August 4, 2025 • 37 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
The TikTok Sunburning Trend! Sufferers of acne swear by it but here’s why it’s problematic…
Guest: Farah Moustafa, MD, Dermatologist and Director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center
How to take advantage of tax-free shopping days this weekend for MA’s tax-free weekend!
Guest: Paula Fleming - Chief Marketing and Sales Officer for the Better Business Bureau in Boston
Boston College student has run marathons all around the world and is trying to break a record. He’s set a goal of completing the six Abbot World Marathon Majors by the time he graduates college. #6 is coming up this fall, and crossing the finish line would make him the youngest male runner ever to earn all six of Abbott's stars.
Guest: James Redding – Boston College Junior
We all do it – over plan our vacations! We feel “I’ll never visit here again so I have to do EVERYTHING!” But these habits are actually making your intended relaxation vacation stressful!
Guest: Laura Ratliff, Managing Editor at Luxury Travel Report
The TikTok Sunburning Trend! Sufferers of acne swear by it but here’s why it’s problematic…
Guest: Farah Moustafa, MD, Dermatologist and Director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center
How to take advantage of tax-free shopping days this weekend for MA’s tax-free weekend!
Guest: Paula Fleming - Chief Marketing and Sales Officer for the Better Business Bureau in Boston
Boston College student has run marathons all around the world and is trying to break a record. He’s set a goal of completing the six Abbot World Marathon Majors by the time he graduates college. #6 is coming up this fall, and crossing the finish line would make him the youngest male runner ever to earn all six of Abbott's stars.
Guest: James Redding – Boston College Junior
We all do it – over plan our vacations! We feel “I’ll never visit here again so I have to do EVERYTHING!” But these habits are actually making your intended relaxation vacation stressful!
Guest: Laura Ratliff, Managing Editor at Luxury Travel Report
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Dan Ray. I'm going easy Bondon's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well, good evening everyone, and welcome on in to the
start of another week of nightside. We call Monday's moon
Days here, okay, because it's you know, the weekend's over.
We got to kind of get down to business. I
think all of us understand that. And we get down
to business tonight and we start off the week. Rob
(00:29):
Brooks is in his position back at the broadcast central
headquarters and I am broadcasting remotely. So we have a
full great guests coming up tonight. In the eight o'clock hour,
we will be joined by our first guest. In just
a moment, we're going to talk with the Mayor of Gloucester,
Greg Virga, about the trash troubles in about fourteen Massachusetts
(00:52):
communities as the Republic Services trash collector strike continues. And
then at ten o'clock we'll talk about what's going on
in the Middle East. Jeff Robbins VOMA, chair of the
New England Board of the Anti Defamation League. Here, we'll
talk about peace initiatives and what's going on over there
right now, because it just seems that it is lingering
(01:13):
on and there's a lot of suffering on both sides.
We will talk with Jeff Robbins. I also just want
to take a quick second here before we begin to
remind all of you that we have a very cool
way for you to be part of our Nightside broadcast
by utilizing our talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. All
you got to do is pull the app down, put
it on your laptop, your desktop, any device that you have,
(01:38):
and it'll be just perfect. You can you can listen
to it. You get it for free. It's new and improved,
and while you listen to Nightside Live on WBZ News Radio,
you tap the red microphone talk back button in the
top right can corner and you send us a personalized
audio message. This is not live in the air, unlike
when you call the program. Basically the audio message is there.
(02:00):
We'll listen to it. Can be a criticism, can be
a compliment, can be something else. Does it matter long
A It's thirty seconds and clean. We'll play back on Nightside.
It's that simple. Once again, hit the red microphone button
in the top right corner of the app while listening
to Nightside and send us your audio message. Such another
way for us for you to be part of the program,
because that's really what this is all about. Now we
(02:23):
are going to start off tonight to talk about a
tick talk sunburning trend. A lot of things on TikTok
sound crazy, but this is right up there with leading
the pack suffers of some acne problems, meaning mostly teenagers,
swear by it. But this is a big problem with us.
As doctor Farah Mustafa, she's a dermatologist and director of
(02:46):
Laser and Cosmetics and Tough Medical Center. This is kind
of scary. Farah a doctor Mustafa.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
How are you hi, Dan good? How are you welcome back?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Welcome back? It's I guess people just fall for this stuff.
Tell us, I mean, how long has this been kicking around?
I feel like we're a little late to the party.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Well, it's actually been going on for a few years.
But of course, you know, trends in TikTok come and go.
But even in the nineties or nineties and two thousands
tanning beds, we're kind of touting some of the benefits
of using tanning beds was that it would help clear
your skin and kind of preying on teenagers with acne
(03:30):
that were desperate to get some resolution or improvement in
their skin, so.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I know what a sunburn is like. I have traditional
Irish skin, plenty of sunburns in my life, and I
try to avoid it as much as I can. I
try to minimize my time outdoors during the summertime, particularly,
I love when when it's nice and warm, but when
you get a sunburn, it can be mercial. I mean,
(04:00):
I hope these kids understand that, these young people and
is this basically gen z ors we're talking about here
or what.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah, it's a lot of the kids of the TikTok generation.
And usually there's some kernel of truth or why something
gets popularized, so you know they're not wrong that if
you took your skin under the sun that you will
get a temporary improvement for acne. And there's a couple
of theories as to why that happens. But ultimately they're
(04:29):
doing their skin in disservice and it can actually make
acne worse over time, and not to mention all the
other problems that you're familiar with with the sun, whether
it be skin aging or skin cancer and premature wrinkles
and sun spots and things like that, but it can
also actually negatively impact acne over the long term too.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
So it's great that you're available, But how come when
there's something like this going on on TikTok and obviously
there's a lot of young people who are on TikTok,
why are we hearing PSAs from the medical community and
just you know, getting the word out that this is
(05:13):
something that is not going to be helpful and as
you say, it's going to potentially have a long term danger.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yes, I totally agree. I'm I think people like to
get information from their peers and especially younger folks, and
you know, this has been an ongoing thing. First there
was you know, earlier this year, there was beef tallow trend.
I don't know if you caught that on TikTok, but
that's basically using you know, animal fat as a moisturizer.
That was a big trend on social media. But these
(05:41):
things they cycle and they catch a lot of buzz,
and you know, the kids are easily influenced by each other.
So I think it is our responsibility as dermatologists and
as physicians to put good information out there. And it's
obviously a reason for us to be more involved in
the spaces that young people are using, including social media.
On Instagram and TikTok and putting our information or good
(06:05):
information out there to help combat a lot of misinformation.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I'm sure you're much younger than I am, But when
I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, there
was no TikTok. There was no way to communicate to
you know, fellow young people kids except seeing up the playground.
I mean, you use the telephone in those days, and
(06:29):
I just it just seems to me that that somehow,
some way, maybe in our school systems, we need to
make young people aware that everything we learned. Look, everything
you hear on TV, on the radio or reading the newspapers,
you have to confirm it's not necessarily true. But why
(06:52):
don't they send that same message, you know, the schools
and that have these kids, you know, six hours a day,
one hundred and eighty days a year, and just let
them know that the stuff that's that's on the internet,
which is really dangerous. I mean, we didn't have to
deal with this when I was young. I'm sure. I'm
not sure how you are not going to ask your
whole your ovel when you grew up, but this stuff
(07:14):
wasn't around. I'm sure that my generation would have been
just as dumb and said, oh yeah, let's get a sunburn,
we'll get rid of the zits.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah, no, I totally agree. I think I think it's
important to teach our young folks to question what they
see and hear, especially from you know, unvetted sources, and
to always kind of check and seek the opinion of
an expert. It makes perfect sense, and I agree, I
think this is kind of a problem of a younger generation.
