WEBVTT
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Hm, I walk straight line shackle change, Oh weesome gird
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it's calling my name. There is no mercy and it's
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been a tentery juice as the huge stream game Rango three.
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Come here, be.
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By me to die inside these walls, inside the wild,
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hadn't when the girls as.
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I'm hey everyone, and welcome back to Bloody Angola, a
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podcast and forty two years of making the complete story
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of America's bloodiest present. I'm Jim Chapman, and today I'm
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going to bring you a more positive story than what
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you may be used to from this podcast. And when
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I came across this particular story, I was blind away.
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I'm going to tell you, as a father of two daughters,
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it absolutely moved me. And you know, it's rare, at
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least for me to come across these nonprofits that function
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around prisons that don't appear to be somewhat self serving.
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Now that's not to say all of them are like that,
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but at least for me, I've seen a lot out
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there that it just seems a lot about the money
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and a little about the actual convict. But this one's different.
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And today I'm going to tell you a little bit
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about a nonprofit known as God Behind Bars and what
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they did for the very first time inside of Louisiana
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State Penitentiary. Adding goal and this is one of those
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things that I believe may actually make a difference. So
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to start this thing off, I'm going to actually quote
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an article by Presley bo Tyler of the Shreveport Times
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and it reads, for the first time ever, a daddy
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daughter dance was hosted at Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known
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as the Infamous in Gola Prison. The fathers, who had
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not seen their daughters in years, stood and fitted tuxedos
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as they waited to be reunited, with many of them
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wearing formal wear for the first time. The very first
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time ever, the daughters were able to walk into a
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space that had been transformed into a ballroom and share
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a special dance, one which many had been waiting their
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entire childhood to experience. Guid Behind Bars, which is an
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organization that works to introduce inmates to Christianity and connect
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them with a local church, partnered with the leadership at
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Angola in order to put on a father daughter dance.
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Prior to the dance, professional makeup artists tended to the daughters.
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Volunteers packed gift bags with donated beauty products and monique
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from a more suits designed custom tuxedos for each father.
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At the beginning of the event, each father presented his
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daughter with flowers, a Bible, and a handwritten letter. More
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than just a dance, families were able to share a
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Thanksgiving meal prepared by volunteers, and a local artist from
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Battonerage painted live portraits of the fathers and daughters. The
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night ended with the grand finale as the fathers performed
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a choreographed routine they had been practicing for weeks prior,
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with many hugs, shared, dances, and memories made. The experience
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was centered on dignity, connection and restoration that from God
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behind bars and a press release quote, I watched a
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group of men stand with pride and dignity, shredding every
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label the world had ever put on them. For one night.
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They were not inmates. They were dad. The night was
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filled with a plethora of emotions for both fathers and daughters. Quote.
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When I turned around and saw my baby in that dress,
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and she busted out crying. I sobbed. I'm not a crier.
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We slow danced and she started crying again. I asked
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her why and she said, quote, Dad, I finally get
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a chance to dance with you for the first time.
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I told my brothers, look, this will make you want
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to do right. If you are not doing right, you have.
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To do right.
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That from Leslie Harris assistant Warden and Marie easily remarked
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on how important the experience was for the inmate and
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their families. Quote, I'm so thankful to God behind bars
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for all they did to make this event possible and
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such a success. This provided our inmates with an opportunity
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to restore and build healthy relationships with their daughters despite
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the circumstances. Just a really nice article, and it kind
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of gives you an idea of what it was like.
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But I wanted to give you a much better idea.
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So after I came across this article and accomplish just
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what you would think the goal is of these articles,
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and that is to get you digging deeper, right, And
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I did some digging, and I came across something you
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really have to hear now. Bloody and Goal is primarily
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an audio podcast, and the clip I'm about to play
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you was in video form. I'm going to play it
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here for you in audio form. You can still follow
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it very easily by just listening to the audio version.
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And it is so important y'all that I feel that
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people need to hear this. You want to know what
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changes hearts inside prism when you're a male especially. Nothing
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can do that more than your daughter. So I hope
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you enjoy it. And here's that clip.
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My first time in giving my daughter flowers, be the
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first man to give her floppers.
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Let her know I love you. You're my angel, You're
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my first born. Daddy's always got your bad. She's seventeen
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and I've been gone for fifteen years. See me and everything?
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She mean my world? Man, I ever put my life
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on the line for my daughter. Man, Hey, this moment
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right here today, soak it in.
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I pray that we get many more of these moments,
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but we don't know how many we have.
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There's my work there mean everything.
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The reason I keep going every day in this place.
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It reason I fight to get out of here. It
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won't make up for the past time, but heaven all future.
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I missed every single event in my little girl's life.
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I mean missed her first step, her first words, when
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she was younger. I love you, daddy, is something that
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I just I rarely hardly ever heard wait, I love you,
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not right? Missing all of that affected me little. It
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affected most is her. And to have this day and
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be able to share this moment to together, it's just
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it's it's gonna be magic or it's just want her
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feel the love and just have a little good time
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and smile.
