November 4, 2024 • 50 mins
Kudos to those brave women who do their civic duty and throw their hat in the political ring. Meet Gretchen Bonaduce whose commitment to improving the lives of the citizens of Bisbee, Arizona, led her to run for mayor. A former reality TV star and now proprietor of a cool bed and breakfast and restaurant, Gretchen did what few dare to do. Although she did not win this time she did come in second. Join the Moms as we learn how she bravely took on the establishment in her bid to become Mayor Bonaduce and all the fascinating things she is currently doing while living in Bisbee!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, Welcome to Inside the Mom's Club, where being a
mom is the coolest place to be. Here in the
(00:22):
Mom's Club, we believe that what embarrasses you now will
make a great story later. And let's face it, you
don't laugh sometimes you're gonna cry. Join us in having
a good laugh together. I'm Monica Samuels. You are now
inside the Mom's Club, your private destination for all things mom. Welcome, moms,
(00:49):
Welcome to Inside the Mom's Club. I'm your host, Monica Samuels,
and I am here with my co host, Julie Orchid.
But yeah, last time I turned to this to the
usual seat, it was empty because you was gallivanting around
the world. Didn't bring me a souvenir. And as I
(01:13):
mentioned in my other show, that was going to be
a point of whether she got to stay. But you
know what, here she is. So we're so happy to
have you back.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'm thrilled to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Now tell everybody where you went.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well, listen, I had my date with my children and
the Olympics and it was epic. I mean it was electric.
The vibe was so fun and I didn't know what
to expect. I mean, everybody tries to put the fear
of God in you that you know that's not a
good event. You shouldn't do that. I did all that
you did? She does, I warned her, Yeah, so I
shouldn't do it that it wouldn't be safe. It was
(01:45):
completely safe. I've never seen so many police. In fact,
we saw Los Angeles Police Department there. Yeah, so it
was they were getting ready, they're getting ready, they're they're
they're in training. So anyway, it was really fun to
be in a place where you got to see so
many dreams come true literally right before your eyes, regular
people doing extraordinary things, and you cried. It didn't matter
(02:09):
what country you were watching or where you were. It
was incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It looked like a lot of fun. Now I have
a theory. I'd like to throw this out to the
Olympic Committee. I feel very strongly about this with the
Moms Club. I feel like when they give the gold medal,
that the mother should be standing at the podium and
perhaps even receive a medal herself. I mean, because, let's
face it, athletes who got you there, that's who drove
(02:36):
you to the pool. I mean who.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
But for four am, Like these practices are from when
they're really young, so you're doing it all. I agree
with what you have to say about being on the podium,
but I also think the silver and the bronze oh though, oh.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Those people too. Yeah, well, have a separate, separate medal
ceremony for the parents, you know.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Because we're knowing it all.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Let's face it, you didn't drive yourself over to gymnastics
five years old.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Exactly did you think you were needed to be someone
in the Olympics growing up?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I did?
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I did.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Well.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
See, here's how my Olympic experience always worked. I was
a kid. I would watch the Olympics and that I'd
be inspired, and I thought, how can I get in
the Olympics, And I would go outside, I would do
all kinds of stuff, and then, well, my Olympic dreams
always died when they when the Olympic flame went out,
that was kind of the end of it, you know.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I listen, I thought I was Nadia Komen each there's
a lot of people that I was with, like my children,
why are you wearing that sweatshirt? I was like, you
just don't understand. Greatest movie ever, greatest story. And then
I picked up I'm very lely Retten, so clearly I
missed my gymnastics calling. But you know I was a dreamer.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I did not miss my gymnastics calling. I cannot do
a I have never been able to do a summersault.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Well, I think the whole point is about dreams and
following dreams and believing that you can.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah. Now I did have one bad experience, of course,
when I call the shot put in seventh.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Grade, Monica has a weird flat Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I have a very weird story. Yeah, I have a
flat finger because I caught a shot put. It is
not recommended if you have a child in track and field.
Make sure that they know that that's not you don't
catch it.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So but yeah, no weird story.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
When you have your dreams and you you know, like
when you go for it, when you go for something,
I just think that's so cool. Like people have, because
of various things I've done in my life, have said,
you know, why don't you run for office?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well, I would vote for you.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Well you know what, I've always said, Nah, that's too
there's too much stress involved in it. Right, It's just
like people are mean and your family gets involved. It's
just not good. But you know what, now that I've
on the flip side. I look at like some of
the candidates out there these days, and I think I
could do that. And I'm not making an announcement here,
but I'm considering it. I'm going to form an exploratory committee, okay.
(04:54):
For I can't decide whether to call it Monica twenty
twenty eight or Mom twenty twenty eight, because wouldn't people
want to vote for their mom? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Most people, most people. I can say that there are
some kids out there will be like, no.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
That might not be a good thing. Yeah, you might
not want to put that on your bumper, sticker on
your carpet.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So I'm yeah thinking about that, Okay. But what I
admire people who don't only think about.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
It, Yeah, who like take your fear out and just
do it exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
And so today we have one such person. We are
so so excited. She is an American TV personality, author
and musician. She is best known for her wrote her
time on reality TV breaking Bona Ducci if you remember
that show on VH one with her ex husband Danny Bonaducci,
(05:42):
with whom she has two children. But her latest claim
to fame is she ran for mayor of Bisbee, Arizona.
Please welcome mayoral former and possibly future mayoral candidate Retch
and Bonaducci. Welcome to Oh.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Thank you for coming. I am so excited because I
just admire the fact that you jumped in there and
you did something that we all kind of say, well,
I should I don't like how that's working, I should run.
We can all run for office nobody.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
That's literally what I did. I really didn't put a
lot of thought process into it. I saw same as
you people going on, I'm going to run. I'm like, look,
they're qualified, so am I. So I jumped in really
without thinking that much about it other than the fact
that I really feel like our town needed a lot
of change, and so I just went for it. And
(06:39):
it was such an experience. I definitely see now how
a lot of great people don't went around because you
do have to put up with a lot of crap.
Not gonna lie, just be prepared for that.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
That's the negative side. Well, let's talk about how you
did it, because for those out there who all over
America who think well maybe I should run, let's let's
dig deep into this. So how did you how did
you you're not from Bisbee, Arizona. And that's always a like.
I have a place in Florida, and every once in
a while I think, oh, maybe I'll run for Congress here,
But I only visit there to go to the beach,
(07:11):
and I have a feeling that would be thrown up
against me later on. So tell us then it would
have it would So tell us how you came to
be in Bisbee, Arizona, which, by the way, I looked
it up, it's south of Tucson and eleven miles from
the Mexican American border.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Is that right, That is correct? Yeah, one of my
houses two miles from the border.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
So I see a lot of border patrol down there,
pulling people down of the bushes quite well. But I
love this town. It is the cutest little town. Uh.
It was formed in like the eighteen hundreds, late eighteen hundreds,
and it's so interesting because at the turn of the
century there were three stock exchanges in the United States,
New York, San Francisco, and Bisbee. If you can believe that,
(07:55):
we had so many people. Here was a huge mining town.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And so I found the town because I really wanted
to leave La. I just didn't like the hustle and bustle,
and I didn't really go anywhere because you just kind
of stay in your neighborhood. It takes so long to
get anywhere else. So I decided to google mansions for
sale and this house came up, and I just fell
in love with it.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
It's beautiful. Is are you in one of them right now?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
That? Yeah? It's called Greenway Manor is the house that
I primarily live in. It was built in nineteen oh
eight by the mining company, and the head of the
mining company lived here and then the supervisors the people
had apartments. It's like a ten thousand square foot house,
ten bedrooms, eleven bathrooms. I was doing a lot of
(08:45):
the cleaning when I first moved here five years ago,
so thank god I've been able to hire some more
people for help. But it just sort of lent itself
to doing Airbnb because I had seven bedrooms, all with
little kitchen utes and private bathrooms. So I turned it
into this rock and roll airbnb, so all the rooms
are themed. I have a Beatles room, David.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Bowie room, and m that's fun.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
So it's super cool.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
What I have to say, I have a two part
question for you, What was your breaking point of leaving La.
There must have been the straw that broke the Camel's
back and then how busy is the bed and Breakfast
in Arizona.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Well, I ended up wanting to leave La. First all,
I never wanted to go to La. Shan's husband and
I were living in New York City and I loved
it there. I was really not happy when they said
we had to go to LA. But at the time,
he was in radio and when you get a job,
they just sent you where you have to go, and
you have to go. So I went there, and you know,
(09:46):
there was upside for sure. It's so beautiful every day,
so my kids could play outside. But I do think
raising your kids in LA is not the best idea,
especially if you have a famous parent. It's just kind
of a weird universe to put your kids in. So yeah,
I really wanted to lead. And there wasn't really a
(10:07):
straw that broke the camel's back. I just never wanted
to be there in the first place.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, I'm out.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, But you know the great thing about it was
I lived it like everyone wants to. You know, everyone
goes to La to be in show business. I was
at the Grammys that Emmy's the Red Carpet. So I
feel super fortunate that I lived in the La dream
that everybody wishes they could. But I don't think it's
a great place for kids. I really wish we would
(10:35):
have lived somewhere else and commuted back and forth into LA.
I think that would have been better for my kids.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I think there's some value.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, for sure. Now do you have any other connection
with Arizona other than you just found this place in Arizona?
Have you ever lived there before?
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Or I have? Actually, Danny and I got married here.
He was a DJ in Phoenix when we met, and
my parents were living here as well. I grew up
I'm from Chicago, but I grew up in Tennessee. Like
my high school years, I lived in Chattanooga. They were
in high school there. So that was really hard to
move from the North to the South. Uh. And in
(11:10):
high school on top of it, you know, being very
awkward and not knowing anybody, and you know, my accent
was weird. They'd all just be going, hey, you want
something pop everyone. I'm like, yeah, so you picked up
a southern accent really fast, you know, I started saying, y'all, y'all,
and and you know, I had guys come up to
(11:31):
me and go, my mama would die. I brought home
a Yankee, but I'd sure a lot to take you out,
So you know that was kind of uncomfortable. Yeah, I would, Yeah,
but you know, I've lived all over I lived in Germany.
I lived in San Francisco, which was fortunate for me
because we moved so much that I really didn't have
(11:52):
any connection, you know, so it was kind of easy
for me to pick up and move.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Yeah. I moved a lot too, so I am familiar.
You just keep going and you pick up where you are,
you learn what's in the town, and you know, make
new friends and go.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
And I think that if you're outgoing, it's a lot easier.
