Erica Erickson Interview with Meltdown
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00:00Hey guys, Meltdown here and I'm in my Zoom room. Normally I'm talking to rock stars or
00:04wrestlers or whoever, but today I have a rock star in her own right. Erica Erickson joins me.
00:09I mean, you got the shirt on, right? Rock stars never die. I do. They live forever. We live
00:14forever. That's right. So when we were walking in, I'm like, I think we know some of the same
00:19people. She's like, well, we're really cool. So we know a lot of the same people, which is true
00:23probably. But welcome to The Rift. Thank you so much for coming down. Oh, thanks for having me.
00:27I wanted to talk about your, of course, your time on TV, what you're doing now and why you're not
00:33on TV anymore. But a lot of the stuff that you, that we're going to talk about, you've also mentioned
00:37on social media. So you're kind of open to talking about this stuff. Yeah. I was kind of almost forced
00:42to at first and then I, and you kind of embrace it. Right. And I wouldn't say forced to, but
00:48people were kind of wondering where I was and, and, and I thought, you know what, I'm not going
00:53to sit your hold up and, and, and I'm going to talk about it one because people were wondering
00:58and two, why not talk about it and, and let people know what I'm experiencing and maybe
01:04I can help others. And that is, it's, it's still happening now. Yeah. Maybe be an inspiration
01:08to other people for sure. Yeah. Uh, so, uh, it was funny. I was, I was driving down here
01:12today and whenever somebody loses a job or it gets off, you know, when they, they're taking
01:16off TV or radio or whatever, they always say a popular local personality. You were very popular
01:21and people were like, probably wondering what happened to you. So when did you officially
01:25come off the TV? Well, it was, it was difficult because I kept trying to stay on the air, even
01:31though I was actually basically almost passing out while I was at work and in doing interviews.
01:38And, um, I kept trying to go to work and, and my photographers would say, Erica, you don't
01:44look so great. So in January of 2021, I was in the hospital and, um, I was in the hospital
01:51and, um, throughout that spring and summer, I was barely on the air at all. I think there
01:57was a few days here and there I had gone in and I was trying to do stories, but yeah, through
02:03from January to 2021 to, I think June, those six months, I was only on the air for a few
02:11times. Now, now put yourself back in there because, uh, right before that, of course, I
02:15mean, we're talking right in the midst of the pandemic, right? So did, did that cross your
02:19mind that that could have something to do with that or did, or was, um, first of all,
02:23let's, let's back up even a little bit more because I can't pronounce exactly what you
02:26had going on. So why don't you let us in on that? Well, at first doctors were like, oh,
02:31you have migraines or TMJ. And I said, you know, I've had migraines my whole life. This
02:37seems a little different and my jaw doesn't really hurt. Hmm. So they, I finally, it's kind
02:48of a long story. It's a very long story, but they figured out that they were cervicogenic
02:53headaches. So basically there was some nerves in my neck that were, they kind of come up
03:01and they go into your face and they come around, they kind of wrap around. And I had nerve pain
03:08all through my face and my scalp. And sometimes you couldn't even brush your hair and you had
03:14all sorts of numbness. I had numbness. It was going into my hands and my, into my feet.
03:19Hmm. And it, you know, they're all connected, all these nerves and, and, and, um, I had some
03:26really bizarre symptoms. I had this extreme vertigo, you know, where I couldn't balance. And then I had
03:32inner ear issues. I had eye pain and the nerve pain got so bad at one point where I remember I was,
03:39I couldn't, to say I couldn't sleep was, I mean, that's an understatement. My head felt like it was
03:46on fire in the back, the sides of my face. And then the front of my face, there was, I remember
03:51there was one spot right here that was like numb. So I would take my hand and I would just sleep like
03:58this. And this one corner of my face for months and months at a time. And yeah, my, the back of my
04:04head, the nerves were so angry that, you know, how nerve pain is. It's like fire zaps and things
04:12like that. So yeah, I had to cut all the back of my hair out. Cause it got so knotted. I don't know
04:18if I had, I really talked about that, but that's just, you know, as, as someone who was, was on TV
04:23and, and a woman that, you know, you kind of, I like someone told me I had big hair today. And I
04:29said, I take that as a compliment. So I had to cut all the back of my hair out. And, um,
04:36that was very emotional. And, uh, it was, it was, um, that was just one part of it where,
04:44okay, this is, this is my life. And this isn't, this is, it's not just losing my hair or losing
04:52sleep. It was, I'm lying in bed and they don't know what's wrong with me. And, uh-oh,
04:59this is getting, this is getting real. I can't, I haven't been to work in months now.
