← The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast
The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast
1KHO 814: Where You Start Is Not Where You End Up | Ainsley Earhardt, America, I'm So Glad You Were Born
00:47:02
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- [00:00]
A
This episode is sponsored by Fora Travel. You know, one thing we've realized through all of our travels as a family of seven is that trip planning is almost an art form between finding the right places to stay, mapping out experiences, coordinating schedules, and helping other families figure out what actually works. With kids, it takes a real skill set and honestly, a lot of people are already doing this naturally for friends and family without realizing it could become something more. That's why I think Fora is such an interesting idea. Fora is a modern travel agency built for people who want to create a meaningful travel business on their own terms. Maybe you've spent years organizing trips, helping others plan adventures, managing details and building relationships. Those are real transferable skills. And the great part is you don't need prior travel industry experience to get started. Fora provides the training, technology and support system to help you build at your own pace. Plus you get access to a community of experienced advisors who are doing the same thing. There are no sales quotas or minimums, so it can fit alongside your current season of life while you build something meaningful. Your next act starts here. Become a Fora advisor today@foratra travel.com 1000hours that's F O R A travel.com 1000hours and make sure you tell them we sent you for a travel.com 1000hours welcome
- [01:15]
B
to the 1000hours Outside podcast. My name is Jenny Urch. I'm the founder of 1000 Hours Outside and I am so excited and honored to have Ainsley Earhart here today. She has a brand new book that is coming out this week called America. I'm so glad, glad you were born. She is on Fox News. Wow. Ainsley, welcome.
- [01:33]
C
You are so cute. Hey Jenny, thank you so much for having me on.
- [01:37]
B
Okay, fox News from 6 to 9am every morning on the weekdays. But also you have done so much there. You worked your way up. Like you talked about your grandpa. He worked his way up at the coke factory and you were doing like weekends and midnights and all of these things. And now everyone can see you 6 to 9am on the weekdays. Co host of Fox News Channel, Facts and friends alongside a bunch of other people. I am. I've read your memoir and I have a couple of your kids books. You're a New York Times best seller. I would love to kick it off with this, especially since we're talking about a kids book and kids may be listening in. I would love if you would talk about the fact that you almost became an orthodontist and the advice that you could give kids or teens, that you can always make a change in what your plans are.
- [02:21]
C
True. You know, I, I. My heart, my passion was for the theater. I loved being on stage. I loved taking acting classes, was very involved in some classes that they had in South Carolina. I went to the Governor's School for the Arts and Theater and then Tri District Consortium, which was something for middle schoolers. And you auditioned for it? I loved it, and it was wonderful. And was involved in plays in high school. And then I also worked a babysat for the boyds. And then Dr. Boyd said, he's an orthodontist. He said, will you please come and work at my. In my practice? I need someone to clean the instruments, to sterilize them, to organize the front desk, to help make appointments to. He was on the filing system. We didn't have the computer system for each of the patients yet, so I'd have to. Every. Every patient had a chart. I was in charge of making sure those were organized and put back. And then. Anyway, I worked for him, did all of the. Sometimes I worked in the front, sometimes worked in the back. And he said, I want you to take over my practice, and I will pay for dental school. He went to unc. He said, I will pay for your dental school, and I'll try to get you into UNC or I can help you. I can write a letter for you, and you can take over my practice. You'll be in your hometown. You'll. We're in northeast Columbia. You'll know all of your friends will have babies at that point, and they'll bring their children to you. And I said, oh, doctor, boy, that sounds so great. He told me what was in his bank account, and I was like, oh, my gosh, I would love to have that kind of money. And because, you know, we were middle class, but if the garage door broke, dad would be really stressed about it. We didn't have a lot of extra money, so I didn't want to live a life like that. When I was older, I wanted to work really hard, and I didn't really know what I was going to do, but Dr. Boyd was, you know, helping me out and giving me a leg up and training me. It was just like a shoe in for a great career and a great life. But I went to college. My first two years, I worked for an orthodontist down in Florida near Florida State University. And Dr. Boyd had a friend down there, so he lined up that job for me. So total, I worked six years for orthodontists and then I called Dr. Boyd. I said, Dr. Boyd, I've been praying about this and I'm going to transfer to the University of South Carolina and I'm going to try the journalism school because my parents wouldn't pay for me to learn theater in college or to major in theater. So I did take some theater classes at the University of South Carolina, but I transferred to journalism because at least that was a career afterwards that was pretty guaranteed and my parents more comfortable with that. So I was still on television and still in the, in the entertainment world, and I loved it. And I really just found my calling and thanked the good Lord because my life changed. I became a really strong Christian when I went to the University of South Carolina. Dr. Boyd understood I'm still close with the Boyd family and all their children. And his son actually became an orthodontist and he sold his practice. His son practices in Virginia or West Virginia, I think. But they're great. And Dr. Boyd was wonderful. And if it were not for some of these men like my dad and Dr. Boyd and another man who always supported me in our neighborhood when I had to raise money, Dr. I mean, Mr. Duque would give me money. There's so many people that help shape my life and help me with my decisions in my career and just trying to make the right choices. And so I became, became a journalist. And then I worked in my local market in Columbia, South Carolina, for five years and worked my way up. I did, worked really crazy hours Sunday through Thursday, a lot. Like I'd get home at 1 or 2 in the morning and then became the weekend anchor and then the morning and noon anchor and then moved to Texas. In San Antonio, I was the morning and noon anchor there for the CBS affiliate. And then I moved to Fox when I was 29 years old and I am 49 years old now. So I've been at Fox for 20 years and it's been great. It's been great. I started at Fox overnights and then started filling in on Fox and Friends. Then I did the weekends for about seven or maybe 10 months and then worked for Sean Hannity show as a correspondent. And then they gave me the 5am show when Fox and Friends first started. And then when Elizabeth Hasselbeck left 10 years ago, they gave me Fox and Friends. So now I'm on from 6 to 9 in the morning.
