Relationship Matters tv, Celebrating 2023 and Celebrations to Come in 2024

Join me and let's have a conversation about your celebrations in year 2023. Also, what celebrations are you looking forward to in 2024. New relationships, new experiences, new accomplishments?

Transcript

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening wherever you are in the world. It’s Dr. Jan Forman with Relationship Matters TV. I hope everyone is having a beautiful morning, afternoon, or evening. Well, today my show is all about celebrations—celebrations for 2023 and celebrations you’re looking forward to in 2024. I kind of wanted to start off with my celebration. This is my few days after Christmas show and my last show before 2024. You see, I still have my little Christmas stuff up. We decorated a tree, put stuff outside, put lights out on the walk, did all that stuff to make it look festive outside. The best celebration for me in 2023 just happened on Christmas Day. Some of you know my husband had been in the hospital and he was gone from this house from me for 25 days. Well, the celebration on Christmas Day was when they allowed him to be released to come home. That was the best Christmas gift for both of us. I want to thank all of you from everywhere—from the United States, Europe, even Morocco and Africa—that sent your prayers and blessings to us. That was my biggest celebration. The other celebration was on December 5th; I had a birthday. I’m an octogenarian, which means I have been on this Earth for 80 years. On December 5th at 12:15 p.m., I celebrated my 82nd birthday. Anytime you want to know from me, I think I’m going to write a book and do another TV show on how to age gracefully. If you have some ideas as to what I should call that show, send it to me. I’ll put my email up a little later. What I asked was for people, if you have something to celebrate for 2023 or you’re looking forward to 2024, to come on. I have this lovely young lady with this beautiful name that’s going to come on. She’s in the Green Room having some refreshments, so I’m going to ask her to put the refreshments down and make sure you don’t have any of the food on your teeth because we provide really great little snacks. Without further ado, hello!

Guest
Hi, happy belated birthday, happy come-home day, just blessings, blessings, blessings bestowed upon you, my sister, my friend.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Thank you so much, Janice. Thank you so much for coming on. Look, I know you have to have a whole lot to celebrate.

Guest
How did you know that? What gave it away? Okay, so first of all, tell my audience who you are and what you do.

Guest
I am a clinical social worker, a mental health therapist who now provides mental health services via telehealth, which I love. I’m a retired adjunct college professor for 24 years, a retired school social worker, a former founder of the first black adoption agency in Cleveland. Oh my God, I’m hyperactive. I’m a writer and developer of social programs, and I’m also a mom of two children, a stepmom to three children, a grandmother to two, and a great-grand to one. How about that? And I’m 72!

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow, just don’t look it, girl. You’re beautiful.

Guest
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. You know what the kids at school say when you start talking about all what you do? They start saying, “You do too much.”

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Exactly. I left out half of it because, girl, you got other things to talk about. So tell me, celebrations. Tell me about your 2023. Don’t leave anything out.

Guest
Well, first, giving honor to God for allowing me to reach my 72nd birthday on March 7th of 2023. I’m so thankful, I’m so grateful. That’s probably the biggest because without that, I wouldn’t have been here to celebrate the other blessings in my life. But I’d say the next big blessing, like you, Dr. Jan, my husband had some trials this summer. This spring, he underwent open-heart surgery on May 1st, 2023. This man had never been in the hospital except to see me give birth to our two children. He had open-heart surgery on May 1st. Our daughter whispered in his ear, “Daddy, you’re going to have to hurry up and get well because I have paid for a cruise for you and Mommy in July, and I can’t get my money back.” So my husband stepped up to the plate. They sewed him back up, put the little goat valve in his heart. July 4th, we were on the cruise, we were in Cozumel, and praise God, he is thriving and doing well. That was the first big celebration. What do you think of that?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That’s wonderful. Yes, goodness, surgery, wow.

Guest
Yes, just like your husband, God just revitalized them, hooked them up, put him back together, wound them up, and sent him back out there.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, before you go to the next thing, when you talked about open-heart surgery, I just wanted to say this before I forget because at 82, sometimes you forget.