Like my brother wasn't and I think it was a
lot harder on him. But I'm so friendly. I mean,
that was one of the criticisms my ex husband always
said about you like everyone. It's not a compliment because
you and I can't help, but I do like it's
sort of toxic.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I think I've heard that from my ex husband too,
So don't worry.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
There's nothing wrong with liking.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You out going, don't talk to you, match, don't laugh
too loud.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah that's not but yeah, when you mentioned Phoenix. So
I worked and I interned for a congressman from Scottsdale, Arizona,
and that's where I learned a lot. Eldon Rudd, he's
sure he's no longer with us, But the funny thing
I learned about that's when I first learned about politics
and kind of what you were getting into. They had
me run the reception desk one day and they told me, Monica,
(12:55):
whatever you do, the congressman is not here. He is
not here, no matter who comes in here. Well, his
office was like to the left, right by the door,
So I said, okay, okay. So this little cute family
from Scottsdale comes in, they want to meet their congressman.
I'm like, I'm sorry, he's not here. He's not here.
Just then he walks out the door, shakes all their hands,
(13:16):
and walks out. And then it became clear to me
they didn't know who he was, which just goes to
show we don't all know you know, who's who's running things.
So now you go to.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Bisbee, yep, and your five years hell did that.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So how big is Bisbee? How many people this question?
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Five thousand? So it's the tiny little town and every
one knows everything about everyone. So that's one of the
downsides of living in a down in a small town,
but more so because there's like a kernel of truths
to everything, but most of it's not true. So you're
dealing with that a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Oh yeah, So what were some of the issues that
you saw that you talked about. You're like, I had
a lot of issues that I thought needed to be fixed.
We're dying to know about, you know, this town and
the people there, and give us some tidbits on that.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Okay, Well, first of all, when I decided to run,
I had to go to city hall and you had
to get signatures, and you had to have a certain
amount of signatures to qualify. So that was the first
step I had to do, and I was easily able
to do that, except for I made a mistake. That's
the one thing that was so great about me running
this time. I kind of learned all the mistakes and
(14:26):
if I decide to run again, I won't make them again.
But I thought that if I was getting the signatures,
that I didn't need to sign the back of my
petitions only if I was having other people do it. Well,
that turned out not to be true. I needed to
sign back, which I did not, lesson learned, so then
(14:49):
I oh so, then some of the people in the
city council tried to get me out by suing me
and saying she didn't sign so she can't run. So
I hired an attorney and fought in. And I guess
it's a common mistake to make that. A lot of
times people just forget it's it's not a big deal,
but when they don't really want you to run, they'll
look for any way to get you out. So just
(15:10):
be prepared for that if you decide.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
That is true. Yeah, that's common. I'm also an attorney,
so I'm well, I'm very familiar with that.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Yeah, yes, yes, So luckily we had.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
A great attorney and the judge decided in my favor,
so I was able to move forward. Douse me. I
have really bad allergies. So oh.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
So, tell you talked about the people. Five thousand people,
there's like everybody knows everybody's business, so what's the scuttle?
But they're in Bisbee, like who are There's like little
cliques or you said the city council. Are they all
in a little like they're all kind of you know,
related to each other, or what's the story there? What
(15:50):
give us some color of what Bisbee's like.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Well, Jablin, there's little cliques. It's a very artistic community.
We have a lot of musicians, a lot of artists.
It's just the most charming little town. If you look
it up, you will see and so I call it
the Island of thisbit Toys. There's a lot of weirdos
here and that's one of the things I love love
about the town. And also it's a tourist town, but
(16:18):
there's a lot of retirees, so you're kind of fighting
against that because they get their pension and their social security,
so the last thing they want is more tourists to
come in or more people with money to come in
and drive prices up. But unfortunately, we are a tourist town.
So that's one of the things. As a businesswoman, I
employ sixteen people in this town, and if we don't
(16:39):
have tourists, I don't have jobs for those people. So
I am constantly promoting the town as much as I
can to try to bring in more people. My airbnbs
do really well, Like I figured out the niche for
the Rock and Roll Airbnb, and then I have a
house at the airport where you can fly your plane
in and pull it into the house. There's a hang.
(17:00):
So I did pretty well. But they also started making
it really hard to have airbnbs, which you know in
California they were doing that too, so true. So now
they're much stricter, like we have to have the fire
marshal has to come in once a year, and someone
has to come through once a year and go through
all your fire extinguishers, and you have to pay a fee,
(17:23):
and so there's a lot more to it than there
used to be, which I think is a good thing.
You know, we just had a fire in old Bisbee
and two of the old buildings burned down, and so
it's super important because his buildings are old, that we
have the fire department totally on top of it constantly.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Mm hmm. Now I saw you in I saw you
in a candidate forum and it saw the mayor. He
looks like he's I don't know, older retired. Bisbee is
one of those.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Yeah, he was a fireman, interestingly enough, and I know
I Dan for the Legislature in Utah. A couple of
times ran here. Once didn't win and then he won,
and he won. This time, I came in second and
he won, but he was the incumbent. I also was
running as an independent and he was running Democratics, so
(18:13):
he had all that force behind him in a lot
of donations. But I don't know. For me, I like
to be able to vote however, I think is the
best way without having from a party.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
So was Wanda the Republican? Who how did that shake it?
I saw Wanda was the other candidate.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
On one is a Democrat.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Oh so there are no Republicans.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
And I ran as an independent.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah, which makes sense.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I mean, I just want to vote the way I
want to, you know. I don't want to have someone go, well,
the whole party is voting this way, you know, so
you have to vote that way. I'd rather not have
that pressure. But it does make it a little more
difficult when you don't have a party behind you and
extra money. Like I didn't want to take money from
anybody because I didn't know if I could win, So I,
(18:57):
you know, sort of put my own into it for
this time, and if I decide to run next time.
I might take money, but we'll see. Like, I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Well, it's impressive that you were you came in second,
I have to say. I mean, it's tough to knock
off the incumbent. You're right, the incumbancy they kind of
control everything at that point. So that's rough.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Well, I have the support of the ex mayor, the
X City attorney, A lot of people were supporting me,
a lot of business people. Most of the business people
voted for me, so because they get it, you know,
I think, guy, we had five businesses closed in July
because they couldn't make it. There weren't enough tourists.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, if it wasn't for people like you, Gretchen, that
town made just slowly. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
So you're right, exactly what you should.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
I'm going to keep pushing and pushing as much as
by camp. But you know, I am up against the
people that don't want more tourists here. But I think
in the long run, things keep going this way and
more businesses go under, next time, I'd have even more support.
You know, they'll get it that it is what we are.
I know, you don't want to be a tourist town,
people that have been here for twenty years. And it's
(20:05):
strange because the people that have been here for generations.
When the Mind closed in the seventies, it almost did
turn into a ghost town. And so they get it
that the tourists are the people that are keeping it alive.
So you know, I'm just going to keep pushing for that,
and I don't want to see that happen in my town.
I love it so much. And yeah, people and the artists,
(20:26):
and you know, the more people that come in, we
can let the musicians play more and there's more tours
to tip them so they make better money. And you know,
a lot of them can't live here in Bisbee anymore
because they can't afford the rent. So that's one thing
I try to do is have three of my places
for locals and try to keep you know, keep it
reasonable for them, and then rent the rest out to
(20:49):
the tourists.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's that's great. Well, you're right, because basically,
if you're not a tourist town, do you still want
to be a town because you're not going to be
a rent You're right, it'll be a ghost town.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
So what are your kids think? Of you up and
moving to Bisbee. I mean, what did they? I mean,
we all have kids here, so we're interested in knowing
what their thoughts are on your you know, gusto to
get up and do this.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Well, my daughter lives in Europe, and I knew she
would never come here because she's super gothy and she
doesn't like the fun, so I probably not see hurt
here very often. She's married to a professor in Brighton University,
oh yeah, and lives over there and she loves it.
And my son came here because I said, I'd rather
you move here and learn how to drive than try
(21:33):
to learn in Los Angeles. So yeah, so he came here,
learned how to drive, left and lived in Denver. He's
a chef, so he was working at Red Rocks in Denver,
and then went to Thailand for a while to study
Ui Thai. And now he's back here as a chef
and he's going to be working in a vineyard in Sonoita,
(21:54):
which is about an hour from here. So so I
mean he's still They're both proud of me. You know
that I make decisions and just make it happen. And
you know, I literally had no real I mean, I've
waited tables, so I've had restaurant experience. I also own
two restaurants here on top of the airbnbs. Oh my god,
but I really didn't have I'm the worst cleaner in
(22:17):
the world. Honestly, I'm really, really, really bad. So I
had to learn to be great. And my cleaning ratings
are really good, so so that was nice. But yeah,
I think they're proud of me that, you know, I
am self made. You know, I moved here, didn't know
much of anything, opened to airbnbs, and now my restaurant
(22:37):
expanded to another town. So I just love to work,
I really do. But it is starting to catch up
to me. I'll be fifty nine in a couple of weeks,
and I try to keep up, but I'm like, darn,
I can't keep doing this. Ohopping every day.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
You're gonna be fifty nine. You don't even dare thirty nine? Well,
the show should be more about how you look so great?
We need to have a fault.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
It's a group effort now. Luckily, going over the border
into Mexico is really inexpensive to have botos. There's a
tip my friends here and we caravan down, we walk
over we go boom boom boom or or whatever. Then
we walk back over the border.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Listen, I feel a road trip coming on for many reasons.
We can take a plane, we can go to Mexico
for botox.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
I want to check out Bisbee, That's that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So I have a quick question because I my daughter
majored in Spanish. Are you bilingual?
Speaker 3 (23:37):
I am not embarrassingly enough. I am not enough. That
is something I have to work on for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Okay, I was just curious. You live so close and
you say you're walking into Mexico. I'm wondering, you know
how you know communication sometimes?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
You know, I usually have someone with me that can
speak Spanish, so I haven't had a problem yet. Yeah.
You know, there's a lot of dentists down there that
are also inexpensive. So a lot of Americans go over
the border. We go into Agua Creete, but there's also
Naco Mexico. Oh and yeah, it's like a quarter to
a third of the price that it is the United
States or anything, Like fifty units of botox in Mexico
(24:16):
is two hundred and fifty dollars. That'd be like eight hundred.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
That chip is going to happen sooner than patr Monica.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, a spot.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
I'm having to be free down because I had lumineers
many years ago. I'm only supposed to last a certain
amount of time. I think when I did it fifteen
sixteen years ago, I paid like ten it's like thirty
eight hundred for all goodness.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Oh you guys, hurry come back. Wow, I get accused
about you know. Georgia's like, you just need to learn
Spanish and quit using my skills. So I just had
to ask. I was like, who's helping you?
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Yeah, nobody, but I need to learn.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I can say a few basic phrases, but uh one,
I'm just so busy. It's so hard for me to
go even go anywhere because you know, the four businesses,
six businesses, really with the four air beating, it's hard
for me to give control over to somebody else.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
So yeah, my question of like what is it a
day in the life of you? But I think I
have a pretty good idea of how busy you are
if you have four businesses, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
You are on the Spanish front. I totally I studied Spanish.
