Hi, how's that? Are there any nurses here? Nurses to be? Oh, there are, okay, okay. I think I recognize some people. Okay, so my name's Jennifer. I graduated from Fairfield in 2001. And I think I do need to say that Dr. Farrell and I have been friends since we were 12 years old. And we tend to giggle like school children when we're together, so I'm just not gonna look her way. So when I came to Fairfield, and definitely early on, I really had no idea what I wanted to do. I was really envious of my peers who had a much clearer path than I did. I just didn't know what I wanted to do. And I think like a lot of my colleagues here have mentioned, they just sort of did what they loved and just sort of immersed themselves in what they enjoyed and let the path kind of be created from that. And that's pretty much what I did. I majored in international studies and Spanish. I love Spanish, I always did. I thought it was really interesting. You could talk to other people in front of other people and they wouldn't know what you were talking about. I'm trying to instill that in my children, but it's a work in progress. So while I was here, I was heavily involved in the Head Start program over in Bridgeport. I really have to say that it changed my thinking and my path and my way of life in many ways. Seeing so much poverty, so close to affluence, really boggled my mind. It was my first exposure, I think, to that much diversity. Let's see, I also studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain. I loved it, I think it was a great immersion. I met up with Dr. Farrell in Spain, we had some good times. But I would have to say, I would agree, being immersed in living with the family really forces you to be uncomfortable and I think sometimes being uncomfortable really helps you get that foot forward and really change it in many ways. And of course, the university, the classes were in Spanish, so that was, of course, incredibly helpful with improving in language. I also did a mission trip with the chapel, not the chapel, the campus ministry, thank you. I did a trip to Tijuana, Mexico and I didn't consider myself the group translator, but any time we were together and we needed to have a conversation with people, they just sort of pushed me in the front and they were like, yeah, yeah, Jen, you go talk to them. So again, I was kind of uncomfortable, but it all worked out, it was fine. And I also have to credit Fairfield as a Jesuit university, the whole idea of giving back and working with your community. I don't know if I knew that I was embracing it at the time I was here, but I really was and I have ever since. So when I left Fairfield, I still didn't really know what I wanted to do. And so I was looking in New York City to start working and I saw a job for a foster care agency. And I thought, okay, I used to work with kids. I could probably do that. And it really, it changed my life forever. When they hired me, they said, oh, I see you speak Spanish. You're our bilingual case worker now. And I thought, oh my God, what am I doing?  You know, when you need to go do some translating and intervention and interviewing with the Spanish speaking family, call us if you need any help. And I was just horrified. But I rose to the occasion like I think we all do. Made my way there. I think it was like three hours late. I kept getting on the express. I kept seeing my stop and I kept going by and I'm like, why isn't it stopping? I don't understand. It was pitch black, I'm sure. Anyways, it all worked out just fine. And I'd have to say that my colleagues at the foster agency that I worked at, they were incredibly supportive. If you need help, let me know. I'm so glad to help you. You can do this, you got this. At no point did I really feel like I was put on the spot or I was asked to do anything that really I couldn't do. I really needed to feel confident and comfortable just doing it. So that was a big turning point, I think. So while I was working there, I went to grad school to get my master's in social work. I loved what I was doing and I wanted to be better at it. So I did that for a few years while I was working and got my master's. And when I got my master's, I went to work for a children's law firm called Lawyers for Children. And there we represented children in foster care, adoption, visitation, and custody cases. And if you were a social worker in New York City, that's where you wanted to be. So I was like, I felt very honored to be there. As you can imagine, the need for the Spanish language continued there. I did a lot more interviewing, people that were there for custody cases. I did a lot of interviewing of parents of infants who of course could not be interviewed. I did a lot of home visits, a lot of home assessments, interviewing a lot of foster parents, pre-adoptive parents, and even older young people who were coming from another country to see what it is that they wanted for their plan. So you can imagine the need for Spanish continued. And so while I was there, I sort of started thinking about career changing, not that I was unhappy, but I was starting a family and I knew that that was gonna be hard for me to continue with a family living out in Connecticut. So I started taking some classes in nursing. So I would leave work in the city and I would come back to Bridgeport and I would go to school until midnight and just do the same thing over and over again while I was pregnant. So when that all started with this conversation with some great coworkers, well, what would you do if you had to do it all over? And my father had recently passed away. I spent a lot of time in the hospitals in Boston and I thought, these people really did a lot and they really helped me, my family, myself. I really respected their work and I would love to do that. And my coworkers said, well, why don't you? I said, it's too late, I already have my masters, like this is just, it's just not gonna happen. But then when I sat down and really looked at it, I realized it was a reality. So that's what I did. I went back to school full-time at Yukon in Stanford and then I graduated from nursing school. And then I thought, okay, well, what am I gonna do now? So there were a few stops along the way but I ended up in family birthing. I worked at Bridgeport Hospital, I now work at St. Vincent's. And as you can imagine, being in an urban center, there's a great need for other languages, especially Spanish. So I currently am one of two Spanish speaking staff on the floor. And in addition to the patients that I have, I do a lot of translation for doctors. I do a lot of translation in the NICU because there's a credible amount of teaching, new parents. And I kind of help translate for other patients. Now, in the hospitals, they do have a lot of resources for other languages and most common is a Mardi. I don't know if anyone's familiar with that.  So you hear them, you see them and you talk to them. And that's what the nurses typically use as their resource for other languages. It is a great resource but nothing can replace the person-to-person contact. With that being said, as a social worker, if you're doing an interview, you want to interview your client. You don't want to turn to another person and have a three-way conversation. So back to nursing. So it is a resource but it can't replace the one-on-one interaction. So when I had the pleasure of visiting Dr. Farrell's class, I gave a couple of examples of recent interactions I've had with some patients. So one was I was getting ready to leave for the day and a patient came in in precipitous labor, meaning she was having her baby immediately. She came to the desk, was speaking in Spanish, was hysterical, incredibly uncomfortable, and my co-workers said, I don't understand, who are you, what's going on? And I just happened to be walking by and they said, get the Marty, get the Marty. Well, the Marty was broken. And they said, can you come here for a minute? So what's your name? She was not known to the hospital. She hadn't been coming to our clinic, she just walked in. So they had absolutely no knowledge of her. Important things, what's your name? Have you done this before? Do you want something for pain and do you have allergies? I mean, these are like the basic things that we need to know. So I was able to get those from her and I stayed with her through her delivery. Now, certainly she would have been able to deliver her baby not speaking any language. The nurses could have imitated, I'm sure they could have figured it out and it would have been fine, but it wouldn't have been ideal and it wouldn't have been the best situation it could have been. So I felt very proud and helpful that I could help her manage her delivery. Another example is I had a patient who I just had a Caesarean section. She was a very young teenager who only spoke Spanish and had a lot of other difficult issues associated with the birth. And when I came to meet with her, she was lying in bed, she hadn't stood up, she had lots of lines. She was uncomfortable. She couldn't speak to anybody and she had a newborn baby in a bassinet laying right next to her. And it was so moving to be able to communicate with her. She was so vulnerable and I think we all understand that feeling of being uncomfortable. And I couldn't imagine being in her situation and I was so happy that I could help her through it. Not only instruct her but support her and educate her not only to take care of herself but to take care of her baby. So those are just a couple of examples. So just to get back to what I was saying, I followed my heart, I did what I loved, I love what I do and if you follow what you love, you'll never work a day in your life, so. Thank you.