Guest
72 also.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
When my husband was in the hospital, it had to do with a low sodium count. I never heard of anything like that, and they said it was a reaction to a specific medication he was taking. It was very rare that he would have that reaction from that particular medication, and that sent him into intensive care. So when we see advertisements, low salt, low sodium, certain amount of sodium that you must have in your body, they say the number is supposed to be between 135 and 145. His was 105, which they said was dangerously low. It’s like, good grief, I never ever thought low sodium would do that.

Guest
It is. And you know, Dr. Jan, this is an opportunity to shed some enlightenment. I’m someone who, probably like you, is fascinated with holistic medicine. I’m fascinated with natural cures, homeopathic alternatives, etc. But we need to beware because we don’t know enough about it. So there’s a big trend to use Himalayan salt, right? To my understanding, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not sure that Himalayan salt contains iodine. Maybe one of your listeners might chime in. But I am not certain that it does, and what happens is when we consume salt without iodine, the body does not process it in the correct fashion. So it could be that someone’s sodium levels are low because they’re thinking there’s an alternative to salt. I’m going to use Himalayan salt. We just have to be so careful when fads come. We need to do our due diligence because iodine, if you look at a box of Morton salt, it says iodine is a necessary nutrient. All things work in synergy. So we remove one thing from our body, which could cause our potassium levels, our magnesium levels. We must be so careful. I am now seeing a functional medicine person because just my lay knowledge, reading all I can, I can come up with some dangerous or non-advantageous remedies. So I’m seeing a functional medicine person, a doctor, MD, so that I can be sure that I make the correct alternative decisions. Let’s not try to heal ourselves.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, exactly. And you get a lot of this stuff in, you know, like low salt, no salt, you know, this, that, this other. But then I thought about in Salt Lake City, the salt flats that animals go to the salt flat and lick the salt. So in other words, it’s something that is necessary for our lives, and it’s just something that I never… it was just… but anyway, so that’s, you know, so let’s continue with your celebrations.

Guest
Okay, so my daughter treated my husband and I and my granddaughter. My son is in Houston; he couldn’t join us. I think he was out of the country. He’s always out of the country. So that was a big deal. Then in November, and this is a little unique, my husband and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. Now let me clarify, I don’t mean we’ve been married two years. I mean we’ve been married two times. So we celebrated our second time around. I’m real tempted to sing “The Second Time Around.” Sorry, I’m real corny. So we married initially on September 11th, 1982, and we hung in there for seven years, and we needed a break. We took a 22-year break. My math is fuzzy—22 years. We married again in 2009, and this time we’ve been married for 15 years. So if you put that together, 15 years plus the seven years, that’s 22 plus the two-something years in between, you kind of get the picture. So my second big celebration—life is complicated—we went to Vegas on November 9th. We stayed for about three, four days to celebrate our second time around anniversary, and we had a ball. It was a short time, and it was short money. Can I tell you how God blessed us?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Most definitely.

