Melanie's Life Story

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Cindy Stampo Toughest Nails on WBZ News Radio
ten thirty. Let's go, Samantha, Yes, mother, all right, work
with me, honey. Are you going to introduce her? Yes, honey, no,
you are. It was your experience that met her. I
was just a sidekick that day. But you were there, right,
I was there. Okay, you want to introduce yourself. Money,
go ahead, you introduced.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Your Hey, my name's Mel.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
We're going by Mel. Yeah, okay, Mel, now Melanie? Okay,
forget Melanie. I like Mel better, easier for her. Mel's cool. Yeah,
three letter words A good for right now? Dogcat and out. Okay,
all right, I want you to give my listeners. Go ahead,
tell the story how you and I met.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
I was at work.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
What's your work?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
I work in the lab at mass General Rago.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
What are you? What do you do there?

Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm a phlebotomist. Okay, and told you I'm thirty years old.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
And I was at work and you were in the
chair needing some assistance because they couldn't find it, didn't
have neat assistance.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Okay. Swamp sitting in the cheer and another woman is
taking my blood and she put the needle in. Then
she rejammed and I went and you're hurting me. And
then you said, I'll take it from here, and you
walked over. I think we went in my left arm
and we found the bane. You went right in there smoothly.
I didn't wasn't poked twice, and I didn't feel anything.

(01:19):
I had no bruise. And at that point we started
to talk, and I think I asked you how old
you are, because that's a typical question. I will ask
how old you are? Where are you from? What's your zodiacs?
On my questions? Right?

Speaker 2 (01:35):
I think Mexico so much.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
And then I said to you said to me, what
are you, Cindy? And I said I'm a cancer and
you said, my brothers or my brother my brothers, right,
we're both cancers. And I said, what do you mean
they were?

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Yeah, they passed away.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Okay, So there's why I want you to pick up
the story. Okay, So and actually no, we're going to
come back that. Just let's hold that off for a minute.
Let's go back to when you were a young girl.
I want you, I want people to hear what your
life was at a young girl and how you changed
it up so people know how we met now.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yes, and we connected just because we have the same
kind of values and morals in life. And I had
a hard time.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
At well those morals and values came a little bit
later for you. Yes, Okay, I got there. That's how
you get this, as long as they get.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
There, right. I had lost my son when I was
around seventeen turning eighteen, and I kind of thought I
was a dude for a little bit, and dude, yeah,
I was on the streets, you know, doing things I
wasn't supposed to be doing, hurting people because I wanted
I don't know, I wanted everybody to feel how I
was feeling at the moment.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
So you can basically throw a haymaker.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah you know what.

Speaker 1 (02:52):
The haymakers nice a good punch. Yeah, it's not nice,
not nice, No, but you have the strength to throw it.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah. And it's like like it's just like so much
energy energy that you exert in a negative way, it's
not even worth it. You have to leave people where
they're at and learned that that's just their capacity they're
in right now. And you can't do anything what control yourself.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
So from what age to what age, were you running
and doing all the.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Bad, bad things from eighteen till I was like twenty four.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Okay, so at fifteen sixteen you were normal whatever normal
young girl was.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Kind of I kind of transitioned once I went to
high school and kind of got brought into the world
of like being a grown up too fast. Basically, yeah,
we've all been there, yeah, and getting into things I
shouldn't have been getting to, and I kind of got
a little exposed, and you know, people didn't really like
me and my brother so it was a lot of

(03:51):
problems and then like why, well I don't know why.
They just always you know, the dudes always had problems
with my brothers, and I was always kid protective, so
whatever problems were theirs were mine as well.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
How what's the difference in age between you and your brothers?

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Ranging from like who's flu to three five years some
of them they are I'm the baby, I'm the youngest one.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
So but you stuck together as a family.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, and I was. I They never liked me to
be a part of anything. But I just imagine your
sibling getting hurt and you're just standing there like I
couldn't do that.

Speaker 1 (04:27):
But were they better kids than you were. No, so
everybody was in the same.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Because they were ahead of me. So they had already
gone intoto what they gone into. And then here I come, like,
oh no, this isn't going to happen.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
So they want you to be a good kid.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, I was up until high school and then I
kind of like exploded. And then once my kid died,
I just amplified it. I was like turned.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
Up, and what about your mom and dad at that
time trying to control embarrassed.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
They were just embarrassed and disappointed. Like my family come
from a literal jungle. Like my parents made out of
a jungle. My dad's a businessman.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
Sucisse jungle.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
So caverd is west, yeah, okay, and it's ten islands
in the middle of the ocean and most of it
is like a jungle and then there's like parts of
cities and stuff. It's very poor, especially back then they
were just farming and stuff like that. Both my parents
had to quit school and help their parents farm. Kind

(05:28):
of a few clothes, one two pair of shoes deal.
Growing up, they had it really hard. They came to
this country when they were young, before they were twenty
and worked and you know, my mom's been like a
CNA her whole life, but she makes she so she
does well wow, yeah.

