December 20, 2025 • 29 mins
Elizabeth Fournier, known as "The Green Reaper," shares her unique approach to maintaining emotional balance while working in the funeral industry through unconventional methods like tending to Disney-named sheep and creating a "Wind Phone" where people can connect with deceased loved ones. She provides insight into the funeral profession while emphasizing the importance of self-care and compassion when dealing with grief and loss.
Elizabeth Fournier
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-fournier-32211b5/
- Website: http://www.cornerstonefuneral.com/
- Email: elizabeth@cornerstonefuneral.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethgreenreaper/
• Caring for sheep named after Disney princesses helps Elizabeth "fill her love tank"
• The Wind Phone concept originated in Japan after a tsunami and provides a healing outlet for grief
• Elizabeth's funeral home in Boring, Oregon is also near the North American Bigfoot Center
• No One Dies Alone connects volunteers with people who would otherwise face death without companionship
• Personal stories of grief highlighted the universal fear of dying alone
• Elizabeth offers herself as a resource for those with questions about death, funerals, and green burial options
Join us as we support No One Dies Alone this month!
We need to be gentle with ourselves when dealing with death and grief. It's never a perfect scenario, and there's always going to be "would have, could have, should have" thoughts. But ultimately, the person who's passed is at peace—they're doing better than those of us left behind. We need to love ourselves through the process.
Start for FREE
Shireen's Bookkeeping Services LLC
Outsourcing your bookkeeping to Shireen’s Bookkeeping Services can save you time and money.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Stay Wild!
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsfromwildplaces
- Website: https://friendsfromwildplaces.buzzsprout.com/
- Itunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-from-wild-places/id1619076023
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FFWP_podcast
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/friendsfromwildplacespodcast
Leave a review!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voiceover (00:03):
Tales from the wild, stories from the heart.
A journey into the mind andsoul of fired up business
professionals, where they sharetheir vision for the future and
hear from a different non-profitorganisation every month as
they create awareness of theirgoals and their needs.
Dive into a world of untamedpassion.
(00:26):
As we join our host, ShireenBotha, for this month's episode
of Friends from Wild Places.
Shireen Botha (00:35):
With your line of work, Elizabeth.
I'm sure that there's a lot ofthings that you see that can be
quite stressful.
I believe or you're probablyjust so used to it, as that's
something that you deal with itevery day but I'm sure there's a
time, dealing with people, thatyou run out of steam, I would
(00:56):
say.
And so my question would bewhat are the things that you do
to refill your tank so that youcan keep giving?
Because I think you're arounddeath a lot and grief a lot, so
to be around that 24-7 all thetime, I believe it can take a
(01:17):
toll on you.
So what are the ways that youcan just fill your tank again
and keep giving?
Elizabeth Fournier (01:26):
Serena, I love how you say fill your tank,
how I say it is fill my lovetank.
So yes, I got to fill that lovetank.
I got to top it off.
Get it full, you give and thenyou can give back.
So I have sheep and that's areally big deal.
Sheep are soft and cuddly andwonderful.
And I used to have goats, butnow I have sheep and the
difference I can tell you is Ilike to read them a book.
(01:47):
Now if you go in the field andsit down and take out a book,
the sheep will actually kind ofsit on your lap or nuzzle
against you and rub and smellyou with your little lips and
all that when the goat all itwants to do is eat the book.
It doesn't care less, it justwants to eat the book.
So sheep are more gentle,they're more loving.
We have all females.
They basically are all namedafter Disney princesses because
(02:11):
again we had a daughter who thatwas her thing.
That's fine.
So it's funny to have a fieldfull of Rapunzel and Jasmine.
You know all of that.
But they're soft, lovely,cuddly.
I don't know if they know theirnames.
I yell their names out all thetime.
We, lovely cuddly.
I don't know if they know theirnames.
I yell their names out all thetime.
(02:31):
We let them out of the pasturethey walk all over the driveway
in the property.
There was a while there.
We left them in the house.
But the problem with sheep iswhen they go to the bathroom
they just decide I'm gonna gopee, pee and it's you know,
there's a gallon of that.
Or all of a sudden all thesehot fecal balls are all over
your carpet and you know it.
Just you know and I'm not goingto put diapers on the sheet
these are farm animals but theylove to be brushed.
(02:53):
I think their favorite music ismariachi.
I sing to them.
Um, the neighbors all thinkwe're weird anyway.
Um, I live in a neighborhoodfull of retired people.
When we moved in 15 years agothey thought oh my gosh, there's
people from a funeral home wholive there and little do they
know.
That was the least weird thingabout us.
It's a singing full voicemariachi while brushing the
(03:13):
sheep.
But you know they can get itover the hearse.
Main thing is the animals.
They are resplendent.
My husband and I just ourdaughter just left for college
two weeks ago and hearing abouther life fills my love tank.
It's just to know that we'velaunched this little baby bird
(03:36):
off into the world doing greatthings.
That is great, and I have madesomething out my window here at
the funeral home because I spentso much time in my office.
I have a little bird sanctuaryand I implore people to if
you're interested in birds,birds will come see you.
Put something out there withwater, Doesn't have to be any
(03:58):
big deal.
I've got a bird bath.
I put water in, Water draws thebirds.
I've got a couple of feedershanging.
I've got something on theground.
The birds come and probablyevery day I see at least 12 to
15 different species andoccasionally a bird will come
through I've never seen before.
And that is thrilling becausebirds bring their bird friends
(04:18):
and it's you know, bird food isnot very expensive and it's
exciting and plentiful and fillsmy love tank that's beautiful,
beautiful, okay, elizabeth, Igotta ask.
Tanya Scotece (04:31):
So how many sheep are there currently?
Elizabeth Fournier (04:35):
right now there are six and they're
healthy and good and like eachother.
Normally there's one animal,normally a goat, who thinks
everything is theirs and theyhave to hit everybody.
Or when the food comes they'vegot to be the first, or it's
raining.
They have to stand in the doorof the barn and kick everybody
out Jerks.
So these six ladies of thefield like each other and they
(04:59):
get along and it's just.
I want a peaceful kingdom.
So glad to see it.
Tanya Scotece (05:04):
Gotcha, and what other animals do you have
currently?
You have just.
I want a peaceful kingdom, soglad to see it.
Gotcha, and what other animalsdo you have currently?
You have dogs, I believe,correct.
Elizabeth Fournier (05:09):
Yes, dogs and cats and, yeah, we have a
Bluetooth coon hound.
