Healing Hurricane Sandy on Shedding the Bitch Radio

Well, good day everyone. This is Bernadette Boas and you are listening to Shedding the Bitch Radio, and I welcome you on this very crazy, hectic, and important day for multiple reasons. And so let me dive into that. One, it is Election Day, so hopefully you've gotten out to vote. And you'll notice if you watch this on video replay on our Shedding the Bitch YouTube channel, I'm all snuggled up because it is very cold and raining here in Atlanta. But that's okay. That's alright. I got up first thing, was at the voting polls at 7 AM, standing in line, fortunately not in the rain, but with a decent size of people, neighbors. Good time to say hello to everybody. So if you haven't gotten a chance to get out and vote, please do. We've been talking about it a lot on the program over the last several months. And it really is up to each and every one of us to have our voice heard. And we can do that through the voting process. And that's really all I want to say in regards to that is it's early in the day, you know, depending upon where you are, could be even earlier. So just take the time, get out. Your employer supports it. If you own your own business, if you don't have a job, You know, I posted this morning on Facebook, take a look at it. Basically, we can't complain. You can't complain if you don't vote and try to do something about whatever it is that you are unhappy about or you would like to see changed. Now, switching gears, I also had gotten up this morning and I've been watching very regularly and almost with kind of this obsession about Hurricane Sandy. Now I've been through my own hurricanes. I was through Andrew down in South Florida back in the '90s, and it was not a pretty picture, and I would not have wished that on anybody, you know, in the world. And certainly other natural disasters have occurred since and prior, but since, and that also hit hard. But it really didn't start hitting me about kind of the devastation and what really is going on up north around Sandy until I guess it was Friday night. One of the, um, uh, one of the, I believe it was ABC, did a telethon and they had everybody from Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, all the typical traditional New Yorkers, New Jerseyans, Philadelphians, you know, in the tri-state area. And they— and I really started looking at the videos of the devastation, the videos of the shoreline. So that said, as you probably all know already, I am from Philadelphia, and I have 11 brothers and sisters that are up there with their families, and my mother, and God rest my father's soul. But— and fortunately, God bless, They're all good. Now I do understand that one of my brothers had some sort of fire/tree fall. I'm not quite sure. However, his home is intact. He's alive, and that's what's most important. And the rest of my family, you know, granted there was probably some water damage and some other things going on around them as well. But not anywhere near what was going on along New Jersey, along New York, into New York, Manhattan, which is another place I love and hold dear to my heart, and then up the coast. And then I just started really seeing the towns that are devastated, the 100-some-odd homes in one area that were destroyed, and the Coney Island and some of the boardwalks, Atlantic City boardwalk, We grew up going down the shore. We grew up in Margate. That's where my mother's family's homes were and my dad's. We grew up in Sea Isle. The girls would go off to Wildwood, the boys would hang out in Ocean City or Sea Isle. And every year, we talk about it here, every year my 5 sisters and I go down to Ocean City's beach and we vacation with my mother and our, um, any of our nieces that are over 21. Must be over 21. And so it all of a sudden started really hitting me hard, more so this past weekend than it did even earlier in the week. So that all said, I got up this morning, went out to vote, kind of was contemplating just what might happen after today, and it started hitting me that if there's anything I can do to help those up north and those dealing with Hurricane Sandy. I would love to do that. So I'm dedicating this show to the victims of Hurricane Sandy and to all of those that are impacted from it, whether you are suffering with a loss of life, God forbid, or home or lifestyle, whatever the case might be. And those that are impacted around it, like myself. You know, I'm here sitting here in Atlanta, but my heart is actually broken by the fact that there are tremendous amount of memories that I I have up and down that coast of New Jersey. And I am gonna pray and hope and help to get them back on their feet and bring it back even better than it was before and stronger than it was before. Because it is a gem and it is such a blessing to have an area like that to go to each and every summer. And for those of you, and I know a few, that are there year round, that live there year-round, you know, it's their home. So Shedding the Bitch Radio today is dedicated to them. And if you are watching this online, you'll also see a very, very poorly scribbled out, but a reminder that you can do your part, even as little as $10, if you text REDCROSS to 90999. And even just by doing that, like for instance, the Friday night ABC telethon raised about $23 million, if I'm not mistaken. And then I know other channels had the same type of giving and donation dedicated throughout their entire network Monday. And I just think it's, it's important that each and every one of us, even if it's a dollar, if we can contribute to them getting back on their