Christopher Gabriel

The Definition of Character: Samantha Meyer (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Mon, 07 May 2012 22:05:33 +0000

Every now and again you meet someone, or perhaps you read about them, who makes you take a breath to think about the things you believe are weighing you down in your everyday life. Bills, a nagging cold that takes too long to go away, your children not going to bed at night… you get the idea. Ultimately they’re all manageable, but at any given moment we give them weight that is generally disproportionate to reality.

The person I’m speaking about is the one whose story – the things they’ve faced, dealt with and ultimately conquered – becomes a teachable moment in strength, courage, character and remembering that life needs to be lived.

That person is Samantha Meyer.

photo credit: Samantha Meyer Photography

Christine Brennan: A Writer’s Writer

Christopher Gabriel — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:05:38 +0000

There are writers. And then there are writers. I’m a writer. Most who sit at a computer, whether they’re a monthly blogger in Kansas or a twice-weekly columnist for a major newspaper in New York City, rarely rise to the level of italics. However, when we’re discussing, say, Mitch Albom or Michael Wilbon – they’re writers. That class of writer is top shelf. A blue-chip prospect. A PTP’er (Prime Time Player) whose got game and then-some.

USA TODAY award-winning sports columnist and best-selling author Christine Brennan…. she’s all those things and more. This lady can bring it!

A native of Toledo (OH) and a graduate of Northwestern, Christine has long been someone I’ve wanted on my radio program. What a treat it was finally connecting with her. Christine shares some thoughts on baseball and hockey in Washington, D.C., Pat Summitt, Ozzie Guillen, birthdays, fathers and the South Side of Chicago.

photo credits: USA TODAY, Toledo Blade

Jay Wilkinson: Dear Jay, Love Dad (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:49:31 +0000

Bud Wilkinson was one of the most prolific college football coaches of all time. With a record of 145-29-4, three national championships, 14 Big 8 championships and inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1969, he did for Oklahoma football what John Wooden did for UCLA basketball and Bear Bryant did for Alabama football. The Minnesota native was also a player, a broadcaster, and even a politician.

But when you learn about Bud Wilkinson off the football field, there can be no doubt what his greatest role was: A father.

Jay Wilkinson has written a compelling, poignant, heartwarming book about his legendary father centering on the many letters Bud wrote to Jay beginning when Jay left home to attend Duke University. You don’t need to be a parent or a fan of college football to be swept away by Dear Jay, Love Dad.

photo credits (including features page): Jay Wilkinson

Chris Lower on LVAD’s and Keeping Your Heart Happy (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 22:23:22 +0000

Chris Lower has been a good friend for a number of years now. A former football player, happily married, three beautiful children and wonderfully successful as the director of marketing, PR and social media for Minneapolis-based Sterling Cross Communications (he’s also co-owner). For as long as I’ve known him he’s been a high-energy, “all systems go” kind of guy.

And then in 2011, one teeny thing got in the way of that: His heart.

Hearts have a funny way of ruling our lives… literally. And we like to use ”heart” in any number of phrases: From the heart, heavy heart, with all my heart, know it by heart… but at the head of the food chain before we talk about it or write about it, the heart needs to work.

Last year, Chris’s nearly stopped working. That’s where our discussion began.

Part 1
Part 2

illustration credit: Thoratec Corporation and Chris Lower

Barry Weiss: Road Trip to Fargo (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:12:22 +0000

The only thing better than having Barry Weiss, the breakout star from A&E’s Storage Wars, live on the phone is having him live in studio for The Christopher Gabriel Program.

Dinner with Barry on Sunday night, two hours on the program Monday, lunch that afternoon… toss in Tim Beers, Jr. and Tim Urian, producers from Original Productions and Storage Wars, filming the entire two hours in studio and you have one insane, rollicking, great couple of days in Fargo, North Dakota.

I wrote about Barry on the CGP’s program blog in The Forum on how it came to pass that he came to Fargo. And then there’s the audio from the program itself. He joined me on our daily Top 5 @ Noon segment and then we finished the remaining hour and 40 minutes talking everything from the origin of the series to shopping at roadside truck stops to the upcoming Giants-Patriots Super Bowl.

