Tom Hanlon and Jennifer Trotter

00:01 We are now recording.

00:05 My name is Jennifer Trotter. I'm 32 years old. Today is Friday December 11th, 2020. I am in Raleigh, North Carolina. My partner is Tom and I don't know my partner be repaired through story Force One Small Step project.

00:25 Yeah, I'm Tom Hanlon. I'm in Little Rock, Arkansas 2020.

00:41 And I am meeting with my partner Jennifer who I do not know.

00:51 Naree. Rissaya tell us a little bit about yourself first your life in a nutshell.

00:58 So I grew up in a Christian Republican household in Northern Virginia with two parents who work full-time. I'm an only child and that became my second family that marriage didn't last long when I spent several years living and working in the DC area eventually went to George Washington University for my masters in public health. And as I was finishing that degree in going through a break-up I decided to try dating women in 2020 in the midst of a global pandemic. I fell deeply in love for the first time in Seven Oaks Raleigh, North Carolina to be closer to friends and family.

01:58 Tom what's your life in a nutshell?

02:01 Well, so I'm 76 years old short. So I've been been around for a while and children follow the definition in medical officer. That for me Catholic environment went to high school has been all my siblings to Catholic boarding schools shortly after high school. I went into the military and truthful years in the u.s. Air Force Station boat and Europe after that. I went to work in the evening.

03:01 Have since been employed in the in the mechanical engineering Arkansas have been with a large architectural engineering firm for some kind of travel the country in the world hea C projects, Fabius Murray's that was adopted at 3 terrific grandkids.

03:46 Probably the most influential moment in my life was when I re-read discovered Christianity the true Christianity which which I think is empowering spiritual thing or it has been for me and German about the accident.

04:12 I spent a lot of my spare time doing volunteer work and it's County in the nutshell.

04:22 Jennifer will you now read Tom's fire?

04:27 I have a 76 year old married man mechanical engineer still working raised in a very Catholic Family 7 siblings get along and career in h v a c after the service has been very touched.

05:00 And now tell him what you re Jennifer's while we also moved here from DC. I dressed as for Halloween and his picture this blew my mind because they say it's basically a celebrity.

05:36 Where to go gym

05:42 So it doesn't matter to me who goes first, but based on what you just heard each other no say about your own life. And then what what you read to do either of you have any questions Jennifer. Do you want to start you have a question for Tom I do and actually tell him when you were describing your bio or your your personal history of tests on what I was going to ask you about already. So I was going to ask you until you said you were raised very Catholic and

06:13 So I was just curious if there was a moment at you when you felt like you chose religion purses it just being a part of the way you were raised and you mentioned that you found true Christianity. I apologize. I think that's what you call that. I apologize if I use the wrong working, but if you could just tell me about that moment.

06:36 Yell at the end and thanks for the question and and and it was somewhat of a moment. I didn't think it was the environment that I that I was raised in was very very too descriptive here. But was sort of punitive cap, like it was more about ritual, you know, and learning how to say prayers and all of those those things in it. And the one that I went to there was a lot of Beijing

07:36 Religious person in that way until yesterday when my daughter was in the seventh grade when I said if she didn't write volume, so I did some people actually do and I've been a member ever since that was 3737 years ago, so I've been

08:34 And and I learned from that sand in from my my somewhat re-birth, although I don't think it was one of these, you know, I today but it told me refocus me, you know, I love, Believers in the things and the benevolence. So and by the way, my daughter

09:24 Sure. I have many other questions for you, but I'll let you ask.

09:32 You will not know I was struck by your bio when you mentioned that you had moved and I'm a liberal bubble in DC to 2, and I'm just curious about your place on the contrast between between that environment in DC. And you said you went to George Washington University.

10:10 Help me with that the difference that you see how you're doing with it.

10:21 Eli Manning to very different cities for sure, even though I've heard you do that way in comparison to DC because he's he obviously is very very liberal and

10:41 And most people who work in politics. I think that also everybody is at least it was for me and my friends maybe I'm generalizing too much for everybody. But, you know talking about politics.

11:05 Average run-of-the-mill conversation and in Raleigh. Nobody talks about it even in you know, I moved here mid-october right those right before election and

11:20 Obviously, I don't know maybe every election is like this but this one felt about it one way or the other but still here in Raleigh people weren't really talking about it and

11:41 Yeah, it's just on the one hand that's refreshing. I will definitely say I don't like talking about politics all the time. So it's nice to be out of that Circle. But in other ways I think politics are really important and it's nice to people who can feel the same way about an issues and so judgmental, you know a better person more knowledgeable about other things. So it's still learning experience.

