Meaning and Moxie After 50
Looking for more inspiration and possibility in midlife and beyond? Join host Leslie Maloney, proud wife, mom, author and teacher, as she talks with people finding Meaning and Moxie in their life after 50.
Meaning and Moxie After 50
#3 of Top Ten from 2024/Ocean Rescue Chief to Survivor Contestant at 59
Join us as Janet shares her inspiring journey of resilience and leadership, from overcoming doubts to leading a team of 160 lifeguards. Her candid reflections on embracing failure as a stepping stone and the significance of women supporting each other in leadership roles are sure to resonate with anyone striving to step outside their comfort zone.
Janet's experiences extend beyond the beach. She takes us through her unexpected adventure on the reality TV show Survivor, a testament to her spirit and ability to face challenges head-on. Learn from her unique insights about breaking stereotypes, fostering alliances, and surviving harsh conditions that shifted her perspectives on life. Janet's story reveals how the show became more than just a competition, highlighting the transformative power of pushing through fear and embracing imperfection.
As the conversation unfolds, Janet shares how she channels her active lifestyle into meaningful connections and community initiatives. From organizing charity watch parties to nurturing friendships across different ages, she underscores the importance of embracing one's true nature and having those necessary, sometimes uncomfortable, conversations. Through her motivational speaking, Janet continues to inspire others to live boldly with grit and grace, encouraging us all to face life's challenges with moxie.
Janet's Information:
https://survivor.fandom.com/wiki/Janet_Carbin
https://www.instagram.com/janetfromsurvivor39/
**The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this podcast may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This podcast contains links to other third party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browsers.
Hi, it's Leslie and we're on number three this week of our top 10 countdown of our favorites from 2024. And today's guest is a true powerhouse At 59, she competed on Survivor yes, the show where people eat bugs, brave the elements and outwit, outplay and outlast. But Janet Carbon, she is no stranger to breaking barriers. She also was the first female ocean rescue chief in the country. So we talk about her journey from saving lives on the shore to surviving on a remote island, and we also get her thoughts on resilience and reinvention and what it takes to face life's challenges with grit and grace. This episode is packed with a lot of laughs, a lot of heart and a whole lot of wisdom. You won't want to miss it, so let's get into it.
Speaker 1:I'm Leslie Maloney, retirement coach and podcast host. I'm all about helping you navigate the many transitions of this next chapter, from redefining purpose to finding joy in the everyday. We dive into real stories, practical tips and inspiring conversations. So, whether you've already retired, you're planning for it or you're just starting to think about what's next, join me for this fun and fearless exploration of life's second act, because life after 50 isn't the end of the story. No, far from it. It's where the magic truly begins. Far from it. It's where the magic truly begins. Go to my website, meaninginmoxieafter50.com for more information. And now let's get going with this week's episode. All right, everybody, welcome back to another Meaning in Moxie After 50. And I have another really cool guest here this week. I have Janet Carvin here and she's just got all kinds of shenanigans going on and she's into all kinds of fun mischief and has a really cool history that I wanted to start with with. So I believe now correct me if I'm wrong you were the first female ocean rescue chief in the country.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't know if it was the country I can't fact check that but it's pretty close. I don't know of any female chiefs in California Like they've made it up the ranks, but not to the top top. Now there's a girl that got the job down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and she is now in the last few years taking that position and the irony is she was a swimmer and a rower from Monmouth County, where I was, and she worked out with our team and our my daughter, and yeah, so it's like it's. I'm a big believer in women passing down to women. Yeah, and Alex that's her name was one of those women.
Speaker 1:you know and she's.
Speaker 2:She's an example as well as very, you know, women really teaching and building each other up and moving forward. So she's now a chief in Fort Lauderdale, florida.
Speaker 1:Wow. So do you think she's like the second or?
Speaker 2:she's, she's. Let's put it this way Her and I are probably in the top five. I can easily say that. I don't want to say something and have it be wrong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but we're pretty darn close to the yeah, yeah. So now, what year was that when you became? Now let me say that again to the audience so they get that she was the first female ocean rescue chief.
Speaker 2:We'll say yeah.
Speaker 1:Potentially in the country, but certainly in the top three. Yes, so what year was that?
Speaker 2:That year was 2006. And the reason that I know it was I had been the second in command for a million years, since I was 18 prior to that and basically was told at, this was a different beach. There's no way a female is going to be achieved. When this position offered itself to me, it was an unusual situation and I think anybody in their right mind never would have done it, and I looked at as and I talked to my husband this is going to be a make or break. I'm either going to be highly successful or I'm going to fail miserably and the and I'm in a fishbowl.
