It's nice with Dan Ray. I'm going you easy Boston's News Radio.
Thank you very much, Madeline, and it is always lovely to arrive at Friday night tgif boy. I'll tell you, folks, I had one of those days. I'll maybe talk about it later, but I had one of those days that you'd like to have. I should have just slept in this morning, and that would have been the best plan for today for me. But the best part of the day lies before me, and that is the four hours we're going to spend together all the way until very
close to Saturday morning. My name is Dan Ray. Rob Brooks. Good news. Rob Brooks is back. He was out for a couple of days. Rob tells me he is filing, he's feeling great, and we're very glad to have you back. Rob, Andrew and Dan Cantano did a great job in your place, but nobody can truly really replace Rob Brooks as our producer here on Night Side. Now we have a night in which we're going to certainly talk about what's going on in the Middle East, the ongoing Israeli Iranian conflict.
We will also talk about the Karen Reid trial, which now is in the hands of the jury officially and at the twentieth hour tonight, we're going to give all of you a chance to do a little tribute to your favorite dad. Your favorite father will make it alliterative and so therefore, since we're going to talk about that. At eleven to get you in the mood, we're going to talk about the history of Father's Day, and for that we're going to speak with Jane Singleton. She's the
director of the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum. I assume we're talking about Spokane, Washington. How are you, Jane Singleton?
Hello, good afternoon. I'm doing well.
It's really good evening here, but I guess it's still good afternoon where you are with the with the time difference.
Uh.
And as I understand that Spokane, Washington is proud of many things and many do you call them Spokaneans? What? What's what's the term of art for people who live in Spokans Spokenites, Spokanit Okay, well spokenite, spokenite, Spokaneans. I don't know. I kind of like Spokaneans better, but that's okay. Spokanites, Spokanites, but one Spokeanite. We want to talk about tonight is a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd. Because you folks believe or I guess it's true, she's the founder of Father's Day.
Tell us about it.
It is true, and yes, we're very proud of Sonora Smart Dodd. Her background is well, her father was a Civil War veteran and he was married twice, widowed twice. Sonora's mother died in childbirth, though her father had to raise six kids, including that newborn, and Sonora.
Was moved to.
Move to talk about and think about commemorating fathers and honoring Father's Day. Excuse me, honoring fathers and creating a Father's Day while she was attending a Mother's Day church service, and she just took the ball and ran with it. And that's a quick way of saying. She went to her church, fathers, to the pastor, and here was her idea, presented it. What could they do? How could they get
this going? Honoring fathers? And so it moved forward from there, and of course we celebrate Father's Day, but initially it wasn't a commercialized type of let's my dad some golf tees or that type of thing. It was specifically honoring fathers because she was so moved about what her father did.
Well, that's very appropriate. So what year, then, do we trace the first Father's Day to Sonora Smart Dodd and Spokane, Washington.
Nineteen ten ten?
It's been around for a while, Okay, Now, I guess there's and I want to deal with this because we have a lot of listeners in West Virginia. We actually have listeners also in the Great Northwest. We have a pretty powerful signal. And I don't want to start a new civil war between West Virginia and Washington, but I believe that there's some folks in West Virginia who want to claim that they actually inaugurated Father's Day a couple of years earlier. Now, you know, we can have these
disputes and we can be polite about them. What is West Virginia's claim if and I assume you know it, and how they claim it a couple of years ahead of nineteen ten, they go all the way back to nineteen oh eight. Is this been put to rest, this mini dispute if you will.
Not that I'm aware of, and I don't know that much to be honest about West Virginia's claim. The service that Sonora attended where she was. It was a Mother's Day celebration at her church where she first thought about. You know, why not a Father's Day That was nineteen oh nine. You know, people can have simultaneous can have ideas simultaneously, and I move forward with it. So, I mean, do you know what she did here and we're happy about it?
Oh, that's good. You gotta be. You got to root for the home team. Okay. So how do you folks celebrate Father's Day in Spokane? Do you have any sort of special festivity since the origin of this day that honors fathers originated in your community.