- [06:44]
B
What a journey. What a journey. Almost an orthodontist. Six years is a long time to invest. And you talked about how Mr. Boyd was like, look, the Only emergencies you're ever going to have is like someone's wire is, is poking the back of their cheek. You know, that's the big emergency. They broke their bracket. He said you rarely work weekends. Was there ever a point, especially at the time when you talked about you transition to Fox and you're kind of nervous, am I going to get the job? Everything takes a really long time. You're working midnight, then you're filling in on all these other shows. You're doing Ainsley Across America. And then when you have that morning show, it was like you're working nights and then going into the 5am show just staying a little bit longer. Was there ever a point where you're like, maybe I should have done that Monday to Friday orthodontist thing?
- [07:33]
C
No, there really wasn't. No. I love it. Follow your passion. If children are watching and they want to tell their children, what are they? What did God create them to do? You know, I would have been an okay orthodontist, but I was about to have to take organic chemistry because it was my junior year of college, and so I had already done chem 1 and chem 2. And I was about, I was like, I can't do this. Like, the biology, I loved, I love dissecting, I loved anything with. In a lab. But chemistry, it's just not what God created me to do it. I, I was a good student, but I realized in college you get to choose your junior year to pretty much take whatever courses you need for your major. And my major was broadcasting. So my junior and senior year, that's when I really got to take my TV courses. And so I had so much fun and I loved it, and it was the best decision. I prayed about it. My advice is pray about it. Find out what God created you to do. And Stephen A. Smith, he's a great guy, Christian. And I heard him speak recently, and he said he was, he was dyslexic when he was growing up. He overheard his daddy say that he wasn't smart, and so he never thought he was. And then when he went into broadcasting, because he, you know, is in sports, he said, I found out what my skills were, and I just became really good at those skills and really learned that skill set, and that's what allowed me to be successful. So no matter what your issues are, your ailments are, your illnesses are, there is, there is a way that you can still find success. You know, there are a lot of women, I think there are a lot of women that could do What I do, I know that there are. And I just, God just plucked me out and gave me one of the best positions, which is, I mean, there are only like five or six female morning hosts that wake up America if you include NBC, abc, CBS and the cable channels. And I am one of them. And I am so grateful. God has blessed my life. But I did make every decision based on prayer and counsel from people I trusted, including my parents and people in the business. That's always important. Get internships and talk to people in the business. Because I remember when I was choosing if I should go to. Right out of college, I had a few job offers because I drove to all the TV stations in South Carolina and met with all the news directors and I had a few offers. And I remember asking my teachers, my professors, out of these three stations, which one should I get? Which. What's the best? This one's paying me more money, but this one gives me a clothing allowance. And so it kind of, kind of evens out with this one. This one only wants to pay me, wants to pay me for 40 hours a week, but is going to say I'm a 20 hour employee so they don't have to pay me health insurance. So that one was out, these two, because I had these great professors, they said, oh, this one's owned by Gannett, great station. This one was owned by a different network or a different company. But Gannett was such a good station and such a good company to work for and they were paying me more and it was a better market and it was in my hometown. So that's how I made the decision. But I just had people helping me along the way. And we kind of just mapped out the pros and cons and sometimes you just have to jump and just make a decision, you know. And what's also good about this profession, Jenny, is you can change jobs every two or three years and it's not frowned upon. A lot of professions they want you to stay for. If you have. If you're leaving after two years, you're like, why didn't you stay longer? But not an hour.
- [11:03]
B
Wow, what a journey. You had talked in your memoir. So you have a memoir called the Light Within Me. And then you have a lot of kids books. The first one that came out, I'm pretty sure was Take Heart, My Child.
- [11:12]
A
Is that correct?
- [11:13]
B
This is the first one is beautiful. A lot of nature in these books. They're stunning. This is a New York Times bestseller, I think this one is for sure. I'm glad you Were such a right at the top. I'm so glad you were born celebrating who you are. And the new book is called America. I'm so glad you were born. So you've got a lot of kids books, but in the, in your. Oh, there it is. It's so similar looking. That's so cool. I love it.
- [11:38]
C
We chose Kim Barnes again because she did such a beautiful job with that book.
- [11:42]
B
Yes. So you talk about in your memoir about how you can always change course. And you were nervous about it because you said in your favor, family, you don't quit things in here. You are, you've, you've put in some time and effort into this orthodontist direction. But your parents said, your dad said you only have one life. This is not a dress rehearsal. Follow your heart and the Lord will guide you. So this is a lesson that you talk about in Take heart, my child. And then you've got these other kids books as well. Okay. Sticking with the kid theme, you got into a tiger cage.
