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CNN Sunday Morning
U.S. Cities Prepare for the Great American Boycott; Save Darfur Rally Planned for Later Today
Aired April 30, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
Remember these immigration rallies?
Well, get ready for more of the same, only bigger. Cities across America are preparing for what's being billed as "The Great American Boycott." Immigration supporters are encouraged to stay home from work and school tomorrow and not spend any money. It's an effort to show economic power.
NGUYEN: Pick up and move on, that's about all some people in Gainesville, Texas can do this morning. Storms blew across parts of the state over the last 24 hours, packing winds up to 100 miles an hour. Houses were ripped apart, as you can see there, and planes grounded and destroyed. No serious injuries were reported, though.
HARRIS: And news of a hostage killing in Afghanistan to tell you about. It sends shockwaves of grief through a family in India. Afghanistan police found the body of an Indian engineer near a highway where he had been abducted on Friday. Taliban militants say they shot the hostage as he tried to escape.
The face is familiar, but the cause may not be. George Clooney and other celebrities and activists plan to rally in Washington later today. They're trying to draw attention to genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.
And tonight, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN, the Olympic gold medalist who gave his earnings to help Darfur, Joey Cheek, will tell us what he thinks needs to be done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here it comes.
STEVE BRIDGES, COMEDIAN: Nuclear proliferation.
Nuclear proliferation.
Nuclear proliferation.
BUSH: Nu-cear proliferation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I'm going to mess it up every time I say it now.
NGUYEN: I don't know how to say it anymore. That's terrible.
HARRIS: And I don't know -- what is it now?
Doing a double-take -- well, we sure did. President Bush showed off his funny side at a dinner last night with the White House correspondents. One of these guys is the real George W. The other is Bush (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
NGUYEN: Can you pick which one it is? Do you know? Do you know?
HARRIS: Well, let me tell you, the impersonator's name is Steve Bridges. Both poked fun-at the guy in the Oval Office.
What's the word?
Oh, boy.
NGUYEN: Nuclear proliferation.
HARRIS: Yes. Nuclear -- I don't know what it is now.
NGUYEN: I don't know anymore.
HARRIS: I'm going to mess it up every time I say it.
NGUYEN: Oh, I'm confused now. I thought I knew it until I saw that.
HARRIS: Man, more of that to come.
From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, the world's global headquarters for CNN.
6:00 a.m. in New Orleans, wrapping up the first weekend of the two Jazz Fest.
NGUYEN: The jazz festival, yes.
HARRIS: Good morning, everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen.
We want to thank you for being with us today.
OK, get ready. Tomorrow nothing will happen, and it will be huge. Thousands of people across the U.S. will refuse to work. Countless students will skip school. None of them will shop or spend money. In short, they are opting out of daily American life and the rest of the country will have to get by without them. Organizers call it "The Great American Boycott." That's the name of this. And they're doing it to show that immigrants are vital to the nation. Every major American city, from coast to coast, will feel the impact and CNN will bring it to you live throughout the day live.
HARRIS: "A Day Without Immigrants" has been building for weeks.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez explains.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Great March, massive student walkouts, the national day of action.
JORGE RODRIGUEZ, PROTEST ORGANIZER: it's never been done in the history of the Mexican-Latino civil rights movement in the U.S.
GUTIERREZ: All building toward May 1st, "The Great American Boycott," where supporters are asked to boycott work, school, and not spend any money, to show their economic power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aprehende? Boycott for power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boycott May 1st.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't work.
GUTIERREZ: Who's behind this? We go to what's called the Lion's Dean...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Concentrate on the -- on the phone banking. Concentrate on phone calls.
GUTIERREZ: ... for a behind-the-scenes look at the force driving the marches.
We're not talking about P.R. executives with big advertising budgets or high profile national leaders. We're talking about people like Jesse Diaz, a gardener and a Ph.D. candidate, who's putting himself and his daughters through college by cleaning yards.
In six weeks, he's traveled to 20 different cities to help strategize.
JESSE DIAZ, PROTEST ORGANIZER: We feel that we are in a position to keep the pressure on to gain amnesty for the 11 to 12 million undocumented folks that are here now.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Racists go home! Racists go home!
GUTIERREZ: It was protests against the Minutemen, self-appointed protectors of the border, that moved Diaz, a U.S. citizen, to take a stand against what he believes is racism. That's what propelled him from this to this.
DIAZ: It has brought us all together with the same interests, the interests of the community, the interests of 12 million folks, right, that are looking for our leadership.
GUTIERREZ: Using donated tickets, Diaz has traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago, New York and Washington, often with no place to stay, sleeping at people's homes and community centers.
DIAZ: It's been hard organizing it, because we don't have no money. We have very little money to -- to go across the country.
RODRIGUEZ: You know, there is a sacrifice to be made and I think people are willing to sacrifice for justice and a humane immigration law.
GUTIERREZ: In fact, for some of the organizers who live paycheck to paycheck, that means no full income for the past six weeks. But Diaz says it's worth it.
DIAZ: We're not settling -- settling for -- for learning and reading about history. We are making it, brothers and sisters. We are making it.
GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Milwaukee is just one American city where a large immigrant rally is planned tomorrow.
In the next hour we will speak to one of the organizers, Christine Neumann-Ortiz, about why they are doing this and what they hope to accomplish.
NGUYEN: For the best, most comprehensive live coverage of tomorrow's events, keep your TV locked on CNN. Our correspondents are deployed in major cities all across the country and we're teamed up with the Spanish language network Univision for extra reach here.
And the "Day Without Immigrants" begins -- mark your calendars -- 6:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" and it continues throughout the day.
Well, this story will likely affect you no matter where you live, though.
Tell us if you support what organizers are calling "The Great American Boycott" and why.
E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com.
We're going to read some of your comments a little bit later in the show.
HARRIS: And as we just saw in Thelma Gutierrez's report, tomorrow's nationwide boycott is a reaction, at least in part, to the activities of the Minutemen along the U.S.-Mexican border. The volunteer citizens brigade says its members observed some 1,300 illegal border crossings this month, resulting in about 600 arrests by the U.S. Border Patrol.
