A Perfectly Imperfect Union Series: Reflecting on America 250 with Rob O'Driscoll
The Whole Again Podcast: Mindfulness and Resilience through Kinstugi Wisdom airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Pause Breathe Reflect Microdose Meditations, Growth Mindset and Mindfulness Tips, to help us transform our scars into healing and resilience.
And between May and October, I'm sharing a new series I'm calling: A Perfectly Imperfect Union. It's about connecting with every day folks as they reflect on America at 250. Conversations will air every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
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What's it going to take for all of us to feel like one country again?
I recently sat down with Rob O'Driscoll, a basketball coach at the University of Maine who grew up in Philadelphia and now calls Hermon, Maine home, and we talked about this question.
He shared that we don't need to agree on everything. We just need to be sympathetic to how the other person feels, even when we don't share the feeling ourselves.
In this episode of A Perfectly Imperfect Union, Rob talks about family roots that stretch from Russia and Ukraine to Ireland and Germany, and he shares a story about a packed bar near Madison Square Garden shortly after September 11th, when the seventh-inning stretch hit and the whole room sang God Bless America together in unison.
Rob still gets chills thinking about it. His hope is that we find our way back to that feeling of connection without needing a tragedy to get us there.
And we finish up with a question Rob has for you and our next guest, Wil Davenport from TN: If you could visit one place in America you've never been before, where would you go and why?
Share your thoughts in the comments and share this episode with someone you love.
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<p> Hey there. It's Michael. Welcome to Whole Again, the show that's here in support of you creating a meaningful life and the person you're becoming. And I'm excited to share a new series with you that will air this summer as America turns 250 years old, which is still pretty young relative to many other countries across this big blue marble that we all share.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The series is called A Perfectly Imperfect Union. In 2022, I rode my bike across America from Astoria, Oregon, to the Lincoln Memorial. My wife drove our RV, and she had two co-pilots, Jester and Hope, two springer spaniels And when we did it, America was coming out of the pandemic and we were hurting.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Hurting from things that had happened prior to the pandemic, of course, going through what we all went through. And at that time, and this is something I still believe today, is that we were entering an inflection point. An inflection point for us to hopefully pause, breathe, and reflect on who we wish to become as individuals, as communities, and as a country.</p>
<p></p>
<p>As I pedaled across America, I wanted to share America's beauty with others, her natural beauty and the beauty of her people. And I also wanted to share where we were hurting As America turns 250, I believe Kintsugi, which is something we use as a metaphor here at Whole Again, is a perfect metaphor for where we are as a country.</p>
<p></p>
<p>There's so much beauty to celebrate, and we can also acknowledge that parts of us feel broken or are broken, but we can find a way to come back together, just like Kintsugi teaches us. And when we do, we don't try to erase or cover up where we have scars or blemishes. We highlight them in gold, and we celebrate them as symbols of our strength and resilience.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Kintsugi is called the golden repair, and in essence, we can see beauty in something that's perfectly imperfect. During this series, I plan to speak to at least two people in each state and the District of Columbia, so 102 conversations with real folk, as I like to say. We're gonna let the celebrities and the big influencers have their day somewhere else.</p>
<p></p>
<p>But here, I wanna reach out and talk to real people and listen to their reflections as they think about America turning 250 years old. And my hope is, is that you'll tune in to at least one, if not all 102, 'cause my theory going into this is that you'll hear different perspectives. Some may be aligned with yours, others may not.</p>
<p></p>
<p>But my hope is that you hear the goodness in your fellow citizens and realize, as Maya Angelou shared with us, "We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. I've had the privilege of traveling all over the world and all over this country, and this belief is something that I hold deep inside of me.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So yes, I do believe that we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. So if you're ready to meet one of your fellow neighbors who is an everyday American and is also perfectly imperfect like all of us, take a healthy breath in and a slow releasing breath out and get to know Rob O'Driscoll</p>
<p></p>
