February 6, 2024 • 46 mins
Rosie's guest this week is Derrick Downey Jr., also known as a "Squirrel's best friend."
With well over a million followers, Derrick caught Rosie's eye and heart with his creativity, compassion and love for squirrels. Derrick shares content about fighting depression, taking care of oneself, and making the time to be still with nature through his squirrel family, especially Maxine. A true influencer. And a "cutie patootie" to boot!
Listen in to Rosie and Derrick first actual conversation after years of private messaging through social media. An extraordinarily special meeting of the heart, mind, human spirit, and of course, squirrels!Also, check out:
Hand and Paw: Maxine's Tale of Compassion by Derrick Downey Jr. His book of adventure for kids (young and old)!
https://www.derrickdowneyjr.com/booksPlease send your voice memo questions or comments to Rosie: OnwardRosie@gmail.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Well, hey, everybody, it's me Rosie O'Donnell. You have found
the show onward? Well, it's not a show, is it
as a podcast? A show? I don't even know. I
have a special guest in my little opening segment today,
my very close friend, more like a brother than a friend. Truthfully,
how long have we known each other? Bobby Pierce, Tony
(00:36):
nominated costume designer.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
God, it's twenty nine years, maybe ninety four, right, thirty yeah,
thirty years, thirty years, yeah, ninety four.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Thirty years. We have known each other and been in
each other's lives. We met doing Greece on Broadway. Our
good friend Jason Opsall rest in peace, Jason. He said
to me, I know a great dresser for you when
you start as Rizzo, And it was you, Boby Pears.
(01:05):
Can you believe it's been this long time?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Years?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
My god, I know.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Can you believe how old we are now?
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Bob?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
You and I lost a good friend. Yeah, the theater
world lost a legend. Lisa lost her mom, the beautiful
and talented Cheetah Rivera right, and I didn't know what
to say, so I thought I would just call you
and we would talk about you know, some of our
favorite memories of her. How did you first meet Cheetah, Bobby?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I used to design clothes for Gwen Verdon and I
met Chetah through Gwen and I designed her tour, her
concert tour, and then we've became fast friends after that.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
And you have done costumes for her entire career.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Yeah much, not all of hers, but but yes, I
know who.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Aren't alive then? Right, exactly thirty years older than us,
Chetah passed away in her sleep in her home and
ninety one years old. And what an amazing life she lived.
She is ever ever unkind to any person. She is
such a supporter of people, and she was kind to
(02:16):
every person in the world, and she went above and
beyond to let you know that she loved you. Right,
how would you say, how would you say? How would
you describe her? Bobby Child?
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well, I mean, Chitta, there's no one like Chietah.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
She really was a giant star. But she was just
like a Broadway broad She's like everyone's pal, you know.
She really considered herself a Broadway gypsy, just a dancer
from the show to show, and she was like the
queen of all the gypsies on Broadway. Like all the
dancers loved her, all the crew loved her. I don't
ever remember any any bad story or negative story about
(02:52):
her ever from anyone who's ever.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Met her, Nor do I.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, she was just really really special and really really talented,
you know.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
And I remember when we when you opened Taboo.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
And yeah, I did a produced a musical that Bobby
was nominated for a Tony Award for designing the costumes Taboo.
What year was that, Bob, Because my brain's all.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Jump two thousand and three, maybe.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Two thousand and three, I think you're right. And so
it was opening night, right.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Right, And she didn't wanted to go see the show,
but she had just had hip surgery, so she called me,
she said, but I meet her at the car and
help her to the theater after lights went down, and
then wait, she'd wait her see after everyone's out of theater,
and then help her back to the car. Because she
didn't want anything to be about her. She wanted to
be about you and your show. So she didn't want
to be like Cheetah limping into the theater. So she
(03:43):
wanted to make sure that no one saw her limp
and no one saw her limp out.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
But imagine her showing up the.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Day after data surgery.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
The day was unbelievable, yeah, you know. And shortly after that,
you know, the reviews were not good, and it was
I was in a very very very depressed place, and
you were worried about me. You called Cheta Rivera and
you said, I'm worried about Rosie. She's I've never seen
her this down. I don't know, blah blah blah. And
(04:11):
she called me up and like talked me out of it.
She was so she was so maternal and so loving.
And when we opened the school, Rosie's Theater kids, she
was our most famous and most ardent, constant support. She
(04:32):
showed up for years and years. It's twenty years now
we've had that school open, and she showed up and
taught those kids to dance and to believe in themselves.
And you know what I love most about her, Bob,
was how she was really all about family.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
You would always see her brothers and every time she
was anywhere performing or there was an opening night, oh
this is my sister, this is my brother, these are
my cousins.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
These.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
She was very much family person, right, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And she treated other people like families. She she treated
people she work with like family. You know, she was
she was very, very loving, and we're going to miss her.
She's so insanely talented.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
You know. It's funny when I was looking at Instagram
and TikTok, there wasn't one person on Broadway who did
not put up a tribute to her, like all day.
It was Cheetah all day, all day, as you know, deservedly.
So she just did so much for so many And
how do you feel, Bob, because we're the same age
(05:36):
about losing our friends.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's really strange and it's really like Cheetah. I mean,
Cheetah was ninety one years old. We knew eventually it
was going to happen, but it's still a show. Of course,
it's still a shock.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
It doesn't really matter how old the person was, because
you know, you do expect it and we all know
that that day is coming and nobody gets out without
a check. Right right, here's the bill, Miss so Donald,
I hope you enjoyed it. And it's still just it
makes me weak in the knees, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
I always.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Remember a quote that Queen Elizabeth said after nine to eleven,
where she was doing a speech about the people who
were her assistance. So she had lost in the Twin Towers,
and she said that grief is the price of love.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Yes, And I.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So whenever I feel sad about something like this, I
just feel like to be grateful because the.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Amount of grief that you have right now is just
shows the amount of love that you had.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
So it's true, you know, And I don't like when
my legends go. I know, I know, you know, it's
so hard for me because these people that I looked
up to and dreamed of knowing and then you know,
get to know them and love them, and that's a
pretty trippy thing.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I'm sure you felt the same way. Absolutely, But listen,
this is just a little thing we wanted to do
just to say what what a great person she was
and she will be missed, but she will be remembered forever, absolutely,
absolutely forever. Well, I love you, Bob, thanks for doing it.
(07:17):
I'm sorry, I'm a sobbing. I know it's sad, not easy,
but love big and you know this is what happens.
But thank you, And I want to tell everybody else listening.
We're going to be back with a wonderful interview I
did with Derek Downey who has that wonderful little squirrel Maxine,
(07:38):
and and what a story of squirrels and life and
love and uh, that's what we got for you today.
So stick around, would you. It's onward with Rosie o' donald.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Eric.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
It is so nice to get to talk to you
finally after following you and having our text DM thing
back and forth. I so admire you and you fill
me with such joy and hope, and your story, I
believe is my story.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Thank you so much for that.
Speaker 5 (08:20):
And I must say it is a pleasure and an
honor to share this moment with you right now. We
are following each other for a year or two now,
and just to have this connection it feels like, you know,
for a theircle moment.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yes, yes, it's so funny. You know my first squirrel,
and we're going to get into how you got Richard
and Maxine. But my first squirrel was right after I
left my show in two thousand and two, two thousand
and three, and I had an ARC studio right by
the water and I would blast the same five CDs
(09:00):
on the disc changer back then. You know, every time
I put on eminem This squirrel showed up and I'm like,
this cannot be the same squirrel. Now, Initially I hated
squirrels because I was an avid bird feeder person and
they were ruining my bird feeder life experience. But this
squirrel got to me and we became so close that
(09:24):
it was crazy. My kids were calling me the crazy
squirrel lady. But that connection and the nature and the
being still, as you said, being still, that was my
goal when I left my show, and that's my goal
for me as I suffer with depression, as I know
you do as well. How did you find your first squirrel?
