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Part 1 of the Real Women of Philadelphia Live Event hosted by Paula Deen at the Lucas Theater in Savannah, GA.
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ladies and gentlemen welcome to the
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Lucas theater in beautiful Downtown
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Savannah Georgia for Paula Dean and the
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real women of Philadelphia live on
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stage please join me in welcoming your
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host Miss paa
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Dean hello
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y'all how are you
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[Applause]
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where did the pom poms come
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from
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where the dollar
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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store what's going on S
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man
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y'all sit down have a seat get
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comfortable it's mine and Craft's
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wishes that y'all sit back for the next
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hour and a half two hours and laugh and
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have a good
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time hey everybody out there on the
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web y'all tonight we're here to
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celebrate the most am
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amazing
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community on the
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web I have got women here from
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Washington to the tip of Florida you
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know it was it was
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wonderful uh sometimes people make the
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mistake of thinking that I'm Geographic
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to a certain
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area that is not
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true I've had an opportunity y'all over
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the last eight or 10 years to do a lot
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of
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traveling and I have found
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out that that woman in Washington state
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or that woman in
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Florida is not a dimes worth of
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difference between me and her just our
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accent so for those of you that are not
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quite sure how this thing worked I want
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to tell
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y'all all right when craft came to me
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through my precious little Geniuses at
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equal Greg you know who you
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are uh I thought it was the most amazing
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campaign that I had heard of and you
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know it's funny and I hope craft doesn't
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get upset that I say this but Adam I
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don't think y'all knew how big this
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thing was going to
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be I think they were pleasantly
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surprised but Adam I knew it was going
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to be huge honey because I know that I'm
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not the only woman in that country with
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a passion and wanting to accomplish
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something
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good so they were hoping if we got
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800 entries it was going to be a huge
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success well guess
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what we got just shy of
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6,000
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so starting March the 27th I believe it
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was we started the first week's
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competition the competition lasted for
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eight
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weeks each week we had a different
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topic whether it be side dishes
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appetizers Entre desserts we told the
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ladies what these were and we asked for
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them to send in a a video with them
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preparing their recipe each week we
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chose two winners so at the end of 18 at
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the end of the eight weeks we had 16
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finalists and I have to tell
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you these 16 women have come from
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Washington State to the tip of
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Florida and they have formed a
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Sisterhood like you wouldn't believe
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where are the
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[Music]
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ladies go
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down
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[Applause]
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aren't they
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[Applause]
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pretty let me tell y'all something I was
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in Las Vegas Nevada a few weeks ago
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judging the
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missusa it was a piece of cake next to
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you
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girls y'all are great I'm going to turn
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my back to y'all so I can just get one
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good look at
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them
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hey hey y'all are just
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precious and guess what what tonight the
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first annual real women of Philadelphia
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is going to be be crowned here
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tonight so
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ladies I think that we have your seats
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marked just for
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y'all I want to tell
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y'all that it's been a true pleasure for
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me to be a part of
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this because I am y'all go sit
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down
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y'all take a seat sit back
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relax are y'all
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[Applause]
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relaxed you see that Missy trotting off
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right there she is
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bad she's a bad
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girl she's an instigator of
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trouble so I want to tell y'all quickly
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what these four women are going to
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get
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they are going to be hooked up with
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other women out there in the
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community they're going to write a
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cookbook they're going to be doing book
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signings they're going to be shooting
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videos and each of these girls tonight
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these four girls are going to receive
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$25,000 of
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PE
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now I tell you what when my boys and I
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were starting our business 21 years ago
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we had $200 to do it
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with I wish there had been something
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like this when I was starting my
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struggles yes
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Brandon who are you wanting to speak to
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Precious Jamie and
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Courtney Bobby and Jamie are in Arizona
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tonight
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y'all they they are out there working
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they are the spokesman for baringer wine
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so they're off doing their own thing so
