Hello everybody and sun listeners out there. This is Carol Hasbrouck, author of the book 10,000 Miles of Miracles. We are recording this SunLeaders podcast live from Naiman Creative Studios.

Jordan is running the sound for us and my podcast is called Conscious Connections. We help you learn how to follow your inner guidance system so you can live your most authentic and fantastic life and finally live the life you desire and the life you deserve. Our mission is to help you learn how to differentiate between your ego thoughts and your true authentic higher self, which can lead you to your life purpose, on new adventures, and even to new callings.

I am so excited to introduce my guest to you today. She’s a good friend, enthusiastic hugger, and more importantly, a fellow dame gone wild. Joyce Claflin.

Joyce and I were roommates when my inner guidance system spoke to me and dictated what turned out to be a 10,000 mile summer service adventure helping people, pets and planets. I remember exactly when she agreed to take that proverbial leap of faith with me in the summer of 2012. We were standing in the garage doing a load of laundry and I told her my summer plans.

She knew I had just gotten laid off at my job, but didn’t know that our lives were about to change in miraculous ways. I asked if she would stay home with the kids, our cat Sydney Marie and dog Jimmy, while I traveled the country doing volunteer work over the summer. She hesitated for less than a second and replied, no, I’m going with you.

I was totally shocked by this answer, yet said, okay, let’s start planning it. Just so you know, the kids, Jimmy and Sydney Marie, were well taken care of by my son Rob and his wife Elizabeth, who just happened to be told that their rental apartment was going up for sale and they needed to move out by June. We agreed to follow our inner voices and it felt good, even if we personally thought it was a crazy idea.

And trust me, there were some crazy ideas. So, Joyce, being a fellow dame, tell me how you felt when you said yes to this out of the blue idea and how you knew it was the right thing to do. Well, Carol, first of all, thank you for having me here.

And I just want to thank you for writing this book and publishing it. I know it’s been a labor of love and I’m just so proud of you that you completed it. So yay for you.

Okay, thank you. I remember I can picture myself standing at that washing machine and you telling me that, and all of a sudden I don’t even know where it came from, but I Just blurted it out and said, no, I’m going with you. And I was in a job who, even though the boss was very nice, it was going nowhere and I was miserable and I asked for a change.

And I work with angels. I love my angels and I know I’m totally guided. And that was the beginning and I felt like it was absolutely insane.

However, it was an opening to a new adventure and just letting it go and allowing the universe to take hold and to see what the outcome was. So it was very scary, yet exciting and exhilarating and also knowing that we would be tested, but yet trusted that things would always work out. And so do you remember that we agreed that if the energy felt good, we would go with the idea, even if it was crazy? I recall that now.

Now that you reminded me, yes. Yeah, but that’s the way we did the whole trip. The whole trip.

The whole bloody trip. I’m just saying yes. And sometimes it was and sometimes it was.

And I will tell you when I think back, and it’s really helped to rekindle a lot of the adventures that we had, just the miracles that happened. And even then when we were like, oh my God, how is this going to happen? It was like, it just always worked out, you know, it was amazing. So thank you for helping me get back into that energy.

Yeah, so it’s the energy of following your higher voice, your inner guidance system. And I forget sometimes and I get out of it too. And this book and this podcast really reminds me that when I follow the higher guidance system, the inner guidance system, and it feels good.

So I don’t do it if I get that bad feeling in my gut because I know that’s my ego talking. But if it’s not just self serving, if it’s serving of others and I follow that, man, crazy, miraculous things can happen in my life. So the word compelled comes to mind when I think about how we felt about going on this trip.

I don’t know about you, but I was compelled to do this. I don’t know whether I would use that word. For me, I’m not even sure if there is a word that would subscribe, you know, describe why I just knew it was a no in.

And here’s the other thing that I’ve always done is that if I am not sure, I always ask for confirmation. I ask the angels, show me something, give me something, do it. And I have to let go of when I think it’s going to happen or how it’s going to turn out.

But I Always get confirmation. I knew it was something I had to do, as crazy and wonderful as it was. And so I was gonna bring this up a little later, but since you said, ask for a sign, do you remember the most miraculous sign we received from Manny? Absolutely.