Speaker 1 (05:46):
Like okay, So they were immigrants, yes, and they came
here the legal way.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Legal way, and my dad brought over more than half
of his family here. He got here, did what he
was supposed to do god as citizenship because back then,
when you got your citizenship, you can bring someone. Then
they have to go get this citizenship through the process
and then they can get somebody else.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
So then he gets five hunds dollars three meals and
then it gets so fun.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
No, my dad busted his ass studied. I used to
go to night school. My dad used to go to
school at New Bedford High School at night, and I
would go with him and help him with his like
English and stuff like that, because if you don't know
this language, it's very hard to pick up because our tongue,
our language is very heavy tongued.

Speaker 1 (06:27):
Our languages.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, cave Verdian. So I feel like like Bundia. It's
like kind of like a broken down version of Creole,
I would say, like a slang version almost. So yeah,
I just it's just amazing, Like my parents are just.

Speaker 1 (06:48):
You know, looking at you, and they're pretty face to you,
as in I smile to think that you were throwing
haymakers back in the day.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
You know, I was such a but you know.

Speaker 1 (06:59):
We all will since some form of our lives at
some point. People that are honest, right, Like, yeah, back
in the seventies and eighties we jammed up to I mean,
but this is good. That was then. We weren't using
guns and we weren't doing.

Speaker 2 (07:11):
What yeah what, you know, it's even worse. I'm thankful
that I was around what I was around back then
because now it's like, you're just gonna You're gonna die.
These kids are insane. Yeah, one of my friends got
killed like almost, it's about to be a year almost
by a twenty year old. It's twenty seven.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Before I let you keep going forward. I'm gonna bring
you back because that's what I have to do. Because
we'll go from my ninety five and go to four
ninety five, we'll go to enter seventeen, and then we'll
be really heading down in Florida and we'll be in
the Gaza Strip going Israel and then back to Italy.
I don't know where we can go, so let's go
back in time. You get in a bad place around
eighteen years old. If from eighteen to twenty something, twenty

(07:52):
what twenty four, you're running crazy? Yeah, just beating people
up no reason. Yeah, you robbing them.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
No, I was just beating their butts. And then I
got into a little issue. I went away for a
little bit.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
And what was your mom and dad saying to you
at that time?

Speaker 2 (08:11):
It was just hard. I was like, no, they didn't
know what to do because they did the best. I
feel like, as parents, you do the best you can
with situations. Keep talking, you do the best you can
with situations. So it's kind of hard when your kid's
going through something. You have no idea what to do.
So they try to take me on vacation, do things

(08:33):
to Johanna Khana, but it's like, what.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Oh, that thought would be right back. I'm sinny stumping you.
Listen Toughest Nails on w BZ News Radio ten thirty.
He'll be right back. Welcome back to Toughest Nails on
WBZ News Radio ten three. Leave that sung going, No
you never heard James Taylor, Huh.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
What's up? Girl? No? But I love it. I'm loving
the guitar if.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
You actually listen to the song. He wrote this song
at McClain's coming off Heroin. Yes we have, Yes, we have,
Yes to the history on James Taylor and I've seen
fire and rain Yes, m hm wow, So pick it
up from them. My music always has a reason for

(09:13):
what I play online.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
I love that well, I love my job, and I'm
so thankful where I'm at in life. I always wish
that I would live in Boston and work in Boston.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
And you're there, Yeah, but it's taken you some time
to get there. So I'm gonna take you back again.
So your mom and dad they're trying every which way
to take you on vacations.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Not be depressed and angry.

Speaker 1 (09:35):
And that wasn't doing anything. No, So what did it
take you to hit your rock bottom to say, okay,
I got to move this now, I don't want to
be this girl When I went to jail, and that
did a few But the thought of going to jail
did not scare you. No, you have to say the
word people can't see you. No, No thought of that Scharedule,

(09:59):
not in that moment. And now you find yourself in jail.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
Yeah, and it was it was weird. Because I'm raised.
It was so such a weird experience because you know,
I walk in and I say hello and introduce myself
to everyone, and they're all looking at me like I'm
a literal psychotic person. No one even said a word
back to me.

Speaker 1 (10:19):
No, everybody in the cell.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, so you go through an intake unit. They make
sure that you're not on drugs or anything like that,
and then you go into an and you went on drugs, No,
you go into besides you know, but whatever.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
But it's okay, you thought whatever, but okay, okay, okay, good.

Speaker 2 (10:39):
So yeah, you go through the intake process and stuff
like that. But if you are, like, you know, a
part of a street gang whatever, like you have to
also go through and take and stay in there or whatever.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
So you had your own streak gang that you were
involved in.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
Basically, it was like I was attached to and I
went out and I went they put me into the
unit and I walk in and just say hey, hi everyone,
I'm Melanie and nice to meet you, and not a
person set a word back. Okay, So I just went
up to my style. This show what mesself was. I
literally didn't come out until the next morning. I come
downstairs for a child, that's what they would call a child.

