Podcasts about awol

When Staff Sgt. Michael Severance goes AWOL the community of San Angelo rallies around his new bride. But there is something more sinister behind his disappearance, and investigators uncover a saga of treachery and passion as big as the state of Texas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Look for things to like about people--there's usually something, some trait, Some aspect of them as people existing in this world that you can't disallow, Something that resonates, that connects and has the power to create! Create what? Understanding at the very least if not friendship right now. [full text below] Ep. 426 - Like Happy We begin as always  with the Happy Creed. We believe in Happy,  in Balance and Growth,  of being Mindful and Grateful, Compassionate and Understanding. Yowza Haha My Happy Friends! I'm helpful, empathic, a real caretaker type--want to know why? Want to know how? I look for things to like about people--there's usually something, some trait, Some aspect of them as people existing in this world that you can't disallow, It's something that resonates, that connects and has the power to create. Create what? A friendship!--a camaraderie. Now I've met people who seemed just awful, Like, why-would-you-want-to-subject-yourself-to-their-abuse kind of bad news, They're hurtful and mean and seem to really enjoy being cruel and slightly unlawful, But they can also be really loyal to those whose company they choose. I met a guy at work once who everybody hated--he was bossy but had no authority, He didn't outrank anyone, he just acted as if he did--so was routinely ignored, And the distaste for him wasn't just from a few but from the vast majority, And so my challenge was to try to find some Happy detail just waiting to be explored. He tried bossing me around too, but I simply kept talking to him instead, I'd talk about TV shows and movies and stuff and he'd stop and look at me weird, Then he'd ask me what I was doing, and I'd say that he seemed to be very well-read, And that I always appreciated intelligent conversation--at which he scoffed and sneered. But still I kept talking to him about topics I enjoyed, like books, food and music too, Then I suggested we go to a movie and get something to eat and he looked worried, “I'm not trying to hit on you,” I assured him. “A good movie discussion, me and you.” And so we went! And outside of work he was way more chill and completely unhurried. We became friends and he mellowed at work too. People didn't hate him quite so much. He had a lot of knowledge about film and could be very generous with what he knew, But he was also embarrassed about his inexperience in the social scene and such, So, I invited him to parties and get-togethers, but he simply didn't know what to do. He rubbed people the wrong way due to his extremely awkward and arrogant vibe, So, I didn't try to force him to make friends with everybody and I let him just be, And we were like brothers for years, he was a cameraman and I was a scribe, We swore we'd make movies together that the whole world would be dying to see. And then there came a girl that I liked and I told him about her, wanting to share, But, you see, he decided that he liked her too and felt he was far more deserving than me, So, when I told him how my courtship was going he pretended like he didn't care, When all the while he was plotting to steal her heart away as if by divine decree. And he used all the inside scoop that I had been feeding him to turn her head, He knew everything she liked, but what he didn't know was what she hated, And chief among those things was liars and so she felt sorely misled, She pulled away and he tried to cling, but her feelings had long since vacated. He didn't like her, you see. He merely wanted her, and that's not the same thing, You have to find something to relate to about someone even something small, But he never allowed himself to feel for others. He hurt her and me--a real ding-a-ling, I avoid him now--for safety--but I did like our discussions before he went AWOL. I'm a bit more careful about who I try to find likable things about, but I still try, Finding a friend where no one else bothered looking can be its own reward, Sometimes I even turn those powers upon myself if I think I'm being a mean guy, And could maybe use a friend, someone like Happy, just waiting to be adored. I like finding things about people to like, it makes life more interesting, more fun, It doesn't always go great, but that's life for you, it's something to do, until we're done. Haha Yowza

