The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler - Carlotta Wood

Episode Date: January 30, 2019

My guest this week is Carlotta Wood. Carlotta is the first friend I made when I moved to California in 1997 and we've been friends ever since. I actually heard her before I saw her. When I told her I was going to use her voice some day, she looked at me like I was crazy. It took me a while, but 22 years later, she's the voice that introduces every episode of The HoneyDew. She’s not crazy about me using a picture of her with sunglasses but this pic is from a coupla years ago and it’s exactly what she looked like the first time I met her. I knew some of Carlotta's story but there's so much I didn't know. She opens up about everything from childhood trauma, being a teenage mom and dating a pastor that hid in her bushes. Carlotta has some stories! No matter what we talk about, no matter how deep it gets, we always find a way to laugh about it. Carlotta shared a quote I had never heard - "I'm glad I don't look like what I've been through." Man does that resonate! I hope you enjoy this episode. http://TheHoneyDewPodcast.com

You're listening to The Honeydew with Ryan Sickler. Welcome back to The Honeydew, y'all. It's Wednesday and we're doing it over at your mom's house. I am your host, Ryan Sickler. You can find me on all social media at ryan sickler my website is ryan sickler.com i want to give a special thanks to uh jason gallagher my man jason gallagher for the intro music now those are studio musicians with live horns okay who else is doing live horns on their intro podcast music you guys are probably like there's 14 people

my new album, Get Ahold of Yourself, is available on iTunes, Apple Music, Google, all the good stuff. Definitely check it out on Spotify and Pandora

where you can create your own channel. That'd be nice. It's over on Sirius streaming as well. Thank you all for those five-star iTunes reviews. You guys are the best.

I swear to God, it's so funny. Tomorrow, I'll be in Northern California for the weekend. Barrel Brothers Brewing tomorrow. Friday, Griffo Gin Distillery. Saturday, Old Growth Cellars in Eureka. Thank you all for the positive ratings, the emails, the reviews.

I appreciate it. I really do. It means a lot, and I'm glad you're digging the stuff so far. Wherever you listen to podcasts, please rate and review The Honeydew, and if you haven't subscribed yet, please subscribe. Tell anyone who will listen, and just

know that we're closer and closer to getting set up at your mom's house. You'll still have two shows on the feed here through January. Once that ends, you'll just have The Honeydew here. And just so you know, any feasters who are listening you we're going to put all the crab feast episodes on one feed and they'll just live there forever

and you can basically subscribe to that feed and you'll have every crab feast episodes we're going to clean things up here as we move into your mom's house that's what happens in a move you know still trying to bring you quality content while we're moving you know what's up um let me see the website the honeydewpodcast.com where you can get all the info i'm about to tell you you can email me at honeydewpodcast at gmail.com follow the show on social media the honeydew podcast is what the facebook page is and the twitter is at honeydew pod and this show as uh we've well you've seen heard you're gonna see when we get the camera set up at your mom's house, that we're dealing with some heavier stuff here on a lot of these episodes and laughing at it.

And I recorded this intro after the conversation because this is an old friend of mine, and I know some of what she's been through and not quite the extent of those things which i have found out as well and it's sensitive material at times but she is so wonderful and so funny and i mean to hear her laugh through this stuff is just amazing so i'm excited to introduce you to the voice at the top of the honeydew every episode. Please welcome Carlotta Wood. Hey, y'all. How you doing? Welcome to the show, Carlotta.

Thank you, Sickler. You're welcome. As I said, this is the first time I've done this with a friend. You're an old friend and you know what the show is all about. Obviously, thank you for doing the voice at the top. People hit me up on Twitter and said, who is that? And I said, that's my friend Carlotta.

And it was, I met you in 97. And that's before I was even doing stand-up here in LA. I would tell you all the time I wanted to do it. I started getting into it while I was there. But I said to you, I wanted to use your voice in something. In something. In something.

What was it, 20, 22 years? and something and something here we are hello it took me two decades it's okay but hey it feels good it feels good to keep my word and i'm glad you said yes we did it and we're both still alive so i'll put some up top on that come on now come on man a lot of shit can happen come on now 97 to now that's a lot so um i do know some things about your your past i don't know a lot of details and i know some things we're going to talk about are heavy but what i'd like to do before we get into your story is we could tell a little bit of our story um let the people know how we met because i've certainly told some of the beverlycott hotel stories on the Crab Feast. And you've been talked about because you're in some of those funny stories.

But 1997, I move out here. And I just have a friend of a friend who's like, I just know this company that's, they're a hotel. Have you ever worked at a hotel? And I was like, yeah. I had never worked at a hotel. I'd never even been in a hotel that nice. I didn't know what a concierge was when i walked in so they were like we're gonna send you to uh nino ferretti the place was called it was for

suits because you remember you had to wear a suit at the front desk i did not have a suit they bought me a suit prepared in life they bought me a suit and then i started working at that front desk right and for a while it was just front desk and they said well you know if you work weekends or after hours you guys got to learn how to do a few things and one of those was reservations yeah those phones downstairs pbx right we i can't remember we asked alexa what pbx was i don't know what the hell it was again but some kind of exchange private private board exchange or i don't know i had to be wrong i think but either way private business exchange is that it that's probably it you were down there doing reservations but like that was your gig though like you so yeah that's

what i came there for like that's what i applied for i just come from the double tree in santa monica i went to school traveling trade tourism school in long beach in 94 i remember triple t so i went you know i went. Tourism was my weak link. But you know what I'm talking about. The traveling thing. So I went for hotel and hospitality. And then I ended up at Beverly Prescott. Like six months before I got there?

Yeah, like six months before you got there. So I was running it. You were running it. Yeah, they were like, we're going to have you train. I mean, I'm really good at catching on those type of things. So they had us come down the stairs and I heard you before I ever met you. And I loved your voice. I've always said that.

You've always said that. And they were like, watch, watch. This is Carlotta. And you turn around. You had nothing but at it. You're like, I don't have time for these motherfuckers right here. I don't need to train. Answer it like eight in there.

I was like, wait. Yeah, the calls are coming in. I mean, you were like back it was like you were grabbing them with your feet and shit like back in there like you need to do what she does i'm like i can't do what that lady does i'm like y'all gonna miss a lot of reservations i kept looking at you like oh here we go and then you start training me and right away we click yeah we get along great we're sharing a headset you're sitting right next to me and i'm teaching you how to do it so much fun saying dumb shit to those people you can't say that ryan you can't say that right and um mr mcpartland jim mcpartland i want to give him a special shout out because that dude was our general manager gm ever the fucking best i've talked about him before he got me into improv at the Groundlings. I was in this other one.

He's like, you got to do Groundlings. So he supported that. He was a big part of me getting into the comedy world, too, out here in LA. And that dude was always class. Okay. Always class, Mr. McPartland. I still say Mr. I do, too.

And I never knew that. I didn't know that Jim was encouraging you to be in your craft. I never got written up on any job I ever did in my life but there. When they make me come in at that 6am shift, I was like, I ain't making it. 605 is the best I could do. Especially with that clopener when you're getting off at 1130

and back at 6 in the morning. You just call it a clopener? That's a good side jargon right there. You close and you gotta make an open. If you work at a hotel and they want you close and you gotta make an open but you should just if you work at a hotel and they want you to do that they should just give you a room to go sleeping and shower and i'll let you go home but um but that was a lot of fun and yes so you and i

got to get to know each other and i remember i used to come down used to live in long beach but you lived literally you lived on one side of the street was you where long beach was and across the street was confident it really was literally it was long beach and artes street was you where long beach was and across the street was literally was long beach and artesia boulevard long beach um boulevard and artesia and i would drive my little red honda civic with original rims my 1990 and i'd pass i knew i'd be getting close when i passed comp the casino and i didn't even know compton had a casino is it still there it's called something else now but yeah still because the casino is still there. It's awful. Don't go.

That's how I knew I was getting close. And I remember I used to tell people, like, you're going down there. I was like, dude, we've been through Baltimore. Were they scared for you? It ain't any worse than Baltimore. You know what I mean? Like, it ain't any worse. You drive through that.