Guest
Can I just tell you? Okay, so I’m known for putting stuff together at the last minute. I am known for letting God make a way out of no way. When I tell my husband I want to go to Vegas, he said what a lot of men say, “We ain’t got no money to go to Vegas.” Okay, I’ll make it happen. So I booked us for two and a half days. So you might think, what do you do for two and a half days? Everything. We had a ball. We get to Vegas. We stayed at… so we didn’t do the Bellagio for $2,000 a night. I’ll do that some other time. But we went to Luxor, which is really nice, had everything I needed. It’s the pyramid at the end of the strip. Our very first night, we went to dinner at the top of the world. See, if I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it big, even if I got a little bit of resources. I got faith. So we went to the top of the world, which, if you’re familiar with Vegas, it’s at the Stratosphere Hotel. You go all the way to the top. It’s all glass, and it revolves, and they charge you $60 if you want to sit next to the window. I said, “Oh, not for the food, just to sit next to the window, that’s $60.” I said, “We’ll sit on the next level,” which was perfect. They charged us $30. We still looked all over Vegas, and we revolved, and we had lobster, and we had this, and we spent $500 that night. My husband’s like, “Well, can we get home quicker?” I was like, “Oh ye of little faith.” You talking about Willis? His name ain’t Willis. The next morning, after we blown $500, is our first night just having dinner, getting a picture. The next morning, we get up, and I’m my usually bubbly self, and he’s his usually grumpy self. He’s a lovely grump, but he’s just not a morning person. So, “Hello, good morning,” and this employee gets off the elevator, and he’s got this big vacuum cleaner. He’s keeping the Luxor spotless, and I get to talking, which is what I do well, and we get to exchanging information. In five minutes, this wonderful man named Michael said, “I’m going to bless you guys.” He gave us two coupons for $150 for drinks, for food, for any amenities in the entire Luxor complex. There’s about 15 restaurants. We’re very happy. It ain’t over. It ain’t over. So we’re like, “Oh, breakfast is free. We got $150 for food, for drinks.” We sit down, we order this big breakfast. Dude comes back, and we’re like, “Oh, is he stalking us?” He came back, he said, “I decided since you’re on your honeymoon, I need to bless you some more.” Dude gave us two more vouchers for $150. He gave $300 in vouchers for all the restaurants, all the drinks. Needless to say, Dr. Jan, we didn’t pay for another meal. We didn’t pay the rest of the days—no breakfast, no lunch, no dinner. Everything, we had money left on those vouchers.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow.

Guest
Then we went to see Michael Jackson at the Mandalay Bay, the Cirque du Soleil, which was fabulous. Then we went to see the Motown Review, which is fabulous. Then we went sightseeing the next day and ate and partied, and then we came home.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That was beautiful.

Guest
We spent $500, period.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow.

Guest
Trust Him. That’s the truth.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, like, wait, won’t He do it?

Guest
Won’t He do it? You can do it. Only believe.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow, that girl. Now that was a celebration.

Guest
It was a celebration.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That was a celebration. So now, when was that? What month was that?

Guest
That was November because our second wedding anniversary is November 14th.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay, wow. Janice, so now I know you got some more.

Guest
Okay, yeah. So like many families, we are a blended family. So this Christmas, our Christmases are so wonderful. I am blessed to have three adult stepchildren who have families, and then my husband and I, we have two together. So Christmas at our house is just like yours. We got lights outside. Oh, I got a trick for you guys, budgeting on a shoestring. I laid my house out for Christmas, and it cost next to nothing. I’m getting good at this. Okay, I went to Walmart, and I bought—I have six windows—I bought tree toppers because I wanted a wreath with a partridge inside of the wreath, a green holly wreath with partridges. So I bought six. They’re like a dollar a piece. In every window, I have a little wreath with a big red little partridge. It’s so cute, and holly and berries adorning each window, and people think I did something. It just looks cute. And then I bought silver tinsel, and I’ve got a silver wreath with bells and little silver trees. And we had everyone together—my one grandchild, my grandbaby, my daughters. We had all together, and we had lobster and crab and shrimp and barbecue and turkey and dressing and mac and cheese and potato salad and German chocolate cake and sweet potato pie and collard greens. And that’s my celebration, girl. And we sang and laughed and we played games and we praised God.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That’s beautiful. That is so… did you cook all of that?

Guest
Me and my daughter and my stepdaughter and my husband grilled.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, wow, that’s wonderful.

Guest
It was wonderful.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And my son just left today. My husband was like, “Glad to see you come, glad to see you go.” Oh, and he brought his girlfriend.

Guest
Yes, I forgot. Oh, we loved her.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, okay. That was the first time you met her?

Guest
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Oh, wow.