He done took over the show, man He said he was gon' come through for me Thank you for coming Man, you know how we do it, man I will miss it for the world, we got to be homing up Hey, man, save, man We got a special guest, man, all the way from LA LA, watch California Watch California, man Hey, man, you know, cappuccino's in the building It's a pleasure, boss, man Man, I really I really see BJ, the bounty hunter Who the hell is this, man? I mean, I can't... You gotta tell me what's going on Right, we took that off We seen it, I actually You tagged in with the young guy That we interviewed earlier Young Supreme?  What's up? Just let me know who you are Just to break that down 00G, bounty hunter, BJ Is a characteristic that was really built In reality, just ain't no internet character Like a lot of these characters on the internet Is just watered down characteristics They have built within themselves for us A marketing standpoint to better get Money and make these pages monetize Which is smart, you can't knock it for that So it's characteristic, so that's why A lot of dudes is misunderstood And it's just screwed in the business of this Levels for the digital aspect of this world We ain't now, because they don't understand It's characters, however, it just so happened I entered this digital world With a real life, life character As well as a lot of other real Jesus On the internet Who come from that life, that walk of life Used to be these certain characters So my character was 00G, bounty hunter, BJ Which was a character that was really built Within myself, when I was Doing my thing for 29 and a half Almost 30 active years Active duty years, should I say To these streets devoted to my neighborhood Nixon Garden Salute, man, so Nixon Garden, man, you know And I guess right into it, I had A viral moment here a few weeks ago Where It was Charleston White, Melvin Farmer And Artola Marve was on the show And Some things were said, back and forth And once that happened Boom, you know, it all just I felt like I was right on the breakfast Club, I put this out too And baby walked in and say Put some respect on my name and then they say As you finish or as you're done and walked out That's how I would have thought that intensity Would have been the way that happened that day But at any rate California, I got love for California, you know what I mean I'm an interviewer, right? I interview People and it was a lot of Backlash, like people, you know A lot of DMs, a lot of stuff being said Like, man, you didn't let this person Talk to you, did you see my interview?   Until I opened up And told one story on gangster Chronicles And the world when it was wrapped So that character was arrived So I utilized it, so now it's He's a part of this mess, he's a part of this old This whole strategic plan that I'm on And my plan and my vision is to build this platform To be able to deliver the real The reality uncut raw To the people who's willing to educate and listen Gangs ain't something to glorify And first and foremost, I'm not gonna sit on your show No show, any show and talk about how many Bodies I didn't drop My color, your color, his color No, I was buffoon, I was best of I was jacked up in the head, but I did some shit I made mama's cry, daddy's cry And I would be the first to admit to all that So this is why me and Charlie Was able to sit down and have a real Mutual, grown man talking Understanding, because I came to that brother in peace I didn't come to him on some A1 I'm in my feelings too, nigga, you owe me some money You getting money and I'm in my feelings I'm jealous of you, cuz this is what's going on Niggas don't wanna admit it Niggas don't wanna admit it And to me, I don't speak un- Cuz I ain't gonna do nothing to me Shit, nothing Nothing, I don't know where I'm at I ain't even stepped on a nigga's toe I speak reality So I got to the bottom And I told myself, I told my team He's in prime with it, I said watch what I'm gonna do I said again to you I'm gonna be the one and the first Probably the only primarily From the law center to speak out of the west coast He's gonna better sit down and have a conversation with him And me and him are gonna talk talk To the where the world gonna end up seeing Two real men, king come from Do different walks of life and speak on the graphics They're the same thing, cuz we both We're striving for the same entity at the end of the day Peace, harmony, a change on our people He just said it in a language and Niggas is in their feelings And I'm gonna tell you why he's speaking it that way If I take this coin out of my pocket And I flip it It's gonna go in the air And I say, what you got king?  Meaning they didn't give them the same respect I'm telling you, my cousins When they came from LA to down here And we would go to Shreveport This was a long time ago Because they looked at it as generic They mimicking us I'm telling you I like that I'm being real That's the way I look at it It ain't going bad First of all I don't have no knowledge of where these brothers from What hood, what block 300 block from David Street I didn't know that So that couldn't have been the case at all It was just something that I thought Oh, here goes one of these country niggas again The word, tell me What you niggas want me to do?     King of Watts It's being released on my channel right now For a bonus to a lot of my supporters Man, on Christmas Eve Here I come with the spice I got the spice ready Here you go, here you go Let me see what you got in So, you got to understand That bounty hunters Is a real big thing In Houston, Texas Yeah, five nines What's your thoughts on that? Probably the biggest They are I'm pipeline connected man Just be honest about it I'm pipeline connected to H-Town To that whole aspect of things I'm very familiar with what's going on And again man, it's just like Truman It's just like Truman Street The history of Truman The reason being in being five nines Is because they kept that aspect of what That was for Texas And It is what it is Come on, let's So If they seeing five nines And they not seeing five lines What is the Do you feel like somebody got it wrong? Do you feel like it was done It was done and said wrong And asked them come like a thing It coincides with it though That's why it's the five nines But here's the thing though And it's all good Not so much It's Not so much I would say it's all good and this element is for us This generation But if I were still active And I was involved It would be a change of venue of it Hold on If they go The title of it The whole aspect of the title of it It would be a change of venue because I'm going to give them the real Thorough energy and education And they're going out there They being welcome That's why the dynamics of it have to be correct So I would correct it I would let it fly It's a good job to correct it So that's why I'm allowing it Me and a lot of others Such as myself Because it ain't our job to correct it It's the young niggas in that area and that element If they don't get it It's cool to say my life no more That's what I wanted to say Pipeline Pipeline meaning this Advice Advice Advice You know some Godfather advice This is what it is I'm not talking about a pipeline From a negative perspective I'm not talking about I'm not talking about You would not have me indicted On this something big Mr. Black You would have me indicted on this something big Let me rephrase I mean in a positive manner Like a big homie Godfather what you think I feel the kids My whole thing is Look young niggas y'all doing your thing A lot of the sister shit I don't even condone it I don't care where it is going on When it comes to the babies man The kids on me I have a thing for I have kids I can raise them on my own I feel for that bro And I ain't never in my life None of my homies I know of We didn't ride like that I got a question I got a new structure That's why his question is the way it is Because he understand the real dynamics Of where does she come from And the roots of it So that's why he asking them kind of questions There's a lot of senseless killing That goes on in gang violence Now I talked to Another person Who he's not on the side Y'all on Y'all something different He gave me a good explanation He said that back in the days the killings was different Because y'all didn't use the same type of weapons That they used today You see what I'm saying it's a totally different When I asked him that it blew my mind He's like we use revolvers and knives That ain't no excuse That's bullshit It's yes and no so let me help you out Never tell me The first generation bro It wasn't multiple Vacive, volatile It happened Here and there The big homies was fighters Squabbers, black men Because we were just coming out of that The Black Panther Coalition Where it flipped over to our communities That's where the CRRP come from Crips revolution in progress Pride rules is the same thing So that's where we get it from From the beginning As far as that unification is blacks So when they rode over to the gangs My big homies had became fathers already These dudes was 30, 40 years old They didn't do time in the penitents For murders and shit For robbery murders and stuff like that Not gang murders So now when it got to us Come 78, 79 And 80s in the early generation of the 80s The guns came in play for us The automatic weapons The first guns we got to hold to hit us Was them goddamn Oozies Once you fight they get hot They blow up in your damn head So a train And this is in my movie The Truths Kind of just giving me a clip into this history A train got derailed On both sides of the tracks True story And I heard it Between the Jordan Downs, High Santa Village And the pure courses crossed over On the other side Then you have Mona Park 118, 108s Then we got the bell havens You know all this is structured in the same Perimeters And you put two fucking derailed trains in there With automatic guns and weapons By design Yeah Because if it was accident, y'all had a helicopter swat Everybody surrounded them With weapons and don'ts Fly out to Scott to make it so no guns Shout out my homie Penit from Grape I know he gonna be watching it Hey Penit, what's up 108 I gotta get you in there Hey, I gotta ask you about some of the stuff That I seen, I think it was on Spliff's page You on there a lot That guy Yeah that guy man I wanna know about It was a thing I read I heard that you had Something that took half a million dollars From Shilgnite or something What was that?     We were under peace at Watts So I was trying to teach All these niggas how we bridge this shit and bring it together Get money, we eat, so we was doin' our thing When they came to service Just when Peter rode them bottom to watch And everything, like I said, the youngsters didn't plan to go rob them That particular day When I was there in the joint downs, I heard that Immediately I went to that record store Which is on 103rd, right across the street from the elementary store It's the taco stand right next door To announce the same very place as a Lodger Mac, right now on a date You feel what I'm saying? So I went in Near, and they was in near And I seen them, I said, I walked right I said, hey man, who the manager? Who the role manager? Who the manager?  New Jack City Yeah, that's what they got them to Because I took the New Jack City formula to the projects When I seen the movie and I was the first Niggas that had multiple crackouts They took it to the rap game, so they took it to the rap game You took it to the projects Okay, now I'm with you, I'm riding I'm in the car You can stay with me, stay with me So look, now we're in the record store And I'm getting at them, and I tell them, I said, look man You need to get your boys number out of here Young niggas is plotting to come get y'all As a matter of fact, give me a number, get a contact Who run this shit, who the head niggas You know what I mean?    