Latest / The Cubby and Christine Morning Show / Judy Torres LIVE In Studio

Transcript

Judy Torres LIVE In Studio · The Cubby and Christine Morning Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: 106.7 Light FM with Cubby and Christine in the morning. Well,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: this is kind of cool, Christine. Yes, it is. It's
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: not often we have a guest come up that has
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  Speaker 1: her own building ID.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: I do, I do.
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  Speaker 1: It rarely happens. But Judy Torres is in the house.
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  Speaker 2: You know her, you love her.
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  Speaker 1: You know her from her music. You know her from KTU.
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  Speaker 1: She's a friend. She's a colleague.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And she's here today to talk about a new book.
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  Speaker 1: Your first ever book, right?
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  Speaker 2: My first ever book, No Reason to Cry, a memoir.
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  Speaker 2: Very excited. Very excited.
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  Speaker 3: Gorgeous cover, by the way.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 3: Really beautiful and really emotional, deep.
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  Speaker 2: Photo thank you love it yeah we when we did
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  Speaker 2: the photo when we did the photo shoot I just
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  Speaker 2: I was getting tired of like looking at the camera
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  Speaker 2: directly and smiling so I just kind of went into
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  Speaker 2: my own zone and I was like what is like
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  Speaker 2: no reason to cry look like in a picture and
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  Speaker 2: that's I just thought yeah that's good yeah.
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  Speaker 1: So no reason to cry has been your song your
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  Speaker 1: stage show and now your book what is it about
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  Speaker 1: the meaning of no reason to cry that resonates with you.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's that in life we all suffer from traumas, right?
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  Speaker 2: Like nobody goes unscathed in this world. Everyone goes through something.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that a lot of times people get
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  Speaker 2: stuck when that happens and they don't know how to
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  Speaker 2: work through it. And so I feel like you have
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  Speaker 2: to make a decision to just keep on keeping on.
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  Speaker 2: And then eventually you realize that your story is not
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  Speaker 2: defining you it's just helping you so if you can
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  Speaker 2: figure out and decide that you're just going to go
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  Speaker 2: forward then the trauma has meaning instead of like oh
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  Speaker 2: my god this happened to me yeah so you're not
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  Speaker 2: feeling sorry for yourself you're not victimized so no reason
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  Speaker 2: to cry means pick yourself up and know that in
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  Speaker 2: the end there is no reason to cry there you.
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  Speaker 3: Go yeah because judy right now i know so many
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  Speaker 3: so many of us are going through difficult moments and
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  Speaker 3: stages and feeling like you said, like, why is this
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  Speaker 3: happening to me? And is this ever going to end?
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  Speaker 3: And is that why you felt it was important to
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  Speaker 3: come and share your story? Because you really serve as
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  Speaker 3: an inspiration for us.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think especially now, you know, at my age,
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  Speaker 2: and my age, years of experience, 58 years of experience,
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  Speaker 2: I felt like this is the time because it's now
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  Speaker 2: or never, we're running out of time. And I feel
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  Speaker 2: like You can't put a question mark where God has
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  Speaker 2: put a period. So if you are feeling bad, you
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  Speaker 2: have a choice. You can either decide to say, oh,
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  Speaker 2: my God, this happened to me. Or you can say,
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  Speaker 2: what am I going to do about it? So instead
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  Speaker 2: of asking, why did this happen? Ask, how can I
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  Speaker 2: fix it? So I thought, yeah, I thought this was
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  Speaker 2: a good time to do it, especially that life is
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  Speaker 2: so precious. And as you get older, you start to
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  Speaker 2: realize how precious it really is.
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  Speaker 1: Now, your book has a lot of tough moments in there.
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  Speaker 1: Which one do you want to address on the radio.
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  Speaker 2: Because you can you can address anyone you want I
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  Speaker 2: put it on paper so this I.
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  Speaker 1: Had no idea and I've known you for a long
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  Speaker 1: time What a dark period you're going through in 1994.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah with a with a suicide attempt.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was really really hard I was at my
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  Speaker 2: lowest in my life. I went from having like three
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  Speaker 2: to five shows a weekend to absolutely nothing and You know,
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  Speaker 2: I couldn't pay my mortgage. I didn't have any shows
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  Speaker 2: all of a sudden. I wasn't on the radio anymore.