His name is DB Cooper.
You true crime ladies mightknow that he hijacked a plane in
the 70s and he jumped out theback after he got a parachute
and all this money and hijackeda plane in the 70s and he jumped
out the back after he got aparachute and all this money and
that was a big thing and he wasnever found again.
(05:30):
But occasionally some of thesebills they can see the serial
numbers show up occasionally indifferent places in Washington.
People will be diggingsomeplace and some of these
numbers maybe he buried stuff,who knows, but that was a big
Pacific Northwest case.
But his name is DB Cooper andhe doesn't bark, he howls.
So you let him out and you hearthis crazy howling, because
(05:50):
that's just what he does.
Never had a howling dog before.
But there he is so there he is.
Tanya Scotece (05:55):
There he is.
And also, what can you sharewith our us and our listeners
about your I don't know what theactual name of it?
It's the phone booth wherepeople can call their past
deceased relatives.
Is that correct?
Elizabeth Fournier (06:08):
Is that?
Yes, I have a wind phone andthere's a wonderful website
called my wind phone where youcan look all across.
I might just be the states Idon't know if they have that out
of the States yet but peoplehave put a old rotary phone the
states yet.
But people have put a oldrotary phone.
Either they've affixed it to atree or they've made a booth.
(06:29):
What I have here outside thefuneral home is I have this
beautiful healing tree that I'vegot a bunch of chimes in and
inside this chimes there's apedestal and I have this
wonderful silver rotary phoneand I have a chair and some
little gnomes and fairy housesand there's a sign saying you
(06:51):
know, basically, it's a windphone and let your words go
through the trees and be carriedup to your loved one.
And it's for those who have hadsomebody pass away and you want
to make a phone call to themand feel like, even though
there's nobody on the receivingend of the phone, it's this
feeling that you're connecting.
And this started in Japan.
(07:11):
There was a very big tsunami acouple of years back and in a
man's garden he built a reallylovely white phone booth for his
cousin that he missed greatlyand inside he put a rotary phone
and there was a pen and somepaper and some flowers and he
would go every day and call hiscousin.
And then people found out aboutit and said, well, can I call
(07:31):
my grandma?
Can I do?
What have you?
So then he put it online andsaid, please come, come into my
garden and call and I will havepeople who stop by and say you
know, I can't get over the griefof my father and I found a
phone on a beach one day andsomething about this method is
helping me move through my griefand my sadness.
(07:53):
It's a bereavement tool and youknow, I thought I was doing
great things when I had abereavement library here where I
was saying you know, comeborrow a book, come sit in the
chapel, come sit in my gardenand read a book.
What have you?
Take it, whatever you want todo, but the foam has brought
such interesting people, fromkooky characters to people who
(08:13):
are sad, whomever who just wantto come and have a moment.
And I built it because I wantedto talk to my dad and you know I
would call him after my blinddates, of course, so he was my
biggest fan, so occasionally Iwill have some wild thing happen
.
I'll just sit and have thisgreat, delightful conversation
and am I talking to his spirit,to the tree bark?
(08:35):
Am I talking to the leaves?
To the wind?
I don't know.
It's fantastic, it feels good,and when I get so tickled when
people come and they say I don'tneed you, honey, I'm here for
your windfall, I think it'sgreat.
So people in the community useit.
People come from a distance.
There's a map and I thinkthere's five right now in the
(08:56):
state of Oregon.
So I'm on the route and it'sjust neat when people come.
Tanya Scotece (09:00):
Wow, you're an absolute treasure, elizabeth,
truly Like I mean, it's just,it's just so interesting just
hearing your journey and one ofthese days I want to come, I
want to come, I want to have asheep sit on.
Is it a sheep?
Is that singular A sheep?
Elizabeth Fournie (09:19):
no-transcript and I'll bring you to our the
Bigfoot Museum.
Boring, oregon is known for theNorth American Bigfoot Center.
Oh, so we have a lot of big,big foot, big feet.
We have a lot of Bigfootsightings around here, so
Sasquatch.
Tanya Scotece (09:34):
Is that a Sasquatch same thing or is that
two different things?
Sasquatch, okay, yeah.
Elizabeth Fournier (09:39):
Sasquatch, bigfoot, and they say, you know
it's not like it's not amythical character, it's not
just one.
There's like families of theseknow it's not like it's not a
mythical character, it's notjust one, there's like families
of these things, apparently,there's 12,000.
It's like a human animal, bipedthing walking, and you know
it's very realistic because it'sin the trees and you don't see
them because it has no need forpeople.
(10:00):
But they're, they're like ananimal, weird animal family
group out there and uh, you knowI think they're interested, an
animal, weird animal familygroup out there and uh, you know
I think they're interested inhumans.
But probably I think theyprobably find it's quite
ridiculous.
So who knows?
Tanya Scotece (10:13):
possibly fascinating, fascinating I love
that.
Shireen Botha (10:17):
Thanks for sharing, elizabeth.
Um, yeah, we come to that partof the podcast where we just
chat about our non-profit forthe month that we're supporting
um.
So, listeners, this this monthwe're supporting no one dies
alonecom.
Um, so we're excited to tellyou a little bit more about that
.
No one dies alonecom.
(10:37):
We'll have all of theinformation in the show notes,
but, elizabeth, would you mindsharing with the listeners a
little more about theorganization and what it does
for the community and, mostimportantly, how we can help
them?
Elizabeth Fournier (10:52):
There's many people who die by themselves.
They're either at their house,they're in a nursing home and
they don't get visited, and alot of people have said their
dying wish is to be surroundedby friends and family or be at
home, and that doesn't alwaysget to happen.
People don't always havefriends and family or people
(11:13):
aren't visiting.
So when somebody is near death,they have a lot of times have
requested through hospice of anursing home.
Can I just have somebody sitwith me?
Can I have somebody read withme when I'm nearing the end?
I would love it if somebodywould just come hold my hand,
and so this website just allowsyou to be a volunteer and learn
how to just sit and be still.
(11:34):
And if somebody does want a cupof water or just, I think
people just want to know thatthey're seen and someone's
looking at them and they're notin this room by themselves, they
can take that step into theunknown, feeling safe, feeling
okay, knowing that someone hasgot their back.
(11:54):
I think that would be quite alonely experience to just be at
home knowing that your number isup and it's coming and what's
going to happen.
And I have.
I've got some things I want tosay I want to vocalize something
, or you know, it'd be reallycomforting if somebody could put
on some music for me, or I justwant somebody in the room with
(12:17):
me and all those I mean, whoknows, right, we're all such
different and unique people.