NGUYEN: Boy, what a difference a year makes. The price for a gallon of gas is up almost $0.70 in the past year. AAA says the nationwide average today is $2.92 a gallon for regular unleaded. A year ago, it was $2.223.
Those soaring numbers at the gas pump are fueling interest in some other numbers -- statistics on gas mileage. Consumers want to get the most out of every gallon. The rising prices are also driving the search for alternative sources of fuel.
CNN's Peter Viles looks at some of the options.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): $3 gas makes people do some strange things, like pouring vegetable oil into the gas tank of a classic Mercedes.
BRIAN FRIEDMAN, LOVECRAFT BIO-FUELS: Just 100 percent vegetable oil, Wesson, Mazola. You put it straight in the tank.
VILES: Lovecraft Bio-Fuels sells old diesel sedans that have been converted to run on vegetable oil, which sells for about $2.25 a gallon.
FRIEDMAN: The money stays in the U.S. economy and it's a clean burning car. It's like there's just winners all the way around.
VILES: This woman likes the retro look of the cars, but...
CLEO BAUDENBACHER, SHOPPING FOR A CAR: I'm still visualizing myself putting gallons of vegetable oil right in the tank.
VILES: The drawback is you need a diesel engine, which rules out 96 percent of the cars sold in America.
Ethanol blends like E85 -- that's 85 percent ethanol -- can be cheaper than gas in some places, but E85 is not widely available. You see electric vehicles on the road, but no major car maker is marketing them to consumers, who complain about having to charge them so often.
And politicians talk a lot about hydrogen and fuel cells...
BUSH: What you're witnessing here is the beginning of a major change in the driving habits of the American people.
VILES: ... but the fact is you cannot buy a fuel cell vehicle today and no one knows for sure when, or even if, Detroit will produce them.
And that leaves the old-fashioned option -- shop for a mass produced car that gets better gas mileage. A good rule of thumb -- fewer cylinders means more miles per gallon.
JOE CARACCIOLO, COLONIAL HONDA: So the four cylinder cars are very, very popular right now.
VILES: Hybrids, which run on gas and electricity, offer the best mileage. This Honda Civic hybrid gets an estimated 51 miles per gallon on the highway and 49 in the city. It's roughly $4,000 more than the conventional Civic and there's often a waiting list, but you do get a federal tax credit of up to $2,000 if you buy one.
(on camera): And one more thing to consider if you're shopping for a new car and you're very concerned about gas mileage and that is that you cannot rely on the accuracy of those EPA gas mileage estimates that are on that sticker in the window of a new car. In almost every case, your actual mileage when you drive the car is not going to be as good as those EPA numbers.
Peter Viles for CNN, Glendale, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: And if putting vegetable oil in your car or buying a hybrid vehicle are options that are just not available to you, you want to stick around, because coming up at 9:00 Eastern this morning, we'll give you a list of the top-rated fuel efficient cars and SUVs from "Car and Driver" magazine.
HARRIS: He's good. He's good. Yes.
NGUYEN: Yes, he's very good. And this is useful information, especially if you're looking to save money on gas. So grab a pen and paper. That's at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific this morning.
HARRIS: And now some other stories across America.
Thousands of Iraq War protesters filled 10 city blocks in New York City yesterday. It comes on the heels of a very bloody month in Iraq. Sixty-nine American troops were killed in April alone. The State Department says that's the highest monthly death figure this year.
Among the marchers, activist Cindy Sheehan, actress Susan Sarandon, Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: We're here today because this war is illegal, is immoral and unethical. We have a president that misled the American people. The American people have sought to end this war. We don't need to delay the end. We need the end to this war now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Members of an Arizona church will be holding services outside on the lawn today. A fire destroyed the Mission Bell Methodist Church in Phoenix. Authorities think someone broke a window and threw something flammable inside. The fire destroyed a year-and- a-half worth of costly upgrades. (VIDEO CLIP OF BUILDING IMPLOSION)
HARRIS: Good one.
NGUYEN: Yes, that was a good one.
HARRIS: Some of them are a little weak, but that's a pretty good one, huh?
NGUYEN: You heard it and saw it.
HARRIS: Down it goes. An implosion brings down an unfinished building in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The C-8 Building was part of a 1980s redevelopment project that went bust. It was destroyed to make way for a condominium complex.
Still ahead, once known as your life savings or nest egg, it's now known simply as the number -- yes, the amount of money you will need to retire. Coming up, we will take you how to live those golden years in luxury.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL GOTTLIEB, AUTHOR, "LETTERS TO SAM": I wanted to tell him all about what it means to be different, how to cope with alienation, how to deal with other people who look at you differently, or, worse, don't look at you at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Good advice.
A grandfather with physical obstacles, a grandson with mental challenges and the powerful words of wisdom.
HARRIS: Also ahead, a tribute to a beloved city.
Coming up, six Grammy winners take up a cause worth supporting. We'll share their song and their story, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, here's the thing, Texans will tell you -- Texans like Betty, in particular -- that things are just bigger there.
NGUYEN: And sometimes better. Often better.
HARRIS: Sure. A big story to tell you about now...
NGUYEN: Except when it comes with damage like this, that is.
HARRIS: How about this?
Over the last 24 hours, this is Gainesville, Texas, where winds up to 100 miles per hour flattened, shattered, destroyed homes, barns, airplanes. Outside of Waco, Texas, this destruction could have been from the tornado. One was reported in the area. But the Weather Service says 70 mile per hour straight line winds likely did most of the damage.
A stairway to more destruction. This is just one of many homes blown apart in Coldsprings.
NGUYEN: Wow!
Look at that!
HARRIS: Power was out to thousands of Texas customers.
NGUYEN: Man!
HARRIS: Despite the fierce storms, there were no serious injuries reported.
NGUYEN: And that's really remarkable, considering the damage. Because we saw many homes just really flattened.