05:03And it started getting, started getting real, really fast.
05:08So you've been, you were going to doctors, I'm assuming like quite a bit.
05:12Yes. And nobody could figure out what was going on or it took a while for them.
05:16It took a while. I did have one doctor and she, I love her. I always, I always name drop her.
05:22She works at the, um, the mind Institute. Well, the, uh, I call it, it's the mind clinic
05:28in Farmington Hills. And, um, her name's Dr. Lauren Amen. She's a headache specialist.
05:33And she said, Erica, there's something else going on here. It's not just migraines.
05:37She's like, you're having migraines on top of what you're having. And she said, I think
05:41it's coming from your neck. So she referred me to Dr. Daniel Feldman, Feldman, who now is
05:46at the mind clinic. And they did all these scans on my neck and they figured out it was coming
05:50from my neck, uh, and a lot of different air, a few different areas, but mainly at the top
05:56of my neck. And, um, they went in and kind of did the nerve ablation and certain day targeted
06:04certain nerves. I felt relief almost immediately. Wow. That's fast. It was like that. And how
06:10long did you fight with this? Probably two years. It was a gradual headache. I actually said
06:17to my photographer, I said, it's normal to have a headache every day. Yeah. Right. I have a headache
06:22every day. And he said, no, that's not normal, Erica. And I said, okay, started getting worse.
06:26It was a dull headache kind of at the base of my neck. And then it started kind of feeling like
06:32it was on one side of my head, kind of like a migraine, but then it started going into my face
06:38and then my eyes and then my ears. And it just was every day. So I try to tell people if you have
06:44a headache every day and it's kind of dull or maybe every other day, or it's at the base of
06:48your neck, sometimes it's posture. And some people call it kind of tech neck.
06:56It's not normal. Don't just take ibuprofen. Cause that's what I was doing. And that raised my blood
07:02pressure. Yes. It comes in those economy size packaging, but I was taking so much that it
07:07raised my blood pressure and that I had many strokes. I was in the hospital and they tested
07:11me for cocaine. My blood pressure was so high. I saw that it was negative, but it was, it was
07:17insane. And you can't, you can't just put a bandaid on it every day because you're just going to end
07:23up. I mean, I, I, I guess I was fighting for my life at one point. Yeah. And then of course,
07:32this happens during like, obviously a terrible period in time where we're supposed to be in our
07:37houses and locked down and, you know, and so there's, there, there's like that whole thing
07:40where we're like, you're probably losing a lot of the human element or the connections with maybe
07:44people you had outside your house or whatever the case is. Does depression start to set in?
07:49Oh my goodness. I mean, I'm sitting there eating Jell-O and half my face goes numb. And I think I'm
07:56having another, you know, another mini stroke or something. And I don't have any loved ones able to
08:01visit me and, uh, yeah, or I'm bed bound and I, I can't have my friends visit me. I'm just lying
08:10there. Yeah. It's to say that, to say that it was hard. I don't want to sit here and compare my
08:18story to anyone else. Cause I know that everyone is dealing with something. This is just something
08:24that I dealt with. And it made me realize that, okay, there are times that we have sadness throughout
08:30the day, but that experience for me made me realize that, okay, if I can get through a day,
08:40I can get through an hour. It helped me learn mindfulness, helped me learn to be grateful for
08:47certain things. Like I remember one day I was just staring out the window and there was just a bird
08:51and I was, I focused on the bird and it helped me get through an hour of, of just pain. And I was like,
08:57okay, I'm just going to get through another hour. I'm just going to get through another hour.
09:01And depression is really scary, but yeah, I had to go to a loved one and say, I can't do this alone.
09:08I'm, I want to check out. And I felt really weak at the time saying that, but now I look back and I
09:17say, you know what? I was really strong for doing that, for admitting that I couldn't do this alone
09:22and that I needed help. I don't think that's weak at all. I think letting people know that you,
09:29that, Hey, I need support. And I, and I, I can't do this by myself.