And even if it's just I wantsomebody in the next room, just
that idea of dying alone, Ithink, is scary for a lot of
people.
And how wonderful that they'vemade an organization that says
but you don't have to, there's alot of wonderful people who
would be at the ready to be withyou.
We just need to know that thisis what you want.
Tanya Scotece (12:41):
Elizabeth, can they volunteer also, or is it it
monetary donations or what areways that people can get
involved?
Because I, even as integrated Iam in the funeral profession.
I am not familiar with thisnot-for-profit.
Elizabeth Fournier (12:56):
Yeah, you can volunteer and of course
there's a little bit of avetting because you might be in
someone's house we need to makesure you're there for good
purposes and all.
But check out the website andsee if it's in your area and
just see if this is somethingwhere you would feel and kind of
what the climate is too.
You might call your local areawho says, oh wonderful, we've
(13:19):
got a big group of names and wecan just kind of call down the
list.
Probably in smaller communitiesthey might have one grief
sitter, they might have oneperson and you need to be maybe
a little bit more readilyavailable.
So I guess it would all beindividual.
But if that's of any interestto be able to provide some
comfort and give of yourself, Imean, what a wonderful volunteer
(13:41):
job.
You're not having tonecessarily prune the roses in a
park or tender a trail in therain.
If you feel like you would liketo be in the comfort of a
nursing home and just maybebrowsing through a Bible for
somebody or just being able tosit and listen while somebody
talks about their childhoodmemories, what a beautiful
(14:02):
service you could offer ofyourself.
Tanya Scotece (14:04):
Wow, well, and does that organization also
support people who don't haveanybody there for their own,
let's say, burial?
Does that organization can thepeople come out and be there for
the person's you know,graveside service, for example?
Can they come?
Elizabeth Fournier (14:22):
That's a great question.
So I think you know it reallyfocuses on end of life for that
moment and being there to helpthat person transition.
But I'm going to imagine if youare caretaking, sitting, being
loving, being a part, you'regoing to develop some sort of
bond or feeling for thatindividual and if you know that
(14:43):
there might be some sort of aservice or there might be
something happening, I have afeeling most people who give of
their heart this way would wantto have some potential chance to
be involved in something wow,beautiful, beautiful.
Shireen Botha (14:58):
Yeah, we're going to learn more about it yeah, I
think it's amazing, um, everymonth we do have these
non-profits that we we supportand it's really Every month we
do have these nonprofits that wesupport and it's really
important that you know you findan organization to lend a hand
and support financially all yourtime.
But this one specifically tugson the threads of my heart
(15:19):
because I mean, you know, quiterecently, my uncle just passed
away from being stabbed with arusty object and so he was in
the hospital and he died aloneand with us, and he has us.
But because of thecircumstances, he ended up being
(15:41):
in this hospital, far away fromus, far away from his family in
the Cape, and he was theredying alone and he died alone.
And for me, that keeps me upevery night because I can't
believe that happened and Iwasn't next to him just to let
(16:02):
him have somebody, just say it'sokay, uncle, you can go um, or
just having somebody.
Um breaks my heart, it reallydoes.
That he went through that alone,um, and with that being said,
even if you don't have anorganization like this listeners
, in your area you can findretirement villages or care
(16:25):
units where a lot of elderlyfolk, as you've mentioned before
, are in their final days, oryou cancer patients that don't
have very long to live and theymight not have family members.
You can find that person.
There is always that person.
There are a lot of people thatdon't have loved ones, that are
dying by themselves.
So, yeah, this is quite animportant one for me, so that
(16:50):
tugs on my heart.
So we'll leave all theinformation in the show notes
below listeners and find outwhere the closest one is to you
and support however you can.
Thank you very much, elizabeth,for this time that you've
shared with us today.
We are going to go intosomething a little bit more
lighthearted and play a littlebit of a game called Two Truths
(17:11):
and a Lie.
I don't know if any one of youhave played it before, but
basically you just mentionedthree statements.
Two of them will be true aboutyourself and then one won't be
true, and we have to guess what.
That is the lie.
Tanya Scotece (17:27):
So, tanya, would you mind just yeah, Shireen, I
just first of all want toexpress my condolences.
I did not know about youruncle's passing, and so I just
want you to know that you knowmy heart and my heart and
thoughts are with you.
So I appreciate you, Thank you.
Elizabeth Fournier (17:43):
All right.
So be gentle on yourself,shireen.
Be gentle that's a reallyimportant thing to, just because
you did the best you could.
The situation wasn't ideal andhe's fine and I'm sure, has a
lot of forgiveness and love andit's good, you know, even though
(18:03):
it feels weird.
Tanya Scotece (18:04):
Yeah, yeah, allow yourself to move through that,
thank you yeah yeah okay, so ourum, our wrap-up, um game
shereen, it's two truths and alie.
Is that correct?
Yes, okay, okay, here we go.
So, ladies, we have to guesswhat is the lie out of these
(18:27):
three statements?
Okay so, I love to travel, Ihave a cat.
My favorite food is caviar.
Shireen Botha (18:39):
I'm going to say you don't have a cat.
I think I know this one.
No way.
Tanya Scotece (18:46):
So Shireen says I okay, let's, let's think about
it again.
Shireen Botha (18:52):
I'm gonna say you don't have a cat because you
we've met.
No, you don't have a catbecause you always are dog
sitting for your friends, so youdon't have a cat.
Tanya Scotece (19:00):
That's the lie how about you, elizabeth?
Which one do you think?
Elizabeth Fournier (19:13):
Oh well, okay, I'm going to.
Well, are you a decadent caviarlady?
Maybe you are.
Of course, Of course.
Tanya Scotece (19:22):
My favorite food.
It is like I could eat it.
First of all, all it's not thatI get it often, okay, so let me
let the listeners just say it'snot that I get it often.
But if somebody wants to get mea gift, like, like an ultimate
gift, it would be black caviar,and I don't need anything except
a spoon or a little butterknife and I just eat it, like,
(19:43):
just like that, in one sitting.
I cannot even put in the fridge.
So it's, yeah, it's a hardcorecaviar.
So, shereen, you are correct, Ido not have a cat.
Shireen Botha (19:52):
Oh, my gosh, elizabeth, let's, let's, go to
you.
That was a good one, tanya.
Go for it, elizabeth that'sgood.
Elizabeth Fournier (20:02):
That's good, that's good.