Speaker 2:You know, the entire world is going to watch how this woman is going to run this beach of 160 guards Wow, and two pools. And I must have been out of my mind, but it worked.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that and this is up in New Jersey, right, okay, so I think you just a little bit. I know about you and I want to tell the audience my son and my husband are have been friends with Janet for probably seven, eight years and so, and I've heard, I've heard of her through them for quite a while and always been so impressed because you were a risk taker. I wouldn't would you call yourself a risk taker so, and that was certainly a risk.
Speaker 2:It was absolutely a risk. It was either going to I was either going to make it in the career that I loved and had passion for, or it was going to be taken away from me and I said I got to go for this. How could I have the option of being a chief and turn it down?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know, if we don't take risks, we're never going to know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But you have to be ready to fail, and failure is not a bad thing.
Speaker 1:Right, right. Have you always had that point of view, or is that something you've developed over time?
Speaker 2:I really believe that I developed it over time because nobody likes to fail, but once I started turning failure, you know, working with young people keeps you involved and keeps you. You know what the needs are and, and I, I, you know I was also a teacher and I I was that teacher in quotes. I'm doing air quotes that all the kids went to. You know I was also a teacher and I was that teacher in quotes. I'm doing air quotes that all the kids went to. You know. And you know I'd walk into the nurse's office or the child study team and they just go, oh no what. But you know, failure is something you can grow from, is something you can grow from and in the years that I had to grow in the job, there wasn't a lot of positive stuff for women unless you were a nurse a teacher or a flight attendant.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm being serious, right, you know. And so, yeah, I had lots of failures in my life just for the fact that I was female in the job that I was pursuing.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I mean with the territory is very ocean rescue still is pretty male dominated, and so, yeah, so you started out. You said you were 18.
Speaker 2:I got to tell you it makes me smile. I was the first female ocean front lifeguard when I was 18 in Monmouth County, new Jersey I don't know in the state, I don't know where that is, but that was in 1978 or 79, somewhere in there, eight I think. Wow, you know, in 1970, they didn't even know what bathing suit to give me and then we wore the belts that you hooked your torps onto your torpedo cans, yeah, and they had no idea what to do with me and I was very fortunate to have some men behind me. And I will say that and say that, and say that because even when I was on the show survivor, jamal and I would say you know, there were times that we would talk about the successes that I have had because I've had to fight the general norms. I've had been very fortunate.
Speaker 2:My husband, my best champion you know, I could fail and know that I have a soft place to land. That's important with failure. Yeah, um, you know. But I had a lot of men. I had some key men behind me that when I ran into a wall they would help pick me up help me out again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do think that is really key to have people around you that can. And what do you I mean? Would you think that was just luck? That was just. It must've been something you also cultivated as well in people. They wanted to see you succeed.
Speaker 2:It's really weird and it's taken me. I'm 65 years old and I it's still. I'm still learning this about myself. I don't know what it is. I feel I'm very blessed I it's the only way, cause it's not something I do, it's not something I Ooh, I gotta, you know, get this personal quality going. But for some reason I just like to have fun and, like when I was just visiting in New Jersey, eight of my friends who I haven't seen for years, we're all in the pool working out together again with me one day being there. I don't know, I just I can annoy people because I'm so loud and gregarious, but I'm just like. You know, even with your son, I took him rowing and he's like I was like let's do this. You know it's just, let's do it. You know. It's that Nike saying you know you can try things and people join in. Here's the big thing that I think when you treat people with respect, regardless of age, gender, social status, when you treat them with respect, they want to be a part of you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, and I'm a big believer in you know, just cause I'm my age or my position, like I learned more from my 16 and 17 year old lifeguards, you know, and I could go to them and even my own children. I'm not afraid to say I'm sorry. I messed up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and that that's what's kind of coming through. As I listened to you that I think you know you're the Pied Piper. It sounds like that if people, you provide that soft space for people to land, they don't have to be perfect. And it sounds like you. You know, when you do have the times when you fall down, you learn from it and you get up, and then the next time it's not such a big deal, is that? Because when we have that perfection thing going on all the time, we don't take risks.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah, afraid to, because you might fail.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. And I find too that, as you know, because I'm 62 now that you know we've been accomplished in so many things in our life and because we've been doing it a long time and so we have a lot of areas of skill, and so I see in some of my friends that um and myself I have to watch. Is that trying new things at this age, that getting into that um beginner's mind and getting outside our comfort zone, it's a little weird because we are so accomplished in so many areas, but I think it's so important for growth.
