it that inspired the title.
And the message Put the Phonedown, we have a job to do?
(16:03):
The book is about, it's sortof like a wake up call, I want to
say not only for myself, butfor the world.
I want to be able to tappeople on the shoulder and say, hey,
the world is not going to fixitself and our government isn't going
to do it for us either.
(16:23):
So it comes from this ideawhere I was actually in the same
boat as everyone else.
I was constantly using myphone and constantly scrolling, comparing
and disconnecting from real life.
And while I was thinking thatI was staying connected to my, my
(16:45):
friends, my family, to theworld, really, I was just always
scrolling and scrolling.
And just one day it hit methat we're not just wasting our time,
but we're wasting our purpose.
And that what, that's what thebook for me is really about, is pulling
us back together as acommunity and to our greater calling.
(17:07):
It's a workbook and areflective journal that I think will
help people reconnect withthemselves and the world around them
without relying on screens so much.
So the book has 30 fulllength, full length chapters and
each centered around majorthemes of reconnection and healing.
(17:30):
And these themes go fromdigital detoxing to having a presence
and for yourself.
It goes to family abandonmentand cultural memory.
Different topics of parenting.
And a lot of it also talksabout identity.
(17:53):
So yeah, each chapter comeswith 10 to 12 reflective questions
and thoughtful promptsdesigned to help readers unpack their
patterns, belief and experiences.
And it also has a lot ofdifferent tasks that the readers
can engage in.
And it ranges from differentartistic exercises to memory work,
(18:16):
breathing practices,storytelling challenges, and different
things that you can do in yourcommunity to not only put to action
all of that's coming out asfar as your trauma and the healing
work that comes from it.
And then it also has a lot ofspace for writing and journaling,
(18:37):
brainstorming, drawing, planning.
And each chapter is almostlike a personal retreat that you
can take time for yourself tolearn about yourself and learn what
you want to do with your timewhen you start to put the phone down.
And that's the job, really,the job is your life.
(18:57):
And how much time and work areyou going to put into that to feel
fulfilled at the end of theday or end of your life whenever
that comes?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So it's available on Amazonand just looking at some of the information
is the print length is 769pages and you mentioned that it is
(19:21):
partially a workbook.
I'm assuming that there aresome pages that some of that, the
bulk of that is theavailability to do some journaling,
to do some self reflection andwriting in there.
So I think that's great.
It says the reading age isbetween 13 and 18 years old.
But I assume that knowing someof the adults that I know that some
(19:45):
of this would be pretty goodfor young adults or even adults my
age.
I have a house full of ADHDand I know that we, we found some
incorrect information earlierrelated to autism.
But one of the things that Ibelieve when it comes to ADHD and
(20:08):
being on the spectrum thatit's finding ways to work through
what it is that your ADHDmight be blocking you from or what
your autism might potentiallybe blocking you from.
But recognizing that I thinkADHD and anyone that's on the spectrum,
(20:28):
they, they have special skillsets and we have.
And, and finding how mychildren learn and take in knowledge
and, and how they, you know,the, one of the things that they
have in them is that they arevery much addicted to their electronics
when they're in their hands.
When, when you deviate fromthat and you get them onto any sort
(20:52):
of creative path or creativeinstruction, schooling, that sort
of thing, they go to it very well.
But it's, it's, it's the factthat the, the, the, the phones and
the tablets are such an easydistraction from, from just regular
life that, that it's, it'salmost like severing a lifeline for
(21:15):
them.
They have, they.
All of, they're homeschooled,so all of their friends are also
homeschooled.
So that's their connection totheir, to the outside world for them
in a lot of ways, except forthe activities that they go to and
things like that.
But this is, this, I'vealready added it to my cart, so this
is something that I'm going tohave to bring home so we can have
(21:38):
them take a look at it as well.
It does have that age framebecause that was mainly the ages
that I started to have sort ofa knowledge of, of or idea that I
was going through so much.
And I need help at thesetimes, but for this book is for everybody.
(22:00):
I wanted it for parents,caregivers, for therapists and counselors,
college students, creatives,anybody really, that needs to just
get back to, to themselves, I think.
