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If ever there was an individual who could be defined by the term, renaissance man, it would be Vardell Curtis, because he is indeed a person with many talents and areas of knowledge.

As we sat in my home studio and Vardell told his life story, it was easy to see why Vardell has many friends. It’s not simply his love of life, family, Harley’s, softball, music, side-by-sides, real estate, and his religion; he’s just a good dude. 

Take the time to listen to Vardell’s story and you’ll see how family, faith and friends helped mold Vardell into the man he is today.  

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I knew my time to talk story with Kalehua Krug needed to fit into a tight window. We had arranged a Zoom meeting at 1:30 in the afternoon as Kalehua is the principal of Ka Waihona o ka Na’auao, a Hawaiian charter school and thus, one busy dude. Though our actual time discussing his life story would be brief; I knew I would have plenty of music to include as my first introduction to Kalehua came from the band Hi’ikua. The band had released Ala I Hi’ialo in 2011 and Kalehua was one of its three members. Though he’s a pretty good-sized guy, (was a lineman on the University of Hawaii football team), he has a beautiful falsetto voice which you hear clearly in their music. I think it’s important to point out that Kalehua composed the songs we will hear today with the exception of Ka Pili Oha. I’m including the cover picture from Ala I Hi’ialo because when I first held this CD, I was moved by the picture of a tattooed Kalehua holding his son Ka’ula. As Kalehua tells his story, he explains why the tattoos are such an important piece of who he is. 

Kalehua is an advocate for the promotion of the Hawaiian language and teaching young children culture and language. He believes a well-balanced understanding of the world these children live in needs to be balanced with the contextual history they come from.

Music has always been important to Kalehua. On occasion he still plays with Hi’ikua, but throughout his career, he’s always sung songs with his children. In the past year or two, they have taken this love of singing together to another level and now perform as Ohana Krug. I have included one of their songs, Ola I Ka Wai which is about connecting with and loving the land.  
 
P.S. If you enjoy music by Hawaiian bands, you will for sure enjoy the life stories of Wade Cambern from the Hawaiian Style Band, as well as my interview with Henry Kapono. Both of these episodes have great music! 

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When Dennis "Wowie" Rosales talked about bodybuilding and pretty much being on a diet for thirty years, well it just blew my mind.  The dedication to living a healthy lifestyle in a world of fast food is commendable, but Wowie wanted to be a competitive bodybuilder and that's what it took. 

As Wowie talks of growing up in Gallup, NM and joining the Navy right out of high school, he mentions regrets (like not staying in the Navy), but also his accomplishments (wonderful wife and kids, successful businesses, staying in great shape) that have come to him on his life journey.  

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Jonathan Living Seagull was a 1970 book with a theme centered around a spirit of self-determination through transcendence of the body and discovery of the limitless nature of mind and spirit. 

Jonathan, a seagull who was bored with daily life and squabbles for food, became passionate for flight, and pushed himself to learn everything he could about flying. As he was determined to chart his own path, his increasing unwillingness resulted in his expulsion from the flock. 

In this episode of the Nobody Knows Your Story podcast, Melissa Hamlet tells her story and it’s a story of an unwillingness to conform. “At the time I read Jonathan Living Seagull had an impact on me, but I didn’t realize its full impact until much later in my professional life.”

Melissa’s work ethic was formed by working in her parent’s country store. She stocked shelves, waited on customers, and learned a lot about people. The experience taught her a lot about marketing, sales, and responsibility and most importantly, how to work with others.

These became valuable tools in Melissa’s work career, a career that’s allowed her, like Jonathan; to chart her own path.

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Growing up in the Southern part of the United States, Sam Smith wanted to get into radio. For a while, he kind of did. But as many do as they age; life takes them down different roads. 

With his radio days behind him, Sam's road took him to Arizona, and he got into the airline industry, a relocation to Alaska and eventually a job with the FAA as an Air Traffic Controller. As my wife worked with Sam in the airline industry, I thought I knew about the "goings on," but I learned quite a bit as Sam told his story.

As Sam recalls his life, he talks about these events, lessons learned, and hobbies like axe throwing and travel. Part of that travel would include a couple of trips to Hawaii.

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Having to make over one thousand phone calls in 18 months to social services and various community organizations will humble anyone. But Agape Garcia was persistent.

As a single mother, a thousand miles from home with zero family and friends, Agape had one thought that drove her when everything around her was falling apart. That one thing, her daughter. Agape was determined her daughter would grow up in an environment different than the one she had. 

Listen in as Agape recalls the steps she undertook to create a better life for her small family.



Website: Beyourincredibleself.com 

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Yo Kenny! 