09:34Yeah. And then, uh, now with the, you know, with, with social media and stuff, like if this would
09:38have happened like 20 or 30 years ago, you would have really been alone, but then you have social
09:41media and you're kind of telling your story to people. Is that kind of, uh, uh, kind of just
09:46a little bit of therapy as well?
09:48Yes. I can't, I have people reach out probably a couple of times a week and I'm still referring
09:57people to my doctors because they have similar symptoms or they're saying I've tried Botox for
10:05migraines or I've tried this medication or I've, is it, is it migraines or do you think it's
10:10cervicogenic headaches or do you think it's tension headaches that I keep getting? I actually had a
10:14thunderclap headache. I don't know if you've ever heard of that. They're really scary. And I had one,
10:18um, a couple months ago and I hadn't had one since I was in the hospital and those can be really
10:24scary too. They come on really suddenly and, and, you know, without really explanation and you know,
10:31it's a scary time when you don't know what's happening to your body or, or doctors are kind
10:35of saying, well, I don't know what's going on. But when you have good doctors too, who are, who are
10:40sitting by you and fighting for you, or you have a kind of a community or someone who at least is
10:45trying to understand, I mean, that's all that matters. It's scary when you don't know.
10:51Well, in one of your posts, I think one of the videos I saw on your Facebook, you talked about
10:55the supports you were getting from not only people that you do, but from people that you
10:58didn't know as well. Right. It's so comforting. I mean, I, yeah, I mean, people who didn't even know
11:06me reached out and just said, Hey, we're pulling for you. I don't people who didn't even know what
11:12was going on. They didn't even ask. They just said, whatever's going on, we're here for you.
11:18We're fighting for you. And, uh, that's, that's what we are as humans. We're, we're all the
11:25same. When it, when it gets down to it, we all, we all hurt the same. We all cry the
11:30same, you know, we all love the same. We all that now through this experience, did, did
11:37you feel like that, that you had to like kind of reinvent yourself and will you ever go back
11:41to TV? I, you know, what's funny is I, I almost feel like I, yeah, am I getting corny
11:50over here? No, go ahead. Tell your story. That's why I brought you in here. I want to,
11:54I want to hear your story. I want you to share with everybody. I did this photo shoot with,
11:58I saw that. Yeah. Just a few weeks ago, my friend, Brad Ziegler, who's an amazing photographer,
12:02by the way. And I just wanted, you know, refreshed headshots. And he said, let's just go all out.
12:07Come on, Erica, let's just go all out. And he called it eras with Erica because it was sort of
12:12just showing this evolution and kind of getting my power back after I, you know, when you have a
12:18health crisis, you feel so out of control. You feel like nothing's in your control because chronic pain
12:22and, and even, you know, just mental, whatever it is that someone's dealing with that takes over
12:29your life. You feel like your life's out of your control, right? Well, I felt like I was getting some
12:34my power back after I got my, my health back in, into some of my control. So I did this photo shoot
12:40and I, I, I just feel like, yes, I, I sort of found myself for the first time. Is that strange
12:51at my age? I know. Do you feel like, do you feel like the, the pre-health issues right now or are you
12:57still kind of in there a little bit? I honestly feel, I don't think I've ever felt better. Okay. So
13:03you're, you're kind of back to normal, but I think it's mental, right? I think it's a mental thing.
13:08I think because I wake up every day and I, I'm not in pain and I can do things now. And I, and just
13:17this morning I woke up and I, and I, I don't have a headache today. I can move my neck. And I remember
13:23days where I could only move my eyes. Wow. Well, I guess it's got to help you mentally when you,
13:29when you know that you're going to wake up without pain, but when you know you're going to wake
13:33up with pain, that's probably good. That probably puts a pretty big burden. Yeah. And, and you wake
13:36up not knowing there's no answer. And I, that's why I really feel for people out there who are
13:40struggling, whether it's mental or physical, or maybe they have a loved one who's going through
13:45something and they feel so helpless. I understand that, but sometimes you, you have to just change.
13:51You have to flip the script and you have to tell yourself, okay, I'm going to get through an hour.
13:56I'm going to get through the day. And that's what I keep doing with myself. Even if I wake up and I'm in,
14:00I have a headache, I'm like, all right, this is just today. That doesn't mean tomorrow's going
14:04to be like this. So you still do have them sometimes. I still have them sometimes. Like
14:09I'll have a, I had a migraine that lasted three weeks. You're just like three weeks. It's like,
14:15well, I don't want a migraine that lasts three weeks or three hours. I'll take a migraine that
14:18lasts three weeks and I'll go to the hospital and they'll break it up and, and we'll, we'll move on.