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Brandon did you get your message
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across may I their seats are over here
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so may I continue
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Brandon Brandon is my very precious
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personal assistant so when he talks I
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have to listen sorry
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y'all all right now before we get
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started tonight there's a few special
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people that I want to
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thank is Luke Dixon
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here is Luke
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here well darling I want to thank you
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along with Savannah kitchens and bath
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Brentwood kitchens
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Constantino uh Subzero and Westy Mega
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granite and doll TI
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every one of these folks contributed and
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helped build this amazing Southern
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Kitchen y'all that we use for this cook
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off and where is Trey
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Gordon God love Trey he is hammered
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nailed where are you
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Trey he slipped out okay well Nick tell
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Trey that I sent a special thank you to
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him all right and of course none of this
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none of this at all would have been
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possible without my friends and
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partners and the great folks from Craft
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Philadelphia cream
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cheese
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you know my mama so believed in Craft
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products and people can't understand why
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we'll only eat craft
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mayonnaise that's CZ that's what my mama
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had on our table didn't she Bubba and
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that's what we
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like uh so craft has been nearing dear
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to me
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for about 40
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years
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or maybe it's
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[Applause]
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41 so y'all I'm so excited tonight to
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have the opportunity to be here and pay
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it forward for all the kindness and
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successes that have come my way you know
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I had a big big break in fact I finally
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wrote a
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book because my journey had been so
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incredible uh and I've just kind of got
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one Miracle story after another but I
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want to share with y'all my first Big
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Break um after we finally got downtown
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into our first location at 311 West
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Congress
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Street uh Carl you know it took me a
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while to to get our two accounts back in
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the
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black and once that happened Carl is our
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CFO and his wife Sherry they're sitting
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there I love you Carl PA has actually
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kept me out of jail
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y'all with Uncle
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Sam but um so I got a be in my Bonnet to
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write my my cookbook because I felt like
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anybody coming into the restaurant that
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had enjoyed the dishes they would want
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to go home and make them you get it
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Adam so I went home I took my mama's
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brown paper bag
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full of her handwritten recipes I dumped
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it out on the floor I printed up a
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book I self-published it because I
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didn't it never even dawned on me to go
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to a Publishing House who would want
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some little fat old gray-headed woman
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from
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Georgia why would they want to know what
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she's doing so I went down to the next
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block down from the restaurant I printed
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up my cook
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bookbook and uh I ordered 5,000 copies
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and they said Paula you're
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nuts I said well maybe I wasn't real
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good at
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ciphering but I see right here that if I
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buy this many it's
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cheaper so I said give me 5,000 cuz I
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had saved up
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$20,000 to spend on this cookbook so I
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had it printed up and I was so proud of
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it
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um my boys and I went down to pick it up
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the three of us we got a call saying it
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was ready and we got down there and we
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were walking down the three of us
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holding
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hands and Jamie said Mama you're going
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to cry when you see the cookbook I said
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no I am not son I am so glad to that
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this is over if I cry it's going to be
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because I'm happy he said no I'll bet
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you $50 we stopped in the middle of uh
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the road
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there on the corner what's name of that
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road Jefferson Street shaking hands
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making a bet
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$50 I said no I'm not going to cry we
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walk into the publishing store he said
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Mama go to page
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four I opened it up my children had gone
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in behind my
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back and written a special letter to
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their
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mother I cried like a baby
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I want you to know I had to leave
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work first day I'd ever left work I had
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to leave because I was so
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emotional over their letter to
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me so the cookbook was there I displayed
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it in the restaurant I was so proud of
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it it had been out two weeks and it was
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going like Gang Busters I bet you we'd
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sold 25 copies
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y'all
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well John
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Barett had written a fabulous book
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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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it was so good that Clint Eastwood
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wanted to come to Savannah Georgia and
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make a movie well he was here all of the
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big Publishers from New York's Random
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House was
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here and um in Savannah a thunderstorm
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can come up very quickly thunderstorm
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came up this couple walks in to into our
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restaurant to get out of this