It wasn't in the worst area, though, because it was borderline. When they heard Compton, they all airbied. Everybody gets a little perturbed about it. You know what I mean? It wasn't in the worst area, though, because it was borderline. When they heard Compton, they all airbite. Everybody gets a little perturbed about it. You know what I mean? But do you remember Orlando? Yes. So that dude one night, he took me to go get some weed.

This is whatever, like 90, right? He takes me to get weed. And we go to this neighborhood in South Central. And it was all line. What I've noticed out here in los angeles is if you have the tall thin dr seuss palm trees in your neighborhood is you want to steer clear of those i feel like they're tall for a reason like yeah we ain't gonna go over that where those short squat palm trees at the bushes yeah the bushes we call them the shrubs where those neighborhoods man but we pulled down this street and i mean it's one of those just straight streets you know what

i mean narrow for a minute every every house dark it's 6 30 it's 6 30 and i was like this is not lined with cars on both sides packed going down the street 6 30 in the winter dark and i was like, this is not fucking good. Lined with cars on both sides. Packed. Going down the street. 630 in the winter. Palm trees for days. Dark. And I was like, this is not good. We go in this dude's house. And, you know, I just want a little bag.

You know, Orlando, we go in this guy's house. This dude's big dude with dreads comes out. He's shirtless. He's got a trash bag of weed. And I'm like, uh. And Orlando's like, wait here. I'm like, where are you going? Where are you going? You know, I'm trying to look like I'm not scared. Don't leave me. I'm like uh and Orlando's like wait here I'm like where you go where you go you know I'm trying to look like I'm not leaving me like uh I'm gonna wait in the car no you just wait right here I'm

I have no idea what the fuck they probably smoked a joint back there but it was extremely long and uncomfortable with Orlando in that house but then we got out of there yeah were you do you remember Kai absolutely okayai used to call me hillbilly all the time remember yes she did and she invited me one time to um thanksgiving dinner were you there for this i was the white guy at the thanksgiving dinner for her and her family and friends and she used to clown me so you know she was good too i'd take it back like do you know any white people at all like Like, anybody. Like, there's nobody.

There's like 40 people here. It's just me right now. Ryan, you kind of showed up from out of nowhere, though. I did. You know what I'm talking about? I mean. I guess I did. I just sort of pooped up.

Yeah. I mean, we were diverse, but not like that. You know, a little country. You coming down. Baltimore. No one drives from Baltimore. Comes to work at the hotel with us like that.

We weren't expecting you. Yeah. Well, I like that you say we. We weren't. We're glad you showed up, though. Well,

then remember, so we had this, I've talked about this a little bit, too. So, we, through working for the hotel,

yeah, $50 hotel room right yeah with sister properties right so we decided we're gonna go up to san francisco and to napa right drive my little honda civic we sure did all the way up i have the pictures to prove i have the pictures from san francisco and up Yeah. And I remember being up there and it was the weekend. Princess Diana died. I was all over the news, obviously. And for time reference.

And I remember walking through. We just got pizza. Yes. We just got pizza at Haight-Ashbury. And we're walking through Haight-Ashbury together. Just enjoying the scenery. Minding our own business. Took two slices of cheese with us

for later. We were in and out these shops. Looking at bongs. We were. And we go by this group of kids sitting on the ground. White kids. Deadheads. Sitting on the ground. And kids, deadheads sitting on the ground,

and they asked for our pizza. And we said, no, we're not going to give it to you. I said, no, it's okay. And we kept walking, and I heard, you black bitch. Oh, it was on. I was like, oh! I said, you know what? And I told you.

Let me hold your pizza. I said, give me that pizza, Carlotta. Hold on. I couldn't fight this fight. I was like, give me that pizza. It was about to be on. And Frisco. I was about to.

I said to you, hey, whatever the fuck you think is the best decision here, I'm going to support it 100%. I was trying to be out there like I'm representing my city. You turned around. My hotel, yeah. Oh, I was like, man, I'm just peeking my city you turned around yeah oh i was like man i'm just peeking around you're like oh it's been she was they all it wasn't just her scary that whole sidewalk was yeah it was it was it was a mess it was about to go down on that street i could but that's supposed to be peace and love hippie san francisco two things happened up there yeah she was you don't do that.

God. That was. But we made it. We did it. We made it. We made it. We ate that pizza later. We ate that pizza later. We made it.

And I didn't go to jail. And then I think it was maybe the next day. We're walking through Chinatown together. And there was a construction crew and it was white guys and black guys standing there and the white dudes looked at me and the black guys looked at you and we talked about how it was them looking at us like what are you doing yeah I you know what I loved it I used I loved hanging out together I, I still do now when we get a chance to get together for something.

I just had never seen it. The Beverly Center? At the Beverly Center, those three dudes wanted to... Yeah, you loved it. I didn't love that one. I was like, ah. But every time... Let's get down on the first floor. It's a fall. We're up on floor three. We don't need to be up. But Chance is downstairs anyway. Let's go down.

Let's go down the escalator real quick i was always like okay this is good you know because they'd be really ironing us like it was a problem man i had never experienced anything like that i'd always i always recognized it and saw it and i didn't care yeah but you were always you were always so fun so there's a lot of interesting things about you um tell us tell me about so you were you had a small part in house party too yes which already i was like that is because house party was is such a fucking class it's a classic it's a classic robin harris so much fun it was at us we we taped at usc and that's when i was like you know doing extra work trying to figure out if i wanted to you know go into that

industry and and do that because my dad was always pushing me, you know, to be in the entertainment industry and the arts because he came from that too, you know, in his time. And so I just started doing extra work and they did what they call, I guess, a bump, you know, like they paid me a little extra to do the little part that I did. I mean, no speaking part, but I, you know, I had a chance to meet Martin Lawrence and he was, I mean, he was, he was such a great person, you know, and a chance to meet martin lawrence and he was i mean he was he was such a great person you know and i'm sure he still is you know but at that point in time he was just the one that was edging everybody on you know to do a little extra to do a little something

different he wanted me to do you know a couple of you know different things in that scene but they wouldn't let me of course you know they had their own vision on what they wanted so it was just a really good time you know slapping the white dude with the dread yeah so tell us what's the scene what is the scene the scene is like they're they're getting ready for the pajama jam and they're telling everybody about it and they're whispering in our ears and so i'm walking past and then martin's whispering in some girl's ear at the tree he grabs my arm i give him this little look but attitude like don't touch me i keep walking and then um the white guy with the dress so you do it yeah that's right your scene starts with martin it starts with martin yeah me walking through and then i sit down and then the guy whispers in my ear and i slap him because

he's saying something crap he was from uh what was that group that i really wish i could think of his name. Because I mean, that's bad. It was Tap the Bottle and Twist the Cap was the song that they had. It was something that he, because it wasn't either like the front man of this hip hop group that White Dude with the Dreads. He was like the. I think so. I don't recall that from myself.

He was like his roommate in college or something like that. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. Is that the guy? Yeah, that is the guy. That is the guy. And his name is like on the tip of my tongue, yeah, yeah. You're right. Is that the guy? Yeah, that is the guy. That is the guy. And his name is like on the tip of my tongue, but I can't get it right. So you smacked him? How many times did you smack him that day?

We did like maybe five takes on that. But it was interesting. I mean, it was different for me because I've always just done extra work and I was in the background. I never was asked to get bumped or do anything outside of being on film for my five seconds of fame, so to speak. But that was fun you know the lighting and them holding on a little you know mirror under my face and doing those things so that was cool so you know thinking i'm you know i was gonna do that

in my lifetime but yeah just an extra glorified extra goddamn but aggressive extra not just an extra oh it's just an extra I'll slap people I'll put some extra on this thing right here I'll put some extra on that slap I'm sorry

I got carried away but I called action okay right that's not my job I'm telling you my bad my bad yeah yeah

a little bit of power on me that's on me yeah a little bit you know sometimes a little power go to your head you've told me that you

have you met tupac or you hung out or you knew tupac no tupac was a really good friend of mine um how did you guys meet through friends or yeah my high school sweetheart um yaki seesway um what was his name yaki seesway tahim but god bless him that's a story in itself um he's way tahim but god bless him that's a story in itself um he's that name is a story yeah um but my high school sweetheart um his father um was um tupac's manager slash like overseer so when tupac came in tamarin california me and yaki went up there in the van to go pick him up you did yeah so that's how i ended up meeting him. Yeah, when he first came out here, we were 17. So we drove out to Marin, and we go pick him up. We come back down in the van,

and we were in different organizations together, NAPO, National African People's Organization. And Pac was, you know, coming from the background that he came from, Black Panthers, his mom. You know, he was really big on names and changing your name. So he's always trying to tell me and my sisters, like, you need to get a free name. Your name's not free.