Reynolds Wolf joins us now with a look at the weather outside -- it's that time of year, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
NGUYEN: But, man, a lot of people are just getting hammered by these storms.
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. It was certainly a rough morning, a rough day yesterday.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Now we want to talk about a perfect love. Oh, this is really a great story.
A grandfather's inspiring letters to his autistic grandson, teaching valuable lessons in life. His letters to Sam, just ahead.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP OF TAKE 6)
TAKE 6 SINGERS: Oh, baby don't you eat. There's another (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Ah, don't you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: How about this? Not a bad way to wake up this morning, huh?
Coming up a bit later, we're going to take a few minutes with the guys of Take 6 in our Faces of Faith segment. Stick around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP OF TAKE 6)
TAKE 6 SINGERS: Don't you know that it's right? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) singing Mary, oh, Mary, don't you (UNINTELLIGIBLE) love. Mother don't you know? Oh, sing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, any parent or grandparent knows nothing on Earth compares to holding a new baby for the first time. The connection is powerful. It's permanent. Now imagine a grandfather with challenges that meet the eye and a grandson with challenges that don't.
The love and life lessons they share are collected in a new book, "Letters To Sam."
CNN's Daryn Kagan reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SAM: I want to get one.
GOTTLIEB: You are.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: (voice-over): You're watching a love affair...
SAM: No more!
GOTTLIEB: Come on!
KAGAN: ... between a grandfather and a grandson -- the type of relationship you see every day. This one, though, has a twist. Grandpa is Daniel Gottlieb, psychologist, host on National Public Radio, and a quadriplegic.
GOTTLIEB: My accident took place 26 years ago. I was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Harrisburg to buy a surprise 10th anniversary gift for my wife. And an 18-wheel truck lost one of its wheels, the whole wheel, and it bounced across the turnpike and hit my car, crushed it and broke my neck.
KAGAN: Gottlieb has been paralyzed from the shoulders down ever since. He says he doesn't remember much about the accident.
GOTTLIEB: I don't recall anything except seeing a black thing in the sky moments before it hit my car. My -- I often say to people, though, that's not my story. That's so many people's stories. So many of us are hit by a black thing. You discover a lump or a spouse says I can't do this anymore or something happens to a child or -- or. Most of us are hit by a black thing at some point in their lives.
KAGAN: And that's how Gottlieb works -- takes his unusual journey and applies it to the rest of our lives. GOTTLIEB: I've learned lessons over these last 25 years about how to cope with it, how to enjoy one's life living inside the body that I have.
KAGAN: Nothing has given Gottlieb more joy than the birth six years ago of his first grandchild, Sam.
GOTTLIEB: Anybody who's had a child experiences a perfect love when they see that child for the first time. Their hearts are wide open. And that's what I feel when I see Sam -- not that he's a perfect child, but that that the love is perfect.
KAGAN: That love proved to be an inspiration to write a series of letters, grandfather to grandson. The letters have turned into a book, "Letters To Sam," letters about life, love, loss and the gifts of life.
But the focus of the book changed right after Sam turned one and was diagnosed as autistic.
GOTTLIEB: Well, once I discovered that Sam had autism, it did feel more urgent to write this book, because I had so much more I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him all about what it means to be different and how to cope with alienation, how to deal with other people who look at you differently, or worse, don't look at you at all.
KAGAN: From his wheelchair, Gottlieb points out the world sees his disability on the outside. While Sam looks normal, he has challenges inside.
GOTTLIEB: He can't do big emotions. And, most important, he doesn't read subtleties in other people's emotions. He just can't do it. And that's why they have difficulties socially.
KAGAN: So Gottlieb wrote Sam a letter about being different.
GOTTLIEB: "Your differentness and my differentness are just facts. Sometimes what we do with our minds turns those facts into pain and sometimes we can just treat them as facts, acknowledging them, but not feeling them. But the more you feel your differentness, the more lonely you'll feel."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many lady bugs? Who wants to tell me how many lady bugs?
KAGAN: Big lessons for a little boy. Another reason for the book -- because of his condition, Gottlieb isn't sure how long he'll live. Not surprisingly, he wrote a letter about loss.
GOTTLIEB: "Sam, almost everything we become attached to we'll eventually lose -- our possessions, our loved ones and even our youth and our health. Yes, each loss is a blow, but it's also an opportunity. Sam, there's an old Sufi saying that says, 'When the heart weeps for what it's lost, the soul rejoices for what it's found.'" KAGAN: As they each sign the book, it's clear Dan Gottlieb has found a partner in his grandson, a partner for teaching the world what it means to be different.
Daryn Kagan, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: What a great story.
And you can join Daryn Kagan weekdays at CNN LIVE TODAY.
That starts at 10:00 a.m. Eastern -- Tony.
HARRIS: And, Betty, still ahead, saving for retirement -- three words that make a lot of people anxious about their future. But don't worry, we've got some helpful tips for you, because once you find your number, you can live comfortably into your golden years -- Danielle, good morning.
DANIELLE ELIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks out about the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. We'll bring you the details when we go global, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The latest out of Iraq now, a roadside bombings and a gruesome pattern of torture and murder this weekend. Iraqi police say two bodies were found early this morning in a Baghdad neighborhood. Both victims were shot in the head and their bodies showed signs of torture. Twelve bodies have been found since Friday, all in the same condition. A roadside bomb also wounded two Iraqi police officers.
NGUYEN: Flexing their political and financial muscle, immigration rallies and boycotts scheduled for tomorrow are expected to be larger than others thus far. We've already seen those pictures. Cities across America are bracing for an overflow of people on what is being billed as the great American boycott. And CNN will have extensive live coverage beginning with "American Morning" at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: Actor George Clooney will be part of another major rally taking place this afternoon in the nation's capital. Celebrities and politicians will urge the Bush administration to do more to end what some call genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. Olympic gold medal speed skater, Joey Cheek, donated his Olympic prize money to the cause in Darfur. We will talk to him following today's rally right here on CNN. That's 6:00 p.m..