They came home. Yeah, the music was On a whole other floor, by that time Another year after that, Mack was down here And that's when you start seeing the rain How you feel about the brother In particular, Wayne, his representation How do you feel, how he's done As As a pyru That's, you know, how you feel his representation Has been. To get to that Man, to ask you that question, man I feel like this, man, until these dudes Him or a baby, touched Niggas like myself and other real cast in these streets That's really real, who's Doing good things at that Now, not just throwing a, no, hungry ass Dog a bone, I mean real niggas with good Attentions.     Already You know what I mean?  That doesn't set the stakes right bro We being hypocrites it's like look If we gonna say these lives let's get on here And really do what we supposed to do Let's collectively come together all together And let's really split this real dialogue of change Man giving these kids something to go on Bro everybody can't be a rapper And get out the hood Everybody can't be a Michael Jordan and the basketball player Where the doctors homie Where the firemen Y'all bitchin' about the police Then where the homie off the block who became a police And the detective even though he on the other side But he's working on the inside for the betterment For y'all future So y'all not thinking man So it's like we have to We have to really really come together collectively To bridge that gap of change If not we ain't gonna see no change It's just be cast like me speaking to other cast And cast like yourself who's pushing the line And envelope for positive and certain things Man then you got your Charleston's and your Your signs over here You got all these dudes in different directions But we're not together But a lot of us Can we do it? Can we do it? You say no Y'all thought I was gonna come with the You wanted me to put the happy ending No no no I'm asking you First of all Listen With God all things are possible for me Wait wait wait wait I think you should ask him to Maybe he may be talking He made me think you talking about The other individuals involved No no I'm thinking on a whole Can we get Something to where we can move the needle With our people Between us Three at this table That's what it's about You can't change the world But you can change your world We're already showing that right now We're showing that right now We gotta keep that going because A lot of times people think it's not changing Because you can choose to look at the bad And ignore the good that's happening We are three kings From three different walks of life And by leading by example So if nothing else Some youngster, some woman Some single mother, some grandmother Some auntie, some brother Some older dude Somebody's gonna walk away with something From what we just designed to date That's all that matter to me That's all that matter to us No matter Yeah we can't change the world It's like let me say his opinion is No it's impossible Because it brings us back to us As niggas Until we get out that culture of niggas shit No I have to agree with him in a sense Well I'm gonna tell you right now I think the change is I'm going back to Nino Cappuccino I'm gonna stay away from BJ I'm over here with Nino Nino the guy who's Doing the movies and the books Can I ask you this quick question I'm speaking to him Nino I'm gonna ask you this question Both of y'all the same question Now Do you know the difference between Niggas business and business Niggas business and business They clarify Okay Me?   Because I understand business I'm not signing my life over this Man I'm signing the consent I'm signing the form that I'm getting on this man's show Because I do it to my show It's business man It ain't your fucking business and it ain't personal It's business So until we get on that level bro To understand that shit This is why it's nigga business So that's why the impossible comes in You say no impossible Because niggas is gonna be niggas Regardless I had to really like Like I said You still gonna be niggas And I still look at it as Like me linking with you Linking with you Watching the needle go like that Watching us go somewhere This is a step A start And everything takes progress And evolution bro And I don't put no one person in the one spot And leave them there like they can't change either I know that God's big enough to change You changed You changed from BJ to Nino So that process Yeah but he changed back to BJ when he Was dealing with niggas Yeah but he trying to go I can't wait He just asked it for me And he absolutely right That'd be the only time because I know Okay I gotta get a message across to this niggas Because if I tell him from Nino's perspective He gonna look at me like I wasn't So let me go into BJ so this nigga know off the top Not everybody It's called the adaption bro See I adapt no matter where I'm at When you look at somebody that's like You got a good side of a person That's part of the sentence So that's always happening But hey man Thank you for coming on the show man How can people get a hold to you man We in Dallas, Texas man So how can people get a hold to you If they wanna talk and say hey man I'm all over the place on IG man 2 Trio West Records Cappuccino Films, Inc Rules of Engagement, Podcast Media Teen Cappuccino merch Go subscribe man if you have a subscribe man Go push that like share but subscribe in my youtube page Yeah that's my merch page What am I sharing that or something man See I'm launching the first of the year I'm making sure I'm making something to you man I got you Get his address or something Yeah definitely got you I gotta get my pic on the wall That's happening anyway Reach out to me on youtube Rules of Engagement And it's been a pleasure to be here Come on boss talk 101 What a boss is talking Let me rephrase that man Yeah boss talk 101 And you know it's crazy cause when I first looked you up You don't get the car that looks you up I said it's just nigga out of Cali cause he's using one on one That's the one on one freeway I had to take the story I said one on one that's the one on one freeway And it threw me y'all cause I killed you I said it's Cali It's a deal I said one on one see Cali oh this is going to be good No the one on one is going to be good It ain't Cali No no no You two these are dynamic man No but the 101 I feel like if you look at like radio stations And everybody there has to be some numbers in it Most people ain't know it like that You gotta throw something with it Boss talk 101 You know what it makes sense now It makes sense though That is his basic conversation about Boss talk But thank you so much for coming on the show We love you man Neato Cappuccino man you in the building You been on boss talk 101 now LD 300 do you got anything else for this man Man appreciate the homie coming showing love man It's always good when they When we come down and try to bridge them The dialogue is necessary So having it on camera It's where we are with it You gotta be had on camera So that people can have a full understanding About where it's at and where it's trying to go And I just want to see man last but not least man A lot of your niggas out there be wearing these king hats right You be wearing the king But you don't know what it means Stands for kicking the nicks of the garden suckers Also I want to say man I want to stand my part As a real woman My younger brother He didn't say what I thought he said It was Mr. Screw It was Mr. Screw dialogue man I love y'all Thank you so much man I'm coming to see you Likewise man Thank you so much man Shout out to my partner in crime Uncle Spliff Media man The baddest of the baddest man Spliff we doing our shit man Big ace we in the building man Watch W-A-T-T-S We are Hey man it's been another great segment of Boss Talk 101


Yeah, Polto, and he took my cheeto. I mean, our cheeto.  Why? Let's just go. Go with him.  Man, I ain't going no with him. I just told you I got beat up and robbed. Have some sympathy. Damn. Sympathy? You want sympathy? From me? It's your fault he ran away. All of y'all. You couldn't give us one day alone. Just one day. I could be getting my freak on right now.  What? It ain't my fault, shorty. You ain't never heard of a leash? Uh-oh. Goddamn you, strong.   I was just playing, yo. I got you. Oh, I know you do. Or I'm gonna get you. Ain't right. No disrespect, but you might want to start doing some push-ups. She's pretty strong, bro. Yeah. You might be right.  Hold on, hold on, hold on. Let me get this straight. So, you say no disrespect when you tell me I need to do push-ups.  Bro, that's the most respectful thing I can ever say to you. It's a compliment. You're welcome, Dios mio.  Let's just go before it gets too far. Yeah, um, no. No. I'm coming with you. No way. It's too dangerous. Exactly.  You need me to watch your back. Nah, we can handle it. Is there something on my shirt? Because something stinks. And my back feels wet. Nah, shawty, you good. You're right. I'm always right, boo. That's why you love me. True indeed.  Why?  Her and Scrap got a lot in common. Maybe she could tell us where to look first. Dirty little straight? I ain't the one who hangs out with lowlifes and perverts. You dusted bum-ass bottom-feeder.  You do hang out with lowlifes and perverts. Lowlifes and perverts with chips. You broke-ass scavenger. That's enough, you two. We're wasting time. Let's go. So, Lauren, how dirty are you?  Uh-uh. Bloop. Back up.  Wait, if he the pervert, then does that make me the lowlife? Basically, but lucky for you, you're also my little brother. So I'm coming to watch your back. So where do we look first? Look, cheeto comes. This should be pretty easy to follow. Yes, it takes a dog to find a dog. I thought that's why we brought you. Spot. Pay attention. You gotta be kidding me. What's wrong, Ray? What's on the other side of that wall? Stan's room. Hell no, I ain't going in there. Y'all might as well jump me now, shouter.  Well, I guess we about to find out. Wait, what you mean? Are all y'all crazy? What's wrong with you? What? He said we could jump him. He didn't say how. Or where he would land. Roscoe, are you hurt? Nah, I'm good, sis. But I can't move. Why not? Because I'm on my back.  Oh, yeah, you're right. What is that? Y'all see anything? It's kind of hard to miss a giant human. Don't you think? I'm talking about the dog. Stan's probably at the front desk singing to itself. Or talking to prostitutes. Hey, she okay? How's business? My name is Pound K, baby. I bet it is. Business is okay. My bunions are cleaned up and I ain't been burned by a high wire hanging by two weeks. So, yeah, things are looking up. I do love a woman with scars. Stan, don't even try, because I'm on a clock. If you ain't paying, we ain't playing. Period. How about we make a trade? No, no, please.   Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, baby. Save that aggression for the sexy. Look, I'll make you a deal. You can be one of them coochie coupons.  How that sound? Now you're talking. Okay, Mack man, Stan. Let's go in the back and see what you're working with. Why is this rug like this? Why is his room like this? Oh, man, y'all trippin'. That's what a real player pad look like. I bet he got furry droves in his dressing and everything. Wait, wait, wait. You hear that? I hear him. This way. What is he doing way up there? I don't know, but I'm going to get him. Come on, Lauren. Goddamn show-offs.  Come on, let's go. Where's my Cheeto? Oh, there it is. Saying we're hurting the Roach babies and the Roach babies are fine. They've done bad things. I don't see anybody talking about them. And Roachy Weinstein and Roach Cosby and Roach Kelly. Nobody's talking about them. And my good friend Kanye. Some are saying they think that he's crazy because of what he said about slavery. We all know slavery didn't happen. That's fake news. Don't you dare put your foot down.  Everybody hot. Yo. Now what are we going to eat?  We can find food later. Next time on The Roach Motel. Now it's just watering. Mine too. We got tits in the building.  I can't. I'm stuck. You ain't stuck. Let's go. No, for real. I'm stuck. They're big and soft. And they taste great, but they're crushing me.


