November 10, 2025 • 27 mins
In this episode of Joyously Free!, host Joanie Lindenmeyer talks with Kal Bell about the power of community involvement and inclusivity. Kal shares how St. Timothy’s Community Garden provides fresh produce for local seniors and the food bank. The conversation explores the importance of creating safe spaces through Pride’s youth game nights and Wild Rivers […]
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Episode Transcript
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(00:10):
Hi. And welcome, KCIW listeners of one hundred
point seven at kciw.org.
Brookings, Oregon. Beautiful Brookings. And, of course, we
are syndicated. So welcome to the listeners at
KZZH
ninety six point seven FM access, humble Eureka,
California.
Yep. This is joyously free with me, none
better than best selling author Joni Lindenmayer.
(00:32):
I'm so glad you are tuning in today.
So a little bit about me. I'm a
thirty four year resident of Harbor, Oregon, a
retired Del Norte High School teacher from Crescent
City, California, and a twenty twenty five Lambda
nominated author who's published three books in two
years. Oh, man. I love life, and I
love being the producer and host of this
show that came about because of my memoir,
(00:54):
None Better. But more importantly, I'm glad you
are all here today. So let's listen up.
You know how our morning routine goes, and
I'm gonna teach my brand new speaker,
guest friend, how to respond with this one.
I begin with, it's a brand new day.
And if you could please respond with never
been lived before. Never been lived before. This
is this is the way that Carol and
(01:15):
I started life for forty years every single
morning. So it means a lot to me,
and I hope it does to you too.
So here we go. It's a brand new
day. Never been lived before. Oh, fantastic. Fantastic.
The radio and gay show that we call
it is named by Will and Viv. It's
a law a show that talks about LGBTQ
plus stories and tips along with church, religion,
(01:37):
faith, spirituality,
and joy.
Yes. Abundant joy and freedom. That's the title
of the show. Makes sense, doesn't it? It's
also the name of my second book that
I coauthored with Elizabeth Ann Atkins of 2sisterswriting.com.
Well, in this radio show, just as in
my life and has always been, there is
no hate speech.
(01:57):
There's no hate behaviors
and no bullying.
We will be blasted with the three c's.
We're gonna instill courage,
confidence, and collaboration.
It's together
today in the studio as well as in
our life to seek understanding,
to think out of the box or no
boxes at all, but to be open minded
(02:18):
as an open parachute.
My speaker, my friend, is sitting right next
to me, just a beaming smile, almost distracting
me right here. But first but first, we
need to, just open our hearts.
Let's ask our creator to shine light on
our community
and our world. Let's start with a prayer,
believing in hope and in the power of
the divine
that Jesus, God, whatever name you put on
(02:40):
a higher being, is always with me and
always with you.
So we need not be afraid or troubled,
saddened or depressed.
Joy and peace are an internal expression of
love and harmony that is already within us,
and all we have to do is reach
deep within and let it out, o u
t, out, capitalized,
(03:01):
o u t.
Yes. That's for my LGBTQ people out there.
So hi, God. Hi, Jesus. Hi, Spirit. Thank
you for being with us.
My prayer reading for today was a funny
thing that I read on a church,
bulletin in a church bulletin, and it I
just think it's hilarious, but I I want
you to hear it, everybody, and I'm gonna
(03:21):
reflect on it in just a minute. The
quote is this.
God expects spiritual fruit,
not religious nuts.
I just love that. I am chuckling inside
right now.
God expects spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
And so with that, let's take a big
deep breath in
(03:42):
with the good
and out with any doubt.
Breathe in through your nose with hope
and out from your mouth with any fears.
Take one more big deep breathe in breath
in with joy
and out with worry or despair,
knowing that God expects spiritual fruit,
(04:05):
not religious nuts.
I I am still just chuckling inside. So
when I read that,
I literally
I'm still laughing about it because it has
to do with our speaker for one thing
today in terms of the community garden. But
the other thing is is that what does
God expect of you?
What does God expect of me?
(04:26):
Am I a better person today than I
was yesterday
or five years ago or ten years ago?
Am I loving,
kind?
Am I respectful?
Do I judge? Do I condemn?
Am I more a hateful person or a
happy person?
All I know is that God expects spiritual
(04:48):
fruit, not religious nuts stuck in their own
way of thinking that is really not Christ
like or human like. And a hardened outer
shell. And, oh, I love that. Thank you,
Cal. Thank you so much.
So we do. We ask everybody right now
to to lift up your friends and your
family in our community
(05:08):
to follow some guidance and healings that that
is divine.
We thank you, holy one, for hearing us
and being with us today, and we promise
we will to try to do better with
our spiritual fruit and not with religious nuts.
So thank you, KCAW listeners and KZZH
listeners, for praying with us today.
Well, alrighty. Here we go.
(05:30):
Let me introduce you to Cal Bell. Oh
my gosh. Cal is a friend,
an ally, an advocate, and an a community
member that just makes things happen. She is
phenomenal.
Welcome to the radio show joyously free, Kel.
Thank you.
Oh my how does it feel being in
the studio?
I like it. You like it too? Do.
(05:51):
Yeah. Yeah. You are smiling. You are beaming.
You're wearing your pride in the park shirt.
Absolutely.
Oh my gosh. And and I think that's
how we met, if you can It is.
Yeah. Put me in on that. How did
we meet? Oh, I mean,
I don't really remember, but I'm pretty sure
it was at one of the pride events.
Or the planning. Or the planning. It might
have been the planning. Yeah. Right. Because I
was involved at the very beginning with the
(06:13):
planning. Right. And so that's probably where we
met. Right. Right. Right. Have you been in
this community very long, Cal? I don't even
know that about you. So we moved here
in 2016
from we moved from Illinois.
Okay. Yeah. And who's the we? My my
husband and my four children.
And four children,
ages. I so I have a 24 year
(06:35):
old daughter named Casia
and a 19 year old daughter, Alexa, which
you know very well. And From the library.
And she yes. She is in the library.