Speaker 5 (09:47):
Oh? Okay, so it, as you said, with depression, that's
kind of how the connection with Richard happened.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
So I woul all right, let me give you this.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
So I was battling depression due to health issues that
I was having, and I couldn't find any answers. I
was going to all the doctors and to hear there's
nothing wrong with you when I know my body right
and I can see the changes that my body was
(10:25):
going through. And to hear that and to get no answers,
it was it took me down a dark place. I
understand so I had to find my way out somehow,
and that way was connecting with nature.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It was walking.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
Around my neighborhood and there's tons of squirrels where I live,
but I would see Richard all the time, and I
knew it was the same squirrel because they have Squirrels
have different personalities.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
They interact with you differently totally.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
So I would stop and have these conversations with the
squirrels and I would say, hey, are you hungry? And
he would just stop and I would run back to
the house real quick and grab something and go and
feed them. And that's kind of how the connection started
to form.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Now, had you had any opinions about squirrels before you
saw Richard.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
No, I've always been a nature person, always loved all
types of animals, and not to deviate off the squirrels.
But my first pet was a hermit crab my teacher.
My teacher gave me this crab at the end of
I think this was first grade, because when the kids
(11:48):
would go outside for recess, I would stay inside and
just watch this crab do absolutely nothing. So she gave
it to me as a graduation gift.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
That's a wild thing, you know, when you were saying
about you were always drawn to nature For me with
my depression, which is you know, chronic, and and I
have to work hard to not go down that slippery slope,
you know. And I would go to Miami. I lived
in Miami for a long time, and I would take
(12:20):
my boat out and all these dolphins that live in
that bay would come to the boat because I would
call to them. And so sometimes the coastguard would pull
over and go, Rosie, you're not allowed to feed those dolphins.
I'm like, I'm not feeding them, I'm talking to them.
And so then my kids called me this crazy dolphin ladies.
But it's been solace for me. It does something. It
(12:43):
reminds you of your place in the universe.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yes, and that is not just us.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
We're not the center of everything that's going on in
the world.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Right.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
It allows us to look out and to all look
within ourselves and to connect with something that isn't just
human and us.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Totally true. More with Derek and his squirrels after this, So, Richard,
(13:36):
how did you get Richard to let you touch him?
Because Julie Andrews is the only one of my squirrels
that allows me to actually pet her Now. She also
comes in my house sometimes, which I don't tell people
because they think it's crazy, but she'll come if she
wants another walnut. She will come in and look at me,
and if the door's closed, she will jump and crash
(14:00):
the door until I hear it.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
It's so funny, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
So.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
The first occurrence that I had with Richard was he
was on the fence and I sat him, and then
it just started happening over and over again. The first
video of what people know of me and Richard and
Matt Sene's interaction was probably a year after this interaction
(14:28):
started to form this relationship and.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Richard would come in the house.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
Actually have a few videos of me letting him in
the house. There was a time where he would come
inside and we would watch TV together. He would also
bang on the window and stand up on his hind
legs like, hey, I'm here exactly. That's Drew.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
That's how I know. People say to me, how do
you know it's Julie Andrews. There were four squirrels when
I rented this house. This summer, I rented this house.
So we move into this house and we see the
four squirrels and this one I start to sing getting
to know you in the voice of Julie Andrews, it stops,
looks at me, comes closer, looks at me. So I
(15:15):
just kept talking and singing Wow. And then eventually it
got to the point where now when she wants me,
she knows to go to this one area on a
fence thing and she swings her tail around like a
helicopter to get my attention. It's the most amazing thing.
Now your story. I know your story, and I don't
(15:37):
want to tell it. I want you to tell it.
So you had Richard, and you go online and people
like me flip out and go I'm doing the same thing,
or they go, I'd like to do that, right because
people want to connect like that.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Well, first, let me just say when you reached out
to me blown away. First I thought it was scam likely.
So I was like, ain't no way, Rosie O'donald the
lady that was on my television in my parents' house, Like,
(16:14):
ain't no way.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
She just emailed me. So I was in disbelief.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
I was at disbelief for a minute, but then I
got myself together. I was like, let me respine, let
me just say something. I don't want to say nothing
too crazy, but I thank you for that. And I
really do appreciate you for reaching out because it really.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Didn't touch me.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Well you know why, I really did see we were
doing the same thing. I was feeding the squirrel in
Beverly Hill's peanut every day, and you were doing the
same thing. And then you started building the house, and
then you started you were so creative, You're so handsome,
you're so loving. I love your voice, so of course
(16:59):
I reached out. I felt like we were kindered spirits.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Thank you in your words. I was a cutic.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Cotuita yes indeed, yes we are.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Thank you. But yeah, So the story of the creative.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Side of everything, right, I've been on content Creator for
probably two thousand and five.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Wow, and my.
Speaker 5 (17:29):
I just loved bringing my imagination to life. So when
people started like following this journey, I was like, Okay,
how can I make this more than just feeding the squirrels?
So my mind went crazy. I was like, okay, well,
we can build a house. We can put a white
(17:50):
picket fence around it, because why not. We can put
a television inside of the house and have them watch TV.
So my mind went everywhere, and I created it. People
loved it, they enjoyed it. And what I loved most
is receiving messages from parents saying, hey, this is content
(18:13):
that I can watch with my kids like. It's wholesome content. Yes,
And here I am an adult just living my kid
like life right.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
And it resonates with so many people. And I never
would have imagined that. I never would have imagined that
I would be in this position bringing light to so.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Many people that came out of a dark place with me.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
That's so beautiful. Really, is how I know you had Richard,
you built the house, Maxine got involved? At what point?
When when did Maxine join your party?
Speaker 5 (18:56):
Matt Scene showed up in the courtyard of my property,
and I was just trying to build connections with other squirrels,
and I was speaking like affirmations into her words of
encouragement because at first she was very stand offish, so
(19:18):
it took her a while to warm up to me.
So I started showing that experience and it took about
I would say, three months for her to warm up
to actually touch me. Matt Scene is more close to
me now than Richard. She would jump on me, she
would eat sitting on my lap. So yeah, it took.
(19:43):
That relationship probably happened a few months after I showed
you the internet my relationship with Richard. Now, Matt scene
is like the center of attention.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Well, she's stole your heart by giving you grand babies.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Yes, oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Now this story is magic many times over, Derek, it's magical,
the story of the babies and the cutdown tree. Tell
everyone about this.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Okay, So I forgot which dad was, but I know
it was a sunny day, a sunny, windy day, and
I went outside and across the street there were landscapers
who were doing work to my neighbor's home, and I
was like, okay, they're cutting down the tree. I hope
(20:34):
I pray that there isn't any squirrels up there. So
fifteen minutes passed and I noticed that they actually did
trim the tree, and they were looking at the another tree,
like just staring at it, And I was like, why
are they staring like there's nothing going on here? So
I went over there and I saw four baby squirrels
(20:57):
in this tree. They took the squirrels because they cut
the branch, the nests fell and they relocated the squirrels
to this small tree, and I said, okay, that like,
we can't leave them here because they're on the sidewalk.
People walk their dolls. If adults, they can't run, they're.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Too young to move.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
So I said, okay, I have to take these babies
and figure out what I'm going to do. I don't
know what I'm gonna do because I never raised a
squirrel as a baby.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
I've never done that.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
So I started searching, researching everything how to feed a
baby squirrel. I went to pet Smart, grabbed some things,
and then my neighbor. Right when I failed at trying
to feed these squirrels, my neighbor texted me. He said, hey,
Matt Seon just fell out of a tree. And then
(21:55):
immediately I said, oh, she is stressed. I believe these
are her babies. She fell out high out of this
tree because she's searching for them. So I said, okay,
I'll be over there, just give me a second. I
took the box that they were in with the nest,
took them over to my neighbor's house and she looked
(22:19):
in the nest and she took the babies one by
one another tree. Wow, this is something that you cannot
make up.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
What are the chances, Derek, what are the chances of
all the squirrels. There's a lot of squirrels, you know,
there's a lot. And when they hear the things are
good at your house, they seem to be more coming, you.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
Know, Yes, yes, oh absolutely we have so. We have
mat Seene. We have Niblet, who's one of Maxine's babies.
We have Nibbelin, who is also one of Maxine's babies.
