Episode 1 of our my new show Grey and Grounded, where we talk to men 50 and over..about being 50 and over.  We talk family, friends, faith, money and more all in about 20 minutes. In our first episode we get jump right in and discuss how it is to be 50, our mentality, our changes, what is happening to our bodies and mind, and the things that help me cope with the constant change. Join me as we jump (carefully) into 50 talk. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

For this coffee break, we briefly talk about making "it" happen. Whatever it is, a dream you have, a goal, that business you wanted to start, the marathon you want to run, or even that recipe you always wanted to try and make. We immediately fail when we don't even try.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

Attack the morning and win the day! My daily mantra. Our mindset plays a huge role in our behavior. Get your mind right. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

Robert Smalls was born a slave in 1839, in Beaufort, South Carolina. During the Civil War in 1861, Robert Smalls was part of the enslaved crew on a ship called the Planter, operating in Charleston Harbor. The owners of the ship contracted the vessel out to the Confederate army as a transport ship, and Smalls found himself as a pilot on board the ship. In early 1862, the Confederacy had achieved numerous battlefield victories, and it seemed as if the quest to create an independent slaveholders’ republic might succeed. Robert Smalls decided not to wait and find out. He devised a plan to free not only himself, but his family as well. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

Bass Reeves (July 1838 – January 12, 1910) was an American law enforcement official, historically noted as the first black deputy U.S. Marshall west of the Mississippi River. He worked mostly in Arkansas and the Oklahoma Territory During his long career, he recorded over 3,000 arrests of dangerous fugitives and shot and killed 14 of them in self-defense --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

Still, in high school and two years before going to the university of Iowa, she discovered a new use for beet juice that could improve health care in developing countries. She went on to develop surgical sutures that change from bright red to grayish-purple when a patient’s skin is infected. She conducted research for a year to develop this potentially life-saving invention.   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

Gordon Parks was a Black American photojournalist, musician, writer, and film director who among many other things, is known for breaking the "color line" in professional photography. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

William Hastie The first African American federal and appellate judge, William Hastie had a distinguished private law career before being appointed to the United States District Court for the Virgin Islands by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937. He then worked for two years as a federal judge before becoming a law educator at Howard University School of Law, where he taught the soon-to-be-famous Thurgood Marshall. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

Inventor Fred Jones’ contributions during his lifetime were momentous and can be felt to this day. A self-taught and naturally gifted mechanic, Jones invented a portable air-conditioning unit for trucks in 1938. This unit could be used to preserve perishable foods during transport, and the patents Jones was awarded for the product led to the formation of the Thermo King Corporation. His inventions were vital during WWII when they were used to transport blood and medicine to battlefields and hospitals. Some of his over 60 patents: U.S. Patent 2,581,956 was issued on January 8, 1952 – For a refrigeration control device. U.S. Patent 2,666,298 was issued on January 19, 1954 – Methods and means of defrosting a cold diffuser. U.S. Patent 2,696,086 was issued on December 7, 1954 – Method and means for air conditioning. U.S. Patent 2,780,923 was issued on February 12, 1957 – A method and means for preserving perishable foodstuffs in transit. U.S. Patent 2,850,001 was issued on September 2, 1958 – For a control device for an internal combustion engine. U.S. Patent 2,926,005 was issued on February 23, 1960 – Thermostat and temperature control system. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message

During this Black History Month, for the next, we are showcasing some of our lesser-known Black American heroes. They may be lesser known not because of their lack of contribution but because their exploits were never taught in history class. Sit back, relax, and listen to how these Americans triumphed against unbelievable odds to become leaders not only in the African American community but national leaders in their own right. While many were taught that Rosa Parks was the first to famously refuse to give up a bus seat. However, nine months before her 1943 protest in Montgomery, Alabama, then fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a standing white woman after school. Colvin was then forcibly removed from the bus and arrested, but would later go on to be one of the principal plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case Browder vs. Gayle, which declared bus segregation unconstitutional under the fourteenth amendment. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cocktailsntabletalk/message