AWS goes down again. Is it time to re-assess risk in the cloud and AI-era, where so much of the digital assistance we get is housed someplace we can't see and controlled by someone we don't know? David Meier, Tom King, and Tim Beyers: - Discuss the failures that led to the AWS outage this morning and which companies are services were impacted as a result. - Debate whether companies have become too dependent on AWS and its peers, especially when virtually all the in-demand AI services we're banking on are hosted in these clouds. - Play another game of Faker or Breaker with three companies impacted by the AWS outage. Don't wait! Be sure to get to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of David's Gardner's new book — Rule Breaker Investing: How to Pick the Best Stocks of the Future and Build Lasting Wealth. It's on shelves now; get it before it's gone! Companies discussed: AMZN, LYFT, UBER, HOOD, COIN, RBLX Host: Tim Beyers Guests: David Meier, Tom King Producer: Anand Chokkavelu Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We're committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Day 13 of the government shutdown — and the House has gone AWOL. As President Trump travels through the Middle East, Washington faces a striking split screen: a major diplomatic moment abroad while negotiations at home remain stalled. Anna and Jake unpack how congressional inaction is shaping the shutdown. Plus: Inside the administration's move to make sure the Coast Guard gets paid. Punchbowl News is on YouTube! ⁠Subscribe⁠ to our channel today to see all the new ways ⁠we're investing in video.⁠ Want more in-depth daily coverage from Congress? ⁠Subscribe⁠ to our free Punchbowl News AM newsletter at ⁠punchbowl.news.⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christian College Sex Comedy: Part 3 Handmaiden Traditions In 30 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the podcast at Explicit Novels.             Pain is either not knowing what it is or forgetting what it was       "Okay," I choked. "I only wanted one of you bitches up here tonight so Heaven can stay but the rest of you have to go." No one responded instantly. "You don't tell me what to do, freshman," Heaven said as she smacked me across my thigh. "Christina, let's get out of here; I feel like getting something to eat, something else that is," she told the Queen. In the time it took Heaven to gather her clothes and get dressed, the group was gone, and I was left wondering what the hell I'd stepped into. I figured one guy and nine hundred girls, and I'd be living the dream. Only an idiot would have assumed there would be no existing power structure, competing sexual desires, or people less than happy with my cleverness. Suddenly, having to survive three more days to the weekend seemed too much to ask. Fighting for the Weekend. I was slumped down on the floor against the wall when an expensive pair of shoes came at me. Since my stomach and left side were well acquainted with pain already I chose to block with both arms which hurt a little bit less. This unnamed assailant pivoted back for another kick when Heaven grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head into a picture above my head. He dropped like the sack of shit that I'm sure he was. I was struggling up when Cappadocia grabbed my wrist and helped me stand. Three more guys stood between us and the bathroom door, outside of which a battle of the sexes was starting to be waged; FFU vs. AKA fraternity. You may be wondering how I ended up here; I sure am. (I promise this will all make sense eventually) Starting in the Past The light tapping on my door broke my oral attention on Barbie Lynn's right nipple. I kept frigging her with two fingers in her cunt while I caught a quick look at the time. It was twelve-ten in the morning. Who the hell? "I need to check this out," I warned Barbie. "What?" she wondered. "What's going on?" "There is someone at the door and I think I know who it is. I'll be right back," I explained. Barbie looked apprehensive for obvious reasons. I grabbed a robe and headed down to the door as there was a second rap at the door. I swung the door open and there stood Rio. "Hey, Bitch, are you going to make me wait out here or what?" she teased me. I stood aside and followed her back to my bedroom. Barbie had disappeared under the quilt and covers but I was careful to not sit on her when I flopped onto the bed. "What can I do for you?" I inquired of Rio. "Keep it holstered, Cowboy," Rio laughed. "Save that python for your playmate Barbie. Do remind her that if she rides you too rough, she can break it off." "I'll have you know she's the most gentle and sensitive woman I've ever known," I countered with a grin of my own. "Really?" she asked speculatively. "Really," I affirmed. "In that case, maybe you can give her to me for an evening. I'd like to play with her; you know, a little light bondage, spanking, and a dildo, vibrator or three," she asked suggestively. "Is that all?" I asked. "Of course, I'd put those succulent lips to good use and I bet her tongue is to die for. I'd also love to chew on those massive titties, bite her and mark her as my own," Rio added. "If she moans like enough of a slut, I'll even eat her out too." "If it somehow comes up in casual conversation I'll let her know," I promised, while at the same time I resolved to actually have a decent hiding place when I fixed things up. "Don't do that," Rio insisted. "I'd rather kidnap her, blindfolded, so that I can take her to a bar and hand her around like a party favor." "That's kind of cold," I cautioned her. "What about her virginity?" "There are all kinds of chastity belts I can fit her with that leave her mouth and ass free," Rio regaled me. I really had no idea but I didn't doubt it existed. "Isn't that a bit harsh? What has Barbie Lynn ever done to you?" I was curious to know. "Barbie Lynn, she is a girl in need of a good, hard fucking, regularly and repeatedly" She grinned like she was a female Loki, Goddess of Mischief. "If you think so, I guess I could tie her up and leave her for you, bound and gagged in the trunk of my car. I'm sure when you get to the bar you'll find some big strong men to take her out for you," I outlined the plan. Rio desperately fought down her giggles. "Well, that's given me some pleasant images to get to bed with," Rio came over and kissed me on the cheek. "Give me that sleeping bag and I'll catch some Zees." "Sure, no problem. You know how I snore so if you hear any noise coming from my bed, just ignore it," I winked. "Okay. As long as nothing touches the floor, I'll be fine," she assured me. "What happens if something touches the floor?" I had to ask. It was getting downright hilarious. "I scream like a banshee. I was molested by a Chihuahua when I was young and I've never gotten over it," Rio snickered. "I will keep all my bits up on the bed, then. Now, get squared away so we can get some sleep," I grinned. Rio laid out my sleeping bag below the footboard and climbed inside. "Good night, Zane," Rio yawned as I cut off the light. "Good night, Rio," I replied. "Good night, Barbie Lynn," Rio giggled. There was a long pause as a naked Barbie tensed up, then wiggled up from beneath the bed coverings. She looked at me curiously then crawled down on all fours to the foot of the bed. I was momentarily paralyzed by the look of Barbie's entire rearview cast in the pale moonlight. "How did you know I was here?" Barbie Lynn questioned Rio. "Unless Zane started sleeping with fifty pounds of extra bedding, there was someone under the covers with him; then it was a matter of figuring out who was the sexiest upperclassman who would take the risk," Rio explained. "So this whole talk about kidnapping me and taking me to a bar was meant to scare me?" Barbie accused Rio, who snickered yet again. "Tell me, Barbie, did that get you hot or what? Be honest now," Rio challenged her. Barbie Lynn flushed furiously and looked over her shoulder at me, trying to gauge her words to my reaction. I moved up behind her, kissing from the small of her back then forward while my hand rubbed along her ass and flanks. She kept her eyes on me until my hand cupped her sex, at which point her eyes shut and her breathing increased. "Oh, Barbie Lynn sighed as she let her legs part and her cunt went from damp to dripping. "If Zane was with me, I'd feel safe," Barbie stammered nervously. "He'd not let anything bad happen to me, but I'd like to, just a little." I'd never tied a girl up before now, I'd never really wanted to, but taking in all of Barbie right at the moment, I made a note of consorting with my sorority friends about what to use when the opportunity presented itself. Two fingers in, two fingers out, two fingers in, two fingers out, one finger in her cunt and one in her ass. Barbie shuddered deliciously. "You two fuck your brains out," grumbled Rio. "I'll lie here and try to get some sleep." "Good, good, good luck with that," panted Barbie Lynn, "I'm a real screamer," and she really was. "I swear, if one more girl had climbed into that shower with you, I was going to tape on a stun gun in the on setting and toss it in," Rio joked. "A, you don't have a stun gun, and B, the floor was so wet you would have stunned yourself too," I pointed out. "Threaten me not with logic, dumbass," Rio chuckled. "Fine. Not that I mind your company but, don't you have to get dressed?" I groaned. "Do you think anyone would notice if I went to class naked today?" Rio wondered. "Notice, yes; make you the target of a direct-to-video lesbian gangbang porn flick, yes too," I taunted her. "Damn it, Zane," Rio squawked, "you've tapped into my secret fantasy!" "Save it for your creative writing assignment in English class," I nudged her. "Now seriously, I need to get dressed and so do you." Rio's exaggerated frown only made me chuckle harder but I did manage to shush her out. I sang my way to breakfast, literally. The latest demand of my Handmaiden's Duty was a rendition of 'Call Me Maybe' which garnered us quite an audience if not accolades for my proficiency. Rio tried to record me on her phone but an observant junior picked Rio for a piggy back ride. Iona hovered closely to Barbie Lynn again, which kept her safe. Christina snatched us on the way to Assembly. One look told me things had gone horribly wrong but I didn't know why. She picked me and when I protested (a junior named Sybil had pre-ordered my services) Heaven grabbed Iona as a clear threat to me. Chastity hijacked Rio before she could throw her food tray on Christina's head but I admired my buddy's fanaticism and loyalty. "I'm with Sybil," I tried to explain, but that girl did a quick disappearing act. "Okay, then, what do you want me to do?" "We seem to have this little disagreement about you thinking you can dictate my behavior," she smiled sweetly, "so I'm going to be monopolizing your time for the rest of the semester." Iona groaned and I was afraid Rio would do something stupid. "Zane, I want you to carry my books to my next class," which didn't sound too bad but, "on your knees," she gloated, "but I'll, " "You conceited bitch!" snapped Rio. "Stop it!" I growled back to Rio angrily enough to stop her. "This is what they want." "Hmm, Christina contemplated, "I was going to allow you to crawl on the grass but now I think you will do it on the walkway." Crawling all that way on bricks would be painful to say the least. "Now I think we'll have Rio do it," she continued. I waved Rio to silence. "As I remember you have this noble streak so I'm going to give you the option of you traveling on the bricks or letting Rio do it." It was some horrible sick joke and I knew the results before I spoke. "I'll do it," I answered, but again, I knew it was useless. "Agreed," Christina handed me her book bag while Heaven did the same to Rio, "Rio can take the walkway and I'll let you take the grass." She waited for my response. "What; no repose? No protests? No rants?" she questioned. "That's not where my mind is at, Christina. You just keep digging a deeper hole. I'll bury you in it; how you crawl back out is your business," I shrugged. "I understand, Zane. Faith, give your books to Iona. She can share the walkway with Rio," Christina ordered. Again I had to stop Rio from erupting; there was nothing I could do. We were boned in this bizarre institution's humiliating ritual. "Zane will take the walkway on his knees, Rio can do the same on the grass, and Iona can carry the rest of our books," Chastity announced out of the blue. "Chastity?" Christina questioned her rebellious minion. "They get the point," Chastity suggested. "I'm with Chastity," Hope declared. "I'll explain when we get outside," Chastity all but begged. I had to scratch megalomania off my list of possible character flaws of Christina; she motioned our little troupe to proceed and made no protests when we freshmen took up our duties. Rio and I had to cover two hundred feet on our knees; I flashed Rio a vicious, confident grin. She grinned back and mouthed 'Fuck all the bitches,' which made me chuckle. "What is so funny?" growled Heaven. "Your skirt is caught in your underwear so every time you step left your skirt rides up," I lied convincingly. Heaven reached around and tried to straighten out the nonexistent problem. "Heaven, he's playing you," Hope intervened. Heaven's eyes rained fiery death down on me. "Who is digging themselves a deeper hole now?" Christina taunted me. "I accept that Heaven is going to get her due and I'm fine with that. Of course, when I finally bring you to your knees, I know that look on your face is going to be priceless," I glared back. "You are also not going to see Barbie Lynn outside of official business," Christina informed me. "I'll give your suggestion all the merit it deserves," I smiled. "That is not a suggestion, and if you do see her again, she will be expelled and a letter of explanation will be sent to her parents and fianc ," Christina said intently. That brought me up short. "I'm not going to mention you, Zane. She'll go down but you will remain scot free." "Why are you doing this to him?" Iona murmured. "He needs to learn his lesson," Faith whispered to her. "Oh," the normally timid freshman responded, "is that what this is? He is so going to own all of you if this is the best you've got." Hope burst out in laughter at the mouse's challenge. The ordeal was over for the period but resumed when class let out again. Iona's schedule was in shambles because Christina had let word get out that Rio and I were out of bounds for anyone else in the school. By the time I went to Archery, my slacks were torn and my knees were bleeding. Chastity did what she could do as my Team Captain but then I was back on my knees heading to Karate. In an abstract way my teammates in Karate knew what was happening to me but when they saw that I could barely move without wincing in pain, they became conflicted. Coach Dana was nice enough to offer to take me to the Chancellor so I could quit and end my suffering. I opted for letting my teammates in the second squad beat me up instead. The only hard part about my dinner plans was the reality that I was the only boy on campus. No one would confuse me with any other student so sneaking off to my dorm was impossible. The answer to my dilemma should have been obvious to Christina, glaring obvious. As it was, I had to get Christina's reaction secondhand as Rio, Iona, and I were cruising into town in my car with civilian clothes helpfully provided by my secret ally. Rio groaned sarcastically when we arrived at our destination where Iona clapped her hands in glee. My argument was that everyone liked ice cream and, while Rio declared the whole endeavor to be juvenile, that didn't stop her from ordering three scopes with whipped cream and sprinkles. I was paying for our outing when three girls walked in. "Zane?" the third girl asked. I took her in only long enough to know she looked better in a swim suit. "Hey, Leigh," I grinned. "You look even better with clothes on." Leigh gave a hearty laugh while her companions tried to make sense of the situation. "The Zane?" the lead woman inquired. I looked at her quizzically. "Zane, our next door neighbor?" How had I suddenly become famous enough to earn a 'The' in front of my name? "Sure, that's me. I've been at school but that's my house," I responded. "This is Tawny Flores, our chapter President, and my sister Ricky Frasier," Leigh said. "Rio Talon, my ex-roommate, and Iona Becket, my cohort in crime," I offered. "Sorority chicks? Seriously, Zane, you need to start raising the bar on the quality of women you hang out with," joked Rio. That went over like a lead balloon. "Your girlfriend is a bit jealous," Leigh broke the silence. "I'm not his girlfriend," Rio grinned viciously. "I prefer boys who've reached puberty." "Tawny, Ricky, and Leigh, I apologize for Rio. We've had some issues with upperclassmen all day long and it has left some of us crankier than others," I said. "Things can be rough for freshmen; we understand," Tawny allowed as she eyed me speculatively. "How about I buy you all some cones?" I offered in return. "We are not here for ice cream, or ice cream in cones," Leigh explained. "We have a party Saturday night, our first of the semester, and we need to place an order for a few gallons." "Cool. I hope you ladies have a blast," I nodded as I moved to join Rio and Iona, letting the sorority girls move to the counter and make their order. They eventually did get some cones and came our way. "Horny sluts at seven o'clock," whispered Rio as they approached me from the rear. "Zane," Tawny smiled down at me, "are you rushing a fraternity?" Rio snorted in derision. "Zane couldn't rush a fraternity," Rio explained. "It would tragically cut down on his time with all his girlfriends." The three older women gazed at me, looking for the punch line. "Here you go," Iona stated, holding up her phone to Tawny. "This is Barbie Lynn, Christina, Chastity, Brandi, Hope, Cappadocia, Opal, she continued to go down the list of women in my life as well as displaying their pictures. The ladies went from skeptical to confused to impressed. "You are sleeping with all these girls, in your first three days of school?" Leigh wondered. "No," Rio pre-empted, "he hasn't actually had sex with all of them. That's silly. The magic thing is how often he gets them to orgasm. What's your record, Zane?" "It is not a contest," I protested. "Oh, come on," Tawny urged me playfully. "Ugh, fine. Seven, but she's really sensitive and responsive, we mesh well," I answered. I'm not sure how many of them got past me saying the number '7'. "Are you going to be home this weekend?" Leigh inquired suddenly. "Planning on it," I replied. "Well, why don't you come by Saturday night, then," Tawny suggested, "unless you are afraid of a little competition." Seeing my uncertainty, she added, "We are having our brother fraternity Alpha Kappa Alpha over for the party. The guy/girl ratio should be two-to-one so I can't promise you any time." "Oh," I shrugged. "Do you want me to bring a friend or two?" "Sure," Tawny grinned, "but make sure to keep an eye on them. The boys of AKA are pretty aggressive." "I'll make sure to only bring the grown-ups," I laughed. We were all still chuckling when we broke up for the evening. I Love Pushing Boulders Uphill "Did you sleep well?" Christina greeted me. Since I'd been Barbie-free last night I had to frown. "Thanks for asking," I shrugged. "I slept like a baby. Honestly, I'd expected a little more creativity from you, not this simplistic jack-booted thuggery. Please try to keep my interest today if you can." "Ah, the smell of burning bitch-flesh," Rio giggled, unleashing her sadomasochistic impulses. Christina didn't rise to the bait. "Let's get some breakfast, on your knees you two," she commanded. Clearly their plan for us involved attrition. During breakfast the idea was to keep us apart, but they apparently forgot we'd all graduated kindergarten. We wandered around like loss little lambs and came to our collision from different angles. My only real worry was that Iona would chicken out since she had always been the good girl. She even sold the slip and spill well. This time Hope was the recipient of our hate and she looked quite fetching covered in grits, eggs, melons, and bacon. The miraculous thing was that the kitchen let us reload. Chastity almost dodged the bullet but we nailed her pretty good as well. As we headed out for our first class, Rio and I on our knees, she turned to me grinning like a maniac. "I am so looking forward to lunch," she told me. "Really? So am I. I'm going to get the soup," I chuckled. "Oh, soup. I like soup. I may get two bowls," Rio exulted. There wasn't time to warn Rio, I had to act, so I threw myself on Rio and took Heaven's kick to the ribs myself. "Heaven!" Christina shouted, but it was too late. I hurt like hell but I was damned if I was going to show it. Rio looked up at me and rapidly put together what had happened. Before she could explode I prodded her. "I hope the croutons in the salad are extra hard," I wheezed. "Zane," Rio whispered, worried about my well-being. "Give them nothing," I winked. "We know what low-life pieces of shit they are now. Give them nothing." Rio nodded and got back on her knees. "Zane, I'm sorry," Christina said softly. I looked up her and projected my most indifferent expression. "Can we get this over with? You bore me," I sneered at Christina. She snorted and shook her head. "Take my books to class, Zane," she commanded, and I headed off. They took Rio and Iona off in another direction. I was bleeding by the time I kneeled my way to lunch. Sadly, Team Christina was vigilant so we had to settle for a few bites sitting up against a wall before a Dorm Mother directed us to separate seats. We buried her in soup and crotons for her efforts, then apologized profusely. Doctor Burns chastised and lectured us about good Christian virtues. The senile old bastard almost let us go back for seconds but a different Dorm Mother pointed out the danger just in time. The craziest thing was that they let me go to Marksmanship because it wasn't like I wanted to climb up on the water tower and take pot shots with a high powered rifle at anyone; right? "Let me bandage your knees," Hope asked me. I looked to the rest of the class who couldn't bring themselves to meet my gaze, then laughed. "What is wrong with my knees?" I questioned. She pointed out the holes in my pants and the blood still oozing out of my torn flesh. "Really. I hadn't noticed," I winced as I moved to get my gear. "You could get infected," Hope insisted. "At what point do you think I lost faith in your capacity for compassion, Hope?" I sighed. "Let's get to work. Inside this class, you are the instructor; outside of this class, you sicken me." I actually did pretty well working wind drift and range-finding during the class and Hope gave me a mild compliment on my growing proficiency. I listened but said nothing. When the rest of the group dispersed, Hope held me back. Heaven was waiting to make me crawl to her class. "That was uncalled for," Hope insisted. "We are only doing what we have to do." "The failure of your courage is only eclipsed by your lack of principles, Hope," I verbally slapped her which only made her angrier. "Maybe you can put some weights in my back pack to make yourself feel better, or would you rather sow the sidewalk with salt?" If Hope was expecting me to back down, she was sorely disappointed. "So, are you going to get revenge on me too?" she mocked me. I looked mildly amused and insulted. "Hope, you aren't worth my vengeance. You don't matter to me. You are a tool, an obstacle, and nothing more and I have things that actually matter and I need to concentrate on so if you would please get out of my way, I believe Heaven wants to show me what an inhuman beast she can be." "You have to pay for that," Heaven growled at me as I struggled along on all fours to Orienteering. "Remember this moment, Heaven, because when I break Christina, she is going to be crying out your name and you aren't going to be able to do anything to help her, and after all she's done for you," I taunted her. That earned me two sharp kicks to the ribs to add to the one I'd already had. I picked myself up and continued on our way. Orienteering was brutal and I suffered a good deal of humiliation at Heaven's hands. I quietly took it. As if that wasn't enough, Heaven walked me to my study period and Faith took me to the Dining Hall. Rio looked pretty brutal and Iona had been crying but at least they'd been bandaged up. Ms. Goodswell came up to me in the dinner line. "You need to have someone look at those wounds. You could also use a fresh pair of pants." "There is nothing wrong with my knees," I said in a bland monotone. "You are bleeding into your socks, Zane," she informed me. I looked down and nodded. "Yes, that seems to be the case. Can I get my dinner now?" I inquired calmly. "No, Zane. Go to the Infirmary and get that taken care of," Ms. Goodswell insisted. "I invoke my right to refuse medical treatment due to religious convictions," I grinned. "Zane, you could develop permanent damage," Virginia warned me. "No. You hypocrites can cripple me if you like but you aren't pinning this on me. I don't recall wanting to walk anywhere on my knees. I'm not going to quit though; if you want to get rid of me, you will have to become more inventive than this," I told her. When she didn't reply I went back to my place in line. Christina tagged me heading toward the dorm. Chastity had Rio and Faith had Iona. "What do you think we'll have for breakfast?" Rio joked. "Keep quiet," Christina cautioned us. "I'm hoping for corned beef hash covered in ketchup," I responded. "I told you to be quiet," Christina ordered. "Which one of us are you talking to?" Rio teased. "I