We have Richard, we have Hector, we have Low. We
have so many it's becoming hard to keep track. Yeah,
(23:07):
but people, and I know you get this a lot too,
Like how can you tell the difference?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
How you know it's the same squarel?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Isn't that funny that people ask that? And they're so
unique to me? Of course I can tell which is.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
Wine, and I can tell by afar, like I can
see matt Seine across the street and I can just
look at her.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Eyes and know that it's her right right, like.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
Her, like everything about her, the energy when she stops
and looks at me from across the street, right right,
and she will stand up and once she hears my voice,
she just runs across the street and comes to me.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
So squirrels don't do that.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
You know. I was gone for Christmas for two weeks
and I came back and there was no Julie Andrews
for like two weeks. I could not be worried. Oh
my god, beyond beyond and there are all these other
new squirrels. I'm like, where did you even come from?
Speaker 5 (23:56):
You know?
Speaker 1 (23:56):
But Julie Andrews what she did? All of a sudden,
I hear this new I'm like making a TikTok, and
I hear a noise and I look and she's like
making noise in the tree like crazy. And I look
and I see her, and then she's staring at me.
I'm like, it's me. Come down to the roof. And
stared at me from the roof for like five minutes,
and then I started to sing again, Julie Andrews songs,
(24:18):
and the down came Miss Julie. I think I heard
her feelings by being gone.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Yeah, yeah, you were gone too long.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I was gone too long. She thought, what the hell happened?
We had a good thing going.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
You were gone too long. So she said, I'm gonna
take a break too, exactly I'm gonna go away.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
You know.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
I don't know if you know her occupation, but maybe
she's a nanny.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
It could be.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Now, you moved out here to California to become an actor?
Speaker 4 (24:47):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
And where did you? Where were you before this?
Speaker 5 (24:52):
I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, So I'm from I
was born in Durham, Durham, North Carolina, raised in Atlansa,
but I was living in Charlotte for ten years. And
it has always been my dream to do something within entertainment.
(25:12):
I loved every aspect of it, like being in front
of the camera, being behind it, editing like I enjoy
I can all my time can go to that.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
And I'll be completely fine with that.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
And what made me move out to LA five years
ago was that I began to look at my future
five years ahead if I didn't make the move, and
it almost caused me to have a panic attack because
I knew I wasn't living within my purpose. So after
(25:47):
I had that moment, I decided to start traveling out
here sign with an agency for commercial work, and they
thought I lived out here, so I said, okay.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
In order for me to work in this city, I
got to actually.
Speaker 5 (26:03):
Live here, so I got in my car, I pat
that car up, and I drove out here two weeks later.
Didn't really have a plan.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Had you studied acting? Had you done acting in college
or community theater? No? Never, never did anything.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
No study. The only work that I've done.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Was being in front of my own camera doing comedy skits.
So I yeah, I enjoyed comedy and showing up in
a goofy way. I would do parodies of different like
either viral moments or movies, and that was my you know,
(26:47):
my experience. I moved out here and then started taking classes.
But yeah, no classes prior to me.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
And did you know anyone, Derek when you moved out here?
And how old were you when you did it?
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Like?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
How old are you now?
Speaker 3 (27:05):
I am thirty one?
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Okay, so you were in your twenties and you knew
if I didn't go, now, I'm not going. And so yes,
you came and you yes, and you did you like
it right away? Did you feel comfortable? Did you make
friends easily?
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Well, thanks to social media, I knew people already, so
it wasn't that hard to how they say, fine.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
A tried right.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
I had people that I could lean on when I
did move out here.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
I had a friend whose name was Terrell.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
He allowed me to stay with him and I was
sleeping on his couch for a few months, and then
I got a job, a part time job because friends
were running low.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
And from there I stayed.
Speaker 5 (27:59):
With another friend, and then I eventually moved to where
I live now. But throughout the entire process of figuring
out where was I going to be, what was I
going to do, there was no worry. Even there was
a moment where I was living sleeping in.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
My car for like two weeks.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
I promise you there was not one doubt or ounce
of worry in my heart or mind because I knew
that everything would be okay. The storm always goes away,
and as long as I see it through, everything will
be all right.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
So true.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Yeah, how did you get so wise for such a
young man? You're so wise. I really feel the calmness
inside of you, and it comes through on the camera
and your love for your squirrels and just talking now,
you're really some exceptional human being, Derek.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
I would say I get that from looking at life, right,
not just my life, but looking at how other people
deal with situations.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Learning to oh, I don't want to have that.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
Experience, so I'm not going to do it right. I
don't want to go down this path, so.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
I also have my grandma, my mom my sisters to
thank for what they instilled within me. But I've always,
as a kid, been very observant of what was going
on around me. At a young age, I would hang
(29:41):
out with an older crowd just because that's what I
gravitated towards. I never really hung out with my age group.
There really wasn't nothing stimulating to my mind within that group.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Nothing nothing, no shade, nothing against that.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
But that wasn't where I thought exactly. It wasn't where
you were, right. But it takes a strong person to
listen to that inside voice like that. You know, did
they ever find out what the medical thing was that
was going on and did that get taken care of?
Or it's still no, no.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
No, I still don't know I went to When I
say I went to so many specialists, it was it
was really draining. But I still don't know to this day.
What I can say is that through it all and
through other methods that I found, I.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Know that I'm on a incline.
Speaker 5 (30:40):
I'm on a better track, I know, like my body,
I'm starting to put on weight again.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
My mental clarity is back. My headaches are gone.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
The digestive issues I was having, that's gone now.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
They tested for everything like lime disease and all that
and long COVID or something, you name it.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
They tested for Okay, yes, chromes, like, they tested for everything,
and it was.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
All coming back normal.
Speaker 5 (31:16):
Like even I had a Pollnosky endosopy and they looked
at my insides because you know, a lot of digestive
issues and my colon and everything looks great. So I'm like,
oh my god, what is that. I was like, please
just tell me something bad. I wanted to hear something
(31:36):
bad that would have gave me the relief. Yeah, but
you're telling me that there's nothing wrong. I can't do
nothing with that.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I can't. I don't have no approach for nothing is wrong.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Right. There are so many people online going through similar
things not being able to get a diagnosis, and you know,
it's very scary. I mean, you're a young, strong, handsome
smart man. Your body shouldn't be, you know, disobeying you
with this time in your life.
Speaker 5 (32:04):
You know, right, right, right, but I found other methods.
I started doing more holistic approaches, breath work, different herbs
that I use. All of it, I believe brought me
back to some sense of what I would say was normal.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Yeah at the time, right, so you're definitely feeling better.
Though you're feeling better?
Speaker 3 (32:34):
What, Yes, I feel great?
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Don't go away more with Derek right after this? Hey,
(33:01):
how did you ever learn to feed those baby squirrels?
How did you you just trial and error or did
you have someone come over and help you?
Speaker 3 (33:09):
No, I searched online.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
The first thing you want to take care of is
their hydration before they like eating anything, because if they're dehydrated,
they won't eat, and if they're too cold, they also
won't eat. So I had to get a space heater,
put them in a blanket, make sure that their bodies
were warm, and then I tried to feed them, but.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Most of them wasn't home.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
One of them drank a little bit, but thank god,
my neighbor text me because.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
I called so many wildlife et sperts, trying to take
them somewhere to get the proper help, but they were
all full, like everybody was filled to capacity because around
that time, a lot of you know, landscapers cut down
trees that's made in season, so baby snood baby squirrels
(34:04):
fall out.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Of the trees, so they just get filled up with Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
I'm just happy that people care enough to take them
to the place to save them.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I'm just so happy that that, you know, because some
people write me and they are rats with tails, and
I'm like, I used to feel that way. I understand
what you're saying, but I have to tell you I
got such a thrill yesterday when she came back because
I I honestly, I don't even know how to explain it.
I felt like, where'd she go? Did a cat get her?
(34:36):
Did another territorial thing happened? Because there was one guy
I haven't seen him around either, Mister Big. He was
he had Mister Big was like a big old guy
and uh, he was sometimes not nice to the to
the girl ones or the littler ones.
Speaker 5 (34:55):
You know, that's how they are, That's how the males are.