- [12:18]
C
Oh, gosh. Not very smart.
- [12:22]
B
My kids will like that.
- [12:23]
C
My dog is here. I was in my 20s. Come here, Rosie. I was in my 20s. And we were. Yes. So for the children listening, I was in my 20s and they told me to go interview this lady who had an exotic animal in her backyard. And it was a tiger. And the tiger had gotten out. And some of the, some of, if I remember correctly, some of the neighbors were complaining because obviously they didn't want a tiger walking around their neighborhood. And we had to go put the tiger back in. And she said, the tiger's so friendly. And she was in the cage and I was doing stand ups. I was in front of the camera and I wanted to show our audience how big this tiger was. And she said, you can get in the cage with me. And I did. And the tiger did. It was playing. But I mean his grip obviously is. It's hard. And so I remember biting my leg and. Or was it my arm? It was my leg or my arm. I think it was my leg. And I remember just being like realizing this was not a smart move. Never get in a tiger cage, even if it's owned by a lady who promises you the tiger is just fine.
- [13:24]
B
What an adventure. There was an adventure with a pig, a giant pig.
- [13:28]
C
That was so funny. Okay. My co anchor was Curtis Wilson. He's still in, in the same market in Columbia, S.C. works for a different station now. Curtis was brought in. My boss said, we want you to do a morning show. And I said, larry, I Am a serious person. You know, I want, like the medical beat. I want to go cover crime and want to cover the school districts. And he said, no, I want you to do the morning show. I think it'll be good for you. I think your personality will shine. And I said, I just don't think I'm funny. So Curtis was my co anchor, and he still to this day says, I brought out the fun in you. He definitely did. And so we were on air one day. I mean, he would. If the camera just had me in the shot, he would put his face right here, trying to make me laugh during a serious story. We just had. We would have to do these cut ins in our newsroom. Our desks were at the end of the newsroom. So we would run. The stage manager would open the door to the newsroom and say, curtis Ainsley, you're on in one minute for 30 seconds. And we would run. And whoever had to read first was out of breath. And I was always hoping it was Curtis, but I would just. I don't even know how we made some of those. Another time, Curtis, I was off. Curtis accidentally slept in. So we didn't have an anchor. So Scott, who was our meteorologist, sat at the anchor desk and had to anchor the show. Had never done that before. I mean, we were all just, you know, very young. We were in our 20s, right out of college, so. And then the pig story that you asked about, Curtis, we did this story. I mean, we lost it on air. It was. There was a trailer park in my hometown, and the pig was massive, and it was someone's pet and was digging a hole under the trailer of another resident. And that resident called the news stations.
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B
Yeah, because that is what they do. I mean, they dig and dig with those snouts.
- [15:31]
C
Yes. And the pig kept bumping into their trailer. And they were inside and they called the news stations because they kept telling, neighbor, have control of your pig. I mean, this is South Carolina. We have pigs, we have livestock, we have. We have it all. And Curtis and I were laughing so hard because it was just a comedy of errors with. We were just in a giggly mood. And we see this pig in the video just bumping this trailer. And we were like, only in South Carolina. This is hilarious. And we're both from South Carolina, so we can say this.
- [16:08]
B
What? Like, oh, just. I. You probably can't even begin to quantify the amount of adventures over several decades of just dealing with all types of news stories.
- [16:20]
A
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- [20:08]
B
so one of the things that you also talk about is this, this fun part of where you're at now. You have a war like wardrobe, endless wardrobe. But where you were at the beginning, you said, you know, they open this closet and it's got all these art supplies. So you were just like in heaven. You would love that stuff as a kid. Can you tell people about your Ainsley's art?
- [20:29]
C
Yes. Oh my gosh. So you're going way back. You really did your research. Jenny so in seventh grade I started a company called Ainsley's Art. I made watercolor earrings out of watercolor paper with all types of puff paints and beads and pearls. And I would decorate them all and spend hours paint, hand painting them. And then I would put a glaze on top of them, and that would harden. And then I would flip them over and I would attach either clip ons or pierced earring backs. And then I would poke two holes in an index card. And at the top I would. In paint. Right. Ainsley's art. And I would poke them in there. And that's. They were just like on little cards. And so then I would sell them to. There was a store at Kiawah, which was the beach where we grew up, going outside of Charleston, South Carolina, and this store on the boardwalk. They would sell my earrings. And then Dr. Boyd would sell them at the front desk at his office. And he had a really fun office. He was a master businessman. He knew, like, one side was for kids, one side was for adults. The adult side had all kinds of cool beverages. Coffee, cappuccino makers, hot cookies. The kids side had all kinds of games. Segas, the best movies on tv, a huge aquarium he did such a great job with. And then you'd go to the front desk and he would say, what boy do you think is cute? And I would say, I think this boy is cute. And they would say, okay, we're going to make your appointment after school. And he has an appointment at the same time.
- [22:02]
B
And I'd be like, that's amazing. Okay.
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C
I get so nervous going into the orthodontist office that day. He just. They were. They were great. They sent. Anyway, so I'm sorry, I forgot.
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B
They also sold your earrings. What an incredible businessman. I think you had said something in your book, like, everybody hopes they have crooked teeth because they want to be able to go get braces from this guy.