Guest
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, to coincide with your Christmas celebration, since my husband came home from the hospital on Christmas Day, what we decided to do was to not even come home first but we went straight to his sister’s house. And so it was his sister and her husband and her two kids, and then her daughter’s husband. Her daughter’s husband is a cook, actually. People have been telling him that he needs to open up a restaurant or something. He cooked enough. His mother-in-law said, “How many people do you expect?” He cooked so much. And his wife said whenever he’s cooking, she can’t be in the kitchen because of his recipes. And my husband hadn’t been eating much in the hospital. He ate so much. And when you start talking about shrimp and lobster and crab legs, this and that and the other, and cooked all that, oh my God, he makes the best spaghetti in the world. And so I said, “You know, why don’t you just… I’ve been trying to get my spaghetti like that. Can you give me the recipe?” So he said it’s a family recipe, he can’t give it out. I said, “Well, my husband’s part of the family.”

Guest
What’s in it? What’s in it?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I don’t know.

Guest
Does he put sausage in it?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, I know he puts ground beef in it. That’s all I know. And you know, I mean, it’s red, and I know it’s tomato sauce, but it’s something that unique. It’s the flavor. It’s just… it’s some unique spice that he’s using. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know. You know what? That’s what I should have done was like taking the sauce and then send it to a kitchen and have them go through and like, “Is this in there? Is this in there?” His wife said, “Nope, nope.”

Guest
Ancient Chinese secret.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Ancient Chinese secret. And he said it’s his grandmother’s secret.

Guest
And you didn’t taste like Cajun?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
No, I don’t know. And I’m not good at like, “Oh, this is that, this is that.” I don’t know. But nobody knows, but it’s good. It’s the best spaghetti in the world. But anyway, so yeah, so we celebrated there, and they were so very happy to see my husband, and he was very, very, very happy to be there and to be around his family. So that was our Christmas, and that was just a blessing. And then my son came over.

Guest
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And he brought his girlfriend.

Guest
Okay, okay. Did you like her? I love mine. She is so sweet, so nice.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
You know, I’m not gonna say too much ’cause he’ll get angry with me. But as I have said to him, I know so many times, you know, I would like to have a grandchild. I’d like another, you know, because I mean, I might get so old that I don’t even know what the grandchild is, you know.

Guest
That ain’t gonna happen.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So wait a minute. So I know if he’s watching, he’s gonna say, “Mom, you’re in trouble. You’re in trouble.”

Guest
I’m in trouble.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So let me… I gotta go on a quick commercial, and so when we come back, I’m hoping some other folks will come and put it in the comments. People, put, you know, put like in the chat. And I know because I can see the numbers, so I know there are some people out there who have celebrations. You don’t have to come on live if you don’t want to. All you have to do is just put a comment in there. So let me just take a quick commercial, and we will be right back, and we’ll talk about, number one, what celebrations you have had in your business, in your profession, and then we’ll talk about 2024. You know, what are you… what celebrations that you know are coming in 2024, okay?

Guest
Right.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
All right, so we will be right back after… now you can text me or you can message me, you can DM me, whatever, but let me know what your celebrations are, okay? We will be right back.

[Commercial Break]

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
We are back with my guest, Janice Williams. Hi, we’re back, Janice.

Guest
Hey, here I am.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So tell me, what celebrations do you have as far as your profession is concerned?

Guest
Oh, wow, that’s a good one. You know, I can’t anticipate anything that’s already planned, but I know for sure that there is always some event, something that I didn’t anticipate that seems to fit directly in God’s plan. Just a few years ago, I just… this was laying on my desk, and I’m wondering where it came from, but I guess… oh my, way back in 2016, a dear friend surprised me and told me I was getting an award, and I’m like, an award for what? And I guess the Cuyahoga County Council decided they wanted to recommend community builders, and before I knew it, I was there, and I don’t know if you can see this lovely certificate I got. So I don’t really know what God has in store for me. I haven’t planned anything, but I’ll tell you this: every day that I wake up, I’ve got my husband, I’ve got my daughter, I’ve got my son, I’ve got my granddaughter, I’ve got my stepchildren, I’ve got my dear, dear friends, you know, throughout my life, and my new friends like you, my old friends, my new friends. Every single day, Dr. Jan, I’m going to celebrate. It doesn’t have to be a specific event, but every day that I’m up is a cause for celebration, and I mean that. I’m grateful.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
That’s wonderful. That is so wonderful.