want milk and cereal," Iona suggested. "Quiet," Faith told Iona with a hand on her shoulder. They decided that we should be getting back to our rooms to study but the elevator wouldn't be necessary; we could take the stairs, on our knees. I wasn't sure Iona could make it; she was the shortest and weakest of us. But it turned out I needn't have bothered. We opened the door to the stairwell and there stood Barbie Lynn. "I've got it from here," she told Christina and company cheerfully. The idea that Barbie Lynn was here to save me was kind of funny. "That is not how it works," Christina informed her. "No, Christina, read the Handbook. My dorm, my rules, and my rules say that if you don't belong in my dorm, you can leave, now," Barbie Lynn countered with determination. "Don't do this, Barbie Lynn; they will expel you. You are hardly bulletproof," Christina warned Barbie. "At what point did we cease being the Israelites and become the Philistines?" Barbie answered. "If you do this I'll have to report you," Christina explained. "In thirty minutes you won't be Dorm Mother. Think about your future." "I am," Barbie Lynn stated. "Do I really want or deserve a future if I do nothing now? I don't think so." There was a pause, then, "Get out." Christina's gang turned and left, Chastity last of all. "Barbie Lynn, have his legs taken care of before his pride cuts him in half," she said meaningfully. Barbie nodded, then Chastity ran to catch up with the others. "Let's get you to your rooms before they come back," Barbie Lynn urged us. "Can we take the elevator? I'm not sure I can take all these stairs," I groaned. "Baby," snorted Rio, but I noted she was the first one to hobble for the elevator. Iona drew close to me, looking for some small comfort. "What are we going to do?" she whispered to me. "Rio and I are going to tough it out; we don't have any real options. You are going to be sick tomorrow and go to the Infirmary. After that, they should leave you alone as long as you avoid us," I told her. "No," Iona responded. "I can't leave the two of you alone here." "Get over yourself," mocked Rio. "You are slowing us down. Zane and I are hardcore bad-asses and you're nothing but a dweeb." That was Rio's way of saying 'I like you.' Iona began sobbing. "I'll take care of her as long as I can," Barbie Lynn frowned as she wrapped an arm around Iona. "Thanks for everything, Barbie Lynn. Sorry for dragging you down in all of this," I told my blonde dynamite. "Ha," she laughed. "I've had more fun, felt better, in the past four days than I've felt in the past three years here." "Man, that is so pathetic," choked Rio. "If my life was so damn boring, I'd have become a shit-faced drunk by now." I think that was Rio saying 'thank you' but I wasn't sure. We made our way to our rooms and wisely settled in for the night. Around eight-thirty Barbie came to my room and escorted me to the bathroom for my own 'safety'. "Thank you. What are you going to tell your family and fianc ?" I asked. Barbie Lynn shrugged. "Can I move in with your Aunt if things don't work out?" she countered. "Sure. Do you think it will come to that?" I answered. "Well, I'm definitely not marrying Jerome, that's for sure," she grinned. "He's about as interesting as a box of rocks and he's got a tiny cock ta' boot. Lord above, all he wants to do is work in his Daddy's bank and play golf while I stay home and make babies." "Umm, Barbie Lynn, I don't see us getting married so if I, I stammered. "Lord Jesus," Barbie laughed, "if I married you I'd have to convert to Islam because I'd need at least three other wives to keep up with you. You are fun, Zane, and you've never lied to me about anything." "Barbie Lynn, I've lied to you," I admitted shyly. "What about?" she questioned. "You know those tiny little grunting noises you make between orgasms?" Barbie Lynn blushed but nodded. "Well, I don't like them; I love them. In fact, last time I rushed you through one orgasm just so I could listen to those sounds." "You are a bad man," Barbie laughed musically. "I don't believe you." "Oh, so I'm going to have to prove myself, am I?" I gasped in mock protest. "I'm counting on it," she smiled seductively back at me. "When this nuttiness is over, I'll do that," I grinned. Barbie Lynn looked suddenly sad. "Is this going to end, in a good way?" she sighed. "Five-thirty tomorrow I'm in my car and driving out of here for the weekend. I'd like you to be with me," I told her. "I can't be gone all weekend long, Zane. I'm Dorm Mother," she explained. "How about Saturday night? I've made some plans," I hinted. "Hmm, okay, but how are you going to stop them from catching you if you come back? Escaping tomorrow is going to be tough enough," she pointed out. "I'll think of something," I sighed. What that was; I had no idea. When I got to the top of the stairs after my bathroom break I noticed Chastity and Hope waiting for me. I could have said 'what do you want?' but I decided on a softer approach. "What can I do for you, the two ladies most likely to kill at a distance, this fine evening?" "We came by to see if you, Iona, and Rio were doing okay," Chastity related to me. "How's Iona? I imagine Rio was less than cooperative," I responded. "Rio told us if we came in by the door we were leaving by the window," Hope informed me. "Iona is doing okay physically but she's beaten up on the inside." "She says you threw her out of your little club," Chastity went fishing for confirmation. "Yes, she's out. I no longer give a crap what happens to her," I lied. Hope and Chastity snorted in disbelief. "She didn't tell you, did she?" Chastity questioned me. Since the answer was 'no' I kept silent. "The Chancellor instructed her to abandon you and Rio and to help the rest of us get you two expelled," Hope informed me. All I could think of was, poor Iona, stuck in that spot. "She responded with a tale of one of the early martyrs," Chastity picked up the story. "All the martyr had to do to save her life from the lions is renounce Christ and kiss the hem of Caesar's robe. The young girl responded, 'I would rather spend my last hour in the dust with the Christians, ' ', than live ten thousand more days as a Roman,' I completed the story. Sure, the story came from a hundred years after the real Caesar was dead, but who really cared? "I don't think that went over well." "I imagine a less than sterling letter was fired off to her parents," Hope suggested. "Fine," I muttered after a moment. "What?" Chastity inquired. "Chastity and Hope, I apologize for what I said earlier. I was pissed and I lashed out when you were stuck in the same fucked up situation I'm in," I admitted. "Apology accepted," Chastity grinned. "Don't make a habit of pissing me off, Zane," Hope cautioned me, "and the next one of you to come at me with a food tray gets it in the teeth." "Why did you pick Hope and me?" Chastity asked about the food trays we'd dumped on them. "I'm not saying we plotted anything but if we did, we would have created a random list for each meal. We get target one, then go to target two, and so on," I answered. "If it was randomized it would be harder for you guys to figure out who was next." "Do you have any other retaliatory actions planned out?" Hope inquired. "What do you think?" I smirked. "How did you plan all this out?" Hope persisted. "Since you are still dedicated to having us expelled, I don't feel it is prudent to tell you," I replied. I was hardly going to admit Iona set it all up, including that little trick of blanking out our call logs. "Fine. Let's get out of here, Chastity," Hope sighed. "I'll be with you in a minute," Chastity told Hope. When Hope was halfway down the stairs, Chastity turned to me with a sly grin. "How did you know I'd help you?" she whispered. "For that matter, how did you slip me the note and the key?" "I promise I'll tell you one day, Chastity," I replied. I could hardly tell her that Ms. Goodswell had slipped my message and her key into Chastity's pack. That Chastity would actually gather up the clothes that Rio, Iona, and I needed was the greater risk. She'd done it and we'd made our Wednesday night getaway for ice cream. I still wasn't sure why Virginia had known Chastity would do it but figuring it all out would be fun. It wasn't as good as sex but, well; it wasn't as good as sex. The Object is not to Die "Let me wash you," Opal requested of me as I entered the bathroom the next morning. Warning her that I was poison was pointless. I looked, smelled, and sounded like trouble. I imagine if I asked her, she'd tell me I tasted like trouble too, but I didn't want to tempt fate. "I can keep your bandages dry," she promised. Mentally, I cracked when she finished rinsing my hair. "Why are you doing this?" I had to know. "Zane, you are the only non-related male I'm going to be in contact with for the next two years. If I let you go, I'm going to lapse into homosexuality," she explained. I couldn't resist. "Does that mean you would be opposed to a three-way?" I grinned. "I don't know," she mused, "who do you have in mind?" "Brandi; she is cute and receptive," I suggested. "Good choice," Opal beamed, "she's scrumptious. Do you think she's game? Don't bother, I'll snare her in; you make sure you show up, okay?" Up until this point in time I'd been fooling around but I had the distinct impression that Opal wasn't. "Let me guess; you are on the Soccer team," I chuckled. "Striker," Opal responded. "I should have known; you have that killer instinct," I sighed knowingly. "I know what I want and I go for it," she smiled as she closed with me and stroked my member. It was to our immense mutual disappointment that we simply didn't have the time to take it any further. I could appreciate Barbie Lynn throwing herself under the proverbial bus for us but I really wish she didn't look so sexy doing it. She stood with Rio, Iona, and me as we walked out of the dorm toward Christina and company. Rio and I exchanged conspiratorial glances with Iona. "I'm hoping for oatmeal," Rio quipped. "I'm betting on pancakes and syrup," I replied. "Oh, hot syrup," mused Iona. "I like syrup. It turns pancakes into fly paper." We walked up to our tormentors and held out our arms for their book bags, which they dutifully handed over. As we got ready to assume our kneeling position, Christina cleared her throat. "What are you doing?" Christina commented dryly. Seeing our confusion, she sniffed derisively, then added, "I haven't got all day." With that, she turned and walked off at a good clip we had to jog to keep up with. We hobbled into the Dining Hall without a word being said but when we got into the food line, Rio broke the spell. "Does this mean we don't dump food on them?" she whispered. "They've tossed us an olive branch so we shouldn't shower them with defoliant just yet," I suggested. "We need to know what they are up to," Iona added. That was the thing none of us had an answer to so we were served and went searching for someplace to sit. Cappadocia, Captain Willie, and another Karate teammate named Evangeline caught sight of us and chose that moment to rise and take their trays away, leaving us three adjacent seats. We leapt on them in an instant since another part of the Enemy's plan was to keep us isolated from one another. "I hate to rain on our parade but Queen Christina at six o'clock," Rio muttered. "Phone," Christina demanded of Iona. "We are in the Dining Hall," Rio spat, "you can't demand shit from us." "Watch your language, felon," Christina responded drolly. "It is Friday, Christina, in case you forgot. Your time is running out," I warned Christina that her time to make an apology to Rio was coming to an end. She looked haughtily down her nose at me. "Here you go," Iona said meekly. She had a point; even if we won here, Christina would jump us the moment we left the sanctuary of the Dining Hall. Christina took the phone and typed a message in, then sent it before returning it to Iona. Without explanation the Queen strutted away. "What was that about?" Rio muttered to Iona who was checking her text log. "She put Zane back on the market," Iona whispered in disbelief. "What the fuck!" Rio squeaked, trying to keep her shock from echoing across the hall. I looked around and saw phones ringing and the ripple of the word spreading out as girls looked my way. "What do we do, Zane?" Iona asked. I had to think that over and a grin slowly creased my face. "Give me ten names: Juniors and seniors only," I smiled. That would be part of my party list. "How is that going to help us get those bitches?" Rio asked. "Rio, living well is the best revenge, and I finally figured out how we are going to live well," I explained. My two companions didn't get it yet but Iona was busy getting my names. "What do I do with the list?" Iona asked. "Ask them to my party," I winked and the lights came on. "Sweet!" gloated Rio, "but how are we going to get away with it? The Chancellor is going to be watching us like a hawk." "Do you trust me?" I asked Rio and Iona. Iona nodded but Rio looked incredulous. "Why in the hell should I trust you, Jungle Boy?" Rio taunted me. "Because the other option has you crying tears of loneliness into your pillow tomorrow night, Arizona," I teased right back. Rio was from Arizona in the same way I was from the jungles of Thailand. Breakfast was drawing to a close so I had to make my move. When Christina and crew put their trays up I followed them quickly outside. "Glutton for punishment?" Hope questioned as I finished my approach. "I need a moment alone with Christina," I responded. Heaven snarled at me; very becoming. "So, I no longer bore you?" Christina threw my earlier words back in my face. "I need a favor and it will help me with your demise," I grinned because I knew I had her; the girl couldn't stand not knowing what I was up to, or so I prayed. Christina shrugged her indifference but motioned for me to follow her off to the side, away from the others. "So, after I've already done you two favors today, what else do you want of me?" she asked. I had to admit that she was no longer making me crawl on my knees and she'd freed me up for gentler hands, but I had my needs. "I want you to go to an off-campus party with me tomorrow night," I beamed hopefully. Christina studied me, clearly looking for my deceptive angle, but when none became evident, a smile slowly forced its way across her lips. "Okay, Zane, I give up. What is the catch?" Christina chuckled. "There is a Sorority party at my neighbor's house. They are inviting a fraternity over and I imagine a few people will crash. I've been invited and I was thinking we could bring around twenty of our girls for a fun night out," I explained. "Zane, we are a Christian Girls school; we don't do the whole partying, drinking, and spending time with strange boys thing," she lectured me. "You'll have fun," I promised her. "An hour ago you hated me," she pointed out. "How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" "Sure, I hated you an hour ago, but that was then and I'm not going to waste my time fighting past battles. Besides, you did the right thing, though you took your time doing it," I answered. "Also, who in the Administration would I work for? I certainly wouldn't go outside the school." "Yet you are still going after me about Rio," Christina said. "That has to do with how you treat people, not what you did in the past," I corrected her. "If I leave it alone you will continue to treat people that don't conform to your world view like dirt." "You aren't going to win, Zane, but I tell you what; drop this silly vendetta and I'll consider going to that party," she offered. "Oh, I'll keep my vendetta and see you at the party anyway," I laughed which made Christina cross. "What makes you think that?" she replied through narrowed eyes. "You are fearless, hungry for knowledge, and you never pass up a challenge where there is even a remote chance of success. You won't go for me; you will go because this is something you can do and do well, and you can't pass up an opportunity to shine," I pointed out. "So you are attempting to flatter me with a fictitious character assessment," she chided in return. Busted! "You are not calling me a liar," I countered. We locked gazes for a few seconds. "I wish you were older," she commented. "Younger means I have more stamina," I offered. "Older means more experience, more to offer, and greater competition," she volleyed. "Younger means you can teach them more, less baggage, and a stronger desire to catch their quarry," I grinned. "Is that what I am to you; quarry?" Christina questioned me. "No. You are the girl I'm going to marry," I stated matter of factly before turning and running for Assembly. As it was, we were on the verge of being late, though Rio and Iona saved me a seat. Rio tried to get me to tell her what happened but I warned her to silence with the fey light in my gaze. When we got out a senior named Janice snatched me up. Her trick was dueling Bible verses. Sometimes I don't get chicks at all but I guess she thought she was doing my soul some good. The crew was waiting at my car when I was preparing to make my exit from campus. Christina was sitting on the hood of my car when I showed up. She pushed up and met me a few steps forward. "We've discussed it and we'll go," she told me, "but don't think this means even remotely that I'll ever marry you." By the looks on their faces this was the first her girl posse had heard about my intentions. "Oh, you will marry me," I said, feeling terribly self-assured. "I won't settle for anyone less and neither will you." Christina smirked but there was this light in her eyes. Chastity laughed while Faith and Hope looked stunned. Heaven looked pole-axed. I got in my car and rolled out for the short drive home. It was Friday night and I still had a lot to do before Saturday's party. To say that the situation with Aunt Jill at home was awkward would have been an understatement. Last Monday before I met with the Chancellor, Jill got a call from the university telling her that she'd sent a boy to a girl's school. I imagine it was some consolation that she hadn't bragged to our church about where I was going to school yet. "So, umm, Jill began as we sat down to eat dinner, "your Spiritual Advisor tells me you are making great strides in your Christian education. She also says you are well-received by your fellow students and that they don't hold your, condition against you." "Actually, several girls have shown great concern over my well-being," I expressed. "A few have told me they want to stop by the house tomorrow night and make sure I'm okay," I added. I could see Jill balk. "By that, I mean that twenty of them want to come over." The sheer number first worried, then impressed her. Surely she must be thinking that I'd be safe with so many women around. "That's good news, Zane. I was worried that you would be a slave to your baser nature but I see Jesus Christ has provided you with a new direction," Jill smiled lovingly. I decided not to tell her that the tools Christ had chosen were young ladies like Barbie Lynn, Rio, Iona, Chastity, and Opal, and I definitely knew better than to tell her about the party we would all be going to. "Speaking of new directions, I notice you are still wearing the clothes the young ladies next door picked out for you," I re-directed the conversation. Jill looked down at her plate for a minute. "I bought some of my old styles Monday but when I wore them Tuesday, a co-worker asked me if there had been a death in the family. What a horrid thing to say," she groaned. "Have you garnered any male attention?" I inquired, deeply curious. "Nothing you need worry about," Jill turned away, "I have one man in my life and you're more than enough for me to handle." "Jill, if you like I could come home one or two days a week for dinner; campus is so close," I offered, "and I'm sure my Dorm Mother won't mind." Jill looked up and studied me. "That would be nice, Zane. I know we didn't get off to a good start here but I'm willing to work at it if you are," she stated. "Kathryn has offered to come out here for a few weeks once harvest is done," Jill continued. I didn't know Kathryn, Jill's older sister, except for the few pictures I'd seen. I knew she'd been the first woman Uncle Tim was interested in but she ended up marrying a church elder thirty years her senior. She was like Jill, except thirty-seven years of age and a bit thicker. She worked on the family farm in Oregon doing, well, farmer shit. Jill said we could expect her the first week in November so we had better get the guest bedrooms ready for the visit. We caught a movie on TV, drank some wine, and talked about campus, classes and such. Jill had gone to an open university were Christian students were penalized for their beliefs (so she felt) and was fascinated with the idea of a place where Christian women alone sat in judgment of other Christian women. I pledged then and there to never put Rio and Jill alone in the same room together because I'd surely end up an orphan. In the morning, Jill and I picked up the place (Jill was a haphazard housekeeper), did some laundry, and went grocery shopping. In the checkout line I said something inane and Jill gave me an exaggerated giggle that I was becoming all too familiar with. It was the one a woman gives to a man when they think the man wants to be found amusing. It is kind of endearing when it comes from a teenage girl but a bit creepy when it comes from your female guardian. Jill really needed a man in her life but I was at a loss as to how to make it happen. Unfortunately, I had things to do after we ate lunch, namely going back to school to pick up Rio and Iona for a shopping trip. Rio had been stripped of all her 'party-wear' when her parents shipped her here and Iona never had anything like it at all. "Barbie Lynn wanted to see you in your room," Rio grumbled when Iona and I showed up in her abode. I had no idea what that was about so I left Iona in Rio's room and headed to the Solarium on my own. When I got to the top of the stairs Barbie's gaze met mine from my bed where she was sitting. She glanced past me to see if I brought company. "Are we alone?" she purred. I nodded in agreement, at which point Barbie Lynn sat up on the bed on her knees facing away from me. Slowly, looking over her shoulder, she hiked up her skirt until her bare-naked bum was revealed to me. "I've missed you," she moaned, then she began rubbing her right ass cheek and added, "We've both missed you." I stalked toward her, barely able to restrain the desire to pounce on her proffered posterior. Barbie grinned lustfully, went down to her hands and, as I was taking my pants and underwear off, she collapsed further onto her elbows, pushing her ass out even more. I started to caress her thighs, flank, and back, planting kisses along the way, when I noticed her ass crack and anus was slick with lubricant. "No foreplay; just fuck me," Barbie Lynn demanded with a voice heavy with need. I aimed my cock to her anus and slowly pushed in. Barbie gave a sharp intake of breath as her resistance was overcome, followed by this deep, animalistic vocalization of pleasure. Her breathing came in sharper and sharper gasps as I pushed steadily in until I was totally encased by her flesh. I put my weight on her back, reaching around and fondling her breasts through her shirt, no bra which, with Barbie's cleavage, was erotic and impractical yet wonderful to the touch. Our bodies synchronized into some really violent, ravenous sex when Barbie looked over her shoulder at me. "So, you are going to marry Christina?" she panted. I couldn't read her emotional state. "Yes, in about three or four years," I answered. "What about me, about us?" she whimpered as her passion began slipping her control. "You are a great friend, Barbie Lynn, but I don't love you. Is this going to be a problem?" I breathed heavily. "No," she rasped with a smile on her lips and eyes shut, "I wouldn't give up our time together for anything. Okay, it hurts a little, knowing I'm going to lose you one day." "We'll never lose what we have right now," I grunted as Barbie began to tremble against me. Her anal muscles began to squeeze and contort around me. Eyes squinted, she gave me a wicked little smile and I rewarded her with a sharp slap to the ass. Barbie hopped up but her fists kept clenching my sheets. "Oh, Zane," she gasped. I spanked her two more times hard and Barbie Lynn cried out, "Lord Jesus!" she called out in her own inimical way as the first major tremor grabbed her body. I hammered away for three more strokes when her heat and passion overcame me and I erupted into her ass. Barbie pushed up and back against me for over a minute before we finally collapsed on the bed, panting and sweating profusely. We lay there, young and vital, soaking up each other's warmth until Barbie Lynn wiggled her ass against me and sighed contentedly. "You're still hard," she murmured. "Whose fault is that, you vixen?" I teased her between deep breaths. "Don't you need to go shopping?" she titillated back. "Do I look like I want to go shopping?" I responded with both words and a jab with my cock. "Damn, oh damn," she moaned, as she stroked my cock with anal contractions. "Okay, one more time, then you have to go," she whimpered lustfully. "Two fucking hours!" Rio spat. "Jesus Christ, man, can she still walk?" Okay, so we did it more than one more time, I must confess, but I wasn't telling Rio that. "She was asleep when I left her," I stated, "but I think she's ambulatory." Iona blushed which reminded me that I still owed her a full-body hot oil massage. "Were you ever not the Hammer of God?" Rio questioned me about my sexual prowess. "Well," I chuckled, "my first sexual encounter, from stripping off our clothes to my shot, was less than a minute. I got one stroke in, pulled out too far, and ejaculated

