April 18, 2025 • 40 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
Boston Marathon “Pursuit” Program by Wings of America. With Ando Nixon – Founder of Wings of America.
Militia memorializes 250th anniversary of Battle of Lexington. Rasheed Walters (journalist) & Alex Cain (local historian & member of the Lexington Minute Men) joined Dan.
A woodpecker is wreaking havoc in Rockport, smashing car windows and mirrors! Tia Pinney, senior naturalist with Mass Audubon checked in!
Unmasked: 82% of working women change their speaking style when they’re on the clock! Suzanne Castle – leadership expert who helps women entrepreneurs explained.
Boston Marathon “Pursuit” Program by Wings of America. With Ando Nixon – Founder of Wings of America.
Militia memorializes 250th anniversary of Battle of Lexington. Rasheed Walters (journalist) & Alex Cain (local historian & member of the Lexington Minute Men) joined Dan.
A woodpecker is wreaking havoc in Rockport, smashing car windows and mirrors! Tia Pinney, senior naturalist with Mass Audubon checked in!
Unmasked: 82% of working women change their speaking style when they’re on the clock! Suzanne Castle – leadership expert who helps women entrepreneurs explained.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice time with Dan Ray. I'm going you Mazy
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thanks very much, Kyle. I hope you have a great weekend.
Going to be a busy weekend for everybody in the
newsroom for sure, with all of the two hundred and
fiftieth anniversary activity as well as the marathon coming up
on Monday. My name's Dan Ray, Host of Nights. I'd
heard every Monday through Friday night right here on w
b Z from eight until midnight. We have a really
interesting show for you coming up tonight, but I want
(00:28):
to jump right into the eight o'clock hour. First, doll again,
remind you that I'm Dan Ray. I'm the host of
the show. Rob Brooks is back in the control room.
Rob will set you up with phone calls. Once we
start taking phone calls in the nine, ten or eleven
o'clock hours. We will do our grind your gears tonight
in the twentieth hour of the week at eleven. I
know a lot of people are happy about that, but
(00:49):
we have we have really four interesting guests here in
this hour, and I don't want to cut short anyone
for their time. And my first guest is someone who
is no strength to New England, that is for sure.
Andrew Nixon and O Nixon who is involved with the group.
He's the founder of Wings of America, but he also
(01:11):
has he has certainly a lot of experience in Boston.
He was part of the very popular nineteen eighties New
England based band Duke and the Drivers that also included
Henry Eaton, a his fellow bandmate and a fellow reporter
of mine at WBZTV. So I've known Henry a long
time and a pleasure to make your acquaintance tonight. How
(01:33):
are you welcome back to Boston.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, yall, I'm so happy to be here. Dan, I
thank you for getting me on board tonight with the
help of our mutual friend Peggy Rose. Yes, I did
hang with Duke and the Drivers under a different m O.
I've transferred all of that energy, which I will never
forget and always remember fondly to Wings of America Dot org.
(02:03):
This was a native American.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, yes, it's a foundation that that you were the
founder of. Tell how does a guy get from being
a a There was a big band back in the day,
Duke and the Drivers. I think anyone who was around
Boston was very familiar with Duke and the Drivers. How
do you end up, you know, a few couple of
(02:27):
decades later, you're really hanging in another part of the country,
and you're you're bringing back to New England a culture
that perhaps some people are not as familiar with as
they should be, which is the Native American culture. In
the context of the marathon, you have really brought your
worlds together.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
That that's really true. Dan, After the Drivers, I needed
some r and R away from the metropolitan world of
rock and roll and the rhythm and blues here in Boston,
by the way, to find a city in this count
Wings of America I was interested in. I'm not the
only founder. I met another chap who changed the trajectory
(03:09):
of my life towards the Southwest, towards Native American lore
and history, and I've just felt an affinity for Native
Americans because of the way all of the history evolved.
It was a pretty messy situation. So Wings of America
(03:31):
is an Indian youth program. It's a youth development program.
Catalyst is running the Southwest happens to have a really
strong history and presence for running distances, So we affect
thousands and thousands of youths since our inception in the eighties,
(03:53):
and it's been a great transition for me. Wings of
America is reaching out and coming to New England and
we're looking to make friends, expand our programs and move
into the New England area with the tribal people that
are here. There's a very strong tribal element here in
New England. We would like to join forces with them
(04:15):
as well as those people in the Southwest.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
I just want to mention you co found his name,
Will Channing. Want to give him an acknowledgment. An acknowledgment.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I'd like to acknowledge Will Channing, and I'd like to
acknowledge Orrin Lyons, who is a fire keeper of the
hod of the Iroquois Confederacy. He is our mentor and
he's ninety five plus now. He lives up in Upstate
New York and he really drove us to start Wings
of America back in the eighties. And we've started it
(04:46):
with a ten thousand dollars check from a family member
and we've burgeoned from them into a really solid Native
American program really designed to enhance Native American opportunity.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Okay, I want to hit a couple of the highlights
of this weekend. First of all, two Native charity runners
have raised funds to help pay for this trip. These
are what's called Pursuit students. The trip chaperones Sky Izzo
and Josava Christman. That's right, they're going to run in
(05:25):
the race, correct, that's right.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
The chaperones are there to keep an eye on the kids.
There are five kids. Yeah, there are three girls and
two boys, and they're running in the five k BAA
event and the chaperones will then turn around and run
in the major in the marathon, and we'll be there
to share them on and everything else. And this is
(05:48):
a really A lot of these kids have never been
out of New Mexico or Arizona. Some of them have
never been off the reds, so Wings offers them the
opportunity to see the world in a light day they
are unfamiliar with. We get to go see people at
Harvard and different universities around the area, and it's a
real eye opener of our trademark move.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah. My understanding is that these five students, all who
apparently academically are highly qualified. They need a high school
a GPA of at least three point zero, and they
also have to be a member of a federal or
state recognized tribe. They have to have letters of recommendations
from their teachers, and they will get tours of Harvard.
(06:35):
I think it's Boston College and Northeastern, which will give
them a real taste of what it would be like
to go to college here. Whether or not they'll end
up applying, who knows. But they will experience Boston in
a way that very few people, even people who live here,
will will experience. All a result of this, my understanding
that a mutual friend, Ernie Back Junior, is also very
(06:57):
much involved in the activity. He's hoping he's hosting an
event tomorrow which is not a public event. Make that clear,
but as I understand that, and people who might not
remember Duke and the drivers, and I guess there are
some people who might have been going after you're out there.
You guys opened for a lot of big bands. You
(07:18):
had a great reputation, but you opened. I believe you've
opened for arrow Smith And I'm going to note here
that says you might have opened once for the Rolling Stones?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Is that true? We we've opened for a lot of them,
and as as a lot of our guests and fans
can't remember. I'm having a difficult time remembering all but
about thirty minutes of that three year stretch.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, I understand.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
It was with a lot of people, and we were
We started in the club scene. We started at the
Western Front which is now long gone, Marvin Gilmore over
on Western Avenue, and we played Paul Samall, We played
the Garden, we played the cow Palace, we played the
Salt Palace. We got to the point where we either
(08:03):
had to carry on or disperse, and dispersed seemed to
be the more courageous thing to do for us at
the time. And that's what it's all about, is giving
it back. And we were good. We were considered sort
of the legendary party band of all time here in Boston.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Well, let's just say this without each other. Let's just
without casting any sort of dispersions. It was. It was
a time here in New England where there was a
great rock and roll seeing you guys were a big
part of it. The fact that you don't remember everything specifically,
we can understand that. But you now have channeled that
(08:46):
immense energy to help some people who need some help
and have been sort of kind of dismissed and out
of the spotlight for centuries here in this country. And
how can folks if they want to help you the
website you gave it to me before give it to
(09:06):
me one more time.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Wings of Americas, we're talking. We're calling Wingsofamerica dot org
and we're on Instagram. We have a web page. We're
on I like to say Facebook, but it's meta whatever
that is. Yes, we are looking for people to back
us up here and to join the force. And the
force is good, and you're right, it's it's a very
(09:30):
important situation because out of all the iliumascenari philanthropic dollars
that come out of people's pockets every year in the
United States, only a very small quarter of one percent
gets the Indian country, as I call it. But the
Native Americans so more money. We need to raise more money,
and we need to get these kids into college, and
(09:53):
we need to get these kids into the workforce in
any way we can. All the people are just unbelievable,
really connected, lovely people that we've been working with.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
And all I can say is that anyone who can
use the word eliomwsnary as you just did in the
context of the sentence correctly. I'm a huge fan.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Thank you, Dan. I appreciate it for you.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, that's great. There's a few words out there that
I love, Elia Morsonary, I love peripatetic. There's there's a
few of those adjectives that that just can be used perfectly.
