Joe is a "thirty something" Middle school Guidance Counselor, Coach, Volunteer Firefighter and occasional Bartender. Needless to say, he is an active member of his community. Joe is passionate about his role as protector and guide for his middle school kids.

Joe has avoided involvement in political matters and prefers to keep his views to himself. He finds political squabbling depressing and in his view, generally unproductive. Well, that was Joe before a cruel, ICE inspired incident at a school bus stop in Lindenwold, NJ sent terrified children running, screaming for their lives; before he experienced this alleged immigration management strategy gone hopelessly mad. Joe has shared his story with renowned Philadelphia Inquirer political columnist Will Bunch, MSNow host Nicole Wallace, Governor Mikie Sherrill, Congressman Ted Lieu and Senator Andy Kim amongst others. Fortunately, Joe agreed to tell us at Tales from 2nd Street, his transformational story. We are proud to present Joe Zobel.

What happens when a Financial Advisor at retirement age decides to leave the rat race to seek new meaning in life? Joe Scrocca hangs up his pinstripes and embarks on a career as a standup comic! With no comedy experience to speak of, he starts out with a stint at a Biker Bar then finds himself sharing the stage with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld at the Gotham Comedy Club in Manhattan. Joe shows us what guts and determination looks like. Joe's journey following his star is as inspirational as it is unconventional.

A self-starting high school student embarks on a career as a restauranteur beginning as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant. Listen to Jay's story as he describes chasing his dream through assorted challenges including Hurricane Sandy and a pandemic named COVID. He found a former restaurant on Ocean City NJ's noted Asbury Ave, purchased it, reinvented it and the rest is history. Listen to this remarkable story of resilience in action.

Chapter 3, takes us through Helen's teen years as she learns to cope with her powerful extra sensory abilities. She didn't apply for her "gift," in fact she sometimes regarded her enhanced sensorium as a curse. Her birth provided the "on" switch and there was no off button. Purely the luck of the draw. We are all born with qualities and abilities we did not apply for. We just had to make the best of it. Let's see how this young woman makes this work. Consider what you would do if you experienced the world as does Helen? Easier said than done. Listen and let us know what you think. Connect with us at talesfrom2ndstreet.com. Enjoy the cast. DS.

Helen Moloney was endowed with a condition known as "accelerated empathy." She grew to understand how her special empathy worked and how she fit within her strange condition. Listen to part 2 in the story of the evolution of this remarkable young woman.

Helen is a true Seer. She has been called a Fortune Teller but she refutes that characterization. Helen is an Accelerated Empath where her gift provides her the ability to experience others at an unusually intense level. We are presenting her story in a serialized format and hope to introduce you to a unique and formidable young woman.

In late 2024, drones were plaguing the East coast of the United States. This phenomenon was casting a sparkling shawl over the state of New Jersey. Explanations for the explosion of night fliers ranged from hobbyists to Space Aliens, with the most extreme from a Federal legislator who announced that a nefarious Iranian "mother ship" was off the coast serving as their launching and retrieval site. In any event we are now a couple of months down the road and no plausible explanation has been offered. In the absence of reason and logic, people tend to make things up and the made up explanations are mostly frightening. Here is a poem written and narrated by a Scotsman visiting the states who is mostly afraid.

This is a true story and as is often the case, truth can be stranger than fiction. I am an Irish Jew by birth, but was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, in a predominantly German neighborhood, in post WWII Philadelphia...ach du what the hell!? Growing up, my buddies and I were always fascinated by emergent trends, often informed by hatred and ignorance. Sometimes the prejudice targeted the Irish, other times Eastern European refugees escaping Hitler; hatred of the Catholics and Blacks was always big, and then, as Phil Ochs sang in National Brotherhood Week, "...everybody hates the Jews." Since I was a mongrel, roots, such as mine, put you in a bind...like who could I freely hate and mock? When I was young, I had to be careful or I could have ended up scrawling hate notes targeting myself or burning a cross in front of my family's own shanty. Sometimes life's just not fair. Nothing's easy.
Nowadays, in many parts of the world, including here in the good old US of A, suspicion and hostility towards difference is on the rise. Some seem to be enjoying the freedom and license to scorn "the other" all the while accepting elements of Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism as reasonable, effective approaches to governance. Some even consider test driving those historically failed and patently evil courses. I thought it might be fun to open a few of those doors and see what flies out. So, buckle up, and prepare to be surprised. Enjoy.