And that's what this book hashelped me do because a lot of this
comes from work that I'veactually done.
(22:21):
It started out as me writingquestions for myself, and then after
I dealt with those issues andquestions, I started to write them
for my husband, for my kids.
And then I started to look atthe broader scope of like everybody
needs.
Everybody has traumatic events.
So I'm going to just create alot of questions for all types of
(22:44):
issues and hopefully this willhelp somebody.
So I don't want it to come offlike, oh, I'm.
I'm the queen of not having myphone in my hand.
But more so I just want tosay, look, we're all, we're all addicted
to our phones, but we can do better.
We can definitely tell our stories.
And yeah, I reflect on whatI've seen and I try to ask those
(23:09):
questions in this book tohelp, to help everybody, honestly.
But I also laugh at myselfwhen I Do overuse my phone.
I do poke fun at others like,hey, you're on your phone.
Too much time to get off.
But it's definitely nobody's perfect.
And I know that sometimes asparents, we also feel like, this
(23:32):
deep, deep shame.
Like, I let my kid use theirphones for more than what I wanted,
but nobody's perfect, andwe're all capable of creating that
change in our homes that wewant to see.
And so, you know, I want thisbook to feel like, you know, it's
a conversation with ourselvesor with me or with a family member
(23:53):
or whatever the case may be,but without all the guilt and shame
that's attached to using ourphones as much as we don't want to.
Yeah, yeah.
And I'm.
I'm fully addicted to mine.
I mean, it's like, at least Iwant to say every 10 minutes, I get
buzzes and notifications.
I just look over and check orsomething else.
(24:13):
I mean, it's.
It has become just also, I'm,like, dependent on it.
I mean, I take too many phone calls.
I have phone calls all thetime, text messages.
Always something's happening.
And so I feel like there'ssome level of.
I don't.
I don't want to say, like.
Well, I feel like one of thepros is that you can be social with
(24:33):
it, but there's still that.
That's not what I'm always doing.
A lot of the time.
It's also like reading andwatching videos.
That's just.
I mean, I look down and thenan hour has gone by.
I mean, it really is some.
Some sort of addiction that Iwill admit that I have.
I am absolutely of the mindsetthat there is an Eden somewhere that
(24:55):
I am not connected toanything, that I don't have any devices
that, you know.
And I realize that it's goingto probably be about the time that
my dementia sets in and I' ina home where I'm strapped to a bed
and can't make any decisionsfor myself.
But, you know, it's.
But I do.
I do appreciate the timeswhere, let's say I sit down and just
(25:18):
read a book or watch a movie.
Like, there is significantdesire to have that time more often,
or, you know, just to sit.
To sit down and read with yourchildren or to.
I love having the discussionsbecause one of the things that my
kids really enjoy is talkingabout history.
(25:41):
My daughter Vivian is verymuch obsessed with the Broadway show
Hamilton, and she hasresearched on her own just some of
the things from the play orfrom the Broadway from the musical
and the differences betweenwhat Hamilton and who he was and
(26:04):
the things that he reallystood for versus what, what is in
what makes a good Broadway show.
But learning history about himand then also learning history about
some of the characters thatwere in that.
That are.
That are.
That are, that are in the playor that are.
That are described in themusical and, and learning that history
(26:25):
telling her that, you know,that slavery wasn't just confined
to the south, that, that earlyon that, you know, and that.
That the, the heroes that wehave recognized as being these forefathers
of the United States aren'theroes in the sense that, that they
(26:45):
still, they still used slaveryto amass their wealth, whether it's,
you know, Madison orWashington or.
I think, I think one of the,One of the very.
One of the, One of the onlylike original or the first few presidents,
John Adams was that didn'thave slaves.
And then, and then he did haveslaves when he was president because
(27:07):
he was the first president tomove into the White House, which
still had slaves building it.
So, you know, but she's.
I enjoy talking to her abouthistory and learning, learning along
with her and, and, and, andboth of them, those sorts of things.
So, but, but I also recognizethat that is disconnection time.
That is time that I am notholding my phone, that they're not
(27:31):
staring at their tablets.
Again.