The French would say libermal press or lib prism, which
I forget where the very true the down comes and
where the adjective comes. I think it's libo press if
I'm not mistaken anyway. And on Nixon, welcome back to Boston.
(10:44):
You are the wings of many people, the Wings of
America dot org. Best of what. I hope to run
into you at some point this weekend. Thanks Ando, I
really do appreciate it. When you see our mutual friend
and I can say our coke, our colleague Henry eat
and play, our cadillact Jack as he was known.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Tell me thank you very much. I appreciate the time.
Keep looking for Wings of America dot org. Check it
out on the on the computer feeds. We are ready
for more and more and more. We are ready to go,
all right. Thanks so happy to be here for the marathon.
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Congratulations, welcome home. When that's a great, great organization to
get behind. When we get back, we're going to talk
about that two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Battle
of Lexington. Two members, one a journalist, one a historian,
both of whom play important roles in the reenactment. This weekend,
we'll be back on Nightside. My name is Dan Ray.
(11:43):
This is WBZ in Boston.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
It's a big weekend two hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Amongst
others of the Battle of Lexington, and with us is
Rashid Walters, friend and a journalist Alex Kane, who has
been on this show before, local historian, member of the
Lexington Minute Men. Both Received and Alex are going to
participate in the big battle. And Alex, let's start with you.
(12:14):
What time do people have to arrive on the Lexington
Green And again I assume that this is in actuality.
This is tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Right it is?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
And even Dan, it's great to chat with you again,
it's probably it's the original fight was five five point
thirty in the morning, and we're doing it at that time,
so it's only a few hours away from now. My
advice is if you were going to go to the
Lexington Green, if you want to get a good seat,
you probably want to get there by about three.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
In the morning.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
They're anticipating record numbers to attend this two hundred and
fifty three enactment, so it's best advice to get there
as early as possible and use public trans inspectation of
it's available.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Give us, if you will, the hits runs and eras,
if you will from the battle, almost like a baseball
box score. How many people were, how many folks were
on each side of the battle, and when the smoke cleared,
how many we're no longer with us?
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Sure, So you had Captain John Parker's Lexington Company at
the Battle of Lexington. You had roughly seventy to seventy
seven men on the green. Facing off against them were
roughly seven hundred British infantry soldiers, about three point fifty
who were light infantry, in three fifty who were grenadiers.
(13:39):
By the time the battle was over, and it was
a very quick battle, it was under five minutes in time,
eight militiamen were dead, an additional ten were wounded. Only
one British soldier was lightly wounded and a horse also
had its hide grazed with a musketball.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Okay, so what stopped the battle? And it seemed to
me that you out number ten to one. Why didn't
the British just keep firing away and kill as many
people as many minute men as they could.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
Well, it came down to I don't think the British
intended to open fire until that mysterious shot took place,
and then the soldier sort of lost control and fired
point blank into Parker's company and then rushed forward. The
British officers at that point in command scramble to regain
control of their men as Parker's company was being swept
(14:31):
from the field. I think the only thing that saved
them was the officers were able to regain control. The
casualties could have been much much higher. I had the
British been allowed to pursue beyond the Lexington Green. But
also keep in mind their main objective was not Lexington.
It was conquered where the provincial ammunition was stored, so
(14:51):
they had a mission to pick up on and so
as a result, they had to basically keep going to conquered.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Gotcha Rashid, I know that you have a very interesting
role tomorrow. Explain to my audience who you represent and
do you survive the battle?
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Rashid, sure, so, I represent a man named Prince Esterbrook,
and Prince the Brook was an enslaved man in Lexington
who was part of Parker's militia group. He was actually
one of the first veterans of our country and one
of the first wounded in the American Revolution, the first wounded.
(15:33):
He survived the Green He was shot in his elbow
and he actually did end up going back into the
fight with Captain Parker as they en Bush the British
retreating back to Boston's.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Wow, boy, that's that is that is quite a legacy.
Now here's how much, Rashid do you folks practice during
the year? I mean, this is a huge moment. There
won't be another fiftieth anniversary. I mean the next one
will be the three hundredth innniversary fifty years from now.
How much effort and practice in anticipation of tomorrow morning
(16:07):
a little more than six and a half hours from
now or so, well, that's actually would be more about
eight hours from now. How much practice have you folks done?
In preparation for this, well, I.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Know Alex could kind of chime in as well, but
a lot of preparations started last year, especially you know,
Alex did a lot of work with their reenactment itself,
making sure it's historically accurate, creating scripts and as the men,
we had numerous drills where you know, we would travel
to Lexington and we would be in our period uniforms
(16:44):
and outfits and kits drilling on the green. And we've
been doing that since I think maybe October, so every Saturday,
most of us would come out and train and rehearse
and just we want this to be perfect because obviously
it's notes to two fifty if it's honoring the men
who really sacrifice their lives for us to enjoy this country.
(17:08):
The shot heard around the world happened in Lixington. That
was the start, and if it wasn't for those men
who made that stand, we wouldn't have America. So you know,
we have been very invested for quite some time in
honoring their legacy and also making sure that we are
a good representation of those who have sacrificed.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Well, again, thank you for both of you for what
you do and for anyone who's going to be fortunate
enough to be out there tomorrow morning, it's going to
be a historic moment. It will have been two hundred
and fifty years to the day and to the hour
when the revolution which this country has founded upon occurred.
(17:50):
I must tell you, I work till midnight, so I'm
not going to be there. But anyone who's lucky enough
to be there or even within the sound of my voice,
can get there. Uh. It's a moment not to be missed. Rashid,
thank you for your friendship, Thank you for your commitment
of this. And Alex, thank you for being back on
the program and also being this historian of such an
(18:14):
important moment in time for not only the United States
of America, but for the entire world when you think
about it. Gentlemen, thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
I am here all right.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Best of luck tomorrow morning. Wow. That's that's one that
if you're going to be lucky enough to see that,
I'll go another year when maybe I'm retired, because this
is one that I wouldn't that I want to see
before before I pass on. We are going to take
a break and we have the news coming up. You
listen to WBZ Boston's news radio. Feel free to pull
(18:49):
down our iHeart are new and improved iHeart app. We're
an iHeart station. Long time ago we were CBS, but
we've been with iHeart now for about eight years and
we would love to have you pull that app down,
put it on all of your devices, make us your
first preset, so we'll always be just a fingertip away
from wherever you are anywhere in the world. My name
(19:09):
is Dan Ray. Be back right after the news at
the bottom of the hour, and we're going to talk
about this crazy woodpecker that's wreaking havoc up in Rockport, Massachusetts,
one of the prettiest towns in all of New England.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
You're on light Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Think by now most of us have heard about the
story of this woodpecker, not woody woodpecker, but this crazy
woodpecker who is really having quite a time up in
Rockport smashing car windows and mirrors with us. Is Tia Pinny, Tia.
