VOA – CONNECT 
EPISODE  #156    
AIR DATE  01 08 2021   
TRANSCRIPT 
 
OPEN  ((VO/NAT)) 
((Banner)) 
Finding Peace 
((SOT)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
Being in the forest, in nature, is good for us, especially 
during these pandemic times, something that helps soothe 
body and soul.  
((Animation Transition)) 
((Banner)) 
Comforting the Vulnerable 
((SOT)) 
((Stephen “Cue” JN-Marie, Pastor, Row Church)) 
All our elected officials are doing, are passing eviction 
moratoriums.  Well, after the moratorium, somebody has to 
pay that rent.  All landlords are going to do, is proceed with 
the eviction process.   
((Banner)) 
Learning Control 
((SOT)) 
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner))   
There's a lot of trust that goes on with it, a lot of 
empowerment.  When they're in the water with Ricochet, 
they feel in control.   
((Open Animation))  
 
 
BLOCK A 
 
 
((PKG))  REASEY’S JOURNEY   
((VOA Khmer))   
((Banner:  Journeys through Forests)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Reasey Poch)) 
((Producer/Video Editor:  Lisa Vohra))
((Additional Camera:  Socheata Hean, Lisa Vohra)) 
((Map:  Dale City, Virginia)) 
((Main Characters:  1 male)) 
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
My children take me to the forest.  They know it's difficult for 
me.   But they also know it’s healing.  Being in the forest, in 
nature, is good for us, especially during these pandemic 
times. 
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
I like the Japanese name for it, ‘Forest Bathing’, something 
that helps soothe body and soul.  It wasn't always this way 
for me.  I'm Cambodian from Phnom Penh and up until I was 
12, I'd lived a comfortable life in the city known as the ‘Pearl 
of Asia’.  
((Courtesy:  The Times Standard))   
((Courtesy:  The Philadelphia Inquirer))   
((Courtesy:  The Lost Angeles Times))   
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
But then the Khmer Rouge took over, forcing millions of us 
into the countryside to clear the land and plant crops.  The 
terror was everywhere.  So was starvation.  
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
I would sneak into the woods to forage.  I learned to set 
traps for fish, birds and rabbits.  
((Courtesy:  Reasey Poch)) 
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
We lived with fear, always, and the forest gave no reprieve.  
I knew I'd be killed if I was caught.  
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
Four years of this, and then 
((Courtesy:  The Albuquerque Journal))  
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
Vietnam invaded in 1978 and I escaped.  I trekked through 
the forests, over mountains, dodging Khmer Rouge fighters, 
((Courtesy:  Reasey Poch)) 
trying to reach safety in Vietnam.  We had no food, no water.  
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
We just had to keep moving, not get caught, not get killed.  I 
made it and I left the forest behind. 
((Courtesy:  Reasey Poch))  
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
I arrived in the United States when I was 21 and up until this 
year, I'd never set foot in an American forest.  I just couldn't.  
Friends and family would ask me to go camping or go on a 
hike.  No, I couldn't. 
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
But as the pandemic restricted us, my children thought it was 
time.  They're now in their twenties and they know what I've 
been through.  My daughter had moved back home because 
of COVID-19 and like most people, we were feeling penned 
in.  She convinced me to try walking in the woods.   
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
During that first hike, I had flashbacks. The trees look 
different here.  They're not tropical, but the fear came 
rushing back.  But we took another hike.  And another.  Each 
time got a little easier.  One day, we hiked a trail that ran 
alongside a stream.  It wasn't like the muddy puddles I drank 
from fleeing Cambodia.  The water was so clear.  And in that 
moment, I could see it was just a stream.  It didn't represent 
survival.  
((NATS)) 
((Reasey Poch, Journalist, Voice of America)) 
The trees were just trees.  They didn't conceal an enemy.  I 
was in the forest and I was calm.  One day, the pandemic 
will be over.  But my hiking days won’t be.  I will keep on 
hiking.  
((NATS))  
 
