In this episode I talk to Mimi Love. She's actually a friend of mine decades back, when we met on livejournal a million years ago. 

Mimi talks to us about getting stolen as a newborn, tells the story of how we shared a dog,  and explains that she does it all for love.

Mimi Love.

Kidnapping? Dogsharing, and doing it all for love

0:00:00
Welcome back to Your Average Witch, where every Tuesday we talk about witch life, witch stories,
and sometimes a little witchcraft. Your Average Witch is brought to you by Clever Kim's Curios. In
this episode, I talk to Mimi Love. She's actually a friend of mine from decades back when we met on
LiveJournal a million years ago. Mimi talks to us about getting stolen as a newborn, tells the story of
how we shared a dog, and explains that she does it all for love. Now let's get to the stories!
Kim: Hi Mimi, welcome to the show.
Mimi: Hey Kim, how are you?
Kim: I'm good, how are you?
Mimi: I'm fine, I'm good. I'm pretty wonderful.
Kim: Good. Can you please introduce yourself and let everybody know who you are?
0:00:56
Mimi: Yeah, okay. Well, my name is Mimi Love and well, I'm a witch and I am, well, I've been your
friend for a really long time and I think that it's going to surprise you to find out who I am in context of
these questions you're gonna ask me today.
Kim: Probably.
Mimi: (laughs) I've been a witch for a really long time and I try to think about myself in the context of
the world as someone who is here to love without expecting love in return. And that is how I have
been living my life for probably about the past 15 or 20 years.
0:01:44
Kim: I don't know that I approve of that. (both laugh)
Mimi: Well, it's not for everybody.
0:01:55
Kim: You need to expect some back. Okay. Anyway, Mimi and I have known each other for about 20 years, which I thought about earlier today. That's freaking insane.
Mimi: And we have never met in person.
Kim: No.
Mimi: But we have shared a pet.
Kim: Yes, when I lived in Colorado and and got a divorce I had to find another home for one of my
dogs, and so I had some, one of my friends was traveling to where Mimi lives and so she carried the
dog over there on the airplane with her.
MimI: I loved having Rachel as a part of my life. My husband and I had Rachel for many, many
years and we loved having her. She was a delight. And what was funny was, it was just this running
joke that we had. The first time I saw Rachel in your live journal. So that's how long this is. (Kim
laughs)
0:02:50
I said Kim, what are you doing with my dog? That's my dog. Give me my dog. And I Loved Rachel
from the moment I saw her. From the moment I saw her, when she had her own YouTube channel I
knew that was my dog.
Kim: I Forget about that YouTube channel.
Mimi: I never forget about that YouTube channel because I go back and watch the videos.
Whenever I miss her, I go back and watch those videos whenever I miss her. I watch those videos
and one of my favorite things is when she gave a shout out to Lisa Simpson. I Love her. I loved, I
loved Rachel so much and I still love her and oh gosh, I didn't think I was gonna start off this
podcast crying, but I loved her. And so I've never met met you, Kim, in person, but I have met your
canine form.
Kim: Yeah, and it's that lunatic ass crazy hungry bitch. (both laugh)
0:04:05
Mimi: Yes! I told my husband I said, "Um, we're getting a dog, and the dog is going to be on Paxil.
0:04:10
The dog is going to be on Paxil."
Kim: I forgot about that! Oh, she was insane.
Mimi: We're going to have to keep up the prescription. We have to keep up this prescription. And it
was so funny that when the dog came to our house, when Rachel came to our house, the first thing
she did- well the first thing she did was eat a whole lot of Slim Jims in the back of the car. And the
second thing she did was come home get on the furniture. And about a week after we had her she
didn't need another Paxil. We just let her do whatever she wanted to do, whatever she wanted to do,
we didn't worry about it. And, you know, her neurotic behavior was fine with us. We didn't care. We
just let her do whatever she wanted to do. And I always thought, well, that's how Kim would be if she
was with me. She wouldn't need any medication. (Kim laughs) She would just be able to do
whatever she wanted to do. And she wouldn't need any medicine. She'd just be fine. Because I'd let
her, I would accept everything about her. I just love her the way she is.
Kim: That is gonna make me have...that hurts. I just accept you the way you are. I just let you be
whatever you need to be. And so I think the way that I loved
0:05:24
Rachel is the way that I love you too.
Kim: Ow my heart! Okay we gotta actually do this interview. So what does it mean to you when you
call yourself a witch?
0:05:43
Mimi: Oh, okay. Well, when I call myself a witch, I think it means that I have the innate ability to
move through the world, and to move the world around me in ways that benefit me and those I love.
And I think that it means that there's nothing that is beyond me, really, to do. And honestly, I think it's
just just an amazing thing. I don't think that the world has to be difficult. I don't think that the world
has to be hard for me, except for in the lessons that I'm here to learn.
0:06:28
I think that it is as difficult as it needs to be, for what I am here to learn, for what my spirit is here to
to process through. And my acceptance of that, and how I choose to move through it, is part of what
makes me a witch. I have the ability to move the world also for others. And you know, I do that for
my husband, I do that for my friends, I do that for strangers. I can see in people what their their light
is. And I think being able to change things for people is a good thing. I watched my grandmother in
that way as well. She worked roots, and she was what they call in the south a root woman. And she
commodified her witchcraft as a way to make ends meet a lot of times. She sold her her services,
which is pretty common in the south. You barter and trade, you know. And I personally haven't done
that, but you know, sometimes to make up a little sachet for someone, say, sleep with this under
your pillow, and it's going to help you or whatever. And I move through the world that way. And I feel
like I've always been a witch. I saw my grandmother do it. I saw my aunts do it. And it's just
something that's been in the family. It's just the way that I move in the world. And I think it's a
beautiful way to move in the world.
Kim: Do you have any particular stories of stuff like that from childhood?
0:08:34
Mimi: Well, I can remember pretty early on, you know, going out into the woods with my
grandmother and wildcrafting, you know, just being out in the woods, and she'll say, don't eat this
one, you can pick that one. And, you know, this one has magic in it, and just... knowing these things
early on. And then you know, I think there's a time probably for everybody when, you know, when
you're a child, especially for magical children, children who have magical families and magical roots,
where you're open and receiving that kind of thing. And then maybe in your teens when you're just
close to it, you know, and then maybe when your grandmother's getting older. At least for me, when
my grandmother was getting older, I just really wanted to sit down with her and write all those things
down. And she was, I sat down with her one time. It was like grandma, I just really want you to tell
me all that stuff that you told me when I was a child. You know, I just really want to remember it. I
really want to know it. And she said "You do know it. You do know it. You just need to go back out
into the woods. You need to figure it out. You do know it. I told you when you were a little girl. You
do know it." And I was so upset with her, because she wouldn't go over it with me again. And I
thought she was being selfish, but she wasn't. She had given all of that to me when I was a child.
