It's night Side with Dan Ray on WBS Boston's new video.
Thank you very much to call. I hope you have a great weekend. It's Friday. We've made it to the end of another week almost. I hope you have a great weekend. It's going to be nice weather. Get out there and enjoy yourself. You deserve it. My good friend Nicole Davis one of the best in the business, that's for sure. Rob Brooks is also one of the best in the business. He's back in the broadcast central control room in beautiful Medford, Massachusetts at the iHeart Broadcast Center.
Rob always good to have you along board here. Rob is the guy that takes your phone calls and sets you up. So you've got to be nice to Rob or you don't get on the air. It's as simple as that. My name's Dan Ray. I'm the host of Nightside. You don't have to be nice to me. You'd be
nice if you were nice to me. But I'll put you on no matter what your point of view is, because we believe all points of view are welcome here on Nightside, and they continue to be We will be talking about the visit of President Vladimir Vladimir Zelensky from Ukraine, meeting ironically with both the Vice President Kamala Harris and also former President Donald Trump, and we'll kind of ask the question about which one of them, if you are interested in Ukraine, is that an important issue to you.
I think it's a very important issue, and which one of those candidates, should they be elected president, would handle the issue the best. We'll also talk about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya, who's speech his addressed to the United Nations today and boy he pulled no punches. And of course we have tonight in our twentieth and final hour of the week at eleven o'clock, our monthly presidential twenty twenty
four snap poll. All we want to do is find out who you'll be voting for if the election were held today. Well, before we get to all of that, we have four really interesting guests, and I think all of you know if you listen to this show, that I love apples, but most specifically Macintosh apples. Joining us now is David Bedford. He is with the Department of a Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota, and it says, I'm assuming it's Professor Bedford that you were an apple breeder.
I didn't even know apple breeders exist. Is that a mispressure? Is that an actual characterization?
No, that's accurate. There are not that many of us in the world, so you may not have heard of us. But yeah, we're alive and well, but just a small group.
Yeah, the Minnesota Twins were to change their name for some reason, they could call them the Minnesota apple breeders. Okay, what does what does an apple breeder do? I think I know, but I know you can explain it much more effectively than I ever could.
Yes, Well, our job is to develop new varieties, and so by hybridization cross breeding, we develop brand new varieties that we hope will excite and stimulate the consumers.
Okay, Now, I'm a great consumer of apples, macintosh apples. I believe that McIntosh apples are the perfect fruit, and I believe that the perfect apple. So my question is, why would anybody mess with McIntosh apples. I go to the store and I'm confused, as mccooon McCown's and this new one, honey Crisp. Did you guys just invent honeycrisp apples?
Well, I hate to tell you, but it's been out for a while. We actually introduced it back in nineteen ninety one, and even further back we did the original breeding in nineteen sixty one. So usual, it's been around for a while, but sometimes it takes a while for the word to get out.
Okay, fair enough, okay. I remember a few years ago there was a person in our office at WBZ Radio and they were so excited about honey crisp apples were arriving, and I had never heard of them, because I'm loyal, I have a monogam mis relationship with with Macintosh apples. She was over the moon and I try the honey crisp apple apple, much to my disappointment. Tell us how they they developed the honey crisp apple? Is it like three quarter inch Macintosh in one quarter? Tell how do
we do this? I mean naked? Naked so I can understand this.
Yeah, yeah, well, I mean it's it's really as simple as human reproduction or animal reproduction. You choose a male, you choose a female, and you hybridize the two. And in our case with apples, we take pollen from one parent and put it under the flowers of the other parents and through the magic fertilization, seeds are formed, and each of those seeds are unique individual and much as with human reproduction, the male and a female, the offspring
sometimes look like the parents sometimes don't. We wish we could only pass on our good traits, but of course we can't. And that's the same issues we deal with in breeding apples.
Okay, so let me so the honey crisp would then I'm going to use shorthand that would be a cross between.
Well, it would be two apples you've probably never heard of. That would be a cross between keepsake and then just a breeding selection from our breeding program, just the numbered selection. So you know, probably in your world that's not exactly regal parentage. But here we go.
It's okay, so you're you're peering, you're peering a thoroughbread with kind of a mutt.
Well, well, your words, not mine, but.
