Mimi Talks about Time, Grief, and the Healing Power of Forgiveness

This transcipt was AI generated, and has not been edited by an attentive human being. When I can afford to hire a fabulous assistant, the transcripts will reflect their work!

[00:00:00] Hello, my friends, I have a really special episode today. Maybe it's a little indulgent. But I've had the luxury of. Spending a week with my grandmother, Mimi. Her real name is Anne Hodnett by the way, but you can call her Mimi. I've talked about her before. You may remember in the episode. 

[00:00:24] Measuring time and sugar. I offered a, a giveaway of one of her recipes. For people who wrote to me or left a review on iTunes I got more comments. Emails texts and reviews from that one episode, then maybe from all of the others combined. So clearly she's a popular woman. 

[00:00:53] Several people. I have asked for. A little more Mimi, more Mimi stories in the podcast. But I'm gonna do one step better today. And you get to hear from the queen herself. So Ann Richardson, Hodnett has spent more time on this earth than any other person. 

[00:01:12] In my immediate circle. she's going to kill me for saying this, but she turns 98. This month. And. She has really. Seen it all. And she still makes the most. Of every minute. 

[00:01:28] And I know this because I've just spent a lot of minutes with her. She's been a mother. And actor. A film producer. Aline cook. A salesperson. a designer, and a great. Great. 

[00:01:46] Grandmother and mentor. To me 

[00:01:49] My intention in interviewing her was just too. I run through some aphorisms about time. And to get her. Responses to them and it ended up going much, much deeper. So I want you to know that we do talk about some challenging themes. So if it's not the right time for you to listen. Don't. Take care of yourself. 

[00:02:18] We talk about. Grief. The specifically the loss of her child. And the loss of her husband. We talk about the trauma and tragedy of nine 11 and how she got me through it. We talk about suffering financial hardship. She was a child in the great depression. 

[00:02:41] And of course she's lived a good life through it all. I wouldn't have her talk about it. If I didn't think that she had something really meaningful to offer, but all the same, find the right time to listen. If it's for you 

[00:02:55] Before we get started, I also want to tell you about the rehearsal room. Applications are now open. I know some of you have been asking, you can apply@thelovelyunbecoming.com. And I'm super excited about it. Here's what's going to happen: in January, I will begin offering weekly. Open coaching rehearsal rooms online. So, what you can do is you apply. And then once you're accepted, you can join. A weekly rehearsal room and you can bring whatever needs rehearsing in your life. 

[00:03:32] You can drop in. Any time and any of those weekly calls that you'd like to up to four times a month. And rehearse something that needs a little extra attention in your life. That can be a difficult conversation. 

[00:03:49] That can be a board meeting presentation that can be your upcoming Ted talk or an audition piece that you're working on. Or maybe you just want to share an idea out loud and see how people respond to it it can be anything. 

[00:04:05] There will also be a group forum. I know how important. Creative communities have been to me in my life, and I wanted to create a way for us to find them. No matter where we are in the world. And you know, rehearse for life together. So if you have any questions, drop me an email, but go check it out@thelovelyunbecoming.com.

[00:04:29] I can't wait to rehearse with you. And now here is my conversation with Mimi. 

[00:04:37] Bree: I just wanna do a quick sound test. Can you just count to four? 

[00:04:41] Mimi: Sure. 1, 2, 3, 4, . Is that it? 

[00:04:47] Bree: Yep. And then say your. 

[00:04:49] Mimi: And ho it . 

[00:04:51] Bree: So Mimi, I wanted to bring you on the podcast this week because I'm with you, which is such a treat. It's been so nice to spend some time with you.

[00:05:03] But for the past season of the podcast, I've been, talking about time. Okay. And sometimes it's time management. Sometimes it's like, what is time, right? Why do we measure time? Right? Why do we have minutes and seconds? 

[00:05:19] Mimi: Why? Yeah. Tell me 

[00:05:21] Bree: why ? Well, you'll have to listen to the podcast . 