I never could speak it no matter what I did
and recently we had somebody that one of the people
that works was helping us. He was Spanish speaking, and
he went on this other man's property that's our neighbor,
and the guy's not particularly friendly. So I was trying
(25:36):
to explain to the guy how he shouldn't be over
there and you should. This is a podcast, so I
can't demonstrate all of.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
The Yeah, we don't visuals I did.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
It's dangerous over there. Yeah, so that's kind of hard
for we all have. Well, I want to hear about
your I'm gonna go back to your campaign really quick
because I heard you had a stand up comic. Was
your campaign manager? Is that true? I mean, h helped
you with this. Besides the other business people in Bisbee.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Like who I did?
Speaker 3 (26:03):
I somehow convinced aug Stanhope, who is a brilliant comic,
to help me along. At first, we were going to
run against each other, but he felt like that would
upset the community too much, so he didn't want to
go down that road yet I was willing to do it,
so he helped me out a lot. We had so
much fun. He came up with absurd ideas, which because
(26:25):
it's such a weird town. I thought possibly they could work,
you know, well, being.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
A weird town. Who is Tamala Turtle?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Is this a tamil is our?
Speaker 3 (26:37):
I colored the Bisbee b York like every day she's
in the craziest get ups. She's a performance artist, a singer.
She's brilliant. Actually she's very very good. So they were
helping me out. Like the day we went to put
up my campaign signs. Oh that's the other thing I learned.
You have to put paid for an approved buy. I
(26:58):
didn't do that on my find The next day I
had to go and get a bunch of printed up
and then go slap them on up on this stick.
That was the second mistake I made.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I'm taking you I'm aware of all these because yeah,
that's how you get people out of the race, that's
for sure.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Oh yeah, and they were looking that one of these
we were going to report me for we're a dark
Sky's community. But yet I own Airbnbs, so I have
to make sure my guests are sitting, so I have
lights and they're supposed to be facing down, so you know,
because you can see the Milky Way from here. Sure
it's so beautiful, but I cannot help it if my
(27:34):
guests turn it back up. I was gonna get in
trouble for that, so you know they were looking to
get me in trouble.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Any Yeah, No, that's that's a common Yeah, that's a
part of American politics.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I talk about how Arizona's got its own little Marfa.
We're from Texas, and I feel like that's what she's described. Well,
the milky way, the music if you've ever heard of,
very similar thing is we don't have what do you have?
Speaker 3 (27:58):
A prodest o there? We don't have, but I think
you got us on that.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
I bet you could get a produ of there, just
like the one that store.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
They could do you anyway.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
I'm gonna ask. I'm gonna ask or anyone.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
The way you're the way you're you know, doing your
business in that part of the Arizona I why why
be mayor? That's kind of a tougher job. I could
see you and given a come of the candidates governor, senator,
I mean, well, Arizona, I don't think that's I think
that's doable, not at all.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Here's what I have to do. First. I'm on the
museum board, I'm on the committee for the Mariacci festival.
But all that, you guys should come down. We have
the Mariacci Festival coming up on November second, and we
were able to get Did you guys watch American Idol
at all? Yeah, there was the candidate McKenna Brianholds and
(28:53):
her mother was from uh Bisbee. Well, I don't think
she's from here, but that was at the story on
American Idol. Well, I was able me and my people
in the committee were able to get her to come
for the Mariashi first of all November second, So she's
going to be our special guag. But we're kind of
a town of cosplays. We have crazy parties. We have
(29:14):
Alice and Bisbee Land where everybody comes dressed up like
Alice in Wonderland. I throw Elvis and Bisbee Land, so
you have to come dresses Alabash. My birthday party in
two weeks is Bridgerton. Uh. We have, I mean just
so many crazy parties.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Well, Bisbie sounds like a ton of fun on top
of everything. And we have some women who may want
to come visit your airbnb and and party there with you.
And they are our Zoomer moms and today's special future
Zoomer daughters so welcome Zoomer moms and Zoomer daughters. You
welcome to the Mom's One. Well, ladies, I'm just gonna
(29:55):
introduce you and tell us a little bit about yourself
and do you have a question for Gretchen. Let's start
with Cricket. Welcome to the Mom's Club.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Hi, Cricket, Hi, I had to unmute. Thanks. That what
a wonderful interview. You guys do a great show.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
For sure.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
I'm retired, semi retired, living in Los Angeles, out of
the entertainment business as well, and have three children, one
by birth and two by marriage. And what always occurred
to me you talked about moving them out of Los
Angeles to raise your children, and we lived in Malibu
(30:35):
at the time, and there was a lot of influence
from celebrity out there, So I wondered, what were the
benefits there? Do you think what are the lessons that
they learned by moving them out of LA I.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
Think that it was just really hard for my children.
And then on top of it, you also add in
social media. You know, when you grew up, we didn't
have that. You didn't have that constant pressure to compare
ourselves to people, and so on top of being a
child of a celebrity. I mean, look at all the
smart ones moved out. Julia Roberts, you know, she moved
(31:10):
to New Mexico, Sandra Bullock. You know, if you knew
the temptations and the pressure the smart people, I think
when and just kind of commuted back and forth, and
I just feel like for kids in the show business people,
that's what I'm saying. I'm not saying people just live
there and just live there and aren't in the business.
(31:32):
I think it's a fine place to grow up, but
I do think the pressures of having a famous parent
and living in LA with the trappings and all that,
it's just I think difficult for them to grow up
and have a normal experience. You know, it's just not normal.
Not as much community.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah, Jeanette, welcome to the Mom's Club. Tell us a
little bit about yourself, and do you have a question
for Gretchen?
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Can you hear me?
Speaker 2 (32:04):
We can.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
Hi. I'm Janine. It's such a pleasure to meet you.
I do have a question. My husband and I host.
Speaker 7 (32:15):
Monthly dinners in our home, so we've dabbled, I guess
in the hospitality line for a bid and so we've
had high moments and some that were a challenge and
were learning experiences. And since you've been in Arizona, you
have several businesses that you're juggling, and I assume you
(32:37):
were not an airbnb owner in the past or.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
A restaurant owner.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
So as far as learning curve some of the big
lessons that you learned, can you pinpoint a couple that
you could share for sure?
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Well, I was a restaurant owner in Los Angeles for
a brief period of time. My husband and I invested
into a restaurant and the guy just ran it into
the ground. So that's the first thing I learned is
you have to be so hands on on a restaurant.
And the other thing is the restaurant that we bought
had been here thirty years, and we bought it during
COVID because we knew it had been established, it had
(33:16):
been here for thirty years, and the food was so delicious,
like we do homemade pies, keish sandwiches, salads, homemade cookies,
The menus incredible and it's very simple, and so we
just took it over because we knew we couldn't lose.
And the greatest thing we learned. Wow, we didn't learn.
(33:36):
But the day we closed was the day they let
you go to full tables because remembers during COVID they
spaced everything out so you could only I am half
your capacity, and so I knew it was the right choice.
The day we open, when they go, hey, you can
put all your tables back in, I'm like, oh my god,
get it to the attic, bring everything down. So but
I learned you have to be super hands on, and
(33:58):
so my partner and he does all the grocery shopping. Luckily,
we have a manager who's been there for ten years,
so she knows it kind of runs itself. In Busbee,
our new establishment has been a little more difficult to
deal with because it's a way bigger town. There's forty
thousand people, so we thought we should be able to
(34:20):
easily do what we're doing in Busbee just by sheer number.
There's a lot more people. But we have a commercial
kitchen there, so we have to transfer the food out there,
and so it took us a really long time for
the Hell Department to sign off on that, and then
we had to buy like a van that was completely
cleaned out because I guess the person we bought it
from was driving the food over in her car, which
(34:43):
you're not allowed to do, which she never told us,
So you know that's an unexpected expense. But yeah, you
just have to be really hands on. And I think
with Airbnb, as long as you keep things are really clean,
Like people get really mad when there is a toilet
paper in the room them and they get not happy
at all if there are towels, so you know, you
(35:05):
justus they do. Yeah, And you know that was in
the beginning because I hadn't run one. Sometimes I would
make that mistake where I just was doing a final
walkthrough and something would get by me. So that's what
I tell all my crew.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Now that would so be me. I'd be like, oh,
you need toilet paper.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
Yeah, Oh I'm do you need toilet.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
You need okay, okay, hold on, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
One of the things you may forget you don't think of.
You know. I want to just say right here, I
have met Jeanine. She's even been on our show before, Yes,
and I called her Jeanette, which just shows that my
eyesight is it's the menopausal brain, I guess. And I apologize.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Janine.
Speaker 7 (35:45):
I know you so I'm wearing I'm shares of glasses
getting over surgery on my eyes, and so I completely
get it.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Well, I was trying to be all, you know, fashionable.
I didn't want to wear glasses, but I should, so
I apologies. Well, our next week today we have we
have Zoomer daughters, which is so exciting we have not
had before. And in this interview so far, we have
not mentioned much about Danny Bonaducci, who was Gretchen's ex
(36:19):
husband who was on the Partridge Family. And part of
the reason, I suppose is because last night we were
at dinner and we we talked about who we're going
to meet today and we mentioned it to a young
man who's twenty three, and he said, the what I
never heard of the part What. I don't even know
what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
So isn't that crazy? I know that the younger people
and they go, well, I've heard of the Beatles. They go,
you've heard of the Beatles.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
They barely heard of the Brady Bunch. But we kept
throwing shows out to them and they're like, yeah, I
kind of think I know that. So I don't know
what kind of questions you're going to get from the
next generation. But our first Zoomer daughter is Julie's own daughter. Yes, Georgia.
So Georgia, welcome to the mom's club and said, nice,
(37:05):
you have a question for Gretchen.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Yes, I do him. I'm Georgia.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
I'm super excited to be here today.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
My question for you, I have a few, but I
think I wanted to ask about what it was like
doing reality TV and if they if you were able
to be yourself and kind of what your reflection is
of that process.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Oh okay, wow, that's a great question. I It was
a mixed blessing because the show that we shot was
supposed to be rock and roll dinner party and it
was rock stars came over. It was a pot luck,
and it was supposed to be funny and zany. We
came right after the Osborne Show. I don't know if
you're familiar with the Osborne Show, but it was such
(37:48):
a smash hit that everyone was looking for the next
Osborne's and so, you know, the show that we thought
we were going to be doing was a funny, hilarious,
bringing up our kids, pot luck with rock stars, but
it turned into a really dark show because what was
happening my husband and I were actually really struggling, and
(38:09):
it was actually capturing the implosion of our marriage, which
was not at all what we were going to be shooting,
and another reason I would not have put my kids
on TV had I known that was the direction the
show was going to go. But I'm super proud of it.