Okay, how many how many types of apples exist in the world?
Well, I don't know the latest count, but I know it's somewhere. I mean, in terms of varieties that have been recorded, it's over seven thousand through Wow.
Wow.
Okay, so you.
Guys have a lot, have a lot to work with. What is it is, am I in the majority of the minority. I got to tell you, I love Macintosh apples, and I love Macintosh apples at this time of year. To me, they are just the perfect apple. Were Macintosh apples bread at some point back in the day.
Well yeah, yeah, actually not. I mean they were in one sense, and that every apple variety has come as a result of hybridization. Now in the case of Macintosh that wasn't human hybridization. That would have happened just from the bees bringing pollen from one tree putting to the flowers another. So we're really you know, this is the birds and bees all over.
But in case you're.
Choosing the parents. But there are plenty of good varieties that, especially in you know, the past, that came from just what we call open pollinated.
Okay, so brought something and gave us what we got.
I remember reading the story as a little boy about Johnny Appleseed. Okay, So I don't know if Johnny Appleseed was doing what you're doing in effect, And I guess Johnny Applesey was actually a person, a real person, correct.
Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, And he wasn't doing breeding, he was just taking seeds out of apples and planting them and hoping for the best. It was really like kind of spreading lottery tickets.
Okay, so let me ask you this, and again I'm fascinated by what you do, and I mean that honestly. I hope you can tell from the enthusiasm my questions and I am running out of time. Let's assume when someone has a delicious Macintosh apple and they carefully take the eight or ten or twelve seeds out of the Macintosh apple, that person has no idea if that's a male apple or a female apple. I assume the average person.
Well, yeah, if it's an apple, then it's then it's the female. I mean every apple three male and female. But when we talk about taking seeds and an apple, that means an over has been fertilized. So that's the female part. Okay, and yes, but more importantly those eight seeds. As he took a thousand seeds out of Macintosh apples, There's two things I can tell you for sure. Number one, you'll never get another Macintosh tree out of those seeds. And number two, no two of them are alike.
So what the heck was Johnny apple Seed doing? When he was running around and planting the apple seeds in the ground. That's what the sties that I read.
Yeah, yeah, he did, and every one of those would grow into a tree, but it would be an unknown commodity. So in terms of the quality of those those fruit, they're almost certainly not that great. But you know, but back in that time, the standard was pretty low, and you know where a majority of that fruit went into hard cider. So at that point it really didn't matter how bad they were.
Yeah, the end products what results. So was he basically producing trees that had what we call crab apples.
Some of them probably were, you know, it just depends on the parents that those seeds came from, but there could have been some that were, some were a little bigger. I'd say almost certainly they would be generally considered pretty low quality by today's standards as well. Belows and macintoshed.
You know, we don't script these questions, so bear with me, professor. Where do macintosh apples get where are they endemic to? Are they a United States apple? Are they a northern Western hemisphere apple? Where where did they come from?
Because the next time I yeah, yeah, it was a chance discovery, but it came from Canada, and I don't recall you know, I know they've gone backwards and kind of figured out the parentage, but it wasn't a cross so it wasn't a matter of going into the records and saying, oh, okay, this is to go backwards.
It would have been done by Nature's what you're telling me.
I think that's right. Yeah, perfect, exactly.
I really enjoyed this conversation, Professor Bedford. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
Oh yeah, I have.
Yeah.
We have a community here in Boston, the greater Boston area called Bedford, Massachusetts. And of course there's also a Bedford, New Hampshire. It's probably a pretty common town, but at least those are two towns that I know of. Thank you for your expertise and bearing with some of my seemingly silly questions, but they actually would because I really am fascinated by what you do and I stand in awe. Thank you with the science that's involved in this. So
thank you so much. And you are, indeed, I assume a golden golfer.
Correct, you had to bring that up.
That's you, that's your school let's learned to come up with a problem, come up with an apple, and call it a golden golfer. I'm telling you that that would be a huge seller.
Yeah, okay, I'll keep that in.
Mind, thanks, professor. All Right, let's go too a quick break and we come back. Do you do you a little hesitant about speaking publicly? You know, speaking to groups, or speaking on the radio, or speaking on television. I have that same fear, and we're going to talk to someone's gonna help me get rid of that fear. Her name is Linda Ugloh. I hope I'm pronouncing it right. She's a local author and she's written a book, Delight in the Limelight, Overcoming your fear of speaking in front
of people. We're going to learn a lot in this next conversation right back on night Side.
