Episode #13 Great Friends and a Garden Cart: Food Bank Super Friends Part 1 (featuring Leo Stoll and Nicholas Ohlson-Kiehn)

Show notes:

Hello, so before I introduce this episode’s guests, that’s right, plural guests, as in two, I wanted to take a moment to share a little more about this process and what surprises me.

Thus far, I am most surprised about what I learn about guests I am getting to know. 

 I am even more surprised about the things I learn about guests that I already know. 

I’m also surprised about the direction I think a conversation will go, and where it actually ends.

 It surprises me when I have an idea about the content of an episode, and that idea becomes secondary to layers of the other great stuff that adds depth, and dimension.

I’m surprised that the worry of having enough to say, quickly fades as people tell there story and talk about their super powers.

I’m surprised how gracious people are when things don’t go as planned.

I wasn’t planning on losing 15 minutes of this interview. But I did. I am sure that you won’t notice, but I bring it up because of what was shared. Back to this in a moment.

This week's guests are two extraordinary young men, Leo Stoll and Nick Ohlson-Kiehn. They are movers and shakers, neighbors, and lifetime friends. Lucky for me, they happen to be my neighbors too! Like great pals do, they commonly find themselves  involved in everything from roaming the neighborhood, playing video games, taking family vacations, and being a part of each other's bubble during a pandemic together. And, it turns out, Leo and Nick, 12 years of age, spent the summer and fall of the pandemic running a garden cart that would raise funds for the Thurston County Food Bank. 

Of course I love their story of working to help support those in our community going through challenging times, and they tell this beautifully. I am equally moved and inspired by their friendship. I love listening to how they support each other, talk to each other, and lift each other up. Getting to know Leo and Nick through this interview has also left me feeling more hopeful for our world and our future leaders, and grateful for all of the people in my neighborhood, and gobsmacked at what a couple of kind, capable, and connected kids can do!

Back to the lost content that slipped into the cosmic ether….. At one point in the interview, I told these guys that I thought they were movers and shakers and asked them what being a “mover and shaker” meant to them. They replied that movers and shakers do things that help make their communities better!

I also asked them if they wanted an opportunity to talk about any of those who helped make their project possible. Their reply was of the support that they received from their parents in building a garden, a green house for starts, a cart, and encouragement, and, for all of the terrific people of the neighborhood who supported their cause. 

 Without any further crying over lost conversation, I am pulling weeds to introduce Leo Stoll, and Nick Ohlson Kiehn.

Post Show Notes: I loved talking with Leo and Nicholas. I appreciate their participation in this conversation, their generosity of spirit, and their beautiful modeling of friendship and caring for eachother and their community!

Resources:

Thurston County Food Bank:

Address: 220 Thurston Ave NE, Olympia, WA 98501

(360) 352-8597