Find the Good News with Oran Parker

We walk around people everyday, pass by strangers, carried by the momentum of our own agendas, desires, worries, and goals. What happens when we slow things down, get out of the pulling and hauling, drive away from the path we're familiar with, and point our compass toward someone else's world? What happens when we listen to their story, and they graciously offer us port and harbor inside their heart? That's the type of journey I experienced when I drove south toward the gulf coast and visited with Cameron Parish Port Director, Clair Hebert Marceaux, for this Road Trip episode of Find the Good News. There is no fabricated care, forced love, or feigned concern with Clair. When I sat with her at Rutherford Beach in Cameron, it was immediately apparent that I was visiting with a living spiritual heart that is connected to the life-blood and history of the land. Gulf waves gently crested on the beach and washed away as I talked with Clair. Coastal birds offered their audience and songs to our conversation. While there were a plethora of things to stimulate my eyes, ears, and mind, it was Clair's passion for Cameron that consumed my full attention. Her heart is so expansive, so open, and so complete—not unlike the slumbering giant that is the Gulf of Mexico—and it contains a history that runs the full spectrum of Cameron's sorrows and joys. As the Cameron Parish Port Director, Clair is intimately connected to the upper echelon of global affairs that affect the economics and lives of everyone in Southwest Louisiana. This space in which she operates is far beyond the scope of the average citizen. While this work is impressive, it is this shared space where she takes off her shoes and puts her feet in the sand with everyone else that moved my spirit the most. Clair Hebert Marceaux feels the pain and loss that the people of Cameron suffered from the berserker winds and surge of Hurricane Rita, and she still weeps at the ghosts that haunt a coastline forever changed by Rita's wraith. Clair's heart is wide enough to contain the happiness and the sorrows of what has come before, and it is getting bigger still to make room for the good news that comes with the life-giving work she is doing for this gulf coast region she calls home.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT CLAIR HEBERT MARCEAUX or CAMERON PARISH PORT >> www.facebook.com/clair.marceaux or http://www.cameronparishport.com/ 

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If your heart is invested in a creative endeavor, and you're in a relationship, there's almost nothing better than having the full support of your partner or spouse. There is a feeling of uncertainty when you step out into the unknown as a creative. It can feel a bit like shifting sand beneath your feet, but knowing that someone is there for you with faith like mountains can turn shifting-sand to the firmness of rock, making each step more stable. While you're honing your craft, figuring out how to navigate the uncharted way, your other is there with love, encouragement, ideas, and support. That's the type of solidity of faith and support I got to witness between Justin & Emily Martindale when they came to sit at my table on Find the Good News. Between the two of them, you'll find a creative carousel of talents. Justin is an accomplished and talented musician, producer, and designer, while Emily is a sought after photographer and writer. They are both reflective creators that find a great deal of joy in all the works they do. In short, they seem to be having fun together, supporting each other's works, and building a line-up of services that are helping other creatives bring their ideas to life. At the very heart of their relationship is a desire to help each other breath life into their ideas, and that energy and support spill off of them in waves. Emily nurtures Justin's passion for music, while Justin actively cheers Emily into new ventures in writing, and on and on they go and grow. In Justin's music and Emily's images, you'll find an expert quality that appeals to the eye and the ear. In Justin and Emily's story, you'll discover good news, and perhaps a little song that smiles in your heart.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT JUSTIN MARTINDALE >> www.facebook.com/justin.martindale.5 or www.instagram.com/justin_martindale_music/ 

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT EMILY MARTINDALE >> www.facebook.com/EmilyRoseMartindale or www.instagram.com/martindalemediagroup/ 

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When you produce a show about good people doing good works, when you open that door, you never know who's going sit across the table from you, or how they're going to end up there. Someone contacts me and says, "This guy really helped my family and me; you should get him on Find the Good News," it's hard to resist making the first contact. I've learned to trust my listeners because they've been right every single time, and that track record didn't change when local counselor Bruce Plauché sat down behind the microphone. There was an instant easiness with Bruce, and our conversation flowed naturally from the jump. Bruce used our natural affinity for comic books and science fiction as the building blocks of our discussion, not all dissimilar from the way he uses them to help the people he works with to build better lives for themselves. He's a natural talker and listener, and I found that he engaged everything I asked with enthusiasm. At Bruce's center, I experienced an authentic nature and honesty, qualities that were flourished by petals of his quick wit and humor. If you tune in to this show because people share openly, then you've picked a good one because Bruce illustrates just how healing it can be to open up in a healthy way. He's teaching children and adults how to develop more robust communication and relationship practices through role-playing, and he sees results. What I learned from Bruce is that it's essential to understand the origins of others, and it's of equal importance to know where you come from as well. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and mix things up to discover your saving grace, your superpower. The good news is that in trying on a lot of masks and cloaks, you sometimes find the one that fits just right, and you may discover your true face in the process.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT BRUCE PLAUCHÉ >> www.facebook.com/bruce.plauche or https://nh-cc.com/index.html