The adult industry's wildest week kicks off in Las Vegas, but its most scandalous star has gone completely AWOL. While porn royalty and OnlyFans rebels clash under the neon lights, journalist James Weir prowls the casino hallways and hunts for the missing Bonnie Blue through a maze of gossip, feuds, and backstabbing. The whispers are vicious: veteran porn stars are seething as DIY upstarts crash their exclusive party, trading insults and death stares across crowded casino floors. The glittering facade is cracking: while headlines scream about million-dollar OnlyFans fortunes, the brutal reality is creators fighting over scraps as platforms get rich. James meets the fledgling creator earning $200 for custom "fart videos" and an ex-army veteran struggling to retain subscribers. In an industry built on exposure, who's really getting screwed? Obsessed fans collect performer trading cards like trophies while wannabes desperately pitch themselves for a shot at viral infamy. As the drama reaches fever pitch, everyone's talking about the one person who has vanished - until a familiar voice suddenly cuts through the chaos. Read more and watch exclusive video content hereFollow us on socials: Instagram: @newscomauhq Facebook: News.com.au TikTok: @news.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Barnes receives word that the agent they suspect tipped off the Russian at the Chicago storage unit is AWOL. Simon, Slane and Lenora encounter a Russian market dealer in the bazaars of Baku. Thornton and Scarlett continue to follow the car that left the Chinese market. They suspect the car is transporting drugs. After ICE raids the market, Thornton and Scarlett receive shocking news. The Mercury ground crew makes their way to the market in New Market to meet with Zardoz to find out what happened to Hanaka and his guard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barnes receives word that the agent they suspect tipped off the Russian at the Chicago storage unit is AWOL. Simon, Slane and Lenora encounter a Russian market dealer in the bazaars of Baku. Thornton and Scarlett continue to follow the car that left the Chinese market. They suspect the car is transporting drugs. After ICE raids the market, Thornton and Scarlett receive shocking news. The Mercury ground crew makes their way to the market in New Market to meet with Zardoz to find out what happened to Hanaka and his guard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When 21 year old Richard Cox - a cadet at West Point Military Academy - missed evening curfew on Saturday, January 14th, 1950, his roommates quickly became concerned. As authorities began investigating, their interest soon narrowed on an old friend who had recently reappeared in Richard's life. Listen in as Maggie is joined by Laurah Norton, host of “One Strange Thing” and “The Fall Line” as the two discuss Richard's mysterious disappearance, the possibility he was helped in going AWOL, or whether he could have been an early recruit of a covert agency.Up and Vanished Weekly is available wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CONFESSIONS OF A PLUMBER! Flint does a Rossy impression as Rossy goes AWOL at the end of the Prog review. John becomes a Handyman! All this and the Prog Review!

