What's The Story?

Oh, the places you will go …. when you let the music take you there!

For many young musicians, the musical dream is big. It was no different for Cara Wojciechowski. Cara started playing and singing at a very young age.

For many of us loss gives us the opportunity for perspective. Cara lost a dear friend, also at a very young age. Cara’s parents encouraged her to volunteer hoping that would help her work through that loss. Find out how the experience became the seeds that blossomed into a career decision years later. Today Cara is a Music Therapist at Tower Health.

She thought she would be working with terminally ill patients. Instead, she finds herself working with children, using her music to ease their stress in hospital situations. Turns out the whole family learns how to use music to visualize and lower stress levels. It’s no wonder when you hear her sing. Relax a little and enjoy Cara’s story.

Sue Lange’s ’The Traffic Opera’ is just a part of her story. It’s one of many successes in her journey. Have you ever been stuck in a traffic jam? Sue Lange was stuck in one on her way home from Harrisburg. The experience became the seed for ‘The Traffic Opera.’ Wow did that seed blossom! The Comedy Short has been nominated for multiple awards at the Southampton Film International, the Nice International Film Festival and the London-Worldwide Comedy Short Film Festival to name a few. Sue Lange is the writer, Andrew Pochan is the director, and Chris Heslop wrote the score for this wildly successful project. Sue is most surprised by the numbers of people in the Berks County area who are familiar with ‘The Traffic Opera,’ and she calls it a gift card to Reading as it was filmed at 6th & Court Streets in downtown Reading and nearly everyone involved in the project is from the Reading / Berks area. Asked if she is surprised by the success of this show, Sue says, “It’s unique. And that’s what gets attention.” You can watch the Comedy short here https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7374490/?ref_=rvi_tt

Sue talks about how it all comes together and which comes first, the writing or the music as she discusses the process from inception to completion. ‘The Traffic Opera’ is part of a larger initiative by The Film Commission and the Reading Theatre Project to make Reading THE Destination for filmmaking. Not one to rest on her laurels, Sue is already onto the next project, ‘Dust Nuggets’ which is also based in the Reading-Berks area. Sue Lange’s story underscores the amount of opportunity available in this area and the numbers of people using their talents to put Reading on the international filmmaking map! Can’t wait to see the release of ‘Dust Nuggets’!

Education isn’t just about a body of knowledge, its helping kids learn how to be kind, caring and good citizens. A tall order that can be accomplished by helping them develop a connection with the natural world. Cindy Ross is an Author, Journalist, Blogger, and World Traveller. She talks about her latest book ‘The World is Our Classroom.’ This book is the culmination of lessons learned in 25 years of raising and educating her children outside in the natural world. Cindy’s kids were homeschooled, attended public school and taught themselves!

Senses are awakened, and creativity is stimulated when learning takes place beyond the classroom. Cindy watched her kids discover what is really important to be happy. Opportunity presents itself time and time again to differentiate between a ‘want’ and a ‘need.’ Her kids always wrote about all their adventures, and there are excerpts from their journals in the book. When reading the excerpts, it becomes very clear how their outdoor excursions helped them develop empathy, compassion and a true love of learning.

Cindy helped her children cultivate their own learning, and in this book, there are a wealth of resources to help you make classroom lessons come alive for your children and grandchildren in the great outdoors. Learning like this can happen right in your own backyard and neighborhood. You can teach them through experiences how to disconnect from technology. You will provide opportunities to talk more and get to know each other better. When you share adventures outside a very special bond is formed that can’t happen sitting around watching tv together.

Adrenaline rushes and taking risks are part of growing up. Mountain climbing, kayaking, and outdoor adventures are much better alternatives to reckless driving or doing drugs. Show your kids how to network with others, learn through experiences and take calculated risks. How do you start? Get the book ‘The World Is Our Classroom’! It’s a great inspiration and resource to help you connect to the natural world and bond with your kids and grandkids outdoors. Find out more at www.cindyrosstraveler.com.

A walk on the Highline in Chelsea District of New York prompted a discussion of its history and how the convergence of trains, people, cattle and goods in this area of New York shaped the neighborhood. The elevated line has been preserved and is now a beautiful linear park.

This story with Jane Runyeon and Valerie Boom explores how the effort to reframe the space in order to preserve the history and impact of trains in America has evolved. The result of the evolution is the ‘Ghost Train’ project.

Jane Runyeon, a lifelong artist and educator, is from Reading. Reading is home to the Reading Railroad, and it is only natural that Jane stepped up to be the executive director of this important artistic collaboration that brings the past to life in the present. Valeria is an architect and artist, and Lynn Redding is a lighting designer and artist. You will meet Lynn in part two of this story.

Trains of the past come alive in the Ghost Train project in the most magical of ways. People’s lives centered around the railroad. The Ghost Train will enable us to imagine through art what life was like 100 years ago. An array of different mediums will be utilized to make the past come alive in the rail areas that are being preserved.