She's actually getting slimed during the, fall festival
event. Oh, nice. Nice. Nice. That will be
in the past when this airs. But, and
then I have 11 year old twin boys,
Oliver and Maxwell. Oh my god. A beautiful
(06:58):
family. Yes. And and my husband's name is
Wade, and he's a teacher here at k
School. Oh, fantastic. Fantastic.
I didn't know all of that. Yes. You
know? Yeah. I know Alexa. Is it Alexa?
You know Alexa because she's very present as
well. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Well well, thank
you for being here, and thank you for
filling us in. It's fun to get to
know you. That's what this radio show is
about. Yeah. Our topic today is gonna be
(07:19):
pride in the community garden because that's one
of the things that you're involved with. It
is. Yes. Yes. Yes. So why don't you
jump in and tell us what you wanna
tell us? Well, we,
the community garden is at Saint Timothy's,
and we
we have adopted two beds, my husband and
I. One of them, I do in honor
of Pride, and the other one, I do
(07:41):
in honor of Wild Rivers Dance, which is
the local nonprofit dance,
group.
And
we are everything that we grow and raise,
we harvest, and we give back to the
community, every last bit of it. And so
this year, we've,
well, right now, our green beans have taken
over. And so
(08:02):
that's,
next year, we're gonna have to figure out
a better way to harness the green beans
because they fell over and took the whole
bed. But that's okay. Everyone loves green beans.
Absolutely.
Yeah. A prolific
but as of right now, we would love
if more people would volunteer to help out
(08:22):
at the community garden beds.
As of right now,
I'm basically doing both beds by myself. Mhmm.
Because during the summer, my husband was doing
it as well. But since he's a teacher,
that's most of the day. And,
my kids help, but I'd love it if
other people would wanna drop in and help
out every once in a while. So where
(08:42):
is this located? It is at Saint Timothy's
right next to Saint Timothy's church, and the
garden beds are always available, always
accessible. And,
you know, you can always reach out to
any of us,
if you wanna help
because I would love to have somebody offer
to harvest every once in a while.
(09:03):
As of right now, I'm the one doing
it. We harvest every Wednesday morning, and we
try to have everything down before before noon
down to the community,
center right next to the food bank. So
would a person need to just show up,
or do they need to bring containers? They
don't need to bring anything. We have all
of the seeds and all of the, bedding
and everything is already there, and I've been
(09:26):
growing everything.
You know, I planted all the seedlings.
All I'd like is if somebody would just
help with the harvest, and you could just
show up even if you would like to.
Or, you know, you could always just reach
out to one of us.
I can we can get some information out
of how you can What time on Wednesdays?
Wednesdays, I'm usually there between,
(09:46):
ten and 11:30.
Okay. Okay. And I know they can always
check-in at Saint Tim's. They can always check-in.
Linda Lee is a very good friend of
mine. Deacon Linda. Yes. She is one of
the, the instigators and the creators
of the community garden. Is. And she's also
she is the one who leads our monthly
meetings. And so we always
(10:07):
make sure we have a good solid plan
set and that everything's taken care of. And
if we do need anything, she makes sure
we get it. Right on. Right on. And
how helpful this is for our community.
Fresh veggies? We've donated over 300 pounds so
far this year. Wow. Yes.
And just last week,
(10:27):
we managed to harvest over 10 pounds of
produce just from our two beds.
And That's amazing. And that goes to the
seniors and to anyone who, goes to the
food bank.
Right on. Yeah. Right on. Oh my gosh.
I can see why you need help. Yeah.
I mean,
I I managed to get it done, but
it takes a lot more of my time
(10:48):
than if I had a couple of extra
helping hands. Absolutely. Yeah. So if you're out
there listeners and you're thinking, oh, man. I
could put in an hour one day a
week on a Wednesday. Yep. Come help Cal.
And and just being around Cal, you will
feel energized and joyful because that's who she
is. That's who she is. Yes. I really
appreciate that. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So so,
you know, related to those garden beds,
(11:10):
what prompted you to do that in the
very beginning?
I've actually wanted to,
this started back
during, COVID shutdowns.
And I was harvesting a lot of my
own produce, and I had too much. And
I wanted to be able to give to
other people.
And I was not aware of the community
(11:30):
garden at that point Mhmm. Because I apparently,
it's really hard to get news out in
this community because there isn't really one,
like,
isolated news source that everyone can go to.
And so
I didn't know that it was there until
one of my friends said, hey. We actually
have the community garden, and they're looking for
(11:51):
people to take over a couple of beds.
And I thought, well, that's perfect because I
have time, and I like growing things. Awesome.
Yeah. And that's how it all started. That's
how it all started. Yeah. Wow. Wow. And
now we're spreading the word to more people
now. Absolutely. Yes. And I really do love
that. Definitely. And then how did you pick
or how did it come about that you
have a pride sponsored one and a dance
(12:14):
sponsored one? Well, those are both groups that
I am heavily invested in personally, and I
think that they both do a lot of
good for the community, but a lot of
people aren't aware of what all we're doing.
And I thought that was one more way
that we could help while spreading the word
about what else we have available.
Awesome. Awesome. So why don't you talk about
(12:34):
both of those organizations?
So,
the pride group, we've been I've been involved
with since we had our first official
pride planning,
and
we do as much as we can. We
do,
monthly game nights I mean, game days at
the library for youth.
And it's I believe it's the third Saturday
(12:55):
of the month at the library, and it's
such a great time. And it's a great
place for a lot of youth to get
together with people that they trust
Because, unfortunately,
that is an issue that I've heard from
a lot of the local youth
that if they don't fit the very strict
parameters of what is socially acceptable to certain
(13:17):
groups, then they are mistreated.