I mean, we were able just to help a lot
of people who were struggling with infidelity and drug issues
(38:32):
and anger issues and alcoholism. You know, we dealt with
all of that, and so it was a really dark
subject and so I wish that it hadn't gone that way,
but yet I'm kind of proud of it. I don't
think we would have been brave enough to do it
had we known that's the way it was going to go.
But I do feel like it was probably the most
(38:53):
real TV show that was ever on because there was
nothing stage. And actually I'm also a really bad actress,
so they're so reality. TV was like one time they go,
oh my god, we didn't get you going out of
the building. Could you go back in and come back out?
So I did and they were all laughing. I'm like,
what's so funny? They go, that is the most unnatural
(39:15):
want you've ever seen. So they never asked me, well.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I'm just gonna want to ask.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
I wish I could, but I can just be me about.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I'm an interject on what you just said, because I
think it's really important. You didn't know the show was
going to go take that route. But I am going
to say, by you bringing up talking about some of
those issues, you probably helped a lot of people, and
you gave it a lot less power by bringing it
to the surface and talking about it and releasing it.
So you probably did a lot of good, you know,
(39:45):
with the reality TV show.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
So I did get a lot of great feedback, and
I know the producers were laughing at me because I
said from the start, I would like the show to
make a difference. Yeah, you know, I don't. I don't
want to go Remember when you said that and then
I I said this, let's do that again. You know,
I really didn't want any of that. And I know
they were like, oh, you're so cute. It's wanting to
make a difference on your TV show. But the mail
(40:09):
that we got after, I know we did and yeah,
I mean I would definitely want to do another one,
but a fun one.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Right, I mean one that doesn't make you pit sweat
every second that they're filming.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
It's something that's reality, but in a positive happen right
and a fun way.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Yeah, one that I would want to put my kids
on again. And I even told my son, you know,
if you want to be on this, you are welcome,
but I need you to go in with your eyes open.
You know, this is going to be a way more
fun show if I ever get one to go. But
you also are going to have to deal with criticism,
and I want to make sure you know. I think
(40:48):
people that can't handle that well should not be on
reality shows because people are vicious.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
We well, we actually have interviewed quite a few people
that have done reality TV, and for some reason, we
keep you get the villains a lot and when they
could show up here because they want to, they actually
want to redeem them. We met one. We loved her.
She was the nicest person. And before the show, my
husband watched the series, He's like, oh, she's I don't know,
you don't want her on your show? I said, I
(41:15):
talked to her on the thunt. She was super nice.
She's very nice. Her show is still.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Going you in ways, but I feel like when people
are disappointed, like I was fine. I felt the way
they caught me was fine. I had no issues with it.
But you know some people feel like they get villainized
and uh maybe, but I also feel like, well, did
you do that? Did you say that? Then you did it?
So how can you complain?
Speaker 5 (41:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (41:42):
That is true, but I will tell you because your
political career is still you know, we expect you to
run from mayor again. Just everything you say, they can
cut it in a way that and then they'll they'll
twist it where that's not really in all what you meant.
But there's a huge ad that says, oh yeah, she's
pretty tough, she's done hate dogs and children. Oh well,
I was like, whoa you know, so, yeah, you gotta
(42:04):
gotta be a word.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
That's true. But because I have the reality show backlash
experience that nothing else. Yeah, I scoff when people, Oh,
I'm gonna say something mean about you to busy people,
I'm like, come at you and have an opinion.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
Well, I'm one hundred percent. Georgia would be like, mom
zero reality TV got it.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
My children have already told me that's non things, not
an option. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
Well, and my daughter would not ever be on a
show again.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Under any so I can understand.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
I wouldn't even ask her because they don't feel like
she felt it was positive for her, and I felt
bad about that. Yes, that's understandable, bad that I, you know,
put her in that position. And I even said to her, well,
you have a really good point. Maybe you should go
to Screen Actors Guild and talk to them about people
(42:56):
when they're young being on TV and not really being
consulted about it. They were paid. I made sure that
when they votes were eighteen, they had a lot of
money because I paid them for you know, being on
the show. I put them on a salary. But there
is an argument for maybe there's some kids that shouldn't
do it, and maybe the parents' motivation is wrong. Well,
(43:17):
you know, so that's so I don't know the answer,
but I do feel like my daughter had a point.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Yeah, that's that's actually a good point. And in the
history of Hollywood, obviously with kids actors, that's been a
huge thing. In fact, I think there's an organization. One
committed suicide years ago and another group of them started
an organizations to support for kids.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Well, there was that whole movement in the nineties, the
whole next Child started going bad, you know, with Danny
being in trouble, Dana Plato, who's you know, ended up dying,
and Todd Bridges was in trouble. I mean, there was
just a bunch of a lot of the Corey Haying,
Cory Fellas. Yeah, a lot that. It's an argument definitely
(43:57):
to say it's a lot in the parenting. That you
don't have good parenting, you're definitely gonna have problems with
your kids.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Yeah, mine and kid.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
It's such an unnatural thing, you know, being a famous
person when the world loves you and then going home
to a crappy family. I don't think a kid has
a chance under those certain things. I think you're a well,
you know, rounded adult.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Well, we have one more Zoomer daughter here. She is
not my daughter. She's actually my niece, but close enough.
She's like a daughter because I have no daughters. Emily,
Welcome to the Mom's club.
Speaker 7 (44:33):
Do you have a question.
Speaker 4 (44:39):
So my question for you is about your book and
what the process was of writing that and whether that
was a cathartic experience for you, and just if you
could talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Well, you know, it's so funny that you asked that,
because honestly, all the things I'm doing now, I had
no experience. I had zero experience in writing. As a
matter of fact, I get criticized on my social media
all the time. I'm a spell stuff or I use
the wrong I'm really bad and accept and accept, but
I look, I'm too busy people, I'm riding sick, and
(45:13):
give me a break. But I decided to write it
myself because I was singing about bringing in a ghostwriter,
but I'm kind of greedy and I didn't really want
to pay somebody. But I'm like, you know what I'm
going to see? So I told her a story and
I said write it then send it to me. And
it totally didn't sound like me. So I'm like, you
know what, I can do this, And so I just
(45:35):
was very disciplined. Every day I sat down and I wrote,
and I didn't even try to put it in an order.
I just tried to write story, story, story, until then
I could try to put it in an order. And
so that's kind of how I did that. And I
was lucky enough to find a publisher who was willing
to put it out and it definitely was cathartic. It
(45:55):
was a lot of work, but I'm very proud of
that because out of all the things I'm doing, I
probably had the least amount of experience, you know, to
write a book. And uh yeah, so I really enjoyed
doing it. And the book's called Surviving Agent Orange and
other things I learned from being thrown under the Partures family.
But and the reason that it's called Surviving Agent Orange.
(46:17):
That was our code name, my assistant and myself for Danny.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
Yeah, she'd be like.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Agent Orange just pulling into the driveway. So it just
was a funny name we called Danny.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
That's good. Nice, Well, thank you so much, Gretchen. This
has been so much fun.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
I've inspired by your fearlessness.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
I'm just going for it writing books.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
Say that again, Gretchen, Sorry I said, or my stupidity.
Speaker 3 (46:43):
Wow, no no, no.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
No, that's not true.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
You are just people have said to me, did you
ever worry that you were going to fail? And I
just don't have that ship in me. I should have
worried more than I did. And somehow I've been able
just by shared tanasa and not willing to fail to
pull through. And and you know, pull all the stuff off.
So if I can aspire anyone, you know you can
(47:09):
do it. I did it.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Well, yeah, crazy, you are as we say here on
the Mom's Club. You are amazing, amazing, and so are
our amazing Zoomer mom. So thanks for joining us moms
and daughters today. Yes for being on the show. Guys.
Speaker 3 (47:25):
Yeah, so much fun. I appreciate all of you being
on here and having me and you guys have an
open door. We do the most strange things like I
have seances here, we do sance dinners and.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
Oh I love that, you know.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Like I said, all the all the crazy dumb parties
that we love to do. Uh. And you guys are
welcome to come and bring some outfits and uh and
we'll have fun.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
Well, thank you. That sounds fun. So where can our
audience find you on social media? And how can they
find your make a reservation? How did Yeah?
Speaker 3 (47:55):
I'm mind Airbnb, Verbo, booking dot com on all the
platforms for booking hotels. And my restaurant is the Cornicopia Cafe,
the main ones in Bisbee and then I have the
new one in Sierra Vista, and I'm hoping if things
go well we'll roll that one out to Tombstone, which
is a half hour from here. And also, oh yeah yeah,
(48:18):
I'm Gretchen Chander all my social media and I would
love for you guys to come any time, so come visit.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
That'd be It sounds like an adventure.
Speaker 1 (48:27):
I mean that is that is well, we want to
thank a sponsor. I can't say well, first of all,
two sponsors. One, I want to thank the Beaman Hotel.
They are talking about a great place to stay if
you can't if you're after your trip to Bisbee, stop
by the Beaman in Dallas. You will have a great
time there. It's amazing, amazing. And I also want to
(48:49):
thank our sponsor, New Calm because New Calm I don't
generally wear hats because I don't really get my hair
messed up.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
But so cute.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Oh yeah, we're all all. We're all new Commerce. And
let me tell you it really really really works moms
if you are stressed out. And actually the Surgeon General
just said that parenting causes tremendous stress. The Surgeon General
said that, so people, this is serious. But you know
what can fix it? New Calm, And we have a
(49:20):
special for you if you put Mom's Club in the
code and check out. You get fifteen percent off every
month of your subscription. You cannot beat that, so I
use it, I Julie, Yes, I used to see how
great everybody everybody, Yeah, everybody.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Want to be more calm?
Speaker 1 (49:41):
Exactly right, A lot of things.
Speaker 2 (49:43):
It does everything.
Speaker 1 (49:44):
It helps you with everything, so definitely sign up for
New Calm and check us out on social media. We
are on Instagram at Inside the Mom's Club. We're on TikTok,
we're on Facebook. More recently we have a YouTube channel,
and we had website Inside the Mom's Club dot com.
So check us out there. Well, Julie, everything you know,
(50:05):
it just flies by expacinitely when you're here, so when
you run off on vacation, it takes a little longer.
So so happy that you were back and so much fun.
But we will be back next time with celebrities and
extraordinary moms like all the zoomer moms here today. That's right,
and you and I and until then, remember our our
(50:27):
Mom's Club potto. If you don't laugh, sometimes ladies don't cry.
Nobody likes crying. We'll see you next time Inside the
Mom's Club.
