VOA CONNECT
EPISODE 75
AIR DATE 06 21 2019
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Burning Rubber
((SOT))
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Well, the dangers here on an open road where we ride are the oncoming traffic. They come into our lane and when they do that, they really jeopardize our safety because we could be coming around a blind corner and not know they are there.
((NATS))
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Higher Place
((SOT))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I climb in a traditional style, which means that I have specific gear that's designed for placing in a crack and as I climb, that gear catches me if I fall.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Problem Solved
((SOT))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
One of my biggest rules of crisis management is what I call the karmic cockroach test. This is a litmus test to use in crisis, to know whether youre going in the right path or not.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((Banner: Move it!!))
((PKG)) STREET LUGE
((Banner: Racing Downhill))
((Reporter/Camera: Arturo Martnez))
((Map:Boise, Idaho))
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Sometimes we let our age, we let our number define us. It's like grey hair bothers so many people and it just limits happiness. I think once we can become comfortable with who we are and what we're doing and create a life that we love, it changes everything.
My name is CJ Wilkinson and I'm a mom, a hospice nurse, but when I'm riding my street luge downhill, people know me as Mama Wilky.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
All right, lets go.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
People think I'm a real thrill seeker, and I find it thrilling, but it's also very peaceful. Its almost a spiritual experience for me. It's so quiet in my helmet.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Street luge helps get rid of the anxiety and the stress and depression that sometimes I'm dogged with. Working as a hospice nurse, it can be really challenging and I feel heartbroken sometimes, and it just provides a release so I can come back and be as good as ever the next day. It's almost like flying on the earth.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Not too fast. I'm old.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Next week, I'll be 55 years old and I started about three years ago. It was a really challenging time. I got sick after running my last half marathon in 2011 and it took years before we figured out what was wrong and eventually I ended up unable to work and in bed most days.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
This is what it looks like to wake up with Lyme disease. Very hard.
((Dean Wilkinson, Street Luger))
I know you thought you were gonna die.
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
I was told I was probably not going to make it, remember?
((Dean Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Yeah. Luge gave her motivation to keep going because otherwise she was ready to give up, and we found the low dose immunotherapy. That was a key thing that turned things around and made a big difference.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
It's still part of my stay well strategy and I can't imagine not doing this.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
My downhill family feels like just a bouquet of wild flowers. We're all unique, but we make a beautiful thing when we come together.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
So, I am the skate mom of the community. I love all the people I ride with and I just bring them under my wing and make them my own and they don't seem to mind.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
We dont litter, Cade. You cant litter.
((Cade Keller, Street Luger))
Its biodegradable.
((Brandon Ayllon, Street Luger))
Mom yelled at you.
((Cade Keller, Street Luger))
Shut up.
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
It is not biodegradable.
((NATS))
((Brandon Ayllon, Street Luger))
She's Mama Wilky all the way. I mean, like, every time we go down the hill, she makes sure we have everything. If we fall or if anything's happening, she's right there if you need anyone to hear you out. She's my other mother, that's all.
((Cade Keller, Street Luger))
You don't see a lot of women skating and you also don't see a lot of older women skating, so it's kind of abnormal.
((Brandon Ayllon, Street Luger))
My favourite part is that she's super fast. Shes faster than all of us.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Although it's a male dominated sport, the women are starting to catch on and we actually had our first women's division two years ago.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Isnt this the greatest adventure?
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
The maximum speed that Ive achieved was 70 miles an hour in a training run in Colorado. It was mind boggling. It was so fast.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Well, the dangers here on an open road where we ride are the oncoming traffic. They come into our lane and when they do that, they really jeopardize our safety because we could be coming around a blind corner and not know they are there. My husband worries a lot. He's kind of a worrywart, actually.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
He drives for me. We have a truck that follows us down. He drives it and that prevents any traffic from coming from behind and overcoming us.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Best driver in the business. I love you man. He does support me. He gets up at dawn and drives me and he also joins me when he rides his gravity bike.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
And they call him Papa.
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
I hope that I encourage other women. Whatever your passion is, if it lights your heart on fire, start it back up. Anything's possible at any age. Just keep doing what you love.
