Let Me Tell You This About That

Helping José—You can Make a Difference in Someone’s Life!

• Hess and Delbert • Season 1 • Episode 15

Share episode

Send us a text

Where is the Pink Swirl surrounding you? Filling your heart can give you the energy to be there for the people around you.  Hess and Delbert share personal stories and reflections on finding joy and positivity amidst life's challenges. They discuss the beauty of simple pleasures, the importance of seeing the good around us, and the power of community support. Hess talks about her dog Tyler, her horse Speedy, and what she see’s outside her window. Hess has started a GoFundMe for their weekend barn manager and friend, José who found out this week he has stage 4 colon cancer. (Link is below to help donate.) The  duo emphasizes the significance of small acts of kindness and the impact of a positive mindset. They also explore themes of gratitude, manifestation, and the joy of connecting with others, encouraging listeners to notice the miracles around them and spread joy. The episode concludes with an inspiring message from Ralph Waldo Emerson, reminding everyone to embrace each day as the best day of the year.

Jose is getting his chemo--Help my friend José wipe out the Stage 4 cancer in his body!
https://gofund.me/e6f61999

In addition to being a podcast host, Hess is also an LCSW--if you'd like to learn more about her work as a therapist, check it out at www.jessicabollinger.com

One of her mission's is for all of our lights to shine--when we see each other and allow ourself to be seen--and we can say to the person in front of us, There You Are! the world will be an amazing place!

Delbert is a realtor in Louisville, KY, and you can find her at Kentucky Select Properties

Her philanthropic work to continue her sister Carole and niece Meghan is Carole's Kitchen. Blessings in a Backpack helps feed the many hungry students in our schools. The instagram account is: https://www.instagram.com/caroleskitchen.nonprofit?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==





Hess:

Hey, welcome back listeners. Thank you so much for showing up. We enjoy getting your fan mail. Be sure to talk to us. Tell us what you like. my name's Hess and welcome to let me tell you this about that.

Delbert:

Hey, I'm Delbert coming to you live from the green couch It was a good pink and purple swirl this morning. Sunrise. And I got a big batch of daffodils sitting on my table. Woohoo!

Hess:

Well, when I look out my window, I see the horses at the hay feeder. I see Tyler's got two purple balls out in the yard because he steals them from the horses. Sometimes the boarders put a ball of this. There's a horse ball. Sometimes we'll pick up something in their mouth and they twirl it around some of the borders might get a ball. Keep 1 of these balls a horse ball. It's about it's about as big as a volleyball and it's got it's got this. This like handle on it. And anyway, Tyler takes him out of the horse horses stalls and then when I go out to get speedy Tyler, go run, get the ball and then it'll drop it in front of me and I kick it then I get speedy and then I kick it and speedy and I continue walking and Tyler comes back up. Anyway, that's what I'm seeing out in little patches of snow. We had 44 degrees yesterday.

Delbert:

I love springtime. I'm trying to enjoy the winter, but yeah. And, Hess, do they know who, Tyler and Speedy are?

Hess:

So Tyler's my labradoodle. He's five years old. He's my soul dog. He's my service dog. He goes with me everywhere and he wants me with him everywhere too. And Speedy is my horse His real name is Speed Rail. I call him Speedy because he's not. He's the perfect horse for a 66 year old woman. He's, I get off of him. People say, how was Speedy today? And I say, he's perfect. And so he is. I manifest that and he manifests that. He's in the field right here next to the house, the tobacco barn field. And he pushes the other horses away from the hay feeder.

Delbert:

Is he checking the hay to make sure it's okay for them?

Hess:

Yeah. he says, I own the place. There might be 33 horses here, but I own the place.

Delbert:

He knows it.

Hess:

Yeah. Anyhow, Delbert.

Delbert:

What?

Hess:

I want to take you back to last week when we started our conversation before I hit record, I was sitting here in my little white chair by my window and I said, I just don't feel like I'm doing enough. And what did you tell me?

Delbert:

I said, always do enough. You do so much, and you help so many people. I don't want you to feel that way.