There have been gatherings at Sonora's grave site. There have been tours at the home that she lived in with her husband still standing and the people that own it were very kind to let people take a tour. So, and there's also a monument to Sonora in front of that home, as well as at the YMCA where it was celebrated, and at the cemetery where she's buried. So
there's those types of community celebrations. Different organizations, different fraternal organizations and the like do different things a large community pride.
I got to ask you this when Sonora was alive I'm not sure how long she lived. Do you remember what year she pad?
Yeah, she was ninety six years old when she died in nineteen seventy two.
Wow, Okay, so she saw a whole bunch of presidents if she would have been born in nineteen seventy or rather eighteen seventy six. If I'm doing my math right, so she might have seen right, let.
Me look at my notes.
No, yeah, I'm doing my math in my head. I'm good at So that means that she was born when Ulysses S. Grant was president, and she was. She lived during Chester Arthur and Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland and all of those presidents. She lived to a lot of presidents all the way up, and she would have if she died in nineteen seventy two. Did she get a lot.
Of excuse me? She died in nineteen seventy eight.
Well how about that? Okay, Well, Jimmy Carr would have been president. The point is that she lived a long and glorious life and she got to see I guess the Father's Day. Really, I can remember so celebrating Father's Day when I was a young young man or a teenager or a little boy, uh and honoring my dad. And now I know, and now everyone in our audience knows who we can thank for this grand idea, and it's it's great to know that it's Spokane, Washington. I
really enjoyed our conversation you, Jane. You are the I guess, the director of the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum. So next time I'm spoke in Washington, I'm going to swing by there and look you up.
Okay, sounds good.
Thank you, Thank you for the opportunity to share about the Norahs.
Mark dodd Well, I think it's important that we that as a as historians, that we remember people like this. And I'm sure that she got a lot of satisfaction through her you know, very long life, ninety six years. That's that's a good run to realize that her idea resulted in some great family get togethers in all fifty and there were fifty states when she passed with families
honoring fathers. So thank you, Jane Singleton. I appreciate very much a joining us tonight all the way from Spokane, Washington. Thanks again, You're welcome.
Happy Father's Day to everyone out there.
Yep. I have two children and I have two grandchildren, so I look forward to Father's Day, that is for sure.
And enjoying your day.
Father's Day to everyone in Spokane, Washington. Thanks again, Jane. All right by, by the way, Thanks Jane. By the way, we will remind you that if you haven't been able to pull down the new and improved iHeart app and put it on all of your devices, whether it's a laptop or a desktop, or a cell phone or a tablet, you want to do that, And then what you want to do is make WBZ ten thirty Am Radio WBZ
your favorite station your first preset. That way, you'll always be just to finger tip away from all of us wherever you are in the world. And we will also tell you that if you have actually already put the new and improved iHeart app on your device, there is a very interesting button. It's a microphone button that you can just press on that button and you have thirty seconds.
And since Rob is back there now, you have thirty seconds to say whatever you would like to say, and Rob will be able to play your recording during the newscast. Now again, I know some of you probably haven't seen this or might not be used to it. But you will get used to it, that's for sure. We love when people call the program, but we're also going to appreciate when people take the time to just give us
a shout out. Maybe you want to do a happy Father's Day shout out, we will be doing that during the eleven o'clock hour tonight. I guarantee you that, and you can do both if you like. My name's Dan Ray. This is Nightside. We are moving right along, and when we come back, we're going to talk with a fourth generation farmer about modern agriculture. There's an American Farm Bureau Federation report that says nine to ten people trust farmers. Why wouldn't you trust a farmer? Yet only one in
five trust modern farming practices. I don't understand that disconnect. We'll find out about it when we talk with Dennis Bulaney right after the break.
It's night Side with Boston's News Radio.
Bor right. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I love to eat okay, and with my awaken when any diet, I can eat what I want to eat. And anyone who knows me knows that I love farms, particularly farms here in New England. Apple orchids wherever you know, pumpkin farms. I just love farms, and I love the idea of being a farmer. I've never worked on a farm, but maybe in a previous life I did. With us tonight, we have a real farmer. His name is Dennis Bullany. Dennis,
I hope I didn't butcher. Your last name is it pronounced Bullaney?
