May 22, 2023

The Skateboarding pig

The Skateboarding pig

You can teach a pig to skateboard but you can't stop him from opening the refrigerator and helping himself to snacks.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:09.880
The shark deck. Did you hear
about the skateboarding pig? I'm Johnny Mack

2
00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.720
with five good news stories lots unpack
here. Alison was all happy when her

3
00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:18.079
husband floated the notion of expanding their
family. Okay, that sounds great,

4
00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:22.839
so husband Vince shared that he had
a long time dream of owning a pig.

5
00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:27.839
Alison wasn't immediately ready to commit,
but they figured out a compromise.

6
00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.640
It's four years later and now they
live with Norbert, the one hundred and

7
00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:36.079
fifty pound a pig. They also
love a rescue rabbit who's mow and all

8
00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:40.719
over the dog. Norbert knows how
to skateboard, so now he's a TikTok

9
00:00:40.759 --> 00:00:45.000
account and Instagram following the post more
than sixty one hundred fans. Vince thinks

10
00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:47.920
that Norbert has the intelligence of a
three to four year old, which has

11
00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:52.600
forced him and his wife to put
locks on cabinets and the refrigerator. Sometimes

12
00:00:52.640 --> 00:00:56.759
Norbert opens the fridge and goes to
town on the fruits and vegetables. Vince

13
00:00:56.759 --> 00:00:59.079
said, I knew would get some
looks because we live in the suburbs and

14
00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:02.200
we have a pig, But I
like seeing people's faces light up. It's

15
00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:06.000
been a positive experience all around,
just being able to share Norbert's happiness and

16
00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:08.920
positive vibes of everybody. Norbert is
litter box trained. I know you were

17
00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:12.359
wondering. Alison has warned people it
can be a lot. People are like,

18
00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:15.879
I want a pig and I'm like, no, no, you don't

19
00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:19.159
take special people and commitment for the
growing pains. Temperaments change and he's like

20
00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.519
a three year old. He has
temper tantrums. You have to learn to

21
00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:26.200
curb that. A board pig or
a frustrated pig gets destructive. So what

22
00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:30.439
you do is he teach them the
skateboard right. Vince started training Norbert on

23
00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.560
a miniature skateboard when the pig was
less than a year old. Norbert needs

24
00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.760
fifteen to twenty minutes to pick up
verbal commands. Vince said that led to

25
00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:40.359
a week's worth of thirty minutes skating
lessons when Vince would use his foot to

26
00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:44.159
guide the skateboard as Norbert followed behind. Once Norbert learned to put one of

27
00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:46.760
his hoofs on the board, it
wasn't long before he got on the board

28
00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:49.560
and used his back legs to propel
himself forward. Now and Vince tells Norbert

29
00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:55.480
to get on the board. The
skateboarding pig wises. Vince has tagged skating

30
00:01:55.560 --> 00:02:00.599
legend Tony Hawk and videos and social
media posts in which Norbert becomes Tony Hog.

31
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.719
Good news for Francesca Teal. She
lost her ring in the ocean.

32
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.960
The ring had once belonged to her
great grandmother. She figured she never see

33
00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.280
it again. You listen to the
podcast, do you know how this is?

34
00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:14.599
Imagine? I just teld you The
story was, Yeah, she lost

35
00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:15.520
her ring and that's it. And
I signed off and I was like,

36
00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:20.240
there's no happy resolve here. That
would be a twist anyway. She had

37
00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:23.479
been wearing the family ring while sass
like a football with her husband at North

38
00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:27.960
Beach and Hampton, New Hampshire.
The ring fell off her finger. They

39
00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.639
spent hours searching the water for it, no luck. She posted a plea

40
00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.840
on her Facebook page, Hey anybody's
seen her ring? Turns out a guy

41
00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:38.919
with a metal detector saw her social
media plea for help, and he somehow

42
00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:42.840
found the ring. Leu ASKI strapped
on a wetsuit and a headlamp. He

43
00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:46.800
went looking for the ring. First
two days nothing, he said, I

44
00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:49.039
don't take failure all too well.
I wanted to go back and give it

45
00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:53.280
one last shot. Day three bingo. He posted it and said, please

46
00:02:53.319 --> 00:03:02.199
tell me this is the rings I
can finally get off this beach. I

47
00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:07.680
am Patty Callahan, Henry, I
am Mary Kay Andrews, I'm Kristin Harmel,

48
00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:12.639
and I'm Kristy Woodson Harvey. Friends
in Fiction is led by four longtime

49
00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.840
friends, the four of us,
with more than seventy five published books between

50
00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:21.280
us. Through end depth conversations and
interviews, we discussed the books we've written,

51
00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:24.319
the books we're reading, and the
art of storytelling. We are here

52
00:03:24.360 --> 00:03:30.240
with endless stories to support indie bookstores, authors, librarians, and readers just

53
00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:37.120
like you. We are always seeking
innovative ways to introduce dynamic voices and trends

54
00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:40.039
in publishing. On this channel,
you will find hundreds of episodes with some

55
00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:44.599
of your favorite authors, including the
four of us, with our new releases,

56
00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:49.039
as we reveal the stories behind the
stories, offer writing tips, and

57
00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:53.159
talk about the creation of novels,
memoirs, and nonfiction titles. So if

58
00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:58.639
you love books and you're curious about
the writing world, you are in the

59
00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:10.639
right place. You can listen to
friends and fiction on any major streaming platform.