It was. So I’ll start the story, and I’m gonna let you pick up where you came in. So Joyce and I were serving at a senior center outside of Chicago, and it was 106 degrees in Chicago that day, so we knew we wanted to do something indoors, and we found this senior center, and they wanted us to come help with playing games with the seniors during their happy hour.

So Joyce is a very curious person, and because of that, I get to learn a lot more about life and people, because she asks a lot of questions. So we’re standing at the elevator, and the volunteer coordinator was showing us around, showing us around the place. And Joyce says, who is your oldest resident? And the volunteer coordinator said, oh, that would be Manny.

He’s about to be 102 years old. And at 96, he took up woodworking, and he carved the Gettysburg Address from memory at 96 on a 4 foot by 8 foot piece of wood. And so we were just aghast at that.

And then who came off the elevator? Well, the doors open wide, and there was Manny. Cute little guy in his little walker. And we said, and she’s presented us.

And he said, I’m Manny. And we said, oh, my God. And he said, would you like to come up and see my woodworking? And it was like, okay, let’s go.

So we went up to his room and saw the plaque that he did from memory. And then there were all these nameplates or plates with words on it on this little credenza. And Carol looks over and says, oh, Manny, there’s my name.

And he said, would you like it? And she just hesitated for a minute and went, okay. And I looked, and I was like, the poor little girl. Like, what about me? What about me? I don’t see anything for me.

And all of a sudden, I look over and there’s my name. Yeah. So there were like 10 or 15 plaques, right? And I looked at him and I said, oh, my God, there’s my name.

And. And I said, how did you know we were coming? And we looked over to the lady, and she said, you know, he didn’t have our names. It was Justin.

That two people were coming. And he said, God told me to do this, and I always do what God told us. And we were like, oh, my God.

And then we were in the car. And so before that. So of all the names in the world.

Right. Only two names that were carved on wooden plaques in this 101-year-old man’s apartment in a senior living center who did not know we were coming and who’s very spry in lumber. Absolutely.

The two names that were on those plaques were Carol and Joyce, which are not really common names. And Joyce’s plaque was in the very back. So, I mean, it was kind of cute watching her because you could just tell she was being like a little kid, like, where’s my name? Where’s my name? Of course, it’s all about me.

And Manny said he had just made that the night before and he hadn’t even had a chance to stain it yet. That’s right. That’s right.

And so of all the names, Joyce and Carol were on those plaques. And so we got, we went and played games with the seniors and had happy hour. That’s a big thing.

And had happy hour. And we went, got in the car and I said, joyce, I gotta be honest with you, we’ve only been on this trip for three weeks so far. We’re almost out of money because this was a completely donation based trip and we’re almost out of money.

And I just think it might be a crazy idea. So I asked God for a sign this morning. I said, please give me a sign if we’re supposed to keep going on this trip.

And you said, I did the same thing. And now you know what? I just got the chills again. Absolutely did the same thing.

Because it was crazy and insane and hot. And we left Florida to get out of the heat, and yet we’re in Chicago and it’s 106 degrees. It was actually cooler in Florida.

Yeah. So we both started crying a little bit. Yeah.

And just saying, thank you, angels. Yeah. So we knew that we were where we were supposed to be.

And now my plaque is sitting right next to my bed. So that I remind myself I am always guided. Right.

And I still have mine. Absolutely. Yeah.

And I think Manny might even be looking down at us right now. He might be. He probably has transitioned.

He asked us, we asked how we could thank him, and he said, oh, you can recite the Gettysburg Address with me. And we said, manny, we don’t know the Gettysburg Address. So he had two pieces of paper, he hands it to us and he recited it from memory.

It was really very awesome. So, okay, so let’s move on to some of the just in general, the charities. Joyce And I weren’t sure which charities we wanted to serve, so we just made it People, Pets, and Planets so that we could cover all the bases.

And then we decided that we would serve at wherever our host family’s favorite charity was. So I would call ahead and let the charity know we were coming to town and we wanted to help them out. And they would always say, well, what would you like to do? And we would say, anything you would like us to do.