(11:14):
And someone throws like the newspaper on the table and
they're like, how are you this normal and calm right now?
And this is what you're in trouble for. And I'm like,
because I didn't do nothing, girl, yeah me, I my problem.
It'll get sorted out, like I know, like you know
the consequences that come with the things that you're doing

(11:36):
as an as even a teen and adult, when you're
raised correctly and you do things you're not supposed to
be doing, you know, consciously, subconsciously, your conscience is always
on your back. Like so you did have a conscious yes,
But it was like I was just fighting it, like okay,
like my I'm gonna led my demons when I want
to be mad. I want to feel this way because
I don't want to feel the pain of losing my kid.

(11:58):
Like I couldn't out my child, I could do anything.
I just sit there and let him pass away, you know.
So it was like I didn't want to deal with
that at all.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
And how how did you pass away?

Speaker 2 (12:07):
I basically had an infection in my universe, so I
gave birth too early and then Rhode Island. It's against
a law of recessitated child that's under a certain amount
of weeks. I was like one week, shy being five months,
so they would have literally just crushed him if they
try to like do CPR or anything like that.

Speaker 1 (12:22):
But that that that's in some states people boord up
to that age, right, Yeah, but this still affected you
and just swung you the way it swung you.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, it was not nice.

Speaker 1 (12:35):
Do you think you were going to go down that
path either way? And that's your your out.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
No, I wasn't. I was in college to be like
criminal justice. I wanted to be like little a judge
and like like Supreme Court and be changing laws and stuff. Yes,
because look at the difference. Now I'm in the medical
fields and I want to be a trauma surgeon.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
Like, what do you think you went through a depression?
What do you think happened to me?

Speaker 2 (12:57):
I think it was a depression mixed with a little
bit of PC at a young age. Like once once
my kid died, they made me go on birth control.
I had no choice. I had to go see a psychiatrist. Automatically.
I'm freaking seventeen, like just about to turn eighteen. And
they're just like, oh, yeah, you're depressed. Here's some freaking
fifty milligrams of Sarah. Will you'll be isis and go

(13:18):
to therapy. My parents are going to listen to the doctors.
They're supposed to know what they're doing. They're supposed to
give you a proper land. It's that's you correctly that
they don't. Seventeen year old on a fifty milligram dose
of Sarah quill Are you delusional? It literally makes you
feel like a zombie. You don't feel anything. You're just
like an empty shell. And I feel like it made

(13:40):
me even worse because now I can't feel nothing.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
Now there's no pain.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
It's like the Hulk at all times.

Speaker 1 (13:48):
Yeah, emotionless.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
It's not healthy. You people need to get in there
to get through it and clean it up the freak up.

Speaker 1 (13:57):
Sorry, it's okay, you know what you're doing. But it's like,
come on, so you see the world for what it
really is.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, I feel like these meds are just it's almost
like feel like it's like my third eye opened up.
If I didn't go that route and I went to
the justice system, Like if I didn't go through the
justice system to see what it was really like. I
don't think I would have switched to even and even
all my FLI like being close to who I was
close with and losing who I lost, like watching people

(14:25):
I love die like. I don't think I would have
chosen the medical fields if I was already in the
legal fields.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
And it's like, okay, so now I'm gonna bring you
back again. That's okay, No, this is good. I like this,
and people need to hear this, because you did a
three sixty in your life like most people can't even do.
Most people can't change it up, and when they do,
we call them, uh, what's it called? OG's right, the
O g's try to come out. But you're young. The

(14:53):
young will listen to you. You're only thirty years old.
You're young. It's it's easy to listen to a thirty
year old. And it's you a guy that tries to say, look,
i've been I've spent you know, ten cents in jail,
blah blah blah. They don't kill these kids. They don't care.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
They're not listening.

Speaker 1 (15:08):
So now you're in jail for how long?

Speaker 2 (15:12):
I uh, it was thirty days. They sentenced me to
ninety because they found me dangerous, and then my lawyer
got me out in thirty days.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
And then the thirty days were you afraid to be
there at all?

Speaker 2 (15:22):
No? Like I told you, I walked in sell hello
to everybody. Like one person tried me, but I was
just like, we can just go find you myself, but
you better leave me the alone after this.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
So that's it. No one, No one's gonna.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
No and everyone it's so nuts. Everyone just treats me
like a baby everywhere I go. Not the baby, but
like like I don't know what the energy is of
me or what I give off. It's just like everywhere
I go, even at like work is out, I'm just
not baby. But I'm just treated as like what a
nice person, Yeah, like a young little like they would
do my hair and braids before my court days. They

(15:54):
threaded my eyebrows for the woman liked you. Oh my god,
they were so nice. They were all older than me.
A lot of them have passed away. My sally passed away.
God bless hers souls.

