THIS IS LET'S TALK CINCY PRESENTED BY WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP. PUT OUR FINANCIAL STRENGTH BEHIND YOU. HELLO EVERYONE. I'M COURTIS FULLER AND WELCOME TO LET'S TALK CINCY. TODAY, AN INTERVIEW WITH A LIVING LEGEND AROUND CINCINNATI. NONE OTHER THAN REVEREND DAMON LYNCH JR, AND IT IS A PLEASURE TO TO HAVE YOU HERE ON LET'S TALK CINCY. I'M GLAD TO BE HERE. THANK YOU. I WANT TO GET RIGHT INTO WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING OUT IN THE LINCOLN HEIGHTS AREA. AND THE REASON I WANT TO DO THAT IS BECAUSE THAT IS HOME FOR YOU. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT FIRST WHAT YOU SEE NOW AND HOW DISTURBING THAT SITUATION WAS FOR YOU. WELL, IT'S DISTURBING BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN MY MEMORY EVER. AND WE WERE ALWAYS SNICKERED IN AND EVERYBODY JUST BEING WHO WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE EVERYBODY KNEW EVERYBODY. LOVED EVERYBODY, PROTECTED EVERYBODY. JUST A CLOSE KNIT FAMILY. AND TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN, RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO US WAS AMAZING IN A SENSE THAT HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN IN THIS KIND OF TIME? WE'VE BEEN THROUGH ALL OF THIS. WE THOUGHT IT WAS OVER, BUT IT AIN'T OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER. TAKE ME BACK TO THE GOOD OLD DAYS. IF YOU. IF YOU WILL. YOU TALK ABOUT LINCOLN HEIGHTS. OFTEN WHEN WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATION, THE DAYS OF YESTERYEAR, THE DAYS THAT YOU GREW UP IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS AND TELL US WHY LINCOLN HEIGHTS IS SO SIGNIFICANT IN THIS, IN THIS AREA. WELL, THIS AREA AND OTHER AREAS, TOO. I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT ACROSS THIS COUNTRY AS TO THE SOLIDARITY THAT WE HAD AND OUR FOUNDING AND HOW THAT TOOK PLACE BACK IN 1946. WE BECAME A CITY, AND IT WAS THE FIRST ALL BLACK CITY TO BECOME A CITY. SINCE I GUESS AD INFINITUM. AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT REALLY USED TO, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHERN COMMUNITY, AS WE CALL THEM UP SOUTH HERE. WE CALLED IT ALWAYS UP SOUTH. FOLK CALL IT UP NORTH, BUT THIS WAS UP SOUTH AND SO AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE PROUD OF. WE HAD EVERYTHING. IT WAS OURS AND WE OWNED IT, AND WE HAD OUR STORES. WE HAD OUR DRY CLEANERS, WE HAD OUR BARBERSHOPS, WE HAD OUR SHOE SHOPS, WE HAD EVERYTHING THAT A COMMUNITY NEEDED TO HAVE. WE OWNED IT AND WE SHOPPED THERE, AND WE WERE JUST HAPPY. AND THEN THINGS BEGAN TO HAPPEN. YOU KNOW, WE COULD GO TO WALMART OR WE COULD GO TO SOME OTHER PLACES. AND THEY STARTED DOING THAT. AND WHEN THAT HAPPENED, KIND OF CREATED A LITTLE RIFF RAFF WITH THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. BUT WE STILL HUNG IN THERE. I WAS GOING TO ASK ABOUT WHAT PERIOD? BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO MIGHT THINK OF LINCOLN HEIGHTS TODAY, THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THOSE DAYS THAT YOU REFER TO. AND SO ABOUT WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN? LATE 60S OR SO, WHEN WE STARTED TO SEE THIS SHIFT IN IN THE COMMUNITY