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Well as anyone who's following my career of thirty one years in television and now beginning year number eighteen, doing this program Night Sat with Dan Ray, you know that I'm kind of a shy guy and I have a fear of public speaking. So we tonight have with us. Linda Ugelow. She's a local author and she's written a book, Delight in the Limelight, Overcoming your fear of speaking in front of people. Linda, Finally, finally I got you on my show. How are you?
I'm great, and I'm so sorry that you've suffered all of these years.
All these years. When I was a little boy and we would go to mind I'm not going to say which grandmother was, but she was sort of strict, and she would caution my brother and me, who were little devils, children should be seen and not heard.
Yep.
I have not followed her admonition to this day, but there was a point in time when I had to overcome an apprehension. I remember the first time in college I had to speak in front of a class. We were in a public speaking class. I was terrified. I was terrified. How can people overcome the fear? I have no idea if I've ever come overcome that fear, but I'm doing the best I can. How do you what can you do? What can you do well?
I think one of the things that people misunderstand about it is that they try superficial or surface solutions. So practicing more ignoring the fear and just doing it anyway, or reframing the fears excitement. And it's not like any of these things are wrong, but they won't necessarily get to the fear because what I have discovered is that
the fear is not random. We have a fear of speaking with good cause because meaning there are times in the past that we were ridiculed or bullied or made fun of, or ignored or somehow led to believe that it wasn't safe to speak up or be the center of attention.
So that is the apprehension that is instilled to us, maybe by.
My grandmother, maybe by your grandmother, or maybe maybe in school or you know. For me, part of it was the jealousy of my sisters. My mom would put me on a pedestal and they she'd say, why can't you girls be more like Linda?
She's good?
Why aren't you good like her? And that was their cue to attack me, and they'd kick me in the shins and they'd say, shut up, stupid. And when I realized that, it was like Gough, of course, I'm not comfortable because I struggled with this too. I'm not comfortable being on video or speaking to a crowd because I learned it was dangerous to be put in the center of attention.
Wow, that's pretty good analysis. It sounds like a bad Walt Disney movie, but that's okay. Nonetheless, you know, I mean, and then you you blossomed. And so you have a book, which obviously I want to mention, and there may be people who are interested in the book. It is the name of the book is Delight in the Limelight. Love the title. Overcoming your fear of speaking in front of people. I find it somewhat different, to be really honest with you, speaking in front of an audience is a little more
intimidating than speaking on radio and television. Can you understand that difference?
Yes, I think you know, everybody has their own pattern. Some people are comfortable when they can see people's faces, and they would find being on radio or a podcast or making a video terrifying, and then vice versa, just like some people are comfortable speaking to their peers but not authority figures and other people. It's just the opposite, and it all depends on the patterns of our experiences. Like if you were bullied in school, or you saw kids laughing at others who got up at the front
and you know, didn't know where the country was. Then they would feel more uncomfortable around their peers. But if they had sympathetic parents and teachers, they would feel more comfortable speaking to older people.
Okay, So, folks who have that apprehension, whether it is imbued in them naturally or whether it's the consequence of some unfortunate experiences, are the lessons in your book that they can learn from? And also, do you provide one on one counseling with people. I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable spot here, but I want to know what is the extent You're an author, obviously, but are people allowed to get in touch with you? And do you do counseling with people?
I'm to say that yes and yes, so yes. In the book, I have a whole chapter that help people take inventory of their past, and a whole chapter and how to heal and clear those things away. We have another section where people learn to be kinder to themselves because people don't realize that they are actually creating a lot of anxiety by the way they're speaking to themselves. And if you don't explain, so if you get up to speak and you're about to get up to speak.