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE) People in Texas will be busy picking up the debris. Parts of Gainesville and Waco just got pounded this weekend. Hail the size of baseballs and 100 mile-an hour winds toppled trees, damaged homes and knocked out power. But there were no serious injuries reported. HARRIS: Take a look at this. This is a view, live now (INAUDIBLE) from last night, but this is a live picture now of the Empire State building. You see something missing there Betty? You can't tell because it's daylight, sunrise in New York. But last night, the lights were out.
NGUYEN: Oh.
HARRIS: The lights were out.
NGUYEN: Then you saw something missing. The lights were out.
HARRIS: Exactly. As part of the building's 75th anniversary, it was lights out last night. There you go. It will be this way tonight. It's a demonstration of what the city's skyline looked like before the Empire State building was built.
NGUYEN: Disturbing news, the death of an Indian hostage in Afghanistan is causing grief back home.
HARRIS: And with more on this story, Danielle Elias at the international desk. Danielle, good morning.
ELIAS: Good morning Tony. We will start in Afghanistan where authorities found what they say is the beheaded body of an Indian telecommunications worker taken hostage. After the body was found, a Taliban spokesman said the group had not planned to kill the hostage, but when he tried to escape, they shot him. The death is drawing condemnation from India's prime minister and Afghanistan's president. It is the second killing of an Indian hostage there in six months.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says he advised President Bush before the Iraq war, to send more troops to the country. He says he gave the advice to now retired General Tommy Franks and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, all while Bush was present. But Powell says the administration didn't follow his recommendation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, FMR SEC OF STATE: And the president's military advisers felt that the size of the force was adequate. They may still feel that years later. Some of us don't. I don't. I have said that, but at the time the president was listening to those who were supposed to be providing military advice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELIAS: Powell said that in an interview on Britain's ITV television.
A man wanted for the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men is facing a deadline. Today is the last day for Serbia to turn over Ratko Mladic to the U.N. tribunal at the Hague. Serbia's justice minister says authorities are working to find the war crimes fugitive. The former general is charged with genocide and other war crimes stemming from the Bosnian war. Tony. HARRIS: OK. Danielle, if he's captured, then what happens?
ELIAS: If he is captured, he'll then be returned to a detention facility in the Netherlands, but the trick is whether he will be captured. If he is not, the EU says that they will stop talks with Belgrade on whether to have closer ties with the EU. So it's kind of up in the air right now whether he is caught.
HARRIS: OK, Danielle, appreciate it. Danielle Elias at the international desk, Danielle, thank you.
Retirement, time to play golf, pursue your passions, kickback after years of hard work, right? Wrong.
NGUYEN: Why?
HARRIS: According to a new survey, the dream could be fast becoming a nightmare for millions who haven't planned for their future.
NGUYEN: Oh no.
HARRIS: Yes, 68 percent of workers say they are confident or somewhat confident they will retire come comfortably. But get this, 22 percent of those who are most optimistic aren't even saving right now. So if your retirement plan is to chop down the money tree, it's time to start looking at other options. Lee Eisenberg takes a new approach to retirement with his book "The Number." He joins us from Chicago this morning. Chicago, man, you are a trooper, it is early in Chicago. Lee, good to see you.
LEE EISENBERG, AUTHOR, "THE NUMBER": Good morning how are you?
HARRIS: Great, great. Here is what I love about your book. It's not simply -- it's not about just crunching numbers. You get so much advice and there's so many books out on the market about just simply crunching numbers. That's not really at the heart of your approach to this, is it?
EISENBERG: No, numbers are important, but I think we live in a society in which we think it's pretty easy to figure out the number, 10 easy steps, a graph, a worksheet and so on and so forth. It's important to know obviously how much, but the other issue that we really don't think about enough is what is that money for? What will really make us happy and fulfilled? You mentioned golf. A lot of people say I want to play golf seven days a week. That would be my dream retirement. Golf is great, but the fact is, 20 or 30 years of playing golf seven days a week is not exactly I think the kind of fulfillment that a lot of people need as they move into the second half of their lives.
HARRIS: And you say if you're honest about it, your lifestyle actually may not cost as much as you think.
EISENBERG: Well, the lifestyle that you really think about, you know, the number is about two things. It's about how much and it's about what for. And when you think about what for, if you really examine your life, many of the things that are most meaningful to us, giving back something to the community, teaching, learning to play the piano, writing the great American novel, those things do not necessarily carry a big price tag. So it may well be that as you examine what is really important, you may need a smaller number than if you never stopped to think about it and just assumed you need a lot of golf clubs and SUVs.
HARRIS: And the other thing you tell us is that you need to ask yourself some questions. What were some of the questions that you and your wife began to ask yourself when you sort of basically changed your life. You gave up your job, 17 years as what, editor in chief at "Esquire" magazine.
EISENBERG: No actually, I was the editor and chief of "Esquire," by the point we decided that we might or might not have enough money, I was doing what everybody dreams about doing. I was kind of semi- retired or as we like to say today down-shifting and I went back into the workplace because we weren't sure like so many people aren't sure whether we had enough to be comfortable over the remaining decades. The funny thing is it wasn't -- the lesson that I learned after going back to work was that I loved working. And that like a lot of people, I bailed out of the workplace probably earlier than I should have, not for financial reasons, but because I wasn't engaged enough or productive enough. So the lesson in life that we learned was that don't go too soon, even if you can afford to go too soon, because you have a lot of years to be engaged and productive now that all of us, so many of us are living much longer lives.
HARRIS: I have to ask you Lee, the book seems to have really touched a chord with women. Why do you think that's so?
EISENBERG: I think it's a couple of reasons. It wasn't a book written for women. It's obviously a book written for men and women. But if you go out into the book store, I think most books about money seem to be very sort of macho. It's easy. You can make a million dollars in day trading. There's only 10 easy steps and so on and so forth. There's a kind of prescriptive tone that I think men respond to more than women. I think this book is much more of a journey, really through the universe of financial planning. I run into lots of characters with lots of emotions. I talk to a lot of financial advisers who often tell me secrets about what happens between men and women, husbands and wives when they go into an office for the first time. And then I think because, at least at the beginning of the book, I wrote about our own story. Women found that it was refreshing to have somebody admit to the fact that I didn't have all the answers. I'm not a financial planner. I was as confused as a lot of people. I think certain kinds of readers respond well to that kind of personal story.