Speaker 1 (16:03):
Sorry, but yeah, try anything on you sexually in there? No,
So is that all overrated in jail?

Speaker 2 (16:10):
Or is it? Yes? It is? I feel like TV
and all stuff, and especially for the women's side. The
men's side, it's like in a zoo.

Speaker 1 (16:19):
You were in central though, right, No, it was state. Yeah,
so but over the men's it's like a bunch of crazy.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Oh, it's like an a zoo. It's absolute zoo. I
would be you. You'd have to fight.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
There wasn't one tough girl that wanted.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
To Yeah, there was one, but I told her we
can go on the setle and fight right now, but
it's about to be done. After that, you're not about
to be antagonized and not about to be nine else,
Like we're about to get that and that say it's done, And.

Speaker 1 (16:45):
Then you would have watch just kicked a Biden and
called it a day.

Speaker 2 (16:47):
Yeah, And then she was like, oh, I like you, Like, yeah,
what did you think I was about to make Like
I'm a nice person. I'm not going to give off.
You know, I'm going to kill you. But it's like,
don't come for me. I'm not going to come for you,
like I just wanted.

Speaker 1 (17:01):
To come for me.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
Yeah. Yeah, you see Mortal Combat, you know them special moves. Yeah, absolutely,
make me take one.

Speaker 1 (17:10):
We're not gonna show she's my new body.

Speaker 2 (17:12):
God.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
By the way, okay, so now let's go. Now you've
stepped it up and you have got out of jail,
and you said, okay, it's time to.

Speaker 2 (17:21):
What changed my life?

Speaker 1 (17:24):
And then the introm Did you have both your brothers
living while you were in jail? Yeah, so while you're
in jail you get out. Were they pissed to you
when you got sense?

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Yeah? And the people that I was with, because it
was like, why would you ever you know, put that
her in that type of situation knowing.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
So your brother's are upset with the people that you're
hanging with.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah, and me of course too, Like I took accountability.
It wasn't like even when my parents try to bail
me on stuff like that, and I got a lawyer
like I'm just like no, I'll handle it myself. Like
I knew what I was doing, and I chose to
do what I chose. So I got to reap the
concussio prief quessions. You know what I mean. You can't
expect to be out here.

Speaker 1 (18:03):
And right now mom and dad are completely embarrassed. No
now for you, No, no, back then.

Speaker 2 (18:08):
Back then? Yeah, that's I mean. People are talking crap
about me. They like forced the situation. Like, you know,
I was old and on a situation, so you know,
I just looked like an I was just trying to
like kill people around the school and all was crazy
and like so you just look kogle. Yes, So it's
like people are talking crap all the time. It's like,
you know, you're a kid. But unfortunately, the circumstances are

(18:30):
gonna say otherwise.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yeah, of course people are gonna talk. Yeah, well that
I thought we was going to break. I'm city Stumble
And you listen to Tapes Nails on w BZ News
Radio ten thirty. We'll be right back and welcome back
to Tapes Nails on WBZ News Radio ten thirty. And
we're in the studio with Mel. I think Sammy's right there,
but okay, I'm glad you're right here. Mel. Talk to
me about something. You still live in the same area

(18:54):
that you grew up, which is what's that for New
Bedford in the last ten years. How much worse to
New Bedford get with crime and gangs and everything in
the last decade? Worse? Better at the same I.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
Would say worse and everyone. I feel like people always
think like one generation is always complaining about the next
and I totally get that. But I feel like my generation,
I forget what we're called millennials. I don't know, I
hate that whole, I know, but I feel like my generation,
thirty year olds or whatever. I feel the thirty year

(19:31):
olds like we, yeah, we tripped up and stuff like that.
But a lot of us try to do our best
every day and try every day. And it's like, but
you come from a good family, and ya, they're amazing. Okay,
a lot of kids don't come from that, right, No,
And but I have friends that are doing amazing.

Speaker 1 (19:49):
She's literally like the last year of the monial and
then what comes after them? Gen z.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah those judges, girl, Even at McDonald's, they had the
slowest energy. I just went in there for me, for you.
Oh my girl, Can I just use the machine I
used to work here when I was fourteen. Let me
just do the think what is going on?

Speaker 1 (20:09):
There's no in between. There's no pep in this step. No,
it's either that like no pep in their step, or
the overachiever this way. There's no in between. I've had
to meet many overachievers in that age group. I really
have all my friends, Yes, you have thirty seven hundred. No,
they're all younger than me. How much suger. They're all like,
they're all twenty six, twenty seven college. They're all crushing

(20:30):
it in tech. Oh tech tech, this tech tech. Okay,
we'll do it.

Speaker 2 (20:36):
Spartiate.

