Podcasts about Westport

Today we learn how his daughter's ADHD diagnosis led to a better understanding of his own superpower, and how his ADHD has been serving him for many, many years. His bio is below. Enjoy! In this episode Peter and Bill Hamlin discuss:   2:14 - Intro and welcome Bill Hamlin! 4:45- So, how were you able to hyper-focus with all that financial responsibility? 6:56- Stock trading and related chaos.. those are places where the faster brain really thrives? 7:23- Was there something about the pits that gave you a sense of Zen, or sort of a quiet hum? 8:50- So then how did you train yourself to come up for air and get out of hyperfocus? 9:56- Tell me about how ADHD affects your personal life and the different tools you use to keep that part of you solid too? 12:11- Ref: Delivered from Distraction Peter's interview with Dr. Ned Hallowell 13:47- ADHD and addiction are very close to each other. Did you have a similar situation? 16:32- What do you wish you'd known back then that you know now about your ADHD and about sort of the way you've lived? 18:50- How can people find more about your reach out to you if they have any questions or if they want to share, if you're willing to give us some info on how to get to you? Mr. William Hamlin on LinkedIN 19:19 - Thank you Bill! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we'd love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse!  19:46 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits — Bill Hamlen was born in Schenectady, NY and raised in Bernardsville, NJ where he attended Bernards High School.  After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1984, Bill joined Drexel Burnham's commodity division.  While at Drexel, Bill worked in various areas including the international order desk as well as many different “pits” including all of the metals, softs, and oil pits.  He eventually landed a permanent position on the oil desk that included a year in Singapore where petroleum derivatives were just developing. After leaving Drexel in 1990, Bill worked at Rafferty Associates and United Energy brokering various energy derivatives.  In 2001, Bill joined Westport Petroleum, Inc. in their Singapore and London offices where he started a clean product trading desk specializing in the international arbitrage of jet fuel, gasoil, various grades of gasoline, and alkylates.  In 2005 he moved over to Westport's heavy fuel oil desk in Singapore and specialized in the international arbitrage of heavy crudes and fuel oil.  In 2007, Bill joined Vitol Singapore's heavy fuel oil desk and worked there until his retirement in 2015.  While at Westport and later Vitol, he sourced heavy streams in the USGC, Mexico, Venezuelan, Ecuador, Colombia, Russian, Bulgaria, The Middle East, Iraq, India, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesian, Thailand, and Malaysia among others.  He also supplied blended fuel to ships in Singapore as well as power plants throughout Asia and the Middle East including India, Pakistan, East Africa, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam as well as many other smaller destinations.  He also managed the complex hedging activities necessitated by all of these physical movements.  After leaving Vitol, Bill and his wife began a second career as real estate investors via their privately held Leeward Holdings with properties on Nantucket and in Hanover, NH. Bill was married in 1996 and has two daughters and the family currently lives in Hanover, NH.  Among other achievements, he is an Eagle Scout, a PADI certified diver, and completed a NOLS course as a teenager.  He has extensive open water sailing experience having participated on multiple voyages in the Caribbean and Pacific.  He is also the Chair of Planned Giving for the Class of '84 at Dartmouth, the VP for the Association of Planned Giving Chairs at Dartmouth, and has served many other volunteer roles at the College. Even his abridged bio is incredible!!  -- TRANSCRIPT:  — I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you're listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We've brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening!  Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it! — Hey everyone! My name is Peter Shankman. You are listening to Faster Than Normal. We have taken a hiatus. This is our first episode back in about a month and a half. It was a good holiday season. It was fun COVID times now. And, but we're back it's it's early January. Daughter's homeschooling again. And we are thrilled to be back with all new episodes. We have some incredible episodes that we've already recorded coming down the pike. You're going to be very, very happy with what you hear in the new year. So I hope you guys are safe and well and vaccinated. And I want to introduce Bill.  So Bill reached out to me after his daughter was diagnosed with ADHD in 2016 and he was based in Singapore and sure enough, I happened to be in Singapore right around that time for keynote. We weren't able to get together, but we did stay in touch and I found Bill's backstory and bio very, very fascinating. So I want to share it with you guys. Bill was born in Schenectady, New York and raised in New Jersey. He attended high school and Dartmouth. He joined a company in 84 called Drexel Burnham. I don't know if you, for those who are young and don't remember Drexel Burnham, Drexel Burnham was, um, one of the old school financial firms-the, I think the joke around that, around early nineties when things started to go south was that if Merrill Lynch and Drexel Burnham merge, would we call the company Lynch and Burnham. But I remember Drexel from the day and he worked in various and Bill worked in various areas there, including the international order desk, as well as many of the different pits, including all the metals softs and oil pits, and if you watched Wall Street And you see how crazy they get when they're trying to sell a stock or buys or whatever. Imagine that. 400 times the speed. He wound up eventually in the oil desk, he wound up in Singapore. He's got a bunch of stuff. He since reinvented his life, he started a second career along with his wife as real estate investors, um, in Nantucket and it Hanover New Hampshire, but keep in mind, he's ADHD. Because of that, obviously he couldn't just do one thing. He's an Eagle scout. He's a PATO certified diver. He's completed a NOLS course. He has extensive open water sailing experiences. He's competed multiple voyages in the Caribbean and Pacific. He's also chair of planned giving to the class of 84 Dartmouth, the VP of association, giving care to Dartmouth in addition to many other volunteer roles. Bill welcome. And you sound as crazy as I am. So it's great to have you.  Thank you, Peter. It's funny. My wife jokes that I over-schedule myself. And I always say, well, I just schedule to my maximum ability, and then you come to me with extra things to do and that's when I get over tasked.  Exactly. And I'm sure that goes very well. I'm sure that goes over very well when, when you explained to her that. One of the things that I find fascinating; you work the trading desks, right. And I mean, you started, uh, you know, after you left Drexel, you, you, you joined Westport Petroleum and then the second point trading in London offices, you started a clean product trading desk there, especially as in the international arbitrage of jet fuel gas, oil barrier, spades, gasoline, and alkalines basically, you were doing stuff where if you fell off.. we're talking millions or billions of dollars wiped off the balance sheet in half a second. So what I'd love to know, and I'm just gonna dive right into this. How were you able to, I mean, I know hyper-focus is a thing for people like us, but that would scare the living crap out of me. How were you able to hyper-focus that well? Um, it's funny. I would almost put it in the, oh, I w I would reverse that, that when I first got into commodities, everything suddenly made sense. It was like a, the Rubik's cube pieces fell into place. The what, what to some people looks like total chaos to me was order. And the sitting on a desk with a bunch of phones ringing South Paulo, Brazil would call Hong Kong would call and you have to place orders and all the various pits. It was easy to me. In fact, that was fun. It was like a big game. So I always feel like I never worked a day in my life. All I did was basically play games. The games happened to be commodities and, but it was making order out of chaos. That just seemed. Um, soothing in a way. And so what from the outside looked stressful to me seemed like fun, like a big game, really. And then going down to the floor, the, you know, I was kind of in a commodity training program. So I worked in every pit learned about every, you know, orange juice, cotton. Someone was out, you'd have to go over there, then go to the gold pit. And you know, all that chaos was, it was just a big game. Uh, to me at least, or it seemed like a big game and the game was to make as much money as possible. Um, at that point though, it was just clerking. I wasn't trading and, um, it, you know, but I basically found my home and I, and I think in fact, if you go to a lot of, you know, wall street companies or commodity companies, and you look at the trading desk, you'll see a bunch of guys with ADHD. Uh, a couple of sociopaths, maybe a psychopath and a, and a bunch of engineers kind of keeping it all together, but there's a huge concentration of people with ADHD in commodities. And, um, it's, it's not a given, but you, you could see them. It's just clear as daylight.  So it's one of those places where the faster brain really thrives? Oh, absolutely. In fact, it's funny a couple of years ago, um, I have a, uh, former colleague, he went to Duke really, really played lacrosse there. Um, and I was joking. I asked him about ADHD and he looked at me like, I'm an idiot. Like, of course I am, I mean, that, that's how accepted and common it was. Um, yeah. And so there's a lot of people that, that seem to gravitate, um, to that type of chaos and that, and find it, find harmony there.  I'm curious as to, how do I phrase this? When, when I get into a zone, when I'm doing something that I truly love, let's say I'm on a plane to Asia and I'm writing, I'm writing a book or something like that. I get into a zone and I just sort of have. I guess the best way to put it is this quiet hum in my head, that is my call it my hyper-focus hum. Right? And it just, no matter what chaos is happening, no matter whether there's turbulence or whether the flight attendants come over with food or whatever, the case may be, two people are fighting behind me; it doesn't matter that hum is keeping me Zen and focused. Did you find that the same thing? Was there something about the pits that gave you that same sort of hum for lack of a better word? Well, I would, I get what you're saying, but it's funny in more realistic terms when I was in Singapore, I'd be on the desk in a conversation, looking at a spreadsheet, you know, maybe calculating what something's worth, but on the phone at the same time, talking to someone I'd look up. And it was, you know, 10:20, and there was no one else in the desk because we had a meeting scheduled at 10. I would not even notice everyone could leave the room, I'd be there. And then I w- but it didn't just happen once, you know, it would happen over and over and over again. And I, I had to really work hard. To, to get out of that. Hyper-focus but I know exactly what you mean.  Well, what it's, here's an interesting question. What did you do? What did you, how did you train yourself? Did you involve other people? Did you say, Hey, when you're going into a meeting, you know, reach out to me, what did you do to get people into that? To, to, to, to get yourself, you know, helping with that?  Well, I can tell you, it is funny. Like when I was on the phone, if I was sitting at my desk, I'd get bored. Um, so I would stand up and pace around the office in giant circles. Um, just to keep my brain focused. That's just how my head works. If I'm sitting at a desk and not doing something else at the same time, I kind of get bored. So I, um, so I came up with little tools okay. Based around the office and I would have a more meaningful conversation. In order to make the meeting, I would just schedule reminders that, I schedule reminders for everything. I'm a big list kind of guy. Um, I have lists for everything and those lists I create helped me, um, you know, keep order.  Yep. Tell me about your personal life. So, so your, uh, ADHD is obviously very, very beneficial for you in this regard. Tell me about how it affects your personal life and what, what sort of changes or, uh, different things you've had to do to get there.  Well, the it's hard to go there without telling kind of the backstory of my kind of discovery. And it has a lot to do with our daughter, who, um, at a certain age, in fact, this is what gets me angry about ADHD. And this is one of the reasons why I reached out; because her journey and my journey, um, it's a very typical situation I think. She was in seventh grade. Um, and we got called to school. This is UWC in Singapore. Um, and to give an idea, the level of understanding of ADHD in Singapore is there are about 25 to 40 years behind where we are here.  I actually interviewed this doctor, on the podcast, a psychologist, the podcast from Singapore and she said, exactly the same thing.  Oh, yeah. It's like stepping back in time, in fact, so, okay. So w we go into, um, we find out that she's struggling in math, she's just above the red line. They wanted to put her in learning support. And I fought back the vehemently because I believe that once she got into learning support, she would never get out. It's like a black hole and. So we had her tested independently and guess what? She's very, her processing speed was off the charts. Um, in fact, at one point we had her tested again for something else. And the, the woman that did the test said, I've been doing this for 20 years. I probably test 15 to 20 kids a year and she's the first one that has ever completed one of the sections. And so, and we started, so my wife and I, we looked back and it at her school in second grade, they said, we think maybe she has an eyesight issue. She needs glasses. So we had her eyesight tested, we're scratching our heads. And, um, anyway, fast forward, she, um, she started on Conserta Yup. That's my drug of choice also.  Right. Okay. Then we read, um, uh, uh, uh, Dr. Ned Hallowell's book, um, Delivered from Distraction. Yes. And we started listening to podcasts and everything kind of fell in place. In fact, I forgot one key part of this. Is that, um, we had her tested and at the same time, my wife was reading the diagnosis of someone else that had ADHD and she's reading it and she's like, oh my God, that's our daughter. And that's when everything kind of fell in place. So it was kind of a combination of both the testing and, um, Yeah. And the reading diagnosis of someone else with ADHD. So at that point, I began to look back at my life and realize, huh, I like chaos at my own little Rubik's cube. All the pieces fell into place and I began to realize all the things I've been doing to cope. You know, I get up, I run in the morning in central park, when I lived in New York, I'd have coffee, I'd do all these different things. I needed to work out just to be able to see straight and, um, You know, so I began to see all the commonalities of the, um, Of the things I did to deal with it, and I guess it, um, and then I looked back at my career that, you know, for me, I liked playing games. I like eating good food. I like drinking good booze and commodity trading kind of combines all those things that I enjoy. And so, like I said, I never felt like I worked a day in my life. It was all kind of a big fun game to me. Um, so it was kind of perfect for someone who has ADHD.  Let me ask the question. Um, it's it's you're you touched an interesting point. It's one of those industries where, you know, you work hard, but you also play hard. Right? I mean, I know just, just my, uh, my, um, uh, financial adviser, right. Once a year, he takes me out to dinner. He shows me how my portfolio is doing and, and, you know, five drinks in right? He doesn't..you know it's not that we're going out to drink- you treat the client well, right, in any, in any sort of financial industry. So did that affect you at all? Did you, I mean, I know that I have a very precarious relationship with alcohol and a lot of that is connected to ADHD. ADHD and addiction are very close to each other. Did you have a similar situation?  Yes, that would be, you know, I probably, um, well.. It depends in New York one, doesn't really go out to lunch really. Um, in Singapore, in, in London, it's kind of a different story. So, and it is very much, um, well, I should say, if you look at say the, the world of oil trading, it's a giant fraternity and it's a giant fraternity, um, of people that know each other and entertainment plays a big role in, in that industry. So you work very hard all day and you go out and celebrate at night. Um, and yeah, it, um, it plays a big role. Yeah.  It never, it never affected you the point where you're like, okay, I probably shouldn't do this or I should cut back on anything that that?  Um, well, for me, I can tell you, it was very clear when I was in my early fifties, I began to feel, um, diminished resilience. And that was really more a function of the stress, um, that, you know, without going too deep into it, sometimes when you have huge positions, um, you walk in and you ready to have a heart attack. And for the first up until my early fifties, I suppose if I had a superpower, it was the ability to endure enormous amounts of stress without thinking about it and I began to feel that that resilience diminishing, and that was my body speaking to me and saying, Hey, it's time to slow down. So for me, the signal was more about stress and less about other things. Um, I also, as I said, always would get up and need to workout first thing in the morning or at lunch. And I think that. Um, I think that the French have an expression to drink enough water with your wine and need enough salad with your foie gras, you know, working out, um, was always a way to balance out that aspect of you know, of my life.  That's very smart. So tell us last steps. What do you wish you'd known back then that you know now about your ADHD and about sort of the way you've lived? That's a good question. Um, what do I wish I'd known before? Well, I think the, maybe I would turn that around a little bit and, and, and say that, um, I've heard that expression; it's like a Maserati engine with a bicycle brakes. And I think the understanding that ADHD can be a superpower was a transformational concept for me and for my daughter, but maybe more for young people. And I recently have had a friend whose son was diagnosed with ADHD and from the questionings, the line of questions he was asking, and from the tone in his voice, I got this sense that he'd been given some negative messaging from the school. And I thought, how tragic that was that, you know, it can be. And I, and I understand there's the, you know, there's a full spectrum for me. And I think in our family, a high processing speed is, is a part of it with less of the maybe other hyperactive issues. Right. And so we're able to harness that superpower and I get that it it's diff you know, everyone's a little bit different and that there are more difficult challenges that some people face but I think the understanding that, um, ADHD really can be a superpower is such a powerful message. And in understanding that figuring out how to channel that energy into the right direction, I think I was simply lucky to find something where I was able to channel it appropriately. Um, I don't think my knowing that I had ADHD would have helped me find.. I kind of stumbled into something that I loved And, but I think that, um, I think the, you know, to understand that people with ADHD have a superpower and it's important to try to find things in life well, ways to, to live with it, but also ways to channel it. Um, I think is the, is a message that, you know, I'd like to share because for me it was, it was a superpower. Yeah, I love that. What a great way to when it end., um, Bill, I really appreciate that. How can people find more about your reach out to you if they have any questions or if they want to share, if you're willing to give us some info on how to get to you? I'm on LinkedIn. That's probably the easiest. Sounds good. And we'll put that, we'll put that link in the, in the show notes. Uh, it's under William Paul Hamlin. [actually under Mr. William Hamlin] Thank you so much for taking the time. I really, really appreciate it. You're our first interview of the year and it was definitely a good one. We'd love to have you back in several months as well to tell us what else you're working on. Alright Peter, thanks, Happy New Year!  Thanks again guys. As always, you were listening to Faster Than Normal. We love that you're here. Welcome back! This is going to be a really great year. We have a lot of new things coming up. I'll tell you right now we have some open space; you want to be on the podcast; you think you have an interesting story? Let us know what it is! I'm sure if you, if it's interesting to us, it's interesting to other people out there and you can help tell that story and share the ADHD is a gift, not a curse. We've been saying that since day one, we'll see you next week. Stay safe, stay healthy. Wear a mask. — Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

It's busy, it's stressful, it's full of people in panic mode, but there's something uniquely magical about visiting a toy shop at Christmas. [audio mp3="https://media.radiocms.net/uploads/2021/12/22131217/McGreeveys_2212.mp3"][/audio] A new documentary, The Toy Shop, lifts the lid on what life is like for the shop owners! Following sixteen independent Irish toy retailers across a year, we learn about the magic behind the doors, as well as the issues they face. One of the featured shops is McGreevy's Toys Direct in Westport. The shop, which is over 100 years old, is in the fourth generation of the family, and recently made the move online for the first time. Speaking to Dermot and Dave, Donard McGreevy explained what makes the shop so special, how this past year has been, and just what brings the joy to the four walls of the toy shop! You can catch the chat by clicking play above, and The Toy Shop will be on RTE One on December 22nd at 9:30

The top headlines from The Kansas City Star on Wednesday. December 22, 2021 including: Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said he's bullish on Cerner's future in Kansas City, woman killed in a crash when a Kansas City firetruck collided with an SUV in Westport has been identified, an update on medical marijuana in Missouri and the list of Chiefs players added to the NFL's reserve/COVID-19 list grows to 13.