I think there's always pure influences right in every generation.
(07:44):
But I think just with the speed at which information
can travel now and and and the way we consume
to consume information is very different, and I think it
lends itself in many ways to positive things and can
validate certain truths, but it can also lead to a
(08:04):
lot of misinformation. So you're absolutely right, and I agree
with what you're saying totally.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Well, you know, we were always talking question authority, question
authority is another thirteen year old at dig tok.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Totally yeah. No, I mean I think actually my patients,
among my Gen Z patients and even younger patients, are
actually overall better about sun screen use than you know,
the older generations were when we didn't even know right,
sunscreen wasn't something you took put in your beach bag.
You step under the tinfoil and tried to get some
nice color. So I think in general, you know, society
(08:43):
is moving to towards more sun protection and understanding the
harmful effects. There was just kind of like this blip
maybe over the past, you know, a couple of years
about you know, if I have acne, this is this
is a kind of a home remedy for treating acne.
And we know we have lots of really great treatments
that a board certified dermatologist can talk to you about
for treating acne that doesn't involve you know, harming your
(09:05):
skin barrier, drying out your drying out the skin, and
then potentially you know, exacerbating the acne long term and
causing you know, long term sun damage that you're really
going to regret as you move out of your teens,
in your thirty forty, fifties and beyond.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
So yeah, totally, Well, the message is loud and clear,
and I do appreciate doctor Gustafa you sharing this with us.
A dermatologist director the Laser and Cosmetics at Tough Medical Center,
love having you on. We'll have you back, just to
make young people aware that again you have to think
(09:40):
about anything you do about the potential consequences. That's that's
the lesson that I guess all of us finally learn
as we get older. Unfortunately when they say youth is
wasted on the young. So hey, thank you so much,
appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Thanks so much, Thank you, Dan good Man.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
All right, now, there is that's something that I think
all of us can agree upon, and that is the
tax free shopping weekend that is approaching here in Massachusetts.
At least. We'll talk with Paula Fleming. She's the chief
marketing and sales officer for the Better Business Bureau in Boston,
and we'll try to break it down because a lot
of people don't understand that tax free weekend can be
(10:19):
really good. But there are some businesses actually who will
allow you to in effect the benefits of tax free
weekend before the weekend, and so if you're going to
be out of state or it's inconvenient, we'll get everything,
all the tips from Paula Fleming or the Boston Better
Business Bureau or the Better Business Bureau of Boston will
(10:40):
put it that way. As well. Coming up on Nightside
right after this quick break.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
All right, well, it's a big weekend coming up. It's
not quite Christmas in August, but it's the annual, well
not the guaranteed, the annual tax free weekend. We always
have smiths. But the legislature, in their infinite wisdom, has
given us permission to shop this weekend in a tax
free capacity, and with us to talk about this wonderful,
(11:14):
wonderful gift from the Massachusetts legislature. Fifty one weekends out
of the year they tax you, they give you one
weekend off, and this is it. PAULA. Fleming of the
Boston Better Business Peral, Hi, Paul, how are you?
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Hi? Good evening? Then I we'll thank you if how
for you?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yeah? Forgive me if I'm not like over the moon
on a tax free weekend here when it's one out
of fifty two. But how can people take maximum ada
just save a few dollars for themselves this weekend?
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Well, first set a budget. It's easy to get caught
up in this excitement, and some of us are excited.
I have two kids going back to college. So I
am thrilled to be taking advantage of this this weekend.
So you want to set you budget before you shop
so you're not overspending just because it feels like a deal.
So starting with big ticket items like a new computer,
(12:09):
now is the time to purchase those items. They sell
out fast. The larger ticket items are usually the first
to go, so make sure that you do some research
now if you haven't already, comparison shops and know the
limit is twenty five hundred dollars or less on each
item to qualify for this tax exemption.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Okay, so the item cannot be cannot cost more than
twenty five one hundred dollars. So therefore, exactly you're in
the market for a new car, you get a break
on the first twenty five hundred dollars of the purchase
of that new car, but not on the the other
thirty five thousand dollars or whatever new car costs these days.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Right, So the item itself, So if it was a vehicle, unfortunately,
you wouldn't get the tax operate. So but for a computer,
let's say it's you know, twenty twenty four nine nine,
you would get it off.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So if the item. This is good clarification pause. So
if the item seeds the price of twenty five hundred dollars,
let's say two five and one dollars, there's no tax
break there.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Correct, Any single item whose price is more than twenty
five hundred dollars does not qualify. A lot of people
don't realize.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
That that if you were going to buy a car,
you get a break in the first twenty five hundred,
which is what's at six point two five percent I
think is the sales tax at this point, right.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Yeah, And we've actually had something else that people come
to me and say, well, you know, I filled my
tank and I was taxed on that. Or electricity or
alcoholic beverages, motor vehicles, motor boats, things, all of these
things will be taxed. I even had someone say I
(13:56):
purchased for medical purposes marijuana and that was tax And
there's certain things that are not that are going to
be taxed. Not everything is tax free.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
So boy, that's that's a lot of stuff. So even
if you want to go buy I don't know, you
know a couple of cases of beer and you know,
stock up for the summer. This Saturday, Sunday that's a
waste of time.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Yeah right, yeah, look.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
You might enjoy it, but yeah, you're not going to
get a tax break, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
So they kind of it's when they say the government
giveth and the government taketh away. This is a great
example of that. They give you what they purport to
be is a tax break, but it's not only some items,
and it's only up to amount even when either item, yeah,
(14:52):
even when they're doing this for you. What if so
I assume if somebody says, oh, I'm going to buy
I don't know, I don't know an expensive pair of
I don't even know what alligator shoes look like. But
if you're gonna buy some, go out and buy some
suit for three thousand dollars. I've never bought a suit
(15:13):
for three thousand dollars, but if someone was, you don't
get the break. This is good clarification. What else should
we know? Tell us some of the good things about
the weekend.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
So double your savings, So take advantage of qupons, store
promotions and rewards programs on top of the tax savings.
This is what we call deal stacking, and it can
really add up to a significant amount of money. So again,
now is the time to start doing their research, getting coupons,
store promotions, and stacking up those rewards. If you have
(15:45):
a credit card, for example, that you might have rewards on,
or if you're just part of a free program out
of store, you want to make sure you're taking advantage
of that. And if you're buying online or from a
new retailer, make sure you obviously check them out to
make sure they're legit of it, and you read their
reviews to make sure you know who you're dealing with.
(16:05):
It's a great way to stretch your dollar on things
if you need them, but a little planning will go
a long way, so it's important that you take time
and to take advantage of this fully.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah, you know, it's funny coming as this does in
the second weekend of August, a lot of people are
thinking about they're on vacation, or they're thinking about what
they're going to do for the balance of the summer.
Why is there a backstory as to why this particular
(16:37):
weekend was chosen. Is it because it's coming up on
Labor Day and back to school or did they pick
it because they figured people probably wouldn't be paying too
much attention you know, in the middle of the summer.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
That's a great question. From what I've been told, because
we are not a government agency, but from what I
have been told by people that do work in government,
are that Massachusetts selects a weekend for its annual sales
tax holiday because it's the most accessible time for working
families to shop and it's close to the back to
(17:13):
school where those items are typically less than twenty five
hundred dollars calculators, laptops, books, et cetera, where they can
take advantage of the savings without rearranging their schedules, and
that it can have an impact on their wallet.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Okay, well, yeah, I love. The other thing too is
that there are some of the retailers out there who
I see on TV advertising that they can buy today
or tomorrow or the next day. They don't have to
grind on Saturday and Sunday because you know, the crowds
might be a little intimidating, and they will give you
(17:52):
the benefit. They'll market up as if the sale occurred.
