Join Angie Austin and Jim Stovall as they bring you ‘The Good News’ and delve into the heartwarming topic of gratitude during the holiday season. This episode explores the true spirit of Thanksgiving, looking beyond the chaos of holiday preparations to focus on the values of thankfulness, connection, and family. Listen as they share personal anecdotes about avoiding political debates at family gatherings and how creating a space for thankfulness can transform the holiday experience.
00:00:00 Introduction to The Good News with Angie Austin
00:00:28 Perspective on Holiday Traditions and Thankfulness
00:03:27 Handling Difficult Relatives During Thanksgiving
welcome to the good news with angie austin now with the good news here’s angie hello there friend angie austin and jim stovall here with the good news and we’re talking about this week’s winners wisdom column and this week he wrote about the empty chair at the table hey jim hey it is great to be with you and as we move into the holiday season here
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s always good to get a little perspective because with the media and all the advertisements and all the pressure and the schedule, sometimes it’s just good to stop and really get another perspective on it. As we look forward to Thanksgiving this week and then Christmas coming up and everything, You know, we have a tendency to look at all the F-words, and before you reach for the little button that cuts me off, I’m talking about food, family, fun, football, and all of those other sorts of things. And it’s so easy to get caught up in that, and we miss, you know, the real tradition. This is a time for us to be thankful, and I believe the fastest way to get everything you want out of life is to be thankful for everything you already have. And this is just a great time to do that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I’ve been kind of going over like, you know, options for Thanksgiving Day and, you know, and options for, you know, how to handle a relative that maybe enjoys starting an argument. You know, most of us really dread that kind of thing, but there is a certain personality I found that really enjoys a good debate slash argument slash argument. I don’t know, heated discussion. And I’m not one of those personalities having grown up around way too many, I’ll call them heated discussions, but chaos at my home. So I really shy away from those and take every opportunity to act. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER 04 :
you know my brother and i were talking about you know growing up in our parents and grandparents home and you know of course this is the first uh year without my father at the table so uh you know it brings uh you know a lot of memories but a lot of things to be thankful for but our grandmother had a thing you know my brother and i we were out running in the woods and doing things and You know, we’d sit down at the table and we might talk about cleaning a fish or finding a dead skunk or anything else. And my grandmother would just simply say, that’s not appropriate table talk. And that ended the conversation. Well, recently when cousins and in-laws and outlaws and various other people, they started on the political debate, my brother will just look at them and say, that’s not appropriate table discussion. And it just, you know, save it. I mean, you’ve got all year to do that. And, you know, this is not about that. No one’s going to change their mind. Let’s talk about all the things we’re thankful for. And one of the things we do at our home at Thanksgiving is, before we say grace at the Thanksgiving, you know, we go around the table, and everybody just says one thing they’re thankful for. And it is just a powerful, powerful statement.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it’s surprising sometimes what people are thankful for. And oftentimes it has something to do with the people at the table, as you and I have discussed on many occasions, that 85-year-long Harvard happiness study that said that if you boil it all down to one thing that really contributes to happiness, it’s connections, relationships, family, friends. And so many of us are thankful for what’s there at the table. And I have to tell you, And I also provided escape room when I’m the one that’s doing the Thanksgiving, which this year we’re going out because my mom’s not here. And I don’t think I told you, but my daughter said, you know, is grand grand going to be here? And I said, no. And she said, bro, she’s the only one that can cook. Jim, I went from mommy to mama to mom to bro or bra.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, it’s probably a good transition.
SPEAKER 08 :
So, yeah, but my escape room is like I might have a craft in there. The TV football can be an escape room or the parade. But then usually it’s like something to do with the kids or you can create your own and go out in the backyard and play with the dogs or bring the kids out there for a walk. You can. always create your own escape room type environment. And I’m not saying to escape the whole family, just if things get contentious or a little stressful.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, yeah, I was doing an interview the other day and, you know, saying, well, you know, everybody lists one thing they’re thankful for. And the interviewer said, well, you know, if two or three people go first, what can you think of? You know, I told him, hey, I was I was just at the Stovall Center at the university and And we have kids from 143 different nations. And, you know, to that interviewer and to you and all your listeners here in the good old United States of America, man, we won the birthright lottery when we were born here in America.
SPEAKER 02 :
No kidding.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, you don’t need to go any farther than that to just be thankful that we’re here. And, you know, and that’s how Thanksgiving got started. A group of people that, hey, we’re just thankful we’re here.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, exactly. And you know what, Jim? What if you said you were thankful for my wife and I said I was thankful for my husband? Like, you can repeat gratitudes.