A BIG name goes AWOL (again), is this an ominous warning sign of yet another global scam incoming? Link: Why We Turned On... (Right Wing Coalition): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAR58Kwreb4&t=1149s Education, not indoctrination. Sarah PlumleyHead Teacher, Guerrilla EdExpert Examiner GCSE MathematicsBA, PGCE Secondary (Mathematics), QTS https://www.sarahplumley.com

Yesterday I broke down the AWOL effect, when you've got the skill but your results are missing in action. Today I'm giving you the cure. If you've confirmed you've got the AWOL effect, I'll show you exactly what to do about it. Remember, every problem has a solution, and this one is no different. Show Notes:  [01:51]#1 Get the mindset in the right place. [11:52]#2 Get the roadmap in reverse. [15:51]#3 Codify and execute.  [19:32]Recap Next Steps ---

fromatoarbitration.com

In this class, I'm bringing back the concept of the AWOL effect — when your results are missing in action. You might not have a name for it, but you know the feeling: working hard, yet not seeing the outcomes you want.  I'll explain what the AWOL effect really is, why it happens, and how to deal with it so you can get back on track. If what I describe sounds like your situation, you'll know exactly what steps to take next. Show Notes:  [02:12]#1 Ability Without Outcome or Leverage. [07:20]#2 What are you feeling when going through the AWOL effect? [15:16]#3 What are some ways that it manifests itself, and how does this actually happen? [22:54]Recap Episodes Mentioned: 1184: Dealing With The "AWOL Effect" 2568: Problem: You're Lazy As Fuck 1254: Inches And Miles 3365: Stop "Thinking About It"! 980: How To Stop Thinking About Failure 2012: Avoiding "Shiny Information Syndrome" Next Steps ---

In this episode of the Who's He? Podcast.... Review - AWOL This week, Phil and Paul listen to another Short Trips story from Big Finish and this time it's AWOL, starring Jon Culshaw. Phil really loves this audio drama, so he was interested in Paul's take on this story which fills in the blanks between the third Doctor stories The Silurians and The Ambassadors of Death and fleshes out the relationship between the Doctor and the Brigadier.  And as a bonus, they introduce everyone to the phrase "the reverse Paddington". You can currently find us on X, Threads, Mastodon, Bluesky and Facebook.  Don't miss an episode by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, plus many other podcatchers of your choice. 

It's time once again for another #MountainStateMusic throwback – looking at some of our favorite moments on the @FolkloreMusicExchange stage. Sit back and enjoy “AWOL” by @MarkPrice! Want to hear more? Check out our website at https://daily304.wv.gov/programs/mountain-state-music/

The Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) provides comprehensive protections for injured federal workers during the adjudication and appeals process for claim denials, including denials of wage-loss (off-work) benefits and impairment ratings for scheduled awards. While FECA does not explicitly prohibit an employing agency from initiating administrative actions like separation for extended absence, it establishes strong safeguards to maintain the status quo during ongoing OWCP proceedings. This includes continuation of benefits unless specific suspension criteria are met, restoration rights to duty, and job protections tied to disability status. These mechanisms prevent premature termination of employment or benefits while disputes are resolved.Key principles:- Benefits Continuation During Adjudication: Benefits already in payment generally continue pending resolution of denials or appeals, unless the claimant fails to cooperate (e.g., refusing examinations).- Job Protection: While on approved FECA leave, absences are considered authorized, and agencies must provide leave without pay (LWOP) for at least one year. Restoration rights apply upon recovery, and agencies cannot treat the absence as unauthorized (e.g., AWOL) until OWCP finalizes work capacity. For more information click  on transcript.The podcaster is Dr. Stephen Taylor, OWCP legal consultant for Oberheiden Law Firm.  Dr. Taylor's contact information is:https://fedcompconsultants@protonmail.com If you need a medical provider or assistance with an OWCP /  DOL claim in Tampa, Jacksonville, Pensacola Florida, Mississippi or Daphne Alabama    you can make an appointment to see Dr. Taylor, or Dr. Sullivan   at the clinic at  FWC Medical Centers. To make a consultation with Dr. Taylor  call the clinic at 813-215-4356 or go  to our website at https://fwcmedicalcenters.net/     or     https://mrtherapycenter.com/or https://fedcompconsultants.com/For responses email Dr. Taylor at fedcompconsultants@protonmail.comFEEDSPOT TOP 10 National Workers Compensation Podcast: https://podcast.feedspot.com/workers_compensation_podcasts/?feedid=5557942&_src=f2_featured_email

Some war stories never leave the battlefield — even when the soldiers do. In tonight's chilling true account, a Vietnam veteran recalls the only brush with the supernatural he's had in 74 years of life — and it happened deep in the Mekong Delta. While serving night duty at a Special Forces C-team, he was tasked with monitoring communications and handling emergencies. One night, a wounded American, Sergeant T, was flown in after a grenade trap nearly destroyed his airboat. His injury was minor but serious: a small hole above the eye, possibly pressing on the optic nerve. Medics recommended evacuation to Saigon, and the sergeant was flown out. Two days later, reports came back thanking the officer for returning Sergeant T. Confused, he went to retrieve the man — only to be told by multiple soldiers that they had seen him walking around, bandaged head and all, even heading to the showers. His girlfriend in the village was questioned. Everyone swore he was still alive. But when the officer returned to headquarters, the truth hit like a bullet: Major Jay handed him the paperwork. Sergeant T had died the night before, on the operating table in Saigon. Yet at least three men swore they saw him walking the barracks that same night. Was this a case of a spirit lingering behind, unaware of his death? A phantom farewell to comrades? Or something far stranger — a soldier caught between worlds, neither alive nor gone? #WarGhosts #VietnamWar #ParanormalStories #TrueGhostStory #HauntedHistory #SoldierGhost #RealHaunting #SupernaturalEncounters #MilitaryGhostStories #RealGhostStoriesOnline Love real ghost stories? Don't just listen—join us on YouTube and be part of the largest community of real paranormal encounters anywhere. Subscribe now and never miss a chilling new story:

AWOL is a tag team out of The Maritimes in Canada consisting of Pete Leblanc and Ryan McGrath. A hard hitting duo that has mixed it up with the best the region has to offer. They aren't afraid of singles action either as Pete has faced off against FIP World Champion August Artois. Be sure to follow them on social media at…Facebook: Pete Leblanc, Ryan McGrathInstagram: awol_tagteam, leblanc_awol, mcgrath_awolBe sure to follow Drinkin at MO's on our social media accounts to stay up to date on the show..X(Twitter): Big_Mo83Instagram: drinkinatmosFacebook: Drinkin at MO's Threads: drinkinatmos Be sure to subscribe to the channel here on YouTube and all audio platforms…YouTube: https://youtube.com/@drinkinatmos338Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PqYhq9pQF21c5Hu01b23j?si=X8XLCOFZS_-qGBBzdYoD7AApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/drinkin-at-mos/id1617536259IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-drinkin-at-mos-112523315?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false&autoplay=trueAmazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/5af99e6b-2c35-4f31-b8e4-5d8183216231/drinkin-at-mo%E2%80%99s?ref=dm_sh_pMALI1SeXwefTlaUdVRC9VIohSpotify for Podcasters: https://anchor.fm/drinkinatmosThank you to Prince Nana Coffee for sponsoring the podcast. Use the referral link below to order yourself some amazing premium coffee.Referral: https://princenanacoffee.com/?ref=BigMoThank you to Reaper Apparel for having Drinkin At MO's as a Brand Ambassador… be sure to use the code below for 10% off your order..https://www.reaperapparelco.com/discount/Drinkin?ref=ApFLTTMUPromo code:Drinkinatmos #prowrestling #independentwrestling #wwe #aew #ringofhonor #TNAwrestling #gcw #czw #ecw #letsfngo #drinkinatmos #njpw #nwa #flophousewrestling #socalprowrestling #luchaunderground #luchaundergroundtemple #pwrevolver #warriorwrestling #fantasticleagueofwrestling

Ol' Dirty Bastard once saved a four-year old girl who was trapped under a Ford Mustang. He took a limo with an MTV news crew to collect his welfare check. He was charged with attempted murder of an NYPD officer. Chased by bloodthirsty Rottweilers. Shot by men in ski masks. His fame led to an addiction to cocaine, and that addiction led to ten arrests in the span of a few months. He was granted a weekend furlough from a rehab facility but went AWOL and wound up on the lam. Before long he wound up in Dannemora, aka Clinton Correctional Facility, aka Little Siberia, a maximum security prison in upstate New York, where he had to go to extreme lengths just to stay sane – and to survive. This episode was originally published on October 10, 2023. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ⁠⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠⁠. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠⁠ Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠X⁠⁠ (formerly Twitter)  ⁠⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late 1980s, the skies over Gulf Breeze, Florida, became a theater for some of history's most famous UFO sightings. But as the town looked up in wonder, a far more sinister mission was unfolding on the ground, as six AWOL soldiers arrived with a Ouija board and a divine mandate to kill the Antichrist.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We've lost the strong man. Kevin Swanson is holding the Act Like Men Conference to restore men to their God-given role. On the whole, men today are AWOL, having departed from the Biblical picture of leadership and love. 60% of Master's degrees are awarded to women. 57% of boys are born without fathers. So, what's the solution to this crisis? Hosts Scott Brown and Jason Dohm, joined by guest Kevin Swanson, explain that the right answer is not the “macho man” or the “wild-at-heart man,” but the biblical man who's strong in faith and who fears God. This is the focus of the upcoming Act Like Men Conference, to be held Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Elizabeth, Colorado. Rather than fall for the pseudo-visions of masculinity found in the “Manosphere,” we must look to God's Word to understand what it means to be a faithful man. That's the goal of this gathering — to teach 12-year-old boys to grandfathers to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, [and] be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13 ESV). Click here to learn more and register.