And it was just, it was there. It was in me. I thought about it later on when I'd go on walks and I
would look down and I would see those flowers, I would see those herbs and I was like, you know
what, she was right, it is in me, I do know it, I do know it. And it wasn't until after, I think it was after
she died when I realized how much I did still know. It's just, she wouldn't go over it with me again
because I wasn't ready. And it took me a long time not to resent her for not telling me those stories
again, but she knew I wasn't ready to hear them again and it just... I wish now
0:10:31
wish now I had been kinder about it with her, you know? But you always have those stories where
you wish you've been kinder to your elders when you thought you knew everything and all that. You
know. It's just she told me that I did know it, and I did. When I look back at it now, I do know what
everything is that she taught me. When I go walking in the woods, my grandmother's always with
me. When I'm picking herbs in the woods, I know not to pick too much, and what to replant, and
what seeds to gather, and what not to gather, and what to grind and, you know, what to crush. I
know everything about what she taught me. And you know, I'm always thankful for it. And that is the,
I think what my grandmother taught me is the is the background of my practice. And how she loved
and how she walked in the world is the background of my practice. And she was not even related to
me she was just a woman who stole me out of store one time, and told my mother where to come
get me. And It was just, you know, was a special relationship I had with that old woman. Which is a
weird story in and of itself.
Kim: It sounds... I didn't... (laughs) You know the face I made.
0:11:59
Mimi: She stole me from a store. She stole me from a store when I was a baby. Yeah, she sure did.
(laughs) You could do things like that in the south and get away with it. It's a little bit different now, I
don't think you could, but back then you could when I was a baby. Are you waiting on me to tell you?
Yes, you are. (laughs)
Kim: I'm thinking about if you're gonna tell it, yeah! (both laugh)
Mimi: When I was a baby, my mother was a young mother. My mother told me this story of my
grandmother, too, when my mother was a young mother. She was feeding me and doing everything
by the book that the doctor gave her. My mother was desperate to have a baby. She had been
desperate to have a baby, and she'd had several miscarriages and I was her only live birth and she
was desperate to do everything right with me. Well I was about six months old, maybe six and a half
months old she told me and I was just horribly screaming in a store. I was screaming and my mother
told me that this woman heard me screaming, and it was this old woman. She came up, she was
dragging one leg and she had one eye half closed. She came up and she said, let me see that baby.
My mother didn't know what to do. She said, she gave the old woman, she gave me to the old
woman. Well, the woman took me, basically, and she said, and she touched my belly. And she said
as soon as she gave me to the woman. My mama said that I stopped crying. And she said I'm
gonna take this baby home with me. This is where I live at. I'm gonna take this baby home with me. I
know, I know who you are. I know who you are, you Joe and Ed's daughter, you Joe and Ed's
daughter, I know who you are. You ask your mama about me. I'm gonna take this baby with me.
You come and get her in two days. Don't you come to my house before two days. I know who you
are. You ask your mom about me. And she left the store. And my mama cried, but she, she tried to
go after the woman. She cried and then she went home. And my mom says she went straight to her
mama's house and she told her mama. She described the woman to her and everything and her
mom said oh, that's Miss Reba. She's fine. Don't worry about it, your baby gonna be alright. Go,
Don't go down there before she tells you to, though. Don't go before two days, but your baby will be
fine. Don't worry about it. So everybody had to console my mother and keep her from going down to
Miss Reba's house for two days. And then second day, she was down there bright and early. My
mom said I was fine. I wasn't crying. I was laughing. I was fed. I was wrapped in new blankets. My
clothes were clean. I had on a brand new dress. Everything was fine. My hair was just, you know,
curly. Everything was fine. And Miss Reba told her that I was constipated, because she was giving
me the poison milk from the doctor. And that, you know, I didn't need that poison milk from the
doctor. I needed goat's milk ,and I needed this and I needed that, and I needed different things. And
I was constipated. And that was all that was wrong with me. And from that day, that was my
grandmama, my other grandmama, and she was also my babysitter, and that's where my mother left
me when she went to work. And so that's how that woman became my babysitter and my
grandmother for all intents and purposes. I call that woman my grandma and her husband, my papa.
And I didn't know that I wasn't related to them. Well, I was distantly related to them because it's the
South, but I didn't know I wasn't related to them. They was cousins. I didn't know I wasn't related to
them until I was probably, you know, I didn't know they wasn't my grandparents until I was probably
10 or 12 years old. I Thought I had three, sets of grandparents for some reason, and I just grew up
like that. But she
0:16:05
stole me from the store and took me home with her.
Kim: Can you imagine today? Some woman walks up to me and says "Gimme me that baby. You
can't come see her for two days. You know where I live. Go ask your mom." Bitch! (laughs)
Mimi: They told me it happened. I have no reason not to believe it because that is the story that
everybody tells about how I ended up at that house. And
0:16:29
I believe it, because that is the story everybody tells, and nobody has any deviation from the story.
And (laughs) I mean, that's the way they tell it. They even, you know, down to the store, you know. It
happened in the five and dime. And even the people at the store will say "Oh, you're the little girl that
Miss Reba stole that one time. You sure have grown!" (both laugh)
Kim: Well, let's move into the future. I guess it's the present. Do you have daily practices? Or
consistent ones? Consistent if not daily.
Mimi: Okay, well see, now this is where it got difficult because I was reading your questions. I live in
my practice, so I don't think I do. I live in my practice. I don't separate it from my daily life.
0:17:17
So if I'm making a cup of tea, then that cup of tea, I believe is, you know, it's a ritual for me to make
my morning cup of tea. You know, I get up. I'm blessing that tea. I'm blessing the cup. I'm blessing
the water. You know, I'm having a moment with that spoon. I'm trying to move in that practice and
make it part of my day. I'm trying to be in that energy all day, because I don't want to be outside of it.
Because I feel like if I'm living my practice all the time, I'm not letting any other energy in. You know.
I want to- it's such a beautiful energy to be in, and the energy I'm speaking of is love. I try to be in
the presence of love as much as possible. It's it's just where I reside now, in this presence of love, of
giving love, of being love, of having love around me. And when I say that I want to give love to the
world and not expect it in return, it's just that I don't want love to be a tit for tat type of thing for me.
Not everybody has it to give. Not everybody can afford it. I like to think that I can. And if people have
love to spare, then I'm happy to receive it, but I don't expect it. And so I just like to live in this energy.
So my witchcraft comes from a place of that, of just wanting to plant love in the world, be love in the
world, give love back to the world. And so when I make my morning cup of tea, I'm thinking about
that energy of putting it into the world. How much I want to hope that the people who made the tea
have love. How much I hope that the people at the water factory have love, that the people have the
spoon actually have love. You know, I'm, I'm trying to push that love out of me and into wherever I
can push it. And it's just I know it sounds crazy. I've been told it sounds crazy. But it's just how i'm
living right now. And it's been working for me, because the return has been that my husband and I,
in our lives, we have not been in a place of lack, in as long as I can remember. We have been in
abundance for as long as I can remember. And the last time we were struggling is when I was
guarding myself so selfishly, keeping secrets, keeping keeping everything inside me. But ever since
I have blossomed into this phase of just loving, and and not caring if I receive anything, gosh it's
been so nice.