Okay, all right.
I have summited three mountains, I have three tattoos and I
currently gosh there's just somany fun ones to think about and
(20:26):
I currently stuck my fork in acan of garbanzo beans and that
was my breakfast see, this is alittle bit difficult because we
don't really know you that well,so I'm gonna say well, I'm
speaking for myself.
Shireen Botha (20:42):
Yeah, I'm going to say that that you don't have
three tattoos, you only have two.
Tanya Scotece (20:58):
I don't know how many or lack thereof, but I'm
gonna say I don't think you havetattoos, so I don't think
that's a bad guess okay, um.
Elizabeth Fournier (21:10):
So I do love garbanzo beans out of the can
and I have summited threemountains.
No tattoos, good job no tattoos.
Tanya Scotece (21:17):
Okay, yay, we win , we win.
Good for us, good for us.
Okay.
How about you shireen?
We gotta hear from you allright.
Shireen Botha (21:26):
So now I'm gonna try and, and and to get things
that tanya, uh haven't spoken totanya about, so maybe I can
catch tanya, because she knowsme quite well now.
Um, two truths, two truths, onelie.
I have never seen snow before,I have only owned one fur baby
(21:55):
in my life and I have put out afire in the overhead storage in
flights.
I think you've heard thatbefore, tanya, but I don't know
if you know if it's a true orlie.
So which one is the lie?
Elizabeth Fournier (22:13):
I'm gonna say snow just because of where
you live, but I guess you can'ttravel, so no that's a tough one
, shireen.
Tanya Scotece (22:25):
Um, let me see.
So I I'm gonna go with I, Iknow, I know about the fur baby,
I know the one, so I'm gonnasay that one is the lie.
Maybe you've had two, I don'tknow.
Shireen Botha (22:46):
Well, the lie is the fact that I have never seen
snow Really.
Tanya Scotece (22:50):
Oh, okay, I have never, seen snow, okay, okay,
wow.
So what's the lie?
You have seen snow, I have seensnow, wow.
So what's the lie?
Oh, you have seen snow.
Shireen Botha (23:06):
I have seen snow, so I've never seen snow.
That's not true.
I have seen snow.
Okay, so that brings us to thefur baby.
Tanya Scotece (23:17):
One the fur baby was.
You had one One fur baby RightRight, okay, that's my one.
And I baby was.
You had one one fur baby right,right, okay, that's my one.
Elizabeth Fournier (23:22):
And I know about the fire and this airplane
thing happened.
Shireen Botha (23:26):
Yeah, that's true .
Elizabeth Fournier (23:29):
Yes, and you put out a fire in an overhead
department on a plane.
Shireen Botha (23:33):
Yes, because I used to work With what?
With a fire extinguisher.
Because I used to work on boardplanes.
So we had a fire extinguisherin the galley and the passengers
alerted us to the smoke comingout of the overhead storage.
I jumped into action, got thefire extinguisher and fought the
(23:58):
fire, and there you have it.
Elizabeth Fournier (24:01):
Was it a lit candle?
What was it?
Shireen Botha (24:05):
it was batteries that weren't stored correctly,
so they were just thrown in.
As a block bed was twobatteries that were supposed to
go into one of those um vapes,and he had just thrown it into a
bag, wouldn't store itcorrectly, and so they created
heat and friction which caused afire which ignited the bag and
(24:27):
ignited the bag next to it.
And so, yeah, yeah, crazy, wow,there's, that's yeah, wow, I,
what a podcast I am.
Tanya Scotece (24:39):
This is like delightful, like I really feel
like I could spend the rest ofthe day with you, ladies and uh,
but it's been amazing yeah,thank you so much, listeners,
for listening we.
Shireen Botha (24:49):
We have come to the end, so, uh, this is the
time where we just share, whereyou can actually connect with us
.
If you feel connected and youwant to ask questions, you can
reach us.
Where tanya go?
You start?
Where can the listeners reachyou?
Tanya Scotece (25:04):
Sure.
So most of my students know ofElizabeth Fournier, the Green
Reaper, so super excited forthis podcast, so I'll definitely
be sharing with my students.
So most of you know I can befound on LinkedIn because I
don't have a TV or any otheroutlet to do social media, so
LinkedIn is my hub.
I oversee the mortuary programat Miami Dade College, so
(25:27):
perhaps some of you listenersout there may decide it is time
to change careers and become afuneral director.
I also oversee senior placement, matching people with
communities who can no longerlive alone, specializing in
memory care and the dementiapatients.
(25:48):
So that is an expertise that Idid because of my father and I
truly call it my blessed work.
I also serve frequently as anexpert witness in funeral home
and cemetery litigation cases.
That has actually taken off.
I could probably do that fulltime if I wanted to.
So those are the three areasthat you can find me LinkedIn,
and I'm sure Shereen will putthe information in the show
notes.
Okay, and Elizabeth, as weshare your contact information,
(26:11):
feel free to also elaborate onanything that we did not ask you
where you feel that it'simportant to have the listeners
know, as you share your contactinformation.
Elizabeth Fournier (26:23):
Sure.
So my website,cornerstonefuneralcom.
The reason why I give that is,of course, not everybody in my
area, but I am someone who doesthis work and consider yourself
having a mortician friend thatyou can actually email, call,
get a hold of.
You can even text the funeralhome number.
(26:44):
People have questions all thetime, such as what happens with
social security and my person'sa veteran.
What do I get?
And I can answer just vague,broad, general green questions,
funeral questions, happy to help.
So I'm in the town of BoringOregon Never gets boring.
I'm on Instagram, too, and I doa lot of photos of what natural
(27:05):
organic reduction looks likeand this is a beautiful shroud
and I'm at Elizabeth GreenReaper.
I'm on a couple other socialmedias, but not overly active on
them, and the information thatI just want to get out there is
sort of what I was sharing withShireen is we need to be really
gentle on ourselves Death isreally hard it's the hardest
(27:26):
thing that we go through, nomatter what the scenario is and
really being forgiving andgentle and loving towards
ourselves, because it's nevergoing to be the perfect scenario
.
There's so much would have,could have, should have have,
but ultimately, especially inreference to the person who's
passed away.
They're doing great.
They're doing better than ushere who are left behind.
(27:46):
They're fine, they're at peaceand we need to again just love
ourselves, thank you shereen?
Tanya Scotece (27:56):
how about you?
Where can we find you?
Shireen Botha (27:58):
yeah, so you can find me at all the social medias
.
