Treasure Talks Podcast

Thank you for visiting Granny's page. This page will be dedicated to information concerning the "Treasure Talks with Granny" series that she and I are conducting. I will chime in periodically with thoughts and comments about each recording session and/or Granny memories/stories.

Episode 29: STEP-ing out

Happy Day!

For this episode we took a little trip to Dearborn Heights to visit the new STEP Thrift Store. STEP is a company that serves adults with disabilities and mental illnesses as they try to gain employment in their respective communities. The STEP Thrift Stores employ these adults (with an hourly wage at or above minimum wage) and also trains them to have the skills needed to work retail jobs outside of the stores. All items sold there are donated from the public and all money made from the sales pays the employees to work and staff to train them. It is a very good company providing a very needed service.

Anyway, Granny, Chris, and I loaded into the Neon (the Granny-mobile) and drove there for a visit. We also stopped at Del Tacos to grab a bite to eat. The first part of the episode is recording our conversation there. In that one, among other topics, Chris talks about his public speaking class and gets deep into a tough story of unrequited love (in a fun way).  I, honestly, cannot recommend listening to that story enough. It is quite touching. In the second part, we discuss our experiences at the store as we took our own modern day treasure walk through it...

The audio is a bit suspect, due to it being recorded in a moving car and Granny being in the backseat, but it is good enough to share. Lots of love. Enjoy!

And about Chris...

            Where do I begin? Oh yes. I was born at Oakwood Dearborn in the summer of 1996. It’s too bad that my family didn’t attend a campaign speech that year, because I think it would’ve been great to have President Clinton, Senator Dole or Ross Perot kiss Baby Chris! Anyway, my parents have always raised & encouraged my brother & I to be Christians. This is why I decided to get baptized when I was seven (through the Baptist church.) I have never regretted my baptism & am appreciative to Pastor Jim. I couldn’t be a prouder member of God’s community. I’m currently going to community college for paralegal studies. For those of you who don’t know, a paralegal assists lawyers with research & litigation.

            I’ve treasured my family ever since I was old enough to run around & be a part of the family scene. I can just barely recall the lively parties at Faith In God (which my Grandpa Paul founded). The DeLisle family is full of cousins, aunts & uncles. But most importantly, we ALWAYS have fun when we get together. And a few of us get ringing ears (with all due respect, we DeLisles can be quite loud sometimes!) Family is irreplaceable and I would never want to offend any of my family members

            Treasure Talks has been a grand & unforgettable experience for me. Cousin Josh, Granny Hazel & myself recorded our first episode on Thursday, June 11, 2015 (yes, I did look that up, even though I usually have an elephant memory!) My favorite episodes are Episode 5 (with one of our first guests, Cousin Shannon), Episode 24 (where we spontaneously interviewed Granny’s neighbor Dusty) and Episode 30. I am truly thankful to Josh for letting me be a part of this endeavor. To be honest, the two of us really didn’t know each other that well before our podcast debuted. The way I look at it, Josh could have chosen almost any of his cousins to help run Treasure Talks (we have almost thirty DeLisle cousins!) But Josh wanted his fellow podcaster to be someone who grew up knowing Granny & had experienced her unconditional love.

And a special thank you to Granny for opening up her home to Josh & I every week. When I think of senior citizens, I envision an old geezer either turning away visitors or scaring away visitors with their crankiness. That is NOT the impression that anyone would get when they meet Granny. I believe one of our fans said it best: Granny is the definition of love. Granny has never complained about having too many friends. She truly appreciates people & accepts them for who they are. This makes sense, considering Granny used to watch Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with me when I was a young lad!

            If you’re still reading this tangent of a biography by now, I want to tell you that Josh, Granny & I greatly appreciate our listeners. Treasure Talks is a small thing the three of us can do for the world, but we always enjoy each other’s company. And we like to share our strategies (for lack of a better word) on how each of us tries to be a kinder & happier individual. As Grandpa Paul used to say at Faith In Good sermons, “3, 2, 1, Glory!” Enjoy Treasure Talks!