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  Speaker 1: Is it because the music was changing?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the music was changing and they had decided that
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  Speaker 2: they weren't playing freestyle anymore.
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  Speaker 1: Right, because freestyle was really huge in the 80s and
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  Speaker 1: into the early 90s, actually. So, yeah, 94 makes sense
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  Speaker 1: because it was kind of changing then.
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  Speaker 2: So all of a sudden, boom, like it literally happened
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  Speaker 2: in one day with one sentence. We are no longer
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  Speaker 2: playing freestyle on the radio. And it was just like, what?
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  Speaker 2: So then I had debt collectors calling me. I had
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  Speaker 2: a boyfriend who was, I had broken up with him
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  Speaker 2: and he was stalking me for like a year and
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  Speaker 2: a half. It was a true, true nightmare. And I
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  Speaker 2: just hit rock bottom. But then I realized it's not
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  Speaker 2: that I really wanted to die. I just wanted the
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  Speaker 2: pain to stop. And I think for people who are
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  Speaker 2: suffering from depression, that's what you've got to remember. It's
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  Speaker 2: not that you really want to go. It's that you're
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  Speaker 2: in pain. And you don't know how to get the
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  Speaker 2: pain to stop. So I think it's important that you
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  Speaker 2: get help. I think it's important that you change your environment, right?
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  Speaker 2: Because your internal conversation can get really bad. So get
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  Speaker 2: out of the house, get up, call someone, do something.
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  Speaker 2: Don't stay in the same place because that's where you
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  Speaker 2: just go down the abyss further and further.
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  Speaker 1: Right, and your mind takes control.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
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  Speaker 3: And Judy, I think, you know, your music, just the
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  Speaker 3: way you live your life, I think you've brought people
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  Speaker 3: so much joy. And I don't know that we ever
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  Speaker 3: could have imagined you were going through all of this
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  Speaker 3: at the same time.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think that's the thing about depression sometimes. There
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  Speaker 2: are people who are functioning with it very well. So
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  Speaker 2: I would still once in a while do a show
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  Speaker 2: and then I would go home and just bawl my
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  Speaker 2: eyes out for four hours. But nobody ever knew.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, because most people are wired after a show and
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  Speaker 1: they can't fall asleep for four hours.
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  Speaker 2: You're still on adrenaline.
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  Speaker 1: But you would actually kind of go into a dark hole.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was really bad. I mean, the good thing
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  Speaker 2: is that Once I got help, I had a lot
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  Speaker 2: of people around me who were helping. And so people
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  Speaker 2: would recognize the signs. Oh, we haven't heard from her
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  Speaker 2: in a couple of days. Let's check on her. I
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  Speaker 2: think that's important. When you know someone really well and
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  Speaker 2: you notice all of a sudden they're not giving you
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  Speaker 2: a call, pick up the phone and call them and say, hey,
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  Speaker 2: are you okay? And then after they say, I'm fine, say, no,
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  Speaker 2: are you really okay? How are you really?
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  Speaker 1: But a lot of people still don't tell the truth, though. Like, oh,
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  Speaker 1: I'm fine, I'm fine. And you try to press them.
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  Speaker 1: And they're just not giving it up. But you know
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  Speaker 1: something's there. Yeah, it's true. But you're right. You've got
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  Speaker 1: to pry it out of people so you can help them.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely.
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  Speaker 3: Was music, show business, acting, all of it, like always,
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  Speaker 3: your dream and also your escape? You know, if day-to-day
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  Speaker 3: life was a little bit rough, this was your happy place.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely. My childhood, as much as I had a great,
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  Speaker 2: I had a good childhood. I had good memories. I
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  Speaker 2: had a great mom. My mom was a fantastic mom.
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  Speaker 2: But it was very violent in my home. Growing up
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  Speaker 2: as a child.
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  Speaker 1: And you talk about that in the book, too. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: And so I was muted a lot. You know, I
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  Speaker 2: was taught to be silent, be quiet, be a good girl.
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  Speaker 2: And so I didn't know how to express myself. So
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  Speaker 2: when I started to sing, you know, sing in the bathroom,
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  Speaker 2: sing in the bedroom, I was like, hey, this feels good.