Yes? Blani Blani?
But all right, well that's great. Well you are a farmer up in what I would consider to be Gordy Howe Country, Saskatchewan.
Correct, that's correct.
And and you know your greatest export was Gordie Howe as far as I'm concerned from that that part of Canada. I hope you agree with me.
Yeah, oh for sure. And now the Edmonton Oilers after last.
Night, No, well you've had a lot to be proud of with the Edmon Edmonton Oilers. But you know, I mean what you know what what a Gordy how Hat trick was, don't you? Was a goal and assist in a five minute penalty for fighting. So yep, he's one of my favorite players.
The New Bridge in Saskatoon, the big city near me. The new Bridge is named the Gordy Howe Bridge.
How appropriate? How appropriate? Okay? Well, I always love to bring sports into the conversation, so thanks for indulging me there. So you're a fourth generation farmer. Your dad you farmed, Your dad farmed, your grandfather farmed, and I guess your great grandfather farmed. What do you farm up there? That's got you on? What do you grow up there on your farm? A whole bunch of things? Or do you specialize in two or three crops?
Oh?
No, we grow a whole bunch of things here. We have a fairly short climate. But on my farm, I grow wheat, faba beans, lentils, peas, and canola. Those are the primary crops.
Okay, And we're the reason we're talking with you is that everybody trusts farmers. There's an American Farm Bureau Federation report that says nine and ten people trust farmers, yet only one in five trust modern farming practices. Why did this connect? And I assume modern farming practices are great. I don't even understand why people would be concerned about that. And you give us, give us the background.
That's a great assumption. You got to think, now, all the farms in North America that'd be US and Canada. About eighty eight percent of the farms are still family farms. They're all generational farms. And of course, why do you trust farmers While we're the ones on the land taking care and growing the food. We're kind of in charge
of the airplane there. And there's nothing a farmer would want to do worse than grow something that was bad for the people that ate it, including his friends and relatives. So that's but that's only two percent of the North American population, and so we have to work with science every day. And and of course the other ninety eight percent, they're they're not on farms, and so our voice gets a little drowned out by all the misinformation and things
being spread on social media. So, you know, basically at no, but I would say the whole, the whole issue stems from the wellness industry. You know, the wellness industry is the nine hundred and ninety eight billion dollar industry now. And of course they're promoting snake oil supplements and all kinds of weird brain fog stuff and things that I think are non scientific. But to sell their products, they first, you know, they to sell their products what they want
to do is the road trust in science? That'd be number one. And then number two they want to make a fear based claim or post with misleading or outright false claims, And of course number three is sell you a product to fix the problem.
Yeah, what is that?
Let me just steal. Then, as they get praise from people who won't fact check, and because they don't fact check because it confirms their biases, we get overloaded with misinformation about the real science of food.
Okay. So look, I do enjoy food. I don't have what you call a huge diet and palate. Friends of mine love, you know, Thai food and Indian food, and I'm kind of like an American food guy Canadian food guy. But I do see the ads on TV, and without calling in to disrepute any of these groups, they I have apples and oranges and fruit, bananas, strawberries, blueberries in
my refrigerator. I have that stuff every day, Okay, And yet I watch some of them to say, well, you got to try these pills because in these pills it has fifty three fruits and vegetables or something like that. So is that the sort of thing you're talking about. I'm not here, you know, to disparage anyone who's trying to make a dollar. But is that the type of I see a lot of that stuff on TV. To be really honest with.
You, yeah, yeah, to degree. I think some of it stems from the organic whole foods department. There's a lot of money to be made and people who claim their food is organic. So if you claim organic food is better, then what's the obviously what's the obvious thought? Well, then all other food must not be as safe.
Right, pretty logic.
People automatically would say, well, if they're being inundated with ads that'd say something's better, then they start painting what's not better as not so good, and of course that's misinformation. I don't have anything against organic farmers. I think a lot can be learned from organic farmers. But what people don't know is they think when they buy organic food data they're not exposed to pesticides and all the things that farmers use to control insects, bugs, disease and weeds.