DYNAMICS. WELL, INTEGRATION, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS SOMETIMES NOT GOOD FOR US. IT DESTROYED A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITIES. AND WHEN PEOPLE HEAR THAT, I REMEMBER THE FIRST PERSON WHO WHO TOLD ME THAT WAS THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF BETHUNE-COOKMAN COLLEGE, RICHARD V MOORE, AND I REMEMBER HIM SAYING SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT. AND FOLKS MIGHT NOT COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS, BECAUSE IN ESSENCE, AS YOU MENTIONED, A LOT OF THESE COMMUNITIES HAD BUSINESSES AND, AND SHOPS AND, AND, AND PEOPLE WERE RIGHT THERE. BUT ONCE THEY WERE ABLE TO QUOTE UNQUOTE, GO DOWNTOWN, IF YOU WILL, THAT REALLY SHIFTED THE DYNAMICS IN THE COMMUNITY, REALLY. AND WE SHOULD NEVER FORGIVE OURSELVES. BECAUSE WE WERE DOING FINE WITHOUT THEM. WE WERE EATING WELL, AND THE KIDS WERE FAT AND. EVERYBODY WAS HEALTHY. WE RAN, WE PLAYED, WE JUMPED, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN WHEN WE COULD GO TO THEIR STORE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO US. LET ME TAKE A BREAK. WE'RE TALKING TO REVEREND DAMON LYNCH JR. WE'LL BE BACK IN A MOMENT. DAMON LINDSEY JR IS DEFINITELY A DAMON LINDSEY JR IS DEFINITELY A LEGEND IN OUR CITY. HE HAS PLAYED A KEY PART IN THE SUCCESS OF MANY OF OUR PROMINENT ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN CINCINNATI. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER YOU'RE BAPTIST, METHODIST, PRESBYTERIAN, JEWISH. EVERYBODY HAS BEEN IMPACTED BY DAMON LYNCH. ALWAYS A PRIVILEGE TO TALK TO THIS GENTLEMAN, REVEREND DAMON LYNCH, JUNIOR. I SHOULD POINT OUT WHO WAS AT NEW JERUSALEM FOR OVER 50 YEARS. 55. 55 YEARS. ISN'T THAT SOMETHING? AND YOU MISS THAT? NOT REALLY. I'M DOING FINE. AND I'M STILL THERE. YOU'RE STILL JUST AS BUSY. EMERITUS. YEAH, WHATEVER THAT IS. LET'S. LET'S JUST TALK ABOUT GREATER CINCINNATI BECAUSE YOU. AND WE'LL GET BACK TO LINCOLN HEIGHTS. BUT YOU HAVE SEEN AND HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS GROWTH IN THE CITY. SO YOU YOU'VE SEEN IT CHANGE OVER THE YEARS. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT CHANGE BECAUSE ALL CHANGE IS ISN'T GOOD. BUT WE'VE SEEN SOME GOOD THINGS HAPPEN IN CINCINNATI. YEAH. IT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF A GIVE AND TAKE. BAD AND GOOD ALONG THE WAY, TRYING TO GET WHAT WE CALL EQUAL RIGHTS AND IT WASN'T EASY. WE HAD A LOT OF GREAT PEOPLE WHO CAME BEFORE ME THAT WE FOLLOWED IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS. I NEVER WILL FORGET. MARK KNUTE WROTE AN ARTICLE. ABOUT ME. AND THE ENQUIRER AND. MAYOR TED BERRY CALLED ME AND SAID, DAMON, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I'M SO PROUD THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENQUIRER, FOR SOMEBODY TO HAVE AN ARTICLE THAT'S BLACK, THAT LARGE. IS A BLESSING. I HAD NO IDEA. I MEAN, WE WERE JUST A NON-ENTITY FOR A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE. AND SO DOING WHAT YOU DO, VERY SELDOM WE WOULD RUN AND HOLLER AND COME LOOK RIGHT NOW, HURRY UP, BLACK MAN ON TV. HURRY UP. COME ON. OH, YOU MR. EGO. IN THOSE DAYS. AND THAT WAS IN COMMUNITIES. REALLY? THANK YOU. THROUGHOUT. YOU