Speaker 1 (20:37):
They have to crush Okay, good for them, not our story.
We don't want to. We can do about this story. No,
I just want to know what we don't care so much.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
We can't answer those questions. But we're gonna stay on
mel story and stop going off by ninety five. For
the love of God.

Speaker 2 (20:51):
This is what happens when we get together.

Speaker 1 (20:53):
Okay, so bring it to me. You come home. You
have two parents, will love you, your your auditor as far
as I'm concern, you're rich right there because you're lucky
to have him. Oh the dad right yes, that love
you and care about you, and they're trying to straighten
you out but being oh my god.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
One the best they could.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
Okay, So now what happens you come home? How old
is your first brother when he passes?

Speaker 2 (21:14):
He was about twenty four and this was where what
year twenty eleven?

Speaker 1 (21:21):
So he was twenty four twenty eleven, And how did
he pass he was shot shot?

Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yep?

Speaker 1 (21:29):
Was he the one s dying the trouble or nted
into a trouble to break them.

Speaker 2 (21:34):
And get both parties to end peacefully.

Speaker 1 (21:38):
And because those two parties ended peacefully when the pow pop,
how he goes down?

Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yes, and.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
They know him, Yes, they didn't want him to die. No,
So what happens to the one that kills him? How
long does he get for jail time? Ten and he's
still spend ten years?

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Or is he out out?

Speaker 1 (21:58):
That's it? Ten years because it's what it's still murder? Yeah,
why do only get ten years?

Speaker 2 (22:05):
That's it? My brother? Oh my brother, the one that
got shot fifteen times and lived.

Speaker 1 (22:09):
Let's stay with one brother.

Speaker 2 (22:11):
Sorry? Sorry, they don't get no time and then you
have good time also as well. So yeah, they got
ten years, but if they do have good time, they
get months chopped off their time, so they could come
home anywhere from like seven six years eight? Why because
they have good time they behaved in prison.

Speaker 1 (22:29):
But so you kill somebody only get ten years in prison?
What happens to the days that youve got life?

Speaker 2 (22:34):
I don't they don't have that Massachusetts. That's why I
wanted to be a judge in Supreme Court. They don't
have that Massachusetts. It's illegal, I mean not that I think. No.
The stipulations for life is very difficult to gather on somebody,
and they don't have what's one to murder someone? Now
murder someone.

Speaker 1 (22:51):
But if you thought, okay, I'm only spend ten years
in gailmen to murder somebody, that's not really like a
long a time when you're fifteen, sixteen years old.

Speaker 2 (23:00):
And then if you're fifteen and sixteen and you're committed
to DYS, you're not going to real prison. You're going
to DYS because you're committed till you're usually twenty one
unless they literally fight for you. But if you're committed
to you're twenty one with UYS, it's it's like you're
ordering Chinese food, you're playing PS five yere chilling. Why

(23:22):
wouldn't you do that? It's enabling you.

Speaker 1 (23:25):
And then your other brother go ahead.

Speaker 2 (23:27):
It was also shot how well was he He was
twenty six.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
At the time, twenty six, two thousand and what.

Speaker 2 (23:35):
That one was twenty and fifteen? What was he doing
getting ready to go out to a party? It was
New Year's Eve?

Speaker 1 (23:44):
And what happened.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
He just was in the car with his friends and
people pulled up and started shooting, and he got shot
in the head. His friends try to drive him to
the hospital.

Speaker 1 (23:51):
But it was hold on too late. He's in a
car with a group of friends.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (23:55):
How he's twenty six, is going out New Year's Eve?
Another gang. Was he part of a gang?

Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (24:02):
So another gang members pull up yep, and they start
shooting at this gang. And this is going on right
here in New Beije, in New Bedford. It doesn't even
make the news. It made your local papers. Yeah, was
this on Channel seventy five or four news? Either one
of your brother's shootings?

Speaker 2 (24:22):
I don't think so.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
No, doesn't that seem weird?

Speaker 2 (24:26):
Of course they don't care, though. They They need these
things to happen. They need chaos, they need chaotic That's
why they brought crack into our communities back then. That's
why if you notice that most of the banks and
certain is in low income areas they literally target from

(24:48):
the get go. It's like a lifelong curse that everybody
inherits a generation generation why and everybody's like warped to
make it look like it's school. You got rappers that
are like it's our it's are about my life. But
it's like it's one thing to say that something is
your art, but it's one thing to not turn your
life around and still be doing what you're doing and not,
you know what I mean, still putting that image out

(25:10):
or you know what I mean, Like it's just fed
into these kids every day. I feel so bad for them.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
It wasn't fed into you and your brothers.

Speaker 2 (25:19):
No, I chose that I had a choice.

Speaker 1 (25:22):
Okay, so one brother breaks up a fight, he definitely
doesn't deserve that. The other brother isn't a gang, and
and he didn't deserve that either. So there were no
gangs killing each other back then, there was no retaliation.
This wasn't they just shot up them. And now I
don't don't.