((NATS))
((PKG)) SECRET SERVICE DRIVERS
((Banner: Secret Service Drivers))
((Reporter: Steve Herman))
((Producer: Elizabeth Cherneff))
((Camera: Michael Burke, Marcus Harton))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Laurel, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Pop-Up Banner: U.S. Secret Service driver training began in 1970))
((NATS))
((Lloyd Llamas, Officer, United States Secret Service))
When the first time I saw the instructors demoing (demonstrating) the cone course, I told myself, like, Oh man, its going to be a long day for me. Three, four, five, sometimes eight hours of just running through the course, again and again, made me a better driver.
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
We are teaching protective driving in support of the Secret Services protective mission. So, thats a little bit different than just driving yourself on the expressway. You now have to think about not just yourself but the people that are inside the vehicle with you, which may be the president or the vice president.
((NATS))
((Instructor, classroom))
Alright, so again, were keeping our eyes up, looking down range, always scanning for threats, always looking for threats. Looking forward, trying to be alert, anticipating the actions of others, and seeing what we have out there. Alright?
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
Most every car offered today has anti-lock brakes. Because every car now has anti-locks, you can teach our drivers, the people that come out here, to utilize those anti-lock brakes, so they know what they feel like. Its not, it would not be a shock to them if the car had locked up on them.
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
Stability control has come a long way. Years ago, the stability control on a car didnt exist, but because its so good nowadays, weve actually been able to take out certain portions of our training because a car will do the majority of the work for you.
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
Tire technology has advanced. Tires last a long time today, but furthermore, theres a much grippier compound, even in the wet.
((NATS))
((Lloyd Llamas, Officer, United States Secret Service))
Im an experienced rider, but when I went through with this, Im like, no, Im really humbled.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Jumping Into Smoke
((SOT))
((NATS))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
It's uncomfortable. It's tight. It's hot, but I love it and it gets me excited, because I know what comes next is the fun part.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((Banner: Life at Extremes))
((PKG)) PAMELA SHANTI PACK -- OFF-WIDTH CLIMBER
((Banner: Going Up))
((Reporter/Camera:Arturo Martinez))
((Drone & high angle shots: Sylvan Christensen))
((GoPro footage: Clark Glenn))
((Map:Not far from Moab in Utah))
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Really, I think I was born to be an off-width climber. That was what my body was designed for and clearly it was what my personality was designed for, because it requires an ability to believe in yourself beyond your physical capacity.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack. Off-width climber))
My name is Pamela Shanti Pack, and I'm a professional rock climber.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Utah is my favorite place to climb because we have these massive sandstone cliffs and often I'm the very first person to climb those particular cracks. So, it's like being some sort of an explorer.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I climb in a traditional style, which means that I have specific gear that's designed for placing in a crack and as I climb, that gear catches me if I fall. Choosing when to place the gear, whether you're going to place the gear, what are the chances you're going to fall, it just adds the component of reading the space as I climb and that makes it a little more exciting for me.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Being a professional rock climber as a woman is relatively new. When I started in this particular style, it was 2010. I was the first woman to devote myself to off-width climbing and there was a lot of resistance to that and I was criticized for everything. It didn't matter what. I was criticized for wearing my hair down. I was criticized for what I wore when I climbed. Ultimately, all that criticism really inspired me to continue climbing.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Alright. Good to go.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
It is a dangerous sport, so, there's a lot that goes into it. I've climbed despite having broken ribs and various other injuries. In a way, maybe that's a form of meditation. I'm able to put the pain in the background and I will make myself climb and allow myself to feel that pain after I finished the climb.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
And then this is an unpleasant moment where I am getting some blood work done after falling and needing to have surgery on my kidney. I've had two really bad injuries. The one was a fall where I had kidney surgery and then the other was that one where I had the back injury.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
It's always historically been, maybe, the least popular style of climbing there's ever been because of the physical brutality of this style. But I very quickly realized that it was a technically brilliant style and an artful style, and that I could change it, that I could find new routes, and that I could establish new techniques, and my focus, as I said many times, is to bring grace to the grovel.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I think my greatest passion or obsession, as a climber, aside from just climbing off-width, is looking for routes that are improbable. I'll drive down these canyons and I'll look for routes that no one else has seen before and it takes a certain eye, a lot of imagination, a lot of creativity. It's like being an artist, having the idea for a book, or the idea for a painting, and I'm just seeking out those ideas and then I'll create them. My emphasis is on finding lines that tell a really good story.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
One of the joys of establishing a route is then you get to name the route. One of them is named the kill artist so that probably gives you a little bit of an idea of what that experience is like.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I think as far as first two ascents now, I've lost track, but well over a 100 at this point.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
My father, Robert Pack, is a poet and he wrote this poem for me to express his apprehensions about my climbing but also to express his understanding for what I do.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Down on firm planet earth,
my wife and I share apprehensions
that are easy to explain
as dread of helplessness,
((Voice of Robert Pack, Poet and Pamelas father))
and yet without the ecstasies
in disciplined suspension of herbreath,
her almost weightless floating there,
perhaps the vast, unfathomable
uncertainty of parenthood
possesses in its dark abysmal depths
a mad exhilaration of its own.