feet. So I just want to throw that out there, and whether it's here during this program or it's on our YouTube channel or Facebook or Twitter or the blog, you know, I would love your feedback, comments. If you have a story, if you want to shout out to your loved ones up there, many of you are, I know, are still out of electricity are unable to watch television or even listen to the radio or get on the internet as a result of that. And I know all of these things will be archived, even the television shows, you know, with on-demand, they're capturing them so you can go back and when you're up and more stable, you can go back and see what the people around the country, around the world, are wishing for you, and that's wellness and safety and getting back on your feet and maintaining maintaining and growing the spirit that is the Northeast. So I want to shout out to everybody, even those— I apologize— even those up, because the storm was coming, you know, even from the south up. Anyone impacted by a natural disaster, by a tragedy, this day is dedicated to you. So that said, I just really wanted to weave it into what we were going to be discussing, and we'll move our conversations. We started conversation here along with some great guests all around kind of shedding the bitch, which as you know, we talk about helping people to discover and confront and shed the fears, insecurities, doubts, negativities, angst, attitude, ego, whatever is keeping their head and their heart away from creating the dreams that they have in their life. Those are what we call bitches. So our job here is to help you help anyone around you to shed those bitches of fear, insecurity, doubt, negativity, whatever ugly belief system you might have, and so you can create and accelerate the riches in life that you deserve. So through this tragedy, it's drumming up some of those bitches in people's, you know, in people's heart and their head. It's creating new fears, insecurities, doubts, uncertainties about their future. Yet I have to point out too, it's unbelievable the strength and resilience and support and brotherhood that is also demonstrated and unfortunately not shown as much as the devastation is. But, and there's a lot of those hero stories coming out of this whole situation too. I was watching something yesterday, uh, it was a news broadcast. I want to say it was even, um, Brian Williams, his nightly news, and they highlighted this, this young brother and sister. I want to say they were 22, 23 at best, and they obviously have a business in— I want to say it was in some part of western Pennsylvania, I could be wrong— but they had a water damage restoration business where they come in, they pump out all the water in your homes and they move on. And they interviewed the young man and he said, "I couldn't sit at home with these generators and these pumps where it's dry hoping that I'll get a phone call. So, and I need to be in New Jersey, in New York, wherever in order to help the people that most need it." So they went ahead and they posted on their Facebook page you know, we are offering free services to come and pump out the water from your home, blah, blah, blah, and, you know, please let us know how we can help. And the young lady had mentioned that she had gotten 60 or 70 messages, Facebook messages, pleading for their help within minutes of them posting that. So it's those type of things too that kind of warm the heart but also make us realize, especially on a day that is finally gonna end. It'll continue throughout the next 4 years, but it'll finally at least put a big stall in the amount of just absolute childish berating, catfighting drama that we've been experiencing over the last year, year and a half. With the election finally coming to an end. Though I do sense that there's going to be some drama about lawsuits and all kinds of other stuff from both parties, mind you. That's not to say I didn't get out to vote, but it doesn't discount the frustration that they create with all of that junk and all that drama in the media. So if we can get rid of that and really reflect on the heroes and the stories of strength and survival that are coming out of Hurricane Sandy and other life tragedies. That's, that's where I want to spend my time. That's where I want to spend my energies, my tears, my laughs, so forth and so on, is making the best out of those difficult situations and helping whoever I can and whoever my network can. So my fans, friends, and followers, my community out there in the Shedding the Bitch World, I'm just asking you to reach in your pocket. It might be shallow, might be deep, whatever you can. Might be pennies, it could be, you know, big bills. It doesn't matter. No, it's not a judgment call from anybody else but your heart as to what can— what can you do to help those that are in need right now. And I want to remind you, you can text the Red Cross, one word, Red Cross, 90999, and that will automatically donate $10. And I guess you get charged on your, your AT&T bill or your cellular bill for that. And just remember though, they'll send you a confirmation that you, that you agree to that donation, so don't forget to— don't overlook that. I tend to automatically delete stuff and only quickly look at it, especially if it comes through my phone. So, and those that, you know, know or need me, they know how to kind of call out something so I don't automatically delete them. But Red Cross, 90999, and then wait for the confirmation email, and then just agree that yes, you did want to donate. To the Red Cross. So I don't know what stories and what experiences that you're