Ep. 1630 – The Good News with Angie Austin – JIM STOVALL, THERE ARE THE GIVERS AND THERE ARE THE TAKERS / Alice Little Caldwell, March is Myeloma Awareness Month / Scott Miller, 2025 USPS Safe Driving Campaign
This episode also casts a spotlight on Myeloma Awareness Month through the touching narrative of Alice Little Caldwell, who shares her remarkable journey from diagnosis to advocacy. Wrapping up, we turn to community safety with Scott Miller, a USPS Safety and Health Awareness Specialist. As he provides valuable insights into motor vehicle safety and the significance of public awareness, Scott underscores the collective responsibility we share in creating safer roads. Tune in for an episode that promises to inspire and inform!
00:00:00 Introduction to The Good News with Angie Austin
00:00:08 Conversation with Jim Stovall on Givers and Takers
00:14:41 Introduction to Myeloma Awareness with Alice Little Caldwell
00:21:08 Safety and the Postal Service Discussion with Scott Miller
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 05 :
Angie Austin here with Jim Stovall. Every week we talk about his Winner’s Wisdom column. He is an author, a speaker, a movie maker, and we’re getting up, is it over 60 books now? I know we both lose track.
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, it’s over 50. I don’t know how close it is to 60, but it’s getting there.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay. Will you let me know when we hit 60?
SPEAKER 08 :
I will, or you’ll probably let me know first.
SPEAKER 05 :
That is like, who would have ever thought when you were losing your eyesight, they’re like, you’re going blind, that you would write so many books that you wouldn’t even be able to keep track of how many you’ve written. Come on, that’s crazy.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah. My life is I write books I can’t read that are turned into movies I can’t watch. And somehow that has gotten to the place that seems normal in my world. But I appreciate you thinking about it.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. So this column this week is givers and takers. What are you going to teach us this week?
SPEAKER 08 :
Well, you know, there are many ways we can separate each other. There are tall people. There are short people. There are energetic people. There are lazy people. You know, there are straightforward people. There are people who are not. There are all kinds of different ways. But I think one of the most significant ways we can separate people in our lives is givers and takers.
SPEAKER 06 :
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER 08 :
And not only who are we going to have in our life, but who are we going to be? And, you know, Angie, there are people when they call you or they show up, you know, you just feel energized. You have, you know, just it’s an amazing experience. And they make deposits into your emotional bank account. And then there are people that just hearing from them drags you down. You’re tired. They, you know, they… They really just suck the life out of everything. I’m reminded of that character that she created in the Harry Potter novels, the Dementors. They would go into a room and the lights would go down. They just pull the light out of the room. There are people that we all know that do that to us. It doesn’t mean you have to cut them out of your life forever. But you definitely need to control when they do and don’t come into your space. You know, right now I’m in the process of writing two books at the same time. It should never be done, but because of the way the research is coming in, I’m doing two books together. And, you know, there are people… I had one of those guys. I went to college with him. We share a lot of memories together, but every time it’s just a destination downer whenever he calls, you know, because he’s just going to tell me everything bad in his life and everything bad in everybody else’s life. And, you know, I’m just a positive, optimistic guy, and I just don’t want to… So when I’m in my creative mode, I just say, hey, I’m really tied up on some deadlines right now writing some stuff. How about I call you in a couple weeks and, you know, let me get past this and when I can get prepared for the onslaught. And because these things do affect our attitude and we need to be aware of that.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, as I was reading, you know, through this article, it’s a tough poll when, you know, these people are people you love. And, you know, there’s some people, I don’t know about you, but you just can’t really write them off per se. You know what I mean? I mean, like… acquaintances, friends, people at work that you can avoid. We used to have this one gal we called the cancer at work, you know, where, I mean, it’s terrible to say, but we just, the minute you saw her with a crowd around her, you knew what was going on, that she was saying horrible things about your colleagues, you know?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
And so we would avoid her. We’d be like, oh, the cancer’s in the newsroom again. And I know that sounds really mean, but my husband and I worked together and that’s what we nicknamed her because we wanted to avoid her.