Speaker 2 (25:41):
I still don't even know.

Speaker 1 (25:42):
Why did they ever find out who did that?

Speaker 2 (25:45):
Yeah, they're still out away. I'm pretty sure they both
got a life.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
Did they? So did you get to did you get
to go to the court?

Speaker 2 (25:55):
No? I didn't go to any of that. No, I
can't parents.

Speaker 1 (25:58):
Yeah, So coming from parents that have lost a child
at twenty eight years old to a sudden death and
watching the demise of my parents. How do your parents
bury two children and ever be the same or they're
not the same, or you you have a sister, right? No, no, sure,
and so it's just you left like me. We're orphans, right,

(26:21):
So they had to pick up all the pieces for
them since the age of.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
What I was young. Let me see, so I was eleven,
I was still I was about to graduate high school next. Ye.

Speaker 1 (26:32):
No, you went to jail. Then you come out of jail,
and that's when the football got thrown to you. You
need to pick it up.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
Yeah, and then I had just lost, like I got
kicked out of college and all that because I was
in a criminal justice program at the time. I got
out of my program. Had to just kind of start
from scratch. Nobody would hire me.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
Okay, so let me go back. Both brothers died by
twenty six. The last one dies. You're how old the.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
Last one I died? So I was at fifteen, I
was twenty. Oh my god, what is it twenty twenty four?
I'm not gonna have math girl.

Speaker 1 (27:04):
Okay, that's okay. What's the difference in age between you
and your brother?

Speaker 2 (27:07):
It's about only like four.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
Yeah, So let's say you were twenty two at twenty two,
were you out of jail by then? Yes, as you
came out of jail, he passes. How long afterwards the
other brother passes before you go to jail?

Speaker 2 (27:22):
No? That, Yeah, he passed away before I went to jail,
and the other one after after. And then when I
got came home. It was probably maybe like two.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
Three years after Yeah, right ahead talking.

Speaker 2 (27:34):
Sorry, maybe like two to three years after I came home.
That happened.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
And is that when you decide like I need to
fly straight or when you got out of jail.

Speaker 2 (27:42):
No, when I got out of jail, I tried my
best to do what I needed to do. One of
my friends that en lied up taking me to church
New Life South Coast in New Bedford, and I was
still doing path things on the streets, you know, trying
to make money at least. And I used to like
the first day I was in there, I'm just looking
at everybody like going side to side, swaying. I'm like,

(28:03):
what the hell is going on in here?

Speaker 1 (28:05):
Doing church swing?

Speaker 2 (28:07):
No, I'm watching everybody else way, how am I what
the Hell's going on in here? And then they play
this song called Reckless Love by Corey. I think it's
a loom or something like that, and I start sweating.
I'm like what, Like now I'm thinking of my head like,
oh my god, is this the part of the Bible.
I'm about to melt because I'm the devil or something.
And I start end up swinging and I started just

(28:30):
crying and I just feel like this warm feeling come
over me and like I don't know, I felt.

Speaker 1 (28:35):
Like my jeez, with that thing, hold that thought? Well,
coming right back, It's Cidney Stumple Toughest Nails WBZ News
Radio ten thirty. Welcome back to Toughest Nails on w
BZ News Radio ten thirty. And I'm Sydney Stumpo and
I'm here with Sammy and I'm here with Melt Melt.
So we're now we're going to church. We're swaying, We're
going what are we doing here? And how fast does

(28:56):
the light bulb go off that you go? I got
straighten my.

Speaker 2 (28:59):
Act out the moment I started crying in church. It
was like the spirit came over me, like what are
you doing?

Speaker 1 (29:06):
And you left that one day? How many days you
go to church before you got that feeling.

Speaker 2 (29:11):
That one day that one day, one day, and then
I started going every single Sunday ever since then. I
joined Crew, which is they put you in a group
of a certain amount of women. It's like four or
five women, different kind of all different ages, different areas
of life, and you guys meet up, you pick a
day to meet up every week and you guys touch base,

(29:34):
you talk about church. It was like such a beautiful
experience because the women that I was.

Speaker 1 (29:38):
Around, so that got you help.

Speaker 2 (29:40):
Oh so so good.

Speaker 1 (29:42):
Okay, now your mom and dad today, So now you
put yourself to school, you get at church, and you say,
all right, I'm gonna make something in my life. Yes,
and then you do.

Speaker 2 (29:51):
What I applied to Brigham thirty times.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
Thirty times.

