An Army of Normal Folks - How Paying Attention Could Help You Save a Life

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

A mail carrier trusted her gut, made one call, and saved a life. In this Shop Talk, we unpack why paying attention to the people around us is one of the simplest—and most powerful—ways normal folks can make a real difference.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, everybody. It's Bill Courtney from an Army of Normal folks. Welcome to Shop Talk number 88. Welcome to shop, Alex, Michael Urban. Oh, you nailed this. Yeah, let's go. I didn't even have to ask you. No, Michael Irvin and maybe... There's a couple more, actually, I got on my list.

Elsie Greenwood? Possibly, but not on my list. Okay. There's a Steeler that was 88. I think Lynn Swan. There you go. Yeah, Lynn Swan. Yep. There's a couple more.

Marvin Harrison and Toronto. and Terrell Owens. There you go. And then you may know this from your work. I had no idea. In Chinese culture, number 88 symbolizes good fortune and wealth. Good fortune. Yeah, 88's all over China.

Yeah. People, yeah. Like in China, yeah, it's 88's a big thing. Yeah. So, yeah. I think it's because the eight is infinite. It says due to the sound of eight resembling fa, which I guess is probably wealth or fortune.

I see. There's something about eight being an infinite. number because it never stops when you draw it. I can't remember all that. But anyway, we're in shoptop number 88, and we're going to talk about the story of an amazing and normal mail carrier and how that means something to us right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. What if mind control is real?

If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. NLP, aka neurolinguistic programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology.

Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain. It's about engineering consciousness. Mind Games is the story of NLP. It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor who invented it at a new age commune and sold it to guys in suits. He stood trial for murder and got acquitted. The biggest mind game of all, NLP, might actually work. This is wild.

Listen to Mind Games on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know Roll Doll, the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life.

His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you, the guy was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman.

And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids. The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bejohn Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure. I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down.

It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bejohn, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at loveyourmind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Ad Council. Like if we're on the air here and I literally have my contract here, and I'm looking at, you know, as soon as I sign this,

I'm going to get a seven-figure check. I've told them I won't be working here in two weeks. From the underground clubs that shaped global music to the pastors and creators who built a cultural empire. The Atlanta Ears podcast uncovers the stories behind one of the most influential cities in the world. The thing I love about Atlanta is that it's a city of hustlers, man. Each episode explores a different chapter of a. Atlanta's rise featuring conversations with ludicrous Will Packer, Pastor Jamal Bryan, DJ Drama,

and more. The full series is available to listen to now. I really just had never experienced anything like what was going on in the city as far as like, you know, seeing so many young, black, affluent, creatives in all walks of life. The church had dwindled almost to nothing. And God said, this is your assignment. And that's like how you know, like, okay, oh, you're from Atlanta for real. I ain't got to say too much. I'm a gradie, baby. Shut up. Listen to Atlanta is on the I Heart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Everybody, welcome back to Shop.

88. This is a story of an amazing and normal, or a normal mail carrier who ended up being amazing, and what it means for us, prepared by our very own, lovely and talented producer, Alex. With all due credit, the story actually came from Army members, Ginny Manguno.

Did it really? We sent it to me over the weekend. Jenny's awesome. Jenny, if y'all are, well, we won't go into Jenny, except she's just awesome. She's got an episode on the pod if you want to hear. She's got an episode, and she's awesome. And I guess her whole class has an episode, basically. Yeah, so she's actually thinking about using the one we just did on Damon Sintola,

why you all need 20% to change culture. Right. She's thinking about using that in class coming up. She's texting me. I love it. Yeah. All right. Hey, Jenny.

I know you're listening. Thanks for sending us this. See, if you send us stuff, we'll use it. And be a good teacher like Jenny and use the Army in your class. Come on. Yeah, be a good teacher. Good being a dope. Okay, here we go.

