Welcome to season 5 of Bite-Sized Blessings.
Both episode 41 and 42 are near and dear to my heart.
And that's because both guests,
Sparks in episode 41 and Samah Tukmachi in episode 42,
Have known each other since Samah was 8 years old.
I find their friendship to be enchanting,
Wonderful,
And a good reason to wake up every morning.
You never know what each day is going to bring you.
Also,
Following this episode,
We play little Louis Armstrong.
And once you listen to episode 41,
I think you'll understand why.
And now,
Without further ado,
Season 5 of Bite-Sized Blessings.
I remember I joined the Lutheran Church here back in the last century and people were testifying.
And I said,
I'd like to say something.
I said,
I don't believe in Jesus Christ in this place,
God.
So quiet,
You could have dropped a button and heard it land.
I said,
I don't have to believe.
I am living proof.
I was born and raised in Chicago,
Illinois,
On the South Side,
During Jim Crow,
Which began to be the law of the land in 1878.
Oh,
Well.
Shortly after Reconstruction,
I was an only child and a latch key child.
That sounds like it was probably before they even had the term latch key kid,
Because I remember when they started talking about like the 80s,
I think.
Well,
Trust me,
I was not a kid anymore in the 80s,
But from certainly 1956 until 1960,
I was a latch key child.
So both your parents worked?
No,
My mother was unique in that she was a major player in income tax land.
They would send people from Washington,
D.
C.
,
To have conferences with her instead of taking her to Washington,
D.
C.
She was famous.
Did she work for the government?
The federal government?
Income tax.
Yeah,
Everyone loves to talk about income taxes,
Right?
Although when I was involved here in Santa Fe with the legend Lone Ranger,
I got a scam call who claimed that I had underpaid my income tax and had to give them my bank information and blah,
Blah,
Blah.
And I said,
Hey,
Hit pause right now.
I said,
My mother wrote those rules and regulations.
I remember I joined the Lutheran Church here back in the last century and people were testifying.
And I said,
I'd like to say something.
I said,
I don't believe in Jesus Christ in this place.
Got so quiet,
You could have dropped the button and heard it land.
I said,
I don't have to believe I am living proof.
And I told him about how premature infants in 1946,
It was a death sentence.
They didn't have respirators.
They sent me home in a wooden shoebox.
And it is the same for any other child who managed to hold on to life for at least a week,
Seven days.
And then that that shoebox would be put in the oven with explanations,
Absolutely impossible to mistake.
You don't put the baby in the shoebox in the oven.
You get potholders,
Right?
And you get to get it out and you sit in a windy area.
Then you you put blankets in it so that it could absorb the heat directly from the shoebox.
And then you put the baby in it,
Making sure that that you touch the box itself,
Which is this impromptu cradle and and the blankets to make sure that they're not too hot.
Yes,
I would think it's important to specify don't put the baby in the oven.
Well,
They had first hand experience with people that should have known because they were white and did it anyway.
Oh,
My God.
Well,
Yes.
Remember,
This is the early 20th century.
We're talking about medicine was a joke.
It was the first time I saw a UFO.
I was I guess you call a pet of the main downtown library.
I read all the children's books.
I read all the young adult books and then I graduated to the adult books and I was walking towards the library and I'd reached the subway and I saw the cloud had gone between myself and and the sun.
And then I noticed this group,
They were just high schoolers,
But they were looking up.
So I looked up.
And here was this elongated triangular shape,
Maybe two to 300 feet above us,
Which was headed north with no sound and against the wind,
And we all looked at each other and look back at it until it went out of sight and when it went out of sight.
It went above the skyscrapers that were you were approaching and continued until it was not visible to the eye anymore.
And that was,
That was an extraordinary experience,
And I have not yet met to my knowledge,
An extraterrestrial being that I could identify themselves as such,
With whom I could have a conversation at this level and ask questions.
However,
I look forward to that.
I fell in love with sparks during the course of my interview.
I too was a pet of the library.
I spent so much time in the library in junior high,
They actually forced me out.
They first me out of the library.
Yes.
And I had to go play with other kids at recess.
But I know what it's like to live in the worlds of Star Trek science fiction,
Lord of the Rings,
Born free.
I know what it's like to live in those worlds.
And I guess what it gave me,
And I think it gave sparks was a sense of possibility and enchantment with the world around us.
The idea that anything is possible.
And it really were only limited by our imaginations.
I could go on and on about how much I love books,
How much I love reading.
But really,
It's time for me to say this.
Thank you for listening to Episode 41 of bite sized blessings,
The podcast,
All about the magic and spirit that surrounds us.
If only we open our eyes to it.
And whether you choose to listen to our bite sized offerings for that five to 10 minutes of freedom in your day,
Or the longer interviews.
We're grateful you're here.
I need to thank my wonderful guest today,
Sparks for sharing all of his amazing stories,
As well as the creators of music used.
Frank Schroeder chilled music.
Kevin MacLeod music,
Elle files,
Dream heaven.
And of course,
Louis Armstrong for complete attribution please see the bite sized blessings website bite sized blessings calm.
If you're on the website you'll find links to other artists books,
Of course,
And change makers I think will lift and inspire you.
Thank you for listening.
And here's my one request.
We should all be like sparks in love with the world in love with possibility enchanted with it.
Live in the world of imagination.
Come climb the hill with me baby.
We'll see what we will see.
I'll bring my horn with me.
With you,
Where the berries are blue.
Each afternoon we'll go higher than the moon will go to our wedding in June.
But that is bad.
Do when and do with play.
I love sweet melody.
All of these vows women.
For you.
