I Had ‘Hydrangea Envy’ This Year: Best in 20 Years Says Queen Of Hydrangeas
The Debbie Nigro Show
I’ve always admired hydrangea flowers but this year I was obsessed! I was slamming on my brakes and jumping out of my car just to take pictures of ‘other people’s hydrangeas’! It’s not like I'd never seen hydrangeas before. It’s just that this year for some reason they just seemed more beautiful than I ever remember. I wanted to share in the hydrangea joy, so I went and bought a pretty blue hydrangea plant at Home Depot. I think it died in the car on the way home. I planted other pretty flowers that actually lived, but sadly not that one. I was bummed. ...
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My Blind Summer College Intern Does ‘Live’ Reports on Technology Helping Those with Disabilities
The Debbie Nigro Show
Kathleen Masciana is my summer college intern. She’s a sweet and smart college gal with an impressive list of credits. She insists on calling me Miss Nigro. I keep telling her to call me Debbie. Kathleen who is blind, aspires to be a radio and podcast talk show host. She posted her first attempt at hosting a talk show on YouTube on ‘BTGS Radio’ on Stationhead.com. 'BTGS Radio' stands for Blind Techie Geek Speaks. Kathleen’s a self-proclaimed technology geek. That’s what she loves reading about, thinking about, learning about. So I gave Kathleen an important job to fulfill her...
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At ‘89’ This Guy Took a 19 Day 11-Flight Trip Alone Then Gave a Workshop on The Blue Zones
The Debbie Nigro Show
Talk About Risk It! Or Regret It!... After reading one of my email newsletters (they’re free btw at DebbieNigro.com) where my headline was my question “What are you going to do with TODAY?” James (Jim) Flaherty a subscriber replied to my email: “About to leave (Mon Morning) for a 19 day 11-flight trip, visiting Flagstaff, AZ; Las Cruces, NM; and Houston and San Antonio before landing in the Baja of Mexico to teach a Modern Elder Workshop on THE BLUE ZONES, where there are more centenarians than anywhere else in the world. Trust you are well. Good column today. ...
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Missed ol’ pal Adrienne Lopez Now Sr. Talent Producer at The Tamron Hall Show
The Debbie Nigro Show
Was missing my ol’ belly laugh pal TV Producer Adrienne Lopez. She used to live close by me but moved, and moved on to traveling for work. Hadn’t seen her in person since before Covid. Happened to a lot of friendships. Can’t remember exactly how we originally became friends, but I think it started way back when 5000 years ago when she once booked me on a TV show. Adrienne’s been in the tv & film business a long time. She’s a veteran television producer and talent executive. She’s been a casting director/producer in all tv genres including, reality tv, docu-series, and...
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Heard About The Nanny’s of Disney? They’re not just for the rich and famous!
The Debbie Nigro Show
“Super Nanny’ Shannon Albrecht is the creator and President of President/Nanny-Land®️, LLC, the world’s only company specializing in Nannies at Disney! Located at most Disney locations worldwide, and available on Disney cruise Lines they provide you with a Magical Nanny for your Family Adventures! Shannon joined The Debbie Nigro Show to share that most of her clients are simply families who could use an extra set of hands when they take a Disney Adventure. Typical families who book with her might have 3 or 4 kids, a child with special needs, or...
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Giving Writers The Keys To the Castle In Italy
The Debbie Nigro Show
Have you heard about The Key to The Castle workshops for writers? The next one is taking place in Torre di Cittara, Italy from October 19th to 26th this year. Kathy Curto, Patricia Dunn, William Papaleo and Angela Derecas Taylor are behind this. It's their signature workshop on the Amalfi Coast but they offer workshops for writers, artists and yoga enthusiasts both online, locally in the NY area and in other cool places abroad. I found about this when ran into Angela at a writer’s event. I’d known her from her days working in the mayor’s office in my city. When she retired 2...
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Vinnie Groppa Does Not Call Himself ‘Pool Artist to The Stars’ - I Do
The Debbie Nigro Show
Let’s just say if I was building or renovating a pool I’d call Vinnie Groppa. And for the record yes, stars do call him, but so do very regular people who still get the same star treatment! Humble guy that Vinnie. Great sense of humor. Really nice human and super creative pool and backyard design visionary. I wanted to give Vinnie his own star treatment, so I invited him into the studio to tell the great entrepreneurial story of his family’s 50-year-old pool business Gunite Pools of Westchester. It’s a good one. And a story that's entering a new chapter... 'expansion'. ...