and welcome to Hawaii Together on the Think Tech Hawaii Broadcast Network. I'm your host, Kaylee Iakena. My guest today is Dr. Scott Grossgroitz. He's practiced radiology on Hawaii Island for almost three decades. Scott's also an active member of the Hawaii Physician Shortage Crisis Task Force. Now, as I'm sure many of you are aware, Hawaii has an acute physician shortage and is in need of thousands of healthcare workers. On our neighbor islands especially, where Scott resides and practices, needs shortages are especially concerning, since delays can often mean life or death situations. Scott joins me today to discuss the state's healthcare crisis. And we're also gonna talk about what steps legislators can take to address it. Thanks for joining me today, Scott Grossgroitz. Glad to have you on the program again. It's nice to be here again, professor. Thank you for the invitation. Well, first of all, tell me a little bit about your own background and specifically how you got involved with the Hawaii Physician Shortage Crisis Task Force. Well, I've been living in Hilo since 1993 and providing care in the community at the hospitals. And I served as the Chief of Staff at the Hilo Medical Center. And it became clear many years ago that we had a constant and chronic shortage of healthcare providers in far too many areas. And this shortage of healthcare providers has been documented by the Area Health Education Center at the University of Hawaii. The projections of physician shortages have been anywhere from 800 to 1,000 over the last several years, depending on the methodology that they use. But it goes beyond that. We also have severe shortages of APRNs and PAs who are a critical part of our primary care provider workforce here on the Big Island and on the neighbor islands. We also have a severe shortage of nurses. And so this has impacted the care of many patients and recent access to healthcare study by Community First and the Hawaii Rural Health Association did document many people are having a real problem accessing healthcare on the neighbor islands. And many were actually thinking of moving just to be able to get better access to healthcare, which is a problem. So Scott, you're saying that it's not just a shortage of physicians. It's a shortage of nurses and other staff as well. And on the neighbor islands, it's especially acute. Now I've heard stories that our neighbor island friends simply can't get an appointment with a specialist and have to fly to Oahu or to the mainland quite frequently. How bad is it, especially where you are on the Big Island? Well, it's fairly significant. Our shortage of physicians has been calculated to be 40 to 50% for the last several years. And that certainly feels about right. We know that many of the APRNs and MTAs we work with are also stretched thin with very large patient panels. People are burning the candle with both ends and often doing 60, 70 hour work weeks trying to keep up with the amount of work that needs to be done for our patients. And it's still not enough. And historically, I guess the idea would be you would have kind of more assets and resources on Oahu which is to be expected for a big city, but that you would fly as many people as possible. But that is extremely expensive to fly people. And then recently, due to a tragedy, the air ambulance system was suspended. And so people couldn't get off the island. So the lesson here is that we need to develop the healthcare systems at our neighbor islands so that we can take care of our neighbors appropriately here locally, as often as medically practical and reasonable. Now you just mentioned an air ambulance crash recently. Tell me a little bit more about that and what it exposed about the vulnerability of patients on neighbor islands. Well, over the years, especially when I was working closely at the emergency room, the Hilo Medical Center, doing a lot of trauma reads there, they're just for many, many patients that we saw that needed to be transferred right away. I mean, and that's because we didn't have the resources in-house to take care of them. Certain medical conditions like trauma and stroke and heart attacks, time is money. You either fix it now or else often there's no chance to repair the damage later. So when we can't move people quickly with their ambulance, we've had some bad outcomes over the years. And these folks are on their ambulance that they're doing a wonderful job. They are parolic in many ways. And I think many times because of the need to get patients elsewhere for treatment, they fly in conditions that normally they probably would not prefer to fly in, and that has its risks. So there was a recent flight going from Maui to North Wai area that crashed unfortunately and caused suspension of air ambulance services for a period of time. Well, it would seem that if we could solve the shortage of medical personnel, we wouldn't have to depend upon flying people from island to island or even to the mainland. But let's get back to the problem itself of the shortage. As you and I have discussed on many occasions, there are a lot of factors that are involved. It's not just one single causality, ranging from the retirement rate of physicians and the things that are actually incentivized earlier retirements than otherwise to the tax issues, Medicare reimbursement, as well as the overall cost of living in Hawaii. Let's take these item by item. And I know there's one that you might possibly be considering now, and that's retirement. Talk a little bit about that and how that's affecting the supply of medical personnel. We have a lot of folks that are kind of getting long in the tooth and they're practicing into their late 60s and 70s. In fact, a good percentage of our healthcare workforce is in that position. And so there's a whole cohort of people that are nearing retirement.  We're used to hard work. We're used to lots of training. We're used to keeping your nose to the grindstone. But the hours that are required to try to keep up with the level of healthcare needs of the community, it's one thing to be working sleepless nights or 60 or 70 hour weeks when you're an intern, I guess to be a little bit more challenging when you're 60 or 65 or 70. To be honest, a lot of the younger people coming out of training wanna have more of a work-life balance and have more time for their family and that's understandable too. But I think the bottom line is there are, as a good portion of our healthcare force that's about ready to retire out. And we just don't have any replacements for those individuals. You talked about younger people and some of the goals that they have such as a more balanced work-life practice. But they're also facing other issues as well, cost of living. Sometimes people think doctors are just extremely highly paid individuals and shouldn't have to worry about the things that ordinary people do. But is that really the case, especially for people coming into practice or those in private practice and so forth and especially younger personnel who are entering the medical fields. How does the cost of living impact them here in Hawaii, everything from housing to food? Well, it impacts things a lot like it does for people in every job occupation or profession, but it gets to be a little bit more challenging, especially if folks have got very high debt loads from training. And just to give an example, my daughter, Malia, is born and raised in Hawaii. She wants to come back home. She's completed a dermatology residency. Now she's doing a Mohs surgery training fellowship where she'll learn how to remove skin cancers and do plastic type surgery to help people rebuild their faces or whatever after the cancers are removed. And so pretty rigorous stuff. Her and her physician husband have got a debt burden from college and medical school and things like that of about $400,000. And so, if she were to come back and try to say open up a private practice between paying off the debt burden that they have for education and paying for trying to get a house, there might not mean much money left, they would have access to for other things. For example, even helping build their practice or hire the necessary people. So, that's a real challenge. The cost of providing medical services like all services in Hawaii are the highest in the country by far. And the reimbursements for Medicare, Medicaid, local insurance companies are actually right near the bottom. And then the other challenge we have is that the state of Hawaii has a unique general excise tax on everything pretty much. And it's where the only state in America that taxes Medicare, tri-care, and Medicaid programs. And we're only one of two states that broadly tax healthcare. And so, anyway, that's a problem because if you often will break even caring for Medicare patients and you'll lose money caring for Medicaid patients. And then the state of Hawaii will come in and say, well, listen, we don't care whether you're losing money providing care for these folks who really need it.  And so, if you're already losing money the get tax just ensures that practices go into the red and often they have a hard time surviving in Hawaii. Now, when you talk about Medicare reimbursement and about the general excise tax that's imposed upon medical services we're really looking at the business aspect of medicine. And I don't think necessarily that most physicians and medical personnel went into the profession to do the business. But basically, it sounds like they're becoming overwhelmed by the cost of business especially if you're going to be in private practice. Now, we've seen a lot of people leave private practice or retire early or simply give up their aspirations. And that's a real hit to people who live on the neighbor islands where we don't have as extensive and availability of clinics and so forth. Talk a little bit about that how doctors and other personnel in private practice are especially impacted by the Medicare rates for reimbursement as well as the GET. Yeah, well the people in private practice that might be your family practitioner or APN or physician that you're seeing in their practice, they've come here they built their practice, they hired individuals they paid for all kinds of computer systems and things like that. And maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in equipment so they could practice medicine. And in private practice here, it's just, it's very difficult. The state of Hawaii has, again these unique taxation models that nobody else in the country really has that put a tremendous burden on trying to stay afloat. Now, when it comes down to hospitals and hospital-employed physicians and nurses, Kaiser systems, things like that. All those other healthcare systems they're exempt from the get. In fact, the head of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii said that if the GET tax were applied to our islands hospitals, that many of them would have to reduce services or close their doors. And so we probably have about half of the healthcare providers in medicine