And this way, they get to go and
hang out with people and have fun and
play games and just be kids and not
have to worry about being judged for who
they are. Exactly. It's a safe place. It
is a safe place. And we also have
a,
a monthly,
meetup at, I believe it's at Checo Brewery
(13:37):
that we've been doing it, on was it
the fourth Sunday,
I believe,
where it's for anyone in the community, but
it is our basically, it's our pride gathering
where everyone can just have a sense of
community
and know that even if you may not
feel like you are like everyone else, there
are a lot of us in this community
(13:58):
that are like you or accept you for
however you are. Exactly. Yes. You know? And
you began by talking about your family Yes.
Your husband Mhmm.
As an ally and an advocate. Jean, what's
the difference between an ally and an advocate?
An ally is somebody who is supportive, but
an advocate is someone who puts themselves out
there in the community to make sure that
(14:20):
other people know that there are allies.
It's not just being an ally. It's being
someone present and
making sure that everyone can get what they
need out of life. You know? It's love,
support,
companionship, all of that. You bet. You bet.
And and as an LGBTQ person, a lesbian
person, I tell you, allies are so important
(14:42):
to me because oftentimes, they are doing the
groundwork or they're speaking up on my behalf
in places and situations that I'm not even
aware of. Oh, absolutely. And that dispels the
fear. That dispels the hate. That's exactly why
I almost always wear some sort of a
pride shirt when I'm in public just because
I feel that I'm safer to be able
(15:02):
to wear that, and I am not going
to be
attacked as some other people feel like they
might. And so I put it out there
to make other people aware that we do
have pride,
and we have plenty of people local that
are part of that community. And I am
willing to put my face to that, and
so that helps.
Awesome. I just gave I just gave Cal
(15:24):
a great big high five across the table
here. You know? And just think about that.
If our whole world was that way and
didn't judge and treated everybody with respect and
kindness no matter
where people are and how they dress and
how they act and all of that, but
just to accept and celebrate them for who
they are. Yeah. And that's why I wrote
that joyously
That's why this radio show is called Joyously
(15:45):
Free. Yes. Because when you get to that
point Mhmm. There's nothing better. No. Absolutely.
Yeah. And, you know, I think that's one
of the joys of being at a certain
age where you get to the point where
you don't really care what other people think
about you. Good point. And so what you
know, if they're gonna think that about me,
fine. But that way, other people know that
(16:06):
I'm still supporting them even if they don't
feel brave enough at that moment to be
as visible.
Right. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. So were you involved
in any prize before moving to Brookings, Oregon?
No. We actually didn't have very many where
we were from. Mhmm. And,
you know, we have a lot of,
friends and family that are part of the
(16:27):
LGBTQ
community, and I've always, you know, made sure
that our support was very apparent.
But being able well,
it didn't feel quite people didn't feel quite
as
separated where we were before as there is
here where, you know, there are a lot
of people that are very loving and accepting,
(16:48):
but then there are some people that are
very loud about not being loving and accepting.
So I felt a little more of a
need to put myself out there. Good for
you. Good for you. Right on. You know?
And and pride isn't just a one day
event all year. It's
all year. And, you know, a lot of
people are like, well,
why are we not having pride in other
(17:09):
things? You can have pride more than one
thing.
It's it's ridiculous that people think that it
is an all or nothing, either or thing.
Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm. It's okay to be who
you are. Absolutely. And it doesn't you don't
need to be judged for it. Exactly. Yeah.
Exactly. And so is there any reason why
you got involved in Pride? Like, what triggered
(17:31):
that from the very beginning? Well,
I've always been very you know, I felt
isolated and kind of separated when I was
a kid. And turns out, it's because I'm
neurodivergent,
nobody was diagnosed when we were young. Oh.
And, you know, I always felt a little
different. And so when I saw other people
being treated different, I wanted to make sure
(17:52):
that they didn't feel isolated as well.
Got it. Got it. Mhmm. Got it. You
know? And that goes back to the bullying.
That goes back to so many things that
Yes. You know, to have somebody stand up
for who you are, I
I so get that. I so get that.
And, you know, like I said, we have
a lot of family that are gay and
lesbians, and
I wanted to make sure that everyone feels
(18:15):
safe and comfortable. And I wanted to make
sure that my kids didn't have to worry
about expressing who they are and then having
anything come back for them. Yep. And what
a loving family. Oh, thank you. You are
that and that you exude that within your
family. Mhmm. That love is for everybody. Love
always wins. Always.
Yeah. And, you know, that's how I am,
because,
(18:35):
I am involved with the dance studio. I'm
actually a teacher
over there. I teach, tumbling. Okay. And I
am like that with our students too. And
I've noticed that a lot of the students
that I have
also come from, you know, a lot of
them come from slightly rougher backgrounds, and it's
great to be that source
of connection and support
(18:57):
for them as well.
And, like, several of my students
are part of the LGB community too. Right.
Yeah. Right. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't
matter. Can come and dance. Anybody can come
and play and and Exactly. And but it's
nice for them to feel like they can
come and do that and not have to
worry about
other people bullying them because that's just simply
(19:18):
not tolerated.
Right. Right. Very well said. Very well said.
Exactly. Exactly. So you teach tumbling. I do.
What ages is that, and how does a
person get involved in the dance studio? Oh,
so,
I teach tumbling.
The tumbling classes I teach, I have a
baby a a tumbling tots class for little
(19:38):
ones from, like, three to five. And oh,
they're just ages three to five. How cute.
They are so much fun. And then I
have, all the way up usually through high
school.
I also do have a conditioning class that
I teach for, you know, adults as well
simply because I just wanna make sure if
somebody wants to tumble, I want them to
be in the right shape. And most of
(19:59):
us adults are not. Like, I'm not anymore
either. And so I've you know, I've had
people ask about adult tumbling, and that's something
I'd like to offer in the future, but
I wanna make sure people
are at least strong enough to be able
to do that where I'm not afraid
of what would happen. Right. Yes. But,
we anyone can join. We have a lot
(20:20):
of adult classes too,
all ages. We have people in their eighties
that are dancing with us even. Oh, how
fun. Yes. Will you give me details? Where
it's located? How to get a hold of
you? Yes. How is this? Give give me
everything.
