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Retirement Reflections
Sharing resident stories from Canterfield
Hosted by: Lee Martin & Carol Giusty (Juice-tea)
Produced by: Patric E.K. Bundrum
Music by: Parkcore
Retirement Reflections
Meet our Hosts Pt.1
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Lee and Carol introduce themselves, Canterfield, and the podcast to listeners.
Welcome to Retirement Reflections coming to you from the library of Canterfield of Tennessee Independent Living. My name's Lee Martin. I'll be your co-host along with Carol Juicy for what we hope to be many episodes of exciting stories. Our podcast producer is none other than Patrick Bundrum. And she'll oversee the entire life cycle of the podcast, which simply means if something goes wrong, it's her fault. Having said that, I guess this is our very first podcast, Carol. Are you excited?
SPEAKER_01I really am. I'm glad that you and I are interviewing each other.
SPEAKER_02I like what you you wrote a little short prayer there at the top of that, that the Lord would be honored and people would be uplifted. Yes. So where do we start with this?
SPEAKER_01Well, introduction to Lee. Okay. I just want to say I have gotten to know Lee through a lot of different activities. Lee is a, I'm going to call you a Renaissance man. You have been a pastor, a preacher, an artist, you're a humorist. I don't be silly. You're let's just say that you think you are funny. There you go. There you go. I'll go with that. And you're a storyteller, and you have had many life stories that you have shared with many of the people here. That's really what this whole podcast is about. It's about our telling stories of our life and different kinds of people that are here. And I am amazed at the different kinds of experiences people have had. Particularly, you have shared your stories with me and with the men's group.
SPEAKER_02I do. We call it the Gentlemen's Club, which was kind of scary for some of them because they and we meet in the bar. Some of them thought it was going to be a meeting with a bunch of guys and a big cake, and some lady's going to jump out of it in the middle of them. But they were disappointed that it wasn't that. What is it? Well, actually, it started out two years ago to be a men's Bible study. But I really was reluctant to do that because most men to come to a men's Bible study unless they're already deeply entrenched in church, that's not something that's interesting to them. I told the management here, I said, let us meet in the bar or the club room and call it the gentleman's club, and let's just make it a devotional time. And I had men from outside Canterfield would come in and talk about when life was uh just at its darkest moment, and then God came through, and so it was kind of a devotional like that. And that lasted for about a year. Then I ran out of men to invite to come in. So we didn't meet for a few months, and now we started up again, not as a devotional, but just as a group of men sitting around the table, uh drinking coffee and telling war stories. Sometimes I'll bring in objects. Last week I brought a whole bunch of objects and set them on the table, and I said, Every man here, take two objects and then tell us a story. Oh. Now that it doesn't have to be true. It can be, but it was more interesting and fun. We've had men, one man that does carving, wood carving, brought in a whole handful of wood carvings that, you know, little things about four inches tall. He's also made his own airplane, and we talked about that. You mean he made his own real airplane that flew? I think Wyoming, Port Riley, Kansas. Wow. Matter of fact, I asked him, I said, where is it now? And he pulled it up on online and was able to look by a serial number to find out where that plane is now and who owns it. And they're still flying. They're still flying it. So it was interesting. So it's just kind of, you know, the idea of iron sharpening iron, you know, men that are talking to men, and we leave, I always tell them, I say, okay, you guys are the leaders of this community, whether you know it or not. You're the men that may be called to step up sometimes. So I said, go make it a good day.
SPEAKER_01Do you find yourself amazed at some of the things that people have done in their past?
SPEAKER_02Oh, absolutely. I'm interested at people that have so many different talents. We've had inventors here. Yeah. We had a man here that one time that was an inventor, had over a hundred patents.
SPEAKER_01It amazes me. I I have met so many people at breakfast and lunch. In fact, just today, I met a couple that have just moved in and they have lived, I mean, actually lived all over the world and have had adventures, real serious adventures in their lives in South America and in the countries that I have never heard of.
SPEAKER_02We have a lot of people that have a lot of talent, a lot of gifts, a lot of stories. You know, it's interesting to hear bits and pieces of people's lives.
SPEAKER_01Well, Lee, you're also an artist. And you have been, I don't, I would like to say teaching art. I don't think that's really the you're it you're giving people an opportunity.
SPEAKER_02I'm a facilitator.
SPEAKER_01You're a facilitator of art.
SPEAKER_02Give them a piece of paper and some paint and say, This is what I did. Some will try to duplicate it, some of them go off in their own direction, and and that's fine. It's an activity. To me, it's a very relaxing activity.
SPEAKER_01Well, and you also have been selling your art.