Guest
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And you’re right, we should celebrate every day, every day that we are above. And so now I have someone else I see coming in, but I don’t see her face. Oh, there she is. But before she comes in, I want to show something. It’s not coming soon, it’s already here. It’s called “Cutting the Ties.” I’m going to bring to you the author because this is a big celebration. Yes, hey!

Gwendolyn Dunbar
Hi, Miss Gwendolyn Dunbar.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I’m muted. How am I muted? No, you’re not. I hear you, but you’re freezing. I did not hear what happened before.

Gwendolyn Dunbar
Yeah, well, you know what? If you don’t… maybe if you don’t move around, it’s not working in our favor. I hear you, and I see you, and we see you. So “Cutting the Ties,” this book finally came out. Gwen, tell us about this. You have been working on this book forever, so tell us about it.

Gwendolyn Dunbar
Oh, wow, you froze again. So anyway, I can tell them about it because I did forever. Okay, this is a book about women who have experienced domestic violence, and I try to give some solutions or ways to get out of it. I’m hearing you the same way. I’ll just keep talking. Tell me if I’m… if you don’t hear me, I’ll repeat. Okay, the book is about women who have experienced domestic violence, and I figured… I thought that women needed a solution to some of the problems, so I made up stories from stories that women have told me about some of their tragedies, and I tried to put a positive ending on each of the stories. And with each of the… the book is designed with a short prayer at the beginning, a short story, and a poem, and my comments on how these women could be able to get out of these situations. My hope is that the book will reach young and old women because a lot of young women are stepping into it, whereas a lot of older women have come out of it, and maybe they can trade stories in order to help the younger people not get into these situations. And the book is out now. You can get it on Amazon in Kindle or paperback, and I forgot what else I was gonna say, but on Kindle or paperback, and I hope that you enjoy it. Well, it’s… I’m trying not to move because I’m afraid that I might lose you guys, so that’s about it, though. I hope it’s a wonderful… enjoy it. It’s “Cutting the Ties: Conquering Abuse,” and it does have different stories in it. And can you maybe just tell us about one of the stories? Did you hear me? I think it’s a real delay. Can you hear me, Gwen? I guess not, ’cause you froze. Anyway, so what I was…

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
It’s one of the stories.

Gwendolyn Dunbar
Okay, yeah, one of the stories is about a young lady who had been in a domestic… a violent situation with her boyfriend, and…

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
You said…

Gwendolyn Dunbar
Yeah, it is, I think so. Well, I… it’s about a woman who was in a bad situation with her boyfriend, and she manages to get out by doing something to him, and the court said… I think we both breaking up. Okay, oh, so no problem, no problem. Go… yeah, no problem. Well, people, if you want to know… oh, oh my goodness, it knocked her all the way out. But if you really want to know the different stories, there are different stories about younger women. There’s a story in there about a young lady who is in high school, and then there are other stories, stories about older women. But it’s a really good book, and what she says, it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have, it doesn’t matter if you are young or old, it doesn’t matter how smart you are, it doesn’t matter if you are weak or strong, abuse has come into nearly every woman’s life. It may be short or it may be long. Sisters, let’s help each other to understand abuse and how to cut the ties. So I really urge… let me see if I can get her back on. I really urge you, even if you are not a victim of abuse, I’m sure that you know someone who either has been or is being abused. And so go to amazon.com and get either the hard copy or the Kindle copy. And if you don’t… if you’re not buying it for yourself, you can buy it for someone who… because you can really help someone. And that was Gwen’s celebration, and she’s… I can see it’s muted. Gwen, your mic is muted. But that was… that is her celebration, that she finally got this book out that’s going to help so many women. Can I just say something?

Guest
Just say something.