Operaspymaster you may ask? Read on and listen to this episode. In this powerful and multifaceted episode of Unstoppable Mindset, we welcome Kay Sparling, former opera singer, PTSD survivor, and now debut novelist—as she shares her incredible life journey from international stages to the shadowy world of espionage fiction. Kay talks about the creation of her first novel, Mission Thaw, a gripping spy thriller based on her own real-life experiences volunteering with refugees in post-Cold War Europe. Kay and Michael discuss the inspiration behind her protagonist, CIA agent Caitlin Stewart, and how real-world trauma and service led Kay to use fiction as both a vehicle for healing and a call to action on the modern crisis of human trafficking. This is a conversation that transcends genres—music, espionage, activism, and resilience—all converging through the unstoppable spirit of a woman who refuses to stay silent. About the Guest: Kay Sparling was raised in the Midwest. At the age of seven, she began her professional singing career as Gretl in “The Sound of Music” and she continued to perform through high school. After graduation Kay attended University of Kansas and earned a BME in music education and a minor in Vocal Performance. She then attended graduate school in opera voice performance for one year at UMKC Conservatory of Music. She was awarded a grant to finish my graduate studies in Vienna, Austria. From there she won an apprenticeship at the Vienna State Opera. After moving to NYC to complete her second apprenticeship, Kay lived in Germany, Austria, and Italy for many years. In 1999 Kay returned to NYC and continued singing opera and became a cantor for the NYC diocese. After 9/11, she served as a cantor at many of the funeral and memorial masses for the fallen first responders. In 2003, Kay moved from NYC to the upper Midwest and started a conservatory of Music and Theatre where her voice students have been awarded numerous prestigious scholarships and won many competitions. In 2020, the pandemic shut down her conservatory, so she began training to be a legal assistant and now works in workers compensation. Back in 2013, Kay had started writing a journal as a PTSD treatment. She was encouraged to extend the material into a novel. After much training and several drafts, Mission Thaw was published in 2024. Kay is currently writing the second book in the Kaitlyn Stewart Spy Thriller Series. Ways to connect with Kay: Website: https://www.kaysparlingbooks.com X: https://x.com/MissionThaw/missionthaw/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/missionthaw.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/505674375416879 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kay-sparling-8516b638/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missionthaw/ Litsy: https://www.litsy.com/web/user/Mission%20Thaw About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:16 Well, hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. I'm your host, Mike hingson, and our guest today is a very fascinating individual. I was just teasing her a little bit about her email address, which is operaspy master@gmail.com I'm telling you, don't cross her. That's all I gotta say. Anyway, we'll, we'll get into all of that. But I really am glad that she is with us. Kay Sparling is a fascinating woman who's had an interesting career. She's written, she's done a number of things. She's used to be an opera, gosh, all sorts of stuff. So anyway, we'll get to all of it and we'll talk about it. I don't want to give it all away. Where would the fun in that be? Kay, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Kay Sparling ** 02:11 Well, thank you. I'm glad to be here. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:13 we're glad you're here. You're from up in Wisconsin. We were going to do this a couple of weeks ago, but you had all the storms, and it stole your internet and your power away, didn't   Kay Sparling ** 02:23 it? It sure did. Yeah, that was a terrible storm we had.   Michael Hingson ** 02:28 Yeah, that's kind of no fun. I remember years ago, I was talking to somebody on the phone. We were doing a sales call, and he said, I might not be able to stay on the phone because we're having a really serious storm, and he said it is possible that the lightning could hit the phone lines, and if it does, it could come in the house. And we talked for a few minutes, and then he said, I'm going to have to hang up, because I just felt a small shock, because the lightning obviously hit the phone line, so we'll have to talk later. And and he was gone. And we did talk later, though he was okay, but still, wow, yeah, there's a lot of crazy weather going on, isn't there? And we were just talking about the, we were just talking about the Canadian wildfires. They're No fun.   Kay Sparling ** 03:15 No, no. Just everywhere is having crazy weather.   Michael Hingson ** 03:20 Well, tell us a little bit about you growing up and all that sort of stuff, and telling me about the the early K   Kay Sparling ** 03:32 Well, growing up, I grew up in a farm community in the in the central Midwest, just you know, right in the middle of the bread basket, you might say, not near where you are now. No no, no further south and in very much agriculture time, I mean skipping ahead. I remember talking to a famous opera conductor when I was an apprentice, and I made some reference, and he goes, Well, how would you know that? And I said, because I grew up on a farm. And he went, Oh, get out here. Nobody makes it, you know, to a major European opera house from a farm. And I went, Well, I did. And later, I asked my mom to send me a picture, because we had had an aerial view taken of our homestead, and it was obvious for miles, all the way around the house and the barn and all, it was just corn fields and soybeans. You know what they showed   Michael Hingson ** 04:40 Illinois, Illinois, and so you showed it to him, yeah,   Kay Sparling ** 04:44 I showed it to him, and he was like, well, doggone, you're not lying. Like, No, I wasn't kidding you. I really did.   Michael Hingson ** 04:51 It shows how good I really am. See how far I progressed.   Kay Sparling ** 04:55 Well, you know, I was one of these kids. I. At five years old, I my parents took me to see sound and music at the theater, and during the intermission. Now I'm five years old, it's pretty late for me, right? But when we're in the concession stand, I tug at my mom's skirt, and I say, Mom, that's what I want to do. And she looks at me kind of funny, and she's kind of funny, and she's kind of confused. Well, what do you want to do work in a theater? You know, a movie theater? No, no, I want to do what those kids are doing on that on the movie screen. And she was like, Well, honey, you know, that's that's really hard to get somewhere like that. So that was when I was five. And then when I was seven, she just, you know, the all the school and the church were telling her, this kid's got a great voice, and they kept giving me solos and stuff. And so when I was seven, she put me in the Sangamon County Fair Little Miss competition. And of course, my talent was singing, so I just sang away. I really can't remember what I sang, but afterwards, a fellow came up to my parents and introduced himself, and he said that he was there, he had family, not, you know, in the area, and that he had grown up there, but since then, he he was in St Louis, and he said, we are, I'm a scout, and I'm looking, I'm an entertainment Scout, and I'm actually looking for, you know, the von trop children. We're going to do a big production, and we'd love to audition your daughter. Well, we were about, think it was an hour and a half away from St Louis, so my parents are like, wow, that'd be quite a commitment. But long story short, I did it, and that started my professional career. I was the youngest Bon Troy. You know, over cradle, yeah. And so it just went from there. And, you know, it was all Broadway, of course, and I did a lot of church singing, you know, it got to be by the time I was, you know, in high school, people were hiring me for weddings, funerals, all that kind of thing. And so I was a Broadway and sacred singer. Went to college. My parents said, you can't depend on a vocal performance degree. What if things don't work out? You have to have something fall back. So I went into vocal music ed at a very, very good school for that, and also music therapy, and, you know, continue being in their shows. And when I when I graduated, continued the Broadway, and one night I was also singing a little bit of jazz in Kansas City, where I was living, someone approached me. She was a voice teacher at the conservatory there, and that conservatory had an apprenticeship with the Kansas City Lyric Opera. And she said I knew you was an undergrad. My husband works where you, where you went to school, and I have been watching you for a long time. And I wish you quit this nonsense of singing Broadway and jazz and rock and everything and get serious, you know, and try opera. So I thought she was crazy to bring that up, but it wasn't the first time it had been brought up. So I have been teaching for a year, and at the end of that school year, I announced everyone I was going to graduate school and I was going to study opera. And so   Michael Hingson ** 08:55 what were you teaching?   Kay Sparling ** 08:57 I was teaching high school choir, okay, at a very big high school, very, very good choir department.   Michael Hingson ** 09:03 Now, by the way, after doing Gretel, did you ever have any other parts as you grew older in Sound of Music?   Kay Sparling ** 09:11 Okay, that's a very cool question. I am one of the few people that I know that can say I have sang every major role in Sound of Music sometime in my life. Ah, okay, because it was so popular when I was Oh, yeah. And as I would grow older, well now you're going to sing, you know, you just kept graduating up. And then pretty soon I sang quite a few Marias. And then after I was an opera singer. During covid, I was asked to sing Mother Superior. Mother Superior. Yeah, literally, have sung, you know, in a decades long career, I've sung every role in Sound of Music.   Michael Hingson ** 09:56 Cool. Well, that's great.   10:00 Yeah, so, so, anyway, so   Michael Hingson ** 10:02 you said that you were going to go study opera,   Kay Sparling ** 10:07 and I did a graduate school, and then I got the chance to get an international grant over to Europe, and so I decided to not finish my masters at that time and go over there and finish it, and most of all, importantly, do my first apprenticeship in Europe. And so I thought that was a great opportunity. They were willing. They were going to willing to pay for everything. And I said I would be a fool to turn this down. Yeah, so off I went, and that's kind of the rest of the story. You know, got a lot of great training, left Europe for a while, moved to New York City, trained best coaches and teachers in the world at the Metropolitan Opera and then, you know, launch my career.   Michael Hingson ** 11:04 So you Wow, you, you've done a number of things, of course, going to Europe and being in Vienna and places like that. Certainly you were in the the right place.   Kay Sparling ** 11:16 Yes, yes, definitely. You know, at that time in the in the middle 80s, United States was we had some great opera houses Iran, but we had very few. And it just wasn't the culture that it was in Europe, in Europe. And so, yes, there was a lot more opportunity there, because there was such a culture established there already.   Michael Hingson ** 11:44 So you went off and you did Europe and saying opera, what were you a soprano? Or what were you that sounds like a way a little high for your voice?   Kay Sparling ** 11:59 Well, you have to remember, I'm a senior citizen now. So this is the way it worked for me, because we're talking decades from the age 27 and I quit singing at 63 so that's a very long time to sing opera. So I started out, as you know, there is a voice kind of category, and each one of those, we use a German word for that. It's called Foch, F, A, C, H, and you know, that is determined by the kind of vocal cords you have, and the kind of training and the literature you're singing, and hopefully that all meshes together if you have good coaches and a good agent and such. And I literally have seen so many different Fox lyric, lyric mezzo, then to, very shortly, lyric soprano, and then for a long time, spinto soprano, which would be the Puccini and a lot of them really popular things. And then I was, I felt I was quite lucky that my voice did have the strength and did mature into a Verdi soprano, which is a dramatic soprano, not many of those around. And so that was, that was an endeavor, but at the same time, that was a leg up. And so most of the time in my career, I sang the bigger Puccini, like, let's say Tosca, and I sang a lot of Verdi. So I was an Italian opera singer. I mostly sang in Italian, not to say that I didn't sing in German or French, but I did very little in comparison to the   Michael Hingson ** 13:56 Italian Well, there's a lot of good Italian opera out there, although mostly I don't understand it, but I don't speak Italian well.   Kay Sparling ** 14:07 The great thing about most houses now is, you know, you can just look at the back of the seat in front of you, and there's the translation, you know, yeah, that   Michael Hingson ** 14:18 doesn't work for me. Being blind, that doesn't work for you. Yeah, that's okay, though, but I like the music, yeah. So how long ago did you quit singing?   Kay Sparling ** 14:32 Um, just about, well, under, just a little under three years ago, okay?   Michael Hingson ** 14:38 And why did you quit? This was the right time,   Kay Sparling ** 14:42 senses or what I had a circumstance, I had to have throat surgery. Now it wasn't on my vocal cords, but it was on my thyroid, and unfortunately, the vocal cord nerve. They had to take out some Cyst On. My right thyroid, and then remove it too. And unfortunately, my vocal cords were damaged at that time, I would have probably be singing still now some you know, I mean, because dramatic sopranos just can go on and on and on. One of my mentors was Birgit Nielsen, famous singer from Sweden, and she was in my grandmother's generation, but she didn't, I went to work with her, and she demonstrated at 77 she could still pop out of high C. And I believe, I believe I would have been able to do that too, but you know, circumstances, you know, changed, but that's okay. Yeah, I had sung a long time, and at least I can speak. So I'm just very happy about that.   Michael Hingson ** 15:51 So when you did quit singing, what did you decide to go do? Or, or, How did, how did you progress from there?   Kay Sparling ** 16:01 Well, I had already made a transition where I had come in 2003 to the Midwest. I came back from New York City, where I lived many, many years, and I started a conservatory of music and acting, and then that kind of grew into a whole conservatory of music. So I was also a part time professor here in Wisconsin, and I taught voice, you know, one on one vocal lessons, so high school and college and graduate school, and so I had this huge studio. So when that happened, I wasn't getting to sing a whole lot, because I was much more focused on my students singing me at that point, especially the older ones, professional ones, and so, you know, I just kept teaching and and then I had started this book that I'm promoting now, and so that gave me more time to get that book finished   Michael Hingson ** 17:10 and published. What's the name of the book?   Kay Sparling ** 17:13 The book is called Mission, thaw.   Michael Hingson ** 17:16 Ah, okay, and what is it about   Kay Sparling ** 17:22 mission thaw is feminist spy thriller set at the very end of the Cold War in the late 80s, and the main protagonist is Caitlin Stewart, who it who has went over there to be an opera singer, and soon after she arrives, is intensely recruited by the CIA. They have a mission. They really, really need a prima donna Mozart soprano, which is what Caitlin was, and she had won a lot of competitions and won a grant to go over there, and so they had been vetting her in graduate school in the United States. And soon as she came to Europe, they they recruited her within a couple weeks of her being there, and she, of course, is totally blindsided by that. When they approach her, she had she she recognized that things were not exactly the way they should be, that people were following her, and she was trying to figure out who, are these people and why are they following me everywhere? Well, it ends up being young CIA agents, and so when the head chief and his, you know, the second chief, approach her, you know, she's not real happy, because she's already felt violated, like her privacy has been violated, and so she wasn't really too wonderful of listening to them and their needs. And so they just sort of apprehend her and and throw her in a car, in a tinted window Mercedes, and off they go to a park to talk to her, right? And so it's all like crazy movie to Caitlin. It's like, what is going on here? And, you know, she can tell they're all Americans, and they have dark suits on, even though it's very, very hot, and dark glasses, you know? So everything is just like a movie. And so when they approach her and tell her about what they need her to do, you know, and this would be in addition to the apprentice she is doing that, you know, she just gets up and says, I'm sorry I didn't come over and be in cloak and dagger. A, you know, ring, I'm getting out of here. And as she's walking away, the chief says, Well, what if you could help bring down the Berlin Wall? Well, now that stops her in her tracks, and she turns around. She goes, What are you kidding? I'm just a, you know, an opera apprentice from the Midwest grew up on a farm. What am I gonna do? Hit a high C and knock it down. I mean, what are you talking about?   Michael Hingson ** 20:28 Hey, Joshua, brought down the wealth of Jericho, after all. Well, yeah, some   Kay Sparling ** 20:34 later, someone tells her that, actually, but, but anyway, they say, well, sit down and we'll explain what we need you to do. And so the the initial job that Caitlin accepts and the CIA to be trained to do is what they call a high profile information gap. She has a wonderful personality. She's really pretty. She's very fashionable, so she can run with the jet set. And usually the jet set in Europe, the opera jet set is also where all the heads of states hang out, too. And at that time, the the Prime Minister was pretty much banking the Vienna State Opera where she was apprenticing. So he ends up being along with many other Western Austrian businessmen in a cartel of human trafficking. Who they are trafficking are all the the different citizens of the countries that USSR let go. You know, when you know just got to be too much. Remember how, oh yeah, we're going to let you go. Okay? And then they would just pull out. And there was no infrastructure. There was nothing. And these poor people didn't have jobs, they didn't have electricity. The Russian mafia was running in there trying to take, you know, take over. It was, it was chaos. And so these poor people were just packing up what they could to carry, and literally, sometimes walking or maybe taking a train into the first Western European country they could get to. And for a lot of them, just because the geographical area that was Austria. And so basically, the Austrians did not want these people, and they were being very unwelcoming and arresting a lot of them, and there was a lot of lot of bad behavior towards these refugees. And so the Catholic church, the Catholic Social Services, the Mennonite Relief Fund, the the UN and the Red Cross started building just tent after tent after tent on the edge of town for these people to stay at. And so the businessmen decide, well, we can traffic these people that have nothing over to the East Germans, who will promise them everything, but will give them nothing. But, you know, death camps, basically, just like in World War Two. So you have work camps, you have factories. They they don't feed these people correctly. They don't they don't give them anything that they promise to them in in the camps. And they say, Okay, be on this train at this time, this night. And then they stop somewhere in between Vienna and East Germany, in a very small train station in the middle of the Alps. And they have these large, you know, basic slave options. And unfortunately, the children in the older people get sent back to the camp because they don't need them or want them. So all the children get displaced from their families, as well as the senior citizens or anyone with a disability. And then, you know, the men and the women that can work are broken up as well, and they're sent to these, you know, they're bought by these owners of these factories and farms, and the beautiful women, of course, are sold to either an individual that's there in East German that just wants to have a sex aid, pretty much. Or even worse, they could be sold to an underground East Berlin men's club. And so terrible, terrible things happen to the women in particular, and the more that Caitlin learns. As she's being trained about what's happening, and she interviews a lot of these women, and she sees the results of what's happened, it, it, it really strengthens her and gives her courage. And that's a good thing, because as time goes through the mission, she ends up having to be much, much more than just a high profile social, you know, information gather. She ends up being a combat agent and so, but that that's in the mission as you read, that that happens gradually and so, what? What I think is really a good relationship in this story, is that the one that trains her, because this is actually both CIA and MI six are working on this, on this mission, thought and the director of the whole mission is an very seasoned mi six agent who everyone considers the best spy in the free world. And Ian Fleming himself this, this is true. Fact. Would go to this man and consult with him when he was writing a new book, to make sure you know that he was what he was saying is, Could this really happen? And that becomes that person, Clive Matthews become praying, Caitlyn, particularly when she has to start changing and, you know, defending herself. And possibly, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 26:38 so he becomes her teacher in   Kay Sparling ** 26:42 every way. Yes. So how   Michael Hingson ** 26:45 much? Gee, lots of questions. First of all, how much of the story is actually   Kay Sparling ** 26:50 true? All this story is true. The   Michael Hingson ** 26:53 whole mission is true. Yes, sir. And so how did you learn about this? What? What caused you to start to decide to write this story?   Kay Sparling ** 27:08 So some of these experiences are my own experiences. And so after I as an opera singer, decided to be a volunteer to help out these refugees. I witnessed a lot, and so many years later, I was being treated for PTSD because of what I'd witnessed there. And then a little bit later in Bosnia in the early 90s, and I was taking music therapy and art therapy, and my psychiatrist thought that it'd be a good idea if also I journaled, you know, the things that I saw. And so I started writing things, and then I turned it in, and they had a person that was an intern that was working with him, and both of them encouraged me. They said, wow, if, if there's more to say about this, you should write a book, cuz this is really, really, really good stuff. And so at one point I thought, Well, why not? I will try. So this book is exactly what happened Caitlin, you know, is a real person, and everyone in the book is real. Of course, I changed the names to protect people and their descriptions, but I, you know, I just interviewed a lot of spies that were involved. So, yes, this is a true story.   Michael Hingson ** 29:06 Did you do most of this? Then, after your singing career, were you writing while the career, while you were singing?   Kay Sparling ** 29:13 I was writing while I was still singing. Yeah, I started the book in 2015 Okay, and because, as I was taking the PTSD treatment and had to put it on the shelf several times, life got in the way. I got my my teaching career just really took off. And then I was still singing quite a bit. And then on top of it, everything kind of ceased in 2018 when my mother moved in with me and she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but Louie body Alzheimer's, which is a very, very rough time, and so I became one of her caretakers. So I quit singing, put that on hold, and I. I had to really, really bring down the number in my studio I was teaching and spend time here at home. And so I would take care of her, but then after she would go to bed, and she'd go to bed much earlier than I wanted to, that's when I write, and that's when I got the lion's share of this book written. Was during that time, it was a great escape from what I was dealing with, believe it or not, you know, even though there's some real graphic things in the book and all it wasn't, it was a nice distraction.   Michael Hingson ** 30:36 Wow, so you, you lived this, needless to say,   Kay Sparling ** 30:41 Yes, I did, and yes.   Michael Hingson ** 30:45 So you've talked a little bit about what happened to these countries after the collapse of the USSR and communism and so on, these eastern companies, companies, countries. Has it changed much over the years.   Kay Sparling ** 31:03 Oh, yeah, for instance, one, you know, I went to Budapest after they were freed, I guess is what usr would say. Stayed in a five star hotel, and we were lucky if we had running water and electricity at the same time. And every time you went down on the streets, all you'd see is lines, you know, I mean, just because there'd be all like, Red Cross, etc, would be there, and they'd have these big trucks they drove in every day, and it just got to be because they had nothing. If you saw a truck, you'd start running towards it and get in line. You didn't care what it was, you know, and it was. And then fights would break out because they wouldn't have enough for everyone. And then, like, you know, maybe someone's walking away with a bag of rice, and some of us knock them over the head and take, you know, and it was very hard, you know, I was a volunteer there, and it was very, very hard to see this, you know, desperation, one story that I'd like to tell, and I put it in the book. I was riding my bike, you know, on a Friday afternoon to get some groceries at the nearest supermarket where my apartment was, and at that time, they still had the European hours, so they were going to close at five o'clock, and they weren't going to open until seven or eight on Monday morning. So you had to make sure you got there to get your weekend supply. So I was on my way, and I was parking my bike, and this woman, refugee woman, runs up and she has two small children with her, and she's carrying a baby, and she's speaking to me in a language I did not know. I do speak several languages, but I don't know Slavic languages and so, but I'm getting the gist of it that she has nothing to eat, neither do her children, and so I'm patting her on the shoulder, and right when I do that, a policeman that was guarding the door of the supermarket came up to me and, like, grabbed me really hard, and told me in German that I was not To speak to them, and I was not to help them, because if you help them, they'll stay. And I said to him in German, I'm an American. I am not Austrian. I am here on a work visa, and I can do whatever the hell I want to do. Well, he didn't like that. And so I just walked away from him, and I went in the store. And so I got up everything I get. Think of the big need, you know, I never had a baby, so I was trying to kind of figure that out, yeah, and I had to figure it out in German, you know, looking at labels now. And so finally I got, I got some stuff, you know, the stuff I needed, and, and, and the stuff that I got for the family, and I checked out, and I'm pushing the cart, you know, towards them. And he runs up beside me and stops me, and he says, I am going to arrest you if you bring that. I told you not to help them. And I said, again, I don't think I'm breaking any laws. And he said, Oh yes, you are. And I said, Well, I didn't read that in the papers. I didn't see it on TV where anyone said. That you cannot help a refugee. And so we're going back and forth. And so, you know, I'm pretty strong, so I just keep pushing it towards it. Well, she's kind of running down the park, and I'm like, wait, wait, you know, because she's getting scared of this guy, you know, he has a gun, he has a nightstick. Of course, she's scared, and so, you know, I would say, No, no, it's okay, because I can't speak for language, right? And so I'm just trying to give her body language and talk. Well, finally she does stop, and I just throw I give the one sack to the little boy, and one second little girl, they just run and and then, you know, I'm talking to her and saying, you know, it's okay, it's okay. And he grabs me, and he turns me around and he spits in my face.   Michael Hingson ** 35:53 Wow. Talk about breaking the law. But anyway, go ahead.   Kay Sparling ** 36:00 Welcome to Austria in the late 80s. You have to understand their Prime Minister Kurt voltheim won on the Nazi ticket. Mm, hmm. At that very time, if you got on a bus and you saw these businessmen going to work, at least 50% of them were reading the Nazi paper. Okay, so we kind of know what, where his affiliations lie. You know, this policeman and, you know, and I was very aware, you know, of of that party being very strong. And so you have to watch yourself when, when you're a foreigner. And I was a foreigner too, just like her. And so after wiping my face, I mean, I really, really wanted to give him a kick or something, yeah, and I do, I do know martial arts, but I was like, no, no, gotta stay cool. And I just told her to run. And she did and caught up with the children, and, you know, kept running. So that was the first experience I had knowing how unwelcome these people were in Austria. Yeah, so I got involved, yeah, I got involved because I was like, this is absolutely not right.   Michael Hingson ** 37:31 And so the book is, in part, to try to bring awareness to all that. I would think   Kay Sparling ** 37:36 absolutely there are, there are bits of it are, they're pretty darn graphic, but it's all true, and it's all documented. Sometimes people about human trafficking, they think, oh, it's not in my backyard. I'm not going to think about that. Well, I live in a very small college town, around 17,000 people, and two months ago, on the front page of this small paper here in town, there were seven men that were arrested for many counts of human trafficking of underage women and prostitution. So guess what, folks, it is in your backyard. If it's in this little town, it's probably in yours too. And we have to be aware before we can do anything. So we have to open our eyes. And I hope this book opens the eyes of the reader to say, Oh, my God, I knew things were bad, but I didn't realize that torture, this kind of thing went on. Well, it does, and I the International Labor Union estimates that 21 million people are being you. You are victims of human trafficking right now, as we speak, throughout the world, that's a lot of people, a lot of people. So most likely, we've all seen some hint of that going on, it didn't register as it at the time. You know, if you're just walked out of a restaurant, and you're walking to your car that's parked on the street, and you happen to go by an alley and there's restaurants on that row, and all of a sudden you see people being kind of shoved out and put in a truck. That's probably human trafficking, you know? And you know, a lot of people don't pay attention, but like, if they stop and think that doesn't look right, and if those people look like they may be from another country, yeah. And all you have to do is call the authorities, you know, and other ways that you can help are by you know, that that you can get involved. Are, you know, donate to all the different organizations that are finding this now.   Michael Hingson ** 40:19 Was the book self published, or do you have a publisher?   Kay Sparling ** 40:25 I self published, but it's more of a hybrid publishing company that's kind of a new thing that's going on, and so I cannot learn all those different facets of publishing a book, right? It just wasn't in my, you know, skill set, and it also wasn't even interesting to me. I don't want to learn how to do graphic illustration. Okay? So what I did is I hired a hybrid company that had all these different departments that dealt with this, and I had complete artistic control, and I was able to negotiate a great deal on my net profits. So I feel that, after looking into the traditional publishing world and not being exactly pleased with it to say the least, I think that was the right business choice for me to make, and I'm very happy I did it.   Michael Hingson ** 41:46 How do you market the book then?   Kay Sparling ** 41:48 Well, that was, that was the tricky part that that publisher did have some marketing they started, but obviously now they agreed it wasn't enough. So at that point, I attended a virtual women's publishing seminar, and I really paid attention to all the companies that were presenting about marketing. And in that time, I felt one that I just was totally drawn to, and so I asked her if we could have a consultation, and we did, and the rest is history. I did hire her team and a publicist, Mickey, who you probably know, and, yeah, it's been going really great. That was the second smart thing I did, was to, you know, hire, hire a publicity.   Michael Hingson ** 42:50 Well, yeah, and marketing is one is a is a tricky thing. It's not the most complicated thing in the world, but you do have to learn it, and you have to be disciplined. So good for you, for for finding someone to help, but you obviously recognize the need to market, which is extremely important, and traditional publishers don't do nearly as much of it as they used to. Of course, there are probably a lot more authors than there used to be too. But still,   Kay Sparling ** 43:19 yeah, their their marketing has changed completely. I remember I had a roommate that became a famous author, and just thinking about when he started, you know, in the 80s, how the industry is completely changed. Mm, hmm, you know. So, yeah, it's, it's really tricky. The whole thing is very tricky. One thing that I also did is one of my graduate students needed a job, and so I've known her since, literally, I've known her since eighth grade. I have been with this student a long time, and she's done very well, but she really is a wiz at the social media. And so she made all my accounts. I think I have 12 altogether, and every time I do something like what I'm doing tonight, soon as it's released, she just puts it out there, everywhere and and I have to thank her from again that that's probably not my skill set.   Michael Hingson ** 44:37 Well, everyone has gifts, right? And the the people who I think are the most successful are the people who recognize that they have gifts. There are other people that have gifts that will augment or enhance what they do. And it's good that you find ways to collaborate. I think collaborating is such an important thing. Oh, yeah. All too many people don't. They think that they can just do it all in and then some people can. I mean, I know that there are some people who can, but a lot of people don't and can't.   Kay Sparling ** 45:12 Well, I've got other things. I've got going, you know, so maybe if I only had to do the book, everything to do with the book, that would be one thing, but I, you know, I have other things I have to have in my life. And so I think that collaboration is also fun, and I'm very good at delegating. I have been very good at delegating for a long time. When I started my school. I also started a theater company, and if you know one thing, it's a three ring circus to produce an opera or a musical, and I've done a lot of them, and yeah, I would have not survived if I didn't learn how to delegate and trust people to do their own thing. So what are you   Michael Hingson ** 45:58 doing today? What are you doing today? Besides writing?   Kay Sparling ** 46:04 Well, during covid, everything got shut down, and I didn't have an income, and I had to do something. And one of, believe it or not, one of my parents, of one of my students, is an attorney for the state of Wisconsin, and she was very worried. I mean, it looked like I might lose my house. I mean, I literally had no income. And so, you know, I was a small business person, and so she offered me very graciously to come work in the department of workers compensation in the legal Bureau at the state of Wisconsin. So I never have done anything like that in my life. I have never sat in a cubicle. I've never sat in front of a computer unless it was in its recording studio or something like that. So it was a crazy thing to have to do in my early 60s, but I'm a single woman, and I had to do it, and and I did, and it put me on solid ground, and that was one reason I couldn't finish the book, because I didn't have to worry about a live cookie. And so I am continuing to do that in so as in the day, that is what I do. I'm a legal assistant, cool.   Michael Hingson ** 47:32 And so when did mission thought get published?   Kay Sparling ** 47:38 Mission thought almost a year ago, in August of 2024 it launched, yes, okay, yeah. And it was very scary for me, you know, because my hybrid publishers up in Canada, and they were telling me, Well, you know, we're going to get you some editorial reviews and we're going to have you be interviewed. And you know, those very first things where my editor at at the publisher had told me it was one of the really a good book, and that was one of the cleanest books she ever had to edit. And so that kind of gave me some confidence. But you understand, look at my background. I I didn't go to school to be a writer. I had never studied writing. I hadn't done any writing up until now, and so to that was my first kind of sigh of relief when the editor at the publisher said it was really a good book, and then I started getting the editorial reviews, and they were all stellar, and they continue to be. And I'm, I'm still a little shocked, you know, because it takes time, I guess, for a person to switch gears and identify themselves as an author. But you know, after a year now, I'm feeling much more comfortable in my shoes about that. But at first it was, it was trying because I was scared and I was worried, you know, what people were going to think about the book, not the story, so much as how it was crafted. But it ends up, well,   Michael Hingson ** 49:15 it ends up being part of the same thing, and yeah, the very fact that they love it that that means a lot. Yeah, so is, is there more in the way of adventures from Caitlin coming up or what's happening?   Kay Sparling ** 49:30 Yeah, this is hopefully a trilogy, um of Caitlin's most important standout missions. And so the second one is set in the early 90s during the Bosnian war. And this time, she cannot use opera as a cover, because obviously in a war zone, there's no opera. And so she has to. To go undercover as either a un volunteer or Red Cross, and this time, her sidekick is not the Clive Matthews. He has actually started a special squad, combat squad that's going in because, of course, we, none of us, were really involved with that war, right? But that's what he's doing. And so, believe it or not, her, her sidekick, so to speak, is a priest that very early, goes on and sees, you know, this absolute ethnic cleansing going on, you know, massacres and and he tries to get the Catholic Church to help, and they're like, no, no, we're not touching that. And so he goes AWOL. And had been friends in Vienna with the CIA during the first book. He goes to the CIA and says, This is what's going on. I saw it with my own eyes. I want to help. And so he becomes Caitlin's sidekick, which is a very interesting relationship. You know, Caitlin, the opera singer, kind of, kind of modern girl, you know, and then you know, the kind of staunch priest. But they find a way to work together, and they have to, because they have to save each other's lives a couple times. And this is my favorite book of the three. And so basically what happens is called Mission impromptu, and I hope to have that finished at the end of this month. And the reason we call it impromptu is because her chief tells her to just get the information and get out, but her and the priest find out that there is a camp of orphaned boys that they are planning to come massacre, and so they they they basically go rogue and don't follow orders and go try to help the boys. Yeah. And then the third book, she has actually moved back to New York, and she's thinking, well, she does retire from the CIA, and it's the summer of 2001 and what happened in September of 2001 911 and so they call her right back in she literally had been retired for about three months.   Michael Hingson ** 52:35 Well, to my knowledge, I never met Caitlin, so I'm just saying Mm hmm, having been in the World Trade Center on September 11, but I don't think I met Caitlin anyway.   Kay Sparling ** 52:43 Go ahead. No, she wasn't in the towers, but no, I was in New York. And yeah, so they called her back right away. And so the third one is going to be called Mission home front, because that's been her home for a very long time. She's been living in New York.   Michael Hingson ** 53:01 Are there plans for Caitlin beyond these three books? I hope so.   Kay Sparling ** 53:08 I think it would be fun for her to retire from the CIA and then move back to the Midwest. And, you know, it turned into a complete fiction. Of course, this is not true stuff, but, you know, like kind of a cozy mystery series, right, where things happen and people can't get anyone to really investigate it, so they come to Caitlin, and then maybe her ex boss, you know, the chief that's also retired, they kind of, you know, gang up and become pi type, you know, right? I'm thinking that might be a fun thing.   Michael Hingson ** 53:46 Now, are mostly books two and three in the mission series. Are they also relatively non fiction?   53:53 Yes, okay,   Michael Hingson ** 53:57 okay, cool, yes. Well, you know, it's, it's pretty fascinating to to hear all of this and to to see it, to hear about it from you, but to see it coming together, that is, that is really pretty cool to you know, to see you experiencing have the book, has mission thought been converted by any chance to audio? Is it available on Audible or   Kay Sparling ** 54:21 anywhere it has not but it is in my plans. It's there's a little bit of choice I have to make do. I use my publisher and hire one of their readers you know to do it, someone you know, that's in equity, that type of thing. Or you know, my publicity, or people are also saying, well, because you're an actor, and, you know, all these accents, it might be nice for you to do to read your own book. Well, the problem is time, you know, just the time to do it, because I'm so busy promoting the book right now. And really. Right writing the second one that you know, I just don't know if I'm going to be able to pull that off, but I have my own records, recording studio in my voice studio downstairs, but it's just and I have all the equipment I have engineers. It's just a matter of me being able to take the time to practice and to get that done. So it's probably going to be, I'll just use their, one of their people, but yes, yeah, it's coming. It's coming. Well, it's,   Michael Hingson ** 55:29 it's tough. I know when we published last year, live like a guide dog, and the publisher, we did it through a traditional publisher, they worked with dreamscape to create an audio version. And I actually auditioned remotely several authors and chose one. But it is hard to really find someone to read the book the way you want it read, because you know what it's like, and so there is merit to you taking the time to read it. But still, as you said, there are a lot of things going on,   Kay Sparling ** 56:09 yeah, and I have read, you know, certain portions of the book, because some podcasts that I've been on asked me to do that, and I and I practiced and that, it went very well. And of course, when people hear that, they're like, Oh, you're the one that has to do this. You know Caitlin. You can speak her, you know her attitudes and all. And then you also know how to throw all those different accents out there, because there's going to be, like, several, there's Dutch, there's German, there's Scottish, high British and Austrian. I mean, yeah, yeah, Austrians speak different than Germans. Mm, hmm,   Michael Hingson ** 56:53 yeah, it's it's a challenge, but it's still something worth considering, because you're going to bring a dimension to it that no one else really can because you wrote it and you really know what you want them to sound like, Yeah, but it's a it's a process. I and I appreciate that, but you've got lots going on, and you have to have an income. I know for me, we started live like a guide dog my latest book when the pandemic began, because I realized that although I had talked about getting out of the World Trade Center and doing so without exhibiting fear, didn't mean that it wasn't there, but I realized that I had learned to control fear, because I learned a lot that I was able to put to use on the Day of the emergency. And so the result of that was that, in fact, the mindset kicked in and I was able to function, but I never taught anyone how to do that. And so the intent of live like a guide dog was to be a way that people could learn how to control fear and not let fear overwhelm or, as I put it, blind them, but rather use fear as a very powerful tool to help you focus and do the things that you really need to do. But it's a choice. People have to learn that they can make that choice and they can control it, which is kind of what really brought the book to to mind. And the result was that we then, then did it. And so it came out last August as well.   Kay Sparling ** 58:27 Oh, well, if you read my book, you'll see Caitlin developing the same skills you were just talking about. She has to overcome fear all the time, because she's never been in these situations before, and yet she has to survive, you know?   Michael Hingson ** 58:44 Yeah, well, and the reality is that most of us take too many things for granted and don't really learn. But if you learn, for example, if there's an emergency, do you know where to go in the case of an emergency? Do you know how to evacuate, not by reading the signs? Do you know? And that's the difference, the people who know have a mindset that will help them be a lot more likely to be able to survive, because they know what all the options are, and if there's a way to get out, they know what they are, rather than relying on signs, which may or may not even be available to you if you're in a smoke filled environment, for example, yeah,   Kay Sparling ** 59:22 yeah, you should know ahead of time. Yeah, you know, I know the state where I work. I I mostly work at home. I'm able to do that, but we do have to go in once a week, and we just changed floors. They've been doing a lot of remodeling, and that was the first thing, you know, the supervisor wanted us to do was walk through all the way for a tornado, fire, etc, and so we did that, you know, and that's smart, because then you're like, you say you're not trying to look at a chart as you're running or whatever,   Michael Hingson ** 59:56 and you may need to do it more than once to make sure you really know it. I know for me. I spent a lot of time walking around the World Trade Center. In fact, I didn't even use my guide dog. I used a cane, because with a cane, I'll find things that the dog would just automatically go around or ignore, like kiosks and other things. But I want to know where all that stuff is, because I want to know what all the shops are down on the first floor. Well, now that that is the case anymore, but it was at the time there was a shopping mall and knowing where everything was, but also knowing where different offices were, knowing who was in which offices, and then knowing the really important things that most people don't know about, like where the Estee Lauder second store was on the 46th floor of tower two. You know, you got to have the important things for wives, and so I learned what that was. Well, it was, it was, those are important things, but you'll learn a lot, and it's real knowledge. Someone, a recent podcast episode that they were on, said something very interesting, and that is that we're always getting information, but information isn't knowing it. Knowledge is really internalizing the information and making it part of our psyche and really getting us to the point where we truly know it and can put it to use. And that is so true. It isn't just getting information. Well, that's great. I know that now, well, no, you don't necessarily know it now, until you internalize it, until you truly make it part of your knowledge. And I think that's something that a lot of people miss. Well, this has been a lot of fun. If people want to reach out to you, is there a way they can do that?   Kay Sparling ** 1:01:40 Yeah, the best thing is my book website, K, Sparling books.com spelled and it would K, a, y, s, p, as in Paul, A, R, L, I N, G, B, O, O, K, s.com.com, okay, and you can email me through there. And all the media that I've been on is in the media section. The editorial reviews are there. There's another thing that my student heats up for me is the website. It's it's really developed. And so lots of information about the book and about me on on there. And one thing I want to mention is, just because of my background and all the all the people that you know, I know, a friend of mine is a composer, and he wrote a song, a theme song, because we do hope that someday we can sell this, you know, yeah, to for movie and, or, you know, Netflix, or something like that. And so he wrote a theme song and theme music. And I just think that's fun. And then I wanted my students saying, saying it. And then, you know, it's with a rock band, but it's, it's very James Bond, the kind of with a little opera, you know, involved too. But, you know, not a lot of authors can say that on their website, they have a theme song for their books.   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:16 And where is   Kay Sparling ** 1:03:18 it? It would be under, it's going to be about the author. And there's a nice one of my other students is a graphic artist. She She did a graphic a scene of Caitlin with her ball gown, and she's got her foot up on a stool, and she's putting her pistol in her thigh holster, in I think, you know, it's kind of like a cartoon, and it quotes Caitlin saying, I bet you I'm going to be the only bell at the ball with this accessory pistol. And then right underneath that, that song, you can click it and hear it. We also are on YouTube mission. Thought does have its own YouTube channel, so you can find it there as well.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:05 So well, I want to thank you for being here and for telling us all the stories and especially about mission. I hope people will get it and read it, and I look forward to it coming out in audio at some point. Yes, I'll be lazy and wait for that, I I like to to get books with human readers. You know, I can get the print book and I can play it with a synthetic voice, but I, I really prefer human voices. And I know a lot of people who do AI has not progressed to the point where it really can pull that off.   Kay Sparling ** 1:04:38 Well, no, it cannot. Yeah, I totally agree with you there.   Michael Hingson ** 1:04:42 So Well, thank you for being here, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching us today. This has been fun. And as some of you know, if you listen to many of these podcasts, we have a rule on the podcast, you can't come on unless you're going to have fun. So we did have fun. We. You have fun? Yeah. See, there you go. I was gonna ask if you had fun. Of course, yes. So thank you all for listening. Love to hear from you. Love to hear what your thoughts are about today's episode. Feel free to email me at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, also, please give us a five star rating. We appreciate it. K, I'll appreciate it. And when this goes up, when you hear it, we really value those ratings and reviews very highly. If you know anyone else who ought to be a guest and KU as well, love to hear from you. Please introduce us. Kay, you'll have to introduce us to Caitlin, but But seriously, we always are looking for more guests. So if anyone knows of anyone who ought to come on and tell a story, we'd love to hear from you. But again, Kay, I want to thank you one last time. This has been great, and we really appreciate you being here.   Kay Sparling ** 1:05:59 Well, thank you for having me.   Michael Hingson ** 1:06:04 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