SPEAKER_02A few. Yeah. I've sold a few. I've got some commissions. I've got one I'm working on now for with for a guy from North Carolina, uh North Carolina, wherever Denver is, Colorado. Colorado. Working on one for him. I've sold some uh locally. So yeah, a little bit. I need to sell more.
SPEAKER_01Well, I think every artist wants to sell more. I said earlier that you were a humorist. And what is when I said that is that you are able to see simple things and make a story from them. You really do make people laugh.
SPEAKER_02I see the funny in things. I got in trouble one time. I was a chaplain for a police department in Topeka, Kansas, and one of the janitors in the building passed away, and his family asked me to do the service for him. And so a lot of the officers showed up, a lot of the command staff, you know, the chief and some of the majors. And as I was talking about him, I said something that was funny, and everybody laughed. And afterwards, one of the majors came up and well, he just chewed me out. He said that was very inappropriate. He said that was a funeral. I said, Well, you know what? I'd rather laugh at a funeral than cry all the time. So I just see things in a in a funny way. Yeah. Sometimes it's uh sometimes I'm not very discreet about it. I need to be a little more tactful.
SPEAKER_01Well, I've also been at a table where you have told a joke and I just never got it. So I uh there are point is oh boy. Maybe it was funny, and I didn't I just didn't get it. I don't know. Being a storyteller, I've introduced you as somewhat of a storyteller. And don't you often see your life as a series of stories?
SPEAKER_02It is. I can't tell you the number of short stories or books that I have started but never finished. You know, I had a good idea, this will make a good story or tell about this person or that event. I have boxes and boxes of photographs from Oklahoma City where I worked with homeless people with the idea of writing a book about society's salty saints. Oh, but I've never I've never finished them. So the discipline of doing the storytelling is not a good thing.
SPEAKER_01Well, you have just hit on why people cannot write. I mean, many people have our potential writers, but to actually finish a book is all very that's an art.
SPEAKER_02Well, now you do you you're also an artist, Carol. Don't don't sell yourself short. You do it you have a different style. I do acrylic painting and you do sketching and and greeting cards and things, and you are a very talented artist that things at the art class that I've learned from, and I appreciate you coming and doing that.
SPEAKER_01Well, I want to say thank you. I don't really take my art very seriously, but I absolutely love to sit down and draw and paint. I was talking to a lady the other day, and I said, you know, when somebody compliments me or tells me that I've done something really unique or special, I look at them as if, who are you talking about? And she said, I do the same thing. She said, I have no idea that I've done anything special or whatever. So I was a little worried that when you begin to interview me, that I don't have anything to say.
SPEAKER_02We never know who likes our artwork, you know.
SPEAKER_01Well, I want to make sure that I have covered a lot of things. Uh see, for listeners that haven't met you.
SPEAKER_02You know what I'm excited about the podcast is our kids and our grandkids hearing this. Oh, I know my son would is all and grandson, my grandson's in Nashville, and my son here, my daughter in Topeka, they're already wanting to know when are we going to be able to hear this?
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, my family too. In fact, my one grandson absolutely couldn't believe that his old grandmother was going to be on a podcast. Now, I have to admit, I have never listened to a podcast. So when you said, would you like to be on a podcast? I thought, well, fine. Uh, what is a podcast? And uh my grandson said, Grandma, you're gonna do fine.
SPEAKER_02Now I'm gonna ask a question, you won't be able to hear the answer probably, but Patrick is sitting here, or are when when we have the podcast up and running, are the people going to be able to somehow communicate to us? Are they gonna be able to answer us? Uh I know they won't be able to actually hear us right then, but on the podcast, will they be able to write in, I I watched it and liked it, or go home, old people, or what?
SPEAKER_00Usually things like that are you have an email, so it's send your questions, comments, concerns, and things like that.
SPEAKER_02It would be interesting to know how many people would be listening, or if we have that kind of idea. I mean, just think of this. Maybe 12 people will hear this podcast. Whoa.
SPEAKER_01Oh, good. I hope they enjoy it.
SPEAKER_02I like that. I like to have like 412. That'd be fun.
SPEAKER_01I have one last thing I wanted to say to you. You have the ability to actually listen to people.
SPEAKER_02I don't pay attention. It just looks like I'm listening.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02No, you're right. That that's part of uh, yeah, I've done that for a long time. You have active listening.
SPEAKER_01Well, active listening, but you really do get people talking and listen and you uh listen to them. And that is an art in itself. Um we have a it's easy to talk, but it's hard to listen. And you you have um definitely have that gift of listening.