<p>Rob, my friend, how the heck are you? How are you, </p>
<p></p>
<p>Michael? I'm </p>
<p></p>
<p>great. How are you? I'm doing, I'm doing, doing well. Doing well. So I hope the day is off to a good start for you. </p>
<p></p>
<p>It is. I hope the same for you. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, absolutely. The sun's out. There's no humidity. It's, uh, it's a good start of the day. So for those that don't know you- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm</p>
<p></p>
<p>I was hoping you could take a moment to introduce yourself, and where are you calling in from? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Sure. Well, I'm Rob O'Driscoll, uh, originally born and raised in Philadelphia, out, and, uh, in the birthplace of the nation. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, I've lived in New York, in and around New York City. I've lived in Virginia, Harrisonburg, Virginia.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, I lived in South Jersey, outside of Philadelphia, and now I live where I'm calling from. Uh, I, I live in Hermon, Maine, which is right outside of Bangor, Maine, which is about two hours north of Portland. So I'm up- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Wow. Way- ... in Maine ... way up there. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. We're upstate. We're up here. </p>
<p></p>
<p>You're upstate, absolutely.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So for those that don't know the vacation state of Maine, and they might think of Maine and they think of lobsters. </p>
<p></p>
<p>What, what- It's na- it's named Vacationland. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, Vacationland. So what's, what's something cool about Maine that people may not know about if they've never, you know- </p>
<p></p>
<p>So, like you said, Maine is kinda known for lobsters, but it does have a lot of scenic beauty.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, some of the coastline is gorgeous. Um, Acadia National Park's up here. It's, it's beautiful. Yeah, </p>
<p></p>
<p>that's gorgeous. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Sugarloaf is a big ski resort up here, so if you're a skier, I am not, but if you are a skier, it's, there's some great skiing up here. Uh, there's a lot of moose up here. I have never seen a moose, and I've never seen a bear.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Okay. Even though, uh, even though we're kind of, you know, I coach basketball at the University of Maine, and we're the Maine Black Bears. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p></p>
<p>And, uh, and then there are a lot of moose in here. Of, of my boss is from the state of Maine. He's seen many of them, as is his family. I've never seen one. </p>
<p></p>
<p>All right.</p>
<p></p>
<p>But </p>
<p></p>
<p>it's known for moose, and, uh, and then there's a lot of beautiful scenery around here. The coastline's beautiful. There's a lot of ... It's a very green state. Um, it's, like, like, the, the nature. And, um- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>I think it's one of only four states that doesn't allow billboards. So- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Oh, wow. Okay. </p>
<p></p>
<p>That's a f- ... you're driving up and down 95, you're not seeing any billboards.</p>
<p></p>
<p>It's beautiful. </p>
<p></p>
<p>That is a fun fact. That's pretty, that's actually pretty cool. I used to- </p>
<p></p>
<p>I think it's Maine, Vermont, Alaska, and Hawaii are the four states that don't allow </p>
<p></p>
<p>them. Well, you know, it just soak in the natural beauty, right? So- Yeah, totally ... w- what, what's something that people get wrong about Maine?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, does anything come to mind? </p>
<p></p>
<p>That it's frigidly cold up here. Everybody thinks Maine is ... It, it, it is cold in the wintertime, but there's a lot of other places in the country that get 30 or 40 below, and most, most winter days, you know, the high is probably 20 or 25. Okay. It does get to zero, like, at 3:00 AM or 4:00 AM, right before the dawn, but it's not as frigidly cold as most people think.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, and if you do get cold, you can always stop into Freeport, Maine, and go to L.L.Bean and bundle up. Yeah. </p>
<p></p>
<p>You know, get some- Bundle up and get some, uh- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Get some duck boots and some fleece, and you're gonna be, you're gonna be set. Yeah. So, all right. So since you're a basketball coach, I need to ask you this because as we- Sit here right now, we're a day before the NBA finals.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So do you have a</p>
<p></p>
<p>prediction? Is it Spurs or is it Knicks? Uh, </p>
<p></p>
<p>I think, I think it's gonna be really hard to beat Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. But since we are talking about Maine, Cooper Flagg is from the state of Maine. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, his twin brother Ace plays on our team. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Oh, wow. All right. </p>