Hess:

listeners, I was in the spot right then that our weekend manager at the farm was in the hospital. He'd been in the hospital since the previous Tuesday with abdominal pain. they were waiting for the results. They'd done MRIs. He had a mass. What I knew last Sunday morning was that he had a mass in his rectal colon and they were presuming it was cancer. in our conversation Sunday morning, I was, feeling real deep about Jose, He's got this wonderful family. He's got two kids his adoptive guardianship over his step sons, two Children that he was there from birth on Jose and Maria took them home from the hospital. Their mother was a drug addict. They were full of drugs, had to do blood transfusions in these kids. So Jose's got these two kids that he's raising that are 12 and eight. And he lives on a farm with his sons. He had just retired from a 20 year position at a horse farm and he was fixing up the house. And he worked part time just on the weekends for me while he was fixing this house up on his son's farm that he and Maria moved into Cruz and Carla visited him a lot in the hospital. anyway, I was feeling, like I wanted to do the right thing for Jose. you reminded me and we talked about it on the podcast about we make a decision and then we can change the decision and make the next decision. what happened this week, podsters is I started to go fund me on Tuesday for, for, Jose, to help pay his medical costs I was, wondering if he was going to get the best care possible because he does not have health insurance. I found out good news. I talked to a social worker at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. it's one of the top 20 in the whole United States for cancer. They have a wonderful colorectal team. I talked to the social worker. The social worker says, You don't have to worry. He will get the best care. If anyone is in the university of Kentucky hospital, no matter what their economic status, there will be no treatments denied. Jose will get the very best that needs to happen. So Jose, was released from the hospital. He did get the diagnosis on Monday after our pod that it is stage four cancer. It's spread a little bit in his body and he starts his chemotherapy. On February 4th he got released from the hospital on Wednesday. Some things kind of got held up. Well, I guess he got the prognosis on Tuesday cause they got held up Monday being Martin Luther King day and inauguration day and stuff like that. So anyway, I started the GoFundMe page. Jose is the most wonderful person in the whole wide world. Just so kind, compassionate, so good with animals, so good with people. And he's, A master carpenter. I'm sitting here next to two bookcases that he installed here in my bedroom. Unbelievable finished carpenter. His dad was a carpenter. He learned all that from his dad. So that's where I am today. And you're right, Delbert. You just got to do the best thing that you can with the information that you have and go forward. Take one step in front of the other.

Delbert:

Exactly. You know, and think that is so wonderful. I've shared it. I need to sit down and donate to it. And I, want to encourage our listeners to donate if they can.

Hess:

it's just one step at a time. one dollar at a time. 15,

Delbert:

no, no.

Hess:

20.

Delbert:

One amount, no amount is too small, right? so, we talked about, walking a path, and getting all the information together and then taking action. everybody seemed to really love our, podcast the reverse bucket list. And so I just thought talking so much about walking. And paths. I thought, well, let's talk about a little bit today. Walking forward.

Hess:

Right. And you all go back and listen to that. If you haven't listened to it, it's about, it's about reverse bucket list instead of what you want to do or where you want to go. It's like, what have you already done? What have you accomplished in your life for people for relationships? What do you feel most proud of? So that You already have led a good life. You already have done such good things and that can set you in bounce back mode and be positive. just even talking about that Delbert really helped me a whole lot last week.

Delbert:

I'm so glad because, we talked a little earlier today. I wanted to mainly talk about joy, but we also talked about the fact that, maybe some of us aren't quite joyful. About the path our country's going in. And maybe some people are joyful about it, maybe they're happy about it. But regardless, I love what you read about what Maria Shriver said.

Hess:

on her Sunday paper, she said, no matter what you think, you're on a path. So we're all on a path and on that path, we want to, help lead you to what's going on around you that could feel joyful. I was driving in the car and having a phone conversation with Delbert and we were talking about things and I said, after she finished After he finished saying what you were saying, Delbert, I said, okay, hold on. On Versailles Road, I was leaving Pickleball going out to Woodford County to pick up a heater For the horse water trough, because we had a horse water, freeze I just passed this place. There's this, there's a building on Versailles road that on the side of the building. Someone painted, it's all going to be okay and I love driving past that no matter what you might be feeling or what might be going on in your mind. You drive past that and it says it's all going to be okay.