((NATS))
((PKG)) SMOKEJUMPERS
((Banner: Coming Down))
((Reporter: Lesia Bakalets))
((Camera: Sergey Sokolov))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Grangeville, Idaho))
((Courtesy: USDA Forest Service/McCall Smokejumpers))
((NATS: Dont land in the lake!))
((Pop-Up Banner: The US Forest Service employs hundreds of wildland firefighters or smokejumpers))
((NATS))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
Once you land, your first action is to make sure that your jump partner is OK and that everyone there is OK.
((NATS: Oooh. Beautiful.))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
Once thats established, you talk to the ship thats still circling you and you let them know that everything went well and theyre going to kick out the cargo and theyll talk to you about where thats going to happen and when. And once thats all done, and everythings on the ground, you grab your PG (personal gear) gear, which is what you use out on the fire. This backpack comes with me and you take that and your Pulaski, your tool, and a couple of chainsaws and you go scout out the fire and make a plan and start fighting the fire.
((NATS: Static line, good condition.))
((Chris Young, Smokejumper Base Manager))
A smokejumper is an individual, a unique individual that is very skilled in fire suppression tactics. Typically, theyre used in an area of remoteness.
((NATS: Get ready!))
((Chris Young, Smokejumper Base Manager))
When we fly in, weve got an advantage. We get to see the fire from the air. So, were looking at the fire, and we can see where the winds are blowing, and where that fire typically wants to move to, and then we base that on where the safest place is. Were always doing risk assessment, and so, we try to put the jumpers on the ground in a very safe spot in relation to that fire. The Twin Otter will carry eight smokejumpers and all their cargo for approximately three days. And so, the first seat will typically just keep a Cubee (water jug) and some crosscut handles underneath it. The second seat will be a chainsaw. Third seat, once again, two more Cubees, and then the very last seat up there, well keep the last chainsaw. Well only carry two chainsaws for eight smokejumpers. The chainsaw is packaged up in a impact-proof cargo box.
((NATS))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
It's uncomfortable. It's tight. It's hot, but I love it and it gets me excited, because I know what comes next is the fun part. The fun part is getting to load up in the plane, getting a look at the fire from the air, size it up, and you get to jump out and go take care of business.
((Courtesy: USDA Forest Service/McCall Smoke Jumpers))
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up..
((Banner))
Crisis Management
((SOT))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
There are a couple of ways that its different being a woman in a high-powered position. Mostly I dont notice it.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((Banner: Keeping it Together))
((PKG)) CRISIS MANAGER
((Banner: Crisis Manager))
((Reporter: Dora Mekouar))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Adapted by: Bronwyn Benito))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
I fix things. Im probably just a natural fixer. I like to make them better and Im quite good at it. And Im quite good at knowing the right way to think, the right strategy to adopt to fix a problem.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Im Davia Temin. My company is Temin and Company. We are a boutique management consultancy. That means were a crisis management and reputation management firm. We work to create, enhance, and save reputations.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
I love to deal with every kind of crisis because it really is like a detective story. Its like a mystery that you have to uncover. How do you find, just the right thing to start to fix it?
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
I cant tell you who my clients are. Obviously, we sign nondisclosure agreements. They are a number of the Fortune 500 corporations.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
When companies come to us, when we work with them, they know who we are. Our reputation is to be a purpose driven, ethical, socially responsible crisis management firm. Now that doesnt mean that Im not competitive as all get out. That doesnt mean that I wont work on every single way, all the ways, to get to the right point and to have the client win but it means that well do it in the right way. And so, most companies that come to us share those values.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Most of the crises I work on, you havent heard of.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
My track record is pretty good. In fact, I am hard-pressed to think of a stratagem that didnt work in the end.
((NATS))
So, everybody talks about crisis being the new normal today and I believe it is because weve got so much in the world and it all comes at us at different angles.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
((NATS))
So, we can decide when want to publish it.