HARRIS: I got to ask you, just sort of generally speaking, are we underestimating overestimating? Where are we in terms of what we're thinking about in terms of what we will need for retirement?
EISENBERG: Well, that's a good question. Young people always underestimate. I think everybody watching will say, you know, 20 years ago, I thought that X amount of money was a huge amount of money and it turns out to be not nearly enough money. Other people can't seem to get enough money. One of the things I do in the book is I provide what I call a field guide to people who are chasing the number. And after talking to hundreds of people over a couple of years, I realized there were only four kinds of people out there. I'm not going to get into them this morning, but I haven't yet met a single person who doesn't find him or herself in one of those four categories.
HARRIS: I'm a procrastinator. I know what I am.
EISENBERG: I was too. Most people are procrastinators. I think the most important thing to be is 50 percent of person who is not intimidated by basic mathematics and it's not more complicated than that and I explain why in the book. And then 50 percent a person who really really asks yourself what is going to matter? What am I planning for? Why am I on this rat race? Because as you mentioned earlier, it may well be, the good news here, is that you may need less money to be happy than just simply assume you're going to need a lot of money to keep buying stuff until you are 80 or 90 years old.
HARRIS: It's a great read. The book is called "The Number." It's been wildly successful for you and great information for us. Lee, good to see you. Thanks for your time. Thanks for getting up this early in the morning...
EISENBERG: Great to be here.
HARRIS: ...from Chicago.
NGUYEN: It is good information. I guess what I will --
HARRIS: I got a copy for you.
NGUYEN: Plan for needing more and hope you need less.
HARRIS: Yeah. Yeah.
NGUYEN: That's a fool-proof plan.
HARRIS: Carefully kind of examine your life.
NGUYEN: All right, well you want to examine this, because you're not going to believe your eyes when you see who turned out at the White House correspondents dinner. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm absolutely delighted to be here, as is Laura.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's hot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That's right. It's a presidential double take. Take a good look, which one is which? We'll have more from the comedian-in- chief in just a moment.
HARRIS: And we're going to take five with "Take Six." Take a listen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: It has been eight months since hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the city slowly getting back to normal. Mardi Gras went on as planned. Thousands voted in last weekend's mayoral election. More businesses are up and running but there's still a long way to go. The a capella group Take Six is lending a hand in that effort through their faith and their music.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: (voice-over): For the past 18 years, the sextet Take Six have mixed gospel, do-wop and a sophisticated jazz sound to come up with a unique musical cocktail, a signature sound. Their talent is undeniable and they've got the multiple Grammy awards to prove it. Take Six's a capella sound is reminiscent of an earlier, more soulful era of American music. Every lyric, every harmony resonates with their faith and deep love for music.
In August, 2005, when hurricane Katrina wiped out the Gulf coast, the group watched in horror with the rest of the nation. The destruction hit very close to home for Joey Kibble.
JOEY KIBBLE, SECOND TENOR: My lovely wife Carema (ph) is from New Orleans and her whole family was pretty much displaced. And her father and friend came to stay with us at the time. And so it was literally where the rubber meets the road as in what are you going to do to help victims?
HARRIS: They donated money, prayed and hoped for the best. But they wanted to do more.
CLAUDE V. MCKNIGHT III, FIRST TENOR: We knew of Aaron Neville. We'd worked with him before, been a good friend for a long time. And he was personally involved in a way, you know, with the tragic events and everything, being from New Orleans. We found a great song. We did an arrangement and we said Aaron please, let's do this together. This will be a wonderful experience.
HARRIS: So together with New Orleans native Aaron Neville the group recorded a remake of Louis Armstrong's "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" The song is available through iTunes and all proceeds go directly to New Orleans Habitat for Humanity.
MCKNIGHT: Music has always been a uniter of people. It's a thing that no matter what the age barrier or socioeconomic background, music is something that con soothe everyone.
HARRIS: "Take Six" also has a new album out, "Feels Good." It's everything folks have grown to love from "Take Six," deep sultry vocals that seem to penetrate the soul. It's been a long journey for sultry sextet, a journey where they stayed the course, ignoring the temptations of the mainstream and remained focused on their calling. Along the way, they have sewn the seeds of faith, hope and piece of mind.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: "Take Six," you can help in the effort to rebuild New Orleans and enjoy great music at the same time. Logon to itunes.com to download the song performed by Aaron Neville and "Take Six," "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." Remember, all proceeds go directly to the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity.
NGUYEN: Great sounds for a wonderful cause. That's great. All right, thank you Tony. You want to stay with us as you enjoy your morning coffee. We're going to read your e-mails straight ahead. But first more from "Take Six."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All morning, Betty.
NGUYEN: I like it.
HARRIS: Take Six" all morning long.
NGUYEN: Sounds great and this is something that you really need to hear today. As always last night's annual White House correspondents dinner was good for some laughs with the president himself well, he delivered a few zingers.
HARRIS: Yeah, but this year's event had folks seeing double with comedian Steve Bridges. The Bush look-alike standing next to the president to quote translate.
NGUYEN: I see and as you're about to see, MC Steven Colbert of Comedy Central also provided his own one-liners.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I'm absolutely delighted to be here. As is Laura.
STEVEN COLBERT: She's hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The greatest thing about this man is he is steady, you know where he stands.
BUSH: As you know, I always look forward to these dinners.
COLBERT: It's just a bunch of media types. Hollywood liberals, Democrats like Joe Biden. How come I can't have dinner with the 36 percent of the people who like me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't pay attention to the approval ratings that say 68 percent of Americans disapprove of the job this man is doing. I ask you this -- does that not also logically mean that 68 percent approve of the job he's not doing?