Dolores' son Andrew passed away from a heart condition at only 40 years old. Andrew was a single dad and now Dolores and her husband are caring for the children. WEBE108 and Temple Lodge 65 in Westport are granting her a WEBE108 Maritime Chevrolet Christmas Wish and giving $1,000 to Dolores' family for presents and more. Thanks to Duchess Restaurants for giving them $108 in gift cards as well.

The top headlines from The Kansas City Star on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 including: The first confirmed cases of omicron variant of COVID-19 in the Kansas City area, Software giant Oracle announced Monday that it has reached an agreement to purchase healthcare IT company Cerner Corp., Kansas City police have publicly identified all three victims in last week's deadly Westport crash and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly dismissed outrage over “critical race theory.”

Interested in sustaining native plants and vegetables on local farms and in your garden? We're introducing you to a spokesperson for Eco59, a newly launched initiative growing and providing ecotypic seed to restore native plants in Connecticut and throughout farms across the northeast. Then, we'll check in with our long-time partners at Homes for the Brave. We'll key in on critical work that agency is doing to support homeless women veterans transitioning back into community life, and a whole boatload of exciting news coming out of this organization in recent weeks. Then, meet the CEO from ElderHouse, a nonprofit serving Norwalk, Wilton, Westport, Weston, Darien, New Canaan and Stamford - enhancing the quality of life for aging adults and their caregivers through a broad range of trusted, compassionate, and enriching day services and home-based support. 

https://westportsocial-stl.com/

Peter Schiff is an American stock broker, financial commentator, and radio personality. He is CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut. We discussed the latest ructions of the markets, whether we need Central Banks, and of course the role of gold in the financial system ahead. … Continue reading "Seeking A Value Anchor With Peter Schiff [Podcast]"

Growing With Fishes Podcast. A podcast dedicated to growing aquaponic & cannabis and spreading information to the masses about sustainable plant production! Dr. Robert Faust IG: @the_og_bioag https://www.bioag.com/ Growing With Fishes Podcast Discord https://discord.gg/nqBf3bj Aquaponic Cannabis Clothing https://jellibomb.myshopify.com/collections/aquaponic-cannabis-conference-2020?fbclid=IwAR3P2ym57P0OXaAJHXozGLh8lQxxeE_SHwFiDYlLfTgYTW4lHnscLoew_7A Aquaponic Cannabis Master Class www.APMJClass.com or www.AP420.com Coupon Code: APMJ Marty's Channel APMeds https://www.youtube.com/user/mwaddell6901 IG: APMeds Fumidor https://www.youtube.com/c/FumidorandtheFlavors IG: fumidor_chibador IG: portlandcannabistastingsociety Steve Channel Potent Ponics https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkqYlFzKpbCXreVKPYFlGg Facebook group Aquaponic Cannabis Growers https://www.facebook.com/groups/1510902559180077/ Potentponics.com Aquaponic Cannabis Nutrients https://www.APMJNutes.com True Aquaponic Nutrients https://trueaquaponics.com/?ref=zQK0Q

This show originally aired on January 21, 2021 Ask any chef or home cook what ingredient they can't live without, and we bet they'll say onions. So many delicious things start with cooking onions. Onions are the foundation of the world's great cuisines. In this episode, we celebrate the onion. . .the most essential ingredient in the kitchen. Kate Winslow, author of the book Onions Etcetera, shares recipes and onion wisdom. Plus, we talk with Sefra Alexandra, aka The Seed Huntress, about her quest to revive the Southport Globe Onion. She's an agroecologist and ethnobotantist who has dedicated her life to seed saving and preserving the genetic biodiversity of the food we eat. You haven't met anyone more passionate about seeds and onions in Connecticut. And finally, we dive into the crop's notable history in Westport during the Civil War with historian Ramin Ganeshram, and Chef Plum shares his riff on a first-year culinary school classic: French Onion Soup. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email at seasoned@ctpublic.org. Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski produced this show. Guests: Kate Winslow – Author of Onions Etcetera: The Essential Allium Cookbook Sefra Alexandra (The Seed Huntress) – Agroecologist and ethnobotantist. Founder of The Southport Globe Onion Initiative Ramin Ganeshram – Executive Director of the Westport Museum for History and Culture, author of The General's Cook Featured Recipes: Red Onion and Goat Cheese Galette Grits with Scallions and Bacon Four-Onion Dip Ramin Ganeshram's Vegan Sour Cream and Onion Dip Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Host: Jennifer Bangser Taking a look at the VERSO STUDIOS Brendan Toller: Verso Studios Marketing Manager David Bibbey: Verso Studios Video Production Manager Travis Bell: Verso Studios Audio Production Manage

How can I make my marriage better even if there's mental illness involved? Is it possible even if both partners are diagnosed. What can I do to support my partner when things get really difficult? This has been a requested topic and I know that whether you do or you don't have a mental diagnosis in your family there's a whole lot for you to learn from this episode. Sharon McCormick LMFT has a private practice in Westport, CT and sees individuals, couples and families. She's got lots of experience helping clients deal with infidelity, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, OCD, relational conflict, etc. To work with Sharon email her at: smcpsychotherapy@optimalservices.com Connect with ST: LifePixUniversity.com

Today Mary is talking to Conor Ruane. Conor is a Community Water Officer with the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) covering Galway and South Roscommon. Conor works with voluntary groups to support projects focusing on the protection of rivers, lakes, coastal, and groundwater. Conor previously worked as a freshwater ecologist carrying out ecological surveys and river restoration works. More Information on LAWPRO; https://lawaters.ie/The Draft River Basin Management Plan; https://drbmp-vcr.ie/Funding for community groups; https://lawaters.ie/funding/Conor's Twitter; https://twitter.com/ruane22LAWPRO Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LAWPROteamLAWPRO Twitter; https://twitter.com/watersprogramme?lang=enRecommended booksWildingBy: Isabella TreeContact Conor Ruane atcruane@lawaters.ieContact Mary Bermingham atmary@burrennaturesanctuary.ieCheck out Burren Nature Sanctuary at www.burrennaturesanctuary.ieSupport the Nature Magic Podcast athttps://www.patreon.com/naturemagicShow websitewww.naturemagic.ie

Join us on Be Brave at Work as we speak with Randy Herbertson. Randy is a recognized brand strategist, conceptor, and creative director with over twenty-five years of marketing and innovation experience in the client, agency and media worlds, from entrepreneurial to corporate environments. Most recently, Randy has worked in the boutique agency world, owning and operating two firms, including Westport-based The Visual Brand, founded in 2013. He has a strong expertise in social media, digital innovation, packaging, industrial and environmental design. Randy has balanced his training and experience to play a key role in a number of product innovations and corporate transformations. He has spoken on numerous industry panels and is a corporate mentor to a number of emerging companies and individuals. Outside of his professional duties, Randy serves on the Boards for AIGA (American Institute for Graphic Artists) and the Westport Public Library. He has also been President of The Westport Downtown Association for six years and was appointed Chair of the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee in 2021. Links of Interest LinkedIn Twitter Facebook thevisualbrand.com mymovingforward.com A special thank you to our sponsor, Cabot Risk Strategies. For more information, please visit them at CabotRisk.com Please click the like button above and leave a review if your favorite podcast app has that ability. Thank you! More information about Ed, visit Excellius.com © 2021 Ed Evarts