12:42 Just a tad on Jenna. What took you what what brought you to Raleigh?

12:48 So I got my master's degree in public health in Raleigh is the Research Triangle around here. So I was originally moving planning on moving down here as soon as I finished my degree, but while I was still finishing my degree is when I started dating my ex girlfriend, and I said, I fell deeply in love with her and I was willing to try and pursue a career in DC kids with her career. She couldn't move she was going to be so when we broke up. I was like, okay I can get back on track with my career. I hadn't found anything that I wanted a really difficult time for me.

13:45 It's been a rough year for everybody. Right? So this is also closer to friends and family.

13:54 Oh my gosh, I got a follow-up question if I could and so so you weren't you working public health, or are you still working in public health? Same company in DC. I am looking for a job here in Raleigh, but haven't found anything yet, but my current job I work on the health policy side of things doing advocacy for different health care practitioner groups.

14:24 Oh, okay. Interesting interesting boy. I mean that's front burner for most people right now it is I mean this this pandemic and the way it has this is like tentacles that are just going through our society and just changed everything everything you do, you know, so now that you know, the guidelines that we have right now and I'm sorry. I'm kind of flipping subjects on your little bit with the social distancing avoid crowds where I mask and wash your hands.

15:25 Do you find?

15:29 Better compliance with that in your former environment for where you are now very very strict about it even walking outside in the city. Even if you're in like a neighborhood part of the city where your there's no one else inside people were still wearing masks everywhere. Whereas in Raleigh. I feel like it's hard. It's a lot harder than you have kind of a mix of everything even businesses like certain restaurant have spacing between their tables. So you're not sitting too close to other people other restaurants don't have that. I'm so it's very different here and that it kind of feels all over the place. You don't know to what extent of person or business is going to

16:28 Not if you I mean I assume everybody is hearing to the actual regulation that I guess you don't know what people are going to

16:37 Distance to wear Master anything like that?

16:40 Yeah, this isn't this an amazing time. Where were clearly.

16:49 You know that the risk and science are that they're not all usable facts. They are tracks has become such a political thing that if you if you take measures that are that should protect everybody be considered on one extreme and if you don't you're on the other, yeah and this

17:18 Go ahead.

17:20 No, no. No, I was done. Yeah, I am curious how that is in Arkansas and how you feel among your peers because at to be perfectly honest, I'm kind of I shouldn't be surprised to hear you say that but just again coming from my bubble, you know not having spent any amount of time in the midwest. I think we're told that the other lot of people who don't believe the science. ER don't wear masks. So it's definitely good to hear that you feel that way, but I'm just curious if you feel like you're in the minority in Arkansas on your peers or everybody's treating a bar.

18:05 Well, I think the quick answer that yes, mostly because we understand science and there's also a couple others but in the general population here specially in the smaller communities, they just don't interested in in in in compliance with these guidelines and recommendations make in head pretty hard cases.

19:05 Kentucky or just back about 3 weeks ago and it was at their cases in their percentage of people are tested to test positive. It was approaching 50%

19:34 So, you know, I I I just wish this would not have become a political thing. We don't go on that, you know, there's been other really really bad viruses that the world is known over the past and they want treated this way a piano solo.

20:08 I don't think healthcare should ever be a lot of cool and that's really sad to see you in the heart.

20:16 I've got my head around it and deal with so I don't know that's part of why I got into public health policy now, I thought that would be a great way to Annex change on a on a big scale buy it because it's just so difficult and it is so polarizing and trying to get any sort of healthcare even want like this.

20:55 Stuff that my company deals with is very have bipartisan support so you would think so. It's just a very

21:12 Jennifer Jennifer, I don't think I'd get discouraged by it about the political rhetoric and surrounds it right now because this is very recent. I mean this this hasn't been like this for a long strides that were done in healthcare, you know, like like developing a vaccine and doing away with polio in this country. I remember when I was terrified of everybody was all in and there's other examples

22:12 So almost unique that that a pandemic like this political thing is I think I don't think this is very common.

22:30 I appreciate your optimism Tom.

22:38 With social media and I don't know things today are so different different in terms of how quickly our mission is able to spread that. I think it's harder barrier to overcome. You have a lot of people who are scared of vaccines because of what they've read on mine and them

23:04 And yeah, I just don't know.