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James Bond Of Lifeguards Has Answer to National Lifeguard Shortage
The Debbie Nigro Show
We have an ongoing national lifeguard shortage. This is not good. This poses a significant risk to water safety in communities for the 3rd year. American Lifeguard Association (ALA) has launched a crucial initiative. and Wyatt Werneth their spokesperson, who’s like the Jame Bond of Lifeguards, is making headlines highlighting a crucial reality: "Professional lifeguards, the dedicated guardians of our waterways, are deserving of both acknowledgment and compensation that mirror the critical nature of their work.” The ALA is calling...
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Nuttin' Like A Blast of Hot Weather To Agitate Women Who Are Going Through the 'HOT' Phase.
The Debbie Nigro Show
There's nuttin' like a blast of hot ‘clothes shedding weather’ to make some people realize they wish they were in better shape. LOL If you’re a woman in your HOT phase of life this seaons hot weather shock can be even more uncomfortable. However, you can turn things around in just 30 days and feel a whole lot better if you listen to my Nutritionist pal Jacqui Justice. Jacqui is one passionate nutritionist! She’s the OG of ‘Talkin’ Menopause’ and was talking about it when nobody else was. She’s been a pioneer in the space trying to help her fellow...
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Aimee Hofmann paralyzed at 30 by a horrible disease, uses her wheelchair and paintbrushes to create amazing works of art.
The Debbie Nigro Show
Needless to say Aimee Hofmann is an INSPIRATION to many! At 30, she suffered from the neurological condition, Transverse Myelitis, an inflammation in the spinal cord that caused complete paralysis from level T10 of the spine. After learning she would never walk again, art gave her peace during the difficult stages of loss, grief, self-reflection, and re-discovery. Art helped her emotionally heal, as well as find joy again. Throughout the years that followed, while facing a new life with a disability, Aimee created a number of collections. Her works featured...
info_outlineI need to shine a light on Saratoga NY one of the kindest places in America.
That’s where the idea for a viral event that took place across the country this year called “Leap of Kindness Day’ emanated from. It was held on …you guessed it…Leap Day!
I love Saratoga. Been there enough times to know I could live there.
I invited Todd Shimkus the President of The Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, and originator of the kindness idea, to join me on The Debbie Nigro Show to talk about ‘The Kindness Movement’ they started in 2016.
Leap of Kindness was such a great idea, that 250 other Chambers of Commerce in the US and Canada joined in the movement this year to encourage the spread of meaningful kindness vibes and deeds.
It’s always worth my time to showcase people on this planet doing beautiful things because most people are good, and I know we sometimes forget that because the world we live in is tough.
Speaking of good things, Todd shared all the cool stuff coming up in Saratoga, NY this year.
“Oh my God, we have so much going on in our community, especially as we head into this summer. You know, the New York City Ballet is coming back to SPAC, the Philadelphia Orchestra, we are their summer home. They've got some extraordinary performances there. We've got the Universal Preservation Hall, which is new coming out of COVID. It's a fully restored church that was acoustically designed to allow people to perform and the sound to be just amazing for musical events. Cafe Lina, which is one of the oldest venues you'll find for music as well is here. And then of course the Saratoga Racecourse, and our casino. We are hosting the Belmont Stakes Saratoga on June 8th for the first time ever. And it's sold out for Saturday, June 8th.“50,000 people will be at the racecourse that day. There's still tickets available for Thursday and Friday and Sunday around that. And we expect a week-long celebration of that just amazing event, especially if there's a Triple Crown potential for one of the horses.”
That Saratoga Racecourse is special. Sports Illustrated named it one of the world’s greatest sporting venues. As I kid I remember that every Summer for years and years, my parents and all my aunts, uncles and their friends would go to Saratoga in August and always stayed at place called The Gideon Putnam, and always left all us kids home.
It was decades later that I finally went there myself and got to see what all the fuss was about. It’s an incredible place. I was so annoyed they never took us kids all those years! LOL
Saratoga Racecourse is a Thoroughbred horse racing opened in 1863 and is considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country but is actually the fourth oldest racetrack in the U.S. according to Wikipedia. You will feel the nostalgia there and you get to see all the beautiful horses up close. There’s a lot more too in Saratoga that captured my soul and I’ve gone back a few times to enjoy the food, the music, and the beauty of this charming place.
And Saratoga has active mineral springs. I just learned there are currently 21 public mineral springs in various locations throughout Saratoga. Most of the springs are naturally carbonated and no two springs taste exactly alike. That’s because each spring has its own distinct mineral makeup and flavor profile. There are supposed health benefits from clearing skin, to helping digestion, and even strengthening blood! You can even Design Your Own Mineral Springs Private Tasting Tour.
I should also mention it’s supposedly the home of the original potato chip. That alone is worth a tasting trip to see about that!
Enjoy this podcast of my live conversation with Todd Shimkus the President of The Saratoga Chamber of Commerce on The Debbie Nigro Show.