I'm there, but Shireen'sbookkeeping is mostly on
LinkedIn and Instagram, moreimportantly, the
friendsfromwildplaces.
buzzsprout.
com.
That is the websitefriendsfromwildplaces.
buzzsprout.
com, but you can find thepodcast on all of the platforms,
(28:20):
from apple iTunes to Deezer toSpotify.
You just have to search forfriends from wild places.
You'll find us.
Um and please, once again, it'sjust a friendly reminder that
if you want to support us alittle bit more, please go
subscribe for a small amount offive dollars a month.
We'd really appreciate it.
But other than that, thank youso much for listening.
(28:40):
Once again, we reallyappreciate you and remember you
got this and stay wild.
Voiceover (28:47):
bye guys, bye, bye you've been listening to friends
from wild places with ShireenBotha.
Be sure to subscribe to thepodcast from the links to catch
every episode and unleash yourpassion.
Tales from the wild, stories from the heart.
A journey into the mind andsoul of fired up business
professionals, where they sharetheir vision for the future and
hear from a different non-profitorganisation every month as
they create awareness of theirgoals and their needs.
Dive into a world of untamedpassion.
(00:26):
As we join our host, ShireenBotha, for this month's episode
of Friends from Wild Places.
Shireen Botha (00:35):
With your line of work, Elizabeth.
I'm sure that there's a lot ofthings that you see that can be
quite stressful.
I believe or you're probablyjust so used to it, as that's
something that you deal with itevery day but I'm sure there's a
time, dealing with people, thatyou run out of steam, I would
(00:56):
say.
And so my question would bewhat are the things that you do
to refill your tank so that youcan keep giving?
Because I think you're arounddeath a lot and grief a lot, so
to be around that 24-7 all thetime, I believe it can take a
(01:17):
toll on you.
So what are the ways that youcan just fill your tank again
and keep giving?
Elizabeth Fournier (01:26):
Serena, I love how you say fill your tank,
how I say it is fill my lovetank.
So yes, I got to fill that lovetank.
I got to top it off.
Get it full, you give and thenyou can give back.
So I have sheep and that's areally big deal.
Sheep are soft and cuddly andwonderful.
And I used to have goats, butnow I have sheep and the
difference I can tell you is Ilike to read them a book.
(01:47):
Now if you go in the field andsit down and take out a book,
the sheep will actually kind ofsit on your lap or nuzzle
against you and rub and smellyou with your little lips and
all that when the goat all itwants to do is eat the book.
It doesn't care less, it justwants to eat the book.
So sheep are more gentle,they're more loving.
We have all females.
They basically are all namedafter Disney princesses because
(02:11):
again we had a daughter who thatwas her thing.
That's fine.
So it's funny to have a fieldfull of Rapunzel and Jasmine.
You know all of that.
But they're soft, lovely,cuddly.
I don't know if they know theirnames.
I yell their names out all thetime.
We, lovely cuddly.
I don't know if they know theirnames.
I yell their names out all thetime.
(02:31):
We let them out of the pasturethey walk all over the driveway
in the property.
There was a while there.
We left them in the house.
But the problem with sheep iswhen they go to the bathroom
they just decide I'm gonna gopee, pee and it's you know,
there's a gallon of that.
Or all of a sudden all thesehot fecal balls are all over
your carpet and you know it.
Just you know and I'm not goingto put diapers on the sheet
these are farm animals but theylove to be brushed.
(02:53):
I think their favorite music ismariachi.
I sing to them.
Um, the neighbors all thinkwe're weird anyway.
Um, I live in a neighborhoodfull of retired people.
When we moved in 15 years agothey thought oh my gosh, there's
people from a funeral home wholive there and little do they
know.
That was the least weird thingabout us.
It's a singing full voicemariachi while brushing the
(03:13):
sheep.
But you know they can get itover the hearse.
Main thing is the animals.
They are resplendent.
My husband and I just ourdaughter just left for college
two weeks ago and hearing abouther life fills my love tank.
It's just to know that we'velaunched this little baby bird
(03:36):
off into the world doing greatthings.
That is great, and I have madesomething out my window here at
the funeral home because I spentso much time in my office.
I have a little bird sanctuaryand I implore people to if
you're interested in birds,birds will come see you.
Put something out there withwater, Doesn't have to be any
(03:58):
big deal.
I've got a bird bath.
I put water in, Water draws thebirds.
I've got a couple of feedershanging.
I've got something on theground.
The birds come and probablyevery day I see at least 12 to
15 different species andoccasionally a bird will come
through I've never seen before.
And that is thrilling becausebirds bring their bird friends
(04:18):
and it's you know, bird food isnot very expensive and it's
exciting and plentiful and fillsmy love tank that's beautiful,
beautiful, okay, elizabeth, Igotta ask.
Tanya Scotece (04:31):
So how many sheep are there currently?
Elizabeth Fournier (04:35):
right now there are six and they're
healthy and good and like eachother.
Normally there's one animal,normally a goat, who thinks
everything is theirs and theyhave to hit everybody.
Or when the food comes they'vegot to be the first, or it's
raining.
They have to stand in the doorof the barn and kick everybody
out Jerks.
So these six ladies of thefield like each other and they
(04:59):
get along and it's just.
I want a peaceful kingdom.
So glad to see it.
Tanya Scotece (05:04):
Gotcha, and what other animals do you have
currently?
You have just.
I want a peaceful kingdom, soglad to see it.
Gotcha, and what other animalsdo you have currently?
You have dogs, I believe,correct.
Elizabeth Fournier (05:09):
Yes, dogs and cats and, yeah, we have a
Bluetooth coon hound.
His name is DB Cooper.
You true crime ladies mightknow that he hijacked a plane in
the 70s and he jumped out theback after he got a parachute
and all this money and hijackeda plane in the 70s and he jumped
out the back after he got aparachute and all this money and
that was a big thing and he wasnever found again.
(05:30):
But occasionally some of thesebills they can see the serial
numbers show up occasionally indifferent places in Washington.
People will be diggingsomeplace and some of these
numbers maybe he buried stuff,who knows, but that was a big
Pacific Northwest case.
But his name is DB Cooper andhe doesn't bark, he howls.
So you let him out and you hearthis crazy howling, because
(05:50):
that's just what he does.
Never had a howling dog before.
But there he is so there he is.
Tanya Scotece (05:55):
There he is.
And also, what can you sharewith our us and our listeners
about your I don't know what theactual name of it?
It's the phone booth wherepeople can call their past
deceased relatives.