Anything you would like us to do. And what did we do most often? Oh, let’s see. Cleaning and organizing cleaning.

And I remember I don’t even know where we were, but we were someplace where we were cleaning yoga mats. Do you know El Centro? Yeah. We were cleaning yoga mats.

I never cleaned a yoga mat in my life, but generally it was organizing cleaning, because as a charity, a lot of times they don’t get to be able to do that. So the. And they were so grateful.

Everybody was so grateful. Mm. Yeah.

So they don’t have time to clean. We cleaned a lot of toilets, too. And that’s okay because we told them we’d do whatever they wanted, and we had rough up close.

Thank God. Yes. Yes.

Okay. So when we were in Louisville, that was the first time that I. Now I had been. We had been living together for, what, three years? So I knew you fairly well.

Right. After three years. Two years.

I moved. Two years. 2010.

Yeah. And so that was the first time I saw the. How kind and loving you are.

Because we were serving a population of people that were in recovery and were just above homeless. I mean, literally just above homeless. And even though I had given money and food to homeless my whole life, I had never been eyeball to eyeball with them, and I was afraid to do that.

And I looked over, and you were fully engaged. Fully eyeball to eyeball. You had no fear of engaging with these people.

And I thought, oh, my gosh. So tell me about that. Tell me why that is.

Well, you know, thinking back, it’s. It’s amazing to hear you say how engaged I was, because I don’t remember that. So thank you.

And thank you for noticing that. I believe that I was going through my own tsunami at the time. That’s what I like to call it.

And one of the reasons I came to live with you is because I needed a place to stay, and I didn’t have money. So I knew what it was like to be living day to day, not knowing what’s going to happen, being in fear. And I realized that I could have Gone either one way or the other.

And that these are people, too. And when we were gathering, like, the toothbrush and the toothpaste and all the little items, they were so kind. And even some that were mentally and emotionally challenged, they could look you in the eye and realize that we were coming from a place of love and heart.

And it was just so amazing to me to see this organization help these people, you know, and give them the kindness and a place to take a shower and to get all this. So people are people. And what I realized also is it doesn’t matter what our journey is.

We are all people, and we all have heart, and we are all God’s children. And we need to be kind to one another and respect one another. Now, does that happen for me every day? No.

But I hope to remember that and to honor that, because in the blink of the eye, we could be on the street, honestly. So we said a lot of I am that. You know, we would look at people and say, I am that, and one different choice, and I could be that.

Absolutely right. Absolutely. And then one of the things you said to me that I’ll never forget is everyone wants to be acknowledged and loved and looked in the eye.

And looked in the eye. And so the second time we helped the homeless was in Chicago. The first time was in Louisville at the hotel that was, Remember? I remember that.

And the man playing the piano. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the second time was in Chicago, and that’s when we were giving out the toothpaste and the shampoo, and they came in to take a shower because it was so hot.

And so I was able to engage a little better. You were smack full on right there, hugging them, being Joyce, which is wonderful. And then the third time, and I don’t recall what city we were in, but we helped.

We made dinner and helped serve dinner for a shelter of men. And I don’t recall what city we were in. No, I don’t remember.

But by the third time, I was able to open up as much as you opened up from the very beginning. So I just want to thank you for being my teacher. Well, you’re welcome in that respect.

Oh, no, yeah, that’s right. And you were my teacher in a lot of ways, too. So we were learning from one another.

Sure, of course. Well, we spent 105 days together, so we had to learn from one another. Oh, my God.

Okay, let’s just move right on from there. So we visited 24 states. We stayed with.

We stayed with 26 host families. Only 12 of which we knew before we left. Well, you did all that work.

Well, it was a lot of work, but. It was a lot of work. But.

But because of you we got to meet these host family. So thank you for that. Because you were like the reservation clerk, like moving ahead and getting all this done.

So. Yeah. Yes.

And we served 30 organizations. Wow. So of those 30 organizations, who was your favorite? What really stands out for me was the one in Burlington, Vermont.

Can’t remember the name of it, but they worked with the puppets. Puppets in education. Well, there you go.