Speaker 2:I'm glad you brought that up, because I'm a big one and I used to. I've done this since I'm in my twenties. I would pick a new thing, not a new year's resolution. One year it was switching to butter instead of margarine. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:It doesn't have to be this monumental thing, but I always try and pick something new to learn each year. I learned bicycling and COVID. Now I love it, because all the gyms were closed. Covid did a lot of good for me, gave me a group of people, anyway, and one of my new things that I want to learn is a language this year, and I do. I think it's really important to continue to grow and learn, and I think that's. I think it's. I'm using the wrong word. Arrogance is the word I'm going to, but I think it's more fear of letting people see you not be perfect. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm okay with that. Right, right I'd rather not be perfect.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think people sense it too. There's this like a wall, it's like a little wall that goes up.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah. Oh yeah, and I have to say, with that wall I call it like an aura around people.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of. There's a lot of bias and judgment towards older people, which I call it ageism, yep, but there's also a lot of older people that do the same to other, to younger people, and I think that aura is felt because, honest to God, I had breakfast this morning before I talked to you, and there's three women that I meet with that we're all the same age, we do a monthly breakfast and you know we keep tabs on each other besides that, but you know what I'm saying. Oh, with this breakfast, I said we're going to ride the jungle trail. It's a bike riding trail, and two of them have never been on a bike. It's free. That's what I'm saying. But anyway, I digress, you know, I just I digress, you know, I just I just think it's important that you continue to grow, you continue to learn, and I don't care what it is. One one year was I wanted to learn how to flambe, so I learned how to flambe, you know stuff, but it's fun it is.
Speaker 1:it is Now. Before we move off this ocean rescue topic, though, and I and I want everybody to understand what that entails when you are the chief of an ocean rescue group. You said one hundred and sixty guards.
Speaker 2:Minimally yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like give them just a little rundown on what that, what that means day in, day out just a little rundown on what that, what that means day in, day out.
Speaker 2:well, that's making sure your beach and employees have been certified. Every year I had a certification officer certified. All equipment is appropriate for usla, all stands are up, training has been in progress and set up, monitoring and evaluating each of them, making sure all of your employees have what they have to keep the public safe, writing budgets and reports on everything. Going to meetings and representing what your beach is doing. I was part of three other chiefs up there that started a chiefs association Sharing information on equipment and, you know, personal.
Speaker 2:I'm still getting calls for references and personnel questions since I retired, you know, and three years now, four years, now it's funny, but once a lifeguard, always a lifeguard, right, it's just, you're working. There were many. A day I would pull into my driveway thinking the day was over and I'd get an emergency management call and I'd just back up and go right out.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's very time intensive. You have to have a passion for it, yeah, it's, it's, yes.
Speaker 1:And then, not to mention just the life and death type of stuff going on and I'm sure that you had many a rescue in your career as well Um, and being in shape for that and and and the emotional side of that, and leading by example.
Speaker 2:I was always a person. I was. I'm not the chief that's going to sit in an office.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I got out many a morning and I got in the in the workouts with the guys because I wanted them to see. That's the point I was going to before and I missed it, you know, when I said I was the first female and all that stuff. I sit back now and I and especially when I was hiring, I probably was a little tougher on the girls because I didn't want them to take any. I wanted them to be strong, like emotionally.
Speaker 2:And so anyway, watching all these girls and having pride, I went up to again. I was just at New Jersey and I went up to the beach. And Brenna, just big hugs. I'm so proud of her. She's in college now and she's now in a position of leadership on the beach and teaching other girls how to row boats. And there's no excuse, no excuses.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:And I see these guards in Brevard, these girls, and it just makes me smile. It just makes me smile and I got to tell you there's a. It's a little melancholy because at times I wish I had the acceptance that they have, even though they don't think they have full acceptance.
Speaker 1:Um, but it was way different now, yeah. So, yeah, I wonder if they realize. I mean, have you had any? Had any ones come back and realize how you were a trailblazer for them?
Speaker 2:in New Jersey.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay. Yeah, sometimes it takes a little time before you can see that in your own life.
Speaker 2:I'm one of the matriarchs in New Jersey. And we started an all women's tournament which I was part of, and then they also have a big women's tournament, but we started a county female tournament and then run it. Cool yeah, I got the other chiefs to agree, we all did it. We would change towns who hosted the tournament.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So tell us how you got involved with Survivor. I mean, I feel like it was probably a real easy segue for you in some ways.