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C
We did. We all wanted to be Dr. Boyd's patients and in the back bay. So he had one big back bay. So, you know, some dentist officer like that. Some have individual rooms. Yeah, it was one big bay. So you would sit in a chair and your best friend was sitting next to you. And then he put pictures of all of the. A lot of the. The kids that were like seniors or juniors in high school that had their braces off and they had beautiful, perfect smile. And he blew up big pictures of them and put them all over his office. So we would know, like, I'd say, oh, that's Jonathan Bird. Oh, that's Wally. You know, all the pictures around the bay were all of our friends.
- [22:59]
B
What an experience. And then he sold your earrings there, too.
- [23:03]
C
The art closet. That was when I got my first job at wltx. They took me into a closet and they said, here's Your pager, because we didn't have cell phones then. Pager. And here's a closet. Take whatever you need. It was like, notepads and pens and pencils and a stapler and all kinds of tapes and labels and stickies. And I was like, in heaven, I got to decorate my desk. You know, we still have that kid in us where we are, like, free stuff. And I get to. I have a real desk in a cubicle, and I get to decorate it and make it my own.
- [23:35]
B
Yes, you. And you see those threads from your childhood? You're like, you crying during the Oscars. You're sneaking to watch the soap operas, you know, and you're like, someday I'm gonna be on camera. And then you have your Ainsley's art. And then you can see the progression right where you get the free supplies. And then by the time you got to Fox, it was like, they're gonna get you with your. You know, they're gonna supply your wardrobe.
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A
So what.
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B
What a cool progression and a cool thing to see, all that hard work. I love to talk about these children's books. So the first one is Take Heart, my Child. This is a beautiful book about enjoying your life, not taking things too seriously. Also, gorgeous nature photos throughout this one. The South Carolina beaches, these trees, the butterflies. And you talked about how when it came out, they sold out. There wasn't even enough copies. Like, you had to go find another printer.
- [24:20]
C
Yes, yes, that was stressful, because it's stressful when you. When you're being told by your publishers and by everyone at Fox, your book is number one right now, and I want to buy it, but I can't buy it. They're out. And that is a wonderful problem to have. But it's also stressful when, you know, your book could be the most successful one right now, and. But no one can buy it because you're the New York Times. No one really knows how they. How they rate all of their books and how you get to number one. But in order to get to number one, they also do look at book sales. And if you've sold a thousand and you could have sold 5,000, but you don't. You ran out, then that's going to affect where you are on that, you know, in that standing. And this was my first book, so I was really proud of it. We had worked so hard. I was pregnant when I was writing it, and it was about the messages that I wanted to share that were messages my parents had shared with me that I wanted to share with My little girl and she was born and the book came out. It was an amazing year. I'd just gotten the job on Fox and Friends while I was out on maternity leave. So I came back with a brand new book, a brand new baby. You know, it all kind of happened that year. And it was really a really special time in my life. And I was going through a hard time in my life. I was going through a divorce. And so that was just like God's way of wrapping his arms around me and saying, it's all going to be okay. I'm going to provide for you. And he did that very moment when I needed. Because it's scary living in New York City and having a baby and raising this child on your own with a very, very stressful and crazy hour schedule. So God just really protected me that year. I felt his presence with me during that time. And then after she was, after a few years into her life, I wrote through your eyes. And that was just watching my daughter see rain for the first time, see a dog for the first time. I'll never forget the rain outside of my apartment. She just looked up, she know what this was? And then seeing a dog I had, I was holding her and there was a dog behind us in a store. And we were shot. I was shopping and I was flipping through some clothes and she just started giggling. And I turned around and there was a dog. I'm like, this is the first time I've ever, I think, taken her out of my apartment. The store was like Caddy corner from my apartment. And so, you know, I was a first time mom. I was first child. So I like wouldn't take her out until she had all of her shots and made everyone, you know, wash their hands constantly before they picked her up. I was just like really protective during those first few months, but that was really neat. And so that was. And then the third children's book was. Was so glad you were born. And I wrote the Light within Me, which is my story about my faith around right before I read wrote that book. And then this is my last one, probably America, I'm so glad you, I don't know. I said the last one was going to be my last one. And then I told them, I said, okay, if God wants me to write another one, then he's gonna have to put that in my heart. And of course, America 250. I'm like, I have to write that one.
- [27:25]
B
Yeah. Yeah. So this is book number five. Book number five. You were almost an orthodontist What a life change. Can you talk about God's timing? This is something that comes up a lot in the book where you say the timing could not have been better in the end. In the end, you look back and you say, the timing cannot have been better. So this an example would be when your hours changed after your daughter's born. You wrote, my new hours seem to be tailor made for a working mom home around 11 every morning. That means I get to be present for the best part of my daughter's day. But you had to wait for it. There were other job opportunities that came up, didn't work out, and you were doing this pretty rigorous schedule for a really long time. So can you talk to the person who is in that waiting period and give them some encouragement that God's timing always ends up being the best timing?