We are in Brookings. We're right next to,
the Honeybees Bakery and and Wolf's, in that
little strip mall,
(20:41):
and
all of our classes are afternoons to evenings.
Right now, we have Monday through oh, we
actually do have a Saturday class. I forgot.
So we have, classes Monday through Saturday,
and you can find on,
Wild Rivers dance website or any of the
social medias.
And it's owned and operated by Sky Marie
(21:03):
McDonald,
and she's a wonderful person. And
like I said, we have just an untold
numbers of classes. We have exercise classes. We
have ballet. We have hip hop. We have
jazz. We have tumbling, like I said. I've
been
you know, you name it. We have fun.
Nice. Yeah. Nice. And I'm assuming that you
(21:25):
sign up for these classes on the site.
Sign up on the website. If you have
trouble signing up on the website, you can
call.
And the phone number is on the Wild
Rivers, website as well. But if you're having
issues or you don't like using,
computers that much, you can always call, and
we can walk you through it. Or you
can even show up. I'll help you. Wow.
Wow. So if you have, at this number
(21:46):
here at KCIW,
(541)
661-4098,
you can call us at KCIW, and we
can pass on the information as well. Oh,
that'd be great. Yes. Yes.
Yes. That's again, (541)
661-4098,
k c I w. And and that's so
awesome to hear about that. And Sky Marie
is a beautiful, beautiful person and a wonderful
(22:08):
family and, oh my golly. Yes.
Yep. Yeah. And they, you know,
everyone just wants to help.
Mhmm. Yeah. That's basically
we're not about making money or anything like
that. We're just about
having fun together
and
sharing arts. Uh-huh. Actually, she just shared a
(22:29):
study that showed that, people who dance are,
better off psychologically than those who take antidepressants
alone. Right. Right. Yeah. And it's just it's
I love it. And you get more community
out of it. And that's one thing that
I think a lot of people are really
missing anymore is that sense of community. Mhmm.
And so that's why we have pride, and
(22:50):
that's why we have dance. You know? It's
just finding that lovely sense of community and
togetherness.
Yes. Yes. You know? And related to that,
it's all inclusive.
Yes. Absolutely.
All inclusive.
All inclusive. And and and so everybody, if
you're listening out there going, well, there's nothing
to do around town. You hear that about
a a lot of people say that. Yeah.
(23:11):
There are plenty of things to do. It's
just a matter of putting yourself out there
Absolutely. Finding a person to connect with. Yes.
And I think that's so true with pride
and the dance Yes. This that you're not
left alone. No. And, you know, I know
some people feel like, oh, I don't know
how to dance. That's why you come to
class.
You don't have to know how to dance
(23:31):
when you show up. All it is about
is moving your body and having fun. Right.
Nobody's gonna judge you.
Right. And that's a good point. Yeah. No
one's gonna judge you. No. Yes. Not at
all. We I mean, I did, the adult
hip hop class a couple weeks ago, and
it was so much fun.
I felt ridiculous while I was doing it,
but, man, I loved it.
(23:53):
Very fun. Very cool. Very cool. That's awesome.
Well and that's why you are a community
person. You are an ally. You're an advocate
and a community person. Yes.
Three minutes to go with our radio show
here today.
What tips would you give to people
on how to get involved either in pride
or the dance besides just showing up? Follow
(24:14):
your passions.
Oh, good point. Because, you know, you're not
going to want to keep doing it if
it's not something you're passionate about.
So if you find something that you're really
passionate about, find a way to make it
help other people. Mhmm. Mhmm. You can do
that with anything. Mhmm. And that brings you
joy. Absolutely.
(24:34):
I I love being able to go to
sleep at night knowing that the world is
slightly better because of something I did. Right.
It doesn't even have to be anything big.
I made someone else smile. That's good.
Yep. Yeah. But I love your point. Follow
your passion. Yeah. Because when you're getting out
of your own
butt in the seat kind of thing Yes.
And you follow your passion, you will find
(24:56):
the people that you connect with, and that
will bring love and harmony and all the
joys of of life. Absolutely. Oh my gosh.
Okay. Let's do a quick recap. Yeah. Follow
your passion. Absolutely. You can help by being
involved in Being involved in
well,
specifically, right now, you can help with the
community garden
or, you know, you can even
(25:18):
just help anyone that you think might not
have a voice. That's another thing that I
think a lot of people
you know, people need voices to help bolster
them. Mhmm. And if you have a voice
and somebody else doesn't, maybe lend them a
little bit of yours. Oh, beautiful. That's a
great final comment. I love that, Cal. I
love that. It has been so much fun
(25:40):
having you here today. Oh, I feel so
eyes sparkle. Your smile is beaming, and and
your your words of of ways to to
get involved. Mhmm. You know? It is just
phenomenal. I wanna thank all the beautiful listeners
here on the gorgeous
coast of Southern Oregon and Northern California for
being with us in this joyously free manner.
We hope that you've been inspired by Cal,
maybe even challenged. You've enjoyed some of her
(26:02):
stories and tips, hopes, love, and joys.
She's been phenomenal, and you will find her
at the garden. Remember, Wednesday mornings, ten to
11:30,
show up and help her harvest. And then
the dance studio,
known as Wild River Dance. Mhmm. And you
can check out all the classes and all
the activities. Absolutely. We wanna thank you so
much. High fives, high tens, and just keep
(26:23):
on being you, Cal. Oh, thank you. On
being you. And you as well. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And, of
course, we've got Mike Gorse on sound today.
We wanna definitely say thank you to Mike,
Tom Bozak, Candace, and Rose. Yep. Thank you,
Mike. This time, I'm not looking at him.
I'm talking into the microphone first. So thank
you, Mike. Thank you, KCIW
and KZZH
(26:44):
Access Humboldt. Remember that 2sisterswriting.com
is where you can find my books. But
more importantly, it's at
(541)
661-4098.
Would love to hear your comments about everything
and anything. And if you feel like you
wanna donate to a cause here at in
our community, make that happen. People,
we actually are accepting donations to, sponsor children
(27:06):
who can't afford to dance too. Oh, awesome.
