WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:02.520 Hi, I'm Clayton Vandiver, your Lightkeeper, and 00:00:02.520 --> 00:00:04.219 this summer we have a special treat for you. 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:07.759 It's called Lightkeepers Podcast Shorts. That's 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:10.279 not a new clothing line, but that's a great idea. 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:13.439 Actually, it's short episodes under 10 minutes 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:16.879 long of our most popular Lightkeepers Podcast 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:23.190 episodes. This is part two. Enjoy. Welcome to 00:00:23.190 --> 00:00:25.929 the Light Keepers podcast. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:00:26.070 --> 00:00:28.629 your Light Keeper, with a show dedicated to everyone 00:00:28.629 --> 00:00:31.429 who wants to get the most quality out of life 00:00:31.429 --> 00:00:34.130 that they can. We don't talk about the end of 00:00:34.130 --> 00:00:37.710 life. We focus on the quality of each and every 00:00:37.710 --> 00:00:41.630 remaining day. My co -host, as always, is Charlene, 00:00:41.670 --> 00:00:44.729 our very own tame, licensed clinical social worker 00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:47.549 certified in the state of Florida. We invite 00:00:47.549 --> 00:00:50.950 you to join the conversation this week about... 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:56.340 Clayton and Charlene. And so much more on this 00:00:56.340 --> 00:01:29.319 edition of the Light Keepers Podcast. And before 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:31.599 we start, I'd like to invite you to please leave 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:34.079 your questions or comments below. We always love 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:37.079 to hear from our listeners and viewers. If you 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:41.739 think of this show as sort of like Tool Time 00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:48.000 or what was Bob Vila's show, This Old House on 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.079 PBS. So if you look at this show a little bit 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:54.120 like that, I'm kind of like Tim Allen. I'm kind 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:59.150 of like Bob Vila. I'm the guy who knows how to 00:01:59.150 --> 00:02:01.969 present, knows how to ask the man on the street 00:02:01.969 --> 00:02:05.049 questions that you might ask, and doesn't know 00:02:05.049 --> 00:02:07.269 anything about actually doing the work. Well, 00:02:07.329 --> 00:02:10.629 Bob Vila does. But if you think about Tim Allen 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:12.909 in Tool Time, he knew how to say, you know, hey, 00:02:12.930 --> 00:02:16.110 Al Borland, tell me, we're going to be painting 00:02:16.110 --> 00:02:19.689 this now. What kind of paint would you use? And 00:02:19.689 --> 00:02:23.210 that's exactly who I am. I started my career 00:02:23.210 --> 00:02:27.020 45 years ago. Yes, that always makes me feel 00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:30.879 really old. But I started my career 45 years 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:33.199 ago in broadcast radio and television in Los 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:35.780 Angeles, attending California State University. 00:02:35.860 --> 00:02:38.000 Now, that's where Steven Spielberg and Steve 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:42.520 Martin got their starts. And like Spielberg, 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.599 I then began directing and producing productions, 00:02:45.060 --> 00:02:47.800 mostly with much smaller budgets than he did. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:50.939 And like Martin, I occasionally tell jokes and 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:55.490 play the banjo. But after 10 years on the West 00:02:55.490 --> 00:02:58.030 Coast, I returned to my hometown of Jacksonville, 00:02:58.050 --> 00:03:01.150 Florida to help take care of my parents. So I've 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:03.849 had a tiny bit of very unprofessional experience 00:03:03.849 --> 00:03:07.250 in caring for those, you know, who were going 00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:11.810 through their own life changes. And I wanted 00:03:11.810 --> 00:03:14.270 to make a career in broadcasting where I could 00:03:14.270 --> 00:03:16.889 be more involved in every aspect of the productions. 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:20.289 In Los Angeles, you get sort of pigeonholed. 00:03:20.460 --> 00:03:22.360 If you start out as one thing, that's pretty 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:23.919 much what you're going to do the rest of your 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.539 career. But after working on the side with our 00:03:26.539 --> 00:03:29.560 region's leading television newsroom, I built 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:32.900 a production company and produced thousands of 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:35.520 television commercials, hundreds of corporate 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:38.479 and industrial videos, television shows that 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.180 aired on BET, INSP, TBN, and Home and Garden 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:46.099 Television, HGTV, where I was the voice of American 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:48.979 horticulture. Some of you may have heard that, 00:03:49.020 --> 00:03:51.539 I don't know, back in the 90s. Along the way, 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:54.479 I began teaching college classes in media and 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:57.020 film, completed my master's in education, my 00:03:57.020 --> 00:04:01.500 master's in business, and my learning continues, 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:05.300 probably to my last breath, because even now 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:09.699 I'm finishing a PhD in communication. So, you 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:12.699 know, my education will continue, possibly even 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:16.110 beyond my last breath. But let me tell you some 00:04:16.110 --> 00:04:20.410 staggering numbers. 