- [28:13]
C
Well, I think it's interesting how God creates us because in your 20s, you still have a little bit of a lot of that youth in you. And I was excited about the art closet. I mean, I hadn't fully, you know, become the person that I am now. And that's a beautiful thing to have that spirit in your 20s where you still get excited about things. You have so many big dreams. You're falling in love, you're hoping to get married, you're planning weddings. It's such a fun, wonderful time. But you don't really know who you are and you don't know where you're going. And you have. You just pray so hard that God will give you enough money to pay your bills. And there were often times where I'd have to call mom and say, mom, I'm getting paid on Friday. I need $100. I just need to put gas in my car. Can you put $100 in my account? Write me a check. And she would. And I would pay her back on Friday, that hundred dollars. But it was paycheck to paycheck then. Then there were times where I was in debt because I had to buy furniture for an apartment. And my dad lent me some money and I paid him back when I was able to. And then I had to put some stuff on my credit card. And I remember paying off once I made when I got a raise, I would pay 600amonth, which was a big stretch for me. For anybody, really, that was a big stretch. And I got out of debt. And that was after divorce because I just needed to move and get furniture and all of that. And I just didn't really have a choice. So that was just another growing pain but for God's timing. I was in a Bible study, and I think we prayed for. I was on overnights for seven years, and I was so excited to be at Fox. Knew I just needed to get my foot in the door. I. I remember saying to my friends, I'm just going to get my foot in the door. Because people in Texas were like, you're the morning and noon anchor and you're going to go to New York where it's very expensive for what you're going to make. It's about what you're making in Texas because it was a little bit more in New York, but not enough to cover the cost of living. So they said, and you're going to go backwards. You're working overnights. And I said, no, I'm not. This is a chance for me to get my foot in the door at the national level. I will work, work my tail off. I will prove to them that I am willing to work the hours. I'm going to say yes to everything. I said yes. I mean, Jenny, that was the time of my Life. I was 29, in my early 30s, did not have children, so I was able to just go. Bags were always packed. I was always on a plane going to shoot a story for Sean show. Then I was doing overnights four nights a week. The other nights I was working on Sean's show and I was traveling. Then some days I was filling in on Fox and Friends every day, and I would work every Christmas, every Thanksgiving. Just said, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Never burned bridges. Was kind and happy at work and never wanted to talk badly about anybody. Just a. As a Christian. But also because you never once, you say something about someone you want to put it back in because you realize that wasn't nice and there's a chance that person could find out. I said that. And I don't really mean that. I really like that person.
- [31:22]
B
You know what, Ainsley? That could be another children's book.
- [31:25]
C
It could be. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, you're right.
- [31:28]
B
What a concept. What a concept to teach a child.
- [31:31]
C
No, I know, you're right. But so, yeah, I mean, I think God. God also gives us more energy when we're younger, so we can. We can work with crazy schedules and before you have children. I didn't have Hayden until I was 39 years old. First of all, I wasn't in a relationship where I, you know, I wasn't in the position where I wanted to. I wanted to be married when I had a child, and I wasn't in that position. And when I finally was. We had a baby, we had a miscarriage. That was a difficult time. But then three months later, after I had the surgery, the DNC to take the baby, which was a really hard day. Then I got pregnant with Hayden three months later. So I wouldn't have Hayden if I hadn't gone through that. So there's so many ups and downs in life. And that's what. When I look at my little girl, I think, you're so innocent. I don't want you to have to go through all this, but at the same time, I do, because I want you to lean on God. And God was there for me. And I'll tell you, Jenny, gosh, I'm sorry. I just love him so much. He's taken me so far. And I'll tell you, when you get older, you just don't even care as much anymore about things. You know, God's going to take care of you because he always has. He's never let me down. And even when I was in my darkest place, he was in my bedroom. He was there for me. And I saw him. And I'd never seen him before and never seen. Felt the presence of him like I did that day. And I know know he was there. No one can talk me out of it. And listening to a podcast the other day about angels and demons and the demons part, I kind of had to fast forward because it's a little scary and I didn't want to really hear about that. But that they did talk about how 80% of Americans believe in some sort of spirituality, or maybe it was in the world. It was 80% believe in some sort of spirituality and maybe a life after death. And I thought, then why is it so taboo to talk about it? You know, I'll talk about my. I love it, but. And I want other people to experience it. So I don't care if people think I'm weird or whatever I say, I want to say it lovingly because I love everybody and I want them to go to heaven and I want them to have to be able to lean on God. It changes your attitude. Not depressed. I'm not worried either. Moments I worry about my daughter, like I want her to be. You know, she has a test tomorrow, and I want her to do great, and I want to make sure she studied. And I don't want her to cry, and I don't want her to be upset because she has to study after she's been at school for eight hours. You know, that kind of thing. But overall I know God has her and will take care of her.
- [34:00]
B
Yeah, Lee Strobel has a new book out about angels and it's phenomenal because he's like a super like science evidence based guy. So that book is really cool. There's a woman named Dr. Meg Meeker who talks a lot about in her books how kids, kids especially, I mean everybody does. But she's like, kids need God. And she talked about how like she's been a pediatrician for all these decades and kid after kid will come in and talk about the fact that they saw an angel. And she says they all describe it the same way, but they don't know each other. How could that possibly be? You know, they are afraid and an angel comes to them. It's the coolest thing. Coolest thing. I totally am right there with you. I love you have a prayer in your memoir the Light Within Me, where you wrote open or close this door in an unmistakable way. And I thought, oh, it's such a
- [34:43]
A
good prayer to have.