KNOW, I GREW UP IN PITTSBURGH AND FONDLY REMEMBER, IT'S INTERESTING OUT OF ALL THE TIME I'VE SPENT IN BROADCASTING, I CAN REMEMBER A GUY BY THE NAME OF DENNIS HOLLEY, AND HE WAS A REPORTER, AND I REMEMBER AN AFRICAN AMERICAN REPORTER WHO CAME INTO MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOW EXCITED WE WERE. AND THAT STUCK WITH ME, EVEN THOUGH I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD BE ON TV AT THAT TIME. I WAS JUST A KID, AND BUT THAT'S THAT'S STUCK WITH ME OF HOW IMPORTANT THAT MOMENT WAS FOR ME AND OTHERS, RIGHT? AND I DON'T THINK THEY GET EXCITED TO SEE ME WHEN I COME IN. WE STILL GET EXCITED. HEY, COME SEE COURTIS. BUT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS, THIS GROWTH IN CINCINNATI. SINCE 2001 AND AND THE DISTURBANCE IN THE CITY. I THINK EVERYONE HAS AGREED THAT THAT'S WHEN THINGS REALLY STARTED TO TO MOVE FORWARD IN A, IN A, IN AN AGGRESSIVE WAY. EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT THE 2001. AND THAT WAS AWFUL. BUT THE BIGGEST RIOT WAS THE RIOT THAT WE HAD BACK DURING THE 60S. AND WHEN THEY THREW THE PAINT ON ABRAHAM LINCOLN UP ON REDDING AND ROCHDALE, THIS IS AFTER DOCTOR KING'S ASSASSINATION, RIGHT AFTER. I KNOW SOMETIMES, AND YOU ARE VERY FRANK IN IN YOUR CONVERSATION ABOUT THEN AND NOW AND SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THOSE DIRECT CONVERSATIONS. THEY THEY SORT OF TIPTOE AROUND EVERYTHING. BUT I THINK THE MORE WE TALK ABOUT IT IN A VERY DIRECT, PASSIONATE WAY, IT'S EASIER TO UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS AND AVONDALE AND THE WEST END. AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER BREAK. WE HAVE TO DO THAT FROM TIME TO TIME ON THESE SHOWS. ALL RIGHT. AND WE'LL BE BACK IN A MOMENT. YOU KNOW, EVERY NOW AND THEN I YOU KNOW, EVERY NOW AND THEN I REALLY ENJOY CONVERSATIONS THAT I HAVE. AND TO SIT DOWN WITH THIS GREAT MAN HERE AND MY FRIEND, REVEREND DAMON LYNCH JR. IS REALLY AN HONOR. YOU MENTIONED TED BERRY A FEW MOMENTS AGO. AND SO YOU'VE YOU'VE SEEN ALL THESE GREAT LEADERS UP CLOSE, HAVE WORKED WITH PEOPLE, TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE PEOPLE. SOME WHO ARE STILL HERE AND SOME WHO HAVE SADLY PASSED AWAY. BUT YOU'VE WORKED, YOU'VE SEEN THEM ALL. YOU AND TED BERRY, MILD MANNERED. INTELLIGENT. GREAT LEADER. AND SO HE'S ONE OF MY HEROES. AND AND GUY WESTMORELAND CALLS DADDY AND CARL AND I, WE ALL WENT TO SCHOOL AND GREW UP TOGETHER, AND I TOOK HIM TO THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. AND HE MADE GREAT HISTORY DOWN THERE WITH THE SLAVE PEN AND ALL KINDS OF STUFF. WE WERE RAISED UP LIKE THAT, AND WE HAD IDOLS, AND WE SAW THOSE PEOPLE, AND WE EMULATED THEM. BUT AS WE TALK ABOUT PEOPLE, OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, THE LATE ERNIE WATTS, OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE GENERATION HAS SEEN ME ON TV. BUT LONG BEFORE COURTIS FULLER, THERE WAS ERNIE WAY SENIOR. AMEN. AMEN. MY MY NEIGHBOR, MY BEST BUDDY. NOT ONLY THAT. RADIO, TV, MUSIC. POLITICS, INTELLECT, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT. HE WAS A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. ERNIE WATTS, I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER. YOU WERE AT THE FOREFRONT OF MAKING THIS HAPPEN. AND TO SEE IT'S ITS GROWTH OVER THE YEARS. IT'S GETTING READY TO CELEBRATE, WHAT, ALMOST 30 YEARS? 