Hard Talks Podcast

09/13/2024

09/11/2024

Never forget…
The devastation
The loss of life…
Or the ripple affect it had on our nation and across the world…
Today we observe the 23rd anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S soil.
On the morning of Sept. 11, United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11 departed from Boston en route to California before hijackers crashed them into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.

American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, while passengers attempted to overtake United Airlines Flight 93 from hijackers before it crash-landed in Pennsylvania.
The 9/11 attacks left 2,977 dead across New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, according to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

That total includes the 2,753 who died after the planes struck the Twin Towers, 184 people at the Pentagon and 40 people who died when Flight 93 crash-landed in Pennsylvania.

The 19 hijackers from the militant Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda also died.
343 firefighters died on 9/11, which at the time was nearly half the number of on-duty deaths in the New York City Fire Department’s entire 100-year history.

In 2019, it was reported that the 200th New York City firefighter had died of Ground Zero-related illnesses.

Around 40% of the victims have yet to be identified, according to the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME).

That’s about 1,106 people…

To all the victims and their families, I know this day is still ongoing, it’s a somber day forever, my heart goes out to you hoping peace has found you.

I want to say thank you to our 1st responders. Thank you to our 2nd responders. Thank you to our 3rd responders, to our armed forces who fought the war that immediately followed.
To all who were impacted by this day that changed the course of history for everyone around the globe.
Your bravery… your lives… will never be forgotten…

IG clips: clips: “Falling Man”: https://youtu.be/DrGp270SSKM?si=snSgR057s93DollP #911 Hard Talks Podcast Alicia Leopardi

08/16/2024

08/05/2024

Time and photographs are so strange. A single photo could bring you right back to the pain or pleasure of any moment.

These photos are a decade apart to the day and I had to take a second to appreciate the wave of emotion’s.

So many things are the same about me and yet nothing’s the same at all 🥹
I’m so f*cking proud of the many lives I’ve lived, the many mountains I’ve sumitted alone, and the many faces that have come to pass, especially the ones that have stayed and have taught me so much.

Many days I felt like this lost, little kid, drowning… searching for something greater outside of myself.
But through many seasons of life I finally realized that the real magic is in acceptance and that what I’d been searching for was always within myself.

As a kid I remember my dad always saying “Alicia, you can pick the easy door or the hard door”, my answer was always the same “well what’s behind the hard door?” Out of sheer curiosity and rebellion, and he’d always get so mad, screaming “that’s not the point!” But looking back, it kinda was.

I always wanted to do things my way and though many moments came back to smack me in the face, it’s made me who I am.
I used to kick myself for that same stubbornness and the attitude of “F you- I’m learning for myself”, but now I can’t help but chuckle at the memory or be more grateful for my journey.

It’s taught me about more pain and suffering than I could’ve ever imagined but it’s also propelled me to this moment of clarity and abundance and each day just brings more gifts 🥹

I’ve learned that not everything life has to throw at you deserves a reaction, I began savoring the small things as if they were the last bits of chocolate on this earth, I let emotions come and go, like the ebb and flow of a soft wave, and I’ve made it a personal goal to find joy in every moment; especially the hard ones, because ultimately they’re temporary and teach you the most.
But most importantly… I’ve learned to laugh… at everything. In love and in sorrow.
This change in mindsets set my spirit free and lit my soul on fire and I can’t help but stare at this younger version of myself and just love her that much harder.

Shes got a lot of work ahead of her, but she’ll get through it.

So thankful for this life and to forever be the trippy lil pea in one far out pod, man🫛 loving life for everything that it is and finally at peace.

Cheers to growth, my friends. It’s pretty rad.

07/10/2024

07/07/2024

The Romani people are unique, not only in their interesting style of dress and culture, but because they aren’t technically from anywhere. The Romanis - also known as gypsies - are known for constantly traveling, who are believed to have originated in northern India, although they’re closely related with Eastern Europe and even the Americas.
By the late 19th century the Romani people could be found traveling across the world, from England and Scotland to New York City. Beginning in 1888 the Gypsy Lore Society started to publish a journal that was meant to dispel rumors about their lifestyle.
Daily Factfinder