STEPHANIE DUNCAN‐PETERS & RICHARD JAMES:Life After an Alzheimer's Diagnosis & the Blue-Footed Booby Blues

What happens when a former federal judge faces an Alzheimer's diagnosis? For Stephanie Duncan-Peters and her husband Richard James, it becomes an opportunity to showcase remarkable resilience, joy, and a refreshing perspective on living with cognitive change.

In Episode 105,  Don and I have a deeply moving and uplifting conversation with Stephanie, whose impressive career spans nearly 20 years as a District of Columbia Superior Court judge appointed by President George H.W. Bush. 

Far from letting her diagnosis define her, Stephanie has recently published a children's book, "The Blue-Footed Booby Blues," about a dancing bird who loves to travel—mirroring her own passions.

The couple shares how they met through dance lessons 12 years ago and continue to dance together today, demonstrating how activities that build "cognitive reserve" can remain accessible and joyful despite Alzheimer's. Their calm, matter-of-fact approach to the diagnosis stems partly from Stephanie's previous experience supporting a Harvard Law professor friend through his Alzheimer's journey.

We explore fascinating concepts like cognitive reserve—how certain skills and passions often persist longer in people with dementia—and the way Alzheimer's can paradoxically create what host I call "the ultimate state of Zen," fostering heightened presence and appreciation for the now.

Richard offers valuable insights from the care partner perspective, discussing how unexpected connections in his community led to crucial support resources. Their story beautifully illustrates how love, resilience, and maintaining meaningful activities create a fulfilling life even when facing significant health challenges.

Whether you're navigating dementia in your own family or simply seeking inspiration on facing life's unexpected turns with grace, this conversation will leave you with renewed hope and practical wisdom for the journey ahead. Listen now and discover how, as the podcast name suggests, Love truly Conquers Alz. :) 

Much Love,

Susie

Connect with Stephanie and Richard through Kayla Mancuso - kayla@ballastbooks.com 

Chapters

• 0:36 Introduction to Love Conquers Alls
• 2:36 Meeting Stephanie and Richard
• 3:52 Los Angeles Brushfires and Life Perspective
• 11:10 Dancing Through Life with Alzheimer's
• 19:58 The Blue-Footed Booby Blues Book
• 33:16 Living Positively with Alzheimer's
• 40:28 Farewell and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Don Priess: 0:00

When the world has got you down, Alzheimer's sucks. It's an equal opportunity disease that chips away at everything we hold dear and to date, there's no cure. So until there is, we continue to fight with the most powerful tool in our arsenal, love. This is love conquers all, a real and really positive podcast that takes a deep dive into everything, Alzheimer's, The Good, The Bad and everything in between. And now here are your hosts, Susie singer Carter and me, Don Priess,

Susie Singer Carter: 0:39

hi everybody. I'm Susie singer Carter,

Don Priess: 0:41

and I'm Don Priess, and this is love conquers all. Hello Susan. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. This is the first show that we are recording in 2025. Boy, what a start to a year, huh?

Susie Singer Carter: 0:56

I know so many things we've had. We live in Los Angeles. So you probably have heard about our brush fires that have been catastrophic, and something we've never seen before. It's been two weeks for us right now, but every day it's been you discover someone else that you know very well that lost their home. It's a lot to process. It's a lot to process a good friend of ours, Harlan bull, who is also our publicist, is lost his entire home in Altadena, his kitty and his whole neighborhood. So it puts a lot of things in perspective too. It really does you know, if so, what's important, what isn't, and what you know when you when you sit there and complain about stuff and say, Well, wait a minute, these people and 1000s of people have just literally lost everything, like everything in seconds. There wasn't a lot of time to prepare. We're not going to dwell too much on it. But I just think, you know, in a way, that it's, you know, you can't, you can't minimize it, like you can't minimize Alzheimer's, right? You can't minimize disease. You can't minimize Parkinson's or cancer, but what we do is we pick ourselves up, and then we pull together all of our resilience, and we lean on people that are there to support us, and we get through it because there's no other alternative. You have to get through it. So you have to make it the best it can be, even if it's devastating, right? And you have to figure out what what those priorities and how they change and and to tie it into Alzheimer's, I always say this, that you know priorities change all the time, right? So you have these, these bars that you want to reach in your life, and you've got all these like plans and your checklist and all that stuff. Well, that's all great, but those things change in a minute, in a second, and so you have to figure out, how are you going to deal with that pivot? How are you going to deal with, you know, all of these, what I call getting sucker punched, you know? And you can either just lay down in a fetal position, or you you brush yourself off. I mean, you'll get in the fetal position for a minute, and then you brush yourself off, and you figure out how to make a new normal, and without minimizing it, without, you know, being, as some of my colleagues call it, toxically positive, that's also another, just another way to avoid the truth. We have to embrace the truth, whatever it is, if you've lost your home, if you have a disease, whatever it is. And now, how do you navigate that in the best way? Because my mom taught me this all along her journey. No matter what life is precious. Life is is a gift, and we need to take the advantage of the time that we have, even if it's just, you know, a little moment of joy here and there. You know, whatever it is, it's finding the best. Yeah, we have two great guests today too, who know how to to seize the moment keep things going. So why don't you introduce them?