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If you want to find a quiet place to think, I can’t think of any place more peaceful than a cemetery. There’s a reason we call it the quiet of the grave. It was in one of these garden’s of the dead where my life found purpose and meaning over 23 years ago. Each year I go that that sacred place, to revisit the cause for my desire to awaken, and my hope that we—that I—can be a more loving and compassionate being. I always go there alone, but I’m never truly alone when I’m there. It was this affinity for sacred spaces and final resting places that drew me to Chris Breaux, the owner of Monumental Life, so I asked if he would share his good works with me on Find the Good News. Chris asked me to take a road trip to visit with him at Orange Grove Cemetery in Lake Charles, Louisiana so I could experience his service to the dead first hand. Orange Grove Cemetery is home to the largest display of flags for American veterans in the United States, and it is the abode for the bones of many of Southwest Louisiana’s founding fathers and mothers. In seeking his own founding mothers and fathers, Chris found a new calling, a way to honor those that have come before us, that lived, loved, laughed, suffered, and cried,… just like us. Since his initial motivation, I would describe Chris’s work as a personal piety, and crusade of sorts, a mission to remind us that everything shiny we chase after is fleeting, temporary, dust and that the most glorious crown we could ever have isn’t made of earthly jewels, or polished gold. Our greatest treasure is a life well-lived, a good heart, and service to one another. Beneath blues skies, with a chorus of birds, and cooled by the shadow cast of 200-year-old oaks, I sat down with Chris for an extended visit and discovered he has made a journey, not unlike mine, or possibly yours. There have been joys, there have been sorrows, and there has been a change of heart. Not only did he share his motivations with me, but he also graciously allowed me to assist him in his holy work, in honoring the lives of those that came before us through the revitalization of their monuments. It was a memento mori, a day to remember that we too must die, but before we cross through that gate and enter the great mystery we should find the capacity within ourselves to truly appreciate the good we see before us, and also do whatever good we can.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT CHRIS BREAUX >> www.facebook.com/chris.breaux.395 or www.facebook.com/monumentallifelc 

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There’s nothing better than a good origin story, especially the ones where the little details and chance encounters could have made everything turn out different. What if the main character had arrived a little earlier, or a little later in their tale? What if they had gone left instead of right? When local potter, Rex Alexander, came by to visit Find the Good News, those were the types of legendary details that stood out to me. It seems to me that Rex has always had a desire to create, a part of himself that was looking for its place in the sun. Rex’s story is of a chance encounter, smoke, fire, a path, when on the right day at the right time—and with the right people—the course of Rex Alexander’s life changed. I personally love Rex’s pottery, especially his mugs, and if you own one, then you’ll know what I mean when I say they look like they crawled right out of the earth into your hand. When I drink from his mugs, it changes the drink, not in any physical way that’s discernible. His containers change your mind if you allow them to because they are imbued with the ethereal energy of his story, containing his passion for sharing what he knows, and the joy he finds in experimenting with the medium he was called to use. These vessels were made by his hands with love. I find I get a lot out of discovering people’s hinge moments, the things that happen in their life that places them on a new trajectory, creating a new timeline. I can’t say that I didn’t wonder what would have happened had Rex Alexander walked past his destiny just a few minutes earlier, a few minutes later, or if he’d decided to take another route on the day that the hinges pivoted, the day his door opened. Perhaps there’s an alternate reality out there where Rex Alexander isn’t throwing, turning, and shaping clay into the great works we know him by. If so, I’d say I’m glad I live in this one where I get to share his good news just as it’s been formed. 

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT REX ALEXANDER >> www.facebook.com/Rexthepotter or www.instagram.com/rexalexanderpotter/ 

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If there’s one recurring theme on this show it is that people feel a little worn down from taking a “business-as-usual” approach to life. Many are looking for a fresh approach to the way they work, play, interact, eat, and move. What’s even more prevalent is that many people are using their disenchantment with the status quo as an opportunity to start over, to rebuild from the ground up, and then they’re sharing their journey with others in the hopes they can make a change to. I recently had the pleasure to visit one of those special people when Meghan Abraham, the creator of Fresh Fuel, came to visit me on Find the Good News. Meghan hit the status quo, got fed up with it, then changed her life, and she continues to change it daily by focusing on critical elements. She wanted to eat better. She wanted to be more active. She wanted the changes she made to areas to be practical for the average person trying to make their way in a 24-hour world. If you follow Meghan on social media then you’ll find very quickly that she values honesty and transparency. Is she living her hashtag “best life?” You bet she is, and as it turns out her best life is her real life. She shares the good days and bad ones because let’s face it,… that’s what real life is made of. In sharing this way she is encouraging others to take that first fresh step toward a brand new life. With Fresh Fuel, she wants to help you start cooking and eating fresher food at home, and by taking the planning off your plate she believes you’ll put healthier food on the table for you, and your family. Beyond that, I believe Meghan follows the “just do something” philosophy. If you want to make a change try taking a different path, but don’t stand still. I gathered that she believes there is a new you on standby, waiting for you do that next simple thing that’s going to put a whole series of fresh new actions into motion, making each day a celebration of life. She’s here to help you so you don’t have to get kickstarted alone. Change can be hard, and Meghan is here to help make it easier. If you’re parked in idle and not sure where to start, Meghan Abraham has good news.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT MEGHAN ABRAHAM & FRESH FUEL >> www.facebook.com/meghanhanksabraham  or https://thefreshfuel.com/

