Everybody with Angela Williamson is made possible by Fire Heart Entertainment and viewers like you.

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From Los Angeles.

This is KLCS PBS.

Welcome to everybody with Angela Williamson.

An Innovation, Arts, education and public affairs program.

Everybody, with Angela Williamson is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

And now your host, doctor Angela Williamson.

Welcome to our 100th episode.

In season five, you might remember meeting our producer, Ty Woodson.

Well, there's another producer that I was able to meet with him so that you can meet him in person for our 100th episode.

Jeffrey Michael Deary.

Jeff, thank you so much for being part of this episode.

My pleasure to be here.

I mean, education's been a part of your life.

It's the reason why you produce this show.

I want our audience to get to know a little bit about you.

We are celebrating educators in this episode.

So tell us, do you have a memory of a specific educator or how educators helped you?

Well, I think back to when I was growing up in high school, grade school, and I was always kind of doing things a little differently than a lot of my friends.

So they you couldn't really put me in a box.

Some of these educators, I can think of, a lot of educators that, you know, helped me and inspired me along the way.

However, the ones I really think about that helped me get to where I am at today.

And are people that were like guidance counselors and some other teachers that just allowed me to do my thing and maybe sometimes skip class because I was selling my tapes in high school, things like that.

So in high school, you were being an entrepreneur and your educators realized that.

So they really inspired you, right?

Absolutely.

You know, when I was 15 years old, I started my record label.

I had this idea that I was going to sell my music in high school, and market is studying music.

It was instrumental piano music.

And I went to my dad.

I asked him for $1,000.

He gave it to me, which is still to this day.

I'm so glad and grateful that he did.

I ended up paying him back in two weeks.

I don't know if he thought he would get paid back or not.

He was just trying to support his son.

Paid him back in two weeks and I sold like 5 or 6000 tapes in high school marketing and studying music.

But some of these educators, you know, specifically, I had a guidance counselor who I would skip two classes every day and I'd go to her after.

I would actually I would go to every lunch the A, B, and C lunch, and I would be selling my, my, my tapes of music, you know, it's like 1994.

And I'd go to her after, I'd be like, hey, can you write a note saying I was with you?

And she didn't have to do this.

You know, I could have got in trouble for skipping class.

Instead, she'd say, how many tapes you.

So I had these people that were were, you know, promoting my entrepreneurship and they, they had my back that they saw that something was different here.

And they realized you can't.

All students are different.

And you need to exploit their, their their strengths, you know.

And that's why I wanted you in on this episode.

Because that's really important.

Because it's not just how education has changed your life, because you had educators who realized you, you learned a little bit differently and you were thinking ahead and they supported that.

But then also to your love for educational television.

Yeah, I remember growing up with PBS on in our household.

Bob Ross was on.

I was like, I want to paint like him.

It's like happy trees.

I was like, I want that, I want to do that.

You know, there were cool arts and culture shows, you know, about the Western world and all kinds of different things that were just super interesting.

And, you know, I was, you know, I grew up in Detroit area, Michigan, suburbs of Detroit, and it was on all the time.

And I think back to that, and I love that we can we still have, you know, local PBS today.

Well, and I love how you mentioned that local PBS today because, you know, people think of PBS for children, which is important, but it's really important to us as adults too, don't you think?

Absolutely.

So what is it about our local PBS?

That is the reason why you produce this show.

Well, I want to keep local PBS alive for everybody.

You know, when you hear about PBS nationally, you know, it's like, hey, we might be interested in New York City, but I'm really interested in what's happening in my own community here in the LA area.

So I figured I would produce shows like this one here, sustaining us and, you know, some other.

So we're talking about, to, to really let the, the local people here in LA see what's going on in the community.

Well, and with LA, we have so many PBS stations and so that's why I think it's important that we can do this on TLC's.

Yeah, I.

Think KLC is is amazing.

Everything that we do and Kelsey's, we're sharing so much great content with the local people of La.

And I didn't even have to tell him to say that.

He said it.

Why do you think it's important for young people to have access to educational television, especially PBS?

Well, I think back to when I was growing up in metro Detroit area, where there wasn't a ton of things to do.