- [34:43]
B
God's timing has always been the right timing, even though in some instances it had us felt very long. Seven years to do that schedule, Ainsley, that's so long to work overnight and then to have the new show in the morning and be traveling. You did that for seven years.
- [34:59]
A
Something I didn't fully realize until we had a big family was just how much mental energy goes into simply keeping everyone on the same page. Who's driving where, what day, something is happening, who still needs to do chores, what's for dinner. It can feel like a full time job, just managing the logistics of family life. And before Skylight, honestly, a lot of that lived in my head. What I love about the Skylight Calendar is that it gets everything out of your brain and into one shared place the whole family can actually see. It syncs with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook and more. And I love being able to switch between daily, weekly or monthly views depending on what we need that week. And the tasks feature has been so helpful for our kids routines and chores and responsibilities. It helps build independence in a way that feels positive instead of stressful. You can even color code each family member, manage grocery lists, and eliminate that classic nobody told me response. Skylight Calendar is designed to bring families together for more time. And honestly, anything that reduces stress and creates more peace in the home is worth paying attention to. And your happiness is Skylight's happiness. So if in four months you are not 100 thrilled with your purchase, you can return it for a full refund no questions asked. Families are better when they're working together. Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch calendars by going to myskylight.com 1000 hours hours go to myskylight.com 1000hours for $30 off your 15 inch calendar. That's M Y S K Y L I g h t.com 1000hours One thing I've realized as a parent is it's usually not the big things that wear you down. It's the constant little maintenance tasks. The dishes, the laundry, the packing for trips, the coolers, the wet towels, and yes, the litter box. Especially in the summer when you're barely home and life feels non stop. That's why I've been super impressed with Whiskers Litter Robot lineup. It automatically cycles after every use, so instead of constantly remembering to scoop litter, it's just taken care of in the background. And the Whisker app keeps you updated on your unit with notifications when a clean cycle finishes or when the drawer needs attention. You can also monitor your cat's weight and bathroom usage over time, which gives you a really easy way to stay aware of changes without adding another thing to your mental load. For busy families, it honestly just makes a life a little lighter. And I love that the Whisker has options for different household sizes too. From single cat homes all the way up to families with multiple cats. Plus their starter bundles make getting set up really simple. Maintain your cat litter while focusing on spending time with your family. Learn more about Whisker litter robot models and starter kits today. Take an additional 50 off bundles with code 1000hours when you shop whisker.com 1000hours that's an additional 50 off bundles with code1000hours@whisker.com 1000hours One of the things homeschool families understand really well is that learning doesn't only happen at a desk. Summer often looks different every single week. Travel, camps, time outside family visits, all of it. And sometimes you just need tools that move with your actual life. That's what makes something like IXL so appealing during the summer months. It gives families a flexible way to keep learning momentum going without needing rigid schedules or complicated planning. IXL is an award winning online learning platform with interactive practice in math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. It personalizes learning for each child, keeps them engaged, and gives parents clear insight into progress. What stands out to me is how adaptable it is whether a child wants to review concepts from last year. Stay sharp over the summer or build confidence in a subject that's been challenging. IXL adjusts to their pace. And because everything is organized by grade and topic, it's easy for families to jump in wherever they are, even during busy summer weeks. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and 1000 Hours Outside listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixl.com 1000hours Visit ixl.com 1000hours to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.
- [38:47]
B
And you had talked about how at the very beginning because you. You get the job and then all of a sudden they need you to fill in on the weekend show. And you were like, oh great, like I'm going to move up this ladder so quick. Which of course that's what you would think. But then you stuck with it for that long. But you talk about then how God's timing is such perfect timing. So there's so much to learn from your story. You talk about the fundamentals of broadcasting that. That's in there, coming up with questions, covering hard stories, talking about a little bit more about the kids.
- [39:18]
A
You talk about school.
- [39:20]
B
So you were in advanced art and you really were influenced by Mrs. Pollard and ended up going to Paris. So I would love if you talked about that adventure, that adventurous spirit. You know, you talked about you're in hard times, you'd gone through a divorce. You know, it's real easy to just kind of get into the groove of just doing work or not doing much at all. And you really started to expand your world at that point. And while you were in Paris, you had. You called your middle school teacher procedure.
- [39:49]
C
So we were. I was in Paris and I'd never been before. And we went to the Musee d', Orsay, which if you ever have a chance to go to Paris, it is a beautiful museum. It's near the Louvre. It's across the street on, across the water from, from the river. And it is just an ocean of Impressionism. It is beautiful artwork. It's Degas, it's Renoir, it's Henri Toulouse Lautrec. It is Vincent Van Gogh. All of the art that I loved because we studied that in Ms. Pollard's class in seventh grade in advanced art at E.L. wright Middle School. And we studied four different impressionists and they. Their art. This was around 1890s. And on Rachel Luce Lautrec would go to the. To. To the. Where the can can dancers. I've been there. It's to the gosh he would watch the can. Can dancers dance because he was a little guy and he. There were maybe deformities. He was just. He had some. Some problems at birth and back then that was shunned. And his parents, he would. He felt very comfortable going to this dance hall. It's the famous dance hall in.
- [41:05]
B
I've never been. I'm like, I can't help you.
