 Hello my fellow Snifers. My name is Marlene McCohen and this is Vinnie and we would like to welcome you to whatever Wednesday. Well Vinnie doesn't, Vinnie doesn't want to welcome you. He just wants to leave you. We'll see what, Vinnie. Well, I understand but you're supposed to be in the video with me. Do you care? He says no. Maybe Vinnie knows that whatever Wednesday is not about births. Now since I haven't done a whatever Wednesday in quite a few weeks due to all of the birthdays, this week by the way is my sister's birthday. So it's just kind of never ending in the month of August. It has been really hard for me to get around to doing the Wednesday videos, especially because I've been in the habit of doing the my real life videos, which is kind of like my own reality show that I love doing and putting together and I hope you guys are enjoying them. But because I'm a perfectionist, if I don't have something like that ready, I didn't show up with anything at all, especially with the way things have been going in the last week. And then I came up with a great idea. So here's what I'm going to be doing today. I'm going to tell you a story, a story that's not bird related, a story that's just like any other vlog, just a story that I really want to tell you guys. Sometimes I think of great stories and I want to share them with you, but I think to myself, that's not bird related. And then for whatever Wednesdays, I totally could have been doing this all along, but I've been making the my reality series, which I love. So here's what I'm going to do on very, very busy weeks. I'm going to show up to whatever Wednesday with a story, any kind of story about my life for you guys to tune into. And on weeks that I'm not so busy, I'm going to continue making my real life videos, or maybe I'll just continue making them and putting them on random days of the week so that you guys can enjoy them when you want to. In the meantime, I'm going to spend some time making whatever Wednesdays kind of being like a story time and filling you in on the story of my life. I kind of want a bird though. Do you guys want me to get the bird? Where are you? Look, where can you be? Now for today's whatever Wednesday, I want to tell you a really funny story about when I was young. This story takes place when me and my family were on vacation. By the way, I chose this story very specifically to be my first official non bird story time, because I think it's going to fill in a few holes that you might not even know are missing. I first thought about telling you this story when my sister guest starred on my story time Sunday. And she told the story about when she first got our bird tie and how my dad told her today is the day we're getting a parrot. However, she did not believe him because she was used to him making up stories about animals. When I heard her mention that in story time Sunday, I felt like, no, I have to clarify exactly what it is and what he does and where this history came from. Not only that, but it's funny. I think I should start off by saying that my dad is a complete animal lover. He was the dad that always brought home the random cat or the bird that needs saving or surprised us one time with chickens. I don't even know till this day where he got them. I think I was like five years old. We kind of lived on a farm at one point in our first house in America. I had moved here from England with my parents when I was a kid. We didn't have any animals on the farm. I just call it a farm because our neighbors were farmers and they all had animals. We had a lot of land, but no farming to do. My dad always was the type to bring home animals in a box. I remember the day he brought home my first official pet that was for me, which was a cat and I named him Rascal and Rascal was my first pet. This whole story starts with a tall tale that my father used to tell us when we were kids and for some reason this story never got old. Once a week, I kid you not, he found a different way to tell us the same story and we would fall for it every single time. I think it was just the excitement of being a kid and wanting it to be true, but I also think it was his way of testing us to see how much we wanted a pet. This is what my dad would do. When I was young, after work, my dad would see me and be really excited and he would say, Marlin, you know what? Today, I saw a dog without a tail. The first time he told us this, I'm like, oh my god, why didn't he have a tail? And I was all worried about the dog not having a tail. But then he went on and he said, you know what? He jumped into my car and I said, you want me to take you home and you can come see my kids? And then he gets all excited and now in my head, I literally think that there's a dog somewhere in the car that he's going to bring into me because it's not new. He has brought home cats and things like that before for saving or for us to see. So I really thought maybe there's a dog somewhere because isn't a dog kind of like the dream pet for all kids when you're five years old. So then I'd go, really? And then he would say, yeah. And I said, you can come home and see my kids. And I was about to shut the door. And then the owner came out of nowhere and he took the dog and the dog ran away and went home with him. And I was so disappointed. I was like, what dad? Why didn't you take the dog? Why didn't you shut the door before? Like part of me had like a good heart where I was like, oh, the dog found an owner. But part of me was like, if he would have just shut that door one second earlier, I would have a dog right now. So as a kid, that's all you think about is like, dad, can you