In this pre‑recorded livestream, Brooke Cheney uses her birthday weekend as a backdrop to discuss why mental health matters and to urge viewers to reconnect with friends before they only see each other at funerals. She opens with an apology for a previous post, explains she’s about to leave for a dinner‑and‑movie with her daughter, and then pivots to the core message: 2‑out‑of‑3 gun‑related deaths are suicides, so open conversation about mental health is essential. Drawing on personal anecdotes—her own surgeries, a long‑term marriage, a grade‑school crush found via Facebook, and a recent funeral where a grieving sister‑in‑law urged a post‑funeral gathering—she illustrates how funerals, reunions, range trips, picnics, and simple coffee dates serve as social glue. She highlights community events (NRA gatherings, SHOT Show, USCCA) and the value of low‑key meet‑ups. Throughout, she encourages viewers to call a friend who makes them smile, schedule a coffee, or plan a three‑hour phone catch‑up, emphasizing that communication is a two‑way street. The monologue ends with reminders to like, subscribe, and a teaser for next week’s topic, reinforcing the ongoing “Mental Health Matters” brand.
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All right, so in my brain I was not going to do all of this because then all the rewiring or re-whatever. Hey everyone, it is birthday weekend and I kind of forgot. So for those of you who already did the remind me about Mental Health Matters, I apologize for putting up the thing and then taking it back down, but thank you for making it anyway. So It is Saturday night, 9 PM Eastern, as long as all tech works the way it is supposed to. And I am currently at a movie versus here with y'all. And as much as I love you all, I hope you understand that birthday weekend is for my daughter and I. And I forgot— I mean, I didn't forget, but it didn't occur to me that the movie we're going to see was at 7:30 at night and I wasn't gonna be back here in time. So here I am doing a pre-recorded one just before we leave to go do all of that stuff. Dinner and a movie, that sort of thing. So original, whatever that's called, original topic for today is go see your friends before the funeral. So what do you think I did this weekend? Well, you know I went to a funeral, right? Because I often talk about whatever happened to me this week to talk about what helps. Oh, Let's not forget the intro. Mental health matters. Why are we here? Oh, y'all can put it in the chat. I know you know it. If I wait long enough, at least one of you will. I know DJ will at the very least. So mental health matters because 2 out of every 3 gun deaths we hear about are suicides. And if we actually want to help people and actually save lives, we need to talk about mental health, not about banning more guns and that sort of thing, because that does not help. Everyone needs mental help, so that is why we're here. Thanks for tuning in. Like, hit subscribe, all those fun things that DJ would normally tell you to do at the end, but I'm trying to remember this stuff as I go. So depending on your age, you have already been to a funeral or you know someone who's gone to a funeral. When we are children, we go to funerals of relatives, and usually they're very old, and we may or may not have known them very well, but that's often our first experience at a funeral. And then as we get a little bit older, well, we might go to funerals of people we actually knew. And the older we get, then the more we get into funerals of our friends. Now, as we go One of the things, when do we see our friends and family? If you're Jamie out there, I know Christmas— or is it every other Christmas you have like a crazy, uh, 250 people for, uh, Christmas? Something crazy like that. Uh, we were at Mystic Village this week and— not Mystic Village, Mystic Aquarium. There we go, I got words. And there was a gentleman with his reunion t-shirt on and I don't remember the name of the family, but it said, you know, 2025 family reunion. And some folks do that. However, the reality of it is most of us see our friends and family at baby showers, weddings, and funerals. And pretty much anytime we see our friends at a funeral, we always say, or often say, we should see each other when we're not at a funeral. However, funerals bring us together. So what do we do at the funeral this week? Well, the sister-in-law of the deceased came up to me in tears and said, we don't— must get together, not at funerals. And she's like, we said that at the last one and we didn't do that. So guess who's having a party in 2 weeks at her house? Because someone in tears said we should have a party. So, uh, a bunch of my friends who I've known since my 20s are coming to the house. We're doing a picnic. It doesn't have to be big. It doesn't have to be fancy. It can be something simple, a simple get-together. Now I know here in the gun community, often we have get-togethers, uh, not that long ago. And Jamie, forgive me for not remembering the name of the event, but you invited everybody down to your range, I believe. And folks will come from all over the country to come shoot at a range just to hang out with like-minded people and to have fun. Now, unfortunately, I was booked that weekend, so I did not. However, a lot of people did. And even if you don't make these events, sometimes it's nice just to see the emails going back and forth. We're only a week out from the goal. What do you call that gathering? I'm just going to call them all gatherings because you've got the NRA gathering, you've got the SHOT Show gathering, you've got goals, you've got USCCA stuff, there's just tons of stuff everywhere. But here's the thing, think about those people that you haven't seen forever, that you used to hang out with all the time, the ones who make you smile, the ones who make you laugh, the ones that you have all those fond memories with. Uh, DJ, for example, I cannot even imagine how many