I guess it has to technically occur on that the
two days question, Saturday and Sunday. So there's some pretty
big TV and radio advertisers who are talking about that.
So that's another way which you can take advantage of
it if you happen to have to.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Work in a week and most definitely yeah, I've seen
those as well. And it's important to note that this
timing it also helps the local small businesses and retailers.
So many businesses see increased foot traffic and sales during
this time. So that's something great to keep in mind
from the business aspect. Helping out these small businesses sounds great.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Paula is always appreciate your time, that is for sure,
And I guess the bottom line is any break that
one of us might be able to take and get
from the government, take take every opportunity you can to
keep a few a few pennies in your own pocket.
Paula Hucky. More information on the Boston Better Business Bureau
(18:50):
the Better Business Bureau of Boston. What's your website?
Speaker 4 (18:54):
BBB dot org.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Perfect BBB, triple B BBB. Thank you, Paula, we'll talk again.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
I have a great night. We came back when I
talked to a very interesting a rising junior at Boston College.
His name is James Redding. He's about to set a
goal which has will basically make him the only person
at his age who has achieved this particular goal. We
will explain to the other side of the news at
(19:24):
the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
All Right, delighted to welcome. I guess the phrase James
is a rising Boston College junior James Redding, who's a
marathon or We're going to explain that in the moment. Hey, James, welcome,
How are you.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
I'm good, how are you doing great?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
So not only did you do you go to BC,
but I think you grew up in the area right
I did.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
I was born and raised in Brighton. I went over
to Brookline for my kindergarten through twelfth grade education, and
then I went right back into the Brighton community into
Boston College for the next four years.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I got to tell you, of all the BC College students,
you must probably be the one that is closest. It's
it's great. Yeah, you picked BC. They accepted you, and
you have had an interesting backstory that I guess you
used to enjoy playing hockey, but at some point you
decided maybe I'm going to I'm going to participate in
(20:30):
a different sport running and slowly, but surely you're a
junior at BOSS you assume to be a junior, or
you are a junior now at BC. So I'm guessing
you're what twenty years old?
Speaker 5 (20:43):
I'm twenty years old. Yes, it's funny you say that
a lot of the times. I was on Newton campus
for my freshman year, and I was further away from
campus living on campus than I was from my house,
so right around the corner, and grew up playing hockey,
and then yeah, transitioned over a running in my junior
year high school.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Okay, so now not only is it running, but it's
really serious running, and apparently you're about to compete, and
I'm sure we'll finish your sixth Abbot World Marathon. I'm
unfamiliar with the phrase Abbot World Marathon, but when I
(21:24):
read your story, obviously these are the major marathons, the Boston,
New York, Chicago. I guess there's two, what three in
Europe as well?
Speaker 5 (21:38):
Then you have Tokyo, Berlin and London as well.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Okay, and the one that you're about to complete is
the Berlin Marathon Berlin, that's right, And when will you
be running that?
Speaker 5 (21:49):
That'll be this upcoming September, so September twenty first.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Now, have all of the marathons been challenging? Well, obviously
a marathon is by definition challenging, But which one was
the most challenging in your opinion?
Speaker 5 (22:08):
No, Boston was the most challenging for me. It was
my first major I didn't really know what the major
scene looked like, but running that it was a hot
day for me, and hitting those hills at mile seventeen
is something that you don't get in any other major marathon.
So that, combined with the heat, combined with that being
(22:29):
my first time on the major scene, was definitely the
most challenging. I've got to say, have.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
You completed every one of the marathons or have you
run Boston multiple times? I mean, obviously only one is
you only need one to count towards this world record.
My understanding is that when you finish the marathon in Berlin,
I'm not going to jinction you, but I'm sure you're
going to do really well. You will be the youngest
(22:54):
man to have completed six marathons.
Speaker 5 (22:59):
So I'll be the youngest mail to finish all of
the six original major marathons.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So I mean There may be people who have run
Boston twice and run out of the marathons, but you
will have six. Boy, this is quite an accomplishment. When
did you hit You said you hit the first one
Boston when you were seventeen years of age. It would
have been three years ago.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
So I hit Boston when I was eighteen years of
age in April twenty twenty four. Okay, you have to
be eighteen to get into these majors.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Okay, So what was next?
Speaker 5 (23:32):
So after Boston, I ran Chicago in October of twenty
twenty four and then New York a month later in November.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Who I'd had to be tough to do one back
to back, go.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I have to assume, you know.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
I went out with the mindset that I was going
to raise Chicago and go for my personal best time,
which I did end up getting, and then I was
just going to run New York, not looking at my watch,
just running it.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
You know.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
Still a very hard, a very major thing to do.
But the recovery time being three weeks, wasn't enough to
get my body into that tip top shape to go
for a fast, faster run. So I ended up racing
Chicago and then just running New York, which was which
was really nice.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Actually your personal best for Chicago, not that I would
never tempt the marathon. How fast was your Chicago marathon?
Speaker 5 (24:22):
That was three hours and forty four minutes.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
That's pretty good. I mean, I don't think I could
drive the marathon in three hours four minutes. So then
which one was next? You got? You got the US
marathons completed? What's next?
Speaker 5 (24:35):
After I completed the US this spring break, I went
over to Tokyo in March twenty twenty five for the
Tokyo Marathon, So that was this year.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
This year that had to be a little bit of
a different experience.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
That was a complete culture shock. It was one of
the best experiences of my life. Actually, I'd never traveled
over overseas out of the country like that before, so
just seeing the new culture, the new country, the new scenery,
and how things were and how they were different overseas
was really eye opening for me. And usually when I
(25:11):
do these marathon weekends, it's usually just that it's usually
a weekend and then I've got to.
Speaker 6 (25:16):
Get back to school.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
But since Tokyo fell on spring break, I was able
to stay over in Tokyo for a week three days
four days there and then three and four days in Kyoto.
So I really got to go and immerse myself in
the culture and experience the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So this has been an amazing experience. And number five
was London.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
A month later, April twenty twenty five, London.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
So you're going to be doing three marathons in just
about four months here March, April, May, June, well July.
And when you go, do you bring a trainer with
you or is it you pretty much get on the
plane and you folks say, hey, you know, give us
a call. Then you're in your way home.
Speaker 5 (25:58):
Well, my mom has actually come to each of these
marathons with me. She's the one who will travel with me.
And then at all of these family has showed up,
friends have showed up in New York, family has come
to Chicago and Tokyo and London. And it starts off
as just me and my mom planning a trip, and
(26:18):
then somebody catches wind of it. Somebody is also on break,
somebody wants to join in. And each of these weekends
or weeks that we've traveled, we've had a good and
a good showing of family and friends out there as well.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Okay, so when you finish Germany, which you said is September, correct, Yes, Okay,
are you going to get off the road, off the
marathon coast for a while and just say, hey, I've
done what I needed to do? Or do you think
you're just going to pick up other marathons along the
way and maybe over the next you know, twenty years, Well,
(26:53):
you're still able to run marathons, do you think you
might you know, turn around and have a whole bunch more.
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Yeah, I'm definitely not planning on hanging out the shoes
after September. I've actually already entered into the New York
City Marathon twenty twenty five in November, so I'll continue
doing that. And then there's a few different ways I
could go. I haven't completely decided on it yet, but
seven continents would be really cool. I'd love to run
(27:24):
a marathon and get those continents that I haven't run
in yet. Fifty states would also be really cool.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
That's something I've also bad those states. That'll take a while.