Enough said. Puppets in education. And of course, what did we do? Organize and clean.

But they had on these walls all these puppets dressed in different ways and different faces. And they use these puppets to relate to children who have gone through trauma. I’m going to cry because it was just so beautiful.

Because they realized that children are children and might not be able to relate to an adult or a counselor. And by talking to this puppet they can open up and they can get things from them that they might not get if they were just a counselor or an adult person talking with them. And the sad thing was, and I don’t even know if they’re still in existence today, but I remember them saying that they were having a hard time raising money and that might have been the last year that they were there.

But I think they were there for around over 20 years, weren’t they? They’re still there. They are. I checked into it when I wrote the book.

I sent them a copy of the book. Oh my God. To me it just filled me up with just, you know, heartfelt that they’re able to reach, you know, children and with trauma to be able to help heal them.

Yeah, they take their life sized puppets and they take em into the schools and they’d teach children about bully. They’d talk about being bullied, they’d talk about abuse, all different kinds of abuse. They talked about diversity.

Handicapped. Disabled, yes. They had one.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and so it was really. Picture on the back of the book is Joyce’s favorite picture because it’s the two of us nestled in between all of those puppets.

Yeah, that’s one of them. The other one that I had that you took of me was the one with the puppet. Oh, okay.

And that to me, I put that all over. Cause it just makes me smile and happy. But you’re right, it is.

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Infoamencreative.com so we had a signature event. Do you remember what our signature event was? Besides hugging? Yes. Yay.

Okay. Yes. Giving hugs.

Yeah. So we, we went to Minneapolis was the first place we had her. We did Mary Tyler Moore.

You should see her face. She was such a Rhoda fan. Oh my God.

So we stood out. Both came from the Bronx. Good.

We stood out in front of the Mary Tyler Moore. Sharon was with us. Yes, and Sharon was with us.

And we gave out free hugs. And what was that like for you? Oh, it’s actually fun. In the beginning, it was a little daunting because the reaction of people was so funny.

Some were engaging. Some looked at us like we were crazy. Some just put their eyes down and kept walking.

But once you did it, it was amazing how people just opened up. And it’s the connection of energy. It’s the connection of showing that somebody cares, you know, even if they were like, what are they doing? It was fun.

And I got, you know, I started really enjoying it. Took you a little while, but after a while you like really got into it too. I think when we got to Portland, you were really into it.

Yes. Well, it was the same thing as with the homeless people. At first I was intimidated because it’s just not had not been my experience that it was a normal thing that I would just be standing on a street corner of a busy metropolitan city at lunchtime with all of these business people with my arms out, ready to hug on a T shirt and a boa.

And also. You had the boa. Oh, I had the boa.

You had the boa. And I looked over and I’M scared to do this. And I look over and Joyce has just got her arms up.

She’s just ready to go. She is just with her boa and artist. She was a hugging queen.

Well, I am a hugging queen. And I thought to myself, carol, why are you so held back? Why can’t you just be the love that Joyce is exhibiting? And so it helped me again, you taught me to let go of that. I don’t.

Fear of people, I guess, of what people think. Yeah, I’m sure it was fear of what people think. I think one of the beautiful things about our journey is that you were so strong in so many aspects where I’m not, and vice versa.

And even though sometimes we could get a little crunchy with one another, in retrospect, really, you also helped me learn a lot of things. Like when you had asked me to move ahead and get radio spots and what. And I hated doing that, but I did it.

And that has also helped me to be able just to ask somebody for something, speak, and if they say no, it’s okay. So you’ve been a great teacher for me too. You know, you were more of the, you know, focused person.

Get it done. Get this done. Where I was kind of like, in many ways the child.

Like, let’s love, let’s have, you know, and stuff like that. But yet we. By the time the trip was over, we had both roles for each one of us.

Yes, that’s correct. And so God knew the two perfect people to send on this trip because it compliment. Thank you for saying that.

I didn’t realize we complimented one another. And there were some days we didn’t realize that, but. Yes, yes, but because I have more of a business background and you have more of a retail working with people.