14:24Okay. Now it's, uh, isn't that crazy that that's, that's the bar now? Yeah. Right. Yeah. It's a,
14:31it's kind of a weird bar. Sure. I know. Right. But you, you did ask me about broadcasting. I love
14:36broadcasting. It's, it's the first love for me and I do miss it, but this is where I'm at right now.
14:42And I love, I'm at Henry Ford health doing PR. What a great team by the way. And, uh, I, I,
14:49this is what's right for me right now. And that's kind of my attitude is I'm embracing every
14:55opportunity and I'm, I'm open. I'm always, I don't know, man, this is like my attitude now.
15:02Hey. So I'm assuming that she went to school for broadcasting, correct? Yes. I went to Wayne
15:08state. Unlike one of us in this conversation. Oh, but, uh, I don't even want to tell you how I got
15:13to where I am, but anyhow, I want to, now I'm curious. No, that's, it's a joke and a joke
15:18and poor taste that we're not going to use here on the program. Uh, but, uh, anyways,
15:22um, no, so you, you go to, you go to school for broadcasting and I, I'm assuming that's
15:26what you felt like you had to do. Uh, when do you like, when do you, uh, get out of bed
15:31one day and go, okay, I'm going to go find another job and do something different. What
15:36was that day? Like, or what, when did you, when did the, when did it kind of like tip over
15:41for you and say, okay, this is the day. We'll see that. That was, I left TV because of
15:46these health issues. I couldn't do it. And I fought just tooth and nail. I'm like, no,
15:51I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. But you know what? It was the right move. I, I
15:55have, I, it's what I had to do. And you have to put your mental and physical health first.
16:03And I'm not saying that TV is just killing me by any means. I was killing myself.
16:09Well, wait a second. It could have been, you could have been shining shoes or doing anything
16:12else. And you still had to, to stop is what you're saying. Yeah. Cause it's just, you
16:17couldn't do it. I had to chill for a minute there. I was grinding away. I, and, and that
16:24was another thing I realized too. I was over probably overdoing it myself and that was part
16:30of my personality. And, and Hey, you know, I'm sure you you're guilty of that. Sometimes
16:35we're all guilty of that sometimes. Yeah, for sure. So we all need to find a little bit
16:39of a balance, mental and physical health. If you don't have that in check, everything
16:43else is going to fall by the wayside. And I'm assuming having just met you today, but
16:48I follow you on, you know, socials and I watched you on TV, of course, but I'm assuming you're
16:52a creative person and where you get your creative outlets now.
16:57Oh, well, I'm an artistic person. I, I, I like to draw and paint. That's one of my favorite.
17:03I love to write. I, you write very well, by the way, your stories are fantastic.
17:07Oh, thank you. So you're, Hey, come on.
17:11My stories, uh, probably a little bit of work, but compared to yours, well, thank you.
17:16I, I work on personal things that I write and who knows, maybe I'll put something out.
17:20It does anyone want to meet up? Like put a book out there maybe, or some kind of, you
17:24know, ridiculous screenplay. I don't know. We'll see. But honestly, I just love to write.
17:29And that's, that's one of my creative outlets right now. Put stupid videos up. Honestly,
17:35if I can make somebody laugh, that makes, that makes me happy.
17:40Do you, do you miss any of the, any of the grind that TV, um, afforded you? Yeah. Yeah. Cause
17:46it, cause people probably think that it's a lot of work and it is a lot of work. And I told you my
17:49schedule to say, which is a lot of work, but sometimes that's what drives me. That's what
17:52gets my day going. I got up this morning. I played hockey. I went home, did my stuff,
17:56but now I'm talking to you. Another interview. I got my radio show. I got ghost hunt later.
18:00I know. Right. You and your ghost hunting. That is so fun by the way. Yeah. But yeah, I do. And
18:06it's exciting. And, but I also remember that I can work from home a few days a week. I can hang
18:12out and, and, you know, work on my laptop with my dogs sitting next to me and, and take calls that
18:20way. And, you know, if I need to lie down for a minute, I mean, it's, but again, I, I feel a lot
18:25better now and, and I can run around and it's great. So, uh, I just feel really lucky right now.