Top 5 @ Noon
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

photo credits: Jill St. John, executive producer, The Christopher Gabriel Program

Andrew Young on Martin Luther King, Jr. (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:37:44 +0000

Andrew Young was there. In Birmingham, in Selma, in Memphis… he was there. He watched history in the making. Thinking about him over the years, that’s what I’d say when his name would come up in discussion. Shortly before Mr. Young came on my program I told a WDAY colleague, “Andrew Young is a connection to history.” It wasn’t until that moment I realized how wildly incorrect I had been for so many years.

Andrew Young wasn’t a connection to history. He was, and remains, a part of our history.

And as you’ll learn very quickly, speaking to Mr. Young becomes a vivid reminder of our history. A lesson, as it were. I cannot think of a better person in our nation to have been blessed to speak with on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day than Andrew Young.

Part 1
Part 2

photo credit: gademocrats

Gingerbread People: The Controversy (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:46:58 +0000

One of the most intense controversies sweeping America: Gingerbread People. I’ve been overwhelmed with emails and phone calls asking if I would do a little digging to better understand what’s at the bottom of gingerbread people. Specifically, the gingerbread men – they appear to be naked. The women, however – clothed. That’s the crux of the issue: Why are gingerbread men naked?

Or are they naked?

I needed to call in an expert and there is no one better than my pal, Twin Cities Angie. As I’ve come to learn over the years, when the subject is gingerbread people (or banana bread), it’s Angie Time on the CGP.

photo credit: Andrew Smithson

Lessons in Ethics from The Bolles School (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:40:41 +0000

One of the things I’ve spoken about on my program many times is the seeming lack of athletic stories involving character, dignity and class. Sadly, it’s something in step with our country both socially and culturally. But it manifests itself most prominently in athletics. Drugs, fights in bars, cheating by coaches and athletes alike… the list of black marks on sports grows exponentially by the particular season we’re in. How young do we have to go to find athletes and / or coaches doing the right thing for the right reasons?

Enter, The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida.

Just when you start to wonder about where we’re going as a society, along comes a group of talented young athletes and their coach who remind everyone that, indeed, there are individuals out there who still place a high value on ethics, putting others before themselves and allowing a moment in time to be defined by honor.

What this group of young ladies The Bolles School did, all of them outstanding cross-country runners, at the Florida state championship race in November is a lesson for anyone who participates in sports.

Perhaps what they did is more aptly framed as a lesson for anyone who participates in life.

photo credit: The Bolles School

Clint Hill: Before, During and After November 22, 1963 (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:09:36 +0000

Clint Hill is a native of Larimore, ND, born in 1932. 17 days after his birth he was dropped off at the North Dakota Children’s Home. Growing up in Washburn, ND, he later attended and graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. Shortly thereafter he enlisted in the Army and was selected for Army Intelligence School. After graduating, Mr. Hill was made a Special Agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps. In 1958 the Denver Secret Service office had an opening and Mr. Hill was encouraged to apply. To no one’s surprise, he got in with ease and less than a year later he was viewed as an ideal candidate for the White House Detail under President Eisenhower. It would not be an overstatement to suggest the events of his life that followed were quite remarkable.

After reading the searing and compelling book The Kennedy Detail, I was given the opportunity to have an extended interview with the gracious and dignified Mr. Hill on my radio program. When considering Mr. Hill’s place in American history, this was a thrilling moment for me both personally and professionally. And indeed, it was a wonderful listen for our entire audience.

Clint Hill, Part 1
Clint Hill, Part 2

photo credit: The Kennedy Detail Online Blog
photo credit (features page): Daily Mail

Bob Woodward: Watergate, Belushi, Obama and More (audio)

Christopher Gabriel — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:35:57 +0000

About the time I entered high school in suburban Philadelphia, a young reporter for The Washington Post named Bob Woodward, working with Carl Bernstein, began reporting on the Watergate scandal. They turned the political and journalism world upside down with what turned out to be perhaps the greatest journalistic effort in history. Catching up with Bob we spoke on a variety of issues including Watergate, the many presidents he’s written about, the economy, John Belushi and the sudden fall of Joe Paterno.

photo credit (features page): CSIS: Center for Strategic & International Studies