Intro: buzzsaws and clean slates, rage, Where the Wild Things AreLet Me Run This By You: MoneyInterview: We talk to Carole Schweid about Juilliard, Phoebe Brand, John Lehne, Michael Brand, Midnight Cowboy, musical comedy performance, open dance calls, starring in the original cast of A Chorus Line, Bob Fosse, Pat Birch, Martha Graham, Minnie's Boys, Mervyn Nelson, playing Fastrada in the first national tour of Pippin, being a lone wolf in theatre, Lewis J. Stadlen, doing West Side Story at Bucks County Playhouse, Shelly Winters, Mary Hinkson, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, playing Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, Peppermint Lounge, Nick Dante, Michael Bennett, Marvin Hamlisch, Public Theater, Gerry Schoenfeld, The Shubert, the wish for a job vs. the real experience of working, Theda Bara & The Frontier Rabbi, Agnes de Mille, Play With Your Food, Staged Reading Magic, Albert Hague.FULL TRANSCRIPT (unedited):2 (10s):And I'm Gina Pulice.1 (11s):We went to theater school together. We survived it, but we didn't quite understand it. 20 years later,2 (16s):We're digging deep talking to our guests about their experiences and trying to make sense1 (20s):If at all we survived theater school and you will too. Are we famous yet? As more space is actually a huge thing.2 (36s):Yeah. I have to apologize for the sound of buzz saws. What is going to be going the whole time I'm talking, doing well, you1 (50s):Took some trees down, right.2 (53s):You know, that's how it started. Yeah. It started with actually, you know, it all was a surprise to me, basically one we've been talking about taking down all the trees in the front of our house. And one day Aaron said, they're coming tomorrow to take down the trees. And I'm like, how much did that cost? Because you know, taking down trees is usually really expensive. And so he says, well, he's going to do everything in the front for whatever. It was $5,000.1 (1m 22s):Yeah. She was pretty good for more than one tree. Cause one tree we had removed was $5,000 at my mom's.2 (1m 28s):Well, and it's not like they have to extract the whole tree. It's just, you know, just chopping it down. Like it's not, I don't know if it's different when they have to take out the, yeah,1 (1m 38s):I think it is when they have to take the stump out the roots and all that.2 (1m 43s):So that was fine. Although I did think to myself, Hmm. We have $5,000 to spend and this is what we're spending it on.1 (1m 54s):I've been there. Oh, I've been there2 (1m 56s):So the morning, but I'm letting it go. And so the morning comes and he tells me to go outside so we can talk about the trees and, and, and I, anyway, we, we designate some trees and they're all in the lower part of the front of our house.1 (2m 10s):Yes. You, and by the way, for people that don't know, like you have a lot of land for, for, for, for not being in the super super country, you have a lot of courage. I mean, you got a lot of trees.2 (2m 21s):Well, yeah, we have an acre and it's a lot of trees and it's a lot of junk trees. What they call junk trees. Because the idea here is once upon a time, when everybody got their heat from wood, you had to have fast growing trees. So it's these skinny trees. Yeah. Anyway, so I thought we were sort of on the same page about what we were going down. This is where I'm getting with this. And I had a couple of meetings yesterday and I was hearing the sound pretty close, but it wasn't until I looked outside that I saw, they took everything out.2 (3m 1s):The, every living thing out in the, in the front, in front of our house, including the only tree I was really attached to was I have a beautiful lilac tree.1 (3m 14s):Okay. Oh shit. And everything out.2 (3m 21s):What's that? Why they1 (3m 22s):Take everything out? Is that the plant? I think,2 (3m 25s):I think what happened was for the first couple of days, the boss was here. And then I think yesterday, the boss was like, you guys just go and finish up. And I don't know that anyway, you know what, I'm just choosing it to be, I'm choosing to look at it like, okay, well we're getting to start over and it can be exactly how we want it to be. So yeah,1 (3m 45s):That is a great attitude because there's nothing you can do you really do about it? Absolutely. Zero. You can do about threes coming out.2 (3m 53s):The only bummer is that it sounds like buzz saws all day at my house and at my neighbor's house, I'm sure they're annoyed with us too. Well,1 (4m 2s):What are you going to put? It is. Okay. So, so, okay. The good, that's the sort of wonky news, but what the good news is, what are you going to put in? Like, is there going to be a whole new,2 (4m 12s):I think it's just going to GRA, I mean, I think it's just going to be grass, which is fine. I mean, my thing was actually, it does a little bit of a metaphor because when we first moved here, we loved how quiet and private and everything is. And part of why everything feels very private at our house is there's trees and bushes blocking our view of anything. I mean, all we can see is trees and bushes when we're laying on the front, which for a while seemed cozy. And then it started to seem like annoying that we could never see. And actually there's kind of a really beautiful view of the mountains behind us. So our mountains Hills.1 (4m 51s):Yeah. But I mean, small mountains, like small2 (4m 53s):Mountains. Yeah. So I realized that it does coincide with our psychological spelunking and trying to just be like more open about everything. Like totally. You know what I mean? Like this is just be open to people seeing our house. This is open to seeing out and let's have, and actually my kids were kind of like, oh, but it's just also open and we don't have any privacy. And I'm like, yeah, well you have your room and bathroom. I mean, there's, there's places to go if you don't want people to, to see you, but let's just be open.1 (5m 31s):There's like a whole, yeah. It's a great metaphor for being visible. Like I am all about lately. I have found a lot of comfort and refuge in the truth of the matter, even if it's not pretty, even if I don't actually like it. So like getting the facts of the matter and also sharing the, of the matter without a judgment. So I appreciate this, like wanting to be seen and then letting go of what people make of that, whether your house is this way or that way, or the neighbors think this or that, I'm also the, I I'm all about it.1 (6m 15s):I'm like, you know, this is, there's something about transparency. That's very comforting for me. It's also scary because people don't like it when they can see, or they can say whatever they want, but the hiding, I think I'm pretty convinced hiding from myself and from others leads to trouble.2 (6m 37s):It leads to trouble. And any time you're having to kind of keep track of what you're, you know, being open about and what you're not, and what you've said, you know, it just it's like it's T it's listen. If I only have a certain amount of real estate in my mind, I really don't want to allocate any of it too. Right. Hiding something and trying to remember. Right.1 (7m 1s):And it's interesting, the more that we do this podcast, the more I see that, like, you know what I thought gene, I thought when we're dead, this podcast is going to remain. And then our children's children's children. I mean, I don't have kids, but my nieces and nephew and your children's children's children will have a record of this. And, and I'd rather it be a record of the truth, the truth and transparency, then some show about pretending. So I think it's going to be good for them to be able to look back and be like, for me, it's like the, my crazy aunt, like, what was she doing? And what did she think? And, and, oh my God, it's a record of the times too.1 (7m 43s):Yeah.2 (7m 43s):I think about that kind of a lot. And I think about, of course I say all this and my kids are probably like going to be, have no interests unless the, until they get to a certain age, I mean, I'll put it to you this way. If I could listen to a podcast of my mother in her, you know, in the time that I don't really the time of life, certainly before I was born, but in my life where I still didn't see her as a person until, you know, I'd love to just things like what her voice sounded like then, and that kind of thing. I mean, it's interesting.1 (8m 16s):I have nothing of my mom, like we have a very few, it was interesting because we didn't, you know, we, there was not a lot of video of my mother and today's actually the 10th anniversary of her passing.2 (8m 28s):Oh, wow. Wow. That's hard.1 (8m 31s):It is hard. You know, it is hard. And I'm working through, I started therapy with a new therapist, like a regular LCSW lady. Who's not because my last guy was an Orthodox Jewish man who wanted me to have children. Like it was a whole new, I just got involved in all the Shannon Diego's of like weirdness. I attracted that weirdest and whatever. So this lady is like a legit, you know, therapist. And they only bummer is, and I totally understand she's on zoom, but like, I I'm so sick of like, I would love to be in a room with a therapist, but I get it. She's in, she's an older lady, which is also great. I was so sick of having like 28 year old therapists.1 (9m 13s):Yeah,2 (9m 13s):Yeah, yeah. For sure.1 (9m 16s):I don't even seem right. Unless clients are like, you know, fit seven to 17. So anyway, so, but all this to say about my mom, I was thinking about it and I think what's harder than right. My mom's death right now is that there's I just, you know, and this is something I wanted to bring up with you is just like, I have a lot of rage that's coming up lately about my childhood and we weren't allowed to feel rage. And my mom was the only one allowed to feel rage. And so this rage mixed with perimenopause slash menopause. I mean, like I still get a period, but like, it's, it's a matter of time before that's over.1 (9m 58s):So, but the rage, so I guess, right. I get, you know, people like to talk about rage as some or anger as something we need to process and we need to do this and that, but the truth of the matter is since we're being transparent, like rage can be really scary. Like sometimes the rage, I feel, it's not like I'm going to do anything. Why wonky? I hope, but it's more like a, I don't know what to do with it. That is my, and I was talking in therapy about that. Like, I'm not actually sure. Practically when the feelings come up, what to do with rage. And I feel like it speaks to in our culture of like, we're all about now, this sort of like, we talk about this fake positivity and shit like that.1 (10m 41s):And also like embracing all your feelings, but there's not really practical things that we learn what to do when you feel like you're going to take your laptop and literally take it and throw it across the room and then go to jail. Like you, you. So I have to like look up things on the internet with literally like what to do with my rage.2 (11m 1s):I think that's why that's part of my attraction to reality. Television shows is a, is a performance of rage. That's that I wouldn't do just because I don't think I could tolerate the consequences. I mean, an upwards interpretation is, oh, it's not my value, but it's really just like, I don't think I can manage the content of the consequences. I'm totally at having all these blown up1 (11m 30s):And people mad at me and legal consequences. I can't,2 (11m 35s):It's something very gratifying about watching people just give in to all of their rage impulses and it's yeah. I, it it's, it may be particularly true for women, but I think it's really just true for everybody that there's very few rage outlets, although I guess actually maybe sports. Well, when it turns, when it turns sideways, then that's also not acceptable.1 (12m 3s):Yeah. I mean, and maybe that's why I love all this true crime is like, these people act out their rage, but like lately to be honest, the true crime hasn't been doing it for me. It's interesting. That is interesting. Yeah. It's sort of like, well, I've watched so much of it that like now I'm watching stuff in different languages, true crime. And I'll start again. No, no, just stories. I haven't all been the only stories that I haven't heard really, really are the ones from other countries now. So I'm watching like, like true crime in new, in Delhi.2 (12m 42s):Do you need your fix? I actually was listening to some podcasts that I listened to. There's always an ad and it's exactly about this. It's like, we love true crime, but we've heard every story we know about every grisly murder, you know, detail. And it was touting itself as a podcast of, for next time I listened to it. I'll note the name of it so I can share it with you. You know, about this crimes. You haven't heard about1 (13m 9s):T the thing is a lot of them now, because I'm becoming more of a kind of sewer. Like a lot of it is just shittily made. So like the, the they're subtitled and dubbed in India, like India. So you've got like the, the they're speaking another language and then they're and if they don't match, so then I'm like, well, who's right. Like, is it the dubbing that's right. Or the subtitles that are right. And, and actually the words matter because I'm a writer. So it was like one anyway, it's poorly done is what I'm saying in my mind. And so it sort of scraped scraping the bottom of the barrel. It's like deli 9 1 1. I swear to God. That's what it, and, and it's, and also it's, it's horrifying because the, you know, the legal systems everywhere fucked, but India has quite a system.2 (13m 57s):I think that to the rage, like, tell me more about what comes up for you with rage and where you,1 (14m 6s):Yeah. Okay. So some of it is physiological, like where I feel literally like, and I think this is what my doctor's talking about. The menopause symptoms. I literally feel like a gnashing, my teeth. Like, I feel a tenseness in my jaw. Like, that's literally that. And she's like, that could also be your heart medication. So talk to your heart doctor. I mean, we're checking out all the things, but like, but it's tension. That's what it really feels like in my body is like tight tension where I feel earth like that. If I had to put a sound effect to it, it's like, ah, so I, I feel that is the first symptom of my rage. And then I feel like, and, and I say out loud, sometimes I hate my life.1 (14m 54s):That's what I say. And that is something I have never allowed myself to say before. Like I, I think unconsciously, I always told myself, like, you just, you have to be grateful and you know, those are the messages we receive, but sometimes life just fucking sucks. And sometimes my life, I just, I just can't stand. And, and in moments, you know, I never loved myself. So it's mostly a physical symptom followed by this is intolerable, what someone is doing. Sometimes my dog or my husband, but even, even if the coworking space, you know, like the lady was talking too loud and I was like, oh my God, this is intolerable.1 (15m 34s):She has to shut up. So agitation, that's what it is. And, and then it passes when I, if I, if I can say, oh my gosh, I am so fricking in Rouge right now. Then it passes.2 (15m 52s):Yeah. Well, it, it kind of sounds like from, from you and probably for most people, the only real option is to turn it in on yourself, you know, like you're not going to put it elsewhere. So you've, you know, you have, which is, so I guess maybe it's okay if you turn it on yourself, if you're doing, if you're working, if you're doing it with acceptance, which is the thing I'm gathering from you, as opposed to stewing and festering. And1 (16m 21s):I mean, it becomes, it's interesting. Yes, it is. So it's like, so red, hot, and so sudden, almost that the only thing I can do is say, okay, this is actually happening. Like, I can't pretend this isn't happening. I, it I'm like physically clenching my fists. And then I, yeah, there is a level of acceptance. I don't get panicked anymore. Now that I, that something is wrong. I just say, oh, this is rage. I name it. I'm like, I feel enraged and white, hot rage, and then it, and then it, and then I say, that's what this is.1 (17m 3s):I don't know why. I don't know where it's coming from. Right. In this moment. It's not proportionate to the lady, like literally talking on the phone at my coworking space that she's not shouting. So it's not that. And I don't want to miss that. I'm not like I can't fool myself to think that it's really, that lady's problem. That I feel like throwing my laptop at her head. And then, and then it passes. But, but, but it is, it is more and more. And, and I think a lot of it, not a lot of it, but you know, my doctor really does think that it's, it's hormonal. A lot of it just doesn't help the matter. I mean, it's not like, oh, great. It's hormonal. Everything's fine. But it, it does help to make me feel a little less bonkers.2 (17m 45s):Maybe you should have like a, a whole rage. Like what, like a rate. Well, first I was thinking you should have a range outfit. Like, oh, for me, if I, I noticed I pee in the winter anyway, I pick like my meanest boots and my leather jacket. When I'm feeling, you know, maybe say maybe kind of a rage outfit, when did Pierce?1 (18m 9s):No, I, I scratched myself in my sleep. Oh no, it's okay. It happens all the time. I do it in my sleep. It's a thing that it's like a little skin tag that I need to get removed. It's2 (18m 23s):So you could have a rage outfit and then you could have a rage playlist, And then you might even have like rage props. I'm just trying to think about a way that your ma you, you could write because if, if how you process something is artistically creatively, then maybe you needed a creative outlet that's specifically for, for race.1 (18m 48s):Yeah. And you know, the, I, I love that. And now I'm thinking about like, as a kid, we, because we, anger was so off limits to us. I used to violently chew gum. Like I would chew on the gum. That was a way, and my mom did the same thing, even though she also got her rage out, but it was like, you know, when people violently chew on their gum, like that was a way I could get my aggression out. That's so sad that that's like the only way.2 (19m 16s):Well, I mean, you find it wherever you can find me. It's like water looking for whatever that expression is, right? Yeah. Huh. Well, I have to get more in touch with my rage because I I'm told that I seem angry a lot.1 (19m 33s):You do.2 (19m 35s):I, I do get told that, but, but that sucks for me because I feel like I'm not expressing my anger and I'm, but I'm not. So I'm not, and I'm being seen as angry at certain times. So that means I didn't even get the benefit of like letting out the anger that somebody is.1 (19m 56s):Right. You didn't even get to act out the anger. It's like, yeah. So for me, miles tells me that all the time, like, he's like, you seem really in couples therapy. Also, I have to admit yesterday was a big day. We had couples therapy on zoom. Then I had individual therapy. And in between I had all kinds of like, just stuff happening. So, but yeah, I'm told I a miles is like, you seem so angry and he's not wrong. And, and we take it out on the people that we live in a two by four apartment with. So I also feel like this office space is helping with that, but yeah, I dunno, I'm going to have to keep exploring my, my rage and that's what it is.1 (20m 37s):And also it is like, I am the character in where the wild things are that kid, that is what I feel like. And it feels it's like the perfect cause he wants to gnash his teeth and, and he does, and a thrash, thrash, thrashing mash, or the words 2 (21m 6s):Let me run this by you that I wanted to do when we're going to talk to Molly that we didn't get to do. And it was based on made, you know, and just about money and, and wondering like what your relationship is right now with money. And also, but when were you at your lowest with money? What do you remember as being your lowest moment? Sure, sure. With money with money.1 (21m 40s):Okay. I have moments of what first comes to mind was when right. I was at DePaul. So it's an apropos in college and there was obviously a sense. I had a sense of lack, always, even though based on whatever, but it was phone. Somehow my accounts were always negative, right? Like, and I would call the number, the banking number, incessantly to check, and it would always be negative. So I have this panic thoughts about that. Like being a time of like, and that's not the only time that happened like that.1 (22m 23s):Where, what is the feeling? The feeling was that, and this was in college where it started to happen, where I felt like there's never enough. No, one's going to help me. I'm irresponsible with money. Was the message I told myself and I probably was, I was in college, but I can't handle money. And literally that, that panic was also, I mean, it was true. I had no money, but my parents would have backed me, probably helped me out, but I was too scared to ask for help. So that's like, that's when, when you asked that question, that's where I go.1 (23m 4s):But, but that's also a college kind of me. So like in terms of an adult, me, that's a really great, great question. My lowest, I don't know. What about you?2 (23m 22s):Well, I've got a lot of Loma Loehmann's moments with money when I was in high school. The thing was, I lost my wallet all the time.1 (23m 35s):Oh, I remember this. I remember you talking about,2 (23m 38s):Yeah, that'd be still lose stuff all the time. That actually started at a young age with, you know, my mom would, she, my mom was really into jewelry and she would buy me destroyed. And there's nothing wrong with the fact that she brought me jewelry, but I lost it. You know, she buy me nice gold jewelry1 (23m 59s):Because she likes nice things. That's right. Yeah.2 (24m 4s):In college it was pretty bad. And the first time it was pretty bad. I had to move back in with my mom because I couldn't afford rent. And then the second time I just, I re I really, if I had more bravery, I probably would have signed up to be one of those girls in the back of the Chicago reader. Like, I, I, I just figured what ha how literally, how else? Because I had a job, but I only worked however much I could work given the fact that we were in rehearsals and like busy all day, so I never could make enough money. And then I just, I think I always have had a dysfunctional relationship with money.1 (24m 51s):Wait a minute, but I have to interrupt. Why, why didn't our parents fucking help us? Okay. Look, I know I sound like a spoiled asshole brat, but like, when I think of the anxiety that we were going through and I know your mom did, so I'm not going to talk shit about your mom or anything, but I'm just saying like, why did we feel so alone in this when we were so young, this is not right.2 (25m 11s):Yeah. Well, my mom did help me out as much as she possibly could, but I think part of it too, my dad certainly didn't think it was that. I mean, when my mom was 18 and my dad was 19, they bought a house and had a baby. So I think part of it is, has been like, what's the matter with you? Cause I didn't go to college, you know, that's the other thing. So, so then when I, then I had a period for like 10 years where I always had three jobs, me two, what1 (25m 46s):Did you have enough then? I mean like, could you make rapid enough?2 (25m 49s):I had enough then yeah, I had enough then. But then when Aaron decided he wants to go to medical school, it was really on me to, to bring in the income. I mean, his parents always gave him money. They helped, it was a lot more. I mean, and actually it's why he became a therapist because I thought, well, we're going to be living with no income because he's going to be a student. Right. So I better giddy up and get a job. So the whole time I was in social work school, I was bartending. I remember that. And then I went quickly into private practice so that I could make money.2 (26m 29s):And it turned out to be, it turned out to backfire on me. Tell1 (26m 35s):Me, tell me, tell me more.2 (26m 37s):It backfired in two ways. Number one, I was, I shouldn't have been operating a private practice without my LCSW. I had my MSW and I was working at the time in a psych hospital. And all of the psychiatrist said, you should start your private practice. You should start your private practice. And I remember saying at the beginning, I don't know if I'm allowed to oh yes, yes. You definitely can. I know tons of MSWs into plenty of people and it's true. I don't know if it's still true now in New York, but at that time you could walk around and see plenty of nameplates for offices where somebody in private practice and that just have an MSW.2 (27m 18s):They just had to have a supervisor1 (27m 19s):Or something.2 (27m 22s):I don't know. Okay. I dunno. Right. So that ended up coming to haunt me when a disgruntled patient. And they're all disgruntled in some way, a family who actually had been swindled by a con artist, like they, they were a blue blood, rich ass family and they got swindled by a con artist. And so they were talking about rage. They had a lot of rage about that. When this guy who was paying for his daughter's treatment, didn't think it was going where, you know, he wanted it to right.2 (28m 4s):He started pushing back about the fee and then he was submitting to his insurance company and they were not reimbursing because I didn't have the LCSW. So then he reported me to the New York state office of professional discipline or1 (28m 21s):Whatever yeah.2 (28m 21s):Regulation or whatever. Yeah. And I ha I had to go through a whole thing. I had to have a lawyer and I had to go, yeah, yeah. It was a nightmare. It was a complete and total nightmare. And I, and I said nothing, but like, yeah, I did that. I did do that. And I did it because I needed to make the money. I mean, in some ways I don't regret it because I did it worked for the time that it worked. And then by the time it stopped working, I was ready to leave private practice anyway. Oh my God. Yeah. But then it also backfired because we were taking in this money, which we desperately needed living in New York city with two kids.2 (29m 3s):And, and we were, we were spending it all and not hold withholding any for taxes. So then that started, that started, that started almost 10 year saga of just, I mean, I, it's embarrassing to even say how much money we've paid in just in fees, compounded fees. Nope. I'm sure. In the last 10 years we've given the government a million dollars.1 (29m 29s):That sounds, that sounds about right. And you know, I think the thing with money too, is the amount of forgiveness I've need to muster up for the financial decisions that I have made. So one of them that I'm super embarrassed about is that, and I, and I hear you when it's like, yeah, I, it, it's embarrassing. I, I, when I did my solo show, I inherited the year that my mom died. My great aunt also died, who I very barely knew. And I inherited like, like a lot of money. Well, to me, a lot, like 50 grand from her, and I spent 15,000 on a publicist for my solo show that did nothing.1 (30m 14s):So I was swindled. Oh,2 (30m 17s):I'm so sorry to hear that. That really did nothing.1 (30m 22s):I could have done it all on my own. I could have done it all on my own, on drugs, in a coma. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, like, come on. So I have done made some questionable decisions. I did the best we did the best we could with, with the information that we all had at the time. I would never make that decision. I wouldn't, I will never make that mistake again. So yeah. Money is very, very, obviously this is so like kind of obvious to say, but it is, it is. So it is a way in which we really, really use it to either prize or shame ourselves. Right. And, and, and w I do it either way, like I do it.1 (31m 2s):Oh, I'm so fancy. I inherited this dough. And then I also do it. It's that thing that they talk about in program, which is like, you're the worm, but you're the best worm for the festival, special worms. And like, you're not a worker among workers. I'm just like the best idiot out there. It's like,2 (31m 18s):Dude. Yeah. And you're making me realize that money might be the only very quantifiable way of understanding your psychology list. The money is like, understanding your psychology through math. It's going okay. If you're a person like me who gets offered a credit card at age 20 totally signs up and, and immediately maxes it out at whatever, to get 27% interest rate. So whatever little thousand dollars of clothes I got, I probably paid $10 for it. And for the longest time. So, so that's me being afraid of the truth of my financial situation, being unwilling to sacrifice, having, you know, whatever, cute clothes being about the immediate gratification of it all and not thinking longterm.2 (32m 15s):Yeah.1 (32m 16s):Okay. Well, not asking for help either. Like, like, I don't know who I'd asked, but someone had to know more than me. I didn't ask my parents. They didn't really know what was happening at, or that just was their generation of like, not teaching us about money. It was sort of like, good luck. Get it together. We got it together. You get it together. Okay. Fine. But like unwillingness and fear to ask, to be taught something about money. Like, I didn't know, Jack shit about credit or interest Jack shit.2 (32m 46s):Yeah. And I recently realized that I'm basically redoing that with my kids, because we supposedly have this allowance. Only one of my kids ever remembers to ask for it because you know, only one of my kids is very, you know, very interested in money, but like, in a way I can understand why the others don't because it's like, well, anytime they want something, I pay for it. I never say sometimes I'll say recently, I've gotten better about saying, if we're going to go back to school shopping I'll especially if the oldest one, I'll say, this is your budget. If you, if you spend it all on one pair of sneakers, then I hope you're okay with your sweat pants that don't fit and wear them everyday for the rest of the school year.2 (33m 31s):Right. But it's, we've, we've just been extremely inconsistent in tying, like, for example, chores to your allowance,1 (33m 42s):It's fucking miserable and hard. And I have trouble doing that for myself. I wouldn't be able to do that for my children. If I had children, I can't not give the dog people food. What are you talking about? How am I going to bring it? Doesn't shock me. We didn't learn the skills and I'm not blaming. I mean, I'm blaming, of course my parents, but I'm also just saying, it's just the facts. If we're going to be that in the truth, like, I didn't learn, I didn't educate myself and nobody educated me. So I'm really learning through trial and error. Mostly error, how to be okay with money. And it is you're right. Like finances, romance, and finance teach us the most about our psychology.2 (34m 24s):Yeah. Yeah. Romance finance. I love that. 1 (34m 28s):I think that my boss at Lutheran social services to say all the time, finance and romance, romance, and finance, that's what all these addictions are about is that's how you see them. I'm like, she's right. I mean, she was, I liked her. She was bonkers, but I liked her. She said some good. She, she also is famous for saying, and she didn't say it, but she would always quote, the, no one gets out of here alive. You know, none of us getting out of here life, we might as well start2 (34m 54s):. Well, today on the podcast, we were talking to Carol Schweid and original cast member of the original production of a chorus line on Broadway. She's got great stories to tell she's a fascinating person. And I think you're going to really enjoy this conversation with Carol Schweid. Exactly. Carol shrine. Congratulations. You survived theater school. I did. You did.2 (35m 34s):And where did you go to theater school. Okay. First of all,3 (35m 38s):Let me just take my coffee, my extra coffee off of the stove and put it on my table. Cause it's gonna burn because we don't want that.4 (35m 51s):Okay. You're I am looking for a cop. If you have one, you know, this is ridiculous.3 (36m 2s):Hi there. Hi. This is a riot that you talk about surviving theater school. I think it's great. Okay. So this is working, right? You can hear me. Yeah, no, totally. A hundred percent. So this is my, I started college at Boston university. I was an acting major, which I loved. I really did, but I, what I loved more than anything was I loved the history of the theater. We had a great professor who told the tales of the gladiators and the, you know, the gladiators on the island and the fighting, and then the island, the survivors, and then the island would slowly sink into the water.3 (36m 45s):What is this? What did I miss? It was the early history of the theater. It was starting on the church steps. It was, you know, the second, whatever all of that history was, I found it really interesting. I also loved the station shop crew stuff. I liked learning about lighting. I was terrible at it. I, you know, I would fall off ladder, but I, I, I enjoyed the backstage stuff as much as I enjoy. I just, I liked it. I, we did the rose tattoo and my, and my first job was to take care of the goat. I was on the prop crew.3 (37m 28s):I took care of the goat. Was it a stuffed goat? No, it was a real goat. Wow. What can I tell you? The rose tattoo. There's a goat in the play. I didn't realize you could have livestock and colleges, college, whatever it was. I look like I have jaundice with is that something's wrong with the light jump I sent you stop your, where is the microphone part of your, do you want me to hold it up better? Because when you move, it hits your shirt and it makes like a scratching, right? That's right. I'll do it this way. I won't move around. When you look tan, you look, you don't like jaundice at all. Okay. Well then that's all right. Good. Thanks. Were the goat handlers.3 (38m 8s):Good to talk to you. I mean, that was, and I didn't mind, I didn't mind being an usher. All of those things, you know, I remember somebody sitting us down and saying, you're you are the first person. The audience we'll meet tonight as an usher. I took all of the stuff I did, but the acting business was very confusing to me. I didn't quite know. I had done a lot of theater and dancing and been in the shows and stuff, but I really, I was a little more of a dancer than an actor. I'd taken class in the city. I'd followed some cute guy from summer camp to his acting class. But half the time, I honestly didn't understand a word.3 (38m 48s):Anybody said, I just, nobody does. I really didn't get it so much at the time I loved it, but I didn't always get it. And for some reason, and I have no idea where this, why this happened. I had a boyfriend in summer stock whose mother worked at Barnard and her best friend was a woman named Martha Hill. Martha Hill ran the dance department at a school called Julliard. Nope. I had no idea. Cool. Just a little, nothing school. This is back in the day. It's a long time ago. It was just a plain old school. It wasn't like a school, you know, where you bow down. And I really was a very good dancer and always loved dancing.3 (39m 33s):You know, I've been dancing since I'm like a kid, a little five or six or whatever. So I was a little disenchanted with my successes at Boston U even though I had friends, I was having a great time. I mean, Boston in the late sixties was amazingly fun, but I felt like I wasn't getting it. I mean, it wasn't a school that was cutting people. Thank God, because that would have been torture. I don't know how anybody survives that, but I audition for this dance department in this school called Juilliard and got in and then told my parents that I was going to change colleges. I remember making up a dance in the basement of my dorm in Boston.3 (40m 17s):Cause you had a sort of take class and then you had to show something that you should have made up. And somebody else from college was leaving school to come to New York to be a singer. So we decided we were going to be roommates. And then we had a summer stock. Somebody at BU started some summer theaters. So I had a job or two, I think I had some friends from there. So I ended up moving, changing colleges and going to Juilliard. And I spent three years there. I was a modern dancer major. So we had the Limone company, including Jose Lamone wow teachers and the Graham company.3 (40m 59s):I mean, Martha, Martha Graham did not teach, but her company did as a winter and Helen, I was Helen McGee. One of the, they were maniacs. I mean, they're, they're like gods and goddesses and their whole life is about dance. And I was one of those demonstrators for her eight o'clock beginning class, my third year of school. I mean, I, it was all about technique. We had amazing ballet teachers. We had Fiorella Keane who, I mean, Anthony tutor taught class there and he was Anthony. I mean, so I got a out of being at that school that I have never lost. I mean, I can, I'm making up the answers for high school kids now really.3 (41m 42s):I'm just finishing up a production of grease, which is really kind of boring, but whatever I liked Greece, tell me more. Yeah. It's okay. If you hear it enough, you really get sick of it. Well, that's true. Yeah. I mean high school kids doing high school kids is like, Jesus, God, you just want to slit your throat. The moodiness when it comes to the girls. I mean, I love them. I really love them. I love the guys because puppies, they fall all over each other and they're fabulous, but that's a lie anyway. So I did something that I don't know why I did it and how it worked out. That way I left. I had a very best friend in college that was, you know, and I came to New York and made, made and shared an apartment with this slightly crazy woman.3 (42m 32s):And a year later I got myself a studio apartment on west end avenue and 71st street. And my mom co-signed the lease. And I spent three years dancing, honestly dancing almost every day. I wanted to take sights singing, but they wouldn't let me because I was in the dance department. And I didn't know, you could advocate for that. Sure. I didn't know. You could take classes at Columbia. I mean, who had time anyway, but was it a three-year program? It was a four year program, but I had taken a music class at BU that was like music appreciation one. Yeah. And for whatever reason, they gave me credit for that.3 (43m 14s):So I had a full year credit. Yep. Three years of Juilliard where I really worked my tail off. What's weird about it is that I am, you know, just a plain old Jewish girl from New Jersey, you know, a middle-class Jewish girlfriend. And to, to think that I could have a profession where people don't talk and don't eat, which is what the answers do is a riot to me. Yeah. Yeah. It's an absolute riot because you know, I mean, that should be basically the manual for dancers. Don't talk, don't eat, but I always knew that I was heading to Broadway. I really have always wanted to do that.3 (43m 55s):And I, and, and w was not really ever in question that I would, I somehow assumed if I worked hard and figured it out enough, I would find my way to working on Broadway. And I, and I made the right choice in the sense of switching colleges. Because in the seventies, if you look at your list of Broadway shows, all the directors were choreographers. They were all dancers, all of them Fauci, Michael Bennett champion, all of them. So I started working when I got out of school, you know, it was, and I had already done a couple of summers of summer stock and I did a summer Bushkill pencil, you know, these ridiculous, stupid theaters all over, but it was a blast.3 (44m 36s):It was fun. Where, what was your first job out of school? I was still, I was in school and it was the Mount Suttington Playhouse, which was like a tin shell in Connecticut. And I think it was still in college. Cause two guys from school had opened this theater at the skiing place, but it wasn't skiing. Then it was a sh it was like a tin shell. So couldn't really do a show when it was raining very well. And I believe it was stopped the world. I want to get off and I can still remember the Alto harmony to some of the songs. So you okay. Wait, so you don't consider, you didn't consider yourself a, an actor or did you?3 (45m 20s):Well, I did, but I think what happened was I had to audition for something. It'd be you like, they had grad programs and it wasn't that I was unsuccessful there, but somebody came and I didn't get cast. I didn't get hired. And I didn't understand, you know, like they give you all these acting exercises. We do sense memory. Well, I didn't know they were exercises. I didn't, they were they're like plea aids. Right. They're like learning things. I took this all very seriously. I would stand in a room and try to feel it was like that song from chorus line, you know, try to feel the emotion, feel the, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.3 (46m 5s):I did all of that. I didn't really understand the simple, what am I want here? And what's in my way of trying to get it. Yeah. It took me so long to find teachers that I really could understand and make me a better actor. So when did you find them? When did you start to find them? Oh, that's interesting. Well, I found a couple of good teachers in New York. I mean, honestly there was a woman named Mary Tarsa who had been in the group theater and an older lady. I mean, it's a long time ago anyway, you know, but I remember sitting in her class and she would talk about using imagery and th and I started to sort of understand a little bit, which is amazing to me because after I moved to Westport and I met, do you know the name Phoebe brand?3 (46m 58s):Yeah. Phoebe brand was in our theater workshop. Oh, taught a class. She was already up in her eighties and she taught a class, a Shakespeare class on Sunday mornings. And all of a sudden these things that I didn't understand from decades before. Hmm. It sort of pulled it all together. But for me, I went, I was in California after I got married and moved to LA for a couple of years, found a teacher named John LAN and Lee H N E and two years in his class. I started to really understand how to do it. And then when I came back to New York, he sent me to Michael Howard and Michael Howard, Michael Howard was a great teacher for me.3 (47m 44s):He's still a great, I don't know if he's still around if he's teaching or not, but he was a wonderful teacher. And I started to understand how to do it. Was Len the, did he teach the method or what was yes, he was, he was an actor studio teacher. And I started to understand about being present on the stage and being able to deal with people. All of it, it just changed dramatically. I mean, I started to understand what this was about and seeing other good actors and chipping away at it and finding people to rehearse with. And1 (48m 22s):You, you, from what I know, and what I'm gathering is that once you graduated Juilliard, you were cast in New York.3 (48m 30s):Well, you know, I did get my very, my V I I've. I mean, I, I remember going to see midnight cowboy, which was about the same time as I got out of college. And I remember going into a terrible panic of, oh my God. I mean, really scared about all of it. And I, I went, I joined a class that a friend of mine, somebody told me about this class, you know, I always follow somebody to a class. I'm always, I have good friends. And I, somebody says, oh, I love this guy come to class and I'd show up.3 (49m 12s):And this was a musical comedy singing class, kind of where there were writers in the class and actors in the class. And the writers in the class would work on a musical that they didn't have permission for. It wasn't like they were, we were doing this for money or for, for future. So my friend who I became friends with wrote her musical version of barefoot in the park and which has never been done, but I remember I was in it and this guy was in it. And we, it was the kind of a class where it was a very warm, funny group, funny group of wacko theater people. And I would go to open calls and I'd usually go to open dance calls because that was a door for me.3 (49m 59s):And also I used to have to sneak out of Jew, not sneak necessarily, but essentially sneak out to take my singing lessons. And I took singing lessons every, you know, every week for years, for three years, I would, you know, and I, and I was not really, I don't think a very good singer, but I became a good singer. I would sneak out of school and go to an acting class. I don't even know when I started that, but I know that I would find the time to do it and then talk about acting and find a teacher so that when I would audition for a musical and I would get through the dancing. Usually if I got through the first cut, I would make it to the end. I wouldn't always get the job, but if I made it through that first horrible, random cut, you know, where there's 200 people in your dancing across the stage and it's yes, no, yes, no.3 (50m 47s):Is it really?1 (50m 48s):Because I'm not a dancer. So I never had this. I, when my agents are like, oh, there's an open dance call. I'm like, ah, that's you sent the wrong person, the email. So it's really like that, like in, in chorus line where they say, you know,3 (51m 1s):Oh yeah. It's like all that jazz. It's really like that.2 (51m 6s):Wait, I have a question. I want to hear the re the rest of that. But I, I just, I've never asked anybody. What's the biggest difference between the people who got cut immediately. I mean, was it training or were there people that, in other words, were there people who were just walking in off the street with no training trying to audition? Yeah,1 (51m 29s):No, truly an open call.3 (51m 31s):No. And sometimes these were equity calls. Cause I, I, I did get my equity card on a summer. That one summer I worked for a non-union, you know, we were in either Bushkill Pennsylvania or Southern Eaton Connecticut, or I did a couple of those summers. And then the next summer, the choreographer from that show had an equity job. And he hired like three of us from our non-unions summer stock, because we were good enough. And1 (52m 4s):So when you went to these open calls, everyone, there was a bad-ass dancer. No one, there was like,3 (52m 10s):That's not true. That's not true. There were all different levels of dancers, but it was also a look await, you know, it was always, I was always like seven pounds overweight. It was like, the torture is thing of weight does enough to put anybody over the edge1 (52m 26s):That they literally3 (52m 27s):Weigh you, Carol. Oh God. No. Oh, but it's so look, and I will tell you there's one. There was one time when I remember auditioning for above Fossey show and there were a lot of people on the stage and we were whatever we were doing. And then at 1.3 Fossey dancers, it was their turn. And these three gals, okay. Their hair was perfect. Their makeup was fabulous. They had a little necklace, they had a black leotards, you know, cut up high, but not out of control. Good tights, no, no runs, nice shoes, nails done.3 (53m 7s):And they were fantastic. They were clean. They were technically, and we all sort of went, oh fuck.1 (53m 16s):Right.3 (53m 18s):Right. And I have friends who became Fossey dancers. I mean, I worked for Bob, but I have friends who did a lot of shows him. And they had that same experience where they saw other people, the way it should be. And then they would go back a month later and get the job because they knew what it took. It was all about knowing what it takes. But the thing about having studied acting and having slowly studied singing is that in the world of musical theater, I was ahead of the game because there's not that much time. So you have to be willing to spend all of your time.3 (54m 0s):Right.1 (54m 1s):There are some people I'm assuming Carol, that could dance wonderfully, but couldn't do the singing and the acting part. And that's where you were like, that's the triple threat newness of it all is like, you could do3 (54m 12s):Well, I could do them better than a lot of people. And I certainly could sing well, and I had, I could sing a short song and I knew that you sing a short song. I knew that you'd probably do an uptempo, you know? And also I tend to be a little angry when I go into an audition. It's like, why do I fuck? Do I have to audition? I better, duh. So I needed to find things that allowed me to be a little angry so I could be myself. And I could also be a little funny if I could figure out how to do that. So all of these things worked in my favor. And then of course, like everybody else in her, a lot of people, pat Birch, who was a choreographer, she had like a gazillion shows running, including Greece on Broadway. And now over here, I don't know if she did grease, but she did over here.3 (54m 55s):She did. She was very prolific choreographer. She had been a Martha Graham dancer and she had taught a couple of classes at Julliard. And when it came to my auditioning for her, she needed girls who could dance like boys. She didn't need tall leggy, chorus girls. We were doing the show she was working on, was a show called Minnie's boys. And it was a show about the Marx brothers and the last number of the show. We were all the whole chorus was dressed up like different Marx brothers. And she needed girls who could be low to the ground, who can, you could turn who and I was the right person.3 (55m 36s):And I remember being in that class, that wonderful musical theater class with a teacher named Mervin Nelson, who was just a great older guy who kind of worked in the business. I remember I had to go to my callback. I went to my class and the callback was at night. And I remember him walking me to the door, putting his arm around me and saying, go get the job. And if you don't get this one, we'll get you. The next one1 (56m 4s):That makes me want to3 (56m 4s):Cry. Well, it made me feel like part of the family, cause we all want to be part of that theater family. And so I tend to do that when I'm with an actor, who's going to go get a job or go get, you know, you want to feel like it's possible. Yeah. You feel like you can, you deserve it.1 (56m 29s):You said, you mentioned briefly that you worked for Bob3 (56m 32s):Fossey. I did.1 (56m 35s):Oh my gosh. Did you turn into one of those ladies that looked like a bossy dancer too? Like, did you then show up to those auditions? Like, oh3 (56m 43s):No, I don't think I, I couldn't, I didn't, I could not get into a chorus of Bob Fossey, but I did get to play for strata in Pippin in the, in the, in the first national tour. And he, Bob was the, he was the director and I, I knew I was the right person for that job. It was also a funny, kind of lovely circumstances that I was in some off-Broadway an off-Broadway show that had started as an awful off, off of a, that, that Bubba, that moved to an off-Broadway theater. I got some excellent reviews. And I think the day the review came out was the day I had my audition for Bob Fossey.3 (57m 24s):So I, and I played it. I had talked to people who knew him. I talked to, you know, I, I knew that I, I don't know, I just, I, I had done some work and I just, I don't know the right person at the right time, somebody, he needed it. That part required a good dancer. Who could, I don't know how I got the part. I just,1 (57m 57s):I'm kind of getting the impression that we're talking about being a strong dancer.3 (58m 0s):Well, let's strong dancer. And also being able to, being able to talk and sing was really the key. I'm not sure that I certainly, as a young person, I, I didn't do nearly as much comedy as I did when I got a little older, but, and also there were a lot of divisions. You sort of either did musicals or you did straight plays and it was hard to get into an audition even for a straight play. And the truth is I think that a lot of us who thought we were better than we were as you get better, you see when you really, wasn't a very strong actor.1 (58m 43s):Right. But there's something about that. What I'm noticing and what you're talking about is like, there's something about the confidence that you had by maybe thinking that you might've been a little better than you were that actually behooves young actors and performers that, you know, cause when Gina and I talked to these people were like, oh my God, they have a healthy ego, which actually helps them to not give up as where I was like, I'm terrible. I'm giving up at the first hour.3 (59m 9s):Exactly. Right. Right. And, and it, and it goes back and forth. It's like a CSO one day, you feel like, oh yeah, I'm good at this. I can walk it. I get, I'm like, I'm okay with this. And the next day you just to hide under the bed, I think that's sort of the way it goes. I didn't know that people who worked on Broadway even then all had coaches and teachers and support systems and you know, being kind of a little more of a lone Wolf, which I was, and still fight against in a way I come against that a lot, for whatever reasons, you know, whatever it doesn't work, what to be a lone Wolf.3 (59m 54s):Yeah. Yeah. You can't do this alone. You can't do it without a support system. It's just too hard because when I actually had the best opportunity I had, which was being part of a chorus line, it was harder than I thought to just be normal, come up with a good performance every night, you know, it was up and down and loaded and that you lost your voice and had nobody to talk to because you couldn't talk anyway. And we didn't have the internet yet. You know, there was so many, it was so much pressure and so much, and I hadn't really figured out how to create that support system up for myself.3 (1h 0m 42s):And it was harder, harder than it needed to be. Did you ultimately find it with the cast? No. Oh, not really where they mean, oh, none of the cast was fine. It wasn't that anybody was mean it's that I didn't take care of myself and I didn't know how I was supposed to take care of my shirt. How old were you when you were cast in a chorus line? 27? Maybe I was, I was young and, but I wasn't that young. I just, but it wasn't that C w it was a strange situation to, I was, I had already had one Broadway show, so I had done, and then I had gone out of town to bucks county Playhouse.3 (1h 1m 25s):And did west side story Romeo was your first Broadway show. I'm sorry. It was called Minnie's boys. Oh, that was it. That was my, I did. And it was a show about the Marx brothers. Right. And I don't know if you know who Louis. We would probably do Louis Stadol and Louis J Staglin who works with, he works with Nathan Lane a lot. Oh yeah. Yeah. He's like second bun and he's incredibly talented. He played Groucho. Okay. We were all 25 years old. We were kids. We were right out of college. And the weirdest part of all was that the mother was played by Shelley winters. And this was a musical. What a weird you've really. Okay. So then you went onto chorus line.3 (1h 2m 6s):Well then, well then in between that, this is like, you know, then, then I went out of town to bucks county. I love being in bucks county for a year. We did west side story. We did Romeo and Juliet during the week. We do them together, one in the morning, one in the afternoon for high school kids. And then on the weekends, we do one of the, and I was the only person in the cast who liked dancing at 10 o'clock in the morning. You know, I didn't mind doing west side at 10 in the morning. I'd been up at eight, being a demonstrator for Mary Hinkson, teaching people how to do a contraction. So I didn't care. I love working in the daytime. That's what I play with your food is such a nice success. My lunchtime theaters here, I get tired at night.3 (1h 2m 47s):I don't know.2 (1h 2m 49s):Most people do wait. So was the, was the audition process for chorus line?3 (1h 2m 56s):I have a great story. I can tell you what my story is. Okay. So I, I was in, I don't know what I was doing. I had done a lot of off-Broadway work. I had been doing, I had been working a lot. And then of course there were the year where I didn't work. And then I went off to south North Carolina and played Nellie Forbush in south Pacific, in the dinner theater for three months. And I loved that. Actually, I think it was one of those times I had a job and a boyfriend and it was like a relief. It was wonderful to have like a life and then do the show at night. You know, I, I enjoyed that a lot and I didn't, you know, it was a big part and I didn't panic about seeing it.3 (1h 3m 37s):And it was just, I learned a lot from doing a part like that. I was doing Fiddler on the roof at a dinner theater in New Jersey, down the street from where my folks lived. And occasionally my mom would stop by her rehearsal and watch the wedding scene. Honest to God. I'm not kidding. She's like, Carol, you ever gonna get married? Are you ever gonna? Okay. So I'm doing Fiddler on the roof, in New Jersey. And there's a guy in the cast, one of the bottle dancers who were dropping off at night on 55th street, because he's working on this little musical about dancers and he would bring in monologues and he'd asked me to read them at rehearsal because he wanted to hear them out loud.3 (1h 4m 25s):And there was some stuff about this place to ever hear the peppermint lounge back in the studio. Right. It was a disco thing, but it was also a place where there was something. I remember one the couch girls, girls who would just lie on the couches and the guys, I mean really crazy stuff that did not make it into the show, but some interesting stuff. And I was playing the eldest daughter sidle, and it's a terrific part for me. So I was good. Yeah. And Nick knew I was a dancer. Anyway, this little show called the chorus line was in its workshop. Second workshop. They had already done the I, cause I was not a Michael Bennett dancer. I didn't, you know, I, I, I had auditioned for my goal once for the tour of two for the Seesaw.3 (1h 5m 10s):And it was the leading part and I didn't get it. I auditioned, I sang and I read and I read and I sang and I didn't get the part. And I came home and I was like in hysterics for like five days. I just, you know, I, I didn't get the part year and a half later, I'm doing Fiddler on the roof with Nick, Dante in New Jersey. And somebody leaves the second workshop and Nick brings up my name because there's a job all of a sudden to cover, to be in the opening and to cover a couple of parts next, bring up my name. And Michael Bennett says, wait a minute. I know her. I know she's an actress and she's a singer. Can she dance?3 (1h 5m 52s):So I showed up the next morning and I danced for 10 minutes and I got the job. I mean, I think, wow. Yeah. That's a great story.2 (1h 6m 1s):No. So that means you didn't have to participate in3 (1h 6m 4s):Callbacks or nothing. Oh, I started that day. I mean, honestly, it was Fiddler on the roof, you know what, I don't remember whether, how it went. Cause we were already in performance tour or something, you know, I, I it's a long time ago, so I don't really remember, but I know that this particular story is the absolute truth. That's fantastic. That2 (1h 6m 27s):Was it a hit right away3 (1h 6m 29s):Chorus line. Well, it wasn't, we were in previews. I'm no, we weren't even previous the second workshop, which means it was still being figured out. And when I came to the first rehearsal and sat and watched what was going on, I could not believe what I was seeing because the truth of what was happening on stage and the way it was being built was astounding. It was absolutely astounding because something about it was so bizarre. Oh. And also, also Marvin Hamlisch was the rehearsal pianist on Minnie's boys.3 (1h 7m 10s):Wow. So I knew him a little bit, not well, you know, but he was the rehearsal pianist that nobody would listen to a show about the Marx brothers, Marvin would say, wait, this is the Marx brothers. You got to have a naked girl running out of the orchestra pit. You gotta, you gotta, and of course, nobody would listen to him. Wait a minute, just turn this off, stop, stop, turn off. Sorry. So I couldn't get over what I was seeing. And I, I knew from the beginning, of course, I think most of us did that. Something very, very unique was going on and it was always changing. Like Donna McKechnie came in late at the audition, all dressed up in like a fur thing.3 (1h 7m 56s):And it was like, I'm sorry, I'm late. I'm sorry. I'm late. And then Zach says, would you put on dance clothes? And she said, no, no, wait a minute. Anyway, you couldn't help. But know sort of, you just kind of put,2 (1h 8m 8s):I mean, I remember seeing it when I was a kid and not, not being able to relate as an actor, but now that I think back, it just must've felt so gratifying to be seen for all of the, you know, because like we w the Joe Montana episode, we3 (1h 8m 28s):Haven't listened to yet, but I'm looking forward to2 (1h 8m 30s):It here today. But he was saying, I love3 (1h 8m 33s):Him2 (1h 8m 34s):For you. You were saying that when he won the Tony and everybody would say, well, it's like to win the Tony, what's it? Like he said, it's like, you won the lottery, but you been buying tickets for 15 years. You know, that's the part of acting that people now, I think it's a pretty common knowledge that it's really difficult to be an actor, but I don't know how Hmm, how known that was then. And it just, must've been so gratifying for all of those people. I mean, who are living in their real life? The story of that musical. Yeah.3 (1h 9m 9s):I think that that's true. And also, I mean, it really did come out of people's experiences. Those stories are so, so to be part of something like that, and down at the public theater, which of course it was a vol place to be, you know, you, you knew that Meryl Streep was walking down the hallway and you knew that. I mean, talk about confidence. I mean, I don't know if you've read her new book, no book about her. No, it's worth the time I listened to it. Actually, I didn't read it. I listened to, it's quite wonderful because you see a very confident person who's working on creating who she is.1 (1h 9m 47s):Do you feel, I feel like you have a really strong sense of confidence about yourself too. Where did that come from? Would you agree? First of all, that you have, it sounds like you had some comps, some real chutzpah as a youngster and maybe now as well. Where'd that come from3 (1h 10m 5s):Beats me. I have it now because I, I, I, I've had a lot of, a lot of experience. And I, I think that, that, I, I think I know a lot about this, but I don't know that I had it. The trick was to have this kind of confidence when it really matters. Yes. And I think I had it, like if I was in an off-Broadway show, I could say, I don't think that's good enough. Could you restage this blah, blah, blah. Or if I'm in North Carolina, I'm not, I think we need to dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. But when it comes down to the real nitty gritty of standing up for yourself, when it really, really matters, boy, that's harder than it looks.3 (1h 10m 51s):You know, even things like, I mean, my character, when I eventually took over the role of Miralis, which I under, you know, I was we've covered all these parts. There were nine of us. We sang in the little booth in the wings. We had microphones and little headsets. And the coolest part of all was Jerry Schoenfeld, who was the chairman of the Schubert organization would bring any visiting dignitary who was visiting the city that he was showing around his theaters. He would bring them into our little booth. And then we would watch the show from stage left in our little booth while we're singing, give me the ball, give him the ball. Cause half the dancers on the stage, cause stop singing because they had a solo coming up.3 (1h 11m 31s):So, you know, singing in a musical is not easy. You know, there's a lot of pressure and you got to hit high notes and you, you know, you just wake up in the middle of the night going torture, torture, and you have to work through that and finally go, fuck it. You know, fuck it. I don't care what I weigh. Fuck it. I don't care if I, if I can't hit the high note, but it, it takes a long time to get there. You know, I see people who do this all the time. I don't know how they live. I don't know how they sleep at night. There's no wonder people like to hire singers who have graduated from programs where they really understand their voice, know how to protect that, which you don't, you know, you have to learn, you have to learn how to really take.3 (1h 12m 24s):That's why, you know, it's wondering about ballet companies now have misuses and we didn't have any of that. You were hanging out there alone. I felt maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I felt. And if I was vulnerable or if I didn't feel well, and I was like, oh, what am I going to do? I can't tell anybo