One of my crisis rules that I think is really, really important and its hard for people to understand when they are in a painful situation.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Pain gets better. And if you can remember that when you are in the moment of deepest pain, you wont panic. You wont do things you shouldnt do. You wont put in fixes that are the wrong fixes. Youll tough it out.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Some of the worst mistakes that you can make is to go into denial and not take action very quickly. The next is to give up your control. It is very interesting how many organizations have a tendency to just sort of, in a crisis, roll over. No, no, no, no, no. You learn how to fight. And you do it smart and you do it realistically but you learn how to fight. Another mistake you can make is to not apologize when you should apologize.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
An apology well done and one that is from the heart, not sort of a false apology, is really, really important.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
There are a couple of ways that its different being a woman in a high-powered position. Mostly I dont notice it.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
But what I am finding is that as a consultant, there is no HR department to make sure that people get paid the same amount. And I am competing. There is a subtle bias that I see that theyll pay men consultants more than women or theyll question it just a little bit more.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Its one of the last bastions of unconscious bias.
((NATS))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
About 13 years ago now, I was in the back of a taxi, and the driver went nuts. He went running red lights and he died in a crash that ensued. It was a huge crash. I almost lost my leg.
((NATS))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
In that moment, you have a little conversation with whomever, your maker, whomever it is. If you let me live, Ill give back. Ill make it count. You dont go into denial. You go into action. And all of a sudden, I figured out how I was going to save my life. I did it. I rolled onto the floor. It protected me from the impact. I used all of my crisis management rules in that moment and in the time around it to save my life. And I did save my life. They work. I promise you, they work.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Im going to be in the world. I am going to be creating value, not only for my firm and for us, but for others.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
One of my biggest rules of crisis management is what I call the karmic cockroach test. This is a litmus test to use in crisis, to know whether youre going in the right path or not. So, what I say is: if anything I say or my firm says or does or suggests to a client, that they say or do, will bring them back in the next life as a cockroach, you cant do it.
CLOSING ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
BREAK
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
EPISODE 75
AIR DATE 06 21 2019
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Burning Rubber
((SOT))
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Well, the dangers here on an open road where we ride are the oncoming traffic. They come into our lane and when they do that, they really jeopardize our safety because we could be coming around a blind corner and not know they are there.
((NATS))
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
A Higher Place
((SOT))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I climb in a traditional style, which means that I have specific gear that's designed for placing in a crack and as I climb, that gear catches me if I fall.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Problem Solved
((SOT))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
One of my biggest rules of crisis management is what I call the karmic cockroach test. This is a litmus test to use in crisis, to know whether youre going in the right path or not.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((Banner: Move it!!))
((PKG)) STREET LUGE
((Banner: Racing Downhill))
((Reporter/Camera: Arturo Martnez))
((Map:Boise, Idaho))
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Sometimes we let our age, we let our number define us. It's like grey hair bothers so many people and it just limits happiness. I think once we can become comfortable with who we are and what we're doing and create a life that we love, it changes everything.
My name is CJ Wilkinson and I'm a mom, a hospice nurse, but when I'm riding my street luge downhill, people know me as Mama Wilky.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
All right, lets go.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
People think I'm a real thrill seeker, and I find it thrilling, but it's also very peaceful. Its almost a spiritual experience for me. It's so quiet in my helmet.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Street luge helps get rid of the anxiety and the stress and depression that sometimes I'm dogged with. Working as a hospice nurse, it can be really challenging and I feel heartbroken sometimes, and it just provides a release so I can come back and be as good as ever the next day. It's almost like flying on the earth.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Not too fast. I'm old.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Next week, I'll be 55 years old and I started about three years ago. It was a really challenging time. I got sick after running my last half marathon in 2011 and it took years before we figured out what was wrong and eventually I ended up unable to work and in bed most days.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
This is what it looks like to wake up with Lyme disease. Very hard.
((Dean Wilkinson, Street Luger))
I know you thought you were gonna die.
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
I was told I was probably not going to make it, remember?
((Dean Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Yeah. Luge gave her motivation to keep going because otherwise she was ready to give up, and we found the low dose immunotherapy. That was a key thing that turned things around and made a big difference.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
It's still part of my stay well strategy and I can't imagine not doing this.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
My downhill family feels like just a bouquet of wild flowers. We're all unique, but we make a beautiful thing when we come together.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
So, I am the skate mom of the community. I love all the people I ride with and I just bring them under my wing and make them my own and they don't seem to mind.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
We dont litter, Cade. You cant litter.