[00:05:25] But, I wanted to bring you on for two reasons. One is because I think that you make really good use of your time, , and I think you can offer some good. About time. And number two is that, in season three, episode four of this podcast.

[00:05:42] I was talking about time and cooking and measuring, and I talked about your recipes and I talked about how sometimes you don't include everything. In your recipes, . 

[00:05:58] And so I offered anybody who wrote to me I told them that I'd give them a mostly accurate.

[00:06:06] Version of your crab meat, Louisiana recipe , which we had last night, by the way. Yeah. And and I, I think 

[00:06:14] Mimi: it maybe it was just too hot for her. I was, that's the first time I've ever seen her, not, she just gobbles up food ordinarily. 

[00:06:23] Bree: Yeah. So Mimi's Mimi's crab meat Lian recipe is pretty spicy. And we had another friend over last night and I think, I think we may have been too spicy for her.

[00:06:34] But anyway, I had more people write to me after that episode than any other episode, . So I think you're pretty popular . 

[00:06:44] Mimi: I mean, what did you use before? 

[00:06:47] Bree: You gave me a recipe book. Uh, yeah. When I got married. Yeah. And you also gave my mom a recipe book. Yeah. When she got married. Yeah. And so I had two different versions to compare them to. But then also you'll notice that every time I come visit you, I ask you a lot of questions. Recipes.

[00:07:11] Recipes. Yeah. It's cuz I'm fixing them. 

[00:07:15] Mimi: I see. . Okay. So, gotcha. 

[00:07:18] You're making them clearer. Cause sometimes I'll say a pinch of something . 

[00:07:23] Bree: That's right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:07:26] Mimi: Yeah, I know. I know what I do and I keep thinking I'm going through my recipes and get 'em.

[00:07:33] precise and I thought I'd do it when I brought the computer home and, you know, and could type. But when I have time . 

[00:07:42] Bree: That's right. When do you have time? And that brings us to the next thing. So I have 10 famous sayings about time. I'm gonna tell you a quote and you tell me if you agree with. And then we'll talk about it a little bit. Okay? Okay. The first quote is by Leo Tolstoy. It's from War And Peace, the quote is this, the two most powerful warriors are patience and time. What do you think?

[00:08:11] Mimi: I, I guess I. Patience. Is so important because I love working with children and always have, and I think, I may be wrong about myself, but I think I have always been very patient with my children and grandchildren in order for them to understand maybe something they wouldn't underst. In the right way.

[00:08:39] So I take, I'll take time to be patient. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[00:08:44] Is that what 

[00:08:44] Bree: you want? Yeah, that's it. Okay. The next one is by Benjamin Franklin, and it is time is money.

[00:08:51] Mimi: Well, for a lot of people, time is always about money. With me, it can be about being with someone and having time to talk to them or just listening,

[00:09:08] and I don't have to make money out of it. 

[00:09:10] Bree: We lose the quality of time by thinking about it in terms of money all the time. 

[00:09:16] Mimi: That's why I 

[00:09:17] Bree: feel, I've been with you here all week and I know how precious this time is for me the worth is not measured in anything tangible. Really, it's just measured by times that we've laughed or played a game or talked about hard things and talked about fun things 

[00:09:36] Mimi: and or cooked together and correct my recipes. . 

[00:09:40] Bree: That's right. That's right. Okay, so Benjamin Franklin is wrong.

[00:09:45] Just wanna let everybody know that the next one. This one, you may have heard of it. Time waits for no 

[00:09:53] Mimi: one. Oh yeah.

[00:09:55] That's, that's true. sometimes things happen and I think, gosh, I wish that I had a little more time to think about that before I did something. Through the years I've tried. Take time to think about something and not just spoke my theory on it. Because I, I'll, you know, I do I change, I might be sure I'm going to do something a certain way.

[00:10:24] And then after. Exploring it and thinking about it more, I could completely change my mind. Yeah, 

[00:10:34] Bree: I get that. Yeah, All right. Here's another one better. Three hours too soon than a minute too late. William Shakespeare.