- [41:08]
C
It's called. Oh, I've Been There. It's in the red light district because the girls. A lot of the girls are topless, but they are big. They're beautifully. They have costumes on and feathers. And he would go to this district and was shunned for the Moulin Rouge. Thank you. You know, the movie. So he would. He had his table right at the front because he was very wealthy and he would just pass out his money. He was born into. Into wealth, but he was this. He would paint the can can dancers and now his artwork. It's worth millions and millions to buy one of these paintings. But Ms. Pollard, we'd study him for half of a semester. Another one the next semester. Vincent van Gogh, another one the next semester, Renoir. And then another one, the end. And we would paint paintings that looked like theirs. My mom, as a surprise when I graduated high school, she framed one for me. And I have it in my bedroom at home above my bed. And it was just a special class. Ms. Pollard was amazing. And she drove. She. I don't. I don't think she had any children. But her husband, I remember him. I remember thinking, he is very successful because he would show up in a sports car and he would come in and he was. His sports car had a fun license tag. I can't remember what it said, but I went to Paris. So that was in seventh grade. Didn't talk to Ms. Pollard, you know, for after. In high school. But Mrs. Nance, who was my student body advisor and my science teacher in seventh grade, stayed in touch with Ms. Pollard. And my mom is close with Ms. Nance because my mom teaches in the district too, or did. So I'm in Paris. I call mom and I said, mom, you have to get Mrs. Pollard's number. I just. I'm crying. I'm. I'm. Shocker. I get real emotional about sentimental things. So I'm outside. There was a carousel in Paris. I'm standing outside the carousel and I. My mom said, I'm going to get her number for you. So I go and I'm sitting outside of a cafe in Paris. I'm eating. I'm so happy. I have a baguette maybe and so happy. And a cup of coffee. Such a. Just. I felt just so typical of like a Parisian woman. It was wonderful. And my mom calls and says Ms. Nance gave me your number. So I called Ms. Pollard and I told her and she. We both cried. And I just said, Ms. Pollard, you. You should. Your teaching. You made such an indelible difference in my life and brought art to my world and made my world so beautiful. So I just wanted to thank you. I saw actual Renoirs and Henri Toulouse. I saw all of these artists painting right in front of my face. Their hands were on this art. Their brushes painted these strokes. And I am looking at them. It was just really, really.
- [43:49]
B
What a moment. Oh, Ainsley. And then you know, you talk about with your schooling, like the way that you learned to study. That helped you. You know, when you get into the field and you got to ask all these questions and you know, you have to be able to know what's going on with people. But that Mrs. Pollard teacher influence I thought was such a cool one. And you talked about the Paris trip was a turning point. You realized how easy it was to travel, the educational advantages you gained from visiting other countries. And you committed to traveling more often and sharing the world with. With your. With your future child. And now you work with artists, which is a really cool thing. This new book coming out. I'm so glad America. I'm so glad you were born. And then I'm also. I'm so also I'm so glad you were born by Kim Barnes. She's illustrated these beautiful. And then this one I have here. Take heart my child. Just stunning illustration. So what a cool thing that you still have all this art in your life. All right, I've got three last questions. Question one. What is a rice bed?
- [44:40]
C
A rice bed is. Was my first piece of furniture that I bought. I paid $100 a month until it was paid off. Bought it 50% off because there was a store on Divine street in my hometown. My mom said they have the sale 50% off twice a year. So when I got my first apartment and moved out of the dorm, I said to my mom, I want to go and I want to buy a rice bed. So I bought it. And this I guess it was my first job and I paid it off. They put me on a payment plan. I didn't even have to pay interest. They just let me pay a hundred dollars a month. And it's a four poster bed. And every. All the posts have Carvings in it of. From the rice paddies and it's like grains of rice. It's. It's a really. It's just in. It's a mahogany bed and someone has carved out hand carved pretty art in each of the posts of the bed. So it's a mahogany four poster bed. I still have it. It's in storage. But that thing has been with me. I'm never throwing it away. It will always be somewhere and I'll either have it in storage or I'll have it in my house. But I can't get rid of it. It's my first piece of furniture and mom told me, always try. If you can save your money and buy pretty pieces, don't buy junk because you'll have it forever. And she was right.
- [45:56]
B
I never heard of that, but it just sounds gorgeous. Okay, here's question two. I think this is fantastic. Okay, you tried. You were an extra in Wild Heart, Hearts can't be Broken, which I'm like, I love that movie as a kid. And I tried to show it to my kids recently and they were like, mom, this is the weirdest movie. Like, why is that guy so much older than that girl? What's happening here? And then they always tell their friends, my mom made me watch this really weird movie. So the movies from that era, like My Girl, they stick with you. Do you find that, that people have? Because I feel like most people haven't even heard of it, but I loved it as a kid. Have you found that most people know what that movie was or is it kind of one of the more obscure ones?
- [46:40]
C
Occasionally if I talk about it on air, someone in the studio will say something like, oh, I love that movie. But I played it for my daughter. My daughter's an equestrian. She loves horses and she loves to ride. So what happens is the horse jumps off the plank for everyone to see at the circus. You know, I'm sure it's probably not even allowed now because I think they, I think they made sure that they took good care of that. I don't know if it was really the horse jumping in the water, but this was how long ago?
- [47:08]
B
Well, it's based off of a real story. I have the book Jumping.
- [47:12]
C
Really?