Don Priess: 3:55

Donald, I'll do that right now. Stephanie Duncan Peters is a retired District of Columbia superior court judge that spent close to 20 years on the bench. She was an appointment by George H W Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 1992. Throughout her illustrious career, Judge Duncan Peters has been active in the District of Columbia bar and the community. She has worked as a volunteer at the hospice unit at the Washington home and friends of the National Symphony and other community groups. Stephanie has recently published a children's book called The Blue footed booby blues, a harmonious tale that will have readers tapping their feet to the rhythm. She wrote the words back when she was a sitting judge, and now it's available everywhere for kids and families to enjoy. Now, Stephanie is embarking on a new challenge, as she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Today, she and her husband Richard James will share their experiences and challenges as they travel their new journey together. So without further ado, let's say hello to Stephanie, Duncan Peters and Richard James.

Susie Singer Carter: 5:00

Hello, Stephanie and Richard, hello. Nice to be here. We're very happy to have you, and happy to read the blue footed booby blues, which I love the title, Stephanie, how are you today? Good, good. You have an illustrious background. My gosh, I want to just talk politics with you, but we won't get into that, considering what today is, you know, the 21st of January. You can figure that out anyway. Wow. What an illustrious background you have, besides being now a published author, which feels great, I'm sure. Yeah, feels good. You hadn't written before this. How did you get inspired to write?

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 5:47

Well, as a lawyer, you're always writing, yeah, and I love to read, so, and I love to travel, so I don't know. I just kind of got into this with the Galapagos Islands, because I was like, Oh, this is a cool place like to go there one day,

Susie Singer Carter: 6:08

wonderful, but it, but it's interesting that you it's for children. Your your book, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 6:16

. So, yeah, I'm not writing, like any big books, you know, that for adults or anything like that, yeah, right, yeah.

Susie Singer Carter: 6:24

Which is fun, because Don and I started off in children's programming, which we loved. We loved it so much. I know I did. I loved it, and, you know, working with the pre teens, and it was, you know, so much fun. I it's when I realized I loved directing kids, and I just had a smile on my face the whole time. It was just fun.

Don Priess: 6:46

Did you have children in mind? Did you have your own children or other people's children or grandkids? Or was there any children in mind when you wrote it?

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 6:53

No, not in particular, for all kids,

Susie Singer Carter: 6:57

for all kids, and how I was going to talk about the music.

Don Priess: 7:03

That's exactly where I was going. So

Susie Singer Carter: 7:06

of course, get out of my head. Okay, so, yeah, it's the, it's the booby blues. But so why the blues and why music is there? Is that something that you dabbled in before you just happen to love it, or just was arbitrary? How did, how did that work into the story?

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 7:23

Well, I had at one point seen this video of the blue footed boobies doing their dance, and Richard and I met dancing.So anyway, really thought it was pretty cool, and it took me a while, but I was able to write the book. And

Susie Singer Carter: 7:47

I love that. I love that Stephanie, because, guess what, I also share dancing with you that is my drug of choice. I dance every week, like at probably four times a week five times if I can, if I'm lucky, and I adore it. I just adore it like I think, I think I'm a frustrated professional dancer without getting paid. Yeah, without getting paid, yeah. My next life, I will come back as a true dancer, but boy, I really do love it. I highly recommend it to everybody. Do you guys still dance? Yeah, we do great. What do you dance? What kind of dancing do you do?