In this episode, we speak with Nathan Mensahabout his journey from IU Bloomington to his valued role at Hartford HealthCare. He talks about all his ups and downs throughout his undergraduate studies and how those challenges opened new doors in his career. He also speaks about pursuing something that attracts you, as that attraction is the determining factor for success. Nathan Mensah is a Rehab therapist at Hartford Healthcare, where his job is to provide inpatient music therapy and psychoeducational services to adolescents and adults with mental health and dual diagnosis of substance abuse disorders. Before therapy at Hartford HealthCare Nathan had numerous experiences that played a role to get him where he is today. This included being a research assistant at Indiana University School of Medicine, Choir Director at Seelyville United Methodist, Music Therapist at Cincinnati Children`s Hospital Medical Center, etc. Throughout these experiences, Nathan mentions that music therapy was not always his end goal. Nathan had always wanted to be involved in healthcare and he was determined to do so. Nathan took his love for music and his desire to help people and used it to his advantage, finding a career that would satisfy both passions. Nathan emphasized how important it is to do something that you love and are truly passionate about. He advises that joy be your top priority and to seek it as often as possible because to find joy in your workplace is one of the many secrets of life. Prior to music therapy, Nathan served as a Music and Theatre Adjunct Instructor at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, where his job was to teach music courses at the college level, including “American Music: from Jamestown to James Brown and Beyond”, with music technology, music history, music composition, and music listening components. Nathan does his best work believe it or no listening to music. Seem obvious? Well, it has to do with the brain's cognition response and its correlation to memory. Nathan currently resides in Westport, CT, where he is impacting the lives of many, using what he loves best, music.