- [47:12]
B
Yes. Yeah, I'll send you a copy. It's a, it's a real book. Like you could read it with your daughter. It's like, like a novel size novel. Okay. Okay.
- [47:20]
C
Well, it's all about, yeah, the girl. It was a strange, strange movie. But I, I heard there's going to be A movie. And they're calling for extras. I think it was in the newspaper. My mom read it and I said, I am going. So we drove to Orangeburg that morning and a bunch of us and a mom took off work, or maybe she didn't work. We all got in her car and we went to Orangeburg. And they pulled me aside. They were looking for a speaking part, a girl. I was like, this is it.
- [47:49]
B
I did break.
- [47:50]
C
And they brought me inside with another girl. They were, I guess, looking for a blonde girl. That was, I think I was in like 8th grade this year. Someone around that age to be in a scene. And they picked the other girl because I had braces and oh, darn, Mr. Boyd, back then no one had braces, right? So I didn't get the part. But Dr. Boyd said, Ainsley, if you told me that, I would have driven there and I would have taken your braces off quickly and we could have put them back on just so you could have had this part. I was like, like, why didn't I think of that? And then I remember saying, why did I smile? I smiled at them. If I just stood there, maybe they would have given me the.
- [48:29]
B
I just thought it was like, it's such a wild thing to read in your book. Because I was like, oh, I loved that book. I can't remember what the one is called, that there's like a whole novel on it. I'll shoot. Shoot you an email so you can see what it is. But what an interesting. All these interesting stories, the threads from your childhood. We always end our show with the same question. And that question is. But before I say it, I just want to say another huge congrats on this very incredible book coming out. America 250America. I'm so glad you were born. It is out now. You can go grab your copy of that, plus all of the other kids books that there are, as well as your memoir, which is called the Light Within Me. We always end our show with the same question. What's a favorite memory from your childhood that was outside.
- [49:06]
C
I love that you always encourage parents to take their children outside and get off these devices. So I, I love. Thank you so much for preaching that. I know that's your big message and your mission outside. So many things are coming to mind. Jenny. We had a really cool street. I lived on Westminster Drive in Spartanburg, South Carolina when I was a little girl. My dad was the basketball coach for a small liberal arts school called Walford College, which is very hard school to get into. It's a really good school in South Carolina. I was so proud of my dad. And we built forts in our backyard. The Lowry's lived next to us. We had a big magnolia tree in between our two houses. We'd have to pick up all the magnolia trees. We'd all get grocery bags, brown grocery bags. And all the kids, we'd have to fill those up. And dad made us get all the weeds out of the front walkway with a knife. There were these knives that he kept in the shed in the back that were. Had black handles. And we would. Mom would. Would boil water and we dig out the weeds in between the bricks on the front walkway and then have to pour hot water in there because dad said that would kill the root. And then we would climb up that magnolia tree. And I think it was David or Brad Lowry, two of the boys that lived next door. I think it was David that got caught all the way in the top of magnolia tree, screaming, crying. We didn't know how to get him down. That was so fun. If you have a magnolia tree in your front yard or in your backyard, the inside is hollow. It's all the big branches. And it was so tall. It was taller than the roof of our house. And so we would climb. We had. I remember. I don't know how we got this. You know if you're at a construction zone and you have cable that's wrapped around that circular thing.
- [50:47]
B
Yeah.
- [50:48]
C
And it can roll. We had one of those and we turned it over like a table. That was our club table. We had chairs. We would get big rocks and those were our chairs we would put around the table. We had like. I was the secretary, so I would take notes at our meetings. We had a whole club club with the Lowry kids. The ice cream truck would come, we'd hear the music. We'd run to the front yard, ask mom for money. One of us was in charge of making him wait while someone else went to get money. We did lemonade stands on the corner of Westminster and I think that's Connecticut Street. And we would sell lemonade. And when our friends would drive by, they. One time our friends drove by and remember that was it. Stripe. It was that stripe gum. And it had zebras.
- [51:33]
B
Oh, fruit stripe.
- [51:34]
C
Fruit stripe. It's the best gum. One time the Degner's were going to the grocery store and they were like, what?
- [51:41]
B
We'll get your lemonade on the way back.
- [51:42]
C
And they went to the grocery store and they came back by. They didn't stop. They just threw out a bunch of that Fruit Stripe gum all over the Connecticut street, which a busy street. And all of us would, like, take turns going in the middle of the street to get all the. All of it. We'd walk to school and walk home. Our Pine Street Elementary School was down the road. It was just great, great memories. Everything. We did everything outside. Back then, we didn't have phones, you know, there were no devices. ColecoVision and Atari, we got it, like, eighth grade. And my mom and my aunt played that more than we did.
- [52:19]
B
This is like how childhood should be, isn't it?
- [52:21]
C
We've got our bicycles, our roller skates outside.
- [52:25]
B
Yeah. All that imagination, all that kind of jockeying for who's the secretary, who's going to be in charge. And you learn so much. And it's just such a wonderful time to reminisce on. This has been a total honor, Ainsley. Huge congrats on the new book. It is called America. I'm so glad you were born. Thanks for being here.
- [52:42]
C
Thank you for hosting me and all of your success. Congratulations, Jenny. You have the best personality. God gave you so much, and you're using it. Thank you.
- [52:50]
B
Thank you.