Podcasts about North Bay

The Tubbs Fire that struck the North Bay in 2017 shed light on an unseen threat that wildfires pose to clean water supplies; and a civil engineering professor out of Indiana has devised the playbook that utilities rely on to address the contamination. As the redistricting battle heats up between California and Texas, Republican legislators in the Golden State are suing to block the plan spearheaded by Governor Newsom to gerrymander California in favor of House Democrats. The move aims to offset congressional gains that Texas would get with their own redistricting plans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this time, Elizabeth Gagnon is all about Tea. However, as you will discover, her Tea is not mostly the drink although at the end of our episode we do learn she does like some teas. For Miss Liz, as she is most commonly known, Tea stands for Teaching Educational Awareness.   Miss Liz's life growing up was hard. She was sexually abused among other things. It took her awhile to deal with all the trauma she faced. However, as she and I discuss, she made choices to not let all the abuse and beatings hold her back.   She tried to graduate from high school and was one course away from that goal when she had to quit school. She also worked to get her GED and again was only a few units away when life got in the way.   Liz's story is not to her a tragedy. Again, she made choices that helped her move on. In 2010 she began her own business to deal with mental health advocacy using her Tea approach. Liz will tell us all about Tea and the many iterations and changes the Tea model has taken over the years.   I am as impressed as I can be to talk with miss Liz and see her spirit shine. I hope you will feel the same after you hear this episode.   Miss Liz has written several books over the past several years and there are more on the way. Pictures of her book covers are in the show notes for this episode. I hope you enjoy hearing from this award-winning lady and that you will gain insights that will help you be more unstoppable.     About the Guest:   Elizabeth Jean Olivia Gagnon, widely known as Miss Liz, is an international keynote speaker, best-selling author, and the visionary behind Miss Liz's Tea Parties and Teatimes. A fierce advocate for mental health, abuse awareness, and peacebuilding, she's recognized globally for her storytelling platforms that empower individuals to share their truths “one cup at a time.” From podcast host to humanitarian, Miss Liz uses her voice and lived experience to ignite real change across communities and cultures.   A survivor of extreme trauma, Miss Liz has transformed her pain into purpose by creating safe spaces for open, healing conversations. Her work has earned her prestigious honors, including an Honorary Doctorate for Human Rights, the Hope and Resilience Award, and the World Superhero Award from LOANI. She's been featured on over 200 platforms globally and continues to lead through her podcast, social impact work, and live storytelling events.   Miss Liz is also a multi-time international best-selling co-author in the Sacred Hearts Rising and Unstoppable Gems book series. She's the creator of the TeaBag Story Award and the founder of her own T-E-A product line—Teaching Educational Awareness through fashion, wellness, and personal development tools. With every word, event, and product, Miss Liz reminds us that healing is possible, and that we all hold the power to be a seed of change.   Ways to connect with Elizabeth:   Social media links my two websites www.misslizsteatime.com www.misslizstee.com All my social media links can be found on those sites. Or my linktree.  https://linktr.ee/Misslizsteatime     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 ** 01:20 Well, hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to talk to Miss Liz Gagnon, and I'm really interested to hear why she likes to be called Miss Liz instead of Elizabeth, or any of those kinds of things. But Liz also has some very interesting connections to tea, and I'm not going to give away what that's all about, but I'll tell you right now, it's not what you think. So we'll, we'll get to that, though, and I hope that we get to have lots of fun. Over the next hour, I've told Liz that our podcast rule, the only major rule on this podcast is you can't come on unless you're going to have fun. So I expect that we're going to have a lot of fun today. And Liz, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We are glad you're here.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 02:09 Well, thank you so much, Michael for having me. It's an honor to be here. I can't wait to dip into the tea and get everybody curious on what we're going to be spilling. So,   Michael Hingson ** 02:19 so how did you get started with the the name Miss Liz, as opposed to Elizabeth or Lizzie or any of that kind of stuff.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 02:28 Well, I have all those names too, Michael, I'll bet you   Michael Hingson ** 02:31 do. But still, Miss Liz is what you choose.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 02:35 Actually, Miss Liz was given to me at the age of four the same time my cup of tea was given to me at the age of four by my Oma. I that she just had a hard time saying Elizabeth. She was from Germany, so she would just call me Miss Liz. Miss Liz. And then I knew, Oh boy, I better move, right.   Michael Hingson ** 02:52 Yeah. If she ever really got to the point where she could say Elizabeth, very well, then you really better move.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 02:59 Well, she used to call me Elvira too, and I didn't like that name Elvira. Yeah, I don't know how she got Elizabeth from a viral but she used to call me a vira. I think maybe it was because her name was Avira, so I think it was close to her name, right? So, well,   Michael Hingson ** 03:17 tell us a little bit about the early Miss Liz, growing up and all that stuff, and little bit about where you came from and all that.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 03:25 Well, I come from a little town called Hearst, Ontario in Canada. It's about maybe 6000 population. I'm going to guess. I was born and raised there until the age of I think it was 31 when I finally moved away for the last time, and I've been in the East End, down by Ottawa and Cornwall and all that stuff since 2005 but My early childhood was a hard one, but it was also a strong one. I A lot of people will say, how do you consider that strong? I've been through a lot of abuse and neglect and a lot of psychological stuff growing up and but I had my tea, I had that little Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole that I could go down once in a while, just to keep me moving and keep me strong, right? So, yeah, my story was, was a hard one, but I don't look at it as a struggle. I look at it as as stepping stones of overcoming Stuff and Being that voice that I am today,   Michael Hingson ** 04:29 struggle, if you if you're willing to talk about a struggle, how   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 04:35 I was sexually abused by my uncle at the age of four, and then other family members later on, in couple years later down the road, but my uncle was the main abuser, and I became impregnant by my uncle and lost a daughter to stillborn. So there was a lot of shame to the family. Was not allowed to speak at this child for many, many years, I finally came out with her story. After my father passed, because I felt safe, because my family would put me into psychiatric wards when I would talk about my little girls,   Michael Hingson ** 05:06 wow, yeah, I, I don't know I, I just have very little sympathy for people who do that to girls, needless to say, and now, now my cat, on the other hand, says she's abused all the time, but that's a different story,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 05:25 right? But I strongly believe, Michael, that we all go through challenges and struggles in life to have our story, to be that voice where we are today, like like yourself, right? Had you not gone through what you went through, you would not have the story that you have   Michael Hingson ** 05:42 well, and I think that it also comes down to what you decide to do with the story. You could just hide it, hide behind it, or other things like that. And the problem is, of course, that then you don't talk about it. Now, after September 11, I didn't go through any real counseling or anything like that. But what I did do was I and my wife and I discussed it. We allowed me to take calls from reporters, and literally, we had hundreds of calls from reporters over a six month period. And what was really fascinating for me, especially with the TV people who came. I learned a whole lot about how TV people set up to do an interview. We had a Japanese company with two or three people who came, and that was it up through an Italian company that had 15 people who invaded our house, most of whom didn't really seem to do anything, and we never figured out why were they. They were there. But it's fascinating to see how   06:46 extras, Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 06:49 extra, the extras, yeah, but we but it was very fascinating. But the point was that the reporters asked everything from the most inane, dumb question to very intelligent, wise, interesting questions, and it made me talk about September 11. So I don't think that anything could have been done in any other way that would have added as much value as having all those reporters come and talk to me. And then people started calling and saying, We want you to come and talk to us and talk to us about what we should learn from September 11 lessons we should learn talk about leadership and trust in your life and other things like that. And my wife and I decided that, in reality, selling life and philosophy was a whole lot more fun and rewarding than managing a computer hardware sales team and selling computer hardware. So I switched. But it was a choice.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 07:48 Yeah, it is a choice, right? Michael, do you, do you stay in the self pity, or do you rise from it, right? And a lot of people were like, Miss Liz, how can you be so good hearted and open to people that have hurt you so bad? And I always said, since I was a little girl, Michael, I would not give anybody what others gave me. Yeah, you know that that little inner girl in me always said, like, you know what it feels like. Would you like somebody else to feel this way? And the answer is no.   Michael Hingson ** 08:16 And with people like your uncle, did you forgive them ever? Or have you,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 08:21 I forgive them for myself. Yeah, I that's how you do. You know, I'm not forgiving you and coming for your Sunday dinner and having roast beef and pretending that it was all fun and games. When I was younger, I had no choice to forgive him and to be around him, because that's how my parents were. You know, don't bring shame to the family and as a minor. Well, you you know you obey your parents and that, and I hate that word, obey I hear. You know, I grew up in a time where you respect your elders, right? Whether they were good or bad, you respected them. It was Yes, sir, yes, ma'am. You know whether they hurt you or not, you just respected these people. Do I? Do I have respect for them today, absolutely not. I pray for them, and I hope that they find peace within themselves. But I'm not going to sit in and apologize to somebody who actually doesn't give to to tune darns of my my apology, right? So my words?   Michael Hingson ** 09:23 Well, the the bottom line is that respect is something that has to be earned, and if they're not trying to earn it, then you know, why should you respect? On the other hand, forgiveness is something that you can do and and you do it and you move on, yeah, and   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 09:40 a lot of people don't understand the real forgiveness, right? They always tell me, Miss Liz, you haven't forgiven anybody. And I said, Yes, I have, or I wouldn't be where I am today, guys, yeah, if I wouldn't have forgiven those people for myself, not for them.   Michael Hingson ** 09:55 Now, see, that's the difference between people and my cat. My cat has no self pity. She's just a demanding kitty, and I wouldn't have her any of that. Oh, she's she's really wonderful. She likes to get petted while she eats. And she'll yell at me until I come and pet her, and then she eats while I'm petting her. She loves it. She's a cutie. She's 15 and going on two. She's great.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 10:17 Oh, those are the cute ones, right? When they stay young at heart, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 10:21 oh, she, she does. So my wife passed in 2022, and now stitch, that's the cat's name, sleeps up next to me. And so that works out well, and she was named stitch when we got her, not quite sure where the name originally came from, but we rescued her. We were not going to keep her. We were going to find her a home because we were living in an apartment. But then I learned that the cat's name was stitch, and I knew that that cat weren't going to go nowhere, because my wife had been a quilter since 1994 you think a quilter is ever going to give up a cat named stitch? So stitch has been with us now for over 10 years. That's great. Oh, wow. And there's a lot of love there,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 11:03 yeah. And, you know, these little connections, right? The Universe sends us, you know, the names and all of that. They send us pets as well as guidance. You know, my little guy is Tinkerbell, and everybody thinks that she's still a kitten. She she's going to be 12 in September, so, but she's still a little tiny thing. She kept the name. She just wants to be a little Tinkerbell. So   Michael Hingson ** 11:24 that's cool. What a cute name for a kitty. Anyway, yeah, well, so you, you grew up? Did you go to to college or university?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 11:34 No, I got out of school. I was half a credit away from high school graduation. I became pregnant for the second time, and then I got married at 18. While it was more or less I was I had no choice to get married or or I would have, my father would have took my daughter from me, my oldest, who is alive, and I I had already lost one, and I wasn't losing a second one. So I got married. I did go back to adult school in 2000 I got I was one exam away from getting my GED, and that night, I got a beating of a lifetime from my ex husband, because he didn't want me to get ahead of him, right? So, and then I went back again to try and get my GED three other times, and I was always four points away from getting what I needed to get it. So I was just like, You know what? The universe doesn't want me to have this piece of paper, I guess. Yeah, and I'm not giving up, right? I'm just it's not the right timing and maybe in the future, and it's always the y and s string that gets me the four point question guys on the math exam that gets me every time, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 12:49 oh, well. Well, I always thought that my wife, in so many ways, was was ahead of me, and it didn't ever bother me, and it never will bother me a bit, just things that she would say, creative things, just clever things. She clearly was ahead of me, and I think she felt the same way about me in various ways, but that's what made for a great marriage. And we we worked off each other very well, and then that's kind of the way it really ought to be. Oh boy, ego, ego gets to be a real challenge sometimes, though, doesn't   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 13:24 it? Oh yes, it does. So   Michael Hingson ** 13:27 what did you do when you didn't go off and end up going to school?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 13:32 I became a mom, and then I did the mom role, right? I grew up in a kind of like a redneck, hillbilly kind of family where the accent kind of kicks in once in a while. You know, it was barefoot and pregnant, you take care of the kids, cook and clean and be the wife and just obey. Once again, that word obey. You know, I grew up with that word a lot, and that's why you don't like that word. I'm surprised I'm even using it tonight. But, yeah, so it was just take care of the family and just live. And eventually, in 2005 a lot of things happened with my children and myself, and we just left and started a new life. In 2006 I felt ill. I was at work, and my left arm went numb, and I thought I was having a heart attack or or that they were checking me since I was little, for MS as well, because I have a lot of problems with my legs. I fall a lot, so we're still looking into that, because I'm in the age range now where it can be diagnosed, you know, so we're so in 2006 I became ill, and I lost feelings from my hips down where I couldn't walk anymore. So I had to make some tough choices, and I reached out to my family, which I kind of. Figured I'd get that answer from them. They told me to get a backbone and take care of my own life and stop because I moved away from everybody. So I turned to the foster care system to help me with my children, and that was a hard choice. Michael, it took me two and a half months. My children sat down with me and said, Mommy, can we please stay where we are? We we have friends. You know, we're not moving all the time anymore. I saw it took a while, and I signed my kids over legal guardianship, but I made a deal with the services that I would stay in the children's lives. I would continue their visits twice a month, and be at all their graduations, be at their dance recital, anything I was there. I wanted my children to know that I was not giving up on them. I just was not able to take care of them in my   Michael Hingson ** 15:50 home. Did they accept that?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 15:53 Oh, they did, yeah, and it was a bumpy road. The first five years. Was a lot of adjusting, and we were really close. I got to pick the foster homes, which is not usually the way it works. So and my children went through a lot of abuse as well. My ex husband was very abusive, so I knew that my daughter needed to be around horses. She loved to be around horses, so I found her home that had horses. And my other two children, I found a home where they had music, and music was really important to me, because music is what saved me as well during my journey, right? I turned to music to to get through the hard times. So yeah, the first five years was it was adjustments, and really good, and we got along. And after that the services changed, new workers came in, and then it became a nightmare. There was less visits happening. There was an excuse for a visit. There was oh, well, maybe we can reschedule this, or if we do them at five in the morning, can you show up? And of course, I was showing up at five and going to bed as soon as the visit was done, because I was by myself, so it was a journey, but and I I am grateful for that journey, because today me and my older kids, who are adults, were really close, and we're building that bond again, and they understand the journey that Mom had to take in order for them to have a home.   Michael Hingson ** 17:24 They understand it and accept it, which is really obviously the important thing,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 17:30 yeah. But it's been, it's been rocky. Michael, like, you know, we've had our ups and downs. We've had like you You gave up on us. Like, you know, we've had those moments. But my children now becoming adults and becoming parents themselves. They see that. They see what mom had to do, right?   Michael Hingson ** 17:47 So are you able to walk now and move around?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 17:51 Oh, yeah, I was. It took about six months for me to learn how to walk again. I still have a limb from time to time. A lot of people call it my penguin little limp, because I limped like a little penguin from time to time, because my what happened is I went through so much trauma in my life constantly that I they diagnosed me with conversion disorder, which is not really well known to to a lot of people. And what it does is it shuts the body down, so I have no control over when my body says it's going to take a break. It just says I'm going on holidays, and you just gotta deal with it. So there's days where I can't walk, right? There's days where I can't talk. It sounds like I'm drunk. My sight is blurred, plus I'm already losing my sight because of genetic jerusa and stuff like that as well. So, but I mean, it took everything in me to push myself. And what pushed me was I had this nurse that was really rough with me, and she would give me these sponge baths, and she would slam me into the chair. And I told her, I said, next week, you will not be slamming me in that chair. And the next week I got up and I took three steps, and then the next couple hours, it was four, five steps, six steps. And I was like, I got this. I know I can do this, but it took six months, Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 19:15 but still, ultimately, the bottom line is, no rugby or American football for you. Huh? Nope. Okay.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 19:24 No, not you know, not yet. Anyway, well, maybe you never know, right? I'm still young. I'm only 51 you never know what I'm going to be doing next year. I always tell everybody, Miss Liz is always on an adventure.   Michael Hingson ** 19:36 So yeah, but I'm I'm not, I'm not an advocate of going off for rugby or football, but that's all right, do whatever works.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 19:42 Well, I'd like to watch football   19:45 that's different. I'd like to   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 19:47 check those boys out once in a while. Well, yeah, but yeah, no, I You just never know where I'm gonna go, right? Only the good universe knows where it's putting me next   Michael Hingson ** 19:58 year. So, so what kind. Of work. Did you did you do and, and what are you doing now? How to kind of one lead to the other?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 20:08 Actually, I started my business in 2015 of Miss Liz tea times. It was a fundraising Tea Party, but it started in my home. All I did was have a bunch of ladies over and celebrate strong women. And one lady really liked the layout that I did, and she's like, Can we do this in the community? I was like, I don't know. Let's try it. You know, if we don't try, we don't know. And then I went to the community for, I think, three years, we raised over $5,000 for different services that helped me along the way as well, and places that needed money for serving the community. And then we went virtual. When covid hit. The podcast came along, and I did that for five years, and I burnt myself out doing that. I'm an all or nothing kind of girl, so you either get nothing at all, or you get it all at once. So and and now I'm I've been writing and working on stuff and working on an E commerce business with a new way of serving tea, keeping people on their toes and wondering what's coming next. Uh, children's book is coming out soon. Uh, poultry book. So I've just been busy writing and doing a lot of different things.   Michael Hingson ** 21:14 What did you do before 2015 for worker income? Or did you   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 21:18 I worked in gas stations, chambermaid kind of stuff like that, something that wasn't too educated, because my ex husband didn't like that stuff, right? Don't try and be a leader. Don't try and be in the big business world. I'm sure he's his head is spinning now, seeing all the stuff that I'm doing, but that's on him, not me. So, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 21:41 yeah, absolutely, alright, let's get to it. Tell me about tea.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 21:49 Well, tea, tea started at four, and it was my OMA that gave me a cup of tea. And everybody thinks it's the beverage. It's not the beverage. We did have a cup of tea. So there is a beverage, there is a beverage involved. But she gave me words, and when I was little, I didn't understand these words. She said, reflect, recharge and release. And she came from the war in Germany, and she said the first thing I had was a cup of tea when I came to Canada, and she just knew that I was going to have a hard life. She knew that the family was kind of, you know, they had their sicknesses and addictions and stuff like that, so she just knew. And I was a quiet kid. I was always in the corner humming and rocking myself and doing stuff by myself. I didn't want to be around people. I was really loner. And she gave me these words, and these words resonated with me for years, and then I just kept hearing them, and I kept hearing Tea, tea. I know sometimes I'd be sitting in a room Michael by myself, and I'd be like, Okay, I don't want a cup of tea right now. Like, I don't know what this tea is like, but it was like the universe telling me that I needed to get tea out there. And I knew it wasn't a beverage. I knew it was. OMA gave me words. So we gotta bring words to the table. We gotta bring the stories to the table. She was giving me a story. She was telling me to stay strong, to recharge, to reflect, release all of the stuff that all of these things take right, to overcome stuff. You know, we have to reflect on the journey that we were put on, and recharge ourselves when we overdo ourselves and release, releasing and letting go of things that we know will never, ever get an answer to. So,   Michael Hingson ** 23:32 so you, what did you do with all of that? I mean that those are some pretty deep thoughts. Needless to say.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 23:38 Yeah, so I, I started with the tea time at home, and then when I went to the podcast, I would ask people, What is your tea? And then people were like, Miss Liz, I don't even like tea, like I'm a coffee drinker, or I like a good beer, or I'm just like, Okay, well, you don't even have to like the beverage. Like, it's not about the beverage. It's about our past, our present and our future. That's what the tea is, right? We all have that story. We all have the past, the present and the future, and how we how we look at it, and how we defined our stories, and how we tell our stories. So that's where the T is.   Michael Hingson ** 24:10 But you came up with words for the acronym eventually, yes, yes. When did you do that? And what were the words   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 24:20 I came up with the words I believe in 20, 2016 2017 and for me, it was teaching. I wanted to be a little kindergarten teacher when I was a little girl. So T was teaching right and teaching myself that the past was not going to define my future story. He was educational. I again. I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to educate people. I wanted to educate myself. Even though I didn't have those degrees and I didn't go to school and universities, I could still educate myself. I could still reach out. I could still research. I could still find answers myself. And a was awareness, just bringing awareness that our lives are different and. Can change them, right? Nobody can define how our stories end, except for ourselves. Yeah, and the A, A was awareness, and the awareness that, you know, that we can bring any form of awareness, good, bad or ugly, you know, and I bring a little bit of all of it through my stories, and through, through the the overcoming that I've had, right is, it's an ugly story. There were bad things that happened, but there are good results in the end, yeah, because had I not gone through what I went through, Michael, I would not be here having this conversation with you tonight,   Michael Hingson ** 25:37 or it'd be a totally different conversation, if at all you're right, absolutely. So you you deal a lot with being a mental health advocate, and that's very understandable, because of all of the things that that you went through. But what kind of really made you decide to do that?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 25:58 Mental health advocate was deep in my blood since 2010 when I went to the pharmacy and gave them all my medication and said, I no longer want any of this because they had me so numbed with antidepressants and painkillers and stuff that I didn't even know I had children. People were telling me, your kids are coming for a visit. And I was like, why are you telling me I have kids? Like I'm a kid myself, like I was going backwards. And I didn't know that I was married, that I had children, but my kids names were and I was just like, like, When is mom and dad coming to get me? Like, I was like, I was so messed up, Michael. And I was just like, I'm not doing this anymore. Um, August 29 of 2009 I brought my medication, and I said, I'm not doing this anymore. I'm taking ownership of my life. I'm being the advocate of my life. I do not need these pills. Yes, it will be hard, yes, I've got trauma, but there's another way of doing this.   Michael Hingson ** 26:55 Well, you're clearly a survivor, and you've made choices that demonstrate that by any standards, and obviously a mental health advocate, what do you think are some of the major misconceptions that people have about mental health today that they also just don't seem to want to get rid of?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 27:15 Well, a lot of people have this conception that if you take a pill, it's going to go away. You're healed, you know, and then they get hooked on pills, or they get hooked on this is easy fix, right? Like I said this afternoon in another interview, I did this certain this afternoon. Michael, you know, we get these diagnosis, but doctors don't really sit with us and explain the diagnosis to us, they don't really understand. They don't really explain the side effects of the pills that they're giving us, and then themselves, may not even know the full aspect of those diagnosis. They just put you on a checklist, right? You check A, B, C and D, okay. Well, you have bipolar. You got DCE and you got D ID, like, you know, it's charts, so we're not really taking the time to understand people. And mental health has a long way to go, a lot of a long way to break the stigma as well, because mental illness, most of it, cannot be seen. It cannot be understood, because it's inside the body, right?   Michael Hingson ** 28:23 Yeah. And a lot of people don't want to look and analyze that and try to help truly deal with it.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 28:32 Yeah. A lot of people will judge what they don't understand or what they're scared of understanding,   Michael Hingson ** 28:39 which is why it's fascinating, and we've had a number of people on unstoppable mindset who believe in Eastern medicine and alternative medicine, as opposed to just doing pills. And it's fascinating to talk to people, because they bring such insights into the conversation about the human body, and many of them have themselves, used these alternatives to cure or better themselves, so it makes perfect sense, but yeah, we still don't tend to want to deal with it. Yeah?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 29:17 Well, anything that's uncomfortable, right? We don't want to really face it, right? We want to run from it, or we want to say, Oh, it's fine. I'll get to it next week, and then next week comes to next month, and next month comes to next year, and you're still dealing with the the same trauma and the same pain, right? Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 29:35 Well, so tell me about tea time with Miss Liz, because you've developed that. You've brought it into existence, and that obviously also helps deal with the mental health stigma. Tell me about that?   29:50 Well, I just   Michael Hingson ** 29:51 one question, but, well,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 29:53 I just really wanted to meet people, and I wanted to hear their stories, you know, because it gets lonely once in a while. And you're always telling your story, right? So I wanted to get other stories, but I didn't want to just deal with mental health. I wanted to deal with grief and abuse and things, everything that I've lived with, right? And it all goes back to trauma, like all three of them, abuse, grief, mental health, it deals with trauma in some form. And then I got, I got hooked to a bunch of people that found Miss Liz on on the airwaves, and then connected with you, Michael, you were a guest on Tea Time. Yeah, my last season, and, you know, and I got to go down a bunch of rabbit holes with a bunch of cool people. And tea time was just a place for everybody, just to come and share, share what they were doing and why they were doing it, right? So a lot a lot of the questions that I asked was your younger self way? What? How do you see your younger self to your older self, and why are you doing what you're doing today? And a lot of people are writing books because writing saved them through hard times in life as well. And a lot of mental health back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, were not spoken of. You know, it was really hush hush. Oh, that person's just a rebel, or that person's just a little crazy once in a while, or has too much to drink from time to time. So mental health wasn't really spoken about in those those decades, right? So,   Michael Hingson ** 31:27 yeah, and you know, but I hear what you're saying about writing, and you know, I I've written now three books, and I've learned a lot as I write each book, and I think there's a lot of value in it, but also it's more than writing, although writing is is a way to to really do it from the most personal standpoint possible. But as as you've pointed out, talking about it is also extremely important, and talking about whatever, whether it's a bad thing or a good thing, but talking about it as well as writing about it is is valuable, because if we take the time to do all of that, we'll learn a lot more than we think we will well.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 32:13 And there's so many different genres of writing, right? There's horror, there's fiction, there's non fiction, there's children's books, you know, but those are all storytellers too, in a different way.   Michael Hingson ** 32:24 Well, they are and and again, it's the the point is, though, that when you take the time to write, you really have to think about it, probably even more than, sometimes, than people, when they just talk about things. And as you're writing, like I said, you learn a lot no matter what genre of writing you're doing, you're putting yourself into it, and that, in of itself, helps educate and teach you   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 32:53 absolutely, you know, and I learned so much from a lot of the authors that were on Tea Time, You know, little tricks and little ways of making skits and scenes and characters and names for their characters. And I'd be like, well, where'd you get that name? And they'd be like, I don't know what, just a childhood name that was stuck with me for a long time. I really liked meeting authors that wrote their memoirs or stories, because I'm a person that likes truth. I'm a truth seeker. You know, if it doesn't, it doesn't match up. I'm just like, let me ask you more questions. Let me take you down this rabbit hole a little more. So,   Michael Hingson ** 33:35 yeah, well, a lot of people tend to not want to talk about their journey or talk about themselves, and they feel unseen and unheard. How would you advise them? What would you advise them to do?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 33:51 I felt that way for many years. Michael, growing up in the in the situation that I grew up in, right? You did, and I wrote my first book. I was a co author in the Sacred Hearts rising series by compiled by Brenda Hammond in Alberta. And her book, hear me, kept reaching out to me. I kept hearing I didn't even know what the book was. It was just the title was hear me. And I kept saying, I want people to hear me. I want I want to be heard like, I want people to know this, like I'm tired of living in silence, you know, just to keep everybody hush hush, because everybody's comfortable. So I reached out to Brenda, and that's how my writing journey started. Was with Brenda, and I wrote my first chapter in there, and and it just continued to the ripple effect into other books and other anthologies and other people. And I find that the universe is guiding me, like bringing me to the people that I need to see. You know, like meeting you. Michael, like, had I not started a podcast and met Mickey Mickelson, I would have never met you. Michael, so Mm hmm.   Michael Hingson ** 34:54 And he continues to to be a driving force in helping a lot of authors. Absolutely.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 35:00 Absolutely, yeah. I'm not even sure how Mickey found me. We had a video call, and the next thing I knew, we were working together for three years, and I got to meet incredible authors through Mickey. Creative edge, and it's, it was one of the driving force of Tea Time with Miss Liz.   Michael Hingson ** 35:19 I can't remember exactly how I first heard of Mickey, either, but we we chatted, and we've been working together ever since.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 35:29 Yeah, Mickey is pretty awesome. I still keep my eyes on Mickey, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 35:36 and for those who don't know, Mickey is kind of a publicist. He works with authors and helps find podcasts and other opportunities for authors to talk about what they do and to interact with the world.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 35:50 Yeah. And then I got Yeah. And then I got to meet other people that found me on the airwave, through my press releases and through me speaking at different events. I had other people reach out with their authors and their members and all of that. And I got to meet some really incredible people, like I've had doctors on Tea Time. I've had Hollywood directors on Tea Time. I've had best selling authors like yourself Michael, like, you know, I got to meet some really incredible people. And then I got to meet other people as well that were doing movements and orphanages and stuff like that. We reached over 72 countries, you know, just people reaching out and saying, Hey, Miss Liz, can we have tea? And absolutely, let's sit down. Let's see what? Where you gotta go with your tea?   Michael Hingson ** 36:35 So you're in another season of tea time right now. No,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 36:39 I'm not. A lot of people are asking me to come back. I don't know if I will come back. I am working on, like I said, the E commerce drop shipping company for Miss Liz. I'm working on children's book. I'm working on poultry. I'm doing a lot of interviews now for my own books, daytime books and stuff like that. But I am reconsidering coming back maybe for a couple surprise podcast interviews. So   Michael Hingson ** 37:07 well, tell us about the E commerce site, the store.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 37:11 Well, that was supposed to be launched on my birthday. I like to give myself birthday gifts because I'm by myself a lot. So two years ago, I gave myself the tea books for my birthday. And this year I was supposed to give the E commerce drop shipping, where we opened a second branch of Miss Liz's tea, where we changed the letter A to E, so T, E, E instead of T, E, A. But if you look at my OMA, who comes from Germany, T in Germany, is tee, so we're still keeping almost T, we're just bringing it in a different way. And   Michael Hingson ** 37:45 what does it stand for? Do you have definition   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 37:50 of it for the for this T? We have transcend embrace and envision. So transcend beyond the story that we all tell. Embrace Your embrace the journey that you're on and envision your dreams and visions that you can move forward.   Michael Hingson ** 38:07 So how's the E commerce site coming?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 38:11 It's coming along. We got a couple of hiccups. I just want to make sure that everything is good to go. We have over 100 different products, and again, we do not have the tea beverage on the site. So you guys can see that Miss Liz is staying true to herself, that it is not about a beverage, but we do have an inner journey happening. So you'll have to check that out. So we have some some candles and some journals, some fashion that Miss Liz has created. So there's a lot of cool things that you'll see, and then we have some collaboration. So if any of the businesses out there would like to collaborate with missus, because I'm big on collaboration, we can maybe come up with a brand or or a journal or something that we can work two brands together to create a bigger inner journey for people   Michael Hingson ** 39:02 to enjoy. Is the site up.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 39:05 It was up, and we had to take it down because there were some glitches in it, and I wanted to make sure that it so we're hoping that it's going to be going for June 1. I don't like to set dates, because then I get disappointed, right? If something comes up. So it was supposed to be May 17, guys, and I know that a lot of people were looking forward to it. My children were looking forward to it because of the fashion. And there's something for everyone on on the new website, for children, for parent, for mothers, for fathers, for family. So I wanted to make sure that everybody was included.   Michael Hingson ** 39:41 Tell me about some of the fashion things.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 39:44 So we have inner journeys. So I had an eating disorder from the age of 12 Michael, so I had a body image all the time. So I wanted to make sure that we felt beautiful about ourselves. So we have some summer dresses. In there, we have some swimwear. Swimwear was another thing that I didn't really like to wear growing up. I like to be covered a lot. So we and then we have undergarments for people to feel beautiful within themselves. And then we have hoodies and T shirts. But we have messages, little tea messages from Miss Liz.   Michael Hingson ** 40:23 Now, are most of these fashion things mainly for women, or are there some men ones on there as well?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 40:28 No, we have men. Men have stories too. So there, there's, I thought. So, yeah, we have men in there. We and we have, I'm really big on having men share their stories, because I have a son. I've said this on many platforms. I would want my son to have the same services that his mother has. So of course, there's a men where in there, there are children's wear in there as well, and there's some puzzles and some diamond art and all of that. So there's a little bit of everything in there.   Michael Hingson ** 41:00 So how do you use all of the different mechanisms that you have to promote awareness? I think I know the answer to this, but I'd like you to tell how you're promoting awareness, mental health and otherwise awareness.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 41:15 I think the way that I'm promoting myself and my brand, Michael is just show up and be yourself, believe in yourself and stay true to yourself, be your real tea, you know. And the way that I'm branding and marketing it is, I'm breathing different. So when you hear tea, you think the beverage right away. Well, then when you hear Miss Liz, you know, Miss Liz is not bringing a beverage. So right over the way you're getting different, right? And I like to keep people on your toes, because they think that they might know what's coming, but they don't know same as, like the fashion, where you might think you know what's coming, but then you'll be like, Whoa. This is not what I was thinking.   Michael Hingson ** 41:54 And you and you put as you said, sayings and other things on there, which help promote awareness as   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 41:59 well. Absolutely, yeah, and it's simple phrases that I use all the time. You tell me, I can't, and I'll show you I can. You know, it lives in you. These are some of the brand messages that I have on my on my merchandise. Also, men have stories too simple phrases. You know that we just gotta make awareness. It's so simple sometimes that we overthink it and we overdo it, that we just gotta keep it simple.   Michael Hingson ** 42:28 Mm, hmm. Which? Which make perfect sense? Yeah. So you, you talk a lot about mental health. Have we made improvements in society regarding mental health, and how do we do more to represent marginalized voices? Oh,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 42:50 we got lots of work to do. Michael, we're not even close, you know, we're just on the touch of the iceberg for mental health. We have all these organizations that are competing with each other instead of collaborating. I think we would really make a huge difference if we started working together instead of against each other. Or my service is better than your service. Let's start just collaborating together and working together as one. You know that all this division in the mental health world is what's causing the distractions and the delays in services and and getting help? You know, I think we just need to start working together. And collaboration is not weakness. It's not taking somebody else's product away. It's working together. It's teamwork. And I think we need more teamwork out there.   Michael Hingson ** 43:41 We also need to somehow do more to educate the governments to provide some of the funding that they should be providing to help this process.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 43:51 Absolutely, and I think the statuses need to really be looked at. They're not even close.   Michael Hingson ** 43:59 Yeah, I I agree there, there's a long way to go to to deal with it,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 44:04 absolutely. You know, just throwing numbers out there to have numbers, but not actually getting the real factual information out there can cause a lot more damage.   Michael Hingson ** 44:17 So if you could shift one mindset regarding mental health, what would it   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 44:24 be? Oh, good question. Michael, hmm, that we're not alone, okay, because a lot of people with mental illness think they're alone, but we're actually not alone. There's, there's a lot of people out there that are feeling the same thing as us,   Michael Hingson ** 44:47 and that's a mindset that people have, that we need to to deal with. We need to change. We need to teach people that the reality. Is there a lot of people, whether they've experienced the same things as as any individual has or not, isn't the issue. But there are a lot of people who do want to be more welcoming, and there are a lot of people who could learn to be more welcoming than they are   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 45:18 absolutely Well, I think it starts with a conversation, right? Having these conversations, a lot of people don't want to talk about mental health because they don't want to know the truth. They just want to know what society says, right, what the system say, what the services say, but they're not actually advocating for themselves. I think if we all started advocating for our mental health, we would make the impact and the change as well,   Michael Hingson ** 45:45 yeah, but we need to really, somehow develop a collective voice and Absolutely, and that's part of the problem. I know that with the world of disabilities in general, the difficulty is that, although it is probably well, it is one of the largest minorities, maybe the second largest in the world, depending on whether you want to consider women the minority. Although there are more women than men, or men the minority, the reality is that the difficulty is that there are so many different kinds of disabilities that we face and some that we don't even recognize. But the problem is that everyone totally interacts within their own disability to the point where they don't find ways to work together nearly as as much as they can. And it doesn't mean that each disability isn't unique, because they are, and that needs to be addressed, but there's a lot more power if people learn to work together   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 46:46 exactly. I'm with you, with that, Michael, because there's so many disabilities that you don't see right, that you don't hear about, somebody will talk about a new diagnosis that nobody knows about or is unaware of, like when I, when I talk about conversion disorder, a lot of people don't know about it, and I'm just like, check it out. You know, I'm a lady that actually has crazy papers, so if I go a little crazy on people, I can get away with it. I got the paper for it, right? So, but the thing is, the doctors, they they need more education as well. They need to be educated as well, not just the society, not just the public, but also the doctors that are working in those   Michael Hingson ** 47:29 fields. There's so many examples of that. You know, website access for people with disabilities is a major issue, and we don't teach in most schools, in most places where we where we have courses to instruct people on how to code, we don't really make making websites inclusive and accessible a major part of the courses of study, and so the result is that we don't tend to provide a mechanism where people shift their mindset and realize how important it is to make sure that their websites are fully inclusive to all. It's the same kind of concept. Yeah.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 48:12 Well, I think we all could learn a little bit more, right when we when we all get to this point where we we've learned everything. I think that's where society gets ignorant towards disability, right? You know, living with disability myself, Michael, I've had a lot of people say, Well, you look fine. There's nothing wrong with you. Why? Why? Why you like this? You know, why? And my answer is, why are you that way? Why are you judging something you're not seeing? You know, it's just like in grief, you don't see grief. It lives within us. You don't see abuse. The person is usually living within a home that is told what happens in the home. Stays in a home, you know, or they they try to mask it and hide the real truth, right? Yeah, and that, and that's a form of trauma as well, because we're being told to hush. So then when we start speaking, well, then we start doubting ourselves, right? The self doubt kicks in, oh, maybe I shouldn't say that, or I shouldn't do that, or I shouldn't, you know, be there. So you start to self doubt everything. I did that for many years. I self doubt why I was in a room with a bunch of people, or why I was speaking at that event, or why I wrote in that book, or and then I was just like, You know what? I am enough, and we all are enough, and we all can be seen in a different light. My   Michael Hingson ** 49:41 favorite example illustrating some of what you're talking about is that I had a phone conversation with someone once, and arranged for them to come to our apartment. I was on campus at the time, living in an on campus apartment, and the guy came out that afternoon, and I answered the door and he said, I'm looking for Michael Hinks. And I said, I'm Michael. Hanks, and his comment was, you didn't sound blind on the telephone. Now, I've never understood what it means to sound blind, but whatever. Wow. Yeah, it's, it's amazing, you know. And I was polite enough not to say, Well, you didn't sound stupid on the phone either. But yeah,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 50:22 right, that that would, that would be something I would say. Now, back in the day, I was a little mouse, now I'm a lion, and I'm just like, oh, yeah, right. Like, tap for Taft man, like,   Michael Hingson ** 50:33 Well, yeah, but there, there are ways to deal with things like that. But it, it still worked out. But it was just an amazing thing that he said, yeah,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 50:43 it surprises me what some people say. Sometimes I'm just like, Really, wow.   Michael Hingson ** 50:50 So you've done well, a lot of international speaking. Where have you traveled to speak?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 50:55 I spoke in Detroit in 2020, 20 or 2021, I can't remember the year Michael, but I spoke at the Sean fair tour, and I spoke on tea, of course, and my journey, and my story and my journey on how I'm just a different woman who wants to come to the table and make a difference. I just want to show people that if as long as we're trying, we can make a difference, as long as we're showing up, tired, broke, frustrated, we're making a difference, you know? And that's, that's my message to everybody, is just show up, just be you, and not everybody needs to like you, you know. I'm not everyone's cup of tea, and I don't want to be everyone's cup of tea.   Michael Hingson ** 51:38 Mm, hmm. You can only do and should only do what you do, yeah, but   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 51:44 And yeah. And then I'll be speaking in October. I just spoke at an event here in Cornwall, in my local area, for empowered to recovery with Jay Bernard. Bernard, and in October, I'll be speaking in North Bay for an elementary student, my sister and she actually went to school with my sister. She actually found me through my books. And she's she runs this youth group, and she'd like me to go speak to the youths on empowerment and and and the tea, of course,   Michael Hingson ** 52:16 always worth talking to kids. It's so much fun. Yeah. Yeah. And the neat thing about the most neat thing about speaking to children is there's so much more uninhibited. They're not afraid to ask questions, which is so great.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 52:32 I love questions like, I I love when I talk to people and they have some questions like, What? What is this tea that you keep talking about? And I'm just like, the tea is just the grab guys. It's just to get you hooked. It's like going fishing and catching a good fish, like, I put the hook in the water, and you all come and you join and you have a tea with me.   Michael Hingson ** 52:56 But still, children are so much more uninhibited. If, if I deliver a talk, mainly to kids, even kindergarten through sixth or seventh grade, they're much more open to asking questions. Sometimes they have to be encouraged a little bit. But boy, when the questions start, the kids just keep coming up with them, which is so great.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 53:20 Great. It's that ripple effect that first person to break the ice, to ask the first question, and then it just rolls.   Michael Hingson ** 53:26 It's a lot harder with adults to get them to to do that. Yeah, and it is. It is, even then, though, when adults start to ask questions, and the questions open up, then we get a lot of good interactions, but it is more of a challenge to get adults to open and ask questions than it is children. And it's so much fun because you never know what question a child is going to ask, which is what makes it so fun, too, because there's so much more uninhibited   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 54:01 and the imagination of a child. I love speaking like what my granddaughter, she's four, and the conversations we have about dragons and tooth fairies and and good monsters, because I don't like bad monsters, she knows grandma doesn't like bad monsters, so we talk about good monsters. And it's just the stories, the imagination, that opens up new, new ways of seeing things and seeing life. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 54:29 you've gotten a number of awards, humanitarian awards, and and other kinds of awards. Tell me a little bit about those.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 54:36 Honestly, Michael, I don't know how I got those awards. I was just being myself, and I guess a lot of people nominated me for stuff, and they were just like, you gotta check this. Miss Liz out, you know, and even some awards, I'm just like, Why me? You know, all I did was be myself. I'm grateful for them, I and I appreciate the awards. But. I don't, I don't want to be known for the awards, if that makes any sense.   Michael Hingson ** 55:03 Mm, hmm, I understand well, but you've been successful. What does success mean to you?   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 55:10 Success means showing up for myself.   Michael Hingson ** 55:14 Tell me more about that.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 55:17 Of course. You know, success is different for everybody, right? Some people want the million dollars they want. They want the best seller they want. You know, they want the big business. They want the big house. For me, success is just showing up. Growing up. Nobody showed up for me. So I knew at a young age I had to show up for myself, and that was my success story. Was just showing up. There's days I really don't want to be here. I'm just tired of showing up, but I still show up tired, you know. So that's my success story, and I think that's going to be my success story until the day I die. Michael is just show up.   Michael Hingson ** 55:58 Well, there's a lot to be said for showing up, and as long as you do show up, then people get to see you, right? Yeah, which is, which is the whole point. And again, as we talked about earlier, that's the choice that you made. So you decided that you were going to show up and you were going to be you, and you also talk about it, which is, I think, extremely important, because so many people won't, not a criticism. But last year, I spoke at the Marshfield, Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival in April of 2024 and it was a and every year they hold this festival, and it's a celebration of American history. One of the people there was a secret service agent who rode in the car right behind JFK when he was assassinated, and it took him 45 years before he could talk about it. It was that traumatic for him, and he just wasn't able to move on. Eventually he was able to talk about it, and he was at the festival, as I was last year, and did speak about it. But it's it is hard, it is a major endeavor and effort to make the choice to show up, to to face whatever you have to deal with and move on from it or move on with it. I, you know, I talk about Karen, my wife passing, and I will never say I move on from Karen. I continue to move forward, but I don't want to move on. I don't want to forget her Absolutely. And there's a big difference between moving on and moving forward. I'm sorry. Go ahead. No, no, go ahead. Michael, no, that's it.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 57:45 You know, we look at life differently, right? Different perspectives and, and that's the whole thing with the T is looking at life differently. We all have a past, we all have a present, and we all have a future, right? And it's how we look at our past. Do we stay stuck in our past, like a lot of people are, mislead your in the past? No, I'm not. I speak of the past, but I'm not in the past. I'm in the present moment, and my trauma is real and it's raw, and I'm dealing with it, and I'm healing from it. And the future, I don't know where the future's taking me. I just buckle up and go for the adventure and see where it takes me. If it means writing another book or it means taking a trip or getting a job in a third world country, that's where I go. I'm, you know, moving forward from all of the trauma that I've lived through. I don't want to forget it. Mm, hmm. A lot of people like I would you change anything? No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't change a single thing.   Michael Hingson ** 58:45 There's a difference between remembering and being aware of it and being bitter and hating it. And I think that's the important part,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 58:53 yeah. And speaking of the past is not it's not a bad thing. It because the past is part of us, right? We were little kids once upon a time like there, you know, not everything was all bad. There was good moments. You know, there was more bad times for me than there was good, but there were good moments. I had good memories of spending with my grandparents on the farm and, you know, playing in the wrecked up cars and pretending I was a race car driver and stuff like that, you know, playing in the mud, making mud pies, putting them in the oven. You know, these were good memories that I have, you know, so those are what I hold on to. I hold on to the good stuff. I don't hold on to that heavy stuff.   Michael Hingson ** 59:33 Well, at least at this point, what do you see in the future for Miss Liz   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 59:39 travel? I so want to travel. I, you know, I've traveled the world, well, 72 countries, in this rocking chair. I would like to take this rocking chair in person. I would like to have a stage. I would like to have people come and talk and share their stories on a miss Liz's platform stage. That is the goal for Miss Liz.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:01 To travel and to really meet people from a lot of new and different places,   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 1:00:07 absolutely, and meet all the guests I had on Tea Time. That is one of my goals. So when the universe gets on my good side, maybe I'll be traveling and meeting you face to face one day, Michael,   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:18 or we'll travel up there when, when we can, I know right now there are many challenges because of our governments putting roadblocks in the way. I've applied to speak at several events in Canada, and I've been told right now, well, the political situation, political situation is such that we can't really bring anybody in from the United States. And, you know, I understand that. I I think that there's so much to add, but I also understand that they don't want to take those chances, and that's fine.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 1:00:48 Yeah, we've been told the same, no traveling, vice versa. There's so, you know, it will calm itself down. We just got to give it some   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:57 time. It will, you know, it isn't going to go on forever, and we'll just have to deal with it. Well, if you had the opportunity to go back and give your younger Miss Liz some advice, what would it be? Drink More tea. Drink More tea of the liquid kind or the other kind.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 1:01:17 No. Drink the real stuff like drink, the beverage, drink the real stuff. Like, you know, speaking of tea all the time, you know, my favorite tea is jasmine tea. I wish I could drink more jasmine tea, but when I drink jasmine tea, it brings it brings back a memory of my Uma, and it it's hard for me so but drink more tea, like, actually sit down and have more conversations with OMA and see what else OMA had in   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:44 the back there for her. Yeah. Well, there you go. Well, I, I must say, I've never been a coffee drinker, but I got converted to drinking tea years ago, and I've been doing it ever since. My favorite is PG Tips, black tea, and I can get it from Amazon, so we do it.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 1:01:59 That's a good one too. Yeah, I'm not a real big tea drinker, but guys, I do know a little bit about tea.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:06 Well, I drink it more because it's a hot drink and it's got less calories than hot chocolate. Otherwise, I would be drinking hot chocolate all the time. But after September 11, I tend to clear my throat a lot, so drinking hot beverages helps, and I've just never liked coffee like I've learned to like tea, so I drink tea.   Elizabeth Gagnon ** 1:02:26 Yeah. What's for you? Yeah, he's good for you. Look what it did to me. It made me who I am today.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:32 There you are in so many ways. Well, I want to than