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 8:33

Well, now we do, like some kind of disco dancing. Sometimes--

Richard James: 8:37

we met doing the hustle. There was a local instructor who put together a little team for a beginner, intermediate level. And we both joined the team, and that's what we weren't partners in the team, but that's where we met. But it was doing the hustle. We both the hustle was kind of like our favorite one, the West Coast, swing.

Susie Singer Carter: 8:58

I love it. I love love love it. Well, I started doing hip hopand so, and I was like, I was so intimidated by this class, and I would walk by it all the time and go, I could never do that. And then a couple of my friends were in there and they said, Come on, you could do it. You could do it. But anyway, I still do it, and it's my addiction. So we're very simpatico that way, and I love a guy that'll dance, Richard,

Richard James: 9:26

It's a lot of fun. I've always enjoyed it.

Susie Singer Carter: 9:30

I love it. I love it is there's nothing better, right? It's so joyful. Before we jump into your Alzheimer's Stephanie, I'm interested. I'm looking at your bio. You were a volunteer at the hospice unit of Washington home, and Don and I are doing a documentary currently called No Country for Old people, and it's really about the broken system of our long term care and. Home and a hospice, and my mother got caught up into it three years ago, and it was shocking for me, and I decided to do a documentary motivated by by what I saw and working with which you'll like. This a former federal prosecutor, Rick MountCastle, who was a Attorney General in Virginia and federal prosecutor, who prosecuted pharmaceuticals, and was the main prosecutor against Purdue pharma for their marketing of Oxycontin. There was a mini series called dope sick on Hulu, but he also federally prosecuted nursing homes for fraud for over 20 years and never saw any change, right? So it is so I find it very interesting that you were volunteering at hospice, which you probably know we talk about in our documentary, has become very big bus iness.

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 11:02

Well, it was really good that I volunteered there, because when my mom got sick, I was able to bring her in right away, right? Oh, and stay with her for like three days until she passed away. So, yeah. So that was really good, right, right? It pays to be a volunteer. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah,

Susie Singer Carter: 11:24

good, yeah. I think volunteering is, is, is really such a there's nothing more rewarding to me, like being able to go, you know, once I started getting involved in that community because of my mom, it really changed who I was and changed how I saw life really, you know, and but let's talk about Alzheimer's. Since we are, Love Conquers Alz, and you two are, you know, really the poster children for for love conquers all. Because Stephanie, you were diagnosed. How long ago were you diagnosed with Alzheimer's?

Richard James: 12:06

Well, we first noticed something about three years ago. It was actually her sister in law told me, said, Richard something's Stephanie and I met about 12 years ago. So we've married for 10 years. So, you know, I didn't know her when she was 30 and 40 and 50 years right? So the sister in law brought it to my attention, but I didn't really see anything wrong. And then it was probably about a year and a half ago, a couple things happened that I'm like, Yeah, something's not right here. So that's when we started the journey of trying to find out what was wrong. And I mean, you know, the process is one doctor, neurologist, another diagnosis, until finally, we got a diagnosis about a year ago.

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 12:49

But, um, you know, I have a friend who has Alzheimer's, and he's passed away now, but we, before I knew anything about my having Alzheimer's, whole group of us that we were all had been like together in law school. We did this walk. We do this walk every year for him, yeah. SoI kind of, I guess, because of that, I mean, I'm not like, so, you know, completely out of whack. Because,

Susie Singer Carter: 13:28

right? Yeah,

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 13:29

he was really smart, and he was Harvard law professor and everything, right? And he got Alzheimer's. So, you know, it's an equal opportunity.