COLBERT: Only thing missing is Hillary Clinton sitting in the front row rolling her eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the chocolate city. Yeah, give it up. Mayor Nagin, I would like to welcome to you Washington, DC., the chocolate city with a marshmallow center.
BUSH: It's good to see so many influential guests here tonight. Justice Scalia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice Scalia, may I be the first to say welcome sir! You look fantastic! How are you!
COLBERT: Bet it feels good to be out from under those robes. Toga. Toga. Toga.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president makes decisions. He's the decider.
COLBERT: Where is the great white hunter?
BUSH: I'm sorry Vice President Cheney couldn't be here tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE) with those orange hunting jacket but he's a decider.
HARRIS: He's a decider. That's good stuff, good stuff.
We need to get to our e-mail question before we run out of time this hour. We are asking you if you support what organizers are calling the great American boycott. Agnes writes, we are all immigrants, but there is a right way and a wrong way to come into this country. No other country would allow illegal immigrants to come into their country like we do and take advantage of the health care system, the schools and all the amenities without contributing by paying taxes.
NGUYEN: David agrees with actually some of the same language saying there's a right way and wrong way to do anything and coming into the U.S. is no different. Send the 11 million back to Mexico or wherever they come from and then set up processing stations and document them properly.
So we appreciate the thoughts that you sending to us today. Keep them coming. Here is the question one more time, do you support the great American boycott which happens tomorrow morning? E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com. We'll read those replies on the air.
HARRIS: And the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING begins in a moment.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, folks, time for the fairway forecast and I'll tell you, a place that would be pretty nice for golf today believe it or not will be New Orleans for the (INAUDIBLE) classic. Now we are expecting some showers and storms early in the day, but by the afternoon the rain should be gone. We should be left with partly cloudy skies and 83 degrees and wind out of the west at 10 to 15 miles per hour. All right, get out there and him them straight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Tomorrow, a day without immigrants. Boycott is planned nationwide. Taking Monday off from work a school is meant to show the economic impact of immigrant workers and students. Chris Warner has details on the "Great American Boycott" coming up shortly.
Also the Minutemen are winding down the month long border deployment this weekend. The volunteer core says their deployment along the Mexican Border States has pointed out how bad border security really is. One state director says the minutemen deserve credit for helping border patrol make about 600 arrests.
Weekend rallies to end the violence in Darfur continue today. Thousands of people are expected to converge on the national mall in Washington this afternoon. Celebrities, athletes and activists are joining to rally for the end of violence in Sudan's Darfur region. An update on the Darfur genocide in 13 minutes.
HARRIS: In Baghdad today, Iraqi police say two roadside bombs targeted police patrols and at least two officers were hurt. Iraqi police also say two bodies were found in Baghdad. Police say the victims had been shot in the head and their bodies showed signs of torture.
A body found in Afghanistan today is identified as an Indian telecommunications engineer. The province police chief says he was kidnapped earlier in the week by the Taliban. The body was beheaded.
It was a night out for President and Mrs. Bush last night. You might say it was double the fun at the White House Correspondent's Association dinner last night. Both the president and a look alike impersonator poked fun at the guy in the oval office.
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, April 30th. Last day of April. Can you believe it's already here?
HARRIS: I got my taxes in.
NGUYEN: That's a good thing.
HARRIS: May Day tomorrow.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: You're right. 8:00 a.m. here at the CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. Good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. I'm looking forward to those May flowers. Thank you for being with us. NGUYEN: They are hoping their absence will make their presence known. Immigrants around the country are planning mass walkouts and boycotts tomorrow. Organizers call it the "Great American Boycott." Now, the goal, to show how much immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy and to make a powerful political statement. Details now from CNN's Chris Warren.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS WARREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Organizers say this is what Americans will see Monday. Millions of people staging the largest protest since the Civil Rights era.
NATIVO LOPEZ, MEXICAN AMERICAN POLITICAL ASSN: Immigrants are losing their fear.
WARREN: Activists have called for a national boycott.
LOPEZ: They don't go to school. They don't go shopping. They don't go selling.
WARREN: Opponents say it's got one goal -- pressure Congress into legalizing millions of undocumented people.
GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm not a supporter of boycotts. I am a supporter of comprehensive immigration.
WARREN: Hundreds of small stores and big factories will all shut down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not sell any vegetables or fruits.
WARREN: By itself, L.A.'s Seventh Street Market Association distributes food to 3,000 supermarkets, and its closure could put $1 million dent in the economy. Some immigration rights activists say pictures of people walking off the job to backfire in Middle America.
ANGELICA SALAS, IMMIGRATION RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Who is our audience? Who are we talking to? Who are we seeking to embrace? To be embraced by.
WARREN: The Latino community has been active in the Catholic Church, and church leaders continue to support the protests, but this time, they are urging students not to skip class. And school officials warn students; they are expected to show up Monday.
JACK O'CONNELL, CALIFORNIA SCHOOL SUPT: I do not intend to grant any waivers as a result of mass protests or students who leave school.
WARREN: Organizers admit the boycott's a big step, but a needed one.
LOPEZ: Because we're not convinced, for example, that the representatives in Congress will really listen to the immigrant unless the immigrant imposes his will. WARREN: The boycott's biggest impact will be right here in California, where immigrants as a whole make up of about one-third of the workforce, but organizers say New York, Chicago, Phoenix, the entire country will feel the effect.
Chris Warren, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Christine Neumann Ortiz is the organizer of Milwaukee's march tomorrow and is the founder of Osays (ph) group. And she joins me on the phone. Good morning to you.
CHRISTINE NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Good morning.
HARRIS: I have to ask you, are you concerned, we know you organized a huge march in the area, in Milwaukee, in March. Are you concerned that with tomorrow's marches across the country that there is the possibility that you could begin to alienate the people that you most need on your side?
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Not at all. On the contrary, we've seen that there's been increased support this time, at least in our case, of particularly the business community and the African-American and Asian community has really actually stepped forward this time in a way that they didn't just a couple of months ago.
HARRIS: Why do you think that that's the case?