Service. Service background. I was more focused on getting the social media, getting the TV people out, the reporters out, asking for the donations, getting the host families, you know, business.

And you are a people person. And I’m a people person, too. I just didn’t realize how much I held back.

Well, I think it depended upon the events and the situation. Yeah, but by the end, you were golden. You were golden.

By the time we were in Portland, you were golden. Yeah. Yeah.

So it was. And talking about complimenting. I remember when we would drive, one of the things that we found out about each other is that I like to drive on the highway and you like to drive in the city.

So it worked out really well that I would do the highway and you would do the city. And. Yeah, so that worked.

Out really well. So finding how we could compliment one another was just purely amazing. Now, especially looking back at it.

Yes. So the reason I laugh is because here we are setting out. We thought we were going to go about 6,000 miles.

And the first day, maybe on the second day, I’m driving, and I’m about drive. Have been driving for maybe an hour and a half. Freddie the Freelo bus.

Yes, Freddie the freedom bus. And I look at Joyce and I said, you know, I get really tired when I drive. And she looks at me like, what, you’ve been driving for an hour and a half? And I said, yeah, I need to pull over and let you drive for a little while.

So she just took the bull by the horns and she would drive on the long stretches, the highways, and I would drive. And I love driving in the city. So it worked out again, perfectly.

Really well. Really well. So I know you talk about angels, and you do a lot of work with angels.

I do. And you’re very entrenched. And you have 444 on your necklace, which you told me is a number of angels.

Yeah. So in numerology, there’s. Or an angel numerology, there’s meaning to each number.

And when you see three fours, that means your angels are with you. And for me, my ultimate is seeing three fours on a license plate, which I do believe we saw many times on our journey. But I like to see.

And that’s a confirmation to me that I’m on the right track. If I see four fours, that’s really like, okay, this is really Good. So, yes, 4, 4, 4 is a sign to me that they’re always with me.

But I know they’re always with me now. They give me guidance. I always ask the angels for help.

I asked for the most benevolent outcome. And I don’t know where I would be without my angels and my guidance. Even when I have crunchy days, you know, I know they’re always with me.

Yeah. And that’s beautiful. And who were the angels in the backseat of the car when we took off? Oh, God.

I don’t remember what I would think of others. I think Archangel Michael, and I want to say Archangel Gabriel, when. You know, here’s the thing.

Whether they’re named, they’re not named. Angels are all around us. It doesn’t matter what level they are, so to speak, because when you study angels, there are different levels.

It’s all energy. And when we put it out there that we want help, whether it be God, source, angels, guides, we’re never Alone. And we’re always being guided.

And as you say, it’s discerning from the ego voice to the heart voice or your soul’s voice. And sometimes we can get a little sidetracked about not being sure. So that’s one I always like to ask for confirmation, but I want to share with everybody.

Everybody has angels. They all have guides. You just need to ask them to come in and to help you and to guide you, and they are there.

They will never let you down. You might choose not to go forth and through your guidance or change your mind, but they’ll pick you right up and get you right on the path. So if somebody wanted to start learning about angels, is there a particular book that you would recommend that they read that would help them learn? Because you taught me an awful lot.

Yeah, there is a book by two sisters, Trudy Griswold, and I can’t think of the other lady, her sister’s name from Connecticut, and. And it was a small, tiny book, and it was how to talk to your angels. And it’s still.

You can still get it on Amazon, and it’s still in print today. And it’s interesting you say that because Alex, who I work for at Grace Craze, I’ve been introducing her to angels, and I bought her the book, and she was amazed to see how simple it can be. And there are no right or wrongs.

It’s just a guideline. So I would definitely say how to speak to your angels. And one of the authors is Trudy.

I think it’s Griswold. Okay, wonderful. I know I kind of put you on the spot there.

Evidently, they’re giving me the information. Good. I’m good.

I’m glad to hear that. That’s wonderful. And so we stayed with the angel lady, Lori Falk.

I was just thinking of that earlier. Kewaukee, outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And she had paintings.

She does these beautiful pastel paintings of angels. And she made us an angel, and her name was Hallelujah, and we kept Hallelujah with us. Do you still have her? I do.