And of course what they don't realize is organic growers use toxic compounds just like commercial food. And the real issue is you'll pay for the premium of buying organic food as an example, But there is no evidence to indicate that organic food is any safer than conventionally grown food because we're all so regulated, and that's a good thing. I think regulations in the food system are a good thing for everyone.
Well, Dennis, I'll tell you you've convinced me. And when I go and I'm the guy in my household who ends up shopping, and my wife is a big organic person, I'm going to have her listen to this tape because organic food is always more expensive as soon as you see that label organic. What I make sure of is that any food that I'm going to use I washed. I had a great, delicious Macintosh apple today, I have no idea. I make sure I wash that apple before
I eat that apple. The only fruits fruit that I don't wash are fruit that, for example, like oranges or bananas, where you have to peel off and you get right to the fruit, so you don't have to worry about that. But I'll wash anything. If I'm of course cutting up celery, I'm washing the celery. If I'm cutting up carrots, I'm washing it. I'm washing everything because I have no clue where it's been and I'm not someone who buys or can't.
To be honest with you, I've always held a little bit of a little bit of advertising Madison Street dollars to get us to spend a little more money. So I'm so happy to hear you tell me that. Look, you have a book. If I'm not mistaken, the book is called What a Farmer Wants You to Know about Food. How could folks get a copy of that book?
They can get a copy of it on Amazon dot com. There's a paperback book. I think it's nineteen ninety five and twenty four to ninety five for the hardcover collector's edition. It's a number one best seller now in Canada, and it's being sold in the US, England, Australia, and I'm getting remarks from all over the world. And the amazing thing to me is people that are thinkers, that read the book actually get back to me and say, you know what, since I've read your book, I feel a
lot better about going to the grocery store. And I think you shouldn't be scared to go to the grocery store. Whatever on the shelves is safe. How much you eat of each one, well, that's a whole other discussion that you might want to talk to a dietitian about. Our food regulation system is so stringent that everything on the shelves is safe and people kind of sometimes forget that.
Well, I think it's great to remind him you certainly have done it tonight. I love your attitude, I really do. And the book is what a Farmer wants you to Know about food available easily through Amazon. Well, look, I hope your oilers do well, but I'm rooting for the Panthers because they got Brad Marsha on the little we call him here in Boston, the little Ball of Hate.
You know, I actually love the guy. I think he's a great personality, a great hockey player. I'll actually feel bad for him as if they don't win. But I do like the man myself. I think he's a great character. I will say one more thing if I might. So, there's just been recently the MAHA movements launched a documentary and all the MAHA stuff that you guys have going
on in the States there. That's really interesting to me that the new film that's been made by Kayley Means and Joe Polish claims to expose misinformation about there they're saying, there's a lot of misinformation about our food, and yet it turns out that they had studies that didn't even exist in their film and in the Maha report. So it's rather odd that they would rely on misinformation to talk about misinformation. I just thought that was rather humorous.
Everybody, everybody's got an angle, Dennis. You seem like a straight shoot you my sort of guy. And next time you ride over the Gordy Howbridge, give them away from me. Okay, thank you so much now, sure will all right, Thanks very very much. I really enjoyed the conversation, Dennis, a genuine fun. Thank you, Saskatchewan, thank you. Thank you. Ever get to Boston, Dennis, have you ever been down this way or no? I suspect on.
Occasion, but I can promise you I will look you up. I love news talk radio. I think news talk radio is the best way to be a critical thinker and learn about all the different angles about food and everything else. So kudos to you. I know your show has got a great following, and I hear great things about it.
We're really early, really easy to find. Just pull down that iheartnew and improved app and you can walk us in WBZ. I have listeners all over the country. I have lots of listeners in Canada. Believe it or not.
I assure you well, and now that I know you, I'm certainly going to tune into your program when I'm on the tractor. I always listen to news talk on the tractor.
Well, we got it. It's eight to midnight Monday through Friday, East Coast time. Thanks so much, Dennis really enjoyed it. We'll talk soon.
Thank you.