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storm she has lunch I am the hoe and the
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biscuit
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girl I'm bringing this to your
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table and um she didn't tell me who she
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was but like three days later I got this
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phone
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call I was absent a lot of days in
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school
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young I missed some of the stories that
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everybody else was
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learning I think I was busy
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talking or cheering or
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something but um she said hello uh I'm
15:45
Pamela Canon I'm with random house and I
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was in your restaurant and had a
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wonderful meal three days ago she said
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did I see a cookbook I said oh honey yes
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you did
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and you would not believe how well it's
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doing and she said well uh if I give you
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a credit card
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number would you send me two copies I
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said well I would just love
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to so I hang up the phone and I go find
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Jamie my oldest son and I said Jamie do
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you know somebody call random house
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he looked at me and he rolled his eyes
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he said you cannot be my
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mama he said yes Mama Random House is
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one of the top three publishing houses
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in America I said well somebody called
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and wants two copies of our book I saw
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the I saw the blood drain out of his
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face he literally
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ran to that mailboxes Etc around the
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corner within 20 minutes he had two
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books in the mail three days later again
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Jamie and I that's when the restaurant
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was closed on Monday Tuesdays and
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Wednesday nights we were only open for
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private parties so we were having a
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private group in that night and uh we
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had all the candles lit on the table I
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was the cook and Jamie was the server
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was just the two of
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us and and the phone
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rang I picked it up and she said hey
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this is Pamela cannon with random house
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she said I just wanted to call and
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congratulate you Paula she says your
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cookbook has Merit and we'd like to buy
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it and republish
17:56
it Jamie and and I
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danced
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together in the restaurant by the candle
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light and that was a very special moment
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between mother and
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son so people have asked me since then
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Paula help me tell me tell me how to how
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to get a a book out there I said hell
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that's
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easy you open a restaurant you Pray For
18:30
[Laughter]
18:32
[Applause]
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Rain so that's just one of the
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Miracles that God has just been there
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with open doors you know God re rewards
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hard
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work yes he does and I have found it the
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harder I work the luckier I
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get so I'm so thrilled to be able to
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stand here tonight and pay it forward
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and we're going to make stars that is
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going to have the opportunity to write
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their own
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cookbook they didn't have to open a
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restaurant and Pray For
19:18
Rain so where did my finalist
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go where are they where are they where's
19:26
my finalist well y'all come come on
19:29
out I think
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I where are they
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okay y'all I called them out too
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early so here they are they're back
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again y'all I told y'all this was live
19:47
and I'm going to try to stick to that
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outline I may I made boo boo so
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um we've made a little
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video cuz we we've had a good good time
19:58
had we y'all yes we have made a little
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video to show y'all a little bit of what
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this journey has been
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like hey y'all I'm Paula Dean and I'm so
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glad that you're on the other end of
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this computer because I have got the
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most exciting thing to share with you
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girls for the next 8 weeks I'm going to
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ask you girls to submit a video using
20:31
cream cheese we will have selected 16
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girls and I'm inviting y'all all to come
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to Savannah we're going to have a cook
20:40
off and we're going to select four
20:42
finalist and you are going to be the
20:46
real women of
20:53
Philadelphia best dishes in love girls
20:56
I'll see you there
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hi I'm Beth Cleveland from Fort Valley
21:02
Georgia this is Stacy lansen in Sedona
21:05
Arizona and I'm coming to you from
21:07
Brooklyn New York Franklin Tennessee
21:09
Kansas City Missouri North Carolina
21:11
Hamilton Alabama coming to you from
21:13
beautiful San Diego
21:15
[Music]
21:17
California your videos were great your
21:21
recipes look delicious it is getting so
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exciting here at my house we are
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spreading love with Philadelphia cream
21:29
cheese this is so
21:32
good this contest has totally taken over
21:35
my life it's even thought my husband to
21:37
like cream cheese he never liked it
21:39
before this is a great group of gals and
21:43
you know I can't wait to see this just
21:46
grow and grow and
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[Music]
21:51
grow this contest has
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meant
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so much more on a personal level it's
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just been a tremendous Growing
22:02
Experience and it's all thanks to you
22:05
Philly and Paula for getting me
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reinpold with so I want to thank y'all
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Philadelphia cream cheese has already
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changed my
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life
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thank you thanks again thank you thank
22:31
you thank you thank you thank you thank
22:32
you thank you thank you I have a
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thousand new friends a family that
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extends itself across the United States
22:41
who would have thought cream cheese
22:43
could be like a social binder and and it
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has
22:47
[Music]
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been get in there and pack your
22:54
suitcases cuz you've got an all expense
22:57
paid trip trip to Savannah
23:00
Georgia y we started screaming jumping
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up and down oh my gosh oh my gosh you
23:06
really really like me I am so
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excited I literally couldn't speak
23:15
yay we're going to have a cook off and
23:18
we're going to live stream it and you
23:21
are going to orchestrate the writing of
23:23
a cookbook you're going to star in
23:25
cooking videos and going public
23:28
tours and you are going to be
23:33
$25,000 richer this community is
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unbelievable their wives their mothers
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their sisters their friends their the
23:43
real women of
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[Music]
23:49
Philadelphia
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