I want to tell everybody wehave author Joelie Williams, who
has written a book availableon Amazon, Put the Phone Down.
We have a Job to Do.
It is available in paperback,large print on Amazon.
You can find links in the show notes.
The tagline at the bottom ofthe description says, for anyone
(27:53):
ready to put the distractionsdown and pick up the pieces of themselves,
this book is for you.
When you wrote this, obviouslya lot of it was also tied to your
personality or to your situation.
You mentioned your trauma.
Was there anyone else close toyou that you also recognized that
(28:16):
this is something that wouldbenefit them?
So it was definitely somethingthat I think was needed for my husband
and just my family in general,or just everybody around me, but
specifically my children.
I saw that they were having alot of trouble getting me and my
(28:39):
husband's attention.
And that was something thatsparked the desire for me to create
this book.
I was ignoring the job ofbeing their, their parent.
And that was really, it wasjust hurtful to see.
And then I would see it onsocial media as well.
Parents scrolling and theirkids trying to get their attention.
(29:03):
And that was something thatreally sort of like smacked me in
the face, like, I have to stopignoring my responsibilities and
duties to.
To myself and to my children.
And then on a larger scale, itwas speaking up for my community
and having the awareness tohelp others around me.
(29:24):
You know, when it comes tobeing married, a lot of it has to
do with listening to one another.
So I was not doing that aswell, or I was listening, but not
really listening.
And it was just causingproblems in the household in general.
So those were some of therelationships that I saw that were
changing due to my own phone addiction.
(29:49):
So, yeah, I think that'samazing, the amount of self reflection
that that takes to.
And then to put that to task,to try and.
Because is it working?
That's.
That.
I guess that's.
That's one of the big questions.
And not as a reflection of thebook, but everything that you've
put in place, are you seeingimprovements and results?
(30:13):
As far as my relationships gonow, it has improved a lot, actually.
We all try our hardest to stayconnected to one another.
I started listening more, Istarted being present, and I was
finding different spaces whereI could put my phone down.
(30:35):
And like, at dinner time orjust having, you know, moments with
my husband and my kids, I wasable to teach them more because I
also homeschool.
So I was able to use my timemore wisely to create lesson plans
and things of that nature.
My husband, he even noticed,and he was like, you know, I want
(30:57):
to try this.
I want to stop using my phoneas much too.
It's a little harder for him.
But that goes back to.
To mental health and justlearning how to deal with your issues
instead of picking up thephone when you're stressed out, you
know, you have to learndifferent tactics to stay rooted
in your feelings and actuallyaddress them in that moment.
(31:21):
So it definitely has shiftedthe energy in our house, but it wasn't
really easy.
It was really hard.
Just acknowledging it and thendoing it is two different things.
We had to have some reallystrong conversation about attention,
about presence, and digitalboundaries that we wanted in our
(31:43):
home.
While those talks wereextremely uncomfortable for us at
first, they did bring uscloser as a family.
When one person shows up andreally wants to, you know, lead as
an example in your house, everyone.
Everyone feels it.
Everyone wants to be a part ofthat, especially kids.
(32:04):
They see mom and dadinteracting more and taking time
to be with one another.
They want to join in on thenight card games or the reading sessions
or the quiet time that we haveat home.
They want to do the same thing.
So I'm always Thinking ofdifferent ways to stay physically,
(32:25):
emotionally and mentallyconnected to.
To my family.
And, you know, it's never.
It's never always a positivething, like, for one instance, has
required to let go of somedifficult situations and relationships.
(32:46):
So as I continue to divedeeper into the trauma healing that
this book has provided, I hadto acknowledge that not every relationship
could stay with me.
I had to stop at some pointanswering phone calls and messages
from people that I needed todistance myself from.
So it wasn't easy, but it wasdefinitely necessary.
(33:10):
And because healing isn't justabout what you do, it's also about
what you stop doing, andthat's important as well.
And sometimes healing asks youto be there for you.
And it may be really hard todo it, like stopping some relationships
or stopping some behaviors,but it's a way that.
(33:32):
Or it's something that's goingto change you in a way that you've
never been before, and it'sgoing to bring you closer to your
real self, I guess you could say.
Yeah, absolutely.