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: I think because there is a growing recognition that I think by the sheer numbers that obviously there is a broken immigration system and, I think by the courage that has been demonstrated by so many working class families and the overreach of these very extreme criminalization policies, I think it's really exposed the need for humane change and that time is now and the need is now, and people, I think, we're really at a fork in the road in terms of a life-and-death struggle for the future of this country. You have on the one road, what is being presented in the house, which is really a path to a permanent criminalized underclass with serious civil liberty challenges and worker rights to the rest. And versus really a path to equality and worker-rights protections and the respect for families.
HARRIS: Is there --
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: That's the choices we have.
HARRIS: Christine is there a middle ground that respects the need of this country to protect its borders and then provide some kind of an avenue, maybe it is the guest-worker program, maybe it is some other construction of that, that provides a path to legal citizenship?
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: I think the one legislation that is considered that middle of the road is known as the McCain/Kennedy Bill, because it has some of the basic principles that really the immigrant rights movement does support, and it is certainly a concession. Because even though, for instance, it has a guest-worker piece, even to send that piece, it has a path -- eventually a path to citizenship over a period of time. And family unification visas, and so those are some of the -- because the history of guest worker in this country, it does not have a good record. And, actually, we have think it would be a step backward if you have a guest worker with no path to citizenship.
HARRIS: And, Christine, I'm looking at pictures of young people, many of whom we have seen over the last few weeks, and the last month in particular, who left school. What do you say to people who are going to say that tomorrow's protests, to the extent that kids leave class, is absolutely the wrong message to send to this population of young folks who need, they would say, every moment they can get in class?
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Well, I think, you know, there's education that you get from books, and there's also the real-world education. And you can read about the Civil Rights movement, but, you know, when you listen to people who actually lived it and the children, the children, that were very much a part of making equality, you know, part of this country, and obviously that's a -- that's an ongoing struggle.
HARRIS: Yes.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Then I think, you know, then that's part of -- that's part of our development. Obviously we try to encourage as much to the extent possible the -- you know the support and for parents to call in that day and all that, but it really is a real-life education. It's about not just, you know, reading about social --
HARRIS: Of course.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Not just reading about history, it's about making history.
HARRIS: I've got one more question for you. I wonder if you -- do you acknowledge that there are people here, illegally, who have, well, they are here illegally and have broken the law, and the reason I ask it that way? Is because there are times when I hear this debate, and what I hear from folks who are in favor of these protests is not an acknowledgement that the law of the country has been broken.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: I think what's frustrating is that the -- that the law -- the couple of things. The one is, yes, that we respect the laws, but they should be just laws. So slavery was legal once. Did that make it a just law? And that's really the question that's being posed today. You know, they are -- and apart from that, I think that --
HARRIS: You know, Christine --
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Yes.
HARRIS: Pardon me. You know that folks in Mexico are making the choice to come here to work. You can't compare to it slavery that way.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: In the sense that people are surviving and survival is not much of a choice, whether you're choosing to support your family because your children are starving in front of your eyes, then, that's not much of a choice, I'd say it's a human instinct to help your family and to survive. And to me, the laws right now are really criminalizing a section of our workforce. And it's not a coincidence. The laws have been intentionally broken by Congress and corporations that have trade agreements that have really allowed open borders for corporations without accounting for the fact that that's going to displace workers in other countries.
HARRIS: OK.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: And then basically you're pitting worker against worker.
HARRIS: All right, Christine, I understand the argument, but it's just not fair to compare what's going on here to slavery. You understand that.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Well, I wouldn't compare it completely, obviously. But I would compare it --
HARRIS: OK.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: In the sense that slavery was not a just law. But it was illegal at one point to help someone, you know, escape the south to cross the border to come to the north.
HARRIS: OK, Christine Neumann-Ortiz thanks for your time this morning. I appreciate it.
NEUMANN-ORTIZ: Thank you very much.
NGUYEN: For the best and most comprehensive live coverage of tomorrow's events, keep it here on CNN. Our correspondents are deployed in major cities all across the country, here's a map right now, and also in Mexico City, we're teamed up with the Spanish language network for even greater reach. The day without immigrant's coverage begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern on CNN's "American Morning" and continues throughout the day.
HARRIS: And we want to know what you think this morning. Will you support what organizers are calling the "Great American Boycott?" E-mail us WEEKENDS@CNN.com and we'll read some of your comments a little later in the program.
NGUYEN: Well, millions have been displaced. Thousands have been killed and hundreds more are starving. We're talking about what President Bush calls genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. Straight ahead, a look at how some big-name celebrities are joining forces today to help the crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Looking to drop a few pounds but not sure where to start? Registered dietitian and author Ellie Krieger says a few small changes could have big payoffs.
ELLIE KRIEGER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: If you just cut out one sugary beverage a day the results can be incredible. Just one sugary beverage that's 150 calories. It could be a soda or lemonade or sweetened iced tea. Cut that out and you can lose up to 15 pounds by the end of the year.
FIRFER: Tired of the bagel with cream cheese for breakfast? Try whole grain cereal, low-fat milk and strawberries. Ellis says this change alone will cut 200 calories that is 20 pounds a year. Lastly.
KREIGER: Make sure that at every meal or snack you have at least one serving of fruit and vegetables and if you get into the habit of doing that you will probably want fewer calories overall and you will most certainly be a lot healthier.
FIRFER: Thanks Ellie. For the "Bod Squad," Holly Firfer, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, in just a few hours actors and athletes and politician and preachers will rally to draw attention to the crises in Darfur. The rally on the national mall in Washington is one of several all around the country. It set to begin at 2:00 Eastern. Celebrities like George Clooney are calling for help to stop the atrocities in Darfur, atrocities that President Bush says it must end.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUSH: The message is we're very serious about getting this problem solved. We don't like it when we see women raped and brutalized.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Tens of thousands have killed and millions have been forced from their homes. The U.N. calls the situation in Darfur the world's worst humanitarian disaster. Details now from our Africa correspondent, Jeff Koinange.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Darfur. A dry, desolate, swath of land the western part of Sudan, about the size of Texas. A land where tens of thousands of black Africans have been systematically slaughtered by an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed that the United Nations says is sponsored by the Sudanese government itself.
