The Danny and Park Novels Good News Podcast

Today’s guest is Sam Allebaugh. If you listened to my interview with Meredith Spies, you know that Sam was the driver of the single axle dump truck that struck and killed Meredith’s mother, Karen Giles. After I interviewed Meredith, she asked if I’d like to interview Sam as well. She thought that he’d be willing to talk to me about what happened and its impact on him. I told her that if he was willing, I’d absolutely want to talk to him. Within minutes, she’d made it happen and Sam and I were setting up this interview. 

 As I mentioned in Meredith’s interview, for years I’ve been of the opinion that forgiveness was something that was overrated at best, and forgiving someone who had killed someone else was absolutely not going to happen. But then I read about Karen Giles, Meredith Spies and Sam Allebaugh, and I changed my mind. I’ve had people in my life die, but, as of yet, have not killed anyone. I  know the grief and sadness that goes with losing someone, but I can’t imagine the overwhelming guilt that comes with the knowledge of unintentionally killing someone in an accident that could have been prevented. 

I think that the courage exhibited by Meredith and Sam speaks volumes about their characters, and also perfectly showcases the power of forgiveness.

Until next time, take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Meredith Spies. I was browsing through a local television station’s website one day and came cross a story that was titled, “He killed her mom. Nearly four years later, she gave him a hug.” I was intrigued and read the article. The story moved me so much, I sent Meredith a message through Facebook and asked if she’d be interested in coming on the episode. Despite me misquoting the article and thinking that her daughter had been the person killed, and me mispronouncing her name in this podcast only seconds after she told me the correct pronunciations, she agreed to share her story with me, and now with my listeners. 

After you listen, I'm sure that you'll be as amazed at Meredith’s story as I was. As I mentioned to Meredith in the podcast, prior to reading about her journey, I could never have imagined forgiving the person who killed a family member. Her journey truly opened my eyes about the power of forgiveness; not just the benefits of the person who has been forgiven, but for the person doing the forgiving. As Meredith said, what harm does it do to give the gift of forgiveness? If the person that you’re forgiving isn’t appreciative of it, so what? You still reap the benefits. 

Meredith is a wonderful, insightful person and I enjoyed having her on the show. I hope she’ll come back in the future and we can talk again. 

Until next time, please don’t drive while distracted; it just not worth it.

This episode is dedicated to Meredith’s mother, Karen Giles.

Take care of one another, and thanks for listening.

Today’s guest is Colette McEachin, Richmond’s Commonwealth Attorney. Colette and I have known each other for nearly three decades, so I obviously wanted to get her on the show. It’s taken me almost six months, but I finally roped her in to doing an episode. 

 I’ve asked so many people their opinion on why crime in Richmond seems to be so rampant, but Colette’s three F’s, Family-Friends-and Firearms sure does make a whole lot of sense. She also makes the valid point that the government can only do so much; it’s up to us as a community to find a solution. If we really start to talk to and listen to one another, if we go back to the theory that it takes a village to raise a child, then we can make real progress in reducing hatred and violence in not just Richmond, but all over the world. 

What do you think? 

Until next time, take care of one another, and as always, thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Pat O’Meara, creator of the absolutely fantastic YouTube channel, My Old Car. Pat’s channel popped up in my suggestion list one day, so I clicked on the video and after watching it for all of two seconds, subscribed to his channel. I reached out to him to see if he’d be interested in being on the podcast, and after he made sure that I wasn’t a scammer, he agreed! 

 Of all the people who’ve come on the podcast, Pat’s the only person who asked why my listeners would want to hear what he has to say. After all, he reasoned, neither my website nor my social media pages have anything on them about cars. Well, maybe a police car or two. 

I told him that I wanted him on because of the content of his character, not necessarily because of the content of his channel. To me, Pat’s old school charm of presenting information on the history of cars that he grew up with is what makes his channel so special. He’s not judgy or preachy or political. He just talks about what he enjoys and shares it with others. 

In my opinion, that’s what being positive is all about: doing something you love and sharing it with others.

If you get a chance, I highly recommend heading over to his channel and checking out his videos. You’ll be glad that you did.

You can find him on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyOldCar

Or over on Instagram: myoldcar1981

Until next time, take care of one another and as always, thanks for listening.

 Today’s guest is Keith Thornton Jr., a former volunteer firefighter, EMT, police officer and Chicago Emergency Communications dispatcher. Keith’s currently a supervisor in an Emergency Communications Center in a suburb of Chicago. I reached out to Keith on Facebook because of a tragic situation in Chicago where one police office was killed and another gravely wounded. Keith was the police dispatcher that night and managed to organize the officers and assist in the apprehension of the criminals responsible for the shootings. Correction; not the criminals. To quote Keith, the demons who did the shooting. Keith is very direct in his views and doesn’t hold back on how he views the world and the people in it.

Make sure you check out Keith's Facebook page:

https://m.facebook.com/100001004167377/

Prior to this episode, I’d only spoken with Keith once over the phone back in July. As we mention in the episode, he’s got a Facebook page and I sent him a message and asked if he’d like to come on the podcast. He answered me within hours and said that he’d love to come on and talk. We’d never before and he didn’t know me from Adam. Yet,  readily agreed to come on a small podcast, talk to a guy he’d never met and speak openly and honestly about how he feels about the world that we live in. The world needs more people like Keith; open, honest and real.

I’m so grateful for all of my guests, most of which I’ve never met in person and only spoken to on the phone. Like Keith said, when he was a dispatcher, he never met the people he sent on calls in person; he’s only spoken to them on the radio and by phone. So they speak and he listens. Now that’s a lesson we should all take to heart.