The Wedding Weekend we've been waiting for has finally happened. This is my take on the entire experience, with a little extra no one asked for.

This week we are going AWOL and hunting down our old Vietnam buddies while we discuss “Kitten”! We're talking how they really could have come up with a cooler evil-project name than MK NAOMI, that Kersh is back: meaner and balder than ever, how Mulder and Scully's main character disease is really turning terminal, and that Skinner might as well give up entirely about having any career anymore. We admire Skinner's turn on the cover of LL Bean, learn what a petard is, tell Mulder and Scully to get back there and pull Skinner out of that hole, question why Haley Joel Osment is in this, and wonder what exactly is so funny about losing five teeth. Hilarious! Kersh's love language: sending lackeys to do his dirty work.Note: Please send us Season 10 and Season 11 questions by October 12 for our revival wrap-up episode!Send us an email at scullynationpod@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram!

Who will pass on the legacies, cultivation methods, and unique eye for genetics possessed by the Emerald Triangle legends we all grew up admiring? Today's guest is the answer to that question, along with how classic cuts are being properly preserved, showcased, and bred in new ways to excite modern smokers. Blackleaf is joined in the FSOTD studio by the protege of giants, Leo Stone of Aficionado Seeds to divulge spicy unheard stories about his experience going AWOL from Army Intelligence to pursue the plant, being mentored by OG Mike, how he got involved with Mike and Eddy Lepp's dispo in San Diego, how Leo got the real Lemon Diesel and Purple Urkle, when Cherry Pie Kush cuts were selling for $500k a pop, Kevin Jodrey's impact after setting up HPRC in Arcata, when Leo got his hands on his first 160 acres in Mendo, and so much more.If you've ever wondered what it's like to grow up in a military family, and still have an unquenchable thirst to be involved with the plant, this episode is for you. Leo will detail growing up on base in Japan and how hard it was to get a bag of weed, as well as when he made his decision to go into Army Intelligence, and the moment he got busted for having weed at his residence on base, going AWOL, and eventually getting put on by OG Mike in SD, solidifying his lifer-status in the budding industry.For any cigar smokers out there, Leo will go into deep detail on his former affinity for premium stogies that used to charm him into many important rooms and get him seats at life-changing tables during his military years. This same deep understanding and appreciation of cigars was one of the driving factors in creating Aficionado Seeds, tailor-made for connoisseur

BIG EPISODE THIS WEEK. Jason is AWOL, so we called in the co-host of the Cinenauts podcast, ctcher. And digital set designer Timothief! We go deep DEEEEEP on Gareth Edwards 2023 sci-fi masterclass of production design and cinematography, The Creator!Chapters Introduction (00:00:00) Hatch News (00:14:00) The Creator Roundtable (00:20:03) Your Letters (01:40:43) Notes and Links Check out Escape Hatch Merch! Our all new collection of swag is available now and every order includes a free Cameo style shoutout from Haitch or Jason. Browse our collection now. Join the Escape Hatch Discord Server! Hang out with Haitch, Jason, and other friends of the pod. Check out the invite here. Escape Hatch is a TAPEDECK Podcasts Jawn! Escape Hatch is a member of TAPEDECK Podcasts, alongside: 70mm (a podcast for film lovers), Bat & Spider (low rent horror and exploitation films), The Letterboxd Show (Official Podcast from Letterboxd), Cinenauts (exploring the Criterion Collection), Lost Light (Transformers, wrestling, and more), and Will Run For (obsessed with running). Check these pods out!. See the movies we've watched and are going to watch on Letterboxd Escape Hatch's Breaking Dune News Twitter list Rate and review the podcast to help others discover it, and let us know what you think of the show at letters@escapehatchpod.com or leave us a voicemail at +1-415-534-5211. Follow @escapehatchpod on Bluesky,Instagram, and TikTok. Music by Scott Fritz and Who'z the Boss Music. Cover art by ctcher. Edited and produced by Haitch. Escape Hatch is a production of Haitch Industries.