Bill, I want to ask you,because you are between all of us,
I assume you are the mostrecent to education as far as, like,
(33:54):
university and high school.
Bill is.
Bill is 23 now.
I am 23 and just graduated in December.
So how, how.
What do you, what do youbelieve your skills in poetry are
like?
Did you have to write poetrywhen you were in school?
Poetry?
I did a little bit.
(34:14):
I remember for my specificmajor, they required either a English
literature class, which isactually a British English literature
class, or a poetry class.
And I opted to take theBritish literature one just because.
Yeah, we.
(34:36):
Yeah, we.
Yep, a lot of that.
We.
We probably read eight books.
It was.
So, I mean, to be honest, I.
I thought it was veryinteresting, but there were very
dull parts of it.
Poetry I, I enjoy.
I remember when I was in highschool, I did some poetry and, you
(34:56):
know, I always loved a shell.
Is it Silverstein?
Silverstein.
Shel Silverstein?
Yeah.
Shout out to Shel Silverstein.
You know, I love that.
But I never really got into awhole lot of.
It was a long one.
I don't think Shel stillaround, so I can't.
No, I don't think so.
(35:18):
No.
The reason I.
So I am and because I want toget into some of your.
Your poetry, Joel.
But I am.
I am not very good at readingpoetry and getting the meaning out
of it, getting the feeling outof it.
I have a really difficult time.
I can.
I can listen to music andlearn the lyrics and repeat them
(35:39):
back along with the music andsing in the car and not recognize
any of the words and what themeaning of those words is until I
hear an artist explain what itis that that song was about.
And sometimes then I have toreflect and go, should I have been
singing that in front of my children?
(36:00):
And the answer is probably no.
Rage against the Machine.
While I want them to have thatpolitical drive, I certain I don't
need them repeating some ofthose words in front of their friends
or their grandparents.
But, Joeli, you are a poet.
You have several pieces thathave been published with some of
(36:23):
them that I got off the list,the Scales of Dust.
So I have not read it.
I look at a title like thatand in my head I start to think,
okay, what.
What could this potentially be about?
So I'm judging the book by its cover.
So I would prefer you tell mebefore I go into a spiel where I'm
(36:45):
completely wrong, because thatis not good.
So what is this poem about?
Let me pull it up.
Because I've written so manypoems that I can't remember verbatim
the words.
So let me just.
Well, well, let me ask you this.
Where can people find your poetry?
(37:07):
So right now I don't have aspecific place.
I just.
I like to just post it todifferent magazines and journals
and do it that way.
I am working on an anthologyof my poems because I do have years
and years worth, but most ofmy stuff is published in other people's
(37:28):
releases, publications.
So, yeah, I don't have aspecific place, but.
So the scales of this.
I'm just gonna read it andthen sort of say what it's about.
So.
The Scales of Dust by Joelie Williams.
The judge and robes a gavelpoised to break a measured breath
before the verdict falls thejury's eyes like iron gates opaque
(37:52):
behind them hum the distantpresent walls the lawyer paces, weaving
webs of doubt his silvertongue a blade behind a smile yet
truth and fiction wrestle,flail about and both may lose if
dressed in right denial thewitness shakes a hand upon the book
yet perjury's a coin that allmay spend the guilty sit with innocence
(38:17):
look, the innocent are guiltyin the end what is law but paper
turned to dust?
A game of gold, A theater of trust.
So this poem talks about sortof all of the pros and cons of the
judicial system.
It's sort of like a theater ora show.
(38:42):
In the theater, everybody'sdressed up.
Everybody has to come lookinga certain way, and everybody has
these specific roles that theyneed to Play to be able to either
put someone in jail or not.
And then a lot of the times,no one's ever really right in these
(39:03):
situations because everybody'sjust trying to get the best outcome
for themselves, you know,regardless of the crime or the criminal.
For me, a lot of crime stems from.
From the lack of care andservices provided to certain communities
and people.
(39:24):
So I feel like that reallywhat this poem is about is the lack
of trust that everyone has foreach other.
And then when it comes down tothe judicial system, it's really
a lack of care for the personcommitting the crime.
