WELCOME TO SEASON 3 BABY!!!!  

This season HPP proudly enters its second year partnering with MVP (“Merging Vets and Players”). Over the course of last season and this past summer, we have highlighted a multitude of vets on our show as well as many of the various organizations that support veterans. This journey has been educational, enlightening, and inspirational. The courage, grit, determination, and unfailing spirit we have met and experienced in our stories and our travels truly has been life changing. We thank all the wonderful people and organizations that have been willing to share their stories of healing, hope, and transformation with us and you, our listeners THANK YOU!!.  

Most of these stories include tales of struggle, pain, disappointment, and loss. But they also share with us the power of staying steadfast and focused, enduring and overcoming, willing to take small steps each day toward a goal. They teach us the power of community, of relationship, of honesty, of sharing with another, and of supporting each other.  

They teach us of welcoming the stranger, showing empathy, and leaving judgment at the door. Over and over, we see that we have more in common than different, and that we are all STONGER TOGETHER!!    

At the heart and soul of MVP is the “Huddle.”  The Huddle was born of people gathering in a gym type of facility, meeting and talking, then sharing a 30 minute workout, then an hour of honest and often difficult conversation. Hearing people talk of their “wins and losses”, sharing where they are struggling and what has gone their way. We believe and live it out each day that you are not alone, it’s OK to be different and somedays not to feel OK. It is OK to reach out and ask for help. PLEASE ASK FOR HELP! No one should suffer alone, and we pray we never lose another person.   

This season the Niners start on the road at the Chicago Bears. We earlier shared our story of Emma and I attending the live LA West Coast Huddle (Thank you Dustin and Sergio!!). I usually attend via zoom because of distance from a live Huddle, and while the zooms are great, there is certainly a power to being in person with the group. For this week’s show I flew to Chicago early and was able to attend the Chicago Chapter of the MVP Huddle and it did not disappoint. We had a great workout (getting my jab, cross, uppercut and hook down!!), and then another powerful Huddle, where people shared hard realities, they cried, and they supported one another. Thank you to Oscar and the Chicago crew for their hospitality and love.   

I believe now more then ever there is indeed a Hidden Pearl within each of us. And there are so many people seeking to reach out, support others, and to be of help and service. This week’s show opens with George and me sitting down for a brief chat on some things football, some things silly, and some things very real. Then our lead veteran interview is of Army veteran Chris Buscher who tells of lessons learned as he lost almost 100 lbs in 2 years, road 2000 miles in honor of fallen comrades, and just last month, completed his first triathlon. Literally peddling himself out of a mental health crisis!  Life after the military did not go as planned, and he spent years enduring and overcoming until he found a way out. We also hear from Navy veteran Jeanette Tarqueno, who shares some of her struggles in transition and why MVP has been so important to her and has helped her on her journey.  

 Please enjoy these conversations, stories of hope and healing. In them, and each other, let us see our common humanity, and let us each day work to break down the walls that divide, building community, being vulnerable, sharing the love, and with each other, finding our own way to healing. 

Thank you. 

- Bruce & Emma  

https://vetsandplayers.org Info for Chris Buscher Phone: 708-714-0056 Email: Christopher.buscher@gmail.com Facebook: Chris Buscher Instagram: Cbuscher12 TikTok: Cbuscher12  #hiddenpearlspodcast #mergingvetsandplayers #mvp #kittle