Guest
So in my practice, Gwen, it’s so nice to meet you. I hope you can hear me. I am so excited for what you’ve done. Let me tell you, that’s a huge piece of my practice. It cuts across all racial, socioeconomic lines, all class, ages. I can currently think about maybe three of my clients on my caseload that I’m trying to support to free themselves from emotional abuse, which is a stepping stone to physical abuse. We call it the cycle of violence. Women will start out with, “He cusses me out,” and I said, “Oh, that’s step one. That’s step one.” The verbal just progresses. “Oh, he only pushes me once in a while when he gets really mad,” or “Only after he’s had a drink.” Excuse, excuse, excuse. He’s lowering your tolerance to accept, and a lot of women don’t think they’re being abused. “Oh, he just slaps me or pushes me down. He don’t really beat me up.” Their tolerance level… abuse can be insidious. Everybody don’t start off with a knife at your throat or a gun at your head, but the cycle of violence is so… it’s predictable, it’s insidious. This is serious. Gwen, you’re going to save some lives. I’m going to tell my clients about your book, and I hope they’ll tell others. And I… yeah, and I see she’s frozen a little. You know, and like I’ve been telling her about, you know, talking to different women’s groups, you know, because a lot of women won’t… you know, they don’t… they won’t say anything.

Guest
No, they’re ashamed.

Guest
They’re ashamed.

Guest
Yeah, they’re…

Guest
They are the victims.

Guest
Yeah, and yeah, because they are the victims. But yes, I’m very, very, very happy that Gwen finally got this book out because, yes, indeed, she is going to be able to help a lot.

Guest
Save lives.

Guest
Yes, save lives and save children. And yes, so I, you know, I’m gonna put it out there because in 2024, Gwen’s going to be celebrating all the women that she has… has read her book and all of the women that she has gone to all the different women’s groups and talked about and all. And guess what, Gwen? You’re gonna end up in 2024, you’re going to be a coach and be coaching women out of their abusive situations.

Guest
Yes, we claim that.

Guest
Yeah, we claiming that, Gwen. That’s in 2024. And as Janice said earlier, her celebration 2023 and 2024 is just to be here above ground and be thankful. Mine is the same. However, and I, you know, I started thinking about all my celebrations in 2023, and there have been so many, you know. And in 2024, what… I know a lot of you know that I am a mother-daughter relationship coach. And so the celebration that I’m looking forward to in 2024 is also to reach more mothers and daughters.

Guest
Oh, yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And really to help them have a more loving, harmonious relationship because I did not know…

Guest
It’s huge.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, until I really got into it, that, you know, I would… I could be somewhere and I talk about it, and no matter where I am, when I say that I’m a mother-daughter relationship, I get responses like… I get that from men and from women. And it’s like, it’s so needed. And what gets me, I was watching… I like to watch old-time TV, and I was watching the Carol Burnett Show, and then I was watching Mama’s Family. And the dynamics between… you know, when I used to look back, it was just funny. But now I look at it with a different eye, and it’s the way that the mama treats Carol Burnett and the things that she says to her. And then the other daughter, who’s well-accomplished and stuff, and how she’s always, you know, throwing that up to Carol, you know, like, “Why couldn’t you be like your sister?” And it’s like, when you look at a lot of TV shows like that or even movies, you know, people laugh at it, but it’s really…

Guest
Absolutely.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, that I found out it affects our personal and our professional lives.

Guest
It does.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
So I applaud both of you. I applaud you, Janice, for what you do, and I applaud you, Gwen, for your book that’s coming out. But wait a minute, there’s going to be a celebration in August. What is that celebration, Janice? What is it that we’re looking to celebrate in August?

Guest
Oh, come on. What’s happening in August?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I think August… what is it that we’re supposed to be doing? Hey, y’all, senior moments are real. They are so real. Dr. Jan and I are going to Africa. We’re going to Ghana. We’re going to Senegal, girl. How can I forget? And it’ll be my first time, Gwen, laying my feet, touching the ground in the motherland. When I tell you I’m so excited, girl, Jan, I didn’t know what you… I’m so excited. Yes, we are going to the motherland.

Guest
Yes, yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, I have always wanted to.

Guest
Me too.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And when you told me about it, and I thought, okay, and it’s very reasonable.

Guest
It really is, and you can pay monthly.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes.

Guest
Should we tell them who we’re going through? Because I don’t think they’re sold out.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Well, tell… you tell them.