Awesome. Awesome. See all the ways you can
do this? Yes. Everybody, smile big. We're bright
colors. Thanks for being here. Have a great
day.
Hi. And welcome, KCIW listeners of one hundred
point seven at kciw.org.
Brookings, Oregon. Beautiful Brookings. And, of course, we
are syndicated. So welcome to the listeners at
KZZH
ninety six point seven FM access, humble Eureka,
California.
Yep. This is joyously free with me, none
better than best selling author Joni Lindenmayer.
(00:32):
I'm so glad you are tuning in today.
So a little bit about me. I'm a
thirty four year resident of Harbor, Oregon, a
retired Del Norte High School teacher from Crescent
City, California, and a twenty twenty five Lambda
nominated author who's published three books in two
years. Oh, man. I love life, and I
love being the producer and host of this
show that came about because of my memoir,
(00:54):
None Better. But more importantly, I'm glad you
are all here today. So let's listen up.
You know how our morning routine goes, and
I'm gonna teach my brand new speaker,
guest friend, how to respond with this one.
I begin with, it's a brand new day.
And if you could please respond with never
been lived before. Never been lived before. This
is this is the way that Carol and
(01:15):
I started life for forty years every single
morning. So it means a lot to me,
and I hope it does to you too.
So here we go. It's a brand new
day. Never been lived before. Oh, fantastic. Fantastic.
The radio and gay show that we call
it is named by Will and Viv. It's
a law a show that talks about LGBTQ
plus stories and tips along with church, religion,
(01:37):
faith, spirituality,
and joy.
Yes. Abundant joy and freedom. That's the title
of the show. Makes sense, doesn't it? It's
also the name of my second book that
I coauthored with Elizabeth Ann Atkins of 2sisterswriting.com.
Well, in this radio show, just as in
my life and has always been, there is
no hate speech.
(01:57):
There's no hate behaviors
and no bullying.
We will be blasted with the three c's.
We're gonna instill courage,
confidence, and collaboration.
It's together
today in the studio as well as in
our life to seek understanding,
to think out of the box or no
boxes at all, but to be open minded
(02:18):
as an open parachute.
My speaker, my friend, is sitting right next
to me, just a beaming smile, almost distracting
me right here. But first but first, we
need to, just open our hearts.
Let's ask our creator to shine light on
our community
and our world. Let's start with a prayer,
believing in hope and in the power of
the divine
that Jesus, God, whatever name you put on
(02:40):
a higher being, is always with me and
always with you.
So we need not be afraid or troubled,
saddened or depressed.
Joy and peace are an internal expression of
love and harmony that is already within us,
and all we have to do is reach
deep within and let it out, o u
t, out, capitalized,
(03:01):
o u t.
Yes. That's for my LGBTQ people out there.
So hi, God. Hi, Jesus. Hi, Spirit. Thank
you for being with us.
My prayer reading for today was a funny
thing that I read on a church,
bulletin in a church bulletin, and it I
just think it's hilarious, but I I want
you to hear it, everybody, and I'm gonna
(03:21):
reflect on it in just a minute. The
quote is this.
God expects spiritual fruit,
not religious nuts.
I just love that. I am chuckling inside
right now.
God expects spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
And so with that, let's take a big
deep breath in
(03:42):
with the good
and out with any doubt.
Breathe in through your nose with hope
and out from your mouth with any fears.
Take one more big deep breathe in breath
in with joy
and out with worry or despair,
knowing that God expects spiritual fruit,
(04:05):
not religious nuts.
I I am still just chuckling inside. So
when I read that,
I literally
I'm still laughing about it because it has
to do with our speaker for one thing
today in terms of the community garden. But
the other thing is is that what does
God expect of you?
What does God expect of me?
(04:26):
Am I a better person today than I
was yesterday
or five years ago or ten years ago?
Am I loving,
kind?
Am I respectful?
Do I judge? Do I condemn?
Am I more a hateful person or a
happy person?
All I know is that God expects spiritual
(04:48):
fruit, not religious nuts stuck in their own
way of thinking that is really not Christ
like or human like. And a hardened outer
shell. And, oh, I love that. Thank you,
Cal. Thank you so much.
So we do. We ask everybody right now
to to lift up your friends and your
family in our community
(05:08):
to follow some guidance and healings that that
is divine.
We thank you, holy one, for hearing us
and being with us today, and we promise
we will to try to do better with
our spiritual fruit and not with religious nuts.
So thank you, KCAW listeners and KZZH
listeners, for praying with us today.
Well, alrighty. Here we go.
(05:30):
Let me introduce you to Cal Bell. Oh
my gosh. Cal is a friend,
an ally, an advocate, and an a community
member that just makes things happen. She is
phenomenal.
Welcome to the radio show joyously free, Kel.
Thank you.
Oh my how does it feel being in
the studio?
I like it. You like it too? Do.
(05:51):
Yeah. Yeah. You are smiling. You are beaming.
You're wearing your pride in the park shirt.
Absolutely.
Oh my gosh. And and I think that's
how we met, if you can It is.
Yeah. Put me in on that. How did
we meet? Oh, I mean,
I don't really remember, but I'm pretty sure
it was at one of the pride events.
Or the planning. Or the planning. It might
have been the planning. Yeah. Right. Because I
was involved at the very beginning with the
(06:13):
planning. Right. And so that's probably where we
met. Right. Right. Right. Have you been in
this community very long, Cal? I don't even
know that about you. So we moved here
in 2016
from we moved from Illinois.
Okay. Yeah. And who's the we? My my
husband and my four children.
And four children,
ages. I so I have a 24 year
(06:35):
old daughter named Casia
and a 19 year old daughter, Alexa, which
you know very well. And From the library.
And she yes. She is in the library.
She's actually getting slimed during the, fall festival
event. Oh, nice. Nice. Nice. That will be
in the past when this airs. But, and
then I have 11 year old twin boys,
Oliver and Maxwell. Oh my god. A beautiful
(06:58):
family. Yes. And and my husband's name is
Wade, and he's a teacher here at k
School. Oh, fantastic. Fantastic.