Okay. And Laurie, I’m still in touch with you. Are you really? That’s awesome.

She’s still doing her angel work in. Outside of Milwaukee. I think it’s called Pewaukee.

Oh, that’s right. Yeah. And so we had.

The places we stayed were just amazing, and that was one of them. Can I just say a little funny story about this? Remember when we first got there and she said how she liked to sleep in and you Or I in. In the same room, in the same bed.

And the next thing I know, in the morning, Carol’s waking me up like, joyce, Joyce, we gotta get outta here. I’m like, what? She’s like, come on, let’s go. She wants to sleep late.

And remember, we left to go have breakfast and not come back because she didn’t wanna disturb her. I mean, I think that’s the other thing we were very mindful of with our hosts, is about being very mindful of them and what they. You know, our surroundings, and honoring who they really are.

But I’m sorry, that just made me chuckle like, Joyce, Joyce, come on, let’s go. Well, and the part of the story that you’re forgetting is that she told us she can sleep through anything. So here I was all worried about that.

She wanted to sleep in, and we had to be quiet as a mouse. And then we get home and she goes, oh, yeah, I sleep through through anything. A train could come through.

And like, okay, well, that’s good to know. And that reminds me about learning the art of receiving. So we were really interested in giving.

We gave a lot of our time and our talents and even our treasures. We gave some donations, but we didn’t necessarily know the art of receiving. Or I speak for myself, I didn’t know the art of receiving until I got onto this trip.

We would end up at somebody’s doorstep and feel like we were going to be a burden. And then finally, I believe we got to a place where maybe it just had happened enough that we were received well, that we said, you know, we need to learn how to receive as well as give. And that’s a lesson I still struggle with.

I can give very easily, and I’m better at receiving than I was. But that is definitely a lesson I still work on. Well, I remember somebody telling me, when somebody offers you something and you say no, you’re actually saying that you don’t care about what they’re giving you.

So it could actually be a negative back to them. So it’s so important to open up and to receive and just say thank you. And I think for me, one of the things that stand out is when we were in Minnesota and we stayed at.

We were talking about it the other day. Saint Marie’s Sharon’s twin. No, no, no, no, no.

The couple that had the ice skating, the hockey rink. Oh, that was in Michigan. Michigan, okay.

And we had separate rooms, which was very rare. And we went in and she had a little baggie for us, A little goodie bag. And I remember, as I said to you, it was the first time I ever tried Nutella.

But I was. We were so taken that they thought enough about us to give us something. And the other thing that really surprised us, I can absolutely speak for me, is how well we received and how people said to us, God, you guys are so adventurous, and I can’t believe you’re doing this.

I could never do something like this. And you and I at so many times just thought, oh, this is an everyday thing. You know, everybody’s gonna do that.

And it was really an adventure. And it was a very rave of us to go and do this and. And just to experience what it is to go and to trust and to let go of everything and go on faith and trust, knowing that there is a God, higher power, source, angels that are taking care of us.

And it helps me to realize, even in my everyday life, I just need to let go and allow and forget what I think my life should look like or what I should be doing and just bask in the memory and the beingness of the miracles of today. Boy, that’s the truth, isn’t it? It really is. So Sunrita came to mind.

That was the Vedanta Moss, or spiritual center in Hull, Mass. That we cleaned the pews inside and we did gardening work outside. And Sunrita was the nun that fed us and said, anyone who works gets fed.

And sitting and talking with her, we just were. We received lesson after lesson after. And she wasn’t trying to teach us anything, but she was certainly a sweet part of our trip as well.

Yeah, I forgot about her. I mean, now I can actually see. And the gardens were absolutely beautiful and.

Yeah, it was beautiful. Yeah. And it was a nice ceremony.

It was a nice spiritual center because they don’t have any particular theology or, you know, it was association to anything. It’s the universe and the universality of everything and the connectiveness of everything, and. And that was really nice.

So what about the dog shelters that we. Oh, my God. Well, first of all, everybody needs to know that I’m highly allergic to cats.