 
((PKG:  SKID ROW CHURCH))   
((Banner:  A Church Without Walls))  
((Reporter:  Mike O’Sullivan)) 
((Camera:  Genia Dulot, Mike O’Sullivan)) 
((Adapted by:  Zdenko Novacki)) 
((Map:  Los Angeles, California))    
((Main characters:  3 male)) 
((NATS)) 
We pray, oh God.  In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray that 
your will will be done. 
((Stephen “Cue” JN-Marie, Pastor, Row Church)) 
For 14 years, we do it every Friday.  Around this time, we 
come out and we feed people, right?  We feed them first the 
spiritual word of God, we call it and then, we give them 
physical food.  We let them know that “Hey, you don’t have 
to come to listen to the word of God in order for us to give 
you food.  If you just want to come when we’re serving, you 
can come when we’re serving.  You don’t have to listen to 
me.  I’m nothing special.  I don’t have nothing great to say to 
you except for what’s in the word of God.” 
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
Someday, Someday. 
((Kayo Anderson, Music Minister, Row Church))   
The hardest hit place in Los Angeles, still praising God, still 
giving him the glory, still coming out on Friday nights.  And 
what I’ve started to notice is happening is that more and 
more people are coming back every week.  
((NATS)) 
((Stephen “Cue” JN-Marie, Pastor, Row Church))  
There are all kinds of people who come here.  There are 
people who are housed.  There are about 9,000 people who 
are housed right here in Los Angeles.  And what’s in Skid 
Row, what’s called Single Residency Occupancies, right 
there are little small apartments, kind of like the size of a jail 
cell, a small jail cell.  
((NATS)) 
((Kevin Floyd, Homeless Shelter Resident)) 
There’s a lot of good people down here, but it’s like the has-
beens, the ex-gang members, the ex-pimps or prostitutes, 
ex-parolees, ex-probation or their family just forgot about 
them.  So, they end up coming down here.  It’s something 
down here and it’s kind of like Paul, when he said in the 
church, during the, excuse me, “you can stay down here or 
you can go to heaven”.  When you come to Skid Row, you 
have to put on your Ephesians 6:18, your whole armor of 
God.  Because even when you don’t want to do something, 
you see somebody doing something, so you end up wanting 
to do it.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Stephen “Cue” JN-Marie, Pastor, Row Church)) 
About 400,000 people are at risk of facing eviction due to 
COVID-19 and all our elected officials are doing are passing 
eviction moratoriums.  Well, after the moratorium, somebody 
has to pay that rent, right?  And so, after the moratorium, all 
landlords are going to do is proceed with evictions, right, with 
the eviction process.  And so, we’re asking them to cancel 
rent.  
((NATS)) 
((Kayo Anderson, Music Minister, Row Church)) 
It’s small movements like this that will shift the 
paradigm.  We can’t focus on the hate.  We can’t focus on 
what’s going on in Washington D.C.  We need to focus right 
here at home, individually with each person you meet and 
see.  
((NATS))
 
TEASE  ((VO/NAT)) 
Coming up….. 
((Banner)) 
Helping at Sea 
((SOT)) 
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner)) 
She was eight weeks old.  I had her in a kiddie pool and 
there was a boogie board and I kind of tapped it to invite her 
on it and she climbed on and had really good balance.  So, 
from that I just continued playing around with it.  

BREAK ONE									 
BUMP IN  ((ANIM))				  
 