60
00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:14.319
Hey, nice job by Vernon Jackson. Interesting name there, because that's

61
00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:16.120
a subway stop on the seven train
in New York City. You know where

62
00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:18.399
I grew up, but I went
through that stop almost every day. I'm

63
00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:20.920
not making fun of your name,
and mister Vernon Jackson, I just didn't

64
00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:26.480
put that together until right now anyway. Vernon Jackson he owns a Cincinnati barbershop

65
00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.199
and he takes care of his VIP
clients, which are children with special needs.

66
00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:32.160
He says that's something he's done since
twenty twenty one. I was hearing

67
00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.519
so many horror stories that parents were
going through with other barbershops, and the

68
00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:40.079
barbers or stylus had no patients with
their kids. I figured I'd compromise by

69
00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:43.639
coming in on my day off,
so there'd be no other barbers or stylus

70
00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:46.639
in the shop and I could give
them the full attention they need. He

71
00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.240
says having an empty shop helps some
children who were sensitive to new environments and

72
00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:53.519
sounds his goals to help the children
get acclimated to the barbershop so they can

73
00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:57.199
feel comfortable coming in when other employees
and clients were there. Jackson says,

74
00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:59.360
when I first started promoting that I
was going to come into my day off

75
00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:01.439
to do haircuts children with different needs. A friend of mine just randomly inboxed

76
00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:04.279
me and said, hey, vern, can I sponsor a haircut? Then

77
00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:08.519
more and more people asked donate money
for haircuts, and Jackson started to go

78
00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.519
fund me. He says. Their
parents that would pay any amount of money

79
00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.199
just for their child to have an
experience like any other person. At the

80
00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:15.920
end of it, I could tell
them it's covered. They say I gotta

81
00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:17.920
give you a tip, and I
say, nope, trust me. This

82
00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.600
is part of the Gifted program.
This is a gift from the community myself.

83
00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:25.480
Please receive it. More Facebook.
An adopted woman found her mother using

84
00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:29.600
a DNA site in Facebook after decades
of searching that allowed her to meet her

85
00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:34.120
grandmother just days before grandmom passed away. Rachel Ruiz always knew she was adopted.

86
00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.240
When she turned eighteen, she was
given a handwritten letter written by her

87
00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.199
birth mom for her future daughter,
saying she hoped one day they would meet.

88
00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:45.079
It had limited information, Rachel said, I didn't feel like I needed

89
00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:47.199
to find answers to complete myself,
but I'm so happy I found my birth

90
00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:51.560
family. She's now thirty five.
She turned to ancestry dot com that helped

91
00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:56.480
her filling her biological mother Angie.
When she found the fifty two year old

92
00:05:56.480 --> 00:05:59.639
Angie on Facebook, she knew instantly
was a match because they looked so similar.

93
00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:02.360
Her parents had prepared to give her
the package when she turned eighteen.

94
00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:05.040
They said, they had this beautiful
crocheted blanket she made me. She had

95
00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:08.120
a baby ring when she was born, a beautiful gold ring, and a

96
00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:10.959
written letter which said you were here
with me for nine months. I will

97
00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.160
never forget you. I hope one
day we will meet. That did meet

98
00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:15.639
up, and they went over to
meet Grandma Mary, who passed away three

99
00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.680
days later. She said it was
like her final life mission. I went

100
00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:23.240
to the funeral and I met my
cousin's aunts and uncles. Rachel feels blessed

101
00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:26.240
to have two families, including a
half sister who lived a few minutes walk

102
00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:29.879
away from her house in Utah.
Wow, and all right, little Nellie,

103
00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.879
we're onto you. You see,
Nellie's parents had just painted the wall.

104
00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:39.639
Mom came by and noticed some handprints
on the wall. Who do you

105
00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:43.319
think did it? Mom said,
I just moved and started painting the walls

106
00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:45.639
white. I didn't realize for an
hour or so that she did it,

107
00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:48.319
so she asked the little girl,
Hey, you know anything about these handbrits

108
00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:51.399
on the wall, and little Nellie
said, oh, yeah, the dog

109
00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:56.480
Winston did it. Mom said,
I just moved and started painting the walls

110
00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:58.639
white. I didn't realize for an
hour or so that she'd done it.

111
00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:00.720
I didn't expect Nellie to blame the
dog, but I knew I had to

112
00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:03.120
record a reaction to my question as
to who did it, as I knew

113
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:08.399
it would be amazingly funny. Poor
dog, you know, Nellie, humans

114
00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:13.480
and dogs have different pawprints. That's
your five great news stories for today.

115
00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:16.639
Follow a show for free on Apple
Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you

116
00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.360
get your shows. Have a great
day.