18:33I don't know. I'm cheesing. I'm smiling over here because I'm, I, I don't know how to, I'm just
18:39really a different person. And I know that sounds crazy that I would not change anything about what
18:46happened. None of the pain, cutting my hair out. Yeah. And a way it sounds like it may have opened
18:52up your eyes and, you know, given you a new chance. I, I, I feel like I get it now. I get
19:00when people say you, you having a perspective on life and just being grateful for each day.
19:08I, I think I'm starting to get it in my old age. Yeah. Mighty old age. Right. Are you still
19:16in contact with some of your, uh, with some of your coworkers at Fox too? Oh, they're like
19:20my family. They're like my, uh, dysfunctional family. Yes. And, uh, they're, they're, they're
19:29just dear to me and they're so, they're so good to me. I mean, there were a lot of tears shed when
19:34I left. I was going to say, how hard was that? It was terrible. It was terrible. And you just came
19:41to a moment where you're like, I just have to leave. Yeah. I, I, we were talking and I, and I just
19:47couldn't be, I couldn't report on the street and, and, and do what I was doing at the time.
19:55So again, who knows what the future holds? I don't know right now. I'm very happy with what I'm doing.
20:02And, um, again, I'm, I'm always open to new opportunities and, you know, where I'm at and,
20:10um, you know, I'm just open to everything. Yeah. Uh, there's no saying, I can't remember
20:17exactly. I'll paraphrase, but it's like, uh, sometimes, you know, you see an example and
20:21sometimes you are the example, right. And you're the example right now and you're helping people,
20:24uh, whether you know it or not. One of my friends, uh, plays in a rock band. I'm not going to tell you
20:29who it is. Uh, I'll tell you later, but, uh, you know, he said, well, no, I'll tell you later,
20:33but he said, you know, he, he pushed, he put stuff out there on the internet to try to inspire other
20:37people on his physical fitness journey. Cause he was like, he was in a really bad place and if he
20:42could get out of it, then anyone else can too. That's what I mean. And sometimes it takes,
20:46and often it does, unfortunately, as humans for us to just really hit the worst times in our lives.
20:57And I, and I hate that, that life happens that way for, to make a lot of us realize certain things.
21:04But again, I, I, it sounds so cliche and, but it is a cliche for a reason. I wouldn't change anything
21:12about the way things happened over the last few years is as difficult as they were because I, I see
21:20life so differently now and I just appreciate so, so many things now. And I wake up and sometimes I
21:26just take a deep breath and I'm like, Oh God, Oh, this is so, I just, I feel things differently.
21:32I see things differently. And if I can help other people experience life the way that I am now,
21:39then I feel like that's what I meant to do. Yeah. That's why I wanted you to come in here
21:44because it's like, you know, like I said, I followed your story from afar and I used to watch
21:48you on TV and all of a sudden one day you're just gone. I know, you know, it was weird. It's like,
21:53wait a second, what's going on here? And, and then, you know, I heard about the battles you were
21:58fighting and stuff. And, uh, I think that, uh, yours is a, is a battle that needs to be shared
22:02with people to tell other people, Hey, there you got chances out here. You can, you can, you know,
22:07do the best with what you have and fight and keep digging. Yes. And people, you don't have to be in
22:12pain every day. You don't have to just fight through it. And I know it's like, Oh, I'm strong. I can,
22:18that's what I told myself every day. I'm strong. I can do this. I'm different than everybody else.
22:22I can grind away. I can just take some ibuprofen and I'm good. No, no, you are not different than
22:29everybody else. You are not the exception. You will end up in the hospital and you will,
22:33no. Well, you had something seriously wrong, but even, even people that aren't in your situation,
22:39whether they're maybe, uh, hooked on something or they've had a bad car accident or whatever.
22:43It's like, you know, you wake up every day and it's a new day, another chance to start all over again.
22:48Yeah. That's exactly it. That's exactly it. And just because, just because you had a bad day or a
22:56bad moment doesn't mean that's defining your life either. And, and I kept doing that too. I kept
23:04defining my day or my week or my year or my life by my past or by experiences. And the past,
23:14they're just stories we tell ourselves and often they're not even accurate. Are they,
23:19you know, half the time, the way we tell our past is exaggerations because we talk crap about
23:27ourselves. You know, if we talk to ourselves the way we talk to our friends and our loved ones,
23:33we'd be a lot nicer to us. Wouldn't we? You might be right. Yeah, for sure. We're so mean to
23:37ourselves. Can we just be a little nicer? Can we talk to ourselves? Like we're our three-year-old
23:43niece or daughter or son? Oh, mine are probably taller than me. So I don't do that.