In season two of the "Finding Home" podcast series, Irish American Archives Society Executive Director Margaret Lynch interviews an array of Clevelanders with specialized knowledge and stories about the history of the Irish in Cleveland. Episode 5 features an interview with Patrick Corrigan. A trip to Ireland in 2017 sparked an interest in family history in Patrick Corrigan, who is a Battalion Chief in Cleveland's Fire Department. Genealogy became a passion as Corrigan connected with relatives world-wide. An 80-page memoir written by a great uncle in Ireland in the 1970s propelled him further. Corrigan's great uncle Brian Corrigan fought in the Irish War of Independence, and against the treaty in the Irish Civil War. Seeking context for the memoir, Patrick Corrigan immersed himself in research; he was invited to participate in the West Mayo Brigade Centenary Commemoration in Westport and to contribute an essay in the new publication, The Men of the West. See http://westmayo.ie/ for more information about the commemoration and publication and for a link to Brian Corrigan's memoirs under the "Family Histories and Stories" tab. Patrick Corrigan utilized the indexed pension applications and witness statements that can be accessed at https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921

You're listening to the Westerly Sun's podcast, where we talk about the best local events, new job postings, obituaries, and more. First, a bit of Rhode Island trivia. Today's trivia is brought to you by Perennial. Perennial's new plant-based drink “Daily Gut & Brain” is a blend of easily digestible nutrients crafted for gut and brain health. A convenient mini-meal, Daily Gut & Brain” is available now at the CVS Pharmacy in Wakefield. Now for some trivia. Did you know that Rhode Island native, Clement Labine was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960. As a key member of the Dodgers in the early 1950s, he helped the team to its first World Series title in 1955 with a win and a save in four games. He is one of eight players in MLB history to have won back-to-back World Series championships on different teams. He held the National League record for career saves from 1958 until 1962; his 96 career saves ranked fourth in MLB history when he retired. He also set a Dodgers franchise record of 425 career games pitched. Now for our feature story: By serving as vice president of the National Conference of State Legislatures, veteran lawmaker Brian Patrick Kennedy says he will have an opportunity to help ensure Rhode Island has an opportunity to influence the organization's legislative and policy agenda. Kennedy, a state representative who represents Hopkinton and a portion of Westerly, was elected to serve as vice president of the conference during the organization's legislative summit in Tampa, Florida. The bipartisan organization serves each state and U.S. territory and the nation's 7,383 state lawmakers and legislative staff. Founded in 1975, the conference works to advance the effectiveness, independence and integrity of legislatures and to foster interstate cooperation and facilitate the exchange of information among legislatures. Kennedy said: "I appreciate the opportunity to serve as vice president and look forward to working with my colleagues from around the country. NCSL has afforded legislators and staff an unrivaled opportunity to learn from the experiences of other states, exchange ideas and come up with policy solutions that can help propel our respective states and, ultimately, our entire nation forward. I also look forward to working with our Washington office to ensure federal policies are in line with state priorities." Kennedy's election marks the first time a legislator from a New England state has served in one of the conference's four leadership positions in nine years and the first time a Rhode Island lawmaker was ever selected. Kennedy remarked: "I think this is big for Rhode Island. Not only do we get to be involved with helping to set the agenda and figuring out legislative priorities on a national level, but we're going to help coordinate these central policies and how they impact state priorities moving forward."  Kennedy, who is in his 33rd year in the Rhode Island statehouse, has been involved with the conference for more than 20 years. For the past five years, Kennedy has served as speaker pro tempore in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.  Kennedy will serve one year as vice president, ascend to president-elect the following year and then become president at the legislative summit in 2024. NCSL leadership alternates between political parties every year. Idaho Speaker Scott Bedke, a Republican, will serve as president-elect of NCSL, and Speaker Scott Saiki of Hawaii, a Democrat, became the 48th president of the NCSL. For more about the coronavirus pandemic, the recovery, and the latest on all things in and around Westerly, head over to westerlysun.com. There are a lot of businesses in our community that are hiring right now, so we're excited to tell you about some new job listings. Today's Job posting comes from Crimmins Residential Staffing in Westerly. A couple in Watch Hill is looking for a part-time housekeeper. Pay is $35 per hour and you'll work there 3 days per week in season and one day per week during the off-season. For more job requirements, check out the link in the description: https://www.indeed.com/jobs?l=Westerly%2C%20RI&mna=5&aceid&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpf2IBhDkARIsAGVo0D2S3gEb-328GyRpBuTTeeKPdn3-klOh0KYAsfete6MEZmI5S4qTg-4aAnQkEALw_wcB&vjk=028da372fc87d663 Today we're remembering the life of John Henry Barrett, Jr., 84, of Hudson, New Hampshire and formerly of Westerly. A retired Episcopal Priest, John celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination in 2014, and over his ministry served parishes in Westport, CT; Concord, MA; Swampscott, MA; Johnson City, NY; and in retirement as Priest Associate at Christ Church in Westerly. He is the son of the late Dr. John and Mildred Barrett of Westerly and is predeceased by his wife of 55 years, Carol. He is survived by his 3 sons, 5 grandchildren, his sister, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. John was known to many as "Jack" and was active throughout his priesthood and his life, having served on many local and diocesan groups and committees and enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Holy Land on two occasions. He was a volunteer firefighter in Westport and served for many years as a Chaplain for the Swampscott Fire Department. Jack and his family enjoyed the outdoors and traveled every summer visiting National Parks and historic landmarks throughout the country. Thank you for taking a moment with us today to remember and celebrate John's life. That's it for today, we'll be back next time with more! Also, remember to check out our sponsor Perennial, Daily Gut & Brain, available at the CVS on Main St. in Wakefield! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the loss of international visitors to West Coast glacier towns has caused job cuts, businesses to close and people to leave, further up the Coast, the picture is a bit rosier. MarketView figures show visitors to  the Buller District brought in 43 million dollars for the year ending September - up from 36 million on the year before . Visitor dollars are also up about 15 percent to 21 point one million for Westport and from five to seven-point-two million for Reefton. Tess Brunton has more.