I hope I pronounced the last name correctly. It's Penny correct,
not Penny Penny.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
That is correct.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Great, you're a senior naturalist with mass Audubon. I think
I know what a senior naturalist is, so therefore, I'm
sure you're very qualified to explain the the characteristics of
this crazy woodpecker. Where were woodpeckers in the winter time?
Because I hear them in the spring, and I can
hear them in the summer. I occasionally hear them in
(20:14):
the winter where I live, but they're not nearly as
active in the winter. Where did they spend the winter?
Not in Florida?
Speaker 6 (20:21):
Correct, Correct, not in Florida. They pretty much most of
our most of our woodpeckers spend the winter either with
us or near us. They might go a little further south,
but they they don't. They are not particularly migratory. But
in the winter, they got nothing to talk about.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, there's nothing else, okay, nothing.
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Well, they're not they're not into it, you know, they're
not they're not trying to set up nests. They're not
trying to set up territories. They got they you know,
they're just they're just surviving winter. And then comes spring.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
It's yeah, well, well so they're reading the newspapers like
the most of us. They read about the Red Sox
at spring training and they realize, Okay, it's it's going
to get warm pretty soon. I know the drill. I
know the drill is native New Englanders, and so now
they're getting a little active. So have we got close
enough to this woodpecker to know if this woodpecker is
a male or a female?
Speaker 6 (21:16):
Well, it's definitely a male.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Okay, fair enough, it's got to be.
Speaker 6 (21:20):
I mean, they.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Always cause trouble, you know, I mean we realize that. Yeah,
So what's the deal here? What what the heck is that?
What's going on with this this guy?
Speaker 6 (21:31):
So what's going on is that, you know, for most
of the year, they have absolutely no no interest in reproduction,
in any of that. They're they're you know, even their
their organ systems that are that they're not using shrink.
You know, they're they're hardly you would hardly even find them,
if you you know, when.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
You say that hurts me to hear you say that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
By the way, I understand that.
Speaker 6 (21:55):
Yeah, but that's the way it is for a bird.
And so so comes spring, you know, come late winter spring,
the hormones start flowing, and uh and there you go.
You're you just got to get out there and establish
a territory. So that when the when the females come around,
you can you can impress her with your territory and
(22:16):
impress her with the sounds that you make.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Okay, So, so why cars, why mirrors, why windshields, what's
going on there?
Speaker 6 (22:24):
It's because it's because birds don't really see mirrors or windows.
They see themselves. If there's you know, if there's a
if there's enough dark behind a window, and or if
it's a mirror, they will see them. They will see
another They don't see themselves. I apologize for that. They
don't see themselves. They see another bird. So when he's
(22:47):
establishing a territory, when he's establishing a territory, he doesn't
want that other bird.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Okay, So they actually in actuality see themselves, but they
see what they think inaccurately is it another bird. And
they peck away and they have powerful little beaks. I've well,
I've had I had a woodpecker. I had a woodpecker
who was pecking the heck out of my house and
I would hear him. We live in an older home. Uh,
(23:16):
and he was he just loved to peck away. I'm
told that the woodpecker was looking for Oh i guess
some sort of little bugs or something that might have
know that.
Speaker 6 (23:29):
That's a myth. That's a myth. He was pecking, he
was practicing. That was that was probably in the fall,
more likely than in the spring.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
And I think it was that. I think it was
the spring. That I could be wrong on that when
it was a couple of years ago. And so he
was practiced on my house.
Speaker 6 (23:50):
Correct, Is it a dark house.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
It's it's it's a more of a light gray, to
be honest with you.
Speaker 6 (23:57):
Well there you go, but yeah, no they're not. They're
rarely if they really aren't looking for bugs. It's no
sign that there are bugs under your shingles or your
collapse or any of that. It's just that they're just
it's usually young ones, you know, that are practicing.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
And then I had another woodpecker who for some reason
was interested in hitting the flashing around the chimney, which
to me so yeah, unsatisfying. And I would hear a
very different sound on a different side of the house.
And I'm convinced he was going after the flashing around
(24:40):
the chimney. Does that make sense?
Speaker 6 (24:42):
He may have just been making He may have liked
it because of the quality of the sound that he made.
I once lived I once lived in a house that
was near a street sign, you know, a metal street sign,
and a woodpecker discovered that street sign and used that
to drum on because it was really impressed. The noise
was very different and very loud.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Okay, So name have they named the woodpecker in Rockport
with a name like creative, like Rocky or something like.
Speaker 6 (25:12):
That, Not that I've heard. I haven't heard any creative names.
I've heard some. I've heard some referrals that we we
can't say.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
On the radio.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yes, I know exactly those words absolutely. George Carlin mentioned
those words on several occasions that we're not allowed to say.
I get that. So what is the latest status on this?
Has this woodpecker moved on? Is he still uh pecking
(25:41):
up there?
Speaker 6 (25:43):
As long as I know he's still around, I don't know.
I don't know if he's still having as much impact
because I believe and and uh. John Herbert, our chief
bird person, was interviewed earlier in the week, and he's
convinced it's just one male who has just discovered this
(26:04):
and it's and it appiliated. Woodpeckers are huge and that's
why he can break the mirrors because he don't.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
This This is a word that struck me. It was
interesting you just used the word affiliated.
Speaker 6 (26:16):
Was that the word affiliated? P I L E A
T ed. That's the name of this particular that's the species,
that's the that's the English name, the common name of
this species of woodpecker.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Which derivation if you know of piliated, because they're not.
I'm also fascinated by words.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
I am too, But you know, I've never looked affiliated
and some people say piliated. So there you go.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Well that's okay. The next time that we talk, I
will have figured that word out one one way or
the other. Do we have do we have account at
this point?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
I e.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
X numbers of mirrors or x numbers of windshields?
Speaker 5 (26:54):
I heard.
Speaker 6 (26:55):
The numbers that I have heard, which I have not verified,
are one wind she field or or possibly one window
like a bat maybe even a back window, a rear windshield.
And then maybe more than a dozen, but less than
two dozen mirrors. And the recommendation. And I think what
(27:16):
a number of people have done who live in the
immediate area is they put bags over their side of
their side mirrors.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Now I've seen that. I've seen that. Will they come
a point in time where that woodpecker will discover that
they're a female woodpeckers in the area, and he will
lose his interest in trying. He will focus his his
correct his prowess, if you will.
Speaker 6 (27:43):
Right, he will this This will last at the most
a few weeks. I would, I mean it should you know? Yeah, well,
I think.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
How long do woodpeckers live? What's their life? Expect their life?
Speaker 6 (28:00):
That's a good question, I you know, but yeah, will
he come back next year? No, he will soon move
on to uh to to actually nesting and and uh
and and and getting it finding himself a female woodpecker
to uh to set up, to set up housing with.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
But he he could still be around next year, is
the point. I mean, it's you know, he.
Speaker 6 (28:20):
Could yeah, yeah, come back.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
All right, Well, well that is good to know. You know.
It's funny in the wintertime. In the wintertime, on the
like a cold, brisk, clear day where I live, we
have some trees, uh and tall trees, and on one
of those days when the snow crunches under your feet
and it's the nature is still, I can hear someone,
(28:45):
I can hear a woodpecker, and from I know, he's
not near, but he sounds like he's in the in
the tree above. And they're a beautiful they make a
beautiful sound. Again, it like if you pick, just pick
a date January ninth of any winter, if it's a clear, crisp, cool,
cold day, and if you listen, you'll be able to
(29:06):
hear a woodpecker if you live anywhere in New England.
In my opinion, I really enjoyed this conversation.