0:21:07
Kim: It actually doesn't sound crazy. After hearing the explanation- initially, when you first said it- it
did sound crazy, but hearing that makes sense. I don't know why you need my approval. You don't,
but you have it now.
0:21:28
Mimi: My practice is so hard to explain to anybody, and it's just... I walk in the world not minding my
own business. I just I've lost the ability to do that. It...
Kim: Did you say not minding your own business?
0:21:42
Mimi: Not minding own business, not minding my own business. I don't know how to do it anymore.
When I see somebody who looks like they need a boost, I give it. I if you look like you need a boost,
I'll give it to you. If you look like you need someone to tell you that you look great today, I'll tell you. If
you look like you need somebody to tell you that you are a good person, I'll tell you. If you need that
last $3 on your grocery bill, I'll give it to you. If... whatever you need. Because holding on to it isn't
doing anything for me.
Kim: That's nice.
Mimi: I'm out here in the world. I believe we are here to help each other. And... I used to be a person
who was just so snide, and so sarcastic, and just so selfish. I was miserable. I really was. I didn't
realize that I was miserable. I thought I was happy. But I was not. I was laughing all the time, but I
wasn't happy. And now, I find that my practice makes me happy, and that giving love to the world
makes me happy. And part of my witchcraft, my witchcraft is to have
0:23:02
 an overflow of abundance so I can help others. It's what I ask for every year. I ask for more than I
need, so that I can give it as fruitfully as possible. And that's what I do. And so every day that I can
do that, I feel like I'm a succeeding in my practice.
Kim: What would you say is the biggest motivator for you?
3
0:23:55
Mimi: Other people, helping other people. Seeing love blossom in other people, seeing joy in other
people, and seeing cynicism fall away in other people. The other day I was at the store and there
was this young woman. You know, she was just standing there.
0:24:15
She was, she was trying to buy groceries. She was, it was just, I mean, she was just a woman. She
was just like any, any, any of us. She was, she could have been anybody. And she was standing
there and the clerk was getting frustrated with her, and she was counting out her change, and she
was trying, and she was, she's like, I just want to make nachos for my son. I just wanna make
nachos for my son. He's in the car. I just want to make nachos for my son. He's in the car. I just want
to make nachos for him. And this guy who was, you know, he was just sort of sitting there telling her
she didn't have enough money, you know. And the people behind me were shifting from one foot to
the other. And I was like, what are we talking about here? $5? And so, you know, I don't usually
carry cash, but I checked my wallet. I had five dollars. So I just put it on the counter I said there you
go. Enjoy your dinner, have nachos with your son. And she turn around looked at me like I was
crazy. She's like are you sure? I was like, yeah, go have fun. Go eat nachos, have fun. And people
behind me were like, why would you do that? and I'm like because she's trying to have nachos with
her son. And and to me it was just the obvious thing to do. I was like, why aren't we all pulling $1 out
to help this woman have nachos with her son? Why aren we just standing here? It's just, why aren't
we helping her? And the person at the register was like, are you sure you want to do that? And I'm
like, yes, I'm absolutely sure I want to do that. And you know, why is it a question? This money is
going to come back to me. It's just money. It's going to come back to me. It's a tool that we use to
get through the world. It's gonna come back. I'm not worried about it. And I feel like this is what my
practice is for. This is what my witchcraft is for. You know, I'm gonna come home. I'm gonna light a
candle. I'm gonna ask for abundance in other areas of my life. I'm gonna get this money back. I'm no
worried about it. You know, is it a little bit of my light bill? Maybe. Am I worried that my lights are
going to get shut off? Absolutely not. Because I believe in my practice. You know, that's how it
works for me.
Kim: What is your biggest struggle with your practice?
0:26:53
Mimi: Wondering if I'm doing enough. Oftentimes, I feel like I'm not doing enough. Oftentimes, I
wonder if my practice is real, you know, because I'm not out here counting circles and casting circles
and, you know, doing all these things that I see other witches do. You know, I often wonder if, you
know, I'm not out here figuring out which herbs to do what with. Everything for me is very intuitive,
and I'm doing what my grandmama taught me, and I'm I'm doing it from a different place. And I often
feel like, you know, but then again I'm not of, you know, a Celtic tradition. I'm not of a Wiccan
tradition, you know, I'm, I'm of a folk magic tradition. Yeah, I'm of a more African folk magic tradition.
Even, not even that. It's just sort of this cobbled together stuff that was passed down. It may even be
just from my family. I don't even know. I'm doing what I was taught.
0:28:09
Kim: So... You're not in Appalachia's, right?
Mimi: No, no. Well, you know what...
Kim: But were your people?
0:28:17
Mimi: Yeah, some of them were. I guess it depends. I mean, they could have been sold down
through there, or purchased down through there, or you know, could have bought slaves down
through there. Because I, you know, I come from both sides. Because I come from the Jean de
Coverlieu. You know, some of my family were black people who were free, some of my family was
black people who were slaves. And you know, some of my family was white. So it's a mixed bag.
And you know, I haven't done a lot of genealogy studies on my family. I know a lot of my recent
family has, but wasn't really interesting to me. And then again, there's a lot of family members who
aren't really even related. It's just family that you pick up along the way. People who steal you in
stores. And... (both laugh) Oh lord...
Kim: You know how that goes. (laughs)
Mimi: Every day. You know, benevolent kidnappers. (laughs)
0:29:23
And so you just never really know how that's gonna go, you know, especially in my family. And like I
have a lot of family members that I've recently found out are not related to me in any way at all, and
then also, there's that old trick of when you're trying to date growing up, you know, they'll say that's
your cousin, so you can't date anybody, but then you find out later they were never your cousin. So
it's, yeah, you never know. But the magical traditions in our family are vast. (sound of sneeze in
background) Oh lord!
Kim: Gesundheit! (laughs)
Mimi: So my husband... I swear, if he was a superhero his name would be Sonic Sneeze. Um, if... I
0:30:27
forgot what you were saying, his sneeze just flew everything out of my head.
Kim: Me too.
Mimi: Anyway...
Kim: Family, who isn't family.
Mimi: Yeah but... oh lord. Anyway... what were we talking about?
Kim: There it went. (laughs)
Mimi: We've lost the thread entirely! As we knew would happen!
Kim: Yep.
Mimi: Anyway, as I was saying, what I was saying was, I think my practice sometimes, one of the
problems I have is that I just don't know if my practice is real enough. Because you know, it's not
really rooted in anything that you can find in a book. It's not really rooted in anything that, you know,
it doesn't look like anything that I that I know. And I've tried so many times to read a Silver
Ravenwolf book and try to do that stuff, but it doesn't resonate with me. You know, light a candle
and widdershins and whatnot. That's not for me. That's not for me. It's not for me. It's just not me. I
think it's not for me because it's just, it's too structured. It's asking too much of a chaotic soul like
myself. It's wanting me to be in a box. And you know, I'm much more like your dog Rachel, you can't
put me in my box.