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  Speaker 2: I want to do this. And then once I saw
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  Speaker 2: Judy Garland in Wizard of Oz. I was like, I
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  Speaker 2: want to be a singer. That's what I want to do.
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  Speaker 2: And so, yeah, it relieves everything, even to this day.
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  Speaker 2: I just love it.
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  Speaker 1: I love it. What do you think about now, how freestyle,
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  Speaker 1: there's all these shows with people flashing back, people love nostalgia.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And you went from that dark hole in 1994. to
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  Speaker 1: now freestyle and all the people that you used to
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  Speaker 1: play with back in the 80s are now thriving.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly.
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  Speaker 1: And doing shows.
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  Speaker 2: And I have as many shows now that I had
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  Speaker 2: back then.
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  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 2: So it's a testament to like, you never know how
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  Speaker 2: good your life can turn out. You have to hang
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  Speaker 2: in there. You just got to stick it out and
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  Speaker 2: you don't give up because things happen. And look, I
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  Speaker 2: never would have imagined I would have been a radio
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  Speaker 2: personality on the radio ever.
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  Speaker 1: You're still on KTU, right?
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  Speaker 2: I'm still on KTU, 27 years now.
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  Speaker 1: Yep.
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  Speaker 2: I never would have imagined I would have my own
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  Speaker 2: one-woman show. And I definitely wouldn't have imagined I would
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  Speaker 2: have a book or be in Blue Bloods or be
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  Speaker 2: in a movie or anything like that. So it's just amazing.
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  Speaker 2: I'm so glad that I failed at the attempt because
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  Speaker 2: life turned out really great. And that's why I want
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  Speaker 2: my life to serve as testimony that everything is going
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  Speaker 2: to be okay. And every day is a new day.
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  Speaker 2: It's a new chance. It's a new opportunity for things
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  Speaker 2: to be better. So just hang in there.
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  Speaker 1: I know this book is especially for Judy Torres fans,
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  Speaker 1: but what if you loosely know Judy Torres? Who should
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  Speaker 1: buy this book? Why should they buy this book?
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  Speaker 2: Everybody should buy this book. I think it speaks a
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  Speaker 2: lot to many women. A lot of women can identify
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  Speaker 2: with what those things feel like, you know, being told
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  Speaker 2: to be quiet, be a good girl, that kind of thing.
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  Speaker 2: I think also it speaks to a lot of Latinos.
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  Speaker 2: I'm originally from the Bronx. So a lot of people
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  Speaker 2: who are from the Bronx really love the book because
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  Speaker 2: I talk about the Bronx in detail. And yeah, I
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  Speaker 2: think anyone who needs inspiration, encouragement and empowerment should read
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  Speaker 2: this book.
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  Speaker 3: And are you doing that for people now?
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  Speaker 1: Do you?
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  Speaker 3: Are you actually finding time to help coach people one-on-one?
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  Speaker 3: Because I'm reading that you're a life coach as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been a certified life coach for just about
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  Speaker 2: eight years now. And I love doing it. And ironically,
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  Speaker 2: the majority of my clients are fans. So that's an
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  Speaker 2: interesting situation.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, okay. Are you signing autographs at the end of
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  Speaker 1: the sessions and all that?
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  Speaker 2: I have to let them know from the very get-go, like,
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  Speaker 2: this is not Judy Torres, the singer. This is Judy Torres,
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  Speaker 2: your life coach. It's going to be a very different experience.
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  Speaker 2: But I don't do I don't have as many clients
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  Speaker 2: now because everything's been so busy promoting the book and
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  Speaker 2: I do a lot of shows. But I do love it.
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  Speaker 2: And I find it's a wonderful way to give back.
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  Speaker 3: Also, I just want to mention like you started you
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  Speaker 3: signed with a modeling agency at 54.
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  Speaker 1: I love it.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely love it. Because I think some of us are
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  Speaker 3: afraid to like even dream. And there's never a point
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  Speaker 3: where we should stop dreaming.
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  Speaker 2: You should not. It's, you know, my mom told me,
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  Speaker 2: ever since you were a kid, you've been this way.