((Cade Keller, Street Luger))
Its biodegradable.
((Brandon Ayllon, Street Luger))
Mom yelled at you.
((Cade Keller, Street Luger))
Shut up.
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
It is not biodegradable.
((NATS))
((Brandon Ayllon, Street Luger))
She's Mama Wilky all the way. I mean, like, every time we go down the hill, she makes sure we have everything. If we fall or if anything's happening, she's right there if you need anyone to hear you out. She's my other mother, that's all.
((Cade Keller, Street Luger))
You don't see a lot of women skating and you also don't see a lot of older women skating, so it's kind of abnormal.
((Brandon Ayllon, Street Luger))
My favourite part is that she's super fast. Shes faster than all of us.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Although it's a male dominated sport, the women are starting to catch on and we actually had our first women's division two years ago.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Isnt this the greatest adventure?
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
The maximum speed that Ive achieved was 70 miles an hour in a training run in Colorado. It was mind boggling. It was so fast.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Well, the dangers here on an open road where we ride are the oncoming traffic. They come into our lane and when they do that, they really jeopardize our safety because we could be coming around a blind corner and not know they are there. My husband worries a lot. He's kind of a worrywart, actually.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
He drives for me. We have a truck that follows us down. He drives it and that prevents any traffic from coming from behind and overcoming us.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
Best driver in the business. I love you man. He does support me. He gets up at dawn and drives me and he also joins me when he rides his gravity bike.
((NATS))
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
And they call him Papa.
((CJ Wilkinson, Street Luger))
I hope that I encourage other women. Whatever your passion is, if it lights your heart on fire, start it back up. Anything's possible at any age. Just keep doing what you love.
((NATS))
((PKG)) SECRET SERVICE DRIVERS
((Banner: Secret Service Drivers))
((Reporter: Steve Herman))
((Producer: Elizabeth Cherneff))
((Camera: Michael Burke, Marcus Harton))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Laurel, Maryland))
((NATS))
((Pop-Up Banner: U.S. Secret Service driver training began in 1970))
((NATS))
((Lloyd Llamas, Officer, United States Secret Service))
When the first time I saw the instructors demoing (demonstrating) the cone course, I told myself, like, Oh man, its going to be a long day for me. Three, four, five, sometimes eight hours of just running through the course, again and again, made me a better driver.
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
We are teaching protective driving in support of the Secret Services protective mission. So, thats a little bit different than just driving yourself on the expressway. You now have to think about not just yourself but the people that are inside the vehicle with you, which may be the president or the vice president.
((NATS))
((Instructor, classroom))
Alright, so again, were keeping our eyes up, looking down range, always scanning for threats, always looking for threats. Looking forward, trying to be alert, anticipating the actions of others, and seeing what we have out there. Alright?
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
Most every car offered today has anti-lock brakes. Because every car now has anti-locks, you can teach our drivers, the people that come out here, to utilize those anti-lock brakes, so they know what they feel like. Its not, it would not be a shock to them if the car had locked up on them.
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
Stability control has come a long way. Years ago, the stability control on a car didnt exist, but because its so good nowadays, weve actually been able to take out certain portions of our training because a car will do the majority of the work for you.
((NATS))
((Thomas Murach, Asst. to Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service))
Tire technology has advanced. Tires last a long time today, but furthermore, theres a much grippier compound, even in the wet.