Matt Scene would come on the patio. It's just her,
It's all cool. But as soon as like good rat
Raymond sometimes Richard Luther anytime the male squirrels come around,
they bully her. All yeah, and I'm like, come on now, like, listen, stop.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Doing that, y'all.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
I feel the same way.
Speaker 5 (35:21):
There's no reason to do that. We got plenty of food.
You go on this side of the patio, and she
could stay over here.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
But you know what I did. I just said, you know,
I went away for the weekend. And so I was like,
saw her right before I went away for the weekend,
and I knew it was her, and I talked to
her and she came really close and she looked for
a none in my hand, but I didn't have any,
but she let me pet her, and then I said,
I'm going away for two days. I'll be back. And
when the day I got back, I just sat out
there and did what I normally do, just talk loud
(35:52):
and say I'm here. You want some nuts, come on
and suing them. They come. It's like I'm doctor Doolittle.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
Yeah, yep, yeah. I had a similar story to that
where I was actually going home, going home to North
Carolina for my great grandmam homegoing, and prior to me
leaving that day, I didn't see that scene for like
two weeks and right before I got into uber.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
When I was leaving the house.
Speaker 5 (36:25):
She showed up, and I knew that was that moment
for her telling me it's going to be okay, right right,
you know, I'm going home to lay my beautiful great
grandmama to rest. But that was that reassurance that she
was giving me. Yeah, So they show up just in time,
(36:47):
right on time.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Some people have said to me, do you think it's
your mom? You know, because my mom died in seventy three.
And I don't know if I believe that, but I
do believe that there is a God spirit and every
living thing, and all you got to do is be
open to that channel in whatever form. Now. To me,
God is nature, right, God is the dolphins jumping in
(37:13):
your wake, swimming in the ocean, you know, watching a sunset.
That's when I feel the most present in my own
life in world, and so you know, it's it's very
helpful for my depression. I'll tell you that. And you
know what else is the light? The light is the
(37:34):
sun out here. I don't know if you feel the
difference from Atlanta, but the sun here to me is
life affirming, like it is every day you wake up
and you feel the brightness and the possibility and the hope,
and sometimes growing up and living in New York, you know,
getting through those seasonal affect disorder months of you know, November, December, January, February.
(37:57):
By the time mark came around, You're like, get me.
You know, it was hard.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
I enjoyed like going to the beach because I skate
a lot, so I like going to Manhattan Beach and
just being out there in the sun skating. It really
does I mean scientifically it's shown that the sun helps
with depression. Yes, right, yes, so just getting outside, getting
(38:25):
that fresh air, it does make a difference. And I
find myself connecting with God early in the morning, early
in the morning, and when I'm in silence, when I'm
solitude by myself, all of the answers come to me,
even when I'm not actually asking for anything, like the things,
(38:49):
they just come to me. And I wanted to point
something out earlier about purpose when I said, these squirrels
have given me that m hm. I moved here to
pursue acting, but I didn't know what what it looks
(39:14):
like like. I didn't have a goal, and you had
lean away on here.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
A couple of episodes ago.
Speaker 5 (39:23):
Lean Away is a friend of mine.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Oh yeah, and I.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Was something else, man, I really amazing.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
She has been a great support for me in my
journey out here. I had a.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Moment where I was at her place and she asked me.
She was like, what are you, Like, what are you
doing out here? Like because nobody know, they just see
me on social media, like, what are your goals? Like?
What are you I was like, well, I moved out
here to pur suit acting, but I don't necessarily know
(40:07):
what that looks like.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I said, I'm just having fun and she said okay,
And I.
Speaker 5 (40:15):
Knew she was asking me to try to figure out,
you know, ways to guide.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Yes, of course I didn't know that.
Speaker 5 (40:23):
I was just giving her the god honest truth, like,
I'm just out here. I know that I'm supposed to
be out here. What for don't know, but the squirrels
led me to where I'm at now. So when people
ask me this question now, the answer is completely different.
It's in the same vehicle, it's going the same place,
(40:46):
but it's now with purpose. I walk into places now
with purpose. The acting, the entertainment, the what I'm bringing
to the world looks different.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
Creating something within my own.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
And you know what it is, Derek. Authenticity is the
only thing our culture now craves in a deceptive world.
And you're so authentically you that it's inspiring to watch
you fill my heart with lots of dopamine or whatever
(41:27):
that's in my brain, I guess, but you fill my
heart with joy and you know and I want you
to know that. And your TikTok, which I know you
have over a million people or something, and all of
this is supposed to happen because you made it happen,
or more accurately, you allowed it to happen. Yes, you
allowed it to happen. Now listen, let me ask you.
(41:50):
I saw you saw Oprah? What was that about? Wasn't
that you saw what happened? Did you meet Oprah before
and then you saw and you had to go in
there to new skinny Derek? What was that about?
Speaker 5 (42:03):
Yes? So me and Oprah had all right. Like I
told you, I used to create comedy skits, right Oprah.
This was I believe, right before the pandemic. She announced
her new book book Club, and she did like a
(42:24):
promo for it and everything.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
So I did a parody to it.
Speaker 5 (42:30):
I had this horrible wig on that I know Oprah wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
Dare to look at.
Speaker 5 (42:37):
I had this like everything was just you know, the
funny of it.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
And I did the.
Speaker 5 (42:43):
Exact replica of her promo video. She saw it, Gail.
They put it on the news to talk about the
book club, and she send me a personal video back.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (43:02):
So she was saying, Hey, I love the video you did,
but next time, I'm gonna send you some girls, meaning
her wig. She said, I'm gonna send you some batter
hair because what.
Speaker 4 (43:14):
You what you had on with, we can't do that again.
Speaker 5 (43:17):
Right.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
So a few years later, what a few months ago, at.
Speaker 5 (43:22):
The the Color Purple premiere in La.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
I saw her walking and I.
Speaker 5 (43:30):
Was like, I'm not too cool, Like I'm not going
to play that. I'm not too cool to go up
to anybody. So I said, this is my moment. Let
me just go up, introduced myself. Uh, and that's exactly
what I did. I said, Hey, Oprah, I'm Derek, not
true if you remember? Then she said, oh yes, I
do remember, And mind you, everything moves fast like you know,
(43:52):
so we're still moving, we're walking, and I said, do
you mind if I get a picture with you? She said, absolutely,
we can take a picture. Mind you, I wasn't ready
at all. I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm fumbling.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
I'm like, well, that's my fall.
Speaker 5 (44:07):
Lord, She said, are you ready? I said yes, Oh
my goodness, I wasn't ready. I got that picture and
it was so blurry.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
Oh that's too good. But you did it, man. You
know that is that is a powerful uh powerful testament
to who you are.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
Right.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Not everybody will go right up to Oprah and say,
excuse me, miss oh remember I sent you a video,
you know, but I loved the color purple. Didn't you
love that movie? Yes, oh my lord, I saw the
Broadway Musical many times. Of course, the original is epic,
but I think this is a joyful, beautiful, wonderfully artistic movie.
(44:49):
I loved every minute of it.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
It was to me, it was a good blend of
like the Broadway meets like the film, like how they had.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Oh yes, I agree, it was good. Listen, Derek, you're delightful.
I have loved talking to you. Thank you for being
on my podcast. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (45:07):
Also, I want to give you so I didn't say,
but let's say it now. I have a children's book
coming out. Oh great, it is with me and Matt
Sing and it is actually the story of me saving
her babies right from the cutdown tree.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
So I would love to get that to you.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
I would love to sow your career. I read it
to my kiddo, so thank you so much for that.
I still have an eleven year old, as you know.
So it's fun. Yes, it's fun, life, honey, ride the ride.
I love you. Thank you for doing this, and carry
on and I will see you online.
Speaker 5 (45:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
We'll be back with more after this. No time for
questions today. Thank you very much for listening. Next week,
I'm going to be talking all about my guide dog,
(46:09):
the experience, and I'm going to be crying a lot.