SPEAKER_02Sometimes I ask questions that I already know the answers to, but I ask questions because I want you to be in part of the conversation. So I'll meet people. I already know the answer, but I'll ask them. And sometimes, you know, if I'm with somebody else who who knows knows me, they'll want to answer for that person. And I'm thinking, no, no, you're not. I'm asking them because I want them to start talking to me. Yes, you know, yeah. So it people like to talk about themselves. People like to see pictures of themselves, they like to see their name in print as long as it's not in a an arrest record or something like that.
SPEAKER_01Well, uh, the thing about both of us is that we really are interested in other people. I mean, uh I know you are, and I am too. I'm really interested in what they have to say in their life. I'm interested in Pat uh Patrick, our producer. She's finishing her degree, and she she has a lot to tell us. Uh, in fact, we should introduce you want to describe what she looks like?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you describe it. Well, she sticks her tongue out, she'd look like a zipper. And and she has uh red hair today. Uh tomorrow, who knows? I knew a I knew a man in uh in Oklahoma who would never say anything negative about anybody. He just refused to do it. But he was honest, he would never lie. And we had a man that was working as a volunteer in a homeless shelter that I was the director of, who was really not the kind of guy you'd want to have around as a volunteer. He he just wasn't very good at it. And so we we asked Bob, the first guy, about Howard, and he said, Well, he's unique. Oh, okay. He wouldn't say he's bad, he would either say, He is really good, you're gonna enjoy him, or he would say, Well, Howard's unique. So you'd realize if he's called somebody unique, that's the person you wanted to stay away from. Okay. But Patrick, you are not unique. You are very, very let's see, how do we say that? Eclectic. There we go. That's our that's our uh homework for next week to try to figure out what that word means.
SPEAKER_01All right. I think I've covered you. Well, tell us about you. Well, you know, there's one thing that happens is when somebody asks about me, Carol, tell me a little bit about yourself. I freeze because I cannot think of anything. So I wrote down some things. So I think just in case you would ask.
SPEAKER_02I have some funny stories, but I don't know if I want to tell them or not. But go ahead. We'll start with.
SPEAKER_01If you dare tell me.
SPEAKER_02No, I won't tell. If you dare, that would those of you that are listening. If you want to really hear a good story, write a letter to me and I'll send it back to you. So who is Kara?
SPEAKER_01Who am I? You know, the first thing that I wrote down, and now this is from a writer's perspective, a life warrior. How's that? A life warrior, that's a life warrior. I am an old woman that has gone through a lot of activities in my life and adventures, and um And you're from Wisconsin. Yes. People from Wisconsin and Minnesota actually have experiences that are interesting. But a life warrior means that you have been through some wars. And I've learned from a lot of mistakes that I have made, and I have also from a lot of successes. You're Irish? Irish Scotch, yes. And I'm curious. I like to see everything around me. I try to see actually, even the little things around me. I like to look at and I'm curious, and I ask about things. I've been a lifelong student. I've learned early in my life that I really enjoy I read. I'm a very avid reader. And your favorite TV is Japanese.
SPEAKER_02Oh I don't know anybody that likes to watch Japanese television except Carol.
SPEAKER_01No, William. William and I have a lot in common. And we both want to tell each other about all the latest Japanese and um Korean subtitle, I guess. Oh, we do, right. We do not speak. As a matter of fact, um, I have watched 191 episodes of a man that has created noodles. Stop and think how boring. I'm thinking of it right now. How many ways can you fix noodles? This well, that was revolutionary. Uh, don't even get me started, please, about the noodle making. So I won't talk about that.
SPEAKER_02But we may have lost half our audience right there, but we'll continue on.
SPEAKER_01I'm an educator. Early childhood development was just starting to be recognized that little people actually could learn. I was very much an advocate of early childhood educator, and I was a lot of experimenting on my poor sons. But I want to tell you that both of those men today are very creative men. Creativity has been a very important part of my life.
SPEAKER_02Um, a creative person. I think creative people do things like paint and write and do podcasts. And I I think that's part of our our makeup is we like to do things that we've never done before. We like to see if we could if we can do that, you know. And if it's not good, we just move on to something else.
SPEAKER_01That's right. I'm a risk taker, which means that I'm not afraid to try something and fail, or try something and succeed. It was interesting is that my poor husband had to marry a risk taker, and he was not a risk taker, which, as it turned out in our life, that the two of us were very compatible in terms of Was he a risk taker? No, he wasn't. But he balanced me so that I wouldn't go off of the off on a tangent.
SPEAKER_02He was kind of your safety net. You risk and he would catch you when you fell.