Speaker 2:Actually, the funny part about it is when I finally got accepted. I applied four times over a 20 year period, so that's not a lot, but the last time I applied this is hysterical, and I was just talking to my lieutenants about this it was a rain day at the beach, it was miserable and we had sheds where all the different crews would kind of shelter at, so I kind of like a pavilion, but anyway, so they were. I went into the one shed with my guys and I said how you guys doing? And they're like, oh, this is so boring.
Speaker 2:I said, all right, let's make a video for survivor. We laughed and we had the EMT and I'm running in in like knee, deep water and slow motion like on Baywatch, going I'll get you, Quinn, I'll get you. Oh, it was hysterical. At one point I was sitting on the lifeguard stand and I had six of my guys my big, young, strong, young guys standing on the bottom going no, it's too rough, we can't do it. And I jumped down and I go, I got it and I didn't even think Survivor was going to take you know, it was just a fun thing and I didn't even know how to send it in.
Speaker 2:I had to have my EMT go figure out how to send that into Survivor. I didn't even know how to do it. I love it. Then I got I was actually leaving for the lifeguard nationals. I'll never forget it. I'm out in the front of my street hooking up my self bailing boat, putting the paddle boards in, and all that getting ready. And they and I get a call hey, janet, this is Jesse from Savara. I'm like oh, it's not. Who's kidding with me? Which one of you guys is doing this?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And it was, and I was leaving for lifeguard nationals and when I got back continued the process and wow I didn't even like the season that. I didn't even think they'd even look at. My thing is the one they took.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and sometimes that's how things work, right, we don't really have any attachments or whatever, you know. Yeah, and then it's bingo yeah uh-huh. So has you mentioned 20 years? So has survivor been on that long, I guess, so wow gee, going into season 20, year 23 now wow, that's.
Speaker 1:That's so hard to believe. So what was what was that experience like for you? I know you were in Fiji. I saw some of the episodes which we really enjoyed and so they sent you to Fiji. They move you around right on Survivor. They have different locations.
Speaker 2:Well, I was accepted as, if you'll notice, if you're familiar with the show at all, you would see that there's different character slots that they put you in okay and I was the older woman and for 20 years the older woman was voted out first.
Speaker 2:So when I went into survivor I went in with a few goals. One was not to be the first one voted out in the way I was going to do and not be a provider. I was going to be a provider, not the woman that stayed around camp Um. I was the first female to spear fish. It's on one of the side episodes.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, so my husband and I my husband set up the whole backyard balance beams, giant slingshots, um, one of the challenges, the very first challenge which I knew I was going to have to step out into it I needed to make myself seen, so I'll skip the fire part. The challenge, ironically, was a grappling hook challenge and my husband had me and I'm doing it and he's like no, no, no, no, you can't do it that way. You have to take your time, feed your rope out in front of you and then when you throw it and he's very logical it we're like if you ever saw the show dharma and greg, that's uh-huh um, so I learned how to throw this grappling hook and be much more accurate by taking my time and doing that.
Speaker 2:And in then the first challenge, the hero role was throwing a grappling hook and Dean, you didn't see this on the show, but he threw it like five times and I was just like taking my time, my tribe's going crazy, what do you do? I'm like I got it. I got it Boom, and it was only because of that. But, um, I feel like I lost my place with my original thing where I was going with this. Oh yeah, the fire. So he also. I started fires every day with Flint and Knights. Uh, that's not a problem, but to start it without flint was the key, because you didn't know what you had to win your flint. So I learned. He went out and experimented and found bamboo and the type of bamboo and all that, and I practiced how to do it and learned how to do it and I was very lucky.
Speaker 2:I'm going to tell you I was very lucky because the first one I tried doing it, the bamboo broke and it's very hard to find the correct bamboo and all of a sudden Jack came back from the jungle and he says, how's this piece? And I looked at him like, okay, janet, if this is gonna happen, this is it. Yeah, I was really lucky and I got fire going. I was the first female to start a fire without Flint and only one of maybe six of us that ever did it.
Speaker 1:Wow. Now, from the time you found out that you were going to be doing this and that you're going to Fiji, like what was? How long was the preparation?
Speaker 2:Not much at all. So I acted as if in September I was flown to California for a finals week. They have four of them. They fly everybody in, they rent out an entire hotel. You're getting psychological, physical, all kinds of tests, interviews with CBS, all that kind of stuff, but you can't talk to anybody.