So if you want to tune in and hear how
emotionally wrecked I am over this dog, the addition to
our family, and the benefit that it's already showing on
my kiddo, tune in next week right here on onward
Well, hey, everybody, it's me Rosie O'Donnell. You have found
the show onward? Well, it's not a show, is it
as a podcast? A show? I don't even know. I
have a special guest in my little opening segment today,
my very close friend, more like a brother than a friend. Truthfully,
how long have we known each other? Bobby Pierce, Tony
(00:36):
nominated costume designer.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
God, it's twenty nine years, maybe ninety four, right, thirty yeah,
thirty years, thirty years, yeah, ninety four.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Thirty years. We have known each other and been in
each other's lives. We met doing Greece on Broadway. Our
good friend Jason Opsall rest in peace, Jason. He said
to me, I know a great dresser for you when
you start as Rizzo, And it was you, Boby Pears.
(01:05):
Can you believe it's been this long time?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Years?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
My god, I know.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Can you believe how old we are now?
Speaker 4 (01:11):
Bob?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
You and I lost a good friend. Yeah, the theater
world lost a legend. Lisa lost her mom, the beautiful
and talented Cheetah Rivera right, and I didn't know what
to say, so I thought I would just call you
and we would talk about you know, some of our
favorite memories of her. How did you first meet Cheetah, Bobby?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
I used to design clothes for Gwen Verdon and I
met Chetah through Gwen and I designed her tour, her
concert tour, and then we've became fast friends after that.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
And you have done costumes for her entire career.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Yeah much, not all of hers, but but yes, I
know who.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Aren't alive then? Right, exactly thirty years older than us,
Chetah passed away in her sleep in her home and
ninety one years old. And what an amazing life she lived.
She is ever ever unkind to any person. She is
such a supporter of people, and she was kind to
(02:16):
every person in the world, and she went above and
beyond to let you know that she loved you. Right,
how would you say, how would you say? How would
you describe her? Bobby Child?
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well, I mean, Chitta, there's no one like Chietah.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
She really was a giant star. But she was just
like a Broadway broad She's like everyone's pal, you know.
She really considered herself a Broadway gypsy, just a dancer
from the show to show, and she was like the
queen of all the gypsies on Broadway. Like all the
dancers loved her, all the crew loved her. I don't
ever remember any any bad story or negative story about
(02:52):
her ever from anyone who's ever.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Met her, Nor do I.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, she was just really really special and really really talented,
you know.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
And I remember when we when you opened Taboo.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
And yeah, I did a produced a musical that Bobby
was nominated for a Tony Award for designing the costumes Taboo.
What year was that, Bob, Because my brain's all.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Jump two thousand and three, maybe.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Two thousand and three, I think you're right. And so
it was opening night, right.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Right, And she didn't wanted to go see the show,
but she had just had hip surgery, so she called me,
she said, but I meet her at the car and
help her to the theater after lights went down, and
then wait, she'd wait her see after everyone's out of theater,
and then help her back to the car. Because she
didn't want anything to be about her. She wanted to
be about you and your show. So she didn't want
to be like Cheetah limping into the theater. So she
(03:43):
wanted to make sure that no one saw her limp
and no one saw her limp out.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
But imagine her showing up the.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Day after data surgery.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
The day was unbelievable, yeah, you know. And shortly after that,
you know, the reviews were not good, and it was
I was in a very very very depressed place, and
you were worried about me. You called Cheta Rivera and
you said, I'm worried about Rosie. She's I've never seen
her this down. I don't know, blah blah blah. And
(04:11):
she called me up and like talked me out of it.
She was so she was so maternal and so loving.
And when we opened the school, Rosie's Theater kids, she
was our most famous and most ardent, constant support. She
(04:32):
showed up for years and years. It's twenty years now
we've had that school open, and she showed up and
taught those kids to dance and to believe in themselves.
And you know what I love most about her, Bob,
was how she was really all about family.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
You would always see her brothers and every time she
was anywhere performing or there was an opening night, oh
this is my sister, this is my brother, these are
my cousins.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
These.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
She was very much family person, right, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
And she treated other people like families. She she treated
people she work with like family. You know, she was
she was very, very loving, and we're going to miss her.
She's so insanely talented.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
You know. It's funny when I was looking at Instagram
and TikTok, there wasn't one person on Broadway who did
not put up a tribute to her, like all day.
It was Cheetah all day, all day, as you know, deservedly.
So she just did so much for so many And
how do you feel, Bob, because we're the same age
(05:36):
about losing our friends.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's really strange and it's really like Cheetah. I mean,
Cheetah was ninety one years old. We knew eventually it
was going to happen, but it's still a show. Of course,
it's still a shock.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
It doesn't really matter how old the person was, because
you know, you do expect it and we all know
that that day is coming and nobody gets out without
a check. Right right, here's the bill, Miss so Donald,
I hope you enjoyed it. And it's still just it
makes me weak in the knees, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
I always.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Remember a quote that Queen Elizabeth said after nine to eleven,
where she was doing a speech about the people who
were her assistance. So she had lost in the Twin Towers,
and she said that grief is the price of love.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Yes, And I.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
So whenever I feel sad about something like this, I
just feel like to be grateful because the.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Amount of grief that you have right now is just
shows the amount of love that you had.
Speaker 5 (06:39):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
So it's true, you know, And I don't like when
my legends go. I know, I know, you know, it's
so hard for me because these people that I looked
up to and dreamed of knowing and then you know,
get to know them and love them, and that's a
pretty trippy thing.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
You know.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I'm sure you felt the same way. Absolutely, But listen,
this is just a little thing we wanted to do
just to say what what a great person she was
and she will be missed, but she will be remembered forever, absolutely,
absolutely forever. Well, I love you, Bob, thanks for doing it.
(07:17):
I'm sorry, I'm a sobbing. I know it's sad, not easy,
but love big and you know this is what happens.
But thank you, And I want to tell everybody else listening.
We're going to be back with a wonderful interview I
did with Derek Downey who has that wonderful little squirrel Maxine,
(07:38):
and and what a story of squirrels and life and
love and uh, that's what we got for you today.
So stick around, would you. It's onward with Rosie o' donald.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Eric.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
It is so nice to get to talk to you
finally after following you and having our text DM thing
back and forth. I so admire you and you fill
me with such joy and hope, and your story, I
believe is my story.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Thank you so much for that.
Speaker 5 (08:20):
And I must say it is a pleasure and an
honor to share this moment with you right now. We
are following each other for a year or two now,
and just to have this connection it feels like, you know,
for a theircle moment.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yes, yes, it's so funny. You know my first squirrel,
and we're going to get into how you got Richard
and Maxine. But my first squirrel was right after I
left my show in two thousand and two, two thousand
and three, and I had an ARC studio right by
the water and I would blast the same five CDs
(09:00):
on the disc changer back then. You know, every time
I put on eminem This squirrel showed up and I'm like,
this cannot be the same squirrel. Now, Initially I hated
squirrels because I was an avid bird feeder person and
they were ruining my bird feeder life experience. But this
squirrel got to me and we became so close that
(09:24):
it was crazy. My kids were calling me the crazy
squirrel lady. But that connection and the nature and the
being still, as you said, being still, that was my
goal when I left my show, and that's my goal
for me as I suffer with depression, as I know
you do as well. How did you find your first squirrel?
Speaker 5 (09:47):
Oh? Okay, so it, as you said, with depression, that's
kind of how the connection with Richard happened.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
So I woul all right, let me give you this.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
So I was battling depression due to health issues that
I was having, and I couldn't find any answers. I
was going to all the doctors and to hear there's
nothing wrong with you when I know my body right
and I can see the changes that my body was
(10:25):
going through. And to hear that and to get no answers,
it was it took me down a dark place. I
understand so I had to find my way out somehow,
and that way was connecting with nature.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
It was walking.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
Around my neighborhood and there's tons of squirrels where I live,
but I would see Richard all the time, and I
knew it was the same squirrel because they have Squirrels
have different personalities.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
They interact with you differently totally.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
So I would stop and have these conversations with the
squirrels and I would say, hey, are you hungry? And
he would just stop and I would run back to
the house real quick and grab something and go and
feed them. And that's kind of how the connection started
to form.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Now, had you had any opinions about squirrels before you
saw Richard.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
No, I've always been a nature person, always loved all
types of animals, and not to deviate off the squirrels.
