Life 2.0

The Bubble

It's one of those days when I suddenly realized that my level was off and the "bubble" that is supposed to be in the middle wasn't. So, I stopped what I was "doing" and took a few minutes to just "be." Amazing what happens when you take a few minutes to lie down on the grass and do some cloud gazing in the middle of the day. 

Mother's Day Memories

This episode was created from a conversation with a kid I grew up with, who shared a story of a friend of his, whose mom drove him and a few of his friends to Woodstock when they were just teenagers. That "mom moment" gave me the idea to add a couple more voices. It's Mother's Day memories from Candace Jordan, Chris Joyce, and Mandy Jankus, as well as a few memories of my mom, Carol, who passed away in 1997. 

Your Voice Matters

Longfellow once said, "The human voice is the organ of the soul." After attending a live event last week celebrating one of the podcasts I produce, I started thinking about all the voices I have had the opportunity to spend time with over the years, broadcasting. This episode is a montage of some of my favorites, including Ed McMahon, Royce Elliott, Ron Santo, Trudy Gronning, Dale Thomas, Bill Kurtis, Jerry Kramer, and Aboriginal Grandmother, as well as Christopher Reeve, Earl Hamner, and John Denver. 

Vietnam 1975

50 years ago today, on 30 April 1975, the Vietnam War came to a shuddering, chaotic end with the Fall of Saigon. The official war years are listed as 1954-1975, in which 58,148 US soldiers gave their lives. While the war might have ended on paper, for many veterans like my cousin Rich "The Sarge" Hoffman, it has been an ongoing battle. I pulled up a conversation that I had with Rich in 2018, and what he said then is even more important today.

Lest we forget.

Mongo & The Pope

This past week, the world lost two larger-than-life men. On the day after Easter, Pope Francis took his permanent leave of absence from the Vatican at the age of 89. Two days later, Steve "Mongo" McMichael, the Hall of Fame Chicago Bear, passed away at the age of 67 from ALS. Both men came from different camps, and while exact opposites in many ways, had one very important thing in common, and it's a gift that each of them left us in their own way.

EARTH MATTERS

That little blue marble hanging in space is the only home we have. The message is clear and simple, as Chief Seattle said, "Contaminate your bed, one night you will suffocate in your own waste." While the environmental challenges at times seem overwhelming, there is one thing you can do to make a world of difference. A little help from Bill Kurtis and John Denver on this one.

Resurrection

On this day before Easter, as many are waiting for the Easter remembrance of the resurrection, it came to me that there have been many times in my life that I had to resurrect myself from something that had died off, be it physically, spiritually, emotionally, or even financially. 

The lessons of resurrection are many and often lost in the endless erosion of life. So, it's important to look back on your life and remember the times that you had a rebirth of sorts from circumstances and situations that no longer existed as they once did. 

And, for those who have always wondered where the tradition of Easter eggs started...I got ya covered.

 

 

The Wednesday Rant

I happened across one of those Tesla Cyber-Trucks yesterday, and just a few hours later was listening to a conversation with my late, great friend Hillary Raimo, who spent a week at Tesla. No, not the Elon Musk EV factory, but rather the rooms that one of the greatest inventors-Nikola Tesla-lived in the last years of his life. Hillary's stay revealed the three secrets of the universe...that are available to everyone, free of charge (no pun intended.)

HOLY COW!

Chicago Cubs manager Leo Durocher once said, "Baseball is like church. Many attend, but few understand." Well, one guy who totally understands is best-selling author and media presence Rick Kaempfer. Rick's just cranked out the updated 7th edition of "Every Cub Ever" a book about every single player who ever played for the Chicago Cubs between the beginning of the 1871 season and the end of the 2024 season (their managers, broadcasters, and owners, too). There are 500 new profiles and some incredible pictures in Rick's latest effort. We take a deep dive into the rich and storied history of the Chicago Cubs, and the players that built the Wrigley Field legacy, from the famous to the infamous and every single one in-between.

Earth Matters Monday

The Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deep-water, semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by the BP oil company. On 20 April 2010, while drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at the a blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crewmen and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles away. The fire was inextinguishable, and two days later, on April 22, the Horizon collapsed, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and becoming the largest marine oil spill in history. 15 years later, the current administration wants to roll back security measures in an attempt to save oil companies money. Wait, what?