Suiting Up at 61: Tom Green Aims To Become The NCAA's Oldest, College Football Player
Second Act Stories
Football is a difficult sport. It demands physical strength, speed, endurance and mental toughness. So it surprised us when we heard about Tom Green, a 61-year-old man focused on becoming the oldest football player in NCAA history. Tom is now a sophmore at McDaniel College, a few minutes away from his home in Westminster, Maryland. He is on the practice field as a defensive lineman playing against athletes who are one-third his age. If he gets on the field for just one play in the upcoming season, he will tie the record as the oldest college football player in history. But what makes his...
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"Stand By Me" Made Andy Lindberg Famous; Nature Gave Him a Calling
Second Act Stories
If you’re of a certain age, you may not know the name Andy Lindberg. But you definitely know his most famous role. Andy played Lard Ass Hogan in the legendary Rob Reiner film “Stand By Me,” one of the most beloved coming-of-age movies ever made. His scene, the unforgettable “barf-o-rama” at the pie-eating contest, remains one of the most memorable movie moments of the 1980s. It was gross. It was hilarious. It was impossible to forget. Andy was 14 years old when he filmed the scene in Oregon, a local kid doing local theater who suddenly found himself working on a major motion picture...
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Restoring Dignity One Load At A Time: Retired Cop Creates Mobile Laundry Service For Homeless
Second Act Stories
Wade Milyard worked as a police officer in Frederick, Maryland for nearly 20 years and planned to retire from the force in January 2025. As retirement approached, he had no idea what he was going to do next. In his final year as a police officer, he and his partner were called to a domestic dispute with a homeless couple living in a tent. “As we were leaving the campsite, God put it in my heart to ask a simple question: where do you do your laundry?” And that was where the idea of “Fresh Step Laundry” first began to take shape. Fresh Step Laundry provides free laundry service to...
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David Pogue Says Yes to Everything
Second Act Stories
If you know tech, you know . His resume includes 13 years as the top personal technology columnist for , and prior to that, 13 years as a columnist for magazine. Today he’s a full-time correspondent for the venerable weekly news program . His work there has earned him seven… SEVEN… Emmy Awards. He’s also a five-time speaker, and he’s hosted 20 NOVA science specials on . David is also a prolific author. He’s written or cowritten more than 120 books, including dozens in the Missing Manual tech series, which he created in 1999; six books in the For...
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Second Servings: Paul Giannone
Second Act Stories
Some people change careers. These people rewrote the menu. This week on Second Act Stories we highlight an incredible group of entrepreneurs who traded in wildly different first acts for lives spent building bold, food-focused brands. What connects them isn’t a straight line or a master plan, but the moment they realized it was time for a second serving: to take what they’d learned, trust their instincts, and build something deliciously their own. These are stories of reinvention, risk, and recipes. Proof that sometimes the most satisfying work comes after you decide to start over. Paul...
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Second Servings: Anna Vocino
Second Act Stories
Some people change careers. These people rewrote the menu. This week on Second Act Stories we highlight an incredible group of entrepreneurs who traded in wildly different first acts for lives spent building bold, food-focused brands. What connects them isn’t a straight line or a master plan, but the moment they realized it was time for a second serving: to take what they’d learned, trust their instincts, and build something deliciously their own. These are stories of reinvention, risk, and recipes. Proof that sometimes the most satisfying work comes after you decide to start over. Anna...
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Second Servings: Steve Lewis
Second Act Stories
Some people change careers. These people rewrote the menu. This week on Second Act Stories we highlight an incredible group of entrepreneurs who traded in wildly different first acts for lives spent building bold, food-focused brands. What connects them isn’t a straight line or a master plan, but the moment they realized it was time for a second serving: to take what they’d learned, trust their instincts, and build something deliciously their own. These are stories of reinvention, risk, and recipes. Proof that sometimes the most satisfying work comes after you decide to start over. Steve...
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Second Servings: Andrew Pudalov
Second Act Stories
Some people change careers. These people rewrote the menu. This week on Second Act Stories we highlight an incredible group of entrepreneurs who traded in wildly different first acts for lives spent building bold, food-focused brands. What connects them isn’t a straight line or a master plan, but the moment they realized it was time for a second serving: to take what they’d learned, trust their instincts, and build something deliciously their own. These are stories of reinvention, risk, and recipes. Proof that sometimes the most satisfying work comes after you decide to start over. Andrew...
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Author! Author!: Dann McDorman
Second Act Stories
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a successful writer, but wondered if the moment had already passed? This week, in our “Author! Author!” series, we’re sharing stories from people who answered that question by simply starting - often much later, and after building careers elsewhere. These conversations show how the path to authorship isn’t something you find so much as something you clear, step by step, by leaning into the life you’ve already lived. Together, these episodes capture the heart of Second Act Stories: the idea that reinvention doesn’t have an expiration date, and that...
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Author! Author!: Marty Herman
Second Act Stories
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a successful writer, but wondered if the moment had already passed? This week, in our “Author! Author!” series, we’re sharing stories from people who answered that question by simply starting - often much later, and after building careers elsewhere. These conversations show how the path to authorship isn’t something you find so much as something you clear, step by step, by leaning into the life you’ve already lived. Together, these episodes capture the heart of Second Act Stories: the idea that reinvention doesn’t have an expiration date, and that...
info_outlineHave you ever dreamed of becoming a successful writer, but wondered if the moment had already passed? This week, in our “Author! Author!” series, we’re sharing stories from people who answered that question by simply starting - often much later, and after building careers elsewhere. These conversations show how the path to authorship isn’t something you find so much as something you clear, step by step, by leaning into the life you’ve already lived. Together, these episodes capture the heart of Second Act Stories: the idea that reinvention doesn’t have an expiration date, and that sometimes the most meaningful work begins after you’ve already lived a few chapters.
If you’ve ever dreamed of writing the Great American Novel, this episode is for you.
For most of his professional career, Marty Herman was a business turnaround specialist. He would come into troubled companies, figure out what was wrong and implement a solution. And then he’d move on to the next company.
But he always had a love of writing – he even sold a couple of short stories in his life. So at the age of 75, and with the help and encouragement of his youngest daughter Aimee, he published his first mystery novel called “The Jefferson Files.” Since then he’s published four other mystery novels, a book of short stories and a biography of a local jazz musician.
Marty loves writing. But he also loves selling his books. Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he attended 200+ book and craft fairs each year and estimates that he’s sold 15,000-18,000 of his books in this manner.
Click here to learn more about his work and purchase one of his books. I read his latest mystery, “The First Tuesday Of The Month Murder Files,” and it is terrific.
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Second Act Stories theme music: “Between 1 and 3 am” by Echoes.