But my first pet was a hermit crab my teacher.
My teacher gave me this crab at the end of
I think this was first grade, because when the kids
(11:48):
would go outside for recess, I would stay inside and
just watch this crab do absolutely nothing. So she gave
it to me as a graduation gift.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
That's a wild thing, you know, when you were saying
about you were always drawn to nature For me with
my depression, which is you know, chronic, and and I
have to work hard to not go down that slippery slope,
you know. And I would go to Miami. I lived
in Miami for a long time, and I would take
(12:20):
my boat out and all these dolphins that live in
that bay would come to the boat because I would
call to them. And so sometimes the coastguard would pull
over and go, Rosie, you're not allowed to feed those dolphins.
I'm like, I'm not feeding them, I'm talking to them.
And so then my kids called me this crazy dolphin ladies.
But it's been solace for me. It does something. It
(12:43):
reminds you of your place in the universe.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yes, and that is not just us.
Speaker 5 (12:50):
We're not the center of everything that's going on in
the world.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
Right.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
It allows us to look out and to all look
within ourselves and to connect with something that isn't just
human and us.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Totally true. More with Derek and his squirrels after this, So, Richard,
(13:36):
how did you get Richard to let you touch him?
Because Julie Andrews is the only one of my squirrels
that allows me to actually pet her Now. She also
comes in my house sometimes, which I don't tell people
because they think it's crazy, but she'll come if she
wants another walnut. She will come in and look at me,
and if the door's closed, she will jump and crash
(14:00):
the door until I hear it.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
It's so funny, let me tell you.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
So.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
The first occurrence that I had with Richard was he
was on the fence and I sat him, and then
it just started happening over and over again. The first
video of what people know of me and Richard and
Matt Sene's interaction was probably a year after this interaction
(14:28):
started to form this relationship and.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Richard would come in the house.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
Actually have a few videos of me letting him in
the house. There was a time where he would come
inside and we would watch TV together. He would also
bang on the window and stand up on his hind
legs like, hey, I'm here exactly. That's Drew.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
That's how I know. People say to me, how do
you know it's Julie Andrews. There were four squirrels when
I rented this house. This summer, I rented this house.
So we move into this house and we see the
four squirrels and this one I start to sing getting
to know you in the voice of Julie Andrews, it stops,
looks at me, comes closer, looks at me. So I
(15:15):
just kept talking and singing Wow. And then eventually it
got to the point where now when she wants me,
she knows to go to this one area on a
fence thing and she swings her tail around like a
helicopter to get my attention. It's the most amazing thing.
Now your story. I know your story, and I don't
(15:37):
want to tell it. I want you to tell it.
So you had Richard, and you go online and people
like me flip out and go I'm doing the same thing,
or they go, I'd like to do that, right because
people want to connect like that.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Well, first, let me just say when you reached out
to me blown away. First I thought it was scam likely.
So I was like, ain't no way, Rosie O'donald the
lady that was on my television in my parents' house, Like,
(16:14):
ain't no way.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
She just emailed me. So I was in disbelief.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
I was at disbelief for a minute, but then I
got myself together. I was like, let me respine, let
me just say something. I don't want to say nothing
too crazy, but I thank you for that. And I
really do appreciate you for reaching out because it really.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Didn't touch me.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Well you know why, I really did see we were
doing the same thing. I was feeding the squirrel in
Beverly Hill's peanut every day, and you were doing the
same thing. And then you started building the house, and
then you started you were so creative, You're so handsome,
you're so loving. I love your voice, so of course
(16:59):
I reached out. I felt like we were kindered spirits.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Thank you in your words. I was a cutic.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Cotuita yes indeed, yes we are.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Thank you. But yeah, So the story of the creative.
Speaker 5 (17:17):
Side of everything, right, I've been on content Creator for
probably two thousand and five.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Wow, and my.
Speaker 5 (17:29):
I just loved bringing my imagination to life. So when
people started like following this journey, I was like, Okay,
how can I make this more than just feeding the squirrels?
So my mind went crazy. I was like, okay, well,
we can build a house. We can put a white
(17:50):
picket fence around it, because why not. We can put
a television inside of the house and have them watch TV.
So my mind went everywhere, and I created it. People
loved it, they enjoyed it. And what I loved most
is receiving messages from parents saying, hey, this is content
(18:13):
that I can watch with my kids like. It's wholesome content. Yes,
And here I am an adult just living my kid
like life right.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Yes.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
And it resonates with so many people. And I never
would have imagined that. I never would have imagined that
I would be in this position bringing light to so.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Many people that came out of a dark place with me.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
That's so beautiful. Really, is how I know you had Richard,
you built the house, Maxine got involved? At what point?
When when did Maxine join your party?
Speaker 5 (18:56):
Matt Scene showed up in the courtyard of my property,
and I was just trying to build connections with other squirrels,
and I was speaking like affirmations into her words of
encouragement because at first she was very stand offish, so
(19:18):
it took her a while to warm up to me.
So I started showing that experience and it took about
I would say, three months for her to warm up
to actually touch me. Matt Scene is more close to
me now than Richard. She would jump on me, she
would eat sitting on my lap. So yeah, it took.
(19:43):
That relationship probably happened a few months after I showed
you the internet my relationship with Richard. Now, Matt scene
is like the center of attention.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
Well, she's stole your heart by giving you grand babies.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Yes, oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
Now this story is magic many times over, Derek, it's magical,
the story of the babies and the cutdown tree. Tell
everyone about this.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
Okay, So I forgot which dad was, but I know
it was a sunny day, a sunny, windy day, and
I went outside and across the street there were landscapers
who were doing work to my neighbor's home, and I
was like, okay, they're cutting down the tree. I hope
(20:34):
I pray that there isn't any squirrels up there. So
fifteen minutes passed and I noticed that they actually did
trim the tree, and they were looking at the another tree,
like just staring at it, And I was like, why
are they staring like there's nothing going on here? So
I went over there and I saw four baby squirrels
(20:57):
in this tree. They took the squirrels because they cut
the branch, the nests fell and they relocated the squirrels
to this small tree, and I said, okay, that like,
we can't leave them here because they're on the sidewalk.
People walk their dolls. If adults, they can't run, they're.
Speaker 3 (21:16):
Too young to move.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
So I said, okay, I have to take these babies
and figure out what I'm going to do. I don't
know what I'm gonna do because I never raised a
squirrel as a baby.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
I've never done that.
Speaker 5 (21:31):
So I started searching, researching everything how to feed a
baby squirrel. I went to pet Smart, grabbed some things,
and then my neighbor. Right when I failed at trying
to feed these squirrels, my neighbor texted me. He said, hey,
Matt Seon just fell out of a tree. And then
(21:55):
immediately I said, oh, she is stressed. I believe these
are her babies. She fell out high out of this
tree because she's searching for them. So I said, okay,
I'll be over there, just give me a second. I
took the box that they were in with the nest,
took them over to my neighbor's house and she looked
(22:19):
in the nest and she took the babies one by
one another tree. Wow, this is something that you cannot
make up.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
What are the chances, Derek, what are the chances of
all the squirrels. There's a lot of squirrels, you know,
there's a lot. And when they hear the things are
good at your house, they seem to be more coming, you.
Speaker 5 (22:43):
Know, Yes, yes, oh absolutely we have so. We have
mat Seene. We have Niblet, who's one of Maxine's babies.
We have Nibbelin, who is also one of Maxine's babies.
We have Richard, we have Hector, we have Low. We
have so many it's becoming hard to keep track. Yeah,
(23:07):
but people, and I know you get this a lot too,
Like how can you tell the difference?
Speaker 3 (23:11):
How you know it's the same squarel?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Isn't that funny that people ask that? And they're so
unique to me? Of course I can tell which is.
Speaker 5 (23:18):
Wine, and I can tell by afar, like I can
see matt Seine across the street and I can just
look at her.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Eyes and know that it's her right right, like.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
Her, like everything about her, the energy when she stops
and looks at me from across the street, right right,
and she will stand up and once she hears my voice,
she just runs across the street and comes to me.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
So squirrels don't do that.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
You know. I was gone for Christmas for two weeks
and I came back and there was no Julie Andrews
for like two weeks. I could not be worried. Oh
my god, beyond beyond and there are all these other
new squirrels. I'm like, where did you even come from?