Dan, You very welcome, very well. Happy day to you. By the way, when we get back, we're going to talk with Julie Pegano. She's the president of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce, a dear close friend of a friend of mine, Bill Della Hunt, the great fulmer Congressman from the South Shore who passed away too much, too soon. But we're going to talk about a big parade tomorrow and hopefully it's going to take place in the afternoon, so it's going to be a perfect afternoon weatherwise, tomorrow,
may say some rain in the morning. We'll be talking with Julie Pegano right after the break, the news break at the bottom of the hour. My name's Dan Ray.
Boston's news Radio.
Well, tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow is Flag Day, and I think no city celebrates Flag Day more effectively than the city of Quinsy, the city of Presidents and also the great city that was that's represented by Mayor Tom Coch, but was represented by a great United States Congressman, the late great Bill Della Hunt. And with us tonight is someone very close to Congress and Della Hunt, who's also the president of the Quincy Chamber of Congress, Julie Pagano. Julie,
welcome back tonight's side. And I miss him every day and I know you do as well.
Oh, Hi, Dan, it's so great to speak with you tonight. And yes, Bill, Bill has just left a great mock in the city. This is his hometown, the country, in the world, and he is missed every single day. And I know how much he enjoyed the relationship that he shared with you. He spoke about it and shared that with me. So it's nice to connect with you.
Absolutely, Julie. So tomorrow is a big day in Quinsy. It's flag Day, but it's Quinsy's four hundred flag day. It's Quincy four hundred years old. Now that's amazing.
I know, I know, sixteen twenty five, twenty twenty five, and here we are.
So you're three year old.
Quincy's older than Boston.
It is no, I mean, it just hit me.
I'm sorry to interrupt you, but Boston was sixteen thirty, so Quincy's five years older. I mean, I guess some people must have taken the red line from Quincy back in you know, sometimes sixteen twenty six or twenty seven, and said, let's go up to Boston. Wow, tell us what's gonna happen tomorrow. I hope the we is the parade because I hope the weather. Hope it's a little later in the day. It's supposed to be kind of a little nasty in the morning, but they say it's going to be clear by noontime.
Yes, I haven't really looked at the weather. I don't I don't look at weather. It just kind of let it be and and hope for the best. But the parade is scheduled to start at six pm, and it will step off on at Hancock Street in Walter Hanton Parkway. People head north down Hancock Street, across Marymount and then end up at Adams Field.
So it's one of the.
Largest parades that the city has seen. And you know, what began as a small neighborhood march in nineteen fifty two, thanks to the vision of Richard Coke Senior, it has grown into a citywide celebration of patriotism, pride, and community. And it's really become a living tradition that has connected generations of Quincy residents. And I'm so honored to have the opportunity to walk and represent the Chamber of Commerce tomorrow and just be a part of this celebration. It's
a spectacular vision that started. Yeah, that started from Mayor Cooks, Dad and Marek Thomas Coke. Now you know it continues with the tradition.
Well, you know when you when I was asking the time it started, I didn't know, and I was afraid you were going to say ten o'clock. And I was gonna say, we have to get some intervention from Bill Della Hunts. Some heavenly inventioned here to make sure that the rain holds off. You're gonna be all set six o'clock. They said it's going to be cleared out, and uh uh, the weather guys seem to be pretty pretty confident about that. So tell us some of the highlights. So the parade
is how long. I know you got the Boston Crusaders in there. I know you got drum groups from Connecticut. You got a drum corps from Connecticut, to get a band from the Long Island Sunrisers Drum Corps from obviously Long Island in New York. You got the US Marine Corps, Quantico Marine Band, the US Navy Band out of Newport, Rhode Island. You got the US Army, National Guard, Army Band. Uh, it goes on on. This is gonna be one heck
of a band. As you know, I'm serious, this is this is going to be a parade to see.