SPEAKER 08 :
You know, in sports there are athletes that are actually called a cancer in the clubhouse or in the locker room. And they are people that, I mean, they are known for this. They create dissension. They create conflict. They create turmoil. And, you know, teams will trade people. Just because, you know, and their explanation is, you know, he’s cancer in the clubhouse. We don’t need that in Ireland. You know, and then there are players that are so dominant physically, okay, we’re going to work our way around it and make this happen. But, you know, I remember I interviewed the great baseball manager, Tommy Lasorda, years ago. And I said, what do you do when a guy can’t keep the rules or he’s got a bad attitude? What do you do with a player like that? And he said, what’s his batting average? What does that matter, Tommy? He said, well, you know, if he’s batting 250, he’s starting tomorrow in Toledo. He ain’t playing for the Dodgers anymore. If he’s batting 250, if he’s batting 300, I will work with him on it. If he’s batting 350, I will go out with him when he breaks curfew and make sure he gets home safely. It makes a big difference how good you are. But even at that, he said, there are some guys… that are just so toxic, you don’t want them around on the team. You just can’t have them. And that’s a real thing in sports. That’s why sports is a great microcosm of life, because we see it all unfold right in front of us on a field or a court, and we know what’s happening right there, and you see a winner and a loser. In our lives, all the principles are in play, but it’s a little more subtle. And I think… uh… you know we need to be aware that there are these people and as you said it is so wisely we do we don’t want to cut them out of our life their family their friends or whatever but uh… that doesn’t mean you’re going to uh… let him just should run amok during a completely fragile point in your your life for your creativity or whatever you’re doing or if you’ve been sick if you’ve been i mean there’s people you know i just don’t want to you know you know i gotta be in a good mood in a great place to have them around you know and uh… And then we need to be mindful of, are we making deposits into everyone else’s account? We need to make sure we are. Because it’s real easy to criticize them, and then if we’re not careful, we become one of them. And that just is, you know, I just, nothing better can be said of you than Angie made everyone’s life better. I mean, I just had a better life because I spent time with Angie Austin. And that’s a reality in my life with you, but that we should all strive, you know, really to be that in other people around us.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, you want when, you know, you arrive at heaven to hear the well done, my good and faithful servant. And with my kids, you know, my son tends to put his head down if he’s like pulled in baseball or makes a mistake. And my mother-in-law told him no faces, no faces in baseball. And what she means is that like sad, disgusted or angry face. And one of my kids is just like Tigger on the volleyball court.
SPEAKER 04 :
Like when
SPEAKER 05 :
pull her she’s still like oh whoever’s going in like you do this fight for it you know oh hey this is great because everybody gets pulled right so she won an award for being like leader of the pack and the coach said every we know everybody gets pulled but when you pull her there’s no face there’s no angry there’s no tears she just comes and high-fives everybody and then stands there and encourages the team i watched my youngest kid get pulled in basketball um, last weekend and, um, you know, everybody gets pulled, you know? So, I mean, just about. And so we, we talked to her afterwards on the way home. It’s like, did the coach say something to you? Were you having a bad attitude? I didn’t have my glasses on. So I couldn’t see if she was making faces or, you know, being crabby. And she said, no, no, I wasn’t. I didn’t do anything. He just told me I need to hustle more or something like that. But we expressed to her how important that is. That’s as important to us as how they play is how they behave. And, um, I was thinking every day we were discussing, um, a player who’s actually pretty decent. And it’s kind of what you said about Lasorda with his team, but it didn’t have to do with the player and the attitude. It had to do with the mother and the things that she says around the team in the stands, the things she says about other players, and the things that recently she said to other parents in pretty salty language. And so I said to my husband, I feel so sorry for that kid because she’s not a bad player, but anyone of equal quality strength or talent is going to get picked over her if they don’t have a mom that’s causing problems in the crowd.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, and parents, particularly around sports, need to realize that I know guys that have coached Little League for literally 40 years, and they’ve told me they may have one player out of 40 years that actually ever makes a living playing baseball.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good point.
SPEAKER 08 :
In 40 years. So most of these kids are never going to see a baseball field beyond junior high school or high school. But every one of them is going to grow up to be an adult and live in our society. And it’s the lessons they’re learning there that’s going to make all the difference.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, you’ve taught me a lot of things that your late great friend John Wooden, who is one of the most winningest coaches in the history of basketball, if not the college basketball, just the things that he taught. And it was so simple, you know, don’t be late, don’t curse, and don’t trash talk your teammates were some of his big rules. It’s like, how easy is that?