Guest
It’s Grace Ministries. They’re on Facebook. I think the gentleman’s name is Jerry Paris, but it’s Grace Ministry Travels, and I don’t think they’re… they’ve got a bunch of trips, but we chose the one in August to go to Ghana and Senegal, and I think we’re gonna be gone for, what, 10 days?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah.

Guest
And it’s very affordable, so y’all check it out. And if you book it, you know, hit me up on Facebook, Janice Williams, and say, “Hey, I’m gonna join you and Dr. Jan.” I’m so excited, Jan. You owe yourself a trip. It’s extremely reasonable, really. It’s extremely reasonable.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, yeah. So we’ll talk about it, Gwen. Believe what you were talking about. What’s happening? So too much German chocolate cake, girl. Too much, too much sweet potato pie. And so that will be our celebration.

Guest
That’s gonna be a celebration.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yes, yes.

Guest
Oh my.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
To plant our feet, because people who have gone there before… I forgot about what people have gone there before, and they always say this feeling that they get.

Guest
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
And I’m like, “What?” They said, “You know, it’s just a feeling when you put your feet on the ground. It’s a feeling that you get that comes over you like you’re home.” And I’m like, “Really?” And they said, “Yes.” They can’t describe it, but it’s that. And so I want that feeling.

Guest
Me too.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
I want to see what they’re talking about.

Guest
Me too. Do you remember the late, great Richard Pryor?

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Of course.

Guest
He said, “You are forever changed.”

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Okay.

Guest
He said when he went to Africa, he stopped using the N-word. I remember that. Wish we could send everybody if that’s the case. He said he stopped using the N-word. He said he had so much respect. He had never been to a country where everybody, you know, who was in charge was black. He saw black pilots and black this and black that. It’s just empowering. Not, “Oh, there goes one of us,” but, “Oh, there’s all of us.” Just cultural pride, just something that we don’t see all the time.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, that’s very, very true.

Guest
Yes.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Yeah, and to go where it all began for all of mankind. This isn’t just a black thing. This is the origins of our species. We are Africans, all.

Guest
Very true, very true.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Everybody needs to come on home, go on home. So Janice and Gwen, I really want to thank you for coming on and being my guest and really talking about your celebrations. Now, I know this… I’m gonna tell you what happens. I put it out there, right? And then I will get texts and I’ll get messages. “I just didn’t want to…” It happens all the time. “I didn’t want to put a comment, but let me tell you what my celebration is.”

Guest
Wow.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Instead of sharing. Thank you. So I really want to thank both of you for coming on. And don’t forget, “Cutting the Ties,” the book that’s going to change the world. Yes, amazon.com, and it’s in the hardback or the Kindle version. Now, if you hit me up on… let’s see, I’m going to put my email up. If you hit me up, you can go to relationshipmatterstv@gmail.com or call me on 877-667-SPEAK. The first five ladies or men who hit me up, I will make sure that you get that book free of charge. That’ll be my gift to you. Wow. So thank you all again, and I will see… I want you to have a very happy, prosperous New Year. God is good. God bless you all.

Guest
God bless everyone, listeners, participants, Gwen, Dr. Jan. God’s blessings and love. 2024 is gonna be off the chain, they say.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
All right, you all have a beautiful… thank you so much. Bye-bye.

Guest
Bye-bye.

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman
Wow, this has been… you know what? It’s always great, and the hour always goes by so fast. But next year, a whole new batch of guests who are going to give us a lot of value, who’s going to knock your socks off with all of the wonderful, wonderful things that they’re going to bring to you. So for all of you out there, have a beautifully blessed, prosperous New Year, and I will see you in 2024. Take care and bye. I’ll say it again, bye.

Global Keynote Speaker & Corporate Trainer

Dr. Janice Hooker Fortman “Speaker for All Occasions” is an authentic keynote speaker, corporate trainer, author, life coach, and motivational and inspirational speaker for organizations and companies as well as individuals around the globe. Dr. Fortman gives real world solutions in powerful, engaging and memorable presentations.