Speaker 2:All the other contestants are there. They have people watching us. There's no interaction. The worst part of that I had to stay in my hotel room. Take an ADD person. I was putting the TV on. I was doing rolls from one bed to the other. I was on commercials. I was like doing pushups and jumping jacks. I was like we were allowed out for like a half hour.
Speaker 2:Oh, here's a funny story and we're on the older women podcast. That's why I'm telling it. So you have to have all these tests. So one is for pregnancy. I was 59 at the time. I had had a hysterectomy when I was in my forties, so the women that came in are like a little bit younger than me. But, like you know, they come and they go. You have to have pregnancies. The three of us just broke down laughing. Now here's the other part. My youngest baby is 30 years old. You know it's like I don't. How do you take it? Do you put it back in the sleeve? Do you pee on it? Do you hold it up? Do you do spin? I had no idea they didn't know either we're all laughing.
Speaker 2:So they leave to go get the pregnancy test from so many younger contestants and came back to me and said all right, this is how you do.
Speaker 1:It came back to me and said all right, this is how you do it.
Speaker 2:But we still got to check the box and get it done. We still have to have that happen, so anyway so you're in this hotel room. You'll if you, if you make it to the end of the week, you start seeing there's less people at some of the meetings that we have to go to, but you still can't talk to everybody.
Speaker 2:So you're in a room and you can't even make eye contact, but you do and uh, there's less people and they say, if you make it to the end of the week and they start giving you all the shots, you might you're in good shape. But you don't know, because there's four of those, so they're picking a cast out of all of them. So you don't know. So I went home and John, my husband, and I just said let's just train what's going to hurt us. So I probably did two hours a day, fire puzzles, different stuff that he set up for me. We'd walk in the, in the, in the scrub sanctuary here and he would hide pool balls. So I would look for immunity idols and it was just kind of honestly, it was really fun to do with my husband. And then we got the call somewhere in January, mid to late January.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:You're flying out sometime in March you don't know exactly or March, march 13th I flew out. So between February and March they give you a list of things you got to do. Like you go out to Walmart it has to be non tagged items. You throw all these clothes in a box that they tell you to go buy, and I'm talking a box that was like $500 to ship because of that many clothes, but you're buying them in a theme color.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:You don't know what that means, but that's what you're doing. You mail that out to them and then all of a sudden it comes back and you don't know what they kept and what they didn't keep, and then, they'll fly you out. Then I got, then I flew out and you can't talk to anybody. You can't tell anybody that you've left, you can't say anything. There's people all around the world that like watch for the plane flights. I never knew any of this yeah and uh, because there's a lot of betting on Survivor too.
Speaker 1:Oh, is there OK.
Speaker 2:Fantasy football.
Speaker 1:Oh, I didn't know that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, huh. So we fly out and we have to spend a week on Ponderosa and all the contestants that have been selected are there. You still can't talk and there's people watching. You can't even move. My body hurt from having to sit still. I mean, I was physically in pain, you know. Think about your husbands, tell them to sit still. You know what I mean, right, and you know. But you're sizing up all of the contestants there yeah and then one day they come to you and say, let's go.
Speaker 1:So you must have been. I mean here again the unknown. Somebody to go through that process, right there, would be very unnerving. It is Through that part, but you're somebody that you're like. I mean the occupation you were in. There's a lot of unknowns on any given day, right, and so did you kind of look at it as a game.
Speaker 2:I looked at it very much. Actually, my beach experience really helped me and that was part of the interviews that I do Like. How is that help? I'm like I could watch people. That's what I did for a living. Read them, see what's going to happen, anticipate them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know they're saying one thing, but what's their body saying? You know stuff like that. But yeah, that was very. It was also very interesting. I was told and beach people would know this If at one point I slept, I dug a hole and slept in a hole. I used to do that. We used to do that on the beach because you have to be out in the elements and sometimes we would dig a hole and get out of the elements. Yeah, there was a boat. I put oars under the boat to shelter us from the rain. The producer said they had never seen anything like that I did clothes lines from tree to tree and from.
Speaker 2:I put the oars out and I did clotheslines on the oars and they said nobody ever did that. And I'm like, well, you know, live on a beach for 12 hours a day and you figure things out.
Speaker 1:Right, sure, sure. So you get the call and you're on your way. And so what was your, what was that like for you? What was your mind space like at that point, as you're flying out there?
Speaker 2:as John and I were driving to the airport. You know he was really good. He's just like listen cause he knows nothing. Back at home, they know nothing. There's no contact. There's nothing for almost two months. It's like six, six, definitely six weeks, you know, in there and there's no contact.