SPEAKER 09 :
They don’t have to all be different.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, yeah. And as you know, Angie, I do my golden list every day, which is a tradition for my grandmother, which is 10 things I’m thankful for every morning. And, you know, Crystal is always on the list virtually every day.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, and then other things are on the list. And you just… You know, you just, you know, things are brought to your attention and you’re thankful for.
SPEAKER 08 :
So this Crystal we speak of oftentimes, you know, I would say several times a month we bring up Crystal, your wife. And I actually called her today.
SPEAKER 02 :
Arc Thrift needs your large furniture donations. You can either drop off your large furniture at one of Arc Thrift’s 36 locations or schedule a pickup online. Arc Thrift is looking for your gently used couches, chairs, tables, recliners, dressers, entertainment centers, armoires, and desks. Give your furniture a second chance of life. As long as the furniture is in good condition, you can schedule for a large furniture pickup on Arc Thrift’s website. Also, make sure to include at least five bags or boxes of gently used items when your furniture gets picked up. And if you have more stuff to donate, they can take up to 20 boxes or bags at a time, free of charge. And with the holidays approaching, find all of your ugly Christmas sweaters, white elephant gifts, holiday decorations, and gifts for a fraction of the retail store price. Find your nearest Arc Thrift by going to arcthrift.com today. So much more than a thrift store.
SPEAKER 01 :
Englewood is listening to the mighty 670. KLT Denver.
SPEAKER 08 :
It’s The Good News with Angie Austin. Let’s start off with a little good news. I came across a really neat story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did because it’s about a young person, and he’s doing good things and is an honest, really great kid. Okay, this kid is from Australia’s Gold Coast, and he basically was at a gas station. He was pulling up on his bike, and he found a wad of cash. It ended up being $3,500. So 17-year-old Josh Pash took it inside of the – they call it a pantry, like a little pantry store – took it inside to Fox’s Pantry. Apparently, Daniel McKellar, who runs a demolition firm – Had stopped at the convenience store, the pantry, to buy coffee on his way home from dropping off a load of scrap metal for recycling. So he’s a hardworking man. He didn’t notice that the $3,500, $3,500 had fallen out as he climbed in and out of his car and drove home. It just, that time then, you know, Josh pulls up on his bike and he takes it inside the pantry and he gives it to, they call it teller, you know, they brought it to the person behind, you know, the cashier. So not long after that, the tradesman called the shop asking if the money had been found and was surprised to hear that a young man on a bicycle had found it on the cement out front and brought it in. So who was this good Samaritan? Well, Mr. McKellar only had the CCTV footage to go by and he went to Instagram and he shared that and he was trying to find the person it didn’t take long for the internet magic to work and soon Josh’s mom saw what had happened and reached out and mr. McKellar wanted to offer Josh a thousand dollar reward for his honesty and then he found out that the kid was saving for a truck and needed a job and He said it’s pretty rare to find a younger generation having a good moral compass and obviously knowing the right thing to do and, you know, doing the right thing, handing in the money. Once they were face-to-face, Mr. McKellar gave Josh $1,000 as a reward, and when he heard about his goal to save for a pickup truck, he offered him a labor job through his contracting business, and he launched a GoFundMe on behalf of the teenager, and they’ve since raised $10,000 for the truck. They’re just short of their goal. And then Mr. McKellar actually took the other twenty five hundred that he had left over and he donated it to another GoFundMe to help fund brain surgery for an advanced cancer patient, reasoning that he had already made peace with the money being lost. Recovering up was a surprise and a blessing. And he thought it was best to just pay it forward. He said, I was never expecting the money back. I thought once I lost it. You know, I just thought somebody had taken it. I definitely had not expected to get it returned. And so in my mind, it was gone already. So I might as well pay it forward. So I thought that was a pretty sweet story. You’ve also got to Google this guy, Mr. Riley. He’s a middle school teacher. He was on a plane recently. He’s six foot six and over 300 pounds. And there was a passenger acting up and the flight attendant asked for help. And this six foot six, three hundred and some pound middle school security guard, school security guard stands up, picks the man up and puts him in his chair. Anyway, they did a news story about him and he’s the biggest, he’s the sweetest, gentle giant. And he stayed very, very calm, didn’t use any loud language, just picked the guy up, put him in the chair and left. Then they didn’t have any further problems with this passenger. But he he said he waited to act because he was hoping the guy would calm himself down. But when he realized that the flight attendant really needed help, he’s like, oh, I’m definitely getting involved now. Like, I am not going to sit, you know, and watch this happen. And Mr. Riley, you know, being a security guard, knew exactly what to do. All right, changing gears now. If you’re just joining us, this is The Good News with Angie Austin. Tricia Hershberger is back. She is our favorite tech expert TV host and the cutest tech geek we know. Today, she’s sharing the latest innovations in tech and gadgets to make this holiday season fun and, you know, a little more creative. Welcome back, Tricia.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you so much for having me. It’s so great to be back chatting with you, Angie.