having, or that you're— maybe you're directly impacted by, even if it's from miles away. Like I said, my family and I grew up, especially on Margate Beach, when we were children. That's where my grandparents, my mother's parents, had a home. And all of my cousins, and, you know, with my 11 brothers and sisters, you can only imagine how many cousins we have. And we would go down there every summer, take our turns, family by family, to actually stay there at the Margate House. Excuse me. But, you know, and then have family reunions with just tons of kids running up and down and all over the property. And we're right on the bay. And so I do want to shout out to the Clarkin family in Margate, and those of you that are in Ocean City, but in Margate that did have, you know, your first level, being that you were on the bay, pretty much destroyed. But yet again, and you're in the construction business, so I'll hold out the fact that you'll be able to, you know, get that taken care of as easily as possible. But that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt. Doesn't mean that if there's any loss of memories or, or, you know, trinkets from all of that, that that's not, that that's not a loss as well, because it is. So I'm thinking about you, I'm praying about you, Grandpa— or Grandpa— Uncle Jimmy and the rest of you down in Margate. But so we grew up there, and then as we got older, we, my family, would go to Ocean City. My dad would take us to Ocean City, and we'd go hang out there. And then as we got even older, more into late high school, college, then the girls took off for Wildwood, and that's when the boys took off for Ocean City or Sea Isle. And we'd spend summers down there, you know, work all year to raise money to rent a house for the summer and then go off to school in the fall. So it's, you know, to see the boardwalk ripped apart or even missing not to be seen again. To see the roller coasters and the— and my family, my mother's family that are in Margate and Ocean City, they also predominantly work the bulk of the Ocean City boardwalk and they have for decades. And so it's also heartbreaking to know or realize that that could be a loss. And I don't know, I haven't seen pictures or videos of northern Ocean City and their boardwalk. I've just predominantly have seen Atlantic City and then the boardwalks and the beach towns north of Atlantic City that lost the roller coasters and Coney Island and those things. So if anybody out there has any clippings or any video, I would love to, I would love to see it. And we'll hope that between, even when we go down for our beach vacation in May, we'll hope that everybody's back on their feet and everything's back to normal by then. And some people do say, somebody said to me, I think it was one of my sisters, said, well, you know, there's 7 months before we would get down there. And 7 months seems like a long time, Yet, you know, if you ever have been in a situation like I was with Hurricane Andrew, it takes many, many, many months and even years to recover from it. However, you know, there's also the tragedies like the oil spill down in the Gulf. I have to admit, it seems like it was just yesterday that it happened. Now it's been a couple years, but they seem to be pretty much back on their feet as far as, you know, just an average Joe or Jo— Joanne can witness from afar. But they do seem to have gotten back on their feet and the cleanup, you know, got restored there. So, but please, if you have someone directly impacted, indirectly impacted in some way, shape, or form, even if they are strangers but your heart feels and goes out to them, then the Red Cross can certainly use every one of our, our help and our support. And financially is a beautiful thing. At the same time, you know, as we say, shedding the bitch is all about kind of helping people rid themselves of their fears and insecurities and doubts so they can create their rich life and create the life that they want. And so there'll be a lot of spiritual, emotional, mental healing as well that will need to go on. And therefore, you know, just putting out a hand or a hug or whisper of understanding and sympathy, then that goes a long way as well. So whether it's money or it's just your time. Everyone in the North and everyone impacted by Hurricane Sandy in some way, shape, or form can certainly use you, no matter how young or how old, and no matter how wealthy or if you, you know, are without yourself. So Red Cross, you can text them to 90999 to make a donation. You can also do it online. And I'm sure there's other facilities, other ways for people to be donating to the cause now. And all I would, you know, suggest that you do is just research them, make sure that they're viable, make sure that they're legit. Because the biggest fear I have— and actually I noticed something online the other day— the biggest fear I have, because we experienced it in South Florida, is that unfortunately in times of great need, the seedy people, that's all I'll call them, the seedy people tend to come out. And unfortunately, you know, those people in such great need can fall victim and vulnerable to those seedy opportunities, like fixing your house up really dirt cheap. Or, you know, loaning you money or helping you in some way, shape, or form. Even your donations, just make sure the groups that you might be engaging are legitimate and are certified. And Charlie is having a chase with his own tail. Charlie, wanna say hi? You want to say hi to everybody? No? Okay. Then shh. Anyway, so shedding the bitch too, what we've been doing a lot here as well is asking you as