Kim: My dog?
Mimi: I guess, well she's my dog too but she was always mine. She was meant for me, you were just
bringing her to me. (laughs) Yeah but it's just like I'm just a little too chaotic for that, and I just, I got
to be too many places, I got to be able to do too many things, I got to take from too many places.
0:32:28
And I always felt bad that I couldn't look at those books and read those traditions and make them fit
me. And I think it had something to do with my, the way I was brought up, and just the way I was...
(sighs) just my own practice just doesn't fit that mold. And I always felt badly about it, especially
when trying to work with other witches. It just didn't fit, you know. You won't find a lot of pentagrams
in my house. You won't find a lot of, a lot of anything very what I would say is modern traditional. I'm
not even sure I would call myself a neo pagan, or even a pagan at all in that way. I, this practice that
I have, you know, it's, you know, there's no, I don't have any, I don't have any ritual tools that I could
point to and say, I keep this special for my craft, you know, the knife that I'm using is the knife that is
sacred, the knife that you know, the my altar is is wherever I'm standing and I put things that I'm
working with at the time. You know, I am the sacred thing. The sacred thing is me. Whatever I touch,
whatever I work with, whatever it is, becomes sacred when I use it. When I stop using it, it isn't
anymore. I can just wash it and put it back in the drawer. And that's how I've always worked, and
that's how my grandmother worked. You know, it just and maybe that's because they were poor.
And they couldn't afford to have something that was sacred and used for only one thing. I don't
know. But that's how she worked. And that's how I worked. I hadn't really thought about it until you
asked the question. Honestly I'm getting ahead of you now. I'm like way ahead on your list, talking
about ritual tools. (both laugh) This podcast is off the rails! (both laugh)
Kim: What brings the most joy in your practice?
0:35:07
Mimi: Seeing joy and delight in other people when they don't even know that they are, they have
become part of it. Working with other people and just... I think my practice is inside me more than its
exterior. What I mean by that is, you know, I'm always working on myself. And then the work that I
do on myself as a witch is then, it's reflected in the way that I get to walk in the world. So if I were
not doing this work inside myself, working on myself, doing this witchcraft on myself, crafting myself
into a better witch, then the way I walk in the world would not change. And the way I walk in the
world has changed so much. I'm not perfect by any means. I'm still a petty bitch. Oh my God, I'm still
so petty. At least I can be. But I'm working on it, I'm still working on it. But I am so much better than I
used to be. I still... the amount of love I have to give in the world is so much better. I walk into the
world now, I smile so much, I'm so happy. And the amount of joy I have for my fellow human beings
is just, it's kind of amazing. And I think that the best thing for me, the way that, the best thing for me,
is how much more I want to do in the world. How many spaces I want to get into. How much more I
want to give. How much I want to volunteer. My body holds me back more than anything. But how
much I want to volunteer, how much I want to teach, how much I want to live in the world. I no
longer feel like I want to be a hermitess just toiling away in my little cave. I want to be out with
people. And that's a huge change for me. And it's not in big ways, for me it's been in small individual
ways for a lot of it. And I just, I don't know. I have a lot to do, and I don't have a lot of time. And that's
something that's so evident to me. And the more my time gets shortened here, the more my practice
becomes a bigger part. Because I just feel like I need to change more so I can do more.
Kim: What's something you did early in your practice that you no longer do, and why don't you do it
any more?
0:38:53
Mimi: Try hard. Oh god, I used to try so hard. I used to try to fit. I used to try to... (sighs) I used to try
to fit. I used to try to, I used to try to fit in. I used to try to make sure people knew what I was doing. I
used to wear the witchy clothes. I used to try to show off, you know, that, you know, make sure
people knew I was a witch I used to try to... oh I used to try. I used to try so hard. And now I don't
try. I just am. I'm content with being and not showing. Which that took a long time, because to me
the showing is unnecessary. The being is the thing.
Kim: That's a good one.
0:39:49
Mimi: Yeah. I don't need to. I don't need people to know. I just need to be. And early on, it was so
important for me to to try, and to let people see it, because I wasn't sure. You know, if they would
know. And you know it's not important for other people to know. I mean for me now, the way I move
in the world, people don't know if it's witchcraft, or or if I if I'm a Christian, or if I'm a witch, or if I'm a,
you know, Lutheran, or if I'm a Hari Krishna, they don't know. They have no idea. All they know is
that there is kindness pouring out of me, and that is what I want them to know. That's what's
important to me, Is that they feel kindness, they feel joy, they feel love coming out of me. And that's
the important part, that, you know, for me. Now for some people they need people to know that
they're a witch, they need people to know that this is coming from witchcraft. You know, for me, that
is less important to me than it used to be. Because the work is for me. The results are for the world.
And if the results are changing the world, I'm not, where they come from doesn't matter for me. So
that's something that I do differently.
Kim: That reminds me of the story you told me. (laughs)
Mim: I have no idea what this is gonna be because I've told you so many!
Kim: It's not even about you, it's about your husband.
Mimi: Oh lord. (laughs)
Kim: The parkour kid in the Dairy Queen drive-thru.
Mimi: Oh my god, I knew it was gonna be parkour kid!
Kim: Good job buddy. (laughs)
Mimi: Good job, buddy! You're doin' it! You're doin' great! Woo! (both laughing)
Kim: That makes me happy.
0:42:10
Mimi: I love that. I love how encouraging he was. In the time it took us to get a Blizzard, my husband
is encouraging this kid. At the parkour kid. Oh my god. I haven't seen him in a while, but he was, he
was, he was he was steadily improving. He was steadily improving.
Kim: Good for him!
Mimi: My husband was, my husband was, so my husband has the energy of a third-grade t-ball
coach. (Kim whoops) He absolutely has an energy of a third-grade t-ball coach, I mean he's gonna
keep setting up that t-ball and he's gonna keep on helping, you know, encouraging. Good job buddy!
You're doing it! You're doing it! You're getting better. You're gonna get it next time, I know you are!
You got it, you got it! You got it, boy! You got it kid! You're doing it! Where's your mom? You're doing
a great job! Your mom inside the church? Oh my, oh my god. For people who don't know, and that's
everybody, our Dairy Queen sits in front of a roller rink that used to be a church. Well, a church that
used to be a roller rink. And there was this kid who was doing parkour on top of a large, like, power
box type thing. And my husband, while we were getting our Dairy Queen treats, would be the most
encouraging person you have ever heard, to this kid who was trying to do parkour right behind the
Dairy Queen. You got it kid. Oh, did you fall you fell down? You got it. Get up. You're gonna be
alright. That's it. Oh, it's good! Did you get hurt? You need to go inside? You're all right, you got it.