Speaker 6 (29:13):
Good for you, I enjoyed it. Also, Thank you Dan,
and good for you for listening for those woodpeckers. They're important,
they're important birds.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Well yeah, if well, woody woodpecker. I grew up with
the cartoon characters.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
You know, how can folks get more information from mass Audubon,
since you've been kind enough to spend some time with
us tonight.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
More information on woodpeckers for mass Audubon, I would more.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Into the website, more information about mass audible. Maybe there's
some people.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
Who would like more information about mass Audubon. Absolutely, the
mass audubon dot org. You know, just go there and
we have all kinds of things to find out. They're
more information. Perfect ways you can help ways you can
help woodpeckers, even if they do even if they do
attack your car.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
The one thing what I say is, if there is
a woodpecker that is pecking on your your side mirror
of your car, don't make the mistake of grabbing a
gun and trying to shoot the woodpecker because yeah, getting
the way well, well not only get would you get
in trouble. The woodpecker might might might get hit, but
(30:21):
your car would get hit. So that's the one thing
I would advise people. And I'm not a naturalistic, not
an expert in this area, but I think that that
advice is solid advice. Would you agree, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
I totally agree with you. Dan, Absolutely, you very much.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Thanks, Ah, we get back. Thanks for talking again. Mass
Audubon dot org a great organization. We're going to talk
about a very interesting study that says eighty two percent
of working women women in the workforce change their speaking
style while they're on the clock. We'll find out right
(30:58):
after this one Night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
We're joined by Suzanne Castle. She is a leadership expert
who helps women entrepreneurs. Susanne Castle Welcome to Nightside. How
are you.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
I'm fadulous. Thanks for having me this evening.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Always love to speak to fabulous people. You have. Going
to comment on a study that says eighty two percent
of women in the workforce change their speaking style when
they're on the clock. Fascinating statistic, fascinating study. Don't know
(31:42):
how it was conducted, but tell us what it means.
Let's go to the bottom line first and then we
can work our way backwards. I'm kind of surprised from that.
I've worked with a lot of women in television and
radio O for a long career, and I've known most
of them on and off the job. Is this a
(32:03):
new phenomenon or is this something that has been around forever.
Speaker 7 (32:08):
Oh, it's definitely not a fresh phenomenon. But the emotional
cost is real. In fact, there was a study done
in the Journal of Applied Psychology a couple of years ago,
and it's called code switching, and what they found is
it has cognitive and emotional costs because when a person
feels like they can't be themselves or talk like they
(32:29):
want you, whether they're having to mask their emotions, it
leads to emotional exhaustion. And lower job satisfaction and greater burnout.
And like you know, as you've worked with a lot
of women, if you want them to be at their
peak performance and be their brilliant selves, then you want
them to be themselves, no question.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I've been in the business for fifty well close to
fifty years thirty one years. Is an on air television
reporter with the CBS affiliate here in Boston, WBZ, and
now working originally for w for CBS Radio at WBZ
now iHeart. We're in iHeart Media station. And I have
known dozens of women, and there are certain times when
(33:11):
I think everyone in the workplace will probably tighten up
a little bit when the boss walks down on a
Monday morning. You know, instead of hey, how you doing,
good morning, maybe everybody's gonna say good morning, sir, how
are you today, and all of that sort of you know,
take on the more precise intonations if you will. I
(33:32):
work in a business where speaking is very important. Working
in radio, it's all My entire presentation is now audio.
It used to be obviously visual and audio. And I
will tell you that when I started in this business
a long time ago, I made a conscious effort you
heard I said effort to get rid of my New
(33:54):
England and Boston accent because I had grown up here.
So I've, i guess, made a conscious effort to change
my way of speaking, but it's because of what I
do for a living. This is a survey of women
in a variety of jobs, from I'm sure CEOs right
down to women who are starting their careers. Has there
(34:19):
ever been a study of men in the workforce on
this issue, because that would be an interesting statistic to compare.
Speaker 7 (34:27):
I think it would be an interesting statistic to compare.
I don't have that in front of me if it
has been done. And I think you're onto something when
you say there is a professionalism tone that we carry
with us, right, And I don't think it's necessarily that
women are being reckless. I think it's about giving women
the same emotional freedom to lead with edge or passion
(34:49):
or authority without being punished for it. So an example
that I give is, let's say that in a meeting
there's a lot of ideas flying around, and a man
might swear because he's very passionate about that, and he
gets a lot of head nods, and a woman does
it and suddenly she's unprofessional, right, So same words, but
there's different consequences. And so I think a lot of
(35:13):
what the study gets at is that professionalism should just
be consistent across the board. So it shouldn't be about
the man gets a head nod and the woman now
seems unprofessional. Do you allow that kind of language in
your workplace or not? And so I think that's where
the understanding of what professionalism is or isn't is going
(35:34):
to be crucial, especially as we have Generation Z in
the workforce and they have had different kinds of social
interaction happening, and so we have to learn what does
it mean to communicate and how are we doing it
at a level where everyone feels like they're unequal footing.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
I will tell you I've worked in television in the
nineteen seventies and eighties and a big market Boston, and
I got to tie you back at those days had
a rough time because the language that was used. I mean,
it was a different world of people, both men and
women smoked, for example, you will not see that today
(36:11):
in a television news room. The old image of people,
you know, chain smoking as they read the newscast, or
even chain smoking, so they could get their voices to
be a little deeper and more more more tonality in
their voice. Today, it is a very different workplace, at
(36:33):
least in my business, which is the media, and it
has been that way for a number of years. A
lot of the I guess stupidity that men were willing
to engage in in terms of telling jokes irrespective of
who was present. That just doesn't fly anymore. I mean
(36:55):
that those are the changes in the workplace that that
I have seen of the years, and it's I just
I hope someone does this study of men as well,
because this would be a shame if women, that high
percentage of women feel they have to somehow change their
(37:17):
presentation in order to be more accepted in the workplace.
That's what would bother me the most.
Speaker 7 (37:25):
Well, you know, from a neuroscience standpoint, self monitoring, think
about that all day long. All it does is overload
your prefrontal cortex. And so when you're in that mode,
you're in burnout mode, you're in doubt mode, you shut down,
you can't make decisions as effectively as you could. And
so what I find really wild here in this discussion
(37:46):
that we're having is that these women that answered in
this study aren't just doing the job. They are assuming
or they're feeling like they have to manage their voice
and their face and their tone and their outfit and
their volume. And so that's an emotional labor piece, and
I do think it's straining leadership capacity. Now do men
(38:06):
feel the same way. I don't know, because the staid
you didn't talk about that, But it really is interesting
to me that we don't want to dim down any
kind of leadership, right, and that kind of leadership isn't
sustainable and it sure isn't strategic. And so I really
think that coach switching does have this kind of cognitive
and emotional cost to it. And I hope that really
(38:27):
environments choose to level up rather than ask anyone to,
you know, really dumb down.
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Yeah, and I'll also tell you that in my career,
and primarily talking about my career in television, the most
effective leaders that I had bosses were often women. Now,
I don't know, maybe television news was ahead of the
(38:54):
curve in the workplace. Never never worked in a factory,
never worked in an office setting. I remember when I
first started working as a lawyer, the lawyer who was
training me I graduated from law school and was working
with a group of attorneys. One of the first things
that my dear friend John Ducas did was he called
(39:15):
me the officers, Dan, Now, one thing you have to
do is dictate your letters to miss Linda. And when
he left the room, I said, Linda, I type, really well,
I'll put your initials down to the corner. And it
used to drive my boss crazy because we'd go in
the conference room and he could tell I wasn't dictating.
It was like, we're just having a little chat and
(39:37):
conversation and I would say, this is little letter that
I'm sending, make sure this goes out, whatever. But I
just felt really uncomfortable sitting there dictating in what was
common in law offices back in the nineteen seventies to
somebody who was just going to sit there and be
in effect with a stenographer Amanu Wency's maybe it may
(40:01):
be uncomfortable anyway. Anyway, thank you for this information. We'll
have to look at it. When you get that report
on working men, come on back and let's see, let's
see how close the numbers are. Okay, thanks Suzie.