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Well, it's gonna be a memory that we can hold
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on for life.
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Man.
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The last time I saw Shabraino was probably seven years ago.
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To definitely be a a a beautiful reunion.
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I mean it means that I've able to get to
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see my daughter and extras sharing experience with her, and
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I get to, you know, brid just have a conversation
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one on one with her. She's my world. I have two.
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They're my world that mean everything to me.
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They the reason, They the reason I keep going.
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They the reason, you know, I push to be a
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better person, you know, to learn to grow.
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Oh.
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I love what I love about my daughter's is uh.
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I love these spirit, the the energetic, They like to play,
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they like to dance, they like to have fun. This
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is gonna be something outside of like a prison visitor.
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So it's gonna be a experienced you know, it's feel
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like it's weed together outside.
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Man, gotta get ready tu see the looks fly. I
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gotta look fly.
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I hadn't seen my daughter since she was six months old,
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so she's seventeen now, so.
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She finally gets to spend time with dad, and I'm
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I'm gonna spoiler. Let her know. Man, I miss so
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much time with you. I ain't missing another minute with you.
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Then my first time putting on a text you, Oh
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it was nice, real fire. You know what I'm saying.
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I felt real good. I felt professional.
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I might need a box of tissue, might crack man,
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especially seeing my baby.
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You know what I'm saying.
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In that room, you guys are gonna have the opportunity
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to sit down. I mentioned the bibles. Right, you can
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write a note in side there, get your suit on,
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gather your thoughts, bring over the Bible.
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Or two onsp here. So I'm in this case, I'm
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the dad. Okay, I'm on this side, and then.
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Talk to your left, Yeah, to your last. So you
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put your arm out.
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First and then she's in. Then she'll put her.
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On and you can she'll have her bouquet.
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Right.
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You can also if you want to take her hands,
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you know her rock like.
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You know she didn't have her something.
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Dude, say you feel like you probably feel good.
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I'll be sitting in front of him, put.
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Him on this. I'm feeling excellent, excited, pum fucking that's
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all right.
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Yeah, I'm ready.
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You know you're looking for it to be a great time,
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great moment. You know, memories, memories that I can just
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hold on to for a lifetime and enjoy.
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You know, we're setting up, we're sitting up everything, make
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sure everything set up for tomorrow. We got all We
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got all first flowers in thanks to God behind boss
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got the decorations are amazing.
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Everything's amazing.
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We did.
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We did a lot of decorating the day we.
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Went over all dance.
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It's gonna be amazing.
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What.
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I come over here and almost got tears in mind,
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I'm telling you.
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And I walked in, I was like, wow.
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That's all I can tell him is wow, y'all.
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But being here, man, were nowhere in the world, will
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be right here and right here. When we walk in there,
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you feel free. And then when outside the black gate
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and you're not walking outside that black gate unless you're
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going home, you.
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Know what I'm saying, So alliver like, man, You're like,
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we're free right now. I'm like, yeah, God, just give
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us a taste to us to come. We walk round,
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hit y'all so much, go behind boss, and it's easy
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as it's a blessing. I'm excited to dance with my daughter.
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You never sent me in the text, so I'm excited
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to see what they gonna see when uh they see
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me walk out of that fresh and fly.
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So what are your thoughts after trying on your texas?
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It's awesome?
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Like I feel like we could just end up saying
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that we done have some good times in life, but
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this is more likely probably gonna be the one one
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of the best ones.
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Right I'm saying that.
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I ain't never had it like this.
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You wanna be nice, I'll go to the nice people.
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I feel free right now. I feel I'm not in prison.
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This is just a chance to build memories and show
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love to my babies.
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Tell me what you guys are feeling right now?
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Oh, I'm emotional? Will what's going on with that?
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I don't know what you wor? So? Have you ever
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worn over one?
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I like this? I use this, I used it? How
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you feel good, so I do money. Release date, release day.
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I'm nervous.
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I'm nervous about what why I'm seeing my daughter.
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I'm nervous.
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This is the first time man, five years.
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How you feeling brain good?
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Because this is this is the first time I get
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to hold my baby girl ten years.
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The last time I keep five years old camping and
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so you sit. It gonna be a big, big boy.
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I rolle Chloyd, my baby girl.
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Love you for infinity, Dad, dance with dark.
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I'm just telling her my favorite scripture is a first
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correct means ten or thirteen, but I want her to
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start off by reading Philippians full thirteen because I believe
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she could do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthened us.
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All Right, fuck perfect looking, We.
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Let the know this today is our new beginning for
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our relationship with God.
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We're gonna go on this journey together. To me that
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I love you, Loriat, Yeah, love you see love you see.
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It means a lot. It's it's a moment that I'll
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never to bond with my daughter and create a memory.
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She means the world to me. More than the world.
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The words couldn't even express.
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But I ain't even the girls that she was six
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years six years old or so, he returned the heart.
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Since she's sixteen now being the boy to college. You know,