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Ron & Jen’s Great Escape – 8-10-22 – Ron St. Pierre & Jen Brien
by Ron St. Pierre & Jen Brien, contributing writers
YOU GOTTA FAIL IT TO NAIL IT
We all have failed in our lives at some point. Some people have blown relationships, some have blown money, others, careers, many… marriages, a good deal of people blew opportunities… etc, etc.
Failing is a natural occurrence and really the progression of ourselves into a better self or better version of who we are. I mean, sure, a ton of self help books say this too, but the fact is, you don’t know what kind of person you are until you fall down, hard, or fail all together.
Some people drop out and self sabotage, some get back on the horse immediately and forge ahead to the next challenge or chapter of their lives, and some, like myself, turned to God for his guidance after figuring out I don’t have it figured out at all.
I had it all and lost it all. I was homeless, and broke, and broken. I was struggling with alcoholism and was ready to throw in the towel. Sure, some really bad things happened to me that changed the projectile of my life as a 23 year old soldier in the U.S Army, but after many years of wondering why and dealing with the demons, God finally said, “are you ready to try another way? Are you ready to give my guidance a whirl?”
The story got grittier from there for a while, but man did I learn and grow. God sent me to the college of life with his truth as a backdrop, and it forever changed me. I no longer see bad things as “they happened to me”… but rather, I see it now as “it happened for me”. I wouldn’t change my path for anything. Now, would I have chosen this path? NO… but it is making me, has MADE me a better me in every way now that I live with Christ at the center of it all.
Failing isn’t fun, losing is never easy, and growth can be excruciating and humiliating. But! For the first time in my life, I’M ALIVE! I’M FREE! And it’s all because of bad breaks and personal failure. God pulled me out of this world, only to send me back in. What an amazing opportunity THAT IS. Really, the only opportunity that’s worth anything.
Don’t be discouraged about failing at whatever. It’s necessary so God can take the sandpaper to you and soften your heart and make you a better you.
Till next time my friends,
Jen
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GET OFF OUR BACKS!
We’ve about had it with political robocalls and texts. It doesn’t matter if you have an unlisted number (those of you still with hardlines), or if you think candidates can’t get your cell phone number (everything’s for sale), the bombardment continues. And the real sad part? It’ll get worse once the primaries are over September 13th. Once we swing onto the ramp up to the November 8th General Election things will REALLY gets nuts….and more annoying.
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PHONY EUPHORIA
The price of a gallon of gasoline has been declining for the last 5 weeks. As Winston Wolfe said in PULP FICTION, “Let’s not start getting excited, just yet” (and we’re DEFINITELY paraphrasing here). It’s because U.S. gas demand has dropped below pandemic levels. In fact, consumption’s down more than one million barrels a day below pre-COVID norms. You want to know why? MCFLY… It’s because people can’t afford it.
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SELL CRAZY SOMEPLACE ELSE… WE’RE ALL STOCKED UP HERE
The White House says the economy’s improving. That’s nice. A new survey says more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck due to the worst inflation in four decades. LENDING CLUB says more are living paycheck to paycheck to the tune of 61%, which is up from 58% in May. Hourly wages are up about 5% from a year ago but that can’t keep up with 9.1% inflation in June… worst since 1981.
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BACK TO SCHOOL BLUES
It’s not just kids dreading back to school. Parents are dreading the COST of sending their kids back. A new report by DEBT.COM finds 80% of parents say they’ll be spending more money getting their kids ready for school this year. 45% say they’ll lay out at least $200 per child, that’s up 29% from a year ago. Biggest expenses? Clothing at 48%, 31% on basic school supplies, 21% on technology.
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Ron St. Pierre is a veteran broadcaster whose career has spanned over four decades. Ron has programmed, performed on and managed WHJJ, WPRO, WWRX, 790 The Score in Providence, as well as WBZT and WKGR in West Palm Beach and WABC in New York City. Ron also anchored sports on WPRI Ch 12 in Providence. He is a member of both the Rhode Island Radio and Television and the City of Pawtucket Halls of Fame. He was born and raised in Pawtucket.
Jen Brien has over 20 years of radio broadcast experience having hosted shows on WPRO and WHJJ with Ron as well as her own shows on WRKO and WBZ in Boston, WXTK on Cape Cod and WHAM in Rochester, New York. Jen was born and raised in Woonsocket and served six years in the Army MP Canine Unit.
Hazel, Ron’s dog, makes regular appearances.
“Ron and Jen’s Great Escape” podcast, a more lighthearted look at the events happening around us, can be found on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes premiering each Wednesday and listen to Ron and Jen’s Great Escape call in radio show Friday afternoons 2 til 4 on 101.1 FM, 1540 WADK and streaming everywhere on WADK.COM.