Let's say you're doing a presentation or sharing at a meeting and you say, oh my god, I'm not as good as so and so they're real natural. I don't know what I'm talking about. People are going to see that I'm a fraud I or they're going to notice I'm nervous and you're going to mess this up. You know, this kind of talk is not going to help you feel confident. So you but we don't even notice the
kind of dialogue we have in our heads. So it's very important to also take inventory of how we're speaking to ourselves and learn to replace that with encouraging words, kind words, positive reflections that are going to make you feel calmer, more relaxed, and more eager to share what you have to share. And then the third part of my book is all about how to build skills of confident presence and enjoying the sound of your voice, because speaking is our human design. Three year olds two year
olds love the sound of their voice. They loved you know, so something has happened to us. Between three we have about a.
Two and a half, well almost two and a half year old grandson who loves this sound of his voice.
Exactly, exactly. Yes, So the question is what happens between then and out. So that's about my book, and I think it's it's a great guy for anybody who wants to get over their fears speaking or enjoy the speaking. They do more. And yes, I do one on one coaching, and I also have a group program also called the Light in the Limelight, to get you from the dread to loving it instead.
Yeah, it's it's it's an interesting phenomenon because I think then when you ask people and some night I'm going to do this, what is your biggest fear? I would say that that probably a lot of people would say snakes or spiders, but a bet your significant number of people would be happy to speak in public.
Yes, I think you're right. When I did my research on this, the only thing that people were more afraid of than speaking in public were snakes.
Yeah. Have you seen the movie Snakes in a Plane? I still don't understand why they didn't get an oscar for that movie.
I don't think I would like to see that movie.
It's one of those it was a canty sort of movie, to be honest with you. It never even would have been considered. But it's a fun movie to watch if you want to scare it.
Okay, I'll consider it. I'll consider it.
Yeah, particularly maybe the Halloween week or something.
Okay.
Samuel Jackson is the star. Probably not at the top of his greatest movies, that's for sure. Snake's on a Plane.
Well, it's memorable anyway.
Oh yeah, it is definitely memorable. If you get it, yits you'll watch it and you'll enjoy it, and you'll laugh and you'll think about me, Linda, I enjoyed this conversation. You're local, by the way, you're you're somewhere in the in the eastern Massachusetts.
Correct, Yes, yes, I'm near about fifteen minute bike ride from Walden Pond.
Okay, Well, and folks can find you. I'm sure your last name is spelled ug e l ow do. What do you do? Much work? Corporate work with companies who have you know, corporate executives who are very very smart but also very very timid.
Yes, absolutely, and they don't want anyone to know that they have this issue, so they're very happy when they get over it and then they don't have to have a big reveal.
Give them two tricks. Note cards are always great, Okay, there's nothing wrong with having a few note cards. If you have a podium of dayis in front you, and look over the audience if you're really afraid, because the only people who will think you're looking over the audience, looking past the audience of the people in the back two rows. Everybody else will think that you're talking to people in the back two rows. Anyway, Linda, I really
enjoyed the conversation. Maybe we'll have you back some night and we can have people take phone calls. We'll really take phone calls and they could ask for tips. I'll bet you this one might work. We might call you back and we'll have you on for a full hour.
Okay, I would enjoy that.
Thanks very much, Linda, I enjoyed this. Thank you so much. When we come back right after the news, we're going to introduce you to a new way to live your life. It's with a life coach. Her name is Stephanie O'Day and it's called slow Living. Cultivating a life of purpose in a hustle driven world. Tips for living life slow Ahead of the World Mental Health Day. I'm going to enjoy this interview too. We're coming back right after the newscast at the bottom of the hour. My name is
Dan Ray. This is Nightside. By the way, we can catch up on our podcasts all throughout the weekend and just go to Nightside and demand anything that you missed this week. It's all there. And of course you could listen to this hour if you if you would like, and replay anything that maybe you've heard and you kind of got most of it, but not all of it. And you can listen to WBZ not Onie on the AM Dial ten thirty and the amal. You also can listen to us on the iHeart app. All you have
to do is download that app. It's for free, and you can listen to WBZ twenty four seven, three sixty five. My name's Dan Ray. This is Nightside, coming right back on Nightside.
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on wv Boston's news radio.
All right, I don't know if you've ever heard of this concept. It's called slow living, and I'm going to slow down my interview pace just a little bit to kind of get into the sense of the story I'm only getting with us. It's Stephanie O'Day she's an author and a life coach. Stephanie. Welcome. I was giving you a little bit of trouble there. How tell us all about slow living because I haven't. I haven't. I haven't lived slow in a long time. Go right ahead.