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah, and it’s just absolute – just the simple things of life you want to have. He would always tell his players, when we’re on the road, we leave the locker room as neat as it was when we got here or better. well players never think about i don’t have to do this they got people clean this up i don’t need to do this now you know it’s a habit anything you do is important because the way you do anything is the way you do everything and if you get in the habit of just being a mess and letting other people clean up after you you’re going to go through life having a lot of people resent you i always got to clean up after this guy and uh you know it’s just nice to realize that um And he told me about a time when he and his players were on the road, and there was a worker that worked in that arena, and he was in the back shower room while they were having a meeting, and he was using some really foul language. And he said, I stepped over there and said, sir, could you watch your language? And he said, I’m sorry, coach, are there ladies present? He said, no, but we’re working on having some gentlemen here. And I thought, that is a powerful statement. I mean, you know, why? Why would you do that? Why would you do that when you don’t need to? And, you know, everything matters. And, you know, and it goes back to his statement, what would I do right now if I were amazing? And you would be a giver, not a taker. In every situation, we have an opportunity to be a giver or a taker.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and I think about that when you told me a couple times you’ve talked about your family reunion and there’s someone that you bump into that is this very unpleasant person. And I had this discussion with my mom recently. Mom, how come in a situation I can say, oh, these three really great things happened today and it was so wonderful. And she’ll go, yeah, but you know what happened at the restaurant when the waiter came by. Oh, and your daughter, you know what she did this morning. I said, how come in every situation I can find the bright side And how come on every situation your mind can find that one sliver of negativity? And she literally said to me, because she’s not a bad person. She said, I don’t know. I feel like it’s just how my brain works. And I’m like, well, let’s figure out a way for your brain not to work that way. Could you also tell me like two or three positive things as well? Because you’re not like a bad person, but you’re very unpleasant to be around when all I hear from you is complaints.
SPEAKER 08 :
Oh, yeah. When I was doing my research for the book I wrote about President Truman, he had written in his diary, referring to a negative person like that, he wrote, it takes a good man to build a barn and any jackass can kick it down.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s pretty good, Jim. I like that. All right. So the family reunion, you put up with it with my mom. I mean, she’s my mom. She’s 81. But I do have to say, Jim, she’s with my brother for a couple of months. And it’s been a little bit of a breath of fresh air. So we’ll try again soon when it starts to get too hot. her in Arizona. We’ll have her come back and see if we can get her on the right track as much as we can. As far as people getting your books, I just got a wonderful box of your books. Thank you so much. What’s coming out next?
SPEAKER 08 :
Next, what just came out was Words That Shaped Our World, the 100 greatest quotes of all time, and who said them and what. We’re writing the second version of that right now. And then I’m writing a book right now called The Ultimate Gift Comes Alive about Young Men’s Service League and how thousands of these young men across the country who have read The Ultimate Gift or watched my movie have taken it upon themselves to do that. community projects each year they’re in high school and there are actually 11,000 boys in it right now this year and totally grassroots I had nothing to do with it and I am so proud of these young men and I’m writing a book about their experiences and what not what did I teach them what have they taught me and it’s a fascinating experience oh my gosh that sounds amazing alright jimstovall.com always a pleasure friend I could talk another 10 minutes but I know we’re out of time thank you thank you talk to you next week
SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
Sterling is listening to the mighty 670 KLT Denver. Well, if you were just joining us, this is Angie Austin with the Good News. And did you know that March is Myeloma Awareness Month? The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, LLS, is a wonderful group. I’ve done a lot of work with them over the years, a lot of interviews. They improve the lives of patients dealing with all blood cancers, offering free support, research, and advocacy efforts. And joining us is Alice Little Caldwell, sharing her story with us today to raise awareness. Welcome, Alice.
SPEAKER 03 :
Oh, thank you. Thank you for letting me be on your show.
SPEAKER 05 :
I think you sharing your story, your journey with this, those are the most impactful, I think, rather than just hearing about the stats and the numbers and et cetera. This is a more personal way to find out, to raise awareness. So why don’t you go ahead and tell us about your story, your symptoms, and what you’ve gone through over the last decades now?