Speaker 2 (29:55):
Yep. I was working overnight at South Coast Behavioral Health
and I finally got it into and of course it
was right after my overnight, so I said, okay, let
me go, and I go there. They're like, oh, we're building.
Who's the lady that da They never gave me a
last name, only the lady's first name, Tracy. I'm They're like, girl,
there's Tracy and almost every department. So it's like an

(30:15):
hour now over my interview. I can't find them, and
then I just I walk into over into the Shapiro building.
I didn't know it was this Chaberas at the time,
and I just asked somebody that was like rolling around
with a car and I'm like, hey, do you know
who Tracy Dada? And they're like, honestly, I think I
heard that name before. I follow me. I think it's upstairs.
So they take me to the sixth floor the Cardiac

(30:35):
I see you, and they bring me inside. They're like, hey,
I have a girl here. She's looking for Tracy. And
the lady gets out and she's like, I'm Tracy and
I'm like, I'm Melanie. I've been looking for you, guys
for over an hour. They only gave me your first name.
I'm from a small town, Saint Lukes, don't even got
four fools, like this is crazy bridges and this and that.
So they're like, oh my god, you're still here. Didn't you?

(30:57):
Don't you work overnight to something like we saw your
resume and like yeah, They're like, yeah, you have the
job that's more than persistent. The job is yours.

Speaker 1 (31:04):
So Tracy gave your job yes, and that that job
was doing.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
What I was a CNA in the cardiac, I.

Speaker 1 (31:10):
See you, And then how did you learn how to
do blood?

Speaker 2 (31:13):
I went back to school and they paid for it.
I went to Roxburgh Community College. But I learned while
I was in the cardiac I see you because the
nurses like they saw how good I was, and they
wanted to help me learn. So we had a dummy
and then they would let me practice on them, on them. Yeah,
stick a needle in my vein. Go ahead, let's just
hope you don't need a main lottery. That was nice,
literally so nice.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
Okay, So then now you're going to work every day,
you're at Brigham's, And now what's the relationship like with you? Your
mom and dad?

Speaker 2 (31:41):
So much more healthier. I wish sometimes that I could
take back how much of an I was back then,
and like, like, you know, because your parents are your
God's gift, you know what I'm saying. People don't get
that every day, and to have parents that just try
every day and do their best with you is it's
amazing and it shouldn't be taken for granted. And I

(32:02):
feel like I took it for granted. Like before my
grandma died, she'd always tell me that, like, make sure
you take care of your mom. Make sure you take
care of your mom. Like it makes me want to cry,
because like my mom's such a good person, you know,
and like I can't wait to eventually retire her so
she won't got to work, like you know, just being
my friend, never judging me, always loving me, like everybody
was talking about me, and she she saw who I was,

(32:24):
you know, from the beginning. It's never a doubt.

Speaker 1 (32:28):
So your mom knew you'd come out of this crazy stage.

Speaker 2 (32:30):
She knew what I was like made for so to
my grandmother, My grandmother literally didn't die until the day
my first day orientation I got. I got the job
at Brigham on my birthday, I got my badge all
my birthday May nine, six years ago. And the day
of my orientation, my mom called me two hours into
it like your grandma's we're gonna save the body, hurry

(32:54):
up and get here. And they even pushed my orientation
like further from me. They like, oh my God, Like
it was crazy. It was like, how is that not
God right there showing you here, you are your introduction
to your life. Now stay to the right and don't
go left anymore.

Speaker 1 (33:08):
Like, come on, and that's all it took, all that
craziness and all we do is put you in church
three years four years prior to that, and you would
have went down, Like.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
I just focused on people who loved you.

Speaker 1 (33:20):
Sometimes you have to have bad, you know what really
good and then sometimes that's life. And then sometimes to
know good, you gotta feel bad. Then you can pick
out which which is something to compare. So I want
the feeling of good. I want the feeling of bad.
Then there are people like me that vicariously live through

(33:40):
everybody because I can. That's part of being a cancer.
Which your brothers knew that. They knew that, so they
were really good souls. I know they were.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
My cards were like I have a video I once
go see Maureen Hancock and she literally is like, oh
you're not You're not dying anytime soon. Sorry. Oh yeah,
nobody knows that though. How would you know that.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
She's that spiritual woman.

Speaker 2 (34:05):
Yeah, she's I told you to go there, girl, told
you to look that up. Amazing. I'll go again. I
love that she's amazing. They literally were like, you are
made for so much more. It's not your time and
it won't be for a long time, Like we miss
you too, but you have way too much to.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
Do that your brother's talking.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
Yeah, it was crazy. It was the craziest experience. We
have to go, you have to go.

Speaker 1 (34:26):
And now you were saying to me in the hospital
and when we met that you literally wait for your
dad now to come home from work to make sure
he's safe, and you feel that's your responsibility to make
sure he gets that house.

Speaker 2 (34:38):
Everybody. It just makes me like it's so crazy because
it's like after losing so many people, I feel like
you just get scared, Like it's just like an anxiety,
like you just expect a ball to drop or something
to have, Like every year I've lost someone, it's like
it's like a domino effect almost. It's like like so
it's like you get stuck in that.

Speaker 1 (35:01):
You know, I told your mom and dad my mom.