Have you heard about the latest statewide poll from Sacred Heart University's Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement? We're connecting with the CEO of their polling partner Great Blue Research to hear where state residents stand on the governor's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and several other issues reflected in this new polling. Then we'll zip through calls with nonprofits, LivFree, Al's Angels, and the Westport PAL all collaborating on a free, family-friendly Winter Wonderland event coming up in Westport on December 4. And we're launching a new series called 'Open Arms, Open Hearts - Connecticut's Role In The Afghan Refugee Crisis.' We'll chat with Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services' ((IRIS) about how they're coordinating with grassroots groups across western Connecticut to help get Afghan refugees resettled - and how you can help.

Judith Hardy Olson, CSB, from Westport, Connecticut, USA

Muralist and singer Jon King went from singing to 4000 in his church to having no voice at all. But he found a new one!More Jon KingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonthegingbeardMore Nelsiehttps://www.instagram.com/nelsiewrites​https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsiespencerProduced by Ronnie Whaleyhttps://www.instagram.com/ronniefwhaley/​​​​https://twitter.com/ronniefwhaleyhttps://www.tiktok.com/@ronniefwhaleyLosing It! Merch Storehttps://bit.ly/3teRhg6​​​​Ticket To Write With Nelsie Spencerhttps://bit.ly/3cuZ1Vi​​​​More Losing It!Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vjHtmhFacebook: https://bit.ly/3eDJUdnTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingitpodOfficial Website:  https://bit.ly/3nNOG96​​​​Audio on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3odyMF7​​​​Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2M4NYHB​​​​If you'd like to have your Losing It! story read by Nelsie on the next episode, e-mail us at LosingItContact@gmail.comBe on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3qM4vyR​​​​Advertise on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3pgga91Our equipmentNelsie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3wp8HrtNelsie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwINelsie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRoNelsie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCjRonnie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3eTXOrwRonnie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwIRonnie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRoRonnie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCjRonnie's PC Build: https://bit.ly/2SUwjp9ABOUT NELSIEHi! I'm Nelsie Spencer. I'm a writer, performer, writing teacher/mentor/coach. And a podcaster. I have over 30 years of experience as a writer: I produced a playwright (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), an award-winning screenwriter (Valley Inn), and a published novelist (The Playgroup). My writing career began when I wrote myself a role with my best friend Laury Marker. Our play, My Heart Belongs to Daddy,  premiered at Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre in Westport, Ct. And had 3 more sold-out and critically acclaimed productions! Along the way, we worked with producer Dash Epstein and director Morton DeCosta (both Tony-Award winners). Since My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've written stand-up, become a published novelist (The Playgroup) and worked as a radio talk show host with comics Cory Kahaney and Maureen Langan. Nora Ephron called my first screenplay, A Girl's Best Friend, "a brilliant premise and a wonderful screenplay." When she took the script to Sony and they passed on it, she told them, "You're idiots! Read it again!" God bless you, Nora! In 2015 the award-winning indie film, Valley Inn (co-writer with Kim Swink), was released. My time as a radio talk show host, stand-up comic, and actor made podcasting an easy, fun, and inevitable next step. Last year, I created Losing It! with Nelsie Spencer, life lessons from some of my favorite losers. After taking a few decades off from serious acting, I made my way back to the stage last year when I wrote and performed Day of the Dead Daddy, my solo show. It premiered in NYC at The Chain Studio Theatre. This year, I was honored to be invited to perform my show (via Zoom) at The Marsh Theatre's International Solo Show Festival where Day of the Dead Daddy won an Honorable Mention. I plan to bring the show to Edinburgh for their Fringe Festival next summer. Throughout my unorthodox career path I've met and worked with many interesting and influential people such as super-agent Ari Emanuel, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore. I've been helping other writers find and hone their stories and their voices since 2006. My current mission: To create community, support, and inspiration for the writer.

Newly elected First Selectman Jen Tooker in studio discussing the race for First Selectman and the future of Westport. Photo: iStock / Getty Images Plus BackyardProduction

10/29/21 - Westport GOP Censorship And Patricia Rehmer Hartford Healthcare by The Lisa Wexler Show

Christine Loscher, Professor of Immunology in DCU, Dr. Yvonne Williams, GP based in Shannon, Jen Hogan, Irish Times columnist, Tommy Gill, CEO of Play, Activity and Leisure Ireland and owner of Wild West Play Centre in Westport

Climate change is a big threat and traffic is a major headache for Westport residents. Jonathan Steinberg is ready to tackle both. He’s also eager to promote Westport’s arts scene and make sure downtown thrives. He joins us to talk about his campaign and the promise of making Westport better than ever.

Pam, founder and director of Edgar's Mission, shares the story of how meeting a pig  named Edgar led her to her life's mission.More Pam AhernInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/edgarsmissionMore Nelsiehttps://www.instagram.com/nelsiewrites​https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsiespencerProduced by Ronnie Whaleyhttps://www.instagram.com/ronniefwhaley/​​​​https://twitter.com/ronniefwhaleyhttps://www.tiktok.com/@ronniefwhaleyLosing It! Merch Storehttps://bit.ly/3teRhg6​​​​Ticket To Write With Nelsie Spencerhttps://bit.ly/3cuZ1Vi​​​​More Losing It!Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vjHtmhFacebook: https://bit.ly/3eDJUdnTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingitpodOfficial Website:  https://bit.ly/3nNOG96​​​​Audio on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3odyMF7​​​​Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2M4NYHB​​​​If you'd like to have your Losing It! story read by Nelsie on the next episode, e-mail us at LosingItContact@gmail.comBe on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3qM4vyR​​​​Advertise on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3pgga91Our equipmentNelsie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3wp8HrtNelsie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwINelsie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRoNelsie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCjRonnie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3eTXOrwRonnie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwIRonnie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRoRonnie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCjRonnie's PC Build: https://bit.ly/2SUwjp9ABOUT NELSIEHi! I'm Nelsie Spencer. I'm a writer, performer, writing teacher/mentor/coach. And a podcaster. I have over 30 years of experience as a writer: I produced a playwright (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), an award-winning screenwriter (Valley Inn), and a published novelist (The Playgroup). My writing career began when I wrote myself a role with my best friend Laury Marker. Our play, My Heart Belongs to Daddy,  premiered at Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre in Westport, Ct. And had 3 more sold-out and critically acclaimed productions! Along the way, we worked with producer Dash Epstein and director Morton DeCosta (both Tony-Award winners). Since My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've written stand-up, become a published novelist (The Playgroup) and worked as a radio talk show host with comics Cory Kahaney and Maureen Langan. Nora Ephron called my first screenplay, A Girl's Best Friend, "a brilliant premise and a wonderful screenplay." When she took the script to Sony and they passed on it, she told them, "You're idiots! Read it again!" God bless you, Nora! In 2015 the award-winning indie film, Valley Inn (co-writer with Kim Swink), was released. My time as a radio talk show host, stand-up comic, and actor made podcasting an easy, fun, and inevitable next step. Last year, I created Losing It! with Nelsie Spencer, life lessons from some of my favorite losers. After taking a few decades off from serious acting, I made my way back to the stage last year when I wrote and performed Day of the Dead Daddy, my solo show. It premiered in NYC at The Chain Studio Theatre. This year, I was honored to be invited to perform my show (via Zoom) at The Marsh Theatre's International Solo Show Festival where Day of the Dead Daddy won an Honorable Mention. I plan to bring the show to Edinburgh for their Fringe Festival next summer. Throughout my unorthodox career path I've met and worked with many interesting and influential people such as super-agent Ari Emanuel, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore. I've been helping other writers find and hone their stories and their voices since 2006. My current mission: To create community, support, and inspiration for the writer.

10/21/21 - Westport Restaurant Week And New Canaan Race Shaming by The Lisa Wexler Show

More than three months after severe flooding in Westport damaged hundreds of homes, many residents are left wondering when and if they will be able to return. It exposed a town grappling with poverty and housing issues. Samantha Gee has more.

As America moves toward a post-pandemic world, hybrid workplaces, Zoom meetings, and social selling are here to stay. Whether you have embraced the transition to a more digital mindset or not, your customers have, and your brand needs to meet them where they are. For this episode of OUTdrive, Cliff sits down with Randy Herbertson, an agency owner and an established thought leader in digital and innovative marketing.  Randy is a recognized brand strategist and creative director with over 25 years experience in marketing and innovation. He is also a business entrepreneur and founder of The Visual Brand (TVB), a marketing agency operating in Westport, Connecticut that specializes in new products, concepts, and services for existing companies. His team's impressive portfolio includes collaborations with brands like Benjamin Moore, Smirnoff, Volvo, and many others. Prior to creating TVB, Randy filled roles as a corporate facilitator, consumer insight specialist, and creative strategist. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Randy earned a degree in marketing and international business at the University of Colorado (at Boulder). Outside of work, Randy is an active member of the community, serving on a number of boards and as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University. With a background in client, agency, media and digital realms, Randy brings perspective from a diverse range of companies and industries to this episode of OUTdrive. Cliff and Randy tackle topics from fine tuning brand insights to preventing burnout in this 24/7 virtual society.   What you'll learn:  Understanding the difference between insights and conclusions, and why it's crucial to the branding process. An in-depth look at the digital revolution, from how advancements in technology pushed innovative ideas to using outsourcing to your advantage to the challenges of navigating the virtual elements of business. Randy's speciality in the “non-iterative” and what he loves about being an independent agency owner. Examples of clients who navigated the COVID-19 pandemic to their industry advantage. The pros and cons of working on a tight deadline versus having an endless timeline that can hinder momentum.  Details behind the structure of The Visual Brand (Randy's agency), employing people of diverse talents, and investing in what Randy calls “people development” Randy's “life hacks” for managing a true work-life balance, specifically for business owners and entrepreneurs.   How Randy got started in marketing and his path to entrepreneurship.  How Randy got started in marketing and his path to entrepreneurship.       

10/18/21 - Former Westport PZC Chair Kathy Walsh And Fairfield First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick by The Lisa Wexler Show

LCSW Nicole from the podcast and website Cure for Chronic Pain tells the story of her sons stomach aches and how she miraculously cured them.More Nicole SachsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolesachslcswMore Nelsiehttps://www.instagram.com/nelsiewrites​https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsiespencerProduced by Ronnie Whaleyhttps://www.instagram.com/ronniefwhaley/​​​​https://twitter.com/ronniefwhaleyhttps://www.tiktok.com/@ronniefwhaleyLosing It! Merch Storehttps://bit.ly/3teRhg6​​​​Ticket To Write With Nelsie Spencerhttps://bit.ly/3cuZ1Vi​​​​More Losing It!Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vjHtmhFacebook: https://bit.ly/3eDJUdnTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingitpodOfficial Website:  https://bit.ly/3nNOG96​​​​Audio on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3odyMF7​​​​Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2M4NYHB​​​​If you'd like to have your Losing It! story read by Nelsie on the next episode, e-mail us at LosingItContact@gmail.comBe on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3qM4vyR​​​​Advertise on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3pgga91Our equipmentNelsie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3wp8HrtNelsie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwINelsie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRoNelsie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCjRonnie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3eTXOrwRonnie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwIRonnie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRoRonnie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCjRonnie's PC Build: https://bit.ly/2SUwjp9ABOUT NELSIEHi! I'm Nelsie Spencer. I'm a writer, performer, writing teacher/mentor/coach. And a podcaster. I have over 30 years of experience as a writer: I produced a playwright (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), an award-winning screenwriter (Valley Inn), and a published novelist (The Playgroup). My writing career began when I wrote myself a role with my best friend Laury Marker. Our play, My Heart Belongs to Daddy,  premiered at Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre in Westport, Ct. And had 3 more sold-out and critically acclaimed productions! Along the way, we worked with producer Dash Epstein and director Morton DeCosta (both Tony-Award winners). Since My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've written stand-up, become a published novelist (The Playgroup) and worked as a radio talk show host with comics Cory Kahaney and Maureen Langan. Nora Ephron called my first screenplay, A Girl's Best Friend, "a brilliant premise and a wonderful screenplay." When she took the script to Sony and they passed on it, she told them, "You're idiots! Read it again!" God bless you, Nora! In 2015 the award-winning indie film, Valley Inn (co-writer with Kim Swink), was released. My time as a radio talk show host, stand-up comic, and actor made podcasting an easy, fun, and inevitable next step. Last year, I created Losing It! with Nelsie Spencer, life lessons from some of my favorite losers. After taking a few decades off from serious acting, I made my way back to the stage last year when I wrote and performed Day of the Dead Daddy, my solo show. It premiered in NYC at The Chain Studio Theatre. This year, I was honored to be invited to perform my show (via Zoom) at The Marsh Theatre's International Solo Show Festival where Day of the Dead Daddy won an Honorable Mention. I plan to bring the show to Edinburgh for their Fringe Festival next summer. Throughout my unorthodox career path I've met and worked with many interesting and influential people such as super-agent Ari Emanuel, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore. I've been helping other writers find and hone their stories and their voices since 2006. My current mission: To create community, support, and inspiration for the writer.

Almost three months after floodwaters ravaged the coastal town of Westport, 140 people remain in temporary accommodation, living in cabins, motels or with friends and family. Around 450 homes remain unliveable or damaged, with only a small number fully repaired. Samantha Gee has more.

