Pilot Episode of Unlikely Gifts

Pilot

Transcript

Diane M. Simard: 0:11

Hi, I'm Diana M. Samard, host of the new Unlikely Gifts podcast that we'll be launching September 11th with my sidekick, Larry King. Wait, Larry King? Hey, is that your real name?

SPEAKER_01: 0:24

Yes, it is. You know, it is my name. It was my name first. My parents gave me the name, so I have to go by the name Larry King.

Diane M. Simard: 0:32

Well, it's an honor to partner with this talented professional who spent his career in the TV and radio production business in the Midwest and is now enjoying retirement in Florida.

SPEAKER_01: 0:42

You know, I don't know if I really call it retirement or not, because here we are doing podcasts.

Diane M. Simard: 0:48

Well, Larry and I are gearing up to share humorous, entertaining, and inspirational stories from our most memorable life experiences. We consider those tales to be unlikely gifts, and we look forward to sharing them with you on our monthly podcast.

SPEAKER_01: 1:03

You know, I have to say this. Diane has some riveting stories, but she's also an accomplished businesswoman, named one of the inaugural top 100 national women in business by Bizwomen.com. She served on boards of numerous companies and nonprofit organizations. She's a survivor of late stage three breast cancer. Woo! And now she's a patient advisor for a digital therapeutics company, and she founded a company called COPE, the Center for Oncology Psychology Excellence. As I say, it's known as COPE, and that's at the University of Denver. To say she's an inspirational powerhouse with a huge, witty, humble heart would be an understatement.

Diane M. Simard: 1:50

Oh, thank you for those kind sentiments. Uh I love middle-age, embracing the opportunity to reflect on what has happened in our lives to get us to where we are today. Speaking of reflections, how about sharing a quick rundown of what we planned to dish about in our early episodes?

SPEAKER_01: 2:05

Well, many of the early stories that we're going to focus on happened to Diane in her childhood while she was growing up in a small town in central Nebraska. The town had only 80 people, and this was the 1970s. She's going to tell us a rousing tale about her kindergarten teacher who was born in 1895. And then she's going to reflect on how President Nixon, President Nixon, ruined her summer break in 1973. Plus, we'll both share a story about her fifth birthday on Cartoon Corral. That was a TV program that I was directing in Lincoln, Nebraska. By the way, her Cartoon Corral story is the reason we found each other in the first place and decided to collaborate.

Diane M. Simard: 2:51

Well, that's another story within itself, isn't it, Larry?

SPEAKER_01: 2:54

Yes, it is.

Diane M. Simard: 2:55

In the meantime, be sure to check out Larry's Sort of Fun Stories podcast.

SPEAKER_01: 2:59

And by the way, you are on that podcast.

Diane M. Simard: 3:02

Yes, I am. Yes, thank you for that.

SPEAKER_01: 3:04

That's how we got together.

Diane M. Simard: 3:06

We did, and we we got together and recorded that podcast and thought, how much fun is this? We should do more of this, right? Yes. In the meantime, you can also learn more about me at my website, which is DianeMsumard.com. You can also learn more about me on my website, DianeMsummard.com, where you can also sign up to receive my monthly blog, which I call middle age moxie.

SPEAKER_01: 3:30

Now, is that is that new?

Diane M. Simard: 3:32

Yes, fairly new. Actually, I just retitled it. I've been blogging for almost four years, but I'm just in the process of retitling it, kind of repositioning it in preparation to parallel along with this podcast.

SPEAKER_01: 3:45

So middle-age moxie is what we've got to look forward to.

Diane M. Simard: 3:48

That sure is. And there's a lot of it, and I have a lot to say. Um, you can also order my multi-award-winning book, which is called The Unlikely Gift of Breast Cancer, a memoir style reflection of my year with breast cancer. Through humor and tears, and there were a lot of tears, trust me. I share how the experience helped me find my voice and convinced me to advocate for those impacted by cancer's emotional scars.

SPEAKER_01: 4:13

Wow. We've got a lot to cover for sure.

Diane M. Simard: 4:16

Oh, without a doubt. Be sure to stay tuned and join us when our unlikely gifts podcast launches on September 11th.

SPEAKER_01: 4:24

Now, the name of it is Unlikely Gifts.

Diane M. Simard: 4:27

It sure is. And again, as we mentioned, we're going to focus in on those experiences in life that we see as unlikely gifts. So until next time, remember that cancer's emotional scars deserve compassionate healing and that there's an unlikely gift in every circumstance. I'm Diane M. Samard, and this is the Unlikely Gifts Podcast.