be faster with your reflexes? Anyway, weeks later, I would hear about the dog again. But it was a different dog. He always made the approach as if it's a new dog, new day, new story. So we're in the car. And suddenly dad says, Marlon, you know what? I was on the street. And I saw this dog. And I told him, do you want to come home with me? And then I saw that he had no tail. And we don't do dogs with no tail. And that was always a running thing in the story, the no tail. I don't even know why this is specific to him. I think it was a test to see like how much I wanted the dog. Like, I don't care if he has a tail, dad. It's awesome. Bring him home. But he instilled in me like, we don't take dogs without tails. Later on, when I grew older, I realized people cut the tails of dogs. And like, I was just like, I get it now. Dad doesn't want the tails of dogs being cut. And then he would go on. And he would say that the dog spent all day with him and was prepared to come home. And he was very exciting. And he told him about the kids. And then the dog got lost. And I'm like, no, dad, how could you lose the dog the second time? This is insane. I really, really want a dog. Clearly, it's not the same dog as the last dog, right? Because that's what he's implying. Now, when I tell you, I've heard this story probably about 200 times and 200 different versions. You'd probably think to yourself, how did she not get it already? I don't know. I was four years old. I did get it. Like, but I didn't want it to be true. I really wanted the dog. Not to mention in between all these stories, he had showed us many different animals all the time. So it wasn't like I'm consistently hearing about pets and never getting to see one. Like, there was kind of like a truth to most of his stories. When I turned seven, I got into birds. And I got my first bird duly. You could watch the video on my first bird duly and how I got duly, because that was a complete surprise from my dad. The reason I tell you that specifically is because once I got into birds, the same story would come from my father, but now it was about a bird. He would be like, Marlene, you know what? A bird landed on my car today. And I said to him, come home. And I tried to catch him and bring him in. And then he left. So now it's the same thing. But I'm like, why didn't you get the bird? I know, I know what you guys are thinking. You're like, how are you not getting it right now? I got it. But I would get so invested in his story. I mean, if you just saw the way he tells stories, you would be 100% invested in it too. You would think that he almost caught this bird with all of the antics and facial expressions that he tells this with. I'm not kidding you. The point there is that has a history of telling us these stories cut to a few years later or maybe the same year. I think this is actually maybe when I was like eight years old, we decided to go on vacation. It was kind of like the year of mini vacays. I don't know. I just remember that summer. It was like, we kept going to places not so far away, but for like two or three days, I think it had something to do with different people inviting us places. I don't know where we were. It was in a state on the east coast and we were in this hotel and it was like a beachy hotel. So all the rooms were connected outside. My brother and I, we've always had problems waking up. We do not like to wake up in the morning. We like to sleep late. We like to go to sleep late and we like to sleep for long periods of time. So I remember we're all in this hotel and my dad wakes up really early. He's actually not an early morning person either, but anyway, I'm sure when my dad went to scope out the area, he was trying to figure out what fun things he could do with us. They always took us to do really fun things and my parents are really spontaneous too. So just like they can up and move countries really fast, which they kind of just did from what I understand. They were also the type to plan enough to get somewhere, but not enough to stick to boring plans. If something better came up, they were the type that's like, awesome, let's go. Let's take them to this water park that we just found. They were always kind of fun like that. Anyway, I'm sleeping. My brother's sleeping. We're in that kind of sleep where we're aware that dad is up and we're kind of praying that he doesn't want us to get up because we are so not ready. So I'm in this deep sleep and suddenly the door opens and it's my dad and he says, Marlin, Danny, guess what? And I'm like, what dad? I really don't care. I just want to sleep. He goes, there's a monkey outside and he's taking pictures with people and I'm like, no, there isn't dad because, you know, there's a dog without a tail and he goes, no, really, there's a monkey outside and he's very cute and you can see him and come on, come on, get up before he goes. And I'm like, really dad? No. And I just don't believe him. And I'm like, whatever dad. And he goes, okay, but the monkey's not going to be there all day. He's probably going to leave soon. Now he's getting me worried. Like, I need a monkey encounter. My brother needs a monkey encounter. That's just us. Will we take the chance on missing the opportunity of having a monkey encounter? Maybe. We don't want to. But we're pretty committed sleepers. That's how we are. But if there's a monkey outside and we miss it, we're going to be devastated. So now the wheels are turning and I'm starting to think about getting up. My brother is not moving. Usually I'm worse in these situations. And I'm like, really dad? There's a monkey. And he goes, yeah, he's outside. He's taking