Susie Singer Carter: 13:38

I was, You took the words right out of my mouth. Stephanie, I was just about to say exactly those words. It's equal opportunity. And you know what I find after interviewing different people who are living with Alzheimer's and living with it, I mean that, you know, in the best way there is what's called a cognitive reserve, right? And you being a law professional and being a writer, and having those, those skills imprinted on you so, so indelibly that you that is your cognitive reserve. Like my mother's cognitive reserve was her music. So she right, so that that made, she maintained that all through her life, and, and I believe that you will maintain that part of you as well. And I think you probably saw that with your colleague and your friend, right? Yeah, see, that's what's so amazing, because you you got to share his journey, like you said, and, and it made and it took a lot of the mystery away from it. And like you said, it hasn't devastated you, right? And I think that's what's so important about you coming on today and sharing your story, because you're just sitting there and very nonplussed about it, right? You're in a way, and I know that sure you don't. Want it. Nobody wants it. I fear it. Because, I mean, my mom had it. I think every time I forget a word, I'm like, Okay, get ready. Here it comes. You know, I don't know it could happen tomorrow. I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm, I'm gonna be like, you Stephanie, I'm gonna be like, Okay, I've seen it. I know what it is. I can, you know, we're gonna do this because everybody's,

Don Priess: 15:24

let's keep living. Yeah, let's, let's keep living. Because what's the alternative, you know,

Susie Singer Carter: 15:30

yeah, and Richard, you're such a joyful human being, like, I just love that. You guys met only 12 years ago, and here you are, and you're just, like, in it you're ride or die,right?

Richard James: 15:44

Yeah, we've got kind of a family history here. I have two autistic nephews, and I've just watched my brothers and their spouses, you know, take care of these kids for 20 plus years, and they really do it like it's nothing. I mean, you just do it because you have to

Susie Singer Carter: 16:10

Right, right, and it's and because you guys are, you're a couple, you're married. And so that adds another element, which I always find interesting, because I come at it with my experience as a daughter and with my favorite person in the world. You know, I loved my mom. She was my favorite person. She made me feel like a million bucks, and she made everybody feel like a million bucks, and she brought light into every room she went into. And I miss her terribly. But you know what? I wasn't going to miss her while she was here. And that's the important part. Is that you you know what I kept I always thought in the back of my mind, I'm so lucky she's still here. I'm so lucky she's still here, and I just made the best of it. And, you know, and you will always be here, like all of it, it's just in adifferent way, right?

Richard James: 17:00

Wow, that's really well put.

Susie Singer Carter: 17:02

I mean, it's so true. It's so true. And I love that you guys are doing this together. I'm always so impressed by by couples, whether you're married or not, who are just taking it on and and, you know, going through life, and you are, you know, I always my mom. My mother was my mother's husband. My stepdad was 12 years older than my mom, George. George did never had cognitive issues. He was 12 years older, but he started to lose his eyesight. He started to lose his hearing. He's ended up in a wheelchair. And my mother was perfectly healthy, physically, like, you know, just a pistol and nothing wrong with their ears. And so she was the ears and eyes. He was the memory. And together, they made a perfect person,right? And, and they were a team. They were such a great team, you know. And, and I think that's beautiful. So I love that. What can I and you can tell me, if you don't want to answer this, what scares you the most? Richard?

Richard James: 18:10

Well, the unknown of what might be coming, because I don't really know what's coming. I say watching your movie last night was like, Okay, you start to see there's going to be more to this. That's what worries me a little bit. The one lucky thing, I'll say real quick, was because when we were trying to figure out what was going on, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know who to turn to, what to do. And it's just funny, through playing pickleball. I ran into a guy, but I went to high school with that I didn't know in high school with 50 years later, because we had a big class. 50 years later, I meet this guy, and we get to know each other. We play the same level, so I see them all the time, and little by little, get to know him. And I said, Well, Bob, what did you do for your whole career. He said, Well, you know, I used to run these group homes. I owned a bunch of group homes, and we took care of Alzheimer's patients. And I'm like, Whoa, wait a minute, Alzheimer's dementia. And I was like, Well, this guy might be able to help me. And sure enough, I started telling him about what I was going through. And he said, Oh, Richard, call this woman, Mary, compassionate care. Man, everything changed.

Susie Singer Carter: 19:28

Awww. It, it's like, my like our partner Rick Mont Castle says there's no coincidences. Like, that's incredible. That's that's just what you needed when you needed it.