I'm like, dude, calm down. They're teaching us fast. Yeah, he sees ways. It's three letters. We double up on all of them. Oh, God damn. But what do you want? Wait, what?

You know, my sister was always like, my parents didn't pay for my name. And I'm like, but no, but we were just really good friends and the whole entire, you know, the Tahimbas. And then, you know, Pac was know Pac was always of course with us and we did those things and hanging out at my parents house you know making nachos and him still lecturing us about our names most of the time and yeah nobody wanted to hear about that but um yeah he was just you know we were just we were kids and coming up and you know before that fame hit and he went to atlanta then the tahimbas went to atlanta because you know yaki's dad had to follow and be there for pot you know to be as overseer they're very um pro-black if you want

to say you know yeah of course yeah very public very militant yeah sure very militant so you know that's that that was just how that went and then you know and then you lose you know you lose contact when when i think you know people go into stardom so i never really had the chance to continue on and you know being um be close to to him and then when he you know did start doing a lot in the music industry and blowing up so they call it um with my quotes in the air you guys i see and um you know there was always that part of me that that felt like he needed to have a flash from the past and you know but i just never had the chance and before you know i even had a you know the opportunity to see him again, they took him out. He was gone. Yeah, he was gone.

And then, you know, Yaki sees Wei. And I'm sure, you know, the family doesn't mind us talking about it because we do. I'm still very close to Yaki's brother, Asania. But Yaki took his own life.

Oh. Yeah. In 99. So that was hard. Yeah. You know, losing Pac and then that, you know, Yaki doing that. So, hard yeah you know losing pock and then that you know yeah he's doing that so um yeah you know it's just this city is such a weird city too because it's like you don't

brush with people like that in a lot of other towns you know what i mean like any of anybody can float in your life like that for a little bit and go on to do whatever they do yeah that was kind of how it was you know he came in and and you know we all bonded and then he was gone yeah you know and then out doing his own thing but i mean that was like us at the beverly prescott yeah it was i was there till we had our spurts of you know you were you were there i left in 99 i had i was already gone were you already gone because i fled the scene. Fled the scene. It was a good thing for it. I fled the scene and went to Charleston, South Carolina for like three months at the end of 1998.

Oh, okay. So, you know, I was going through some things. Yeah. Had to get up out of here. And then we lost touch for, I can't tell you how many years it was. It was a while, which we'll get back to. So why don't you, if you don't mind, let's just chronologically, let's talk about where you're from and your story. And we can go from there.

Sounds okay. Let's see. So where were you born? I was born here in California. Oh, you were? I was born here in California, raised in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Goose Creek. My Carolina. Goose Creek? My son Ashton tells me never to tell anybody that.

He was like, you might not want to say that. He just said that to me the other night. He did? Yeah, he was like, you might not want to say that. No, you don't whip me down Goose Creek! What did he say? Luke's Creek. Luke's Creek, Goose Creek!

He's going to fall out. Goose Creek! He's like, I told you not to tell nobody. Brian's on a three-minute rip on the goddamn thing the goddamn thing mom he's gonna hit you up real quick so you okay go ahead yeah so um i'm raised you're raised there i'm raised in goose creek because my mom is from charleston south carolina and uh um we just wanted to be closer to her family and then my father just wanted me to come up those first you know they said the first six years are crucial yeah so he wanted that for me um you know so i'm in the sticks and you know and it's your mom dad and you it's my mom my dad and my four sisters and our dog okay so five five

kids and a dog yeah wow yeah five girls i'm the youngest and the four girls are from the four girls are when my mom my dad met she had four daughters he had five wait he has five daughters well three now because two of my sisters are deceased but oh it's okay but at the time he had five yeah so he has five daughters when they meet she has four whoa and then they have me yeah and he's like 19 years older than my mom yeah she's like 23 at the time and he's 42 when when they have me how long they have been together before yeah i'm not sure because me and my sister that's next to me are only two years apart so okay you know she was either born you know of course she was born or i mean who knows i don't know i just know they i came along and um we lived in uh goose creek um

and all of you all of us one house well we had a very big house out there you did yeah that that's when you know things were that's what we talked about earlier that's when things were different i have my own room you know whose closet's this oh this is my bedroom oh this ain't like the first yeah yeah you know what i'm saying like i have my own room my sisters had to share the room with Whose closet's this? Oh, this is my bedroom? Oh, this ain't like the first house. Yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, I have my own room. My sisters had to share the room with the bunk beds. I'm the baby.

I get to have everything. You know, that didn't go over well with me, though, because I was a little scary girl. I was always thinking my tables were staring at me and my chairs were looking at me in the middle of the night. No, for real. I was sleeping in the middle of the hallway in my parents' room. What? Because I could not. It was a very big a very big house oh you get out of the room yeah i would leave the room and just yeah it was it was crazy so carolina feels like it could be a

haunted place for sure you know what it's a very spiritual land you know it's it's it's it's like that it is i'll admit that um but when you're little you don't you don't get that i was very intuitive and you know i felt energy a lot when I was little. So like the lady across the street who used to keep me, oh, I did not like her. I mean, you said keep me. Yeah, because my mom would go to work, and I had to go to the babysitter. I feel like if you liked her, you might have said watched me. No, she kept me.

That's what I'm getting at. The lady who used to keep me. Get your ass in there. Yeah, she's i mean she used to have this look in her face all the time in her eyes and that yeah that didn't go over too well but i mean it was good growing up there i'm glad i did you know most people always ask me like where are you from where are you from and i'm like oh well goose creek you know your country yeah yeah i love it i love it running from the rain you know the nostalgia you know the first smell of rain in the air it's always so good it's so so nostalgic i love it you know we ran from the rain we picked berries in the woods isn't it crazy how smells will seriously just put you back in it

it's a time travel instant instantly instantly so then then we had to leave from up out of there because dad got caught up in some stuff. What do you mean? Caught up in what? You allowed to say? Yeah. You don't have to say. Well, you know, from what I can recall, my dad was on the police force out there. And I just remember seeing the news.

Like on TV? Yeah. I remember seeing the news, seeing my dad. It was dark. They're like between these like campers you know and um then he's on the ground and some stuff happens and then we're moving he's on the ground like the police are getting him well i don't know i don't know what's going i just know like there's a you know that's how his knee got messed up that way he had to have surgery on his knee and i just remember after incident, we packed up and we moved.

To where? Me, my mom, my dad, my sisters, and the dog. And we're headed to California. Carlotta! Start my cruiser! It was a gray station wagon. Oh my God. You know the station wagon?

That big Caprice Classic, like something like yeah i forget they call it some fancy name but it's not it was it was this gray station wagon and we get on the road and we're headed we're everywhere like we're stopping at families houses on the way we're you know detours restaurants where everybody can't eat you know i remember i got stuck in i got left in the car one time sleep while everybody's in the restaurant eating that's the one free right there they bring me a corn on the cob i'll kick you right here ain't gonna be french fries with nobody i'll wake carlotta up shut the she eats a lot she eats a lot i wake up to a corn on the cob. With three mites out of it. Because they're in there. They're coming out of the restaurant.

These are nine coleslaws right here, man. Shut up. You slept through it. Yeah, the road tripping. You know, like all those rest stops. Like I'm telling you, I see them like they happened yesterday. All these rest stops. So we migrate back to California. That should be a good road.

If you have 10 kids, it should be like, here's the deal. If you're sleeping through anything that we're spending money on, you're missing out. Caught on the cop. That's it. I do remember that. That was traumatizing to me. I would be scared to fall asleep.

I'm like, wait, we have more there. How much longer now? I'm telling you, it was really bad. Just all the stops and the little boxes of cereal and, you know, those things, you know, bring back this feeling and a remembrance of living like that and having to do that. And then just your life changing, you know, change is inevitable. And here we are. I'm six years old. I'm going on six and I'm understanding that something's different.