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. Well, when I was 43 years old, I started having some sort of minor symptoms like, you know, it seems like about every few weeks I would get another like sinus infection or UTI. Also had some nosebleeds and I developed this petechial rash on my legs and that just means they’re a little pinpoint hemorrhages. And I asked my doctor about that and I thought maybe it was because I was doing a lot of exercise and running and And he ran a test to see what my hemoglobin was. And I was very anemic. So common things mean common. I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia and started on iron. But when we rechecked it, I was even more anemic. So I did get referred to a hematologist at that point. And on the day that I went there, I had kind of a prolonged bleeding time and They did a bone marrow biopsy, and I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is a blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow.
SPEAKER 05 :
And when they gave you this diagnosis, did they give you a certain amount of time, and you were in your 40s? How long ago was that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, that was actually about 27 years ago.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
I was referred to a big myeloma center in Arkansas. because I had a very aggressive form of the disease, of the blood cancer. And so they wanted to, since I was so young, they wanted to give me the best chances. So that’s where I went, and I got started on a regimen of chemotherapy with the aim to have two stem cell transplants. And at that time, they gave me the diagnosis or the prognosis of two to four years.
SPEAKER 05 :
two to four years, and here you are with a family and a career. And so you get through that time with your treatment. How did you feel when you learned that you were only expected to live a few more years? How did you battle your way through all of that?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, it was pretty chilling, especially since with my children. I just didn’t know if I would even see them graduate from high school at the time. So I was very concerned about their welfare. But I was pretty willing to just do whatever I needed to. I was a good patient. I listened to what my doctors told me. I didn’t question their expertise. And I went into remission, I think, about 13 months after I started my first treatment.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, that’s good news. So you were 43, married, three young kids, working as a pediatrician your whole life ahead of you. I have three kids, so I can imagine how terrifying that would be to not even think that you’d get to see them live through high school. But now you’ve far surpassed that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes, it’s been amazing. And so my children all graduated from college, and they’re on their career path. And now I have three grandchildren. So who would have thought that I would ever live to see all of that? It’s just been amazing.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, whenever I interview anyone who’s been through this journey, they talk a lot about how the support of the LLS was just so invaluable. Can you talk about the importance of being involved in that blood cancer community?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. When I was initially diagnosed, I learned more about the society, and they did offer a lot of information and contacts with other people to kind of give me support and some financial support as well. But then about a year after I went into remission, I decided I was going to do one of their team and training events, which is endurance events in which you raise money, but you get to participate in some really neat experiences. And so I signed up to do a century ride at Lake Tahoe, which was pretty scary to think about. You know, I’d never rid my bicycle that far and raised that kind of money. But it was successful, and it was so inspiring. I just loved it. And I got to know a lot of really neat people who had survived a lot of things on their own or were doing things for their family and raising money to raise money. awareness as well as just funds for all the good things that the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society does, including research that helps, you know, get better treatments and more effective treatments and just offers a lot of information and financial support, too, to patients.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, and how neat to, you know, regain your health and be able to be so physically active and be able to use that to also help the organization that helped you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. It was a great thing for me. It was Life-changing in so many respects.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I’ll bet it was. Or if people want to get more information, you know, look into this, see maybe they have someone in their own family that they would like to offer this kind of help with the LLS as well, where do they go to get more info?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, they should go to the website, lls.org. There’s also a phone number, 800-955-4572. I’ll say that again, 800-955-4572.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, Alice, thank you so much for sharing your story with us and for all you’re doing to help others.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank you for letting me talk about it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, you’re welcome. Well, changing gears now, if you’re just joining us, this is Angie Austin with the Good News, and joining us is Scott Miller. Scott is a USPS Safety and Health Awareness Specialist, and he is joining us today to talk safety and the Postal Service. Hey, Scott, welcome back. Thank you, Angie. Glad to be with you. All right. So we’ve talked about dog bites, and now we’re talking about safety in general. You have a huge fleet, like around 250,000 or thereabout vehicles with your USPS fleet. That is correct. Over 246,000 vehicles on the road. Oh, my goodness. So let’s start with why is it so important to talk about motor vehicle safety regarding the Postal Service in general?