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You know the old saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” I was never fond of that saying, to be honest. I’ve known a lot of people with a surplus of lemons, little strength or help to squeeze them, much less sugar to sweeten things up. That said, I’ve still come to believe it is in the womb of our adversities that our gifts gestate, and eventually bloom into virtues that manifest blessings for others. That’s exactly the type of tale I got to enjoy when I sat down to visit with Susan Riehn on Find the Good News. Susan is the director of “Families Helping Families of Southwest Louisiana,” a non-profit organization and team that puts people with disabilities, their caregivers, and their families in touch with resources they may not have been aware of otherwise. Selfishly, I love to fill my mind and feed my spirit with stories like the one Susan shared. The beauty is not in the story alone, but in the echo and rhyme I sense in it, a set of somewhat common words and tales that reinforce what I hear over and over again on this podcast; “I saw a way I could help my fellow beings, and I chose to act.” That’s really what’s at the heart of Susan’s story. She had a desperate need—she did not know where to turn—and a helper arrived. Her story is now the story of “Families Helping Families of Southwest Louisiana;” a willingness to be a helper for those without one. If you listen to enough volunteers and servants in our community—especially those at “Families Helping Families of Southwest Louisiana”—you’ll hear some version of this story of the able helper. I heard this good news clearly when I spoke with Susan Riehn, and I believe fully that you will hear it too.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT AMANDA YELLOTT >> www.facebook.com/charliesuea or www.instagram.com/a._man._duh/ 

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What happens when a fan becomes a guest? That’s what I found out when I asked wonder-fan Amanda Yellott to come in and visit me on Find the Good News. With a young podcast like this one, it’s a little easier to engage with listeners in a personal way, and Amanda is precisely the type of listener a show like this needs. She’s engaged, introspective, encouraging, willing to challenge the thoughts and ideas presented, and open to absorbing new perspectives and practices as takeaways she can apply to her own life. What more could any podcaster ask for? As I got to know Amanda as a fan, I ended up learning about her specific good news, her good works. Amanda is the director of the dance program at the Whistle Stop, a program designed to engage youth using dance as a vehicle, giving them a place to receive mentorship, learn exciting new skills, and work with others. These children may be learning to dance literally, but they are also learning to dance with life metaphorically, to take the right steps, to find the rhythm, and move with the ebb-and-flow. As much as I enjoyed speaking with Amanda about her good news as the director of the Whistle Stop dance program, it was her perspective as a listener that I think I got the most out of. Our conversation was a bit like entering a wormhole, wondering where exactly where we’d travel as we cross the bridge, and wondering where we would come out on the other side. What was quite lovely and refreshing was that we didn’t always agree, or have the same perspective, and that was a-okay. For that solitary reason, my visit with Amanda Yellott was pretty good news to me.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT AMANDA YELLOTT >> www.facebook.com/charliesuea or www.instagram.com/a._man._duh/ 

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Tea. Like many things, it’s always felt like there was a layer to uncover. Perhaps I’ve observed it, or read about it, but there seemed to be some type of atmosphere around it, an allure that brings people together in the sharing of the little warm cup, or maybe its the steeping, the waiting for heated water to bring the dried leaves, flowers, peels, or berries back to life. Whatever magic tea holds, it was obviously present when Julia O’Carroll, the owner of Tea at Walden, came to visit me on Find the Good News. Oddly enough, Julia and I didn’t share a cup of tea during her visit. In our sharing, I felt something else brewing. I like to think that from a certain perspective one might even see of our conversation as a type of tea, not one that you can drink or taste, but consumable and comforting nonetheless. Our cup of metaphorical tea contains the ingredients we brought to our visit, our sufferings, tragedies, pains, old regrets, deep fears, with notes of our beautiful hopes and dreams, wonderful wishes for positive change, and our personal desires to help others form new habits that will bring them peace and tranquility in a world that celebrates busyness with new fervor each day. The more our ingredients steeped in the waters of our conversation, the more they flowered into a drink that warmed my heart. Julia O’Carroll wants something very simple, and ultimately accomplishable. She wants you to sit with a cup of tea, to give yourself a moment in time to just be with it, to inhale the aroma as the leaves come to life. Through the tea she wants you to find a space—not unlike Thoreau’s cabin at Walden—where you can simply be, reflect, and perhaps get in touch with a part of yourself that can get muddled in the pulling and hauling that's filled with the pings and dings of our lives. Find a quiet place, put on a kettle, cradle a special cup, and pick a tea that appeals to your palette. Let the leaves steep while your ears listen to something good.

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT JULIA O'CARROLL >> www.facebook.com/julia.ocarroll or www.facebook.com/TeaatWalden 

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