[00:10:43] Mimi: A minute or two. Wouldn't bother me , but uh, 30 minutes would. 

[00:10:51] Bree: Okay, but what about like if you're at the theater? At the 

[00:10:54] Mimi: theater mm-hmm. , 

[00:10:56] Bree: remember this is William Shakespeare. Yeah. Who 

[00:10:58] Mimi: said this? Right, right.

[00:11:02] I'm thinking about when I did roles on stage and had to memorize. And a couple of times I was left standing without anything to say because the person before me didn't give me the right words or forgot to come on stage. , 

[00:11:20] Bree: when that happens, a minute is a long 

[00:11:23] Mimi: time. That's right. But I learned to fill it because you have to if you are on stage.

[00:11:30] He looked like an idiot. If he just stood there and said, where is he? ? I've had it happen. 

[00:11:38] Bree: Yeah. So I, I think then what we can agree on is that we'd rather people be early than late. Than late. Yep. But maybe William Shakespeare was overstating it a 

[00:11:49] Mimi: little bit. Yeah. a little exaggerated maybe.

[00:11:54] Yeah. 

[00:11:55] Bree: Okay. We have another one from Benjamin Franklin. Lost time is never found again

[00:12:01] Mimi: I think there are some instances where lost time could be very important. So I, I hate to think back that I could have done something if I just hadn't.

[00:12:15] The time if I just think I can make that up later. You can't. You can't. Usually you can maybe, but a lot of times you wish you had done something and you don't. And then I think, oh, it's too late for that now. Mm-hmm. . But you know, I'd like to think that if it was something important, That I would try to go back and change it if I could.

[00:12:46] Bree: The next one is time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.

[00:12:54] Mimi: I guess I'm thinking spend on what? , I mean.

[00:12:59] I've known, not just men, I've just known people. That to me, kinda waste their time maybe doing something that really, that big a deal. Mm-hmm. , men probably think more about. I don't know that you'd go as far as say time is money, but it is a lot more important usually to the men, to men than it is women.

[00:13:26] I think we'd stop and take time for something that they'd say. I don't have time for that. I mean, I just don't think men and now go like this, but. . I just don't think men are as patient as they should be. Oh, I don't mean all men, but I've known some

[00:13:50] Government workers, uhhuh because they can waste time . 

[00:13:55] Bree: So to, to, just so you all know, Mimi used to do. A lot of work with the government. Why don't you tell them a little bit about

[00:14:04] when you made films for the government, you can tell them what you used to do. 

[00:14:08] Mimi: Well, I was more, a producer than any other title I can think of. And of course, because. Producing and plays, uh, amateur plays, community plays, solo work at the church, things like that. But, you know, most of the time , I loved it.

[00:14:33] I mean, and I'd love to be doing it still. It would have nothing to do with my politics. Right. I mean, I was able to do those with just a clear, open mind and not involve myself in it. Mm-hmm. , you know, like, yeah, I do what was best for the product that I'm gonna turn out.

[00:14:58] Yeah, 

[00:14:58] Bree: And that took patience. 

[00:15:00] Mimi: Oh yes. That's what I mean when I say men aren't quite as patient. and you know who you are? . . 

[00:15:09] Bree: The next one is time heals all wounds. 

[00:15:14] Mimi: It doesn't hale 'em, but it helps having suffered loss. Personal loss with my family. Uh, I still

[00:15:25] time, maybe it softens it a little. I don't know. It's just that I, I never forget. Uh, it's really hard to ignore a feeling you have. Like, sometimes I can walk the beach and I honestly feel like I'm talking to the son. I lost mm-hmm. and now I have to deal with others. Being the only one left in my immediate family, I miss, I miss not having any brothers and sisters, but thank God I've got grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

[00:16:01] So they help, they help make up the loss. I'll help the loss. 

[00:16:08] Bree: I think about how, when you talk about time, you're talking so much about relationships, right? You're talking about, patience with other people. You're talking about sharing time with people you love about making deep and meaningful connections with work, with seeing beyond differences.