<p></p>
<p>So, uh, it, it's, uh, you know, that's, that's another thing that Maine has is, is the Flaggs, so.</p>
<p></p>
<p>The Flaggs. All right. Yeah. So I do like your prediction. Growing up I was a George Gervin, the Iceman fan. So, uh- He played for the </p>
<p></p>
<p>Spurs too ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>so I will be putting energy towards the Knicks 'cause I live in this area. Yeah. And orange is one of my favorite colors, and orange is one of their primary colors in their logo, but I'm right there with you.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I think it's gonna be hard. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Living in, living in and around New York City during the '96 and '98 run when the Knicks were in the finals before, uh, th- there's no place like Madison Square Garden to see them. </p>
<p></p>
<p>There's no place like Madison Square Garden. Absolutely. Absolutely. So let's say you're, um, you're having a picnic there in Maine this summer Maybe there's some lobster and maybe there's some other Maine blueberries.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Who knows? Mm-hmm. And you're with friends, you're with colleagues, neighbors, and they ask you, "Hey, Rob, what does America mean to you?" How do you respond? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Well, it's home. I mean, it's, it's the country that I was born in, it's the country I've lived in all my life. And when you say America, it's... You know, I'm, I'm very patriotic.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I coach sports, so we just came off a, a USA hockey team. Yes. Won in the gold, both men and women. Um, and I think for, for me, I've been fortunate enough to be in 46 of the 50 states. Oh, nice. I haven't been to South Dakota, Oregon, New Mexico, and Wyoming. But other than that, I've been to every other state, and there's, there's places of beauty in this country that are very different from other parts.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I mean, I lived in New York City, and if you go to Wyoming or go to some of the open states out there, it, it's very, very different. And then I think it's, there's so many places in this country that are beautiful to see, and everybody's kinda unique. Every place is unique to itself. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, I hear you. So I've been to three out of those four states you haven't been to yet.</p>
<p></p>
<p>That's surprising. My wife is from Oregon. Uh, so in Oregon, during the summer you have to bundle up and wear a sweatshirt to the coast- Ooh ... the Pacific Ocean, 'cause it's that cold, but the bea- natural beauty is fabulous. I rode my bike through Wyoming, and with that, Yellowstone. Uh, so just gorgeous, gorgeous.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And then I had a big, like, life-altering thing happen in New Mexico, but I- Heard. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Glad you're back ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>my life was saved there too, so it was a little bit of bittersweet, but New Mexico also has a ton of natural beauty, and I still gotta make it to South Dakota. That's one state I have- Yeah ... not been to, so.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Mount </p>
<p></p>
<p>Rushmore, right? You gotta </p>
<p></p>
<p>go. Mount, Mount Rushmore. My wife- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Well, I, maybe </p>
<p></p>
<p>you and I </p>
<p></p>
<p>can go together- ... my wife has been- ... 'cause I've never been there either, </p>
<p></p>
<p>so. Absolutely. Yeah, so- Maybe we can make a trip </p>
<p></p>
<p>to Mount Rushmore. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Absolutely. That would be, that would be awesome. So a lot of people have a story, you know, a family story- Mm-hmm</p>
<p></p>
<p>whether it's through ancestry, immigration, uh, you name it, to this land, this country. Do you know much about how your family came to America? </p>
<p></p>
<p>So on my mom's side, uh, she's both Russian and Ukrainian. And I know- Okay ... they're kind of at war now, but. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah . Yeah, they're, a little conflict there. </p>
<p></p>
<p>So my, my great-grandmother growing up only spoke Russian to me until I was two years old.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Oh, wow. She passed away when I was two. Um, and then my grandfather on my mom's side passed away when he was in his mid-30s. So- Wow ... my grandmother basically ran a tailor shop in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, and raised two kids and, you know, was a widow a- with- She was a widow in her 30s with a 13-year-old and a two-year-old daughter, and she basically ran a tailor shop, uh, out of Phoenixville that, uh, put her kids through school and, you know, basically put a, you know, a great life for everybody.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And my, my mom, uh, was very fortunate that, that she was able to take advantage of, you know, the American dream and make a life for For her kids </p>