We didn't really see what was going on in the outside world.

In Asia or Hollywood or things like this.

So we would watch things there and we'd learn what was going on.

And, you know, I think about here in LA, you know, we have many different, diverse communities and maybe a less, affluent community doesn't have access to going and seeing that.

So having PBS in their house gives them this access.

To where you are going to come back and play for our audience as well too.

Right?

Right.

I talked you into that.

Come back to meet our educators and also to hear from Jeffrey.

Angela, congratulations on your 100th episode.

Wow.

100 episodes.

That's major.

I want to send a huge congratulations to my friend, Doctor Angela Sadler Williamson for your 100th episode Angela, I am so proud of you.

100 episodes.

Yeah.

So happy for you and your.

As more and more and more.

Miss Fisher is our first educator, this fisher.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

And you have been educated in young minds for quite a few years before you retired, including myself.

I'm happy to have you here to talk about this book.

Sinister Hands and peach tree miracles.

It's a difficult topic, child abuse.

But it was important for you to write this book.

Because.

Why?

It was because it is such, It's such a problem in our society.

And both my son and I were victims of child abuse.

Mine through the poisoning when I was only a day old.

And, it was so traumatic and it impacted my life more physically than mentally.

Unfortunately, my son, who had experienced shallow abuse in foster homes, his was physical, but more emotional and mental.

And that's harder to treat because you can't see it.

And so I felt that to bring attention to this problem was important.

my adopted mom, who was my great aunt.

She believed in prayer.

She believed in the power of prayer.

She had unwavering faith.

And when the doctors said there is nothing that can be done, I would be dead in three days.

She said, oh, no, I don't believe this child was brought into the world to be dead in three days.

And so she went home.

She said, I'm not listening to the doctors.

I'm going to go to my lord.

And she went home, got on her knees and prayed, and he directed her to a midwife who just happened to have had an uncle who experienced a, snakebite.

And the grandmother used a poultice made of peach tree leaves.

That's where the title comes from.

Here it is.

And to drop the poison out.

And so they didn't offer a word, but they said, let's give it a try.

And they did.

And I'm here today, and it's a miracle because they said the poison, would not only affect, me physically, but mentally as well, because I was hemorrhaging the rat poison, the arsenic and the rat poison causes you to hemorrhage.

So every organ in my body was in hotel, and they said if I survived, that would only be a vegetable.

interestingly enough, because of the physical challenges I had as a child, I was not able to go out and play, and I suffered from asthma.

I suffered from rickets, which is, it's a softening of the bones.

And I believe it was related to the arsenic.

Just attacking everything in my body.

But, so I couldn't go out and play.

But I love to play the piano.

So I would go over a year now and just kind of play make up tones.

And there was, a radio program, I believe it was called Jubilee.

That would come on, it would only be on an hour.

And but this was a program that featured black artists.

And so one night, something came on called the Boogie Woogie.

I don't know if you're familiar.

Yes.

Both adoptive.

Parents.

Yes.

So I went over and I started tinkering around with it.

And the kids who would come, and play in the yard and my, the piano was right by this big window.

So I started playing the boogie woogie and they said, oh, we like that.

And one little girl came up and she said, can you teach me how to play that?

And I said, sure.

So I had to get permission from my mom to let her come in.

So I taught her the boogie woogie.

And when she learned to play the bass, then I got up on the upper keys and, you know, I was making picking up stuff.

And so then the other kids said, well, we want to do something.

So I said, well, only we can.

Only two of us can play on the piano.

So I said, why don't you do some rhythm?

And so I didn't have drum.

So but my mom had, a little tin tub that she was so confused in.

So I went and got this tin tub and, and so I said, okay, somebody can, you know, use the tin tub.

And then but I still had two other, friends.

So I said, okay, let's get the cereal box.

One person can bang on it and you're not like a drum.

And now that we put some rocks in so they could say.

You started your own band.

So I taught them this.

And then I went back in the house and Rosemary and I started playing on the piano.

All of a sudden the phone rang and mother went and answered it.

It was our next door neighbor.

This is Misty.