in the state of Hawaii in private practice. But that number is decreasing pretty rapidly year by year. And again, the financial aspects play a great part of it. I used to really focus on how can we do the best job possible working with our colleagues in different disciplines and providing the best care we can for say breast cancer or other conditions. But recently it's become clear that we have to almost fight to be able to stay in business at all and probably provide any level of care. Now, Scott, you've been helpful toward our efforts at the Grassroot Institute to educate the public and lawmakers about what's going on in terms of the impact of the general excise tax on medical personnel. And you know that we're currently circulating a petition to the public that we're gonna present to the governor and lawmakers calling for exemption of medical services from the state general excise tax. Now, as you look at that, can you tell us a little bit more as to why that's so important to call for that kind of exemption and whether you think that that's feasible and possible during this upcoming legislative term? Well, I think I appreciate the Grassroots leadership in that area. It is completely possible and it's quite logical and it should happen. So when you take a look at things where we've got a documented worsening healthcare shortage that's been going on for several decades, you've got a national shortage of doctors and nurses that's gonna get worse. We have a harder time recruiting. You have a physician as a chief executive who wants to improve access to healthcare. That's Dr. Green. You have, you know, billion dollar surpluses in the budget as far as the eye could see. You know, it just seems to make a lot of sense to have a healthcare system that encourages people to come to Hawaii instead of practice, especially younger practitioners and that doesn't actually punitively push them out of the healthcare system. You know, basically what we're doing with some of these programs like Medicare, TriCare and Medicaid is that we're taxing patients and then the physicians are forced, they're basically paying their patients taxes for healthcare. So that, of course, is regressive, but it's kind of has the same sort of effect if you were to charge police officers for fighting crime or you were to charge firemen for fighting fires. It just, it makes absolutely no sense intellectually and it has very deleterious effects on the workforce. And one of the things that I think is a real tragedy is that as the number of people in private practice, which is the only area of medicine that's taxed by the get continues to decrease every year, Kalii, in a fairly short period of time, the amount of taxation from taxing, you know, doctors and nurses and APRs, that's going to go down a lot.  And so that that's my concern. During the COVID pandemic, we really saw our healthcare provider system stressed to the limit. It's not that the pandemic caused this shortage, it's that we had one going into it as you and I have talked about before. And the interesting thing is that we really felt the shortage of nurses and other healthcare professionals so much so that the state decided to go ahead and lift a regulation that it had, which before didn't permit out-of-state licensed healthcare professionals to practice here readily in Hawaii. And that was just so necessary. And people saw that we could actually benefit by allowing professionals trained in other states to come in and practice in Hawaii. What are your thoughts about turning that into a permanent feature of our healthcare practice over here? How much would that help us? I think it would help. Some, particularly when there's times of crisis, I believe Governor Ige this summer declared there was an immediate peril to public health when he basically waived state licensing, you know, for nurses to come to the state. And sometimes states will have a number of states put together and they'll have a pact and say, listen, if you're licensed in my state, and we know we've got rigorous standards that you, it's okay to practice in the other states within the pact. And I think that's as well worth looking at. So it's a solution. And I think that makes sense to pursue it. But more than anything else, we need to train up more young people who are local and we know we'll stay if they've got the opportunity and can have a fiscally viable practice here. And then just try to set up a situation where they can be successful. An important part of that is helping them live here in this economy. And doctors, they've invested a lot in their training, in their education, personally, financially, and they expect an appropriate reward financially. But many of them, as you and I have mentioned, find housing itself hard to afford. How related do you feel the issue of housing shortages to the difficulty of attracting new doctors and retaining recent graduates here in Hawaii? I think it's a big issue. There was a recent article in the Financial Times of London about housing in Hawaii and how that's impacting health access to healthcare. So it's big enough that it's catching the attention of major publications worldwide. From a personal point of view, we had a fantastic breast radiologist who is coming here basically to replace, to be my replacement, as I was supposed to retire, but he couldn't find a house that his wife could afford. And so they went back to the mainland. So it is a real thing. It does have a big impact. We've got to hit those problems together and indeed the entire complex of issues that makes it difficult for people to live here in Hawaii. Well, as we come to the close of our chat together today, what are some things we can do in the immediate future? What could our legislature act upon coming up that could help us to make some advancement in solving the problem of medical personnel shortage? Well, I think the low-hanging fruit here is the general excise tax, because again, to have to be the only place in the country that has this sort of tax set that discourages private practice, that's a fixable problem. The tax foundation of Hawaii and its president were very kind. They helped draft two general excise tax bills. One was for a broad exemption for doctors, nurses and APRNs. The other is more circumscribed just for federal programs of Medicare, Medicaid and TriCare. And we understand from some big island senators are gonna be introducing those to the Senate, which I think is a big plus. There was a bill that was introduced in the 2020 session that we helped try to put together was SB 2542 to exempt a general exemption for healthcare. And that actually passed the Senate by a vote of 25 to zero and then the House didn't hear it because the COVID pandemic hit and they limited the session. But I think the very fact that one of the two bodies in the state legislature was unanimously in favor of doing this for logical and practical reasons to improve access to care, I think that was encouraging to Lee. That's good to hear. I wanna make sure that our viewers understand the urgency of the situation we're talking about today. Tell us what you think Hawaii would be like in five or 10 years if we don't take the right steps now to stem off the medical personnel shortage. Well, we have, again, a very top-heavy workforce, with older and even senior providers, I'm of Medicare age and passed it already. So you're gonna see that cohort retire, they can't keep going on forever. And then you're gonna see that the deficits we have, and right now there's was a national study, the 3,000 counties in America. And the big island had the third worst shortage of healthcare providers in primary care. Maui had the fifth worst shortage of healthcare providers in America. And Kauai had the 13th worst shortage. And so as this huge cohort of maybe as much of a quarter to third of our providers retire the next three to five years, you're gonna find it almost, many people find it almost impossible, I think, to have their own family doctor or to get access for care or to get an OB-GYN. And that unfortunately, I mean, the real problem here is that is the fact that the healthcare providers are having a hard time. It says that if we can make a goal that we don't have enough people within our team, that the patients have access to care issues. And the Department of Health statistics show that the mortality or the death rate if you, for many conditions like stroke and heart attack, cancer and trauma and COPD and asthma and adolescent deaths and suicide is much higher, significantly higher on the neighbor islands than it is on Oahu where they tend to have more healthcare resources. Scott, those are some compelling thoughts.  I would say to be bold here. I understand that there's, things are done a certain way and sometimes we are reluctant to proceed in fresh directions, but that the crisis is so real, so well documented and so impelling that something needs to be done now. It simply can't be deferred for several more years. So, one of the things we could do right now is try to get some level of tax relief to allow remaining healthcare systems and health practices to stay viable. And that in turn should help attract and us to have us attract younger providers coming out of training. And it should be reminded of course that all these training tracks for medicine that they're long, they're long for nursing, they're long for PAs, for physicians that's four years of college, four years of medical school, a year of internship, three to five years of residency. Then it takes off in another one, two years of fellowship. So, you've got almost like a 10 to 12 year track before people are even ready to put out their shingles or start providing services. So, there's just simply no time to delay. Well, that's a huge investment. Scott, thank you very much for being with us today. I appreciate your expertise. A pleasure. My guest today on Hawaii Together has been Scott Grosskoitz. He's with the Hawaii Physician Shortage Crisis Task Force and as always it understands the situation well and is able to explain it. We really have to do something about the physician crisis, shortage crisis as well as the shortage in personnel across the medical fields here in Hawaii. Thank you for being with us. You're watching Hawaii Together on the Think Tech Hawaii broadcast network. Until next time, aloha. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.