Right. You know, so then we get to Cali. So you drive, you take your time moving across the country i mean traveling across the country stopping where you can eating when you're awake and shit when you can't when you can't yeah yeah yeah um and then you move here and then we moved to cali yeah then we're here in cali and where did you guys settle when you got here we settled with with my Uncle Henry in L.A., 96th and Hobart. Oh, yeah? Yeah.

Around the corner from Sportsman Park, which is now Jesse Owens Park. Okay. Yeah. And he had enough room for 12 of you? No, not really. Not really. That house is so little. Who's got room for 12?

Nobody. But that was his baby brother. And, you know, that's what family is supposed to do and so we move in with uncle henry you know fuck yeah you know what you need it you need it good for uncle henry i love yeah see i i too like i've talked about it when when my father died we moved in with my grandmother when she died i moved in with my grandmother's sister i called her aunt margaret she was my great aunt, you know, and she was already raising her grandkids.

So I value extended family. I mean, who the who the fuck knew my Aunt Marguerite would ever fucking put me up and take me in? She knew I was homeless. I needed it. She fucking took care of me. So, you know, I mean, you don't know that. I mean, like I said, that's what I'm saying.

That's what that's what family is supposed to be about. Right. And even though we were all crammed in there, it was the best. We got so tight. You's what I'm saying. That's what family is supposed to be about. Right. And even though we were all crammed in there, it was the best. We got so tight. You know what I'm saying? We reconnected with my cousin's stuff. Like, dude, we'd be laughing and talking about old times, even though it sucked. Yeah.

There were so many funny things that we still talk about today that happened during that time. So, yeah, I really value that. That's great. I mean, it's a different life when you live like that. You know, when everything's not handed to you or you do have to go through that with people deemed as a struggle. But we don't see it as that when we're kids. We're just, you know, we're I mean, it was the five of us slept in the same king size bed. Come on.

We got to my uncle's house. Wow. Me and my sisters. Yeah. In the same king size bed, you know, but. There were my sisters and we were all together and that's pretty much what mattered you know i mean the backyard was was big you know it seemed at the time and i could swing from the tree in the front yard when i wanted to in front of my uncle's bedroom but um it wasn't like home no and home And home is South Carolina. Yeah, home was Goose Creek for me. You know, when you grow up like that.

Look, if you guys were problem with Goose Creek. Somebody out there is going to be like, I'm from Goose Creek. Right. Come on now, represent. We call it Loose Creek down here. That's what everybody's got their shit for. You know, it's just, I mean, to go back home even you know now i i haven't i went back with two years ago and um i'll probably go again but no time soon but just to go back

as an adult woman and the green is different the air is different you know the landscape when you're driving up you know a highway it's just trees on both sides the sticks are on both sides yeah you don't get that out here unless you drive up to big bear you know or up north and even then it's not the same it's true it's not the same it's not so yeah we got here and we've been here ever since yeah yeah everyone's still here yeah well my you know my father's gone um he's been gone 20 years now on the 16th of january so tell me because you said something to me earlier tonight that i didn't know you were you spent more time with your so what happened you spent more time with your dad than your mom you said yeah i was a daddy's girl you figure you know

here's a man that you know here's a man that you know gets with a woman who has four kids he has five already of his own you know and then they get pregnant and she they they have me and as much as he wants to be a you know be the father to this to my sisters they're not his flesh and blood and granted not to say like i mean he you know he raised them he they all had his last name you know back not to say like i mean he you know he raised them he they all had his last name you know back in the day it was like that you know if you're married if you're with the man and you have kids the kids take on that man's last name you know that was it and but with that i was you know i was his flesh i was his blood i was his baby girl and um i ran

with him a lot he told me yes more than he told the other girls yes that's for sure oh absolutely oh absolutely you know daddy can i have 50 cent you know yes peaches and you know peaches the other girls come around he's you know kind of hesitant um but i mean he still would tell them yes but yeah i ran with my dad a lot it was when daddy left i was gone like daddy can i go with you he called me his roadrunner to go on top of that and you're like yeah that's my little road that's what i want my daughter to be with like everything's an adventure like come on it was yeah i'm going my daddy but my mom was different i'd be like mom can i know can't even get the question

you know so it was there was balance yeah um so you start you're you're how old now here eight you when you get here i'm going on six going on six okay so you start growing up out here yeah and then i can't i mean i know you had your so you have three children i do and your oldest is how old he's 32 so how old were you when you had your first child 14 14 yeah will you talk about that yeah a lot goes on with freshman high school i'm in the ninth grade entering high school you, ready to be a cheerleader and, you know, do with teenagers at 14 in high school. I can't be aggressive. Be aggressive.

I'll brag. So I got the tone at that. I can't. I couldn't do it. I couldn't. I was. Yeah, I couldn't. And they were waiting for me to um so somehow some way I get

lost in transition between my sisters with my mom and um I'm the one that doesn't get watched as much but a lot had happened before I you know had my first baby at 14. I was actually pregnant at 12. 12? Yeah, from a sexual assault. Carlisle, I'm so sorry. We don't have to talk about this. No, it's okay. It's okay because we can't just go, oh, she was out there and she got pregnant at 14. I mean, there's this incident that leads up to

how I ended up even having sex to begin with or being in that position where that would happen to how I, you know, ended up even having sex to begin with, you know, or being in that position where that would happen to me. It's okay. You talk about what you're comfortable talking about. Okay. Can I ask a question? Did at 12, did you know this person? You knew who this person was? Not really. I knew he was the brother of this girl who lived around the corner. The girl who lived down the street from us, who was a friend, supposedly a friend of my sister. We, um, you know, we all all knew each other and one day she's like hey come and go with me around the corner um to my friend's house and I'm like okay cool um I asked could I

go with you know so and so and then we leave we go around the corner and um she leaves me in the living room to go and so-called go find her friend. Cause I don't know, I don't know these people. So I don't, I'm not accustomed to walking through people's homes like this. So I sit in the living room and I wait and the brother comes and he says, Hey,

they're, they're out in the back. You can come through here in this room to, you know, to look out the window for him. And then that's, you know, yeah.

Then he attacks. Jesus Christ. How do you know how old he was he was 18 oh and you got pregnant from that yeah at 12 yeah so um jesus you know most some girls i think you know when trauma like that happens you either shut down or you you know you become promiscuous and not that i was becoming promiscuous but no nothing was done about it you know there was nothing happened to that person nothing was done about it how's that happen um because when it when they lie no no i was gonna say you're no no one ever knew i i went home oh i went home and i just i went to bed

and i never said anything so i don't know what to i didn't know what to do you know like you just you know i'm 12 i mean i understand no i don't say you know i'm not i'm not like oh my god mom this is what i'm just i'm just like i don't know what just happened to me like i don't understand what's going on like why was this you know yeah so um so then you know my it's my aunt that tells my mom like you need to check on carly that's my family calls me and she's like you need to check on carly and my mom takes to the doctor finds out i have a 12 year old i have a picture of me when i was 12 when i'm actually pregnant in that picture i remember my stomach was really tight and i mean i have this cheesy cheesy smile i'm gonna show it to you

this cheesy smile i have on all i have on red and white and in that picture i'm pregnant and i'm 12 this is what's amazing to me about you and i've said this before you your stories like i didn't know this i i knew that you had been assaulted i didn't know this um but you're over there smiling right now about this picture you have of you at 12. Like I said to you, because you said to me like, Ryan, I can't believe your story. And I want to be like, what do you say? You know what I mean? I say it doesn't matter.

Like if you like to me, if I had gone through and we haven't even gotten into everything you've been through. If I'd gone through even what you've just shared so far if someone hadn't equal or worse i'd be like you go shut the fuck up but you're just like you broke your leg oh my god he's gonna need screws oh and then meanwhile knowing your story it's like your strength is something else i'll tell tell you. It really is. I believe that this life is a journey. I know it sounds so cliche, but for me and what I've learned is this life is a series of experiences. You're either going to let them break you or they're going to build you. I always say I'm thankful I don't look like what i've been through oh that's god so you know jesus christ yeah man yeah so you know so then that's power so then i have my son at 14 you know wait hang on oh jesus christ i'm just like i'm sorry

go back so you they find out you're pregnant, obviously. Well, my mom does. My father never knows. Okay, that's what I wanted to know. Because my aunt's like, if Tom finds out, my dad's name was Thomas, if Tom finds out, he's going to kill you. You know, she's like, you need to check on her. You need to, like, something's up. And so, you know, she takes me and finds out that I am indeed, I'm pregnant.