Send us a textIt's not everyday that the OPP launches an investigation targeting an Ontario mayor. But that's exactly what happened this week in North Bay, where Mayor Peter Chirico has been dogged by a spending scandal that has triggered plenty of headlines.The controversy revolves around nearly $16,000 in questionable expenses charged to Chirico's city-issued corporate credit card, including dog food, cigarettes, a golf membership and season tickets to the OHL's North Bay Battalion. Chirico has previously said he's "done nothing wrong" and has "nothing to hide." Ultimately, it's now up to the OPP to decide.To be clear, Chirico has not been charged with any crime. At this point, the force will only confirm that it is investigating a complaint regarding the mayor.Our guest on tonight's Closer Look podcast is Chris Dawson of BayToday, one of our reporters covering the evolving story.Hosted by Village Media's Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.New episodes of Closer Look drop every Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. across the Village Media network, or wherever you find your favourite podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel or follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.Have something to say? You can reach us at closerlook@villagemedia.ca.

The impact of tariffs is also affecting Detroit businesses, an Amherstburg man is arrested in North Bay, and LaSalle police arrest a man illegally entering Canada. All the evening headlines on the go.

North Bay Resources Inc CEO Jared Lazerson talked with Proactive's Stephen Gunnion about the company's progress at its Fran project, including high-grade assay results and operational plans for its Bishop Gold Mill. Lazerson confirmed that North Bay has completed its initial test mining and is seeing encouraging assay results from the surface oxide zone at Fran. “There have been up to multi-ounce assays,” he said, noting that the mineralization appears to expand in several directions and increases with depth. The ore is described as highly mineralized and visibly distinct, with chalcopyrite, galena, and silver present. Lazerson highlighted that operations are already producing results: “Our mill is up and running. We've produced some gold there.” He outlined plans to ship ore to the mill imminently, targeting an initial throughput of 66 tonnes per week, with potential gross revenues of around $75,000 weekly. Costs are currently about $400 per tonne, giving an estimated $600 profit per tonne after refining. Longer term, the company is targeting a 10,000-tonne test permit and evaluating the path toward a large-scale operation. Lazerson said the broader resource could support a 1 million to 2 million tonne processing capacity. The aim is to become a mid-tier producer, with the potential to generate between $50 million and $100 million, depending on gold prices and comparable mine costs. The company is pursuing a dual-path strategy—short-term cash flow from high-grade ore while advancing toward large-scale development. Lazerson emphasized this approach helps avoid “endless dilution,” a risk many early-stage explorers face. Visit Proactive's YouTube channel for more videos, and don't forget to give this one a like, subscribe to the channel, and enable notifications for future content. #GoldMining #NorthBayResources #FranProject #JaredLazerson #GoldAssays #MiningStocks #BishopGoldMill #JuniorMining #PreciousMetals #MiningInvestment

As tomorrow's tariff deadline looms, with no agreement in sight, the head of Canada's largest private sector union tells us no deal is better than a bad deal.An online radio station in Yellowknife finally gets the FM license it's been hoping for. A news editor there says that it's great for his team -- but even better news for his diverse community. A non-profit director calls on European governments to stop a plan to destroy millions of dollars of US-owned contraceptives that were bound for Africa. We remember Jeannie Arsenault, who spent half a century as an organizer, performer and enforcer at a beloved Montreal country/bluegrass open mic night...and whose stature belied her impressive impact. An 88-year-old North Bay resident says it's time to find a new home for the unique piece she's featured in her garden for years: a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted carousel that features a pig, a goose, and horses. As It Happens, the Thursday Edition. Radio that has a colt following.

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week Iron Ox Brewing - Hadouken W.C. IPA! 

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week BARREL BROTHERS - Spangled American Light Lager!  

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week Fieldwork - Dill & Ted's Excellent Pickle Lager!

North Bay Resources CEO Jared Lazerson joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce a new assay result of 0.5 ounces per ton (14 g/t) gold from a massive sulphide outcrop located near Trench B at the company's Fran Gold Project in British Columbia. The gold-bearing zone—measuring approximately 30 meters north-south by 40 meters east-west with a depth exceeding 4 meters—adds further support to the project's bulk tonnage potential. The 5-pound sample was processed by fire assay with atomic absorption at ALS Global in North Vancouver. Lazerson stated that, following the recent identification of a significant bulk tonnage gold deposit and its corresponding resource estimate, the company is moving forward with a dual-track development strategy. This includes using high-grade surface oxide material as feedstock for its Bishop Gold Mill, while also advancing exploration in the infill area between the Main Bullion Alley Zone, East Zone, and the re-established Hilltop (South) Zone. To support the project's next stage, North Bay has begun consulting with a mine engineering firm to evaluate the detailed economics, mine planning, and construction for the bulk tonnage deposit. Lazerson pointed out that comparable mining costs at the nearby Blackwater Gold Mine are around $9 per tonne processed, while the Fran deposit hosts approximately 20 million tonnes grading 0.5 g/t Au (valued at $54/tonne) and 44 million tonnes at 0.3 g/t Au ($32/tonne), underscoring promising economics. The company sees this dual approach as a pathway to near-term production while continuing to expand and de-risk the Fran Gold Project through targeted exploration. #proactiveinvestors #northbayresourcesinc #otc #nbri #PlatinumConcentrate #NorthBayResources #MiningNews #CaliforniaGold #JaredLazerson #GoldRush #ProactiveInvestors #PreciousMetals #MiningUpdates ---#invest #investing #investment #investor #stockmarket #stocks #stock #stockmarketnews #PreciousMetals #BulkSampling #DualTrackStrategy #GoldProduction

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week Protector Brewery - Organic West Coast IPA!

Kylie Klym is a Registered Psychotherapist, Certified Music Therapist and the owner of Kadence Music Therapy. Kylie began working in the Greater Sudbury and North Bay areas before expanding throughout Northeast Ontario. Kadence Music Therapy educates, enlightens and engages people of all ages and abilities in the therapeutic powers of music and the creative arts.Kylie's Links:Website - ⁠https://kadencemusictherapy.com/Socials - @kadencemusictherapy-- Subscribe to the Able Voice Podcast, leave us a review and connect with us (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ablevoicepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @synergymusictherapy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) to share your experiences and takeaways. We release new episodes every other Sunday between the end of January and end of August.AVP Theme Music by: Christopher Mouchette. Follow him on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Soundcloud (Chris Mouchette)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Episode audio edited by: Justis Krar (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@immvproductions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)Rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts here:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/able-voice-podcast/id1505215850⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

North Bay Resources CEO Jarad Lazerson joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce a unique private placement offering, exclusively available to U.S. residents and verified accredited investors, that blends traditional equity with direct exposure to physical gold—a structure designed to appeal to both precious metals investors and equity market participants. The offering consists of a Unit comprised of 60% Common Shares of North Bay Resources and 40% physical gold derived from the company's gold production. Each $10,000 USD investment equates to 10,000 shares and 1.3 ounces of physical gold, providing participants with a rare hybrid exposure to both equity appreciation and tangible gold assets. North Bay is aiming to raise up to $1,000,000 USD in gross proceeds, which would result in a post-closing valuation of approximately $5.5 million USD, assuming the offering is fully subscribed. The proceeds will be used primarily as working capital to support ongoing gold production, with a strategic focus on scaling up operations and advancing exploration at the company's portfolio of assets. The company owns and operates the Bishop Gold Mill, a 96-ton-per-day processing facility located in Bishop, California, which serves as the operational hub for its production plans. In addition to Bishop, North Bay Resources controls a diversified asset base including the Fran Gold Project, Murex Copper-Gold, Copper Island, and the Tulameen Platinum Projects. Of particular note is the Fran Gold Project, which hosts a recently discovered bulk-tonnage deposit supported by an associated resource estimate, positioning it as a key growth asset in the company's pipeline. #proactiveinvestors #northbayresourcesinc #otc #nbri #PlatinumConcentrate #NorthBayResources #MiningNews #CaliforniaGold #JaredLazerson #GoldRush #stock #stockmarketnews ResourceEstimate #NorthBayResources #MiningInvestment #JuniorMining #GoldExploration #MiningFinance #MergersAndAcquisitions #GoldPrice #NI43101 #MiningNews #InvestorUpdate

In this episode, Finn, Leslie, and Rosalind are joined by Shelly Anne Penner for a live demonstration of the Identity Matrix—a tool built around eight key questions designed to help people better understand themselves and develop the inner clarity and strength needed to navigate life. Shelly's story is a reflection of what it means to keep learning and growing. Born and raised in North Bay, Ontario, she began her nursing career at 18 as an RPN, unsure of what path she wanted to take. Over time, she worked her way toward becoming an RN and eventually moved to Toronto to work at one of the city's largest teaching hospitals. Along the way, she experienced love, loss, motherhood, and the ongoing process of figuring out who she is and who she wants to become. This conversation is an honest look at how the Identity Matrix can help make sense of those questions. It's about pausing, reflecting, and choosing how we show up—for ourselves and for the people around us.

How dyslexia, bilingualism, and myth created a Canadian identity no one expected.An imagined appendix to Northrop Frye's The Educated Imagination, based on a true story from Northern Ontario — where a bilingual, dyslexic teen survived the failures of Canada's education system by reading Nietzsche in the bush. A reflection on imagination, identity, and survival in the margins.Northrop FryeThe Educated ImaginationCanadian IdentityDyslexia and EducationFrench ImmersionNietzschePhilosophy of EducationCanadian LiteratureTrauma-Informed LearningOral TraditionBilingual EducationMarginalized VoicesMyth and MetaphorLiterary Survival

Pastor Stevenson Noel heads a community church in the North Bay, and estimates about 5000 Haitians living in the Bay Area. He says his congregation is living in fear and confusion.

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week : Cooperage Brewing / Moonlight Brewing - Hopper Ave NWSR Pale Ale!  

We left the Kingston area with a very full car for our trip to Vancouver Island to relocate my daughter. Our first night stop was in North Bay. We got takeout from Boston Pizza, which I always enjoy. Then after a good night's sleep our next stop was the Big Nickel in Sudbury – very cool! A friend recommended a gluten free bakery to me that was in Lively, west of Sudbury called Gluten Free Galore, but also goes by the name Amici. I bought white bread, two cupcakes, date squares, and sandwich buns which we put to good use for a picnic along our route. Our dinner was at a restaurant called La Anh (formerly Sunset Noodle House) – Yum. I've loaded some pictures on my blog. Sue's Websites and Social Media – Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com Instagram - @suesgfbaking YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

We left the Kingston area with a very full car for our trip to Vancouver Island to relocate my daughter. Our first night stop was in North Bay. We got takeout from Boston Pizza, which I always enjoy. Then after a good night's sleep our next stop was the Big Nickel in Sudbury – very cool! A friend recommended a gluten free bakery to me that was in Lively, west of Sudbury called Gluten Free Galore, but also goes by the name Amici. I bought white bread, two cupcakes, date squares, and sandwich buns which we put to good use for a picnic along our route. Our dinner was at a restaurant called La Anh (formerly Sunset Noodle House) – Yum. I've loaded some pictures on my blog. Sue's Websites and Social Media – Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com Instagram - @suesgfbaking YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Tune in this week for crimes, misdemeanors and general lawlessness as we lean on a theme that explores music that explores one hundred years of crime in different form. We'll also ask law enforcement to step in as needed with pursuits, chain gangs, and K9 units. From Elmer Bernstein to The Crickets, Mel Tillis to The Byrds, and Bo Diddley, Red River Dave, and blues from Robert Wilkins as our show reminds listeners that Crime Doesn't Pay…unless you've already got the cheese or you're on the grift with the government behind you. Join our listening audience for the best roots radio show you'll find here in the North Bay. We'll make sure this week's show covers the theme with tracks and treasures, classic influences and much more. So, whether you're tuning in from a big city street or a quiet back road, settle in, turn it up, and let the stories music take you there. It's another week of Deeper Roots on KOWS Community Radio.

Polish doesn't build trust—personality does. And no one understands that better than TikTok creators, who turn raw ideas into magnetic, shareable content every day.In this episode, we're pulling marketing lessons from TikTok's creative chaos with the help of Rhonda Hughes, award-winning B2B marketing leader.Together, they explore what B2B marketers can learn from leading with authenticity, embracing low-fi experimentation, and having the courage to make something truly original.About our guest, Rhonda HughesRhonda Hughes is a storyteller and connector of people and ideas with 18 years of experience helping brands engage their customers and audiences. She believes in creating value, not noise, and she has a knack for inspiring teams to push boundaries with fresh, fun, relevant content, campaigns, and programs. Rhonda's team's work has earned recognition from Mashable, Business Insider, Hubspot, Sprout Social, KISSmetrics, Content Marketing Institute, and snagged her a spot on North Bay's 40 under 40 “Ones to Watch” list, noted among the “Top 50 Women in Content”, and awarded for "Best B2B Campaign on TikTok."What B2B Companies Can Learn From TikTok Creators:Fun is a strategy—not a distraction. Brands win when they lean into playfulness—not just performance. “The brands that, to me, the companies that feel like they win are the ones that are really always putting their audience in the center and trying to figure out a way to be useful and be human and be playful,” Rhonda says. This kind of joyful creativity builds connection—and makes your brand memorable.Imperfect content is often the most relatable. Audiences don't crave polish—they crave authenticity. “The most engaging content isn't the most polished… you can tell that this was just a creative idea and somebody with their camera and they're rallying the folks internally around how they bring the story to life,” Rhonda says. “And that's part of what makes it so relatable and likable.” Let your audience in on the process, not just the finished product.Iterate like a creator. TikTok's best creators don't get stuck in strategy mode—they test, tweak, and try again. That mindset is essential for B2B marketers too. “TikTok creators are constantly iterating… they've gotta test formats and hooks and trends and sounds, and they have to move fast and be playful with this,” Rhonda says. The takeaway? Strategy doesn't mean overthinking. It means being in motion.Quotes*“You just never know what's gonna work. So you kind of have to be okay with trying and missing and trying again.”*“You want to build content that's gonna resonate with your audience and also be something they want to share.”*“If you're not enjoying what you're making, your audience probably isn't either.”*“It's not about going viral—it's about showing up over and over again.”Time Stamps[00:55] Meet Rhonda Hughes, Award-Winning Marketer[03:37] The Power of Authenticity on TikTok[06:00] Engaging Content Strategies[10:34] Spotlight on Successful TikTok Campaigns[16:16] Creative Marketing Examples[27:28] The Power of Authenticity in Social Media[29:37] The Bravery of Unique Marketing Strategies[30:33] TSA's Unexpected Social Media Success[32:39] The Importance of Fun and Experimentation in Marketing[42:03] Creating Value, Not Noise[43:37] The Utility of Content and Audience Engagement[50:03] Final Thoughts and Advice for Marketing LeadersLinksConnect with Rhonda on LinkedInAbout Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week Fogbelt Brewing - RED TAIL ALE!

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week :Moonlight Brewing - Pale Dry Lager Helles-Style!  

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week : Original Pattern Brewing - Won't Be A Jiffy! Hazy IPA   

Zooming in from the Great White North is outlaw country/ contemporary hard rocker Cory Marks who introduces us to his beautiful 9 yr old Karelian Bear dog Teslin who he rescued as a puppy from the dangers of the Yukon where he was playing a show. We get to know more about this unique Finnish breed, his childhood dog Emma and how well Teslin behaves while hanging out in tour buses and green rooms among many other fun stories.Cory will be bringing his brand of Haggard-like country meets straight-up arena rock anthems to a number of festivals this summer in Canada. For dates and tickets visit corymarks.comCory's shout outs go to his local Pet Smart in North Bay Ontario whose grooming services keep Teslin looking her best and the North Bay and District Humane Society who, since 1954, have been a key service provider for animal welfare within the community.  To adopt, foster, volunteer or donate go to northbayhumanesociety.caFor more pics and clips of Cory and Teslin check out our Instagram at @rockerdogpodcast

The Press Democrat, the longtime local newspaper of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, has been sold to MediaNews Group, a newspaper publisher owned by Alden Global Capital, an investment firm based in Manhattan. The sale has raised alarms among North Bay journalists and residents, who fear that the company will continue its pattern of buying newspapers and then slashing staff. KQED's Gabe Meline joins us to discuss the sale and its potential impact on the local media landscape in the North Bay.  Correction: The description of Alden Global Capital has been updated. Links:  Santa Rosa's Press Democrat Was Just Sold. Locals Are Concerned For the Paper's Future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week Onibi Beer Company - Matcha Cream Stout!  