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  President Trump took to social media yesterday to respond to the offensively false narrative pushed out by Xi Jinping and his friends in the emerging “Beijing Bloc” about the Chinese Communist Party's pivotal role in defeating Imperial Japan.  In fact, while the U.S. military decisively helped the people of China and their nationalist government fight the Japanese at tremendous cost during World War II, the CCP was almost completely AWOL. Mr. Trump also correctly observed that Xi was using meetings with his despotic Russian and North Korean counterparts to “conspire” against the United States. The question is: Will that conspiracy result in more of the “strategic arson” the Chinese dictator and his allies have perpetrated to date in Ukraine and the Mideast – presumably next in Asia?  We're on notice that Xi's regime is our enemy. It must be treated as such.  This is Frank Gaffney.

250 episodes of Books are Chic and there is no better way to celebrate than with a perfect end of summer romance! I was so thrilled to welcome Kathleen Barber to chat her debut romance, Both Things Are True. A yoga influencer, her AWOL fiancee, her past love and a Dolly Parton impersonator are the perfect recipe for this fun romcom. I loved chatting with Kathleen about her genre change (you know her from thrillers like Are You Sleeping and Follow Me), romance novels, the yoga world, Dolly Parton, Reese Witherspoon and so much more!She was such a delight and I am thrilled she is my 250th episode.

The liberal media loves to call MAGA supporters conspiracy theorists, but this past weekend they went ham on the fake news that President Trump was dead just because he finally took a weekend off since starting his second term. Chicago Dems preach they are bracing for a federal invasion, when in reality it's incoming law and order which most residents welcome. While Trump keeps cleaning up crime in America, the liberal left either keeps preaching resistance by any means possible or they break out in very bad songs. We also have immigration news, local news, and Rosie O'Donnell actually apologizes.

The President has been AWOL most of the past week, but his administration is still fining migrants for being in the country! A man shot his wife and stopped for beer on the way to the hospital, a cheating husband used a fetish site to set up his wife's murder, and Rudy Giuliani got hurt in a car accident. We discuss what we're watching, give you our first NFL Locks of the Week for the season, and we talk about the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement!

Big Cheeto says he's a dictator then goes AWOL, while Babyface Vance says “I'm a big boy now,”  Big Balls has your SSN, Palantir helps remove Fed Governor, ICE agents are depressed, and we feel really terrible about that, jury nullification saves a sandwich-throwing terrorist, sidewalk chalk triggers government, and Desantis is finally doing something right…maybe.

This might be the most important podcast episode we've recorded for competitive golfers—or any player who wants to finally perform when it matters. We're not talking about biceps or glutes here. The most crucial muscle you can train in golf? Your mental grind muscle.Yep, it's a real thing. And in this episode, Mike Granato & Shaun Webb from Athletic Motion Golf break down exactly how the top 1% of golfers can still score—even when they're swinging like trash.From behind-the-scenes stories of major champions like Tiger Woods, Scotty Scheffler, and David Toms, to raw insight from lessons and coaching tours, we explain why mental toughness and shotmaking under pressure is what separates the elite from everyone else.If you've ever given up after a bad front nine, or if your swing goes AWOL mid-round and you spiral—this episode is for you. This one mental muscle might be the only thing holding you back from that next level.You'll learn:How pros grind out scores without their A-gameThe exact skill to develop when things go sidewaysWhy perfectionism ruins most golfersShot-shaping strategies that save tournament roundsWhat makes a true killer on the course (even without talent)

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Texas Democrats claimed that flooding disaster legislation should be the first priority of the called special session – then they left. Now, the disaster bills are ready for a vote and the sanctimonious Democrats are still gone, AWOL. More hypocrisy of the lowest order. (Much of the big bill, SB 1, is ineffective and simply ticks boxes of having done something.)Paxton files to remove 13 of the Democrat AWOL legislators from office by declaring their seats “vacant.”  It will be interesting to see where this goes with Abbott, Paxton, and Cornyn putting pressure on the issue.Paxton sued Beto Pancho's fundraising group for raising money to fund the Democrats' breaking of quorum. A district judge, late Friday, agreed and issued a TRO against the O'Rourke group. My guess is that group will not stop at all, it will just change some wording and continue on.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Beto Pancho O'Rourke makes it emphatically clear: When Democrats win they will move to legalize most all illegal aliens and give them citizenship. Abilene Democrats must share the same goals as they rally behind him and his vulgar comments.Lubbock County set to handle much of Tesla's vehicle title issuance in Texas potentially netting millions for the flatland county.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

The news of Texas covered today includes:Our Lone Star story of the day: Texas House met to reconvene today but now quorum was attained as Democrats remain AWOL. Interestingly Paxton and Burrows have filed with an Illinois court to attempt to get help with returning the AWOL lawmakers to Texas.I also discuss, again, why the bribery issue is worth a long term fight.Our Lone Star story of the day is sponsored by Allied Compliance Services providing the best service in DOT, business and personal drug and alcohol testing since 1995.Oil & gas drilling rig count falls again.Harris County commissioners censure County Judge Lina Hidalgo over her stunt with children and other bad behavior. The Houston Chronicle editors are angry only that her poor behavior got in the way of bigger government and a tax hike. This is an example of how local government keeps expanding its reach into things outside its rightful purview and why local tax and spending has made the tax burdens of Texans so high.Listen on the radio, or station stream, at 5pm Central. Click for our radio and streaming affiliates.www.PrattonTexas.com

Welcome to “Onward! A Rose City Podcast”; a place for all your Portland Thorns, Portland Timbers, 107IST, Timbers Army, & Rose City Riveters news, along with stories of our club and culture's history plus a look into the future of soccer support in Portland, Oregon.   ON THIS EPISODE! PTFC Chat: Thorns v Reign Friendly, Timbers win at LAFC and that in the Leagues Cup Help needed for Legends Away viewings Raffle for Thorns field seats Seattle Reign match Ground Breakers exhibit and more! LINKS! Industry One Foundation Adidas 107IST CRP/AED classes Portland Community Football Club Featured Partner: Mad Greek Deli Thorn's Field Seats raffle - NWSLPA Emergency Fund Beulahland Supporting Trans Rights Donation Drives Ticket Exchange Facebook - Discord Have a ticket to donate? Send it to ticketdonation@107ist.org 107ist.org

BEST OF - ABC News Correspondent Jim Ryan reports live from Texas as the House prepares to reconvene and the FBI assists in locating absent Democratic lawmakers. National Correspondent Rory O'Neill shares why business leaders are divided on the economic forecast—and how streaming costs are hitting consumers. Plus, Jon Decker covers speculation around a potential Trump-Putin meeting, and both Trump and Andrew Cuomo deny discussing the NYC mayor's race.

Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain joins The Steve Gruber Show to discuss his bold new bill aimed at holding lawmakers accountable. If passed, it would vacate the seats of legislators who skip work for more than seven days. With Governor Abbott weighing arrests for absentee reps, Cain lays out why it's time to restore order and responsibility in the Texas House.

VLOG Aug 6 Ghislaine Maxwell opposes unseal grand jury transcripts https://www.patreon.com/posts/maximum-maxwell-135797460 Crypto Tornado Cash trial of Roman Storm deliberation Day 4; Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJ5L6SYH Book 2 readyDiddy judge's other criminal sentencings; UNSG @AntonioGuterres AWOL

The Trump administration has now tapped the FBI to track down those who seek to sabotage the vote in Texas. Arrest warrants have been issued for AWOL legislators who have fled to Illinois, ironically, one of the most gerrymandered states in the USA!

Sign up to Saily - https://saily.com/eibaw If you're going abroad and are worried about staying connected then you need an esim from Saily! Affordable and secure. Stay connected and support the podcast --- Andrew Musgrove is joined by Lee Ryder - who is out covering Newcastle United in South Korea. Newcastle have suffered three defeats out of three this season, and off the field things are going just as bad. In this episode we cover the pre-season results so far, Alexander Isak' future and what happens now in the transfer window! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of America's largest military installations lies a chilling pattern of violence, silence, and systemic failure. In this gripping episode, The Boys unearth the dark legacy of Fort Hood—now Fort Cavazos—a place known less for its military prowess and more for the trail of tragedy left in its wake.From unexplained deaths and brutal murders to mass shootings and vanishing soldiers, Fort Hood's history reads more like a crime dossier than a training ground. The story begins in World War II with a rushed construction on displaced grave sites and a namesake rooted in the Confederacy, but the real descent into darkness unfolds over the next 80 years. Listeners are taken inside the base's most infamous events, including the 2009 shooting rampage by Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan and the 2014 mass shooting by a fellow soldier battling mental illness.At the center of this episode is the haunting case of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old soldier whose 2020 disappearance and horrific murder exposed widespread corruption, a toxic culture of silence, and systemic abuse. Her story sparked national outrage and led to major military reform—but her death was far from an isolated tragedy. The episode also dives into the forgotten: soldiers like Gregory Wedel-Morales, labeled AWOL before his body was found months later; Elder Fernandes, who reported sexual abuse before being discovered hanging from a tree; and Anthony Lovell, found with injuries inconsistent with the “motorcycle accident” story the Army provided.The episode explores the base's shocking 2020 death toll, where more soldiers died stateside than in active combat zones, and delves into the theories that haunt Fort Hood's reputation—claims of serial killers, trafficking networks, and internal cover-ups that, while unproven, are fueled by disturbing patterns and unanswered questions.With little-known anecdotes, firsthand accounts, and a narrative style that blends true crime with investigative storytelling, Fort Hood: Deadly Secrets peels back the layers of an American institution cloaked in honor but plagued by horror. This isn't just a story about a base—it's a reckoning with the cost of silence, the failures of command, and the lives lost in the shadows of power.www.patreon.com/theconspiracypodcast

Presented by the Garza Law Firm. Patreon.com/ReedsRanch. Boo Carter has gone AWOL

Behold the great 3WHH fugitive episode. Although it was posted over the weekend, somehow an Internet gremlin or something disappeared it! But now it's back, in its restored glory. (Well, almost restored. Steve had a problem with his mic that was undetected while we were recording, and we weren't able to improve it much in […]

Behold the great 3WHH fugitive episode. Although it was posted over the weekend, somehow an Internet gremlin or something disappeared it! But now it's back, in its restored glory. (Well, almost restored. Steve had a problem with his mic that was undetected while we were recording, and we weren't able to improve it much in pist-production. We have to cut out a whole new segment on prog rock!)And what glory there is: Lucretia hosts this week as we welcome a special guest, Prof. Phil Munoz of Notre Dame, though he is on assignment this semester at the University of Texas at Austin. Phil decided to try to outflank even Lucretia with the bold proposition that the Mahmoud v Taylor decision, which empowered parents to have their children opt-out of phonics instruction in the LGBTQ alphabet, was actually a defeat for social conservatives. It's a lively discussion, as we did our bnest to make Phil regret his decision to join the show this week.

How many battles are you fighting without even being aware you're in the arena?It might seem like everything is “fine”. Sure, you had struggles, some hard times and bad luck, and things that didn't quite go your way. Many people have a story or two about the time they got fucked over BECAUSE they were doing the right thing.That boomerang can spin around and hit you when you least expect it, like it did for Tony Crescenzo.Tony grew up in a family of mechanics. Really, all the men in his family were mechanics, except for one grandfather who retired relatively young and bought a farm. They all lived in that same South Philadelphia neighborhood where the Rocky Balboa character trained for his fights with Apollo Creed. So young Tony worked Saturdays as a mechanic and Sundays on his grandfather's farm, learning the value of good, honest work.Tony's parents divorced. His mother remarried to a Navy officer and they moved to Hawaii. His stepfather's friend was an old-school Marine whose John Wayne-esque tales of service and heroism inspired young Tony to join the Marines. That's where he learned priceless lessons about teamwork, being part of something greater than yourself, and the importance of service. That's until he was assigned to NIS (which is what it was before NCIS), working in criminal investigations to bring down a paycheck scam. As the only witness for the upcoming court-martial of the accused, he soon found himself being court-martialed – and convicted – for a plethora of exaggerated charges, one of which was that he was UA (think AWOL) even though he was on an approved leave!So much for Semper Fi, right? Well, not exactly. Tony did get the conviction reversed, along with a commendation for his service and $20 for his trouble. But he decided to pivot to the private sector, working for, leading, and owning various companies and becoming a sort of “Clint Eastwood” of corporate restructuring. The thing is, his penchant for fighting was affecting every aspect of his life. Both his first and his second wives were used to Tony waking them up in the middle of the night screaming in his sleep. In his own words, he was was one of those people who goes from zero to fuck you in 10 seconds. So things weren't “fine”. It's a four-letter word. And then everything changed when he mis-Googled directions to the CIA.In a moment, when we meet Tony, he is going to give us a master class in accountability, vulnerability, and leadership including the power of meditation and an innovative method he is bringing to market for treating PTSD. As you listen, reflect on the fact that PTSD is not limited to those who have seen death and destruction on the battlefield. It comes in many different forms from triggers you might not even know.Tony's hype song is “Summer Wind” by Frank Sinatra. Resources:Tony Crescenzo's websites: https://peakneuro.com/ and https://intelligentwaves.com/. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonycrescenzo Invitation from Lori:This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. Smart business leaders know trust is the foundation of every great workplace. And in today's hybrid and fast-moving work culture, trust isn't built in quarterly town halls or the occasional Slack message. It's built through consistent, clear, and HUMAN communication. Companies and leaders TALK about the importance of connection and community. And it's easy to believe your organization is doing a great job of...

Buckle up for a wild episode of the Opie Radio podcast, recorded live from Long Island after a chaotic thunderstorm left Opie's house soaked and his AC dreams dashed by an AWOL repairman named Fred. Joined by his pal Ron Berman, aka "Bed Bug Ronnie," the duo dives into a hilarious and unfiltered rant-fest. From the absurdity of chasing down unreliable service workers to the shocking state of Ron's mattress (no sheets, no pillows, just stains!), they cover it all. Things get heated as they tackle billionaires, Elon Musk's family drama, and the controversial "big, beautiful bill" that's got everyone losing their minds. Plus, nostalgic nods to Mel Brooks, pickleball passions, and banana baseball madness. It's raw, real, and packed with laughs—subscribe now for this and more on the Opie Radio podcast!

Top Five at 5:00 LSU Baseball Holds the Crown Again The Benefit of Growing within a Program

"If the president can violate the Constitution and there's no court that can enforce an order against him. Then you really do have a dictatorship." Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky joins Thom Hartmann to discuss the latest attempts to turn Donald Trump into a dictator. Plus Trump's no taxes on tips has become no healthcare for restaurant workers. Trump tries to BS Americans about his phone conversation with Putin, but Russia isn't going to let him get away with it. And FEMA is AWOL in tornado ravaged cities. Surprised? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.