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Frances Podcast TTT Safety Nets Sarah Ahmadi Season 3

Season 3 Episode 36: The Trio on Safety Nets

Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia

Thank you for listing in!

I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you

Today’s podcast is a look back to a time before COVID-19 changed the trajectory of our global journey.

I came upon an audio file that was located in an old file that was hidden and forgotten in my digital filing system. It seems that, even in our world of organizational efficiencies, things can be misplaced. Perhaps it was meant to be lost until the timing was right.

My mother, Frances, and my sister, Sarah, discussed the idea of safety nets and how they have evolved over time. Little did we know that in a few months after we recorded this conversation, we would learn how to create safety nets in a virtual world.

A safety net is defined as a safeguard against possible hardship or adversity, a system to help those who have serious problems and no other form of help.

So put the kettle on and add to this discussion on Tea Toast & Trivia.

Thank you for joining Frances, Sarah and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you Frances and Sarah for being excellent safety nets over the years.

Until next time we meet, keep safe and be well!

The Trio on Safety Nets – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

Season 3 Episode 36: The Trio on Safety Nets Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia! Thank you for listing in! I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you Today’s podcast is a look back to a time before COVID-19 changed the trajectory of our global journey. I came upon an audio file that was located in an old file that was hidden and forgotten in my digital filing system. It seems that, even in our world of organizational efficiencies, things can be misplaced. Perhaps it was meant to be lost until the timing was right. My mother, Frances, and my sister, Sarah, discussed the idea of safety nets and how they have evolved over time. Little did we know that in a few months after we recorded this conversation, we would learn how to create safety nets in a virtual world. A safety net is defined as a safeguard against possible hardship or adversity, a system to help those who have serious problems and no other form of help. So put the kettle on and add to this discussion on Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for joining Frances, Sarah and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you Frances and Sarah for being excellent safety nets over the years. Until next time we meet, keep safe and be well!

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

25 replies on “Season 3 Episode 36: The Trio on Safety Nets”

This is an interesting podcast, Rebecca. I agree with your mother that America has not had a president like Roosevelt since. Certainly not in my lifetime. We seem to be going backwards with caring for people, animals, and our environment. It is wonderful that communities step in to help others. We saw a bit of this in South Africa post the looting and rioting in July but it didn’t last long. Our society is very fractured, sadly.

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The interesting thing about looking back history is that we have never lived that history and we always see the events through the lens of our time and our value systems (I often wonder was they will think of us in 100 years). FDR was a remarkable president but, as always, there were complex issues that comes when nations are under great duress. I think that his wife, Eleanor was a major influence. I have yet to read a full biography of her (and there are many books about Eleanor) however I have come across her articles that will be of great interest to you as a historian. Check out this website: https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/browse-my-day-columns

I have a feeling the Eleanor would be an amazing blogger!

“ER wrote “My Day,” a national syndicated newspaper column, from 31 December 1935 until 26 September 1962 (six days a week until January 1961, then three days a week thereafter). ER did not keep a regular diary and her extant appointment books are woefully incomplete. Thus “My Day” is the only consistent existing account of her public actions. The columns, while no means a complete record of ER’s daily activities, do reveal much about whom she met, where she traveled, which books she read, which plays she attended, and how she handled the pressures of public life.” https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/about-my-day-project

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There have been many biographies about FDR and Eleanor – they were certainly a power couple in their time. He was the only president that served the third term. What I especially appreciate about history is that you need to somehow place yourself back into that time, like you did for The Ghost and his Gold. Perhaps Churchill was right when he said: “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” If we don’t write our stories, who will?

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Wonderful discussion of safety nets — governmental and person-to-person. Kudos to the learned/humane trio of Rebecca, Frances, and Sarah!