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  Speaker 2: She's like, it's like you see a star and you go, mom,
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  Speaker 2: look at this star.
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  Speaker 1: It's so pretty.
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  Speaker 2: And she goes, and then you grab the star and
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  Speaker 2: you're like, wait a minute, there's another star here. So
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  Speaker 2: I just feel like I keep asking myself, what else
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  Speaker 2: can I do? What else is there? Like modeling was
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  Speaker 2: an accident. I was sitting next to a woman at
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  Speaker 2: a fashion show. Jokingly, I said to her, wow, I
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  Speaker 2: wonder if anybody's looking for plus size models. And she goes, well,
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  Speaker 2: I actually own an agency. Do you have a book?
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  Speaker 2: I said, no, I don't. And she says, well, I
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  Speaker 2: can get you a book, but you'll have to come
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  Speaker 2: to Minnesota. And two weeks later, I was in Minnesota
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  Speaker 2: doing pictures. And then I got signed. And then when I,
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: maybe about a month later, I got signed with another agency,
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  Speaker 2: Seasoned Models. They only represent women over 40, which I love.
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  Speaker 2: And so, yeah, you never know. You just have to
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  Speaker 2: keep your mind and your heart open that anything is possible.
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  Speaker 2: Every single day, I light a candle and I say,
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  Speaker 2: let me be the light. today is another opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: be the light and I'm, always expecting something wonderful to happen.
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  Speaker 2: And ever since I've been doing that, crazy, amazing things
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  Speaker 2: have been happening.
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  Speaker 1: No wonder you're a life coach.
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  Speaker 2: You're kind of motivated right now. And let's do that
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  Speaker 2: every day, Kevin.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: Every day. Be the light.
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  Speaker 1: So the book is No Reason to Cry, a memoir.
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  Speaker 1: And you're actually signing copies of the book. I know
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  Speaker 1: you had a signing last night, right?
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  Speaker 2: I did in the Bronx.
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  Speaker 1: In the Bronx. And you have an October 15th at
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: Cafe Paris in Batucha, New Jersey. October 16th, Barnes & Noble,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: Staten Island. And October 20th. Barnes & Noble Staten Island.
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  Speaker 2: I'm doing Barnes & Noble.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: What's that?
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: I'm doing Barnes & Noble. I know. How cool is that?
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Oh, my God.
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  Speaker 2: When we did the one in Paramus, I was crying.
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  Speaker 2: I've been so emotional. I've been so happy. So thank
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: you to everybody who bought it. Thank you for having me.
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  Speaker 2: It's just been an amazing experience.
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  Speaker 1: And I want to thank you for the shout-out. You're welcome.
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  Speaker 1: I saw my name in your book. I got a
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  Speaker 1: little cover mention.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was pretty cool.
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  Speaker 1: A lot of people forgot. You used to fill in
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: for Carolina. When I was at KTU... Judy would fill
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: in for Carolina. And it's so funny because you're such
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: a superstar, Judy Torres, but she would come in nervous.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: Every time.
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  Speaker 1: I'm like, you've been on the radio for 27 years.
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  Speaker 1: She'd be like, I don't know. I got to do
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: the entertainment news. I got to do the regular news.
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  Speaker 2: And those shoes were, they were big shoes to fill.
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  Speaker 1: But you always crushed it, you know?
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Well, that's because I had a wonderful, you know, Christine.
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: I know. We have a wonderful co-host.
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: We are the luckiest girls working with him.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: Exactly. When I filled in for Carolina, it was like
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: almost three months, I think. And I remember the last day,
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: I was like crying. Like, I don't want to stop
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: working with coffee. It was a great experience. Yeah, no,
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: you're a fantastic human being and so are you. Thank you, Judy.
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: You too.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Thank you. You've got Judy Torres. I had to play that.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: That's so old.
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh. Do you still play that on KTU?
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: I don't, but I should.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: When AOL was really popular and you were on the
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: air at KTU. She used to kick off her show
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  Speaker 1: with this. Welcome.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: You've got Judy Torres.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Judy, we love you. Get the book. No
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: reason to cry. It'll make you cry. It'll make you smile.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: It's a great book. Thank you, Judy.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Cubby and Christina. Appreciate it.