23:08 But that is going to be something that we can easily overcome. Hopefully it will be I like I said, I truly appreciate what you said. You were a child when the polio vaccine came about.

23:29 Yes, and your dad was a working physician at the time.

23:34 Yep, that's right. Can you just like elaborate a little bit on on what it was like to be that the child of a physician during that. Of time and weather like was there ever any question whether or not your your father was going to have his family vaccinated?

23:53 Sure, I'll share this story with you. And and I remember this like it was yesterday. We were all the school, you know.

24:02 Grade school Puma I was probably maybe it's time the day that he had access to the to the polio vaccine. It came and got us out of school. And when we got home my mother had in a pot on the stove and he lined us up and gave everyone a shot that had Polio, you know that we ended up in a breathing apparatus and and he was so he just

25:01 It is not raining like crazy.

25:13 You know, that's that's my weekend of that. You know, I know some people talk and you know, they're somewhat disabled from you no longer functioning. That's my experience with polio.

25:42 You got about 20 minutes left.

25:46 All right. Do you mind if I switch gears a little bit?

25:51 So another question I wanted to ask you, it's just something that I love asking people in general. I just love to hear what people are passionate about. So what is it that you love to do? What what drives passion in your life?

26:10 Yeah, my all consuming passions weather changed a little bit recently, but I'll I'll give them to you in in their current priority very much like being outside. I like hiking and just just doing anything where I can get outside and unfortunately my wife enjoys that as well probably my second passion right now is spending time with my grandkids. Especially my kid who's 14 grandson, and I'm teaching him how to drive and so we go out almost every Friday evening.

26:57 And we drive around for a couple hours. Then he drives we visit and we get caught up and that's that's my current fashion. But my all-consuming is volunteerism.

27:14 We have a place of Central Food Pantry at our church. We serve with currently showing about 250 families a week. And that's out of the Church of about 250 to 300 acupressure. So that's pretty good. So they sure, directions.

27:50 I was going to say if you could behind me. I have these national parks posters. I love being outside as well and posters of all the national parks.

28:07 I wish I could see him because I'd be jealous.

28:13 Were you going to ask the same question of me?

28:18 I was Hearts. You're so great. It's really a joy to explore them and whether it's walking around here with I am so grateful for my husband so bad as dance. I started dancing when I was 13 and

29:02 Started doing you know, the typical like tap Jazz ballet and then went to college as a Spanish major in undergrad and also there and got really into salsa. And I also dances something where you get to combine physical activity with creativity with community and to being able to get back to dancing again.

29:47 I'm curious what salsa is part of the body movement comes from like the African slave that moved to or not moved. They were they brought their dancing to Cuba. So the dance side of it comes from that and then the music is above from Jazz and New York. So hopefully music and a type of SIA. It's just it's really cool to learn about and I love the music to I I was really into music when I was younger. So salsa music

30:47 It's hard not to dance with you.

30:52 That's interesting. I I never heard of this good enough.

31:00 I mean, I really have missed out a lot in this endemic and learned a lot about myself. I mean, I always knew that about myself making a much more concerted effort to I'm doing are close to your spend time with people I love and whatever way we can make that happen. If it's on Zoom Oreo hanging out to sense that a park trying to make it happen in whatever way I can.

31:43 You're very important to me and I love them very much and I'm happier one when I have that connection for sure.

31:54 Yeah, that's good. That's that's that's been our experience as well of course are so very very much and we like many other congregations when this came along because of mandates and not we we could having live services and then we quit having Sunday School classes and boy, it's it's been tough.

32:37 You know when we we have reopened a couple times and have a few live services and

32:47 Have had a couple people that October and shut back down and just decided.

33:00 Yeah, yeah, you know what you mentioned in your level of happiness is close friends and loved ones and those people.

33:25 XPS at our food pantry that we were is a 91 year old gal really spry. She's the Widow of Contrition captions for being taken or taking their name some Warlock.

34:06 I can't get her to wear a mask. So please World mask and she looked at me and she said Tom on 91 just looked at me that I'm not going to do that. How can you retrieve?

34:51 I don't know. It's a choice you make right like it's the balance between your mental health and your physical health and that's what I keep telling myself because my parents are your age and you know over the summer was the first time I was even thinking about going to see them and I felt very conflicted about it because they now live in Southern Virginia, which is very rare. Also, there are many if any cases near where they are at the time I was coming from DC and

35:27 I said I felt very conflicted about it. But I'm their only child and I know that they were really struggling not seeing me and so true about I'm going to do everything I can to be safe before going to be going to see them and while I'm with them but it's hard cuz I really don't care about your parents cuz you're going to be with them, but it's like no I care very much about them and I don't want them to be.