Imagine what life was like 100 years ago, alive and bustling in the rail areas that are being preserved. Find out how you might look at some specific areas of Reading as the rail areas are being re-imagined and preserved through art. Trains of the past come alive in the Ghost Train project in the most magical of ways.

Anne Desjardins experienced crippling fatigue about 7 years ago and that was the start of a journey through a medical quagmire trying to find out what was wrong. A series of mis-diagnosis and lots of misunderstanding led to a great deal of frustration and no relief from symptoms. The journey was expensive and extremely frustrating yet the cause remained a mystery. Sound familiar? As it turns out Lyme Disease was the final destination on this medical search. With the proper diagnosis she has been able to get a handle on her health again and is determined to help others get off the medical mis-diagnosis train. Find out how to improve your quality of life. Senator White has a pending piece of legislation in Harrisburg right now to help untangle with medical web. In the meantime Anne has started a support called Berks County Lyme Support Group. It’s a way for you to connect with others dealing with similar issues, share successes and help each other on the way back to good health. Connecting People with information. The Facebook Page is Berks County Lyme Support Group.

Life sure is interesting! Dr. Pam Ellenberger spent her life as a successful plastic surgeon. Yet she closed her practice and embarked on a farming career. She jumped right in and today she operates Bent Limb Farm in Shoemakersville. Why such a drastic transition in her 50’s?

Well Pam says she likes to knit and wool is itchy. Truth is she didn’t want to drift through her 50’s so Pam sought direction and guidance about her next life chapter with a life coach. That conversation gave her clarity and she knew she was ready for something different. This new incarnation for Dr Pam Ellenberger is another success.

Check out www.bentlimbfarm.com Visit the farm and the shop. The beautifully crafted items don’t itch! They are incredibly soft! Dr Pam Ellenberger’s story is a salute to change, growth and new beginnings. After all, isn’t that what life is all about!

Zeus McClurkin has been told, he’s too nice, “All you ever want to do is smile and dunk”. Now he gets paid for it! The World Famous Harlem Globetrotters travel all around the world and they find that the number one language everyone speaks is ‘a smile’. Zeus says, “I can speak that language!” The Globetrotters are ambassadors of goodwill on and off the court. While in Reading he visited elementary schools. His message to all kids is “BE YOU”. As a kid, Zeus thought The Harlem Globetrotters were just characters on the Scooby Doo show. He shares the dream of becoming a Harlem Globetrotter and spreading joy wherever he goes. You will enjoy his story.

Styrofoam takes 4,000 years to decompose and cannot be recycled. Lisa Fecera Gifford didn’t like that. Lisa wholesales soup to retailers up and down the East Coast and was determined to find a better way to package samples so that the packaging could be re-used. That quest led her to discover Flipbox. After a weekend trip to Germany to meet with the manufacturer's, she and her husband became the sole distributors of Flipbox in North America. Soon after that visit they established their own business called ‘Stay Cool Hot Stuff’. Lisa is now a ‘regular’ on QVC, the home shopping network, where she is wildly successful.

Lisa Fecera Gifford attributes her successful journey to mentors she has met along the way. She remains in a state of deep gratitude every day and talks about the importance of staying positive, putting daily intentions in the universe and believing in yourself. You’ve heard these things before, now meet Lisa as she bears witness to the power of positivity and gratitude.

Lisa and her husband Michael are committed to giving back to the community. They work to offer a ‘hand up’ to those who may be struggling by offering them employment opportunities when new shipments arrive and need to be packaged for sale. Lisa is still working on that ‘sample package’ design and is connected to the right people to bring that dream to fruition. Tune in and get inspired by what gratitude and positive intention can do for you! Don’t forget to visit www.staycoolhotstuff.com

What do you get for someone who has everything? It was Christmas, 2011 and Joe Rudden was searching for something meaningful. As it turned out the perfect gift was a letter from a family in need. The impact of that letter far exceeded his expectation. Six families received money and each of Joe’s children received a letter. The Gift By Gift Program was born!

Tune in to find out how that search for a meaningful gift morphed into The Rudden Family Foundation. In just five years the Foundation has grown to work with multiple charitable organizations in the area providing a variety of services for families living in poverty. The connections made through those letters profoundly affect both the donor and the recipients and the innovation continues. Be part of the exchange at www.theruddenfamilyfoundation.org

Frank Antoine personifies empathy and compassion. His younger brother has autism. He recalls the struggle his mom faced when bringing his brother to a barbershop. When Frank was 12 he cut his brother’s hair so he wouldn’t have to go to the barber. Frank is keenly aware of the many challenges a person with autism and his family face, and he is passionate about easing the way. Frank figured if he could take one challenge off the plate it is worth it. Today he is a barber and offers free haircuts to anybody with autism. The gratitude from parents is more than enough. It has been quite a journey for Frank Antoine from that first haircut he gave his brother to today. Tune in and find out how he got here and the people that helped him along the way. His non-profit is called Fading Autism.