Speaker 1:So they really do keep the secrecy. I wondered if that you know in there and there's no contact, so they really do keep the secrecy. I wondered if that you know how much of that was hype and how much of that was oh no okay we're under um five million dollar disclosures okay, yeah so you know, so I he just said happens.
Speaker 2:This is the adventure of your lifetime. It's okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But I was like damn it, no, it's not. But knowing that he knew there were certain things I wanted to accomplish and the fact that I did accomplish them. The last one was winning the game, which I almost did. Yeah, you did, you went, you went really far right, you were like the, which I almost did.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you did, you went really far. Right, you were like the last 37 to 39 days yeah. Yeah, geez, that's incredible. So when you look back on that now like what were your big takeaways?
Speaker 2:Well, several ways, well, several, but I now know we, we have made an agreement to stick to a certain number, and then we would start turning on each other. They turned on me before that one before that but um, never I I know I can't give my secrets away because there is a season 50 coming up.
Speaker 1:OK.
Speaker 2:And it's returning players.
Speaker 1:Oh, so you might be coming back.
Speaker 2:And it's a very slim chance, but it's a chance and I OK, ok, yeah, don't give your secrets away. I really don't want to talk a whole lot about strategy.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Other takeaways that I have gotten. Honestly, my husband laughs when I say this, but it is true, there's certain things that don't mean anything to me anymore. You know, having a ton of clothing and I just want what I need for what I do yeah, um not. For what I do yeah, um not. It's just different things. I mean, I believe my body has been PTSD to cold, though I re well all the survivors. We have our own private chats areas, and all of us have something Huh, and mine is, you know. I believe that really changed me being cold.
Speaker 1:You were out there in the cold a lot, that's the worst thing in the world.
Speaker 2:That's my greatest fear is being say that again. That's my greatest fear is being cold, not hunger, not elements, not bugs and snakes, and all that it's being pulled yeah huh.
Speaker 1:So because you were what every, every night it was, did it you feared.
Speaker 2:I mean, think about it. You have very limited clothing if you got wet during the day, you were screwed for at night and you literally we've all talked about it you literally body heat was critical, laura, one day there was one that she I forget exactly what happened with her, but she was so cold she was almost convulsing. She was shaking so much, so, like four of us just surrounded her and it was raining. That day it was. There were two days it was bad rain. We would go in the ocean to get warm.
Speaker 2:That's how you know you just fearing the cold was just the most miserable thing ever.
Speaker 1:Now did they have, did they? They must have a medical team that's watching nearby, kind of kind of deal, or how does that does that we're being filmed 24 7 okay, there's always a person.
Speaker 2:The helicopter, the medical helicopter, is four minutes away. Ah, okay, they have that ready to go at all times it's on another island I gotcha so.
Speaker 1:So it was like a six-week deal, a two two-month deal give or take.
Speaker 2:You fly out, they put you in pregame, which is anywhere from five to seven days. It depends upon how long they take to get ready. So there's a three-day leeway. So you're out there, then you go to the island. There's 39 days that you're not whether make it or not you're still secluded from the world, gotcha and then you know a couple days to come home, so you think about that time period yeah, you know 39 days, plus probably almost two weeks a week on either end of it yeah, but you really represented the over 50.
Speaker 1:I was trying, I was.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to be the first older lady voted off, see, but that's the thing that the beach gave me. I think, and that's what I was saying before, I was out to lunch with women my age today. One of them brought up this other group of coworkers where these three women are good friends One one was in her fifties, one might've been in her late forties, and this other girl was in her mid twenties and they would go away together and they were like why would a 20 year old one? I hang out with 20 year olds all the time? I hang out with 20, 30, 40. That's what I'm saying, I believe because and it's not something I developed, I have been blessed with I don't know what I can't say, but I don't see a problem hanging out with, like jen probes asked me. He says who's your, who's going to be your alliance? Out there is going to be other women, other older people. I I said you're young, athletic guys.
Speaker 1:And he looked at me.
Speaker 2:I said there's no sexual tension, I play just like them and that's who I bond with. And of course I did. But he was like oh, I never thought of it that way and I don't know why that is.
Speaker 1:But I don't, age doesn't mean you're somebody I can or can't be friends with doesn't mean, yeah, you're, you're somebody I can or can't be friends with, right, yeah, no, I think we get stuck in that once again. That's stuff that we we've picked up along the way from whatever you know wherever, and um it it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it doesn't have to be in the mix it doesn't have to be in the mix, but it's women like us in our age group that need to change that, because I think it's women like us in our age group that need to change that because I think it's women like us that look like. Look at women like me in a group with a bunch of young guys and oh, instead of huh, what are they doing?