Ranger Bill, warrior of the woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous trails, showing rare courage in the face of disaster, in the air, on horseback, or in the screaming squad car. Ranger Bill, his mind alert, a ready smile, unswerving, loyal to his mission, and all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done. Once again, that's impossible. What's impossible, Stuffy? Oh, I'm just trying to tie the broken ends of this rubber band together. Oh, that shouldn't be so hard. Here, let me try it. Sure, go ahead, Henry, if you think you can. Oh, hey, this rubber band is covered with oil. No wonder it won't tie. I could have told you that if you'd asked, but you was too ready to just show me up. Well, how did it get covered with oil? Oh, I was using it to hold an oily rag around this here gadget, but it broke. I suppose the oil rotted it or something. This sure is funny, trying to tie this only rubber band. I can't even keep hold of it, let alone make a knot. I know. Hey, what does this remind you of? I don't know. Maybe the way some folks trying to get into heaven, spending all eternity trying to do something that can't be done. I was thinking of something we all did a couple of summers ago. Does that give you a clue? I think I know what you're talking about, pal. I thought you'd remember, Bill. You're thinking of that canoe trip that was interrupted at camp, aren't you? Right, and you trying to make your way along it. Oh, yeah, now I remember. How did that whole thing begin, Bill? Well, as I recall, we were all at camp and had been there for about a week. Pete Floor, he was going to take a group of the fellows on a canoe trip. Now, this will be the first time in a canoe for a lot of you fellows, so I want you to pay strictest attention to what I say and do. A canoe is a simple craft to handle, providing you don't goof off and cause trouble. It can be a very wet and dangerous experience if you do. Now, Henry will take charge of one canoe and I'll handle the other. We'll go downstream about five miles to just before that patch of rapids. When we get there, we'll take the canoes to shore and walk them around the rapids, and then go a few miles further. There's a nice area down there for a small camp, so we'll spend the night there and return tomorrow. Any questions? Last year, we went right through the rapids, Mr. Floor. How come we're not doing it this year? The river's begun rising earlier this year, and a great many of the rocks down in that area are below the surface. It'd be too easy to hit one and get into real trouble. Besides, fellas, you don't want to miss the funny sight of us walking the canoes along the bank. All you see is an upside-down canoe with a whole lot of legs sticking out under it. Looks like a big bug. Well, if that's understood, we'll get set to leave. Get your overnight gear and meet back here. We'll divide up then, and from that time on, follow what I say or what Henry says depending on which canoe you're in. We can have a good time, but we have to have a safe time, too. Well, Pete, looks as though you're all ready for the big excursion. Just about, Bill. Canoes are almost loaded. Uh-huh. Well, I'll miss being with you, fellas, and uh... I know a couple of kids you won't be too brokenhearted to miss. Oh? See? Over there. Ed Winther and Paul Yards. Well, those are just the kind of fellas this camp is designed to reach, isn't it, Pete? Can't expect them to be angels to start with. I guess so. You sure see the difference between the Christian fellas and the others here at camp? Let's hope the fellas like Ed and Paul see the difference, too, and are impressed enough at the difference that they'd like to become Christians. I hope that happens this summer. Wouldn't be the first, would it? And that's why I'm still sold in this camp. Well, looks like we're about ready to set out. Pray for us, Bill, especially that Ed and Paul will somehow be impressed with the Christian message. I'll do that, Pete. Take it easy now. Uh, take it easy, pal. So long, fellas. We'll see you tomorrow. You can see how quickly a canoe will carry you from one place to another, much faster than the ordinary flat-bottomed boat. Didn't a canoe used to be the ordinary kind of boat, Mr. Florey? When there were just Indians in this area, that was probably true, but their canoes were a far cry from these aluminum craft. Water sure is fast along here. That's why we're setting out on this expedition a little earlier than usual this year. The water is much more swift than I can remember it, and the river is rising way ahead of schedule. Why? Probably because there is a faster snow and ice melt up in the mountains this year. I like the faster river, because you don't have to use the paddles at all. Except the steer. We'll be needing to think about steering over to shore in another mile or so. We're starting to get near to the place where there are rocks in the river. Pull the canoes up away from the river, fellas. We'll stop here for lunch before we move on. Ed and Paul, you fellas pull that canoe up, and Tim and Frank take care of the other one. Boy, the river's a lot faster than I've ever seen it, Pete. It's a good thing we're not trying those rapids this year. It's a good thing we're not trying those rapids this year. What's the matter with you, Ed? Ah, these sissies make me sick. Paul, be careful. Look out. Don't take any chances and on and on and on. You'd think every step we took was just one away from disaster. Well, they seem to know what they're talking about, Ed. You've fallen for this stuff? I don't know why I let my folks talk me into coming up to this camp. All this religious talk, never doing anything exciting. Well, I like the canoe trip down here this morning. Sure, it was nice, but it would have been a whole lot better if we'd have shot them rapids. Well, you were what they said about hitting rocks. Ah, talk. All talk.  They just stay away from anything that looks like it might be exciting. Really? Sure. I could take one of those canoes right through those rapids without sweat or strain. You could? Easy. Ever done anything like that before? Doesn't matter. Seeing stuff like that done a hundred times on television. All you gotta do is keep your balance. The rocks make the water flow around and the canoe follows the water. See, it's simple. Yeah, it sure seems like it. I wonder why they didn't let us do it. I told you, these Christians are sissies. Well, maybe they didn't think we could all keep our balance. Maybe. They probably couldn't. Hey, let's show them. Show them what? Let's shoot the rapids and just sit and wait for them on the other side. You mean you and me in a canoe? Sure. Boy, I don't know. That's a matter. Are you afraid? Oh, no. I just thought that, well, maybe we ought to ask first.  Do you know what they'd say? Oh, I guess they wouldn't let us. You guess right. Come on. Here we are with this canoe and nobody's paying attention to us. Let's get going before they see us. But I don't think we ought to... Now what? Well, they'd only have one canoe for all the guys if we took this one. Sure, and they'd be thankful for it. What do you mean? All they're going to do is carry these things to the place below the rapids. They only have to carry one. They'll be thanking us when they catch up. Oh, now come on. If we're going to go, we've got to get out to the river fast. You're sure you know how to do it? I told you, didn't I? Oh, I guess so. Then come on. Let's go. Okay, guys. Line up for Chow. Did you get those canoes far enough from the river's edge to... Hey, where's the other canoe? Look! Out there in the river! Oh, no. What's the matter, Henry? Hot on the river. It's Ed and Paul.  Boys, Ed, Paul, steer for shore. Steer for shore. Rapids, a little way downstream. Oh, let's see out the other side. They're doing that on purpose.  There's no telling what might happen to them. What are we going to do? I have a feeling we're going to need that big medical kit and some help. Those fellas can't possibly make it through those rapids without a spill. And who knows what? Tim, Frank, get back to camp and tell Bill what's happened. Get him here in a hurry with a medical kit and whatever else he thinks we'll need. It'll take a long time to get back to camp. All right, run 100 paces and then walk 100. You should make it inside of an hour. Bill can drive down here in the Jeep. Hurry now, boys. Okay. We'd better see what we can do from here. Fellas start setting up camp and no horsing around. You can see where that might get you. Henry lets you and I run along the bank and see what we can do to get Ed and Paul into shore. Come on. This is what I call a canoe ride. It's shore getting fast. Just start practicing getting your balance, Paul. We're getting near where the rocks are. I'm beginning to wonder if we should have done this, Ed. Some time to wonder, hey, steer us a little more to the middle. The big rocks are probably near the shore. Maybe we ought to steer for shore. Back down now? How would that look to the rest of the kids? I guess so. I'll just... What happened? We must already be over the rocks, Ed. The paddle was knocked right out of my hand. I didn't see any. They said the river was already covering some of them. Well, here's the other paddle. Now, hold on to this one and get us into the center of the stream. Hey, hey, hold on. We must be right in the middle of things, Ed. We sure are. I can see some of the rocks coming up. What are we going to do? Keep your balance. Keep your balance and try to steer us away from the rocks you can see. Ed, I'm scared. I don't think you really know what you're talking about. Never mind. Just try to work toward shore. Toward shore?  Oh, hang on. Quick, steer to the left. To the left. I'm trying, too. That was close. Now to the right. I can't. You have to. The paddle broke off on that last. Hold on and try to keep your balance. Now we're going to crash. We're going to crash. Just try to keep your balance. How far do you think they got? Hard to tell. The river's so swift. Maybe around this next bend we can... Hey, there they are. Out in the middle. We might as well stop. Yeah, there's nothing we can do but watch. Hey, look at them. Yeah, it looks like Paul's holding a broken paddle handle. They're out of control. Uh-oh. That big rock. They've crashed. Swim for that rock and hold on. Swim for the rock. I don't think they can hear you. That makes me feel better to at least shout to them. Hey, they're doing it. Hey, look. They've made it to that flat rock out there. Hey, they've made it up on it. Well, at least they're safe. Huh? Safe. Out there in the middle of a raging river where no one can get near them. And the water rising all the time. I don't know if I'd call that safe. We were just lucky to make it to this flat rock. I guess so. Now what do we do? You're the guy with all the answers, Ed. Figure this one out.  So, I goofed. Haven't you ever made a mistake before in your life? Not like this. I should never have listened to you. Okay, okay. That doesn't do us any good now. Let's hope them fellows on Choral think there's some way to get us off this rock. Why should they? Huh? I said why should they? We got ourselves into this mess. It looks like it's up to us to get out. But there ain't any way. Look around.  And that water is way too fast to swim. You know how they just threw us against this rock?  