SPEAKER 08 :
You’re welcome. All right. So what’s really hot, Tricia? You may have one gadget maybe we can start with that you think will be on everyone’s wish list this year.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. Well, just about everybody I know wants a phone upgrade or a new phone of some sort. And Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a next-level foldable smartphone powered by Galaxy AI. So it’s giving users the power of a traditional smartphone and an immersive tablet-like workspace in one device. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 packs a larger and brighter 8-inch screen, an ultra-smooth performance for everything you need from multitasking to content creation, even immersive mobile gaming when you want a bigger, more powerful play experience. So I feel like a new phone is something that…
SPEAKER 08 :
Hello there, friend. Angie Austin and Jim Stovall here with the good news. And we’re talking about this week’s winner’s wisdom column. And this week he wrote about the empty chair at the table. Hey, Jim.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, it is great to be with you. And as we move into the holiday season here, it’s always good to get a little perspective because, uh, With the media and all the advertisements and all the pressure and the schedule, sometimes it’s just good to stop and really get another perspective on it. As we look forward to Thanksgiving this week and then Christmas coming up and everything, You know, we have a tendency to look at all the F-words, and before you reach for the little button that cuts me off, I’m talking about food, family, fun, football, and all of those other sorts of things. And it’s so easy to get caught up in that, and we miss, you know, the real tradition. This is a time for us to be thankful, and I believe the fastest way to get everything you want out of life is to be thankful for everything you already have. And this is just a great time to do that.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I’ve been kind of going over like, you know, options for Thanksgiving Day and, you know, and options for, you know, how to handle a relative that maybe enjoys starting an argument. You know, most of us really dread that kind of thing, but there is a certain personality I found that really enjoys a good debate slash argument slash argument. I don’t know, heated discussion. And I’m not one of those personalities having grown up around way too many, I’ll call them heated discussions, but chaos at my home. So I really shy away from those and take every opportunity to actually or not make the other person feel diminished or give in, as they’d say. But I don’t see it as giving in. I see it as winning because I’m winning a great dinner. I’m winning a pleasant environment. I’m winning my other relatives feeling comfortable. So they might see it as their win, but I see it as my win.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. You know, my brother and I were talking about growing up in our parents’ and grandparents’ home. And, of course, this is the first year without my father at the table. So, you know, it brings a lot of memories, but a lot of things to be thankful for. But our grandmother had a thing. You know, my brother and I, we were out running in the woods and doing things. You know, we’d sit down at the table and we might talk about cleaning a fish or finding a dead skunk or anything else. And my grandmother would just simply say, that’s not appropriate table talk. And that ended the conversation. Well, recently when cousins and in-laws and outlaws and various other people, they started on the political debate, my brother will just look at them and say, that’s not appropriate table discussion. And it just, you know, save it. I mean, you got all year to do that. And, you know, this is not about that. No one’s going to change their mind. Let’s talk about all the things we’re thankful for. And one of the things we do at our home at Thanksgiving is, before we say grace at the Thanksgiving, you know, we go around the table and everybody just says one thing they’re thankful for. And it is just a powerful, powerful statement.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, it’s surprising sometimes what people are thankful for. And oftentimes it has something to do with the people at the table, as you and I have discussed on many occasions, that 85-year-long Harvard happiness study that said that if you boil it all down to one thing, you know, that really contributes to happiness, it’s connections, relationships, family, friends. And so many of us are.
SPEAKER 02 :
Arc Thrift needs your large furniture donations. You can either drop off your large furniture at one of Arc Thrift’s 36 locations or schedule a pickup online. Arc Thrift is looking for your gently used couches, chairs, tables, recliners, dressers, entertainment centers, armoires, and desks. Give your furniture a second chance of life. As long as the furniture is in good condition, you can schedule for a large furniture pickup on Arc Thrift’s website. Also, make sure to include at least five bags or boxes of gently used items when your furniture gets picked up. And if you have more stuff to donate, they can take up to 20 boxes or bags at a time, free of charge. And with the holidays approaching, find all of your ugly Christmas sweaters, white elephant gifts, holiday decorations, and gifts for a fraction of the retail store price. Find your nearest Arc Thrift by going to arcthrift.com today. So much more than a thrift store.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670.