(39:44):
Just everything that lawyershave to do in order to prepare to
share their story so thatpeople can sway to whichever story
they feel makes more sense.
I feel like this has been along history of this, of just people
just trying to look out forthemselves instead of caring for
(40:08):
those below them.
So far as the judicial systemgoes, they don't really care about
mental health.
They care about, you know, howmany people can we put away in jail?
Or how many.
How much money can we makefrom this?
So those are some of the ideasbehind this poem?
Yeah, absolutely.
No, and I think that the poemwas written very well, and I think
(40:32):
it expressed that very well.
And I am a firm believer thatthere is no one that is a criminal
because they just want to be a criminal.
There's nobody that.
That.
That is committing crimes against.
Whether it's an institution orsomeone committing crimes against
their neighbors.
They aren't.
No one does it just out ofthis desire to cause harm.
(40:54):
I mean, we do have sociopaths,but I think that for the most part,
most people that are convictedof a crime because they were found
guilty of whatever it isthey're charged with, it's purely
out of necessity that.
Because here in the UnitedStates, and it happens in other countries
as well, but here in theUnited States, we have a social structure
(41:15):
that really, it doesn'tprovide enough.
Either it's an education, orit is the social net or, you know,
the socioeconomic net that isabsolutely necessary.
We have such a difference inwhat it is that people's value is,
(41:36):
you know, like the poor andthe poverty and middle class and
then.
And then upper class, youknow, but we see criminals in the
upper class, too.
You know, I mean, just.
Just today, a very populartelevision show that I watched for
several years with, with Toddand his wife, the Chrisleys.
They were pardoned byPresident Trump yesterday for bank
(41:59):
fraud and tax evasion.
And I think to myself, why?
$30 million?
Yeah, why?
Why would he why would hepardon these people for what they
did?
And then I think about it aslike, well, he's been accused of
both of those things and weknow that he's done, he's had, he's
done bank fraud because of hisfilings with the fec.
(42:19):
So, yeah, I guess it kind ofmakes sense that if there's somebody
out there that's committed thesame sort of crimes that he would
potentially pardon him justbecause they say they like him.
He pardoned a sheriff or asheriff's deputy in Virginia yesterday.
That is that he pardoned the,that insurance guy.
Yeah, like, but who was it?
He like withheld $7.3 millionof the Social Security.
(42:43):
Yeah, yeah.
And then he just like had amillion dollar dinner with his wife
or something and pardoned him.
But I am, I am a firm believerof the, the idea that that and we
don't have a system thatreally prevents crime.
We have a system that reallysort of encourages people to fight
(43:06):
out of necessity.
And sometimes in thosesituations it's taking.
So while I would prefer thatthey not commit crimes, I certainly
think that the system shouldbe better to try and prevent those
crimes.
If we could have a systemthat, that builds people up out of
poverty, that helps, you know,that helps people take care of their
(43:30):
families and their children,that other countries do it and they're
not nearly as wealthy as our country.
So I think that's fantastic.
You have.
Before we start wrap this up,I did want to ask about Coffee runs
through my lineage.
This one, I'm not sure if youhave access to that one in front
(43:52):
of you, but I am veryinterested in this one.
It's.
It was in the Northern NewEngland Review.
And.
And is it, is it out of heritage?
Is this because, you know, youwere born and raised in the Bronx,
but obviously your family is.
(44:13):
Is not necessarily a NewEngland New York family.
Family.
So how is.
What is a coffee runs throughmy lineage?
I'm curious.
Yeah, so let me pull it up.
The pink and orange halo signstill gleam on frosted roofs where
morning breath collects.
We've built religion oncaffeine and cream.
(44:35):
We sip a right that ancestry respects.
My mother's voice came steepin caramel My father drove with one
hand on his cup.
A drive through priestess knewour name so well she blessed the
lid before we pulled it up.
No siren song, no beings fromdistant lands can match the comfort
(45:01):
of this waxen gold.
We live and die with coffee inour hands and generations passed
before it cooled.
You'll find us Here throughwar, through storm, through rust,
a powdered donut nation builton trust.
So, yeah, this story or thispoem comes from our family's love
(45:24):
for coffee.