I don't even know. Like, I don't know. I just know I'm feeling, my stomach's tight. I know my stomach's hard. And, you know, I try to explain to her, you know, after, you know, that I'm not just some fast-tailed girl that she wants to write me off to be, that this thing happened to me and nothing was ever done. So then you continue to live.

You move on. Even at 12 and 13, you understand i just have to move on and like i said now i'm being lost in transition and she's really not checking on me no one's really checking on me um my sister uh sarita god bless her heart she tried in her own way to look for me at certain times what's the age difference two years apart yeah she's right next to me and um she tried with you know and and moments when i was like in like gone or i disappeared and um but to no avail you know i was just in a different place so now we're living in a different part of town over by lock high school and um i'm running back and forth with this guy

and no one knows and I'm not educated at that point you know so I'm not educated on birth control or protecting myself I'm just laying there so you get pregnant at 14 I get pregnant at 14 and I have my first son

at 15 or still 14 yeah he's born in April and I turned 15 in July you get it so yeah I mean I'm like you get it hello come on now April May June July and the difference in age yeah so I have him at 14 and then three months later i turned 15 but nonetheless i'm still giving birth to this you know six pound baby on my ninth grade in my freshman year of high school and now what happens like what does your dad do what does your what dad is dad is infuriated and he hates life at this point he hates everybody um he really doesn't know that uh i'm having this baby at the time at the time right but your dad he didn't want to go after

this kid or no my dad was was more angry with my mom because he was like you know how did you let this happen wow you're the one her yeah yeah you're you're supposed to be man and the kids man and the girls knowing what they do you buy their personal products you know you should know she wasn't you know having her her her monthly so what are you missing what are you doing and he was just floored i'm his baby girl. I'm 14. He has all these aspirations. Of course. I'm playing the violin.

He's sending me to charm school. He's taking me on auditions. I'm singing. I'm acting. He has this life that he has planned for me. He wants me to be accomplished. That was always his word. And then boom.

And then we're in church. I come from a church background too. we're in church you know i come from a church background too where we're in church like every single day and you know it's like now what are we gonna yeah so what are we gonna tell the church people how are they gonna look at me right you know mom's kind of hard like f church you know she was heard about she was hard about that you know and dad's like I gotta get up there yeah I gotta get up there you know and then dad's like I gotta get up there and preach on Sundays

you know it was just it was a mess it was an absolute mess but I made it through some of my high school friends gave me like a little mock baby shower yeah they did they gave me some stuff so um did you like when you would go around your friends parents did you ever feel a difference and some of them like didn't want their friends their children around you did other ones like embrace

the hell out of you well here's the thing what was that i didn't spend a lot of time at people's houses when you know even growing up it's just that's just that was just me most people most of the kids came to my house to my parents house when i was growing up um but i did have one friend peter blanco god bless him he's gone now too um and we used to dance together in junior high school. And I isolated myself when I was pregnant in the ninth grade. I would hang out in the stairwell near the teacher's cafeteria on the second floor above Pier Hall. And he would come up there and find me and he would just dance while I sat there on the steps. Yeah, because he knew I was I was somewhat broken.

Like to make you laugh? Yeah, to spend time with me. Because we danced in junior high school, seventh grade, eighth grade. And then we get to high school and now I'm pregnant. Now I'm just hiding. I'm not even. Sure. I'm not hanging out on the quad or, you know, with the rest of everybody.

I'm just trying to deal with this thing because I don't know what this is. And he would come up there and find me and he would just make me dance. He would just make me laugh. He would, you know, dance around me and, you know, try to encourage me. And he was only 14. Right. You know, like, Carlotta, you're going to be fine. Meanwhile, kickball's going on.

Meanwhile. Oh, the fucking Blanco. God damn it. It's like you were there. He's up here dancing. He's up in the hallway dancing. The coach doesn't know where the fuck he's at. He's up on the second floor in Pier Hall twirling he's twirling

he's up there with me like twirling around you're right it's like you were there it's so funny it's so true it's so true so I mean look can I talk to you just practically? Absolutely.

Like, you're ninth grade. You have a baby. Yeah. We know what it's like to have children. So how are you doing that in the ninth grade? Who's helping? Who's embraced you? Who's supporting you?

My mom and my dad. We're living, like I said, we're living across the street from Locke High School. And I take, I'm off school for a little bit. I take off for a few weeks, of course. A few weeks? I would hope longer than that. No, it was only a few weeks. I come back with the baby to get registered back in with my mom.

And friends are running over to me and they're looking at the baby. But then I'm back in school. And I'm trying to be normal you know i'm trying to just integrate myself into like i'm i'm just this high school girl but i'm different you're different i'm different i'm a mom were there any other um students you just not at that time right it's really funny it's like then a year and two later, everybody started dropping babies at 16 and 15. Like, you know. Like they were albums, you're saying. I just dropped Crystal for two weeks ago.

Man, I'll tell you, if I was 14 and had a baby, I would take that little baby in that fucking school and be like, where's the baby care class? Y'all teach it. My baby gets free baby care. know the funny part is they have that of course i mean they have that you know type of stuff now yeah but you know when i was coming up it was like this over the top situation my principal was you know involved and were they supportive no not at all no see that's what i want to hear about so no not at all i became a cheerleader so so you know like i said i wanted you're a mom as a cheerleader well and you know and i'm bringing the baby to my chair practice he's two poor daniel you're 16 now dad for some daniel rock rock rock steady we know i sit him up under the tree like we're on the quad practice and he i

sit him up under the tree and of course all the girls are always like oh i was gonna say you got a gang of babysitters we got a gang of babysitters but i just was like he should not be here at my practice good god now everybody takes a dog with them wherever they go you gotta just put him in my back right he's okay just sit him over there yeah he'll be fine you know so now i'm you know i'm still trying to live the high school life and i'm taking him to practice trying to live the high school life i'm trying so i cheer for like my junior year. What was your team mascot?

What was it? The generals. The generals. Yeah. Yeah. And then by the time 11th grade is over with and, you know, we're trying out again for my senior year, which is when you're supposed to really, you know, be the varsity cheerleader. I'm varsity in 11th grade. That's when the principal gets involved and i don't make

the squad why because he's like i should not be having um you know being able to be in activities because i have a baby and a mom so the vice you've been on it already didn't matter he was he was on a bin uh you know he had some type of vendetta and the assistant principal she was against it of course like she was telling him you what about then what about the guys on the football team? Damn right. And how about being empowering? This is not only a student, but a mom who's cheerleading.

Yeah, who's actually making it through high school. Who's still fighting through everything and making friends. Plus, she's the top of the goddamn pyramid, Carl. We can't help her. Well, I was a big girl, so I was at the bottom. But you know.

All right, she was the anchor then. Yeah, you know, the anchor matters. Anchors matter too oh them bitches gonna fall you can put her baby up on top of the pyramid she needs to be down at the bottom that's it I have a picture to prove it and he said no

he made sure he was involved in the cause we all have to try it again and so he made sure somehow some way he was involved in the the counting of the votes. Never been involved. Never, never. So then I don't make it my senior year. After you've been there all that time.

That's a dick move. Yeah. So then that kind of like pushed me, you know, to another direction in terms of hanging out at school. So now I'm like coming to school, but then I'm leaving. You know, I'm going down to taco pete yeah while i'm out i'll be gone i'll be at taco pete you know get you that burrito and then i'll come back like i was missing classes and um you know i barely graduated you did yeah i barely graduated i barely made it my dad brought me debt

there's some cemetery you're a d student girl what do you mean because you know he was still dealing with the fact that i had the baby at 14 and even though i went through high school it just wasn't his vision you know and i you know barely made the grade to walk the stage like what what did you dc would you get c you know but like i think it was just here i am now about to graduate high school but this wasn't the high school life he had intended. You know what I mean?

It wasn't. And even though I was trying to still do everything, you know, be involved and the principal just kept making sure I could not be involved in anything, you know, all of the, you know, shows and,

and that's where my dad was grooming me for, right. You know, take me on auditions, you know, I'm in charm school you're their scarlet instruments yeah and so nothing that i wanted to be involved in in terms of the arts and entertainment that my dad was had envisioned i was able to do because the principal made sure of that so when senior year came and it's time to graduate i got kicked out of spanish class i had to go back to summer school. You know, just a lot of things were going on.