Speaker 2 (35:04):
Is fifty five, my dad is fifty four.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
Yeah, but you still want to make sure that you
think you can keep them safe forever forever.

Speaker 2 (35:12):
You can't be selfish, I know, but yeah, forever.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
That's not being selfish, Like you know, like, what's that?

Speaker 2 (35:18):
What was that? Founding the Founding.

Speaker 1 (35:19):
Youth, Everlasting found of Youth? I wish I had the
founder of youth too. So you want your parents around
here for a long time.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah, because I want to make it up, you know, like.

Speaker 1 (35:28):
I want to make it up to them.

Speaker 2 (35:30):
Yeah, Like they came from nothing from me for me,
like and my siblings, like like my whole family, like
my aunts, my uncle's, like they all raised us, like
you know what I mean, Like we was raising that
whole school setting. They all dropped us off at my
nie in his house, like they all went to work,
like you know what I mean, Like my name always
taught us, like this is who God gave you to
do life with you take care of you.

Speaker 1 (35:48):
Come from a family of hard working people.

Speaker 2 (35:50):
Hard working God driven people.

Speaker 1 (35:52):
Yeah, nobody's doing anything illegal.

Speaker 2 (35:54):
So the next Gennel, Oh yeah, it's embarrassing, bro, Like
my family came from nothing. This is what you want
want to do with your life? What are you doing? Girl?
Wake up?

Speaker 1 (36:03):
And now you woke up?

Speaker 2 (36:04):
Yeah, Like I want to be in d I want
my parents to be Like my daughter is a doctor
like you said she was gonna be a what Yeah,
Like people are so mean to my mom during that
time when I was away, like I wanted to come
home and beat up everybody because like it's not her fault.
Like your parents do the best that they can do,
and whatever they instill in you doesn't mean that you're
gonna have a perfect life. You still can take that left.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
You're right, That's why good kids come out of bad
homes and bad kids can come out.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
I'm telling you because like sometimes when you're I come
from a strict ass coult. I'm the only girl I
was allowed to do so obviously I'm a rebel. I
want to learn. I want to see what's up. Like
what I don't get to go out till I was
twenty one. I didn't even have a fake ID the hell?

Speaker 1 (36:46):
What's so wrong with that?

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Like you know, I know, of course, and I used
to be like I want to be like my man isma,
I don't give.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Up like damn mothers. Mothers is so yeah, a mother,
That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (36:57):
Like and it's crazy because it's like you don't see
it in the more when I've been trying to tell
these kids, like if I had listened to my mother
ten years ago, I would not be where I would
be even I would already be a doctor.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
Like what so a lot of your friends didn't come
from didn't have moms and dads.

Speaker 2 (37:13):
Yeah, like I have nobody. Like I watched all of
my friends be single parents and bust their ass, and
I try my heartiest to help them and try to
kind of be a step in dad or whatever the
hell I can be for them, because it's not easy.
You need a tribe like.

Speaker 1 (37:25):
To raise a child, my God, especially.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
If they are autistic or have any type of like.

Speaker 1 (37:31):
So you're out there helping your friends now that have
children that are.

Speaker 2 (37:34):
Single anytime I can, girl girl, like, I'm a girl's girl.
But we all need to be helping each other way more.
I don't care, like time is time is valuable and
it shouldn't be wasting.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
You're not you got away from Yeah, from the bad?

Speaker 2 (37:52):
Yeah, you know, so bad. I still pray for them
because God will work through people when he's supposed to.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
You know, God might be worth them, But at the
end of the day, water seeks its own level, and
you're seeking a whole different level of water now, And
that's good. That's good. That's how I Yeah, sometimes you
have to put those kids in the rear view mirror
if you want better, And that's called survival. Never ever
disrespect your mom and dad. Always love them every right, Okay,

(38:21):
we're going off to break I'm Sindy stumbling lists in
Toughest Nails on w BZ News Radio ten thirty. Okay,
welcome back to Toughest Nails on w BZ News Radio
ten thirty. Mel you got fifty seconds. What do you
want to say, honey.

Speaker 2 (38:33):
That I am grateful I met you and life always
brings you exactly where you're supposed to be and put
you in front of exactly who you need to be
in front of. If you would never went to my
job that day or needed assistance.

Speaker 1 (38:46):
If I need never need a blood, I would have
got the crazy blood lady that took my blood. But
you offered, you said, I got this, I got her.
You got her like you came over right. I'm twice
your age.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
That's just my heart. I don't like people in pain.
I got it.

Speaker 1 (39:02):
I will take care of you. That's what you taking
care of people. Yeah, I got her, I got her.
So we got a new friendship. Yes we do, girl, Okay,
and I love you still. We went on and by
the way, we went out in the hallway and we
talked for another twenty minutes after that. By the way,
everybody have a great, safe weekend. This is Cindy Stumbo
tup his nails on WBZ News Radio ten thirty