pictures with people, $10 and he'll take his photo with you and you can come down and see him. Now the fine details of that sounds pretty believable. $10. There's a cost. I mean, I'm only like eight years old. I haven't exactly experienced the whole, you know, let's go to Cabo, Cancun or whatever. Anyone can take a picture with a monkey for $10. Like, to me, huh, this makes sense. Rare opportunity. See a monkey take a photo. This sounds legit. But I am still not moving because I just don't know. And I remember that the dog without a tail has never actually gotten into the car. Although keep in mind, somewhere in between those stories and this one, he got me my drink bird. So, you know, those things are always in my head. Well, I try one last time and I say, dad, no, I don't believe you. And he goes, you don't believe me? Yeah. That's how he says, here you are. And he says, yeah, here's the picture right here. This is the monkey. He's downstairs. And sure enough, there's a brochure and it has a picture of a monkey on it. And clearly that's evidence enough. So I bolt out of bed like lightning, like, oh my God, there's evidence. There's a monkey downstairs. I am going downstairs to get a picture with this monkey. And I'm really excited. And I jump up, I hop up. I mean, for someone who can sleep, let me tell you, I can get ready really, really fast. So I'm hopping out of bed and my brother is not moving. And I'm like, is he insane? We're about to have a monkey encounter. Now keep in mind, my brother and I were always one and together on everything, us against the world. We were like twinsies. That's how we are. So I didn't understand why he is not getting the memo. And I'm like, Danny, Danny, you hear, there's a monkey downstairs. And he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, stupid. This is the brochure. This is the monkey. And then my brother doesn't move. And I'm like, what's up with you? Come on, let's go see the monkey. Because clearly, if he's not ready, we're not all leaving here. And I need to get him ready so that I can see this monkey. And then suddenly, my brother, who's by the way, two years younger, says, Marlene, that's the zoo brochure. What dad conveniently picked up the zoo brochure showed me this thing as convenient evidence. I hopped out of bed. And now I'm not going to get to see a monkey. Well, well, here's the great thing about my family. That was not as devastating as you would imagine. It was funny. Like, I had a sense of humor since I was a kid. I'm obsessed with my dad. I thought it was funny. My brother thought it was hilarious. He's a complete comedian. So I knew then that this was going to be like one of those stories that we talk about all the time. But to complete this story, I'm going to tell you a follow-up story just to prove to you how things end up in my household. Let's fast forward to 10 years later. I'm 18 years old. My brother is 16 years old. We all now live in a completely different country, by the way. We live in Israel. But I'm in college in America at this point because I had to come back and jumpstart life. But every time I wanted to see my family, they were now overseas. I had to make a huge flight home and probably only could see them every six months or so whenever there was a break. Well, summers were really exciting because I would get a long time to be at home in Israel, hanging out. For those of you who aren't familiar with the country of Israel, it's a real party country. So being a teenager over there for the summer is a lot of fun. But that didn't help my brother and I with our stay up all night problem. That just escalated the problem. We would hang out all night long, party, chill, hang with friends and sometimes not fall asleep till six in the morning. Now, if my brother and I don't fall asleep till six in the morning, back when we were young like that, we wouldn't wake up till three, four, five, or six p.m. the next day. So we got on a really bad roll of doing that because we were just having so much fun. Anyway, the place we lived in was about to be sold. So my dad kept bringing different people by to see it. On this one particular day, I think it was like four p.m. and I was still sleeping. Little did I know my brother in the next room was also sleeping. I didn't know it at the time, but my dad was getting worried around noon, one, two, when we were not budging because he knew he had to show this house. And I'm pretty sure my mom would have been really upset knowing that we're still in the bed and the bed isn't made while people are about to come over. So as usual, like in the last story, I wake up to my dad at my door going, Marlin, there's a horse outside. Clear as day. I remember the monkey. He goes to the next room and tells my brother, Danny, there's a horse outside and my brother like doesn't care and I can hear him do that. And then he comes back and he goes, Marlin, you don't want to see the horse. And I'm like, no, dad, I know there's no horse outside. And he ignores me. And then he goes and tries with my brother and he goes, Danny, you don't want to see horse. And my brother, I can hear him go, no, dad. And we're both thinking like, okay, we're not falling for this game again. Because it's clear in our minds 100%. So he leaves me alone. And an hour later, Marlin, these horses outside, you don't want to see him. He's very cute. And I'm like, uh-huh, dad, he goes, you can go down and pet him. At this point, I'm thinking, no way, even if there was a horse, he's still there an hour later, right? So what does he do? He goes to the next room. I can hear him tell my brother, Danny, this horse, he's very big. The guy is