This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years, and now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250.
America's Block Party is a can't-miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Experience music performances from major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Learn more about this landmark celebration at America250.org. I turned off news altogether.
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people. If we got clear facts, maybe we could calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting.
Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. NBC News reporting for America. What's up y'all? Summer's got a different temper.
Everything's a little looser, brighter. One plan turns into another. You hear something, you stay a little longer.
Next thing you know, you're somewhere you didn't plan to be. It's those in between moments. That's where the ideas hit. conversations stretch out, little memories sneak up on you.
Sometimes it's just about what's in your hand. that color. That chill. a new tropical butterfly refresher from Starbucks. guava and passion fruit flavors with mango pineapple flavored pearls.
Yeah. That feels like summer before you even taste it. Funny how one small stop becomes the best part of the day. Start your summer rhythm. with Starbucks.
Try the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder. We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ionic 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamar. Want the full story? Take a listen.
She starts dating Howard Hughes. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane.
So she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, Spotlighting Groundbreaking Innovators like Hedi Lamar and Billie Jean King. Presented by the Hyundai Ionic 5.
Goodbye. Yeah. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people, coming to you from the city where the West begins, Fort Worth, Texas. Up next, another story from our good friend from Alaska, Leslie Leland Fields. Leslie's the author of 14 books, runs a memoir masterclass.
And her and her student stories are heard frequently here on this show. Today, Leslie shares a story called One More Serving, which at its core is about making peace with your childhood self. Take it away, Leslie. I was sixteen. Working at Mackenzie's Ice Cream Parlor in downtown Concord, New Hampshire.
We boasted wrought iron chairs, red checkered tables, and a black and white chessboard floor. And waitresses dressed as 19th century maids.
So the three other teenage girls and I. We wore black uniforms with white aprons edged in lace. But we were maids of the mid 70s with impossibly low necklines and thigh-high hemlines. We were an early version of Hooters. Except this was also strangely A family restaurant.
But It was a job. And for me, that meant a gas in the station wagon. and money, say for college. I got to eat there as well. a glorious boon since there was very little food at home.
Helen, our boss. was crazy. That was a word the other employees and I used. Because some days she barely spoke. others she screamed.
And some she cried, most days she simply carped at us. And though everyone walked on eggshells around her, I was confident that I could manage her. I was, after all, full of 16-year-old wisdom. And I knew this behavior well in other parts of my life. Uh Three tumultuous weeks in, it happened.
It was a busy Saturday afternoon. People were lined up for cones or cups of ice cream. I'd like a quart of chocolate chip, please, the middle-aged man at the front of the line requested. I squared my shoulders back as far as they could go to hide my bra and preserve my dignity. I leaned over into the tub, scooped and packed the ice cream tight, popped on the cardboard lid, and then handed it over with a closed mouth smile.
There you go. That will be I consulted the price list to be sure. Uh dollar fifty. He riffled through his wallet. And just as he was doing that, Helen suddenly appeared from the back, her gray hair ablaze.
Lastly. That's not a quart. That's a half gallon. That's $3.50, not $150 worth of ice cream. Are you trying to sink this restaurant?
What's wrong with you? She screeched at me. I stared at the container, mute, recognizing my mistake. I must have turned twenty shades of red. Then You're fired.
Her shout reverberated around the checkerboard drum. I froze. I said, you're fired right now. Get your stuff and leave. Ooh, under the heat of that rumful of stairs, I just melted into tears and bolted from the checkered parlour.
I drove the twenty minutes home in my country squire station wagon in tears and in shock. See, I had always been the good girl, the one whom teachers relied on, who my peers sought out for counsel. And at home, I tried to be the peacemaker between all the warring parties. And I believed that good intentions would protect me. But they didn't.
I didn't have the luxury of looking my wounds for long, though. Humiliation would not put gas in the car.
So, two weeks later, I was hired at another ice cream shop, Friendly's. Whose name was more promising? But I feel it again. Even as I speak this now, all these decades later. I blush to remember my hubris.
At thinking that I could manage this volatile woman, If I could not manage such behavior at home, Why did I think I could manage it here? And I'm embarrassed at my error at the register. I cringe at the sexist uniform that I wore, that I didn't fight harder against the management that made me wear it. Ah, yeah. There's plenty here to root and confess.
And I do that first. I meet my younger self again in my memory. with her hip length. black braid pinned up in a bun for work. And her, with her crooked teeth, she always tried to hide.
Wow. How much there was to hide those years. But then Now I lift my hat. And I bless her. Because I know that we are made of dust and ash.
And what is dirt for, except for growing flowers and food?
So I turn around now. And I pass this on to others, kind of like an ice cream cone. I stretch out my hand with these words, scooped and stacked. Because I know how many are out there. How many like me?
Hiding shame. hiding failures and fears.
So let me stop fearing them. Let us stop fearing them. Let me call my past. to the page. to this moment.
one little piece at a time. And to meet myself again. And this time, I'm greeting that naive, prideful, sad, awkward girl. with honesty first. then kindness.
I bless her scars. I'm still learning from her fails. And I'm loving her through them. And I'm finding grace. Even here in Helen's crumbling ice cream shop, for didn't she fight dragons of her own?
Didn't the shop close for good a month later? Mm. I see it now. I can taste it. How sweetly and well The bitter past can feed us.
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery and our own Reagan Habib. Leslie Leland Fields here. on our American stories. Ding thing. Lee Habib here again.
Our American Stories tries to tell the stories of America's past and present to Americans, and we want to hear your stories too. They're some of our favorites. Send them to us. Go to ouramericanstories.com and click the Your Stories tab. Again, please go to ouramericanstories.com.
and click. the Your Stories tab. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way.
The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q.
This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a can't-miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Experience music performances from major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Learn more about this landmark celebration at America250.org.
Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder. We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ionic 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamar. Want the full story? Take a listen. She starts dating Howard Hughes.
And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane.
So she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, Spotlighting Groundbreaking Innovators like Hedi Lamar and Billie Jean King. Presented by the Hyundai Ionic 5.
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