Is that correct?
Elizabeth Fournier (06:08):
Is that?
Yes, I have a wind phone andthere's a wonderful website
called my wind phone where youcan look all across.
I might just be the states Idon't know if they have that out
of the States yet but peoplehave put a old rotary phone the
states yet.
But people have put a oldrotary phone.
Either they've affixed it to atree or they've made a booth.
(06:29):
What I have here outside thefuneral home is I have this
beautiful healing tree that I'vegot a bunch of chimes in and
inside this chimes there's apedestal and I have this
wonderful silver rotary phoneand I have a chair and some
little gnomes and fairy housesand there's a sign saying you
(06:51):
know, basically, it's a windphone and let your words go
through the trees and be carriedup to your loved one.
And it's for those who have hadsomebody pass away and you want
to make a phone call to themand feel like, even though
there's nobody on the receivingend of the phone, it's this
feeling that you're connecting.
And this started in Japan.
(07:11):
There was a very big tsunami acouple of years back and in a
man's garden he built a reallylovely white phone booth for his
cousin that he missed greatlyand inside he put a rotary phone
and there was a pen and somepaper and some flowers and he
would go every day and call hiscousin.
And then people found out aboutit and said, well, can I call
(07:31):
my grandma?
Can I do?
What have you?
So then he put it online andsaid, please come, come into my
garden and call and I will havepeople who stop by and say you
know, I can't get over the griefof my father and I found a
phone on a beach one day andsomething about this method is
helping me move through my griefand my sadness.
(07:53):
It's a bereavement tool and youknow, I thought I was doing
great things when I had abereavement library here where I
was saying you know, comeborrow a book, come sit in the
chapel, come sit in my gardenand read a book.
What have you?
Take it, whatever you want todo, but the foam has brought
such interesting people, fromkooky characters to people who
(08:13):
are sad, whomever who just wantto come and have a moment.
And I built it because I wantedto talk to my dad and you know I
would call him after my blinddates, of course, so he was my
biggest fan, so occasionally Iwill have some wild thing happen
.
I'll just sit and have thisgreat, delightful conversation
and am I talking to his spirit,to the tree bark?
(08:35):
Am I talking to the leaves?
To the wind?
I don't know.
It's fantastic, it feels good,and when I get so tickled when
people come and they say I don'tneed you, honey, I'm here for
your windfall, I think it'sgreat.
So people in the community useit.
People come from a distance.
There's a map and I thinkthere's five right now in the
(08:56):
state of Oregon.
So I'm on the route and it'sjust neat when people come.
Tanya Scotece (09:00):
Wow, you're an absolute treasure, elizabeth,
truly Like I mean, it's just,it's just so interesting just
hearing your journey and one ofthese days I want to come, I
want to come, I want to have asheep sit on.
Is it a sheep?
Is that singular A sheep?
Elizabeth Fournie (09:19):
no-transcript and I'll bring you to our the
Bigfoot Museum.
Boring, oregon is known for theNorth American Bigfoot Center.
Oh, so we have a lot of big,big foot, big feet.
We have a lot of Bigfootsightings around here, so
Sasquatch.
Tanya Scotece (09:34):
Is that a Sasquatch same thing or is that
two different things?
Sasquatch, okay, yeah.
Elizabeth Fournier (09:39):
Sasquatch, bigfoot, and they say, you know
it's not like it's not amythical character, it's not
just one.
There's like families of theseknow it's not like it's not a
mythical character, it's notjust one, there's like families
of these things, apparently,there's 12,000.
It's like a human animal, bipedthing walking, and you know
it's very realistic because it'sin the trees and you don't see
them because it has no need forpeople.
(10:00):
But they're, they're like ananimal, weird animal family
group out there and uh, you knowI think they're interested, an
animal, weird animal familygroup out there and uh, you know
I think they're interested inhumans.
But probably I think theyprobably find it's quite
ridiculous.
So who knows?
Tanya Scotece (10:13):
possibly fascinating, fascinating I love
that.
Shireen Botha (10:17):
Thanks for sharing, elizabeth.
Um, yeah, we come to that partof the podcast where we just
chat about our non-profit forthe month that we're supporting
um.
So, listeners, this this monthwe're supporting no one dies
alonecom.
Um, so we're excited to tellyou a little bit more about that
.
No one dies alonecom.
(10:37):
We'll have all of theinformation in the show notes,
but, elizabeth, would you mindsharing with the listeners a
little more about theorganization and what it does
for the community and, mostimportantly, how we can help
them?
Elizabeth Fournier (10:52):
There's many people who die by themselves.
They're either at their house,they're in a nursing home and
they don't get visited, and alot of people have said their
dying wish is to be surroundedby friends and family or be at
home, and that doesn't alwaysget to happen.
People don't always havefriends and family or people
(11:13):
aren't visiting.
So when somebody is near death,they have a lot of times have
requested through hospice of anursing home.
Can I just have somebody sitwith me?
Can I have somebody read withme when I'm nearing the end?
I would love it if somebodywould just come hold my hand,
and so this website just allowsyou to be a volunteer and learn
how to just sit and be still.
(11:34):
And if somebody does want a cupof water or just, I think
people just want to know thatthey're seen and someone's
looking at them and they're notin this room by themselves, they
can take that step into theunknown, feeling safe, feeling
okay, knowing that someone hasgot their back.
(11:54):
I think that would be quite alonely experience to just be at
home knowing that your number isup and it's coming and what's
going to happen.
And I have.
I've got some things I want tosay I want to vocalize something
, or you know, it'd be reallycomforting if somebody could put
on some music for me, or I justwant somebody in the room with
(12:17):
me and all those I mean, whoknows, right, we're all such
different and unique people.
And even if it's just I wantsomebody in the next room, just
that idea of dying alone, Ithink, is scary for a lot of
people.
And how wonderful that they'vemade an organization that says
but you don't have to, there's alot of wonderful people who
would be at the ready to be withyou.
We just need to know that thisis what you want.
Tanya Scotece (12:41):
Elizabeth, can they volunteer also, or is it it
monetary donations or what areways that people can get
involved?
Because I, even as integrated Iam in the funeral profession.
I am not familiar with thisnot-for-profit.
Elizabeth Fournier (12:56):
Yeah, you can volunteer and of course
there's a little bit of avetting because you might be in
someone's house we need to makesure you're there for good
purposes and all.
But check out the website andsee if it's in your area and
just see if this is somethingwhere you would feel and kind of
what the climate is too.
