Dec. 5, 2024

The Rock says the reindeer eat all the carrots (5 Good News Christmas Stories)

Show Notes
Transcript

We're diving deep into the great Christmas tree debate - real vs artificial, and why both choices can actually help the planet! Then, hear how the Kansas City Mavericks hockey team is bringing holiday cheer to shelter pets at Wayside Waifs. Plus, why "Tacky Christmas" is actually the coolest new trend (and why it's really just Christmas being Christmas). Get ready for a heartwarming story about Signing Santa at Charlotte Motor Speedway making Christmas magical for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, and The Rock shares his sweet Christmas Eve traditions with his daughters that'll make you believe in holiday magic all over again.

Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed! You also get 20+ other shows on the network ad-free!

5 Good News Stories is a daily podcast with five positive, uplifting news stories to brighten your day. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network

John also hosts Daily Comedy News

Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! For Apple users, hit the banner which says Uninterrupted Listening on your Apple podcasts app.

Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories’ with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!

Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:14.080
Calaroga Shark Media. Hey there, I'm Johnny Mack with five

2
00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:17.519
good news Christmas stories. Yes, we're getting closer and closer

3
00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:20.039
to Santa's Big Day, so I will be sprindling in

4
00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:23.679
more and more of these Christmas episodes. Today, I want

5
00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:25.800
to talk about this Christmas tree dilemma a lot of

6
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:29.399
us are facing. You know, now the Thanksgiving's done, we're

7
00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:32.600
all thinking about Christmas trees. And there's this interesting question

8
00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:36.600
what's better for the planet, real or artificial. Now here's

9
00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:40.960
something interesting. According to Statista, about seventy percent of American

10
00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:44.119
households are planning to put up a Christmas tree this year.

11
00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:48.880
And get this, forty six percent are going artificial, while

12
00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:52.759
twenty four percent are keeping it real. But you know

13
00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:55.560
what's kind of funny, a lot of people are actually

14
00:00:55.560 --> 00:00:58.920
getting multiple trees these days. Mac Harmon, he's the CEO

15
00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:01.439
of Balsam Hill, one of the big artificial tree companies.

16
00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:03.719
He says most of the growth they're seeing is from

17
00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:06.319
people buying second trees. I guess one tree just isn't

18
00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.519
enough anymore. When it comes to climate impact. We're not

19
00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:12.200
talking about huge numbers here, even if you only use

20
00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:15.239
an artificial tree. For one year, it produces about forty

21
00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:18.640
pounds of global warming gases, while a natural tree is

22
00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:22.159
about seventeen pounds. To put that in perspective, flying from

23
00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:24.599
Chicago to New York produces more than three hundred and

24
00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:27.319
fourteen pounds. But if you really want to help the planet,

25
00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:30.560
here's what the experts say. If you go real, try

26
00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:34.000
to recycle it properly. Mulching is best. Bill Lindberg from

27
00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:36.840
a Michigan State university says, recycle it, mulch it, get

28
00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:39.280
it chipped up. It can be a soil improver. Down

29
00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:42.200
in Georgia, they've got this great program called Bring One

30
00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:45.719
for the Chipper. They've kept over six million trees out

31
00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:49.000
of landfills. And if you go artificial, just make sure

32
00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:51.560
you use it for at least five years. After that

33
00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.640
you're breaking even with real trees in terms of environmental impact.

34
00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.120
And here's a pro tip. If you find a used

35
00:01:57.200 --> 00:01:59.560
artificial tree where the lights don't work anymore, just add

36
00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:02.439
some new life and you're good to go. The Kansas

37
00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:04.879
City Mavericks hockey team just showed us they've got big

38
00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:07.480
hearts both on and off the ice. Between games and

39
00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:11.439
Thanksgiving celebrations. Six of the players, Justin McPherson, Luke Lowhit,

40
00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:15.599
Daniel Amesbury, j Powell, Casey Carow, and David Knowell took

41
00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:18.520
time out to visit Wayside Waifs, which happens to be

42
00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:22.199
Kansas City's largest no kill animal shelter. Now, these guys

43
00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:24.439
didn't just show up for a photo op. They really

44
00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:26.800
got their hands dirty. First, they got a tour of

45
00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:29.360
the place to learn about the shelter's mission. Then they

46
00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:31.599
got to have some fun with the newest arrivals, a

47
00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:34.000
bunch of puppies who just got into the shelter. The

48
00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:36.639
players rolled up their sleeves and helped unload an entire

49
00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:40.199
trailer full of donated pet supplies. We're talking food, toys,

50
00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:42.680
all the essentials these animals need. And since it's the

51
00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.759
holiday season, they stuck around to help decorate the adoption

52
00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:48.360
center and make it all festive for the animals and visitors.