FDR was indeed the U.S. president who helped the most people. Not without flaws — his generous policies unfortunately didn’t always extend to African-Americans and Japanese-Americans, and many of his actions were undoubtedly spurred by his more progressive spouse Eleanor Roosevelt. Still, if the U.S. only had some FDR-like presidents during the past couple decades…

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I am delighted you listened in, Dave. I just want you to know that you and Misty are great safety nets. Wasn’t Eleanor amazing!! I agree that she was a strength and influence for the progress made through difficult years. The great depression and then the war. Nations, were under enormous pressure and duress, much as we are now. Regrettably, there were decisions made during this time that reverberate even now. What I most appreciate about history and discussions on history is the learning. Mistakes made in the past can be made again, only in a different guise. They are cautionary tales that alert us to use critical thinking in our decisions at all levels – from individual to community, from business/corporate to political. As Maya Angelou said so eloquently: I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” I have enjoyed looking back into the poetry and discovered how poetry has been a catalyst for change. I continue to learn and learn and learn!

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Oh, that was so beautiful to listen and as you all are eachother’s safety net, as a family should, you are also my safety net, a beacon of hope, so thank you very much for those conversations …and Sarah, congratulations! What a beautiful family! Many hugs to all!

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Thank you for listening in, Marina. Safety nets are around us, even when we are in a virtual world. A kind word of encouragement gives a lift to the day. I also believe that our four-legged friends are amazing safety nets. I understand that when the pandemic came, our local SPCA was inundated with requests to adopt a dog or cat. I knew that this was an old audio when I heard that Sarah just started her MBA. She is now in the last course and should graduate this year. It has been an exciting journey for her. Sending many hugs and love your way!

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What a wonderful and well balanced conversation. From the 1930’s etc. rural, neighborly safety netting to our current governmental and local community efforts. All are important, and ultimately no small or large kindness goes unrewarded or unappreciated. We need all of these approaches. 🙂

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How very well said, Mary Jo! I agree wholeheartedly! We live in a world of technology that has many opportunities for safety nets which we are all learning to navigate. I remember the first time I used Zoom and tried to set up a meeting with family. YIKES. Bonnie Henry, our Provincial Health Office for British Columbia, has a wonderful mantra – “Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe” that has focused all on the important of the kindness that you mention in your comments. She has a new book out that details the four weeks that shaped our pandemic. The prologue starts with the words “I ask this global community to pause.”

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Thank you for the privilege of joining in this discussion! The two of you are my safety nets, I wonder each day how I would get along without the two of you. As I look back on my life, I can see many safely nets that came into my life. The Nebraska prairie land was one during the 1930s, the Country Church and its members that were such a support, help and encouragement in difficult times and the little country school and its teachers throughout the time. It is a privilege to be able to walk along side our family and friends and with them be each others safety nets–an exciting opportunity!!

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Thank you so much for sharing the life that was in the 1930’s. Ever generation has challenges and opportunities. I remember that country church and your one-room school house, which was still open when I was a child. I agree – it is a privilege to be able to walk along our family and friends. In the end, these are the moments that we remember, the moments that sustain us as we move forward in our journeys. Many hugs!!!

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Hurray for the return of The Trio! I’ve been wondering when they would make another appearance. I was particuarly interested in the discussion of FDR and his social programs to get people back to work during The Depression. My dad was an admirer of his, and he (my dad, not FDR) used to come home shaking his head over how some people in our small town still hated FDR some thirty years later. Along the same lines, for the novel I’m working on, I need to do some research on The Welfare Act of 1967, which pitted the Franklin County against the State of Vermont for taking care of the poor. (Guess who won?) Rebecca’s comment about “the tyranny of hope” was very thought-provoking. I think it could apply to much that’s happening in the US right now. Thanks for another engaging and thought-provoking discussion from The Trio!

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I am so glad that you listened in, Liz! I have searched out the Welfare Act of 1967 and am very interested in your research and in your new book that is in progress. Exciting! I have given a great deal of thought to the idea of positive thinking versus hope. I think you would enjoy reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s book: Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. She challenges readers to consider whether positive thinking allows for critical thinking. I especially liked her thought: “There is a vast difference between positive thinking and existential courage.” Thank you again for your support and encouragement of conversations.