You might call your local areawho says, oh wonderful, we've
(13:19):
got a big group of names and wecan just kind of call down the
list.
Probably in smaller communitiesthey might have one grief
sitter, they might have oneperson and you need to be maybe
a little bit more readilyavailable.
So I guess it would all beindividual.
But if that's of any interestto be able to provide some
comfort and give of yourself, Imean, what a wonderful volunteer
(13:41):
job.
You're not having tonecessarily prune the roses in a
park or tender a trail in therain.
If you feel like you would liketo be in the comfort of a
nursing home and just maybebrowsing through a Bible for
somebody or just being able tosit and listen while somebody
talks about their childhoodmemories, what a beautiful
(14:02):
service you could offer ofyourself.
Tanya Scotece (14:04):
Wow, well, and does that organization also
support people who don't haveanybody there for their own,
let's say, burial?
Does that organization can thepeople come out and be there for
the person's you know,graveside service, for example?
Can they come?
Elizabeth Fournier (14:22):
That's a great question.
So I think you know it reallyfocuses on end of life for that
moment and being there to helpthat person transition.
But I'm going to imagine if youare caretaking, sitting, being
loving, being a part, you'regoing to develop some sort of
bond or feeling for thatindividual and if you know that
(14:43):
there might be some sort of aservice or there might be
something happening, I have afeeling most people who give of
their heart this way would wantto have some potential chance to
be involved in something wow,beautiful, beautiful.
Shireen Botha (14:58):
Yeah, we're going to learn more about it yeah, I
think it's amazing, um, everymonth we do have these
non-profits that we we supportand it's really Every month we
do have these nonprofits that wesupport and it's really
important that you know you findan organization to lend a hand
and support financially all yourtime.
But this one specifically tugson the threads of my heart
(15:19):
because I mean, you know, quiterecently, my uncle just passed
away from being stabbed with arusty object and so he was in
the hospital and he died aloneand with us, and he has us.
But because of thecircumstances, he ended up being
(15:41):
in this hospital, far away fromus, far away from his family in
the Cape, and he was theredying alone and he died alone.
And for me, that keeps me upevery night because I can't
believe that happened and Iwasn't next to him just to let
(16:02):
him have somebody, just say it'sokay, uncle, you can go um, or
just having somebody.
Um breaks my heart, it reallydoes.
That he went through that alone,um, and with that being said,
even if you don't have anorganization like this listeners
, in your area you can findretirement villages or care
(16:25):
units where a lot of elderlyfolk, as you've mentioned before
, are in their final days, oryou cancer patients that don't
have very long to live and theymight not have family members.
You can find that person.
There is always that person.
There are a lot of people thatdon't have loved ones, that are
dying by themselves.
So, yeah, this is quite animportant one for me, so that
(16:50):
tugs on my heart.
So we'll leave all theinformation in the show notes
below listeners and find outwhere the closest one is to you
and support however you can.
Thank you very much, elizabeth,for this time that you've
shared with us today.
We are going to go intosomething a little bit more
lighthearted and play a littlebit of a game called Two Truths
(17:11):
and a Lie.
I don't know if any one of youhave played it before, but
basically you just mentionedthree statements.
Two of them will be true aboutyourself and then one won't be
true, and we have to guess what.
That is the lie.
Tanya Scotece (17:27):
So, tanya, would you mind just yeah, Shireen, I
just first of all want toexpress my condolences.
I did not know about youruncle's passing, and so I just
want you to know that you knowmy heart and my heart and
thoughts are with you.
So I appreciate you, Thank you.
Elizabeth Fournier (17:43):
All right.
So be gentle on yourself,shireen.
Be gentle that's a reallyimportant thing to, just because
you did the best you could.
The situation wasn't ideal andhe's fine and I'm sure, has a
lot of forgiveness and love andit's good, you know, even though
(18:03):
it feels weird.
Tanya Scotece (18:04):
Yeah, yeah, allow yourself to move through that,
thank you yeah yeah okay, so ourum, our wrap-up, um game
shereen, it's two truths and alie.
Is that correct?
Yes, okay, okay, here we go.
So, ladies, we have to guesswhat is the lie out of these
(18:27):
three statements?
Okay so, I love to travel, Ihave a cat.
My favorite food is caviar.
Shireen Botha (18:39):
I'm going to say you don't have a cat.
I think I know this one.
No way.
Tanya Scotece (18:46):
So Shireen says I okay, let's, let's think about
it again.
Shireen Botha (18:52):
I'm gonna say you don't have a cat because you
we've met.
No, you don't have a catbecause you always are dog
sitting for your friends, so youdon't have a cat.
Tanya Scotece (19:00):
That's the lie how about you, elizabeth?
Which one do you think?
Elizabeth Fournier (19:13):
Oh well, okay, I'm going to.
Well, are you a decadent caviarlady?
Maybe you are.
Of course, Of course.
Tanya Scotece (19:22):
My favorite food.
It is like I could eat it.
First of all, all it's not thatI get it often, okay, so let me
let the listeners just say it'snot that I get it often.
But if somebody wants to get mea gift, like, like an ultimate
gift, it would be black caviar,and I don't need anything except
a spoon or a little butterknife and I just eat it, like,
(19:43):
just like that, in one sitting.
I cannot even put in the fridge.
So it's, yeah, it's a hardcorecaviar.
So, shereen, you are correct, Ido not have a cat.
Shireen Botha (19:52):
Oh, my gosh, elizabeth, let's, let's, go to
you.
That was a good one, tanya.
Go for it, elizabeth that'sgood.
Elizabeth Fournier (20:02):
That's good, that's good.
Okay, all right.
I have summited three mountains, I have three tattoos and I
currently gosh there's just somany fun ones to think about and
(20:26):
I currently stuck my fork in acan of garbanzo beans and that
was my breakfast see, this is alittle bit difficult because we
don't really know you that well,so I'm gonna say well, I'm
speaking for myself.
Shireen Botha (20:42):
Yeah, I'm going to say that that you don't have
three tattoos, you only have two.
Tanya Scotece (20:58):
I don't know how many or lack thereof, but I'm
gonna say I don't think you havetattoos, so I don't think
that's a bad guess okay, um.
Elizabeth Fournier (21:10):
So I do love garbanzo beans out of the can
and I have summited threemountains.
No tattoos, good job no tattoos.
Tanya Scotece (21:17):
Okay, yay, we win , we win.
Good for us, good for us.
Okay.
How about you shireen?