[00:16:34] When you talk about time, that's what you're talking about. Right? And I think about how you've, how you do, it's not in the past. It's how you do live your life. That way, continuing to really seek out meaningful friendships and relationships and connections and all that you do. so I was born pretty soon after Kelly died and I know that that, that, that was probably pretty good timing for me to be 

[00:17:09] Mimi: mourn

[00:17:10] It works. I've always felt that's what happened, that

[00:17:15] he shouldn't have died. It was an accident and he was killed by Strava. And that makes a difference in how you accept it too, if they die from old age or illness, I think you can take that better than you can to lose somebody suddenly. And I had a hard time realizing I wasn't able to change anything.

[00:17:41] I had to do the changing, I had to start thinking a different way.

[00:17:45] Yeah. Yeah. And I, I think I did change. My personality probably changed too. Mm-hmm. . 

[00:17:52] You don't mean to be cruel, but it's really hard to forgive someone when you don't feel they deserve your forgiveness. Mm-hmm. . You finally learned that they must be living with a lot of guilt for all I know, and they don't know how to express it. 

[00:18:13] Bree: I guess a question that I have for you, because I've seen you.

[00:18:18] Bearing grief. It makes up part of who you are, but also there's like a, a beauty and a depth and a strength that you hold that has all of that love and sorrow and joy all wrapped up. 

[00:18:36] Mimi: That's true. 

[00:18:37] Bree: I guess the real question is in those first couple of years, what were some things that you did to be able to create that space for yourself?

[00:18:50] Mimi: I did a lot of walking on the beach and thinking, and sometimes being a little pushy about it, would say to God, okay, there must be a reason that I lost my. Now I need a reason to continue living and be there for my other grandchildren and children, and that's when the job came along. See, I'm an optimist most of the time, and I always have felt like that job turned into a big part of my I honestly feel like God put it in my path because I needed it, and I don't think any person could have done it. I, it, it helped me that my granddaughter was born soon after I lost that child. And I feel like God had something to do with that too, , but yet I'm not a extremely religious person. I think more about it than I talk about it.

[00:20:03] Uh, I'm active in the church and I love working in the soup kitchen. I mean, I love doing things for people it puts a different light on things for me.

[00:20:15] Bree: I think about your generosity all the time. Even just this week, it was just a small moment, but it was such a Mimi moment. We've. Gone out to eat several times this week while I've been here with Mimi. And it is fun to go to a bar with Mimi. Let me tell you, , she, she commands a lot of attention, cattle title , but we went and we were waiting for our table and there was a young woman sitting across from us just by herself.

[00:20:49] We talked for a little while, and then Mimi, you offered to buy her a drink. Oh, 

[00:20:56] Mimi: yeah. Would you like to join us and have a drink with us? Yeah. 

[00:21:00] Bree: And I, I just love the way you opened up that way, and that you're so generous in who you are and welcoming new friends and new people.

[00:21:09] Into your life, even if it's just for a moment to have a drink and talk about your day. 

[00:21:15] Mimi: Yeah, I'm boo for starting conversations. ? No, I just, uh, I always feel bad if I see somebody being completely alone. We don't know what they might have gone through, and it kind of makes me realize, well, hey, look what you've got, you know?

[00:21:34] Mm-hmm. , and, and I like to share that feeling. particularly if, as you say, if it's in a place that you would just ordinarily not think about anybody, but having.

[00:21:46] Bree: Here's another quote. You can't have a better tomorrow if you're thinking of yesterday, all the time.

[00:21:53] Mimi: I honestly try to. Not to think about yesterday much because especially if something has happened and maybe I don't understand and I'm not happy about, but , I just feel like I've got to put it aside. I may be wrong, but I just don't wanna have to try to solve something that I.

[00:22:16] Really down in my heart, I'm not gonna be able to change. So I'm just not gonna waste my day thinking about it. I've got other things. I keep busy. You do 

[00:22:27] Bree: keep busy. Yeah. You do. Okay, here's the next one. Time spent with cats is never wasted. 