Speaker 7 (40:14):
I would love to do that. Thanks for having me tonight.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
All right, we come back. We are going to talk
about a student questionnaire, a middle school student questionnaire in
the town of Burlington that has royal parents up there
waiting to hear about this questionnaire for kids in the sixth, seventh,
and eighth grade. Whoa back on Night's side right after
(40:40):
the nine o'clock news
It's nice time with Dan Ray. I'm going you Mazy
Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thanks very much, Kyle. I hope you have a great weekend.
Going to be a busy weekend for everybody in the
newsroom for sure, with all of the two hundred and
fiftieth anniversary activity as well as the marathon coming up
on Monday. My name's Dan Ray, Host of Nights. I'd
heard every Monday through Friday night right here on w
b Z from eight until midnight. We have a really
interesting show for you coming up tonight, but I want
(00:28):
to jump right into the eight o'clock hour. First, doll again,
remind you that I'm Dan Ray. I'm the host of
the show. Rob Brooks is back in the control room.
Rob will set you up with phone calls. Once we
start taking phone calls in the nine, ten or eleven
o'clock hours. We will do our grind your gears tonight
in the twentieth hour of the week at eleven. I
know a lot of people are happy about that, but
(00:49):
we have we have really four interesting guests here in
this hour, and I don't want to cut short anyone
for their time. And my first guest is someone who
is no strength to New England, that is for sure.
Andrew Nixon and O Nixon who is involved with the group.
He's the founder of Wings of America, but he also
(01:11):
has he has certainly a lot of experience in Boston.
He was part of the very popular nineteen eighties New
England based band Duke and the Drivers that also included
Henry Eaton, a his fellow bandmate and a fellow reporter
of mine at WBZTV. So I've known Henry a long
time and a pleasure to make your acquaintance tonight. How
(01:33):
are you welcome back to Boston.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, yall, I'm so happy to be here. Dan, I
thank you for getting me on board tonight with the
help of our mutual friend Peggy Rose. Yes, I did
hang with Duke and the Drivers under a different m O.
I've transferred all of that energy, which I will never
forget and always remember fondly to Wings of America Dot org.
(02:03):
This was a native American.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, yes, it's a foundation that that you were the
founder of. Tell how does a guy get from being
a a There was a big band back in the day,
Duke and the Drivers. I think anyone who was around
Boston was very familiar with Duke and the Drivers. How
do you end up, you know, a few couple of
(02:27):
decades later, you're really hanging in another part of the country,
and you're you're bringing back to New England a culture
that perhaps some people are not as familiar with as
they should be, which is the Native American culture. In
the context of the marathon, you have really brought your
worlds together.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
That that's really true. Dan, After the Drivers, I needed
some r and R away from the metropolitan world of
rock and roll and the rhythm and blues here in Boston,
by the way, to find a city in this count
Wings of America I was interested in. I'm not the
only founder. I met another chap who changed the trajectory
(03:09):
of my life towards the Southwest, towards Native American lore
and history, and I've just felt an affinity for Native
Americans because of the way all of the history evolved.
It was a pretty messy situation. So Wings of America
(03:31):
is an Indian youth program. It's a youth development program.
Catalyst is running the Southwest happens to have a really
strong history and presence for running distances, So we affect
thousands and thousands of youths since our inception in the eighties,
(03:53):
and it's been a great transition for me. Wings of
America is reaching out and coming to New England and
we're looking to make friends, expand our programs and move
into the New England area with the tribal people that
are here. There's a very strong tribal element here in
New England. We would like to join forces with them
(04:15):
as well as those people in the Southwest.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
I just want to mention you co found his name,
Will Channing. Want to give him an acknowledgment. An acknowledgment.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I'd like to acknowledge Will Channing, and I'd like to
acknowledge Orrin Lyons, who is a fire keeper of the
hod of the Iroquois Confederacy. He is our mentor and
he's ninety five plus now. He lives up in Upstate
New York and he really drove us to start Wings
of America back in the eighties. And we've started it
(04:46):
with a ten thousand dollars check from a family member
and we've burgeoned from them into a really solid Native
American program really designed to enhance Native American opportunity.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Okay, I want to hit a couple of the highlights
of this weekend. First of all, two Native charity runners
have raised funds to help pay for this trip. These
are what's called Pursuit students. The trip chaperones Sky Izzo
and Josava Christman. That's right, they're going to run in
(05:25):
the race, correct, that's right.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
The chaperones are there to keep an eye on the kids.
There are five kids. Yeah, there are three girls and
two boys, and they're running in the five k BAA
event and the chaperones will then turn around and run
in the major in the marathon, and we'll be there
to share them on and everything else. And this is
(05:48):
a really A lot of these kids have never been
out of New Mexico or Arizona. Some of them have
never been off the reds, so Wings offers them the
opportunity to see the world in a light day they
are unfamiliar with. We get to go see people at
Harvard and different universities around the area, and it's a
real eye opener of our trademark move.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah. My understanding is that these five students, all who
apparently academically are highly qualified. They need a high school
a GPA of at least three point zero, and they
also have to be a member of a federal or
state recognized tribe. They have to have letters of recommendations
from their teachers, and they will get tours of Harvard.
(06:35):
I think it's Boston College and Northeastern, which will give
them a real taste of what it would be like
to go to college here. Whether or not they'll end
up applying, who knows. But they will experience Boston in
a way that very few people, even people who live here,
will will experience. All a result of this, my understanding
that a mutual friend, Ernie Back Junior, is also very
(06:57):
much involved in the activity. He's hoping he's hosting an
event tomorrow which is not a public event. Make that clear,
but as I understand that, and people who might not
remember Duke and the drivers, and I guess there are
some people who might have been going after you're out there.
You guys opened for a lot of big bands. You
(07:18):
had a great reputation, but you opened. I believe you've
opened for arrow Smith And I'm going to note here
that says you might have opened once for the Rolling Stones?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Is that true? We we've opened for a lot of them,
and as as a lot of our guests and fans
can't remember. I'm having a difficult time remembering all but
about thirty minutes of that three year stretch.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, I understand.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
It was with a lot of people, and we were
We started in the club scene. We started at the
Western Front which is now long gone, Marvin Gilmore over
on Western Avenue, and we played Paul Samall, We played
the Garden, we played the cow Palace, we played the
Salt Palace. We got to the point where we either
(08:03):
had to carry on or disperse, and dispersed seemed to
be the more courageous thing to do for us at
the time. And that's what it's all about, is giving
it back. And we were good. We were considered sort
of the legendary party band of all time here in Boston.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Well, let's just say this without each other. Let's just
without casting any sort of dispersions. It was. It was
a time here in New England where there was a
great rock and roll seeing you guys were a big
part of it. The fact that you don't remember everything specifically,
we can understand that. But you now have channeled that
(08:46):
immense energy to help some people who need some help
and have been sort of kind of dismissed and out
of the spotlight for centuries here in this country. And
how can folks if they want to help you the
website you gave it to me before give it to
(09:06):
me one more time.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Wings of Americas, we're talking. We're calling Wingsofamerica dot org
and we're on Instagram. We have a web page. We're
on I like to say Facebook, but it's meta whatever
that is. Yes, we are looking for people to back
us up here and to join the force. And the
force is good, and you're right, it's it's a very
(09:30):
important situation because out of all the iliumascenari philanthropic dollars
that come out of people's pockets every year in the
United States, only a very small quarter of one percent
gets the Indian country, as I call it. But the
Native Americans so more money. We need to raise more money,
and we need to get these kids into college, and
(09:53):
we need to get these kids into the workforce in
any way we can. All the people are just unbelievable,
really connected, lovely people that we've been working with.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
And all I can say is that anyone who can
use the word eliomwsnary as you just did in the
context of the sentence correctly. I'm a huge fan.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Thank you, Dan. I appreciate it for you.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Yeah, that's great. There's a few words out there that
I love, Elia Morsonary, I love peripatetic. There's there's a
few of those adjectives that that just can be used perfectly.