Yes, it's it's it's just the planning that has gone on behind the scenes. It has just been immense and it continues on. We have the Quinsy and the North
Quincy combined bands and several other alumni drum corps. We have a lot of the Grand Marshalls returning and walking in this particular parade, you know, just looking at at the the list is uh, Brigadier Ronald Rands, General Dunford, General James McConnell, and Joe Shay who was the former City Clerk General, Francis McGinn our own Quincy police Chief, Paul Keenan, and Richard Kennedy from the ALS Research just to kind of name a few that we'll be marching
and you know there there'll be more floats than we've ever seen, and of course a nod to the four hundred history. And then you know, once we get up to uh to pageants failed, we have the great Ronan time in who is just going to you know, his voice is so magical and he has a patriotic theme that he's scheduled to perform at eight o'clock and then at nine o'clock a spectacular fireworks display and one of
the largest that the city has seen as well. So there's just it's just going to be a great, a great day leading up to it, in a great evening and as I said, I'm just so excited myself to be to be a part of it, and you know, want to thank everybody who involved in the planning.
Julie, would you do me a personal favor and that is say hello to Ronan for me. Uh I had on my show probably ten years ago. I know he live somewhere down on the South Shore. But I'd love to reconnect with him and tell him I send him my best. And I'm so glad that that this former singer at Yankee Stadium has settled in our area. And obviously I hope now as a Red Sox fan, if you tell him what a voice, what an incredible voice? What is is he doing one specific song tomorrow or is he doing a.
Couple if you know, you know, there's a patriotic lineup of songs. So I'm not exactly sure.
Okay, you know the.
Set list, and I think it's somewhat of a surprise as well. But yeah, he's just he's just a special, a special person, and I will I will, you know, give the message to him when I I would.
Really appreciate that because I really enjoyed the time with him on the show. Well we will talk soon. I just wanted to again once remember the great Congressman Bill Della Hunted. I know he's going to be with all of you tomorrow in spirit, that's for sure.
I know.
I know.
I feel like I'm following in his footsteps with all those parades that he watched, and so I feel there's a little nod in a push from him, so you know, yes.
I wouldn't be surprised. My pres Julie, be well, Be well, and enjoy tomorrow. It's going to be a great day for Quincy and a great day for the entire South Shore. Thank you so much.
Thank you too for including Quincy and your show tonight. We appreciate it.
All right, great talk soon when we get back today. Besides being the Friday before Father's Day and the Friday before Flag Day, it's a Friday the thirteenth, and we're going to talk with a cultural anthropologist with the University at Buffalo. It is actually the University at Buffalo, not the University of Buffalo of Buffalo Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft Inherently Human. That's his book. But we're
going to talk about Friday the thirteenth, superstitions. We'll get to all of that, I promise coming back on Nightside, and then after that we will get to the more serious topics of the day, which is the Karen retrial in the hands of the jury, as well as what is going on in the Middle East tonight and is continuing that started last night. Back on Nightside right after this, you're.
On Nightside with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
All Right, we are going to speak with doctor Phil Stevens Junior, but he insists I call him Phil Phil. Welcome to Nightside. How are you?
Yes, I'm trying.
Thanks nice to make you. You're a cultural anthropologist with the University at Buffalo, an author of a book called Rethinking the Anthropology of Magic and Witchcraft Inherently Human. Interesting. Tell you's Friday the thirteenth. There's a lot of people who are still superstitious. I'm a little superstitious. Are you superstitious yourself?
Film?
No, sure, I suggest that that everybody is to a certain degree. Most superstitions are examples of what I call in my book magical thinking.
Okay, and we all do it. Okay. When you say magical thinking, why don't you define that for me a little bit? Because I certainly know what the word thinking means, and I know what magical means. But magical thinking is you put those words? Well?
That term is used by others in different ways. The way I'm using it is to describe a universal pattern of thinking, absolutely universal to people. This is the way the human brain works. To be brief, there are two fundamental principles out of a total of six that I've identified,
principles of similarity and contact. Things that are similar to other things in any way sound, behavior, color, shape, or things that have been in contact with other things are believed to have a causal relationship with those other things most super and that establishes a magical connection between those other things. People think they can make things happen over a distance by acting out the thing they want to have happened. But if the acting out produces an unfortunate result,
then you've got a taboo. You've got the avoidance of establishing a magical connection. And that's that's what happened in the case of Friday the thirteenth. We do not want to repeat the events of that terrible Thursday night, that Seder meal in the upper room when Jesus sat down with his twelve disciples. There were thirteen people at that table, and one of them betrayed him that night, and the next day, Friday, was he was flogged and crucified, a terrible,
terrible event. And so the thirteen becomes a taboo and the Friday. When the thirteenth falls on a Friday, you've got a double whammy there. So people who are superstitious tend to be very careful about making decisions. Today. We've only got a few more hours of so it probably well.