riding him. Look out the window. And I'm like, no, like, and I'm just hearing this and I'm like, wow, he's not going to leave us alone. An hour later, he does the same entire thing again. But with new details, Marlin, there's two horses outside now. And I'm like, yeah, dad, okay, like, you don't understand. When I don't want to wake up, I cannot wake up. And he goes to my brother, Danny, there's two horses now. And he goes, okay, dad, he leaves us alone. And an hour after that, I hear somebody come into the house. And my dad showing him around and I'm like, oh my god, this is too late to even get myself together. Like if I was to stand up now, they could walk in on me getting dressed. So the only thing to do is to just stay under the covers and not do anything about it. So I hear him go to my brother's room first. And they're speaking. And my dad's like, so this is the first bedroom. Yeah, my son is sleeping. And he goes, he's been out all night long. And you can hear my dad trying to make excuses for the teenagers. Then he comes to my room and I'm hiding under the thing. And he goes, oh, this is my daughter's room. She just came from America. So she's very jet lagged right now. And the guy goes, ah, America. How long has she been here? And my dad goes, eh, three weeks. And myself clearly I'm not jet lagged. I just, we both have problems getting out of the bed. And then the guy leaves. And now I'm all pumped. Because I couldn't get out of the bed. That's all I want to do. So I get up. Obviously my brother did the same thing because I hear my brother call from the next room. And he goes, Marlene. I go, what? He goes, there's horses outside. I go, shut up, Danny. He goes, look out the window. There's horses outside. I look out the window. There's two horses just standing there. I couldn't believe it. I'm like, well, he cried wolf, but there's two horses outside. And I come over and I'm like, dad, there's horses outside. He goes, I told you there were horses outside. I'm like, dad, the monkey, don't you remember the monkey? And that's why when Jenna told you guys the story of how we got tied and how she really didn't think she was getting a bird that day because dad dragged her to the grocery store. That's why it was so shocking for her. And she was really excited. And for those of you who followed my Instagram story with my dad in Ireland a few months ago, I just want to tell you this real quick. When I got off the bus from Dublin to Colarney in Ireland, it was like a four hour ride. I arrived at 2am. My mom and aunt picked me up. My dad has this big pot of soup ready for my arrival. It's dark outside. And what does he say? The first thing out of his mouth after I eat and like I start eating, he leans up against my aunt's counter and he goes, Marlene, I have a horse. And I'm like, okay, dad. He goes, no, I have a horse. He's outside. You're going to see him tomorrow. I don't believe him. But like we are in Ireland, I don't know. He goes, you wait. And then he tells me, and guess what? I went to the horse and I told him, you wait here and I will bring you the good stuff. And I'm like, okay, dad. What's the good stuff? He goes, I brought him the carrots and the parsnips. And I'm like, really? Where did you get all this stuff? And like, you really think the horse is waiting for you? Like he said, yeah, George, give me the good stuff. I'll be right here. And it was in that moment I realized he will always see me as a little girl that's like five years old. Well, in the morning, I am jet legged. So I wake up really early and dad comes into the room and he goes, Marlene, you want to go with me to the store to get the carrots for my horse? And I'm like, uh-huh. Yeah, later. When I wake up finally, hours later, I go downstairs, the back door is open, there's this huge backyard. And there's my dad feeding carrots to a horse. And I say, wow, dad, there really is a horse. He goes, I told you there's a horse. And I'm like, okay, apparently you're accurate with horses. I filmed him feeding the horse and trying to call the horse over. And I said, what's his name? And he said, Randall, dad names all animals, like the horse's name probably was not Randall. And then he fixed Randall's hair. So like, it wouldn't go in front of his eyes. So it would go like behind his ears. And it looked all weird. It looked like this. Okay, you can't even do it like this. And Randall looked really funny. And my dad said, his owner's going to think, wow, what happened to his hair? And then we would see Randall out in the street. He was a working horse. But in Ireland, they're actually so much nicer to the horses. They'll have like five. So a horse will only work one day a week. And I know it's true because he was in the backyard five days a week. So I felt pretty good about that. And I saw how they really care about their horses and really take time to feed them. And every single person I interviewed over there said, no, if my horse doesn't want to go out that day, we don't make him go out that day. So that is the full circle story of my dad and his tall tales about animals and how he would get us very excited. I hope you guys enjoyed this whatever Wednesday. This is the new look of whatever Wednesday, by the way, I'm still going to do my real life. I'm so happy that you guys tuned in. Please leave me comments, like this video and subscribe. It means so much to me. Vinny was here. Now he's resting. He's trying to like hang out under the pillows a minute ago. I'm going to go put my midnight birdie to bed. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. Please follow me on Instagram at Marlene McCohen. I love you guys. Bye.