20 ,000 hours of broadcast 00:04:20.410 --> 00:04:24.769 radio. 50 ,000 hours of broadcast television 00:04:24.769 --> 00:04:28.009 I've been involved in the production of. And 00:04:28.009 --> 00:04:31.170 that makes me feel very old but very excited 00:04:31.170 --> 00:04:34.329 for the next possible step in this great adventure 00:04:34.329 --> 00:04:38.470 that I'm in. And that's why I love sharing all 00:04:38.470 --> 00:04:40.430 of the information that you have to bring to 00:04:40.430 --> 00:04:43.360 our viewers and to our listeners. each and every 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:47.819 week, just like this. So I've introduced Charlene 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:49.680 as a licensed clinical social worker, myself 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:52.959 as a professional broadcaster, and she has a 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:55.600 lot more letters after her name because of all 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:58.000 the qualifications she has. What does that mean 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:00.920 for our audience? So what that means for our 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:05.410 audience is... I know how to give them the guidance 00:05:05.410 --> 00:05:08.250 and support that they need to get through difficult 00:05:08.250 --> 00:05:10.870 situations if they have a loved one who has a 00:05:10.870 --> 00:05:14.089 life -limiting illness or a terminal diagnosis. 00:05:14.569 --> 00:05:16.870 But I may not know the best ways to get it out 00:05:16.870 --> 00:05:19.709 there in front of them. You know the best ways 00:05:19.709 --> 00:05:21.310 to get it out there in front of them, but you 00:05:21.310 --> 00:05:23.629 can't really provide that guidance and support, 00:05:23.810 --> 00:05:26.589 at least not ethically or legally. That's correct. 00:05:26.870 --> 00:05:29.149 But I do know how to get you in front of the 00:05:29.149 --> 00:05:31.829 camera so that you can get it out there. So together. 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.980 There you go. Together. Just like Tim Allen and 00:05:35.980 --> 00:05:39.379 Al Borland. I don't think so, Tim. Tim the tool. 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:45.779 Well, so you've been a lifelong and very dedicated 00:05:45.779 --> 00:05:48.019 patient advocate in all of your roles. Where 00:05:48.019 --> 00:05:50.959 all of you worked? Oh, my goodness. Well, as 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:54.480 I mentioned, I have worked in hospice, which 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:58.139 I feel is my true calling, my true support. That's 00:05:58.139 --> 00:06:03.220 where I feel most. At home, oddly enough, I worked 00:06:03.220 --> 00:06:06.379 in hospice for over five years where I helped 00:06:06.379 --> 00:06:09.579 support probably the better part of 10 ,000 to 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:12.959 15 ,000 individuals as they came to the end of 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.620 their life and supported their families as they 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:20.639 went through that process. I worked in the crisis 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:24.319 care unit for hospice patients, which is basically 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:26.420 where patients come when their care can no longer 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:30.439 be managed at home or in a home setting. So there 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:35.579 I was able to provide support. I have seen people 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:40.019 die, thousands of people, which as a social worker, 00:06:40.220 --> 00:06:44.720 as a medical social worker, to me that's normal. 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:48.319 I have seen that so many times that it doesn't 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.120 faze me anymore. And it was really interesting 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.180 because when I went to work in the hospital, 00:06:53.300 --> 00:06:57.680 in the ICU and in the trauma department, The 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:00.519 first time one of my fellow social workers actually 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:05.040 saw someone die, they didn't know what to do, 00:07:05.160 --> 00:07:09.019 and it surprised me. I have taken for granted 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:11.560 all this time. That was their first experience? 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:16.920 Yes, and so I took for granted how little experience 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:20.360 people have with that, and that really got me 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:24.100 thinking, you know, if another social worker 00:07:24.100 --> 00:07:26.689 who has the training that I do can be caught 00:07:26.689 --> 00:07:29.189 off guard with that. That's a good point. Then 00:07:29.189 --> 00:07:34.230 how earth -shattering must that be for a family 00:07:34.230 --> 00:07:36.850 member or a loved one who's watching someone 00:07:36.850 --> 00:07:39.970 go through that? And who it's happening for them 00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:41.949 for the very first time, and it's someone they 00:07:41.949 --> 00:07:46.360 actually... truly have an investment in yeah 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:49.639 it really gave me a change in perspective and 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:53.980 working in the icu i got to see firsthand especially 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:57.279 partnering with the trauma department how when 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:02.240 someone is faced with that reality suddenly um 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:05.120 you know there wasn't the long illness and the 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.300 long decline this is someone who had a catastrophic 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:12.860 event and they're now dealing with this in a 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:15.699 very limited amount of time. And so that brings 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:18.779 about a completely different set of stressors. 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:23.600 So it was good and valuable experience. Of course. 