30 YEARS? YEAH. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FREEDOM CENTER AND YOUR INPUT. THAT'S BEEN THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO CINCINNATI. YOU KNOW THAT. THE KLU KLUX KLAN USED TO COME HERE EVERY YEAR ON THE SQUARE AND JUST HAVE THEIR WAY. AND A BUNCH OF US GOT TOGETHER AND SAID, HEY, WE NEED TO STOP THAT. SO WE WENT DOWN AND CONFRONTED THEM. AND DURING THAT EPISODE, WE HAD. A GROUP CALLED NCC, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHRISTIANS AND --. AND SO WE WERE ALL TOGETHER IN A MEETING AND ONE GUY SPOKE UP AND SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? DAMON? IT'S A SHAME THAT THE KLAN COMES HERE EVERY YEAR AND DOES WHAT THEY WANT TO DO. CINCINNATI IS BETTER THAN THAT. THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD CAME THROUGH HERE AND THE LIGHT BULB WENT ON. AND FROM THAT MOMENT, WE SOUGHT OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WOULD DO MORE THAN JUST TALK ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. WE WANTED TO MAKE SOME KIND OF BIG STATEMENT ABOUT IT AND WHAT IT MEANT TO FREEDOM FOR BLACKS. AND THAT'S HOW THE FREEDOM CENTER GOT STARTED. AND WE'LL BE CELEBRATING 30 YEARS. AND WE'RE DOING A FILM NOW TO BRING BACK THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DID IN THE LAST 30 YEARS. WE GOT A GOOD CEO NOW, BUT OVER 30 YEARS WE'VE DONE SOMETHING THAT WAS GOOD FOR THE CITY AND THE NATION. DOES IT SURPRISE YOU WHEN YOU MIGHT HEAR SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN THIS AREA, WHO MIGHT SAY THEY'VE NEVER BEEN TO THE FREEDOM CENTER? NO, IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME AT ALL. IT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME AT ALL. SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET INTO A FUNK THAT THEY DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S BEST FOR THEM. THEY JUST GOT THEIR OWN OPINION ABOUT SOMETHING. AND ONCE THEY GET THAT OPINION, THEY STICK WITH IT. SINK OR SWIM, GOOD OR BAD. IF YOU GOT SOME PEOPLE WHO IS NEGATIVE ABOUT EVERYTHING, THAT IS FOR THE BETTER GOOD OF THE WHOLE. BUT THEY STAND WHERE THEY STAND AND THEY GOT A RIGHT TO DO IT AGAIN. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A BREAK AND WE'LL BE BACK IN A MOMENT. A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR LIFE IS YOUR BETTER HALF. AND AND AND THAT FALLS INTO PLACE WITH YOU GOING OFF TO THE SERVICE. SO TELL THAT STORY BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT. WELL, SHE'S THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME. AND WE'LL BE MARRIED. WE'RE ALREADY JUST PASSED OUR ANNIVERSARY. 