I think it's great, Dan, I have a really bouncy brain, so I am. I'm definitely trying to follow my own best advice. Slow living is the idea that if we're lucky, life is long, so don't fall into feeling behind, feeling like you're not going to meet all of your personal and professional goals. You will get there, but what I teach is how to get there in a slow, steady, and sustainable way instead of succumbing to kind of like burn out and overwhelm.
So this is kind of like the turtle and the hair face.
Yes, yes see, I didn't need to write.
A book, Dan, all right, I hope you understand. I wasn't making fun. I was just trying to sort of set the stage, if you will, for the interview, and I kind of slowed down my pace and talked about you a little bit.
So no, I think you are wonderful. You're precious thing.
Thank you, Thank you very much, I appreciate that we've just met, and that's a good start slow living, cultivating a life of purpose in a hustle driven world. I'm one of those guys who has to five or six balls in the year simultaneously during the day to keep my mind active. How do I slow it down?
So I'm okay with that, Dan, I really am. And I'm not kidding when I say that I have a bounty brain. But I want you to do the things that you want to do. So if one of the balls isn't what Dan wants to do, get rid of that ball. So that's essentially what it's about. If it's not doing things out of guilt or obligation, but it's
the things that you really want to do. And so if there's stuff on your calendar and it doesn't like make you excited and sparkly and glitterally, kind of decide on purpose whether or not this is something you really need to do or if it's just something that you've always done.
That's yeah, ask you this.
Let me like, I like to have a good exchange here. So all of us, at some point during in our lives have to work. Okay, I'm at a point in my life where I could retire if I wanted to. But I like working, okay, so I'll take that, okay, But there are a lot of people out there who feel they really have to work and they don't like I like my job all kidding aside, I really do. It's a fun job. I meet different people over the phone every night, like yourself, to deal with different topics.
But a lot of people have a job that is treagery and it's like you don't want you know, there's no challenge, and what they would like to do might be play golf all day, but they can't afford to do that. So how do you balance off of what you need to do with what you'd really like to do?
Absolutely so, I too need to work, But what I hope is that you do have some golf on your counter. Maybe not all day every day, but if you're putting off the things you want to do because you're waiting to retire or waiting for a slow season, that constantly delaying the gratification is what makes life feel druggery, and it's like it's not even fun to get out of bed in the morning. So, yeah, you probably can't play golf all day every day, But can you do it
once a month. Can you schedule that in and then put the rest of your obligations around that. That's what I'm talking about, Okay.
So it's making time for doing something that you want. I make time for doing something that I want. Even though I work a long day. I start at nine o'clock in the morning and start thinking about the show that starts at eight o'clock at night, try to make the show different and all of that. But during the day, I try to get the things done you have to get done, whether it's go to the gym, go to the store, nil some letters or whatever. Okay, And I
look at those things. They're tasks, but that I feel good about. Yeah, so I guess I don't view them that as tasks.
Yeah yeah. So to me, Dan, it sounds like you've got a pretty good mindset already, which is fantastic, and so little things. If you're stuck in an office building all day long, do something for yourself. I just read a study saying that one of the reasons smoking took off the way it did is because people were allowing
themselves a brain break every hour to go outside. So don't take up smoking, but maybe you could go walk around the building, or go to a bathroom on a different floor, or go outside, or do something throughout the
day that's solely just for you. I happened to be a really early riser, and I learned that in order to kind of feed my soul first, it was better for me to get up even earlier, because then my kids didn't need me, and I could actually pay attention to my own wants and meets before other people were demanding stuff for me. So it's just kind of reprioritizing in your brain of doing things that you really want to do instead of constantly shoving those things aside because
you think you're too busy. We're all busy.
How did you? How did you come to this? You're writing a book which is going to explain it for people who might be interested in slowing their life down a little different times, not just entirely getting off the treadmill, But how did you come to this? Did you have a book? Did you read I'm assuming did you? Did you figure this out for yourself and now you're sharing it with others? Right?
Yeah?