Yeah, he came. You had a friend named Pete Blanco and you got kicked out of Spanish. Well, he was black. He could still speak Spanish. Yeah, you know, Peter Blanco, he was a master at all this craft. But, yeah, and so I got my dead flowers for my graduation. And my baby was there. My mom was there.

So, and your son's four at that point? Mm-hmm. Eighteen? Right around that? Three, four? Yeah. So what's next then? College?

Do you try college i don't i i i get accepted to north ridge and i went to north yeah i get accepted but i i choose not to go okay and so we have this big fallout at home my dad you know just live it like she's going and my mom's like she needs to go to work you know here we go with that balance again right um so i go to work but i had already started working at 15 you know i started i got my first job at the fox hills mall you did yeah at the red eye how different is that mall now it's so different i still call it the fox hills yeah me too i was at the red eye then i worked for the broadway and you know just in a little boutique

store that was in there so my mom was in retail and I just thought like I was going to follow in her footsteps. So I was just into retail and I started working at 15. And then when I left school, I stayed just working, working, working, making money. You know, buying my outfits, getting my hair did take care of my baby. And then at what age do you have your second child um at 21 21 yeah still young yeah i move out i moved out at um 16 i came back i moved out at 18 came back and then i move at 21 and i'm gone okay yeah so i move out at 21. And I have Ashton, your buddy. Yeah, right.

Yeah. I have Ashton. And now I'm in my own little apartment. But my family lives there. Two of my sisters already live there with their husbands. Okay. They're upstairs next to each other. I move underneath one of my sisters and one of my brother-in-laws at the time.

And now I'm on my own. And I'm okay with that. And then my mom goes, now you have to get your son, Daniel. He's six. She's like, okay, here you go. And that was different because my parents actually really raised him. So it was a shock for both he and I. They did all the work, but you were there.

Well, I mean, I did the work. I did some work too. You know, my mom would go to Vegas. She'd be like, you're going to be here with him till i get back right you know i'm going to vegas and i'm right yeah i'm having dreams of her like coming home or right early like yeah you're like okay she's here oh no that was a dream she's not here i'm still all alone with this crying baby i don't know what to do i didn't i mean i don't know what to do still 45 i mean god damn girl holy yeah so it was it was it was it was a lot it was a lot so now you're 21 two kids

on your own spot two kids family's right above you which i think is awesome yeah at this point it's really good you know families you know both of my sisters are next door they're right above me you know you have ashton i have ashton me and his dad are you know semi together in a way but it's you know it's my place he moves in with me his mom is only down the street in compton like five minutes up the road so it was you know easy for him to come and go as he chose you know because mom's down the street but But, yeah, so I have him. And, I mean, I'm good. Like, I feel, you know, I feel okay. Like, never once has anything that I went through, even at 14 and in high school, you know, my feelings were hurt a lot.

You know, like, I'm a very sensitive person. But nothing ever took me out. You know, I never felt like, oh, my oh my god i'm not gonna be able to make it through this it was just like and that's amazing in itself yeah i was just like okay all right gotta keep going so when i met you 97 ashton is how old again what was he he is six he's five he's five at the time and um there was a time where i forgot about this because you reminded me of but and you also told me something i didn't know and so we had reconnected uh but at that time i want to tell this story on that side because you would come out from long beach and you'd bring him and

he we'd swim in the pool with him and stuff and then i guess there was this one time that I made him a bagel with strawberry cream cheese. And that was an old ass. Like that air conditioner was on the floor in the wall and it would freeze. And I'd have to take a pan from the stove to that thing that just frosted just so we could get AC for 10 minutes. Awful. So yeah. And then you told me later that he like that became a bagels and strawberry cream cheese is his shit.

And he owes it all to you. Every time he'll be like, man, Ryan, shout out to Ashton. Yeah. Ryan, Ryan was the one that hit me to this when he, you know, what happened was I had an incident with his dad. We had an incident with his dad. But at this point when we ended up coming to your place, though, it was me, he, and Daniel. You were like, Carlotta, just come out

here with the boys so you can get away for a minute. His dad was tripping. I called you up in a frantic. You were like, just bring the boys out. We jumped in my little red BMW and we came on out. We all swam. Your cousin was staying with you at the time. My cousin came out

and he had just come out just for like a month he was 20 whatever two three four something like that and i was like i can get you a job at the hotel he worked at the hotel with us just as like a just serving food and shit running food and stuff but uh yeah that's right i forgot that he was there at the time yeah so we were both like yeah get out here yeah daniel mentioned that he was like his cousin was there that's right we were just talking the other week he was like yes remember his cousin was there and we got there like yeah and we you know we swam and you made him that bagel and strawberry cream cheese and he has been a you know that's been his thing ever since it's hilarious because when you said

that it dawned on me that you're the person who introduced me to cocoa butter and the reason i have cocoa butter in my bathroom right now put that cocoa butter on and you'd be like but um i wanted to tell the story about when we were working at the hotel and we decided to go to san francisco we also were going to go up to napa as well so we didn't know anything about napa and i got this information in the mail sent to us so we could read up on the vineyards and all that shit and you took it to your place and i had my address on it and your ex saw it and knew where you were going and who you were going with he just didn't know when and that dude got fucking pissed and i remember you you got scared up in san francisco he was a little crazy he was a little

crazy i remember it and a little touch and uh when we came back he i was working at the front desk at a hotel one day and um and this i've told this is the crappy this is the dude and um somebody at the front desk is like ryan you have a personal call and i'm like who the fuck's calling me at this front desk and i get on the phone and it's him and he's like hey old boy you know i know where you're going and i don't know and i had at this point i'd had enough of him scaring you scare me and i said i had enough of it i said you know motherfucker? I'm at the front desk. I wear a name tag. It says Ryan.

You know exactly where I work. It's hard to miss. And I hung up on him, and I told everybody, y'all might want to go on break. I think it's about to be a drive-by up here to Beverly Prescott. He was crazy. And he, you said, so then he called back. He 100% apologized to me, which blew me away. Well, you know, that's what narcissistic people do.

Yeah, he blew me. He's like, ain't your fault and all this. And I was like, okay. And I hung up. But then you told me he's, and I didn't know this. He showed up at the job and went after you. Came downstairs where we were working in the reservations office. And cursed me out.

Book a reservation. Say what you say when they call in. Do you remember what you used to say? Good afternoon. Thank you for calling the Beverly Prescott. This is Carlotta. How may I assist you today? I heard you before I ever saw you, and I was like, that voice, I'm going to use it in 22 years.

I know you don't know. I'm still coming down the steps, girl, but 22 years I'm going to use your voice. I swear. You're listening. Did I? Yeah. He showed up down there that was a little tiny ass uh area too he came in hot down there yeah and they had to put him out man and mcpartland and you said he took me into his office i don't want to say what he said but you said he confronted him at the holiday party and he even went to um mr mcpartland and got into his face so it was you know well i wasn't he was a mess i wasn't taking you know i mean that's why you know and that's why i left i said nick give me a name tag

real quick i put mine on this dude over here that's how i left that's how i ended up leaving in 98. I was like, okay, I can't do this. Man. Carlotta. Jesus Christ. So we, after the hotel, we lose touch for a while. For a while. Right? A while. And then.

Because I flee the scene. I come back. You flee the scene, girl. I'm everywhere. And. I'm on tour. You were on tour. And then I guess with social media and everything, probably we had just on the fringes connected.

You were bouncing around. I'm doing whatever. And I'd always told you back then, even though I was like, I want to do stand-up. I always wanted to do that back then. And I remember we went to shows together. We went and saw B.B. King together. You reminded me of that.