Go ahead, jump one more time. I bet you can get higher this time. Oh my God, it was so
embarrassing. But my husband is very encouraging. Every single time he has the energy of a grade
three T-ball coach when it comes to encouraging children to do whatever they want. And that is
something that Kim and I have laughed about several times, but it's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. So, yeah.
Kim: Just calling somebody buddy in real life and not being facetious about it is so interesting to me.
Mimi: He means it. He means it. Buddy. Buddy and guy. Buddy and guy. You got it guy! Come on
guy! Buddy and friend, buddy and friend. So yeah. Oh my god. (laughs) I think the universe has
made it so that we don't live next to each other because we'd get nothing done.
Kim: Uh-uh. Because there's always a tangent. And I'm a tangiental motherfucker. (laughs) It's even
worse if I know somebody!
Mimi: Oh gosh. Yes, well.
Kim: Okay, let's do an interview. What's your favorite tool in your practice, and why? How do you
use the tool? It doesn't have to be a physical object.
0:45:30
Mimi: Meditation. Meditation. I use meditation as a tool. I find that meditation is probably my favorite
thing to use. I like to center myself at least once a day and try to calm my own energies. And what I
do is, I mean, it's nothing fancy. It's just trying to breathe, and center myself. And not think of
anything. Not worry about it.
Kim: (laughs) That's all.
MimI: It's harder than you think. (laughs)
Kim: I know, that's what I'm saying! Like, oh, it's just this little thing where I completely clear my mind
and I concentrate on my breathing for five minutes. Oh, is it?! That's all?!
0:46:31
Mimi: Yeah, well, you know. Five to fifteen minutes of just trying to, it is difficult. You know, if I have
a thought I try to bat it away. I just try to you know, just trying to keep it out of my mind and just I
don't think about things. Because you know, it's, I have a lot of things that are pressing on me. You
know, my time is shorter than I would like and I, I feel like, you know, every time I go to the doctor,
you know. They give me a little bit more, they give me a little bit more bad news, and it bothers me,
and I have a lot of things I want to get done.
0:47:16
And I try to keep those things out of my mind, because the time gets shorter, but the work doesn't.
And by the work, I mean what I'm here to do. And that is to love as many as people as possible, and
to give as much love to the world as possible, without expecting an end return. That's harder than
you would think. It does get stressful. And I told one of my friends, one of my lovely best friends, he
knows who he is and I love him. I love him so much. And that I feel like I am here to love everybody,
no matter what. No matter what they've done, no matter who they are, I love everybody. And that's
harder than you think. And I don't make judgments on who my heart is here to love. And loving the
people who other people thought don't deserve it. Don't think, don't think deserve it, is It's one of the
things that I have have put on myself. So I meditate on that a lot. You know, why, why do I put that
on myself? Why do I put it on myself to push love into the world for people who who are seemingly
unlovable? I don't know, because somebody has to. You know, somebody's got to love them.
Somebody's got to love the people that y'all won't. Maybe that's what's wrong with them. So I
meditate on that too. And it's, you know, it's a difficulty. But meditation, meditation is a tool that I use
a lot. Meditation on love, meditation on the world, meditation on nothing. But yeah, that's my favorite
tool.
Kim: Do you ever work with other witches?
0:49:35
Mimi: Not anymore. I used to. My husband and I were laughing about this question the other night. I
used to work with other witches, but I don't anymore. I would, I'm not against it, it's not something
that I'm against. It's just something that I don't really think about too much. Number one, I'm not
around a whole lot of witches. I go to festivals and things like that, and I like being around other
witches, but to work with them? We just don't seem to jive. Now I'm never one to say that witchcraft
isn't political.
Kim: (incredulously) What?!
Mimi: I believe that witchcraft can be political, and I think it should be to some degree, but I don't
think that it always has to be every single time you meet. And that is one of the things that I I have a
problem with, is that every time, you know, I have met up with witches, it has gone from being a time
when witches can just convene and relax, to everybody having to prove their devotion to a cause.
And sometimes I just don't have the energy for that. I I mean, I think we all want to make the world a
better place, and I think we do all know what,you know, to the most part, do know what the issues
are. But sometimes we just want to have a drum circle, or sometimes we just want to, you know, call
down the moon, or sometimes we just want to be here in this moment and do this ritual that we all
came to do. And you know, not bring the Supreme Court into it at this very moment. Maybe we can
have a separate time for that. And I have found that, you know, a lot of witches, at least around
here, maybe it's because it's a college town, are not capable of that. And so I have, you know, just,
you know, decided not to do that. Also, I have found that, for me, at least, being a black woman,
usually the witchcraft circles I have found are primarily white spaces, and then I end up having to be
the voice of diversity for them. And I don't want to do that.
Kim: Why do you have to put that job on?
Mimi: You know I'm not being, honestly if I'm gonna do that, then make me your guest speaker and
pay me. I don't want to do that. You know, I just really don't. It's not, it's not what I'm here for, and so
I just don't want to do it. I'm not even qualified to do it. Honestly, I'm not. Yeah, I've seen every
season of Friends. I'm not. I'm really not.
Kim: (laughs) Why? Have you really?
Mimi: Yes, I have. And all of the Seinfelds. I'm not qualified.
Kim: I super have not.
Mimi: And I haven't seen every, I haven't seen every season of Live and Single. I'm not qualified.
Kim: I love how that's the one you choose. (laughs)
0:52:58
Mimi: I'm not qualified! It's just... I'm just kidding people. These are jokes. That's a joke. Lordamercy.
But I'm not qualified. What I mean to say is, I did not grow up deeply immersed in even my own
blackness. My mother was not that kind of mother. She put me around as many white people as
possible growing up, because she was... oh lord how can I put this without getting run out of the
county? (laughs) I'll just say, let me put it this way. I did not grow up around a lot of other black
people when I was a kid. When I was in school, when I first started school, I was token, I was token
at my school. I was one of two token black kids at my school, in my kindergarten class, when I first
came here. And my mother said, let's keep it that way. Because she was smart. My mother was
brilliant. She knew, I mean, I'm 46 years old, so I'm clocking in on 50 here. My mother knew that the
white schools were going to have better books, better educational programs, smaller classroom
sizes, better teachers. So she said, yeah, let my kid be the token. She'll be fine. She'll be fine. So I
grew up primarily around other kids who were, you know, I had like two, maybe three black friends
my whole life growing up. I didn't really see other black people until I went to college. It was a
surprise. So I am not really qualified to speak on diversity issues in these white witchy spaces even
now, because I'm honestly just learning, myself, about these issues. I know about my family. I know
what I've read. I know what I've experienced. But you know, I cannot be your diversity, your diversity
expert. I learned how to take care of my own hair from YouTube. Okay, I cannot be your diversity
expert.
Kim: What a weird thing to put on somebody.
Mimi: Yeah, I mean my mother didn't even teach me. She was so, she was not even interested
herself. Plus my mother was mostly white, so.