I didn't know all of that. Yes. You
know? Yeah. I know Alexa. Is it Alexa?
You know Alexa because she's very present as
well. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. Well well, thank
you for being here, and thank you for
filling us in. It's fun to get to
know you. That's what this radio show is
about. Yeah. Our topic today is gonna be
(07:19):
pride in the community garden because that's one
of the things that you're involved with. It
is. Yes. Yes. Yes. So why don't you
jump in and tell us what you wanna
tell us? Well, we,
the community garden is at Saint Timothy's,
and we
we have adopted two beds, my husband and
I. One of them, I do in honor
of Pride, and the other one, I do
(07:41):
in honor of Wild Rivers Dance, which is
the local nonprofit dance,
group.
And
we are everything that we grow and raise,
we harvest, and we give back to the
community, every last bit of it. And so
this year, we've,
well, right now, our green beans have taken
over. And so
(08:02):
that's,
next year, we're gonna have to figure out
a better way to harness the green beans
because they fell over and took the whole
bed. But that's okay. Everyone loves green beans.
Absolutely.
Yeah. A prolific
but as of right now, we would love
if more people would volunteer to help out
(08:22):
at the community garden beds.
As of right now,
I'm basically doing both beds by myself. Mhmm.
Because during the summer, my husband was doing
it as well. But since he's a teacher,
that's most of the day. And,
my kids help, but I'd love it if
other people would wanna drop in and help
out every once in a while. So where
(08:42):
is this located? It is at Saint Timothy's
right next to Saint Timothy's church, and the
garden beds are always available, always
accessible. And,
you know, you can always reach out to
any of us,
if you wanna help
because I would love to have somebody offer
to harvest every once in a while.
(09:03):
As of right now, I'm the one doing
it. We harvest every Wednesday morning, and we
try to have everything down before before noon
down to the community,
center right next to the food bank. So
would a person need to just show up,
or do they need to bring containers? They
don't need to bring anything. We have all
of the seeds and all of the, bedding
and everything is already there, and I've been
(09:26):
growing everything.
You know, I planted all the seedlings.
All I'd like is if somebody would just
help with the harvest, and you could just
show up even if you would like to.
Or, you know, you could always just reach
out to one of us.
I can we can get some information out
of how you can What time on Wednesdays?
Wednesdays, I'm usually there between,
(09:46):
ten and 11:30.
Okay. Okay. And I know they can always
check-in at Saint Tim's. They can always check-in.
Linda Lee is a very good friend of
mine. Deacon Linda. Yes. She is one of
the, the instigators and the creators
of the community garden. Is. And she's also
she is the one who leads our monthly
meetings. And so we always
(10:07):
make sure we have a good solid plan
set and that everything's taken care of. And
if we do need anything, she makes sure
we get it. Right on. Right on. And
how helpful this is for our community.
Fresh veggies? We've donated over 300 pounds so
far this year. Wow. Yes.
And just last week,
(10:27):
we managed to harvest over 10 pounds of
produce just from our two beds.
And That's amazing. And that goes to the
seniors and to anyone who, goes to the
food bank.
Right on. Yeah. Right on. Oh my gosh.
I can see why you need help. Yeah.
I mean,
I I managed to get it done, but
it takes a lot more of my time
(10:48):
than if I had a couple of extra
helping hands. Absolutely. Yeah. So if you're out
there listeners and you're thinking, oh, man. I
could put in an hour one day a
week on a Wednesday. Yep. Come help Cal.
And and just being around Cal, you will
feel energized and joyful because that's who she
is. That's who she is. Yes. I really
appreciate that. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So so,
you know, related to those garden beds,
(11:10):
what prompted you to do that in the
very beginning?
I've actually wanted to,
this started back
during, COVID shutdowns.
And I was harvesting a lot of my
own produce, and I had too much. And
I wanted to be able to give to
other people.
And I was not aware of the community
(11:30):
garden at that point Mhmm. Because I apparently,
it's really hard to get news out in
this community because there isn't really one,
like,
isolated news source that everyone can go to.
And so
I didn't know that it was there until
one of my friends said, hey. We actually
have the community garden, and they're looking for
(11:51):
people to take over a couple of beds.
And I thought, well, that's perfect because I
have time, and I like growing things. Awesome.
Yeah. And that's how it all started. That's
how it all started. Yeah. Wow. Wow. And
now we're spreading the word to more people
now. Absolutely. Yes. And I really do love
that. Definitely. And then how did you pick
or how did it come about that you
have a pride sponsored one and a dance
(12:14):
sponsored one? Well, those are both groups that
I am heavily invested in personally, and I
think that they both do a lot of
good for the community, but a lot of
people aren't aware of what all we're doing.
And I thought that was one more way
that we could help while spreading the word
about what else we have available.
Awesome. Awesome. So why don't you talk about
(12:34):
both of those organizations?
So,
the pride group, we've been I've been involved
with since we had our first official
pride planning,
and
we do as much as we can. We
do,
monthly game nights I mean, game days at
the library for youth.
And it's I believe it's the third Saturday
(12:55):
of the month at the library, and it's
such a great time. And it's a great
place for a lot of youth to get
together with people that they trust
Because, unfortunately,
that is an issue that I've heard from
a lot of the local youth
that if they don't fit the very strict
parameters of what is socially acceptable to certain
(13:17):
groups, then they are mistreated.
And this way, they get to go and
hang out with people and have fun and
play games and just be kids and not
have to worry about being judged for who
they are. Exactly. It's a safe place. It
is a safe place. And we also have
a,
a monthly,
meetup at, I believe it's at Checo Brewery
(13:37):
that we've been doing it, on was it
the fourth Sunday,
I believe,
where it's for anyone in the community, but
it is our basically, it's our pride gathering
where everyone can just have a sense of
community
and know that even if you may not
feel like you are like everyone else, there
are a lot of us in this community
(13:58):
that are like you or accept you for
however you are. Exactly. Yes. You know? And
you began by talking about your family Yes.