Richard James: 19:42

So we got a huge support group in front of us, which is great. Now we're meeting you and

Susie Singer Carter: 19:50

well, count us in, count us in, and throw my hat in the ring. I am. I love, I love what you guys are doing. I love that you're just moving on and. And, you know, every day is a new normal. Every day. Sometimes it's like, you know, I would it's interesting just to share with you a little bit about my experiences that with my mom, because she lived with me in the movie that you watched. That was the year she lived with me. And right after my stepdad died, because she was having what, you know, Groundhogs Day, she kept forgetting that Georgie had died, and I was I was going to, I wasn't going to let her go through that by herself. I wanted to get her to the point where she remembered. And she finally did. She finally did, you know, because every day she go, where's Georgie? And I'd say, Mommy, he died. What? Nobody told me,

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 20:40

Oh no!

Susie Singer Carter: 20:40

Why didn't I go to the funeral? Mommy, you were at the funeral. Look, and I had made it like, you know, a memorial brochure, and so I would show it to her. She'd go, Oh, okay. Took me about two weeks. Finally, after two weeks, I said, Where's George? I said, think, and she goes, he died. Bingo. And that was it never, she didn't ask me again. So, you know, there are ways to to get memories to stick right and and when they're important, because if they're not important, who cares? You know, during COVID, I had a, I had another group that we we called Memories are so so yesterday. Who cares? Because we put so much currency and stock on memory. And really, what? One, one thing. And I think you'll notice this. You will discover this. And so will you? Stephanie, is that I think Alzheimer's throws you into the ultimate state of Zen, because you really are focused on now, because you don't want it. You don't, you know your memories are get a little hazy. Of yesterday. You don't really think about the future, so you really focus on now. And that's really what's important, is now,

Don Priess: 21:53

And making now the best, yeah? Making, yeah. Stephanie, when you watched the movie, did it? What? How did it affect you? Did you feel like, oh, that's, I mean, did it, I'll just ask, how did it affect you in any way as you were watching it, or make you think about anything in particular? Did it give you a positive outlook? Or, how did, how did that affect you?

Richard James: 22:14

Actually, I'll just, I didn't want her to watch. Oh, okay. Okay.Yeah.She will now, but

Don Priess: 22:24

I understand.

Richard James: 22:25

Yeah. I didn't know how she would Yeah, take it,

Don Priess: 22:28

yes. I totally understand that yes. And

Susie Singer Carter: 22:31

Oh I would love if you do watch it, I would absolutely love to hear what you think about it, because although, listen, we all, you know, Don's, Mommy has Parkinson's, and she's been going through hallucinations, right? And it's scary for her, because she not only is she going through hallucinations, she knows she's going through while it's happening. So and I and I liken that to my mom in the movie Richard is where my mom knew she had Alzheimer's, and she knew when she was getting agitated and when and she she was straddling the fence, right? And so it was so frustrating to her not to be able to control that part. But then, but, you know, and wanting to really understand it. But then also, like telling me, as you saw, this is, this is what it is, girl, and one day, you know, you got to put me away as a joke, she said, And I, of course, joked back and said, Oh, you're going, don't, don't worry about that. You know, you're not ready yet, but, you know, but she so it was like, it was, it's, it's, it's, it's anything with life, it's, it's, it's just acknowledging what, what the truth is, and the new normal, and then moving on and, and, and, you know, and I and, as with any other disability, when you lose one, others get heightened, which I wanted to show at the end, which is what, what prompted The whole film was that this beautiful, these three disparate people, you know, really lifted each other at the end, right? Yeah, that was well done. Yeah, it's just a beautiful story, and you can't make that out. And my mom being mommy, always being mommy, with this six foot tall, you know, gorgeous, you know, transgender woman, and just went into mommy mode and is like, now, you knock that off right now. So, you know, I just thought, there you go. That's and that's her cognitive, that's her cognitive, that's her emotional reserve. Was my mom. So when push came to shove, my mom's emotional reserve was always there, right? And that's, that's so, so just to tell you, and I know I get that you under have such a great understanding of this, Stephanie, you're so very calm about it, which I think is beautiful and and I think that you're a great, very, a great spokesperson for. For this disease, because you're just going on and doing what you do and you see, and I'm, I don't know, I don't know you, but I'm proud of you, and I think that it's a beautiful thing and an important and because you got a lot of life to live,got lots of things to do!