0:55:39
You know, it just wasn't you know, it wasn't part of my life. And, you know, I don't know. I just can't
do that. But working with other witches, the other thing was, I was in a coven one time, this was
funny for me. I was in a coven one time, I joined the coven and it was a sweet little local coven,
there were like 14 or 15 of us and we were run by this one woman. And I will never not believe that
she didn't like create this coven because she needed people to help her move her house. Um...
Kim: Wow.
Mimi: Listen, okay...
Kim: I'm listening.
Mimi: We got together, we got together like three times. She introduced us all together like three
times. And then on like the fourth meeting, she was like, Hey, guys, it's been really great. I'm glad
we got to know each other. We got little special rings and everything. It's great. She's like it's been
really great getting to know you guys, but unfortunately, I'm going to be moving across town, to the
other side of town, and you know, this location isn't going to be convenient for me. But if you guys
want to keep meeting, I'm gonna be meeting across town. By the way, does anybody want to help
me move? So a bunch of us helped her move. And then we never heard from her again.
Kim: That's kind of impressive! That kind of planning... I don't have that kind of planning in me.
0:57:24
Mimi: I mean... the timing is suspicious, isn't it? That she started a coven on Craigslist. (laughs) We
met three times. We helped her move. There were no more meetings.
Kim: All right then. (both laugh)
Mimi: Don't you think maybe... she gave me, a she gave us a bunch of stuff. She was like, hey do
you like that? You can have it. And then she gave somebody a cat. She gave somebody else a
snake. She gave me a, she gave me a giant knife. I still have it, it's a beautiful knife. Her boyfriend
gave my husband a leather coat. She gave us parting gifts.
Kim: Great Aright then, peace!
Mimi: And then she was like well...
Kim: THE end!
Mimi: She was like well, so mote it be, I'm out!
0:58:24
And then we were like, we called her. And she was like, no, I don't think I can get together this week.
You know, moving has been so hard. And then...
Kim: She changed her number. (laughs)
Mimi: She did, she changed her number!
Kim: WHAT?
Mimi: She did. She changed what number! She did. And like what was funny was like, she, wemet
her at like, we got to the top of the place, like the subdivision. She was like, oh, well just drop
everything at the top of the subdivision. So we didn't actually know which of the houses in the
subdivision she moved into. So we would just been walking around knocking on doors, "Does she
live here?" So we don't know which of the houses she lived, she moved to, so we couldn't like
exactly shut her down without being total stalkers. So yeah, I think that she like basically formed a
coven so that she could, she might ,so that she could get people to help her move.
Kim: I just don't have energy for that.
Mimi: I don't know, but we had to buy our own rings. I mean they weren't, we bought our own little
rings, and of course. And you know, everything, so I mean she was smart. We did help her move.
Somebody got stuck with a snake, somebody else got stuck with a cat, I got a knife, my husband got
a coat.
Kim: Good for y'all. I mean, out of those things I think that's what I woulda rather have. I mean the
person who got the snake.
1:00:06
Mimi: I mean the person who got the snake... I mean...
Kim: That would have been second, but I'd rather have the knife first.
Mimi: Well, I mean it's not, it was a snake that's not even legal in this state. I mean...
Kim: Great, even better.
Mimi: Yeah, it's like a hognose thing and she can't even have hognoses in this state. It's like well,
what... You can never take it to the vet. It's just... so great.
Kim: Wow.
Mimi: So that was awesome. And, um, yeah, but yeah, I will never not believe it wasn't like just a
plot. I mean, maybe she did get busy. I can't say she didn't get busy. But the timing is suspicious.
The timing is suspicious.
Kim: I'm sayin'.
Mimi: The timing is suspicious and if you, I don't know. We hope, I often think about that. And when
we were getting ready to move I told my husband I was like well I better get online and see if I can
form a coven real quick, see if we can get some help. The timing was suspicious, that's all I can say.
Timing was suspicious. You know it was suspicious. If you're listening, you know it was suspicious.
Anyway. she's not listening. She's not listening.
1:01:29
Kim: Who or what would you say are the three biggest influences on your practice?
Mimi: My grandmama, let's see. My grandma for one. Definitely what I feel is what I'm, the mission
that I'm called here to do, which is to give as much love to the world as I possibly can, and the
length of time I have to do it. Which is why I feel so under pressure. So those three things.
1:02:27
Kim: What would you tell a new person just starting out, trying to decide if they want to even call
themselves a witch or not?
Mimi: It's not important. What you do is important. How you feel is important. But what you call
yourself is not important. Until you decide it is, it's not important. If you want to call yourself a witch,
call yourself a witch on day one if you want to. If you don't want to call yourself a witch until 10
minutes before you die. That's fine too. What you do in the world is more important than what you
call yourself in this world. Who you are to yourself is the most important thing. Who you are to other
people, what they call you, is not important. Titles that you hold are not important. Who you are to
yourself is the most important thing. And if what you are to yourself is a witch, then call yourself that.
If what you are to yourself is a root worker, call yourself that. If what you are to yourself is a woman
who wakes up, or a man who wakes up and sometimes does what they consider to be magical
things in this world, then call yourself that. It doesn't matter. All these little things that we are doing,
all these little titles that we are holding for ourselves, they don't matter. What matters is what we do,
how we affect people, the things that we change, the people that we love, how we love ourselves.
That's what matters. That's it. That's it. Because we're not going to have any of these little titles, any
of these little things, none of that. We're not gonna have any, it doesn't matter. It's not important.
1:04:11
Kim: Who should I have on the show?
Mimi: Whoever you want to. But... (sighs) I think you should probably have some more, you know,
diversify a little bit.
Kim: I'm trying.
Mimi: Okay.
Kim: But I don't know who they are. I mean... I do try. I'm doing my best.
Mimi: Well you know, they do have this amazing thing called the internet.
Kim: Yeah but I don't want to approach somebody and say hey, come be my token diverse, diverse
1:04:44
person.
Mimi: Well you don't do it like that!
Kim: Yeah but I'm an idiot.
Mimi: Well, no, you're not. You're, you're a brilliant person, and I love you very much. I've always
loved you and I've always admired you. I love the way you move in the world, and I love how you
look at adversity in your own life, and you just never let it stop you. I've never, I've never seen you
let anything stop you, and that is something I've always admired about you. You keep going even
when you're scared. I love that about you. I love it so much.
Kim: So I really feel like, I have you're confusing me with someone else. (laughs)
1:05:17
Mimi: I am not. I am absolutely not. It may take you a little bit, but you're still gonna do stuff even
when you're scared. Look at where you are. Look at where you are! Look at where you are. You're
somebody that I never thought I would see. This is, I mean I had no doubts. But at the same time,
look at where you are. Look at where your jewelry is. I see your jewelry hanging on the necks of
people on television. Honey, you're fearless. You are fearless, and I just love you. I just love you.
You're one of the best people I know. I tell people all the time, you're one of the best people I know.