((NATS))
((Lloyd Llamas, Officer, United States Secret Service))
Im an experienced rider, but when I went through with this, Im like, no, Im really humbled.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Jumping Into Smoke
((SOT))
((NATS))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
It's uncomfortable. It's tight. It's hot, but I love it and it gets me excited, because I know what comes next is the fun part.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((Banner: Life at Extremes))
((PKG)) PAMELA SHANTI PACK -- OFF-WIDTH CLIMBER
((Banner: Going Up))
((Reporter/Camera:Arturo Martinez))
((Drone & high angle shots: Sylvan Christensen))
((GoPro footage: Clark Glenn))
((Map:Not far from Moab in Utah))
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Really, I think I was born to be an off-width climber. That was what my body was designed for and clearly it was what my personality was designed for, because it requires an ability to believe in yourself beyond your physical capacity.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack. Off-width climber))
My name is Pamela Shanti Pack, and I'm a professional rock climber.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Utah is my favorite place to climb because we have these massive sandstone cliffs and often I'm the very first person to climb those particular cracks. So, it's like being some sort of an explorer.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I climb in a traditional style, which means that I have specific gear that's designed for placing in a crack and as I climb, that gear catches me if I fall. Choosing when to place the gear, whether you're going to place the gear, what are the chances you're going to fall, it just adds the component of reading the space as I climb and that makes it a little more exciting for me.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Being a professional rock climber as a woman is relatively new. When I started in this particular style, it was 2010. I was the first woman to devote myself to off-width climbing and there was a lot of resistance to that and I was criticized for everything. It didn't matter what. I was criticized for wearing my hair down. I was criticized for what I wore when I climbed. Ultimately, all that criticism really inspired me to continue climbing.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Alright. Good to go.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
It is a dangerous sport, so, there's a lot that goes into it. I've climbed despite having broken ribs and various other injuries. In a way, maybe that's a form of meditation. I'm able to put the pain in the background and I will make myself climb and allow myself to feel that pain after I finished the climb.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
And then this is an unpleasant moment where I am getting some blood work done after falling and needing to have surgery on my kidney. I've had two really bad injuries. The one was a fall where I had kidney surgery and then the other was that one where I had the back injury.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
It's always historically been, maybe, the least popular style of climbing there's ever been because of the physical brutality of this style. But I very quickly realized that it was a technically brilliant style and an artful style, and that I could change it, that I could find new routes, and that I could establish new techniques, and my focus, as I said many times, is to bring grace to the grovel.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I think my greatest passion or obsession, as a climber, aside from just climbing off-width, is looking for routes that are improbable. I'll drive down these canyons and I'll look for routes that no one else has seen before and it takes a certain eye, a lot of imagination, a lot of creativity. It's like being an artist, having the idea for a book, or the idea for a painting, and I'm just seeking out those ideas and then I'll create them. My emphasis is on finding lines that tell a really good story.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
One of the joys of establishing a route is then you get to name the route. One of them is named the kill artist so that probably gives you a little bit of an idea of what that experience is like.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
I think as far as first two ascents now, I've lost track, but well over a 100 at this point.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
My father, Robert Pack, is a poet and he wrote this poem for me to express his apprehensions about my climbing but also to express his understanding for what I do.
((NATS))
((Pamela Pack, Off-width climber))
Down on firm planet earth,
my wife and I share apprehensions
that are easy to explain
as dread of helplessness,
((Voice of Robert Pack, Poet and Pamelas father))
and yet without the ecstasies
in disciplined suspension of herbreath,
her almost weightless floating there,
perhaps the vast, unfathomable
uncertainty of parenthood
possesses in its dark abysmal depths
a mad exhilaration of its own.
((NATS))
((PKG)) SMOKEJUMPERS
((Banner: Coming Down))
((Reporter: Lesia Bakalets))
((Camera: Sergey Sokolov))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Grangeville, Idaho))
((Courtesy: USDA Forest Service/McCall Smokejumpers))
((NATS: Dont land in the lake!))
((Pop-Up Banner: The US Forest Service employs hundreds of wildland firefighters or smokejumpers))
((NATS))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
Once you land, your first action is to make sure that your jump partner is OK and that everyone there is OK.
((NATS: Oooh. Beautiful.))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
Once thats established, you talk to the ship thats still circling you and you let them know that everything went well and theyre going to kick out the cargo and theyll talk to you about where thats going to happen and when. And once thats all done, and everythings on the ground, you grab your PG (personal gear) gear, which is what you use out on the fire. This backpack comes with me and you take that and your Pulaski, your tool, and a couple of chainsaws and you go scout out the fire and make a plan and start fighting the fire.
((NATS: Static line, good condition.))
((Chris Young, Smokejumper Base Manager))
A smokejumper is an individual, a unique individual that is very skilled in fire suppression tactics. Typically, theyre used in an area of remoteness.
((NATS: Get ready!))
((Chris Young, Smokejumper Base Manager))
When we fly in, weve got an advantage. We get to see the fire from the air. So, were looking at the fire, and we can see where the winds are blowing, and where that fire typically wants to move to, and then we base that on where the safest place is. Were always doing risk assessment, and so, we try to put the jumpers on the ground in a very safe spot in relation to that fire. The Twin Otter will carry eight smokejumpers and all their cargo for approximately three days. And so, the first seat will typically just keep a Cubee (water jug) and some crosscut handles underneath it. The second seat will be a chainsaw. Third seat, once again, two more Cubees, and then the very last seat up there, well keep the last chainsaw. Well only carry two chainsaws for eight smokejumpers. The chainsaw is packaged up in a impact-proof cargo box.