[00:22:35] Mimi: Certainly it wasn't wasted when I was a little girl cause I had cats.

[00:22:40] I never felt it was wasted. . I don't feel like my time is wasted when I'm with children or animals. Because I just think that's part of your makeup really. I've, I've known people that said, eh, I can't stand being with cats. Well, I may not care about having a cat curled around my neck, all sleeping with me.

[00:23:06] But I think cats are pretty clever when you think about it and. I don't think it's wasted. I don't think any time you spend with any of God's other Cru is wasted. It's up to you whether it's wasted or not. 

[00:23:24] Bree: I did not expect you to say that. . I expected you to say no, not cats, , 

[00:23:29] Mimi: no. Uh, I'm in a position I wouldn't want a cat now.

[00:23:34] Mm-hmm. , but I certainly, they were a part of my life when I was a little girl. 

[00:23:39] Bree: What do your best times look like?

[00:23:43] Mimi: Well, I can remember specific things when I was real young that are special, but I try to look at each day, especially when I'm in a mood . Mm-hmm. each day. This is a new day, Ann, let's make something. . And so a big thing with me and my therapy of, of things is walking on the beach.

[00:24:12] Mm-hmm. , it just helps clear my mind. 

[00:24:14] Bree: Well, what about fun times? 

[00:24:16] Like when you look back and you think this was really fun. 

[00:24:20] Mimi: Well, I love being in the set. Yeah, probably more than anything outside of my family. I enjoyed being in the plays. I enjoyed produc. The plays. I enjoyed the people that were into theater, like I was, that enjoyed it. Like I did. I loved finding the things that needed, which is part of being a producer.

[00:24:46] Uh, it was fun. It was fun doing those things. And I, I, you know, I would still. , enjoy making the films. I felt like we were really doing something worthwhile. We weren't making 'em to show off , we were making 'em to train the students that we were making the films for, to train them to do a safer job and a better job, and just kind of like, They, they train police or firemen or something.

[00:25:24] Uh, I felt like we were, we were adding, we were adding something to their life. They could see in the film that we made what would help them all the rest of their life. And it taught me a lot teaching them. It's, you know, I have to admit, I learned a lot of things I would've never known if I hadn't worked at that particular job.

[00:25:52] Bree: So it seems like the ingredients for a really good time Yeah. Are having a sense of purpose. Yeah. Having a sense of community. Right. And learning 

[00:26:05] Mimi: and growing. Yeah. And learning. That's, that's small as said, Uhhuh. Mm-hmm. . 

[00:26:12] Bree: Can you share your top strategies for getting through hard times?

[00:26:18] Well, 

[00:26:19] Mimi: it's really hard to put it into words, but , I did

[00:26:23] spend more time thinking about

[00:26:26] the future without him, and. Was there any purpose? And if so, what was it? you can't help but feel a little bit cheated. Of course for me it was get to work and do something worthwhile. Now that is not, when I started doing food bank, I'd already, I was already doing those kind of things, but I. more places that I could spend my time, not just thinking about, I don't have him anymore.

[00:27:00] Bree: One of the things that I hear a lot about getting through hard times is to do two things. One is to surrender. To surrender yourself. Yeah. To the reality of the situation, but also to take action, right? To move forward, with opportunities as they come up, . 

[00:27:26] Mimi: Well, as I said, I didn't, I didn't sit on the couch.

[00:27:30] I know I walked and. and I and I really did throw a challenge to God and said, okay, you took my boy. Now what are you going give me to, what are you going to do to make me able to go through my life? Because I had to be the strong one in the family. I had to be. And you know, The first time somebody wanted us to go out, you feel like I shouldn't do that. And then I thought, why? I mean, I've got to, I'm too much of a people person to wanna, I couldn't have been one of those people to CRI all day. What good was that going to, I just never once occurred to me.

[00:28:16] I knew I had to get busy. I knew that was the only way you could get.

[00:28:20] but who knows? 