So what's really interesting, dan Is I got fired from writing cookbooks, so crop books are slow cookers, and that's what I used to do is I used to write slow cooker cookbooks and then my literary agent and publisher wanted me to write pressure cooker cookbooks and I don't like it. So I sort of have this like voice of God of like, hey, staff, just because you can
do something fast, it doesn't mean you should. And the way my brain worked was I wanted to get dinner over with and cross it off my list at six am and then move on. So to me, that's at six am.
I'm assuming you mean breakfast. Hopefully you're not eating dinner at six am.
No. But the way the crop loot flow cooker works is you put your food in and then I had all day long to do the stuff I wanted to do. And so that's how the two concepts got nerried.
Okay, that's good. Okay, now I get that. That's a good that's a good metaphor.
Yeah. So in general, we live in a pressure cooker world, and if you can slow it down and be more like the crop loot, there's your sound bite.
No no, no, I used to deal with sound bites when I was in TV for a long time. But you do interviews here that that is for sure. So how long has the book been out and what sort of reaction and reception have you received.
Sure?
Absolutely, So the book came from a slow Living podcast that I've been doing since the twenty twenty one because the whole world sort of did need to slow down during the pandemic, and I think people really started to reprioritize what was important to them in many ways. And then this new book just got released this week.
Good timing, Good timing. And is this your first book or have you have you written this?
Yeah?
So this is actually my eleventh book. So I was well known for the crop pot site and my make It Fast cook its Slow cookbooks, and I was fortunate enough that they landed me on the New York Times Bestsellers list for that, which was super fun.
Yeah. Absolutely, so this I hope matches some of the New York Times bestseller books. What is what are some of the other books of the other subjects that you've dealt with that that maybe people can only once they buy this book they might look for some of the others.
Yeah.
I wrote a book on intermittent fasting which was called two four six Eat. I did a memoir of how the whole crop Pot site got started, which is called the Mommy Blogger next Door. And then I have four crop Pot slow cooker cookbooks, but I'm best known for the make It Fast, Cook It Slow cookbooks.
Make It Fast, Cook It Slow. I like that. I enjoyed our conversation, Stephanie. I really did. Thank you so much too, because she's a life coach. One more time. The book is called Slow Living, Cultivating a Path of Purpose in a hustle driven world. Tips for living, Slow Living, life slow ahead of World Mental Health Day. Okay, good timing, and the book's just out Slow Living. Thanks very much, Stephanie, appreciate it.
Thank you all.
Bye. When we get back, we're going to get a little more local here. We're going to talk about a high school soccer tournament, which is actually the eighteenth annual Lois Wells Memorial Kicks for Cancer. It's tomorrow, So if you're looking for something to do on an absolutely beautiful day, which I think tomorrow is promised to us as a beautiful day, I'm going to suggest you might want to pay very close attention to my next guest. If you want to go watch some high school soccer for a
great cause. We'll be back on night's side with Steve Wells, the co founder of Lois Wells Memorial Kicks for Cancer. Back after this.
Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Nice Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
All right, I want to welcome Stephen Wells. Steven Welcome. How are you today tonight?
Great?
Dan, thank you so much for having me on so tomorrow.
You're the co founder of what will be the eighteenth annual Lois Wells Memorial Kids for Cancer. It is a huge event at Conquered Carlisle High School. But before we talk about that, tell us about your mom.
Yeah, so, my mom she was diagnosed in two thousand and six with ovarian cancer. Didn't really have many symptoms, but eventually found out she had stage four ovarian cancer and she received her treatment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, which is where we donate all the money we raised from our event, and we had an amazing experience there. Unfortunately, she lost her battle to cancer less than a year after her diagnosis in two thousand and seven, in March of two thousand and seven.
She sounds like a wonderful woman. I've read a little bit about her, and so in her memory, you have formed this event. It's an annual event. Is it always on a Saturday in September? Tell us a little bit about the history of the event.
Yeah. So the way it started was I've been coaching soccer at Conquer Carlisle High School since I graduated college. And the head coach of the team, Ray Pavlick, he's a good family friend of my family. He played soccer with my brother at Conquer Carlisle and he was the assistant coach when I played soccer there. But he just, out of an act of love, wanted to do something to support my family and me kind of you know,
just obviously through a very difficult time. So he came up with this idea of playing a game where all the players wore wells on the back of their shirts. So this was the fall of two thousand and seven. We played a single game against Boston Latin High School.
High School I want you to know, a long time ago, last century.