Speaker 5 (23:56):
You know?
Speaker 1 (23:56):
But Julie Andrews what she did? All of a sudden,
I hear this new I'm like making a TikTok, and
I hear a noise and I look and she's like
making noise in the tree like crazy. And I look
and I see her, and then she's staring at me.
I'm like, it's me. Come down to the roof. And
stared at me from the roof for like five minutes,
and then I started to sing again, Julie Andrews songs,
(24:18):
and the down came Miss Julie. I think I heard
her feelings by being gone.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Yeah, yeah, you were gone too long.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
I was gone too long. She thought, what the hell happened?
We had a good thing going.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
You were gone too long. So she said, I'm gonna
take a break too, exactly I'm gonna go away.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
You know.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
I don't know if you know her occupation, but maybe
she's a nanny.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
It could be.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Now, you moved out here to California to become an actor?
Speaker 4 (24:47):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
And where did you? Where were you before this?
Speaker 5 (24:52):
I was in Charlotte, North Carolina, So I'm from I
was born in Durham, Durham, North Carolina, raised in Atlansa,
but I was living in Charlotte for ten years. And
it has always been my dream to do something within entertainment.
(25:12):
I loved every aspect of it, like being in front
of the camera, being behind it, editing like I enjoy
I can all my time can go to that.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
And I'll be completely fine with that.
Speaker 5 (25:24):
And what made me move out to LA five years
ago was that I began to look at my future
five years ahead if I didn't make the move, and
it almost caused me to have a panic attack because
I knew I wasn't living within my purpose. So after
(25:47):
I had that moment, I decided to start traveling out
here sign with an agency for commercial work, and they
thought I lived out here, so I said, okay.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
In order for me to work in this city, I
got to actually.
Speaker 5 (26:03):
Live here, so I got in my car, I pat
that car up, and I drove out here two weeks later.
Didn't really have a plan.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Had you studied acting? Had you done acting in college
or community theater? No? Never, never did anything.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
No study. The only work that I've done.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Was being in front of my own camera doing comedy skits.
So I yeah, I enjoyed comedy and showing up in
a goofy way. I would do parodies of different like
either viral moments or movies, and that was my you know,
(26:47):
my experience. I moved out here and then started taking classes.
But yeah, no classes prior to me.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
And did you know anyone, Derek when you moved out here?
And how old were you when you did it?
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Like?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
How old are you now?
Speaker 3 (27:05):
I am thirty one?
Speaker 1 (27:06):
Okay, so you were in your twenties and you knew
if I didn't go, now, I'm not going. And so yes,
you came and you yes, and you did you like
it right away? Did you feel comfortable? Did you make
friends easily?
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Well, thanks to social media, I knew people already, so
it wasn't that hard to how they say, fine.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
A tried right.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
I had people that I could lean on when I
did move out here.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
I had a friend whose name was Terrell.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
He allowed me to stay with him and I was
sleeping on his couch for a few months, and then
I got a job, a part time job because friends
were running low.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
And from there I stayed.
Speaker 5 (27:59):
With another friend, and then I eventually moved to where
I live now. But throughout the entire process of figuring
out where was I going to be, what was I
going to do, there was no worry. Even there was
a moment where I was living sleeping in.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
My car for like two weeks.
Speaker 5 (28:20):
I promise you there was not one doubt or ounce
of worry in my heart or mind because I knew
that everything would be okay. The storm always goes away,
and as long as I see it through, everything will
be all right.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
So true.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Yeah, how did you get so wise for such a
young man? You're so wise. I really feel the calmness
inside of you, and it comes through on the camera
and your love for your squirrels and just talking now,
you're really some exceptional human being, Derek.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
I would say I get that from looking at life, right,
not just my life, but looking at how other people
deal with situations.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Learning to oh, I don't want to have that.
Speaker 5 (29:13):
Experience, so I'm not going to do it right. I
don't want to go down this path, so.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
I also have my grandma, my mom my sisters to
thank for what they instilled within me. But I've always,
as a kid, been very observant of what was going
on around me. At a young age, I would hang
(29:41):
out with an older crowd just because that's what I
gravitated towards. I never really hung out with my age group.
There really wasn't nothing stimulating to my mind within that group.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
Nothing nothing, no shade, nothing against that.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
But that wasn't where I thought exactly. It wasn't where
you were, right. But it takes a strong person to
listen to that inside voice like that. You know, did
they ever find out what the medical thing was that
was going on and did that get taken care of?
Or it's still no, no.
Speaker 5 (30:17):
No, I still don't know I went to When I
say I went to so many specialists, it was it
was really draining. But I still don't know to this day.
What I can say is that through it all and
through other methods that I found, I.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Know that I'm on a incline.
Speaker 5 (30:40):
I'm on a better track, I know, like my body,
I'm starting to put on weight again.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
My mental clarity is back. My headaches are gone.
Speaker 5 (30:53):
The digestive issues I was having, that's gone now.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
They tested for everything like lime disease and all that
and long COVID or something, you name it.
Speaker 5 (31:07):
They tested for Okay, yes, chromes, like, they tested for everything,
and it was.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
All coming back normal.
Speaker 5 (31:16):
Like even I had a Pollnosky endosopy and they looked
at my insides because you know, a lot of digestive
issues and my colon and everything looks great. So I'm like,
oh my god, what is that. I was like, please
just tell me something bad. I wanted to hear something
(31:36):
bad that would have gave me the relief. Yeah, but
you're telling me that there's nothing wrong. I can't do
nothing with that.
Speaker 3 (31:42):
I can't. I don't have no approach for nothing is wrong.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
Right. There are so many people online going through similar
things not being able to get a diagnosis, and you know,
it's very scary. I mean, you're a young, strong, handsome
smart man. Your body shouldn't be, you know, disobeying you
with this time in your life.
Speaker 5 (32:04):
You know, right, right, right, but I found other methods.
I started doing more holistic approaches, breath work, different herbs
that I use. All of it, I believe brought me
back to some sense of what I would say was normal.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Yeah at the time, right, so you're definitely feeling better.
Though you're feeling better?
Speaker 3 (32:34):
What, Yes, I feel great?
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Don't go away more with Derek right after this? Hey,
(33:01):
how did you ever learn to feed those baby squirrels?
How did you you just trial and error or did
you have someone come over and help you?
Speaker 3 (33:09):
No, I searched online.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
The first thing you want to take care of is
their hydration before they like eating anything, because if they're dehydrated,
they won't eat, and if they're too cold, they also
won't eat. So I had to get a space heater,
put them in a blanket, make sure that their bodies
were warm, and then I tried to feed them, but.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Most of them wasn't home.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
One of them drank a little bit, but thank god,
my neighbor text me because.
Speaker 3 (33:41):
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 5 (33:42):
I called so many wildlife et sperts, trying to take
them somewhere to get the proper help, but they were
all full, like everybody was filled to capacity because around
that time, a lot of you know, landscapers cut down
trees that's made in season, so baby snood baby squirrels
(34:04):
fall out.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
Of the trees, so they just get filled up with Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
I'm just happy that people care enough to take them
to the place to save them.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I'm just so happy that that, you know, because some
people write me and they are rats with tails, and
I'm like, I used to feel that way. I understand
what you're saying, but I have to tell you I
got such a thrill yesterday when she came back because
I I honestly, I don't even know how to explain it.
I felt like, where'd she go? Did a cat get her?
(34:36):
Did another territorial thing happened? Because there was one guy
I haven't seen him around either, Mister Big. He was
he had Mister Big was like a big old guy
and uh, he was sometimes not nice to the to
the girl ones or the littler ones.
Speaker 5 (34:55):
You know, that's how they are, That's how the males are.
Matt Scene would come on the patio. It's just her,
It's all cool. But as soon as like good rat
Raymond sometimes Richard Luther anytime the male squirrels come around,
they bully her. All yeah, and I'm like, come on now, like, listen, stop.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
Doing that, y'all.
Speaker 1 (35:19):
I feel the same way.
