I'm Frickin' Lonely...Tell Me Your Story! (Staying Connected Through Conversation)

Sheila Nall
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I'm Frickin' Lonely...Tell Me Your Story! (Staying Connected Through Conversation)

In its original iteration, this podcast explored the ways we'd all been impacted by the pandemic: how the "COVID years" changed the trajectory of people's lives. And how they were still able to do great things in spite of and sometimes even because of this "crisis". Now the content has evolved beyond COVID to conversations about people's lives, paths, passions and purpose. We are talking with leaders in the arts, humanities, community service and just plain great people! Some stories will be funny, some sad, some inspirational? Let's see what happens! And maybe we'll learn something.

  1. Lance Liverman - Getting a Natural "High" From Giving Back

    AUG 3

    Lance Liverman - Getting a Natural "High" From Giving Back

    I feel so lucky that my office was right across the street from the home of today’s guest, because with his wave and a smile, we became acquainted and later, I am happy to say, friends.    Lance Liverman is a true man of the community! He has worked passionately for the benefit of those in need.  In fact, his community service has been so impactful, the mayor of Princeton has named a day after him; February 25, 2024, is officially Lance Liverman Day! Like most of my guests who are involved in community service, Lance got an early start helping others.  It was part of his family ethos to care for others and throughout his life, he has taken it to the next level.  Lance tells us about his life and how it led him to serve the community of Princeton in many capacities, especially related to his passion for affordable housing.  His positive attitude, gratitude for what he has, and desire to share his bounty are evident in his story.  And as he says, giving back gives him a natural “high”!  We had a great conversation and I hope you’ll listen in!

    43 min
  2. Nathalie Nelson - "How a Passion for Caring for Others Led to Leadership at Womanspace"

    JUL 8

    Nathalie Nelson - "How a Passion for Caring for Others Led to Leadership at Womanspace"

    My connection to today’s guest is yet another example of how each person we meet exponentially broadens our network.  I am getting less and less lonely and more and more inspired with each episode and conversation!  Join me as I talk with Nathalie Nelson, CEO of Womanspace who I met through Joan Bartl, who I met through…never mind, you get the picture!  Womanspace is a wonderful organization, founded in 1977 by Barbara Boggs Sigmund, providing safe haven and resources to victims and families impacted by domestic violence here in Mercer County, NJ.    Nathalie shares the story of how her family emphasized hard work, education and most importantly volunteering and giving to those in need.  This became a passion for Nathalie and factored heavily in her decision-making process as she chose her paths in education, career and life.  Her strength in Human Resources (people skills and caring all rolled into one) led her to Womanspace and ultimately the role of CEO.  She shares with us how Womanspace does outreach, trains its response team, works with local administrations, hospitals and police officers, provides counseling, safe housing, programs and more to victim/survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.  It is important but taxing work.  Nathalie, as a leader, emphasizes the importance of self-care to everyone on the Womanspace team.  And although her schedule is intense, she is careful to set an example through meditation and time spent with friends and her wonderful family.  Please listen to this episode and if you know of anyone in Mercer County who needs these services, please have them reach out.  The number is (609)394-9000 and is answered by actual human beings 24/7!  Check out their website at https://womanspace.org/.

    38 min
  3. Karen Kowalski and Jen Orlick - "How a Life-Changing Hardship Inspired the Creation of a Whole New World"

    JUN 24

    Karen Kowalski and Jen Orlick - "How a Life-Changing Hardship Inspired the Creation of a Whole New World"