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. So motor vehicle safety, it’s always important for us as a focus and the Postal Service. What this campaign is about is we’re asking for the public’s help, right? We are out there on the road together, and together, hopefully, we can make the roads a safer place to be. You know, whether distracted driving, speeding, you know, failure to notice stop vehicles, you know, these small mistakes that can happen in an instant, unfortunately, they can lead to significant consequences, not only for us at the Postal Service, but
SPEAKER 05 :
for the public as well. All right, so speaking of the public, what can we do to stay safe when we see a postal vehicle, let’s say, parked or pulled over at the side of the road, you know, delivering? Because oftentimes they do have to pull over. My guy comes in the driveway, so I’m always trying to keep track of my dogs because sometimes they’re in the yard with that electric fence, but they can go into the driveway, so I have to be careful about that. So what advice do you give on some of these situations?
SPEAKER 07 :
Absolutely. So we have said the public that they slow down, right? Give us plenty of space. Take those couple of extra seconds to evaluate the situation, to stop if necessary or move over if possible. staying alert and cautious, especially if our vehicle is stopped. You know, at a mailbox, we’re probably going to be moving to that next mailbox to make the delivery, and it’s probably going to be in a short period of time. So if you give us that extra couple seconds, slow down, you know, see what we’re doing before you try to pass us or make a turn in front of us or something like that. give us those extra couple seconds and slow down so that we can both keep the road safe.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, just like when I pass the dogs walking in the neighborhood with their owners, I slow down for them, slow down for the postal truck as well. How about your top tip that you give the public to avoid accidents with these postal vehicles?
SPEAKER 07 :
So I’d say, Angie, our top tip today is be a defensive driver. and stay aware. You know, sometimes it might be hard to anticipate what other drivers might do, but for the Postal Service, you probably know what we’re going to do. We’re going to make that next delivery. We’re going to deliver your mail or package out there. So try to anticipate what we might do and maintain that safe following distance to give you that extra few seconds, you know, if you have to stop suddenly or what you want to do to make that safe move so that we avoid a collision out there. And of course, avoiding distractions, right? Distracted driving, you know, it’s a problem. Uh, cell phone usage, uh, you know, these newer vehicles that we have have all kinds of technology, which with touch button, uh, you know, access, uh, earbuds and ears while driving for whatever reason. So, um, changing these simple habits, you know, to focus on the road and actually driving can significantly reduce the risk of a motor vehicle accident.
SPEAKER 05 :
Absolutely. Is there something that the public you think overlooks when it comes to driving, walking, or maybe riding a bike around these USPS vehicles?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I actually do. You know, because we’re out there six and sometimes even seven days a week out there, we may blend into the background for you may not even notice us. Uh, We become part of, you know, your everyday life. But we are out there making multiple stops and often in unexpected places like the side of the road or in traffic lanes. You know, because of this, it’s important, you know, especially if you’re driving a vehicle, if you’re a cyclist, even a pedestrian, you know, cross at crosswalks. If you’re a cyclist, you know, be aware. If you see our vehicle, we may be on the move out there. So it is very important. And then, you know, especially with our pedestrians and cyclists, blind spots are an issue for sure. You know, almost every vehicle has a blind spot, unfortunately. And, you know, the old adage, if you can’t see the driver in the mirror, they probably can’t see you, right? So always be aware, be cautious, and especially with blind spots. when the public is backing out of their driveways, right? Always important. Look what’s behind you. I know nowadays a lot of people do have backup cameras, but sometimes they may be obstructed. Some people may not have them. You know, you may have a delivery vehicle on the other side of the road. You may even have your letter carrier who walks house to house out there. So they might be out there as well.
SPEAKER 05 :
Always be careful when you’re backing your vehicle out of your driveway. Now, Scott, I know in your job that you’re very involved in this 2025 USPS Safe Driving Campaign. How did you get into this whole area of work? How did you get involved with the USPS and in particular of safety?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, I actually, I was a letter carrier for many years. So I have firsthand knowledge of, you know, how we talked about dog fights last time and motor vehicle safety. I’ve seen how the public reacts to us and all those situations that we can be put in out there. And I’ve always been passionate about working safely and being safe out there. So safety was a passion of mine, and I wanted to, you know, bring it to the masses out there so that we can all be safe as we navigate this crazy world out there.
SPEAKER 05 :
You’re the perfect guy for the job, Scott. Where do we go to get more info?
SPEAKER 07 :
So your listeners can get more information at USPS.com. And on social media, we have hashtag USPS vehicle awareness.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, always a pleasure to have you on the show, Scott Miller. Thank you so much. Always a pleasure to be with you too, Angie. Thank you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
