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In 1993 my dad, who was caring for my mom, died suddenly and unexpectedly. Mom could not live on her own, and she moved in with me here in Oregon. Because it all happened so fast, I had to learn on the job, so to speak, and the learning curve was really steep. In this final...

Caregiving is challenging and demanding in the best of circumstances, add in the complexities of dealing with hostile stepchildren and the situation becomes much more difficult. In this episode we meet Kay, who has been caring for her husband John since he was diagnosed wit...

Caring for a spouse or partner who is suffering from advanced dementia is hard and emotionally draining work. In addition managing all the demands of providing care, there is the additional stress of watching someone you love gradually change and disappear. In this episode ...

How do you care for someone who is suffering from dementia, is in excellent health otherwise, and is adamant about living as independently as possible?  In this episode, we meet Brenda, who is caring for her mother. Unlike the living arrangements described in previous episo...

Being a caregiver can be a very lonely experience. The time demands of caring for someone often means that there is little opportunity for socializing with friends, pursuing hobbies, or just enjoying some free time. In this episode we meet Nan, who has been caring for her h...

Caregiving can be very challenging at times. Keeping track of all kinds of details, managing medical issues, constantly being on call, and watching someone you love gradually become more feeble and helpless are all things that can make taking care of someone very stressful ...

Welcome to the caregiving edition of Local Folks Podcast. Taking care of someone who, because of illness or injury, can no longer care for themselves is something that can happen to any of us. I remember when it happened to me. My father died unexpectedly, and just like tha...

Howdy folks, this is Zeke back for one more go-round. I’ll be heading back to my little cabin in the mountains after this here show, but I just had to get a couple of more things about the election and the state of our union off my chest, so to speak. I'm certain sure we ha...

Howdy folks. You know, I enjoyed being the guest host of Local Folks Podcast last month so much, I just had to muscle old Bob aside one more time. This here election is just about over – cain’t say I’m sorry to see it end – and I’m hoping it is the dawn of a new day. I got ...

Howdy, my names Zeke and I’m the guest host of Local Folks Podcast for Episode 2. The last few years have been a mite hard to stomach, and a whole passel of things has got me a tad het up. Bob don’t usually let me intrude into his consciousness, but this here election has m...

For much of my life I was convinced that I was completely free of racist attitudes, and would have felt insulted and laughed if anyone told me I was a beneficiary of white privilege. That all changed when I started working closely with African American colleagues to improve...

Over the last several years, I have talked to a lot of local folks who work very hard to help other people – giving comfort to patients at the end of life, providing food and firewood to low income people, or helping people who are homeless – and they have taught me a lot a...

The motto of the Corvallis Day Time Drop-in Center is “Where needs are met”, and as we have learned in earlier episodes, those needs range from a pair of dry socks to replacing a lost ID. But I think the most important need for many of the guests – local folks who live at t...

Where can homeless people go when they need a pair of dry socks or a pair of shoes, a piece of twine to tie something together, a tool to repair their bicycle, or help getting a new ID? One place to go in Corvallis is Project Action, housed in the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in ...

The Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center wouldn’t exist without the hardworking local folks who volunteer their time to help fellow community members in need. From greeting people as they come in, to serving food and coffee, distributing items like warm, dry socks, helping peop...

There are so many obstacles to providing services to the homeless. They are often hard to contact because they do not have an address or a phone and they often don't have the documentation that we take for granted such as a driver’s license or a birth certificate. Couple th...

Before I started this project, I was aware that there were homeless people in my community, but even though I would see folks collecting cans, or come across their camps at various locations around town, I had no understanding of what their daily lives were really like. In ...

There are homeless people in just about every town and city in America, and my community of Corvallis is no different. Season three of Local Folks Podcast focuses on the Corvallis Daytime Drop in Center – an organization who’s mission is to provide needed services to people...

Science has told us a lot about the nature and history of life, the Earth, and the Universe. Is it possible to use that knowledge to create a personal moral code that helps us to live in harmony with the Earth, each other, and the rest of life? My answer to that question is...

After he recovered from the wounds, Mickey returned to civilian life. He used the GI bill to go to school where he learned to be a machinist, met and wooed the love of his life, and became a sculptor. In this episode he talks about meeting his wife, the beauty of machining ...