Show notes
When you’re a kid, you have your own unique sense of what’s
“normal”.
I
grew up in Ohio, so I knew that sometime after Thanksgiving, it was
going to start getting cold outside. And we would have snow.
Sometimes, LOTS of snow. And I loved it. Of course, as a little boy,
big piles of snow just meant having fun sledding and making snow
forts. I didn’t have to drive on it or shovel it; at least not
until I got a little older.
But
as far as I knew, that’s how it was in the winter for everyone.
What I experienced must be the same for other people. But then
sometimes we would go and visit my grandfather, who lived in Miami.
And there we were, in the middle of winter, and not even wearing a
coat outside. I couldn’t believe it.
My
guest today is Angel. He grew up with his three brothers in Brooklyn.
And to him, his childhood was normal. The hunger, the abuse, the
homelessness – that’s all he knew.
And
I have to give you a little content warning here, that this episode
is going to include something I’ve never had in a previous episode,
but you’ll have some warning if you want to fast forward. There’s
a brief bit of audio where Angel talks about what his father did to
the family cat. I contemplated not including this, because I hate to
hear about animal abuse and I know you do too. But that incident is
important to the story and what happened afterward, and I always say,
this podcast doesn’t shy away from real life. But when you hear me
ask Angel to talk about the story of their cat named Bonkers, that’s
when you can fast forward about 2 1/2 minutes if you want to. It’s
not a graphic description, just sad.
That’s
the incident that finally triggered something inside Angel. He and
one of his brothers decided they were going to kill their father.
And
Angel was just 10 years old.
Angel’s
book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4CVDSXP/
Full
show notes and pictures for this episode are here:
https://WhatWasThatLike.com/270
Graphics
for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.
Want
to discuss this episode and other things with thousands of other WWTL
listeners? Join our podcast Facebook group at
WhatWasThatLike.com/facebook
(many of the podcast guests are there as well)
Get every episode ad-free, AND get all the Raw
Audio exclusive episodes to binge, by joining the other listeners at
What Was That Like PLUS.
Try What Was That Like PLUS free:
iPhone: at the top of the What
Was That Like podcast feed, click on “Try free”
Android: on your phone, go to
WhatWasThatLike.com/PLUS
and click to try it free on any app
Sponsor deals:
Quince - Go to Quince.com/whatwas
for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns!
Find the best deals on what you need at Dupe.com
Boll & Branch - get 15% off
your first order AND free shipping:
BollandBranch.com/WHATWAS
Nutrafol - Get $10 off your first
month’s subscription, and free shipping:
use promo code
WHATWAS at Nutrafol.com
Try Mint Mobile for 3 months, for
just 15 bucks a month - MintMobile.com/WHAT
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