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:28.439 Well, and again, it's very exciting for me to 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:30.980 be able to bring this level of experience to 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:33.919 listeners and viewers because, especially on 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:36.600 a topic that you don't... find people talking 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:38.879 about every day, especially one that's considered 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:42.340 almost taboo. Because, you know, we talk about 00:08:42.340 --> 00:08:47.220 things that sort of lead toward oftentimes the 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:49.580 end of days. We don't focus on the end of days. 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:51.919 We focus on the quality of life that you can 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:54.639 still get leading to that point. In society, 00:08:54.940 --> 00:08:58.669 they're really... only two ends of the spectrum. 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:01.590 And that's what society focuses on. You have 00:09:01.590 --> 00:09:04.269 the one end of the spectrum where it's taboo, 00:09:04.289 --> 00:09:06.029 you don't want to talk about it. If you talk 00:09:06.029 --> 00:09:08.490 about it, you run the risk of bringing it to 00:09:08.490 --> 00:09:12.269 fruition, best swept under the rug and ignored. 00:09:12.549 --> 00:09:15.070 And on the other end of the spectrum, you have 00:09:15.070 --> 00:09:17.570 the commercial industry that deals with death 00:09:17.570 --> 00:09:21.009 where they almost romanticize it to the point 00:09:21.009 --> 00:09:26.559 where I feel like it takes away its sting. Death 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:29.679 is painful and it should be because that places 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:32.720 the value on life and relationships. And if you 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.639 don't have that pain that comes with the loss, 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:40.080 then that life and that relationship had no value. 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:45.659 So what I want to do with this show and with 00:09:45.659 --> 00:09:48.620 A Guiding Light is to help people find that in 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:52.600 between where they're educated about it and they 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:54.679 know enough about it to take some of the fear 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:57.659 away from it. but to help maintain that value. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:03.299 Absolutely. Well, and I love bringing this information 00:10:03.299 --> 00:10:09.120 to the public through you because it's so important 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:12.860 to open this conversation and make it a little 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:15.759 bit less taboo, I believe. Absolutely. And that's 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:20.460 sort of my mission in creating this show. roping 00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:22.779 you into being a part of it. No, it was a cooperative 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:27.159 effort. The thing is, and this is what a lot 00:10:27.159 --> 00:10:32.919 of people ignore, death is a part of life. None 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:35.740 of us are going to get out of life alive. This 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:40.980 is true. Kind of like Dame Maggie Smith said 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:46.370 in Harry Potter, I love this line. When someone 00:10:46.370 --> 00:10:49.049 refers to Voldemort as he who must not be named, 00:10:49.070 --> 00:10:51.470 and she says his name is Voldemort, he's going 00:10:51.470 --> 00:10:54.590 to try to kill you, you may as well say his name. 00:10:55.149 --> 00:10:57.230 It's not going to make a bit of difference. No, 00:10:57.230 --> 00:10:59.490 death is going to happen. It's still going to 00:10:59.490 --> 00:11:02.850 happen. We don't want it to happen soon. But 00:11:02.850 --> 00:11:05.429 not talking about it does nothing but get us 00:11:05.429 --> 00:11:08.429 to that point unprepared. Oh, and that's the 00:11:08.429 --> 00:11:10.870 whole point of this conversation and the whole 00:11:10.870 --> 00:11:13.169 point of people joining us for this conversation 00:11:13.169 --> 00:11:17.110 and weighing in with comments down below, which 00:11:17.110 --> 00:11:20.190 we will definitely address and help you with 00:11:20.190 --> 00:11:23.009 to the best of our abilities because this is 00:11:23.009 --> 00:11:26.190 a person who has the resources to do so. And 00:11:26.190 --> 00:11:28.509 I certainly have the resources to help her put 00:11:28.509 --> 00:11:31.490 this message out to everyone each and every week. 00:11:31.909 --> 00:11:35.309 Now, a thought to end the show with, why I'm 00:11:35.309 --> 00:11:37.679 called the Light Keeper. It's very simple. The 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:40.559 light has been used for thousands of years, the 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:44.179 word light, through many cultures, many civilizations, 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:47.899 and by many very learned people to refer to the 00:11:47.899 --> 00:11:51.659 concept of knowledge, of education, of experience. 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:54.899 To gain more light is to be introduced to new 00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:58.960 ideas and new thoughts and new information that 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:02.879 is meaningful to your life. So I take the role 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:06.070 of light keeper. very seriously for that reason. 00:12:06.149 --> 00:12:09.909 I'm a trained educator and broadcaster. I know 00:12:09.909 --> 00:12:12.110 how to find information, process that information, 00:12:12.529 --> 00:12:15.570 and how to share it with an audience. The light 00:12:15.570 --> 00:12:17.529 from a lighthouse can tell you where the dangerous 00:12:17.529 --> 00:12:21.850 rocks are to avoid and where the harbor is to 00:12:21.850 --> 00:12:25.370 find your safety and comfort. A guiding light 00:12:25.370 --> 00:12:29.690 is the organization, and each and every week, 00:12:29.769 --> 00:12:33.620 I'm the light keeper. We'll see you here.