36:09 We have about 10 minutes left guys.

36:13 So well, yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for that. So so the career that you're that you're pursuing right now, it's the firm that you're with Shane Farm Jennifer that you will work in DC.

36:34 You know exactly what you do your own the ethically advocacy side of Public Health. I always kind of roll my eyes before describing my job because it's never easy to describe. But so yeah, the firm I work for is an association management firm. So you might be familiar with associations in like you said, you're a mechanical engineer. So the clients I'm on are the National Society of genetic counselors. And then the National Association of Healthcare access managers. So like the former is a group of genetic counselors in the US.

37:30 And then the ladder is like the people who deal with medical billing or like the people who check you in when you go to the hospital or doctor's office are collectively considered Healthcare access manager.

37:42 So they like genetic counselors there currently pushing for Medicare and Medicaid to recognize them as healthcare providers because they are Masters level practitioner. So they're not currently recognized by Medicare and Medicaid have to be supervised by a physician which is very inefficient and doesn't allow for increased access to genetic counselors, which you know, how does genetic testing becomes more more widespread. We need genetic counselors to help us that come with that deciding whether you want to get tested what to do. Once you see the results that kind of thing so that everybody is starting to realize the bio genetic counselors if they did that before becoming more and more commonplace, but but yeah,

38:42 Stop there. So how about a follow-up question. Are you an advocate for universal healthcare in this country would love to see that but I also understand people who have concerns with it and I certainly think you know and whatever form universal healthcare exists. It's always going to have its flaws, but I definitely would like to see us and move in that direction because I don't know one of my personal things I that really gets me fired up is

39:24 Healthcare equity and just how racism sees itself you know how it's in every facet of healthcare simply right now with cool bed. I saw that New Mexico is having to determine who they're treating based on their likelihood to survive and obviously African Americans have a New Mexico to indigenous people as well less likely to survive because they're only treating white people. So I think universal healthcare would hopefully start to reduce and hopefully someday eradicate racism in our Healthcare System. And yeah, it's just it's so sad to see in this country.

40:24 Reasons people can't get the program.

40:27 How do you feel about the issue we have about 5 minutes?

40:32 III Echo what are what you said? I think they left that there should be universal healthcare people that degrade the other countries in the world have it haven't been there and have talked to the populations and whatnot. I think it's a disgrace that we don't already have it in some form and you know, they are

41:08 If it if we summed up all of the all of the resources that are spent currently on Healthcare across the board from VA and all the publicly funded health care that there is plus Medicare plus Medicaid plus all the private insurance would probably spend less money per person then more and I really do believe that but you know, I was seven years ago and it was a survey that was being done by by somebody about time of topics and one of them was was Healthcare.

41:55 And I was on this panel or at this table with about 10 people and it was a myriad of folks old people like me a couple of retired where there was a doctor there who had moved to the US from Belgium. She had went to medical school. They're actually practiced in your system for a while and I think that married and she said, you know that you guys were right about all these reasons why you should have Universal Health Care, but in my opinion the most biggest reason to have universal healthcare is to eliminate this dialogue in this anxiety that the lack of healthcare create sand people.

42:55 Or I thought spot-on, you know absolutely spot-on, It should be it should be.

43:25 Yeah, so anyway, I believe it is used to be a service-disabled, but I think it's just fine.

44:05 You know, they don't always give you exactly what you want might have to wait a few days for an appointment if you need one but to Josh and that's not always going to have its imperfections. No system is perfect. But for everybody to have equal access to healthcare would just be a huge Improvement. I think the majority of people in this country while it would be a minor inconvenience for the minority of people in the sky.

44:41 That's to me that's the big difference. Are you going to call time on this Brenda are coming to our final minutes? So if you want to finish your finish your thoughts, please well, I was just going to say I want to ask you and get to know you even more. So thank you for Civil War ending this conversation today and them I don't know if I don't know if I would mind sharing my contact information to catch up with you after this.

45:22 Sure. Sure. Yeah. Yeah, that would be fine. And thank you so much and thanks of the storycorps and that you certainly have the spunk in the intelligence. You can make a difference. Thank you so much. That means the world to me. It's been wonderful.