<p></p>
<p>Wow, that's so cool. That's awesome. So as someone with an O apostrophe- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, my dad's Irish ... wh- </p>
<p></p>
<p>yeah, okay. So. I was like, it's the Irish Russians or the Russian Irish </p>
<p></p>
<p>or- Correct.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Or I'm a, I'm a mutt. Uh, my dad is Irish and German, and my mom's Russian and Ukrainian, so- That's </p>
<p></p>
<p>cool ... I'm </p>
<p></p>
<p>a little bit of mix of everything. Uh- All </p>
<p></p>
<p>right. S- so do you keep the apostrophe? 'Cause I had to dro- I dropped it a long time ago because computers always was giving me, like, grief. So- </p>
<p></p>
<p>I, </p>
<p></p>
<p>I do keep the apostrophe</p>
<p></p>
<p>there's big controversy in my family 'cause yeah, I, I dropped it ... but </p>
<p></p>
<p>every time I log on to any website and have to put in your name, it doesn't allow it. Yeah. Um, half the time when I make a reservation at a hotel, they don't have me. When I say O-D-R-I-S, and then I'm say, "Go the apostrophe." "Oh, there you are."</p>
<p></p>
<p>So some people recognize it, some people don't recognize it. I understand why you dropped it because it is a pain, but I'm keeping it and I've kept it this long, so I might as well keep going. </p>
<p></p>
<p>That's good. Well, I, I would encourage you to keep it. A funny story. Yeah. My youngest just ran the Buffalo Marathon.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Ooh. And so they had a whole, they had a whole like bu- billboard, if you will. It, and it's small. It wasn't a lot of ... It's not a huge marathon like New York City. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm. </p>
<p></p>
<p>So she went to look for her name. She wanted to get that photo op, and so she went to all the O'Briens without the apostrophe, and she didn't see- Oof</p>
<p></p>
<p>her name. She was like ... Or actually it was without, without, or either way. Yeah. But like she didn't see it, and we're like thinking, "I think it has to do with the apostrophe." And sure enough, she went to the other side either with or without the opposite, and she was like, "Oh, there we are." And so, yeah. So technology, right?</p>
<p></p>
<p>So that's ... It gets us to a question. Current day, lot of back and forth. It feels like every day there's some type of reference to AI, you know? Ooh. Is it gonna liberate us? Is it gonna eat us and end humanity? As, you know, just as a fellow citizen, as a basketball coach, uh, how do you, how do you see AI? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Well, growing up in Philadelphia, when you say AI, the first thing that comes to mind- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p></p>
<p>is Allen Iverson. So- Yeah, yeah, we're talking about practice ... I </p>
<p></p>
<p>assume we're talking about artificial intelligence. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, we're talking about artificial intelligence. But when </p>
<p></p>
<p>everybody </p>
<p></p>
<p>says </p>
<p></p>
<p>AI to me, I, I always have to stop myself. Yeah. Are we talking about Allen Iverson here? No, we're talking about artificial intelligence.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. </p>
<p></p>
<p>So- So AI is, is kinda to me, uh, like many technol- technological advances. I'm sure there, there's great opportunity and there's great things to come with it and from it. I also think as in any social media or platform or technology, there's There's ways that we have to be careful to make sure it doesn't kind of overtake everything we do.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And- Yes ... you know, I, I'm fearful this generation, that they're not gonna understand how to write anymore or think, because all you have to do is speak into ChatGPT and it does it for you. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yes. Yeah. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Um, so I, I think just like anything, it, it, like technology, there's, it's obviously great. It's, it's amazing that it's there.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, I'm fearful, uh, that it's gonna be, I don't wanna say misused, although it can be misused, but I'm, I'm fearful that it's gonna be, you know, today's generation is not gonna be able to think for themselves 'cause AI's gonna do all the thinking, which- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah ... is, is kind of reality, so. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, it takes away from just our human quality, right?</p>
<p></p>
<p>Right. You know, if we just- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Right ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>decide to, uh, offload everything to AI, it's like, okay, what, let's remember what makes us human so we can connect- Mm-hmm ... with one another. And so that, that leads me to my next question that I've been asking people. If, you know, there's obviously a lot of discussion around how divided the country feels or, or is, uh, so there's, you know, some cracks.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I use Kintsugi as a metaphor for my podcast, just that Japanese art form where it breaks, but we, it finds a way to come back together and we highlight those breaks, you know, as signs of our strength and resilience. If you had to work on fixing something, maybe not perfectly, but maybe a meaningful first step that could help us become more connected, uh, to heal or even to grow the country, what would it be?</p>