Hi, Welcome to Inside the Mom's Club, where being a
mom is the coolest place to be. Here in the
(00:22):
Mom's Club, we believe that what embarrasses you now will
make a great story later. And let's face it, you
don't laugh sometimes you're gonna cry. Join us in having
a good laugh together. I'm Monica Samuels. You are now
inside the Mom's Club, your private destination for all things mom. Welcome, moms,
(00:49):
Welcome to Inside the Mom's Club. I'm your host, Monica Samuels,
and I am here with my co host, Julie Orchid.
But yeah, last time I turned to this to the
usual seat, it was empty because you was gallivanting around
the world. Didn't bring me a souvenir. And as I
(01:13):
mentioned in my other show, that was going to be
a point of whether she got to stay. But you
know what, here she is. So we're so happy to
have you back.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'm thrilled to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Now tell everybody where you went.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Well, listen, I had my date with my children and
the Olympics and it was epic. I mean it was electric.
The vibe was so fun and I didn't know what
to expect. I mean, everybody tries to put the fear
of God in you that you know that's not a
good event. You shouldn't do that. I did all that
you did? She does, I warned her, Yeah, so I
shouldn't do it that it wouldn't be safe. It was
(01:45):
completely safe. I've never seen so many police. In fact,
we saw Los Angeles Police Department there. Yeah, so it
was they were getting ready, they're getting ready, they're they're
they're in training. So anyway, it was really fun to
be in a place where you got to see so
many dreams come true literally right before your eyes, regular
people doing extraordinary things, and you cried. It didn't matter
(02:09):
what country you were watching or where you were. It
was incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It looked like a lot of fun. Now I have
a theory. I'd like to throw this out to the
Olympic Committee. I feel very strongly about this with the
Moms Club. I feel like when they give the gold medal,
that the mother should be standing at the podium and
perhaps even receive a medal herself. I mean, because, let's
face it, athletes who got you there, that's who drove
(02:36):
you to the pool. I mean who.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
But for four am, Like these practices are from when
they're really young, so you're doing it all. I agree
with what you have to say about being on the podium,
but I also think the silver and the bronze oh though, oh.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Those people too. Yeah, well, have a separate, separate medal
ceremony for the parents, you know.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Because we're knowing it all.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
Let's face it, you didn't drive yourself over to gymnastics
five years old.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Exactly did you think you were needed to be someone
in the Olympics growing up?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I did?
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I did.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
Well.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
See, here's how my Olympic experience always worked. I was
a kid. I would watch the Olympics and that I'd
be inspired, and I thought, how can I get in
the Olympics, And I would go outside, I would do
all kinds of stuff, and then, well, my Olympic dreams
always died when they when the Olympic flame went out,
that was kind of the end of it, you know.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I listen, I thought I was Nadia Komen each there's
a lot of people that I was with, like my children,
why are you wearing that sweatshirt? I was like, you
just don't understand. Greatest movie ever, greatest story. And then
I picked up I'm very lely Retten, so clearly I
missed my gymnastics calling. But you know I was a dreamer.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I did not miss my gymnastics calling. I cannot do
a I have never been able to do a summersault.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Well, I think the whole point is about dreams and
following dreams and believing that you can.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah. Now I did have one bad experience, of course,
when I call the shot put in seventh.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Grade, Monica has a weird flat Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I have a very weird story. Yeah, I have a
flat finger because I caught a shot put. It is
not recommended if you have a child in track and field.
Make sure that they know that that's not you don't
catch it.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
So but yeah, no weird story.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
When you have your dreams and you you know, like
when you go for it, when you go for something,
I just think that's so cool. Like people have, because
of various things I've done in my life, have said,
you know, why don't you run for office?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well, I would vote for you.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Well you know what, I've always said, Nah, that's too
there's too much stress involved in it. Right, It's just
like people are mean and your family gets involved. It's
just not good. But you know what, now that I've
on the flip side. I look at like some of
the candidates out there these days, and I think I
could do that. And I'm not making an announcement here,
but I'm considering it. I'm going to form an exploratory committee, okay.
(04:54):
For I can't decide whether to call it Monica twenty
twenty eight or Mom twenty twenty eight, because wouldn't people
want to vote for their mom? Well?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Most people, most people. I can say that there are
some kids out there will be like, no.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
That might not be a good thing. Yeah, you might
not want to put that on your bumper, sticker on
your carpet.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
So I'm yeah thinking about that, Okay. But what I
admire people who don't only think about.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
It, Yeah, who like take your fear out and just
do it exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
And so today we have one such person. We are
so so excited. She is an American TV personality, author
and musician. She is best known for her wrote her
time on reality TV breaking Bona Ducci if you remember
that show on VH one with her ex husband Danny Bonaducci,
(05:42):
with whom she has two children. But her latest claim
to fame is she ran for mayor of Bisbee, Arizona.
Please welcome mayoral former and possibly future mayoral candidate Retch
and Bonaducci. Welcome to Oh.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Thank you for coming. I am so excited because I
just admire the fact that you jumped in there and
you did something that we all kind of say, well,
I should I don't like how that's working, I should run.
We can all run for office nobody.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
That's literally what I did. I really didn't put a
lot of thought process into it. I saw same as
you people going on, I'm going to run. I'm like, look,
they're qualified, so am I. So I jumped in really
without thinking that much about it other than the fact
that I really feel like our town needed a lot
of change, and so I just went for it. And
(06:39):
it was such an experience. I definitely see now how
a lot of great people don't went around because you
do have to put up with a lot of crap.
Not gonna lie, just be prepared for that.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
That's the negative side. Well, let's talk about how you
did it, because for those out there who all over
America who think well maybe I should run, let's let's
dig deep into this. So how did you how did
you you're not from Bisbee, Arizona. And that's always a like.
I have a place in Florida, and every once in
a while I think, oh, maybe I'll run for Congress here,
But I only visit there to go to the beach,
(07:11):
and I have a feeling that would be thrown up
against me later on. So tell us then it would
have it would So tell us how you came to
be in Bisbee, Arizona, which, by the way, I looked
it up, it's south of Tucson and eleven miles from
the Mexican American border.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Is that right, That is correct? Yeah, one of my
houses two miles from the border.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Oh wow.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
So I see a lot of border patrol down there,
pulling people down of the bushes quite well. But I
love this town. It is the cutest little town. Uh.
It was formed in like the eighteen hundreds, late eighteen hundreds,
and it's so interesting because at the turn of the
century there were three stock exchanges in the United States,
New York, San Francisco, and Bisbee. If you can believe that,
(07:55):
we had so many people. Here was a huge mining town.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And so I found the town because I really wanted
to leave La. I just didn't like the hustle and bustle,
and I didn't really go anywhere because you just kind
of stay in your neighborhood. It takes so long to
get anywhere else. So I decided to google mansions for
sale and this house came up, and I just fell
in love with it.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
It's beautiful. Is are you in one of them right now?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
That? Yeah? It's called Greenway Manor is the house that
I primarily live in. It was built in nineteen oh
eight by the mining company, and the head of the
mining company lived here and then the supervisors the people
had apartments. It's like a ten thousand square foot house,
ten bedrooms, eleven bathrooms. I was doing a lot of
(08:45):
the cleaning when I first moved here five years ago,
so thank god I've been able to hire some more
people for help. But it just sort of lent itself
to doing Airbnb because I had seven bedrooms, all with
little kitchen utes and private bathrooms. So I turned it
into this rock and roll airbnb, so all the rooms
are themed. I have a Beatles room, David.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Bowie room, and m that's fun.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
So it's super cool.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
What I have to say, I have a two part
question for you, What was your breaking point of leaving La.
There must have been the straw that broke the Camel's
back and then how busy is the bed and Breakfast
in Arizona.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Well, I ended up wanting to leave La. First all,
I never wanted to go to La. Shan's husband and
I were living in New York City and I loved
it there. I was really not happy when they said
we had to go to LA. But at the time,
he was in radio and when you get a job,
they just sent you where you have to go, and
you have to go. So I went there, and you know,
(09:46):
there was upside for sure. It's so beautiful every day,
so my kids could play outside. But I do think
raising your kids in LA is not the best idea,
especially if you have a famous parent. It's just kind
of a weird universe to put your kids in. So yeah,
I really wanted to lead. And there wasn't really a
(10:07):
straw that broke the camel's back. I just never wanted
to be there in the first place.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, I'm out.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, But you know the great thing about it was
I lived it like everyone wants to. You know, everyone
goes to La to be in show business. I was
at the Grammys that Emmy's the Red Carpet. So I
feel super fortunate that I lived in the La dream
that everybody wishes they could. But I don't think it's
a great place for kids. I really wish we would
(10:35):
have lived somewhere else and commuted back and forth into LA.
I think that would have been better for my kids.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I think there's some value.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, for sure. Now do you have any other connection
with Arizona other than you just found this place in Arizona?
Have you ever lived there before?
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Or I have? Actually, Danny and I got married here.
He was a DJ in Phoenix when we met, and
my parents were living here as well. I grew up
I'm from Chicago, but I grew up in Tennessee. Like
my high school years, I lived in Chattanooga. They were
in high school there. So that was really hard to
move from the North to the South. Uh. And in
(11:10):
high school on top of it, you know, being very
awkward and not knowing anybody, and you know, my accent
was weird. They'd all just be going, hey, you want
something pop everyone. I'm like, yeah, so you picked up
a southern accent really fast, you know, I started saying, y'all, y'all,
and and you know, I had guys come up to
(11:31):
me and go, my mama would die. I brought home
a Yankee, but I'd sure a lot to take you out,
So you know that was kind of uncomfortable. Yeah, I would, Yeah,
but you know, I've lived all over I lived in Germany.
I lived in San Francisco, which was fortunate for me
because we moved so much that I really didn't have
(11:52):
any connection, you know, so it was kind of easy
for me to pick up and move.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Yeah. I moved a lot too, so I am familiar.
You just keep going and you pick up where you are,
you learn what's in the town, and you know, make
new friends and go.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
And I think that if you're outgoing, it's a lot easier.
Like my brother wasn't and I think it was a
lot harder on him. But I'm so friendly. I mean,
that was one of the criticisms my ex husband always
said about you like everyone. It's not a compliment because
you and I can't help, but I do like it's
sort of toxic.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
I think I've heard that from my ex husband too,
So don't worry.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
There's nothing wrong with liking.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
You out going, don't talk to you, match, don't laugh
too loud.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah that's not but yeah, when you mentioned Phoenix. So
I worked and I interned for a congressman from Scottsdale, Arizona,
and that's where I learned a lot. Eldon Rudd, he's
sure he's no longer with us, But the funny thing
I learned about that's when I first learned about politics
and kind of what you were getting into. They had
me run the reception desk one day and they told me, Monica,
(12:55):
whatever you do, the congressman is not here. He is
not here, no matter who comes in here. Well, his
office was like to the left, right by the door,
So I said, okay, okay. So this little cute family
from Scottsdale comes in, they want to meet their congressman.