individuals, specifically a large part of our audience is women, to take the pledge to focus on your own commitment to you and to focus on your commitment to discover, confront, and shed those things that are holding you back from living a full rich life. And you can do that at sheddingthebitch.com. And if you do, just as a reminder, some fun stuff. If you do, then every Friday we have our drawings that will lead up to our big drawing. But every Friday we have our drawing on Facebook that gives out Shedding the Bitch prizes like our mugs, and we have hats and books and bags and slippers and fuzzy socks, t-shirts that say, "Have you shed your bitch today?" All kinds of fun things for you to take advantage of. And it's just a little thank you for being a friend, follower, or fan of the Shedding the Bitch movement and building a community and a movement that will help bond and bring us together to really become strong, empowered, bold, fearless women and men that want to go out and change the world. And today on Chaining the Bitch Radio and on this particular day, which could be historical for many reasons, but you as an individual have an opportunity to change the face of the future. Not only by donating to the Red Cross or to any other facility that might be supporting the Hurricane Sandy victims, but also through your vote, being that it is Election Day. So if any other day in the year, especially right now with the state— mental state, physical state, financial state, spiritual state— of many of the people around you, around me, around the country. Today is the day to make a difference. And all I can say is, if you're not getting out and voting yet, or you're not planning even to vote, then shh! You can't really be complaining or arguing or debating with people when you haven't put your voice out there to be heard. Okay, so that's just that reminder. But at the same time, on a more joyful note, there's great strength, there's great resilience, there's great perseverance, there's great spirit within yourselves as well as the people around you as well as the nation. And it's never more rewarding to see all the ugliness, all the drama, all the media kind of slip away when all of a sudden people want to rise up despite their challenge, despite their strife, despite their hardship. And many of them are feeling it today, Hurricane Sandy or not, but more so because of Hurricane Sandy. The absolute brotherhood, sisterhood of the people around, around us, it can just negate all the junk and all the drama and all the crap that we're dealing with as well from the election process. But that said, we still need to vote if we want to make a difference in the world. All right, so if you have your stories, if you have your shoutouts, if you simply want to almost do like a virtual get well card to the people of Hurricane Sandy, to the people up and down the East Coast that are dealing with those tragedies. I hear there's another storm coming that could be hitting the Northeast as well. Then feel free, please, to go to Facebook or our Twitter page. Both of them are Shedding the Bitch. Go to sheddingthebitch.com, our blog, and we would certainly love to hear your stories, your shoutouts, your comments, and any well wishes that you have for the people of this country as well as, as for the Northeast. So I will leave you with this, and that is, if we can kind of shed our own kind of selfishness and that's not meant to be in a completely negative way, but sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves and in our lives and in our struggles and in our own wallowing, so to speak, that— or from the fact that we just, we don't associate or we're not directly impacted by those such as those up north dealing with Hurricane Sandy. And therefore we kind of turn a blind eye to, you know, to supporting and helping and contributing. And all I'm asking you today to do is kind of shed your own, your own self, your— and I don't want to call it selfishness, but your own self, and just kind of Do what you can. Like I said, money is not the only way that we can help each other. And just do what you can for Hurricane Sandy, for the victims, for the people impacted in your neighborhoods or strangers in that area. And together we can all really, really make a difference and change the world and have a better world to live in. As we go forward. So each and every Tuesday, we typically talk and have experts on talking about all the different ways, all the different opportunities, all the different struggles, all the different topics, issues, social stigmas that women deal with. And we try to give you tips and advice and support support to get you moving forward if you are feeling stuck or frustrated or insecure about how, how to really pursue the dreams and the goals that you have. So join us next week and the week after and the week after, every Tuesday at noon, and check out the list of guests we have coming up. And we'll be talking about all, all the life issues that impact you each and every day so you can shift From Bitch to Rich. And remember, go to sheddingthebitch.com, take our pledge, take your pledge, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and sheddingthebitch.com, and collaborate, engage, and socialize with the community. We would love to find ways to help each other create the riches and dreams and the goals that we all have for each other and ourselves. So for Bernadette Boas and everybody at Shedding the Bitch, have a fabulous rich day, and don't forget to vote. Vote! Get your vote out! Never too busy to vote! And everybody have a wonderful day. Take care. Bye.