Misty was a nurse who worked nights and slept days.

but I was sold on teaching because I had gotten so much joy out of showing them how to play with them and showing Rosemary how to play the piano.

I was so.

That is a perfect way to end our conversation.

But before we go into our break, tell our audience how they can find sinister hands and Peachtree Miracle.

Okay, you can.

It's available on Amazon.

And, I'd love for you to pick it up and read it and hopefully it will inspire and encourage you as well.

And it definitely will encourage me, and we'll make sure our viewers can find you on Instagram as well.

Sounds good.

Come back to meet our second educator, Doctor Fred's example for Hey, Angela, congratulations on your 100th episode.

congratulations on your 100th show I want to congratulate Angela on her show.

Everybody with Angela Williamson.

I am such a fan of hers.

Happy.

Happy 100th episode.

I on July.

Would love to congratulate you for your android of your show and can't wait for the 200.

Welcome back.

Doctor Fred Samper is here to talk about his book In the Crossfire of War and Peace.

Doctor Zampa, thank you so much for being on this special episode.

Oh, thank you for having me.

Well, you retired from education a few years ago, but it didn't stop you from sharing your story.

So before we talk about how our viewers can get your book, let's talk a little bit about your story and tell me what happened on January 16th, 1979.

Well, I was sitting in my office and one of my employees came to me and said, the Shah of Iran left the country.

That was shocking.

We were expecting it when it happened.

It was just so he told me, take off your tie so he can blend in a little better when you go home.

So I did listen to that, and I had a Buick Skylark.

I got in the car As I was making a turn to the northern part of the city toward my home.

and I saw, silhouettes of a lot of people coming toward me.

It was getting dark a little bit, and soon they were kind of, surrounding my car.

I was right there, stopped So I got out and I stood on the on the side of the car, and I kind of addressed the crowd with my voice, and they were quiet.

And I said, you know, the Shah left.

Ayatollah Khomeini is arriving.

People are celebrating on the street.

As I was saying, that I was pointing to the to the picture of Ayatollah Khomeini on my windshield, which I hadn't placed myself.

But it was.

That was it.

And, since I really didn't look like a revolution at the time with that jacket and stuff with the car driving up tonight.

But, I think the little spiel made it.

It, the crowd kind of stopped going.

Going.

But a few people didn't really like the, the outcome.

And they were banging in my trunk as they were doing.

So when I got home, I, I couldn't explain to Sheri and what happened.

It was just two overwhelmed me.

So that was the story.

The Shah left, and we all were uncertain what was coming in the country.

And the rest is history.

The rest is history.

But what's really interesting is that you are part of this history.

The I call it the before and after because you mentioned about your employee telling you to take off your tie before you left the office, because at that point this country was really westernized, correct?

Yeah.

It was on its way to modernization, Westernization under the Shah.

So basically, when I was born in, right after the World war, in fact, I was born on the day that Germany, they, dissolved Nazi Germany.

Us legally.

And from then on, Iran became an ally of the United States.

In fact, a couple of years before I was born, there was that, major terror on conference one.

Yes.

Stalin and Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were having the meeting.

In fact, when, Roosevelt went back to, to America, he wrote a letter to the Shah and told the Shah that in, every American's heart is warm spot for Iran.

And he said that it's more so than Vietnam.

brothers in arms.

So Iran became a really, close ally of the United States during this short period.

That's when I was growing up.

So there was this modernization, effort, Westernization, and there was a lot of resistance from the old, Shia clerics who were losing power, who wanted to stay, as you can see today.

Yes, in the old days and so on.

but there was also a lot of American movies, American songs and we saw this movie, in one of the classes there, a summer place, I think it was.

And, Sandra Dee And I really like the breathtaking scenery.

Later on, I found that it was in California.

I didn't understand much of the, dialog, but I could understand it was a romantic movie.

And so I loved it and said, that's where I want to go.

As a teenager.

You already knew you were going to be part of a Californian one day.

I love it, I love it.

So I went to America.

Well, and it was interesting because you talked about that because the before January 16th, 1979 and the Westernization.

And then you also talked about the advertising as well.