I'm like, I'm sorry, he's not here. He's not here.
Just then he walks out the door, shakes all their hands,
(13:16):
and walks out. And then it became clear to me
they didn't know who he was, which just goes to
show we don't all know you know, who's who's running things.
So now you go to.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Bisbee, yep, and your five years hell did that.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So how big is Bisbee? How many people this question?
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Five thousand? So it's the tiny little town and every
one knows everything about everyone. So that's one of the
downsides of living in a down in a small town,
but more so because there's like a kernel of truths
to everything, but most of it's not true. So you're
dealing with that a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Oh yeah, So what were some of the issues that
you saw that you talked about. You're like, I had
a lot of issues that I thought needed to be fixed.
We're dying to know about, you know, this town and
the people there, and give us some tidbits on that.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Okay, Well, first of all, when I decided to run,
I had to go to city hall and you had
to get signatures, and you had to have a certain
amount of signatures to qualify. So that was the first
step I had to do, and I was easily able
to do that, except for I made a mistake. That's
the one thing that was so great about me running
this time. I kind of learned all the mistakes and
(14:26):
if I decide to run again, I won't make them again.
But I thought that if I was getting the signatures,
that I didn't need to sign the back of my
petitions only if I was having other people do it. Well,
that turned out not to be true. I needed to
sign back, which I did not, lesson learned, so then
(14:49):
I oh so, then some of the people in the
city council tried to get me out by suing me
and saying she didn't sign so she can't run. So
I hired an attorney and fought in. And I guess
it's a common mistake to make that. A lot of
times people just forget it's it's not a big deal,
but when they don't really want you to run, they'll
look for any way to get you out. So just
(15:10):
be prepared for that if you decide.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
That is true. Yeah, that's common. I'm also an attorney,
so I'm well, I'm very familiar with that.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Yeah, yes, yes, So luckily we had.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
A great attorney and the judge decided in my favor,
so I was able to move forward. Douse me. I
have really bad allergies. So oh.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
So, tell you talked about the people. Five thousand people,
there's like everybody knows everybody's business, so what's the scuttle?
But they're in Bisbee, like who are There's like little
cliques or you said the city council. Are they all
in a little like they're all kind of you know,
related to each other, or what's the story there? What
(15:50):
give us some color of what Bisbee's like.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Well, Jablin, there's little cliques. It's a very artistic community.
We have a lot of musicians, a lot of artists.
It's just the most charming little town. If you look
it up, you will see and so I call it
the Island of thisbit Toys. There's a lot of weirdos
here and that's one of the things I love love
about the town. And also it's a tourist town, but
(16:18):
there's a lot of retirees, so you're kind of fighting
against that because they get their pension and their social security,
so the last thing they want is more tourists to
come in or more people with money to come in
and drive prices up. But unfortunately, we are a tourist town.
So that's one of the things. As a businesswoman, I
employ sixteen people in this town, and if we don't
(16:39):
have tourists, I don't have jobs for those people. So
I am constantly promoting the town as much as I
can to try to bring in more people. My airbnbs
do really well, Like I figured out the niche for
the Rock and Roll Airbnb, and then I have a
house at the airport where you can fly your plane
in and pull it into the house. There's a hang.
(17:00):
So I did pretty well. But they also started making
it really hard to have airbnbs, which you know in
California they were doing that too, so true. So now
they're much stricter, like we have to have the fire
marshal has to come in once a year, and someone
has to come through once a year and go through
all your fire extinguishers, and you have to pay a fee,
(17:23):
and so there's a lot more to it than there
used to be, which I think is a good thing.
You know, we just had a fire in old Bisbee
and two of the old buildings burned down, and so
it's super important because his buildings are old, that we
have the fire department totally on top of it constantly.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Mm hmm. Now I saw you in I saw you
in a candidate forum and it saw the mayor. He
looks like he's I don't know, older retired. Bisbee is
one of those.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Yeah, he was a fireman, interestingly enough, and I know
I Dan for the Legislature in Utah. A couple of
times ran here. Once didn't win and then he won,
and he won. This time, I came in second and
he won, but he was the incumbent. I also was
running as an independent and he was running Democratics, so
(18:13):
he had all that force behind him in a lot
of donations. But I don't know. For me, I like
to be able to vote however, I think is the
best way without having from a party.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
So was Wanda the Republican? Who how did that shake it?
I saw Wanda was the other candidate.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
On one is a Democrat.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Oh so there are no Republicans.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
And I ran as an independent.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Yeah, which makes sense.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I mean, I just want to vote the way I
want to, you know. I don't want to have someone go, well,
the whole party is voting this way, you know, so
you have to vote that way. I'd rather not have
that pressure. But it does make it a little more
difficult when you don't have a party behind you and
extra money. Like I didn't want to take money from
anybody because I didn't know if I could win, So I,
(18:57):
you know, sort of put my own into it for
this time, and if I decide to run next time.
I might take money, but we'll see. Like, I'm not sure.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Well, it's impressive that you were you came in second,
I have to say. I mean, it's tough to knock
off the incumbent. You're right, the incumbancy they kind of
control everything at that point. So that's rough.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Well, I have the support of the ex mayor, the
X City attorney, A lot of people were supporting me,
a lot of business people. Most of the business people
voted for me, so because they get it, you know,
I think, guy, we had five businesses closed in July
because they couldn't make it. There weren't enough tourists.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, if it wasn't for people like you, Gretchen, that
town made just slowly. Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
So you're right, exactly what you should.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
I'm going to keep pushing and pushing as much as
by camp. But you know, I am up against the
people that don't want more tourists here. But I think
in the long run, things keep going this way and
more businesses go under, next time, I'd have even more support.
You know, they'll get it that it is what we are.
I know, you don't want to be a tourist town,
people that have been here for twenty years. And it's
(20:05):
strange because the people that have been here for generations.
When the Mind closed in the seventies, it almost did
turn into a ghost town. And so they get it
that the tourists are the people that are keeping it alive.
So you know, I'm just going to keep pushing for that,
and I don't want to see that happen in my town.
I love it so much. And yeah, people and the artists,
(20:26):
and you know, the more people that come in, we
can let the musicians play more and there's more tours
to tip them so they make better money. And you know,
a lot of them can't live here in Bisbee anymore
because they can't afford the rent. So that's one thing
I try to do is have three of my places
for locals and try to keep you know, keep it
reasonable for them, and then rent the rest out to
(20:49):
the tourists.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Yeah, yeah, no, that's that's great. Well, you're right, because basically,
if you're not a tourist town, do you still want
to be a town because you're not going to be
a rent You're right, it'll be a ghost town.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
So what are your kids think? Of you up and
moving to Bisbee. I mean, what did they? I mean,
we all have kids here, so we're interested in knowing
what their thoughts are on your you know, gusto to
get up and do this.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Well, my daughter lives in Europe, and I knew she
would never come here because she's super gothy and she
doesn't like the fun, so I probably not see hurt
here very often. She's married to a professor in Brighton University,
oh yeah, and lives over there and she loves it.
And my son came here because I said, I'd rather
you move here and learn how to drive than try
(21:33):
to learn in Los Angeles. So yeah, so he came here,
learned how to drive, left and lived in Denver. He's
a chef, so he was working at Red Rocks in Denver,
and then went to Thailand for a while to study
Ui Thai. And now he's back here as a chef
and he's going to be working in a vineyard in Sonoita,
(21:54):
which is about an hour from here. So so I
mean he's still They're both proud of me. You know
that I make decisions and just make it happen. And
you know, I literally had no real I mean, I've
waited tables, so I've had restaurant experience. I also own
two restaurants here on top of the airbnbs. Oh my god,
but I really didn't have I'm the worst cleaner in
(22:17):
the world. Honestly, I'm really, really, really bad. So I
had to learn to be great. And my cleaning ratings
are really good, so so that was nice. But yeah,
I think they're proud of me that, you know, I
am self made. You know, I moved here, didn't know
much of anything, opened to airbnbs, and now my restaurant
(22:37):
expanded to another town. So I just love to work,
I really do. But it is starting to catch up
to me. I'll be fifty nine in a couple of weeks,
and I try to keep up, but I'm like, darn,
I can't keep doing this. Ohopping every day.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
You're gonna be fifty nine. You don't even dare thirty nine? Well,
the show should be more about how you look so great?
We need to have a fault.
Speaker 3 (23:05):
It's a group effort now. Luckily, going over the border
into Mexico is really inexpensive to have botos. There's a
tip my friends here and we caravan down, we walk
over we go boom boom boom or or whatever. Then
we walk back over the border.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Listen, I feel a road trip coming on for many reasons.
We can take a plane, we can go to Mexico
for botox.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
I want to check out Bisbee, That's that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So I have a quick question because I my daughter
majored in Spanish. Are you bilingual?
Speaker 3 (23:37):
I am not embarrassingly enough. I am not enough. That
is something I have to work on for sure.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Okay, I was just curious. You live so close and
you say you're walking into Mexico. I'm wondering, you know
how you know communication sometimes?
Speaker 3 (23:52):
You know, I usually have someone with me that can
speak Spanish, so I haven't had a problem yet. Yeah.
You know, there's a lot of dentists down there that
are also inexpensive. So a lot of Americans go over
the border. We go into Agua Creete, but there's also
Naco Mexico. Oh and yeah, it's like a quarter to
a third of the price that it is the United
States or anything, Like fifty units of botox in Mexico
(24:16):
is two hundred and fifty dollars. That'd be like eight hundred.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
That chip is going to happen sooner than patr Monica.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, a spot.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
I'm having to be free down because I had lumineers
many years ago. I'm only supposed to last a certain
amount of time. I think when I did it fifteen
sixteen years ago, I paid like ten it's like thirty
eight hundred for all goodness.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Oh you guys, hurry come back. Wow, I get accused
about you know. Georgia's like, you just need to learn
Spanish and quit using my skills. So I just had
to ask. I was like, who's helping you?
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Yeah, nobody, but I need to learn.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I can say a few basic phrases, but uh one,
I'm just so busy. It's so hard for me to
go even go anywhere because you know, the four businesses,
six businesses, really with the four air beating, it's hard
for me to give control over to somebody else.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
So yeah, my question of like what is it a
day in the life of you? But I think I
have a pretty good idea of how busy you are
if you have four businesses, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
You are on the Spanish front. I totally I studied Spanish.