This week on The Tragically Hip Top 40 Countdown, jD is joined by a passionate fan from across the Atlantic—Janet from the Isle of Man! As we reveal the 23rd most essential Tragically Hip song as chosen by you, we dive deep into Janet's three-decade-long fandom, her unforgettable origin story, and the unique path that led her from North Bay to a tattoo of Gord Downie on her shoulder.In this wide-ranging and heartfelt conversation, we explore:• Janet's Hip origin story and first impressions of Blow at High Dough, Cordelia, and Locked in the Trunk of a Car• The Stereophonics–Tragically Hip connection• Making a musical pilgrimage to Kingston, Ontario• The magic of Gord Downie's lyricism and irony• Why Rob Baker's guitar tone is instantly recognizable among the greats• Watching the final Hip concert live from the UK• Her deep dive into Canadian music fandom thanks to The HipWhether you're a lifelong listener or newly discovering The Tragically Hip, this episode celebrates what it means to connect across borders through music, memory, and meaning.

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week COPPERAGE BREWING - Basic Cable Hazy IPA!

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week COPPERAGE BREWING - Basic Cable Hazy IPA!

A report from the Seattle Aerospace Bash, Boeing's strategic divestments, Avelo Airlines' controversial charter flights, Electra's innovative aircraft technology, Lockheed Martin's future fighter jet developments, and Boeing's reacquisition of Spirit AeroSystems. Seattle Aerospace Bash The Seattle Aerospace Bash (Formerly BBQ) was held April 5th, 2025, at the Museum of Flight View Room, in Seattle, Washington. Aerospace enthusiasts and geeks gathered to celebrate the year ahead in aviation and space. In addition to food, activities included an aerospace swap meet, a sticker/freebie table, Isaac Alexander's aerospace trivia contest, and an aerospace raffle with various prizes. Isaac Alexander and participants at the Seattle Aerospace Bash. Brian Coleman spoke with organizer Isaac Alexander about the Seattle Aerospace Bash. Isaac is known as Jet City Star on many social media platforms, and he's the Chief Content Officer at the Hype Aerospace Insights service. Brian also had a conversation with Brian Wiklem about aerospace memorabilia and the aviation documentaries he produces as a hobby. Find avgeektv on YouTube and at avgeektv.com. Freebies at the Seattle Aerospace Bash. Aviation News Boeing to Sell Portions of Digital Aviation Solutions to Thoma Bravo for $10.55 Billion Boeing has entered into a definitive agreement with software investment firm Thoma Bravo to sell portions of its Digital Aviation Solutions business. The all-cash transaction is valued at $10.55 billion. Thoma Bravo would acquire the assets of Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways. Jeppesen provides flight planning tools, and navigation charts. It was acquired by Boeing in 2000. ForeFlight offers an electronic flight bag and was acquired in 2019. AerData specializes in lease management, engine fleet planning, and records management. It was acquired 2014. OzRunways produces an electronic flight bag and maps for drone operators in Australia. That company was acquired 2024. Boeing will retain Digital Aviation Solutions' fleet maintenance, diagnostics, and repair service elements. That organization currently employs approximately 3,900 people worldwide. Subject to regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2025. Thoma Bravo has over US$179 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2024. North Bay activists call for boycott of Avelo Airlines as it plans for ICE deportation flights Avelo Airlines previously announced it would operate deportation charter flights for the Department of Homeland Security. This sparked protests against the airline at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in California, at Daytona Beach International Airport in Florida, and near Wilmington Airport in Delaware. Avelo Airlines generates profit by leveraging its ultra-low-cost carrier model. Key strategies include low operating costs, ancillary revenue, efficient fleet utilization, use of secondary airports, and lean staffing. Avelo's Cost per Available Seat Mile (CASM), excluding fuel, is only 6.6 cents. CASM = Total Operating Costs / Available Seat Miles (ASM)  ASM is the number of available seats times the distance flown.  Typical CASM for different airline business models: 6-8 cents for ULCC 8-10 cents for LCC 13-17 cents for legacy carriers Electra raises $115m for ultra-short take-off and landing aircraft Electra.aero is developing the eight-engine hybrid-electric EL9 Ultra Short, a 9-passenger, high-wing aircraft. The company claims a 150-foot ground roll, 75 dBA at 300 feet, and 40% lower fuel burn. The target market is regional aircraft. The Ultra Short technology demonstrator is undergoing flight testing. The first eSTOL flight was May 16, 2024. Video: Electra First eSTOL Flight May 2024 https://youtu.be/esTykmreHuQ?si=1dRhyc5CSsWihtL2 John Langford is the founder and CEO of Electra.aero. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineer...