And so I know our time is coming to the end, but how important was it at this point when we were obviously friends and working together, that advertising how you were able to bring that into our.

What I mean, advertising was a nascent industry in Iran.

Iran national television was expanding rapidly.

The oil money from 1973 embargo was just pouring in Iran because it went from, $3 a barrel to $12.

All of a sudden, the country was four times richer.

So it was a consumer.

So advertising was good.

And you talk about that in this book.

Yeah.

Well, thank you for everything you've done to pour into the future generation.

And now you get to see what you've done.

I thank you, I'm proud of you, Angela.

Thank you, thank you, Congratulations on your 100th episode.

congratulations on your 100th episode.

Hi, Angela.

Congratulations on your 100th show.

Congratulation to Angela on your hundredth episode.

congratulate you on your 100,000 offered.

We love you.

We're back with Jeffrey Michael Deary, and I wanted him to tell us a little bit about how you learned to play this beautiful music.

Jeffrey, you are self-taught.

Is that true?

Yes.

So my childhood with music was very interesting.

When I was six years old, we got a piano and my great grandmother died.

And my mom told me not to touch it because I was like the Dennis the Menace troublemaker.

So of course, naturally I played it and I started play by ear.

I had a babysitter who, you know, can play Chariots of Fire.

You know.

And I figured out how to play it by ear.

And then when I was 11, I started composing my own music.

But I never learned how to read music.

My brain was wired differently.

So I created, like, a shorthand on a piece of paper that only I would understand.

So I might, you know, if I did something like this.

I would call that the thing that goes up.

I right write go.

Yeah.

I didn't know what it was called.

You know, now I know it's called a crescendo, but back then I didn't know.

So I maybe write nine phrases on a piece of paper, and that would be a four minute song that only my brain understood.

And that's kind of how it developed.

And I always had a really good memory.

So I figured if I don't remember, it must not be any good.

There was that too.

So walk us through that process.

So create a song in your head.

Create a song in your head.

Okay.

Now walk us through it.

Okay.

I know what the keys are named.

I still can't read music, but let's just make something up right now.

So I would write a chord progression like C or G, D, G, and now I would turn that into something like this.

And then I would go in another world and just be like.

So.

Oh, wow.

And you know, and these days I improvise all the time.

I know what everything sounds like.

I write a lot of music in my head.

And when I sit down, a lot of times I never know what I'm going to play.

I play what I'm feeling, you know?

Or sometimes I'll have people hit four notes and I'll write.

Write a song with those four notes right on the spot, which is really fun to do.

Well, this episode we're celebrating, so in your head, if you wanted to compose a piece that talks about and makes us feel celebration, what would that be?

Oh well, I think about like the Olympics, right?

We're celebrating sports and stuff like that.

So it's inspiring.

It's uplifting.

It's in a major piece.

So I would do something like this.

You.

And I could go on for days and days with new ideas.

And I can listen for days and days.

So my other question would be to.

Because you have scored music for games, you've scored music for television movies, which is your favorite?

My favorite is probably just me here with the piano.

That's where it all began.

And, it gets emotional for me because, you know, I grew up with ADHD and this was my outlet.

This is what centers me.

This is what balances me.

And it's kind of been my compass my entire life.

So I love writing music for movies and TV and video games and anything that is like, creative.

But the real heart of my music comes here and that's what comes from here.

And that's why I named my company Fireheart.

My first tape that I put out in high school that I was selling was called Fire Heart.

And now we have Fire Heart music.

We have Fire heart entertainment.

And through your music, you found your place in the world?

Absolutely.

Okay, I know I'm putting you on the spot, but if I requested a new theme song for everybody, can you think of something that you may play.

A theme song for everybody.

About?

Yeah, everybody.

We're about stories.

We're about getting to the heart of why people spend so much time making our world a better place.

Wow.

Let me think about that.

Think about it.

You want something original or you want.

I want something that.

Do you think that you've already.

Maybe you've already written.

That would be great.

All right, well, let's see.

You know, I'm putting you on.

Me on the spot.

Let's let's do that.

I know you are just that good.

Oh, thanks.

You're.

Well, I'm glad you have confidence.

I do.