Chicago, a USPS worker is being called an angel after saving the life of one of her customers last month. Shonda Lemon has worked as a USPS mail carrier in Chicago for eight years, and has been delivering mail to Helen Owonski for the last four. years. Lemon often says hello to Awanski, who's 89 years old and holds short conversations with her. We've gained a nice little personal relationship with one another, Lemon told Fox TV stations. Lemon even began wrapping rubber bands around her mail so she should grip the bundle more easily. That is so simple and thoughtful. Shonda Lemon, 34, working at her job as a USB smoke carrier in Chicago.

But when Lemon noticed Awanski had not picked up her mail in three days, she was, She had a feeling something was wrong. Lemmon knew Owonski lived alone, didn't have children, and hadn't traveled in years. This prompted Lemon to call the police on January 14th to do a wellness check. Those factors alone is what triggered me to know there is a problem, especially when she left her parcels on the porch overnight. Police came to Awanski's home within five minutes of Lemon's call and found Awanski on the ground. She had fallen and been lying on the floor for several days. When the police officer told Lemon that Wollinski was still alive,

Lemon said she became overwhelmed. I began to cry because it was a rejoicing moment for me, knowing that I had assisted in sparing her life. And you know, it was just the pain and the thought of what she may have been going through for all those days just laying on the floor. Lewinsky was admitted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. The family is thankful that Lillman's suspected things were not right enacted on it. She was one of God's children, and she was looking out for one another, one of his

kids, Mary Mason, Owenski's niece, told Fox TV stations, Shonda is just a very thoughtful and caring person. My aunt sends her love and appreciation to Shonda for being there for her. She said she will forever be grateful for Shonda, caring enough to call the police. My family continues to pray for Shonda and want nothing but the best for her always. Owanski is currently out of the hospital. is getting stronger every day at a rehab center. In a statement, Fox TV stations, USPS said it's very proud of Lemon's actions. Postal service employees know the habits of their customers and the rhythms of their communities and are often the first to notify emergency personnel and render aid when something is wrong.

Employees have been commended for going above and beyond the call of duty in a variety of situations, such as assisting lost children, getting help for the sick or injured customers, spotting fires and more. It's another example of the heroic actions taken by an employee in the neighborhood they serve, Tim Norman, a spokesman for the United States Post Service said. Lemon said she was overwhelmed by the response and calls the public's reacting is mind-blowing. I was just being who I am on a daily basis. I'm always concerned about materly customers, especially those that live alone.

Lemon says this experience has taught her that it pays to be aware and be attentive. At the end of the day, we're a village, and we need each other to look out for one another, a woman said, this is more than a job for me. It's more of a community. It's more of a village. And I'm just thankful that I paid attention to those circumstances, was able to spare this woman's life. So, pretty cool. Alex wants everybody to know, the Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers

actually has a program called Carrier Alert to help with monitoring the well-being of elderly and disabled male patrons. I didn't know that. That's cool. Complements a Jenny Manguna. As one of the few and some days only point of human contact for homebound patrons, letter carriers are particularly attuned to signs that could mean accident or illness. When a carrier notes something unusual concerning a patron registered with carrier alert, he or she reports to a postal supervisor or designated an individual who in turn contact the sponsoring local agency, which includes organizations like United Way, Red Cross,

Agency on Aging. They check in on the person if something's wrong. Contact family, police, or emergency services is appropriate. To find out if there's a carrier alert program operating in your neighborhood or the community where an elderly or homebound loved one lives, contact the National Association of Letter Carriers branch office or post office, and you can work to establish. them if there isn't one already. Several industries have something similar, such as the trucking industry as truckers against trafficking to recognize important signs of human trafficking. As Army members,

we have an opportunity to make it a significant impact in people's lives just by caring enough to pay attention to the people surrounding us in our daily lives. Jenny, that is such a cool reminder. What a great story. Thanks for passing it on. And the stuff at the end is valuable. It is true that letter carriers are, I mean, who else besides ourselves visit our home every day? Yeah. So, I mean, they're in a unique position to be the eyes and ears of a community, aren't they? I didn't actually include in there, but there's another example of, like, meter readers. Like, they have, like, a similar association.

Do they really? And the truckers against sex trafficking. That's a good one. And then, like, restops, like, or teachers are obviously really good at this. But for people who are, like, interacting with the public this much, they really can. notice people's patterns or something just feels off compared to what's normal. Absolutely true. Makes complete sense.