<p></p>
<p>I think everybody needs to be, not necessarily empathetic, but sympathetic to others' feelings. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. More understanding and open. I, I think- Uh, y- you know, it's a very divided country right now. A lot of people are on polar opposite, uh, ends of the spectrum, and they feel very strongly. But it's, uh, you know, it, it's okay to have friends that don't agree with you and, and have different- Sure</p>
<p></p>
<p>feelings. You know, that's why they have vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream, right? Everybody- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Absolutely ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>differently. But it takes me back to, and it's a shame that you have to have, uh, a great good come out of something so tragic, but I was living in and around New York City when September 11th happened.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Oh, yeah. Um, and I remember during that time everybody was kind of one in New York City, and you would walk down the street where many times before that, and I'm sure many times now, everybody's focused in their own world. But you would look at everybody and, and ask them how they're doing and actually mean it.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And, you know, my life has always centered around sports. I'll, I'll remember I was at a bar down the street from Madison Square Garden shortly after September 11th when baseball came back. I know they had that 10-day or two-week hiatus- Sure ... but it was in late September. And during the seventh-inning stretch everybody, you know, sings God Bless America, and it was a packed bar, it was a Thursday night, and the entire bar sang the song in unison.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p></p>
<p>And it still, when I think about it now, gives me chills down my spine because it was just, it was amazing to be a part of, it was amazing to take place in that, and Obviously we were under attack from, you know, the world at that point. But I think everybody came together and it, and that's kinda my, my hope is that everybody can say, "Okay, like I, I don't necessarily have the same beliefs as you, but I understand why you feel that way, or I at least respect that that's how you feel that way and that's okay."</p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. I hear you. I was in the hospital during 9/11 and so I, I had, had a lot of time to watch a lot of the news coverage. Obviously just the horror of it. But also the coming together and, you know, a lot of times it, it does take tragedy to bring us together. Although it shouldn't. It, we shouldn't have to- It shouldn't</p>
<p></p>
<p>like go to that- It </p>
<p></p>
<p>shouldn't. Yeah ... </p>
<p></p>
<p>depth to find a way to get connected and see each other. You know, back then in 2001 there were, there were no sm- smartphones. I think maybe there was a BlackBerry. But now- Yeah. Yeah ... if you walk the streets of New York you have to be careful that someone doesn't walk into you because they got their head down in their phones, you know?</p>
<p></p>
<p>And that's- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. </p>
<p></p>
<p>That is true ... that's one of the things that keeps us divided. But I, I like what you have to say as far as being empathetic and sympathetic. You know, we, we all have different lived experiences. We're all coming from different parts of the country, different parts of the world, and we'll see things differently, but that doesn't mean we have to be each other's enemy, right?</p>
<p></p>
<p>And so, uh, which if sometimes it feels like that's our current reality. So, um, so you mentioned vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream, so it's a birthday coming up, America's 250th. Generally speaking, people have cake. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Mm-hmm. </p>
<p></p>
<p>So what kind of cake are you serving for America's 250th? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Ice cream cake. Ice </p>
<p></p>
<p>cream cake.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Vanilla and </p>
<p></p>
<p>chocolate with sprinkle in the m- with the Crunchies in the middle. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Okay. A little... I- is it like a Carvel ice cream cake? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Carvel ice cream cake is my favorite. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. Yeah, buddy. Yeah. </p>
<p></p>
<p>If you have to go- That's what we're talking about ... if you have to go traditional sheet cake, I'm kinda plain. I like a vanilla sheet cake with vanilla icing, but I'm- All </p>