Regular listeners to Unstoppable Mindset have heard me talk about a program called Podapalooza. This event takes place four times a year and is attended by podcasters, people who want to be podcasters and people who want to be interviewed by podcasters. Featured podcasters such as I get to talk with a number of people who sign up to be interviewed by us specifically.   This past Podapalooza saw me get to meet our guest this time, Susan Janzen. Susan wasn't even on of my original matches at Podapalooza, but she and I met and she told me she wanted both to be on Unstoppable Mindset and for me to come on her podcast, “Living & Loving Each Day”. Well, part one has happened. Susan has come on Unstoppable Mindset, and what a remarkable and unstoppable person she is.   Throughout her life she has been a professional singer and recording artist, a special education teacher, a realtor, now a life coach and she, along with her husband Henry, Susan has authored two books.   Make no mistake, Susan has performed all these life experiences well. She has been a singer for more than 30 years and still rehearses with a big band. She was a substitute special education teacher for six years and then decided to switch from teaching to selling real estate to help bring accessible housing to Alberta Canada.   Susan, as you will discover, is quite an inspiration by any standard. I look forward to receiving your comments and observations after you hear this episode. I am sure you will agree that Susan is quite Unstoppable and she will help you see that you too are more unstoppable than you think.       About the Guest:   Susan is an inspiring professional whose achievements span multiple fields. As a professional singer and recording artist, she enchanted audiences across North America. Her legacy as Edmonton's first Klondike Kate includes captivating performances from Las Vegas to the Alberta Pavilion during Expo 1987. Her versatility shines through her educational pursuits, earning a Bachelor of Education and influencing lives as a Special Education teacher. Alongside her husband, Dr. Henry Janzen, Susan co-authored two Amazon Best Sellers, further cementing her creative impact. Empowering Lives Through Coaching and Music Today, Susan combines her passions: Performs with the Trocadero Orchestra, a 17-piece Big Band. Empowers others as a Certified Happy for No Reason Trainer and Jay Shetty Life Coach. Hosts her podcast, Living & Loving Each Day Bridging Barriers sharing powerful stories of overcoming challenges.   Ways to connect Susan:   https://www.facebook.com/home.php https://www.youtube.com/@SusanJanzen www.linkedin.com/in/susan-janzen-b-ed-5940988 https://www.instagram.com/livingnlovingbridgingbarriers/   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 ** 01:20 Well, hi everyone. I am your host, Mike hingson, and you are listening to unstoppable mindset podcast, unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and that's always so much fun. So we do some, we do sometimes talk about inclusion, and we do talk about diversity, and we talk about inclusion first, because diversity usually leaves out disabilities, but in this case, we we like inclusion because we won't let anyone leave out disabilities if they're going to talk about being inclusive. So there you go. But anyway, even more important than that is the unexpected, which is anything that doesn't have anything to do with diversity or inclusion, our guest today kind of has a little bit to do with all of that stuff. Susan Janzen is our guest. I'm assuming I'm pronouncing that right, perfectly, right? Yes, perfect. And Susan is up in Edmonton, Canada, and I met Susan a couple of weeks ago because both of us participated in the patapalooza program. Patapalooza, for those of you who may be listening to this on a regular basis, patapalooza is a program that happens four times a year where people come on who want to be podcasters, who are podcasters, or who want to be interviewed by podcasters. And we all kind of get together and we talk, and we listen to some lectures, and a bunch of us go off into breakout rooms and we get to chat with people. And when I was being scheduled, Susan was not one of the people who, in fact, got scheduled with me, but she came into the room and she said, I want to talk to you. And so there we are. And so Susan, welcome to unstoppable mindset where we can talk.   Susan Janzen ** 03:12 Well, so glad and so glad to be in a room with you here on my screen. This is great. Oh, it's fun.   Michael Hingson ** 03:18 My door is closed so my cat won't come in and bug me, because every so often she comes in and and what she wants is me to go pet her while she eats, but I'm not going to let her do that while the podcast is going on. So there you go. But anyway, it's good to be here, and I'm glad that you're here with us, and I understand that it's kind of nice and crisp and chilly where you are right now. No surprise, we are much more weak,   Susan Janzen ** 03:45 yeah, much warmer. There we had in Alberta. We're always in Edmonton, Alberta. We're called the sunny province because it's doesn't matter how cold it gets. We always have blue cumulus clouds and beautiful blue sky   Michael Hingson ** 04:00 and so. And today you have and today it's my cold.   Susan Janzen ** 04:04 It's, well, it's minus 10 with a skiff of snow. But you know what? Minus 10 here is? Actually, that's kind of my prerequisite for skiing, like, if it's minus 10 or warmer, I'm good, because I'm not a very good added skier. That's why   Michael Hingson ** 04:20 my brother in law used to ski on a regular basis. He in fact, used to take trips and take tours and and allow people to hire him as their tour guide to go over to France to do off peace school in the else. And he is also a cabinet maker and general contractor, and Gary's philosophy always is everything stops in the winter when there is an opportunity to ski. So   Susan Janzen ** 04:50 that would be a beautiful wouldn't that be there? Like the perfect job to probably be a golf pro in the summer in a ski tour? Third guide in the winter. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 05:01 he he was a, he was a contractor in the summer. Now he's doing more contracting all year round. He still skis, but he's not a certified mountain ski guide in France anymore. I think, I assume that kind of runs out after a while, but he hasn't really taken people on trips there for a while. But anyway, we're really glad you're here. I would love to start by maybe you telling us a little bit about the early Susan, growing up and all that well,   05:27 with the early Susan, that sounds great. Sure,   Susan Janzen ** 05:28 let's do   05:30 it that was a long,   Michael Hingson ** 05:32 long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But let's do it anyway, exactly,   Susan Janzen ** 05:36 exactly. So way back in the day I was, I was actually my history is, is from I had a mother who was a singer, and she and I, I'm also professional singer, but she, she was my influence when I was younger, but when I was born, it was out those terminology at that time was called out of wedlock. Oh my gosh, you know, so bad. And so she was a single mom, and raised me as a very determined and and stubborn girl, and we had our traumas, like we went through a lot of things together, but we survived, and we're and we're, you know, all the things that I went through, I was on in foster care for a little while, and I kind of did a whole bunch of different things as a kid, and went on my own When I was 15. So I left home when I was 15, so I figured I'd be on my own. I figured I was mature enough to just go on my own, right like that made was made total sense and perfect sense to me at the time, and now I realize how young 15 is, but but finished high school and went to on the road and was a singer for like, over 25 years. That's better that. And, yeah. And so that's what I that was kind of like the childhood part of me. And that's, I think, what's putting me into all these play. I was in a convent for a while with   Michael Hingson ** 06:54 honey, and so you, you went off and you sang, you said, for 25 years, yes,   Susan Janzen ** 07:01 and I'm still singing. I'm still singing. That was Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 07:06 And I was reading that you sing with a seven piece, 17 piece, Big Band orchestra. I do.   Susan Janzen ** 07:12 It's called a Trocadero orchestra. It's so it's the whole horn section, the the rhythm section. It's so much fun, I can't tell you, so I we do that. We don't gig a lot because a lot of people don't want to put out the money for an ATP spend. But we do rehearse a lot, and we do the big, big events in the city. It's really fun. What kind of music? So big bands, so 40s, yes, and so all the Oh, exactly. We can do the Latin stuff I sing that's in mucho the same mucho is one of my songs. And I do, you know, there's so many, like, so many really good songs, but they're older songs that kind of the Frank Sinatra kind of era songs, all the big band stuff. I've   Michael Hingson ** 07:56 always thought that Bing Crosby was a better singer than Frank Sinatra. That's gonna probably cause some controversy. But why that?   Susan Janzen ** 08:04 I wonder. But you know what big, big Crosby was a little bit before, and then Frank Sinatra was called the crooner, and I think it was because of his blue eyes and how he looked. I think he took on a different persona. I think that's why I think it was more the singer than more the singer than the music. Maybe you think, I don't know. I   Michael Hingson ** 08:25 haven't figured that out, because Bing Crosby was, was definitely in the 40s. Especially, was a more well known, and I think loved singer than Frank. But by the same token, Frank Sinatra outlive Bing Crosby. So, you know, who knows, but I like being Crosby, and I like his music, and I like some Frank Sinatra music as well. I mean, I'm not against Frank Sinatra, yeah. I think, personally, the best male singer of all time. Yes, still, Nat King Cole   Susan Janzen ** 09:00 Oh, and I do? I do the dot I do orange colored sky neck and Cole's daughter, yeah, this one on my brain. Her name Natalie Cole, exactly. Yeah. But Nat King Cole was a really good singer, so I do agree with you in that. And we do some that can cool stuff. I do a lot of Ella Fitzgerald too, as well.   Michael Hingson ** 09:24 Yeah. Well, I, I've always liked and just felt Nat King Cole was the best of now, female singers, probably, again, a lot of people would disagree, but I really think that Barbara Streisand is, oh, there is.   Susan Janzen ** 09:37 I love her. Yeah, yeah, I did. I actually, I did an album. In the 719, 78 I recorded an album, and the main song on there was evergreen by Barbra Streisand. I   Michael Hingson ** 09:48 love that tune. Yeah, I was. I just have always liked Barbara Streisand. One of my favorite albums is Barbara Streisand at the forum. She James Taylor. And I forget who the third person was. Did a fundraiser for George McGovern in 1972 and I just always thought that that was Barbara's Best Album.   Susan Janzen ** 10:10 Ah, so such a voice. I mean, she could see anything. Yeah. Beautiful voice, yeah, I agree. I agree. Well, we're on the same page, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 10:19 Well, that's pretty cool. But so you, you grew up, you sang and and then what happened to you, or what did you do? What, what else occurred in your life that we should know about?   Susan Janzen ** 10:31 Oh, there's so many things. So then I, yeah, I know it's crazy. So I grew up, I think I still, I'm not quite there yet. I'm still growing. And then I when at 18, I got married, and I went on the road with a guitar player, and for 10 years, and then we had two kids. And then after five more years on the road, I actually got a divorce. And so I was six years as a single mom with two babies. The kids were, like, 11 months apart. They were really close. And so then that's when I did all my bigger gigs here in Edmonton, though, those are the like. I was hired as the first ever local Klondike Kate in Edmonton, Alberta. We have Klondike. We used to have Klondike games as our major summer fair, and it was a really big deal. It's kind of like the Calgary Stampede we had the Edmonton on Lake Bay, and so I was the representative of the city of Edmonton for two years. And I actually did it my first year. They made me audition for my second year. So I won it the second year. So I was the first ever two years in a row. And I represented the city all over North America. Actually, I sang, I met Muhammad Ali, I met some really great people, and I sang with Baba patola, did some commercials with him, went down to Vegas and played one of his stages. So I did a lot of really fun things in those two years, and convert a lot of commercials and a lot of telethons. So that was really fun. And then, and then, when that was over, that's when I got remarried to a wonderful man, and he was at University of Alberta, and he was a professor in psychology, education, psychology and so and I'm happy to say that we're just celebrated last week our 36th wedding anniversary. That's how old I am. Michael, congratulations.   Michael Hingson ** 12:18 Well, my wife, my wife and I were married for 40 years, and she passed in November of 2022, so, oh, so I I know what it's like to be married for a long time. I loved it. Love it. Still wonderful memories. It's unfortunate that all too many people don't ever get to have the joy of being married for such a long time. Yes,   Susan Janzen ** 12:43 and happily married, right? Like happily married? Yeah, that's the cavid.   Michael Hingson ** 12:50 Yeah. It's important to to acknowledge the happiness part of it. And I've got 40 years of memories that will never go away, which is great.   Susan Janzen ** 12:58 Nobody can take that away from you, that is for sure. They can't take that away from me. Don't take that away from me. That's   Michael Hingson ** 13:06 right, exactly. So that's that's pretty cool. So you do a lot of rehearsing and a lot of singing. What else do you do in the world today? So also   Susan Janzen ** 13:15 in the world today, I am, and I have been since 2003 I'm a residential real estate expert, so I'm a realtor, and I deal specifically with accessible and barrier free homes. So that's kind of my I was a special ed teacher. Actually, I should squeeze that in there for six years I was, I got my degree in education and with a special ed teacher in secondary ed. So all my kids were junior and senior high. And then when I came out of that, I took up the after I was teaching. I took real estate license, and I got it and I I just felt like I understood anybody with mobility challenges and with any other challenges. And so I took that extra time that is needed and necessary to to help them find homes and to sell.   Susan Janzen ** 14:02 What got you started down that road   Susan Janzen ** 14:05 at the time, I was teaching for six years, and when in Edmonton, I don't know why it was just here. So I was 2003 when I quit. So I had been teaching from the late 1990s and it was like I was subbing, but I was not getting a full time position in that and my Evanston public school board said your your file is glowing. We just don't have any spots for you. So I think it was a government funding issue. And so I ended up just thinking, I don't want to sub forever. I want to get my own classroom, and I want to have my own and I would, I would teach for six months at a time in a school. So it wasn't like I was jumping around crazy but, but I want, really wanted my own classroom. And so when that wasn't happening after six years, I thought I'm going to write the real estate license exam, and if I pass it the first time, that was my Gage, because no, they say the word was that you don't pass it the first time. Everyone has to write it to a. Three times before they pass my rule. For my own ruler for me was to say, if I take the exam, pass it the first time, I will make that move. And that's what happened so and then I just took up with accessible, barrier free homes and that specialty. So   Michael Hingson ** 15:17 was there any specific motivation that caused you to really deal with accessibility and accessible homes and so on.   Susan Janzen ** 15:25 Yes, and at the time, and just actually, my mom had been in a walker and on oxygen. I had quite a few friends who had mobility issues. And then just shortly after that, when I was a realtor already, and my daughter had a baby, and her baby at eight weeks old had a near SIDS incident. So she was eight weeks old, and Candace went to do the dishes one night at nine o'clock at night, and came back and calea is her daughter's name, and she was like blue in the crib. She was she had to be revived. So that was terrifying for all of us, and so it was wonderful news that she did survive, but she had occipital and parietal damage, so she has cortical vision impairment and also cerebral palsy, but she's she's thriving and loving it, and so that actually kind of Got me even doing more accessible homes, because now I'm a grand ambassador, and what's that called when you get out on the street and yell at people for parking in handicap stalls? What is that smart person? A smart person, and I was just passionate about that. I wanted to fix things and to try to make things easier for people as they should be, without having to ask in the first place. So yeah, so that's kind of the other reason I stuck to the that that area in real estate, and I just had the patience for it. I had the knowledge and the understanding and I and I really it was just easy for me because I did. I think it was because the passion I had for that area, and I just love doing it and helping other people   Michael Hingson ** 17:05 well. So how old is your granddaughter now? Now she is 12. Okay, she's 12. Now, does she walk, or does she use a wheelchair?   Susan Janzen ** 17:13 She uses, um, well, because she is as tall as me now, oh, she's using more a wheelchair more often, okay? She She walks with a walker. She can't walk on her own at all, and I think it's because of the vision, right? She if she could, you know, yeah, if she could see, she sees light. It's amazing how that how the brain works. She sees lights, and she sees color. And I can put up any color to her, and she'll identify it right every time, every time, but she doesn't see me. She doesn't see my face. Well, tell   Michael Hingson ** 17:45 me a little bit more about cortical vision. You. You and I talked about that a little bit. So Lacher, yeah, explain that to people. It's   Susan Janzen ** 17:52 really interesting because it's something that it's not readily out there, like you don't hear about it a lot. And even as a special ed teacher, I can tell you that I was trained in all of the different areas of special needs, but that did not come up for me, so this was new when I found out about it, and it just means that her eyes are fine. There's nothing wrong with her eyes, but her she's not processing so the information is coming through her eyes, but she's not processing that information. But she, like I said, if I turn out the light, she'll go, oh, the lights are off. Or if I put the lights on, she'll look up and be surprised at it. She you can tell that she knows. And then I used to put her on my counter in the kitchen, and I had these LED lights underneath my counter, my kitchen counter, and it had all these, these 12 different colors of light, and so I would put the blue on, I'd say, calea, what color is that? And she'd go blue, and I'd say, What color is that, and she'd go red. So it would be variable colors that I'd offer up to her, and she wouldn't get them right every single time. So that's the cortical vision impairment, and where they if she needs to pick up something off of a dresser, off the floor, for instance, it has to be on like a black background, and then she can see it, no problem. But if you have a whole bunch of things on the ground or on the table and ask her to pick up something, that's too much information for her, so she can't just zero in on that one area, right? So it's harder for her. So you just have to make things more accessible, so that she can see things you know, in her way.   Michael Hingson ** 19:25 But this is a different thing than, say, dyslexia, which is also you can see with your eyes, but your brain is in processing the characters and allowing you to necessarily truly read it exactly. And   Susan Janzen ** 19:38 that's that different part of the brain, where it's analyzing the the at least you can you can see it, but you process it differently. That's exactly right where she can't see. So then that's why I was thinking, if she could see better, I think she would be walking, maybe with a cane or with a walker, better. But right now, in that. Stage, we can point her in the right direction and tell her to go, and she'll go, but she's not sure where she is.   