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 25:18

No driving, though there's no driving

Susie Singer Carter: 25:21

That's ok

Don Priess: 25:23

driving is overrated.

Susie Singer Carter: 25:28

Yeah, it's nice. So you get see, you get chauffeured around. Who cares?

Don Priess: 25:31

You can relax.

Richard James: 25:33

I just love driving her everywhere,

Susie Singer Carter: 25:36

don't you, Richard?

Richard James: 25:37

I do, yeah,

Don Priess: 25:41

well, I'm glad to hear that you're still dancing, and music and dance is still part of your life, because I think that's so important to keep that part of your mind, you know, because music is something you can always tap into for sure, dancing, you know, is great for cognitive you know, it's wonderful. Do you find that your

Susie Singer Carter: 26:00

It's the best.

Don Priess: 26:01

Yeah. Do you find that those you know that's it's still no problem right now. Are there times where you've like, I'm not sure what, where to go with this, or you're finding that's still something you can tap into and have no issues?

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 26:14

Yeah?

Richard James: 26:15

With the dancing?

Don Priess: 26:16

yeah?

Richard James: 26:17

Oh yeah. Oh no. I mean, we were dancing last night. Couldn't believe how well, well we were doing. Yeah, yeah, no, it's still working. Great. Yeah,

Susie Singer Carter: 26:24

That's great, that's great. Keep dancing. I love it. You guys. Can you send us videos that we can put in the

Richard James: 26:32

Yeah? Well, we'll send the one of our team. We actually performed it around DC a few times, so

Don Priess: 26:42

we put it in the show.

Susie Singer Carter: 26:46

All right, I'm gonna share that I competed with, I competed with hip hop, with my group. And guess what? We won. We were it was Yes, and I it was like winning a freaking Oscar. For me, I couldn't have been more excited because I went, I conquered it, and I was like, I couldn't believe it. We were it was the most incredible day. Anyway, yeah, yeah. Keep dancing. Keep dancing. And

Don Priess: 27:14

Stephanie, do you want? Do you feel like you have the, you know, to do any more writing? Do you feel like you even maybe you want to journal about what you're going through, anything like that? Is that a something that you feel like you want to do?

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 27:27

I don't really think I want to do a journal. No.

Unknown: 27:33

Um anything creative that you want to maybe tap into. Not so far, yeah. I mean, I have a couple of other books that I wrote,

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 27:44

so maybe we'll see

Unknown: 27:48

one of those published. Well, we'd love the world. Yeah, do it.

Susie Singer Carter: 27:53

You should absolutely we interviewed one of my the first book that I took on when I about Alzheimer's was written by Greg O'Brien, who had Alzheimer's, who was a journalist and on the East Coast and very, very prolific, articulate, smart, witty, and he's been he's been doing keynote speaking all over the world since he was diagnosed, his mother had it, and he continues to write, because that's his cognitive reserve. That's where I learned about cognitive reserve was from Greg and he did write a book about his journey, but that's because he's a journalist. That's what he did, right? And so, and I found it extraordinary interviewing him, because he was very he had been living with it for years, and I couldn't tell he had anything wrong cognitively at all. And he said, I said, How? I don't believe you have it. You're lying. I don't believe it. And he said, I write everything down. Everything as it happens, I write it down. I'm just sharing that with you. Stephanie, maybe that you know, just like it's important, maybe just write it down. I forget. But he he was in can uncanny about that, right? Don Oh, yeah, absolutely. And he was aware, and he would write about even, how, whatever it felt like at the time, you know, things like that was helped him,

Don Priess: 29:26

you know. And it, it was interesting, because we, you know, so we have questions to say, Wait, do you understand, like, if you're going through a little bout of something where you're not education, remember, yeah, do you remember that? Do you remember even doing it, or how do you felt during it? And I don't know if you've had, you know, yeah, and he did, he did. And he that's he did. He did because he wrote it down. That's the difference. Like, I'm with you, Stephanie, I don't want a journal. That's just not my thing. Like I'm bored with myself. Like I don't care. I don't really, don't. I know it's supposed to be there, very therapeutic. And I.