BLOCK B  
   
((PKG))  RICOCHET, THE SUPPORT DOG   
((Banner:  Surfing and Serving))  
((Reporter/Camera:  Genia Dulot))
((Adapted by:  Philip Alexiou)) 
((Map:  San Diego, California))     
((Main characters:  2 female; 1 male))   
((Sub characters:  1 female; 1 male))   
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner))   
Ricochet was trained as a service dog but she was not 
placed because she likes to chase little animals, critters, 
squirrels.  She would not make it as a service dog.  But she 
also surfs.  So, she surfs with people who have disabilities.  
So now I call her ‘a surface dog’.  
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono))
She was eight weeks old.  I had her in a kiddie pool and 
there was a boogie board and I kind of tapped it to invite her 
on it and she climbed on and had really good balance.  So, 
from that I just continued playing around with it.  
((Hunter, Surfer)) 
I lay on the board and she stands behind me. 
((Jacklyn, Hunter’s Mom))   
There's a pusher, you know, another individual that will push 
them into the wave and Ricochet is really good at balancing 
the board for Hunter and in the beginning of his surfing that 
he needed that.  
((Hunter, Surfer)) 
I’m the only one who surfs in the family. 
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono)) 
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner))   
There's a lot of trust that goes on with it, a lot of 
empowerment, especially kids with autism that don't get to 
really do anything on their own.  There's usually supervision, 
but when they're in the water with Ricochet,  
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono)) 
they feel in control.  And I always say to them, “thank you for 
teaching my dog how to surf.”  So, they feel like they're the 
ones helping the dog instead.  And it's just such an 
empowering feeling for the child.  
((Staff Sergeant Persons Griffith, San Diego Resident))   
I'm Staff Sergeant Persons Griffith and I'm a PTSD 
awareness advocate. 
((Courtesy:  Judy Fridono)) 
((NATS)) 
How was it? 
((Staff Sergeant Persons Griffith, San Diego Resident))  
It's good.  Yes.  Yeah, it's nice having her out there.  It helps.  
When I met Ricochet, that was one of the more significant 
overwhelming moments in my life.  I was having a really hard 
time and so I finally had a breakthrough and I realized how 
PTSD was affecting me.  Ricochet was like a mirror for me.  
You can't hide things from her.  So, she already knows 
exactly what's going on.  And she just kind of reaches into 
your soul and pulls it out in front of you and says, you know, 
brings it to your attention and says, you know, this is what's 
going on.  This is how you really feel.  Let's deal with this. 
Let's accept it.  Let's talk about it. 
((End Courtesy)) 
((Jennifer, San Diego Resident)) 
After I got divorced, I moved down to Carlsbad to live with 
my parents and kind of recover from the divorce and the 
PTSD from the divorce.  And we had physical abuse in that, 
you know, we had like the emotional abuse, all that abuse. 
So, I was kind of broken.  When I met Ricochet, I felt like she 
really was like the glue that put my soul, my soul was broken 
and she put those pieces back together again and helped 
me rebuild my soul and rebuild my, my being.  Sometimes 
she's very assertive as far as like she sticks her nose on 
you.  She, earlier today, she paws at you because she 
knows like okay, you need to just stop.  Look in my eyes, 
relax.  And she just relieves like that stress or anxiety that 
you might have.       
((Judy Fridono, Ricochet’s Owner))  
And what I label Ricochet as is emotional rescue.  So, she 
connects with people instantly and goes very deep into their 
soul with what she can pick up from them.  And then she 
alerts and responds to whatever that emotion is.  It's 
something that is instinctual.  I didn't teach it to her.  So, it's 
been a progression of growth, of me learning more about 
what dogs are capable of.  So, the biggest thing is me 
listening to her.  Ricochet’s the type of dog that needs 
human interaction.  She's 12-and-a-half.  So, I was afraid 
that after two months of not being with people, that she 
would check out and her life would end sooner than it 
should.  So, after two months, I thought a lot and did a lot of 
research and decided that the benefit far outweighs the risk 
to meet with people one-on-one.  We call them house calls 
or curbside comfort.   
((NATS)) 
This is nice.  I see why you’re doing this.  See where you’re 
at.  
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
 