SPEAKER_01Yep. Yep. You've got it. I got f seriously interested in buying and selling condos. When condos were just being developed, nobody had a buying a a I mean, remember how old I am. And at that particular time I saw the potential in condominium living, and I talked my husband into starting to buy some condos. And they were so reasonable at that time that we were able to do it. And and we would decorate them, do what they do on HGTV at that time, and that wasn't something that people were doing. So we bought and sold condos. I know that sounds crazy.
SPEAKER_02Did you actually do the work or just design and then hire somebody else to do it?
SPEAKER_01No, my husband and I pretty much rolled up our sleeves and did it ourselves. I mean, we didn't have hundreds and thousands of them. We would take one at a time and fix them up.
SPEAKER_02I'd knock a hole in the wall and then hang a picture over it. I could do that. That's about my limit to that kind of skill.
SPEAKER_01Well, I guess I was saying at that time I was an entrepreneur. So again, risk takers do entrepreneur. But you know, one thing in my life that probably is the most important thing has been that I am a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that has probably been the most important part of my life. And I did go on to get a master's degree from Loyola in pastoral studies and have used it in many many different creative ways.
SPEAKER_02I think a lot of people are not aware that I think the Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. You know, we are made to be able to go through a lot of tragedy and a lot of problems. We're made to be creative. We we talked about reinventing ourselves. Right. Sometimes things happen and our life falls apart, and yet we're able to turn around and be resilient and recover from that. And all that's part of the creative process that was given to us by the creator.
SPEAKER_01I can't agree more. I look outside and see all the beauty that is out of the world.
SPEAKER_02And it's pouring down rain right now, didn't you? Is it? I wonder how a person can see the creation and not recognize that's not something we did. Yeah, we might have planted some seeds and cut some roads, but when it comes right down to it, if it were not for the rain, we don't provide the rain or the sun. You know, that has to come from some source bigger than us. Of course, we recognize that as God.
SPEAKER_01I was sitting in a park bench one time, and I happened to look down, and there was an ant dragging a large piece of straw or whatever it was, but it weighed three times more than what he was. And this I watched that ant, and he was dragging it to dragging and working and working, and I thought, that's amazing how that ant is, what is he gonna do with that piece of straw? And I just sat there and I marveled and marveled at how something as simple as an ant can be fascinating. Well, since I'm sat and watched 191 episodes of make piggy, somebody making noodles, I guess it doesn't take much to entertain me.
SPEAKER_02I remember right, before that you watched uh fish on television. Oh, I love those fish.
SPEAKER_01I watched those fish for a long time. Um they have every different color. Then I would lose them.
SPEAKER_02I lost them several times, and I said, William, can you get my Can you imagine having a screensaver with just fish just going back and forth and then having a cat sitting in front of them watching those fish?
SPEAKER_01You know, when I think of it, I would watch those fish for quite a while. What is wrong with me? I watch old ants hauling garbage behind them, and oh my god.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's what makes you interesting, and that what that's what makes me wanting to know more about you. And it's not just you, it's it's a lot of people here. You know, we have a group that meets on Thursday nights for a billiards club. And now then we've got one of them that comes up here when the room is available, and he's playing pool all the time, and we've decided we're gonna put a sign over the door that says Orlando's Pool Hall. You know, because it gets us things that we're interested in, you know. And and you know, he says, I just want to get better at this. And I thought, well, maybe, but when you get up there, it's all luck anyway. Most of it's luck anyway. But anyway, uh, you know, unless you've got something else that's really pressing, we're our time has come to an end, and uh Patrick will have to wake her up here in a minute. Oh, she she's over there giggling. She's over there taking notes, probably knowing what she's going to edit out of this. Those of you that have been listening to us on retirement reflections, we're so glad you joined us. And it'll be on the air soon, and we'll be able to tell you how you can find it. And we hope that there'll be many more of these.
SPEAKER_01I hope so. And I just want to say if when I come in for breakfast or lunch, please look, don't look at me as if I'm the most boring person in the room. Let me sit with you and let's I want to hear more of your stories.
SPEAKER_02Yes, they'll look at you and say, here she comes. Of course, now we can tell them, you know, the only sin we have is gossip, and we can't wait to get on the podcast. Anyway, I'm gonna go. We'll see you later.
SPEAKER_01Thank you, Lee. Goodbye. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER_00Hi, Patrick Bundram here. Retirement Reflections is a small startup podcast that we hope will share our community stories with family, friends, and anyone else who wants to listen. Despite being produced at Canterfield of Kennesaw, the opinions of our hosts and guests do not reflect the company's official policies and procedures. We hope you'll stick around to see what stories we have to share. Thanks for being here, and we'll see you next week.