Has anyone ever done all fifty states?
Speaker 5 (27:42):
Yes? There are a bunch of people and people that
I've met who have talked to me about it, and
the first person I've met who talked to me about
it was that my first marathon wasn't a major marathon,
and I thought the person was nuts. And now here
I am considering it after I've talked to more and.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
More people the bug James reading, if folks would like
to support you or get in contact with you, and again,
you don't have to give, but you have like some
sort of a website that people can follow you.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
I don't have a website. I have social media.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
May ye give us how they can how they can
check in and give us a Facebook page or whatever.
You have.
Speaker 5 (28:21):
My Facebook and my Instagram is James reading Underscore zero
five and I post all my marathon updates on there.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Excellent. So James reading R E, D D I G
Underscore zero five.
Speaker 5 (28:36):
Yes, that's it.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
That's great. Hey, James, thank you so much. I really
enjoyed the conversation. You're going to be a great success
in life whatever you take on because you always finish
the course, simple as that.
Speaker 5 (28:48):
Congratulations, Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
You're very welcome. We have one more guest to talk
to in this hour. We're going to talk about your
vacation and how you can make sure you don't either
overplan or underplan thirteen vacation habits that are secretly stressing
you out even when you're on vacation. We'll be talking
with Laura Ratliffe right after this.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
It's Nightside with Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
All Right, A fourth and final just this hour is
Laura Ratliffe. She's the managing editor at Luxury Travel Report. Laura,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you this evening?
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Hi? Dan, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
How are you good? I looked at the thirteen vacation
habits that are secretly stressing you out or any one
of us out. Vacations are not supposed to stress us out,
but I can identify with some of these. Yeah. First
of all, you anticipate and you plan it and you're looking.
(29:53):
And for me, it's always when I get to where
I'm going, I forgot something. Yeah, my toothbrush, where's my
hair brush? Where's this? Where's that? What can you do
just to generally go into the vacation in a little
bit more relaxable. We're going to get to some of
the specifics that stress people out. But what's your best
(30:15):
overall general advice, Your vacation's coming up, it's a week away,
two weeks away. What do you do? Do you not
think about it? Do you focus on it? Do you
think about how cool it's going to be, how good
it's going to be? What do you do?
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (30:29):
I mean, I think you know, it's totally normal and
human to worry about delays or missing experiences or being
in just unfamiliar situations in a different place. So I
think you can avoid it by preparing yourself for those
potential hiccups and mapping out alternative plans, setting out a
worst case scenario for Okay, if my flight is delayed,
(30:50):
you know what, I know, there's another flight at three
pm that I'm going to be rebooked on, and maybe
we miss a few hours, but that's okay. And even
you know, it goes back to just prac just in
calming techniques like breathing or journaling, those are super relevant
to travel experiences and can apply to anything. Anyone that's
something they can do, that's something that your child can do.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
I am familiar with breathing. I do it all day long.
But that second one, I think you.
Speaker 6 (31:16):
Said, journaling, journaling, Yeah, Well, I'm.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
A journalist, so I'm want to assume you're supposed to
keep a little diary of your experience.
Speaker 7 (31:27):
You know, people do it, and people love it. So
I have I talked to so many people who keep
records of travel experiences for years, and not only does
it help them relieve stress in the moment, but it
gives them a great, you know, a great tangible thing
to look back at after their trip.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I wish I had done that. I traveled a lot
as a television reporter, been to a lot of places,
and I kind of remember them all, but there were
experiences along the way that I wish I had a
written record of because I will transpose Oh I met that?
Was that in Stockholm? Or was that some I don't know,
(32:06):
you know, it's just that's that's part of it. So
let's go over some of the things that stress people out.
I know it's thirteen. We don't have time to do thirteen,
but let's let's zip through them. So these are the
things to avoid, I assume.
Speaker 6 (32:20):
You know.
Speaker 7 (32:20):
The first one is over planning every second. It's so
easy to try and sit in every attraction, meal event.
It can feel really ridd and overwhelming. You know, there's
a lot of things to do in a new place.
But the solution of that is to just build in
some placability, to leave bank slots or chill time each
day to explore without an itinerary or agenda. And some
(32:44):
days that might just mean resting in your hotel room
and enjoying the ac or a cocktail by the pool,
and there's no harm in that either, Okay, And then.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
You also said be careful not to skip any meals.
I try not to skip meals, but some days you're
kind of making that choice, Well, do I have a
meal or do I make sure I get to the
park two hours early.
Speaker 7 (33:07):
This is a big one, and anyone who has ever
had travel companion who is angry knows how important this is.
Speaker 6 (33:15):
And it's so easy.
Speaker 7 (33:16):
I have plenty of early flights and long travel days.
Speaker 6 (33:19):
I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else.
Speaker 7 (33:22):
So these pack schedules can lead to miss meals, which
can also fuel irritability fatigue for you your travel partners.
So keeping just some snacks on hand, some nuts, some
trail mix, you know, ideally something healthy like dried fruit maybe,
and even just staying hydrated can make a big difference.
And scheduling regular breaks throughout your day just so you
(33:43):
can grab snack and recharge will go a long way
to making sure that you get the most out of
your trip.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
And also, I like this one. Don't be too stringent
with your itineraries, be a little loosey goosey, and don't
check your work email. I love that part of it.
Speaker 6 (33:59):
We're all guilty of checking our work email. I think.
I think that is the hardest.
Speaker 7 (34:04):
Piece for me personally, but it really prevents true unplugging.
So I'm not going to come on here and tell
everyone to stop checking their work email, because that would
be hypocritical of me.
Speaker 6 (34:16):
But I do try and turn off notifications.
Speaker 7 (34:19):
I do try and set pre defined check in times,
and even better if you can put that on your
email AUTOROUM so you'll only be checking email within a
certain window or going device free after a certain hour.
Spend a few hours in the morning checking email, getting
your ducks in a row, and then you'll have a
much richer time on vacation when you can put that
(34:39):
beside you for the day.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
And then the opposite you talked about. You know, don't overplan,
but also don't underplan, so you got to kind of
hit that happy middle, right.
Speaker 6 (34:51):
You really do.
Speaker 7 (34:52):
Yeah, I think it's nice to have a fluid list
of things to do right, so you know, prioritize if
you must do items. But let's the rest sort of.
Speaker 6 (35:01):
Adapt to the moment. You can kind of trust your.
Speaker 7 (35:03):
Mood, the weather, unexpected discoveries. Going too far in either direction,
you know, going one way can turn your vacation into
feeling like work. Going the other way, you might end
up a little bit bored. So have those mustus that
you know you want to hit, and then let the
rest just be discovery because that's the most important part
(35:25):
of travel anyway.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah. And then it's interesting you said there's two of
them here, which are kind of the ying and the yang.
It says, don't just book the cheapest options you talk about,
you know, to a ten hour two ten hour layos
and but you need to understand your budget, so you
(35:46):
have to again, you got to hit that happy medium
when you when you think about it. I think that's
what you're saying. And the final one is don't press
yourself into relaxing. And there's others you said, include buffer time.
How can folks read this, what's the easiest way for them?
To find this the areas that we really couldn't cover
(36:07):
in depth here.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (36:09):
Sure, So this piece was published on Huffington Post. It's
called Vacation Habits that are secretly stressing you out, and
like you point out, it has a couple of other
great points with regards to leisure sickness, the post vacation slump,
lots of great insight.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Sounds great, Laura. People would like to follow you. You're
the managing editor of Luxury Travel Report.