Speaker 1:right, and how cool is that. Why can't I get in there?
Speaker 2:yeah, why can't I go play kickball with them? That's what I'm saying, you know what I I mean yeah, cause I'll do that Right.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, we, we have these little boxes. It's really putting yourself in a box, yeah. So you really, you really um with this experience and you've been doing it your whole life. You've been doing it your whole life. Survivor was just another platform for you. Really, it sounds like um, but I'm sure you were a big inspiration to a lot of people on many different age groups. I hope so. Yeah, I'm sure. Would you do it again? I mean, you're looking to do it again.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's not. It's funny because right now they're doing a podcast. It's Mike Bloom's summer series and it's a summer series of survivor and they're taking every season so the summer series of Survivor, and they're taking every season, going through the seasons and evaluating the players and coming up with the top three, and they're putting that together at the end and they're going to submit that to CBS and to the media, to the fans Facebook, reddit and have fans voting on people they'd like to see on season 50. Have fans voting on people they'd like to see on season 50 and um, out of all of that that's been going on that's what they were talking about yesterday on the podcast. And jonathan penner, who's just I just listened to his interview. He said it best. He says we're all crazy. There's not one of us that's really gonna say no. Cochran Cochran said no. We could probably pick like three people out of the 600. There's about 600 of us that would say no.
Speaker 2:I mean, tina Wesson can't wait to get back on, you know, and I want to show them that I really want to get back on because I have more to prove for women. You know, they're talking about people's age, at like 50s and 60s, and they're talking about men and I want them to put me up against any 20 year old. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. Don't put me in a box. I guess is what I'm saying right, I refuse to be put in a box all my life.
Speaker 1:Don't do it now right, no, no, so, so well, this is. This is really, uh, it's very well. I look forward to seeing what happens next in this arena for you oh, um, I'm plugging some stuff here.
Speaker 2:Okay, september 25th, we will be having our watch party at beach. Fly in rockledge okay, september 25th charities okay my charity is daily bread here in brevard because I wanted to be a part of somebody that feeds and clothes the homeless and I wanted to make sure women and children were part of that. So that was that so. But if anybody's interested, we do um a watch party the beginning of each season at rockledge at the beach fly.
Speaker 2:They donate their facility to us and we bring all the survivors in and people from naked and afraid and all of that and it's all charity. Okay, they, they come and hang out at my house, which is fun and then we go and then people who buy tickets. All that money goes to the charities.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we'll put all that in the show notes so that people can find it and connect. And that's probably, yeah, that's probably. If they're not here in Brevard County, florida, they can probably find something similar in other places where there are survivors. No, oh, okay, this is something you're doing uniquely.
Speaker 2:There are watch parties in other areas there are okay, but ours is strictly for charity all right, blazing the trail again um there. Well, the other watch parties are doing it as a business, and I, and that's fine. You know there are people that have been on survivor that have used it to launch their careers and whatever that might be and Johnny Fairplay, wendell Holland, you know those guys and Bryce they have, they'll do the whole season and have watched parties in different seasons, but that's their business. They'll donate a portion to a charity app.
Speaker 1:they'll donate a portion to a charity app, but ours is.
Speaker 2:We. Nobody walks away with any money in their pocket. Yeah, all the money. And then there's a huge event out in orlando december 5th to 8th. There'll be about 130 reality stores. It's called over the.
Speaker 1:Edge.
Speaker 2:Celebrity Weekend. Okay, and that's all charity.
Speaker 1:So it sounds like this is still keeping you busy. You kind of go out to different events and you're still having some fun with it.
Speaker 2:We were just at Jamal's wedding this past weekend up in Rhode Island.
Speaker 1:Wow, so those relationships continue.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I have relationships with people from other seasons, like a ton of them, like Brenda from the amazing race she was the original amazing race, she's one of my good friends here and Joe Del Campo from season 35 and Carl from season three and mama C from season 35 and. Ethan's on, and Boston Rob, I mean I text him and he helps out with raising money for charities and so, yeah, it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:That's really yeah, and I mean I, I'd love to see you. Just, you know you're out there in your eighties, eighties and nineties kicking it. You know you'll be on Survivor and showing them how it's done. We said we should have an over 50 tribe.