I've had my occurrences. I'm not a big Big Friday the Thirteenth guy either, But there's a lot of the things that you know, you break a mirror to seven years bad luck, there's generally some reason behind it. I don't walk under ladders, and I don't walk. I choose not to walk under ladders because I'm superstitious, but I figured that, you know, a ladder could fall, somebody could fall off a ladder, and I don't want to be there when that happens. Crossing cat paths with a black cat, yeah,
I guess they're associated with witches and bad omens. I when I played when I played baseball a little bit in high school, a little bit in college, I never wanted to step on the baseline. I was a pitcher, and I wanted to. I just thought it was bad luck if you if you stepped on the first or the third baseline, So you just to skip over that. And I watch a lot of Major League pitchers who are good pitchers, even though they're much better than I was.
Some of them do it as well. So all of these have kind of a little I guess a backstory to them, but.
I'm not sure about all, but certainly most do. And regarding baseball, there baseball is filled with superstitions. And there's a classic article which you can find online called Baseball Magic. Just google Baseball Magic. The author is an anthropologist who played minor league named George gimmelch G M E. L c. H. It's a terrific article. It's gone through many revisions, and several versions are available online. When you played, what what? What did you do with your bat that's struck out?
A bat that has struck out must not touch other bats. You when you throw it down, you throw it so it lands in separate places, and and so on.
You know, Yeah, there there was sometimes you'd have your lucky socks. You you know, you'd wear the socks if you want, or you would wouldn't wear all of that. But I'll tell you this. Today's Friday, the thirteenth. It just so happened. I had a really rough day to day. Okay, my company had told me I had to get a new computer. You know, they pay for it. So it arrived yesterday, and today was the day that I had to try to figure out how to migrate stuff from
my current computer to the new computer. And it was a nightmarish day.
Well, you probably didn't have a ten year old handy.
Well, if I had a ten year old handy, probably could have happened. I could have been taken care of it. I know what you're saying, right, but I'm pretty goods But it's sometimes you just get stimmied. Even the people who you think can help you, they don't. And the funny thing about it is that a lot of these companies they assume that everybody, let's say, on a scale of one to one hundred, has the capacity of one hundred, when the fact of the matter is it's like they
don't understand the concept of a bell curve. You do as a college professor that you know, three percent of the people should be a's and three percent or f's and the rest of us are kind of in the middle. And that's the same way with computers. So I had a doubt today. I literally felt like beating my head against the wall. And you know the old Joe, you know, you guys, beating your head against the wall and you go up to me and you say, hey, why are
you beating your head against the wall? And the guy says, it feels so good when I stop. You know, that's that was my feeling. That's my feeling. Tell us about your book. You got a book rethinking of the anthropology of magic and Witchcraft Inherent Human easily to find, I assume on Amazon.
Yes, it's published by Rutledge, an old British publishing house now quite quite big, published twenty twenty four, so it's it's recent, and it comes up with a new theory of magic and witchcraft. I've suggested that both of these belief complexes are rooted in our fundamental humanity. Magic it works by absolutely universal patterns of thinking, and witchcraft is a is a combination of fourteen fundamental human fears eleven of those and fun and fantasies three of those.
All right, well, looks Phil, Phil. It sounds like a great book. The one thing that I don't have right now is time, so I'm running out of time. But again, I will encourage people if they're interested, and I think everyone's interested. It's Doctor Phil Stevens likes to be called Phil doesn't want to be confused with that other doctor. Phil. Thank you so much. I appreciate it very much. Okay, have a great weekend and happy Father's Day if it applies.
Okay, it does, and thank you.
You're very welcome. All Right, we get back. We're going to open up. I think we'll talk tonight to start about the Iranian Israel Israeli conflict. This is a war that's going on over there, and we got to make sure that one Israel wins and that it stays contained to the Middle East. We'll talk about it on the other side of the nine o'clock News