The Danny and Park Novels Good News Podcast

     Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Andrea Dunn, the author of the new content journal, My Body Boss, Living Wyld with RA.  Andrea got diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was 24yrs old. At the time of her diagnosis she was in Daytona Beach and was working essentially two full time jobs at a high school trying to ignore the problems of RA and a dysfunctional job. Florida's ever changing weather made the pain worse. But she was living wild child style on the surface. Her family was up north and her dear saintly grandmother was terribly losing a battle with cancer. The only thing she had was dating a very supportive guy/a marine (who stayed her friend till his passing a few years ago).

      Can you imagine being diagnosed with a disease like Rheumatoid Arthritis at the age of 24? And then getting no support from some of the people closest to you and having to deal with it alone? But despite that, you persevere and climb out of your depression basically on your own. That’s exactly what this podcast is all about. We all have a strength within us that we draw on to overcome diversity and strife. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that it’s there and it’s available when we truly need it. I encourage everyone listening to check out Andrea’s journal on Amazon and give it a read. Find your own strength and never give up.

Take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Check out the links below:

Amazon book:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1JWYWJX?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

FB link:

 https://www.facebook.com/AndreaAwesomeDunn

Instagram: 

andrea.ra.oa.wyldchyld

Mastermind RA course:

https://app.mastermind.com/masterminds/32543

And don't forget that July is Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Month:

https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/types/juvenile-arthritis/

Today’s guest is New York Times bestselling author, Peter Abrahams. I’ve been a reader of Peter’s novels for over twenty years and am thrilled that he agreed to be on the podcast. The interview was originally scheduled for a week prior, but a work issue came up and I asked Peter if he could reschedule. He gave me another date and that one fell though on my end as well. He patiently sent me a few more available dates and I was finally able to get it done. I think the fact that Peter, as I mentioned, a bestselling author, was patiently able to give me additional dates after I had to cancel, without ever having met me. 

 I am constantly amazed that guests whom I’ve never met, are willing to chat with me for a half hour and share stories of their life and their viewpoints. With Peter, I’m sure that I come off sounding like a fanboy, but the fact that I get to interview an author I’ve read for over two decades, and still read, is somewhat surreal.

 A point that Peter makes toward the end of the interview resonates with the reasons this podcast exists. We were talking about dealing with dark things in life, and Peter mentioned that Chet, the dog narrator of his Bernie and Chet series, just seems to bounce back and reset when something bad happens to him. I think that’s what we all need to strive for in life. A nice, big reset when things look their darkest.

That’s all I’ve got for this episode. I’d like to thank Peter for coming on the podcast and I encourage everyone listening to pick up one of his novels and try to get you own reset.

You can visit his website here:

https://www.peterabrahams.com/

Thanks for listening. 

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is Noemi from Creative Souls. I came across Noemi’s Instagram page and was instantly hooked on her positive message. And since that’s what this podcast is all about, I had to invite her to come on the show, so I sent her a message. She answered me right and away and we got it set up. 

 I think she came up with a fantastic idea of collaborating with others to create something that just one person couldn’t create by themselves. Our world needs more collaboration overall. People from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all colors, sexes, religions. Everyone working together to create something good that will benefit us all. When you really think about it, why wouldn’t you want to work with others to create something that makes you feel good and brings joy to the world? There’s more good in this world, then bad. It’s up to us to work together to keep it that way.

Check Noemi out on Instagram: noemi.creativesouls

Or go to her website:

http://www.noemicreativesouls.com

As always, look out for one another and ignore anyone who wants to divide us.

Thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is my friend and former RPD co-worker, Jose Cartegna. Jose was a Richmond Police officer for seven years and the last few of those years served as a detective in the Youth and Family Services Unit of the Major Crimes Division. Jose and I talk about how he came to Richmond from Connecticut to be a Richmond police officer, his time in Patrol, and the cases that he investigated while he was a detective. Jose was also on the Crowd Management Team during 2020 and talks about how it affected his decision to leave the department and embark on a new career. 

 As many of you know, I was a Youth and Family Crimes detective for two years before I transitioned to the Homicide Unit, so I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for these overworked and under-appreciated detectives. The horrors that they see on a daily basis, a truly daily basis, is nearly overwhelming. And unlike homicides and shootings, which ebb and flow, crimes against children are constant. Add to that stress having to work on the Crowd Management Team during 2020 and its a wonder there are any detectives left to investigate these cases. Jose made the right choice to get out of police work and achieve his life-work balance, and many other police officers are doing the same thing. 

Despite what the media, politicians and entertainers say, police officers are a valiant and courageous group of people who do a hard, necessary and many times thankless job. That being said, I’d like to thank the majority of people who do support the police, even though this majority seldom get heard in any mainstream arena.

I’d also like to thank Jose for coming on the podcast and wish him the best of luck in his new career.

Check out his company's website:

http://www.theriveragroupva.com

And you can call him directly:

(860) 912-3003

Take care of one another and thanks for listening.

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is retired NYPD detective and bestselling author, Vic Ferrari. I’m a huge fan of independent authors and Vic’s books popped up on my Amazon recommendation page. His books looked  interesting so I bought one. After I read about 20 pages, I bought ALL of his books. 

 As you can clearly tell, I’m a big fan of Vic and his books. Vic writes like he talks and talks like he writes. Head on over to his Amazon page and check out his books. If you like unfiltered, non-politically correct, hilarious books, I can unconditionally guarantee that you’ll love his books. I’ll put the links to the Amazon page and Facebook page in the description of this episode. 