 
((PKG))  DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER  
((Banner:  Swimming and Smiling))  
((Reporter/Camera/Producer:  Jeff Swicord)) 
((Map:  Grassy Key, Florida))     
((Main characters:  1 female))   
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research))  
Dolphins are what we call charismatic megafauna, which 
means that people view them as charismatic.  People get 
excited about some animals more than they get excited 
about others.   
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
One, two, three, big circle.  Go, watch out there.  
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research))  
But that’s okay, because then we can use that to get them to 
conserve in general.  So, if they are conserving the dolphins 
that means we’re conserving their habitat which means we 
are conserving all the animals that live in that habitat as well. 
((NATS:  Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, 
Dolphin Research Center)) 
Hi, guys.   
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
My name is Dr. Kelly Jaakkola.  I am a cognitive 
researching, right now work with dolphins.  
((NATS:  Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, 
Dolphin Research Center)) 
You want to do a high five?  No?  This one?  You can’t really 
reach.  I know it is hard to reach up here.
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
For other people, they might get inspired by the dolphin’s 
beauty or their athleticism etcetera.   
((NATS:  Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, 
Dolphin Research Center))
I know.  Very nice.  I know.  Oh, you want to come play too? 
What do you think? 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research)) 
For me it was watching them think.
((NATS:  Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, 
Dolphin Research Center)) 
Wow, now it’s your turn?  Now it’s your turn?
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
So, Dolphin Research Center is a non-profit education and 
research facility in the Florida Keys.  And there are a number 
of questions that you can’t answer in the wild.  You’ll see 
situations where they seem to be cooperating.  They seem 
to be doing the same thing at the same time.  But you can’t 
tell from just looking at that whether or not they’re 
understanding cooperation or if they’re just doing something 
at the same time.   
((NATS)) 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
In this study we set up a game.  And the game was, we had 
two buttons and to win the game, the dolphins had to press 
the buttons at the same time within a one second window 
which is really, really close.  So, in order to show that they 
understand cooperation, you have to sometimes send them 
at different times.   
((NATS:  Dolphin trainer)) 
And, one, two three, go. 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
Okay, so, Reese was sent first.  And you see he doesn’t go 
immediately to his button.  And now Delta was sent and we’ll 
see, and they did it! 
((NATS:  Dolphin trainer)) 
Very Nice. 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
By the end of this study, they were pressing an average of a 
third of a second apart which is really tight coordination.   
The most obvious next step is okay, well how are they doing 
it?  Are the dolphins using some sort of verbal 
communication?  Maybe they are using synchrony, so 
maybe they sync up with each other and swim together 
etcetera.  
((NATS)) 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
Other questions we can look at are: are there ways that that 
cooperation in the wild might be disrupted?  So, for example, 
if they are using a kind of vocal communication, then noise 
pollution might get in the way of that.    
((NATS/MUSIC)) 
Alright, are you guys ready? 
((Dr. Kelly Jaakkola, Director of Research, Dolphin 
Research Center)) 
Any sort of facility has to have a way of supporting their 
animals.  And for us, that largely comes from the visitors that 
walk through the door.  One of the big roles that marine 
mammal facilities play is getting people to make a 
connection in order to get people to conserve and then care.  
And it’s that moment of connection that is the start of 
conservation mindedness.  You know, it’s fine to give people 
information.  Information is great.  But that information is only 
useful if people care enough to actually go out and do 
something. 
((NATS:  Trainer)) 
You guys wanna kiss for the camera?  Are you ready?  Can 
you do a kiss for the camera? 
((NATS:  Dolphins screech)) 
 
 
TEASE  ((VO/NAT)) 
Coming up….. 
((Banner)) 
Life on the Water 
((SOT)) 
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
Along the shores here, it’s all pickerelweed which is the 
purple flower also known as tuckahoe to the Natives that 
lived here.? 


BREAK TWO									 
BUMP IN  ((ANIM))				  
 