Speaker 2:We said we should have an over 50 tribe, yeah Cool. So we don't know what the theme is. That's the whole thing. And once they come up with a theme, then they'll make phone calls and we'll see what happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So you have this beautiful family. You got three. How many Three daughters?
Speaker 2:I have two daughters and a son.
Speaker 1:Okay, two daughters and four granddaughters. Okay, aw yeah, and you've been happily married for a long time, so I know that that is very a full part of your life.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep To John. I always get the years wrong. He's much better than I am. I think we're married 31 years.
Speaker 1:Nice, well, congratulations, yeah, I'm 32.
Speaker 2:congratulations. Yeah, 32, so you're pretty right. Yes, I did it, she's right. I I'm the one that never I'm. I get lost, like even in the jungle. I'm like I'm not looking for an idol. I have to go to the bathroom. If I can't find me, come look. I mean, I'm known for this and like, yeah, I can never remember certain things, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So that keeps you really busy. And so what are some outside of Survivor? What are you up to now? That's keeping you.
Speaker 2:Well, again, I feel very. We call ourselves the pod. I probably have about, I'm going to say 10 very, very close friends here. We bike. We biked across Iowa last year in seven days. This is bicycle, not motorbike. We just did across Florida for Memorial weekend. We probably ride. Well, we ride every week. It's just it could be more often than that Part of our group right now. We're scattered all over the place. Two of them are going out to iowa to ride across rag bride. Two, three of them are riding from washington dc to buffalo, new york, and you know lisa's going hiking out and you know. So we're all scattered. But we're all there.
Speaker 2:Like. I don't think everybody can say this, but I feel like I could pick up the phone in the middle of the night and I could call one of 10 people and they'll be there you know um without question without questions. Um, so I have a bike group, I have an ocean swim group, I have a master's swim group and a lot of those people mix and then we have our solid pod yeah, don't.
Speaker 1:So you're staying very, you're very active.
Speaker 2:You're moving every single day doing something part of that is because I can't I literally can't sit still and you know for most of my life. This is I. When I do my motivational speaking, this is what I talk about. I used to condemn so many things about myself how physically talented I was, how I was strong, how all these things I used to hate about myself one of them was also the fact that I can't like I.
Speaker 2:I used to be like what's wrong with me that I, I literally can't sit still once I started, and it's only in the last four or five years that you know what. Let's go with it, you know what does that mean?
Speaker 2:You know and my husband has had to deal with that People living with people like me are really hard, you know, and finding that balance. But listen to who you are is what I'm saying. Listen to it, Don't fight it. My gut's never been wrong. I've only been wrong when I choose not to listen. And sometimes you have to have those uncomfortable conversations to get to the end.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's one of the beauties I certainly have found it for me with aging is that self-acceptance of like who you are and you can't. We all come in with these gifts, that's what they are, and then you know. Then society starts to tell us different things and then we start to judge ourselves. It's kind of like, yeah, just go with it, you can't, this is, this is who you, this is who we are, and just worrying about it, like who cares? Yeah.
Speaker 2:I have no idea why I have been gifted with an athletic ability. I used to hide it. You know what I mean. Now I'm like why?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Right, right, look where it's temporary or make excuses for it. You know when I was dealing with men and you know in a man's world, you know.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:So now.
Speaker 1:I really, really. Uh. I think a great way to to wrap up where we're at is just to for all of us to think about that. What are the things that we could accept about ourselves in this moment? And just let go and just this is who I am that's who you are, and learn something new every year yes, yes, that is. That is great advice too. What is what is meaning in moxie? Look like for you. Are you living it?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, oh yeah. I was just at my friend's 70th birthday or she was her 50th birthday and we had to dress in 70 style. They're the kind of people you had to get the outfits on all of our stuff here. We do silly things, yeah yeah. Living in Moxie is doing whatever the hell you want and just do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, All right. Well, I thank you so much for taking the time and really getting to know you. You know, like I said, I hear about you through my husband and son and I'm just like, ah, I'd like to chat with her.
Speaker 2:Tell them both I said hi and you and I can continue a relationship.
Speaker 1:I would like that. I would like that, and we will put September 25th on our calendar. Yes, all right, everybody. So we're going to have some info in the show notes and you take care, and thanks for listening and we'll see you next time. Bye, now, if this podcast was valuable to you, it would mean so much if you could take 30 seconds to do one or all of these three things Follow or subscribe to the podcast and, while there, leave a review and then maybe share this with a friend if you think they'd like it. In a world full of lots of distractions, I so appreciate you taking the time to listen in. Until next time, be well and take care.