53
00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:51.360
The team's been doing even more and they've been donating

54
00:02:51.400 --> 00:02:54.280
a dog leash for every dog that gets adopted from

55
00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:58.840
Wayside Waifs. Hey, good news if you're tacky. It turns

56
00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:01.719
out a tacky crismith is actually the hot new trend

57
00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:04.960
this year. And if you're thinking, wait, isn't that just Christmas?

58
00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.360
Well you're not alone. Samantha Ulrich Herman, who creates Cozy

59
00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:13.199
content out in Portland, had the same reaction. She says,

60
00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:16.319
what they were showing was all of the stuff I

61
00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:19.000
grew up with and how my parents decorate. And I

62
00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:22.400
just thought it was hilarious because I'm like, that's just Christmas.

63
00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:25.159
Instead of trying to make everything match perfectly like you

64
00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:27.800
see on social media, this trend is all about bringing

65
00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:31.080
out those scratched up ornaments, the multicolored lights, maybe even

66
00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:33.960
that old trainset that goes around the tree. Erika Coacola

67
00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:36.919
from Pennsylvania puts it perfectly. She asks, what makes you

68
00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:39.360
feel more warm and fuzzy seeing color and whimsy and

69
00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:41.960
different figures and shapes and everything, or just a neutral

70
00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:44.719
Christmas tree? Instead of buying new decorations every year, people

71
00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:47.039
are digging out their old ornaments, hitting up thrift stores

72
00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:50.639
or using hand me downsk Cola says opening her Christmas

73
00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.400
boxes is like a trip down memory lane. I open

74
00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.639
the box and there's my favorite ornament. There's just so

75
00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.080
many memories attached to it that you just don't have

76
00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:01.039
when you're going to big box doors and buying new

77
00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:06.199
things every single year. As for calling it TACKI, well,

78
00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:08.599
Kukola thinks that's just because people don't know what else

79
00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:10.360
to call it. She says, they don't really know how

80
00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:14.039
to say. It's whimsical, colorful, vintage Christmas. I mean, that's

81
00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:19.160
a lot more words. Charlotte Motor Speedway is making sure

82
00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:22.480
everyone gets to experience some Christmas magic this year. They're

83
00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:26.480
bringing back Signing Santa for their fifteenth annual Speedway Christmas

84
00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:30.120
on December sixth, from six to ten pm. Santa will

85
00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:33.040
be welcoming kids in a really special way using American

86
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.560
sign language. Families with children who are deaf or hard

87
00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:38.360
of hearing can visit Santa in his workshop, share their

88
00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:42.000
Christmas wishes, take some festive photos, and just enjoy spending

89
00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.600
time with the big man in Red. Greg Walter, who

90
00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:48.399
runs the Charlotte Motor Speedway, put it perfectly. He said,

91
00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:50.959
in the spirit of holiday inclusivity, we are proud to

92
00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:55.040
bring Signing Santa back to Speedway Christmas. Presented by Atrium Health,

93
00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:58.560
our goal is to create an experience that celebrates community,

94
00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:00.879
spreads joy, and reminds us of the true spirit of

95
00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.399
the season, and I will leave you with the wisdom

96
00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:06.040
of Dwayne Johnson. The Rock says, you know how it's

97
00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:08.319
impossible to get kids to sleep on Christmas Eve, Well,

98
00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.120
the Rock doesn't even try anymore. He said, what we

99
00:05:11.160 --> 00:05:13.759
have started doing is we stay up late on Christmas Eve,

100
00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:16.560
not too late. Instead of fighting it, they just make

101
00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:19.279
it part of the fun, watching Christmas movies together until

102
00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:21.959
the kids finally pass out. What we'll do is we'll

103
00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.040
leave out the cookies that they made and their notes.

104
00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:25.839
And you also got to leave out the oats and

105
00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.000
the carrots and things like that. For all the reindeer.

106
00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:32.240
It's crazy because in the morning when you guys have kids,

107
00:05:32.279 --> 00:05:34.399
it was like when you were a kid. The reindeer

108
00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.240
they eat all the food. It's amazing, man. And those

109
00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:40.560
are your five good News Christmas stories for today. Back

110
00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:43.240
tomorrow with a normal episode and then more Christmas Stories

111
00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:45.120
on the weekend. You have an awesome day.