My audio holiday gift to you is the story of "A Christmas Rifle."  Ralphie, in the movie A Christmas Story," cries when he almost shoots his eye out with his treasured Red Ryder.  I cried a bit when I read "A Christmas Rifle" in a Facebook post.  I doubt that you'll fare differently.  May the blessings of this season be upon you and your family and may they be shared with others.  Length: 12 minutes

What type of person interacts with United States presidents, military leaders from the U.S. and other countries, along with various dignitaries and leaders throughout Latin America?  Who briefs Colin Powell on Latin America events, has face-to-face meetings with the "Angel of Death," learns hostage escape tactics and reports on coup d'é·tats?  Someone in the CIA?  Possibly.  But it's also Joanna Esty, a barrier breaking courageous lady who for more than a couple of decades was a linchpin in Latin America as a civilian employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency.  This is part two of our conversation.

Once a quiet student from a small high school in western Ilinois, Joanna spent 18 years in the Defense Intelligence Agency as a civilian officer, an occupation that involved interactions with U.S. Presidents, General Colin Powell, and extensive traveling. She shares with Jimmy Ahmahdoofous and Boomer how she became a significant player in Latin American politics and how even today has a hand in creating diplomatic relations with our southern neighbors.

How to not mix metaphors, details on Annie Sullivan's early life, panic attack hotties-  it's all here with much more in the third potpourri edition of OK Boomer where Boomer and Jimmy Ahmuhdoofous share a litany of literary jewels gleamed from the internet.  You'll laugh, be intrigued, maybe even a little inspired.  Works from Kurt Vonnegut, Jack London, and J.D. Salinger are featured.

"You can't pour from an empty cup."  That's one of the important themes presented in this romance novel "My Way To You" by J. Glassburn.  This 400 page book is set in a small town in western Illinois (where Jimmy Ahmuhdoofous is from) where she grew up.  Abbey is a mother of a young son who is finding her way in a new life.  She has left behind a broken marriage and is forging ahead in discovery about herself.  Her plans for the future are complicated by the sometimes enchanting and sometimes infuriating Sawyer, the still single boy wonder she once knew.   Despite tears and fears, she courageously moves forward, determined to make a life for herself and her son.

This second edition of Potpourri (a collection of unrelated literary extracts) includes Albert Einstein's response to an often posed question of him, "Do you believe in God?"  It concludes with chapter one of a book (maybe?) that Boomer is messing around with.  In between are plenty of humorous and occasionally thought provoking literary gems that Boomer and Jimmy Ahmuhdoofous trust you'll find intriguing.  Enjoy!

"What an opportunity for me to help somebody get their kids back, to repair relationships, to get a job, … so many benefits…"  That's how Mike Shears, Whiteside County Drug Court probation officer, describes his job.  In part II of our conversation, Mike talks about the successes, failures, and new areas of growth in the drug court program and Boomer describes what he observed in his two hour visit in drug court. Alternative/specialized courts are effectively improving how local judicial systems handle people who are likely to be repeat prisoners.  AND COOL NEW THEME MUSIC FOR THE PODCAST!! YAY YAY YAY.

"No one ever wakes up and says, 'You know, I think I want to be a drug addict,' " says Mike Shears, drug court officer.  That's part of the mind frame that shapes the drug court in Whiteside County, IL.  If you think that drug court, a specialized diversionary court program, is a dark place full of dreary proceedings that involve the dregs of society, you're wrong.  It's a place that regularly celebrates the successes of alcohol and drug addicted felons.  It's a place that transforms lives, mends relationships, and stops the revolving door of recividism- the act of felons being jailed and freed, only to repeat the same crimes as before.  Need some good news?  It's right here. 

In part two of the conversation with Joel Gibbs, a voice over artist extraordinaire, Gibbs explains how Sol Krupnick, currently a YouTube success and soon to be live performance, was created, neglected, and now resurrected.  Joel Gibbs is a multi-skilled artist who has won my admiration and inspires all of us in our later years to continue to create. Laugh along with Boomer and Jimmy Ahmuhdoofous as Sol spins his take on various aspects of human behavior.

Joel Gibbs, a man of a thousand voices, presents Sol Krupnick, Gibbs' amalgamation of various Jewish comedians and various kibitzers.  Joel shares with Boomer and Jimmy Ahmuhdoofous how he "resurrected" Sol and where he plans to take him.  Enjoy some of the stories Sol performs, including details on his surgery down under, during this interview and on the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thesolkrupnickchannel8467.  Subscribe to this channel and to the OK Boomer podcast so that you don't miss part 2 our conversation.