    I’m particularly excited about this episode because it embodies the very reason I started this podcast: to create connections! The purpose of this episode, along with telling a wonderful story, is to help someone launch her own podcast.  And I made a new friend in the process!  Karen Kowalski, one of today’s guests, is an Occupational Therapist.  She reached out to me because her clients’ stories about not only overcoming disabilities, but actually using them to springboard into new opportunities were so inspirational, she felt moved to get them out into the world.  Her chosen medium is a podcast, although she hopes to include video.  It will be called “Adjusting the Lens – Unbidden Triumphs”.  So our podcast today is essentially a practice run toward that launch.   With Karen is one of her friends, Jen Orlick. It’s her amazing journey we’ll hear about today. Jen shares the story of her ovarian cancer diagnosis and how the treatments caused unexpected disabilities. As she struggled to learn new ways to live her life as fully as possible, an inspiration hit her.  Jen tells us how a childhood love of toy mice helped her to think outside the box.  She went far beyond the typical therapy exercises focusing on regaining cognitive and motor skills.  Her project started as building a house for the mice, but it evolved far beyond that. Jen has created an entire mouse world, complete with individual personas for each mouse, (Szusy, her husband Ralph, et al), activities, travel, environments, and even a following that spans the nation and an ocean!  There is a move afoot to create their own Instagram account.  That’s the story we’ll hear today. We hope you’ll enjoy listening to this episode as much as we did recording it, and are inspired to watch for the launch of Karen’s podcast in the fall of 2024.  Please enjoy our conversation! Check out my Facebook Page at I’m Frickin’ Lonely.How About You to see pictures of Szusy, Ralph, Szusy’s siblings, and the mouse house.

    46 min
  4. Paula Flory - "How a Breast Cancer Diagnosis Inspired a Joy-Based Approach to Care"

    MAR 29

    Paula Flory - "How a Breast Cancer Diagnosis Inspired a Joy-Based Approach to Care"

    In this episode, I spoke with Paula Flory, an amazing woman who parlayed a huge shock…her Stage III breast cancer diagnosis…into a catalyst for creating a joy-focused method of care. Recognizing her own un-filled needs during treatment and recovery, Paula’s wheels (literally) started turning. This led to her creation of Move Over Breast Cancer, (MOBC) a fully mobile breast cancer support organization, complete with a beautiful van, fit out to provide breast cancer services in a spa-like setting.  But that’s not all!  We’ll hear about all the breadth of supportive programs Paula has created to help those facing what she faced.  She considers MOBC “the face of hope” for her family of women fighting breast cancer.   Paula shares with us the story of her upbringing in New Jersey and her path through university, focusing on psychology and counseling. Give a listen as she tells us about her study abroad run-in with her ex-boyfriend. And her experience when serving as a counselor during grad school at NYU will pluck your heart strings.  But there is a clear link between the skills and experience she developed during those years to her current mission.  After Paula’s diagnosis, the treatment and staying strong for her family took all the strength she had. But her experiences planted the seed that ultimately led to creating of Move Over Breast Cancer. She tells us how the idea came to her, how she found funding (during the pandemic no less!), how she found the van, and ultimately how MOBC’s services blossomed into something so much more.  Her fellow survivors and current fighters have truly become a family!  What an inspiration!  Make sure to watch her interview on The View.  It’s available on YouTube and the link is at her website. There you can hear more of her story, see the van, and meet some of the women she has helped.   We had such a fun time recording this episode.  Please enjoy our conversation! Paula encourages anyone in our region with breast cancer or a with loved one with breast cancer to reach out.  Information can be found at her website: https://moveoverbreastcancer.org/ Paula kept a blog throughout her treatment to keep friends and family informed of her progress, but also as a form of personal therapy.  She used a site called CaringBridge: https://www.caringbridge.org

    1h 1m
  5. Joan Bartl - "A Fight Against Gender Stereotypes/A Sit-in for Women's Rights"

    12/27/2023

    Joan Bartl - "A Fight Against Gender Stereotypes/A Sit-in for Women's Rights"