It's the reflective narrativealmost of how coffee is more than
just a drink for us.
It's the time for our familyto connect with one another.
Whether we're drinking coffeeat home or coffee on the go.
As this poem speaks, it'salways a moment where we can just
(45:46):
talk and reflect on our family.
Anything that is either indisagreement with each other or agreement.
A time for coffee or a timefor tea is always a great time for
me and my family.
Coming up, I think theappropriate follow up question is
how do you take your coffee?
Well, I don't drink coffee asmuch now as I'm older and neither
(46:11):
do any of my family members.
We're on this whole like Matcha.
Not the South.
We're on this Matcha thing now.
So it's just.
But, well, we did used to loveit black with a little sugar.
And that's it.
Yep.
Yeah, that's how, that's how Itake mine.
(46:33):
Black with artificial flavoring.
So I'm going to get cancer,I'm sure, but that's, that's how
I drink mine.
Bill, how do you, how do youtake your coffee?
Straight black.
Straight black.
I don't.
Just straight black.
Nothing else in it.
Straight black coffee.
So, so then, then, Bill, thequestion is, is it a medium roast?
Is it a dark roast?
Dark roast.
I have a question.
So if you guys were strandedon an island and somehow had Wi Fi,
(47:01):
what apps or what three appswould you keep in order to survive?
My gosh.
To survive.
Bill, I'll let you go first.
Well, I tell you what, Bill,you name your first one, I'll name
my first one.
That's how we'll do that.
Order in order to survive.
Am I trying.
Can I contact someone if Ihave an app?
(47:21):
Well, you're stranded.
I don't.
But if I have WI fi without wi fi.
No, no.
With or without WI fi, Joel?
I guess that's easier with Wi fi.
Okay, so you have WI Fi.
But let's, let's, let'sassume, let's assume that the outside
world is not available.
So far.
You can't contact me as far aslike, you know.
You can't.
(47:41):
Yeah, you can't.
Yeah, it's not like I couldjust have WhatsApp or something and
contact anybody.
Right?
You're on a local network, sir.
There's no outside for survival.
I mean, I'm gonna.
I feel like I would have todownload a lot of music.
Okay.
I would need a lot of music.
Music app.
I think if I'm stranded on adesert island, I think the first
(48:03):
app that I would want to makesure that I had would be like not
Kindle, like the Kindle app onmy phone.
So I'd be able to.
I'd still be able to readbooks and I'd have the ability to
entertain myself that way.
Maybe a little book on.
Instruction manual on how tobuild a shelter or how to build a
(48:25):
fire, how to fish.
That would.
Those would be.
That's what I was thinking.
I was thinking more so appsfor like life saving skills.
I don't know, but Instagram isnot going to help.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
WikiHow.
That would work.
Yeah, yeah, WikiHow would probably.
WikiHow has an apple.
They could probably tell mehow to do everything I need to do.
(48:48):
All right, so Is that yoursecond app?
You need your wikiHow?
Yeah, wiki.
I'd have access to all human knowledge.
Ooh, okay.
That's a tough one to follow.
I think that I would still want.
Because there's always thepossibility that if I've been here
(49:08):
long enough that after I'veexpired that someone will find my
phone.
I think that I would probablylike to have a voice record, the
voice recording app so that,so that my thoughts can be.
I can record my thoughts sothat somebody could potentially use
those for, you know, the goodof all mankind later on.
I have zero ego.
You're not doing, you're notdoing camera or video.
(49:29):
You're just doing straight voice.
This, this face was made forradio, sir.
I see, I see.
What's your, what's your thirdad there, Bill?
I think camera.
Camera would have to be itbecause then I can like, if I'm describing
something, I'm just like,yeah, there was this thing that happened
to me.
Check it out and then I canflip it and show like, or create.
(49:52):
Videos and something happening.
I don't know what it would be.
No, go ahead.
I don't know.
I guess I would just be like,man, check out this animal I found
out here.
Could turn it to a whole documentary.
After like a cool looking birdor monkey.
I mean, if you're stranded,that's about it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm going to say my third appwould be the New York Times crossword
puzzle.
That would be.