SPEAKER 08 :
It’s the Good News with Angie Austin. Let’s start off with a little good news. I came across a really neat story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did because it’s about a young person and he’s doing good things and is an honest, really great kid. Okay, this kid is from Australia’s Gold Coast and he basically was at a gas station. He was pulling up on his bike and he found a wad of cash. It ended up being $3,500. So 17-year-old Josh Pash took it inside of the – they call it a pantry, like a little pantry store – took it inside to Fox’s Pantry. Apparently, Daniel McKellar, who runs a demolition firm – had stopped at the convenience store, the pantry, to buy coffee on his way home from dropping off a load of scrap metal for recycling. So he’s a hardworking man. He didn’t notice that the $3,500, $3,500 had fallen out as he climbed in and out of his car and drove home. It just that time then, you know, Josh pulls up on his bike and he takes it inside the pantry and he gives it to they call it teller. You know, they brought it to the person behind the cashier. So not long after that, the tradesman called the shop asking if the money had been found and was surprised to hear that a young man on a bicycle had found it on the cement out front and brought it in. So who was this good Samaritan? Well, Mr. McKellar. only had the CCTV footage to go by. And he went to Instagram and he shared that and he was trying to find the person. It didn’t take long for the internet magic to work. And soon Josh’s mom saw what had happened and reached out. And Mr. McKellar wanted to offer Josh a $1,000 reward for his honesty. And then he found out that the kid was saving for a truck and needed a job. He said it’s pretty rare to find the younger generation having a good moral compass and obviously knowing the right thing to do and, you know, doing the right thing, handing in the money. Once they were face-to-face, Mr. McKellar gave Josh $1,000 as a reward, and when he heard about his goal to save for a pickup truck, he offered him a labor job through his contracting business, and he launched a GoFundMe on behalf of the teenager, and they’ve since raised $10,000 for the truck. They’re just short of their goal. And then Mr. McKellar actually took the other $2,500 that he had left over and he donated it to another GoFundMe to help fund brain surgery for an advanced cancer patient, reasoning that he had already made peace with the money being lost. Recovering it was a surprise and a blessing. And he thought it was best to just pay it forward. He said, I was never expecting the money back. I thought once I lost it. I just thought somebody had taken it. I definitely had not expected to get it returned. And so in my mind, it was gone already. So I might as well pay it forward. So I thought that was a pretty sweet story. You’ve also got to Google this guy, Mr. Riley. He’s a middle school teacher. He was on a plane recently. He’s six foot six and over 300 pounds. And there was a passenger acting up and the flight attendant asked for help. And this six foot six, three hundred and some pound middle school security guard, school security guard stands up, picks the man up and puts him in his chair. Anyway, they did a news story about him and he’s the biggest, he’s the sweetest, gentle giant. And he stayed very, very calm, didn’t use any loud language, just picked the guy up, put him in the chair and left. Then they didn’t have any further problems with this passenger. But he he said he waited to act because he was hoping the guy would calm himself down. But when he realized that the flight attendant really needed help, he’s like, oh, I’m definitely getting involved now. Like, I am not going to sit, you know, and watch this happen. And Mr. Riley, you know, being a security guard, knew exactly what to do. All right, changing gears now. If you’re just joining us, this is The Good News with Angie Austin. Trisha Hershberger is back. She is our favorite tech expert TV host and the cutest tech geek we know. Today, she’s sharing the latest innovations in tech and gadgets to make this holiday season fun and, you know, a little more creative. Welcome back, Trisha.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you so much for having me. It’s so great to be back chatting with you, Angie.
SPEAKER 08 :
You’re welcome. All right. So what’s really hot, Tricia? You may have one gadget maybe we can start with that you think will be on everyone’s wish list this year.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. Well, just about everybody I know wants a phone upgrade or a new phone of some sort. And Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a next level foldable smartphone powered by Galaxy AI. So it’s giving users the power of a traditional smartphone and an immersive tablet like workspace in one device. the galaxy z fold 7 packs a larger and brighter 8 inch screen an ultra smooth performance for everything you need from multitasking to content creation even immersive mobile gaming when you want a bigger more powerful play experience so i feel like that a new phone is something that everyone can appreciate and if you’ve got like the techie friend that you’re shopping for and you really want to wow them that is an amazing one this year
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, you know, and my kids are older now. So I just feel like, you know, we pretty much get their phones anyway. Right. So, OK, this may sound like the thrifty mom thing, but why not, you know, fold that into their Christmas? So you’re not spending buying a new phone and getting them a bunch of different presents like make that part of Christmas. So it’s not like completely out of control with the spending. And two of my kids were already saying, like, my phone is cooked. My phone is chuzz or whatever they say in their lingo now. And so I’m like, all right, well, this way we’ll, we’ll see, you know, maybe around Christmas, we’ll look into that. And, you know, when we go in there, it’s like five or six hours to do the six phones in the family. It takes forever. So it’s like a major ordeal. So I’m thinking that might be a good Christmas thing to do.