<p></p>
<p>right.</p>
<p></p>
<p>That's cool ... I'm kinda like my daughter. I'll eat the icing and not the cake. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah. Well, hey, hey, buttercream frosting is pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Like you, you can g- you can, uh, smear that on some graham crackers and you got a meal, right? Yep. That's pretty good stuff. All right, so as you're blowing out 250 candles- Mm-hmm</p>
<p></p>
<p>and if it's an ice cream cake we gotta blow these candles out quickly. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Out quick. </p>
<p></p>
<p>What's the wish? </p>
<p></p>
<p>The wish is that kind of what I said about, uh, you know, what if we could repair everything. That, that everybody is, is more sympathetic to everybody's feelings, and we can kind of not get back to the point where it's a, it takes a tragedy to, to unite us, but- </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah</p>
<p></p>
<p>get back on the same, uh, not necessarily the same wavelength, the same page as everybody else, but the ability to coexist with everybody a- and be okay. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Yeah, I like that. That's cool. Awesome. So I've been asking the person I've chatted with before you- Mm-hmm ... see if they have a question for you. So Becky from Iowa, home of the University of Iowa.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Yes. </p>
<p></p>
<p>So, uh- </p>
<p></p>
<p>And Iowa State. </p>
<p></p>
<p>And Iowa State, but she... We've talked about basketball during- Yep ... our chat, so she, she gave props to Ca- Caitlin Clark. You know- Yep. Yep ... obviously a big, uh, big famous citizen there in her, her hometown. So she wants to know, what's a smell that takes you back to a positive childhood experience?</p>
<p></p>
<p>So I, uh, when I was growing up, I had a aunt that always made these pineapple tarts. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Ooh. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Um- </p>
<p></p>
<p>I like the, </p>
<p></p>
<p>I like the sound of this ... and they were phenomenal. I would, I would love going over Aunt Catherine's house just to eat her pineapple tarts. So if I- If you get to a bakery and you smell the pineapple and a, and a tart in, and it takes me back to my Aunt Catherine's pineapple tarts.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I love it. </p>
<p></p>
<p>It was </p>
<p></p>
<p>delicious. That's so cool. I like it. That's a g- that's a g- that's a great memory. It's a great memory. So what question do you have for the next person I chat with? </p>
<p></p>
<p>So I would say, you know, America's a great country. Um, I've been fortunate enough to be in a lot of, to visit a lot of the places.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Uh, I think there's only, like, three or four major cities I haven't been to, but in America, if you could visit one spot where you haven't been before, where would you wanna go and why? </p>
<p></p>
<p>All right. Well, I will ask the next person I talk to in our series that very question. So Rob, thanks for joining me. It's awesome- Thank you.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Thanks so much ... to connect, and, uh, thanks for putting a good ripple into the world and helping us become a more perfect union. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Happy to do it. Thanks. </p>
<p></p>
<p>Peace.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I'm not sure about you right now, but I'm a little hungry for one of Aunt Catherine's pineapple tarts. These sound really good. I'm so thankful to sit down with Rob. I loved what he had to share. I love his connection to my university, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. And I met Rob through one of our previous guests here on our Perfectly Imperfect series, Shane McKee.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And as you heard, Rob threw out a pretty bold prediction about the NBA Finals, so we'll see how that all turns out. As always, thanks for listening. Thanks for being here. I hope you'll check out more of our series as we march towards Election Day and America celebrating its 250th birthday. Until then, let's remember to celebrate our scars as golden symbols of our strength and resilience.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And don't forget to have fun storming the castle.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And if you wish to learn more about creating beautiful ripples and how to prevent a bad moment from turning into a bad day, please visit my website, MichaelOBrienShift.com, and sign up for my newsletter called The Ripple Effect. And join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here at Whole Again, and discover how you can heal, grow, and become more resilient, and celebrate our scars as golden symbols of strength and resilience.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Until then, remember, you can always come back to your breath. You've got this, and we've got you.</p>
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