Now, well, if you do, you can try it out. What do you mean by that? Just what I said. I'm not trying any more of your ideas. For all I know, you might... What's the matter? Well, look there on the edge of this rock. What about it? Well, it used to be longer. Huh? I mean, there used to be about three or four step-like places over on the edge. Well, now there's only two. You must have made a mistake. Well, I didn't make a mistake, Ed. I remember just counting the... I don't know why. What are you trying to say? Well, it's like Mr. Flory said. The river's rising fast. Ed, this rock is slowly being covered with water. There's no telling how long it'll be before it gets completely covered. And then what happens to us? Hang on, Stumpy. I hope them young whippers and amperes ain't in too much danger. So do I, Stumpy. I'm all for kids' learned lessons, but sometimes ain't around long enough to profit from them. That's what's good idea to pay attention in the first place. You're right there, Bill. We should be seeing something soon. The real rapids start right around that bend up ahead. I hope... Hey! Look up there, Bill. It's Henry. He's waving to us. I see him, old timer. Stumpy, boy, are we glad to see you. Henry, where are the two boys who are in trouble? Come on, around the bend. You'll see them. Okay. We just weren't watching closely enough. Who would've thought anybody would? Oh, here we are. Hello, Bill, Stumpy. Well, what do you think of our two friends out there? Great horny toads! There just doesn't seem to be any way short of a helicopter to get them. Naughty pine is too far away to go for one. We've got a real problem, haven't we? I'll say. Are either of them hurt? Not that we can make out. It's a little hard to yell at them over the roar. How do you think we can get them, Bill? Well, we might take the other canoe out there and pick them up. You want to try it, Bill? I think we'd join them at best. There are just too many hidden rocks. With the river rising the way it is, we gotta do something pretty quick. Hey, I never thought of that. How long is that rock even gonna be above water? There's another reason we have to work in a hurry. Why's that, Bill? Look up there. In the sky? Uh-oh! Looks like a storm brewing up there! Exactly. That storm hits here and near here. That river just may have a flash flood. Which could sweep those fellas right off that rock in no time. Wow. We have to think of something. Say, Pete, how far upstream would you have to go before you think you could make a safe crossing in this river? From here? That's right. Oh, I'd say about just back of this bend. It's hardly rocky at all there. Not more than a few hundred feet, huh? That's right, but why? Have you got an idea, Bill? Think he was just curious? Of course he's got an idea! Stumpy, how much rope do we have in the jeep? Rope! Rope? About two or three rolls of a hundred feet or so each. If we tied the rolls together, do you think they'd stretch across the river at this point? Oh, I get it. Stretch a rope from one side to the other, and use it as a bridge. That's about it, Henry. Well, Stumpy? Near as I can figure, yep! They were tied together! Good. Uh, Pete? Yeah? You and that rope will have to go across the river. Right. One end of it, anyway. Once you get there, we'll walk along the banks opposite each other to where the place where those boys are. Then we'll have to pull the rope tight and make it secure. There are plenty of trees along the bank. Boy, what a great idea! You think those kids will be able to make it to shore by the rope? I doubt it. I'll go out, hand over hand, and bring them back with me. I don't think they'd be up to trying that distance alone. Right. Wow. But we gotta move. We want to get them off that rock before the storm breaks. What are they doing? Nothing. Just nothing at all. What? Sure, they stood there on the shore, rang your bell on everybody, and then decided we were just a hopeless case. They went away. But they wouldn't do a thing like that? Why not? All we are to them is trouble. So maybe they figure we can just die from this accident. Nobody done worrying about it. But they can't. Help! Help! Sit down. That won't do any good. Nobody will hear you over all this water. And even if they did, so what? Even Ranger Bill himself couldn't figure a way off this rock for us. We just got ourselves into a mess. And that's that. Well, you got us into a mess, you mean. I didn't think it was such a hard idea. That doesn't matter. You went along with it, didn't you? Well, I didn't like it. So? Well, it seems different, that's all. Only, well, maybe it really ain't. I don't know. I only know that, hey. What's the matter? I'm seeing things. What are you talking about? Look upstream. I must be seeing things too. It looks like a rope. All the way across the river, but how? Look over there on the bank, coming around the bend. And over there. Oh, they didn't leave us. They didn't leave us. They just went up there to where it was safe to cross. And now they're bringing away off this rock. I can't believe it. After all the trouble we've been. But they are. They are. They sure look in a hurry. They can't be that anxious to see us again. Well, the way they keep looking up, maybe they're worried about that bunch of dark clouds coming this way. Well, I figure if they're worried about them, so am I. Well, me too. Come on, Ranger Bill, Mr. Flurry. Hurry! One more, Paul ought to do it, Stumpy. I wish you fellas let me help. You save all that energy, Bill. You're the one that's going to be going out there after him. Come on, Henry. Paul! I got it. Is it high enough off the water? It's fine, fellas. I don't have time to admire our work, though. That storm is closing in fast. Just keep an eye on that knot and don't let it slip. We sure won't. You can depend on that, Sonny. Good. I'd better get out there. There isn't much time. There's a lot to do. Boy, Stumpy. What a guy. You can say that again, Sonny. Anybody go along the rope hand over hand as fast as Bill does. Boy, he's moving plenty fast, all right.  Oh, Leon. He's almost here. The shore is coming at the right time. Look how small this rock has gotten since we crawled onto it. Make a little room there, fellas. You guys prefer a hike any day? Are we sure I'm glad to see you, Bill? Yeah. As soon as I catch my breath, I'll take one of you back with me. Well, how are you going to do that? Just climb up on my back and hang on for all your worth. I'll go back the same way I got here. But won't that be too much trouble? No time for chatting, fellas. That storm isn't going to hold off so much longer. Which one of you is going? Take Paul here. I don't deserve to be saved. We'll get you both off this rock, Ed. And okay, I'll take Paul first. Hop up on my back, Paul. Let's go for a ride. Here he comes. Boy, what a lot of strength that must be taking. Step back, sonny! Give him plenty of iron to the lion! I'm glad a whole canoe full aren't stranded out there. You'd better take a little rest, Bill. No time now, Henry. Not even sure I can make it out there and back. That storm... Here she comes! Oh, and there goes our chance to get Ed off that rock. I'll try to get out there. But Bill, in this rain? The river will be rising in a hurry with this rain. Got it. But aren't you still pretty tired from carryin' me? No time to talk. Well, he's some guy. You should only know how terrific. Bill is... Hey, look! He slipped off a rope. Must be in this rain! The rope slipped right. But the thingy wasn't very far out. He's waitin' back to shore. Hey, you okay, Bill? Sure, Henry? That rope's too slippery to hang onto. What are we gonna do? We've gotta get Ed off that rock. Look at it! It's almost under water! That young whippersnav will be washed off there in sign of minutes! Only one way I can think of. It's a long shot, but we don't have time to think. What is it, Bill? We'll have to show both young Ed and old so Pete on the other side of the river what we want them to do. They'll never hear us in all this storm. Hey, see what you mean, sonny! What's the plan? Henry, hang your arms over the rope. Like this, see? Lean over it with your arms hung over the rope. That's the way Ed has got to get onto that rope. That way he won't have to try to hold that slippery rope in his hands, huh? Right. Then we've got to loosen this rope from the trees it's tied to and walk back upstream, dragging Ed along with us. Through the water? At least until we're past the rocky area. Then we can let go of one end and pull him in. I sure hope it works, Bill. So do I, Henry. We haven't got a lot of time to think of anything else. That rock is just about completely covered. Now quick, hang over the rope, show Ed how we want him to do it, and I'll get Pete the signal to loosen the other end and start walking with it. Hey, fellas, fellas, may I have your attention, please? Thanks. I'm supposed to give the devotional message tonight and I had something already, but today something's happened that gave me a much better message than I could have thought of. We're all glad to see Ed and Paul safe with us after a very close escape. Well, I guess we all know that Ranger Bill risked his life to get them off that rock. Well, Ed said to him after he was safe, why did you do it? Why did you risk your own life just to help me out? He said that his own stupidity got them in that fix and it didn't seem right to risk someone else's life to get them off. I hope you don't mind me telling this, Ed. No. Well, Bill's answer was simple, but really good. Would you tell us what he told you, Ed? He said maybe it was our own fault that we got in that fix. We were in a position where we just couldn't help ourselves. He said he helped us because we needed help. That's all. Thanks, Ed. And it occurred to me that that's exactly the way God is with us. Spiritually, we're all in a fix, the kind of a fix that we can't help ourselves out of. Our sins have made us enemies to God and there's no way out of that. But God has helped us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived the only perfect life in history and when He was killed and and punished as though He were the worst sinner the world has ever known. And why? Because this was God's way of helping us out of our hopeless position. Jesus died for us. He didn't need to for Himself. And when we accept His death and punishment as a gift for us, God accepts the offering of Jesus for us and makes things right between us and Him. And just like Bill risking his life for Ed and Paul this afternoon, God has done this just because we can't help ourselves.  But you know, I think it might be a little easier with this afternoon to think about. What do you think? Let's pray. That was quite an experience, all right. All right, sure was. You know, it's funny the kind of experiences that God uses to impress people with His message. Paul, and even hard as nails Ed, gave his life to Christ as a result of that, Bill. I can say this in a lot more years than either you. It sure is thrilling to watch God working in the hearts of fellas and girls. Yes, it is, Stumpy. Boys and girls, we hope you've experienced God working in your heart. And we hope you've given your heart to Him and trust Him as your Savior and Lord. Well, see you next week for more adventure with Ranger. Ranger Bill is produced in the radio studios of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.


