This week's Lo and Rejoice segment was all about kindhearted people giving back. I don't know how Tommy and I seem to link up our themes but we do and it's beautiful. We never discuss these topics before we start recording, by the way. We just connect and go with the flow.
Tommy started off with a story about Howard Lutnick, who as a high school senior, lost his mother to lymphoma. The following year, his first year in college, his father died when a nurse gave him 100 times the normal dosage of a cancer medication. This left Lutnick and his siblings orphans mostly on their own with very little extended family.
Lutnick received a phone call from the president and dean of Haverford college, offering him full tuition for his education, and went on to receive a degree in economics.
He became part of a successful business (Cantor Fitzgerald) located in the World Trade Center and was saved from 9/11 due to the first days of school for his 2 young sons. Most of the other employees died, including Lutnick's brother. Cantor Fitzgerald lost 2/3 of it's workforce, and although they had to stop employee paychecks, the families of employees who died received a 25% share of future Cantor profits for 5 years as well as health insurance for the next ten years. This totaled over $100,000 per family.
Just a few days after the attack, Lutnick established a relief fund for victims of 9/11 and started it off with a $1 million donation. The fund has now given out approximately $180 million to families of Cantor employees and approximately $280 million altogether.
The extent of Lutnick's giving goes on and on. He has started a Global Charity Day which has raised over $113 million, funded several campus institutions at Haverford College and has given the school nearly $65 million in donations, pledged $10 million to Hurricane Sandy victims, and $2 million to Oklahoma tornado victims.
My story, although on a much smaller economic scale, touched my heart in a different way of "giving back" as a Colorado rancher named Steve Wells bid $60,000 for a police car at an auction for charity. The car was only valued at $12,500 and was previously driven by Sam Brownlee, a deputy who was killed in the line of duty. That alone is moving, but the action after the bid was phenomenal.
Wells immediately handed the keys over to Sam Brownlee's son Tanner, who was also there and bidding to buy his father's car. According to CBS, Tanner said “This is just so huge. I mean, me and my dad built a fence and stuff, but having something I can use, and drive around that he drove around -- it just means a lot.” The brothers drove home in their father's car after the auction -- exactly what Tanner had been hoping to do that day, CBS reported.
OK, dry your eyes. I'll wait. You know the rest of the podcast is going to be full of ridiculousness.
All the talk of cop cars led to a discussion on cop cars that AREN'T cop cars. Are you ever driving along, minding your own business, and suddenly see a cop car right behind you? Are you struck with the guilt of a murderous drug trafficker and feel as if you are high on meth with dead hookers in your trunk?
I mean, me neither.
Anyway, there you are, checking your speed, tightening your seatbelt, positioning your hands at 10 and 2 and by golly, being the best darned citizen you can be. Then the "cop car" whizzes by you looking something like this:
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| What's really good, playa? |
So yeah, we're kind of frustrated with that - and befuddled by logos too, while we're at it.
And you know what else we don't like? RACING.
THERE. WE SAID IT.
I'm only about a half hour away from a very popular NASCAR racetrack, Darlington Raceway, and I. Hate. Racing.
It's not you, it's me. I'm just simply not evolved enough to brace myself for loud noises, drunk sweaty people and also potentially witnessing death to watch a bunch of cars zoom by for a half a second then drive in loops over and over for several hours.
Again, totally just us. You're fine. Wear your Dale Jr jacket with pride. Please.
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| Dammit, you earned this. |
And really, how can you discuss NASCAR without also discussing how Superman deals with hiding his identity? Well, guess what. Tommy brought up three topics that will BLOW YOUR MIND.
1) Superman is so good at being a nerdy, bumbling idiot (possibly also driving super slow in front of Crown Victorias with 22 inch rims), that even though he looks like Superman, nobody would possibly believe he's Superman. Because you know, nobody notices that they're both built like a hunk of granite.
2) Superman projects hologram Supermen to suspicious bystanders so everybody's all "Well THERE'S the real Superman guys, it's totes obv that Clark Kent isn't Superman"
3) Superman creates little tiny Supermen with his powers and you'll have to listen for that, because I can't even.
And now go read Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth and Batman: The Killing Joke please, because do you really expect me to summarize both of those?
You lazy bum.
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| Plot twist. Spoiler alert |
Speaking of superheroes, how about real life superheroes? More specifically, how about Frano Selak, the luckiest unluckiest lucky guy that ever lived?
THIS GUY survived a train derailing into an icy river (he swam to safety), a plane door flying open and said plane crashing (he fell into a haystack), his car catching fire (he escaped with seconds to spare before the car exploded), flames bursting through the air vents in his car (he lost most of his hair), driving off a mountain (he lept out of the car, landed in a tree and watched the car crash and burn)...
...then he hit the lottery.
Because of course he did.
He initially lived it up, buying a nice house on a private island, but eventually gave away almost all his money to charity. He says he kept enough to live off of, own a modest house, support his (FIFTH) wife, and get his hip replaced.
I'm not sure why, since he's apparently superhuman already and probably made out of 99% titanium.
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| In Frano's case, the Before and After are actually reversed |
Then there's Rulon Gardner. Good ol Rulon Gardner.
Rulon survived being shot in the stomach with an arrow during show-and-tell in elementary school. Because that's normal.
He went on to become a gold medalist in the 2000 Summer Olympics as a HUGE (see what I did there?) underdog. He defeated Aleksandr Karelin who hadn't lost in 13 years. He went on to become the only American to ever win both a World and Olympic title in Greco-Roman wrestling.
Then in 2002, he survived falling in the freezing Salt River and being trapped for over 18 hours. He was rescued but lost his middle toe on his right foot.
In 2004, he trained under Bas Rutten, fought in Pride Shockwave, and defeated his opponent Hidehiko Yoshida.
In 2007, he was in a plane crash, swam for an hour in 44F water to land, then had to spend the night without shelter before being rescued.
Since then, he's been on The Biggest Loser and is now a motivational speaker. And that toe he lost? He keeps it in a jar of formaldehyde in his refrigerator as a reminder of his mortality.
PS: Please visit NicholasPetHaven.com to help animals displaced by the recent Texas tornadoes. This is Emma, who was found in her deceased owner's arms after the tornadoes, and is now getting a second chance at happiness due to Nicholas' Pet Haven.
BONUS: Please enjoy this video of a whispering dog. It's the best thing you'll see today.
Thanks for listening, thanks for reading, and thanks for also driving nerdy when you think a cop is behind you. I know you do.