Speaker 7 (36:30):
Do you have a website, yes, so you can find
us at Luxury Travel Report dot com.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Sounds great, Laura. You were great. You got a lot
in in a relatively small amount of time that is
really an asset and a skill. Thank you so much
for doing that.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
Okay, thanks for having me, Dan, You're welcome.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Have you back, Laura Ratcliffe, Managing editor of Luxury Travel Report.
When we get back, right after the nine o'clock news
is going to be talking with Glocester Mayor Greg Vierger.
Gloucester is one of the cities really affected by this
republic trash strike, which is now in its second month
and actually I think well into its fifth week. It's
(37:10):
getting ugly out there, about to start I think the
sixth week actually pretty soon. We'll talk about it right
after the nine o'clock news
It's Dan Ray. I'm going easy Bondon's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Well, good evening everyone, and welcome on in to the
start of another week of nightside. We call Monday's moon
Days here, okay, because it's you know, the weekend's over.
We got to kind of get down to business. I
think all of us understand that. And we get down
to business tonight and we start off the week. Rob
(00:29):
Brooks is in his position back at the broadcast central
headquarters and I am broadcasting remotely. So we have a
full great guests coming up tonight. In the eight o'clock hour,
we will be joined by our first guest. In just
a moment, we're going to talk with the Mayor of Gloucester,
Greg Virga, about the trash troubles in about fourteen Massachusetts
(00:52):
communities as the Republic Services trash collector strike continues. And
then at ten o'clock we'll talk about what's going on
in the Middle East. Jeff Robbins VOMA, chair of the
New England Board of the Anti Defamation League. Here, we'll
talk about peace initiatives and what's going on over there
right now, because it just seems that it is lingering
(01:13):
on and there's a lot of suffering on both sides.
We will talk with Jeff Robbins. I also just want
to take a quick second here before we begin to
remind all of you that we have a very cool
way for you to be part of our Nightside broadcast
by utilizing our talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. All
you got to do is pull the app down, put
it on your laptop, your desktop, any device that you have,
(01:38):
and it'll be just perfect. You can you can listen
to it. You get it for free. It's new and improved,
and while you listen to Nightside Live on WBZ News Radio,
you tap the red microphone talk back button in the
top right can corner and you send us a personalized
audio message. This is not live in the air, unlike
when you call the program. Basically the audio message is there.
(02:00):
We'll listen to it. Can be a criticism, can be
a compliment, can be something else. Does it matter long
A It's thirty seconds and clean. We'll play back on Nightside.
It's that simple. Once again, hit the red microphone button
in the top right corner of the app while listening
to Nightside and send us your audio message. Such another
way for us for you to be part of the program,
because that's really what this is all about. Now we
(02:23):
are going to start off tonight to talk about a
tick talk sunburning trend. A lot of things on TikTok
sound crazy, but this is right up there with leading
the pack suffers of some acne problems, meaning mostly teenagers,
swear by it. But this is a big problem with us.
As doctor Farah Mustafa, she's a dermatologist and director of
(02:46):
Laser and Cosmetics and Tough Medical Center. This is kind
of scary. Farah a doctor Mustafa.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
How are you hi, Dan good? How are you welcome back?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Welcome back? It's I guess people just fall for this stuff.
Tell us, I mean, how long has this been kicking around?
I feel like we're a little late to the party.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Well, it's actually been going on for a few years.
But of course, you know, trends in TikTok come and go.
But even in the nineties or nineties and two thousands
tanning beds, we're kind of touting some of the benefits
of using tanning beds was that it would help clear
your skin and kind of preying on teenagers with acne
(03:30):
that were desperate to get some resolution or improvement in
their skin, so.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I know what a sunburn is like. I have traditional
Irish skin, plenty of sunburns in my life, and I
try to avoid it as much as I can. I
try to minimize my time outdoors during the summertime, particularly,
I love when when it's nice and warm, but when
you get a sunburn, it can be mercial. I mean,
(04:00):
I hope these kids understand that, these young people and
is this basically gen z ors we're talking about here
or what.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Yeah, it's a lot of the kids of the TikTok generation.
And usually there's some kernel of truth or why something
gets popularized, so you know they're not wrong that if
you took your skin under the sun that you will
get a temporary improvement for acne. And there's a couple
of theories as to why that happens. But ultimately they're
(04:29):
doing their skin in disservice and it can actually make
acne worse over time, and not to mention all the
other problems that you're familiar with with the sun, whether
it be skin aging or skin cancer and premature wrinkles
and sun spots and things like that, but it can
also actually negatively impact acne over the long term too.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
So it's great that you're available, But how come when
there's something like this going on on TikTok and obviously
there's a lot of young people who are on TikTok,
why are we hearing PSAs from the medical community and
just you know, getting the word out that this is
(05:13):
something that is not going to be helpful and as
you say, it's going to potentially have a long term danger.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Yes, I totally agree. I'm I think people like to
get information from their peers and especially younger folks, and
you know, this has been an ongoing thing. First there
was you know, earlier this year, there was beef tallow trend.
I don't know if you caught that on TikTok, but
that's basically using you know, animal fat as a moisturizer.
That was a big trend on social media. But these
(05:41):
things they cycle and they catch a lot of buzz,
and you know, the kids are easily influenced by each other.
So I think it is our responsibility as dermatologists and
as physicians to put good information out there. And it's
obviously a reason for us to be more involved in
the spaces that young people are using, including social media.
On Instagram and TikTok and putting our information or good
(06:05):
information out there to help combat a lot of misinformation.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I'm sure you're much younger than I am, But when
I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, there
was no TikTok. There was no way to communicate to
you know, fellow young people kids except seeing up the playground.
I mean, you use the telephone in those days, and
(06:29):
I just it just seems to me that that somehow,
some way, maybe in our school systems, we need to
make young people aware that everything we learned. Look, everything
you hear on TV, on the radio or reading the newspapers,
you have to confirm it's not necessarily true. But why
(06:52):
don't they send that same message, you know, the schools
and that have these kids, you know, six hours a day,
one hundred and eighty days a year, and just let
them know that the stuff that's that's on the internet,
which is really dangerous. I mean, we didn't have to
deal with this when I was young. I'm sure. I'm
not sure how you are not going to ask your
whole your ovel when you grew up, but this stuff
(07:14):
wasn't around. I'm sure that my generation would have been
just as dumb and said, oh yeah, let's get a sunburn,
we'll get rid of the zits.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah, no, I totally agree. I think I think it's
important to teach our young folks to question what they
see and hear, especially from you know, unvetted sources, and
to always kind of check and seek the opinion of
an expert. It makes perfect sense, and I agree, I
think this is kind of a problem of a younger generation.
I think there's always pure influences right in every generation.
(07:44):
But I think just with the speed at which information
can travel now and and and the way we consume
to consume information is very different, and I think it
lends itself in many ways to positive things and can
validate certain truths, but it can also lead to a
(08:04):
lot of misinformation. So you're absolutely right, and I agree
with what you're saying totally.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Well, you know, we were always talking question authority, question
authority is another thirteen year old at dig tok.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Totally yeah. No, I mean I think actually my patients,
among my Gen Z patients and even younger patients, are
actually overall better about sun screen use than you know,
the older generations were when we didn't even know right,
sunscreen wasn't something you took put in your beach bag.
You step under the tinfoil and tried to get some
nice color. So I think in general, you know, society
(08:43):
is moving to towards more sun protection and understanding the
harmful effects. There was just kind of like this blip
maybe over the past, you know, a couple of years
about you know, if I have acne, this is this
is a kind of a home remedy for treating acne.