“Reinforce with your kids not keeping any secrets, and push for that open communication.” Kimberly King Children worldwide are prone to suffer insidious forms of violence, exploitation and abuse. The key to stamping out these vices lies in educating both adults and kids on prevention and management of cases when they occur. Our guest today, Kimberly King, is no coward of conversations that center around tough topics on sexual abuse in kids. She believes that having these conversations protects children and families by getting ahead of problems before they happen.  Kimberly King, “The Tough Topics Mom,” is the author of the best-selling, most highly recommended book for children on prevention called “I Said No! A kid-to-kid guide to keeping private parts private. https://amzn.to/3F1CjQE” Kimberly is a mom of three children, a survivor, a Sexual Abuse Prevention Facilitator with D2L.org, and a Sexual Assualt Crisis Counselor with The Rowan Center. She spends her time training adults and children on prevention strategies and sharing her expertise as a consultant, advisor, and media source. Kimberly holds an M.S. in Education from Wheelock College and a B.S. in Child Development and Family Studies from the University of Maine. King is a kindergarten teacher in Westport, Ct and lives in Coastal Connecticut with her family and therapy dog, Alfie. Her award-winning books for children on tough topics have sold over 300,000 copies across the globe. King is the owner of Safe and Sound Kids Collaborative where she provides proactive parenting coaching and consulting. King specializes in helping parents gain the confidence to talk about tough topics before issues occur. Her prevention-based, kid-friendly educational resources are available via books, online parenting classes, online kids classes, private zoom Family Safety Chats, Body Boss Bootcamp for Kids, Simply-Safe Camp Training, Author Visits, Book Readings, and Speaking Events. Her work has been featured in various magazines, podcasts, and blogs, including; ABC, NBC, Ticker News, The Chicago Tribune, Stop The Demand, Women's Fitness, Child Mind Institute, Social Work Now, US News and World Report, The Health Journal, Modern Mom, PopSugar, Child Life Mom, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Thrive Global, Medium, Dads Divorce, Split, Consent Parenting, Pretty Wellness Podcast, iHeart Radio, and is highly recommended as a resource by national prevention organizations. In today's episode, Kimberly will discuss about the importance of training and educating children on their sexuality from a young age. She also provides insights on the role of adults in preventing and managing sexual abuse in minors.   Listen in!    Social media handles; https://www.kimberlykingbooks.com/  https://www.kimberlykingbooks.com/  https://tough-topics-mom.mykajabi.com/body-boss-bootcamp  https://tough-topics-mom.mykajabi.com/body-boss-bootcamp https://www.instagram.com/toughtopicsmom  https://m.facebook.com/Isaidnoinfo  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlykingbooks I call myself the tough topics mom because I do talk about a lot of tough topics. [3:27] I help parents get comfortable talking about really tough issues in a collaborative, authentic way so that they can get ahead of problems before they happen and protect their families. [3:31] I do that with my books and my online classes. [3:46] I had trained my kids in the basics about like your body's private which saved my five-year-old on this night that I was away. [4:11] What's interesting is that 70% of kids don't tell about abuse because they're not educated on the topic. [5:57] My son's experience triggered a lot of things for me and I developed the book with him. [6:17] As a military wife, I had that problem of always moving so I decided to just write children's books and teach people how to keep their kids safe. [6:29] When it happened, I was angry at everybody and myself and had to do something to cool the anger so I started journaling. [7:23] My son also wanted to talk and write about it and in doing this, I realized there were so many things that we could teach other people that would help them. [7:53] We put my journal and his together and we used his voice and I tried to weave that into the book that has talking points with little goofy things and a little sass that make it kid friendly. [8:06] Most of us were not educated properly on normal sexuality or normal child development, consent or boundaries. [10:09] We're in a different place now where it's okay to talk about those things and one of the critical things is for kids to know their body parts and their correct names of their private parts. [10:23] In reporting, every single person knows the word penis or the word vagina and there's no confusion about it. [11:25] Knowing those words is a detriment to abusers which protects the kids. [11:28] During potty training is a good time to start teaching and modelling the terms, privacy and consents. [11:12] Commercial break. [14:04] A lot of the advice I give people even if they don't have kids is to learn the facts on this topic so that you can reduce the risks. [16:20] One of the biggest mistakes everybody makes is assuming that this type of thing only happens in bad neighborhoods or only with strangers. [16:32] 90% of child sexual abuse happens within the inner circles of the people we already know where 40% of child sexual abuse happens from older, more powerful children. [16:46] Another huge risk category is children of divorce, because they are exposed to different situations. [17:24] Once you learn, you start talking to it with other parents and your kids start talking about it with their friends which causes a ripple effect. [18:14] The other thing is, once your kid is educated in this, it's really important for parents to reduce the risks by being very upfront about what your kids with new people and your policies. [18:46] When I did in person parent trainings before Covid, every single person indicated an awareness of someone they know who was sexually abused. [21:32] There are so many tools for parents now and you can start really early and then have open communication with your kids, when they're started. [21:55] Empowering your children and educating them absolutely can prevent abuse. [23:24] Even with some of this stuff, abuse can still happen but if your kids know that it's okay to tell, you have a chance of them telling you which will prevent more abuse. [23:39] Try to find five adults that your children can call in all emergencies no matter what and train those five adults in receiving a report. [24:32] You have to teach that person a few steps like, listening to the child, thanking the child for telling you telling them they're very brave, telling them it's not their fault and then just having a calm conversation about it. [25:06] This will encourage them to talk more and give you more details without feeling judged. [25:19] It is really important to do a real quick body safety review and talk about your body parts and the private part rules. [26:49] Reinforce with your kids about how you don't want them to keep any secrets, and then push that open communication. [27:00] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. t

Copperplate Time374                                                                                                                                     Presented by Alan O'Leary                              www.copperplatemailorder.com                      23rd RETURN TO LONDON TOWN PREVIEW                        1. Bothy Band:   Green Groves/Flowers of Red Hill. After Hours 2. Tony MacMahon: Cúnla/Na Ceannabháin Bhána/Cailleach an Airgid.     Live in Spiddal 3. Urnua:   Myles the Man/Greg the Great/Corrib Suite Crew.           Urnua4. John McEvoy:    The Crib of Perches/The Tinker's Stick/Come Up to the Room..   Pride of the West 5. Joe Derrane:: The Broken Pledge/The Contradiction          Music in the Meadow 6. Niamh Ní Charra: Ceol an Phíobair.  Donnelly's Arm7. Karen Ryan: Limerick Lasses/The Gatehouse Maid/Mountain Top.    The Coast Road 8. Andy Martyn: Jug of Punch/Gan Ainm..   Private Recording9.Mick & Apife O'Brien & Emer Mayock:          The Traveller/Top of the Cliff/The Bride to Bed.                   Tunes from the Goodman Manuscripts 10. James Carty:   Humours of Glendart/Irishman's Heart to the Ladies/The Leprechaun's Fave.   Hiding Daylight in Dark Corners 11. Mick Mulvey & Karen Ryan:          The Coachman's Whip/The Tailor's Thimble/Red Haired Lass..                         Within A Mile of Jamestown   12. Michelle Mulcahy:  Martin Wynne's #2/Humours of Lissadell/Duke of Leinster. .   Suainhneas 13. Tommy Keane & Jacqueline McCarthy:           The Promenade/The Rocky Road to Dublin.                  The Wind Among  the Reeds 14. Derek Hickey & John Keehan:         A Parcel of Land/The Hairy Chested Frog/Kiss Me Kate.               Humours of Scariff15. Matt Molloy & Sean Keane:         Gorman's/The Dawn/Mrs Crehan's Reel.   Contentmant is Wealth 16. John & James Carthy:   Lad O'Beirne's/The Kiltycreen/Snow on the Hill.  The Wavy Bow Collection                                 17. Bert Jansch:   Bonny Portmore.    The Ornament Tree 18. Kieran Collins: Dunphy's Hornpipe:   The Masters Hand 19. Joe Carey: The Market Square of Gort. Private Recording 20. Joe Cooley & Joe Leary:            Humours of Tulla/The Skylark/Roaring Mary. Cooley 21. Angelina Carberry: Mrs MacDonald/Lord Gordon's.           Pluckin' Mad 22. Dezi Donnelly: Conor Tullu's #2/The Cogger's Quilt/Humours of Westport.                                          Familiar Footsteps 23. Bothy Band:   Green Groves/Flowers of Red Hill.  After Hours

You've been hearing about it on 'For the People' and today we're going to provide all the background on two clinical trials going on right now at the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program at the Yale Child Study Center. If you have or know of a child or teen suffering from anxiety, participation in one of these trials may provide relief, so stay tuned. Then we'll hear about a grassroots effort to support the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter. We'll meet the person in charge of the shelter, and the organizer of an family-friendly benefit called Mullets For Mutts - to learn how you can get involved. And since it's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we'll close with a breast cancer survivor representing the American Cancer Society, cluing you in on the upcoming Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event coming up October 17 in Westport.

*This episode is brought to you by Kensington's newest title from Shelly Laurenston, Breaking Badger.Summary:New York Times Bestselling author Tessa Bailey joins Kelly to discuss her latest release, the "Schitt's Creek"-inspired romance, It Happened One Summer. Other discussion topics include staying true to yourself in your writing, growing older (NOT old) alongside your characters, and learning to embrace "zoom culture" in 2020. Plus, a sneak peek at Tessa's next project with Avon!Guest:Tessa BaileyIG: @tessabaileyisanauthorTiktok: @authortessabaileyShow Notes:- Sponsored ad for Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston (00:00:05 - 00:01:37)- You can catch Tessa and I in conversation with Burbank Public Library on their Summer Love panel (on YouTube)- Embracing "zoom culture" and understanding each other better - The professor who went viral on TikTok as a potato- Starting with (and revisiting) Tessa's first book, Protecting What's His (00:06:56)- Keeping the work to yourself in order to stay true to yourself- "If it turns you on, it's going to turn someone else on."- Establishing trust with an editor who knows your limits for criticism (00:16:13)- Writing/Publishing outside of your comfort zone: from lifeguards to vampires- Aging up with your characters - Tessa's latest release, It Happened One Summer, and the binge-worthy TV show that inspired it (00:25:08)- Meet you in Westport, WA?- The benefits and challenges to writing a small town romance in a REAL small town (00:31:03)- Getting called out by comedians... Bo Burnham vs. Bill Burr - Creating art, making moves, and "rearranging the cards" in 2020- What if a man said and did everything he meant...? Enter Brendan.- The process of writing steamy scenes (00:51:39) - Next up: tackling toxic masculinity in Hook, Line, and Sinker (March 1st, 2022 release)- A future time travel romance?Books, Authors, & TV Shows Mentioned:Historical Romance Authors: Kerrigan Byrne & Sarah MacLean"Schitt's Creek" (Netflix)"Ted Lasso" (Apple TV+)"White Woman's Instagram" by Bo Burnham (from "Inside" on Netflix)Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series - listen to our review of Spell of the Highlander*Use the promo code BOOBIES10 for 10% off your first Steam Box order* Follow Boobies & Noobies on Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook @boobiespodcast and check out our blog, merch, and more on our brand new Boobies & Noobies website.*Boobies & Noobies is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. You can find more outstanding podcasts to subscribe to at Frolic.media/podcasts*

10/06/21 - FB Whistleblower And Westport Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker by The Lisa Wexler Show

The incredibly funny and badass Jesseca tells a Losing It story that happened in her 20s, heartbreaking and yet she survived it with the help of therapy and support from others. Trigger warning: suicide. More Jesseca Reddell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queen0ftheheathens/ More Nelsie https://www.instagram.com/nelsiewrites https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsiespencer Produced by Ronnie Whaley https://www.instagram.com/ronniefwhaley/ https://twitter.com/ronniefwhaley https://www.tiktok.com/@ronniefwhaley Losing It! Merch Store https://bit.ly/3teRhg6 Ticket To Write With Nelsie Spencer https://bit.ly/3cuZ1Vi More Losing It! Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vjHtmh Facebook: https://bit.ly/3eDJUdn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingitpod Official Website: https://bit.ly/3nNOG96 Audio on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3odyMF7 Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2M4NYHB If you'd like to have your Losing It! story read by Nelsie on the next episode, e-mail us at LosingItContact@gmail.com Be on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3qM4vyR Advertise on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3pgga91 Our equipment Nelsie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3wp8Hrt Nelsie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Nelsie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Nelsie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3eTXOrw Ronnie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Ronnie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Ronnie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's PC Build: https://bit.ly/2SUwjp9 ABOUT NELSIE Hi! I'm Nelsie Spencer. I'm a writer, performer, writing teacher/mentor/coach. And a podcaster. I have over 30 years of experience as a writer: I produced a playwright (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), an award-winning screenwriter (Valley Inn), and a published novelist (The Playgroup). My writing career began when I wrote myself a role with my best friend Laury Marker. Our play, My Heart Belongs to Daddy, premiered at Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre in Westport, Ct. And had 3 more sold-out and critically acclaimed productions! Along the way, we worked with producer Dash Epstein and director Morton DeCosta (both Tony-Award winners). Since My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've written stand-up, become a published novelist (The Playgroup) and worked as a radio talk show host with comics Cory Kahaney and Maureen Langan. Nora Ephron called my first screenplay, A Girl's Best Friend, "a brilliant premise and a wonderful screenplay." When she took the script to Sony and they passed on it, she told them, "You're idiots! Read it again!" God bless you, Nora! In 2015 the award-winning indie film, Valley Inn (co-writer with Kim Swink), was released. My time as a radio talk show host, stand-up comic, and actor made podcasting an easy, fun, and inevitable next step. Last year, I created Losing It! with Nelsie Spencer, life lessons from some of my favorite losers. After taking a few decades off from serious acting, I made my way back to the stage last year when I wrote and performed Day of the Dead Daddy, my solo show. It premiered in NYC at The Chain Studio Theatre. This year, I was honored to be invited to perform my show (via Zoom) at The Marsh Theatre's International Solo Show Festival where Day of the Dead Daddy won an Honorable Mention. I plan to bring the show to Edinburgh for their Fringe Festival next summer. Throughout my unorthodox career path I've met and worked with many interesting and influential people such as super-agent Ari Emanuel, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore. I've been helping other writers find and hone their stories and their voices since 2006. My current mission: To create community, support, and inspiration for the writer.

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Today in botanical history, we celebrate an English novelist and travel writer who loved the pleasure gardens he created at a cemetery, an English writer and friend of Charlotte Bronte, and a beloved and humorous garden author. We'll hear an excerpt from Ali Smith's Autumn. It's perfect for this time of year. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about a species among the most ancient of Earth's inhabitants. And then we'll wrap things up with the birthday of an American garden writer.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and original blog posts for yourself, you're in luck. I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there's no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you'd search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Curated News Vegetable Garden Design: DIY Bean Trellis - Gardenista| Gardenista | Michelle Slatalla Important Events September 29, 1760 Birth of William Beckford, English novelist, travel writer, and architect. His family's enormous wealth stemmed from the enslavement of Jamaicans. Reclusive and eccentric, William is best known for his romance novel, The History of the Caliph Vathek (1782). William was fascinated with Italianate gardens. He especially enjoyed the landscape at Lansdown Cemetery after he installed a pleasure garden. He designed a large tower there and hoped to be buried in its shade near one of his favorite dogs. But it was not to be. The ground was considered unconsecrated, and the dog only made the situation even more untenable. And so, William's sarcophagus was moved to Abbey Cemetery in Bath. William once wrote, Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul to.   September 29, 1810 Birth of Elizabeth Gaskell, English writer. She married a Unitarian minister named William Gaskell, and his work led them both to help and advocate for the poor. In 1850, she met Charlotte Brontë at the summer home of a mutual acquaintance, and the two became instant friends. Once when Charlotte visited her, her shyness got the best of her, and Charlotte hid behind some curtains rather than meeting other visitors who had stopped by the Gaskell's Manchester home. After Charlotte died in 1855, her father, Patrick, asked Elizabeth to write her biography, which resulted in The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857). Elizabeth's work included the novels Mary Barton (1848), Cranford (1851–53),  and North and South (1854–55). She once told her daughter, Marianne, It is hard work writing a novel all morning, spudding up dandelions all afternoon, and writing again at night. Elizabeth was a gardener, and she loved flowers - especially roses. Gardens, flowers, fragrances, and country life permeate her writing. In Ruth (1853), she wrote, With a bound, the sun of a molten fiery red came above the horizon, and immediately thousands of little birds sang out for joy, and a soft chorus of mysterious, glad murmurs came forth from the earth...waking the flower-buds to the life of another day. In Wives and Daughters (1865), she wrote, I would far rather have two or three lilies of the valley gathered for me by a person I like than the most expensive bouquet that could be bought!   September 29, 1920  Birth of Geoffry B. Charlesworth, garden author. Regarding the Devil's Claw or Tufted Horned Rampion (Physoplexis comosa), he wrote, We like people not just because they are good, kind, and pretty but for some indefinable spark, usually called "chemistry," that draws us to them and begs not to be analyzed too closely. Just so with plants. In that case, my favorite has to be Physoplexis comosa. This is not merely because I am writing at the beginning of July when the plant approaches maximum attractiveness. In A Gardener Obsessed (1994), he wrote, A garden is a Gymnasium; an outlet for energy, a place where accidents occur, where muscles develop, and fat is shed. — Uneventful living takes up most of our time. Gardening is part of it, possibly a trivial part to the rest of the world, but by no means less important to the gardener than the big events. In The Opinionated Gardener (1988), he wrote, Every gardener knows this greed. I heard a man looking at a group of plants say, “I have all the plants I need.” Ridiculous. He said it because he was leaving for South America the next day, and he didn't have his checkbook, and it was December, and he didn't have a cold frame.   Unearthed Words A minute ago, it was June. Now the weather is September. The crops are high, about to be cut, bright, golden, November? Unimaginable. Just a month away. The days are still warm, the air in the shadows sharper. The nights are sooner, chillier, the light a little less each time. Dark at half-past seven. Dark at quarter past seven, dark at seven. The greens of the trees have been duller since August since July really. But the flowers are still coming. The hedgerows are still humming. The shed is already full of apples, and the tree's still covered in them. The birds are on the powerlines. The swifts left a week ago. They're hundreds of miles from here by now, somewhere over the ocean. ― Ali Smith, Autumn   Grow That Garden Library Moths by David Lees and Alberto Zilli   This book came out in 2019, and the subtitle is A Complete Guide to Biology and Behavior. In this book, David and Alberto give us an expert reference to the vital insect group of moths. In many cases, moths rely on their ability to camouflage to survive and reproduce. Gardeners are attracted to brightly covered butterflies, but the work of moths in the environment is equally important. Now, of course, you can't have a practical guide to moths without spectacular illustrations, and this book has that in spades. Readers come away with an incredible appreciation for the diversity of these winged insects and their miraculous lifecycle - from egg to larva to cocoon to airborne adult. This book is 208 pages of the marvelous world of moths - and our world would be the lesser without them. You can get a copy of Moths by David Lees and Alberto Zilli and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $20   Today's Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart September 29, 1902 Birth of Jean Hersey, American garden writer and magazine feature writer. She lived in Westport, Connecticut, with a meadow instead of a front lawn and woodland and stream for a back yard. She wrote over a dozen books. Her first book was called I Like Gardening (1941), which one reviewer said: "makes one fairly itch to start a garden (bugs and insects included)." Jean is probably best known for The Shape of a Year (1967), a year-long almanac of her garden life. In her chapter on September, she wrote, September is a sweep of dusky, purple asters, a sumac branch swinging a fringe of scarlet leaves, and the bittersweet scent of wild grapes when I walk down the lane to the mailbox. September is a golden month of mellow sunlight and still, clear days. The ground grows cool to the touch, but the sun is still warm.  A hint of crisp freshness lies in the early hours of these mornings. Small creatures in the grass, as if realizing their days are numbered, cram the night air with sound. Everywhere goldenrod is full out.  One of the excitements of the month is the Organic Garden Club show. Bob and I were prowling around the night before, considering what I might enter and studying all our tomatoes. The large ones seemed pretty good, but all had the common scars on the top that don't make a bit of difference in the eating but aren't good for a show. There was a special charm to some smaller ones, volunteers, that grew out of the midst of the chard. Each one was perfect, not a blemish. These were larger than the cherry tomatoes. "They're about the size of ping-pong balls,” Bob said. "They must be a cross between the ordinary large ones and the cherry ones. Say – why not enter them as Ping-pong Tomatoes? So I did, selecting three perfect ones, and they won first prize overall tomatoes.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