I never could speak it no matter what I did
and recently we had somebody that one of the people
that works was helping us. He was Spanish speaking, and
he went on this other man's property that's our neighbor,
and the guy's not particularly friendly. So I was trying
(25:36):
to explain to the guy how he shouldn't be over
there and you should. This is a podcast, so I
can't demonstrate all of.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
The Yeah, we don't visuals I did.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
It's dangerous over there. Yeah, so that's kind of hard
for we all have. Well, I want to hear about
your I'm gonna go back to your campaign really quick
because I heard you had a stand up comic. Was
your campaign manager? Is that true? I mean, h helped
you with this. Besides the other business people in Bisbee.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Like who I did?
Speaker 3 (26:03):
I somehow convinced aug Stanhope, who is a brilliant comic,
to help me along. At first, we were going to
run against each other, but he felt like that would
upset the community too much, so he didn't want to
go down that road yet I was willing to do it,
so he helped me out a lot. We had so
much fun. He came up with absurd ideas, which because
(26:25):
it's such a weird town. I thought possibly they could work,
you know, well, being.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
A weird town. Who is Tamala Turtle?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Is this a tamil is our?
Speaker 3 (26:37):
I colored the Bisbee b York like every day she's
in the craziest get ups. She's a performance artist, a singer.
She's brilliant. Actually she's very very good. So they were
helping me out. Like the day we went to put
up my campaign signs. Oh that's the other thing I learned.
You have to put paid for an approved buy. I
(26:58):
didn't do that on my find The next day I
had to go and get a bunch of printed up
and then go slap them on up on this stick.
That was the second mistake I made.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
I'm taking you I'm aware of all these because yeah,
that's how you get people out of the race, that's
for sure.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Oh yeah, and they were looking that one of these
we were going to report me for we're a dark
Sky's community. But yet I own Airbnbs, so I have
to make sure my guests are sitting, so I have
lights and they're supposed to be facing down, so you know,
because you can see the Milky Way from here. Sure
it's so beautiful, but I cannot help it if my
(27:34):
guests turn it back up. I was gonna get in
trouble for that, so you know they were looking to
get me in trouble.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Any Yeah, No, that's that's a common Yeah, that's a
part of American politics.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
I talk about how Arizona's got its own little Marfa.
We're from Texas, and I feel like that's what she's described. Well,
the milky way, the music if you've ever heard of,
very similar thing is we don't have what do you have?
Speaker 3 (27:58):
A prodest o there? We don't have, but I think
you got us on that.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
I bet you could get a produ of there, just
like the one that store.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
They could do you anyway.
Speaker 3 (28:09):
I'm gonna ask. I'm gonna ask or anyone.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
The way you're the way you're you know, doing your
business in that part of the Arizona I why why
be mayor? That's kind of a tougher job. I could
see you and given a come of the candidates governor, senator,
I mean, well, Arizona, I don't think that's I think
that's doable, not at all.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Here's what I have to do. First. I'm on the
museum board, I'm on the committee for the Mariacci festival.
But all that, you guys should come down. We have
the Mariacci Festival coming up on November second, and we
were able to get Did you guys watch American Idol
at all? Yeah, there was the candidate McKenna Brianholds and
(28:53):
her mother was from uh Bisbee. Well, I don't think
she's from here, but that was at the story on
American Idol. Well, I was able me and my people
in the committee were able to get her to come
for the Mariashi first of all November second, So she's
going to be our special guag. But we're kind of
a town of cosplays. We have crazy parties. We have
(29:14):
Alice and Bisbee Land where everybody comes dressed up like
Alice in Wonderland. I throw Elvis and Bisbee Land, so
you have to come dresses Alabash. My birthday party in
two weeks is Bridgerton. Uh. We have, I mean just
so many crazy parties.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Well, Bisbie sounds like a ton of fun on top
of everything. And we have some women who may want
to come visit your airbnb and and party there with you.
And they are our Zoomer moms and today's special future
Zoomer daughters so welcome Zoomer moms and Zoomer daughters. You
welcome to the Mom's One. Well, ladies, I'm just gonna
(29:55):
introduce you and tell us a little bit about yourself
and do you have a question for Gretchen. Let's start
with Cricket. Welcome to the Mom's Club.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
Hi, Cricket, Hi, I had to unmute. Thanks. That what
a wonderful interview. You guys do a great show.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
For sure.
Speaker 6 (30:13):
I'm retired, semi retired, living in Los Angeles, out of
the entertainment business as well, and have three children, one
by birth and two by marriage. And what always occurred
to me you talked about moving them out of Los
Angeles to raise your children, and we lived in Malibu
(30:35):
at the time, and there was a lot of influence
from celebrity out there, So I wondered, what were the
benefits there? Do you think what are the lessons that
they learned by moving them out of LA I.
Speaker 3 (30:49):
Think that it was just really hard for my children.
And then on top of it, you also add in
social media. You know, when you grew up, we didn't
have that. You didn't have that constant pressure to compare
ourselves to people, and so on top of being a
child of a celebrity. I mean, look at all the
smart ones moved out. Julia Roberts, you know, she moved
(31:10):
to New Mexico, Sandra Bullock. You know, if you knew
the temptations and the pressure the smart people, I think
when and just kind of commuted back and forth, and
I just feel like for kids in the show business people,
that's what I'm saying. I'm not saying people just live
there and just live there and aren't in the business.
(31:32):
I think it's a fine place to grow up, but
I do think the pressures of having a famous parent
and living in LA with the trappings and all that,
it's just I think difficult for them to grow up
and have a normal experience. You know, it's just not normal.
Not as much community.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Yeah, Jeanette, welcome to the Mom's Club. Tell us a
little bit about yourself, and do you have a question
for Gretchen?
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Can you hear me?
Speaker 2 (32:04):
We can.
Speaker 3 (32:06):
Hi. I'm Janine. It's such a pleasure to meet you.
I do have a question. My husband and I host.
Speaker 7 (32:15):
Monthly dinners in our home, so we've dabbled, I guess
in the hospitality line for a bid and so we've
had high moments and some that were a challenge and
were learning experiences. And since you've been in Arizona, you
have several businesses that you're juggling, and I assume you
(32:37):
were not an airbnb owner in the past or.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
A restaurant owner.
Speaker 7 (32:44):
So as far as learning curve some of the big
lessons that you learned, can you pinpoint a couple that
you could share for sure?
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Well, I was a restaurant owner in Los Angeles for
a brief period of time. My husband and I invested
into a restaurant and the guy just ran it into
the ground. So that's the first thing I learned is
you have to be so hands on on a restaurant.
And the other thing is the restaurant that we bought
had been here thirty years, and we bought it during
COVID because we knew it had been established, it had
(33:16):
been here for thirty years, and the food was so delicious,
like we do homemade pies, keish sandwiches, salads, homemade cookies,
The menus incredible and it's very simple, and so we
just took it over because we knew we couldn't lose.
And the greatest thing we learned. Wow, we didn't learn.
(33:36):
But the day we closed was the day they let
you go to full tables because remembers during COVID they
spaced everything out so you could only I am half
your capacity, and so I knew it was the right choice.
The day we open, when they go, hey, you can
put all your tables back in, I'm like, oh my god,
get it to the attic, bring everything down. So but
I learned you have to be super hands on, and
(33:58):
so my partner and he does all the grocery shopping. Luckily,
we have a manager who's been there for ten years,
so she knows it kind of runs itself. In Busbee,
our new establishment has been a little more difficult to
deal with because it's a way bigger town. There's forty
thousand people, so we thought we should be able to
(34:20):
easily do what we're doing in Busbee just by sheer number.
There's a lot more people. But we have a commercial
kitchen there, so we have to transfer the food out there,
and so it took us a really long time for
the Hell Department to sign off on that, and then
we had to buy like a van that was completely
cleaned out because I guess the person we bought it
from was driving the food over in her car, which
(34:43):
you're not allowed to do, which she never told us,
So you know that's an unexpected expense. But yeah, you
just have to be really hands on. And I think
with Airbnb, as long as you keep things are really clean,
Like people get really mad when there is a toilet
paper in the room them and they get not happy
at all if there are towels, so you know, you
(35:05):
justus they do. Yeah, And you know that was in
the beginning because I hadn't run one. Sometimes I would
make that mistake where I just was doing a final
walkthrough and something would get by me. So that's what
I tell all my crew.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Now that would so be me. I'd be like, oh,
you need toilet paper.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
Yeah, Oh I'm do you need toilet.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
You need okay, okay, hold on, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
One of the things you may forget you don't think of.
You know. I want to just say right here, I
have met Jeanine. She's even been on our show before, Yes,
and I called her Jeanette, which just shows that my
eyesight is it's the menopausal brain, I guess. And I apologize.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Janine.
Speaker 7 (35:45):
I know you so I'm wearing I'm shares of glasses
getting over surgery on my eyes, and so I completely
get it.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Well, I was trying to be all, you know, fashionable.
I didn't want to wear glasses, but I should, so
I apologies. Well, our next week today we have we
have Zoomer daughters, which is so exciting we have not
had before. And in this interview so far, we have
not mentioned much about Danny Bonaducci, who was Gretchen's ex
(36:19):
husband who was on the Partridge Family. And part of
the reason, I suppose is because last night we were
at dinner and we we talked about who we're going
to meet today and we mentioned it to a young
man who's twenty three, and he said, the what I
never heard of the part What. I don't even know
what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (36:34):
So isn't that crazy? I know that the younger people
and they go, well, I've heard of the Beatles. They go,
you've heard of the Beatles.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
They barely heard of the Brady Bunch. But we kept
throwing shows out to them and they're like, yeah, I
kind of think I know that. So I don't know
what kind of questions you're going to get from the
next generation. But our first Zoomer daughter is Julie's own daughter. Yes, Georgia.
So Georgia, welcome to the mom's club and said, nice,
(37:05):
you have a question for Gretchen.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Yes, I do him. I'm Georgia.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
I'm super excited to be here today.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
My question for you, I have a few, but I
think I wanted to ask about what it was like
doing reality TV and if they if you were able
to be yourself and kind of what your reflection is
of that process.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Oh okay, wow, that's a great question. I It was
a mixed blessing because the show that we shot was
supposed to be rock and roll dinner party and it
was rock stars came over. It was a pot luck,
and it was supposed to be funny and zany. We
came right after the Osborne Show. I don't know if
you're familiar with the Osborne Show, but it was such
(37:48):
a smash hit that everyone was looking for the next
Osborne's and so, you know, the show that we thought
we were going to be doing was a funny, hilarious,
bringing up our kids, pot luck with rock stars, but
it turned into a really dark show because what was
happening my husband and I were actually really struggling, and
(38:09):
it was actually capturing the implosion of our marriage, which
was not at all what we were going to be shooting,
and another reason I would not have put my kids
on TV had I known that was the direction the
show was going to go. But I'm super proud of it.
I mean, we were able just to help a lot
of people who were struggling with infidelity and drug issues
(38:32):
and anger issues and alcoholism. You know, we dealt with
all of that, and so it was a really dark
subject and so I wish that it hadn't gone that way,
but yet I'm kind of proud of it. I don't
think we would have been brave enough to do it
had we known that's the way it was going to go.