Speaker 5 (35:21):
There's no reason to do that. We got plenty of food.
You go on this side of the patio, and she
could stay over here.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
But you know what I did. I just said, you know,
I went away for the weekend. And so I was like,
saw her right before I went away for the weekend,
and I knew it was her, and I talked to
her and she came really close and she looked for
a none in my hand, but I didn't have any,
but she let me pet her, and then I said,
I'm going away for two days. I'll be back. And
when the day I got back, I just sat out
there and did what I normally do, just talk loud
(35:52):
and say I'm here. You want some nuts, come on
and suing them. They come. It's like I'm doctor Doolittle.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
Yeah, yep, yeah. I had a similar story to that
where I was actually going home, going home to North
Carolina for my great grandmam homegoing, and prior to me
leaving that day, I didn't see that scene for like
two weeks and right before I got into uber.
Speaker 3 (36:23):
When I was leaving the house.
Speaker 5 (36:25):
She showed up, and I knew that was that moment
for her telling me it's going to be okay, right right,
you know, I'm going home to lay my beautiful great
grandmama to rest. But that was that reassurance that she
was giving me. Yeah, So they show up just in time,
(36:47):
right on time.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Some people have said to me, do you think it's
your mom? You know, because my mom died in seventy three.
And I don't know if I believe that, but I
do believe that there is a God spirit and every
living thing, and all you got to do is be
open to that channel in whatever form. Now. To me,
God is nature, right, God is the dolphins jumping in
(37:13):
your wake, swimming in the ocean, you know, watching a sunset.
That's when I feel the most present in my own
life in world, and so you know, it's it's very
helpful for my depression. I'll tell you that. And you
know what else is the light? The light is the
(37:34):
sun out here. I don't know if you feel the
difference from Atlanta, but the sun here to me is
life affirming, like it is every day you wake up
and you feel the brightness and the possibility and the hope,
and sometimes growing up and living in New York, you know,
getting through those seasonal affect disorder months of you know, November, December, January, February.
(37:57):
By the time mark came around, You're like, get me.
You know, it was hard.
Speaker 5 (38:03):
I enjoyed like going to the beach because I skate
a lot, so I like going to Manhattan Beach and
just being out there in the sun skating. It really
does I mean scientifically it's shown that the sun helps
with depression. Yes, right, yes, so just getting outside, getting
(38:25):
that fresh air, it does make a difference. And I
find myself connecting with God early in the morning, early
in the morning, and when I'm in silence, when I'm
solitude by myself, all of the answers come to me,
even when I'm not actually asking for anything, like the things,
(38:49):
they just come to me. And I wanted to point
something out earlier about purpose when I said, these squirrels
have given me that m hm. I moved here to
pursue acting, but I didn't know what what it looks
(39:14):
like like. I didn't have a goal, and you had
lean away on here.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
A couple of episodes ago.
Speaker 5 (39:23):
Lean Away is a friend of mine.
Speaker 3 (39:25):
Oh yeah, and I.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
Was something else, man, I really amazing.
Speaker 3 (39:36):
She has been a great support for me in my
journey out here. I had a.
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Moment where I was at her place and she asked me.
She was like, what are you, Like, what are you
doing out here? Like because nobody know, they just see
me on social media, like, what are your goals? Like?
What are you I was like, well, I moved out
here to pur suit acting, but I don't necessarily know
(40:07):
what that looks like.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
I said, I'm just having fun and she said okay,
And I.
Speaker 5 (40:15):
Knew she was asking me to try to figure out,
you know, ways to guide.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Yes, of course I didn't know that.
Speaker 5 (40:23):
I was just giving her the god honest truth, like,
I'm just out here. I know that I'm supposed to
be out here. What for don't know, but the squirrels
led me to where I'm at now. So when people
ask me this question now, the answer is completely different.
It's in the same vehicle, it's going the same place,
(40:46):
but it's now with purpose. I walk into places now
with purpose. The acting, the entertainment, the what I'm bringing
to the world looks different.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
Creating something within my own.
Speaker 1 (41:07):
And you know what it is, Derek. Authenticity is the
only thing our culture now craves in a deceptive world.
And you're so authentically you that it's inspiring to watch
you fill my heart with lots of dopamine or whatever
(41:27):
that's in my brain, I guess, but you fill my
heart with joy and you know and I want you
to know that. And your TikTok, which I know you
have over a million people or something, and all of
this is supposed to happen because you made it happen,
or more accurately, you allowed it to happen. Yes, you
allowed it to happen. Now listen, let me ask you.
(41:50):
I saw you saw Oprah? What was that about? Wasn't
that you saw what happened? Did you meet Oprah before
and then you saw and you had to go in
there to new skinny Derek? What was that about?
Speaker 5 (42:03):
Yes? So me and Oprah had all right. Like I
told you, I used to create comedy skits, right Oprah.
This was I believe, right before the pandemic. She announced
her new book book Club, and she did like a
(42:24):
promo for it and everything.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
So I did a parody to it.
Speaker 5 (42:30):
I had this horrible wig on that I know Oprah wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
Dare to look at.
Speaker 5 (42:37):
I had this like everything was just you know, the
funny of it.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
And I did the.
Speaker 5 (42:43):
Exact replica of her promo video. She saw it, Gail.
They put it on the news to talk about the
book club, and she send me a personal video back.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (43:02):
So she was saying, Hey, I love the video you did,
but next time, I'm gonna send you some girls, meaning
her wig. She said, I'm gonna send you some batter
hair because what.
Speaker 4 (43:14):
You what you had on with, we can't do that again.
Speaker 5 (43:17):
Right.
Speaker 3 (43:18):
So a few years later, what a few months ago, at.
Speaker 5 (43:22):
The the Color Purple premiere in La.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
I saw her walking and I.
Speaker 5 (43:30):
Was like, I'm not too cool, Like I'm not going
to play that. I'm not too cool to go up
to anybody. So I said, this is my moment. Let
me just go up, introduced myself. Uh, and that's exactly
what I did. I said, Hey, Oprah, I'm Derek, not
true if you remember? Then she said, oh yes, I
do remember, And mind you, everything moves fast like you know,
(43:52):
so we're still moving, we're walking, and I said, do
you mind if I get a picture with you? She said, absolutely,
we can take a picture. Mind you, I wasn't ready
at all. I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm fumbling.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
I'm like, well, that's my fall.
Speaker 5 (44:07):
Lord, She said, are you ready? I said yes, Oh
my goodness, I wasn't ready. I got that picture and
it was so blurry.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
Oh that's too good. But you did it, man. You
know that is that is a powerful uh powerful testament
to who you are.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
Right.
Speaker 1 (44:26):
Not everybody will go right up to Oprah and say,
excuse me, miss oh remember I sent you a video,
you know, but I loved the color purple. Didn't you
love that movie? Yes, oh my lord, I saw the
Broadway Musical many times. Of course, the original is epic,
but I think this is a joyful, beautiful, wonderfully artistic movie.
(44:49):
I loved every minute of it.
Speaker 5 (44:51):
It was to me, it was a good blend of
like the Broadway meets like the film, like how they had.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Oh yes, I agree, it was good. Listen, Derek, you're delightful.
I have loved talking to you. Thank you for being
on my podcast. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (45:07):
Also, I want to give you so I didn't say,
but let's say it now. I have a children's book
coming out. Oh great, it is with me and Matt
Sing and it is actually the story of me saving
her babies right from the cutdown tree.
Speaker 3 (45:27):
So I would love to get that to you.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
I would love to sow your career. I read it
to my kiddo, so thank you so much for that.
I still have an eleven year old, as you know.
So it's fun. Yes, it's fun, life, honey, ride the ride.
I love you. Thank you for doing this, and carry
on and I will see you online.
Speaker 5 (45:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:48):
We'll be back with more after this. No time for
questions today. Thank you very much for listening. Next week,
I'm going to be talking all about my guide dog,
(46:09):
the experience, and I'm going to be crying a lot.
So if you want to tune in and hear how
emotionally wrecked I am over this dog, the addition to
our family, and the benefit that it's already showing on
my kiddo, tune in next week right here on onward
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