That would be my last one.
(50:13):
I would, I would want the NewYork Times crossword puzzle unlimited
subscription so that I'm notpaying for it while I'm, you know,
deserted on some island somewhere.
So, you know, I don't know, Ijust, I, I think it'd be interesting
to keep my, my skills, myskills up on that, so.
Well, Joeli, we reallyappreciate you being on the show
(50:36):
with us.
Before we let you go though,because you are a first time guest
and having authored a book, itmakes you a celebrity in our eyes.
So you have to do.
I have to ask you to do ourseven questions again.
The light's too bright.
You can't.
You can barely see these things.
So the, if you, if you'veheard this segment, then you're probably
(51:00):
prepared, but hopefully,hopefully you've heard it and just
forgotten.
So the first question is, whatwas the last thing that you probably
had.
To do with something along thelines of my children, because I am
a, like a frantic parent.
So anything that's wrong, Iwill google it.
(51:23):
Like if they, I don't know,have a mark on their arm or they're
telling me something hurts,I'm like, google, what does this
mean?
So that's probably one.
Okay.
All right, second question.
If you could have onesuperpower, what would it be?
This is actually funny becauseI was watching the series of X Men
(51:44):
recently, so I would want tohave the power of Dr.
X being able to controlpeople's minds and read their minds.
Okay.
All right.
That's a good one.
He is an omega level mutant.
So you, you have picked one ofthe strongest.
The.
The third question.
(52:05):
If your life were a movie, andwe change this one a little bit.
If your life were a movie,what would be the opening sound or
the opening song to that movie?
I don't know if you guyslisten to Kid Cudi, but it would
be Kid Cudi.
Rose.
Yes.
Rose Gold with Willow Smith.
That's a good song.
Okay, okay, okay.
(52:27):
Kid Cudi in the news this weekhaving, or I guess it was last week
because he was on the standfor the P.
Diddy and apparently he saidthat P.
Diddy would be like the Marvel supervillain.
Oh, my goodness.
(52:47):
Trafficking.
Wow.
I'm like, you know what?
It would take an artist likeKid Cudi to come up with that.
I would not have thought of that.
That was really good.
All right, fourth question.
If you could eat one food forthe rest of your life, what would
it be?
I would eat mangoes.
(53:08):
Mangoes are so filling anddelicious and they're just great.
I could eat 20 mangoes a dayand I'll be fine.
Man, that does.
I do like.
I do like mangoes.
I do like mangoes.
All right, fifth question.
What is your least favoritecandy and why?
It's hard.
My least favorite candy.
(53:31):
Oh, man, do I have one.
I love candy.
Okay.
Twizzlers.
Twizzlers.
And those types of candiesbecause, yes, they are delicious,
but they're so hard to eat.
I have to pull so hard on itto bite it.
It's so complicated.
(53:52):
But they are tasty.
So the licorice in general.
So I used to.
When I would go to movies,because I'd go by myself.
If they had a pack ofTwizzlers, that was what I got as
my snack.
I'd get a water or a softdrink, and I'd get my.
My pack of Twizzlers.
And that's what I had during the.
(54:13):
But I don't see the pack ofTwizzlers very often anymore.
It's not because it's notthere, but it's probably just because
I'm not looking.
All right, question number six.
What is one strange or unusualtalent that you have that you're
comfortable with?
So I like to rap.
I like to rap, and sometimesit doesn't make any sense, and most
(54:38):
times it's just a whole bunchof nonsense, but I like to just randomly
rap throughout the day.
I just start rapping about stuff.
Well, I won't put you on thespot and ask you to do one, but I
think Bill wants me to.
So I really want you to.
Do you need a beat?
Okay, go ahead.
(55:00):
Okay, I could put on a beat.
I don't know.
I would do it.
I would love to hear just something.
Just something.
Okay, I'm going to find a beatreal quick.
Can I do that?
I was going to say worst case scenario.
Then the requirement is thatat some point in the next week or
(55:21):
so, you send me a leak to asocial media post of you rapping
and just nonsense.
We can.
We can do that.
We'll do it that way.
All right, last questionnumber seven.
If you could have dinner withany three people, dead or alive,
who would they be?