The French would say libermal press or lib prism, which
I forget where the very true the down comes and
where the adjective comes. I think it's libo press if
I'm not mistaken anyway. And on Nixon, welcome back to Boston.
(10:44):
You are the wings of many people, the Wings of
America dot org. Best of what. I hope to run
into you at some point this weekend. Thanks Ando, I
really do appreciate it. When you see our mutual friend
and I can say our coke, our colleague Henry eat
and play, our cadillact Jack as he was known.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Tell me thank you very much. I appreciate the time.
Keep looking for Wings of America dot org. Check it
out on the on the computer feeds. We are ready
for more and more and more. We are ready to go,
all right. Thanks so happy to be here for the marathon.
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Congratulations, welcome home. When that's a great, great organization to
get behind. When we get back, we're going to talk
about that two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Battle
of Lexington. Two members, one a journalist, one a historian,
both of whom play important roles in the reenactment. This weekend,
we'll be back on Nightside. My name is Dan Ray.
(11:43):
This is WBZ in Boston.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
It's a big weekend two hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Amongst
others of the Battle of Lexington, and with us is
Rashid Walters, friend and a journalist Alex Kane, who has
been on this show before, local historian, member of the
Lexington Minute Men. Both Received and Alex are going to
participate in the big battle. And Alex, let's start with you.
(12:14):
What time do people have to arrive on the Lexington
Green And again I assume that this is in actuality.
This is tomorrow morning.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Right it is?
Speaker 4 (12:27):
And even Dan, it's great to chat with you again,
it's probably it's the original fight was five five point
thirty in the morning, and we're doing it at that time,
so it's only a few hours away from now. My
advice is if you were going to go to the
Lexington Green, if you want to get a good seat,
you probably want to get there by about three.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
In the morning.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
They're anticipating record numbers to attend this two hundred and
fifty three enactment, so it's best advice to get there
as early as possible and use public trans inspectation of
it's available.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Give us, if you will, the hits runs and eras,
if you will from the battle, almost like a baseball
box score. How many people were, how many folks were
on each side of the battle, and when the smoke cleared,
how many we're no longer with us?
Speaker 4 (13:18):
Sure, So you had Captain John Parker's Lexington Company at
the Battle of Lexington. You had roughly seventy to seventy
seven men on the green. Facing off against them were
roughly seven hundred British infantry soldiers, about three point fifty
who were light infantry, in three fifty who were grenadiers.
(13:39):
By the time the battle was over, and it was
a very quick battle, it was under five minutes in time,
eight militiamen were dead, an additional ten were wounded. Only
one British soldier was lightly wounded and a horse also
had its hide grazed with a musketball.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Okay, so what stopped the battle? And it seemed to
me that you out number ten to one. Why didn't
the British just keep firing away and kill as many
people as many minute men as they could.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
Well, it came down to I don't think the British
intended to open fire until that mysterious shot took place,
and then the soldier sort of lost control and fired
point blank into Parker's company and then rushed forward. The
British officers at that point in command scramble to regain
control of their men as Parker's company was being swept
(14:31):
from the field. I think the only thing that saved
them was the officers were able to regain control. The
casualties could have been much much higher. I had the
British been allowed to pursue beyond the Lexington Green. But
also keep in mind their main objective was not Lexington.
It was conquered where the provincial ammunition was stored, so
(14:51):
they had a mission to pick up on and so
as a result, they had to basically keep going to conquered.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Gotcha Rashid, I know that you have a very interesting
role tomorrow. Explain to my audience who you represent and
do you survive the battle?
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Rashid, sure, so, I represent a man named Prince Esterbrook,
and Prince the Brook was an enslaved man in Lexington
who was part of Parker's militia group. He was actually
one of the first veterans of our country and one
of the first wounded in the American Revolution, the first wounded.
(15:33):
He survived the Green He was shot in his elbow
and he actually did end up going back into the
fight with Captain Parker as they en Bush the British
retreating back to Boston's.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Wow, boy, that's that is that is quite a legacy.
Now here's how much, Rashid do you folks practice during
the year? I mean, this is a huge moment. There
won't be another fiftieth anniversary. I mean the next one
will be the three hundredth innniversary fifty years from now.
How much effort and practice in anticipation of tomorrow morning
(16:07):
a little more than six and a half hours from
now or so, well, that's actually would be more about
eight hours from now. How much practice have you folks done?
In preparation for this, well, I.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Know Alex could kind of chime in as well, but
a lot of preparations started last year, especially you know,
Alex did a lot of work with their reenactment itself,
making sure it's historically accurate, creating scripts and as the men,
we had numerous drills where you know, we would travel
to Lexington and we would be in our period uniforms
(16:44):
and outfits and kits drilling on the green. And we've
been doing that since I think maybe October, so every Saturday,
most of us would come out and train and rehearse
and just we want this to be perfect because obviously
it's notes to two fifty if it's honoring the men
who really sacrifice their lives for us to enjoy this country.
(17:08):
The shot heard around the world happened in Lixington. That
was the start, and if it wasn't for those men
who made that stand, we wouldn't have America. So you know,
we have been very invested for quite some time in
honoring their legacy and also making sure that we are
a good representation of those who have sacrificed.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Well, again, thank you for both of you for what
you do and for anyone who's going to be fortunate
enough to be out there tomorrow morning, it's going to
be a historic moment. It will have been two hundred
and fifty years to the day and to the hour
when the revolution which this country has founded upon occurred.
(17:50):
I must tell you, I work till midnight, so I'm
not going to be there. But anyone who's lucky enough
to be there or even within the sound of my voice,
can get there. Uh. It's a moment not to be missed. Rashid,
thank you for your friendship, Thank you for your commitment
of this. And Alex, thank you for being back on
the program and also being this historian of such an
(18:14):
important moment in time for not only the United States
of America, but for the entire world when you think
about it. Gentlemen, thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (18:24):
I am here all right.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Best of luck tomorrow morning. Wow. That's that's one that
if you're going to be lucky enough to see that,
I'll go another year when maybe I'm retired, because this
is one that I wouldn't that I want to see
before before I pass on. We are going to take
a break and we have the news coming up. You
listen to WBZ Boston's news radio. Feel free to pull
(18:49):
down our iHeart are new and improved iHeart app. We're
an iHeart station. Long time ago we were CBS, but
we've been with iHeart now for about eight years and
we would love to have you pull that app down,
put it on all of your devices, make us your
first preset, so we'll always be just a fingertip away
from wherever you are anywhere in the world. My name
(19:09):
is Dan Ray. Be back right after the news at
the bottom of the hour, and we're going to talk
about this crazy woodpecker that's wreaking havoc up in Rockport, Massachusetts,
one of the prettiest towns in all of New England.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
You're on light Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Think by now most of us have heard about the
story of this woodpecker, not woody woodpecker, but this crazy
woodpecker who is really having quite a time up in
Rockport smashing car windows and mirrors with us. Is Tia Pinny, Tia.
I hope I pronounced the last name correctly. It's Penny correct,
not Penny Penny.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
That is correct.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Great, you're a senior naturalist with mass Audubon. I think
I know what a senior naturalist is, so therefore, I'm
sure you're very qualified to explain the the characteristics of
this crazy woodpecker. Where were woodpeckers in the winter time?
Because I hear them in the spring, and I can
hear them in the summer. I occasionally hear them in
(20:14):
the winter where I live, but they're not nearly as
active in the winter. Where did they spend the winter?
Not in Florida?
Speaker 6 (20:21):
Correct, Correct, not in Florida. They pretty much most of
our most of our woodpeckers spend the winter either with
us or near us. They might go a little further south,
but they they don't. They are not particularly migratory. But
in the winter, they got nothing to talk about.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah, there's nothing else, okay, nothing.