Susie Singer Carter: 30:00

But it's just, it's not my thing. You know, I just look back at my my few diaries that I did as a kid and and

Don Priess: 30:09

I don't really care everyone's different. I mean, it's like we have another friends of ours, very close friends of ours, and they, as a couple, they ran marathons all around the world, even while you know, and she, to this day, diagrams early, early onset on set, and to continue to do her thing doing. And that's why I love to hear that you're still dancing and doing the things you love, because that's going to that that's so important for your for your soul, for your mind, everything so good on you Are you a dancer to Don? That would be, yeah, that would be something nobody wants to see.

Susie Singer Carter: 30:51

He's a great watcher. I can't tell you this though, I will show him my videos every time and and he knows everything. Like he'll go, Oh, you did that turn really well. Or he'll go, Oh, I saw you. And he'll, he'll notice every little detail. So you, he has a very good appreciation for it. So I have to give him profit. Yeah, it just doesn't go from here down to my feet. It doesn't work. Don is six foot three, and he has, I call him the tin man, because he is like, he I should, like, he needs an oil can. He's like,

Unknown: 31:23

Yeah,

Don Priess: 31:25

yeah, yeah. So dance No,

Susie Singer Carter: 31:28

no, but you do, but you're very good. You're a very good audience. I could do other things. And connoisseur, yeah, yeah, yeah. He does other things very well. We'll be right back.

Peter Eun: 31:38

I'm Peter, owner of Peter sand photography, and I want to talk to you about something important, preserving memories. Time moves quickly, and before we know it, those we love may no longer be with us. For the last few years, I've taken complimentary, professional head shots of seniors in a local retirement home, helping families capture the essence and personality of their loved ones through beautiful photos. I've seen first hand how meaningful these images can be. When I photograph my own parents, I realize how powerful it is to have these lasting memories, photos that capture smiles, stories and the unique spirit of the people we care about most. If your parents or loved ones are still with you, don't wait. These images can bring comfort and joy for years to come, whether it's for remembering silly moments or honoring family history, my message is simple, get photos of your loved ones while you can hire a local photographer, use your camera, cell phone, whatever it takes. Just do it now for more information, visit Peter isfann photography.com so the book is for children. Where can we get the book? Where can people find it anywhere, Amazon, Barnes and Noble target, all the different places. What's the gist of the story? I know, but I want to hear it from you. Well, the blue footed booby likes to go places. He doesn't want to sit at home. He wants to go all over the place. So, you know, he has adventures. Yeah, right, right, yeah. So he's a happy bird.

Richard James: 33:06

Got it so. So basically, if he wasn't traveling, he'd be, he wouldn't be, he wouldn't be happy. Is what? Right? He would be very unhappy. Yes, and dancing. He travels all over the country looking for romance and dancing. There's some dancing in there too. And in the end, he gets homesick, and he realizes Home is where I'd rather be. And he goes home. He fly the dog goes islands, he tours the United States, and then he gets homesick, and he goes back to the Galapagos Islands. Nice.

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 33:44

I've done all 50 states myself. So,

Don Priess: 33:46

oh, wow,

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 33:49

yep,

Don Priess: 33:50

that's amazing. a good booby

Susie Singer Carter: 33:51

We always write what we know. We write what we know. That's the most powerful. I love it. I love it. anything...and a good booby! I love the title, because I love a good alliteration, and I like

Richard James: 34:04

People always scxratch their head...a booby child's book.

Susie Singer Carter: 34:12

Well, I have a two year old granddaughter who loves boobies. I'm just telling you. Gaga, you got boobies. Yes, I do. And yeah.

