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. 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 can calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting.
Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. and BC News reporting for America. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a camp miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances by 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. Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party tickets now for $17.76 at America250.org/slash LA. What's up, y'all? Summer's got a different tempo.
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, the new tropical butterfly refresher from Starbucks. guava and passion fruit flavors with ango pineapple flavored pearls. Yeah.
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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 where the West begins in Fort Worth, Texas. Up next, a story from a regular contributor of ours, one I met a few years ago at a class I taught on storytelling at Hillsdale College, Shiloh Caroza-McCall. Here she is to share the story of how she fell in love with her husband, among other things.
Take it away, Shiloh. Do you ever look at someone else's life story and think? Wow, what an exciting, adventurous life. I wish mine had that much dramatic value. Maybe most people don't think that way, but writers often do.
And I'm a writer.
So, naturally, I wanted my love story to be as epic as possible. The thing is They didn't start out epic. It started out on eHarmony. And the other thing is, epic usually involves some level of uncomfortable. I think I knew that early on as Austin and I started talking.
He'd reached out first. I saw he was an Air Force officer, so he couldn't be that dangerous. Our conversations flowed smoothly, we had good chemistry, our beliefs lined up, we even called each other's mentors to get the background check before flying out to visit. Everything checked out. But it was almost too easy.
Too smooth. Where would the real test come? See, I'd learned from previous relationships that until you go through something hard together, a guy could be gaslighting you into thinking he's someone he isn't. But pretending gets hard. when life gets hard.
That's why, four months into our long-distance relationship, I distinctly said to my mom. I don't think I could ever be sure of a man unless he walked through something really hard with me. Yeah. Well God heard that. And then the pain started.
First, a gnawing in my right thigh. Then burning that came and went, Then burning that never left. Then muscle spasms that started any time I moved my leg the wrong way. By the end of May, I was on crutches, unable to walk, and unable to even sit or lie peacefully because of debilitating, seizing hip and leg pain, unlike anything I had ever experienced. The diagnosis process itself was months long.
And for some time, I was even on the watch for debilitating bone disease, cancer, and multiple sclerosis. An MRI eventually revealed a labral tear. An injury common in runners, but one that surgeons hesitate to operate on because they want you to do every imaginable therapy first. The wait list to even see a surgeon was over two months.
So my whole summer was effectively cancelled, and so are my plans of being a fun, spunky, adventurous girlfriend. I could no longer travel to visit Austin.
So Uh He came to me. He washed my feet because I couldn't. He put my shoes on because I couldn't. He handed me my crutches every time I tried to get up. He wheeled me around the neighborhood in my wheelchair so I could see nature and the neighbors I'd grown up with.
He helped me in and out of cars and off of couches. He carried me out of Lake Michigan when I couldn't stand in the waves. He paused movies.
So I could just cry when the pain got so intense I couldn't focus on the film. I still hadn't healed by the time he proposed. By this time, I had lost over 10 pounds from muscle atrophy and depression. My clothes barely fit. Finding a wedding dress that hid the boniness in my chest and arms was a real challenge.
Lots of brides planned to lose weight for their big day. But my weight loss wasn't planned. And it wasn't wanted. We knew Austin was going to deploy to the Middle East in four months, and if we got married beforehand, I might not be healed. We both knew I needed the surgery if I was ever going to have a normal life again.
But neither of us knew at the time he proposed how long that would take and what my new normal would even look like. And he still wanted to marry me. at my most unlovable. Am I most vulnerable? at my least physically capable, in a state of depression.
And he loved me. Little did we know that a 50-person-long wait list would open up just in time for me to get that surgery, just in time for my insurance to cover it, and just in time for me to heal enough to walk down that aisle. Yes, that all happened. And it was, in the surgeon's own words, A miracle. But Austin didn't count on it.
He didn't care if I used crutches to get down that aisle. We were going to get married before he deployed. I hated the journey I'd been on over the past year. I hated that I couldn't exercise. I hated that I'd slipped into depression.
I hated that I couldn't be fun and helpful for the man I loved. I hated that my biggest concern on my wedding day would be Can I get through this day without excruciating pain? But here's what I love. The man who walked through it with me. and the God who gave him to me.
But most of all The picture this gave me of Jesus's love. See, as a Christian, I was used to hearing how Jesus came for me at my most unlovable. am I most helpless? But I hadn't seen that play out in a human relationship. Ergo, I couldn't fully appreciate that reality.
I do know. Austin had no guarantee of what a life with me would look like. Mm-hmm. but his loyalty, no matter what came. proved he was the kind of man I could trust.
The kind of man You keep. when you find him. Was it epic, the journey I took to realize this? Probably not. but you be the judge.
And a special thanks to Shiloh Caroza McCall. for telling her love story. An unepic. and beautiful one. Here.
On our American stories. Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts. Any story you missed or want to hear again can be found there daily. Again, Please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. It helps us keep these great American stories coming.
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 camp miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances by 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. Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party tickets now for $17.76 at America250.org/slash LA. 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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