I forgot about that. Yeah, we were hanging. The Gospel Sunday, Gospel Choir at the House of Blues was fantastic. And always wanting to do stand-up. Orlando came to see me a couple times. And, you know, I lost connection with everybody. Every now and then I'd run into mr mcpartland or sandy or something but never you and then social media hits and um we start talking a little bit and our

buddy mike duffy who we love mike duffy the ugly brother um was working on a cbs pilot that had tiffany haddish and andrew santino who's here on the network as well studio as well uh and they were like my call me and said look i i need some help i just want someone to sit at a table with a friend and just because it was some kind of hybrid pilot that was like reality scripted or something and so they needed people to have real conversation wait wasn't wasn't snoop there for that too no that was a different thing was that i feel like that was i don't remember snoop there i'll ask mike maybe yeah i don't remember that but um i thought well what better way to catch up than to sit at this fucking table and

you know i was good i was ready to go like i'll go sick i'm going with you so we go out there we're sitting there and just like now but forgetting there are so many microphones everywhere and we're starting to catch up over i don't know how many fucking years and you start i got shit to tell you and it's all on microphone recorded somewhere somebody's listening to that like and you told me and then i was like huh so why don't we pick up there i mean you so after that you settled down and you were over in it was korea korea town yeah where ricardo was born my third son right okay yeah so take us from there okay so i moved to koreatown in 2003 okay i'm pregnant with my third son and you're how old at that point i'm 32 was he he was my ex he's he calls himself the extra because two years prior to that i was

pregnant with a little girl but i lost her at seven seven months. I'm so sorry. God. It's okay. I'm telling you, this is, yeah. So, and with his, you know, the same father, my half-husband. We're going to get into that. So, you know, so I go ahead and I'm like, there's a void. I'm just feeling a certain way. I'm a mom. I've just lost a daughter two years ago. And so we get pregnant with Ricardo.

And I'm living in Koreatown. And he and I don't work out through the years as time goes on. But I'm 32 at the time, like you asked, when I get there. And I have Ricardo in August August 16th and things are good you know things are really good I mean I mean things were good for us at first too with with me and his dad you know I can't say like it was so bad or things were crazy things were pretty good moving along until his mom moved in and then his mom moved in and that's when all this you know all hell breaks loose his fan i'm like this isn't working for me and you know okay so you're now a mom of three

yes i'm 32 and you're 32 and you start catching me up on some of the men running through, you know, that are coming through your life. So after Ricardo's father, by the time I think I'm, me and you are catching up, it's probably about a little, maybe after 2009.

Because he and I stopped seeing each other around like 2005. And then I went and worked at Ben's and was dating a guy from my past when I was you know from when I was 18 and he was a pretty good guy you know he gave me everything I wanted and then in 2009 I started dating this pastor and had you ever dated a pastor before no but I grew up in church you know so it was kind of like you know there's there was always this part of me because I was still in that place. Like, I want to, you know, be in the ministry and help the women and help the girls. I've been through so much, you know, I totally understand that at that time.

I believe the only connection, the way that I was going to be able to do that was through church because that's how I grew up, you know, but the ritual of it all and, you know um the hypocrisy of it all started to show its ugly face yo man i'm allergic to that holy water y'all know that now i'm telling you you know i'm sorry it's it was it was it was interesting i mean granted that's why i left the church when i was 18 my father was like when you turn 18 you can go where you want and as soon as i turn 18 i was like deuces see y'all later I got to go I'm not about to be a part of this I can't do it and then I went back in my own terms because then that's when I started growing and learning and now as a grown woman at that point you know I'm still

open to the you know thought granted he wasn't a pastor when I met him he was just you know he was a minister and he was in a church and then they were going to ordain him he was like oh you know they're about to you know vote on me to be a pastor of this church and i was like well i don't know but then he asked me to go with him he was like i just want to know if you'll do this with me so i'm like okay yeah yeah absolutely because you know i'm feeling like okay this is my calling right i mean you know i want to do this then that went and then that goes all right awry uh-huh right um so then he becomes the pastor you know i'm dressed i'm ready i'm in this thing and then certain things just start happening you know i come into a little money but i see his family is about me giving them my money.

And they're like, oh, you need to help pay for the chairs. We're going to redo the church. What's wrong with these chairs? Yeah, I'm like, I'm not giving you my money for the chairs in the church. If you purchase a chair, we'll put your name on the bottom of it. I could give a damn about my name

on the bottom of that chair in the church but i'm gonna tell you look on the bottom whose motherfucking chair that is that's how i could say that you know and you know and speaking of chairs it's like they were already complaining about why does she sit in the same chair every sunday so it just the church people were you know becoming really just hardcore i like hearing that like hearing that. Yeah, they were. I like hearing it because it's interesting to me because you would think they're a group of these passive, loving. No, they were not. They were very, very just they were mean and hateful and full of the devil.

That's how you describe the congregation. We're going down there to the church with to me hateful and full of the devil amen i'm telling you you know hail mary full of grace i know that's catholic and not christian but you know what i'm trying to say they they were it just wasn't a pleasant situation so they became you know like you know and once he was ordained and once he became the pastor of the church a lot started shifting mind you he was living with me and my kids you know so i was telling him like the pastor lived with me he moved in with me you know why you guys are out there

yeah like while you guys are over here acting like he's dying anointing and can't be touched, this dude... Yeah, watch yourself. This dude is living in my place with me and my kids. I'm cooking meals for him. And even my son Daniel was like, he getting meals. Where's my strawberry cream, Jay?

Because Daniel knows that my cooking is like that. I don't want it on toast. That's how I bless people. I feel that my cooking is like that. You know, I don't want it on toast. You know, that's how I bless people. I feel like when my, my cooking is, is,

you know, is a, is the spiritual movement when I'm cooking, you know, if I, if I'm doing that, it's from my heart and my spirit and it's done with love. So my kids were like,

yeah, you know, he's being fed and treated right. And, um, he had other motives and other things that were going on. And, um,

it was very back and forth. I think that was my first experience in dealing with someone who was some with, we'll say, that had a narcissistic personality disorder, you know. And it was just amazing to see that evolve and happen to me. Yeah. You know, because after then, after so long, you know, one minute he's very aggressive. Where are you going and what are you doing? And then the next minute he's pushing me away and trying to make me feel like I'm nothing. And so was and so were the church members, you know, so it starts to end.

You know, I can't take it anymore. It's like 2010 at this point. I met him in 2009, 2010, coming to the close of 2010, maybe the middle of it. And you're saying all this to me at a table in a restaurant that's got like 80 mics. Right, and I'm telling you the story like, and so the pastor showed up to the house, you know. And I get a call, like, I mean, we're coming to an end. One day I get a call from my neighbor and he's like hey Carlotta uh what's going on you know it's Rod I'm like hey Rob what's happening he's like

where are you I'm like I'm in Palm Springs he goes well I just want to let you know don't come home and I'm like what do you mean yeah like what do you mean don't come I'm like he goes the pastor's outside in the bush is jumping out jumping out at the cars that roll by or stop in front of the house trying to see if it's you or not so i don't know what's going on it was a burning bush indeed so he's like i don't i don't know what's going on with the two of you but i was just suggested if you know hanging out stalking he's he's doing crazy stuff you know he's i mean he's still he's still my laptop he's still he locked my kids out of my apartment locked your kids out of their home lock my kids out of the apartment stole the laptop and hid the laptop in the church

and then told me if i wanted i need to come down to the church to get it now let me tell you what i was gonna go get my laptop but i was gonna burn that church down with him in it and i know we're gonna sit here and laugh at that but let me tell you something no you can tell that i he had me so infuriated and he had frustrated my children on top of everything else along with his son too you know because his son adored me um and that was just the feeling that I had and my youngest son his father he kneeled at my bedside one day and he wept actually I mean I mean you know we were cool for a minute and he wept for me because he knew about my upbringing. You know, he just felt bad. Like, I know that this must have torn you.

This could be the thing that tears her down. That's how he felt. Like, this could be the thing that takes her out of here when it comes to this, just the loving and the kind and the spiritual woman. Like you've been through enough. Yeah. And then it was with the church. You know, that was a lot for me. That was. I'm sure you know and um so and then that's just when i just i just started changing and wanting to you know just have

my own core beliefs and you know i'm kind to people thou shall not jump out of bushes thou should not i mean he i mean really like i mean flames and red eyes. I mean, he was just... Me and my homegirl, my ex-homegirl, we went out one night, had a great time, come back to the apartment. We're parking. We find a good little parking spot, and he rolls up on the side of us. Right there, right at that time? Yeah. I mean, he was doing stuff like that constantly.