Ken Cardita was born in the Bronx, NY into a devout Catholic home. In this episode, Ken describes his time in the Bronx as a time when it was safe to play in the streets, walk the neighborhood without fear, and hang with friends until the inevitable call of “come to dinner”.

Though he was an altar boy, attended Catholic schools, and even had weekly home spaghetti dinners with the family Priest; when he hit his teen years, he began to question his family religion. This led to a change of religious views later. 

His passion from a young age was music, specifically playing guitar. This passion spilled over into playing in several bands throughout his teens, and sporadically throughout his adult years even to this day.

Ken recalls meeting wife Shanna, and their forty-two years together which includes a move out west and eventually raising their five children in Gilbert, AZ. He also discusses how Shanna has gracefully dealt with Alzheimer’s for the past eleven years. Through this shared experience, Ken felt prompted to help others who might be dealing with Alzheimer’s and recently began the Surviving Alzheimer’s Podcast. 

Note: Shanna and Kenny have been good friends of Judy and I for more than thirty years. This will be evident as Kenny and I discuss his life, and I’m grateful for him agreeing to share his story with you, my Nobody Knows Your Story listeners.

Contact Ken: 

[email protected]

The Surviving Alzheimer’s Podcast 

Facebook.com/SurvivingAlzPodcast

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From cult victim to advocate, Briell Decker re-wrote the story of her life. She grew up in a Fundamentalist Mormon sect (FLDS) in a family with 14 children and two mothers. She became the 65th wife of the prophet Warren Jeffs. After years of abuse and torment from Jeffs and his followers, Briell escaped by climbing out of a window and running barefoot to safety. After escaping the FLDS, she applied and was granted Warren Jeffs 28,000 sq foot home in Colorado City, AZ where she once lived as a wife. 

Briell and husband Stevan stopped by my home studio this past week, August 2022. We talked about Briell’s life, and she recalled some of the traumatic events she encountered while a part of the FLDS. We also talked about the visit to Hawaii she and Stevan were able to take in 2021.

This episode will be impactful. Some may have desired more detail on various aspects of Briell’s life, but this was her story and she talked about things that she was comfortable discussing. For the most part, we kept things light and shared several laughs. But make no mistake, Briell; through her example, continues to inspire everyone, showing that anything is possible in life. She’s created hope, and refuge for other women and children leaving the FLDS.

You can follow what’s going on with Briell by visiting her website: Brielldecker.com

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It's always fun to make a new friend and that's what Dave Klaproth is to me now, a friend. Dave's story is one not unlike many that have been shared on my podcast. Good times, times of difficulty but overall; a wonderful life journey.

From Dave's website:
 As a merchant marine officer for more than 30 years, I have been fortunate to live a life of adventure. From sailing around the world, to living in faraway places like Hawaii, Japan and the Virgin Islands.

That life that I truly enjoyed though, suddenly took a turn in another direction. I was diagnosed with cancer and the doctors gave me months to live. Well, my attitude has always been carefree and easy going so I stayed as positive as I could and took the fight to my cancer. 

During my treatment, things were mentally tough and between the pain and depression, my doctor recommended a hypnotherapist to me. That was the start of a life changing event. After a few sessions, the pain and depression became nearly non-existent. I credit my recovery to my family, friends and hypnotherapy. The power of positive thought and the feeling I had after hypnotherapy continued to help drive my recovery. I was amazed by that feeling and I remember saying to my doctor, "the hypnotherapy was amazing! Why isn't everyone doing this?!"

Spend an hour listening to Dave's story and I guarantee you too will feel like you have made a new friend. I just love positive people.  

​​​

Dave's contact information is below.

​David Klaproth, CHt

[email protected]

www.TheHypnotherapySolution.com

USA: 512-221-2299

Japan: 080-4356-2320 via WhatsApp

Facebook: @KlaprothHypnotherapy

Instagram: klaprothhypnotherapy

Blog: www.thehypnotherapysolution.com/blog-1

Scheduling Page: www.thehypnotherapysolution.com/daves-schedule

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Un-con-trol-la-ble definition… Christine Herbert😊

As Christine and I talked, it became clear that she and I are very different. I like being in control, Christine, yeah; not so much.

Because of her personality, Christine has had quite a few extraordinary experiences, like spending twenty-seven months as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia. Or managing a non-profit in Nepal. After thinking about it, maybe we’re not that different. I did deliver Amazon for awhile.

Christine’s interview was fun and there’s a number of “life events” that we shared a laugh over. Her college experience was, well different. Great education, but no dancing. She got a degree in biology, but her career was mostly spent as a massage therapist. She talks about that too.

But a big part of her story was her Peace Corps experience. She recalls her Zambia time in her new book, “The Color of the Elephant”. She explains the title and it does not have anything to do with an elephant encounter.


Connect:
Christineherbertauthor.com