    In this episode, we welcome Joan Bartl, a woman who doesn’t sit back (although she does “sit-in”…you’ll get the reference when you listen) when she sees something wrong in the world…she acts.  Joan’s stories demonstrate what you can achieve when you have a clear sense of purpose and can inspire others to share that passion!  Joan’s story follows her path from growing up in Philly as a “normal kid”, to her first awareness of inexplicable gender role assignments, to her early adulthood in the 70’s when these stereotypes became ever more apparent. It was then, as a young mother, she was inspired to band together with like-minded women to rail against ingrained (and to be honest, offensive) gender role models in educational materials, TV and beyond. They created a group called WOWI, “Women on Words and Images” and gained national acclaim as they fought for change.  It is a great story about seeing an issue and taking action.  Happily, it is a true success story and all those who have come after have benefited from these herculean efforts.  I personally was amazed at what they were able to achieve…especially in a time before anything was digital or there was such a thing as the internet!   After this successful campaign, Joan continued to be driven by the desire to make things better wherever she focused her attention.  Along with being a member of NOW, the League of Women Voters, Coalition for Peace Action, and the ACLU, Joan has been on the board of Womanspace for the past 18 years.   Along with all this, Joan is president of Payment Management, a national credit card processing company where she has been a trailblazer for providing payment services for small and medium sized businesses for almost 30 years. She is also Co-Director of Banking On New Jersey and serves on Governor Murphy’s Implementation Board to bring a Public Bank to New Jersey.  As you can see, Joan is a force to be reckoned with!  Please enjoy our conversation!   To see the work of Joan’s WOWI group, go to https://www.womenonwordsandimages.com/   Here are other links relevant to our conversation: https://womanspace.org/ Womanspace, Inc. is a leading nonprofit agency in Mercer County, New Jersey, that provides a comprehensive array of services to individuals and families impacted by domestic and sexual violence and dedicated to improving the quality of life for adults and their families. Programs include crisis intervention, emergency shelter, counseling, court advocacy and housing services.    https://www.paymentmgmt.com/our-team Payment Management is a partnership of payment card industry professionals with extensive experience in providing the very best payment service programs to businesses of all sizes.   Our hallmarks are true personal service with exacting attention to detail providing each business with the ability to be free of concern about their payment services program.

    43 min
  6. Landon Jones - "Books, Boomers, and the Perils of Celebrity"

    10/19/2023

    Landon Jones - "Books, Boomers, and the Perils of Celebrity"

    In today’s episode, we enter the world of books, history, journalism, and celebrity!  My guest, Landon Jones, is a renowned author and journalist.  He served as Managing Editor of both People and Money magazines, and has authored four critically acclaimed books. Lanny’s most recent book, Celebrity Nation: How America Evolved into a Culture of Fans and Followers is a cautionary tale about our nation’s shift from hero worship to celebrity/influencer worship.  Timely and telling!  Lanny shares with us how his early childhood hearing loss fed his love of reading.  Libraries were his haven and feature prominently throughout his life and our conversation!  He tells us about how observing his younger brothers led to his interest in Baby Boomers (a term he coined I might add!) and led to his writing Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation.  And how his midwestern roots fostered his interest in the expeditions of Lewis & Clark.  (It sounds like he’s coming back to those roots in his next project!)  We learn what brought Lanny to Princeton University (teachers saying, “Go East young man!”) where (including graduating with honors) he was editor of the Princeton Alumni Weekly and met many of his “big brother and sister” writing mentors including John McPhee, Mike Keeley, Jerry Goodman (Adam Smith) Joyce Carol Oates and Brock Brower.  He went on to Time-Life and the creation of People magazine, where the things he learned and famous people he met as Managing Editor certainly informed his research into celebrity culture. Celebrity Nation: How America Evolved into a Culture of Fans and Followers has (as do all of his books) a grand theme, is meticulously detailed and thoroughly researched.  I hope you’ll enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it! Lanny has great stories to tell and was fun to talk with!  Head to Lanny’s website for more information:  www.lannyjones.com And make sure to check out all ofLanny’s books!  Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation (CowardMcCann, New York, 1980) The Essential Lewis and Clark (Ecco/Harper Collins, 2000) William Clark and the Shaping of the West (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2004; University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009) Celebrity Nation: How America Evolved into a Culture of Fans and Followers (BeaconPress, 2023)

    48 min
  7. Carol Golden - From a Tradition of "Tikkun Olam" to a Life of "Hands-on" Activism

    08/23/2023

    Carol Golden - From a Tradition of "Tikkun Olam" to a Life of "Hands-on" Activism

