BOOK

WHO: Courtney Friedman,

Tyler

 

WHICH: Steve Jobs biography

 

WHY: Learning all the little details about how his mind worked continuously inspires me to think bigger and reach farther in what I’m doing in my own life.

 

FOOD

WHO: Stewart Smith, Tyler

 

WHAT: Mom’s chicken pot pie

 

WHY: Not only is it delicious, it really does bring up great memories of growing up in that cliche, sappy but still totally honest way

 

MUSIC

WHO: Rebecca Hoeffner, Tyler

 

WHAT: “Brave,” by Sara Bareilles

 

WHY: It’s so encouraging! It’s what I listen to when I need to do something that intimidates me.

 

MEMORY

WHO: Lorri Allen, KYTX

CBS19 news director

 

WHAT: Birthday gift

 

WHY: Daisy, named after Blondie and Dagwood’s dog because she had a purple tongue, was my baby for 17 years — way before my husband came into the family. So the day she died was the most traumatic to date in our marriage. I never wanted another dog, but a year later, my husband came to the morning show I hosted with a box that was about a foot high and a foot wide. I motioned for him to come to the set and opened the box. I saw something brown and thought he’d brought a cake for everyone. Then a little head popped up. I started crying on live television and don’t remember much except falling in love in 10 seconds. But viewers called and emailed for a few days, touched by the great lengths my husband had gone to find a dog like Daisy and surprise me. Following the comic strip theme, we named the puppy Sandy after Little Orphan Annie’s dog, since she had been an orphan, too.