Apologies Now.

One of Hetal’s friends, Teshia, orchestrated a meaningful conversation with Ms Debra Cooper but wasn’t able to attend herself. Our friend, Dr Ishmail Lamptey-Mills, just happened to be in town and joined us. Ms Cooper and Dr Lamptey-Mills talked about the importance and meaning behind Black History Month. The vibe was magical while learning about some truly significant achievements in American history that were accomplished by people of African heritage. The conversation meandered as it usually does with Stevie and Hetal. We talked about soul food; Hetal didn’t know about chitlins. Stevie even called Governor George Corley Wallace Jr a son of a b*@ch much to Ms Cooper’s surprise. We forgot to mention beforehand that mild to moderate profanity presents itself here at Apologies Now…from time to time. Stevie confirmed that it was quite appropriate in this context. Black History Month is imperative for reminding the community, especially the black youth, of the various accomplishments and successes of black women and men that may have gone unnoticed or forgotten. These images and stories have to exist in the minds of children for them to recognize their own full potential. Lamptey-Mills’ description of his childhood in Ghana truly solidified this sentiment for us. The entire conversation was short and sweet but it was apparent that it was just the intro to many future discussions.

Learn tequila. Blanco…Reposado…Anejo…Extra Anejo. We sat down with Paul Coffman and John Hardaway to start tasting Paul’s 88 variety tequila collection. We aren’t talking about Mezcal folks. Listen to learn the difference. We didn’t get far but plan to sit down again for more…learning.

2020 will be a milestone in human history for the drastic changes that occurred almost overnight when the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. We here at the podcast were damn tired of the pandemic and definitely done talking about it. When human ingenuity and diligence produced a vaccine before the end of this ridiculous year, we had to talk about it. Our friends, Dr Jack Austin and Dr Tom Zickgraf, joined Hetal for a discussion about the vaccine that should not be missed. Stevie was laid out...from the virus. He was recovering in quarantine and so sat this one out. Don't worry, he is good now.

The black 1966 Bel Air in the picture is badass. The owner of the vehicle, Trevor Gillies, is more badass. Interestingly, even more badass than Trevor is his authenticity and character. We relaxed over a couple of Long Drinks to discuss his background and time in the National Hockey League. There are fights in hockey. These fights are occuring between two gents out to hurt each other… These gents are out to hurt each other while on skates… I’m not sure how to make the situation more difficult. As we listened to Trevor explain the mechanics of how and why fights happen, it became very clear that it was all about honor and respect. What may look like spontaneous acts of outrage are methodically thought out strategies and sanctioned reparation. He gave us insight into playing with the KHL in Russia. What a story! After hearing about his experience there, we committed to making a trip there with him some day. I’m looking forward to a banya. Trevor is now a VP in merchant services. We ended up cutting this part of the convo short only to save it for the next time we record. By the way, it occurred to us that Trevor is the first guest we have had on with a wikipedia page.

We immediately get into the second part of this fantastic episode with Lorie talking about how life in Brooklyn was recently as a healthcare worker. The hospitals are full. The healthcare staff are overworked. The people are stressed. The riots have started. Lorie talks comfortably about what was undoubtedly a very stressful situation. Listening to her story will make you appreciate our soldiers and healthcare workers. On a separate note, routine listeners may notice better sound quality as we move into a dedicated space for recording. On another note, moonshine can take on many flavors.

Lorie recently got back from Brooklyn, NY after helping overwhelmed hospitals with the COVID pandemic. She sat down to give us a brief glimpse into what that looked like. She described the entire hospital being converted to an ICU. It seemed her whole career had prepared her for this situation. Lorie was in the army and spent time in downtown Baghdad at Camp Victory. This part one of two describes her time there and how her career led to where it is now. It was a great conversation that was informative and set up part two of this series.

Joe White joined us for an afternoon of interesting discussion. Joe has been in the greater Augusta area for many years and has seen the cultural progress (or lack of based on his account) of this fine city. We talked about his background with Beasley Broadcasting prior to buying the Metro Spirit. Joe has grown the Metro Spirit into a premiere magazine about local events and issues. He provided a very interesting perspective about Augusta’s cultural growth and how the Masters Tournament has spoiled the local population. We chatted about the local politics and what the COVID pandemic is doing to local business. The conversation applies to businesses across the country during this odd time we are living through…

r Jeremy Hertza from Neurobehavioral Associates joined us on this episode to chat about his work. We talked about some of the legal and ethical dilemmas he has to navigate while working on behavioral and cognitive issues. He and Stevie enjoyed doing a little Hetal analysis before going into a great discussion about brain injury. While chatting about how brain injury can lead to mood disorders, the conversation detoured into a discussion about happiness. Hertza explained the five things everyone typically needs to achieve happiness… surprisingly his list did not include houses, cars, or pretty jewelry. Not even a jet ski. We enjoyed having him on but quickly recognized that he would have to return as there was just too much to talk about.

We made casual fodder with Jeremy Rueggeberg from Medical Professionals Magazine that may very well spark curiosities for the listeners of this episode. He gave us some insight into the Chinese medical system during his ten year stay in China. That led into some discussion about personal life through the COVID-19 pandemic. Make sure to pay attention for Billy Joel vs Busta Rhymes comments! Jeremy talked about the wonderful work Golden Harvest Food Bank is doing during this strange time as well. This episode was just plain fun to record and we really think you will take away some useful, or at the very least entertaining, insights. All this while intermittently hearing the sweet sounds of a Erhu. Enjoy!

We are really enjoying the low gas prices; except we have nowhere to go thanks to COVID-19. But then again...Georgia is opening up suckers!. Since we will be going to nail salons and gyms again, it seemed like a good idea to learn about oil and gas since we drive everywhere in the southeast. Enter Beau Parker. Beau is an oil exec in Oil City, LA who happens to also be a banker. We had a great conversation that was less interview and more friendly catch-up (minus a bourbon) since he happens to be Stevie's earliest friend (4th grade). On a side note, we now have proof that Stevie went at least to the 4th grade. Beau explained what is affecting gas prices and how the banks and SBA (Small Business Association) are working to distribute relief funds. While we are trying to get away from all things COVID (literally and figuratively), we chatted about hospital operations and surgeries such as appendectomies, penile transplants, and penile shortening procedures. I think you will get at least one useful bit of info from this episode!

A conversation about viruses with Dr Jack Austin, board certified Infectious Disease physician

Dr Cissy Dement joined Hetal and Stevie to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Dement is an AUMC associate professor in the department of emergency medicine where she has been living this crisis first hand. She currently staffs the COVID unit and is literally putting her life on the line as she manages this patient population. The podcast unfolds as she describes her experiences, personal protective equipment (PPE), the potential future of the pandemic and healthcare in our country, and just a little about people presenting with foreign objects in their bodies. Ultimately, this was an extremely entertaining and informative episode that provided some insight into emergency medicine as it deals with COVID-19. In full disclosure, there was a mildly disastrous wine spill on the table. Stevie turned it into a work of art with just a pen and staring at it for some time. He named it "Dead Squirrel Made Out of Wine."

@hetalthakore@stevie_dement