And we know we have lots of really great treatments
that a board certified dermatologist can talk to you about
for treating acne that doesn't involve you know, harming your
(09:05):
skin barrier, drying out your drying out the skin, and
then potentially you know, exacerbating the acne long term and
causing you know, long term sun damage that you're really
going to regret as you move out of your teens,
in your thirty forty, fifties and beyond.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
So yeah, totally, Well, the message is loud and clear,
and I do appreciate doctor Gustafa you sharing this with us.
A dermatologist director the Laser and Cosmetics at Tough Medical Center,
love having you on. We'll have you back, just to
make young people aware that again you have to think
(09:40):
about anything you do about the potential consequences. That's that's
the lesson that I guess all of us finally learn
as we get older. Unfortunately when they say youth is
wasted on the young. So hey, thank you so much,
appreciate your time.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Thanks so much, Thank you, Dan good Man.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
All right, now, there is that's something that I think
all of us can agree upon, and that is the
tax free shopping weekend that is approaching here in Massachusetts.
At least. We'll talk with Paula Fleming. She's the chief
marketing and sales officer for the Better Business Bureau in Boston,
and we'll try to break it down because a lot
of people don't understand that tax free weekend can be
(10:19):
really good. But there are some businesses actually who will
allow you to in effect the benefits of tax free
weekend before the weekend, and so if you're going to
be out of state or it's inconvenient, we'll get everything,
all the tips from Paula Fleming or the Boston Better
Business Bureau or the Better Business Bureau of Boston will
(10:40):
put it that way. As well. Coming up on Nightside
right after this quick break.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
All right, well, it's a big weekend coming up. It's
not quite Christmas in August, but it's the annual, well
not the guaranteed, the annual tax free weekend. We always
have smiths. But the legislature, in their infinite wisdom, has
given us permission to shop this weekend in a tax
free capacity, and with us to talk about this wonderful,
(11:14):
wonderful gift from the Massachusetts legislature. Fifty one weekends out
of the year they tax you, they give you one
weekend off, and this is it. PAULA. Fleming of the
Boston Better Business Peral, Hi, Paul, how are you?
Speaker 4 (11:28):
Hi? Good evening? Then I we'll thank you if how
for you?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Yeah? Forgive me if I'm not like over the moon
on a tax free weekend here when it's one out
of fifty two. But how can people take maximum ada
just save a few dollars for themselves this weekend?
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Well, first set a budget. It's easy to get caught
up in this excitement, and some of us are excited.
I have two kids going back to college. So I
am thrilled to be taking advantage of this this weekend.
So you want to set you budget before you shop
so you're not overspending just because it feels like a deal.
So starting with big ticket items like a new computer,
(12:09):
now is the time to purchase those items. They sell
out fast. The larger ticket items are usually the first
to go, so make sure that you do some research
now if you haven't already, comparison shops and know the
limit is twenty five hundred dollars or less on each
item to qualify for this tax exemption.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Okay, so the item cannot be cannot cost more than
twenty five one hundred dollars. So therefore, exactly you're in
the market for a new car, you get a break
on the first twenty five hundred dollars of the purchase
of that new car, but not on the the other
thirty five thousand dollars or whatever new car costs these days.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Right, So the item itself, So if it was a vehicle, unfortunately,
you wouldn't get the tax operate. So but for a computer,
let's say it's you know, twenty twenty four nine nine,
you would get it off.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So if the item. This is good clarification pause. So
if the item seeds the price of twenty five hundred dollars,
let's say two five and one dollars, there's no tax
break there.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Correct, Any single item whose price is more than twenty
five hundred dollars does not qualify. A lot of people
don't realize.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
That that if you were going to buy a car,
you get a break in the first twenty five hundred,
which is what's at six point two five percent I
think is the sales tax at this point, right.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Yeah, And we've actually had something else that people come
to me and say, well, you know, I filled my
tank and I was taxed on that. Or electricity or
alcoholic beverages, motor vehicles, motor boats, things, all of these
things will be taxed. I even had someone say I
(13:56):
purchased for medical purposes marijuana and that was tax And
there's certain things that are not that are going to
be taxed. Not everything is tax free.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
So boy, that's that's a lot of stuff. So even
if you want to go buy I don't know, you
know a couple of cases of beer and you know,
stock up for the summer. This Saturday, Sunday that's a
waste of time.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Yeah right, yeah, look.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
You might enjoy it, but yeah, you're not going to
get a tax break, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
So they kind of it's when they say the government
giveth and the government taketh away. This is a great
example of that. They give you what they purport to
be is a tax break, but it's not only some items,
and it's only up to amount even when either item, yeah,
(14:52):
even when they're doing this for you. What if so
I assume if somebody says, oh, I'm going to buy
I don't know, I don't know an expensive pair of
I don't even know what alligator shoes look like. But
if you're gonna buy some, go out and buy some
suit for three thousand dollars. I've never bought a suit
(15:13):
for three thousand dollars, but if someone was, you don't
get the break. This is good clarification. What else should
we know? Tell us some of the good things about
the weekend.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
So double your savings, So take advantage of qupons, store
promotions and rewards programs on top of the tax savings.
This is what we call deal stacking, and it can
really add up to a significant amount of money. So again,
now is the time to start doing their research, getting coupons,
store promotions, and stacking up those rewards. If you have
(15:45):
a credit card, for example, that you might have rewards on,
or if you're just part of a free program out
of store, you want to make sure you're taking advantage
of that. And if you're buying online or from a
new retailer, make sure you obviously check them out to
make sure they're legit of it, and you read their
reviews to make sure you know who you're dealing with.
(16:05):
It's a great way to stretch your dollar on things
if you need them, but a little planning will go
a long way, so it's important that you take time
and to take advantage of this fully.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah, you know, it's funny coming as this does in
the second weekend of August, a lot of people are
thinking about they're on vacation, or they're thinking about what
they're going to do for the balance of the summer.
Why is there a backstory as to why this particular
(16:37):
weekend was chosen. Is it because it's coming up on
Labor Day and back to school or did they pick
it because they figured people probably wouldn't be paying too
much attention you know, in the middle of the summer.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
That's a great question. From what I've been told, because
we are not a government agency, but from what I
have been told by people that do work in government,
are that Massachusetts selects a weekend for its annual sales
tax holiday because it's the most accessible time for working
families to shop and it's close to the back to
(17:13):
school where those items are typically less than twenty five
hundred dollars calculators, laptops, books, et cetera, where they can
take advantage of the savings without rearranging their schedules, and
that it can have an impact on their wallet.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Okay, well, yeah, I love. The other thing too is
that there are some of the retailers out there who
I see on TV advertising that they can buy today
or tomorrow or the next day. They don't have to
grind on Saturday and Sunday because you know, the crowds
might be a little intimidating, and they will give you
(17:52):
the benefit. They'll market up as if the sale occurred.
I guess it has to technically occur on that the
two days question, Saturday and Sunday. So there's some pretty
big TV and radio advertisers who are talking about that.
So that's another way which you can take advantage of
it if you happen to have to.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Work in a week and most definitely yeah, I've seen
those as well. And it's important to note that this
timing it also helps the local small businesses and retailers.
So many businesses see increased foot traffic and sales during
this time. So that's something great to keep in mind
from the business aspect. Helping out these small businesses sounds great.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Paula is always appreciate your time, that is for sure,
And I guess the bottom line is any break that
one of us might be able to take and get
from the government, take take every opportunity you can to
keep a few a few pennies in your own pocket.
Paula Hucky. More information on the Boston Better Business Bureau
(18:50):
the Better Business Bureau of Boston. What's your website?