((NATS))
((Riley, Smokejumper))
It's uncomfortable. It's tight. It's hot, but I love it and it gets me excited, because I know what comes next is the fun part. The fun part is getting to load up in the plane, getting a look at the fire from the air, size it up, and you get to jump out and go take care of business.
((Courtesy: USDA Forest Service/McCall Smoke Jumpers))
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up..
((Banner))
Crisis Management
((SOT))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
There are a couple of ways that its different being a woman in a high-powered position. Mostly I dont notice it.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((Banner: Keeping it Together))
((PKG)) CRISIS MANAGER
((Banner: Crisis Manager))
((Reporter: Dora Mekouar))
((Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Adapted by: Bronwyn Benito))
((Map: New York City, New York))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
I fix things. Im probably just a natural fixer. I like to make them better and Im quite good at it. And Im quite good at knowing the right way to think, the right strategy to adopt to fix a problem.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Im Davia Temin. My company is Temin and Company. We are a boutique management consultancy. That means were a crisis management and reputation management firm. We work to create, enhance, and save reputations.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
I love to deal with every kind of crisis because it really is like a detective story. Its like a mystery that you have to uncover. How do you find, just the right thing to start to fix it?
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
I cant tell you who my clients are. Obviously, we sign nondisclosure agreements. They are a number of the Fortune 500 corporations.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
When companies come to us, when we work with them, they know who we are. Our reputation is to be a purpose driven, ethical, socially responsible crisis management firm. Now that doesnt mean that Im not competitive as all get out. That doesnt mean that I wont work on every single way, all the ways, to get to the right point and to have the client win but it means that well do it in the right way. And so, most companies that come to us share those values.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Most of the crises I work on, you havent heard of.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
My track record is pretty good. In fact, I am hard-pressed to think of a stratagem that didnt work in the end.
((NATS))
So, everybody talks about crisis being the new normal today and I believe it is because weve got so much in the world and it all comes at us at different angles.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
((NATS))
So, we can decide when want to publish it.
One of my crisis rules that I think is really, really important and its hard for people to understand when they are in a painful situation.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Pain gets better. And if you can remember that when you are in the moment of deepest pain, you wont panic. You wont do things you shouldnt do. You wont put in fixes that are the wrong fixes. Youll tough it out.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Some of the worst mistakes that you can make is to go into denial and not take action very quickly. The next is to give up your control. It is very interesting how many organizations have a tendency to just sort of, in a crisis, roll over. No, no, no, no, no. You learn how to fight. And you do it smart and you do it realistically but you learn how to fight. Another mistake you can make is to not apologize when you should apologize.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
An apology well done and one that is from the heart, not sort of a false apology, is really, really important.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
There are a couple of ways that its different being a woman in a high-powered position. Mostly I dont notice it.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
But what I am finding is that as a consultant, there is no HR department to make sure that people get paid the same amount. And I am competing. There is a subtle bias that I see that theyll pay men consultants more than women or theyll question it just a little bit more.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Its one of the last bastions of unconscious bias.
((NATS))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
About 13 years ago now, I was in the back of a taxi, and the driver went nuts. He went running red lights and he died in a crash that ensued. It was a huge crash. I almost lost my leg.
((NATS))
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
In that moment, you have a little conversation with whomever, your maker, whomever it is. If you let me live, Ill give back. Ill make it count. You dont go into denial. You go into action. And all of a sudden, I figured out how I was going to save my life. I did it. I rolled onto the floor. It protected me from the impact. I used all of my crisis management rules in that moment and in the time around it to save my life. And I did save my life. They work. I promise you, they work.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
Im going to be in the world. I am going to be creating value, not only for my firm and for us, but for others.
((Davia Temin, Founder, Temin and Company))
One of my biggest rules of crisis management is what I call the karmic cockroach test. This is a litmus test to use in crisis, to know whether youre going in the right path or not. So, what I say is: if anything I say or my firm says or does or suggests to a client, that they say or do, will bring them back in the next life as a cockroach, you cant do it.
CLOSING ((ANIM))
voanews.com/connect
BREAK
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