He followed me to my son's school one morning, rode up to car tried to block us in follow me to the school to the elementary school i get out he gets out like make he would make scenes in front of people yeah to make me look crazy he wanted to make me look like something was wrong with me you know and you know and so i'll admit it triggered it was kind of like he rubbed off on me because I found myself in stilettos and a mini skirt, hair freshly did, climbing through his window. You know, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. And at that time, you had come out to a show to see me at the Ice House. So you met Tom that night. He still asks about you, actually. That's where we the Ice House. So you met Tom that night. He still asks about you, actually.

That's where we're at right now. You met Tom that night. So then, again, we lose touch. Yeah. And we reconnect again. And this time, I get to tell you about this show that I'm doing called The Honeydew. And 22 years later, I ask you if you want to come do some VO for me I'll properly

pay you as an artist as you should be and you said who's got my ground who's paying for that I said you'll cut to you in two weeks with your hair all wrapped up a purse hanging from your elbow like you get three takes I'll do them how I do them you're just so you're fantastic i mean

i can't even believe that you can sit here and laugh and and you're amazing i'm thank you and that's why it blows me away that you even have any empathy for anybody like i would be like i almost lost it i mean i can recall a time when i was feeling like i don't give a shit i almost lost it i mean i can recall a time when i was feeling like i don't give a you know like for real that happened oh okay well call me back but then i reckon but but then it bothered me because i'm like you know what that's not me i don't want to be it's not you know i've never been a very judgmental or anything i just you know wanted everybody to be okay so i want to ask you this question uh i know the answer but there's a a specific answer that you have that just it

makes me laugh so hard so um you've never been married i'm sorry you've been married you have been married one and a half times one that's it one and a half times. One and a half times. So explain how you've been married one and a half times. So what had happened was. So, yes, you know, I always say that. I say that, you know, when I'm telling stories to coworkers or just, you know, people I meet sometimes or friends. And I've been married one and a half times. You say it's super casual. I married my first husband, which is my second son's father.

We were married for three years before I decided to get out of it. I moved back home for a minute to Charleston, came back, and he was still around. I filed for divorce okay however the lady that i filed for a divorce with did not complete the divorce now i was just in yes she didn't so i but i mean for me i just wanted to be out of it i just wanted to happen i went down there i paid the money you know i did everything i was supposed to do i signed papers i did what i was supposed you know she took the paperwork and she said she was going to handle it and I was trusting that and I didn't you know I didn't think anything of it but I hadn't heard from her and I recognized that however I moved on and I was just like you know it was it happened and mind you I didn't have

any paperwork or anything except for the initial papers that I signed but nothing stamped you know there's no nothing nothing's resolute yeah you know nothing shows like resolution like but then I learned that later I just wanted to be out of it I wanted to be like I want my name back I want my daddy's name back that's it

and then I mean and then it goes to Tupac was like no you don't god damn yeah you need to get a free name. Carlisle, I've been telling you for years. Here's your chance. Here's your chance. Right. Right.

Just shut up. You know, you need a free name. You need your free name. I'm like, oh, my God, dude, calm down. Like, lay low with that. But so then I meet my um youngest son's father and you know we become really good you know friends he takes to Ashton you know Daniel but Ashton mostly you know because he's Ashton's you know into basketball at the time of still was still and

playing sports and um just a good guy and it comes from a good you know came from a good family so we're you know talking and uh we decide to get married and then i'm in a place you know in all honesty and this makes sense i'm in a place in my life at that point too still where i come from the church background and i'm feeling like you know i want to live righteously and And so I marry this dude and we go down to, you know, Juan's marriage, you know. What is it called? Juan's marriage? I don't even know. You know. What is it?

So we go there and he marries us in front of his mom. Yeah, the guy. He marries us in front of his mom yeah the guy he marries us in front of uh his mom and his uh nephew well my my you know the husband at the time in front of his mother and his nephew and so we're like okay good we're married and we're you know we're cool whatever and uh in 2006 2005 rather I'm like we're done remember I was telling you earlier you know we we ended up severing the relationship you know the whole jail thing happens 2005 I'm you know seeing another person we're you know on and off anyway and I want a divorce from bridget and so i go to the county registrar and she's like

you're still married to your first husband because i'm like i want i need to get a divorce i need to get this right and she's like it shows that you're still married to edwards how long was that how many years had that been since five five years have been five years they've been five years so i'm like scared because i'm like oh my god i'm a bigamist you know they're gonna take me to jail i'm going to prison i'm like i'm going to prison they're gonna take me to jail i'm married to two people like you can't do that and she goes well here's the thing because you were still married the marriage the second marriage is null and void so it never stuck so it never stuck so that's where

the one and a half time comes in it's a half marriage so sound like juan didn't do his due diligence on the background god damn thing juan took your money he took He took our $350. Do you? I are. See ya. See ya. Adios. Nick!

You? Yeah. Nick? Yeah. You are. Nick! He just bragging it up. He was just popping it out, you know, doing his thing. So that's how I found out.

I was actually, you know, so I went to a paralegal, a real one, and I followed, you know, I made sure everything went well. We followed it through. I took Andre to go sign the papers. That was my first husband. Like, look, dude, I'm going to come pick you up. You're going to put your John Hancock. And you're going to sign these papers. You know, it's done.

So I take him. He signs the papers and i was officially um divorced legally divorced august the 28th 2006 and here's the thing that was the date august the 28th 2000 that me and richard got married really on On the anniversary of, it was official. Yeah. That it was unofficial. Oh, you! Wow.

Is that crazy? That is a crazy story. Yeah. You've had a crazy life, you have. I just, I can't, I say all the time, like, you're the strongest person i've ever met and sit there and smile and laugh and allow me to be a fool with you during all that and still we've always done this this is how i mean our friendship has been and when i get with you

even ashton today when i told him what we're doing he was like have fun yeah you know i knew we would yeah i'm like of course you're great at this this is the first podcast you've ever done yeah i don't know i mean you're you're great at this um so i'm doing it for you well you're doing a great job and i appreciate you as always i there was a story you reminded me of today actually about your 40th birthday and i forgot about i didn't forget about it but i forgot it was that and what happened. So, um, but that just, I mean,

that story is, it just shows our friendship and the love we have for each other. And that it even, it goes beyond, I think friendship, you know? Yeah, for sure.

I hadn't talked to you in a while and we connect and it's, it's your, it's the Eve. It's Carlotta Wood Eve. Yeah. It's birthday Eve for me. I'm turning 40 in a few hours and we get on the phone and we say you talk to me and encourage me through you know hours like high school yeah i mean i remember my sister's visiting so i'm laying in my i'm in my son i'm in ashton's room because my sister's visiting. So I gave her my room, you know, so she'd have the queen suite.

And I'm laying in Ashton's bed and I'm telling you, I'm going, you don't have to stay on the phone with me. You're like, no, no, no. I'm going to, we're going to talk, you know, let's talk. Because I'm, you know, I'm going, I'm like, I'm, you know, coming into a milestone as a transition. I'm hitting 40 and this is, you know, life has been life and this and that. And you stay on the phone with me for hours just encouraging me you know and i'm like you know at the time still god is so good and he's made these you know these things happen in my life and you were like no carlotta i understand that's how you feel and that's where you come from

but you get rid of the bushes i come over with a wee whack at a mile girl you were like but you've done this like you did this as far as you've come and as strong as you are and where you are you've done this with you know how how your children are you've done this and you're okay you were just like you're good and yeah and then midnight hit you turned 40 and i was the first one to wish you happy yeah you know it's awesome isn't it it is it really is i appreciate we don't miss the beat it's like we don't miss the beat doesn't matter how long we go without seeing each other it's the truth you know and that's just real friendship it is our family you know we're family we're family you know i rode up

to san francisco with you and that bratty ass honda hey now that was a good honda i was only seven years old no eight years old at that point whatever i love that honda we rode that honda i was with you like come on let's go yeah you know rebels we did that we did that smoked all the way there well i can't thank you enough for your friendship for all these years for being so real and so true for lending your voice to this show um and for and most importantly for sharing your story i mean you're an amazing woman you're such a strong person thank you for doing that thank you for letting me do it you're welcome um and i'm excited that you kick off the show every every week it's pretty cool amazing i love that we're doing this together yeah

ash was like that's hard all right well thank you very much carlotta wood you're amazing we'll talk to y'all next wednesday