So I have no doubt that if there are people that you want on this show, you can get them. All you
have to do is just think towards the purposes that you want them on the show for. You don't want
anybody on this show to tokenize them. You want them on the show so that you can spread
whatever it is that they need to say. You want to open your audience to new and diverse things, to
people that they need to know about. So no, nobody's going to feel tokenized on your show.
Because that's not what's in your heart So you don't have to worry.
Kim: This whole episode it's hurting my feelings.
Mimi: Why? I just love you so much. Gosh.
Kim: I love you too.
Mimi: Yeah, I know you do.
Kim: Okay good.
Mimi: yeah. See, you just didn't know I was like this.
Kim: Nuh-uh!
Mimi: This part of my life has been a secret to you for some reason.
Kim: I know, it has!
Mimi: (laughs) You don't know this part of me.
1:07:16
Yeah, see... other people, other people know that I am love and I am made of love. So that's just
who I am. My husband is used to it now, but it's, I've been this way for a long time. I'm loving of me.
I'm made of love, so.
Kim: Well, is there anything else that I didn't ask you that you wanted to talk about?
Mimi: Well, you skipped my book recommendation.
Kim: Hit me with it.
Mimi: Are we doing this part later?
Kim: Well no, cuz I, you didn't really... Okay. Here's what I heard. This may not be what you said, but
this is what I heard: that you didn't really get much out of books. You couldn't find yourself in books.
So I didn't know if you'd have a recommendation. Well hit me with a book recommendation.
1:07:55
Mimi: Well if I were well one thing that was problem for me is that I didn't see myself in books. But
then when I started looking, I found a couple of books that I would recommend to new witches,
especially witches who are, well, one book for in particular is Jambalaya by Luisah Teish. And it is a
book primarily from, I would say it is from the Black perspective. It's definitely for more for Black
witches, I would think, for African-American witches I would think, but I mean it's for anybody. But it
is a celebration of African Black traditions and it's for women who are working protections and
charms for themselves, just for walking in the world. And it's a wonderful book, especially since
there's not, or weren't, so many books out there from the black perspective or for black witches, for
black women to look at. And it's a great stepping stone because when you buy that book, obviously,
if you buy it online, you're going to get so many recommendations for books from other African
American, root workers, spiritualists, and it's a great place to start. It's a book that I believe it's like
20 or 30 years old and it's been recently reworked. So I would say if you want some diversity on
your bookshelf, that's a great place to start. And she might come on your show.
Kim: That would be exciting.
Mimi: Yeah, she's 74 years old, I think she's still kicking around. She's wonderful.
1:10:26
Now the last two things are not on the list of questions.
Mimi: Oh boy.
Kim: The first thing is, would you please recommend something else to the listeners?
Mimi: Okay. Well, if I could recommend anything to your listeners... does it have to be like a
physical? Does it have to be like a physical product?
Kim: It can be absolutely anything at all. It doesn't have to be witchcraft related. It can be... a smell.
Mimi: A smell. (laughs) All right, well, I'm going recommend an activity to your listeners. Something
that I get a lot out of is, and I know it may be difficult for some people, but definitely if you don't
already do it, pick up a meditative practice. I know it's difficult for some people, meditation seems
boring, it is boring, but there are a lot of different types of meditation. There's active meditation,
there's silent meditation, there's sitting meditation, there's walking meditation, you know, there's
painting meditation, there's like music meditation, there's so many different types, but pick up a
meditation practice. Give yourself a break from yourself, and see if it changes how you view your
witchcraft, how you view your practice. Because for me, it has changed how I deal with myself, how I
deal with my husband, how I deal with frustration. It's changed a lot. I feel much better on the days
when I meditate versus when the days when I don't. Even my pain levels are different. The way that
I look at... just like how things are changing for me on a physical level are different. It's just,
meditation. I would say if you don't have a meditation practice, pick up one. And if you do have a
meditation practice, maybe deepen it. See if you're ready to deepen it.
Kim: How do you deepen it?
Mimi: Well for me at least, I changed the number of minutes I was trying to go for for me. I like, you
know, I started off five minutes, I started going for 10, sometimes 20. I started going to a walking
meditation for a while to sort of add different breathing patterns, and to strengthen my body, and to
add a different level of difficulty. Because walking meditation, you have a lot more distractions. You
know, usually you're outside, there's a lot of distractions outside. It's harder to keep your focus. So I
did that for a while. I have deepened my meditation practice by including it with chanting. I've started
chanting a little bit more. You know, chanting names and just sort of using it as a way to add depth
to the practice. And also I've started using some intention, meditating on certain intentions to see if I
can bring them more into fruition. You know, like having an intention, and sort of meditating on that
intention, and sort of trying to remove obstacles. Like if I'm having pain in my body, then meditating
on moving that pain. Or you know, trying to reduce it. Or meditating on certain things I want to
change. Like if I'm having a problem with a person, then maybe meditating on solution being, you
know, trying to meditate towards solution more than conflict. You know, dwelling on the con- on the
solution instead of the conflict, you know, just deepening my practice in those ways. So just
changing the way I meditate, giving myself little little obstacles to overcome.
1:14:48
Kim: Hmm. I'm super not there yet.
Mimi: Yeah, I wasn't there either.
Kim: That's okay.
Mimi: It's, it, you know, you don't have to be where I am. You just have to stay where you are, and
be with you.
1:14:53
Kim: So the last thing is please tell me a story.
Mimi: Didn't I tell you enough stories?
Kim: There's never enough stories.
Mimi: Oh gosh let me think if I can think of a story. Oh gosh let me think, oh my gosh I don't know if I
have a story, let me think... it's impossible to think of a story when you put me on the spot, Kim!
Kim: I know.
Mimi: God what are you doing to me now? I can't think of a story! Now what you want to know?
Kim: Something that you would tell at a picnic with like a family get-together where everybody's like
remember that time? It's a remember that time story.
1:16:02
Mimi: Remember that time story, I'm trying to think of one that would tell my husband, or my
husband and I would know, and that would be a good one. Oh Gosh, oh, I can't tell you that one, I
might go to jail. Um, that's probably a good one. Gosh I can't think of one now. I shouldn't have told
you about getting kidnapped in the store so early. (both laugh)
I shouldn't have told you about getting kidnapped in the store so early because all my stories are
tragic. That's the sad part. All my stories are tragic. We'll be like... well not tragic y'all. They're not
good. They're pretty bad. Some of them are bad. Hmmm. I can't think of a story, Kim. Good lord,
hold on. Let me think. I don't have one. I can't think of a thing. How's the gaming? My brain is gone. I
can't think of not a thing. That's so funny, I can't think of not a thing. Gosh, I cannot think of a thing.
How can this be?
Kim: Tell a story about Butters.
Mimi: Oh god, there are so many. Probably be better off.
Kim: Or Rachel. You've told me stories about her.
Mimi: I know like when we thought she was deaf and all kinds of things. She was the worst dog
ever. Oh my gosh, she was the worst. She was so horrible. We spent so much money.