SPEAKER 03 :
For sure. And really with the galaxy Z fold seven, it’s almost like a phone and a tablet in one. When you talk about like a savings savings, that’s a great one too. If you were thinking about getting a tablet and a phone, just get one, just get one device that does it all.
SPEAKER 08 :
Good for college kids too. All right. So what should we be choosing when looking at tech, tech gifts that would actually get used and really be loved? Like what do you think would really be used?
SPEAKER 03 :
So you never want to buy someone a tech gift that just sits on a shelf, right?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
So I would say if you want something that’s going to get used over and over and Get a piece of tech that folks can use to create and can come back to throughout the year. So this year you can create personalized decor and heartfelt gifts that add warmth and creativity to your home with Cricut Joy Extra. This powerful machine makes it easy to craft a custom snowman ornament, let’s say, or personalized mementos throughout the year. Let’s say it’s back to school, you know, but with professional quality results. It’s a DIY project that looks pro. Now Cricut Design Space makes crafting simple. That’s part of how you get these professional results. You can easily design, customize and cut everything from personalized labels to intricate home decor projects. And you can access thousands of images, fonts and ready to make projects to bring your vision to life step by step. So in terms of getting a tech gift that I think people will keep coming back to, I recommend the Cricut Joy Extra. I don’t know if you know anybody with a Cricut device or if you have one yourself, Angie, but it’s always a hit.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, I think for the team moms, it’s a really cool thing because they can do specialized stuff for a lot of the sports teams for kids in high school or whatever grade school. And then actually, it’s a great thing to have if you have like a crafty side hustle and you put stuff up on like Etsy or whatever. So, yeah, it’s beyond I’m on a couple of the groups, you know, the Facebook and Instagram groups. I’m on the gram. And so I’m in some of the groups and I see some of the things they make. So it’s pretty cool. All right. How about, I mean, that would be good for kids, I think, to older kids, but any other ideas specifically for kids?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. I mean, if you’re looking really for even the younger kids, the Creativity for Kids Grow and Glow Terrarium Kit is a hands-on STEAM activity that lets them explore nature, science, and creativity all in one kit. And I’m all all about toys that enable kids to learn through play. So they can craft, plant, water, and watch their own ecosystem grow. Plus, everything you need is included in the kit. So that’s a mom win for me. The seeds sprout in just a few days, so kids get to see their results fast. And once the terrarium’s complete, glow-in-the-dark stickers add a magical nighttime element, transforming it from a science project into a glowing piece of room decor. It’s science-y. It also makes your room look cool. And that’s the Creativity for Kids Grow and Glow Terrarium Kit. And I really, really like that one. And then there’s one more if you’ve got kiddos that are a little more high action. My son is eight years old, and he’s kind of always bouncing off the walls energy-wise. And he loves the Magshuto Stunt Park from Fat Brain Toys. It combines strong magnetic connections, snap together action and tons of customization for open ended high energy trick shot play. So whether you’re launching, ricocheting, flipping and flying, it’s a set of ramps, stunts and targets. to allow kids to make their own ultimate trick shot playground. It’s a great option for families looking for screen-free fun that engages kids through creativity, strategy, fast-paced action. And again, it’s one of those toys that allows kids to learn through play, which I love.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Well, I have to say, I looked up that glow and grow terrarium. First of all, it’s very economical. And I think that would be a great birthday gift. That’s super cool. And it really does look neat after everything’s grown and you’ve got to put together. I love the little raccoon like roasting marshmallows over the fire. I mean, who doesn’t want to be with a raccoon roasting marshmallows over an open fire?
SPEAKER 03 :
That raccoon is so cute. Yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
I think so, too. I’m such a six year old girl and a woman’s body is ridiculous. I just bought a Care Bear mug for me and my daughter is so stupid. I’m so silly. All right. I love that thing. I have to get that for our house.
SPEAKER 03 :
Embrace your inner child is what I always say. You’re never too old for play.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
Join Angie Austin and Jim Stovall as they bring you ‘The Good News’ and delve into the heartwarming topic of gratitude during the holiday season. This episode explores the true spirit of Thanksgiving, looking beyond the chaos of holiday preparations to focus on the values of thankfulness, connection, and family. Listen as they share personal anecdotes about avoiding political debates at family gatherings and how creating a space for thankfulness can transform the holiday experience.