We gotta hear from you allright.
Shireen Botha (21:26):
So now I'm gonna try and, and and to get things
that tanya, uh haven't spoken totanya about, so maybe I can
catch tanya, because she knowsme quite well now.
Um, two truths, two truths, onelie.
I have never seen snow before,I have only owned one fur baby
(21:55):
in my life and I have put out afire in the overhead storage in
flights.
I think you've heard thatbefore, tanya, but I don't know
if you know if it's a true orlie.
So which one is the lie?
Elizabeth Fournier (22:13):
I'm gonna say snow just because of where
you live, but I guess you can'ttravel, so no that's a tough one
, shireen.
Tanya Scotece (22:25):
Um, let me see.
So I I'm gonna go with I, Iknow, I know about the fur baby,
I know the one, so I'm gonnasay that one is the lie.
Maybe you've had two, I don'tknow.
Shireen Botha (22:46):
Well, the lie is the fact that I have never seen
snow Really.
Tanya Scotece (22:50):
Oh, okay, I have never, seen snow, okay, okay,
wow.
So what's the lie?
You have seen snow, I have seensnow, wow.
So what's the lie?
Oh, you have seen snow.
Shireen Botha (23:06):
I have seen snow, so I've never seen snow.
That's not true.
I have seen snow.
Okay, so that brings us to thefur baby.
Tanya Scotece (23:17):
One the fur baby was.
You had one One fur baby RightRight, okay, that's my one.
And I baby was.
You had one one fur baby right,right, okay, that's my one.
Elizabeth Fournier (23:22):
And I know about the fire and this airplane
thing happened.
Shireen Botha (23:26):
Yeah, that's true .
Elizabeth Fournier (23:29):
Yes, and you put out a fire in an overhead
department on a plane.
Shireen Botha (23:33):
Yes, because I used to work With what?
With a fire extinguisher.
Because I used to work on boardplanes.
So we had a fire extinguisherin the galley and the passengers
alerted us to the smoke comingout of the overhead storage.
I jumped into action, got thefire extinguisher and fought the
(23:58):
fire, and there you have it.
Elizabeth Fournier (24:01):
Was it a lit candle?
What was it?
Shireen Botha (24:05):
it was batteries that weren't stored correctly,
so they were just thrown in.
As a block bed was twobatteries that were supposed to
go into one of those um vapes,and he had just thrown it into a
bag, wouldn't store itcorrectly, and so they created
heat and friction which caused afire which ignited the bag and
(24:27):
ignited the bag next to it.
And so, yeah, yeah, crazy, wow,there's, that's yeah, wow, I,
what a podcast I am.
Tanya Scotece (24:39):
This is like delightful, like I really feel
like I could spend the rest ofthe day with you, ladies and uh,
but it's been amazing yeah,thank you so much, listeners,
for listening we.
Shireen Botha (24:49):
We have come to the end, so, uh, this is the
time where we just share, whereyou can actually connect with us
.
If you feel connected and youwant to ask questions, you can
reach us.
Where tanya go?
You start?
Where can the listeners reachyou?
Tanya Scotece (25:04):
Sure.
So most of my students know ofElizabeth Fournier, the Green
Reaper, so super excited forthis podcast, so I'll definitely
be sharing with my students.
So most of you know I can befound on LinkedIn because I
don't have a TV or any otheroutlet to do social media, so
LinkedIn is my hub.
I oversee the mortuary programat Miami Dade College, so
(25:27):
perhaps some of you listenersout there may decide it is time
to change careers and become afuneral director.
I also oversee senior placement, matching people with
communities who can no longerlive alone, specializing in
memory care and the dementiapatients.
(25:48):
So that is an expertise that Idid because of my father and I
truly call it my blessed work.
I also serve frequently as anexpert witness in funeral home
and cemetery litigation cases.
That has actually taken off.
I could probably do that fulltime if I wanted to.
So those are the three areasthat you can find me LinkedIn,
and I'm sure Shereen will putthe information in the show
notes.
Okay, and Elizabeth, as weshare your contact information,
(26:11):
feel free to also elaborate onanything that we did not ask you
where you feel that it'simportant to have the listeners
know, as you share your contactinformation.
Elizabeth Fournier (26:23):
Sure.
So my website,cornerstonefuneralcom.
The reason why I give that is,of course, not everybody in my
area, but I am someone who doesthis work and consider yourself
having a mortician friend thatyou can actually email, call,
get a hold of.
You can even text the funeralhome number.
(26:44):
People have questions all thetime, such as what happens with
social security and my person'sa veteran.
What do I get?
And I can answer just vague,broad, general green questions,
funeral questions, happy to help.
So I'm in the town of BoringOregon Never gets boring.
I'm on Instagram, too, and I doa lot of photos of what natural
(27:05):
organic reduction looks likeand this is a beautiful shroud
and I'm at Elizabeth GreenReaper.
I'm on a couple other socialmedias, but not overly active on
them, and the information thatI just want to get out there is
sort of what I was sharing withShireen is we need to be really
gentle on ourselves Death isreally hard it's the hardest
(27:26):
thing that we go through, nomatter what the scenario is and
really being forgiving andgentle and loving towards
ourselves, because it's nevergoing to be the perfect scenario
.
There's so much would have,could have, should have have,
but ultimately, especially inreference to the person who's
passed away.
They're doing great.
They're doing better than ushere who are left behind.
(27:46):
They're fine, they're at peaceand we need to again just love
ourselves, thank you shereen?
Tanya Scotece (27:56):
how about you?
Where can we find you?
Shireen Botha (27:58):
yeah, so you can find me at all the social medias
.
I'm there, but Shireen'sbookkeeping is mostly on
LinkedIn and Instagram, moreimportantly, the
friendsfromwildplaces.
buzzsprout.
com.
That is the websitefriendsfromwildplaces.
buzzsprout.
com, but you can find thepodcast on all of the platforms,
(28:20):
from apple iTunes to Deezer toSpotify.
You just have to search forfriends from wild places.
You'll find us.
Um and please, once again, it'sjust a friendly reminder that
if you want to support us alittle bit more, please go
subscribe for a small amount offive dollars a month.
We'd really appreciate it.
But other than that, thank youso much for listening.
(28:40):
Once again, we reallyappreciate you and remember you
got this and stay wild.
Voiceover (28:47):
bye guys, bye, bye you've been listening to friends
from wild places with ShireenBotha.
Be sure to subscribe to thepodcast from the links to catch
every episode and unleash yourpassion.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.