Think about taking classes in Digital Marketing, International Marketing, talking about and imagining the future. How about Artificial Intelligence? Did you know it is here and coming to our world even more, every day?

How about one of your college classes going to Europe for a few weeks, for learning and bonding with other students while meeting people in other countries...say, Spain or France?

Such is the academic world of Patrice Nealon, a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at N.C. State as she leads her students into the world of the future with such phrases as "just imagine" or "what if".

In this podcast, you have the opportunity to see and listen to Patrice and perhaps learn a bit of what the future holds for all us.

You will not want to miss this one!

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed unless it is faced."

It is in the telling of stories that we learn that life has meaning, and that things that happen to us, "happen not just by accident like leaves being blown off a tree in the wind, but that there can be a purpose to them."

These thoughts are expressed by the minister and writer, Frederick Buechner, in his acclaimed book, "A Magnificent Defeat".

But first, for certain things to happen or begin, we must often make decisions, sometimes tough ones, when we do not know the final consequences that will follow.

That is where Faith comes in. That is what happened with me. This podcast is a telling of making tough decisions a long time ago, from which the direction of my life was changed forever. This is a telling of stories that I hope might give some meaning to your life.

For over two weeks, a small several weeks old, gray kitten lived alone in a parking garage in the apartment complex where I live.

Residents fed him and tried to catch him. Two wanted to adopt him. But no luck...nothing, as he would scamper away to underneath cars where he spent most of his days and nights.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon on the weekend after July 4, success! Named after the parking garage where he had lived, for who knows how long, Parker was saved.

There are so many Parker stories all over the world. Some are saved, others are not. This is the story of one who was lucky enough to find a forever home with a new Mom.

"We hold these truths to be self - evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Today, we celebrate with millions of cookouts all over the country, with hot dogs, hamburgers, perhaps some chicken or shrimp, chips, baked beans, slaw, ice cream (homemade if you are lucky) swimming pools, fireworks, and lots of music and entertainment.

That is exactly what our founding fathers envisioned...to celebrate!

Don't miss this happy and lighthearted podcast about the 4th of July!

The Scriptures tell us that "Weeping may stay for a Night but Joy Comes in the Morning". Inspired by those words from Psalm 30:5, this new podcast is my take on writing a letter to myself, saying and reaching for advice on starting over, doing something worthy, making a difference, finding technicolor moments and overcoming stress.

My letter makes me hopeful, as there are so many things left to do, from walking to cooking, to having new guests on my podcast, to making new friends, having a cup of coffee early on the morning on the beach, and well, you get the idea.

I bet you could write such a letter to yourself. Think about it.

Hope to see you this week on Grit - Stories of Resilience, with a new podcast, Joy Comes in the Morning.

Post MacDonald, and the publication of "Fatal Vision" there came more MacDonald, paper backs of Joe's book, the NBC Mini-Series, Duke Hospital, the legal process, and then a multi-years drama over whether MacDonald should get a new trial.

Though it all, there were many conversations with Wade and Joe and finally. in 2012, there was a Hearing in Federal Court, where I spent the better part of an afternoon as a witness.

It would take eleven more years, the summer of 2023, before a ruling by the Supreme Court ended it all.

It has been a long time since 1979, a trial, and the beginning of two life-long friendships.

This Podcast are the final stories from that time. I am glad they were on my side.

Wade Smith, one of the best lawyers in the United States for over fifty years, Joe McGinniss, a well-known author of twelve books, including multiple New York Times best-selling books, and I met in 1979 during the Jeffrey MacDonald triple murder trial in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Last week, in the Podcast Stories from the Road - Wade Smith, Joe McGinniss and Me - Part One, I recounted stories from the trial as Wade was a major defense attorney for MacDonald and Joe was embedded with the defense team during the trial, ultimately writing the best-selling Fatal Vision after it was all over, and MacDonald was convicted.

We became good friends that lasted in Joe's case until his death from cancer in 2014. Wade is still Wade and going strong.

Part Two is a continuation of those stories both from the trial and in the immediate years that followed. There are so many to tell. These are a few of the best.