23:49Oh, see, look how mean you are to yourself. Just teasing. Hey, what were some of your favorite
23:55stories that you did? What, what kind of stuff did you like to cover on the news?
23:58You know, some of the stories I like to cover were really twisted, but some of the stories I like to
24:04cover were the sweetest feature stories. So if you want to know some of the twisted ones, that's fine.
24:10But, uh, I mean, of course I covered the, you know, Bob Beshara and, uh, you know, I mean,
24:18that was crazy. And then some of the long trials and things like that and the bankruptcy, you know,
24:26things like that. But some of the feature stories, I mean, I had this, this was one of my, this was
24:31actually my last story. And another reporter had to put it together because I couldn't finish it.
24:36And he actually told me on air that he was this teenager. He was injured. And he told me on in
24:47an interview that he didn't want to live anymore. And I bought it broke my heart and I wanted to
24:53finish the story so bad and I couldn't, but of course another reporter stepped in and did it.
24:59And, uh, he had his whole mouth, uh, his, he needed new teeth and he thought he was so ugly,
25:05a teenager, a teenager, he was the most handsome, sweet kid. And he was covering up his face and
25:13cause he had these scars and he was in this accident and he was like, he had the most beautiful
25:19soul he does. And this dentist stepped in and they're like, we're going to fix them up.
25:24They fixed them up. And, um, you know, just when you see someone step up for another human being
25:30that they don't know. And this, this young kid, I don't know. He just, he stuck with me. Just,
25:38just people like that, that you meet. Those are the kinds of stories that I like.
25:41Yeah. The good news stories. Um, before we came on here, I told you I was going to go do that ghost
25:46hunt and your face just lit up. You're like, Oh my God. So I love ghosts. I don't love ghosts,
25:50but ghost hunting. And that just fascinates me. So real life ghost hunters. Are you serious? Are
25:55you kidding? Awesome. Yeah. So, well, you might just have to make a trek down to a Detroit with
26:00me tonight, but, uh, what other kind of stuff do you like? Well, I love, I mean, I like creepy
26:06stuff. Is that weird? No. I mean, I love psychological thrillers. I mean, this is another cliche. Yes.
26:13I'm a woman who likes serial killer documentaries and coffee and things like that. You'd be surprised
26:19how many women are in the, into the paranormal out there. I'd run across quite a few. Yeah.
26:24It's fascinating. Yeah. And I don't, when people say, well, I don't believe in ghosts. What do you
26:29say? Um, I ain't scared of no ghost. Yeah. I mean, there are people that are skeptical. Um,
26:40uh, former red wing. I was just talking to him a couple weeks ago and his wife is super into this
26:45stuff. And he's like, ah, I don't know about that, you know, but it's like, it's just fun.
26:49It's, you know, uh, it's interesting. Uh, I really, I think that there's, um, there's just a lot that
26:55people don't know. And that's kind of why I kind of get into it a little bit, even with, even, you
27:00know, with your life, when you were doing news stories, that there's stuff, people don't know,
27:03you're trying to bring out the stories to them. Yeah. That was another really cool thing about
27:07reporting. Just, you never know where you're going to end up. And the people,
27:12every day was different. Every day was different. But I mean, one day I'd be either, you know,
27:18repelling from a building or in a hot air balloon or interviewing the detective who was hunting down
27:26someone just, or, you know, a presidential candidate or it just, yes, every day was incredibly
27:35different. That's what happens in my world too. It's like, uh, I may, I may know a little bit more
27:39about what I'm going to do each day because I have it on my whiteboard and some days change a
27:43little bit, but it's, it's not the same thing every day. I mean, you could have a ghost just
27:47creep up on you. I could probably do an interview with one. I would see. I'm, I'm, I want to see
27:54that. Yeah. I expect that now. Uh, well, can you superimpose a ghost behind Erica when we're
28:00done? Okay. Uh, that's post-production. So, well, what do you got going on in the future? You're
28:05working as you said at that. Um, where were you working at? Um, I'm at Henry Ford. Awesome team
28:12over there. Shout out to Jeff Atkins, ghost hunter. Yeah. My friend, Jeff. Yeah. We might,
28:17we might have to go see him tonight. Yes. I, when I found out he was a ghost hunter, I'm like, dude,
28:21you do that. Like, I didn't know. I just, I don't know real life ghost hunters. Yeah. Jeff's great
28:27guy. Jeff and Todd, they do great. Well, shout out to the whole team, not just Jeff. Okay. The whole team.