09/28/21 - Vaccines And Pregnancy And Vintage Westport by The Lisa Wexler Show

After Naude got some devastating news about his daughter's health he tells the story of how he and his life profoundly changed. Spoiler alert! His daughter is fine! More Naude Dreyer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/namib_naude/?hl=en More Nelsie https://www.instagram.com/nelsiewrites​ https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsiespencer Produced by Ronnie Whaley https://www.instagram.com/ronniefwhaley/​​​​ https://twitter.com/ronniefwhaley https://www.tiktok.com/@ronniefwhaley Losing It! Merch Store https://bit.ly/3teRhg6​​​​ Ticket To Write With Nelsie Spencer https://bit.ly/3cuZ1Vi​​​​ More Losing It! Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vjHtmh Facebook: https://bit.ly/3eDJUdn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingitpod Official Website: https://bit.ly/3nNOG96​​​​ Audio on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3odyMF7​​​​ Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2M4NYHB​​​​ If you'd like to have your Losing It! story read by Nelsie on the next episode, e-mail us at LosingItContact@gmail.com Be on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3qM4vyR​​​​ Advertise on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3pgga91 Our equipment Nelsie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3wp8Hrt Nelsie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Nelsie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Nelsie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3eTXOrw Ronnie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Ronnie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Ronnie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's PC Build: https://bit.ly/2SUwjp9 ABOUT NELSIE Hi! I'm Nelsie Spencer. I'm a writer, performer, writing teacher/mentor/coach. And a podcaster. I have over 30 years of experience as a writer: I produced a playwright (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), an award-winning screenwriter (Valley Inn), and a published novelist (The Playgroup). My writing career began when I wrote myself a role with my best friend Laury Marker. Our play, My Heart Belongs to Daddy, premiered at Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre in Westport, Ct. And had 3 more sold-out and critically acclaimed productions! Along the way, we worked with producer Dash Epstein and director Morton DeCosta (both Tony-Award winners). Since My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've written stand-up, become a published novelist (The Playgroup) and worked as a radio talk show host with comics Cory Kahaney and Maureen Langan. Nora Ephron called my first screenplay, A Girl's Best Friend, "a brilliant premise and a wonderful screenplay." When she took the script to Sony and they passed on it, she told them, "You're idiots! Read it again!" God bless you, Nora! In 2015 the award-winning indie film, Valley Inn (co-writer with Kim Swink), was released. My time as a radio talk show host, stand-up comic, and actor made podcasting an easy, fun, and inevitable next step. Last year, I created Losing It! with Nelsie Spencer, life lessons from some of my favorite losers. After taking a few decades off from serious acting, I made my way back to the stage last year when I wrote and performed Day of the Dead Daddy, my solo show. It premiered in NYC at The Chain Studio Theatre. This year, I was honored to be invited to perform my show (via Zoom) at The Marsh Theatre's International Solo Show Festival where Day of the Dead Daddy won an Honorable Mention. I plan to bring the show to Edinburgh for their Fringe Festival next summer. Throughout my unorthodox career path I've met and worked with many interesting and influential people such as super-agent Ari Emanuel, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore. I've been helping other writers find and hone their stories and their voices since 2006. My current mission: To create community, support, and inspiration for the writer.

Mike Hayes is the former Commanding Officer of SEAL Team TWO, leading a two thousand-person Special Operations Task Force in Southeastern Afghanistan. In addition to a twenty-year career as a SEAL, Mike was a White House Fellow, served two years as Director of Defense Policy and Strategy at the National Security Council, and has worked directly with both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.  More About Mike Hayes: Beyond his military and governmental service, Mike is currently the Chief Digital Transformation Officer at VMware. He joined VMware in October 2020, and leads the company's worldwide business operations and the acceleration of the company's SaaS transition. Previously, he was SVP and Head of Strategic Operations at Cognizant Technology. Mike also served in Chief of Staff and COO roles at Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest and most successful hedge fund.  Mike holds an M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and received his B.A. from Holy Cross College. His military decorations include the Bronze Star for valor in combat in Iraq, a Bronze Star for Afghanistan, and the Defense Superior Service Medal from the White House. Hayes is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the board of directors of Immuta, a data governance company, and of the National Medal of Honor Museum, and a senior advisor to Inherent Group, an impact investment firm. He lives in Westport, Connecticut with his wife and daughter.  Topics Discussed: * What made Mike decide to become a Navy SEAL * What lesson did he carry from being a Navy SEAL into civilian life * Why he didn't want to write Never Enough, but had to * Why you need to be a good follower and a good leader  * What does he mean by: achieving excellence in knowledge and capacity * Why making yourself uncomfortable is the key to success * How to find your meaning as an individual * What is the 1162 Foundation and what does it do Episode Resources: * Buy Mike's Book Never Enough Here: https://amzn.to/3zVeeIq * The Simple Life Website: https://thesimplelifenow.com  *Make sure to signup and be a member of The Simple Life Insider's Circle at: https://thesimplelifenow.com/the-simple-life/

Mike Hayes is the former Commanding Officer of SEAL Team TWO, leading a two thousand-person Special Operations Task Force in Southeastern Afghanistan. In addition to a twenty-year career as a SEAL, Mike was a White House Fellow, served two years as Director of Defense Policy and Strategy at the National Security Council, and has worked directly with both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.  More About Mike Hayes: Beyond his military and governmental service, Mike is currently the Chief Digital Transformation Officer at VMware. He joined VMware in October 2020, and leads the company's worldwide business operations and the acceleration of the company's SaaS transition. Previously, he was SVP and Head of Strategic Operations at Cognizant Technology. Mike also served in Chief of Staff and COO roles at Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest and most successful hedge fund.  Mike holds an M.A. in Public Policy from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and received his B.A. from Holy Cross College. His military decorations include the Bronze Star for valor in combat in Iraq, a Bronze Star for Afghanistan, and the Defense Superior Service Medal from the White House. Hayes is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the board of directors of Immuta, a data governance company, and of the National Medal of Honor Museum, and a senior advisor to Inherent Group, an impact investment firm. He lives in Westport, Connecticut with his wife and daughter.  Topics Discussed: * What made Mike decide to become a Navy SEAL * What lesson did he carry from being a Navy SEAL into civilian life * Why he didn't want to write Never Enough, but had to * Why you need to be a good follower and a good leader  * What does he mean by: achieving excellence in knowledge and capacity * Why making yourself uncomfortable is the key to success * How to find your meaning as an individual * What is the 1162 Foundation and what does it do Episode Resources: * Buy Mike's Book Never Enough Here: https://amzn.to/3zVeeIq * The Simple Life Website: https://www.thesimplelifenow.com  *Make sure to signup and be a member of The Simple Life Insider's Circle at: https://www.thesimplelifenow.com/the-simple-life/

After flying across the country to LA the everything shut down, thank you Covid! Racquel found herself with a looney/ con-woman boss in a crazy job trying to figure out how to survive in this new world. More Raquelle Garcete Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_rg1990_/?hl=en More Nelsie https://www.instagram.com/nelsiewrites​ https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsiespencer Produced by Ronnie Whaley https://www.instagram.com/ronniefwhaley/​​​​ https://twitter.com/ronniefwhaley https://www.tiktok.com/@ronniefwhaley Losing It! Merch Store https://bit.ly/3teRhg6​​​​ Ticket To Write With Nelsie Spencer https://bit.ly/3cuZ1Vi​​​​ More Losing It! Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vjHtmh Facebook: https://bit.ly/3eDJUdn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingitpod Official Website: https://bit.ly/3nNOG96​​​​ Audio on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3odyMF7​​​​ Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2M4NYHB​​​​ If you'd like to have your Losing It! story read by Nelsie on the next episode, e-mail us at LosingItContact@gmail.com Be on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3qM4vyR​​​​ Advertise on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3pgga91 Our equipment Nelsie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3wp8Hrt Nelsie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Nelsie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Nelsie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3eTXOrw Ronnie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Ronnie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Ronnie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's PC Build: https://bit.ly/2SUwjp9 ABOUT NELSIE Hi! I'm Nelsie Spencer. I'm a writer, performer, writing teacher/mentor/coach. And a podcaster. I have over 30 years of experience as a writer: I produced a playwright (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), an award-winning screenwriter (Valley Inn), and a published novelist (The Playgroup). My writing career began when I wrote myself a role with my best friend Laury Marker. Our play, My Heart Belongs to Daddy, premiered at Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre in Westport, Ct. And had 3 more sold-out and critically acclaimed productions! Along the way, we worked with producer Dash Epstein and director Morton DeCosta (both Tony-Award winners). Since My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've written stand-up, become a published novelist (The Playgroup) and worked as a radio talk show host with comics Cory Kahaney and Maureen Langan. Nora Ephron called my first screenplay, A Girl's Best Friend, "a brilliant premise and a wonderful screenplay." When she took the script to Sony and they passed on it, she told them, "You're idiots! Read it again!" God bless you, Nora! In 2015 the award-winning indie film, Valley Inn (co-writer with Kim Swink), was released. My time as a radio talk show host, stand-up comic, and actor made podcasting an easy, fun, and inevitable next step. Last year, I created Losing It! with Nelsie Spencer, life lessons from some of my favorite losers. After taking a few decades off from serious acting, I made my way back to the stage last year when I wrote and performed Day of the Dead Daddy, my solo show. It premiered in NYC at The Chain Studio Theatre. This year, I was honored to be invited to perform my show (via Zoom) at The Marsh Theatre's International Solo Show Festival where Day of the Dead Daddy won an Honorable Mention. I plan to bring the show to Edinburgh for their Fringe Festival next summer. Throughout my unorthodox career path I've met and worked with many interesting and influential people such as super-agent Ari Emanuel, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore. I've been helping other writers find and hone their stories and their voices since 2006. My current mission: To create community, support, and inspiration for the writer.

It's a jam-packed show with special guest star longtime and retiring Hartford coach Harry Bellucci, whose Owls had a big 43-7 opening-week victory, joining the show to talk about his career and this year's team. Fairfield Prep made the biggest splash of the anticipated return to football with a statement, 29-16 victory over No. 3 Hand, and made sure to let the GameTimeCT crew know all about it. Sean and Pete also recap the biggest performances of the week, review the top 10 and then talk with columnist Jeff Jacobs about post-pandemic football and especially the scene in Westport for Staples' 27-20 victory over former coach Marce Petroccio and Trumbull. RUNDOWN: 0:00 -- 1:21: Opening Montage from Fairfield Prep's 29-16 victory over No. 3 Hand (Ryan O'Connell, Tymaine Smith and coach Keith Hellstern) 1:21 -- 15:31: Fairfield Prep goes on safari vs. No. 3 Hand; Southington-Maloney 15:31 -- 23:15: The Latest GameTimeCT Top 10 23:15 -- 26:32: Wrapping up Week 1's Top Moments. 26:32 -- 42:27: Jeff Jacobs on Staples and the rest of Week 1. 42:27 -- End: Interview with retiring Hartford Public coach Harry Bellucci

Standup comic Aubree Sweeney talks about how she got into stand-up, touring the US in her RV, her love of dogs and how she got rid of a major phobia. More Aubree Sweeney Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aubree_sweeney/?hl=en More Nelsie https://www.instagram.com/nelsiewrites​ https://www.tiktok.com/@nelsiespencer Produced by Ronnie Whaley https://www.instagram.com/ronniefwhaley/​​​​ https://twitter.com/ronniefwhaley https://www.tiktok.com/@ronniefwhaley Losing It! Merch Store https://bit.ly/3teRhg6​​​​ Ticket To Write With Nelsie Spencer https://bit.ly/3cuZ1Vi​​​​ More Losing It! Instagram: https://bit.ly/3vjHtmh Facebook: https://bit.ly/3eDJUdn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@losingitpod Official Website: https://bit.ly/3nNOG96​​​​ Audio on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3odyMF7​​​​ Audio on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2M4NYHB​​​​ If you'd like to have your Losing It! story read by Nelsie on the next episode, e-mail us at LosingItContact@gmail.com Be on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3qM4vyR​​​​ Advertise on Losing It!: https://bit.ly/3pgga91 Our equipment Nelsie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3wp8Hrt Nelsie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Nelsie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Nelsie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's Mic: https://amzn.to/3eTXOrw Ronnie's Camera: https://amzn.to/3yiLvwI Ronnie's Mic Arm: https://amzn.to/3uXNpRo Ronnie's Ring Light: https://amzn.to/3uVtyCj Ronnie's PC Build: https://bit.ly/2SUwjp9 ABOUT NELSIE Hi! I'm Nelsie Spencer. I'm a writer, performer, writing teacher/mentor/coach. And a podcaster. I have over 30 years of experience as a writer: I produced a playwright (My Heart Belongs to Daddy), an award-winning screenwriter (Valley Inn), and a published novelist (The Playgroup). My writing career began when I wrote myself a role with my best friend Laury Marker. Our play, My Heart Belongs to Daddy, premiered at Lucille Lortel's White Barn Theatre in Westport, Ct. And had 3 more sold-out and critically acclaimed productions! Along the way, we worked with producer Dash Epstein and director Morton DeCosta (both Tony-Award winners). Since My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've written stand-up, become a published novelist (The Playgroup) and worked as a radio talk show host with comics Cory Kahaney and Maureen Langan. Nora Ephron called my first screenplay, A Girl's Best Friend, "a brilliant premise and a wonderful screenplay." When she took the script to Sony and they passed on it, she told them, "You're idiots! Read it again!" God bless you, Nora! In 2015 the award-winning indie film, Valley Inn (co-writer with Kim Swink), was released. My time as a radio talk show host, stand-up comic, and actor made podcasting an easy, fun, and inevitable next step. Last year, I created Losing It! with Nelsie Spencer, life lessons from some of my favorite losers. After taking a few decades off from serious acting, I made my way back to the stage last year when I wrote and performed Day of the Dead Daddy, my solo show. It premiered in NYC at The Chain Studio Theatre. This year, I was honored to be invited to perform my show (via Zoom) at The Marsh Theatre's International Solo Show Festival where Day of the Dead Daddy won an Honorable Mention. I plan to bring the show to Edinburgh for their Fringe Festival next summer. Throughout my unorthodox career path I've met and worked with many interesting and influential people such as super-agent Ari Emanuel, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, and Oscar winners Jane Fonda and Mary Tyler Moore. I've been helping other writers find and hone their stories and their voices since 2006. My current mission: To create community, support, and inspiration for the writer.

09/10/21 - Westport Fire Chief Robert Yost And Professor Saad Tour by The Lisa Wexler Show

Our special guest on the latest edition of The End Game is Greg Jensen, the Co-CIO of Bridgewater Associates, the $140billion asset manager based in Westport, Connecticut. Over his 25-year career at the firm, Greg has spent an inordinate amount of time using historical precedents to construct ever-more complex algorithms to help understand and predict evolving market dynamics. In this fascinating discussion, Greg digs deep into the current macro environment, explaining at length how Bridgewater's framework helps them evaluate the predicament facing the world's central banks and formulate a set of likely outcomes in terms of both policy and market response. The death of the ‘transitory' narrative, the lessons to be learned from previous periods of disruption and the advantages the shrinking set of options available to policymakers offer investors all come under the microscope as we get an insight into the investment process  behind one of the world's largest pools of capital. As a reminder, Silver Tier subscribers to https://www.grant-williams.com get access to both Things That Make You Go Hmmm… and all editions of The Grant Williams Podcast, including The End Game, The Super Terrific Happy Hour, and The Narrative Game so sign up today!