Don Priess: 34:22

And now we have a book to share with her. Now we have a book to share with

Susie Singer Carter: 34:26

Oh, she'll love your book. She's gonna love it because it has the word booby in it. Yeah? She always goes, Oh, are those your boobies, yes. Oh,

Richard James: 34:33

Yeah. Well, the illustrations, that's the heart. That was a tough part that took a long time to do so the words, she started with the words, and then we had to get it illustrated. And that's, that's what the kids like, is the illustration,

Don Priess: 34:48

yeah, but those words, the words, inspire that illustration. You know, an artist is going to take those words, and that's what inspires what we see. So you obviously did some very nice words,

Susie Singer Carter: 35:00

yeah, no. And I think it's important. I

Don Priess: 35:01

Yeah. think your message is great. And I think, you know, I forgot, but

Stephanie Duncan-Peter: 35:06

I mean, if somebody wants to take me to it's because I always she's very the little ones, very much like me, because she's very independent, but interested. And, you know, she thinks she knows more than she does, right? But so, but she wants to know everything. So she's always asking me everything, what you know, Gaga, name, and I tell her that, oh and name, oh. So she's very and while I'm reading to her, she points out everything in the picture. She wants to know what it is, and then she doesn't forget. So it's, yeah, books are books are really important. That's why, you know, obviously, but I mean, I you forget when you've been, I haven't been a mommy of a little little kids for quite a while. So it's interesting to watch that process again and remember how important it is, right? And how curious they are. And so we have this, these blank slates, as you, if you will, to, like, really give them brain, brain nutrition for their brain, right, to really guide them. So it's, it's great. So I love that. I my mom loved to travel. By the way, there wasn't a place she didn't travel to. And you know, that was her joy, joy, joy. Joy was to travel and go and meet and she collected art, so she went everywhere and met artists. And that was just, you know, so she, I understand that drive to go somewhere and see, do you still want to travel? Paris, that would be fine

Susie Singer Carter: 36:43

Yeah? Me too. Yeah, I'll go with you. Who wouldn't?

Don Priess: 36:50

Maybe you'll write a book together.

Susie Singer Carter: 36:55

Well, this has been a joy to have you. I really want to follow your journey, because I think you guys are terrific. And I just love, you know, the way you're just sort of very relaxed and and going with the flow, which is took me a very long time to learn. You know, I started out thinking I was super girl and I was going to, I was going to cure this disease. I said, Mom, just sit. Don't worry. I got this. Yeah, other people say they tried, but I'm we got this. And then it didn't take me too long to figure out that I had delusions of grandeur and that I was going to have to figure out another way to go through this. So I love how relaxed you both are, and Stephanie, I love that you're allowing us to ask you questions and talk about it, and you're just you know who you are. And thank you actually, for being a judge and being part of our system for so long. And I have such respect for that. Go, girl, woman. I am I'm Very excited to know you because of all of the things you've done, very illustrious and very powerful. So continue on being powerful. Please and enjoy. And you're very both of you are very lucky to have each other. You did. You obviously met for a reason 12 years ago, and keep on dancing you're doing. I mean, it's really been a pleasure getting to know you and read about some of the stuff you're doing. There was a lot on your website, so now, yeah, gonna go through all of it and see some of the other movies. But, boy, keep doing what you're doing. It's really helpful for all of us. Oh, thank you. That makes me. That puts wind in my sails. Thank you, because I get you never know where we live in little like you know our silos, so it's hard to know sometimes if you're reaching people. So thank you. I appreciate that very, very much, very much. Yeah, and I, I again. Thank you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you for being so open and transparent. And it's, it's, it truly does make me feel so good, and warms my heart today, and that you will trust us with your story and allowing us to pry into your private life, you know.So what else is there anything we miss that? You wanted to say

Richard James: 39:22

No, just happy that we had this opportunity to be just funny how we got there. We do a book, and then they're the ones that told us about you. And yes, we are. So

Susie Singer Carter: 39:33

yeah! takes a village.

Don Priess: 39:35

It takes a village, and it also takes love. And you know, you know why it takes love? Well, that's because

Susie Singer Carter: 39:40

Why Don?

Don Priess: 39:41

Well, I'll tell you, love is powerful. Love is contagious, and love conquers all. We thank everybody for coming by today, watching, listening. If you like what you saw or heard, please subscribe and share and do all those fun things and. Definitely check out the book. We'll have all that information in the show notes the blue footed booby blues, woo hooand and thank you, and we will definitely be seeing you next time

Susie Singer Carter: 40:14

Absolutley, bye, bye. Everybody. Love you.

Angela Fairhurst: 40:24

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Don Priess: 41:30

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