Okay.
Dead or alive, I would chooseprobably one of my great grandparents
(55:51):
from my mom and dad's side.
And then so, like, maybe mymaternal great grandmother and my
paternal great grandfather,and then maybe Shakespeare.
Shakespeare.
Because I want to know, okay,if he was actually a real person
(56:13):
or not.
And then also if he reallywrote those pieces or not.
If that makes sense.
So you need Shakespeare.
Yeah.
Shakespeare needs to besitting down at dinner, and he has
to be honest, that might be atough one to pull off.
Even the ghost of Shakespeare,I think, would probably lie to us.
(56:34):
That's good.
All right.
And who would be your thirdchoice at dinner?
It's not an easy questionbecause there's always the obvious
ones.
There's always the obvious ones.
Like people will be like, oh,I'd like to sit down and have dinner
with Jesus Christ.
But I'm just going to put thisout there.
I believe he's probably a bitof a showboater.
He's always pulling off thesetricks and whatnot.
(56:56):
He's trying to entertain the audience.
He might, he might take alittle bit of attention away from
what the dinner is intended for.
So I'll.
Maybe John the Baptist or something.
This is a hard one.
I'm not sure.
So maybe Kanye West's mother.
Oh, that's a good one.
(57:16):
That's a good one.
Because I honestly, I'd likeher opinion on what, what exactly
has happened.
And then maybe right nowtrying to.
Actually get recovery like ithappened this past week that he's
just like, I'm sorry I didthese things, but I'm like, I don't
know what, I don't know.
I will, I will just say Ithink Kanye west is easily one of
(57:39):
the most talented artists whenit comes to the, his, his, his ability
to, to express.
I think he's incredibly talented.
I, I absolutely enjoy many ofhis albums and his singles and B
sides and, and so Kanye West,I think is extremely talented.
(58:01):
I just wish he wasn't a Nazior a self proclaimed Nazi.
Like, I wish, you know, therewill be, there will be two different
stories of Kanye west that,that I eventually tell my grandchildren
and great grandchildren andthat is that I hopefully will be
able to leave out, I hopefullybelieve be able to leave out the
(58:23):
crazy.
All of this crazy stuff.
But he also made graduation atthe end, so we're going to just swipe
all that stuff out and he'sstill a great guy.
Yeah, let's not, let's not,let's not call it the end.
Let's, let's, let's hope for reformation.
You know, he'll, he'll makesome changes, so.
Well, Joel, those werefantastic answers.
(58:44):
Thank you very much forparticipating in that.
Also thank you very much forbeing on the show.
Joel's book is available on Amazon.
It's called Put the Phonedown, we have a Job to Do.
It's available on Amazon again.
You can check for link in theshow notes.
So go check that out.
Purchase it because ultimatelyI think that for a lot of us, especially
if you're listening to thispodcast on your phone, there's a
(59:05):
good possibility you've beenscrolling through junk on your phone
while you've been listening.
So you know, that's just thereality of it.
So go check that out again.
Joel, thank you very much forbeing on with us.
Real quick.
Want to remind everybody, vote.
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
It was absolute pleasure.
Our pleasure.
Vote for the All About Nothingpodcast as best local podcast.
Just click the link in theshow notes or go to theallaboutnothing.com
(59:28):
you'll need to sign up toverify you're a real person, but
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So also check outtheallaboutnothing.com you'll find
a list of all of the friendsof the Pod that have also been nominated
and you can go vote for themas well as a favor to us that would
be very much appreciated.
That's going to do it forepisode number 257.
Thank you again JoelieWilliams for being here again, author
(59:50):
of Put the Phone Down.
We have a job to do.
Also Bill Fry, thank you forbeing here.
I know that at some point ZachKing is going to rejoin the show,
but he hasn't yet.
So Bill still not being paidfor his appearances here.
Links to all of our pastepisodes, podcast platforms and merchandise,
(01:00:10):
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(01:00:32):
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You all stay safe, be kind andkeep your hands to yourself.
The All About Nothing podcastis a product of big Media and produced
(01:00:52):
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Thanks to Cake for our intro music.
Sick of you.
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