Michael Hingson ** 20:08 But that clearly wasn't the start of you doing real estate sales, dealing with accessible homes, but it must have certainly been a powerful motivator to continue with exactly   Susan Janzen ** 20:20 that, exactly that, because my mom was on oxygen, and she had, she had a lot of issues, mobility challenges. And I had a lot of friends who who were also like in that older age group that had mobility challenges. And those are the people that that were, may say, moving from a two story to a bungalow because they couldn't make manage the stairs anymore.   Michael Hingson ** 20:41 So how do we get people like the Property Brothers? Do you ever watch them and you know who they are? Oh yes, oh yes. We get them to do more to deal with building accessibility into the homes that they built. Because the the issue is that we have an aging population in our world. And it just seems like it would be so smart if they built accessibility and rights from the outset in everything that they do, because the odds are somebody's going to need it   Susan Janzen ** 21:11 exactly. And that's the for the forward thinking, right? You know? And it's interesting that some people, some builders, have told me that just to make a door frame three inches wider does not cost you any more money. But the point, the point is just that it's getting all the contractors on board to to come out of the way that they've been doing it for so long. You know, sadly,   Michael Hingson ** 21:38 yeah, my wife was in a chair her whole life, she was a teacher, paraplegic. Oh, so you know, I know about all this really well. And in fact, when we built this house, we we built it because we knew that to buy a home and then modify it would cost a bunch of money, one to $200,000 and in reality, when we built this house, there was no additional cost to make it accessible, because, as you point out, making doors wider, lowering counters, having ramps instead of stairs, all are things that don't cost more If you design it in right from the outset, exactly,   Susan Janzen ** 22:24 exactly, and that's that's the problem. Yeah, that's the problem. I mean, that's exactly the problem.   Michael Hingson ** 22:29 Yeah. Now we built our home in New Jersey when we moved back there, and we did have a little bit of an incremental extra cost, because all the homes in the development where we found property were two story homes, so we did have to put in an elevator, so it's about another $15,000 but beyond that, there were no additional costs, and I was amazed that appraisers wouldn't consider the elevator to be an advantage and an extra thing that made The home more valuable. But when we did sell our home in New Jersey, in fact, the elevator was a big deal because the people who bought it were short. I mean, like 5253, husband and wife, and I think it was her mother lived with them, and we put the laundry room up on the second floor where the bedrooms were, and so the elevator and all that were just really wonderful things for everyone, which worked out really well.   Susan Janzen ** 23:30 Oh, that's perfect. And that's, that's kind of what I do here in evident that I try to match the people who are selling homes that have been retrofitted and made more, you know, accessible. I try to put out the word that this is available, and I try to get the people in who need that. I feel like a matchmaker, a house matchmaker, when it comes to that, because you don't want to waste that like some people, actually, they'll some people who don't understand the situation have chairless For instance, they they're selling their house, and they rip out the chair. Then it's like, well, call me first, because I want to find you somebody who needs that, and that's exactly what they're looking for. Okay, so that's kind of where, how I I operate on my my job   Michael Hingson ** 24:15 well, and I will tell you from personal experience, after September 11 for the first week, having walked down 1400 63 stairs and was stiff as a board for a week, I used the elevator more than Karen did. Oh,   Susan Janzen ** 24:28 at that, but you survived that. And that was, that's amazing, but it   Michael Hingson ** 24:35 was, yeah, you know, you have to do what you gotta do. I think that there's been a lot more awareness, and I I've been back to the World Trade Center since, but I didn't really ask, and I should have, I know that they have done other things to make it possible to evacuate people in chairs, because there were a couple of people, like, there was a quadriplegic. Um. Who I believe is a distant cousin, although I never knew him, but he wasn't able to get out, and somebody stayed with him, and they both perished. But I think that they have done more in buildings like the World Trade Center to address the issue of getting people out.   Susan Janzen ** 25:17 It's just too bad that we have to wait for that, things, terrible things like that to happen to crazy awareness. That's the only bad thing. What? It's not like, it's not like we're not yelling on the streets. It's not like we're not saying things. It's just that people aren't listening. And I think it depends on if you're to a point where you are actually in a wheelchair yourself, or you have a child who's in a wheelchair now, now they understand, well,   Michael Hingson ** 25:43 yes, it is getting better. There's still a lot of issues. Organizations like Uber still really won't force enforce as they should. All the rules and regulations that mandate that service dogs ought to be able to go with Uber passengers who have a need to have a service dog, and so there, there's still a lot of educational issues that that have to occur, and over time will but I think that part of the issue was that when 2001 occurred, it was the right time that then people started to think about, oh, we've gotta really deal with this issue. It is an educational issue more than anything else. That's true. That's   Susan Janzen ** 26:26 true. There's a fellow here in Edmonton that, and I'm sure it's elsewhere too, but one particular fellow that I know, and he builds, they're called Garden suites. Like in Edmonton, we're kind of getting so much the population here is standing so quickly that the city is allowing zoning for they're called Garden suites, so they're just but he goes in and puts in like a two story behind the home, and it's 100% accessible, barrier free, and no basement. And so we're encouraging people to buy those homes, and they don't cost as much because they're quite a bit smaller. They're only two bedroom but they have everything that anybody would need if they had mobility challenges. And so it's it's perfect for either people who have a son or a daughter who is getting close to being an adult and they want their more a little more freedom and independence. They could use that suite at the back. Or I know some adults in particular who are have mobility challenges, and they just physically move to that new place in the backyard and rent out their home right to make home revenue.   Michael Hingson ** 27:31 Since it's two stories, what do they do to make it accessible? They   Susan Janzen ** 27:34 have, they have an elevator. It's a zero entry, and it's 100% everything in it is specifically so you move in, walk, go right in, and it's, it's accessible. That's how he does it, right from scratch. Cool, super cool. And so we're trying to, I'm trying to promote that here, out here, because I, I know the fellow who builds them, and it makes sense. I mean, even if you want to have a revenue property, right? And you want to build that in your backyard and then rent it out to somebody who needs that, then that'd be perfect.   Michael Hingson ** 28:06 It makes, makes a lot of sense to do that. It does. Mm, hmm. Well, do you think that all of the knowledge that you gained in special education and so on has helped you a great deal in this new, more, newer career of doing real estate sales.   Susan Janzen ** 28:25 Oh, 100% because it's just an understanding. It's just having the compassion and understanding what not, because I haven't experienced it myself, but I do understand what they may be going through. It's just an enlightening for me, and I I just appreciate what they're going through, and I am, you know, I want to make it easier for them, you know, to make any decisions that they have to make. And I try. I don't like, I don't waste their time like, I make sure I go preview the homes first, make sure that it's something and I FaceTime them first to say, is this something you want to even come out to? So I don't want them to be wasting their time or their energy just trying to get to a place that's not accessible,   Michael Hingson ** 29:05 right? Mm, hmm. We moved from New Jersey to Novato California, which is in the North Bay, which is now being just bombarded by rain, but Northern California in 2002 and when we started looking for homes, we tried to find a place where we could build, but there was just no place up there where there was land to build a home. So we knew we had to buy a home and modify it. And one day, we went with a realtor, and he took us to a house, and it was clearly a house that wasn't going to work. The this there were, there was no room to put in a ramp, there were lots of steps, and we pointed out all the reasons that it wouldn't work. And then he took us to another home that was really like the first one. We went to four different homes and. We kept saying, this won't work, and here's why, and it was like a broken record, because it was all the same. I'm so sorry. Yeah, you know, I realized that not everyone has the opportunity to really understand and learn about wheelchair access and so on. But people should focus more on on doing it. It wasn't like I needed a lot for the house to be usable by me as a blind person, but, but Karen certainly did. And what we eventually found another realtor took us to a place, and what was really interesting is we described what we wanted before we started looking at homes with Mary Kay, and she said, I have the perfect home. You'll have to modify it, but I have the perfect home. And of course, after our experiences with the other realtors, we were a little bit pessimistic about it, but she took us to a home, and there was a step up into it, but that's easy to modify. Then you go through an entryway, and then you can go left into the kitchen or right, and if you went right, you ended up in a little Nexus where there were three bedrooms, oh, and it wasn't even a hallway. There were just three bedrooms. And so it was, it was perfect. We still had to make significant modifications, but it really was a home that was modifiable by any standard, and we, we bought it. It was perfect   Susan Janzen ** 31:44 for what we needed. I'm so glad I love that's a good start. That's a good story here. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 31:50 she, she got it and and it's so important. And I think Realtors need to be aware of the fact that we deal with a very diverse population, and it's important to really understand all of the various kinds of people that you might have to deal with, but we just don't always see that. Needless to say,   Susan Janzen ** 32:08 that's true. Unfortunately, that's so true. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 32:14 So do you how? How much time do you spend doing real estate? Is that a full time job for you.   Susan Janzen ** 32:20 Well, it always has been. I've been full time, full service, so I'm on call, really is kind of what it boils down to. But I've also pursued, in the last since COVID, I've pursued coaching courses because that's something I'd like to get into. And so now I'm a certified Jay Shetty resilience and confidence coach, and so I'm kind of leading, I think, as I age and as I, you know, getting tired of I've been a realtor 21 years now, so I would like to eventually slow down in that area and focus more on coaching people. That's kind of where I'm leaning now a little bit, but I'm still full time up there. And singer   Michael Hingson ** 33:02 and singer and your coach, yeah. So do you ever see your coaching customers? Just check, no no   Susan Janzen ** 33:10 checking. I send them the recording. I'll send them my CD. You can go and get you could get two of my CDs on iTunes, so I'll send them there, or else tell them one of my geeks.   Michael Hingson ** 33:20 Oh, cool. Well, I'll have to go look you up on iTunes. I have, yes, oh, it   Susan Janzen ** 33:25 is a Christmas there's a Christmas one there. I think you'd like that. Michael, is it really cool?   Michael Hingson ** 33:29 And I have Amazon unlimited music. I wonder if. I'll bet there too. You   Susan Janzen ** 33:33 just take in. Susan Jansen, and I come up. I have the greatest love of all is my one, and the other one's called the gift for you, and that's my Christmas split. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 33:41 cool, yeah. Well, we will. We will check them out, by all means. Well, so when do you rehearse? When do you when do you do singing?   Susan Janzen ** 33:52 Well, the big band rehearses every Saturday. So we, we all get together and we do. So it's, I just, you know, I love the rehearsals, like it's so much fun for me. So that's what we do with my other singing. I still get I still get hired, especially during the summer festival time, I get hired to come back and we call it throwback Klondike dates. And I have one costume of all my costumes that were made for me this you can imagine my costumes is called that Kate were like, a lot of sequins, full dresses with the big furry bottoms and then the feathery hats. So I used to wear those. So I still have one costume that still fits me, and so I use that every summer, and I go out, and I'm asked to do different functions during the summer, and then during all throughout the year, I do parties, you know, like, what if somebody hires me to do a birthday or some special celebration? I still do that. Okay, so   Michael Hingson ** 34:47 how often does the big band actually go out and perform and earn some money? Or does that happen much at all? Not that much because of   Susan Janzen ** 34:54 the size of us, right? Yeah. So, you know, we've done, you know, like the 100th anniversary of Arthur. Is a dance floor. And so we did their 100th anniversary celebration. And can you imagine, like the dance floor was just, it was like I was watching my own show from from the stage, because they we did all the Latin tunes, and they came out and danced the Sava and the rambas and the tangos and everything. It was beautiful. So I got to so that was a really fun gig for us, and then, and so we do other big and larger functions, like in ballroom. So you can imagine a conference, perhaps that's having a big celebration will be the ballroom entertainment. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 35:32 you know, you're in Canada. Can't you get Michael Buble to hire you guys? Ooh,   Susan Janzen ** 35:35 wouldn't that be nice? He's got his own man. He's   Michael Hingson ** 35:39 got, yeah, he does. I know these old charts and yeah, but he occasionally brings to the choir. I know that we, we went to see him well. Karen passed in November of 2022 we actually went to see him in Las Vegas in May of 2022 that was the last concert that we got to do together. And we ended up being relocated from up in the balcony in what Henry, what Harry Belafonte, would call the scholarship section. We We got moved down to the orchestra pit, and we were like in row 18, even two rows in front of Michael's family, but we ended up being there for the concert. It was wonderful. Oh, and he walked out and shook hands with everyone while he was singing, and all that was a lot of fun. But, yeah, he does have his own band, but music's great,   Susan Janzen ** 36:36 so good, and he does that so well. Like my favorite show is the voice. And so he's a judge on there too, and I really appreciate input. And he comes off very Canadian. I think he's this is very friendly and very silly and fun and and just really caring too. So I think he represents us well on the voice.   Michael Hingson ** 36:56 He does not take himself too seriously, which is so important, I think for so many people, so true. He does so well with that. So true. Well, so we mentioned pada Palooza, and you have a podcast. Well also, and you, you've written a book, right?   Susan Janzen ** 37:14 Yes. So I've co authored a few books, and then, plus my husband and I Well, my husband actually is a psychologist. He wrote the book, I typed it, and then he gave me credit, because I kept putting in my own stories and and he would, he was kind enough to put my name on the cover. So and we wrote a book called living and loving each day. And that's how, why I made my podcast that same name, and, and, but when we wrote it, the full title is living and loving each day success in a blended family. Because at that time when we got married, I had the two children, and they were just under you know, they were nine and 10 years old, eight and nine years old, and his boys, he had three boys that were older, like teenagers, and so and his wife passed away from cancer. So we all got together. And I mean blended families, that's a whole nother world, you know, if you're not used to that, that's something else. And, and then it turned out that his oldest son was diagnosed schizophrenic, so that was something that we dealt with together as a family. And, and, and then yeah we so we just felt like this was our life, and we wanted to share that. But that's like combining two separate families together, and how that works, and the dynamics of that. So he wrote some great, great stuff about how to deal with in laws, X laws and outlaws. He called them Yeah, and how to deal with every family celebration, Christmas and Easter, everything you know, like, there's so many things that come up even think about until you're in that situation, like, how do you do it? Right?   Michael Hingson ** 38:52 But it's so great that you two made the choice to do it and to blend the families and not give up on each other, or any of the people in the family, exactly,   Susan Janzen ** 39:04 and that's in that's huge for me. And I can share a little story with you. Feel like the view is okay. So this is kind of cool. So this so when I was singing, and I was just at the end of my second year as Klondike Kate, and I was doing a lot of gigs, like a lot of singing and and I was just kind of cut, you know how they like you're, you see on the calendar that they're you're tuning down here. The end of the year is coming. The end of the gigs are coming, and you're not in that role anymore because they chose a new Klondike. And so those six years that I was a single mom, my husband now had his own radio show, and it was called that's living and there was a show out of Edmonton, and it actually won Canadian awards for this was a talk show during the day for one and a half hours, and it had two psychologists, and the psychiatrists were the hosts. And so on the Tuesdays and Thursdays with Dr Jan, that was my husband and I used. To listen every day because I had, I was a single mom. I really didn't have a lot of support, and I worked every night singing so and I had my kids all day. So it was just like my favorite show to listen to. And when I remember listening to and I heard this Dr Johnson's voice, I always thought he had, like, long white hair, long white beard, so he was just so calm and so compassionate and so smart that he was just such a I never knew what he looked like, but that's what I pictured him looking like. And then it turned out that right at the end of my my singing, I remember listening one day, and he was on the air, and he I was going to my agents I was driving down Main Street in Edmonton, and I remember going to my agent's office to see what was next for me, like, what's next? What next gig do I have? And I remember he came on the air that day, and he said, You know what, folks, I have to let you know that his he said, My wife passed away. And he said, My boys and I've been grieving since the day we found out six months ago. But I need to be here to be of service to you, and I need to be on the air to help you today. And hope you don't mind. I hope you understand, you know he was, you know, and it was, it was so emotional, and like I was sitting in my van, like crying, thinking, because I'd been listening to him all those years, and I just felt so sad for him. And then I kind of, I'm a God fearing woman, and I said, Lord, why can't I meet a man like that that needs me as much as I need him. That was my outside prayer. And you know what? It wasn't even a week and a half later, I get a call from that station, CTC, saying, hey, Sue, can you do a Christmas Bureau fundraiser for us? He said, There's no pay involved, but you can be MC and and, you know, help us. You know, raise money for the Christmas funeral. And so I was happy to do that. And so that's how, how I met my husband was when at that particular function. So that was kind of my, you know, and like, just an answer to prayer and something that I really, you know, it was interesting how, how that all happens when you are very specific and, and so that's how we met. And, yeah, so we've been together ever since 36 years now. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 42:06 as I tell people, you know, Karen passed away two years ago, and I don't move on from Karen, but I move forward exactly because I think if I I've always interpreted Moving on is you go on and you forget, and I don't, and I don't want to forget, so I move forward Exactly. And besides that, I know that if I misbehave, I'm going to hear about it, so I gotta be a good kid, or she's going to get me one way or another. Yeah, that's right. And so, you know, as I, as I said to somebody yesterday, I don't even chase girls, so you know, it works out very well, but you know, the the the issue is that those 40 years of memories are always going to be there, and there's so much to learn from that. And again, it's all about choice. This is so important well, so tell us more about the podcast on how long have you been doing it? How did that start? And and so on,   Susan Janzen ** 43:03 right? So I was actually my daughter has this a nonprofit where she was she works with other parents who have children with adaptive needs, and so she asked if I would interview her parents just to find out about parents stories and you. I'm sure you understand where you want to just tell your story, what happened without having to explain. And, you know, I don't know, just give all the, you know, the background to everything. They just wanted to share this story and to be heard on with no judgment and with compassion. So I said, No, I can do that. I can interview them, and I want to hear their stories. And they need, I think they need to share them those stories too, for whatever happened, you know, with whatever incident happened with their children. So, so I said to my daughter, I sure I'll do a podcast for them, you know, and just interview them. And then I only did it through zoom and not knowing anything about how to do that, I've been MC for fundraisers, but I don't know how to do a podcast. So I did that the best I could, using Zoom. And then I when I was done it, I liked it so much, I thought, well, I better figure out how to do this, like the right way, right? So I actually did take a course. And there was a lady out of Toronto that was giving a course called cash in on camera. And so she talked about how to set up restream, how to set up air table, how to do your mic, your lighting, and all of the things that you need to consider. And so I took that course. And so then I interviewed a few more people and a few experts for her, for her. So that's kind of how I got started, with just focusing specifically on on my daughter's audience. So those parents.   Susan Janzen ** 44:40 And how long ago was that?   Susan Janzen ** 44:41 That was, what, two years ago now total, because I've been doing my podcast now for just over a year.   Susan Janzen ** 44:48 And do you how many episodes a week? Do you do one?   Susan Janzen ** 44:51 I do one, but I, you know what? I've got 140 that I've done. And I'm thinking, I've got quite. If you in the books, you know how that works. Where you report I'm you, Michael, give me advice on this. So I have three recorded that are waiting for me, but plus I have 14 others that are on my book to interview like I'm getting a lot of interest and people who want to be on my podcast, which is wonderful, but then I got, now gotta figure out how to do that, or how to actually, you know, organize it. How often should I be putting out podcasts? Like every three days now, like otherwise, we're going to be going into middle of 2025 I don't know.   Michael Hingson ** 45:33 I started for accessibe, doing unstoppable mindset in August of 2021 when I started using LinkedIn seriously to look for podcast guests in 2022 and I use sales navigators, so we profile authors or coaches or whatever, and we'll send out emails saying, I saw your profile. It looks like you'd be an interesting guest. Would you love to explore coming on unstoppable mindset, what we do is then we, when they're willing, we schedule a meeting and we we talk about it, and if they want to come on, which usually they do, then we actually schedule the time, and I ask them to send me some information, as you know, like a series of questions that they want to talk about, a bio, other things like that, but we got a pretty significant backlog. And I've learned that a lot of people with very successful podcasts do have backlogs. Oh, good. There's nothing wrong with that. Okay, good. It's better to have them. You can always add an extra podcast if you want to play more, but we do two a week now, and just today, we published episode 286, wow. Since August of 2021, and so it's a lot of fun. I enjoy it, and I get to meet so many people. And as I tell people, if I'm not learning at least as much as anyone who listens to the podcast, I'm not doing my job well. I agree, quite invested in it. I think it's so important to be able to do that. So the bottom line is that we do get a lot of interesting people. I talked to someone just the other day who is very much involved in energy and healing and so on. Well, she also was a singer in Australia, had a very serious auto accident, and kind of went away from seeing for a while, and then she realized she started doing a lot of creating, of affirmations, but then she put the affirmations to music, and she points out that, you know, the lyrics are in the left side of the brain, but the music's in the right side, and they actually work together, and so by having them in a musical form, you you're more likely to really be able to internalize them. So she even sang one for us on the earth, a lot of fun, but, but the bottom line is that, you know, it's she also does her own podcast, which is kind of fun, but there is so much to learn from so many different people. I've had so much fun doing it, and I enjoy very much the opportunities to learn. Yeah,   Susan Janzen ** 48:29 no, I'm right there with you, and I think that's why I just keep going, because it's fascinating. And then, and it seems like the right different people come into my, my, you know, my area, just to ask if they can be on it. And it's, it always works out really well, like it's always something that else that I've just kind of broadens it a little bit, but I, I'm trying to be more focused this night, last two months now, in that, you know, in conjunction with my daughter and just doing the parents with accessible, you know, needs, or kids with adaptive needs. And also, some adults are coming to me now too, saying they've in their 30s and 40s, they were in psycho with ADHD, and so they're that diverse, neuro, diverse group. So, I mean, who knows where that will take me, right? I'm open to it   Michael Hingson ** 49:18 well, and that's what makes it so much fun. You never know where the journey is going to take you, or if you do, and you're all embracing it, so much the better. But if you don't know what's an adventure, and that's good too, that's   49:28 great. No, I agree with you, yeah. So I love how   Michael Hingson ** 49:31 many, how many pot of Palooza events have you been to? That   Susan Janzen ** 49:34 was my first one. I know I did not have a clue what to expect. I put you down as my potential guest, though, but I don't know how it didn't come up forward. So I'm glad we're doing this now, but I I really enjoyed it. I love the people, and you could tell we were all in the same room with the same visions and the same, you know, compassionate areas that we're working in. So. I was really grateful for a lot of the people I met, great people. Well   Michael Hingson ** 50:03 now you and I also have an event time scheduled next Tuesday. Do we good? Yeah, are you? Well, you scheduled it in my Zoom. But if you, if you, when you go look at your calendar, you'll see, I think what you did was you scheduled it, forgetting this was supposed to be a 60 minute interview conversation. But if you send me a link, this is live radio sports fans. If you send me a link, then I will come to yours next time, next Tuesday, at the time that we're supposed to meet, rather than you coming into the Zoom Room, where we are, or I can make you a co host, and you can record it your choice.   Susan Janzen ** 50:45 Oh, what? Hey, yes, let's do it. Okay,   Michael Hingson ** 50:49 I'll just, we'll, we'll get together, and I'll make you a host or a co host, that'd be perfect.   Susan Janzen ** 50:54 And then you can record it that'd be great. Or, I have three streams, so I can send you the link for that you   Michael Hingson ** 51:01 choose, but long as it's accessible to screen readers, I'm happy. And,   Susan Janzen ** 51:09 yeah, thank you for that, Michael, I did. We'll do that. You got it good. We're booked. Yeah, we are   Michael Hingson ** 51:16 already booked. So it's next Tuesday, so that'll be good. That'll be great, but it's a lot of fun.   Susan Janzen ** 51:23 Yeah, really it's it's nice to get to know people. It's really nice to know other people's journeys. And especially, what I find most fascinating is all over the world, like we're meeting people that we would have never met. Yeah, you know before. So I'm glad. I really   Michael Hingson ** 51:36 appreciate that I've met a number of people from Australia. We interviewed? Well, we had a conversation with somebody from Uganda, number of people in England and people throughout the United States. So it's a lot of fun.   Susan Janzen ** 51:49 It really is, yeah, so we're blessed that that's great. It's a   Michael Hingson ** 51:53 wonderful blessing. I mean, doing this is so enjoyable. I used to do radio in college, and so this the neat thing about doing a podcast, at least the way I do it, is you're not absolutely governed by time, so you don't have to end at four o'clock and and it's so much more fun than radio, because you are the one that's really in control of what you do. So it's it's a lot of fun, but I very much enjoy doing the podcast, right?   Susan Janzen ** 52:23 You're right is that if they start having to go to worship break and not have to take the time and stopping and starting, that is really,   Michael Hingson ** 52:30 oh, that people seem to like it. They they keep emailing me and saying they like it. And I, I'm hoping that they continue to do that. As long as people are happy with me doing it, I'm going to do it. And you know, as I tell everyone, if you know anyone who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, want to hear from you and provide us with an introduction, because it is part of what we do. And so, so much fun,   Susan Janzen ** 52:53 so much fun. So tell me why you Why did you choose that name unstoppable mindset?   Michael Hingson ** 52:59 You know, I was looking for a name. And I've heard some people kind of talking about unstoppable in their lives in some way, but I also thought that we really needed to define what unstoppable meant. And so I just thought about it for a while, and it just really kind of clicked. And I said, Okay, God, that must be what you want me to do. So we're going to have unstoppable mindset. We're inclusion, diversity in the unexpected beat. Love it and it's and it is stuck. And every title for people starts with unstoppable. So you'll be unstoppable something or other. I gotta think about the title, unless you've got some bright idea.   Susan Janzen ** 53:48 Oh yeah, you have to let me know.   Michael Hingson ** 53:51 Well, I'm trying to use something like unstoppable. Woman of many talents. But you know,   Susan Janzen ** 53:56 yeah, I don't have just 111, little lane. I love learning about everything, and I love open and grateful for every opportunity. So that's probably my problem. Yeah, that's our problem. That's not really a problem, but I know it's not,   Michael Hingson ** 54:11 and it's so much fun. So what are your goals for the podcast? How do you hope it will make a difference in the world?   Susan Janzen ** 54:21 I think my, my biggest thing is to say, you know, I've been through, I think it's showing people that they're not alone, that there are people out there who do understand, and there are people there that really do care about them, and that we want to provide information and services, and we want to hear their story. We want them to just know. I think a lot of people feel when they're in situations that are not whatever normal is, whatever that is even mean that they're just they're in isolation, and they're there's nobody that cares and that they don't matter. And I think my biggest thing in my coaching and in my podcast. Have to just say, You know what, we're here, and we really want to understand, if we don't understand, explain it to us. So we do, and that you're not alone in this, and we we're here to help, you know, to collaborate and to help each other.   Michael Hingson ** 55:11 Yeah, well, tell us a little bit more about the whole coaching program, what's what's happening now, what your goals are for that, and and how you're finding people and so on,   Susan Janzen ** 55:22 right? So the coaching my specific areas are confidence and resilience is my is my title, like confidence and resilience coach and I, and I'm going based on my past and the resilience that I've overcome so many different things. So I've got kind of a long list of things every time. So you talk to say, yeah, no, I that's happened to me, but, and just to, just to encourage people to come into either one on one coaching, or I'm going to have group coaching. And on my website, I also want to have drivers where we we create more value, so that if they're a member, then they can get more podcasts that are more about the how tos, like exactly, specifically areas that they might be interested in. And I also want to create a group where we can have, like a one day a week, coffee time, coffee chat, so we can get people together who are in the same boat, especially those parents with children with a breath of me, and just a place where they can just, kind of no agenda, just to chat and and I also would love to have, like a retreat by the end of the year. Let's all gather, and let's just have a day, you know, together, where we can enjoy each other's company. So that's kind of what I'd like to build with my, with my, with my coaching packages, and then also one on one, of course, as well. And that's, yeah, I would like to have a community, like, build a community. So   Michael Hingson ** 56:51 do you do any of your coaching virtually, or is it all in person? Well,   Susan Janzen ** 56:55 right now it's virtual, like, the one coaching I've done so far and but I'm open to either, like, I'm happy to meet people I don't have an office. Um, is that interesting? How, if you would have asked me that question before COVID, bc I would have just had an office somewhere, and where now it's, like, virtual just is so convenient. Yeah? Meeting full and just all the driving I've eliminated, it's been amazing. So, yeah, I would be open to eat it. You know,   Susan Janzen ** 57:27 how far away have you had clients from?   Susan Janzen ** 57:31 Basically, the ones I've had are the ones that I've had up till now. Really, interestingly enough, are local. They're more local people so we could have met for coffee. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 57:43 and still might, and we still, I'm   Susan Janzen ** 57:47 sure we will. I'm sure we will, because I keep in touch with them, and they're doing great, but interesting, isn't that interesting? It's a really good question, though, because I'm curious to see you know how far you know, the word will get out to come and join me, you know, in the coaching program, yeah, that'd be human.   Michael Hingson ** 58:08 Well, it sounds like a lot of fun. It sounds like fun, yeah, so why do you still continue to sing? Oh, I   Susan Janzen ** 58:15 can't stop I can't shut up. I just think it's like, even it, yeah, it's too hard for me to stop. It's my joy. That's where I find my you know, even as a kid, going through all the tough times I went through, that was my my joy. It was my vice happy place. So I just   Michael Hingson ** 58:32 so do you think that that singing helps others with confidence and resilience?   Susan Janzen ** 58:36 I um, I think, I think the the techniques that are used in singing, a lot of them are used in podcasting or speaking. A lot of them, we are speakers, for instance. And then they have, they worry about confidence on camera specifically, and when that where light comes on, or when the light comes on, and they just don't know how they're looking or how people are seeing them, those kind of areas, those are the things that I kind of tackle when I talk, talk to them and just explain it as a like, I sang the national anthem for a Stanley Cup playoff game. That's scary, like, that's that's really scary. So I mean, I know I've been there, and I know what that feels like, and I know how your body feels, and I know the importance of breathing, and I think one of the biggest things is just getting people to, just to take deep breaths. You know, when   Michael Hingson ** 59:28 you're when you relax and you lean into it, which I'm sure you do because you're used to it. That gives you a confidence that you can then project onto other people 100% Yeah, exactly. You talked about the red light on the camera coming on. It reminds me of one of my favorite stories. Yeah, right after September 11, I was interviewed on Larry King Live on scene. Oh, wow, wow. We actually had five different interviews, and when the second one occurred, mm. Uh, the the the producer, the director, came into the studio where I was and Larry was still out in California, and I was doing it from CNN in New York. And you know, when they, when they do their shows, everything is like, from sort of the chest up. It's mainly dealing with your face and so on. So for Roselle, excuse me, for Roselle to be able to be my guide dog, to be part of the show, they build a platform that we put her up on. Now she was just laying there. And the director came in and he said, you know, your dog isn't really doing anything. Is there anything we can do to make her more animated? And I said, are the Clea lights on? Because I couldn't really tell and he said, No. I said, then don't worry about it. When those lights come on, she will be a totally different dog, because she figured out cameras. She loved to go in front of the camera. The klieg lights came on, she lifts up her head, she's yawning, she's blinking, she's wagging her tail. It was perfect. Yeah, it's one of my favorite stories. But that is so great. I guess it's also the time to tell you that the name of my third guide dog was, here it comes, Klondike. Oh, really, my third guide dog, anything was a golden retriever. His name was Klondike.   Susan Janzen ** 1:01:18 Oh, that's and I know I'm public dates, and then you got two of us here. This is great. Yeah, that is so cool. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:26 if people want to reach out and get get in contact with you, they want to learn about your coaching programs and so on. How do they do that?   Susan Janzen ** 1:01:35 So I think the best way is, my website is this, www, dot Sue. Janssen, I'm just going by my short Susan. So S, U, E, J, a, n, z, e n, dot, C, A diamet, and that'll kind of give you everything there. There'll be a little video of my granddaughter on there. There'll be ways to get in touch with me and to book a call. So that would be great. And then we'll chat about it,   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:59 and we have an image of your book cover in in the show notes and so on. And so I hope people will pick that up. Um, I always ask this, although a lot of times it doesn't happen. But does it happen to also be availabl