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Well, they're not they're not into it, you know, they're
not they're not trying to set up nests. They're not
trying to set up territories. They got they you know,
they're just they're just surviving winter. And then comes spring.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
It's yeah, well, well so they're reading the newspapers like
the most of us. They read about the Red Sox
at spring training and they realize, Okay, it's it's going
to get warm pretty soon. I know the drill. I
know the drill is native New Englanders, and so now
they're getting a little active. So have we got close
enough to this woodpecker to know if this woodpecker is
a male or a female?
Speaker 6 (21:16):
Well, it's definitely a male.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Okay, fair enough, it's got to be.
Speaker 6 (21:20):
I mean, they.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Always cause trouble, you know, I mean we realize that. Yeah,
So what's the deal here? What what the heck is that?
What's going on with this this guy?
Speaker 6 (21:31):
So what's going on is that, you know, for most
of the year, they have absolutely no no interest in reproduction,
in any of that. They're they're you know, even their
their organ systems that are that they're not using shrink.
You know, they're they're hardly you would hardly even find them,
if you you know, when.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
You say that hurts me to hear you say that.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
By the way, I understand that.
Speaker 6 (21:55):
Yeah, but that's the way it is for a bird.
And so so comes spring, you know, come late winter spring,
the hormones start flowing, and uh and there you go.
You're you just got to get out there and establish
a territory. So that when the when the females come around,
you can you can impress her with your territory and
(22:16):
impress her with the sounds that you make.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Okay, So, so why cars, why mirrors, why windshields, what's
going on there?
Speaker 6 (22:24):
It's because it's because birds don't really see mirrors or windows.
They see themselves. If there's you know, if there's a
if there's enough dark behind a window, and or if
it's a mirror, they will see them. They will see
another They don't see themselves. I apologize for that. They
don't see themselves. They see another bird. So when he's
(22:47):
establishing a territory, when he's establishing a territory, he doesn't
want that other bird.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Okay, So they actually in actuality see themselves, but they
see what they think inaccurately is it another bird. And
they peck away and they have powerful little beaks. I've well,
I've had I had a woodpecker. I had a woodpecker
who was pecking the heck out of my house and
I would hear him. We live in an older home. Uh,
(23:16):
and he was he just loved to peck away. I'm
told that the woodpecker was looking for Oh i guess
some sort of little bugs or something that might have
know that.
Speaker 6 (23:29):
That's a myth. That's a myth. He was pecking, he
was practicing. That was that was probably in the fall,
more likely than in the spring.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
And I think it was that. I think it was
the spring. That I could be wrong on that when
it was a couple of years ago. And so he
was practiced on my house.
Speaker 6 (23:50):
Correct, Is it a dark house.
Speaker 2 (23:53):
It's it's it's a more of a light gray, to
be honest with you.
Speaker 6 (23:57):
Well there you go, but yeah, no they're not. They're
rarely if they really aren't looking for bugs. It's no
sign that there are bugs under your shingles or your
collapse or any of that. It's just that they're just
it's usually young ones, you know, that are practicing.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
And then I had another woodpecker who for some reason
was interested in hitting the flashing around the chimney, which
to me so yeah, unsatisfying. And I would hear a
very different sound on a different side of the house.
And I'm convinced he was going after the flashing around
(24:40):
the chimney. Does that make sense?
Speaker 6 (24:42):
He may have just been making He may have liked
it because of the quality of the sound that he made.
I once lived I once lived in a house that
was near a street sign, you know, a metal street sign,
and a woodpecker discovered that street sign and used that
to drum on because it was really impressed. The noise
was very different and very loud.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Okay, So name have they named the woodpecker in Rockport
with a name like creative, like Rocky or something like.
Speaker 6 (25:12):
That, Not that I've heard. I haven't heard any creative names.
I've heard some. I've heard some referrals that we we
can't say.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
On the radio.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yes, I know exactly those words absolutely. George Carlin mentioned
those words on several occasions that we're not allowed to say.
I get that. So what is the latest status on this?
Has this woodpecker moved on? Is he still uh pecking
(25:41):
up there?
Speaker 6 (25:43):
As long as I know he's still around, I don't know.
I don't know if he's still having as much impact
because I believe and and uh. John Herbert, our chief
bird person, was interviewed earlier in the week, and he's
convinced it's just one male who has just discovered this
(26:04):
and it's and it appiliated. Woodpeckers are huge and that's
why he can break the mirrors because he don't.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
This This is a word that struck me. It was
interesting you just used the word affiliated.
Speaker 6 (26:16):
Was that the word affiliated? P I L E A
T ed. That's the name of this particular that's the species,
that's the that's the English name, the common name of
this species of woodpecker.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Which derivation if you know of piliated, because they're not.
I'm also fascinated by words.
Speaker 6 (26:35):
I am too, But you know, I've never looked affiliated
and some people say piliated. So there you go.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
Well that's okay. The next time that we talk, I
will have figured that word out one one way or
the other. Do we have do we have account at
this point?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
I e.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
X numbers of mirrors or x numbers of windshields?
Speaker 5 (26:54):
I heard.
Speaker 6 (26:55):
The numbers that I have heard, which I have not verified,
are one wind she field or or possibly one window
like a bat maybe even a back window, a rear windshield.
And then maybe more than a dozen, but less than
two dozen mirrors. And the recommendation. And I think what
(27:16):
a number of people have done who live in the
immediate area is they put bags over their side of
their side mirrors.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Now I've seen that. I've seen that. Will they come
a point in time where that woodpecker will discover that
they're a female woodpeckers in the area, and he will
lose his interest in trying. He will focus his his
correct his prowess, if you will.
Speaker 6 (27:43):
Right, he will this This will last at the most
a few weeks. I would, I mean it should you know? Yeah, well,
I think.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
How long do woodpeckers live? What's their life? Expect their life?
Speaker 6 (28:00):
That's a good question, I you know, but yeah, will
he come back next year? No, he will soon move
on to uh to to actually nesting and and uh
and and and getting it finding himself a female woodpecker
to uh to set up, to set up housing with.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
But he he could still be around next year, is
the point. I mean, it's you know, he.
Speaker 6 (28:20):
Could yeah, yeah, come back.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
All right, Well, well that is good to know. You know.
It's funny in the wintertime. In the wintertime, on the
like a cold, brisk, clear day where I live, we
have some trees, uh and tall trees, and on one
of those days when the snow crunches under your feet
and it's the nature is still, I can hear someone,
(28:45):
I can hear a woodpecker, and from I know, he's
not near, but he sounds like he's in the in
the tree above. And they're a beautiful they make a
beautiful sound. Again, it like if you pick, just pick
a date January ninth of any winter, if it's a clear, crisp, cool,
cold day, and if you listen, you'll be able to
(29:06):
hear a woodpecker if you live anywhere in New England.
In my opinion, I really enjoyed this conversation.
Speaker 6 (29:13):
Good for you, I enjoyed it. Also, Thank you Dan,
and good for you for listening for those woodpeckers. They're important,
they're important birds.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Well yeah, if well, woody woodpecker. I grew up with
the cartoon characters.
Speaker 5 (29:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
You know, how can folks get more information from mass Audubon,
since you've been kind enough to spend some time with
us tonight.
Speaker 6 (29:34):
More information on woodpeckers for mass Audubon, I would more.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Into the website, more information about mass audible. Maybe there's
some people.