28:31Yeah. And so you're, you're, you're working there. And, uh, I mean, I think people might
28:36want to see you on TV again. I'm trying to push this on you, but it's like, uh, maybe
28:40like a weekend gig or something somewhere. Well, I mean, I do some freelance PR stuff on
28:45the side too, but if people want to start a campaign to get me back on TV, I mean, that's
28:51fine. You're not going to say no, just throw like a huge, you know, salary on it. A lot
28:58of zeros. Yeah. Honestly though, it's so fun. And I, I love chatting with, you know, people like
29:04you and, and just, it's, it's a, again, it's a first love. I, uh, if people like to hear me talk,
29:13I don't know, I'll keep doing it. No, I think this is interesting and a fascinating and, uh,
29:19and I can't say like how much respect I have for you. Somebody that, you know, really had to fight
29:24and battle. And that's a lot of the reason why I wanted you to come on. I wanted you to tell your
29:27story, like I said before. And it's like, uh, you know, maybe to uplift other people,
29:32but to tell people what you've been up to. Oh, that, well, that's really sweet. And I know that,
29:37um, there's just so many people out there. Again, my story is just, just one of many.
29:44And, uh, I just know there's so many, just considering the response I've gotten,
29:48it's a little sad that there's so many people who are dealing with this, but I also know that
29:53if I can get help for, you know, what I got help, I mean, with it's, there's help for everyone else
30:01too. Yeah. All right. Well, I think we'll, uh, we'll let you go get back in that hot rod car of
30:06yours. I know she's a wild one out there with that hot rod busting around the motor. So you're
30:11going to put that thing away pretty soon or what are you driving all winter? I'm going to drive it
30:15all winter. And I know people are going to make fun of me. Yes. I drive a red Camaro and I'm probably
30:20going to get pulled over a lot. And I know I'm going to be driving in the winter with that.
30:23I know it's terrible. I'm terrible. I've been in Michigan my whole life and I drive a car that
30:28does not work in the winter. Did you grow up here? Yes. Where at? I grew up in Canton. Oh,
30:34see, that was really cool that you got to work on a TV station in your hometown. I know, right?
30:38I grew up in Canton. I lived in Detroit for a couple of years. I, um, I worked in Traverse City
30:45and then I came back to and worked at Fox two. What was it like, uh, being on TV in your hometown
30:51where your parents could see you and all that stuff? My mom record, she would DVR every single
30:57newscast. I'm not exaggerating. Oh, I believe it. And then my grandmother, they would discuss
31:03my outfits. You think I'm kidding? No, I believe that too. Okay. My mother wanted me to be on a
31:10country radio station. That never happened. I worked for WTCM. Oh, where was that? Up in
31:15Traverse City? Up in Traverse City. Okay. Yes. Yeah. I actually, I have a new appreciation for
31:20country music and anyone wants to argue with me, let's chat. I just bought the latest Hardy album
31:28on vinyl. I'm a vinyl guy and I love that record. I love Hardy. Are you familiar with Hardy? No.
31:33Oh, okay. We'll talk about that. Well, I mean, apparently I, I, I need to be schooled on this.
31:37Right. Yeah. Hardy's the best. He just played with, uh, Morgan Wallen at the Ford Field, uh,
31:42back in August. Wow. Yeah. So big time. I need, wow. But my mother would work at the, uh,
31:49convenience store in the little one horse town I grew up in and all the correctional officers
31:52would come in and she would say, my son's on the radio. See, I love that. Yeah. Our best fans
31:57are our mothers and fathers, right? Yeah, for sure. And yours are still here and still
32:02around? Uh, my mom's in Canton. I was just over there. Wow. Yeah. Hanging out. Well,
32:09that's great. Well, I'm so happy to see you. Great to meet you as well. And thanks for dressing
32:12up for the gig today. Look at that. Rock stars never die. I love that. Yes. That's right.
32:18Eric Erickson. Thank you so much. Good luck with everything. Keep, keep us posted. Okay.