From a song about dirty little religions to a song about Joanie the Jehovah Witness Stripper, we'll be going all out from up and down with genre celebrations from the past century where music reflects the inspiration from church on Sunday mornings following the barroom sinners of Saturday night. This week's Deeper Roots takes a bit of a free form shuffle featuring Bo Diddley, The Ramones, Johnny Mercer, and a whole host of rhythm makers. Performances this morning will span some covers from Chris Smither, David Lindley and an answer song from Barbara Lewis. KOWS radio wants to thank all of you who came out to the Comedy fundraiser at Barrel Proof Lounge last week. It was a great success for us and also a validation of community radio here in the North Bay. KOWS is free form, free speech, no bull community radio; just the kind of thing we need in a country gone mad with lies, deceit and hate. There is always hope. Tune into your radio voice, any time of the day or night. We'll always welcome you.!

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River! This week we recorded LIVE @ Fogbelt Brewing in Healdsburg to try the new 97.7 The River/Fogbelt Colab  - Beer:30 West Coast IPA 2025!  

This week on Canada Is Boring, we're diving into the wild, punch-throwing, referee-tackling life of Billy Coutu – the first (and only!) player to be banned for life from the NHL. From humble beginnings in North Bay, Ontario to becoming a bruising defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, Coutu left his mark – it wasn't just fists and penalties; there was drama, scandal, and a full-on riot to cap it all off.All our links:https://bio.to/canboringThis podcast is hosted two idiots and created purely for entertainment purposes. By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that the CIB Podcast makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions presented in this Podcast are for general entertainment and humor only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. However, if we get it badly wrong and you wish to suggest a correction, please email canadianpoliticsisboring@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River : RationAle - Non Alcoholic Hazy IPA!

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River : Cali Squeeze - Blood Orange Wheat Ale!

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River : Hardywood - Trader Joes - Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter!

It ain't just wine country anymore!!  Some of the best craft-brewed beers in the world are right here in the North Bay.  And Danny Wright wants to taste them ALL on Beer Thirty!  With help from the guys at the Sports Meats Beer podcast, catch new episodes on-air every Friday at 8:30am on 97.7 The River - This week Old Possum Old Possum Brewing - Gravity AF - Light IPA!   

Welcome to a very special episode that is launching during the week of  ‘Podcasthon'; the world's largest podcast charity initiative, bringing together podcasters worldwide to raise awareness of local non-profits charitable causes. And what's more timely and relevant right now, than delving into a discussion of behavioral health with an organization that has been servicing its clients for over 55 years.  Founded in 1970, Buckelew Programs encompasses a combined 137 years of experience serving the North Bay, here in California. With programs in Marin, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino Counties, Buckelew's mission is to promote recovery, resilience and Hope (something we're big on in this podcast) by providing behavioral health and support services that enhance quality of life through their 5 Core Programs: Counseling, Service Navigation, Substance Use Recovery, Supported Housing, and Suicide Prevention. Buckelew is tirelessly working to destigmatize the value of mental health, in the services they provide to foster healthy people and communities. Chris Kughn is Buckelew's CEO, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and has served at the helm of Buckelew since May of 2019 He has more than 20  years of experience in the public, private and, nonprofit behavioral healthcare systems. Prior to Buckelew, Chris served in several executive management roles in Solano County and the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, including Division Director of Adult and Older Adult Services. His passion and commitment to nonprofit behavioral health services began with his work serving adults, children, and families in juvenile justice, crisis stabilization and adult homeless systems. With a B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.A. degree in Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is a member of the California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies (CASRA). Chris tends to his own mental health through mountain biking, cycling, scuba diving, and a gift that I've had the pleasure of enjoying; a keen sense of humor. To contact Chris Kughn driectly: Business email Address: chrisk@buckelew.org Business website: Buckelew.org Buckelew's socials: instagram.com/buckelewprograms facebook.com/Buckelew.Programs linkedin.com/company/buckelew-programs   For more information about Buckelew's Bike + Hike 4 visit their event page: https://buckelew.org/bike4buckelew/ For more information on Podcasthon week: https://podcasthon.org/ If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to follow 19 Stories wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. It would be greatly appreciated if you gave a nice review and shared this episode well :-) To give feedback or a story idea: 19stories@soundsatchelstudios.com To listen to my demos: https://www.cherylholling.com/ To contact me via VO work, or to host your podcast, I can be reached at: cheryl@cherylholling.com Follow me on Instagram: @cherylhollingvo Theme Song Credit:  'Together' by For King & Country Outro Music Sample (for this episode): 'Big Chief' by Professor Longhair and Earl King Proverbs 23:18 "Surely there is a future, and your Hope will not be cut off." Until next time, stay Healthy and Hopeful!

Scientists have been tracking elephant seals in the North Bay for decades. Today, we check in on breeding season at Point Reyes. Then, we ponder the human tendency to ‘other'… and why it's time to focus on belonging. Building bridges across divides. At Point Reyes, ecologists have been tracking elephant seals for decades john a. powell on fostering belonging

New research shows that those north of the Golden Gate are less on board with a transit tax than the rest of the Bay Area. For more, KCBS Radio news anchors Margie Shafer and Eric Thomas spoke with KCBS insider Phil Matier.

Ontarians have now gotten to see the leaders face off on the debate stage twice - in North Bay on Valentine's Day, and in Toronto on Family Day. PC leader Doug Ford, NDP leader Marit Stiles, Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie, and Green leader Mike Schreiner took questions on everything from health care to what they like to do in their spare time. Were Ontarians watching - and have the debates changed the race? To discuss, Steve Paikin is joined by Erin Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Advanced Symbolics Inc., who's been tracking this election using Polly, the AI pollster.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week highlights from the Northern Ontario Provincial Leaders Debate in North Bay, a controversy over a turtle habitat near Blind River, curler Tracy Fleury returns to the Scotties, and we meet some table tennis enthusiasts in Sudbury.

Voters in Ontario will be heading to the polls on February 27. For some, in the north, the trip will certainly be colder - but what else sets their experience apart? What are the ballot issues that could energize people in the region, and are they prepared to send the PCs back to Queen's Park? For insight, we welcome: David Tabachnick, a professor of political science at Nipissing University in North Bay; Wendy Landry, the mayor of Shuniah, a municipality just outside Thunder Bay, and president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association; and Livio Di Matteo, an economist at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's show we talk with Mishel Kaufman, Chief Operating and Risk Officer of Redwood Credit Union. RCU is the bank we are members with and we absolutely LOVE all that they do from a member support lens. We knew we wanted to have one of their leaders on to share about why banking locally matters, and how your support for your local credit union has massive ripple effects within your community. We hope you leave this episode searching for your local credit union so you can find ways to keep your hard earned money in your community. Enjoy!   In this episode, we chat about: Credit union positives Benefits of local banking RCU's response to natural disasters   MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Empowered Money Academy CONNECT WITH TODAY'S GUEST:  Mishel Kaufman: Chief Operating & Risk Officer, Redwood Credit Union. With more than 17 years at Redwood Credit Union, Mishel is now responsible for offering strategic direction and oversight for member experience, call center operations, enterprise risk management, including internal audit, compliance, and enterprise fraud and security, as well as marketing, communications and public relations, and community and government relations. She has a B.A. in political science and administrative studies from University of California, Riverside and an MBA from Claremont Graduate University. About Redwood Credit Union Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. With a mission to passionately serve the best interests of its Members, team members, and communities, RCU delivers many ways for its Members to save and build money through checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, digital banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through Redwood Wealth Management and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU's wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $8 billion in assets and serves more than 485,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn for news and updates. LinkedIn Facebook Instagram X Youtube Pinterest   ABOUT PRICE OF AVOCADO TOAST: Listen in with Haley and Justin Brown-Woods, married millennials picking up the pieces from the financial fiasco they created as a young couple.  They want to normalize conversations about money and learn from others on the path towards financial empowerment. Whether you are just getting started on your debt-free journey, or if you are really starting to hit your stride, this podcast is for YOU!  Join weekly as they interview some others who have done it the right way, the wrong way, and every way in between. Avocado toast may cost a pretty penny, but that doesn't mean it can't be in your budget! FIND HALEY AND JUSTIN ONLINE + SOCIAL MEDIA HERE: Join Empowered Money Academy priceofavocadotoast.com Price of Avocado Toast Instagram Price of Avocado Toast Twitter Price of Avocado Toast Threads Price of Avocado Toast on TikTok Price of Avocado Toast Facebook Join the Price of Avocado Toast Newsletter OTHER LINKS: Apply for 1:1 Coaching With Haley & Justin Schedule a Budget Builder call with Haley & Justin Price of Avocado Toast customizable 12 month budgeting template   RECOGNITION: Audio engineer: Garrett Davis

For the first time in a long time, applications are open for Oakland's Section 8 housing. We're chasing the “white whale” of rental assistance. Then, cheese making inspired by classical music. And, we'll get a little preview of what's to come with our newest season of Uncuffed. Oakland's Section 8 waitlist open for the first time in 14 years California Foodways: In the North Bay, a temple for cheese is inspired by classical music Uncuffed Season 4 Preview: Back With New Stories!

Join us for an incredibly meaningful conversation with Tryfon Stathopoulos, a second-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the owner and head instructor of North Bay Jiu Jitsu in Novato, California—my home academy and a place that has been truly life-changing for me. Tryfon has been among the most influential people in my Jiu-Jitsu journey and personal development. His leadership, guidance, and the incredible environment he's created at North Bay Jiu Jitsu have shaped me both on and off the mat. This academy and its dedicated staff mean the world to me, providing not just a place to train but a community that has helped me grow in ways I could never have imagined. In this interview, Tryfon shares his journey from starting martial arts training in 2000 to becoming a full-time instructor and competitor. He discusses the challenges and rewards of running a successful academy, his passion for teaching, and his commitment to spreading the healthy and rewarding Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle within his community. We also dive into his impressive competitive achievements, including medals at the IBJJF World Championships and Pan American Championships, and explore his philosophy on training, competition, and personal growth through martial arts. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the most impactful instructors in the North Bay area and someone who has profoundly influenced my journey. Links: ⁠https://www.northbayjiujitsu.com/⁠ ⁠https://www.instagram.com/northbayjiujitsu/ Filming by Serani Agency https://www.seraniagency.com/ Editing by Monks Media Works https://www.monksmedia.works/ Buy Salt Electrolytes use code FWB for 15% off. https://saltelectrolytes.com/?fwb Become a VIP member for only .99 a month, get ad free, uncensored, early episodes podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/foreverwhitebelt/subscribe Instagram @foreverwhitebeltshow Go buy your Forever White Belt swag at teespring.com/forever-white-belt Linktree https://linktr.ee/foreverwhitebelt

Maurie was in North Bay to crash Christmas parties! Shem's Christmas song roasts us all. James Marsden chats ‘Sonic 3' with us. Did Mocha get an email from Michael B. Jordan? 

Jaypaw gets tantalizing hints into the Tribe's past, as everyone tries to help preserve the Tribe's future. Book: Warriors, Series 3: Power of Three #3: Outcast Support us on Ko-fi! WCWITCast Ko-fi Follow us on BlueSky! WCWITCast Follow us on Instagram! WCWITCast  What We Are Reading (Not Sponsored): Warriors: A Starless Clan #6: Star by Erin Hunter Come Closer by Sara Gran The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander Cat Fact Sources:  Purr-n-Fur UK | Adventures | Cats Riding on Trains Percy catches hops on miniature North Bay railway to visit Scarborough Sea Life Centre | The Northern Echo Percy the cat catches train alone to pick up a penguin | Irish Independent Youtube - Archived Video of Percy Music: The following music was used for this media project: Happy Boy Theme by Kevin MacLeod  Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3855-happy-boy-theme License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/