Until next time, take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is author and Vietnam veteran Fred Allen. I was on Amazon searching for my next book when his novel, Stingers- Vietnam War, Helicopter Gunships showed up on my feed. I bought it, started reading it and couldn’t stop until I got to the end, which is always a sign of a fantastic book. Fred had put his email address at the end of the novel, so of course I reached out to him and asked him if he’d like to come on the podcast and, he did! 

After you listen, tell me what you think. I always knew that the soldiers who fought in the Vietnam war were, on average, 19 years old, but when I saw the photos of Fred in his book and how much he resembled my teenage sons, it really brought it home to me. The way the Vietnam vets were treated when they came home  truly makes my blood boil. I can’t help but compare it to the way that police officers were treated in 2020. But this episode isn’t about me and my feelings about cops and 2020. Its about Fred and the positive message that he’s delivering. The fact that military veterans are now treated with the respect that they deserve, thanks in a large part to what was learned about the PTSD from the Vietnam vets benefits everyone; vets and non-vets alike. 

Do yourself a favor and check out Fred’s website here:

http://www.stingergunships.com/

Then head over to his author page on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/author/fred-allen

Take care of one another. And until next time, thanks for listening.

Welcome back the the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today, we call back over to London to talk to Hannah Alexander. I came across Hannah on Instagram when I was posting about my hip replacement. She sent me some encouraging words on recovery, so I started following her page and I’m so glad I did. She’s an amazing person and a joy to talk to. 

 I’m sure after listening to our conversation, you can tell that I’m a huge fan. I strongly suggest checking out her Instagram page and following her photographic  journey of recovery. And beyond that, going to her page will just make you smile. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the negativity that seems to be everywhere. But a ton of positivity is out there as well; you just need to seek it out. Then when you find it, keep going back to it.

Like Hannah said, be nice to each other. It really is just that easy.


Head on over to her IG page and get to know her a little better: The One Hip Wonder

Until next time, take care of each other. And as always, thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Todays guest is a wonderfully frequent flyer to the show, author and mom, Gloria Lucas. On this episode we talk about Gloria’s new book, How Deep the Ocean, due to be released in November of 2022.  I hope you enjoy the episode, then afterwards head on over to her website and check out all of her writing, to include, obviously, her new full-length novel.

Additionally, Gloria and I have more collaboration in the works, so make sure you stay tuned for what comes next. I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again. Social media can get a bad reputation as being a place for bullying, hatred, etc, but it can also be a place where people from different backgrounds and experiences can find each other and try to make the world a better place with their creations and collaborations. Never give up on people and ignore the people who profit on hate.

Check out Gloria's blurb below:

Gloria Lucas paints the portrait of a young widow in her debut novel, How Deep the Ocean, beginning one year after her husband's suicide. 

Riddled with guilt and grief, Mia is struggling with the day-to-day of being a single, working mother. Reluctantly, she agrees to a night out dancing with friends, where she meets Sean, a man with which she feels an instant connection. Her friends celebrate the new romance and urge her to follow her heart. But Mia isn't sure a broken heart is reliable. 

Publication date: Nov. 15, 2022

Preorder link: https://tinyurl.com/42fha3su

Website: glorialucas.com

If you or anyone you know are contemplating suicide, please call 988. 

Or visit: https://988lifeline.org/

Crisis Text Line: Text START to 741-741

Veterans: call 988, option 1

Text 838255

LGBTQ+ specific support: 

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

Call: (866) 488-7386

Trans Lifeline: (877) 565-8860

Take care of one another, and as always, thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Raven Rollins, a fellow podcaster from Ada, Oklahoma. I came across Raven when one of my previous  guests went on her podcast. I decided to check out her website and I liked what I saw. So I reached out to her and asked if she’d like to be a guest on my show. After all, her podcasts focus on true crime and I’m a retired Homicide detective, so it seemed like a great match. Turns out it was and here we are! I hope you enjoy the interview.

Check out the link for Raven’s website below, and as always, thanks for listening.

http://www.thesirenpodcast.com

 Today’s returning guest is Gloria Lucas. Gloria is the author of an upcoming full-length novel and she’s  one of fifteen authors in the upcoming anthology, Fiesta Nights, which is going to be released on September 15th. The release date of Fiesta Nights also just happens to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month. 

 Are you ready to preorder Fiesta Nights? You ought to. Also, if there is a local Hispanic Heritage month event going on where you live, I encourage you to go to it and explore the people, the culture, the customs and the food. I think that the more we learn about other people, the easier it is to disregard and ignore stereotypes that we may have learned years ago. 

Think about it. Why on earth would you just want to know a single culture? Doesn’t that sound incredibly boring? Plus, it makes you willfully ignorant and who wants to be ignorant? Not me and if you’re listening to this, I bet not you either. 

Don’t forget to check out Gloria’s website at glorialucas.com and  preorder Fiesta Nights here:

https://books2read.com/fiestanights

Want a further description of the book?

Party, celebrate, and dance the night away!

From Cupcakes with Carlos to Valentina’s liar, this collection brings the heat.

Dance with fate, celebrate culture, and fall in love with traditions. Chefs, coaches, tequila distributors—Fiesta Nights incorporates your favorite tropes with characters from all around the globe.

If you love Alexis Daria’s bilingual characters or the Latin flare of Priscilla Olivera, Fiesta Nights will rock your world.

Unity makes a community and we’re all in this together, so take care of each other and until next time, thanks for listening.