Your husband Mhmm.
As an ally and an advocate. Jean, what's
the difference between an ally and an advocate?
An ally is somebody who is supportive, but
an advocate is someone who puts themselves out
there in the community to make sure that
(14:20):
other people know that there are allies.
It's not just being an ally. It's being
someone present and
making sure that everyone can get what they
need out of life. You know? It's love,
support,
companionship, all of that. You bet. You bet.
And and as an LGBTQ person, a lesbian
person, I tell you, allies are so important
(14:42):
to me because oftentimes, they are doing the
groundwork or they're speaking up on my behalf
in places and situations that I'm not even
aware of. Oh, absolutely. And that dispels the
fear. That dispels the hate. That's exactly why
I almost always wear some sort of a
pride shirt when I'm in public just because
I feel that I'm safer to be able
(15:02):
to wear that, and I am not going
to be
attacked as some other people feel like they
might. And so I put it out there
to make other people aware that we do
have pride,
and we have plenty of people local that
are part of that community. And I am
willing to put my face to that, and
so that helps.
Awesome. I just gave I just gave Cal
(15:24):
a great big high five across the table
here. You know? And just think about that.
If our whole world was that way and
didn't judge and treated everybody with respect and
kindness no matter
where people are and how they dress and
how they act and all of that, but
just to accept and celebrate them for who
they are. Yeah. And that's why I wrote
that joyously
That's why this radio show is called Joyously
(15:45):
Free. Yes. Because when you get to that
point Mhmm. There's nothing better. No. Absolutely.
Yeah. And, you know, I think that's one
of the joys of being at a certain
age where you get to the point where
you don't really care what other people think
about you. Good point. And so what you
know, if they're gonna think that about me,
fine. But that way, other people know that
(16:06):
I'm still supporting them even if they don't
feel brave enough at that moment to be
as visible.
Right. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. So were you involved
in any prize before moving to Brookings, Oregon?
No. We actually didn't have very many where
we were from. Mhmm. And,
you know, we have a lot of,
friends and family that are part of the
(16:27):
LGBTQ
community, and I've always, you know, made sure
that our support was very apparent.
But being able well,
it didn't feel quite people didn't feel quite
as
separated where we were before as there is
here where, you know, there are a lot
of people that are very loving and accepting,
(16:48):
but then there are some people that are
very loud about not being loving and accepting.
So I felt a little more of a
need to put myself out there. Good for
you. Good for you. Right on. You know?
And and pride isn't just a one day
event all year. It's
all year. And, you know, a lot of
people are like, well,
why are we not having pride in other
(17:09):
things? You can have pride more than one
thing.
It's it's ridiculous that people think that it
is an all or nothing, either or thing.
Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm. It's okay to be who
you are. Absolutely. And it doesn't you don't
need to be judged for it. Exactly. Yeah.
Exactly. And so is there any reason why
you got involved in Pride? Like, what triggered
(17:31):
that from the very beginning? Well,
I've always been very you know, I felt
isolated and kind of separated when I was
a kid. And turns out, it's because I'm
neurodivergent,
nobody was diagnosed when we were young. Oh.
And, you know, I always felt a little
different. And so when I saw other people
being treated different, I wanted to make sure
(17:52):
that they didn't feel isolated as well.
Got it. Got it. Mhmm. Got it. You
know? And that goes back to the bullying.
That goes back to so many things that
Yes. You know, to have somebody stand up
for who you are, I
I so get that. I so get that.
And, you know, like I said, we have
a lot of family that are gay and
lesbians, and
I wanted to make sure that everyone feels
(18:15):
safe and comfortable. And I wanted to make
sure that my kids didn't have to worry
about expressing who they are and then having
anything come back for them. Yep. And what
a loving family. Oh, thank you. You are
that and that you exude that within your
family. Mhmm. That love is for everybody. Love
always wins. Always.
Yeah. And, you know, that's how I am,
because,
(18:35):
I am involved with the dance studio. I'm
actually a teacher
over there. I teach, tumbling. Okay. And I
am like that with our students too. And
I've noticed that a lot of the students
that I have
also come from, you know, a lot of
them come from slightly rougher backgrounds, and it's
great to be that source
of connection and support
(18:57):
for them as well.
And, like, several of my students
are part of the LGB community too. Right.
Yeah. Right. And it doesn't matter. It doesn't
matter. Can come and dance. Anybody can come
and play and and Exactly. And but it's
nice for them to feel like they can
come and do that and not have to
worry about
other people bullying them because that's just simply
(19:18):
not tolerated.
Right. Right. Very well said. Very well said.
Exactly. Exactly. So you teach tumbling. I do.
What ages is that, and how does a
person get involved in the dance studio? Oh,
so,
I teach tumbling.
The tumbling classes I teach, I have a
baby a a tumbling tots class for little
(19:38):
ones from, like, three to five. And oh,
they're just ages three to five. How cute.
They are so much fun. And then I
have, all the way up usually through high
school.
I also do have a conditioning class that
I teach for, you know, adults as well
simply because I just wanna make sure if
somebody wants to tumble, I want them to
be in the right shape. And most of
(19:59):
us adults are not. Like, I'm not anymore
either. And so I've you know, I've had
people ask about adult tumbling, and that's something
I'd like to offer in the future, but
I wanna make sure people
are at least strong enough to be able
to do that where I'm not afraid
of what would happen. Right. Yes. But,
we anyone can join. We have a lot
(20:20):
of adult classes too,
all ages. We have people in their eighties
that are dancing with us even. Oh, how
fun. Yes. Will you give me details? Where
it's located? How to get a hold of
you? Yes. How is this? Give give me
everything.
We are in Brookings. We're right next to,
the Honeybees Bakery and and Wolf's, in that
little strip mall,
(20:41):
and
all of our classes are afternoons to evenings.
Right now, we have Monday through oh, we
actually do have a Saturday class. I forgot.