1:17:38
We spent so much money. Oh, finding out she was ignoring us. Hmm.
Kim: Didn't you take her to a dog park or something?
Mimi: Yeah, we took her to a dog park, let's see... paid all that money for those lessons. I think, gosh
that's been 10 years, 15 years ago almost. I think, can't think of that, I can't think of any stories.
Kim: How'd you get Mali?
Mimi: Oh, we stole her.
Kim: Well that's a story! (laughs)
Mimi: We stole Mali.
Kim: Oh jesus.
Mimi: We stole her, we stole her. I mean... okay we stole her a little bit. We didn't steal her.
Kim: (laughs) Just a touch.
Mimi: We stole her a little bit. I stole Butter too. I mean... I think your dog is the only one I ever got
legitimately. Oh god. Okay well listen... Anybody would have stole Mali. In my defense Okay, well
listen. Anybody woulda stole Mali, in my defense. Anybody woulda stole Mali. She was a beautiful
dog and I feel justified in stealing her. Anyway statute of limitations is up. Nobody can touch us. Um,
we, My mama was really good friends with Mali's owner. His name was Brad. Brad was sweet. He
was very funny. He's a very lovely man. He had three, he had three dogs. Brad had three dogs. Mali
was one of them. At the time I didn't understand him. They didn't, they didn't understand him at all.
They just didn't, they didn't love him. Really. They couldn't love him. They were, they were just too
set in their ways to love him. Brad smoked Virginia Slims, and he watched Young and the Restless,
and his house smelled like Lemon Pledge. and Brad wore women's Jordache jeans and women's
shoes, and he did not meet a blouse he didn't love. And my mother loved Brad. She took up for him
and they went to the same beauty parlor. He got his hair done with wings on the side and it was long
and they had the same haircut almost, and they just were best friends. They just were best friends.
So When Brad was in the hospital for so long and lost a lot of weight, and everything, my mother
had passed, and Brad was the sweetest thing to me. He took care of me when my mother died. He
brought a casserole, And he was just he was kind. He was very good. And he was just, he was kind.
He was very good. And when when he when my mother died, Brad sat with the family. He sat up
front with the family and and he rode in the limousine. So that tells you how I felt about Brad. So
when Brad died, his family was not kind about it. I yook his family a 24-piece bucket of chicken and
all the trimmings that go with it, and I brought them a homemade casserole. They didn't care. They
didn't, they wouldn't do anything good about Brad's death. I don't even know if they put it in the
paper. I think the funeral home did from the way that the obituary, It was not nice. Brad died of a flu,
they said, and they was not kind. Brad's longtime friend was not allowed at the funeral. Everything
was very sad. So when, you know, I had stayed friends with Brad the whole time right after my
mother had died. And we was good friends. I still took him the flowers out of my mother's yard that
she would want him to have. I dug up the bulbs. I helped him tend his garden. I was kind to him,
everything, just like my mother was. And then Brad and I became friends. Me and my husband
would take him to go eat. We just did everything. And when Brad died, his family was not good. His
family was not kind about it. I don't know what the problem was. I have a feeling I know what the
problem was. Think y'all can infer what the problem was. And when I went back to get my casserole
dish, it was gone. Everything in the house was gone, except three dogs. Brad's dogs was left behind
by his family after they cleaned everything out. There was a bag of dog food, there was a bowl of
water, everything else was gone. Down to the rugs on the floor, dish towels, everything. Two of the
dogs were just yapping and fighting and everything and then there sat this sweet little corgi, border
collie mix, big brown eyes, not making a sound, cowering a little bit And I looked at her and I said
"You want to go home with me? Come here. You want to go home with me?" And she came right to
me. I picked her up. I ran her to the car. I said we got a dog,let's go. That's what took off That's how
we got Mali. We stole her. We stole her from Brad's house. We stole her from Brad's house. The
other two dogs were not approachable. They were biters and we couldn't take them. So I had to call
animal control for those two. And I know they got taken and I kept up with them. They got taken to a
no kill shelter and they got adopted out to homes. And I made sure they got adopted out to homes
because I kept calling. And that's the last good thing I could do for Brad to love him. And I kept his
dog. And we loved her. We loved her. We did not know her name was Mali. I did not know Brad's
dog's names because he never really talked about them except for to just say dogs, my dogs. They
were just one unit, my dogs. But I did know that one of his dogs name was Ollie. And so I started
calling her Mali because she would come to it. And that's how she got her name. And we had Mali
for, she was a puppy then, and we had her for another 10 years. And we just recently lost her in
2022 to congestive heart failure. We lost her actually beginning of this year, sorry, 2023 to
congestive heart failure.
Kim: I didn't realize it was so recent.
Mimi: Yeah, she stayed with us quite a long time.
1:25:36
Kim: I know she kept fooling you.
Mimi: She kept, she just stayed with us and stayed with us and stayed with us. And we just kept
taking her to the vet and kept keeping her going, and this year she said she was done. But she was
here with Rachel. We had her with Rachel, we sure did. But that was our girl Mali, and that's how we
got her. We stole her. I stole her for Brad. I took care of his girl. And that's my story, your honor.
Convict me if you want to. (laughs)
1:26:05
Kim: Well thanks for the stories. And for being on the show.
1:26:22
Mimi: I love you.
Kim: And for being my friend.
Mimi: I will always be your friend. You never have to worry about that. There's nothing in the world
you could do. I love you too.
Kim: I know. Because when I was a bad friend for a while, I told you I was, and you were like well,
you're still my friend.
1:26:39
Mimi: You've never been a bad friend. You just went through a bad time.
Kim: All right. That's nice of you to put it that way, but... That's the absolute truth to me. That's the
absolute truth. You were never a bad friend. You just went through a bad time. Your heart still left
me. You were just having a hard time doing it.
1:27:06
Well, I will see you on Instagram.
1:27:19
Kim: Well I will see you on instagram.
Mimi: Yeah, I know. I know it's a hard- this has been a weird road for you, getting to know what's
really going on inside me. You're going to listen to this and be like, holy crap, who is she? I didn't
even know. It's okay But yeah, I love you and I'll see you on Instagram.
Kim: Okay.
Mimi: And you're the most wonderful, you're one of the most wonderful human beings I've ever
known. And I'm so happy I get to know you and love you, so happy I get to know you and love you.
And I'm so glad you met your, I'm so glad you met your wonderful husband. I'm so glad you have
the life that you have.
Kim: Well me too. Okay then I'll see you around. Bye.
Mimi: Bye! Don't take any wooden nickels.
Kim: So Mimi.
Mimi: Yeah.
Kim: Welcome to Patreon.
Mimi: (laughs) This is the weird question part. (fades out) (fades in) Episodes of any 90 Day Fiancé
or 90 Day Fiancé spinoff.
Kim: Oh no. Gosh.
Mimi: Hush. I need it for my, I need it for my life. (both laugh) It's good. (fade out)

1:28:41
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