    Today’s guest, Carol Golden, is yet another involved and engaged individual, constantly looking for ways to improve the world.  You’ll want to hear her story about how she came up with the term “community activist” as a response to the question “what do you do?” It’s a fun one! Carol explains how her sense of the importance of community goes back to her roots.  Her parents, both “civil servants”, instilled the spirit of “tikkun olam” into their lives and hers. If you don’t know what that means, you’ll have to listen to find out!  Suffice it to say, it’s a wonderful tradition to live by.    Exposure to diversity and wonderful teachers during her formative years also informed Carol’s world view.  The slogan “it can be done, but it’s up to you” still rings true to her today. (Good small-world story here as well.) Later, recognizing that “our lives are (relatively) easy, but others’ aren’t”, Carol sought out ways to have her work to be useful and impactful.  This drive carried her to serve on the board of Planned Parenthood, the 101:Fund (Need based scholarships.  Oddly she found this inspiration at the fish store!), and Greenwood House (exemplary senior nursing care), among others.    Carol's desire to be more “hands-on” and directly in touch with people led to her current involvement with Housing Initiatives of Princeton (H.I.P). A wonderful organization, helping to break the cycle of homelessness.  The Dobbs decision also spurred her and fellow activists to create a group to support women’s reproductive rights by shepherding people through the difficulties thrown in their paths as they seek reproductive care.  Carol never runs out of new sources of motivation!  So much to do, so little time! Please listen in to our conversation!    Links to some of the organizations mentioned in our conversation: https://www.101fund.org/ For over 50 years, The 101: Fund has been providing need-based college scholarships to Princeton High School (PHS) graduates for whom college can be prohibitively expensive.  https://www.housinginitiativesofprinceton.org/ The mission of Housing Initiatives of Princeton is to assist local individuals and families experiencing housing insecurity build toward a sustainable future via stable housing, better employment, and a network of support services. https://www.greenwoodhouse.org/about/ What started as a community nursing home for the aged back in 1939, Greenwood House is now a comprehensive provider of wellness-focused senior lifestyles and health care services. As a  not-for-profit, mission-based community, we hold ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to caring for our residents.

    1 hr
  8. Chris Collier - "From Trombone to Cinema...A Path to Fostering Community"

    05/26/2023

    Chris Collier - "From Trombone to Cinema...A Path to Fostering Community"

    In this episode of “I’m Frickin’ Lonely”, our conversation returns to the world of art, but a very different medium from what we’ve previously covered.  Today we’re talking about cinema…and specifically community cinema. Our guest is Chris Collier, the Executive Director of Renew Theaters, a nonprofit management company that operates four member-supported theaters in the Greater Philadelphia Region, both in PA and NJ. Each of the theaters is a saved historic theater that now operates to share great films and events, educate the community about the film and media arts, engender a lifelong love of the arts, and to preserve cultural resources of the communities they serve.  Chris tells us about how an early introduction to cinematic music (specifically the Pink Panther theme) led him to trombone as his instrument of choice.  It’s fascinating to hear how his combined passion for this music genre, along with his community-minded upbringing led him on a path that took him through environmental planning, to conducting, to degrees in Musicology from Dartmouth College and the University of Oxford, with a focus on film music. And then full circle back to his home community to focus on the local cinema experience.  After speaking with Chris, I now understand the key role that community theaters such as those in Renew’s family of cinemas play in revitalizing neighborhoods and fostering community.  I feel lucky to live in a community that enjoys one of Chris’s babies…the 100-year-old Princeton Garden Theater.  A true gem!  And they have wonderful films and programs in store…hopefully for the next 100 years!  Thank you Chris! I hope you will tune in to listen!    Check out these sites for Renew and its theaters: https://renewtheaters.org/ https://princetongardentheatre.org/ https://amblertheater.org/ https://www.countytheater.org/ https://www.hiwaytheater.org/

    41 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

In its original iteration, this podcast explored the ways we'd all been impacted by the pandemic: how the "COVID years" changed the trajectory of people's lives. And how they were still able to do great things in spite of and sometimes even because of this "crisis". Now the content has evolved beyond COVID to conversations about people's lives, paths, passions and purpose. We are talking with leaders in the arts, humanities, community service and just plain great people! Some stories will be funny, some sad, some inspirational? Let's see what happens! And maybe we'll learn something.

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