So, read his books, have a great belly laugh, and take care of each other.

Thanks for listening.

Vic's Amazon and Facebook pages: Enjoy!!

https://www.amazon.com/Vic-Ferrari/e/B01IIQXLBC?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000

https://m.facebook.com/vicferrarinypd?tsid=0.9291560248153222&source=result

 Today’s guest is Officer Brenda Ruiz, the inspiration for the The Giving Notes Project song written by Emily Roig. Brenda and I talk about how her life experience became the subject of Emily’s song, what major event led her down the path to becoming a police officer, and the challenges that she faced as a woman and Hispanic officer in the City of Richmond. 

I can’t tell you the amount of respect and admiration I have for her and the rest of the CMT officers who stood on the front line during the riots in Richmond, 2020. And yes, I mean riots. Widespread damage, destruction and violence are riots. They can’t be spun otherwise. But like Brenda and the ton of other cops I know say, we all support peaceful protest for change. Period. 

There are many stories in the press about cops who have left law enforcement since 2020, but like Brenda, there are even more officers who stay in the field because they love what they do. And what do they love to do? Help people and through their dedication and service, let people in all communities live well.

We’re all in this world together. Let’s all work together to make our world a place where living well is the norm, not the exception.

Thanks for listening.

Today’s guest is Mark Brown, the founder of The Giving Notes Project. On a previous episode, I spoke with Emily Roig who is one of the musicians associated with the amazing group. She suggested that I talk to Mark for more information so I sent him an email and asked if he’d like to come on and talk about his creation. He readily agreed and here he is.

If you follow the news, or politics or the majority of the entertainment industry (which I try to avoid at all costs), there’s so much ‘me, me, me’ out there, it seems as if that’s all that exists. It can get frustrating and disheartening. But then you come across an organization like The Giving Notes Project and you realize that there are people in the world, regular people, not the politicians, actors and elites, but people who who truly, truly care about other people and want to give everyone a voice. Finding organizations like The Giving Notes Project and people like Mark remind me that good is all around us; we just need to remember to look for it.

Take care of each other, and as always, thanks for listening.

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/thegivingnotesproject

https://www.instagram.com/thegivingnotesproject/

Welcome back to the podcast, I’m Jamie Baynes. Today’s guest is singer and songwriter, Emily Roig. Emily and I crossed paths when she tagged me in an Instagram post about a song she’d written about a Richmond police officer. I reached out to her and asked if she’d like to be a guest on an episode and she agreed, so here she is. 

 I know I say it all the time when I interview singer-songwriters, but it always seems like what they do is magical. I mean, she interviewed Brenda Ruiz for an hour, then four months later, she’s written and produced a song about Brenda’s life. Amazing. You guys really need to check out the The Giving Notes Project when you get a chance. And we all need to work on changing what we crave. Because I think we’re all guilty of craving what’s bad for us and ignoring what’s good for us. That’s what The Giving Notes Project is all about. Same goes for this podcast. We’re all in this together, and together, we can change the world. 

As always, take care of each other, do your best to not crave what’s bad for you, and most importantly, thanks for listening.

The full version of the song with the lyrics and story can be found here: https://www.thegivingnotesproject.com/songs/officer-brenda-ruiz

Emily's Personal Social Media & Sites:

Instagram - instagram.com/emilyroig

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/emilyroigmusic

Website - www.emilyroig.com

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/0g22CKPhT46JvUvg8epVM5?si=w31Uv3GoQUWbZP03s4jScg

Patreon - www.patreon.com/emilyroig

The Giving Notes Project Website - https://www.thegivingnotesproject.com

Today’s guest it Johnnie Calloway. Johnnie’s YouTube page showed up in my feed one day, so I checked him out. I was hooked after listening to him for probably less than two minutes. His contact information was on his page, so I emailed him and asked him if he’d like to be a guest on the podcast. He replied and wrote, “Positivity is contagious”, then he agreed to come on the show. So here he is. I hope you enjoy his episode.

Once you finish with the episode, you have got to check out his YouTube page, as well as the photos on his Instagram page. I’ll make sure that I include the links on the description page of the podcast. Just scrolling through the pictures on his Instagram page will put a smile on your face. As he said in his email to me, positivity is contagious and we can all spread the positive message simply by ignoring the people who want to divide us. I hope Johnnie keeps putting his message out there and his audience grows exponentially every week. 

I’ll say it again: positivity is contagious. We need to all do our part to keep it that way. 

Take care of each other, and thanks for listening.

Check out Johnnie's social media:

Facebook: Johnnie Calloway
Instagram: @johnniecallowaysr
Twitter: @jmcalloway6

     Today’s guest is former Richmond Police dispatcher Demetria Ross. Ms. Ross was a dispatcher with the City of Richmond for fifteen years, and was a Petersburg dispatcher for four years before that. Ms. Ross and I talk about the incident that sent her down the dispatcher path, as well as various significant events that occurred while she was a Richmond dispatcher. 

     Whenever I called communications and Ms Ross answered the phone, I knew I’d better come correct. Her voice instills respect and admiration in even the saltiest of police veterans. As we were speaking after the recorded interview, Ms. Ross mentioned the emotional toll that comes along with being a police dispatcher and how it affected her mental health. She agreed to come back and talk openly and honestly about a panic attack she had and how it caused her to seek counseling. I hope you all come back to listen to part two of Ms. Ross’ podcast.

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