Delbert:

Yes, it is gonna be okay. what we were saying about how you walk the path to get things started for Jose, regardless of what's going on, gather the information, make as informed decision as you can, and don't be fearful, go ahead and start walking down the direction you think you need to go

Hess:

Right,

Delbert:

we all have to live in our truth. one thing I was telling Hess that, I really want to listen to everybody's opinions and hear what they're saying so that I can understand, how we can move forward as a country that's more together than we are separated.

Hess:

right.

Delbert:

great conversation with one of our high school friends about the way that she voted, which was different than mine. we just need good, calm, civil conversations. And I think a path to doing that is just being joyful in your own life,

Hess:

Yeah. Okay. So, Delbert, tell me about the swirl. what's your state of mind about swirls? Pink swirls.

Delbert:

this week, Cathy Hess's wife and we were on a three way text together. We would all send each other beautiful sunrises and sunsets this weekend. We've had some really spectacular ones. I was actually out to dinner with another friend of ours. We were supposed to go to dance class at Turner's, but it got canceled. so we went to have a mojito instead, there was this spectacular sunset. And I said, Oh, wait, I gotta jump up and take this picture and send it to Cathy and Hess. And I did. that was from Mojitos, by the way. So part of the swirl and that that's what I call just, you know, acknowledging the beauty around you. And I am like a little kid. I like to see every sunrise and every sunset if possible. I think I already said that, but was lit. I love to watch the today show. Cause I love my news with a little recipe or two.

Hess:

Like your news with a little recipe, but you don't cook

Delbert:

I just like to watch other people cook and I'm like, well, that sounds delightful. I hope I can find a restaurant that serves that. I do love to watch people cook and I've got a lot of content creators that have cooking shows and I'm like, why am I watching this? so fascinating.

Hess:

you like to stimulate your salivary glands. Yeah.

Delbert:

one of the things that I heard on the today show was this, thought about doing a color walk, which I love. did you ever play riddle my riddle Marie when you were a little kid? I see something that you don't see in the color is, and then you would say the color and everybody would try to guess. You tried to make it really teeny so people had to guess for a long time. my grandkids and I would play I spy with my little eye at the pool all the time. color walking is you decide on a color, like yellow, and you walk and spot all the things that are that color. It manifests your awareness of your surroundings and, and to, and to be aware and to appreciate to just really notice how spectacular is life is. All the wonderful things in your life

Hess:

Right.

Delbert:

awareness. and that's just a really great start to the new year. be aware of all the beauty around you. There's a lot of negativity, but there's so much more good. That's, that's what I always say. When bad things happen, so much more good in the world than there is bad.

Hess:

Everybody take a deep breath and release that felt good. There's so much more good in the world than bad. even though I look out here and, the grass is slightly green, but a little bit more in dormancy than green, the horses, it's kind of like Brown by the gates where the horses walk a whole lot. But there's those two purple balls out there that belong to Tyler. that's joyful. That's play. That's kick the ball. That's run. That's throw, So that's what I see outside my window right now. think about what you see right now while you're driving sitting, or on a walk, look around you, see what you notice. I love that Delbert. So, what's that called? Rickety, rickety, what?

Delbert:

Riddle, my riddle, Marie. Riddle my riddle Marie. That's what we used to say, but my grandfather made everything rhyme. he was an entertainer. He had a light and I always feel so fortunate that he had that light. My grandparents had such a light in their hearts and in their minds and in their souls. they were never wealthy people, but I always felt like every event at their house was a feast in a castle.

Hess:

Hey, that goes back. Your grandfather was in World War II and saw disastrous stuff. experienced disastrous things. And here, he's living with this pink swirl. He lives in optimism. He lives in joy and he rhymes things I really think that's an example that even though you can go through something hard, we were talking about the Irish, how they're just happy people. it's so fun being in their company they were invaded by Vikings and ignored while they were starving by the British, but they're just a happy people. even though we go through something hard, even though we have face down moments, even though there could be something that's not going well for us right this moment, my friends got stage 4 cancer, there can be something beautiful happening and there's beautiful people as, as, Mr. Roger says, look for the helpers.

Delbert:

yes,

Hess:

Yeah.

