(
Julia Longoria:
Vann, I was—I was so sorry to hear about your mom passing. Um, how—how are you holding up?
Vann R. Newkirk II:
Longoria:
Newkirk:
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Newkirk:
Longoria:
Newkirk:
She was a teacher, and lots of kids would ask if my mom ever blinked. [Longoria laughs.] She never cursed. She was terrified of anything that did not have legs: snakes, slugs, worms. [Longoria laughs again.] The thing I think about a lot—and it’s a really weird, dumb thing to think about, but, you know, grief does really weird things to your brain—I think a lot about her hands. She and I have, like, strangely similar hands. Long, spindly fingers. Our knuckles are very prominent. It’s like branches on a tree, almost. That’s the first thing I think about when I think about her, uh, because it was such a reminder that she was me.