65 YEARS FULL TIME AND UNINTERRUPTED. AND SO IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR HER, I WOULDN'T BE NOWHERE NEAR THE WAY I AM NOW. SHE AND MY MOTHER, MY DAD AND I JUST WANT TO THANK GOD FOR PUTTING HER IN MY LIFE. AND SO SHE CHOSE ME. I DIDN'T CHOOSE HER. I WAS SITTING ON THE PORCH MINDING MY BUSINESS. SHE WAS COMING HOME. HOME FROM SCHOOL. SHE WENT TO WALNUT HILLS AND SHE HAD HER BOOKS, AND SHE WAS GOT OFF THE BUS THERE IN LOCKLAND, AND SHE WAS COMING DOWN THE STREET AND TWO GIRLS ACCOSTED HER. AND SAID, YOU, YOU, BARBARA, AREN'T YOU? SHE SAID, YES. AND YOU GO WITH DAMON, DON'T YOU? SHE SAID, YES, I KNOW HIM. WELL, WE JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE LIKE DAMON. AND SO THEY DROPPED THEIR BOOKS. YOU KNOW, OUR GIRLS CARRIED THEIR BOOKS. THEY DROPPED THEIR BOOKS AS IF TO GET A FIGHTING STANCE. SHE SAID, OH, HOLD ON, HOLD ON, HOLD ON, HOLD ON, HOLD ON. Y'ALL CAN HAVE HIM. AND SO THAT WAS ONE OF HER BEST MOMENTS. SHE SAID, LISTEN, I WANT HIM I GOT HIM, BUT Y'ALL CAN HAVE HIM. I AIN'T GOING TO FIGHT. SO THAT WAS A GREAT MOMENT. AND AND YOU GUYS CORRESPONDED WHEN YOU WERE IN THE, IN THE MARINES. YEAH, I WOULD WE WOULD SIT DOWN AND WHEN THEY WROTE WHEN SHE WROTE ME LETTERS, I MEAN, ALL OF THE PUNCTUATION AND ALL OF THE STUFF WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. AND WHENEVER I HAD TO WRITE HER A LETTER BACK, ME AND MY BUDDIES GOT TOGETHER AND WE WE GOT TOGETHER ON THE LETTER TO MAKE SURE WE HAD ALL THE GRAMMAR. RIGHT. AND HAVE YOU TOLD HER THAT STORY? YEAH. SHE KNOWS ALL ABOUT THAT. AND SO IT WAS FUNNY. IT WAS JUST PART OF GROWING UP, MAN, BECAUSE WE WENT IN ON THE BUDDY PLAN. A BUNCH OF US ARE RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. SOME WENT TO THE MARINES, SOME WENT TO THE AIR FORCE, AND IT WAS JUST A LINCOLN HEIGHTS THING. WE ALL HAD GREAT TIMES, YOU KNOW, AND AND I ASKED YOU TO SHARE THAT STORY BECAUSE SO OFTEN AND WE WERE SAYING IT DURING THE BREAK. EVERYONE HAS A STORY, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, PEOPLE MIGHT SEE YOU AS THIS POWERFUL VOICE IN CINCINNATI OVER THE PAST HALF CENTURY. AND THEY'LL SEE YOU ON THIS BOARD. YOU'RE RECEIVING THIS AWARD. YOU'RE PREACHING HERE AND THERE, BUT THE STORIES BEHIND THE MAN. THANK YOU. THAT'S WHAT. REALLY? THANK YOU. PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR. RIGHT? YEAH. WELL, WE GOT A BUNCH OF THEM. AND SO WE JUST THANK GOD THE LORD HAS BLESSED US WITH WONDERFUL CHILDREN, WONDERFUL GRANDCHILDREN, NOW, WONDERFUL GREAT GRANDCHILDREN, WONDERFUL FRIENDS. AND IT'S JUST BEEN GREAT. I WAS BORN IN GEORGIA. WE CAME UP HERE WHEN I WAS TEN, AND TO LINCOLN HEIGHTS. SHE WAS BORN IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS, AND SO WE'VE HAD A GREAT, GREAT TIME. I WISH WE HAD MORE. VOICES BECAUSE WHEN I WAS COMING UP, WE HAD WHAT WE CALLED A COMMITTEE OF 50. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT, BUT I'VE HEARD OF IT. YES, SIR. AND SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN CINCINNATI, BLACK WERE MEMBERS OF THAT COMMITTEE. WE MET ON REDDING ROAD RIGHT THERE, REDDING ROAD IN SOUTH CRESCENT, IN THAT BUILDING THERE. AND WE HAD ALL KINDS OF STUFF FIGHTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEPT THE POWER IN OUR COMMUNITY. REVEREND ELVIE BOOTH STARTED THE CONVENTION. A CONVENTION. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? THAT'S STILL GOING ON RIGHT HERE IN CINCINNATI? THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT WHEN I SAY TED BERRY. WHEN I SAY ELVIE BOOTH, WE HAD KIND OF LEADERS THAT WAS SOME I MEAN. PHENOMENAL LEADERS THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT AS A KID AND RESPECT. AND I WANT TO BE LIKE THEM. AND SO THAT'S THE WAY I GREW UP WITH ALL OF THAT KIND OF STUFF AROUND ME. THE CONVENTION YOU REFERENCE IS THE PROGRESSIVE NATIONAL BAPTIST CONVENTION. EXACTLY. AND FOLKS SHOULD KNOW, AND WE'VE POINTED THAT OUT BEFORE, BUT IT REALLY WAS THE PLATFORM THAT LAUNCHED DOCTOR KING. THAT'S IT. DOCTOR KING WAS NOT BEING HEARD EXCEPT FOR WHERE HE WAS. AND THE OTHER PEOPLE SAID, NO, IT'S TOO SOON. BLACK PEOPLE ARE SAYING IT'S TOO SOON. YOU'RE GOING TO MESS UP FOR US TOO SOON. TOO SOON. AND. REVEREND BOOTH SAID, NO, WE GOT TO LET THIS MAN BE HEARD. SO HE BROUGHT HIM UP HERE AND WE MET AT THE HOTEL ON FIFTH STREET. THE NETHERLAND, AND THAT'S WHERE HE TALKED ABOUT. AND THEN OTHER TIMES HE CAME TO PREACH AND PREACHED AT MOSES CHURCH. HE PREACHED AT MOUNT ZION, I MEAN, ZION BAPTIST AND AND ALL OF THAT KIND OF STUFF. AND SO THOSE WERE THE HEROES THAT WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN HEARD IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR REVEREND BOOTH. HE NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN HEARD AT THAT POINT ANYWAY, AT THAT POINT. YEAH. I ALSO HAVE TO ASK YOU ABOUT OUR AGAIN, OUR OUR FRIEND FRED SHUTTLESWORTH. OH, MAN, DON'T EVEN MENTION FRED. WITHOUT ME, YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT MARTIN. YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT HIM UNTIL YOU TALK ABOUT FRED. FRED TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS. FRED DROVE KING, AND HE SAID, FRED, WELL, WHY DON'T YOU GET OUT THERE? HE SAID, FRED SAID, I HAD MY PISTOL. IN LANE. YOU YOU REMEMBER LANE? I DO, LANE SAID. I HAD MY PISTOL AND I WAS NOT GOING TO. HE PROTECTED FRED. AND SO ALL OF THOSE GUYS CAME TO CINCINNATI JUST ABOUT THE SAME TIME WHEN CINCINNATI NEEDED SOMEBODY TO COME. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, HERE THEY COME. AND WE AIN'T BEEN THE SAME SINCE. RIGHT. YOU KNOW, THEY ALL CAME TO PREACH. BUT NUMBER ONE, THE MONEY WAS A LITTLE BETTER UP HERE THAN IT WAS DOWN THERE. BUT BUT THEY CAME AND THEY BROUGHT THAT STUFF WITH THEM. AND SO, HEY, WE TOOK OFF TOO. YEAH. YEAH, BUT BUT BUT BUT THANK YOU. I, I'VE ALWAYS APPRECIATED YOUR YOUR FRANKNESS. THANK YOU. THAT'S THE BEST WAY OF PUTTING IT, I THINK. AND THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE LOVE ABOUT YOU. IN ANY DISCUSSION, YOU WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS. SOMETIMES WE GET SO SOFT IN OUR DISCUSSION THAT WE LOSE SIGHT OF. WE NEED TO JUST BE VERY DIRECT WITH PEOPLE. THAT'S RIGHT. AND YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN THERE AND YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF ME. YOU AND THE BOSS. AMEN. THE BOSS. MY WIFE. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. YOU'RE NO STRANGER HERE. YOU CAN COME BACK ANYTIME. I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE. YES, SIR. WE THANK GOD. APPRECIATE YOU. YEAH. APPRECIATE YOU. ALL RIGHT. WELL, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THAT. THAT DOES IT FOR THE PROGRAM TODAY. THANKS FOR JOINING US. I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER EDITION OF LET'S TALK CINCY. HAVE A GOOD DAY AND A BETTER DAY TOMORROW.