Even though I love them, I’m highly allergic to them, but, you know, I just love being around dogs. And in fact, that’s where you got Jimmy from was a dog shelter. You guys connected right away.

It was just fun. And then we met the dog whisperer who was helping us to learn the best technique on how to walk dogs. It was fun.

Yeah. We were at three different shelters, and you wanted to take a dog home every time And I had to remind you, we don’t have a home. We cannot take a dog home every time.

Yeah. And then the last image that comes to mind is you painting the faces of God on the sidewalk in Detroit for the Heidelberg project. And I got a little freaked out because when we were at the volunteer instruction coordination meeting, the lady goes through everything for about an hour, and at the very end she says, oh, and by the way, don’t have anything in your car, including a piece of paper on the floorboard of the car, because they might think that you have a Social Security number or a
bank number on there, and they will try to get into your car to get that.

And we had three months worth of things in our car, and so I was totally freaked out about that. Now we worked through it, and then the next day. And we took everything out of the car.

Yes, we did. And then the next day we got there and we painted faces of God on the sidewalk. Do you remember that? I do remember that.

I do. I believe it’s all. It was also hot up there, but, yeah, I can actually recall what I had on it was with.

Was it with chalk or was it paint? It was chalk, wasn’t it? Yeah. Doing that. And then there was that house with all these stuffed animals on it.

Yeah. It was from an artist that created that in a iffy neighborhood. Impoverished.

Yeah. For lack of a better word. Yeah.

Tyrone. Yeah, it was really amazing. But, you know, it’s so interesting, me coming from the Bronx and you coming from Florida, when you looked at me like what it was like.

Yeah. You know, that’s when your street smarts comes down, and it’s. That’s to be aware.

Because even though we feel connected, you also always have to be aware of your surroundings. Like when I stopped for gas in the Bronx. Yes, yes.

And the Bronx came out in Joyce like I had never seen before. And it was really quite humorous. And she said to me, oh, you can take the girl out of the Bronx, not the Bronx, out of the girl.

And that was exactly. We were not in a great neighborhood, and my whole energy shifted. Like, come near me and watch out.

Yeah, she was tough. She was one tough cookie. And Meanwhile, I’m from St. Pete.

I’m like, la, la, la. Get back in the car, lock the doors. We’re going now.

So I just want to thank you. This trip would not have been the same without you. In fact, I don’t even know if I would have gone on this journey.

Oh, you would have gone. I think you would have gone. But it wouldn’t have been the same.

No, it was all divinely guided, honey. And we learned that the most important relationship we have is the one we have with ourselves. Exactly.

And so lesson after lesson and hug after hug and miracle after miracle. Three and a half months later, we just couldn’t wait to get home. And in our own beds.

And in our own beds. May I just say one more thing? Of course. Yesterday, Alex and I. Who my boss, where I work at Grace Craze, we met with Maddie, who is the events coordinator for Children’s Cancer Center.

And Maddie talked to us for at least half an hour, 45 minutes about what they do. And I got up this morning and I realized that was exactly the places that we went through on Dame’s Gone Wild. And it was such an amazing experience to rekindle the awe and love to see people that coming through their hearts to help, you know, children or whatever.

It just really reignited me to be more kind than being more crunchy. So thank you for helping me to relive this and remember this and have fun with it because it has reopened me up. Good.

I’m so glad I’m helping with the Children’s Dream Fund event tonight. Raise on the Runway. Oh, cool.

And they grant wishes for seriously ill children here in the west coast of Florida. And I don’t do nearly as much volunteer work as I used to, and I am still doing it because it just fills my heart. It’s servant leadership, and it’s so important, and so I’m grateful to have experienced it.

Great. Especially with you. So, anything else you’d like to add before we wrap up? Nope.

Can I just give you a hug? You can in a minute. I just want to finish up here and say we hope you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast. If you’d like to reach out to me, you can find me on Facebook.

10,000 miles of miracles. My book is also for sale on Amazon, and you can just type in 10,000 miles of miracles. My name again is Carol Jones Hasbrouck, and I’d love to hear from you and hear how the book has changed your perspective on love and giving and helping others.

And I think that’s a wrap.