Delbert:

Helpers, absolutely. Because you know what Hess a bet you've already felt a lot of love coming towards Jose with this

Hess:

Oh, my gosh.

Delbert:

me that you're doing right.

Hess:

Oh, my gosh. For sure. I sat for an hour the other day, Delbert, I went through all of my phone contacts that brought me joy because every phone contact I came upon, there was a memory for that person. even in some of them, there were about nine or 10 that have passed away. I still have them in my contacts. I was revived with my beautiful memories with these friends that are no longer, physically on the earth. I texted out to 90 people. This little GoFundMe link this is who Jose is. This is how I know him. If you have anything, please give. And when I looked down the list of donors for Jose, so many of these beautiful people donated to him Yeah. So there's blessings there for sure. So many blessings. Oh, Delbert, tell everybody about those cards that you got this past week.

Delbert:

Carol's Kitchen, we saved a blessings in a backpack program at Lane Elementary School. I had help from my friend, David Bell, who also helped me with a trust that he works on. with Carol's Kitchen and this trust, we were able to save their blessings program. And also at Thanksgiving and Christmas, I shipped some food to them. I came home from work and had this big package on my door, and I'm like, what did I order from Amazon and forget about and it's from lane elementary. I open it up and there's like 30 colorful, beautiful cards. From all these kids thanking me we're talking about manifesting joy and manifesting little girls never met me because the school's kind of far away from where I live. I've only been able to do things kind of long distance to them. It's in the complete opposite in a town as me. And I do want to go there and meet them, but they manifested what I look like. They had a lady in an apron and a dress with a big shopping cart. And they said, this is you shopping. Next to me was another little stick figure of this little girl, and she's got a big platter of food above her head She goes this is me

Hess:

Wow. Wow.

Delbert:

And so, it made me remember that I was worried that I wasn't doing enough A little means a lot. going back to what Hess and I were talking about, people who have struggled and gone through hard times. I was reading something about, Appalachia and, during the depression, if you think life was hard, for people that live there and the struggle during the depression, it was even worse people were just living on what they could raise in their yard. And,

Hess:

And the beans, they would dry

Delbert:

and, and gift, the thing that kept people going 1 of the things was that the store owners would. Credit them a little bit of flour and sugar, and that would make things last

Hess:

Yes.

Delbert:

maybe like 2 of credit would keep that family going and that created so much joy. So it was just a little bit. He stretched it a really long way. I love all the music and the joy that comes from that area. It's so close to where we live. I think the bluegrass music and the Irish music we were talking about is so connected and so inspirational and joyful, even in the hardest of times, and that's

Hess:

For sure.

Delbert:

what comes out of times is such beautiful things.

Hess:

For sure. If it makes you stomp your feet or, snap your fingers, it's like seeing the colors that you're seeing along your path that you're walking. it takes you out of being in your head and, feeling your pain, you know? Yeah.

Delbert:

So we hope we brought you some sunshine, some of the pink swirl, color in your life today.

Hess:

Right. So let's go back. Your assignment is. While you're listening to this, or when this finishes, look around you and notice some miracles, notice some beauty, feel some joy, because that's going to help fill your heart. Make you feel lighter so that you can do what you need to do next. If something needs to change, if you want to do something, be the helper like these 30 cards, these girls, all these kids that have never met you before. They've imagined you, pushing that shopping cart. And you don't know if you put a drop of joy in somebody else's life right now, that it will have a positive effect.

Delbert:

it

Hess:

It will

Delbert:

Just do it.

Hess:

do it.

Delbert:

more joy that you have in your heart, and the more you spread it, the better the world will be, one of my big words for 2025 is manifest. I'm just really trying to manifest joy. I have that at the top of my big new green notebook for 2025. I love a new notebook,

Hess:

thank you so much for listening to, let me tell you this about that. it helps us every Sunday, these conversations and maybe it, maybe to do something for you. So please subscribe. So then you get a notice when our next one comes out. Love you all.

Delbert:

I'm going to end with a quote. One of my favorite from Emerson,

Hess:

do it.

Delbert:

write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.

Hess:

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year. Peace and love.

Delbert:

Peace and love. Go do something awesome.

Hess:

Love you all.