Speaker 6 (29:41):
Who would like more information about mass Audubon. Absolutely, the
mass audubon dot org. You know, just go there and
we have all kinds of things to find out. They're
more information. Perfect ways you can help ways you can
help woodpeckers, even if they do even if they do
attack your car.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
The one thing what I say is, if there is
a woodpecker that is pecking on your your side mirror
of your car, don't make the mistake of grabbing a
gun and trying to shoot the woodpecker because yeah, getting
the way well, well not only get would you get
in trouble. The woodpecker might might might get hit, but
(30:21):
your car would get hit. So that's the one thing
I would advise people. And I'm not a naturalistic, not
an expert in this area, but I think that that
advice is solid advice. Would you agree, Yeah.
Speaker 6 (30:32):
I totally agree with you. Dan, Absolutely, you very much.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Thanks, Ah, we get back. Thanks for talking again. Mass
Audubon dot org a great organization. We're going to talk
about a very interesting study that says eighty two percent
of working women women in the workforce change their speaking
style while they're on the clock. We'll find out right
(30:58):
after this one Night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
It's Nightside with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
We're joined by Suzanne Castle. She is a leadership expert
who helps women entrepreneurs. Susanne Castle Welcome to Nightside. How
are you.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
I'm fadulous. Thanks for having me this evening.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Always love to speak to fabulous people. You have. Going
to comment on a study that says eighty two percent
of women in the workforce change their speaking style when
they're on the clock. Fascinating statistic, fascinating study. Don't know
(31:42):
how it was conducted, but tell us what it means.
Let's go to the bottom line first and then we
can work our way backwards. I'm kind of surprised from that.
I've worked with a lot of women in television and
radio O for a long career, and I've known most
of them on and off the job. Is this a
(32:03):
new phenomenon or is this something that has been around forever.
Speaker 7 (32:08):
Oh, it's definitely not a fresh phenomenon. But the emotional
cost is real. In fact, there was a study done
in the Journal of Applied Psychology a couple of years ago,
and it's called code switching, and what they found is
it has cognitive and emotional costs because when a person
feels like they can't be themselves or talk like they
(32:29):
want you, whether they're having to mask their emotions, it
leads to emotional exhaustion. And lower job satisfaction and greater burnout.
And like you know, as you've worked with a lot
of women, if you want them to be at their
peak performance and be their brilliant selves, then you want
them to be themselves, no question.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I've been in the business for fifty well close to
fifty years thirty one years. Is an on air television
reporter with the CBS affiliate here in Boston, WBZ, and
now working originally for w for CBS Radio at WBZ
now iHeart. We're in iHeart Media station. And I have
known dozens of women, and there are certain times when
(33:11):
I think everyone in the workplace will probably tighten up
a little bit when the boss walks down on a
Monday morning. You know, instead of hey, how you doing,
good morning, maybe everybody's gonna say good morning, sir, how
are you today, and all of that sort of you know,
take on the more precise intonations if you will. I
(33:32):
work in a business where speaking is very important. Working
in radio, it's all My entire presentation is now audio.
It used to be obviously visual and audio. And I
will tell you that when I started in this business
a long time ago, I made a conscious effort you
heard I said effort to get rid of my New
(33:54):
England and Boston accent because I had grown up here.
So I've, i guess, made a conscious effort to change
my way of speaking, but it's because of what I
do for a living. This is a survey of women
in a variety of jobs, from I'm sure CEOs right
down to women who are starting their careers. Has there
(34:19):
ever been a study of men in the workforce on
this issue, because that would be an interesting statistic to compare.
Speaker 7 (34:27):
I think it would be an interesting statistic to compare.
I don't have that in front of me if it
has been done. And I think you're onto something when
you say there is a professionalism tone that we carry
with us, right, And I don't think it's necessarily that
women are being reckless. I think it's about giving women
the same emotional freedom to lead with edge or passion
(34:49):
or authority without being punished for it. So an example
that I give is, let's say that in a meeting
there's a lot of ideas flying around, and a man
might swear because he's very passionate about that, and he
gets a lot of head nods, and a woman does
it and suddenly she's unprofessional, right, So same words, but
there's different consequences. And so I think a lot of
(35:13):
what the study gets at is that professionalism should just
be consistent across the board. So it shouldn't be about
the man gets a head nod and the woman now
seems unprofessional. Do you allow that kind of language in
your workplace or not? And so I think that's where
the understanding of what professionalism is or isn't is going
(35:34):
to be crucial, especially as we have Generation Z in
the workforce and they have had different kinds of social
interaction happening, and so we have to learn what does
it mean to communicate and how are we doing it
at a level where everyone feels like they're unequal footing.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
I will tell you I've worked in television in the
nineteen seventies and eighties and a big market Boston, and
I got to tie you back at those days had
a rough time because the language that was used. I mean,
it was a different world of people, both men and
women smoked, for example, you will not see that today
(36:11):
in a television news room. The old image of people,
you know, chain smoking as they read the newscast, or
even chain smoking, so they could get their voices to
be a little deeper and more more more tonality in
their voice. Today, it is a very different workplace, at
(36:33):
least in my business, which is the media, and it
has been that way for a number of years. A
lot of the I guess stupidity that men were willing
to engage in in terms of telling jokes irrespective of
who was present. That just doesn't fly anymore. I mean
(36:55):
that those are the changes in the workplace that that
I have seen of the years, and it's I just
I hope someone does this study of men as well,
because this would be a shame if women, that high
percentage of women feel they have to somehow change their
(37:17):
presentation in order to be more accepted in the workplace.
That's what would bother me the most.
Speaker 7 (37:25):
Well, you know, from a neuroscience standpoint, self monitoring, think
about that all day long. All it does is overload
your prefrontal cortex. And so when you're in that mode,
you're in burnout mode, you're in doubt mode, you shut down,
you can't make decisions as effectively as you could. And
so what I find really wild here in this discussion
(37:46):
that we're having is that these women that answered in
this study aren't just doing the job. They are assuming
or they're feeling like they have to manage their voice
and their face and their tone and their outfit and
their volume. And so that's an emotional labor piece, and
I do think it's straining leadership capacity. Now do men
(38:06):
feel the same way. I don't know, because the staid
you didn't talk about that, But it really is interesting
to me that we don't want to dim down any
kind of leadership, right, and that kind of leadership isn't
sustainable and it sure isn't strategic. And so I really
think that coach switching does have this kind of cognitive
and emotional cost to it. And I hope that really
(38:27):
environments choose to level up rather than ask anyone to,
you know, really dumb down.
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Yeah, and I'll also tell you that in my career,
and primarily talking about my career in television, the most
effective leaders that I had bosses were often women. Now,
I don't know, maybe television news was ahead of the
(38:54):
curve in the workplace. Never never worked in a factory,
never worked in an office setting. I remember when I
first started working as a lawyer, the lawyer who was
training me I graduated from law school and was working
with a group of attorneys. One of the first things
that my dear friend John Ducas did was he called
(39:15):
me the officers, Dan, Now, one thing you have to
do is dictate your letters to miss Linda. And when
he left the room, I said, Linda, I type, really well,
I'll put your initials down to the corner. And it
used to drive my boss crazy because we'd go in
the conference room and he could tell I wasn't dictating.
It was like, we're just having a little chat and
(39:37):
conversation and I would say, this is little letter that
I'm sending, make sure this goes out, whatever. But I
just felt really uncomfortable sitting there dictating in what was
common in law offices back in the nineteen seventies to
somebody who was just going to sit there and be
in effect with a stenographer Amanu Wency's maybe it may
(40:01):
be uncomfortable anyway. Anyway, thank you for this information. We'll
have to look at it. When you get that report
on working men, come on back and let's see, let's
see how close the numbers are. Okay, thanks Suzie.
Speaker 7 (40:14):
I would love to do that. Thanks for having me tonight.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
All right, we come back. We are going to talk
about a student questionnaire, a middle school student questionnaire in
the town of Burlington that has royal parents up there
waiting to hear about this questionnaire for kids in the sixth, seventh,
and eighth grade. Whoa back on Night's side right after
(40:40):
the nine o'clock news
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