[00:28:22] Bree: You were with me, on nine 11? Yeah. You were visiting us. We had just had Camden, so we had this new little baby living in Brooklyn and the Twin Towers were 

[00:28:36] Mimi: in our backyard practically. 

[00:28:38] Bree: Yeah. Then the planes hit them and Jeff was across the, the river and he had to come back across the Manhattan Bridge.

[00:28:48] That's right. You were supposed to fly out that morning 

[00:28:51] Mimi: and you couldn't That's right. At the exact time. Mm-hmm. . But it all happened 

[00:28:55] Bree: and we didn't have any cell phones that were working and it was kind of scary. It was a scary time. It was, and I was, you know, I'm a little prone to the dramatic and I started to freak out a little bit.

[00:29:07] Do you remember we had a brand new baby? I did. Yeah. But do you remember what you told me then? I'll remind you. , you said to me, you said Bree baby. You have got to pull yourself together, right? This isn't about you. This is about your new baby, and she can feel everything that you are going through and 

[00:29:29] Mimi: we're gonna take care of her.

[00:29:30] That's right. That's why I'm here. That's why I didn't have, that's why I missed that plane that morning and I remember when the ashes would fall into your backyard, you could literally see it. Almost like snow, it's funny. But that's what I always see when I think, and I do remember saying to you, It's still ashes yeah, I remember, I remember encouraging you a lot that all we had to do was take care of that baby and we were gonna be okay. 

[00:30:06] Bree: It's advice that's helped me since then. It's really about just honestly, if you can breathe, just breathe and take care of this moment. Just stay in this moment and 

[00:30:21] Mimi: that's, and look how well we got through the rest of that day when you got over your little panic time. I'd call it because we made, when you think about it, it's kind of funny.

[00:30:36] We, we felt like we were gonna have to get out of there, so we made food to take with us. And sure enough, Jeff came back, his sister opened her home for us. And I remember leaving there and looking back and seeing at five o'clock that afternoon. I, I could see that to this day. See that scene?

[00:31:01] Bree: It was the most beautiful. 

[00:31:03] Mimi: Sunset. Beautiful sunset and smoke. Ah, 

[00:31:10] Bree: Just talking about it gives me chills. Uhhuh even now. 

[00:31:14] Mimi: Yeah. But then we got that and we're with Jeff Sister's family. We, we had. Huh. We had so much to talk about what we're going through that day, but it helped because we were able to talk about it and get it out of there.

[00:31:33] Mm-hmm. and say to you, mm-hmm. as a baby, you helped us get through this. You know that, don't you? Mm-hmm. . Yeah. I, dad, new life is powerful. Oh, yeah, you're right. Mm-hmm. 

[00:31:51] Bree: So when you were a young girl, you grew up in, Virginia and it was the depression when you were right. Growing 

[00:32:00] Mimi: up? Yeah. I was only about six or seven when it started.

[00:32:04] Yeah. And it changed our life a lot. Mm-hmm. , because my father had owned a dollar bill business. And, uh, so cars and his problem, it wasn't a problem, it was just one of his traits. He let people buy cars to, to pay 'em on payments. Mm-hmm. , I don't know whether they still do . They do, they do car 

[00:32:29] Bree: loans.

[00:32:30] Mimi: But, but he, uh, he did. To too many, far too many people. And I, I just remember that we lost our home. And as a little girl, as I said, six or seven, Hey, explain that to a child. You don't. But I remember us having to move and I just couldn't understand why we were moving. I liked where we lived, and, uh, you know, 

[00:32:56] that's a memory that took a lot of doing to finally not let it be the focal point in my life. Cause I was just so little and I, I just remember the specific things, like to go to the store to buy a loaf of bread,

[00:33:12] There were times we, I literally would pull the cushions off the couch to see if I could find change that maybe men had lost. Na, can you ima I can't even imagine me doing something like that at seven or eight. But I 

[00:33:26] Bree: did. I can imagine it because I was doing that when I was 19. Yeah. And living in New York as a young starving artist.