Speaker 4 (18:54):
BBB dot org.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Perfect BBB, triple B BBB. Thank you, Paula, we'll talk again.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
I have a great night. We came back when I
talked to a very interesting a rising junior at Boston College.
His name is James Redding. He's about to set a
goal which has will basically make him the only person
at his age who has achieved this particular goal. We
will explain to the other side of the news at
(19:24):
the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
All Right, delighted to welcome. I guess the phrase James
is a rising Boston College junior James Redding, who's a
marathon or We're going to explain that in the moment. Hey, James, welcome,
How are you.
Speaker 5 (19:47):
I'm good, how are you doing great?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
So not only did you do you go to BC,
but I think you grew up in the area right
I did.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
I was born and raised in Brighton. I went over
to Brookline for my kindergarten through twelfth grade education, and
then I went right back into the Brighton community into
Boston College for the next four years.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I got to tell you, of all the BC College students,
you must probably be the one that is closest. It's
it's great. Yeah, you picked BC. They accepted you, and
you have had an interesting backstory that I guess you
used to enjoy playing hockey, but at some point you
decided maybe I'm going to I'm going to participate in
(20:30):
a different sport running and slowly, but surely you're a
junior at BOSS you assume to be a junior, or
you are a junior now at BC. So I'm guessing
you're what twenty years old?
Speaker 5 (20:43):
I'm twenty years old. Yes, it's funny you say that
a lot of the times. I was on Newton campus
for my freshman year, and I was further away from
campus living on campus than I was from my house,
so right around the corner, and grew up playing hockey,
and then yeah, transitioned over a running in my junior
year high school.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Okay, so now not only is it running, but it's
really serious running, and apparently you're about to compete, and
I'm sure we'll finish your sixth Abbot World Marathon. I'm
unfamiliar with the phrase Abbot World Marathon, but when I
(21:24):
read your story, obviously these are the major marathons, the Boston,
New York, Chicago. I guess there's two, what three in
Europe as well?
Speaker 5 (21:38):
Then you have Tokyo, Berlin and London as well.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Okay, and the one that you're about to complete is
the Berlin Marathon Berlin, that's right, And when will you
be running that?
Speaker 5 (21:49):
That'll be this upcoming September, so September twenty first.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Now, have all of the marathons been challenging? Well, obviously
a marathon is by definition challenging, But which one was
the most challenging in your opinion?
Speaker 5 (22:08):
No, Boston was the most challenging for me. It was
my first major I didn't really know what the major
scene looked like, but running that it was a hot
day for me, and hitting those hills at mile seventeen
is something that you don't get in any other major marathon.
So that, combined with the heat, combined with that being
(22:29):
my first time on the major scene, was definitely the
most challenging. I've got to say, have.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
You completed every one of the marathons or have you
run Boston multiple times? I mean, obviously only one is
you only need one to count towards this world record.
My understanding is that when you finish the marathon in Berlin,
I'm not going to jinction you, but I'm sure you're
going to do really well. You will be the youngest
(22:54):
man to have completed six marathons.
Speaker 5 (22:59):
So I'll be the youngest mail to finish all of
the six original major marathons.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So I mean There may be people who have run
Boston twice and run out of the marathons, but you
will have six. Boy, this is quite an accomplishment. When
did you hit You said you hit the first one
Boston when you were seventeen years of age. It would
have been three years ago.
Speaker 5 (23:21):
So I hit Boston when I was eighteen years of
age in April twenty twenty four. Okay, you have to
be eighteen to get into these majors.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Okay, So what was next?
Speaker 5 (23:32):
So after Boston, I ran Chicago in October of twenty
twenty four and then New York a month later in November.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Who I'd had to be tough to do one back
to back, go.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
I have to assume, you know.
Speaker 5 (23:44):
I went out with the mindset that I was going
to raise Chicago and go for my personal best time,
which I did end up getting, and then I was
just going to run New York, not looking at my watch,
just running it.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
You know.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
Still a very hard, a very major thing to do.
But the recovery time being three weeks, wasn't enough to
get my body into that tip top shape to go
for a fast, faster run. So I ended up racing
Chicago and then just running New York, which was which
was really nice.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Actually your personal best for Chicago, not that I would
never tempt the marathon. How fast was your Chicago marathon?
Speaker 5 (24:22):
That was three hours and forty four minutes.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
That's pretty good. I mean, I don't think I could
drive the marathon in three hours four minutes. So then
which one was next? You got? You got the US
marathons completed? What's next?
Speaker 5 (24:35):
After I completed the US this spring break, I went
over to Tokyo in March twenty twenty five for the
Tokyo Marathon, So that was this year.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
This year that had to be a little bit of
a different experience.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
That was a complete culture shock. It was one of
the best experiences of my life. Actually, I'd never traveled
over overseas out of the country like that before, so
just seeing the new culture, the new country, the new scenery,
and how things were and how they were different overseas
was really eye opening for me. And usually when I
(25:11):
do these marathon weekends, it's usually just that it's usually
a weekend and then I've got to.
Speaker 6 (25:16):
Get back to school.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
But since Tokyo fell on spring break, I was able
to stay over in Tokyo for a week three days
four days there and then three and four days in Kyoto.
So I really got to go and immerse myself in
the culture and experience the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
So this has been an amazing experience. And number five
was London.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
A month later, April twenty twenty five, London.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
So you're going to be doing three marathons in just
about four months here March, April, May, June, well July.
And when you go, do you bring a trainer with
you or is it you pretty much get on the
plane and you folks say, hey, you know, give us
a call. Then you're in your way home.
Speaker 5 (25:58):
Well, my mom has actually come to each of these
marathons with me. She's the one who will travel with me.
And then at all of these family has showed up,
friends have showed up in New York, family has come
to Chicago and Tokyo and London. And it starts off
as just me and my mom planning a trip, and
(26:18):
then somebody catches wind of it. Somebody is also on break,
somebody wants to join in. And each of these weekends
or weeks that we've traveled, we've had a good and
a good showing of family and friends out there as well.
Speaker 2 (26:31):
Okay, so when you finish Germany, which you said is September, correct, Yes, Okay,
are you going to get off the road, off the
marathon coast for a while and just say, hey, I've
done what I needed to do? Or do you think
you're just going to pick up other marathons along the
way and maybe over the next you know, twenty years, Well,
(26:53):
you're still able to run marathons, do you think you
might you know, turn around and have a whole bunch more.
Speaker 5 (27:03):
Yeah, I'm definitely not planning on hanging out the shoes
after September. I've actually already entered into the New York
City Marathon twenty twenty five in November, so I'll continue
doing that. And then there's a few different ways I
could go. I haven't completely decided on it yet, but
seven continents would be really cool. I'd love to run
(27:24):
a marathon and get those continents that I haven't run
in yet. Fifty states would also be really cool.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
That's something I've also bad those states. That'll take a while.
Has anyone ever done all fifty states?
Speaker 5 (27:42):
Yes? There are a bunch of people and people that
I've met who have talked to me about it, and
the first person I've met who talked to me about
it was that my first marathon wasn't a major marathon,
and I thought the person was nuts. And now here
I am considering it after I've talked to more and.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
More people the bug James reading, if folks would like
to support you or get in contact with you, and again,
you don't have to give, but you have like some
sort of a website that people can follow you.
Speaker 5 (28:11):
I don't have a website. I have social media.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
May ye give us how they can how they can
check in and give us a Facebook page or whatever.
You have.
Speaker 5 (28:21):
My Facebook and my Instagram is James reading Underscore zero
five and I post all my marathon updates on there.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Excellent. So James reading R E, D D I G
Underscore zero five.