     BLOCK C  

((PKG))  FLY FISHING    
((Previously aired August 2020)) 
((Banner:  Fly Fishing))   
((Reporter/Camera:  Jeff Swicord))  
((Map:  Washington, DC))     
((Main character: 1 male))   
((NATS/MUSIC))   
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
My first memory of fishing was bobber, worm, don’t 
remember the type of rod but I foul hooked a catfish in the 
back.? We didn’t know how to take the hook out.  It was 
probably barbed.? So, a guy that looked like Santa Claus 
came down and unhooked it and threw it back in.   
((NATS/MUSIC))   
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
I finished college and I turned in my last final in Botany and I 
went straight to the sporting goods store and got my license, 
my first pair of polarized glasses and I went down to the 
river.? And I was done.  It was the end of a huge chapter in 
my life and I was going to figure out what to do now.? And on 
my first cast, I catch a striped bass about that big.? And that 
was about as life-changing as having a kid.? My life from that 
moment on completely changed.  It wasn’t, I wanted to be a 
botanist in the rainforests in South America.  It was, I needed 
to get into fishing.  
((NATS/MUSIC))  
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
I started guiding professionally right after college.? But it 
wasn’t until ten years ago that I hung up my suit and tie to do 
this full-time.? Along the shores here, it’s 
all pickerelweed which is the purple flower also known 
as tuckahoe to the Natives that lived here.? The big plumes 
are wild rice and then the large leaves with the fibrous stocks 
are spatterdock.? You hook that stuff, it will break your rod.  
((NATS:  
Rob Snowhite:  Oh, oh, no he turned.))  
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
What we are looking for, root balls, depressions, anything 
where those fish can hide from all those birds up above.  So, 
the benefits of fly fishing versus tackle conventional is, let’s 
say I’m casting and there is a fish and it bites and I miss the 
hook set.? Well, I just throw my line back, throw it again.? I 
don’t have to reel that whole line in.  
((NATS:  
Rob Snowhite:  Another large mouth.))    
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
I can throw things that are more lifelike and put it in a fish’s 
site of view more efficiently than you can with a lure.??   
((NATS))  
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
I’m going to smash that barb down again.  It is getting a little 
caught.? Nice little three-year-old large mouth.? Sometimes 
they will have crayfish and other fish sticking out of their 
throats.? They’ll still eat when they are full.? It’s instinct.  
You can’t pass up a meal.? Got a nice full belly on it. 
((MUSIC))   
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
Everybody that is being stuck at home with their kids and 
families, there is a bigger need and want for guides to 
get people out of the house.  I wake up more sore than I did 
a couple of years ago.  It’s harder to climb in the boat.??  
((NATS:  
Rob Snowhite:  Big turn.))  
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
But it’s still, still rewarding.  And I still want to do it.   
((NATS/MUSIC))  
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
Being able to tie your own fly and catch a fish on that is 
extremely rewarding.? I tell people if you can make a peanut 
butter and jelly sandwich or tie your shoes, you can tie a fly.? 
It is not that difficult.   
((NATS:  
Rob Snowhite:   My vise.? Material prep station.)) 
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
I only fish my own flies.? Using someone else’s fly, I’d say, is 
like using your toothbrush.? I just don’t want to 
do it.  It’s gross.   
((NATS)) 
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))   
So, you take red thread, six aught.? Little base there.? Cut 
that off.  And then this is just bead chain.? And then 
crisscross.? This is ostrich plume.? Five, five wraps forward.? 
One, two, three, four, five.? And that is a Snowhite Damsel.? 
And looks like that when it is wet.  
((NATS/MUSIC))   
((Rob Snowhite, Fly Fishing Consultant))  
The Tidal Basin may be one of the most unique spots you 
are ever going to fish.? It’s like a giant nursery for small fish 
that come in here, hang out and live, but there are big fish in 
here.  You might hook something that is 30 or 40 pounds [14 
to 18 kg] in front of Martin Luther King or Jefferson.?   
My plan at the beginning was to only guide for a couple of 
years and then get some other kind of job.??   
Even after a super frustrating day, I don’t really want to go 
back to an office job.? Fly fishing is a lifestyle.? Some people 
say it is a sport, it’s an art.? It’s definitely a way of life.  
((NATS)) 
 

CLOSING BUMPER  ((ANIM)) 
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NEXT WEEK  ((VO/NAT))                             
((Banner)) 
In coming weeks….. 
Growing Up Black and White  
((SOT)) 
Our children, they do have the best of both worlds in having 
a Black father and a White mother.  In life, they do not have 
to think about choosing a side. 
 
 
CLOSING BUMPER  ((ANIM)) 
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BREAK THREE								 
BUMP IN  ((ANIM))		 
 
 
SHOW ENDS