different people he knows from all of his time playing guitar and being in bands and DJing and those sort of things and all the travels. Then, um, myself, it's like I was at a boarding school for half of my life, and so I have friends all over the country. Some of them I keep in touch with, some of them I do not, but it's sort of fun to actually go to those reunions and see some of those friends. So when you think of someone, when I say, ooh, who is that person? Go ahead, think about it. Who is that person? And you know what I mean, right? That person who you think about and makes you smile. That person you're like, good thing there weren't video cameras around when I was younger. Mm-hmm. Yeah. That person that you hang out with that you haven't seen or talked to in a while. Facebook, social media. There's one plus to it, right? At least it helps us stay in touch with some folks that we wouldn't otherwise. One of my grade school crushes actually found me on Facebook and messaged me, and he's like, hey, is this Brooke Reynolds? And I'm like, who's asking? I was telling him one of those things, and because the name was correct for somebody that I knew in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th grade, And I like peppered him with questions like, what section were you in? Because I was in 7-2 and he was in 7-1, and I want to make sure it was really him. And it was. But it's just like, if it weren't for social media, there is no way a lung transplant surgeon who lives in Texas would have ever found me again. And am I gonna go hang out with him? No, but it's still fun to make those connections. So When you think of those people who have been a part of your life, remember the blessings that they are, whether it's they just came in for a little while and they were gone, or if there's someone that you really want to reconnect with, reconnect with them. Make that phone call, make that coffee date. I have a girlfriend who, let's see, when was it? I don't know. I had surgery, my shoulder, my last knee surgery. I don't know. Unfortunately, there have been too many of those lately. I probably hadn't seen her in a decade. She shows up at my house with cupcakes. The cupcakes were really good. And I hope that you all have that friend or those friends who you don't have to talk to them every week or every day or every month, but when you talk to them, it's like no time has passed at all, and it makes it so much more fun. So Don't wait till a funeral to get together with your long-lost buddies. Anyone you're thinking about right now, I know you're supposed to be watching Mental Health Matters, however, you can pull out your phone because nobody else is seeing what you're doing right now other than listening to this. And if you're watching the replay, even better, you can just pause and immediately go to your address book, or maybe you don't know where they are, figure out how you can find them, that sort of thing. So for birthday weekend, hence the reason I'm in front of my, my birthday presents. No, not really. Maybe they're my daughter's birthday presents. Um, my lovely background for birthday weekend. That is my advice for you all. I know that when this is not live, you don't hang out as long, so I'm not going to make this as long as a normal live. I also don't get to interact with you guys as much when it is prerecorded. However, at least I've left you something from a birthday., I am going to be double nickels on Monday. And birthday weekend, birthday week has always been a thing in our household, and I have to go bake some cake. I actually have to go buy some cake to bake as well now that I'm thinking about this. So, um, I'm gonna leave you with this: mental health always matters. When you think of someone that makes you smile, there's hopefully a lot of people, but that person, that first one that comes to mind, connect with them. Make the time to go have coffee. Make the time to have that ridiculous 3-hour phone call that y'all used to have all the time. I mean, goodness knows I live with my 3-hour phone call. My husband and I, we are going to hit 26 years of marriage in how many days? Another 2 weeks, basically. And we've been together since 1991. Y'all do the math because my brain's not like that right now. So when I was living in Wyoming, I worked a 40-hour work week and I got paid, and 99 to 100% of that paycheck went to pay for the telephone bill. Y'all remember last, you know, that decade there where 10 cents a minute was a big deal? Well, yours truly and my husband, we would be on the phone for hours at a time. So now I live with him, I don't have to make that phone call, but I highly suggest and encourage you to make those phone calls. Call those 3 or 4 friends you used to hang out with and haven't seen in forever. Pick a date and say, hey guys, can you make it? And there's no way everyone's going to make it, but somebody will. Or maybe they'll counter with another date. You can figure that out. I have faith in you. So that's my goal. Don't wait till the funeral. Go see your buds, call them up, reach out. Communication is a two-way street, and sometimes you got to reach out a lot before you get someone to reach out. And reach back to you, but at least you tried. So with that, I'm going to try to find my mouse without looking and going too far off screen, and I'm going to say good night all. I hope you have a spectacular Saturday. I'll be back here live next week on the 23rd, and we will talk about whatever y'all want pretty much. I don't know, DJ's got some ideas. We might be talking about gardening. I am not entirely sure. All right, have a great night everybody. Thanks for checking in, and by all means hit the like button, subscribe, share, all those fun things. And maybe I'll be home in time to go check out Hillbilly's thing, which is going to be at the top of this hour. So go to Hillbilly Up, he'll be at the top of the hour, and I maybe I'll see y'all there. All righty, I will see