Speaker 5 (28:36):
Yes, that's it.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
That's great. Hey, James, thank you so much. I really
enjoyed the conversation. You're going to be a great success
in life whatever you take on because you always finish
the course, simple as that.
Speaker 5 (28:48):
Congratulations, Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
You're very welcome. We have one more guest to talk
to in this hour. We're going to talk about your
vacation and how you can make sure you don't either
overplan or underplan thirteen vacation habits that are secretly stressing
you out even when you're on vacation. We'll be talking
with Laura Ratliffe right after this.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
It's Nightside with Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
All Right, A fourth and final just this hour is
Laura Ratliffe. She's the managing editor at Luxury Travel Report. Laura,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you this evening?
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Hi? Dan, I'm good.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
How are you good? I looked at the thirteen vacation
habits that are secretly stressing you out or any one
of us out. Vacations are not supposed to stress us out,
but I can identify with some of these. Yeah. First
of all, you anticipate and you plan it and you're looking.
(29:53):
And for me, it's always when I get to where
I'm going, I forgot something. Yeah, my toothbrush, where's my
hair brush? Where's this? Where's that? What can you do
just to generally go into the vacation in a little
bit more relaxable. We're going to get to some of
the specifics that stress people out. But what's your best
(30:15):
overall general advice, Your vacation's coming up, it's a week away,
two weeks away. What do you do? Do you not
think about it? Do you focus on it? Do you
think about how cool it's going to be, how good
it's going to be? What do you do?
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (30:29):
I mean, I think you know, it's totally normal and
human to worry about delays or missing experiences or being
in just unfamiliar situations in a different place. So I
think you can avoid it by preparing yourself for those
potential hiccups and mapping out alternative plans, setting out a
worst case scenario for Okay, if my flight is delayed,
(30:50):
you know what, I know, there's another flight at three
pm that I'm going to be rebooked on, and maybe
we miss a few hours, but that's okay. And even
you know, it goes back to just prac just in
calming techniques like breathing or journaling, those are super relevant
to travel experiences and can apply to anything. Anyone that's
something they can do, that's something that your child can do.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
I am familiar with breathing. I do it all day long.
But that second one, I think you.
Speaker 6 (31:16):
Said, journaling, journaling, Yeah, Well, I'm.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
A journalist, so I'm want to assume you're supposed to
keep a little diary of your experience.
Speaker 7 (31:27):
You know, people do it, and people love it. So
I have I talked to so many people who keep
records of travel experiences for years, and not only does
it help them relieve stress in the moment, but it
gives them a great, you know, a great tangible thing
to look back at after their trip.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I wish I had done that. I traveled a lot
as a television reporter, been to a lot of places,
and I kind of remember them all, but there were
experiences along the way that I wish I had a
written record of because I will transpose Oh I met that?
Was that in Stockholm? Or was that some I don't know,
(32:06):
you know, it's just that's that's part of it. So
let's go over some of the things that stress people out.
I know it's thirteen. We don't have time to do thirteen,
but let's let's zip through them. So these are the
things to avoid, I assume.
Speaker 6 (32:20):
You know.
Speaker 7 (32:20):
The first one is over planning every second. It's so
easy to try and sit in every attraction, meal event.
It can feel really ridd and overwhelming. You know, there's
a lot of things to do in a new place.
But the solution of that is to just build in
some placability, to leave bank slots or chill time each
day to explore without an itinerary or agenda. And some
(32:44):
days that might just mean resting in your hotel room
and enjoying the ac or a cocktail by the pool,
and there's no harm in that either, Okay, And then.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
You also said be careful not to skip any meals.
I try not to skip meals, but some days you're
kind of making that choice, Well, do I have a
meal or do I make sure I get to the
park two hours early.
Speaker 7 (33:07):
This is a big one, and anyone who has ever
had travel companion who is angry knows how important this is.
Speaker 6 (33:15):
And it's so easy.
Speaker 7 (33:16):
I have plenty of early flights and long travel days.
Speaker 6 (33:19):
I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else.
Speaker 7 (33:22):
So these pack schedules can lead to miss meals, which
can also fuel irritability fatigue for you your travel partners.
So keeping just some snacks on hand, some nuts, some
trail mix, you know, ideally something healthy like dried fruit maybe,
and even just staying hydrated can make a big difference.
And scheduling regular breaks throughout your day just so you
(33:43):
can grab snack and recharge will go a long way
to making sure that you get the most out of
your trip.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
And also, I like this one. Don't be too stringent
with your itineraries, be a little loosey goosey, and don't
check your work email. I love that part of it.
Speaker 6 (33:59):
We're all guilty of checking our work email. I think.
I think that is the hardest.
Speaker 7 (34:04):
Piece for me personally, but it really prevents true unplugging.
So I'm not going to come on here and tell
everyone to stop checking their work email, because that would
be hypocritical of me.
Speaker 6 (34:16):
But I do try and turn off notifications.
Speaker 7 (34:19):
I do try and set pre defined check in times,
and even better if you can put that on your
email AUTOROUM so you'll only be checking email within a
certain window or going device free after a certain hour.
Spend a few hours in the morning checking email, getting
your ducks in a row, and then you'll have a
much richer time on vacation when you can put that
(34:39):
beside you for the day.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
And then the opposite you talked about. You know, don't overplan,
but also don't underplan, so you got to kind of
hit that happy middle, right.
Speaker 6 (34:51):
You really do.
Speaker 7 (34:52):
Yeah, I think it's nice to have a fluid list
of things to do right, so you know, prioritize if
you must do items. But let's the rest sort of.
Speaker 6 (35:01):
Adapt to the moment. You can kind of trust your.
Speaker 7 (35:03):
Mood, the weather, unexpected discoveries. Going too far in either direction,
you know, going one way can turn your vacation into
feeling like work. Going the other way, you might end
up a little bit bored. So have those mustus that
you know you want to hit, and then let the
rest just be discovery because that's the most important part
(35:25):
of travel anyway.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah. And then it's interesting you said there's two of
them here, which are kind of the ying and the yang.
It says, don't just book the cheapest options you talk about,
you know, to a ten hour two ten hour layos
and but you need to understand your budget, so you
(35:46):
have to again, you got to hit that happy medium
when you when you think about it. I think that's
what you're saying. And the final one is don't press
yourself into relaxing. And there's others you said, include buffer time.
How can folks read this, what's the easiest way for them?
To find this the areas that we really couldn't cover
(36:07):
in depth here.
Speaker 4 (36:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (36:09):
Sure, So this piece was published on Huffington Post. It's
called Vacation Habits that are secretly stressing you out, and
like you point out, it has a couple of other
great points with regards to leisure sickness, the post vacation slump,
lots of great insight.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
Sounds great, Laura. People would like to follow you. You're
the managing editor of Luxury Travel Report.
Speaker 7 (36:30):
Do you have a website, yes, so you can find
us at Luxury Travel Report dot com.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
Sounds great, Laura. You were great. You got a lot
in in a relatively small amount of time that is
really an asset and a skill. Thank you so much
for doing that.
Speaker 6 (36:46):
Okay, thanks for having me, Dan, You're welcome.
Speaker 2 (36:49):
Have you back, Laura Ratcliffe, Managing editor of Luxury Travel Report.
When we get back, right after the nine o'clock news
is going to be talking with Glocester Mayor Greg Vierger.
Gloucester is one of the cities really affected by this
republic trash strike, which is now in its second month
and actually I think well into its fifth week. It's
(37:10):
getting ugly out there, about to start I think the
sixth week actually pretty soon. We'll talk about it right
after the nine o'clock news
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