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Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States and Congressman Michael. Mr. President, Senator Percy and my colleagues Tom Corcoran and Lynn Martin and Ken McMillan and our state candidates Jim Edgar and John Daley, Doc Adams and I saw Park Livingston, our candidate for University Board of Trustees, all our party officials and ladies and gentlemen and friends of Bob Michael and the President. Let me first also thank our Peoria County Republican Central Committee, its Chairman, Camille Gibson, our Rally Chairman, Chappie Chapman and those unsung heroes of political campaigns, the hundreds of volunteers who put this event together and for the part they'll still be playing in the remaining days of this campaign to bring us victory on November 2nd. Say we're very privileged to have you in our midst, Mr. President, and looking over this audience it's quite obvious our fellow citizens are mighty proud to have you here too. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Percy, representatives of the members of Congress who are here, the candidates who are here, Corinne Michael who is here and I too am very proud of my two good friends from another life that are here with us tonight, Mr. Mayor and of course the man whose campaign has brought us here, Bob Michael. You know I've been here before, I don't mean during the campaign, I was here then of course and I don't mean in this fine new facility, that's a first for me but I remember coming here to play football against Bradley and Bradley won that night or I wouldn't have brought the subject up but as enthusiastic as you are I'm sure that you weren't, I thought maybe you were expecting the Bradley Braves. Bradley University has given us not only last year's NIT champions and I just met them outside here but it's given us that outstanding Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Bob Michael. Bob is a graduate of Bradley, he's received an honorary doctorate from Bradley, he's a member of the Board of Trustees of Bradley. Bob have you gone out for the team yet? When I tell you if he did he'd make a fine captain, he's one of the most effective Republican minority leaders of this century but I dream of a day, I know it can't happen in just one election but I dream of a day when I can stand up here and say a fine majority leader of the House of Representatives. Let me tell you something about Bob, he's been your congressman for 13 terms not because he likes the prestige, that gets old fast, he's not a congressman because he likes being away from his family, he's not in it for the money, he could do a lot better out in the private sector. Bob Michael is a congressman because he believes in something, he believes in the values of Illinois and the values that built this country, for 26 years he's been working for those beliefs and for you the people who share them. I don't know what this country would do without the sacrifices of people like Bob Michael. You know there were times this year when he could have taken the easy way out on certain votes yet he did what he believed was best for America, he put country before politics. Now he doesn't always agree with me like on the pipeline sanction but he makes his arguments genuinely and honestly and they can't be ignored and that kind of integrity is hard to find. I know how you feel so I'm just going to say something, I think a man of Bob Michael's character and principle deserves a standing ovation from all of us, an ovation born of appreciation for what he has done. If I were still in show business I'd quit right there. Illinois has a lot of other fine republicans like Governor Thompson whose reelection victory we'll be celebrating his election victory in less than two weeks and there's another excellent Illinois republican I'd like to mention. Ed Derwinsky one of the highest ranking republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We don't want to lose Ed's experience when he leaves the congress at the end of this session so we've taken care of that. Right I'm announcing that I intend to nominate Congressman Derwinsky to the post of counselor at the State Department a good man and one of the most important posts in our country. But I also wanted to come tonight so I could speak directly to the people of this area to the people who've lost their jobs at Caterpillar and Papst and Hiram Walker. Bob has told me personally and I might say eloquently of the hardships of the people in his district. He understands what's going on out there so perhaps this might be a good time to say something about those pipeline sanctions. I know they're not popular with Peoria or Bob Michael but our president sometimes has to make decisions that are painful to even his best friends since one of the toughest parts of the job. We must remember the sanctions were imposed as tangible evidence of our opposition to the Soviet inspired repression of the Polish people but there were additional reasons even had that not happened. It seemed to us that our European friends and allies were putting themselves in a dangerous position of dependency on an undependable provider the Soviet Union for the energy that would run their industry. And it also seemed to us that in as much as that dependency would turn over about ten billion dollars a year in hard cold cash to the Soviet Union it would enable them to further build up their military might which is the greatest build up of military might the world has ever seen. And so we felt that something had to be done. The sanctions have substantially hurt the Soviet Union already but of course they've hurt some of our own companies such as Caterpillar as well. The Siberian pipeline will be a major source as I said of hard cash income for the Soviet Union for decades and I won't go into all the geopolitical reasons why that could be dangerous. I know it's the loss of jobs that's of more immediate concern to Peorians right now. They're receptive to alternative measures that would be equally or more effective than the current sanctions and certainly if we can establish restrictions that put greater pressure on the Soviets and less on our own companies we will enthusiastically consider them and we've been in constant consultations with our NATO allies trying to bring that about. Tonight in homes across the country including a home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue unemployment is the problem uppermost in everyone's mind. Getting Americans back to work is an urgent priority for all of us and other than keeping the peace I have no higher priority. You know there's a story about a fellow who said to a friend of his I was sorry to hear that your wife ran off at the gardener and the fellow said well that's alright I was going to fire him anyway. When it comes to the economy that's about how scrambled the logic has been in recent years and scrambled thinking led us to a scrambled economic mess. Americans are asking themselves how do we straighten out this mess. Well you can't solve unemployment without solving the things that caused it. The out of control government spending skyrocketing inflation and the interest rates that led to unemployment in the first place unless you get at the root causes of the problem which is exactly what we're doing you may temporarily relieve the symptoms but you will never cure the disease. I realize there is hardship in Peoria and if I thought what we were seeking to accomplish would be only temporary I wouldn't ask for your patience but for the first time in our post-war history we're trying to build a recovery that will last and not just a quick fix to see us through the election. You know before we went to Washington those in charge of the economy ran it with the accelerator to the floor then they'd slam on the brakes then they'd swerve to miss the oncoming crisis then they'd swerve back and then they'd floor it again but you can't run an economy or a car that way without eventually wrecking it and that's exactly what was happening in January of 1977 just after Jerry Ford left the White House inflation was at 4.8 percent the prime interest rate was under 7 percent you could get a home mortgage for 9 percent and consumers could afford not only mortgages but auto loans but then America took a giant step backward how many of us remember we had five economic programs proposed in four years our economic policy was flip-flopping like a fish on dry land and those five programs of the last administration left us with five gigantic head headaches well wait a minute maybe I should only say four because the fifth economic program was proposed in August just before the 1980 election and that was the only one that proposed a tax cut they said it would be 27 billion dollars well they never gave us the tax cut and the program was never implemented by the time we took office we faced double digit inflation high unemployment a 21 and a half percent prime interest rate runaway government spending in the highest peacetime tax burden we have ever known we also had nearly a trillion dollar debt now that means that this year before the government can spend a dime to feed the hungry care for the sick or protect our freedom it must plan to spend 110 billion dollars in this one year just to pay the interest on that debt 110 billion dollars is much more than the total federal budget was just 20 years ago and still the big spenders wonder why the American people want what a stubborn minority in the house denied them a constitutional amendment to balance the budget they're gonna get another chance to vote on that because we're gonna keep shoving it at them our nation is still paying the penalty of those tragic excesses of the past unfortunately many are paying with their jobs I didn't cause this recession Bob Michael didn't cause it but I do have a responsibility for getting us out of this recession and I can't do it without Bob Michael in the Congress we all want a strong and lasting economic recovery and there isn't a member of the House of Representatives more critical to making recovery happen than Bob Michael recovery means jobs Bob Michael's re-election means jobs from our very first day we've been working to undo the economic wreckage that was left behind as a matter of fact when I finished taking the oath of office on that January inaugural day the first thing I did was go back into the Capitol building and I didn't even take off my topcoat I signed a memorandum freezing the size of the federal government at my age I didn't go to Washington to play politics as usual I didn't go there to reward pressure groups by spending other people's money and most of all I didn't go there to further mortgage the future of the American people just to buy a little short-term political popularity I wanted to try and solve some problems not sweep them under the rug and leave them for those who would come along later now I don't pretend for a moment that in 21 months we've been able to undo the damage of 20 years or more 21 months ago we faced five immediate and critical problems runaway spending double digit inflation the worst interest rates in 100 years the highest peacetime tax burden as I've said in our history and high unemployment but we've made dramatic gains on four of those five problems the inflation rate that reached a high of 18 percent in January of 1980 has been cut to 5.1 percent for the first eight months of this year the expert said it couldn't be done but we did it the prime interest rate that had reached 21 and a half percent before we came to office is now down to 12 percent and we're not finished with it yet we've cut the growth the annual growth in spending government spending by nearly two-thirds and we will have cut tax rates 25% by next July and look what's been happening to the stock and bond markets they're trying to poo poo that a little bit on the other side but if you haven't noticed that market today closed 20 points up at 1,034 plus point 12 and that is the highest point the market has hit since early 1973 10 years ago confidence is returning to America's economy sadly unemployment is always just about the last to feel a recovery if you look at the charts that they can show you of those seven preceding recessions and they go up in the big nine then they go down but each time when they come out of the recession unemployment stays a little higher than it was the time before so it always starts from a higher level that's why the other day I said that I'd take the responsibility for the 2.7% that unemployment's gone up since I took office if they'll take responsibility for the 7.8% that it was up before we took off we're going to beat that just as we're beating the rest of the economic problems and when we get it licked this time it's going to stay licked now I just want to see if you've been paying attention this evening so I'd like to give you a little true false exam having gone to school not too far from here I'm feeling very academic if the statement I read is true you say true and if it's false you say false first question we've knocked the inflation rate down by half and or more and we're going to keep it down there we've reduced interest rates in this country and we're going to reduce them even further here's a hard one we've cut both the growth in federal spending and federal income tax rates and we're not letting either one of them rise again we're going to beat that devil unemployment and provide real and lasting jobs for the people of this nation I want the people of Illinois the people of America well wait a minute here's the last one Bob Michael is the best darn congressman this district ever had we'll send you your certificates of graduation right after November 2nd well you pass I knew this was a smart area that's why you keep sending him back to Congress we're on a new road now a road that's leading America to better times but we've got to keep the courage to stay our course it's the only way to lasting recovery if we don't our problems will just grow worse than they were before and that's the sad story sorry history of past decades lost nerve and squandered opportunities the people deserve better from their leaders now I want all of you to know this that I intend to stay the course and to turn this economy around and I need your help to do that so please promise me that you will mobilize your friends and neighbors to get out the vote for a great victory on November 2nd for Bob Michael we have a mission to renew all the dreams and the hopes that our nation was placed on this good earth to provide I met someone else before I came out here tonight a young lady sixth grade of Sterling school was won a statewide essay contest and she won it with a letter that she wrote to our country and I was pleased to meet her I you maybe you've all seen the letters but let me just remind you if you have it at that first sentence she wrote as I say it as a letter dear America I just thought I would write you a letter to let you know how great I think you are and in the close of her letter she said it really doesn't matter whether we're black or white atheist or Christian your doors of opportunity are always open so knock knock America here I come the Stacy Hodgkins and all those young people and the young people that are here tonight they're what this election is all about what kind of an America we're going to leave them and I pray every day of my life that before we leave the stage we will have made some down some payments installment payments on that trillion dollar debt and not leave all of it for them to take care of in the best way the most immediate way to keep our rendezvous with destiny and to achieve those dreams and those hopes that I spoke of is to reelect Bob Michael and those from other districts send these other representatives back send these candidates into office and let's us have a turn at being the majority in Washington and see what we can do for the people of this country thank you all and God bless