[00:33:36] Right. And we had so little. . And I do remember going through all the couch cushions and looking, and if I found a quarter on the street, wow, man, I saved that . Yeah, 

[00:33:49] Mimi: that was in. But we picked up the Pist. , yeah. 

[00:33:52] Bree: Didn't we? Yeah. Yeah. I think I learned that from you. Yeah, I still 

[00:33:58] Mimi: do it. 

[00:33:59] Bree: I know you do. I went shopping with you this week and I saw you 

[00:34:02] Mimi: I got outta the car, and that penny caught my eye. See, I've always thought that was a message from Kelly. Aw. Oh, mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . He sends me that pit every time. Sometimes when I, I really need to sue that penny . It isn't the money. What it stood for for me. Yeah. Yeah. But then it stood for getting a local program,

[00:34:26] Yeah. And I don't, I remember being hungry. I just, I just know how I was as little as I was. I understood we didn't have money. And we had had money, so that probably, and like my older brothers and sisters actually had calls it, it's funny when I think back, 

[00:34:49] Bree: you know, they, they say that once you reach. A certain level of income, and I've heard different reports on what that level is. But basically it's once you have enough money to have a roof over your head and food on your plates and shoes to wear, then your happiness doesn't really change that much if you have more money or less money.

[00:35:18] That's. Because you've had a lot, you've had lots of money, , and you've had very little, yeah, 

[00:35:25] Mimi: uh, even we didn't have money. I don't remember being unhappy because I think I had the love of the family and all. 

[00:35:35] Bree: and cats apparently.

[00:35:37] Mimi: Yes. I had cats and kittens. it's kind of funny, but I don't think I was able to have a dog probably because of the cost. I don't know. I don't ever remember wanting a dog so bad. Puppy. So bad because I already had my kittens. But the 

[00:35:55] Bree: kittens would eat the mice, so they were good to have.

[00:35:58] That's true, I guess. All right. If you could go back in time, what is something you would do 

[00:36:06] Mimi: more of?

[00:36:07] Well, if I were and good enough health. I would travel more. So I just love meeting different cultures, like that's why I'm so in love still with Italy. 

[00:36:19] Bree: Do you have any advice for people who want to make the most of their time?

[00:36:24] Mimi: Well, don't be afraid to try something new, because I certainly had, when the government came here and we're looking for somebody for this particular job, Always thought, how did I look into it? And then I realized it was because not, maybe it wasn't because, but I know why they found my name was because I was really good friends with the ladies at the Chamber of Commerce and.

[00:36:56] They told them if you want to have anything to do with making films, she has, and I had cast, I had, I didn't realize that you called it casting, but we had a couple of movies made here. I knew the right people for them to get what they needed. Like I had a, I had a strong friend that helped me find all those children for the John Vot movie, Conrad Uhhuh. . 

[00:37:25] Bree: Mm-hmm. . 

[00:37:26] Mimi: Yeah. And I actually, got pretty close to him. to John Vot, right? Mm-hmm. . Yeah. Sometimes I think I wish she'd come down and visit the cluster because he could afford it, and we could get together and talk about,

[00:37:43] Nicest memories. But I had met him because I played that very small part of just being the secretary in Conrad. Yeah. 

[00:37:52] Bree: Mm-hmm. . I know you're very cute in that 

[00:37:54] Mimi: scene. Oh, yeah.

[00:37:55] Very cute. . I, I, I really had that Southern accent, that's for 

[00:38:01] Bree: sure. Well, you've lost it now, right? 

[00:38:03] Mimi: I'll never lose it. They always know I'm from the south. They don't always know I'm from Virginia. Sometimes they'll think it's Texas. And Louisiana and Charleston, places 

[00:38:20] Bree: like that.

[00:38:21] Well, you kind of have a, a mix of them. You have a made up accent. , okay, , whatever. You're the only person with your particular accent.

[00:38:32] Who? I may. Right. . All right. Well, Mimi, thank you. I love you so much. I love you so much. I'm so happy that I had this time with you, 

[00:38:41] Mimi: my first grandchild and my most precious

[00:38:45] friend too,