There you go, no, And it was a great first event. We raised eight thousand dollars, which we donated to Dana Farber, and at the time that sounded incredible and I thought this would just be kind of a one time thing. But then he surprised me. The next year he's like, we're going to do it again. And from there it's really kind of taken off, grown into multiple games and now is all all day games. And it's not even
just soccer. We also have you know, field hockey does sticks for cancer, the football team does tackles for cancer, volleyball does digs for cancer. So all these different teams are getting involved in many different student groups without throughout the school So it's grown into kind of a whole week long thing. And we also have a a thing called the Mighty Movie Spun run in five K, which is Sunday, so the day after which is you.
Got the whole calendar of events. Here is it all? Is this always in September? I mean this is a big weekend for you, but some of the other events are in other They sound like the many of them fall sports. Are they pretty much confined to this time of year or do you spread them out throughout the school year?
Yeah?
No, we always do it the last weekend in September. You know, traditionally have gotten great weather. Only only a couple of times have we had any rain. Never has it like ruined the day or anything, so it's always Yeah, the last weekend in September.
Well, what's what's interesting about it is your mom passed. It sounds like in the spring of two thousand and seven. So the first event, the one that raised eight thousand dollars, was that September in this eighteenth yees what not that it matters how much, but I'm just wondering have you been able to grow it every year? So I'm just curious, what what do you hope to raise this year?
Yeah, no, I mean people have been so generous with just well, first of all, we have a whole committee that you know, works to make this happen, led by our fearless leader, Trish Sefer, who is a mother of a player on the team, and she's had several players come through our program. And so last year, just for comparison,
we raised one hundred and twenty five thousand dollars. So it's really grown a tremendous amount since that first year of eight thousand dollars, and we're hoping to eclipse a million dollars that we've raised this year, so you'll push.
It over a million dollars well, that's just fabulous. It sounds like a great event. So what time, let's let's go. It's tomorrow, so people may not have planned for tomorrow, but willill it be? And what time does it start? And how long does it run? Gets give us the hits, runs and errors.
Go ahead, absolutely, So it's tomorrow at Conquer Carlow High School, which five hundred Walden Street, and I think the first event kicks off at like eight am and then we'll run through there. There will be stuff basically all day and kind of the culminating event is our varsity boys soccer game and we play Lincoln Sudbury High School. That's at six forty five, and that's kind of like the
culminating event. But we have many different towns involved, not just Conquer Carlow, but a lot of Lincoln Sudbury, your your alma mater, Boston, Latin Whalen, well, yeah, I stop.
Looking at it right now, I get Whaleen, Lincoln Sudbury, Weston is involved there, Bedford Acting, Boxborough, Cambridge, Yeah, virtually, Arlington Act Acting, BAK to all different teams in different sports, Varsity boys soccer, girls, varsity soccer, ninth grade boys ninth grade girls football varsity football. You got, yeah, you got a varsity football game going on at high noon concor con Im, Waltham. So this seems like a great, great day,
great event for an absolute great cause. And again, what I read about your mom's to be just an absolute amazing woman. So thanks for following in her spirit and turning, you know, a tragedy and the loss of a loved one into something that's going to help all the research that needs to be done to beat some of these various forms of cancer that all of us, at one point or another might face within our community, within our family. So thank you very much for what you do on this, Steve,
and best of luck tomorrow. And I'm glad we had a chance to have it here in the show. Have you here in the show? And next year, let's do it a little earlier in the week so people can plan and build this Saturday schedule around it.
Okay, that sounds great, Dan, thank you so much for having me.
You're very welcome. Steve Wells, the co founder of the annual Lois Wells Lois Wells Memorial Kicks for Cancer Saturday, September twenty eighth, And that's tomorrow. All right, you can go there if you want to find the information. Just kicks for cancer, the numeral one dot org. We'll do it. All right, we get back. We're going to talk about the tour of the country that the President of the of Ukraine has made in the last couple of days.
President Voladimir Zelenski has met face to face now with both of the major presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. And we'll look at that. And the question we're going to ask you is which one of those candidates do you have more confidence in handling what is going on on half a world away in Ukraine, but which we are very much committed to and involved in. My name's Stanray. This is the nights. I'd be back right after this.