Where tens of thousands of women like Marian Mebraham (ph) have been raped and mutilated and millions more forced to fee their homes. It's in camps like this that the poorest of the poor find refuge. But only for a short while, as the few aid agencies still able to operate here are constantly being attacked by the Janjaweed. Death, disease, and despair, its genocide in the 21st century.
JAN EGELAND, U.N. HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: It's the biggest humanitarian drama of our time. Three million lives are at stake; 3 million people need food every day.
KOINANGE: Food and water and shelter. But most of all security. There are only 7,000 mostly African peacekeepers on the ground, one for every 4,000 refugees.
EGELAND: We need to have resources if we are to avoid massive loss of life. We hope that all those watching can give money to the United Nations, or to the Nongovernmental Organizations or to the Red Cross. I don't care, as long as the money goes to the people in Darfur.
KOINANGE: The U.N.'s top humanitarian may as well be speaking a foreign language. A handful of countries have contributed more than $100 million in aid this year, but the U.N. says it would need five times that amount to prevent millions of people from becoming extinct in plain sight.
Jeff Koinange, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: He's an Olympic gold medalist who gave his entire earnings to help Darfur. Tonight at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN, Joey Check talks about the crises in Darfur and what he thinks needs to be done.
NGUYEN: Well you've heard the expression don't mess with Texas. Well, nature, didn't get the word apparently. A wicked blast of nasty weather yesterday crushed buildings and homes from Gainesville all the way to Waco. Incredibly, there have been no reports of anyone hurt. Some of the damage may have been caused by tornadoes. Other areas were slammed by straight-line winds.
HARRIS: And Reynolds Wolf, that storm system moving to the east.
WOLF: You are correct, sir. That is correct. The storm has actually begun to lose a bit of its intensity, but all we need is a bit of daytime heating and we're back where we started. We did have stronger storms in New Orleans. And those have begun to subside considerably. However, scattered showers going to be a possibility in New Orleans, just at midday. Temperatures into the 80s, 68 degrees for Washington. A beautiful day in the nation's capital, as we make our way over to Nashville, it looks like showers a possibility, with 70 degrees.
In Denver, 57 with that northerly breeze. Along the coast, out west we're going to be seeing some fog from San Francisco all the way over to, say, San Diego. But back in Texas, plenty of sunshine, a much better day, a different world altogether weather wise than we had yesterday. Dallas, 73, what a difference when you travel down I-35 into San Antonio, about 90 degrees up by the river walk. A good day to head out there. And meanwhile in Houston, 86 degrees, with a showers, as we mentioned, moving off.
We're going to have another check on your forecast coming up in just a few moments and show you some places where we could see some rough stuff into the afternoon. Back to you.
HARRIS: OK, Reynolds, thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: Bye.
HARRIS: No.
NGUYEN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got the snowboard under my feet. I could fly so high I can fall so deep.
NGUYEN: On sand?
HARRIS: OK. What is going on here?
NGUYEN: Yes, what's happening?
HARRIS: No skis, no snow, no alpine conditions, what is going on here? That's not stopping this group from strapping on the boards. Coming up, we're going down in the sand and heat.
NGUYEN: That can hurt.
Plus, tomorrow, organizers are calling it the "Great American Boycott." Protesters across the nation marching in support of immigration. So we want to know from you, do you support the "Great American Boycott?" We're going to read some of those e-mails after the break. But send them in, the address WEEKENDS@CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In the years following the gold rush in Johannesburg, South Africa, miners picked the hills clean, but they managed to leave a bit of a treasure for the locals that have kind of turned into a bit of a sport. CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALFONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These manmade hills are the dumping grounds of the industry that gave Johannesburg its Zulu name, the place of gold. Its gold rush is over, but the crushed rock mine from ore today hosts an underground sport on the rise -- sandboarding.
MARCO CAROMBA, PURE RUSH INDUSTRIES: The sand is nice and fluffy. So it's like riding in powder.
VAN MARSH: Marco Caromba is a business and marketing lecturer Monday through Friday, but on the weekends, he's leading a growing number of tattooed, pierced, and suntanned guys and gals down the mine dumps in the Johannesburg area. There are no ski lifts here. The climb is a workout. But after a few minutes of sand boarding school, it's time to strap on the boards and enthusiasts, both big and small, get to work on their skills with varying degrees of success.
NIKKI SNELLING, SANDBOARD ENTHUSIAST: It's better than a couple of kids hanging around shopping malls as far as I'm concerned, you know, rather get outside, do something fun and exciting and different.
VAN MARSH: There's been a spike in sandboarding interest, Marco says, perhaps due to the popularity of snowboarding at the winter Olympics.
CAROMBA: To me it's the best sport in the world, and because we're in Africa, this is the next best thing.
VAN MARSH: Now these may not be Olympic alpine conditions, but believe me, the slope is steep. You can hit about 46 miles per hour sandboarding here, as I learned, it's not as easy as it looks.
CAROMBA: Is the camera good?
VAN MARSH: Marco says sandboarding is the new bachelor party venue for adventure sport fans. They opted to forego the strip club for the sand dune.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But for the sand, a huge beach with no sea. But it's cool.
VAN MARSH: Sandboarding may be a limited opportunity in south Africa, mining companies today have improved extraction technology that make it worth sifting through the sands for traces of gold. Any leftover sand now being sold to make cement.
Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Whoa!
NGUYEN: My favorite line was huge beach, no sea, it's cool.
HARRIS: It's cool. Man.
The president times two.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, we've had some fun with in this morning. Look at this. Can you tell who the real one is and who is the fake?
NGUYEN: On the left on the right. I don't know. Attendants at the White House Correspondents dinner tell us the Bush twins were double the fun. And we've got that at 9:00 a.m. But before that.
HARRIS: If you want to get back in shape and shed a few pounds, tune in for some good advice next on "House Call."
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