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I enjoyed this podcast very much, Rebecca.

I remember growing up in the 50s and 60s and my father had carried that “help your neighbor” spirit forward, and he instilled it in my brother and me. I remember being dragged off to help other people do things around their house, and I still practice this today, although I’m more careful than I once was. In this time, when there aren’t as many people willing to help, and even fewer with necessary skills, it’s easy for people to take advantage of people who are willing to help. The notion of making sure “people grow” is very important. I’m sharing a excerpt from a previous blog post of mine (the rest of that post is off this topic) that is one of my most meaningful memories (sorry for the length of this comment).
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When I was 12, my father woke me up one spring Saturday so I could help him with an errand. The rural mailbox of a woman on his route had been clipped by a snow plow during the winter. At first, I thought fixing it was part of a mailman’s job, but my father explained that we were simply “doing the right thing.” The woman lived alone, and didn’t have anyone around who could replace it for her.

My father reasoned that since he knew how to fix it, had the time and owned the necessary tools, it was something he would do. He dragged me along to help, so I could learn about digging post-holes removing broken posts, and more importantly, helping others. I have had many opportunities as an adult to use all of those lessons.

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I LOVE the length of this comment, Dan. And I especially appreciate hearing about your father’s commitment to “doing the right thing.” I have been thinking a great deal of safety nets in connection to loneliness and belonging. Our technology allows us to connect across the world, which has been invaluable during our time of social distancing, but the face to face has been missed. Going back to your father, I recall that, as a child, walking down the street to the mailbox was a huge event. To get a letter was so special and to place a letter and then turn up the red sign/flag was connecting with someone living far away. I will never forget that feeling. Mail was a lifeline. We would read letters over and over again. I can only imagine the joy and gratitude of the women, who lived alone, felt when you and your father replaced her mail box. Thank you so much for add depth and breath to this conversation.

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Thanks Rebecca. I worry that there aren’t enough people teaching the importance of contributing to a community safety net. We can order everything from people to drive us places to people to walk our dogs, from our phones, but everything shouldn’t be monetized. I fear the pandemic has exacerbated this trend.

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I have wondered what history will reveal of our time. Kindness has an awesome power. I find that in all the noise and confusion of voices, it is the still, small voice of kindness that is heard the loudest.

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This is a pleasant and insightful conversation, Rebecca! Many of us are fortunate to live in a country with a safety net such as employment insurance and health care. I was the recipient of such when I went through the six months full-time cancer treatment. Between the state and the teacher union, I had a 100% salary for six months. My insurance covered more than half a million dollars of treatments.
I agree that in a community, we want to be each other’s safety net. I’m in a church group being with each other for more than 35 years. In 2008, one couple lost their 14 bookstores one after another. They were under the threat of losing their home. This group pulled the resources together to help with their mortgage for a while until they found employment. Another person from another country where she was robbed and poured gasoline over her face and burned her. She survived. She sought face reconstruction in the US. It was years ago. For the past 10 years or so, several families have committed to helping her in her daily needs. When I saw a man came to the class with her every week, I thought the insurance pays for her caretaker, but later on, found out he was one of the volunteers who help her daily needs. This has to come from the kindness of the heart and compassion.
Thank you for such a sensitive and important issue, Rebecca. Thank you to your mother, Frances, and your sister, Sarah who joined you in this conversation.

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Dear Miriam, you have added much joy to Frances, Sarah and my day. The first prayer of my day is always “thank you!” I am grateful for family and friends, for our safety nets which have been stretched over the past months, but yet have remained strong and resilient. How wonderful to belong to a church group that has been a support and encouragement over 35 years. Amazing – truly amazing. Thank you for adding depth to this conversation, Miriam. I enjoy our discussions. Sending many hugs!

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