But I do feel like it was probably the most
(38:53):
real TV show that was ever on because there was
nothing stage. And actually I'm also a really bad actress,
so they're so reality. TV was like one time they go,
oh my god, we didn't get you going out of
the building. Could you go back in and come back out?
So I did and they were all laughing. I'm like,
what's so funny? They go, that is the most unnatural
(39:15):
want you've ever seen. So they never asked me, well.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I'm just gonna want to ask.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
I wish I could, but I can just be me about.
Speaker 2 (39:24):
I'm an interject on what you just said, because I
think it's really important. You didn't know the show was
going to go take that route. But I am going
to say, by you bringing up talking about some of
those issues, you probably helped a lot of people, and
you gave it a lot less power by bringing it
to the surface and talking about it and releasing it.
So you probably did a lot of good, you know,
(39:45):
with the reality TV show.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
So I did get a lot of great feedback, and
I know the producers were laughing at me because I
said from the start, I would like the show to
make a difference. Yeah, you know, I don't. I don't
want to go Remember when you said that and then
I I said this, let's do that again. You know,
I really didn't want any of that. And I know
they were like, oh, you're so cute. It's wanting to
make a difference on your TV show. But the mail
(40:09):
that we got after, I know we did and yeah,
I mean I would definitely want to do another one,
but a fun one.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Right, I mean one that doesn't make you pit sweat
every second that they're filming.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
It's something that's reality, but in a positive happen right
and a fun way.
Speaker 3 (40:28):
Yeah, one that I would want to put my kids
on again. And I even told my son, you know,
if you want to be on this, you are welcome,
but I need you to go in with your eyes open.
You know, this is going to be a way more
fun show if I ever get one to go. But
you also are going to have to deal with criticism,
and I want to make sure you know. I think
(40:48):
people that can't handle that well should not be on
reality shows because people are vicious.
Speaker 1 (40:54):
We well, we actually have interviewed quite a few people
that have done reality TV, and for some reason, we
keep you get the villains a lot and when they
could show up here because they want to, they actually
want to redeem them. We met one. We loved her.
She was the nicest person. And before the show, my
husband watched the series, He's like, oh, she's I don't know,
you don't want her on your show? I said, I
(41:15):
talked to her on the thunt. She was super nice.
She's very nice. Her show is still.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
Going you in ways, but I feel like when people
are disappointed, like I was fine. I felt the way
they caught me was fine. I had no issues with it.
But you know some people feel like they get villainized
and uh maybe, but I also feel like, well, did
you do that? Did you say that? Then you did it?
So how can you complain?
Speaker 5 (41:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (41:42):
That is true, but I will tell you because your
political career is still you know, we expect you to
run from mayor again. Just everything you say, they can
cut it in a way that and then they'll they'll
twist it where that's not really in all what you meant.
But there's a huge ad that says, oh yeah, she's
pretty tough, she's done hate dogs and children. Oh well,
I was like, whoa you know, so, yeah, you gotta
(42:04):
gotta be a word.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
That's true. But because I have the reality show backlash
experience that nothing else. Yeah, I scoff when people, Oh,
I'm gonna say something mean about you to busy people,
I'm like, come at you and have an opinion.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
Well, I'm one hundred percent. Georgia would be like, mom
zero reality TV got it.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
My children have already told me that's non things, not
an option. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
Well, and my daughter would not ever be on a
show again.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Under any so I can understand.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
I wouldn't even ask her because they don't feel like
she felt it was positive for her, and I felt
bad about that. Yes, that's understandable, bad that I, you know,
put her in that position. And I even said to her, well,
you have a really good point. Maybe you should go
to Screen Actors Guild and talk to them about people
(42:56):
when they're young being on TV and not really being
consulted about it. They were paid. I made sure that
when they votes were eighteen, they had a lot of
money because I paid them for you know, being on
the show. I put them on a salary. But there
is an argument for maybe there's some kids that shouldn't
do it, and maybe the parents' motivation is wrong. Well,
(43:17):
you know, so that's so I don't know the answer,
but I do feel like my daughter had a point.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Yeah, that's that's actually a good point. And in the
history of Hollywood, obviously with kids actors, that's been a
huge thing. In fact, I think there's an organization. One
committed suicide years ago and another group of them started
an organizations to support for kids.
Speaker 3 (43:35):
Well, there was that whole movement in the nineties, the
whole next Child started going bad, you know, with Danny
being in trouble, Dana Plato, who's you know, ended up dying,
and Todd Bridges was in trouble. I mean, there was
just a bunch of a lot of the Corey Haying,
Cory Fellas. Yeah, a lot that. It's an argument definitely
(43:57):
to say it's a lot in the parenting. That you
don't have good parenting, you're definitely gonna have problems with
your kids.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Yeah, mine and kid.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
It's such an unnatural thing, you know, being a famous
person when the world loves you and then going home
to a crappy family. I don't think a kid has
a chance under those certain things. I think you're a well,
you know, rounded adult.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Well, we have one more Zoomer daughter here. She is
not my daughter. She's actually my niece, but close enough.
She's like a daughter because I have no daughters. Emily,
Welcome to the Mom's club.
Speaker 7 (44:33):
Do you have a question.
Speaker 4 (44:39):
So my question for you is about your book and
what the process was of writing that and whether that
was a cathartic experience for you, and just if you
could talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 3 (44:51):
Well, you know, it's so funny that you asked that,
because honestly, all the things I'm doing now, I had
no experience. I had zero experience in writing. As a
matter of fact, I get criticized on my social media
all the time. I'm a spell stuff or I use
the wrong I'm really bad and accept and accept, but
I look, I'm too busy people, I'm riding sick, and
(45:13):
give me a break. But I decided to write it
myself because I was singing about bringing in a ghostwriter,
but I'm kind of greedy and I didn't really want
to pay somebody. But I'm like, you know what I'm
going to see? So I told her a story and
I said write it then send it to me. And
it totally didn't sound like me. So I'm like, you
know what, I can do this, And so I just
(45:35):
was very disciplined. Every day I sat down and I wrote,
and I didn't even try to put it in an order.
I just tried to write story, story, story, until then
I could try to put it in an order. And
so that's kind of how I did that. And I
was lucky enough to find a publisher who was willing
to put it out and it definitely was cathartic. It
(45:55):
was a lot of work, but I'm very proud of
that because out of all the things I'm doing, I
probably had the least amount of experience, you know, to
write a book. And uh yeah, so I really enjoyed
doing it. And the book's called Surviving Agent Orange and
other things I learned from being thrown under the Partures family.
But and the reason that it's called Surviving Agent Orange.
(46:17):
That was our code name, my assistant and myself for Danny.
Speaker 1 (46:20):
Yeah, she'd be like.
Speaker 3 (46:21):
Agent Orange just pulling into the driveway. So it just
was a funny name we called Danny.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
That's good. Nice, Well, thank you so much, Gretchen. This
has been so much fun.
Speaker 3 (46:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
I've inspired by your fearlessness.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
I'm just going for it writing books.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
Say that again, Gretchen, Sorry I said, or my stupidity.
Speaker 3 (46:43):
Wow, no no, no.
Speaker 2 (46:44):
No, that's not true.
Speaker 3 (46:46):
You are just people have said to me, did you
ever worry that you were going to fail? And I
just don't have that ship in me. I should have
worried more than I did. And somehow I've been able
just by shared tanasa and not willing to fail to
pull through. And and you know, pull all the stuff off.
So if I can aspire anyone, you know you can
(47:09):
do it. I did it.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
Well, yeah, crazy, you are as we say here on
the Mom's Club. You are amazing, amazing, and so are
our amazing Zoomer mom. So thanks for joining us moms
and daughters today. Yes for being on the show. Guys.
Speaker 3 (47:25):
Yeah, so much fun. I appreciate all of you being
on here and having me and you guys have an
open door. We do the most strange things like I
have seances here, we do sance dinners and.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
Oh I love that, you know.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Like I said, all the all the crazy dumb parties
that we love to do. Uh. And you guys are
welcome to come and bring some outfits and uh and
we'll have fun.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
Well, thank you. That sounds fun. So where can our
audience find you on social media? And how can they
find your make a reservation? How did Yeah?
Speaker 3 (47:55):
I'm mind Airbnb, Verbo, booking dot com on all the
platforms for booking hotels. And my restaurant is the Cornicopia Cafe,
the main ones in Bisbee and then I have the
new one in Sierra Vista, and I'm hoping if things
go well we'll roll that one out to Tombstone, which
is a half hour from here. And also, oh yeah yeah,
(48:18):
I'm Gretchen Chander all my social media and I would
love for you guys to come any time, so come visit.
Speaker 2 (48:25):
That'd be It sounds like an adventure.
Speaker 1 (48:27):
I mean that is that is well, we want to
thank a sponsor. I can't say well, first of all,
two sponsors. One, I want to thank the Beaman Hotel.
They are talking about a great place to stay if
you can't if you're after your trip to Bisbee, stop
by the Beaman in Dallas. You will have a great
time there. It's amazing, amazing. And I also want to
(48:49):
thank our sponsor, New Calm because New Calm I don't
generally wear hats because I don't really get my hair
messed up.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
But so cute.
Speaker 1 (48:59):
Oh yeah, we're all all. We're all new Commerce. And
let me tell you it really really really works moms
if you are stressed out. And actually the Surgeon General
just said that parenting causes tremendous stress. The Surgeon General
said that, so people, this is serious. But you know
what can fix it? New Calm, And we have a
(49:20):
special for you if you put Mom's Club in the
code and check out. You get fifteen percent off every
month of your subscription. You cannot beat that, so I
use it, I Julie, Yes, I used to see how
great everybody everybody, Yeah, everybody.
Speaker 2 (49:40):
Want to be more calm?
Speaker 1 (49:41):
Exactly right, A lot of things.
Speaker 2 (49:43):
It does everything.
Speaker 1 (49:44):
It helps you with everything, so definitely sign up for
New Calm and check us out on social media. We
are on Instagram at Inside the Mom's Club. We're on TikTok,
we're on Facebook. More recently we have a YouTube channel,
and we had website Inside the Mom's Club dot com.
So check us out there. Well, Julie, everything you know,
(50:05):
it just flies by expacinitely when you're here, so when
you run off on vacation, it takes a little longer.
So so happy that you were back and so much fun.
But we will be back next time with celebrities and
extraordinary moms like all the zoomer moms here today. That's right,
and you and I and until then, remember our our
(50:27):
Mom's Club potto. If you don't laugh, sometimes ladies don't cry.
Nobody likes crying. We'll see you next time Inside the
Mom's Club.
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