So we have, classes Monday through Saturday,
and you can find on,
Wild Rivers dance website or any of the
social medias.
And it's owned and operated by Sky Marie
(21:03):
McDonald,
and she's a wonderful person. And
like I said, we have just an untold
numbers of classes. We have exercise classes. We
have ballet. We have hip hop. We have
jazz. We have tumbling, like I said. I've
been
you know, you name it. We have fun.
Nice. Yeah. Nice. And I'm assuming that you
(21:25):
sign up for these classes on the site.
Sign up on the website. If you have
trouble signing up on the website, you can
call.
And the phone number is on the Wild
Rivers, website as well. But if you're having
issues or you don't like using,
computers that much, you can always call, and
we can walk you through it. Or you
can even show up. I'll help you. Wow.
Wow. So if you have, at this number
(21:46):
here at KCIW,
(541)
661-4098,
you can call us at KCIW, and we
can pass on the information as well. Oh,
that'd be great. Yes. Yes.
Yes. That's again, (541)
661-4098,
k c I w. And and that's so
awesome to hear about that. And Sky Marie
is a beautiful, beautiful person and a wonderful
(22:08):
family and, oh my golly. Yes.
Yep. Yeah. And they, you know,
everyone just wants to help.
Mhmm. Yeah. That's basically
we're not about making money or anything like
that. We're just about
having fun together
and
sharing arts. Uh-huh. Actually, she just shared a
(22:29):
study that showed that, people who dance are,
better off psychologically than those who take antidepressants
alone. Right. Right. Yeah. And it's just it's
I love it. And you get more community
out of it. And that's one thing that
I think a lot of people are really
missing anymore is that sense of community. Mhmm.
And so that's why we have pride, and
(22:50):
that's why we have dance. You know? It's
just finding that lovely sense of community and
togetherness.
Yes. Yes. You know? And related to that,
it's all inclusive.
Yes. Absolutely.
All inclusive.
All inclusive. And and and so everybody, if
you're listening out there going, well, there's nothing
to do around town. You hear that about
a a lot of people say that. Yeah.
(23:11):
There are plenty of things to do. It's
just a matter of putting yourself out there
Absolutely. Finding a person to connect with. Yes.
And I think that's so true with pride
and the dance Yes. This that you're not
left alone. No. And, you know, I know
some people feel like, oh, I don't know
how to dance. That's why you come to
class.
You don't have to know how to dance
(23:31):
when you show up. All it is about
is moving your body and having fun. Right.
Nobody's gonna judge you.
Right. And that's a good point. Yeah. No
one's gonna judge you. No. Yes. Not at
all. We I mean, I did, the adult
hip hop class a couple weeks ago, and
it was so much fun.
I felt ridiculous while I was doing it,
but, man, I loved it.
(23:53):
Very fun. Very cool. Very cool. That's awesome.
Well and that's why you are a community
person. You are an ally. You're an advocate
and a community person. Yes.
Three minutes to go with our radio show
here today.
What tips would you give to people
on how to get involved either in pride
or the dance besides just showing up? Follow
(24:14):
your passions.
Oh, good point. Because, you know, you're not
going to want to keep doing it if
it's not something you're passionate about.
So if you find something that you're really
passionate about, find a way to make it
help other people. Mhmm. Mhmm. You can do
that with anything. Mhmm. And that brings you
joy. Absolutely.
(24:34):
I I love being able to go to
sleep at night knowing that the world is
slightly better because of something I did. Right.
It doesn't even have to be anything big.
I made someone else smile. That's good.
Yep. Yeah. But I love your point. Follow
your passion. Yeah. Because when you're getting out
of your own
butt in the seat kind of thing Yes.
And you follow your passion, you will find
(24:56):
the people that you connect with, and that
will bring love and harmony and all the
joys of of life. Absolutely. Oh my gosh.
Okay. Let's do a quick recap. Yeah. Follow
your passion. Absolutely. You can help by being
involved in Being involved in
well,
specifically, right now, you can help with the
community garden
or, you know, you can even
(25:18):
just help anyone that you think might not
have a voice. That's another thing that I
think a lot of people
you know, people need voices to help bolster
them. Mhmm. And if you have a voice
and somebody else doesn't, maybe lend them a
little bit of yours. Oh, beautiful. That's a
great final comment. I love that, Cal. I
love that. It has been so much fun
(25:40):
having you here today. Oh, I feel so
eyes sparkle. Your smile is beaming, and and
your your words of of ways to to
get involved. Mhmm. You know? It is just
phenomenal. I wanna thank all the beautiful listeners
here on the gorgeous
coast of Southern Oregon and Northern California for
being with us in this joyously free manner.
We hope that you've been inspired by Cal,
maybe even challenged. You've enjoyed some of her
(26:02):
stories and tips, hopes, love, and joys.
She's been phenomenal, and you will find her
at the garden. Remember, Wednesday mornings, ten to
11:30,
show up and help her harvest. And then
the dance studio,
known as Wild River Dance. Mhmm. And you
can check out all the classes and all
the activities. Absolutely. We wanna thank you so
much. High fives, high tens, and just keep
(26:23):
on being you, Cal. Oh, thank you. On
being you. And you as well. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And, of
course, we've got Mike Gorse on sound today.
We wanna definitely say thank you to Mike,
Tom Bozak, Candace, and Rose. Yep. Thank you,
Mike. This time, I'm not looking at him.
I'm talking into the microphone first. So thank
you, Mike. Thank you, KCIW
and KZZH
(26:44):
Access Humboldt. Remember that 2sisterswriting.com
is where you can find my books. But
more importantly, it's at
(541)
661-4098.
Would love to hear your comments about everything
and anything. And if you feel like you
wanna donate to a cause here at in
our community, make that happen. People,
we actually are accepting donations to, sponsor children
(27:06):
who can't afford to dance too. Oh, awesome.
Awesome. Awesome. See all the ways you can
do this? Yes. Everybody, smile big. We're bright
colors. Thanks for being here. Have a great
day.
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