Okay, so shop talk number 88, part of being a member of the Army and normal folks is just being alert, attentive, and thinking about those in need who you cross paths with every day in your daily life and be like Shonda. And simply make a call. Be aware. think about those around you in your normal daily life when you're going through your actions, be attentive alert and you never know when you might help save a life or make a real impact on somebody else's life in your community.

I'm going to plug the service clubs again. Do it. First six, Memphis, Oxford, Wichita, Atlanta, Ozaki County, Milwaukee area, Northern Duchess County, New York. If you live in one of these areas, go to our website, normalfokes. There is a service club section now there, Bill, where people can get plugged in. and there's also other Marumie members thinking about launching service clubs later this year,

including San Antonio, Lincoln, Nebraska, Huntsville, Alabama, Licking County, Ohio, Lorraine County, Ohio. If you live there, it would be awesome. There's not a single one west of Missouri. I guess. Is that true about Wichita? My map is thrown off my head right now. Okay, there's not a single one west of Kansas.

Come on, West people. All those big cities out there. There's so much that could be done. We can't be in east. Well, wait, isn't San Antonio West of it? No. San Antonio is straight south of Dallas. Okay.

No, and that's east of Kansas. You're taking us off topic, but it's funny. Well, it may be, but I'm just saying we're doing good on the eastern half of the United States. We need some west half of the United States folks. Hey, what's actually cool, though, is it's reflective of middle America. Well, it may. Flyover country that everybody's passing over. It may be, but Albuquerque and Denver and.

Colorado Springs and Boise and all those places. You just want another excuse to go to Montana? I do. My gosh. See, my daughter, I'm going to Montana in 10 days. Actually, you want to know a weird geography thing? Yeah. The farthest western part of Virginia.

Hold it. Don't say anything. Is this farthest western part of Virginia? Is this far west as what a major American city? I mean, it's way out there. I would say maybe Manhattan. You would know this because of, yeah, your work. You've been on that western part of Virginia, right?

That southwestern part? The western part of, oh, western. I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah. No, western. Oh, maybe Chicago. No, no, that'd be too far. Hang on.

Yeah, you may a less cool thing. Not Charlotte. That would be east. Oh, maybe Cleveland. So Detroit. Detroit. Is that crazy, though? I think about Virginia, which one part of it's on the ocean,

and it's so far west. that it's as far west as Detroit. I know. The problem is we look at a map flat, and a flat map does not really properly represent the latitude of cities. For instance, when you look at a map like of Greenland, and Greenland's pretty topical right now, believe it or not,

the center of Greenland is as close to Washington, D.C. as it is to Moscow. And if you look at a flat map, explain this to you, but if you actually look at a map, a globe, and look at where Greenland is, you will see that you don't really fly around the globe, you fly over the Arctic Circle, and Greenland is a big pass right there. It's interesting. But anyway, that's why the western part of Virginia sticks out as far as Detroit does. It does not look like that on a flat map, but on a globe, you would notice it. It's like Costa Rica.

Well, I noticed it on a map, so. Well, okay. When you think about Costa Rica, right, being, you know, on the Atlantic Ocean and all of that, its time zone is the same as Memphis. Really? Yeah. It's actually directly south of Memphis. Interesting.

Yeah, but it doesn't look like that way on a map. All right. Well, my point with all those other markets, if there's people there who are interested in starting local service clubs and it would be really helpful for them to meet other Army members in the community who would be interested in helping with it too. Yeah. So if that's you, email me, Army at normalfocus.us. We'll get you connected. Do what you can. Do what you can. We'll see you next week. What if mind control is real? If you can control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?

When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, aka Neurolinguistic Programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You know Roll Doll. He thought up Willie Wonka in the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? In the new podcast, The Secret World of Roll Doll, I'll tell you that story. and much, much more. What? You probably won't believe it either. Was this before he wrote his stories?

It must have been. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health,

even running back Bejan Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure, I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, Everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bejohn, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field.

Make a game playing for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad console. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 2026 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Now through February 22nd.

See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.